Author's Note – Sorry for leaving that HORRIBLE cliffhanger in the last chapter. But you'll forgive me after you read this one.

Warning – This chapter contains sexual content.

Disclaimer – Haven't posted one in awhile. Cloud Strife and other characters and locations from Final Fantasy VII and all its extended stories are the property of Square-Enix. Although I wish I could, I make no monetary profit. :o(

Chapter 14 – With Each Breath

I could hear voices, but I wasn't sure if it was real or if it was just a dream. It had to be a dream because I couldn't open my eyes. They felt like they were glued shut.

"Get his mouth open!"

"How?"

"I don't know, just do it! He's gotta drink this or he'll bleed to death!"

I felt so hot…Why was it so hot? And why couldn't I breathe?

Something touched my face, forcing my mouth open. Then a hot liquid sloshed down my throat. I gagged and coughed, suddenly feeling an intense pain in my chest and left side. I moaned from the throbbing pain. The liquid was poured down my throat again. I tried to swallow it and coughed again.

"Shit! The one on this side of his chest is bleeding like a river. Keep your hand down on it real hard. Don't let up on the pressure."

"He's not breathing right."

"Bullet probably hit his lung. Just keep pressure on that one and make sure he doesn't move around. I gotta get us out of here."

I was pretty sure it was Reno and Tifa. They both sounded alittle panicked. I wanted to know what was going on?

What was Reno doing with Tifa anyway? Was he trying to steal my other girl now? I clenched my teeth and struggled. I couldn't move and I couldn't open my eyes. All I could do was moan and gasp for air.

Then I remembered it was just a dream and I stopped struggling.

"There's three in his chest, two in his left arm and two in his left thigh." Sounded like Vincent.

"I'm surprised he was still breathing when I got there. The bastard's lucky." Was that Reno again? He sighed heavily and still sounded panicked.

"It's okay, Reno. You did the best you could. The rest is up to him now."

"I said I want to see him, Rude."

"He's not awake, Tifa."

"I just want…"

I heard some sounds of struggling.

"Oh my Gods…"

"We had to take the bullets out. The ones in his chest were lodged pretty deep in his rib cage. And there was one in his lung."

"Why are those wounds still open like that?"

"The Hi-potion has to work from the inside out. It takes a few days and several applications."

There were all kinds of sounds around me. Bleeping and hissing. The sounds of machines.

Something soft brushed against my forehead.

"Please hang in there, Cloud." She pressed another soft kiss on me.

I wanted to move my head, to increase the gentle pressure of her lips.

Was I still dreaming?

"Can he hear us?"

"I don't think so."

"How long is he going to sleep?"

"As long as he needs."

I recognized the voices. Aeris and Rude.

SOLDIERs are like monsters.

Mercenaries, Cloud. That's what you an' me are gonna be.

We're friends, right?

I woke with a start and sat up, immediately pressing a hand to the painful pressure on my chest.

Zack again.

When was I ever going to get over the guilt? Even if I had been able to stand with him last year to fight the Shinra army…I probably would have died that day, too. And maybe I should have.

Who would have defeated Sephiroth twice after that, Cloud?

My eyes came up and wandered around the room. Where was I?

There was an IV attached to my right hand, administering clear fluid into my veins. I also noticed I was hooked up to a heart monitor. Right beside it was some kind of breathing machine, but the mask was resting on a hook against the side of it. It wasn't turned on.

I was in some kind of medical ward, which immediately brought back bad memories of being in Professor Hojo's custody. Pain…tears…despair. I cradled my head in my hands. I'd give anything to forget it.

Suck it up like a real man, Cloud.

Everything suddenly came back to me. The Forgotten Capital, the trucks chasing me and Tifa, Fenrir exploding at the bottom of a chasm. I had taken a few hits from some shotgun shells.

I pushed aside the sheet and opened the white medical shirt to look at my chest. I could see three healing scars. There were two more on my left arm. Someone must have used a healing potion on me. So if I wasn't dead, then what was I doing here?

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and got up. Then I remembered I was still hooked up to an IV. I turned the valve to shut off the flow and held my breath as I pulled the needle out of the back of my hand. "Fuck…" It stung like hell. I reached for some kleenex and pressed it against the bleeding puncture before looking around.

Where were my clothes? All I had on were white scrubs.

Sunlight poured into the room from a large window. I walked over to it and looked out, immediately recognizing the surrounding hills. This was Healin. I was a little relieved to know I wasn't in some hospital with people I didn't know taking care of me.

I walked to the door and pulled it open. As I stepped out into the corridor in my bare feet, I saw Aeris sitting on a couch, flipping through a magazine.

She lifted her face and her eyes lit up when she saw me. "Cloud." She immediately got up and rushed over to hug me. "You're okay."

I grunted in pain and she quickly released me. "Aeris, what're you doing here?"

"It's my turn to keep watch. We've all been taking turns."

"Keeping watch on what?"

"Until you woke up."

"How long have I been out?"

"Just a couple days…four to be exact."

FOUR days?!! Man, I'd never get those back. "Why was I out so long?"

"It took them awhile to get all the bullets out. And…and then they had to keep resuscitating you. You're lucky to be alive."

I frowned and shrugged. "I've cheated death too many times to count. One more isn't going to make a difference."

"Reno told me I had to close the tavern. It's for my own protection."

"Whatta you mean? Protection from what?"

"I took Denzel to the dentist the other day. When we got back, I found the front door broken. I think they came looking for you."

"I'm sorry, Aeris." I hated to see her dragged into this mess.

"It's not your fault, Cloud."

"Yeah, it's all Shinra's fault. He obviously pissed off the wrong people."

"Rufus has actually been pretty nice lately. He set up one of the apartments here at Healin for me, Denzel, Marlene…and you."

Just like the perfect family…without Reno. Maybe a couple weeks ago I would have been fine with it. Now it seemed like a clock missing a critical piece. Tifa.

"Where's Tifa?" I asked.

"Tifa?" Why did she seem surprised that I'd ask about her? "She's with Rufus."

"I need to see her."

"She's all right, Cloud. She's safe here, so you don't have to worry about protecting her any longer."

Was she trying to tell me I couldn't even see Tifa? "Where're my clothes? I need to get out of here."

"You can't leave the medical ward just yet."

"Why not?"

"You have one more Hi-potion session. Rude should be here in another hour to administer it."

"Rude? You're joking."

"He's done a pretty good job so far. Don't you agree?"

I started walking back to the room I woke up in, but looked briefly over my shoulder. "He better be here soon cuz I don't plan to stay long." I was feeling hot again so I tore off the white shirt and tossed it on the floor.

"I'll let the others know you're awake," she called out after me.

Where the hell was Rude? Aeris said he'd be here an hour ago. What could he be doing that was more important than giving me my last Hi-potion treatment so I could get the hell out of this infirmary.

I hated anything to do with hospitals or medical wards. I hated the disinfected smell of them…

There was a light knock on the door.

I hopped off the bed. "It's about fucking time, Rude…"

The door opened but it wasn't Rude.

"Cloud!" It was Tifa. She ran up and threw her arms around me.

I hugged her tightly, not caring that my chest and my left arm were on fire. She was crying. I could feel her tears on my bare shoulder. "Hey, it's okay."

She drew back a little and traced her fingers over the three scars on my chest. "I didn't think you were going to make it. You lost so much blood."

I loved feeling her hands on my chest. I reached up and wiped at her tears with my thumbs and pushed her chin up. "I'm okay." I kissed her cheek and she tilted her head to kiss my mouth. There was a bit of desperation in that kiss. Had I really almost died?

"I'm so scared, Cloud," she whispered against my lips.

"Why? You're safe here."

"I don't feel safe anywhere except with you."

I pulled away and took her hand to lead her to the window. I stood behind her and pointed. "See there…and there…and there? Those are Shinra guards. They're surrounding this place, hundreds of them. No one will ever get through." I slid my arms around her shoulders from behind.

She placed her hands on my forearms. "All I care about is that you're here."

I bent to her ear. "Yes, I'm right here." I kissed the side of her neck in different places. Gods, she always smelled so good. I ran my tongue along her neck and up behind her ear.

"Mmm…"

I loved making her moan. "You like that?"

Tifa opened my arms and took my hands, pressing them over her breasts. "I like this even better."

This was one of the reasons I loved this girl. She wasn't afraid to tell me what she wanted. As I squeezed her perfect melons, she leaned back into me and I nibbled on her ear. "What else, Tifa?" I asked, hoping she'd let me do more.

"Touch me everywhere."

"Where?" I slid my right hand down to her bare midriff and caressed her skin. "Here?"

"Lower."

"Here?" I asked in a deeper voice.

She giggled and I smiled against the side of her neck, loving the sound of it.

I moved my hand down inside the front of her khaki pants. Luckily they were pretty loose and I had plenty of room. I felt along the hem of her panties, tracing my fingers over the stitched day of the week. Hmm, felt like Saturday. My fingers drifted further down to the crease between her legs. "How about here?"

"Perfect."

Not perfect enough for me, though. I slid my fingers inside her panties and touched her bare flesh. Now it was perfect.

She let out a soft moan and pulled her legs further apart as she turned her face toward me.

As I brought my lips to hers and kissed her slowly, she opened her mouth with another moan. I stroked her tongue with mine, matching the movement of my fingers. I visualized and memorized every little detail as I touched her lightly. My pecker was getting hard and I was pretty sure she could feel it pressing against her butt.

She must have been reading my mind. Her hand came back between us and she started massaging me through the white scrubs. Holy Ramah…she was wet and I was rock hard.

I groaned against her mouth and rubbed circles around her, pressing a little harder with my fingers, moving a little faster. My hips moved on their own, seeking more contact with her hand. I wanted her to squeeze harder and she did. I slid my fingers further down and slowly entered her opening.

If it wasn't for the sound of heavy footsteps approaching the door, I would have flipped her around and sat her on the window ledge so I could go down on her.

This was the second time we were interrupted mere seconds before either of us could reach completion. It was getting on my last nerve.

Tifa and I pulled apart just as Rude pushed the door open. I turned to face the window because I needed to quickly deflate my erection.

"Oh, you're up," said Rude.

Yeah, in more ways than one, I thought to myself. I looked at Tifa and she was trying not to laugh.

"I need you on the bed, Strife," he said, not aware of what had been going on between me and Tifa only seconds ago.

"I'm not that kind of guy, Rude…not on the first date."

He didn't look amused.

Well, that did the trick. His stoic expression behind his stupid dark sunglasses helped get rid of my hard on. I went to the bed and hopped up on it.

As he pulled several vials of Hi-potion out of a leather bag, he glanced toward Tifa. "You'll have to leave, Miss Tifa."

I reclined on the bed. "It's okay. She can stay."

"Suit yourself. Take off those pants."

I slid the white scrubs off, leaving me in white boxers. That's when I noticed I had two scars on my left thigh. Damn, they shot me up good. As he started treating the scars with the Hi-potion, I turned my head to look at Tifa.

She crossed her arms over her chest and smiled.

I reached up and rubbed my fingers over my nostrils, pretending to be scratching my nose when in fact I was getting a little whiff of Tifa No. 5. As I smiled back, her smile faded and her cheeks turned bright red when she realized what I was doing. Damn… I pulled my hand away because her scent was giving me another stiffy. My head shot back to face Rude. "Hey, watch what you're doing, man!" The big jerk off was poking my nuts with his elbow.

Tifa spit out a laugh and headed for the door. "I'll see you later, Cloud."

Why did Rude always wear sunglasses? What was he hiding behind them? "Touch me again like that and I'll shove your sunglasses down your throat."

After Rude was done violating me in every way possible, I found my way to my temporary quarters. It wasn't bad. A two-story apartment with a kitchen, den and a half bath on the first floor and three bedrooms and a full bathroom on the second floor. I never realized Healin had such luxurious habitats.

They had moved my things from home and I dressed in clean jeans and a sweatshirt. My chest and left arm still ached a little, but I knew it would soon pass.

I found Marlene and Denzel in the den, watching cartoons on TV.

When I sat down between them, Marlene came up and cuddled against my chest like she always did back home. "I missed you, Cloud. You were gone so long."

I bent to place a kiss on the top of her head and she hugged me tighter. It was a good thing Marlene didn't know the truth about what happened to me or she would have cried for days on end.

Denzel must have felt left out because he came and hugged me from the other side. Except I didn't kiss him, I rubbed my hand over his mop of hair, messing it more than it already was.

Damn, I really loved these little rugrats sometimes.

"Did you buy a present, Cloud?" Marlene asked.

"Hm? A present for what?"

She looked up at me like I was dense. "For Tifa."

"For Tifa?" I was still confused.

Denzel chimed in. "Uncle Rufus said we're having a birthday party for Tifa right after dinner."

Birthday party for Tifa? Was it May third already? Dammit, I forgot I lost four days of my life. I needed to go out and get something for Tifa. But what?

Wait a minute…Uncle Rufus? Since when did Shinra become Uncle Rufus?

I got up from the couch and went into the kitchen where Aeris was sitting at the table drinking a cup of coffee and reading the newspaper. "Hi, Cloud," she said without looking up.

"Who the hell told Marlene and Denzel to call Shinra Uncle Rufus?" I sat in the chair at the head of the table, which was where I usually sat back home.

She put the paper down and looked up at me. "Well, I had to say something. I couldn't tell them we left home because the bad guys wanted to hurt us. I told them Rufus was your cousin and he invited us to stay with him for a little while."

"My cousin?" I groaned.

"Yes. You're both blonde. It makes perfect sense."

In my sick head I was thinking about Tifa…and if me and Shinra were cousins, then that meant Tifa and I were too. "Dammit, Aeris, why'd you have to tell them we're related?"

"Rufus thought it was a good idea. Why're you so against?"

Because I didn't want Tifa to be my cousin, that's what I was thinking in my head, while something else came out of my mouth. "Because it gives me the willies. I don't wanna be related to that jerk."

Aeris smiled. "Oh, Cloud. Rufus is actually not so bad. I got a chance to really talk to him and he's very sweet and kind and generous."

I gave her a suspicious look, wondering if she was going to try to make a move on Shinra now. Whatever happened to Reno? Did she get tired of him already? I got up and started to walk out.

"Oh, I forgot…" she said.

I stopped and turned back to her.

"I talked to Rufus a little while ago and he asked if Tifa could stay here with us. She's staying with him in his apartment, but there's never anyone there for her to talk to."

Stay here with us? What an excellent idea…I was envisioning having Tifa curled up in my nice queen-sized bed upstairs every night. "Yeah, that sounds great."

"My bed's big enough for both me and her," Aeris went on to say. "So she can sleep in my room."

Well, so much for my vision. "Whatever." I walked out of the kitchen.

I had never wandered through Healin before and found quite a few amenities, including a billiard room with six tables and a fully-stocked bar, a well-stocked arcade, a well-equipped gym, a full-sized indoor swimming pool and lots and lots of apartments. It was really like a complete community.

The Shinra guards that didn't have their own families were staying in Healin, so there seemed to always be people walking around the halls. They obviously knew me because I was getting smiles or head nods.

I found who I was looking for in the billiard room, sitting at the bar, having a drink. I must have caught him early because he didn't look crocked yet.

"Hey, Cloud, how's life treating you?" Reno drawled as I sat down in the barstool next to him.

"Can't complain." I flagged down the bartender. "Beer."

"You're actually gonna drink here with me?" Reno asked in surprise.

I waited for my beer and took a swig from the bottle before turning to Reno. "Okay, look, I know I've been a real pain in the ass lately…"

"Hm…that's an understatement."

Why did he have to spoil my mood? "Are you gonna shut up and listen?"

"Yeah, yeah, go ahead."

Why did I find it so hard to say what I needed to say to him? Because a year ago we were enemies trying to kill each other. Because he stole Aeris from me. Well, I really didn't care about that anymore. "I heard what you did, Reno. You saved my life." I turned to him. "Thanks, man."

Reno made a funny face. "Don't go getting all soft on me, Spike. You're not my type."

I took another swig from my beer. "So now that we got that bullshit out of the way, I need a favor."

Reno rolled his eyes. "I knew there was a catch."

"No catch. I just need you to take me somewhere in the chopper."

"Where?"

"I have to get Tifa a birthday present."

He looked at his half finished glass of 'something' on the rocks. "Yeah, sure, I guess I have to cart you around since you lost your ride."

"Don't remind me." I frowned and took another long gulp from the bottle. The last thing I wanted to be thinking about right now was the loss of my motorcycle.

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