Chapter 11

After placing down a long, metal ruler next to the body's hip, Lucrecia picked up the camera and took several pictures before she took final picture of the head and rest of the body.

Gast slipped on his latex gloves and then a paper mask over his mouth. Hojo stood a short distant preparing to take tissue samples while he and Lucrecia went about extracting the projectile from the hip. Taking a deep breath, he glanced over Jenova's dark, shriveled body in amazement. For as old as they thought she was, her body was in immaculate condition, even after being excavated from the ground. But there was something strange about the fact that bothered Gast. Jenova certainly resembled the images that were painted on the walls of the Cetran temples, but it wasn't necessarily that. It was something else that almost raised the hairs on the back of his neck.

"Professor, shall we begin?"

Lucrecia's mask muffled voice startled him from his thoughts and merely nodded. Picking up a scalpel, Lucrecia bent over and began the first incision into the mummified skin.

Vincent glanced away finding the operation was making him a little squeamish despite the fact there was no blood present. 'I still don't quite understand how that kid got the frog to do what it did.' Vincent shuddered and walked quietly to the other end of the lab. 'It's a dead body, nothing like that stupid frog...' The turk shook his head. It wasn't so much the sight or smell that bothered him it was the cutting. Even though he was a grown, component adult, he never forgot the squirting frog from his days in secondary school, second period biology. Vincent's eyes glanced over the book that sat on the shelves. Reaching up, he drew down a book on Cetran myths and legends.

After some slow and careful cutting, Lucrecia stepped back to allow Gast a clear view of the partially embedded projectile. He picked up the camera and took a quick picture before Lucrecia began the painful task of removing he stone from the bone. Careful not to destroy any more of the body then needed, Lucrecia slowly lifted the point all the while saying a pray to any deity that would listen. She lifted the lithic point and set it gently down on the tray. She the exhaled the breath she had been holding. Turning back, she gave the opening a quick look and froze.

"Professor? Come and look." Lucrecia gestured to the hipbone frantically. Gast leaned close and tried to see what his assistant was getting excited about. "I swear to the stars, Professor Gast, you see that open wound just about there...it was twice that size!"

A frown line formed between his eyebrows. "Are you sure about that, Honestas? Though I suppose we can take another picture and we can compare later." Picking up the camera, the snapped a quick picture and set the camera down.

"Professor, could it be that legendary healing powers the Cetrans are touted to have, hmm?" Hojo offered as he scraped skin cells from underneath the corpse's fingernails.

Gast held an expression of confusion. "Perhaps. This is certainly strange." He finally shrugged. "We will know in time. Let's finish up and put our lady back to bed."

Gast examined the point before placing it into a padded envelop for shipping. "The boys back the main lab should find this interesting. I have never seen such a material used before for points. They favored obsidian and chert and sometimes agate...but this is certainly something else."

Gast and Lucrecia prepared the body to be placed back into storage. Reaching for the zipper of the bag, she began to pull it toward the body's head and paused. For a moment she swore the small gash that point had rested was no longer apparent to her eyes. Looking at Jenvoa's face one last time, Lucrecia closed the bag.

Running water over her soapy hands, Lucrecia finished cleaning her hands and arms. Gast walked up and smiled. She glanced up and returned the smile.

"Good work, Honestas. I knew I could trust your hand that."

She turned the water facet off. "I am just glad my study in medical school came in handy. My teacher said I had a way with dead bodies."

Gast chuckled. "Well, let's just hope you are just as good with live ones." He crossed his arms and glanced at his pocket watch. "Gees, it's already four. Tell you what, I think I am going to lock the lab up early today and take a well deserved break."

He glanced back and found Hojo hunched over the microscope. Toward the bookcase, the professor took note of the Turk seated, watching them. Gast returned his attention to his assistant. "We can begin analysis tomorrow."

Gast began to walk away. "The flowers are in full bloom, Honestas. Those silly reports are not going anywhere." He approached Hojo and started talking. Lucrecia dried her hands and set the towel next to the sink.

"As you wish, Professor."

Birds flew overhead toward the woods outside of town. Lucrecia smiled feeling the warm sun and seeing the vibrant colors of an early summer evening. Vincent walked quietly next to her with his suit jacket slug casually over his right shoulder.

"You didn't eat much this evening." Lucrecia commented.

Vincent shrugged. "I didn't have much of an appetite."

She slid her hands into her pant pockets. "Too bad, the house chicken was really good. Almost like homemade. Though I was not a big fan of dark meat, but it was tasty all the same."

The Turk remained silent. Lucrecia gave him a sideways glance and smirked. She knew why he didn't eat and it amused her.

"During dinner, I could not get what happened with Jenova today. I swear I saw some of her wounds heal. These were serious wounds, either puncture wounds or even gouges. There is no logical reason for such traumatic wounds to heal post mortem."

"Do you think it was chemically induced, doctor?"

Lucrecia paused and looked at him. "Chemically induc...? Absolutely not." She pursed her lips briefly annoyed he would make an assumption what she was in disillusion. "I should show the pictures once they are developed...maybe even go back to the body and you can see for yourself..."

Vincent waved away her offer. "That is quite alright, Doctor. I will trust your good judgment on that."

"You don't need to be ashamed, not everyone has the stomach to handle this. Ten people from my original class dropped after the first cadaver dissection." She stated in a smug manner. It seemed the turk was going to avoid her comment with silence. Before she knew it, they were walking the outer fringes of the small town. In the distance beyond the rolling green hills was the faint glimmer of the ocean while the dark shadow of the Nibel mountains rose up, dominating the western side.

For a moment, Lucrecia stood still enjoying the sight, smell and feel of the quiet and yet lively landscape.

"Gast wasn't kidding about the flowers." She mumbled as she took into account the first wave of blooming wildflowers that dotted the hills. "Now only if I could get an office view like this. Brick walls are not necessarily the most inspiring."

Vincent looked over the still landscape and smiled inwardly. Oddly enough, it was nice. He was not much for the whole "nature" thing, but it seemed to bring a sense of peace that he lacked when he worked in the streets of Midgar. It took him a moment to realize that Lucrecia had continued walking toward a hillcrest. Quickening his already long stride, it took him little effort to catch up with the young scientist. Once at the edge, she sat down with her gaze out toward the shimmering waters in the distance.

"It's quite peaceful isn't it?" Vincent mentioned sitting down next to her.

She glanced over and offered a slight smile. "I thought I left the country behind when I moved to Midgar, but I guess when you grew up with it, it becomes a part of you." She felt almost silly admitting it. There were things she missed from her rural hometown. "Every year my town would hold a chocobo festival. Many of the people's livelihood depended on those silly birds. The biggest thing was the chocobo race. My mom with other women held food booths selling everything from chocobo eggs to meat and fruit pies. My father always got in trouble trying to steal a piece from one of the pies. I wasn't much better..." Lucrecia offered sheepishly. "Matter of fact, my father got from town to town via Chocobo to treat patients."

Vincent listened quietly as Lucrecia rambled on about chocobos. He, to be honest, did not have any love for the domesticated aviary. 'Like hell I am going to admit when I was little those stupid things use to make me cry.' He suddenly realized she had asked him a question and was expecting an answer. 'What did she ask? Let's see, she was talking about chocobos right? Dammit.'

"No." He responded, sounding resolute despite his insecurity of the proper response.

Lucrecia shrugged. "Didn't think so. You seem like one of those kids who kinda did there own thing." Her blues eyes focused on the deepening sky as the sun sank behind the mountain range, it's rays quickly consumed by the encroaching peaks.

Vincent mentally sighed. He glanced over to make sure she hadn't started onto another conversational thought. 'I suppose I would be ready to make 2 out of 2.' He mused. The turk's brown eyes lingered on her. 'Hmm, I never really been one for brunettes. Kinda have a liking for a red head...maybe a blonde.' His eyes paused on the loose hair that hung around her ears and the bangs that just barely brushed the top of her eyes. 'Kinda nice...good complexion. I wonder if it is as soft as it looks?' Vincent forced his eyes away. 'What are you thinking? Look at the clouds.' He focused his gaze on the stray clouds that feathered the darkening sky.

Lucrecia gave him a sideways glance, as she knew he had been watching her. 'A shy guy are we? That would be nice. Well mannered, has a good taste in clothing...smells nice.' Lucrecia fought her impulse to pursue that thought with something else.

"Tell me, Mr. Valentine, do you think there is an afterlife after the Lifestream?"

"I dunno. Never gave it much thought." He offered.

Lucrecia brought her knees up and rested her arms on them. "I have had time to think about that, sir. To think that I would never see those I love after death seems, well, almost dismal. To disappear as though you never existed."

Vincent leaned back on his hands. "I doubt the Ancients meant that. It's more or less everyone returns home."

Lucrecia closed her eyes. 'Home huh? I pray my mother is home with my dad now.' She had received a letter several weeks ago. Lucrecia had no real reason to open the letter, as she knew what it would say inside. The major clue was the handwriting on the return address, which was by none other then her mother's hospice nurse. Lucrecia knew that it would state that her mother had passed. But somehow she just could not bring herself to read it. "Well, I guess we will all know in time, huh, Mr. Valentine?"

The Turk nodded. He could not help but to hear a hint of something almost melancholy in her voice, but what he heard was quickly dissipated. It seemed the woman had a way of covering most of her tracks and when one was overlooked, she quickly hid it away behind a smile.

A buzzing quickly distracted his thoughts. His eyes looked around trying to locate the origins of he sound. Reaching up, he smacked his neck and pulled his hand away to find the remains of a mosquito. Not too long after the first, more seemed to follow. Lucrecia watched as the Turk killed one bug after another.

"Are you one of those people who get eaten alive by bugs, by chance?"

Vincent squished another mosquito. "I don't even know what you are talking about." He waved another one away from his ear. "Let me guess, the bugs could care less about you?"

Lucrecia sighed, trying not to laugh. "That seems to be the only thing I can repel. "'Now all I need is an anti-freaky, short man repellant. Maybe even a anti- Hojo repellant would be nice.'

Vincent smirked. 'Well, if that is the case, why don't you sit a little closer?' He thought better then to say it. To the east, the large gold image of the moon began to rise replacing what light was lost when the sunset. Despite the evening, the air was still warm but the cool air from the mountains were quickly rushing and dropping the temperatures. Suddenly, something swooped down at the top his head. Out of pure trained instinct, Vincent reached for his gun and searched his surroundings. Lucrecia flinched at the motion, unsure what had triggered his reaction. She sat stiffly, unsure to relax or be ready to run.

Annoyed, Vincent dropped his hand from the gun and glanced at Lucrecia whom was staring at him. Blinking, he frowned.

"Forgive me, Doctor, I didn't mean to startle you." He rubbed at his jaw absentmindedly. Lucrecia's blues moved above his head and she laughed. He frowned and looked around. "What is so amusing?" His voice edged on annoyance.

She pointed up a dark thing that seemed to hover briefly before swooping. "I think you were dive bombed by a bat, Mr. Valentine."

He heaved a sigh. "I think they forgot to mention the viciousness of the wild Nibel bats. Did I ever mention I hated bats?"

Lucrecia could not hide her smile." I am getting an impression you don't like animals period."

Vincent glanced away, hiding his smirk. "I like animals well enough, especially on my dinner plate."

Lucrecia stood up and brushed her pants off. "If that is the case, I would watch out for bones. Bats wouldn't be my first choice."

The Turk came to his feet and pulled his suit jacket on. "Funny."