Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII.

Note: I'm sorry to announce that this story is probably coming to a close pretty soon.

Chapter 20: Recovery

Vincent stared over the railing on the deck of the Highwind, feeling sick with himself. I should have jumped off of the cliff after her. I shouldn't have boarded this ship. Tifa could be dying; no, she could already be dead and who's going to find her? This ship is too slow…!

"…Cloud," the gunman finally said.

"What, Valentine?"

Glancing at him briefly, Vincent said, "You don't look too concerned…Your best friend just fell off of a cliff after getting shot…and you're barely even frowning."

Cloud sighed. "Well…I know she's going to be okay. She's fallen off of a cliff before…Even though she went into a coma for a week she survived. She was young then, and now she's older. She's stronger now. She HAS to be stronger now. I'm not worried…"

"Strife," Vincent sighed, climbing on top of the handrail. "Many can survive a fall but a bullet could kill even the strongest. I'm…I'm going after her…"

"WHAT? No, Valentine. You're not killing yourself before—"

"Before what, Strife? Before you kill me? The Highwind is too damn slow! TIFA COULD ALREADY BE DEAD AND YOU'RE TELLING ME THAT I SHOULDN'T GO AFTER HER? I DON'T THINK SO!"

"Ooh," Yuffie said from the corner. "I'm telling Cid what you said about his ship!" With that, she dashed off.

Cloud, on the other hand, was shocked. He'd never seen Vincent angry…or with any other type of emotion for that matter. "Vincent! Why the hell does she matter so much to her? You kidnapped her, damn it…"

"MAYBE I DID, STRIFE, BUT SOMEWHERE ALONG THE WAY…"

"Do you love her?"

That wasn't a question Vincent could answer…not right now. If I loved her, I would have gone down with her, he thought…and then, he jumped, ignoring the surprised shouts of the few Avalanche members that were on deck.

Vincent made himself compact, tight, and small, like a bullet, like something that could speed through the air. The ground was rising to meet him at an almost alarming rate. Somehow, he managed to land without hurting himself too badly. The Highwind was still very much above him and it would take at least fifteen minutes for the ship to reach the ground.

Glancing around, he tried to spot where Tifa had landed. After a few moments, he spotted a dark-haired woman, lying on her back…

Tifa.

He scrambled over to her, kneeling beside her and immediately checked her pulse. It was there—it was weak, but the important thing was that she wasn't dead. How close she was to death didn't matter, as long as she was alive…

"…Vincent?" the woman muttered quietly, turning her head to look at him. "Are you okay?"

"…I'm fine, Tifa. Why do you ask? You should be worried about yourself more than me."

"Your hands are shaking," Tifa said weakly, trying and failing to sit up.

"Of course they are. I'm…scared." He glanced down at his arms, which had, almost by instinct, wrapped around Tifa to hold her…Even his mechanical arm was trembling.

"Scared? What are you scared of, Vincent?"

"…I'm scared you might die…Your voice sounds very weak, and you can barely even move. Tifa, I don't want you to die…"

"Vincent…" the woman said, her voice barely above a whisper. Her fingers curled around the man's upper arms and she pulled herself up to him, pressing her lips against his very gently. "I love…" She fell limp.

Panicked, he checked her pulse. She was still alive but her heartbeat was weaker than ever. "Don't die on me, damn it…" he muttered, not aware of the fact that tears were forming in his crimson eyes. "…And I love you too."

Vincent stood up slowly, trying to hold Tifa in a way that, hopefully, wouldn't hurt her too much. Her back was still bleeding but, thankfully, not as much as the man thought it would be.

"Hang in there," he whispered, looking around to try to find a place where he might be able to help her…Seeing nothing, he reluctantly decided that all he could do right now was wait for the Highwind…

"What the hell was he thinking?" Cloud grumbled, staring over the handrail on the ship's deck. "Jumping over like that…The idiot…"

"I can see him," Red, who had also decided to look over the handrail, announced. "I think he found Tifa."

"Oh Holy she isn't moving!" the blonde leader said, failing to mask his worry.

"But she could still be alive," Red said, nudging Cloud's arm—his equivalent of a reassuring shoulder-pat. "We're getting close enough to the ground where you could probably jump off without getting hurt, if you so wish."

Cloud gritted his teeth together. "…Make sure the others know where I am, okay, Red?"

"Sure thing."

Cloud nodded once, carefully climbed on top of the handrail…then jumped.

He wasn't all that used to falling through the air…and though he'd done it several times before, it was never really something he enjoyed doing…Thankfully, when he landed, he didn't hurt himself, except for a bruise.

Vincent was somewhere to his left…Standing up, he headed in that general direction until he saw him.

"You found her?" Cloud called.

The gunman turned to face Cloud, and nodded. "…She is still alive, just unconcious. She was awake a couple of minutes ago…"

"Did she say anything?"

"…Nothing extremely important."

Cloud frowned. "…If you say so…"

"What do you suggest we do?" Vincent asked, still holding Tifa. "…And…don't worry about the deal, Strife. There was none."

Cloud nodded. "…Yeah, I know you probably wouldn't shoot her…or anyone else on the team. So, I guess I forgive you. For now, anyway…" He scratched the side of his chin once. "And about what we should do…I don't know…I suppose all we can do for now is wait until the Highwind gets down here."

"…Here it comes now."

Vincent managed to get her cleaned up a little bit, and Cloud had helped him bandage her. Now she was in her bed. Though Tifa's heart was still beating, she still wasn't awake, and other than breathing she hadn't given any other sign of life.

"…She'll pull through," Cloud said, squeezing her hand gently. He hadn't left her side. "She has to."

"Uh…But what if she doesn't?" Yuffie asked in the typical Yuffie style.

"Yuffie!" Red hissed.

Cloud's eyes narrowed. "…She will. She has to," he repeated. "There's no way we're going to lose her. We should probably leave her alone now…Give her some room to breathe…"

The team nodded, practically in unison before emptying out of the woman's room, minus Vincent and Cloud.

"I thought you told everyone to leave?" Vincent asked, one eyebrow raised.

"Yes and that includes you…"

"And yet you are remaining here."

"She's my best friend, Vincent…I can't just leave her here, all alone. What if she wakes up and no one's here?" the spiky-haired man sighed, sitting on the edge of her bed. "And why are you still here, anyway?"

"…You don't have to be the best friend of someone in order to wish for them to recover, Cloud. I want to make sure she's okay," Vincent explained, not really wanting to admit to anyone except for Tifa that he loved her just yet.

Cloud raised one eyebrow, obviously suspicious that Vincent wasn't telling the entire truth. "…If you insist," he muttered.

Vincent nodded once. "And I do insist," he said. "I assure you she can't get any worse right now."

"I thought she was in good condition!"

"She is. At the moment there is no way for her to get worse, not immediately anyway. Keep an eye on her, Cloud…" Vincent sighed and exited the room, heading for his own. I don't want to leave her…but I don't want Cloud to know that I love her, either…that would only cause more trouble for her. Also I don't want Chaos to take control and kill her…it's for the best that I stay away at the moment…

Yumesuta: I won't respond to reviews through the fanfiction anymore because of the new rule so if you give me a review that I need to reply to, I'll send you a message through the new system. Speaking of which, I hope I get a lot of reviews!