Ill Wind

Reno left his car in the parking lot and had the bartender call him a taxi. He'd told Kerri a while back that he wouldn't drink and drive anymore, knowing that she worried about his driving quite enough when he was sober. He had been tempted to drive back to Kalm tonight and patch things up with her, but realized that as drunk and tired as he was, he'd end up falling asleep behind the wheel. He retrieved his EMR from his car just as the taxi pulled up.

The driver looked at his uniform and asked, “Shin-Ra Headquarters, sir?”

“You got it,” Reno said as he got in. He lay his head against the seat back and closed his eyes, mentally cursing himself for his behavior that day, and wondering if he should confess to Kerri what he had just done. He didn't want to have secrets between them, but the thought of how hurt she would be if she knew tore him apart.

When he got home, he went straight to the shower, adjusting the water to be a little colder than he normally liked it to help rid himself of his lingering arousal. He could have jerked off, but didn't want to do that when it hadn't been Kerri who had turned him on. It felt like a further betrayal of her.

After he got out and dried himself off, Reno stumbled into his bedroom. He managed to dig a pair of shorts out of the dresser drawers and put them on before crawling into bed. He pulled Kerri's pillow closer to him and inhaled the lingering flowery scent of her hair on the fabric. “I'm so sorry, Kerri,” he muttered. “I'll make it up to you, I promise.” He was asleep almost before the last word was out of his mouth.



The ride back to Edge was an uncomfortable one for both Kerri and Elena, as Rufus sat in the back radiating disapproval. He had spoken only once, to ask Kerri if she had anything she wished to tell him.

“No, sir,” she answered. It was true, telling him that she was pregnant ranked at the absolute bottom of the list of things she wanted to tell him. Unfortunately he saw through her sidestepping of his question.

“I assume I will find out eventually, won't I?” he asked.

Kerri winced at his tone. “Yes, sir. You will.”

“Hmmph. Kerri, I do not like dissension between my Turks, and I despise it when secrets are kept from me. This situation, whatever it is, is why I disapprove of the relationship between you and Reno.” Kerri glanced behind her at the president in surprise; she hadn't known he felt that way. He raised a brow at her and continued. “If I had known it was going to become so serious I would have put a stop to it early on. But now, it seems that for whatever reason, that is no longer an option. I suggest that the two of you come to an understanding soon before I lose what remaining patience I have.”

“Yes, sir,” Kerri mumbled once more.

“Consider yourself lucky that Tseng spoke up for you,” Rufus said before lapsing into cold silence. Elena glanced away from the road to give Kerri a sympathetic smile, which Kerri returned as best she could.



It seemed like forever before they pulled into the parking garage at Headquarters. Kerri, who had switched off driving with Elena, pulled the car into Rufus's parking space. She and Elena got out, and the blond opened the door for the president. He still had not spoken again to either of them, which would have been something of a relief if not for the tension emanating from him.

Kerri automatically checked for Reno's car as they walked toward the elevator, and was both relieved and disappointed when she didn't see it. While boarding the elevator, Rufus finally spoke, saying, “The two of you may return to your apartments. I'm going to go to my office.”

“Thank you, sir,” the women answered.



“Would you like to stay at my place for a while?” Elena asked once they got off the elevator. “You're more than welcome.”

“Thanks, Elena, but after that ride I think I need to be alone for a while. I'm just going to stop by Reno's place to pick up my things and go back to my own apartment,” Kerri answered.

“You're moving out, then?” Elena's voice was so kind that it nearly brought tears to Kerri's eyes.

“From his reaction I'd say that I don't have a choice, do you?”

Elena considered. She didn't want to raise Kerri's hopes falsely, but she'd known Reno for years. The redhead had a history of acting without thinking things through, and coming to his senses later. “You might be surprised,” she finally said as they reached Reno's door. She pulled Kerri into her arms for a brief hug. “You know where I am if you need me,” she said, and released her. “Stay strong. Remember, you're a Turk.”

Kerri nodded. “Thanks, Elena,” she replied, and let herself into the apartment.



Reno had called Tseng earlier to ask how Kerri was doing. From the cool tone of his voice, Reno guessed that he knew what had happened. Tseng made no mention of it, however, and told Reno that Kerri and Elena were driving the president home. “But how was she doing?” Reno asked him.

“How do you think she was doing?” Tseng answered. “Goodbye, Reno.” He hung up, leaving Reno to feel even guiltier than before. Since then, he had just been lying in bed, trying to come up with a way to make things right between himself and Kerri. Hard to do when all he wanted was to pull her into his arms and kiss her until she forgot what an ass he'd been.

The sound of the door opening made him sit up and swing his feet to the floor. His heartbeat started racing. It could only be Kerri, since Rude, the only other person with a key to his apartment, was still in Kalm. As footsteps came down the hall he knew he was right. Reno knew the sound of her walk. He got to his feet as the door opened. “Hey, babe,” he said, smiling at the look of surprise on her face.

“I didn't know you were home,” she said. “Your car isn't in the garage.”

Reno scratched his head and looked away from her for a moment. “Yeah, I left it...somewhere else last night and caught a cab home. I was pretty wasted.”

Kerri sighed. “At least you didn't try driving.” She crossed to the dresser and opened the drawer she kept her things in. Though she stayed here with Reno most of the time, the majority of her things were still in her apartment. She hadn't bothered moving everything since it was easier just to pop into her own place and get an overnight bag. It shouldn't take long for her to get everything of hers together.

Reno watched her pile her things on top of the dresser with mounting alarm. “What are you doing, Kerri?” he asked, even though it was patently clear.

“Getting my things together. I'm going home,” she answered, not looking at him.

“But this is your home, babe!” he said, and Kerri shook her head.

“I live across the hall, Reno. I just stay here so you'll have someone convenient to fuck,” she said in a cutting voice.

“No!” He went to her and turned her to face him. “That's not true! You belong with me, especially now,” he said, “what with you being pregnant with my kid.”

“Really? I thought you made it quite clear when you walked out that you didn't want a child.”

His face twisted with guilt, and he pulled her into his arms. Kerri didn't return his embrace, but neither did she resist it. “I was scared. You getting pregnant had never even crossed my mind since you were on the pill. It floored me. I just...Kerri, I never had a father. I don't know how to be one, yo. What if I mess it up?”

“You can't do that if you're not around,” Kerri said, her voice muffled against his shoulder.

Reno's arms tightened around her. “I want to be around. I know that for sure now, after last night.” He kissed the top of her head and continued, “I never had anything to lose before I met you. Now I do; I have you and our baby. Please, Kerri, don't leave. You belong with me more than ever now.” Reno pulled back from her enough to raise her chin, making her look at him. There were tears standing in her eyes, and as he looked, one overspilled and ran down her cheek. “Don't cry, babe,” he said, and lowered his lips to kiss it away. The gesture went straight to Kerri's heart, and she twined her arms around his neck.

“You hurt me, Reno,” she said in a quavering voice. Reno knew how much it cost her to admit that to him, and it made his chest ache.

“I'm sorry. It was stupid to walk out on you. I wish I could take it back.” He sighed, gathered his courage, and went on. “There's something else that you need to know. I don't want any secrets between us. You deserve better. I got wasted and did something else really stupid last night, and I hope you can forgive me for it.”