Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Chapter 13: No Rest for the Weary

Tifa helped Cloud onto the back of one of the chocobos, and then climbed up behind him to hold him in place. He was woozy, but his condition had considerably improved. The chocobo stamped it’s feet nervously, anxious to get going. It sensed that danger was headed their way. Beside them, Yuffie was mounted on one of the birds, along with the added weight of the female scientist she’d pulled from the mako fountain bent double over the chocobo’s back. Rude was similarly positioned on his own mount, with the second scientist slung across the bird. Ash was falling on the beach already… it was only a matter of time.

… and just when Tifa thought things couldn’t get any worse, Dr. Umeshi took the opportunity to break away from the group and commandere one of the five remaining chocobos for herself. She prodded the bird into a sprint and took off across the grey waters of the ocean.

“Hey! Where the hell do you think you’re going!?” Reno shouted after her, as he lunged for the reins of the chocobo, but it was too late. She was out of his reach. That left only four chocobos to carry nine people…

“Yo, Rude! Looks like you’re riding with an extra passenger,” Reno muttered, shoving the last of the scientists over the chocobo’s back. There wasn’t any time left to argue the point. Reno had planned to put him with Dr. Umeshi, while Elena rode with him… the female Turk had used up whatever energy she had left rescuing the people trapped by the fountain and getting out of the research station. Her injuries had finally caught up with her, and it was all Reno could do just to keep her from slipping into unconsciousness.

With the last of the passengers loaded, he grabbed her by the arm and all but dragged her to her feet. Pushing her onto the final chocobo and then climbing aboard behind her, he gave the command to set out.

“Let’s move it!” he shouted, and the four birds took off at a run, stepping out onto the surface of the ocean. It was only then that Reno dared a glance back at the island. The volcano was smoking wildly. Ash rained from the sky, and even from where the party now was, several dozen meters offshore, it still surrounded them like a grey snowfall.

Suddenly, the chocobo darted hard to the right, and moments later, a massive chunk of fiery rock hit the water directly in it’s previous path. It smacked the surface with a mighty splash and sank, but not before the hiss of water vaporizing reached Reno’s ears.

“Shit! Everyone, watch out!” he yelled, and he saw Tifa turn back to see what was happening just as three more lava bombs landed nearby. All four of the chocobos panicked, charging off erratically, trying to avoid this new danger. The semi-molten rocks… bigger now… began falling faster, and it was all Reno could do just to keep his chocobo under control. Rude and Yuffie were in the lead now, Tifa not far behind, Reno bringing up the rear.

Reno bent low over the chocobo, shielding Elena with his body… though he doubted that it would do any good if one of those rocks actually scored a direct hit. She was tense, gripping the chocobo desperately.

“Just hang on, ‘Lena,” Reno said, reassuringly, “We’ll be alright…” And he hoped that he was right about that.

Unfortunatly, luck just didn’t seem to be with him, lately. Another lava bomb, the biggest one Reno had seen yet, crashed down directly in front of the speeding chocobo. It didn’t even have a chance to attempt to get out of the way. The chocobo tumbled head over heals across the surface of the water, taking it’s two passengers along with it. Reno let go of the reins, and grabbed hold of Elena. If they were going down, he wasn’t about to let them be separated… especially with Elena’s lack of swimming ability and dubious hold on consciousness.

He had teased her about not being able to swim before they left… during the trip to the island as well. He was definitly feeling guilty about that now.

After what seemed like an eternity, they hit the water. Reno was only vaguely aware of Elena screaming as he slammed full speed into the ocean’s surface on his back, his shoulders striking first, followed by the rest of him. He wasn’t sure, but he thought that he actually bounced then, because the next thing he knew, Elena had been ripped from his grasp – and his arm felt as through it had been ripped clean off – and he bellyflopped into the water. He thought to pull in a breath a moment too late, and ended up gagging. A sharp pain in his side and chest informed him that he’d probably just re-broken a few ribs. For a moment, he didn’t know up from down. His head was still reeling from the crash, and the pain in his right arm was excruciating, but eventually he broke through the surface of the water, coughing and sputtering.

“ELENA!” he screamed. Where had she gone? How far had she been thrown from him? He tried to swim, but a pain so sharp it set spots dancing before his eyes shot up his arm. He gasped in pain, and even that act hurt as his lungs expanded against fractured ribs. Reno spared a moment’s glance at his arm, and noted gravely that the bone had snapped and pierced through the skin, it’s splintered ends protruding by at least an inch. To make matters worse, it was bleeding badly.

———-

Tifa was concentrating on avoiding the lava bombs that were falling furiously around her. Rude and Yuffie were ahead of her. Suddenly, she heard the chocobo behind her cry out in distress, and she turned back just in time to see Reno and Elena launched into the air as the bird tumbled. Cloud turned back to look as well. Reno hit the water first, and skimmed across the surface like a skipping stone. She saw him lose his grip on Elena and then slam face first into the water. By now, Tifa had pulled the chocobo to a stop, and with some effort was urging him to turn back. The chocobo the two Turks had been mounted on was sinking lifelessly into the depths.

“Tifa, are you crazy?” Cloud shouted, realizing what whe was doing.

“They’ll both be killed if we don’t help them!”

Elena hit the water then, and resurfaced quickly. But Reno was now nowhere in sight. Tifa was torn between two options… on one hand, she could see Elena, and could reach her her easily. On the other, she knew approximately where Reno had gone down, and he was the closer of the two. He hadn’t resurfaced yet, and if he was injured he could easily drown.

‘I can’t believe I’m actually risking my life to help that Turk,’ she thought as she gave the chocobo a sharp kick and headed toward where Reno had hit the water.

As she neared the spot, the redhead surfaced.

“ELENA!”

The cry was panicked, and tinged with pain.

“Reno!” Tifa yelled, as another mass of molten rock came down, dangerously close to the Turk.

“Where’s Elena!?” he yelled back at her, through teeth gritted in pain.

“She’s alright! She didn’t landed a ways off! Reno, give me you hand,” she said, offering her own to him.

“Come back for me! Go get Elena!” Reno insisted.

“Reno, will you just…”

“She can’t swim!” he nearly screamed, eyes locking on Tifa’s, pleading with her to rescue the other Turk. Tifa’s head snapped up and turned toward the spot where she’d seen Elena only a moment ago… just in time to catch the briefest glimpse of a hand disappearing below the water. She didn’t spend any more time arguing with Reno.

———-

As the chocobo sped toward Elena, Cloud took the reins from Tifa.

“If we’re gonna save those two, we’d better do it fast,” he said in resignation. The volcano wasn’t cutting them any slack, and to stop moving would be like painting a target on their backs. Tifa nodded and prepared to jump as soon as they were close enough. With luck, she could grab Elena, bring her back up, and get her onto the chocobo before anything else could go wrong.

She steadied herself as the chocobo dodged another fireball, and then leapt, submerging herself in the cold ocean waters. She resurfaced and took a breath before plunging downward again. Cloud watched as she became no more than a shadow below the waves. He urged the chocobo to circle the area, not wanting to stay still for too long. A glance back revealed Yuffie and Rude, streaking toward Reno.

Cloud didn’t know what had happened to bring about so great a change in Tifa’s attitude toward the Turks. Had it been him, he honestly couldn’t say for certain whether or not he would have turned back to help them. After all the damage they’d caused… all the lives they’d destroyed… perhaps this was what they deserved. But Tifa didn’t seem to think so… and now wasn’t the time to discuss such matters anyway.

Suddenly, Tifa resurfaced, dragging with her the limp form of one very fortunate Turk. Cloud steered the chocobo toward the two women, reaching down to hoist them onto the its back.

———-

Between the two of them, Yuffie and Rude managed to pull Reno from the water, settling him on the chocobo behind Yuffie. One look at him told Rude that his fellow Turk was in bad shape. Every breath seemed to be an effort for him and the pain of the broken arm and the blood loss were quickly sending him into shock. His face had gone pale, and he was leaning heavily against Yuffie’s back, his eyes closed tight.

Without warning, a blur of cyan streaked past.

“Move it!” Cloud shouted without a backwards glance. Rude caught a brief glimpse of Elena sandwiched between the other two riders as they sped off.

“… Better hold on tight,” Rude cautioned. Reno managed a nod, and wrapped his good arm around Yuffie’s waist. The two chocobos took off at a sprint, glad to be finally moving away from the danger of the island again. In the distance Rude could hear the sounds of more explosive eruptions, and he dared a look back. The island had been reduced to almost nothing. The volcano had effectively blown itself apart. Steam and smoke issued from the horizon, the only marker that there had once been any island at all.

The imminent danger, quite literally, behind them, Rude allowed his thoughts to return to his fellow Turks. He didn’t know if Elena had been seriously injured… but he had seen first hand the condition Reno was in. Rude thought back to the moment when he’d thought he’d seen Reno lying dead on the island. He understood now that it had only been an illusion… the power of the fountain playing tricks with his mind… but it would still haunt him for some time, he was sure. And now he faced the very real possibility of losing Reno again, and perhaps Elena right along with him.

What would he ever do if that happened? They were the only people left in the world who cared about him at all. They were among the priveleged few who could honestly say they understood him. They were his family.

———-

“Reno?” Yuffie prodded. The Turk’s grip on her had loosened. She’d had to grab hold of his arm just to keep him from slipping off, “… Come on, Turkey… don’t die on me now…”

The tightness in her throat made the words sound choked.

“Please…” she whispered. Things were not looking good. Even with Reno’s head resting limply on her shoulder, she could barely hear him breathing. He was getting worse. If they didn’t get him some help soon… well, she really didn’t want to think about it. The mainland was in sight now, but even so, New Midgar was still so far away. And the hospital in the half-rebuilt town wasn’t exactly state of the art as of yet.

Rude was riding beside her, looking over at Reno. Even with his eyes hidden by his sunglasses, Yuffie could tell he was concerned… and getting moreso by the minute. Cloud and Tifa were several lengths ahead of them, and Yuffie wondered how Elena had fared…

When the chocobo’s feet finally touched land, it was only a small relief.

———-

Their frantic arrival in New Midgar was greeted by a sea of refugees, who all stopped in their activities to see what was going on, or raced to get out of the way of the incoming party who didn’t seem too keen on slowing down. The medical center was nothing more than a three story building near the center of town. It was usually crowded with the ill and injured of Midgar. As the party came to a halt outside the doors, they were greeted with curiosity, followed by a flurry of activity as the staff who had emerged to see what all of the commotion was about saw that there were injuries that needed tending.

Elena was rushed inside first, having been aboard the lead chocobo, carried away on a stetcher. Rude watched in concern as he realized that she wasn’t moving. Reno was next… a doctor in a white lab coat, and a young nurse eased him carefully down from behind Yuffie. Judging by the looks on their faces, he wasn’t doing so well either. Tifa and Cloud helped Rude with the scientists, as Yuffie ran ahead into the hospital to see what was being done for the two Turks.

———-

Rude was settled in one of the uncomfortable chairs that lined the walls of the hospital’s waiting room. He shifted restlessly. Nearly an hour, and no one had bothered to tell him anything. Tifa had gone off with Cloud, when the doctors insisted that he be evaluated for mako poisoning along with the three scientists they’d brought back. They had tried to take Rude as well, but he had firmly refused, insisting that he wouldn’t budge until he had news about Reno and Elena. Rude had tolerated Yuffie’s endless pacing for as long as he could stand it, but at last had retreated to a less active part of the emergency wing.

Now he sat, more or less alone, save for the young woman at the reception desk, and the nurses who wandered in and out at regular intervals. None of them paid him any mind, and he prefered it that way. He let out a shaky sigh as, for at least the tenth time, his mind drifted to the details of the worse case scenario. Elena, for all her bouncy, perky, occasionally downright annoying, personality, was a better Turk than Rude had ever openly admitted. She’d come a long way since her days as a naive rookie. And now Rude found himself wishing that he’d told her that. And Reno… Reno knew him better than anyone. Most people saw Reno as uncaringly self-absorbed, but Rude knew better. There was a decent person beneath the surface. He just didn’t always let it show through… but Reno had been there for him, without hesitation, the times when he most needed a friend.

Rude swallowed the lump in his throat as the what-ifs assailed him again. What if he lost one of them? What if it was both? What if he was left alone? He leaned forward and rested him forehead against his palm. He couldn’t start thinking like that… Not right now. The last thing Reno and Elena needed right now was for him to fall apart.

———-

“Yuffie?”

Yuffie stopped in mid-pace and turned to face Tifa.

“Tifa!” she cried, hurrying over to her, “How’s Cloud? Everything alright?”

“Yeah, yeah,” Tifa replied, with a laugh, “He’ll be fine. They’re keeping him overnight, though. Probably a good thing, actually. He’d be too stubborn to listen to them and get some rest like they told him to, otherwise.”

She hesitated a moment, but finally asked the question that was really on her mind.

“Err… What about the Turks?”

Yuffie didn’t answer right away. She glanced toward the door Reno and Elena had been carried through, and then back at Tifa.

“Don’t know…” she said, “They won’t tell me anything. I saw them bringing blood in awhile ago, though. Reno was bleeding pretty bad when we pulled him out of the water. He… He was…”

She stopped abruptly, blinking away the tears that until now she’d managed to keep at bay.

“Hey, come on,” Tifa said, putting an arm around the younger woman, “He’ll be alright. Reno’s harder to kill than a cockroach.”

As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she knew that was the wrong thing to say. Yuffie glared at her and turned to stomp away, but Tifa caught her by the arm.

“Wait… Yuffie… I-I didn’t mean it like that,” said Tifa, “I just meant… I meant he’s not gonna give up without a fight, ‘kay? Elena, too. They’re Turks, after all, right?”

Yuffie sniffled almost inaudibly, and nodded, forcing a smile.

“Hey… uh… speaking of which… Where’s Rude?” Tifa asked. She had only just now realized that the most stoic of the trio was missing.

“Over there,” Yuffie said, pointing to a smaller room set back from the main area, “I think he got sick of me pacing… and I thought it’d be better to just leave him alone for a bit.”

She looked over at the Turk. He was much changed from when she’d last seen him. His usually stoic facade had crumbled, and Tifa couldn’t help but feel for him. Tifa nodded to Yuffie, and headed over to talk to the Turk.

———-

So absorbed in his own thoughts, Rude didn’t even notice Tifa’s approach. A rookie mistake… but one that could hardly be held against him given the circumstances. And he was so startled when a hand came to rest on his shoulder that actually jumped slightly. Rude turned and was even more startled to discover who said hand belonged to.

“Hey…” Tifa said, somewhat awkwardly.

“…” Rude nodded silently in acknowledgement. Any other time, a thrill might have run through his entire being at the thought of this woman speaking to him. He’d been infatuated with her for what seemed to him like ages. But right now, his mind was elsewhere.

“Yuffie said that no one’s been out to tell you anything yet,” she continued. Rude shook his head, not entirely trusting his voice at the moment. Tifa say down beside him.

“They… they mean a lot to you, huh?” she said, deciding to skip the small talk, remembering how direct and to the point Rude always seemed to be.

“… Yeah,” Rude whispered.

“Wanna talk about it?” she asked. She didn’t know what made her ask, but something in her wanted to know… wanted to understand something about the Turks. She wanted to know just how badly she’d misjudged them… and she was forced to grudgingly admit, she had misjudged them.

“…”

For a long moment, Rude didn’t answer. Tifa had just about given up on him, when he finally spoke.

“… It sounds selfish,” he said.

“What does?”

“I want them to be alright, because I don’t know what I’d do if they’re not,” he clarified, “… It hurt when we lost Tseng… but we still had each other, and that made it bearable. That’s what made it possible for us to keep doing our jobs, in spite of that hurt, knowing that we all felt exactly the same way. I never had to tell either of them how I felt… they just knew.”

Tifa’s throat tightened in sympathy. Now that she thought about it… really, who did the Turks have to turn to besides each other? While the majority of the populace weren’t openly hostile toward them, they weren’t exactly popular amongst most of the denizens of Midgar. Except perhaps Reno, she ammended to herself, but only because the redhead had a tendancy to flirt with anything in a dress, and he could lay the charm on thick when he wanted to. But by and large, most people merely tolerated their presence. Everyone knew of their involvement in the Sector Seven Incident, as it had come to be called. She couldn’t imagine that those who had lost friends and family would be willing to forget it easily. She certainly hadn’t been… Reeve was, perhaps, the closest thing they had to a friend outside their tight-knit group, but his time and attention was heavily in demand by his ongoing projects.

“They’ll be alright,” she said, as comfortingly as she could, “I’m sure they will.”

“…”

She had the distinct impression that she wasn’t really making him feel any better.

“I’ll go,” she said, quietly, “I mean… if you’d rather be alone, that is…”

“… No,” Rude replied, “… I’d… like it if you stayed… Tifa.”

There was that note of hesitation again, as he added her name. He’d done it before when she’d thanked him for saving her back on the island. She didn’t understand him very well at all, she suddenly realized. One moment, he could be straight-forward… the next, unreadable… and the next he seemed almost… well, shy. She was begining to see that Rude was a lot more complex than she really gave him credit for. She decided that the best course of action was to stop pressing him to talk to her and just be there for him. Tifa put an arm around Rude’s broad shoulders, and coaxed him to lean against her. She could feel the tension in his body ease slightly as he let his head rest on her shoulder.

She wasn’t sure how long they sat there like that. But suddenly, they both found themselves scrambling to their feet as a doctor emerged and said something to Yuffie. By the time they’d covered the distance between them, the doctor had retreated back behind the doors, and Yuffie stood waiting anxiously for them.

“Well?” Tifa asked as they approched.

“Reno’s gonna be alright,” Yuffie said, with a slight grin, “He lost a lot of blood… broke an arm, and some ribs… one of his ribs punctured a lung while they were treating him… but he’s doing ok. He’s awake and the doctor said we can go see him if we’re quiet and don’t stay too long.”

“… Elena?” Rude asked, anxiously. Yuffie’s smile faltered.

“… She’s…” Yuffie began, then paused. Tifa’s heart sank. She knew that look. He father had had the same look on his face the day her mother had died.

“Well, the good news is that most of her injuries are minor…” said Yuffie.

“And the bad news?” Tifa prodded, knowing that it was coming.

“Err… There’s some swelling from the concussion. And probably falling off the chocobo like she did didn’t help much,” Yuffie said at last, “She’s in a coma… They just don’t know.”

Tifa glanced up at Rude, but whatever his reaction was, he masked it well. He was as unreadable as ever.

“… Let’s go see Reno,” he said, softly.

———-

The lights in the room had been turned down low, and the curtains drawn across the windows. For a moment, Tifa was certain the Turk was sound asleep. He lay, his face pale against the stark whiteness of the sheets, on the bed with his eyes closed, breathing in a soft, even rhythm. His unruly hair was splayed out over the pillow. The heart monitor beside the bed beeped steadily. His right arm was encased in a hard plaster cast, and peeking out from beneath the sheet that covered him, Tifa could see the bandages that were wrapped tightly around his chest, binding his ribs to hold them in place while they healed.

By all accounts, he really didn’t look as awake as the doctor has told Yuffie he was. But as they approached him, bright green eyes fluttered open, and focused alertly on on Rude.

“Yo, Rude,” he said quietly, with some semblance of his usual smirk, “How’s it hangin’?”

Rude reached out, and tenderly stroked the hair away from Reno’s face.

“Ah, come on,” said Reno, “I can’t look that bad…”

“… You alright?” asked Rude.

“Me? Sure,” Reno replied, with a subdued laugh, “Tch… they got me so drugged up right now, I’m feelin’ great…”

Reno’s gaze shifted to the two women behind the other Turk, as if noticing them for the first time.

“Come to make me feel better, huh, Yuff?” he grinned, “Sorry to say it, but I don’t think I’m gonna be much fun in bed for awhile.”

“Ugh… In your wet dreams, pervert. If you weren’t already in the hospital, I’d put you there myself, Turk-boy,” Yuffie replied, rolling her eyes at him, but she smiled as she said it.

“Like to see ya try,” he said, winking at her, “… Heh… Tifa, too, huh? Gotta admit, that’s one customer I wasn’t expecting.”

“Oh please…” Tifa replied, crossing her arms, half insulted by the insinuation… and half impressed that the guy, obviously still in at least some pain, could manage the not-so-subtle, overtly lewd suggestions with a straight face.

“So…” Reno said, turning suddenly serious, “All joking aside, how’s Elena?”

“…”

“Come on Rude… don’t go all quiet on me,” said Reno.

“… She’s…” Rude began, but faltered.

“Yo, spill it already,” said Reno, levering himself up as much as he could manage on his good arm, “… Is it that bad?”

“Come on, Yuffie,” Tifa whispered, “I think we’d better leave them alone for this…”

Yuffie nodded, and she and Tifa slipped out into the hall.

———-

“… It is bad, isn’t it?” Reno said, catching sight of the women departing, “She’s not…”

“No…” Rude said quickly, allowing Reno that much relief, at least. Reno could see that it was a struggle to form the words, “… She hasn’t woken up… She’s in a coma.”

Reno’s face fell, and he leaned back against the pillows.

“But she’s… She’s gonna be alright, isn’t she?” he asked, uncaring that his voice trembled slightly.

“… They don’t know.”

“Ah man… ‘Lena…” he whispered softly, blinking back the tears that had suddenly welled up in his eyes, “It was my fault, wasn’t it? If I’d just held onto when we hit the water… I couldn’t hold onto her, Rude. I tried… but I just couldn’t.”

Rude brushed away the tear that finally escaped the corner of Reno’s eye.

“… Wasn’t your fault,” he said, “Just bad luck.”

———-

It felt like ages before Rude rejoined Tifa and Yuffie. When he finally did, he looked utterly spent.

“Did you tell him?” asked Yuffie. Rude nodded.

“How’d he take it?” Tifa asked.

“… Not well,” he replied, “He’s asleep now, though.”

“We… uh… we saw Elena,” ventured Yuffie, “Just for a minute or so. They wouldn’t let us stay any longer.”

“…”

“The doctor said that if the swelling keeps getting worse, they’ll have to operate,” Tifa added, swallowing the lump in her throat, “They’re going to do everything they can for her, Rude…”

———-

In the days that followed, Tifa found herself at the hospital almost as often as Yuffie. Cloud had been released with a clean bill of health, and the three scientists wouldn’t be there much longer. Dr. Umeshi had not been seen or heard from since her escape from the island. She could have been dead for all anyone knew. It was no small miracle that any of them had made it off the island alive. As for Elena, she’d undergone an operation to relieve the swelling on her brain three days before… She still hadn’t regained consciousness.

As she entered his room, Tifa found Reno sitting up in bed, talking animatedly to Rude and Yuffie.

“Like I keep tellin’ them, I’m fine,” Reno groused, “Why the hell are they keepin’ me in here, anyway? I wanna go see ‘Lena! It’s not like a trip down the hall’s gonna kill me…”

Rude was trying to coax him back down against the pillows, but Reno was having none of it.

“Fucking hospitals,” he growled.

“Sounds like someone’s in a cheerful mood today,” Tifa commented. Reno shot her an icy glare, which Tifa, given current circumstances, chose to ignore.

“You’d be in a ‘cheerful mood’, too, if everyone were trying to keep you flat on your back in bed for another week… And will you STOP THAT!” he snapped as Rude tried to ease him back again.

“Gawd… chill out, Reno,” Yuffie muttered, shocked by his hostility toward Rude.

“… It’s alright. He’s always like this when he’s in the hospital,” Rude assured her, “… Hates ’em.”

Reno glowered at him.

“Well that’s no reason for him to take it out on you,” Tifa declared, eying Reno accusingly, and wondering when she’d become so protective of Rude’s feelings. Reno blinked, a bit surprised that Tifa, of all people, was coming to Rude’s defense.

“… He knows I don’t mean it,” Reno replied after a moment, sighing guiltily, before muttering, “Sorry…”

Rude patted his shoulder reassuringly, and Reno finally relented and lay back down. There was a soft knock at the door, and a moment later a doctor poked her head in.

“I thought you might like to know,” she said, smiling widly, “You’re friend is awake.”

Reno jumped out of bed so fast that Rude nearly had to tackle him to prevent him from tearing the IV line out of his arm.

“Hey, now, take it easy!” the doctor admonished, “You’re not supposed to be up and around yet.”

“If you think I’m staying in here while everyone else goes to see ‘Lena, you’re outta your mind,” Reno declared.

“I didn’t say you couldn’t go,” the doctor replied sternly, “But we’re going to do things my way.”

She disconnected the IV before Reno could do any serious damage to himself with it, and a nurse wheeled in a wheelchair.

“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding…” Reno groaned, rolling his eyes.

———-

Only the threat of being put in restraints, sedated, and left behind in bed convinced Reno to submit to the humiliation of being wheeled around like an invalid. He wasn’t sure if it had been an empty threat or not… but in the end, Reno had decided that he didn’t really want to take the chance.

Elena’s room was bright and cheery, the late morning sun streaming in through the windows. Flowers decorated the table at her bedside – the ones he’d asked Rude to take to her – as well as other bouquets. On the other side of her bed, a nurse was checking blood pressure, heart rate, and any number of other things. In the midst of it all, though, was the one sight Reno had been longing to see. Elena was sitting up, propped up on a stack of pillows, her head wrapped in white guaze. She waved timidly at the sudden onslaught of visitors.

“‘Lena!” Reno cried, trying to get up, but Rude had taken a firm hold of his shoulder, anticipating just such an attempt.

“Hey,’Lena,” Rude said, a bit more calmly than the redhead, who was currently trying to squirm his way out of the chair, “… We’ve been worried.”

Yuffie and Tifa hung back slightly, watching the reunion.

“Reno… Rude… Oh, I’m so glad you guys are alright,” she said, “Err… you are alright, aren’t you?”

She was looking pointedly at Reno. He had to admit, it was a fair question. Between the cast on his arm, the wheelchair, and the fact that three quarters of his torso was covered in tightly wrapped bandages to prevent his ribs from taking too much abuse when he moved, he was probably a pretty sorry sight.

“Tch… ‘course I am,” Reno replied, “You know me…”

“Unfortunately, I do. That’s why I asked…” she said, goading him.

“I ever tell ya you talk too much?” Reno countered, grinning like an idiot.