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The Path to Redemption	By : Nakkinomiko Category: Final Fantasy VII > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1095 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don’t own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. SquareEnix does. I make no money from this…I just like to play with them.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Disclaimer: I don’t own Final Fantasy VII or any of its characters. SquareEnix does. I make no money from this…I just like to play with them.
A/N: Warnings…more angst! And this is where the OC Maggie really takes on a life of her own. When I started the outline she was just going to be in it here and there, but when I started to write these chapters she became something much bigger and rather important to the storyline. You’ll see why….
Wanted to post this chapter earlier this week, but got wrapped up in my 40^th birthday festivities. My husband bought me all the Elm Street movies on Blu-Ray and I’ve already watched five of them this week. I love Freddy Krueger…lol
Anyway, on with the story!
*****
Chapter 6
Rufus sat on a bench in the hallway outside Sephiroth’s room and rested his head against the wall. He was fighting tears, and really didn’t give a damn if Cloud and Tifa knew it. Father, how many lives have you ruined? How many more would you have used if Sephiroth hadn’t killed you?
“Rufus, are you alright?” Penelope sat on the bench next to him.
“Fine,” he lied. Her expression told him that she knew he was lying, but he ignored it. “So, what’s the prognosis?”
“Outside of the obvious major depression and suicidal ideation?” She gave him a humorless smile. “I’m not sure yet. I’m going to need a lot more time with him before I can really say.”
“Whatever it takes,” Rufus said. “I’ll foot the bill. . .”
“I’m not taking money for this one,” Penelope said softly. “Nor for Kadaj. You’re not the only one that feels guilty for what happened, you know. I was there, too, Rufus. I saw what was happening, and like everyone else, I stayed silent.”
“Thank you,” Rufus murmured.
“What about Kadaj?” Cloud asked. He was leaning on the wall next to the bench and staring at the floor. “Will you tell him?”
“Should we?” Rufus asked. He glanced at Penelope. “Would it send him over the edge?”
“It’s hard to say,” Penelope said. “But you should tell him, because I think that they should meet. I think it will help both of them, in the long run.”
“How?” Tifa asked. She sat on the opposite side of Rufus.
“Kadaj thinks he’s jealous of Sephiroth because Jenova preferred him, but I think it’s for an entirely different reason. I think he’s angry because while everyone around him has met Sephiroth, he hasn’t. I believe that subconsciously he feels that it’s not fair, because Sephiroth is, for all practical purposes, Kadaj’s brother. I suspect that if he were really able to see Sephiroth that it might help him to sort that out,” Penelope said. “As for Sephiroth, he desperately needs something to ground him to this world, something that will turn his thoughts away from the past. He needs something to live for . . .and Kadaj, as his brother, could be that something. Of course other things will follow, but I really think Kadaj would be a good place to start.”
“Well, that settles it, then,” Rufus said. He sighed and stood. “I’ll tell him this evening, unless you think you should do it, doctor.”
“No, I think you’re the perfect person to tell him,” Penelope said with a knowing little smile.
“He is?” Cloud frowned. “How do you figure?”
“I can’t really put it into words,” Penelope said. “But visit Kadaj soon, and I think you will understand.” She stood from the bench. “I’ve got to go now. I’ve got other patients to see before I leave here this evening. You know how to reach me if you need me.”
“Thank you,” Rufus said. He reached out and shook her hand.
“You are more than welcome.” Penelope nodded in Cloud and Tifa’s direction before she turned and walked away.
“Should I stay?” Cloud asked.
He wanted to stay, Rufus could see it in his expression. It didn’t surprise him really. Cloud, at one time, had worshipped the ground Sephiroth had walked on. How much had it hurt Cloud, to have to kill his idol, not once but twice? And now Sephiroth was back, and Rufus could see the hope in Cloud’s eyes, hope that maybe, this time, everything would be okay. But the man was tired and looked like he was going to fall asleep on his feet.
“No,” Rufus said. “Take your beautiful fiancée home and get some sleep. You saw for yourself--I don’t think Sephiroth is going to attempt to harm anyone but himself, and they’ve got him under close watch.”
“You’ll call if anything happens?”
Rufus gave Cloud a wry smile. “You were the first person I called tonight.”
“He’ll call,” Tifa said. She gave Rufus a quick hug and a kiss on the cheek. “You get some sleep, too, Mr. President.”
Rufus arched a brow and glanced in Cloud’s direction. The blonde was smirking ever so slightly.
“You had best listen. She’s a bear when people don’t listen to her.”
“And you should know,” Tifa said. She took Cloud’s hand and tugged him away from the wall and started to lead him towards the elevators. “Good night, Rufus.”
“Good night.” Rufus watched them disappear onto the elevator before he made his way back to the nurses’ station. Maggie was still there, her head bent over a chart. A quick glance told Rufus that it was Sephiroth’s. She glanced up when he approached, and she flashed him a quick smile.
“Leaving?”
Rufus nodded. “I just wanted to wish you a good night.”
“Thank you. You, too.”
“I’ll be waiting for your call tomorrow,” Rufus said.
Maggie smiled. “I won’t disappoint you.”
*****
Sephiroth had been resting peacefully for nearly an hour when he heard the door to his room open. He opened his eyes slowly, and found that there was a nurse moving about his room. She checked the chart on the end of his bed before she walked back into the hall long enough to retrieve a tray that contained what Sephiroth assumed was his dinner. He watched her through half-lidded eyes, and found himself frowning a little.
She’d been crying. It was obvious, even in the dim evening lighting of his room. Her eyes were puffy and she lacked makeup. He’d been in and out of hospitals enough in his career to know that a nurse without makeup was kind of rare. Sephiroth realized, as she moved closer to set the tray on his bedside table, that she was still crying. He saw another tear well and fall silently down her cheek, and she absently wiped it away with the back of her hand. She made an annoyed noise as she glanced at the wetness on the back of her hand, and she hastily wiped the rest of her tears away before returning to her task of uncovering the food on the tray. She glanced his direction, then, and froze when she made eye contact with him.
A myriad of emotions passed over her face in that moment. Fear, astonishment, and a bit of embarrassment for being caught crying. They just stared at each other for several moments, and in that time Sephiroth was able to ascertain that the woman was rather beautiful, even if she were crying and without makeup. Her eyes were hazel brown, and her pale face was peppered with freckles. Her blonde hair was done up in a severe bun beneath her nurses cap, but Sephiroth just bet that it would fall past her shoulders when undone, because it was a large bun. He let his eyes drop lower, and saw that she was a rather petite woman, just barely five foot five. Her body was finely made, though, and even her shapeless cardigan couldn’t hide her curves. He looked up and met her eyes again.
“I thought you were asleep,” she said. Her voice held a weary edge to it; she reached up to wipe another tear from her face and then turned away from him.
“Who are you?”
She went still for a moment when he spoke, and then continued to ready his food.
“My name is Margaret Winters,” she said. She glanced in his direction, and managed a slight smile. “But you can call me Maggie. I’m your nurse while you’re here. Are you hungry?”
“A little,” he confessed. He tugged a little at the restraints on his arm and smirked slightly. “Although, I’m not quite sure how I will eat tied down like this.”
“I’m afraid that I’m going to have to feed you,” Maggie said.
“Of course,” he returned. He sighed and relaxed into the bed. This was humiliating, but he understood why he was restrained. He had serious doubts as to whether or not the woman would have even entered the room were he not restrained. He had seen the fear in her eyes a moment ago. “Do you know who I am?” he asked abruptly.
“Yes, General Sephiroth, I know who you are,” Maggie said quietly. “A good nurse always knows her patient. I’ve read all the records Shinra has on file.” She paused and frowned a little. “Even Hojo’s.”
“How can you stand to even look at me?” Sephiroth asked, his voice gone quiet. He was horrified that this complete stranger should know so much about him. “I must seem a monster to you.”
Her sudden, bitter laugh startled him. He looked at her, incredulous, as she continued to laugh. A moment later the laughter dissolved into something closer to sobs, and then she got herself under control again. She wiped tears from her face with the heels of her hands before she looked down at him again.
“You know, it’s funny how that word is so subjective.”
“Monster?”
“Yeah,” she sighed and sat in the chair near his bed. “I think my fiancé is a monster.”
Sephiroth’s brows disappeared into his hairline, and then beetled together and his eyes narrowed.
“You’re crying because of him.”
She nodded once, but didn’t seem to want to say anything further on the matter.
“I’m curious,” Sephiroth said. For some reason, the sorrow on her face made something in his gut twist sharply. “What did he do, or is it not allowed that you discuss your private life with me?”
“He was in bed with another woman when I went to his home last night,” she said. “And technically, it’s unprofessional for me to discuss my private life with you, but in this case I think it hardly matters. Nor is it fair, really, that I know so much about you without letting you know a little about me in return.”
“He cheated on you?”
“Yeah, and he’d just given me the ring two days ago,” she said. “I guess it’s better I found out now, right?”
“I suppose so,” Sephiroth said.
“As for you, I don’t think you are a monster,” she said. She stood from the chair. “Hojo was a monster. Jenova was most definitely a monster. You? You had the misfortune of being a pawn for both of them, and it wasn’t your fault.”
“You really believe that?”
“Yes, I do, and there really isn’t much you could say to convince me otherwise,” Maggie said. She pressed one of the controls on the side of the bed, and it inclined so that he was almost sitting upright. “I hope you like meatloaf.”
“I don’t remember,” Sephiroth answered honestly. He frowned slightly. “There’s a lot I don’t remember. . .”
“It will come to you eventually,” she said. She sat on the edge of the bed, a plate of food in her hand. She used a fork to cut a piece of the meatloaf off before spearing it and lifting it to his mouth. He opened his mouth, and she fed it to him.
Sephiroth chewed for a moment before he swallowed and offered her a tentative smile. “Not bad.”
“My grandma’s is much better, but it will do in a pinch.” She laughed lightly and fed him another bite. “I’m supposed to see my grandma this weekend. She always makes me meatloaf. I’ll bring you some. She makes awesome tuna casserole, too.”
Sephiroth watched the way Maggie’s smile transformed her features, and even though he knew he probably shouldn’t, he found himself speaking the first thing that came to mind.
“Your fiancé was a fool.”
*****
Maggie stared with astonishment into Sephiroth’s mako green eyes. When she had first entered the room she had not quite known what to expect from The General, but it certainly was not this soft spoken man. She had expected arrogance, yes, and a lot of bitterness. But Sephiroth hadn’t really shown much of either in the last twenty minutes, and he seemed much more concerned about her well-being than his own. She couldn’t explain why she’d told him about her fiancé’s infidelity, but it had just seemed like the thing to do at the moment.
“Excuse me?” she finally managed. His gaze was intense, almost heavy, and she couldn’t look away.
“He was a fool,” Sephiroth said again. His voice was soft, yet deep and resonant at the same time. When he had first spoken the simple beauty of his voice had all but paralyzed her.
“That’s very nice of you to say so, but you hardly know me. For all you know, I could have deserved it.”
His lips curled into a definite smirk, and he shook his head slightly. Maggie couldn’t take her eyes off that smirk. His lips were . . .nice. His whole face was nice, and she decided in that moment that none of the pictures she’d ever seen of this man did the real thing justice.
“I suspect that by the time I leave here, I will know you well enough,” Sephiroth said. “And I’m almost certain that my opinion will not have changed at all. He’s a fool.”
Some of the arrogance he was infamous for had crept into Sephiroth’s expression. Maggie just stared. Normally, she’d hate it. Arrogance had always been a huge turn off for her, but for some reason, it just sat right on this man. It didn’t irritate her in the least, and the realization astonished her.
“That’s what Rufus said, too,” she finally answered.
“Rufus?” His eyes narrowed slightly. “On a first name basis with the President of Shinra?”
“Jealous?”
She didn’t know what made her say it, but she wasn’t prepared for the slight widening of his eyes before they darted away and wouldn’t look at her any longer. She stared at him for a moment, startled. What had that been all about? She’d expected a haughty answer, not this furtive silence. She shook her head and prepared another forkful of meatloaf.
“Here,” she said. He took the food from her without meeting her gaze. “Rufus is my friend, nothing more.” She wasn’t sure why she said that, either. And she didn’t know what to think about the way his expression seemed to lighten after that. “You should give him a chance. He’s not his father.”
“No,” Sephiroth said quietly. “No, he’s not.”
They fell into a silence that was surprisingly comfortable then. Maggie finished feeding him his dinner, and only then did he speak again.
“Thank you, Maggie,” he murmured.
“I’m just doing my job,” she said with a shrug.
He smiled. Maggie felt her breath catch at the way it warmed his expression. In that moment she realized that regardless of the fact she’d just broken up with her fiancé, she was attracted to this man. In all the years she’d known Daniel, he’d never made her feel like this. Her heart had never raced in her ribcage as it was doing now, and Daniel’s gaze had never made her blush. And the Planet help her, she couldn’t find it in her heart to even feel guilty about it. Why should she? Daniel was the one that cheated on her, right?
“You’re staring.” His smile turned into an arrogant smirk.
Maggie refused to be daunted. “Well, one can hardly blame me,” she shot back with a smirk of her own. “You’re beautiful when you smile.”
Sephiroth’s pole-axed expression was extremely satisfying. Maggie whistled happily to herself as she put the empty dish back on the tray and lifted the whole mess from the table. “I’ve got rounds, but I’ll be back in a little while.”
He only nodded, his expression still somewhat shocked. Maggie flashed him a grin over her shoulder, and then left the room.
*****
TBC
- 5
- 6
- 7
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The Path to Redemption