Reno woke to a dark room. Tugging, he found himself restrained and looking to the slit of a window high above he could see it was night time. That meant he'd slept for the entire day. His bed had been flattened again and the straps were still tightened as far as they would go. He rolled his head to the side and stared at the door, mentally willing Rude or Tseng or Elena to come in and rescue him. Tseng had said he'd come back after the meeting, but he'd been asleep. What had they found out? What had been decided? Clearly not in favour of removing the straps.

"Hey." he called. "Hey, you out there!" He saw a shadow move behind the small visor window in the door. The guard that always stood outside while he was alone moved in, but only just over the threshold.

"What?"

"Do you know what they decided?"

"Who?"

"Heine and the Director."

"No."

"Well, what time is it?"

"Just after midnight."

"Well Tseng might still be up, can you call him?"

"You should be sleeping."

"I just slept all day!"

"No visitors at night."

"What?"

"Go to sleep."

"I just woke up, I can't go back to sleep."

"I'm sure you can if you try."

"No, I can't."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure."

"Okay." The man entered and Reno was confused until he saw the dull glint of steel in the night.

"Wait...I can probably–"

"Sorry, buddy, I tried, but the doc said if you said you couldn't sleep to give you some help."

"I don't want sedatives." Reno said when the man braced his shoulder and prepared to inject him.

"Giving me a hard time won't help." He said sincerely, meeting Reno's eyes.

"I know. But just wait. Will you call the Director for me first thing in the morning?"

The guard nodded.

"Okay then."

He tensed when the needle went in but otherwise remained motionless.

"Sweet dreams, kid." The guard whispered as he left. Reno barely saw the door shut before he was out again.

When Reno woke next, Tseng was already in the room. He pulled himself out of his haze and tried to sit up but the restraints were too tight now so he was forced to lay and stare up at Tseng.

"Director, you came."

"Yes, the guard was quite adamant I come first thing. He said he had to sedate you last night."

"Because they let me sleep through the whole day. I couldn't get back to sleep..." but that wasn't what he wanted to talk about. "Tseng, what did they say?"

"I'm afraid you have to stay like this for now Reno."

Reno stared up at him, struck. He'd managed to convince himself Tseng wouldn't allow this to continue.

"No, Tseng, please, why not?"

"I pushed for you to start therapy as soon as possible, Reno. The doctor wants you to be more settled down before that but I disagree so he consented."

"I said I'd do therapy, that's fine, that's great, but I just want out of these."

"You haven't gone a day without a violent outburst. I don't want to see you get hurt anymore Reno."

"I'd rather get beat up every single day than have to lay strapped to this bed for one second longer."

"I'm sorry, Reno." His voice was devastatingly quiet. Reno's mind was clouded with pain and drugs and frustration, but he saw straight through Tseng.

"I know what it is."

"What?"

"I know why you won't help me. You and Rude still think I'm your responsibility. You both feel guilty about what happened even though every choice I've made as a Turk was mine. And now you both think you've failed me in some way and you're so afraid to fail me again that you've stopped thinking for yourselves. You think standing back and letting the doctors do everything is how you're going to avoid messing up again. But you're wrong! You know me! You know me better than the doctors do so help me! I'll do therapy, I'll try to get better, Tseng, but I need your help."

Tseng stared down at him in silence. He tried to remain stone faced but Reno had learned to see every emotion that passed through this man and right now he was tormented.

"Please–"

"I'll tell them you're up for breakfast." Tseng interrupted. Reno's stomach clenched. The director turned his back and headed for the door.

"TSENG!" Reno pulled with everything against the restrains. "Don't Tseng! Please don't do this!"

Tseng paused with his hand on the door, hearing the sobs burst out. He was rooted in such pain while Reno cried out his name over and over. Then he opened the door and left.

Reno snapped to hours later. He remembered hands on him and stabbing pain in his arm and here he was waking up in the dark once more. Another whole day lost. In the last two days he'd only been awake for a few hours. His limbs were so sore. He just wanted to move.

He went over his conversation with Tseng again. He had been direct with him. He had stated what he knew was the truth, and he had begged for his help but the director still walked away. And Rude would be the same. They both thought they were helping him. There was no other choice. He looked down at his right hand and worked the strap until it was putting maximum pressure on the joint of his thumb. He shut his eyes and clenched his teeth and jerked sharply upward.

"Gha!" He heard the snap but his hand was down so tight it wasn't enough leverage. He needed to do it again to push farther. "SHIIIIT!" he screamed out into the night when the broken digit snapped farther.

"Hey, you okay in there?" the guard at the door called.

He grit his teeth, not answering, and drug his hand free of the strap. He tried not to think about the pain as he reached over to free his other arm. He heard the lock slide and instantly flattened.

"I said are you okay? I heard you scream."

Reno shook his head in the dark. The other couldn't see past the sheets to know his arms were free.

"What's wrong?"

Reno felt really bad when he saw it was the guard from the night before. He was nice, he'd gotten Tseng for him. But he had to forget that now.

"I hurt my hand."

"How?" The guard came closer. Reno craned his neck as if to try to look at his hand and the guard took another step to try to see. One more and he'd be in range.

"It really hurts."

"Let me take a look before I go waking up the doctor. What did you do?"

He took the step.

"Well, I broke my thumb." The guard wasn't quick enough and the cast came up and struck the side of his head. Reno reeled back in pain as the strike hurt his broken arm. The guard stumbled but apparently Reno hadn't hit him hard enough.

"Shit!" they both cried. The guard reached for his syringe while blood poor from his eyebrow. Both of Reno's hands hurt, broken thumb on one side and broken arms on the other. But he got his cast against the guy's throat to try to hold him back.

The syringe plunged into his forearm, scraping bone he was sure. But before the guard could push down, Reno pulled his arm back and got the syringe with it. He let the guard go, grabbed the needle with his left hand and shoved it into the man's shoulder.

"I'm really sorry, buddy." Reno said as the man slumped to the ground. Sedatives were probably better than a concussion anyway, Reno thought as he worked quickly to remove his ankle restraints. He'd made too much noise to search the guard for anything more than his set of keys and then ran from the room. He shut and locked the door and jogged away.

Rude nearly ran into Tseng as he rounded the corner from their offices.

"Director."

"Rude, what are you doing down here so late?"

"I...was actually wondering if you might still be around. I wanted to talk to you about Reno."

"Me too."

"Sir?"

"I made a mistake, Rude. I walked out on him today because what he said was true. Maybe we are being overprotective because we're afraid of messing up again. I want to get another doctor on the case. We can reassess the situation and in the mean time we can let Reno out of those damn restraints."

"Then let's go."

They both jumped at the loud bang just around the corner behind them and pulled their fire arms as one. Slowly they rounded the corner.

"Tseng! Rude!" Elena cried out, dropping the pudding she'd just bought from the vending machine. "What the Hell?"

"Sorry Elena. We were just go to see Reno, coming?"

Elena picked up the pudding. "Yeah."

Reno stalked through the shadows of the Shinra mansion. He'd pulled his thumb back in place as best he could and ripped off part of his pant-leg to wrap it up. He was aware that his all-white hoapital srcubs shone against the black of night but if he used all of his training, he could compensate.

He didn't want to hurt anyone, that was a priority. The guard had been inevitable, no getting around that. But anyone else and they would lock him up for good. No, he had to do this right, prove to Tseng and Rude and everyone that he knew what he needed.

And if he could hold out long enough, he could get the drugs out of his system.

And that was what he'd really wanted. He hated the straps, so much. But he hated the drugs more. Strategically, he had done his best to only fight them about the straps. If he could get out of the straps, they could start giving him pills. And if they started giving him pills he could start throwing them up or fake swallow them or anything. And then he would do what he could to get better on his own.

He would live, he had to. He had to work for the rest of his life trying to pay off a debt that was incalculable, but he would not shit on all the memories of those who died by easing his suffering with drugs.

This was his choice.

But the longer he moved, and hid and crouched in the shadows of the mansion, the more he began to panic. This had seemed like a great idea when his judgement was clouded by drugs. Now he was starting to get worried. He'd needed to get out of those straps, he knew that. He couldn't stand lying there one second longer, especially when there was no hope of help from his friends. But now he was starting to forget just exactly what his plan had been from there on. They were going to find him gone and then they were really going to think he was crazy.

No, Reno said in his mind. No, now you're just freaking out because you're coming off the crazy meds. Let it run its course. Find somewhere safe to hide and let it run its course.

"What's going on?"

Tifa jumped in the dark of the medical room. She was standing with the door to Cloud's private room cracked open, watching the movement outside.

"I'm not sure," she said over her shoulder to him, "but I think they lost him."

"Reno?"

"Yes." she shut the door and turned back to him. He was propped on one elbow on his side. He'd had pretty major surgery to save his life and hadn't been out of bed since he arrived. Tifa had been sceptical and afraid the doctors would never let go of Cloud once they got their hands on him but they had allowed her to stay with him every second. Barrett had his misgivings but had finally decided they were safe and left yesterday, stating that he was going to make sure they still had a tavern to return to when Cloud was all better.

"We should go look for him." Cloud said shifting but she put a hand on his shoulder and stayed him.

"No, Cloud, I almost lost you, you are going to do as the doctor orders and stay in bed until your lungs and ribs and everything else are healed."

"Then you go."

"I told them I wouldn't leave you and I won't."

"Tifa, I can tell you want to go. It's fine, we're safe here, even Barrett says so. If Reno is hiding in the mansion, maybe he'll come out if he sees you."

"You think?"

"I think he trusts you a lot."

"Well, if you'll be fine, then yes, I would like to help."

"I will be, go."

She nodded and slipped out the door.

Rufus Shinra walked through the halls of his mansion.

He was not impressed.

It was near dawn and he hadn't slept yet due to the frantic search of the mansion for the mentally unstable Turk. His security guards had told him to stay in his room but he'd waved them off. This was his home, he had entrusted his friend and employee's well being to his staff of doctors and security guards and they'd turned around and lost him.

Security cameras confirmed Reno had not left but only the briefest shots could be found of him slinking around the shadows of the building. He was highly trained and he knew most of the mansion inside-out, but Rufus still didn't know how Reno could possibly stay hidden with Turks, Security force and even some members of Soldier looking for him on every level of the mansion.

He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. He needed a drink, or coffee or anything. He headed back to his office.

"Sir." A guard nodded and opened the door that lead to the secure area around his office.

"I trust this area, at least, is clear."

"There is no way the intruder could have entered."

Rufus stiffened. "He's not an intruder, he's one of our own, and I expect you and all the other men to keep that in mind. We deal with intruders and our own very differently, no?"

"Yes sir, of course, sir."

Rufus just grunted and passed into the long hallway of the top Shinra official's offices, leading to his own. But as he approached his door a noise reached him and he paused.

"Reno." He just now saw the small figure by his door, head bent into knees, arms wrapped around them keeping his body in a tight ball. Rufus continued down the hall until he reached him. "Reno." He repeated calmly.

The red head started and look up to him. He made eye contact for a second before turning back into his knees and continuing to sob. Rufus knelt.

"Reno...how did you get in here?" He stared back at the heavy doors that were guarded. But the question went unanswered so Rufus tried another approach. "Reno, why are you here?"

"I went to see Tseng." Reno responded, voice muffled into this knees. "But he never came back to his office. So I came here."

"To see me?"

"Yes."

"Reno, what happened, why did you run?"

"It all just went wrong." Reno sobbed out. Rufus slowly reached out and put a hand on the Turk's shoulder.

"Reno, calm down and look at me." It took some time, but Reno slowly pulled his face away from his knees and looked up at Rufus. Rufus moved to grip the side of Reno's face so that he couldn't easily look away again. "Explain."

Reno took a breath and began shakily. He was still crying but not so hard now. "They wouldn't even consider letting me out of the straps. I couldn't take it anymore."

"How did you escape?" Reno held up his thumb. "Oh Reno..."

"I was desperate. I don't think that doctor ever wanted to let me go. I know I need help, but just... I wanted someone to listen to me but no one would. So I ran. But when the sedatives and other drugs got out of my system I got really confused. I didn't remember what I was trying to do. Talk to Tseng I guess. And then I realized that you'd all just think I was even more crazy and dangerous and lock me up forever!"

Reno's crying intensified and his head turned but Rufus kept a hold of him and spoke firmly.

"Reno, keep your eyes on me." He stared into the desperate teary eyes. There was so much pain and fear there that Rufus had never seen in all these years.

"I didn't know what to do..." Reno continued. "I didn't mean to make such a mess of things, but I was confused. I've been out of it for almost two days and they kept putting drugs in me and–"

"Reno." Reno stopped talking, he was working himself up again. Rufus held his gaze firmly. "Reno, I'm going to help you. You're right, this is not your fault. I'm going to call Tseng and we'll take care of this."

He took Reno's arm and stood up with him. "Come on, let's– "

"Sir!" The door at the other end of the hall burst open. "Sir we have reason to believe the Turk might be–" The guard and the men with him froze for one second before moving. "SIR!"

They were barrelling towards them. Rufus held up his hand, but they were his security team and despite what he'd instructed they still saw Reno as a threat.

"Stop!" Rufus yelled when they kept coming.

Reno reacted. In his confused state he acted on instinct and seeing the men rushing them, guns raised, he grabbed Rufus. "Sir, get down!"

"Let go of him!"

Rufus tried to cry out, tried to explain, but shots rang out and he and Reno both hit the floor.

Thanks for reading and reviewing!

Riza