Huzzah! An update at long last! :D What's it been, two months or so? Anyways, I'm back with another chapter for this lovely story, I'm sure you all have been waiting for it! So without further ado, I present chapter 25! :)
(Sorry, I couldn't do any spellchecking for this chapter, so please bear through my errors! ^^;)
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~X[Chapter 25: Road To Recovery]X~
After spending a few nights in the recovery room at the hospital, Zack was allowed the privilage of recooperating at his own home. He was glad to be going back. Even if his wrist, head and chest throbbed with pain and still hurt to even move in a certain way, or even take too big of a breath. If he laid down too long he would get migraines, if he sat up for too long, his chest would start hurting, and that would upset the bruising in his abdominal region. It all sucked to say the least.
Since his motercycle was completely trashed in the accident, he couldn't ride it back home. Nor would he ever get to ride it again. He'd have to get a new one at the dealership, that was for sure. That, and a more practical car for his continuously growing family. Upon leaving the hospital, his wounds had been properly dressed. His head was bandaged up and he had a little neosporin dotted bandage on his left cheek. His broken wrist was in a small cast that started halfway down his palm, to halfway up his forearm. His chest was bandaged up under his clothes, as was his leg. He was also given intructions on what he could and could not do.
He was ordered to spend the first two days in bed so his less serious injuries could heal quicker. After that, he could get up and move around, but he couldn't lift or carry anything over twenty pounds. That meant picking his little boy up was out of the question, as much as it saddened him. He could not overexert himself, and he was given about a week off from work unless his injuries caused any hinderences in his work performance. If it did, he would be given another week off. While the time off work was nice, the reasons behind it weren't so nice.
Even walking back home was proving to be a challenge. His legs hadn't gone unscathed, but they weren't damaged too bad. His femur in his left leg had been sevierely bruised in multiple spots, so it caused the ravenette to walk with a pretty bad limp. Even though it was still August, the weather had mercy on his condition, and had brought about a light summer shower as he walked. It was only misting, but it was enough to give his battered body a break from the sun.
He was walking home alone to his home. He wanted to surprise his girlfriend and his son with his arrival back. He knew they'd be glad to see him back. Within minutes, he arrived in sector five, just a little ways away from his house. Since he was below the plate, he could no longer feel the misty rain, but there was a bit of fog down here, providing him with cool little beads of condensation floating through the air. He needed to get back home quick though, his wounds were starting to burn with how much he had been walking. Any longer and he might end up re-opening his wounds, regardless of the refreshing weather.
His bruised leg was nearly screaming in agony by the time that he reached his home. But the thought of seeing his family lessened the pain and brought a smile to his bandaged face. He continued to walk, and noticed that Aerith and Cloud were tending the flowers in the garden, gently watering the creamy yellows, oranges, and purples. They were going to be so surprised! He limp-walked a little faster, the smile on his face widening with every step he took.
He noticed Cloud faintly smile, before he left the garden, planning on going back inside for a bit. The blonde boy looked up from where he was walking for just a moment, then immidiatly stopped in his tracks when he saw what he saw. His face lit up in an instant and his bright blue eyes sparkled with elation.
"Daddy!" He cried, running at Zack as fast as he could.
The ravenette crouched down to the ground carefully, and held his arms out for his son. The blonde ran right into his father's welcoming arms and draped his little arms around his neck loosely.
"Daddy! You're back!" He happily cried, nuzzling his face into the crook of Zack's neck. "I missed you so much!" He added, his voice cracking ever so slightly, as if he was about to start crying tears of joy.
"Welcome home." The voice of Aerith spoke. The ravenette looked up from his son to see the girl he loved giving him a warm and heartfelt smile.
"Good to be back." He responded, standing back up to full height as he let Cloud go. The blonde whined, instantly reaching his hands back up to his father, wanting to be held.
"Sorry buddy, the doc told me I couldn't pick you up." Zack said, only being able to ruffle the wheat blonde hair beside him. He wished he could hold him, but that could result in further damage to his body.
"Come on baby, your father needs to recover a little bit more." Aerith said, holding out her hand for him to take.
Cloud left his father's side and took his mother's hand and he was gently led into the house, Zack following behind them. The house seemed more inviting since said ravenette had been absent. It felt almost as if everything in the house was warmly inviting him back. It was good to be back home. The pain in his femur returned and it caused him to wince slightly. He supposed he had done enough to it already.
"Zack, are you alright?" Aerith asked, her minty green eyes displaying concern as Cloud was ushered off to go play for a bit.
"Yeah, I just overworked myself walking back as all. I gotta get to bed. I'm supposed to be on bedrest for a couple of days." He explained.
"Well then, I suppose I'll have to help you out for those couple of days huh?" She mused with a playful little smile.
"Yeah, I guess so." Zack responded, giving her a soft chuckle back.
He turned on his heel and began to limp towards the stairs, he felt a warm hand slip into his and squeeze softly. He looked over to see Aerith beside him, smiling faintly. He couldn't resist the urge, so he leaned in and quickly pecked her on the lips, smiling as he pulled back. She blushed brightly, looking down at the floor as that blush spread across her face, bringing out the color in her cheeks, making them a rosey red.
"wh-What was that for?" She stammered softly, looking up at him with her eyes, even though her head was still looking down.
"Do I need a reason to kiss my girlfreind?" Zack asked, chuckling playfully when she blushed a little brighter.
When the two arrived at the first step of the staircase, the ravenette took the first step. Pain shot through his leg, up to his head and back down, causing both his legs to give out and make him crumple like a ragdoll to the floor.
"Zack! Are you alright?" Aerith quickly asked, falling to his crumpled form on the floor.
"Wow...That hurts." He said, sharply inhaling.
He must have really battered his body in that accident. Usually, Zack had a high tolerance to pain, and it really didn't effect him. So for him to be on the floor due to that pain, it must be bad. While trying to quell the pain in his leg, his sharp breathing then began to upset his broken ribs, which caused him to release a small choked grunt of pain.
"Oh, fuck this..." He grunted, squeezing his eyes shut tight. Yes, the pain had to be bad. He only cussed when in pain or extremely angered.
"Did they give you any painkillers?" Aerith quickly asked, gently pulling him into a sitting position to the best of her abilities. She let his slouched form rest against the wall by the stairs.
The ravenette shook his head no. "Nah, They said I could take some here." He replied.
His voice sounded strained. She knew he was fighting back the urdge to cry out. Her face fell, green eyes loosing their earlier sparkle. He was in so much pain, and there was nothing she could do to help him.
"Hey, don't worry yourself, I'll be fine. I'll just rest on the couch or something." Zack said, adding a bit of forced laughter. That only upset his chest more and he slumped further, curling himself up as he slouched.
There was loud knocking against the front door, echoing throughout the small house. "I'll get it!" Cloud cried from the living room. He quickly ran by to answer the door. He looked up, then smiled.
"Uncle Angeal! Hi!" He exclaimed. He was silent for a moment, before adding "Who'zat?" as he stood out of the way so Angeal and the other man could enter.
"Hello to you as well Cloud. This is Sephiroth, he's a good friend of mine and your father's." The black haired man introduced.
"Hello Cloud. We heard about the accident and deicded to come over." The silverette explained.
"Oh, thank goodness!" Aerith exclaimed as she hurried to the door, worry was brimming in her voice, even overflowing.
"Aerith, what's wrong?" Angeal asked, concern lacing his blue eyes dimly.
"It's Zack! He's in so much pain he collapsed by the stairs!" She stated, her voice shaking and quivering.
The two men futher entered the house, to find the younger ravenette collapsed in front of the stairs, just as Aerith had stated. He looked up from his spot on the floor. His face was barely twisted in discomfort. He was trying so hard not to show any signs of his pain. He barely lifted up his good hand and gave a small wave.
"Sup?" He asked, giving them a small smirk. He could do that at least.
Cloud's face scrunched in confusion and why everyone was in such a panic. But when he looked over to the stairs, his eyes widened.
"Daddy! Are you okay?" The blonde boy quickly asked as soon as he noticed his father's condition. He dashed over and sat beside him, eyes filled with as much worry as Aerith's.
"Don't worry buddy, I'll be fine." Zack shrugged off, fetching a soft smile for his son. Cloud sulked, but leaned in and gave his father a quick kiss on the cheek, as if that alone would make all of his pain go away.
"Can you two help me carry him to our room?" Aerith asked the two men, still standing off beside the doorframe.
"Of course." Angeal responded, making his way over to his former student.
Sephiroth just offered a silent nod, and followed beside his friend. "Constantly have to be the center of attention, don't you Puppy?" The silverette joked as him and Angeal hoisted the younger ravenette up from the floor.
"Oh yeah, you know it Seph'." Zack sarcastically retorted, rolling his eyes for emphasis.
"Cloud, could you be a dear and bring up some painkillers and a cup of water?" Aerith asked of the blonde.
"Uh, yeah!" He agreed, hurrying to the kitchen to get the requested things.
Aerith followed the three up the stairs, making sure to keep an eye on her boyfriend's condition. When the four made it into the master bedroom, the young ravenette was laid upon his side of the bed.
"Thank you both so much. I would have done it myself but..." Aerith thanked, then trailed off as she looked off to the side.
"It's alright, and we understand. You really can't do much when it comes to a one hundred and eighty pound puppy." The older ravenette said with a chuckle.
"Am I ever not going to be a puppy?" Zack asked with a chuckle, making sure it was a shallow one so it didn't cause him any more pain.
"Absolutely not." Sephiroth said, giving a rare little smirk from his usually cold face.
"Sorry we were introduced under such bad timing." The brunette girl spoke up, directing her apology to the silverette just a few feet away from her.
"It is quite alright." He responded, his tone cool and collected even in the present situation.
Zack sharply inhaled again, and exhaled in the same manner. The others turned to look at him.
"Ghh...Migraine..." He groaned, his hands raked through his hair carelessly as he covered his eyes with the palm of his hands.
He just couldn't seem to catch a break today. There was the patter of quick footsteps accending the staircase, and in moments, Cloud appeared with a bottle of painkillers, and a small cup, with cute little dinosaurs printed on it. He approached the bed and held up the items to his father.
"Here, Daddy. This is my favorite cup, but since you're feeling ikky, you can use it." He said, smiling faintly.
Zack removed his hands from his face and smiled at his son. "Thanks, you little sweetheart." He cooed, taking the bottle and the cup from his son delicately.
He uncapped the bottle and dumped two pills into the palm of his hand, he popped the painkillers into his mouth and washed it down with the offered water. Hopefully, they would kick in soon and leave him painfree for awhile.
"We stopped by at somewhat of a bad time, we'll come back to visit another day." Angeal spoke up, giving a farewell.
Sephiroth seconded the notion with a nod of his head and a quick wave. The two left the room, went down the stairs, then left the house entirely.
Aerith walked over to the window, and closed the miniblinds, then pulled a light brown curtian over the dimmed window, bringing a soothing darkness to the room that only a person suffering a migraine would find relaxing. The brunette also turned on a ceiling fan to low, cooling down the room and eminating a soft hum from above. She grabbed a small blanket draped over a chair, and rested it over the now drowsy ravenette, in which let out a drawled yawn.
Cloud stood by the bed, as if being some sort of protector to make sure his father would be safe and well. Zack's electric blue eyes lazily lolled over to his son and he smiled.
"C'mere." He said, holding out his arms.
The blonde boy fell into his grasp and he was tenderly hugged, then regardless of what the doctor had told him, he picked up his son anyway and nestled the boy down beside him, under the warm covers.
"Take a nap with me, Cloud." The ravenette said with a big grin as he cuddled close to his son, wrapping him up in his warm embrace.
The blonde loved every second of it and smiled brightly. The two dozed off like that, with Aerith smiling softly from beside them...