Chapter Sixty-One: Confined

Four cold walls.

That was what Zack saw when he regained consciousness. He moved gingerly, his body protesting everything he did, even blinking. His head was throbbing, and there was a strange pulse coursing through him. It took a while to collect his senses, but however long it was, he was unsure. He looked around with squinting eyes, hardly taking in the cot on which he now sat, and the sealed door to his right. Not that there was much else to see inside the stark room.

Eventually he stood with a deep sway, but managed to stay on his feet until he reached the door and fell against it. He groped around for a handle while he looked out a small window, peering down a dark and empty hallway. He couldn't see much, only an identical door across from his, and one on either side. His hand stopped its search when he realized there was no inner handle.

He was in a detention cell.

"Hey!" he shouted, pounding on the door once. A few moments passed, and no one came. "Heeeellloooo?!" Still, no response. He pounded again, and again. "Yo, someone lemme outta here!"

There was a muffled snort beside his cell. "You can do better than that."

Zack blinked in confusion and stared at the wall. "Wh-What?"

"That's such a cliché thing to say," the voice said. "'Lemme outta here!'" it mocked, then there was another snort. "As if they're gonna release you on your demand."

His brain was trying to piece together the voice and its familiarity in his stupor. He shook his head in a feeble attempt to gain some clarity. He ditched that effort quickly and went back to pounding and kicking on the door; it just seemed easier.

"Really now, Zack. Have some consideration to those who are tryin' to get in a cat nap."

Zack stopped his thrashing and stepped back from the door. He frowned and looked to the wall. "…Kunsel?"

"Yup, hello!" Kunsel called jovially, giving the shared wall a knock. "Even while incarcerated, we're still neighbors! Small world, eh?"

"They caught you, too?"

"They sure did, buddy. Turns out the innkeeper in Kalm had been contacted by the Turks a while ago to look out for you just in case you went in search for Mejia. Since the room was booked in my name, it was traced back to me, too. Damn that innkeeper, being bought off like that!"

Zack flopped down onto the cot with a scoff. "Since when are you against buying people off?"

"Only when it works against me," Kunsel said.

"Sorry you got roped up in this."

"Oh please, it's not like it's the first time I've been locked up, and it's probably not gonna be the last. I can handle it. Besides, it's nothing that some ass-kissing won't fix. Maybe a little blackmail, who knows. I'll play the cards right when the time comes."

Zack chuckled dryly at his friend. "I'm sure you will."

"What can I say? I'm a precocious li'l scamp."

There was a bit of a silence between them. Kunsel hummed to himself for a while, clearly comfortable in his environment, and Zack sat with his face in his hands. He didn't want to comprehend the trouble he was now in for both running off, and for trying to attack Tseng. There was no amount of ass-kissing that he would be able to do to fix his situation, nor Cloud's.

Cloud.

The memory of Cloud being taken from his arms in an instant and loaded into the helicopter flashed through his mind. He could practically feel Cloud's weight on his shoulders still, but it wasn't comforting to him. Zack pressed his hands against his face harder when it occurred to him that he didn't know if Cloud was still in the infirmary … or if he had even woken up yet.

"By the way," Kunsel drawled, bringing Zack out of his brooding, "did you ever find out anything about Mejia?"

Zack had to clear his throat before speaking; it was stinging with the threat of an emotional breakdown. "T-Talked to his father. All he said was that he hadn't seen him in months, and last he knew he was heading to the Western Continent to work for some scientist."

Kunsel was unusually quiet. Zack had wondered if he had even heard him, or if he had fallen asleep. But he finally spoke, any trace of levity in his voice completely gone. "A scientist? Shiva's tits! Get your ass over to the wall and listen carefully."

Zack stood and did as told, keeping his ear close to the wall.

"I do some intercepting of executive e-mail from time to time," Kunsel began, keeping his voice barely above a whisper.

"Intercepting?" Zack asked, "Don't you mean hacking?"

Kunsel scoffed, and Zack imagined him placing his hands on his hips with an indignant expression. "Sure, if this were ten years ago, and if you wanted to make me seem like a total nerd."

"If the shoe fits …"

"Anywaaay," Kunsel said in a sing-song voice, but then continued to speak lowly. "I came across an e-mail addressed to the Department of Administrative Research, CC'd the rest of the department heads, re: Hojo."

Zack growled, impatient with the lingo. "Get to the point."

"All right, all right. Something went down in Nibelheim about a week ago. Professor Hojo had been there working on a project of some nature, and had to be evacuated due to a 'sample' becoming loose."

"A sample? Like a monster?"

"Maybe, but I'm not sure. He does boast quite the collection of exotic creatures. Perhaps one was procured in the region, but it got loose. In any event, the entire team of scientists was unable to detain the sample before it fled. There were three casualties."

"Sounds like one hell of a creature."

"Doesn't it, though? But here's the kicker: A team of Turks and 2nd Class SOLDIERs were deployed all throughout the Western Continent immediately after. Rocket Town, Corel, Costa, Cosmo Canyon; hell, even Gongaga. Now tell me why all the reinforcements if this 'sample' were just a monster from the Mt. Nibel region?"

"Maybe it's a rare one?"

"Could be," Kunsel said slowly, considering for a moment. "But even a rare monster wouldn't have the instinct to flee to cities throughout an entire continent. It would run back to its den or nest, or whatever."

"So you're thinking this sample is human?"

"You know as well as I do that there aren't many scientists out there who aren't already under Shin-Ra's employ, and they aren't stationed beyond the Junon base usually, unless it's at a mako reactor. You said Mejia's father mentioned Mejia was going to work with some scientist on the Western Continent, right?"

"I get what you're saying, but why would Mejia willingly go to work for someone like Professor Hojo? He went AWOL. It wouldn't make any sense for someone to desert Shin-Ra to turn around and work for someone at Shin-Ra. That'd be like robbing a bank and then going back to that same bank to deposit the gil into your account."

Kunsel sighed, and Zack heard a thump against the wall as if Kunsel had fell against it in exasperation. "That's the part I can't work out in my head. I'm thinking maybe Mejia was offered some sort of plea bargain for all the shit he's pulled. But a guy like that wouldn't be able to keep his nose clean for long. Perhaps he got into some sort of trouble with Hojo and his team, so he fled for real this time."

"Then why refer to him as a sample in the e-mail?"

"Well he was declared KIA, wasn't he? They can't exactly go around calling him by his name if he's supposed to be dead."

Zack rubbed his face. As much as he wanted to believe none of this made any sense, it was making perfect sense to him. "Gods, I'm back at square one," he muttered into his hands. "I promised Cloud we'd take him down. But there's no way I'll be able to hunt him down now. Not with the entire Western Continent overflowing with Turks and SOLDIERs."

"Don't worry, you'll get your chance," Kunsel said, sounding all too casual.

"How?"

Kunsel made a straining sound as though he were stretching. He then let out a large yawn, followed by the squeak of his cot as he flopped down onto it. "I'm not sure just how, yet, but we'll figure somethin' out."

Zack frowned to himself and said nothing more. Eventually, Kunsel's snoring came through the wall, leaving Zack alone with his thoughts.

The sound of his cell door opening woke him up sometime later. He had no idea how long he had been detained, but without knowing Cloud's status, nor his own impending punishment, it had made his time in there seem like years.

Zack lifted his head from the cot to see Cissnei standing in the doorway, seemingly unarmed and alone. He scoffed and let his head drop back down. "If you're not here to bring me breakfast, then I don't wanna talk."

"I'm not here to talk," she said lightly, as though she were repressing a chuckle. "I'm here to release you."

"Really?!" Zack said, bolting upright and scrambling to his feet. "No foolin'?"

"Don't get too excited. You're not off the hook yet. Tseng wants to speak to you in his office."

He groaned and slumped a little as they exited. As they passed Kunsel's cell, Zack stopped and motioned to it. "What about him? When's he gonna be released?"

Cissnei smirked, giving the cell and its occupant the side-eye. "Oh, he's been free to go for a while now. He just chooses to stay because it gets him out of work."

Kunsel suddenly appeared in the little window, flashing them both a charming grin. "Hey, sweetcheeks, don't judge. I haven't had a day off in months, so this has been like a vacation to me. I'll take what I can get, however I can get it."

"So I've been warned," Cissnei said with a sly smile, and a hint of what Zack perceived to be as a flirtatious tone.

Zack gave Kunsel a glance, whose grin was gone, and who returned Zack's gaze with a serious nod. Zack was certain the real reason why he opted to stay in detention was to have a chance to speak together unhindered.

They left the cell block and made their way through the Department of Public Safety. He was willing for Cissnei to walk faster so he could get this over with, but she took her pace calmly, as if she could read Zack's thoughts and chose to defy them. He groaned to himself, and thought about ditching her to go hunt down Cloud. Tseng could damn well wait.

"Your friend is awake," Cissnei said, reading Zack's mind again as they entered the elevator. She pressed the button for the Turk floor, and the doors closed, sealing Zack in. "I don't know anything else about his condition, so don't bother asking."

"Will I be able to go visit him?"

"That's not up for me to decide."

"How pissed is Tseng anyway …?"

Cissnei let out a single laugh. "Why spoil the surprise for you?"

Zack growled at her. "You already went and spoiled everything for me in Kalm, so why not spoil this?"

"If we hadn't intervened, your friend would still be in bad shape. You should be thankful we were able to get him back to headquarters so quickly."

"Thankful?" Zack scoffed, folding his arms over his chest. "I'd show a little more gratitude if my actions weren't being so closely monitored. I feel like I can't even take a shit without one of you Turks following me into the bathroom."

"At least you'd have someone there to hand you toilet paper if you ran out," Cissnei quipped.

"Good Gaia," Zack muttered, rubbing his forehead in annoyance.

The cart stopped and the doors opened, but Cissnei didn't make a move to leave. Instead, she pressed the Hold Door button on the panel and kept her finger on it.

"Look, you better start keeping your nose clean," she said. "Tseng really has cut you a lot of slack, more than you realize. You don't want to make an enemy out of him, trust me on that."

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," Zack said with sarcasm, then exited the elevator.

Cissnei sighed, and Zack turned to look at her. She remained in the elevator, and he saw her press a button. "I mean it, Zack. If you don't, I promise things won't bode well for you, or your friend."

The elevator door closed dramatically, leaving Zack standing there chafed.

Tseng's assistant cleared her throat, and Zack turned to see her waving him over to her desk outside of Tseng's office. Zack ignored her, and the fact that Tseng's door was closed. He ignored the assistant's instructions not to enter, and her protesting when he did anyway.

Tseng was seated at his desk with someone else, who Zack didn't bother gracing with a glance. He marched right up to them and crossed his arms over his chest, waiting for Tseng to speak.

The assistant was behind, apologizing to Tseng profusely. Tseng shook his head and stood, as did his guest. "It's all right. Dr. Bleier and I were just finishing our conversation."

Zack finally looked over and saw that it was that psychiatrist from Dr. Arolin's office. He was staring at Zack intently, so Zack returned the intensity, perhaps with a little more malice than he intended.

"Good day to you, Mr. … Fair, was it?" Dr. Bleier said, his voice as powerful as his stare.

"How's it goin', Doc?" Zack said in lieu of a more formal greeting. His arms remained crossed, and his gaze locked.

The psychiatrist merely nodded a response, then allowed himself to be escorted out of the office by Tseng. The door closed, and Zack could feel Tseng sizing him up, reading his body language from behind, maybe even reading his mind—a trait which all the Turks seemed to share. After several long, excruciating moments, he finally made his way back to his desk and gestured for Zack to sit down across from him.

"I'll stand, thanks."

"Very well." Tseng, too, remained standing.

Zack began tapping his foot, but it had no outward affect on Tseng's placid demeanor.

"A long time ago we made a deal. Do you recall?"

Zack thought for a moment, then said through clenched teeth, "You get Cloud assigned to me, and I stop acting so reckless on missions."

"And do you recall the ultimatum?"

His foot stopped tapping, but his teeth remained clenched together. "That you would have him shipped out to guard duty at the Northern Cave."

"Seeing as how he's unfit for duty at present, it seems my only option is to prohibit—"

Zack cut him off, slamming his hands down on Tseng's desk. "He shouldn't be the one punished! He's suffered enough!"

Tseng lifted an eyebrow and stayed silent. His eyes flickered down to Zack's hands smudging his neatly polished desk, and Zack removed them quickly. "Then are you opting to take the punishment?" he said when Zack took a step back.

Zack scoffed and threw up his arms in anger. "Are you kidding me? When did you explicitly tell me that I wasn't allowed to leave Midgar?"

"You were not given orders to go to Kalm."

"I wasn't aware I needed orders to take a day trip with my friend."

"A day trip?"

"Yeah. You know, to get away. For a day."

"A day trip in which you just so happened to pay Mejia's family a visit."

Zack offered a casual shrug of his shoulders, and a rather smug frown. "I don't know what you're talkin' about."

"You were seen going into and leaving the weapon shop owned by Mejia's family."

"Oh, was that Mejia's family? I had no idea! I was just looking to buy a dagger. Y'know, the one you confiscated off me when your goon knocked me out and detained me."

"After you threatened me—"

"—After you were stalking me."

"—and when your own words were, 'If you had only let me chase after Mejia in the first place, we wouldn't be here right now—'"

"—I want that dagger back, by the way."

Tseng stared at him for a moment. Somehow his face remained unchanged throughout their entire conversation. "Don't try to outwit me, Zack. Repartee has never been your strong suit." When Zack said nothing, Tseng's eyes seemed to sparkle with superiority. "You don't even know what 'repartee' means, do you?"

"No," Zack said, placing his palms back down on Tseng's desk, then leaned forward. "But I know when someone has to resort to nitpicking another's intelligence, that means they themselves know they're losing the battle of wits."

There was a single twitch of Tseng's eye; that placid expression finally cracked, if even a little. "I've said it before, and I will say it one last time: You are chasing a ghost." He held up his arm, pointing to the door. "Now get out of my office before I have you detained. Permanently."

Zack obeyed, but not without dragging his palms across the desk slowly, followed by a pompous swagger as he walked out. He ignored Tseng's final demand for him to close the office door, and ignored the scowling from the assistant. Cissnei had reappeared, now standing by the elevator holding an evidence bag with his phone and the dagger in it, both pack and gym bag over her shoulders, and with a platform cart carrying Zack's heavy sword. She opened her mouth to say something, but Zack snatched everything from her, scooped up his sword, and entered the elevator, ignoring her, too.

No more time was wasted. Zack deposited his sword and the bags back in his quarters, then launched himself down several flights of stairs and burst through the door to the medical floor, nearly knocking into several people walking past. He charged at the glass doors of the infirmary, not even slowing down in the event they didn't open fast enough, but they seemed to scramble out of his way in the same fashion as patients and nurses did as he approached the front counter.

"Strife, Cloud," was all he said to the elderly nurse who sat at the desk.

The nurse pecked away at the keyboard, her glasses slipping down her drooping nose. Her typing ceased as she reached up and pushed them closer to her eyes, only to have them slide back down again. Zack refrained from reaching over and holding them in place for her.

"Room 322, but I'm afraid visitors are not allowed."

Normally he would have questioned as to the reason, but instead he turned from the desk and headed toward 322 anyway. All he heard from the nurse was a rather lukewarm objection and nothing more.

He came upon the correct ward and immediately spotted an army guard standing outside a room across from the nurses' station. His pace quickened, his eyes scanning the numbers beside each door and was practically at a jogging pace when he realized the guard was standing outside Cloud's room. As he approached, the guard's eyes went wide and his face white, but he straightened up and prepared himself to stop Zack from entering.

"S-S-Sir, I've been instructed to prohibit anyone but medical staff to enter this ro—"

Zack needn't say anything. All he did was glare at the guard, and the guard shut his mouth and stepped aside. He entered with force, but stopped himself short when he saw Cloud.

Cloud was lying flat on his back, each wrist and each ankle bound by a restraint. The areas of his skin beneath and around the restraints were bright red and raw from obvious struggling against his binds. A strap went across his chest and biceps, pinning him to the mattress. He had no blanket covering him; goosebumps prickled across every inch of him, and his teeth were chattering. He made no movement or even acknowledgment that someone was in the room with him.

Zack turned on his heels and kicked the door open, screaming into the hallway, "Nurse! Now!"

Moments later a male nurse came scuttling in. By now, Cloud had become well aware of Zack and had lifted his head off the pillow to watch as Zack grabbed the nurse by the collar of his scrubs and shoved him to the bed.

"Remove these restraints. Now."

"I-I'm sorry, they were ordered for the safety of the patient, and the staff. I-I'd have to get permission from the patient's treating physician!"

"You have one minute," Zack muttered into the man's ear before shoving him back out into the hallway. He turned to Cloud, his anger draining in an instant as he rushed to him. "Hey, baby, I'm here."

"Z-Z-Zack," Cloud said through chattering teeth. He smiled weakly, his head falling against the pillow as if that small action alone completely drained him. "H-Hope I d-d-didn't w-w-worry y-you."

Zack shushed him and stroked Cloud's forehead, moving his hair from his eyes. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't worried a little bit," he said, forcing a small chuckle. "Where's your blanket? Why do they have you strapped up like this?" But Zack didn't give him time to respond. He was already twisting on his heels and marching out into the hallway to bellow after the nurse. "Time's up!" He rounded back toward Cloud, his hand reaching to the waistline of his jeans where he had slipped the dagger. It was removed from its scabbard, and with five expert swipes, each of the restraints fell to the floor in a heap.

Cloud began rubbing at his wrists gratefully. "Th-Thank you," he muttered, then made a feeble attempt to sit up.

Zack looked down and saw the remote for the bed control was on the floor. He cursed aloud and snatched it up, pressing the button to move the head upward. Cloud fell back against it as it raised, and let out a weary sigh. "Better?" Zack asked, but didn't allow Cloud to answer as he was again stepping out into the hallway to yell after the nurse, "And bring a damn blanket!" He turned back toward Cloud, who was looking down at his lap in avoidance.

"I-It actually, um, f-fell off the bed over on th-this side," he said, motioning down to the floor.

"Well now you'll have two," Zack said, scooping it up and shaking it a few times before allowing it to settle down onto Cloud's body. "How long have you been tied up like this?"

Cloud waited for a few moments to speak, possibly expecting Zack to interrupt with another bout of shouting. He finally opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off by a voice behind them.

"Since earlier this morning, sir."

Zack turned to see a male doctor enter with the male nurse, who was not carrying another blanket, much to Zack's outrage.

"He attacked several members of our staff while they were attempting to treat him."

"Is that true, Cloud?" Zack asked, looking back toward the pale and weak boy, who seemed as though he didn't have enough strength to keep his eyes open let alone attack anyone.

But he nodded slightly, eyes staring down into his lap in shame.

"Birds of a feather," the male nurse muttered begrudgingly.

"Watch it," Zack warned, turning his gaze onto the nurse with enough fire to set the man aflame.

"I-I was," Cloud began, and he was now fiddling with the IV line in his hand, "I was having a n-nightmare when they woke m-me up. I-I was scared, th-that's all."

"See?" Zack said, gesturing to Cloud as he turned to look back at the doctor and nurse. "He didn't know where he was or why he was here. He was trying to protect himself, that's it."

The doctor and nurse exchanged looks, then the doctor let out a resigned sigh. "Yes, well, seems with you here, he is in a lot calmer state. That cannot be argued."

"And I plan on staying," Zack said, moving to the side of the room to grab a chair. He swung it back over, slamming it down next to Cloud's bed with finality. "So don't even bother tryin' to tell me visitors aren't allowed."

"Well, since you're here," the doctor began, flipping open a chart he carried, then glancing it over briefly. "We ran some blood tests and performed a CT scan on him. The CT scan was unremarkable, but his CBC—"

"Layman's term," Zack said, kicking a leg up onto his knee.

"—erm, yes, his blood work shows his red blood cell and hemoglobin are very low. This would mean he's anemic. That's when there's not enough blood cells to carry oxygen through the body—"

Zack cut him off. "I know what it is. But how did he get it?"

The doctor shut the chart and gave Zack a bland smile. "Well, teens can be prone to being rather iron deficient as they grow, but it has to be a pretty severe lack of nutrition over time to for it to be this bad. He's very underweight, especially compared to what he was during his last physical."

"How can that be? I've been cooking proper meals for him for the past several weeks."

"Hmm … well, his other labs look normal," the doctor muttered, glancing back into the chart, "and I don't suspect any peptic ulcers or intestinal disorders at this time, but further tests will need to be done to rule these out."

"No," Cloud said, and everyone turned to look at him. "I-I don't need any m-more tests."

The doctor frowned thoughtfully, but didn't push the suggestion further. "The problem with iron deficiency is that it's not often diagnosed until it becomes severe enough to cause anemia. Early signs of it are rather general and may go unnoticed. So this has probably been developing slowly over time."

Zack thought back through the months. Cloud's appetite had been decreasing the more trauma he suffered through, and his being anemic would explain his constant fatigue and malaise, maybe even his irritability. But it wouldn't explain his collapsing and his complete unresponsiveness in Kalm.

The doctor had been prattling on about what foods which were high in iron that Cloud could eat, but Zack only caught the last few items—spinach, legumes, red meat. All good stuff, Zack thought, but he could practically feel Cloud cringe at the word spinach.

"We'll put him on iron supplements for a few weeks and see if his numbers improve. As for his memory loss—"

"His what?!" Zack exclaimed, standing up with such force that it knocked the chair back and went crashing into Cloud's bed. "Memory loss?!" He looked between Cloud and the doctor. Cloud was back to staring down at his lap, his face expressionless, even with the chair having fallen against him. "What does he mean, Cloud?" He looked back to the doctor. "What're you talking about?"

"Mr. Strife has no recollection of the events leading up to his collapse in Kalm," the doctor said. "The report I received from the Department of Administrative Research only detailed so much. I asked the patient to go over what happened, but he was unable."

"Cloud … is … is that true?" Zack asked in disbelief. "You don't remember anything that happened in Kalm? Anything?"

"N-Not really," Cloud finally mumbled after a long bout of silence.

"Can anemia cause that? What can be done for it?" Zack's head kept turning back and forth between Cloud and the doctor as though he were watching a tennis match.

"No, that wouldn't cause it. Symptoms of anemia can include fatigue, forgetfulness and mild confusion, but generally not short-term memory loss. Like I said, the CT scan we did of his brain was unremarkable, so we're not suspecting physical trauma as the cause. We'll be having a member of our Mental Health department coming by to asses Mr. Strife soon. In the meantime, perhaps you can fill me in on the missing details."

"Y-Yeah, of course." Zack looked to Cloud, smiling at him as best he could. "Would that be okay? If I talked with the doctor for a few minutes?"

Cloud was staring past everyone to the door. His skin was blanched, and his eyes were frozen wide in horror.

"Good day, gentlemen," said a deep voice from behind.

Zack looked over his shoulder, and he tensed.

"Oh, Dr. Bleier," the doctor said casually, waving him into the room. "You're early. I wasn't expecting you to make your rounds just yet."

"Yes, well, it seems my meeting earlier was cut a bit short." His eyes fixed on Zack's, challenging them to the same intensity they shared earlier.

The doctor seemed oblivious to the tension in the room, and even more so to Cloud's breathing which was now climbing to short and frantic breaths. "This is good timing. The patient's friend and I were just about to have a conversation. So go ahead and take over."

"Excellent," Dr. Bleier said, sweeping into the room with several long strides.

"On second thought," Zack said, backing up closer to Cloud, who was now quite audibly panicking. "I think I'll stay."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Fair," Dr. Bleier said, his wide mouth stretching into something barely resembling a smile. "It must be alone. Per regulations."

"N-No!" Cloud yelled, and was now clawing at the blanket and kicking his legs, trying to scramble out of the bed. "Don't leave me with him, Zack!"

The nurse suddenly rushed forward, grasping Cloud by the shoulders as he got up from the bed. He was ordering Cloud to lie back down in a commanding voice, but Cloud began struggling against his hold and growing increasingly hysterical.

Zack went to yank the nurse away, but he found himself being pulled back by the doctor, then felt several more hands on him from behind as he was being dragged out of the room. There was more shouting, more people rushing into the room. The doctor was yelling to the nurses' station to call a code. The army guard was now in front of Zack with his courage drawn along with his rifle. He was commanding Zack to keep calm and to vacate the area.

"Code Gray, 322," the speakers announced.

Two orderlies were running into the room, carrying five more restraints between them.

Cloud was fighting, howling at them to let him go.

"Code Gray, 322," the speakers repeated.

Zack heard Dr. Bleier's booming voice among the commotion, "Chemical restraint!"

Cloud shrieked for Zack.

One final nurse rushed in, and the door was slammed shut.

… to be continued in Chapter Sixty-Two: Deal with the Devil

Ending Author's Note: Here are definitions for the three idioms used in this chapter for my non native English speakers: "If the shoe fits" is an idiom which means if something (usually negative) applies to someone, that someone should acknowledge, accept responsibility, or blame for it. The full idiom is "if the shoe fits, wear it."

The idiom "I'll play my cards right" means "to act adeptly and with good judgment; to make the best and most effective use of the resources at one's disposal."

And lastly, the idiom "Birds of a feather" means "People who have similar interests, ideas, or characteristics tend to seek out and/or associate with one another." The full idiom is "Birds of a feather flock together." Idioms are so strange.

Also the code at the end here is one used here in the United States to announce a combative patient. It's different in other countries, but since I'm from the States, I used Code Gray.

Also also if you all didn't know, I'm a hardcore KunselxCissnei shipper. Like I can't even tell you all how much I ship those two together. So I just had to add in a little bit of flirting between them.

Also also also it's my birthday today (the 24th) so this is my birthday gift to all my readers.

Next chapter is already finished, but I'll post it in about a month. That'll give me some time to finish the following chapter. That one is about halfway finished. If you want sneak peeks at upcoming chapters, follow me on the tumblrs. my name on there is rogue-tatertot.

I hope you all enjoyed, and thanks for reading!