Daphne drives the group—her father Jason, Starfire, Julia, and Miles—to an inland lake where they borrow a pontoon boat from Miles's friend. As they swim, Jason recalls a fishing trip Daphne can't remember, pressing her about it and stirring her familiar guilt over not being able to give him what he wants. Miles silently checks in on her, and Daphne jumps into the cold water, feeling, like Starfire said, a sense of rebirth and the possibility of change.

At dinner at Jesse's Table, Jason orders extravagantly—appetizers, wine, champagne to toast Daphne's belated birthday and his nuptials—triggering Daphne's anxiety about the bill. Starfire shows genuine, fearless curiosity about Daphne's life. Jason recounts taking young Daphne to the library, framing it as a sweet bonding memory, but Daphne remembers it differently: wandering the stacks alone while he flirted with a librarian, the moment she first realized she would always come second to his romantic interests.

Overwhelmed, Daphne escapes toward the bathroom. Miles follows and gently helps her name her feelings: it's hard to be angry at her father when he's being nice, which makes her feel guilty for being angry at all. Daphne admits she had made peace with her father's limits and doesn't want to risk hoping again, especially without her mother or the Collinses to cushion the inevitable letdown. Miles offers to help her flee; she chooses to return.

Back at the table, Daphne discovers Jason has quietly paid the entire bill, and the staff brings out a birthday cake. His apparent pleasure at her happiness moves her to tears. Afterward, on the beach watching fireworks, Miles's hand brushes hers, and Daphne allows herself, for the first time, to imagine a lasting future in Waning Bay—with her father, Starfire, Julia, Ashleigh, and Miles.