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Chapter 2

"So how was your trip?" asked Aerith.

Tifa shrugged. "Oh, fine…Pretty boring, actually."

Aerith's eyes narrowed. "You're not telling me something," she stated.

"What are you talking about?" Tifa averted her gaze, suddenly engrossed with her nails.

"Tifa, you've never been good at lying. What are you not telling me? And where did you get those bruises?"

Tifa swallowed hard. She couldn't tell Aerith, she couldn't…It wasn't allowed…

VVVVV

"You did what?"

"Aerith, please, you can't tell anyone!" Tifa begged.

Aerith Gainsborough folded her arms. "How could you keep something like this from me? How long has this been going on?"

Tifa lowered her eyes, ashamed. Aerith sighed and said in a slightly softer voice, "All right. I won't tell. Obviously if you're doing something like this, you must know what you're doing."

Tifa sagged with relief. "Thank you," she said. She hadn't expected Aerith to take it so well. After all, it wasn't every day that you're best friend confesses that she's working in an underground gang.

"But you're coming with me to the hospital for a check-up," said Aerith.

"What?" Tifa recoiled. "No way!"

"Tifa, for all you know you could be pregnant or have some disease," Aerith said, exasperated.

"I'm not going," Tifa said firmly. "And if it's of any consolation, I started my period three hours ago."

Aerith did not look consoled. "Fine. If you don't want to go, then at least let me check you over myself."

"Okay."

"Good. Now strip."

Tifa grinned slyly at her best friend. "Feeling a little kinky today, hmm?" she said, sitting down on her bed.

Aerith rolled her emerald green eyes as Tifa undressed down to her bra and panties. "What am I going to do with you?" she sighed softly, staring at the bruises covering Tifa's skin. The inner parts of her thighs were by far the worst. Aerith could clearly see the circular bruises made by fingers on them, as well as on her upper arms.

"Oh, Tifa." Her eyes filled with tears as she leaned down to hug her. "It must have been awful."

Tifa just shrugged. "Aerith composed herself and moved away. Her long, slender fingers began probing Tifa's arms, then her legs, stomach, shoulders, and back, the latter of which bore a series of nasty scratches and scrapes. To those she applied a tan, semi-transparent cream to prevent infection, then small bandages.

"There," she said. "Other than the obvious, you seem fine."

"Thanks, Nurse," Tifa smiled. Aerith worked as a nurse part-time at the nearby hospital, and also as a florist. She had a large love of flowers, and Tifa made a mental note to pick her up some the next time Aerith went to the hospital for work.

She threw on a black tank top and a pair of pajama shorts while Aerith went downstairs to make dinner. For awhile she just sat on the edge of her bed, gazing out the window.

"By the way," Aerith called up the stairs. "I phoned the bar and told them you were sick. You go back tomorrow."

Tifa grinned. A night free of drunken fights, gropings, and raucous noise was just what she needed. "I love you!" she yelled back. She loved the 7th Heaven, but a break was great every once in awhile.

After an absolutely delicious dinner of spaghetti (Aerith was a superb cook), Aerith and Tifa curled up on the couch with a large bowl of popcorn. Aerith had reluctantly agreed to watch one of Tifa's many horror films. She clutched a pillow tightly to her chest while Tifa leaned forward with rapt attention, uttering little squeals and covering her eyes much to Tifa's amusement.

"I'm going to have nightmares," Aerith complained as they walked up the stairs to bed.

Tifa snorted. "Oh, relax. Night, roomie." They hugged, then went off to their bedrooms. And that's when Tifa had her own nightmares. She lay awake shivering after each one, afraid to close her eyes. Cruel faces, groping fingers, leering, grotesque smiles. Over and over she relived the memories until she finally curled up into a ball and sank into an exhausted sleep far beyond the terrible visions.

VVVVV

"Tifa, I'm off to the hospital!"

She barely heard the words through her groggy haze. "All right," she croaked. "Have a good day."

"You, too. I'll be back around three."

Dimly Tifa heard Aerith's light footsteps recede. Tifa swore Aerith walked on what she called "fairy feet." Not only were the extraordinarily tiny, but they hardly made any noise no matter what surface they stepped upon.

With a heavy sigh Tifa got out of bed, staggering from the head rush that greeted her, and pulled on a pair of blue skinny jeans and a purple tank top. She couldn't believe how tired she was. She downed the steaming cup of coffee Aerith had made for her as usual, and that woke her up a bit more.

Her thoughts drifted off to the eleven girls. She could still remember all of their names, recall their faces with clarity. She wondered how they were doing, and if they too were having terrible nightmares. In her mind's eye she saw young Tanya, plagued by the horrible visions. Suddenly her phone rang, loud and demanding, and she hurriedly fumbled to answer it.

"Hello?"

"Good morning!" chirped Yuffie. "How do you feel?"

"Tired as hell." Tifa yawned.

"It always happens after the first mission," Yuffie said with understanding. "Did you tell Aerith?"

Shit. "Yes," Tifa admitted.

"I figured as much. Let me guess: she wanted to drag you off to the hospital?"

"Only of course," grinned Tifa, relieved that she wasn't in trouble. Then she said wryly, "It looks like a toddler got carried away with his paints and used me for a canvas."

Yuffie was not amused. "Are you sure you want to do this, Teef?"

"Of course I do!" Tifa replied instantly. "Are there any more missions for me?"

"Not yet- they normally give you a break after the first one.I'll keep you posted. I didn't tell Cloud, just like you asked, so don't worry about that. The other girls are keeping quiet."

"Thank you." She didn't want to think about Cloud's reaction. He had not approved of that mission, let alone wanted it carried out solo. Her ass would be busted if he ever found out. But if the time came that he did, she would make it quite clear that their views were not as alike as he may want. "Call me when you got something."

"Will do. Stay outta trouble, ya hear?"

"As always."

She pocketed her phone an found herself toying with her black leather gloves, slipping them on and off repeatedly. After awhile she grew restless. She had to get up, move, do something. She shoved her feet into a pair of black gladiator sandals, grabbed her keys, and headed out to her car. The black Volvo sprang to life; the sound of the engine was music to her ears. It had been too long since she had driven it. She backed out of the driveway and onto the street. Oddly enough, she found herself driving in the direction of the police station and grinned. Barret would be glad to see her, she was sure.

When Tifa entered the station, she was greetd by a black-and-white cat wearing a yellow crown.

"Good morning, Ree- er, Cait Sith," she said with amusement.

"Good morning, Miss Lockheart," the robot cat responded.

"May I see Barret, please? And for the last time, it's Tifa."

"Of course. Right this way." The cat led her to a door that read Barret Wallace, AVALANCHE Director. Tifa thanked the robot, then walked unceremoniously into the office.

"Good morning!" she trilled, racing forward to plant a kiss on Barret's scratchy cheek. Even sitting, the hulking black man was extremely intimidating, but Tifa knew that beyond his threatening appearance was a kind man with a heart of gold.

"Dammit, Tifa," he grumbled. "How many times do I have to tell you to knock? And what the hell happened to your arms?"

"Oh, these?" Tifa glanced at the bruises on her exposed arms. "I fell down the stairs," she said with a wry smile.

Barret shook his head and took a long sip of coffee. He looked exhausted.

"Tifa, are you sure you-?"

"I'm sure." Tifa smiled to show she wasn't being a complete bitch. "I'm happy at the bar. Well, for the most part," she muttered as an afterthought.

Barret sighed. "Your skills would be great on the force, Teef. I just want you to know that the position is still open if ya want it. It's not every day you find a woman who can destroy anything with her fists. Those gloves do you justice."

"It's not every day you see a man with a gun-arm," Tifa shot back.

Barret had to give her that one. "Reeve's designin' a new model for me. This one's getting' a bit rusty." He fixed her with his dark brown gaze. "Just think about it, okay?"

"I'll keep it in mind." Tifa smiled. "Tell Marlene hello for me, okay?" She planted another kiss on his cheek, then left the office. And promptly smacked into Reeve, who was carrying the robot Cait Sith under his arm.

"Good morning, Miss Lockheart,' he said maddeningly.

"Good morning, Mr. Tuesti," Tifa retaliated. "I see Cait Sith is coming along well."

Reeve gave the cat a proud glance. "I just finished installing a self-destruct button."

"Er…great. A walking, talking cat wearing a crown that's able to blow itself up isn't conspicuous at all," Tifa said, bemused.

Reeve ignored her. "What happened to your arms?"

"Fell down the stairs," said Tifa. She grinned. "Well, have fun with your robot, Mr. Tuesti."

"I'll be sure to, Miss Lockheart. Take care of those gloves, though I doubt they'll be of any use to you falling down stairs."

Tifa made a face at him as he turned away. "Smart ass."

"I find that highly hypocritical coming from you, Miss Lockheart," said Reeve drily, looking over her shoulder back at her. He always had to have the last word. With a roll of her dark mahogany eyes, Tifa left the station and climbed into her Volvo. The drive to the floristry took only a few minutes, and Tifa spent about half an hour putting together a bouquet for Aerith. It was fortunate that she loved all flowers, otherwise it would have taken Tifa much longer. She felt guilty for not confiding in her (though she wasn't supposed to in the first place…). Once again she was grateful to the fact that it was nearly impossible to make Aerith angry.

A blonde woman rang up the price. Tifa paid, then drove back to the house and put the flowers in a vase on Aerith's bedside table. Her room was a splash of pink: pink walls, pink sheets, pink dresser, pink curtains. Tifa hated the color to the point of loathing. She didn't own a single pink article of clothing. In fact, her wadrobe consisted mainly of black.

When Aerith walked through the door, Tifa was curled up in the living room, seated in one of the armchairs with a book. This was highly unusual. With narrowed green eyes Aerith hurried up to her room, and Tifa grinned when she heard the loud squeal of "Aww!" Minutes later she came back down the stairs wearing a floaty pink sundress, having changed out of her nurse uniform.

"It was the sweetest thing," she said, folding her legs beneath her from her seat on the couch. "One of our patients woke up from a coma today- the doctors were about to lose hope. But he looked at me and said 'So this is heaven. I like it.'"

"What a line!" Tifa laughed. She leaned forward, her long brown hair brushing against her arms. "Is he cute?"

Aerith blushed. "Tifa!"

"Come on, answer the question! Is he cute or not?"

"Well…" Aerith hesitated, then seemed to shrug it off and said, "Yes. He's very cute."

"Oooh! What's his name?" Tifa cocked an eyebrow.

"Zack," Aerith said, and her voice softened ever so slightly. "Zack Fair."

Tifa sat back in her chair and regarded her best friend with interest. Aerith had never shown any interest with boys before. It wasn't that she didn't like them, she just wasn't concerned with the matter. A slow smile spread across her face. Aerith noticed this immediately and said, "What are you thinking now?"

"Oh, nothing," Tifa said in a sing-song voice.

Aerith's green eyes narrowed, but all she said was, "Promise you'll be careful at work today?"

Reflexively Tifa glanced at the clock- she still had about two hours until she had to leave for the bar. "Aren't I always?" she said with a smile.

An hour later, Aerith left for the floristry, and Tifa went to get ready for another night at the 7th Heaven.