Disclaimer

Do not own FF7. Make no money, but a lot of fun. Yaoi warning in order. Lots of cuddling in this chapter. And biohazard warning. This chapter can be contagious. Now if you have all the precautions needed, enjoy!

Htress

htress@jenovaproject.com

Nursing break

3:45 am. Vincent Valentine was more than awake. He was furious. He couldn't sleep because a certain pilot was snoring. For the time they've been together, he had accustomed to it, but tonight, it was simply unbearable. So he decided to go to sleep in Sephiroth's bedroom. Passing near the living room he heard Reno raving in his sleep. He noticed that Red wasn't in front of the fireplace but in the kitchen, along with Barret, Rude and Yuffie… Glad to see I'm not the only one… He quietly opened the door and to his surprise, the occupants within were fully awake too, shivering under their covers.

- It's cold…

- Then go start the fire…

- If I leave the bed, I'm gonna freeze.

- Then come closer!

- But you're cold!

Vincent cleared his throat.

- Sephiroth?

- Dad? What are you doing here?

- Cid's snoring is keeping me from sleeping… can I sleep here?

******

6:00 am. The same morning, but for some of the guests in the house it was as if they hadn't slept at all. Vincent was already preparing breakfast.

- Damn Turk…, Yuffie whined

Vincent raised an eyebrow questioningly.

- Foo's didn't stop raving in his sleep. Even Red came to sleep in the kitchen., Barret answered.

- Well, count yourself lucky… You didn't have to support Cid's snoring…

- Oh, I gotta hear that!

The ninja girl bolted off and peeked in the guest's bedroom. The sound was indeed powerful. She took the opportunity to tease the older man and yanked away the covers. Cid didn't even twitched. She came back to the kitchen, deceived that she couldn't wake him.

- I'll go wake him up…, Vincent said, along with Sephiroth and Cloud. Just finish to eat. Someone's willing to get Tseng and Reno?

Nanaki nodded and padded to the living room while Vincent went to wake his mate. He shook him a little, calling his name softly, receiving only a grunt in return. Vincent kissed his forehead and to his horror, found it unusually hot. Must had passed him the flu… Better let him sleep, he thought. He quickly got out of his bedroom, closing back the door behind him and immediately climbed the stairs to advise Sephiroth of the situation. Unfortunately, by entering the room, he realised that Cloud wasn't in a better condition. Sephiroth was holding him close.

- Sephiroth? Is he alright?

- He's been sick this morning, but don't worry, he don't have any fever…

- That's a relief… Cid's… not too well, either. I might have passed him the flu… anyway, breakfast is ready.

Sephiroth came down with Cloud few minutes later. The blond boy gulped down a glass of water and picked at his toasts, not really hungry. Tseng was trying not to make a mess of his meal, Reno continually changing his glass or plate of place. The silver-haired man felt nervous all of a sudden as Tseng walked (with Red's help) to him.

- Tseng…

A hand brushed the length of his hair and the Wutaian smiled.

- I'm glad to see you're back, my friend, though I didn't expected to see you, or rather to touch you after I heard about your demise…

- It's a long story, really Tseng…

And so they exchanged stories. Meanwhile, Vincent got out to prepare the gold Chocobos, Millo and Arche, so that Rude and Barret weren't forced to wait for the Highwind. Cid woke up about half an hour later, slowly making his way to the bathroom to find something able to relieve him of his headache. When the pilot refused to let go the Highwind without him on board…

******

After Rude and Barret left, the others settled themselves in the Highwind. Cid insisted he would go, even with the flu, but said he wouldn't fight. Anyway Vincent wouldn't let him. Cloud took his motion sickness pills, and just to make sure, Sephiroth doubled the dose. However, it wasn't enough. As soon as the ship took off, he found himself very dizzy and had to lean on Sephiroth for support. All of a sudden, the young fighter gripped his guts tight, moaning in pain.

- Cloud!? Are you hurt?

- Sephy… My stomach hurts like hell… Please, do something!

Sephiroth helped Cloud to lie down on the floor, where he curled into a ball.

- Cid! Do you mind…

The pilot interrupted him before he could finish.

- Head on Mideel

*******

Reeve adjusted his glasses and resumed his task. Paperwork was so boring, but hell, someone have to do it. Elena was at her post near the door. The intercom buzzed.

- Yes Terry?

- Miss Shera and two friends want to see you, Mr. President.

- Send them in.

He stood up, throwing his pen carelessly on the desk and prepared to receive his soon-to-be wife. It was odd, when the devoted assistant had learned that Cait Sith was a robot, she almost dismantled it, and her passion turned to the man behind the robot. And Cid had found Vincent, so… the two of them made peace and went along their new lives. Reeve hadn't wasted time and soon after that he proposed her. She opened the large wooden door and The President hugged her before asking if the project on which she worked had succeeded.

- Well, honey, that why I'm here. Tifa! You can come in, now!

Tifa entered, supporting a lithe blond boy. Rufus had an odd buckle fastened around his waist, which was holding on place a metal prosthesis that circled his right hip and was going down to his foot.

- So everything went well?

Rufus proudly nodded.

- Yes… I will probably take painkillers all my life, but I'll be able to walk. They couldn't do anything for my arm, though. Speaking of which, the thing's starting to kill me… Tifa? Can you help me, please?

- Of course!

She lay him down on the leather couch, taking care not to hurt him lifting his bad leg.

- So, Rufus, did you think about my proposition? Reeve asked

- Well… I don't know, Reeve… Do you really want me back? I-I mean… You know… You're not scared of what I could do?

- Rufus, you'd been the VP of this company for several years before your father died… You're the most competent. Besides, you didn't do much during your presidency… None of the decisions you made were truly yours.

- Tifa…

- No, Rufus… Don't ask me what to do… You must take the decision yourself.

- I need time…

Just then the intercom buzzed again, this time announcing Barret and Rude.

*******

Cloud was lying on an hospital bed, totally worn out by the ordeal. The small clinic had grown up to a full equipped hospital since the last time he came here. The doctor had recognized him as soon as he entered, and, not even noticing who was carrying him, had begun his examination. Cloud passed a full battery of tests, and now he was resting, contently waving in and out of a sleepy state.

Meanwhile in the waiting room, Sephiroth and Cid were chatting while the rest of the team was packing up supplies and items. The doctor and two nurses passed in a hurry and went right to Cloud's room.

Vincent was buying ammos at the weapon shop. He was just getting out when a high-pitched scream coming out of the hospital sent flying thousands of birds. He ran all the way to the waiting room from where the doctor was leaving. A medical clipboard was on the chair next to Sephiroth, who was shaking despite all his efforts to control himself. Cid was dumbstruck, shaking his head and decided to go smoke outside. Vincent took a tentative step toward his son, who turned a lot paler.

- Seph? What's wrong?

- I-I… I /can't/ believe this…

And then his legs gave out and he fainted.

******

Cid Highwind had learn to deal with strange things. But /this/… He lit up another cigarette, his third in a row, and watched the round clouds fly up and disappear in the air. The other watched him strangely, since he had strictly not allowed anyone inside. Yuffie was stomping his foot on the ground impatiently while Reno was guiding Tseng around, Red not far behind.

- Why don't you let us go in? Red asked.

- It's been an hour they're in there! the ninja girl whined.

- Vincent is handling it, don't worry. He does have something, though, but it's not harmful… I'm ain't tellin' ya 'cause it's ain't my matters. I suppose he'll tell you when he'll be ready.

The pilot spitted his cigarette butt, choking on the last breath of smoke. Red crouched down in the sun to doze off. In the distance they could hear Reno yelping as Tseng was occasionally battering him with Reno's electro rod he used as a cane. A familiar beeping sound kept Cid of lighting his fourth cigarette and he grabbed the PHS. After a while, he just hung up.

- Who was that?

- Tifa. Said that Reeve made every Mako Reactor shut down and dismantled over a month ago, and that the floors containing Hojo's lab had been completely clean up to be replaced by more offices. Every specimen and samples were burned until nothing was left of them. They will wait for us at the Northern Crater.

Vincent turned back to get into the building.

- Cid… If we are going to the Crater, maybe it should be better to prepare a room for Cloud. In his condition, if he's not lying down, he might get sick again.

- What condition?!? Yuffie snapped

- HIS condition. When he'll decide to tell you, you will know. But for now, we must not squeal…

- Yeah… And if you really want to help him, Cid added, go buy some more quilts at the shop along with two pillows.

Vincent raised an eyebrow.

- Might need one too, he said, yawning

*******

The icy winds on the glacier had found their way into the small cabin. Tifa and Elena crawled closer to the fire. Just then the door burst open and the rest of the group hurriedly entered to escape the snowstorm. Cid and Cloud went straight for the fire while the rest of them were taking care of brushing the snow off themselves.

- What the *&%&?&()&_(* took you so long!, exclaimed Barret.

- We had to go to Mideel, Red answered, Cloud got sick on the way.

- Yeah, and he won't tell us what he have! Yuffie pouted

Cloud took a deep breath and wearily slumped in Sephiroth's lap. He looked at Cait Sith, perched up on his new moogle with a disturbing seriousness.

- I hope Reeve that you have access to Hojo's notes…

- We kept all we could find…, the little cat answered.

- Good. Because maybe you'll be able to tell me how he did this.

- How he did what?

The blond bit his lower lip and tried to find the right words, but finally he ended up blurting:

- The Planet helps me… I'm pregnant.

End

Author's notes

O_o () ……………………… Someone tells me, does it really sounds that odd? JENOVA is, after all, a female… And who read in my mind? I had already started this chapter before posting the last one, so who's the psychic? Am I that predictable? Now try to guess what will happen…! Got few more surprises under my sleeves!