'Please don't die.' Eiko whispered to the body, who just lay there, its breaths uneven and its heart beat broken and too slow. The unsteady beeps on the monitor became slower and his breaths more shallow. Not knowing what to do, Eiko broke down and cried into her arms on the body's chest. Her dad came and put his hand on her back and led her out the room. She didn't talk again.

She had been gone for the most of two minutes, and when she got back Vivi's eyes were wide but the glow in them had died down. She had screamed and run over to him, shaken him again and again, but that hadn't helped.

He had been in the hospital for a day now. He was constantly being rushed to theatre because his heart was having trouble, and the doctors were giving up hope of him living. Eiko was the only one who still had the hope that he would make it.

Because he would make it.

He would make it.

Why were all these things so hard? Why could one life end so quickly and another begin at the same moment? Why do people stay with the people who are hitting them and still love them? Why was he here now?

Yes, why was he here now? On her doorstep, waiting until it felt right to knock. Why was he so sure that she needed him? She kept running away form him, and, yet, he knew that she wanted him to come after her now.

He knocked on the door and she let him in, neither said a word.

Why was he going back on the promise he made to himself, to not let her use him? That's the one question Zidane pushed out of his mind. He didn't want to admit the answer to himself.

So many questions fogged his mind, he could only focus on the events happening now, couldn't think of the past, couldn't think of the future. There were so many things he wanted to ask her, so many questions that he would never know the answers to.

Why was he here now? His mind asked him again and he formed an answer. To be there for her, show her that he would always be there for her…

'Steiner!' Beatrix called him to the window. Her eyes never left the scene in front of her, her hand pressed itself to the glass pane and the other screwed up into a fist. Steiner looked out at the same scene and turned away. 'What should we do?' Beatrix asked, her voice unsteady.

'We can't do anything.' Steiner said to her and walked away. Beatrix bit her lip and looked over the kingdom again, then turned round and drew the curtains…

Eiko may have said that she was going to help Zidane, but other things had come up now. Vivi was in hospital, after being attacked. There were hurried reports coming in from the north of a bunch of weird creatures hanging around over the Iifa tree and there was a suspicious character hanging around Chocobo forest.

Everyone else high in command had other stuff to do. They didn't want to get involved with these problems, even if Vivi was their friend. Eiko couldn't believe that they wouldn't help her. She was all alone for this mission.

She walked down the corridor that seemed to stretch onto infinity until she got to the door hiding Vivi's frail form from the world. She pushed it open and walked in silently, watching Vivi as he slept. She felt strange, watching her only friend who understood what she felt like most of the time lying there with strange wires pushed into his nose and arms. An oxygen mask pushed over his mouth and held there by an elastic strip. His shirt had been taken off and his flesh stood out compared to the rest of him. Pure white, thin skin stretched over his body. His veins stood out very clearly, blue pulsing through his arms and up his neck. His eyes were closed and his eyelashes were short, almost like stubble. Eiko put her cool hand on his arm and Vivi jumped in his sleep.

'Shh, its me.' Eiko said gently and sat down on the bed next to him. His heartbeat was going steady. The doctors said that he might just survive now, although if he got exited, he might die for his heart was weak and wouldn't be able to cope with the adrenaline. 'You're strong Vivi, You can make it through this.' Eiko looked down at Vivi's gloved hands and put hers in his, squeezing it, to give her courage to go on. 'You can't die now. Not now we're so close to avenging the black mages.' Eiko smiled at her own voice and squeezed the black mage's hand again. 'I'll be back soon Vivi, I just need to go sort out a few things.' With that, Eiko got up and left the room. Vivi's lips twitched slightly and held one expression on his face for about half a second, a smile.

Kuja was back.

Which meant that Zidane could not come round anymore.

Which meant that Garnet would get beaten again.

She looked at Kuja with a bitterness he had never seen before. It wasn't fair that the one time that he decided to come back early, she was the one pushing him to stay where he was. How could he come back when she wanted Zidane to be here instead?

Kuja ate his meal while Garnet put Mikoto to bed. Then she came back and he put his arm round her waist. She literally shuddered when he touched her, his hands clammy and sticking to the fabric of her skirt.

'Come on.' He instructed her and led her towards the bedroom. Garnet closed her eyes and tried not to think about what she would have to do next. He couldn't know that she didn't love him anymore though…

…'DON'T LIE TO ME GARNET!' Kuja shouted at the poor girl and hit her across the face. 'You've had an affair while I was away haven't you!' he accused her again and Garnet held her hands over her head. She shook her head violently and tried to crawl away but he dragged her back. He pushed his

face onto hers and pulled her skirt up.

'Don't. Please…' Garnet whimpered and collapsed onto his shoulder crying…

She couldn't hide her relief as she opened her eyes and saw that she was in the Inn again. She smiled to herself and looked across the floor to the small girl playing about with some toy bricks on the red carpet.

'Evenin' Dara.' A sleep-clogged voice said from a chair over the other side of the room. Garnet sat up and looked over at him. His eyes were full of sleep, his clothes were crumpled from sleeping in them and he yawned loudly. Mikoto giggled at the noise and Zidane picked her up, blew a raspberry on her cheek and hugged her. She laughed even more and clapped her hands together over his shoulder.

'How long have I been asleep?' Garnet asked, checking she had clothes on and getting up to them. Zidane gave Mikoto to Garnet and looked at her

'Most of the day.' He said and poured some tea into a mug. Chucking the remnants from another cup and giving it a rinse under the tap he poured tea into that as well. Then he held out the first mug to Garnet and took a sip from the other. Garnet put Mikoto down and took the drink.

'Want!' Mikoto said and pouted. She picked up a small plastic cup and held it out to Zidane "Sidan. Want!' she said and pushed the cup up to him more. He smiled and took the cup, filling it up a quarter with tea and then put water in to fill it up.

'Remember not to spill it. Show Mummy how good a girl you are.' Zidane said as he passed her the cup. Mikoto smiled at him and drank the drink in tiny sips, although it wasn't even luke-warm.

'You're so good with her.' Garnet said and sipped at her own tea. Zidane shrugged and took a huge gulp of his tea.

'Kids are just like girls.' He quipped and turned away. Garnet sat there for a minute.

'What do you mean?' She asked, putting her tea down on a table and following him.

'I just mean that they're both cute.' Zidane said, back pedalling fast.

'No you don't.' Garnet kept on.

'Ok, ok, they're both easy to please. Ok?' Zidane said after a mean stare from Garnet. He smiled as he said it, like it was a joke.

'Oh, you would think that!' she snapped and picked up Mikoto.

'Garnet! Please! I didn't mean it!' he said and ran in between her and the door. Garnet looked at him, directed all her anger at him.

'You never change!' she shot at him and tried to walk round him.

'What have I done Garnet?' he asked her, and then he turned round and locked the door, took the key and put it in his breast pocket on his Hawaiian shirt he was wearing.