"How soon can she leave?" Reno asked the doctor when he came back to check on Elena, who had fallen back asleep.

"I'd like to keep her here at least three days, because I'd want to make sure the drugs are out of her system when we release her, and we could monitor her during the worst of her withdrawal." The doctor replied.

"Could she leave today?"

"If it wasn't for the drugs, she could be released anytime. Her other injuries are healing nicely without any sign of infection." The doctor left as Rude came back in.

"What did you do to piss off the Captain?" Rude asked.

"What I do best." Reno replied. "Would you mind going to get me a cup of coffee?"

"You're really not leaving her side, are you?"

"Nope, and two creams and one sugar please."

Reno went to use the bathroom as Rude left, and when he opened the door, he saw someone in an orderly outfit with a pillow in their hands approaching Elena's bed. They didn't see Reno because he was behind them. He quietly got his gun out of the holster and approached the man. When the man got closer to the bed, Reno stuck the muzzle in their back.

"Unless you do exactly what I tell you, this will be your last day on Earth." Reno said quietly. "Start by dropping that pillow."

Rude walked back to Elena's room with another hot cup of coffee and was greeted by an empty room, except for the handcuffed and gagged orderly. All those tubes attached to Elena were just lying on her empty bed.

"Dammit!" Rude exclaimed. "He really is the best at pissing people off!" He pulled out his cellphone and dialed a number.

"He's disappeared and taken the girl with her. What should I do, Captain?" Rude asked, moving the phone away from his ear until Tseng calmed down some. "Will do."

Reno opened the door to his apartment and looked around before carrying Elena in and gently laying her down on his bed.

"Go back to sleep Ellie, you'll be safe here for a while. I'll be on the couch if you need me." Reno told her.

Elena wouldn't let go of his hand, and she started to pull him down on the bed.

"What are you doing?" Reno asked.

"I just want you to hold me til I fall asleep, that's all." she replied.

Reno did as she asked, and Elena put her head on his chest. She was soon lulled to sleep by the steady rhythm of his heart beating and the comforting warmth of his arms around her.

When he noticed Elena had fallen asleep, Reno realized he couldn't get up without probably waking her up again. He wasn't sure how smart it was to be in his bed with her. He still remembered that day when Cloud and Elena found out that their parents had been killed in a car accident, and the resulting incident.

"You wanna be a cop?" Cloud asked Reno in surprise as they were working on his car.

"Why not? You get a gun and a badge, and chicks love that danger stuff." Reno replied.

"Yeah, that danger stuff is so much fun, nothing like getting shot at or stabbed for job fulfillment." Cloud remarked.

"Shoot first and you'll be fine." Reno said.

"Do you want some lemonade?" Elena came out of the house with a glass of iced lemonade, and brought it over to Reno.

"Where's mine?" Cloud asked his sister.

"In the house." Elena waved negligently towards the door.

"Thanks, Ellie." Reno said as he took the glass from her, noticing she was wearing her bikini.

"If you want more, just lemme know." Elena said before walking back into the house.

Cloud watched Reno's eyes follow his sister's every move. "Hey buddy, we're supposed to be working on the car, you're not supposed to be working on Ellie."

"Huh?" Reno asked.

"Leave her alone unless you're serious."

"You said we're supposed to be working on this car, didn't you?" Reno said, not wanting to talk about Elena anymore.

"Maybe I should be a cop too." Cloud mused as they resumed their work.

A little while later, a police car stopped in front of their house, and the cop got out and approached them.

"Which of you is Cloud Strife?" he asked, looking down at his notepad.

"I am, what's the problem, officer?" Cloud said as Elena came back out to see what was going on.

"There was a fatal car accident in front of the mall earlier today, and the victims have been identified as Tim and Rita Strife. I'm sorry." the cop explained.

Elena screamed and fell to the ground. Reno reached her before Cloud and picked her up.

"I'll take care of her." Reno said. "You take care of this." He took Elena back in the house and laid her down on the couch, pouring her a glass of lemonade.

"Here, Ellie, drink something." Reno held the glass for her as she drank, her hands weren't steady enough to hold the glass herself.

The day of the funeral, Reno and Cloud supported Elena through the service. At their house afterwards, Elena had disappeared, and Reno went looking for her at Cloud's request. He found her in their parents' bedroom, staring at the empty bed.

"Ellie." Reno said gently, putting his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm an orphan now." Elena said, a solitary tear coursing its way down her cheek.

Reno took her in his arms, not sure what else to do. "But you're not alone, you've got Cloud and you've got me. I'll always be here for you."

Elena cried more freely then, and Reno just held her, stroking her hair until she calmed down. When she looked up at him, the sight of her tear-stained face did something to him. He kissed her, unsure why he did it, but Elena responded far more than he thought she would, and before he knew it, she was pulling him down to the bed. That's when he pulled away from her.

"Ellie, what are you doing? I was just trying to comfort you."

"That's all I wanted, some comfort. I'm sorry I'm so repulsive to you!" Elena snapped and stood up.

"You're not repulsive at all, it's just that…" Reno started to say.

"Am I interrupting anything?" Cloud said from the doorway.

"Nothing, nothing at all!" Elena exclaimed and stormed out the door.

Cloud gave Reno a sharp look before following his sister back to the guests. Reno rubbed the back of his neck and headed downstairs again as well.

Reno remembered he never got a chance to make that up to Elena, because it was soon after that she disappeared and returned as a junkie prostitute. Even if Cloud hadn't made him promise to look after Elena two days before he was gunned down, Reno would have done it anyways, because he felt her owed it to her. Not only for that scene the day of her parent's funeral, but because Cloud only became a cop because Reno was, and he was sure that was somehow related to Cloud's murder.