There is one thing in this chapter you people might not like. You'll see.
***
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"Elena..."
"WHY?!" Elena thumped the desk in front of her with her fist, causing a painful looking throb to spring up. "Did you think you could just cruise along, as if it never happened?"
Reno looked at the floor, trying his best to keep a calm front. "Elena, it meant nothing..."
Elena made a noise that almost sounded like a laugh. "Reno, that just makes it worse..." Tears now began to form. "WHY CAN'T YOU UNDERSTAND THAT MAKES IT WORSE?!"
Zell came out of the other office. "Mama..."
Elena glared at Zell. "CAN'T YOU SEE I'M BUSY?!" Zell's bottom lip quivered, and he ran back into the office. Elena sighed and rubbed her eyes. "I'm gonna take care of him. We'll talk later."
As Elena walked into the office, Reno stared out of the high-story window. He loved his wife, and his son. He admitted it to no one but him or her, however. If Yuffie thought she could just waltz in and destroy his family life, she had another thing coming. He smirked and got out his PHS, his plan slowly forming in his mind.
***
Cloud stirred slightly in his sleep, his mind again filled with thoughts of danger, mainly from his inexplicable fear for the safety of his wife, his future daughter, and, of course, his son. He was dreaming, but his hand unconsciously gripped the bed sheets. "Cloud... I'm coming for you..." The voice was a familiar one, brutal and cold at the same time.
Sephiroth.
Cloud stood in the void, looking at his surroundings. "Wha...? Tifa? Alex?" He clenched his fists.
"Hello, Cloud." Sephiroth's drawl of a voice broke the void. "So nice to see you again."
Cloud growled. "What do you want from me, Sephiroth?"
Sephiroth smirked. "That's a nice wife you got there, Cloud."
Cloud's eyes widened, and fear rose in his stomach. "TIFA?!"
"Oh, yes... Let's bring her in, shall we?"
Sephiroth reached back, and flung Tifa in, causing her to land on her knees. "Cloud, help me..." She said pathetically.
Cloud ran forward. "TIFA!" As his hand reached out for Tifa's, however, an unseen force knocked him back. "NO!"
Sephiroth flung a smug glance at Cloud as he drew out his sword. "Take one last look at her, Cloud."
Cloud began to desperately fling himself at the unseen force. "SEPHIROTH, STOP!" He then began to scream as Sephiroth stabbed Tifa, his blade going in, and then out. In, then out. Cloud watched the blade every time, before Tifa slumped to the floor.
Sephiroth then looked at Cloud again with his uncaring eyes. "This is just the beginning, Cloud." An evil smile then crept on his lips. "I'll get you, your wife, and that little brat of yours."
*********************
Cloud yelled so loudly that he must have woken up the entire house. He looked at his surroundings. He was in his bedroom, and Tifa was lying next to him. He rubbed his eyes with relief. "It was just a dream..."
Tifa stirred. "Cloud?" Her voice sounded full of gravel.
Cloud noticed that. "You okay, Tifa?"
Tifa looked at Cloud. Her face was white. "I don't feel well Cloud, and I don't mean that I'm sick. Something doesn't seem right."
"What do you mean?"
Tifa started to breath heavily. "M-m-m-my stomach, Cloud... I don't like this..."
"That's where Sephiroth stabbed her in my dream..."
"I'm gonna get you, your wife, and that little brat of yours..."
"What? Does it hurt?"
Tifa pulled away the covers and winced, clutching her stomach. "Yes, Cloud... Oh God... Please, please..."
Cloud leapt out of bed. "Tifa, just relax. I'll run you a bath."
"Get you, Cloud..."
Cloud grabbed at his hair as he turned the taps. "It can't be..."
"Your wife..."
"It's gotta be a coincidence..."
"And that little brat of yours..."
Cloud's eyes widened. "What's that son of a bitch gonna do to Alex...?" He cancelled out this thought immediately. "It's not true." He told himself. "Alex is safe as long as I'm around."
Cloud walked back into the bedroom he and Tifa shared. "You feeling okay Tif--- Oh my God..." Cloud began to shake. Tifa was now sitting up, cowering against the headrest of the bed. Her face was covered in sweat, and the sheets...
Blood.
There was blood all over the sheets.
"Cloud... Oh my God, no..."
***************
The PHS rang loudly, waking up the Rocket Town couple.
"Who the hell is that? It's one o'clock in the morning!" Cid growled, fumbling for the light switch.
Shera rubbed her eyes. "Oy..." She pulled on a robe and began to walk downstairs, only realizing that it must be an emergency when she reached the actual PHS. She picked it up, and pressed the 'receive' button, her drowsiness not getting in the way. "Shera."
"Shera? It's Cloud." The other voice at the end clearly wasn't calm.
"Cloud?" Any remaining drowsiness now disappeared. "What's wrong?"
"It's Tifa, she doesn't feel well. She's said that she doesn't feel sick, just like something's wrong... She's been bleeding a lot..."
"She's miscarrying, Cloud..." Shera almost said. "Has she been having cramps all day?"
"Yeah, she's been saying that."
Shera paused, unable to tell Cloud the truth. "Cloud, I'm afraid that she's beyond help..."
"What do you mean?"
"...Cloud, she's having a miscarriage. This means that the baby didn't survive beyond three months. I'm sorry. All you can do is make her comfortable. Cloud?"
Cloud, of course, knew exactly what a miscarriage was, and had dropped the PHS as soon as the word had left Shera's mouth. "No..." Images of what his daughter might have looked like flooded in his mind. Images of a blonde girl with shiny blue eyes and an optimistic attitude slowly shattered, being replaced with Alex. "Alex..."
********
"I'm sorry, Tifa..."
"It's not your fault, Cloud." Tifa sat in the hot bath, her eyes completely glazed over. There was still a little mingle of blood in the water. "These things happen, and no-one knows why."
"I know why, darling; Sephiroth stabbed you in the stomach. He's going after Alex next, and there's not a thing we can do about it because we don't know when he'll strike. We are screwed. Screwed big time."
"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..." Cloud grabbed one of Tifa's hands, which were cold in spite of the hot bath. "We'll make it through this, I promise."
"I know we will, Cloud..."
******
Yuffie was in the garden of her home with her daughter when it happened, an innocent enough tapping on her front door. She was greeted by a large man in a posh suit. "Yuffie Kisaragi?" He asked.
"Yes?"
The man forced himself in and showed Yuffie a contract. "I am here on behalf of Reno and Elena Turk, madam. It's about your daughter."
Yuffie looked at the man with wonder. "Rikku? What about her?"
The man leaned forward. "Reno wants custody of your little girl. Full custody."
Yuffie laughed. "You've gotta be kidding! He didn't want anything to do with her!"
The man's expression remained firm. "This is no joke, Miss Kisaragi. I'll have you know that Mr. Turk has full rights to your daughter. You, after all, failed to even tell him you had a daughter before he formed his business."
Yuffie's smile fell. "Well, that had nothing to do with..."
"Not only that, but Reno claims that you have been committing extortion by threatening to go to the press with this news, which clearly shows you don't think of the child's well-being."
"You can't be serious!"
The man adjusted his glasses. "Not only that, but you don't have a job. How do we know that you've got everything required to raise a young child without any steady income?"
Yuffie finally snapped and punched the man in the stomach. "You and that rat bastard stay the fuck away from us!"
The man just smiled and staggered out. As soon as the door slammed behind him, he grinned and got out his PHS. "Yeah boss." He told the man on the other end. "I got it all. We're set."
******
"Come on, Tifa, you have to eat something..." Cloud stared at Tifa, who wasn't even touching the breakfast Cloud had prepared for her.
Tifa took the fork in between two fingers and gave the meal a couple of pokes before throwing the fork on the table and sobbing. "It's not fair, Cloud... What did I do wrong? WHAT?!"
Cloud got up and walked over to Tifa, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You didn't do anything, Tif. These things just happen. It's not your fault."
Tifa then leapt up. "BUT WHY TO ME, CLOUD?!"
Cloud then backed away slightly. "Tif, come on..."
Tifa began to shriek. "WHY? WHY? WHY? WHY??" She then burst into tears and fell on her knees, her voice becoming weak and pathetic. "It's...just not fair..."
Cloud then bent down and wrapped his arms around her. "I know it's not..." He then helped her up, never removing his arms. She then began to cry into his shoulder, saying 'It's not fair' over and over. Cloud began to pat her on the back. "I know, I know..." It barely dawned on him just how similar this situation was to when he had first discovered Tifa was pregnant. Cloud gulped, his voice wavering ever so slightly. "We'll make it, Tifa... I promise..."
****
Sorry about this angsty chapter, and believe me, it isn't going to get any better. Please r & r.