Rebirth

Chapter 42 - Safe

The men on the ground stopped their battle and turned to look in shock as Kadj's body
spun high in the air and disappeared in a rain of feathers. Loz and Yazoo both screamed
in rage and turned to run to their bikes. Reno was the first to recover. He rushed Yazoo
and threw his leg out to trip him. Yazoo leaped easily over Reno's leg and landed on his
bike. The both kicked their bikes to life and roared off before the others could get to
them.

Reno picked himself up from the ground and brushed off his coat.

"Dammit," Cid swore under his breath. They all thought the same thing; where were the
two remaining brothers going now and when would they make their next appearance?

Red ran up to them. "She needs to get to a hospital, now!" he yelled. They turned to see
Cloud walking towards them carrying a bleeding Tifa in his arms. His sweater was
stained dark and wet where she lay against him. He walked directly to Barret's SUV and
placed Tifa gently in the back seat. Without saying a word, Barret ran to the truck and
jumped in the driver's seat. Cid threw Rude's car keys at Reno and jumped into the seat
next to Barret. Red and Reno ran to the car and climbed in, firing up the engine. Vincent
followed them and squeezed into the back seat.

"We take her back to the ship. We have to find a hospital quickly. This town doesn't
have one anymore," said Barret.

They arrived back at Sierra moments later and loaded both vehicles on the craft. Cloud
lay Tifa carefully down on a bunk in the crew quarters and ripped away the cloth
surrounding her shoulder wound to expose her bleeding flesh. Tifa groaned in pain and
struggled to remain conscious. She looked up at Cloud with pleading eyes and reached
out to him. She clutched his arm in a vice-like grip. This was her life-line. This man.
She would never let him go again.

Cloud grimaced at the pain Tifa's fingers left on his arm. He gently pried her hand loose
and held it in his. He leaned down to kiss her forehead and her lips.

"You're safe now, baby. We're taking you to a hospital. Just hang on Tifa. Please just
hang on a little longer," he whispered.

Reno stood behind them, watching. The events of the past few hours and his own actions
confused him. For the first time in his life, he wasn't so sure of himself. This is not how
things were supposed to happen. He was supposed to kill Cloud and Kadj and bring Tifa
back; he knew that. But something had started a change in him back in Rufus's office.
His mention of helping Tifa regain her sanity brought the memory of his visit to the
veteran's hospital back with a jolt. Suddenly all the feelings of hate and loathing he had
so effectively pushed out of his conscience came flooding back. Reno sighed and walked
away to find Rude. He had some explaining to do.

Cid stood at the controls of his ship and punched some keys on the console in front of
him. He searched for the nearest hospital. After a few minutes, he found one.

"Nibelheim," he said to the others standing on the bridge. "That's the nearest city with a
hospital. It's about two hours away." He punched the coordinates into the ship's
navigation system and started the engines. Sierra shuddered slightly as she lifted into the
air, free of her earthly bonds.

Beneath them Cloud and Tifa could feel the ship lift into the air. "They must have found
a hospital," Cloud said to himself. He looked back down to Tifa and smiled as he rubbed
a stray strand of her hair between his fingers.

"It won't be long now, Tifa. Just hang on a little longer."

She closed her eyes and smiled. She was very tired and in a great deal of pain from her
shoulder wound and the fall from the building. She started to drift into sleep and heard
Cloud's voice from a great distance. She felt the pain in her shoulder and back fade as
she floated weightless on a soft, warm cloud.

She slowly opened her eyes and saw her daughter before her. "She's safe," Tifa thought.
The unborn child opened her eyes to gaze at her mother and Tifa saw that they were a
dark burgundy color, just like hers. Tifa smiled and closed her eyes again to drift off to a
deep sleep.