Part Three

Rain pattered on the roof overhead as Tifa sat beside Vincent's bed. With worried eyes, she took in the sick man's appearance; he was pale and weak, a mere shadow of the formidable warrior he had been not too long ago. His rough, uneven breathing, a result of the infection in his chest, caused even further concern.

"Vincent, you've got to hang on...I don't want to lose you." Tifa thought, as she grimly held his limp right hand in hers', silently willing him to live. There was no visible response to her silent pleas, and she felt indecision when she heard someone enter the bar below.

"As it is, he's too sick to be left alone. I'll just go down and lock up." Tifa thought, as she hesitantly left Vincent's side, and made her way downstairs. One could only imagine her surprise when a childish voice shouted her name, and two arms wrapped themselves around her waist.

"Hello Tifa! Did you miss me?" Marlene asked, overjoyed to see the female barkeep of Seventh Heaven.

"I certainly did. What brings you here?" Tifa asked, as she tried to smile for the younger girl.

"I just wanted to see you, that's all!" Marlene chirped, then noticed that her friend looked and acted tired.

"What's wrong, Tifa? You aren't sick, are you?" Marlene questioned. Tifa's expression fell.

"Marlene, I have something I need to tell you...It's about Vincent." Tifa murmured, gently, noticing when the girl's eyes widened.

"Is something wrong?" Marlene again asked, as some fear began to emerge on her features. Tifa nodded.

"He's sick, Marlene. Very, very sick. He's been here for almost a week now." Tifa said, gently trying to break the news to the warm-hearted girl before her.

"How could Vincent be sick? What's wrong with him?" Marlene questioned, as worry for the former Turk emerged as well.

"He has a bad lung infection. I've been using my Cure Materia to combat it, but I don't think it's enough." Tifa admitted, hating herself for having to tell the girl something so grim.

"C-can I...see him? I want to see him." Marlene murmured, as she looked up at Tifa with pleading eyes. Against her better judgement, Tifa took her by the hand and led her upstairs to where Vincent lay. To her relief, Tifa could see that Vincent had not coughed up any more blood; but he still looked far too pale for her liking.

"Thank the planet for small mercies, I suppose." Tifa mused, watching as the little girl approached Vincent's bedside and stared in horror at him.

"Marlene, your father and Cid and heading to Wutai in a few days, aren't they?" Tifa asked, an idea suddenly beginning to form in her mind. Marlene nodded.

"They'd said they were gonna make a supply run there." Marlene said, repeating what she'd heard from the adults earlier.

"Then I want you to do me a favor. Tell Cid that he needs to get in touch with Yuffie as soon as he can. She'll need to bring as many Cure and Heal Materias as she can carry. Vincent's life may depend on it." Tifa said, seriously.

"I'll do what I can! I'm not gonna let Vincent die!" Marlene declared, quietly, with the determination that she had learned from her recent ordeal. Tifa inwardly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Go ahead and find Cid and Barret, then. And tell them to please hurry!" Tifa ordered, as the child nodded vigorously and hurried out; intent on the task at hand. When the young girl had gone, Tifa returned her attention to the unconscious man and gave him a soft smile.

"And to think, at one time, you'd thought that no one would care what happened to you...I know for a fact that Marlene would be devastated if you died, and, as for the rest of us, our lives would be a lot emptier." Tifa mused, as she sat down again by his side and gently brushed a hand against his face; feeling dismay when she found that the fever had not come down in the slightest.

"Please live. Don't give up." Tifa heard herself say, as she settled in for yet another sleepless night at the wounded warrior's bedside.

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For the first time in so long, Vincent found himself alone inside of his own mind. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but thick gray mist; but he was grateful for even that.

"At least it means I won't have to contend with my inner demons for a little while, anyway." Vincent mused, knowing that the three powerful monsters (especially Chaos) could return at any time.

"Better enjoy this while I can." Vincent thought, as he allowed his mind to rest. It was then that he thought he could faintly hear Marlene's voice, and briefly wondered what she was doing there. Then the child's voice faded away, and he heard Tifa sit back down; quietly murmuring something about not giving up and living.

"I don't want to give up, Tifa...Believe me, I don't..." Vincent mentally replied, as he started to sink even further away from consciousness. Yet, before he could get too deep, he felt some warmth wrap around him and lift him up slightly; preventing him from disappearing into oblivion.

"Is Tifa doing this? Or is it Aerith? I can't tell from here..." Vincent mused, as the warm presence closed itself around him; cushioning him from the pain.

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Tifa just about jumped out of her skin when Cid charged into the room not even two hours after Marlene had left.

"Oh shit...he looks even worse than what the kid had described...Poor bastard looks like death warmed over." Cid muttered, when he saw what kind of condition Vincent was in.

"Think you can make the trip to Wutai a few days early, Cid?" Tifa asked, knowing that the normally loud man was subdued by how terrible Vincent looked.

"Yeah...Have you been able to raise Yuffie on the phone yet?" Cid questioned. Tifa shook her head.

"The storms have been so bad, that they have been disrupting the signals." Tifa replied, grimly.

"Damn...Then we'd better hurry." Cid muttered, as he turned to hurry out.

"Be careful, Cid. We don't know how much the Highwind can take; especially in weather like this." Tifa warned. Surprisingly enough, all she got from Cid as a response was a grim nod, before he rushed from the Seventh Heaven and into the stormy night.

"Come back safely, Cid. Vincent's life depends on you, now." Tifa thought, as she gazed at her dwindling supply of Heal and Cure Materia, and knew that the trip to the distant town took at least three or four days...And Vincent would not last that long.