Wow! Chapter 14! :) thanks to everyone who has been reading and reviewing! You all are solid! :) I appreciate it all! :D I hope you enjoy this chapter!
I DO NOT OWN FF VII!
Chapter 14: The road to recovery
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Zack wheeled Tifa home after they made the decision to allow the kids to stay with Cloud and Aerith for a few days and Barret for a few days after that. Tifa needed to recover and Zack was adamant about making sure she got plenty of rest. When they got home, Zack noticed Tifa was sound asleep And slumped over to the side. Zack smiled and knelt down to look at her. Her soft brown hair was strung about her face and her mouth was slightly open as she inhaled and exhaled lightly. He reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear and admired her peacefulness for a moment. Zack then carefully picked the sleeping beauty up and carried her quietly to her room. Once inside, he noticed the room was messy and might carry some bad memories after the attack, so he moved onto the next. This room was dark and very bare. He assumed it to be Cloud's room when he saw clothes strewn about. He again, moved on from that room and into the next. This room was pleasant and floral. Marlene. He thought with a smile. This room would do. He slowly walked across the wooden floor and lay Tifa gently on the girl's bed. After he secured the window, closed the curtains and covered Tifa with a blanket, Zack let the sleeping girl be.
As he got down the stairs, Zack smiled and looked around. "Alright, time to clean this place up." He said as he examined the wreckage Sephiroth left behind.
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Meanwhile, with Vincent and Yuffie
"Man, I hope Tifa is okay." Yuffie said as she cleared a spot on Vincent's research laden desk and propped herself upon it to look at him as he studied.
"I'm confident she will recover soon." Vincent replied, not bothering to look up at his love.
"Yeah, I know she will... I just... I hate to see her like that. She doesn't deserve everything that's happened to her." Yuffie said, looking down at the cool tile floors.
"I agree." Vincent said, then looking up.
"I hope that somehow..." Yuffie said, turning to look Vincent intently in the eye, "She can fall in love with him... Like you... Have... With me." She said slowly as he inched close to his face. Vincent leaned close to her as well.
"I think she will." He whispered before placing a soft kiss on her lips.
Yuffie flung her arms around his neck and pulled him close to her and the two held each other there for a moment. Vincent then pulled away. Both of them blushing, Yuffie's much more visible than his.
"S..so whatcha studyin?" Yuffie asked, breaking the almost awkward silence.
"Sephiroth."
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Tifa finally arose and sat up in her bed. She blinked a few times, confused about her surroundings. My old room? Nibelheim? Tifa rubbed her eyes in confusion, and gasped when she realized her hands were completely healed.
"You're finally awake." Came a voice from the doorway.
Tifa turned to look at the doorway and gasped at the sight. There in the doorway stood none other than Mr. Lockhart. Her wine eyes widened and filled with tears. "F..father?!" She cried as she pushed herself out of the bed.
He rushed to her side and set her back on the bed. "Be careful, Tifa." He said with a gentle smile. "What's going on, father?" She asked confused as her hands reached up to his face.
"You're only dreaming, princess." He whispered as he leaned into her touch.
"Where's momma?" Tifa asked in a whisper as tears slid down her face.
"She's not here right now. This dream is about you and I." He replied as he put his arm around his daughter and pulled her close to him as he sat next to her.
"I don't understand." Tifa said, noticing that her entire body was restored and that she was wearing her old leather skirt and vest with tassels. On her night stand sat her brown cowboy hat and an old picture frame of Cloud.
"You know I never liked that blonde friend of yours. The one with the spiky hair right?" He asked, looking down at her.
"I know daddy." Tifa pouted. "You don't have to worry about him anymore."
"I always did like that tall one... The one with dark hair like you. What was his name?" Her father asked curiously.
"Are you talking about Zack?"
"Zsck Fair. That's it. He's a good man. I always hoped that my daughter would marry an honorable man. He seems quite honorable." Her father nudged.
"What are you saying, Father?" Tifa asked as she pulled away from him to study his face. As she studied it, he became increasingly light and nearly transparent.
"I'm saying that everyone has someone. Don't think it to be coincidental that he has returned."
"Father! Don't go!" Tifa yelled as she reached out for him. She tried to grab him, but he slipped through her fingers.
"You gotta wake up, princess." He whispered as soft timely music began to play.
"No!" Tifa exclaimed as tears fell from her face.
"Wake up!" He said as the music began to play louder.
Tifa's wine eyes snapped open and she looked around. "Marlene's room." She whispered. Tifa could hear faint music in the background through the door. To her, it sounded like Frank Sinatra, or something similar. Her heart was pounding, and sweat graced her forehead. "Just a dream." She said as she slowly sat up. Immediately she knew the wounds had not healed by the pain that coursed through her body. "Damn." She mumbled. As the music continued, she became increasingly curious as to why it was playing, and where on earth it was coming from.
Slowly, Tifa turned her body to the side and put her feet onto the chilly wood floors. She smiled at the coolness and then stood very slowly. "I got this." She said to herself. She made her way slowly past Marlene's stand-up mirror and looked at herself. She chuckled. Her hair was a bit out of place, her hands were bandaged and she was still wearing the hospital gown. She quickly turned to check if the gown had a back, and sighed relieved to find that it did.
Tifa made her way down the hall, approaching the stair well as she followed the soulful sound. Finally she reached the top step and when she looked down, she smiled. Zack was downstairs mopping furiously. He appeared to be wearing Cloud's clothing. A black, extra tight fitting wife beater, and blue jeans, also a bit tight, with the pant legs rolled up. He was singing and mopping, occasionally wiping sweat from his brow. From the looks of things, he had been working through the night. The house looked spectacular from what Tifa could see atop the stairs.
After a moment, Tifa caught Zack's attention and he flicked off the Tv that was playing the music and looked up at her. "You should be resting, Tifa." He said with a smile. He was a bit embarrassed she had caught him singing, but Tifa was impressed.
"I've rested enough for now." She said as she took a step down onto the lower stair. Before she knew it, Zack was at her side, carefully lifting her into his arms like a bride. Tifa's eyes widened and she blushed a bit at his action. He smelled a bit like sweat but mostly like cleaning products.
"You shouldn't walk down the stairs alone." He said as he gently walked her down the stairs slowly. Once safely on the ground, Zack looked to Tifa. "I'm sure you're a bit hungry?"
Tifa's eyes looked around, examining her home that was extremely tidy. More tidy than it had been in a very long time. She faintly heard the washer and dryer in the background. He's done laundry, too? "Zack, you didn't have to do all this." Tifa said, looking at him intently.
"Yeah, I know." He said, as he wiped his forehead with his arm. "I wanted to."
"Thank you." Tifa said with a grateful smile.
"Absolutely." He smiled back. "Now really, are you hungry?"
Tifa nodded and made her way habitually to the kitchen to prepare something. Zack helped her to the kitchen and made her sit at the table.
"I can make something." Tifa said, looking at Zack confused. "You've been cleaning all night, you need a break."
"Nah, I'm fine. How you gonna cook with two broken hands huh? Just relax and let Zacky do the cooking, will ya?" Zack chuckled as he opened the fridge. "Mmm... We'll have to do some shopping later, but I suppose I can whip something up with these things."
"What? No that fridge is full." Tifa said, confused.
"Yeah... But you don't know how much I eat." Zack confessed as he began pulling items from the fridge and placing them on the counter.
Tifa watched him from the table and goggled at his statement. Although the night before had entailed many emotions and trauma, Tifa felt at peace with Zack around for some odd wasn't worried about Sephiroth, or even about not being able to fight. She was thankful to him for being there And making such an effort, even though he had no reason to do so. Tifa thought back to last night and how Zack hadn't hesitated to suck the poison out of her body, not worrying about his own life. Of course Tifa knew Zack probably wouldn't be affected by the poison, but it was still a huge act of bravery on his part. She then recalled Cloud's reaction. He seemed absolutely petrified. Tifa had not seen him like that in het entire life. It frightened her, and she wondered why on earth he was so concerned for her.
"Hey." Zack said, as he sat in front of Tifa at the table. Tifa jumped, a bit surprised. "You okay? You were zoning out for a while. Should we go back to the hospital?" He asked, concerned.
"Oh, sorry I was just thinking. I'm okay. Thank you for all that you're doing for me."
"Well I hope you're hungry! We have to get your strength back so you have to eat a lot, okay!" Zack chimed as he rushed back to the kitchen and brought out a large plate of food and presented it before the wide eyes brunette. There was cinnamon sugar French toast, eggs garnished with cilantro, fresh fruit and yogurt in a small bowl to the side and hot sausage. "If you need help eating, I will feed you." Zack said as he took a seat next to Tifa with an equally large plate.
"Wow." Tifa said as her stomach growled and yearned for the food in front of her. "I think I can manage to eat on my own." Tifa said, as she delicately picked up the fork. Grasping the fork was a bit painful, but she gritted her teeth determined.
Zack could see her grimace, but he wanted to give her a shot at doing it herself, so long as she wasn't damaging herself more.
Tifa began to eat the eggs since they were soft and easy to pick up. She smiled as she savored them. "Zack." She said after swallowing a few bites.
"Yes?" He replied looking at her.
"This is really yummy." She said, impressed. "I didn't know you could cook."
"Oh Tifa, there are a lot of things I can do." Zack replied with a cocky smile.
Tifa blushed and rolled her eyes. After her eggs were gone, she moved on to the French toast because it looked way too enticing to pass up. As she tried cutting the toast with her fork, it sent tinges of pain through her hand and she dropped the fork on her plate with a loud clank. Zack set his fork down and pulled her plate to him. "Here." He said as he began cutting her toast into bite sized pieces. "I should've done that in the first place, I'm sorry Tifa."
"Oh, don't be. Thanks Zack."
Once breakfast was over and the dishes were done, Tifa insisted that Zack take a shower and try to relax a bit. He didn't want to leave her alone, but he figured it was better to leave her alone while she was awake, besides, he promised himself he'd make it a fast one.
While Zack was in the shower, Tifa walked to her room. Much to her surprise, it too, had been cleaned up and miraculously, the shattered window had been repaired. Tifa was beginning to feel overwhelmed. Why is he doing this? She thought as she walked further inside and placed her hand on the glass of the window. She paused for a moment and looked out at the street. She resolved that somehow she would make it up to Zack anyway she could. She then walked to her closet, she desperately wanted out of the hospital gown. Most of her clothing revealed her stomach, which now looked horrific and gruesome with dried blood and several blue stitches. She prayed it wouldn't scar, but she knew it probably would.
After sifting through her closet seeing nothing that seemed comfortable, Tifa walked to her dresser and slowly and painfully, opened her pajama drawer. "Oh good." She said aloud as he pulled out a pair of baggy black pajama bottoms. Tifa then found a baggy red t- shirt and pulled that out of the drawer as well. Laying her clothes on the bed, Tifa sighed, knowing how difficult it would be to get dressed. Slowly she grabbed onto the bottom of the hospital gown and began lifting it over her head. The stretching of her torso became increasingly painful as her arms raised, as well as the wound on her left shoulder. "Damn." Tifa said, now stuck and hanging in the gown.
Zack happened to be finished with his shower and was about to walk to Cloud's room to steal some clothing when he noticed Tifa struggling. Well, if he was honest, the first thing he noticed was her small black underwear with pink lace around the edges that barely covered her cheeks and the small two dimples she had on the small of her back. Then, he noticed her struggling. "Oh, Tifa let me help you." Zack said as he walked into the room. Tifa blushed furiously upon hearing his voice.
"Zack?! No I'm fine!" She said embarrassed that she was showing him her ass..assets.
Zack chuckled and blushed at the same time as he gently helped her out of the gown and did his best not to stare at her. But it was difficult seeing as how her bra matched her underwear perfectly, and how wonderfully curvaceous her body was.
Tifa blushed threw her arms across her chest. "Zack." She whispered. He was shiny with shower water and the only thing he wore was a towel draped loosely around his hips. Tifa noticed his finely chiseled body, and admired it, trying her eat not to blush.
"I'm sorry.." Zack said, looking away. "You need help getting dressed?"
"Uh.." As much as Tifa wanted to be independent, she knew she needed assistance, and as much as she wanted to resist his charms, she was finding it awfully difficult. "If it's not too much trouble for you." She replied.
"It's a lot of trouble." He said a he slowly turned back to her. "You're just a damn fox, Tifa."
Tifa's eyes enlarged and her cheeks turned red. "Z..Zack!" She exclaimed. "Just help me get dressed, and try not to drool."
"No guarantees, but I will help. Sit down." He said. Tifa obliged, and sat. Her stomach filled with butterflies as she sat on her bed with Zack, both nearly naked. Carefully, Zack lay her down and grabbed her pajama pants. It took everything within him not to straddle her and start kissing her, frankly was was quite tempted. The only thing stopping him in his mind were the wounds she barred. And he respected her also. He slowly put the pajamas over her feet and looked up at her.
Tifa was blushing, doing her best not to stare at him or show any signs of embarrassment or interest in Zack, but she knew she was probably failing. Zack slowly pulled her pants up and Tifa's heart pounded rapidly as he dressed her.
After her pants were on, Zack slowly sat the girl up and pulled her shirt over her head. Once she was dressed he smiled at her and gently patted her hair.
"There." He said
"Thank you so much, Zack." Tifa said, slowly standing. "I'm going to fold some laundry. Help yourself to more of Cloud'a clothes."
Tifa then walked downstairs and propped herself on the couch, turned on the TV and started to attempt the folding. Soon after, Zack joined her on the couch and looked at her crinkled piles. I'll retold those. He thought to himself as his eyelids got heavy.
Tifa looked over at him. She could tell he was exhausted, and that he was drifting. Moments later, Zack slid down to the side and rested his head on Tifa's lap, fast asleep. Tifa at first, was surprised, but then she looked at his peaceful face and began to pet his hair gently. "Sleep well, Zack." She whispered
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Meanwhile, with Aerith and Cloud
It was nearing dinner time and Cloud sat at the table, staring off into space. Marlene and Denzel were both occupied with a movie, and Aerith had just placed a casserole in the oven and walked over to Cloud.
"You're worried about her, aren't you?" She asked as she placed a hand on his back and began rubbing his back gently.
Cloud turned to her and nodded. He couldn't figure out why he was so sick and worried about Tifa. It was troubling him greatly. "I know Zack is there but..."
"Let's bring them dinner tomorrow." Aerith interrupted his thought.
"Okay." Cloud replied.