Author's Note:

Holy crow guys... I am absolutely blown away and humbled by the outpouring of support for this story. When I started writing this beast I never thought it would be this successful, so thank you. I appreciate everyone that's read and reviewed, favorited and alerted my fic. None of you will know how much I appreciate it.

And I feel horrible that I can't send my anonymous reviewers personal thank yous. I've recieved a lot of anon reviews and am especially grateful for those, so thank you to everyone that leaves me anonymous reviews! I'd like to take a moment to point out one anonymous review I received from an individual named Tina. Whoever you are, I'm so grateful you clicked on my story as well! That review of yours brought me to tears, seriously. I've never gotten a review like that before, so thank you, thank you, thank you! I'm happy beyond comparison that my story is being enjoyed by so many people. I'm overflowing with gratitude right now.

As always, I'd like to give a shout out to my amazing, smart and wonderful beta, H-thar. Her knowledge and insight has helped this story become what it is and I'll be forever in her debt!

So, I know I threw a huge curveball at the end of that last chapter, but Hope makes his grand appearance! And a few questions a few of you asked will be answered this chapter as well. I hope all of you enjoy it!

Chapter 3

When the Bough Breaks

"Hope…"

My breath rapidly escaped from my lungs as though the air had been sucked right out of them, and my vision swam, darkening slightly around the edges, before my body remembered how to breathe. The sound of my voice was so foreign that it took me a few moments to realize that I was the one that had spoken, and I was stunned that I had been able to say anything at all, especially after my profound surprise over seeing him had nearly paralyzed my vocal chords. My knees suddenly felt weak, pathetically enough, and I gripped the counter top in front of me so hard that I half expected to see indentations in the wood when I took my hands away. I was literally on the verge of collapse and I could only hope the ground wasn't too hard if my legs ended up failing me.

Without warning, a pair of arms wrapped tightly around me and hoisted me a couple of inches off of the floor. I gasped in fright and tried to wriggle away, but as soon as I spotted Hope's silver hair in my peripheral vision, I froze. How had he managed to get over to me so fast? The silence around us was deafening – I could hear my heart beating like a bass drum in my ears as it pounded relentlessly against the inside of my ribcage, and for a moment I wondered if he was able to feel it.

I sucked in an involuntary breath and everything that was Hope was an assault on my senses, from the faint aroma of his cologne to the distinct scent of disinfectant that was overlapping it. His heavy, erratic breathing breezed past my ear, blowing through my hair, and I guessed that he was having just as much trouble with this reunion as I was. As his arms constricted around me even further, I was momentarily taken off guard by how strong he was. The memory of teaching him how to use a gunblade in the middle of the rainy Pulse wilderness slowly replayed in my mind and I knew that he would be able to handle one with far less difficulty now.

When my feet finally hit the floor again my knees almost buckled, and Hope's grip on me tightened reflexively as I struggled to my regain my balance. He backed away, holding me at arm's length, and my breath caught in my throat as my eyes locked on his. He was closer now, so I could see practically everything that had changed about his face. It was leaner, that much was obvious. Both his chin and cheekbones were much more prominent. His hair was shorter than I remembered, but only just. His eyes were the only constant. My mind kept wanting to see him as a fourteen year old child, which was something I would have to get used to until I got acclimated to his appearance now. I just hoped I wouldn't make an ass out of myself in the meantime.

When he slowly peeled his fingers off of my upper arms and returned his hands to his sides, it was like a spell had suddenly been broken. My body reanimated and automatically moved to go sit down next to Dajh. Once I had settled into the lumpy waiting room chair, I risked a glance at the young teen and found him smiling at me like a fool. A lead weight dropped into my stomach as I drew my own conclusions.

"You knew about this." There was no need for me to phrase that statement as a question; the answer was obvious.

He nodded, that sly smile still plastered on his face. "Yep," he announced proudly.

I chuckled once as I leaned my head back and rubbed my throbbing eyes. I didn't think this situation was funny in the least, but I had to mock the irony of it somehow. When I felt Hope sit down next to me I nearly jumped out of my skin. I was definitely glad that he wasn't a figment of my imagination, but another part of me was still wishing I would have had more time to prepare myself before seeing him again. I removed my hand from my face and reluctantly looked over at him.

"When?" he asked simply.

"Yesterday," I answered evenly. It didn't take any guessing on my part to figure out what he meant.

"Holy shit," he whispered, leaning forward and running his fingers through his hair. I frowned, surprised at his colorful word choice.

"Well, in that case, I'm pretty sure your sister has already told you everything." He paused and looked back up at me, his green eyes burning holes into mine. The corners of my eyes twitched as I considered what he'd said, a small part of me assuming I knew what he meant, but not wanting to admit it.

"I was supposed to go visit you yesterday, but I got called in to work," Hope mumbled.

That lead weight in my stomach suddenly became twenty times heavier as his words confirmed my suspicions. I imagined just for a moment that his plans for visiting me the other day hadn't fallen through. Would he have been there when I came out of crystal stasis? I saw the face of the first man that discovered me and tried to put Hope in his position. Seeing him then and there, with no expectations, would have been much less awkward.

Less awkward, yes. But the shock probably would have given me a heart attack.

I shook my head to clear it and gripped the arm rest, remembering the original reason I'd come to the clinic. "Getting back on track," I began, my voice still unsteady. "Dajh broke his arm."

Hope's gaze shifted from me to Sazh's young son and his eyes widened like he hadn't even noticed him. "What happened?" he asked as he moved around me to examine Dajh's arm.

"I fell out of a tree chasing after a cat," he answered, allowing Hope to partially remove my makeshift sling from his injured arm. "The mangy thing got herself stuck, and I didn't feel right just leaving her there."

"You're such an animal lover, Dajh," Hope said, smiling, and he was suddenly fourteen years old in my mind again. I couldn't quite believe how one simple action on his part could do something like that. I had always thought his smile had a kind of innocent charm, but now I didn't quite know what to think about it. It was like I was looking into the face of a stranger.

I was snapped back to attention when I heard Dajh gasp and start to cry as Hope hit the same spot near his elbow that I had earlier. "Whoops, there it is," Hope announced, chuckling nervously. "Alright, come with me. I'll get you set up for an x-ray so I can see exactly what's wrong." He helped Dajh stand up and looked down as he was about to walk past me. "You're welcome to come back with us."

I rose shakily from my seat and was about to follow Hope and Dajh when I realized I had yet to call my sister. I looked over at him as I pulled Serah's phone from my leg pouch. "I need to make a phone call," I said. "I'll join you in a few minutes."

"No problem," he replied, smiling at me again before disappearing behind the door.

I sighed heavily and slowly trudged towards the front window of the clinic, dialing Snow's number. It only rang twice before my sister answered.

"Did you find him?" she asked immediately, sounding frantic.

"Yes." I paused, unsure of how to continue without causing her to completely freak out.

She was silent for a couple breaths before taking a breath to speak again. "Why do I feel like there's more you aren't telling me?" she asked, her tone becoming serious.

I figured that telling her straight out was a better course of action than giving her the run around, I quickly blurted, "He fell out of a tree and broke his arm."

"Oh my goodness!" she exclaimed, her voice rising dangerously high. "Where was he? Did you bring him to the hospital?"

"He found a few friends at the park and ended up chasing a cat up a tree. I brought him to a clinic about a block away," I said, rubbing my eyes tenderly. I had a feeling Serah knew that Hope worked here, but I wanted to see if she was going to say anything about it.

"Oh," she breathed, dragging that word out as she exhaled.

When her continued silence started to become awkward, I decided to be the one to break it. "I already saw Hope."

Serah was quiet for a few more seconds before taking a deep breath. "How did it go?" she asked. I could tell she was choosing her words carefully.

I paused while I thought of the correct way to describe the impact of that first moment after he had come around the corner. 'World-shattering' was a more than sufficient description, but I wasn't going to tell my sister that.

"Better than I thought. I think both of us handled it well, under the circumstances. I've had enough surprises for one day, though," I said, staring out the window but not looking at anything particular.

Serah was quiet again, but this time it didn't feel so awkward. If I closed my eyes and concentrated really hard I could almost feel her standing beside me, which was oddly comforting.

"You're going to be thankful for this chance encounter later," she said softly. "If you would have seen him again with his father and the rest of us standing around to witness it, you wouldn't have enjoyed it. Even though I feel horrible that Dajh had to get hurt for this to happen, I think everything turned out for the best. Just…don't tell Sazh I said that."

I felt the corners of my mouth pull up, grateful that I had her to confide in. "Thanks, Serah," I said, taking in a deep, calming breath through my nose. "Are you going to meet us over here?"

"Yes. I have to let Sazh know what happened, then we'll be on our way. Wish me luck – I'm going to need it."

I said good-bye to my sister for the time being and glanced over my shoulder at the door leading into the back of the clinic. I sighed, my shoulders sagging a small amount. I really did want to go join them, but a mild reluctance threatened to hold me in place. I couldn't explain why I was feeling that way, and I was unsettled by the fact that I couldn't put a logical reason behind it.

Still, I forced my feet to carry me across the waiting room and through the door. As soon as I entered the white-washed hallway I realized that I had no idea where Hope had taken Dajh. He'd mentioned he would be giving the teen an x-ray, but that really wasn't much to go on.

Mere seconds later, as I was passing by a supposedly empty examination room, Hope suddenly materialized in the doorway and slammed into my shoulder. Taken completely off guard, I stumbled across the hall and hit my opposite shoulder on the wall. I only had enough time to hiss as a flash of pain sizzled down my arm to my fingertips before Hope was falling all over himself to apologize.

"Maker, Light!" he exclaimed, wrapping his hand around my upper arm to help steady me. "I wasn't expecting you to come back so quick. I'm so sorry!"

I turned toward him, a half-hearted grimace invading my expression, as I glanced down at his hand like it was a foreign object. He hastily removed it and tucked it into his pocket.

"Don't worry about it," I replied, rubbing my sore shoulder and pretending to straighten my uniform just to keep my hands occupied. "I called my sister. She's on her way with the others."

"Leave it to Serah to orchestrate a reunion less than twenty-four hours after you woke up," he said, smiling playfully and rolling his eyes. He continued walking down the hall and I quickly fell in step beside him, shocked for only a moment that I no longer needed to slow down my pace to accommodate him.

I couldn't help but smile at his comment. It sounded like he knew my sister just about as well as I did.

"She wouldn't even tell me what you've been doing the past few years. She said she didn't want to steal your thunder," I said, quoting what she had told me the previous night verbatim.

Hope's expression was nothing short of flabbergasted. I had never seen his face look like that before. "Did she really?" he asked, staring at me with wide eyes and his mouth slightly agape. When I nodded, it seemed like he didn't quite believe me. "Wow, she kept her promise," he mumbled just loud enough for me to hear.

I frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Right around the time I started school to be in the medical field, I made her promise me that she wouldn't tell you about anything I've been doing. I already knew that she'd be the first one to see you awake since your crystal was in Oerba. I just thought she would be so excited that you were finally out of crystal stasis, she wouldn't be able to stay silent," he said, his voice wavering slightly.

"Serah's always kept her promises. I consider myself lucky to be her sister," I said, following him into the x-ray room where Dajh was patiently waiting. He smiled at us as we approached him.

"Alright, Dajh," Hope said, going to stand beside him. "I've got your x-rays developing, so it won't be much longer until they're done. I'm just going to move you an examination room for right now."

The boy nodded as Hope helped him off the x-ray table, still cradling his injured arm closely to his chest with my cape. "Um, Hope?" he mumbled, his words slurring slightly. "I think that pain pill you gave me is starting to work."

"Oh, good," Hope replied, holding onto Dajh as he directed him down the hallway.

After helping him lie down on a table in one of the exam rooms, I followed Hope back the way we had come and stopped when he paused in front of a dark room that had the door shut.

"They should be about done," Hope said, lifting his wrist to look at his watch. I frowned as I stared at the small device, not used to seeing him wear something like that. "I'll wait a few more minutes just to be sure."

I nodded as I leaned up against the wall and propped my right foot up on the smooth surface. Loosely folding my arms over my stomach, I turned to look at Hope. "So… What made you decide to go into the medical field?"

He came to stand beside me, his shoulder lightly brushing mine as he scooted down the wall to bring himself to my level. "I figured that since I was a medic more often than anything else while I was a l'Cie, I ought to try my hand at modern medicine. I'd like to think I'm doing a pretty good job so far."

I met his gaze and narrowed my eyes slightly. He grinned and copied my expression, causing one corner of my mouth to curl up.

"You know, Hope, using magic and practicing medicine are two totally different things."

He shot me a sardonic look and rolled his eyes. "Now you sound like my father," he said, the slightest bit of disappointment creeping into his tone.

"If it makes you feel any better, I always thought you were the best magic user we had," I said, wondering what on Pulse had possessed me to tell him that.

His silver eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Seriously?" he asked, sounding genuinely shocked by that information.

I nodded. "Why do you think I always had you on my team?" I countered.

He chuckled. "Yeah, that's true. Should've figured that one out," he replied, glancing down at his watch again and clearing his throat. "Alright, better check on those x-rays."

Hope stepped inside the small dark room and I waited for him to come back out, staring at a bulletin board that was on the opposite wall. I wasn't paying attention to the flyers that were posted on it, and, even if I had been interested, I wouldn't have been able to make much sense out of them anyway. My head was still abuzz with everything that had happened today. Seeing Hope had been the final push to send my surprise-o-meter over the limit.

I jumped when Serah's phone began blaring a song that I didn't recognize, breaking the silence that I had thoroughly been enjoying. I quickly dug it out of my pouch and answered it right as Hope was coming out of the dark room with the x-rays in hand.

"Hello?" I answered, wondering what could have possibly gone wrong now.

"Hey, Sis!" Serah announced, sounding fine, much to my relief. "Are you in the back with Dajh?"

"Yeah," I replied, falling in step behind Hope as he strode back toward the room Dajh was in. "Hope's looking at his x-rays right now."

"Okay, I'll see you in a few minutes then."

"Alright," I responded, hanging up.

Dajh turned to us with half-lidded eyes as we came in, smiling meekly at me. He looked about ready to fall asleep, and I figured the pain medication Hope had given him was responsible for that. I went to sit in the chair next to him and watched as Hope examined Dajh's x-rays on a small lighted screen that was mounted on the wall.

"Hmm," Hope hummed as he scanned the image, then nodded, tapping the screen where the break was located. "Yep, hairline fracture of the radius."

Mere moments later, Sazh came bounding through the door, breathing heavily and looking like he had run the entire way here. "Dajh!" he exclaimed, skidding to a halt beside the table.

The teen's hazy eyes widened when he saw his father's terrified expression. "Hi, Dad," he muttered, smiling sheepishly.

"I can't believe you wandered off without tellin' me! You have no idea how much trouble you're in! Just wait till we get home! You'll be wishin' you broke more than your arm!" Sazh bellowed, throwing his hands into the air as he ranted.

I rolled my eyes at his overemotional display, rising from my seat and aggressively latching onto his shoulder. "You should be glad something much worse didn't happen. A broken arm is nothing," I said, glaring at him unwaveringly as he turned to look at me, anger and surprise vying for dominance on his face. I felt my sister's hand wrap around my wrist and gently tug on it. I quickly removed my hand from Sazh's shoulder and gladly went with Serah into the hallway.

"Go easy on him, Claire. He's been worried sick all day," she said once we were alone.

"Sorry," I replied, falling against the wall and rubbing my eyes. "Today has just been…stressful."

A mischievous grin curled her lips up as she came to stand beside me. "So tell me," she began, craning her head towards mine. "Did any of the pictures in my scrap books do him justice?"

I sighed heavily and glanced sideways at the door leading to the exam room. "No, not at all," I answered, keeping my voice low. "The fact that I had no idea he worked here only made it worse. I wasn't ready, and I'm sure it showed."

"Just don't forget what I told you earlier," she said, nudging her shoulder into mine. "You gonna be okay?"

I nodded and fought off the impulse to massage my temples. "Yeah, but this is one of those rare occasions where alcohol might be required," I replied, sending her the best half smile I could muster. When my eyes met hers, I suddenly remembered that I'd had no chance to tell her about my other big surprise, courtesy of my meeting with Amodar. "By the way, I got a promotion."

The rather abrupt change of subject left my sister staring at me dumbfounded for a few moments before she realized what I was talking about. "Oh my goodness! Congratulations!" she exclaimed, throwing her arms around my neck and squeezing me tightly.

My smile widened as I hugged her back, reveling in the feel of such a simple gesture. The memories of my twenty-first birthday were still fresh in my mind, and I knew waiting seven years to attain some peace of mind on Serah's part must have been torturous. She patted my back softly a few times before backing away.

"So when do you start?" she asked, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Amodar gave me a full week off before my officer training."

As soon as the word 'week' left my mouth, Serah's eyes grew to nearly encompass her entire face. My shoulders deflated once I saw the little cogs and wheels in her head turning. I already knew I wasn't going to like what she was planning.

"What's your rank now?" she asked, staying on topic even though I could tell her mind was still at work.

"First Lieutenant," I replied, trying to keep my own mind off of what my sister could possibly be thinking about.

"That's wonderful, Claire! I'm so happy for you! I should get Bartholomew's number from Hope so I can ask him if it's okay for all of us to have dinner together tonight," she said, settling back against the wall beside me. "We can celebrate your promotion."

I rolled my eyes at the thought of having everyone's attention solely on me. "Serah, you really don't – "

"Don't argue with me, Claire," she said, cutting me off. The commanding tone in her voice made my grin return because it reminded me of myself. "It's just dinner with your family and closest friends. I'm not asking you to do anything extra."

"Alright," I replied, smiling at her insistence. My sister was the only other person that could rival my level of stubbornness, which wasn't always a good thing.

"Excellent," she said, a triumphant grin decorating her face. "You can tell me what you want to eat when we go shopping later."

I nodded as I looked down the opposite side of the hallway that led to the waiting room, a strange thought occurring to me. "Where are Snow and Aven?" I asked, turning back to Serah with a questioning expression.

"Oh, entertaining each other in the lobby. A curious little girl like her doesn't need to be wandering around back here with all the shiny medical equipment," she answered, a whimsical smile pulling her mouth up as she followed my gaze down the hall. Moments later, though, her smile disappeared and she sighed heavily. "I'm sorry you had to miss so much, Sis."

I shook my head. "What's done is done. It's not your fault, so don't beat yourself up over it."

"Right," she said, her smile returning and succeeding in lighting up her eyes as well. She quickly peeked into the room where Sazh, Hope and Dajh were before pushing away from the wall. "Hope is going to be busy for a while, so let's go wait with Snow and Aven."

I nodded as I followed her back toward the waiting room, glancing briefly over my shoulder at the doorway we had just been standing beside. The ridiculous notion that Hope was going to vanish in a puff of smoke managed to bother me for about five seconds before I was able to shove it into the farthest corner of my mind. Irrationality wasn't something I was accustomed to experiencing.

I heard Aven's laughter as we made our way down the hall, and Serah chuckled, turning to look at me as she wrapped her hand around the doorknob leading to the waiting room. "Sounds like they're enjoying themselves. I hate to ruin it," she joked, pushing the door open.

Snow waved at us from the farthest corner of the waiting room, and as we got closer, I noticed for the first time that there was a small play area equipped with everything to keep a child thoroughly entertained for hours. Aven followed her father's gaze and dashed towards Serah as soon as she saw her.

"Mommy! Mommy!" she called, throwing her skinny arms around her mother's legs. "Daddy was doin' his funny voices 'gain."

"Oh, really?" Serah said, hefting her small daughter into her arms.

"Uh huh. I wike da books dey haff," Aven replied, running her fingers through her mother's hair.

"Well, don't let me spoil your fun then," my sister replied, setting her back on the floor.

Aven immediately scampered back to Snow, who was sitting on the floor surrounded by a plethora of toys and books, and plopped back into his lap. The large martial artist gladly picked up another book and began reading it to her. Serah and I sat down not too far away to watch their exchange as well as wait for Hope to finish patching Dajh up.

I crossed both my arms and my legs while I watched Snow read to Aven, unable to stop the smile that spread across my face at the sight of how content and happy Aven was sitting in her father's lap. Snow might have irritated the hell out of me in the past, but even I couldn't deny that he had done a phenomenal job of taking care of my sister. He had definitely done what he said he was going to while we had been l'Cie. There was no doubt about that.

It took roughly another half hour until Hope, Sazh and Dajh emerged from the back. Dajh was sporting a blue plaster cast and still looked like he was in some pain, if the way he was still cradling his arm in front of his chest and the strained expression on his face was anything to go by. Serah got up to go meet them, but I stayed planted in my chair, figuring they would be coming back toward me anyway. Sazh, Hope and my sister hung back while Dajh walked over, his steps careful and precise. He collapsed into the chair beside me and hung his head.

"I'm so sorry if I made you mad, Lightning," he muttered. I looked up at Sazh and smirked at him, knowing that the aged pilot had made his son come over and apologize.

"It's okay. At least you weren't hurt too seriously. That's the important thing," I said, patting him gently on the shoulder a couple of times.

When I looked back up, Serah caught my attention and waved me over. I sighed under my breath, not really in the mood to do any more standing. When I joined them, Hope was telling Sazh about some pain medication that he had prescribed for Dajh, and I once again felt very strange having to look up at him. Serah softly placed her hand on my forearm and leaned in close to my ear.

"Can I have my phone?" she whispered.

I nodded and extracted it from my pouch, handing it to her without a word. I looked back in Hope's direction while my sister put all her attention on her phone for a few moments, and I leaned away reflexively when I caught him staring at me. My eyebrows twitched as I met his gaze, unable to read the expression on his face. Right when I was getting ready to say something to him, he broke his eyes away from mine and looked towards my sister.

"So, uh…how long are you guys staying?" he asked Serah, glancing at me again briefly.

"That's actually something I wanted to talk to you about," she replied, lowering her phone for a moment.

"Me?" Hope clarified, frowning in confusion.

I noticed Serah looking at me out of the corner of my eye and I could have sworn that she was grinning. "Well, Claire got promoted, so I wanted to get in touch with your father to see if all of us could have dinner tonight."

The confused expression on his face quickly turned into a pleased smile. "Seriously? That's great! Congrats, Light!" he exclaimed, shifting his green gaze to me once more. He shifted his arms uncertainly as though he wanted to reach out and pat my arm, but thought better of it.

I smiled sheepishly. "Thanks," I muttered, loosely folding my arms over my stomach. I didn't quite know what to do with the suddenly useless appendages and felt myself getting frazzled over one simple compliment.

Pull yourself together! my mind screamed at me.

Hope broke his eyes away from mine, finally remembering the other part of what my sister had said to him, and gave her his father's phone number. "Dad and I haven't had any company in a while. Having all of you over for dinner will be a welcome change," Hope said as Serah quickly put the number into her phone.

"I feel so bad for not visiting you guys more. The fact that we live all the way over in Oerba puts a serious damper on how often we can come up. Snow had to beg Yuj to cover his shift today," she said, looking over her shoulder at her husband and daughter before bringing her eyes over to me.

"Have you thought of what you want to eat tonight?"

I sighed and rubbed my face. I hadn't even started thinking about that. I didn't really care what we ate, but I knew she would pester me until I gave her a straight answer. I only hoped I would have enough time to mull it over before we got to the store.

"Not quite," I answered, wishing she wouldn't put even more stress on me that I didn't need.

She nodded, and I was momentarily shocked that she hadn't pushed the issue further. "What time are you getting off work, Hope?" she asked, propping her hands on her hips.

His face scrunched up in concentration as he scratched the back of his neck. "Around five, more than likely. The doctor I'm training under is over at the main hospital performing a few surgeries, so I'll have to wait until he gets back to find out if I can leave early. That doesn't happen very often, though, so I won't hold my breath," he answered, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his scrubs pants.

Serah lifted her hand to her face and tapped her chin with her index finger. "We're gonna have to do some major time killing, Sis," she said, glancing over at me.

I looked over my shoulder at Dajh, knowing that he probably wouldn't want to go gallivanting all over Paddra until Hope got off work. I heard Aven's giggle in the background and figured she would be getting bored soon as well. "What about Dajh and Aven?" I asked Serah, still looking at the young teen behind me.

I heard her hum in thought and turned my head to look at her. "I was just thinking about that," she said, still tapping her chin. She flicked her eyes towards Hope and narrowed them. "Would your dad mind if Sazh and Snow brought the kids over a little early?"

He shook his head. "Probably not. He'd be glad to have some company. He works so much he's forced into taking vacations, which just make him bored, and then he pesters me."

"Alright, let me call him then," Serah said, going to stand near the windows while she spoke with Bartholomew.

Sazh, who had been silently listening to our exchange and had calmed down considerably since the last time I saw him, went to sit next to his son, leaving me alone with Hope once more. I briefly entertained the idea of going over with Snow and Aven, but quickly abolished it. I suddenly felt the urge to slap myself for even considering willingly choosing Snow's company over Hope's.

In all honesty, the pervasive awkwardness I was experiencing was the reason I felt the need to run away. Hope was a man now, not a fourteen year old child, and making that connection in my mind was going to take much longer than I anticipated. It almost felt like I would have to walk on eggshells around him, and I hated that. I didn't want to feel like I needed to be careful about everything I said just to avoid sounding idiotic. Our relationship before had been so uncomplicated, and I was having a hard time accepting that it wouldn't be like that ever again.

I crossed my arms over my chest, tightly gripping my upper arms, and accepted in the back of my mind that if I wanted a semi-normal relationship with him, I would have to get to know him all over again. I sighed deeply as I pondered what to say and caught myself carefully choosing my words even though that was the last thing I wanted to do. Glancing up at him through my bangs, I knew that until I adjusted to being seven years behind I had no other choice but to take it one day at a time. Forcing myself to assimilate everything at once would not only be detrimental to me, but everyone close to me as well.

"Hope," I began, taking a slow step toward him. Upon hearing my voice, his head immediately snapped toward me, an expectant look on his face. "I'll have to apologize to you in advance."

He frowned and confusion swirled through his green irises again. "For what?"

"When I went into crystal stasis you were still fourteen, so it might take me a while to get used to the fact that you're…an adult now," I answered, staring up into his eyes honestly.

Especially since I have to look up at you, I added in my head. Not that I would ever admit that to him willingly.

"Well, I figured as much. Serah told me a little about her experience in stasis," he explained, chewing on the inside of his cheek for a moment while he thought. "What was it like?"

I cocked my head slightly, not quite sure I knew how to accurately describe what I had gone through while being in crystal stasis. "It was…magnificent," I replied, at a loss for what else to say. "I know this might sound cliché, but it's one of those things you have to experience yourself to fully understand."

Hope chuckled. "Yeah, I guess that does sound cliché. Your sister said she dreamed about her parents and Snow a lot." He paused, and I could practically see his next question formulating in his mind. "Did you dream about anything interesting?"

I nodded. I could still vaguely remember all the dreams I had even though there had been hundreds of them. "For the most part, I relived dozens of my childhood memories, but the rest were nondescript," I answered. My eyes wandered away from his as I thought about my encounter with Vanille. "And right before I woke up, I saw Vanille."

Hope was deathly silent, and when my eyes finally found their way back to his, he was staring at me like I had just fallen through the roof. "What did she say to you?"

"That it was time to wake up and to say hi to everyone for her," I said, smiling to myself as I replayed my last conversation with her in my head.

"That's what she said to me – us, I mean. The first part at least. Except none of us saw her, we just heard her voice in our heads," he said, an astonished look still on his face.

I frowned and propped my hands on my hips, completely and utterly perplexed. I felt a slight twinge of betrayal, but once it subsided I didn't quite know what to feel. The logical side of my brain kept trying to convince me that there must be an explanation for why I had to spend seven years in crystal stasis while everyone else was able to get on with their lives, but my emotions were quickly starting to take over. I was at a loss, and the only person that could have explained the reason to me was far beyond my reach. I doubted I would see Vanille again.

Serah rejoined us then, and I was forced to push my tormented thoughts to the back of mind.

"What's the verdict?" I asked as she came to a stop beside me.

She smiled, excitement dancing through her eyes, and I suddenly felt foolish for asking. "Bartholomew offered to go buy all the food right now, so I invited him to come to the store with us. I still want to get you your own cell phone, so I told him where we're going to be and he said he would come pick us up."

"Serah, you don't need to buy me a phone," I protested.

"I insist, Claire. You'll need it for work anyway. And if you're going to be stubborn about paying me back, I have a savings account set aside for you in a bank back in Oerba. You can use that if you want," she said, grinning.

I rolled my eyes, but a smile still made its way onto my face. "I should have expected as much."

"Naturally," she said, winking at me and walking off to go talk to her husband and collect her purse. I briefly followed their conversation, not wanting to start another one with Hope just then.

"Bartholomew said he'll wait until you and Sazh get to his house before he leaves to pick us up," Serah told her husband.

"Sounds good to me," Snow replied, getting up off the floor.

Serah was back at my side a few moments later. "Wanna get going?"

"Yes," I answered, probably a little too enthusiastically. I glanced sideways at Hope on my way out of the clinic. "See you tonight."

"Yeah," he said, smiling. "See you later, Light."

We finally got to Bartholomew's house nearly three hours later, and I was ready to take a nap. The majority of our time had been spent at the store; it had only taken half an hour for Serah to add a phone to her cell plan. Bartholomew had come to pick us up as promised, and the drive to the grocery store was relatively quiet besides the soft music from the hover car's stereo playing in the background.

Once we arrived, I told Serah what I had decided on for dinner – our mother's recipe for stuffed shells – then let her and Bartholomew toss around ideas about what else to have. I utilized that time by transferring phone numbers from my sister's phone into mine and following them through the store as they chattered. We must have made five laps around the place before we finally checked out.

We ended up leaving with everything we needed to make a full blown three course meal. Serah had even bought a huge cake for dessert. I thought she was overdoing it, but of course my words fell on deaf ears.

"You'll thank me later," she said, handing the monster of a cake to me because the cart was full.

I was pretty sure I wouldn't have very much room left for cake once dinner was over, no matter how hungry I felt.

The amount of grocery bags we had to carry into Bartholomew's house was mountainous, and I was sure that I would collapse if I didn't take a break. As soon as I saw the luxurious couch in the living room, though, all my petty concerns flew right out the window. I was so tired that the decorative carpet on the floor would've been just as appealing.

I didn't notice my sister until she began extricating the grocery bags from my hands. "Would you like me to leave you and the couch alone for a while?" she joked, chuckling to herself. "Go ahead and lie down. I'll wake you up when dinner is ready."

"Thanks, Serah," I said, feeling beyond fortunate to have someone as caring as her as my sister.

I was in the process of taking off my gunblade sheath and my boots when Serah returned carrying a thick blanket. I thanked her once more before lying down and settled into the cushions with a contented sigh.