His dream came back to him with full force. What had he done? Oh God, what had he done to Tifa? Was she pregnant with his child? Was that the light he saw when he climaxed? What did his dream mean? Why would Sephiroth want his child?
Then he realized why . . . he was infected with more than just Geostigma. He also carried Jenova's genes and he had just passed those genes on to his baby and in doing so had put Tifa in terrible danger.
But Sephiroth is dead. He knew it because he had killed him. He watched that fuck die in front of him. He relaxed a bit. His dream was nothing but a nightmare.
But Tifa. He looked at her face again and saw that she was still in the grips of her own nightmare. Her face and body now contorted with some battle he could not help her win. Her breathing had become labored and quick. Her breasts rose and fell and her fists clenched into tight balls at her side.
"Tifa . . . Tifa wake up," he called to her softly. He kissed her cheek and whispered into her ear.
"Tifa, wake up," he shook her shoulders gently.
Tifa heard Cloud calling her name from deep in her dream. She turned towards his voice. It calmed her and gave her a direction out of her nightmare. She surfaced slowly, feeling the warmth of his body pressed against her. She opened her eyes with a start to see him looking at her with a concerned expression on her face.
She gasped as she came fully out of her dream state and sat bolt upright in bed. Her head swam as the blood drained from it and she fell back into Cloud's arms.
"It's ok. Lay still for a bit" he whispered to her.
"I had a bad dream" she murmured.
"So did I," he said.
She turned to look at him and they both burst into laughter.
"Bad dreams after great sex. Hmm, I wonder what that means," he said.
"What's this?" Tifa had become aware of the soft red glow in the room.
Cloud looked down at her and saw what she was referring to.
"I think . . . " his voice trailed off. He didn't know what to say.
She looked down at her own body, exposed to the night, and ran her hand over her belly. The glowing light faded under her hand as she passed it over the source.
"What does this mean, Cloud?" her voice trembled as she asked the question. He could hear the confusion and fear in her voice.
"Its ok, Tifa. Whatever it means, I will be here for you and we will go through it together. I will never let anything hurt you or our child."
"What?"
"I'm sorry Tifa. It seems everything I touch, everyone I love, ends up getting hurt."
She could hear the pain and anguish in his voice and her heart broke to hear it. She turned towards him and snuggled closer, her head nestled into the base of his neck.
She was pregnant. With Cloud's baby, she was pregnant. The realization sunk in and it made her feel warm.
"I am finally with the man I have loved all my life and wake to find myself carrying his child." She looked up at his face and smiled.
"What's there to be sorry about?" she whispered.
Cloud smiled back at her and brushed her hair away from her face. He kissed her gently on the lips and held her closer to him, keeping her warm. He pulled the sheet back over their bodies.
They drifted off into a gentle, dreamless sleep.
Several hours later, Cloud was awoken again, this time by footfalls on the stairs outside their room. Cloud sat up and retrieved his pants and shirt from the floor and was fully dressed by the time Reno and Rude walked through the door.
They stood in the doorway silhouetted by the light in the hall. Cloud stood next to the bed where a sleeping Tifa lay.
Reno cocked his head to one side to see the prone body that lay in the bed behind Cloud with a smirk on his face.
"Busy?" he asked with that infuriating tone in his voice.
Rude looked over at his buddy with a pained expression on his face.
Cloud was glad of the dark in the room. He did not want Reno and Rude to see him blush. He moved in front of Tifa, blocking Reno's view.
"What did you find?"
At the sound of Cloud's voice, Tifa stirred again and sat up in bed. The sheet fell from her body as she sat, exposing her breasts. Cloud heard her move and glanced behind him. She realized they were not alone in the room and quickly covered herself again as she swung her feet over the far edge of the bed. She pulled her top and g-string back on, not caring that the two by the door were getting a free show.
"Man, what a nice ass," drawled Reno, his smirk getting wider as he caught sight of Tifa.
"Shut up, you fuck," snarled Cloud stepping towards him.
"Take it easy," said Rude trying to defuse the situation. "We have some news for you."
"Did you find Marlene?" Tifa asked, pulling on her skirt. She really didn't care if they saw her now. She had to know what happened to Marlene.
Rude and Reno glanced at each other as Tifa turned to them. They had seen the glow.
"There were witnesses who saw Kadj's gang rounding up all the children from the ghetto. You know, the infected ones." Reno said this with a note of disgust that rankled Cloud and Tifa.
"Where did they take them?"
"To the Forgotten Capital. Its their hide out," Rude replied.
"We have to get them back Cloud. They have Marlene as well," said Tifa moving towards the chair to retrieve her shoes and leather shirt.
"Wait downstairs," Cloud growled at Reno and Rude.
"Hmm, don't be too long kiddies," Reno chuckled. He and Rude turned and walked back down the stairs.
Cloud closed the door and caught Tifa as she rushed past him.
"I want you to wait here. Wait here with them. They will protect you," he said.
Tifa stopped in her tracks. She couldn't believe what she was hearing. How could she wait here while Marlene was in the hands of those bastards?
"What? Why?"
"Tifa, I don't want you to come with me. I can't do this unless I know you are safe and far away from Kadj," he said, holding on to her arm so she couldn't move away from him.
"Come sit down here. I need to talk with you."
"We don't have time to talk now Cloud. They have Marlene," Tifa's voice trembled as she spoke. She didn't understand what Cloud was saying to her. She had never stayed behind when there was a fight and this fight was too important to miss.
Cloud pulled Tifa back to the bed and sat her down next to him.
"Listen to me. I know why you belly is glowing." He ran his hand over her stomach.
"Why? I don't understand, Cloud," Tifa was getting nervous at Cloud's tone and expression. She looked at him and saw fear there for the first time.
"What is it, my love?" Tifa asked.
"Tifa, you know that I carry Jenova's genes." He spoke softly and slowly as he held her hand.
She looked into his face and said nothing. Tears welled up in her eyes as the realization hit her. Their baby was infected with Jenova's genes. He didn't have to finish his sentence. She knew what he was going to say.
He watched her as the realization of what he had just said spread across her face. He saw her shoulders slump and tears fall down her cheek. This is how Sephiroth was created. His Mother was given a draught containing Jenova's genes and was raped. The child she bore became a monster that almost ended life on her planet.
Suddenly the dream she had came back to her with a rush. She was in labor, strapped to a cold metal table, unable to move. The memory of it made her shudder.
Cloud also remembered his dream. He heard Sephiroth's words again in his mind.
"You can have her back when I am done with her. I just want the child."