Part Six

His life was pain, pure and simple. Every breath was torture; like a fiery brand was being driven deep into his chest. And yet, even through the worst of it, he felt the gentle, feather-soft touches on his brow, and the strangely soothing presence of Tifa sitting by his bedside. Despite himself, he found her presence comforting; easing the burning pain and somehow making it a little more bearable.

"Planet, I haven't felt this bad since I jumped from the Highwind last year." Vincent thought, breaths coming in short, painful gasps as he tried not to gag when he tasted more blood at the back of his throat.

"Vincent?" Tifa's voice asked, echoing strangely inside of Vincent's skull. Slowly, Vincent opened his eyes, grimacing slightly when even the dim light in the room hurt them.

"Sorry, let me dim the light a bit more." Tifa said, as she did just that, much to Vincent's relief.

"W-what...?" Vincent rasped, wincing slightly as he spoke.

"Rest easy, friend. Save your strength for fighting this illness." the soft, rumbling voice of Nanaki murmured, from his left hand side, close to where Tifa was sitting.

"When did you...get here?" Vincent whispered, voicing the surprise he'd evidently felt upon seeing the red feline there.

"A few hours ago." Nanaki replied.

"I see..." Vincent stated, then looked up at Tifa. The young woman looked completely worn out; the result of staying up with him the entire time during his stay there. Yet, before he could even start feeling guilty, Tifa interrupted the forming thoughts.

"I know what you're thinking, Vincent, and no, it isn't your fault. It has been my choice to watch over you." Tifa rebuked, with mock severity; smiling gently at the ill man when he allowed an abashed look to appear on his handsome face. Then he sighed and tried to relax, placing his right hand to his brow when the dull throb of a headache prompted him to do so. They all looked up when Cloud entered the room with what appeared to be a flask in hand.

"I've got the medicine, Tifa, but there's going to be a bit of a problem using it." Cloud said, nodding respectfully to Vincent to acknowledge his presence, then getting back to the subject at hand.

"What's wrong?" Tifa asked, as worry appeared in her wine-colored eyes once again.

"It'll only work with Heal and Cure Materia. And you'd told us earlier that you had used up all of your Materia already." Cloud murmured, noticing when Tifa gave him an anxious look.

"You don't have any, either?" Tifa questioned. Cloud shook his head.

"I don't. I used up mine when I was helping a town get out from under a rockslide." Cloud responded, grimly.

"It seems...all we can do now...is wait...for Cid to return..." Vincent struggled to say, coughing a little bit when the strain became too much.

"That's about all we can do. I just hope the weather doesn't hamper his progress too much." Cloud muttered, as he turned his gaze to the window; trying desperately to ignore the sight of Tifa gently, almost lovingly, wiping the sweat and blood off of the ex-Turk's face with a damp cloth.

"Do you think you can get in touch with them, Cloud?" Tifa asked.

"I can try, but I'll have to use your phone, since I lost mine not too long ago." Cloud replied; trying to hide the bitterness in his voice as he placed the flask on the table closest to Tifa, the made to exit the room again.

"Go ahead. Maybe they're close enough now to receive the signal." Tifa urged, as hope began to return to her.

"Okay." Cloud murmured, then added, "Wish me luck." This got a nod from Tifa and Nanaki.

"All right. Good luck." they replied, before the blond-haired hero descended the stairs, quietly closing the door behind him as he went. Nanaki wasn't long in following. When he was certain that both Cloud and Nanaki were out of earshot, Vincent returned his attention to Tifa.

"Are you sure...you want...to stay up...with me again?" Vincent asked. Tifa gave him a look that was tinged with stubbornness.

"Yes. Like I'd said, it's my choice. So rest easy, I'm not going anywhere." Tifa said, surprised when Vincent gave her a soft smile in answer to that.

"Thank you...Tifa." Vincent whispered, as he gingerly grasped her hand in his. He got a smile in return, and a kiss on the brow (much to his astonishment).

"You're welcome. Now, get some sleep. Your fever is still very high." Tifa murmured, as she used her free hand to carefully brush the stray strands of hair off of Vincent's pallid features; feeling somewhat surprised when she saw that her touch alone was lulling Vincent back to sleep again.

"Sleep well, Vincent." Tifa thought, warmly; burying the nagging worry in the back of her mind that she could still lose this brave, much maligned gunman that she was suddenly finding herself caring very much for.

vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

"Fuck! I hate storms like this!" Cid shouted, furiously, as he fought to maintain control of the Highwind. Yuffie sighed and shook her head; at this point in time, she was far too worried to be airsick. Vincent's life was hanging in the balance!

"Cid, how far from Midgar are we now? Are we almost there yet?" Marlene asked, her own worry about Vincent (moreso than the turbulence of the airship) preventing her from sleeping.

"We're closer now than when ya last asked, squirt." Cid replied, as patiently as he could; understanding that they all were worried about the normally strong gunman.

"How're you holdin' up, Yuf?" Barret asked, gruffly.

"I'm okay. Guess I'm too scared about Vincent's illness to be sick myself right now...Though I'm sure I'll be pukin' my guts out later to make up for not being sick now." Yuffie replied, as she tried to give the men and little girl a smile and thumbs up to let them know that she was okay. They all jumped when Cid's cell phone suddenly started ringing.

"Shit! This had better be good!" Cid grumbled, as he made a grab for his phone, pressed the power button, and answered it.

"Hello?" Cid asked.

"Cid!" a young man's voice shouted, the relief in it very evident.

"Cloud? Where the hell have you been, man? You dropped off the face of the planet, and then you decide to call during a thunderstorm? Shit!" Cid yowled, furiously.

"I'm sorry, Cid, but there was a reason for it." Cloud replied, sounding ashamed about his disappearance and the worry he'd caused his friends and the whole of Avalanche.

"Feh, I'm sure. Tell Tifa that we'll be there soon, and tell Vince to hang on. Yuffie's got her Cure and Heal Materia with her." Cid said, knowing that he had to be close enough to Midgar in order for the signal to have gotten through to his phone.

"Okay. I'll tell them. Safe landings, Cid." Cloud said, as Cid flipped the phone the bird.

"Don't jinx me, punk! Dammit!" Cid growled, as he listened to the young hero's quick apology to that, and then hung up.

"So Cloud's back now too, Cid?" Marlene questioned, as she turned her hopeful gaze up to the airship's captain. Cid smirked.

"Yeah. Spiky's back, kid." Cid replied, as he tousled the little girl's hair almost gently.

"One less thing for us to worry about, in the long run."Cid mused, unaware that those wit him were thinking the exact same thing.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Cloud sighed as he hung up Tifa's phone. Even though he was relieved that help had practically arrived in time to save Vincent, he couldn't help but feel like he was about to lose someone important to him, all over again.

"Even if she doesn't know it yet, I do. Tifa is in love...and it's not with me. I waited too long." Cloud sadly mused, knowing deep down in his heart that Tifa would always see him as a dear friend, but the one she would have eyes for, would be the man who needed her the most: Vincent.

Author's Note!

Almost there! I hope this was worth the wait!

Gemini14

Also, there's a slight homage to LunarBlade Valentine's story 'Dark Outside', early on in this chapter. If you haven't already read it, then I highly recommend it!