By the time Mark gets back into the Shannons' apartment, Maddy is awake and sitting up on the couch. "The last thing I remember is coming home and seeing Kara," she tells her mother.

Elisabeth sits next to Maddy, listening to her breathing with a stethoscope. "Alright," she says sitting back. "There is a slight murmur in your breaths but not nearly as bad as its been in the past. We'll keep up with the antibiotics to knock out any bacteria that have inhabited your lungs, and you should be perfectly fine by the time we leave for Terra Nova. Get some rest, sweetie."

"Thanks mom." Maddy leans back on the couch, smiling when she looks up and notices Mark.

"How are you feeling?" Mark asks as he walks over.

Maddy rolls her eyes, "Been better, but I've also been worse, so. I guess this is karma for staying home earlier in the week with the excuse of the whole chest thing."

Mark nods and Reilly joins the conversation. "Maddy," she starts slowly, "how did your rebreather get cracked like that?"

"It was cracked?" she acts surprised.

"The air-tight seal was shattered," Reilly says. "You had to have known that it wasn't filtering air." Maddy grows pale, then shrugs. Mark recalls how hesitant she was to leave the school building; she knew.

"I dropped it earlier in the morning," Maddy says. "I guess I just wasn't paying attention on the way home. It's been a long day."

Elisabeth looks over at the guards curiously, "Are you implying that this wasn't an accident?" she asks.

Reilly answers, "We are just trying to get all of the facts straight, ma'am."

With a nod, Elisabeth goes back to preparing dinner. The issue is dropped until the evening. "Maddy," Elisabeth says. "Maybe you should just stay home until we leave for Terra Nova."

"No way!" Maddy says. "I love school. And I'm not scared. I will look like a wimp if I don't go back."

Elisabeth frowns, looking at Maddy suspiciously. "Why would anyone at school know that you broke your rebreather and that caused you to relapse?" she asked. "I thought you said you dropped it on accident."

"I did!" Maddy says. "I just meant that I look like a wimp in general, missing so much time."

After Kara leaves, Maddy and Josh do homework and Elisabeth does some paperwork for the hospital. Then Josh disappears into the loft and starts strumming on his guitar. Mark is the guard on inside duty tonight so he starts making a bed on the couch.

Maddy sits on the bed in the back room with Elisabeth, who paints her nails. "I love this color," Maddy gushes over the dark purple.

"I'm glad," Elisabeth beams. "… there," she finishes her work.

"Having a doctor paint my nail is really great," Maddy says as she inspects one of her hands. "You obviously have a steady hand for surgery, and it makes all the difference. If I had tried to do this myself, there would have been lines every which way." Elisabeth laughs.

Looking over at them, Mark can't help notice how easily the two could pass as sisters. Aside from the fact that they obviously look alike, they are both wearing thin t-shirts and sleep shorts with their dark hair in ponytails. Maddy is sitting with her legs crisscross applesauce and Elisabeth is on her knees as the pair gush over the nail polish. Mark notes that Maddy rarely seems as content and happy as she is now, actually having a moment alone with her mother.

"Now," Elisabeth says with a smile, "I will go make us cups of tea, and you can wait here while the nails dry." Maddy waves her fingers and gives a flirtatious smile, making her mom laugh, but then she gets into a coughing fit. Maddy grimaces and Elisabeth's face falls when her daughter shows her the blood in her hand.

Going into the bathroom, Elisabeth returns with a medium sized, square machine. Maddy groans. "Don't argue," Elisabeth says. "It's for you own good." Elisabeth hooks up a clear hose to one end and gives Maddy the other. "You know the drill," she says, "fifteen minutes."

"Mom," Maddy complains, "the medicine in here takes terrible." Elisabeth flips a switch and loud motor sounds. A vapor makes it way up the hose. Maddy frowns. "At least you know I will never want to vape drugs after having to go through this."

Elisabeth shakes her head. "I'll make tea!" she promises over the noise.

She goes out into the kitchen and gives a polite smile to Mark. She gets two cups of water together, then glances toward the bedroom. When she's sure that Maddy is immersed in her Plex and not paying attention, she gestures Mark over. He glances over at the Maddy and the odd machine curiously. "Nebulizer," she explains to him. "Basically a rebreather that distributes meds, such as pure oxygen and antibiotics. Helps with the coughing and breathing." Elisabeth smiles and asks, "Can I get you anything?"

Mark shakes his head no.

After the sound of the microwave starts, Elisabeth whispers, "Can I ask you something?"

Mark nods.

"How do the other kids at school treat Maddy?" she asks.

"Why don't you ask her?" Mark tries to evade the question.

Elisabeth gives a small roll of the eyes. "You've met my daughter," she says. "I love her to death but she is head strong and thinks she can carry the weight of the world on her shoulders. You've been with her that last week and some; I'm asking you."

Mark glances over to the bedroom where Maddy thankfully now has earbuds in. "She … she's friendly. She has a few acquaintances," he looks back at Elisabeth. "No close friends who I've seen."

Elisabeth nods understandingly. "But is there trouble with anyone?"

"Why do you ask?" Mark's voice breaks.

With a sigh, Elisabeth explains, "I'm sure you've been made aware at this point that Maddy suffered from hypoxia a few months ago. She was … choked by the air outside. Her rebreather wasn't functioning correctly for god knows how long." Elisabeth looks incredibly sad at having to relive that, in both memory and earlier today. "At the hospital they found bruises all over her chest and stomach. It looked like she was kicked or … or hit, all over a period of time. When she woke and was asked about it, they'd already faded mostly at that point and she claimed she had fallen." Mark tries very hard to keep his face free of emotion. "What was more alarming were the scars and scratches on her arms and legs," Elisabeth continues. "It was so bad that a social worker spoke to us, and I hadn't even known."

"What does that have to do with school?" Mark asks as evenly as possible.

Elisabeth studies him for a moment. "The social worker and Jim and I all asked Maddy on several different occasions if there was anyone hurting her, or if she had somehow hurt herself. She denied it. Josh denied that there was anything going on. The principal assured me that she was safe when I paid a visit to the school. But I … A mother knows her kids and I felt like both she and Josh were holding something back. I didn't push it with everything else going on then, but now that this has happened, I can't help but wonder if someone tried to hurt her this badly on purpose."

Mark takes a deep breath before answering. He can't look Elisabeth in the eye, for unshed tears lie in them. "I wasn't with Maddy this morning," he says. "Principal Ward wanted to talk to me."

"Okay," Elisabeth says desperately, "but you've been with her for over a week. Do you know anything else?"

Taking a step back Mark wrings his hands out nervously. He promised Maddy he wouldn't say anything. But if John really did break her rebreather on purpose that's basically a death sentence, especially for Maddy. That's crossing a line. Does that make it okay to break the promise? "I … I really like spending time with your daughter," Mark says. "She's brilliant." Elisabeth raises her eyebrows expectantly. When Mark continues his voice is barely even a whisper, "I made a promise to her." He shakes his head.

"What kind of promise is it if she's getting hurt?" Elisabeth pleads. "Not a very good one."

"There are a few who I know of," Mark gives in. "Seniors. They give her a hard time. I don't know if they'd do something this drastic."

Elisabeth lets out a small breath, almost sob, and quickly covers her mouth with her hand. "When … what did they … who … did you …" she tries to form a coherent thought.

Mark subconsciously tenses, his hands curling into fists. "I thought that I dealt with it last week," he says lowly.

Elisabeth's strong façade starts to crack when the ding of the microwave shocks her out of her current emotional state. She nods and she reaches for the mugs. "Thank you," she whispers before getting the drinks and going back over to her daughter.

Maddy puts the nebulizer away and goes to brush her teeth, complaining about the bad taste in her mouth. When Maddy comes back, Mark can't but overhear Elisabeth's conversation with her. "So how's school?" she asks. With a shrugs, Maddy flops back down on the bed. "Who are you and what have you done with my daughter?" Elisabeth asks. "Since when aren't you gushing about learning."

"It's fine, mom," Maddy says. "But these have been the longest few weeks of my life, just waiting to leave." After a moment of hesitation, Maddy asks about her dad.

"I'm … working on something," Elisabeth says. "And if that idea comes to fruition, the plan we have with Zoe will work out fine."

Maddy nods, glancing over at Mark. He quickly looks away, hoping she didn't notice him watching her. However, the slight laugh from behind him doesn't give much hope. "What is it?" Elisabeth asks. But Maddy says nothing. The two continue small talk for a while until it's time for bed. "Uh, Maddy?" Elisabeth says. "Tomorrow stay home and rest; I'll try to make sure Josh doesn't wake you. I'm … I'm off work in the morning, so if there's time I'll come back for a quick lunch with you. Alright?"

"Why are you off work?" Maddy asks lightly.

Elisabeth avoids eye contact. "That Plex Pen you used to fix Josh's Plex," she says instead, "would it be possible to trade out the fly-swatter's power cells for even more powerful ones? Could it be used to … to cut through medal?"

Maddy eyes her mom suspiciously. "It's in the spare bin of electronics under the counter," she says. "In theory … it's possible."

"Thank you, and good night," Elisabeth says briskly. Maddy hesitates before climbing up in the loft. She and Mark lock eyes as she finds her footing on the latter. They are both thinking the same thing; if Jim is going to get out of Golad before the pilgrimage, it sure won't be through any legal method.