Disclaimer: I do not now or before and most likely not in the future, own Final Fantasy, Square Enix or any of the characters.

A/N: This chapter is rated M, you've been warned. I am really bad at writing love and fight scenes, but I have been trying to improve on it. I tried something a little different in the love scene in Sheltered Haven Uncut, and am going with that format. Let me know what you think, if I have improved or not. (Of course that is if you've read my earlier stuff :) I suppose...)

I do not have a beta, so forgive any mistakes and just enjoy them, I do!


"The only way of finding the limits of the possible is by going beyond them into the impossible." –Arthur C. Clark

To You I Give My Heart

Chapter 5

~Rage, Love and Everything Else~

Zack sat in the cell, waiting for Cloud, but when the door opened, it wasn't who he expected or wanted. Instead they took him out and unceremoniously shoved into the familiar sight of his old cell.

"What is happening? Where is Cloud?!" Not surprisingly they said nothing. Grabbing a hold of the bars in front of him he shook them and screamed as loud as he could, "Cloud!" Silence was all he got in return.

Fifteen injections, or otherwise known as thirty days later since the Professor had decreased his injections, he still hadn't seen Cloud, not even in the labs. Harding was no help, as usual all three assistants and Hojo were tight-lipped. At least they were consistent.

From his spot on his cot, his gaze went to the spot he used to sit, right next to where the bars met the wall. Going there, he reached through the bars, hoping and wishing to feel her soft fingers wrap around his, but all he felt was the cold air. Whispering her name, he couldn't remember how many times he sat there, holding on to her. Closing his eyes, the thought of her, his soul mate, he knew it was true, she was his and he was hers, forever. Soft tears fell, staining his face as her image graced his memories.

Several days after their first time together, Zack sat on his bed with his arms crossed. Watching her from across the room, a small one-sided smile graced his lips, "You know, if you're embarrassed, don't be."

Cloud's cheeks flushed red and she cast her eyes down, hiding from his gaze. In a false sounding strength, she swallowed audibly and asked, "What makes you think that I'm embarrassed?"

With a full smile, he uncrossed his arms, "It could be the way you look away every time I catch you looking at me," He got up and slowly walked toward her, "It could be the way you blush when you catch me looking at you," Getting down on his knees in front of her, he took her chin gently with his fingers, "Or it could be that you want to do it again, but you don't want to be the one to say anything first." His smile was full of erotic thoughts and the mako flowed to his eyes as they twinkled brightly at thoughts of her.

Rolling her eyes, she stuttered, "W-whatever, I don't care what you think…"

He slipped his body between her knees and rested his hips on the side of the bed, "It's okay, I want to be with you again too." Leaning in toward her, he softly pulled her toward his lips. Zack let his lips brush against hers as he spoke, "This time though, I want to make it the way it's supposed to be," Moving his face toward her ear, he nibbled on her ear lobe, "All about you," Sucking her ear lobe into his heated mouth, he released it and lightly blew on it. She inhaled and held it, closing her eyes when tiny goose bumps erupted all down the side of her neck. A breathy moan passed through her lips. Silently, he grinned to himself.

Moving down her neck, he nipped and kissed at her taught skin, "I promise to make it much better," Getting closer to her collar-bone, she finally tilted her head back and to the side and allowed better access, "It will feel much," Kissing back up her neck, "Much," Caressing her chin with his lips and breath, "Much better."

The way she acted disinterested made him smile with renewed determination. Ghosting his hands on her knees, he lovingly moved his hands up her thighs to her hips. Catching her eyes with his deep focus, he noticed the pulsing glow of her excitement in her mako eyes, "Do you trust me Cloud?"

Clearing her throat, she leaned her back against the wall and crossed her arms, she shifted her attention to the floor by the door. A flimsy sounding noise in the affirmative made him internally grin. Raising his eyebrows in mock disinterest, "Okay, you don't have to talk to me if you don't want to," Slowly she dropped her arms and he took her hands and put them around the back of his neck. Maneuvering his hands up her sides, he leaned over her and kissed her gently and lovingly.

Nimbly sliding his fingers under the front of her shirt, he lifted it to show her toned stomach and lowered himself to kiss her belly button. Getting a hard fought for giggle; he looked up at her through his eyebrows and allowed his eyes to show her everything that she meant to him, had always meant to him.

Hooking his fingers into the back of the waist band of her shorts and underwear, he waited and chuckled when she sighed in pretend indifference. Out of curiosity, she lifted her rear so he could fully remove them and once her shorts were completely off, she unconsciously covered herself.

Starting at her ankle, he kissed slowly up to her knee, while subtlety massaging her calf muscles up to her thigh. When his lips reached the middle of her thigh, he looked up at her anxious and scared face. Getting a hold of her hands that covered her feminine physique, he pulled them to her sides, "Everything about you is beautiful. You don't have to hide who you are with me." Rewarded with a shy smile, he asked again in a sensual and quiet voice, "Do you trust me?"

Finally she spoke in a lily soft voice, the words floated lightly to his ears, "Always."

Without another word, he grabbed the backs of her knees and slowly pulled her to the edge of the bed. When she sat up in alarm, he straightened his back up and kissed her and tenderly, gently conveying to her, "Its okay."

Hesitantly she lay back as he indicated and his fingers traced down her throat to her chest, while he kissed her inner thigh. A whimpering moan replaced her silence. Softly his fingers continued their trek down her abdomen until his lips and his fingers met in the middle.

This time, he made sure that her climax was a genuine one and not an automatic bodily response.

As she came down from her high, her eyes were no longer confused or embarrassed. All of those negative feelings were replaced with love and yearning for him. Sitting up, she grabbed his face and kissed him hungrily, wanting more of him, and he was willing to give her as much as she wanted, forever…

Falling asleep together, their naked bodies flush against each other; Zack thought as though he was in heaven with her right next to him.

Waking up before she did, she had ended up lying on her side. With the feel of her breath on the front of his neck, her arms curled in front of her and her legs intertwined with his, he smiled, contented. Taking one of her hands, he interlaced his fingers with hers and gently kissed her forehead. Watching her sleep and dream, he never wanted to be away from her ever again.

A break in his heart swelled until the dam broke and he let himself cry out. He craved her, needed her touch and the way she slept in his arms. The tender noises she made when they made love, her smile that went all the way to her eyes when she laughed, it was as if she was a dangerous drug and he had become addicted to everything about her.

It was too much and he exploded. Taking the cot, he flipped it and broke the small bars that held up the wafer thin mattress. Raising his face to the ceiling, a most feral and primal scream escaped and he let it roll out of him, piercing the ears of anyone who might be listening. The feeling of the emptiness that she should fill consumed him and he crumpled to the floor in a heap of emotional turmoil.

Crying out her name, not in passion as it should be, but in frightened anguish, that's when a hand touched his shoulder.

Snapping his head, he saw the last person he thought would visit him alone. Zack clenched his teeth and the noticeable tick of his jaw momentarily made Harding flinch, "Jacob, what the hell do you want, you weasel?"

Without moving from the floor, Zack wrapped his fingers around a long piece of one of the smaller bars from the broken cot. Harding stepped back a few steps and before he could get to the exit, Zack had him pinned against the bars. The angry Soldier's mouth was mere inches from the side of the smaller man's face. The sharp end of the steel rod barely perforated his skin right above his jugular. A calm and quiet tone was what Harding got, calm and murderous, "Give me one good reason I shouldn't kill you right here you piece of shit."

"Z-Zack I don't blame you, I would want to kill me too. Just hear me out first, okay."

Zack bared his teeth and the fire that burned in his mako eyes lit up the side of Harding's face. Pushing his face closer to the assistant's cheek, Zack couldn't speak without his jaw tightening. In his rage, a small amount of spittle splattered Jacob's warm skin, "Why should I? It isn't like you gave Cloud a chance before you ripped her dignity down to nothing," The rod dug a little deeper, a small trickle of blood dripped down his neck.

The brown-haired assistant's eyes welled up, but to Zack it meant nothing, "Please, let me help you. I've read what Hojo has planned for both of you and my life means nothing if I allow him to go forward with this insanity."

Without moving away from the trapped man, Zack asked, "Where is Cloud?" To punctuate his insistence, the metal dug in a little more.

"I'll show you."

Zack was incredulous; he studied him, using his skills as former SOLDIER to decipher his body language. Everything in him said not to trust him, after all, he had proven himself loyal to Hojo on more than one occasion. However, his training said something completely different. The way he stood, arms down, non-combatant, a hurt swimming in his brown eyes were all telling him to follow Jacob.

Reluctantly releasing his quarry, they silently made their way down the hall. During the overnight hours, it was quiet and still. Harding said nothing during the walk to a different part of the labs that Zack hadn't ever seen.

"Harding, where are you taking me?"

Stopping and holding up his hand, he put his finger to his lips and silently signaled him to be quiet. He peeked around the corner and then back around and stood straight next to Zack. Harding mouthed, "Stay here."

Zack watched after him as he rounded the turn in the hallway, glimpsing the sight on the other side of the corner, he saw Harding entering a code in the panel next to the door. A guard lay out on the floor, a syringe rolled away from the unconscious man and toward the wall. With a beep and a little dot that flashed green, the door opened.

Harding gave him the signal and with the grace of a raging bull, Zack tore into the room looking for the woman who had stolen his heart.

Upon entering, the sight of a tank full of green tinged water and then the long blond hair floating around her nude body caught his eye. Before he could reign in his anger, he snatched Jacob and threw him across the floor, his back ramming into the base of one of the tables.

The lab assistant cried out in pain and whined, "Zack, please wait. I'm trying to help you."

Not knowing where the terrifying displays of his temper were coming from, he took a deep breath and stared down at the man across from him, "I'm going to give you thirty seconds and you better have her out of there or I will tear you limb from limb."

Holding his hands up in surrender, he moved to the panels and his fingers feverishly pushed button after button. The water began to drain, taking her to the bottom of the tank. Zack reached the tank before Harding could hit the switch for the door and the former SOLDIER ripped the door from of the front of the tank. Taking her limp body and pulling her from the tank, he sank to the floor with her in his arms. Unconsciously, he rocked back and forth, lowly whining in disgust at her condition. Quickly looking her over for injuries without moving her from his lap, he continued stroking her wet hair.

"Jacob, what has Hojo done?"

"I'm not really sure."

Uncertainty didn't bode well for his mood. Here he sat with the woman that he had loved pretty much from the time that they had become friends as she lay limply. The way she slept, calm and serene, she dreamt of something as her eyes darted around under her eyelids. Her velvet skin was clad in the mako infused water, and all he could think was how beautiful she was, "When will she wake up?"

"I don't know, but ever since he increased her Jenova cell and mako injections, she's been like this. Sometimes, she is fine, and other times she screams like she's terrified of something," Harding gathered up a few medical supplies that they may need, "There are some things I need to tell you. First off, the injections that you were given were hormones, a testosterone mixture to be more specific," He paused and removed her IV, "That is why you have been feeling hostile, angry and increased sexual desire." Harding, stood, cleared his throat and shifted his weight from one foot to the other, "The reasons for the injections were to get you two to, as Hojo put it, mate."

Zack shot him a look, he swore that if his mind would allow his muscles to let go of her, he would have killed Harding and hunt down Hojo right then. He asked rhetorically, "How could I be so stupid? Why didn't I think that was what he was up to?"

"Second of all, I have destroyed all the videos."

Draping a sheet around her, he asked absently with a tweak of anger mixed in, "What videos?"

Harding turned the reddest that Zack thought a human could be without actually being on fire, "The videos of you and Cloud," He cleared his throat again, "Hojo also wanted to see what two mako enhanced people were capable of, so... its you two engaging in coital activities" Adding fuel to the fire, Harding had crossed a dangerous line, "Zack before you go-"

Picking up the now covered and unconscious woman, Zack's shoulders tensed and he let every word ooze with the violence he wished to inflict right then, "I don't want to hear anything else from you. If you so much as say one more word, not only will I tear you apart, but I will then leave you out in the open for the wild animals to eat you alive." Harding bit his lips shut and motioned for him to follow out of the labs and up into the mansion.


A/N: Thanks to everyone who reads, favorites, subscribes and/or reviews, I appreciate your time and I dedicate all of this to you. To quote another author, "Getting reviews makes me feel all warm and squishy."

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