Cliff watched his brother, Glen, lovingly interacting with his wife and 3 children. He longed to have this kind of relationship with Lauren, Alison and Ethan. He felt a pang of jealousy ripple across his heart but he decided he wouldn't go there. He quietly got his coat from the coat rack near the front door and stepped outside. Moments later, Glen stepped out, bringing him a cup of hot apple cider.

"Here," Glen said, handing Cliff his cup.

"Thanks."

"So, what's up?" Glen asked.

"Nothing. Why do you ask?"

"I know you, Cliff. Something's troubling you. Is it Lauren?"

Cliff's eyebrows creased as he sighed heavily. "It's that noticeable?"

Glen nodded. "Yeah."

"I love her, Glen. More than she knows."

"Then why don't you just tell her?"

Cliff looked into his cup and shook his head. "You know that man she found on the mountain?"

"Yeah. What about him?" Glen asked.

"She's fallen for him, and there's nothing I can do about it," Cliff said sadly.

"Sorry to hear that," Glen said. After a long moment he asked. "When did this happen?"

"Going on three weeks. Why?" Cliff asked puzzled.

"That's around the time we lost two hours."

Cliff's eyebrows shot up. "What? It happened to you too?"

"Cliff, where have you been? Don't you watch the news?" Glen asked and then added. "Yeah, I know, you don't have a TV cause you can't be bothered with it. If you had a TV and listened to the news you'd know what's going on. I called you that night and couldn't reach you. I haven't had a chance to talk to you about it."

"So what did they say on the news?" Cliff asked anxiously.

"Scientists have been trying to figure out what happened."

"And, what are they saying?" Cliff asked curiously.

"They don't have a clue. They can't explain how the world lost two hours. It's really weird."

"And here I thought it was just me. I didn't say anything to anyone cause I thought they would think I was going crazy," Cliff said. "Glen, it happened the afternoon Lauren found John. Could he be connected?"

"Why do you say that?"

"There's something not right about that guy," Cliff said.

"What do you mean? Is he dangerous?" Glen asked, concerned.

"No. He's just different, like he doesn't belong here. Never mind. If I say any more you will think I've gone over the deep end."

"If you're that concerned, you need to talk to Lauren about it," Glen suggested.

"Yeah, maybe I should. But I don't want her to think I'm doing it cause I'm jealous," Cliff said, taking a drink of his apple cider.

"She needs to know how you feel about her," Glen said.

"I'm sure she knows, Glen, and I think she's made her choice."

It had been one of the most extraordinary evenings Boromir had ever experienced in his life. The children had given him their unique gifts and in his heart he knew this family had become very special to him. Yes, a part of him was excited about the prospects of staying with this family for the rest of his life, but, another part of him was afraid he was falling in love with Lauren and the children. He couldn't understand why his emotions were so conflicting. What was it that kept nagging at him and kept him from accepting a life with Lauren? He didn't know.

He had felt such peace as he had tucked the children into bed and kissed them goodnight. This he had done as if he had done it all of his life. When he sat beside Lauren in front of the fireplace, he wanted to kiss her and make love to her, but something inside him held him back. What in the world was wrong with him?

They had talked for hours, drank hot chocolate, a drink he had become very fond of. Lauren had talked about her husband and how he had died. As tears streamed down her face, he had held her close to him, comforting her. It was the most natural thing for him to do. The entire night had been magical.

It was past midnight when they had said goodnight and went to their separate bedrooms. Boromir wanted nothing more than to take Lauren's hand and lead her to his bed, but again, something inside him stopped him from doing so. He opened the closet door and studied the maroon tunic. He felt the soft fabric and hoped this would trigger a memory, but, once again, he was disappointed that no memory came forth. Discouraged he went to bed and fell into a deep sleep.

"Run!" Boromir shouted.

Instinctively, Boromir grabbed a horn at his side and blew it. The resonance from the horn sounded strange and he wondered who he was calling. He saw two small beings running away from him as hideous beasts attacked. He wielded his sword easily and cut down the gruesome creatures. The weapon felt as if it was an extension of his hand.

It seemed the beasts were coming at him from every direction, but somehow, he was able to fight them off. Suddenly his shoulder was struck by a large arrow. Boromir reeled back and fell to his knees, but a moment later he was back on his feet continuing the fight. Not long after another arrow struck his body. Once again he fell to his knees. The pain was excruciating, but he couldn't stop to think about the searing pain for he was fighting for his life and the lives of the two little ones. He heard them calling out a name, a name he didn't recognize. He turned to see them as they cried out in terror. The creatures had snatched them. The little ones were screaming as their captors ran off with them.

Then everything seemed to come to a standstill. Boromir looked up to see the creatures looking at something in the distance. They cried out in terror and backed away. Boromir turned to see a large whirlwind moving toward him. It was emitting a brilliant light from its core. He instinctively raised his hand to protect his eyes from the blinding light. Within the twister, lightning bolts exploded and shot their energy outward. The whirlwind was strange for it was not standing upright but lay horizontally. Everything in its path was being sucked into its massive opening.

Suddenly Boromir was swallowed up by the tornado. The sword was ripped out of his hands as he was lifted off the ground and carried away. Within the windstorm he was propelled forward as a thick sticky substance trapped him inside the heart of the storm. Boromir screamed only to get a mouthful of the viscous matter. He was unable to breathe; he was suffocating!

Boromir sat bolt upright in bed. Memories flooded into his mind. He remembered. He remembered everything.