Chapter 54

The following morning, Cid woke up a little earlier than usual. He looked over at the clock hanging on the wall and saw that it was only five thirty. Stiff from having slept on the couch, the pilot got up and stretched before dressing and picking up his jacket and heading out the door. He figured that if nothing else, he could get all of his preflight checks done on the plane before the others got up.

The horizon was just starting to brighten as he walked toward the plane. It was still relatively dark when he got there. As usual, he ran his hands along the leading edges of the wings and over the propellers, feeling for any imperfection. Once confident that the exterior was fine, he climbed inside and checked various gauges and such. When all seemed in order, he sat back in pilot's seat and stared out the windshield as the sun finally broke over the horizon. Cid was able to see some storm clouds off in the distance, and they gave the sky a deep red glow as it brightened. The pilot had to admit to himself that it was beautiful.

Just when he was about to get up and head back to the house, he saw something wedged into the control panel. Reaching forward, he pulled out his father's spare pack of cigarettes and lighter. Cid considered them for a moment and smiled to himself. At least he'd gotten to reconcile with his father before his death. That was more than he could have ever really hoped for. Even though he no longer smoked or had any use for the cigarettes, he eventually put them right back where he'd gotten them. After all, this was his father's plane, and they belonged here.

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Tifa heard something out in the kitchen and sat up. She'd been lying awake next to Aaron, with Charlotte at her side for a while, not daring to move and wake the kids up yet. Knowing that it was well after six and that Cid would be up by now, she wondered if it was him that she was hearing moving around. Carefully, Tifa sat up and looked about. The morning light was coming in the window, brightening the room. She looked over at Aaron and smiled to herself. He just looked so much like Vincent… Tifa couldn't help but wonder if perhaps Charlotte would at least look a little like her when she was older.

The boy felt his mother stir and opened his eyes, gazing over at her. "Time to get up?"

"Soon." Tifa saw that the red light made his eyes seem to glow, adding to the illusion of him being a miniature version of his father. "You can sleep a little more if you want. I'm going to get up now, though. Charlotte's sleeping still. Let me know if she starts crying, okay?"

Aaron nodded lazily and then flopped onto his back, closing his eyes once more. Tifa placed some pillows around the baby to keep her from potentially rolling off the bed and then she dressed. She slipped from the room quietly, to leave the children in peace for a while. Aaron had been up fairly late talking with Jaras and she knew that he was going to be dragging all day as it was.

Tifa shuffled out into the kitchen and as she suspected, spotted Cid standing before the coffee maker, watching it run. "Hey."

He looked back over his shoulder at her. "Hey yourself."

"Making coffee?" Tifa asked, pulling out a kitchen chair and landing.

Cid huffed and shook his head at the sheer stupidity of the question. "Obvious day, huh?"

Tifa snickered to herself. He never was much for conversation in the morning. "You're terrible Cid."

He mocked her as she said it, in his usual way. "Yeah, I fuckin' got it."

"So…when do you want us to head home?" She propped her head up on her arms and gazed at him.

The pilot came over and sat across from her. "Pretty early. I'd like to get some God damned breakfast first, though. Wanna make pancakes?"

Tifa wasn't all that keen about going to work in someone else's kitchen without their permission, but she knew that it would still be a while before Jaras and Jeanine got up. They tended to sleep in late. On the other hand, Cid had always been particularly fond of her pancakes for some strange reason and she figured she owed it to him for bringing her here to get Aaron. Grudgingly, she got up from her seat and over to the pantry to search for the needed ingredients.

Cid leaned back in his chair and laced his hands behind his head, watching her move about. "You're gonna have to show Jin how to make them right sometime. She…God, the one's she makes are fuckin' awful. Like bricks."

Laughing, Tifa looked over her shoulder at him. "I'll see what I can do about it. I pretty much just follow the instructions on the box."

"Yeah well, you do somethin' different." He sighed at the thought of his new wife. "Hope Jin's trip to Rocket went all right."

"I'm sure she's fine. I bet L.C. will be happy to have the both of you home." Tifa turned on the stove and set down the griddle upon it.

"Yup."

Tifa poured some of the pancake batter onto the griddle and then turned to face Cid again. "You two will come and visit soon, right? I mean, I just sort of have this fear that Jin won't want you to come and see us after all that happened."

He scoffed. "I wouldn't worry about that too much. I think I can sway her. I wear the pants in the fuckin' relationship."

Tifa had seen enough of their 'relationship' to know that such was not exactly the case. "All right, just promise that I'll see you from time to time."

"Wild horses couldn't keep me away or however the saying goes." He smirked in his usual way. "Besides, we can talk on the phone, too. Just…not as much as before."

"Yeah," she sighed, nodding. Tifa knew all too well that the six-hour conversations had to end. Then again, those had been spurned on by her fights with Vincent so, hopefully, there would be no more reason. The pancakes were ready to flip and she turned her back to him once more.

Cid got up from the table and went over to the fridge. He found the butter and syrup and put them on the table before going over and getting out a few dishes.

Tifa noticed him doing this and was impressed. Generally, he just sat at the table expectantly without bothering to get anything himself. "Jin's got you a little better trained, if nothing else."

The pilot rolled his eyes and set the dishes upon the table before coming up behind Tifa and placing a hand upon her shoulder. "Just bein' nice, Tifa. God knows when I'm gonna have you all to myself again, right?"

Something in the way he said that tugged at her heartstrings and she turned and put her arms around him. "I'm going to miss you."

"Yeah, me too." Cid held her tightly for a few moments, realizing that if he didn't let go soon, that he wouldn't be able to. He stepped back and offered her a smile before going back over and sitting at the table to await his breakfast.

They ate, talking about small things, and Aaron eventually pulled himself from bed and came out. He, too, had some of what Tifa had made and sat with his eyes fixed on his plate.

Tifa, hearing Charlotte stir, excused herself from the table and went to the bedroom to nurse the baby, leaving Cid and Aaron alone.

Cid watched the boy eat with his arms folded over his chest for several minutes. "Hey, kid?"

Aaron slowly lifted his eyes from his breakfast and glared at the man. "What?"

"You still hate me?" he asked, honestly wondering.

This wasn't exactly the sort of morning conversation that the boy wanted to get into. "I don't know. Ask me again later."

Cid smiled, remembering when Vincent had said the same thing to him not so long ago. "I'm sorry I fucked up your life there for a while."

"Okay." Aaron dropped his gaze back down to his plate again. "Just…don't do it again."

"Deal." Cid picked up his coffee cup and took a long drink. "Hey, you and L.C., though, you guys are all right, ain't you?"

Mimicking Vincent once more, Aaron set down his fork, placed his hands flat on the table and then turned his eyes back up to Cid in a deliberately annoyed motion. "L.C. and I are just fine. He never did anything, really. Circumstances were just… unfortunate."

The pilot sighed, knowing that Aaron was never going to act or sound his age and that the kid was going to perplex him just as much as Vincent always had.

It wasn't too much later when Jaras and Jeanine emerged from their room. The conversation was kept light and finally arrived the time for Cid, Aaron, Tifa, and Charlotte to depart. They all walked to the airplane and gave their good byes.

Tifa got Charlotte secured in her seat and then stepped back out of the plane. She went over and embraced Jeanine for a moment before turning to Jaras. Tifa put her arms around him tightly, wondering if he was going to be all right. She whispered in his ear, "If you need anything, you call me, all right?"

He closed his eyes, appreciating her concern. "I will. Thanks, Tifa."

"Sure thing. Love you, okay?" She stepped back from him.

"I love you, too." Jaras forced a smile for her. "Talk to you soon."

"Okay. Bye." Tifa took Aaron's hand and got onto the plane.

Cid nodded at Jeanine and then extended his hand toward Jaras. "See you later, guy."

"Okay." Jaras took his hand for a few seconds, never disappointed by the strength of the pilot's grip. "Bye."

"Bye." Cid followed Tifa onto the plane and closed the door. He got them into the air in short order.

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Vincent got up from bed and took a shower. Once dressed, he exited his room to find Reno coming out of the guestroom. "Reno."

"Morning, Vinny!" Reno stood there in his wrinkled dress shirt and pants, his hair wild and his eye patch missing, giving Vincent a good view of the damage done to the right side of his face.

Trying to hide any negative reaction and not wishing to stare, Vincent looked over at Aaron's bedroom door. "Is Rude still asleep?"

"Probably. Lazy bitch doesn't get up until he absolutely has to." The ASRIO leader headed toward the bathroom. "Gotta pee."

Vincent just shook his head and then continued toward the kitchen. Sometimes, Reno was just more than he could handle. Especially in the morning.

He got some coffee brewing and then went out into the living room, knowing that Brad was already up since the television was on.

The chopper pilot looked over as Vincent entered. "Look what the cat dragged in."

"Brad." Vincent went and fell back into his usual chair. "What are you watching?"

"Just flipping around through the channels." Brad tossed the remote over to Vincent.

Not really having anything in particular that he wanted to watch, Vincent drifted through the channels until he settled upon some old movie that he'd seen a dozen times before. "When do you think that you will be heading back to the base?"

Brad shrugged. "Whenever in the hell Reno wants us to go. I'll be willing to bet that he won't be in any huge hurry but we should get back there by tonight. That way, I can bring Tifa and your kids back here tomorrow after Aaron gets his injection."

Vincent absorbed this information silently before looking over at the other man. "I'll appreciate that."

"No problem." He scooted over and made room on the couch as Reno appeared and landed next to him.

Reno, now sporting his eye patch and having his hair combed spoke up. "What we watching?"

"Just a movie." Vincent looked at his son-in-law. "When do you plan on leaving?"

"What, did I overstay my welcome already?" Reno asked, donning a pout. "You're a shitty hostess, Vinny."

"I was merely curious." Vincent knew that extracting information from Reno was never easy. Never.

"Well, fuck, let's see." Reno looked thoughtful. "Rude won't get up until at least noon…so, I guess some time after that."

Satisfied, Vincent fell silent and went into the kitchen to go get some coffee.

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Two hours into the flight, and Cid was doing his best to keep the plane steady in the storm that had set in. The rain was hitting the fuselage of the plane loudly, audible even over the engines. Lightning was flashing in the clouds around them on occasion, but he wasn't too concerned. After all, this wasn't the first storm that he'd ever flown through.

Tifa, on the other hand, was more than a little nervous. She kept looking back, seeing that Aaron and Charlotte were both mercifully asleep and oblivious as to the situation. She kept glancing over at Cid for reassurance and he just offered it in the form of his usual smirk.

"You doin' all right?" he asked, after the plane was rocked by a particularly strong gust of wind.

She was gripping the armrests of her seat painfully tight, and was shaking enough for it to be noticeable. "The weather out there is just so scary."

He reached over and patted one of her hands. "Just a little storm, Tif. Relax."

"Easy for you to say." Tifa resumed looking out the window. "Can we just land and maybe wait for it to get clearer?"

"We're still over water, Tif. There ain't no where to land right now." He wished that he could set down for her sake. Seeing her this scared wasn't doing anything for him.

Tifa closed her eyes and leaned back in her seat, doing her best to let go of her tension. Just went she thought that it was going to work and that she was going to relax, another flash of lightning and a tremor through the plane forced her to sit up straight and look over at Cid. The engine sounds of the plane suddenly changed and the whole craft began to shudder. "What was that?"

Cid completely ignored her for the moment, reaching forward and tapping on one of the gauges. He then flipped a few switches, but nothing changed. He cursed under his breath and jerked on the control stick.

Suddenly, the sound of the engine on the left side of the plane died away completely.

Tifa was now truly panicked. She looked back to see that the kids were still both asleep before turning to Cid. "What's going on?"

"Lost an engine." Cid never looked at her, as he tried a few other things. "Fuck."

Tifa's heart was pounding in her chest. "Cid? We…we can still fly with just one engine, right?"

"Yeah, one engine ain't a problem. The fuel line being busted is, though." Cid hit the fuel gauge hard one last time but the needle continued to drop. "And…I've lost control of the tail."

"What are you going to do?" Tifa could feel the plane descending.

Cid knit his brow and hung his head for a moment.

"Cid? What are we going to do?" Tifa reached over and grabbed his arm, clutching it painfully.

"Tifa, the kid's are still asleep, right?" he asked, closing his eyes.

She glanced back, seeing that they were. Tifa turned her stare back to Cid. "Yeah…"

"Good. Don't wake them up."

"Cid?" Tifa called out again, feeling tears in her eyes.

Slowly, he reached forward and grabbed his father's cigarettes and lighter from where they were stashed. He got one between his lips and lit up.

"Cid, please, tell me what's going on!" Tifa begged, already having a good idea since Cid was smoking.

He took a long drag and then looked over at her. "Tif, we're fucked."

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Reno was still sitting on the couch, watching the noon news. Brad was outside checking out the helicopter, and Rude was presently in the shower.

Vincent strolled in, having been outside tending to Tifa's chickens and the pond. He looked at the television screen and then over at Reno. "Anything of interest going on?"

"Some huge storm I guess heading up toward Costa," Reno sighed back.

Vincent knew that Reno was obsessed with weather for some reason and decided to sit next to him on the couch and watch the rest of the news for himself.

The commercial break ended, and the newscaster began to speak. "We have a breaking report of a small charter plane going down."

The screen then changed to a search and rescue operation. Bits of plane wreckage were visible floating out on the water, amongst which were several Coast Guard vessels.

Vincent's eyes went wide. A section of the plane's body was visible and recognizable. The call letters were legible upon it and thanks to his photographic memory, he knew.

He knew.

The newscaster's voice came back over the pictures. "According to authorities, the bodies of a man, woman, and young boy were pulled from the water. A dive team went down and the remains of an infant were also recovered. Identities are being withheld pending the notification of the next of kin."

Vincent was shaking, his color completely drained from his face.

Reno looked over at him and placed his arm around Vincent's shoulders. "Look, Vinny…we don't know that was them. Just…calm down until we find out, all right?"

Vincent pushed Reno's arm away and slowly stood. Nausea was setting in. "Reno…it was… I recognize the plane… My whole fucking family, Reno…"

Reno already had tears marking his cheek. Whether he wanted to admit it or not, he knew that Vincent was correct. He was frozen in his spot, looking once again to the television screen as they continued to give what information they could.

Vincent turned away and took a few steps toward his bedroom, feeling like his legs were going to give out from under him. "I…I'm going to be sick…"

Reno wanted to do something for him, but was too mesmerized by the scene on the television. One of the men on a small boat was pulling Charlotte's diaper bag from the water.

Vincent was having a hard time even breathing, as he walked to his room. It was a dream, it all had to be a terrible dream, he kept thinking to himself. Once he got to his room, he closed the door behind him and locked it. He immediately knelt at the side of the bed and threw up onto the carpet. After several more minutes of heaving, he struggled to his feet. Tears burned in his eyes, and there was an incredible tightness in his throat. He looked over at the closet and knew what he had to do. With his right hand shaking, he opened it and pulled something from the top shelf.

Reno was still staring at the television.

"Reno!"

He snapped out of his state and looked over, spotting Tseng standing a short way off. "B…Boss?"

"Go stop him!" Tseng pointed down the hall.

Realizing what was going on, Reno leapt up from the couch and ran down the hall. He hit Vincent's bedroom door hard, but found it locked. He pounded on it. "Vinny! Open up or I'm gonna break it down!"

But Vincent didn't answer.

Instead, there was the sound of a gunshot and a bullet ripped through the bedroom door, just a few inches from Reno's head. He gasped and took a step back, as the unmistakable sound of Vincent's body hitting the floor met him.

"V…Vinny?" Reno stood in the hall, shaking. He knew what had happened, door locked or not.

A/N-- This is not the end. There is one more bit to go. Go have a nice, hot cup of tea first.