Riku yawned behind a hand as he shuffled around the staircase and went to the kitchen. A full day had passed since they got the news; Cloud had slept yesterday away and Riku had thrown himself into housecleaning that really did not need to be done. Sephiroth had left before Riku got up and only say him for a few minutes that night before retiring to his room. When Cloud was awake, they did not talk about the pregnancy.

They had not spoken to anyone outside the house and he was sure the others would be worried about them. If they didn't come out and say things were okay they would soon have their friends showing up at their door. It was unlikely that he or Cloud were up to that kind of confrontation.

Before entering the kitchen, he could hear soft murmurs and frowned slightly. He didn't think anyone would be checking up on them this soon. Who was Sephiroth talking to and what were they talking about?

Sephiroth was sitting at the table, Leon in the chair across from him. The sable-haired man's back was to Riku and there was a definite terseness to his position. Riku glanced at his brother, suddenly feeling very paranoid. Sephiroth would not have told him…

"How's Cloud this morning?" Leon asked in a slightly louder tone than he and Sephiroth had been using.

"Still sleeping." The younger man answered, turning for the refrigerator. "I doubt he's waking up any time soon."

"I figured that from what Sephiroth said." Leon took a sip of his coffee. "Sora called me earlier and said he was going to be handling Cloud's deliveries again today. That was enough to get me to come over and check up on Cloud myself. Zack's starting to get paranoid since no one's heard from either of you since leaving the hospital."

Riku nodded slowly, pulling out some juice. "Well, I'm sure Sephiroth has been giving you the updates."

"He has."

Riku restrained himself from glancing back at his brother. He trusted Sephiroth to keep their secret but Leon was highly observant and could read the winged man rather well. He was certain that Leon had figured out that they were keeping something from him. Hopefully, he wouldn't pry too much; he was very good about giving people their space but when it came to Cloud, everyone felt they needed to make him open up.

"If Cloud's going to be out for awhile, let me know so we can get people to cover for him." Leon took a final drink of coffee before standing up. He crossed the room to the sink and rinsed the mug out, steel-grey eyes flicking toward Riku. "And if there's anything I can do to help either of you, you know we're all here for you both."

Riku almost broke down and spilled everything at that statement. He felt a surge of emotion and fought back the urge to tell Leon everything. He knew the former SeeD could help; he was great asking the right questions and picking up on the small details that could make all the difference to the situation. He could have a huge impact on their ultimate decision. However, Cloud had made it clear he did not want anyone else to know until he was ready and he would respect his husband's wishes.

He gave a slight nod and Leon stepped away. The older man bid the brothers farewell and left the kitchen. After the front door shut, Riku allowed himself a moment. He closed his eyes, exhaled slowly and willed his emotions to settle. Once he was calm again, he poured his glass of juice.

"Did you and Cloud talk any further yesterday?"

"No." Riku brought the glass to the table and took the seat Leon had vacated. "After Sora left the other night, I made it clear that I wouldn't leave him if he did terminate."

"Is that a true statement?"

Riku looked up sharply at his brother; Sephiroth was watching him closely. He wanted to lash out at him for asking such a question but he knew it was necessary. "It is. It will hurt a lot for a while if he does but, I couldn't hold it against him. I won't get over it just like that but… I would learn to accept it and move on."

Sephiroth studied him a moment further before turning his eyes back to the glass of water before him. "That should make the decision marginally easier for Cloud."

"I hope so."

The faint creaking of weight on the steps and the jangle of the dogs' collars drifted toward them. Seph and Zack appeared, heading straight for the backdoor. Sephiroth stood to let them out and as he reclosed the door, Cloud entered the kitchen. He was still in his sleep clothes and looked pale and exhausted.

Riku frowned at him, reaching over to rub Cloud's arm as he passed. "Feeling sick again?"

"A little," The blond mumbled, breaking away and shuffling to the pantry. As he opened it up, he grumbled, "I'm not hungry but I'm seriously craving something."

"Like what?"

"No clue."

Sephiroth snorted softly as he let the dogs back in. "Very helpful, Strife."

Cloud whirled on him, glaring. "What's that supposed to mean?"

An elegant eyebrow rose. "There was no hidden meaning unless you chose to find one which speaks more of your emotional state than anything."

After a beat, Cloud exhaled and turned back to the pantry. "I'm sorry."

Neither of the Jenova brothers responded.

Cloud ran his eyes quickly over what they had to eat and gave up. He closed the pantry and went to the table. Slumping into the chair next to Riku, he laid an arm on the table. "Maybe I'll see something on the way to the doctor. When is that, anyway?"

"Eleven." Riku took his hand and squeezed it. "And it's nine-thirty now."

"Ugh, too early." The blond whined. "Do we still have that decaf coffee we keep for Aerith?"

"I think so." Riku's mouth turned down in thought. He got up and went to the cabinet the coffee and tea were kept in. After a moment of searching, he paused. "Why do you want it? You hate the decaf stuff."

"Because pregnant people aren't supposed to have a lot of caffeine." Cloud answered patiently. "We should probably make a list of things we need to replace to more baby-friendly stuff."

Riku froze in place. Cloud could not mean what he was implying. He just meant for now, until he made up his mind.

Sephiroth's voice broke the silence that had formed. "You made your decision then?"

"Riku wants to have this baby, to have a family." Cloud spoke softly. "I have never denied Riku anything."

The younger silver-haired man slowly turned to face his husband. "Cloud, I don't want you to have this baby simply because I want it."

"I'm not." The blond smiled and his blue eyes were sincere. When he had woken up this morning, he had lain in bed and his thoughts kept drifting toward Riku. He knew that having this baby could prove to be the last thing that his lover needed to truly be free. By having something, someone, that was completely theirs and a family to love, Riku could become whole. "I want this baby for you."

Riku had no idea how to react. He was happy Cloud had decided to keep their child; worried that he really was only doing it for him; scared knowing that now that they were going forward with this, everything was going to change…. Now that Cloud had made up his mind, Riku was beginning to have doubts.

"May I suggest," Sephiroth interceded. "That before finalizing anything, you get all the details from the doctors as to how this pregnancy will likely progress. You don't even know how you will have to give birth."

Cloud paled a little and he scrunched up his faintly freckled face. Cloud worried his lower lip. He had not really thought about that part… or even the actual pregnancy in general. He was so focused on the aftermath, the baby itself, that he hadn't taken the time to consider what being pregnant was going to do to his body.

"Cameron said cesarean section." Riku shrugged. "What's one more scar?"

Riku studied his husband, recognizing that Cloud had not truly thought about the physical ramifications of his current state. He had no doubt that Cloud's body could tolerate the pregnancy, it had been through much more stressful circumstances, but the stresses of pregnancy would be different. It was likely to become increasingly difficult for him to function normally the further along he got.

Abruptly, Cloud slapped his hand on the table. "I know what I want."

It took Riku a beat to switch gears. "Uh... yeah?"

"Yeah. I want lox and cream cheese on a blueberry bagel."

"Okay…" Aqua eyes flicked toward Sephiroth. "I really didn't think the strange cravings started until a few more weeks in."

"He's a male dealing with female hormones. It's likely a majority of the standard events will be altered."

"It's gonna suck when he's all swollen up and I'm gonna have to make him all these weird concoctions."

"I'd be more concerned with the mood swings."

"Oh, I didn't even think of those!" He's gonna be a nightmare."

Cloud pouted angrily. "He is still in the room and can still change his mind."

"And it starts." Riku chuckled. Sobering up a little, he turned back to the cabinet. "I think we got rid of the decaf but if you get ready now we can stop at the bagel shop on the way to the healers."

Cloud stood and headed for the stairs.

-0—0—

Cloud ended up ordering three of the bagel sandwiches and ate them as they walked across town. Riku held his husband's decaf mocha along with his own chai tea and watched Cloud in concern and amusement. He was still uncertain about Cloud's real reason for keeping the baby but kept quiet. He would just keep an eye on him and if there was any sign of doubt or resentment, they would reopen the discussion of termination.

A few people said hello and were clearly glad to see the couple out and about. Word of Cloud's illness had spread and everyone hoped he was feeling better. He responded to these comments with neutral 'getting there's'.

Upon entering the medical office side of the healer's center, they discovered Demyx waiting in the lobby. Cloud noticeably stiffened at seeing him and Riku took a silent breath. This would either amount to nothing or Demyx was going to make a fuss to Reno about seeing them and things would end up getting exposed a lot sooner than they wanted.

Demyx spotted them and grinned happily. "Hey, guys! Cloud getting a check-up?"

"Yeah," Riku replied easily, Cloud continuing to the check-in counter. Deciding it was best to keep the topic off of Cloud, he casually asked, "Why are you here?"

"Oh." Demyx rubbed the back of his head and his expression became rather uncomfortable. "Well, Axel has to get… something done and is gonna be kinda woozy after so I'm here to walk him home since Sora's still working for Cloud."

"He finally getting those stupid tattoos removed?" Cloud muttered as he returned to the pair.

"The day he does that is the day Reno does."

"For two guys who dislike each other so much they have a hell of a lot in common. " Riku noted with a laugh.

"Which is why they don't get along." Demyx added, shaking his head. "I hate having to juggle my time with them."

"Yeah, I know that one." Riku took Cloud's hand and squeezed it gently. "You saw what I had to do with this one and my brother."

"Oh yeah, I remember." The former Nobody grinned. "At least I don't have to worry about them killing each other."

"Cloud?"

All three turned their heads toward the voice that called Cloud's name from the door leading to the back. Cameron's nurse, Bobbi, smiled lightly at them. She did not speak further but they knew she was calling them back.

"Hope everything checks out, Cloud." Demyx waved as the couple moved toward the woman.

"It should." Riku responded for both of them.

Bobbi nodded at them and took the lead, guiding them through the corridors to Cameron's section of the ward. "Doctor will come talk to you in a few minutes but I'm going to get your vitals and draw some blood first."

"I'm really getting stuck every two weeks now, aren't I?" Cloud grumbled as Bobbi motioned him and Riku into an exam room. He automatically got on the exam table and Riku stepped to the side and out of the way.

"Probably." The middle-aged redhead confirmed casually starting on Cloud's vital signs. "We're going to have to monitor the hormone levels very carefully."

Cloud fell quiet as she worked, idly watching her take his blood pressure before glancing at Riku. In the few hours since he had said he would keep the baby, Riku had relaxed significantly. That relieved the older man more than anything. He had meant what he had said, he did want to give Riku the family he wanted, and there was no uncertainty about it.

"Everything looks good." Bobbi declared, noting the chart. Setting that to the side, she removed a needle, syringe and three vials from her pocket. As she assembled the parts, she glanced at Cloud. "I hear your bad with needles."

She stepped closer and he held out his arm. "I'm worse with injections."

She tied a tourniquet on his arm and located a vein to draw from. "You may have to get used to those, too."

"I'm aware." The blond muttered darkly, turning his face toward Riku. "It's one of the reasons I almost said screw it to this whole thing."

Riku folded his arms. "If you had decided to abort our baby because you didn't want to get shots, I would have left you. That would have been…"

"Beyond selfish." Cloud winced a touch as Bobbi's needle went in. "It's time I get over my fears."

Riku smiled brilliantly at him. This unforeseen and impossible pregnancy was having some very positive effects on Cloud. He prayed it would continue to do so and that when the baby was born, she would be the final step in making them both whole. Hopefully, she would be that last thing they needed to repair the remaining damage they both had.

Bobbi finished the draw and pressed a piece of gauze to the site. "So I'm assuming by your conversation that you plan to keep the baby?"

Cloud nodded. "Yeah, we are."

"Good." The nurse checked for further bleeding. Upon seeing nothing, she got rid of the used needle. "Dr. Cameron will be really glad to hear that."

Cloud did not care what the doctor wanted but didn't bother to voice that. Riku reached over and brushed his cheek. Blue eyes glanced at him and he knew Riku was of the same opinion.

"All right, let me get these going and the doctor will be in shortly." Bobbi informed them then slipped out.

Cloud fell back on the padded table and exhaled. "I already hate this place."

"We might be able to have some of these be home visits." The silver-haired half of the couple suggested. "If it's all just monitoring, I don't see why you'll need to always be coming here for it."

"I'd pay extra for that."

"I'd let you." Riku laughed. He stepped closer and gazed down. "Anything that will make this easier for you, I'll do."

Cloud smiled at him affectionately. "I know."

There was a knock on the door and Cloud sat back up as it opened. They expected Cameron to appear and were shocked and extremely unhappy to see a tattooed, red-haired male enter.

"Hey there, Spike." Reno drawled out, pushing the door closed behind him and strolling over to the counter. He hopped up on it and leaned forward, fingers laced together before him. "So I come here to find out where Demyx disappeared to and he tells me that you and the hubby were back here for a follow up with the sexy blond doctor lady which got my interest. I wondered why you had a follow up for a simple stomach bug."

Cloud paled and he knew that Reno knew everything. There was no way the Turk came all the way back her to just check up on him. Reno had to have snuck a look at his chart.

Reno lifted his head and smirked. "But it's so much more than a little bug."

Riku also realized that Reno had learned everything and narrowed his eyes dangerously. "I swear, Reno, if you even think-"

"Whoa, yo." Reno held up his hands defensively. "I do have some discretion. This is not the kind of thing to take advantage of… unless you really don't like the guy who's knocked up. Or you can get a shitload of cash."

"Then why are you here?" Cloud ground out. This was not a good development. Reno was about the last person he wanted to find out about this. The only person who would be worse would be Yuffie.

"Well, I checked into it initially hoping to find something embarrassing like… I don't know, an STD or weird infection." The red-head chuckled and shook his head. "I totally was not expecting to find out you were knocked up. How the hell did that happen and why isn't it Riku?"

"It's a long story." Cloud idly rubbed at his abdomen.

"Look, Reno," Riku beseeched the Turk. "We'll explain what we can when we're ready but until then, I'm asking you to please, please keep your mouth shut about this."

Blue eyes flicked between the couple. It was obvious he was carefully considering something. Reno's expression suddenly softened. "You keeping it?"

Cloud met his eyes. "Yeah, we are."

"Huh." Reno slid off the countertop. "Well don't worry, my lips are sealed but if I were you, I wouldn't waste too much time telling everyone. You know that eventually Sora's gonna let something slip. Plus, you ain't gonna be able to hid Cloud's subconscious Mommy-actions."

"My what?"

Reno snorted loudly. "I'm sure Riku knows exactly what I'm talking about. See you both later, yo."

As soon as he was gone, Cloud glanced angrily at his lover. "What was he going on about?"

"Look at where your hand is." Riku advised quietly. He wanted Cloud to calm down and wasn't sure how he was going to react. When Cloud looked down, the younger one explained. "You've been doing a lot of idle rubbing where the baby is."

Cloud stared at his hand. He had been? His mind automatically searched back over the time since he found out he was pregnant. He had been doing that and now that he was thinking about it, he had spoken to the baby a few times, too. He had been subconsciously trying to bond.

Maybe he wanted this baby more than he allowed himself to believe… or the hormones were really getting to him.

Another tap echoed and this time it was Cameron who came in. She was nearly beaming as the door closed and she faced the couple. "Bobbi informed me that you decided to keep the baby."

"Yeah," whispered Cloud, removing his hand from his stomach. His sudden change in attitude disturbed Riku greatly. "So what do I need to do?"

"Well, as I said the other day, the key thing will be to watch the hormones to make sure they stay where they need to be throughout the pregnancy. Blood tests every three days will cover that. The other concern is space as the baby grows but we'll be able to track that through normal pre-natal check-ups."

"Are you going to stick to the normal schedule for those?"

"For now. I see no reason to do more at this point."

Riku worried his lower lip. "What happens if problems start developing?"

"We deal with them as they come up." Cameron shrugged. "Until it happens, we won't know how to treat it. Remember, this is new for us, too. All we can do is treat it was much like a normal pregnancy as possible and make alterations as necessary."

Riku cautiously rubbed at the back of Cloud's neck. He was still a bit removed but listening to Cameron. He had no idea what the older man was thinking.

"So what do I need to do? Just follow those instructions you gave me the other day?"

"Yep. Try to avoid stress but for now you can continue with your normal activities." Cameron reached into one of her lab coat pockets. "I hope you don't find this too presumptuous for me, but I had really hoped you would decide this and went ahead and bought these for you."

She handed a bottle to Cloud and explained. "I figured you weren't going to be ready to explain why you needed pre-natal vitamins yet. There's two months worth there and I can get you more if you want."

"I have a feeling we'll be public by then." Cloud read the bottle label over. He had thought he was okay with all of this, but now it was beginning to feel seriously real to him. It was… strange and unsettling.

"Probably."

He glanced up and managed a smile. "Thank you."

"No problem." The doctor returned. "Do either of you have any questions?"

They indicated no. They were sure there were going to be a lot over the next week but at this moment, there was nothing. At least, nothing that she could answer.

"All right then. We're running the blood now and we'll call to let you know the results of that. You know what you need to do so we're done for today."

"Good." Cloud got off the table.

"Come back this time next week, okay?"

"Got it." Cloud was already opening the door. He rushed out and both Riku and Cameron blinked.

Riku sighed and flicked his bangs. He didn't apologize for Cloud but gave the doctor a proper farewell before following Cloud. He wasn't surprised to see that he was already out of sight.

Cloud was in the lobby, waiting for the receipt for his payment. He did not look at Riku as the paper was handed to him. "Do you mind if I just go home? I don't think I'm up to the Marketplace."

"Oh." Riku spoke flatly. "Yeah, that's fine. I don't need to get much."

Cloud faced him. His blue eyes were apologetic and upset. "I'm sorry. I just need a little time to myself…"

"It's alright." Riku assured him even though he was not feeling the words. Cloud was withdrawn again and that wasn't good at this point. Even though it went against their normal routine, they need to keep communicating.

They walked out together and Cloud kissed his cheek. "I'll see you at home."

"Yeah."

Cloud headed off, moving quickly toward the neighborhood their house was in. Riku watched after him until he disappeared. He suppressed the swelling of anxiety and fear in his heart and stuffed his hands in his pockets. He left in the direction of the market and forced himself to not think.

These coming weeks were likely to be some of the hardest they both faced.

-0—0—

Thankfully, Riku had done a lot of the shopping for Tifa when she was pregnant and remembered most of the things she had eaten. There were a lot of green vegetables that he knew Cloud would dislike and as he picked them out, tried to think of ways he could sneak them into meals Cloud would eat. At least this was a problem he could find a solution for.

"Hey, Riku." Sora called from behind him. The brunet came up beside him. "How was the doctor?"

"Everything's fine." He replied, choosing some asparagus. "I just have to put together a new dinner menu for a while."

Sora's eyes widened. "So, he's…?"

"Yep."

"That's great, Ku!" Sora nearly jumped him. "I'm really happy for you guys!"

"I'll be excited when I know he's really okay about it."

Sora calmed down and frowned a little. "You think he's not serious?"

"Oh, I know he is." Riku paid for the vegetables and moved to the next stand which was mostly beans and lentils. "I'm just concerned with his motivation."

"It'll be okay, Riku." Sora assured him. "Both of you are going to have to work a lot of stuff out but I know in my heart that in the end, the three of you are going to be really happy."

Sora's confidence did a lot to improve Riku's mood. "I hope so. I think we can be."

"Me, too." Sora watched Riku pick out several varieties of beans. "I still don't get how Cloud likes those."

"I know." The older one laughed. "But he doesn't get how we can like seaweed."

"True."

Riku finished making his selections and paid for the beans. "I think I'm done… I should get more hot sauce."

"Cloud hates hot sauce."

"Yeah, but apparently she loves it."

"She?" Sora frowned in confusion. "Oh! You mean-"

"Yeah." Riku cut him off before he could say anything revealing. There were too many people around to overhear their conversation already.

"Heh, that's kinda cool. I wonder what other changes we're gonna see."

Riku had to admit he was interested to see that, too. He was looking forward to all of the little changes that were to come. "I better get home."

"Cloud going to need me to cover him again tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure." Riku hefted his bags. "I'll call you tonight about it."

"Got it. I guess I should make sure Axel's okay."

Riku glanced over. "Just what did he have done?"

"Heh," Sora grinned widely. "You don't want to know."

Riku lifted an eyebrow but didn't push for more information. If it was as amusing as it was sounding, he'd know about it soon enough. "Have fun with that."

"Oh, yeah." Sora waved and walked off.

Riku waited a moment further then made his own way home.