Hello! Sorry for the wait (again...) but I have the next few chapters all more or less hammered out, so all I need to do is make sure I get time to go through and edit and post!

Family

Cloud called Cid and hoped that the time difference was enough for the pilot to be awake.

"Yello?" Cid called into the phone. In the background was the unmistakable cacophony of Cid's workshop.

"It's Cloud. I need you to fly me somewhere."

"You should know better than to ask me to cart your ass around for your damn delivery service, Strife!" Cid yelled over the noise.

"It's not for a delivery. I need you to take me to the Northern Crater."

"The hell you goin' there for? It ain't for the scenery, I know."

"Tifa and I need more money than my deliveries and the bar make, so I was going to go take out some magic pots."

There was a pause from the other end, "You know, you're allowed to say that Tifa's finally pregnant, idjit."

Cloud sighed, "Just come get me soon. And don't tell anyone about Tifa, she wants to make sure there aren't any problems with the pregnancy before she lets anyone know."

"Got it. Mums the word. Where am I picking you up?"

"West of Midgar. I'm heading out now, but I'm going to get Goldie from the Chocobo farm first. Thanks for doing this for me."

"You give Teef and Jr. a good kiss bye! I'll meet you in two hours," Cid laughed before hanging up the phone.

Cloud sighed. He walked back up to his and Tifa's room. His wife was still sleeping soundly. Apparently all of the mako Cloud and Tifa had been exposed to had interfered with both of their ability's to have children. Not that either parent was very surprised by that turn of events. Cloud leaned down and gave Tifa a kiss and stroked her soft hair, "Sorry I can't tell you, but you need the extra money more than you need me at the moment, and we both know that you wouldn't let me go if I asked. I promise to call as much as I can, Teef."

Cloud rubbed her belly, not yet showing signs of the child she carried, "Don't give your mom too much trouble," he whispered. He gave Tifa one more kiss and put his note on the bedside table, then hurried downstairs and into the garage. He pushed Fenrir out into the street before starting it and tearing off into the night.

"Hey, pops!" Cid hollered as soon as Cloud got up into the airship, "How do you feel?"

Cloud frowned and rubbed his elbow, looking back in the direction of Edge. "Not like a father. I feel horrible for leaving Tifa and the baby, but I need to get money now before it's born. When the baby arrives, I need to be here to help Tifa with the delivery and taking care of everything."

Cid smiled, "I think you'll be fine."

Cloud turned back to Cid and shook his head, "I'm not too sure. I'm a damn science experiment! That's gotta be bad for the baby somewhere."

The pilot's face fell, "Damn, you're really thinking too hard about this."

"I am?"

"Yeah. She's already pregnant, so anything genetically wrong with the kid's set, so don't worry about it. Just love the kid when it pops out."

Cloud thought for a moment. "Yeah... Thanks, Cid."

"What're friends for if not kicking each other's asses in gear?" Cid answered.

Cloud smirked and shrugged, "Not much, I guess."

Cid headed into the ship, "Well, let's go get you some cash. Make sure that bird stays in the Chocobo room this time. Damn near wrecked my ship when it got loose before."

Cloud clicked his tongue and tugged at the golden Chocobo's reins, gently leading it inside.

Cloud waved as Cid left in the airship, then he started towards the crater where he would pitch his tent. About the time he was done, Cloud's cell phone rang. Despite his good reason for leaving, the blond was apprehensive about answering the call from his wife. He answered the phone.

"He-"

"Where are you?" Tifa asked before Cloud could get a word in. "I thought you didn't have any deliveries right now?"

"I'm at the Northern Crater," Cloud replied bluntly. Best to get it over with. He cringed, sensing the waves of growing disapproval and anger emanating from the other end of the line.

"…You're where?"

"The Northern Crater," Cloud said somewhat meekly. Ohh, he was in for it now. He grimaced at the appropriate harshness in Tifa's voice.

"Why."

Cloud fiddled with the ring on his finger, "You didn't read my note?"

"No, I didn't read your note. You were gone when I woke up, so I had to try and get everything ready by myself before the bar opened. You'd better have a damn good reason to be out where Hell meets Gaia."

There it was! Cloud's chance at redemption! "I'm collecting Magic Pots. I'm sending the money to you on Goldie at the end of the week."

Tifa was speechless. There was silence on the other end of the phone while she searched for what to say. "…Cloud…that's…incredibly sweet…and stupid of you…but I need you here more than I need money. Come home."

Cloud started breathing normally again at the dissipated anger in Tifa's voice. "I'll make sure to stay in touch, Tifa, but I'm going to stay here for a while and build up a good financial base for our family. You've been having trouble ever since the Blood Bullets wrecked everything, and kids aren't exactly known for being financial investments. If anything happens with the pregnancy, just let me know and I'll be home as soon as possible."

"Cloud, I-" Tifa held the phone away from her, "Hello! Take a seat anywhere and I'll be right over!" she brought the phone back to her mouth, "I have to go, but I want to talk this through. I don't want you to lose track of time and miss the baby being born."

"I wouldn't miss that for the world, no matter how many fractures my hand endures."

"Ha, ha. How clever of you. Bye, Cloud. We'll finish this talk later."

"Yeah, I'll talk to you later, babe," Cloud smiled and hung up the phone and sighed a breath of relief. He could go home at the end of this and live if he played his cards right.

Despite Tifa's original apprehensions about Cloud disappearing for seven months, she had to admit that they had needed the extra money he was sending in every other week. Back when the Blood Bullets and the other gangs were at large, Cloud and Tifa's finances were more or less been wiped out, and they were still struggling to get back to a more secure spot in the market. Now with a baby on the way, Tifa had been worrying about the extra expenses that came with the tiny bundle of joy.

There was a familiar tap on the door a few months after Cloud's departure, and Tifa opened it to let her avian bank come in. She guided the bird over to the sink and ran some water for Goldie to drink while Tifa took its bag to the back room. She emptied Cloud's 11th package; inside was 212,350 Gil. Tifa whistled, Cloud must have found a nest of them or something. Tifa called Reeve and let him know what Cloud had just sent in and Reeve arranged to have it taken care of.

Tifa's uterus suddenly seized around a scar in itself as the baby wriggled. Tifa gasped and gripped the edge of the counter, biting her lip. She whimpered, but the pain ebbed with each beat of her rapidly pumping heart. Tifa rubbed her extending belly, "You need to be nicer while you're living in me, baby," she sighed. Who would have thought that Sephiroth did so much damage all those years ago? Despite having nearly been killed by the man (several times, in fact), Tifa never would have thought that Sephiroth had cut her uterus. Her hatred for the man redoubled every time her body would spasm around the scars inside of her.

"Tifa? Are you okay?" Marlene asked, peeking into the room, "Papa told me to check on you because you'd been gone a while."

Tifa smiled at the girl, "I'm fine, sweetie. You go tell Barret to stop being such a worry-wart."

Marlene giggled and trotted from the room. Mrs. Strife came into the room and glanced at Tifa's stomach, "Growing pains again?"

Tifa sighed. "Yeah. I don't know what to do to help. But I'm afraid that the baby's not growing right. I'm smaller than most women are at my stage of pregnancy, and the ultra sounds couldn't see well through the scar tissue."

Mrs. Strife's brow furrowed in empathy before leading Tifa over to the couch and sitting down with her, "Well, when I was having some trouble with Cloud -he was a rather kicky thing- the other women in town told me to take a nice bath. The warm water will loosen the tightness in your abdomen. Also, who doesn't love a good bath? You could also try a heating pad or hot water bottle. Basically, think of the ways you get rid of period cramps. And as for the baby not growing as much as others; you and Cloud both were small little things when you were born, so your baby likely got that from you. Consider it a blessing Tifa, believe me. Johnny's mother looked like she was having triplets when she was full-term with him. A 12 pound baby, while considered healthier, is very little other than misery for the mother."

Tifa laughed, "But Johnny was always so much shorter than me growing up! Thank you. This helped me a lot, and I'll definitely be using your bath idea this evening. But for now, I just have to hope that Cloud's kicky-ness didn't transfer down to his kid."

Mrs. Strife smiled and stood before walking with Tifa back to the front of the bar.

A bit after closing, Denzel tugged on the back of Tifa's shirt. Tifa turned back to look at the boy, "Yes, Denzel?"

"Um, Marlene wants to know if we'll be able to feel the baby yet."

An irritated reply came from the kitchen, "Liar! You've been wondering all week!"

Denzel glared through the open doorway. Tifa laughed, "Yeah. You should be able to feel the baby now." At 23 weeks along, Tifa definitely had a baby bump, even if she was a bit behind average in size, "Do you want to try?"

Denzel smiled and nodded, "Yeah. Can Marlene try, too?"

Tifa laughed, "Of course. Marlene! Do you want to come feel the baby?"

Marlene cheered, "Yes, please!"

At that moment, the door burst open, "What's this about touching the baby?" Reno asked, sauntering in lazily, "Don't you need to wait till it's born to do that?" he smirked. "Or do you need a probe?"

Tifa glared at the redhead, "No."

Mrs. Strife made a face, "Young man, if you wouldn't mind watching your tongue."

Reno smirked again and shrugged, "What? Just a question."

Rude sighed and adjusted his sunglasses. He gave Tifa a small nod.

"Hi, Rude, help yourself to a drink if you'd like," Tifa replied, "And the baby's big enough to be felt through my skin now for your information, Reno," Tifa walked over to her old beat up sofa and sat down.

Reno made a face, "Creepy."

Tifa rolled her eyes, "Come here, Denzel. Marlene."

The two children hopped onto the sofa next to Tifa as she sat down. Tifa felt around on her belly, then took Marlene's hand and pressed it into the spot where she felt a bump.

Marlene cocked her head to the side, "…I don't feel anything, Tifa. Is the baby okay?"

"The baby's fine, Marlene. He's just sleeping right now. Here," Tifa rubbed Marlene's fingers over the spot. The girl gasped.

"I feel a bump!"

"That's his butt."

Marlene laughed, "Ewww! Baby butt!"

"You know it's a boy?" Denzel asked.

Reno scoffed, "Ha! Id'a thought Cloud would have daughters."

"Oh, hush, Reno. I don't know if the baby's a boy or a girl, Denzel, but I don't like calling him or her 'it'. It feels rude."

Denzel nodded, "Oh. Okay. Can I try feeling the baby?"

"Of course. Marlene, scoot over so Denzel can feel," Tifa instructed. She pressed the boy's fingers into the side of her belly, then gasped and released the pressure. She drew her knees close to her and Barret and Reno jumped to their feet while Rude took a step forward.

"Oh, Tifa…" Mrs. Strife started, "I'll go get you a hot water bottle." She stood and hustled into the kitchen.

"Sorry! Sorry, Tifa!" Denzel yelped.

"No, you're fine, Denzel. Sometimes I just hurt," Tifa murmured.

Reno and Rude looked at each other and Barret tromped over to Tifa, "You alright, Teef? You want me to call Spike?"

Tifa shook her head, "No. It's fine. The pain goes away pretty quickly."

Reno scratched the back of his head, "That's not normal for pregnancy, is it?"

Tifa shook her head, "No, but I know the cause and there's nothing I can do about it, so I'll manage."

Rude cleared his throat, "If you need help…"

Reno nodded, "Yeah, we can get you help if you need it."

The microwave beeped and Mrs. Strife emerged a moment later with a hot water bottle wrapped in a towel. She handed it to Tifa, who placed the bottle over her stomach and nodded, "Thanks, but I'm fine now."

"Alright…" Reno shifted on his feet.

Tifa answered her phone before the ringtone had been playing for three seconds. "Hey, Cloud, how have you been?"

Reno grabbed the cell, "Dude, get your ass back here before someone steals your pregnant wife."

Barret burst into laughter, "True dat! You hear, Spikey?!"

"You guys!" Tifa exclaimed, "Give me back my phone!"

Reno pressed a button and Cloud's voice rang out on speaker phone, "-efore I kick your ass, Reno."

"Ooooohhh, Cloud said a bad word," Marlene sang, accompanied by Denzel's snickers.

"Reno!" Cloud snarled, "You…jerk. Take me off speaker and give the phone to Tifa. And Marlene, Reno and Barret say bad words all the time, why call me out?"

Marlene giggled, "Because it's fun."

"Hey, anything you can say to Tifa, you can say to the rest of us, riiight Cloudy-boo-boo?" Reno teased, donning a baby voice.

Cloud groaned, then continued his conversation with Tifa, "I've been fine. How have you been, Tifa? Are you still getting those cramps?"

"Yeah, but that's only to be expected. Do you need me to send you some elixirs with Goldie?"

"No, this W-item materia is weird. Anytime I'm indecisive about using a second item, more of the first item show up."

"Really? Then come home and we can just open a shop."

"That won't work, unfortunately. I tried using it out of battle and nothing happened, or else I would have been back ages ago."

Reno noted, balancing a pen on his fingertip, "Dude, you've already sent enough money. And even if you haven't, you two have got friends in high places that'll help you out if you need it. Reeve's the freakin' President ShinRa."

There was a pause from Cloud's end. "You think? To be honest, I'm not even sure how much I've sent," he admitted.

"You've sent plenty, Cloud, I promise," Tifa replied, nodding a thank you at Reno, "Can you come home?"

"God, yes. I've been wanting to come home basically since I left, but you know all about that, Tifa. I should be ready to come back in a day or two. I just need time to gather up my things and call Cid."

"Great! I'll see you then!"

"Cloud's coming back!" Denzel cheered. Marlene jumped up and down excitedly.

Tifa smiled and looked at Barret, "You should have seen her when we told her you were coming by when you were still travelling."

Barret beamed at his daughter and scooped her into a hug, "Daaw, baby girl!"

"Tifaaa! I told you not to tell him thaaaat!" Marlene whined, but "grudgingly" hugged her dad back.

Tifa yawned, "I'm going to bed. Goodnight everyone. Don't you dare drink all my merchandise without paying, Reno. Rude, Barret, keep an eye on him?"

"Aw, Tifa, even I know better than to steal from you," Reno laughed.

"Only because you tried to get away with it before," Tifa reminded.

Reno shrugged, "Good night, snookums," he said with a wink.

Tifa raised an unimpressed eyebrow at the redhead and went upstairs to bathe.

Downstairs, Tifa heard Barret smack Reno, "Would you quit hittin' on Tifa? She's married and pregnant, for god's sake!"

"Calm down, Barret. I was only teasing," Reno replied cooly.

Tifa laughed silently. Barret was a good friend to Cloud, no matter what the two had to say about it.

The next night, Tifa woke to another intense pain in her abdomen. She whimpered and curled inward on Cloud's empty half of the bed, gasping. She waited for the pain to go away, but it only intensified. She bit her lip to keep from crying out. When the pain still hadn't subsided in a half-minute, Tifa had no choice but to call Barret. He slept in the room next to Tifa's so he could help her if she needed it.

"B-Barret!" Tifa started crawling out of bed and fell to the floor, "Barret!"

The hulking man ran into the room a moment later and helped Tifa to her feet. Tifa felt something drip down her leg and looked to see blood on the floor. She let out a sob, "Call Cloud!"

Barret saw the blood on the bed and floor and picked Tifa up. He held her in one arm and ran out the door, calling Cid with his other hand.

Cloud's phone rang. He paused in what he was doing, wondering what had happened. This was way later than he usually got calls, and Tifa had already talked with him a few hours earlier. He yawned, remembering how late it was, and answered.

"Hel-"

"Be ready to leave the damn instant Cid gets there, Spike! I'm on my way to the hospital with Tifa!" Barret yelled into the phone.

Cloud was wide awake in an instant, "Hospital?! What's wrong? What happened? Let me talk to Tifa," he replied, shocked.

"I don't know, but she's bleedin' a lot. Gotta go. You'd better be ready!" Barret repeated before hanging up.

"Wait! Let me talk to her!" Cloud growled at the buzzing phone in his hand before calling Barret back twice and receiving no answer.

He was stricken. Bleeding? Cloud threw everything else he had hap-hazardly into his bags and stuffed them as well as his shaking hands could manage. He called Cid.

"Cid, please tell me you're on your way."

"Yeah, I'll be up there in about an hour if I go at top speed. I heard Barret yell the info to Shera. Gotta go," Cid hung up.

An hour! That'll be too late! Cloud had to be there NOW! He searched his materia for something, anything, that might get him home faster, but his best bet was to use his mastered Time materia to cast Haste on the Highwind when Cid got here. That would cut travel time in about a half if the magic even worked on inanimate objects. Cloud sat and buried his head in his hands. This couldn't be happening. He couldn't shake the feeling that this was his fault. He was basically a big bubble of mako energy. That couldn't be good. And Tifa herself had fallen into the lifestream, first in Mideel (along with Cloud) and again when they defeated Sephiroth the first time. Add to that that they both lived next to a mako reactor as kids…there was so much room for damage.

"Rg," Cloud stood and started organizing the junk in his bags for something to do. He willed Cid to fly faster.

"Forget it, just hover over the hospital, Cid. I'll jump."

"Shit, chu're crazy."

"Do it!"

"Alright, alright," Cid flew forward and lowered the airship over the hospital and Cloud jumped onto the roof. He ran inside and searched out a worker.

"Which floor is Tifa Strife on?"

"I'm not sure, sir. Why is she in the hospital?" the attendant replied calmly.

"She had a problem with her pregnancy and came here. I was told that she was bleeding a lot."

"Oh, dear. That would be on the third floor. Why are you up here?"

"Got lost," Cloud ran past the attendant and went to the third floor.

When Cloud finally found Tifa's room, she was sitting on the bed with her arms wrapped around her knees and her head down. She was in a hospital gown, her hair was frazzled, and she was very pale.

"Took you long enough, Spike," Barret murmured from a nearby chair. He rubbed his stubble and yawned, still in his pyjamas. Cloud caught his breath, nodded at Barret in acknowledgment, then walked over to his wife.

"Tifa?" Cloud huffed, placing his hand on her shoulder.

"We lost him."

"…What?" she couldn't mean…

"We lost the baby," Tifa's voice was hoarse. She'd been crying. They had a son?

Cloud's face fell. He sat on the bed next to Tifa and put his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him and cried.

"Shh, shh. It's alright, Tifa," Cloud rocked her gently. He had a son. He couldn't fully understand that the baby was…was gone? Or had doctors misplaced his crib-thing? Lost?

She shook her head and buried herself into her husband, "He-" she choked on her words, "He-" she tried again, but whatever she was going to say was cut off by a sob.

"He what?" Cloud asked. He was a father. Cloud was a father.

"He only had one leg. And no arms," Barret clarified. He rubbed his own prosthetic arm absently.

The blood drained from Cloud's face. This was all his fault. He rested his head against Tifa's and sat silently for a moment, "…Have they taken him away? I want to see him. My son." Cloud's voice cracked and he cleared his throat, "I want to see my son."

Barret sighed deeply. He sounded tired. "They haven't taken him yet. I'll call a nurse and explain why you're not signed in while they get him," he stood and left the room.

Cloud leaned against Tifa, "This is all my fault…"

Tifa shook her head and looked up at Cloud with red eyes, "It's no more your fault than it is mine. You may have been exposed to more mako than I have, but my body might not even be able to sustain a full pregnancy…"

Barret came back into the room with a nurse, the nurse wheeling a small cart with a tiny red baby in it. Cloud's eyes widened when he saw his son. He put his hand over his mouth. The one leg he had was missing a toe. Where his other leg should have been was a lump in his hip. One arm extended about a centimeter, but ended in a rounded stump, and the other arm was only a shoulder. His face was totally normal. His skin looked thin and papery, as if it would tear if Cloud wasn't careful with his rough hands. All of the cold veins were easily visible in the baby's smooth skin. Thin ribbons of blue in a red background. Cloud walked over and worked the tiny stillborn into the palm of his hand. How could a human being be so small? Cloud's throat tightened and he swallowed a sob. His son…

Cloud took his boy's foot in his fingers and moved it. All of the bones were there, ignoring the baby's missing toe. Behind him, Tifa sobbed. Cloud started, would he be able to sit next to Tifa right now? He wanted his family to all be together, but not if it made Tifa unhappy.

"Bring him here, Cloud," Tifa asked, "I want us all to be together."

And this was why Cloud married Tifa. He walked over with his tiny son and sat next to his wife. This was his family. Death was his brother.

"Should we-" Cloud voice came out hoarse and he cleared his throat again, "Should we name him?"

Tifa nodded, "Yes."

"What should we name him, then?"

"I don't know. How about…Eiden?" Tifa suggested sadly.

Cloud nodded, "Sounds good."

"Should I put that on the birth certificate?" the nurse asked gently.

Tifa started. She had totally forgotten Barret and the nurse were still there, "Yes," she nodded. And of course, the Death Certificate, too. Why does death deserve a certificate? Like it was some sort of accomplishment. "Would you mind leaving? I want some time to be alone with Cloud and Eiden."

"Of course, Mrs. Strife. E-i-d-e-n?"

"Yes."

The nurse left, and Barret thumped Cloud on the back before leaving. Cloud cleared his throat. He put his arm around Tifa. Tifa rubbed Eiden's head softly with the tip of her finger.

Cloud came out of the room a while after the nurse and leaned against the wall. Barret stood and patted him on the shoulder.

"I'm sorry, man. I did everything I could."

"I know. Thank you, Barret. You…you're a good friend."

Barret knocked Cloud in the head, "Knock that off. Anyone with half a heart would have helped Tifa last night."

"Yeah, but not anyone would take time off from their own life to keep an eye on her while I was gone," Cloud cleared his throat again and said in almost a whisper, as if he were telling a deep dark secret, "You're one of my best friends."

"…Well, shit," Barret scratched his head, "Thanks, Spike."

Cloud shrugged.

"So why aren't you in there with her?"

"Tifa said she wanted a bit of time to herself. She's probably reasoning through losing Eiden. I'm having trouble believing it myself."

A man approached Cloud and Barret, "Excuse me, sir. Are you this woman's husband?" the doctor asked Cloud, gesturing to Tifa's room.

"Yes. Why?"

"I just wanted to know how much mako energy you've been exposed to. Had you always lived in Midgar? Or near a reactor? Or did you ever make contact with a particularly potent stream of mako?"

"Both me and my wife lived in a town with a reactor growing up, and we moved to Midgar after the reactor malfunctioned and burned our town to the ground. I also used to be SOLDIER, 2nd class," Barret rose an eyebrow, but said nothing. Cloud decided full details of his experience with mako were unnecessary, and he decided his usual "SOLDIER 1st class" claim would be pretty easy to call false. All of ShinRa's firsts could be counted on one hand. And besides, Cloud already knew what had caused Eiden came out the way he did.

The doctor nodded, "That may have been a factor in why this happened. I would recommend, if you still plan on having children, to wait at least three months until Mrs. Strife recovers from the miscarriage. We're worried that some additional damage may have been done to her uterus. You were aware of her previous scarring?"

Cloud nodded.

"Her uterus was stretched very thin in the areas surrounding the scars, and if she gets pregnant again too soon, it may tear. This would be potentially life-threatening for Mrs. Strife and the child would surely die."

Cloud's brow furrowed, "But she'll recover eventually, right? Tifa's wanted to be a mother for…almost as long as I've known her. It would…if she couldn't ever have children…she…and I…" Cloud struggled for words. It wouldn't kill Tifa. At least Cloud hoped it wouldn't. But it would break her spirit for a long time.

"Yes, she should be able to, but it would be high-risk. If she becomes pregnant again, you would need to have more detailed check-ups more often than usual."

"But it would be possible?"

"Yes."

Cloud sighed, "Good. Is there anything else I should know?"

"She'll continue having pains for a while as her body adjusts to losing the child, but she'll be back to usual in a couple weeks at most. I'll send some medication home with you in case the pain becomes too intense, but it shouldn't be necessary."

"Thank you."

The doctor nodded, "Good luck, Mr. Strife," and walked away after handing Cloud a prescription for pain medication.

Barret whistled, "Good luck, Spike. You and Teef are gonna need it."

"Thanks," Cloud sighed.

Tifa was able to come home later that day, although she walked very stiffly. Cloud walked next to her and held her hand most of the time. When Cloud, Tifa, and Barret walked into the Seventh Heaven, Marlene and Denzel jumped up from the game of chess they had been playing with Rude and ran over. Reno sighed from the couch, "You alright?"

Tifa lowered her head and said nothing.

"I'll tell you about it later," Cloud explained.

"Right," Reno glanced at Tifa's small belly, but didn't say anything.

Mrs. Strife stood and walked over to Tifa, "Would you like to talk upstairs?"

Tifa shrugged.

Marlene looked at Tifa's belly, then looked at Denzel worriedly as Cloud led his wife quietly up the stairs.

Reno looked at Barret, "What happened?"

"Ts'not my place to say," Barret replied, "Marlene, do you and Denzel wanna go out somewhere?"

"No. I want to know what happened to Tifa's baby," Marlene said, crossing her arms. Denzel nodded. The nine and thirteen-year-olds had always been more mature than Barret gave them credit for.

Cloud sat Tifa down on the bed and plopped himself down next to her, "…Do you want me to get you anything?" he asked.

Tifa shook her head, "I just want to forget this happened for the time being," she looked over at her husband, "Eiden lived for a few minutes."

"He was born alive?" Cloud couldn't really believe that. Why would Tifa's body get rid of a live baby, limbs or not?

"Yes. I thought you would want to know."

Cloud paused. He nodded, "Yeah. Thank you."

I'm sorry that this chapter was so sad, but Cloud and Tifa having trouble having kids is a very real possibility that no one has seemed to think of and want to write about. But things look up, I promise! I'm not about to end a story on a note like this :)

Thank you for liking and commenting for those of you who feel so inclined and have done so in the past! In the words of an author who is quoting another author: Getting reviews makes me feel all gooey and squishy inside :)