Disclaimer:

I claim to own anything related to Final Fantasybut I do own this story...at least I'm entitled to that much...

Author's Note:

Okay, sorry about the long wait but here's the next chapter. I actually had to take a few days to brainstorm but I think I'm back on track. Hope all of you are still out there reading and reviewing... I really want you guys to tell me how I'm doing... I really need it at this point. Well, I hope you like this chapter...let me know how I did after you finish reading...


The next morning I woke up promptly at nine. I was tempted to fall back asleep but I knew that my son was waiting for his mother to come rescue him and that thought alone was enough to drive the fatigue away from my mind and get me up. Reno was a little miffed about having to wake up at such an ungodly hour but after much poking, nagging and prodding I finally got him out of Dreamland.

"Do you even think Mr. Ghost Whisperer knows he left that receipt behind?" Reno said smugly, as he stood in front of my mirror trying in vain to tame his unruly mane.

I shrugged as I stuffed some clothes and other things like toothbrush and hairbrush into a small backpack. I didn't know how long we were gonna be away from home so it was best to be prepared. "I don't think so. A receipt like that could get lost easily," I said, turning to look at him.

Reno shrugged as well and gave up trying to fix his hair, deciding to get dressed instead. He had borrowed some more of Cloud's old pajamas again. After gathering all of his clothes, he stripped down to his boxers then quickly dressed right in front of me without a second thought. I shook my head and sighed before turning back to my backpack.

"What?" Reno asked, snickering slightly.

"It's gonna take me a while to get used to that."

"What, me getting dressed in front of you?" He asked, walking up beside me and slinging his arm around my shoulders.

"Yes," I replied, slowly sifting through the backpack, making sure I had everything I wanted to bring.

"Why?" Reno asked, moving around in front of me. "Are you shy or something?" He asked, a sly grin plastered to his skinny face.

I rolled my eyes and playfully shoved him out of my way as I walked over to my closet to collect a few more things. "Because a man has never undressed in front of me before. Whenever Cloud got dressed or undressed he always went into the bathroom and whenever I got dressed in front of him he always turned his back."

"Pansy ass," Reno said, as he grabbed his shoes from the floor and put them on.

I snickered at his comment while grabbing another pair of pants out of my closet. "You can be so straight forward sometimes."

"Is that a problem?" He asked, taking a shoe off and dumping a few small rocks into his hand.

"No, I like it actually," I said, stuffing the pants into the backpack.

"Good, 'cause you're gonna have to get used to it," he replied, grinning at me as he put his shoe back on.

I rolled my eyes and continued getting ready. Once I was finished, Reno and I shot outside and quickly got Lightning ready for the trip to Gongaga. We were considering taking an airship but using my Gold Chocobo would be much faster. Before I knew it, Reno and I were sitting on Lightning's back dashing down the coastline towards Gongaga. The scenery was flying by so fast I could barely focus on anything except Reno's back.

Before long, the forest surrounding the small town was visible. Reno placed Lightning in a stable as I went to go find us a room at the local inn. The small town had grown somewhat since my last visit. They had added a few blocks of new houses and a couple new food and clothing stores. They had even put in cobblestone pathways, trees and flowers along the sides of the roads. It had become much more of a peaceful looking place. They had cleaned up the debris of the broken down reactor and the citizens had begun to live a much more productive life now that the shadow of death no longer hung over them.

I was happy for them. Times were definitely changing and these were one of the towns that demonstrated that change.

Once I got the room, Reno and I settled in then talked about our plan of action.

"I'm gonna go scope out the place," he said, strapping his prized electro mag rod onto his belt and turning to me. "If I find the house, I'll eavesdrop for a while then come back."

I nodded and followed him to the door. "Just don't get caught this time."

He leaned over and kissed me briefly before smiling. "Hey, don't worry, babe. I'll be damned if I make the same stupid mistake again." He winked at me before walking out of the room and disappearing down the hallway.

.xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox.

Reno slinked silently past many rows of dark houses, looking curiously into the windows. He made sure to check every house no matter how non-descript it looked. He had just finished looking through the windows of the last house and still had found nothing. He crouched down near a shrub to think.

Come on! Where are they? They couldn't have caught wind about us coming here, could they?

Reno sighed and got up, deciding to head back to the hotel room for the night. Nothing else would get accomplished today. He sighed and stopped in the middle of the road and scratched his head. He was almost reluctant to go back to the hotel room until he found at least one shred of evidence that they were still here. He didn't want to disappoint Tifa and he wanted to find Logan just as bad as she did, if not more.

With his mind set, Reno ventured off to a different part of town, determined to find anything he could before returning to the inn. He was not going to give up. Logan was as just important to him as he was to Tifa. He couldn't let them down now, not when they were so close to finding him.

.xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxox.

I waited impatiently back at the inn for Reno's return. I had begun pacing only ten minutes after Reno had left the room and had been doing so for the past hour. The only feeling that was present in my mind was utter fear and nervousness about Reno not finding anything. My heart ached at the mere thought. If Aeris and Cloud had somehow found out that we were coming to Gongaga and had left already…I don't even want to think about what I'd do.

I stopped next to the bed and crossed my arms, staring down at the digital alarm clock on the bedside table. I began to tap my foot restlessly as I watched the numbers change to eleven o'clock. I sat down on the bed and pulled my knees up into my chest. After a few seconds of sitting like that I curled up under the sheets and closed my eyes. I wasn't at all tired, but I figured that pacing in front of the door would only make my nervousness worse.

.xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxoxox.

Almost two hours later Reno plopped down behind a shrub. He had searched every inch of the town and even managed to sneak inside a few houses, but still he found nothing. He sighed and rested on his knees, peeking his head over the shrub peering about for anything unusual. His keen eyes caught a flickering light from a dark house a block away. He frowned. He swore that he walked by that same house at least twice, but he never noticed the light.

Ha, so much for the "keen eyes."

He got up and walked briskly toward the house, making sure to step quietly. He slinked up and crouched next to the window and cautiously peeked over the windowsill. His teal orbs widened when he saw Cloud Strife sitting on the couch with his head lolled over the back and his mouth open slightly fast asleep.

Reno gently collapsed next to the window and sighed in relief. "Thank God," he whispered before crawling away. He stood out in the middle of the street and took in all of his surroundings, memorizing everything about that little house so he could easily find it in the morning.

.xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxxoxox.

I jumped when Reno came crashing back into the room. I was concentrating so hard on a small patch of the comforter that I almost fell off the bed. I looked up at Reno with wide eyes as he rushed towards me.

As Reno was coming at me two thoughts occurred to me: Either he found Logan and was very excited or they were gone and he found a lead.

He grabbed my shoulders and hoisted me up off the bed. "Tifa, I found them!" He announced.

My heart seemed to stop as I stood there in shock. After the initial surprise died down and the full realization of what Reno said hit me, I flung my arms around his neck and squeezed him. In turn, he wrapped his arms around my waist and twirled around quickly before placing me back on the ground.

"Well, they're sleeping right?" I asked, anticipation bubbling up in my voice. "Let's go get him!"

The smiled melted off his face and he breathed in slowly. "Not yet. Trying to get him now could endanger Logan. We need to observe them for a few days and figure out what they're going to do."

"Reno, we may not have a few days. He might be in trouble! We need to rescue him now!"

"Tifa, you don't know how bad I wanted to sneak into that house and get him. I had the perfect opportunity but I didn't take it because I didn't want to put Logan in danger."

I looked at Reno with a bewildered look in my eyes before I broke away from his grasp and began to stride towards the door. "You can stay here. I'm going to get him."

My hand hadn't even fully grasped the door knob when Reno roughly grabbed my right shoulder and twisted me around. He pinned me between himself and the door and clamped my wrists against the doorframe. I tried to struggle against him but he would not relent.

"Please Reno," I pleaded as I meekly tried to get away from him. "I just want my son back."

He shook his head and pursed his lips. "No," he said, his voice low. "I won't let you put yourself in danger. I don't want what happened to me to happen to you. I'd never forgive myself if something bad happened to you."

"I don't care!" I shouted, starting to sob. "I'll gladly give my life for his!"

"It doesn't have to come to that!" Reno shouted just as loud. "Tifa, we will get him back! I swear to you we will!"

At that moment, everything began to crumble. I couldn't keep up the façade any longer. I couldn't keep telling myself that Logan would be fine and that nothing would happen to him because there was that little voice in the back of my mind telling me that everything Reno and I were trying to do was futile. I collapsed against Reno's chest as tears began to pour out of my eyes. I kept telling myself that I needed to be strong and keep a level head about my shoulders so I didn't make a hasty decision that would cost Reno and I our last chance of ever getting him back.

"Hey," Reno whispered, gently rubbing my back. "Logan'll be fine. If he's anything like his mother he'll be okay. And guess what?" He asked, grabbing my chin and making me look at him. "You will be too." He paused and wiped a few of the tears away from my eyes. "Besides, I don't like it when you cry. You're so much more beautiful when you smile."

I smiled and buried my head in his chest again, taking a deep breath. I exhaled slowly and looked up at him again. "I know I will. I have to be strong. If not for me than for Logan."

"That's my girl. Come on, let's hit the sack. Got a big day tomorrow."

Reno and I climbed into bed and as soon as my head hit the pillow I felt asleep overtake me.