Chapter 13: Hospital Visit

I decided to call Cloud to get a ride to the hospital. Oh sure I could drive myself, if I had a car, but I’d much rather go with someone else. It’s kind of creepy walking down hallways in a hospital by yourself. I decided on Cloud because he had given me his cell phone number anyways. Why not use it, right? And yeah I could have called Reno… But then I realized I only had his old office number. He never gave me his new cell number.

(Author’s Note: ‘…’ intervals indicate pauses.)
“Hey Cloud? Hi! It’s Kim… Yeah I have a question. Could you give me a ride to the hospital? … I figured Reno would already be there and… You will? … Aw, thanks Cloud! I’ll see you in about a half an hour then? … Okay! See you later!”

I hummed to myself as I got ready to go. I made myself a quick cup of coffee to take with me, and then slipped my comfy tennis shoes on. About 10, 15 minutes later, the doorbell rang.
“Just a second!” I yelled as I grabbed my purse and house key.
“It’s okay,” Cloud said as he began to open the door. “I’ll let myself in.”
“Hey you,” I smiled as I walked up to him to give him a hug. “I’m so glad to see you.”
“You have no idea how happy I am to have you back in my life,” he said as he opened the door and escorted me out. “We’ve got some serious catching up to do.”
“Most definitely. But right now Elena’s our main focus.”
“Yes, you’re absolutely right,” he nodded in agreement.

The drive to the hospital was a little longer then we expected it to be. There was a three-car pile up on the freeway, so traffic was inevitable. Luckily, Cloud is one of those drivers who don’t get impatient. We spent the time we had in the car chatting. When we did finally get to the hospital though, we switched back into serious mode. We were here for Elena, not ourselves.

“We’re here to see Elena LeBeau,” Cloud told the receptionist.
“She’s on the fourth floor, room 3B, sir,” she smiled at us both. “Lucky for you visiting hours have just begun!”
“Thank you very much,” Cloud smiled in return.
Being on the first floor, it was an obvious choice to take the elevator up to the fourth floor. Well, Cloud wanted to take the elevator. I didn’t want to go anywhere near it. I have a huge phobia of elevators… And I have since getting stuck in one at ShinRa Headquarters. Unfortunately, Cloud dragged me on.
“Ya big baby,” Cloud laughed at me as I clung onto him for dear life. “Come on, the door’s opening. Let’s go see Elena.”
We proceeded down the hallway a bit until we saw a few people standing in the doorway. The vibrant red hair gave us the immediate clue that we had found Elena.
“Reno!” I yelled softly down the hall. “We’re here!”
“Oh hey you two,” Reno smiled at us. “You’re just in time.”
“So we’ve learned,” Cloud laughed. “Now where’s the patient?”
And from there the visit began…