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

As much as he was tempted, Nick resisted the urge to remain out in the hallway and listen into the operation. He could hear Ether speaking, but he couldn't decipher what he had been saying, which probably was for the best. At least, (f/n) was alive and breathing, which meant that his team didn't have to worry about Ether killing them all, but Callest still was out there, and that terrified him to no end. Briefly, his eyes peered down to the red marks that remained on his wrists.

Memories of being tied and having to watch Callest glide his fingers along (f/n)'s body made him sick. His eyes widened slightly as he recalled the fact that he had been able to do nothing to stop him. Hearing what Callest had done to her as well made his stomach turn more, and he wondered if (f/n) truly ever would heal from all of that. He could be there for her, and he would be since the creature and she would be staying at their home for awhile, but there was an undeniable truth in the matter; he was utterly powerless against Callest. If it weren't for Ether, all of them would be dead, and (f/n) probably would continue to receive endless amounts of torture.

Even though he admitted that he did have feelings for (f/n), he couldn't protect her like Ether could. He couldn't understand and forgive her like Ether could, and he had his team to look after. In the subway, he even had thought of sacrificing (f/n) to Ether so that all of them could survive. Those facts created a barrier between (f/n) and him that he didn't know if he ever could break down unless Callest and Ether died. After everything in the subway, Nick didn't know if (f/n) would be able to kill Ether anymore, and he most certainly couldn't. All he could do was run and hope that he kept his teammates safe by doing so.

Leaning his left side against the wall, he stared out into the waiting room. The vet was tending to Ren's wound first since he was awake and loosing blood. Deidre was letting him hold her left hand to squeeze as the doctor stitched the wound together if he felt any pain during the small operation. That way, he wouldn't wake up Chris in the process, who moaned slightly in her sleep from moving her right leg just a little bit.

Deidre, noting Nick's presence, smiled to him slightly since the doctor had told Ren and her the good news about (f/n). Nick returned the slight smile, and Ren glanced over to her. He nodded his head. "Are you sure?" she quietly asked before Ren nodded his head again.

"Yeah, I can't really move too much, and I'll keep a watch over Chris. We need to get things moving too if we want to leave here as soon as we can." The vet gave no opinion on the matter even if he knew that moving (f/n) around too much in her condition was a poor idea. He wanted them gone, and he had saved her life, so his end of the deal would be over once he tended to Ren and Chris. Ren winced a bit at the final stitch before the vet tied them off, but the auburn-haired male gave Deidre another signal to go.

Standing up, she replied, "Okay, we'll just be around the corner." Ren hummed in response before Deidre walked over to Nick, who personally was planning to give them more time before they discussed things, but he figured that the sooner they got out of the vet the better.

"So, what are we going to do? All of our stuff is still back in the hotel room except for what we lost in our backpacks, minus Chris's, and the cameras still are in the subway. There are also the blueprints from the archives as well as our other notes that we took from there," Deidre started, thinking about all of the work ahead of them and how it would be possible to get done with Callest still on the loose.

"Our backpacks and the cameras can be left behind. If someone else wants to explore the subway and claim them, they can, but I don't want us going back in for that kind of thing. I don't think that Ether even would allow that given (f/n)'s condition. As for our things in the hotel and the archives ..." Nick sighed and combed his right fingers through his pitch black locks. "We could retrieve them as all of our gear is in there, and the archives will want their work back, but ... I also don't want to risk it."

"Ether would have to carry (f/n) through the hotel and the archives, right?" Deidre questioned as her brown optics drifted over to the operation room. For a moment, she thought that she heard the creature crying again, but she didn't say anything. What was going on there wasn't any of her business, and she doubted that Ether would harm (f/n) after the whole display that had happened recently.

"Exactly, he couldn't leave her alone with some of us here since Callest could finish us off and complete what he meant to do to her."

"And, where he had been aiming before Chris had stepped in ..."

"He said that he would take what Ether desired most." Nick felt his stomach curl at the idea. Even if Ether had demonstrated a more ... caring and considerate side to him, the thought of him having his child with (f/n) nauseated him. The process sounded gruesome and more than a handful of agony. "He probably had been trying to ensure that Ether and she never had a child together. He seemed disgusted by humans in general and even more so at their relationship, wherever it stands now."

"Chris, she really had stopped him. The vet told us that no organs had been hit," Deidre mentioned, sighing in relief at thinking over the news again. A slight smile hit her lips. "I think that she really earns a feast when she gets back home safely."

On Nick's lips, a smile appeared too. "She does, and I think that she has another surprise waiting for her too." Deidre raised a brow, but she didn't question him more on the topic since she had a suspicion about what he was referring to. A more stressed expression greeted Nick's countenance soon after. "But again, I don't think that Ether will approve of getting our things either and returning the documents. Even if he did carry (f/n) around, it would draw up too much suspicion even if he does put on a change of clothes if he has them."

"Then, should we call the hotel and have them return the documents and donate our stuff to them if they want it?"

"Well, they can ship our things to us. They have our address already, so it wouldn't hurt. The vet, though, will have to return the blueprints of the subway since they're in Chris's backpack." A worried look crossed Deidre's face, and Nick shook his head to indicate that it wouldn't be a problem. "Don't worry about them knowing our address. Even if Callest learns it, we have Ether. As long as Ether is around, Callest probably won't strike at us, but that also means that we're probably going to have to spend quite a bit of money on groceries and other household items for them to be delivered in."

If he wasn't scared of Callest grabbing one of his team members and butchering them, he would've looked annoyed. "Since he probably can tolerate sunlight now, he can snatch any one of us up even in daylight and in the open with how quick he can move." He tried to think of some solution, but it always ended in Callest grabbing them one way or another. "Even with a car, he could grab us before we reach our destination once we leave the car. His speed is too much of an issue."

"Are we going to have enough money for all of this?" she asked, somewhat worried, even though they had little choice in the matter until Callest was dead.

"Yes, we will. We've planned for situations like this, and it won't be for forever. I trust that Ether will find Callest once (f/n) is fully healed, or he'll probably wait for Callest to show himself since Callest probably won't stay in the shadows forever. Given everything he pulled back in the subway, he'll come back to finish what he started."

"Then, I suppose that we should start making some calls," she answered, her eyes averting over to the vet's office where his computer and phone were. Nick followed her gaze and nodded. "Should I call the hotel, and you ... Are we going to drive back?"

"We are," he responded as he walked into the office with her. "We can't have (f/n) waiting around in an airport, and security will never let Ether pass through. If anything, he'll send the whole place into chaos, and who knows what kind of people will be brought out of that." A heavy frown touched his lips. "I wouldn't put it past someone to try and kidnap (f/n) so that they could have power over him. And, we might be arrested for trying to sneak him through or questioned at the very least, especially since I'm one of the Cankerfell survivors."

"Right, we could say that he threatened us to help him, but I ..." Deidre trailed off, seeming conflicted over everything. "He saved us today, regardless of what he did in the past, and saying that would also put (f/n) at risk, which she doesn't need right now. I ... I just wouldn't feel right, but I ..."

"It's alright. Despite today, he's still a ruthless, sadistic killer. Besides, saying that would separate us from him, and we would become easier targets again for Callest." He sighed and went over to the phone. "Needless to say, the whole thing would be an utter mess, so we'll be renting a car and driving. We'll have the company bring the car here too."

Taking a seat at the desk, Deidre nodded. "Okay, I'll start on that, then, while you talk to the hotel."

"Right, and it might need to be a van or, at least, a car with three rows. Ether and (f/n) will need an entire row so that she can continue lying down, and Chris will need room for her leg."

"I'm on it, and I'll try to find a company that's here and where we live so that we can return it there and not have them pick it up on their own." Nick hummed in approval to that, and both of them went about their tasks so that they could leave the veterinary office soon.