*(Looks into the room) Well? Are you guys comin' ta see the patient or what?! It's Chapter 22 now!!!! (Runs back out)*
"If I were a dentist I would take the oppurtunity
To look in your mouth,
Maybe if I did then I would better understand
Just what you're talkin' about.
And if my X-ray picture gave the proper information
I'd be back at the start,
'Cause every time I try and talk to you
My words keep fallin' apart..."
-Pretty Girls
~Simon and Milo
"What? Would you rather me call him a dirty old man with fleas?" -Laura Sky
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(..Please...just..don't..)
"Please..Naida..."
(You can't leave me..)
"Don't leave me.."
Botta Trapper sat in the Luca Hospital ER, tired head rested on the plastic guardrail of Naida's bed, hand in hers, muttering softly. His body was dozing, yet he was still talking. The things he muttered echoed strangely in his head, but he was too drained both physically and emotionally to care.
(Just..wake up..)
"Give me a sign..something..anything.."
(Let me know you're still alive..)
"Let me know you can hear me.."
(I love you..)
"I l-"
He was cut off when suddenly he felt something pressure lightly on his hand. He glanced quickly up at the small, still cold one he held in his, but nothing happened. Sighing, he looked back down to the floor, eyes drooping halfway shut again.
(Just imagining things..)
"Maybe I'm wishing too hard..I-"
Once again, he was cut off by the light pressure on his hand. This time, he sat up, bloodshot blue eyes open, and eyebrows raised. His tired gaze connected with Naida's weak green, and for a moment, he thought that he was just looking into her empty eyes again, until he noticed something.
She was smiling.
"...Naida..?" He questioned softly, unsure whether or not he was imagining things.
"Hey.."She replied weakly, grinning ever so slightly.
Botta's jaw dropped. She was alive. Naida Dark was alive.
"I..Ah..."He didn't know how to start, "Good Morning."
(Oh that was smooth.)
She smiled, and started to laugh, but it broke into a cough. She pulled her freehand up to her mouth, and was about to pull her hand that Botta held, when it stopped.
"You okay?" He smiled slightly, "You need some water?"
"Oh, no thanks,"She said hoarsely, resting her hand on her stomache, "I'm good."
They sat for a moment, before she looked down to the hand that Botta held. He followed her gaze, and when he saw what she was looking at, he almost pulled away from her.
"Oh,"He said, feeling his face threatening to turn red, "I..I'm sorry..about that..It's just..ah.."
Once again, the Al Bhed smiled, squeezing his hand.
"It's alright..I can't feel them anyway..they're too cold.." She held up her free one, "Especially this one."
She gave him a side glance, then looked at her freehand. He paused, before smiling.
"Well,"He said, reaching up and taking her freehand with his, "I guess we'd better fix that, ya?"
"Ya." She laughed a little.
Again, they were in silence for a minute, both staring at their hands as unshared feelings passed between them. After a few minutes, Naida looked up at him, blonde hair hanging down in front of her pretty face as she searched for the words to start a conversation.
"...You..know.."She said slowly, causing the redhead to look up, "..I'm..really sorry that I worried you...guys."
The Auroch paused, unsure whether or not the pause between "You" and "Guys" was intentional or not. He shook his head.
"It's alright," He said, squeezing her hands, "So long as you're safe now...you saved Keepa's life, you know."
"I did? Oh, I did..." She looked down, blushing a little, "It's no big thing, I was just tryin' to keep the ball from goin' in the goal."
"I bet."
She looked back up at him, face blushing even more when she saw his smirk.
(Yevon I hate it when he does that look.)
The fell into silence one more time, before Botta took the initiative to try for a conversation.
"...I'm really sorry I couldn't get to you in time." He said, letting most of it slip without thinking.
Naida looked up at him, eyes wide, "Oh, no no...It wasn't your fault, please don't think it was! I really..it was my fault.. I just.. I was so mad at Viranda for.."
She cut off when she realized she'd said Viranda's name. Wincing a little, she looked at Botta, who was still watching her carefully.
"For what?" He hinted for her to go on.
She raised an eyebrow, before clearing her throat, "For..hurting our team.."
Botta nodded, "I was too."
Naida smiled slightly, taking a breath (Wow..he didn't freak out at her name...maybe..he's changed..)
"Umm...Naida?"
She snapped out of her daze, looking up at him, "Yes?"
He looked down, "I..I wanted to tell you something..but..I never got the chance to..and..Well I told you while you were unconcious.." He stopped, shaking his head, "Okay that was dumb, shouldn'ta told you that."
She laughed a little, "It's alright, I've talked to unconcious people before."
He glanced up at her, "Really? I mean," He shook his head again, "Naida, what I'm trying to say is.."
She squeezed his hands again, "Yes?"
"...Is I..I-"
Suddenly the door swung open, cutting the redhead's confession short. The two both looked to see Laura Sky walk in, clipboard in hand and mouthcloth in place.
"Now Botta, I've got to change some of Naida's IV's and such, and I'm gonna have to ask you to-"
She stopped when she looked up and saw that the Al Bhed was wide awake and smiling.
"Naida!" She exclaimed, running over to the bed, "You're..you're awake!!!"
"Yeah," She said with a laugh, "I am."
"Oh, oh..the guys are gonna be SO happy!!" She said, setting her clipboard on the small table at the foot of the bed then turning to to the doors, "Oh, thank you Yevon, thank you so much! Robert, Drea!"
With that, she was out the doors. The two still in the room could hear her talking frantically to the other 12 that were out in the hallway. Slowly, they turned and looked at eachother.
"...Looks like yer about to get clobbered." Botta said jokingly, squeezing her hands.
"Yeah I know," She gave a side glance to the doors, then back to him, "But I deserve it, I shouldn't have worried them all like that."
"It wasn't your fault, ya?" He reassured, "You couldn't help bein' sick. It was Viranda's fault."
The sick Al Bhed was about to protest, when suddenly the door swung open, and in came the whole group. A chorus of "Naida!"s and "You're okay!"s sounded throughout the tiny room, and instictively the two sitting both pulled their hands from eachother and covered their ears. They looked at eachother, Botta smiling slightly and Naida giving him a sweet grin, then laughing a little. The redhead stood up and pushed through the group, making his way for the door. Once he reached it, he turned back and took one last look at the woman on the bed, who was distributing hugs to all of her friends. She glanced over at him, and gave him a green-eyed wink, before turning to talk to Jassu, who made her laugh almost as soon as they started talking.
(Guess I'll haveta tell her later) He thought, then he laughed softly, (Hope she's still sane enough to understand me then.)
With a smile, the redheaded Auroch turned and walked out of the ER, and out to the cafe.
He approached the glass door, peering in to see no one sitting down. In the back he saw a few waiters and waitresses, and one of the men mouthed the words "We're not open yet." Botta nodded, and was about to walk away when he heard Amelio's yell from the back. He turned to see the large man lean out from behind the counter, green eyes sparkling as he motioned for the young man to come in. Botta laughed a little, then opened the door and walked in.
Instantly, the scents of fresh coffee and hot chocolate filled his nose. It was a welcome, familiar scent, and yet it made him think of Naida. Almost every time he'd gone to the cafe, she was either sitting at the bar or in the booth closest to the door. He glanced at both places, almost wishing the woman he'd seen moments earlier would magically appear in one of the two places.
"Well Trapper, are ya comin' in or aren'cha?"
The Auroch snapped out of his daze and looked up at the chef, who had come out from the kitchen and was standing behind the bar, large tan arms draped over it as he leaned foreward.
"Oh, yessir, sorry."
"Sir?"The chef laughed, "Trapper, Sir's my old man's name. I'm only 33!"
"Ah..my bad...Yeah."
The taller man laughed again, "That's more like it. Now come on over here and have a seat!"
Botta almost hesitated, obviously intimidated by the Al Bhed's outgoing personality, but forced his feet to move and was soon sitting in front of him. The man grinned widely, straight white teeth shining almost as brightly as his clean bald head. Indeed he was young, Botta could tell once he was up close. There wasn't a wrinkle on the man's face, save the one's that appeared when he smiled or laughed. He had a small goatee, not too big, but not so small as to go unnoticed. In a short sense, he looked almost like a younger version of Rikku's father, Cid, only wearing a white apron over his black cargo pants and sleevless shirt.
"What'll it be?" He asked, leaning back off the bar.
"Uhh..hot-" The redhead stopped short, suddenly getting the urge to order something more manly, "Do you guys serve the suicide this early in the morning?"
"Sure do!" Amelio grinned, reaching under the counter, "One Seaside Suicide, comin' up!"
In one swift move, the large man pulled out one tall clear glass, setting it smoothly on the bar in front of him. Then even quicker, he did something Botta had never seen before. He pulled out two bottles of the liquid, spinning them simultaneously at first, then both at the same time. Almost as soon as he'd started, he stopped the bottles in mid-spin, holding them over Botta's glass and filling it up. As soon as it was full, he spun the bottles backwards, then slid them back under the counter.
Botta stared at him, eyebrow raised and mouth slightly ajar. After a moment, the chef laughed.
"Boy, I didn't go to bartending school 3 years for nothin'! Enjoy yer drink!"
He turned to leave, when Botta finally snapped out of his trance, pulling his drink to him.
"That was really cool." He said bluntly.
That caused Amelio to laugh even harder, turning back to the young man, "Well, thanks. It's been almost 2 years since I've done that. It felt good to finally do it again."
"...Can anyone else do that?"
The Al Bhed snorted a little, wiping his hands absently on his apron.
"Sure, the 'tenders in Guadosalam, ones in Bevelle, Macalania.."
"No no.."He shook his head, "I mean here."
"Oh...well.."He rubbed the back of his neck, looking down slightly, "Well..there is one..but.."
Botta raised his eyebrow, "But..?"
"Hey guys, I'm here!"
Both of the men turned to see Drea walk through the door, a smile on her pretty face that seemed to light up the room even more as she came toward the bar. Botta saw when she got closer, that her eyes weren't as bloodshot as his, but it was obvious she was tired, even if the smile on her face said otherwise.
The short blonde stepped up to the counter, hopping up into the chair next to Botta, and looking between the two men next to her.
"Sorry I'm late, Amelio,"She said sincerely, resting the side of her head on one of her propped up hands and looking up at him, "Long night last night, then I hadta run home and check on Nero."
"It's good,"He said with a shrug, "How's the kid doin'?"
"He's great,"She said, eyes closed but smiling, "I called Mrs. Madison last night, asked her if he could stay over with her. He's been over there with little Paul and Joseph, havin' a blast..." She laughed a little, "I went over there to get him, and he asked me if Jassu was okay. He even gave me a card he made, told me not to read it, but to give it to 'im when I saw him again."
She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the small piece of folded blue construction paper, holding it up for them to see. Her eyes were half open, and she glanced between the two before sliding it back in. She took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair, then letting it rest on the bar next to the elbow of her other arm.
"Amelio..can I have some coffee?"
"It's in the heatin' bottles now, can ya wait a few 'til we can get it in the pots?"
She looked up at him, "Why are they in the bottles? What's wrong with the stove?"
"Cold Season,"He said bluntly, "Electric lines to the stoves froze up, and we probably won't get 'em thawed out 'til about 3 this afternoon."
"What time is it now?"
"About 10."
The Lucan barwaitress groaned, turning to let her forehead rest on both hands, blonde lockes falling down through her fingers.
"I...need..coffee..now.."
"Well," Amelio sighed, "I'm sorry, Drea. Unless you can hold the bottles to pour it, then yer outta luck for at least the next 15 minutes."
"How hot are they?"
"Shouldn't be too horrible, just put 'em over the fire a few minutes ago."
Drea paused, sitting up, before letting out a slow breath and dropping her hands to the bar.
"Give 'em here."
The Al Bhed chef raised his eyebrow, turning to the kitchen, "Alright, you asked for it.."
He disappeared back into the kitchen, leaving the two tired friends sitting at the bar. The blonde haired woman paused, looking around the counter for a moment, before pulling herself up onto the bar, then sliding almost over it. She hung over the side toward the back, strong legs kicking to push her futher over the bar. Botta watched her, confused, and was about to grab her legs to keep her from falling, when she lowered them and hooked the lower part of her boots under the bar, holding her in place.
"Umm...Drea?" Botta asked, raising an eyebrow, "...What are you doing?"
"Gettin' a cup." Her voice came from under the counter. She reached up with one hand, tugging at the back of her short shirt and pulling it down, then leaning further to dig for the cup, "Whoever stocked these last needs to be shot, they're too far back."
Botta laughed a little, turning from her as he took another sip of his drink. It was bitter, and a little strong for something so early in the morning, but it was waking him up, so he wasn't complaining.
"Mornin' Drea," Came the voice of one of the dark haired waiters as he walked by behind the bar.
"Mornin' Max," She replied, not looking up.
"Whatcha doin'?"
"What's it look like I'm doin'? I'm gettin' a cup."
"Oh," He said, stepping back. He paused for a moment, eyes tracing up the waitress's back and resting on her rear-end. He looked over at Botta, who had his eyebrow raised. The waiter grinned, pointing at it, then stepping closer. Botta shook his head slightly and took another sip of his drink.
(Wouldn't do that if I were you...) He thought.
"Max you sicko," Came Drea's voice from under the bar, "You better not even be THINKING about touchin' anything of mine."
The waiter pulled back, obviously disappointed, "Oh darn. Why not?"
"Because if you do," She replied, suddenly leaning back up and sliding back to her seat, mug in hand, "My boyfriend'll beat the crap outta you."
Max raised his eyebrow, "Boyfriend?"
"Yeah,"She said, smiling slightly, "Jassu Korbit of the Besaid Aurochs."
His eyes widened, "You're datin' the Guard from the Aurochs?"
"One of 'em." Botta answered, causing the man to look at him. He took another sip of his drink, "She's not datin' me."
Max paused, before nodding slightly, "I..uh..umm.."
"Yeah," Drea said, flipping a locke of blonde hair out of her face, "Go on now. Run along."
The waiter raised his eyebrow, before walking off. Drea looked over at Botta, a grin reappearing on her face.
"Man," She laughed a little, "I can't wait to tell him about that."
"Don't be so quick about it,"Botta replied, "He might actually chase the guy down."
"So?" She said, turning back to the bar, "He needs it. He's always doin' things like that to the girls around here. Trust me. You don't believe me, just ask Lacy."
"Oh, I believe you," He said, eyes looking up to Amelio as he came back out from behind the bar, bottle of coffee in hand, "Just.. didn't think you'd want to see Jassu dangling some guy he doesn't know off the side of a bridge."
Drea laughed, looking up at Amelio, "'Bout time, slowpoke. I was gettin' grey hairs out here."
"Ah, shut it," He said, setting the bottle down in front of her, "You know how these things are."
"Yeah I know," She said, tapping it to see how hot it was,"I was kiddin'."
"Hey Amelio," Botta said, taking another sip of his drink, "Has Drea seen what you can do with one of those bottles?"
The chef twisted around to him, eyes wide. Botta raised his eyebrow, a little startled, but Drea just laughed, looking up at her boss.
"What he can do with the bottles?" She echoed, smiling slightly, "You mean, this?"
In a split second, the waitress snapped her hand out and grabbed up the still steaming bottle of coffee, spinning it from one hand to the other, before twisting it around and passing it behind her back. Her movements were connected, and way more smooth than Amelio's had been, and all Botta could do was watch. Amelio snorted, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited for the young woman to finish off.
She did, by twisting the bottle around her back one more time and stopping it over her mug filling it up with her arm crossed behind her back. Once it was full, she spun it back around and set it on the counter in front of her boss.
"....Yeah."Botta said after a moment, "That."
Drea laughed, taking a sip from her fresh mug, "And I was tired too."
"Showoff." Amelio muttered, taking the bottle and walking back to the kitchen, "But remember, you still gotta work today!"
"Yes your majesty,"She said into her cup, then looking to Botta, "Now then, how are you doing today?"
The redheaded Guard laughed, setting his glass down, "Good, actually. Relieved."
"I can imagine," She said with a smile, "Laura told me she walked in and saw you two holdin' hands, lookin' like you were about ta kiss or somethin'."
Botta raised his eyebrow, taking another drink,"Now, I don't know about kissin', but I was holdin' her hands.." He paused when he saw the amused look on Drea's face, "They were cold, she wanted me to keep 'em warm."
"Uh huh." She said, rolling her eyes, "Just face it. You like her and you got busted."
He paused, before laughing and setting his drink back down, "Yeah yeah sure..whatever."
The two went on sitting in silence, drinking their drinks and watching the rain. A few minutes later, the familiar sound of the doorbell rang, and soon after the voice of one of the waitresses.
"Excuse me sir, but we're not open yet."
Drea looked over her shoulder at the intruder, before laughing.
"Hey, Kit it's okay, he's with us."
"Hm?" Botta raised his eyebrow, glancing at her, "Who's with us?" He looked over his shoulder.
"Hey guys!" Robert walked up to the bar, taking a seat on the other side of Drea, "What's up?"
"Shouldn't we be asking YOU that?" She said with a smile, taking a sip of her coffee.
The Al Bhed paused, before realizing what she meant, "Oh! Sorry. Heh..Everything's good at the hospital. Most of the people've already left, goin' where they're goin', ya know?"
"Really?" Botta said, leaning foreward to look at the older man, "Who all's there with her?"
"Oh.." He rubbed the back of his neck, "Well...There's Laura..Mifurey's still there with Ropp, Mr. Smith and that other lady went to the locker rooms to get somethin' for Naida...Keepa's still in there with his girlfriend, Datto, Letty, and his girlfriend left..don't know where they went..and Jassu went to the lockeroom to get somethin', he should be on his way over here any minute...but that's about it." He paused, then looked at Drea, "Which is another thing, he told me to tell you he's on his way."
"Thanks," She said, downing the rest of her drink.
"Hmm..So Svanda, Keepa, Mifurey, Ropp and Laura are in there," Botta calculated.
Drea laughed, "In other words, she's not alone." Botta raised his eyebrow, and she nudged him playfully, "Darn, right?"
"Whatever." He said bluntly, but smiling.
Robert grinned, running a hand through his ebony hair and leaning onto the counter, "Chyeah right, we all know you like her."
"See?" Drea jumped in, "He doesn't even know you and he can tell!" She laughed again, "Captain Obvious."
"Woo joy," Botta said, rolling his eyes and taking another sip of his drink, "I'm Captain Obvious all right."
"I'd say so," Robert said, then looked around, "Say, how'd you guys get drinks? Thought this place wasn't open yet."
"It is for us." Drea replied, getting up and walking around to behind the bar, "Whaddya want?"
"Oh, hot chocolate please," He ordered,"Thanks."
"No problem,"She smiled, then turned to the back, "Hey Amelio! How're we lookin' on the hot chocolate?"
"Just filled a pot 'a water up," His voice came from the back,"It's sittin' on the burner!"
"Yeesh, the burner," She said softly, shaking her head, "Be right back, boys. Gotta mix the mess."
They nodded as she walked to the back, leaving the two young men to their silence, until Botta looked over to Robert.
"So, did you two find ya a house yesterday?"
"Actually we did," He said, leaning foreward and looking toward the kitchen,"Turns out the hospital had already had one set up for us, said somethin' about Nurse's privelages. We didn't even haveta go to the hotel we'd booked." He laughed, "I just hope L's plannin' on keepin' that job."
Botta smiled, "I'm sure she will, she seems to like it."
"Yeah.." He looked down, "Yer right."
They were quiet for a few more minutes, before Botta took another deep breath.
"So..you knew Naida when she was younger?"
"Sure did, lived in Home together for...a year. I'd only been there a few months when she and her family came in..she was only 15..I think."
"That made you 17, didn't it?"
"Yep," He said, looking down at his sandaled feet and rubbing them together, making them squeak with the water that covered them, "A year younger than her older brother, he was my best friend."
Botta paused, glancing at Robert as he continued rubbing his feet absently, "...Sorry."
"Nah, don't worry about it," He replied, not looking up,"Leon knew what he wanted, he was always that way. Always talked about joinin' the Crusaders, and if I remember one thing about that guy it's gotta be his stubborness. He wouldn't give in if you ripped his arms off and tied him up."
Botta smiled slightly, looking down, "Sounds like Naida."
"You bet," He laughed a little,"You can see alot of him in her, it's almost freaky. And Teale was just as bad, and she was only 11 then. I bet she'd be a knockout if she was still alive," He shook his head,"Let's see...she'd be 17 now. I bet yer friend Datto woulda gone for her."
Botta paused, thinking about the deceased Al Bhed that he'd only spoken to a night before, then lowering his head.
"...Yeah..I bet he would've..I bet she woulda been gorgeous."
"How does that feel?"
"A little better, thank you."
Mifurey laughed a little as she retaped the oxygen tube to Naida's face.
"It's no problem, so long as you're comfortable."
"Even thought that's impossible," Laura added from her spot in the corner, looking at the charts, "I couldn't ever stand having something strapped to my face."
"Well neither can I," Naida said with a slight smile, "But..this is the closest to comfortable I'm getting, so I'm good."
"And that's great to hear." Mifurey smiled softly, smoothing some of the younger woman's hair out of her face.
The three women were quiet for a moment, before Laura spoke up.
"Wonder where your Aunt Julia and Uncle Matt are, " She said, not looking,"They've been gone for about 10 minutes now..."
"Oh, that's fine, they're probably really tired."
"Yeah, yer right...what'd they go to get anyway?"
"Some clothes of mine."
Laura glanced over at her, "Clothes? I thought all of yours were here already...?"
"Nope," She shook her head,"I actually own a pair of khakis that I brought from the Calm Lands.. I always carry them with me, just in case I need somthin' else to wear."
The short Nurse raised her eyebrow, "You need a shirt?"
"Oh, is my other one all right?"
"Oh, no, it's not that." Laura laughed a little,"I was just asking."
"Ah, well, I don't need one, but something other than my tank top might be pretty good."
Laura smiled, "Well, Robert's supposed to come back here for me in a few minutes, I'll make sure to stop by the house and pick one up for ya."
"Thank you."
"Take your time too, L." Mifurey added, "She's not gonna need any other clothes for a couple of days."
"Huh?"
The older Al Bhed looked down at the sick woman, "You'll be here a couple more days, Naida. Trust me."
"..But why?"
Mifurey shook her head, "You can barely walk, sweetie.."
Naida paused, before nodding, "...You're right. I'm sorry."
"No no," She took the younger woman's hand, "It's all right, you just wanted to know."
She looked up at Mifurey, nodded again, then looked back down. Once again, silence settled over the small room, before Naida looked up.
"Where'd Svanda and Keepa go?"
"They'll be back in a little bit," Laura answered, "They went to go get something from the lockeroom too."
"Ah, all right."
"So..." Mifurey started, trying to get a good conversation started, "...Are you and Botta goin' to the Blitz Banquet together..?"
Immedietly the young woman's face began to turn red. Laura turned and looked at her, smiling.
"Ahh...I think that's a "Not yet but I want him to" Mif."
The older Nurse laughed, "It's okay Naida, we won't tell!"
The young Al Bhed ran both hands over her face, smiling, "Well..no.. I mean..I don't know..he hasn't asked me."
"He what?" Laura raised her eyebrow, "Smelly kid better hurry up!"
Both women looked at her, and Naida laughed, "...Smelly kid?"
Laura smiled, "What? Would you rather me call him a dirty old man with fleas?"
"Umm..no that's okay."
"Good,"She nodded, turning back to the charts, "I didn't want to."
Naida looked at Mifurey, who shrugged.
"I bet he'll ask you," The short Al Bhed said, still not looking at the two other women, "Just give 'im a little bit. He'll ask you, and you'll go and have a great time with the rest of yer team."
"Whaddya mean 'The rest of my team'?" Naida raised her eyebrow,"You guys'll be there too!"
Mifurey shook her head, "Naida, we're not on the team, and we're not dating anyone on the team."
"That doesn't matter! I invited you, so you're allowed to."
The older Al Bhed laughed a little, "Naida, you're so sweet."
She shook her head, "Nah. Any of the guys woulda said the same thing."
"Well, that's because all of you are freakin' awesome," Laura said, turning to them, "And that's that. Now..." She walked over and gave Naida a quick hug, "I have GOT to go meet my man at the front desk, and before I do that, I have to go check out with Big Man E down the hall, so..I will see you chicks later, k?"
"Bye Laura," Naida said with a smile, "Thank you."
"Ah, no problem, Lady Auroch," She smiled and gave a slight bow, "Just doin' my job."
"Bye Laura," Mifurey laughed, "You take care of yourself, and if you see Ropp down by the front desk, tell him I'll be down there in a minute." She looked at Naida, "I know he went down there a few minutes thinkin' I was right behind him, so..."
She trailed off with a smile, and Naida laughed.
"Will do, Mif," Laura replied, moving out the doors, "I'll be back later, biya!"
"Bye," Both of the women called back, before the short Nurse disappeared out the door.
"Laura's so nice," Naida said thoughtfully, still looking at the door.
"She is," Mifurey smiled, "My cousin picked a good girl."
They were in silence for a moment, before the Nurse looked to the Al Bhed.
"So..you ready for the Banquet? It's in 5 days, you know."
"It is?" She raised her eyebrow, "Will I be out of here by then?"
"Oh yeah, you should be out of here in a couple of days or so."
She nodded, "...Good."
"Maybe Botta'll ask ya by then."
"Let's hope so."
The words had left her mouth before she could stop them, and immedietly she felt her face turn red. Her green eyes widened, and she slowly looked up at Mifurey, who was smiling.
"I knew it."
"Don't you have to go meet Ropp?"
She laughed, "Yes I do.. will you be all right by yourself for a few minutes?"
"Yeah, I'm good."
"Good." The older Al Bhed hugged her, "If you need anything, just buzz the front desk and have them track down either me or Laura, okay?"
"Okay, thank you Mifurey."
"Oh, it's no problem, sweetie," She stood up, walking toward the door,"Anything for a friend."
The two exchanged smiles, before the older one went out the door, leaving Naida to her silence.
The young Al Bhed sighed, laying back onto her bed and staring up at the white ceiling.
(..The Blitz Banquet..) She thought (I wonder if Botta WILL ask me to be his date...) She took a deep breath, rolling onto her side and burying her face into her pillow.
(I hope so...)
"Where do you think they are now?"
"I dunno Dat..probably somewhere out there, beatin' the tar outta Sin."
The young Shooter nodded, accepting this explanation, then leaning foreward onto the large rail that stretched the great length of Luca's Walkway Bridge next to Letty.
The taller man looked down, kicking some of the smaller pebbles at the concrete wall, trying to take his mind off of their beloved Captain. Where was he? What was he doing? ...Was he even alive?
He shook his head, looking back out over the bridge.
(Can't think like that now, ya?) He thought, (I've worked so hard to keep my faith up, can't doubt him when it matters most.)
He took a deep breath, pushing his threatening inner voice aside long enough to look over at his younger friend, who was still staring out at the sea.
"You okay?" He asked, the sound of his rough voice shaking the calm air between them and making the teenager jump a little.
"Yeah.." He glanced back to Letty, before back out to the sea, "I'm fine."
However, Letty could sense he wasn't fine. In fact, he could almost tell from the way the Auroch stood, that he was a good distance from it.
"What's wrong?"
Datto cast him a side glance, pale blue eyes a little dull.
"...Nothin'."
"C'mon, kid," Letty slid over a little, elbowing his friend gently,"You know better than to lie to me, ya?"
He looked down,"...Ya."
"So what's wrong?"
The fourth Al Bhed took a deep breath, looking back off the bridge, "It's just..everything. Sin, the Cap'n and the others goin' off to fight Sin, and not to mention everything's that's happened to the team this season."
"Ya.."The Center nodded, running a hand over his face, "This season's been straight from Ifrit himself, if ya ask me."
"I'll agree with ya on that one."
The two were quiet for a moment, before Letty took a breath, looking over at his jaded friend.
"Well..Look at it this way Dat," He looked back down for a moment, kicking a few more pebbles, before looking back to Datto, "The more we worry about it, the more they're gonna laugh when they come back."
The Shooter looked at him, raising an eyebrow.
"Letty..that's a really weird way to look at things."
He shrugged, smiling and looking over the rail at his outstretched hands,"Yeah, well..."
"Hey you guys!"
Instantly the two Aurochs turned and looked at the woman running toward them.
"Hey Lace, what's wrong?" Letty turned and reached out to take his girlfriend's outstretched hand.
"Come look at the news," She panted, gripping his hand and pulling him back toward the Registration Center, "Both of you, you've GOT to see this!"
Letty looked over his shoulder to Datto, offering the teenager a confused shrug before allowing the honey haired woman drag him to where she worked. Datto paused, before shaking his head and running after them.
A minute later, they were in behind the counter. The two Aurochs stood next to the door, shivering a little with the cold of the rain still on their bodies, while the tall woman in her black dress pants and baby blue button up shirt stood in front of the tv, adjusting the two aluminum foil clad antenna until the picture was once again clear. Once she was finished, she turned up the volume and stepped back.
"Look," She said, pulling her boyfriend next to her to make sure he was watching, "See? Watch!"
Letty laughed a little, glancing at Lacy as she continued to stare at the staticy tv, then looked to see what she was so worked up about.
"Last night, the Championship Blitzball game was played in Luca between the Besaid Aurochs and the Luca Goers..."
The screen showed clips of the game as the reporter's watery voice continued.
"It was a heated game, with the Aurochs winning by a point. Many say that the game played last night was the most thrilling, most spine-tingling one they'd ever seen, especially with all of the mis-haps that happened during it."
It flashed, then started showing the three scenes that happened to Datto, Jassu, and Naida.
"Yes, horrible cards were delt to the beloved Aurochs, especially at the end, when Naida Dark, a Center/Shooter recently recruited from the Calm Lands, was hit with a Multi-Status ball kicked by Viranda Bennet, also a recently recruited Center, but this one from Guadosalam.
The ball was said to have hit the young Al Bhed hard on her side, causing an infection deep in her body. Interviewed Doctors from the local hospital said that although she had a rough night, she was going to be just fine.
On another point, everything with the Goers is NOT fine. Officials say that every last one of them was arrested last night, after a policeman overheard them talking about how their plan 'Hadn't worked the way they'd wanted it to.'"
Datto raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms as the screen showed clips of the Goers being put into police cars.
"However, this morning, Balgerda Levery and Doram Whitfield were released with a first offense, this being the first charge against them."
It showed the two Goers walking out of the prison.
"The two women, Levery a Guard and Whitfield a Shooter, were sent out to go start recruiting new members for the team, seeing how their old teammates wouldn't be getting out for some time. Their hearing is next Wednesday.
In other news..."
Before the monotoned reporter could go on to other things, Lacy stepped up and turned the tv off, then turned to the two men that stood behind her.
"So?" She grinned, "Whaddya think?"
"I think it's weird how people find out this kinda stuff and put it together so dang quick," Datto replied, running a hand over his face.
Lacy laughed, nodding, "That's the news for ya," She turned to her boyfriend, "What about you, Letty?"
"I think we'd better go to the cafe and see if the others saw this," He said, reaching out and taking her hand, "C'mon."
With a short "Whoa," The Counter Lady was dragged for the door, and soon, they were out in the rain again.
Datto stood in the small room for a moment, staring at the door, before shaking his shaven head.
"Here we go again," He muttered, before running after them.
"Man, I can't believe this.."
"Oh, I can."
Robert looked across the counter to Drea, who had just set down a tray of hot chocolate in front of a few customers, and was handing the orders out.
"Why's that?"
"Well," She didn't look up, "That Viranda chick was pushin' it as it was. They got what was comin' to 'em, that's what I think anyway. Besides.." She finished distributing the cups, picked up her tray, then turned to the Al Bhed at the bar, "They got off easy, if I'd gotten ahold of 'em, there'd be nothing left."
Robert raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of his fresh cup of hot chocolate. Drea just smiled sweetly, then turned and went back behind the counter.
Meanwhile, Botta still stared blankly out the window. Ever since the news annoucement, he'd been in a daze, wondering if Naida had seen what he had.
(If she hasn't..maybe I'll be the first to tell her..) He sipped at his cup of coffee absently, (She'll be happy, I'm sure of it.)
As he stared off into space, Drea re-emerged from the back, carrying her pot of hot chocolate with her. She paused, watching the redhead with an almost confused interest.
"Hey, Drea," Robert held out his mug, "Can I have a refill, please?"
"Oh," She shook her head, snapping out of her daze, "Sure."
She went and filled the white mug back up, then set the pot down on the bar, leaning over next to it and looking back to Botta.
"...What's goin' on with him?" She asked the white-eyed Al Bhed.
"Probably thinkin' about Naida," He replied, sipping his new filled cup,"You know how he is."
"Yeah.." She said softly, "Hope everyone else gets outta that room soon, so he can go talk to her. I think if he doesn't soon, he might get stuck like that."
That earned a soft laugh from Robert, which in turn caused the barwaitress to smile. She glanced at him, then back to Botta, where her gaze rested, waiting to see some sort of movement other than his mug to his lips. She watched him for a few minutes, before her attention was jerked away by the sound of the entrance bell. She looked, and immedietly her face lit up.
"Jassu!" She ran out to greet her dark knight, who was hobbling in on his crutches.
"Hey woman," He said, leaning on his crutch and taking her in his free arm. He pressed a kiss into her blonde hair, then looked at her, "Man, for only gettin' a couple hours of sleep, you still look good."
She laughed, blushing a little, "Yeah yeah..I'm glad you haven't lost yer sense of humor yet."
"Oh but I will," He looked up to the bar, sliding his arm around her shoulders, "You just wait, I'll finally get so tired that I'll just pass out, then I ain't gonna be crackin' any jokes."
"But I will," She teased, poking him in the side, "I'll stick things up yer nose while yer snorin'."
"Chyeah," He snorted, looking down at her, "You do that, see what happens."
He smiled, ruffling her hair, before pulling his arm back and making his way to the bar. Drea laughed, following him, then going back behind the bar.
"'Ey Red," He said, sitting in the empty seat between the Al Bhed and the Auroch, "Whatcha starin' at?"
When no reply came, he glanced over at Robert.
"'Ey Rob, what's he starin' at?"
"Naida," He replied, giving the Guard an amused side glance before taking another sip of his drink.
"Naida?" He echoed, looking back to his younger friend,"But she's.."He stopped when he realized what Robert meant,"Oh, heh...yeah I bet he is.."
He turned back to the bar as Drea came out with her pot of hot chocolate, stopping in front of him long enough to fill a glass and give a quick kiss, then moving on to take care of the other customers.
The tiny cafe was in silence for a few minutes, before the alienated sound of the entrace bell rang again, this time letting in 5 more customers.
"Heeeeeeyyy you guyyyyssss!!" Came Keepa's loud voice.
"That'd be the Marshmallow," Jassu stated, not even turning around.
"Keepa?" Robert filled in,"Yep, that's him."The white-eyed Al Bhed turned around, holding his mug close to him, "Along with..Mr. Smith, that other lady, Ropp, and Mifurey."
"Hey cuz," The Nurse said as she sat next to him.
"'Eya Mif," He smiled,"How are ya?"
"Well," She smiled, "I will be better than you once Laura gets through with you for being late meeting her at the Front Desk of the hospital."
Immedietly his eyes went wide, and he almost dropped his mug.
"Ah, dangit! I was supposed to meet her ten minutes ago!"
"Yep," Ropp said, sitting next to his girlfriend,"You're dead."
"Thanks for remindin' me, Mif!" Robert called, jumping up and running toward the door,"I owe ya one!"
"Yeah you owe me like 30 right now." She laughed, taking his dispatched mug and drinking what was left.
The black haired Al Bhed ran out the door to go meet his girlfriend, leaving his seat open for the taking. Aunt Julia and Uncle Matt had taken a seat in a booth, where Drea was serving, so Keepa, the only one standing, gladly took it. Jassu shifted in his seat to look at the Goalie.
"Yo Keeps,"He said, raising an eyebrow,"Where's yer better half?"
The Goalie laughed,"Svanda's at the hospital with Naida, she said she'd be here in a few minutes."
"So Naida'll be by herself?"
The two Aurochs jumped at the sound of Botta's deep voice, and Jassu turned around.
"It's a miracle, he speaks!"
"Yeah, I guess it does," Keepa laughed, "You headin' over there?"
"I am now,"He replied, setting his drink down and getting up, "Thanks Keepa."
"Ah, no big, tell 'er I said hey."
The redhead only nodded, walking toward the door. He was almost there when it swung open, and in came a drenched Letty, Lacy, and Datto.
"Hey guys!" The Center practically yelled,"D..didja see the news??"
"Yeah, we saw it," Came Drea's voice from one of the tables,"At least me Botta and Robert did.
"We saw it on the big screen outside," Uncle Matt spoke from his table.
"I heard it on the radio in the lockeroom," Jassu shrugged.
Datto sighed, "Well joy, all that runnin' for nothin'."
"And you got your cast wet," Mifurey scolded, getting up to meet him as he walked in to sit down,"Datto..now we're gonna haveta rebandage it."
"Oh...boy." He groaned.
"What's going on now?" Ropp asked, turning from his seat to the little scene.
"Datto got his bandages wet," Mifurey said, still examining the wet mess on the young Shooter's arm, "We're gonna haveta redo it..."
The conversation trailed off as Botta turned and continued on his way out the door, moving even faster toward the hospital than he intended to.
The rest of the group in the cafe continued their talking, except for Aunt Julia and Uncle Matt, who watched silently in their small booth.
"He's in quite a hurry to see her, eh?" Uncle Matt smiled, glancing out the window at the redhead as he ran by.
"Yes..but I do remember you moving that quickly one time when a certain girl you loved was in the hospital.." Came Aunt Julia's soft reply.
The old man looked at her, a strange glitter in his dark eyes as he reached across the table and took one of Aunt Julia's hands.
"And I'd still run like that if I ever knew she was in trouble."
"Naida, I'm so sorry."
The Al Bhed looked at her younger friend, taking her hand.
"Sav, don't worry about it. You didn't do anything wrong. Okay?"
"I..I know..It's just.." She sighed, looking down," I can't help but feel like this whole time, I've been thinking about me, and my problems..so much..that I didn't realize it until now..and.. I just.."
She stopped, looking up and taking a deep breath.
"I don't know anymore, Naida..I was so caught up in my own problems, that I didn't even notice that we haven't been talking as much..and then last night..when I thought I wouldn't ever get the chance to talk to you again..it just..I was..I was so scared.."
Naida listened to her, watching as the young Chocobo Breeder's light brown eyes began to well up.
" You're the best friend I've ever had, Naida.."She looked up at her," And I don't know what would happen if you'd actually..actually.."
Before she could finish, she broke down into tears. Naida watched, until she felt herself beginning to fall apart.
"Oh, Savvy," She said, pulling the younger woman close in a hug, "It's okay..I promise I won't leave you for a long time..and I'm sorry I scared you like that.."
Svanda nodded into the soft fabric of Naida's hospital gown, squeezing her older friend tighter, before sitting back, looking up at her with red eyes. Naida smiled, her own eyes tinted red, and her blonde hair matted to her face.
"..Man.."She breathed, "I need a shower pretty bad..I'm gonna start lookin' like Tidus when he forgets to brush his hair."
Svanda smiled, and they both laughed a little. Svanda sniffed, wiping her eyes.
"Well..I'll leave ya to go do yer thing," She paused,"Do they even have a bathroom in here?"
"Yeah, there's a door in the supplies room."
"Ah,"She got up,"Well..I'll let ya go do it then..later."
She leaned over, giving the blonde woman a hug.
"Love ya Savvy," Naida said softly.
"Love you too, Naids, woman," She stood back, walking toward the door, "If you need anything at all, just yell, all right?"
"Gotcha." The Al Bhed waved.
Svanda nodded, then turned and walked out.
Naida sat in silence for a moment, before turning and looking at the supplies closet door.
"Joy.."She said softly,"How am I gonna get in there without killing myself?"
Slowly she scooted toward the end of the bed, throwing back the covers to reveal her bare legs. She shivered.
"Geez it's nice and freezing in here."
Sliding closer to the edge, she draped her legs over then end of the bed, and looked around for something to grab on to.
(Ah, a chair.)
Carefully, she pulled the short wooden chair close to her, and prepared to push off. However, her concentration was broken whenever the doors suddenly swung open again.
"Naida...?"
She looked up, "Oh, um..hi Botta."
The redhead looked down at her, scratching the back of his neck, "Ah..what are you doing?"
"..Trying to get out of bed." She replied, motioning toward the chair, "Yeah..I was..gonna go take a shower but.."
She sighed, sliding back, "Guess not right now, eh?"
Botta laughed, "You shouldn't be trying to walk anyway, you'll fall down."
"Chyeah.." She smiled slightly, "Guess yer right."
He smiled, and pulled up a chair next to her as she settled back down into her bed.
"So," She pulled the covers up to her collarbone, resting her hands on top, "Whatcha doin'?"
"Oh, nothin' much," He shrugged, "Just..got tired of bein' at the cafe I guess."
"Not as exciting without me there?" She grinned.
He laughed, "Yeah, that's it."
"Good, we can't have you having fun without me now."
Botta looked at her to see her still grinning. He smiled back, and slowly her grin settled to a gentle smile.
(I can't have fun without you anytime...)
"No..I guess we can't."
She nodded, and he sat down backwards in the chair, resting his arms on the back of it. They fell into silence for a moment, before they both tried to start a conversation.
"Well what I-"
"So how-"
They both stopped, laughing nervously. Naida smiled a little.
"Go on."
He shook his head, "No, you go ahead."
She looked at him, and he nodded her on. She nodded back, taking a breath.
"..So..how are Jassu and Datto doing?"
"Oh..They're fine," He smiled a little, "Jassu's lovin' the attention from Drea but-" he paused for a moment to let Naida laugh, "..But he's good."
"Good."
He looked up at her, "You know..the Goers are in jail.."
She nodded, "I know."
He shrugged, "I..figured you'd be happy.."
She frowned, looking down, "Well..not really.." She stopped, shaking her head at his confused expression, "No, it's not that they didn't deserve it..I just..I wish they hadn't done anything like that in the first place, you know?" She looked up at him, green eyes pleading, "I just.. I wish people weren't like that, you know?"
Botta paused, looking at her, before lowering his head and shuffling one of his feet at something invisible on the floor.
"Yeah..I know."
She watched him, blinking slowly, before letting out a slow breath, "..So..was that what you wanted to tell me..?"
"No," He replied, not looking up, "I actually..I came here to..apologize."
She raised her eyebrow, "..For what?"
"Everything." He looked up at her, sincere crystal eyes locking in to her confused green ones, "I mean..all that I've put you through.. I really, I'm a jerk..and..I didn't realize it 'til last night."
"Botta..it's not your-"
"Yes it is, Naida.." He stood up and turned away from her, "It's just...everything that's happened this whole year's been wrong, just..everything. The Blitz Season, Wakka and the others goin' off to fight Sin, then Viranda.." He rubbed the back of his neck, "Everything.."
He was silent for a moment, before he turned to her.
"And then..you came, "He dropped his arm, "You came..and it was like..well at first I thought it was just another problem..but then.. you brought so much..so much life..to our team, and.. I was too stupid to see it."
He sighed, looking at her as she watched him intently, "I hurt you..I made you cry..and.. alot of those times I did it without thinking..then later..I would just..It would rip me apart." He looked back down, "And still.. I was still so wrapped up in my own pride and problems, that I wouldn't even try to apologize..and I would ignore it, thinking it would go away, when really it was all building up inside..then.."
He looked back up at her, "..Then last night..I saw you get hit by that ball, and I swear I heard your little sister screaming at me..and then..suddenly..nothing mattered anymore. Nothing but..the thought that you were going to die..and there was nothing I could do about it..nothing but hold you and try to get you to someone who might help."
He took a breath, holding it for a moment as Naida continued to stare at him, once confused eyes now filled with something else..something Botta..couldn't identify.
"Well," He finally let the breath out, "..That's..about it."
She nodded slowly, lowering her eyes to her bedsheets.
"Botta," She said softly, fisting her hands in them, "..I.."
She looked back up at him, eyes connecting with his again. He shook his head.
"Naida look..the reason I came up here..I was hopin' you'd be alone..because I wanted to tell you something.."
She tilted her head to the side, and he went on.
"I.."He looked down at the floor, walking toward her, "I was gonna tell you that..I..ah.."
He stopped at the foot of her bed, and slowly looked up at her, into her deep, turquoise eyes.
Botta froze.
"Naida?" His voice, only seconds before deep and troubled, was now very confused, "...Why are your eyes turquoise?"
The already confused Al Bhed's eyebrows shot up, "Huh?"
"I'm not kidding," He said, grabbing the metal cliboard off of the trey at the foot of her bed, "Look."
She paused, looking at him, before taking it and looking into it. Sure enough, her once lime green eyes had turned dark turquoise.
"What in Spira?" She said softly, "...What's wrong with them?"
"Maybe it's the infection," Botta shrugged, "Could be a temporary thing, ya?"
"Yeah," She nodded, dropping the clipboard back onto her lap and looking at him, "That's probably it." She laughed a little, "Looks kinda weird."
"Nah," He shook his head, sitting back down in his chair, "I don't think it looks bad."
She raised her eyebrow, "Really?"
"Sure," He shrugged again, looking at her, "I mean, Ropp's eyes are that weird blue, ya? Maybe somethin' like that happened to you?"
"Yeah, but the reason Ropp's eyes are blue is because his Uncle was the last person to die.. someone not directly blood related."
"Oh.." He ran a hand over his face, "Well, you know more about it than I do, ya?"
She laughed, "Ya."
They fell silent for a moment, both staring downward, one at the bed, the other at the floor. Finally, Naida glanced up.
"Umm...was that..what you wanted to tell me?" Her voice was innocent, almost scared.
Botta looked up at her immedietly, swallowing hard, "Ahh..actually it wasn't."
She tilted her head to the side, "Well...are you gonna tell me what it really was?"
"Yeah.." He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck again, "I was..gonna say that...well, what I meant to tell you..is..I.." He looked at her, "Naida, I really l-"
Suddenly, the door swung open, causing both of the Aurochs to jump. They turned to see Dr. Evans stride in, clipboard in one hand, and the other adjusting his thin glasses. He stopped when he saw the two younger ones staring at him.
"Oh, pardon me.." His elderly voice reminded Botta alot of Aunt Julia's old teacher Maechen, "Am I interrupting something?"
They both shook their heads.
"Oh, no sir."
"No sir, not at all."
He nodded, glancing back down at his clipboard, "Wonderful..very well then..Miss Dark?"
"Yes sir?"
He smiled, "Glad to see you awake finally, you had alot of your friends worried, as I saw."
She blushed a little, "Thank you, and I'm sorry."
"Oh, no dear," He answered, moving toward the two, "Not your fault, not one bit of it. You just worry about getting better, all right?"
He looked down at her, and she nodded.
"Yes sir."
"Now then..Sir?" He looked to Botta, "I'm afraid that visiting hours are over, and I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"Visiting hours are over?"He echoed, looking around, "What time is it?"
"Hmm..9 o'clock, if my watch is correct," The old Doctor said, glancing at his watch, "Today did seem to fly, didn't it?"
"Boy, did it ever," Botta said, rubbing the back of his neck, then looking to Naida, "So..I guess this is goodnight."
"Well, perhaps not just yet," He stepped back in, "You see, our ER is needed for an overnight operation scheduled for 9:30, meaning we need to move Ms. Dark to another room as soon as possible, and since I'm the only Doctor on the floor tonight, I have to move the equipment."
"You want me to help her switch beds." Botta said bluntly.
"If you would?"
"Oh, sure." He replied, getting up and moving to unlock the wheels on the small bed, after a moment, he turned back to the Doctor, "...Ah, sir? Where's the lock for the wheels?"
"They're on the side," Dr. Evan's replied, not looking up from unhooking the monitor in the corner, "But you won't be needing to unlock them."
Botta stopped and stood up, looking at the Doctor, "..Excuse me?"
"I'll be removing all IVs and tubes from Ms. Dark shortly," He explained,"We need this bed for the operation, and the charts seem to say she's doing fine on the lowest levels of machine help."
"Oh.." The Auroch looked to the Al Bhed lying on the bed, "So..what you mean is.."
"I think he wants you to carry me, Botta," She said softly, smiling.
"Ah.."He nodded,"I..I knew that."
She laughed, then lifted her arms as Dr. Evans walked over and began to unhook the IVs and such from her. Minutes later, she was completely clean, and the old Doctor was moving the equipment out of the room.
"Go right, and then go left down the next hallway,"He called over his shoulder, "It'll be the third door on the left."
Soon, the two Aurochs were alone in the room again. The redhead turned to the blonde who was still looking at him.
"You ready?"
She nodded, "Whenever you are."
He took a deep breath, before leaning over and slowly sliding his strong arms around her. One arm under her knees, and the other around her back. Instictively, she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding herself as close to him as she could. He paused, looking at her as she looked down at her old bed, then up to him. They stared at eachother for a moment, before she smiled.
"What's up?"
He jolted out of his daze, shaking his head, then returning the smile.
"You I guess."
She laughed, "Funny."
Laughing softly, he turned and carried her out of the ER, and down to her new room. He walked over to the new bed, and knelt to set her down, naturally lowering his head to let her slide her arms over his head. Unconciously she leaned foreward as her body settled down into the new area, but in the process, she bumped his head with hers.
Immedietly, they both jerked up, eyes locking into eachother. After a few seconds, Naida cleared her throat.
"Umm..Botta?" She practically whispered.
"Hmm?"
"...You're cutting off the circulation to my feet."
The Auroch looked down, and sure enough, he saw her usually tan feet turning white. At her knees, his strong arms were in almost a deathgrip around her legs.
"Oh," He slid his arms away from her, letting her settle down into her new bed, "Uhh..sorry."
She smiled at him, and he stepped back. After a moment of looking at her, he opened his mouth to say something, when suddenly they both heard someone clearing their throat.
"Pardon me..?"
They both looked to see Dr. Evans in the doorway.
"..Thank you for assisting me in changing Ms. Dark to her new room," He looked at Botta, "And I'm sorry you have to leave her so early."
"Oh, no sir,..don't worry about it, "He rubbed his neck, walking toward the door. He turned and looked at Naida, "...Nite Naida."
"Nite Botta," She said softly, "Sweet dreams."
"You too," He stood in the doorway, staring at her for a moment. She stared back, turquoise eyes shining strangely in the dim light of the lamp in the room.
(...I love you.)
He blinked, then turned and walked out after the Doctor, shutting the door behind him.
However, Naida continued to stare at the door, slowly pulling the decent comforter up over her body as she layed down.
(...I love you too.)
With that, she reached over and turned off the lamp.
~~~~~Author's Note: Well goodness me! Another chapter, and this one isn't bein' put up a month after the last one!! ^_^ Yay!!
Sorry, I know this one wasn't as great as I wanted to be, *lol* But I tried! Hope you like it anyway!
Okay, now for the Thankios! (I swear I'm eating a can of Spaghettios after this.)
Tio!!: Woman, I WILL check out Tupelo today! so THERE! Sorry, not alot of Baidaness in this one...wait yes there was, but still! Hope you got yer fill for the moment, and you'd better be prepared for the next chappie! ^_^ (Oh, and btw, yer e-mail account's full!!)
Carter: VACAY! *grin* Hope yer lovin' it!
DA, Daemon, Sonata,: Keep it real, y'all ^_^
Nikki: *lol* It's oki if yer not postin' anything, less for me to read!! _ JK! I love yer stuff anyway! Thanks 4 readin'!
Flaming Cross: Still waitin' for something of yers, and thanks for reading!
Dragon Scales: Still gotta read yers, I'm sorry I still haven't!
Echo!!: I'm gettin'around to yer story tomorrow when I get home!! I promise! I've been looking over it, and it looks great!! Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Drea: Okay Missy, here's how it is...thanks for reading and reviewing!! ^_^ I can't say much more, because everything I say, I've already said at one point! You just keep writin' yer awesome stuff, and if you ever need any help, just yell!
Okay now, that's all for tonight! Hope you liked this chapter, and I hope you stay with me 'til the end!! Have a great week, and STAY SAFE!!!
- Keeping it "Real,"
~Ari
"If I were a dentist I would take the oppurtunity
To look in your mouth,
Maybe if I did then I would better understand
Just what you're talkin' about.
And if my X-ray picture gave the proper information
I'd be back at the start,
'Cause every time I try and talk to you
My words keep fallin' apart..."
-Pretty Girls
~Simon and Milo
"What? Would you rather me call him a dirty old man with fleas?" -Laura Sky
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
(..Please...just..don't..)
"Please..Naida..."
(You can't leave me..)
"Don't leave me.."
Botta Trapper sat in the Luca Hospital ER, tired head rested on the plastic guardrail of Naida's bed, hand in hers, muttering softly. His body was dozing, yet he was still talking. The things he muttered echoed strangely in his head, but he was too drained both physically and emotionally to care.
(Just..wake up..)
"Give me a sign..something..anything.."
(Let me know you're still alive..)
"Let me know you can hear me.."
(I love you..)
"I l-"
He was cut off when suddenly he felt something pressure lightly on his hand. He glanced quickly up at the small, still cold one he held in his, but nothing happened. Sighing, he looked back down to the floor, eyes drooping halfway shut again.
(Just imagining things..)
"Maybe I'm wishing too hard..I-"
Once again, he was cut off by the light pressure on his hand. This time, he sat up, bloodshot blue eyes open, and eyebrows raised. His tired gaze connected with Naida's weak green, and for a moment, he thought that he was just looking into her empty eyes again, until he noticed something.
She was smiling.
"...Naida..?" He questioned softly, unsure whether or not he was imagining things.
"Hey.."She replied weakly, grinning ever so slightly.
Botta's jaw dropped. She was alive. Naida Dark was alive.
"I..Ah..."He didn't know how to start, "Good Morning."
(Oh that was smooth.)
She smiled, and started to laugh, but it broke into a cough. She pulled her freehand up to her mouth, and was about to pull her hand that Botta held, when it stopped.
"You okay?" He smiled slightly, "You need some water?"
"Oh, no thanks,"She said hoarsely, resting her hand on her stomache, "I'm good."
They sat for a moment, before she looked down to the hand that Botta held. He followed her gaze, and when he saw what she was looking at, he almost pulled away from her.
"Oh,"He said, feeling his face threatening to turn red, "I..I'm sorry..about that..It's just..ah.."
Once again, the Al Bhed smiled, squeezing his hand.
"It's alright..I can't feel them anyway..they're too cold.." She held up her free one, "Especially this one."
She gave him a side glance, then looked at her freehand. He paused, before smiling.
"Well,"He said, reaching up and taking her freehand with his, "I guess we'd better fix that, ya?"
"Ya." She laughed a little.
Again, they were in silence for a minute, both staring at their hands as unshared feelings passed between them. After a few minutes, Naida looked up at him, blonde hair hanging down in front of her pretty face as she searched for the words to start a conversation.
"...You..know.."She said slowly, causing the redhead to look up, "..I'm..really sorry that I worried you...guys."
The Auroch paused, unsure whether or not the pause between "You" and "Guys" was intentional or not. He shook his head.
"It's alright," He said, squeezing her hands, "So long as you're safe now...you saved Keepa's life, you know."
"I did? Oh, I did..." She looked down, blushing a little, "It's no big thing, I was just tryin' to keep the ball from goin' in the goal."
"I bet."
She looked back up at him, face blushing even more when she saw his smirk.
(Yevon I hate it when he does that look.)
The fell into silence one more time, before Botta took the initiative to try for a conversation.
"...I'm really sorry I couldn't get to you in time." He said, letting most of it slip without thinking.
Naida looked up at him, eyes wide, "Oh, no no...It wasn't your fault, please don't think it was! I really..it was my fault.. I just.. I was so mad at Viranda for.."
She cut off when she realized she'd said Viranda's name. Wincing a little, she looked at Botta, who was still watching her carefully.
"For what?" He hinted for her to go on.
She raised an eyebrow, before clearing her throat, "For..hurting our team.."
Botta nodded, "I was too."
Naida smiled slightly, taking a breath (Wow..he didn't freak out at her name...maybe..he's changed..)
"Umm...Naida?"
She snapped out of her daze, looking up at him, "Yes?"
He looked down, "I..I wanted to tell you something..but..I never got the chance to..and..Well I told you while you were unconcious.." He stopped, shaking his head, "Okay that was dumb, shouldn'ta told you that."
She laughed a little, "It's alright, I've talked to unconcious people before."
He glanced up at her, "Really? I mean," He shook his head again, "Naida, what I'm trying to say is.."
She squeezed his hands again, "Yes?"
"...Is I..I-"
Suddenly the door swung open, cutting the redhead's confession short. The two both looked to see Laura Sky walk in, clipboard in hand and mouthcloth in place.
"Now Botta, I've got to change some of Naida's IV's and such, and I'm gonna have to ask you to-"
She stopped when she looked up and saw that the Al Bhed was wide awake and smiling.
"Naida!" She exclaimed, running over to the bed, "You're..you're awake!!!"
"Yeah," She said with a laugh, "I am."
"Oh, oh..the guys are gonna be SO happy!!" She said, setting her clipboard on the small table at the foot of the bed then turning to to the doors, "Oh, thank you Yevon, thank you so much! Robert, Drea!"
With that, she was out the doors. The two still in the room could hear her talking frantically to the other 12 that were out in the hallway. Slowly, they turned and looked at eachother.
"...Looks like yer about to get clobbered." Botta said jokingly, squeezing her hands.
"Yeah I know," She gave a side glance to the doors, then back to him, "But I deserve it, I shouldn't have worried them all like that."
"It wasn't your fault, ya?" He reassured, "You couldn't help bein' sick. It was Viranda's fault."
The sick Al Bhed was about to protest, when suddenly the door swung open, and in came the whole group. A chorus of "Naida!"s and "You're okay!"s sounded throughout the tiny room, and instictively the two sitting both pulled their hands from eachother and covered their ears. They looked at eachother, Botta smiling slightly and Naida giving him a sweet grin, then laughing a little. The redhead stood up and pushed through the group, making his way for the door. Once he reached it, he turned back and took one last look at the woman on the bed, who was distributing hugs to all of her friends. She glanced over at him, and gave him a green-eyed wink, before turning to talk to Jassu, who made her laugh almost as soon as they started talking.
(Guess I'll haveta tell her later) He thought, then he laughed softly, (Hope she's still sane enough to understand me then.)
With a smile, the redheaded Auroch turned and walked out of the ER, and out to the cafe.
He approached the glass door, peering in to see no one sitting down. In the back he saw a few waiters and waitresses, and one of the men mouthed the words "We're not open yet." Botta nodded, and was about to walk away when he heard Amelio's yell from the back. He turned to see the large man lean out from behind the counter, green eyes sparkling as he motioned for the young man to come in. Botta laughed a little, then opened the door and walked in.
Instantly, the scents of fresh coffee and hot chocolate filled his nose. It was a welcome, familiar scent, and yet it made him think of Naida. Almost every time he'd gone to the cafe, she was either sitting at the bar or in the booth closest to the door. He glanced at both places, almost wishing the woman he'd seen moments earlier would magically appear in one of the two places.
"Well Trapper, are ya comin' in or aren'cha?"
The Auroch snapped out of his daze and looked up at the chef, who had come out from the kitchen and was standing behind the bar, large tan arms draped over it as he leaned foreward.
"Oh, yessir, sorry."
"Sir?"The chef laughed, "Trapper, Sir's my old man's name. I'm only 33!"
"Ah..my bad...Yeah."
The taller man laughed again, "That's more like it. Now come on over here and have a seat!"
Botta almost hesitated, obviously intimidated by the Al Bhed's outgoing personality, but forced his feet to move and was soon sitting in front of him. The man grinned widely, straight white teeth shining almost as brightly as his clean bald head. Indeed he was young, Botta could tell once he was up close. There wasn't a wrinkle on the man's face, save the one's that appeared when he smiled or laughed. He had a small goatee, not too big, but not so small as to go unnoticed. In a short sense, he looked almost like a younger version of Rikku's father, Cid, only wearing a white apron over his black cargo pants and sleevless shirt.
"What'll it be?" He asked, leaning back off the bar.
"Uhh..hot-" The redhead stopped short, suddenly getting the urge to order something more manly, "Do you guys serve the suicide this early in the morning?"
"Sure do!" Amelio grinned, reaching under the counter, "One Seaside Suicide, comin' up!"
In one swift move, the large man pulled out one tall clear glass, setting it smoothly on the bar in front of him. Then even quicker, he did something Botta had never seen before. He pulled out two bottles of the liquid, spinning them simultaneously at first, then both at the same time. Almost as soon as he'd started, he stopped the bottles in mid-spin, holding them over Botta's glass and filling it up. As soon as it was full, he spun the bottles backwards, then slid them back under the counter.
Botta stared at him, eyebrow raised and mouth slightly ajar. After a moment, the chef laughed.
"Boy, I didn't go to bartending school 3 years for nothin'! Enjoy yer drink!"
He turned to leave, when Botta finally snapped out of his trance, pulling his drink to him.
"That was really cool." He said bluntly.
That caused Amelio to laugh even harder, turning back to the young man, "Well, thanks. It's been almost 2 years since I've done that. It felt good to finally do it again."
"...Can anyone else do that?"
The Al Bhed snorted a little, wiping his hands absently on his apron.
"Sure, the 'tenders in Guadosalam, ones in Bevelle, Macalania.."
"No no.."He shook his head, "I mean here."
"Oh...well.."He rubbed the back of his neck, looking down slightly, "Well..there is one..but.."
Botta raised his eyebrow, "But..?"
"Hey guys, I'm here!"
Both of the men turned to see Drea walk through the door, a smile on her pretty face that seemed to light up the room even more as she came toward the bar. Botta saw when she got closer, that her eyes weren't as bloodshot as his, but it was obvious she was tired, even if the smile on her face said otherwise.
The short blonde stepped up to the counter, hopping up into the chair next to Botta, and looking between the two men next to her.
"Sorry I'm late, Amelio,"She said sincerely, resting the side of her head on one of her propped up hands and looking up at him, "Long night last night, then I hadta run home and check on Nero."
"It's good,"He said with a shrug, "How's the kid doin'?"
"He's great,"She said, eyes closed but smiling, "I called Mrs. Madison last night, asked her if he could stay over with her. He's been over there with little Paul and Joseph, havin' a blast..." She laughed a little, "I went over there to get him, and he asked me if Jassu was okay. He even gave me a card he made, told me not to read it, but to give it to 'im when I saw him again."
She reached into her back pocket and pulled out the small piece of folded blue construction paper, holding it up for them to see. Her eyes were half open, and she glanced between the two before sliding it back in. She took a deep breath, running a hand through her hair, then letting it rest on the bar next to the elbow of her other arm.
"Amelio..can I have some coffee?"
"It's in the heatin' bottles now, can ya wait a few 'til we can get it in the pots?"
She looked up at him, "Why are they in the bottles? What's wrong with the stove?"
"Cold Season,"He said bluntly, "Electric lines to the stoves froze up, and we probably won't get 'em thawed out 'til about 3 this afternoon."
"What time is it now?"
"About 10."
The Lucan barwaitress groaned, turning to let her forehead rest on both hands, blonde lockes falling down through her fingers.
"I...need..coffee..now.."
"Well," Amelio sighed, "I'm sorry, Drea. Unless you can hold the bottles to pour it, then yer outta luck for at least the next 15 minutes."
"How hot are they?"
"Shouldn't be too horrible, just put 'em over the fire a few minutes ago."
Drea paused, sitting up, before letting out a slow breath and dropping her hands to the bar.
"Give 'em here."
The Al Bhed chef raised his eyebrow, turning to the kitchen, "Alright, you asked for it.."
He disappeared back into the kitchen, leaving the two tired friends sitting at the bar. The blonde haired woman paused, looking around the counter for a moment, before pulling herself up onto the bar, then sliding almost over it. She hung over the side toward the back, strong legs kicking to push her futher over the bar. Botta watched her, confused, and was about to grab her legs to keep her from falling, when she lowered them and hooked the lower part of her boots under the bar, holding her in place.
"Umm...Drea?" Botta asked, raising an eyebrow, "...What are you doing?"
"Gettin' a cup." Her voice came from under the counter. She reached up with one hand, tugging at the back of her short shirt and pulling it down, then leaning further to dig for the cup, "Whoever stocked these last needs to be shot, they're too far back."
Botta laughed a little, turning from her as he took another sip of his drink. It was bitter, and a little strong for something so early in the morning, but it was waking him up, so he wasn't complaining.
"Mornin' Drea," Came the voice of one of the dark haired waiters as he walked by behind the bar.
"Mornin' Max," She replied, not looking up.
"Whatcha doin'?"
"What's it look like I'm doin'? I'm gettin' a cup."
"Oh," He said, stepping back. He paused for a moment, eyes tracing up the waitress's back and resting on her rear-end. He looked over at Botta, who had his eyebrow raised. The waiter grinned, pointing at it, then stepping closer. Botta shook his head slightly and took another sip of his drink.
(Wouldn't do that if I were you...) He thought.
"Max you sicko," Came Drea's voice from under the bar, "You better not even be THINKING about touchin' anything of mine."
The waiter pulled back, obviously disappointed, "Oh darn. Why not?"
"Because if you do," She replied, suddenly leaning back up and sliding back to her seat, mug in hand, "My boyfriend'll beat the crap outta you."
Max raised his eyebrow, "Boyfriend?"
"Yeah,"She said, smiling slightly, "Jassu Korbit of the Besaid Aurochs."
His eyes widened, "You're datin' the Guard from the Aurochs?"
"One of 'em." Botta answered, causing the man to look at him. He took another sip of his drink, "She's not datin' me."
Max paused, before nodding slightly, "I..uh..umm.."
"Yeah," Drea said, flipping a locke of blonde hair out of her face, "Go on now. Run along."
The waiter raised his eyebrow, before walking off. Drea looked over at Botta, a grin reappearing on her face.
"Man," She laughed a little, "I can't wait to tell him about that."
"Don't be so quick about it,"Botta replied, "He might actually chase the guy down."
"So?" She said, turning back to the bar, "He needs it. He's always doin' things like that to the girls around here. Trust me. You don't believe me, just ask Lacy."
"Oh, I believe you," He said, eyes looking up to Amelio as he came back out from behind the bar, bottle of coffee in hand, "Just.. didn't think you'd want to see Jassu dangling some guy he doesn't know off the side of a bridge."
Drea laughed, looking up at Amelio, "'Bout time, slowpoke. I was gettin' grey hairs out here."
"Ah, shut it," He said, setting the bottle down in front of her, "You know how these things are."
"Yeah I know," She said, tapping it to see how hot it was,"I was kiddin'."
"Hey Amelio," Botta said, taking another sip of his drink, "Has Drea seen what you can do with one of those bottles?"
The chef twisted around to him, eyes wide. Botta raised his eyebrow, a little startled, but Drea just laughed, looking up at her boss.
"What he can do with the bottles?" She echoed, smiling slightly, "You mean, this?"
In a split second, the waitress snapped her hand out and grabbed up the still steaming bottle of coffee, spinning it from one hand to the other, before twisting it around and passing it behind her back. Her movements were connected, and way more smooth than Amelio's had been, and all Botta could do was watch. Amelio snorted, crossing his arms over his chest as he waited for the young woman to finish off.
She did, by twisting the bottle around her back one more time and stopping it over her mug filling it up with her arm crossed behind her back. Once it was full, she spun it back around and set it on the counter in front of her boss.
"....Yeah."Botta said after a moment, "That."
Drea laughed, taking a sip from her fresh mug, "And I was tired too."
"Showoff." Amelio muttered, taking the bottle and walking back to the kitchen, "But remember, you still gotta work today!"
"Yes your majesty,"She said into her cup, then looking to Botta, "Now then, how are you doing today?"
The redheaded Guard laughed, setting his glass down, "Good, actually. Relieved."
"I can imagine," She said with a smile, "Laura told me she walked in and saw you two holdin' hands, lookin' like you were about ta kiss or somethin'."
Botta raised his eyebrow, taking another drink,"Now, I don't know about kissin', but I was holdin' her hands.." He paused when he saw the amused look on Drea's face, "They were cold, she wanted me to keep 'em warm."
"Uh huh." She said, rolling her eyes, "Just face it. You like her and you got busted."
He paused, before laughing and setting his drink back down, "Yeah yeah sure..whatever."
The two went on sitting in silence, drinking their drinks and watching the rain. A few minutes later, the familiar sound of the doorbell rang, and soon after the voice of one of the waitresses.
"Excuse me sir, but we're not open yet."
Drea looked over her shoulder at the intruder, before laughing.
"Hey, Kit it's okay, he's with us."
"Hm?" Botta raised his eyebrow, glancing at her, "Who's with us?" He looked over his shoulder.
"Hey guys!" Robert walked up to the bar, taking a seat on the other side of Drea, "What's up?"
"Shouldn't we be asking YOU that?" She said with a smile, taking a sip of her coffee.
The Al Bhed paused, before realizing what she meant, "Oh! Sorry. Heh..Everything's good at the hospital. Most of the people've already left, goin' where they're goin', ya know?"
"Really?" Botta said, leaning foreward to look at the older man, "Who all's there with her?"
"Oh.." He rubbed the back of his neck, "Well...There's Laura..Mifurey's still there with Ropp, Mr. Smith and that other lady went to the locker rooms to get somethin' for Naida...Keepa's still in there with his girlfriend, Datto, Letty, and his girlfriend left..don't know where they went..and Jassu went to the lockeroom to get somethin', he should be on his way over here any minute...but that's about it." He paused, then looked at Drea, "Which is another thing, he told me to tell you he's on his way."
"Thanks," She said, downing the rest of her drink.
"Hmm..So Svanda, Keepa, Mifurey, Ropp and Laura are in there," Botta calculated.
Drea laughed, "In other words, she's not alone." Botta raised his eyebrow, and she nudged him playfully, "Darn, right?"
"Whatever." He said bluntly, but smiling.
Robert grinned, running a hand through his ebony hair and leaning onto the counter, "Chyeah right, we all know you like her."
"See?" Drea jumped in, "He doesn't even know you and he can tell!" She laughed again, "Captain Obvious."
"Woo joy," Botta said, rolling his eyes and taking another sip of his drink, "I'm Captain Obvious all right."
"I'd say so," Robert said, then looked around, "Say, how'd you guys get drinks? Thought this place wasn't open yet."
"It is for us." Drea replied, getting up and walking around to behind the bar, "Whaddya want?"
"Oh, hot chocolate please," He ordered,"Thanks."
"No problem,"She smiled, then turned to the back, "Hey Amelio! How're we lookin' on the hot chocolate?"
"Just filled a pot 'a water up," His voice came from the back,"It's sittin' on the burner!"
"Yeesh, the burner," She said softly, shaking her head, "Be right back, boys. Gotta mix the mess."
They nodded as she walked to the back, leaving the two young men to their silence, until Botta looked over to Robert.
"So, did you two find ya a house yesterday?"
"Actually we did," He said, leaning foreward and looking toward the kitchen,"Turns out the hospital had already had one set up for us, said somethin' about Nurse's privelages. We didn't even haveta go to the hotel we'd booked." He laughed, "I just hope L's plannin' on keepin' that job."
Botta smiled, "I'm sure she will, she seems to like it."
"Yeah.." He looked down, "Yer right."
They were quiet for a few more minutes, before Botta took another deep breath.
"So..you knew Naida when she was younger?"
"Sure did, lived in Home together for...a year. I'd only been there a few months when she and her family came in..she was only 15..I think."
"That made you 17, didn't it?"
"Yep," He said, looking down at his sandaled feet and rubbing them together, making them squeak with the water that covered them, "A year younger than her older brother, he was my best friend."
Botta paused, glancing at Robert as he continued rubbing his feet absently, "...Sorry."
"Nah, don't worry about it," He replied, not looking up,"Leon knew what he wanted, he was always that way. Always talked about joinin' the Crusaders, and if I remember one thing about that guy it's gotta be his stubborness. He wouldn't give in if you ripped his arms off and tied him up."
Botta smiled slightly, looking down, "Sounds like Naida."
"You bet," He laughed a little,"You can see alot of him in her, it's almost freaky. And Teale was just as bad, and she was only 11 then. I bet she'd be a knockout if she was still alive," He shook his head,"Let's see...she'd be 17 now. I bet yer friend Datto woulda gone for her."
Botta paused, thinking about the deceased Al Bhed that he'd only spoken to a night before, then lowering his head.
"...Yeah..I bet he would've..I bet she woulda been gorgeous."
"How does that feel?"
"A little better, thank you."
Mifurey laughed a little as she retaped the oxygen tube to Naida's face.
"It's no problem, so long as you're comfortable."
"Even thought that's impossible," Laura added from her spot in the corner, looking at the charts, "I couldn't ever stand having something strapped to my face."
"Well neither can I," Naida said with a slight smile, "But..this is the closest to comfortable I'm getting, so I'm good."
"And that's great to hear." Mifurey smiled softly, smoothing some of the younger woman's hair out of her face.
The three women were quiet for a moment, before Laura spoke up.
"Wonder where your Aunt Julia and Uncle Matt are, " She said, not looking,"They've been gone for about 10 minutes now..."
"Oh, that's fine, they're probably really tired."
"Yeah, yer right...what'd they go to get anyway?"
"Some clothes of mine."
Laura glanced over at her, "Clothes? I thought all of yours were here already...?"
"Nope," She shook her head,"I actually own a pair of khakis that I brought from the Calm Lands.. I always carry them with me, just in case I need somthin' else to wear."
The short Nurse raised her eyebrow, "You need a shirt?"
"Oh, is my other one all right?"
"Oh, no, it's not that." Laura laughed a little,"I was just asking."
"Ah, well, I don't need one, but something other than my tank top might be pretty good."
Laura smiled, "Well, Robert's supposed to come back here for me in a few minutes, I'll make sure to stop by the house and pick one up for ya."
"Thank you."
"Take your time too, L." Mifurey added, "She's not gonna need any other clothes for a couple of days."
"Huh?"
The older Al Bhed looked down at the sick woman, "You'll be here a couple more days, Naida. Trust me."
"..But why?"
Mifurey shook her head, "You can barely walk, sweetie.."
Naida paused, before nodding, "...You're right. I'm sorry."
"No no," She took the younger woman's hand, "It's all right, you just wanted to know."
She looked up at Mifurey, nodded again, then looked back down. Once again, silence settled over the small room, before Naida looked up.
"Where'd Svanda and Keepa go?"
"They'll be back in a little bit," Laura answered, "They went to go get something from the lockeroom too."
"Ah, all right."
"So..." Mifurey started, trying to get a good conversation started, "...Are you and Botta goin' to the Blitz Banquet together..?"
Immedietly the young woman's face began to turn red. Laura turned and looked at her, smiling.
"Ahh...I think that's a "Not yet but I want him to" Mif."
The older Nurse laughed, "It's okay Naida, we won't tell!"
The young Al Bhed ran both hands over her face, smiling, "Well..no.. I mean..I don't know..he hasn't asked me."
"He what?" Laura raised her eyebrow, "Smelly kid better hurry up!"
Both women looked at her, and Naida laughed, "...Smelly kid?"
Laura smiled, "What? Would you rather me call him a dirty old man with fleas?"
"Umm..no that's okay."
"Good,"She nodded, turning back to the charts, "I didn't want to."
Naida looked at Mifurey, who shrugged.
"I bet he'll ask you," The short Al Bhed said, still not looking at the two other women, "Just give 'im a little bit. He'll ask you, and you'll go and have a great time with the rest of yer team."
"Whaddya mean 'The rest of my team'?" Naida raised her eyebrow,"You guys'll be there too!"
Mifurey shook her head, "Naida, we're not on the team, and we're not dating anyone on the team."
"That doesn't matter! I invited you, so you're allowed to."
The older Al Bhed laughed a little, "Naida, you're so sweet."
She shook her head, "Nah. Any of the guys woulda said the same thing."
"Well, that's because all of you are freakin' awesome," Laura said, turning to them, "And that's that. Now..." She walked over and gave Naida a quick hug, "I have GOT to go meet my man at the front desk, and before I do that, I have to go check out with Big Man E down the hall, so..I will see you chicks later, k?"
"Bye Laura," Naida said with a smile, "Thank you."
"Ah, no problem, Lady Auroch," She smiled and gave a slight bow, "Just doin' my job."
"Bye Laura," Mifurey laughed, "You take care of yourself, and if you see Ropp down by the front desk, tell him I'll be down there in a minute." She looked at Naida, "I know he went down there a few minutes thinkin' I was right behind him, so..."
She trailed off with a smile, and Naida laughed.
"Will do, Mif," Laura replied, moving out the doors, "I'll be back later, biya!"
"Bye," Both of the women called back, before the short Nurse disappeared out the door.
"Laura's so nice," Naida said thoughtfully, still looking at the door.
"She is," Mifurey smiled, "My cousin picked a good girl."
They were in silence for a moment, before the Nurse looked to the Al Bhed.
"So..you ready for the Banquet? It's in 5 days, you know."
"It is?" She raised her eyebrow, "Will I be out of here by then?"
"Oh yeah, you should be out of here in a couple of days or so."
She nodded, "...Good."
"Maybe Botta'll ask ya by then."
"Let's hope so."
The words had left her mouth before she could stop them, and immedietly she felt her face turn red. Her green eyes widened, and she slowly looked up at Mifurey, who was smiling.
"I knew it."
"Don't you have to go meet Ropp?"
She laughed, "Yes I do.. will you be all right by yourself for a few minutes?"
"Yeah, I'm good."
"Good." The older Al Bhed hugged her, "If you need anything, just buzz the front desk and have them track down either me or Laura, okay?"
"Okay, thank you Mifurey."
"Oh, it's no problem, sweetie," She stood up, walking toward the door,"Anything for a friend."
The two exchanged smiles, before the older one went out the door, leaving Naida to her silence.
The young Al Bhed sighed, laying back onto her bed and staring up at the white ceiling.
(..The Blitz Banquet..) She thought (I wonder if Botta WILL ask me to be his date...) She took a deep breath, rolling onto her side and burying her face into her pillow.
(I hope so...)
"Where do you think they are now?"
"I dunno Dat..probably somewhere out there, beatin' the tar outta Sin."
The young Shooter nodded, accepting this explanation, then leaning foreward onto the large rail that stretched the great length of Luca's Walkway Bridge next to Letty.
The taller man looked down, kicking some of the smaller pebbles at the concrete wall, trying to take his mind off of their beloved Captain. Where was he? What was he doing? ...Was he even alive?
He shook his head, looking back out over the bridge.
(Can't think like that now, ya?) He thought, (I've worked so hard to keep my faith up, can't doubt him when it matters most.)
He took a deep breath, pushing his threatening inner voice aside long enough to look over at his younger friend, who was still staring out at the sea.
"You okay?" He asked, the sound of his rough voice shaking the calm air between them and making the teenager jump a little.
"Yeah.." He glanced back to Letty, before back out to the sea, "I'm fine."
However, Letty could sense he wasn't fine. In fact, he could almost tell from the way the Auroch stood, that he was a good distance from it.
"What's wrong?"
Datto cast him a side glance, pale blue eyes a little dull.
"...Nothin'."
"C'mon, kid," Letty slid over a little, elbowing his friend gently,"You know better than to lie to me, ya?"
He looked down,"...Ya."
"So what's wrong?"
The fourth Al Bhed took a deep breath, looking back off the bridge, "It's just..everything. Sin, the Cap'n and the others goin' off to fight Sin, and not to mention everything's that's happened to the team this season."
"Ya.."The Center nodded, running a hand over his face, "This season's been straight from Ifrit himself, if ya ask me."
"I'll agree with ya on that one."
The two were quiet for a moment, before Letty took a breath, looking over at his jaded friend.
"Well..Look at it this way Dat," He looked back down for a moment, kicking a few more pebbles, before looking back to Datto, "The more we worry about it, the more they're gonna laugh when they come back."
The Shooter looked at him, raising an eyebrow.
"Letty..that's a really weird way to look at things."
He shrugged, smiling and looking over the rail at his outstretched hands,"Yeah, well..."
"Hey you guys!"
Instantly the two Aurochs turned and looked at the woman running toward them.
"Hey Lace, what's wrong?" Letty turned and reached out to take his girlfriend's outstretched hand.
"Come look at the news," She panted, gripping his hand and pulling him back toward the Registration Center, "Both of you, you've GOT to see this!"
Letty looked over his shoulder to Datto, offering the teenager a confused shrug before allowing the honey haired woman drag him to where she worked. Datto paused, before shaking his head and running after them.
A minute later, they were in behind the counter. The two Aurochs stood next to the door, shivering a little with the cold of the rain still on their bodies, while the tall woman in her black dress pants and baby blue button up shirt stood in front of the tv, adjusting the two aluminum foil clad antenna until the picture was once again clear. Once she was finished, she turned up the volume and stepped back.
"Look," She said, pulling her boyfriend next to her to make sure he was watching, "See? Watch!"
Letty laughed a little, glancing at Lacy as she continued to stare at the staticy tv, then looked to see what she was so worked up about.
"Last night, the Championship Blitzball game was played in Luca between the Besaid Aurochs and the Luca Goers..."
The screen showed clips of the game as the reporter's watery voice continued.
"It was a heated game, with the Aurochs winning by a point. Many say that the game played last night was the most thrilling, most spine-tingling one they'd ever seen, especially with all of the mis-haps that happened during it."
It flashed, then started showing the three scenes that happened to Datto, Jassu, and Naida.
"Yes, horrible cards were delt to the beloved Aurochs, especially at the end, when Naida Dark, a Center/Shooter recently recruited from the Calm Lands, was hit with a Multi-Status ball kicked by Viranda Bennet, also a recently recruited Center, but this one from Guadosalam.
The ball was said to have hit the young Al Bhed hard on her side, causing an infection deep in her body. Interviewed Doctors from the local hospital said that although she had a rough night, she was going to be just fine.
On another point, everything with the Goers is NOT fine. Officials say that every last one of them was arrested last night, after a policeman overheard them talking about how their plan 'Hadn't worked the way they'd wanted it to.'"
Datto raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms as the screen showed clips of the Goers being put into police cars.
"However, this morning, Balgerda Levery and Doram Whitfield were released with a first offense, this being the first charge against them."
It showed the two Goers walking out of the prison.
"The two women, Levery a Guard and Whitfield a Shooter, were sent out to go start recruiting new members for the team, seeing how their old teammates wouldn't be getting out for some time. Their hearing is next Wednesday.
In other news..."
Before the monotoned reporter could go on to other things, Lacy stepped up and turned the tv off, then turned to the two men that stood behind her.
"So?" She grinned, "Whaddya think?"
"I think it's weird how people find out this kinda stuff and put it together so dang quick," Datto replied, running a hand over his face.
Lacy laughed, nodding, "That's the news for ya," She turned to her boyfriend, "What about you, Letty?"
"I think we'd better go to the cafe and see if the others saw this," He said, reaching out and taking her hand, "C'mon."
With a short "Whoa," The Counter Lady was dragged for the door, and soon, they were out in the rain again.
Datto stood in the small room for a moment, staring at the door, before shaking his shaven head.
"Here we go again," He muttered, before running after them.
"Man, I can't believe this.."
"Oh, I can."
Robert looked across the counter to Drea, who had just set down a tray of hot chocolate in front of a few customers, and was handing the orders out.
"Why's that?"
"Well," She didn't look up, "That Viranda chick was pushin' it as it was. They got what was comin' to 'em, that's what I think anyway. Besides.." She finished distributing the cups, picked up her tray, then turned to the Al Bhed at the bar, "They got off easy, if I'd gotten ahold of 'em, there'd be nothing left."
Robert raised an eyebrow, taking a sip of his fresh cup of hot chocolate. Drea just smiled sweetly, then turned and went back behind the counter.
Meanwhile, Botta still stared blankly out the window. Ever since the news annoucement, he'd been in a daze, wondering if Naida had seen what he had.
(If she hasn't..maybe I'll be the first to tell her..) He sipped at his cup of coffee absently, (She'll be happy, I'm sure of it.)
As he stared off into space, Drea re-emerged from the back, carrying her pot of hot chocolate with her. She paused, watching the redhead with an almost confused interest.
"Hey, Drea," Robert held out his mug, "Can I have a refill, please?"
"Oh," She shook her head, snapping out of her daze, "Sure."
She went and filled the white mug back up, then set the pot down on the bar, leaning over next to it and looking back to Botta.
"...What's goin' on with him?" She asked the white-eyed Al Bhed.
"Probably thinkin' about Naida," He replied, sipping his new filled cup,"You know how he is."
"Yeah.." She said softly, "Hope everyone else gets outta that room soon, so he can go talk to her. I think if he doesn't soon, he might get stuck like that."
That earned a soft laugh from Robert, which in turn caused the barwaitress to smile. She glanced at him, then back to Botta, where her gaze rested, waiting to see some sort of movement other than his mug to his lips. She watched him for a few minutes, before her attention was jerked away by the sound of the entrance bell. She looked, and immedietly her face lit up.
"Jassu!" She ran out to greet her dark knight, who was hobbling in on his crutches.
"Hey woman," He said, leaning on his crutch and taking her in his free arm. He pressed a kiss into her blonde hair, then looked at her, "Man, for only gettin' a couple hours of sleep, you still look good."
She laughed, blushing a little, "Yeah yeah..I'm glad you haven't lost yer sense of humor yet."
"Oh but I will," He looked up to the bar, sliding his arm around her shoulders, "You just wait, I'll finally get so tired that I'll just pass out, then I ain't gonna be crackin' any jokes."
"But I will," She teased, poking him in the side, "I'll stick things up yer nose while yer snorin'."
"Chyeah," He snorted, looking down at her, "You do that, see what happens."
He smiled, ruffling her hair, before pulling his arm back and making his way to the bar. Drea laughed, following him, then going back behind the bar.
"'Ey Red," He said, sitting in the empty seat between the Al Bhed and the Auroch, "Whatcha starin' at?"
When no reply came, he glanced over at Robert.
"'Ey Rob, what's he starin' at?"
"Naida," He replied, giving the Guard an amused side glance before taking another sip of his drink.
"Naida?" He echoed, looking back to his younger friend,"But she's.."He stopped when he realized what Robert meant,"Oh, heh...yeah I bet he is.."
He turned back to the bar as Drea came out with her pot of hot chocolate, stopping in front of him long enough to fill a glass and give a quick kiss, then moving on to take care of the other customers.
The tiny cafe was in silence for a few minutes, before the alienated sound of the entrace bell rang again, this time letting in 5 more customers.
"Heeeeeeyyy you guyyyyssss!!" Came Keepa's loud voice.
"That'd be the Marshmallow," Jassu stated, not even turning around.
"Keepa?" Robert filled in,"Yep, that's him."The white-eyed Al Bhed turned around, holding his mug close to him, "Along with..Mr. Smith, that other lady, Ropp, and Mifurey."
"Hey cuz," The Nurse said as she sat next to him.
"'Eya Mif," He smiled,"How are ya?"
"Well," She smiled, "I will be better than you once Laura gets through with you for being late meeting her at the Front Desk of the hospital."
Immedietly his eyes went wide, and he almost dropped his mug.
"Ah, dangit! I was supposed to meet her ten minutes ago!"
"Yep," Ropp said, sitting next to his girlfriend,"You're dead."
"Thanks for remindin' me, Mif!" Robert called, jumping up and running toward the door,"I owe ya one!"
"Yeah you owe me like 30 right now." She laughed, taking his dispatched mug and drinking what was left.
The black haired Al Bhed ran out the door to go meet his girlfriend, leaving his seat open for the taking. Aunt Julia and Uncle Matt had taken a seat in a booth, where Drea was serving, so Keepa, the only one standing, gladly took it. Jassu shifted in his seat to look at the Goalie.
"Yo Keeps,"He said, raising an eyebrow,"Where's yer better half?"
The Goalie laughed,"Svanda's at the hospital with Naida, she said she'd be here in a few minutes."
"So Naida'll be by herself?"
The two Aurochs jumped at the sound of Botta's deep voice, and Jassu turned around.
"It's a miracle, he speaks!"
"Yeah, I guess it does," Keepa laughed, "You headin' over there?"
"I am now,"He replied, setting his drink down and getting up, "Thanks Keepa."
"Ah, no big, tell 'er I said hey."
The redhead only nodded, walking toward the door. He was almost there when it swung open, and in came a drenched Letty, Lacy, and Datto.
"Hey guys!" The Center practically yelled,"D..didja see the news??"
"Yeah, we saw it," Came Drea's voice from one of the tables,"At least me Botta and Robert did.
"We saw it on the big screen outside," Uncle Matt spoke from his table.
"I heard it on the radio in the lockeroom," Jassu shrugged.
Datto sighed, "Well joy, all that runnin' for nothin'."
"And you got your cast wet," Mifurey scolded, getting up to meet him as he walked in to sit down,"Datto..now we're gonna haveta rebandage it."
"Oh...boy." He groaned.
"What's going on now?" Ropp asked, turning from his seat to the little scene.
"Datto got his bandages wet," Mifurey said, still examining the wet mess on the young Shooter's arm, "We're gonna haveta redo it..."
The conversation trailed off as Botta turned and continued on his way out the door, moving even faster toward the hospital than he intended to.
The rest of the group in the cafe continued their talking, except for Aunt Julia and Uncle Matt, who watched silently in their small booth.
"He's in quite a hurry to see her, eh?" Uncle Matt smiled, glancing out the window at the redhead as he ran by.
"Yes..but I do remember you moving that quickly one time when a certain girl you loved was in the hospital.." Came Aunt Julia's soft reply.
The old man looked at her, a strange glitter in his dark eyes as he reached across the table and took one of Aunt Julia's hands.
"And I'd still run like that if I ever knew she was in trouble."
"Naida, I'm so sorry."
The Al Bhed looked at her younger friend, taking her hand.
"Sav, don't worry about it. You didn't do anything wrong. Okay?"
"I..I know..It's just.." She sighed, looking down," I can't help but feel like this whole time, I've been thinking about me, and my problems..so much..that I didn't realize it until now..and.. I just.."
She stopped, looking up and taking a deep breath.
"I don't know anymore, Naida..I was so caught up in my own problems, that I didn't even notice that we haven't been talking as much..and then last night..when I thought I wouldn't ever get the chance to talk to you again..it just..I was..I was so scared.."
Naida listened to her, watching as the young Chocobo Breeder's light brown eyes began to well up.
" You're the best friend I've ever had, Naida.."She looked up at her," And I don't know what would happen if you'd actually..actually.."
Before she could finish, she broke down into tears. Naida watched, until she felt herself beginning to fall apart.
"Oh, Savvy," She said, pulling the younger woman close in a hug, "It's okay..I promise I won't leave you for a long time..and I'm sorry I scared you like that.."
Svanda nodded into the soft fabric of Naida's hospital gown, squeezing her older friend tighter, before sitting back, looking up at her with red eyes. Naida smiled, her own eyes tinted red, and her blonde hair matted to her face.
"..Man.."She breathed, "I need a shower pretty bad..I'm gonna start lookin' like Tidus when he forgets to brush his hair."
Svanda smiled, and they both laughed a little. Svanda sniffed, wiping her eyes.
"Well..I'll leave ya to go do yer thing," She paused,"Do they even have a bathroom in here?"
"Yeah, there's a door in the supplies room."
"Ah,"She got up,"Well..I'll let ya go do it then..later."
She leaned over, giving the blonde woman a hug.
"Love ya Savvy," Naida said softly.
"Love you too, Naids, woman," She stood back, walking toward the door, "If you need anything at all, just yell, all right?"
"Gotcha." The Al Bhed waved.
Svanda nodded, then turned and walked out.
Naida sat in silence for a moment, before turning and looking at the supplies closet door.
"Joy.."She said softly,"How am I gonna get in there without killing myself?"
Slowly she scooted toward the end of the bed, throwing back the covers to reveal her bare legs. She shivered.
"Geez it's nice and freezing in here."
Sliding closer to the edge, she draped her legs over then end of the bed, and looked around for something to grab on to.
(Ah, a chair.)
Carefully, she pulled the short wooden chair close to her, and prepared to push off. However, her concentration was broken whenever the doors suddenly swung open again.
"Naida...?"
She looked up, "Oh, um..hi Botta."
The redhead looked down at her, scratching the back of his neck, "Ah..what are you doing?"
"..Trying to get out of bed." She replied, motioning toward the chair, "Yeah..I was..gonna go take a shower but.."
She sighed, sliding back, "Guess not right now, eh?"
Botta laughed, "You shouldn't be trying to walk anyway, you'll fall down."
"Chyeah.." She smiled slightly, "Guess yer right."
He smiled, and pulled up a chair next to her as she settled back down into her bed.
"So," She pulled the covers up to her collarbone, resting her hands on top, "Whatcha doin'?"
"Oh, nothin' much," He shrugged, "Just..got tired of bein' at the cafe I guess."
"Not as exciting without me there?" She grinned.
He laughed, "Yeah, that's it."
"Good, we can't have you having fun without me now."
Botta looked at her to see her still grinning. He smiled back, and slowly her grin settled to a gentle smile.
(I can't have fun without you anytime...)
"No..I guess we can't."
She nodded, and he sat down backwards in the chair, resting his arms on the back of it. They fell into silence for a moment, before they both tried to start a conversation.
"Well what I-"
"So how-"
They both stopped, laughing nervously. Naida smiled a little.
"Go on."
He shook his head, "No, you go ahead."
She looked at him, and he nodded her on. She nodded back, taking a breath.
"..So..how are Jassu and Datto doing?"
"Oh..They're fine," He smiled a little, "Jassu's lovin' the attention from Drea but-" he paused for a moment to let Naida laugh, "..But he's good."
"Good."
He looked up at her, "You know..the Goers are in jail.."
She nodded, "I know."
He shrugged, "I..figured you'd be happy.."
She frowned, looking down, "Well..not really.." She stopped, shaking her head at his confused expression, "No, it's not that they didn't deserve it..I just..I wish they hadn't done anything like that in the first place, you know?" She looked up at him, green eyes pleading, "I just.. I wish people weren't like that, you know?"
Botta paused, looking at her, before lowering his head and shuffling one of his feet at something invisible on the floor.
"Yeah..I know."
She watched him, blinking slowly, before letting out a slow breath, "..So..was that what you wanted to tell me..?"
"No," He replied, not looking up, "I actually..I came here to..apologize."
She raised her eyebrow, "..For what?"
"Everything." He looked up at her, sincere crystal eyes locking in to her confused green ones, "I mean..all that I've put you through.. I really, I'm a jerk..and..I didn't realize it 'til last night."
"Botta..it's not your-"
"Yes it is, Naida.." He stood up and turned away from her, "It's just...everything that's happened this whole year's been wrong, just..everything. The Blitz Season, Wakka and the others goin' off to fight Sin, then Viranda.." He rubbed the back of his neck, "Everything.."
He was silent for a moment, before he turned to her.
"And then..you came, "He dropped his arm, "You came..and it was like..well at first I thought it was just another problem..but then.. you brought so much..so much life..to our team, and.. I was too stupid to see it."
He sighed, looking at her as she watched him intently, "I hurt you..I made you cry..and.. alot of those times I did it without thinking..then later..I would just..It would rip me apart." He looked back down, "And still.. I was still so wrapped up in my own pride and problems, that I wouldn't even try to apologize..and I would ignore it, thinking it would go away, when really it was all building up inside..then.."
He looked back up at her, "..Then last night..I saw you get hit by that ball, and I swear I heard your little sister screaming at me..and then..suddenly..nothing mattered anymore. Nothing but..the thought that you were going to die..and there was nothing I could do about it..nothing but hold you and try to get you to someone who might help."
He took a breath, holding it for a moment as Naida continued to stare at him, once confused eyes now filled with something else..something Botta..couldn't identify.
"Well," He finally let the breath out, "..That's..about it."
She nodded slowly, lowering her eyes to her bedsheets.
"Botta," She said softly, fisting her hands in them, "..I.."
She looked back up at him, eyes connecting with his again. He shook his head.
"Naida look..the reason I came up here..I was hopin' you'd be alone..because I wanted to tell you something.."
She tilted her head to the side, and he went on.
"I.."He looked down at the floor, walking toward her, "I was gonna tell you that..I..ah.."
He stopped at the foot of her bed, and slowly looked up at her, into her deep, turquoise eyes.
Botta froze.
"Naida?" His voice, only seconds before deep and troubled, was now very confused, "...Why are your eyes turquoise?"
The already confused Al Bhed's eyebrows shot up, "Huh?"
"I'm not kidding," He said, grabbing the metal cliboard off of the trey at the foot of her bed, "Look."
She paused, looking at him, before taking it and looking into it. Sure enough, her once lime green eyes had turned dark turquoise.
"What in Spira?" She said softly, "...What's wrong with them?"
"Maybe it's the infection," Botta shrugged, "Could be a temporary thing, ya?"
"Yeah," She nodded, dropping the clipboard back onto her lap and looking at him, "That's probably it." She laughed a little, "Looks kinda weird."
"Nah," He shook his head, sitting back down in his chair, "I don't think it looks bad."
She raised her eyebrow, "Really?"
"Sure," He shrugged again, looking at her, "I mean, Ropp's eyes are that weird blue, ya? Maybe somethin' like that happened to you?"
"Yeah, but the reason Ropp's eyes are blue is because his Uncle was the last person to die.. someone not directly blood related."
"Oh.." He ran a hand over his face, "Well, you know more about it than I do, ya?"
She laughed, "Ya."
They fell silent for a moment, both staring downward, one at the bed, the other at the floor. Finally, Naida glanced up.
"Umm...was that..what you wanted to tell me?" Her voice was innocent, almost scared.
Botta looked up at her immedietly, swallowing hard, "Ahh..actually it wasn't."
She tilted her head to the side, "Well...are you gonna tell me what it really was?"
"Yeah.." He nodded, rubbing the back of his neck again, "I was..gonna say that...well, what I meant to tell you..is..I.." He looked at her, "Naida, I really l-"
Suddenly, the door swung open, causing both of the Aurochs to jump. They turned to see Dr. Evans stride in, clipboard in one hand, and the other adjusting his thin glasses. He stopped when he saw the two younger ones staring at him.
"Oh, pardon me.." His elderly voice reminded Botta alot of Aunt Julia's old teacher Maechen, "Am I interrupting something?"
They both shook their heads.
"Oh, no sir."
"No sir, not at all."
He nodded, glancing back down at his clipboard, "Wonderful..very well then..Miss Dark?"
"Yes sir?"
He smiled, "Glad to see you awake finally, you had alot of your friends worried, as I saw."
She blushed a little, "Thank you, and I'm sorry."
"Oh, no dear," He answered, moving toward the two, "Not your fault, not one bit of it. You just worry about getting better, all right?"
He looked down at her, and she nodded.
"Yes sir."
"Now then..Sir?" He looked to Botta, "I'm afraid that visiting hours are over, and I'm going to have to ask you to leave."
"Visiting hours are over?"He echoed, looking around, "What time is it?"
"Hmm..9 o'clock, if my watch is correct," The old Doctor said, glancing at his watch, "Today did seem to fly, didn't it?"
"Boy, did it ever," Botta said, rubbing the back of his neck, then looking to Naida, "So..I guess this is goodnight."
"Well, perhaps not just yet," He stepped back in, "You see, our ER is needed for an overnight operation scheduled for 9:30, meaning we need to move Ms. Dark to another room as soon as possible, and since I'm the only Doctor on the floor tonight, I have to move the equipment."
"You want me to help her switch beds." Botta said bluntly.
"If you would?"
"Oh, sure." He replied, getting up and moving to unlock the wheels on the small bed, after a moment, he turned back to the Doctor, "...Ah, sir? Where's the lock for the wheels?"
"They're on the side," Dr. Evan's replied, not looking up from unhooking the monitor in the corner, "But you won't be needing to unlock them."
Botta stopped and stood up, looking at the Doctor, "..Excuse me?"
"I'll be removing all IVs and tubes from Ms. Dark shortly," He explained,"We need this bed for the operation, and the charts seem to say she's doing fine on the lowest levels of machine help."
"Oh.." The Auroch looked to the Al Bhed lying on the bed, "So..what you mean is.."
"I think he wants you to carry me, Botta," She said softly, smiling.
"Ah.."He nodded,"I..I knew that."
She laughed, then lifted her arms as Dr. Evans walked over and began to unhook the IVs and such from her. Minutes later, she was completely clean, and the old Doctor was moving the equipment out of the room.
"Go right, and then go left down the next hallway,"He called over his shoulder, "It'll be the third door on the left."
Soon, the two Aurochs were alone in the room again. The redhead turned to the blonde who was still looking at him.
"You ready?"
She nodded, "Whenever you are."
He took a deep breath, before leaning over and slowly sliding his strong arms around her. One arm under her knees, and the other around her back. Instictively, she wrapped her arms around his neck, holding herself as close to him as she could. He paused, looking at her as she looked down at her old bed, then up to him. They stared at eachother for a moment, before she smiled.
"What's up?"
He jolted out of his daze, shaking his head, then returning the smile.
"You I guess."
She laughed, "Funny."
Laughing softly, he turned and carried her out of the ER, and down to her new room. He walked over to the new bed, and knelt to set her down, naturally lowering his head to let her slide her arms over his head. Unconciously she leaned foreward as her body settled down into the new area, but in the process, she bumped his head with hers.
Immedietly, they both jerked up, eyes locking into eachother. After a few seconds, Naida cleared her throat.
"Umm..Botta?" She practically whispered.
"Hmm?"
"...You're cutting off the circulation to my feet."
The Auroch looked down, and sure enough, he saw her usually tan feet turning white. At her knees, his strong arms were in almost a deathgrip around her legs.
"Oh," He slid his arms away from her, letting her settle down into her new bed, "Uhh..sorry."
She smiled at him, and he stepped back. After a moment of looking at her, he opened his mouth to say something, when suddenly they both heard someone clearing their throat.
"Pardon me..?"
They both looked to see Dr. Evans in the doorway.
"..Thank you for assisting me in changing Ms. Dark to her new room," He looked at Botta, "And I'm sorry you have to leave her so early."
"Oh, no sir,..don't worry about it, "He rubbed his neck, walking toward the door. He turned and looked at Naida, "...Nite Naida."
"Nite Botta," She said softly, "Sweet dreams."
"You too," He stood in the doorway, staring at her for a moment. She stared back, turquoise eyes shining strangely in the dim light of the lamp in the room.
(...I love you.)
He blinked, then turned and walked out after the Doctor, shutting the door behind him.
However, Naida continued to stare at the door, slowly pulling the decent comforter up over her body as she layed down.
(...I love you too.)
With that, she reached over and turned off the lamp.
~~~~~Author's Note: Well goodness me! Another chapter, and this one isn't bein' put up a month after the last one!! ^_^ Yay!!
Sorry, I know this one wasn't as great as I wanted to be, *lol* But I tried! Hope you like it anyway!
Okay, now for the Thankios! (I swear I'm eating a can of Spaghettios after this.)
Tio!!: Woman, I WILL check out Tupelo today! so THERE! Sorry, not alot of Baidaness in this one...wait yes there was, but still! Hope you got yer fill for the moment, and you'd better be prepared for the next chappie! ^_^ (Oh, and btw, yer e-mail account's full!!)
Carter: VACAY! *grin* Hope yer lovin' it!
DA, Daemon, Sonata,: Keep it real, y'all ^_^
Nikki: *lol* It's oki if yer not postin' anything, less for me to read!! _ JK! I love yer stuff anyway! Thanks 4 readin'!
Flaming Cross: Still waitin' for something of yers, and thanks for reading!
Dragon Scales: Still gotta read yers, I'm sorry I still haven't!
Echo!!: I'm gettin'around to yer story tomorrow when I get home!! I promise! I've been looking over it, and it looks great!! Thanks for reading and reviewing!
Drea: Okay Missy, here's how it is...thanks for reading and reviewing!! ^_^ I can't say much more, because everything I say, I've already said at one point! You just keep writin' yer awesome stuff, and if you ever need any help, just yell!
Okay now, that's all for tonight! Hope you liked this chapter, and I hope you stay with me 'til the end!! Have a great week, and STAY SAFE!!!
- Keeping it "Real,"
~Ari