Final Fantasy VII: Reflections - Book 2: Ascent

SIX

I woke up early the next morning to find Tifa leaning over me and checking on my head where I'd been hit. It felt a little better than it had last night but still ached a bit. Probably would all day, but that was a lot better than not waking up at all. Tifa dabbed at my temple with a damp cloth and smiled when she saw I was awake.

"Morning, Jessie," she said, pausing for a moment. "It's good to see you awake again. How are you feeling?"

I yawned. "Better, thanks. Been here long?"

Tifa got back to work on my head. "Just a little while. Wedge and I cleaned up your gear for you earlier before I came up here to check on you. Seems you nailed those eaters pretty good."

"Yeah, Cloud and I really did," I laughed. "Of course, we got a little splattered in the process, but what can you do? Anyway, thanks for the help, Tifa. One less thing for me to worry about."

She nodded as she finished tending to my injury. "You're welcome. Your head's looking a little better, but there's definitely a bruise. I know you won't like it, but I brought a potion for you. It'll help with the pain and swelling and keep the bruise from spreading and getting too dark. So go ahead and drink it down, Jessie."

After I sat up, Tifa handed me the potion, and I did as she said, my nose curling as I downed the disgusting thing. She couldn't fully hide a little smirk as she took the empty bottle and gave me a glass of water to wash it down with. I eagerly gulped it up, getting rid of as much of the aftertaste as I could, and shook my head.

"Not you, too, Tifa," I laughed. "I think Cloud gets a real kick outta making me squirm with these nasty things."

She chuckled. "Really? Well, you do make it pretty amusing."

"Oh, you're terrible!" I teased.

"Par for the course," she grinned. "Anyway, feel like having a bite to eat? I can whip you up something if you want."

I stretched my arms a little as I turned to sit on the edge of the bed with her. "Sounds great, but I think I'm gonna go hop in the shower for a bit first. Gimme twenty minutes or so?"

Tifa nodded. "Of course. Cloud's downstairs having breakfast, too, so you'll probably see him before he leaves with Wedge to go on patrol. He said he wants to check on you first."

"Always looking out for me," I giggled, butterflies fluttering around in my stomach. "Would you tell him I'm feeling better now and that he can come up and see me when he's done?"

"I'll let him know," she said, her voice a little unsteady.

Uh-oh. Tifa looked away for a moment, and I could tell I'd struck a nerve. Me and my big mouth again. Damn. Looked like she liked him, too. I'd seen the way she'd look at him in the time he'd been here, but I'd hoped I was wrong. This was gonna complicate things. I'd fallen pretty hard for Cloud, but I didn't want how I felt about him to hurt Tifa and come between us, either. So I decided I'd just have to talk with her, fess up, and see how things went from there.

But I couldn't bring myself to do it yet, and I didn't even know how or where to start. So I just sat there and tried, without much success, to ignore the dull throbbing in my head. When I gently touched it after a moment in the place where I'd been hit last night, I let out a sharp hiss as pain suddenly flared up in an instant. I gasped and winced, yanking my hand away as if it had caught fire.

"Damn!" I swore.

She inspected the bruise again. "Better not push yourself too much today, Jessie. Just rest and take some time to heal. I mean it. You took a pretty bad blow to the head last night."