Hey guys, I've managed to actually crank out a chapter even though I've been in Denver on vacation this week! Ack! It's Rich's dad's retirement get together. He was a pilot for United for 16 years. Way to go, Richard! (Rich's dad's name is Richard, go figure)

Chapter Twenty Eight

Armed with the knowledge of Vincent's location, Reno figured that he needed to act. He went up to the control room, sat at his desk and made a call.

"Yeah?" came the voice from the other end.

"Hey, Brad, I need a favor." Reno leaned back in his chair and put his feet upon his desk.

"Did you ask Angel?" Brad shot back, not aware of the fact that Reno had been restored to his old position.

"No, and I don't need to, I'm running the show again. Got the all clear to do so this morning." Reno smiled, proud of himself. "So, how about that favor?"

Feeling sorry for Reno, Brad decided to indulge him. "What is it?"

"Well, I need you to take me somewhere quick, and I don't want you sayin' anything to anybody about it, just in case things don't go well." He had his cane resting across his legs, and he was scanning the room to make sure that no one was listening in.

The chopper pilot looked over his shoulder back at his old bird. "Yeah, she's up to it, I guess."

"Thanks, I'll see you in a few." Reno hung up and rose from his seat.

He made his way to the lab and went in, finding its two constant residents within. "Hey guys?"

Quigley and Porter came over to him, abandoning the read out from the compounding machine they'd been studying.

"What's going on, Reno?" Porter asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"I've got some news. I got a pass from a doctor up topside and I've been put back in charge of this operation." Reno smiled.

"What?" Porter's eyes went wide. "But the rules…"

The ASRIO leader scoffed. "Yeah, well, we decided to change them. Angel wasn't really wanting the job, and I wasn't ready for retirement yet."

Porter dropped his gaze away and his shoulders slumped. With his promotion had come a considerable pay raise, and he had already begun planning on buying Rayna and himself a house in town. "Oh…"

Reno knew what was on his mind. "Don't freak out, Port. You're still second."

He looked up, seeming confused. "I am?"

"Yeah." Reno met his gaze. "Angel is sorta taking a hiatus."

"Why?" Porter asked.

Reno's grin returned. "Because I got her knocked up again."

"That's great!" Quigley laughed. "When did that happen?"

Not able to help himself, Reno reached out and mussed the researcher's hair. "Quiggers, some of us get laid once in a while and I'm guessing it was one of those times."

Quigley pulled himself out of Reno's reach, not entirely fond of the way the former Turk tended to handle him. "That's not all you came here for, is it?"

"Well, I need some of that stuff that you've been giving Aaron, but the kind that actually works on Vinny." He sat down in a chair, still weak despite his progress.

"Why?" Quigley openly wondered.

Reno shrugged. "I'm gonna go and get him, and I think I should have some of that stuff in case he'll let me give it to him."

The two men were silent for a moment, and then Porter spoke up. "You…you know where he is?"

He nodded in response. "Don't tell anyone. Brad's takin' me there in a little while, but I don't want it made public knowledge, just in case it doesn't work out or he's not there or whatever. So, I figured I'd want to take along some of that stuff."

"Do you know how to give an injection?" Quigley had already retrieved the vial of the Chaos-specific drug from a cabinet.

Instantly, Reno turned red and looked away. "Yeah, I do."

Again, both men went silent, awaiting an explanation.

Seeing that they were in need of an answer, Reno confessed. "I used to do some drugs back in the day, all right? I know how to hit a vein."

They took this news in stride. Reno had come from a dicey background and this wasn't that big of a surprise.

Quigley drew up the appropriate amount of the chemical into a syringe and handed it to Reno. "Okay, that should do it. Don't get it outside of the vein if he lets you give it to him because it causes some pretty serious necrosis and sloughing if you do."

Reno narrowed his eye. "If I knew what in the hell you'd just said… Whatever, don't worry. I know what I'm doin'. Remember, don't fuckin' tell anyone, all right?"

Quigley nodded and offered a smile. "No problem."

Porter, however, still looked like he had his reservations. "Reno, are you sure you want to go do this alone?"

He managed up from his seat and tapped the end of his cane on the floor. "Sure, if I had any doubt, I wouldn't be going at all."

This didn't seem to comfort Porter in the least. "I think I should go with you."

"No," Reno raised a hand, "that ain't gonna happen. I need to talk to Vinny alone and besides, if things do go badly, we can't risk having both me and you taken out."

Porter knew that there was no point in arguing with the man and relented. He still wasn't trusting of Vincent in light of all that had happened, and he truly was concerned for Reno's well being. "Call if there's a problem, at least."

Reno gave him a smile and headed for the door. "I will."

He got up to the airfield and made the walk to the hangers, spotting the helicopter sitting between some of the buildings. Brad was leaning against the side of the machine, arms crossed over his chest.

Reno offered him a smile as he neared, but it was forced and when he was just a few steps away, he fell to his knees, having lost all of his strength.

Brad went to his side and placed his arm around Reno, helping him back up. "Are you okay?"

A little embarrassed, Reno tried to shrug it off. "Yeah, I'm fine, just a little tired. It's farther out to here than I remembered."

"Look guy, I don't think you're up to this," Brad said honestly.

"I don't have a fuckin' choice, Brad." Reno pulled himself away from the pilot. "I've got to go do this. I've got a feeling that Vinny's not gonna be around much longer."

Brad crossed his arms again and scowled. "Then I ain't gonna take you."

Reno tensed his jaw, despite the pain that act sent shooting through the right side of his head. "Yes, you are. I'm your boss, you'll do what I say."

"I'm not taking you to go do something that you're not up to doing, Reno." Brad leaned back against the machine.

The ASRIO leader swallowed the last of his pride and met the pilot's gaze. "I don't think he's going to be any sort of threat, Brad. He's holed up in that cave in the mountains, probably with the intent of just disappearing from the face of the earth. The guy's got two little kids that need a dad, and I'm going to bring him home to them. Now, please, I'm begging, take me where I need to go."

If Brad hadn't known better, he would have thought that Reno was on the verge of tears. "All right, but the second I think things are in danger of turning bad, I'm draggin' you out of there and we're coming home, Vincent be damned."

It was at that moment that Reno realized how much everyone actually cared about him. Porter and Brad weren't giving him a hard time for any other reason than their concern for him. They were still angry with Vincent for shooting him in the first place and they were afraid that he could hurt Reno again.

Reno was touched by this, but saving Vincent was just as important to him as anything else and he wouldn't be deterred from his mission. "Let's just go."

Brad relented and turned, opening the door on the side of the chopper before helping Reno in. Taking Reno anywhere in his present state went against every fiber of his being.

---------------------------

Jaras had left Tifa's room and had gone back to his own, leaving Tifa alone with Aaron and Charlotte. She sat watching television for a while, as Aaron played his game in silence.

Finally, Aaron set his game down and looked over at his mother. "He's here, isn't he?"

Tifa, having been absorbed in what she was watching, didn't catch on right away. "What's that?"

"Cid."

Her eyes went wide. She wasn't going to lie to him, Tifa knew better than that, but she was curious how he knew of Cid's presence when Jaras had taken steps to see to it that the boy didn't find out. "How do you know?"

Aaron cocked an eyebrow. "Because I can smell him, Mom. You were with him and must have touched him, because his stink is all over you."

Tifa was speechless for a moment. Aaron's powers of observation had always been above and beyond, but this was a little much. His tone had given away the fact that he wasn't happy with the situation, either. "Yeah, he's here."

The boy narrowed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair, mocking his father's mannerisms. "Well isn't that great?"

"Sweetie, he had to come here, he's sick."

"I thought he was on a mission to either smack himself into a mountain in his plane or have Dad rip him apart," Aaron growled back, his right hand gripping the arm of the couch tightly.

That the boy had picked up on absolutely everything that had been going on didn't surprise her at all, but he was talking to her in a tone that she didn't appreciate-- the one he'd clearly learned from Vincent. "Well, that didn't happen, and he's here now to be helped for his illness. Now, stop talking to me like that and be nice. Nothing, Aaron, nothing is going to happen between he and I just because he's here."

"Right," Aaron scoffed back, looking away from her.

Tifa lost her temper and set the baby down on the couch before getting up and going over to where he was sitting on the edge of the bed. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared down at him. "Keep it up, Aaron, and just see how much trouble you get in!"

The boy laughed a little. "What in the hell are you going to do to me, Mom? Take away my things? Well, here, this game is all I've got since we're not at home. Are you going to forbid me from seeing my friends? Again, we're not at home and I don't have any friends here except for my brother, and it's a fair bet that you won't keep Jaras away from me. You don't have a damn thing to hold over me right now, Mom."

Tifa reached down and grabbed the collar of his shirt, jerking him up to his feet. "You miserable little brat! Don't talk to me like that!"

Aaron just gave her a wicked smile. The boy would not be broken.

Tifa realized that she was on the verge of striking her son and she let go of him. She hadn't been above spanking over the years, but what she was feeling now was an overwhelming urge to absolutely beat the boy senseless. Knowing that she needed to separate herself from him for the time being, Tifa went over, picked up Charlotte and then left the room. She stormed across the hall and knocked on Jaras' door.

He quickly answered. "Tifa?"

"Jaras…I need to come in."

"Sure," he said, stepping aside so that she could pass. It was obvious that she was profoundly upset. Jaras closed the door.

Tifa went in and sat on the couch next to Jeanine. "You guys, I don't know what to do."

"What's going on?" Jeanine asked.

"It's Aaron." She sighed heavily. "He figured out that Cid's here and he started giving me a hard time about it. I snapped and almost hurt him…"

Jeanine put her arm around Tifa's shoulders as the other woman started crying. "You did the right thing by getting away from him, Tifa."

"It's just…he's started to talk to me like Vincent used to when we'd fight, and it was more than I could take." Tifa stared down at the baby in her arms.

"He's probably trying to become his father on some level, since he's been gone. And like it or not, the whole situation between Cid and yourself has hurt him and it's normal for him to lash out about it," Jeanine said quietly.

Tifa nodded, knowing that her words were true. "That was the first time I've ever been to that point, though, and it scared me, Jeanine. What if I'd actually hit him?"

"Well, you didn't Tifa, that's what's important." She rubbed Tifa's back, trying to calm her.

Jaras, who had remained close to the door, thought about the situation for a moment. "I'll be back. I'm going to talk to him."

Before they had a chance to say anything in response, he was gone.

Jaras went across the hall and walked right in. He spotted Aaron sitting on the bed, where he'd landed when Tifa had let go of him.

Aaron looked up slowly as Jaras stood before him. The boy's eyes betrayed the fact that he'd been crying.

Jaras felt bad for him, but still there were issues to be dealt with. "Little brother, you cannot talk to your mother like that."

Aaron, ashamed, looked away. "I know."

"Then why do you do it?"

"I'm just so mad about everything right now, Jaras. None of this would be happening if Cid had just not touched Mom in the first place. They let all of this happen, and I'm pissed." He crossed his arms over his chest.

"Watch your language." Jaras narrowed his eyes. "You may be advanced for a child your age, but you are still a child and you will not speak like that, and you will respect your mother."

Aaron had never been reprimanded by Jaras, and it made him feel terrible. "Sorry."

"I know that things have been difficult for you," Jaras said, his tone softening, "but you have to keep control of yourself and your feelings. If you let the miseries that surround you now take hold, you will end up becoming someone you do not want to be."

There was something strange in Jaras' voice that he'd never heard before and he looked up into his brother's eyes. "Okay…"

Jaras moved to sit down next to his brother and placed his arm around the boy's shoulders. "You have no idea what it's like to grow up without a mother, Aaron. Be grateful that you've got one. I did not."

Aaron's red eyes locked into Jaras'. "What happened to your mother?"

"Well," Jaras sighed, "she died shortly after my birth. I never knew her. All I had was the man that claimed to be my father, but he was cruel. I was never loved like you are. I just need you to understand how important your parents really are to you, and how significant it is that they do love you. No matter what happens, they do."

The boy was silent for a moment, seeing the pain in his brother's face.

"Just remember that they love you. I know they've done some things that have hurt you, but they didn't do it with the intent of hurting you. Sometimes, adults just forget that their actions have consequences that the children must bear. Your mother is learning that, though, and she really is trying to make things right for you." Jaras offered him a brief smile.

"She said the other day that there wouldn't be any more men, unless my dad came back. But with Cid here, I'm afraid…" Aaron confessed quietly.

"Cid is here, but only for the purpose of being treated for his illness, little brother. He's not here to try and get back together with your mother. In fact, Jin and L.C. are on their way out here as we speak." Jaras met Aaron's gaze again. "Trust me, if I were under the impression that Cid was here for any other reason, I wouldn't let him near your mother."

Aaron smiled to hear that Jaras was on his side of things. "You'll keep making sure that he doesn't try anything, right?"

Jaras nodded. "Absolutely. I would have no problem removing Cid from the equation if I believed that his continued presence was a threat. Once Jin is here, she will keep him under wraps as well."

The boy laughed. "Okay."

"Aren't you excited that L.C. is coming?" Jaras asked, having not seen any reaction from him at the mention of the pilot's son.

His expression fell and he looked away. "L.C.'s always been my best friend, but after what happened the last time I saw him, I don't think he's going to talk to me ever again."

Jaras nodded, aware of the story regarding Aaron pulling the gun on the other boy. "That was the work of your demon though, was it not?"

"Yeah."

"Well, if I were you, I would suspect that you'll be able to work through this with him, but do know that he probably won't want to be completely alone with you for a while. Don't take it personally, just know that he's going to be scared." Jaras pulled him a little closer.

"Right." Aaron nodded in agreement.

"Now, tell me that you won't talk to your mother anymore like you did," Jaras said, his voice taking back its more serious edge.

"I won't."

Jaras grinned. "Good."

---------------------------

Angel went storming through the base, on a desperate search for her husband. Her intention in finding him was simple enough-- it was the anniversary of her escape from the lab, and she'd wanted to ask him if he'd gotten around to making the reservations at the restaurant that they traditionally went to on this day. Reno was no where to be found, though.

Having searched every where else, Angel finally went into the infirmary, as it was the only place within the base she hadn't gone to. She opened the doors and scanned the room, but the only person present within was Cid.

Figuring that she should at least make the effort to be social, Angel went over to his bedside, seeing that he truly did look unwell. "Hello, Mr. Highwind."

"Just call me Cid, Angel. I think we've known each other long enough." He offered her a weak smile.

"All right." She looked at him, seeing that he was on oxygen and I.V. fluids. "How are you doing?"

He raised the arm that had the intravenous line taped to it. "Hanging in there. Waiting for your guys to try and cure me. I guess I came down with pneumonia on top of all this other shit."

Angel was well versed in how serious that disease was for someone in Cid's condition. "Oh God, I'm sorry to hear that."

The pilot shrugged and looked away. "Yeah, well, there's not a lot I can do about it. I just hope that they can give me the stuff to get me heading in the right direction soon."

"I see." Angel clasped her hands behind her back. "If there's anything that I can do for you, let me know."

Cid picked up on the discomfort coming from the woman before him. Being one to call it as it is, he did just that. "You don't really seemed all that thrilled that I'm here."

Thinking that she'd been doing a good job of hiding her true feelings, Angel was impressed. "You're more observant than I would have given you credit for. I will admit, however, that I do have my reservations about you being here."

"Fucking Sunshine told everyone, huh? Or did Tifa?" he asked, shifting his position in the bed.

"My father did his best to shield me from what happened, but he did tell Reno and eventually it got to me."

Cid nodded knowingly. "Yeah well, don't worry about it. I'm not gonna try jack shit, okay? I married Jin for a reason, and I'm not one to cheat when I'm a married man."

Angel tensed her jaw, thinking it funny that he'd proclaim his fidelity as a married man when he'd pulled Tifa into that brief affair with him when she had been a married woman.

"Yeah, I know exactly what you're thinking," Cid said, after a short silence passed. "Besides, your brother felt the need to hit me with that threatening intimidation factor when I first arrived."

She couldn't help but smile to hear that Jaras possessed the same fear over Cid and Tifa doing anything that she did.

The pilot caught her expression and looked away. "I don't have the energy for anything right now as it is. I can barely breathe."

After watching how he had to catch his breath between words, Angel knew that this was true. "My brother and I are just worried about Tifa and the children, Cid. It's not a personal slight against you. And if my father were to show back up…"

He watched as she covered her face with her hands and began crying. Cid realized that Reno hadn't told her about trying to go find Vincent, and as far as she knew, he was hopelessly lost doing God knows what. Above all else, Cid hated it when women cried. "Come on, don't do that."

She brought her tear filled gaze up. "How can I not? My father's out there somewhere and you won't even admit where it was that you saw him last! I just have this horrible feeling that he's out there suffering alone…"

"Angel, I didn't tell anyone because I made the man a promise, and I've already betrayed him enough. Things will work out how they're supposed to, okay? Don't worry about it for now. All that can be done, is probably being done." Cid reached out and grabbed one of her hands, trying to comfort her despite the fact it made him feel weird.

Angel stared down where their hands met for a few moments, before pulling back out of his grip. "I have to go."

"Okay." Cid watched as she hurriedly left the room. He realized that he was in the doghouse with most of Vincent's family and would probably stay that way forever.

---------------------------

Reno sat in the copilot's seat with a navigation map held in his hands. He and Brad had been circling over the mountains for a while, trying to locate the small valley that was their goal. The altitude was getting to the ASRIO leader and his head was presently hurting more than it had since he'd left the infirmary. Reno knew that the last three hours of flight had brought this on but he wasn't willing to admit to Brad how miserable he was for fear the chopper pilot would abandon the mission.

Finally, Brad spotted the area they were looking for and he banked the helicopter and began to descend.

Once on the ground, the engines to the helicopter were cut and Reno jumped out, steadying himself against the side of the craft for a moment as he struggled to get the pain in his head to let up for a moment. It didn't seem willing to relent, however, and he straightened back up and began walking through the snow and toward the cave entrance. It was slow going in his slightly unbalanced state.

He went up the small incline behind the frozen waterfall and prepared to enter. When he was almost inside, a chocobo appeared from the interior, growling and with its crest raised.

"Oh shit there, down boy!" Reno raised a hand in defense, knowing that he was in no shape to try running from such an animal. "I'm not gonna hurt you!"

The bird lowered its head and outstretched its wings, in its most threatening pose. It continued to growl, prepared to do whatever it needed to in order to defend its home should Reno come any closer.

"Dirk… stop."

The bird immediately changed its posture and turned, trotting back into the interior of the cave.

Reno sighed heavily and hung his head, knowing how much danger he'd just been in. With the bird no longer blocking his way, he went forward and examined the scene.

Vincent was lying on the ground, where he'd remained for some time now. He was too weak to move much and the fire had gone out long before since he was no longer able to maintain it. His back was presently toward Reno, the red cloak thrown over his form.

Dirk had gone back and sat down close to Vincent, unwilling to let his friend out of his sight. There was a small pile of vegetation near Vincent's head on the ground, as the bird had brought some of the food it had foraged for back inside, in its instinctual drive to feed ill flock mates.

Needless to say, Vincent hadn't touched the bird's offering. What little energy he'd had left that morning had been drained away as Chaos had tried time and again to unsuccessfully take over Vincent and get him out of the cave. Now, he was too weak to do much more than breathe.

Vincent had heard the helicopter's approach and he would have gotten up and hidden, but that was beyond his scope of ability at the moment.

Reno walked forward until he was just a few yards behind his father-in-law. "Vinny?"

He made no motion at all, but did his best to reply. "Huh?"

The ASRIO leader went around and got in front of Vincent, before lowering himself to the ground and sitting. The cold was already getting to him and he regretted not bringing something other than his suit coat. "Damn, Vinny, why'd you let the fire go out?"

This was not a question that warranted the effort of an answer.

Reno looked at Vincent's face, seeing how tired and drawn he looked. He'd never seen Vincent looking this bad and it immediately scared him. "Vinny? Are you sick?"

Again, he gave no response. He figured the situation was obvious enough.

"Look Vinny, we need to talk." Reno used his cane to reach over and poke Vincent in the shoulder.

This just annoyed him. "Cid… told you?"

Reno shook his head slowly. "Actually, no, he kept his promise to you, Vinny. He didn't tell anyone where you were."

"Then how did you find me?"

"I was a fucking Turk, if you'll recall. We have our ways. You know that." Reno poked Vincent again, finding the action amusing on some level since Vincent was in no way capable of stopping him.

Vincent asked the obvious as he examined Reno's new appearance. "Why did you bother after I shot you?"

"We all know that was the doing of Shinra and the ferium, Vinny." Reno gave his smile. "Besides, I'm a down right forgiving kinda guy."

Vincent narrowed his eyes. "Just go away."

"Why? You look like you're dyin', Vinny." Reno moved a little closer.

"That's the point, Reno." Vincent closed his eyes in his exhaustion.

"No, I'm not letting you pull this shit. You ain't killing yourself by staying here." The ASRIO leader took off his suit jacket and threw it over Vincent.

Upon feeling Reno do this, Vincent looked at him again. "Don't worry about it… I'm too dangerous to have alive."

"You don't seem all that fuckin' dangerous to me at the moment, Vinny." Reno gave him a weak smile.

"Chaos…" Vincent had to catch his breath. Never would he have thought talking could be this much work. "He's back and I can't risk letting him hurt anyone."

"I've got the stuff here with me that I can give you to drive him back into submission." Reno pulled the loaded syringe out of his shirt pocket. "And my guys are working on a permanent cure for you and Aaron."

"No, Reno. If you give that to me and I change and hurt you…" Vincent gave it all of his effort and managed to get onto his back.

"You aren't strong enough right now to do a damned thing even if he did try, Vinny." Reno moved again and got directly at Vincent's side so he could look down into his face.

"I shot you, Reno… I turned against everyone too easily. I can't be trusted. Just leave me alone." Vincent closed his eyes again.

"Fuck you, Vinny." Reno pulled the cloak and suit coat off of Vincent and reached down and grabbed his arm. He pushed up his father-in-law's sleeve and looked at the arm before him.

In Vincent's state of severe dehydration, his veins weren't all that obvious, but Reno was good. He kept his grip on Vincent's arm despite his feeble attempts to pull away. Although it had been years since the ASRIO leader had given an intravenous injection, he had the needle to the syringe quickly lined up and into the vein.

Vincent groaned out as Reno did this to him, some of his old phobia of being treated against his will cropping up. Repeatedly, he tried to pull his arm from Reno's hold, but it was futile. His mind, in his starvation, flashed back several years to one of the times that Hojo had been working upon him. "Stop it…God please stop it…"

Reno steeled himself beyond buckling to Vincent's begging and he dispensed the contents of the syringe into his unwilling patient before pulling the needle out and throwing the syringe to the ground. "Calm down, Vinny. It's over."

But it wasn't over. The drug quickly threw Vincent's body into a seizure as Chaos battled one last time, not going without a fight.

"Oh shit!" Reno got to his knees and did his best to hold Vincent down as he flailed, wondering if this would be more than his body could handle.

And it was.

Vincent's seizure stopped within a few minutes, his body going perfectly still.

Reno stared down at him, realizing that Vincent wasn't breathing. "Vinny? Come on!"

Although his mechanical heart was still pumping away, Vincent had gone into respiratory arrest and made no effort to take a breath.

Reno was at a loss for what to do for a few seconds, and then he bent down and did what he had to. He held off Vincent's nose and covered his father-in-law's mouth with his own and gave him a breath. Reno pulled back for a moment to see if Vincent would take the next breath on his own, but he didn't. He repeated the procedure several times, each time waiting for Vincent to do something on his own afterward, but he seemed determined to die.

"This ain't funny, Vinny!" Reno yelled, before giving him his ninth breath.

Finally, Vincent took a breath on his own, and his eyes opened again. "Reno…"

"You scared the shit out of me!" Reno growled down at him angrily. "Let's get the fuck out of here now, before you decide to die again."

"I don't want to go."

Reno sat back and put his head in his hands. "Are you a man of your word?"

Vincent didn't reply, not knowing what this had to do with anything.

"I asked you if you're a man of your word, Vinny."

"I've tried to be." Vincent looked into Reno's remaining eye.

"Then you have to get out of here. Even if it isn't to come back with me, you have to leave this place." Reno took up Vincent's hand into his own. "You can't break a promise to Tifa."

He narrowed his eyes, wondering what Reno meant.

"When your brother first found you, you tried to kill yourself, right?" Reno asked.

"Yeah."

"I'm thinkin' that Tifa got pretty upset, didn't she?"

"Yes." Vincent knit his brow.

"Did she make you promise to her never to kill yourself?" Reno locked gazes with him, trying to see deep within the man before him.

Vincent didn't respond right away. The fact that Reno was being this insightful hit him strangely. "She…she did."

"You're breaking your promise, Vinny. Now, I gave you that stuff so Chaos for the moment isn't a factor. So what reason do you have not to come home with me?" Reno figured he had him.

"Reno…does she really want me?"

"She's been crying her fucking eyes out over you, Vinny. As messed up as it is, she loves you, she always has. Even though there was that crap with Cid, you're the one she's always really wanted." He tightened his grip on Vincent's hand.

Vincent thought about the situation for several minutes. He had made that promise to Tifa, and if he was safe from Chaos and they could keep the demon at bay, then he could go on living. Yet, he wasn't sure he was willing just to immediately return to Tifa's side. He had issues to deal with, and a lot of thinking to do about how he was going to fix their relationship, if it could in fact be saved. "Help me get up."

Reno sighed in relief and stood up, pulling Vincent to his feet as well. However, Vincent was no where near strong enough to stand and he fell against Reno, needing his support. "I can't carry you, Vinny."

Vincent looked over at where Dirk was sitting. "Come here."

The bird got up and came over as asked. Along the way it picked up Vincent's cloak from the ground with its beak.

Vincent staggered to the bird's side and placed his right arm around Dirk's neck, letting the chocobo support most of his weight.

Reno shrugged and bent over, retrieving his suit coat from the ground before throwing it back around his shoulders. He followed Vincent and the bird out of the cave and into the snow.

Vincent had Dirk help him all the way to the helicopter and once there, Brad spotted Vincent and helped him to the chopper's door. Vincent sat down in the doorway, putting himself just a little below eye level to Dirk.

The bird looked at him perplexed, not understanding the situation. Vincent reclaimed his cloak from the bird and draped it around his shoulders.

Dirk warbled, aware somehow that he and Vincent were about to part ways.

Vincent reached out with a trembling hand and stroked the bird's chest. "I have to go now. I'm sorry. You've done more for me than you'll ever know, Dirk."

Again, the bird produced a quiet sound.

"There are a lot of wild chocobos up here. You should be able to find a flock easily enough. I know you at least can look for food on your own." Vincent gave a weak smile and let his hand fall back to his side.

Reno came up. "Vinny, we need to get you out of here."

He sighed and touched the bird on last time. "Thanks, Dirk."

Reno got into the chopper and helped Vincent get into a seat. Brad then closed the door, cutting off Vincent's view of Dirk once and for all.

The bird lingered near the side of the machine for a moment, until the engines fired up. The noise they made startled the bird and sent him running back toward the cave.

As the helicopter lifted up into the sky, Dirk let out several long trills which were drown out by the chopper. The bird would miss Vincent, but within a few days he would find a small flock of other chocobos and would live out the rest of his days in freedom.

---------------------------

Inside the helicopter, Reno reached into his coat pocket and pulled something out. "Here."

Vincent looked over and saw that Reno was holding a candy bar out to him. He eagerly grabbed it and tore away the wrapper, eating it all within a few short minutes. It was very possibly the best thing he'd ever had in his life. His stomach that had been paining him for food for the last several days, quieted down finally and although he remained extraordinarily weak, Vincent felt better. If nothing else, it was good to be out of the cold.

He turned and met Reno's gaze. "Thanks."

---------------------------

Once they arrived at the base a few hours later, Vincent was taken straight to the infirmary and put into a bed. He looked over, seeing Cid giving him a lazy smile. "Highwind, did you tell Reno where I was?"

Cid shook his head. "I didn't tell him where you were, Sue. He figured it out on his own."

Vincent wasn't entirely convinced that this was the truth, but he figured he would let it slide. If Cid had told, he had only done it out of his concern for him. If Cid's suicide had gone unfinished, then it seemed that Vincent's would as well. The way their lives tended to parallel one another's at times was strange.

Janice finished examining Vincent and sat on the edge of his bed, momentarily ending his discussion with the pilot. "All right, you're severely dehydrated and I'm guessing that you might have done a little damage to your kidneys, but if we get you on fluids and have you start eating again, you'll probably be all right in the long run. I'm going to take some blood to test just to see how bad your chemistry is off for the time being, and I'm going to get an I.V. started, all right?"

Vincent wasn't thrilled with the idea of an intravenous line, but he was well aware of how badly he needed it. "That's fine."

"You're lucky you didn't end up with a raging case of pneumonia like your friend over there," Dr. Arlin said, pointing over at Cid.

He knit his brow and looked over at the pilot. "Pneumonia on top of the cancer? That can't be a good thing. Have they given you whatever it is to cure you yet?"

"Naw, not yet. The guys are still working on it." Cid crossed his arms over his chest, and his tone was a little biting.

Vincent thought he knew what the problem is. "You saw Quigley, didn't you?"

Cid nodded, knitting his brow. "Yeah, but I was nice and didn't kick his ass."

"Well that was big of you," Vincent shot back, finding it funny that the other man would be that upset about the situation between Jin and the researcher in light of what he'd done with Tifa. Cid was a man of double standards, so it seemed. Still, Vincent was glad to see that his old friend had made it here. "So here we are."

"Yeah."

Vincent considered him for a moment. "Did you call Jin?"

Cid smiled. "I did when I got here, and damn it, I felt terrible for scaring her that bad. She's on her way out here."

"Good."

"So, are they gonna tell Tifa that you're here?" Cid asked.

Vincent shrugged. "Not right away, at least. I had Reno promise me that much, but he's flakey and you never know what he's actually going to do. I'll see her, but I'm not ready quite yet."

Cid took this in stride, used to Vincent's idiosyncrasies. "Well, I won't say a damned thing."

---------------------------

Angel was beyond upset as night fell. Reno had been missing all day now and no one seemed to have even the faintest clue where he'd gone. To her, the anniversary of her escape from the lab had always been an important event and the thought that Reno was going to miss it for whatever reason was hurting her feelings terribly.

At a loss for anything else to do, Angel went to the control room and sat at Reno's desk, knowing that whenever he did decide to reappear that he would at some point come here.

A long while passed, but finally she spotted her wayward husband strolling toward her. She checked her watch, seeing that it was almost seven. They always went out to dinner at six.

When he neared, he gave her a wide smile. "Hey Babe!"

She was furious. "Don't 'Hey Babe' me! Where in the hell have you been all day?"

"Getting your anniversary present."

Oh crap, he didn't forget…or he did and he's trying to cover his ass, Angel thought to herself. "Really?"

"Yeah, and it wasn't easy, either. I went through Hell and back to find what you wanted." Reno leaned up against the edge of the desk.

"What about dinner?" she asked, still not entirely pleased with the situation.

"You're gonna forget all about dinner once you see what I got you, Babe." Reno reached out toward her, indicating that she needed to get up.

Angel complied and took his hand, and found herself led toward the infirmary. Once before its doors, she looked at her husband. "Reno, what are we here for?"

"Your present's hiding inside, Babe." He pushed the door open and motioned for her to enter.

Angel stepped inside and looked around. First, she spotted Cid lying in his bed, giving her a smile and then she scanned to the other side of the room, her eyes falling upon Vincent as he lay in another bed. She ran forward and got to his side, disbelieving what she saw. "Father! Where…where did you come from?"

Dr. Arlin had put him on intravenous fluids and he was starting to feel better. "Reno came and got me."

She looked up seeing Reno, as he'd come to the other side of the bed. "How did you know where to find him?"

Reno shrugged and smiled. "I dunno, I guess I just had a flash of insight."

Angel was speechless and she just leaned down and embraced Vincent for all he was worth.

Vincent closed his eyes as he held her. "I'm sorry…for everything that happened."

"We were so worried about you," she sobbed against him. "I knew that everything that happened was because of the ferium."

"That's over and done with," Vincent replied quietly.

"Does Tifa know you're here?" Angel asked him as she straightened back up.

Vincent shook his head. "No, I don't think she does, and…"

"And what?" Angel saw his expression turn almost painful.

Vincent looked away. "I don't know if I'm ready to see her yet or not. Don't tell her I'm here, all right?"

Angel didn't understand. "But she'll want to see you! You haven't even seen your new baby girl!"

He still couldn't meet her gaze. "I know, but I'm just not ready yet. Please don't tell her."

Reno interrupted. "Actually, Aaron's finished his course of the anti-demon drug and Tifa was more or less thinking about heading home in a day or two."

Vincent looked up at him. "I'd prefer to get better here and then head home. I think she and I need to talk there, where maybe everything can be a little less stressed."

"You're honestly going to keep hiding from her for the rest of the time you're here? Dad! She's in the damn base with your baby! You really should see her!" Angel couldn't help but get angry.

Vincent brought his gaze up and over across the room, staring at Cid. "I'm not ready yet, and I would hope that you would all respect my wishes on this. I will go back to Kalm and I will see her shortly thereafter, but I don't want her to see me here like this. In fact, I've already asked Janice if I could be taken out of here and put into an empty room so that she doesn't see me in here, with him." He motioned over to where Cid was trying his best to not listen in on the conversation.

Angel sighed heavily and crossed her arms over her chest. "Fine, we'll do it your way, as long as you swear you're not going to just take off and vanish again after getting hydrated here."

"I have no intention of vanishing, but I need to work things out at my own pace." Vincent settled back into his pillows. "Right now, I'm just really tired and want to sleep."