A day later, Cloud stood outside the door to the Seventh Heaven withhis arm covered by a long sleeve. He had it worked out in his head how he was going to tell Tifa. Just tell her about the Geostigma...it's not that hard. But still he didn't open the door. He touched his arm gingerly. It didn't hurt with the same searing pain as the first night, but the combination of the dull ache, and the knowledge that he had an incurable disease, left him with a hollow feeling inside.

Okay...this is it...he thought, resting his hand on the doorknob. He took a deep breath before opening the door. Three heads jerked in his direction as he stepped into the bar area. Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene were the only ones there; they were eating an early lunch. Marlene and Denzel were running in his direction, but Tifa was ahead of them.

He began to say hello, but before he could get the words out, Tifa slapped her palm against his chest, scowling fiercely. He took an unsure step backwards, but before he could utter an apology, she wrapped her arms around him tightly in a hug.

"Tifa?" he asked, warily returning her embrace.

"You idiot," she whispered into his neck, her voice sounding more hurt than angry. "Leaving in the middle of the night after you were acting so strangely..."

"I'm sorry Tifa..." he muttered, resting his head on top of hers.

She ducked her head into his shoulder.

"I thought something was seriously wrong..." she said, her voice tiny.

Tifa...Cloud thought, breathing in her comforting scent. Something is seriously wrong... But he couldn't bring himself to say it. Not yet...he told himself. Later, I'll tell her later. They pulled back from each other, and the children swarmed in on Cloud.

"Cloud!" Marlene sang, arms around his middle. "We made another cake and this time we didn't ruin it!"

Denzel tugged on Cloud's sleeve. He adjusted it hastily.

"Guess what Cloud?" he said eagerly. "Tifa says if I feel better tomorrow, she'll take me and Marlene to the park!"

Cloud smiled at them, carefully hiding the tension in his face.

"A cake, huh?" he said to Marlene. "And the park?"

They nodded vigorously.

"Sounds good to me!" he told them.

"Come taste our cake!" Marlene urged. "It's perfect! And I made it!"

She tugged at his hand. Denzel scowled at her and pulled his other hand.

"I helped make it Cloud!" he said, giving Marlene a look. "She barely did anything."

He looked to Tifa helplessly as they both tugged him in opposite directioins. She gave him her first smile since he returned.

"Alright, alright..." she said, gently pulling the kids off him. "You both helped equally. Give Cloud some room to breath, I'm sure he'd love to taste your cake."

They both smiled in a care-free way and skipped back to the table to finish their lunch. Tifa gave Cloud an exasperated look and he scratched his head.

"Is this cake going to contain half a bag of sugar?" he asked cautiously.

Tifa smiled and led him to the table.

"Honestly?" she asked. "I have no idea what's in that cake. I didn't make it, remember?"

Cloud looked at the lumpy cake nervously. Marlene and Denzel gave him eager smiles. Tifa was trying to hide her laughter. She handed him a fork.

"Take a bite Cloud!" Denzel said happily.

Marlene pushed the cake closer. "It's delicious! Take a bite!"

"Yea, Cloud!" Tifa said, muffling her giggles. "Take a bite!"

She laughed as he gave her a playful frown. Slowly he scooped some cake onto his fork. They leaned forward eagerly. He took a bite. His taste buds exploded as soon as it touched his tongue. He forced himself to swallow. Marlene and Denzel's faces gleamed with expectation. Tifa had her mouth covered, shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter.

"Well?" Marlene asked.

Denzel carefully tried to evaluate Cloud's facial expression. "How is it?"

Cloud choked back a gag.

"Delicious..." he said, before stealing Marlene's milk and chugging it down. "Can I ask what's in it?"

Marlene and Denzel exchanged secret smiles.

"Our secret ingredient..." Denzel said mysteriously.

Cloud narrowed his eyes. "And that would be?"

Marlene smiled sweetly. Cloud started to feel nervous. Tifa's smile faded slightly.

"What did you put in it?" Cloud asked them flatly.

"Nothing special..." she said slyly. "We just added one of the bottles that Tifa keeps on the top shelf behind the bar."

This time it was Cloud's turn to laugh loudly. Tifa's face was priceless. Marlene and Denzel laughed along too, not really knowing exactly why they were laughing. Finally, even Tifa joined. I'll tell her tomorrow...he thought, enjoying the happiness on her face. No reason to ruin a perfectly good moment...

Late that night...

For a minute, Cloud wasn't sure where he was. Then slowly, he recognized the scenery around him. He was on the streets of Midgar, at night...but somehow the scenery was eerier...more frightening. Cloud turned his head to the right, and then to his left, and found himself looking at Tifa. There was something strangely familiar about this scenario but he couldn't put his finger on it.

"What's going on Tifa?" he asked her.

She turned and smiled at him.

"We're going on a walk, remember Cloud?" she said cheerfully.

"Right." Cloud said, feeling strangely afraid. "A walk."

They walked forward several more feet when Cloud felt Tifa stop.

"What's wrong?" he asked curiously.

"My hand, Cloud..." she said, wincing. "You're hurting me!"

He looked down at his hand and saw it squeezing Tifa's so tightly his knuckles were white, the bluish black marks of Geostigma showing up clearly in the streetlight. He panicked when he found he couldn't unclench his fist. He grabbed it with his other hand, trying to pry his fingers off Tifa's, but his grip was hard as steel.

"I can't Tifa! It won't let go!" he shouted fearfully.

Tifa began crying and trying to pull her hand away from his. Cloud clawed at his own hand desperately, Tifa's cries cutting through him.

"Let go of me Cloud..." she cried, tears spilling over her cheeks.

"I'm trying Tifa!" he said desperately. "I'm trying!"

Then suddenly, Tifa's cries turned to screaming. Cloud screamed too, when he saw why. Bluish black marks were snaking up Tifa's arm.

"Let go, Cloud!" she screamed, the Geostigma beginning to cover her shoulders.

Cloud began ripping at his own hand, doing anything to get it off of her. She sank to the ground and Cloud saw that her bare legs were covered in the marks too.

"You're killing me Cloud..." she said weakly. "Why can't you just let go?"

Cloud screamed as the marks began covering her face and Tifa fell into a heap on the ground.

"Tifa!" he shouted, rolling out of bed with a thump. "Tifa!"

The door swung open and Tifa ran in.

"Cloud!" she said, rushing to his side fearfully. "What's wrong?"

Cloud's eyes were wild with fear as reached out to push her hair off her face, searching frantically for the the dark stains of Geostigma. He didn't see any. Slowly his heart slowed as he looked over her pajama-clad, Geostigma-free body. He cupped her face in his hands gently. Cloud noticed that he was on the floor in his bedroom, tangled in his covers, next to his bed. Tifa placed her hands over his, her face still fearful.

"A nightmare?" Cloud asked her, the aftermath of his dream still haunting him.

Tifa nodded and hugged him, stroking his hair tenderly. He breathed heavily into her shoulder.

"Just a nightmare Cloud..." she whispered comfortingly. "Everythings fine. I'm here, okay?"

It's not okay...Cloud thought desperately, his arms wrapping around her back and pulling her closer. Nothing's okay... But he didn't pull away from Tifa. He let her hold him, gently rubbing his shaking back, and giving him the comfort he had been longing for ever since he found the marks on his arm. Cloud let himself be soothed by Tifa's soft touch, and hated himself for it. You're going to die and leave her alone...he told himself. Why are you letting her be close to you?

He lifted up, to tell Tifa that she should go back to bed and leave him, but the words died in his throat when her brown eyes met his and she placed a soft hand against his face. When she asked him if he wanted her to stay with him until he fell asleep, he couldn't bring himself to say no.

I'm not ready to let go of you...Cloud thought, his head next to Tifa's on his pillow. Guilty pain stabbed at his heart as soon as this thought crossed his mind. He pressed his lips to her forehead, arms clutching her to him. I'm not ready...

The early-morning light crept through the window, penatrating Cloud's eye-lids and causing him to burry his face in his pillow. He opened his eyes blearily when his face brushed against soft skin. His eyes met Tifa's peaceful, slumbering face. Smilng groggily, he reached out to touch her cheek.

A sudden image of bluish black marks staining Tifa's beautiful face caused his to draw his hand back as though it had been burned. He sat up in bed, rubbing his face, trying to get rid of the mental image. His left arm ached as he did so. Cloud turned his gaze back to Tifa, who was stirring. Idiot...he thought, metally berrating himself. Why didn't you tell her last night...instead of letting her sleep in your bed with you?

But as Tifa sleepily opened her eyes, Cloud felt some of his self-anger slip away.

"Cloud..." Tifa said, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"It's okay Tifa." he said quietly, unable to stop himself from looking her face over for the marks.

She took one look at his haunted eyes and shifted slightly, placing her hand on his arm.

"Are you alright Cloud?" she asked anxiously. "You scared me last night."

No...he answered mentally, remembering the way Tifa had cried and screamed in his dream.

"I'm fine Tifa..." he lied, trying to smile reassuringly.

She lowered her eyes.

"You know Cloud..." she began quietly. "I'm here if you ever need to talk about it."

Cloud closed his eyes painfully. He felt Tifa kiss his cheek and get out of the bed. He opened his eyes and watched her leave the room, a dull ache in his chest. I'm going to tell Tifa soon...he vowed weakly. I've got to accept that she's going to move on with her life...without me.