After Arkady leaves, Bazarov is possessed by a fever to work on his experiments. Except for a few brief clashes, Pavel and Bazarov are able to avoid each other. Both Nikolai and Pavel do take pleasure in observing the young man in his laboratory. The only person at Marino who Bazarov really responds to and gets along with is Fenichka. Fenichka likewise responds to Bazarov. Perhaps it is because she does not consider him of noble birth and could therefore feel more at ease around him.
One day as Bazarov was returning from a walk, he found Fenichka sitting on a bench in a secluded part of the arbor. She thinks that the heat is making her sick, but after Bazarov takes her pulse, he announces that she shall live to be a hundred. They laugh and talk together about his studying and his occupation. She later tells him that the drops he had given her earlier for the baby were very beneficial. Bazarov jokingly said that he has to be paid, but he doesn't want money. He asks for one of her roses. As they are joking, Fenichka thinks she hears Pavel in the vicinity. She expresses her fear and dislike for the man. Bazarov then jokes with her some more and tells her to smell the rose. He leans forward to smell it with her and uses this opportunity to kiss her fully on her parted lips. At this moment, Pavel appears and greets them. Fenichka runs away immediately, and after Pavel leaves, he walks for a long time before he returns to the house in a highly disturbed state of mind.
