"Tifa's Sickness"

By K.T. Selner

It was two in the morning when Cloud came in, he has taken so many jobs for the past three days and he hasn't seen Tifa or the kids. He just left a note or a text message for Tifa when he left in the morning and call at night to talk to the kids and remind them of their responsibilities while he was out. He was very tired and so sleepy. All he wants was to go to his room, lock the door and crash onto his bed. Unfortunately for him, he has other matters to attend to.

When he entered to bar, to his surprise, there were still dishes that was unwashed, so he did those. He mopped the floor a little too. When he checked the family room, a light has not been switched off, so he did that too. It was very unlikely for Tifa not to do those things but she's not perfect.

His room was supposed to be his next destination tonight but there are things that he wanted to do. First, he checked the kids. He arranged Marlene's position when he saw that her leg was dangling off the bed, then Denzel was covered with pillows so he removed some, he might not breathe under those. Second, he went to the bathroom to take a shower, he was so dirty from all the driving. He didn't bother to check on Tifa, he knew she was sleeping soundly and would probably get mad if he disturbs her.

Cloud went to his room, closed the door but didn't lock it, then plummeted and collided with his mattress, face down. He was about to reach his dream world when…

CRASH

He jerked up and grunted curses just because his heart skipped a beat. He knew that sound was from Tifa's. He stood up, walked to the other room and slowly pushed the door open. He peeked first to see what happened, what he saw was that the lights are turned on.

"Tifa?" he said when he finally let himself enter fully.

Tifa was sitting on her chair; her head was on the desk, her eyes closed and her arms arm dangling on her sides. He saw that a medicine bottle has been shattered on the floor. He walked to her slowly, touching her shoulders; her skin was burning.

"Tifa?" he nudged her slightly. Tifa fluttered her eyes open. "Hey, you're burning up, c'mon let's get you to bed." He said and carried Tifa to her bed. He placed her gently and tucked her in. Cloud sat at the end of the bed, removed some strands of hair in her face and stared.

"Teef? When did you have a fever?"

"I don't have a fever Cloud…" He knew that would be her answer, she didn't like to admit that she is sick and still continued to do what she needed to do.

"Right… okay… so why are you sleeping on your desk?"

"I was doing inventory then I fell asleep."

"Kay… do you want me to get you anything?" she shook her head "Alright, just go back to sleep… I'll see you in the morning." He stood up and when he was about to turn the lights off, Tifa called him.

"Cloud, could you please set my alarm to six, I have still had to do the dishes…"

Cloud smiled and nodded. He went to her alarm clock and acted that he had set the alarm. He would never want to wake Tifa in the morning and will just let her oversleep and get well. He didn't bother to tell, he knew Tifa. He knew an argument will occur if he didn't agree with Tifa. She'll just get pissed.

Morning came so fast with Cloud; he immediately remembered that Tifa was sick and that he would be the one to run the house today. He still was so tired but of course, he doesn't mind to drain himself for another day just for her. Besides, he always wanted to see his family well.

Cloud went to the other room to check if Tifa had noticed that it was past six. He peeped in and saw that Tifa was still in bed, beautifully tucked in. His thoughts had been disturbed when someone lightly tugged on his shorts.

"Cloud? What are you doing peeking at Tifa's room?" Marlene asked with her still sleepy voice and rubbing her eyes with her hands.

"Shush Marlene; we don't want to wake the princess…"

"Why?"

"Well, she has a fever but didn't want to admit it. Come on, let's wake Denzel up I'll make breakfast… I'm taking the day off… we'll not open the bar"

"Yay!" Marlene jumped but was stopped when Cloud carried her and went to their room. Denzel was still lying flat on his back when Marlene surprised him with hopping on his bed. "Denzel!! Cloud will take the day off!!" Denzel grumbled a few incomprehensible words before sitting up and opening his eyes. He saw Cloud sitting on his bed and Marlene's face was in front of his, grinning.

"G'morning." Cloud said and ruffled Denzel's hair. "C'mon, let's go downstairs… but be quiet on the hallway."

"Why?"

"Tifa's sick and don't want to admit it… so Cloud just wants her to sleep…" Marlene said in a very low voice.

While Cloud was making breakfast, the kids were setting up the table. Cloud was humming a song while he toast breads and cutting ham and cheese. He placed all of it in a big plate and served it to the kids.

The trio was joking around while eating when they heard a loud thud, a shriek and a bang from the door. They all looked at the stairs looking like a monster will go down. Tifa was up alright… and mad. She stomped her feet loudly on the stairs and stopped near the table. The eating adult and kids looked up to her in fear.

"What is wrong with you Cloud!?" Tifa yelled and pointed her finger at Cloud looking very furious. Her voice, though, was very hoarse.

"What?" Cloud asked innocently, as he if had nothing to do with her alarm.

"It's eight and you didn't wake me up!"

"You didn't tell me I should wake you up" he said more coolly.

"Well, Cloud! Do you think I'm stupid?! Do you think I'll never figure it out? The alarm never came off because you didn't set them! I have so much to do here!"

Cloud chuckled. "No, I didn't wake you up because you said you're just gonna wash the dishes but I did that last night and No… I don't think you're stupid but I think you're sick… so…" Cloud stood up and picked Tifa up carried her in over his shoulder and went upstairs.

"Cloud! Put me down this instant!" Tifa yelled.

"Just wait 'til we get to your room" Cloud opened her door, entered, closed and locked it before putting her down in her bed, roughly.

"What are you doing?" Tifa asked as Cloud tries to lock her down in her bed.

"Just stay still! You are burning up Tifa…"

"No I am not!" Tifa is still fighting her way for Cloud to let go of her.

"Tifa!" Cloud snapped "You are burning up, don't you feel it? C'mon, you were drinking medicine last night, a whole bottle of it… I'm sure you did that so when you wake up you'll feel better… but… you need to rest" Cloud explained

"But I'm okay… now"

"Yeah… because you drugged yourself…" Cloud smiled and sat down with Tifa on the bed. "Tifa… you're too stressed… just do me a favor and just rest… just for today… please?" Cloud looked at her with those cute puppy dog eyes that he was trying to mimic.

"I…" Tifa sounded defeated.

"Come on! I'll do whatever you want, just stay here and chill…" Cloud was full of ideas just to convince her to stay in bed. He laid her down gently, covered her with her sheets and gazed at her with concern in his eyes. "Now, what do you want me to do?"

"Give me some breakfast?" Tifa smiled.

"Oh… okay… So what do you want for breakfast, princess?"

"What can you offer?"

"Toast, ham and cheese is all I can do…"

"Then, that will be fine…"

"Good, 'cause I don't want to wreck your kitchen when I try to cook" He sniggered. "So… anything else you want me to do?"

"Nah, I'm fine… just go, get my breakfast…"

Cloud nodded but when he stood up, Tifa pulled his hand.

"Wait, there's something I want you to do…" Cloud looked puzzled "I want you to rest too okay? At least for today…"

Cloud smiled and squeezed her hand a little to guarantee that he'll do whatever she wants…