| Synopsis | - Despite wandering around the entirety of the Swamp Thing's home, the two men fail to encounter him. Hoping to get close to the creature in some way, Ichabod decides on a whim to try ingesting a piece of a tuber. He immediately falls into a hazy trip, and Howard is forced to drag him back.
- Unexpectedly, they two men finally encounter the Swamp Thing and Tefé, and they run into hiding before they are noticed. They watch as Abby returns home in time to find her husband changing the baby's diaper. She offers to dispose of the mess, but instead, he wraps it up and inserts it into his body so that his plant matter can absorb the nutrients. Howard is so disgusted by the scene that he cries out, and they are heard. Hurriedly, they make an escape.
- Back in the swamp, Tefé plays in a patch of grass. A bee comes to her, and somehow, the infant manages to control the insect's movements. Swamp Thing comes to check on her, and mentions that he felt something strange coming from that room, but it is gone now.
- Meanwhile, Ichabod Snip has been apprised of the existence of the Swamp Thing by his muckraking cousin Howard Fleck, whose photographs destroyed Abby's reputation by portraying her as a plant-loving pervert. Ichabod hopes to study the Swamp Thing and the rare vegetation in the swamp, and with Howard, he makes the trek to Houma.
- Unhappily, Abby tries somewhere that has ignored rumours about her in the past: Spanish Acres Home for the Elderly. Miss Claiborne reminds Abby that despite having overlooked Abby's indiscretions in the past, she left the job without informing anyone, only to appear in the headlines all over again. She demands to know what reason she should have to hire her again.
- In Houma, Abby eats a burger for the first time in ages, and then asks whether the proprietress of the diner would be willing to hire her. She doesn't notice, however, that all of the other patrons are staring at her because of rumours that she killed her husband Matthew and because of her relationship with the Swamp Thing. Because of this negative attention, the owner refuses to hire her.
- While Howard's stories and photos don't end up printed in any reputable publications, Ichabod is already putting together the funds for a second expedition.
- They hire Mary Milner's boat up to take them into the swamp, but when she discovers their intentions, she leaves them alone in the middle of the swamp, refusing to go any further. As the two of them trudge deeper into the swamp, Howard suddenly discovers a pool full of dead husks caused by the Swamp Thing's travels. Howard assumes that they are men the swamp creature has killed, but on Icnabod's inspection, they realize that they are made of plant matter. Howard takes photos to submit to magazines, anyway.
- A young volunteer employee named Esther interrupts to say that she will be leaving with her boyfriend Paul. Abby recognizes Paul as a boy she helped escape a demon at Elysium Lawns. Paul remembers her fondly, and their exchange convinces Ms. Claiborne to give Abby a chance - if she keeps a low profile.
- At their home in the Louisiana swamp, Abby Holland and her family take a swim by a small pond. She reveals to her husband, the Swamp Thing that she has stopped taking the medication that their friend LaBo gave her for her postpartum depression. Still, despite the return of her happiness, taking care of their new daughter Tefé is restrictive, and Abby is itching to return to work and see some other faces. Swamp Thing encourages the idea, promising to take care of the baby.
- Ichabod and Howard find the Swamp Thing's tree house, and the former marvels at the bio-structures that run throughout it. He discovers that all of the furniture is made from living plants, and that fresh air is pumped through the house by a large plant-based lung and vent system. Collecting samples, Ichabod plucks some of the Swamp Thing's hallucinogenic tubers from a nearby husk.
|
