Lost and Found

20

"Yes... what's up with you? You know you've got the shift pushing that stupid button in a few hours right?"

Dean said, staring at her, dumbfounded by her intense reaction.

Elyse tried to calm her expression while reality began to sink in, she'd gone back in time.
She had to of, there was no other explanation for what was in front of her now. She started to try and piece together exactly how far back she'd gone. If they already had shifts at the hatch, she must've already met Desmond.

She stood to her feet instantly and felt a rush of adrenaline with only one thing on her mind, getting to him. She wasn't sure what she'd tell him, or if she could tell him anything at all without messing up the future... she wasn't sure how it all worked at all, she just knew it was important that she found him.

"Oh, right. Sorry, I had a crazy dream."

She replied shortly when she remembered Dean was standing right across from her, waiting for a response.

She then remembered the device that had brought her here in the first place, and noticed it wasn't in her hand anymore. She began frantically searching for it, praying it had come with her just in case she needed it to fix what she'd done.

"What are you looking for?"

Dean questioned her, growing more suspicious by her confusing actions while he approached her now. His tall, lean, frame towered over where she was bent down, looking beneath her cot. It was then that her eyes caught the sacred device, with the large red button in the middle. She quickly stood up, so that she wouldn't have to grab it in front of Dean, who would certainly be far too nosy about it for his own good.

She then looked around for a moment before her eyes landed on her small bag of personal belongings.

"Oh, found it! I just needed an elastic for my hair."

She told him, unzipping the little brown bag to sift through it and pull out a little rubber band with a light smile.

"Alright well... I'll be out trying to catch a fish again if you decide to stop acting weird."

He replied, rolling his light blue eyes and heading out of the tent at once.

Relief washed over her and she quickly grabbed the device out from under the cot, after she secured the elastic around her sticky, salty, mess of brown waves, to give herself a low pony tail.

She stuck the device, carefully, into her brown bag and threw it over her shoulder.

She then headed out of the tent to be met with a soft sunset that glistened off the waves across from her. She was a bit surprised when she found herself comforted by the view, as if she'd returned to a home of sorts.

"Hey doe eyes, what are you up to?"

Sawyer snapped her out of her daze with his devious smile and familiar country accent.

"Oh, just getting ready for my shift down in the hatch."

She replied, feeling a wave of dejavu when she noticed Kate, Charlie, and Hurley alongside him.

"You wanna join our celebration before you go?"

Charlie asked, causing Elyse to remember the exact moment she was in, when her eyes trailed over to Sawyers hand and the bottle of "dharma initiative" rum it held.

She was frozen in shock for a moment, ready to brush them off and get to Desmond as quickly as possible, until she realized Desmond wasn't in the hatch now.

He was meant to come back at the same time she got there, when the sun started to set. She fought the temptation to go early, just in case she missed him, because she wasn't sure how the time travel worked after all. She wanted to ensure she did everything the same, so that the outcome would be the same, and the universe would bring her and Desmond back together.