Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Emerge ❯ Surgery ( Chapter 3 )

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Chapter 3: Surgery

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Vincent entered the emergency room carrying the brown-haired woman; he was swarmed by numerous doctors and nurses. They led him to one of the rooms where he sat Tifa on the stretcher and they immediately went to work on her. He looked down at the pale face of his friend and comrade and felt guilt settle in his chest.

"Mister…" A nurse came forward and caught his attention.

Vincent nodded to her in acknowledgment. "Valentine."

"Mr. Valentine." She looked at him, thinking the name sounded familiar. "You'll have go to the waiting area so the doctor's can work but first, I need to get some information on the patient."

He nodded and they walked to an unoccupied room. They both took their seats and she pulled out a pen.

"What's her name?"

"Tifa Lockheart." He said in his usual monotone.

The nurse looked up to him as her eyes widened slightly. "Tifa Lockheart of Avalanche? You're part of the group too right?"

Vincent nodded.

The nurse gave herself a mental shake. "Okay. Can you tell me what happened Mr. Valentine?"

"I was returning to the Shinra Mansion from the Nibel Mountains when I heard a gunshot followed shortly by the sound of falling rock and a scream. I approached and found Thomas Callahan approaching the edge of the trail and aiming a gun over the edge. He said told her that he was going to finish the job but he was distracted by my approach. He aimed his weapon at me in I fired my weapon at him." He said, gesturing to the Death Penalty attached to his hip.

"It hit him and the shoulder and he tried to fire at me again, I shot him once more. You will find his body approximately one mile into the mountains on the northern trail." He said coolly.

"I approached the trail edge and saw Tifa lying on a rocky ledge, fifteen feet below the trail. She was going into shock and lost consciousness. I picked her up and brought her here."

The nurse looked startled at his tale and cleared her throat. "How is this Thomas Callahan related to Ms. Lockheart?"

"They were in a relationship."

"Okay Mr. Valentine." She looked out the slightly open door and saw the staff quickly wheeling Tifa to the operating room. "They are taking her to surgery now. I will take you to the waiting room."

=-=Three hours later=-=

Vincent sat in the surgery waiting room of Nibel hospital after talking to the police, identifying Thomas' body and filling out hospital paperwork. The gunman pulled his PHS from his pocket pressing a purple button.

"Hello? It's late and this better be good." Cloud's groggy voice came through the phone.

"Where are you?" Vincent asked.

"Vincent? We left yesterday morning, we're in Costa at the condo, why?"

Vincent her Aerith ask the swordsman who was on the PHS. "How soon can you return to Nibelheim?" The gunman asked.

"Well, if I call Cid, we can be there by morning."

"You need to get here as soon as possible. Tifa has been shot."

"WHAT?! HOW?!" Vincent heard the phone beep telling him that Cloud had put the phone on speaker mode.

"Thomas shot her in the Nibel Mountains and she fell of the trail. I brought her to Nibel hospital and she is in surgery now."

"Oh my god!" Aerith said.

"Where is that son of a bitch?!" Cloud snarled.

"Dead." Vincent said quietly.

"You killed him?" Cloud asked.

Vincent sighed. "Yes. He was trying to kill her. When I approached him, he attempted shoot me on two different occasions."

"I would have killed him myself…" Cloud mumbled.

"Vincent, what's her condition?" Aerith asked, her voice thick with emotion.

"The doctors have not come to speak with me as of yet. She was shot in the abdomen and her leg was broken in the fall. As far as any other injuries, I am not certain at this time."

"Okay, Vince. We'll call the others and we should be there by morning. Please call us when you find out more." Cloud said somberly.

"I shall."

Vincent turned of the PHS and sighed, his body suddenly feeling weary. He looked at the double doors that lead to the surgery suite and thought of the woman who was fighting for her life.

Over the last few months, Vincent had grown fond of the fighter, but his feeling seemed to go beyond a mere fondness. She was the only one who truly knew what he was going through. She knew what it was like to love someone and not have that person return those feelings. During all the time that he spent with her, he noticed that the pain that he felt over Lucrecia, was beginning to subside slightly, and that was something that he was grateful for.

The gunman had spent the last thirty years of his life, punishing himself over a love that he never really had. He was finally starting to see that Lucrecia never loved him and that he was just more…convenient at the time than Hojo was. To this day, he could not see why she had fallen for the mad professor or why she had allowed herself to be injected with the cells of that vile creature. She had turned down someone who truly loved her for someone who only lusted for her and wanted to use her body.

After he was finally able to break out of the coffin, he chose to stay there in his own self inflicted hell atoning for the sins that he thought he had committed against her, but they were for naught. To put it simply, the scientist had used him, but he could not feel any malice towards her for what she put him through.

Simply spending time with the burgundy eyed fighter made him realize what he couldn't on his own.

'Tifa is an amazing woman.' He thought to himself. She had lost the love of her life but fought the pain and sorrow to be happy for Cloud. Not only that, she also didn't let her pain come between the strong friendship that she had with Cloud's true love, Aerith. From what she had told him, there were times where she just wanted to run away from all they hurt and pain that being around them caused, but she just couldn't do it because she loved Cloud and Aerith so much.

When she told him this, that's when he saw the true strength in this woman and felt a forgotten sensation, long removed, stir deep within him as he realized that she was much stronger than he.

Then there was Thomas Callahan…

Vincent noticed things began to change when she began dating Callahan. When the relationship started, he could tell that she was happy and had stated to move on. However, as the months wore on, she seemed different.

She would still come and visit him and they would spend time together but when it came time for her to go to her home, she hesitated. Over the last few weeks, she had lost weight and her once cream-colored skin faded to its current pale, seemingly translucent tone. He had grown concerned over her actions and felt that there was something wrong in her relationship with Thomas. He did not like Callahan, and knew that the man didn't like him. He didn't like Tifa's beau because on some level, he reminded Vincent of Hojo. Both Hojo and Callahan started the relationship off by treating their women like queens. They did anything for them, but as the relationship intensified the women began to suffer.

This though made Vincent wonder what exactly happened between Tifa and Thomas. 'I will ask her when she has recovered.' He thought.

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See Chapter 1 for disclaimer and the epilogue for the AN's

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