OK! New story, this one is a CidxShera fic... and it's angsty... just to warn ya! Prop of Square Enix... The first chap is just an intro really, so it's a bit short... sorry! R&R!

Shera Highwind stood at the sink and washed the dishes from dinner, trying to ignore the unhealthy sounding cough that was coming from her husband. Even if she'd brought it up, he wouldn't go to the doctor… but it was really starting to worry her, and when she heard the tell tale click of a Bic lighting another cigarette, she nearly went nuclear… well as angry as she could get. She turned, frowning at the older pilot sitting at the kitchen counter, quite surprised when she stomped over to him and pulled the cigarette out of his mouth, then throwing it into the soapy dishwater.

Cid Highwind, notable pilot, savior of the world and fouled mouth ass, jumped up and blinked. "What in the hell di' ya do that fer woman!?"

"You need to start smoking outside!" The housewife crossed her arms under her chest and set her face into a hurt scowl. "You may enjoy killing yourself, but now you're putting your child at risk!" The blond pilot's mouth fell open when he heard this, "I ain't got no kids, what are ya gettin' at Shera?"

"You will, in eight months… and it's bad to smoke around the baby."

It took another minute to have it soak into his brain, then a proud grin split his face and he ran up to her, hugging her tightly. "Really? Why didn' ya tell me sooner?"

"I just found out today…" She wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his chest, closing her eyes. She could hear his lung working harder then they should have been, and with nothing but concern in her eyes, she looked back up into the blue orbs of her beloved husband. "Cid, I'm worried about your health…"

"Shit Shera, I feel fine…" He coughed again and covered his mouth. When he pulled his hand back, a few spots of blood could be seen. His wife didn't see it, but she still shook her head. "Cid Highwind, you need to go to the doctor… and stop smoking. I want you to be around for your baby…" He sighed and reached into his pocket, pulling the cigarettes out and handed them to her… "Alright… I'll go t' the damn doctor…" His wife took the offending stick and put them in the dishwater as well… she wasn't about to loose her husband with a baby on the way.

Cid pulled away and went toward the bedroom, mumbling the whole way. He had noticed it was getting harder to breathe when he worked out, and that hadn't been the first time he'd coughed up blood. He didn't want to worry his wife, especially now that he knew she was pregnant, and a pang of guilt shot through him… he'd been smoking around her all the last month, what if he'd already hurt his son or daughter? He pulled a jacket on and went down to the store, getting some of that nasty nicotine gum… He was going to quit, and once he put his mind to something, people were hard pressed to change it.

.:xXx:.

Cid sat in the exam room, a shocked look on his face. "Are ya sure Doc?"

The kindly woman doctor, Angela Green, nodded her red head, a sad look on her face. "I'm afraid so Captain… but according to the tests, it's a small tumor near the top of your lung, that's the reason you're coughing up blood already… it really could be worse…"

The pilot frowned, how could it get worse? He had cancer… a life threatening disease that eats away at you, and it was his entire fault for smoking for so many years. He was going to have see that look on Shera's face… that horrible, heartbreaking look. "Can it be cured?"

"We need to schedule you for emergency surgery and get the tumor out… then we'll be able to do some tests to see if it's spread to the good tissue around it. If not, then we just watch you, to make sure it doesn't recur… now if it has affected the area surrounding it, then we'll have to do chemotherapy, to kill those cells… we caught it in the beginning Captain Highwind… the prognosis is good… seventy percent survival rate..."

The pilot rubbed his hand over his face, closing his eyes, "When cin we do this surgery?"

"Tomorrow, please come to the hospital at noon, and don't eat anything…" He nodded and got up, heading home… "Fuck," he whispered, not sure how he was going to break this news to Shera… When he walked in their house, he was met by his wife, who took a deep breath at the sight of him. She already knew what he was going to say before it came out of his mouth.

"It's cancer Shera… I have to go into surgery tomorrow."

"Is it bad?"

"Naw… she said it was in th' beginning stages… it could be worse." He went to her, wrapping his arms around her and hugging her close. "I'm sorry, Shera…" She just shook her head and leaned up to kiss him softly… "We'll get through this, I promise… you'll be fine and be able run and play with our child." He nodded and just stood there for a few moments, and then his wife spoke again. "You should call Cloud honey…"

"Hell no I'm not callin' Cloud! He'll jus' come down here an' git in th' way! 'Sides, it'll jus' worry 'im." He pulled away and went for the bedroom, wanting to lay down and take a nap. It was horrible to see him like that, and even though he said no, she knew that he needed his friends. They would want to know that there was something wrong… She pulled out her cell phone and started making calls.

.:xXx:.

Cid cursed when he showed up for his surgery and Cloud and the rest of Avalanche was standing at the door to the hospital. "Damn it! Git the hell outta here! I don't want ya to see me like this!" Cloud smiled a bit and shook his head. "We're here for Shera, she needs the moral support."

"Yeah Old Man, we need to be here for your little brat too, in case you and your stupid ass don't make it." Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him and he just scoffed at her. Tifa gave the ninja a playful glare, "We're all here for you too Cid… you may act tough, but cancer is a scary thing… we're here for support."

The Captain sighed, "Fine, since I cin't git rid o' ya, keep Shera from stressin' too much…" He turned, walking through the doors… The group of friends all looked to each other with concerned faces; obviously they weren't as upbeat as they were making themselves out to be. "He'll be alright, right?" Yuffie said with a shaky voice, only to have Vincent reach over and give her an affectionate squeeze on the shoulder. Cloud took a deep breath, "He's a tough old bastard… I'm sure he will be fine."

None of them were convinced though, and it was evident on their faces as they followed Cid in…