A/N: Two chapters to go after this one! + the epilogue. I'm so excited! How 'bout you guys? If you're excited please review! haha.
Oh also, I've noticed that when talking about infantrymen I sometimes write with a capital 'I' and sometimes with a lowercase 'i'. I simply cannot make my mind up and I'm sorry if you've noticed and it has annoyed you. It just happens... and to be honest I don't really care. Anyway. Random blabbing is over and you can read the chapter now =]
It was midday when Kayli woke up. She was surprised that she'd slept in so late and now only had a few hours or so left to explore Corel before having to leave. As her mother always used to tell her, if she slept late it meant she had needed it. It seemed logical to Kayli since today had been the first day since Liam had shown up at ShinRa that she hadn't needed to get up and go to classes right away. Her body must have decided to take advantage of the situation and catch up on some rest that it needed in the aftermath of everything that had happened.
As she swung her legs over the edge of the bed the world spun and she quickly stopped what she was doing, staring down at the floor and gripping her head. She'd probably just moved a bit too fast.
However, as she sat there and realised she was now starting to feel sick as well, she assumed it wasn't from sitting up too fast. Her head continued to pound and even when she closed her eyes she felt like she was swaying from side to side. A slight groan escaped her lips and she slowly eased herself back down onto the bed.
How had she not noticed as soon as she woke up that she felt terrible? Her nose was blocked, too! It felt as though she'd been run over by a truck three times.
The sound of the door opening came to her attention and she cracked her eyes open to see Jensen walking in. Great! She was even in bed longer than him and he was injured!
"Um, Roy?" he said cautiously, approaching her bed slowly.
"Yeah?" she croaked and suddenly found that her throat felt like sandpaper as well as everything else that had already gone wrong.
"Zack wanted me to tell you that if you don't get up soon you won't have any time to explore Corel at all. He wants to leave sooner than planned since we're not actually doing anything." Jensen explained.
"Tell him," Kayli paused to swallow, trying to ease the pain in her throat slightly. It didn't work. "Tell him I'd like to leave as soon as possible as well."
"Are you okay?" Jensen asked curiously then, frowning as he looked down at her. She had closed her eyes again since her head really didn't like the light coming in but she still felt terrible and almost didn't have enough energy to answer him. Speaking didn't seem to be a good idea for her body either.
"Sick," was all she said, letting out another groan and rolling away from Jensen. Thankfully he didn't ask for any more details, only turning and walking towards the door again.
"I'll let Zack know."
It felt like a million years before the door opened again and voices reached Kayli's ears. She could hear Cloud and Jinx talking as well as the voices of some of the other infantrymen, but she wasn't focusing on them since her head still pounded. Then she heard the clomp of boots approaching her bed and opened her eyes slightly to see Zack looking down at her with his hands on his hips.
"So," he said. "You're sick?"
She nodded, beginning to cough. It felt as though her throat was being torn apart and she wished she could stop but there was a tickle and it wasn't going away!
"We're heading out now," Zack informed her, reaching down for her bag and weapon. "I called earlier this morning to see if we could get picked up before the set time but still allowed for enough time so everyone could explore. I assume you'll want to leave as soon as possible as well?"
"Yes, please," Kayli managed to say in between coughs.
Zack nodded and turned away, throwing her stuff on his bed before going around and helping everyone else pack their stuff away and get ready to leave.
"Hey, Kayli," Cloud said quietly, having moved over now that all his stuff was ready to go. "Are you okay?"
"Sick," she said a second time, glad that her coughs had eased somewhat now.
"Yuck," Cloud commented. "At least we're leaving now."
"Yeah," Kayli sighed. "Do you think there's... materia for something like this?"
"Probably," Cloud shrugged to show that he didn't actually know for sure. "ShinRa's got all sorts of things and you never hear of SOLDIERs getting sick, do you? They must have some way to heal them so they can keep going out on missions and stuff."
"Then I guess it depends on whether I'm important enough," Kayli chuckled, wincing as it hurt her head.
"Don't worry about it," Cloud said. "I'm sure you'll get better soon either way."
"Thanks."
With the conversation over, Cloud went back over to his things and picked them all up, preparing to leave. Since everyone else had their things together as well now, Kayli decided it was time to try again at standing up.
Ever-so-slowly, she pushed herself into a sitting position. Then she eased her legs off the side of the bed again and cautiously stood up. So far, so good. She felt really dizzy standing, but at least she hadn't fallen over like she first feared she might.
"Time to go!" Zack announced, grabbing his stuff and Kayli's before heading out the door. Everyone followed after him but Cloud stayed back a bit to help Kayli out since she still wasn't very confident on her own two feet.
It was good to be back in the helicopter and Kayli closed her eyes again once sitting down, leaning her head back and trying to get some sleep. Hopefully if she could sleep on the way back to ShinRa she'd be feeling a bit better when they arrived and wouldn't need quite as long to recover from whatever was making her feel like this.
Thankfully no one tried to talk to her and, despite the sound of others talking amongst themselves and the sound of the helicopter blades, she was soon asleep. Fortunately this meant she wouldn't have to be shifting around uncomfortably for the duration of the flight as she would have been if she was awake for it. On the other hand, it meant the flight felt too short and Kayli was being gently shaken by Cloud in what felt like a few minutes after she closed her eyes.
When she and Cloud stepped off the helicopter, they both looked sick. Kayli had forgotten about Cloud's dislike for flying – and, apparently, motion sickness – but now she remembered as she saw his green-tinged face.
The other infantrymen that Kayli still didn't know headed off almost right away and then she was left with Cloud, Jensen, Jinx and Zack. Cloud was doing his best to keep it all together, Jensen was fiddling with his pirate eye patch, Jinx was watching Kayli with narrowed eyebrows and Zack was pulling his bag out from the helicopter to dump it on the ground.
"Get over to the infirmary," Zack said as he turned to face the two that were sick. "As soon as you can."
"Yes, Sir," Cloud said, swallowing continuously as if trying to keep his food down. Kayli wanted to make him feel better somehow but was too preoccupied with her headache and tired limbs.
Picking up her bag somehow, Kayli began walking off with Cloud. She heard Jensen and Jinx muttering behind them quietly for a moment before suddenly Jensen jogged to catch up and walked beside her.
"I'm gonna come," he said as she glanced across at him. "Just so they can check on my eye... well it's not really an eye any more but you know what I mean."
"Yeah," Kayli nodded, then sighed sleepily.
"What's up with Jinx?" Cloud asked, one of his hands on his stomach and his eyes fixed on the ground as he walked.
"What about him?" Jensen asked curiously, glancing over his shoulder briefly before looking over at Cloud again.
"He hasn't stopped staring at me and Kayli since we got in the helicopter to come home." Cloud explained with a small shrug. It was obvious that small movement were all he could handle without making himself feel worse.
"Ah," Jensen said, straightening slightly at what Cloud had said. "It's nothing."
"Come on," Cloud said, lifting his eyes from the ground to look over at the other boy. "Now you have to tell me!"
"No really," Jensen said uncomfortably. "I don't think I should-"
"But if it's got something to do with me and Roy," Cloud cut in. "We should be allowed to know."
Jensen was silent for a moment as he thought it over. He supposed it wasn't too bad, but he still didn't want them to get angry at him or Jinx for it if they were wrong. Part of him also didn't want to tell them in case Jinx was right.
"Jinx has noticed..." Jensen trailed off and folded his arms, changing his mind and starting to chew on his lip.
"It can't be that hard to say," Cloud teased with a small grin.
"Okay fine." Jensen breathed in deeply. "Jinx noticed you two have been pretty close to each other, like with touching and stuff, and he thinks Roy's cheating on Davis."
Kayli almost stopped walking at those words. When had she touched Cloud? She didn't remember doing anything like that!
"Um..." Cloud said awkwardly, his face bright red as he looked at Kayli desperately for help.
"I haven't-" Kayli stopped, frowning as she tried to remember what happened whenever she spoke to Cloud. Realisation slowly dawned on her then, as she realised that she tended to touch his arm or shoulder when they spoke. It didn't mean they were together, though! Maybe it was just something she did because she was a girl?
"Sorry," Jensen mumbled, genuinely feeling that way as he watched his feet. "I know it's none of my business."
"I'm not gay!" Cloud finally managed to say, deciding to save himself since Kayli still appeared half lost in her own thoughts.
"Okay." Jensen was still watching his feet and didn't look interested in continuing the conversation at all.
"And Roy's not cheating on Davis," Cloud said, glancing at Kayli with a frown before looking at Jensen again. "He's just like that."
"I said okay."
Silence came over them and they walked the rest of the way to the infirmary without talking at all. Reaching the room, they all entered and headed over to the medical staff. Jensen walked over to a doctor who had treated his eye and Cloud and Kayli were left to explain their problems to the rest of the staff.
"Actually," Cloud said when he was asked what was wrong with him. "I'm fine now. It was just a bit of motion sickness but it's gone."
The staff turned their attention to Kayli and she quickly explained that she felt terrible, allowing them to diagnose her from all her symptoms. Cloud hung around for a moment as she was sent to bed and then left, heading back to his room quickly.
He had things to talk to the others about before Kayli got back.
Two days later Kayli was released from the infirmary and headed back to her shared room. She felt great, now! Her headache, sore throat and blocked nose were all gone. She didn't feel tired any more either and was so glad she'd been able to rest in the infirmary for two days. She'd definitely needed it.
The corridors were fairly quiet as she walked and she decided to call her parents before she got to her room. She had called them once before leaving on the mission since she now had to call once a week and decided now was a good time, especially because the day was significant.
Pulling out her PHS, she dialled her home phone number and waited, walking slower than before.
"Hello, Mrs Peters speaking," came the voice on the other end once someone picked up. Kayli smiled.
"Hey Mum."
There was a gasp and then, "Oh Kayli! You beat us to it!"
"To what?" Kayli laughed.
"Calling!" her mother chuckled. "Happy birthday, honey."
"Thanks," Kayli said, feeling incredibly glad that her parents now knew where she was and she was able to call like this without getting into an awkward conversation. She knew she should have been more honest with them in the beginning but she couldn't change that now.
"How has your day been?" her mother asked.
"Oh, alright so far," Kayli said vaguely, choosing not to tell of her visit to the infirmary since she didn't want her mother to worry. She was fine now, anyway, so it didn't matter.
"I hope the rest of it is great," her mother said sincerely. "Hold on, your father wants to speak to you."
Kayli waited patiently before hearing her father's voice.
"Hey, happy birthday!"
"Thanks Dad," Kayli grinned. "Miss me?"
"Insanely," he confirmed. "Are you a SOLDIER yet?"
Kayli laughed and replied, "No Dad, I haven't even taken the exam yet."
"Don't worry," her father said warmly. "There's no way they'll reject you."
Kayli sighed happily and then continued talking to him for a bit, telling about the mission she'd recently been on but making sure to tell it in a safe way so that it didn't sound like she'd been in any danger at all.
When she reached her room door, she told him she had to go and said goodbye, also saying goodbye to her mother who quickly got on the phone again before finally hanging up and putting it back in her pocket.
Stretching slightly, she opened the door and stepped inside.
"Welcome back and happy birthday!"
Before she could react, Davis had swept her up into a hug and she laughed, hugging him back. Looking over his shoulder she could see balloons and frowned, wondering where on earth they'd come from. Cloud and Alec also stood behind Davis, grinning.
"Thanks, guys," Kayli grinned, pulling back from the hug. Suddenly she frowned and tilted her head, staring at Davis in confusion. He raised an eyebrow at her and she folded her arms. "You grew."
"Ah yes," Davis chuckled. "That happens."
"But it's my birthday, not yours!" Kayli whined.
"I'll keep it in mind for next year that you want to grow taller," Davis teased with a smile. "Anyway, how old are you now? I forgot."
"Fifteen!" Kayli said happily.
"Sweet!" Davis said.
"Come on," Alec interrupted. "Open your presents!"
Kayli looked over at him with a raised eyebrow and folded her arms before glancing around the room.
"Presents?"
Grinning cheekily, Alec bent down to reach under his bed and pulled out two wrapped gifts of different sizes. One was fairly small and the other was a medium size.
"This one's from me and Cloud," Alec said as he passed her the medium-sized gift before adding, "And Gemma."
Eyes lighting up, Kayli quickly unwrapped it to see what they'd gotten her. She hadn't been expecting this at all! She'd only mentioned her birthday very briefly, and that was a while ago! She had no idea when their birthdays were!
Finally the object was revealed and Kayli laughed. "Water-proof make-up. Thanks, guys."
"There should be a note from Gemma in there too," Alec said and Kayli opened the box to find a slip of paper which had been carefully folded and placed in there.
Reading it, Kayli smiled.
Hey Kayli! Happy Birthday!
I thought I'd buy this for you since Alec tells me you have a make-up problem every swimming lesson. Don't take it the wrong way! Anyway, I've made sure everything you need is in here so use it the same way I taught you to use the other stuff and you should be fine.
Have a great day!
Love, Gemma
"Nice," Kayli said as she looked up again, closing the box and smiling around at her friends.
"This one..." Alec passed the smaller gift across to Davis who then turned to Kayli with a grin.
"This one's from me and Rex."
As Kayli took the present from Davis, she giggled. It didn't take her long to unwrap it and she found herself looking down at a necklace. It was a plain silver chain with a rectangular pendant that had letters carved into it. Kayli squinted and brought it closer to her face before gasping in excitement.
It read, 'SOLDIER'.
"Thank you so much!" Kayli exclaimed, hugging Davis tightly. "Is Rex still in the infirmary? I want to go thank him!"
"Yeah, he is," Davis nodded, frowning slightly.
"Is he okay?"
"I hope so. He just seems so sad all the time now," Davis sighed. "He might not be allowed to become a Turk."
"They told him that?" Kayli exclaimed, horrified.
"He said they're not telling him anything yet, which doesn't sound too good." Davis folded his arms and Kayli frowned.
"I'll go see him now, then," she said. "Unless you have anything else planned first?"
"No, you can go," Davis grinned.
"Okay, see you all later! Thanks so much for the presents!" Kayli quickly put her things in her bag under her bed and then headed to the door, leaving the room and making her way back towards the infirmary.