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

     It remained dark outside, though; the sun probably would be rising in the next hour or so since it was around six in the morning. Outside, there was less snow than there previously had been in Delain due to them heading south of the town to a town of about the same size if not a little smaller. As they entered the outskirts of the community, ice decorated the streets in a thin sheet, and the snow piled up to maybe an inch or two off of the ground. Silver maple trees had shed all of their leaves long ago, and they were interspersed between white pines. Homes hid among the bases and under the branches.

Most of the scenery only was visible due to the few street lights present, and one of the lights had illuminated the sign Welcome to Teller's Den. The creature, though, could observe it all without the artificial illumination, but he was more focused on the fact that they would be arriving to Nick's house soon. He carefully could wrap his partner up in warm sheets after cleaning her up and putting her in some warmer clothes.

The car's headlights placed a large single story house in view, and the trees surrounded the perimeter of it, but there were fewer trees around the house than other homes in the area, which pleased the creature. It would mean that there would be fewer hiding spots for Callest if he had followed them. Deidre, though, concentrated on driving as well as waking up Nick and Ren.

Both human males grumbled, but Nick woke before Ren. His brown optics stared groggily to Deidre, who smiled and replied, "We're home." Nick sat up a little more and glanced out the window. A small smile hit his lips, and he relaxed into the chair. Ren lifted his head up soon after and cracked his neck since the muscles had been sore from him tilting his head back over the seat.

"Ether probably should get out first and get (f/n) settled," Ren mumbled, rubbing his neck and not glancing back to the creature. The human male also didn't want to keep the creature waiting and anger him in the process. Besides, he didn't want to rush with moving Chris either, so he didn't desire for the creature to pressure him to move quicker.

Deidre pulled into the driveway while Nick responded, "Right, you'll have to be careful and move aside." Nick adjusted in his seat a little bit when the car came to a momentary stop outside of the garage. The large left door opened, and Deidre pulled in while Nick unbuckled his seatbelt. Ren followed, and he gently lifted Chris up so that he could move to his left, which would permit the creature to exit from the very backseat. Behind them, the garage door closed.

Getting out of the vehicle, Deidre clicked on the garage light with the opener and shut her door behind her. She walked around the car and removed the backpacks and duffel bag from inside. Memories of what lay inside of the bag momentarily entered her head, but she pushed them away. Now wasn't the time to get grossed out by that. Softly, she set the items off to the right side of the garage. Nick had left the vehicle by that point too and was taking out the crutches for when Ren and Chris parted from the car.

As for the creature, he watched Deidre come back and push the seat that Ren had been on forward. The creature cradled (f/n) in his arms and maneuvered out of the car without hitting (f/n) on anything in the process. "Where's the bedroom I can use for her?" he asked just as his feet hit the concrete.

"I'll take you back there," Nick offered, leaning the crutches against the side of the car. Deidre looked ready to offer too, but Nick shook his head towards her. He didn't want his friends alone with Ether even if he had been displaying another side to himself beforehand. Eventually, that probably would happen since they would be living together for at least six weeks. "Come on," he added, waving his right hand. Nick didn't turn his back completely to the creature. Rather, he walked to Ether's left at a safe distance so that he would be in the line of the creature's nails first and not his companions.

Unlocking the garage door leading into the home, Nick left it open, and as he walked through the rest of the house, he heard the creature's soft footfalls behind him. It still freaked him out a little bit as recollections of the tunnels entered his mind, but he breathed in and out to remind himself that the situation was different. "Is her room in the back?" The question caught Nick off guard since he wasn't expecting Ether to say much else for the time being given that he probably just wanted to take care of (f/n) and nothing else.

"I hope that you don't mind. It's our guest room, but it's pretty big. The bathroom's just across from it, and it's near to the door to the backyard too." Nick forced himself to peer over his left shoulder. "It'll be good for her to get some fresh air after everything."

"Yeah, two months in that h*ll," the creature muttered, his gaze focusing on her. He looked back up and met Nick's gaze. "But, I'll be out there with her. Where she goes, I go." His tone was stern, and he wouldn't accept no as an answer.

"... I understand." Nick ignored the implication of that statement. At least, it wasn't Callest taking care of her anymore. He shivered at the thought and what Callest had told him. His heart tightened again, and he paused. Heartbeat quickening, he faced Ether fully, who gave him a questioning, annoyed expression. "But, promise me that you won't ..."

Cutting him off, the creature scowled and responded harshly, "I won't. I'll only do what I have to in order to keep her healthy and clean. And when she gets better, she can start taking over her daily activities more. I've done this before when that piece of human trash, ... Haley, had attacked her." Nick stared to the creature for a moment, and he gulped when he saw the creature's left fingers twitch slightly, but he soon turned around and starting walking again. "I may be in love with her, and she may not like that, but that doesn't mean that I would disrespect her like that."

"... Okay, thank you because I," Nick sighed, and his heart felt a little less weighted, "I wouldn't be able to stop you if you did, and I hate knowing that."

"You've always hated knowing that." Nick almost paused in his steps. "Ultimately, you can't stop me in what I do; you're powerless against me, and I choose when to listen and when not to." The creature was right behind him, and Nick increased his pace a little before he stopped in front of (f/n)'s bedroom door. "But, you don't have to thank me." Right beside him, Ether stood with (f/n) in his arms; she was cuddled against him, and Nick felt his stomach curl into a knot at the sight. Brown optics soon met very pale blue ones. "I shouldn't be thanked for respecting her privacy. It's something that I should naturally do for her. Anyway," his head signaled to the door, "is this it?"

"Yeah, it is." The creature nodded to his response, and Nick stared a moment longer before the creature raised an irritated brow. "... I'll go get new bandages and some spare clothes for her from Deidre. She should know her sizes, and there might be some clothes in her old backpack that we can wash for her."

"Just make sure it's something that won't be too form-fitting. I want her to be comfortable and be able to move more easily. Anything tight might rub against her wounds too much." Personally, Nick hadn't even thought that far ahead yet, and he was slightly stunned. Again, the creature showed a level of consideration that was almost mind-blowing. The creature paid little attention to Nick's expression and shifted his gaze around the hall. "And, where's the bathroom?"

With a slight head tilt, Nick pointed out the location of the restroom. He walked over to it and opened the door for the creature. "Everything should be inside. You might just want to give her a ..." Nick paused, thinking it embarrassing to say such a thing about her so casually.

"I'll just be wiping her down with soap and water so that her stitches don't get ruined." The creature furrowed his brows. "At least, I think that's what I should do. That paper, the doctor gave," the creature noted that Nick didn't have it on him at the moment, "was only her diet, right?"

"Yeah, but a scrub bath might be best, especially since she's not awake." Again, it sounded odd and wrong. If he could, he would prevent Ether from washing her and have Deidre help (f/n) out, but Ether was dead set on aiding (f/n) in her daily needs, and he'd rather not piss Ether off. He would have to trust that Ether wouldn't do anything. His worry over the matter caused him not to notice that his hand holding the bathroom doorknob was shaking.

"Go check for her clothes," Ether practically ordered, and Nick jumped out of his thoughts. "I'll take care of her. I already said that I wouldn't do anything like that." The creature sighed. "But, I get that you don't trust me. I don't blame you after what I've done and shown myself capable of." Turning his back to Nick, the creature entered the decent sized bathroom with her. Before Nick could say another word, the creature closed the door.

Eventually, the creature heard his footsteps disappear down the hall, and he relaxed a little until he looked down to (f/n). "I'll be gentle," he promised as he placed her down on the base of the tub. Carefully, he lifted her arms up and removed the hoodie from her. A shiver ran through her body, but his eyes focused on her injuries again. "I'm sorry that this will sting, and I'll try not to look, but I have to be careful not to rub over a scar, bruise or cut too much." Of course, no reply came from her, and he hoped that she would wake up soon. That way, she could at least wash some of herself. Moving his eyes over to the dirtied pale pink bra on her, he held his left index under the front of it and cut it open. His eyes averted themselves from the area as he cast the clothing piece aside. That was the case until out of the corners of his eyes he noted injuries on her skin there too, and he, for once, actually felt the cold.