46: Solemn Hour

A thin sheet of rain was falling that morning. Tifa had no desire whatsoever to get out of bed. It was hot, underneath the sheets and in his arms.

Aerith and Zack were coming back from their honeymoon today, she thought idly. She raised her eyes to look at the still-sleeping Cloud. She smiled despite herself— and their wedding was just around the corner too.

Just a few more months!

Well, five more months. They had stuff to do before their exchange of 'I do'.

Pitter, patter went the rain, she mused.

"Good morning," Cloud breathed, staring down at her. Tifa kissed the base of his neck in reply.

He had to leave for a shoot immediately after a quick breakfast consisting of dull toast and dark coffee. Tifa however, had a few more hours to spare before her staff came to whisk her away from normality again.

Clearing the dishes and empty mugs, Tifa reflected on how insane everything had been until now. A small smile crept into her lips.

If she could have told her past self that everything was going to be so radically different in time, the old her would have dismissed her. This… this was so much more than what she bargained for when she wished as a teenager.

Somewhere upstairs, her phone started to ring.

It was Lazard. "Something… Tifa, Oh Gaia…" He sounded distressed. Tifa started to feel nervous.

"Lazard, what is it?" she asked urgently.

He took a deep, shuddering breath on the other end. "It's Cloud, Tifa… oh Gaia!"

"What happened? What about Cloud?" Her body felt as if a bucket of ice had been dumped on her.

"Tifa… Cloud's been in a traffic accident…" Lazard told her slowly. "They're rushing him to the hospital as we speak, love. I'll be there as fast as I can…"

"No. Where is he?" Tifa felt something twist in her chest. "What hospital?"

"St. Jude's… Tifa darling, please just wait for me…" Lazard said softly.

Tifa collapsed on his side of the bed, shell shocked, cold, afraid, terrified, pale, crying and shaking. Cloud… accident… But the idea was so odd. He had just been with her half an hour ago, snuggling then having a wonderful breakfast, so alive, so… so safe!

She was curled up on the bed when Lazard and Rufus came to her house. Her hair was a mess, her entire face was pink and puffy. Rufus sat down beside her shaking form and drew her in an embrace. Tifa only cried more, louder. The older blonde tried to soothe their ward.

"He'll be alright, calm down…" he said quietly.

Rufus didn't exactly know if Cloud was going to be fine. The Fenrir had been reduced to nothing but scrap metal, after all. The bright side was that the man was wearing his helmet. He sincerely hoped that the helmet did what it was said to do.

"How… what… what happened?" Tifa blubbered, grabbing a fistful of her manager's pressed shirt.

"The truck that hit him…" Rufus tried to explain. Tifa's breath hitched, "was trying to beat the traffic light in the 101. You know how dangerous the 101 is. Thank Gaia that he had his helmet on, really." Tifa shivered. "He's in the hospital now, honey. They're doing everything they can to save him! Please calm down, Tifa… Lazard, get her some water."

Tifa hiccupped and tried to stop crying and shaking but couldn't. Cloud was in danger, real danger. She couldn't lose him now! Oh dear Minerva, she couldn't lose the love of her life now. Why did this have to happen, now that everything was so perfect?

"Drink," came her manager's voice. The cool glass touched her heated lips. The water tasted different to her—why? She didn't know. She didn't want to think. She wanted to believe that this was just a dream. A horrible dream…

St. Jude's Hospital was crowded not only with patients but anxious media.

Tifa, Rufus and Lazard slipped past the restless crowd easily, thanks to the hospital's security staff. She was wearing big dark sunglasses to hide her reddened eyes. Tifa walked with trembling knees all the way to the emergency room's waiting area. She stared at the double doors barring her away from Cloud.

"Cloud…" she said hoarsely. "I'm here… please." Her voice broke.

Rufus watched his ward sitting by the bleachers sadly, nervously. He was as afraid as she was though he wouldn't admit it. Someone had to keep a calm face. He knew how much Tifa loved this boy, how much he had an influence on her. He knew that she would never be able to work well with this now. He stalked off to make a phone call.

It seemed like an eternity before the double doors finally opened. Tifa was on her feet at once, sunglasses long abandoned on the bleacher. She moaned and cried when she saw him on the gurney, unconscious and heavily bandaged in the head.

"Cloud!" she wailed.

Lazard was quick to catch her when she collapsed.

She woke up in Cloud's hospital room. Lazard and Rufus were sitting on the opposite side of the room, both wearing worried looks on their faces. Lazard rose to his feet when she woke up and asked if there was something she needed. She shook her head and asked how her fiancé was.

"He's in a coma for now," Rufus answered flatly, not looking at her. "The doctors are not sure what the damage could be. We can only wait until he wakes up."

Cloud was in a coma.

Tifa's eyes narrowed and her heart skipped a beat.

She didn't know whether to be relieved that he was alive or not. She knew the implications of a coma. He might never wake up. He might wake up but forget her. He might not fully recover. Minerva!

If he woke up and forgot about her, what then?

She couldn't bring herself to think about it. Grasping his cool hand, she cried and silently willed him to wake up. Tifa pushed back the memories of her father being in the same position. The tubes and wires all looked the same to her. Her father never woke up then.

Just thinking of the possibility that she would be losing another man she loved the same way sent her trembling, terrified and half-crazed. Could the fates really be that cruel?

A light hand rested on her shaking shoulder.

"Would you like some tea, Tifa?" Lazard asked softly, offering her a steaming paper cup. "It's going to be alright, honey. He's a strong guy." He looked tired and sad. Tifa muttered her thanks and brought the cup to her trembling lips. The warmth from the tea soothed her, if only for a little.

A long sigh broke the heavy silence later. It was Rufus, who had stood up and began to make his way to the door. "I have to go. I have to attend to some matters." He turned to look at Tifa and Lazard. "I think that it would be best if you went home and rested." She looked at him meaningfully. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Somebody's got to calm down the media circus. For all we know, somebody may have already reported that he's…" Rufus clamped his lips together and without another word, he was out of the door with a silent click.

She knew what her boss was going to say and frowned.

Cloud couldn't just die.

They had a lifetime's worth of plans ahead of them—surely he wouldn't just bail out of them?

"Rufus probably went off to file a case against the driver." Lazard said quietly, not looking up from the magazine he was browsing. "Knowing him, the driver's going to go through hell."

Tifa paused. The truck driver—

She looked at her fiancé's clammy hand and scowled.

"Let the man go," she said. "Call Rufus not to do that. This was all just a horrible accident."

As upset she was, she knew that Cloud wouldn't like putting a poor man through such atrocious trouble. Cloud would probably sympathize with the poor driver's life, if he could. She knew that he'd forgive the man for the mishap. She knew him that much, right?

A small smile crept into the blonde's mouth as he reached for his PHS.

Getting out of the hospital wasn't easy. But it had to be done, because visiting hours were over.

The security barely managed to steer the media away from Tifa this time.

When she got home, Lazard offered to stay the night. But she declined, knowing that his lover would miss him. Once she was finally alone, Tifa collapsed behind the door, suddenly overwhelmed by the whole house. She could imagine Cloud everywhere in here—on the couch, on the floor, on the stairs, on the banister… Tifa tore up again.

His last words to her had been, 'I'll see you later.'

So much for that!

Something caught her attention. Glad for any distraction, Tifa headed to the answering machine. She pressed the button to play the message.

"Tifa," the rich baritone voice said. She had to gasp. It was Genesis.

An annoyed scowl etched its way into her face.

"I heard about the accident. This must be so hard for you. Don't delete this just yet, love. I know you hate me with all your guts, really, who are we kidding? I'd hurt you too much. Anyway, I called to let you know that you can always call me if you need somebody to talk to, though I doubt it. Bye."

She deleted the message. Call me if you need somebody to talk to—what was he playing at?

"Don't hold your breath, Genesis," she said.

Tifa headed to the bedroom but found it too painful to sleep alone in the bed she and Cloud slept in. She hurriedly gathered her nightclothes and headed to the guest room.