As the plane was taking off, Richard resisted the urge to look out the window for one last glimpse of the island. It had been his home for far too long and he knew that he would never see it again but still, he didn't look. Not because he didn't want to but because he was afraid of what he might see out that window. As the plane began climbing he finally moved over to the window seat and looked out, knowing that if he didn't reassure himself he would be forever haunted by it.
What he saw was Ben and Hurley desperately running for the plane, waving their arms and he assumed yelling though he couldn't hear them above the sound of the engines.
"We have to go back! We have to land and get them, we can't just leave them there!"
Richard sat up in his bed and realized that it had just been a bad dream. Again. His heart was still pounding as adrenaline flooded his system and he knew that going back to sleep wasn't an option. Rather than remain in bed wide awake he got up to make coffee, stumbling over a pair of shoes before getting out of his bedroom. "Damn it," he said under his breath before regaining his balance and continuing down the short hallway, making a mental note to be more careful about where he tossed things in his journey to go to bed at night. The world outside was still asleep as he flipped the light switch, bathing the kitchen in a fluorescent glow so he could fix a pot of coffee.
After Frank barely landed the Ajira plane in one piece in Sinapalu, Richard was able to make contact with the off-island network of people through Mittelos Bioscience and get all the papers necessary for them to return to as normal a life as possible in the real world. Since Claire and Kate really didn't want the media spotlight, he arranged for both of them to fly to Australia where they were met by Claire's mother and Aaron. The four of them were set to live in Australia in peace. James and Miles returned with Richard to Portland and went to work for Mittelos in security. It was a perfect fit for the two of them. Frank Lapidus, not in a hurry to fly any more big jets, accepted Richard's offer to be an on-call pilot for Mittelos. It gave him income and access to a plane, and he could fly James to Australia to be sure Kate and Claire were settled in and doing all right.
Life off the island hadn't been too bad at first; he was no stranger to the modern world, having left several times both for his own reasons and to carry out tasks for the island's leaders. Overall, everyone seemed to adjust to life off the island pretty well. Richard bought a small house in the Tualatin Valley and kept busy with fixing the place up and occasionally going to the corporate office of Mittelos to take care of transferring funds to keep everyone happy. It wasn't that Mittelos didn't do real research; on the contrary, they did a lot of research and their successes were sold to other companies which kept the money coming in. Fortunately there were other people whose job it was to ensure all of that went smoothly.
Finally the coffee was ready and he poured a cup, leaning against the sink to stare out the window. It had been three months since he had left that island and still he wasn't quite ready to let go. He had been part of a community for too long and now he felt terribly alone. Alone and guilty that they had left people behind on that island.
It was the guilt that kept him awake now. His role had been to help and guide the people that Jacob brought to the island, and Jack and Hurley were definitely brought there by Jacob. I should have stayed to help them, not abandoned them. According to what James and Kate had said, there was little doubt that Jack was dead but Hurley... He'd gone to visit Mr. and Mrs. Reyes but he couldn't find the words to say and ended up driving away without speaking to either of them.
The ringing of his cell phone startled him and he glanced at the clock on the wall. It was just after 5AM so he was fairly certain of who was on the other end without checking the caller ID. There was only one person who still talked to him now. "Hello?"
"Hey, you feel like going to grab some breakfast?"
"And good morning to you, too, Miles."
"Fine, good morning, you want to get some grub or no?"
"Do you know what time it is?"
"Yeah, but I also know you've been up for a bit."
"What are you, a stalker now?" Richard peered out his kitchen window and barely made out the outline of a car parked in the street.
"I wanted to be sure you were up before I called you."
"Come in and have some coffee then. I haven't been up all that long so-"
"Fine, I'll come in and wait for you to make yourself handsome enough to go out in public."
"Miles..."
"I know, I know, it's much too early for you to be putting up with my mouth. I'll be right up."
Richard went to his front door and opened it just as Miles was running up in jeans and a sweat shirt. "Is there some reason why you couldn't wait until the sun was up?"
Miles moved past Richard and into the house before answering. "I got a phone call from Penelope Hume. You know, Widmore's daughter."
"Oh?" Richard felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end as he shut the door. "What did she want?"
"Apparently Ben and Hurley helped Desmond get home."
He frowned slightly. "Home from the island?"
"Yeah. He's been home with his wife and son for a few weeks now."
"Why did she call you?"
"Damned if I know. She just said she knew her dad had hired me to go to the island and find Ben, and that she wanted me to know Desmond was alive and off the island." Miles watched as Richard retreated to the kitchen and poured another cup of coffee. "I thought maybe you would know why she called since she said Desmond needed to talk to you."
"Me?"
"Unless you know of another Richard Alpert who escaped from the island."
Richard offered the second cup to Miles and gestured for him to sit at the small breakfast bar before taking a seat himself on one of the stools. "I have no idea why she called you or why Desmond would want to talk to me."
"Yet you seem bothered by it."
"I guess it's just being reminded that Ben and Hurley were left behind."
"Sucks for them, but somebody had to stay behind I guess."
"Who else have you told about that phone call?"
"Nobody. Who else am I going to tell besides James?"
"Let's keep it just between us for now."
"So what are you going to do?"
"About what?"
"The phone call from Widmore's daughter."
"Nothing. It was just a phone call, Miles. There's nothing to be done about it." Richard downed his cup of coffee and walked over to the pot to refill it.
"Yeah, I guess."
"Miles..."
"I just figured you'd want to go back there."
"Go back there how?"
Miles turned to face Richard who was still in the kitchen. "I thought you would know. You said you'd been off the island."
"That was before it was moved. Even if I had access to a submarine or a boat, which I don't, I have no idea what the coordinates are to find it again."
"But Desmond Hume had to know the coordinates to get off the island, so could you use that to figure out the way back to the island?"
"Even if I could, why would I want to go back?"
"I don't know. You tell me." Richard turned to stare out the window and Miles knew he was right. "It's understandable that you'd want to go back, you know. That island was your home for way too long."
"I don't want to go back."
"Great, well here's the phone number where you can reach Desmond." Miles pulled a scrap of paper out of his pocket and put it on the bar next to Richard's cell phone. "I told her I'd give you the message and I have. Now, you want to get ready and go get breakfast?"
"Not really."
"Well guess what? You don't have a choice because I am not letting you just sit around here and mope like an old man."
Richard chuckled a bit at that. "Fine, but do not go snooping around my house."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
"I mean it Miles."
"I know. Hurry up and get ready, I'm hungry."
"You could have got yourself something to eat and then told me about the phone call."
"No, I couldn't. It kind of freaked me out that she was able to track me down and I wanted to tell you about it."
"And do you feel better now?"
"No."
"Give me 20 minutes and we can go eat."
He left Miles alone – something he was certain he would regret – and headed to the back of the house. After a shower he dressed in slacks and a short-sleeved shirt and returned within the 20 minute frame as promised.
"Great," Miles said, sliding off the bar stool he was occupying. "Let's get some food. I'll drive."