Laurel waited for Nic to reply and when he didn't she sighed again, "He's always been a sensitive soul." she stated quietly, "He never recovered from my mom leaving us and when my sister... died... he lost it." she explained, voice and expression remarkably calm, "To be honest, I was almost glad when he slipped into a coma... he was in such a deep depression, it was hard to watch."

Nic sighed a little, but didn't say anything more.

"I... don't know what his mental state will be like when he wakes." she explained, "That's why I need to be there. I'm the only thing he loves right now, he'd probably give up on life if I wasn't with him." she murmured, eyes still focused sadly on Nic.

Nic looked a little annoyed. "I doubt James will let you stay long," he replied. "And he won't be able to return to the states for a few months at least."

Laurel swallowed, "Then I guess... I won't be back for a few months." she said quietly, "I've told you before, Nic, that I can't lose another family member. I won't leave him, not unless I'm sure he'll be alright on his own. I don't care what I have to do... if I feel my dad will slip back into a coma or injure himself, I won't go." she stated firmly.

Nic rolled his eyes a little. "Whatever," he replied. "It's James you have to convince, not me."

Laurel's eyes were burning but she didn't retort. Instead she took a sip from a bottle of water that was beside her and sat back a little. "What have you been up to?" she finally asked, eyes simmering back to normal.

"... Not much," Nic replied. He didn't appear to have noticed anything.

Laurel nodded and then began to laugh as Amela popped up onto Nic's shoulder and into the frame. She realized she hadn't laughed in awhile. "Are you eating well?" she asked Nic though she was looking at the monkey which was chewing on Nic's ear.

Nic was really good at ignoring Amela by now. "Yes," Nic replied, putting the towel over his shoulder again.

Laurel nodded again, stopping her giggles as she smiled slightly at Nic, "You know it isn't the same without you here." she told him, "I miss you."

Nic's usual blank expression didn't change as he tried to pry Amela off his ear.

"I think we all do. Even though you always tell me you're 'no fun.'" Laurel continued, used to his blank reaction, "James has been bugging Yue pretty much nonstop since you're not around." she chuckled.

Amela let out her typical high pitched squeal right into Nic's ear.

Nic's face became annoyed again as Amela squealed. "Don't you have something better to be doing?" he asked the monkey.

"Amela!" Laurel chastised and instantly the monkey froze, looking around for Laurel. Laurel blinked before chuckling again, "Amela, over here!" she called and the monkey stared at the computer screen, very confused.

Nic took the opportunity to pry Amela off his ear.

Amela looked very confused as she suddenly clung to Nic's thumb and sniffed the air, trying to find Laurel. Laurel continued to laugh a bit.

"Hey, Nic..." she began as Amela seemed to be calming down, "If I do stay with my father, will you come visit once in awhile?" As casually as this was asked, it was clear that this question was very important to Laurel.

Nic was silent for a little while. "I don't know," he replied honestly.

Laurel nodded once in acknowledgment as she stared off to the side. "If I do end up staying here for awhile... I don't want you to end up back in that deserted field waiting to die... alright?" she finally replied, "Please don't do that." she murmured, still not looking at him.

Nic didn't reply.

Laurel finally ventured a look back at the screen. She seemed in better control of her emotions, "You understand that if I stay with my father... I'm not turning my back on you, right? I won't do that, Nic. But my father comes first."

There was still a hint of annoyance, but for some reason he seemed to understand. "... Family first," he confirmed quietly.

Laurel nodded, looking relieved at Nic's understanding. "I'll call you again when they tell me my father's ready." she told him, "At least we can keep in touch, right?" she said with a smile a bit forced.

"I'm going to be on the road soon," Nic replied. "It will be more difficult to reach me." He didn't seem aware of how unhelpful that information was.

Laurel swallowed and nodded, "Alright... then how about you call me when you get the chance. I think it'll probably be a few more days until my dad is ready. So anytime after that I can to talk to you." she explained.

Nic was silent for a long moment. "... I'm bad at remembering things like that..." he tried to explain.

Laurel blinked, "Oh." she exclaimed before pausing, "Um... then how about I call you in a week?" she asked, "Will you still be on the road in a week?"

"... Probably," Nic replied.

Laurel sighed a little, "Well, I'll call you in a week and if you don't pick up I'll try every couple of days. Is that alright? I don't want to bother you but it's good to touch bases, right?"

"... Sure," Nic replied with a small shrug.

Laurel nodded, "Alright... Be safe." she said quietly, her gaze rather piercing as she stared right at Nic.

Nic took Laurel's gaze easily. "Same," he replied casually.

Laurel managed a small smile, "Good luck on your errands then, I'll talk to you later." she nodded as she moved to end the call.

Nic nodded briefly before Laurel hung up.

As the troupe left the country, the days seemed to pass by quicker. James did his best to get Yue out and about with him, safely of course. He wanted to show her some of the sites. Laurel remained by herself most of the time, waiting to be reunited with her father.

Yue did her best to keep herself distracted. She still gave James a lot of undeserved lip, but slowly she seemed to start getting lost in the distractions.

Eventually Cong got back to Yue and she informed Laurel that her father was safe.

James had an ever increasing amount of stuff on his plate but was managing to juggle them all and check up on Yue. He was happy with her progress.

Laurel was anxious to get to her father and was still keeping to herself a lot. She still preformed a few times with James.

Kale continued to chat with Blaze whenever she was up, Snow and Tulip started to join them from time to time. Both girls seemed to like Blaze.

"So when can I go to him?" Laurel asked Yue for not the first time.

It took a little longer for Blaze to open up to Snow and Tulip than it had with Kale. It was starting to become clear she was lacking in social experience. But she was plenty willing to put in the time to fix it.

On one of the lazier days Blaze went looking for Wolfe.

Yue blinked at Laurel. "... Whenever you figure out how to get to him," she replied.

Snow and Tulip were both kind with Blaze. It was pretty clear early on that Tulip was a bit socially awkward too.

Wolfe was sitting in front of a touch screen wall with Frei. They both looked up at Blaze came in.

Laurel blinked, "Where is he? Is he far from us?"

"... Am I interrupting?" Blaze asked.

"Sweden," Yue replied.