Chapter 10, I'm so excited.

Summery: The battle was fought in the previous chapter, Sephiroth is dead, but he left Cloud wounded and bleeding, will our hero survive?

Author's Note: I really like the dialogue in this chapter, I think I did pretty good and I hope you think the same.

Disclaimer: I love writing, I wish I could say I owned these characters

Song Playing: Old Time Rock And Roll ~ Bob Seiger

Chapter 10: The Road To Recovery

The first sound I hear is a beep, its steady, happening every few seconds.

The next noise is a gentle hiss, occurring every time I breathe.

I open my eyes slowly. The room I'm lying in is dimly lit and there are several monitors and machines surrounding my bed and pushed against the walls.

Another softer noise quickly grabs my attention. I turn my head to find Tifa lying in the bed next to me, her body curved carefully around mine. I reach over and stroke her cheek with my fingers.

"Tifa…" my voice is hoarse due to lack of use, but it's enough to wake her. Her eyes flutter open and all she does is stare at me. Eventually she smiles, no tears, no sobbing, just a smile.

"Oh Cloud…I thought I lost you."

She props herself up on an elbow, kisses my cheek and begins to run her fingers through my hair.

I let her have that moment, but soon the gentle kiss proves not to be enough. So using what strength I have I reach up, place a hand on the back of her head, and pull her face down to mine, kissing her with passionate fervor.

When the kiss ends I fall back on to the pillows, a sudden wave of fatigue consuming me.

"Are you alright, Cloud?" asks Tifa, worry filling her voice.

"Yeah Tifa, I'm fine…just tired. How badly am I hurt?"

"You have at over a dozen superficial wounds all over your body. The only two serious…the ones that nearly killed you…are the ones inflicted to your stomach and back."

"Okay…when can I go home?"

She gets up from the bed, being very careful not to jostle me. She crosses the room and stands in front of the small window, staring out over the city.

"They said I could take you home when you woke up…I wanted you to recover there…that was before I saw how badly you were hurt…but now…after seeing you like this…I'm not so sure."

I sit up slowly, making the stitches on my back and abdomen stretch uncomfortably. Once the pain subsides I swing my legs off the bed and stand up. I walk over to Tifa carefully, leaning against the wall for support because of my injured leg. When Tifa realizes what I'm doing I can see a look of amazement cross her face, but she quickly looks back out the window to hide it.

"Tifa…I don't want to stay here…I know you're worried about me, but I don't want to be away from you any longer than I have to be."

She crosses her arms across her chest and leans back against the wall, her eyes still averted.

"I could stay here with you…Denzel and Marlene can stay with Barret…"

"Tifa, we can't do that to them. I want to start acting like a family…" I reach out and take one of her hand in mine and lay the other gently on her cheek. "I want to start acting like we're engaged…"

She finally looks at me and moves slightly closer to me.

"I just…don't want anything to happen, Cloud. If something goes wrong…"

"Nothing will go wrong; I'd never do that to you…"

I'm discharged a few hours later. Tifa had to drive the Fenrir back from Hollow Bastion, and since it's really the only form of transportation we have, she had to rush me to the hospital with it as well. She maneuvers it with exceptional grace seeing as she's only driven it a few times.

Once we're back at the bar I breathe a sigh of relief, I'm finally home. Everything is quiet; Denzel and Marlene are still with Barret and won't be back until sometime tomorrow.

Tifa takes me directly inside, not wanting to keep me on my bad leg for too long. She guides me too the stairs, supporting my weight most of the way and once at the top she steers me into her room.

"Tifa, why are we in here?"

"Because my bed is much softer than yours, it won't hurt your back as much."

I don't fight her as she helps me down onto the bed. She sits down next to me and stares at me for several minutes.

"What's wrong, Tifa?"

"I keep seeing you in that hospital bed…wondering if…when you were going to wake up…"

I lie back on the pillows and pull her with me. She curls her body against mine and lays her head on my chest, being very carful of the cuts there.

"I'm alright, Tifa…I'm alright."

"I know that…but it still scared me, I almost lost you…"

I kiss the top of her head and wrap an arm around her, but this simple contact isn't enough for her. Her lips soon find mine and she begins to wrap herself even tighter around me…maybe too tight…

"Tifa…you're hurting me…"

She ends the kiss abruptly and jumps away from me.

"I'm sorry, Cloud…"

I inch over to her and place a hand on her cheek.

"I didn't ask you to stop…"

I kiss her again as she runs her hand over my bandaged cheek and then my chest.

"You have a lot of recovering to do, Cloud. You should get some sleep…"

She gets up to leave, but I catch her wrist and she turns back, her expression somewhat perplexed.

"Stay with me, Tifa."

"What? She laughs lightly. "Are you afraid to be alone?"

"No…I just…don't want to be away from you. I feel like was haven't been together in so long…"

"Cloud, you were only gone two days…"

"But it felt like an eternity, love." (A/N)

She smiles and lays back and molds herself to my body once again, I wrap m arms around her and surrender myself to sleep.

Was it good? I think it was good, but that's just me and it is my own work. But what did you think? All you have to do is hit the review button.

(A/N): I want to address the "love" thing. I know for Cloud to address Tifa as "love" may seem a tad OOC, but I used it in the first Aftermath and I believe I also used it in Two Hearts, One Love. I think it's use adds a little bit more...humanity? to Cloud's character.