Hey everyone! This was actually started quite a few months ago, but I had a real difficult time trying to end it - just couldn't seem to find the right place. Finally finished it tonight though! This story ignores the fact that Cloud just miraculously turned up in the church at the end of AC, and assumes that the gang found him instead after the explosion.

Let me know what you think, and thank you very much to all of those who have added to this to their story alerts and favourites!

Tifa smiled, feeling happier than she had in months. She turned back to the excited cheers of her friends, laughing at the way Yuffie bounced around the ship and cheered loudly, causing Cait to start shouting again. She clapped her hands with glee, almost feeling the need to jump around herself.

It happened so fast she almost missed it. From the corner of her eye, she saw an explosion. And her world stopped.

Yuffie froze mid-jump next to Tifa, hands flying to her mouth in shock even as Tifa moved forward, a heart-wrenching cry leaving her lips as her mind caught up to what her eyes were seeing. "Cloud!" she cried desperately. Please, oh please let him be ok. Gaia, let him be alright.

One look at Tifa's horrified face told them all they couldn't rest until they found Cloud...and all of them hoped he was still alive when they did.

Tifa didn't really remember what happened after she saw that explosion. One minute she was staring at the flames, heart refusing to comprehend what her eyes were telling her and the next she was standing on the platform, staring out as the others began their search. Yuffie hovered anxiously nearby, clearly worried as her eyes alternated between watching the others and Tifa.

Tifa felt frozen in place. She wanted to go and look, to see for herself that Cloud was alright. Of course he was alright. He had promised her he'd come back. He promised her that he would always be there for her. And right now, she needed him. So he'd come back. He'd promised.

But there was still a tiny part of her, that tiny, traitorous, common sense that warned her that maybe he wasn't alright. She'd seen some of the wounds inflicted on him in his battle. She'd seen the explosion. Maybe he wasn't ok. Maybe something terrible had happened. But he promised.

And maybe he was ok, but he just wasn't coming back to her right now. Like when she finally admitted to herself that maybe he wasn't coming back after he left Seventh Heaven and she cried herself to sleep. She'd needed him then, and he hadn't come. Maybe this was the same thing. She hoped not. Her heart couldn't take much more of this not knowing. It hurt. It hurt a lot.

She needed to find him and see him with her own eyes, but she was terrified of what she'd find. More terrified than she'd been when Marlene showed her the used bandages in the church. More terrified than she'd been when she saw those monsters surrounding Denzel. More terrified than when Loz was about to take Marlene away. She was terrified that her... best friend might actually be gone. Her heart cried out in protest, and the foot she'd been about to move remained rooted in place.

Half of her needed to see him, needed to know he was alright. Needed to hold him close and never let him go. The other half of her was frozen, desperately trying to protect her from the horrible possibility – that maybe, just maybe, he wasn't ok – hovering at the edges of her mind.

In the end, it was Barrett who found him.

When she heard Barret's call, she tensed, eyes widening. Yuffie squeezed her arm, eyes nothing but sympathetic, and bounded over to Barret to discover what Tifa could not. When she heard the cheerful shriek of "HE'S ALIVE!" Tifa stopped breathing from sheer relief. Knowing the truth, she then raced over to the others, heart pounding in her chest.

Vincent stepped in her way, frowning. "His injuries are severe, I would not look" he said quietly, but Tifa ignored him and pushed past. Instantly a cry escaped her lips, hand flying up to her mouth. So much blood. So many burns. But that was definitely a pulse. That's what mattered. That's all that mattered.

Yuffie pulled out her cell phone, quickly pressing buttons. "I'll call Reeve and tell him to come pick us up now or else he's gonna meet my Conformer!" she declared, though her words couldn't hide the shakiness of her voice. The Shera wouldn't get them close enough to the hospital, they needed a car.

Cloud thought he heard something. A very slight sound...a humming maybe? He frowned, trying to place it. Eventually, he realised he might just see the cause of this sound if he opened his eyes. But that seemed to be a very difficult task right now. Finally, he cracked one eye open, then the other opened in confusion. White? All he could see was white. That was unexpected.

Frowning again, he tried to sit up. And couldn't. His chest...it felt really heavy. It hurt to move. But he wanted to know what was going on. He was very confused and...and a little scared. Nothing should be this quiet, and this bright. It can't be a lab again...

There! There was that noise again. He tried to turn his head to look, but his head hurt too. Something seemed to be trickling into his eyes from his forehead. But that was impossible. He could tell he was lying down and that his head was tilted back. His blood – and he knew that's what it was – shouldn't be moving into his eyes. He sniffed at the thought that it would be just like his blood to do something like defy gravity. Just like a part of him to do something abnormal and wrong. Freak.

At that thought, he experienced some peculiar feeling where it felt like his body was moving – tilting. But on his head. That alarmed him a bit, and he closed his eyes, as though that would stop the feeling of his head going into the ground as his feet moved up. Suddenly, the peculiar feeling vanished, and he realised he was still lying down. No head into the floor or anything. That was weird. Still a little scared. Freak.

A distinctly feminine giggle was the next thing he heard, followed by a male-sounding cough. He felt the sensation of a soft hand against his face. He frowned, trying to place it – that touch seemed familiar. He struggled to open his mouth, to acknowledge it. "Ti...Tifa?" he asked the air, his eyes hurting too much to open again.

He heard a soft sigh, and the hand moved away from his face. The pain above his eyes vanished, but his eyelids still refused to open. "Tifa?" he asked again, sounding small and afraid. He hated that, but his voice refused to be anything different.

He felt the hand move into his hair, smoothing the spikes back from his forehead. "Oh, my poor dear," a female voice murmured absently. "It's alright. We're going to take care of you. Everything's alright."

He frowned slightly, feeling sleepy. This wasn't Tifa. He tried again. "Mom?"

He heard a giggle. "Again? Why is everyone calling me their mother lately?" he heard, feeling the hand on his face slowly move down his body. She touched his chest, and the heavy, painful feeling there slowly left too, making him feel more sleepy.

A quiet male voice answered, and he felt a brief touch on his shoulder. "I guess they must be fond of you."

The hands on his chest moved over his legs and foot, the pain there slowly vanishing as well. "This one's a little too big to adopt," she replied, her tone teasing. Cloud sighed, drifting off into sleep again. Whoever these people were, they were confusing.

The hand on his shoulder tightened. "You hear that? Guess there's no place for you here."

Cloud was still confused, but nodded anyway, and went back to sleep.

When he opened his eyes again, he was somewhere else. He could still see lots of white, but there was a definite 'room' structure rather than just white nothingness. And he could also hear things, which sounded like people talking and walking around somewhere nearby. But since they sounded friendly, he didn't mind the noise. He closed his eyes again. A few seconds later, his body decided to tell him it actually hurt a lot, and he stifled a gasp. He kept his eyes closed, trying to take stock of his injuries. Above his eye was itchy and prickled. His foot was protesting. His arms hurt a lot. His chest was really mad at him, and not afraid to show it. His hand was also tingling.

He frowned at that. That tingling didn't fit in with the rest of him. He slowly opened his eyes and focused on his right hand. And his heart stopped.

Using his right hand as a pillow was Tifa, the wolf ring he'd given her shining in the light. He frowned again. It couldn't have been comfortable for her to be sleeping in that position. Even though she was asleep, she looked absolutely exhausted, and his heart ached to see her looking so miserable. He still felt relieved though. His fear that he was in a lab again had faded upon seeing her. If some scientist was experimenting on him, Tifa wouldn't be here. She would make them leave, or get him out.

Tifa always made the bad things go away.

Cloud's hand had evidently fallen asleep under the pressure from her, but with her holding his hand (well, that's what it looked like she was doing, he couldn't really feel anything), he certainly wasn't going to complain. He was more worried about how uncomfortable she looked, and tried to move his hand. The slight movement he achieved caused pain to shoot through his chest and he groaned.

The sound seemed to wake Tifa, who stirred. Feeling guilty for waking her when she was clearly so exhausted, Cloud shut his eyes, hoping she would go back to sleep.

Tifa rubbed her eyes, stifling a yawn. Not sure what had woken her, she quickly checked over Cloud. He looked fine. Well, as fine as he could look at the moment. She forced herself not to stare at his injuries too much, as it made her want to cry. The doctors said it was a miracle he was even alive. She noticed he was breathing normally, and the machines indicated that nothing was wrong. "Nothing other than all those injuries," she muttered under her breath, glaring at them.

Her back then decided to let her know it didn't appreciate the way she'd been sleeping, and she stood up to stretch, oblivious to the sly glances from the patient next to her.

Hearing the door, she turned to see Marlene standing there, holding a tray of food and biting her lip while Denzel held the door open and determinedly didn't look at Cloud. "Hi Tifa, we...we thought you might be hungry" Marlene said quietly, offering up the tray without moving forward.

Tifa smiled sadly, beckoning the children closer. "It's ok, I don't bite" she said softly, her tone teasing even though her eyes were exhausted.

Still looking a little cautious, Marlene moved over, presenting the tray to Tifa. Hospital food really didn't appeal to Tifa, but Marlene was worried enough about her already. She moved her chair away from the bed, being careful to sit down in it slowly rather than collapse like she felt like doing. She smiled again as Marlene moved the trap onto her lap, childish eyes wide and imploring her to eat.

Denzel hovered nearby, looking anxious. "Tifa, you need to eat" he said quietly, and her heart broke a little at the mature tone to his voice.

She smiled, squeezing his arm. "I will, I'm just a little tired right now," she admitted.

"That's what you said last time" Denzel warned, folding his arms and glaring at her. She smiled, ruffling his hair and causing him to duck away from her touch as he tried to scowl.

Marlene moved over to Cloud's bedside, looking sad. "Oh, the flowers are dying" she said unhappily, looking at the tiny wildflowers she and Denzel had picked for Cloud.

"That's ok, we'll just have to get more, won't we Marlene?"

She sighed. "I know. I'm glad the flowers in the church are gone, but they would have looked a lot better."

Tifa squeezed Denzel's arm again as he tensed slightly. Marlene was right, the flowers were gone. Not long after Cloud was taken to the hospital, Marlene had dragged Denzel and Barret with her to Aerith's church to pick some flowers for him. To her dismay, the flowers had been replaced with a pool of water. She had been crouched at the edge when Denzel had jumped up behind her and scared her, causing her to fall in. Before Barret could intervene, she splashed him. And when the water hit his forehead, she was amazed to see the Geostigma fading away. She'd screamed, Denzel freaked out, and Barret came running over with his arm ready to fire. Eventually they all calmed down enough to realise the healing properties of the water, and had quickly spread the word.

Tifa still couldn't really believe it. Geostigma...gone. Something that had caused so much pain and heartache... something which made Cloud leave... was gone. Everyone spoke in amazement about this water that could heal – in fact, many were still sceptical. Tifa heard reports from the children about previous Geostigma sufferers anxiously hanging around the church, as though fearing the disease would return if they left the area for too long. In time, the fear would go away. Aerith would fix it, just like she fixed the sickness itself. She was good like that.

Aerith always made the bad things go away.

Tifa had a feeling Aerith had intervened with Cloud too. She was glad... so glad... and she pulled the children in close for a tight hug that was the only release of emotion she allowed herself now. "Thank you," she murmured into their hair, feeling close to tears. "Thank you so much."

Denzel was the first to squirm away, as she'd known he would. "Ti-fa!" he grumbled, before quickly becoming expressionless. "The lunch isn't that good," he mumbled shyly, rubbing the back of his head, a gesture which made her tears fade and her heart briefly stop.

"It wasn't just that," she said softly, smiling. "But yes, thank you for that too. Guess I better eat something huh?"

Marlene nodded fiercely. "Daddy says if you don't, he's going to drag you downstairs and kick your butt!" she said cheerfully, frowning in the way she always did when impersonating Barret. Tifa laughed and set about eating the admittedly horrible lunch – at least the kids had tried to get her the best parts. She was grateful.

Meanwhile, Marlene had climbed up onto the other chair, peering worriedly at Cloud. "Tifa? How...how is he?" she asked, turning her wide brown eyes to her foster mother.

Tifa froze for a moment, but continued eating in what she hoped was a nonchalant manner. "He's...getting better Marlene," she said carefully.

The little girl frowned. "Daddy says 'Spike better be ready to leave soon, or else he's really gonna regret it'!" she declared, eyes widening at Tifa's barely stifled chuckle. "What?"

Tifa smiled. "Your father is just worried about Cloud," she replied. She then giggled. "However, your father tends to show his worry by threatening to beat someone up."

Denzel scowled. "I'd like to see him try!" he declared bravely, and Tifa hid a smile at the less-than-brave expression. Denzel hadn't come across Barret before the attack, and to both meet the man and see him shoot rapidly at something within the space of about one minute would make most men turn and run. Denzel, her little man, seemed content to avoid Barret, but bravely stand up to him when he wasn't there. She thought it was sweet.

Marlene thought it was suicidal. Her eyes widened. "Denzel, you can't fight Daddy!" she said, sounding horrified.

Denzel frowned. "What, you don't think I could?" he said, sounding a little hurt.

Marlene shook her head. "No way! Daddy has a gun Denzel, a gun! Plus he's like ten times as big as you!" she said, eyes still wide.

Denzel reddened. "He's not that much taller than me," he grumbled, and Tifa chuckled before ruffling his hair again.

"Don't worry Denzel, Barret's bigger than everyone," she teased, laughing again as he ducked away from her touch and began smoothing his hair down, scowling.

Marlene sighed, clinging to Cloud's hand. "Tifa?"

Tifa turned, the smile slipping from her face. "Yes sweetie?"

"How much longer till we can all go home?"

Tifa was tempted to reply with the same response as before: 'Not until he gets a lecture!' Cloud would be in some definite trouble when he finally woke up – Tifa had had a long time to think about what she was going to say, and it was hardly flattering. That is, until she looked at him, and then all her angry words disappeared.

She was alternating between wanting to strangle him for worrying her and the others so much and wanting to kiss him and never let him go. Her face flushed at the second thought, and she determinedly put it out of her mind.

Tifa then smiled and moved back to Cloud's side. "Soon Marlene – the doctors say he should wake up soon," she said pleasantly, unable to resist gently stroking his hair.

"Aww, now that's a picture perfect moment," a cheerful voice chimed in from the door, and the little family turned to see Yuffie grinning at them, hands in a box shape in front of her as though her hand was a camera and she was trying to capture the memory.

Tifa flushed and stepped back from Cloud - who shifted slightly at her movement, though no-one noticed. Yuffie then bounced into the room, her energy fading slightly at seeing Cloud. "Come on Tifa, you need to have lunch with us! Barret's going crazy, the nurses are scared of Nanaki, Cid won't stop smoking, and Vincent's being boring!" she declared, literally starting to drag the surprised martial artist out of the room.

"But...but what about Cloud?" Tifa said helplessly as little hands started to help the ninja.

Yuffie beamed, letting go of her as Marlene and Denzel took over. "Never fear! The White Rose of Wutai is here! I'll watch him for you!"

Tifa blinked, evidently hesitant about this turn of events, but eager children stole her away before she could protest.

The instant Tifa was gone, Yuffie jumped to Cloud's bedside. "I know you're awake," she said in annoyance, jabbing him in the side.

He yelped and glared at her, causing her smirk to widen. "See, I knew it!"

Cloud just glared back, turning his head to look away from her. Yuffie's smile then dropped. "Why are you hiding from Tifa?"

"I'm not hiding."

"Yes you are."

"I am not hiding."

"Yes you are."

Seeing where this was going, Cloud just raised an eyebrow and decided to ignore her.

Yuffie frowned, hands on hips. "She's been really worried you know."

Cloud sighed. "I didn't mean to worry her," he said quietly.

Yuffie then smirked. "Ooh, you're in so much trouble when she finds out you're awake! She's been worried sick about you, and then you run off and nearly get yourself killed, and she's really gonna let you have it!" she declared, grinning cheekily. "But why were you hiding?"

Cloud frowned. "I wanted to let her sleep."

Yuffie rolled her eyes. "Yeah right, like she's going to get any sleep in these chairs. Especially when she's all in a tizzy over you! Honestly Cloud, I really don't get you sometimes!" she said in exasperation.

Cloud sighed, wincing slightly at the pain in his chest. "How long?"

Yuffie's grin faded. "Long enough to know that as soon as you're mobile, Tifa is really gonna kick your ass. We've all been taking turns waiting here and looking after the kids, but Tifa hasn't left since we found you Cloud." She then beamed again. "You're in so much trouble!" she continued gleefully.

Cloud merely glared at her. If he could, he would have rolled over to get away from her. As it was, moving was not an option. Yuffie then reached over to ruffle his hair, grinning at his half-horrified, half-exasperated look. "Chocobo-head!" she teased, grin widening at his dark glare.

Yuffie then sat back on the chair behind her, expression unusually serious. "Hey Cloud, you better 'wake up' when she gets back, she's been really worried," she said quietly. "I've never seen her like this."

"Tifa always cares," was his reply. And it was true. Tifa always cared for him and the others when the worst things had happened to them. Mako poisoning had been bad enough – he wouldn't let her watch him waste away again right in front of her. And so he left. And apparently he'd just done the same thing to her all over again anyway – making her watch as he drifted from life to death and back again.

"I know Cloud – she always looks out for everyone," Yuffie continued, looking sad. She then brightened. "You should just kiss her and put her out of her misery!" she declared cheekily, grinning in that evil way only Yuffie could.

If Cloud had been drinking anything at that moment, he would have choked. As it was, his eyes merely bulged with shock. "I didn't hear that," he muttered, squeezing his eyes shut as though that would make her go away.

"Yuffie, what are you doing?" an annoyed voice responded, which made Cloud open his eyes in surprise. Tifa was standing in the doorway, tapping her foot and glaring at the ninja. "He's supposed to be resting and you running around here and yelling isn't...Cloud?" she asked uncertainly, eyes wide as she stared at him.

Cloud blinked. "Tifa," he said softly, lips shifting into a small smile.

Tifa just stared, gripping the door so hard her knuckles had turned white. "You're...you're awake," she whispered, looking anxious.

He nodded. "I'm here," he said quietly, and the two of them might as well have been alone in the room as they stared at each other.

At least, it seemed like they were alone until Yuffie spoke again. "Well, now that that's cleared up, I'm going to tell the others!" she said cheerfully, running past the startled Tifa to screech into the hallway. "HEY! HE'S AWAKE!"

Tifa moved her hand to her head, shaking it in amusement at Yuffie's antics. "You know, you didn't have to shout," she said dryly.

Yuffie raised an eyebrow. "Why not? They heard me, didn't they?"

Cloud sniffed. "The whole building probably heard you," he replied, and Yuffie scowled.

"Whatever. I'm going to go find the others and drag them over here then! Separating the boys from food might be difficult, but I am the Great Yuffie Kisaragi!" she declared, skipping off down the hall. "So you lovebirds better get a move on before they get here!" she called back cheerfully.

Both 'lovebirds' decided to ignore her. Tifa moved over to stand beside Cloud, eyes moving over him anxiously. "Really ok?" she asked quietly.

He nodded. "I'm back Tifa," he repeated, frowning as tears appeared in her eyes. Tifa shouldn't cry. Tifa should never cry. Crying meant something bad and Tifa deserved everything good.

She hastily wiped them away with the back of her hand. "I'm glad," she said earnestly, before smiling brightly. "They helped you, didn't they?" she continued softly, tilting her head to the side.

Cloud's eyebrows rose for a moment, recalling a strange conversation. He then nodded. "Zack and Aerith. They sent me back."

Tifa's smile softened, though her eyes were still shining. "I'm so glad," she said again, leaning forward to kiss his forehead. "Thank you," she whispered, hovering there for a moment before pulling away to look at his suddenly pink face.

Cloud looked up at her, his throat suddenly dry. "Tifa...I..."

"CLOUD!"

Startled, Tifa moved back as two small cannonballs launched themselves across the room at their favourite swordsman. The rest of the group then squeezed themselves into the room, Cid chuckling at the sight of the children clinging to Cloud while trying not to touch any of his injuries.

Yuffie beamed. "I told you!" she cried, jabbing Vincent in the side. "See, he's fine!" Vincent frowned at her, but Yuffie didn't seem to notice.

Tifa stepped back towards the window, smiling as she watched the whole group surround Cloud, the children already pestering him with questions. He was alive, and she was so happy, so thankful. Here was another chance.

A flash of pink caught her eye, and she smiled. "Aerith..." she said softly, looking out the window and up into the sky. "Somehow, I knew you were there... Thank you."

Tifa knew she didn't imagine the pleased response. "You see, everything's alright"

Tifa bowed her head, still smiling. "I know." She then turned to look at all of her friends and family, chuckling briefly at the slightly overwhelmed look on Cloud's face. The children were still gripping him for dear life, Barret was exclaiming about the battle, and Yuffie was bouncing around everywhere, chattering the whole while.

"He's not alone, not anymore," she said aloud, before turning and walking back to hug her family. "Thank you, thank you so much." A soft giggle and the shine of the yellow flowers on the windowsill was all the reply she needed.