Chapter 11: I'm Back
Author's Note: Me again! One more chapter after this one! Thank all of you guys soooo much! It really means a lot to me. Okay, here we go…
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Cloud opened his eyes, and squinted as the light burned into them. Wait… what light? Had something happened? Was he not sent back? But then he saw Aeris's face appear over him, and he recognized the hospital room.
"I'm back…" He whispered. "Aeris… Aeris, I saw the Promised Land…"
Tifa leaned over him too. "Cloud, what are you talking about? You had to have emergency surgery."
"I did see the Promised Land. Her mother was there. She said Aeris and I will be happy together. The light was so bright, and it was so peaceful there…" Cloud said.
"All patients that have had Anesthesia have wild stories." Raine walked in, and checked Cloud's IV. She gave him a wink. He furrowed his brows at her; she didn't seem to understand. "No, I'm telling you…"
"I believe him." Aeris said, and they all turned to her. "If Cloud says that's what happened, then that's what happened."
He gave her a smile.
She smiled back.
"What is Anesthesia, anyway?" Cloud asked.
"Something new and ground breaking. Raine thought you'd be an ideal candidate." Tifa told him.
"I bet." He said.
"Is it okay if I have a word alone with Cloud?" Tifa asked.
Aeris got to her feet. "Okay. I'll wait outside."
"It'll only be a minute," Tifa promised.
Aeris gave Cloud's shoulders a squeeze before leaving the room.
Cloud clasped his hands on his stomach, and looked at her.
"Well, here we are." Tifa said.
"Tifa, are you going to give me another lecture?"
"Look, I just want---just promise you won't scare us again, okay? I was scared. I was so scared…"
Cloud saw unshed tears in Tifa's eyes. He could only ever remember her crying once, that night under the Highwind when he told her he wasn't in love with her.
"I… I don't…"
Cloud reached out and grabbed Tifa's hand. "Things are okay now." He said, "I promise. Don't worry about me."
"I guess I'll leave the worrying to Aeris now." She said with a smile. She sighed, "I should be going, anyway."
"Hot date?" Cloud joked.
"Actually, yeah." Tifa said, and as those words were spoken, a spunky red head stepped inside the room.
"Reno?" Cloud shouted, and then grinned.
"What's wrong with Reno?" Tifa asked.
"Yeah, what's wrong with Reno?" Reno repeated.
"Just… show her the time of her life." Cloud said.
Tifa grinned, and Reno wrapped an arm around her shoulders, with a salute. "See ya."
"See you at home." Tifa called over her shoulder. "Barrett's watching the kids."
They exited the room, and Aeris poked her head back in.
He beckoned her forward, and she snuggled up next to him on the bed. "You'll be okay now, won't you?" She asked, twirling little circles on his chest with her finger.
"Yeah. I'm… I'm not alone as long as you're with me."
She kissed his cheek. "What's going to happen now?"
"What do you mean?"
"Well, we'll go back to Tifa's, and then what?"
"What else do you want to happen?"
She was silent a minute, and then, "Summer is always a beautiful time for a wedding." She smiled.
Cloud looked down at her. "You want to get married?"
"Well, you can't say that we don't know each other… that we don't love each other…"
"No, it's just… a hospital room isn't the place for me to propose to you. It should be… more than this."
Aeris rested her chin on his chest and stared into his eyes. "It doesn't matter where, my answer is going to be the same."
"I don't even have a ring…"
"I have you, don't I?" She whispered.
He took her hand. "You're right. Stand up on the bed."
She giggled, and wobbling a little, stood on Cloud's bed, as he took both of her hands in his own. "Aeris Gainsborough, I can't say all that it's my heart, because you create new feelings that I can't even describe. I felt like I was asleep until you came into my life and woke me. It's the best feeling I've felt, and I will devote every waking minute to make you the happiest you've ever been. Would you marry me?"
A tear splashed onto Cloud's hand as Aeris whispered, "Yes."