SIX

I woke up early the next morning to find Tifa leaning over me and checking on my head where I'd been hit. It felt a little better than it had last night but still ached a bit. Probably would all day, but that was a lot better than not waking up at all. Tifa dabbed at my temple with a damp cloth and smiled when she saw I was awake.

"Morning, Jessie," she said, pausing for a moment. "It's good to see you awake again. How are you feeling?"

I yawned. "Better, thanks. Been here long?"

Tifa got back to work on my head. "Just a little while. Wedge and I cleaned up your gear for you earlier before I came up here to check on you. Seems you nailed those eaters pretty good."

"Yeah, Cloud and I really did," I laughed. "Of course, we got a little splattered in the process, but what can you do? Anyway, thanks for the help, Tifa. One less thing for me to worry about."

She nodded as she finished tending to my injury. "You're welcome. Your head's looking a little better, but there's definitely a bruise. I know you won't like it, but I brought a potion for you. It'll help with the pain and swelling and keep the bruise from spreading and getting too dark. So go ahead and drink it down, Jessie."

After I sat up, Tifa handed me the potion, and I did as she said, my nose curling as I downed the disgusting thing. She couldn't fully hide a little smirk as she took the empty bottle and gave me a glass of water to wash it down with. I eagerly gulped it up, getting rid of as much of the aftertaste as I could, and shook my head.

"Not you, too, Tifa," I laughed. "I think Cloud gets a real kick outta making me squirm with these nasty things."

She chuckled. "Really? Well, you do make it pretty amusing."

"Oh, you're terrible!" I teased.

"Par for the course," she grinned. "Anyway, feel like having a bite to eat? I can whip you up something if you want."

I stretched my arms a little as I turned to sit on the edge of the bed with her. "Sounds great, but I think I'm gonna go hop in the shower for a bit first. Gimme twenty minutes or so?"

Tifa nodded. "Of course. Cloud's downstairs having breakfast, too, so you'll probably see him before he leaves with Wedge to go on patrol. He said he wants to check on you first."

"Always looking out for me," I giggled, butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. "Would you tell him I'm feeling better now and that he can come up and see me when he's done?"

"I'll let him know," she said, her voice a little unsteady.

Uh-oh. Tifa looked away for a moment, and I could tell I'd struck a nerve. Me and my big mouth again. Damn. Looked like she liked him, too. I'd seen the way she'd look at him in the time he'd been here, but I'd hoped I was wrong. This was gonna complicate things. I'd fallen pretty hard for Cloud, but I didn't want how I felt about him to hurt Tifa and come between us, either. So I decided I'd just have to talk with her, fess up, and see how things went from there.

But I couldn't bring myself to do it yet, and I didn't even know how or where to start. So I just sat there and tried, without much success, to ignore the dull throbbing in my head. When I gently touched it after a moment in the place where I'd been hit last night, I let out a sharp hiss as pain suddenly flared up in an instant. I gasped and winced, yanking my hand away as if it had caught fire.

"Damn!" I swore.

She inspected the bruise again. "Better not push yourself too much today, Jessie. Just rest and take some time to heal. I mean it. You took a pretty bad blow to the head last night."

I sighed. "Yeah, I hear ya."

"I hope so," Tifa went on. "You're very lucky to be alive, you know. And that the spikes on that guy's club were so short. If they'd been any longer, they'd have gone right into your brain."

"I feel like they already did," I quipped, only half-joking.

She grimaced. "I don't doubt it. Let this be a lesson to you, alright? We almost lost you again, Jessie. Just like in the sewers. And I'm afraid of that. I don't… I don't want you to die."

I pulled Tifa into a hug. "Hey, it's okay. I promise I'll try to be more careful. And I've got Cloud looking after me, too. You know he'll do all he can to keep me safe. So don't worry."

"You know I will," she smiled, returning my embrace.

"Guess I can't stop ya," I giggled.

Tifa let go and stood up. "Not a chance. Anyway, I'll go downstairs and get started on breakfast while you take your shower. I've also got a fresh bandage for you over there on the dresser, so don't forget to put it on when you're all done cleaning up."

"Yes, Mom," I smirked.

"You're such a smartass," Tifa teased, gently punching my shoulder before walking to the door. "See you in a bit, okay?"

I laughed. "Yep! I'll be there."

She did too, then waved and left. Stifling another yawn, I shook off both the fatigue and as much of the pain as I could. Then, after getting up and making the bed, I went over to the dresser. Tifa had left a clean bandage there for me, just like she'd said, and my gear was there too, all the insect gunk thankfully gone and the metal polished to a shine. As I laid it all out on the bed, I reminded myself to thank Wedge next time I saw him for taking care of this for me.

Then I left the bedroom and went across the hall to the bathroom. After closing the door behind me, I went straight to the tub, turned on the water, and got it going just the way I liked it, nice and hot. As steam began filling the room, I stripped off my leotard, black lycra pants, and the rest of my clothes and got in the shower.

It felt so good, and I just stood there and soaked for a while, letting the hot water pour over me, easing my sore and tired muscles. I hadn't gotten a chance to really put my legs up like I usually did, and I felt all the miles I'd walked yesterday as my legs and feet ached. But the water and the heat slowly helped them relax.

I made sure to keep the hurt part of my head out of the flow while I slid my fingers through my hair and got it all nice and wet. Tifa had a nice scented body wash in here, so I dabbed some onto one of her little squeegees and got to work, swirling the soap and suds all over my skin as I cleaned off all the dirt and sweat from yesterday. Fortunately, there wasn't as much bug stuff on me as I'd thought, so it came off easily as I washed myself, smearing soft, white little bubbles across my arms, legs, shoulders, chest, and everywhere in between.

As I put down the squeegee and slowly rinsed myself off, I couldn't help daydreaming about Cloud and wondering what it would be like to have him in here with me. Just thinking about all the fun things he and I could do together made my skin tingle and brought a rush of warmth to my face. After a few moments of breathless longing where I was able to forget about the pain in my head for a while and just enjoy myself, I took a bit of Tifa's shampoo and washed my hair.

When I was done, I turned off the water, grabbed a towel from the rack, and stepped outta the tub. I didn't wanna make Tifa wait too long for me to come downstairs, so I wrapped the towel around myself, took my clothes, and went back over to the bedroom to get myself dried off. I hummed contentedly to myself as I closed the door behind me, and I let myself fantasize about Cloud a little more as I put my stuff down on the bed with the rest of my gear. I was just about to start drying myself off when I suddenly heard a knock on the door.

"Just a minute!" I called.

After carefully tying my towel at the front so that it wouldn't fall, I raked my fingers through my wet, dripping hair to get it outta my face as much as I could. When I opened the door a moment later, my heart slammed against my ribs and I felt my cheeks flaming red as I blushed so deeply I must've looked like a ripe tomato.

It was Cloud.

Of course it was him. I'd asked Tifa to send him on to up to see me. I just hadn't expected him to be so prompt about it. At first, all I could do was just stand there and stare at him, very much aware of how little I was wearing. Cloud's stunned reaction, though, made my knees go all weak and sent a horde of butterflies fluttering inside my stomach. The way he looked at me, with his eyes wide and his mouth hanging a little open, was so adorable and incredibly flattering.

When I saw his gaze slide downward almost on its own to the nice view I'd unwittingly given him, I felt a rush of heat under my skin. Did he feel about me the way I did about him? I hoped so. I knew this was a pretty good sign, so I didn't even bother trying to pull my towel up but instead just enjoyed being admired. The best parts were still hidden, of course, but there was plenty on display for him to look at. Cloud didn't turn away, and that helped me relax and made me more confident. So I decided to open up with a little tease.

"Hi, Cloud," I smirked. "Like what you see?"

He swallowed, clearly nervous. "I, uh… Yeah, I… I do…"

My heart raced even faster at his admission, and I grinned happily. "Oh, you do know how to make a girl feel good! Anyway, I only just got outta the shower. And it felt so great to clean off all that bug stuff from yesterday, I tell ya. Looks like you got all scrubbed up as well. Too bad I missed catching you like this, though."

"Gotta find me early for that, Jessie," he nodded.

I didn't doubt it. Cloud looked as hot as ever in his black sleeveless turtleneck, baggy pants, and wide brown leather belt. He had his sword strapped onto his back like always, and that cute boyish face of his was framed by his spiky blond hair. His glowing baby blue eyes were locked onto me so intensely that I couldn't help blushing a little bit more. And as I did, I decided I oughta reward him for being so sweet and making me feel so wanted, warm, and desirable.

So I leaned forward a little to improve the view for him, letting my towel slide down a bit to show off some more of my curves. The fabric fell low enough to let Cloud see plenty of skin and barely hid the rest. I couldn't resist a smile as his eyes followed along quite nicely. He didn't even try to stop himself, not that I wanted him to. I was really enjoying this, and as I remembered what he'd said, I decided it wouldn't really be polite to make him wait here in the hall for me.

"Ha!" I laughed. "Thanks for the tip. I'll have to remember that. In the meantime, why don't you come in?"

Cloud swallowed and looked up. "Alright. Lead the way."

Still smiling, I turned around, headed into the bedroom, and made damn sure to swing my hips as I walked. Cloud followed me inside, his boots loud on the wooden floor, and when I glanced over my shoulder at him, I caught him again, noticing how his eyes were squarely on my ass before they shot back up as soon as he realized I was watching him. I giggled but decided not to tease him about it. Still, it was fun making him blush. Served him right for doing it to me.

"Close the door, would you, Cloud?" I asked instead.

He did. "How's your head?"

I walked over to the bed. "Better. Still hurts a little, though."

"You'll be fine," Cloud assured me.

I nodded, looking at my clothes and gear. They were all folded and stacked on the comforter. "Tifa stopped by for a minute after I woke up and had me drink another potion. That helped a bit, though I'm pretty sure that she secretly enjoyed watching me down that disgusting thing almost as much as you did."

"I'll bet," he smirked, his mouth turning up slightly.

I gave him a snarky little grin. "Laugh all you want, Cloud. But for now, move over there and turn around."

He blinked. "What for?"

"Just do it, okay?" I chuckled, pointing to a spot near the wall. "Or were you hoping to watch me get dressed?"

"N-No, Jessie. Of course not!" Cloud stammered.

I winked. "Aw, too bad…"

He actually stumbled a little and almost missed a step as he turned around with his back to me. "What?"

"Nothing!" I giggled. Knowing Cloud wouldn't peek—underneath that tough merc act, he was really quite a gentleman—I unfastened my towel and started drying myself off. "So, you're heading out soon to go clear out more eaters with Wedge?"

"Yeah," he answered. "What about you?"

I rubbed the towel all over my body a part at a time, getting all the dampness out. "I think I'll head downstairs to the basement today and see if I can find us the passcodes for the reactor doors. I meant to do it before, actually, but I was busy working on the bomb. At least until the Vice gang showed up again. Since I'm already over here today anyway, I figured it'd be a good time to get this done."

"Can you find 'em?" Cloud asked.

"Oh, yeah," I answered, working on my hair now and squeezing the water out. "Shinra's systems are encrypted, of course, but I know some ways to get in. And I can get those passcodes, or at least find out where they're kept if they're not in the main database."

He nodded without turning around. "Any ideas?"

I had a pretty strong hunch, actually. "Shinra's got a few secondary mainframes around the city as well, Cloud, so if central turns out to be a bust, then that's where they'll be."

"Got it," he said.

When I was finished, I decided to have a little fun with him. Cloud hadn't moved so much as an inch the whole time. Such a sweet, decent guy. Definitely deserved another reward. So I playfully tossed the towel toward him, where it landed on the floor near his feet. For a moment, I just stood there, my heart pounding like a bass drum, and even though Cloud was still staring dutifully at the wall, I couldn't help blushing like mad at the realization that I didn't have a thing on and he was standing right there in front of me not so far away.

As Cloud looked down at the towel, I heard his breath catch in his throat. He knew how to flatter me without even saying a word. Taking a deep breath to steady my nerves, I walked right up to him. I was very tempted in that moment to just turn him around right then and there, kiss him passionately, and let him have me any way he wanted. And my body certainly wasn't arguing. It was ready and waiting for him to take me away and make me a very happy girl.

But as badly as I wanted Cloud and as much as I longed to find out if he and I could have something together, if he felt about me the way I did about him, I couldn't. Not yet. Not without talking to Tifa first. She liked him too, and I wasn't gonna go behind her back. I had to know if she was gonna try and pursue something with Cloud herself. If so, then I'd step aside, hard as I knew it would be for me to do. But if she wasn't, then I hoped she'd give me the green light.

So instead, I just laid my hand on his right shoulder and whispered in his ear. "You'll come see me, won't you, Cloud?"

"Yeah…" he swallowed. "As soon as my patrol's done."

"Looking forward to it," I promised.

Then I let go of him, went back over to the bed, and started getting dressed. I almost wished I didn't have to, that this intense little moment between us could last longer. But I didn't want my breakfast to get cold, and I knew I couldn't keep Tifa waiting. So I put on my underwear and support first, then the black lycra pants and blue leotard. After zipping up the neck, I grabbed my olive cargo pants next, tugged them on, and fastened my belt in place with its matching pouch at my hip. Then I sat on the edge of the mattress and looked at Cloud.

"You can look now," I told him.

While he did that, I picked up my black chain shirt and put it on. It fell nicely into place, and after straightening out the sleeves a bit, I took my metal breastplate and began buckling it on. I fastened the clasps on the right, then settled my armor over my chest and wiggled it a little to get my curves tucked inside. The fit was close enough to show off their shape nicely but also gave me room to breathe.

After buckling the clasps on the left side, I started on the shoulder straps. The ones in front were easy and didn't give me any problems as I clicked them together. But the ones in the back were a different story. I reached over my shoulder without looking and snapped the first one into place easily enough. The other one, though, didn't wanna close. It had been bent a little outta shape when I'd fought the sahagins down in the sewers with Tifa almost two years ago and had never fastened quite right ever since. And now it was being stubborn.

After a few unsuccessful attempts at clicking the buckle together, I looked at Cloud. "Hey, would you mind…?"

"I'll get it," he said.

Smiling gratefully, I stood up and turned around so I had my back to Cloud. Then I lifted my hair up outta the way with both hands as he walked over to stand behind me. I heard him take the buckle, and only a moment later, he had it fixed, snapping the clasp in place and getting it nice and snug for me. Once he was finished, I let go of my hair, but I didn't move away yet. Instead, I looked up at him, my heart racing with him being so close. He hadn't moved, either.

"Thanks, Cloud," I told him, my eyes lingering on his.

He nodded. "No problem."

I smirked. "That buckle's always given me trouble. Never seems to close quite right. But you sure showed it who's boss, didn't you? I think you just might be a keeper after all!"

"Better be," Cloud agreed.

I laughed, loving his little retort, then sat down again, this time on the side of the bed closest to the dresser. After sliding my two shoulder guards neatly into place one at a time and fastening the buckles to hold them on, I put my socks, shoes, and gloves on next. Then I fastened my hair into the high ponytail I liked, the red hair tie holding it securely in place. After taking the fresh bandage Tifa had left for me and placing it carefully over my bruise, I picked up the last thing—my red Avalanche headband—and started to put it on.

About halfway through, I motioned to Cloud, deciding I wanted a little help today with my head still hurting the way it was. He leaned in close and skillfully tied the knot behind my left ear for me while I held my headband steady. When he was done, he stepped away as I reached up to lightly touch the fabric and check out his handiwork. He'd done a great job, just as I'd known he would. Satisfied, I let go and dropped my hands into my lap as I gazed warmly at him.

"I get it right?" Cloud asked.

I grinned. "Perfect! I should have you do it every time."

He didn't argue. "If you need me to."

"Awww, that's so sweet, Cloud, but I can manage," I teased. "I don't wanna impose on ya. Still, it was kinda nice. Maybe I'll let you help me out with it again later sometime."

Cloud gave me a faint smirk. "Can't wait."

"Me either," I smiled. "Well, I guess we'd better go."

"Yeah," he agreed.

I held out my hands. "Help a girl up?"

Cloud took them in his and gently helped me to my feet, and for a moment, we just stood there together, our eyes locked on each other. It felt so good to have his hands in mine and to be so close to him. Cloud was only inches away, and I badly wanted to cover his lips with mine in a long, deep kiss and show him how I felt. And if it weren't for Tifa and her own interest in him, I might've done it. But I reminded myself that I couldn't, not yet. I had to wait and talk to her.

So I reluctantly let go and headed out into the hall. Cloud followed a few steps behind me. When we got downstairs, Tifa wasn't there, but Wedge was. He stood up from his usual table where he'd been finishing his breakfast and hurried over to see me.

"Jessie!" he exclaimed. "It's good to see you up again!"

"Thanks, Wedge," I smiled, hugging him. "And for cleaning off my gear for me, too. I really appreciate it."

He grinned. "Sure! So, you all ready to go, Cloud?"

"Yeah," he said.

Wedge gave him a thumbs up. "Great! Then let's go. And if we find any Vice bandits, Jessie, we'll take 'em out for ya!"

I laughed. "You guys are just so sweet!"

"Huh?" Cloud blinked.

"Have fun, boys!" I waved, giggling as they left.

When they left, I saw a note on the bar and picked it up. It was for me, from Tifa. Looked like she'd gone downstairs with Marlene not too long ago, and she'd left my food warming in the oven for me. So I took it out, poured myself something to drink, sat down at the bar, and dug in. Tifa made some damn good pancakes and eggs, though I wasn't bad at it myself. And a piece of fruit from the basket near the fridge topped things off nicely. By the time I was done, I was nicely full and my head was starting to feel a little better, too.

I washed my dishes, then rode the secret elevator downstairs to see Tifa and Marlene. When I stepped off the lift, I saw Tifa slamming her fists one after the other into the punching bag in the corner as Marlene sat and watched on the floor with her dolls scattered around her. Both of them turned to look, and as Tifa returned my smile, Marlene rushed eagerly over to see me, her eyes lighting up.

"Jessie!" she squealed.

I picked up Marlene and pulled her into a hug, as happy to see her as she was to see me. Holding her always made me feel good, and I was so glad I was still alive and able to do that after almost dying again last night. After a moment, I gently put her down, then slid into Tifa's arms as she gave me a tight hug of her own.

"Feeling better?" she asked.

I nodded. "Much. The pain's almost gone now, Tifa."

She let go and carefully looked underneath the bandage on the left side of my head. "So's the bruise."

"That's a relief," I said, reaching up to touch the spot. It didn't hurt as much as before for me to do that. "If I were all black and blue, Biggs would never let me hear the end of it."

"He's on his way here, actually," Tifa told me.

I wasn't surprised. "Figured Bigg'd show up sooner or later once he found out. Guess I'm in for a lecture, huh?"

Tifa smirked. "I'd say so. He cares about you."

"I know, Tifa," I agreed. "Didn't mean to worry you guys."

"It's okay. Barret was asking about you, too, before he left to do his rounds for the day. You gave us all a good scare, you know?"

I laughed sheepishly. "Guess I did, didn't I?"

"Yeah," she said. "But you're alright, Jessie. That's all any of us really cares about. So don't worry about it, okay?"

I grinned as I plopped down at my desk. "Got it!"

As I switched on my computer and got started, Marlene came over to watch. She liked doing that sometimes, and so did Tifa. I'd show her some of the little tricks I knew, and although Tifa wasn't as into this as much as I was, she still always seemed interested in seeing how I did it. She pulled up a chair from the table and had a seat on the other side as I sat Marlene in front of me and hacked into Shinra's database to check out some information about the reactor.

"Are you really okay, Jessie?" Marlene asked as I worked.

"Yeah, sweetie," I told her. "I'm fine now. Tifa took really good care of me last night and got me all patched up."

She looked up at me. "Good! Did Cloud save you?"

I smiled. "He sure did. Twice."

"Oh, wow!" Marlene giggled. "So he's a hero?"

"He's definitely my hero, that's for sure," I sighed longingly, pausing for a moment. "I really like him…"

Her eyes went wide. "Are you in love?"

I gaped at Tifa in amazement, both our jaws dropping at Marlene's words. I'd almost forgotten Tifa was there, as wrapped up as I'd been in thinking about Cloud while I worked. And as I looked at her, I couldn't help feeling more than a little nervous. This wasn't exactly the way that I'd hoped to tell her, but Marlene had unexpectedly forced the issue. As I sat there, I tried to figure out what to say.

"I, uh…" I swallowed.

Tifa smirked. "Outta the mouths of babes."

"Tell me about it!" I grinned as we laughed together about it. Then I shyly looked away. "But really, about that…"

"Hmm?" she wondered.

Before I could answer her, though, the elevator suddenly hummed behind us, and we all turned as it rose up into the ceiling in the corner. Then, a moment later, it came down again, this time with Biggs riding on it as he wore one of those dark green outfits he liked along with his leather boots, belt, fingerless gloves, and shoulder harness. His gun was slung at his hip, and his hair was dark, tousled, and clean above his red headband. I smiled when I saw him.

"Afternoon, ladies," Biggs waved as he stepped off.

"Biggs!" Marlene exclaimed.

He chuckled as she jumped down from my lap and ran over to see him. "Hey there, peanut. Lookin' pretty as always."

She put her hands on her little hips. "You interrupted!"

He knelt down in front of her. "That so?"

"It is!" Marlene nodded. "Jessie was just about to tell us—"

Before she could finish, though, Tifa quickly got up from her chair and intervened. "Alright, Marlene. That's enough."

"But—!" Marlene protested.

Tifa shook her head while behind her, I let out a sigh of relief. "No buts, young lady. Now go play, alright?"

Biggs scratched his head. "What was that all about?"

"Just a little girl talk," Tifa teased as Marlene skipped over to where she'd left her toys. "None of your business."

"Figures," he laughed.

I went over to him. "Hi, Biggs. Guess I made ya worry, huh?"

He smirked as he hugged me. "You think?"

"Sorry for scaring ya," I apologized when we let go.

"Damn near gave me a heart attack, Jessie," Biggs said. "Why'd you go and do such a crazy-ass thing?"

Seemed like Wedge had finally filled him in about my little visit to the Vice gang's lair. I knew he'd find out sooner or later, and I wasn't all that surprised at how worried he still was about me. Worst-casing it as always. It was sweet, but I'd known what I was getting myself into. Still, I had come pretty close to dying again. Anyway, I knew he was waiting for an answer, so I told him what I could.

"They had the chip, Biggs. And we needed it. You know as well as I do that they've been attacking lots of people between here and Sector 5 for months now and that they stole it. I just stole it back, that's all. Took a bit of doing to pull it off, but I did. That base of theirs was pretty well hidden. Not well enough, though."

He frowned. "But why'd you go by yourself?"

I sighed. "I had to get it back before Vice sold it, and I knew that it wouldn't be long with how valuable it was. And also, I knew that Barret wouldn't let me do it otherwise. So I went anyway."

"Should've taken me and Wedge with you," Biggs told me.

I shook my head. "No. I didn't wanna put you guys in danger, and I knew I'd have a better chance of pulling it off if I was alone. I got it, but some of those bastards snuck after me when I escaped and followed me home. That's how they caught me in that alley."

"And nearly killed you," he finished.

"It was either steal the chip from Vice or try to break into a Shinra storehouse to get one. And I decided that nabbing it from Vice was the easier and safer way. Guess I was wrong, though."

Biggs snorted. "No kidding."

I was more worried than I wanted to admit. The gang wasn't gonna stop trying to kill me, not after I'd stolen from them, torched their lair, and kicked their asses. And Braddock had to be really pissed off at how I'd outwitted him and that I was still alive.

"They've tried to get the chip back twice now and do me in at the same time," I went on, folding my arms in front of me. "I'm just hoping that the third time won't be the charm."

"It won't be," Tifa insisted. "I'll see to it."

I glanced curiously at her. "What do you mean, Tifa?"

She took my shoulder. "It's nothing you need to worry about, okay? Your big sister's taking care of it."

I didn't know what Tifa had in mind, but I could tell she was up to something, that she had a plan to deal with Vice. I only hoped she'd let me in on it so I could join the fun. In the meantime, though, I decided to get back to work. So I sat back down at my desk again as Biggs took the chair Tifa had been sitting in earlier while she went over, had a seat at the table, and took out her phone.

"How's Lena?" I asked.

He leaned back and folded his hands behind his head. "A lot better. She's at the Leaf House helping out with the kids today. Got her settled in there 'till this Vice thing blows over."

My fingers flew over the keyboard. "Good. This should all be over soon. Then we can concentrate on the reactor."

"It's gettin' pretty close now, isn't it?" Biggs murmured.

"Won't be much longer," I agreed.

It both excited me and scared me. Shutting down Reactor 1 would be our biggest mission yet, but also our most dangerous. Taking on the Vice gang was gonna seem like child's play in comparison. At least we'd have Cloud to help us, exactly the kind of muscle we needed. I just… I really hoped he'd change his mind and stay with us afterward. I'd fallen hard for him and didn't wanna say goodbye.

My heart aching, I focused on doing my work.