Just as Juliet predicted, the monsoon season does roll in about one week later. Other than coming home some days completely soaked, nothing about their life changes until a few weeks later. He's out in the North Valley with Jin, and they get caught up in a mudslide that separates them. James is far from the jeep, disoriented, and Jin quickly realizes that with darkness setting in, he has no hope of finding his friend right now. Managing to get the jeep unstuck, he drives back to the barracks, and by now it's nearly midnight and he almost can't bear to look Juliet in the eyes when he tells her he had to leave Jim behind. His plan was to go back with more help at daybreak, trying to assure her that he won't give up on him.

James, meanwhile, is damn determined to get back to his girl. He promised her that he would always come home safe, and he will. Other than a few scrapes here and there, he's relatively unscathed, he just has no supplies whatsoever and he's trying to navigate in the dark. But he knows the island well by now, he hopes, and he gains some ground until it's just too unsafe to keep moving without being able to see, so he hunkers down for the night in a small cave.

Once dawn hits, he's on the move again, taking advantage of the calm morning air until the rain rolls in again in early afternoon. It doesn't let up at all, but he won't stop walking. He doesn't realize it, of course, but it was smart that he got far away from the valley while he could, because by the time Jin goes back with a large group, the area is completely flooded, both with water and debris. He would have drowned, or worse.

He keeps walking and walking through the day, only stopping if the ground seems too unstable. And then finally, around three in the morning the following day, he comes stumbling into their house, sloshing water everywhere.

"Juliet," he calls out hoarsely.