I definitely enjoyed these scenes, but I agree that leaving them out was the right choice. It would have been jumpy, too, without rewriting so much of the chapter. Van is so appropriately dismissive of Stef, and I really can't imagine him not running for his life the second he saw Stef in his room (just as portrayed here).

I also have tons of half-finished stuff, but have been at work for the past ten days straight. Seriously, kill me now. Also, my daughter just turned one (yay, we all survived), and you would not believe the madness of a first birthday (even when you try NOT to buy into it)!