(A/N) Yay! A new update! Yeah right. But it's still here if anyone wants to read it. I think I updated faster than last time. And I've already started working on Cloud's perspective. That ought to be interesting.

--

Doors. There were so many doors. Too many doors. I felt like I was going to go insane. But mostly I was just acting on my fight or flight reflex and right now it was screaming for me to flee. Normally I wouldn't act like this but I was so terrified that they were going to come after me and succeed in killing me with words! Maybe even actions. And just knowing that Vincent had a gun on him was enough to make me sweat. It all just felt so eminent. I mean, the contempt in that room was so thick that I couldn't breathe. And by the time I got away, I actually felt out of breath.

Maybe Cloud would share his.

As if! He was still confused if anything… but it made him so shy. I had a really big soft spot for the shy ones, and if everything went as planned, he'd realize his true feelings eventually. Then…! Uh…

Then he'll decide what we do!

"Yes." I said nodding. That was the plan.

With that in mind I began to walk down the hall. I could totally do this. There weren't that many doors. I'd be able to find him in no time. No time at all. I was already at the first door. Yeah, this would be easy. There was no pressure. I couldn't hear anyone following me, so I had to guess no one was following me. So now all I had to do was search for Cloud. Sure it'd be easier to go back and ask Tifa where he was, but I didn't want to go back there and face Cid. I got the sense that he wanted to impale me with that spear of his. That wouldn't be pleasant.

Upon opening the first door, I discovered a bathroom. The cabinet door was coming off its hinges; the toilet looked as though it hadn't been cleaned in thirty years. I wasn't going to describe it any further than that. There was a broom in the corner and mold spores floating everywhere. It was disgusting. "How could anyone let anything get this bad?" I asked through clenched teeth before quickly shutting the door. Sadly that wasn't the end of it. Even though the door had been closed, the smell lingered. It felt as though it were stuck and would never go away, but once I got a few doors away from it, it was gone. "I doubt Tifa would put Cloud anywhere near that sanitary disaster." I gasped.

I stopped at the fourth door down the hall. That one was locked. I couldn't help but wonder why, so I peeked through the keyhole. I was actually a bit surprised that the door had a keyhole to look through. Not that it really mattered. I couldn't see much se for a bed with satin sheets. That was surprisingly something I didn't want to see. The thought of Cid doing the nasty was disgusting. He was just so… so old. Not too old, but still old. But! On the brighter side, maybe he'd let me and Cloud use it. That'd be nice. That'd be real nice. I could just feel the grin spreading. But it dispersed. Cloud wasn't impressed by things like that. However, he did have standards.

The grin returned while I thought back on it. The only thing he absolutely refused to do was have sex where there was the potential of being caught. He was so naïve he didn't realize that you could be caught anywhere really. Especially at or near the Shinra building. Then again he only became really strict about it when we were almost caught.

Yes that standard stayed strong until I let him try sake for the first time. I had regretfully neglected to watch him close enough and he had a few too many. Next thing I knew we were doin' it in the lounge behind the vending machines, and we only stopped when Cloud accidently hit his head off the water-cooler. He was so smashed he practically insisted we continue. But I decided it had to end there. I mean that one knock to the head made a decent bump that nearly everyone noticed. Lesson learned. He was a light weight… And I felt bad the next morning… Not to mention we both regretted it because there were obvious markings all over our bodies.

What. A. Week.

The general was not impressed, even in the slightest, by my record number of hickeys. I assumed he was probably just sore over the loss of the cadet for himself. You wouldn't figure he'd be that way, but he really, really, reeeaaallly wanted Cloud. Who wouldn't? "An exaggeration of course." I said aloud. There were plenty of people who had no interest in him.

I walked to the fifth door. That one was a normal broom closet, and the sixth one was a weapons closet. It was positively full of razor sharp and pointy implements. It was almost frightening. Useful, but frightening. One had to wonder where he had gotten all of those and what he used them for. He had to use them; there were weapon maintenance kits all over the place. Some of them empty and some of them open. Or perhaps he just polished these things whenever he had the time like… like… like some old guy in love with his trophies. But I doubted that. Cid liked machinery and building things, not trinkets.

Or did he?

I felt terrible but I still couldn't be certain about this guy. I think I was getting him mixed up with someone else. That was always bad. No matter how you looked at it. And it never leads to anything good either. If anything it just makes things awkward.

Getting back to business, there was now a hallway between me and another set of doors. I went back to my nose to rely on this decision. The blonde's scent was faint when I was standing in the hallway, but completely vanished when I walked by it. He obviously hadn't been anywhere near those doors. So I turned around and walked down the hall. There were only a few doors in this hallway, two on either side, with more space in between. This made everything obvious. Because of their size, they must've been bedrooms. That led me to wonder why there were bedrooms on the ship and if Cid was married. I thought he was at least in a relationship with someone. I just couldn't remember. Cloud didn't talk to this man about things like that. Most likely because Cid was straight and the two had nothing to talk about on that particular topic.

Speaking of which, Cloud wasn't in either of the first set of doors. Left or right, the rooms were empty. I strode down to the second door on the left. There was a long creek as I guess the hinges hadn't been used very much. I peered in and saw another door inside the room. It was open ajar and my eyes caught on a cabinet and a sink. It must've been a bathroom. But outside of the bathroom was a bedroom of ordinary size and appearance. The only extraordinary sight I saw was in the bed and it was Cloud!

I felt a jitter running up into my throat, but I stifled it. No matter how much I wanted to cheer and leap with joy, I wouldn't allow myself to. And that was only because I could see he was sleeping. I doubt I would've reacted as strongly as I wanted to even if he were awake… because he was awake. So, that being the circumstance, I jumped once while doing a sort of silent scream. But in a good way! I was just so happy that I'd found him. But now I had to be quiet and contain myself. He was finally asleep after all and he so desperately needed it. Well, more like he deserved it. He'd been woken up so many times and kept awake that this must've been heaven to him. I wondered what he was dreaming about. Hopefully something nice.

By the looks of him he wasn't having a nightmare. He looked rather peaceful and content, yet confused. I guess it wasn't so much confusion as it was concentration. Perhaps a bit of both. Gaia! He was cute! But so hesitant. And very conflicted. I could see it in his eyes.

I took a few light steps to get to the side of the bed. My heart stuttered when the boy stirred, but that was the end of it. He didn't wake up or even open his eyes for a second. I found myself feeling so relieved. I mean I wouldn't even forgive me if I woke him up. And as I sighed to express my relief I simultaneously placed a hand on my hip. It was then that I realized I had something in my pocket. It felt like it was a cylindrical box.

"Wha…" I whispered lifting it out. "When did that get there?"

"Mmm……" The blonde murmured.

I instantly froze. Once I thought it was safe I cautiously looked over to Cloud to make sure he was still sleeping. It looked as though he stretched and then snuggled back down into the blankets. It was good that he wasn't exactly awake, but he could be in that place where even the slightest noise brings you out. So, wanting to be safe, I stayed quiet while I finished lifting the parcel out of my pocket. To my surprise, it was a syringe with some odd chemical inside.

With close examination I saw that there was a small scrap of paper inside the cap. I carefully removed the cap so as to keep the small pop from being heard and took out the paper. Then I slowly put the syringe on the nightstand. I then turned back to the paper and saw small words written. I doubt a normal person would've been able to decipher them they were so small. But I read:

Sorry I messed up and confused the needles. I actually gave you the infection instead of the sedative. But I found the antidote and gave it to Zack. The symptoms should go away within hours after you take it. Sorry again and I hope there wasn't too much damage done. See you later, Nii San.

~Loz

I stared at the note for a while longer. It seemed a little too hard to believe and a bit too good to be true. I wanted to trust it, but only because I desperately wanted Cloud to get better. And now here was this miraculous cure provided by the enemy. I didn't even know if it was real or a set up. It might make him even worse off than he was now. And from what I could tell, he had a fever that was still spiking. I might've been able to believe it better if I knew what virus was injected into his blood, but I didn't. I could take a guess. But I could never be sure. Damn this was going to take forever! Do I trust it, or do I not? Was it really Loz who did this? Or was it a trick?! Yazoo could've easily written that note! He was the one I didn't trust. I doubt Loz would hurt Cloud in such a way, but Yazoo I just wasn't sure about. Of course they'd all do whatever Sephiroth told them to.

Should I wait until he wakes up and ask him what he thinks about this whole thing? But that could take days. I had no idea how long he'd be out. And this illness he had could prove fatal. What should I do? Was anyone going to help me make this decision or was it all up to me?! I hated having to make decisions! The situation was making me so nervous that I felt myself beginning to sweat.

"Mmm……!" I heard Cloud groan loudly.

He was sweating too! Probably that monstrous fever he had. "Huh?" Now he was shaking. That wasn't good. What did that mean? He had three symptoms of something very bad, what was it?! Why didn't I pay more attention in Health when I was a stupid kid?! ............ Because I was a stupid kid. But I guess I was paying for it now.

"Okay. Remain calm." I whispered about five times. The first thing to do was… uh… well he had a fever so were you supposed to cool them down or… I guess I should go with common sense on this one. So with that on my mind, I the tore the blankets off him. There was no negative reaction from that. Except more of the shakes, but I felt his forehead and he was still burning up. So he had a fever, chills, and vomiting. Put that all together and it could be anything at this point.

"Urgh…" The blonde went off again.

I heard him mumble something that sounded like pure nonsense. But I figured he was just being delusional from the fever. So I decided to take off his jacket. It was pretty hard considering I had to un-hook all of the belts and everything on his uniform. But once I finally got it off his undershirt almost came off with it he was so sticky. I was so worried. The whole while he was unresponsive. He shouldn't be unresponsive! He was never unresponsive, especially when someone was taking his clothes off! And then I saw it.

There was a rash spreading upward from his lower back and working its way around to his chest.

That was it. I sighed and let my forehead rest in his hair. I really had no choice but to trust the cure Loz had given me. It could be Meningococcal Meningitis. That meant that if I didn't do something, he'd be dead by tomorrow. I walked over to the nightstand and reached for the syringe. And with a long, long, long sigh, I took one last solemn look at the boy before I took the plunge. He looked so sad. His lips were dry; you could see the sweat beading on his face and pooling around him. His hair was matted and stuck to his face. He looked exhausted. And it just broke my heart to see him that way. I just swallowed hard, uncapped the syringe, and carefully injected the supposed "cure" into his bloodstream.

Then all I had to deal was that sinking feeling that I'd made a big mistake, but I got that whenever I had to make a big decision. It didn't matter if I'd made the right choice or not, I always got it.

"I wonder how fast it works." I muttered. It'd better work fast, whatever it was. Then again, Sephiroth did say he wasn't going to kill him. So I guess that meant that this cure could be real. Or at least it heightened the chances of it being real and not fabricated or a fluke. Of course I had to question whether or not he was telling the truth back then even! One would think that he'd find killing Cloud as the ultimate revenge. I couldn't remember how he thought and how warped it was now. He probably wouldn't kill him right away; he'd most likely torture him first. But I just wished he'd realize that this particular Cloud wouldn't know what he was paying for. I so wanted to sock him in the smug face. And believe me, if I could I would. But I couldn't… without losing use of my hand.

It was clear that I was putting all of my faith… in Loz.

I guess this would be the part of the show where anyone listening would suddenly fall over and all you see is their feet for some odd reason. Nonetheless, I liked watching those shows. However, that was beside the point. And the point was:

Loz is NOT a person to rest all of your hope on.

Everyone knew that.

--

I spent an hour or so in silence. Just waiting for a reaction, good or bad. But he made no improvement, nor did he get worse. He just stayed the same. I shook my head rather sorrowfully. I guess it was just false hope that they were serving. Was this how it was all supposed to end? Was I supposed to fail and let him die? I know I could always give him an antibiotic, but I was kinda hoping that this cure would work. And I couldn't risk interfering with it. This was all so stressful. I felt like I was aging by the minute.

What was going on? How harsh was the battle that his small body was fighting? I wanted to know! The better thing to do would be to relax rather than obsess, but this could be a matter of life and death.

"Zack?" Vincent asked walking in.

"Shhh." I practically hissed and gestured toward the sleeping blonde. The gunman looked and raised a brow. Probably wondering why Cloud was shirtless. I couldn't really help it, and it WASN'T because of my attraction to him! It was an attempt at cooling him off. I'd also rolled up his pant-legs to his knees, but he was under the sheets so that wasn't something he could see. What was really important though, was that the rash was now in plain sight. So now maybe Vincent could tell how serious this was. He did look surprised.

"Did you already start to treat it?" He asked.

"I think… I may have." I answered very unsure of myself.

"What do you mean you think?"

"I had a cure in my pocket for some reason."

"What?"

"Loz gave me a cure. And I used it." I said as confidently as I could.

"You're trusting Loz?"

"Well, when you say it that way it sounds bad."

"Zack." He sighed.

If it was one thing that Vincent was particularly good at, it was making me feel like an absolute idiot! He was making me feel like I just condemned Cloud to death. Which I may or may not have, but I liked to think that I didn't. After all, what point would there be to killing him? What would be the gain? He wouldn't gain anything from it, right?! He'd be alright! He'd DEFINITELY be alright! I'd made the right decision and Vincent wasn't going to make me feel anything otherwise.

At least I told myself that about seven times before I actually believed it. And once I did, it stayed for a few seconds and then got a bit iffy. But Vincent only caught on when I nervously scooched closer to Cloud. I desperately wanted to hold him. But something told me that he'd prefer not and probably a bath once he woke up. He'd tell me shower, but I knew he was a bath person. It was only after that thought that I realized I had been ignoring Vincent.

"Vincent, I know it sounds bad… but I gave it to him an hour ago and he hasn't gotten worse."

"That doesn't mean it's helping him either." He shot back.

"Not necessarily." I answered. "But it could help."

"There is no miracle cure for this." He growled. (It takes weeks but it is curable apparently.)

"But we're talking about Sephiroth! If anyone could find a cure for it, he could."

"But why would he?" Vincent asked.

"I dunno!" I practically yelled.

We both stopped when the blonde stirred. It actually looked more like a spasm. His arm even lashed out and almost backhanded me and the episode was accompanied by the typical groan. Whatever that was, I guess I should thank it. It sure shut Vincent up. He just stared at the blonde for a good long time. Probably waiting for something else to happen. But nothing did. He just had that one spaz attack and then it was back to him just lying there, sick as a dog.

"Why are you talking about Sephiroth so highly?" Vincent finally asked.

"What?" I couldn't believe he was even insinuating it. "I don't think highly of him. That was all over once he lost his sanity."

"So he's just the justification for your insanity?"

"No! I am not insane."

"What do you mean you're not insane? You're trusting Sephiroth." Vincent answered.

"I can do that with a clear conscience." I said getting up off the bed. "And you know why? Because of Loz. It sounds crazy, I know. But hear me out." Keeping sure to cut off Vincent. "Loz seems to care for Cloud. Greatly! I might add. And Loz is a part of Sephiroth, so that would mean Sephiroth still cares for him too, right?"

"You wouldn't figure." Vincent replied. He sounded a bit bitter. But I felt I had made a point. Not that it mattered. If Cloud died, then he was dead. There was no do over. It also meant that I was a complete failure as his guardian. Not that I was doing so hot at the moment. "Perhaps you aren't doing so bad." The gunman said as if he could read my mind.

"Wha…" I began to ask but found no need to after looking back at Cloud.

The rash was retreating! That had to be good. That meant he was getting better, right? He had to get better now!

"He's improving? He's improving! Vincent, he's improving!" I shouted feeling so light. But I settled quickly feeling embarrassed and stupid. I couldn't believe I'd just acted so childish in front of Vincent. I mean, sure, I was excited, but I liked to try and compose myself in front of the walking dead guy. It sounded harsh I know, but I was just calling them as I see them. And this guy had forgotten how to live. However, once I looked closely, I could clearly see the half smile he was wearing. Dare I say, it made him look slightly more human. I was glad he was happier for the moment, he deserved it after all the crap he'd been through. And then I almost killed his best friend. I wondered just how relieved he was.

"It's a bit too soon to tell." Vincent said feeling the blonde's forehead with a gloved hand. I didn't really see the point in that. How was he supposed to tell with gloves on? I was clueless as to how that would work. Wouldn't it be better if I did it? I thought so. So I walked over and offered.

"Perhaps I should do that?" I asked offering my hand.

"No need." He answered shaking his head. "He feels feverish even through the material."

"It's still that bad?!"

"Yes. But keep checking up on him. He may improve." He said walking towards the door.

"You're not going to stay?"

"No. I was only sent to ask you how he was." He answered while shutting the door behind him and not even looking back.

--

More time passed and I would check on Cloud every now and then. He had grown quiet and calm after that spasm. His fever had gone down a bit. If I had to guess, I'd say he was at ninety nine degrees Fahrenheit. That was still pretty high. But it was better than the near fatal number he had before. I suppose now he was in a more settled sleep rather than practically comatose. One had to wonder what this was all like for him. Whether he was going to have the luck of sleeping through all of this hell. Or was he feeling every symptom. It did sound like he'd tried to talk to me earlier… I wonder. Could he hear me? They say that a dreaming person can hear someone talking to them. Kunsel even did it to me a few times, or so he claimed. I kinda wanted to see if I could have a conversation with him while he slept. Just to see if he was one of those. But I also got the feeling that I shouldn't interrupt whatever he may be dreaming. And what would I even say? Nothing important. I was just too confused to even put my thoughts into a sentence. What would be the point? I really just wanted to apologize, but I could do that about eighty times when he woke up.

I wasn't quite sure how long it had been since Vincent left the room. But he'd made the most progress in that time. Perhaps an hour or two. Hopefully he'd be all good in an hour. Then I could go to sleep. I had no idea why, but I had gotten really tired all of a sudden.

"I wonder if I'm back to my full potential yet." I thought out loud.

If I wasn't, I had to be close enough. Maybe getting some sleep would complete it. How was I supposed to know? Geez! Those ancients were being helpful! Friggin' dump me here without anything to go with but an objective! What else was I supposed to do?! Were they going to give me any guidelines?

"Be patient…" I heard a very random voice say.

"What was that?" I asked Cloud as if he would answer. He groaned and twitched slightly. I stared for a few minutes before taking it as an 'I dunno'. Gaia he was cute! And I hated myself for thinking about that right now. But I was able to get my thoughts off of that and focus on that voice. I couldn't help but think it sounded like Angeal. It was possible I suppose, but not likely. He had better things to do than watch my progress and help me out… wait… no. He really didn't.

"Be patient?" That wasn't very helpful. Wait a minute, what?! I didn't say anything for him to answer to! "Can he hear my thoughts?" I asked the blonde. That won me yet another twitch. The twitches must mean either 'I dunno' or 'I can hear you but I can't answer'. Both were good enough responses on my part. What else could he do? I was just happy that he was responsive. And while forgetting all about Angeal, I thought about going to the bridge and telling them about his progress. However, after much consideration, I realized that would be close to suicide. So I decided not to. If they wanted to know, they could send someone down here to find out. Preferably not Cid. He did nothing but terrify me.

"Eww…" I heard a small voice say. Wheeling around on my heels allowed me to see Cloud. His beautiful eyes were open and he was grimacing at his sweat covered body.

"Don't move." I said in fear that he would try and get up.

I moved towards the bed. And no sooner had I gotten there, his eyes had rolled into the back of his head and he fell back against the pillow. His eyes closed once I reached out to feel his forehead and then he was gone again. He'd passed out once I'd found that his temperature had gone back up to one hundred and two degrees Fahrenheit. That wasn't good. Dammit Sephiroth! What kinda cure was this?!

I guess it wasn't as bad as the one hundred and five he'd had before. Purely guessing of course. I suppose I could better analyze body temperature than a normal human, but I doubt I was accurate.

"I suppose I should try and cool him off." I sighed walking into the small bathroom. It was just like the bedroom, completely white. Even the washcloths were white. Kind of bland for my tastes. But I wasn't about to suggest any changes to Cid.

I searched around for a vessel for extra water. I came up dry in the cabinet. All I found in there was evidence that Tifa had changed his bandages. But that was obvious by just looking at him. So I looked in the pitiful excuse for a shower. There was a small tub that the bar of soap was sitting in. I put the soap aside for later and filled the tub with water. That should be enough. But I also wet down the cloth in the sink and left it completely saturated to better suit its purpose. I kinda wondered if I should wait for him to regain some sort of consciousness. I was only a little scared of the possibility that he woke up while I was cleaning him up. He'd definitely be scared by it. That was something I'd like to avoid. Perhaps if I asked him I'd feel better about it? He may give me a readable response. But I doubt I'd get that lucky. I suppose at some point I did have to stop being so cautious. Besides. It wasn't like I was doing this for pure pleasure. His body temperature was way up and he needed to be cooled down. Otherwise it could be hazardous.

Keeping that in mind I walked back to the bed and placed the small tub on the nightstand. As I did, I made a quick observation to reassure myself that he'd be okay. A quick look showed me he was still breathing, the rash had completely gone and had not returned, but the fever remained. And for the sake of procedure I checked his pulse. I took a slightly firm grip on his wrist and counted. The rate was normal by my standards and then for some odd reason it went up. It wasn't a life threatening rate so I just released his wrist. In fact, it was about the same rate I had when I first met Sephiroth. I glanced at his face to see a red blush spreading across it. Geez. If I didn't know any better I'd think he was… he couldn't be. It had to be the fever. Cloud just… wasn't like that. At least he shouldn't be right now.

"It's gotta be the fever." I mumbled while wringing the cold water out of the cloth. Every drop splashed across his bare chest. Unable to tear my eyes from his face I saw his expression change from great discomfort to extremely relieved. That was good. But I paused to fend off any thoughts of mischief. That wasn't my territory. That was Sephiroth's. Man! This was so unfair! I was not used to treating Cloud this way. I could've felt him up or something and he wouldn't care. But this?! I had to give myself a slap on the wrist for even the slightest urge! Every time I had to tell myself, 'What are you doing? You're stronger than this!', and it got harder and harder to ignore it every time. And it'd only been a few hours since I'd been around him! Not even a day and I already had to avoid forcefulness about forty times!

I almost built up a sweat when I heard an odd noise outside. Half expecting it to be someone and then feeling odd when no one entered the room, I got up and walked to the door. I detected no presence outside the room. So maybe it was Vincent. I placed a hand on the doorknob, sighed, hoped it wasn't Vincent, and then opened the door expecting to see the living dead before me.

But there was no one.

I looked around and even stepped out into the hall just to be safe. But there was no Vincent, no Cid (thank Gaia), and no Tifa. It was the weirdest thing. But that didn't change the fact that there was nothing. Not even anything left outside the door.

"Eh?!" I gasped turning around.

Something had tickled the back of my neck. I looked out towards the window until I almost strained my eyes. I could've sworn there was a form there a moment ago. It was like someone was just looking and then quickly got out of the way as I turned around. My gaze turned toward the floor and narrowed into a glare. What kind of sick joke was this? There was a black feather laying, innocently, on the floor. It must've been some ludicrous message from Sephiroth. What else could it be?

I knelt down and picked it up. Holding it between my thumb and forefinger, I examined it. It didn't exactly look like one of Sephiroth's feathers. But it did look familiar. I couldn't really place it, but it was so familiar. Yes, I went on thinking about it until I realized that it was too weird if I could tell Sephiroth's feather from someone else's. Still. I took a couple steps down the hall with the intent of finding whoever was sneaking around. But it only took two steps for paranoia to set in.

What if it was his plan to get me out of the room?

It wasn't exactly his style, but one of the remnants might have come up with it. I just couldn't trust it. So, if I didn't take the bait, then whoever was there would have to confront me eventually. I just had to turn this around to my advantage. If I could make them come to me, then their plan would be gone. So I walked back into the room, shut the door, and sat down next to the blonde.

I took the wet cloth in hand and rewet it so I could drench his chest again. The wringing it out was easy. But once I had even the slightest contact with his skin, I had to bite my lip to fight the urge to quite bluntly caress his… "Awesome bod!" And even though I refused to think of it that way, I kinda was. If you wanted to twist it, and I knew I kept on sneaking unnecessary touches. Each time I reached his waist with the cloth I "accidently" brushed my hand against his sensitive side. Very sensitive side. Unfortunately, I couldn't get a full sensation so as to pass it off as an accident. I also couldn't overdo it. There was no way I was going to be caught almost molesting the kid when someone walked in. That would be hard to explain.

I just fumbled with the cloth for a little bit and then wet it once more. Then, with more of a handle on it, I wiped down the length of his arms and picked up his wrists to scrub down his hands. That almost completed the job. Now, not even daring to get near his knees or legs/thighs, I dabbed at his tired but beautiful face. The sweat that had once been beading his forehead was soon gone and hopefully wouldn't come back.

I sighed when I saw his filthy hair and impatiently dumped half of the contents of the tub onto his blonde locks. The other half was drizzled all over his, almost literally, steaming body. I could've sworn I even saw some steam rise as I did so. All and all, the entire process was less erratic than I expected. Probably because I couldn't really treat it as such. That would've been pushing my boundaries. Admittedly strict and take-no-risk boundaries. But that was the best I could do at this point in the relationship. The relationship I was hoping would become something bigger, and if it didn't, I was going to severely disappointed. But how could it not? If anything it'd be better than last time. I already knew everything he liked. As I'd already told myself, I had the necessary knowledge and skills to make this work and play it to both our likes and dislikes. Avoid a few rough patches that were experienced, the works! Didn't every guy wish they had a shot like this?

Then again, every guy isn't previously dead and turns back time on their beloved while simultaneously putting their life at great risk because their nemesis was a genius and knew they would screw up like that… thus formulating a plan to handle that very situation. Gaia! I hated this! Why did Sephiroth have to be so smart and have the ability to read people to find out what they would do next? Not that the fact that we were best friends at one point or another really helped me out much. In fact, that was probably how he knew I would eventually do this. Ga-ia! It is annoying knowing something is all your fault! If I just hadn't lost my temper! The one time I lose my temper and it just had to be this! It really makes a person feel as though the planet was out to get them… or whatever deity. When in fact the whatever obviously has better things to do than to target one person and kick them while their down.

It just doesn't work that way. So I had to get over it. Nothing was out to get me. Except maybe Sephiroth to put me out of the picture so he could get at Cloud. Poor kid. Quite truthfully, all I had to do was stay focused and then the planet would do what it could to help me out when it was possible and or necessary. Because for one reason or another, Cloud was really important to all the guys upstairs. Understandable I guess. Who else would they get to save the planet from destruction? Who else would believe they had to so they would do it over, and over, and over again? I, personally, would get kinda tired after a while. But Cloud? He had that crazy thought in his head that he owed so many people so much that he would redeem himself, or he would repay whoever… I didn't really get it. Earlier today I did, but then I realized, all that went wrong, there was really nothing I could do about it. I just wanted to know what caused it. Cloud just hadn't learned than lesson yet. And there were plenty of Ancients who were damn willing to exploit that little detail. Even though it sickened a lot of people. Especially me (and Angeal) But nothing compared to the number they did on Vincent.

Don't get me wrong, it wasn't them who caused all the trouble in the first place. But they are usually the ones who send the signs… or some other idiocracy* that allows a person to begin forgiving themselves. And they waited to unveil his for years! Then again, locking himself in that coffin like an emo didn't give them much opportunity in the first place.

All I could do about any of it was shrug.

--

A few minutes passed in silence when I felt a slight shudder next to me.

"What's going on?" I sighed looking at Cloud.

My heart did a flip when I saw that he was shivering. My hand almost lashed out on its own and felt his forehead. His temperature had dropped below ninety eight! It was more around eighty nine now! What kind of cure had Loz given me?! It was just fatally high and now it's dangerously low?! That's not what was supposed to happen!

"Relax…"

"Relax?!" I shouted to the voice that wasn't there. "How can I relax?! He's dying!"

"He's not…"

"A lot of good that does me! Reassurance from something that's probably just me hallucinating!" I yelled falling to my knees. "Why am I failing again?" I whispered to the floor.

There wasn't much I alone could do. I'd ruined any chances of him getting warm by discarding all of the clothing I'd taken off him, it really had to be washed, and most of the blankets. Now the only ones he had left were drenched. I had to get some new ones, but I couldn't leave the room. This could ALL be some sort of plan to get me to leave! This seemed more like a plan Sephiroth would come up with.

The whole thing was so frustrating that I banged my fist against the floor over and over, as hard as I could, until it hurt.

I took a breath before deciding it was impossible for me to do this alone. "Help!" I yelled hoping they'd hear me in the bridge. I heard nothing. "HELP!!!" I screamed again while getting up and walking over to Cloud. He wasn't very responsive anymore. He was just shivering and wet from the water I'd dumped on him like an idiot! This time I heard the gentle thud of footsteps outside the door. But, even though they sounded rushed, they were headed in the other direction. It sounded as though whoever it was… was running toward the bridge instead of coming from it.

But whatever! It didn't matter. I didn't care if Sephiroth was watching me struggle with this. I didn't care if some remnant was going to come in here and try to strike me down. If anything I was pissed.

I picked Cloud up out of the bed and held him close to myself to share my body heat with him. It was all I could do for the moment while I thought of what to do next. It still didn't do much. He was still shaking. It was almost like his symptoms had come back but they weren't this bad!

I could feel my bottom lip quivering a little as I wrapped my arm tighter around his quivering body. My hand in his cold, soaked hair. It was all too much. I couldn't concentrate on what to do. "Aw! Angeal, where are you now?!" I asked in a shaky voice.

"Zack?" I heard Tifa outside the door. "Zack, are you still in there?"

I gasped a couple times trying to find words. "H-help!" I said finally. I was so relieved that someone came. And it was Tifa! She was so much better at keeping a level head in these types of situations. I was anxious just watching the doorknob turn and the hinges creak. It was all too slow for me to handle. I felt as though every second was bringing Cloud closer to the point of no return and the cavalry wasn't coming quick enough!

"What's going on in here?" She asked a bit angrily as she walked in. "You don't have to call me names to get me to come down here." She sighed.

"What? I didn't…" I didn't call her any names. "Never mind. Just help me, please!"

"What happened?!" She said running up to me. "Vincent said he was fine when he left."

"He was. But then his temperature went up and now it's dropped below ninety!" I said in a panicky voice. What other tone could I use right now?

"What kind of cure did Loz give you?!" She asked in the same tone of voice I had when I asked myself.

"I dunno. But asking that question over and over isn't going to help. I've already crucified myself for it and I don't need to be shot while I'm already down… again!" I said with an almost anxious sigh.

She seemed almost stunned by that comment which I didn't mean to say aloud or in that particular way. "… You're right…" She said after a while. "Arguing and pointing fingers isn't going to help Cloud." She took him from me and checked him over quickly. "He looks like he'll live…"

"Live?! He's turning blue?!" I yelled accidently cutting her off. She rolled her eyes a bit but still kept a look of understanding. Probably because underneath it all, she was just as worried as I was.

"Now, like I was saying…" She said after a few minutes of letting me breathe. "He looks like he'll live as long as we keep him warm and take care of him." She sighed. "Poor little guy… he doesn't look like he can pull through this all on his own." She stroked his hair a few times and then patted him on the back. "He looks exhausted."

She handed him back to me and went out to find another blanket that wasn't soaked. When she returned she had a pile of them. But she gave one of heavy fleece to me for wrapping around him. I did just that and tugged it a little tight around him to almost cocoon him in the warmth. He showed no sign of change for a brief moment, but then regained some responsiveness to let me see just how happy he was to be wrapped in it. I smiled and rocked him while staying seated on the floor.

As I did so, I watched Tifa quickly remake the bed with the dry, new bedding she'd brought in. Before she even did that though she flipped the mattress over to the dry side. The water must've seeped all the way through the sheets to it. Then once the bed was completely remade, she left the room again briefly. I watched her rush back into the room with new, clean pillows. Ones that weren't all wet with either water, sweat or a mixture of the two. Then… she was finished.

"All better." She said clapping her hands as if to get rid of any dust that would've been there. "Is he dry enough to put back in the bed?" She asked looking at me.

I looked down at him. His hair wasn't dripping anymore and his skin looked dry enough. "I suppose so." I answered feeling his forehead. "I think his temperature has gone back up as well." I said trying to figure what degree it was. "…… Ninety five… I think." I said placing him down in the bed gently as she pulled the covers back.

"As good a guess as any." She said tucking him in. Then she laughed to herself randomly.

I tilted my head in confusion. What could possibly be funny about this?

"I'm sorry." She said after a bit. "But… after all of this… it feels like you should kiss him or something."

I paused, almost dumbfounded. And though I really wanted to… "No. I couldn't. He wouldn't like it." I answered taking a half-step back. But, after some thought, I knelt down and ran my fingers through his hair. I didn't care that she was watching. I just continued with this moment we were having, even though he was unconscious. She didn't seem to be bothered by it. And he wasn't complaining. I definitely was loving it. So I took the extra step further and gently cupped a hand to his face. And, probably by coincidence, he leaned into it with a contented sigh. I stroked his cheek with my thumb for a minute and almost leaned in for a kiss before catching myself.

I drew my hand away a bit suddenly and took a few steps back.

"Tifa?" I asked looking around the room. She'd left without me noticing. That was odd. But I didn't get much time to think about it before I myself failed to fight off the urges of sleep and collapsed on the floor…

--

(A/N) Please review! I know this chapter was a little bipolar and crazy but don't be too mad at me.

*And I know idiocracy isn't a word. It may be somewhere, but my computer doesn't consider it a word. So, for the sake of not feeling stupid, I'm going to say that I know it's not.

But still, if you read this, REVIEW!!! It'd be greatly appreciated.