A/N: So let's see. The story starter fiction….check. A little bit of an argument/make-up fiction….check. A fluffy, romantic fiction….checkers. Guess that moves us on to an angst fiction, eh? Don't worry, no one's gonna die. Or are they? Enjoy!

I'll Always Be There For You

The smell of the medical supplies laid out on the bedside table were enough to cause anyone to choke. But that wasn't the concern Paine had right now. Her main concern was the unconscious blonde-haired girl lying on the bed next to her. Buddy had tried to get Paine to leave and get some sleep, but it was no good. She wasn't moving from the chair she was on until she knew that her friend, no her love, would be okay.

"Or worse…"

The thought chilled her to the very core of her being. She refused to consider that possibility for even one second. She cursed herself for allowing her mind to even process that thought, let alone think it.

All Paine could do was keep replaying the whole event in her mind, over and over again. And at that one moment in particular….

-Earlier that same Day-

That morning had started off as a good morning. Rikku and Paine had gotten a call from Buddy that there were some sphere waves coming from the Calm Lands. So the pair had hopped on to the Celsius and moved out toward the plains area. The flight was uneventful, other than Brother's incessant ramblings over how much he missed Yuna on the ship. Buddy and the rest of the crew just ignored him, and Rikku couldn't help but giggle about it.

Thing's were basically like they always had been.

When they finally arrived, Buddy told the duo that they would just park there and allow them to search for the sphere themselves. Paine remembered how Rikku had whined about it, saying that it would take too long and how she would have sore feet by the end of it all. Paine had cheered her up by saying that it would give them some alone time if they got bored.

Rikku smiled a little seductive grin at this, while Buddy and Shinra made a gagging noise.

The pair began their trek across the plains. They talked along the way about pretty much anything that came to mind when Rikku's small tracking device chimed in. It pinged a sphere's location in a nearby cave. So the two walked toward the cave until it finally came into view. The entrance to it was actually rather secluded, an impressive feat do to considering the rather monotonous look of the Calm Lands. Rikku then said that the sphere was definitely inside the cave, some 100m back. So the two entered, cautious of any fiends that could suddenly spring from the shadows at them.

But none came. It was rather surprising for them. While Rikku was rather happy that this would be an easy grab, something told Paine there was something waiting for them. The sphere finally did come into view however. It sat near a small niche in the wall situated at the very back of the cavern, resting on a small pedestal embedded in the rocky walls.

Rikku bounced up and down with joy. "See Paine, no sweat!"

Paine, however, wasn't so sure. She kept her sword at the ready in case of trouble while calling over to Rikku.

"Hurry up and grab it. I don't like this."

Rikku carefully picked up the sphere while calling back, "Oh your just paranoid. If something was gonna attack us, it would have by now."

This statement was met by a low growl. This immediately put Paine into fight mode. After the first growl, another was heard. Then several more followed suit. It was then that they both realized that this was a trap. Rikku quickly got out her daggers and got ready for the coming assault.

It was then that it happened. Paine remembered very little of the actual fight. The creatures were wolves that apparently made the cave there home. The sphere waves probably attracted the beasts, and the pair of them removing it must have upset them. There backs were to the wall so they had no choice but to fight through them.

Paine remembered blurred images. She remembered swinging her sword around and killing the beasts as they leapt at them. She also remembered at some point being separated from Rikku in that small area, only by a distance of a few meters, but the constant flow of wolves kept the pair isolated from each other.

All Paine could think of was getting themselves out of there before more showed up. It took several moments for Paine to get through the last of her group. The adrenaline rushing through her body kept her from hearing pained screams until they became very desperate.

As Paine spun around, a sight that mortified her greeted her. Rikku was standing in a weakened position, barely parrying attacks from two wolves while another one snuck in from behind, unseen by the distracted thief. Scratches and cuts covered most of her arms and legs, and a long laceration could be seen on her left side. In that few milliseconds that Paine saw this, the third wolf pounced at her.

What happened next was in slow motion to Paine. The wolf landed on Rikku's back, ripping open new wounds on the back of her shoulders. A terrified scream of pain and agony erupted from Rikku's mouth and she collapsed from the added weight. The wolf, still on her back, then bit into her left shoulder. So much so that Paine heard the sound of bone being crushed.

In those few moments, Paine couldn't move, think, or speak. It was like watching a slow motion picture, only this time it was real. What her eyes had focused on the most was the look of anguish on her lovers face as she collapsed from the weight of the fiend on her back. Ripping her flesh open…

It was that fact that finally enraged Paine. She bellowed a battle cry and charged head first into the fiends without even thinking. She would have never done that before, but this was different. She refused to watch her lover being killed by a pack of vermin while she stood there contemplating strategy.

Her sword struck the wolf on her back first. The blade hit with such force that piece's of the animals skull erupted from beneath the skin. The second wolf suddenly looked up and saw the new person, only to have a sword stabbed straight through its chest as it reared up for an attack. The third one managed to land a slash across Paine's right arm. Paine didn't even feel it. All she felt was rage. And she showed the animal that. She brought her sword up and cleaved it straight down. The animal split in two, vertically, from the force of the hit.

Her rage then subsided gradually as her mind took control of her bodily functions again. But that was when she heard a noise. It wasn't the growl of another wolf, it was something far worse.

Crying. She heard crying. And as she looked down, she saw Rikku lying there on her right side, curled into the fetal position. Cuts, scratches, and lacerations covered her. And what was worse was the bite. Two deep puncture wounds were visible on both sides of Rikku's left shoulder. Blood flowed out of all the wounds, so much that her usual vibrantly yellow top and scarf now had bloodstains covering them.

Paine collapsed to the ground next to her fallen lover and began shaking her lightly. Rikku was trembling, from both weakness and cold. Every few moments, a small cry of pain would interrupt her tears. Paine quickly set her head in her lap and began pouring a potion down the younger woman's throat. It helped, but not much. Rikku's eyes opened slightly, only to see the panicked expression on Paine's face.

Rikku opened her mouth to speak, but Paine could only catch a little of it, "Paine…….I………so….sorry…..surprised…….it hurts." She struggled to get those words out of her mouth, and even then it caused her great pain to say just that. Paine just stroked her hair as she waited for the potion to kick in, trying the hush her. As she wiped sweat from the blonde's brow, Paine felt how cold her skin was getting.

"Blood loss. She'll go into shock! Where's that damn emergency beacon!?"

Paine fumbled around in her small bag until she found the communicator and began to frantically push the emergency button. After what seemed to be an eternity, but in reality was only a few seconds, Buddy's voice was heard.

"Whoa. Slow down, slow down. What's the big emergency?"

Paine was on the verge of a panic attack as she answered, "Get over to my location now! Rikku's been hurt! Badly! She's losing a lot of blood over here! I need you over here!"

Buddy seemed to suddenly understand the gravity of the emergency as he responded, "We're on the way. Get to the cave entrance pronto! We'll meet you there!"

Paine didn't bother to respond. She threw the transponder in her small pouch again and lifted Rikku into her arms. Small little pained cries escaped Rikku's mouth in protest of her sudden movement, but Paine countered by try to keep her calm.

"Stay with me Rikku! We'll be out of here soon! Don't fall asleep!"

Paine couldn't make out Rikku's response. It was too low, and the sound of Paine's feet pounding against the rocky floor muffled it further. The 100m going in seemed to turn into 100km coming out, but Paine made it to the entrance just as the Celsius touched down and opened up it's loading bay door for the pair.

Paine practically jumped into the ship, completely ignoring the loading ramp. Buddy was waiting at the top of the ramp. When he saw Rikku and her current state, he too became frantic.

"We need to get her to the Cabin! Now! Shinra, meet us in the Cabin with every single medical pack you can find!" His last comment was directed through his communicator. Neither waited for a response, but instead double-timed it up the elevator.

When they finally arrived, Shinra was waiting for them with as many medical supplies as he could carry. Brother also was there carrying what Shinra couldn't. Though as soon Brother saw the state of his sister, he dropped what he was carrying and began to panic.

As they laid Rikku down on the nearest bed, Paine began immediately administering first aid. After a few moments, they finally backed off, knowing that it would take time before all the potions kicked in.

Buddy chased Brother away, who was doing nothing but twitching around and shouting something in Al Bhed. Shinra told Paine that he would use the ships computer to monitor her for emergencies.

But Paine refused to believe for a moment that the ships computer would tell them if there was something wrong.

-Present-

So since that time, Paine has been sitting in that chair next to her. Her usually calm, crimson eyes were now much redder and in turmoil from all the crying she had done herself. She would have given everything she had to trade places with her right now. To be the one who was injured for making the mistake of not being there when she needed her.

As she sat there and stared at Rikku as she had for the whole day since the incident, she watched the usually energetic blonde twitch and whine in her sleep. She was still in pain, even as the medicine began taking effect. Some of her wounds began to heal, but she still had a long road to recover. There was still the possibility that she would…

Paine shook her head from side to side and began slapping herself on both sides of her head for thinking that.

"Don't you dare think that! She'll make it! She's strong! She'll pull through!"

But even as she thought that, she stared at the wounded blonde with an almost pleading look.

"Please don't die, Rikku."

Almost as soon as she thought that, she felt something touch her hand. She looked down, to see Rikku's hand holding hers. As she looked at the young blonde's face again, she saw her eyes sitting half open, smiling back at Paine.

"Rikku! You're…." Paine started.

Rikku grunted a little from the pain but managed to sit up. Her response was low and sounded weak, but Paine could make it out crystal clear.

"…alive? Yes, I am. Thanks to you."

"Rikku, I'm sorry. I nearly let you down. You nearly di…"

"But I didn't. You saved me. You never let me down." Rikku cupped her hand on Paine's face in a comforting manner. "I know that you'll be there when I need you, just as I'll be there for you when you need me." Paine smiled at her and kissed the palm of her hand as a thankful gesture.

Rikku then began to close her eyes again and fall asleep, exhausted from fighting the pain and fatigue. Within a moment, she was out again. Paine smiled and laid her head down on Rikku's lap as she slept, beginning to finally succumb to her own fatigue.

As she fell asleep, she smiled. And as a response to what Rikku had said, her mind said what she couldn't at the time shortly before sleep finally befell her:

"Yes Rikku. I'll always be there for you."

A/N #2: Hehe, I couldn't just kill one of them off. That wouldn't be very nice. Besides, killing off Rikku would be like stealing candy from a 6 year old, wiping it on the ground, spitting on it, handing it back to them, and then punching the kid in the face. It's just not something you do.