Nic didn't say anything more, still playing with Laurel's hair a little.

"Something broke inside of me, Nic." Laurel continued quietly, "I don't think I'm much like your brother anymore..." she paused, "Will you still care for me... even if I don't remind you of your brother?"

"... Will you still care for me even though I always make the wrong decision?" he asked her quietly.

"I'll always care for you." Laurel whispered without hesitation.

"Then why do you think I'd stop caring for you?" he continued.

Laurel was silent for a good while, "I'm not sure." she replied honestly. "... I know you'd never hate me." she reasoned quietly, "But... I think I've done something to make you angry enough to leave for awhile."

"What have you done that would make me do that?" Nic asked.

Laurel paused for a long moment. "Promise you won't leave again. At least not right away." she said quietly. She wouldn't be able to take it if he disappeared right now.

Laurel could feel Nic nod. "I promise," he vowed quietly.

Laurel paused again, trying to figure out how to phrase it. After a long moment she finally stated bluntly, "I let him beat me."

"... What do you mean?" he asked, not understanding.

Laurel swallowed, "My father's abusive, Nic." she explained in a slow, tired voice, "He started after my mom left and it only got worse with my sister's death. I've been dealing with his violence for years and I let it keep happening because I... I thought I deserved it."

Nic slowly froze until it seemed like even his heart beat might come to a stop too. After a very long time he whispered, "... Why?" There was a deep pain in his confused voice.

Laurel slowly started to let go of Nic, "I-I'm sorry, Nic." she said in a heartbroken voice, "I'm so sorry. I never wanted to hurt you. I just... I'm the cause of my father's unhappiness. I thought that maybe I could... atone for that by letting him take it out on me. I'm sorry." she repeated with a small sob, "I know now how wrong I was."

Nic didn't let go. He remained silent and after a minute it became clear why as drops started falling on Laurel's shoulder.

Laurel's eyes widened in shock and after a moment she slowly pulled away enough to look at Nic's face.

He tried to hide it a little, but he wasn't trying too hard. Not more than a tear or two came down his face at a time. He was struggling to breathe a little, but refused to make a sound. It was almost like he had forgotten how to cry.

As Laurel looked at Nic's tears, she felt a shift inside of her that she didn't understand. She felt an almost overwhelming desire to take away Nic's sadness. Her face crumpled slightly as she reached up a hand and stroked his cheek gently, wiping away a tear, "Please..." she whispered, "Don't cry. Get angry, shout... kick something. But please, please don't cry." she pleaded with him, tears filling her own eyes as she leaned up and kissed his cheek.

Nic grunted a little as he tried to stop crying. It was proving to be difficult for him. After a minute, he reached around his hands and slowly and methodically traced Laurel's back. When he didn't find what he was looking for that seemed to help a little bit. After another minute or two the tears managed to stop.

[ "ambiguous" version ]

Laurel shivered a little as he traced her back but she continued to comfort him even after he had stopped. She continued to slowly run her fingers through his hair and down his neck gently. She felt a desire to keep touching him. After he'd stopped she looked back into his eyes, "... Are you angry?" she asked quietly, wiping away a tear-trail with her thumb.

"... I... don't know," he whispered honestly.

Laurel swallowed before nodding slowly, "... Can I ask you something?" she said quietly as she leaned forwards and rested her head against his chest. She closed her eyes, calming herself with his heartbeat. Even if he was angry... she felt relieved. It had felt like a secret. A burden she had carried by herself for too long.

"... Yeah," he told her quietly.

"I... haven't been able to sleep." she explained quietly, "Is it..." she paused, "Can I rest in your room tonight?"

Nic nodded slowly.

Laurel's eyes remained closed, "You don't... have to let me." she murmured, still listening to his heart, "Not after... I caused you so much trouble."

Nic nodded slowly again.

Laurel yawned slightly, "Oh... how stupid of me..." she muttered groggily near his ear, "How was your trip?" she asked, for the first time sounding very much like the past Laurel.

Nic was silent for a minute. "I'll tell you in the morning," he decided.

By the time Nic spoke, Laurel was nearly asleep to the sound of his heartbeat. "Mmn..." was her reply as her hold on him loosened.

Nic carefully shifted Laurel in his arms until he was holding her securely. Then he quietly started walking back to his room.

Laurel mumbled a few incoherent things as Nic returned to his room. But by the time he was there, she had stopped stirring.

Nic tucked Laurel into the bed before grabbing an extra blanket and laying down on the sofa.

In the morning, Laurel slept late. The previous days of not sleeping finally catching up with her. Bee was up relatively early and surprised to hear from the girls that Nic and another girl named Missy were back. Bee woke Raven up to tell him the news.

There was no sign of Nic in the morning. He was camping out in his room on his laptop, waiting for Laurel to wake.

Raven complained a little. It looked like all the sleeping had made him... sleepy.

Missy was up at a normal hour, wearing another summer dress. She went to explore the gardens.

Bee scowled at him, "Don't make me call Wolfe!" she threatened when he wouldn't get up.

Lucy Lue found Missy with a large smile, "Did you sleep alright?" she asked happily. Amela was perched on her shoulder.

--

In the morning, the head doctor informed Blaze that since Kale had made it through the night alright, there was a much better chance of him pulling through. There was always the risk of infection, however, so they had to keep a close eye on him.

Raven didn't look like he believed Bee. "I haven't healed yet," he grumbled.


Missy blinked her bright eyes at the monkey before looking to Lucy Lue. "Yes, thank you," she replied with a small smile.


Blaze nodded. She was very tired, but much more awake than she was expected to be at this point. Regardless, it didn't look like she planned on sleeping anytime soon.

Bee raised an eyebrow, "Wuss." she said as she pushed a button at the foot of his bed and a screen appeared. "Call Wolfe." she spoke to the screen.

"She's Amela." Lucy explained, "One of Laurel's rescues. You'll see random animals roaming about. They're all tame except Lucy." she paused, suddenly giggling, "Oh, not me! Another Lucy... a Black Cat kind of thing... she's a bit destructive." she explained, pointing to a large hole in the flower garden.

"Really?" Raven asked Bee. "Have you ever been completely covered in bruises?"

Missy blinked at the large hole. "... I see," she replied a little hesitantly.

Bee rolled her eyes, "You've had the best treatment around and been bed for 24 hours. Suck it up." she stated blandly. "Oh, hello? Wolfe?" she spoke to the screen which Raven couldn't see.

"She's not aggressive though!" Lucy explained hurriedly, "Unless you're a flower garden." She blinked, "Oh! Here comes Rosemary!" and she ran over to the sleepy panda, picking her up with a grin before walking back to Missy.