Lost and Found

4

A day had passed since they found Desmond in the hatch; a day since Jack had reluctantly come back to the camp to tell everyone about the button, and designate the shifts. Elyse couldn't stop thinking about the strange man, not for a second.

Especially since Jack had told her that once Locke took over for him, he'd ran off without a word, and they hadn't seen him since.

She wondered if he would ever come back, or where he would even go in the first place. He was trapped on this island the same as them, after all. Perhaps he just wanted to go exploring, he had been trapped down there, typing numbers every 108 minutes, for 3 years after all.

She felt annoyed at herself for feeling almost... sad at the idea of never seeing him again. She hoped he was okay, and that the monster wouldn't get to him. She wished she'd warned him about it now...

"Are you sure you want to go down there by yourself? We can get someone else to take your shift i'm sure."

Dean spoke then, reminding Elyse to come back to the present moment.

"Yes, i'm sure. It's not bad down there really. It's nice to have something productive to do I guess."

She replied, unsure why he was even concerned about it in the first place. Dean was never one to worry about anyone but himself it seemed.

"I'm with Jack honestly, that's why I won't go down there in the first place. Some insane lunatic says a button will explode the world? Ya, sorry. A bunch of crap if you ask me."

He rambled on, his face turning red as he became more irritated. He paused for a moment before continuing.

"They said that guy ran off, right? So he's not gonna be coming down there again? And you said he didn't hurt you, right?"

He quizzed her intently, turning his head from the crashing waves in front of them to look her in the eyes.

She sighed when the realization hit her. The reason he was so concerned about her going into the hatch, had nothing to do with the button at all, it was about Desmond. And his concern was not for her safety, but one of jealousy.

Though, she supposed she couldn't even blame him, with the way she was currently obsessing over the mystery man. She began wondering if she should just break up with Dean and rid herself of all the guilt she felt for resenting him in the first place.

"His name is Desmond. He left anyways, nobody knows to where, and no he didn't hurt me. He pointed a gun at me as a precaution because I broke into his bunker. Then Jack and Kate found us."

Elyse explained in a monotone voice while she squinted at the blinding sun that reflected off the waves.

"Sorry, I don't really care if crazy pants has a name. What does he look like anyway?"

He replied in disgust, crossing his arms over his chest before leaning down to catch Elyse's eyes.

"Why does it matter? Why do you hate someone you've never met so much?"

She asked him, feeling her stomach drop at the idea of him having ill intentions for Desmond, simply because of her brief association with him. He didn't even know the half of what she really thought about him...

"Because I don't want him coming back and hurting you. He's a psycho that was locked in a hatch for 3 years. I'm not buying his bullshit story."

He explained, agitation laced in his tone while he grabbed her face in both of his hands.

She fought the urge to cringe under his touch and silently thanked the heavens when they were interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Hey you two! Would you two like to join us?"