A/N: As usual, I would recommend putting the video on loop.

Fingers wrapping around one another and brows furrowing, she parted her lips to speak, but she paused when Deidre came back into the room. Ether glanced over and saw the key lime pie yoghurt in her hands. She didn't move past the doorway, especially since Ether was in front of her in less than a second. "Thank you," he answered curtly.

Understanding the message, Deidre nodded to them both and left the room before Ether closed the door again. "You can tell me while you're eating," he mentioned as he seated himself on the side of the bed by her. As he placed yoghurt on the spoon, he looked to her and waited. Immediately, she didn't answer. It wasn't out of hunger and being so close to food, though. Rather, it was as if her mind was processing all of the negatives that might be occurring at that moment. While she was waiting for yoghurt, her parents could be suffering at the hands of that worse creature than Ether. Ether remained patient, and she wondered if he already knew what she was going to say. Most likely, he did.

"My parents," he held out the spoon to her with the yoghurt, and she tried to grab it, "... I worry about them." Her fingers wrapped around the object, but, like with the glass, they couldn't hold it up too well. His right fingers circled around hers, and he helped move the bite to her lips. A pout formed on her lips, but her arms and hands were moving at the very least.

Placing the yoghurt in her mouth, he replied, "I'd be surprised if you weren't." He giggled a bit and pulled the spoon away. "After all, me threatening your parents' lives brought us closer."

"It brought you closer, not me," she argued, a scowl forming on her lips, after she finished the bite.

A grin stretched on his lips in response. "Ah, there it is." She raised a brow. "You're getting the fight in you back, but," he giggled once more, "you already told me that you're closer to me in your own way. You can't leave me; you miss me." Her eyes averted from his and towards the yoghurt. He prepared another bite for her.

"I'm stuck with you, not closer," she clarified, accepting another bite.

That time, though, he didn't move the spoon back. Instead, he leaned in closer. "Are you sure?" She pulled her head back, and the spoon made a pop noise when it left her mouth. A glare remained on her countenance. Another giggle left him. "Fine, fine, I'll let your ignorance come back." Ether leaned back to where he was, and his expression soon turned more serious. "But, I know that you want to contact your parents. I figured that you would once you were able."

"So, I can call them now, then!?" she asked, a little bit of excitement entering her voice. It wasn't pleasant excitement, though. No, it came from fear, and she wanted to rush over to a phone and pick one up to check on them. What if he had reached them and was torturing them like he had her!

"After you finish your yoghurt." Her expression dropped. "You need your nutrients. You haven't eaten for two days, and you're still ..." His eyes looked over her briefly, and a mixture of sadness and fury entered his very pale blue optics. He stopped on her neck, and the bruises there remained dark. Just thinking about his hands around her neck ...

"You're going to crush the yoghurt," she plainly stated, but she understood what he was getting at. She saw where his eyes rested, and she could feel how sore the area around her throat was. Thankfully, she was able to talk decently. The remembrance of the pain of being choked entered her mind briefly, and she winced at it.

"Ah, sorry," he replied quickly, lessening his grip on the plastic cup. "Is this good?" He held out another bite to her, and she took it. A quiet hum left her. "Hmm, it smells like ..."

Having swallowed, she quickly interrupted, "I don't need to know. Just let me eat it. It tastes fine." A giggle parted from him, but it sounded ... apologetic more than anything else. "I had to deal with enough rot in the subway." She accepted another bite, and he nodded in reply. A silence fell over them. It was calm, but there was a certain tension in the air, which stemmed from the creature and not her.

"What?" she finally asked, not being able to handle the growing frown on his lips. He looked pissed off, and his left nails were twitching. Her heartbeat picked up at the sight. It about jumped out of her chest when he snapped his eyes onto hers. Slightly, she winced since still she had managed to move a little bit from terror.

"I ..." Ether hands drifted down and rested on his lap. "What he did ... It makes me realize what might've happened had you never escaped Cankerfell. Would I have locked you in a room with a rotting corpse? With Laura?" The thought caused her to freeze, and she tried to force away the mental image of Laura's decaying head staring right at her.

"I don't know. I can see you capable of that, especially back then. You didn't have feelings for me other than intrigue." Her eyes shifted to the yoghurt container. Even if the mental image of Laura had disturbed her, her stomach still pressed her for food due to the lack of it for awhile. "I wish you were that intrigued by me with a knife nowadays."

Slightly, a giggle parted from him. "Was that a joke?" She rolled her eyes and took another bite of the yoghurt. His expression fell again. "Then ..." he trailed off, his gaze focusing on her intently.

"You're not sorry for what you did back then. You've told me many times." She was ready for another bite. As he prepared it, she continued, "Why are you worried about it now? You were an a**hole, and you still are."

Somewhat, the spoon fell with the yoghurt before it could reach her lips. An eyebrow of hers raised. "I don't know if I'm worried. Maybe, angry." A rough sigh parted from him. "I just hate to think that I had the same thought process as him when it concerns you."

"Ether." Slightly, he raised the spoon. "Again, you didn't have feelings for me back then." She didn't know why she was reassuring him in that moment, especially since his words did concern her. Would he have locked her in a room with Laura's corpse? It was very probable, yet just recently she had confessed to missing him. The whole thing was one giant ball of too many emotions, and she didn't want to break down again. Not right now anyway. Perhaps, she was reassuring him so that she could reassure herself that things were fine in the present. Her mind needed a break from all of the horrible thoughts, but she still had her parents to worry about.

"Anyway, it doesn't matter now. We discussed things, and I have my parents." Realization seemed to snap into his eyes, and he sat more upright. His reaction was so noticeable that she almost wondered if he had been voicing his thoughts out-loud. No, that couldn't be it. Otherwise, he wouldn't have expected an answer. Then again, maybe, he had wanted a silent one.

Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when Ether's head sharply turned over to the room door. "We need a phone." No answer came until she heard footsteps. Had someone been wanting to come in? Tempted, she wanted to check, but she hadn't even tried to move her legs that much yet. Would she even be able to walk? Yes, she had been out maybe less than a week, but her weakened body might not be able to support her standing presently.

With Deidre, though, Ether would've heard her steps too, but she had been allowed in. Things clicked into place. "That had been Nick." She didn't state it as a question; she knew it to be a fact. Ether frowned and held out another bite, the last one. Eating it, (f/n) relaxed back on her pillow against the headboard.

"... Yeah. Deidre walks quieter than him. The other two are louder." Ether set the yoghurt cup on the nightstand with the spoon. "I don't want him to see you awake."

"He'll have to ..."

"I know." His tone was harsh, but it wasn't directed at her. "I know that you two will have to talk, and even if he addressed some concerns, I still don't like him being near you." A heavy, annoyed frown on his lips formed. "If neither Cal ... he or I was around, we both know what would happen."

"If you two weren't around, he always would've been some acquaintance of Laura's." They both shared a glance. Neither of their expressions was amused, and neither of them let up until there was a knock on the door. Before she had a chance to speak, he got up from the chair and practically raced to the door. It opened and closed so fast that she couldn't even see a glimpse of Nick. Figures.

"Here." He handed her the phone. "We can worry about Nick later." (F/n) had a feeling that he wouldn't bring the human male up again unless he had to, or she kept talking about him. That might just make him extremely pissed off, and she'd rather avoid that even if he was focused on her recovery. Still, internally, she was appreciative that he was letting her try the phone first. If she set the phone on her lap, she should be able to type in the funeral home's number easily. She nodded to him before she managed to navigate the phone. The numbers soon enough were typed, and she placed the phone on speaker. Ether would hear the conversation regardless, and she waited for the line to pick up.