Taking Care of Reno: Meteorfall
Chapter 3: Problems to Solve
Elena yawned and rolled over… only to find herself alone. She sat up in confusion, rubbing her eyes and trying to figure out where Reno had disappeared to.
He hadn’t been quite himself when they’d gone to bed last night, but then, she probably wouldn’t have been, either, after the day he’d had. It seemed to have grown worse as the medications Ward had given him had started to wear off, though he’d refused to take any more. By that evening, he hadn’t been hungry, picking at his dinner and even turning down dessert. She still wasn’t sure if he’d been in pain or if it was something deeper.
The rookie rolled out of bed, glancing at the clock as she made her way to the door. It was just before six in the morning. Normally she’d have been up and getting ready for work by now… and pestering Reno to do the same, even though she knew he wouldn’t willingly drag himself out from under the covers for at least another half hour. Today, though, she’d shut off the alarm. Tseng had given her permission to use a few days of vacation time to look after the redhead, so long as she remained on call in the event of an emergency. Still… Elena was an early riser by nature. It wasn’t unusual for her to be up well before her alarm went off.
It was unusual for Reno, though.
She opened the door and stepped out into the living room, spotting him immediately on the couch… along with the empty bottle on the coffee table. Frowning, she walked over to him, kneeling down beside him.
He was lying on his stomach, his injured leg stretched out along the couch while the other leg dangled over the edge of the cushions. His head was pillowed on folded arms, and he was snoring softly.
“Reno?” She shook him gently, but the only reply she got was a soft groan. He didn’t wake right away. The rookie could smell the sharp scent of liquor, and wondered how full that bottle had been when he’d started drinking last night. The sight was disheartening. “Oh, Reno…” she sighed, letting her hands drift along his spine. “What am I going to do with you?”
“Mmph…” His head slowly turned towards her, bleary eyes struggling to focus. “‘Lena? What’re you doin’ up?” he slurred, obviously still more than just slightly inebriated.
“Worrying about why my boyfriend is drunk on the couch at six A.M. instead of in bed with me where he belongs,” Elena replied.
“Tch… m’not drunk. Just… pre-hung over.” The redhead slowly pushed himself up, trying to get into some semblance of an upright position. He only succeeded in tumbling gracelessly to the floor, with a loud yelp, before Elena could catch him.
“Reno!” she cried, alarmed.
“Ow…” he muttered. The rookie slipped behind him, grabbing him under each arm, and lifted him back onto the couch, careful to avoid aggravating his injuries any farther. “S’okay… I’m good.”
“… Reno, just how much did you have to drink last night?” she asked, somewhat incredulously. She’d seen the man drunk before, but never to the point that he was falling all over himself. It scared her a little. He shook his head.
“Just th’one bottle…” he replied, his arm snaking its way around her shoulders. “Prob’ly shouldn’ta done that… didn’t eat much b’fore bed…” He grinned drunkenly and leaned into her, one hand deftly sliding beneath her pajama top and fondling her as he teasingly kissed her neck. “Fuck, you’re beautiful, ‘Lena…” he murmured against her skin. “Too fuckin’ beautiful…”
Elena rolled her eyes and gently coaxed his hand out from under her shirt and squirmed her way out of his grip. Well… at least that response was normal. “You need some coffee,” she stated firmly.
“Don’t want coffee. I’m happily perfect bein’ drunk right now.”
“Well, you know who’s not going to be very ‘happily perfect’?” she asked with a soft laugh at the muddled phrase, stroking his hair affectionately. “Dr. Ward. You have an appointment with her in less than two hours.”
The redhead paled slightly. “… Ah, fuck. Doc’s gonna murder me. Or worse, revoke my candy privileges for th’rest of my life…”
She giggled quietly, in spite of herself, at his slightly panicked expression and eased him back until he was laying down again. “Just relax… We’ll get you sobered up,” she assured him, leaving him for the moment and stepping into the kitchen. Elena opened a cabinet and grabbed the coffee, dumping a generous amount into the coffee maker. She had a feeling he was going to need it extra strong this morning. Once it was brewing, she returned to him and settled herself next to him, petting him.
“So… Thought you could get away with throwing a party and not inviting me, huh?” she teased, trying not to let her concern over his present condition show thought too much.
“Ya didn’t miss anything. It was a pretty shit party,” he retorted. Elena trailed the backs of her fingers along his cheek, drawing a soft sigh from the redhead.
“What’s really going on?”
Reno shrugged, and looked away. “Couldn’t sleep.”
“Reno…”
He turned his gaze back toward her and sighed. “‘Kay… fine. Had a dream that freaked me the hell out. Came out for somethin’ to drink ‘n maybe mighta got a li’l carried away…”
“You think?” she smirked, holding up the empty bottle, before turning serious. “I wish you’d woken me up instead.”
“… You’re not gonna ask what it was about?” Reno asked, and Elena was sure he’d done so to avoid responding to the desire she’d just expressed. She shook her head in the negative.
“I think I already have a pretty good idea…” It wasn’t exactly any great leap to make, after all. What he’d been forced to do yesterday would have been traumatic for any of them. To be honest, the only thing that really surprised her was that it had taken so long before it had seemed to hit him… but then, that, too, wasn’t difficult to explain given the injuries and the medications, and the general air of safety and protection he’d been enveloped in since waking up in the hospital. Elena doubted very much that Ward would have left him on his own for long after she’d been called back in to work. Reno probably hadn’t even had time to process it all until he’d finally fallen asleep last night.
The sound of the coffee maker using up the last few drops of water in its reservoir told her his coffee was ready, and she hurried to get him some.
“Come on…” she said, returning quickly with a large mug. “Let’s try and get you fixed before Ward skins you alive.”
She refused to even look at him. He been standing there calmly, patiently, for almost five minutes now, and she hadn’t even acknowledged him. She simply sat, perched on the edge of the cot, arms folded, her face turned away from the door.
“I didn’t want this,” Tseng said, finally breaking the silence.
Aerith shifted slightly but otherwise didn’t move.
“I tried to prevent it,” he said with a sigh. Even he wasn’t sure if he was referring to the Sector 7 Plate or her capture. He’s tried to stop both. He tried for years, in fact, on her behalf… hoping that if he just continued to pretend they had no idea where she was, he’d never have to bring her back here. He’d come to think of it as an atonement of sorts… for what had happened so many years ago in Sector 3 and for the countless other black marks on his soul. Deep down, he’d always known it was a foolish wish. His first loyalty was to his Turks, and his second was to Shinra. And if the company demanded her imprisonment, it was his duty to be her jailer.
“I’m not speaking to you right now.”
He smiled faintly. It was so very like the young woman to be considerate enough to inform him of that fact instead of just holding her tongue.
“That’s… very unfortunate for me,” he responded, “But I understand. If you need anything, ask the guards. I’ve instructed them to make you as comfortable as possible.”
Tseng turned and left the little cell, closing the door behind him and nodding to the guard outside to re-lock it. As he made his way down the hall, he could feel her eyes on him, watching from the barred window in the door. He didn’t look back. If he had, he was certain she’d only turn away again.
“Of all the knuckle-headed, idiotic, asinine, outright foolish things ta do! Yer lucky yer already hurt or I’d be sorely tempted ta violate my Hippocratic oath right about now and slap some sense inta yeh, yeh Ifrit-forsaken little troublemaker! Do yeh even know how dangerous that was? I have told yeh time and time again, yeh are not ta drink when yer medicated! And what d’yeh go ‘n do?! Yeh down an entire Shiva-be-cursed bottle of whiskey! I swear ta Odin, sometimes I wonder if yeh have a brain in that head of yers…”
By now, Reno was really only half-listening to the doctor’s rant. She’d been laying into him for a good six minutes now if the wall clock was accurate, alternating between deep concern about possible interactions between her prescribed drugs and his early morning binge drinking, and outright fury. It was actually pretty impressive that someone could spend that long berating a person without swearing even once. He certainly couldn’t have done it. Not that he’d have ever made such an attempt to begin with…
But what was truly amusing was the way her accent became more and more pronounced the angrier she got. By now, she had very nearly reached Mideelian northlander, it was so thick. She always spoke with a more than a hint of that familiar lilt to her words, but at the moment, the woman might as well have just stepped off the boat from the little island nation. The fact that he couldn’t quite stop grinning because of it was undoubtedly pissing her off even more.
… And it probably didn’t help that he was still just a bit buzzed. The coffee had helped – and Elena had continued plying him with it the entire way to Midgar General – but there was really no hiding the fact that he was less than completely sober. He’d ultimately had to come clean.
“Are yeh ev’n listenin’ ta me, yeh daft little pain in my backside?! Yer lucky yer less a child then yeh act… Oth’rwise I’ve have yeh over my knee, just as my mam did ta her brood when we dared ta step outta line!”
“Easy, Doc…” Reno replied, raising his hands in surrender. “I get the point…”
“Oh, yeh do, do yeh?” Ward angrily crossed her arms over her chest and glared at him. “Well, just ta make sure it sticks… No. Treat.”
The redhead cringed. He’d seen that coming, but it was still disappointing. There was really nothing particularly special about Ward’s candy. He could have bought a week’s supply from just about any corner convenience store. For some reason, it always seemed to taste sweeter coming from her, though.
“Now then…” she continued, visibly calming herself as professionalism crept back in, “Yeh’ve got an hour-long session and I don’t have all day ta stand about and scream at yeh… so we’d best get started.”
Reno sighed and laid back on the bed, pulling his injured leg up onto the mattress. “We really gotta go a whole hour? This shit’s boring as fuck and I think ya might’ve scared ‘Lena right out of the hospital with all that yellin’…” he teased. Really, Elena only had disappeared to retrieve something she’d left in the car. She hadn’t said what it was, but he could guess. She had a captive audience, after all… He was fairly certain he was getting read to, whether he liked it or not.
“Yeh watch yer language, young man… I’m still very angry with yeh and yeh’ve already lost yer treat for one visit,” the doctor warned him. “Yeh’ll be getting an hour and not a half-second less… I plan on having yeh back on yer feet again by the end of next week if not sooner.” She turned on her heel and marched over to the hefty piece of machinery stationed in the far corner of the room, pulling it’s heavy-duty cart to his bedside.
Mako therapy was a relatively new advance in medical technology… The result of years of research in the Shinra Biologics Department had, for a pleasant change, produced something that wouldn’t poison, maim, or attempt to eat a person. Reno wasn’t clear on the specifics – nor did he particularly care about them – but they’d somehow found a way to harness and amplify the properties of mako energy that produced healing materia. From what he’d been told, it accelerated a person’s natural healing rate by nearly ten times. Injuries that would normally take months to mend could be taken care of in weeks, even days, instead.
And he’d certainly had plenty of opportunities to see it in action over the past couple of years.
The only downside was that it had to be done in sessions due to the danger of over-exposure and subsequent mako poisoning. That meant repeated trips to the hospital, sitting or laying still in one place for an hour or more, over and over and over until the Doc finally deemed him repaired. It was, as he’d said, boring as fuck. Particularly since the damned machine tended to interfere with other nearby electronics, so he couldn’t watch television, listen to music, or even play a game on his PHS while he was waiting for it to finish up. It was enough to drive him mad sometimes.
Being read to was suddenly sounding a lot more appealing. As long as Ward didn’t stick around for it. He wasn’t about to admit it, but he liked listening to Elena read… he just didn’t want people finding out about it. It was babyish. He didn’t typically care about what most people thought of him… but still. He had at least some dignity left.
And so of course, the rookie chose that precise moment to return, the large, familiar book in hand. Reno sighed and hoped Ward wouldn’t notice.
“Now, don’t yeh forget… yer psych evaluation is at ten. Are yeh going ta make it there on yer own, or do I need ta admit yeh so I can keep an eye on yeh personally?” the doctor asked as she encased his leg in the thick transparent material that the mako would eventually be flowing through. She pulled the heavy arm of the mako therapy machine over his leg, hooking him up.
“Tch… I’ll behave,” he muttered, rolling his eyes. “Probably lose out on my candy for a month if I don’t…”
“Yer darn right yeh will,” Ward replied with a smirk, and Elena smothered a giggle. “Everything comfortable?”
The redhead shrugged. “Comfortable as this thing ever gets…” It was bulky and cumbersome… and worse, if you started to itch, there was was absolutely no way to get at it until the whole process was over. Dr. Ward nodded and pressed several buttons on the control panel. The therapy machine started up with a low hum, and Reno watched as the mako began to swirl.
It wasn’t entirely unpleasant once it was actually going. It was an odd thing to say, but he could swear that he could actually feel himself healing bit by bit. It didn’t hurt… In some ways, it was actually pretty enjoyable. Or might have been, if not for the time and boredom involved.
Elena had settled herself into the chair by the bed, the book already open on her lap, and Ward eyed it curiously.
“Planning on entertaining my patient, then?” she chuckled, and the rookie grinned.
“He says it’s silly for a grown man to be read to… but I know he secretly likes it,” Elena replied. Reno glared at her in response.
“Mmm… Is that Mesker’s ‘Anthology’?” Ward asked, and Elena quickly nodded, prompting a smile from the physician, “I had that book as a girl… Lovely stories. Have yeh read him ‘The Tattling Stone’ yet? That was always my favorite.”
“Has everyone read this damn book?” he petulantly wondered aloud.
Elena ignored him and shook her head. “We haven’t gotten that far yet.”
“Well… I’ll leave yeh to it, then,” the doctor replied, before turning to Reno, “Yeh know the drill by now. No squirming, no complaining, and absolutely no tampering with yer monitors. The nursing staff was not amused the last time. I’ll check in on yeh in a bit.”
“Hmph… She dump you or something?” Rude asked as Tseng returned to the office. The Wutaiian Turk cast him an annoyed look. Both he and Reno liked to tease their superior occasionally over his apparent fondness for the young woman… even though he’d made it perfectly clear to them – several dozen times by now – that he didn’t see her in any such way. The pair persisted, however… it had been a running joke between them for years. After awhile, he’d given up any hope of ever making them stop.
“She’s not particularly happy with me, no.”
“Well, maybe this’ll cheer you up. Heidegger dropped it off while you were gone,” the other man said, handing Tseng a sheet of paper. He raised an eyebrow in disbelief.
“When has Heidegger’s presence in our offices ever cheered me up?” he deadpanned, before turning his attention to the memo. Rude smirked and let him read it. “Ah…” Tseng smiled slightly. “Well, I suppose there’s a first time for everything.”
It was an itinerary for Rufus’ return to Midgar. The younger Shinra would be arriving by helicopter tomorrow evening, followed by a private dinner with the executive board. A welcome home luncheon was planned for the entire company the following afternoon. Nothing that pertained specifically to the Turks… but Tseng was grudgingly grateful to their department head for endeavoring to inform them of the schedule.
“Glad to have him coming home?”
“Extremely. I dislike Rufus being housed so far out of our reach.”
“And you miss him.”
Tseng snorted a quiet laugh. It was true… Rufus was really the only executive who’s company the Turk leader actually enjoyed. It was a cool and understated friendship… but a friendship none the less, and Tseng had difficulty simply ignoring his absence.
“Yes… And I miss him,” he agreed. “Though the three of you have kept me more than entertained while he’s been gone. Speaking of which… I haven’t heard from Justinia yet this morning. Is it possible that Reno actually showed up for a medical appointment on time and without complaint?”
Now it was Rude’s turn to laugh. “Probably more like Elena showed up on time and brought him along with her. He cooperates for her, you know…”
Tseng sighed. “Then Elena seems to have managed something I’ve spent ten years attempting to master.”
“Well… to be fair, you never tried sleeping with him,” Rude teased.
“There are limits to how far I will go to obtain the desired result,” he responded dryly, with a roll of his eyes. He shook his head. “But enough joking around… Have we gotten confirmation that the remaining members of Avalanche were killed? The odds of them having survived are admittedly slim, but I’d prefer to have that particular loose end tied up sooner rather than later.”
“No… no sign of their bodies. Rescue personnel are still combing the area for survivors and remains, though. It’s gonna be awhile before everyone’s accounted for and they’ve got to be buried pretty deep.” He frowned slightly before continuing. “But…”
“But?” Tseng echo, curious.
“I’ve had someone keeping an eye on the Gainsborough house since last night, just in case. It’s just been the kid and Aerith’s mother so far… but I haven’t heard from my lookout yet this morning. Not sure why.”
“I see. The girl… she’s the bartender’s?”
Rude shook his head. “Thought so at first, but Tifa’s just a family friend. She’s Barret Wallace’s kid… or at least he’s raising her. His background check says his wife died four years ago after the Mount Corel reactor was bombed. No children. Not entirely sure where she came from. Maybe an orphan from Corel… maybe from the slums.”
Tseng frowned thoughtfully. He remembered that mess. Corel had very nearly been another Nibelhiem… but Shinra had characterized the destruction of the town as protecting the reactor nestled in the mountains above it… in reality, it was a punishment for the townspeople’s audacity to attempt to destroy the very thing that was ensuring their livelihoods. The Corel reactor was one of the first Shinra had ever built and the little town of Corel had been something of a guinea pig. The President had not been happy when it was damaged, and his retaliation had been swift and deadly.
The Turks hadn’t been called in to deal with the situation – it had been left to the company’s military troops under Scarlet’s supervision, as by that point in time, the reactor had been in the middle of a transition to study way of weaponizing the technology – but he had certainly heard an earful about it from Rufus. The Vice President had thought Scarlet’s decision to raze the town had been a needless waste of resources and labor that could have been put into repairing the damage to the reactor.
“If any of them survived, they’d undoubtedly go looking for her,” the Turk leader finally said. “I believe Aerith was trying to inform them that she’d managed to secure her safety at the Pillar.”
“Had the same thought. That’s why I was watching. Want me to check in personally?”
“No. Unfortunately, we have more pressing matters today. Someone has been in one of Hojo’s labs without authorization.”
“More of a building security issue, isn’t it?” Rude replied.
“I’d normally agree, except that Aerith’s present attitude toward me isn’t the only reason for the expression I was wearing when I walked in here. Security has already gone through the camera footage and can find nothing but a few minutes of technical glitches. The cameras in the lab in question briefly cut out late last night… They can’t explain why.”
“Anything important get taken?”
“That’s just it. Nothing seems to have been taken. Several specimens were extremely agitated this morning, however. And the Jenova specimen’s enclosure showed evidence of someone attempting to open it.”
“Jenova?” Rude asked, peering over his sunglasses in surprise. Tseng nodded.
“I suspect it was someone with fairly high level access… and of course, industrial espionage falls to us to investigate. If this is some underpaid lab assistant looking to sell company secrets, it’s a priority and needs to be dealt with quickly.”
“Gonna call Elena in?”
Tseng shook his head in the negative. “Not if I don’t have to. I’d prefer she stay with Reno right now… and I’m sure she would prefer that as well. I want my second-in-command back, and the sooner he’s up to the task, the better.”
Reno fidgeted on the plush sofa in the waiting room, eyes glancing up at the clock every few seconds. The rookie wasn’t sure if he was anxious to get this over with or hoping that time would stop so he wouldn’t have to worry about it. Knowing the redhead, it was probably both. She leaned in, wrapping an arm around his waist.
“Would you relax?”
He sighed and rubbed absently at his knee. The mako therapy had done a remarkable job on it. He would still need crutches for awhile… probably until his next session finished things up… but it hurt a lot less, and the swelling had gone down. He’d even been able to put some weight on it, though Ward had immediately yelled at him for doing so.
By the time Ward had finished with him, there had been very little time to kill before his mandatory pysch evaluation. The doctor had gone out of her way to examine every inch of him, and he suspected it was purely for the purpose of keeping him there so he wouldn’t have an excuse to ditch his second appointment of the day. Not that Elena would have let him.
“Ward’s bad enough… ‘least she’s got candy. I hate these assholes,” he muttered. Psychiatrists were probably the only exception to his love of being the center of attention. The pried, they judged, and they inevitably made him feel like there was something wrong with him. And given his choice of profession, there probably was,but he didn’t need to be reminded of that by some over-educated jackass who didn’t really know the first thing about him. Every psych eval he’d ever been forced into he’d left pissed off and mentally exhausted… and in one case, semi-conscious, after he’d hit his limit of bullshit and threatened the doctor. He’d been tasered by hospital security in response.
It was a complete over-reaction on their part. He hadn’t actually been serious about tossing the guy off the roof.
He was especially not looking forward to this evaluation. Reno had honestly started to think he had shit under control yesterday. He’d been upset, but it had been manageable. At least until the medication had started to wear off and he could think a little more clearly. He was sure Elena had noticed… if not earlier in the evening, then certainly by dinner time. He’d had no appetite whatsoever, and even choking down the few bites he’d managed had taken some effort. To her credit, she hadn’t tried to discuss it with him then, even though she’d clearly wanted to… and he was sure it was because she could tell he just wasn’t up to it yet.
He was also sure his little display this morning had frightened her, even if she’d been pretty cool about it, and he wished he’d left that damn bottle right where it was in the back of the cabinet. It was bad enough having to carry around the guilt for what he’d had to do in Sector 7… he didn’t need to add more to that by worrying the hell out of the woman he loved.
Reno’s eyes instinctively fluttered shut as Elena’s fingers snuck to the back of his neck, squeezing gently, and he sighed as he felt the soft touch of her lips on his cheek… the briefest of kisses. It was repeated a moment later, and this time she drew it out just a little longer. The redhead smiled in spite of himself and turned his head, capturing the next kiss with his lips instead.
A part of him… the part he’d slowly learned to tell to fuck the hell off over the past few months… told him he had no right to her. She was too perfect. Too amazing. He didn’t deserve her… especially now. In response, he lost himself in her, ignoring the nagging feelings of inadequacy and silently begging her not to let him go. Elena’s arms tightened around him, and for a moment he wondered if he’d said that out loud. He didn’t think he had…
“Ah hem…” a voice broke in with an exaggerated clearing of the throat, and he bit back a growl of irritation at the interruption. That had probably been the most relaxed and normal he’d felt all day, and this fucker had just ruined it. Reno’s eyes narrowed as he turned to glare at the interloper… an expression that was quickly replaced with a look of surprise as he caught site of her.
It was rare he lucked out and got a woman for his evals – he half-wondered if someone had put a note in his file prohibiting it after the last time, given that he’d wound up taking her home with him – much less one that looked like that.
She was smiling pleasantly, looking amused by what she’d stumbled in on. She was young… likely no older than Elena, in fact… and slim and tone, her ebony skin made all the darker by the stark white coat she wore. Her hair hung in long, narrow braids to the small of her back, where a tight, gray pencil skirt hugged her hips, accentuating her body’s natural curves. She pushed her glasses back up the bridge of her nose and glanced down at the clipboard in her hand.
“Reno Donovan? I’m Dr. Quaid. If you’ll come with me?”
He jumped slightly as Elena jabbed him in the shoulder. “You can put your tongue back in your mouth now, you pervert…” she deadpanned, and he quickly turned back to look at her, words of denial and protest already on his lips. The rookie snickered quietly, grinning.
“Very funny, ‘Lena…” he said, rolling his eyes… and thanking his lucky stars that Elena wasn’t as insecure as he sometimes tended to be. He stood, and followed the doctor into her office, glancing back at the rookie before the door closed.
“Have a seat,” Dr. Quaid said, gesturing to the couch in the middle of the room, and taking up her own place in a nearby chair. Reno did as requested, hoping this would go quickly. “Now… before we get started, there are a few things I want to be very clear about. I’ve read through your file, and all of the notes your previous doctors have made. I don’t care how impressive you think you are… I won’t be going home with you.”
Reno’s eyebrows arched in surprise. “Wait… there really is a note about that?”
“Yes. So don’t get any ideas.”
“Tch… Relax, Doc. That was a long time ago. ‘Sides… I’m taken, now.” He gave her a slight lecherous smirk. “So don’t you go gettin’ any ideas, either. Trust me… you don’t piss off my girlfriend.”
“I take it that was her in the waiting room?”
“Yeah. That’s her.”
“Well… Let’s start there, then,” Dr. Quaid replied, leaning back in the chair and crossing her legs. “Tell me about her.”
Reno shook his head. “Thought this was s’posed to be about me…” he replied, eyes narrowing suspiciously.
“In general… but anything that’s important to you is something I’m interested in hearing about. What’s her name?”
“Elena.” The redhead propped his injured leg up on the coffee table and sat back against the couch cushions.
“And how do you feel about Elena?”
Reno blinked once and stared at the woman. How the fuck was he even supposed to answer that? He wasn’t sure he could put those feelings into actual words, even for Elena… let alone some random stranger. The doctor didn’t seem to mind his silence, patiently awaiting an answer. He got the feeling that if he didn’t say something they were going to be here all day.
“‘Lena’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me,” he finally replied. He’d probably said those words a hundred times by now. And he meant them more every time he said them… but even that didn’t come close to describing the deep-seated need he felt for her.
“Why?” the woman asked, almost innocently.
Half a dozen answers flashed through his mind. Because he loved her. Because she loved him. Because she didn’t judge him for his past or his personality or his imperfections. Because she was the most beautiful woman on the planet and she was his. Because she filled in a part of him he’d never noticed was missing until she’d come along. Because he could loose everything and be happy as long as he still had her. Somehow none of them seemed to say what needed to be said.
“‘Cause she just is.”
“Hmm…” the doctor hummed thoughtfully, “And how does she feel about your line of work? Have you told her what you do for a living?”
Normally, he might have been vaguely annoyed by such a loaded question… to the point of getting defensive if he was in a bad enough mood. This time, though, all he could do was laugh.
“Didn’t exactly have to tell her, Doc…” he said once he got control of himself. “‘Lena’s a Turk, too. She knows exactly what I ‘do for a living’. She’s usually doin’ it with me.”
Dr. Quaid looked somewhat surprised for a moment before quickly schooling her expression. Reno could sort of understand the reaction. Elena really didn’t look like what most people thought of when they heard the word ‘Turk’. Though to be fair, he wasn’t sure he really fit that bill either. Rude was more the stereotypical image of a Turk. Even Tseng wouldn’t garner so much as a raised eyebrow from the average Midgar resident.
“How long have you been together?” she asked, recovering.
Reno shrugged. “Depends who ya ask. My partner’ll tell ya we’ve been together since the day she was promoted. But my partner’s also an asshole who thinks his jokes are better than mine. Boss’ll say about three months, and he’s got no sense of humor, so… take your pick.”
“What would she say?”
“Heh… ‘Lena? She could tell ya down to the second, if you asked her, probably.” He frowned, pensively. “Come to think of it, though… I’m not entirely sure where she started countin’. We weren’t technically an item when we first slept together… and we weren’t technically an item for awhile after either.” He shrugged, making a mental note to find that out one of these days. He knew where he started counting… it had been the moment Elena had said yes to him in her bedroom the first night he’d been with her. That was when he’d finally dared to believe that there was a chance he could have something he was certain he never would.
“Tell me something about Elena’s personality. What drew you to her?”
“She’s perfect,” Reno said, without even having to think about it.
“Oh? In what way?”
“Every fuckin’ way someone can be perfect.” He paused for a moment before adding, “Well… ‘cept her taste in music. Some of that shit she listens to is just… ugh…” He shuddered slightly, but then grinned. “‘Cept for that, though, she’s perfect.” Reno sighed softly and shook his head. “Look… much as I love talkin’ about ‘Lena… and trust me, I could do it all day if someone actually wanted to listen to me make a complete idiot of myself… can we just get this bullshit over with? We both know I’m not here to talk about my relationship with my girlfriend.”
Dr. Quaid scribbled something in her notes and nodded. “Alright. Let’s talk about Sector 7, then.”
Well… that was blunt. He almost laughed at the sudden shift. Reno vaguely wondered how such a young doctor had managed to get high enough security clearance to even know about the reason for this evaluation, let alone conduct it.
“Where should I start?” he asked, steeling himself.
“Why don’t you start by tell me how you ended up being the one to trigger the collapse?”
“Tch… That’s easy. Luck of the draw. And I have terrible, shitty luck.”
“You weren’t ordered to do it?” Quaid asked.
“Not me specifically. The Turks were ordered to do it. We left the details up to chance.” He massaged his knee and shifted position slightly. It was starting to get stiff.
“Why didn’t you refuse?”
Reno eyed her, not sure if that was a legitimate question or an accusation. “Two reasons. One, it’s tradition. Ya draw black, ya do the job. No complaining. Two… If I’d refused, someone else woulda had to do it. And I didn’t want that. Those guys are the only family I got, and fuck if I’m gonna try ‘n pawn shit like that off on one of ’em.”
More notes being jotted down. “How did you feel afterwards?”
“I was a little busy tryin’ not to get shot immediately afterwards. Then I did get shot, so I was a little busy bleedin’ all over the helicopter ‘n tryin’ not to die. Then I was unconscious for awhile. And then Ward doped me up with fuck only knows what, so… I was pretty much fine,” he said in a tone of mixed seriousness and sarcasm. The doctor smiled wanly.
“What about now?”
The redhead hesitated. This was the part he wasn’t looking forward to… but if he didn’t pass this evaluation, Ward would have him on desk duty for the foreseeable future. Or worse… extended leave. He wasn’t sure he could handle being alone with his thoughts right now with no outlet.
“I had a dream last night. I was on the Pillar, watchin’ the Plate fall. I was trapped there. Couldn’t move. Couldn’t get to ‘Lena or Rude or Tseng. They needed me, but… I couldn’t make myself move. I watched it bury ’em all.”
“And then what?”
“Tch… Then I woke up, scared outta my mind ’til I realized where I was. Still don’t know how I managed not to wake up ‘Lena. She was sleepin’ right next to me.” He could still remember how badly he had wanted to be held at that moment… and how he couldn’t bring himself to disturb her.
“Were you able to sleep after that?”
“Downed an entire bottle of whiskey ‘n passed out in the living room… so, yeah. S’pose you could say I got back to sleep…”
That answer, apparently, merited several seconds of furious scribbling. When the woman was done, she looked up at him again. “Is that something you make a habit of?”
“What? Drinkin’ myself unconscious?” he snickered. “Nah… I don’t typically let it get that far.”
“But you are a heavy drinker, according to your file.”
Reno shrugged. “That a question, or you just pointin’ out my short-comings for me?” This always came up… never failed. At least a few of of the various members of the psych department he’d had to deal with over the years had to be convinced he was a raging alcoholic by now.
“It was only an observation. Do you consider it a short-coming?” Quaid probed. The redhead sighed and rolled his eyes. He’d walked right into that one.
“Not personally. Lotta people might. You one of ’em?” he shot back. He smirked a little when she seemed startled by the question. She was pretty young… Probably new at this and not really used to a patient calling her out. To her credit, she recovered quickly.
“I’d say it depends on the circumstances.”
“Yeah, well… for the record, it takes a hell of a lot to actually get me drunk. I’m just weird like that. Last night was kind of an exception to the rule. Hadn’t eaten much of anything, and that always fucks me over if I drink.”
“Did you feel better when you woke up?”
Reno raised an incredulous eyebrow. “You don’t do much drinkin’ yourself, do ya? You don’t typically ‘feel better’ the next morning if you overdo it,” he snickered. “Hell, I was still wasted when I woke up, ’cause ‘Lena came lookin’ for me. Didn’t even get the chance to sleep it off.”
“Was she angry? Upset?”
He shook his head. “Think she was too worried about me to be mad.”
“And how did that make you feel?”
“Like shit. I don’t like makin’ her worry over me. I don’t like doin’ anything that hurts her ’cause she deserves better than that,” the redhead replied. It suddenly occurred to him they’d somehow come full circle back to Elena, and couldn’t help but wonder what the doctor’s interest was in her. The hell with it… He decided to just ask. “Why so curious about my girlfriend, Doc?”
Dr. Quaid smiled warmly. “Actually… you’re the one who keeps bringing her up. Even after I asked you explicitly about Sector 7. She means a great deal to you… doesn’t she? You care about her, and it sounds like you also rely on her. Tell me something… why do you think you had that dream last night?”
Reno snorted derisively. “Think that’s more your job to figure out than mine, Doc. But if I had to guess, I’d say it mighta had somethin’ to do with me murderin’ somethin’ like eight thousand people.”
“Do you feel guilty about that?”
“Of course I do,” he said, with a glare. “I fuckin’ grew up in the slums. I still know people down there. Fuck, I might even know some of the people who got caught in the collapse. It was overkill. I knew it, Tseng knew it. The President sure as fuck knew it. But feelin’ guilty about it after the fact doesn’t change anything. You’re still stuck livin’ with it.”
“Would you change things if you could?”
The redhead leaned back against the cushions and folded his arms across his chest. “No.”
“No?” the doctor parroted, sounding surprised.
“No. Like I said, Doc. If I didn’t do it, someone else woulda had to. Turks don’t get to pick and choose what orders they obey, and the ones that have tried in the past didn’t live very long. I’d rather have to deal with this shit myself than let it fuck up someone I care about. ‘Specially ‘Lena. I’ve… seen what it can do to a person.”
“Are you worried about what it might do to you?” Dr. Quaid probed.
“I’d be stupid if I wasn’t,” Reno replied, looking away, “Somethin’ like this broke someone I didn’t think could break once. Came out of it alright in the end… but there was a while I wasn’t so sure he would.”
Elena turned the page and gazed at the text in front of her. She had no idea which of the stories she was supposedly reading. To be honest, she’d pretty much just been staring blankly at the book, and occasionally flipping to the next page when it felt like enough time had passed for her to have finished it. It was mostly just so the young woman who’d come in several minutes ago, waiting for her own appointment, wouldn’t try to talk to her. The rookie didn’t feel like having a conversation at the moment. She was too focused on Reno.
He’d been in there for… ages, it felt like. A quick glance at the clock told her it had really only been about an hour. She just wanted him back so she could take care of him… and she was going to feel on edge until she had him.
When her PHS suddenly vibrated, she jumped, startled from her thoughts. She glanced at the screen before answering.
“Yes, sir?” She stepped quickly into the hallway, away from the prying ears of the receptionists and the other patient.
“I’m just checking in,” Tseng’s voice assured her, “I trust Reno hasn’t been too much of a hassle this morning?”
She smiled somewhat mischievously. “No more than usual, sir.”
“I’m truly sorry to hear that,” the the Turk leader deadpanned, drawing a soft laugh from the woman. “Is he finished at the hospital yet?”
“Not yet… But she can’t possibly keep him in there much longer,” Elena responded, some of her impatience slipping into her voice.
“She?” Tseng asked, sounding vaguely surprised. “Don’t tell me they’re letting a woman handle his psych evaluation. I was under the impression he was banned from interacting with the female psychiatric staff for life after the last time…”
“Sir?” she queried, wondering what had happened. Though given that it was Reno they were talking about… she could probably make a few guesses.
“Nevermind,” he snickered, “Ask Reno about that… assuming you even want to know. How is he?”
“… I’m not entirely sure, to be honest. He really wasn’t himself last night. And then this morning… well… let’s just say he didn’t sleep very well. But he seemed like he was doing a little better after the mako therapy… even though Dr. Ward wouldn’t give him his treat,” she added with a giggle at the memory.
“I… have to admit, I’m surprised. Ward is usually a bit more forgiving when he’s had a particularly rough time… What in Leviathan’s name did he do to manage to lose out on it?”
“Well… actually, sir, he didn’t lose out. She gave it to me when he wasn’t looking and said he could still have it if he behaved for his psych eval. If he doesn’t, I’m supposed to eat it in front of him.” She knew she was skirting his question, but she just didn’t want to tell Tseng how she’d found the redhead earlier that morning. The Turk leader chuckled.
“I see. Well… when they finally deign to release him, ask him if he’s in the mood to join Rude and I for lunch. Both of us could use a short break after the morning we’ve had. And there are a few things that have been going on you should both be made aware of.”
Elena blinked in surprise. “Do you need me to come into work?” she asked. She would rather not have left Reno alone, but she doubted the redhead would stand for it if she was needed and didn’t go in. It had taken some convincing just to get him to agree to her using her vacation time this week.
“No… There’s no need. In fact, there’s very little you could assist with even if you did. I simply want to keep you both in the loop and would prefer to do so in person,” Tseng replied.
Lunchtime found them seated inside of a small Wutaiian restaurant in Sector 1, waiting for the arrival of their missing teammates. Tseng flipped through the menu, torn between a handful of options. This particular establishment was a favorite of his, and he could never decide what looked the most appetizing.
“Nothing catching your eye?” Rude asked.
“Just the opposite, unfortunately. A pity the more traditional Wutaiian establishments in Midgar aren’t partial to combo platters…” he replied, with a shake of his head. The bald Turk laughed quietly.
“Easy solution.”
“What’s that?”
“Learn to eat like Reno,” he shrugged.
“Tempting an idea as that is, I don’t think my waistline would appreciate it.” His gaze suddenly shifted towards the front of the restaurant and he smiled warmly. “Speaking of our resident bottomless pit…”
Reno and Elena were making their way toward them… a task that seemed almost frustratingly slow for the redhead as he navigated the spaces between the tables on his crutches. Tseng had hoped the mako treatment this morning would have negated the need for those… but he wasn’t really that surprised to see him still relying on them. The redhead sank into the chair opposite him, and Elena joined him, moments later.
“I’m fuckin’ sick of these things already,” he groused, and Tseng chuckled.
Elena rolled her eyes. “Reno… you’ve had them for all of twenty four hours. Not even, actually. And Dr. Ward said you’d probably only need one or two more sessions.”
“Yeah, yeah…” he sighed, picking up the menu in front of him. He peered at the Turk leader over the top of it. “S’pose you’re wonderin’ about the eval.”
“It had crossed my mind,” the Wutaiian Turk answered.
“Yeah, well, it was a fuckin’ pain in the ass, just like they always are.”
“I’m not going to be fielding assault charges again, am I?”
Reno looked up from the menu, an indignant expression on his face. “I never fuckin’ touched that asshole. And I was the one who left with fuckin’ taser burns!”
Rude snorted softly. “At least you managed to avoid that this time…”
“… Um… Do I want to know?” Elena asked, hesitantly.
“Probably not,” Rude replied, smirking, which earned him a raised middle finger from the redhead.
“Well?” Tseng prodded. He fixed Reno with an expectant stare.
“Provisionally cleared,” he said at last, and Tseng breathed a sigh of relief. “She wants to talk to me again before I’m cleared for field duty, and I’m on mandated leave for the rest of this week regardless of what Ward says…” He sighed and rolled his eyes. “And she mighta mentioned makin’ it a regular thing for awhile. But I’m fine for light duty startin’ Monday.”
“I’m glad to hear it. I was… concerned… that a longer leave might be recommended, and wasn’t sure how you’d take it.”
“Heh… That mighta gotten you some assault charges to deal with…” he quipped turning back to the menu. Tseng settled back, relaxing somewhat. That the redhead had been cleared was undoubtedly good news, but seeing him behaving like his normal self was reassuring… though Tseng was under no illusion that Reno was as “fine” as he claimed to be. Still, he seemed to be coping well enough for the moment… and Elena would be nearby should things take a turn for the worse. “This place do combo plates?” the redhead added, glancing up. And Rude snickered.
“Not a word from you,” Tseng warned him, before returning his attention to his lieutenant, “And no… sadly, they do not.”
Reno shrugged. “Fuck it… Long as it’s food, it’s fine. I feel like I haven’t eaten all day.”
“That’s because you haven’t,” Elena pointed out. “We ran out of time for breakfast, remember? You’ve been running off the two gallons of coffee you drank this morning.”
“That’s explains it, then,” he replied, flashing her a quick, teasing grin. “Alright… So why’re we really here, Boss? You actually got somethin’ you want me ‘n ‘Lena to know about? Or were you just lookin’ for an excuse to make sure I’m not fallin’ apart over shit?”
“Hmph… a bit of both, to be honest,” Tseng conceded. “And now that my first concern had been satisfied for the time being, I suppose we should move on to the second.”
He paused abruptly, spotting their waitress making their way towards them, and didn’t resume until their orders had been taken and she was well out of ear-shot.
“Early this morning, someone broke into one of the biologics labs,” he continued, dropping his voice so as not to be overheard. “Camera systems were compromised, and nothing was taken. In fact the only evidence anyone was there at all were some odd readings on the containment unit housing the Jenova specimen, and some unusual behavior from a number of the live specimens kept in that lab.”
“What kinda unusual behavior?” Reno asked, curious.
“I’m not personally an expert in animal behavior… but I would say they were terrified.”
“Tch… I’d be, too, if I was stuck livin’ in one of Hojo’s labs.”
Tseng shook his head. “We’re fairly convinced this is more than just normal stress from their environment. Someone seems to have been in there… though to what end, we’re not certain.”
“Heh… Maybe Jenova tried to get out and go for a late night stroll,” Reno joked. “That’d freak me out…”
“Um… Sir?” Elena broke in, brow furrowed, “What’s Jenova?”
“Sorry… Details are classified above your security clearance,” Reno answered before Tseng could.
Tseng smiled slightly. “Not anymore,” he said, looking pointedly at Reno. “There was one other reason I wanted you two to join us for lunch. It seemed only appropriate we all be here celebrate.”
Reno grinned, quickly catching on. “Fuckin’ took ya long enough. And you keep tellin’ me I’m terrible about puttin’ off paperwork.”
“What’s going on?” the rookie asked, confused. “Celebrate what?”
Rude grinned widely, but said nothing. The redhead, meanwhile, was snickering. “Your promotion, ‘Lena. You’re not a probationary Turk anymore… or my rookie. You’re officially graduatin’.”
Elena blinked in surprise, and seemed to be thoroughly at a loss for words. Tseng’s smile widened.
“Congratulations,” the Turk leader added. “Along with the new rank and associated pay increase, your security clearance has also been raised to 7-Beta. Which, as implied, means I can tell you about Jenova… but, I’m fairly certain your mentor would prefer I hold off for a moment.”
Tseng sat back and watched as Reno pulled her over to him, kissing her. He still clearly remembered how it had felt telling the redhead the same thing nearly ten years ago. He’d taken great pride in it… and Reno had certainly earned it, going from a slum rat who Veld had barely even agreed to allow his second to take on at all to a valued and irreplaceable member of the team. More than that, though, it had been a personal achievement… perhaps Tseng’s greatest achievement to date. Seeing his own former rookie going through it himself brought that back.
“… Don’t remember you or Veld doing that when you told me I was being promoted,” Rude commented to the Turk leader, as the redhead’s arms snaked their way around his girlfriend’s waist, pulling her closer still.
The pair broke apart moments later, and Reno smirked. “What? Ya mean it was just me?” he said, in mock confusion. “I always just thought that’s how we did things…” Tseng rolled his eyes as Rude sniggered loudly next to him.
“If you’re finished making less than vague implications about me…” he said, shaking his head indulgently at the joke, “Elena was asking about Jenova, I believe.”
Reno shrugged, grinning innocently. “What implications?”
“Jenova is one of Hojo’s most highly classified specimen’s,” Tseng continued, ignoring the other man’s attempted goading. “It is, ostensibly, the remains of a female Ancient. It was previously stored at the Nibelheim Reactor. We retrieved it five years ago and brought it back to Midgar, where it has remained ever since.”
“Thing’s creepy as all fuck,” Reno added, “Tentacles, bluish gray skin… and she’s kinda missin’ her head, so… ya know. There’s that, too.” He paused for a moment, with a pensive expression on his face, “Nice tits, though.”
“Oh, really?” Elena intoned, clearly not especially amused, and he grinned.
“Not as nice as yours, of course…”
Elena swatted at him, landing a glancing blow on his shoulder as he ducked out of the way. She sighed and laughed slightly, returning her attention to Tseng.
“So then… it’s not alive. I mean, obviously, since it has no head…”
“… Oh, it’s alive, alright,” Rude piped up, shuddering.
“Tch… It’s not alive,” the redhead countered, “You just freaked yourself out… that’s all. Ya big wuss.”
“I know what I saw.”
Reno laughed softly at Elena’s curious expression. “Rude got saddled with temporary guard duty for a couple of days after we brought her back… Alone. At night. Swears he saw her movin’ in the tank. Ya ask me, he just let the place get to him and doesn’t want to admit it.”
“Enough,” Tseng said, calmly, “Frankly, it’s one of Hojo’s experiments, so Leviathan only knows what’s really going on with it. There are any number of details about the project that we’re not privy to. In any case, the specimen appears to have been at the center of last night’s disturbance. Rude and I will continue to investigate. You needn’t concern yourselves about it right now. I simply wanted to keep the both of you up to date.”
Lunch had gone on a bit longer than usual, given that the meeting had doubled as a celebration of Elena’s promotion. Once the food had arrived, shop talk had ceased, and she’d quickly been made the center of attention. Her focus had been mostly on Reno at first. She couldn’t help thinking back to the state she’d found him in that morning, and how vastly different… how perfectly normal… he seemed now. She couldn’t tell if he was really doing better, or just putting up a front.
They returned home later that afternoon.
“You were watchin’ me all through lunch,” the redhead suddenly stated. He was stretched out on the couch, eyes following her as he made herself a cup of tea in the kitchen. His tone wasn’t accusatory… just matter-of-fact. Elena’s gaze was locked firmly onto her cup as she stirred in a spoonful of honey. “I’m not ticked off about it, or anything…” Reno added, “Actually… I kinda like knowin’ that you’re lookin’ out for me.”
She glanced up at him, and made her way back into the living room.
“I just want you to be okay. That’s all. And you’re not… I can tell.”
“Yeah. It fucks with ya, ya know? One second, I’m fine. Then I suddenly remember what I did… and then I feel like shit for feeling fine about it.” He raised a hand, smiling slightly has he caught hold of hers, pulling her down onto the couch next to him. “So… for the record, I don’t like talkin’ about shit like that, even when I know I should.”
“Reno…”
“Don’t start in on me… I know. You want me to talk to you. I’ll try. And I promise not to freak ya out again like I did this morning.”
Elena set her tea on the coffee table and kissed him gently on the forehead. “You’d better not… or I’ll throw out your entire collection.”
“Geez, ‘Lena… You don’t have to threaten me…” he chuckled.
Rude yawned and scowled at his computer’s screen. They hadn’t made any kind of progress determining who had accessed the biologics lab the previous evening… and now it had been more than twenty-four hours since the sentinel he’d stationed near Aerith’s home had checked in. He hadn’t been able to contact him, either.
He groaned softly when stiff muscles protested as he stood up, intent upon grabbing some coffee… and perhaps some dinner as well, while he was at it. Normally, he’d be heading home right about now… Not tonight, though. Tseng, too, was sticking around, just in case there was a repeat of last night, though he’d disappeared somewhere almost an hour ago.
He silently shuddered at the thought of someone… or something… messing around with the Jenova specimen. Rude typically regarded himself as a pragmatic, grounded, sensible individual… but, dammit, that thing gave him the creeps. At first glance, it was little more than a preserved corpse. Granted, a decidedly bizarre-looking corpse… but a corpse none-the-less. He’d seen a few photos of it prior to having its head removed. That, at least, was very human looking, whatever else it was. He, himself, had a hard time swallowing the claim that it was an Ancient. Aerith, too, was supposedly a descendent of that long ago race… and she didn’t look a damn thing like Jenova.
All he knew for certain was that, no matter what Reno thought, that… thing… wasn’t dead. With a second shudder, he stepped out of the office and headed for the elevator, pressing the button for the cafeteria floor. Rude leaned back against the wall, arms crossed over his chest, as the car descended. It still kind of annoyed him that his partner didn’t believe him, but it didn’t alter his conviction that Jenova was very much alive. And quite possibly aware… in spite of its lack of a head. It was just a feeling he got any time he had to go anywhere near the damned thing.
Tseng had always been a bit more open to the possibility, but it was clear that he had his doubts. Tseng, however, hadn’t seen it moving around in its tank. He hadn’t seen it freeze when it realized that Rude was watching it. He hadn’t felt like it was inexplicably watching him back.
The elevator finally came to a stop, and Rude strode out, trying to put the memory out of his mind. The cafeteria was largely deserted this time of night, but there were still a handful of personnel lingering. Mostly night-shift building security waiting for their shift to start.
“I was just going to call you,” a voice to his left stated, and Rude turned, not entirely surprised to find Tseng down here as well. “It seems we had the same idea.”
Rude nodded and walked over to their usual table, where the Wutaiian Turk was seated, a plate of baked pasta in front of him. “Was wondering where you ran off to.”
“Oh, I’ve been visiting with building security. I’ve arranged to have a few extra cameras installed in the lab as soon as the last of Hojo’s personnel leave for the evening. They may have been able to disable the ones they knew about, but I think we’ll catch our intruder with the additions. Did you have any luck locating your operative?”
“No,” Rude replied, shaking his head. “No answer from him, and no one’s seen him since yesterday.”
“Assuming we get to the bottom of this issue in the biologics lab, go ahead and head down tomorrow morning to see what’s going on,” said Tseng, “For now… get something to eat. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long night.”
Rude had just opened his mouth to answer when the security alarms went off. At almost the same time, the familiar trill of an alert tone emanated from both men’s phones. Tseng was on his feet and pulling up the alert immediately, waving for Rude to follow.
“It seems Hojo’s mystery will have to wait. We have intruders in the building. It’s Avalanche.”
~fin~
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