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Family	By : ArchNemesis Category: Final Fantasy VII > Yaoi - Male/Male > Cloud/Sephiroth Views: 3248 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: We do not own Final Fantasy. They are the property of Square Enix and Sony. We do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 26
- 27
- 28
Family

Disclaimer: We do not own any characters of Final Fantasy. They are the
property of Square Enix and Sony. We do not make any
money from the writing of this story.

Pairing: Sephiroth/Cloud

W A R N I N G: This is about male
pregnancy (possibly) and male/male relationships. We are letting you know now
what the relationships WILL contain.
So, if you are AGAINST such
pairings, please find something else more to your liking, you have been WARNED.
Flames will be ignored.
Special thanks to: Malcara, squallpaine sephirothpaine, Miss Alise, and to
those who have read and didn�t review thanks for reading thus far. We hope you
enjoyed it.
oOoOoOo
Chapter 26: At Last
Vincent tossed the bedclothes to one side and made his way to the bathroom as fast as he could, unashamed and
unconcerned at the state of his nudity, walking tall and proud. His freed long black
hair hung down and caressed the cheeks of his buttocks as he strode quickly,
his hips swaying, making the long tresses flow from side to side and brush softly
against his skin.
Arriving at the bathroom door he
stood tentatively on the threshold, taking note
of his new lover
staring angrily at the reflection cast in the
mirror, twisting his head and gingerly prodding the
tender area at the base of his neck. Every so often Cid would give a hiss, but other than that, he
remained quiet, until he noticed Vincent�s
reflection in the mirror too.
The lover�s locked eyes.
�Well? What the hell is this
all about?�
For the first time in the gunman�s
life, Vincent felt embarrassed. �He didn�t know how to explain the significance of the claim mark properly. Not in a way that the pilot would understand
anyway. Inside,
Chaos howled with laughter at his predicament, causing
Vincent to grit his teeth in silent fury. The bastard was thoroughly enjoying
his misery.
�Well?� Cid forcefully prompted once
more, spinning around now to face the
ex-Turk. He was not in the mood for the man�s silent brooding. First, finding this� this �love bite�, and then having Vincent reluctant to answer his question.
�It�s a claiming mark,� Vincent
stated with a slight shrug of his shoulders, making the explanation
as simple as
possible.
�What the fuck is that supposed to mean?� Cid�s infamous temper was on the raise. And so was his voice, his shouted question echoing off
the tiled walls of the bathroom.
�It means that�� Vincent paused, struggling hard to think of the easiest
way to clarify what Cid wanted to know. �It
means that,
we�re mated�married if you will�and if anyone so much as touches you inappropriately,
then�. I�ll kill them.�
Azure eyes became impossibly wide
with shock,
as the
revealed information slowly sank in.
oOoOoOo
The crew of the Shera
all stopped performing their early morning
chores and stared at one another in concern, as they heard
their beloved captain, for the second time in the space of a few minutes,
yelling� �IT FUCKIN� MEANS WHAT?�
oOoOoOo
Kneeling on the seat of the jeep
that was being driven at break neck speed by
Zack, Aerith looked back fearfully at the flames shooting
out of what
was left of the medical facility of Shin-Ra, the terrifying sight becoming smaller and smaller
as they drove further away from the complex.
Turning around to sit in her seat
properly, her nervous fingers worried at her denim skirt, plucking and pinching at the coarse fabric. She couldn�t help but be
anxious about her two missing friends, and their unborn baby. Had Cloud and Sephiroth
made it out
in time,
before the explosion? Or had they got caught up in it, as they were trying to leave? What precisely had gone wrong in the first place, and caused the building to explode? These were questions that plagued her mind. Questions she needed answers to.
Zack took his eyes off the road for a second, looking at her and seeing the
worry etched on her brow. He reached over and
grabbed her hand, bringing it to his lips and placing a quick kiss on the back of
it.
�Don�t worry, honey. They�ll be fine,� he said, in as convincing a tone as possible. He had to keep a level head for the both of them.
�I know
but��I can�t stop thinking that something terrible might have happened to them,� Aerith
replied woefully. She had a nagging,
gnawing feeling in the pit of her stomach
that was bothering her.
�Here�..� Zack pulled out his cell phone
and passed
it to her, keeping a steady watch out on the road in front, as well as behind
them, to make sure that they weren�t being followed. �Give that girl, Tifa, a call. She and her friends might like to know what�s happening. Besides,
perhaps they�ll be able to help. And seeing as how she took to you best, it seems only feasible that she hears the news from you.� �
�Okay. And what should I tell
her exactly?� Aerith asked,
a slightly puzzled frown on her face. �I don�t
want her thinking the worse, you know?�
Zack chuckled at Aerith�s concern for a girl he
thought was impossible, but he silently admitted she
did have a point. It wasn�t worth upsetting
all and sundry before they really knew why the couple had failed to make it to the
rendezvous point.
�Just tell her the barest facts�..that Cloud and
Sephiroth need a ride and they�re possibly running from SOLIDERs,
on foot. Oh, and don�t forget to let her know that Cloud wasn�t looking so good
when I saw him last.�
�Right.�
Aerith punched in the number and
listened, waiting patiently as the phone rang. �Her heart soared with relief when she heard the dialing
tone stop, and a soft voice spoke in her ear.
�Hello?�
�Tifa�.It�s
me, Aerith. Listen, I only have a few minutes to
talk��
oOoOoOo
Cid was
still staring at the impressive mark that stuck out like a sore thumb on
the side of his neck. The bruise seemed as if it had spread out from his back onto his
shoulder,
and down to his collarbone. But at least the
outer edges appeared lessening in color. He snorted. It could have been worse, he supposed. His newly acquired mate could
have bitten him on his penis�.. sadistic, but kinky.
Vincent silently admired Cid for managing to keep a cool
head after his first initial blow-up. The pilot hadn�t even reached for the packet of smokes which Vincent knew were kept hidden in one of the false wall panels of the bathroom, for emergencies, as Cid said.
In a much calmer tone of voice than he had used before,
Cid pushed himself away from the edge of the
sink and took a few steps towards the tall, dark haired man and asked, for clarification, �So, we�re mated?�
�In a manner of speaking, yes,� Vincent replied, standing his ground. �But, the significance of it goes a little deeper than that.�
�How.... deep?� Cid asked with a naughty chuckle in his voice.
Vincent didn�t miss the slight
twinkle playing in Cid�s gorgeous blue orbs, and his blood abruptly
caught fire at the ideal that the blond
haired man was flirting. Inside him, Chaos purred
with the excitement
of getting
to taste its mate again so soon, while
outside of him, his manhood instantaneously sprang to life.
Lowering his gaze, Cid saw the proud, upright position of Vincent�s thickening prick, and he licked his lips in anticipation. Closing the remaining short gap
between them in just a few strides, the blond dropped to his knees and took the long slender
appendage into his mouth.
Vincent gasped as his cock was swallowed down to the hilt. His
right hand settled in Cid�s hair, his fingers twisting into the short blond locks, keeping a firm hold but trying
not to grab too tightly, as the pilot pistoned his head back and forth along the entire length.�
Vincent�s breathing began to get
heavier, as his lover expertly swirled his tongue around the erect shaft,
licking and stroking as his mouth sucked and bobbed. Closing his eyes, falling
into the erotic sensations that soared through his veins, the ex-Turk gently touched the airman�s neck with his free hand, letting
his fingers caress and rub the claim mark.
Cid emitted a moan, as pinpricks radiated from the contact of the gunman�s massaging fingers, igniting something within him. �Taking one of his hands from Vincent�s thighs, Cid took hold of his own
aching need with it, fisting his throbbing member with
fevered strokes while his tongue continued
its sensual journey along the ex-Turk�s engorged appendage, trailing its way over the pulsating veins
beneath the soft, velvety skin, and enjoying the taste as it reached the
mushroom shaped dome, lapping greedily at the pre-ejaculate
that was
steadily
leaking from the slit tip.
Vincent was nearing his completion at Cid�s expert
manipulations, when�
Knock, knock, knock.
Damn!� Who the fuck is bothering me this goddamn early in the fuckin� morning? Cid thought, none too happy at being disturbed, the rapping
at the door an unwelcome intrusion upon his enjoyment. But the fact that someone
required his attention didn�t make him release his hold
on his lover�s dick. He kept right on going.
Knock, knock, knock.
Persistent little bastard. Now Cid vowed to torture whoever the hell it was banging on his
door relentlessly.
He�d specifically told every
single member of his crew, and in no uncertain
terms, to never disturb him here unless it was a dire emergency. The only thing he could think of that could warrant this intrusion was if the ship had been set ablaze.� And he couldn�t smell any smoke, just the delicious,
heady, musky scent of Vincent�s groin, as his nose butted up repeatedly against
the soft raven
fuzz of pubic hair.
Dragged out from under the spell
of euphoria by the knocking, Vincent opened his eyes.� �Don�t you think you ought to answer that? It
could be important,� he said, his cock still twitching, on the very edge of
achieving his climax.
Cid reluctantly
released the thick,
blood filled penis with a wet pop, growling in
frustration as he yelled at the closed door�.
�WHAAATT?�
This better be fuckin� good, Cid grumbled silently
to himself.
�Captain Highwind,� an apologetic voice came back through. �I�m
sorry to bother you but, you�ve just received an urgent message from a Miss Lockhart.
She said that someone
named Cloud Strife is in trouble, and needs to be rescued, pronto. She also
requests an immediate pick-up for herself from her location, sir.�
Sitting back on his heels, Cid�s brain took in what he had been told, his quick mind
mapping out plans and locations.� A rescue mission�.his interest was
piqued.�
�Go pick her up from Edge, and then set a course
for Junon, Shin-Ra Military Complex. Let me know when
we�re almost there,� he called out.� A muffled, �Yes sir,� through the thick door
indicted that his instructions would be carried out.
Damn, the pilot thought, realizing suddenly that if the boy,
Cloud, needed rescuing, then obviously Vincent�s son, Sephiroth, would be
involved too. He wondered how the gunman had taken the message, thinking that
maybe the loving
mood that
they�d had before the interruption, would
totally be gone.
But
peering up into blazing red eyes, he saw
that the dark haired man was smiling down at him like the proverbial cat that had eaten the canary. Cid watched open mouthed as Vincent lowered his hand
down, and offered his still achingly hard cock out to the blonde�s parted lips
once more.
And Cid eagerly went back to finish
what he�d started.
oOoOoOo
His heart turning to stone, his
mind not quite believing what his eyes were showing him, Cloud stood rooted to the spot as the blaze from the burning
building lit up the entire area, the bright orange and yellow flames shooting
high up into the sky, sending billowing clouds of smoke and choking fumes into
the atmosphere.
He couldn�t accept it.
He wouldn�t accept it.
But the intensity of the fire
forced Cloud to think otherwise. No one could have escaped from that inferno. No one. And if Sephiroth had managed to, he would have been
here with him by now.
With the approach of roving
search lights nearing him, Cloud reluctantly tore
his gaze away from his beloved�s blazing tomb, setting off into a quick run as best as his heavy
stomach would allow, one hand held protectively
underneath the swelling bulge.
The distinct baying of
bloodhounds was mercifully some distance away, as he meandered a path through the dense grove of trees and bushes.
As he ran, ducking and dodging
the many protruding twigs and brambles that seemed determined to entangle him
and slow him down, he didn�t give himself
time to grieve. He just concentrated on
putting as much distance between himself and his pursuers. He didn�t want
Sephiroth�s sacrifice to have been in vain.
Pushing himself hard, stumbling
many times, his lungs burned as he tried to get more oxygen into them. He knew that there was no way he was going to maintain this
grueling pace for very long. His legs were aching, his heart was hammering, and a sharp lancing
spasm kept going down his spine, causing him added suffering to an already pain ravished
body.�
Yet still he forced himself on.
He lost his balance a few times; falling hard to his knees, where sometimes he crouched
as the pain in his belly took over. It was
getting steadily worse. Cloud felt incredibility
stupid for not having told Sephiroth about his contractions. But, at the time, he
hadn�t wanted
to add to his husband�s worry. It didn�t matter any way.
Sephiroth was gone.� He would
never know the joy of seeing his child born. �See her grow
up.
Tears began to mar Cloud�s vision, and he brushed them aside angrily.� He didn�t have time to cry. Not yet.
Trying to time the spasmodic
clamping of his inner organs, Cloud judged them to be about thirty minutes apart. But for how long, he wondered, stumbling on desperately again.
He had read the books
that Aerith had kindly given him on childbirth, and he knew that his
contractions would come faster, closer together, when the baby was ready to be delivered. �He�d also read
that some measure
of pain was going to be involved. The only
thing was�.reading about it hadn�t prepared
him for the hurting to be this
brutal. He would have preferred to go head-to-head with Zack or Sephiroth, rather than experience this torture.
The next time the crippling pain
took over him, Cloud curled into a ball and hugged his knees close to his
chest, tears falling freely from his tightly clenched eyes. And women do
this all the damn time, his mind
screamed in disbelief. He might not be
a woman, but right now his body was telling
him otherwise, preparing him for the act of
childbirth.
As the contraction finally
subsided once again, and Cloud stood back on
shaky legs, he prayed that he would be able to make it into the next
town. Unfortunately, the next town just happened to be the lower sector of Junon. Not the safest or the best
place to have a baby, but there wasn�t any other
option open to him. He had never dreamed for
one moment that he would be out of the safety of the medical facility when the time came for people to aid him with the
birth. A clean and sterile medical facility yes,
but�
Now, it seemed he was totally on his own.� And he was aware
that his pursuers were gaining ground, progressively
getting closer to him. Cloud could clearly hear the dogs� excited yelps and the guards� urging voices, and the sound of many feet trending
and trampling in the wake of the canine tracking menaces.
Once again Cloud�s movements
slowed. His contractions were now seventeen
minutes apart, at the
very least.�
He wasn�t going to make it. Him and
his child, they weren�t going to make it.� And he had
promised Sephiroth that he would keep her safe. He had failed.
Not knowing what else to do, all
his energy used up, finally admitting that his body could take no more, Cloud
collapsed on his hands and knees at the edge
of the field he had been running through, and
sobbed. The wind picked up around him, taking
his scent back to his pursuers, signaling his doom.
Balling his hands into fists,
Cloud pounded at the hard, unyielding earth beneath him. It couldn�t end
like this. Not like this. He was supposed to
live happily ever after with his husband and
baby, safely shielded away from those who
wished them harm.
But happy endings were only ever
to be found in the children�s books his
mother had used
to read to him when he was a little boy. The
stories had always ended with the prince galloping off into the sunset on a gallant white horse, with
his princess behind him.
The cold reality of real life was that Cloud�s
knight in shining armor
was now dead. And
he would be too soon, his daughter ripped from him and taken back for Hojo, that psychotic, mentally deranged scientist, to claim, to study�.to experiment on.
No�
Gathering strength he didn�t even
know he possessed, Cloud got back up on his wobbly legs and continued on his way, forcing his over taxed body to run again, praying hard for it not to shut down. He was not going to let that terrifying fate happen to their child. Sephiroth
would never have forgiven him, if he had given
up that easily.
�STOP!�
It wasn�t the voice yelling out
to him that made Cloud instantly freeze on
the spot. It had been hearing the sound of the numerous clicks of guns and
rifles being cocked at his back. With a sinking
heart, he acknowledged that he had done his best, but it had not been enough. He
had been caught.
With his hands on his bent knees
to support his bowed back, the young blonde�s
heaving sobs almost turned to hysteria, and he nearly
laughed at his situation. Could this nightmare get any worse?
It could�and it did�
His water broke.
The amniotic fluid that had
protected his baby soaked through his
maternity pants, and pooled around his booted feet.
Cloud stared open mouthed as he felt the warm
liquid trickle its way down his legs, knowing that the birth of his daughter
was now imminent, and unstoppable.
He also knew that he was not
going to be able to deliver her on his own. He needed help. Standing up
straight, he cautiously turned to face his trackers. He took one step towards them,
but halted when a rapid session of three warning shots were fired.
His big blue eyes opening wide
with shock, it took a moment for Cloud to realize that the shots were not fired as a warning
to him. Rather, they had come from behind, aiming for, and
towards, the armed men that faced him.
A blur of red and black zipped past,
coming to a halt to act as a shield a few feet in front of him.
Relieved wasn�t the right
word that Cloud would have used to describe just
how elated he felt
at that moment. For the first time in hours, a small semblance of hope lit his
heart as the low, silky, monotoned voice of his crouched rescuer drifted back
a command to his keen hearing.
�Cloud� behind
you. Go with Cid. He will protect you,� Vincent ordered, keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the posse of armed men
that all had their weapons cocked and ready. He himself
was armed with Cerberus, and he looked an ominous
figure as his cloak billowed about his lithe form as
the airship that he had jumped from hovered just above ground level behind the
pregnant boy.
Standing
slowly to his full imposing height from his
defensive squatting position, the ex-Turk practically towered over the foot
soldiers who wanted to capture the little
blond. However, Vincent knew he would be damned before
he let a single one of them get a hold of
his son-in-law. He relaxed his clawed hand in
response to the creature inside him�Chaos was itching to have a bloodbath.
�Over here,
boy. Get your scrawny little ass over
to the Shera. Me and Barrett are waiting to
haul you onboard.�
The urgent voice of the airman
calling out to him jolted Cloud into movement, and he made his way back quickly
to his waiting friends without delay.
�I said stop, Cadet!�
Making sure to stay placed between
Cloud�s retreating figure and the guards,
Vincent coldly retorted, �He�s not going anywhere
with you.� A menacing growl, vibrated deep within
his chest.
The man that had issued the
directive at Cloud to stop stepped forward a few paces. �You are
interfering with a military arrest, civilian. Move aside or we will be forced to take extreme measures,�
the lieutenant-in-charge threatened.
Not taking his glowing crimson eyes off the soldiers for a second, Vincent ordered Cid to get Cloud to safety. He
stood his ground as the airship began its ascent into the pre-dawn sky, only moving with lightening speed when the first
shots were fired at the escaping craft.
Somersaulting over the group of men, Vincent readied his gun to rain down bullets of death. But he didn�t even get
an opportunity to pull the trigger. The men he had
been aiming for unexpectedly dropped to the ground, their bodies sliced in several pieces.
Landing elegantly back on his
feet, the gunman silently looked down at the
scattered and bloodied remains of the troop that had set out to capture Cloud,
while the disorientated hounds sat and whined pitifully for their dead masters, their high
pitched howls carrying on the breeze.�
On the opposite side of the massacre, the menacing figure of
his son slowly turned to face him. Sephiroth
was covered in blood, his long silver hair matted
with gore, his face smeared with red. Masamune�s glittering blade, now pointed towards the ground, dripped with the
thick wet substance from the recent kill.
With his sharp sense of smell, Vincent whiffed the pungent stench of death on Sephiroth. On himself. All around. His darting eyes
took in the littered bodies of the troop of SOLDIERs, knowing they would be missed, and soon,
knowing that others would be sent in their place. Many, many
others. He and Sephiroth needed to vacate the area, before the re-enforcements
showed-up.
He took a step towards Sephiroth, a small smile beginning to light his face in
a welcome, when he saw the General falter,
swaying slightly and falling to his knees, one hand managing to break his fall,
before falling unconscious upon the hard ground, his head hitting the dirt with a
heavy thud.
The former Turk ran towards
Sephiroth, but was too late in breaking his
fall. Squatting down and gathering his child up in
his arms, Vincent tried to awaken him, but nothing enticed those emerald eyes
to open.
With no other option available
to him, Vincent stood and heaved the heavy
burden of his son over his shoulder, and began the
perilous journey to rendezvous with Cid and the others.
oOoOoOo
Cid knew they couldn�t go
back to Midgar with
Cloud. That would be the first place Shin-Ra would look for the boy, and his rescuers. And they couldn�t
go to Nibelheim either. That
would be the second place on their list of locations to search for them.� Cid also knew that it was
best not to involve the boy�s mother. Cloud would never forgive any of them if anything
detrimental happened to her.
In the end, the AVALANCHE
members had voted on going to an out of the
way place�Mideel. No one would suspect that they
would hide out there, if only temporarily. To all outward appearances, the small town had been wiped
off the map. It was a little known fact that restoration work was well underway
there.
Putting the finishing touches to
plotting their
course for the island, Cid was surprised when a crew member informed him that
his presence was urgently required in
medical. He passed the details he had just been
working on to a member of the bridge, with
instructions to be informed if any problems arose. He wasn�t foreseeing any. All
of the personnel there were highly trained,
and any of
them was more than capable of
piloting the airship until his return, should
any mishap happen while Cid was in another part of the ship.
The narrow corridors inside the
Shera were a maze
of twists and turns and tight staircases. On one of the
wider platforms just off the bridge�s corridor,
Cid passed Yuffie with her head bent over a bucket. He hurried on unsympathetically, trying to get his mind to
shut out the gut curling sound of the heaving dry wrenches she made, as she
tried to expel the contents of her lurching stomach.
The pilot didn�t even
bother asking her how she was; he didn�t
want her to raise her pretty little face to him, to
see the drooling spittle around her lips. With a shudder, he hurried on.
However, as he continued on his
way, he did spare one thought for the
airsick little ninja.
The girl should actually have been in the privacy of her
own cabin, and not in the hallways making a
mess. And as an
afterthought, he would be damned if
he was going to clean up after the kid.
It took him about five
minutes to reach the medial bay. Walking carefully down the last few
steps of the stairwell, and turning into the corridor to his left, the captain
heard the cries of muffled screaming coming from
behind the sliding metal doors at the end of
the hallway.
The guard standing at her post
looked positively petrified at the excruciating yelling that
was coming from within the room. That was
Cid�s first clue to not go any further.� But he did.
Entering the primary set of doors, and then pushing open the second set, Cid�s
ears were assaulted by the toe-curling screams of the
normally soft spoken young blond, whose voice was now an octave higher and crying out in horrendous pain. Cid had to cover his ringing
ears with his hands as soon as he entered
the room.
A thin beige curtain was
drawn around one of the cubicles, and when Cid pulled it aside he saw several
people standing there, their faces betraying the worry and concern that they
were feeling for the person who was residing upon the bed.
Cloud, his slender naked body
covered by a sheen of sweat, was tiring fast. On his hands and knees, his small
fingers clutching the pillow beneath him until his knuckles turned white, he rocked to and
fro, trying to ease the agony that now shot through his body continuously.�
When he wasn�t screaming, when
the contractions weren�t at their highest level of
intensity, then he was keening, almost
humming to himself, trying to take his mind away mentally from the pain he
couldn�t fight.
�Listen Cloud, when you
feel the next contraction, I want you to push,� Professor Gast
instructed from the foot of the bed, offering
much needed support to the exhausted little cadet.
The scientist had performed another ultra-sound scan on the boy
to check to see where he could safely make
an incision for an emergency c-section, but the baby was still
sitting too close to the abdominal wall
to make it viable. Plus, Cloud�s womb was already
contracting to expel the baby by means of the anal canal.� It looked like
Sephiroth�s poor spouse was going to have to give birth naturally, which was just what Gast had been trying to avoid
by maintaining a careful watch of the baby and
its development.
Many times, he and Hojo had fought over plans about scheduling a c-section two weeks before the actual due date, with Gast urging that it was
necessary. But Hojo
had thwarted
him at every single turn. Now Gast understood why�..Hojo had been buying himself
the time needed to accelerate the growth process of his test tube experiments. �
As Gast
rubbed the boy�s spine for him, trying to ease his pain, he
cursed Hojo to hell and back again. If only he could
get his hands around the other scientist�s neck for
causing all this un-necessary pain and suffering.
There was no medication on board
the airship strong enough to aid the anguish and distress being borne by the pregnant
male, plus Gast couldn�t chance the
infant�s, or Cloud�s, life by administering drugs of any kind this late into the delivery �it was just too risky. He knew the mako in Cloud�s body would start to heal him once the baby was born, but
that didn�t
make it any better for the poor suffering lad
as he continued to moan softly, and clutch at the bed sheet beneath him with
trembling fingers.
Another horrific cry was torn from Cloud, and by the gods, if he was in this much pain
now, then Gast felt truly sorry for the boy, for the youth had no clue whatsoever about just how much more
painful it was going to be, pushing this baby out by himself.�
�Cloud, you�re almost there.
Just a little bit more,� Aerith said gently, mopping his brow and his face with
a soft damp cloth.
Panting, huffing with exhaustion, Cloud shook his head
negatively, dropping his shoulders down onto the
mattress, sighing in defeat. �I�.. I can�t�I can�t take
anymore. I�m too�tired.�
�We know you�re tired, son,� Gast said,
trying to console the distressed boy, yet at the same time marveling at the
miracle unfolding before his eyes, and
recalling the time he had assisted Tseng at Tsume�s
birth. The Turk leader had had an equally hard time, but at least a cesarean section had been possible for
him. Unfortunately, that option wasn�t available to this new mother-to-be.
�Come on Cloud, you�re the only one that can do this,� the scientist urged,
rubbing the hot skin beneath his fingers with more determination.
�Yeah, Spike�..Your baby can�t come and meet you and the rest of us, if
you don�t help her out!�
�Zack�..Doc, please� I�ugh!� Cloud was hit with yet
another strong contraction, the sentence he was going to say froze in his throat as his
face scrunched up and his eyes closed, tears forcing themselves out as he
fought against the agonizing cramping of his inners.
�Come-on, Spike! Push!� Zack eagerly
encouraged from his position beside
the blond, his hand instinctively reaching for
Cloud�s
clammy fingers, closing round them and squeezing them encouragingly, wishing
Sephiroth was there in his place. Cloud
needed his husband here, not him. He wondered where
Sephiroth was. He had
thought his friend would have boarded
with Cloud. Hadn�t they left the complex together? When he and Aerith had gotten word that Cloud had been
located, he�d automatically assumed that Seph would
have been with him. What could have delayed him?
�Aah!� Cloud cried again, louder if possible than before, tears
streaming down his distraught face.
�Push, Cloud! You can do it!�
�Fuck you, Zack! I am
fucking pushing, goddamn it!� Cloud shouted back, his blazing blue eyes turned now upon
his friend with something akin to fury shining in them. �If you think you can
do any fucking better, I�m quite willing to switch places with you at any time.�
The contraction slowly eased
off, giving Cloud a
moment in which to catch his breath. But barely had the tightened muscles begun
to relax, than he was right back to bringing his baby into the world just a minute later,
as the torturous, climbing pain began all over again.
Cid, up until then rooted to the
spot, had
to move away
and turn his eyes from the boy�s torment. He hated this feeling of helplessness,
uselessness. There was nothing he could do to ease things for the little blond,
and he felt a failure for it.
If this was what women went through to have a blasted kid, then he wanted no part in ever being a father whatsoever.
And then, just as he was about
to push open the double doors and escape the room, Cid heard it�..The
loud wailing of a newborn infant.
�Congratulations, Cloud! You are the proud mother of a�..hang on let me double check, that long cord is kinda misleading you know�.Yep, it�s a healthy baby
girl,� Zack announced excitedly.
Aerith immediately took
the bloodied, crying baby and wrapped it in a blanket, carrying the child across to
the other side of the room to weight and clean-up. She cast a coy glance at Zack
as she passed by, smiling a little at him beneath lowered lashes, a blush
tinting her pretty cheeks.
Zack marveled at the
sight of her cradling the child so tenderly in her arms, and his eyes followed her as
she made her way over to the examination table. One day, he thought. One
day they would have a family of their own, and it
would be his child she was so lovingly holding against her.
Checking Cloud over with a critical eye, Professor Gast�s heart
went out to the spent little blond as, once the afterbirth had been expelled with little complaint from Cloud�s body, the
professor readied the sterile needle. Luckily,
it was only going to take a few stitches to mend the tears that the birth of
the baby had caused, and the pain of the repairs would be nowhere near as bad
as the actual birth.
Lying peacefully on his side, an
arm tucked under his head and a sheet wrapped around his upper body and hips, Cloud�s
furrowed brow was now relaxed, as a
light sleep claimed him and his body began to
slowly recover from all his hard work of labor. His spiky locks, burdened down with sweat,
had started springing
back to life, as his body temperature dropped and
he began to cool down.� He hardly flinched as the needle began piercing his skin.
Gast silently applauded the new mother. He had done an
excellent job bringing his baby into the world, and
now he was bravely baring the pain of being sewn back up. Gast
knew that Sepiroth would be proud of the boy when he finally got here. It
was just too bad that the general had missed
his child�s birth.
Once the stitches had been
completed, and Gast had pulled the sheet down and left
his patient as comfortable as possible, Aerith shooed
all the men out of the room, and then came into view with the tiny pink
bundle.
�Hey, Cloud, look who�s
here to see you,� she said gently, placing his daughter carefully on the bed next to him, and taking a step back.
Still lying on his side, Cloud
opened his eyes and stared at his baby. His heart was thudding so fast. She was finally
here�and she was so small!�
Cloud couldn�t believe how tiny his baby daughter
was. She looked delicate and helpless laying there, her eyes closed tight, her pouty lips puckering.�
Cloud began to get flustered. He didn�t know what to do. He didn�t know how to handle her. And his mom
wasn�t about either,
to help guide him.� He looked around, waiting for advice.
Aerith stepped forward
instantly, showing him naturally how to hold his daughter securely, using one arm and
hand to support the tiny head and
body, leaving his other hand free
to touch her little fingers, and caress her
smooth face.
Gaining confidence with Aerith�s teachings, Cloud began to unwrap the baby�s
receiving blanket, to get a better look at her. And
as the blanket was removed, revealing her features more clearly, Cloud�s
breath was stolen from him.
A mop of spiky silver hair covered her little head. Rosebud
lips were slightly parted, as she was not yet use to breathing through her
petite, delicate nose. Tiny, dainty hands
were stretched out open, and Cloud unconsciously counted ten fragile, slender
fingers.
Gazing down at his beautiful
daughter and her elegant features, Cloud
immediately thought of his missing husband. �From the top of
her silver downy head, to the tip of her sculptured chin, their baby was
an exact replica of Sephiroth.
But the perfect image was
quickly dispelled when sleepy eyelids briefly opened for
a few seconds, before closing in sleep again.
But it had been long enough for Cloud to notice unfocused brilliant blue
orbs. He didn�t know if her eyes would stay that color, but judging how bright a blue they were, it was
most likely they wouldn�t change.
Knowing his little girl was
going to have the same eyes as himself, Cloud felt a rush of love for the tiny
baby lying so still next to him, an overpowering, all consuming love that
threatened to engulf his heart. And at the same time, he felt a hurting pang of
guilt that Sephiroth wasn�t here with him to share
in the joy that she brought, or
experience holding her for the first time.
Overcome with emotion, Cloud�s wall of strength crumbled�and he started crying.
Sitting on the edge of the bed
behind him, putting her arms around his heaving shoulders and hugging into his
back, Aerith consoled her friend. �It�s going to be okay, Cloud. You�re not
alone,� she said, fighting hard to keep her own emotions in check.
Cloud didn�t reply as he pulled his baby closer to him, his tears slowly
drying up. He had to be strong for her. He knew he
had to be strong for the both of them.
Letting go of him as he calmed
down, Aerith noted how large his eyes became as he suddenly whimpered in
pain and turned to look at her over his shoulder.
�Cloud, what�s wrong?� she questioned. His tears had stopped but, he was obviously
in pain. She thought about calling for her
father.
�My chest� it hurts,� Cloud answered, his voice reflecting the puzzlement he was feeling.
�And�.and�.I think I�m leaking,� he said, staring down at the two wet patches
on the front of the bed sheet tucked under his arms.
Before Aerith had a chance to move or respond, the once
quiet sleeping infant was stirring awake and mewling softly,
before letting out a powerful, high pitched wail that
went on and on.
�Oh, my� What�� Cloud was starting to panic.
With a little laugh, Aerith
approached from the other side of the bed and, placing the tip of her smallest
finger into the baby�s mouth, she smiled as the infant�s crying instantly
stopped, and it began to try and suckle.
��I believe she�s hungry. She smells
your milk, Cloud.�
The youth gave his friend a dumbfounded look at what she had just said, and he
opened his mouth to ask Aerith what she was talking about, but before he could do so the
doors swung open and Cid came back through
into the room
rambunctiously, bringing Barret and some
other members of AVALANCHE with him to get a
peek at the new arrival. �
�There you go. Didn�t I tell you
she was the most beautiful sight you�re ever seen?� Cid crowed proudly, puffing
his chest out, looking for all the world like he was
the proud father, ignoring the disapproving look he got from Aerith, who stood
up, placing her hands on her hips, annoyed at the sudden interruption.
At the removal of the finger
from the sucking baby�s mouth, the infant took up its wailing lament again, her
little lungs fairly bursting with the shrill shriek that was issuing forth, the
loud screaming cry filling the room and shocking all the men that had come to
see her.
�What�s wrong with her?� Barrett
asked, his gruff voice raised to carry over the noise the baby was making. �Kid
hurt her?�
�No, Cloud didn�t hurt
her!� Aerith scolded. �She wants feeding.�
�So feed her then!� Cid
hollered, looking about the room for food. Damn, he�d do it himself, if it
meant that screeching racket would stop.
The baby continued to cry, her
little face turning red, her tiny hands balled into fists.� Once again, Aerith took charge.
�Here Cloud, hold her like this, and lower down one edge of the sheet,� she
instructed, giving the guys a glare for them to advert their eyes, which they
promptly did, as one side of Cloud�s swelled chest
came into view.
Nestled in the crook of his arm,
Cloud�s baby daughter instinctively stopped crying and latched onto the swollen
protruding nipple that was presented to her. She sucked greedily and hungrily,
filling her stomach with the goodness that Cloud�s milk provided.
At the happy, contented slurping
noises now being issued, the grown men crept forward in awe, gazing down with
amazement on their faces at the transformation of the tiny infant. Changed in
seconds from a snarling, wailing ball of fury, to a sweet and innocent angel,
she lay relaxed and quiet in Cloud�s tender embrace, one little hand opening
and closing, tiny fingers brushing against her mother�s soft skin.
�Now that�.That, is the
most beautiful sight I ever saw!� Barrette choked out, wiping a tear from his
eye.� Normally a man that was able to
hide his emotions, this bonding between mother and child was tearing him
apart.� His thoughts turned to his own
child�.Marlene. �I�.I have a call I gotta make,� he
said, squeezing Cloud�s shoulder in a friendly farewell before exiting the room.
�I think we should all leave,
and give Cloud some peace and privacy,� Aerith stated, making for the door and
holding it open pointedly. Taking her blatant cue, the men one by one praised
Cloud and blessed his child, before following her out, Cid stopping to gaze
back over his shoulder for one last look at the delightful little scene the
nursing boy and his baby made.
Barely had the doors stopped
swinging, before they were pushed open again. Cloud tore his eyes from his
daughter�s adorable face, expecting to see Zack, or Professor Gast standing there. His mouth dropped open when he saw his
visitor. It wasn�t someone he had thought would have wanted to visit him.
As Tifa walked across the room and came to stand by the side of his bed, Cloud held his breath.
He couldn�t read her closed expression. He didn�t know how to react to her. They�d barely spoken two
words together since before his wedding,
and they had parted on not so friendly
terms. Reflexively, his grip on his baby became
tighter.
�Tifa?�
�I�m sorry, Cloud. I�m sorry for all the misery I caused you,� the dark
haired girl burst out. �I was jealous. I though that you would marry me.
I never once realized
that your preferences�that I wasn�t the one you wanted.�
Sniffling, Cloud managed to hold back
his tears as he stretched out a hand towards her,
which she held onto and hugged to her chest, her head bowed as he forgave
her. He tugged her gently, silently insisting that she sit with him on the bed.
�Tifa, you�ve been my best friend since we were kids and, I wish I could
love you as a lover should�. but I can�t��
�Hush, you don�t have to
say any more, Cloud,� Tifa told him, her sorrowful eyes raking his face, still
loving him, still hurting, even as her heart accepted what he was saying. �Just
know that, if you need me, I�m here, for you
and your daughter.�
�Thanks, Tifa. I greatly
appreciate that.��
As she finished making her
promise, Tifa lowered her head and gently kissed the
crown of the still suckling baby�s head, a soft smile playing on her lips as
she felt the infant close her fingers around the end of her long hair and hold
it, tightly. �I think she likes me,� she said, thrilled.
�Of course she does. You�re
going to be her most favorite auntie,� Cloud said, finding himself
smiling back at her.
�She looks like�..him,� Tifa commented, quietly.
�Yes, she does,� Cloud answered,
the smile fading from his face, falling into silence.
Gently untangling the caught up
tresses from the delicate little hand that held her, Tifa
stood up and planted a kiss chastely on Cloud�s forehead. �Anything�.you call me for anything. You got
that?� she said through trembling lips. Cloud nodded, and watched as she
made her way to the exit, giving a small wave goodbye as she slipped through
the doors.
Finally alone, Cloud allowed his
tears to fall freely, allowed his shoulders to droop and his chin to fall onto
his chest, as he stared down through water filled eyes at the child now
sleeping contently in his arms.
�You are so beautiful. Your
daddy would have been so proud of you,� Cloud whispered to her, as his fingers
delicately traced the outline of her milk sated lips. Choking back a sob,
burying his tears in the baby�s soft downy mop of hair, Cloud gave a pitiful
wail of his own�� Seph�.�
oOoOoOo
Back on the main deck, Cid was cursing up a storm and
smoking twice as much. Talking on his cell phone,
his voice was agitated, and there was a pensive look on his face.
After hanging up, he threw the
phone away from him in a rage, nearly breaking it in the process, the words he was speaking barely intelligible as the
language that issued freely from his mouth was mainly cussing and swearing.
�Cid, what�s the hell�s your problem, man?� Barret asked, his own agitation growing.
�Listen up! I just got a call from, believe it or not, the
leader of the Turks, Tseng. He�s just
informed me that, Vincent and Sephiroth��they�ve just been captured.�
oOo TBC oOo
A/N: Well, I don�t know about any
of you but I cried. Any takers on what happened to Sephiroth and Vincent? Okay,
I have to admit, the baby was absolutely cute! Is it me or did any one cringe as Cloud gave birth?
Did anyone else get a kick out of
Cid and Vincent in the first half of the chapter? I loved it when Cid said, �IT FUCKIN� MEANS WHAT?� It�s
almost as good when Cid first found the claiming mark on his neck�Priceless.
Tseng called Cid, think that
Rufus put him up to doing that? Don�t know? Well, stay tuned for the next
chapter to find out.
Mitts & ArchNemesis
oOoOo Teaser for Chapter 27 oOoOo
�I see that you�re awake,� he
said. �You�ve caused quite a bit of damage, but I will overlook that fact, if you tell me where
the boy is?�
Brilliant emerald cat-like orbs
narrowed.
Boy? What boy?
- 26
- 27
- 28
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