"You do that." Lindsay replied.

He then made his way to the door again, and stopped.

"....your mother's not going to like this." he told her.

".....but we'll see." he went on.

"Thankfully, she's got an art show early tomorrow in France, so... we'll see." he muttered.

"You're playing a dangerous game right now." he finished.

"........" Lindsay was silent.

"Ohhh, she's gonna kill us." he mumbled.

"And she will perhaps hold a grudge against Rene for this." he muttered further.

"...but, you are an adult." he went on.

"And if this means that much to you, then so be it."

"I can respect that." Lindsay replied.

"Just don't do it needlessly." he went on.

"Remember, just because someone holds a door open for you, doesn't mean they think you're weak or helpless." he reminded her.

"That being said, I can see the conviction you have for this, so I won't stand in the way." he assured her further.

"Try to keep yourself strong for tomorrow." he went on.

"....you'll need it."

Lindsay just nodded, before leaving.

-The next morning-

Casey was, indeed, away for her show, Ash and Ashleigh were at their guild, Evan was outside roughhousing with Kitt, and Kelly was sound asleep in her room. Darrell was nowhere to be seen, though.

Sammy was getting ready to go, and was making her way to her father's home office to speak with him and tell him it was getting close to the time to leave, when she heard him speaking.

And he didn't sound happy. He sounded very worried.

"What do you mean, he's-?" he started to ask, before being cut off.

"Has he hurt himself?" he then asked.

"Will he speak to anyone?" he asked further.

"All right, if it's just me, then put him on the ph-" he continued, before being cut off again.

"...only in person, huh?" he asked, sounding more and more crestfallen.

As soon as Lindsay heard her, he looked at her.

And she saw the guilt that was washing over him.

"I..." he stammered.

"..........." he was silent, before sighing.

"I'm sorry." he apologised.

"I didn't expect this to happen." he told her.

"He was doing SO well. And then this sudden relapse?" he went on.

"It makes no sense."

Lindsay was silent again, before returning the hug.

"...you're also important to me." he told her.

"And I hate when the situation arises that I need to choose." he continued.

"But I know you, and what you'll say." he went on.

"And... yes, you're right." he admitted.

"....still." he then said further.

"I'm sorry."

Lindsay nodded.

"You do that." he told her.

They then parted ways, and she made her way downstairs... where she saw Darrell speaking with Rene. Rene then turned and looked at her.

"Ah, Samantha." he said.

"Here." he told her, holding out a syringe.

"You want to do it, or shall I?" he asked.

"Because the effects are immediate."

"5-6 hours." Rene responded.

"Which is to say, at the 5-hour mark, you're going to suddenly crash... at some point." he clarified.

"That being said, I'm not sure I can go with you to this thing." he continued.

"I have some meetings to attend." he reasoned.

"I can go." Darrell replied.

"I don't know what's going on, but Grandma taught me how to so first aid and such, and I can properly inject a syringe."

Rene just shrugged.

"All right then." he said.

He then injected her with the serum, and withdrew the needle, placing a small bandage on the spot where it had gone in.

"10 seconds, and you'll be feeling like your old self again, perhaps better." he told her.

"...5... 4... 3... 2..." he counted down, before pointing at her.

Which was when she felt ALL her pain and discomfort vanish, and felt herself filled with vigour and energy.

"...you'll be paying for this soon enough." Rene replied honestly.

"Now I must go. Later." he finished, before disappearing from where he was.

"Yeah, that wasn't ominous or anything." Darrell muttered.

"But I can still go with you if you want." he told her.

"Kitt and Evan are really having a time of it outside." he continued.

"...and might be good for both me and Kitt if I disappeared for a while." he then reasoned.