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

Frankly, she didn't know how, but they were on the road and safely driving towards the factory. At first, it had been rough, and the ride was a little bumpy. Ether almost had stalled the car several times in the beginning, but after the initial gear shifting, he was fine. Then again, they were on the highway, and there were no vehicles in front of them. The only issue was when there were turns on the highway, and he had to downshift to make them. On the first one, she swore that he was going to crash into the nearby pines, but he had managed just to make the curve and keep the semi on all wheels. Hopefully, her father, Nick and Deidre were alright and weren't getting injured by the boxes of oranges.

There also was the hole in the bottom of the truck, but she was sure that Chris and Ren would've stopped if one of them had fallen out. Instead, they were driving behind them still. Ether did giggle a few times, and she had a feeling that he could view Ren's facial expressions. Most likely, he was having constant scares with Ether's driving, but she couldn't critique too much either since she most certainly would crash the semi.

The fact that Ether never had driven, let alone a manual transmission vehicle, was almost unbelievable. Whatever advice and lesson Vincent had given Ether, it worked, and she was grateful for it. His ability to take in Vincent's teaching and apply it, though, reminded her just how capable and intelligent he was. For him to be doing as well as he was for his first time driving and on a semi, it was ... well extraordinary, not that she would tell him that. It would get to his head too much. No wonder he had been able to read, write and learn a list of other skills on his own.

During his driving, though, she didn't talk even if she wanted to go over the plan one more time. She went over it in her head, and she knew that as they got closer she would be knocked out. It worried her, but she didn't want to distract Ether. Sure, he might not need to shift, but if he did, she wanted him to be alert fully and have his entire attention on the road, at least some of it anyway. (F/n) doubted that one hundred percent of concentration was there due to where they were heading. If anything, she envisioned him having wonderful images of that other creature being slaughtered by him. Personally, she didn't blame him, especially since she imagined the game of darts with the other creature's head. Yes, that would be very enjoyable.

Resting her chin on the palm of her right hand, she leaned her head more that way and onto the window by a little bit. "Don't sleep." Her eyes instantly glanced over to him. She didn't need an explanation for why, and she nodded. "You know; you can talk, though." His eyes stayed on the road. "I'm focused enough, and I know that you're nervous." He giggled a little. "And, not just about me driving this semi." A grin remained on his lips, and she saw a sadistic gleam momentarily in his optics, but it wasn't directed at her. "You're doing pretty good at hiding it, but I know that you want to go over things again with me. We still have a few hours."

"But ..."

"I'll be fine. I want to talk too." That gave her pause, and she fully looked to him. His grin had fallen, and his expression switched to a neutral one. Was he worried too; was he scared that he wouldn't make it through the fight? They had such a conversation before, but, maybe, the implications of that were hitting him all the harder since they were getting nearer and nearer to the factory. "But, one of the most important pieces during all of this is that once I start attacking him," his eyes narrowed a bit from rage entering his system at the thought of Callest trying to dodge him to go after (f/n), "run. Run faster than you've run from me. Don't look back. Just get your mother, sibling and run."

"If I'm helping ..."

"Your father can help her." He wanted to look over to her and meet her gaze, but he didn't want to drive off of the road in the process, so his optics remained glued on it. "Make no mistake about my intentions here. I want him dead, and I know that you want your mother and sibling back. If I didn't help and left them to that other creature, I have a suspicion that you wouldn't forgive me. I'd lose you when I just got you to admit recently that you miss me." Before she could utter another word, he continued, "But, I'm not doing this for your father, mother or sibling."

"But, what about the baby. You said ..."

"Yes, I'm looking forward to the baby, but I don't value them more than you. No one else involved in this is worth more than you to me." His expression became serious, and his hands tightened on the wheel a little bit. "If it comes down to it, I will protect you first and always first." He inhaled and let out a slow exhale. "What I'm doing now. This is so that you don't blame me if things go wrong. I'm showing you that I'm helping so that I don't lose what I've gained from you. I know that I'm repeating myself, but I want you to understand this."

"What if things go wrong, and I do blame you for them?"

A giggle parted from his lips. "Then, I'll just have to deal with that, but I won't be killing anyone but the other creature. If anyone else dies, it's someone else's fault. Maybe, I take some of the blame for coming up with the plan, but the blame of who murdered them won't be on me." Almost, he peered over to her. "You know that."

"No, I don't know." She relaxed back on the chair, but her hands were intertwined and gripping each other a little bit. "You said that you'll always protect me first." He nodded in confirmation. "Well, what if things go wrong? What if the other creature has you kill one of them in order to save me, or have you let him kill my mother and sibling to save me?"

That time, several giggles parted from him, and the pissed off nature of his tone came through. His aggression wasn't directed at her, but he understood that things could go sour and that very well could happen. It would be one of the worst case scenarios that could occur. "Then, I would be to blame in the first cast, and I would be partly to blame in the second case."

"So, you would do that if things came to that?"

"Yes," he answered with no hesitation.

"What if I don't let you?" She brought her legs up onto the seat and crossed them. Her hands rested lightly on her thighs. (F/n) could feel his gaze on her even if it really wasn't. His silence was enough to let her know that he was aware of every action she took. "If he wants me dead ..."

"You'll kill yourself?" His tone was harsh, and she almost thought for a moment that he had crushed the wheel in his hands. A bitter chuckle parted from him, and it chilled her next words to a silent halt. "After everything you've done to live, after putting up with me for so long ..."

Forcing her words out, she exclaimed, "But, it's my mother and sibling!" She turned on her seat and almost gripped his right arm, but she resisted since he was driving. "That deal I made with you! I made that because it prevented you from going after my parents!"

"It's like you completely forgot what I told you when you were thinking that you should've died in the subway." Her brows momentarily furrowed before things click. "You living is the only barrier that everyone else you love and care for have against me. You die, and they become victims. I don't care about the circumstances; I will lose it." Not even a frown formed on his lips. Instead, a maddening grin did. "Right now, I'm losing it because you're suggesting such a thing." She subconsciously pressed herself against the door of the truck.

"You're the reason I've become like this. The reason I'm able to tolerate being so involved with humans than I've ever been before, and that will never change. You stabilize my emotions, but you also send them into a frantic chaos." Words felt paralyzed in her mouth. How was she supposed to respond? It wasn't really a compliment to her, but it wasn't an insult either. It would've been comforting if there wasn't the threat of him murdering her family and friends behind his words.

"I'll tell you this as many times as I have to." His eyes stayed on the road, and she could tell that he wanted to meet her gaze so bad, but she didn't reach over to him. "I know that you don't want to die. You've even told me multiple times and recently too. I don't want you to die, so stop thinking about dying."

"But ..."

"No!" he shouted out and shook his head. "This situation isn't an excuse. Before we got to this point, back when we were in the tunnels, I was going to kill you. When I grew interested in you and had no intention of letting you leave there, I probably was going to kill you. You've dealt with my kind before, and you survived. Just because we're dealing with another creature, doesn't change what you've been capable of." His hands dented in the wheel a little. "Stop selling yourself short!"

"... Maybe, it was better ..."

"Not to talk?" He scoffed. "No, it was a good idea because now I know where your thoughts were going, and I'm not allowing that." She parted her lips to speak, but he cut her off. "No! I'll knock you out a second time if I have to. I don't care. You don't get to miss me, and then expect me to watch you die and have me miss you! No matter what, you're getting out of this alive!"