Thank you so much to the kind people who have read and reviewed. It's very much appreciated. This is a bit of an inbetweeny chapter I'm afraid, but I've been working on the story today, and the end is in sight.

Warning - a bit of Reno/Rude in this one.

The Meteor Effect

IV

Everybody's Business

For the next six weeks Rude managed to work as normal, Reno covering for him on the odd occasion when a situation in Edge threatened to turn hostile, or heavy lifting was required. Reno had managed to obtain fuel from somewhere – Rude hadn't asked exactly how – and once a week he drove Rude to Hearn's surgery for a check up. Hearn had been given a reconditioned ultrasound monitor, rescued from the rubble of Midgar. Not even Rude knew that Reno was the one who'd tracked it down on the swiftly growing black market, and had got it working. So far the news was good – the placenta was firmly attached and the baby growing normally. Reno had even been present for the last scan, although he still refused to touch Rude's increasingly distended abdomen to feel the baby when it moved.

When they returned to Cliff Resort after the latest appointment, Rude said, "It's nearly twenty four weeks, Reno. If she was delivered now, there's a chance she could survive."

Reno forced himself to sound pleased as he said, "Well – that's good. Rude – Elena said something yesterday about you putting on weight. I think we'll have to tell them soon."

"Next week," Rude said firmly. "We'll tell them next week."

That night, Reno woke suddenly in the darkness. What was wrong? Oh yeah – Rude wasn't snoring, that was it. He'd been complaining in the past few days that the baby was lying heavily on his bladder, and he kept on having to get up in the night to piss. When he was asleep he always lay on his back, and the snoring was incredible, although Reno never seemed to have trouble sleeping through it. Now though, Rude's quiet, rapid breathing told Reno that his partner was awake.

"You okay?" Reno asked.

"Shit!" Rude swore softly. There was a rustling of bedding, and then he said, "Yeah. Couldn't sleep."

Reno realised what he'd interrupted. More than five months without real sex – Rude must be going crazy!

"You want me to leave you alone? I can go watch TV or something."

"No, Reno. It's – fine."

"Guess it's been a while?"

"Yeah. Not a thing I can explain to a date – be careful of the baby."

"Yeah, I guess." There was a long pause. "You know, Partner – that don't have to be a solo mission either."

"Hm?"

"I mean – if you wanted…"

Rude didn't reply.

"Partner?" Reno persisted.

Rude's voice was very low as he said, "If… you…"

There was a creak of bed springs, then Reno's warm breath was against Rude's ear as he said, "Move over," and Reno's hand was cool on his thigh as he settled into the narrow bed beside him. Without further comment Reno reached for Rude's cock, stroking it sensually, taking his time. During their fevered coupling at Meteorfall there had been no time to take it slowly – they'd both believed they had minutes to live.

Lying beside his partner, Reno could feel the wound up tension in Rude. Stroking more firmly, Reno shifted himself closer, his almost-naked body tight up against Rude's warmth. He kissed Rude's throat experimentally, and murmured, "Relax."

"Yeah," Rude sighed, his hips lifting slightly as he pushed himself against Reno's hand. "Yeah, that's good."

"Mm," Reno agreed. He was more turned on than he'd been for a long time and he couldn't help pressing himself against the taut curve of Rude's muscular thigh as he rubbed harder, his grip on Rude's cock tightening. Rude's breath caught and the sound sent a spike of lust straight to Reno's groin.

Reno felt Rude's fingers against the side of his face, and then in his hair, pulling him down for a kiss. Reno licked at the fullness of Rude's lower lip, catching it between his teeth gently, remembering how good it had been kissing Rude last time, revelling in the familiar smell of his partner's skin, the heat of his mouth, the sharply rekindled memory of the way he tasted.

Beneath his palm Reno felt the tightening and thickening of flesh that told him Rude was close to the edge. He kissed Rude harder, his tongue sliding deep into Rude's mouth, his hand on Rude's cock squeezing just tight enough –

Rude moaned, his back arching off the bed, hips jerking upwards as he came.

"Fuck!" he panted. "Fuck, Reno!"

"Yeah," said Reno, and Rude could feel that sexy smile against his lips before Reno kissed him again.

They lay side by side for a while, neither of them feeling the need to say anything. When Rude's breathing had returned to normal, he asked, "You want me to -?"

Reno was still hard, but he felt as though accepting Rude's offer would be somehow taking advantage. "Thanks," he said, "but - not right now." Reno hesitated, then added, "You know – all that shit before, when I left? I just – It was only because…"

"I know."

Rude moved away, searching for the tissues in the dark. Reno wondered whether to go back to his own bed, but he was too comfortable to move until Rude kicked him out. When Rude lay down again, Reno settled along side him, his head on Rude's shoulder. Rude slid his arm around Reno, his hand warm against Reno's back, his fingers playing with the ends of Reno's ridiculously long hair. In other circumstances Reno might have rested his free arm on Rude's abdomen, but something in him still recoiled from the idea of touching that unnatural bump, and he held his arm against his own chest instead. But – it was good, being so close to Rude again.

Reno was almost asleep when Rude said, "She's awake now!"

Reno tensed. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." Rude reached for Reno's hand, put his own over it, and said, "Try?"

Reno swallowed. "I –" Rude made no attempt to move Reno's hand. Reno thought again about how it could just as easily have been him in Rude's position now, and whispered, "Okay."

Rude guided his partner's unresisting hand to the right position and pressed down on it gently. "There," he said. "Feel that?"

Under Reno's palm Rude's belly jumped suddenly, a definite upward motion, followed by a rolling sensation. Without any further prompting from Rude, Reno's fingers tracked the motion from one side of Rude's abdomen to the other.

"That's her?" Reno asked, his voice hushed.

"That's her. Dancing around all over the place tonight. Reckon she'll never keep still – like you."

"She's really in there."

"Yeah."

"Whoa! There she goes again!"

"Uh huh."

"This is really happening isn't it?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah." Reno didn't know what he felt. The fact of the baby – the baby that could be his daughter – that was undeniable now. And when she'd moved, he had felt something not entirely negative. But the bigger she grew, surely the bigger the risk to Rude? Hearn had explained that getting the baby out would be the easy part. Removing the placenta and the section of Rude's bowel it had attached to – that was where the real danger lay. Reno made himself ask, "When do you think they'll deliver her?"

"Hearn's arranged a meeting with the surgeon tomorrow. After that, I'll tell Tseng and Elena. Tseng can decide what to tell Rufus. But the longer she stays inside me growing, the better her chances."

"What about your chances?" Reno asked.

"I'll take my chances."

Reno said nothing.

"Come with me tomorrow," Rude said.

"Okay, Partner," Reno replied.

x

"They've gone off on the bike again?" Tseng asked Elena.

"Yes. Every week, at about this time. Reno always has a different excuse, but I know something's going on. And Reno's been acting strangely around Rude, too."

"Strangely how?"

"I don't know how to describe it. Sort of – protective."

"Now you say that, I did think it was odd last week," said Tseng thoughtfully. "That crowd-control issue down by the Shin-Ra building. Normally Rude would step up in those circumstances, but Reno got right between him and the ringleaders. It was overkill, too, on Reno's part. He was almost feral – haven't seen him like that for years. Mind you, it was effective. They took one look at Reno and backed the fuck off."

"You think Rude's sick?" Elena looked miserable. "I mean – he's been putting on a few pounds."

"Yes. Quite a few."

"I asked Reno about it, but he brushed it off. Something's up."

"You're right. I just hope it's not the stigma. That time Reno went AWOL weeks ago – I asked him if he had geostigma and he said no. It never occurred to me that it might have been because Rude was sick."

"But all the stigma patients I've seen lose weight."

"I don't think it's the stigma. I'll talk to both of them – as soon as they get back."

x

Reno watched the faces of the two surgeons as they studied the images on the monitor. They both looked serious, but underneath their professional demeanour Reno could sense the excitement they couldn't suppress.

"Unbelievable!" the woman – Blake – said, sounding awed. "If you wanted to manufacture a male pregnancy you couldn't have picked a better spot for the placenta to attach."

The man – Hendricks – nodded. "Good blood supply – optimum room for the foetus to develop…"

Blake turned to smile at Rude. "Your body's doing the best job anyone could hope for in this – uh – unique situation. The baby looks completely normal."

Rude glanced at Reno. "Normal," he said.

"Yeah," Reno replied. "I heard. Let's just - wait until she's born, huh?"

"When do you think?" Hendricks, the abdominal surgeon, asked Blake, the obstetrician.

"I'd say between thirty-five and thirty-six weeks, if possible. We want her delivered before the general rush of the Meteor Effect starts, but we want to avoid the problems that prematurity brings." She looked at Rude. "We'll give you steroid injections to boost her lung development. That's the biggest risk with being born early."

Rude looked down at his own body, smiling ruefully. "Could probably use some of that," he said. "Feel enough like a woman as it is!"

Reno had avoided thinking too much about the physical changes the pregnancy had wrought on Rude's body until now, but he couldn't help looking as Blake said cheerfully, "Well, I'm not an endocrinologist, but I'd say that your breast development is minimal considering all the oestrogen that must be floating around in your bloodstream right now."

Reno's eyes were drawn irresistibly to Rude's nipples. He was appalled to see a slight, but distinct, swelling beneath each one.

"Don't worry," Blake told Rude. "They should return to normal, afterwards. As for the stretch marks –"

Again, Reno tried not to look, but failed. A series of dark lines snaked their way upwards around the sides of the bump in Rude's abdomen. Well – they weren't so bad. He'd seen worse on some women –

"I've seen much worse," said Blake, echoing Reno's thoughts. "They'll fade in time. You have good skin. Have you been using olive oil? Or cocoa butter?"

"Has he fuck!" Reno exclaimed. "He's a dude, man!"

"And I'm not a man," Blake said mildly.

"Yeah – I've been using oil," Rude put in. Reno stared at him.

"What?" asked Rude. "It said to – in that magazine you bought. And the Boss has that extra virgin stuff in the kitchen…"

For once, Reno was lost for words.

Hendricks was taking measurements from the screen. "The operation will be risky," he said. "Even though the placenta is joined to the bowel in an accessible position, there's still a high likelihood of excessive bleeding. We'll need a lot of blood on stand-by, and there's a massive shortage at present. It's a relatively rare group – about seven percent of the population."

"You can have mine," Reno said at once. "We're the same blood group. We found out once – at work."

"You're both blood donors?" Hendricks asked. "That's commendable. I only wish more people would come forward. Even now – with all that's happened – we're still so short…"

Reno glanced at Rude, but neither of them chose to disabuse Hendricks. True – they'd donated blood to each other and some of the other Turks, after various work-related injuries, but it was a drop in the ocean compared to the amount they'd spilled.

"We'll take some today," Hendricks said to Reno. "Normally we'd wait twelve weeks between donations, but we don't have that kind of time. We might manage three lots from you, although you'd need iron. We'll have to try to get some stocks in."

"I have limited supplies," said Dr. Hearn, who was watching proceedings and taking notes.

"I'll get enough," Reno said. "Don't worry."

"But where –" Hearn began.

"I know some people," Reno replied. Hearn remembered how things used to be under the plate, and only nodded.

Blake and Hendricks had been conferring quietly. Blake turned to Rude, and said, "We're going to aim for a month before the due-date. With the injections, the lungs should be mature enough to cope, and it looks as though there's still room for growth. It's a good thing it was you and not –" She glanced at Reno, and for the first time since he could remember, Reno found himself blushing.

Rude looked up at him. "Had to tell them," he said. "They needed to know, for medical history – the genetic implications. Hearn's been researching."

"Yeah," said Reno, angry. "Bet you're all loving this, ain't ya? Something unknown to medical science. But you publish a word about this – you tell anyone – and I'm comin' after you personally."

"Calm down," Rude warned, putting a restraining hand on his partner's arm. Reno shook it off.

"I mean it," he growled. "Shit – it's like – it's everyone's business…"

"Try it from this end," Rude said.

Reno subsided, glowering at the three medics.

Hendricks sounded a little nervous as he said, "You'll need to come into the hospital on the thirteenth. We'll prep that evening – bloods, scans and so on - and perform the operation the following morning."

"That's the best operating theatre?" Reno demanded.

Hendricks grimaced. "There are five more almost complete. Reeve Tuesti's promised them for two weeks before the main event. For the moment, the two rooms at the Hope Street hospital are the only theatres we have."

"What are her chances?" Rude asked.

"As long as everything continues as it is, her chances are excellent," Blake said.

Reno looked at her, hearing what she wasn't saying, loud and clear. As Rude was getting changed back into his clothes after the scan, Reno followed the two surgeons into a side room – little more than a cupboard – where Blake began to draw the first of the blood donations from his arm. As the bag filled with the precious dark liquid, Reno asked Hendricks, "What are his chances? Realistically?"

Hendricks didn't hedge or procrastinate. "About fifty-fifty," he said. "The more blood you can get hold of, the better. You know the type. Just make sure it's legitimate and properly labelled. I'll use our supplies first, but we may need extra, depending on how it goes."

"I'll get it," Reno replied, fighting to sound reasonable when he wanted to yell and kill something. Fifty-fifty – that wasn't good enough, and he felt a sudden sickening certainty that things weren't going to turn out well. Was this the Lifestream punishing him for the things he'd done? All those souls from Sector Seven? It sure felt like a horrible kind of vengeance.

What's the worst thing we could do to Reno?

Kill his partner, and give him a kid to look after for the rest of his life – a kid he doesn't want, but who he won't be able to give up because of guilt. Yeah – guilt because he knows it could have been him – and he knows she's his kid. She's his kid – he did that to Rude. He killed his own partner – the only person he's ever really –

Stop it.

Reno looked up at Hendricks, trying to hide the desperation he felt. "I'll get the blood," he repeated. "As much as you need. I'll get it."

x

Reno hadn't even closed the door of the lodge behind them, when Tseng entered the living room and said, "I'd like to talk to both of you."

Rude nodded. Reno said, "Yeah. I guess it's time."

Tseng looked from Reno to Rude. "All right. Let's go up to the office."

The office was a cramped room on the first floor of the lodge. It had been converted from a bedroom, the fitted closet now housing the photocopier, a filing cabinet and drawers full of tools and stationary. Two mismatched desks were pushed together in the centre of the room, with four plastic chairs arranged around them. There were two working laptops, an ancient desktop computer that barely functioned and two phones. In one corner stood the malfunctioning coffee machine - the only other piece of office equipment they'd so far salvaged from the Shinra building.

The three Turks took seats around the desks, Reno and Rude next to each other, facing Tseng who said, "Talk. I think you may be about to answer my questions."

Rude glanced at Reno, who took the cue. "Okay," he said, taking a breath. "This is gonna be hard to believe but – well – Rude – I mean – we – well – Rude's the one who's actually – but it's both of ours we think –"

Tseng raised an eyebrow. Rude undid the zipper on his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt. "I'm twenty-four weeks pregnant," he said. "The Meteor Effect."

"B –" Tseng's automatic protest died on his lips as he was confronted by the evidence of his eyes. "How?" he said, instead.

Reno and Rude looked at each other, then anywhere but at Tseng.

"Was – supposed to be the end of the world," Reno mumbled. "And Rude – we –"

"I don't mean that!" Tseng interjected quickly, noticing, by the way, that when Reno was really embarrassed his tattoos became almost invisible. "I mean how is this physically possible? I assume you've seen doctors? That's where you've been vanishing to every week?"

"Yeah. Remember Hearn?"

Tseng nodded. "Corneo's go-to guy?"

"And ours at times. Yeah. He's been arranging things. But he doesn't know how this happened. Something to do with the Lifestream. We were practically swimming in it."

"And the baby's – okay?"

"Normal little girl, so Hearn says. And Blake – the obstetrician."

"How many people know about this?"

"Three, outside this room. Hearn, Blake and Hendricks – surgeon. Oh – and the original sonographer, but she had no idea who we were. Blake will be getting the baby out – Hendricks will sort out Rude – after." The colour had vanished from Reno's face now – in fact he looked paler than usual. He bit his lip before adding, "We're gonna need a lot of blood. In case…"

"I see." Tseng looked at Rude. "When did you find out about this?"

"Two months ago."

"So you decided to go ahead with it."

Rude's chin lifted. "Yeah."

Tseng's gaze shifted to Reno, and he was unable to keep a note of accusation out of his tone as he asked, "And you were fine with that?"

There was only a slight hesitation before Reno said, "Yeah. We're in this together."

"She's viable now," Rude stated, emphatically. "I'd prefer it if you didn't say anything."

Tseng considered Rude, his own expression unreadable. At last he said, "All right. We'll need to think about the logistics. You're not thinking of leaving?"

"No!" exclaimed Reno and Rude in unison.

"Good. So – how long do we have?"

"I'm going in on the thirteenth of September," Rude said.

"And Reno with you, I suppose. Well, I'm sure Elena and I will be able to cope for a few days, assuming Rufus… If there's an emergency you'll have to come straight back, Reno."

"Yes, Boss."

"Are you planning on having the child here with you?"

Reno glanced at Rude, who said simply, "Yes." Reno looked at the scuffed formica desk top. He hadn't really thought about what would happen to the kid after she was born; all his focus had been on Rude. The undisguised incredulity in Tseng's voice made him realise, suddenly, how crazy the whole situation was. How could they possibly have a kid living here, with Rufus sick, and no space as it was? They'd need stuff – all the stuff babies needed – whatever that was. Cots and shit. Clothes. Those stuffed animal toys kids carried around – little chocobos and moogles or whatever. Yeah – they were going to need a whole ton of stuff, at the same time as half of Edge needed the same. Fuck – he'd better get on it. He had a brief mental picture of himself asking one of his former slum contacts – Katsu, say, or Estavan – to source under-the-counter diapers, and didn't know whether to laugh or cry.

"I'm taking you off outside active duty," Tseng was saying to Rude. "You'll be on double shifts with Rufus, and Elena can do more patrol work. Anything we need doing in Edge, the rest of us will handle. Unless double shifts will be too much?" Tseng was doing a good impression of being in control, Reno thought, but he could tell the director was pretty thrown. He'd never had a pregnant member of the department to deal with before – let alone a male one. Like Reno had always said, Turks and kids didn't go together.

"Double shifts will be fine," Rude replied. "Thank you."

"Well – I suppose that's all we need to say for now," concluded Tseng. "I think Elena should know, but I'll put off telling Rufus for a couple of weeks. He's improving at the moment – I don't want any setbacks."

"I'll tell Elena," Reno said. "I – kind of told her before, because she was asking about Rude, and I knew she'd think I was kidding. She might get mad…"

"All right. I'd better go - I'm due to take over from Elena. We'll talk about the implications of this later." Tseng left the office, frowning, unsure what to do. He felt angry about the situation, but he could hardly blame either Reno or Rude for something neither of them could possibly have predicted.

Reno was about to stand up when Rude leaned over and kissed him. Despite what had happened between them in the darkness of their room, Reno felt a shock like electricity run through him at the unexpected intimacy of the gesture here in the office, in daylight, and he pulled back, startled.

"Not that I'm complaining," he said, half smiling, "But – what was that for?"

"You told Tseng that we're in this together. You told him she's ours," Rude said.

Reno was still far from certain that his decision to support Rude was the best course of action, but he was committed to it now, for better or worse. "Yeah," he said, with what he hoped looked like a convincing smile, "Well – I think you're right. She most likely is both of ours. And even if she isn't, she still kind of is, you know?"

x

It was late in the evening before Reno caught up with Elena. Rude was on duty with Rufus, and Tseng was doing a final patrol of the other lodges before getting some sleep. Reno, off duty, should have been sleeping himself, but he wanted to explain matters to Elena first.

"Reno," Elena nodded, throwing herself onto the couch and reaching for the remote. "What a day! Kilmister kicking off about needing more supplies – honestly sometimes I could murder that man. Is he really doing any good?"

"Dunno," Reno replied. "Rufus seems to think he might be on to something. Otherwise I'd take him out myself. Anyone who worked with Hojo…"

"Yeah. What're nice guys like us doing associating with people like him, huh?"

Reno's vague smile didn't reach his eyes, but Elena was channel hopping and didn't notice.

"Do you mind turning that off? There's something I need to tell you."

Elena was about to protest when she saw that Reno was serious.

"Sure," she said, switching off the TV. "What's up?"

"You know what I said about Rude and me, that time he threw me out of our room?"

Elena frowned. "What – that 'hilarious' crap about your baby?"

"Yeah. Only – it wasn't crap. It was true. I mean – I knew you wouldn't believe it, but…"

"Come on Reno! It wasn't even funny the first time."

"It's not. It's not funny. Rude might – the operation's risky. We have about eleven weeks and then…"

"What are you talking about? What part is true? Not the baby part obviously. What operation? Is Rude sick? Because Tseng and I were wondering -"

Reno shook his head. "I should've done this with Rude. He could have shown you. But I felt bad – telling you, and not telling you. It was all true. Rude's - pregnant." Saying it out loud still stuck in Reno's throat. "You must've noticed he's – changed."

"Well – yes. That's why we thought he might be sick. We thought that maybe he was on some sort of drugs for an illness we didn't know about, and they were making him gain weight. But men can't have babies Reno."

"I know! But he is. It was something to do with the Lifestream. We were right there, when the Lifestream came out of the planet. The Meteor Effect."

"But that's only women, isn't it. Isn't it?"

"Only women and Rude."

Elena's eyes widened. "But you said – back then you said, 'I got Rude pregnant'!"

"Yeah. That's what we think happened. We won't know if it – if she's mine until they can do tests after she's born."

"What – but, what – so you – and Rude –"

Reno found that he was getting very tired of feeling embarrassed. Why the hell should he be? If he wanted Rude – if Rude wanted him - that was their business. Trouble was the baby made it public, like walking around wearing a big badge saying: "I fucked my partner". And while Reno would have been more than happy to do that in the past, this situation made everything different. Suddenly everyone seemed to think they had the right to comment. What must it be like for Rude – everyone knowing that Reno had –

"What – so you –" continued Elena dubiously, her mind jumping instantly to that very point.

"Yeah! Yeah, okay? Me. Me and Rude. What – you want me to draw you a picture?"

"Ugh – no! But, I mean – everyone knows that you – but Rude? Seriously?"

Reno's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Everyone knows that I what?"

Elena actually had the grace to look a bit embarrassed. "Well – I mean, everyone knows you're not fuss – uh - I mean you don't mind which…" She trailed off, looking at her feet. Reno waited.

Elena looked up, scowling. "Oh come on Reno. You know what I mean!"

"Yeah, yeah. Okay. I'm a whore and Rude's a fuckin' virgin. How long have you known us?"

"I didn't mean that. But Rude's straight, isn't he?"

Reno shrugged. "Labels. It was the end of the world! And it's not the point."

"No. Does Tseng know?"

"Yes, since this afternoon. He doesn't want the boss to know – not yet."

"Right. Yes, got it." Elena flipped back her hair in a way that reminded Reno of Rufus. "So," Elena said, trying to accept what her rational mind told her must be impossible, "Rude's really having a baby?"

"Yes."

"A girl, like you said before?"

"Yes."

"And it'll be dangerous – for Rude?"

Reno looked utterly miserable. "Haven't told him this – but the doc reckons fifty-fifty. Don't tell him!"

"Of course not. Reno – this is…"

"Yeah."

"Tell me what I can do?"

Reno looked at Elena. "Thanks," he said. "I didn't want to ask you, 'cause I thought you'd think it was only 'cause you're a chick an' all, but I need to know. What shit do babies need?"

Elena stared at him. "I – don't know. I don't know anything about them. But I'll find out. Leave it to me – you take care of Rude. I'll get everything ready."

x

Reno woke with the alarm at ten to four in the morning, and realised that he'd fallen asleep in Rude's bed again. Rude was fast asleep – he had some kind of inbuilt mechanism for detecting alarms that were meant for him and ignoring those that weren't – and Reno carefully moved the arm that was draped over his waist before getting up silently, and dressing in near darkness so as not to wake his partner.

When he arrived at Rufus' room five minute's later, Tseng let him in. Rufus was still sleeping.

"How is he?" Reno asked.
"Better, lately," Tseng whispered. "Since the last set of attacks six weeks ago, he's been improving. He can see out of his left eye again. How's Rude?"

"Seems fine," Reno said. "Should be fine until the operation, Blake and Hendricks think."

"Good. But I have to tell you, I think he's insane trying to continue with the pregnancy."

"Tell me about it!"

Tseng glanced back to check that Rufus was still sleeping, then drew Reno out into the corridor where they could talk without waking the President, leaving the door half open. "What? I thought you were all for it?"

"No! I hate this whole fucked up mess! Don't you think I tried to talk him out of it? But he's made up his mind. What else can I do? Leave him to do everything on his own? Anyway – it's too late now. The dangerous part of the operation has to happen, kid or no kid. Even when he told me, it would still have been dangerous then. I thought the kid most likely wouldn't survive, but now it looks like it might…"

"How likely is it that Rude will survive this?" Tseng asked.

Reno looked at him, his expression as bleak as Tseng had ever seen it. "Fifty-fifty. He doesn't know – only that it's risky."

Tseng couldn't hide his shock. "That's – unacceptable! I wouldn't authorize a mission with those odds, unless…"

"Unless there was no choice," Reno finished for him. "It's unacceptable, but it's happening, so I guess we all just gotta deal."

"Would someone care to tell me what's going on?"

Reno and Tseng turned to see Rufus Shinra, wrapped in a finely woven woollen blanket, standing just behind them.