Disclaimer: I don't own Lost.

A/N: Did anyone else want to cry at last night's episode when Dan was shown? You could actually feel his pain at losing Charlotte. It was so sad, especially when he saw the little girl and said "Charlotte".

Chapter 10

At first, Daniel's job in Massachusetts went rather well. He quickly got the reputation as the strange, absent minded professor but Daniel didn't mind. It was when he began to forget what he wanted to teach his students, and when he forgot when his classes were that he realized he couldn't work as a professor for much longer. Daniel quit, citing health reasons. He had a good amount of money saved up, and his old benefactor in England, Charles Widmore, had also told Daniel that if he needed money to let him know. It appeared that Widmore felt guilty for funding Daniel's research, and he felt responsible for the results – what had happened to both Theresa and Daniel. Daniel learned that Widmore was also paying for Theresa to receive the care she needed.

Daniel had hired a caretaker for himself. She was a nice woman named Mary. She came daily, and took care of both Daniel and the apartment. She generally made him meals and cleaned, and she also talked to him. Daniel was grateful for her company.

Normally, Daniel remained active despite his memory problems, scribbling equations on pieces of paper, still trying to fix the consequences of time travel. Recently, he had gotten sick with the flu, and instead his days were spent sitting, watching television. Mary was making him breakfast, and Daniel was watching the news, which was covering the discovery of Oceanic 815 in the bottom of the ocean.

Daniel stared at the television intently, as the newscaster spoke about the discovery. "This haunting footage comes to us from the Christiane I, a salvage vehicle in the Indian Ocean. For more than two months, it's been scouring the depths of the Sunda Trench off Bali, in search of the remains of sunken trading ships. Late last night, the Christiane deployed two remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, that verified what the National Transportation Safety Board had long feared, that the commercial...."

The newscaster's voice seemed to fade out to Daniel, even though he knew he hadn't touched the volume. Instead, he was focused on something else. He had begun to cry, but he had no idea why.

Mary's voice filled the small apartment. "How do you want your eggs, Dan?" Daniel didn't respond, so she continued talking. "So, what happened? They find that missing plane?" He still didn't respond. "Dan? Dan?" She moved closer and noticed his tears. "Dan, why are you so upset?"

Daniel was wondering that himself. "I don't know"

She moved back into the kitchen. "Well, it is a tragedy. There were three hundred twenty-four people on that plane, probably more. Their families must all be devastated. Maybe that's why you're upset"

"Maybe" Daniel replied. He had a feeling he had heard about this, before. He thought it was in the journal that he had received twelve years ago. It had been awhile since he read it. The last time he read it was actually when he was at Oxford. When he left England, he had begun to use it as a normal notebook, and did not read what was in the journal when he received it. Maybe he should start reading it again. He decided to start that night, once Mary left.

He was brought out of thoughts by Mary. "Time to eat, Dan. Hopefully you can keep this down"

Daniel smiled. "I - -I hope so. I really don't think it's…healthy to spend this much time throwing up"

Mary smiled in return. "You're sick, so of course it isn't healthy"

The day passed as it normally did. Daniel was feeling better, so his notebooks began to be used again. Daniel and Mary talked about various things, and played games. She left after washing the dinner dishes, and as soon as he heard the door shut he went to his room, sat down, and began to re-read the journal. It was as fascinating as it had been the first time through.

A week after he learned about the discovery of Oceanic 815, Daniel was taking a walk in a park near his house. A tall, African-American man approached him. Daniel had seen him occasionally when he was working at Oxford. The man worked for Charles Widmore.

"Hello, Daniel" the man greeted him.

"Hi…ummm…" Daniel trailed off, embarrassed that he couldn't remember the man's name.

"Matthew. Matthew Abbadon " the man informed him.

"Matthew" Daniel repeated the name, now wondering how he had forgotten it in the first place.

"How have you been?" Matthew asked, as if they were old friends.

"I – I've been good. Why are you here, though? Massachusetts is…pretty far from England" Daniel commented, wondering why Matthew was in Essex, of all places.

"I'm here on the behalf of Charles Widmore. He has a job for you, if you're interested" Matthew gestured to a bench, and the two sat down.

"Well, what is it?" Daniel asked.

"We're looking for a man named Benjamin Linus. The last time he was seen, he was on an island. This island is different, though. It's extremely difficult to find, and even harder to get to safely. You'd be a vital part of this mission" Matthew replied.

Daniel thought for a moment. He had just read about the Island in the journal. Survivors of Oceanic 815 were there, if the journal was correct. He would also meet Charlotte on this mission. Also, it would get him out of Essex and he'd be working again, instead of scribbling random equations on spare pieces of paper that he found in his apartment. His decision was made. He looked up at Matthew and spoke. "I'll do it"

Matthew smiled at Daniel's response. "Great" He pulled a large envelope out of his briefcase and handed it to Daniel. "Here is all the information. If you have any questions, call. My number's there as well. A car will come pick you up, so you don't need to worry about transportation" Matthew shook Daniel's hand and stood. "I'll see you soon"

Daniel looked at the envelope, and when he looked for Matthew the man had already disappeared.

At home, Daniel opened the envelope. The first paper was basic information. The car would come pick him up two weeks from now, at 8:00 AM. He would be traveling on a boat called the Kahana, and he would be working with four other people. A woman named Naomi Dorrit was the team leader. Frank Lapidus was the pilot that would fly them to the island. Miles Straume was a spiritualist, whatever that was. Charlotte Lewis was listed as an anthropologist. He had no idea why these particular people were chosen, himself included. Especially since they were searching for a missing person. Still, Daniel decided not to question it. He knew from the journal that he was not told the entire truth.

Two weeks had passed quickly, and Daniel was surprised that he had not forgotten the important details about the mission. He had informed Mary about what he was doing, and although she expressed concern she reassured him that she'd still check on the apartment for him. He told her that he wasn't sure how long he'd be, and she told him that it would be fine. She arrived at his apartment the morning of his departure to say him off, and to make sure he hadn't forgotten everything. By the time his ride arrived, everything was taken care of.

The car took Daniel to the airport, and he flew to England, where he was immediately picked up and taken to the marina. The ride was tiring, but Daniel occupied himself by sleeping and reading the journal again. He had a feeling that he needed to know as much of the information as possible for the mission, and he hoped he wouldn't forget everything. When he arrived at the marina, a man immediately took his luggage and assured him it would be taken directly to his room.

Daniel boarded the boat, which looked more like a freighter, without any difficulty and sat on deck, observing everything that was taking place around him. He watched as a man arrived shortly after him. He looked Asian, and was giving the workers a hard time. Shortly after, a man, with graying hair and beard, wearing a brightly colored shirt showed up talking on the phone. When he was informed that no phones were allowed, he tossed it into the ocean without blinking an eye.

A half hour after the last man arrived, a red headed woman stepped out of a car, talking on a cell phone. She stayed on the dock, watching the men moving her belongings carefully, still on the phone. Daniel moved closer, knowing instinctively that the woman was Charlotte, and he was intrigued by her. He had only encountered her once before, but he hadn't forgotten her, which he thought was odd. Listening carefully, he was able to hear the end of her conversation.

"No, mum. I'm not coming home. I'm going on this expedition, and you can't stop me"
Charlotte sounded as if she had had this conversation multiple times.

She paused to listen to the person on the other end. "You have no problem letting me go halfway around the world whenever I want, to stay with people you've never heard of. Now, you're mad that I've been hired by a man from our own country? I don't understand this"

She listened again, and from the triumphant look on her face Daniel could assume that the person on the other end had caved. "Yes mum. I promise I'll be careful"

A smile spread on her face, and she spoke softer. "Love you, too, mum. Tell my sisters and dad I said bye"

Charlotte hung up the phone, put it in her pocket, tucked a stray piece of hair behind her ear, and went to board the Kahana only to be stopped immediately. "No phones allowed" one of the men informed her.

"You've got to be bloody kidding me" She looked at the men, hoping one would tell her it was okay to have her phone on board. When she received no response, she sighed in frustration. "Where the hell am I supposed to put it, then?"

One of the workers pointed wordlessly down towards the water. She looked angrier, and pulled her phone out of her pocket. "Are you serious? You honestly think that this can cause a problem? Fine, but you'll owe me a new one once we get back here" At the end of her sentence, she dropped it in the water and stormed past the men.

Daniel immediately tried to move, scared he'd be caught eavesdropping. He rushed across the deck, only to run into Charlotte. Immediately, he began to apologize. "I'm so, so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going and..." He looked at the woman, and forgot what he was going to say. "I'm sorry"

She studied him closely, before smiling. "You said that already. I'm Charlotte Lewis, the resident anthropologist"

"Daniel Faraday. I'm a - - a physicist" He noticed the necklace she was wearing and remembered her wearing it during their last encounter. He also remembered that his journal had mentioned it. He just couldn't remember its significance.

"Physicist? That's really interesting" Charlotte said.

"Really?" Daniel normally didn't get that response when telling people what he did.

"Yeah. Look, I've got to get to my room and make sure nothing's missing, but I'll have to remember to ask you about that later" Charlotte looked genuinely interested by Daniel, and he felt extremely at ease with her.

"I – I don't want to pry, but why do you have to…check on your things?" Daniel was sure that he had just broken some unwritten rule, but he was curious.

"It's fine, Dan. Do you mind if I call you Dan?" She asked randomly.

"No. I…don't mind" Daniel replied.

"All right. And to continue, I just got back from a dig in Tunisia, and I only had a few spare minutes to stop at my apartment before the car came for me. I want to make sure that I didn't lose or forget anything" Charlotte explained.

Daniel understood immediately. "Well, then…I - - I don't want to keep you"

"Don't worry about it. I'll talk to you later, yeah?" She smiled brightly.

"Yeah, we'll talk later" Daniel smiled in return. She turned and walked to her room, and Daniel watched her until she was out of sight, feeling almost dazed at their encounter.