Disclaimer:

.x.Looks at watch.x. I predict that I'll own Final Fantasy VII when the sun veers off its orbit and crashes into the Earth. In other words, never. Don't even go there...

Author's Note:

But here's the next chapter! And please don't kill me! I probably should have written more but I decided just to leave it here. Hope you like what I came up with!


I stumbled into the Observatory moments later. Red was lying on the floor looking at the paper and when he saw me he smiled warmly and got up to greet me.

"So, how'd it go?" He asked, sitting down in front of me.

"It was great!" I said, walking around him and sitting on the couch. "I never thought that comedian was so funny."

"Well," Red said, coming to sit in front of me. "I'm glad you had a good time. I'll see you in the morning, Tifa."

With that he told me goodnight and walked into the star display room to join his cubs and his mate. I rose from the couch and stretched before climbing up the ladder to the guest room. Logan was wrapped up in the blankets, sleeping soundly. I smiled and kissed him gently on the forehead before going into the bathroom to change.

I stood in front of the mirror and brushed my hair before I turned the light off and climbed in bed next to Logan. He moaned and turned over on his stomach, hugging his pillow. I settled myself into the covers and closed my eyes, trying desperately to fall asleep.

The next morning, I got up and quickly got into the shower, needing to wash my hair. I put the same shorts on that I had worn the previous day and pulled out a small light blue blouse. After stepping into my sandals I climbed down the ladder. Red was sitting in his usual spot at the table looking over the paper and Logan was sitting with the cubs on the floor, petting them while he held his plush chocobo in his lap.

I walked over to him and kneeled down, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, little man," I said, smiling as I smoothed his hair out of his face.

"Hi, Mommy," he said in a hushed voice.

"Did you sleep okay?" I asked, sitting down in front of Nayo and placing him comfortably in my lap.

He nodded. "I woke up and had to go to the bathroom though," he said, moving over and petting Kalla.

"That's okay." I giggled as I scratched Nayo's stomach.

"How's Unca Reno?" Logan asked.

I looked down and held one of Nayo's tiny paws in my hand before looking up at my son and smiling. "He's alright, sweetie. He's just fine."

Logan smiled when he heard this, going back to petting Kalla. I looked over at Red who was still staring intently at his paper. I half smiled at the sight of the large cat before walking into the star display room. Nairi was sitting amongst a pile of pillows reading a book. She heard the door open and looked up. She smiled when she saw me before placing a slip of paper where her spot was and sliding the book off to the side.

"Good morning, Tifa," she said as I sat next to her. "How did you sleep?"

"Pretty well, actually," I said, grabbing my hair and putting it all over one shoulder. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"What's that?" She asked, blinking her bright yellow eyes.

"I've noticed you've spent a lot of your time in here. Can I ask why?"

Nairi nodded and laid her head down on her paws. "Nanaki didn't tell you did he?" She asked, a smile in her voice.

I frowned and shook my head. What could she mean? "Tell me what?" I asked, intrigued.

"I'm in the second trimester of my next litter," she said, her eyes glittering proudly.

I gasped. That was wonderful news! "Oh, Nairi! Congratulations! How much longer?"

"Well," she said, thinking. "Gestation for my species usually takes eleven to twelve months."

"Wow," I said, trying to imagine being pregnant for a year. "That long?"'

She nodded then opened her mouth to say something more but was stopped when Nanaki pushed the door open and walked through. "Tifa," he said, sitting next to his mate. "Reno is here to see you. He's out in the living room talking to Logan."

I turned back to Nairi and placed my hand on her paw before getting up and walking toward the door. I was getting ready to push the door open when I heard Reno speak up.

"So, how'd ya sleep last night, sport?" Reno asked Logan.

"Pretty good. I got up once to go to the bathroom and heard Mommy crying."

I frowned, thinking back. Come to think of it, I vaguely remember crying somewhat.

Reno remained quiet for a few seconds before clearing his throat. "Do you know why she was crying?" He asked, sounding reluctant to hear the little boy's answer.

"I don't know," Logan replied, simply. "She wasn't even making any noise. Tears were just coming out of her eyes and she was gripping the covers. I didn't want to wake her up so I went back to bed."

Reno grew quite once again and I bit the corner of my lip, pushing the door open and immediately walking into the small kitchen, reaching up into a cupboard for a glass before filling it with water. I took a sip and, with a shaky hand, set it down on the counter. I knew without looking that Reno was looking directly at me. I could practically feel his eyes on me. I willed my eyes to stay away from his gaze.

I wished silently that I could just disappear.

I heard Reno get up and walk around behind me. I covered my face with my hands and breathed in deeply; maybe if I just ignored him he'd go away.

My silent plea went unanswered as he gently put his hand on my shoulder and turned me around. Once I was facing him, he wrapped his arms around my shoulders and pulled me close to him. I complied, not really having the will power to pull away from him.

He cleared his throat. "What were you crying about?"

"I don't really know," I answered. "I'm prone to crying a lot these days."

Nothing more was said for quite a while before I realized that I was in the arms of the last man I would ever consider being with. I put a hand on his chest and gently pushed away from him, walking away and kneeling in front of my son.

"Hi, sweetie," I said, placing a hand on his cheek. "What do you wanna do today?"

He looked into my eyes for a few moments before speaking. "I wanna go see the ocean here."

I smiled. He loved going to the beach and playing in the sand. "Sure, let's go get ready," I said, picking him up and walking to the ladder. I placed him on it and watched him climb up until he stepped off at the top before looking over at Reno who was still standing in the same place. "You wanna come with us?" I asked, walking towards him.

He shrugged before walking over to the couch and plopping down onto it. "I'll think about it," he said, looking away from me.

I stared at Reno for a few seconds before rolling my eyes and climbing up the ladder. Once I stepped off, I found Logan standing in front of his suitcase with tears in his eyes. "Mommy, I forgot my swim trunks!" He wailed.

I strode over to him and picked him up, wiping the tears away from his eyes. "Oh, don't cry, sweetie," I said, kissing him on the forehead as I walked over to my suitcase, pulling out a pair of bright yellow swim trunks. "I got them right here."

His eyes immediately dried, a smile replaced the frown, as he plucked the swimming trunks from my hand and hugged them to his chest. "Thank you, Mommy!" He said, kissing me on the cheek. "I love you!"

I set him down on the floor as I fished my swimsuit out of the suitcase. "I love you too, sweetheart. Go get changed so Mommy can too."

He nodded and dashed into the bathroom, emerging seconds later in his swim trunks. I gave him his favorite shirt to wear to the beach, a small black tank top, before walking into the bathroom with my swimsuit. It was just a simple red bikini that had a floral print stitched on the front of the bottoms and the top in white thread. Nothing to flashy, like I needed any more attention.

I pulled out the long white skirt I had packed last minute and put it on. Then I went in search of a shirt that matched. I finally decided on a red halter-top then walked into the bathroom and pulled my hair up into a loose ponytail.

Logan was sitting on the bed, swinging his feet back and forth. I walked over to him and sat next to him. "Do you want to wear your sandals or your shoes?" I asked, leaving it up to him.

"Sandals," he said, continuing to swing his feet.

"Okay, sandals it is," I replied, walking over to my suitcase and pulling his small flip-flops out.

I handed him his as I stepped into mine then grabbed the suntan lotion and began to rub some into my son's skin. Once I was done, I put some on as well but still decided to bring the bottle just in case. "Do you want to bring one of the cameras?" I asked, digging one out of the suitcase.

He nodded and hopped off the bed, waddling towards me and taking the camera from my hand. "I'll carry it."

"Okay," I said, smiling as I ran my hand through his hair. "Let's go. Reno might want to come with us."

His face brightened immediately. "Really?"

I nodded and climbed down the ladder and stood at the bottom, waiting for Logan to safely step off before I picked him up. Reno was still sitting on the couch with the same sour look on his face. Logan squirmed out of my arms and ran toward Reno, climbing onto the couch.

"Unca Reno!" Logan said, patting him on the shoulder. Reno turned to look at Logan and the sour look on his face immediately melted as he smiled at him. "Are you gonna come to the beach with me and Mommy?"

Reno looked at Logan for a few seconds before turning his eyes to me. I curved one corner of my mouth up into a half-smile as he looked back at Logan. "Sure, kiddo. I don't have anything to wear though."

"That's okay," Logan said, bouncing up and down on the couch. "You don't to go in the water. My Mommy usually doesn't. She can stay with you."

I smiled at what Logan had just volunteered me for. But he was right; I usually don't go in the water. Logan hopped off the couch and walked over to me, tugging on my skirt. "Mommy, I forgot my towel."

"Go get it," I said, patting him on the shoulder as he ran by me. I turned back to Reno, looking up at and down his body. "Do you wanna change into something more comfortable?" I suggested. "It's pretty warm out there to wear a suit."

He stuffed his hands in his pockets and shrugged. "I guess I could," he said, turning around and walking to the door.

"We'll wait for you by the chocobo stables, okay?" I called after him.

"Sure thing." He opened the door and closed it behind him.

I just stood staring at the door with a disappointed and very unhappy look on my face. To tell the truth, Reno's behavior was having a negative effect on me. But, Reno will be Reno.

Logan came clattering down the ladder and a disappointed look appeared on his face. "Where'd Unca Reno go?"

I looked down at my son. "He went to go change."

His face immediately brightened. "Is he gonna swim with us after all?" Logan asked, wrapping his arms around my leg.

I shrugged as I picked him up. "I don't know. Maybe." I walked towards the door and pulled it open. "We're gonna meet Reno by the chocobo stables."

"Okay," he said as I placed him back on the ground so he could climb down the ladder. He was surprisingly good at it so I wasn't as worried as I had been when we arrived.

I began climbing down after him and he made it down safely. Once we were both back on the ground I picked him back up and walked out of the canyon towards the chocobo stables. To my surprise and amazement, Reno was already there. He was wearing a dark blue polo with faded denim jeans and a pair of black flip-flops. I stared at him like I was seeing him for the first time. I had never seen Reno wear anything else besides his Turk suit.

Reno smirked when he saw the look on my face. "Is this to her Highness' liking?"

I gave Reno a skeptical look as I set Logan down on the ground. "I'm just surprised to see you wearing something besides your Turk suit, that's all." Yeah, and I never I thought I'd be admitting this to myself, but he looks a lot more attractive wearing casual clothes. I looked away from him with a wide-eyed expression on my face. Hold the phone, what did I just think? Lockheart, you're losing it.

I cleared my throat and looked at Logan who was standing over near the stalls talking to the chocobo handler that had identified himself as Lyman. He introduced himself when Logan and I brought Firecracker back the day we rented him. He seemed like a really nice man. He could be quiet and extremely introverted at times but he enjoyed what he did and had fun doing it. He even told me the only companionship he needed were the chocobos he takes care of. He had raised them from little hatchlings and told me that they had become some of his best friends.

I smiled at the thought. Chocobos were really amazing creatures. Once one of the giant birds gets to know you and recognize you, you got a friend for life.

"Mommy!" Logan said, running to my side. "I wanna take Firecracker again!"

I looked down at him and smiled. "That's alright."

He laughed and ran back to Lyman, telling him which chocobo we were going to rent. Lyman smiled at Logan before looking at Reno. "Which one do you want, sir?"

"How about that green one over there?" Reno said, pointing to a dark green chocobo who was preening one of its wings.

"Oh, Clover? Sure you can take her." Lyman walked into Clover's pen and got her saddled up before leading her out and handing the reigns to Reno. He smiled at me before going into Firecracker's pen and getting her ready as well. "Here you go, miss," he said, handing Firecracker's reigns to me. "You folks have fun now!"

"Thanks, Lyman, we will!" I said, hefting Logan onto Firecracker's back before settling myself on the saddle.

I looked at Reno who rode Clover up beside me. I flashed him a small smile before spurring Firecracker toward the beach.