Fanfic100: Final Fantasy VII - AeriSeph: 071 - Broken

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy VII is the property of Square-Enix. No profit is sought from this work. Original elements and characters are my own.
Title: Professional Help
Fandom: Final Fantasy VII
Characters: Sephiroth, Aeris, OCs.
Prompt: 071 - Broken
Word Count: 965
Rating: PG
Genre: AU Gen.
Summary: Sephiroth's badly injured. Who can possibly help him now?
Author's Notes: I usually play around this AU Marriage!verse only for my own amusement. I hope nobody minds too much that I might inflict some of it on you from time to time in the course of this challenge. The basic background info for it is that Seph and Aeris are married, have raised a family and the Planet's under attack from Jenova's species.



“It’s out of our hands. There’s nothing we can do for him.”

“We should notify his family.”

“Word’s been sent to his wife.”

Sephiroth listened to the voices bemoaning the end and closed his eyes against the harsh glare of the overhead light. There was more than enough pain to deal with.

He could barely move. The medics who had dragged him in off the field had set him on his side and he had not twitched since then, not even when the doctors came to poke and prod. Breathing hurt. Pain radiated out from the injury, spreading up and down his back and mixing with that infuriating itch that was his body’s vain attempt to heal itself.

He had refused the drastic measures suggested by the chief surgeon, even though the man had been adamant that refusal could be a grave mistake. Sephiroth felt otherwise. He was still strong and he just had to hold on. She was probably already on her way. She could help.

The floor rocked as an explosion sounded from outside. Sephiroth grunted as the vibration rattled through him, aggravating the wound. He was no stranger to pain, but he had never been injured like this before. On some level he was sure that having his wife flown out into a war zone just because he didn’t like doctors was completely irresponsible. Maybe she would do the sensible thing and send word back for him to stop being an ass and let the doctors do their butchering best.

The distant sounds of battle were interrupted by the rattle of a curtain being pulled aside nearby. “Oh, Sephy!” Aeris hurried over and stroked his face. “Does it hurt badly?”

“Like Hades.” Sephiroth leaned into her touch as much as he could. “I shouldn’t have called you out here anyway. It’s too-“

“Hush, I want to be here.” She made her way up onto the bed and gently set his head on her lap. Sephiroth grimaced a little but settled down without protest.

There was a scuffle beyond the curtain. Two young men scrambled into the space and took a second to assess the situation.

“Aw, shit, Pops, everybody’s talking like you’re dying or something,” the short-haired one scowled.

Sephiroth scowled back. “Sorry to disappoint you.”

“That’s a nasty-looking break, Dad,” the other one said quietly as he came over to take a look. “What happened?”

Sephiroth sighed. “I ducked out of the way of one piece of wreckage and got hit by another.” The boys snickered. “It was a big piece!”

“Right, so you break a few bones and then I get this frantic call from the tower, ‘Land your jet and get over to sickbay, your daddy’s in a bad way.’ Dragging me away from my squad for nothing.”

“All right, Ari,” Aeris cut in, “Don’t aggravate your father.”

Ari grinned. “Are you kidding me? This is the best time to do it. Look at him, he can’t move!”

“I will get out of here eventually, young man, and I know where you sleep.”

“You know where his bed is, Dad. Nobody’s really sure where he’ll sleep.”

Sephiroth grunted and let Aeris keep stroking the hair back from his face. A sudden prod brought back all the pain he had forgotten. “Ow! Rei, what are you doing back there?”

“Sorry.” The long-haired one stepped back and held his hands up and away even though Sephiroth could not turn around to see him. “Things are a real mess back here. This is all from something landing on you?”

“Well, it sort of knocked me down a hill,” Sephiroth growled. “Bent a few things the wrong way.”

“Oh.” Rei took another look at the mass of mangled bone and singed feathers. “Well, yeah, that would probably do it. Good thing you don’t really need your wing to fly.”

“How come it’s not healing by itself?” Ari asked.

“It’s been trying, but the bones are all out of place. Everything’s too torn for me to do it on my own and materia didn’t help much.”

Aeris pulled a feather out of Sephiroth’s hair. “The doctors couldn’t help?”

Sephiroth rolled his eyes. “They’re clueless. They don’t know how to set a broken wing. Rei, you think maybe you could…”

Rei made as if to touch the battered appendage again but drew back. “Sorry, Dad. We don’t really cover wings in anatomy class.”

“So I’m stuck like this?” Sephiroth groaned. Aeris stroked his head tenderly so he groaned some more, milking it for all it was worth.

“There’s got to be something the doctors can do, right?” Ari took a look around the curtain to see if there was anyone nearby to consult with.

“They wanted to amputate!” Sephiroth yelled and slumped back down into Aeris’ lap when the pain shot up his spine. He glanced up at his wife. “I’m sorry I dragged you into this, love, but… you know.” He liked his wing, after all.

Aeris smirked down at him. “Yes, dear, I understand.” She kept stroking his hair and looked up at their sons.

“Ari, I’ll get everything under control here. I’m sure your squadron needs you more than we do at the moment.”

“Sure thing. Let me know how it goes.” He left with a wave.

“Rei, see if you can round up some stronger painkillers, maybe a tranquilizer or two if anyone can spare it and hand me my purse before you go.”

“Yes, Mom.”

Once the kids were out of the way, Aeris began digging through her purse for her phone. “Just hang in there, Seph. I’ll see if we can get someone out here who can really help.”

“Good,” Sephiroth murmured. “Who are you calling?”

“Dr. Cressler.”

Sephiroth’s eyes shot open as the name sank in. “The VET?”