Cloud and Tseng were on their way back to their cabin after dinner when Cloud caught sight of Tifa by the railing, mindlessly staring at the ocean waves, obviously troubled by something. "Go on, I'll catch up with you." he told Tseng.

"Very well, but don't dally too long." Tseng said as he saw who Cloud was looking at. "After all, you did promise me something tonight." he said as he discreetly but playfully spanked his partner as he continued onto the cabin.

Cloud sighed before approaching Tifa. He knew Tseng only acted that way when he felt a little insecure, and he also knew the man wasn't totally comfortable with Cloud's relationship with Tifa, since they had been childhood sweethearts and now shared custody of their two adopted children. Sometimes he felt like the rope in a tug-of-war game between Tseng and Tifa. "Are you feeling better?" he asked his best friend.

"Huh? Oh yeah, I just…" Tifa groaned in sudden frustration. "Why did I agree to this cruise?"

"I don't know, I didn't even know you were seeing Reno." Cloud reminded her.

"I'm not seeing him!" Tifa exclaimed. "Do you know what he just did?"

"So you're not seeing him, but you're pregnant with his child and taking a romantic cruise with him? How did it all start, if you don't mind me asking?" Cloud asked carefully, wondering what the odds were she would throw him overboard if she thought he was defending Reno.

"At Thanksgiving…no, it started before that. He started coming to the bar and acting all weird, giving us gifts like Turkey in between bouts of ignoring me. Then he wanted to apologize for being a jerk by giving us a catered Thanksgiving dinner. I…I was lonely when Denzel said he wished you were there, and Reno was being so nice, I just…" Tifa sighed herself and patted her stomach. "So here we are."

Cloud couldn't keep himself from smiling as he listened to her explanation. "Welcome to the world of being courted by a Turk. Tseng kept wanting me to deliver stuff for him, but he'd always try to avoid looking at me when I showed up."

"Courting me? What are you talking about? He just about disappeared off the face of the planet the morning after Thanksgiving, having the gall to leave me a note saying he hopes I find somebody." Tifa told him irritably. "And now he…"

"He what?" Cloud asked when Tifa made a face and slammed her clenched fists on the railing instead of finishing her sentence.

"He was really nice to me, then he said he knew I didn't like him and then asked me to marry him just until the baby is born…that man is crazy!" Tifa snapped.

"Do you like him?" Cloud asked her pointedly. It sounded to him like Reno was crazy, but for her. He didn't like the man much, but if Tifa cared for him too, Cloud would have to meddle and make sure she didn't miss out on a chance at happiness with that lout.

"How can I? I barely know him, and it might just have to stay that way…he's the hardest man to pin down I have ever met! It's easy to get him to talk about his conquests, but not about who he really is." she replied bitterly. "His parents are nice though." she added in a friendlier tone.

"Again, welcome to the world of Turk courtship. Count yourself lucky to know his parents, but that might be part of the problem." Cloud suggested.

"What is that supposed to mean?!" Tifa demanded to know.

"I can't get Tseng to admit anything about his life prior to becoming a Turk or even most of his life since then until we met. Turks are all about secrets, that's their job. You learned some of Reno's without his consent, so he's probably feeling vulnerable where you're concerned. Not to mention you're carrying his child." Cloud told her. "He probably never expected to be in this position anymore than you did."

Tifa was taken aback by Cloud's sensible reply…was that what was wrong with Reno? He…she knew how she felt about the way he barged into her life, did he feel the same way about her? "But…"

Cloud patted her clenched fist affectionately. "You've always been my best friend, so one last piece of advice. There's one thing you never have to doubt with the Turks, and it makes up for a lot. Once you have their loyalty, you'll never lose it. They're yours for life, even if they like to pretend they're in charge." Cloud said with a smirk. "And speaking of, I better get back to my Turk…I forgot this was the anniversary of the day we met, and I promised I'd make it up to him."

Tifa watched him go back to his cabin, feeling lonely again, and more confused than ever. She wanted this cruise to straighten things out, but Cloud's explanation had thrown her for a loop. Could Reno actually care for her? And why did she so easily get frustrated with him? What was wrong with the both of them? If he did care for her, common decency suggested she make an effort to establish a positive relationship with him of some sort, especially for their child's sake. She sighed and took a deep breath to steady herself. Maybe it was time to set things right…she'd quit beating around the bush and tell him the truth about how she felt about everything, and take it from there.

Reno turned on the television to try and distract himself from Tifa's running away from his half-assed proposal. What had possessed him to even say that? He knew it was stupid as soon as he said it, but he wasn't going to back down and admit it. He wondered if she had some manual on how to drive him crazy, and decided to take advantage of her absence to go snooping in her things. Stuffing the remote under one of the couch cushions, so he could tell her he was looking for it if she came back unexpectedly, he stood up and went to her nightstand.

"Baby books." he said in disgust when he opened the drawer. "This isn't helping!" he exclaimed as took them out, then noticed a paper barely sticking out of the one Tseng had given her for Christmas. Throwing the other books on the bed, he opened the book and carefully took the folded paper out, opening it up. As he read the legal form, he felt the unwelcome sense of rejection again. "Termination of Parental Rights…so this is why she wanted to go on this cruise!" Reno crumpled the paper tossed it on the bed before storming out of their cabin.

Tifa was surprised to find the TV on but Reno gone when she returned to their cabin. Then she noticed her nightstand drawer opened and the books on the bed, realizing he had been going through her things. "What the…" she stopped mid-rant when she saw the crumpled paper next to the books. Smoothing it out again, she felt dread in the pit of her stomach as she looked at the form she had taken with her on the cruise only as a precaution if it became obvious he wasn't interested in being a reliable influence in their child's life. She hadn't met for him to find out like this. "Oh no…"