Deceptive
For: G.M. Potter
Plot: Tifa gets sick, and Cloud takes care of her
Summary: Of course he's going to take care of her when she's sick! Wait…

It was quiet in the local Seventh Heaven Bar. Usually on Saturday evenings it contained a rather healthy number of customers, but tonight the 'Closed' sign was hanging from the front door. It turned many dejected customers away. It was indeed a solemn day.

However for one man happening upon the door and the 'Closed' sign, instead of turning away with the other men, he pulled a key from his pocket and unlocked the door. Tip toeing inside, Cloud held a white, paper bag in his teeth, and large grocery bags were stacked in his arms. He kicked the door shut behind him, and flipped the lights on with his elbow.

Tifa Lockhart had fallen ill, not seriously ill he believed, but ill enough to render her workless pretty much for the past week. She appeared to be suffering from a stomach virus, and had gone to the doctor today after several morning bouts of sickness, and exhaustion. It hadn't helped that Seventh Heaven had held their yearly annual Rebel Party the night before (In honor of AVALANCHE and those who had opposed ShinRa). Despite his protests Tifa had carried on with the party and worn herself out the night before. It hadn't been exactly a promising start for the day that the first thing he woke up to this morning was Tifa puking up the remains of her late night snack.

It truly was a solemn day at Seventh Heaven.

After dropping the kids off with Barret, Cloud had headed to the local pharmacy, picking up some medicine recommended by the pharmacist for upset stomachs. He had initially gone there to pick up the prescription the doctor would obviously give Tifa, but apparently stomach viruses just had to go their due course. From there Cloud had gone to get Tifa soup, orange juice, and crackers. Obviously solids weren't the best thing for Tifa at the moment, and soup made any sickness better, right? So Cloud dutifully picked those up along with a carton of peanut butter ice cream and a pack of cookies for when she recovered. He knew that once Tifa could eat without fear of throwing it all up, she would eat and eat happily.

Cloud set about to putting the stuff away, before taking a glass of water and some of the medicine upstairs to the bedroom. Tifa was sprawled across the bed, a trashcan sitting beside of it. She was swallowed in her robe, and one of his t-shirts.

He sat down on the edge of the bed, feeling her forehead for a fever.

She cracked an eye, "What?"

He took his hand away, and put the medicine and water on the nightstand.

"…medicine for your stomach," he mumbled.

She gave a tired smile, sitting up, "My stomach's fine right now. It's great, actually, I'm just tired."

"You need to rest," he said with a smug look despite her suffering.

She gave him a withering look, "Oh I know what you're thinking, Cloud Strife. Go on, say it. Say 'I told you so.' I dare you."

He shrugged, smirking slightly, and she hit him on the back of the head with a pillow.

She sighed, "You need rest too," she pulled on his shoulder.

He sighed, scooting up on the bed beside of her, resting against the pillow and headboard. She leaned over, snuggling beneath his arm and resting her head on his shoulder. He complied silently, taking a sip of her water and they sat in silence.

He thought she had fallen asleep, and was about to get up when she cleared her throat and mumbled something.

"Hmm?" he asked, almost finished with her water.

"I said I went to the doctor's today."

He grunted, "Yeah…pharmacist said there wasn't much you could do for a stomach virus," he tilted his head back, finishing off the water and putting the glass on the nightstand.

"Well…uh…"

His mouth formed a grim line, staring at the empty glass. That was rude of him to drink her water, but she hadn't even taken the medicine. Sure, she wasn't feeling ill now but who knew when she might start upchucking?

"It isn't a stomach virus…"

"Hmm," he needed to check on those missed deliveries. Not to mention the fact that tomorrow he'd have to do inventory for the bar if Tifa was still ill. That would suck.

"But I did find out what it is…causing my spells…"

"Hmm," and Fenrir had been acting up lately…he had been skipping when he accelerated after just starting him up. He'd have to take a look at him, or get Cid or someone to. Gaia knows the mechanics around here didn't have a clue what they were doing, let alone anywhere near reasonably priced.

She shifted a little beneath his arm, "…So…uh…gee…I don't know how to say this."

"Hmm," What about Barret? Maybe he would know something about mechanics…Vincent maybe would know something.

She sighed; there were obvious times when Cloud wasn't listening.

"I'm pregnant," 5…4…3…2…1

"Hmm," and if Tifa was still sick after the weekend, he'd need to devise a schedule to take the kids to school-...wait...

"What?!"

A/N: Soo...I'm pretty sure this wasn't what you were expecting...but...hee...I liked it. You can assume that they are married or w/e...but I kind of wanted it to be a surprise for you guys as much as Cloud. Yesh, she's pregnant, she was counting down Cloud's reaction in her head XD. Sparky: It's fine, I don't expect everything I write to be everyone's cup of tea. I'm just glad you told me why. The only reason Tifa apologized was because it still wasn't her decision, and despite what she said, it's his decision; I guess I could've explained that better, but thanks for the criticism. I completely understand where you're coming from. Hey, if I feared criticism I wouldn't post anything, so no biggie. I'll put yours on the list too. Thanks for the reviews everyone!