Interesting potential parallel:
Naomi was supposed to be the “leader” of the four people trying to get on the island. What if Danielle, 16 years ago, played a similar role?
Consider that Naomi had para-military training; Danielle is well versed in explosives. Naomi was leading a scientific team to the island. Danielle was part of a scientific team. When Minkowski started flipping out on the boat after getting to close to the island on the boat, the guy he was with died. Minkowski started acting strangely too.
What would Danielle’s reaction be if she saw this happening to her team? She’d probably think it was some kind of tropical disease, and think that if her people got off the island, it might spread. Her original warning to Sayid was to watch for people acting strangely.
I’m not saying Danielle was specifically after Ben, but the parallels are something to consider.