"I just got off the phone with Tseng."

Charlie isn't interested in anything he has to say about Tseng, so she doesn't answer, but that doesn't stop Rufus.

"We're heading the wrong way. Sephiroth isn't going north." He laces up his shoes, pulling the strings tight. "He's headed south, towards the Temple of the Ancients."

She frowns at herself in the mirror, pulling the brush through her hair. They should have left two hours ago to make it to Rocket Town by noon, but Charlie isn't complaining. If Cloud and the others had taken chocobos out of town like she suggested to Cait Sith, they'll outpace the car and arrive before she and Rufus do.

"Have you ever heard of the Temple of the Ancients?"

"No," she answers, "never."

"We'll have to cross the ocean to get there."

"Fine."

Truthfully, she's very nervous about seeing Cid again. She isn't sure how he'll react to her being there, or what he'll say when he finds out they're only there for the Tiny Bronco.

Maybe he can help her. Maybe Avalanche can help her. If Avalanche could get to the Temple of the Ancients first . . . after all, wouldn't it make sense to have Aerith there?

And why wouldn't she go with them? What's left for her in Midgar? Isn't she safer with Avalanche? They wouldn't keep her locked away in the Shinra Building. They wouldn't hurt her. She has information that they need—she knows what Rufus is trying to do and where he's trying to go.

"If it would please you, we can wait for Tseng to join us."

"I don't care what you do, Rufus. Tseng isn't my friend."

"You're such a goddamn liar, Char," Rufus snarls, standing up from the foot of the bed and brushing off the front of his sweater. He steps up behind her, looking at their reflections and resting his chin on her shoulder. "I know what he said to you. I know why you're upset."

Charlie continues to brush her hair. "You knew the whole time."

"Of course I did." He places his hands upon her waist and presses a kiss to the crook of her neck. Charlie tenses, her breath hitching. "It was necessary. Once a Turk, always a Turk. You know that. And Veld knew that. He knew what would happen to him if he tried to leave."

"I loved him."

Rufus scoffs against her skin. "You, Reeve, even Tseng . . . you're all bleeding hearts when it comes to the people you care about," he murmurs, but it sounds like he's mocking her. "You could never make the difficult choices. That's why I'm the president, and not you."

That sounds rather familiar, she can't help but think. It seems Rufus becomes more like their father every day.

"And if you recall, I saved the rest of your Turks from being executed," he continues in a cold voice, speaking right into her ear. "I did that for you, sister. Surely you haven't forgotten I did that for you."

"I didn't ask you to do that for me."

"You didn't have to. Look at me." He waits for her to turn her head, his face mere inches away from hers. "We were never anything other than jobs to those people."

She doesn't answer right away. She wants to hate the Turks. She was stupid to believe it was anything other than a job for them. But that doesn't quite sound like Veld . . . someone who had gone to extreme lengths to keep her happy, who had let her sleep in his bed when she was scared at night, who had helped her with school work over a home-cooked dinner.

The moment she averts her eyes, Rufus releases her and storms out of the bedroom.

Charlie can't stop fidgeting all the way to Rocket Town. Palmer talks longingly of the rocket and passively remarks about his department's slashed budget the entire way, which fills the silence, but Charlie hasn't forgotten about how he had wanted to scrap the Shinra No. 26 for parts he wouldn't even know what to do with.

It's a bright and cold day, heavily contrasting against the stormy skies and black clouds that were visible last night. She wonders if Heidegger and Scarlet have made it to their destination, and wonders where Tseng is now, if he's on his way to the Temple of the Ancients or not.

But once she finishes dwelling on her brother's people, Charlie is able to focus more on her own people. Halfway to Rocket Town, she spies the remnants of a camp—no one else notices, but she's far too familiar with the sight now to ignore it—and chocobo prints headed in the direction of Rocket Town.

She feels able to breathe again, knowing that Avalanche has a head start, but the idea of seeing Cid again is still making her hands tremble. She wipes her palms on her pants, a pair of jeans that are slightly too tight around her waist, but it was the only size she could find in the gift shop.

"Charlie, you have to stop bouncing your leg. You're shaking the whole car."

Charlie meets Rufus's eyes for a split second. "Sorry."

"You're nervous, I understand." Rufus smiles smugly at her from the backseat. Benji continues the drive, while the other guard and Palmer sit up front. "You're not engaged anymore. Do you think he'll notice?"

"That's not it," she scolds him softly, holding her hands in her lap. "That has nothing to do with this."

But she's certain that Cid will make mention of it. She knows Cid, and knows that he'll be smug when he brings it up, but she's certainly not going to tell him anything. It's none of his business. She needs to stop thinking about it or else it's going to drive her—

"Look at that!"

Charlie leans forward to look out the windshield. One of the guards is pointing to the looming figure of her rocket, more crooked than it was the last time she had come here. It stands tall over the surrounding trees, and her heart rate picks up again as she looks for a sign of Avalanche the closer than get to the town.

Rocket Town is unchanged. The leaves have fallen off the trees, but the town square is just as she remembers it. People are out shopping in groups, and a few teenagers linger at the sign that bars people from getting any closer to the rocket.

"Let's just get the Tiny Bronco and get out of here," Rufus says quietly as Charlie stops at the fountain that marks the center of town.

"Madam Vice President!"

Charlie turns to her right to find someone familiar huffing and puffing over to her, his cheeks flushed. She puts on a smile. "Hello, Oster. It's good to see you again."

He nods slightly at the sight of Rufus. "Mr. President. We're honored to have the both of you here today."

Glancing at her brother, Charlie puts a hand on Oster's shoulder and moves a few paces away, just so Rufus won't be able to listen in on their conversation. He crosses his arms, seemingly insulted by Charlie's decision to leave him out of it.

"We're here to see Cid," she explains softly, smiling at him so as not to cause any further suspicion. "But have you seen anyone else come into town today? A yellow-haired man, a toy cat, a man with a gun for an arm?"

"Yes, ma'am," Oster answers right away, surprising her. "I think they're at the Captain's house now. But I have to warn you, ma'am, the Captain's pissed at you. Pardon my language, Miss Shinra."

"What? Why?" she asks quickly, the smile fading from her face. "Why is he mad at me?"

Oster pauses, his thick eyebrows knitting together. "You didn't know? About two weeks ago, some suit came sniffin' round with a couple of soldiers. Beat him up pretty bad. Had to have a doc called in from out of town to fix his jaw."

"What are you . . . what?" Charlie scoffs. "What happened? Who was it? What did he look like?"

He thinks for a minute. "Tall, long hair, ponytail, and he . . ." Oster shifts uncomfortably and then taps his index finger to his forehead, right in the middle. "And, you know . . . he was . . ."

Charlie doesn't need for him to continue to know exactly who he's talking about, but she narrows her eyes and waits for him to finish his thought. "He was what?"

Oster flushes. "You know . . . one of them . . ."

"One of who?" she asks again, her voice a little harder this time.

"A Wutaian," he spits out.

"Is that a problem?"

Clearing his throat, Oster looks away from her, eyes darting left to right. "No, ma'am," he answers after a moment. "Not at all."

Charlie leaves him with a lingering, burning look. There's a scowl on Rufus's face, as well, and Oster scurries away quickly enough, leaving them alone again as Palmer hobbles up to them on his injured foot, flanking the two guards that have escorted them here.

"Did you know that Tseng came here?" she hisses at Rufus. "Oster said Tseng came here and gave Cid a beating."

"Did he?"

"You didn't know?"

Rufus shrugs. "No, I didn't. But now isn't the time to dwell on it. We need to get the Tiny Bronco."

"We could have been here three hours ago if you hadn't taken your sweet time back at the village."

"Don't be a brat, Char. Let's just go to the pilot's house, all right? I've sent Palmer ahead since you decided to waste time talking to the townspeople."

Charlie leads them all towards Cid's home, her heart still fluttering and her stomach churning violently, but she doesn't even make it to the door. When they come in view of the home, Cid charges out the front door, looking far worse than Charlie could have imagined.

The left side of his face is covered in dark bruises. His eye is swollen and horribly bloodshot, his nose looks a little more crooked than she recalls it being, and his bottom lip is still a little puffy.

She stills at the very sight of him, horrified, curious as to what Tseng might have thought warranted a beating like that.

But her heart still skips a beat. There's a slight beard growing in on his chin, golden like his hair, and she wants to fling her arms around his neck and let him hold her for a few minutes. Just for a few seconds and she would be happy.

"You're late!" Cid shouts at them both, strutting right up to them like he owns the place. It makes Charlie want to smile, remembering the arrogant way about him from all those years ago, walking around base camp. "You're three hours late!"

"We had a sleepy start," Rufus mutters, casting a sideways glance at his sister. "Ask Charlotte about it."

Cid hardly even looks at her. "Well? When're we gonna restart the space program? I'm ready to start today, if you'll—"

Rufus laughs, cutting him off with a raised hand. "No, no, Cid," he says, sighing very loudly. "We're not restarting the space program. I've changed my mind. We're here for your Tiny Bronco. You see, my lovely sister and I are going to find Sephiroth, and we've currently found ourselves temporarily without transportation, and with no time to spare. We need your plane to travel across the ocean."

Cid scoffs, and Charlie feels so sorry for him that she could cry. If he would only look at her, he might be able to see that she's sorry. Thankfully, he does look at her, but it's with a burning anger.

"So first it's the airship, huh?" he snaps. "And then my goddamn rocket? And now you want my Tiny Bronco? You took away my dream, and now you're gonna take the last thing I got?"

"There's no need to act like a thug," Rufus says suddenly, only making Cid angrier, but it quiets him. "You seem to forget, Captain, that it was because of my beautiful sister and Shinra Inc. that you were ever able to fly in the first place."

"Are you kidding me?" Cid growls, his unbruised cheek turning red.

Charlie clears her throat, but neither Rufus nor Cid look away from each other. "Rufus, I'm going to go look at the rocket before we leave."

"Fine."

Cid finally looks at her again at the mention of the rocket. She holds his gaze for as long as she can, trying to look apologetic, trying to look desperate. She needs help, she's trying to say, but she isn't certain that Cid is able to understand that.

She walks away, looking once more over her shoulder. The moment she is out of sight, heading towards the pathway that will lead her to the base of her rocket, Charlie is able to look through the fence into Cid's backyard, where the Tiny Bronco is still parked.

"Hey!" she hisses, pulling herself up, her head springing up from above the fence. Palmer is looking at the plane curiously, talking to himself. "Palmer! Stop it!"

Palmer looks up and blanches, jumping nearly three feet off the ground at the sight of her. "I'm—I'm only doing what the president told me to do!"

"Leave that plane alone, or I'll—"

"Charlie!"

The back door of Cid's house opens with a crash! Charlie can't recall the last time she was so relieved to see someone, especially a group of people she was indifferent towards only a few weeks ago (she can't help but note that they've added another stranger to their merry little band, as well).

Aerith and Tifa run up to the fence, and Charlie drops down to her feet again, speaking through the gaps between the wood. "Did Cait Sith give you my message?" she asks quickly.

"Yes," Tifa replies. "We can't let Shinra get the Tiny Bronco. But how are we supposed to do that? The Captain won't let us have it."

"Tifa," Charlie begins, inhaling deeply, completely as a loss for a plan, "I think this is one of those situations where you're going to have to ask forgiveness rather than permission."

"What about you?" Aerith asks, flinching as the sound of a gunshot splits the air.

Charlie hesitates. She can't see what's going on behind Aerith and Tifa, but she can hear Palmer screaming in surprise. "I'll be okay. If we're both hunting Sephiroth, then I'm sure we'll see each other again soon."

"Come with us," Tifa insists, a small sliver of her face visible, showing off one dark-colored eye. The sound of a propeller fills the air, buzzing buzzing buzzing.

"Tifa! Aerith! We gotta go!" comes Cloud's voice from near the airplane.

Gods, she wants to go. She wants to be with people who will protect her. She wants to be with people who didn't have anything to do with the killing of someone she cared about. But it's too late—the plane is lifting slowly off the ground, wobbling from left to right as Cloud and his friends all jump onto the wings and tail.

"Go," Charlie tells them, taking a few steps back from the fence. "I'll be okay." And then, she remembers something, stepping back up to the girls. "Sephiroth is headed towards a place called the Temple of the Ancients. It's south of here."

"We'll see you there, right?" Aerith asks, placing her face to the gap in the fence. "At the Temple of the Ancients?"

"Let's go!" Barret calls as the plane hovers awkwardly, lifting ever higher.

Tifa and Aerith back away from the fence, joining their friends. Charlie envies them, wishing she could join them. Cid will hate her, of course, and will surely find some way to blame her for Avalanche stealing his plane. And Rufus will be angry about losing his transportation.

Will Rufus blame her for this, as well? Will he bring her back to Midgar and stick her in a cell again to make sure she isn't able to communicate with anyone in the outside world? Will he hit her out of frustration? Beat her until she's in the same state as Cid?

What happens if I leave? I have nothing to hold me back now.

Charlie sprints to the other side of the house, where Rufus and Cid are still arguing back and forth. Cloud slips into the front seat of the plane, struggling with the controls, not quite as practiced a pilot as Cid is. He's lucky he doesn't shake off any of his friends.

"Hey!" Cid screams, watching his plane straighten out, dipping down towards the ground, in danger of hitting the fountain. "Hey! Get back here!"

"Charlie!" Rufus calls out. "Don't you dare!"

"C'mon, Shinra!" Barret looks over his shoulder at Charlie, who's running as fast as she can. "Keep up!"

She isn't going to make it. The plane is going too fast, and her legs are already beginning to hurt. She isn't going to make it, and she'll have to explain herself to Rufus, who will be furious with her decision to leave him at the first opportunity—

"Charlie, grab on!" Aerith leans forward, the arm of Cait Sith's moogle wrapped tight around her, extending her metal staff for Charlie to take hold of.

"Come back here!"

Cid's voice sounds like it's right behind her. Charlie looks back to see him gaining on her, running as fast as he can, catching up to her with a few long strides.

He looks right at her and sighs, still sprinting. "Shit. Hang on, Lottie," he mutters, moving very quickly all at once. One of Cid's arms wraps around her waist while his free hand darts out to take hold of the staff.

Charlie holds onto the front of his jacket, burying her face into his chest as they're being dragged along behind the plane. Her feet leave the ground and Cid shouts in her ear, startling her. She opens her eyes to find that Cid is about to lose his grip on the staff.

Aerith almost falls forward, tumbling right off the airplane, but Yuffie catches her and Tifa helps reel in Charlie and Cid. She continues to cling to him, only letting go when she's able to grab onto everyone else, securing herself a place on the Tiny Bronco. It's impossibly cramped, but the plane isn't showing any signs of slowing.

And then she hears the gunshots, and she can hear Rufus screaming at the guards to stop shooting, but one of the bullets hits the tail and the plane begins to dive as they reach the forest that surrounds Rocket Town. Charlie holds on for dear life, suddenly on the verge of vomiting.

Not again!

"Everyone hold on!" Cloud orders them all, and everyone seems to brace for impact by huddling together with whoever is closest, lowering their heads.

Charlie presses herself against the moogle's body, feeling Red's fur against her back and Aerith's staff pressing against her side. The plane continues to coast for much longer than she expects, and it takes them out over the ocean, until Rocket Town is left behind and the land disappears into the horizon, leaving them surrounded by water.

The plane crashes hard into the ocean, throwing everyone off the plane except for Cloud, who had been lucky enough to find himself in the pilot's chair. Disoriented and dazed, Charlie struggles below the surface for a moment, the water stinging her eyes as she opens them and filling her mouth when she accidentally opens it.

Strong arms bring her to the surface, where she looks around and finds Cid surfacing right in front of her, breathing heavily as he continues to tread water, releasing his grip on her.

"You good?" he asks, ignoring the rest of the group, who are all clambering back onto the plane, soaking wet and looking around for their personal effects.

"I think so," she pants, coughing hoarsely and climbing up onto the left wing.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Cid asks again, scowling at her as he follows. "What the hell is wrong with your brother?"

"I had nothing to do with that," she answers defensively, panting on all fours as she tries to keep from falling off again, her arms and legs shaky. "I didn't have anything to do with Tseng coming to Rocket Town, and I didn't want to lie to you about the space program, but Rufus thought you wouldn't be open to seeing us if you knew we only needed the Tiny Bronco—"

"Damn right!"

"Look, you have no idea what I've been through these past twenty-four hours—"

"I can only imagine how difficult your life is—"

"My helicopter went down during a storm and I almost died," she counters, talking right over Cid, who acts as if she isn't talking. "And now, I just had to survive another plane crash literally not a day later—"

"—know what it's like to have that son of a bitch show up to fuck up my house and break my goddamn face—"

"—didn't ask him to come here and beat you up—"

"—then maybe you shouldn't have run away like he said you did—"

"—expect you to understand what I did and why I did it—"

"Do you two know each other?" Barret asks suddenly, looking very uncomfortable as he watches them argue back and forth.

It seems everyone is watching them argue back and forth, and both Charlie and Cid have the grace to blush. "We've worked together before," she answers for the both of them, having a difficult time looking away from his damaged face. "On the airship, and on the Shinra. No 26."

"She's the one who gave the order to kill Shera," Cid spits, looking pleased with this fact.

"I was only doing my job," Charlie answers through gritted teeth.

"Cid, can we still use this as a boat?" Cloud asks, seemingly the only one oblivious to the argument going on behind him.

"Do whatever you fuckin' want!" Cid tells him bitterly, crossing his arms over his chest, dangling his legs over the wing. The back half of the plane is submerged, but it's still floating. "Thing ain't gonna fly anymore."

"Is everyone okay?" Cait Sith asks.

"Where are we?" Yuffie groans, running her hands through her hair.

"What are you going to do now, Cid?" Cloud says again, climbing out of the pilot's chair to regroup with everyone.

"Hell if I know. There ain't nothin' left in Rocket Town for me now." He glares at Charlie.

"Well, what about your wife?" Cloud asks. "What about Shera?"

"She ain't my wife!" Cid retorts hotly, sparing a quick glance at Charlie and reddening. "Don't make me laugh. I wouldn't marry her if she was the last goddamn woman on the planet." He looks right at Charlie this time, unabashed. "What are you doin' with these numbskulls?"

She looks around and blushes. She doesn't really know herself. "I guess there's nothing left for me in Midgar."

"We're going to be tracking a man called Sephiroth," Cloud explains. "It's possible we'll run into Shinra again if you have grievances to air with them."

"I got plenty of those, but Lottie will hear 'em, won't you?"

"Who's Lottie?" Yuffie looks around with her eyebrows furrowed together.

"Her," Cid answers, gesturing with his chin at Charlie. "Fuck it. I'm comin' with you. Someone's gotta steer the damn plane, and I ain't lettin' it be one of you."

"Well, Rufus said Sephiroth was heading for the Temple of the Ancients. It's on a southern island. He mentioned we'd have to cross the ocean," Charlie tells them, wringing out her hair. She's freezing, and she doesn't have any other clothes to wear.

"First thing's first, we need to find land," Barret adds, looking around them. There's nothing for miles—only water. "Find land, find a town, regroup, and find out about this temple."

"All right, get out of the damn way." Cid wedges himself in the pilot's chair and sighs. "Let's get on with it, then."

Damn her. Damn her father, damn her brother, damn the Turk that fucked him up, damn her company, damn Shinra.

He should have known better than to get his hopes up. He should have known that Rufus fucking Shinra wasn't going to restart the space program. It's just that, Charlie had gotten his hopes up when she had mentioned it shortly after her father died.

Part of him can't believe she's here. She's familiar with these people who are sworn enemies of Shinra. Though he wouldn't go so far to call them friends. He can hear her deflecting all of their questions, questions that he would like answered, as well.

What happened when they took you in Gongaga? Nothing. I'm fine.

Did they hurt you? No, I'm all right.

You said your helicopter crashed? It did, but I'm still alive.

She doesn't give any fucking details, not that he knows what they're talking about, and he's too upset to ask follow-up questions. All she does is twist their questions around to wiggle out of answering them properly, making little jokes to distract them with soft and relieved laughter.

She's a fucking liar, and Cid knows it.

She's a fucking liar, and yet she's crawling on her hands and knees closer to him, and when he glances over his shoulder to make sure that he's not dreaming, Charlie's path to him is interrupted by the girl named Aerith, who pulls her away to introduce her to someone.

"This is Vincent," he hears Aerith say. Cid focuses on the water, the plane propelling them forward. "He was an ex-Turk, you know. Vincent, this is Charlotte Shinra, but we just call her 'Charlie'."

"You were a Turk? When? For how long?"

Cid grits his teeth, listening to Charlie attack Vincent with question after question, but Vincent seems to be more like her than expected, refusing to answer many of her questions at all. Of course she'd be more interested in an ex-Turk, especially one that looks so fucking mysterious and begging to be cracked open for his secrets.

She quiets after a moment, and he can hear her crawling towards him again as everyone breaks off into their own quiet conversations.

"Hey," she says, leaning forward and hanging half off the wing so she can look at the side of his face.

Cid looks sideways at her, just barely. Her lips look a little blue. "Hey."

"Look, I'm really sorry about today," she tells him quietly, dipping her hand into the water and pulling it back right away. "And I'm really sorry about Tseng. I had no idea that he had even come here, and if I knew, I wouldn't have allowed him to—"

"Just shut up, okay?" Cid snaps at her, turning to catch sight of her frown. He expected her to fight back, to snap at him in return, but she just looks absolutely defeated. He wonders if he'll get answers out of her if they're given some alone time. "I didn't mean . . . just, don't apologize to me, all right? Now get up off the wing like that. You're makin' me nervous as hell, kiddo."

"Sorry." She moves back a little bit, but doesn't leave him. "And sorry about your plane. It's my fault. I told Avalanche not to let Rufus have it. Sorry."

"Who are you?" he teases roughly, not wanting to seem like all is forgiven, but not wanting her to shrink away from him. "The Charlotte Shinra I know doesn't apologize for shit."

"A lot has happened since you last saw me," she reminds him.

"Yeah," he says. The death of her father had torn her up, he knows. "How you feelin', Lottie?"

She doesn't answer for a long time, and when Cid turns his head to look at her expectantly, there's a small, tired little smile on her face. "Better now," she admits, shrugging her shoulders and returning to her friends.

"What is that supposed to be?"

Reeve hums, looking down at Marlene. He moves his chair aside so she can look closer at the screen of his laptop. "These are the plans for Sector Seven, once we start rebuilding," he explains, pointing to the screen. "This used to be employee only housing, but we're going to expand it and open it up to the general public. And here, we're going to put a monument and a park . . . and here, see the streets? I'm hoping it will reduce traffic like this."

"Did it always look like that before?" she asks curiously, her eyes following his finger as he points.

"For the most part, yes," he answers. It's nice to have a distraction, seeing as all he's been able to think about lately is how Cid Highwind had somehow managed to join their party of freedom fighters. "But I've changed a few things here and there." Reeve steals another glance at Marlene. "Here, look at this."

He pulls up another screen, showing her the finished plans of the original Sector Seven. These are slightly more detailed, and three-dimensional, as well. He hasn't quite gotten that far with the new plans yet.

"Here's where the reactor is, and here's the beginning of Sector Zero there . . ." He moves the computer closer, glad to see that Marlene is showing such interest. "See what I've done? We've cleared away this section to make the park, and these streets have been expanded to add another lane."

"And you did all this?"

"I had a little help from my staff." He notices the long face she's wearing, and he doesn't have to think hard to guess what she's thinking about. "Do you like your tutor?"

"I guess so."

"You only guess so?"

"I mean . . . she's boring."

Reeve can't argue with that. He had met with the sixty-something year old woman a few days before hiring her to teach Marlene. Apparently, she tutors other children in the town, as well, but she's a stern and severe little thing that reminds him of his own mother.

"Maybe we can find another one, if you dislike her so much," he suggests lightly. "You can help me with the interviewing process next time. Learning shouldn't be boring."

Marlene giggles. It's the first time she's laughed around him since he brought them here to Kalm. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Are you still getting married to Charlie?"

Reeve frowns, faltering. A flush creeps up his face and he tugs anxiously at the knot of his tie. "You sound familiar with her."

"When I was staying at Aerith's house, I played with the kids from the orphanage," Marlene explains. "They said you and Charlie were going to get married soon."

He sighs heavily, touching his left hand as if expecting to find a wedding band there. "Actually . . . no, we're not getting married anymore. Would you like to know a secret, Marlene?"

Her eyebrows shoot up and she nods eagerly, leaning closer to him as he lowers his voice.

"Charlotte is with your father right now," he whispers, unsure as to whether or not telling her that is a good idea. "She's with Barret, Tifa, Cloud, Aerith, and all their friends."

"Really? She's with daddy?"

"Yes," he answers, smiling. "So when they come back, we'll all have to be here to meet them, all right?"

"Okay!"

There's a knock on the doorframe, and he turns to find Elmyra standing in the doorway, looking nervously between Marlene and Reeve. "Dinner's ready, Marlene. Come eat."

"Coming," she replies in a sing-song voice, running out of the room and ducking underneath Elmyra's arm.

"Come join us, Director. There's plenty of food for the three of us."

Reeve clears his throat, hesitating. "Er—perhaps another night. I really should be going. I didn't realize how late it was getting."

"We don't mind, really. Marlene is over the moon about you, ever since your brought her Cat to play with." Elmyra laughs quietly. "She'll never give him back to you, I'm afraid."

He smiles weakly, turning back towards his computer to hide it. He doesn't mind, really. He hadn't had the time to devote to Charlie's cat, and when Marlene had expressed a passive desire about getting a pet, Reeve had brought Cat to Kalm the very next day, to people who did have the time to commit to him.

He decides, in the end, to stay for dinner, and Marlene talks throughout the entire meal. He can't remember the last time someone had cooked a homemade meal for him (Charlie's own cooking skills were not just subpar, but completely lacking at all), and Elmyra's cooking is far better than he expected.

It's odd, Reeve thinks, sitting around a table with the mother of the last surviving Ancient and the daughter of Barret, the leader of Avalanche.

These people should hate him for the sole reason of his affiliation with Shinra, with the vice president of Shinra, and yet they welcome him around their dinner table with open arms, never wary, never skeptical, asking him questions and teasing him until they're able to coerce shy smiles and laughter from him.

It feels almost uncomfortable to intrude upon something so intimate between the two of them. He feels like he's invading their space, their home, just by being here. Reeve feels he already has one foot out the door all throughout dinner, ready to leave at the slightest scowl or frown or show of fear.

But if they fear him at all, the both of them hide it very well. Elmyra is very interested in hearing about the rebuilding of Sector Seven, and Marlene contributes her own ideas every step of the way, asking for him to include a space for Tifa's new bar and a space beside it for her new home once her father returns.

After these last few weeks, Reeve has almost forgotten what it feels like to sit in a room with people who enjoy his company, with people who want him there. It's refreshing and nerve-wracking and intimidating, but once Elmyra pours him a glass of wine, he loosens up a little and talks a little more and comes to appreciate their kindness just as much as they claim to appreciate his.

After being forced back into the third bedroom that's become his temporary office, Reeve sits down on the twin bed. The room was supposed to be Marlene's, but one of the trees outside the windows has a habit of scratching at the glass window panes, and she had moved into the room Reeve intended on using after it frightened her, forcing him to pack everything right back up so he could re-move it all over again.

He isn't certain if it's the show of kindness both Elmyra and Marlene had made towards him tonight, or if it's the idea of having to spy on Charlie and Cid and all of their new friends, or if it's the idea of not marrying Charlie anymore, or if he's just drunk, but he weeps that night, crying quietly into his hands.

The thought of Charlie almost perishing in a helicopter accident had shaken him to his core, and even Marlene hadn't been able to ignore the fact that something was wrong with him.

He has to stop coming here, but there's nowhere else for him to go. His apartment is too empty and lonely, and now he doesn't even have Cat there for company. He has no remaining friends in the city, and his mother is busy caring for some boy she found after the destruction of Sector Seven.

It's inappropriate to be spending time with these people. It's inappropriate to assume that Barret or Tifa or Aerith would ever be okay with him spending so much time with their family. Barret would tear his head off if he knew Reeve had been speaking to his daughter.

When he leaves the bedroom to go for a walk, pulling on a jacket, Elmyra is just closing the door of Marlene's room, tip-toeing away. "Are you leaving?" she asks, looking him up and down.

"Just a walk." Reeve allows her to pass, following behind as she descends the stairs. "Elmyra, I . . ." He hesitates at the landing, but she stops halfway down and turns to face him. Running a hand down his face, Reeve clears his throat. "If you want to take Marlene back to Midgar, then I won't stop you. I don't want you to feel like you're . . . my hostages."

"Have we been your hostages this whole time?" she asks curiously.

It's a fair question, but Reeve isn't really certain that the truth is no. He's bugged the entire house, has considered using them as leverage against Barret and Aerith should it come down to that, and is very involved in their personal affairs to make sure they're not telling anyone anything they shouldn't be.

"Have I made you feel like that?" Reeve answers, hoping that the answer isn't going to make him feel guilty.

Elmyra takes a few moments to answer. "No, I don't think so." She pauses, squeezing the bannister.

Reeve runs a hand through his hair. He shouldn't have come here. That's what he tells himself every time. But here is safe. Here is welcoming. Here is a world away from Shinra, from Rufus, from Charlie.

"If you're unhappy here, then you can leave at any time, no questions asked."

"It's better for Marlene here than to have her live in the slums, don't you think?"

He nods. "Yes. I do."

"Then we'll stay."

"Okay."

He doesn't know why he's getting choked up. People aren't supposed to like him. People are supposed to shrink away from him, to see the amount of money he's wearing and know that he's one of them, an executive at Shinra Inc. People aren't supposed to trust him or like him or invite them into their homes.

"It's cold out," Elmyra notes, even though he's sweating underneath his jacket. "Why don't I make you a cup of tea instead?"

He doesn't deserve this. He's the last person that deserves this. Why is she being so kind to him? He works for the company that kidnapped her daughter. He works for the company that destroyed part of the city and killed all those people.

"No, please, I don't want to trouble you—"

"It's no trouble at all," she answers, looking much more at ease, her grip relaxing on the banister. "Really, I don't mind."

"If it's all the same to you, I—"

"Come have a cup of tea, Director. It's the least I can do for you."

There's something firm about her tone. Reeve doesn't think it's wise to continue resisting. "All right. Sure." He sheds his jacket and tosses it back into the bedroom, making for the kitchen when he's interrupted by the ringing of his phone. "Hello?"

"Is she alive?"

Reeve holds a finger up to Elmyra and steps into the living room. "Yes, she's alive," he answers. "They've all survived." He pauses. "Leave her alone, Tseng."

"The president has ordered her capture, as well as the capture of those involved in her kidnapping," Tseng replies flatly, like he doesn't even care, like he's never cared about her.

"She's happy with them," Reeve tells him, desperate. He doesn't want to see Charlie in a cell again. She doesn't belong there. She doesn't deserve to be caged. "Let her go. Please. I'm begging you. You owe her that."

"I have no intention of handing her over so easily to the president," Tseng confesses, sounding slightly wary about speaking so openly about his plans. "That's why it's imperative that I reach her first."

Reeve looks around, making sure Elmyra isn't listening. "They're heading for the Temple of the Ancients, but they're still trying to find land first. Look, I don't think she's very happy with you, anyway. She knows that you made a visit to Rocket Town."

"Oh, that." Tseng is quiet for a moment. Reeve feels a sudden surge of hope. Perhaps he does have a friend. Perhaps he does have an ally. "I don't think she's upset with me about that. She's convinced that I killed Veld and Felicia."

Reeve doesn't quite know how to respond to such an outrageous statement. "But . . . they're alive—"

"I know that. But Charlotte doesn't."

"Why would you tell her that, Tseng? You've probably broken her heart—"

"I didn't call you for a lecture, Director. I called you for information regarding Charlotte."

He exhales through his nose. "Fine. I'll call you when we reach land."

"Thank you. And I would appreciate it if you didn't say anything about Veld."

"Why? Charlie would be thrilled to hear he's still alive."

"It's better this way," Tseng answers, hanging up without bothering to say good-bye.