Yo. Glad you're back. Sorry for the slight delay. Oh and 2,505 veiws! Thanks guys! And ally reviews have been positive! You guys are awesome! Um...yeah...chapter 22

~x~

Like a camera lens snapping into focus, Xion's vision sharpened suddenly. Her "angel's" face became clear.

It was Roxas.

"Roxas...?" She murmured. He smiled.

"Yep."

"Roxas...you...you can talk..." Xion blabbered, sleep still clinging to her mind, making her slow.

He nodded. Xion sat up and saw she was in the-his-hospital bed.

"Why...?" She asked.

Roxas shrugged. "When I woke up, you were asleep on my arm so I moved you to the bed." He smiled that modest Roxas-smile.

Xion wrapped her arms around him. "I didn't think you would ever wake up." She murmured into his chest.

Roxas was confused. "I was only asleep a few hours. The operation didn't take that long."

Xion separated herself from him. "Roxas...you...you went into a coma."

She looked up at him.

"You've been asleep for twenty six days."

He stared at her. "Twenty...twenty six?"

She nodded, then pointed at the bedside table. "That's what the seashells are for. I brought one for every day."

Roxas was surprised. "Everyday?"

She nodded.

He grinned-no beamed at his friend's loyalty.

Then Xion realized something. "Hey, Roxas? Does anyone know you're awake?"

He cocked his head to the side. "Was I suppose to tell someone?" he asked innocently.

"Yes!" she couldn't believe he was being so dense. But...she felt kind of funny/happy at the same time.

"Oh. Well...I wanted to wait for you to wake up." he said.

Xion smiled. "Thank you. But, we really should...I don't know...call a nurse or something."

Roxas nodded. Then Xion knit her brows.

"What?" the blonde asked.

"What do you think the nurse will do when she finds me in the bed and you in the visit chair?" she wondered.

Roxas shrugged. "Guess we'll have to find out." he reached over and pushed the nurse call button.

Roxas~

Yes! I can talk! I was excited and happy beyond comprehension. I was very glad that, contrary to my delusional wish, I didn't sound like an arrogant chipmunk and I could actually talk with fifteen-year-old grammar.

Anyway, I pushed the nurse call button and Lucrecia came in.

"What's wro-oh!" she gasped. I smiled and waved.

"Roxas! You're awake?"

Normally, I would've thought up a sarcastic comment (and now I can say them!) but I didn't.

"Can...can you talk?" Lucrecia asked, leaning forward slightly.

I shook my head. "No I can't talk." I told her sadly.

"Oh, I'm sor-oh nice try." she smirked. "I'll get Dr. Klause so he can give you a full evaluation." she told me, then left.

A few minutes later, the doctor wandered in.

A/N Get it?

"Lucrecia says your doing well. Making sarcastic remarks and moving your friend to the bed."

He smiled. "Buuut just to be sure, can you stand up for me?"

I nodded and stood. A wave of nausea took me.

"How'er you feeling?" Dr. Klause asked.

"Like a million bucks." I managed.

He nodded, an eyebrow raised. "Uh huh...you sure?"

"Absolutely."

"Promise?" Isn't he supposed to be a doctor?

I nodded.

He crossed his arms. "Ok. Run up and down the hallway ten times."

My face went pale and I stared at him with widening eyes. "Um...s-sure..."

I walked to the door. With my hand on the doorknob, I looked back at him like 'Do I really have to do this?'

He grinned. I opened the door. I was about to break into the run that would probably break me, when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"I was joking kid."

~x~

Cloud was attempting to start his black hand-me-down saturn, when his phone rang.

"He-" he started but was interrupted by:

"CLOUD, XION'S DISAPPEARED!"

Cloud held the phone away from his ringing ear.

"...Tifa...?"

"Sheleftherphoneandnoneofherf riendsknowwheresheisand-!"

"Tifa! Calm down!" Cloud told her, raking his fingers threw his crazed blonde hair.

*deep breath*

"Good." Cloud said. "Now try again." It felt like he was talking to Tifa back when she was a teenager.

"She left her phone and none of her friends know where she is." Tifa whimpered.

"Um...c-call the hospital...she might be there..." Cloud tried.

"Cloud...today...it's..." she didn't need to finish. Cloud knew exactly what she was trying to say.

Today...the life support ran out.

Then, Cloud's phone beeped.

"Hold on, Tifa, I've got another call."

"Hello?"

"Hey, Cloud." a familiar voice greeted.

"...Bartz...?"

"Yup. Oh, I've got good news."

Cloud sighed and kicked at a rock. "What?"

"Roxas Fair is awake."

Silence...silence...silence...hemustbemessingwithme...

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. He's doing great. Blood pressure and heart beat is perfect."

"Great."

Then (and this is very out of the ordinary for Cloud) the blonde asked the question on his mind:

"Can he talk?"

...

"Yeah! You'd better come pick them up. Hospital food is hardly a "Welcome Back" breakfast." Bartz laughed a little.

Cloud paused. "Them...?"

"Uh, yeah. Roxas and Xion." Bartz said in a the-memory-really-IS-the-first-to-go kind of way.

"Wait, Xion's there?" Cloud felt relief, then a little anger, then exasperation

"Yes...didn't you know that?"

Cloud shook his head. "Uh. No."

"Oh. Well, um...she's here."

Cloud sighed. "All right, I'll be right there after I tell Tifa our daughter hasn't been abducted by aliens."

Bartz laughed. "Bye Cloud."

Cloud went back to Tifa.

"Tifa, it's alright. I got a call from the hospital. She's there with Roxas. I'm going to go pick them up." he said, pulling the same slip of the tongue as Bartz.

"Them...?"

Cloud grinned slightly.

"Yeah. Roxas is awake."

X

Yay! Roxy's awake! Thinking about it...this is probably the happiest thing I've ever written!

Don't worry, I'm not going soft. Something rather big and devastating with happen soon. Mwahahaha.