Time for the four to reconvene.

Ross awoke to the smell of fresh coffee and the smiling face of Madison. He yawned lazily and stretched, then sat up and took a cup. As he sipped it gratefully, she sat beside him.

"...are we ok?" she asked softly.

He nodded. "I think so. I- it's a lot, Madison. I really, really like you. I just need to process all of this."

"Of course," she said sympathetically. "Take all the time you need. Do you... do you still want me to be your girlfriend in the meantime?"

"If it means fresh coffee and mind-blowing sex whenever I want, I guess," he joked. "Seriously, though, we need to get you locked to me as soon as possible."

"Of course," she said. "Erica can help with that. We'll need to use some of the equipment in the Yetzirah lab but it won't take long. How's the coffee?"

"Amazing," he said earnestly. "What time is it?"

"It's almost two o'clock. Erica and Andrew should be here any minute. Apparently they have a new idea on how to analyze her script."

"It's so fucking weird that she can't just tell us," Ross said. "She's helping us look for answers she already knows. You golems are a weird bunch."

She slapped his arm playfully. "Don't lump me in with her! I'm made of good-old fashioned regular dirt, not some crazy chemical compound."

As if on cue, a knock came at the door and Madison leapt up to answer it. Ross stood and padded into the living room as Andrew and Erica entered and removed their coats. Both were gratified to see Ross on his feet and apparently reconciled to his girlfriend.

"You're looking better," Andrew said. "Finally got out of your funk?"

Madison laughed. "He got into something else, which definitely helped." Ross blushed at that and Erica rolled her eyes.

"Andrew told me that all you three did was blow nitrogen-heavy air onto the script," she said critically. "Did you really think that would work?"

"...yes?" Madison ventured.

"My God, it's a wonder you haven't all flunked out yet. I'm a nitrogen-rich environment, not a nitrogen-rich breeze! You need to actually leave it in the right kind of environment to properly reproduce the conditions of my soil."

Ross slapped his forehead and picked up the whipped-cream maker. "Of course! It sits in your body all the time, so why would ten seconds of nitrogen cause the same effects. Here, can I take your script?"

Erica crossed her arms and sat down. "You know you don't have to ask. Just take-"

Andrew caught the script as it fluttered down from the collapsed professor. He handed it to Ross, who dumped it into the canister and added a whippet to pressurize it. Staring at the uncannily still body of Erica, Andrew asked how long it would take.

"Who knows?" Madison said. "You can live without your fuckbuddy for a few hours, dude. Go take a cold shower or something."

Andrew held up a script and grinned. "Actually, I've got a better idea."