Thanks to those of you who reviewed :) I usually don't vent my feelings, but the past couple episodes of this season of Dexter have been disappointing to me. The season started out great (I liked the whole idea of Dexter and Deb at odds and him trying to get her back in his life. I liked the whole story with Vogel and how she helped create Dexter, and I even liked the whole Brain Surgeon story line before it became a little predictable), but once Hannah showed up I felt it went downhill from there. It's not that I'm bothered by Hannah herself, it's mostly the way Dexter acts around her that makes me angry. I feel as though Hannah should have been brought back for revenge rather than as a love interest again (considering we already saw that last season)...and I would have liked it if Miami Metro would have found out at least something about Dexter...I'm hoping there's something big that's going to happen in the last three episodes, because maybe, just maybe, that would redeem this season for me...Anyways, here's chapter 4:

"Time to get up, fuckwad." Deb gently shakes my arm, and I stretch, trying to ignore whatever she just called me. A glance at my watch tells me it's nearly eleven. Late for work again. Shit. I suppose I've counted on Masuka too many times to cover for me. My eyes still have yet to come into focus, but I can at least see Deb in her kitchen making what looks to be coffee. "Want some coffee?" she asks. Yep, coffee.

"Sure," I respond, standing up and walking over by her, "but make it to go I have to get to work."

"Yes, your fucking majesty," she jokes and sets it down in front of me on the table.

I want to talk to her about last night, but she seems like she's in a bad mood for some reason. I contemplate asking her what's wrong, but decide against it.

"Where's Harrison?" I ask instead, trying to keep the conversation light.

"School, where the fuck do you think?" She takes a drink of her coffee then spits it out. "Shit, that's hot."

"Yeah, coffee is hot, Deb," I remark, raising an eyebrow. She glares at me, and I can almost hear a growl come out of her mouth. If looks could kill, Deb would rack up a bigger body count than me.

"I can't believe you're still lying to me," she utters, staring me in the eyes. I'm confused.

"Lie to you? What do you mean?"

"Quinn," she simply states.

"What about Quinn?"

"You think he killed Cassie...and you were fucking looking into it behind my back!"

"How...how did you know about that?"

"You got a fucking call on your phone this morning that said you got positive results back for the blood sample you sent it."

"So you were looking at my phone?" I question, trying to make a point.

"Jesus, Dex, that's not what's important! The important thing is you weren't going to tell me about it, were you?" There's probably a million things I could say to calm her down. I could lie to her again, but I don't want to hurt her. I could hug her; it's been a long time since I've pulled her against my chest and wrapped my arms around her, since I've even touched her. I could also be honest; state what I'm thinking.

"So...the results came back positive?" Deb stares at me, mouth halfway open, shaking her head.

"Are you even fucking listening to me?"

"Yes, Deb, I was going to tell you about Quinn, I was just waiting to get the results, I honestly...I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Let it go," she states, still looking at me.

"Let it go?" I repeat, "so let him get away with murder?"

"This is Quinn we're talking about," she asserts, "not some random fucking person off the street."

"Do you still like him?" I question. Deb exhales.

"No...no of course not."

"Good."

"Good? Why is that good?" she asks.

"I don't like him, and you know that...he's already been onto me twice before."

"You could do it for me..." she mumbles, "you know I left Hannah alone for you, asshole, you could return the favor. I just can't fucking see anything else happen to someone I care about."

Deb's done absolutely everything for me. She's put up with everything I've put her through since she's found out my secret. She's the one person who's still here...still with me. I owe her this.

"I'll tell Masuka the results came back negative," I tell her.

"Thank you."

We stand there in silence, and I completely forget I'm supposed to be getting to work. For some reason I want to stay here, with Deb. I know I've put her through so much pain. Finally I decide to bring up our conversation from last night.

"I don't know why I thought I could just leave you behind and go to Argentina," I confess, "it was...a stupid idea."

"Yeah, it was," she agrees, and then tears suddenly fill her eyes. "You have no fucking clue how...how angry...how hurt I was when you told me that...to think I would have to live without you." She has to lean on the table for support, but instead I close the distance between us and pull her into me for a hug, finally. How many times have I held her like this and thought nothing of it? Everything was seemingly meaningless until now...when she's the only person I have left.

"I'm not going anywhere," I breathe into her hair, "I just need to know that you're not either...that you're with me...that you accept me." Deb steps back a little to look at me, but her hands remain on my arms.

"Of course I'm fucking with you...I always have been, Dex...that doesn't mean I approve of everything you do, though."

"I just want you to be okay."

"I'm never going to be okay, Dexter." I stare her in the eyes.

"Do you love me?" I ask, and it sounds ridiculous, even childlike. She laughs, and gives me a light punch in the arm, and then hugs me again, pressing her face into my shoulder.

"Yes," her face becomes serious again, "way more than what's appropriate..."

Her hands find my chest then, and make their way to the back of my neck. I can't help but shiver, and it's certainly not from the air. I half expect her to kiss me, but she doesn't. She just leans her forehead against my own, so our noses are practically touching. I rest my hands awkwardly on the small of her back, and we both exhale in unison. This is where I've always felt most comfortable; with Deb. And I know she feels the same way. Now it feels even better, with her knowing everything about me. There's no more secrets, no more hiding and pretending to care, because I really do. It doesn't feel like Argentina...it feels like home.

Jamie picks up Harrison from school that afternoon. She wants to get to Joey's house before he has to go into work later tonight, so she's quick to get to his house, Harrison trailing behind her.

"Where are we?" the boy asks as Jamie taps on the door.

"Remember Joey? This is his house."

Harrison gives a small nod, and Jamie continues to knock, only to receive no answer. "Huh, that's weird," she says to no one in particular. She pulls out her phone, dials Joey's number, and can hear a faint ringing sound coming from inside. "Apparently no one answers their phone," she says to Harrison. "Stay right here, alright? I'm going to go around to the back."

To her surprise, she finds the back door unlocked, which isn't like Joey at all. She lets herself in, kicking away the dirty clothes that get in her way. She finds her way to his living room and sees him on the couch. He's laying down, still dressed in the same clothes he had on when they saw each other his morning. His mouth is open slightly, and his eyes are closed.

"Joey, I thought we were doing lunch today before you have to work," she says. He doesn't answer, and she makes her way over to the couch. "Joey, come on, you can sleep afterwards." Still no response. "Joey!" She yells his name and pulls his arm this time. He topples over and falls to the floor. Jamie screams and immediately lets go of his arm. The back of his head has been cut open, revealing the brain, but part of it is missing.

She grabs her keys off the counter and runs out the door, only to find Harrison still standing there.

"What's wrong, Jamie?" He must have heard her scream. She scoops him up in her arms and begins carrying him back to her car.

"Nothing," she reassures him. She puts Harrison in the back seat, starts the car engine, and immediately calls her brother.

The phone rings ten times before the answering machine picks up. This is Doctor Evelyn Vogel, sorry I'm not here to take your call at the moment, please leave a message.

"Evelyn, it's Deb...just, just call me back."

Oliver Saxon sits at Vogel's kitchen table, staring aimlessly at the phone, listening contently to Deb's voice. Vogel sits across from him, terror in her eyes.

"You're quite popular, mom," he states, staring at her, "is she also working for the police?" Vogel shakes her head.

"No, she was one of my patients." Vogel knows if she answers in any way Saxon doesn't like, he could very well kill her.

"But she was working with that Quinn guy," Saxon states, a gleam in his eye.

"Debra is not a threat to you," she responds, confidently, "neither is Dexter, I will make sure of that."

"How?" he demands, slamming his hands on the table, startling her, "how?"

"Dexter trusts me, he'll listen to what I say." Saxon smiles.

"I also trusted you," he whispers, "and you sent me away...you tore us apart!" Vogel starts to back up her chair. "You're not leaving!" Saxon grabs her shaking hands and pins them down. "You sent me away to that hospital, they caged me like I was some kind of animal. How could you do that to me?"

Vogel looks him in the eyes, shaking her head, and his grip on her arm tightens.

"I was doing what was best for you, I was only thinking of you, you must understand that."

"You were scared."

"No, of course not, you never scared me." Saxon lets go of her arm then. He stands up and places both hands on the table, leaning forward so his face is inches from hers.

"What are you afraid of, mother?" he hisses.

I stomp on the gas pedal hard enough to break it. There's a crime scene at Quinn's house, and I know that means bad news, but I'm trying to think of an excuse to give Batista for not showing up at the station earlier today.

I fell in the shower and sprained my ankle. No, that would require me to limp around for a week.

My tire was flat so I had to go to the shop to get it fixed. No, I've already used that excuse multiple times.

Harrison had an ear infection. Sounds good.

Deb's sitting beside me in the passenger seat. I'm not sure why she would want to come along. She hasn't said a word to me, but she has been calling Vogel multiple times.

"She's still not answering, Dex." I have to slam on the breaks when the car in front of me stops abruptly. And that's when I realize it's Jacob Elway's car.

"Maybe she's just busy," I respond, "and isn't that Jacob Elway?" I nod to the car in front of ours. There's a sign taped up to the back of his window with a picture of a blond woman on it. Hannah. Great, looks like he's still looking for her.

"Holy shit," Deb says, leaning forward, "yeah I think it is." Once the light turns green his car turns left and I keep going forward. "I told him I was thinking about going back to Miami Metro...but now I don't know...with this fucked up mess...and Quinn-" she trails off. "Maybe I would just be asking for more trouble."

"I think you should come back," I say, glancing over at her in the mirror. The last time I was in the car with her she tried to kill us both, but I try not to think about that. After all, she was confused at the time, she didn't know what she was doing or what she wanted. Maybe she still doesn't know what she wants. She's said some pretty interesting things to me recently. I pull into Quinn's driveway, and I put the car into park. We just sit there.

"Are you going to unlock the doors?" Deb asks, looking over at me.

"I want to ask you something," I mumble.

"What?"

"You know when you told me you...were in love with me?" I try to avoid eye contact for her own good, so I just stare straight ahead. I hear her breathing hitch, because it's a touchy subject for her.

"Yeah," she says.

"Do you still feel that way?"

"Hey, Dexter!" Batista taps on my window, scaring me a little. I start the engine and roll down my window. "There's blood inside, I know this is going to be a tough one for all of us, but I need you to take a look at it." I nod, and Batista acknowledges Deb. "Good to see you, Deb." She smiles and Batista turns to walk away.

"By the way, Harrison had an ear infection!" I yell at him.

I get out of the car, making sure to grab my forensics kit and laminate from the back seat. Deb comes up behind me, entwining her arm with mine.

"I'll get back to you on that," she whispers in my ear, and I smile at her.

"So this Brain Surgeon guy is still going at it...sucks donkey dicks for Quinn," Masuka says to Nikki, watching as Quinn is put in a body bag.

"Looks like it," Batista says, "I just wish it was anyone else...my sister was so broken up about it." I'm staring at the pool of blood Quinn left on the carpet. The universe sometimes does have a way of being in my favor. I no longer have to worry about Quinn getting in my way, or about his relentless pursue to bring Zach to justice. Quinn just wouldn't stop sticking his nose into people's business, and so he paid the price.

"I know," I say to Batista, "first her friend, Cassie, and now her boyfriend." Batista just stares at me. It was meant to be a simple agreement, but somehow it came out bad. Kind of like everything else I say.

"Well it looks as though we're going to have to re-open the Brain Surgeon investigation. The guy we got must have been a copy cat." Duh, I think, putting the supplies back in my forensics kit. But this isn't good. The last thing I need is Miami Metro going after Saxon. He's mine. It's a good thing Quinn was the only one who was onto him. Maybe I can kill him before everyone else catches on...and if I can get Vogel to agree.

Everyone starts to pack up, and I notice Batista stop to look at Quinn's lifeless body. He bends his head and crosses his heart, something I've never understood. A good person would feel bad about Quinn's dead, but just like LaGuerta's death, it solved my problems. I duck under the yellow tape and find Deb standing by my car. She looks horrified.

"Deb, what's wrong?" She looks up at me, and hands me her phone.

"This."

It's a video of Vogel. She's sitting in what looks like a dentist chair, strapped down. Her mouth is covered with duct tape, and you can clearly see the tears stinging her eyes. Suddenly Saxon shows up, and that's when the screen goes black.

"That's why she wasn't answering, because he's fucking got her! Dexter, we have to go after her." My phone vibrates and the same exact video appears.

"Why is he doing this?" I ask, and I follow Deb into the car.

I'm just hoping we haven't run out of time.