"Emily!" Reno cried and ran down the stairs after her.
"Oh my god!" Tifa followed him down the stairs.
"That girl is a fucken' lunatic." Cid swore and lit a cigarette. He followed the rest of the group down the stairs.
Emily had landed at the bottom of the stairs. Her head was bleeding slightly from a gash above her right eye. Reno and Tifa were leaning over her.
"She's breathing!" Tifa cried looking at the girl.
"She has some fucken' issues to work out." Cid said puffing on his cigarette.
"The hell?" Barret stared at the girl. "She's alive. Now that's a miracle if I eva saw one!"
Reno looked down at Emily. The right side of her face was covered in blood. Her own blood.
"We should get her some bandages." Cloud said looking at the girl, surprised.
"Yeah…" Reno wasn't focused on the present. He should be but he wasn't.
-Flashback-
"Reno!" Emily yelled running through the field after him. "Give it back!"
"No!" He ran on laughing as he clutched the necklace. Emily chased him around the field until she finally caught up with him.
"Give it now!" She demanded laughing.
"I don't think so" He held the necklace about her head and dangled it there.
"Oh come on!" She jumped trying to grab it but missed and landed on top of Reno. They rolled over in a fit of giggles. "Hand it over!" She reached for his hand that held in the necklace.
"You can't have it!" Reno yelled laughing as he held his hand out of reach.
"You gave it to me!" Emily cried trying to reach it. "This is stupid" She rolled off him and sat staring at him. "Fine, keep it."
He couldn't stop laughing. "Here… you can have it back now." He handed it over.
"Thank you." She took the necklace from him and put it back around her neck.
"It's a terrible picture. Can you at least put another one in?" Reno begged, sitting up.
"No." Emily stated opening the heart shaped locket.
"Why not?" Reno asked.
"Because you're so cute when you're about to explode." Emily said looking at the picture. It was a picture of Reno whose face was red. The reason was forgotten but someone had taken a picture and Emily found it and loved it so much she put it in her locket.
"Gee thanks." Reno turned to her. "I should really get a terrible picture of you and put it in my locket."
"You don't have a locket." She teased.
"I could always get one." He said.
"Like that'll ever happen."
-End Flashback-
Reno looked at the locket now. I wonder if it's still me. He leaned over and held the locket in between his fingers and opened it. It was still the picture of him. He sighed with relief.
"Here!" Cloud and Jules walked in from one of the halls holding some bandages. Reno took them from Cloud and began to wrap Emily's head in them. He finished wrapping the wound in the bandages.
"R…Reno?" Emily's feeble voice came out of her mouth.
"Emily!" Reno exclaimed relieved to see her conscious. Everyone leaned forward and looked at her. She smiled.
"I…" She was going to say something but Reno interrupted her.
"Shh! Don't talk. Save your strength, we'll talk later." Emily smiled. Reno picked her up and carried her back upstairs to her room. Everyone followed slowly. Reno laid her on the bed in her room and sat beside her looking down at her.
"That was the stupidest thing you've ever done." He scolded.
"What the fuck were you thinking? Throwing yourself down the fucken' staircase you could have fucken' died! You're a fucken' lunatic!" Cid yelled he sat in a chair in the corner and smoked like a chimney.
"Don't swear at her like that! Have you ever been possessed by some freaky spirit trying to use you to kill someone? I don't think so!" Tifa said defensively.
"Don't do that again alright?" Reno told Emily.
"Alright." Emily smiled again.
"You should rest. Did you hurt anything when you fell?" Jules asked stepping forward.
"No… Just my head." Emily touched the bandages on her head.
"Alright…We'll leave then." Reno stood up and looked at everyone else. They looked back at him, reluctant to leave, but they slowly filed out of the room. Emily reached for Reno's hand after everyone left.
"Stay, please?" She begged.
"Okay." He walked over and shut the door behind everyone.
OOOOO
"You can stay the night if you wish." Mia told the group as she led them back into the main lobby.
"I think we should." Nanaki said.
"I agree. To be honest Emily really scared me there. We should make sure she's okay before we go anywhere." Cait Sithe added.
"We will stay then." Cloud told her.
"Very well, we'll show you to your rooms." Jules led them each to a different room on the same hallway.
OOOOO
"You scared me today." Reno told Emily, sitting on the bed beside her.
"I'm sorry" Emily looked at Reno. "I know you looked in my locket."
"Oh, I didn't realize you…" Reno was embarrassed she had seen him looking.
"It's okay. I thought you might try to steal the picture again." She laughed.
"No, I guess I should let it slide that you want me next to your heart." Reno looked at her smiling at him. He couldn't help but laugh to.
"Who said I don't keep it there to laugh at you?" Emily teased.
"You wouldn't dare!" Reno looked at her harshly.
"You're right it's too mean" Emily smiled. She shifted on the bed, her neck was getting sore.
"Are you okay?" Reno looked concerned.
"Yeah I'm fine." Emily lied. She didn't want Reno to worry about her.
"That's good." Reno seemed satisfied with the answer. "It's kind of late. You should probably get some sleep."
"You sound like you could be my father!" She said playfully.
"You should! That head injury won't get better without it." He looked at her again. His words weren't even heard. She had already fallen asleep. He leaned over and kissed her cheek. "Sleep tight" He pulled an extra blanket off the chair beside him and pulled it over her. He quietly crept out the door and down the hall to his room, all with a smile on his face.
I would like to thank The Flurry Of Dancing Flames for being my editor and helping me through a severe case of the dreaded writers block!