As Shannon stared blankly at the ceiling, smiling only briefly to herself at the way Dean replied to her appreciation, she found her mind wandering. Who exactly had been sent away from Mirage and did they have any common denominator? Had the Planet ousted them because they'd wanted to be sent home or had the Planet sent them because they hadn't, out of pure spite? If it had been because they wanted to go or because they'd been trying to help other people go, Shannon thought maybe now she'd be in the clear and she'd be here for the rest of her life. If that was the case, she thought, maybe it wouldn't be so awful of her to settle into this new life officially.
Dean was right there. A few feet away and he gave a shit about her, which was more than she could say for most of the people she'd surrounded herself with voluntarily in the past few years. Sabrina had resented her. Nora and Brian had liked her money. Laurent's father had wanted a mistress; Sayid wanted someone to protect. Even the people she hadn't willingly surrounded herself with hadn't cared about her.
"You're in my light, Sticks."
"I wish I didn't have to waste my time making fun of you, I wish I didn't have a reason. Yeah, and it is easy, Shannon."
"I'm coming with you." "...I don't know if that's such a good idea."
"She's saying please come get me." "Or she's not, you don't even SPEAK French!"
She'd been a thorn in their sides. Every last one of them. But Dean didn't feel that way.
"Hey, leave her alone, jackass. I'm what you want. Right here!"
Dean's bed creaked and she could hear him get up, making his way over to her. She felt and sensed more than saw him kneel beside the bed, telling her that he was glad she'd stayed. That he hadn't wanted her to go.
"You're being worthless over here. What do you want me to say? You're sitting on your ass staring at bodies."
"Perhaps you should find another friend to help you with your shelter."
Shannon closed her eyes and tried to ignore the tears that slid down her cheeks in contrast to the smile on her face. She turned her head and looked back at Dean. "You have no idea how nice it is to hear that..." she said softly, looking him in the eye.
Yes. She could start fresh here and she didn't have to pretend with Dean. The mask would stay firmly in place for the others, at least for the time being, but not for Dean.