HELLO READERS!

I know, I know! I owe you guys the next chapter of Breaking Point. And I promise you that its coming, but think of it like this. Since last February, all I have been writing it Breaking Point. And I've pushed aside a few ideas so I could roll out all of the chapters that I have for that story. So, this is one of those ideas that I finally got around to writing. Oh, stay tuned for another one of those ideas. A Kingdom Hearts Christmas idea. :)

I know that Final Fantasy XIII gets a lot of negativity, but I don't care. It is one of my favourite games in the entire series that has one of the best plots in the entire series. There were so many awesome moments in that game, but I'm not going to say any of them for spoilers sake. Especially since I'm sending this to a friend to BETA read who's still watching through the cutscenes. ;)

Then again, she is about to read this. And this is set post game. So, she's fucked. Sorry Kate. :(

Anyway, enough with the apologies and on with the fic!

This oneshot is brought to you by the need to write something that wasn't Breaking Point (Yeah yeah, I'm working on the next chapter.)!

Guardian

Lightning waited patiently outside the door of her bathroom with her arms crossed. The noises on the other side of the door made her shut her eyes and cringe. Inside the bathroom was Hope, and he was violently throwing up in the toilet. Every hack, gag and wheeze made Lightning grit her teeth together. One of her closest friends was in agony and there wasn't anything she could do to help him.

"Oh Hope." Lightning thought to herself, glancing down to where her brand used to be "Why did you have to get so sick? You didn't deserve this, especially after everything that happened to you."

She placed her hand against the door as Hope continued spilling his guts into the toilet, "I just wish that I was able to get to you sooner."

Lightning approached the Esthiem residence with a box in her hand. In it was a cake she had baked for Hope's birthday. He had no idea she was coming over or that she any sort of surprise planned. Snow, Serah, Sazh and Dajh were waiting back at her house decorating for the party.

She approached the door and raised a hand to knock, but retracted it when she saw it was slightly ajar.

"Hope?" She called, a hint of worry in her voice.

Silence.

Lightning carefully set her cake down and drew her gunblade. She glanced around for anything out of the ordinary. There was no sign of forced entry from the door, and all of the windows were intact.. Her mind went back to Hope. What if the stealthy invader caught the boy off guard? He couldn't use magic anymore, and what if his boomerang was out of reach?

Lightning refocused on the task at hand: confirming Hope's safety. She quietly opened the door and stepped in the house. She silently locked it behind her to avoid her target escaping through the front. She couldn't risk calling out to Hope again. She would give herself away. She made her way through every room on the first floor, searching for the intruder. Each room came up empty handed, so what was going on? The faint smell of whiskey was in the air puzzled the soldier. Bartholomew was twice as old as Lightning and favored whiskey, but it was early in the day. Why would she smell this now?

The sound of running water caught Lightning's attention. She followed the noise up the stairs to the second floor. She confirmed that the upstairs bathroom was where the noise was coming from. A sob from the same room made her eyes go wide. She clutched her gunblade tighter and made her way across the floor right outside the door. She charged in with her weapon held high. But what she found made her stop dead in her tracks.

There was no intruder in the house, it was just Hope, and he was in bad shape. The silver-haired boy was holding a wet cloth to his arm, blood dripping down it to the floor. He was clutching his ribcage with his free hand, and his clothes were a torn up mess. A bruise was forming on his cheek and his emerald eyes were raining tears down his face.

"Hope?" Lightning asked, sheathing her weapon.

"Light?" Hope responded in shock, "What are you-"

"What happened to you?" Lightning asked, taking a step closer.

Hope turned away, breaking eye contact with the soldier. Lightning knelt down to his level and placed her hands on his shoulders. The contact made him wince and cry out. Lightning retracted her hands in fear that she hurt him. Instead, she placed a hand on his chin and gently turned his face back to hers.

"Who did this to you?" Lightning asked.

Hope bit his lip and shut his eyes, causing more tears to fall. He opened them again and took a breath in.

"D-Dad." He whispered.

"Your dad?" Lightning asked, completely baffled.

Hope nodded. Lightning pulled her hand away from his face, confident that he wouldn't turn away again.

"How long has this been going on for?" She asked.

"Light," Hope said, shaking his head "I-"

"Hope." She said again, somewhat sternly. She tried to put just enough force into her speech so she would make him feel okay to tell her, rather than come off as angry and scare him. "How long?"

"Since our brands disappeared." Hope admitted. Lightning's eyes widened. That was almost a year ago. "He's been drinking a lot, and that's when-" Hope stopped but a nod from Lightning gave him the will to continue, "That's when it happens. He says that it's my fault that Mom died. He says its because I wanted to go to Bodhum, and if we didn't go we wouldn't have been purged. She wouldn't have had to pick up that gun and try to fight if it wasn't for me."

"He's…He's right, isn't he?" Hope asked, blinking tears out of his eyes.

"Of course not." Lightning said, shaking her head "You two were just in the wrong place at the wrong time, same as everyone else was. The Purge wasn't' your fault at all. It was PSICOM, not you. Never forget that."

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lightning asked.

"I…" Hope started, "I didn't want you to think I was weak."

"What?" Lightning said, blinking.

"I didn't want you to think I didn't learn anything from you." Hope explained, "I didn't want you to think I was a waste of your time. I thought I could handle him, but…I just-"

"Listen to me." Lightning said, "You were not a waste of my time. I wouldn't have been able to get through being a l'Cie without you. None of us would have. And I would have never thought you were weak. Nobody deserves this Hope, especially from their parents."

Lightning started to rack her brains for any signs that she may have missed. They all worked hard to make the transition to Pulse easy for everyone. They worked day and night to create a place for all the survivors to live. They had taken some time off and spent some time together. Hope looked tired then, but Lightning had brushed it off, assuming it was because he was helping get everyone situated in New Bodhum.

"Where is your dad now?" Lightning asked.

"He finished all his whiskey today." Hope said, "He went to go and get some more. If he had as much as usually does, it would have been much worse."

"Oh Hope." Lightning said as she began to wipe the tears away from his eyes with her thumb.

The sound of someone fumbling at the door caught their attention, Hope's eyes widened in terror.

"He's back!" he said, panic-stricken.

"Stay here." Lightning said, standing back up.

"What?" Hope asked, "Where are you going?"

"Downstairs." she replied.

"No Light!" Hope said, desperately "You need to go! I don't want him to hurt you!"

"Hope, I'll be fine." Lightning said with a small smile "Its me, remember?"

"Okay." Hope said, finally agreeing to let her do whatever she had in mind.

"Lock the door behind me." She instructed, "He won't get past me, but I'd like to be safe."

Hope nodded "Be careful."

Lightning smiled "I will."

Lightning stepped out of the bathroom and allowed Hope to shut and lock the door behind her. She heard Bartholomew insert different keys in the lock, trying to find the right one. He cursed loudly outside the house, making Lightning's temper rise. This man made Hope feel completely helpless and afraid to come to her for help.

"This ends today." Lightning said to herself as she made her way down the stairs to the first floor.

She positioned herself in the corner of the room, out of sight. Bartholomew finally opened the door and stumbled in, a half-empty bottle of whiskey in his hands. He took a few more steps into the house before Lightning moved behind him, kicking the door shut behind her.

"Hello Bartholomew." Lightning said icily, curling her fist.

"Wha?" Bartholomew slurred turning around to have the soldier's fist slam into his jaw. The force of the blow sent him spiraling to the ground, his bottle leaving his hand and shattering on the floor. Using both hands, Lightning grabbed the man by the collar of his shirt and slammed him up against the nearest wall.

"How does it feel Bartholomew?" Lightning asked, raising the man off his feet and into the air a few inches. "Feel scared? Helpless maybe?"

"Ugh!" Bartholomew groaned as he struggled against Lightning's iron grip. Unfortunately for him, there was no escape. She sent a knee into his gut, effectively knocking the wind out of him.

"Doesn't feel good, huh?" Lightning asked as she tossed him across the room. Bartholomew made to get up but froze as Lightning drew her gunblade. His eyes widened as he saw its shape twist into a sword.

"Get this through your head." Lightning said coldly, pointing the blade at his throat "If you were a complete stranger and you had hurt Hope like that, I wouldn't hesitate at all. The only thing that's saving you from me tearing you to pieces is that you're his dad. And don't think that makes it any better either. What the hell is wrong with you? Nora's death wasn't Hope's fault!"

Bartholomew just looked at her and spat furiously in her direction. Lightning closed her eyes and chuckled under her breath. She flipped the gunblade over so that the dull side was facing Bartholomew. She swung it back and smashed it into his head, knocking him out.

"Pathetic." Lightning said to the unconsciousness man as she sheathed her gunblade "You don't deserve to have Hope in your life. Come near him again and it'll be the last thing you ever do."

"Light?" Came a familiar voice behind her.

Lightning spun on her heel to see Hope halfway down the staircase. Lightning took a step towards the boy.

"Hope, what are you doing?" Lightning asked, "I thought I told you to stay in the bathroom."

"I know." He said, "But then I heard you take out your gunblade, and I thought you might be in trouble. So I came down to help you."

Lightning couldn't help but smile at Hope. He was in terrible shape and in no condition to help her fight. But he left the safety of the locked bathroom to come down try to keep her safe from his tormentor of an entire year. This selfless gesture made Lightning's heart melt.

"What should I do now?" Hope asked, looking down at Bartholomew "I mean, Dad's all I've got left now."

"No he's not." Lightning said.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"Let's go upstairs." Lightning said, "I'll help you pack your things."

"Light?" Hope said. Lightning thought he must have clued in on what she meant because a grin formed on his face. His eyes widened and any luster they had lost during the year with Bartholomew had returned.

"Oh, I almost forgot." Lightning said, turning around and opening the front door. She grabbed the box she left outside. To her surprise, it was still intact after Bartholomew stumbled home.

"Happy Birthday Hope." Lightning said with a smile as she opened the box and showed him the cake.

That was almost two months ago. Since then, Hope had moved in with the Lightning, Serah and Snow. Hope found the transition little awkward at first with everyone knowing what happened, but the three of them made sure that he felt welcome, safe and at home. Snow would take him over to see the other members of NORA, where he became friends with Yuj and Maqui. Serah took him to visit the crystal pillar that was supporting Cocoon. She said that Vanille and Fang would have wanted him to let them know he was okay. Lightning told him stories of her days back when she was in the Guardian Corps and looking after Serah. Hope had always liked it when Lightning told her about her past. It made her seem more down to earth and human.

But one of Hope's fondest memories with his new family had to have been the night New Bodhum held its first fireworks display. They all sat under a blanket on the grass as they watched bursts of colours explode into the starry sky. They laughed and talked long after the display was over. That was the night Hope finally felt like he was okay again.

The sound of the door handle turning brought Lightning back to reality as she stepped away. The door swung open and Hope stumbled out, steadying himself on the doorframe. His cheeks were a rosy shade and his breathing was slightly erratic as Lightning watched his small chest rise and fall under navy blue pajamas.

"Light." Hope said, his voice raspy. He barely got the words out of his mouth before his legs gave way and he fell. He would have crashed to the floor below if it hadn't been for Lightning catching him in time. She wrapped an arm around Hope's waist mid-drop, taking note of how much his body temperature had risen to fight his illness.

Hope tried to speak again, but burst into a coughing fit. He shut his eyes and brought his hands to his mouth. Lightning rubbed circles into his back to help make the coughing stop.

"Don't try talking." Lightning said, "You need to save your strength."

Hope glanced up at Lightning with a dazed look on his face. Lightning guessed that he got the message because when his coughing finally stopped, he didn't try speaking to her again.

"Now, we've gotta get you something." Lightning told him. She placed him gently against the wall and got up. She walked into the bathroom and opened the medicine cabinet behind the mirror "Judging by how long and how often you've been in here today, I'd say getting you to take an antibiotic is out of the question. So, we're gonna get you better one step at a time." She pulled down a jar of medicinal ointment from one of the shelves. Lightning knelt back down to Hope, who watched her curiously.

"This is going to help with your cough." Lightning explained, pouring some of the ointment into her hands. It felt like her hands were on fire. She tried her best not to make a face when it touched her, not wanting Hope to think there was anything wrong. Her years as a soldier helped her remain composed as she rubbed it in both of her hands.

"It may feel a little strange, but it works like a charm." Lightning warned as she reached under Hope's shirt and let her gooey hand make contact with his skin. Hope inhaled sharply and whimpered. Lightning couldn't help but sympathize. She didn't like this stuff either, but she knew how well it worked, and that outweighed how it made her feel initially. She began to work the ointment into his chest, going slowly so Hope could adjust to it. She poured a bit more on her hands and brought them to his stomach. When she was done, she pulled her hands out from underneath his shirt and used what was left on her hands to cover his neck.

"Alright, lets get you to bed." Lightning said, "I'm going to help you up."

Hope nodded and Lightning snaked her arm back around his waist. She slung his arm over her as she hoisted him up. Acting as his crutch, she helped him maneuver down the hall, careful not to let her boots step on his bare feet. They made it to Hope's room, but instead of entering, Lightning kept going. Hope opened his mouth to ask what she was doing but Lightning put her free hand up.

"No talking, remember?" Lightning said, "Its probably not good for you to stay in there when you're sick." Hope's room currently held an air mattress, a few blankets and a pillow. Lightning, Snow and Serah promised as soon as they could, they would purchase an actual bed, but Hope had said it was fine and not to worry about it. "You're going to my room."

Lightning led the boy into her bedroom. With little difficulty, she pulled back the covers and helped him inside, pulling them back up afterwards. She positioned the pillows under him so he was halfway between sitting and standing.

"I still want to try getting something to help your stomach." Lightning told him, "Do you think you would be able to keep down a cup of tea?"

Hope nodded slowly. Lightning listened to his breathing and it seemed to be getting better. What were once loud wheezes were now quick breaths. She ran a hand through his silver hair sympathetically before turning around and heading for the kitchen.

Once she reached her destination, Lightning opened the cupboard containing the teas. Both her and Serah were fond of the drink. While Lightning preferred stronger teas, her sister loved sweeter blends. She rifted through the various tins until she found the mint tea she needed. Mint was known to help soothe stomachaches. She took out a mug and a strainer as Snow and Serah walked in.

"Hey Lightning." Serah said, "How's Hope doing?"

"Pretty much the same as when you guys left." Lightning replied, putting hot water in their kettle and turning it on "He spent the past half an hour in the bathroom throwing up the soup I made for him earlier."

"You gave him your soup? No wonder he was in there for so long!" Snow laughed. Lightning shot mental daggers at him while Serah, well too aware of Snow's gift of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time, looked to the side as if she missed the joke completely. Snow caught on that he touched a nerve and scratched the back of his neck, slowly killing his laughter.

"So, where is he now?" Snow asked, knowing he was treading on thin ice with the older Farron.

"I've got him in my room." Lightning replied as she watched the kettle whistle as steam shot out of it. She placed the teabag in the mug and poured the water in. Knowing that Hope leaned more towards Serah's kind of teas, Lightning added one of her sisters chocolate tea bags to infuse with the mint one. She stirred it all together and took out the teabags, tossing them in the garbage.

"So where have you two been all day?" Lightning asked.

"We went to get Hope a get well present." Serah said happily. Lightning looked down and noticed she was carrying a shopping bag. She stuck her hand inside and pulled out a new boomerang that had a green bow on the top.

Lightning chuckled at the boomerang "What's so special about this one?"

"It has curves on the inside so it'll come back to him quicker." She explained, "Do you think he'll like it?"

"He'll love it." Lightning said with a smile, "Just hold off on giving it to him today. He's pretty out of it."

"Okay." Serah said, "Tell him 'feel better' for me, okay?"

"Me too!" Snow chimed in.

Lightning nodded "Sure." She picked up the mug and returned to the bedroom. Hope was still lying there just as she left him, his breathing steadying a little. He started to smile when he saw her come up to him.

"What are you smiling about?" Lightning said, sitting on the edge of the bed and sporting a smirk of her own "You're sick. Everything is supposed to be miserable, especially when you're this sick. So what's your deal, huh?"

Hope just shook his head and reached a hand out from under the blankets. He made a face when he moved it and when it came in contact with Lightning's arm, she understood why. Somehow, the boy was freezing. Lightning was so confused. A minute ago, his body was radiating the heat of a small sun. Now he felt like an iceberg.

"Here." She said, passing him the tea "This should help warm you up."

Hope sat up and carefully took the tea out of her hands, and with a slight shiver from his temperature change, brought the cup to his lips. Lightning watched the tea travel down his throat with every sip he took. After drinking about half of it, Hope seemed to be fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Here." Lightning said, slowly taking the cup away from him and placing it on the bedside table.

Hope let out a small yawn and laid back down. He pulled the covers over him with a shiver, causing Lightning's brow to furrow. It didn't seem like the tea was doing anything to keep him warm. She sighed, knowing the only other option.

"Move over for a second." She said, pulling back the covers and sliding in, earning a confused look from Hope "Look, you're freezing, and you can't expect to get better when you're freezing. I'm going to stay with you and help keep you warm."

Hope slowly nodded as Lightning repositioned herself underneath him so he was lying on her chest. She covered them in her blankets and wrapped her arms around him underneath them. His cheeks flushed a little as he clued in on his current position, but a pain in his stomach brought him back to reality as he winced and clutched himself.

"It's alright." Lightning said, rubbing soothing circles into his stomach "Do you remember what I told you back in Palumpolum?"

Hope nodded as her words rang clearly in his mind.

You'll be okay. I'll keep you safe.

"I still mean it Hope." Lightning said, holding him closer "We've been through so much together as l'Cie. And you're practically family now that you're living here. So I stand by what I said. I'll do everything I can to make sure you're okay."

"Light." Hope said quietly. He suddenly felt a wave of warmth wash over him and was struggling even harder to keep his eyes open. His stomach finally settled thanks to Lightning and he snuggled closer to her as if he was trying to share his newfound warmth with her.

"Did you forget what I said about not talking or something?" Lightning asked, "Now go to sleep. I'm going to rest too. I'll need all the strength I can get if I'm supposed to deal with Snow anymore."

Hope laughed softly as he finally gave in and shut his eyes. Lightning smiled as she watched him fall asleep. His breathing had finally steadied and his chest rose and fell accordingly.

"Sleep well Hope." Lightning said softly as she shut her eyes. She never actually went to sleep though. She found her peace holding the smaller boy and keeping him close to her.