Lights
"Breathe, Jesse, please...I need you to breathe."
Jesse isn't breathing well, the tightness pulling on her chest. It all went wrong, and she can't help but feel like its partly her fault. Jesse had been standing by the door when the guard burst in. Jesse had been the one that the blade cut into. Jesse wasn't supposed to be the one that happened to. It should've been her. Jesse should've been standing with Barret, examining the reactor instead of by the door.
If Jesse dies, she'll never forgive herself.
She had requested that position with Barret, and Jesse didn't mind...she had just been so tired of being left out all the time, and being left out even when she was included.
She presses her palm hard into Jesse's chest, just beneath her breastbone. It's awkward, and difficult with Jesse in Barret's arms, with Biggs and Wedge stumbling along in front of them, clearing the way. She thinks Jesse will be okay, the cut isn't too deep...she thinks. Course, she's never been much of a healer even with a good materia in her hand, and this moment right here is motivating her to go home and scratch her arm and practice healing.
Barret is cursing...he always curses when things like this happen. The words are strung together like lights; none of them have a beginning and none of them have an end. They just keep on trailing through the air like Jesse's blood is trailing across the ground. She could bleed to death. She could die. She will die, if they don't do something about it.
"Jesse...stay awake! Jesse!" She feels bad about lightly slapping Jesse's cheek, as if she needs to be in anymore pain than she already is, but she has to stay awake. She just has to.
"Okay...Ti...Tifa..." But her eyes are closing slowly, and now there are footsteps and gunshots behind them.
God they were ambushed, weren't they? Something like that...it couldn't have gone that bad otherwise, right? They aren't that terrible at making a difference, right?
That's when it feels like she's been punched in the gut. Her breath leaves her lungs in a ragged, sharp exhale, and her foot catches on air, but even that's enough to make her fall.
"Fuck!"
Yes, fuck she mentally agrees with Barret.
She kisses the pavement and the lights go out.
"...this happens... we all know the chance of this happening. We all know the risks."
"This doesn't happen to us, Wedge. We're supposed to prevent this from happening, dammit." He's angry.
"...there's nothing else we could've done–
"There's always something else!"
"We've done all that we can... Biggs already paid off the doctor, so he'll keep his mouth shut–
"Wedge–
"Jesse should be fine as long as she doesn't do anything stressful. The stitches will hold, then."
"And Tifa? What about her?"
"...the bullet's out...and she's doing well...now. She should be fine–
"Fine?! Fine?! She got shot in the back!"
"...Barret...you saw...her... her chest when-when the doctor had...to bandage her up..."
"..."
"She's survived a lot worse, Barret. She's stronger than this."
A sigh. "...have you found the boy?"
"Who? Her friend?"
"What other boy do you think I'm talking about?"
"Oh! Uh, no... Biggs has been out, but, no sign of him yet."
"Perfect. Maybe he won't come back."
"Are you serious?"
"What happened?" Distress? In his voice?
"You know about us, you know who we are...don't try to deny it."
"That doesn't help. Listen. I know you don't like me, and I certainly don't like you, Wallace, so I won't hesitate to use force to figure out what the hell happened."
"The reactor...we were getting the layout. It went wrong. That's what happened."
"When?"
A hand? On her shoulder?
"About three hours ago. The doctor got the bullet out. We need to watch her though..." A pause, licking his lips nervously. "What's the scar from?"
"What?"
"The scar, boy. What happened? You knew her when she was a kid."
"I haven't seen her in five years–...where...is the scar?"
"Straight down her chest. Why?"
A sigh. "Listen, if you know what the hell happened to her, tell me–
"If she hasn't told you, it isn't my place."
"Cl–
"I'll take the first watch."
She opens her eyes slowly, recognizing the feeling. Her eyelids feel like twenty pound weights that just want to stay shut, but if she doesn't open them, it'll be a long time before she even gets the opportunity to open them again.
It's dark in the upstairs bedroom. It's almost nearly impossible to tell what time it is under the plate.
She groans softly, her breath coming out in short puffs.
She's laying on her stomach, and her back is aching.
That's when she realizes she's topless, granted, she's got bandages covering her up pretty well, but she's topless.
A door bangs downstairs -gunshot- the blood drains from her face -Jesse's chest- and then it all rushes back.
"Jesse!" She pushes herself up violently, and then collapses back onto the bed in a heap as the pain seizes her back.
She hisses through her teeth as nausea pulls on her stomach. "Damn."
"You should watch your back. You wouldn't be in this situation right now."
The low voice catches her off guard. In the dim light she can see him sitting in the chair across the room beside the door. His arms are crossed, and his head is down, and his blonde locks almost look like they're drooping.
"Where's..." she croaks, and clears her throat. "Where's Jesse?"
"You should worry about yourself." He stands suddenly, keeping his head down, and his eyes averted as he makes his way over. She pushes herself up slowly and carefully onto her elbows, glaring at him from beneath her bangs.
"Don't push me right now."
"You think you can push back?"
She wants to smack him, but he's right and she can't do that. She can barely move as it is.
He picks up a pitcher and a glass off of the stand, and pours a glass. He holds it up to her lips, and she glances at him warily before parting her lips slightly. She'd expect maybe Biggs to tip the glass back to far and get her choked up, but not him. He's too serious for joking sometimes.
Or maybe not.
She coughs and sputters, her throat screaming in protest as water gushes down. Her chest feels like it's ripping in two with each cough.
She musters up her most vehement glare, but it's like throwing a ping pong ball at a brick wall.
She hates him sometimes.
But she's glad he's here.
He puts the glass back down on the stand, and she can tell there are lines beneath his eyes from lack of sleep.
"Where's Jesse?"
"She's fine...taking it easy on the couch downstairs."
She lets out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, and winces.
"How long?" she asks, fearing the answer.
"Three days."
"When did you show up?"
He shrugs, acting indifferent. "I think last night..."
"Think?"
He shrugs again. "Maybe the night before."
"How long have you been up here?" she asks, studying him from beneath her bangs.
He staring down again as he shrugs...again.
Answer a question, stupid man.
"Barret?"
"Taking care of Marlene and the bar. You should watch your back."
"Is that where it hit?" she prompts.
It suddenly occurs to her at the angle he is at currently, and the way she is sitting up, he has a very generous, and a very perfect view of her cleavage with the low bandages.
She tries to discreetly flatten back into the mattress without blushing.
The bed creaks, and the floorboards do too as he shifts to the right.
"Here." His fingers barely graze her spine, but a flash of light hits her beneath her eyelids.
"They healed you when they got here apparently. The doctor came and had to reopen the wound to get the bullet out. He was skilled. You're lucky."
"I've had worse."
He nods his head, moving back to his seat. "I know. They do too."
"What do you mean?" she asks, her face pressed into the pillow again.
He plops down into the chair. "The bandages. Your scar." He gestures vaguely towards her.
Oh. Oh.
This is the first time they've really even brushed against their past, or Nibelhiem's past. She wonders if he knows what happened to Nibelhiem.
"We've all got scars," he says, and she thinks he surprises himself when he says that. He locks onto her eyes with his own. "You've just got another one. You should watch your back."
Her eyes are drooping, and she can barely keep them open. "Maybe you should watch it for me..." She sighs. "You promised, anyways," she mutters under her breath without realizing it.
It occurs to her in that moment that his eyes glow in the dark, and are only the real light she sees. They were the first light she saw when she woke up.
They're the last light she sees before she falls asleep again, too.
A/N: Been a while since I touched in on this one. Classes start again tomorrow. WEEP. Ah well...I hope you enjoyed this, and I hope they're are still some of you out there reading this. I appreciate the reviews, so, till next time loves.
