"You're lucky the director found you when he did." A woman in a pristine lab coat circled around him, tapping her pen on a notepad. She seemed preoccupied as she quickly flicked her gaze from patient to patient. She finally looked at him, and smiled, revealing gleaming veneers. She swept her curly locks onto one shoulder and tilted her head endearingly to the side. She was young and cute, and had been friends with Zack before she got her position at Shinra.

"Why didn't you contact Shinra at the first sign of Mako poisoning?" She asked, placing a hand on his forearm to check his IV.

"I . . . I didn't realize." Zack replied slowly. His head stilled throbbed. The doctored, Azline glanced down at her clipboard, frowning.

"Well, it says here that you've been doing exceptionally well on you're missions." Azline looked up at him, confused. "How is it that you've been fine up until a few hours ago?"

"I don't know." Zack confessed.

"You're body has done very well with Mako therapy in the past. There should be no reason for you to react so negatively as of late. Unless, of course, something psychologically jarring has happened, but that's impossible because Shinra would have been alerted."

Azline leaned in closer to him and he could smell the perfume that lingered on her bosom. "Zack . . ." She paused, "Is there something I need to know?"

Zack smiled. "No, I'm fine. I promise."

She looked at him oddly, "Because if you're keeping something from Shinra . . ." Her eyes became scared for a split second, as if she knew exactly what would happen, but she regained control and once again became stoic. "Mr. Fair, please be careful."

"Azaline, really I'm fine. Just a little pressured." he lied and began to rise from the gurney.

She stopped him with her outstretched hand, gently pushing on his chest, "if you are feeling pressure-"

"Yeah, I know," Zack interrupted, "I need to tell Shinra. I'm fine, everything's fine."

"Not quite. You need to go to psychoanalysis until your condition is stable. Its mandatory once a person has Mako poisoning, but it shouldn't take long. Until it's cleared up, I'm afraid that you're on leave."

Zack's mouth fell open. "Leave, as in fired?"

She laughed softly, "leave as in temporary. You'll be back in less then a week, its really just a precaution. Most SOLDIER's have to take leave at some point during their Mako therapy, it's just odd that you're getting sick at the end very end."

Zack fell back, relieved. He couldn't help the itching feeling that maybe the stress of two jobs and the lack of sleep had caused him to do this to himself. Azline had said something about 'mind jarring' situations. Could what happened the night before at the HoneyBee Manor have contributed? But he didn't have time to think about any of that. He was just glad that he could finally have a few good nights sleep for once.

But was it really over with Don Corneo? Wouldn't he and his thugs be after Zack? He had, after all, disrespected a patron and stormed out.

"Zack, you can leave now."

"Huh? Oh, thanks Azline." He got up and pulled the tubes that attached to his body. Blood and Mako squirted from the plastic for a second before they died down and fell limp. Azeline stood up swiftly. "Zack Strife by leave now I meant after I pulled the IV's from your limbs!"

He brushed the pinpricks of blood that were forming on his inner elbow away and shrugged, "haha, sorry I guess I have someplace I need to be."

She groaned and began to clean up the mess that the IV's had made (and continued to make) on the white floor. "Goddam Zack! Why do you need to be so impulsive?"

He shrugged, scratching his head. He knelt down and grabbed the sheet of the gurney to soak up the blood and spilled Mako that continued to drip from the bag. "Sorry."

omg sorry wicked boring chapter. Didn't really explain much either haha