A/N: Still working to recreated everything after the computer crash. It's frustrating trying to remember everything, and no matter how hard I've tried, it's still very different from the original. Ah, well...
Chapter Summary: Even as Zack Fair is finally able to see the light of day, the unexpected happens when Aerith Gainsborough tackles him. Reeve pulls Denzel aside to get the full story as the doctor brought along with them starts to treat the SOLDIERs. But questions abound, making them wonder if the aid is too little, too late. Because the youngest man has mentally retreated to escape the reality of his situation, and the doctor isn't certain he can be brought back...
The Patient, Part 2
By Ivy Elise Tanté
As soon as Denzel Lockhart reached the column there was a scream, and a brief flash of pink as someone tackled the black-haired SOLDIER to the ground. Denzel jumped back, barely avoiding being dragged down along with the man. It took a moment for his pounding heart to realize it was his mother's best friend doing the tackling and screaming.
"ZACK!" Aerith Gainsborough cried out as she buried her face in the side of his neck. "Oh, oh, Zack!" She kept patting his hair, his face, his shoulders like she just couldn't believe he was actually there in her arms.
Zack was trying as best he could to hold her but just didn't have the strength. "Aerith," he gasped out, voice raspy again. "What are you doing here?" The exhaustion was finally getting the better of him; Denzel could see his glowing violet-blue eyes were starting to get glassy and the hand he raised to her face was shaking badly. He might be SOLDIER, but he was reaching the limits of his endurance.
Everyone was exchanging bewildered glances, although Cid Highwind was the one to voice his confusion out loud with an incredulous, "What the fuck?" He then hurriedly ducked the Gibbs-slap aimed at the back of his head from Denzel's adoptive mother, Tifa Lockhart. Backing off, he yanked out a cigarette from his pack and lit it while hiding partially behind Barret Wallace. He knew better than to curse around her kids but often forgot when excited.
"Aerith, either start healing him or get out of the way so we can treat him. He's going into shock."
The voice had Denzel looking up in surprise. He had only met Reeve Tuesti -the director of the WRO- a few times, so to see him here was a surprise. Reeve was crouched over the prone figure of Cloud, along with a woman in a white lab coat that Denzel didn't recognize.
She was injecting something into Cloud's arm, hands steady even as her expression showed relief. "I know it looks bad, Reeve, but he's actually in a lot better shape than he appears to be. Between the water Denzel gave him, those Cures Cid cast and the supplements I've injected, his system is stabilizing rapidly. There is something to be said about the physical constitution of those of SOLDIER."
Motioning Denzel over, Reeve handed him a bottle of cold water and asked, "Will you tell me what happened? I was in the bar when Marlene came running in, gasping out that you were going after two voices in the ruins." He chuckled softly, "You would have thought a bomb exploded in there with the way she tossed that out."
Marlene Lockhart was his sister, also adopted by Tifa. "I... ah, actually asked her to get Aerith..." Denzel started.
Reeve smiled, "She was also at the bar. Your mother was understandably upset, as apparently you and your sister aren't supposed to be anywhere near this place." There was a twinkle in the dark eyes of the director.
Denzel winced. "Oh, man. I'm in for it, ain't I?"
"Aren't I," Reeve corrected automatically. "Although I will say, without hesitation, that Tifa ain't happy with you right now." Laughing together softly had Denzel relaxing somewhat. "Yes, that's better. Here," and he handed the child a lifesaver. "You were looking a little green when you came out."
He took the candy gratefully, clumsily unwrapping it and popping the treat into his mouth. "It was because of the... skulls." Denzel rubbed at his belly in memory. "Little kid skulls. I... my stomach..."
Giving an understanding nod, Reeve patted his shoulder reassuringly. "That is no reason to be ashamed, Denzel, not after what you did. Will you go through it now?"
So Denzel sat there in the ruins of Midgar, shaded by Reeve's shadow, and told him everything that happened. As Denzel started from the very beginning of the hide-and-seek, the story took a while to relate. Denzel had just repeated Zack's last statement when Tifa approached.
Still sipping water, he was afraid to look up at his mother right then when she told Reeve, "I've asked the med-techs to take Cloud and Zack to the bar. And before you start arguing," she added when Reeve straightened up, looking a bit angry, "they don't need any reminder of ShinRa right now, and the infirmary in the WRO Headquarters would be viewed as yet another prison to them. Zack needs to be with Aerith more than anything -apparently they were all but engaged when he vanished- and Cloud... needs a lot of care that a hospital can't provide."
Brows furrowed, Reeve asked, "Do you know Cloud Strife?"
Brushing wind-blown hair out of her eyes, Tifa admitted, "No. And I don't know Zack, either. Aerith mentioned his name from time to time, but she never told me he was one of the SOLDIERs that disappeared. I just thought he was an infantryman who went missing after Midgar collapsed."
"They will need medications, nurses..." Reeve began, but Tifa cut him short.
"You know, firsthand, just what Aerith is capable of handling, so don't try and pull that on me, Reeve Tuesti. ShinRa failed them, as it failed so many others. And you, no matter what you do now, were part of ShinRa."
The shaft hit home, hard. Reeve paled and took a step back. "Why take aim at me?"
"What assurances do I have here, Reeve? If I let you take them, what are the odds they will make a full recovery? Or will they disappear again, once more drugged and stuffed out of sight because of what happened to Sephiroth? That is why they were confined there in the beginning. Then they were totally forgotten when the city exploded - because no one even knew they were still alive! Just two out of the six survived! Zack said that one by one they gave up; just laid down and died because they lost hope. When Cloud started showing those signs, Zack nearly killed himself trying to find a way out because he knew he would go stark-raving mad in there if Cloud died as well. Totally alone in the darkness, Reeve. How long would you survive under those conditions?"
Denzel had his chin tucked close to his chest. He wasn't afraid of being grounded anymore for disobeying Tifa. He was scared something was going to happen to the SOLDIERs. Hadn't they been through enough already? Since he had helped Cid carry them out of the wreckage, he knew the men were little more than skin and bones. Would they even be able to recover after being cut off from all contact for two years?
Something inside him rebelled, causing him to look up at the two arguing adults and beg quietly, "Please."
Reeve turned to him instantly, kneeling and putting his hands on Denzel's shoulders. The dark brown eyes searched the child's carefully before he asked, "What is it, Denzel?"
Reaching out to clutch the sleeves of his overcoat, Denzel blurted out in a desperate tone, "Please help them. Being SOLDIER doesn't make them monsters. Zack was so kind to me when I was sick, and Cloud kept crying until I helped Zack up, too. Please? I'll help them!" Getting into the spirit, he released Reeve and raced to Tifa. "I will! I can clean up after them, take them trays, talk to them!"
Tifa touched his cheek softly, a gentle smile on her face. "Yes, I know you will. And to be truthful, I will need both you and Marlene to help me with them. This is going to be very hard for me to manage, even with Aerith's assistance."
"I can help her, too! I know how to deliver the flower boxes now."
Reeve had little choice but to cave under the onslaught. "Very well. I'll leave them in your care under one condition." He smiled grimly when Tifa gave him a hard look. "Dr. Rayleigh is one of the only remaining expert we have on SOLDIER. She needs to be allowed to examine them on a daily basis for now. Let her come to Seventh Heaven and check on them, Tifa. You and Aerith can be present for the visits so you'll know she isn't doing them any harm."
But Tifa didn't relent. "I'll talk to Aerith about it, Reeve, but I'm not making any promises right now." Taking Denzel's hand, she turned and nearly walked right into the doctor in question.
Dr. Rayleigh pushed her glasses back up her nose and said quietly, "I agree with you completely, Ms. Lockhart." She could see the storm clouds gathering in Reeve's eyes and gave a grim smile. "The trauma of both the incarceration as well as the automatic guilt by association will be difficult to overcome. Deep inside each of us lay fears and doubts that are never seen." She placed a hand on Reeve's shoulder as she warned, "Sephiroth's insanity is haunting both of them, especially since the other four SOLDIERs..." She stopped herself suddenly and smiled at Denzel. "Why don't you go keep them company? It might keep Cid from cursing so much if you're there."
Denzel grunted in disbelief, but he raced off anyway.
Tifa gave the doctor a hard look. "What didn't you want him to hear?"
Taking a deep breath, Rayleigh closed her eyes and all but whispered, "Zack confessed that they also went insane. But unlike Sephiroth, they turned the violence on themselves, not on the people around them."
There was a long moment of silence. Reeve finally spoke, his voice filled with horror. "They killed themselves. They committed suicide."
"Essentially, yes. I feel a big part of that decision was their situation. Alone in the dark, supplies dwindling, little to no chance of escape, even less hope of help arriving..." Her voice trailed off as she pushed her glasses up enough to rub at her eyes. "I was the surgeon on Zack's implantation. I remember talking to him before the procedure, and he was such a happy-go-lucky character. It's frightening that I couldn't see any of that in him today. None at all. And Cloud... he's closed up, walled himself off from everything so he doesn't have to feel. I really don't know if there's any way to reach him now. The damage may be too great."
Tifa swallowed hard as she felt tears prick her eyes. "So even with everything Zack did, it might still be too late."
"Possibly. That's why I think your decision to take them to Seventh Heaven is the right one for them. They need sunshine and freedom now more than anything. Along with regular meals, mild exercise and plenty of fluids, of course. And I really do believe the children will make the biggest difference. Young voices, laughter and silly games. Spats and pranks and giggles. It will prove to them there is still hope in this world." Rayleigh turned to look at Reeve, eyebrows raised as she waited for his answer.
He thought about the situation for some time before nodding. "All right. But." And here he gave the two women a hard look, "If Cloud regresses further... If you can see there is no hope for him..."
And Rayleigh told him coldly, "I'm not drugging him and shoving him away like ShinRa did, Reeve. If there's no other choice, I'll ease him out as gently as possible." The bleak look on her face was heartbreaking. "And I'm praying to any God willing to listen not to force me to make that decision."
Knowing there was nothing else to say at that moment, Tifa turned and walked back to where Barret and Cid were assisting the two men into the back of his delivery truck. Denzel and Marlene were already in the cab of the truck, bouncing up and down in their impatience.
"They in bad shape, baby girl," Barret muttered to Tifa as he closed the tailgate. "Starved, bruised all to hell and back." He glanced down at his gunarm and grimaced. "Won't be able to help much with one hand, Teef. They is gonna take a lot of caring and you ain't but one person."
Unable to help herself, she leaned into the solid strength of the man she had always considered her surrogate father and let the tears come. For just a minute or two she gave herself the luxury of crying. Then she wiped at her eyes and straightened, her expression one of resolve. "I may only be one person, Barret, but I'm not alone. Aerith and the kids will help, and so will you." She smiled at his mulish look. "Don't give me that look, Barret Wallace. You'll help." And she poked his side with a finger.
As his heart was far larger than he was, Barret knew he was stuck with it. "When I can, Teef," he agreed grudgingly. He glanced at the men in the back before he said softly, "I don't like it. I don't know them, and they be SOLDIERs. Strong, baby girl. They is strong and fast and I don't wanna leave you alone with no strangers."
"Aerith had known Zack for years, and she's even met Cloud a few times," Tifa informed him.
"But she don't know him now anymore than I do. Things like this change people, sometimes for the worse. I don't like it," Barret insisted.
With a sigh, Tifa touched his face and said gently, "They deserve a chance, don't they?" And she could see that she had him there since he turned away without saying anything more.
Cid poked his head around the side of the truck then and snapped, "Time to go, kiddies. They need rest and they ain't gonna get it here."
"You knew them before, didn't you?" Tifa asked him.
Cid gave a shrug and chewed on his unlit cigarette. "Yeah. Gave them both rides on the Highwind when they was on assignment. Zack is just plain nuts, always so chipper I wanted to toss him over the railing a few times. Cloud's the quiet one - was like pulling eyeteeth to get him to talk. But you know what?" Cid yanked out his lighter and toyed with it before lighting his smoke. "Cloud always brought some kind of treat for Godo Kisaragi's daughter whenever they had to go to Wutai, and he would watch out for her like some kind of older brother. You could tell Yuffie got on Zack's nerves, but he never said a mean word to her and didn't report it when she'd steal materia."
Why the information depressed her even more, Tifa couldn't say.
"But I didn't know about him and Aerith, which seems kinda funny to me now. Why didn't she ever say anything?" Shrugging again, he dropped the subject. "Now get in the back so we can take them home," Cid snapped as he headed for the driver's side of the truck.
Tifa nodded and accepted Barret's help to climb into the back. Inside, she saw that Aerith had Zack's head in her lap, and there was something so sad and poignant about the way he was curled into an almost fetal position as she gently stoked his wildly spiked black hair. Cloud was tucked in the corner, laying on his back. When Tifa scooted over to him, he turned his head and looked at her with the most incredible eyes she had ever beheld. They were tropical ocean blue, the color so intense it didn't need the mako in his system to make them glow.
When he saw she was staring at him, those eyes drifted close and he turned his face away. And something about his retreat made Tifa's heart ache even more. Hesitantly, she gently tugged and pulled at him until he gave in and let her rest his head on her lap as well. When the truck finally started it's slow journey back to Edge, Tifa ran her fingers through his pale blonde hair to soothe him.
Both he and Zack were asleep long before the truck left the ruins of Midgar.
