James walks with Kenji and Winston toward their favorite breakfast place, The Waffle’s Waffles, enjoying the winter weather and the neighborhood that sits above their underground headquarters. Kenji teases Winston about going out the previous night and his pessimism about people and aging, while James reflects on their living arrangements, the relocation from Nouria and Sam’s sanctuary, and how their secured mini city, nicknamed The Waffle, has grown into a fortified, self-contained campus.

The friends banter about James’s personal life and job performance, with Kenji and Winston ribbing him about being single and about the recent incident where Rosabelle stabbed a man in the dining hall. James notes he healed the victim quickly and explains he is scheduled to rejoin Rosabelle later because she is currently being disciplined with a mandated session in the Emotional Garden.

As they reach the diner entrance, Kenji abruptly goes invisible, alarmed because he thinks he has seen Nazeera on the street. When he confirms it, he panics, glitching in and out of invisibility, overwhelmed by her presence and unprepared feelings. James and Winston remind him that Nazeera visits approximately every three months, but this time she has arrived without a return flight because she plans to stay for Juliette’s childbirth.

Kip, the diner owner, checks on the commotion, and, upon learning Nazeera is present for the birth, ushers Kenji inside while the gathered patrons respond with sympathetic encouragement. Kip orders waffles with ice cream and chocolate chips for Kenji, who leans into the comfort, while Winston seeks similar consolation.

As James is about to enter, Ian Sanchez, the lead psychotherapist from the rehab facility, appears and grabs his shoulder. Ian looks angry, and James immediately worries that Rosabelle has done something else, asking, “Shit, what’d she do now?” The chapter ends on this tense note, signaling potential new complications with Rosabelle.