Even Demons Can Be Saved

Of Tear Stains and Teasing

It wasn't far between the apartments and the offices, so they walked in silence. It was also not empty, and neither of them had anything they wanted to share where others could hear. Eve's only concern was a hope that whatever story Tseng came up with was believable enough to get Sephiroth to go along without too many questions. Since she knew it was only the day before when they were all trying to get info on her. It was something she probably should have asked about before they left the apartment, but she couldn't now.

It didn't take long for them to stop outside of a nondescript door along a hallway filled with them. Tseng knocked once and when the baritone on the other side answered, he opened the door and motioned Eve in first. She only took a couple of steps into the office, though before she froze. The room already had several other occupants, but it was the one that was barely standing still next to the door that had her attention. All the others in the room disappeared from her thoughts as she slowly walked over to Zack.

He gave her a nervous smile when she stopped in front of him. He didn't get to say anything before she reached out and lightly touched his arm. She quickly pulled her hand back but looked up to him, and his eyes widened when he saw the tears shimmering in her eyes. He barely heard her speak. "You... you're... oh, god!"

Zack panicked when the small woman in front of him swayed slightly. He didn't know why she was so upset, but he wasn't one to not help if he was able to. When she swayed again, he reached out and grabbed her, so she wouldn't fall. At that motion, she surprised him by wrapping him in a crushing hug. He was at a loss until he felt her shaking. His eyes flew over to his mentor in confusion when he realized she had started crying. He didn't push her away, though.

He tried to comfort her while he silently pleaded for someone to come to help him. He nearly panicked again when he realized that everyone except for Angeal was giving him looks of shock. Angeal looked just as lost as he felt. When Genesis' shock turned to a scowl though, Zack nearly pushed her away so he could run. He had no idea what was going on, but he never wanted to cross Commander Rhapsodos. The man had a reputation for a scary temper.

He was saved when both the General and Tseng spoke up at the same time. It was Tseng's voice that seemed to get through to her, though. "Dr. Marx. Dr. Marx! Would you please release Soldier Fair?"

She suddenly seemed to realize where she was again and moved back so fast it was almost comical. She wiped at her face, but he was even more confused as her face reddened, and she spoke. "I apologize for that. I didn't mean to grab you like that. I just wasn't expecting... well never mind. I do apologize again."

Her face turned even brighter when Sephiroth called out to her again. "Eve, what- why are you here?" He had so many things going through his mind, he wasn't sure where to start, but finding out how she got out of his apartment without him was the first thing that he wanted to know.

She was saved from having to answer when Tseng spoke up. "I retrieved her. We were only stopping by to let you know that we have a place for her to stay so you will no longer need to worry about her imposing. I will get a full report over to you later."

Sephiroth wasn't sure what to think of Tseng's announcement, especially not with Eve's strange behavior. The fact that she had not only touched Zack but hugged him, already had his mind reeling. He knew it wasn't just him that she was afraid of, as she had reacted poorly to both Tseng and Genesis touching her as well. She had also been uncomfortable with the doctor. There had to be a good reason she was alright with touching Zack, but he knew if the Turks were involved now that it would become much harder for him to figure things out. He wasn't surprised that Tseng had managed to get approval to investigate her, and she looked like she was with him willingly. However, he also knew the Turks were not known for their honesty. He would just have to make it a point to keep an eye on things as much as possible until he figured out what was really going on.