Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of FFVII or make profit from this story.

In all his life, though fragmented it was, he never thought he would be a father. Those long, brooding years he spent locked inside a coffin, he never once pictured himself with a family of his own. He never thought he would fall in love with an overly excitable, sometimes clumsy, ninja and marry her. He never imagined being depended upon by two small lives, unable to protect themselves.

But he did.

As Vincent stared through the glass where the newborn babies were kept, he could not help the feeling that came over him. He felt the need—no, ferocity—to protect those little lives that were intertwined with his. He knew they would be his weakness, his downfall. He knew that he would be wrapped around their tiny fingers, forever giving in to their whims.

That was the way fathers were with their little girls.

Vincent leaned forward and uncrossed his arms slightly as the baby on the left opened her eyes. She stared right at him. Her eyes were his red, though a bit subdued. She did not cry or wail or create much fuss at all. She simply squinted at him as if she understood who he was and what he represented to her. Staring back at her, Vincent was overcome with a worry.

Were they somehow infected by the demons that coursed through his veins?

It was a plausible thought, one he had brought up with Yuffie at the beginning of the pregnancy. As optimistic as ever, for which he adored her for, Yuffie just smiled and said, "It'll just make parenting more of an adventure." He couldn't help but chuckle at her at the time. Seeing the red eyes of his daughter, however, the fear came back. Typical babies would be screaming, as some of the other newborns in the care center were doing. His daughter was too calm, her eyes seeing too much. He worried that this one might have inherited something more than just his genes.

Looking at his other daughter, asleep in the plastic crib, he knew she would be more like Yuffie. With wide, brown eyes, in every waking moment there was some shrill noise coming out of her. She had apparently worn herself out for the time being. Aside from being loud, she was going to be the energetic one of the two. Oh, he all ready rued the day when she would learn to walk. Even crawl! Once she was on the move, there would be no way to stop her. His head almost hurt just thinking of it.

"So," he heard a gruff voice next to him. "You got fucking girls." The voice laughed quietly. "Never thought I'd see the day, vampire."

Vincent made a low hum in Cid's direction.

"You know, the one on the left reminds me of you, all fucking creepy and shit. It's like she fucking knows we're here." He heard Cid shift and flick the switch of a lighter. Before another word came out of Cid's mouth, the cigarette was gone. "What the fuck was—"

"We're in a hospital."

"I cam smoke where I damn well please."

"Not near my daughters."

"They're on the other side of the glass. Relax, Vinnie." Cid made to grab another cigarette.

Vincent turned to face Cid full on. His eyes narrowed and his lips pressed tightly together. He stared Cid down for a moment. "Not near my daughters."

Understanding the look that Vincent was giving him, Cid backed up a step and put his hand up in defeat, unlit cigarette in one hand. "Okay, okay, I fucking get it. No smoking." He grumbled something under his breath about going outside as he turned and walked away.

Vincent turned back to watch his daughters, the one with the red eyes still awake and watching him. He had only gotten to hold the babies for a brief time before the nurses whisked them away to run tests to make sure there were no immediate health risks. Yuffie and him would get to see them soon, but Yuffie needed to rest after the twenty-three hour labor.

As expected, another presence appeared next to him. This time it was Tifa. She stood silently for a long while next to him, looking the babies over. He knew Cloud was never far behind, but the combination of hospital and babies was more than enough to keep the ex-SOLDIER away. Tifa would have come on her own to give her support and congratulations.

Never taking her eyes off the babies, she said, "They're beautiful, Vincent."

He nodded. There was no need for him to verbally acknowledge the fact.

"What are their names?"

With his left hand, he pointed to the baby on the right, the sleeping one and said, "Yesenia." His hand then shifted to the left. "Victoriana."

"Flower and victory. Fitting."

He felt a hand come down on his right shoulder gently and give a squeeze. A silent moment passed between the two friends before Tifa said, "You'll make a great father, Vincent." Glancing to the side, Vincent saw her smile at him. She gave another squeeze to his shoulder before she let go and began to walk down the corridor. He contemplated her words for a short moment before the left side of his mouth quirked upward in a sort-of smile. He saw that Victoriana had closed her eyes and was dozing off again, but now Yesenia was wide awake and crying. There was a nurse attending to her. Vincent realized that as another nurse went towards Victoriana's crib, they were going to be brought to Yuffie's birthing suite soon.

Vincent gave one last look at his two little girls. A full smile appeared on his lips as he said the words, if only to himself, "I know."