ABIGAIL BRANDON CASSIE COURTNEY DANIEL DAPHNE DEREK EVE GEORGE GRACE MARTHA NARRATOR NICK ROSE SAM STEPHANIE TARA NARRATOR GRACE I saw you and Sam. Give me time. CASSIE Of course. SAM There were complications with the patient... CASSIE Sam. SAM I couldn't save him. GRACE Nick, this is... COURTNEY Courtney. GRACE Courtney. NICK Hey. CASSIE Some mornings, right when I wake up I realize I'm thinking about Jake and I remember. TARA You lied to me? BRANDON I was trying to protect you. TARA You may have ruined my one chance of reconnecting with my mother. CASSIE When I woke up this morning I was thinking about you. TARA Hello? You don't have to pick me up, Brandon, I can just walk home. It's not that far. Okay, I'll look for you out front. CASSIE I am going out for a bit. Would you mind watching the store? TARA Sure. CASSIE 'Kay. Have you tried the Quadrivium? ROSE Excuse me? CASSIE It's one of my favorite candles. It really helps when you have a lot of thinking to do. ROSE Sounds like exactly what I need, thanks. CASSIE Sure. GRACE Oh, hey. CASSIE Hi. GRACE Oh, you look like you're in a hurry. Where are you heading? CASSIE Oh, just... out. GRACE Okay. Well, enjoy "out." COURTNEY These photos are really cool. GRACE Oh wow, yeah. I've never seen these before. Are they new? CASSIE Yeah, I just got them in today. I really liked how the photographer captured nature from such a unique viewpoint. GRACE Life from a different perspective. CASSIE Oh. Gotta run. SAM I've got a place I need to be. What time should I be back? EVE You've got a two o'clock and back- to-back appointments after that. SAM I'd better get moving. Martha. Did you have an appointment? MARTHA No, no, no. But I do need to see a physician at once. SAM There's someone waiting to meet me... MARTHA And I'm sure they won't mind that you were tending to the mayor. SAM What seems to be the problem? MARTHA Well, nothing too major. But I do get this odd, tingly feeling in my elbow every time I try to get someone's attention by going -- Yoo-hoo! Oh, there it is right there. I know it's probably nothing but I just wanted to hear it from a doctor. SAM I think I can do a quick exam. MARTHA I feel better already. CASSIE Hello, Sam. SAM Hi. Beautiful. CASSIE Yeah, the Middleton Botanical Gardens are very enchanting. SAM I'm not talking about the gardens. Sorry I'm late. I had a patient who was just desperate to see me. CASSIE Well, I'm glad you could make it out. SAM Yeah. Me, too. GEORGE Whoops. I didn't mean to break up the party. SAM That's okay, the party can move. GEORGE Martha asked me to do some plant care here at the garden. I wanted to get started during the mid-day sun. SAM Then we should get out of your way. What is this? CASSIE That's the Middleton Merriwick. GEORGE The one and only. CASSIE I figured you would have come out to see it. SAM I'm not really a "wander through a garden" kind-of-guy. GEORGE Everybody who lives here knows about the Merriwick. CASSIE That plant is very important to our town. SAM I like that I live in a town that has an important plant. GEORGE The flower on that thing, when it blooms - absolutely amazing. CASSIE It's only bloomed three or four times since Elizabeth Merriwick planted it over a hundred and fifty years ago. But when it does, wonderful and magical things happen throughout Middleton. SAM All because of a plant. GEORGE That's not just a plant. That's the Merriwick. SAM When's it supposed to bloom again? CASSIE No one ever knows. GEORGE But you can tell when it's about to by how green the leaves get and how tall the stalk shoots out. CASSIE It looks pretty tall to me. Those leaves are about as green as they can get. GEORGE Would you look at that. SAM What are we looking at? GEORGE The last time, just before this plant bloomed, the Merriwick looked exactly like that. I remember because I was... I was a little younger. SAM So, what does that mean for now? CASSIE This is the year that the Merriwick blooms again. MARTHA Did you hear the news? STEPHANIE About the Middleton Merriwick? I know! MARTHA It's exactly the shot in the arm that this town needs. So that everyone knows this could be one of our best years yet. STEPHANIE I heard that one year, when it bloomed, there was a rainbow that lasted for seven days in a row. MARTHA That might be just a rumor but no one can say that it didn't happen, so who knows what that flower might inspire this time? STEPHANIE Well, I'm just excited that we all get to see it. MARTHA Oh, Chief Sanders. Did we get those "Home of the Middleton Merriwick" stickers in yet? DEREK I'm picking them up from the printers. MARTHA Make sure and put one on every traffic ticket you hand out. STEPHANIE Wait, your putting stickers on traffic tickets? MARTHA To get the word out, yes. STEPHANIE So, right after a person hears, "Ma'am, do you know how fast you were going?", they're gonna be in the mood to learn about one of the best things this town has to offer? MARTHA Oh, well, perhaps I didn't think this through carefully enough. You know what, put a hold on those stickers until I can come up with a better idea. DEREK Yes, Ma'am. MARTHA I just want to document the Merriwick for all of posterity. It's been known to all of us here but this is our big chance to let the whole world know. STEPHANIE I'll make sure and mention it to anyone who looks like they're from out of town. MARTHA Point out that one of the first times it bloomed, marriage proposals in Middleton tripled the following year. STEPHANIE Is that really true? MARTHA Maybe. That's what they tell me. She could be the one. Don't let him get away! CASSIE Welcome to Grey House. DAPHNE Oh, hi. CASSIE Hi. DAPHNE I was just admiring your beautiful landscape. You know, I've never seen an apical bud so large on the top of a dichotomous plant. CASSIE You sound like a woman who knows her way around a garden. DAPHNE I'm a botanist. CASSIE Oh. DAPHNE I like to be able to say that out loud so my parents know they didn't waste their money on my degree. CASSIE I'm Cassie Nightingale. DAPHNE Daphne Randall. Nice to meet you. CASSIE Yes, I have your reservation. DAPHNE Thank you. You know, I've been hearing all of this talk about some rare plant here in town that's about to bloom. CASSIE The Middleton Merriwick. DAPHNE Oh. I didn't realize it already had a name. CASSIE It's more traditional than phytological. DAPHNE Interesting. You know, the university sent me here to verify the plant and I just can't wait to get to the Gardens to determine its species. CASSIE Then I should set you up with our mayor. She is very eager to show people what's special about this town. DAPHNE And I'm just as eager to document what, as far as I can tell, nobody has ever documented before. CASSIE So this could be the chance to make a name for yourself. DAPHNE Which would mean that degree of mine was worth every cent. CASSIE Let me show you to your room. DAPHNE Thank you. ABIGAIL Can I help you? SAM Yes. Do you have any flowers? ABIGAIL Now, are they for that special someone in your life? SAM They're for Cassie. ABIGAIL Well, I guess this means you two are officially a "thing." SAM Yeah, I guess we are. Although we haven't made any big announcement. ABIGAIL Well, I'll be sure to keep it to myself, then. SAM It's not exactly a secret. ABIGAIL Well, you never know who has or hasn't heard. Why don't I pick out a big bouquet that Cassie can put right in the middle of her kitchen. SAM Sounds perfect. ABIGAIL I'm always here to give people exactly what they need. COURTNEY Wait, our school has a photography club? GRACE Yeah, and I'm thinking about joining. I mean, they give you a camera and let you take pictures of whatever you want. COURTNEY Do you get out of class to do it? GRACE I don't think so. COURTNEY Then I don't see the appeal. NICK Hey. COURTNEY Oh, hey. NICK Where you headed? GRACE Home. COURTNEY But mine is that way, so -- I'll see you later. GRACE Bye. NICK Bye. So, what did you guys do all day? GRACE School. Then walking home from school. Then running into you while walking home from school. Except we stopped off at the park because Courtney wanted to hang upside down on the jungle gym. NICK Just for fun? GRACE Yeah. It looked like she was having fun, although her face was upside down so it was very hard to tell if she was smiling. NICK Maybe the next time you guys go there we could all meet up. GRACE Of course. NICK Oh, hey -- I've got a biology test coming up. Do you think you could help me study for it? GRACE Wait. Are you feeling okay? Nick Radford actually wants to study? NICK Yes. I actually decided I want to know stuff, alright? GRACE Yes. Okay, tomorrow, after school, at the Bistro? NICK That's where I'll be. MARTHA The Middleton Botanical Gardens are known for their breathtaking floral collections. DAPHNE I wasn't aware there was so much variety here. MARTHA Oh yes, we like to think we have some of the best-kept secrets in the state, not the least of which is right over here where you can find -- Cassie! CASSIE Hello, Martha. Daphne. DAPHNE Hi. MARTHA I was just telling Ms. Randall about the natural wonders of these surroundings. CASSIE Isn't it lovely? DAPHNE It's beautiful. CASSIE I like to come here for inspiration. I especially get inspired standing right here. DAPHNE Is this the Merriwick? MARTHA Named after Cassie's ancestors. DAPHNE I didn't know you and the plant were connected. CASSIE In a spiritual sense, very much so. But there are plenty of others who feed off the energy of the Merriwick just as much. That's why it's so important to all of us. MARTHA A sense of community is deeply rooted here in Middleton. DAPHNE Can I take a closer look? MARTHA Oh, please. Be our guest. I do love being able to get right up close. CASSIE Where the plant's aura is strongest. DAPHNE Is there another plant like this in the gardens? CASSIE No. It lives on its own, separate from all the rest. DAPHNE I've never seen anything like it. MARTHA So many things in this town are very unique. DAPHNE No, but this is more than that. I suspect that it could be sui generis. There might not be another one like it on earth. CASSIE Then I can see why you're so interested in it. MARTHA Isn't this spectacular, Cassie? Just think - right here in Middleton we have something that is almost certainly one-of-a-kind! CASSIE These flowers are beautiful. Thank you, Sam. SAM I just wanted you to know I was thinking about you. CASSIE It's nice to know. And I just happen to be washing these vases so I have the perfect one picked out. SAM Abigail said they could go right in the middle of the kitchen. CASSIE I'm afraid they'd get knocked over there. I'll put them in the sun room. SAM The sun room it is, then. CASSIE I'll be right back. GRACE Wow. Who are those from? SAM Me. GRACE So you show up with flowers now? SAM I just wanted to surprise your mom. GEORGE Hey, Sam. SAM Hey. GEORGE This guy is an expert on the Middleton Merriwick now. I bumped into him and your mom down at the gardens. Gave him a little history lesson. GRACE You guys went to the Gardens together? GEORGE Oops. Was that supposed to be a secret? CASSIE Not exactly a secret. GRACE So how much longer are you going to stand out there? CASSIE I was waiting to find the right time to knock. Can I come in? GRACE The door's open. So... This whole "you and Sam" thing is moving forward, huh? CASSIE Faster than I thought. GRACE Yeah. You and me, both. CASSIE The last time we talked, you said that you needed time to think about it. GRACE Yeah, which is why it would've been nice to have been told that there was this ticking clock before the two of you started... ticking. CASSIE I had been meaning to find the right time to ask you how you felt about all this. GRACE So, I guess "right now" is now, huh? CASSIE It seems like it. So, how do you feel about all this? GRACE I feel fine. I mean, I really like Sam, and I see how happy he makes you. It's just... CASSIE Go ahead. GRACE It's just, everything has been "you and I" for so long, and now it's going to be more... crowded than that. CASSIE My life will never be too crowded for you. GRACE I know that. I just wish you would have told me first. Because now it just feels like I'm the last to find out. Even though I think I probably already knew. CASSIE I should have known there are no secrets in this house. GRACE But now everything's out in the open. Hey, those flowers were very pretty that he got you. CASSIE He has very good taste. GRACE He does. GEORGE It's going to be any day now. That flower is looking more ready to open than a jar of jam on Sunday morning. DAPHNE It's hard to tell. I've been doing readings, and checking the pH balance, but... GEORGE You can check anything you want. I'm just telling you what I know. DAPHNE You must be one of the gardeners here. GEORGE I show up when they need me. DAPHNE I'm from the university. GEORGE And they sent you here to dig in the dirt? DAPHNE They sent me here to study botanical science. GEORGE The Merriwick doesn't seem to care much about science. She just opens up when she wants to. ABIGAIL Oh. I didn't know anyone else was here. GEORGE Just a gardener and a scientist and this town's very own flower shop owner, which makes you the third expert out of three. ABIGAIL That's me -- Abigail the flower shop girl. DAPHNE Can you tell me anything about the other Middleton plant life? ABIGAIL I'm not quite the expert George thinks I am. I've been trying to grow potted plants at my shop to sell but I don't seem to have one of those green thumbs. GEORGE Are you looking for something? ABIGAIL What? No. Just ideas. That's why I come here. Flower ideas. DAPHNE You must be as eager as I am to see this one bloom. ABIGAIL Yeah, I hear it's stunning. Maybe I can grow something just like it. Anyway, it's nice to meet you. DAPHNE Nice to meet you. ABIGAIL George, I'll see you. DAPHNE I should get back to work. GEORGE All right. Good luck. DAPHNE Thanks. GRACE What are the distinguishing characteristics of a eukaryotic cell? NICK A you-carry-a-what-now? GRACE Eukaryotic. It's a kind of cell. NICK There's no way that's a word. You're making that up. GRACE It is right here in the book. NICK Let me see. GRACE No peeking. NICK Come on, let me see that! GRACE No, no, no. You are supposed to know this. NICK I'd know it if you gave me that book, Grace! GRACE No. NICK Fine, I give up. GRACE Good. Now. The nucleus and organelles are enclosed in a membrane. NICK Oh, okay, so it's like -- "Eukary" them inside something else. GRACE Yes. Yeah, that's a great way to remember it. NICK It's 'cause I've got the best teacher in town. GRACE Oh. NICK Well, thanks for all the learning. I'll try to remember to thank you during my graduation speech. GRACE Oh no, you'd better, since I'll be the one speaking right after you're done. NICK Bye Grace. GRACE Bye. STEPHANIE So... GRACE Hi. STEPHANIE What's going on with you and Nick? GRACE Nothing. We were just studying. STEPHANIE Uh-huh... GRACE What, "Uh-huh"? STEPHANIE It's just that he practically had his arm all the way around you, and then I saw him acting all sweet. GRACE What? No. That is just Nick being Nick. STEPHANIE I'll say it again: uh-huh. GRACE There's nothing going on between me and him. STEPHANIE Okay. Just make sure and let me know when the two of you start dating. EVE Okay, here's a lollipop. See you next time. Oh, Cassie. I'll let Sam know that you're here. CASSIE Except I came here to bring something to you. EVE Oh. CASSIE It's Malabathrum, grown in northern India. EVE It smells like cinnamon. And I love cinnamon. CASSIE It makes a great tea, very soothing. But when you drink it, tell people it's Malabathrum -- keeps them guessing. EVE How did you know I'd like something like this? CASSIE I just thought it might be something you could keep here in the office. For those days when nothing seems to be going right. SAM Hey. What are you doing here? EVE She brought me some Malabathrum. That's "cinnamon tea" if you were going to try to guess. SAM I wasn't. EVE Well, you never would have. CASSIE You know, before there were doctors like you, people used to use cinnamon as an anti-inflammatory. SAM Well, now that there are doctors like me, it goes much better on toast. What's next? EVE You have a patient in exam room two. SAM No matter what I do, people just keep appearing in exam room two. CASSIE Then I better let you get in there. SAM Thanks for stopping by. EVE She actually came by to bring me some tea. SAM Oh. Then I'm glad my assistant likes tea. GRACE I'll see you later. STEPHANIE Say "hi" to your mom for me. GRACE Yeah. STEPHANIE Is everything okay? GRACE Nick just sent me a text. "Need to ask you something important. Tomorrow okay?" You were right. Nick is going to ask me out. STEPHANIE Mmm-hmm. BRANDON What are you making? TARA Just something for dinner. Oh! BRANDON You okay? TARA Yeah, it didn't cut. BRANDON Let me take that. TARA I've got it. BRANDON Let me. Oh, I called the plumber by the way. TARA I said I was going to call him. BRANDON Yeah, but I know you don't like having to deal with that kind of thing. So now you don't have to. TARA You can stop acting this way. BRANDON I'm acting? What? TARA I've already told you I forgive you. For telling me that my mom didn't call even though she really was trying to get in touch with me. So you, acting like this and doing all this... You don't have to. BRANDON I just want you to know that things are different. TARA Yeah. They're way different. And now we just have to figure out how to live with how different things are. NICK Hey dad. SAM Hey. NICK Um, I wanna ask you something. SAM Sure. NICK I know it's been a long time since you were my age, but... SAM I'll try to remember back that far. NICK There's this girl that I want to ask out and I'm trying to figure out exactly what to say. SAM A girl huh? Who is she? NICK I'm going to wait 'til after she says "yes" to make that public. SAM Of course she'll say yes. What girl could resist the Radford charms? NICK So far? Most of them. SAM Speak for yourself. I might be a little old fashioned, but I always like to buy flowers and show up with them. NICK Nobody buys flowers when all you're doing is asking them out. SAM Okay, maybe I'm a little more old fashioned than I thought. But there's not much to it, really. You just say, "Hey, do you want to go somewhere some time and do something?" And then you stand there and wait, see if she says, "Sure." NICK You just stand there? SAM Well, it helps if you have the flowers, you can hide behind these. NICK So I guess it might be worth picking a few. CASSIE Oh. How are things with the Merriwick? GEORGE Still waiting for it to bloom. But you can't rush Mother Nature. Since when have you become a shutterbug? GRACE What? GEORGE The camera. GRACE Oh, I joined the photography club at school. GEORGE Well, don't forget your grandpa if you need a model. The camera loves me. CASSIE Hey, so... How'd it go with Nick? GRACE What? CASSIE Studying. GRACE Oh. Yeah. Right. Good. CASSIE Well, everything's almost done here. You and Grace want to finish up? ABIGAIL Sure. CASSIE And I want to see some of those pictures you're taking. GRACE When they're ready, yes. CASSIE Okay. ABIGAIL So... You want to talk about something? GRACE I think I do. ABIGAIL It's a boy, isn't it? GRACE How did you know? ABIGAIL Men are attracted to Merriwicks. It's our blessing and our curse. It's mostly a blessing. Although there are a few that I have literally cursed. GRACE It's just, I can't really talk with my mom about this because she and Sam are dating so it's weird to be thinking that my mom's boyfriend's son is about to ask me out. ABIGAIL Hang on, I need to follow the genealogy here. Your mom's boyfriend's... Nick is going to ask you out? GRACE Yeah. Tomorrow. ABIGAIL Well, he knows a good thing when he sees it. GRACE Except... ABIGAIL You're not sure you want him to. GRACE I don't know. I mean, Nick and I are such great friends right, but if we dated and things didn't work out, that could ruin everything. ABIGAIL So you're going to say no. GRACE I don't know what I'm going to say. ABIGAIL Look, I've been asked out by way too many men to count. And there's a few of them I actually did want to stay friends with. So what you have to do is, before he gets to the asking part, you start talking about how good of a friend he is to you but then very smoothly transition into listing all the things you're looking for in a romantic partner but make sure that nothing applies to him -- like, totally the opposite of him -- and he'll start to realize he's not the guy for you, he'll back down and eventually he'll never look at you that way again. Well, he'll keep looking at you that way, but you just have to make sure that you never look back. GRACE And you think that'll work? ABIGAIL Well, there's always the "curse" thing, but I don't think we want to have to turn Nick into a frog, do we? GRACE I don't think so. No. ABIGAIL Come on, let's finish up. You should probably make the salad. I'm not sure I should be handling food. I have so much dirt stuck under my fingernails. GRACE Let me see. Oh yeah, you're a mess. ABIGAIL I lost one of my favorite gardening gloves, which is frustrating because that thing fit like... GRACE A glove? ABIGAIL A glove, yeah. MARTHA Cassie, I'm so glad you came by to visit. I need your advice. CASSIE I just came by to return this book you gave me, but I'm always available to talk. MARTHA I want to take advantage of the Middleton Merriwick blooming but I don't know the best way to let the public know that it's here. CASSIE I'm sure you'll find the right way to make sure it gets seen. MARTHA Cassie, you always have such confidence in me. More than I have in myself! Let's see. Goodness, I really should organize these shelves some day. Oh, my look at this, I haven't seen this book in ages. The state tourism committee publishes this eye-catcher to showcase the plant life in this region. CASSIE I sell copies in my store. It's very popular. MARTHA Yes, and it brings oodles of attention to whatever town has it's flora featured on the cover. Cassie, what if this year it could be our town? With the Merriwick about to bloom, I'm sure we'd be a shoe in for the cover of the next edition! CASSIE Which would be a perfect way to make sure the public knows. MARTHA What a fantastic idea. I'm so glad I thought of it. I will call the committee and get them to come out and see our flower when it's finally in full bloom. CASSIE And then we can prepare for Middleton's most wonderful and magical year yet. MARTHA Cassie, are you all right? CASSIE I don't know. I just felt... I don't know. GRACE I came here this morning, to take some pictures. Like the ones I saw in your shop. Now, I was shooting some cool angles along the ground right next to the Merriwick and I didn't even notice that anything was wrong until I took a step back and saw... That. MARTHA Oh, my goodness... GRACE I know. Somebody took a stem right off of it. MARTHA Does this mean the flower isn't going to bloom? CASSIE That's hard to tell. MARTHA But it has to bloom! So we can get on the cover of that book and have a wonderful and magical year. Cassie, I need this year to be wonderful and magical. Wonderful and magical! Now, I'm going to need to see those photos you took. I'm going to ask Chief Sanders to open an investigation so we can find out who did this and we can use your pictures as evidence. GRACE Yeah. Of course. CASSIE Is something wrong? GRACE Yeah, this thing was just at full power but now it won't turn back on. MARTHA Can't you just, you know, reach in and pull the pictures out? GRACE It's digital. I'm gonna have to take it home and try and charge it. MARTHA And then you can bring me copies? GRACE Or e-mail them. MARTHA Oh, honestly, you kids and your technology. Do you have the photos or not? GRACE I will try to get them to you. MARTHA Thank you. That's what I wanted to hear. Oh dear. Look at that poor thing. Do you think it's going to survive? CASSIE It does look a bit off. MARTHA It has to be okay. It's going to be okay. CASSIE I suppose we'll just have to wait and see. ABIGAIL I bet she'd love those. DANIEL Pardon me? ABIGAIL Well, if a guy like you bought flowers like this for a girl like me? I know how I'd react, except, well, we're not dating. At least not yet. DANIEL I actually need something for my aunt's funeral. ABIGAIL Oh. DANIEL I'll get them somewhere else. SAM Hey. ABIGAIL What are you here for? SAM Flowers. For Cassie. ABIGAIL Just making sure. Didn't you just get flowers for Cassie? SAM Is there some kind of rule about how often a guy can give a person flowers? ABIGAIL It seems like overkill to me, but whatever keeps me in business, I guess. SAM What did that thing ever do to you? ABIGAIL It's boring, that's what. SAM So, what do you think she'd like? ABIGAIL Roses, perhaps? SAM I was thinking, "Roses." ABIGAIL I'm actually out of roses. SAM I saw one outside in a bucket. ABIGAIL Oh, I guess I still do have one left. SAM One rose can be romantic, right? ABIGAIL If you say so. NICK So, there's something I need to talk to you about. GRACE Oh yes. I know. And I know exactly what you're going to say. NICK How can you already know that? GRACE I mean, I have a feeling. NICK You and your "feelings." GRACE Look, Nick, you mean a lot to me. NICK Okay. GRACE And we're really good friends. NICK Yeah, that's why I'm here. GRACE Right. So let's say something were to get in the middle of that friendship... NICK Oh. I'm starting to see where this is going. GRACE No, shoot, no -- Abigail told me I was supposed to... Shoot! NICK You think that me asking Courtney out is gonna get in the way of you and me being friends. GRACE You want to ask Courtney out? NICK Yeah, and I wanted you to help me with the right things to say. But you don't even think I should ask her. GRACE No, no, no. I didn't say that. NICK Then what are you saying? GRACE If you want to ask her, just go ahead and ask her. NICK But what should I say? GRACE I don't know. Just start off with, "Hey," and then, fill in the blanks from there. BRANDON Hey, do you want me to pick up something for dinner tonight? TARA I can make something. BRANDON Yeah, but you're working all day. TARA And somehow there are people who manage to do both. BRANDON I just don't want you to have to do so much because -- TARA Because you don't think I can handle it? BRANDON I didn't say that. TARA But you keep treating me that way. You pick me up and take me places like I'm in the third grade. You stand over me while I'm working in the kitchen as if I can't do it. I know you tried to protect me from my mom. You don't have to protect me, Brandon. You do enough protecting as part of your job. BRANDON So what do you want me to do? TARA I want you to stop treating me like a child. I want you to start letting me make my own choices. Even if that means I get hurt. CASSIE Hey. How was lunch? TARA Fine. When did these come in? CASSIE Yesterday morning. They're more Quadrivium candles. TARA What does that word even mean? CASSIE I think it's Latin for "crossroads." TARA Huh... STEPHANIE Can you help me find something? CASSIE Of course. STEPHANIE Ben's been working so hard lately, going job to job, that he says his whole body hurts. I just thought maybe one of your herbal cream mixtures of yours might take away the soreness. CASSIE I'm sure I can find something. STEPHANIE Which is why I always come running to you. CASSIE Hmmm... STEPHANIE You know, I'm sure any one of these is probably fine. CASSIE I just want to find the right one. STEPHANIE Okay. What about this one? CASSIE I think that might do it, yeah. STEPHANIE Great. How much do I owe you? CASSIE Price is on the bottom. STEPHANIE Oh. I was kinda hoping you'd say, "It's a gift," like you always do, because I actually forgot my wallet at work. CASSIE Then it's a gift. STEPHANIE You are so nice! MARTHA How bad is it? GEORGE Well, it's not good, that's all I know. DEREK This was definitely done on purpose. That's a cut, not a break. MARTHA Will that affect the plant permanently? DAPHNE It shouldn't. A cutting from one stalk doesn't generally affect the system down to the roots. MARTHA Except you said it yourself -- the Middleton Merriwick is unique. DEREK I'll set up a room at the station. Start gathering evidence. MARTHA I want you to use the conference room, so that I can keep track of your progress minute by minute. DEREK Yes, Ma'am. GEORGE I hope you catch whoever did this. DEREK We're going to do everything we can. DAPHNE It's nice to see others who care about the well-being of a plant as much as I do. MARTHA It's because of what that plant means. To all of us. All my life I've heard stories about the way that plant has inspired the people of Middleton and the wonderful things that happened whenever it bloomed. Which is why we need the Merriwick back to full power or else -- well, I just can't even imagine what might happen to this town if we ever had to live without it! ABIGAIL Hey. So how'd it go with... your friend that I hope is still a friend. GRACE It went. But I think I should talk to mom about it. ABIGAIL That's probably a good idea. Maybe she's got a clearer head than I do right now. CASSIE Who's this friend you wanted to talk to me about? GRACE Nick. CASSIE Are you two not getting along? GRACE No, we're getting along. So much so that I thought he was going to ask me out. I was honestly ready for it. Then he didn't ask me out. Instead He wanted my advice on how to ask Courtney out. CASSIE And you didn't see that coming. GRACE Not even a little bit. CASSIE What would you say to him if he did ask? GRACE I would have said no. CASSIE Then you should have just been honest with him and told him how you really feel. GRACE I guess I didn't even realize that was an option. CASSIE So why don't you tell me what you're feeling? GRACE About Nick? He's like a brother to me. He's the kind of guy that stays in your life forever. Not just some guy who just wants to go out with me on a couple of dates. CASSIE And there are going to be a lot of other guys who want to ask you out on those. I'm certain about that. GRACE I don't know, mom. I'm just not certain about anything today. It's kind of weird. CASSIE Yeah. The whole town's been anxious waiting for that flower to bloom. GRACE Do you think it ever will? CASSIE I hope so. GRACE I can't wait to see it, if it does. CASSIE Me, too. And then you'll have a wonderful, magical year of your own. BRANDON Hey. TARA Hi. BRANDON I got you something. TARA What is it? BRANDON Well, I called some guys on the force and I managed to get a current phone number for your mom. TARA I thought she changed it? BRANDON She did. And this is what it is right now. TARA I never thought I'd be able to get in touch with her again. BRANDON Now you can. If you what to. It's up to you. GRACE He wanted to give you flowers? COURTNEY He looked so cute standing there with them -- I think he actually picked them himself. GRACE Wow. COURTNEY And then he asked me if I wanted to go out. GRACE Really? What did he say? COURTNEY He started with, "Hey," then he just kind of mumbled a bunch of stuff after that. GRACE Well look, I think you guys are gonna have a lot of fun together. COURTNEY Except not. I told him, "No." GRACE What? Why? COURTNEY Because... GRACE What? COURTNEY Because I thought you liked him, and I didn't want to get in the way of all that. GRACE No, no. Nick and I are just friends. COURTNEY Really? Because you kind of seem like a lot more than that. GRACE Because of how good of friends we are. COURTNEY So, it would be okay if... GRACE Oh my gosh, you like him! COURTNEY Only if that's okay with you. GRACE Yes. COURTNEY Yeah? GRACE It is okay. So you'd better get back there and say, "yes" before he throws those flowers away. COURTNEY Right. Okay. I'll be next door. And now that I know you're not interested Nick, is it okay if I give your number to one of the guys from the photo-taking club you just joined? Actually, two guys wanted to know if they could ask you out. GRACE They hardly even know me. COURTNEY I'm just saying that you're popular with the picture-takers, so it's not a negative that you joined their club. GRACE Because I wanted to see life from a different perspective. Just like my mom said. COURTNEY Maybe one of those guys can get your camera to work. GRACE I think that might be dead forever. Now go! COURTNEY Okay. See ya. SAM Guess who? CASSIE Sam? Sam. SAM I never get to sneak up on you. For you. CASSIE Aw, beautiful. Thank you. Ow! SAM Oh gosh. I guess Abigail didn't get all the thorns off. Let me get something for that. CASSIE No, that's okay. SAM Let me take care of you. For once. STEPHANIE Hey. I just got off the phone with Ben. That cream you gave me made him break out in hives. CASSIE That shouldn't have happened. STEPHANIE I know, it's weird. Anyway, now I've got to get to the drugstore to find something that'll clear those. ABIGAIL What is going on? CASSIE I just cut myself, that's all. ABIGAIL No. Not that. Everything. I've felt off all day. Is something wrong? CASSIE I don't know.