Disclaimer: I don't own FFVII, I don't own Phil Collins either (that's just too bad *rolls eyes*). This is MY fic though, so NO TOUCHIE!! E-mail me if you want it for your site.
By: Footnote
//Song by Phil Collins//
The sound had lasted all day. The incessant, pulsating noise had gone on since he had woken to it. In some parts of the mansion, it seemed fainter than others. Where Vincent Valentine stood in hiding, however, the endless crying of baby Sephiroth came through loud and clear…and it was driving him mad. Since at least 8:30 this morning, the child had been wailing. Now it was about 10:47 at night and the constant sobbing was as loud as ever. Vincent knew that Hojo would be coming from the dark abyss that was the library below, and that's when he would get his chance…
"…And that brat never shuts his trap!" Vincent heard the professor before he saw him. It seemed Gast was with him this time.
"Well, personally Hojo, I think that has something to do with the fact that the poor child is in a constant state of discomfort. If Lucrecia were well, she would know what to do to--" he was cut off by Hojo.
"Lucrecia this, Lucrecia that! Between you and that no-good Turk, I'll never get any rest…"
Vincent narrowed his eyes as his blood boiled in his veins. Didn't Hojo understand that parental affection was part of human nature? Didn't he realize that if he simply reunited mother and son, that his troubles with the noisy child would diminish at least a little? As he seethed, the professors continued talking.
"I say give the child some time with his mother. I think it will do some good to both parties." Vincent smirked slightly at Dr. Gast's statement. Two points for the Good Doctor while the Mad Scientist has yet to score…
Professor Hojo considered reluctantly, "Perhaps is would help…very well then," he sounded like a criminal admitting a crime, "I shall allow her down tomorrow." The Mad Scientist and the Good Doctor were now tied. Vincent mentally 'booya'-ed from his hiding place in the corridor as the two professors bid each other goodnight.
Here's my chance. After making sure no one was around, Vincent snuck down to the basement lab. The long winding stairway creaked harshly under each step as he made his slow way down. Even though the lab was empty, he could still hear the baby sobbing, though Hojo had left him be.
When Vincent finally saw the boy, his son, for the first time, he felt it. It overwhelmed him so much at first; he had to stop in his tracks to catch his breath. The enveloping emotion was so strong, so…there it had hit him like a meteor falling from the Heavens. The father instincts that had been shoved away had instantly kicked into overdrive when he saw the boy in such poor condition.
The raven-haired infant looked as though wolves had taken to raising him. There were bruises on his tiny body from needles and some gauze where they had probably taken some skin cells. The Turk, not knowing really what else to do, grabbed the child in his arms and attempted to comfort him.
At first, the tiny child was horrified; who was this new person came to hurt him more? Vincent panicked slightly when the child's cry rose to fever pitch for moment. The Turk, at a loss since he was far too inexperienced with this kind of thing, simply held the boy and tried to calm him down. Sephiroth, seeing that this strange new person was not injecting some unknown liquid, relaxed a little bit and dispelled his tears for the time being.
"Shh," Vincent smiled as the boy became completely silent and stared in wonder at this unusually familiar person.
//Come, stop your crying it will be alright//
Vincent brought his son eye to eye with himself, looking into Lucrecia's eyes. Little Seph chewed on his fingers and studied the new man in front of him. This had never happened before…a person who didn't hurt him. Except for the lady that came down at night sometimes. The infant liked the lady.
Vincent smiled again as the little boy grabbed his fingers with slobber-hands.
//Just take my hand, hold it tight//
The baby happily returned to the cradling position his father held him in before. Vincent gathered the boy up the best he could and just watched the little body writhing about in his arms playfully. The little body that forced out such a fatherly emotion from him…
Vincent thought of the horrors the child must face in Hojo's lab and wanted to wretch. He knew that it must be unbearable to the child and wanted more than anything to stop the boy's suffering. He was barely a week old and the signs of great pain were showing through those big, innocent sapphire eyes. Vincent held his son closer at the thought of the strength the infant must have to make it.
//I will protect you from all around you
I will be here don't you cry
For one so small, you seem so strong
My arms will hold you keep you safe and warm//
Vincent looked down at the child and slowly realized what the name of his powerful emotion was: fatherly love. He had never tried to name it before. And he knew it would never go away. He decided he liked that idea as the infant tugged roughly at a matching raven bang of his father's.
//This bond between us can't be broken
I will be here, don't you cry//
Sephiroth's father felt a twinge in his chest. Also a new feeling to him, the Turk couldn't place it. So he decided that it was just his innate way of saying, "Little one, you are with me…and I am with you."
//'Cause you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more
You'll be in my heart
No matter what they say
You'll be in my heart
Always//
Vincent played on with the delighted child. It was so new to them both that they didn't notice someone else was in the lab with them until the presence spoke.
"So you've met, I see."
Vincent stopped cold and turned to see his Lucrecia behind him. She was smiling sadly and looked haggard and worried. Her auburn hair was tangled from sleeping on it and from her face, Vincent knew that her dreams were not sweet. Her expression was stoic and solemn. To Vincent, she was as beautiful as she always was.
"Yes," the Turk answered as the child cooed some indistinguishable baby greetings to his mother, "I suppose we've made acquaintance. How are you doing?"
Lucrecia sat next to her love where he was on an examination table. She leaned her russet head on his shoulder and sighed, "I guess I'm doing pretty good…you?"
"I'm managing…what's Hojo up to?"
Lucrecia snorted, "God knows. Thank the stars and the angels that I don't."
Vincent shook his head. Hojo had never liked the Turk's and scientist's little office romance from the start. He couldn't seem to grasp the idea of love since it was "unscientific."
//Why can't they understand the way we feel?
They just don't trust what they can't explain//
Little Seph gurgled happily at the sight of his mother so close and reached out for her. Vincent chuckled and handed him to mommy for the time being.
"Pardon me," he joked. Lucrecia held her boy tightly for a moment.
"I'm sorry," he voice was unsteady as she spoke.
"Lucré, you did what you thought was right. It'll all turn out in the end…it has to." The Turk bit his lip when he finished his statement.
"Vincent, you know it's not that simple." The only retort to Lucrecia was Sephiroth's delighted squeal when he found more hair to pull. The raven-haired adult studied the raven-haired child once more with his honey-amber eyes. The boy was so innocent…so much like his mother.
//I know we're different but deep inside us//
Sephiroth looked to his father with his dark blue eyes. They had seen a great deal of pain in his short existence. Vincent suddenly noticed Sephiroth's round little ears that stuck off his head slightly. He smiled, scratching his own identical ear. Yet another family quirk added into the boy's heritage.
//We're not that different at all//
Vincent looked back to Lucrecia and put his arms around her. Just given birth and now she was getting sick. Poor little dove, Vincent thought and held her close. He felt the twinge in his chest again. He guessed that feeling was called 'love.'
//And you'll be in my heart
Yes, you'll be in my heart
From this day on
Now and forever more//
He wondered if Hojo even knew what that word meant. Probably not, and for that, the assassin pitied the loathsome scientist. No wonder he had protested.
//Don't listen to them, 'cause what do they know?
We need each other to have, to hold
They'll see in time, I know//
"I'm so sleepy," Lucrecia murmured and leaned more on Vincent's shoulder. The amber-eyed man rested his chin on her scalp and ran a hand through her slightly disheveled hair.
"The go on upstairs and sleep, love. I put Junior to, uh…" Vincent looked around himself for a moment, "'controlled environment.'"
Lucrecia shook her head in sorrow and regret before lifting off of Vincent's shoulder.
"Alright. Goodnight, love," she kissed Vincent's cheek and handed her little angel to his father.
He smiled lovingly at her, "Get some sleep."
Lucrecia was upstairs when Vincent turned back to his son. The child yawned and rubbed a blue eye with the back of his little hand. Vincent couldn't held but think of his son's future…and knew he wouldn't be there to see it all. He shook his head and thought about the unfortunate who didn't know love.
//When destiny calls you, you must be strong
I may not be with you but you've got to hold on
They'll see in time
We'll show them together//
The man sighed and laid his son to rest on the relatively soft, cottony bottom of his "crib." He could see Hojo ranting over it in his head.
"Incubator, crib, what's the difference?" the professor was saying.
Vincent's vision was interrupted as the tiny boy yawned again and his droopy little eyes finally closed. The Turk decided that he loved his son more than anything…except maybe Lucrecia…they had a tie. They both had a special little place in his heart, somewhat cold and barren as it may be. But they were there forever now, in a place so deep no knife nor bullet could puncture their little patch of light in his dark world. He smiled at the sleeping infant.
"Be strong, little one. I am with you and you are with me because…"
//'Cause you'll be in my heart
Believe me, you'll be in heart
I'll be there from this day on
Now and forever more
Oh, you'll be in my heart
(You'll be here in my heart)
No matter what they say
(I'll be with you)
You'll be here in my heart
I'll be there always
Always//
Vincent placed a hand on his sleeping son's head and returned back upstairs. He saw Lucrecia standing worriedly outside her bedroom door, waiting for him. Vincent smiled at her.
//I'll be with you always
Always and always
Just look over your shoulder//
Lucrecia blew a kiss in his direction before turning and looking back, her eyes sparkling with unshed tears and happiness that would never come.
//Just look over your shoulder//
Vincent waved to her and headed towards his room, pausing look back at her as well, his chin hovering over his collarbone.
//Just look over your shoulder//
"It'll be all right," he whispered to her. She was only about two meters away… "I love you," he pointed directly to her heart and she truly smiled back.
//I'll be there always//
*~*~*
Thanks for reading this. I know that songfics don't seem to be very popular amongst FFVII fans, so here's my way of giving appreciation. Please R/R. I shall fall into a ruined state of a human shell if I don't get the satisfaction of knowing ppl will review…pweeez? ^_~