Just as he was about to call down to Janet to find out when they'd been delivered, a small fox leapt onto the chair in front of him. Its coppery eyes gleamed with intelligence, and after a moment's pause, it began to speak.

Jacob: "You won't get any answers out of them."
Andy: "Why not?"
Jacob: "They're nothing more than inanimate symbols really."
Andy: "Did you bring them here?"

The fox shifted and stretched in the chair, no longer animal but now fully human.

Jacob: "No. You did."
Andy: "I don't remember buying them."
Jacob: "Not everything can be bought."
Andy: "You're the new janitor."

Jacob: "You know I'm far more than that. Better not let yourself lapse into that way of thinking, it could get you killed."

Emily: "And if you get yourself killed, how can you have me?"

Andy blinked and rubbed his eyes as Emily appeared suddenly beside him.

Andy: "Angel…"
Emily: "I made a mistake in not taking you back. I hope you still want me."
Andy: "More than ever."
Emily: "Kiss me."

Andy: "This isn't right. I must be dreaming."
Emily: "It doesn't really matter, does it? Dreams are just another facet of reality after all."
Andy: "But I want you back for real, not just here in dreams. Tell me how to convince you to come back to me."
Emily: "You'll figure it out soon enough, you don't need me to tell you."

Stephanie: "Mr. Stone, you're a very difficult man to get a hold of!"
Andy: "What…?"
Stephanie: "I've been trying to meet with you for months, we really need to talk."
Andy: "Who are you?"
Stephanie: "Stephanie Winters."

Andy: "What happened to Emily? Why am I dreaming about you?"
Stephanie: "Oh for crap's sake, what is with you people? I can't believe humanity has gotten so far away from dream visions. It made things so much easier back in the days before there were all these electronic forms of communication, which clearly have only managed to make things worse if you want my opinion."
Andy: "I'm not sure I fully understand, but I have a secretary. If you hold on for just a moment, I can call down to the front desk and she can arrange for a proper meeting."

Andy reached across his desk to pick up the phone, only to find that his desk had been replaced by a large rock. A hot and arid wind blew across a vast expanse of sand and isolation while the sun burned down relentlessly on a handful of shriveled cacti and withering Joshua trees.

In the distance, he could just hear Stephanie's voice on the wind beckoning him to join her.

He didn't remember taking any steps, but suddenly found himself under a large grouping of glittering fabrics. Under his feet the barren sand had been replaced by extravagant rugs upon which sat a full tea set and ornately carved chairs. Stephanie was sitting demurely, patiently waiting for his confusion to melt away.

Stephanie: "Have a seat. This meeting will be just as good as anything your secretary could put together for us."
Andy: "It's a bit unusual, but OK. What's so important that you're visiting my unconscious?"

Stephanie: "Power, Mr. Stone."
Andy: "We're certainly in agreement there, Ms Winters."
Stephanie: "Which is why I've been trying to meet with you for so long. Your presence echoes beyond Deception Pass, you know. Further than you can begin to imagine. You have it within yourself to have far more than this, but lately you've been letting that slip."
Andy: "So you've come here to give me a pep talk?"

Stephanie: "I suppose you could say that. Everyone has a destiny, something they're meant to do in their time here on the planet. For some people, it's something small meant to set off a chain reaction of larger events. Other people's destinies are much larger and far-reaching."
Andy: "Obviously."
Stephanie: "You, Mr. Stone, are set to be a key player in some very dramatic events in human history. But you won't get there if you keep focusing on such a narrow and frivolous goal."

Andy: "Emily isn't a frivolous goal."
Stephanie: "Perhaps I phrased that badly. She herself isn't frivolous, but the way you're going about trying to win her back is completely asinine. You used to be very good at seeing the big picture; you used to know exactly what to do to win anyone over. Lately you've lost that."
Andy: "That's not true."
Stephanie: "Stop being so delusional! Think for half a second -- how many times have you tried 'talking' to her and only ended up making her run further away? You're starting to sound like a broken record. It's starting to leak over into your business affairs as well. Fairly soon everyone will be talking about your 'great downfall' instead of how fantastic you are."

Andy paused, staring down at the silver gilded edge of a tray of cookies. He knew this stranger in his dream was right. He'd tried everything he could think of to get Emily back, from changing to what he thought she wanted to calmly and carefully explaining his side of things, but none of it at worked. It occurred to him then that he'd missed out on the obvious -- the very things that had drawn her to him in the first place.

Andy: "You're right, of course. I've been going about this all wrong."
Stephanie: "You know, this would have been significantly easier if you'd bothered meeting with me before now -- a lot's happened in the past twenty-four hours that's going to make you have to work all that much harder. Now you're up against Fate, but you can probably still pull it off."
Andy: "I think my destiny is stronger than Fate."
Stephanie: "That's exactly the attitude that brought me to you in the first place, Mr. Stone. I can't tell you how thrilled I am to see it resurfacing."
Andy: "Well, Ms Winters, it seems I owe you a debt of gratitude for paying me this little visit."
Stephanie: "Believe me, the pleasure is all mine. I won't waste any more of your time, you've got loads of work ahead of you. You know what you need to do."

Andy: "Mayor Andrew Stone, indeed."