There you go, ladies and gents. Two chapters up in one day to compensate for the shortness. The next one will be quite a bit longer. I give you my word.

Cheers!

Kyyrin

Chapter Three

Vincent awoke slowly, feeling uncomfortably warm.

Weakly, he opened his eyes in an attempt to survey his surroundings. Still slightly dizzy, he blinked a few times to clear his vision. He was in bed, in his room, with his pajamas on. Before he even had a chance to wonder how he got there, he heard voices in the hall outside his room.

"The boy failed again?!? What was President Shinra thinking when he sent such an invalid to work for me?", came Hojo's high-pitched, nasal voice.

"Doctor, may I remind you that he is not here for you, but for myself?"

Lucrecia.

"He's merely over-worked, sleep-deprived, and as a result, ill. Give him a few days off and he should be fine! Please!", she pleaded.

"I'll have none of that, Lucrecia. He still needs to be up in fifteen minutes to patrol the manor grounds. Sick or not."

"Doctor!" Lucrecia's voice was now trembling. "Can't you see that you're sending him to catch his death out there? He's already ill, and if he goes out in the cold, he might……..die! He's done nothing to deserve that sort of punishment! Would you kill an innocent human being?"

Hojo didn't answer.

Lucrecia went on.

"If you want to punish someone, punish me for failing to notice that he wasn't feeling well, and not forcing him to stay in bed."

For this, Hojo had an answer.

"Hmmmm. Maybe I should think up a punishment for you. You did, after all, leave all that expensive equipment on the plains just to drag that useless Turk back here. I can only hope that the search group I sent out returns with at least half of it working condition."

Vincent's eyes widened. Lucrecia had brought him back here? And left all that near to priceless equipment standing on the field?

His thoughts were interrupted as Hojo spoke again.

"I have it! The perfect punishment for a passionate scientist like yourself. You are now bound to care for the Turk until he is well enough to take up his duties again. That means no experiments, and therefore, no work."

Vincent heard Lucrecia give a small gasp.

"B-but, Doctor! Don't you need me to help yo-------"

"Silence, girl. I can get along fine on my own for a while. Besides, this will teach both of you to follow orders next time. Good day, Dr. Crescent. And don't even think about showing your face in the labs until the rat is fully recovered."

He heard Hojo walk away, snickering.

Suddenly Lucrecia called out, "Doctor? Does that mean Vincent won't have to exterminate monsters until he's well either?"

Hojo gave a sigh of frustration. "He'd better be at least partially fit for duty again in a week."

And with that, Hojo was gone, slamming the hallway door behind him.

Vincent heard Lucrecia let out a small sigh of relief.

A period of silence followed. And then, Vincent heard a small sob come from the hallway. Fury built up within him.

Hojo. That bastard had made Lucrecia cry. It was foreign to him, but he knew she needed to be comforted. He owed it to her.

He sat up slowly, so as not to provoke the dizziness into coming back, and realized, much to his dismay, that he felt worse than yesterday morning.

Along with the runny nose, sneezes, coughing, and horribly sore throat, he'd now acquired a headache worse than it had previously been. His head felt heavy and thick, and pounded mercilessly. Not to mention that the uncomfortable feeling of being hot and cold at the same time had profoundly escalated. He wondered fleetingly how high his fever was.

He bit his lip and stepped onto the cool floor, which made him shiver. As he put on his slippers he noticed a glass of water, some cough syrup and a pile of handkerchiefs had been placed on his night table. A small smile touched his lips. Lucrecia must really be worried.

He stood, but this time took it easy, remembering what happened when he last made sudden movements. Walking slowly to the door, he placed his hand on the knob, turning it only when he heard more quiet sobs from outside.

Opening the door, Vincent peered into the hallway. The sight that met his eyes almost broke his heart. Lucrecia was sitting across the hall, slumped, sitting with her back against the wall, shuddering with sobs.

"H-How could he b-be s-so cruel", she sobbed uncontrollably. "It's s-so unf-fair of him…"

Vincent winched. The one thing he hated above all else was seeing her cry. And it was his fault that she was in this dilemma. He was sick, and because of the trouble he'd caused, she was paying the price for it. His heart sank. The only thing he could do now was apologize, comfort her as best he could, and tell her he would speak with Hojo and commence his duties in an hour.

He walked across the hall slowly, and knelt down beside her. She hadn't noticed him yet, so he prepared to speak.

"Lucrecia, I'm sorry……", he began. But his voice was so hoarse, and his throat so sore, that the apology trailed off as barely a whisper.

She raised her head and looked at him, her eyes red and puffy from crying. But now they also had the telltale signs of anger and frustration flashing in them.

"Sorry? You're sorry?? What did I tell you about apologizing, Vincent? You don't need to apologize! You could perhaps say 'thank you', or 'I appreciate your concern", but I guess such phrases haven't crossed your mind!"

She stopped short, staring at him in horror. She couldn't believe what she had just said. She had absolutely no right let her anger and frustration out on him, of all people.

She immediately felt horrible as an extremely hurt expression crossed his face, and it was clear to her how deeply she had wounded him. She had no right to say something like that to anyone, especially not to a person who was devoting the majority of his precious time to her.

"Vincent, I-----"

"No, it's alright", he cut in. "I understand how you feel. I'll go speak to Dr. Hojo and report for duty in an hour", he said stiffly. Rising quickly, he made to move back to his room. That was a mistake.

Vincent felt the dizziness overpower him again. If he hadn't had an abominably empty stomach, he probably would have emptied its contents onto the hallway floor.

He couldn't see straight. He couldn't see at all.

Lucrecia's eyes widened in fear as she saw Vincent fighting just to retain consciousness. She leaped up and caught him before he fell face first onto the floor. As she sat there, cradling his head in her arms, the tears began to flow again. She felt so guilty. Stroking the sweat-matted hair off his burning forehead, she wiped away her tears.

It wouldn't do to sit here and cry when Vincent needed tending to. She gently hoisted his arm over her shoulders, and used every ounce of her strength to lift him up. Slowly but surely she managed to carry him to his bed and lay him down. She went and wet a cloth with ice-cold water, and, placing it on his forehead, she covered him with his thick blanket.

She sat on the edge of his bed and watched as he slowly regained consciousness. He moaned softly, and stared up at her, a little confused.

"Vincent?", she spoke gently, stroking his hair. "I think it's my turn to apologize. It was wrong of me to lash out at you for something as petty as that. I'm so sorry. Can you forgive me?"

Vincent stared, not even bothering to hide his surprise.

"What?…But…Of course I forgive you. But it's not your fault!", he whispered painfully. "I should have recognized my weakness, and at least have taken the day off. I guess I was too caught up in my job…"

Lucrecia laughed. "Well, before we start arguing over whose fault it is, let's just settle on the fact that we both made mistakes. That way we'll be even. I'll think positively!", she forced a smile. "I guess Hojo just indirectly told me that I have a week of vacation!"

"All right…", Vincent murmured, but his words caught. He winced at the pain, weakly clasping his throat.

"Oh Planet, Vincent. Does it hurt that much?" Lucrecia inquired with concern. "Here".

She picked up the cough syrup he had seen earlier from his night table.

"Take some of this. It'll help your throat as well as your cough. Can you sit up?"

He didn't think he could, but didn't dare ask for assistance either. He managed to sit up half way, before his hand flew to his head and he began to feel dizzy again. Lucrecia noticed, and wrapped an arm around his waist, gently pulling him up and leaning him against the backboard of his bed. He closed his eyes in an attempt to fight the overwhelming urge to throw up.

Lucrecia eyed him exasperatedly, before forcing a spoonful of the medicine into his mouth.. "Vincent, you have to learn to ask for help. You look like you might be sick any second. Should I get you a------------".

"No!", he said harsher than he meant too. "I mean, no thank you. I just feel nauseous." He paused. He knew that there was nothing in his stomach to throw up. He hadn't eaten since the day before yesterday. And even then, it had only been an apple.

Lucrecia frowned slightly. "I'm a bit worried about your dizzy spells. I don't think they're from the fever. Are you drinking enough?"

"Yes". It wasn't a lie. He'd been drinking massive amounts of water because his throat had been so sore and dry.

"Hmmmm. All right, then what have you had to eat lately, other than that big breakfast of yours yesterday?", she asked peering at him with those beautiful, twinkling brown eyes he had grown to love so much.

Sighing, he realized he couldn't lie again. He already felt guilty that he had lied to her about the breakfast and he knew from past experiences that lying didn't get him anywhere with Lucrecia.

"I….", he paused. "I haven't really eaten……anything at all lately."

Lucrecia's shock was evident.

"W-What? Well when was the last time you ate? I mean breakfast isn't enough to keep a grown man going all day…….."

"I…um….Lucrecia?"

"Yes?"

He inhaled as deeply as he could through his plugged up nose. He hated to admit that he had lied as much as he hated lying in itself.

"I….I didn't eat breakfast yesterday. I lied, and I'm sorry. I just…..haven't been hungry lately. The last real meal I had was dinner about two days ago", he managed, feeling worse by the second.

Lucrecia looked at him, her mouth hanging slightly open.

And then, she did something that Vincent would have never expected.

She got up without a word, and left.

The next, longer chapter should be up by tommorow. Cya all around!