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

 Her smile didn't last long as his eyes remained on her, and she met their gaze through the rearview mirror. Slowly, it shifted into a more nervous expression, and she eventually broke her attention from him; she needed to pay attention to the road after all, and she was beginning to sweat slightly from his intense stare. "You smiled," he said quietly, the voice almost missing her ears. His voice wasn't high-pitched, low or even threatening; he sounded confused and surprised more than anything. "And, you were referring to me holding onto (f/n) ... Odd."

The creature focused on (f/n). Her heartbeat still was slower than usual, but there was nowhere near as much blood leaving her as there had been before. He brushed gently aside some of her (h/c) locks with his left nails so as not to cut her in the process. "Aren't you against this?" he asked, his eyes briefly looking back up towards Deidre.

She tightened her hold on the wheel. "Yes, I am. You're forcing her to be with you through a series of deals, and you've turned her life into a sadistic mess from what I've heard ..." Deidre trailed off, uncertainty writing itself across her countenance. "But ..."

"I'm acting different right now." She nodded slightly. "You did see how I was before she was healed, though. I could tell that you were and are terrified of me. You still remember that I could kill all of you within a heartbeat and not feel one ounce of guilt towards the action." Again, she nodded. "And, you still hesitate." Slightly, the creature giggled. "If you were with Nick's old team, I imagine that they might abandon you. Not Nick of course, but the rest of them would."

"Regardless of what happened ... in the past," a chill ran up her spine at simply imagining the death in Cankerfell, "and what I've seen of the more ... horrifying side of you, this side, right now, is ..." She tried to think of a word to describe it all. "You're having a basic conversation with me even though you probably planned on torturing and killing us before Callest did what he did. You changed your own desires for (f/n)'s sake, and I see," she gulped slightly, not sure how he would respond, "how you look at her."

"Then even if you don't approve, you also approve?" he questioned, curiosity dancing in his eyes. The human woman was behaving very differently from how he suspected. She recognized that she only was breathing because his partner was breathing; she acknowledged his gruesome acts and was shivering from what he could tell, yet she also was conversing with him like they were two acquaintances chatting in some café or whatever humans called such places.

"I don't approve either way, but I know that I can't stop you from being with her. I can't fight you." The bruises on her skin from Callest reminded her of that too well. "The best I can do is run, and I'd rather not if I don't have to. I have Nick, Ren and Chris to keep safe, so I don't want to anger you. If I were to take her away from you again, I would be signing my own death sentence despite your promise you made."

"Wise choice." Another giggle parted from him. "I would kill you if you took her from me, especially when she's like this." If (f/n) wasn't on his lap, he would've leaned forward, but he kept himself against the backseat so as not to disturb her. His pink flower would need a lot of rest before she got back to her health prior to her kidnapping.

"Despite that, though ..." Her eyes glanced to her left a little as she thought that she never would say such words to him. She averted her attention forward once more and slightly up towards the rearview mirror. "I'm relieved that you do actually care for her and will keep her safe."

"It makes you feel less guilty about not being able to do anything, right?" Their eyes met, and he raised an eyebrow. "Hmm, that's not the entire reason, is it?" Shock entered his expression again. "Are you genuinely happy that she has me protecting her?"

"I wouldn't say happy, and, yes, it's true that I feel less guilty about all of this, but, again, I feel relieved. I want her to be safe after everything she's endured. She deserves her life back, and if she can even get a little bit of that back, I feel better." Her brown optics briefly landed on Nick before they turned to the road again.

"You feel better because he'll feel better." Deidre smiled a bit before she nodded. The creature again was baffled by her smile. It was like she was forgetting who she was talking to, yet remembering quite clearly. It would've been impressive, but she still had no will to fight him; she lacked that fire that his pink flower had. (F/n), though, might have lost that spark for awhile or for forever; he didn't know given how she was before she had fallen unconscious. Images of her nearly dying filled his mind, and he quickly asked to distract himself, "Do you have feelings for him?"

"As a friend, yes. Nothing more than that. If anything, he's more like a brother to me. Younger or older, I don't know; it's like we switch positions at times."

"Hmm, then protect him like he's actually your brother. Keep that wise choice of yours in mind." Fear dashed across her optics. "I may not kill him, but Callest will. And, I have no idea how many more of my kind there are out there. With your line of work, you very well could run into another one of us."

Silence answered him, but he wasn't surprised. That truth probably was horrifying to her, and it, admittedly, scared him too that there might be more out there than Callest. His hold on (f/n) increased just a little so as not to harm her. He couldn't lose her again. Twice was too much, and he might truly lose his mind if she disappeared a third time.

With such thoughts bouncing in his head, he couldn't help but lean down and rest his forehead against hers. She felt cool, and when she turned into him, her movements were so fragile to him. He thought that she might break, especially when she shivered in her sleep. The creature moved the sheet over her more and checked the vents in the car for the heater; the heat was on, but it only was doing so much.

Looking up slightly, he noted that Deidre was concentrated back on the road, and she seemed to be lost in her own thought. Most likely, she was thinking of how she could protect Nick and her two other friends in the future. He drifted his attention away from her shortly after, though; he did regard her in a different light. She had been honest with him as well as logical and ... understanding in a way; she had earned his respect, but that could change depending on her future actions. For now, though, he was relieved that she wouldn't try and snatch (f/n) away; that was one less individual to worry about. Hopefully, she would keep her word.

As his attention shifted away from her more, his eyes fell onto his duffel bag. He did have another hoodie in the bag, but he was hesitant to ask Deidre to reach back and grab it for him since he didn't want to move (f/n) too much. Then again, she would need to be changed and dressed in the future. In fact once they reached their destination, he planned to change her attire. Back at the cabin, he had done so, and like then, he wouldn't stare; his only intent would be to put her in some clean clothes so that she could be more comfortable.

Focusing back on the duffel bag, he was about to ignore the idea until he felt (f/n) shiver a bit again. His very pale blue optics looked down to her, and she was huddling into him. During those seven months they had been at her home together, he had loved moments like the present one, and he had cuddled her back. Now, though, it pained him since it reminded him how mistreated she had been for the last two months.

Shivering again, (f/n) lightly clutched at his hoodie, and he decided to call out quietly, "Deidre, I need my hoodie out of my duffel bag for (f/n)." He'd take off his own, but (f/n) currently was using it as her makeshift pillow, and he wanted her to lie on a softer surface than his chest since she'd probably be more comfortable that way.

Breaking out of her thoughts, Deidre took a moment to nod in response before she reached back and grabbed the bag. She brought it forward and set it on her lap. Once she zipped it open, she almost thought that she would vomit then and there at what lay inside. There were a few bags filled with human organs inside, and they sloshed around slightly even with the bags of ice in the bag too. Deidre forced herself to swallow any bile that had risen up her throat.

Taking a deep breath of air, she exhaled shortly after and reached her hand in. Soon enough, she found the hoodie, and she pulled it out before she quickly zipped the bag back up. Never did she want to open that bag again. She placed it back on the ground where it had been, and the creature figured that he probably should've warned her about the other contents, but he had been too focused on (f/n)'s well-being to think of that.

Deidre, as gently as she could, tossed the hoodie back towards him. It landed on Ren's left shoulder, and she winced since she thought that he would wake up because of her action. Ren remained fast asleep, however. "Thank you," the creature mentioned before she hummed in response. The creature grabbed the article of clothing and worked on dressing (f/n) carefully in it. During the process, she shifted a little in her sleep and occasionally groaned in slight pain, which he silently apologized for, so he was grateful when he had it on her fully. He relaxed again on his seat and returned to combing his nails softly through her hair. "We'll be somewhere more comfortable for you soon, my pink flower," he whispered to her, glad that her shivering had lessened some.