Guilt’s Cost: Part XXIV

Against Medical Advice

Tifa was wheeled back into the room, and placed in a bed to recover. Not having been under anesthesia long, she started to come around quickly. Vincent sat on the edge of her bed holding her hand when her eyes finally opened.

She looked up at him lazily. "Vince?"

He leaned down toward her. "Hi Tifa. How are you feeling?"

It took her a moment to respond. "Okay, I think. My back hurts a little, and I might throw up."

Vincent sat back up after hearing her last comment, not wishing to be vomited upon. "Well, warn me if you do. They got the bug out."

Tifa smiled. "Oh, that’s good. Now we can do stuff, huh?"

He was amused at her drugged tone. "Yes, we can do stuff. In fact, Tseng wants us to go with him on a little trip in a couple of days."

Her response to this news was slightly over exaggerated. "Oh, great! Where we going?"

"I don’t know, he wants it to be a surprise." Vincent answered.

Their attention was drawn to Tseng and Dr. Arlin as they argued amongst themselves.

"Tseng, you are going to get back in that bed right now!" The Doctor said to her unruly patient.

Tseng crossed his arms over his chest. "No offense, Doctor, but I find this infirmary a little dull. If I’m going to be thrown out of here for two weeks per your order, then there are some things that I need to attend to first."

"Damn it, Tseng! I don’t want you working! Any stress at all and you could be thrown into another attack!" The doctor’s agitation was tangible. "Your heart is weak and needs to rest!"

Tseng turned his back to her. "Look, I am sorry, but I can’t just leave here for two weeks without making some preparations."

Dr. Arlin puffed as she watched Tseng walk from the room. She faced Vincent and Tifa. "Your brother is a grade A pain in the ass, I want you to know."

Vincent shook his head in amusement. Stubborn streaks ran in the family. "I am well aware of that, Doctor. Once a Vatasi has made up his mind, there is no changing it."

"Ah, the family name…" The doctor mused, rarely having heard it. She thought about Tseng’s medical order to leave the base. "Will you be accompanying him on his vacation?"

Vincent nodded. "Yes, he has asked us to go with him, but he’s keeping the destination a surprise."

She seemed pleased to hear this. "That makes me feel better. You need to keep an eye on him and make sure he doesn’t try to come back to work before those two weeks are up. I have a convention to attend, and won’t be able to make sure that he stays away."

Tifa was becoming more coherent. "Where are you going, Doctor?"

"They are holding the Medical Convention in Junon this year." She became excited at the thought of getting away. "It’s the only time I get to see several of my colleagues and friends. It is more of a big party than anything else."

Tifa was feeling good enough to try and sit up. Vincent helped her, cradling her in his arms.

The doctor took this opportunity to come over and inspect Tifa’s incision. She pealed back the gauze that had been taped over it.

The incision was approximately three inches long, and ran down the middle of Tifa’s lower back. A dozen sutures held it close.

Vincent looked down at it over Tifa’s shoulder, pained to see any sort of injury on her body. "How much is that going to hurt her when her drugs wear off?"

The doctor replaced the bandage and took a step back. "Not bad. It’s fairly superficial and I doubt she’ll need anything for the pain. She may just wish to not have anything touch her on the back, so be careful when you hug her."

Vincent agreed. "I will. She’ll feel well enough to travel with Tseng in a few days, right?"

"Certainly." The doctor walked over to the door. "I’m going to go work on some things, so call me if there are any problems."