"Take some time away. She can keep staying in our house, hidden, if she needs, but - give it a week, perhaps. Without seeing her. Try to take your mind off it. See if you still feel the same way."

"...Is he going to be at the ritual, do we think," Sal asks quietly, not sure this is the point he wants to be driving. "If he doesn't die before it."

"I don't think we have any idea. We know he kills people, we don't know anything else."

"He kills people and he's friends with Roby. Roby said some things about him, the first time we talked to him, does anyone -- does anyone remember what it was he said--"

He Is So Good At Keeping His Voice Steady, And If He Really Believes, It Will Be True. "I have 6 days. After that-- even if I assume Evie is controlling me, there's..."

He hates to say it with no lead up, but he has to, this is very important context. "--There's a child. I'm not leaving them with Parker."

Oh, Jesus. "A kid?"

She doesn't think Roby did? they got that name from Carter--

"--oh no."

Oh, goddammit. "You met her six weeks ago," Terrence points out. "We have - time - before there is a. A whole child. In the picture."

"Regardless of what Evie's done-- I can't abandon either of them."

"If you want Evie to... take steps, that's a conversation you are having."

Oscar feels a surprising amount of sympathy for Jing Yi. Even though Jing Yi has made his life worse and is kind of a bastard.

"There's still eight months before you're leaving anyone, assuming linear time and a pregnancy that -- wait, it can barely have been a month, how does she know yet?"

"That's... A very good question." Inaaya would probably have a better idea of the timing here.

"It takes a month, doesn't it?" I mean, Evie totally could be lying, this has struck Terrence as well, that's just - Wait, how old is Inaaya? Uh oh.

"I thought it could... Take less than a month?" Honestly he was just not questioning it.

Inaaya knows about human biology because she's smart and curious. Young people shouldn't be forced into ignorance about basic facts just to flatter adults' sense of their innocence!

Inaaya also knows about human biology because she lives in it! This part's genuinely hard to not learn about!

"A cycle is a month long, but people have delayed or skipped cycles for all kinds of reasons all the time. I skipped my last one and I know I'm not pregnant."

"It's not impossible, though. There is a good chance that an actual human child is involved."

"I'm not saying it's impossible, I'm saying I don't think she'd be able to tell."

Ah. Yes. Inaaya's explanation does make sense. Terrence nods gratefully. "And it also means that even if it's true, we have time. Parker still doesn't know where she is."

"We only managed to change his hunting location and draw out his body guard for this month, though."

"Setting things up so that you have to make the decision under heavy time pressure is not making me less worried about it."

(It seems... vaguely sexist or something? Scapegoating of women?-- to accuse the fiancée of lying about pregnancy. But maybe it's sexist to doubt Inaaya's understanding too. And she has a point; Evie seems pretty dishonest. Man, the gender politics here are beyond him.)

HOW IS THAT YOUR CONCERN HERE.

"I know, but the time pressure is real!"

"If you did it this month, you can do it again." Terrence puts a reassuring hand on Jing Yi's shoulder.