Chapter 7
Reno had never slept as peacefully as he did that night. After the doctor came and examined his mother he told Reno to let her rest but when he left the two stayed up talking for another hour. He did most of the talking while she asked him questions...some he did his best to avoid.
After he finally went back to his quarters he was so giddy he didn't know if he could sleep. But the moment his head made contact with a goose-feather pillow he was out.
When he woke the next morning, he showered and put on an outfit similar to the previous one. He couldn't get it out of his head.
/I talked with my mom for the first time in over...twenty...years. /
His stomach let out a little roar to be fed. Well, food could wait. He had to speak with her again. He had to check on her again before he did anything else today. It was just too good to be true. His mom was recovering just fine, their talk had been positive for the most part, and she seemed to except him.
/hope things stay that way... /
Reno made his way back down to the clinic for obvious reasons. Cloud and Tifa were further down the hall speaking with Dr. Naid. When he reached his mother's room and was disappointed to find her still sleeping. His mouth drooped into a slight frown.
Well, what did he expect? She needed more sleep than he did and still was recovering from her preserved state of death.
He came up beside her bed and kissed her forehead softly. With a final smile he left to get some breakfast. He stopped in his tracks when a little idea came to him.
Hadn't they brought up another woman yesterday?
Now that he thought about it, he hadn't given the other woman any thought or attention at all the previous day. He had been pretty caught up in the safety of his mother. Who wouldn't be?
He glanced down the hall to see that Cloud and Tifa had vanished, probably into Dr. Naid's office. Well, it couldn't hurt to check in on her, right?
He turned on heel and walked cautiously into the other woman's room. She was sessile except for the slow rising and falling of her chest. He stood at the foot of her bed for a moment, examining her for the first time. The only thing he could think to describe her was *nice*.
Her face was a bit pale but her cheeks were tinted a rosy pink in some areas. Her ebony hair spilled around her like inky puddles...a sharp contrast to the stark white clinical sheets. Her hair looked a lot like Tifa's. It was silky and very lengthy. To Reno, Tifa's hair seemed so untouchable, like everything else about her. The one thing he loved about Tifa, other than her hypnotic breast size, was her hair and how incredibly soft it appeared. But he learned a hard lesson from Tifa that her hair, along with the rest of her body was off limits.
Well, this was different. The woman was asleep and this was probably as close to Tifa's luxurious locks as he was going to get. He took a handful of her hair and felt it carefully with his fingers. He allowed it to spill through the spaces between fingers and fall back to the bed.
It was incredibly soft. He had the sudden urge to run his hands through all of her hair. Before he could stop himself his hands had developed minds of their own and were reaching for more of the gorgeous locks. Reno had a gut feeling that he was doing something forbidden. But he couldn't stop himself.
As it turned out...
...he didn't have to.
"What the hell are you doing!?"
Reno didn't realize Cloud and Tifa were standing in the doorway.
"What's it to you?" he replied hotly.
"Don't...you...touch...her, " Cloud threatened through clenched teeth.
"Why don't you bring your coward ass over here and make me, *freak*? "
If there was one thing Reno hated, it was being told what to do...
...by anyone from AVALANCHE, save Tifa.
Cloud slid the Ultima Weapon from his back and Reno brandished the Electromog Rod. Tifa looked between them with worry.
"Will you two cut it out!" she stepped between them to stop their advances. "This is hardly the place or time." She turned to Reno. "Dr. Naid went over the results of the blood test with us."
"So? What he say?"
"If you would calm yourself I'd tell you." Tifa hadn't seen what Reno was doing and why Cloud was so mad. She shrugged it off as Cloud being snippy again and picking a fight.
"Hell, I'm calm. That prick ain't enough to break my cool."
"What did you just call m-"
"Enough!!" Tifa was slowly losing her patients with the two. They were acting like toddlers and now wasn't the time.
She let out a breath of tension.
"Listen, the doctor said he'd never seen her blood type before and thought we should ask her some questions when she wakes up. "
"What do you mean, 'never seen her blood type before'? "
"Well, it's definitely not a human blood type."
Reno sank into a contemplative silence. If she wasn't human, what could she be?
He took a suspicious glance at the woman in question as if expecting her to have four arms and a pair of fangs. She looked human enough on the outside.
What non-human looked human?
The only thing he could come up with was...
"Hey, I think she's waking up!" Cloud exclaimed and they all crowded around her bed.
She coughed a little and breathed in deep. Her eyes shot open a bit unexpectantly. They were a rich shade of hazel and held the same inner glow as Giovanna's. It was like sun shinning through a glistening morsel of amber.
"How do you feel? " Cloud asked.
She searched for her voice and it came quiet and timid.
"Ok, I guess..."
"Can you tell us your name, " Tifa inquired hopefully.
"...Yeah. I'm Casca. Can you tell me where I am?"
"You're in a clinic in Midgar. You were found in a coma underground, " Cloud answered for them.
She looked into all of their faces one at a time but none of them seemed familiar.
"Who are you?"
"I'm Tifa. This is Reno and Cloud."
Casca digested the names but they still weren't familiar.
"Thank you for taking care of me but where is my sister? I should tell her where I am so she won't worry about me."
"We'll be glad to get your sister for you, " Tifa said. "What's her name? "
"I usually call her Nana," she began with a reminiscent smile, "but her name is Ifalna...Ifalna Ghast. She should be up in Icicle Village with her..."
She paused when she noticed the horrified expressions on Cloud and Tifa's faces. Reno just let out a burdened sigh.
"What?"
/Do they know what I am? Maybe they hate the Cetra like the rest of the world. Ifalna I need you... / She suddenly wanted her older sister there with her...she always knew what to do.
They all looked at each other, debating who should do the explaining. Reno obviously wasn't about to say anything. Cloud and Tifa stared at each other with distinct indecision. Casca looked on in confusion and awaited their explanation.
Tifa let out a sigh and turned back to Casca.
"Well..."
"No, Tifa. I should, " Cloud interrupted. "I don't know how to tell you this but...::sigh:: we believe you've been underground for over twenty years. Your sister and her husband were murdered many years ago by Professor Hojo....we're so sorry..." he ended weakly.
Her amber eyes bore into their souls, praying for it all not to be true. But there would be none of the Planet's mercy today. She burst into tears, unable to hold the solid block of grief. Tifa was at her side trying to console her but the tears wouldn't let up. Tifa could think of nothing that would bring comfort to the sobbing Cetra so she let her cry on her shoulder.
She sobbed out more dreadful questions.
"What about my niece? Is Aeris ok? They didn't hurt her did they?"
"Aeris...Aeris died about five years ago at the hands of Sephiroth. She died saving the Planet..."
This brought on a new set of tears that wouldn't let up.
"I never even got to meet her...I planned to do so much with..."
Tifa tried to ease her pain. "Aeris was a wonderful person. She gave her life for all of us."
Cloud excused himself to get the doctor and Reno left to go find Rude to get breakfast. He didn't want to be a part of someone else's drama. As he continued down the hall, he shook his head to clear away the soggy emotions that were building up in his throat.
That was too close...
There was just something about an angel's tears that could dangerously produce a few of his own. He never cried, even when he heartlessly murdered entire families at the command of President ShinRa. He couldn't remember the last time he shed a tear for anyone and he wanted it to stay that way.
Lao-Anne listened at the door of Casca's room. Dressed in a stolen nurse's uniform, she hadn't drawn any attention so far and she preferred it stay that way.
/So she's the Cetra for the experiment...I should get her first. /
She leaned over slightly to get a quick view of the room. On opposite sides of the bed were Reno and Cloud with Tifa at the foot of the bed.
If she could get in there with them gone she could administer the hypodermic solution and get her out.
Hmmm...
She didn't have time to think when Cloud's footsteps could be heard nearing the door. She hurried away from the door and down the hall as quickly as she could. She was almost at the main office when Cloud called to her.
"Hey! Nurse, wait!"
/Damn...if he suspects me... /
When he caught up with her he spoke again, "Have you seen Dr. Naid? I should tell him the patient is up."
"Oh um...I haven't seen him yet. I just started my shift...maybe you should try his office."
"Ok...thanks."
He continued down the hall and around the corner to Dr. Naid's office. When he was out of sight she let out a sigh of relief. He hadn't suspected anything.
Lao-Anne watched the redheaded Turk leave the room next. That left Tifa and the Cetra. The doctor would be there any minute.
Her little plan would have to wait until later, perhaps tonight when Cetra was alone. She could get the other girl too...
/Maybe that's too may at one time. /
Well, she had all day to plan it. She went back to the main office to pick up the charts on the women. She also had to get some blood from them for her studies. She could imagine her success already.
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Author's notes:
I'm glad to say it didn't take two weeks to finish this part. I really didn't want to keep you guys waiting. The next part shouldn't take so long either. This one was a bit short in my opinion but I try to write more next time.
As always, reviews comments/questions are welcome!
Mail: drunkpoodle@yahoo.com
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