Polly admits that the “Dilaudid” she offered Tegan was actually Benadryl meant to help her sleep, banking on placebo for pain relief. When Tegan refuses the pills, Polly decides it is better for the fetus and rationalizes her deception while maintaining control over Tegan’s care.

Polly returns to bed where Hank has taken a cold, flashlight-lit shower. She initiates sex—rare since their intimacy waned after infertility struggles and an unnamed Incident—seeking warmth and connection amid the storm and tension downstairs.

During and after their encounter, Polly recalls their path: failed IVF that drained savings, a collapsed adoption when the birth mother changed her mind, and an overnight shift in the newborn nursery that triggered the Incident. She lost her nursing job, narrowly avoided legal consequences, was hospitalized psychiatrically, and the couple withdrew from adoption and foster lists.

Polly reflects on caring for her ill mother and the emptiness since her death, contrasted with Hank’s steadfast reassurance that a childless life together could be enough. The renewed intimacy feels “really good,” but Hank’s relief that it is “just the two of us” clashes with Polly’s unresolved longing.

Closing the night, Polly privately vows that they will have a child very soon, thinking of the hidden teddy bear she saved. Her decision signals an imminent, secret plan, intensifying the danger surrounding Tegan and her unborn baby.