Zack arrived shortly after he hung up – far faster than I realized he could do. It worried me that he'd been riding his motorcycle so fast but only for a moment. I was far too worried about Yazoo to think about it for too long.

Loz stayed with Zack and fetched things when he needed them. I was more a hindrance than a help so I retreated upstairs. Kadaj must have heard me coming because he called for me.

I opened the door without knocking. He was sitting up in bed, staring out his window. "You should be sleeping," I scolded gently, not really meaning it.

"I tried…Didn't happen…"

I closed the door and crossed the room, sitting in his desk chair which was a good five feet away from his bedside.

He seemed a little surprised that I was so far away. Probably on account of how close I'd come to him before. I've found I'm always more comfortable being close to people when it was obvious they needed me. Otherwise, I actually tend to be distant (not including Zack, of course).

"Are you afraid of me?" he asked quietly. "Now that you know?"

I shook my head. "Of course not."

"…You look scared," he retorted after a moment.

I sighed, stood, and picked up my chair, pulling it over to him. When I next sat down my feet rested on the sideboard of his bed, a good six inches off the ground. My shins were pressed against the mattress. "Is that better?" I smiled though it was somewhat forced.

Kadaj chuckled. "I suppose so." His smile faded and he rubbed his temples.

"Headache?" I asked and he nodded. I pulled a small bottle full of red liquid from my pocket. "Here. Drink this," I said, offering it to him.

"What is it?" he asked suspiciously, eyeing the tiny bottle in my hand.

"Believe it or not I get headaches too." The corner of my mouth curled.

He smiled and accepted it, pulling the top off. He lifted it but his hand shook so badly that I was afraid he'd drop it. Before I realized what I was doing, I'd raised my hand to steady him.

He stopped and looked at me. I raised an eyebrow and he sighed, shrugged, and downed the contents.

Before he could react, I yanked the bottle away and clamped my hand over his mouth. "Ah. Don't waste it. Just swallow."

He convulsed, grimaced, and swallowed. "Ugh! That was vile!"

I shook my head and replaced the top on the bottle. "I've had worse."

"Is there worse?" he choked.

I raised an eyebrow again and it seemed to convince him. He shuddered at the thought.

I handed him a glass of water from his bedside table and he drank greedily, water spilling from the edges of his mouth.

"I'll warrant you're headache's gone now?"

He paused and thought for a moment. "You know…it really is!" He seemed shocked by this revelation.

"You don't think I drink that nasty stuff for fun do you?" I grinned at him.

"I don't know. Anything's possible. Especially for a Strife."

"Oh that's right…I forgot you knew my father…"

Kadaj nodded. "Yes but…"

I took his now empty glass and patted his arm reassuringly. "Don't worry. You don't have to talk about it. I was just saying."

Silence fell between us again. After a few minutes of this, I stood to go.

"I'm going to check on Yazoo," I said, pulling the door open.

"Lyn?"

I stopped and turned.

Kadaj bit the inside of his cheek, then shook his head. "Never mind."

"What is it?"

"It's nothing, just go on."

I watched him lie back down and roll over, facing away from me. I smiled. Denzel had done much the same thing months ago when he'd last been sick. I closed the door and walked back over to him, sitting down in the chair by his bedside. "Of course I'll stay," I said softly. "It's not fun being left alone…"

After a few moments he asked, "Have you ever heard voices, Lyn?"

I hesitated and he said nothing. Finally, I admitted the truth. "Yes."

"What did it sound like?"

I thought for a moment how to describe it. "Her voice…it was motherly but…distant at the same time. And it was odd…"

"How so?"

"It was like…she wasn't human…It's like she was…more than that."

"More than human?"

"…Yes…but I don't know how…" I bit my lip. "I haven't even told Zack…"

"I have memories of your brother, but I don't know why…"

"Of Zack?"

"Yes," he said. "I saw him through the window and I knew his face. But I've never met him before."

"There…there was another Zack…Apparently my brother looks just like him but at the same time…looks just like dad…He was a SOLDIER. The other Zack, I mean."

Kadaj rolled over, his interest written on his face. "What happened to him?"

At this I looked away. I couldn't say it. Not to Kadaj.

"Sephiroth killed him…didn't he?"

I hesitated, then nodded.

"I see…So your father named his son after his friend."

I nodded again.

"So why does he call you Lyn?"

I looked up, startled by the question. "What do you mean? It's my name."

Kadaj nodded. "Yes, but you told me the first time that we met that it wasn't your first name. You said it was…Aerith."

I clenched my hands in my lap. "My father loved a woman by that name…but he doesn't talk about her…not even to my mother." I looked down, staring at my hands. "I don't know why. We're supposed to be his family, aren't we? So why…why does he keep such dark secrets from us?"

"Dark secrets can be destructive."

"If not to him than who? It hurts him, I can see it. He…he goes to her grave every year. The same day every year. He leaves before sunrise and doesn't come back until well past midnight." I bit my tongue for a moment to try and get my emotions under control, but it didn't work. "Aren't we good enough for him? How is it that we lose out to someone who's dead? Who has been dead for over twenty years? Why do we have to lose out to a memory?" I hung my head, ashamed of my envy.

Kadaj sat up and knelt on his bed, facing me. He lifted my head with a hand under my chin. "I lost to a memory, too," he said sadly. "My mother always loved Sephiroth more than me."

"It's not the same," I whispered.

He shook his head. "No, it's not. But it's the closest I've ever been to your situation." He hesitated, then asked, "Does he love your mother?"

"He says he does…but it's not the same. You don't see the way he looks at her picture. The look in his eyes…I can't even begin to describe it."

His eyes held pity in them. Without a word he raised his other hand and gently wiped my tears away. I hadn't even realized I'd been crying until that moment.

I stood abruptly and turned away. "I'm sorry," I said hastily, wiping my eyes on my sleeve.

"Lyn?"

"You didn't need to see me like this. I'm sorry." I took a step toward the door.

"Aerith."

I stopped and turned, my vision slightly blurred, but I could see him clearly. He held his hand out to me and this time it hardly shook.

"Come 'ere," he said gently.

I did as I was told and he pulled me close, wrapping his arms around me. I pressed my face against his chest and cried. His skin was hot to the touch, evidence that his fever still hadn't gone down, but I couldn't bring myself to pull away.

"Zack never talks about it. You'd think he of all people would feel the same but…"

"I understand." He coughed then, though he tried to hide it.

I shook my head and pulled back from him. "You need to rest." I wiped my eyes again. "You won't get better if you keep this up."

He smiled coyly. "There's no distracting you is there?"

I shook my head. "No, not really."

He sighed and lay down, rolling his eyes at the ceiling. "Women," he muttered.

I laughed, though it was more of a weak chuckle than anything.

Kadaj closed his eyes and I realized for the first time just how young he looked. I knew he was far older than I was, yet he could have passed for nineteen. I watched him for so long that I didn't even notice he'd fallen asleep. When I finally realized it I smiled at my own foolishness. I laughed at myself, shook my head, and leaned back in my chair, tilting my head toward the ceiling. "I hope this illness doesn't last long," I whispered as I closed my eyes. "It doesn't suit them at all…"