-1Disclaimer….I don't own anything

Summary: Cloud is out on a delivery and comes across something that will change life at home. Takes place a year after DoC.

True Wolf

The rain was coming down in sheets and the wind wasn't helping him either. Fenrir was almost out of gas and would need an oil change sooner or later. This was not a good trip. He was a good four hours away from home and the weather was bad, which only slowed him down.

Cloud was soaked to the bone and wasn't to happy about it either, but at least he wasn't to far away from home. Only a few miles left. He would be dry and have a nice bed to sleep in when he got home, maybe Tifa had some food for him too. He would have to call Tifa, just to let her know he was okay and that he was going to be late. This wasn't the first time that he got caught in the rain like this, Tifa would understand. So, he kept going till he could find a suitable place to stay until the storm let up, which happened to be an old barn out in the middle of nowhere. It wasn't the best of places, but it would do to keep him dry for the moment. Inside the barn it was warm and dry, a couple of leaks in the roof. Other than that, it was perfect. Fenrir was dry, but that didn't mean anything, as long as Cloud could get himself dry, he was fine.

Cloud pulled out his phone and proceeded to dial the number of Seventh Heaven. A couple of rings later Denzel answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Denzel, it's Cloud." There was a voice in the background, it was Tifa.

"I know. We were waiting for you to call, Tifa was getting worried." Denzel said with worry. "Ritte was crying all night long, she had a fever." At this Cloud gave a small grunt of concern.

"I tried to call earlier, no body answered. Where were ya'll?" Cloud was irritated now. It was like nobody told him anything anymore. Then again, he was gone five days out of the week. It was a wonder Ritte even knew who he was.

"We had to take Ritte to the hospital. She's alright now. The doctor gave her some antibiotics for the ear infection." Cloud gave a sigh of relief.

"That's good. Now let me talk to Tifa." Cloud didn't realize that he was pacing around the old barn till he stopped pacing. It was never like him to pace like that when he was worried, but ever since parenthood had set in with the kids and all, he just couldn't help it anymore.

"Okay!" There was a sound of movement, then footsteps, then Tifa's voice was heard.

"Hey. I'm sorry I didn't call you about Ritte." Tifa sounded tired, probably from Ritte keeping her up all night. Cloud sighed again.

"I'm worried now." He continued pacing. This time he knew he was. "Will she be alright?"

"Yeah, I think so." He heard her sigh and move around. " This one wasn't as bad as the last one, but still, it was bad enough for me to bring her to the doctor." She moved around again. "I just got her to sleep a little while ago. I haven't heard a peep out of her since." He was still pacing.

"At least she is sleeping in a nice warm bed, while I'm stuck in an old barn." He heard Tifa giggle on the other end of the phone. He smiled a little. "Well, I guess I deserve it, for not being home much." She laughed again.

"Your pacing again aren't you?" He stopped and looked down at his feet. She was right, again.

"It's not my fault." He said with a laugh. She sighed.

"You are so hopeless." She said tiredly.

"I know." He sat down on a bale of hay and leaned against the post that it was next to. "But would I be who I am if I wasn't?" He ran a hand through his hair.

"You have a point." He smiled.

" What are the other two doing?" He heard her yawn.

"Marlene is packing for her trip and Denzel is taking a shower. He just got in after he handed me the phone." Cloud would kill to have a shower.

"I'll try to be home before twelve. It looks like the rain is letting up, so I'll be able to leave in a bit." He stood up. "I hope you have a bowl of soup waiting for me." He noticed his nose was running. He was getting sick.

"I always do. Just for you." He smiled yet again. "Be careful on the way home."

"I will. Don't worry." He walked over to Fenrir.

"I love you." She said.

" I love you too. I'll be home in a little while." He hung up and put his phone back in his pocket.

He was getting ready to leave when he noticed something he didn't even see before. In the corner of the barn was a small white lump. He moved away from his bike and towards the lump in the hay. It was small, about the size of a rat, only it wasn't a rat.

When he got closer to the lump, Cloud noticed that it was moving, and making a noise that he couldn't here from where he was before. It sounded like a puppy. It was a puppy. A newborn. Not even a day old.

"Where did you come from?" He knelt down beside it and upon hearing Cloud's voice it yelped rather loudly. So, Cloud picked up the small white puppy and looked to see if there was anything wrong with it.

"Your not hurt. Just abandoned." He looked to see if it was a girl or a boy. "A little girl huh? That's fine. I'll take you home." He held the puppy to his chest where it cuddled up for warmth, even though Cloud was still soaking wet. Only thing was, how was he supposed to get the poor thing home when he had to drive.

He quickly walked over to his bike and opened a small compartment, only big enough to fit a house cat. It would work. So he set the little puppy in the compartment and proceeded to get on Fenrir. He started the engine and headed home to his family.

It was 11:48 when Cloud walked in the door to Seventh Heaven with the newborn puppy curled up to his chest. Tifa and the kids were already asleep. It wouldn't be long before Ritte would wake up for her midnight feeding. Tifa would get up and get her. Until then, Cloud had to find something for the puppy to sleep in and find that little bottle they had used for when Marlene bought home Nikki.

Nikki was the family cat. Marlene found her as a kitten and decided to bring her home. Much to Cloud's dismay, he agreed to help Marlene care for the little kitten, who was now a ball of fur and fat. He wasn't a cat person, but he had to deal with it.

Cloud looked in the closet in the hallway and found a basket big enough for the puppy to sleep in. He also found a small heating pad and a pillow. He even found that little bottle, which was great cause all he needed now was the milk. So, he set the puppy in the basket and then to his and Tifa's room to change his clothes.

When he was walking up the stairs, he decided to stop and check up on Ritte, just like he did every night he was home. He opened the door to her room and walked over to the crib, quietly doing so. He peered in and saw the six month old baby sleeping on her back. He smiled, taking a moment to himself to get over the fact that his life changed the day she was born. He was in love with this little being and would always be. If anything happened to her, he didn't know what he would do. She was his daughter, she would always be. He gently ran his hand over her brown haired head and leaned in to kiss her on the forehead.

"Goodnight, Love." He quietly left the baby's room and shut the door behind him. He walked to his room and changed clothes. After changing into pajama pants, he walked over to the bed and kissed Tifa on the lips. In doing so, he woke her up.

"Your home." She looked at him and sat up.

"Yeah, I'm home." He kissed her again and she wrapped her arms around his neck as the kiss deepened. He stopped and just sat there with her, holding her. "I'm never going on a two week long delivery ever again." She smiled into his bare chest.

"Did you check on the baby?" She asked him.

"Yeah." He said. "I have a problem though."

"What is it?" She asked. He stood and held his hand out to her. She grabbed it and he took her downstairs to the kitchen. She saw the basket on the counter. "Oh boy." She looked inside and saw the little white puppy.

"It's a girl, I found her in the barn right after I hung up with you." Tifa picked up the puppy. "She's not but a day old by my guess." He looked at her while she inspected the puppy.

"Heat up some milk, but not to hot and put it in the bottle." She said and he did just that.

"Here." He handed her the bottle of warm milk.

Tifa took it and put it near the puppy's tiny mouth. The puppy took the bottle, drinking all of the milk and then fell asleep in Tifa's arms. She then placed the puppy in the basket and bought it up to their room. When Tifa came back, Cloud was eating the bowl of chicken noodle soup she made for him earlier.

"Is it good?" She sat across from him.

"The best." He said in between bites. He glanced up at the wall clock and noticed it was 12:34. "Ritte should be waking up pretty soon." Tifa put her elbows on the table, putting her chin on her hands. She was content with her family. Even if it meant having to get up every night at 1:00 in the morning to feed Ritte. Cloud even got up to feed her just so Tifa could sleep. "I'll take care of her tonight. You get some sleep, okay." He got up after finishing the soup and put it in the sink, knowing that Denzel would do the dishes tomorrow.

"Alright, thank you." She got up from the table and kissed him on the lips before heading up the stairs.

At around 12:45, a baby's cry was heard. So, Cloud walked up the stairs, baby bottle in hand, to Ritte's room. He opened the door and walked over to the crying baby, picking her up and sitting down in the rocking chair next to her crib.

"Hungry?" She answered the question by happily taking the bottle into her mouth. "I thought so." He smiled and looked into her blue eyes that were the same as his. He rocked back and forth humming a tune his mother used to sing to him. Soon, Ritte was asleep again, still sucking on her bottle. He took the bottle out of her mouth and set it down on the table next to him.

"Goodnight Love." He set her down in her crib and covered her up with her pink blanket. Next to her there was the little stuffed gold chocobo Denzel had bought her on the day she was born. He was a good big brother, doing everything he could to keep a smile on Ritte's little face. Cloud was proud of him.

After kissing his daughter on the forehead, he once again headed to his room. He opened the door and walked in closing it behind him. The baby monitor on Tifa's night stand letting him know what was going on. He carefully got in bed and wrapped his arms around Tifa.

"How do you get her to calm down? She wouldn't stop crying when she had that earache yesterday." She said sleepily.

"I don't know. Goodnight." He kissed her again and fell asleep.

Denzel was in for a surprise tomorrow.

Well, I wanted to have a family feel to this story. Also, I wanted to show Cloud's softer side as well. Btw Ritte is pronounced re-tae.

Tell me what you think! I'm always open for suggestions.