A/N: I suddenly felt inspired to write another chapter, but it's short. The reason for this is that I felt if I continued it, it would turn out badly. Yes, there will be future chapters, and I hope you continue checking for updates. Now that you know I'm alive, let's get to the disclaimer.

Disclaimer: Jhonen Vasquez owns the JTHM comic.

Jennifer felt someone gently shaking her shoulder, almost as if they were afraid to wake her. She moaned softly, feeling a stabbing pain near her ear. Focusing on the hand moving her shoulder, she lifted her heavy lids. Seeing her charge staring at her nervously, her heart palpitated with fear. She scrambled off the couch, and proceeded to run away. Squee was surprisingly fast, and caught her wrist as she made to flee. Jennifer struggled to break free, but he was too strong.

"Let go of me!"

"No! I won't let you leave. It would be really bad if you told people about Johnny, and I don't want to go back to that place. Please just stop resisting; you're going to have to stay here so that none of us get in trouble. Try to understand. What would you do after going back there: how would you explain what happened? If you told everyone a killer kidnapped you and me, how do you think they would react? They would be angry that you got away, but left me to stay with the killer. You would get in trouble. Do you want that? Well, do you?"

A mixed look of anger and frustration took up residence on her face, and then, gradually, defeat took their place.

The young doctor shot daggers at the boy with her eyes, but when she spoke, her tone was level.

"I get it. I don't have a choice: I have to stay. Fine then; I won't give you any trouble. All that I ask is that that crazy murderer does not touch me. If he does, I won't hesitate to defend myself."

Todd nodded, relieved. He had managed to thwart her escape, thereby circumventing any further problems. But now there was the issue of the meal. How was he going to convince her to bear being in a room with Johnny for an extended amount of time?

"Umm...are you hungry? Johnny made us something to eat-"

"No way am I eating anything he made. Besides, I'm not hungry."

Todd mentally calculated the odds of Johnny being pleased at the girl's refusal of wanting to eat his food, and rubbed his forehead as a sudden pain shot to it. This situation was distressing: if he tried to make the girl do something she didn't want, she would torment him to no end. But, if he displeased Johnny, his fate would be worse than death. Either way...he had a problem. For a brief moment, Todd thought longingly of his home and his parents, but shook his head to get rid of the thought. Things were pretty bad if he was thinking fondly of home.

"Listen, you said that you wouldn't give me any trouble; Johnny didn't poisen the food or anything, so you can eat it. You're going to have to eat anyway, eventually."

She bit her lip, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. The boy was smart - he could maybe be a darn good negotiator or a lawyer, that is, if he could legally become one after his escape from the mental ward. As it was, she could just ask him to send Johnny to the store to get some snack food. That way, at least she wouldn't be eating something he cooked, but one look at at him and she could see he was at the end of his sanity: his brows were furrowed in agitation, through his touch, she could feel his slight shaking, and she had seen him rub his forehead, all signs of anxiety. As a doctor, she felt a bit bad for causing him to feel that way; So for now, she would go along with this insanity. Somehow, though, she would find a way to convice him to go back with her to the asylum. She would explain that both her and her patient got kidnapped by an insane man and, through luck, managed to escape. With any luck, they wouldn't hurt Todd, and she wouldn't be out of a job.

Jennifer smiled a smile she didn't feel, and gave the hand holding her wrist a light pat.

"Okay, Squee. I'll eat something."

He visibly relaxed, but his expression was suspicious. Instead of releasing her, he lead her into the kitchen.