Faithless Memories

Awake

Chapter 88

Genesis was sitting in front of his computer. He was supposed to be compiling reports from their latest local efforts to disseminate information and corral the public. He had also skimmed the news about the two remaining Tsviets, as he did help with them occasionally. They were finally recovered but were still being held. Their attitudes were still violent. He felt they were most likely a lost cause, but part of him admired the tenacity of the General to not give up on them.

As for the rest of his work, none of the Soldiers were thrilled with the idea of working inside the city for anything other than monster patrol. Still, his ire had nothing to do with the dwindling public outcry and troublesome teens. No, as was usual every day, his mind had drifted to his fiancé and their child. It had been far longer than he expected it would be, and Kris had still not wakened.

He had thought it had been hard when he left her behind when he went to Banora. That was nothing compared to this. At least back then, he knew she was safe and healthy. He would give anything to see her beautiful, strange eyes once more.

His attention was snagged by the sound of the pouring rain beating on his office window. He grimaced for a moment before it fell, and he sighed. He had once loved the summer rain in Banora. Now, he wondered if he would ever again not associate it with the thought of losing the one woman he had ever loved. He rubbed his temples for a second before he forced himself to let go of those thoughts and turned back to his computer.

He had only been working for a few minutes when his phone rang. He was in no mood to speak to anyone, so he debated on not answering. He nearly growled when he reached out anyway. However, his sneer quickly fell into shock. The voice on the other end had to call out several times before he moved, but Genesis ignored them. He didn't even bother saying anything before he hung up and raced from the room.

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Kris had some concept of the fact that she was unconscious, but all her thoughts kept slipping away before she could examine them. She had a feeling there was something important she needed to find out but still could not muster the willpower to look for whatever it was. She had no idea how long she had been in limbo, but it abruptly ended when she was able to hold onto a thought long enough to remember the battle with the Tsviets and Hojo.

Kris opened her eyes with a gasp. She nearly started to panic, because even though her mind was now alert, her body was still lethargic. She could barely move. Thankfully, the noise she made drew the attention of the other person in the room. Sarah rushed to her side and grabbed her hand in a gentle grasp. There were tears in her eyes when she spoke. "You're awake!"

If Kris had been confused before, she was even more so now. She opened her mouth to reassure her mother that she was fine, but her attention was snagged by the room around them, and something else came out instead. "Mom? Where are we? What is going on?"

Sarah had to blink several times to keep the tears from falling as she brushed her daughter's hair back off her face. "We are in Midgar. You've been unconscious for nearly two months now, and so much has happened."

Kris' eyes widened at that news, and her panic came back with a vengeance. She tried to push herself up but fell back limply. Her eyes showed her fear when she looked back up at Sarah. "My baby!"

Tears did start falling at that question, but Sarah still smiled. "The baby is fine. You're both okay."

Kris didn't doubt her mother, but her hand went to her stomach, instinctively. When she found that is was now much larger than she remembered, she wasn't sure what she felt. Disorientation was at the top of the list, but it was followed closely by relief. She only remembered bits and pieces of what happened once they got to the top of Mount Nibel, but it was enough that she was grateful both she and the baby came out relatively unscathed. Or she hoped so anyway.