Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Final Fantasy characters. They are the property of Square Soft and Square Enix. I do however own Kaira, any other character I create, and the storyline. Please don't steal this because I have worked very hard on it.~~…~~ denotes flashbacks, dreams, nightmares; '. . .' denotes thoughts; **. . . ** denotes scene changes; * denotes notes at the bottom

Author notes:

Chapter 6

**the next morning**

Rufus had made his way to his daughter's room. He really didn't sleep very well after hearing what had happened to Kaira when she was younger. When he reached the closed door to Kaira's room, Rufus just stared at the door for a few minutes. He then hesitated on knocking on the door. But he very carefully reached out and knocked on the closed door. Rufus wasn't the least bit surprised when he didn't get an answer at first.

"Reno. Kaira," he called through the closed door.

**inside the room**

Reno shifted on the bed as he pulled Kaira closer to him. He didn't want to wake up at that moment in time. He was very content just laying there holding the one person that meant the world to him.

Reno growled under his breath when he heard someone knocking on the closed door. He didn't make any move to answer the door. He hoped that whoever it was would just go away. He didn't get his wish when he heard the all too familiar sound of his boss's voice.

Reno released Kaira's sleeping form and got off the bed. He then walked over to the door and slowly opened it. He looked down at the wheelchair-bound Rufus and tried to smile.

"Good morning, sir," Reno said while trying to hide a yawn.

Rufus looked up at the one who had promised to protect his one and only daughter. He could tell that Reno was still tired.

"How is she doing, Reno?" he asked worriedly as he looked past Reno towards Kaira.

Reno looked over his shoulder at Kaira. He smiled softly as he remembered what she had said about getting Cloud's help. He then saw Kaira change positions on the bed. He smiled even more when he realized that she was awake and listening to their conversation. Reno then looked back at Rufus.

"She had mentioned something about us getting Cloud's help with all this," Reno said to his boss. "Isn't that right, Kaira?"

Kaira nearly fell off the bed when she heard Reno's question. She carefully rolled over and looked at both Reno and her father. She gave them a small smile.

"That's right," she said with a slight nod.

Rufus wheeled past Reno and over to the bed. He smiled at Kaira.

"So, sweetheart, what is Cloud's phone number?" he asked her.

"It's 555-5689," Kaira whispered quietly. "That is the number to his delivery service."

Rufus nodded his head as he continued to look at Kaira with a troubled look. He had noticed that she had beads of sweat forming on her forehead. He could also tell that she was shaking slightly.

"Are you okay, Kaira?" he asked her worriedly.

Kaira looked up at both Reno and her father with a weak smile. She slowly got off the bed but fell to the floor and landed on her knees instead.

"It's come back," she barely got out as a really bad coughing fit hit her sick body.

Reno was immediately at Kaira's side. He pulled her to him and nearly dropped her in the process because she was so hot. He then looked back up at Rufus.

"She's burning up, sir," Reno said near tears. He gently and very carefully picked Kaira up off the floor. Reno then sat on the bed as he cradled Kaira in his arms. He then looked back at Rufus. "What is wrong with her?" he asked worriedly.

"Her sickness has come back," Rufus said quietly.

Rufus just looked at his daughter in Reno's arms. He couldn't believe how sick she was all of a sudden. He wasn't about to lose her now that he had Kaira back in his life.

"Go make the call to Cloud, Reno. I will stay here with Kaira," Rufus said quietly.

Reno looked down at the sickly girl in his arms. He stood up and turned towards the bed. He went to lay Kaira down on the bed but stopped. He then turned and headed towards the door.

"I'll take Kai with me," he said as he walked out of the room.

Rufus smiled to himself as he followed Reno out of the room. He was able to see the protectiveness in Reno's eyes. He quickly caught up to Reno.

"Just don't forget to call Cloud at the number Kaira gave us," he said as he wheeled past Reno.

Reno nodded his head as he walked back to his room. He knew that he had to call Cloud. He then decided to take Kaira to the common area instead. Once in the common area, Reno walked over to the small couch and sat down with Kaira in his lap. He smiled as he felt her get as close to his chest as she possibly could. When Kaira had finally settled down, Reno pulled out his phone and dialed the number that Kaira had given them.

Reno was surprised when he heard Tifa's voice on the other end. He then proceeded to tell Tifa that Rufus needed to see Cloud. When he was done talking, he hung up the phone and looked back down at Kaira. Reno set his phone on the table beside the couch. He then started to gently run his hand through Kaira's hair.

"I should have stopped Hojo," he whispered in her ear. "This is all my fault."

Kaira slowly opened her mismatched eyes and looked up at Reno. She let a small smile play across her blanched lips. She weakly brought a hand up to Reno's cheek and gently ran her nimble fingers across it.

"There was nothing you could have done, Reno. Even if you would have gotten me away from Hojo, he would have killed you and taken me back," Kaira said just above a weak whisper.

Reno looked down at Kaira and smiled as best as he could. He once again gently ran his hand through her hair. He then leaned against the back of the couch as he held Kaira as tight as he could without squeezing her.

"I promise to never let anything happen to you again," he whispered in her ear.

Kaira smiled as she buried her sweat-trodden face into Reno's shoulder. She knew what he said was true. She cuddled as close to Reno as she possibly could. She never wanted to leave his arms again. Kaira had drifted off to sleep in Reno's arms.

"Thank you, Reno," she whispered in her sleep.

Reno smiled down at the girl in his arms. He couldn't believe that he was getting away with dating his boss's daughter. He just sat there and held Kaira close to him while they waited for Cloud to show up.

Just as Reno and Kaira were relaxing in the common area, his phone rang. He quickly answered it in hopes that it was Cloud calling to say that he was on his way but it wasn't. He nearly dropped Kaira when he heard the unknown voice on the other end. Rufus and Rude came into the common area at that moment. Reno looked over at them just as he was told to put the president on. He then set Kaira on the couch beside him and walked over to Rufus and handed the phone to him and then went back to the couch where Kaira was at just as she woke up. He pulled her back into his lap as she looked up at him.

"Who's dad talking to?" she asked him in a weak tone.

"The one who almost raped you a couple of years ago," he whispered in her ear.

Kaira pulled back from Reno and stared into his eyes as she felt the tears well up in hers. She quickly buried her face in Reno's shirt and cried to the point of crying herself to sleep as she whispered, "Kadaj."

When Rufus was done talking on the phone, he handed it back to Reno. Reno quickly dialed the number for Cloud's delivery service once more. Once again he heard Tifa's voice on the other end. He then told her to have Cloud come by Healin as soon as he could. When he was done talking to Tifa, he hung his phone up once again and looked back down at Kaira still asleep in his arms. Rufus and Rude left Kaira and Reno alone until Cloud could get there.

Reno smiled even more as he felt Kaira shift into a better position against his chest. Once Kaira had stopped moving, he tightened his grip on her so that she wouldn't fall off his lap. He then laid his head back against the couch and closed his eyes so that he could get a little bit of sleep before Cloud showed up.

"He's coming back," she whispered quietly in her sleep so that Reno couldn't hear her. "Big brother is coming back for us all."