During a storm, Dominic makes one last trip alone to the seed vault because Orly and Fen do not want to return there. Dominic is troubled by Rowan having come out of the vault alone, so Dominic goes down to see Hank in his cell. Hank asks for basic supplies as if he still has authority, and Dominic, thinking Rowan may soon demand explanations, tries to confront Hank about dragging Fen into his thinking and actions.

Hank responds with contempt, insisting Dominic is wrong to call him crazy and declaring that the world is doomed and all life is already being destroyed. Dominic recognizes the bleak worldview Rowan has described and is disturbed by the similarity between Hank and Rowan. Dominic answers that even in a dying world people still choose whether to add to destruction or care for one another, but Hank does not listen, confirming for Dominic that no real understanding is possible between them.

Back at the lighthouse, Dominic finds Rowan lying beside a sleeping Orly in the room she now uses. Cold and shaken, Dominic senses that Rowan may know Hank is imprisoned below the vault, and the approach of the rescue boat makes Dominic feel that he must finally say what he feels. Before Dominic can fully speak, Rowan says she feels terribly sick and wants to be left alone.

When Dominic tries to push past that distance, Rowan ends the relationship directly. Rowan says being with Dominic and his family was a mistake and that Rowan knew better. Dominic accuses Rowan of choosing Hank because it feels safer to stay with someone she does not love, but Rowan calls herself a coward and turns away, making clear that their connection is over. When Dominic reaches for Orly, Rowan stops Dominic and lets the boy remain beside her.

Afterward, Dominic is visited by the presence or memory of his dead wife, Claire, who voices Dominic's guilt and fear that Rowan will hate Dominic once she knows everything Dominic has done. This leads into Dominic's memory of the day Claire died in childbirth. With Claire in labor, the baby in distress, and surgery made dangerous by Claire's tumors, Dominic is forced to decide whether doctors should prioritize Claire or the baby.

Dominic's instinct is to save Claire, but Claire had made her wishes clear: she wanted the baby saved. Respecting that wish, Dominic tells the doctors to save the child while still pleading for Claire's life. Claire dies during the operation, but the baby survives. The memory reveals that Orly's birth came at the cost of Claire's life and explains how grief, love, and the burden of impossible choices continue to shape Dominic's actions in the present.