Two months later, Aerith was cleaning the room that she shared with Zack in Rufus and Tseng's apartment, when she began to feel incredibly light-headed and sick to her stomach. She placed the broom against the wall and held her head in her hands and swayed gently on her heels. Zack gave her a curious look from the bed where he lay watching television.

"You alright, Aer?" he asked, turning off the television with the remote and tossing it onto the bedside table. She nodded at him and smiled slightly, then slowly made her way to the bathroom and closed the door. Seconds later, Zack made a face as he heard her vomiting. He stood up and bit his lip, wondering if he should go in there at a time like this. When his feelings finally got the best of him, he kicked at the edge of the rug and made his way to the door. He knocked softly, and when Aerith didn't answer, he opened the door a crack and peeked his head in. She was sitting on the floor in front of the toilet, her cheek resting on the toilet seat.

She was crying.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Zack asked softly, kneeling down beside her. The stench of vomit hit his senses, but he held back a gag and concentrated on making sure Aerith was okay. He ran a hand softly over her hair and cocked his head. With her head turned away from him, she sighed and reached a hand up slowly to flush the toilet. Only then did she pick her head up and reach for a wet rag on the bathroom counter near the sink. Unfolding it and holding it to her face, she blubbered into it and sniffed.

"I'm pregnant, Zack," she muttered and kept the rag over her face. "If you hate me for it, I wouldn't blame you." She began to cry again, harder this time, and Zack laughed.

"Why would I hate you? We both knew that it might happen. Truth is, if we both didn't want it to happen, we would have taken steps to prevent it, don't you think?" he said, and rubbed her arm. "Aerith, this is great." He froze up when he realized something, then his mouth dropped open.

"…I'm going to be a dad."

Aerith finally pulled the rag away from her face and tossed it up into the sink from where she was sitting. She smiled. "The father of a half-Ancient," she said.

Zack swallowed hard and pulled Aerith into his arms. They leaned against the wall and he sighed happily. "I never thought I'd be a father," he said. "How far along do you think you are?"

Aerith silently counted on her fingers. "A month, maybe?" she replied, then dropped her hands into her lap. "That's just an estimate, though. I don't want to jump to any conclusions, either. I'd rather let Tseng take a look at me before I try to set an exact date."

Tseng would be a big help. The head Turk was trained in medicine and was always the first person anyone went to when they were injured or in need of any sort of medical advice. He was also the person whom Vincent had gone to in order to get his tracking devices removed a month ago, the same ones that Hojo had implanted inside of him many years ago to track his whereabouts. Now, Vincent was able to live in peace, unworried about someone else keeping track of him.

Zack considered the possibilities that were now opening up to him and Aerith. Should they get married? No, he told himself. Aerith had already told him that she would not marry him, no matter what the circumstances were. Not that he had offered anyway; he was comfortable just being together with her. However, there was the good possibility that she would agree to move out with him. She had been slightly afraid to live outside of the Shinra building, away from the safety and protection of living with Tseng and Rufus, because of the fear that someone would try to kidnap her. They were old fears, though, brought on by memories of Hojo and her past as well as the memories of her mother that were embedded deeply in her soul.

"Aerith, have you thought about us moving out together and getting a house somewhere?" Zack asked. He waited for her reply, which he knew would be negative. Sure enough, she blanched at the question and shook her head.

"No. I want to stay here," she said, and crossed her arms.

"What if we asked to get our own apartment here in the building? Why don't we ask Tseng if we could have Cloud's old room? It's set up just like a small apartment, and I think it'd be perfect for us… and for our little girl," he replied. He nudged her gently and grinned. "That sounds cool!"

Aerith put her hands on her hips in mock anger. "Hey! Who says it's going to be a girl?" she said, then laughed.

Zack grinned brightly and shrugged. He leaned over and placed both of his hands gently on her flat belly, which had yet to start growing. "Hey, you in there! Aerith says you can't be a girl, but just between you and I, you'd better be a girl!" he said, then grinned up at Aerith. She shoved him lightly then kissed him on the forehead.

"I love you, Zack."

"Love you, too, Aer. Remember, don't be smoking any of Tseng's stash, you hear?" Zack said pointedly, and smirked. He and Aerith had turned into Gaia's biggest potheads, sitting at home every night with Tseng and Rufus, gathered around the bong and laughing hysterically. It was their biggest enjoyment lately, and he the massive gut to prove it from all the munchies he had eaten every evening before bed.

"I won't, stupid," she said, and poked a finger his way. "You either."

Zack acted shocked that she would suggest such a thing, then laughed. "Alright, alright. I won't. Unless it's an emergency, you know, a headache or something."

"Zack!"

"I'm kidding! Besides, I'm going to have to be sober enough to start reading some parenting books or some shit like that. I don't know a thing about babies," he said.

"You'll be a good father. I'm sure of that. And you don't need books to tell you that. Just listen to your heart and it will tell you what you need to do," Aerith told him. "It sounds cheesy, but it's true."

"I know," Zack replied. "So, what do you think about moving into Cloud's old apartment room?"

"I'll agree to it, but I want security locks on the door and a panic button that will buzz Tseng," Aerith said calmly. Zack snickered at her reply, but threw his arm around her shoulders.

"Alright, we can do that, then. This is good. It's nice."

When Aerith and Zack announced to Tseng and Rufus at dinner that they were expecting a child now, Tseng was not in the least bit surprised. Rufus sat with a thoughtful expression and chewed on a piece of steak in silence. His thoughts were wandering, and he was mainly thinking about what a child between a former SOLDIER and an Ancient would be like.

He was also thinking about what it would be like if he and Tseng ever had a child, then laughed mentally at the thought. No way would he and Tseng ever have a child. He and Tseng both loved their freedom too much. They loved sleeping in late and rolling out of bed to a late lunch and then a long fuck in the shower. Hell, having Zack and Aerith living with them was already like having two children. He snickered aloud and tried to cover it up with a short cough. When Tseng looked at him quizzically, he ignored the look and said nothing. He really didn't feel like explaining his thoughts to Tseng, but knew the man would ask him about it later.

When they all finished dinner, Tseng pulled out an old ultrasound machine from a closet in the living room and guided Aerith to the couch. She lifted her shirt up and giggled as Tseng rubbed cold gel onto her abdomen. When he turned the machine on, it whirred and the small screen came to life. Suddenly, Zack was rooted in place where he was standing, a wave of awe rushing over him. There, on the screen, was a grainy image of a tiny fetus. Not many features were visible; it looked more like a small bean than a baby, but it was enough to make Zack shake in his boots. He almost came unglued when Aerith looked up at him and smiled.

Was he ready for all of this? He could feel his nerves making his body quake with fear. His senses were on edge and he felt ready to turn and run from the room. But as he looked at Aerith smiling at him, he knew that he would not run. He was in this for the long haul, and deep inside he knew that he wanted this. He felt himself move toward Aerith, felt his hand reach down and take hers, squeezing it tightly, but all he could see was their child on the screen.

"Looks like you have a healthy six-week old fetus, guys. Congratulations," Tseng said, then printed out a photo for them. He handed it to Zack and turned the machine off. When he went to get a rag for Aerith to clean her belly off with, he smiled to himself. Zack was literally cooing at the photo. It made Tseng happy that Zack and Aerith were together, both finding happiness. He had been so happy to have them both alive again, but to have the two of them actually fall in love and create a child, it was more than he had wished to come true.

They had all certainly come a long way, and he knew that their stories were not over by a long shot.