Cloud stood alone just inside the front door long after Tifa went up to bed. He stared down at the puddle of water that Tifa had been standing in several minutes before. So many different thoughts were buzzing through Cloud's mind. He found it amazing, that all the emotions he had numbed himself to over the past few months, had been reignited in a matter of days.

Water rolled off his clothes and dripped onto the growing puddle on the floor. He watched the droplets splash down, and smiled, thinking about all the people that had risen to his aide when he had thought he was alone in the world. Especially Aeris, Zack, Tifa, and the kids.

Cloud suddenly realized how long it had been since he'd had a good night's sleep in his bed. Guilt twisted his gut as he thought about how long he had left Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel alone. You can't make up for lost time... he reminded himself sadly. But Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel were all still alive. He gulped as he remembered Tifa's still form lying in the flowers, and how empty the house had seemed when the children were kidnapped.

But everything was okay now. There was nothing holding him back anymore. The notion sent shivers of pleasure and fear down Cloud's spine. He closed his eyes and traveled back in time, and remembered what it felt like to be close enough to Tifa to feel her breath on his face. Like Tifa said... Cloud thought, still staring at the floor. We can do things right this time... He wondered how it was possible to be so afraid and so happy at the same time.

Cloud shook his head, showering everything in the vicinity with rain water. I have to stop being afraid... he told himself. I know better than anyone that life doesn't give you time to be afraid... I have to stop holding back. He closed his eyes and saw Tifa, Marlene, and Denzel's faces, each of them so eager, so willing to love and be loved. And then, he saw himself walking out the door.

But that's all in the past now... he told himself firmly. I'm not going to leave them ever again... Cloud wondered what the future would hold. He knew that there were going to be a lot of good things to look forward to, and probably a lot of bad things to dread. He shook his head. But whether something good happens, or whether something bad happens, I want to be there for it all. I want to be there for them like they've been there for me.

He smiled to himself as he left the entranceway and ascended the stairs, adding to the trail of water that Tifa had made through the house. He stepped into his room and flicked on the light. The room was clean, the bed made, just as it always was when he came home. Everything was just as he left it.

Cloud stripped off his wet clothes quickly, hanging them on a chair to dry and pulling on some night clothes. He laid down slowly on his bed. Cloud laced his hands behind his head, feeling wide-awake. The moon cast a sliver of light on the space next to him on the bed, and he had a sudden vivid flash-back of Tifa laying next to him, asleep.

He let out a deep sigh and sat up. His room suddenly felt unbearably lonely. He got up off his bed and sat at his desk. It had been kept impeccably clean in his absence. His fingers brushed over the dust free surfaces and stopped at a picture frame. Cloud stared at the photograph for a long time. It was the last thing he had seen before slashing Sephiroth into oblivion. His fingers slowly traced over Tifa, Denzel, and Marlene's happy faces, and he felt overwhelmed with the need to see them.

Moving silently, Cloud left his room and flicked the lights off behind him. Even though the hallway was pitch black, he knew his way around like the back of his hand. He walked quietly across to the children's room, and slipped through the door.

A sliver of moonlight lit the room. The floor was covered with various toys, drawings, and knick-knacks. Cloud smiled and carefully placed a few of them neatly on the shelf. The room no longer looked like an orderly sickroom; it was fun, lively, and messy, just like Marlene and Denzel.

Cloud stood between their respective beds and looked down at them. The exhausting, yet exciting, day had obviously taken its toll on them. Both of them were sprawled over the bed, breathing deeply. Marlene had half her body dangling hap hazardously off the edge off the bed, blankets twisted atrociously. Cloud gently righted her, taking special care not to wake her up.

Denzel was a much less violent sleeper. He was so still when he slept, the rise and fall of his chest so slight, that it used to throw Cloud and Tifa into a panic when Denzel was in bed sick from Geostigma. Cloud remembered how Tifa would place her hands lightly on Denzel's back, just to make sure he was breathing.

But those days are over now... he told himself, smiling as Denzel made an incoherent noise in his sleep. Both Denzel and I are better now. He felt like laughing out loud at the thought. He managed to restrain himself, however, and gave the children one last glance before walking silently to the door.

Once out in the hallway, Cloud hesitated. He wondered if Tifa had fallen asleep already. Cloud walked over to her bedroom door and grasped the handle, gently turning it open and walking in.

Like the children's room, Tifa's room was bathed in moonlight. But it was much tidier than the kid's room and it had a feeling of something so mysterious, something so feminine, that Cloud always felt shy coming in. Every time he breathed in, it smelled like Tifa, and the walls and shelves were filled with her personal things.

Despite the strange shyness he always felt when entering Tifa's room, he walked over to her bed. Sound asleep... he thought, looking over Tifa's sleeping form. She was lying on her side, similar to the way she was when he found her unconscious in the church. It was hard for him to recall the plethora of feelings that had arose in him in that single moment: panic, fear, guilt... love.

He recalled that split moment of chilling terror in the church, when Tifa had let out a little breath and her head slumped to the side... and for a moment, he had been so sure that Tifa had died. Cloud watched her sleeping peacefully in her bed, and it was almost too much for him to bear. He had to clasp his hands together tightly to keep himself from picking her up, and shaking her awake.

She's just sleeping, you idiot, he scolded himself. He rested his chin on the edge of her bed, watching her, solemn faced. He frowned slightly as he noticed the wet condition of her pillow. He reached out to touch a single strand of raven hair that was strewn across it, and his frown deepened. She's drenched... he thought, exasperated.

His fingers brushed gently against her cheekbone, and granted, her skin was like ice. He wanted so bad to wake her up, and make her at least dry her hair, but he was afraid that she'd be angry. His eyes followed the length of the bed, and rested on the thick comforter folded near Tifa's feet.

Cloud wondered if she had gotten along all right without him being there to take care of her. Guilt stabbed as his heart as he pulled the comforter over her body and tucked around her shoulders. He gently lifted up her hair and pulled it to the side so the wet strands weren't sitting directly on her skin.

"Don't worry Tifa..." he whispered, pausing a moment to brush her bangs away from her face. "I'm here to take care of you now."

He let himself look at her peaceful face another moment longer before standing slowly and walking towards the door. He paused a minute in the doorway to crank up the thermostat before returning to his own room, and falling into a satisfying sleep.