Frank Lapidus was in the lobby of the Nauru airport, left there by security guards who plopped him down into one of the 20 waiting area seats and then shut themselves in the office to his left. He could hear them talking and could see through the iced glass that one of them was on a phone. He figured they were trying to decide what to do with him.

It had been less than an hour since he and the rest of the Ajira-316 survivors had bolted from the plane after escaping the island and landing here, the closest place where they might have a half-decent chance of running for the hills and escaping notoriety.

Most of the rest, Sawyer, Miles, Kate, Claire had done just that- run. Richard had been right there beside Frank until suddenly he wasn't, he just disappeared and although Frank had been in a few tight spots in his life, this one, he thought, felt as bad as any of them. It was only a matter of time before the guards came back out of that room and took him somewhere and the only somewhere he could imagine based on all that had happened was a jail cell.

Frank looked at the door behind him, even though he knew it was bolted from both the inside and out. His eyes darted around the room looking for another option and that's when he saw a ceiling tile above the ticket counter in front of him move a fraction of an inch. At first, he thought it was his imagination but then the tile went from sliding slowly left to zipping out of sight, leaving a hole in the ceiling. A second later he saw just the glint of eyes, someone trying to tell if the coast was clear, and then half a head ducked down. Frank had to restrain himself from yelling with relief.

"Richard," he said it as quietly as possible, trying not to attract the attention of the men in the other room. "That you?"

"Yes," The face disappeared again, and a single rung of the chain-metal ladder they'd used to escape the plane slid down from the gap in the ceiling, showing just enough for him to get the hint. "Let's get out of here, walk slowly to the counter and come up. I've got it tied to the support beams."

Frank didn't hesitate, if anything moving faster than he maybe should have. He could see, though, that no one in the room next door was looking at him in those few seconds and he said a silent prayer of thanks. As soon as he was up, he started crawling along the supports between the ceiling and the roof heading away from the lobby area as Richard replaced the tile and followed him. Eventually they dropped down into the locker room where Kate and Claire had equipped themselves for escape just minutes before. If they'd arrived much sooner, they could have joined the rest of the Ajira-316 on their way to Los Angeles. But it was no accident they didn't: Richard had timed it just the way he'd wanted it, so that Frank would come with him and help him with what was needed next.

As soon as they were out of the building Richard motioned for Frank to follow him and they ran for the neighborhood south of the airport. Richard stopped by a car parked near a small warehouse and tossed Frank the keys. Frank noticed him futzing with a GPS device as he started it up and soon the first command sounded out…. "Stop… two tenths of one mile ahead and turn right…"

Frank looked at Richard, who just nodded and pointed, and said "We're going to the piers, we're taking a boat to Guam."

"And then what?" Frank asked immediately. "I'd like to think you'll just let me hop a flight to the Bahamas and get on with flying tourists around for an hour and a half at a time, but I'm guessing that's not in the cards."

Richard laughed a little. "Good guess, Frank. You've got to help Hurley and me out for a while. You can disappear eventually, but not now. Why?" He anticipated the question. "Think about it: You just piloted a plane on which a whole lot of people disappeared forever. You can't go home or go anywhere you'll be looked for until time has passed and if you try you are going to be put through a ringer the likes of which you haven't even started to think about. Work with us, and we can build you a new identity. And really…" He looked at Frank as he drove. "What else do you have to live for now but helping your friends? Anything wonderful you're rushing off to?"

Frank shook his head at the harsh statement but realized it was true. Looking at Richard to say something snappy back, he stopped and for the first time realized how thoroughly beaten up Richard looked. He was favoring his right arm, had a deep bruise on his forehead and stitches on one cheekbone where he'd gotten a gash.

"What HAVE you been up to lately?" Frank followed the latest GPS instructions and saw water and a pier ahead. They were close to escape.

"I've been back here three times since we landed, " Richard said, "Once to make sure Kate and Claire got away, once to help Miles and Sawyer escape… and now to get you." He could see Frank starting to ask the obvious questions about time and space, and just shook his head. "I haven't even explained everything to Hurley yet, so don't ask me to explain it all to you. I will. Right now we're going to Guam, though, and then we're going to L.A. to get Walt."

"Who the hell is Walt?" Frank asked.

"He was on Oceanic 815 with is father and he has skills I need right now." Frank gave him a flabbergasted look, demanding just a little more info and Richard answered in a tone that made it clear he was annoyed at being pressured. "He has a natural ability to project himself into places other than the one he's actually in at the moment. If I were better at that, more precise about it, well, I wouldn't be half so sore right now. I've been to the island since you saw me last, too, and I know they're safe there for the next three months. That's just enough time to go get Walt, get him trained, and take him back to the island… before they're not safe. We can't wait for them to act, we have to."

"I'd ask you what the hell it is we have to protect them from, " Frank said, parking the car and handing him back the keys. "But I'm sure I don't want to know."

"No," Richard said. "You really don't. You'll will, though, soon enough."

Back on the island those three months later, Hurley was dozing lightly in a metal folding chair against a wall in The Staff station, the book he'd been reading just barely grasped in his sleepy fingers when he heard rustling sound and realized Kate was waking up in the hospital cot next to him. He snapped to and saw her looking right and left, very confused. He put one hand on her shoulder and squeezed it, drawing her gaze back to him and her face went from panic to calm with a tired smile.

"Hi, Hurley."

"Hi, Kate. Welcome back."

"How did you know?" She asked, and it was Hurley's turn to look confused. "How do you know I'm having a boy? Got a long-distance sonogram machine I don't know about?"

He broke out laughing.

"You cut to the chase, don't you? I know because last Tuesday I was walking a beach here that's still kind of new to me, and I saw the two of you running and playing on it someday."

Most would have been put off by the strange wording in that sentence, but not either of them. Kate nodded.

"I'm still figuring out a lot about leading the island and about what it's doing to me to be the leader," Hurley went on. "But every so often it just kind of shows me stuff. Sometimes it's confusing and sometimes I totally get it. This time, I was walking and there you two were. He looked like he was about three, and I could feel that you were here visiting with him, it was his first time on the island, at least the first time that he'll remember when he grows up. Then you were gone. Something told me the only way all of it could happen is if we got you here pronto. So… here you are."

They were both silent for a minute though she never moved her gaze from his face.

"Where did you bury him?" Kate asked, and again no translation was needed.

"On our beach, near Locke."

"Will you go there with me?"

"Of course- but later, okay? Annie says you're doing a lot better, but it was close. You need to rest for another day at least."

"Annie?"

"Our new doctor," Hurley said and then stopped, kicking himself for just blurting it out so casually. Kate looked more surprised than hurt so he went on. "Des and Penny brought her back, along with the crew of Penny's boat and some of her other employees. Richard has been back already, too, and he's up to something, God knows what because he would barely tell me anything. But Richard says Ben's already lied to me at least once – I haven't gotten in his face about that yet, but I'll have to…."

Hurley paused, running out of steam and looking apologetic for spitting it all out so randomly. Kate looked at him with pity in her eyes and put a hand on his arm.

"I'm glad you're back, Kate, even if you aren't glad. I can use someone I totally trust to talk to."

"Well, you've got me….." Kate was about to say for six more months, when the door next to them flew open and Penny collapsed on the floor in front of them, heaving and drenched with sweat. She tried to stand up, bent over and nearly fell again, gasping and Hurley ran to the storeroom and came back with a bottle of water. She gulped at it as best she could, trying to talk at the same time.

"Where is Annie? They're behind me… bringing Bernard. He's been shot."

"Shot by who?" Hurley asked.

"These people…." Penny drank again, still in some distress. "We were working on a new building for The Flame and we heard a buzzing, and then they appeared out of literally nowhere armed to the teeth and wearing camouflage. They didn't say anything to us at all, they just started shooting. My crew had guns, and Des too. They fired back. We killed them all, but Bernard was hit."

Hurley didn't wait for anything more, he left for Annie's bungalow realizing as he did that it had been two hours since she'd left for her short break.

Kate lay there in her cot, watching Penny sitting against the wall, still out of breath with her arm on her knee and the hand that was holding the bottle of water shaking hard.

"Penny, what didn't you tell Hurley just now?" Kate asked.

"These people we shot: Des said they looked like the ones who came here on the freighter. But when we walked up to their bodies they were … bleeding orange. It couldn't have been any weirder than if they'd been bleeding green." Kate looked horrified and Penny was pale as a ghost. "So we not only have to figure out who the hell they are," she said, "But what the hell they are, too."