'kay, here's the next installment y'all! Enjoy. And please, ignore Chaos. I don't know much about him, and thus fashioned him after my own twisted imagination. Tchus!
Later that afternoon, Cloud went in search of Charli. He wanted to know more about the woman. After asking around, he made his way down to where the main engines were housed. Cid was standing in the middle of what happened to be part of the ventilation system.

"Cid?" The blond pilot looked up.

"Wha?"

"Where's…what's her name…Charli?"

"Ober dere." Cid mumbled around the wrench in his mouth. He gestured towards the back of the cavernous room with a second wrench and then dove back into the machinery with the enthusiasm reserved for true mechanics. Cloud followed the directions given, and found a pair of familiar boots sticking out from underneath the Tiny Bronco.

"Um…Charli?"

"Just a sec…gotta get this bolt off…it's almost- HELLO!" She shot out from underneath the craft, accompanied by a splattering sound. When she stopped moving, Cloud could see that her face was liberally splattered with oil, as was the front of the coveralls she was wearing. "Ewww, gross! Dammit. Now anything I eat is gonna taste weird. A curse on sticky bolts! Hand me that towel over there, would you?" Cloud looked for the towel, found it, and handed it over. "Thanks." Charli wiped the worst of the oil off. "What can I do for you?"

"I just…wanted to talk." Charli raised an eyebrow.

"Talk? Counseling isn't one of my strong points. You should talk to Tifa for that." Cloud blushed.

"Not talk like that. I just want to know who you are."

"Ah. Tell ya what. The oil's gotta drain for about an hour, so how 'bout we go upstairs and avoid bothering the bossman?"

"Bossman?" Cloud repeated.

"Sarcasm is a fine art. And it's a must if you do any sort of service work. Besides, Cid's a great guy. A bit on the strange side, but who isn't?" Cloud grinned.

"Sure." Charli stripped off her coveralls and stopped to clean the rest of the oil off her face at a utility sink, then followed Cloud back up to the common room. It was deserted except for Vincent, who was still in his armchair. He'd rolled over, or had at least tried to, and had ended up curled in a ball with his head pushed into one of the back corners of the chair. He'd actually managed to get all of himself into the chair without going over the arms. Cloud was mildly impressed. She settled down onto the couch farthest from Vincent and patted the spot beside her.

"Ask away." Cloud paused. All of the questions he'd intended to ask just vanished from his memory. At first he'd been concerned for the safety of his friends on board, and wanted to know everything about Charli, in case she was…well, he wasn't sure what she might have been, but she certainly wasn't anymore. All he could see was a friendly, tomboyish woman with a good hand with machines and a way of making people like her without trying.

"How do you know Reno?" he asked finally.

"I work for Rufus Shinra, and I see more of Reno than most people can handle." Cloud smiled at this; he could understand what she meant. Reno could be a bit much for even the most patient of people.

"What do you do for him?"

"Odd jobs…mechanics, tracking down Reno when he's late, or vanished, or in trouble that he's hiding from…making coffee. But mostly mechanics, centered around the attitudinal redhead you've got on board and all the dents, dings, scratches, and other damage he manages to do to himself and everything he touches on a day-to-day basis."

"And you got sent to us because…why?"

"Partly because of Reno. Rufus didn't want to leave him with you without someone who can handle him. And also…this is going to sound ridiculous, but I've got a ton of leave I haven't taken, so the plan is to leave you guys when we land in Wutai, enjoy myself for a little while, then catch a transport back home. I might take Reno with me. Might. He's hard enough to keep track of in a contained environment."

"That much I understand."

"Mind if I ask you something?"

"Go ahead."

"Did you decide to ask me this because you were worried I was some kind of psycho who might attack your friends?" Cloud turned very red.

"Sort of." He braced himself for some expression of offense, any sign that she had taken this fact badly. Instead, Charli started laughing. "What?"

"If I'd shown up in just about any other place, I'll bet nobody would have even thought of asking me anything. It's a good thing you asked. And I'm glad you assumed I was a nut until told otherwise. It's smart."

"So you're not going to get offended?"

"Nuh-uh." Charli assured him. She leaned over the back of the couch, checking on Vincent.

"What are you looking at?"

"Hmm? Oh, just checking to see if Vincent was still asleep." From somewhere in the direction of the main stairwell came a distant yell of:

"Charli! Where are ya? Git yer butt down here!"

"Duty calls. Laters Blondie." With a mock salute, Charli was up and running towards the stairs again. Cloud followed behind her at a walk, and heard her boots thudding down the stairs, accompanied by, " I'm coming! Keep your goggles on!"

Once he was sure Charli hadn't fallen down the steps (a mistake he himself had made once or twice), Cloud slipped back into the common room to look at Vincent. It was so odd to see Vincent asleep where he could be seen…he was usually so alert around other people. Cloud shook his head; Charli seemed to be having an interesting effect of everyone.

Meanwhile, downstairs, Charli was back in her coveralls and helping Cid manhandle a replacement filter into the exhaust system.

"What did Cloud want?"

"Hmm? Oh, he just wanted to know who I am." Charli shifted the weight of the filter to her other shoulder. "Can I push it yet?"

"Who ya are?" Cid questioned. He loosened a couple of bolts. "Yeah, go ahead."

"Just to make sure I wasn't a murderer or something. A practice you should try. What if I'd intended to sabotage the engines?" She pushed, and the filter, along with the component it belonged in, began to slide back into place. Cid, sitting on top of it, went along for the ride.

"I could tell ya weren't someone to worry about. And it's not everyday someone comes along who can handle my baby almost as well as I can." Charli grinned.

"Thanks."

"So…is Vincent still asleep?"

"Yep. Hey, watch your-" Bonk "-head."

"Gee, thanks fer the warning." Cid grumbled. He rubbed the back of his head, trying to massage the hurt out of it, then twisted around and glared at the offending corner.

"I didn't see it until you were almost there. I didn't have time to warn you." Charli pointed out.

"Yeah, yeah. Some help you are. Hand me that ratchet, would ya?" Charli picked up the tool and handed it up to Cid, who scrambled up over the exhaust housing. "Push it the rest of the way in." She did, and Cid began replacing the bolts that held the filter in place.

"May I ask why you're so interested in Vincent?"

"I ain't interested in him. He just…never gets sick, is all. It's kinda weird, y'know? That's all."

"Sure it is. It's starting to get late; I think he should be moved." Cid snorted.

"Right. You have fun trying to wake him up without getting killed. I'll make sure his door's open."

"Oh ye of little faith. Reno sleeps with a gun under his pillow back home, and I've dragged him out of bed more times than I care to count, and he has yet to shoot me. I can handle it." Cid shook his head and slid down to the floor.

"This is Vincent Valentine we're talkin' about. A moody, unpredictable, never-misses-a-shot gunman with a demon in his head. Not a psycho redhead."

"You're sure you aren't interested in him? You seem to know a lot about him." Cid turned pink and threw the ratchet at Charli. She grinned and caught it. "Looks like I struck a nerve."

"Shut up. He's just a friend. We both get up early, so we talk sometimes…" Cid attempted to dance around the subject at hand.

"You've trailed off, blushed, and asked about him, all in the last five minutes. I'd say you'd like to be more than friends." Cid went to from pink to red, and Charli patted him on the shoulder, grinning. "Was I right?"

"And if ya were? He's straight anyway, and don't go tellin' anyone about this, or I'll shove ya out the cargo bay doors." Cid huffed. He snatched the ratchet out of Charli's hand and stomped off towards the toolbox it had come from.

"I won't. You gonna open his door, or should I handle him on my own?" Her only response was muffled cursing, and she shook her head. "I'll be off then. Don't stay down here too long."

"Whatever. Just scram." Cid grumbled. Charli pulled off her coveralls and headed back upstairs.

Thankfully, Yuffie had yet to descend on the common room, so Cloud and Vincent were its only occupants. Cloud was totally absorbed in his book. (Charli suspected that he was actually asleep behind it.) She approached Vincent carefully, and shook his shoulder from an angle that assured a quick getaway, if needed. Vincent mumbled something and turned away from her. She tried again, a bit harder this time. Vincent blinked sleepily and looked up at her.

"What?"

"It's going to get considerably louder in here pretty soon. We thought you ought to move somewhere quieter."

"We?" Vincent repeated, questioning. He stood up, wobbled, and leaned slightly on Charli to keep from losing his balance.

"Cid and I. Which way to your room?" It might have been Charli's imagination, but she thought Vincent's face had taken on a slightly pleased expression at the mention of Cid.

"I'm fine, Ms Wolfsbane, and there is no reason for you or Highwind to fuss."

"So you normally almost fall over when you get up?" Charli asked. Vincent balked.

"No, but-"

"And it's normal for you to be running a fever?"

"Fever?"

"Yes, fever. This is beside the fact that you essentially passed out for the better part of the afternoon." Vincent was losing the argument, and he knew it. His choices now were to either continue arguing in an attempt to salvage his pride, or he could submit and hope she didn't fuss over him all evening. He chose a third option, which was to combine the first two.

"And if it is normal?"

"Then I suggest you seek medical attention immediately, preferably from someone who is more qualified than I am. Now come on, we're going to your room. You can tell me where to go, or I can let you fall, then drag you all over the ship until I figure it out on my own."

"Left, right, up the stairs, two rights, down the hall, another left, and it's the second door on the right." He mumbled, gesturing along with his directions.

"Okay. Let's go, before Yuffie gets here." Vincent didn't reply, but allowed Charli to lead him away.

Vincent discovered that Charli wasn't the mothering type. She herded him into his room, talked him in circles until he agreed to do what he was told, and sent him to bed. It was the first time in years that he'd been treated like a child, and it was vaguely refreshing.

"I'll bring dinner in later, okay? You just get some rest." That was the last thing she said before leaving. The door shut, and he was left in the dark, a dark that quickly gave way to sleep, and dreams…

It was another one of those where he walked in his own mind. This time, just as it had happened often before, Chaos was there, waiting for him. The demon was sitting on a fallen log, and patted the spot beside him, indicating that Vincent should sit. He did.

What have you done to our body now, Valentine?

I've done nothing to my body.

Whatever. It's not like you to sleep the afternoon away, and you've had a headache all day.

How would you know?

I'm in your head, remember? I know when you sleep, and I've had the same stupid headache myself. So I'll ask again: what did you do?

I didn't do anything. It's just a cold.

Cold? Ah…you're ill. You're getting careless. We haven't been sick in years. Why now?

Well, it might have something to do with the fact that the vaccinations and boosters I got when I was with the Turks…and in the lab…have worn off. I suppose running around in the sleet didn't help. And it's me, not us.

Moron. Running around in bad weather. Where is your common sense? You're supposed to be the thoughtful one on this metal monstrosity.

Someone else has taken that position.

Who?

Charli.

Ah…her. The woman. She's an interesting one…there's something about her that I can't quite place.

Can you just leave me alone so I can actually rest? I don't want this cold to last any longer than it has to.

You're sure it's just a cold?

Don't jinx me!

Superstitious ninny. Sleep then, and pleasant dreams.

With you around? I think not.

Yeah, yeah. Whine all you like. Dreams beyond this kind of thing aren't my doing.

Whatever you say…