At first, Erik was relieved to hear that everyone was alright. He did not know how he would have dealt with it if he had lost someone's life again, especially from falling for a pointless trap. But as Alexi continued, he became incredibly confused by the billionaire's response. [i]Maybe if you told me a reason, I would actually believe there was one. The reason I don't believe you is that you won't give me information, you insane fuck,[/i] he thought to himself. He noticed a certain fear in the human's eyes, even though he had been careful to stay away from the heights of his anger, and had really sounded more irritated and frustrated than truly furious. If he had to guess, he would say he had seen similar fear in former slaves that they had rescued. Fear of anger, of criticism. It had frustrated him at first, but now he had learned to just ignore it and try to remain calm.

For a moment, he was floored by the sincerity in Alexi's point. [i]You... you really believe you can do it, don't you. Alexi Vandros... you are either the best liar in the world, or delusional. There's no way that one man can do this. Unless... you own all of the control... No. No way. That's impossible. It would take... years.[/i] Just as he was about ready to begin questioning the man again, he watched in horror and concern as the man began throwing up all over the floor.

When the vomiting was finished, the vampire jumped out of the pool to find a mop in the closet and began cleaning up the remains of the vomit.

“Alexi. You have no idea how much I want to believe you. But it is not so easy for me to trust a man whose name I despised only a week ago and who kidnapped me and put me through hell a few days ago. It will take time for me to trust you. Still, if it helps at all, know that I don't hate you as much as I did in the moment you took that damned potion. We will take the second dose as soon as possible. As far as my self-loathing... I... I don't know how to change that. I don't think I can. It helps to know that they are safe, but I still failed them,” he commented as he cleaned up the mess. When he was finished he took a bottle of shampoo and knelt behind Alexi, lifting and guiding him up into a sitting position.

“You got your hair dirty,” he muttered, wetting the man's hair and running the soap through it. “I did not mean to upset you so much. I still cannot truly understand why my emotions are so toxic to you. I feel fine most of the time, have very little problem with them. Either you're just a weakling or I'm a hundred times more screwed up than I ever thought,” he joked, still scrubbing the man's hair. “Are... are you alright now?” he inquired, laying a comforting hand on the eccentric human's shoulder.