Lost: 4x05 - The Constant

• The helicopter arrives at the freighter after encountering a nasty storm
• Desmond starts acting crazy; He is 'stuck' in 1996 and doesn't understand what's going on and can't recognize Sayid
• It's a side-effect of travel to/from the island after being exposed to radiation or electromagnetic energy
• Sayid calls Jack and Juliet; Faraday explains the perception of time on the island is whacked
• Faraday tells Desmond to visit Faraday at Oxford in 1996 during his next flash into the past
• Desmond and Sayid sneak into the freighter's Radio Room, which has been sabotaged
• Sayid fixes stuff so Desmond can phone Penny; Penny answers and Desmond stops going crazy
• FLASHBACK: Desmond
• Desmond kept 'flashing' ahead to the present day of 2004, while his mind was stuck in 1996
• Desmond went to Oxford during a couple days leave from the Scottish army to see Faraday
• Faraday said Desmond needed to find a constant that exists both in 1996 and 2004 in order to get back to normal; Desmond chose Penny
• Desmond visited Penny and begged her for her phone number and to answer it when he calls on Christmas Eve, 2004