Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy IX…you know the deal.

A/N: Well, thanks for everyone's reviews.  Thanks to a lot of you, French Maid has dropped the subject.  Here is his exact wording…

Hey anna

OK you've convinced me that.*sigh* im wrong about the whole thing about Zidane and Cloud. So you got me but promise not to laugh at me! oh well i know u will anyways. :P But dont think your out of the clear yet. im sure ill have another crazy accusation thought up soon! also, whoever it was on the message board that said what my claims had to do with the chapter. well my answer is.. NOTHING AT ALL. if u knew me well enough u'd know im not the brightest potato in the bunch! bye!

So there you have it people, he's given up!  Yay!

Angelic Demon16: Thanks to you too for complimenting Amy!  It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside!  ^_^

Aya-yahiko and Diana: Thanks for the praise!  I'm loving this more and more!

Many Partings

            Doctor Tot came to Alexandria castle as soon as he heard the news.  There, he tended Steiner's grievous injury.

            As the doctor worked, Zidane and Beatrix busied themselves by getting rid of the body that was still lying in the hall.  Or at least the one they expected to find.  The scene they found in the Great Hall was a bit different.  Strewn across the floor were several mangled bodies.  Most of them were Alexandrian soldiers, all except for two.

            One was the cloaked man, and the second one must have been a friend of his.  After piecing the story together, it was decided that upon entering the castle they tried to take the guards by surprise.  However, one managed to kill off the scarred man before the cloaked man finished her off. 

            A short ceremony was held for the soldiers who lost their lives, protecting their king.  But the two crooks weren't so lucky.  Beatrix made sure they were buried, but the men received no ceremony or tears.

            Days passed, and Tot continued to treat Steiner.  His injuries were worsening, and becoming infected. Unfortunately, the elixir that Beatrix had hastily given him was only slowing down the process.

            "Normally, if someone has a wound this bad, we would need to amputate it," Tot explained to Zidane one evening as he cleaned out the gash, "But because it is in his stomach, there isn't much we can do about it."

            Beatrix sat in the corner of the room, weeping and holding tightly onto her son.  After realizing that Steiner might not survive the wound, she went ahead and told Zak the story.  Being only two, he didn't understand the concept of death.  No matter what anyone said, to him, Daddy was going to get better.

            There were several occasions when Dagger had pulled her rod out and tried her White Magic.  But nothing seemed to work.  Even Eiko had come over from Lindblum and tried Full-Life. 

            "Heal the wounded, treat the sick, but let the dying soul go." Eiko recited as she set her flute down.

            "What?" Beatrix asked looking up with her tearstained face.

            "My grandpa used to say it all the time.  White Magic can only be used so far, we can't do anything for the dying."

            "So, you're just giving up on him?" she screamed crying even harder.

            "No!" Eiko hesitated before continuing, "But we just can't do much else for him."

            More days passed, and Steiner was going slowly.  Beatrix had eventually accepted that no more could be done.  They had tried everything, Tot had pulled out his old remedy books, Beatrix, Dagger and Eiko all tried using Magic at once, but nothing was happening.  Slowly, but surely, Steiner was dying. 

            Beatrix was at the point of no turning back.  Everyday, she sat by Steiner's bedside, holding his hand and stroking his brow.  Hardly eating, barely sleeping, the poor woman refused to give up hope. 

Steiner, on the other hand did little more than sleep.  For several days, the halls of the castle were gloomy as Tot bustled in and out of the guest room. 

"When is Daddy gonna wake up?" Zak asked one morning. 

Beatrix looked at her son, and her eyes welled up with tears.  "I don't know baby, I really don't know." Without any more words, she hugged the toddler to her.

"General Beatrix, can you come out here for a second?" a soldier called from the doorway.  With a sad look at her husband, she nodded and headed for the door.

Zak stood alone inside the eerie room.  "Hey Daddy." He said as he climbed into the bed next to him.  No response.  "When will you wake up?" Zak laid down next to him and hugged him. 

With an aching heart, Beatrix watched Zak from the doorway.  She wished there were someway to explain it to him! 

"We all miss you." Zak continued.  Steiner's eyes opened, for a second and he looked at his son. 

"Zak…" he whispered.  Listening intently, Zak leaned closer, but those were the last words that escaped his father's lips.  His father was never to speak again, for at that minute, Steiner took his last breath.

"Daddy?  Daddy, wake up!" there was no response.  "Mommy!" the small boy called.  Beatrix rushed in.

"Steiner?  Steiner!?  Please, breathe again!" desperately looking around, she turned to Zak, "Go get the doctor!" Zak nodded and ran off, "Steiner, honey, please breathe again!" she grabbed his hand, and realized it was no longer warm. "Curaga!" she yelled placing her hand on his forehead, but there were no results.

"What's the problem?" Tot interrupted upon entering the room.  Seeing Beatrix's desperate face, and the pale Steiner, he knew and didn't need to ask any more questions. 

~ ~

We're so mean aren't we?  Hmmmm….so yeah, it's one o'clock in the morning, (I have a thing for writing late at night eh?  Mickayla got me started on that….tehehe.)  So yeah, review!  Reviews are wonderful, wonderful things, and we read every single one of them!  So review away!  Oh, and if you want to read something somewhat funny/crazy, feel free to read our bio!  We just updated it!

 Oh, and before I forget, the quote that Eiko used, "Heal the wounded, treat the sick, but let the dying soul go," that came from a book I read awhile ago called 'The Wizard of Earthsea'.  So I can't take any credit for that!