Chapter 8

"The Soft Room"

Dexter and Hannah are outside the padded room.

Dexter takes the key out from his left front pocket. He uses it to lock the padded room. He then hits the light switch outside the door. This darkens the rubber room. Once that's done, Dexter takes in a deep breath and sighs. They both stand right outside the door.

Hannah says, "Dexter... "

Dexter gives Hannah a shushing gesture. There's a slit window on the padded cell door. Through the window, Dexter gives a quick glance in on Debra. Then he turns to Hannah. They both step away from the door a little.

Hannah smiles and playfully gives the shushing gesture back to Dexter. She whispers, "I guess Debra's tucked in for the night."

Dexter shakes his head and whispers, "Uhh... what a long day. The sooner Debra falls asleep the better." He puts his arm around Hannah and gives her a squeeze. He whispers, "I'm so glad you're here."

Hannah whispers, "I'm glad to be here too." She quietly kisses him.

He whispers, "I don't know what I'd do without you. Debra's such a hand full."

Hannah whispers, "She certainly is. We're short on privacy here. Do you wanna take a bath?"

He whispers, "I'd love to."

Hannah smirks and whispers, "Gee, this bathroom's good for a lot things."

Arm in arm they start making their way to the bathroom.

It's a few seconds earlier, inside the padded room. Once the door is shut, the room soon goes from bright to black. Shielded in darkness, Debra waits a couple of seconds, then starts to shimmy the knife out of from her straight jacket. She was on pins and needles to get started on her escape plan. The restraint of the straight jacket had not been fun for her. The blade feels cool against her skin. To Debra this feels like freedom, even though it means her death. She becomes engrossed in her fight to free the blade. It takes her a good few seconds, but she shakes the knife out.

The blade falls on the padded floor, "Thud." The handle of the knife hits the fabric on the ground, making soft thud sound.

Outside the room, Debra then hears the pounding a few hurried steps towards the door.

Debra plops herself onto the floor over the knife.

The door suddenly swings wide open. Dexter stands in the doorway. Debra's sitting on her legs, a fair distance from the door, over the knife.

Dexter asks, "What was that noise I just heard? The thud?"

Debra asks, "What do you mean? Me dropping to the floor just now?"

Dexter reaches outside the door and flicks the light switch. The ceiling light flickers on. It lights up the padded cell as bright as an operating room. Dexter walks into the room.

Hannah's standing behind Dexter. She asks, "Dexter what is it?" She walks further into the room and stands behind Dexter.

Dexter points down to Debra who's sitting on the floor.

Dexter says, "We were about to walk away from the door. And then I heard a small 'thud' sound in the room." He turns around to Hannah and says, "If we were in the middle of taking that bath I wouldn't of heard anything. I could barely hear it as it was." He shakes his head and turns back to Debra.

Hannah's still behind Dexter. Behind Dexter's back, Hannah glares at Debra. She bounces her fingertips off her forehead. This is the american sign language for "brilliant." Hannah makes this gesture, with much sarcasm, towards Debra.

In response to this, Debra sighs and rolls her eyes.

Hannah says to Dexter, "I didn't hear anything. It couldn't of been much of a noise. It's probably nothing."

Dexter says, "No, I know I heard something. Let me check it out." He looks Debra up and down scrutinizing her.

Hannah suggests, "Do you think Debra's hitting her head against the wall, trying to hurt herself?"

Dexter says, "Maybe."

Dexter swats down beside Debra. He leans forward on his knees to a kneeling position, to get a good look at her. He touches her head to examine it.

Debra leans away from him and gripes, "Get the f*** off me."

Dexter leans back off his knees to a squatting position. He puts his hands on his hips.

He says to Debra, "Do you wanna do this the easy way or the hard way?"

Debra feels the blade under her legs. The bright lights make her feels very exposed.

She spits out, "Fine. Get it over with." With annoyance and disgust she remains still for the exam. She does so quite begrudgingly.

Dexter starts to feel and looks at Debra's head, trying to find a bump or a sore spot.

He says, "I'd ask if any spot feels sore but you'd just lie."

Debra shakes her head to get his hands off her.

She leans away from him and whines, "Are you f***ing done yet or what?"

Dexter puts one of his knees on the floor, in a half squatting position. He puts his elbow on his raised knee and his chin in his hand. He says, "I dunno... "

Debra sneers at him and gripes, "Well, what the f*** else are you gonna do? Sleep in here?"

Dexter strokes his chin as if considering this. Debra briefly flicks a direful look to Hannah. Hannah's still behind Dexter. She looks at Debra bug eyed and bites her lip.

Hannah takes a step closer to Dexter. She raises her arms out to him and says, "Dexter, I want us to spend our first night together. I've missed you so much."

Without looking up, Dexter shoos away this idea with his hand. He scoffs and says, "Hannah, we have the rest of our lives together. I don't want Debra whining up with a another bald spot before her treatment.

Confused, Hannah asks, "What do you mean bald spot?"

Dexter explains, "Debra used to be a hair puller. She used to rip her hair outta her head. That was back when she was nine. When she was suicidal. You know the first time around."

Hannah walks over to Debra and crouches down next to her. She tugs at one of Debra's sleeves a little. These are the same sleeves that bined up Debra's arms in the straight jacket.

Hannah surmises and concludes, "Debra's strapped in there pretty good. I'd say her hair follicles will survive the night.

Debra spits out bitterly, "Oh, but you don't mind nice big bald spots in my memory. Do whatcha gotta do to keep your secret uh?"

Dexter still half kneeling beside Debra. He looks at Debra, considering his options.

Hannah circles around Debra, pacing wearily. Once Hannah's behind Debra, she notices a bit of the knife poking out from under Debra's foot. Hannah bites her lip, unsure of what to do for a moment. She then walks up to Debra from behind. She steps on the tip of the blade to cover it up with her shoe. She pats Debra on the head.

Hannah says obnoxiously, "So, little miss, are we behaving ourselves in here or what?"

Debra leans forward to escape Hannah's head patting and derision. As Debra does this, she exposes more of the knife that's under her.

Hannah squats down behind Debra and hugs her with her left arm. She says, "Oh come now Debra. I'm going to be your brother's wife. We'll be like sisters."

Debra turns her head and looks at Hannah like she's nuts. She yells at her, "Get the off me you crazy bitch!"

Hannah uses her right hand to grab the tip of the knife that's under Debra's feet. She pushes the blade further under Debra. Debra jolts upright as she feels the knife move under her. The blade cuts the tip of Hannah's finger.

Dexter scoffs and says, "Hannah, stop teasing her."

Hannah releasing Debra from her one arm hug and stands up. She says, "Fine. So much for being friendly." She turns around and walks away a bit. Once her back is to Dexter she looks down at her cut finger. A drop of blood beads up at the tip of her finger. She sucks on the fingertip to get rid of the blood. She presses her thumb to her index finger to put pressure on the wound.

Dexter stands up as well. Debra remains sitting on her legs, on the soft floor.

Dexter offers his hand to Debra and says, "Debra, do you want me to help you up?"

Debra scowls at him and barks, "Get the f*** out of here already!"

Dexter puts his hands on his hips. He looks down at Debra with misgivings.

Hannah earnestly paces around. She says, "Dexter, we can't stay in here all night."

Dexter waves his hand dismissively towards Hannah. He says, "Oh no, Hannah. You make sure Laura's okay. I wanna make sure the room's secure."

Hannah says, "You already did that earlier. It's secure."

Dexter says, "Hannah, I'm afraid Debra's gonna find a way to hurt herself. I think I better stay here tonight."

Debra leans her head back and groans, ""Uuhhh... "

Hannah says, "Debra's in a padded cell in a straight jacket. How can she hurt herself?"

Dexter says, "The room isn't up to code for a real padded cell. The windows are too low. She could whack her head on the plexi glass."

Hannah scoffs, "Like Debra's gonna kill herself by whacking her own head on the plexi glass."

Dexter gestures to Debra's scarred face and wounded neck. He says, "Hannah, look at her. She shot a gun at her own head. The bullet grazed her face."

Hannah says, "But now she's in a straight jacket."

Dexter says, "Ya, and she still managed to cut her own neck with a kitchen knife."

Hannah says, "Well, you took her outta the jacket. And even with a knife, she still couldn't manage to kill herself."

Dexter shakes his head and says, "Just because she won't slit her own throat, doesn't mean she won't try to hurt herself... or kill herself."

Debra shrugs her shoulders and says blithely to Dexter, "It's fine if you wanna stay in here. Maybe in your sleep my foot will meet your face." She looks up at Dexter and smiles at him malevolently.

Dexter smiles back at her, "I could M90 you."

Debra retorts, "I could still wake up before you."

Dexter says, "Debra, I do most of my work at night. I can function for days at a time without sleeping."

Debra perks up and offers, "I could scream all night and wake the kids up."

Dexter says, "I could both gag and drug you."

Debra cries out in desperation, "Could you please f***ing leave me alone for the night?!"

Dexter looks uncertain of what to do.

Hannah says, "Dexter, how drugged and tied up does Debra have to be. She not Houdini. What she gonna do in here, dislocate a shoulder and regurgitate a key? She's a cop not an escape artist?"

Debra says to Hannah, "You mean I was a cop, past tense"

Hannah looks confused. She gives a quizzical look to Dexter.

Dexter glances between Hannah and Debra timorously.

Hannah asks Debra, "What do you mean you're not a cop anymore? Do you mean because Dexter's gonna fry your brain? And then you'll be too retarded to be lieutenant?"

Debra replies, "No. Didn't you hear about me?"

Hannah asks, "Hear what exactly? Did you quit your job?"

Debra knits her eyebrow together and replies, "No. Didn't you hear about me, on the news, on TV?"

Hannah asks, "Oh, did you make one of your lieutenant speeches again or something?"

Debra shakes her head and says, "No. Didn't you hear... "

Dexter interrupts, "You know what Hannah, maybe you're right. There's no need for me to stay in here. I can just stay outside the door."

Hannah offers, "I think we should take shifts. Like one of us stays up half the night while the other one sleeps. That way you'll be fresh for tomorrow. One of us will probably have to stay up all night with Laura anyway."

Dexter thinks about it and nods. He concedes, "Alright. That sounds like the most practical solution. How about I take the first shift and you take the second shift?"

Hannah says, "Alright. I just feed Laura. She'll probably sleep for the next four hours. I got milk ready to go in the fridge but she prefers straight from the tap."

Dexter says, "Sounds like a plan." He looks at Debra and says, "I'll keep an ear out to listen for anything suspicious." As he says the word "suspicious" he raises his eyebrows and glares Debra.

Debra rolls her eyes.

Hannah catches Debra's eye and says, "Okay then, I'll wake you at shift change." Hannah gives Debra a wink.

Dexter turns to looks back at Hannah. He corrects her and says, "You mean I'll wake you."

Hannah nods and says, "Oh that's right."

Dexter offers, "How about you still take Laura until I'm sure Debra's asleep? Then I'll take over watching the baby."

Hannah says, "Okay."

They go to leave the room.

Dexter says to Debra, "Good night."

Hannah says to her as well, "Take two."

Hannah leaves the room first. She starts heading back to the main room of the cabin where Harrison and Laura are. Harrison's still asleep in the sofa bed. Laura's still asleep in the stroller.

Dexter's still in the room for the moment. He starts shutting the door behind himself.

Debra calls out to him, "Dexter."

Dexter reopens the door and steps back into the room. He keeps his hand on the doorknob and asks, "Yes?"

Debra's still sitting on her legs, a good distance from the door. She looks up at him and says, "I'm not gonna kill myself."

He looks down on her ruefully and says, "I so wish I could believe you."

She smiles at him tearfully and says, "You can believe me."

He retorts, "No I can't."

She argues, "I'm not Dad."

He takes an ardent step into the room. He glowers down at her, jabbing his a finger down in her direction. Indignantly he lectures, "Yes you are. You're Harry's daughter. And you're having the exact same reaction to me as he did."

Debra argues, "Are you Brian?"

Dexter counters, "In more ways than one. I just went in a different direction. Like I want you not dead."

Wistfully she says, "I can go in a different direction too. I can live with your secret."

He looks at her mournfully, shaking his head. He says, "I wish that were the case... but it isn't. My secret has gotta leave your head and it's not gonna be with a bullet. And that's all there is to it."

She lets out a breath and gawks at him, exasperated.

After he's had his say, Dexter turns away from her. Again, he starts shutting the door behind himself. After it's almost closed, he suddenly reopens the door. He steps back into the room and says, "Oh ya, I almost forgot?" He pulls a pill bottle out of his back pocket. He shakes the pills at Debra and asks, "Do you want a Xanax before bed?"

Debra looks around the unfurnished room and asks, "What bed?"

With annoyance he asks, "Well do you want one or not?"

She gives him an incredulous look and says, "Go f*** yourself."

He shrugs and says, "It's your sleepless night. But I'm not leaving the door until I see you unconscious." He finally leaves the room, shutting the door all the way this time. He flicks the switch outside the door. The room darkens once more.

"[click]" Debra hears the door being locked.

There's a slit of a window on the rubber room's padded door. Dexter uses this window to peer in on Debra.

He sadly smiles and waves at her through the window.

With much annoyance, Debra shakes her head at him.

Debra hasn't moved since she plopped herself down over the knife. The knife's still under her legs. Before she falls asleep, Debra wants to move to right outside the door to be ready for Hannah. But Debra can't move with Dexter watching her. If she moves Dexter will see the knife. Minutes go by. Dexter patiently waits and looks at Debra through the slit window. If the knife were still in her straightjacket she could simply move over to the door. And doing this would reveal nothing.

The eyes that stare at her remain in their viewing box.

To avoid Dexter's gaze Debra looks elsewhere in the room. Although the rest of the room is black in dark. She decides to close her eyes for a while. To her surprise she feels sleepy. And while xanax free no less. She starts to fall asleep while sitting up. Without realizing it, she starts leaning to the side. As she's tipping over she becomes startled and abruptly catches herself. She straightens up suddenly. If she fell all the way over, the knife would be revealed, and the jig would be up. She looks up at the door. The eyes in the box keep their fixed gaze on her with unwavering interest.

Debra yells at the eyes, "Stop f***ing staring at me already?!"

In Dexter's muffled voice, the eyes yell back, "Go to sleep!"

Debra yells back, "F*** off!"

Again in Dexter's muffled voice, the eyes command, "If you don't go to sleep I'll come in there."

Debra was in a pickle. But she, nonetheless, waggles her body into a lying down position, while keeping the knife outta sight. She worries the cumbersome way she moves make it look like she was hiding something. But then again Dexter might blame the awkward way she moves on the fact that he tied her arms down.

Debra's now lying down face up. Again it surprises her how sleepy she feels without her Xanax. Her body seems to playing a colossal joke on her. It won't sleep when she needs it to and won't stay awake when she wants to escape Dexter. The white padded room is quiet, dark, unfurnished and undecorated. Save, of course, for the family photo pinned to the wall. A last gesture of Dexter's affection. Their smiling faces in the picture seemed now a bitter joke. Not that she could see the room's lone decorative element in the dark. But she knows it's there. Besides photo her new environment has an altogether lack of distraction. It reminds Debra of a sensory deprivation tank. She wonders if this is the cause of her unexpected sleepiness.

She tries to fight sleep by leaving her eyes open. She opens her eyes wide to inspire alertness. They felt dry and longed to be closed. She blinks for a long second to moisten her eyes. They hated being reopened.

The muffled voice gives another command, "Close your eyes."

Debra considers rolling over to her side. This would hide her eyes from big brother. But the idea seems too risky. She'd probably look mighty suspicious trying to do this while hiding the knife. She might reveal the knife to Dexter while trying to accomplish this task anyway. And hiding her eyes might displease the warden and provoke him into coming in again.

Debra reluctantly closes her eyes as per commanded. She knows she won't be able to fight sleep for long while doing this. She knows Dexter will watch for signs that she's sleeping. He'll monitor her breathing, rapid eye movements, how relaxed her whole body seems. Her one advantage is that, in the room, the sound is muffled and the light is dim. The padded room and door does muffle the sound somewhat. But now Dexter's listening intently for any noise at all. And he was now right outside the door. The slit window on the door shined a small amount of light into the room. It gave Dexter something to looks at, but not much. Unfortunately the spotlight of the light shined directly on Debra's current location.

Debra usually slept on her stomach or side. She was currently on her back. She feared that she would roll over in her sleep. If she did this, it would reveal the knife that lay under her. The light from the window would glint right off the blade. Dexter would get get an eye full. And all Debra's plans would go up in smoke. She knew this would happen after she fell asleep. She had to move herself and knife. But how could she do this with Dexter watching. She was laying down with her eyes closed. In this position she was falling asleep fast. She racked her brain for what to do.

Debra thinks, "God dam it! Where's a sleepless, xanax hungry night, when you need one. I guess I need just to think anxious thoughts. Thoughts that inspire anxiety, sleeplessness. But what's left for me to think up. I'm living the dream. The dream that is my worst nightmare. And sleep is still coming. What do I do? What do I think? I'm fading. What if I'm too far from the door? What if Hannah can't wake me without waking up Dexter? What if I roll over in my sleep? Dexter will discover the knife under me. I'll never get another chance to escape this. After the electroshock therapy, will I be a vegetable? A helpless witness to all of Dexter's murders. Has all of this happened before? Has he erased my memory time and again? How would I know? He wants to drill his secret out of my head. How far would he be willing to go to complish this task? I already know the answer to that question. He'll go as far as he needs to." Debra falls asleep, far from the door, on her back, no medication required.

Dexter notices. He's pleased. He closes his eyes and turns away for a second.

Just then, baby Laura cries. Hannah calls out to Dexter, "Dexter could you get me a diaper for Laura?!"

Dexter's startled by all the noise. He flinches. He had gotten so sucked in at staring at Debra that he tuned everything else out.

He calls back to Hannah, "Sure I'll get it."

Debra too is startled and flinches at all the noise. After a small jolt, she keeps her body still for the benefit of any witnesses.

Dexter gives Debra a last glance. Debra still looks asleep to Dexter. He goes over to where Hannah is.

Debra can hear Dexter's foot falls as he walks away. But this time she airs on the side of caution. She counts slowly in her head, "One, two..." When she hits four she stops counting.

There's no point. She can hear Dexter and Hannah talking in the main room of the cabin over the baby's crying.

She hears Hannah talking to Dexter, "It's in the diaper bag, near the bottom I think." Hannah's voice is a decent volume. Debra can vaguely hear her in the padded room.

Dexter, for the moment, is no longer a problem. He now has plenty of noise, plenty of distraction, and he thinks Debra's asleep.

Debra thinks of the fine show Hannah's putting on for Dexter right now. She whispers to herself, "God bless you you f***ing murderer."

Debra gets up and turns around. She picks up the knife with her teeth. She walks on her knees and carries the knife in her mouth. Her heart is pounding but she tries to be as quiet as possible. She looks quite silly while all doing this, in her straight jacket, in the padded room. Dexter would certainly find her a peculiar sight. Too bad for him he stepped away from the viewing window and can't enjoy the show. She brings the knife over to the door. She leans face down while kneeling. She releases the knife from her teeth and places it gently on the floor. She places it close to the wall, a couple of feet from the door. She lies on her stomach over the knife. She places her face right where the door will open. She closes her eyes and sighs in great relief. She accomplished her task. The knife was now secure from Dexter's view.

Back outside the padded cell, Dexter and Hannah are in the main room of the cabin. Harrison's sound asleep in the sofa bed.

Dexter fishes a diaper out of the diaper bag. He hands it to Hannah. Hannah changes Laura's diaper. She looks up from changing the baby and asks, "So how's Debra?"

Dexter says, "She finally fell asleep. She seemed like she was fighting sleep before. But now I know she's unconscious at least."

Hannah says, "Oh good. Dexter, I'm sure she'll be fine. She'll get the therapy and then you won't have to worry about her any more." She finishes changing Laura.

Dexter sits down at the kitchen table. He puts his head in his hands. He seems distraught.

Hannah grabs her nursing pillow. She joins him at the kitchen table, sitting at the adjacent seat. She nurses Laura. She asks, "Dexter what's wrong?"

Dexter takes his head out of his hands and says, "I told you about the rape/kill right? What happened when Debra and I were nine and twelve."

Hannah says, "Yah."

Dexter says, "And I told you about the electroshock therapy. The therapy Debra got at nine years old."

Hannah says, "Yes, what of it?"

Dexter says, "Well the therapy affected Debra more than she knows it did."

Hannah says, "You said it stopped her from hurting herself. It stopped her suicide attempts. It erased her memory of the rape/kill right?"

Dexter says, "The therapy did do all of that. But it also affected her in other ways."

Hannah says, "How do you mean? How else did it affect her?"

Dexter says, "Well the therapy also had some negative affects on her."

Hannah asks, "Negative affects? What kind of negative affects?"

Dexter says, "Before the therapy Debra used to be a polite taking, anal retentive, child prodigy."

Hannah says, "Wow, I'd says the therapy did affect her quite a bit."

Dexter says, "It certainly did."

Hannah asks, "So when she got the treatment at nine it caused a sorta tourette's/aphasia in her?"

Dexter says, "It must of. She emerged from that treatment room swearing like a sailor."

Hannah says, "I hate to think what her etiquette will be like now."

Dexter speculates, "You and me both. I don't know what a second dose of therapy will do to her?"

Hannah shrugs and says, "It'll keep her alive."

Dexter asks, "At what cost though?"

Hannah asks, "Are you having second thoughts? Do you wanna 86-ed the therapy on her?"

Dexter says, "Debra's determined to kill herself. And she's been the only consistent person in my life for forty years. Ever since my mom got killed when I was three. I feel like Debra's the one person, in my life, who's been keeping me human all this time."

Hannah holds his hand and says, "I'm sorry about your mother. But remember, you have me and the kids now. You just gotta let things go sometimes. You just gotta move forward."

Dexter says, "Still, if something happened to Deb, I'd feel lost. We'll go through with the therapy. And if there are side affects from it, I'll just have to live with it."

Hannah says, "So the therapy turned Debra into a foul-mouthed slob, and shaved off some of her I.Q. points."

Dexter says, "Yes, unfortunately."

Hannah asks, "Are you afraid anyone will notice changes in Debra, after the therapy?"

Dexter says, "I dunno, maybe."

Hannah asks, "When Debra was nine and got the therapy, the first time around, did anyone notice changes in her back then?"

Dexter says, "Well our mother did notice but she wasn't doing well back then. She had cancer and it was pretty advanced at the time."

Hannah asks, "Your adoptive mother?"

Dexter says, "That's right, Doris Morgan. She died of ovarian cancer. Between my father, Harry, and I, we were able to hide everything from Doris, the rape/kill, the trip to Mexico, the therapy, all the changes going on in Debra."

Hannah says, "Really? You were able to hide all this from Doris?"

Dexter says, "We did indeed. And that was no mean feat either. Right before we left for Mexico Debra had ripped a good chunk of hair outta her head. Hiding her bald spots in a ponytail was starting not to cut it."

Hannah says, "Doris must of noticed that at least?"

Dexter says, "No, not really. Doris knew something was up, but she was in no condition to deal with it. She was just... in a bad way." He shrugs and continues, "In addition to the cancer, she was pretty sick from her cancer treatments. She was getting high doses of chemotherapy and radiation at the time. She was going bald herself... puking her guts out."

Hannah asks, "So did Doris die of cancer soon after that?"

Dexter says, "No, not at that time. Her chemotherapy and radiation treatment actually did work. Well, it worked for a few years anyway. Doris went into remission. But by the time she recovered Debra was pretty much back to normal."

Hannah says, "So there was no one around to be suspicious."

Dexter says, "Well there was Debra's school. Because she was a child prodigy our parents put her in a private school for the gifted. After the treatment Harry put her in public school with me. That way I could also keep an eye on her."

Hannah shrugs and says, "Well I guess you'll just have to keep an eye on Debra all over again. It seems like such a burden."

Dexter says, "Everything bad that's happened to Debra is because of me. And she's the only part of Doris, and Harry, that's still left around. Harry shaped me. He guided me. He would agree that, like it or not, it's my duty to keep Debra safe. So that's what I'll be doing. No matter what sacrifices I have to make."

You hear Dexter think, "Sacrifices... like my brother Brian."

Hannah sighs and looks at Dexter with sympathy. She says, "Your commitment is admirable. It's kinda like with my Dad. As long as he was around I felt obligated to him. I was tied to him like it or not. Him and all the baggage that came with him, his blackmailing, his gambling. He was such a parasite on my life, on my soul." She closes her eyes and shakes her head. She asks, "Well anyway. Do you still wanna take that bath?"

Dexter says, "I really want to. But this whole thing with Debra has got me worried sick. I'll just go back to keeping a vigil outside her door. This will all be over soon. And then we can really enjoy our time together." He puts his other hand over Hannah's.

Hannah says, "That's right. Just focus on the endgame." She uses her other hand to covers his as well. She smiles at him warm heartedly.

After that Hannah goes to sofa bed with laura. Laura seems to be asleep but is still latched on. Next to Hannah, and Laura, Harrison's still sleeping on the other side of the bed. Dexter goes back to the door of the padded cell. Debra still has her head by the crack of the door. She had pressed her ear to the crack so that she'd hear Hannah and Dexter's conversation. It was late at night and the sound in cabin was quite. Debra could hear every word they said. It fills her with horror.

Debra thinks, "I was a child prodigy? So that explains why I won that spelling bee and yet I can't spell for sh** now."

Dexter goes back to the padded cell. He looks through the slit window. But he doesn't see Debra.

With some distress, Dexter asks, "Debra where are you?"

Debra says, "I'm by the door. Don't open it or you'll hit me in the face."

Dexter can tell from where Debra's voice is coming from that this is true.

Dexter says, "Go to the center of the room so I can keep an eye on you."

Debra says cheerfully, "I have a better idea. How about you go f*** yourself good and hard!"

On the sofa bed, with Hannah, Laura unlatches and starts crying. Hannah picks up the baby and walks over to Dexter. She asks, "Dexter, is there a problem?"

Dexter says, "Debra's lying down in there so that her face will be hit by the door when I open it."

Hannah says, "So what? You don't have to go in there right now. She's lying down. She'll go to sleep. Trust me. She not going anywhere, or doing anything, until tomorrow morning."

Dexter says, "How will we get in there tomorrow?"

Hannah says, "Her bladder will be her alarm clock and her motivation for getting out."

Dexter thinks about this and says, "I guess that's true."

Hannah says, "Don't keep agitating Debra. If you keep pushing her, she could make things a lot more unpleasant. Not just for you, but for herself as well."

Dexter says, "I'm very afraid you're right about that. I'll let her be. I'm so glad you're here. In fact, as far as helping with Debra goes, I'm surprised you're being so helpful."

Hannah says, "I'm always happy to help you. All I want is for you to be happy and I can see how much Debra means to you. Can you take Laura now?"

Dexter says, "I'd love to take care of her."

Hannah says, "Great. I'll hit the hay. Remember, milks in the fridge and wake me at 3:00am and I'll take over for the second shift"

Dexter says, "That's the plan."

Hannah goes to sleep. Dexter holds Laura and waits outside Debra's door.

Hannah's in the sofa bed now with just Harrison. Dexter and Laura are alone in the hallway. Debra's laying downward with her face still by the crack in the door. Her line of sight is quite narrow, but she's able to see in the hallway a bit. Also the sound from the hallway is less muffled from Debra's new vantage point. She sees a thin trace of Dexter sitting in the hallway. He's holding baby Laura. Debra hears Dexter talking softly to the baby in his arms.

Dexter coos to Laura, "There you go Laura. It's beddy-bye time."

Debra listens to Dexter talk to Laura in the hallway. Dexter sounds different while talking to the baby.

Debra thinks, "Well who doesn't sound different while talking to a baby. Laura can't talk stock options, now, can she. Her being a newborn and all."

But still, something about the tone in Dexter's voice that sounds oddly familiar to Debra. She's heard Dexter slip into that voice before. And not while talking to a baby. But while he talking to her. Right after Deba shot herself, Dexter tackled her on the bed. He pinned her down. He seemed oddly giddy about kidnapping her, he sang, he danced. He seemed oddly different. Like he slipped into this weird alter ego of some kind. His voice sounded different too. He gushed and cooed to her like she was a baby. Like he's doing in the hallway with Laura right now. What's with that?

Debra wonders, "Is Dexter schizophrenic? Did he have dissociative identity disorder? Antisocial personality disorder? Who gives a f***. That f***ers gotta die."

But what could Debra do about it now. Not much. Except to stop enabling the murders herself, merely by her presence in Dexter's life. The knife under her stomach was the only power she had left and she intended to use it.

The padded room was soft. Even the floor. It was a comfortable enough place to sleep for Debra. She hears baby Laura settled down to sleep in the hallway. Debra followed suit. Her dreams take her far from the padded cell. To both a far off place and to a faraway time...

This chapter is really where Debra is tormented the most. It occurred to me that Dexter might not really behave so cruelly towards Debra. But it does follow the theme of the show that Dexter kills because he cares. It's more like Dexter's love for Debra is suffocating the life outta her.