Chapter 37

The door to the room flew open, and Tifa looked up, seeing Reno there, pale as a ghost and clearly upset. "Reno? What's going on?"

"Come on, Tifa. You need to go with me."

She rose to her feet and looked over at Charlotte who was sleeping on the bed, and then over at Aaron, who was playing his game. She addressed her son, knowing that something terrible must have happened. "Aaron?"

The boy looked up. "Yeah?"

"Keep an eye on Charlotte, okay?"

He nodded and went right back to playing his game, figuring he'd find out what the big deal was once his mother returned.

Seeing that she had his agreement, Tifa hurried over to Reno. "What's going on?"

He turned and headed toward the infirmary, knowing that she would follow. Reno knew that he had to give her the heads up before they got to their destination, so that she would be able to cope with the situation. "Okay, uh, I've got some real bad news."

"What?" Tifa grabbed his arm, stopping him.

Reno turned to face her. "Cid and Vincent got into a fight."

She knit her brow and crossed her arms over her chest. "God damn them! What did they do?"

"It's not about what they did, it's about what Chaos and…and whatever in the hell Cid turned into did." Reno's shoulders slumped. He hated being the bearer of bad news, and this was bad.

Tifa gasped and put her hands up to her mouth. It was then that she noticed the blood streaking the front of Reno's white dress shirt. "Oh God…what happened? Is Vincent okay?"

"They both got fucked up." He swallowed hard. "Tifa, Vincent…he's hurt real bad, okay? I just want you to be prepared for what happened to him."

Tifa was mortified. "Reno…what in the hell happened to him?"

"I'm gonna just have to show you." Reno turned from her and started walking again.

Tifa, now shaking in her terror, followed along at a slight distance. "Reno…"

Reno didn't turn to face her again or stop. He just wanted to get her to the infirmary.

When they reached the doors to the infirmary, Reno took a deep breath and glanced back at Tifa. "I'm just gonna tell you that Vincent's going to live, okay?"

The way he said that sent a chill down her spine. "Good…so…what about..?"

He frowned. "We don't know about Cid, Tifa. I…I had to shoot him."

She closed her eyes for a moment and then nodded. Tifa was as ready as she figured she would ever get.

With that, Reno opened the doors and went forward. Tifa went in behind him, quickly spotting Vincent in a bed nearby. Angel was at his side, placing an intravenous line into his right arm. Tifa hurried to Vincent, looking down upon him.

Vincent wasn't conscious at the moment, and was naked and covered in blood upon the bed. He had multiple gashes upon his body, and there was a massive wound on the right side of his neck. Clearly, fang marks could be seen around the missing mass of flesh there. The wound was bleeding considerably and she found herself staring at it.

Angel glanced up at her, but got back to the task of taping in his I.V. line. For the moment, she wasn't going to let her personal feelings about the situation get to her. She had a job to do and unfortunately, comforting Tifa wasn't it for now.

Tifa looked back at Vincent's face and reached forward to touch his cheek. "Vincent?"

He groaned and then cracked open his eyes. "Tifa…"

She forced a smile. "Hey, you're all right."

Vincent winced and tried to touch her, but found that Angel was restraining his right arm. In light of this, he lifted his left arm, which was closer to Tifa anyway. He realized that something was wrong and turned his eyes, seeing what Tifa hadn't yet noticed. Instantly, Vincent began to hyperventilate.

Tifa didn't understand at first, and then she looked down, seeing it. His left arm was raised slightly, but from the elbow down it was missing. A tourniquet had been placed around his upper arm, to curb the bleeding, but the wound was grotesque, with bone fragments, tendons, and muscles all crudely exposed. She felt herself waver and start to fall.

Vincent paid no heed to his wife passing out and hitting the floor as his arm-- or the lack of most of it-- was all that he was aware of. "Oh God…no…"

Angel had his I.V. in place and quickly picked up a syringe of a sedative. She knew she had to get it into him before he came unglued. After dispensing the contents of the syringe into him, Vincent's eyes rolled back and his head hit the pillow. For the moment, he was under control. That done, Angel ran around the bed and saw Tifa sprawled out on the floor. Angel knelt at her side and shook her gently. "Tifa?"

Tifa reached up and placed her hands on the sides of her head, as it was splitting with pain. "Angel…"

"Just stay put for a minute until you get your bearings," she said gently. "He's going to be all right, okay?"

Tears came to Tifa's eyes. "No, he's not…that was his worst fear! Poor Vincent…"

"Well, for now he's sleeping. Once Janice gets Cid taken care of and out of surgery, she'll get his neck closed up and…" Angel let her words trail off. Vincent's arm had been retrieved from the detention cell and it had been already deemed too badly damaged for any attempt at reattachment. However, they had the technology to clone him a new arm, although the process would take several months. "His arm will be fixed, Tifa. If we could make him an entire body, we certainly can take care of just an arm. You have to be strong for him right now, all right?"

Tifa dared to sit up, feeling her stomach turn as she did so. After suppressing the urge to vomit, she looked at Angel. With all that she'd seen Vincent go through before, she knew he would overcome this. "And what about Cid?"

Angel stood up and sighed. "Like I said, Janice is working on him now. He was shot three times. She's doing all she can."

Tifa rose, supporting herself upon the table beside Vincent's bed. She couldn't bring herself to look at him for the moment. "So, Cid did this to him?"

"I didn't see it. I wasn't even in the base." Angel pointed over to where Reno had landed in a chair on the other side of the room. "He was there."

Tifa looked over at the ASRIO leader, and then made her way over to him. She stopped right in front of him. "Reno?"

He turned his eye up to her, looking concerned. "Hey."

"What happened?"

Seeing that Tifa was in danger of possibly passing out again, he got up and offered her the chair. After she sat, he hopped onto the edge of the nearest bed. "I didn't see the beginning of it. I'd taken Vincent down there and when he told me that he'd forgotten his last dose of that anti-Chaos stuff, I locked him up, thinking that Cid and him would be safe down there. They were left alone and I don't know what they said to each other or whatever, but I'd gone back to my desk and Quigley came running up to me. He told me that Cid and Vinny were at it, and that they'd gotten out of the cells and were both…whatever in the hell it is they turn into. He took me to where they were fighting and we got there, seeing Chaos getting his ever loving ass kicked by Cid's…uh, cat thingie."

"Cat?" Tifa knit her brow and leaned forward.

"Cat from hell. He was all massively muscular and had wings like Vinny, but yeah, he was some kinda cat thing." Reno shrugged. "Anyway, so Cid jumps on Chaos and bites him in the neck. I figured I had to do something otherwise Vinny was gonna have his head ripped off. I shot the Cid cat thingie in the shoulder and he let go of Chaos and came after me. I ran to an empty room but I fired back at Cid before slamming the door."

"And then?" Tifa searched his expression.

"Then I heard Cid talking in the hallway, and I opened the door, seeing that he'd gone back to being himself. I called for medical assistance and got him here. Then they came in with Vinny and I saw that his arm…well, you saw it." He looked away from her, not wanting to see the tears that were in Tifa's eyes.

"Okay." Tifa hung her head, her shoulders heaving.

Reno got up and came over, kneeling before her. He placed a hand against her cheek. "Come on, Tifa. It'll be okay."

"It's never okay." She covered his hand with hers, needing the comfort. "It's never okay…"

Reno moved closer and put his arms around her. He let her cry, knowing that it was all he could do at the moment. After all, she was right. Things just never seemed to give Tifa, Vincent, or anyone else a break.

Angel came over. "Hey, Tifa?"

She pulled back from Reno and looked up at her. "Yeah?"

"I'm going to go take Vincent back and get him prepped for surgery. Come say goodbye to him for now." Angel gave her a smile.

Reno moved out of the way so that Tifa could get up. She went back to Vincent's side and leaned close to his face. Tifa stroked his hair for a second. "Vincent?"

He seemed to acknowledge her by opening his eyes for a moment.

"I love you," Tifa whispered to him before bending forward further and kissing his lips gently.

Vincent offered her a weak smile before closing his eyes again and letting the sedation that he'd been given carry him off. He'd wanted to tell her that he loved her, too, but he didn't get the chance.

With that, Angel unlocked the brakes on his bed and took him away. Tifa went over and sat back in the chair she'd just been in.

Reno sat on the bed close to her again. "You going to be okay?"
Tifa offered him a polite smile. "I have to be. I've got kids to take care of."

"Yeah." Reno figured he would help her out. "You want me to go watch Mini Vinny and the baby so you can stay here?"

She nodded, not minding his nickname for her son. It was, after all, accurate. "Reno, I would really appreciate it. Aaron likes you."

"Cool." He stood up. "I'll go do that. Tifa?"

"Huh?"

He came forward and bent to give her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Love ya, you know that?"

She laughed quietly. "Yeah, love ya, too."

Reno nodded. "Well, as long as Angel…and you do, then that's fine with me. I'll see you when you come back to the room."

"Okay." Reno walked from the room, leaving Tifa alone.

She sat there in silence for several minutes, dwelling on what had happened. Then, the doors were thrown open and someone came in. Tifa didn't look up, but when she heard a familiar voice, she became confused.

"Well, where in the fuck is everyone?"

Tifa knit her brow upon hearing Cid's voice. He was supposed to be in surgery and she didn't know what was going on. She lifted her head and looked up, seeing an older version of her friend standing a short distance away. Remaining silent, she just stared.

Cid Sr. saw her sitting there, and his eyes lit up. He swaggered over to her and extended his hand. "Name's Cid, and you are?"

Tifa was absolutely confounded. She wondered if she was dreaming. "I…I'm Tifa."

The old man looked her up and down for a moment, a shine of approval in his eyes. "Nice to met you, Tifa. You have any idea what's goin' on? I came here lookin' for Junior."

Stressed and mentally exhausted, Tifa didn't quite follow. "Junior?"

"Yeah, my boy." He leaned against the nearby bed. "I was just told by that Reno fella that my boy was brought here after gettin' into some sorta fight."

Things suddenly fell into place for her, but she couldn't believe it. "You're Cid's father?"

"I figured that was obvious enough."

Tifa nodded. Had she known that he was alive, it would have been, but just like everyone else, she had been told that this man was dead. "Yeah, it is, I'm sorry."

"Told you I was dead too, huh?" He looked a little hurt and dropped his gaze to the floor.

Tifa nodded. "He did." She saw how disappointed the old man looked and opted to change the subject. "In any event, they've got him back there in surgery. I guess he was shot."

"Shit." Cid Sr. tensed his jaw and his shoulders slumped. "This is just a big fuckin' nightmare."

"Don't I know it." Tifa hung her head again. "Not only is Cid back there fighting for his life, but my husband who he was fighting with is back there, too."

"You're married, huh?" His voice reflected some measure of disappointment.

Tifa's head snapped up and she couldn't help but smile at him. "Yeah, I sure am."

"Damn shame." He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. "You mind?"
"I don't, but I think that the doctor would have something to say about you doing that in here." Tifa knew that this was pointless, as he already had one pulled out and was preparing to light it. Obviously, Cid had gotten much of his personality and not just his looks and voice from his father.

"Fuck doctors." Cid Sr. took a long drag and then moved to sit on the bed next to him. "So, Tifa, huh?"

She nodded.

"The Tifa that was with AVALANCHE?" he asked, already having his suspicions.

"I'm afraid so."

"You've known Junior for a while, then." The old man looked over at her again, and from the expression he wore, Tifa was fairly certain he was undressing her with his eyes.

"I have. It's been about fourteen years, I think." She offered him a faint smile before looking away.

"I bet he likes you."

Tifa raised her eyebrows, staring down at the floor. She wasn't sure what she was supposed to say to that. "I guess."

"Yeah, I bet he does." He smiled, knowing his son well enough. "He's always been a sucker for a pretty girl, just like his old man."

She couldn't help but laugh a little at this. Tifa brought her gaze up to meet his once more and she felt herself blush a little.

He saw the redness creep into her face and he smirked. "Sorry, I didn't mean to embarrass you. I'm too old to be flirtin' anyway, I guess."

Tifa outright laughed this time. She found herself liking Cid's father and was glad for the company.

They both looked over at the doors when Quigley and Porter walked in.

Quigley came right over and looked at Tifa. "Where's Vincent?"

"They took him in back to get to work on him," she replied.

The researcher looked down at the syringe in his hand. "Oh, well, I've got some of the anti-Chaos drug here and I thought we should give it to him before he has a chance to do anything again."

Tifa shook her head. "Quig, you can't give that to him until he heals from his injuries. He'll be better in the morning…minus his arm, that is, but…"

"I don't know if we can risk waiting that long." He ran a hand through his disheveled hair. "I mean, I know it would be nice to let him recuperate with the speed that the demon gives him, but if he turned again and hurt anyone, you know what that would mean."

"He can't change again that quickly!" Tifa stood up. She felt that she was the authority when it came to how often Vincent could change. "Just give him until tomorrow morning."

Quigley slipped the syringe into his pocket and sighed. "Well, I'm going to have to wait until he comes out of surgery anyway. We'll leave it up to Dr. Arlin's discretion."

Tifa landed back in her chair heavily, knowing that it was honestly all out of her control. "Damn it."

Cid Sr. looked at Quigley. "And what about Junior? You got anything made up to help him yet?"

"It's still going to be a few hours. We've got it in the compounding machine being made up now." Quigley sighed and let his regret over the situation wash over him. "This is all my fault."

Porter came over and put his arm around his friend's shoulders. "Quig, it's not your fault. Stop saying that."

"No, I was an idiot for thinking that things could actually go smoothly for me." He gave a pathetic smile and then shook his head. "My next trick will be to do something stupid and lose Amy."

"Stop it," Porter said, shaking him. "If it wasn't for you, we never would have been able to help Vincent and Aaron, and if it wasn't for you, Vincent would still be a machine for the most part."

Quigley closed his eyes, envisioning Vincent lying there after the attack. "Vincent…"

Angel came out from the back and saw Quigley, waving him over. Once Quigley was at her side, she began to speak to him in hushed tones.

Tifa watched from where she sat. Angel grabbed Quigley's left arm and traced a line upon it just above the elbow as she said something to him. She saw Quigley then nod slowly, before gesturing at his left arm with his right. Angel nodded in response to the and then pointed back toward the surgery suite doors. With that, Quigley spun and walked from the infirmary quickly, without looking at anyone as he went. Angel hurried back through the doors toward surgery, vanishing.

Porter had watched as well, and shrugged before looking back at Tifa and Cid Sr. "So, are you two doing all right?"

"Just want a fuckin update on how Junior's doin'," the old man huffed, pulling his spent cigarette from his lips and dropping it into a nearby metal garbage can.

Porter frowned. "I'm sure if they had anything to say at the moment, that they would have. Just think of no news as good news."

Cid Sr.'s blue eyes reflected his frustration and he scowled. "I don't like not knowin' what's goin' on."

"I appreciate that, but we can't go in there and disrupt the doctor's work." Porter locked gazes with the other man. "I'm sure she's doing all she can."

"Woman doc, huh?"

Porter narrowed his eyes. He took Cid Sr.'s comment with displeasure. Dr. Arlin had saved his life and preserved his ability to walk after he'd been shot by Hojo seven years back. "Janice Arlin is the best damn doctor I've ever known. God knows I've seen her do some amazing things. Your son couldn't be in better hands."

The old man raised his hands in defense. "No, I wasn't sayin' it because I've got a problem with it. I was sayin' it because I think it's great. I know that you guys wouldn't have some crackpot working in a place like this. She'd have to be the best."

Porter felt a little bad for becoming so defensive over Janice, but he was fiercely loyal to her. "I'm sorry."

"It's all right." Cid Sr. turned his gaze back to Tifa, seeing that she had lost her focus on the present and was staring off into space. "Miss?"

She surfaced back to reality and slipped out of the daydream she'd fallen into. "Yeah?"

"Just checkin' in on you. Seemed to be spaced out there." He gave her that trademark Highwind smirk.

Tifa found herself admiring him again, seeking some distraction from the pain in her heart. A smile came to her lips again. "Oh, yeah. Sorry."

The doors the infirmary were thrown open and Brad ran in, panting to catch his breath. He looked around, his eyes falling upon Cid Sr. and growing wide. "Oh…fuck."

The old man straightened up and met his other estranged son's glare. "Bradley?"

"D…Dad?" He took a step backward, looking confused. "What…where did you come from?"

Tifa switched her gaze between the two men, suddenly making a realization. Brad and Cid must be brothers. Why Cid and Brad had never mentioned a thing about this to her bothered her, but she figured she'd get an explanation later. It made sense to her, however, as Brad had always reminded her of Cid in a lot of ways.

Porter felt the tension setting in between Brad and Cid Sr., and knew that they should probably be given their space for a moment. He extended his hand toward Tifa. "Come on, I think they need to talk."

Tifa nodded weakly and took Porter's hand, allowing him to help her up and then lead her from the scene. She looked back over her shoulder at Brad and the old man one more time before Porter had her out into the corridor.

Brad paid little notice to Tifa and Porter leaving. He was in too much shock.

Cid Sr. crossed his arms over his chest. "I went to visit Junior after gettin' word that he had a kid. He then felt the need to come here and I went with him. We…we sort of reconciled things a little during the trip."

Brad stared at him blankly. "Oh…"

"Junior said the funniest thing, though." The old man let his arms fall back to his sides. "He told me he'd known you for years but you'd never said nothin' about you havin' the same father as he did. Now, I know he never knew your name, but you sure as hell knew who he was with his name and all. Sorta begs the question why you never said shit to him about the whole mess?"

The chopper pilot didn't respond immediately. His mind was reeling with the knowledge that his father was here and had come here with Cid. Finally, he shook himself out of his state and moved a tiny bit closer. "Yeah, I knew who he was the day I met him. And to be real honest with you, I didn't speak to him much in the beginning because quite frankly, I saw too damn much of you in him. We got assigned to the same unit, though, and after a while, I warmed up to him a little. He was oblivious as to who I was and after we got drunk one night and he revealed to me how much he hated you, well, I figured it was in my best interest to never tell him the truth. Once we got out of the military, we made contact occasionally, but… Seven years ago, he ended up having dealings with ASRIO and we were reunited. Since then, we've been in contact here and there, and in light of the past, I still kept my mouth shut about us being brothers. I mean, I was happy with the way things were. My own God damned wife doesn't even know, okay?"

Some of the things that Brad said hit the old man hard and he hung his head. "I know why Cid hated me… What about you, Bradley?"

Now Brad grew even more uncomfortable. "I…I didn't hate you per se, but…"

"But what, Bradley? I think I at least deserve a fuckin' explanation." Cid Sr. took a few steps toward his son.

Brad, ever calm Brad, snapped and years worth of frustration flooded out. "Do you want to know the truth? Okay, here it is. Do you know what it's like to live for thirteen years thinking one man is your father, only to find out later that your dad's supposed best friend is actually the one who's responsible for you? That's some pretty tough shit to deal with at that age! Then, when Mom finally got that divorce and got together with you, my life was pretty much turned upside down. That's why I joined the service when I was only seventeen, so I could get out of the God damned house. Then when I met Cid and heard his side of the story, I can't say that helped my feelings much. Once Mom died, I guess felt that I had no reason to deal with you anymore."

"Okay, that's fair enough. I want you to know that your mother was the love of my life, though. I know that doesn't mean a damn thing to you, but it's the truth." He turned away and went over to the chair that Tifa had vacated and landed in it heavily. Cid Sr. leaned forward and placed his head in his hands. Whereas he was able to work though some of his issues with Cid, Brad was going to be a different case all together. Cid had at one time at least loved him, making a reconciliation possible, but there had never seemed to be any love lost from Brad. He felt a sting in his eyes and was ashamed of the past. "Bradley, I'm sorry. If you wanna wait for Junior, I can leave. I'll come see him later."

Brad almost took his offer, but hearing the tears in his father's voice got the better of him. The old man seemed lonely and completely at a loss for anything. If Cid was able to find something redeeming in this man after all these years, then maybe there was something worthwhile within him. If nothing else, Brad couldn't complain about how Cid Sr. had treated his mother. She had loved the old bastard with every fiber of her being, and for that, Brad was at least grateful. "Naw, we can wait for him together. I don't mind."

The old man looked up with hope in his eyes. "You sure?"

"Yeah." Brad closed the remaining distance between them and landed upon the edge of the nearby bed.

Cid Sr. felt the need to fill the silence between them. "So, how's Lilly and the kids doin'?"

"Good, they're all doing good." Brad smiled at the thought of his family.

"I haven't seen your kids since…well, since Joanna's funeral." He closed his eyes for a moment.

"Yeah." That had been the last time that Brad had seen his father as well. "They're doing great."

"Good to hear."

Their attention was drawn as the doors to the surgery suite were opened up and Cid was brought out. His bed was put in its place, and he was quickly hooked up to a few monitors and I.V. fluids. Once the nurses had him situated, one of them looked to Cid Sr. and Brad who'd come over. "Are you two going to be here for a while?"

"Yeah, we're gonna be with him," Cid Sr. replied quietly.

"All right." She turned back toward the surgery suite. "We need to go help the doctor with the other patient."

Cid Sr. and Brad took up opposite sides of Cid's bed and looked down upon him. With his body covered with the bed sheet, his wounds were mostly hidden from them.

Brad felt tears in his eyes and had to turn away. "Hey, I'm…I'm going to go find Tifa. I know she'll want to see him, too."

"Okay," his father replied, without taking his eyes from Cid.

Brad walked from the room to go gather his composure and then find Tifa.

Cid Sr. reached out and picked up his son's hand. "Hey, you…you okay?"

Cid's eyes cracked open for a moment. "Dad?"

"Yeah." He smiled and tightened his grip. "Are you feelin' all right?"

Cid closed his eyes again. With the copious amounts of painkillers in his system, he thought he was absolutely fine. "I'm great."

The old man smiled. "Good."

Brad returned a few minutes later with Tifa at his side.

Cid opened his eyes again and looked to the other side of his bed, spotting first Tifa and giving her a faint smile, then seeing Brad. His groggy mind was able to put two and two together and he switched his gaze back over to his father. "Oh…"

"It's all right." Cid Sr. let go of his son's hand. "It's all out on the table now."

He closed his eyes once more, and took a deep breath as a pain shot through his body. Cid managed through this and then relaxed again as the pain abated. Without looking, he reached up and grabbed Tifa's hand.

Tifa stared down, seeing their hands interlaced, giving only passing thought to whether or not Vincent would approve. She pushed this to the side for the moment, though, since this was an extreme circumstance. Cid seemed to need this for now.

Quigley then slipped back into the infirmary with a large box in his hands. He tried to make it to the surgery suite doors. When he heard Tifa quietly call his name, he cringed and stopped walking.

"Quigley, what are you doing?" she asked, her voice hushed.

He didn't turn to face her, not wanting to tell her. "Nothing, they just needed something that I had, that's all."

Tifa was going to question him on this further, but Quigley hurried forward and disappeared through the surgery suite doors. She opted to let it slide and turned her attention back to her friend.

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

"What's Mom doing?" Aaron asked, setting down his video game and looking over at his brother-in-law.

Reno turned his attention away from the television and over at the boy. "She's just checking on something."

Aaron remembered how upset Reno had seemed when he'd come and taken his mother away in the first place. "Come on, you might as well tell me, since I'm going to find out anyway."

"Mini Vinny, I don't wanna get into it." Reno didn't feel that it was his place to tell Aaron what had happened to his father.

"Come on." Aaron scooted over closer to him on the couch. "Just tell me."

Reno turned and faced the boy square on. "Uh, damn it, look, your dad sorta got into a fight and got hurt."

Aaron's eyes went wide. "What?"

"Yeah, the doctor's working on him right now. He'll be okay." Reno forced a smile.

It didn't take long for Aaron to piece things together. He knew that Cid was here and instantly he realized that if his father was going to get into a fight with anyone, that it would be the pilot. "It was Cid, wasn't it!"

"Now look kid," Reno raised his hands, trying to calm the boy, "I don't think they were fighting on purpose. See, Cid's got something inside of him like you and Vinny."

Aaron had picked this up before from listening in on the conversations of the adults. "Reno…how bad is my dad hurt?"

Reno felt his stomach knot. Getting into this with Aaron was the last thing on his list of priorities. "He's going to be fine."

"How bad?" Aaron could see that it wasn't that simple.

"Look, when your mom comes back, I'm sure she'll take you to see him, okay?" Reno leaned back, hoping that Aaron would let it go.

"Fucking Cid…" the boy growled between clenched teeth.

The ASRIO leader's eye went wide and he turned to toward Aaron. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me." Aaron folded his arms across his chest and sank back into the couch.

"I'm not gonna tell your mom that you said that, but don't do it again," Reno reprimanded.

Aaron rolled his eyes and glared over at Reno. "You're one to be getting on me for my language."

The boy had him there and Reno smiled. "Yeah, I know. But like I said, let's just wait 'til your mom gets back and then we'll go see Vinny, okay?"

"Fine." Aaron picked up his video game and resumed playing. He was getting sick of the adults. Very sick of them.