NIBELHEIM 20 MILES the sign read. It had been a pleasant and beautiful ride. Cloud and Tifa had the roads nearly to themselves which was the perfect way to travel. The temperature had to be in the low 60's by now since they were climbing in elevation. It may have even been somewhere in the high 50's. Tifa had her head on Cloud's back at this point but she promised she wouldn't fall asleep. She could feel the air becoming cooler on her face and the landscape becoming rockier. Leaves flew all around them as small tudor-esque homes began to dot the distant hillside. Nibelheim was still an isolated mountain town, even now. Sure it had the modern amenities that most cities had; but it still lacked an urban center and its population was a mere 4000 people compared to the 75,000 plus that lived in Midgar. Life was still slow and easy in Nibelheim.

ATTRACTIONS: MT. NIBEL 5 MILES, MAKO REACTOR SITE 5 MILES, HISTORIC SHIN-RA MANOR 2 MILES, NIBELHEIM USE EXIT 12 AND 13 the sign read. They had arrived.

"I can't believe we're here." Tifa said squeezing her body closer into Cloud's.

"I know. It's been forever, hasn't it?" Cloud said.

"It has. The Inn is on Remy Lane. Take a right at the light." Tifa said. Cloud needed her to give him the directions. Even though the town had been rebuilt after the fire that destroyed it; it still looked the same. The same shops lined the streets, the same markets were nestled among the vendors and above all; the water tower…though rebuilt and not looking the way it once did, was still the center of town. Tifa found herself temporarily mesmerized by the sight of this new water tower. She almost forgot to tell Cloud to turn left at the next intersection. Nibelheim was buzzing this afternoon with people walking the streets and the sights of autumn all around.

"That's the place up there on the right isn't it?" Cloud asked Tifa.

"Yeah, that's it." Tifa answered. There was a small parking lot on the side of the building. The Inn wasn't at all anything too glamorous and it only had minimal vacancies. Once parked, both Cloud and Tifa were ready to get off this bike and move around. Nibelheim was truly picturesque today. The time was 2:30; they had mostly stayed on schedule.

"You want to call your dad and I'll go check in and get our key?" Cloud asked of her.

"Yes, that sounds great." Tifa said opening the back hatch and pulling their bag out and plopping it on the pavement.

"Oh here…you'll need this." Tifa dug around in her purse for the confirmation number and her cell phone to call her father. She handed the confirmation number that was scribbled on a piece of paper to Cloud.

"Hey, ask your dad where he wants to eat tonight." Cloud said heading toward the door.

"Okay." Tifa answered him as she dialed up her father. She looked around her at the phone rang. "Hey dad, we're here." She finally said.

"Tifa! Hi sweetheart! Did you have a good trip?" he father asked.

"It was a wonderful trip. We're checking in to the Inn now. I'm going to call and get us a dinner reservation. Where would you like to go tonight?" Tifa asked her father.

"Anywhere you want to go is fine." Tifa's father answered her.

"Alright, we're going to unpack which won't take us long and we'll be over." Tifa said.

"I'll be waiting for you. I can't wait to hug you again sweetheart." He father said. Tifa smiled.

"Me too dad, me too." She answered. "See you in a few." Tifa hung up the phone and picked up the duffle bag. A small bell rang on the door as she entered the Inn. Cloud was slapping his signature on something as Tifa came through the door.

"If you need anything dial zero on your phone in the room for the front desk." The employee behind the desk said. This was a small place and rustic in its structure and décor. There was a fire in the lobby fireplace, filling the room with the smell of charred wood. Tifa followed Cloud to the staircase that was just past the front desk.

"Dad doesn't care where we eat tonight so if you have someplace in mind that's fine." Tifa said. Their room was in the middle of the hallway near an ice machine. It was surprising to see an ice machine in an inn of this size. Cloud unlocked their room. It was small and quite cozy to look at.

"It doesn't matter to me. Let's look at a directory. I'm sure there is one in here somewhere." Cloud said turning a light on and heading over to a desk in the corner for a directory of businesses in Nibelheim. Cloud picked up the directory and sat on the edge of the bed. Tifa went over to the window beside the bed and opened it. Cool air rushed in. It smelled of pine, roasting meats and open pit fires. Tifa remembered it smelling that way when she was little.

"Oh my god, Tifa! I want to go here! Can we go here! Let's go here!" Cloud said pointing to some restaurant on the page like a seven year old.

"Barbeque, smoked brisket, and local beer on tap. Yeah, let's go there. Dad would like that very well actually." Tifa said. Cloud looked out the open window that Tifa had just moved from.

"You know, now I wish we would have brought Marlene and Denzel with us and stayed here more than a day." Cloud said.

"Yeah, we really should have. I guess we just weren't thinking fast enough. We need to bring them back here this winter and show them what a real snow storm looks like." Tifa said putting the directory down and walking over to Cloud. She put her hands on his shoulders.

"So, I know your dad isn't the biggest fan of what we have right now…but what do I definitely not want to say to him." Tifa put her arms around Cloud.

"Hmm…let's avoid any sentence that might end with '…in bed'. Remember, in his mind I am eternally five years old." Tifa said. Cloud laughed at her and moved around so that Tifa was in front of him.

"That I can do. We should probably go. But not until I kiss you because if I don't do it now I'll forget and kiss you in front of your dad and then he'll really freak out." Cloud said sinking his lips into hers. It was a long overdo kiss.

"Please tell me that's just a preview of what's to come later." Tifa asked letting go of Cloud and picking her purse up from the desk. She threw him the keys to the bike that had somehow ended up there.

"Of course it is." Cloud reassured her following her out the door. They would be at her dad's in no time. Cloud took her hand as the door closed behind them and he pulled her down the stairs behind him. Tifa's father only lived three streets away from the inn. "I thought seeing home again would be hard for me. It hasn't been…yet. I think it's because I'm here with you." Cloud said sincerely as they got on the bike once more to head for Tifa's father's house.

"I had hoped this trip would be easy on you." Tifa said.

"Yeah. Are you anxious to see your dad? You haven't seen him in months." Cloud said.

"I'm excited to see him, although I'm also a little nervous simply because he always asks so many questions. Turn right up here at the light." Tifa instructed Cloud.

"Did you call that restaurant?" Cloud asked her.

"I didn't need to, they don't require reservations. Now just go straight until this road dead ends and forces you to turn right." Tifa said. This was a residential street. It was lined with cars and the houses were packed in on top of each other.

"It's the house up there with the light post in the front isn't it?" Cloud asked.

"That's the one." Tifa said squeezing Cloud tighter.

"You're nervous about this, I can tell." Cloud said parking on the opposite side of the street. Tifa didn't get off the back of the bike yet. She looked at her dad's house. It wasn't the house she grew up in, it was smaller and required less care. She took a deep breath.

"I am…a little nervous about seeing him. I didn't think I would be but now here we are in front of his house. He's just….he doesn't understand this…what you and I have. He…" Tifa shook her head. "I don't want to talk about it…it's just…he gets stuff in his head about the way things should be and…come on let's just go get the initial awkward hello out of the way." Tifa said getting ready to slide off the back of the bike. Cloud grabbed her hands.

"Look at me…I love you. We can leave any time you want and I'll follow you right out of there." Cloud's kiss gave her the strength to get off the bike and take Cloud in hand to her father's door. She knocked on the door and squeezed Cloud's hand tighter behind her. The door opened. Tifa smiled nervously.

"Hi daddy." She said letting go of Cloud's hand and putting her arms around her father.

"Tifa…ooooh Tifa it's so good to see you, sweetheart! Come in, come in, come in!" Her father motioned Tifa inside.

"Cloud." Her father acknowledged him reaching his hand out toward Cloud.

"Nice to see you, it's been a while, I know." Cloud said. Her father shook his head in agreement.

"Do you all want something to drink? I always have scotch or I could put a pot of coffee on. Oh! Yes, yes, come drink some coffee with me in the kitchen." Tifa's father said heading toward the kitchen to put a pot of coffee on. Her father was 54 years old and in superb health. He ran two miles a day and was a member of several organizations in Nibelheim. Secretly, Tifa wondered why her father hadn't started dating someone in Nibelheim and remarried by now.

"Your house looks nice, dad. Tifa said sitting at his kitchen table. Cloud sat close beside her.

"Thank you. Is caffeinated alright? I don't have any decaf." He father said.

"It's fine." Tifa said.

"How's your business? Tifa tells me it's grown quickly." Her father asked of Cloud.

"It has. It got much too big for just us to handle. There is a building you can actually walk in to now and we have a total of fifty employees. I guess you could say we are now considered an established business since there is a full page ad in the phone book." Cloud explained to him.

"Do you do the deliveries yourself still?" he asked.

"No, I stopped doing those three months ago. I set in front of a computer and schedule the deliveries, route the drivers and do the supply ordering. I also go to all the regional meetings and things like that since I'm technically the manager." Cloud said.

"You know dad, we have a logo now. It gets put on letterhead and return addresses and rumor has it the logo will be one of six on the back of Denzel's soccer teams' t-shirts." Tifa said laughing.

"But we only got on the shirt because we gave that weird coach like fifty boxes." Cloud said. Tifa's father brought a steaming carafe of coffee to the table. He looked at Tifa and then Cloud.

"That's the boy right? The one that lives with you. He's old enough to play soccer?" her father questioned reaching for mugs that were behind him.

"Denzel's in the 5th grade, daddy. We don't think he's athletic enough for soccer because of his allergies but he wanted to sign up so we thought we could at least let him try it." Tifa said.

"He's had three games. Me and Tifa just stand there and act like we know what's going on. Occasionally, we'll yell something at the ref just to try and blend in. We hope he doesn't stick with this because we do not fit in with those soccer parents at all. It's quite sad." Cloud said. Tifa's father didn't say anything. He shoved a steaming hot mug toward Tifa first and then Cloud.

"What about the girl?" Her father asked pouring his own mug.

"She's singing in the choir at school and is a member a few clubs there. She's really into science too." Tifa said. Her father shook his head. "Oh, here…I have some pictures." Tifa said turning around getting her purse. She pulled her checkbook out pulled the pictures out of the side of it. Her father didn't have much to say. He nodded his head a couple times but that was about it. Tifa looked nervously down at her full coffee cup. In her heart, she didn't think that was a very good sign. Cloud didn't even dare reach for the picture he had in his wallet of all of them at the beach.

"Hm…kind of like real grandkids...only they aren't." He said handing the pictures back to Tifa. She didn't really know what to say. Did he mean that as an insult or did it just come out that way? Cloud's phone rang. He quickly dug it out of his pocket and looked at it.

"I'm sorry. Its work, I need to take it. They are probably freaking over something insignificant. I'll be right back." Cloud said leaving Tifa there with her father. Tifa looked at him. He shook his head again and sighed.

"Tifa…when are you going to get out of this?" he asked her.

"What do you mean?" Tifa asked her father taking a drink of the coffee.

"This playing house thing. Look at you, you're living with him of all people; which frankly darling, is stupid. You have two children that aren't even yours. You've had them what…two years now? Honey…you are setting yourself up for a disaster." Her father said seriously.

"Daddy…" Tifa began. He interrupted her.

"Let's remember Tifa…you were 14 years old climbing Mt. Nibel and he…" Tifa cut her father off.

"Daddy, we talked about that…you know that wasn't…" he interrupted Tifa.

"Okay, okay. Well, then let's talk about your friend…what was her name again? Didn't he let her die? Hm? Too little too late, huh? Now let's talk about when you were 22 and you were, frankly, what I would call…a single mom. He left you Tifa…left you and two unwanted kids without a regret in the world." her father said.

"It wasn't like that at all…Denzel was sick and…" Tifa's father cut her off again.

"Don't fight his battles for him. It's bullshit Tifa. What happens when things get hard again? Hmm? Then what? Do you really think honey, that he will be there? And what happens when you have your own child? Hmmm? What then? Those other two castaways that you have will resent that because they aren't yours, Tifa…and well…that child will be. What then, darling? No matter what Tifa, no matter how hard you try those kids will never be yours. They will always be someone else's unwanted children. They will grow up to hate you because you can slap any label you want to on it Tifa…you're not their mom….he's not their dad…and it breaks my heart to see you kidding yourself like this. I wanted so much more for you. If I were a betting man Tifa; I'd bet my very life that he will never, ever marry you. He won't even be around in two years anyway." TIfa's father stopped talking. Tifa was a tough one to crack but she was on the verge of falling apart right now. She had to pull it together to stand up to her father.

"I'm not having any child of my own, dad…in case you missed it…I have two already." Tifa said sarcastically. She was mad at him, she wasn't even hurt anymore…she was just plain mad. "Did it ever once occur to you…that maybe what you want for me and what I want for me might be different? I have the best life in the world, daddy. You don't…pardon my language…you don't know shit about our kids…you don't know shit about Cloud. I don't expect you to ever understand my life…but I expect you to take it seriously because nothing about it is changing." Tifa stood up to him well even though on the inside he had rattled her.

"Let me see one of your checks." Her father asked of her.

"Huh?" Tifa was puzzled.

"Let me see….your checkbook." He repeated. Tifa handed it over to him. "Just as I thought, both your names are on these checks. I bet you have a joint credit card too. It's all coming up roses for you, isn't it darling? It is until he leaves you and drains your checking account." Tifa's father said handing her checkbook back to her. Tifa stared into her cup of coffee as the anger boiled inside her. "Those are some big diamonds in your ears. Where are your mother's earrings?" he asked her.

"Marlene wears them…my daughter…Marlene…wears them." Tifa had never actually called Marlene her daughter before but her father was pushing her buttons and it just came out that way.

"Speaking of earrings, Tifa…you want me to take this life of yours seriously? Honey, I can't take any grown man that wears earrings seriously." Tifa's father said finishing his coffee.

"Daddy…even though I hate you right now; I'll always love you. And when Cloud comes back in this room…I'm going pretend that this conversation never happened. One more thing daddy…don't you ever…ever call our kids castaways or unwanted ever again. I swear dad…I'll knock your fuckin' teeth out and I mean that." Tifa's eyes were full of rage and her father could see it clearly. Her father couldn't say anything further. Cloud came back into the kitchen with them.

"Sorry, my people don't seem to know how to use a fax machine…nor do they know how to un-jam it." Cloud sat down beside Tifa again. He could tell by the way she squeezed his hand something wasn't right.