After the birth, Kadaj quickly slipped into an exhausted sleep. Rufus held his new infant daughter, wrapped in a blanket; she was crying piteously out of hunger. "How shall I feed her, Elena?" Rufus asked helplessly.

Elena shrugged. "I have no idea, sir. I don't know anything about babies—"

"But you're a woman," Rufus interrupted, sounding slightly irritated. "I thought you'd know something about caring for an infant—"

"Sir," Elena said, cutting him off, sounding rather annoyed. "As I said…I don't know anything about babies. Being female doesn't automatically make one maternal, you know."

"Sorry," Rufus said apologetically, sighing. "I just…wish I could do something. She's hungry."

"I did bring some bottled baby formula here, Rufus," Tseng said softly, handing a bottle to Rufus. "These are already prepared, you just have to screw the nipple on top, and—"

Tseng couldn't even finish his sentence before Rufus snatched the bottle from him, and inserted the rubber nipple into baby Kai's mouth. Almost instantaneously, her cries of hunger waned, as she began to feed.

"Well, thank Gaia for your foresight, Tseng," Rufus said, relieved. "Thank you." He made a mental note to himself to bump Tseng up several pay grades when they returned to headquarters; certainly the Turk Commander had gone above and beyond in his duties today.


Cloud, Vincent, Reno and Rude stood guard over Yazoo and Loz. After a brief skirmish, they'd overpowered the two brothers, and put them in restraints. "Jenova will not like this one bit," Yazoo hissed at his captors.

"Yeah, Jenova," Reno said, sneering. "Good one. You threaten us with Jenova, yet you can't even find her, can you?"

"Hey!" Loz protested, tugging at his bonds. "We didn't want to do this to Kadaj, he's our brother. But Mother told us to—"

"Mother shmother," Reno snapped. "Kadaj is under the president's protection now. You just crossed a line that you never should have crossed. Too bad for you."

"What do you plan to do with us?" Yazoo demanded haughtily.

"Taking your sorry asses back to headquarters," Reno informed them. "We'll decide what to do with you from there."

"Brother," Loz pleaded, looking at Cloud. "Can't you help us?" Reno, Rude and Vincent looked quizzically at Cloud, who shrugged, a puzzled look on his face. "Brother?" Vincent repeated. "What on Gaia is he talking about, Cloud?"

"I have no idea, Vincent," Cloud replied, frowning. "What do you mean, Loz? I'm not your brother," he asked, turning to the two brothers.

"You know what I mean, Cloud Strife," Loz replied, jeering. "In the Lifestream. I know you remember. Don't lie."

Still frowning, Cloud shrugged indifferently, and looked blankly at Reno, Rude and Vincent. "No idea what he's talking about. I know I…saw them in the Lifestream. Remember, Reno? I told you that I thought it was Sephiroth."

"I remember," Reno nodded, as he recalled their recent conversation. "So what's this brother bullshit about?"

"They're obviously grasping at straws," declared Vincent, glaring at their captives with unblinking red eyes.

"Oh, but it's all true," Yazoo said, rolling his eyes. "Or so Kadaj and Loz have told me."

"Wait a minute, yo," Reno said, slitting his eyes at Yazoo. "Kadaj and Loz know about this, but you don't?" he said, almost mockingly. "Guess we know how you rate with Jenova, huh?" Reno snickered, elbowing Rude, who smirked knowingly.

"Whatever," Yazoo huffed indignantly. "You'll all be sorry when Jenova gets her grandchild, the Shinra brat-"

"Grandchild?" Cloud echoed, bemused. "Grandma Jenova, huh? That's rich. She doesn't seem the grandmotherly, cookie-baking type, does she?"

Reno, Vincent and Rude snickered. "Good one, Strife," Reno remarked, amused. "Tseng?" he called to the Turk Commander. "Can we tranquilize these knuckleheads? I'm tired of listening to their shit, yo."

Tseng rolled his eyes and sighed, exhausted. He was physically and emotionally spent from delivering Rufus Shinra's child; dealing with mouthy Sephiroth clones was the last thing Tseng wanted to endure. "Sure, go ahead, knock them out," Tseng agreed, washing his hands in the sink. Glancing to his right, he suddenly noticed Vincent standing there, waiting to use the sink after Tseng. "Vincent?" Tseng said to him quietly. "A word, when you're done."

Vincent nodded, the slightest hint of a smile on his pale face. "Of course," he replied.

Rude and Elena readied two tranquilizer darts, and stuck Loz and Yazoo respectively with them, amid some very vocal protests from the two silver-haired men. "You are all meanies!" bemoaned Loz, crying as the dart pierced his skin.

"What a fucking mental case, yo," Reno muttered. "Well, both of them are, really. Good," he continued, nodding to Cloud. "Let's get them tied up on a snowmobile or something. We'll have to drag their dumb asses back down the hill."

"Wonderful," muttered Cloud. "Remind me again, why did I sign up for this?"

"Probably just to be close to me, I'm sure," Reno replied, smirking at the blond.

Cloud groaned and rolled his eyes. "Yeah. I'm sure that was it."

Reno scoffed, pretending to look hurt. "Whatever, Strife. Don't act like you don't dig my action, because I know you do."

"Ha," Cloud snorted. "We'll see about that," he declared, arching an eyebrow.


Meanwhile, Rufus had finished feeding his daughter, and became perplexed when the infant began crying again. "What do I now?" he asked helplessly. "Anyone? Anyone?" he cried frantically.

Tseng sighed, exasperated. He'd never been a parent, or around kids all that much, for that matter; however, as far as Tseng was concerned, about seventy-five percent of raising a child was common sense; the remaining twenty-five percent was instinct, which would kick in at some point.

This is Rufus Shinra we're talking about, though, Tseng thought grimly. He smiled a bit, as he envisioned Rufus changing the first dirty diaper.

"What is so damned amusing, Tseng?" Rufus asked irritably. "I need to know what to do here—and honestly, I've never even held an infant before, I just don't know what I'm doing—"

"It's okay, sir," Tseng replied, sitting near the president, and handing him a cloth. "I suspect the child needs to be burped. Here, place her over your shoulder, like this—" he told him, gently repositioning Kai over Rufus's left shoulder. "And just gently tap her back."

Rufus shot Tseng a pained look, as if to say: I am hiring a nanny the very minute we get back. He cradled the crying infant over his shoulder, and patted her back, as Tseng had instructed him. Moments later, a rather loud burp escaped from Kai. Rufus grinned triumphantly. "Well, that wasn't so bad," he commented to Tseng.

"No," Tseng replied, chuckling. "Changing the first diaper will be far worse." The look on Rufus's face was comical. "Oh gods!" the president moaned. "How…long until I have to do that?"

"There's no strict timetable for infant bowel movements," Tseng replied, standing. "But I'm sure you'll know." He grinned at Rufus, and went over to check on Kadaj.

"Cheeky Wutaian bastard," Rufus muttered, still cradling Kai in his arms. He studied her face; the eyes were tightly shut, as the baby drifted off to sleep. She has my nose, I think, Rufus pondered. And…Kadaj's mouth. Rufus recalled briefly seeing the baby's eyes open soon after she was born; he was certain they were as green as Kadaj's, but now he wasn't entirely sure. Perhaps they are blue, like mine, he mused. I wonder who she favors, really...does she look more like me? Or Kadaj?

Kadaj was sound asleep, snoring peacefully, and seemingly unaware of what was going on around him. Tseng carefully lifted the blanket covering Kadaj, and peeled back the gauze dressing covering the abdominal incision." Vincent had silently sidled up beside Tseng, and looked over his shoulder. "Very nice work there, with the sutures, I must say," he quipped.

Tseng gave Vincent a sideways glance and a smile, as he put the bandage back in place. "Yes, indeed," he replied quietly. "Thank you for assisting me, Vincent.""

"Not a problem. It was good to work with you again," Vincent replied. "Look…about…well, everything…" His voice trailed off, as he studied Tseng for a reaction. "I owe you an apology," he muttered. "For a lot of things."

"I suppose I owe you one as well, Vincent," Tseng replied softly. "I've missed you." He looked up thoughtfully into the taller man's burgundy eyes. "We'll have to get off this mountain soon, though...before the bad weather moves in," Tseng observed. "Which means we'll have to transport Kadaj, but very carefully."

"I've got some FullCure materia," Vincent offered. "Just thought of it, actually. As soon as Kadaj wakes up, perhaps I can try that on the incision."

"That might work quite well, Vincent," Tseng nodded, agreeing. "Of course, he's still going to be exhausted, I would imagine."

"Naturally," Vincent replied, quirking an eyebrow, a hint of a smile on his face. "It's not as if he's had the benefit of thirty years worth of sleep, is it?" He smirked at Tseng, who stifled a laugh, so as not to wake Kadaj. Gods, I've missed his wicked sense of humor, thought the Turk Commander, smiling. Perhaps there is still something there, something...salvageable.

Still, Tseng was always 'business first', and he wanted to get back to headquarters as quickly as possible; particularly now, since Loz and Yazoo were being held captive by the Turks. He wondered briefly what information, if any, he could extract from these two. Kadaj seemed to be the smartest one of the bunch; and even though Kadaj was now considered to be under Shinra's protection, Tseng was not inclined to fully trust Kadaj...not yet.

"Everyone?" Tseng began, addressing the group at large. "I know it's been a long day...and quite a bit has happened, here," he said, glancing over at Rufus, who was half asleep in a chair, cradling his sleeping daughter. "We'll need to evacuate here as quickly as possible, which will be a challenge, given that we now have two prisoners...as well as Kadaj and a newborn baby. Weather reports do not indicate anything good coming our way...in fact, some storms will be moving in by dawn."

"Rude and I can make something for transport, I think," Reno offered. "For Kadaj...we can make something sled-like, to bring Kadaj and the baby down the mountain. We'll have to go slow, though."

"Very well," Tseng replied. "Elena? I'll need you, Vincent and Cloud to transport our...guests."

"Should we make something to carry those two down as well?" Elena inquired, nodding her head at Yazoo and Loz. "They're unconscious, after all."

Tseng shook his head. "I don't really give a shit about their comfort level. Neither one of them just gave birth, you know," he said, barely smiling.

Elena grinned. "Understood. Cloud? I'll need some help with these two, I guess...tie them onto the snowmobiles, you think? One each?"

Cloud nodded in agreement. "I think that'll work, Elena. This will be tricky, but we can do it. Why don't we have Tseng transport the president and Vincent can take Kadaj...and the baby. You and Rude take Loz and Yazoo, respectively...Reno and I will bring up the rear on Fenrir. We'll make sure they don't pull any shit, if they happen to wake up."

"Yeah, and I'll fucking tase them if they do," Reno interjected, smirking. "Okay. Rude and I will get going on this - there's more tranquilizer darts in my bag if you need them. And don't hesitate to use them, Cloud."

Cloud shook his head, grinning. "Don't worry, Reno. I won't." He and Elena set about dragging the captives outside, and began binding them to the back of the snowmobile. It wouldn't be a comfortable ride for either of them, Cloud mused, but shrugged indifferently at the thought. As Tseng had mentioned, they were prisoners, and their comfort was not any concern of the Turks.


After a short time, all preparations for their departure from the mountain had been made. Kadaj had just woken up after a long nap; Rufus, sitting next to him with baby Kai, smiled down at him. "How are you feeling, Kadaj?" the president asked him. He brushed a tendril of hair out of Kadaj's eyes, which fluttered open slowly. Kadaj smiled sleepily at Rufus. "So tired," he murmured. "I feel a bit better now, though. I want to hold the baby...can I?" Kadaj asked, almost timidly, as he sat up slightly, wincing as he did so.

"Of course you can!" Rufus replied, carefully handing Kai over to Kadaj, praying that the baby wouldn't suddenly wake up from the movement. "She's been good so far," Rufus commented, smiling.

"Good," Kadaj replied. "Sorry I was...out of it, there," he told Rufus apologetically, peering at the baby and smiling.

The president scoffed, shaking his head. "Don't even worry about it. You've been through hell. Not just having our baby, but...what your so-called brothers did." Rufus clenched his jaw, trying to hold back his anger. "Did they hurt you at all? I swear to Gaia, Kadaj, if they touched one hair on your head, just one hair..."

"They didn't hurt me, Rufus," Kadaj replied flatly, nestling the baby in his arms. "I won't pretend that they were nice to me...after all, they did hold me against my will. But no, I was not physically hurt by them."

"I want to fucking kill them both," Rufus growled, running his hand through his flopped-over blond hair. "Uh, sorry. I don't suppose I should talk like that in front of the baby, should I?" he said, grinning sheepishly.

"Perhaps not," Kadaj replied, smiling. "But Rufus, please - do go easy on Loz. He showed me...well, he showed me more kindness than Yazoo did, that's for certain."

"Hmm," Rufus murmured, considering this. "Do you suppose that Loz can be...broken?" he asked Kadaj.

"What do mean by 'broken'?" Kadaj asked, frowning, not liking the sound of this.

"I mean, anything that you don't know…about Jenova's plans," Rufus explained, "do you think Loz would reveal that information?"

Kadaj sighed. He knew what Rufus was driving at; and, although his brothers had put him through hell, kidnapping him and holding him hostage while pregnant - they were still his brothers, and torturing them felt wrong and distasteful to Kadaj. But especially Loz; poor, stupid Loz, who'd shown Kadaj far more kindness and mercy during his captivity than the arrogant Yazoo had done.

"Can we...discuss this later, Rufus?" Kadaj pleaded, wanting to avoid the subject - at least for now. "Please. I'm so tired, and I just had a baby, for Gaia's sake, and-" Baby Kai shifted and cried softly against Kadaj's chest as she stirred in her sleep. "Please, Rufus," Kadaj begged. "Not right now. Can't we just enjoy...this?" he asked, kissing the baby's fuzzy silver head.

"Yes, of course," Rufus murmured. "I'm sorry. And when we get home, you won't have to do a thing. I want you to recuperate fully." He leaned over carefully, and kissed Kadaj tenderly. Kadaj felt the heat flare up his neck and into his face, just from Rufus's touch.

"Gods, Rufus," Kadaj muttered, as he felt himself become aroused. "If I didn't have a giant gaping hole in my stomach - well, and our daughter asleep in my arms - I could take you right here," he purred, licking his lips.

Rufus grinned, a bit incredulous that Kadaj was this horny, so soon after giving birth. "In front of all these people, you'd take me?" Rufus teased.

"Well," Kadaj remarked offhandedly, smirking. "I kind of forgot about them. But gods, Rufus, once I'm fully healed...I just can't wait. We've been apart for far too long."

"We have," Rufus replied, feeling his breathing becoming ragged. "Gods, I've missed you." He kissed Kadaj again, harder this time. "I love you..."

"And I love you," Kadaj replied. "We're a family now, aren't we," he observed, bemused, as he glanced at Kai. "She's beautiful, isn't she?"

"Just like you," Rufus replied softly. "And you know...my offer still stands."

"What offer?" Kadaj asked absently, shushing Kai as she began to fuss and kick.

"Marriage," Rufus said simply. "I know I might have rushed things, before...in popping the question. But you've had time to think now..."

"Another thing we'll have to discuss when we get back," Kadaj replied, with a mysterious smirk.

Rufus chuckled, and decided to leave it at that. "Okay. Fair enough, then."


Vincent finally located the FullCure materia in his satchel, and withdrew the glowing, greenish-white orb. "Tseng," he whispered. "I've got it. Shall I try this on Kadaj's incision?"

Tseng nodded enthusiastically. "Yes, please do," he replied. "If it works…that'll make the trek back down the mountain all the easier. Thank you, Vincent," Tseng said gratefully, exchanging a glance with the ex-Turk.

"Not a problem," Vincent murmured. He took the materia and moved over to where Kadaj, Rufus and Kai were gathered, on the makeshift bedding. "Kadaj? I'd like to try using this materia on you…it's FullCure materia. It should, for the most part, repair the incision site."

Kadaj nodded, wincing as he sat up slightly. "Yes," he agreed. "Please…I'm not feeling entirely well right now, as you know," he said with a wry grin. "I haven't the slightest idea why, either," he commented cheekily, as he grinned at his newborn.

"Smartass," Rufus replied, smirking, as he took Kai out of Kadaj's arms. "Here, I'll hold her while Vincent does that," he said. Vincent took the materia orb and inserted it into his armlet, causing an ethereal green light to emanate from his wrist. "Here goes nothing," the former Turk muttered, as he moved his hand and cast FullCure on Kadaj, concentrating over the abdominal area. Kadaj hissed through his teeth as he felt the skin and muscle tightening, then healing.

"I think it's working," Kadaj said excitedly, breathing shallowly. "I...feel it working. It's tingling."

"Good," Vincent replied softly. "Nearly done…," he murmured, as the green glow from the materia began to dissipate. "I think that's all I can do for now. How does it feel, Kadaj?"

"Fine, I think," Kadaj replied, running his hands over the horizontal incision. There was a faint, pink outline where the incision had been, and the sutures that Vincent had sewn into the surgical site remained.

"I can remove those when we get back to headquarters," Vincent informed Kadaj. "The FullCure materia has healed the upper layers of skin, and you've got absorbable stitches internally. Those stitches you see on your abdomen, though…those won't dissolve like the internal ones will, so I'll have to remove them."

"Okay," Kadaj agreed, nodding. "Really, I feel wonderful now, since you used FullCure. Thank you, Vincent."

"You're welcome, Kadaj," Vincent replied, removing the materia orb from his armlet, and placing it back in his bag.

"Kadaj," Tseng continued, "As Vincent said, we can take care of the suture removal at headquarters. There should be no need to go to the hospital, unless you suddenly develop a fever…that could be a sign of infection, so keep an eye out for that."

"I will," Kadaj promised.

Suddenly, Rufus piped up. "Tseng? How long until….ah, how long until we can…ah..." he stammered, locking eyes with Kadaj, his lips curled up in a knowing smile. Kadaj knew exactly what Rufus was inquiring about.

Tseng smirked slightly before answering. "You mean how long until you can resume sexual relations, Rufus?" he asked. "Kadaj is healing quite rapidly, which is encouraging...and that is partly due to the cure materia Vincent used, but also something to do with his genetic makeup. But please…do wait until the stitches are removed, okay?"

"Okay," Rufus agreed reluctantly. Giving Rufus and Kadaj a sideways glance, Tseng grinned knowingly, and departed, apparently to give them a bit of privacy. "I'll make sure we're set to go," he told them as he left the room. "I think Cloud and Elena have secured our prisoners. Be ready in five minutes. There's a bag of baby supplies right here," he informed the pair, indicating a large knapsack propped up against the wall.

"We will be ready," Rufus replied. As soon as Tseng left, Rufus took his free hand and roughly grasped the back of Kadaj's head, pulling him in for a kiss, as he still clutched the sleeping baby. "Gods, I've missed you," Rufus breathed. "You have no idea how much…"

"I think I do have an idea," Kadaj replied teasingly, taking Rufus's bottom lip in between his teeth and tugging on it. "We'll have to have a proper reunion when we get back."

"Indeed we shall," Rufus murmured. Suddenly, Kai began wriggling and crying softly. "Oh gods – what is that smell!" he exclaimed.

"Shit," muttered Kadaj. "Well," he continued, smirking. "I guess that's exactly what it is…our little girl needs a new diaper, doesn't she?" Kadaj took the squirming infant from Rufus's arms, and cuddled her, crooning. "Shh, it's okay, little one," he whispered. "Daddy will find you a clean diaper." Glancing up at Rufus, Kadaj cocked an inquiring eyebrow at him. "Well? Do we have diapers?"

"Oh no," Rufus groaned, standing up. "I have no fucking idea. I'll…check in the bag."

"Don't swear in front of my little princess, Rufus," Kadaj snapped. "I won't have her growing up with Reno's vocabulary."

"You did it first, Kadaj," Rufus retorted. "I heard you."

"Oh," Kadaj said dumbly, chuckling. "I guess I did. Oops." He grinned cheekily at Rufus.

"Gods, I have missed your smartassed remarks," Rufus said chuckling, as he rummaged through the bag Tseng had left aside. "Oh, thank gods!" Rufus exclaimed. "Found one!" He took the diaper out of the bag, along with the wipes that were with it, and sat down next to Kadaj. "Uh…how do we do this?"

"I have no idea," muttered Kadaj. "I have like, zero experience with babies."

"Same here," Rufus replied, rolling his eyes. "Wonderful. Well…it stands to reason that we remove the soiled one first—"

"Well, obviously!" Kadaj retorted impatiently. "What kind of a dumb-assed conclusion is that? Were you actually going to put the new diaper on over the dirty one?"

"There is no need to be such a bitch about this, Kadaj," Rufus replied evenly. Wincing, he gingerly removed the dirty diaper from Kai, gagging and nearly vomiting as he did so. "Oh gods, this is dreadful! Such a tiny baby…emitting such a foul, dreadful smell. Gods!"

"It is NOT pleasant," Kadaj agreed, wrinkling his nose. "Ugh. Okay…that's off. Wait...we should wipe her little butt clean, shouldn't we?" Kadaj asked stupidly.

"It would stand to reason, wouldn't it" Rufus replied dryly. He pulled two baby wipes out of their plastic case, and very carefully began to wipe the baby clean. "Oh, this is awful!" he complained, making a face. "We are so hiring a nanny when we get back home." Rufus then sloppily diapered the baby, hoping to Gaia it'd hold until someone a bit more capable – probably Tseng – could do a better job of it.

"I won't argue with you on that," Kadaj replied. "Still…other than that dreadful smell, it's not so bad having a baby, really. I'm growing rather fond of her." Kadaj smiled and bent his head to kiss Kai's fuzzy silver head.

"She is beautiful," Rufus commented, stroking the baby's cheek as she cooed. "I think she looks like me, don't you? Those cheekbones…that aquiline nose…that jawline…"

"Nose? Jawline?" Kadaj scoffed. "She's three hours old, Rufus. What on Gaia are you even talking about? Besides…clearly she has my eyes. See how vividly green they are?" Rufus nodded in agreement, but didn't voice the thought that was now in his head. Our daughter has Sephiroth's eyes.

Tseng, who had re-entered the room unnoticed, gave a quiet cough. "If you two are done…debating, we're ready to leave the mountain. Everyone's waiting outside. There's some extra blankets in the bag, to bundle up the baby. Put as many layers as possible, the temperatures are frigid out there, and they'll be falling."

"Okay," Rufus replied, nodding. Kadaj stood up slowly, the baby still in his arms, and Rufus grabbed several blankets from the bag. Tseng, standing by waiting, gave a small cough.

"Sir?" the Turk Commander said quietly. "You may want to consider swaddling the baby, and then wrapping her in the blankets..."

"What in the blue hell is a swaddle?" Rufus snapped irritably. "Do we have one? How is it done? Tseng, you know I've never been around children…"

"Here," Tseng said impatiently, snatching a cotton receiving blanket out of the knapsack. "Kadaj, place Kai back down, on top of the bedding. Here is how it is done," Tseng explained, folding the small blanket into a triangle shape, and placing the infant on top of it; then, he deftly tucked the corners in, keeping the baby's arms and legs within the swaddle. The entire process took him but thirty seconds, and Rufus and Kadaj stood there watching him, their mouths agape.

"How…how on Gaia did you do that, Tseng?" Rufus asked incredulously, as the Turk handed the bundled baby back to Kadaj.

"It's rather simple, really," Tseng replied easily. "I'll show you properly when we return."

Rufus and Kadaj bundled the baby up in more layers of blankets, and finally put on their own parkas. "I think she'll be warm," Rufus murmured, staring at the barely-visible Kai, held snugly in Kadaj's arms. Tseng and Rufus gathered the rest of their belongings, and headed toward the front door to exit.

"Tseng?" Rufus inquired hesitantly, as they exited. "Would you…would you consider being our nanny?"

The Turk Commander glared darkly at the president. "No," he said firmly. Tseng turned, and headed out the door toward the rest of the group, standing ready at their snowmobiles.

"Make that a resounding no," Tseng added, as he led Kadaj and Kai over to the makeshift sled that Reno and Rude had put together for them.

Rufus shrugged his shoulders and sighed. "Well, I tried, at least," he told Kadaj.


Next chapter: Yazoo and Loz held prisoner at Headquarters...Jenova's at headquarters...hmm. This might be a bad idea having them all in the same building, no? :)

Yes, there will be a lemon in the next chapter. Hopefully several!