A/N: This is my last update for a while, I felt bad for leaving you with a cliff hanger so I'm working through the night to publish this for you people. Please R&R I would very much appreciate it! Thank you, and I'll see you in six months with the next chapter! Love you all! Enjoy the story!

Late Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters featured in this fan fiction, which is purely fan-based. Any Characters I do make up you are free to steal though! Thank you!

Warning: If there are any spelling errors, be nice and forgive me...I am quite drunk. OH and this fic will/has become quite lemony!

Redemption

Chapter 13

Silence

7th Heaven

Previously

"Whose gonna make me pay?" Tifa spit blood onto the floor. He kicked her side knocking her down to her hands and knees. Tifa sobbed. I'm not strong enough to save my family once again! He flipped her on her back and took his knife and ran it over her belly, letting it draw blood. "There's nothing you can do. Your just a weak little girl. A scared little girl." He grinned. "Cry little girl! CRY!" Tifa couldn't hold back her tears and continued to sob. "Not so high and mighty anymore are we?" Bill licked his lips and began pulling her shorts off. Tifa grabbed onto her shorts, trying to keep them on. He punched her in the face, causing her to bleed from the back of her scalp. "Don't try to stop me." Tifa released her shorts and he pulled them off. Tifa turned her back away from her family and held herself. "No one knows! NO one will save you!" Bill reached down and ripped her underwear off of her and stood up straight, laughing hysterically.

7th Heaven

Tifa covered her body as best as she could. She held herself tightly. This is it, finally it! She closed her eyes. She heard a door open and some footsteps. Bill's laughter ceased. Tifa opened one eye and looked. Is that? she looked at the man who was standing in front of her. Her jaw dropped. "Cloud?" The blonde haired man grabbed Bill by the throat and tossed him to the ground.

"You disgust me." Cloud looked behind him at the five foot soldiers who were charging at him. The ex-soldier reached behind him and pulled his sword from its sheath. He swung it with such great force that it knocked all of the five men out of the air. The men frightened, stood up and ran away. Bill stood up and shook his fist.

"Where do you assholes think your going?" Sam stopped before closing the door.

"Sorry boss, we are way out of this guys league. You'd have to be a fool to try and fight him." he turned his back and fled. Cloud frowned at Bill and turned around and walked over to Yuffie and cut her binds. Yuffie wiggled free.

"Take care of the others." Yuffie smiled.

"Thanks Cloud!" Tifa watched Bill as he brushed himself off while Cloud checked Denzel's vital signs. Bill frowned and walked toward the door. Cloud grunted.

"Don't come anywhere near here again." Bill grew red in the face.

"I'll teach you to take me lightly!" Bill reached into his pocket and threw a star. It hit Tifa in the back and she fell forward. Cloud stood up but before he could get one, Bill threw a smoke screen and was able to get away. Cloud coughed and blinked until the screen lifted. Cloud's eyes were blurred from the smoke. Tifa. The smoke cleared and her could see Tifa's naked bloody form face down in the ground. He rushed to her side. Cloud ran upstairs and grabbed a sheet.

"You carry Denzel." he nodded at Yuffie as he wrapped Tifa up in the sheet. Marlene put her hand on Yuffie's back. Yuffie looked down on the little girl. She clutched Sky to her chest.

"Yuffie are Tifa, Sky and Denzel going to be okay?" Yuffie smiled

"they should all be fine, but were gonna take them to the doctor's office just o make sure okay?" The little ran to the door and slipped her shoes on. "Ready to go Cloud?" the blonde man nodded.

The Hospital

The Next Morning

Tifa awoke from her slumber, her head was pounding. She lifted her hand to her forehead and felt a bandage there. She opened her eyes only to see Cloud sleeping across the room in a chair. What happened? I don't remember. She looked over all the cuts and bandages all over her body. The brunette pulled off the sticky pads on her heart monitor and all the cords that had been injected into her arm. She sat up on the edge of her bed. I remember now, that Bill! He attacked me and my family. I wasn't strong enough to save them. He was about to...when Cloud saved me. Why don't I remember anything else after that? A nurse came running into her room.

"Ma'am are you alright? We were monitoring your heart and it just stopped!" Tifa looked up. "Can I have you lay back down please, your in no condition to be moving around." Tifa noticed Cloud had awoken. She laid back down and let the nurse put all the sticky cords back on her again. "Please don't tear this one out again. It's replenishing your blood source, you did lose a lot of blood." Tifa nodded. The nurse grumbled something under her breath and left. Cloud stood up and moved over to her bedside.

"Are you alright?" Tifa looked away. Cloud frowned. "Why didn't you tell me how bad they were harassing you?" Tifa's tears began to roll down her cheeks. Yuffie walked into the room.

"Because it was a matter of pride. She didn't want you to come home because of that! She wanted you to come home for her." Cloud looked away. Yuffie looked outside of the room. "It's alright kids you can see your mom now." Two children emerged from the doorway. Both ran over and embraced Tifa. Tifa sat up and held the children silently. Denzel released and looked over at Cloud. He grabbed his left arm, which was now in a cast. He lunged at Cloud.

"It's all your FAULT!" he began slamming his casted arm into Cloud's chest. Cloud sat silently and took the beating. Yuffie ran over and grabbed Denzel.

"Denzel! I know your angry, but don't beat on him!" Denzel stuck his tongue out and sat down in the furthest corner of the room from Cloud. Marlene looked up at him.

"How come you left us Cloud?" Cloud looked away. Yuffie patted her back and handed her a handful of Gil.

"Why don't you guys get something to eat out of the vending machines?" The children grinned, took the Gil and left. Yuffie looked over at the rather gloomy couple. "I'll leave you two, I'm gonna check on the-..." Tifa looked worried and grabbed the ninja's wrist. "Don't worry! Last time I checked he was stabilized and doing fine. He's just taking a nap right now. If anything happens I'll let you know!" Tifa smiled and looked down, letting her wrist go. Yuffie waived and left the room, closing the door tightly behind her. Cloud looked over at Tifa, a few minutes of silence spread over the room, until Cloud finally spoke.

"Who are you so worried about?" Tifa's fake smile turned into a real frown. Cloud scowled. "I brought you a change of clothing, when the nurses say it's okay you can change into them. He handed her, her clothing. She took them and sat them on her lap.

"Did you resolve your issues?" her voice was hoarse and forced. Cloud nodded.

"No I just came home so that you could talk to me about what you've been dying to talk to me about." Tifa looked straight ahead instead of at him.

"So your just going to leave again." she sighed. "What does it matter if I tell you or not. You wont stay anyways. It wont change anything." a tear rolled down her cheek. Cloud grabbed his chest as though she had stabbed him. " I may not be able to protect my family as well as you do, But I can get stronger, I will get stronger, I have to, because you wont protect us!" Cloud stood up. "Your probably thinking I don't have to deal with this, I'll just leave." Cloud twitched. Tifa hit it dead on. "Well guess what! It is your problem. You may not acknowledge Denzel as your son, even though you adopted him too. You always leaving us! ALWAYS! Are we not a real enough family for you?" Tifa grunted as she struggled to stand nose to nose with him. She slapped him across the face. "Leave if you must but don't come back. I'm tired of explaining why you take off to the children. I can't raise him myself! The Bar, the house, Three children! I can't do it all by myself, and Yuffie will have to leave soon!" she realized what she said and slapped her hand over her mouth. Cloud twitched.

"Three...?" Tifa turned away and sat down on the bed. "Just forget you heard anything and leave, that will make it easier to explain later." Cloud's hand reached out to touch her shoulder but for some reason she appeared to be untouchable. A knock came from the door. Tifa sighed. "Come in." Yuffie walked in with a sobbing bundle in her arms.

"Tifa no one can get him to quite down! Please do something about it!" Tifa took the baby. Yuffie left and closed the door. Tifa held the child in her arms an investigated all the cuts and bruises on Sky's arms legs and head.

"I'm sorry." the baby continued to sob as she rocked it back and forth in her arms. "If your just going to run away, just do it!" tears streamed down her face. Cloud tried to get a glimpse of what the child looked like without making it obvious. He couldn't see anything. Tifa looked over at him. "Aren't you going to leave?" Cloud stood up and tifa looked away. I can't stand to watch him leave again. She felt two hands reach for the child in her arms. She let go and let him take the boy. "Are just going to leave! Just going to continue your searching?" Cloud smiled when the baby grabbed his finger.

"I think...I've found what I was looking for." Tifa looked at him.

"What would that be?" Cloud sat down next to her on the bed.

"Happiness, I suppose." Tifa rested her head on his shoulder. He kissed the top of her head. "Must have been hard, I'm sorry. Sis it hurt?" Tifa laughed.

"More than anything I could have imagined. But, It was a good pain." Cloud looked down on the bruised boy.

"He looks a lot like you, except the eyes." Cloud scanned the boy. "What's his name?" Tifa grinned.

"Honestly I think he looks just like you, save the hair. But then again it might grow to be all spiky and unruly just like yours!" She put her hand over her mouth. "His name...I wanted to name him a name similar to yours, I was thinking Cumulus, Zephyr, and others...I ended up picking Sky." Cloud grinned.

"Sounds like a hippie name."

"So does yours!" The door busted open and Yuffie stood in the doorway panting. "Yuffie what's wrong?" Tifa stood up and walked to her side. Yuffie regained her breath.

"The Kids, Marlene, Denzel! They are gone! I can't find them anywhere!"

End Chapter 13

Thanks for reading! This story is not yet complete, I will be back to finish it as soon as possible, so just hold tight! I promise it will be finished! Please R&R. Wish me luck.

-Kannami

"Brain Slugs are people too, vote YES on proclamation 99!"