Champagne Sunrise

The first thing that Fang felt when she woke up was pain, and plenty of it. It felt a lot like someone had grabbed a big piece of wood and tried to work out just how many times they could whack her with it without killing her. A crooked sort of smile tugged at her lips as she realised that wasn't all that far from the truth.

Real slowly, because right now it kind of hurt even to smile, she forced her eyes to open so that she could take a look around. For starters, she was on a bed, not the softest one she'd ever been on, but nice enough. There was a blanket pulled up to cover her right up to the shoulders, and she could feel a whole lot of bandages wrapped around her body, most of them by her gunshot wound. There was some furniture around the room too, a table, a chair, and set of drawers. They were all a little worn in, but it was a good kind of worn in, the kind that came from long use and fine quality. Then she saw the figure slumped over in a chair in the corner and this time the smile on her face wasn't crooked at all.

Lightning was there on the chair, her legs stretched out in front of her and her head leaning against the back of the chair. The sheriff's hat was laid out on Fang's bedside table, her pink hair falling unbound over her shoulders. Just like Fang, Lightning had a fair few bandages, a couple of them peeking out from beneath the half buttoned shirt she was wearing. That last part in particular drew Fang's eye, and despite the situation, she couldn't help but sneak a quick look at the patch of toned stomach that the half-buttoned shirt exposed. However, her smile faded and a frown crossed her face as she realised just how many bandages Lightning had wrapped around her middle. Was the sheriff hurt? Fang hadn't really been able to pay too much attention to things back when she'd been fighting on the dam, and after that she'd been too busy trying not to bleed to death to really notice anything. Still, Lightning couldn't be too badly off if she was sitting there rather than lying down in a bed some place.

But what really got to Fang was the look on Lightning's face. She'd gotten pretty used to seeing a scowl on Lightning's face, but she'd seen some softer looks on Lightning too, especially as they'd gotten closer and closer to the Al Bhed. Right now though, Lightning's expression was the softest, most unguarded that she'd ever seen it. Whatever frantic need drove Lightning, whatever shadow of the past still pushed her along, none of it was there. Instead, Lightning was just sleeping, her face so calm and peaceful that Fang wanted nothing more than to just reach out and touch her. It was only the immediate stab of pain that she felt when she tried to sit up that made her do otherwise.

Fang had never been much for staring, but she must've stared for a good long while until the door opened and Serah bustled in. The younger Farron took one look at Fang staring at Lightning and smiled. It was a real crafty kind of smile, the kind Vanille usually got when she was planning something tricky. Fang quickly pulled her eyes over to Serah.

"Well, it looks like you're finally awake," Serah said. She smiled gently this time. "We were real worried for a while."

Fang cleared her throat a few times. Even so, her voice came out all hoarse, like she hadn't used it in days. "What happened? How long has it been?"

Serah sat down on the edge of Fang's bed and brought one hand up to the taller woman's forehead to check her temperature. "It's been a week since you and the others settled things up on the dam." She pursed her lips. "Me and the others got the Al Bhed out of the village safely, but we didn't know if it would be safe to go back or not until you and the others turned up bleeding all over the place and looking half dead," she said it lightly, but Fang caught the undercurrent of worry and wondered just how bad they had looked when they had turned up. "Once we knew that things were fine with the dam, we headed back down to the village. There isn't a proper a doctor here, but the Al Bhed have some people who know a thing or two and Lulu and I have done our fair share of doctoring." Just what kind of doctoring Serah had done in the past, Fang didn't have to think about too hard. No doubt, Lightning had come back with her fair share of injuries over the years. "We also had one of the Al Bhed ride over to the train line with a letter to Ashelia. It shouldn't be too long before we hear something back from her, and she'll probably get a real doctor sent down here too."

"Don't worry," Fang said. "I'm sure you and the others did a right good job patching everyone up." She'd meant it as a bit of a joke, but Serah didn't seem in too much of a laughing mood. Still, it wasn't too surprising that there wasn't a real doctor out here. A real, bona fide doctor could get much better pay back in the city and they didn't have to worry about getting shot at either. But Fang wasn't all that worried. Serah had been raised out West, and out West people learned how to do a bit of doctoring of their own, especially when it came to things like broken bones and gunshot wounds. Illnesses were another story, but that wasn't something she and the others had to worry about too much.

"How is everyone else?" Fang asked. She hadn't seen Vanille since they'd parted ways on the dam and she was hoping, hoping as hard as she could that the red head and everyone else would come through things okay. She didn't want any of their blood on her hands, couldn't stand it if things had gone poorly for any of them. They deserved to come out of this okay.

Serah patted Fang's arm. "Easy, Fang, no one's dead, if that's what's worrying you." She grinned. "Oh, they're all pretty banged up, but you probably got the worst of it."

"That so?" Fang asked.

"Just about." Serah lowered her voice a fraction as Lightning shifted a little in her sleep. "Snow and I are pretty much fine. He's got a couple of bruises and cuts and the like, but I don't even have that much. Fujin's pretty banged up, but there's nothing there that a bit of time and rest won't fix. Quistis is a little worse off. She got shot in the shoulder, but it missed the bone, so she should be okay given a bit of rest, although I have to say, it's not easy keeping her in one place." She chuckled softly. "Sazh is banged up too, but he's not even really limping anymore so I figure he should be just fine soon enough. As for my sister, well, Lightning's got a whole lot of bruises and cuts all over the place, but none of them were all that bad. In fact, we just about gave up trying to get her to rest in bed a few days ago. She's spent most of her time in that chair there, waiting for you to wake up and glaring at anyone who even thinks of saying otherwise."

Fang laughed. Lightning didn't seem like the kind of person to take anything lying down. "What about Vanille?"

Serah hemmed and hawed a little. "Well…"

"Don't try to fiddle things around," Fang said quietly. "How bad is it?"

Serah sobered. "She was hurt pretty bad, Fang. Sazh said she was fighting a real big fellow. She must have been tossed around something awful, because she just about collapsed when you all got back here." She sighed. "She's got a few broken ribs and her back and front are pretty much all one big bruise. Her throat was a bit of a mess too, but it's healing nicely now."

Fang wanted to scream. Vanille had gotten messed up, real messed up, and she hadn't been there to look out for her. She might even have died too, if those injuries of hers were anything to go by. The anguish on Fang's face must have been pretty obvious because Serah spoke up again.

"She said you'd be like this," Serah murmured. "That you'd blame yourself. Well, she wanted me to tell you that it was her decision. Besides." And here Serah did smile just a little. "That fellow who beat her up won't be bothering her anymore. She and Sazh saw to that. Besides, she's been whining an awful lot the last day or so, wanting to come over and see you, so she must be getting better."

Fang took a deep breath and forced a smile on her face. "Well, I guess she can't be doing too badly if she's got the strength to whine." She grinned. "What about me?"

Serah grimaced. "You lost a lot of blood before we were able to get the bullet out of you. It was a tough thing patching you up too, without making it worse than it already was. Since then, you've been out like a light." She swallowed thickly. "The first few days were pretty bad, Fang. You got all feverish and we even had to get Snow to hold you down once or twice. Once the fever broke though, you started doing a lot better." She tilted her head to one side. "You really don't remember any of this?"

Fang shook her head. Truth be told, she didn't remember a thing, and the way Serah was describing thing, she was pretty glad about that. "Not really. I remember being on top of the dam and then nothing until I woke up just now."

"Well, you're awake now, which is all that matters." Serah smiled gently at Lightning. "She really has been here pretty much the whole time."

"You mentioned that," Fang said with a smile.

Serah laughed lightly. "I got the feeling that Quistis would have tried to bully her into resting in a proper bed, but that shoulder of hers was hurting too much to let her try, and I know that Snow wasn't game to give it a go." She glanced over at Lightning. "She was pretty insistent that she wanted to be here when you woke up, but it looks like staying up for the last few nights finally got to her. She really can be stubborn."

Fang grinned. "I know." And then she stopped because Lightning had finally started to wake, no doubt stirring because of their voices.

A moment later, emerald met cerulean as the sheriff's eyes opened and locked on Fang's. Lightning's eyes widened just a fraction and then narrowed for what Fang could just tell was going to be one heck of a scolding.

"Looks like you've finally decided to join us, Fang." Lightning's voice was calm, almost hard, actually, but there was a trace of worry in it that the sheriff couldn't hide. "You sure took your time."

Fang smirked at Lightning. "Well, I've never been too good at doing things on time."

Lightning's eye twitched and she pushed to her feet, wincing a little as she did so. Glaring, she moved to stand beside Fang's bed. "You owe me big, you know. I had to carry out all the way back. It wasn't like there was anyone else to do it either, what with Vanille and Sazh being pretty beat up too."

Fang chuckled. "Fair enough." She waggled her eyebrows as best she could. "How about this? The next time you want to be carried around, you just give me a holler. I'll be right there to pick you up." Lightning glared and Fang took a long moment to bask in it before she noticed the odd lump in Lightning's front shirt pocket. "Hey, what's that?"

"What's what?" Lightning asked before she followed Fang's gaze. With a ghost of a smile on her face, Lightning pulled out a mangled sheriff's star and put it on the bedside table. There was a bullet imbedded right in the middle of it. "This is a little something I picked up on the dam." She touched the bullet. "Quite a souvenir, I think."

"On the dam?" Fang took a moment to understand what that meant and then it hit her. Lightning had almost died up there. Hell, if that hadn't had the sheriff's star on her, she probably would have. It didn't matter how strong or fast you were, getting shot in the heart had a tendency to be fatal. "You almost –" The thought of Lightning lying down there on the ground, empty eyes turned up at the sky with a big patch of red over her chest was too terrible to even think about. Without realising it, she tried to get up, only to feel a stab of pain ripple through her middle.

"Relax," Lighting said quietly as she pushed Fang back down onto the bed. "I know I was lucky. But there's no point in worrying about what's already been." She closed her eyes and when they opened, Fang found herself feeling just a little bit nervous. Lightning didn't look too pleased. "And speaking of worrying, do you know how much you had all of us worrying?" Fang opened her mouth to say something, but Lightning ran right over the top of her. "What were you thinking up there on the dam, Fang? You'd just been shot and instead of just shooting Barthandelus, you spent all that time talking, and all the while you were bleeding all over the place. Honestly, were you trying to get yourself killed?"

Fang looked at Serah for a bit of help, but the younger Farron would have none of it. Instead, Serah just gave her a sunny smile and went out the door, leaving Fang and Lightning alone. Still, despite the scolding that she was getting, Fang couldn't help but grin. Everyone was alive and Lightning most definitely cared.

X X X

Over the next few days, Fang had a steady stream of visitors. Lightning was there the whole time, watching everything like a hawk, almost like she was afraid to let Fang out of her sight. Snow was the first one to come along, together with Quistis and Fujin. The big man looked pretty pleased to see her and Fang was glad that all the fighting hadn't put a dampener on his disposition. As for the two marshals, they made quite a sight, both of them staggering around almost like they were drunk, and Quistis with her arm in a sling to boot. But by far the visit she enjoyed the most was when Vanille and Sazh dropped by.

"Fang!" Vanille cried as she hobbled toward the bed, making all sorts of noises as her body only partially cooperated. Sazh gave a great sigh and then reached out to take Vanille gently by the arm, both to help steady her, and also to slow her down. "You're okay!"

Fang grinned. "Okay? Well, I guess that's one way to put it. How are you two doing? Serah's told me a little, but I'd like to hear it from you two, as well."

Sazh led Vanille over to Fang's bed and then groaned theatrically, rubbing at his hip and shoulder. "Let me put it this way… I've been better." They all chuckled. "But really Fang, this better be the last time you drag me into a mess like this, because these old bones of mine aren't quite what they used to be."

Fang smiled. Sazh couldn't be doing too badly at all if he was already complaining about his age. "Oh, stop complaining, old man." She smirked. "You've been through worse, or is that old head of yours forgetting that Vanille and me used to tag along with you on all those bounties of yours?" She looked at Vanille. "How about you, Vanille? Serah said you were pretty banged up."

Vanille straightened up, making a lot of creaking noises as she did. "Like Sazh said, I've been better." She smiled weakly. "I've got three broken ribs, more bruises than I care to count, and my front and back are banged up too." She tilted her head to one side and Fang finally saw the deep bruises that still hung about the red head's neck. Vanille followed her gaze. "Oh, those?" She pointed at her throat. "They look worse than they are, I guess." She made a face. "The first few days were horrible though. I sounded like a frog, and I couldn't eat anything tougher than gruel and you know what I think about gruel, right?" She laughed. "But don't worry, Sazh and I got the fellow. He won't be bothering anyone anymore, not with a hole in his head and his face melted off."

"You melted his face off?" For a second, Fang forgot how to be angry. "Just how in the heck did you do that?"

Vanille grinned. "He got a little cocky. He figured that since he was so much bigger than me, he could just bully me around a lot before killing me. I managed to get him with some my acid, you know, the kind I use for melting locks and things. I got him right in the face with it, really gave him a thing or two to think about." She smirked. "And then Sazh got him in the head, so he's about as dead as a person can get."

Fang nodded. "Well, he got lucky. If you two hadn't killed him, I'd have had to go after him, and I'll tell you something – acid to the face and a bullet in the head don't even come close to what I'd have done to him." Despite the tough talk, it was a little bit hard to be threatening when she still couldn't leave bed. Vanille and Sazh must have thought the same thing too, because they had a good chuckle at her expense.

"All right," Fang said. "That's enough laughing. You two just wait until I can get up and about. I'll show you who's boss." She glanced at Sazh and then at Lightning, who was sitting in the corner, but hadn't said a word. "You two mind giving Vanille and I a bit of alone time? We've got things we need to talk about."

Once the others were out of the room, Vanille wrapped her arms around Fang as best she could. "What are we going to do now, Fang?"

Fang tugged Vanille a little closer and pressed her face into the red head's hair. It was something she'd been thinking about an awful lot lately, not that she could do much more than think in her condition. "I don't really know, Vanille," she said after a long while of just holding Vanille. "We've been hoping and wishing that we could set things right for so long that… I guess I never gave much thought to what'd come after." In all honesty though, Fang hadn't even been sure that there would been an after. Back before they'd met Lightning and the others, back when it'd just been her and Vanille up against Cocoon, she'd been pretty sure she wouldn't make it, although she'd have done her best to make sure that Vanille did. "I think it might be best to head back to Eden City with the others once we're all fit enough to travel. I figure that once Shinra knows what happened here – and that's assuming they don't already – they'll make their move in the courts. I want to make sure that they finish Cocoon up good and proper, that everything's done once and for all." She paused, a shaky sort of smile crossing her face. "After that… well, I figure we can do whatever we want."

"Whatever we want?" Vanille's voice was soft and filled with wonder "In that case, I want to have a chocobo ranch. It'll be big and I'll have so many chocobos that people will think I'm crazy."

Fang chuckled and patted Vanille on the head. "Well, you have to admit, you are a little crazy."

X X X

A week or so with the Al Bhed quickly turned into two as the villagers continued to get things fixed up from all the fighting. By the end of the second week, Fang was fit enough to get out and about for a little while, and it didn't take her long to appreciate just how much of a hit the village had taken. There were craters all over the place from what had to be some of Vanille's explosives. A fair few buildings had been shot up too badly to fix up too, and there were lots of others that would need a fair bit of working on. It didn't help matters much that the rains had done their usual work, bringing down any buildings that weren't in good shape to begin with, and damaging a heap of others too.

Still, by the time the third week had gotten started, the rains had all but tapered off and the repair work could really get a move on. All of the Al Bhed pitched in, Rikku running all over the place and ordering everyone around. A couple of the Al Bhed didn't look too keen on taking orders from the girl, but she had helped save the lot of them, so it wasn't like they had much choice. Fang also had a pretty good time watching Zack help out too. He wasn't too popular to begin with – he had sort of worked for Cocoon before switching sides – but he was a hard worker and Rikku and the others had spoken for him. What really got the tension eased up though was seeing Zack kiss dirt after making one too many passes at Lulu. It was just the sort of payback that the Al Bhed had been waiting for and after that they took it much easier on him. Rikku, of course, had rubbed salt into the wood, loudly declaring that Zack was worse with women than a drunken chocobo.

Midway into the third week, Dr Cid Kramer turned up courtesy of Ashelia. The old man took one look at Quistis and laid right into her. Apparently, the two of them went a fair way back, because Quistis looked a lot like a kid getting scolded by her father. He did what even Fujin hadn't been able to do, and got the marshal to stop trying to help out with all the repairs despite her bad shoulder. As for the rest of them, Cid gave them a fair decent scolding too, something about them all being crazy and being too much trouble for a man his age to be dealing with. Not too surprisingly, he and Sazh got along just fine. Later, when Fang asked Quistis about Cid – he hadn't taken things like a normal doctor would have – she found out that he'd been a marshal once, a pretty famous one too, before things had gone bad for him and he'd left to become a doctor full time.

In any case, Cid had been mighty impressed by the job that Serah, Lulu, and the Al Bhed had done getting them patched up. After giving all of them a pretty thorough looking over, he pronounced that there really wasn't all that much else he could do for them. The only thing left, really, was for them to just take it easy and let their injuries heal. It would probably be another fortnight before they were ready to hit the road and even then, they'd have to take things slower than usual. Once he'd taken a look at all of them, it wasn't long before Cid was helping the Al Bhed out. A fair number of them had also been injured in the fighting, and there were others with complaints that only a real doctor could deal with, and it wasn't likely they'd get another of Cid's quality around for quite some time.

It was during the nights that Cid talked to them about the goings on in Eden City. They gathered around a big table in Lulu's house and listened in as the marshal turned doctor filled them in. Not surprisingly, Rikku was there too. Heck, the girl seemed to practically live in Lulu's house, even if she was supposed to have her own place somewhere else in the village.

"It was a real mess," Cid said. "But I guess you're more interested in just what kind of mess."

Fang nodded. "That'd be much appreciated, Cid."

"Just keep in mind that I left Eden City more than a week back, so what I'm going to say is a little out of date." Cid grinned. "Not too long after Ashelia got that letter of yours about what had happened down here, Shinra brought a case against Cocoon in the courts. I wasn't able to get a look at everything, but a friend of mine still works in the courts over in Eden City and he told me a thing or two. Shinra's got a pretty strong case, and if my reading of the law is right, some of their evidence is just plain dynamite." He looked at Quistis and nodded. "You did a right good job with that Quisits. With all that paperwork you turned over, even a fool could run a decent case, and Shinra's lawyers are about as far from fools as you can get." He chuckled. "They'd only just started when I left, but the lawyers Cocoon hired looked mighty nervous, and I figure that by the time you lot head back, it should be close to over." He paused and his look turned suddenly serious. "Shinra will be waiting for you though. They probably want some of you to testify about all of the happenings down here, you know, just to really nail Cocoon right to the wall. That shouldn't be a problem for you, Quistis, or Fujin, for that matter, and the sheriff here should be just fine. However…" he glanced at Fang and Vanille. "Those two might be different."

Fang caught onto Cid's meaning right away. She and Vanille had set out with one goal in mind: to wipe out Cocoon. They'd even become wanted criminals to do it, even if pretty much all their crimes had been against Cocoon and its holdings. The others though, were different. Quistis, Fujin, and Lightning were all on the right side of the law, and when they got right down to it Cocoon had been the one to come after them. The fact was if Fang and Vanille testified, they'd probably find themselves behind bars along with people from Cocoon.

"They died out here," Lightning said softly but firmly. "There was a lot of fighting out here and they were killed in the middle of all of it. That's how it went."

Fang swallowed back the lump in her throat. Lightning was a real principled person, a good and decent person. She'd kind of expected Lightning to look the other way, but to hear the other woman actually offer her a way out was something special indeed.

Cid's eyes were calm. "I figured you'd say something like that." He grinned. "I'll be sure to pass that along when I get back."

"It's the least we can do." Lightning glanced around the table. "Anyone else think different?"

No one did.

"Good," Lightning said. "Then Quistis, Fujin, and I can testify, if that's what Shinra needs. That's two marshals and a sheriff. If they want to nail Cocoon's coffin shut, that should be plenty."

Cid nodded. "It should indeed." He laughed softly and shook his head from side to side. "I still can't quite wrap my head around all this. I've seen a lot of things in my time, but I never thought I'd see a group like this take down a company like Cocoon."

Fang grinned. "What can I say? We're pretty damn good, aren't we?"

All up, Cid stayed another week just to make sure that everything was going all right before he headed back for Eden City. He claimed that the damp wasn't good for his old bones, but Quistis said it had more to do with his wife. Something had happened to her a while back, something that made Cid real nervous about leaving her for long.

As for the rest of them, they waited another fortnight before they decided that they were all well enough to head off too. Even though the sun was shining as they headed out of the village, it was a pretty sad day. The Al Bhed lived pretty nicely, and for Fang and Vanille, it was almost like being back in Oerba again. Vanille and Rikku had also become pretty good friends, and they came pretty close to crying as they hugged each other and promised to write as often as they could. Fang wasn't sure exactly how they'd manage that – she and Vanille didn't really have a fixed address – but she figured that if they needed to, they could always get Rikku to send her letters to Sazh and then swing by to pick them up. Lulu and Serah were also sad to see each other go, seeing as how they'd been friends ever since Serah had studied teaching in Eden City, but they promised to write too, and Lulu left Serah with a few carefully worded comments about a certain stockman that had the younger woman blushing up a storm.

Then they were on the road again, riding back for the train line. It was a nicer trip this time around, even if it took twice as long since they weren't quite back to normal yet. Still, without anyone trying to kill them, they could take things real easy, and they spent a lot of time joking around and telling stories about all the fighting now that enough time had passed that it didn't seem quite so scary anymore.

Just like the first time, Fang and Lightning usually took the first watch each night. That was Fang's favourite part of the whole thing. The two of them would just sit there, talking quietly about whatever came to mind, just shooting the breeze really. Even more than the kiss they'd shared, that was how Fang knew that things had changed between them. When people really liked each other, just talking was enough. It didn't have to be about anything big or important, just so long as they were talking to each other.

The train ride back was also a lot better the second time around. For starters, there weren't dozens of people trying to fill them with bullets, and second, the view was a lot better now that the rains had gone.

Almost two months after they'd left the first time, they finally got back to Eden City.

X X X

Lahna was right there the moment they got off the train. She was wearing her prettiest dress and Dajh was standing right next to her, his face one big smile as he saw his father step off the train. Lahna though, was another story.

"You've got some nerve!" Lahna growled as she marched right up to Sazh. He took one look at the thunderous expression on her face and wondered if maybe he shouldn't get back on the train. "Well? You going to start explaining what you were thinking or is our boy here going to have to grow up without a father?"

Not too far from Sazh, Fang watched in utter amusement as the poor fellow gaped and struggled to put two words together. He finally managed to get his head together, but before he could speak, Lahna had one arm around his neck and got him down into a pretty mean looking headlock. The sight of it was enough to have a fair few other passengers stopping to gawk, but Lahna sent a vicious glare their way and they were wise enough to look away.

"It wasn't exactly my fault, honey," Sazh said as he tried to break out of the headlock. "It kind of just happened."

"Kind of just happened?" Lahna huffed as she pulled away to scowl at her husband. In the meantime, Dajh had come forward to wrap his arms around Sazh's legs, Chirpy popping up from his hair to give Sazh a makeshift hug too. "How exactly did things just happen?" Lahna's voice was still plenty angry, but her eyes were watering now, and her breathing was hitching something fierce as she pressed on. "You stupid man! How do you think I felt? All you left me was that little note and then I get a letter from Ashelia B'nargin Dalmasca of all people telling me that you might have gotten into a little trouble, but that you'd be coming back soon and… and…"

Fang and the others had the decency to turn away as Sazh took to consoling Lahna. The other woman might be real fierce, but it was pretty easy to see that she'd been real scared too. Knowing Sazh, the note he'd left probably hadn't been all that detailed, so Lahna hadn't been sure what to think. Then, when Lahna had gotten a letter from Ashelia, who had probably used her not inconsiderable wealth to track her down, she'd probably assumed the worst. Lahna probably wasn't sure whether she should kill Sazh or kiss him, although a quick look back at the couple, told Fang that she'd apparently settled on the latter, which was a relief.

However, that relief didn't last long as Lahna wiped a few stubborn tears away and then rounded on her and Vanille.

"Vanille," Lahna cried as she wrapped her arms around the red head. "I've been so worried. I spoke to that nice doctor who looked at all of you and he told me you were pretty beat up, but here you are, and thank goodness, you look like you're doing well." She hugged Vanille a little harder and the red head twitched. "Oh, you poor dear, you're not still hurting are you?" She eased up a little. "Well, you're safe now. No one's going to lay one more hand on you."

And then Lahna turned to Fang. Slowly, Fang took one step back, and then another as Lahna raised one hand. Fang tensed, ready for a slap or a punch, but nothing happened. Instead, Lahna was holding her hand out, lips pursed into a thin line.

"Huh?" Was all Fang could think to say.

Lahna scowled. "Well, aren't you going to shake my hand?"

Slowly, Fang put her own hand out and the two of them shook hands. "I was kind of thinking that you'd punch me in the face or something." Behind Lahna, Sazh and Vanille nodded. They'd been thinking pretty much the same thing too.

Lahna's lips curled a little at the edges. "I won't lie to you. The first few weeks after Sazh left to go after you and Vanille, the only thing that kept me going was the thought of giving you a good hit on the jaw, but after a while, I started thinking on things a little more." She paused and looked away, clearly not too comfortable with what she was saying. "Sazh is my husband and… well… you and Vanille are like daughters to him, so I guess that means you're my daughters too."

Fang's eyes widened.

"Mind you, Vanille's the good daughter. You're the troublesome one, you know, the loud, annoying, rude one who's always bringing trouble." Lahna sighed and then looked back at Fang. "But you did bring them back to me in one piece, a little beat up, sure, but they're here now, so I guess I can't be too mad at you."

Fang grinned. "Does that mean we're friends?"

Lahna smiled thinly and then pulled Fang into a hug. When she spoke, her voice was a whisper just loud enough for Fang to hear, but there was no mistaking that she meant every word she said. "If you ever drag my husband into another mess like that, Fang, so help me…"

By the time Lahna pulled away, Fang was feeling a little queasy. Lahna had been very creative about what she said she'd do to her if Sazh got into any more trouble. Luckily for Fang, Basch and Ashelia chose right that moment to show up.

"It's good to see you all again," Basch said. "We've got rooms laid out for all of you, so if you wouldn't mind coming with us, we've got a few carriages waiting."

Vanille grinned. "We're staying with you again?"

Ashelia nodded. "Of course." She paused. "Unless that's a problem?"

Vanille shook her head. "Nope, no problem at all." She sighed. "I can't wait to sleep in a real bed after so long."

Lahna's only response to Vanille's comment was to send another glare Fang's way. Shooting Sazh an aggravated look, Fang threw her hands up in the air. Honestly, blaming her for dragging Sazh into a bit of trouble was one thing, blaming her for a lack of good bedding was another. One of these days, she thought. One of these days…

X X X

The next week or so proved to be mighty interesting for Fang. She found out from Basch and Ashelia that the court case against Cocoon was going almost too well. Shinra had waited a long time for a chance like this and they weren't about to make a mess of it. Not only had they assembled a downright formidable case, they'd even managed to set things up so that they had a favourable judge too. That was probably Rufus Shinra's work. The man had a reputation for being sharp and planning well, and with Barthandelus dead, Cid nowhere to be found, and Hojo blown to bits, Cocoon had almost no chance of defending itself at all. From the looks of things, Cocoon was going to be pulled apart, a few bits of it going to Shinra, but most of it going to the government. It wasn't perfect, but for Fang, it was good enough. Cocoon was dead.

Of course, the testimony that Lightning, Quistis, and Fujin gave had a lot to do with that too. Going after a sheriff and two marshals hadn't won Cocoon any friends, and had driven just about every lawman onto Shinra's side, at least for the time being. Vanille had a great time reading out all the newspapers that were writing about the case. After all, Lightning was pretty famous out West, and Quistis was pretty well known too. Reeve could have testified too, but Fang wasn't too surprised when he decided to lay low. They already had more than enough on Cocoon, and he'd never been one to look for attention. In fact, his whole way of doing things relied on him not getting too much attention.

It didn't surprise Fang much either that with the case all but decided, she got a message from Reeve. Despite the fact that she was supposed to be dead, Rufus Shinra wanted to talk to her.

Their meeting was scheduled late at night in the same place that she and Reeve usually met. It was the right kind of place for shady dealings, since there was nothing too unusual about people who were supposed to be dead showing up alive in that part of Eden City, nor was it that odd for someone like Rufus to turn up either. Rather than bring Vanille or any of the others along, Fang went on her own. If there was more trouble brewing, she'd head it off herself.

She got there a little early and ordered a bottle of whiskey. She'd just poured herself a glass when Rufus walked in. He was a pretty decent looking fellow, well groomed, and dressed in a white suit that looked more than a little out of place in a dingy saloon in the bad end of town. Still, if anyone wanted to give him trouble, they wouldn't find it easy. There were two men with him, one on either side. The one of his right was a tall, powerfully built dark-skinned man, while the one on the right was a read head with a wild look about him and long, unkempt hair. Rufus spotted her right away and took a seat, the dark-skinned man sitting too, as the red head went straight to the bar to order a drink.

"You want any whiskey?" Fang asked, pushing her bottle of whiskey across the table.

Rufus shook his head. "No, I can't say that I do." He glanced over at the bar. "Reno would probably appreciate a bit of that once he's finished his own drink though."

Fang chuckled. "He's one of your bodyguards, right? Should he really be drinking on the job?"

Rufus smiled faintly. "Reno can handle his liquor, and even if he couldn't, Rude here." He glanced at the dark-skinned man beside him. "Can handle things just fine." He inclined his head at the whiskey. "I notice you haven't touched any of it yourself though."

Fang shrugged. "I was saving it for later. I figured I might need it depending on how this little chat of ours goes."

Rufus chuckled quietly. "That so?" He looked at her carefully. "Do you know why I asked to meet you?"

Fang glanced at the bar out of the corner of her eye. Reno looked to be arguing with the bartender over the price of a drink. "Well, when someone asks to meet somebody who's supposed to be dead, there are usually only two things they want. Either you want to make me dead for real, or you've got a job offer." She paused and glanced at the door of the saloon. "Seeing as how you came with just two people, I figure you've got a job offer for me."

Rufus smiled, widely this time. "That's about the size of things, Fang." He folded his hands on the table. "I do have something of a business proposition for you."

"That so?" Fang said. "Well, out with it then."

"I'll be blunt," Rufus said. "You're a remarkable woman, Fang, and I like having remarkable people working for me." She shot a glance at Reno and Rufus chuckled. "I assure you, Fang, that despite his… problems, Reno is quite useful. But, to return to my offer, I'd like you to come work for me. Shinra might not deal in quite the same sort of thing as Cocoon, but every company has problems that need fixing, and you seem like a woman who can get things done." He smiled. "I assure you, the pay is very, very good. There's a spot for Vanille too, if she wants it."

"That seems pretty generous." Fang gazed evenly across the table at Rufus. "But, what if I say no? What then?"

Rufus shrugged. "I think you'll find that I'm a great deal more reasonable than a man like Barthandelus. Cocoon went after you and we all know how that turned out. No, if you refuse my offer, well, we'll just go our separate ways." Fang's surprise must have shown, because Rufus smiled. "Please, don't be so surprised. I've got no quarrel with you and you've got no quarrel with me or Shinra, and that's how I'd like to keep it, so if you don't take me up on my offer, well that's just too bad. But so long as you keep out of my business, I don't see any reason to meddle with yours." He smirked. "There are different ways of doing business, Fang, but one thing I learned early on that Barthandelus never did, is that you don't make enemies unless you have to, especially not dangerous ones like you."

"That's mighty reasonable of you," Fang said. "But I am a little curious about one thing. Zack was with us when we got here, but I haven't seen him for the last few days. I don't suppose you'd have something to do with that?"

Rufus smiled thinly. "I assure you, Mister Fair isn't dead. You can even ask Reeve, if you like. No, I've had a little chat with Zack. True, he's done wrong by me and Shinra, but he did help bring down Cocoon and that counts for plenty." He paused. "All things considered, I decided that we're even now. Zack's decided to head West and we've decided to let him."

"That's good to hear," Fang said. She didn't like Zack all that much, but he seemed like a decent enough person. "Still, I'm afraid I'll have to turn down your offer. It was right generous of you, but I've got other things lined up."

"I see." Rufus stood up. "That's a pity then, still, I sort of expected it." He reached into his pocket and put a card on the table. "Still, if you ever change your mind, you should know that I'll be keeping a spot open at Shinra for you."

Fang smirked. "I wouldn't bother."

Rufus smirked back. "Till next time then." He turned to the bar and sighed. "Come on, Reno, we're leaving."

X X X

As Fang headed back to the house where she and all the others were staying, she wasn't quite sure what to think. She'd just turned down a whole heap of money for a future that could, at best, be called uncertain. It didn't help her state of mind that Lightning and the others would be headed back to Bodhum in the morning. They'd been away a long time now, and she knew that Lightning was keen to get back to her town, to make sure it kept on getting better and better. Still, Fang hurt a little inside. She and Lightning had talked a lot on the way back, not to mention their kiss on the top of the dam, but over the last couple of days, Lightning had gotten all quiet. It was almost like she didn't want Fang around anymore, and that thought scared Fang more than she cared to admit.

When she got back into the house, the first place she went was the dining room. She'd been too tense to eat much during dinner, and just like she'd expected there was still some food set out for her. However, she hadn't been expecting Lightning to be there too, the sheriff sitting at the head of the table with some papers laid out in front of her.

"You're back," Lightning said.

Fang took a seat not far from her and reached for an apple. "Yes, I'm back."

Before Fang could take a bite out of the apple, Lightning got up and took it from her. Fang would have scowled, but Lightning just smiled faintly and placed the papers in front of Fang. "Take a look at these."

"Why?" Fang asked. "What are they?"

Lightning just smiled again, soft and gentle. "Just look, Fang."

Fang read through the papers. Then she read them again. After the third time reading through them, she finally looked up, and had to blink back tears. "How… what… how?"

"I know I've been quiet the last few days, Fang, but I wanted to get these done. No, I needed to get these done before me and the others headed back to Bodhum." Lightning reached over and took Fang's hand in hers. "They're real, you know."

Fang looked back at the papers in front of her. If she was reading them right then… then they were basically papers giving her and Vanille new identities. There were even two birth certificates there with her and Vanille's names on them. But most of all, her eyes were drawn to the adoption papers, adoption papers with her and Vanille's names on them and Sazh listed as their father.

"It was tricky," Lightning said as Fang continued to stare at the papers in front of her. "But Amodar still has a lot of pull, and so does Cid. It helps too that Quistis has a fair bit of clout, especially after helping to bring down Cocoon." She pointed to the papers. "All of it will stand up, even in court. For all intents and purposes, Sazh Katzroy met Oerba Yun Fang and Oerba Dia Vanille in an orphanage way out West a long time ago and adopted them." She paused and then went on. "The warrants on the Bahamut Bandit and Vanille the Kid are gone too. The word is that the two of you died over in all the fighting between us and Cocoon and seeing as there's no one around who can say otherwise…"

Fang looked up at Lightning. "Why'd you do all this?"

Lightning reached up and cupped Fang's cheek with one hand. "Because it's what you and Vanille deserve, and because… because I'm a little selfish too, I suppose."

"What do you mean by that?" Fang whispered, reaching up to put one hand over Lightning's.

"I heard you got an offer today, Fang, a real good offer," Lightning said.

"Reeve told you didn't he?" Fang muttered. "Real nosy fellow, isn't he?"

Lightning laughed softly. "I guess he is. He even sent Cait Sith to find me, and I have to tell you, that cat is just a little too smart to be normal." She paused. "Did you take the offer, Fang?"

Fang shook her head. "No. Actually, I was kind of hoping that offer of yours might still be open…"

Lightning nodded, eyes very bright. "It's still open, Fang, if you want it. I can't promise the pay will be as good, but I could really use a deputy, and I'm sort of hoping my company might make up the difference."

"Damn straight it does," Fang said. "But then… why all the papers?"

Lightning chuckled. "That's why I said I was being selfish. I wanted you to come back with me Fang. I didn't want you to go, but I can't exactly hire a wanted criminal on as a deputy, now can I?"

Fang laughed, feeling so happy she could barely speak. "No, no, I guess you can't."

Lightning pulled away from Fang and extended one hand. "You know, it's good business to shake on a deal, Fang."

Fang grinned. "Shaking hands is a little boring. I can think of something better." And with that she tugged Lightning over and sealed the bargain with a kiss.

X X X

The next morning, Fang and Vanille headed over to the train station with Lightning, Serah, and Snow. The others tagged along, and more than a few tears were shed as everyone said goodbye. Then the train was there and the five of them were hopping on, still feeling pretty sleepy seeing as how it was just going on dawn.

As the train pulled out of the station and raced out into open country, Fang took a look out the window. The sun was rising, the whole sky lighting up in so many shades of pink and yellow that she couldn't help but stop and stare. It was a real champagne sunrise, and it seemed just right to have it there, its growing light fluttering in through the windows as Vanille nodded off on her shoulder, and Serah curled up against Lightning.

"What are you thinking?" Lightning asked.

Fang smiled. "That maybe, for the first time since Oerba burned… I'm home."

X X X

Author's Notes

As always, I neither own Final Fantasy, nor am I making any money off this.

Well, that's the end of it, folks. I'm not sure quite what to say about this chapter, except that it felt right to have things end this way. Sometimes the good guys really do win. It's kind of funny, but I had sort of thought of writing this chapter from Lightning's point of view. In the end though, I realised that as much as this was Lightning's story, it was Fang's, as well, and that if things had started with Lightning, it was only fair that Fang round things out. I will say, however, that I am glad that this story had a happy ending. I loved writing Headed West, but adding a happy ending to that story would have gutted it. At least this time around, our heroes get their happy ending.

As with Headed West, there will be an extended author's note in the next chapter, offering a kind of 'behind the scenes' look at the writing of this story (the answer: chaos, and lots of it). There will also be a teaser at the end of the extended author's note, although about what I won't say.

For those who aren't aware of it, Rufus Shinra, Rude, Reno, Zack, and Reeve are from FF VII; Quistis, Fujin, and Cid are from FF VIII; Lulu and Rikku are from FF X; Ashelia and Basch are from FF XII; and Lightning, Fang, Vanille, Serah, Sazh, Snow, Dajh, Cid, and Barthandelus are from FF XIII.

I would also like to thank everyone for taking the time to read this story. I've always found writing enjoyable, and your support has only made the experience better. It may sound trite, but your encouragement has made a different. The reviews and comments that I've received are very much appreciated, and even just knowing that people are reading this story makes me feel a little warm inside.

Thank you.

As always, I appreciate feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.