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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.