Guilt’s Cost: Part CI

Call

The surgery to repair the Turk’s shattered hip had come and gone, and he was recovering well. Rayna was overjoyed when he was released from the infirmary and brought to the room they would now share. Porter was still in a large amount of pain and walking was almost impossible, even with the crutches that had been given to him but he tried none the less. Rayna would be right at his side every day when the nurse would come to check on him and give him physical therapy. Despite the agony he was in, knowing that Rayna was now safe and with him he was happier than he had ever been. Even when the doctor gave him the news that despite how well the surgery had gone he would never be completely normal again, he was fine. Having to walk with a limp for the rest of his life was by far better than living with a normal body without Rayna. If this was the price he had to pay, then he would gladly go through it all again.

Days passed, and Vincent didn’t get any better. Tifa remained at his side at all times, except for when the male nurse would come to take Vincent to the bathroom. She stayed away at those times, knowing that Vincent wouldn’t be able to bear the indignity, conscious of it or not. The nurse would also come by to bring Tifa her meals, as Tseng ordered him to do knowing that she wouldn’t dare leave to go eat on her own. They eventually had to set up an intravenous line to keep Vincent nourished as he was unable to eat. It was a brutal looking thing, hooked into the vein in the right side of his neck. After three days of having the fluids delivered into him this way the line started to fail, and Tifa sat and watched as the doctor came to the room and placed a new catheter into the jugular vein on the other side of his neck.

Once that was done, Dr. Arlin looked over at Tifa. "I just want to warn you, in the state he’s in physically, this is the last place we can get a line into him. If he still refuses to eat in a few more days, we’re going to have to place a feeding tube into him."

The thought of yet more being done to her beloved Vincent crushed in on her and the faint amount of color that was still in her cheeks faded. "There isn’t any other way?"

"No, Tifa." The doctor sighed and looked down upon her patient. "We are running out of options. I may not be able to help him mentally, but I will not let him starve to death."

Had there been any more tears within her to shed at that point, she would have. The spiral of helplessness she was caught in concerning Vincent was taking a heavy toll upon her. She herself had lost several pounds at this point from not eating or sleeping right, and it would only be a matter of time before she became ill herself.

Dr. Arlin looked over at Tifa and knew what was happening. It wouldn’t do Vincent any good to continue to watch her wearing herself out tending to him, whether he was aware of it or not. She needed to talk to Tseng about getting something done for Tifa and she left the room.

Angel, Reno, and Jaras all came by several times a day to try and comfort Tifa, all feeling her pain. It was probably hardest on Jaras as his love for her made the pity he felt even more bitter. He longed to be able to pull her from the room and take her anywhere other than here. He too was upset at his father’s state, but he was by far more emotionally invested in the woman and it was hurting him to watch the spectacle day in and day out.

Tseng had been told by Dr. Arlin about Tifa’s state. He knew the doctor was right, but he didn’t know how to go about prying Tifa away from his brother. Tseng wracked his brain trying to think of how he could get her to take a break, but was snapped out of his attempt when the cell phone in his pocket began to ring.

"Tseng here." He said, annoyed that anyone would be calling him this late in the evening. He had just shut himself into his room for the night and was getting ready to change for bed.

"Hey…" A low yet gruff voice crackled over the line. "It’s Cid."

Tseng sat on the edge of his bed, the exhaustion in his voice all too clear. "Mr. Highwind, how can I help you?"

"Yeah, I know it’s late, but you gave me this number and said if anything was wrong I could call." Cid said quietly, obviously very disturbed.

"Certainly, what is the problem?" Tseng asked, knowing that it would take an act of God to get Cid to ask for help with anything.

"Is Tifa around?" He sighed, responding to Tseng’s question with one of his own.

"She’s in her room." Tseng was aware that Tifa had told him about the mission and Vincent’s state via the phone a few days before. "Why?"

"Look, Shera’s not been doing to well and I can’t seem to do anything right for her. I was wondering if Tifa had any ideas what I should do. That baby’s gonna come any day now, but…" Cid took a deep breath, ashamed at what he was about to say, "I can’t stand to watch her be so miserable until then. This pregnancy is being really hard on her, and since Tifa’s a girl, I thought she’d have some insight for me."

Tseng was speechless for a moment. This was so out of character for the pilot that he almost grew afraid, but then just decided to chalk it up to the fact that Cid was under an extreme amount of stress at the moment. Suddenly, he realized he was staring the answer to his dilemma in the face. "How would you like me to have her come and see you?"

"Aw hell, that would be really fucking great." Cid perked up, immediately becoming more himself. "But how’s Vincent? Will she leave him?"

"He’s the same, but she needs a break from it. She’s making herself sick by staying here." Tseng sighed deeply. "Quite frankly, I’m starting to think that my brother will ever be well again."

There was a brief pause as Cid digested what he had heard. "That’s a God damned shame, and I’m sorry to hear it. But if Tifa would come by that would be great. I know Shera really likes her. Then they could deal with the fucking girl stuff on their own."

Tseng smiled, amused at Cid’s ways. "Certainly, I’ll have one of my men bring her. If they leave now she should be there by morning."

"Thanks, Tseng." Cid said simply before hanging up.

Tseng continued to smile at having the answer to Tifa’s problem now. He rose from the bed and opened the door to his room, making his way to Tifa’s quarters.