Tengoko: I hate my job. That's the reason I'm not updating as fast as I usually do. At any rate, it's about three in the morning and I'm wide awake. So I figured, hey, why not finish chapter 4 and post it? Please read and review. Thanks.

Disclaimer: Grr...
Rated M for language and romance

Chapter 4: Visitors

Tifa stood at the sink, her hands elbow deep in soapy water. Her hair was tied back into a sloppy bun and she wore one of Reno's oversized t-shirts and a pair of black athletic shorts. Overall, she looked ready for some spring cleaning, but that was the furthest thing on her mind.

She had just seen the news. Rufus had finally confirmed that Sector Seven was ready for rebuilding and a new team was being implemented to clear, organize, and redesign the area. The project would take approximately ten years before completion.

So, why would Tifa be so upset? The reconstruction of that sector was a long time coming, and Tifa was actually grateful that action was finally being taken to fix Shin-Ra's greatest mistake. No, what made Tifa angry was that her husband had been assigned to head the project. That meant that they would be stuck in Midgar for another ten years, and that was too long for Tifa.

"Damn it," she cried, pulling her hand from the water. She had cut her thumb on a knife, but the cut wasn't bad, just an annoyance. "Reno," she mumbled, looking up at the clock on the microwave. "Where the hell are you?"

"Right here, babe," he said from behind, walking into the kitchen. He was removing his jacket and hung it on the back of a chair before going to his wife and kissing her. She just stared at him, not kissing back, but with a look on her face that let him know that he was in trouble. "What'd I do?" he asked.

"I didn't hear you come in," she said.

"Sorry?" Reno turned away from her and walked into the living room. He sat down on the couch and began taking off his shoes, looking up briefly to see that his wife had followed him. She stood in the entryway between the kitchen and living room, her arms folded in front of her. "What?"

"When were you going to tell me?" she burst.

"Tell you what?"

"That you pretty much signed away our lives for the next ten years."

Reno shook his head. "Baby, you don't understand. But that's okay, I'll enlighten you. I'm only the temporary head. What that means is, I will oversee it for the first couple of years before handing it off to somebody else. Besides, why are you getting so pissed off. You do realize if I'm elected president, that could be four to ten years anyway. If you were going to complain, why do it now? Why not then?"

"I did complain, but you were probably too drunk to remember!" she shouted.

"Hey! I haven't been drunk for the past six years, and as I recall, I gave up that euphoria for you! And I surely would have remembered your whining. Your complaints are like thorns in my brain."

"Reno, you take that back!" She unfolded her arms and held them in fists at her side.

"What do you want from me, Tifa? Here I am trying to make a better life for all of us, and all you can do is bitch. I thought that this is what you wanted."

"No! What I want is to be done with Midgar! You promised that we'd live in Wutai!"

Reno groaned and began rubbing his temples. "Don't you have something better to be doing than yelling at me? I've had a long day at work and I really don't need this right now. Of all the people in this world to give me crap, you are the last person I need it from."

"Reno, I hate it here!"

"I know that!" he shouting, jumping to his feet. "You tell me every damn day! I'm doing the best I can!"

"You don't understand," she said, tears forming in her eyes. "This house…" She couldn't bring herself to finish the sentence. Reno was grateful. He knew what was coming.

"Tifa…"

"I can't help it, Reno. I'll never forget what you did to me, to us."

"It was six years ago," he said, standing up and approaching her. "Tifa. I can't keep apologizing every day for the rest of my damned life!"

It had almost destroyed their marriage. It began with the rumors; people whispering here and there about Reno's alleged infidelity. Tifa, at the time, thought them all to be ludicrous. Her husband, her Reno wouldn't cheat on her.

In the end, he's the one that told her. He'd been drunk, the last time, and Tifa had been out of town visiting Yuffie and Vincent in Wutai. One of his co-workers, Selena (he eventually admitted), had driven him home, and proceeded to take advantage of his drunken state. When he woke up…well…

Tifa did forgive him. Though, it was hard to tell at times, she didn't resent him or hate him for it. It took a while, but now, she only hated the woman, not her husband. Of course, he had done everything he could to make it up to her, even after she had kicked him out. What sealed it was his promise to quite drinking forever- she knew it would be no easy feat for him.

"Reno, I'm not mad! That's not it! What this is about is the thought of another woman in this house doing to you what…well…you know. That's what gets to me. Not your mistake, but the act."

"Tifa, I'm trying my best. I don't know what else to do."

"Reno! You don't get it! I've already forgiven you! That's it!"

He really didn't get it. He hated himself for doing what he did, no matter how inebriated he was. The fact is, there is no excuse- none- for cheating on his wife. His father had done it to his mother, and he had sworn that he wouldn't do that to Tifa. So, in truth, it was Reno who hadn't forgiven himself, so in his mind, she hadn't forgiven him either.

"I love you, Re. Always, no matter what you do. I just hate this house, and Midgar. There are too many ghosts from the past lingering everywhere I go. When I go to Sector One, I see Hayden; Two, Denzel; Three; Sephiroth; Four…"

"I know baby. I see them too. I don't like it here anymore than you do. But don't you get it. I have the chance to change everything. I can't just leave. These people, this city needs somebody like me. If it wasn't for us, Rufus would have continued to run this nation with his perverse subterfuge policy. I can't leave until I know everybody in Midgar will be taken care of."

"When did my husband become such a humanitarian?" Tifa asked, brushing some of his wild, red hair out of his face. "What ever happened to the well-known Turk 'I look out for number one' attitude?"

"Everything changed when you came into my life, sweet. But, humanitarian may be pushing it. I still have selfish priorities. For example, if it came down to Midgar's successful restoration or my family's well being…"

"Ah, Reno," she laughed. "You do care." She grabbed his hands and pulled him towards her in a brief, but loving kiss- only brief because the doorbell rang. "Don't you move," she said, her lips brushing against his. "I'll get that."

Reno's eyes followed his wife as she stepped around him and walked towards the door. Damn whoever was behind it. He hated fighting with his wife, but he sure did love making up with her, and they were about to do just that until whoever it was showed up and ruined it. Damn them.

It turns out, the people Reno damned were none other than Vincent, Yuffie, and their youngest child, Valdis. Yuffie and Tifa greeted one another with a hug and Vincent bent over to plant a kiss on Tifa's cheek. Tifa then swooned over the baby in his arms, and then it struck Reno.

Did she just brush a hand over her own stomach? Now that he noticed, she was beginning to act a little…different. Not to mention her breasts were looking fuller than usual, that he knew. She was pregnant again; he could have kicked himself for not realizing this before. Suppressing a joyful yell, Reno merely grinned before walking up to Vincent, holding his arms out, and securely fixing his grip as Vincent handed his son to his close friend.

"He looks so much like you, man," Reno said, not looking away from the curious newborn. His eyes were fixed on Reno's hair, and a small hand reached up and grabbed a strand. Reno chuckled as Valdis became mesmerized by it.

"And he's got the attention span of his mother," Vincent said, rolling his eyes. He immediately paid for the comment as Yuffie turned around and smacked him across the chest. "You're right, Yuffs, it was uncalled for to say that. After all, he is only six months old. He'll probably outgrow it." She hit him again.

Reno laughed and looked at Tifa. "You know, baby…I think we should have another one."

"Is that so?" she asked, a large smile on her face. "We'll have to talk about it in depth later, Re. As it is, we have guests to entertain and I'm sure the last thing they want to hear about it our plans for procreation."

"You definitely said it," Yuffie said, taking Valdis back.

"Where's the rest of the brood?" Reno asked, walking to his wife and draping an arm around her shoulders.

"Well, Veronica's with my father," Yuffie began; they all noted Vincent's scowl. "And Victor and Valencia are staying with a family friend. They really don't like making this trip; they get motion sick."

"Like their mother," Tifa teased, walking to the couch. "Have a seat, all of you."

"Don't mind if I do," Yuffie said, sitting next to her best friend. "You know, Valdis isn't at all like his siblings. They all used to fuss and cry all the time. But he barely makes a sound. Vincent said that's how he was when he was a baby."

"Oh, I'd hate to think of two Vincent Valentines in this world," Reno said, standing behind the couch with Vincent. "I don't think we could stand all the gloominess."

"Well, I'd be happy to dispatch you," Vincent said, appearing to be quite serious.

Reno was about to counter when the doorbell rang again. He looked at Tifa before moving towards the door. "Are we expecting anybody else?" he asked, reaching for the doorknob.

"I don't think so."

"Oh…Rude?" Reno was taken by surprise by his two friends, former co-workers filling up his doorway. Lena Mae instantly ran into the house and flew into her father's arms. He laughed and kissed her hello before asking, "why are you home so earlier, babe?"

"Rude," she said simply, her feet finding the floor again as Reno set her down.

"What's going on?" he asked, noticing that Rude was holding Wesley firmly by the collar.

"It might interest you to know that we found your son and a few of his friends wandering around the Sector Seven Ruins. I am going to assume that you weren't aware of this." Reno's silence and Tifa's sudden staidness confirmed his assumption. Reno stepped aside as Tifa joined them at the door.

"Lena Mae," Yuffie said. "Why don't you come with me and your Uncle Vin outside? We'll play anything you want, okay?" Lena nodded and they vanished into the kitchen.

Tseng waited for the backdoor to close before going on. "It's a good thing we found him and not another Shin-Ra employee. They wouldn't have let him off so easy."

"Thank you," Reno said stoically, taking his son's arm and pulling him inside.

"It's not even the worst of it," Rude said. "It's one thing for a thirteen year old boy to be scouring the wreck, but for him to take his little sister, who's only four years old, and then lose her…"

"You lost her?" Tifa yelled.

"I didn't mean to," Wesley said lamely.

"Rude, Tseng, thank you so much for returning them to us," Reno said.

"Now, if you don't mind," Tifa said, her eyes fixed on her son, "we'll take it from here."