"You okay?" he asked as he looked at his phone.

"Yeah, yeah….I'm…if this is the way a father feels as his daughter gets older…then I don't ever want to be one." He said calmly. Rude had a strange look on his face.

"Just so we're clear, boss…that's the weirdest I've ever heard you say….which includes anything that came out of your mouth when you were baked as hell three nights ago."

"Rude…did I just hear Reno ask Rufus if he drank cognac?" Tseng asked watching the photographer and Cissnei rearrange the SOLDIER group for the picture. "And…yeah….I know…"

"Yes! Yes, you did…don't ask. It's….it's Reno." Rude said sighing. "Hmm…Cissnei's been with that entire second row of SOLDIER. I would say that's awkward but the awkward pictures haven't even happened yet. Damn Shinra bulletin. You do realize….eventually it's gonna be you, Elena and Rufus, right?"

"I know. And what's even more awkward….is that…that suit that cost in excess of 5,000 gil…wasn't even chosen for him. He would simply…Rufus doesn't like to be second best, Rude. He does not like to be second best."

Elena hesitated before knocking on the door: EXAM ROOM G the plate read. She peered through the window, realizing in a matter of moments she would be mere inches away from a woman who was the last of her kind….the woman who was believed to be the savior of the human race. She took a deep breath and tapped on the glass. Aerith looked up and Elena gasped. Such beautiful and innocent greenish blue eyes were staring back at her. Elena swallowed hard and opened the door, letting it close behind her. Aerith's long hair was swept around her shoulder, falling in long curls down her chest. She was squeezing the edge of the exam table and she looked cold in her paper-thin hospital gown. There were a thousand things scribbled on the whiteboard in the room and what looked like a tablet of chemical reaction formulas laying to Aerith's left on a doctor's tray. Elena noticed five vials laid out on the tray. She took note what was on each one: FAIR, Z. GAINSBOROUGH, A. SAMPLE 1, SAMPLE 2, SAMPLE 3. She looked at the tiny bottle with a cap marked 'sealed': PAP GAINSBOROUGH, A. But what bothered her was the active mako nearby. Not just any mako….the same mako that was injected into SOLDIER. She didn't doubt Tseng for a minute….but she was leery of the hospital staff and the fact that they were dying to find out what happened if…well…if.

"Are you her?" Aerith asked startling Elena.

"What!" Elena asked rather excitedly. At least Aerith had broken the seemingly eternal silence.

"It's okay. I'm Aerith. I forgive you." She said sincerely.

"Huh?" Elena asked captivated by this woman.

"You didn't know about me and Zack." Aerith said, still studying Elena.

"Oh…OH! That….oh….no, no. sweetie…that's not me. I…I didn't…I…believe me…I haven't been with you boyfriend." Elena said gaining her composure and sitting beside Aerith in the chair near the exam table. Aerith laughed sweetly.

"Well then…you are…the one. He told me all about you. He's in love with you, you know." Aerith laughed again. "He'd never say that out loud though. When Tseng falls…he falls hard. Please don't tell him I told you." Elena shook her head.

"I won't." Elena said quickly. Oooh if Aerith only knew… "I'm Elena, but I guess you already knew that. So uh…do you know what they've….done to you? In here I mean?" Aerith shrugged.

"Not really, just a bunch of tests. Everyone's so…crazy…all because I slept with a SOLDIER." Aerith whispered the last part. Elena wasn't sure what to say. She just watched this delicate woman on the cold exam table. "It hurt…it hurt a lot." Aerith laughed again. "I tried to hide it…but I couldn't." Aerith paused. "Will it hurt like that the next time?" Elena's mind had been racing the whole time Aerith was talking.

"Why didn't you use any protection? I know Tseng has told you that mako could…well…no one knows what it would do to you." Elena said. She wondered why the hell innocent Aerith hadn't asked her how she managed to get through hospital security and into Aerith's room. "Are you pregnant? Is it too soon to know?"

"I'm not pregnant." Aerith laughed. "Well, not yet. But…I felt sick for three days after we had sex. The doctor says it was the mako in…everybody wants to know what happens…you know…SOLDIER and Cetra. The doctors seem to think that…"

"Do you have any idea how much Tseng worries about your safety?" Elena interrupted Aerith. Her voice was a bit trembly. "You're like a daughter to him. This….this is so hard for him to handle and you and I both know he can handle damn near anything…except this. He had a feeling, that's why he gave you the pills. If you take those every day, they neutralize mako present in the body. You have to take these every day, they weren't easy for Tseng to get." Aerith stared at Elena.

"You love him. You wouldn't be here with me if you didn't." she said.

"Yeah…yeah, I…I do. I can't bear to see him so upset…all because you chose to sleep with your boyfriend. I understand. Really….I do. Come on…it's not like I hesitated to get in bed with my boyfriend as quick as I possible could." Elena laughed. She by no means was siding with Aerith, but she understood a little more objectively than Tseng did. "Listen, I'm not here….to give you advice. It's orders….that's why I'm here. But, you need to be careful." She looked in to deep greenish-blue eyes.

"You and I are a lot alike." Aerith said naively.

"No, no honey…" she smiled and laughed slightly. "As a friend of mine once said…there's a huge difference in fuckin' a boy…and fuckin' a man. You and I…are nothing alike." Elena stood up. "Listen…I'm good with a gun. If you don't have Tseng around…I'll help you out." Elena promised her.

"Is she pretty?" Aerith asked out of nowhere.

"Huh?" Elena asked.

"Her…you know…her?" Aerith asked. Elena stared at the tile floor.

"I can't lie to you…she's beautiful. She's experienced…she…she knows what she's doing…I'm sorry to tell you that." Elena admitted. "She…she would have never hurt you…had she known. Believe me…she wouldn't have. She's a gem."

"You know what they say, just get back up…when love knocks you down." Aerith smiled. She was shockingly sincere. Elena couldn't understand why she was so carefree with her attitude.

"Yeah well…I'll say it again. You need to be careful." Elena repeated.

"Reno, you had better put your stupid phone away before Tseng freaks the hell out. There is something on his mind and you blasting every song on the radio right now doesn't help." Rude said.

"Thanks for throwing me into the viper pit." Cissnei said returning to Reno's side after this miserable SOLDIER picture.

"I need the president and the SOLDIER director!" the photographer yelled.

"Awkward picture number one, boss. Right here." Rude said quickly leaving Reno before Tseng had a chance to lose it on Reno.

"You got that right. The son with all the money…and the lovechild." Tseng said referring to Lazard as the latter. Rude's phone dinged indicating he had a text message. He read it quickly.

"Hey…you and Elena gonna be doing anything tonight?" Ride asked.

"No, not that I know of." Tseng answered him.

"Good….you two are going to dinner with me at 7:00. I have a date and I can't go alone." Rude said insecurely.

"I can't believe I'm saying this…I mean I really…really can't believe I'm saying this but…just fuck him already! I'm sorry that was uncalled for. I'm on edge. Sure, we'll be there." Tseng promised him.

"Hey Rufus…Rufus. Just so you know…I recommend having sex to this song like…half the night. You wanna ask me how I know that?" Reno asked playing yet another marvelous selection from his phone. Rufus shook his head.

"You know…it's a good thing Tseng says you're a borderline genius…'cause you're weird as fuck." Rufus reiterated his earlier comments. "Cissnei, where's Elena?" Cissnei spun around where she was.

"I don't know sir…but there's nothing Elena can do…that I can't do." She smiled and ran her fingers over the edge of Rufus's immaculate suit. Reno rolled his eyes and shook his head at her. No one heard the elevator doors. Elena reappeared quickly, tapping Tseng on the shoulder.

"I found this before I left and I took it. I thought it best be destroyed." Elena said handing Tseng a vial that was marked: FAIR/GAINSBOROUGH SAMPLE.

"What kind of sample is this?" Tseng asked.

"I don't want to know what the fuck is in that vial. Just destroy it." Elena said.

"You're right. Tseng said taking it from her and tucking it away quickly. "He keeps asking about you." Tseng said nodding toward Rufus.

"Tell him I'm not here." Elena said jokingly because Rufus knew good and well she was standing right there.

"Rufus, have you ever heard this song?" Reno said distracting Rufus from Cissnei.

"No." was his matter of fact comment.

"What the hell! 'Extraterrestrial'? I can't compete with that! I don't have my phone up here! I can't show him the pictures Reno took of my last weekend! God!" Cissnei told Rude exasperatedly.

"You two…are so fucked up…" Rude said shaking his head.

"I need the President, the Director and Elena." The photographer called.

"Oh shit…" Elena mumbled.

"Elena? Come." Rufus said extending a hand to her.

"Yeah…that's what he said when he was fuckin' 'er." Reno whispered to Cissnei. So why this deadly combination? It was simple…Elena was the unfortunate Turk to have saved the president and Tseng happened to be her boss. Elena looked back at Tseng, not reaching a hand toward Rufus. She had that 'oh god let's get this the hell over with look on her face'.

She and Tseng followed Rufus forward. Elena sighed as she followed the photographer's instructions to sit in the chair before him. He positioned Rufus to her left and Tseng to her right.

"I think this calls for a song…oooooh how about Judas? That seems completely appropriate!" Reno said excitedly.

"Reno! Tseng is absolutely gonna kill you when this is all over!" Rude warned him.

"But Rude these lyrics are so appropriate! Because Elena is just a holy fool who's still in love with Judas, baby!" Reno tried to convince him.

"You're a dead man Reno." Rude reiterated. Elena felt a hand on her shoulder. She knew it was Tseng's but what nearly made her squeal uncomfortably was Rufus's hand on her other shoulder.

"That is….painfully awkward." Cissnei said seeing this from a distance. "God, the man she's fuckin' and the man she fucked…one on each arm."

"Both with insane amounts of power." Rude reminded her.

"Yeah…damn it, Rufus is sooooo fine." Reno said letting his already short attention span drift. "If I were Elena…well shit we've all said it….but if I were Elena, I wouldn't be fuckin' my boss. I'd be fucking the boss of my boss. I wonder…is Rufus really no good in bed or is that Elena's twisted and biased opinion?" Reno asked.

"It's her it's not him. It's Rufus Shinra Reno! The man IS sex." Cissnei said. To make this photo even more uncomfortable, Rufus leaned forward and whispered something to Elena. She turned pale in the face. Thank god this moment was over as quickly as it happened. Rufus squeezed her shoulder before walking away. Elena still felt numb in this stupid chair. Nonetheless, she reached up and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt.

"Just remember who I love...and who I'm fucking tonight Rufus…"

My apologies for any typos. I proofread this quickly.