(2004 - Helicopter)
Desmond is on the helicopter with Sayid and Frank, looking at a picture of Penny. Frank is flying the route that Daniel gave him, and Sayid becomes worried when it leads them straight into a thunderhead. They experience some turbulence. The turbulence becomes progressively worse and Frank struggles to remain on the correct bearing. The helicopter begins to drift from the 305 heading and Desmond begins experiencing flashes.
(1996 - Royal Scots Regiment)
Desmond wakes up in a Royal Scottish Regiment military barrack at Camp Millar (north of Glasgow, Scotland) as the morning drill begins. His Sergeant-Major starts to shout at him because he did not respond promptly to the wake up call. He demands an explanation and Desmond explains he was having a very vivid dream about being "in a helicopter, Sir,...and there was a storm, Sir, and...I...don't remember the rest, Sir." The Sergeant-Major comments that it was at least a military dream but still mocks Desmond. As punishment for Desmond's lack of concentration the Sergeant-Major orders the entire platoon to get ready for the morning routine in double time, 4 minutes instead of the normal 8 minutes.
(2004 - Helicopter/Freighter)
Desmond wakes up in present time after his flash and is noticeably disoriented. He struggles with his seatbelt and is panicking, appearing as if he wants to jump out of the helicopter. Sayid tries to calm him down, asking him if everything is okay. Desmond, puzzled and afraid, ask Sayid's name, not recognizing him. Desmond then pulls out of his pocket the picture of him and Penny, which appears to relax him. The thunderstorm soon clears and the helicopter lands on the freighter. Keamy and Omar come running toward Frank, asking who Desmond and Sayid are and why he brought them with him. Frank explains that they are survivors from Flight 815 to which Keamy replies that he shouldn't have brought them on board. Desmond is distressed and starts yelling that he doesn't know Sayid and Frank. Sayid attempts to calm him down but to no avail. Keamy says he will take Desmond down to the sick bay to let their doctor take a look at him and then Sayid can see him again. Sayid grudgingly agrees. As they go to escort Desmond, Keamy tells him that he is from Las Vegas whilst Omar is from Florida. They last ported Fiji so at least they know they are still in the Pacific. After this, Desmond has another flash.
(1996 - Royal Scots Regiment)
Desmond is in the rain, standing while all the others in his platoon do crunches. His Sergeant-Major ridicules him and makes the entire platoon run as a punishment for Desmond's erratic behavior. Afterward, Desmond speaks to one of his friends in the platoon, and tells him about the "dreams" he has been experiencing. His friend appears to be in disbelief but asks if there was anyone he knew in the "dream." Desmond then remembers that in the helicopter he was holding onto a photo of Penny. He ventures to a nearby phone booth to call her. However, just as he is about to go in, another person from his platoon comes out, bumping into him, sarcastically thanking him for the extra work the Sergeant-Major made them do on the account of Desmond's disobedience. As Desmond reaches down to pick up the dropped coins, his consciousness returns to the freighter.
(2004 - Freighter)
Keamy and Omar bring Desmond down to the sick bay and lock him in. Desmond panics and starts pounding on the door and screams to be let out. He hears a voice behind him saying "You have it, too." Turning, he sees a man lying on a bed, strapped to it. The man asks him if "it is happening" to Desmond as well.
Back on the beach, Jack and Juliet are worrying about the helicopter, as they haven't heard from Desmond or Sayid for a day now. Juliet notices that Charlotte and Daniel are not so worried, even though the freighter is only 40 miles away - 20 minutes of flying - and questions them about it. Against Charlotte's advice, Daniel admits that the perception of time on the Island might be different than the time experienced off the Island. He says that as long Frank uses the bearings that were given to him, the people on the helicopter should be fine. If not, there could be "side-effects". Meanwhile, on the upper deck, Sayid is surveying the freighter. He notices a closed-circuit camera on the railing beside him. Looking up on a higher deck, he sees Keamy and Frank arguing. As Frank comes down the stairs to meet with Sayid, Sayid asks him why they left at dusk but arrived midday. Frank indicates that he doesn't know. Sayid then asks for the phone, which Frank will only give him if Sayid gives him the gun. Sayid gives Frank the gun and calls Jack. He tells him that Desmond doesn't seem to remember anything; Jack puts the phone on speaker. Daniel asks if Desmond has been subjected to an intense dose of radiation or electromagnetic energy. He then says that by coming out of the Island, some people "might get a little confused", but it is not amnesia.
In the medical room, after Minkowski falls asleep, a doctor, Ray, enters. Minkowski wakes up and tells Ray that "this" will happen to everyone else once they go back to the Island. The doctor injects Minkowski with a sedative. The doctor then examines Desmond's eyes with a light, so he can "help him". In the middle of a phrase, Desmond has another flash.
(1996 - Royal Scots Regiment)
After picking up the coins on the ground, Desmond enters the phone booth to call Penny. Troubled by his call, Penny tells him that he shouldn't be calling her as he broke off with her and then joined the army. She adds that she has moved, and hangs up after telling him to not call her anymore. When Desmond tries to respond, the flash stops.
(2004 - Freighter)
Sayid comes down with Frank to the medic bay to bring the satellite phone to Desmond, but Ray pushes the alarm button. Sayid quickly gives the phone to Desmond, as on the other end is Daniel, who urgently needs to speak with him. Daniel then asks Desmond "what year" he thinks he is in. Desmond answers that it is 1996 (8 years ago). Daniel then asks him where he is "supposed to be". When Desmond tells Daniel that he is supposed to be on the base, Daniel tells him to catch a train to Oxford to meet with his past self and gives Desmond some mechanical settings to relay, along with an extra phrase that Daniel assures him will convince him that the story is legitimate. Upon Omar and Keamy entering the bay to stop the call, Desmond has another flash.
(1996 - Oxford University)
Desmond visits Daniel at Oxford. The 1996 Faraday chastises some students and rants to himself, when Desmond approaches and tells him that he has been to the future where Dan told him to find him in the past. Daniel is suspicious, feeling that his colleagues are playing a prank on him. Desmond recites the settings Daniel gave him: 2.342 and 11 Hz. Faraday's interest is piqued, but not sufficiently. Desmond then uses the final piece of information Daniel had given him on the phone: "I know about Eloise."
Desmond goes with Dan to a secret room, where Daniel does what "Oxford frowns upon". Daniel then asks Desmond if his future-self remembers this particular meeting between the two men, to which Desmond responds negatively. Desmond adds that "maybe you just forgot" to which Daniel laughs at the comment. Daniel adds that you cannot change the future as he puts on an anti-radiation vest. Desmond asks why he doesn't get one, but Daniel says that it is only used for prolonged exposure (as he does this kind of thing 20 times a day). Desmond asks why Daniel doesn't put something on his head, but Dan again laughs at the comment. Daniel pulls out a rat from a cage, named Eloise, and puts it in a maze. After calibrating a machine according to Desmond's instructions, Daniel turns it on to "unstick Eloise in time". The machine emits a bright purple ray on the rat and then stops. Quickly, Daniel takes off his anti-radiation vest and looks at the rat without doing anything yet, as "she is not back yet". When she is, Daniel removes the little door at the beginning of the maze to let the rat walk in it and find the exit. Without any hesitation, the rat quickly finds the exit. Daniel is extremely happy but Desmond doesn't understand why this is incredible. Dan answers that he built the maze the morning before, and he is not going to teach the rat how to run it until an hour later: he has sent her consciousness, her mind, in the future. Desmond then confronts Daniel as to why he sent him here if not to help him. He then adds that Daniel in the future is on an Island, to which Daniel replies: "Why would I go to an Island?"
(2004 - Freighter)
Back in the bay, Keamy takes the phone back from Desmond. He and Omar then bring Frank outside the room, as the captain wants to talk to him. Sayid adds that he too wants to talk to the captain, to which Keamy answers sarcastically: "I'll be sure to let him know. In the meantime have a seat." Desmond tries to "get back" using the doctor's flahslight but doesn't succeed. After Sayid calls Desmond by name, Minkowski suddenly reacts, freshly woken up. He tells them that he is George Minkowski, the communication officer. Before they strapped him down to a bed, all the calls to and from the boat went through him in the radio room. Every so often, a flashing light went on his console, an incoming call. They were under strict orders never to answer these calls, which were from Desmond's girlfriend: Penelope Widmore.
(1996 - Oxford University)
Back from the "future", Desmond wakes up in Daniel's Oxford room. Desmond replies to Daniel that he was in the "future" for about 5 minutes. Daniel seems somewhat astonished that Desmond was "gone" for nearly 75 minutes and tells him that the more time he goes back and forth, the more it gets harder and harder as in his case the progression is exponential. Desmond then notices that the rat is dead, from a brain aneurysm. Desmond confronts Daniel about it, but Dan says that he doesn't know if Desmond is going to also die. Eloise's brain short-circuited, she couldn't tell the difference between the past, the present and the future as she didn't have any thing to attach herself to: she did not have a constant. Daniel tells him about the need for Desmond to have a constant, something that is present in both times and that he sincerely cares about and can recognize. Desmond grabs the phone and calls his constant, Penny, but the number has been disconnected.
(2004 - Freighter)
When Desmond's consciousness returns to 2004, he knows he has to contact Penny. He tells that to Sayid, but Minkowski interrupts their conversation and says that two days earlier, someone sabotaged all the equipment. All communications with the mainland has been lost. Minkowski could have fixed it but he's "unstable." Sayid then asks where is the radio room and frees Minkowski so he can show them the way. Sayid also asks how they are going to get out of the room, but Minkowski notices that the door is open: they seem to have "a friend on this boat", as Minkowski says. Desmond notices that George has started to bleed from his nose. They prepare to leave.
(1996 - Auction)
Charles Widmore is bidder #755 at a Southfield's auction for lot #2342, the journal of the Black Rock's first mate. The contents have not been published and are unknown to anyone outside the family of the seller, Tovard Hanso. Charles wins the auction for £380,000. Meanwhile, Desmond has arrived at the auction and is trying to get past the guard to talk to Widmore. After the auction ends, Widmore walks out and agrees to talk to Desmond quickly. At the men's bathroom, Desmond tells him that he needs to get in touch with Penny immediately. He doesn't know how to reach her as her number has been disconnected. After Widmore talks about Desmond's cowardice and his "second thoughts", he ultimately gives him her address so that she can tell him herself that she hates him, then, after Mr. Widmore leaves the bathroom, he leaves open the sink. Just as Desmond is about turn off the sink, the flash ends.
(2004 - Freighter)
On the boat, Sayid, Minkowski, and Desmond are going to the sabotaged radio room. Minkowski says that "it" is happening faster and is getting harder. Desmond then asks George how it happened to him. Minkowski tells him that they were bored out of their minds, waiting for their orders, anchored "here", so him and Brandon, another crew member, decided to take the ship's tender to see the Island. But Brandon started acting erratic so they turned around. Soon after, Brandon died and Minkowski grew unstable. Sayid looks at the destroyed equipment and asks Minkowski who is responsible for the damage. George doesn't seem to know and adds that he feels sorry for the person when the captain finds out. He then suddenly phases out again. Sayid uses his military training expertise to repair the phone. Desmond notices a calendar that says the year is 2004. Sayid sees it also and notes that it's almost Christmas. As Desmond realizes the date he starts to bleed from his nose, and suddenly Minkowski has a fit and bleeds from his face. Minkowski's final 'trip' cost him his life, as he returned to 2004 he died, his last words being I can't get back.
(1996 - Penny's flat)
Desmond awakens in the same bathroom as before, the sink overflowing with water. After refreshing his face, he goes to see Penny. She opens the door to a distraught Desmond in 1996. Despite clear signs that Penny wants to have a "clean break" from Desmond, the latter insists, pleading for her phone number. After entering the flat, he tells her that he needs her phone number so he can call her in 8 years (December 24th, 2004). Ultimately, after a bit of reassuring, Penny gives Desmond her number: 7946 0893.
(2004 - Freighter)
Desmond comes back from another time skip and tells Sayid the London phone number. Sayid repairs the phone, dials it, and then gives it to Desmond. Desmond then engages in a heartwarming phone call with Penny, preparing Christmas; she has been looking for him for three years, also confirming to Desmond of her conversation with the late Charlie. Penelope is wearing a ring on the ring finger of her right hand. She knows about the Island, she has researched it and is trying desperately to find him. After they exchange their love for each other, the battery dies out. A happy Desmond then thanks Sayid, seemingly having remembered everything. He is now "perfect".
On the beach, Daniel begins flipping through his journal until he comes to a page that reads: "If anything goes wrong, Desmond Hume will be my constant."
[Edit]
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