Chapter 7: Not Quite Alright

Yuffie smiled lazily as she watched the boys splashing around in the pool with Tifa. It was nice to hear Tifa laugh after everything she'd been through.

She was wearing a bikini, and the lines of muscle in her abs stood out in the shadows cast from the sun. If anything, they were even more pronounced than they had been in her youth. Yuffie would have been jealous if she weren't so sad that her friend would never get to experience the joy of stretch marks and ballooning of her once-fine curves.

Tifa put a hand over her eyes to shade them and looked over to the side of the pool, where Yuffie was lounging on her chaise. She wore a pair of dark sunglasses and held a huge margarita.

"You coming in? The water feels great," Tifa called to her.

"Nah, I'm good," Yuffie said. She squirted some more lotion onto her legs and rubbed it in with her free hand. "Maybe once it gets a little hotter."

As she spoke, Nicky swam up behind Tifa and jumped up to wrap his arms around her neck. It caught Tifa by surprise, and she nearly fell backwards trying to adjust to the weight of the little boy.

"Nicky, be careful!" Yuffie scolded. "You're gonna—"

But Tifa had already leaned forward, grabbed the little boy by his upper arms, and tossed him over her head into the deep end of the pool. He popped back up, giggling madly.

"Again!"

Yuffie sighed and took a sip of her drink. There was no point in telling the boys to settle down with Tifa. Of all of their honorary aunts and uncles, Cloud and Tifa were the ones happiest to roughhouse with them.

After about another half an hour, Yuffie was emptying the last dregs of her glass, debating whether to make herself another or get in the pool. Tifa was holding up her hands, laughing and calling a truce with the boys, but as she turned away from them, her smile turned into a grimace. She pulled herself out of the pool and began walking quickly toward the house.

"You ok?" Yuffie called.

"Yeah. Just need to use the bathroom," Tifa said.

"Cool. Whip us up something good when you come back out, bartender!" Yuffie said as Tifa slipped through the patio door. She turned her attention back to the boys, who had started up their ongoing argument over who got the minotaur floaty.

"Neither of you get the floaty!" Yuffie called, folding up her shades and pulling off her cover-up. "Mama's in the house, and mama makes the rules. The minotaur is mine!"

She charged toward the pool, running until she reached the edge, then jumped, spread-eagle, into the water between them.

Her body plunged into the cool water. She got a bit up her nose, but it was all worth it for the startled look on her kids' faces when she popped back up. Was it really so unusual for her to play around with them like this? Maybe she should be taking some lessons from Tifa. Surely Yuffie Kisaragi-Porpington didn't need to be reminded how to act like a kid.

Tifa had no idea how much time had passed when the knocking jarred her awake.

"Teef? Are you ok in there?"

"What? Oh! I'm fine." Tifa flushed the toilet and got to her feet with the help of the bathroom vanity. Gods, she was tired. She turned on the tap and washed her hands, then splashed some water in her face. The spectacle in the mirror looked tired, but otherwise fine.

She turned around and opened the door. Yuffie stood in the hallway with her hands on her hips, looking worried.

"Good gods, Tifa! Are you ok?"

Maybe she didn't look as fine as she thought.

"Yeah, I'm good. Just a little indigestion," she said breezily, brushing by Yuffie and heading toward the kitchen. "What kind of drink do you want?"

Yuffie trailed behind her friend. "Are you sure? You were in there an awfully long time."

"Seriously, Yuffie? Are you timing my bathroom breaks now?" Tifa laughed, glancing back at her. "Actually, there is something wrong. I need something to drink! You got any of that homemade Wutaian wine?"

Yuffie hesitated. "Of course I do. It's a condition of Nissa's employment. But you look a little pale…"

"The wine will fix that," Tifa said with a grin. "Come on. When's the last time we got good and drunk together? We haven't done it since…just before my wedding, right?"

Yuffie frowned at her friend. "It's barely after noon, Teef."

"So? Since when are you the party police?" Tifa pulled down two large wine glasses from the overhead cupboard. "Jeez, Kisaragi, you used to be fun."

"Excuse me?" As Tifa had hoped, calling her by her maiden name got her riled up. "I'm still the undisputed binge queen of the north!" Yuffie declared. "But…" the fire faded from her eyes. "Maybe we should wait until the kids go to bed."

Tifa kept her back turned to Yuffie and steadied her shaky hands on the counter.

"I'm not seriously going to get drunk, Yuffie. I just want a glass."

"Oh." Yuffie sounded taken aback. "Well, I guess, there's no reason not to, since you're not…" she trailed off and Tifa bit her lip to hold back the rush of pain that slammed into her chest. She began rummaging loudly in the drawer for the cork puller.

"Do you want one?" she asked, hoping the noise covered the shakiness of her voice.

"Maybe later. I've been playing in the pool with the kids and I need some water." She peeked around Tifa's shoulder with a hopeful expression. "They've been asking when you're coming back, you know. Are you coming back in the pool?"

"I'm actually really tired right now. I'd just like to relax in the hot tub with my wine, if it's ok with you," Tifa said, still not meeting her eyes. She felt guilty about leaving the kids, but she really wasn't feeling up to playing with them at the moment.

Yuffie nodded slowly, then walked over to the fridge to pull out a bottle of water.

"Yeah, of course. Whatever you need, Teef."

For once, Yuffie was actually not prying into what she was feeling, for which Tifa was eternally grateful. For a while, she had almost felt happy. While she was splashing around with the kids, she had almost been able to forget about the mess that was her life. Now everything was hitting her again, and all she wanted was to numb the pain for a little while.

"You have an ice bucket? We can bring this out there, in case you want some later," Tifa said, finally feeling like it was safe to turn around to look at Yuffie.

"Sure," Yuffie said. She grabbed an ice bucket, pulled the chilled bottle out of the wine fridge, and stuck it in the bucket before pouring the ice around it. She carried it outside, Tifa a step behind with the two wine glasses.

Yuffie's hot tub was in-ground, large enough for 10 people, and near enough to the pool for them to go back and forth between them. She brought over the bucket with the wine and set it next to the hot tub, watching Tifa as she carefully eased into the hot water.

"Tifa…are you ok? Really?"

Tifa took a bracing breath and picked up her wine glass.

"I will be."

Yuffie popped up from behind Nicky and grabbed him around the waist, delighting in the little boy's peals of laughter echoing off the stone walls surrounding her back yard. It really had been a long time since she'd just played with the kids like this. Life got busy, and she was consumed with the day-to-day business of caring for the children. Between managing her own business and satisfying Maury's frequent cravings, she managed to spend time with them, but she never really just played with them.

She was more likely to be telling them to stop fooling around, wash up for dinner, put away their clothes, get ready for bed. Maybe Tifa's yearning for her own baby was making her realize that her boys weren't babies anymore, and she'd been missing out on the best part of their changing personalities.

"Dinner's ready, Miss Yuffie."

As always, Nissa approached in silence. She was the one from whom Yuffie had learned to sneak in the first place, until she was good enough at listening that Nissa could no longer sneak up on her. It made it so much easier to get away with things without getting caught.

But this time, Yuffie had let her guard down so much that she was just as startled as the kids to see her nanny standing in silence at the edge of the pool, Lonnie fast asleep in her arms.

"Whoa! Ok. Time to get out, boys," she said, surprised at how much time had passed. She glanced over to the hot tub. "Teef! Time for dinner."

Tifa seemed to be deep in thought, staring down at the surface of the water. The ends of her hair trailed in the water, splaying out around her like a dark stain. She must have been really absorbed, because she didn't respond at all. Yuffie pulled herself out of the pool and wrapped a towel around herself.

"Come on, Tifa," she said, walking toward the hot tub. "Didn't you hear? Nissa said…" her voice died in her throat. Tifa was propped up against the wall in the corner, but she wasn't contemplating the water. Her head was drooping on her chest. Her eyes were closed.

"Tifa!" Yuffie dropped her towel and jumped into the hot tub in front of her friend. She lifted Tifa's head and slapped lightly at her cheek. "Tifa, wake up."

Tifa's eyelids flickered. "Tifa!" Yuffie yelled louder, shaking her shoulders. Tifa's eyes opened briefly, unfocused, and then closed again.

"Maury! Maury, get out here and help me!" Yuffie yelled, feeling more than a little worried, but not wanting to scare the kids and Nissa, who had already gone inside.

Maury appeared at the patio door, still dressed in his coat and tie from work. "What is it?" he called.

"Tifa won't wake up!" she said, her voice quieter now that he was outside.

The slight irritation on his face morphed into worry. He ran across the cement, his shiny black shoes splashing in the bits of water from the pool.

Maury's sharp eyes took in everything on the scene: the empty wineglass floating in the water; the ice bucket tipped on its side; the traces of wine and water trailing down to the drain in the cement; the second, unused wine glass waiting patiently for someone to claim it.

He picked up the overturned bottle and shook it. There was a tiny bit left in the bottom, but there was no real way to know whether she drank the rest or if it spilled.

He shook his head and set the ice bucket upright, the bottle inside.

"She just drank too much, Yuffie. She just needs to sleep it off."

"Are you sure?" Yuffie said smartly. "Looks to me like the rest of it spilled."

"Well, the fact that she's passed out with wine on her breath suggests—"

"Just help me get her out," she snapped, cutting off his lawyerly logic ramble before he could really get going.

Maury squatted down behind Tifa and grabbed her under the armpits.

"Alright," he said, "You lift her legs."

Together, they hauled her out of the water, Maury walking backwards until Yuffie could no longer reach from the water. She set Tifa's legs down and hopped out of the hot tub. Maury laid her shoulders and head gently on the ground.

"What are you doing?" Yuffie demanded. "We can't just leave her here. Bring her inside!"

"By myself?" Maury snorted. "Right."

Yuffie groaned. "Fine, we'll do it together. We're not leaving her out here."

Maury slid his arms underneath her and lifted her with a grunt. Yuffie stood between her legs and held on to her thighs. The awkward trio made their way back to the house, through the open patio door. Yuffie stopped abruptly when she heard Nissa and the boys talking in the dining room. Maury kept walking, nearly losing his grip on the limp body.

"Yuffie!"

"Shhh!" she hissed. "I don't want the boys to see her. Take her to the south guest room," she said, nodding in the direction opposite of the dining room.

"That's so much farther!" Maury complained, but he turned in that direction and lurched down the hallway.

When they finally reached the guest room, Maury plopped Tifa on the bed. Yuffie fussed over her, adjusting the pillows under her head, getting extra blankets from the closet and laying them over Tifa.

"What do we do now?" she said, propping her hands on her hips.

"Now we let her sleep," Maury said, promptly leaving the room.

Yuffie followed, pulling the door shut behind her, but her hand stayed on the knob.

"Maury…what if she's not just drunk? I mean, she had the miscarriage, she probably lost a lot of blood, and gods only know what Cloud gave her and what it might do to her."

Maury sighed and stuck his hands in his pants pockets. "So what do you want to do? Call a doctor?"

"I don't know," Yuffie said, turning to face him in the hall. "She'll be so embarrassed if a doctor has to come here to tell us she's drunk."

"Call Cloud?" he suggested.

"No," Yuffie said adamantly. "She'll talk to him when she's ready. I don't want him to force it on her when she feels like hell."

Maury spread his hands in a shrug. "Then we let her sleep. Now come on. Nissa made steak and potatoes."

"Did Tifa leave?" Jacky asked innocently as the adults dished up their plates. Nissa had gotten the boys started while she gave Lonnie her bottle, and they were nearly done eating by the time Yuffie and Maury showed up.

"No, Tifa's not feeling well," Yuffie said. "She went to lie down."

"Oh." Jacky looked down at his plate, but Nicky's eyes still glowed with hope.

"Can she play after she's done lying?" Nicky asked.

"I don't know if she's going to feel better by the time you go bed," Maury said, glancing over at his wife.

"Maybe tomorrow," Yuffie said stiffly.

Nicky was quiet for a few minutes. He sat watching Yuffie cut into her steak.

"Then…will you play with us, Mommy?"

His little voice was just so hopeful, and Yuffie suddenly realized how long it had been since he'd asked her to play with him. He must have gotten tired of constantly hearing 'no.' She smiled a little. "Sure, Nicky. I'll play with you."

"And me?" Jacky spoke up, excited at his brother's success.

"Of course," Yuffie said, forcing a smile for them.

She was worried about Tifa, and not only about her current state. She was worried about her behavior before she got in the hot tub, and about the fact that she'd been in the bathroom for over an hour before Yuffie came looking for her. But she didn't know what to do besides sit and worry, which was pointless. Playing with her kids would help keep her distracted while she waited.

It worked, for a while at least. But by the time the kids were tucked into bed that night, Yuffie was tired of waiting. She padded down to the south guest room and knocked softly.

"Tifa?"

No response.

Yuffie cracked open the door and peeked her head in. The wedge of light from the hallway illuminated Tifa's back. For some reason, Yuffie felt better seeing that she had rolled on her side. It looked more like she was sleeping.

She crept over to the bed and said her name softly, shaking her shoulder. "Teef? You awake?"

Tifa seemed to slowly come back to consciousness, squinting in the light from the hall. She whimpered softly and closed her eyes again, pulling her knees toward her stomach, almost curling into a ball.

"Tifa? Are you ok?"

"It hurts," she whispered, her face scrunched in pain.

"What hurts?" Yuffie demanded. Tifa curled up tighter, wrapping a hand over her belly. "Tifa! Tell me what hurts! Do you want me to call the doctor?"

Tifa groaned again, with a barely discernable shake of her head. "Just let me sleep."

Yuffie clenched her fists and watched her friend slowly relaxing, loosening the ball that was her body, her breathing gradually becoming calm and deep. Tifa had told her not to call a doctor, but she was barely coherent. Was she really in a state of mind to make that decision?

She finally decided to get a second opinion. She left the room, nearly plowing into Maury in the hallway.

"I thought you might be here," he said.

"Maury! She woke up and she said it hurts and she's holding her stomach and she said not to call a doctor, but I don't know if I should listen or just leave her alone or what."

Maury smoothed down his wife's hair with his hands, calming her.

"Is there another option?" he asked. "Maybe someone else who's not a doctor, but could help?"

"I'm not calling Cloud," she said sharply.

"I didn't mean Cloud," he said calmly. He had learned that was the best way to avoid an argument with his wife when she was riled up – keep his voice low and calm and pretend not to notice that she was about to blow a gasket. "Do you know anyone else who might know something about her condition but isn't a doctor?"

Yuffie nibbled on her thumbnail while she pondered it. She looked up, her eyes suddenly alighting. "Of course! Denzel is a med student, and she won't have to wake up to some stranger poking and prodding her!"

Without waiting for a response, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed.

Cloud poured the drinks as fast as he could manage. Seventh Heaven was incredibly busy that night, and Denzel needed some help keeping up. He was bringing the drink orders, Cloud was filling them, and Denzel delivered them. As much as Cloud hated working behind the bar, keeping Seventh Heaven running was not only one of their sources of income, but Tifa's heart and soul. When she came back – if she came back – he wanted it to be just the way she left it.

The shrill ring of the phone behind the bar caught his attention. He poured the last two drinks and plopped them on Denzel's tray before reaching over to snag it.

"Seventh Heaven."

There was silence.

"Hello?" he said. "Anyone there?" He was just about to hang up when he heard a hesitant voice.

"I—is Denzel there?"

Cloud stopped, all of his attention suddenly narrowed to the phone.

"Yuffie?"

"N—no."

"Who is this?" he asked suspiciously.

"It's…uh…America. From the clinic."

Cloud blinked and shook his head. It didn't sound like Yuffie at all. It must have been wishful thinking. "Oh. Sure. He'll be here in just a minute."

He set the receiver down and signaled across the bar to Denzel. Denzel finished delivering his tray before making his way through the crowd.

"What's up?" he asked when he reached the bar.

Cloud had already gone back to filling orders from the people lined up at the bar, but he jerked his head in the direction of the phone.

"It's for you."

Denzel reached over the bar and picked up the receiver. Cloud didn't intend to listen in, but he couldn't help noticing Denzel's sudden posture change, the way he turned his body away from the bar. Unfortunately for Denzel, that wasn't good enough to escape mako-sharpened hearing.

"What's wrong with her?...Can you get her to wake up at all?...Did she say anything?...Ok, I'll be right there…." He glanced over his shoulder and looked at Cloud, quickly turning away when he saw him looking back. His voice lowered further. "Yeah, I won't. I won't! I'll figure something out…Ok…Ok. Bye."

He reached over the bar and tried to hang up the receiver, fumbling blindly. Cloud came over and put his hand over Denzel's, guiding it to the base. Denzel looked surprised to see him. Surprised and nervous.

"What's going on?" Cloud asked calmly.

Denzel started blinking quickly. "I'm really sorry, Cloud, but can you call in someone to cover me? I have to go. There's an emergency."

"What's the emergency?"

"Um, it's a medical thing," Denzel said.

Cloud crossed his arms and stared at Denzel. He was hiding something. "Really. Who was that on the phone? It didn't sound like Dr. Anton."

"No. It was…Joey." His eyes darted to the side.

"Really? Joey has an awfully feminine voice," Cloud said lightly.

Denzel suddenly found other things more interesting to look at. "Yeah, it's a she," he said quickly. "Josephine. She's new. Anyway, I've gotta go—"

"Denzel. Look at me," Cloud said sternly.

The young man swallowed hard, slowly dragging his eyes back to his adoptive father. It didn't even matter that he was fully grown, tall enough that he had to look down to do it. He never could lie to Cloud.

Yuffie stood on the front step, watching the traffic go by. Where was Denzel? He should have been there by now. Scowling, she suddenly remembered that Denzel didn't have a car, so he probably needed to catch a bus. She was watching the bus stop down the street from her house, so she completely missed the roar of the familiar engine.

Her stomach dropped as Fenrir screeched into her driveway. It was Cloud, with Denzel on the back.

"Where is she?" he demanded, striding toward her.

Yuffie looked past him at Denzel, who was still getting off the bike. "Denzel!"

"I'm sorry," he said, cringing. "I tried."

Cloud ignored them both, breezing past Yuffie and opening the front door himself.

"Excuse me! That's my house!" she said indignantly.

Cloud was not as regular a guest as Tifa in that house, but he knew where the guest rooms were. He ignored her and strode quickly to the room where she'd stayed the night before. He flung open the door, finding an empty bed.

"Yuffie! Tell me where she is!" he said, turning around to see her and Denzel catching up.

"Cloud, you shouldn't be here," Yuffie said.

Cloud came back down the hall toward the living room. "She's my fucking wife!" he snapped, pushing past her in the hallway.

"Your fucking wife who's afraid of you!" Yuffie snarled back.

Cloud stopped and lowered his head. He turned around to face her. "Yuffie, please…" he said pleadingly. "I need to see her."

Yuffie had her hands propped solidly on her hips, ready to honor Tifa's wishes at any cost, but his eyes made her pause. Damn those expressive eyes. She'd never seen him look so scared and worried. She almost wished he still hid behind that SOLDIER persona so she wouldn't have to feel the guilt from those eyes.

"Oh, Cloud," Yuffie sighed.

"Maybe we should let Denzel check her out first," Maury said softly. Yuffie spun to face him. She hadn't even realized that he'd been standing there. "We can…fill Cloud in on some things."

Reluctantly, Cloud nodded. Maury started walking toward the living room. "Let's sit down. We can talk in here."

"Come with me, Denzel," Yuffie said softly. She led him to the door of the south guest room.

"Thanks," he said. He looked at the door handle and took a deep breath before opening it.

Yuffie couldn't help but think of the little mouse he used to be. Looking at him now, so grown up, she could hardly believe so much time had passed. She certainly wasn't old. How did he get so much older?

She wanted to know what he thought about Tifa, but she was more concerned about what Maury might say, left alone with Cloud, so she hurried back to the living room. She stopped at the threshold when she heard their voices.

"…but how could you do something like that?" Maury was asking. "Knowing how much she wanted it."

Cloud shook his head. "Tifa…doesn't know everything. She doesn't understand everything."

"And whose fault is that?" Maury asked pointedly.

Cloud sighed. "It's mine. I just didn't want to hurt her! You know Tifa. She's so tenderhearted. It would have torn her apart to know."

"I think she's pretty torn apart now," Yuffie said, walking in to join them.

"I know," Cloud said softly.

"Don't you think it would've been better to tell her those things instead of…doing what you did?" Maury asked gently.

Cloud dropped his head into his hands. "Yes. Of course it would. I can see that now, but…there's something that…I never told you guys."

Now there's a surprise, Yuffie thought, but wisely didn't say.

"Tifa knows, but…" He lifted his head, looking distraught. "It's…private."

"I think we're in too deep to back out now, Cloud," Maury said wisely. "You'd be better off having us as your allies."

Cloud nodded slowly. "You're right. You're right." He let out a breath. "I trust you guys. I can tell you."

It had been a long time since Yuffie had really appreciated the tact and wisdom of her husband. She looked at him now, amazed at how easily Maury was able to peel back the complicated layers of Cloud Strife. Maybe she didn't give him enough credit for how good he was at his job. It was like he was coaxing a confession out of a witness.

Cloud pushed his hands through his hair and sat back on the couch. "I…still hear him. In my head."

"Him?" Yuffie raised her eyebrows.

"Him," Cloud repeated.

"You mean Sephiroth?" Maury asked.

Cloud looked over at him, surprised that Maury even knew his name.

"You hear Sephiroth?" Yuffie said shrilly.

"Yeah," Cloud said, looking back at her. "It's not all the time. Honestly, I hadn't heard from him for a long time. But when Tifa told me she wanted to have a baby, I heard him laugh. He laughed." A bead of sweat appeared on Cloud's brow. "And when she told me she was pregnant, I felt him move. I felt him like he was right there beside me, taunting me. The word was bouncing around inside my head: reborn. And then…plain as day, he said, 'You've killed me three times before, Cloud. What about this time? Can you kill your own child?'"

The room was silent. Sweat slid down Cloud's temple. Yuffie and Maury were frozen in twin looks of horror.

'Cloud is the only person alive who can stop Sephiroth. If he was truly reborn, raised as Cloud's child…'

Yuffie shook her head, refusing to finish the thought. All she could think about was little Denzel, so young and sweet, so desperate for some stability. His tortured soul had called out to Cloud's, and he had made him whole in parts Cloud hadn't even realized he was missing. If he found out tomorrow that Denzel was evil incarnate…well.

Cloud would let the world burn.