Outside Dex Restaurant.
Dexter stood by the curb, lighting a cigarette, recalling Bianca's storyline from the original show.
She was a doctor who played by the rules, worked hard, and had no fun... until she discovered she had stage-four cancer. With a two-percent survival rate if treated, she chose to forego treatment and live life to the fullest in the face of impending death.
To be fair, Bianca was probably one of the few normal people in this world.
Also, she was genuinely beautiful and had a great body.
Thinking of this, Dexter's mind wandered to that "peanut butter teacher."
That teacher was beautiful too, with a great body, though she was a bit of a freak.
Dexter's thoughts drifted.
If he was going to stay here for the long haul, Bianca was indeed a very solid choice.
As for the cancer... not a big problem.
With the System in hand, Bianca's little cancer issue should be solvable.
Thinking of cancer naturally made Dexter think of himself—specifically, himself in the real world.
According to the System, time in the real world had frozen the moment he crossed over.
Frozen meant that as long as he didn't go back, his real-world self would stay exactly as he was, with only a month or so left to live.
But as long as he stayed in these fictional worlds and didn't get killed by someone, he was a healthy, normal man with zero health issues, free to experience all kinds of lives to his heart's content.
Interesting, isn't it?
Lost in thought, his cigarette burned down to the filter without him noticing.
Dexter habitually lit another one, finished it, and returned to the restaurant.
Just then, Bianca finished her meal and stood up to leave.
"See you around," Dexter smiled and said to her.
Bianca returned a faint smile. "Mmh."
Without saying more, Bianca left the restaurant, got in her car, and drove toward the hospital.
"Boss, go for it," Vivian appeared silently beside Dexter, smiling.
"You bet," Dexter responded openly.
---
On the way back to the hospital.
Glancing at the fruit platter Vivian had packed for her sitting on the passenger seat, Bianca recalled Dexter's behavior earlier. She found it interesting.
Dislike? No.
Like? Not really.
But she didn't mind seeing where things might go.
---
Ian returned home.
After being away for three months, returning to this familiar house felt good.
Ian took a deep breath, looking around as he walked in.
The nanny, Mrs. Gunderson, who was taking care of Liam, heard the noise and walked over. She saw Ian.
They exchanged a few words. Ian politely thanked the nanny, then quickly went to Liam, picked him up, and started talking to him with deep nostalgia.
Liam was happy too, babbling incoherently.
Ian felt very peaceful. After playing with Liam for a while, he remembered something and asked the nanny, "Frank's not here?"
The nanny shook her head. "Frank hasn't been back in a long time. He's been living at Sheila's."
"Good," Ian liked that news.
Time flew.
After staying home for about half an hour and carrying Liam on a tour of the house twice, Ian put Liam down, headed out, and walked toward the grocery store.
The Kash and Grab.
He walked in.
Seeing Ian immediately, Kash, who had been zoning out behind the counter, instantly lit up with a smile. "Ian, you're out!"
Kash scrambled out from behind the counter and ran up to Ian.
Ian flashed a brilliant smile. "Just got out."
After responding, Ian quickly scanned the store. Confirming there were no other customers, he winked at Kash.
Kash, who had been desperate for this, understood instantly.
Moments later.
The front door of the Kash and Grab was locked, and the sign was flipped to "CLOSED."
Then, the two of them ducked behind a shelf in the corner and started going at it.
It had been three months.
They were both extremely into it, and they were getting loud.
Linda arrived at the entrance of the store. She habitually reached out to push the door, found it locked, and then looked inside to see the lights still on. Her temper flared instantly. She dug her keys out of her purse to open the door!
The store's door was old; even if it was locked from the inside, a key could still open it from the outside.
Click.
Linda stomped into the store. Seeing the empty counter, she immediately reached for her phone to call Kash and scream at him.
Before she could pull her phone out, Linda suddenly heard... sounds. Sounds that weren't right.
She followed the noise.
One look...
The fact that there were people in the corner was presented right before Linda's eyes.
Since the store had been locked from the inside, Linda didn't suspect thieves or robbers. She just assumed Kash was goofing off doing something stupid, so she didn't hesitate and marched over quickly.
One second, two seconds, three seconds.
Ian and Kash were too engrossed; they didn't notice a thing.
And so.
Linda got a front-row seat to Ian and Kash going at it.
Instantly, Linda looked like she'd been struck by lightning. She froze, her eyes bulging, filled with horror. "What the FUCK!!"
Hearing the scream.
Ian and Kash finally snapped out of their trance and turned their heads to look at Linda in unison.
A split second later, they scrambled to pull up their pants, panicking like crazy.
"Linda, it's not what it looks like..." Kash instinctively tried to deny it.
Hearing that, Linda's brain exploded. "You shut the fuck up!!"
Linda roared. At the same time, she lunged at Kash, winding up and delivering a slap across his face. Then another slap. And another. She couldn't stop!
His cheeks burning with pain, Kash was terrified but didn't dare dodge. He just let Linda hit him repeatedly.
Ian was terrified. He backed away, his face full of horror, and couldn't help but plead for Kash. "Linda..."
If Ian hadn't spoken, it might have been okay. But the moment he spoke...
Linda's eyes practically shot fire. She took two steps toward Ian and swung a haymaker right into his eye. "You son of a bitch! You fucked my husband!!"
The punch had serious force behind it!
Ian was knocked to the floor, clutching his eye.
Linda gave Ian a vicious glare, then turned back to Kash and continued slapping him!
Smack, smack, smack!
Linda was slapping him forehand and backhand, putting her whole body into it. She beat him for several minutes straight before finally stopping, glaring at Kash while shaking with rage.
Kash didn't dare move. He hung his head.
She glared for a few seconds.
"You two, stay right here! Don't you move!!" Leaving that vicious command, Linda turned and stormed out of the store.
The store fell silent.
Confirming Linda was gone, Kash hurriedly moved to help Ian up, asking with concern, "Are you okay?"
Ian held his eye and shook his head. "I'm fine."
"You need to go out the back door, now. I'll deal with Linda," Kash said.
Hearing this, Ian's lovestruck brain surged with emotion. He decisively refused. "I'm not leaving. We face whatever happens together."
Gag~~
---