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Chapter TwentyNine The first thing that worked its way into Kit's mind was the smell of disinfectant surrounding her. It brought back memories of the medical wing in the Shinra barracks, not that she'd ever spent much time there. Still, she slowly became aware that the smell wasn't quite the same. It wasn't so strong, yet somehow it was cleaner.
Vague sounds came and went around her. A cough, the rustle of papers, a sense of someone moving nearby, the squeak of an old wooden floor; they had nothing to do with her, really. Nothing to worry about. Time passed, and her other senses began to return. There was only a dim light where she was, and her head ached in spite of that.
After what seemed like an eternity, she was able to make out the form of things around her. Metal railings on the sides of her flat, white bed. Wooden paneling, a door left cracked open, and a wheelchair in the corner. No, this definitely wasn't Shinra.
More time passed, as Kit tried to get her bearings, and finally the door opened a bit further. A darkhaired woman peeked inside, then turned around. "Doctor," the woman called softly. Someone made a reply that Kit couldn't hear, and the woman nodded and entered the room. "So you're awake at last," she said, approaching Kit's bedside to take her pulse. "We were wondering how long it would take."
The woman was obviously a nurse, but not wearing the uniform Kit was used to, the one that all the medical staff in Shinra wore. "Where am I?" she asked groggily.
"You're in Mideel, of course."
"Mideel..." That was the same village she'd wanted to get to before the Temple...
The Temple!
Though the smells were bringing up memories of her past, more recent memories came rushing back suddenly, and Kit fell back on the pillow as if she'd been hit. Was it too late? Why hadn't he come to her? "Has anyone come to see me?"
"Not that I'm aware of," replied the nurse, concerned. "Relax, please, or you'll never get better! What happened to you, anyway?"
"I'd be curious to hear the story as well," a voice said from the doorway. The nurse stepped back away from her bedside, and Kit saw a man in a long white lab coat and glasses. Kit's eyes widened as her confused memory tried to identify him, but then she saw that this doctor was taller, with lighter hair and a thick mustache. Just for a second, he'd reminded her of Hojo, but she couldn't have said why Hojo had even come to mind... she'd barely known Hojo. Seeing her hesitation, the doctor regarded her curiously. "How are you feeling?"
"Not too bad... It's just strange, the tricks your memory plays on you."
The doctor smiled. Kit already liked him, certainly far more than she'd liked Hojo. "So, what did happen to you? You're not from Mideel, and it's very rare for this little village to get visitors... you were pretty banged up when you arrived, as well."
"It... was an accident," Kit said, faltering. Her Shinra uniform was hung on a rack across the room, and seeing it gave her an idea. "I was working with Shinra, testing a new aircraft, and... I ended up having to eject at a low altitude, before it crashed into the ocean." She forced herself to smile. "I guess it needed more testing, hmm?"
The nurse looked scandalized, but the doctor chuckled. He was safe, Kit decided, so she better ask him some questions. "How long was I out? How badly was I hurt? How did I get here?"
"Easy, easy," the doctor cautioned her. "You only just woke up. Some people found you unconscious while they were out walking, and called for someone to bring you back to town for treatment. At first we weren't sure if you'd make it - it looked as if you might have had massive internal wounds and trauma to the head - but by the time we'd gotten you back here and done a thorough examination, we found most of your injuries were just bumps and bruises. The concussion was still enough to leave you unconscious for two full days though, and I must say you are very, very lucky to have pulled out of it so quickly."
That was just about impossible, Kit knew. She'd gotten much more than bumps and bruises from that crash landing of hers. Must have been Jenova's blood at work, she decided. "And..." The most important part, she was almost afraid to ask. "My baby?"
The doctor raised an eyebrow. "You knew already? Impressive, as you're not showing any signs of pregnancy yet. Ah, I suppose Shinra has the most thorough doctors that can be found to oversee their employees... Yes, your child appears to be perfectly healthy, and developing normally."
Kit sighed in relief. "Well, thank you... I'm lucky I crashed somewhere where there was actually medical help," she commented with a smile.
"You're not necessarily out of the woods yet," the doctor reminded her. "Your body has been through a lot. Mind if I ask you a few questions?"
The doctor continued to ask about what had happened for a little while longer, but Kit was having trouble trying to keep her story straight. The pain and disorientation she was feeling were giving her enough trouble even trying to remember what really had happened. The doctor agreed that they should talk about it later, and she should simply rest for the time being. Kit fell asleep almost before he'd left the room, and awoke the next day feeling much better. After checking her vital signs, the doctor gave in to her insistance and allowed her to try to stand and walk around a little.
"Quite remarkable," he commented when she made her way across the room and back without even wobbling. "I've never seen anyone recover from an injury such as yours so fast. So, you can walk - how are you feeling?"
Kit stopped and considered for a moment. "Well, my right arm hurts, my head feels as if someone's taken a hammer to it, and I feel a little dizzy and sick..."
"Were you already having morning sickness?"
"Well, sort of," Kit replied with a grimace. She wondered if he would be so kind to her if he knew the real reason for her swift recovery. "I'm hoping this time it's just because of the concussion."
The doctor chuckled. "A severe case, hmm? I have to wonder what Shinra was thinking, letting a pregnant woman fly an experimental craft over the ocean, all by herself. At any rate, I have an elixir that should ease it a bit."
Kit was a little surprised at his helpfulness. The Shinra doctors never bothered to treat ailments you didn't actually ask them to treat. But another thought came to mind. "But I don't have any gil on me. I'm in your debt for what you've done already, and I don't know how I could pay."
The doctor shrugged dismissively. "This is nothing, really. Mideel doesn't have too many citizens, and most of those are elderly people who come for the hot springs. Compared to the occasional stroke or heart attack, you have been very little trouble."
"Then..." Kit had again asked the nurse whether she'd had any visitors, but no one had come. "Could I ask a favor?"
"Certainly. What is it?"
"It might be days, even weeks, until someone is able to determine where exactly I went down," she said, wishing it weren't necessary to lie. "I don't want to be in the way in your clinic for that long. Is there somewhere I can stay around Mideel, until someone comes for me?"
And he would come, she told herself stubbornly. He might not have come yet, but then, maybe he didn't want to deal with the people of Mideel. And she'd been unconscious for nearly three days, so what good would it have done him to come? Of course, if he was hurt, she'd have gone to his side instantly, a small, doubting voice inside reminded her. Kit stifled it. He had said he'd come, and so he would.
"Hmmm." The doctor was thinking. "There is a hunting lodge just a short distance off in the forest. No one uses it at this time of year, so I imagine there would be no reason you couldn't stay there for a few weeks. However," he quickly added, seeing her reach for her clothing, "you need to stay here at least another day, so I can monitor your progress. You may have recovered quickly, but you can relapse just as fast."
Not likely, Kit thought to herself with a halfhearted smirk. "Okay, that sounds wonderful. Thanks so much, for everything... Somehow, I'll make this up to you."
"Make it up to me by not undoing all we've accomplished," the doctor told her. "Don't be so eager to get back on your feet, relax for a awhile. It's not just your health you have to worry about now, but your child's as well."
Kit nodded. True enough, she couldn't simply think of herself anymore, or even Sephiroth. It would take some getting used to. And maybe with medical help close at hand, she could ward off the deadly complications Vincent had warned her of. Of course, if Lucrecia had been part of the Jenova Project, she'd have had the finest Shinra doctors to attend her. If they hadn't been able to save her...
There were bigger problems in her life though, Kit admitted. As she made her way through the forest to the lodge in the woods the next evening, she marvelled at the tall trees, and listened to the songs of the birds. The forest was so alive, and she remembered what Red had related to her about the Lifestream after their stop at Cosmo Canyon. "Grandfather told me that every living thing on this planet is given life by spirit energy," he'd said. "So the trees and the insects, and even we ourselves are part of the web of energy that makes up the planet. All of us have that in common. Isn't it silly that so many people spend so much time and energy trying to take it away from others by fighting with each other? As if they'll get a bigger share for ourselves? All they accomplish is redistributing it."
Now that Kit had heard Sephiroth's plans in full, in his own words, she could see that he was doing exactly that, and on purpose. But if his theories were correct, he would get a bigger share for himself - big enough there would be none left for anyone.
What would it matter if she lost her life bringing more into the world, she wondered. If he succeeded, there would be no world left. If he absorbed the Lifestream, there would be no more lives to be brought into it. That possibility was far more frightening than her own death.
If she hadn't taken that assignment at Shinra HQ a month or so ago, she wouldn't even have been aware of the crisis now. But by some bizarre twist of fate, she'd ended up right in the middle of it. Ironic, she thought. Her mission had been to kill him in cold blood, and now that she had a justifiable reason, she wouldn't. In fact, now she might be the only person who could stop it without bloodshed.
And she would, she vowed that night as she lay in one of the hard beds at the lodge, thinking the situation over carefully. Just how she would make him see his mistake, she wasn't sure yet. But once he came to her, she would.
To Chapter Thirty. To the intro. That means it's mine, not yours! |
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