At nine o'clock that night, Deanna still hadn't woken up from her coma.
Perhaps it was due to excessive fright; her condition was very poor even in her unconscious state.
"Go away, it wasn't me who hurt you..."
"Don't bite me, Lance, help, save me!"
Under the glaring light, Deanna's eyes were tightly shut, her face showing an abnormal flush as she waved her hands.
Lance, who had been handling documents nearby, suddenly heard the uneasy sounds. He immediately dropped what he was holding and quickly walked to Deanna's side.
He grabbed Deanna's flailing hand, his voice low yet penetrating as he soothed, "Deanna, wake up."
In her haze, Deanna heard someone calling her.
"Deanna, I'm here, wake up..."
"Don't be afraid, you're just dreaming."
Lance-
Deanna called out in her heart, and her heavy eyelids suddenly opened.
Seeing Deanna finally awake, Lance sighed in relief. "You're awake. Did you have a nightmare?"
As he spoke, he helped Deanna sit up against the headboard.
Deanna nodded with a pale face and didn't hide her dream.
"I dreamed that those two cats came for me. They wanted to eat me for revenge."
As she finished speaking, Deanna shivered violently, tears streaming down her cheeks. "I saw it. Today's cat died even more horribly than yesterday's. Its head was separated from its body."
Lance watched Deanna tremble more as she spoke and tenderly pulled her into his arms. "Stop talking about it. Don't think about it."
"I don't want to, but I can't control my mind. It keeps replaying that scene. Lance, let's catch the culprit. Those two cats died so miserably."
By the end of her words, Deanna couldn't hold back her tears.
Seeing this, Lance felt as if his chest had been punched hard, feeling very distressed.
He promised, "I've asked Xavier and Shannon to investigate together. We'll definitely find out who did it."
As he spoke, he raised his hand to wipe away Deanna's tears.
But as soon as his hand touched Deanna's cheek, he noticed something was wrong. "You have a fever?"
"A fever? No wonder I feel a bit dizzy."
Deanna said as she touched her forehead and found it indeed unusually hot.
Seeing this, Lance immediately stood up. "I'll get you some fever medicine and bring up dinner."
Deanna didn't refuse.
A few minutes later, Lance returned with a tray.
He didn't immediately give Deanna the medicine but placed the food in front of her. "Eat first, then take the medicine."
Deanna nodded and picked up the cutlery to start eating.
But for some reason, as she looked at the meat in the bowl, the image of the dismembered wild cat from the car flashed in her mind.
"Ugh-"
Deanna turned her head and began to retch.
Seeing this, Lance knew she must have been reminded of the scene from earlier and was disturbed by it.
After a few minutes, the nausea in Deanna's chest finally subsided, and she sat back on the bed.
Lance handed her a glass of warm water meant for taking medicine. "Drink some water to calm down. I've asked them to prepare something lighter for you."
Deanna nodded and took small sips from the cup.
Later, Sam brought some light food to the room.
Even so, Deanna didn't eat much.
After dinner, with Lance's care, she took the fever medicine.
Whether it was the effect of the medicine or because she was sick, Deanna soon began to feel sleepy.
But remembering her earlier nightmare, she forced herself to stay awake.
Seeing how tired Deanna was but still refusing to lie down and rest, Lance knew what she was thinking.
"Sleep. I'm here; no one will dare come near."
Lance helped Deanna lie down and held her like comforting a child, gently patting her arm.
Looking into Lance's affectionate eyes, Deanna's previously fearful heart was instantly soothed.
She nodded lightly and nestled into Lance's arm before closing her eyes to rest.
Lance listened to her breathing gradually steadying and knew she had fallen asleep.
Still worried, he continued to sit by the bed keeping watch.
After all, what had happened over the past two days had been too frightening for Deanna.
It was fortunate that Lance stayed by Deanna's side.
In the middle of the night, he noticed that the abnormal flush on Deanna's face had not subsided but had worsened. She even started talking nonsense and couldn't be awakened no matter how he called her.
Terrified, Lance picked up Deanna and rushed out of the room, shouting, "Someone! Help!"
Old Ashley and Sam were among those startled awake by the commotion.
They hurriedly dressed and came out of their rooms to see Lance holding Deanna in the living room.
"Lance, what's wrong?"
"Grandma, Deanna has a high fever. I need to take her to the hospital. Please watch over the kids."
Without waiting for Old Ashley to respond, Lance turned to Sam and urged, "Get the car ready!"