Tifa smiled and began to trace a circle on Cloud's bare chest with her finger. They were lying in each other's arms in post-making love bliss. "Cloud, do you realize what might have just happened...Nine months from now, we could be having a girl..."
Cloud smiled and kissed her forehead. "Or a boy."
Tifa playfully digged him under the chin. "Don't count on it." She then snuggled up to Cloud as close as possible, and rested her head on his shoulder. Cloud held her close and rested his chin on her head. Both of them then slept.
Yuffie held her head in her hands. This can't be happening... The letter in front of her described the full details of Reno's lawsuit. He was demanding full custody for Rikku. No weekend visits, no holidays, nothing for Yuffie. She needed a lawyer. Fast. She thumped the table with her fists, hot tears of pure anger at the injustice of the situation pouring down her face. He had exploited loopholes. Since when does HE give a damn about our daughter?! She realized now just how much Rikku meant to her. She remembered everything at that one moment, everything from Rikku's first smile to the time that Yuffie finally realized, when Rikku was three, that she and her daughter looked almost exactly alike, save the hair and eyes. Nothing would take Rikku away from her. Nothing. She knew exactly who to call, even though it meant breaking the agreement that they had made shortly before Rikku was born. She walked out of the kitchen and made her way slowly up the stairs, intent on getting the PHS from her room. She pressed the memory button, and waited with baited breath for the person on the other end to answer. Finally, the ringing stopped. "...Vincent? It's Yuffie."
"Cloud...Come on, I'm trying to make you your lunch, here..." Tifa finally put down the knife as it became obvious that he was never going to stop kissing her neck. She turned around and allowed him one quick peck. "You're gonna be late for work, dear..."
Cloud smiled and kissed her cheek. "Please don't call me 'dear', dear." Tifa giggled and finished preparing his sandwiches. She then put them in a bag and handed them to him. "Have a good day, mister owner!"
Cloud walked by the stairs just in time to see his son, clad in pajamas, sleepily yawning and rubbing the sleep dust from his eyes. "Hiya, son."
"Mornin', Dad..." Alex said this almost out of routine now.
As Cloud left, Tifa walked up to her son and picked him up, perching him on her shoulder. "Listen, Alex, it's just you and me today...Is there anything you'd like to do?"
Alex yawned again. "Breakfast." He said simply. Tifa smiled contently and ruffled his black hair.
"You got it, champ."
Yuffie just sat on her couch, watching television with her young daughter, who was lying belly-down on the floor, her legs kicking at the air. Vincent was very surprised, and a bit angry, she thought, to hear from her, but had agreed to meet her in Kalm that afternoon. She looked down at her daughter, and remembered the first time she had smiled.
Yuffie could never have imagined how hard it would be. Thirty-two hours of painful, dehydrated labor, and now this. Her two-month-old daughter absolutely refused to stop crying. Yuffie sat her down on her lap and smiled. "Oh my, someone's in a pissy mood, aren't they?" She lifted up her shirt, praying that would solve the problem. It did, and Yuffie felt relief, plus some other feeling she would never be able to describe, as Rikku gently drank away. As Rikku finished, Yuffie held her high in the air above her, smiling her massive, infectious smile. Suddenly, out of nowhere, Rikku joined her, showing off her gums. Yuffie's eyes bulged. "Well, I didn't see THAT coming..."
Yuffie realized, at that point, while Rikku was busy watching some crappy kids cartoon, that she could never lose her. She scooped Rikku off the floor and balanced her on her knee, bouncing her slightly. Rikku smiled. Yuffie looked at her young daughter with pride. "Rikku, I love you...Ya know that? I love you with all my heart..."
Rikku hugged her mother around the neck. "I love you too, mummy..."
Yuffie began to cry, hugging Rikku as hard as she could without hurting her. "Nothing will split us up...I promise..."
"You're in a fair bit of trouble, aren't you?" Vincent asked, looking at Yuffie sadly.
Yuffie smiled grimly. "Yeah, a lot. What am I gonna do? I mean, I can't think of any arguments to fight against him with..."
Vincent rubbed his chin, clearly thinking. "Listen, how has the got the evidence to incriminate you?"
"Well, he audio-recorded a conversation I had with his attorney..."
Vincent's look brightened. "Audio-recorded, you say...? I wonder, could you record a confession from him?"
Yuffie smiled. "Yeah...Yeah! That might just work..."
"Yuffie, I will defend you at this trial to the best of my ability. But getting the truth out of him is a one hundred percent last resort, okay?" Vincent said, leaning back slightly in the chair at the Kalm Café.
Yuffie checked her watch. "I should get going. Rikku's been at my friend's long enough."
Vincent suddenly grabbed one of Yuffie's hands. "Yuffie, is it okay if I stay with you...? I wouldn't ask, it's just...I'm on the run from the Turk Squad again...They wanna arrest me for my past affiliations with Shinra..."
Yuffie blushed. "Well...Yeah, sure...I mean, we've got a room spare at home..."
Vincent smiled. "Appreciate it."
Tifa gazed lovingly at her young son as he messily scooped the cereal from out the bowl and into his mouth. His brown eyes (inherited from Tifa's mother) always seemed to sparkle with curiosity and, insanely enough, hope. Alex's gaze suddenly met Tifa's, and she responded by playfully sticking her tongue out. Alex giggled and stuck his out in response. Tifa was so happy at that moment, even without her husband. "Alex, are you sure there's nothing you want to do today?"
Alex looked down at his cereal again. "Gold Saucer?" He said without even looking at his mother.
Tifa smiled again. "Well, I'm not sure about that..." She then noticed the sparkle almost fading out of the young boy's eyes. "Do you wanna go on a walk?"
Alex beamed. "Sure!"
Tifa adored Alex's smile. She absolutely could never get tired of it. Whenever he smiled, she was reminded of how she herself would smile at that age, the way she smiled before her mother died. During the majority of her childhood (about age six onwards), all she wanted was a family. Now, she finally had one, and had never been happier.
Tifa decided a good venue for the walk would be the slightly marshy fields leading up to the Nibelhiem Chocobo ranch. Tifa couldn't help but smile at Alex as they walked, hand in hand, through the muddy, puddle-filled terrain. Alex was clearly utterly in love with all the nature around him, and he kept on dragging Tifa towards the latest tree, plant or animal he had just seen. She didn't mind explaining everything to him, though.
She then noticed that Alex had his sights set on a particularly large puddle. Alex tightened his grip on her hand and grinned at her. She knew that look, and she smiled back. "Alex, no!"
"COME ON, MAMA!" Alex screamed with delight as he charged towards it. Tifa yelled a playful 'NO!' before Alex dragged her in and began to splash, his tiny feet causing the murky water to splash up to Tifa's knees. Tifa was about to object, but she didn't want the smile to leave Alex's face, so she just laughed, waiting for Alex to get tired of it by himself. This took about three minutes, and the two of them left the puddle, both short of breath. It was quite possible that this was the happiest Tifa had ever been. She stroked her son's hair before lifting him off the ground in a gentle hug. Seeing Alex's smile made her smile even wider, and she looked deep into Alex's eyes, feeling some sort of mystic connection with her son. "Love you..."
Alex rested his head on Tifa's shoulder, placing one hand behind her neck and the other on her other shoulder. "Love you too, Mama."
She carried him all the way to the Chocobo farm.
Whereas Tifa was able to see over the fence, Alex had to be helped up, standing on one of the wodden rows that held the fence up. His eyes glistened with fresh curiosity as a Chocobo slowly made its' way towards him. His face quickly changed into one of fear as the Chocobo started to nuzzle at his sweatshirt. "Mama..."
Tifa reached into her bag and pulled out a Green she had bought before the trip. "Give him this, Alex."
Alex took the Green from her hand and timidly held it in front of the Chocobo. The Chocobo sniffed it before making a delighted 'wark' noise and snatching it out of the young boy's hand. As the Chocobo ate, Alex smiled again at his mother. "He likes it, mama! He likes it!"
Tifa ruffled Alex's messy hair. "That's 'cause it came from you, little man!" She put a gentle arm around her son's shoulder and they both happily watched the playful antics of the Chocobo in front of them.
Cloud rubbed his temple. It was his first day on the job, and he already had to deal with his first lawsuit. He leapt up out of his seat. "Melissa, why is this guy suing us?"
The attractive blond sighed. "He said that certain parts of the square weren't fair."
"What parts?"
"Well, he says that his weapon was broken, and his materia was disabled, and that his armour was shattered, and..."
Cloud held up a hand. "I understand. Why wasn't he warned about this stuff?"
"He was."
Cloud paused before he just shook his head in disbelief. "Then how can he sue us?" He then noticed Melissa was struggling to hold back her laughter. "What's so funny?"
Melissa giggled softly, using a hand to stifle her mouth. "Um, the said user will see you now..."
Cloud looked up at the large door, which very slowly opened, revealing a massive surprise.
"...Alex?!" Cloud moved out from behind his large desk. "Is that..."
Alex ran up to his dad and hugged him tightly round the waist. "Hey, daddy!"
Cloud knelt down and held Alex by the shoulders. "Don't tell me you were fighting in the Battle Arena!"
Alex looked at his dad brightly. "No, me n' mama went to see a ch-ch-ch-cho..."
"...Chocobo? You saw a Chocobo?"
Alex nodded and smiled. "Yeah!"
Cloud picked up Alex and put him on his shoulder before glaring at Melissa. "What's going on here?"
Cloud's young secretary just pointed at the door. "Look..."
Cloud's gaze turned to the door, which opened again. He gasped. "Tifa?"
Tifa ran up to Cloud and kissed him on the cheek. "Hiya, Cloud!"
Cloud's face flustered with confusion. "What are you two doing here?"
Tifa smiled. "Melissa here helped us organize a surprise first day celebration!" She then kissed Cloud on the lips. "So, surprise!"
Cloud could only laugh as his secretary winked at him.
Cid paced around his Rocket Town home, waiting patiently for his wife to return. "Come on, Shera, where are you...?" He swore to himself and lit a fresh cigarette. He took a drag and sighed. He couldn't get enough of cigarettes; all his problems seemed to breeze away as soon as he inhaled that sweet, sweet essence. He then dropped the butt on the floor and smothered it with his foot, feeling an unusual tingling in the tips of his fingers. He looked at them doubtfully, and before long, it felt like ants were crawling all the way up his arm. The cigarette dropped out of his mouth as he gasped in pain; it now felt like those ants were biting. Hard. He got down on one knee and clasped the area in his arm just below the elbow. He began to rasp, each grainy breath burning his throat. He began to feel dizzy and fell on the floor. He looked at the ceiling, whispered Shera's name, and slowly passed out.
I was thinking about including a Cid heart attack since I first started, ya know. Please R N' R.