A/N: I'm back! Yay! And with an update! I promised a couple of readers I would update on Sunday, but...I thought that I was getting my computer back on Saturday, but that was not the case. I got it a day later. And I didn't have much time to write yesterday, so I wrote this today. Just finished...and now I'm in a hurry, so I haven't spell checked it myself. And as I recall I haven't spell checked the previous chapter either...but I will when I have time.
First, enjoy this new chapter. I have no idea how many chapters are coming...I've been out for a while and got some new idea's, some perhaps...there will be more chapters then I had planned...
But let's get on with the story!
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Where am I...and why is everything black. Wait…I'm not dead am I? I can't be…right? And…the baby? Is the baby alright? What kind of mom would I be if…if…wait…what am I saying…I… What happened…? A fiend…? Yes…it…it attacked me. My sword…it was too far away, I couldn't reach it. It hit me. A scratch and then …I got weaker…People were…they were calling for someone…Yes I remember. I screamed, but the wind drew it away. The people didn't hear me, they didn't…And I…Where am I now then? Still in the cave? Or…the farplane? But then…there would be flowers…flowers everywhere…right? And…I can't be dead…I don't…want to be dead. What about the others…will they miss me…
Yuna, she was so understanding. She called me everyday to see if I was fine, if I told Baralai yet. She's truly my best friend, someone I can trust and rely on with all my heart. I'll miss our little talks.
'Doctor! How is she?'
Rikku, always the happy one, always cheerful. Whatever mood I was in she could always put a smile on my face…of course I wouldn't let them see that smile…She always gave me this feeling that I had a friend waiting, no matter how long I hadn't seen her or talked to her. She would be there.
'Will she be okay?'
Gippal, we don't know each other well but we went trough a lot together. He really is someone you can trust, even though he can be a little cocky sometimes.
'What's wrong with her! What happened?'
Nooj, not a very talkative person, and not someone to show his emotions. Someone like me really…so we always got along just fine. I'll miss his sarcastic remarks.
'You knew this? How could you let this happen!'
Tidus, I don't know him very well but when I see how Yuna looks at him, it makes me very happy. I wish I could've gotten to know him a little better.
'Don't you take it out on her!'
'Noojie, what's going on?'
And…Baralai…Fayth I'll miss him. And how I love him…Or…loved…I should've told him that more…every day…I love you.
…
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After Paine was brought in they placed her in one of the empty rooms way in the back where it was quiet and peaceful. They called for a doctor and he was there within an hour. Yuna had already preformed some white magic on Paine to cure most of her scratches and bruises but some of them where too deep or too serious to heal with just white magic. Of course white magic is an important part of the healthcare in Spira, but not everything can be healed or cured with just white magic.
When the doctor arrived he went straight to Paine's room. Everyone was already there to support her if she were to wake up, but she didn't.
Now almost an half an hour had passed since the doctor arrived and everyone was waiting patiently for him to give them a diagnosis.
The doctor stood up and faced the group of people who were waiting for him to finish. He looked at them with mixed emotions. He sighed before he began speaking.
'She's stable for now. I gave her some medicine and her wounds are bandaged. The fiend poisoned her, but Lady Yuna preformed some excellent white magic so now there's no trace of poison left in her body, that's good, especially for the baby.'
'Will the baby be alright?' Rikku sat on the edge of her seat and looked at him with hopeful eyes.
'Well…' The doctor scratched his head and looked from Paine back to Rikku. 'The baby will live, but there will be some complications. You see, when your body gets poisoned, there will be traces of it in your blood as well, the baby might have some poison left in it's blood flow.'
'But I preformed an Esuna.' Yuna said, as she frowned.
The doctor nodded. 'Yes you did, but you preformed Esuna on Paine, not on the baby. It's hard to perform white magic on a foetus. When you perform white magic you concentrate on one person only, while placing your hands on the body itself. You can't touch a foetus, for it is still in the womb.'
It grew silent again.
'So uhm…' Gippal ran a hand trough his hair. 'Now what do we do?'
The doctor sighed again. 'All we can do is wait.' He grabbed his bag and headed for the door. 'I'll come back to check up on her in an hour or so. In the meantime, I think it would be better if one person stayed with her in case she wakes up.'
Everyone just nodded and the doctor left.
'How could this have happened?' Yuna mumbled unbelievingly. 'She was always so strong and in depended.'
'Is…' Rikku corrected her.
Yuna looked up in terror. 'I…I didn't…'
'It's alright Yuna.' Tidus said as he hugged her. 'We know you didn't mean it like that.' She swallowed before looking down at the floor.
Nooj stood up and gave Gippal a nod. 'You stay here first, the girls need to rest.' His gaze went from Gippal to Leblanc. 'I'm heading for the restaurant.' With that he walked out the door followed by Leblanc who linked her arm with his immediately when she caught up with him.
'Well I guess I'm stuck here.' Gippal joked, but when he got a glare from the two cousins his small smile faded. 'Look, you heard what Nooj said, you two should get some rest.' He looked at Tidus and nodded. 'You too, man.'
'Nah, I'm fine.' The other blonde said. 'But Yuna, Rikku, you should.'
'Okay.' Yuna said. Tidus helped her stand up and guided her out of the room, closely followed by Rikku.
Gippal sighed and sat down in the chair Rikku was in. He looked at Paines pale face and his expression saddened. 'We're all waiting here for you Paine.'
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Sitting in the lounge room of the travel agency where the two cousins. They ignored Nooj's order to get some rest, since both of them couldn't sleep. Now they were sitting next to each other on a couch. On one side of the couch was Yuna leaning forward with her elbows leaning on her knees, her head buried in her hands. Every now and then a sob was heard from her side.
On the other side there was Rikku. Her in a mess, eyes all tired and sad. Due to the emergency and the dying storm they were able to get to the agency ASAP when the heard about Paine being found but who needed medical attention immediately. The doctor most nearby lived in Guadosolam and he had no problem with going trough a storm to get to a patient. And since the storm was already dying they were able to get a hover to drive them there, an armoured hover that is. After much pleading and begging Tidus and Rikku were able to tag along and when Nooj found out he wanted to come with as well. And where ever Nooj goes...Leblanc goes too. She doesn't want him to disappear again.
Rikku was leaning backwards with her head against the backseat looking up at the ceiling.
Both of them looked up when two pair of slow paced footsteps were heard. Their eyes questioning at the two men standing before them, their partners, wanting to know two answers to the two questions they had.
'Is she…'
'No'
'Have they…
'No'
'Whose with…'
'Doctor Epran.'
The two women sighed. Silence filled the lounge as none of them knew what to say. Gippal grew uncomfortable and scratched the back of his neck. In a sideway glance he looked at Rikku, his expression saddened. She looks terrible… He swallowed before he paced towards his girlfriend and kneeled before her looking her straight in the eyes. 'We'll find him.'
Rikku frowned slightly, her hands resting on her legs to support her upper body as she leaned forward. 'What are you talking about…we?'
Yuna stood up and looked at Tidus, she was about to open her mouth when he put a finger to her lips. 'We're going after him.'
She looked away towards the ground and said nothing. You could see that she didn't agree with the idea, but she wasn't going to argue about it, she wasn't going to try and make them stop, she didn't have any energy left for it. All she wanted was to have her friend back again.
'Yuna…We'll bring him back.'
She looked up with teary eyes and nodded slightly.
Tidus cupped her face. 'I love you.' He whipped a single tear away with his thumb, then kissed her softly.
'I love you too.' She mumbled with a sniff.
'Rikku…' Gippal started as he got no reaction out of her.
Rikku closed her eyes, biting on her lower lip.
'We have to, Riks. For Paine.' Gippal placed his hands on hers, making her open her eyes. 'We have to…' He said seriously, trying to make her understand.
Rikku looked down and then up again. 'E ghuf' ((I know))
He smiled at her lovingly and kissed her gently on the lips before hugging her tightly. Rikku gasped at the sudden contact but relaxed in his embrace.
'Let's go.' Tidus said. Gippal stood up. They said their goodbye's and left the lounge. Leaving Rikku and Yuna with a little bit of hope.
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