Meredith's been reading the same page in this novel for half an hour, turning it so violently she almost rips it out before she realizes she doesn't know what happened on the last one and has to go back. It's an impossible habit to break, worrying when he's late. There are a dozen reasons easy why they could be, almost none at all she should fret over it, and if they could be back in Seattle or somewhere else, anywhere but here, she tells herself she wouldn't. But it's the island and she can't help it, because for all he knows, the reason he's late is because he's not coming back.

She's so wound up she almost jumps out of the chair when she hears Doc barking, and the composure she's regained by the time Sean opens the door is shot when he steps inside. "What happened to you?"