"Alright," Jack says, bright and early the next morning. "They took off a day ago. Why haven't we heard from them?"

Charlotte takes a deep breath. "I'm going to tell you again, as I've been telling you all night, doctor. I don't know! You heard the same thing as I did when we called the boat. What makes you think I know anything?"

"Because you're not worried," Juliet says.

"Excuse me?"

"You're boat's forty miles off the coast. It should have taken them what, twenty minutes to get there? So why aren't you worried?"

"Should I wring my hands together and whisper a prayer on their behalf?" Charlotte says bitterly.

Daniel intervenes, stepping in front of her. "Hey, hey, hey, c'mon. Maybe we should just, just tell them."

"Tell us what?" I ask.

"Dan, let's not confuse anyone," Charlotte says frustrated.

"Well, Daniel," Juliet says. "Maybe if you talk real slow, we'll be able to follow."

Dan turns around and starts to explain. "Your perception of how long your friends have been gone, it's not necessarily how long they've actually been gone."

"What does that mean?" Jack asks.

"This is a mistake," Charlotte says.

"It'll be fine, it'll be fine," Dan assures us. "As long as Frank flew on the bearings I gave him. If he stayed on it, it'll be fine."

"And what if he didn't?" I ask, getting more worried with every work that comes out of Dan's mouth.

"Then there might be side-effects," Dan says.

"What kind of side-effects?"

"It would be difficult to explain, but like I said, as long as Frank stayed on the bearings, everything should be fine."

A few hours later and we finally get a call from the freighter. Jack answers the phone. "Hello?...Are you okay? Where the hell have you been?...Hold on, hold on, hold on. Alright, you're on speaker." Jack presses a button and Sayid's voice comes out of the phone.

"On the helicopter, something happened to Desmond. He doesn't appear to recognize me or know where he is."

Jack turns to Dan. "Side-effects?"

"Wait, your friend, Desmond? Has he recently been exposed to high levels of radiation or electromagnetism?"

We all exchange looks. How would we know that?

"Okay, look," Dan continues. "Uh, we don't know why, but going to and coming from the Island, some people can get a little...confused."

"So, what, is this amnesia?" Juliet asks.

"No, this is not amnesia. I need to talk to Desmond."

"He's in their sickbay," Sayid says. "I can try to get Frank to help me get in."

We wait and there's a bit of scuffling on the other end. I hear Sayid yell "Give him the phone now!"

"Hello?" Desmond says.

"Desmond! Desmond, my name is Daniel Faraday. We met yesterday before you took off? But I'm guessing you don't remember that. Am I right?"

"Took off? What?"

"Desmond, we don't have long to talk so I need you to tell me what year you think it is."

"What do you mean, what year do I think it — it's 1996!"

Jack, Juliet, and I exchange a look. What the hell is going on?

"Alright, Desmond, Desmond look, you gotta tell me... where are you?"

"Um...um...I'm in some kind of sick bay."

"No, no. Not right now, Desmond. Where are you supposed to be? Where are you in 1996?"

"Uh, Camp Millar, it's a Royal Scots Regiment, it's just north of Glasgow."

"Dan," Jack says, cutting in. "You might wanna—,"

"No, no, no. I'm thinking, I'm thinking. Desmond, listen. When it happens again, Desmond, I need you to get on a train. Get on a train and go to Oxford. Oxford University. Queens College Physics Department. Alright?"

"What, why?"

"Because I need you to find me." Dan runs over to his pack and starts rummaging through it. "Where is it? Where is it?"

"What?" Charlotte asks.

"My journal. I need my journal, I won't believe him."

"Why does he think he's in 1996?" I ask.

"I don't know, I don't know. It's unpredictable, it's a random effect. Sometimes it takes place for only a couple of hours, sometimes it's years."

"Wait, wait," Jack says. "This has happened before?"

Daniel produces a journal from his pack. "The phone now, please. Thank you. Desmond, you still there?"

"Talk to him! I can't hold them for long," I hear Sayid shout.

"Yes!" Des shouts. "What've you got?"

"Okay, Desmond, listen. When you find me at Queens College, I need you to tell me to set the device to two-point three four two."

"What?"

"Alright, you got it? Two-point three four two! And it must be oscillating at eleven hertz. You got it Desmond? Just remember that. Two-point three four two and eleven hertz, alright? And one more thing, Desmond. If the numbers don't convince me, I need you to tell me that you know about Eloise."

"Hey, hey, hey! Take it easy!" someone shouts from the other end of the phone.

"Desmond! Tell me that you know about Eloise!" Dan shouts before we hear a dial tone.

"So what now?" I ask.

"Now, we hope that he finds a constant," Dan says.

"A what?"

"A constant. Something in his life that he can access from both here and in 1996."

"What about you? He's going to see you in Oxford, right? Wouldn't you classify as a constant?"

"There's no connection between me and Desmond. Nothing emotional. It would need to be something or someone he cares about deeply."

I think of Penny and her transmission to the Looking Glass Station that Charlie intercepted. She's obviously trying to contact the Island and right now and her best chance is using the freighter as her telephone. I have to believe that they'll make contact, because judging by Daniel's tone, if he doesn't, it'll end badly.

I'm trying not to worry about Desmond as I eat a dinner of DHARMA oatmeal and a box of raisins. I see Juliet and Sun putting up a more secure shelter as thunder rumbles above us, making it darker than usual since the clouds have blocked the moon. Jin is sitting beside me. "Could you pass the raisins?" he asks.

"That's pretty good English, Jin," I complement.

"Thank you. I, uh, understand better than I speak. Sun helps me. She is good teacher."

I smile and hand him the box of raisins and he drops a few into his own bowl of oatmeal. I see Jack approaching Juliet and he waves me over.

I set down my bowl and walk over. "Have any of you seen Charlotte and Faraday? All their stuff's gone."

"No, I haven't seen them," Juliet says.

"You still have the sat phone, right?" I ask him, but he shakes his head no.

Jin must have followed me over here, because he says something in Korean. "He saw them going into the jungle," Sun translates.

"Why didn't he say anything?" Jack asks, and Sun translates his words for Jin.

"You said... they are friends," Jin says, confused.

Jack lets out a sigh. "Aren't they?" Sun asks.

Jack doesn't respond.

The five of us are lighting torches, the thunder above us booming. "All right, we've got a lot of ground to cover, so let's fan out," Jack instructs. "If you cut their trail, call out to me. I'll come to you."

I head out with Jack and Juliet and Sun and Jin search in the other direction. The rain starts pounding, but luckily not enough to drench our torches. Unfortunately, I'm soon soaked to the bone.

"Where's Juliet?" Jack calls to me about a mile later.

I look around, but Juliet and her torch are gone. "I don't know. She was right behind me."

I follow him closely and he makes a break in the trees. Juliet is standing there, speaking to a woman. "Who are you?" Jack asks her, raising his gun.

"I'm an old friend of Juliet's," she answers. "I just told her where the people you're looking for are headed. Maybe you and your gun can go too."

A wave of wind hits us and our torches are snuffed. There are whispering voices, but I can't make out what they say. By the time my eyes adjust the woman is gone.

"What was that about?" Jack asks Juliet. "What did she tell you?"

"That Faraday and Charlotte are heading for the Tempest."

"What's the Tempest?" I ask.

"It's safer for you if I don't talk about it."

"No. Talk about it, please," Jack says.

"It's an electrical station that powers the Island."

"Why would they go there?" Jack asks, but Juliet doesn't respond. He turns to face her. "Hey. If there's something you need to tell me, now's the time to do it."

"What I need is for you to help me," she says. "Will you help me?" Jack looks at the ground and she takes this as a yes. "What about you?" she says to me. I nod my head, agreeing to help. "If we move all night, maybe we can still catch them. Thank you," she says to us.