Thanks for the reviews, you guys! There are a few mentionings of things that happened in This Is My Story and Doppelganger in this chapter, but again, nothing extremely important. If Tidus says something that makes you say, "huh?" Smile, nod, and ignore it lol. It's not crucial. Oh, so I wrote the final chapter and part of the epilogue of this fic today...mainly because I needed to get someamusing Tidus-y lines typed up before I forgot them. It's amusing to write the final chapter before you solidify the plot...you get to make up things that happen in the middle of the fic! Lol! At least I have somewhere to go with this fic now...and I know how it ends. YAY! By the way, the chapters in this fic are going to shorter than the ones in RR (if you've been reading that, you'd know what I mean). Okay, I'm going to bed now because I am so tired! Bye!
2. Bringing Up False Hope
"I can't believe I passed out," Yuna said in disbelief as she peeled away the thin white sheet that was covering her and inspected the heavily bandaged part of her stomach. "I feel like such a baby."
"Ah yes, because I want a girl who can play an entire blitzball tournament after being shot in the stomach," I joked with a short ironic laugh and traced my finger down the side of her face. "Yuna, you're fortunate that none of your vitals were punctured. You could've been severely hurt and possibly even killed."
"Yay for being alive," she replied cheerfully as she crossed her ankles, grimacing with the pain of moving. "But, since I am alive and awake, I think this means that they should release me and we should all go home now. I definitely don't want to spend my daughter's first birthday in the hospital. You know, she wasn't even able to open her presents!"
"Yuna…" Although I knew that Yuna wasn't one to be cooped up in a hospital, there wasn't a chance in hell that I was going to let her get out. With some coaxing to everyone else, I was finally able to get them to go out in the lobby to watch Ariana so I have some alone time with my wife. "I don't think you realize just how serious this is."
She crossed her arms and scoffed, proving to me that she didn't want to be lectured. "No, I just think you're overreacting. Tidus, I'm the high summoner, okay? It's probably just some Yevon lover who wonders why I'm not preaching like the past high summoners."
"Yuna, you're the only high summoner that has ever lived," I reminded her as I stopped pacing and faced her. She was looking to her left with her nose in the air, but I wasn't going to give her any mercy. "All the other high summoners died to defeat Sin. Well, temporarily defeat Sin, anyway. You were the only one who was able to rid Spira of their major threat, so you should be able to live your life the way you want."
"It was probably just an accident anyway." I couldn't believe that she was acting so blasé about being shot, so my jaw dropped. "Don't give me that look."
"Accident?" I repeated and threw my hands up in the air. "You think this was just an accident? Yeah, that makes sense, because people go on shooting sprees randomly, shoot only one person, then run away before they're caught."
"Okay fine, if it was on purpose, they obviously had terrible aim." She raised her voice as she pointed to the bandages again. "If this person was a serious killer, they would obviously know that my heart isn't in my stomach! It was probably an amateur with a grudge."
"Amateur or not, they shot you, and I have a tiny problem with that. I don't want to take any chances, Yuna," I stated firmly. I walked to the side of her bed and she looked away from me. "Yuna, please look at me."
"No! Not until you chill!" Even though she said she wouldn't look at me, she still did, and I could see the tears brimming in her eyes. "I'm fine, okay? Look, I'm still breathing, still moving, and most importantly, I'm still alive."
She wiggled her fingers in my face to prove her point, but I still wasn't calm enough to sit and let this slide by. "You're alive now, but as far as I'm concerned, you're damn lucky. Next time you might not be."
"Next time?" She asked with a scoff and a laugh. It was a scared laugh, so she wasn't fooling me with her calm attitude. "Who says there's even going to be a next time?"
"Me!" Her eyes opened wide and I honestly think I frightened her more than I meant to. "If there was a first attack, I bet you a thousand gil that there will be a second! If they don't succeed the second time, they will try again and again. I don't know what the hell they have against you, but I know they won't stop until their goal is complete."
"What makes you think that?" She shot back and sat straight up in her bed, pain running through her as she stretched the wound. "Ow."
"And you want to come home?" I asked her in reference of the pain, slightly sarcastic as I crossed my arms against my chest. "I know you. If they send you home and tell you to rest, you won't. You'll be busy running around. I felt as if I was pulling teeth to get you to rest when you were pregnant."
She shook her head at me and sighed. "I heal fast. Besides, it's only a scratch."
"That's a nice cliché, but it's not going to work on me," I stated, cracking my knuckles as I spoke. "They had to surgically dig a bullet out of you, Yuna. That's not a scratch."
"Whatever," she scoffed and shook her head. "I think this'll just blow over anyway."
"No, no," I reiterated sternly. "I almost feel as if we've been ignoring warnings that have been obvious for the last couple of weeks."
"What are you talking about?"
"All those letters you've been receiving, Yuna? Who are they from?" She gasped at my words and I knew she felt guilty. For last few weeks, mysterious letters have been appearing at our front porch and I tried not to worry about it, but curiosity always managed to get the best of me. "Don't think I haven't seen you read them."
She scoffed at me and the look on her face stung deep in my heart for I know she was disappointed in me. "I threw them all out, so unless you've been snooping through my mail, how would you know about them?"
"Why wouldn't I want to know what was said in them?" I challenged back as she reached over to grab her glass of water that was on the bedside table. She had difficulty reaching it due to the wound in her stomach, so I walked around and grabbed it for her. Before handing it to her, I held it up and talked, moving the glass for emphasis. "I've seen the look on your face when you've received them, and obviously they didn't say that you won an all expense paid trip to Zanarkand for a week. Therefore, I read them after you threw them out. You should be thanking me that I didn't call Bevelle up right away because that was my first intention."
"What would Bevelle do in this case? They don't care about me," she replied as she ripped the glass out of my hand. "With the exception of Baralai, they're all too busy trying to get the ways of Yevon back throughout the people. Believe me, I know."
"That's what the treaty banned though," I murmured as I slowly stood up. "The Youth League, New Yevon, and Machine Faction created that treaty so everyone would band together and not cause stupid outrages over beliefs and tradition."
She sighed again as she took a sip of the water. "Tidus, come on."
"No, I'm really curious about what you mean now." I backed up and sat in the seat that was behind me, for I feared I would be the one who would pass out. "Why would they want the ways of Yevon taught again? Didn't they learn that Yevon's teachings were full of false hope?"
"Yevon was something to believe in," she started to explain, without looking at me. As a matter of fact, she was speaking in such a hushed whisper that I had to strain my ears to understand what she was saying. "When the people of Spira had Yevon to believe in, they had a reason to live. Yunalesca even told us this before we killed her. That's what the false hope was about. Sure, most people understand that Yevon was destroyed so they got over it, but there is a handful of people who still strongly believe in Yevon and will do anything they can to get other people to believe the same way."
"Yu Yevon was a spider looking creature who we killed," I pointed out, trying to bring some humor into the situation. "How credible can a spider be? I squish them with my shoes all the time."
"You're trying to lighten the mood, Tidus, and it's not going to work," she warned as she finally looked at me. Her eyes were cold and her face was grim; she was right. This wasn't something to be joking around about. "Some of the letters that I've been sent lately I've kept. They're in a drawer in the house."
"Where?" I asked as I stood up and almost bolted for the door.
"Get me out of here and I'll show you."
I scoffed at her ultimatum and pointed at her. "No, you are going to stay right here. You're safe in this hospital and I don't want you in any risk of danger."
"I'm fine, Tidus!" She protested as I walked closer to her again.
"Ariana is out there waiting for you to be better and will pounce on you the second that you walk out of this room. Are you ready for that?" She nodded her head confidently, so I cocked my head and glared at her. "No, you're not. You wouldn't be able to pick her up and hold her, and you know damn well that's what she'll want. Stay here, Yuna. You can't always be the one to save Spira."
"Who said that Spira was in danger in the first place?" I stopped walking and clenched my fists in anger. "All I said was that I've kept some letters from a few monks and they're in a drawer. I didn't even have to tell you what drawer I meant and you're already halfway out the door."
"I'm just trying to put some pieces together," I explained gently with a sigh. She looked down at her nails, so I walked over to her and took one of her hands in my own. "Yuna, seeing you get shot was perhaps the most terrifying thing I've ever seen. Well, that and seeing you possessed by Lenne. That's pretty high up there as well."
"But, Tidus, I'm fine," she tried to reassure me again, but I wasn't going to fall for it. I knew the second that she would try to stand up, she would collapse right on the floor. "I'll be just as safe at home as I would be in this hospital. The only difference is that I would be a lot more comfy at home."
"Honey," I started and kissed her hand. "I want this person stopped. Hell, there might be more than one person. Unfortunately, we weren't able to get a good look in the direction that the gun was fired from. Think about this rationally; if you are at home and they attack again, you're putting Ari in danger. She'll want to be around you nonstop and that'll put her right in the line of fire. Do you want that?"
I could tell my words hit her hard, for her eyes opened wide then she looked down and shook her head. "No."
"No," I repeated as I kissed her hand again. "Therefore, please stay here and let me do a little reconnaissance. That way I'll be reassured that you're all safe and sound."
"And going insane by staring at the blank white walls and not being able to do anything," she drawled, using her hand to gesture her surroundings. "Fine. I'll be the good girl and stay here. Just…keep in touch, okay?"
"Of course. I'll come back tomorrow to let you know if I've found out anything." I kissed her gently on the forehead and smiled at her. "I love you, Yuna."
"I love you too," she replied with a nervous smile. "Please be careful. I don't know what I would do without you."
"You know me." I smirked at her as I made my way out of her hospital room and walked to the lobby. Everyone stood up when the saw me, with the exception of Lulu who had Vidina sprawled out on her lap. I don't understand how that boy could physically sleep as much as he did. I looked over at Ari, who was playing with a few toys on the floor by Rikku's feet. I smiled at her as she banged a toy against the ground. I'm surprised that she didn't break it with the force she was using.
"How is she?" Rikku asked, rubbing her arms up and down with her hands. It was rather chilly in the waiting room, and she was still wearing her little spring dress, so it was only natural for her to be a little cold.
A feeling of déjà vu swept through me as I looked around. It was exactly how it was a year ago when Yuna had Ari. Everyone standing around and throwing a million questions at me…and of course, Rikku insisting that the baby was a girl.
"She'll be fine," I said quickly as I looked over at Baralai. He was looking down at the ground, making me rather suspicious. I scratched the back of my head as Ari crawled from where she was playing over to me. I picked her up without taking my eyes off of the young Praetor. "Baralai, I need to speak to you later."
He looked up at me and nodded his head, as if he knew what I was even going to ask him. Paine narrowed her eyes first at Baralai, then at myself, trying to read the looks on our faces. "What's going on, you two?"
"I'm not sure yet," I responded as I continued to study everyone. "All right, here's the thing. The nurses and doctors want to make sure that she's going to be fine, so they want to keep her at least overnight. It's a good thing, too, or else she would be jumping around to find out what is going on."
"I don't think she would," Lulu said calmly as she stood up carefully so she wouldn't wake up her son. "She doesn't seem too concerned, Tidus."
"The fact that I'm concerned is enough of a reason to get her to worry," I pointed out with a sigh. "We might as well go back to our house. I mean, we have plenty of refreshments and whatnot if you all want to stay."
"Well, I have to be putting Lily and Vidina to sleep soon," Lulu explained and Wakka nodded in agreement. "I really don't want them being up too late tonight because they both took short naps today and I don't want to deal with two cranky children in the morning."
"Okay," I replied with a nod and looked at the other four. "What are your plans, you guys?"
"Gippal and I rented a room in the hotel that is by the temple," Rikku piped up as she linked her arms through her boyfriend's. "If you want us to, we'll watch Ari for the night so you can have a night off."
"That'd be great. Thanks." Ordinarily I wouldn't have leapt at the opportunity, but I wanted to do some research and have a long talk with Baralai, and I knew that would be hard if I had to take care of a one year old at the same time. "What about you, Paine?"
"Lai and I actually rented a room as well," she said slowly as she noticed how I kept stealing glances at Baralai. "What is it?"
"I think I'm going to steal Baralai from you for a while," I explained and put a hand on the reluctant Praetor's shoulder. "I think he and I need to have a nice long talk."
"I'll help in whatever way I can," he said with a shrug and a sigh.
Rikku walked up to me and held out her hands to Ari, who happily went to her cousin's arms. "You know, Tidus, I'm kind of surprised how Ariana will willingly just go into my arms like this. I haven't seen her since she was two days old. I could be a complete stranger and she would still come to me."
"Nah, I think it's just a relative instinct or something like that." I wasn't sure how logical my reasoning was, but Rikku smiled and bounced the baby in her arms. After kissing Ari on the top of her head, I rubbed my hands together and motioned toward the door. "So I guess that's the plan then. Let's all meet up in the morning for breakfast or something."
"Yay! Works for me!" Rikku exclaimed with a slight squeal. Eating was definitely a good way to get Rikku's attention, so that's why I used it.
After exchanging our goodbyes, we all separated to go to our next destinations.
