A/N: Heya huns! Long time no see, I have a week off school for the Mid-Term, so I decided that I'm so sick to the teeth of studying and homework, I want to write some chapters and fics! This is something I started a few months back, but I never got to start properly because of school, anyhow, I hope you like huns!
"One to Kalm - but it doesn't have to be there till the end of the week - you can give it to Denzel, the rest are in Edge. There's fresh coffee in the pot, I changed the keg Mom asked you to change Tuesday too, morning by the way."
Cloud blinked slowly as he took a seat at the kitchen table, mentally attempting to decipher the string of words which had just assaulted his hearing. Why did she always have to speak so fast? Especially in the mornings. He was blond - he hated people using that as an excuse or a jibe, but he didn't mind using it in his own defence - and it was early. It had only just turned seven and orders were already being tossed his way. The time also gave rise to another question in his mind; what was Rach doing up this early anyhow? School had finished a few weeks ago, as had her exams, any other teenager would still be in bed at this hour. Cloud hid a yawn behind his hand as he stood and set about pouring a cup of coffee.
"Why're you up already? And you know your Mom's gonna flip when she finds out you changed the keg."
A small, cheeky smirk and a peck on his cheek along with some choice words were all that met the father's words as the teenager bounded from the kitchen and into the bar, evidently setting up before opening. She never did listen to his or Tifa's chastising, when she was younger maybe to an extent, but not really anymore.
"What Mom doesn't know won't hurt her!"
Despite himself, Cloud smirked as he stood and followed his daughter into the bar; that was Rach, always had been and probably always would be, regardless of his and Tifa's opinions. Seventeen…it seemed like only yesterday that Rach had been born. Though the road had not been a pleasant one, nothing ever seemed to be when he was involved. By all medical opinions Rachelle shouldn't have been born, he and Tifa had tried for a baby for a long time before Tyler - one of ShinRa's employed doctors - had diagnosed the problem; scar tissue, the result of repetitive blows and injuries…her womb was incapable of bearing a child. But once they had resigned themselves to such a fact, Tifa had began being ill in the mornings, she had fallen pregnant.
Anyone else would have thought they'd had their fill of bad luck at that stage, but nope. Not for him, Cloud had personally decided that someone was looking down at him laughing their asses off - probably Zack - no way was it normal for someone to have such a run of bad luck as he had had in his life. It seemed for every good thing that happened, something bad crept up to over shadow it. Tifa had fallen pregnant but after only eight months, she had given birth to Rachelle, though the traumatic birth had ended in a hysterectomy.
At least they had Rach, at least she had been the consolation, though even that had been threatened; Rach had been born with a weak immune system - due to her being born a month premature - leaving her prone to chest infections and colds. It had taken some getting used to, but they had learnt how to deal with it and how to prevent her from becoming ill.
After that things had been relatively easy until Rach had been six months old; both he and Tifa had been away visiting Tseng and Elena in Wutai for the weekend, leaving Denzel to look after his infant sister. They had received a call later that night from Rufus explaining that Rach had been admitted to hospital; Denzel had got to check on her during the night and found his little sister having trouble breathing and her lips blue. The teenager had called Rach's godfather immediately, only for Reno to call an ambulance when he'd arrived at the bar and seen Rach, the diagnosis; an atrial myxoma…a non-cancerous heart tumour, growing on the septum of the heart, the wall that divides the two sides of the heart.
Still, almost eighteen years had passed since, though not without their difficulties. Rach was not only prone to becoming ill but also suffered from complications due to her heart problem, such as chest pains, shortness of breath, dizziness, fainting, fever, weight loss - but she always took it in her stride, never complaining, though she did tend to get slightly irked when she didn't get to do certain things due to the myxoma.
"Rach, what time are you up since? And why?"
The youth shrugged lightly as she tied her ebony tresses back into a loose pony-tail. She knew why she'd been up since before six, she'd had a pain in her chest all night, but she wasn't about to tell her father that - it wasn't that she didn't want to tell her Dad - but if she did, then he would tell her Mom and that's where the shit would hit the fan. The two of them would end up dragging her to a check up, something she would only be brought to kicking and screaming against.
"I'm up since around half-six, I just couldn't sleep, I just felt funny and I wasn't tired. So, everyone's coming Friday? I can't wait to see Marlene again!"
She couldn't help herself, she was so excited! It had been over a year since Rach had seen her older sister, due to Marlene being at University studying medicine, but now she had finally gained her qualification and was coming back home, Rufus had offered her a job as a ShinRa doctor after Tyler had recommended her. Not only that but a surprise party was scheduled for Friday to mark the occasion - Barrett was going to collect Marlene and then bring her to the bar - a proper reunion. Everyone had been invited, all the kids she hadn't seen since she had been only a little child herself. All her parents' friends. Denzel had explained it to her a week or so ago, how they had all gone their separate ways when the kids had been toddlers. Though they had all attempted to stay in contact, life had gotten in the way and before any of them had noticed, weeks had elapsed into months, and months had elapsed into years.
But now they were all going to come face to face again on Friday. She still kind of remembered all the other kids but only slightly, Jenny had been the first to move away with her parents - Vincent and Yuffie - Yuffie's father had fallen ill and she had had to go back and take up her role as Wutai's heir. Then Mike had left when his Dad and Mom had moved back to Rocket Town. Then San had left a year or two after the rest, her parents had decided to move away after her Dad had retired from the Turks, then Matt had gone back to Kalm with his parents. The only one she had kept real friends with was Damien - Rufus' son - they lived near each other and were the same age, they'd grown up together and were the best of friends, though they never passed up a chance to pull the carpet out from under the other's feet. Not to mention Damien was about the only person who seemed to leave her to her own devices, instead of constantly telling her what she could and could not do.
Cloud nodded his head as he smiled, Friday was the big day, it had been the guts of fourteen years since the whole gang had been together. And try as he might, it was difficult to ignore that odd little feeling in the pit of his stomach…what would they all look like? How would they all react? What were all the kids like now?
"Dad - I'm heading out - promised Damien I'd be over before half-eight, there's a meeting early so I'm gonna hang around till it's done, talk to you later Dad!"
And with that the door to Seventh Heaven swung shut, giving the father no time to argue with his daughter or reply in any way. She shouldn't have been up that early, he knew that, but he also knew she wasn't a kid any longer and it wasn't fair to keep trying to wrap her in cotton wool, especially now that she was older. Come Friday there would be three other teenagers around the place, all of which to the best of his knowledge were all a little older than Rach, having turned eighteen already, and without any ailments such as his daughter's.
"How long is she up? And the truth?"
Cloud froze as Tifa's voice seemingly materialized behind him. He had a habit of siding with Rach when it came to these kind of conversations while Tifa didn't, Tifa was the one with her hand on the phone and having half of Tyler's phone number already entered on her phone. But he wasn't about to start an argument over it this early in the morning, he shrugged his shoulders lightly as he pulled back the bolt at the top of Seventh Heaven's doors, shuffling it a bit as it got stuck half way as usual, then bent down to do the same to the bottom bolt.
"Truthfully - I haven't a clue - she said half-six, so I'm guessing about six, give or take a bit. Don't look at me like that Tifa, I have my back turned to you and I can still feel that glare, I can't do anything about it, she's not a little kid that you can give a bed-time to anymore."
Tifa took a breath to say something as she pulled her night gown closer around her body, having become aware of how cold the air was this morning, she couldn't help but worry. Rach was their baby, teenager or not, she always would be the baby of the family. And she was the mother. Mother's had a way of picking up on things when you tried to hid them, and Tifa was no exception to that.
"Cloud, I think we should call Tyler, she's been having chest pains…"
Cloud stood up from unbolting the doors, the task having been made shorter by Rach having already unbolted one, he shook his head as he turned to face his wife, leaning his back against the wall as he did so. He had already guessed as much regarding Rach, and although the father side of him was telling him that Tifa was right, that they should call Tyler, Rach's doctor, his heart was telling him no. They'd done so before, and it had caused a rift between they youth and them for near on three weeks, and sure, they had literally been in the right to do so, they were her parents and all they had been worried about had been her welfare, they had still gone straight to the doctor without telling her or asking the youth…she was the one who had to live with the ailment, so she should have the deciding factor on it.
"No. You remember what happened last time Tifa, I'm not about to cause World War Three between the three of us again, it's just not worth it anymore. Okay, I agree that she was lying when she told me what time she was up at, and I figured it had been because of chest pains, but the fact is; she didn't tell us. And until she decides to, then the ball's in her court, she'll know when she needs help, she's capable of looking after herself for a little bit."
"Damn, shouldn't you be in bed or something? C'mon - let's face it yo - ya need the beauty sleep!"
Rach stuck out her tongue as she walked through the front doors of the ShinRa building into the lobby area, having already expected the teasing words of her godfather. Not a single morning went by without him making some sort of a smart comment upon her arrival, but she guessed that's why she loved him really. He wasn't like all the other adults, you could talk to him and he wouldn't treat you like a kid, or tattle on you to your parents at the end of the day.
"What the hell possessed Rufus to appoint you head Turk? Were Turks actually that low in numbers that you were the best of the bunch…talk about a bad crop that year!"
Reno nodded his head smirking as he continued to hang over the railings of the second floor, not giving a care in the world as several personnel stopped to stare at him, wondering what he was doing. He didn't care in the slightest, he was the head Turk now so he had the authority to take a break if he wanted to. Screw their schedules! As for what had possessed Rufus to appoint him head Turk - yeah - that was a mystery to him too. Or at least it had been for a while. Tseng deciding to retire had thrown them all for a loop.
But Tseng had been in the division long enough, he'd seen The Turks at their height, watched them fall and then had helped to rebuild the revered ranks. When the chance had come to leave on early retirement, he'd taken it, as had his wife Elena. They'd started a family, a lovely little girl, whom he had been asked to be godfather for too, San - she was the most trouble-making little toddler there had ever been! It had been fun watching her and the rest grow up from little babies to toddlers, but then they'd all gone their separate ways. Tseng and Elena had left the force and moved back to Tseng's home place, Wutai. They'd been the first to go after Yuffie and Vincent. After that, Cid and Shera had moved back to Rocket Town, Reeve and Shalua had returned to Kalm.
Barret came and went as per usual, that had been it then - all gone before they'd known they were going really. He found out after Tseng had left, that it had been him to recommend his place to be filled by the Turks' second-in-command, himself; Reno. Strangely enough, Rufus had been all too willing to agree, something that still shocked him to this day.
He actually had to do his own paper work now, along with ensuring that all the others under his command got theirs in on time also. Not to mention organizing missions, recon missions, mock runs for recruits, recruit training, tracking…just - a lot of things! He never thought Tseng had had that much to deal with, looking back now he guessed he hadn't really made it all that much more easy on the man, constantly slacking off, ignoring his paper work, taking random days off, coming in with the mother and father of all hangovers on several occasions. How Tseng had actually put up with him all those years was beyond him.
He had already rejected several recruits on similar offences. It was kinda ironic really; all they way through Junon, they were being led to believe the most lenient of the Turks was now their boss, only for them to get a kick up the arse when they finally made it to Edge. He had been the most lenient of the Turks, but he'd had to grow up in the years that had transpired since he'd moved up in the ranks. Looking back once more - Tseng had known what he was doing recommending him for the place. So had Rufus, he wanted to thank them.
Without them forcing him to grow up, he wouldn't have his family today. It had taken a lot of mature thinking for the man to fix what he had ruined when he'd been a kid, when he'd abandoned the one girl he'd ever liked that way. But he'd found her again and they'd made a go at it. That had been almost five years back now, and the small golden band on his left ring finger only proved to back up the decisions Tseng and Rufus had made, they'd managed to tame the untameable Turk.
A/N: So, any thoughts hun? Thanks for reading either way!