Episode 7 (Serena Season 2)

Clyde calls a break on the ship-building for the day,

and we all make sure Logan gets a good lunch in him before splitting up.

Serena's dark mood hangs over her head like a cloud all the way through dinner.

(It's been hours.)

(I should probably break the silence.)

MC: "Do you want to talk about it?"

Serena: "This isn't how things work, . You can't--"

Serena: "There are plenty of happy accidents in medicine."

Serena: "Discoveries that happen overnight when the pieces finally come together."

Serena: "But nothing like this. Not an instant cure."

Serena: "Not something that works as well on dehydration as it does a broken arm."

Serena: "That's nonsense."

She's been pacing for ten minutes at the end of the bed,

and I'm wondering how long it's going to take for her to start wearing through the floorboards.

Even an invitation for cuddling and tea in bed hadn't put a dent in Serena's frustration.

MC: "But it helped Logan. Isn't that the important part?"

Serena: "We have no idea what the side effects could be."

Serena: "Why risk that when a broken arm will heal with a splint and time?"

Serena: "A doctor who doesn't care about long-term consequences doesn't care about her patients."

MC: "At least she's going to be gone for a few days?"

That gets a 'hmph' out of Serena before she turns and climbs onto the bed,

grasping at my knees as she kneels between them.

I jump when she raps her knuckles against one of my legs, enough to make me jerk even if it doesn't hurt.

Serena: "Did you feel that?"

MC: "Yeah, of course."

Serena: "Even if I used an anesthetic, it would take time before the feeling faded."

Serena: "It's not instant."

Serena: "But taking away pain doesn't necessarily fix the problem."

Serena: "You need more than that."

Serena: "Half of what I do... is patience."

Serena's fingers trace up that same thigh,

so slow that my breath hitches in my throat by the time she's reached the band of my skirt,

caressnig back down with the same deliberate pace.

Her eyes snap up to mine, dark with frustration, and I smile.

MC: "Come here."

She doesn't hesitate, mouth finding mine for a deep kiss.

I welcome the hunger behind it, her hands splaying across my legs, fabric bunching up with a firm tug.

MC: "Tell me what you want."

Serena: "Just you."

Serena: "All of you."

My blouse isn't even off all the way before Serena's hands are on me,

laying open-mouthed kisses along bare skin.

I pull at the straps of her dress until they slip down her shoulders, dragging Serena closer,

her body against mine.

MC: "You know, if you're a little rougher, I'm not going to hold it against you."

Serena: "Is that permission or a request?"

MC: "Wreck me, babe."

Serena's laugh has a warm, seductive edge before she pins me back to the headboard with a deep kiss,

stifling the cry that leaves my throat as her hand presses right between my legs.

Serena: "Gladly."

Serena: "Then I'll put you back together again, darling."

MC: "Promises, promises."

(But I'm only teasing.)

(Serena's always there to take care of me.)

Afterglow sends me off to sleep with pleasant dreams,

but my idle fantasy of Serena and I tanning under the sun with a tray full of mojitos,

is broken up by a loud creak.

I fumble in the dark, kicking off the sheets, only to see a shadowy figure by the bed.

Panic spikes in my chest until my vision clears and I see it's only Serena,

her back to me as she pulls her clothes on.

There's no light coming from the window, not even a hint from the sun, so I can't imagine how late it is.

MC: "Serena?"

Serena: "..."

MC: "What are you doing?"

Serena: "I couldn't sleep."

Serena: "There's just a lot on my mind."

MC: "You mean, you're still thinking about Olivia."

MC: "A girl could get jealous with you talking about her all the time, you know."

Her jaw drops with abject surprise, and I realize a second later my joke might have struck a nerve.

(Whoops.)

A. Tell her she has no reason to be jealous.

B. Brush off her concerns.

---

B. Brush off her concerns.

MC: "I was kidding."

Serena: "It's fine."

---

Serena sighs and composes herself again as she buttons her shirt.

(Serena's really taking this seriously.)

(Isn't the important thing that everyone's healthy?)

(Isn't she blowing this out of proportion?)

Serena: "I just..."

Serena: "There's only one way to prove what I want to prove."

MC: "And how's that?"

Serena: "I need to get a closer look at those plants."

Serena: "To test them, to figure out what they actually do."

MC: "A closer look? But Olivia is the one with the plants."

MC: "Were you going to sneak into her house?"

Serena: "..I was considering it."

A. "That's a bad idea."

B. "I'm not sure what you'll find."

C. "You're a spy too?"

---

B. "I'm not sure what you'll find."

MC: "I'm not sure what you're going to find."

MC: "Her house is covered in plants, and that is if we even manage to get inside."

---

Serena sighs, smoothing out the wrinkles in her dress.

Serena: "I can't just keep standing aside and watching."

Serena: "It's not ethical."

Serena: "Until I'm sure those plants don't have any adverse side effects,"

Serena: "I don't want Olivia using them on our friends or the villagers."

(Especially if it's something Olivia and Serena don't have a cure for.)

(We nearly lost everyon because of contaminated water.)

(I don't want a broken arm taking Logan from us.)

MC: "We can't talk to her first?"

Serena: "I tried that, ."

Serena: "She's sure there's nothing to be worried about."

Serena: "So I'll have to prove it on my own."

(I know Olivia has good intentions, but I understand why Serena's worried.)

(The plants are weird.)

(Weird in a helpful way, but knowing more about the couldn't hurt, right?)

MC: "You don't have to do it on your own."

MC: "If you think I'm just going to sit here while you go hunting around in the dark,"

MC: "you don't know me very well, Serena."

Serena: "...I didn't want to ask."

Serena: "I know that you like her."

MC: "I do, but I love you."

MC: "And if you think something's wrong, then I'm going to help you figure that out, okay?"

Serena: "Okay."

Serena: "I love you too."

Serena: "You might want to get some clothes on first, though."

MC: "Hey, if I'm naked, it'll be an amazing distraction."

She huffs, tossing my bra at me, and I catch it with a grin.

There's a breeze blowing when we slip outside and I shiver,

the chill rolling off the ocean and leaving the air heavy with salt.

Serena slips an arm around me and I welcome the heat, pressing close to her side.

Serena: "Be careful when we're going across the bridges."

Serena: "There's enough dew out here to make them slippery."

It's a long, slow trek to the end of the line of treehouses,

especially when Serena and I have to break apart to carefully climb down the ladder.

Cool grass brushes against my ankles as we pass through windmills,

keeping an eye out for Olivia's place.

More treehouses come into view, and thankfully all the plants outside make it easy to spot even in the dark,

although I can't stop my heart from thundering in my chest

when Serena goes rigt up to the window,

peering inside past the vines.

MC: "Hey, be careful."

Serena: "She said she was leaving for a few days, ."

Serena: "And there's no movement inside."

Serena: "Try the door."

I carefully open the door, finding no resistance from a lock,

and Serena slips in behind me as soon as I step across the threshold.

MC: "Oh, wow."

Plants cover every single surface inside the house,

some glowing bright and others in colors I've never seen before,

but they've been left to bloom wildly,

some spilling all the way down to the floor.

MC: "She's got all these and she ran out of plants?"

Serena: "How she stands to live in here is the question."

Serena: "It's like a hothouse."

(Serena's right.)

(It's kind of claustophobic with everything sticking out from the walls.)

MC: "Where are we supposed to start?"

Serena: "I'll examine them one by one, I suppose."

Serena: "I just need to find if anything matches what she used on Logan."

Serena: "Please be careful."

Serena: "I'm not sure what contact with any of these will do."

Serena tugs open a drawer and pulls out a rag from within,

wrapping her hand in it as she brushes some branches aside,

stepping with care over a thick vine that stretches out across the floor.

All I can do is stare, wondering how long it took to grow all this.

A. "What do the rest of these do?"

B. "None of the plants look normal."

C. "Guess she's got a real green thumb."

---

B. "None of the plants look normal."

MC: "This is super creepy."

MC: "None of these plants look normal."

MC: "It seems like this island is never going to run out of weird surprises."

<p style="text-align:center;">---

Serena: "Hmm."

MC: "What?"

Serena: "Come follow me into the next room."

Serena: "I thought I heard something."

I match her steps perfectly, not wanting to step on any of the plants,

but as we go deeper into the house, a low snarl rumbles through the air.

Biting my lip to keep quiet, I trace the sound to a box covered with a sheet,

but the noise gets louder as I approach.

(That sounds... familiar?)

MC: "Does Olivia have a pet?"

Serena: "Considering everything else living in here, maybe."

Inching my hand towards the sheet, I take a deep breath, ready to pull it back in one yank.

The second I take hold of it, the front door opens, slamming hard against the wall.

Olivia: "Hey! Whos' in here!?"

(Oh, fuck.)