Sephiroth hadn't expected the hospital staff would let him stay the entire night, but as neither they nor Zack requested he leave, he didn't. He suspects that the plastic chair they had him sit in, as uncomfortable as it was, was meant to be encouragement enough. In the morning, purely out of stubbornness, he is still there by Zack's bed.

"Would you like me to contact your parents? You would need to sign an FCN1000a form to show your consent, but that's it," Sephiroth says. Even speaking at a decibel this low, his voice sounds strangely loud after such a long silence.

"Why?"

"Why-? Oh. They introduced the FCN1000a form a little while ago after a Captain kept making inappropriate phone calls to his First Lieutenant's emergency contact. The paperwork is meant to be a deterrent to that situation occurring again,"

"Wait, seriously?" Zack laughs. It's one of the most wonderful sounds Sephiroth has heard in the last forty-eight hours. Though, to be fair, the options from which to choose are scant. "Wow, everyone was kinda wondering what happened to Gibbons all of a sudden, but I guess it all makes sense now. But no, I meant why contact my parents? I'm fine. There's no point in getting them worried over nothing."

"I thought you might want them to visit you during your recovery process."

"Oh. Yeah, no, my dad can't travel. Don't worry about it."

Sephiroth realizes he should not ask why, but there is an almost overwhelming need to learn something about Zack firsthand. Everything he knows about Zack is secondhand information gleaned from Angeal, facts or anecdotes offered effortlessly, in an almost cavalier manner. He wonders if he, who seems to connect with everyone easily, takes this friendship for granted; in much the same way he wonders if Angeal also takes Genesis for granted, who actually loves him, and treats him well.

"Hey." Zack nudges his arm lightly. "Don't look so serious about it. It's fine. It's just, you know, my dad has some trouble walking and he's in a wheelchair. The whole travel thing is tough. And besides, my mom works and she can't really take time off. I'll call them once all of this has blown over."

"Okay." He doesn't want to say it, but he does, because it doesn't seem like something Zack wants to go on about. More than that though, every conversation between the two of them has been downright amicable these past few days, which is rare, if they even bother to talk at all. The selfish part of him has taken a sick pleasure in the easiness of their interactions, and he wishes it could always be like this, excepting the serious illness. He hasn't slept in days now, which he's used to, but he doesn't have the energy for a fight.

Zack reaches out absentmindedly and places his hand on Sephiroth's forearm. "Thanks for asking though."

It makes him determined to try harder to make contact with Angeal again. If Zack's parents can't be there due to logistics, then at least the next best thing can.

In the late morning, a nurse wheels on in to check Zack's vitals and is exuberant when she announces the medications he's been cleared to take, pain medication among them. The morphine does absolutely nothing in the end, and they settle instead on giving him something powerful enough that it puts Zack to sleep within the hour. They also introduce a blood thinner, which they insist he take with food. Food, in this case, includes mashed sweet potatoes that are an alarming shade of brown neither one of them had seen before.

At night, with Zack asleep and no longer in need of company, Sephiroth finally returns back to his apartment with the intention of getting some work done. It's cold, and he wraps a blanket around his shoulders, belatedly aware that he's no longer in the labs, and has the option of adjusting the heat.

The amount of emails that can be generated within a day is almost alarming, and as he reads through the increasingly frantic emails from his secretary reminding him that tomorrow's meeting with President Shinra is not optional, he realizes he won't see Zack until late tomorrow, if at all. Meetings with the president are long, arduous affairs that frequently continue on for hours. He makes a note to pack headache medication for tomorrow. He doesn't have a full blown migraine yet, but it seems likely by this time tomorrow night.

For a solid hour he remains on task, until he gets curious about how long it takes to recover from a pulmonary embolism, and what the treatment plans tend to entail. After reading a list of things to avoid when taking blood thinners, and finding "contact sports" and "falling down" categorized as highly dangerous, it becomes apparent that Zack's profession is probably another activity that would be "strongly recommended against". If he only has to take them for a few months, fine, but if Zack falls into the category of people who need to take them indefinitely, what then?

It's well past midnight, but Sephiroth finds himself dialing Angeal's number again, hoping to receive an answer this time.

With the pain medication, Zack drifts in and out of consciousness, frequently jolted awake by the feeling that he's that he's being touched. The fear is not an unsubstantiated one, because half the time he is by some well meaning nurse who wants him to eat, or take his medication, or undergo another exam. He's glad the medication has left him drowsy enough that his reflexes are shot; the last thing he needs is to attack the one of the staff after they scare him awake.

It isn't until later in the day that he's fully cognizant of his surroundings, and he realizes Sephiroth is gone. He expected that. To be honest, he's surprised that he stayed as long as he did. After finally getting some sleep, however restless it may have been, he's now fully aware of his just how jarring to the the senses everything in this room is. His neighbor won't stop screaming, his yells building in intensity until finally, reaching its apogee, the nurse rushes in to take care of whatever new problem has come up. The neon advertisements flash incessantly outside his window, and the smell of cleaning supplies is strong enough that it's even starting to give Zack a headache. Zack wants to pretend that he doesn't remember Angeal mentioning once that Sephiroth was prone to migraines, just like he remembers every stupid thing Angeal has ever mentioned about the man- but still, it must have been miserable for him, staying here.

His neighbor starts with his latest round of vocalizations. A solemn trio of doctors walks in, and he pleas to any any higher power willing to listen that they will finally shut this guy up for good. They stop at his bed instead. His neighbor continues.

"Mr. Fair, I'm sure you've been informed of the pulmonary emboli," the first one says. Two young residents stand silent behind him.

"So it's more than one then?"

"Two."

"So, just- Is that serious? I get it, it's not good, but comparatively speaking, what are we talking here?"

"You'll need to be on the blood thinners at least three months, though it's possible you might need to be on them six months to a year, perhaps indefinitely."

"Okay, that is a really broad time frame-"

"At this point, the most we can do is monitor you, so it's likely you'll be released tomorrow morning, so long as you have someone who can help you if needed." He gets winded on the short trek to the bathroom. What do they mean, "if needed"?

"Okay."

"Have you had any surgeries lately, or been on any long flights?"

"Uh, one flight from Wutai to here, though it was a few months ago, at this point."

"It doesn't matter. You probably ignored your symptoms, which would account for your current condition."

"I was tired. That's hardly a symptom worth getting bent out of shape about."

"You'll need to follow up with a hematologist and a pulmonologist about your condition. They'll have the time to run further tests."

"Fine. Will do. When can I go back to work?"

"Your records indicate you are a SOLDIER, First Class, correct?" He continues before Zack can even nod. "You won't be returning to work until you're off the blood thinners. You're on a high dose now, and you have to be very careful now. I'm sure I don't have to remind you this is serious."

This is the moment where he feels his blood should run cold. It doesn't. He feels nothing except for a sudden, overwhelming fatigue. The doctor continues for a bit longer, and even though Zack responds, none of it sinks it. Everything in the room, suddenly, just feels like white noise.

Author's Note: Hey, guys. I didn't forget about this story. It's just been a whirlwind couple of months. The entirety of May at work was so insanely busy that I barely remember what happened at this point. The rest of my time has been doctor's appointments, celebrating friends' birthdays/engagements/career-stuff, learning new skills for my career, trying to work out enough so that I maybe one day will have two-pack abs, etc. But I never forgot about this story. To be honest, I wanted to write even more in this (even though I think it's technically my longest chapter by far), so I'm hoping I can hop to it and get the next chapter out there soon.

I really appreciate your reviews, guys. Really, it makes my day. You all rock.