Gwen wakes up to the smell of pancakes and bacon. She pushes herself up into sitting and stretches her arms above her head with a yawn, faintly hearing the radio. She sighs and throws the covers off her legs, standing and stretching again. She finds her glasses on the nightstand and puts them on, walking to the kitchen, finding Harvey standing at the stove, flipping pancakes. She leans against the doorway, her arms crossed over her chest as she watches his back.

“I can feel you staring,” Harvey speaks up, focusing on his task. Gwen scoffs and pushes away from the doorway, moving to stand behind him. She slides her arms around his waist and hugs him tightly, hiding her face in his back.

“Good morning, Lynn. Sleep well?” Harvey asks and Gwen nods, breathing him in. He smells like body wash and faintly of aftershave.

“You?” She asks and he doesn’t answer right away.

“No… Not as well as I’d hoped for.” He says and Gwen kisses his shoulder through his shirt.

“The kid?” She asks and he hums in answer, his shoulders slumping.

“Yeah. I just can’t get his face out of my head.” Gwen bites her lip, unsure what to say.

“I…” She begins and Harvey shakes his head.

“Go get ready for work, Gwen. I’ll pack your lunch.” Gwen nods and squeezes his waist before letting go, moving to the bathroom. She fiddles with the shower controls, turning the water on. A phone rings and Harvey answers.

“Hello?” She hears, undressing and stepping into the shower.

“She just got in the shower, mom. I’m not gonna ask her right this minute.” Harvey says. Gwen picks up the bottle of shampoo and squeezes some into her hand, massaging it into her hair, her eyes shut tight.

“No, she’s working today.” Harvey pauses.

“You said next week!” He exclaims and Gwen rinses the shampoo from her hair, reaching for the soap.

“No, it’s not that I’m not happy to get to see you guys, it’s just that the guest room isn’t clean and I work half the day.” Gwen shuts the shower off after rinsing the soap from her skin, stepping out of the shower, grabbing a towel to dry herself.

“Why are you coming up so early?” Harvey asks and Gwen dresses, toweling her hair dry. She leaves the bathroom, finding Harvey standing by the counter, writing something on a sticky note. He glances up and spots her, hiding the sticky note under his hand, giving her a smile. She smiles back and goes back into the bedroom, dressing in jeans, a tee shirt, and one of Harvey’s sweaters. She grabs her bag and moves into the kitchen, setting the bag on the table. Harvey slides a plate of pancakes to her and she nods her thanks, taking the top one from the stack and biting into it. She finds her shoes and slides them on, taking another bite of pancake.

“Alright. No, that’s fine, mom. Don’t worry about it. Yeah. I’ll talk to you then. Bye. Love you too. Tell both of them I love them.” Harvey says into the phone before hanging up with a soft sigh. He turns, seeing Gwen thumbing through folders, cheeks stuffed with a pancake. He snorts, drawing her attention. She swallows and clasps her bag shut, shouldering the strap. Harvey’s face falls and she frowns, moving around the table to him.

“Sorry I can’t stay for breakfast, love.” She says, her voice soft and Harvey shrugs.

“It’s ok. Here.” He says, passing her lunch. She takes it from him and kisses his cheek.

“Thanks. I’ll see you later. I assume your parents will be here by the time I get home?” She asks and Harvey hums.

“Yeah. I’ll clean the guest room. Don’t worry about that.” Gwen nods and kisses his cheek again.

“Alright. I’m off. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Stay safe. I love you.” She whispers and he smiles, kissing her lips gently.

“Love you too. Drive safe.” Gwen hums and grabs her keys from the table before leaving, shutting the door behind her. Before she reaches her car, she spins on her heel and heads back inside, Harvey glancing up as the door swings open.

“Back so soon?” He asks, smiling. She hums and walks over, wrapping him in a hug, her face in his shoulder.

“Everything ok?” Harvey asks, hugging her back. She hums, breathing him in again.

“Yeah. Just thought you should know that I love you a lot.” She murmurs and Harvey chuckles.

“I love you too, Gwen. I’ll see you when you get home.” Gwen hums and gently pushes away from his chest.

“See you later, love.” She says and he hums.

“Go on. You’ll be late.” Harvey says, pressing a kiss to her forehead before ushering her out the door.

“Drive safe.” He says from the doorway and she nods, slipping into her car.

---

The machine whines loudly, Joseph pressing his hands over his ears, a grimace on his face. Melanie bites her lip, arms crossed over her chest as she waits by the machine, the sound seemingly having no effect on her. Gwen stands by the door, hands laced together on top of her head as she leans against the door frame, her eyes shut against the noise. There’s a loud clunk from the machine and a faint buzzing sound. Melanie lets out a gasp and Gwen opens her eyes, glancing over.

“What the fuck is that?” Joseph asks, now standing behind Melanie, peering over her shoulder at the machine. Gwen sighs and cracks her knuckles before walking over.

“Something fucked up,” Joseph mutters, stepping slightly to the side to let Gwen see. Something resembling a bee twitches on the table, buzzing incessantly. Its body is bloated and its wings are misshapen, one wing fused directly onto its back. Melanie presses her hands to her mouth.

“That’s so fucked up.” Joseph says, watching the ‘bee’ twitch and wiggle on the tabletop. Gwen sighs, grimacing at the sight.

“This is wrong. We shouldn’t be doing this.” Melanie mutters, turning her back to the table.

“This is sick. It’s unethical. Why would Reginald want us to do something so horrible?” She asks, dragging a hand down her face.

“I don’t think anyone actually knows what goes on in that man’s head,” Joseph says, walking slightly away from them. He returns with a fly swatter held tightly in his grip, a grim look on his face.

“Rest in peace, lil’ guy.” He says and Melanie slaps her hands over her ears before Joseph brings the fly swatter down with a sharp smack. Gwen grimaces, seeing the mess on the table top. Joseph glances at the two of them, still gripping the fly swatter.

“Break for lunch?” He asks and Melanie groans.

“I don’t think I can eat after that, but, yeah, a break would be nice.” Gwen nods in agreement and leads the way to the break room, taking a seat on one of the couches. Melanie flops onto the other couch, leaving Joseph to lean against the counter, still holding the fly swatter.

“You gonna put that away?” Gwen asks, nodding at the fly swatter. Joseph glances down at it and relaxes his grip, the fly swatter clattering to the floor.

“I think I’m gonna be sick.” He mutters, his voice strained. Melanie shifts on the couch, nudging the trash can in Joseph’s direction with her foot. The door creaks open and Alison appears in the doorway, her mouth open to speak. Upon seeing the grim faces, her mouth closes and she frowns, glancing around.

“What’s… What’s going on?” She asks and Melanie groans in answer, pressing her face into the couch cushions. Alison crosses her arms, frowning.

“Tell me what’s wrong, guys.” She says and Melanie doesn’t speak, Alison glancing toward Joseph and Gwen. Joseph is pale, staring down at the flyswatter near his shoes.

“Guys?” She asks again and Melanie lets out another groan, pushing her face deeper into the couch cushions. Joseph hugs himself, hunching slightly. Gwen’s eyes shift over to the three of them, not saying anything to answer Alison’s questions.

“Oh god.” Joseph murmurs, lunging for the trash can. The sound of him puking echoes around the room and Alison grimaces. Melanie lifts her head, her eyebrows furrowing. She rests her head against the cushions, looking over at Gwen.

“Can we take the rest of the day?” Melanie asks and Gwen meets her eyes, pushing her glasses up.

“It’s fine with me.” Gwen answers and Melanie sits up, dragging a hand down her face. She stands and Alison slips her hand into hers.

“Will you tell me what happened?” She asks and Melanie shrugs.

“Maybe later.” She responds, letting Alison lead her from the room. Joseph lifts his head and groans, looking even paler than before. Gwen looks at him and stands.

“I’ll drive you home.” She says and Joseph shakes his head.

“No. I’m ok. I can drive.” Gwen frowns and watches him stand, his legs trembling. He wipes his lips on his sleeve and walks out of the room, clutching the trash can. Gwen follows.

“You’re buying a new trash can.” She says and he grunts in response, somehow staying upright on the way to his truck. Gwen watches him get into his truck and waits for him to pull out of the parking lot before following him out, pulling her phone from her pocket as it rings.

“Hello?” She answers and laughter meets her ears. It’s Harvey’s laugh, she can tell. She smiles at the sound, flipping on her blinker, watching Joseph’s truck disappear over a hill.

“Harv?” She asks and he hums softly into the phone.

“What’s up?” She asks and he laughs again. Gwen furrows her eyebrows, slightly confused.

“Harvey?” She asks again and he hums again.

“You know you called me, right?”

“I know.” He says and she frowns.

“Why weren’t you saying anything then?”

“I just wanted to hear your voice.” Gwen sighs, eyes focused on the road.

“You…” She shakes her head, laughing softly.

“I’m on my way home.” She says.

“Yeah? Thought you worked late today.” Harvey murmurs and Gwen bites her lip.

“Stuff happened at work and we all took the rest of the day off.” Harvey hums softly and Gwen can picture his eyebrows knitting together as he frowns.

“What kind of ‘stuff’?” He asks.

“Just… You know, stuff. I’ll tell you later, promise.”

“Alright. My parents should be there soon. I’m still at the shop. Will you be there to let them in?”

“Doesn’t Vince have a key?” Gwen asks.

“Not anymore. He lost it.” Gwen laughs.

“Of course he did.” Harvey hums, sounding tired.

“Don’t work too hard, you.” She says and he scoffs.

“I’m working at a flower shop, Lynn. Not exactly tiring work.”

“I know, but still. I know you didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“I… You think my parents would let me take a nap before dinner?” Gwen smiles.

“I’m sure they will, Harv. They spoil you. Must be nice having three parents.” Harvey chuckles.

“I guess. You know they’re your parents too. Well, almost.” Gwen hums.

“I know. I should be home soon, so yeah, I’ll be able to let them in.”

“Sweet. I have to go. I’ll see you soon. I love you.”

“I love you too. Bye.” Gwen hung up and set her phone in the cupholder, turning on the radio to hear the news.

“And now, your news highlights with Christina Kelly.”