"I said, ‘no strenuous activity’!" the doctor yelled.
"Define ‘strenuous!’" Shera yelled back.
Cid wasn’t much louder than usual, but he was certainly angry and exercising part of his vocabulary that he seemed rather proud of. It was very distracting and hard to hear over.
The doctor lead Shera a few feet away.
"Define ‘strenuous’," she said. "That is what you said, right?"
"Keep him off that knee for a few months. Nothing too physical. And nothing too strenuous for his lungs."
"So he and Cid…"
"Yeah, they can resume whatever relationship they have once Vincent’s ready. I’d say that would be a great idea. If he’s not too traumatized by it, it’s been known to help people with anxiety.
"Just make sure he takes all those pills I prescribed and follows the directions. He’s still going to feel pretty sick on the antibiotics and don’t start him on the antidepressants until he’s off them. And don’t let him stop taking either of them, no matter what. And you know to call me if that Jenova starts anything, no matter what happens."
Shera nodded and went back to get her purse.
"—And I still say—Hey, don’t you call me that! Just because you do some sort of fancy-shmancy volunteer act and make things suddenly out of my hands, does not give you the right to run his life! Hey, I’m talking to you, don’t put me on hold!"
Shera sighed, looking at the long checklist of complicated things she’d have to get from the pharmacy. Poor Vincent, being on so many drugs again. Some of these might be for the rest of his life, too. At least Cid had stopped swearing.
"Goddamnit, Reeve! First you put him in therapy and scare him shitless—I am NOT kidding—then you give me this fucking run-around. If I ever see you, I am going to kick you in the nuts so hard—I’ll call you back. This isn’t over!"
Vincent came running down the hall, smacked right into Cid, and started crying again.
"Holy fuck! You okay?" Cid asked, putting a hand through Vincent’s hair.
Vincent nodded.
"Come on," Cid said, picking up Vincent and carrying him. "I don’t want you spending another minute in here. I see another doctor on you and I’m giving him a black eye."
"Cid, they fixed my knee, I think I can walk on my own."
"Hey, I want to do this while I’m young, and have someone to do it with," Cid said.
"Just watch the doorways," Vincent said, and smiled. He wasn’t crying anymore.