Hi! My goodness, thank you for the reviews! I'm so glad some people are actually reading! Thank you. I appreciate everyone's feedback. I suppose that I should state that this is also alternate reality. I'm glad that even though medical themed stories may not be everyone's cup of tea, that you continue to read anyway. Thank you all again! Please continue to review. It gives me motivation! -B
Tifa blinked a few times as she stared at the pregnant woman in complete and total shock. Had she heard Aerith correctly? The woman really wasn't sure that the child she was carrying belonged to Zack?! Turning her body to face Aerith, she finally spoke. "Excuse me?" She could feel her stomach churning at the possibility that her friend's heart was on the line.
The mother to be sat up slightly and looked at Tifa with pleading green eyes. "I made a mistake a few months back, and there's a chance this baby isn't Zack's. Please don't tell him."
"Mistake? Aerith Zack loves you more than anyone ever could. How could you do this to him?" Tifa couldn't hold in her anger any longer. Sure, Zack was in a way her rival at work, but it never stopped them from being friends. Tifa cared about him, and he didn't deserve this.
Aerith knew right away who's side Tifa had taken, and she knew what cards to play if this had happened. "You can't tell him. You'd be breaking Doctor Patient Confidentiality. And I would get you fired." She finished her statement with a sly smirk Tifa wouldn't have ever expected the girl to possess. This was a totally new and dark side of Aerith she had never experienced before.
But, unfortunately for Zack, Tifa could do nothing. Aerith was right, Tifa was bound by law to keep her mouth shut. And she would abide, no matter how difficult it was. "Then you should tell him." She said firmly, as if not to seem as defeated as she felt. She kept a stern and unchanging expression, locking eyes with the adulterer.
"I know that you can do testing to find out if it's his or not before the baby is born. If I find out it's not his, I will tell him." The woman responded as she shifted uncomfortably on the bed. She knew Zack could return at any moment, and she wanted this sorted out beforehand.
"I will not do a procedure like that solely to find out who the father is. It's dangerous and I can make that call." Tifa put her foot down and gave the girl a cold look that said she had better not press her luck.
It was at that moment that Zack fair returned to the room with a smile on his face. "What did I miss?"
The female doctor wanted so desperately to tell Zack his wife was a cheating scum bag, but she had no choice but to pretend everything was fine. "Just about to take a look at this baby." Tifa forced herself to smile, and gave Zack a reassuring smile before continuing to set up her equipment. Typically Tifa's patients were sent to Radiology to get their ultrasounds, but because Zack was a personal friend she opted to do it herself, but she regretted it now.
Zack seemed elated about the news of becoming a father. He was glowing. The whole situation was beginning to break Tifa's heart. Fortunately for her she was ripped from the situation by an emergency page she had to answer.
Yuffie was faced with a slight dilemma. She had invited her new boyfriend over for dinner tomorrow. There was a slight problem. Yuffie couldn't cook. It wasn't like she hadn't tried. But every time she did she nearly burned her kitchen down, or poisoned herself. This wasn't good. Suddenly the young nurse began to panic.
She had no problem keeping her home clean and beautiful. Heck, she had even set the place up to look pretty nice. She had great taste in decor. She did laundry like a champ, kept up with all sorts of things. But the one thing she just couldn't do, was cook.
She went straight to her computer and researched easy and delicious recipes, but the majority of them involved preparing raw meat. This was something Yuffie was not about to do. She could call Tifa and ask for advice, but again she knew her friend was busy this week.
She was left with one option. She would have to call the man who helped bring her up.
Cid was a good father figure, he always treated Yuffie as his own. The man was rough around the edges, and Yuffie believed it made he all the better. She was a string, independent woman because of Cid. He was always there for her no matter what.
With determination, Yuffie grabbed her cell phone and plopped herself onto the kitchen counter. She dialed the number she knew by heart and waited for the raspy old familiar voice to respond on the other end.
"He kid, don't got much time to talk. Whatcha need?" The man inquired.
Yuffie could hear the sound of metal clanging together, and Cid grunted from time to time. He was probably working on another one of his cars. "I need your help." Yuffie stated while kicking her dangling feet.
The background noise seemed to disappear completely, telling Yuffie the man now had her full attention. "What sort of trouble did you get yourself into this time, kid?"
"I'm not in trouble... Well kind of." Yuffie said innocently.
"Yuffie what the hell did you do? Did you burn the hospital down?!" The man sounded frantic as he desperately tried to get answers.
"I invited my boyfriend over for dinner..." She admitted.
"Well you're screwed kid!" Cid said, followed by a hearty chuckle which quickly turned into a full blown laugh.
"Cid..." Yuffie paused, blinking in annoyance. "CID! I'm serious here. I could use your help. Please."
"Alright, alright. Just take it easy kid. When's the dinner?"
"Tomorrow night."
She hadn't slept well with the weight of the biggest secret she had ever kept still on her mind. But she proceeded with her day hoping to goodness that Aerith would find the decency to tell her husband what had happened.
But Tifa didn't have any grace for Aerith. No pity or understanding. There was no excuse for mistreating the one you love by betraying them in the worst way imaginable.
The brunette heaved a heavy sigh and got herself dressed for the day. Dark dress slacks, black closed toed heels, and a white button up blouse. Simple enough. Once her makeup was done, she grabbed a clean lab coat from her laundry room and she was out the door and off to work.
She was greeted by Yuffie in the lobby, and immediately she was glad to see her friend. Even though she couldn't tell her the news either. It would be good to have her helping Tifa out again.
"Good morning, Teef." Chimed the nurse as a warm smile crept onto her face.
"Good morning, Yuffie." Tifa replied as she raised a dark brow and headed for the elevators. "What has you in such a good mood?"
"I went on a date last night." Yuffie said with a girlish giggle that she just couldn't hold in.
Tifa smiled, "ah, a date huh? How did it go?"
"Oh it was perfect." Yuffie smiled a reminiscent smile, looking back on the simple coffee date. She was hopeful that maybe tonight they would actually exchange more than just phone numbers. At least a kiss.
Tifa didn't really pay much mind to Yuffie's date, or care to ask questions about it right now. Normally she would have, but she was still caught up in this dilemma with Zack and his wife. "I'm glad it went well. I'm happy for you." Tifa stated as the elevator doors opened to their floor.
"Me too." Yuffie replied with another happy smile. She hadn't felt like this in a long time. She felt like a young school girl.
Upon arriving at her office, Tifa noticed something oddly disturbing. The flowers on her desk from the day before had been removed and replaced with a different bouquet. The whole incident with Zack and Aerith yesterday had made her forget completely about them. Until now.
"Oh, Tifa! Who sent you these flowers!? Did you have a date too?! Why didn't you tell me?!" Yuffie squealed excitedly and rushed to the desk, examining the exquisite bouquet for some type of note. But there was none to be found.
"No.." Tifa seemed a little dazed now. "I didn't have a date." Slowly she approached the desk, unsure of who might have done this yet again. "I don't know who they are from. But they sent a different bouquet yesterday."
"That means you have a secret admirer!" Yuffie's eyes filled with wonder and excitement. Tifa's love story could be unfolding at the same time as hers. That excited the young nurse. She wanted to see Tifa loosen up a bit.
"No, I have a creep." Tifa gazed at the flowers in annoyance. She began to feel a little uneasy. Who would do something like this?
"More flowers, hm?"
Tifa turned to face the door, locking eyes with Dr. Fair once again. Once she saw him her heart sank a little. "You sure you didn't do this?" Now she was desperately hoping Zack had sent them. Any kind of answer was better than none.
"No, Doctor I did not. Seems like someone really likes you." Zack smirked and winked at the girl.
Yuffie smirked as well, looking at Zack with a little suspicion. She found herself wondering in the back of her mind if Zack and Tifa had finally acted on their feelings for one another. Neither would admit it but obviously there was something between them.
Tifa pinched the bridge of her nose, fighting off her angry and confused emotions. She needed to focus on her day, her patients. Not this petty sort of thing. But with Zack in her doorway, she could hardly focus.
"Go away, Zack. I'm busy." She waved him off, unable to even look at him. Zack shrugged it off, said goodbye to Yuffie and went to his own office.
"What's up with you and Zack, Tifa?" Yuffie asked curiously, sitting herself on Tifa's desk as the doctor reviewed her charts for the day.
Tifa shook her head. As much as she wanted to confide in someone about this situation, she couldn't. Of course Tifa knew Yuffie thought that she and Zack had secret feelings for each other, and perhaps there was a fragment of truth to that. But it was something Tifa would never act upon, and Zack wouldn't either. They had too much respect for each other, and for the sanctity of marriage. Tifa enjoyed his friendship, and wouldn't ever dream of anything more.
"Nothing, Yuffie. Don't worry about it."
"So who do you think sent these?" Yuffie delicately stroked one of the flower petals curiously. "Someone here, right?"
"It's the last thing on my mind right now." Tifa answered before realizing she hadn't been the nicest to Yuffie this morning. "Tell me about this date you had yesterday." Tifa said, turning her attention to her friend.
"Well, it was just coffee, but things went really well. We seemed to have quite a few things in common. He's a gentleman too!" Yuffie sighed happily, thinking of the blonde haired man and his magnetic blue eyes. "Not to mention he's completely gorgeous!"
Tifa smiled, "that's great! Sounds like quite the catch. You two going out again?" She inquired curiously.
Yuffie nodded excitedly. "Dinner at my place tonight."
"Dinner?" Tifa quirked a curious brow. "Are you cooking?"
"Cid helped me make a lasagna last night. All I have to do is put it in the oven. Easy enough, right?" Yuffie sounded only a little nervous about it.
"Perfect. You'll be fine. Just don't over cook it." Tifa smiled reassuringly.
"Doctor.." Came a nervous female voice from the doorway. It was the radiologist with a folder tucked beneath her arm.
"Is everything okay?" Tifa said, standing up. She didn't like the look that Vanessa had on her face. Something was wrong with one of her patients. She could feel it.
"Your patient, Elena. Something is wrong with her baby." The woman entered the office and handed her the folder.
Tifa quickly stood and took the folder. Upon opening it, her heart sank. It was a fairly severe case of spina bifida. The baby's spinal chord was failing to develop properly. This meant she had to deliver the news to the mother. Cases like this were always difficult. Sometimes the parents opted not to keep the child, not much can be done. Tifa knew of s surgical procedure that greatly improved the child's chances of walking normally. However, she didn't think they offered that here.
"Yuffie, take care of our first patient. If you need to have Zack see her, go ahead. I may be a while."
Tifa proceeded downstairs to greet the mother with the news. She took it a little better than Tifa expected. And much to Tifa's relief, she wanted to keep the child. Tifa explained her options, and told her about the potential for surgery.
"I'm not sure that we offer that here, but I will look into hospitals that do, and I will get you transferred. Can you wait here while I consult the Chief of Medicine about this?"
"Yes, thank you so much doctor." The woman dried her eyes, and gave Tifa a weak but thankful smile.
Tifa nodded to her and gave her a sympathetic smile before making her way to her father' office. She hoped he knew of a good facility where the surgery on the baby could be done.
She was a little nervous to speak with her father since their last interaction, she knew he was trying to set her up with that surgeon.
"Hey," she said kindly as she peaked her head into her father's office. "You busy?"
Nagano rose from his desk and smiled warmly at his daughter. "Never too busy for my favorite doctor. Come in!"
Tifa walked into the office, closing the door behind her. "I've got a patient who's unborn baby has a severe case of spina bifida. The baby needs fetal surgery to close the hole in her spine. Do you have a recommendation on a facility we can transfer her to?" She inquired as she showed the ultrasound photos to her father.
Nagano took a look at them and shook his head, "well right here, Tifa." He looked up at his daughter and smiled. "Dr. Sephiroth has specialized in fetal surgery. He can do this. You should consult with him."
Tifa wondered immediately if he was lying just to get Tifa to talk to the man, but if this was serious, of course she would do anything for her patient. "Do you think he's capable of fixing something like this?"
"Absolutely Tifa, but you should ask him."
Tifa nodded, took the file and proceeded to the surgical wing of the hospital. She was nervous, and found herself wondering why. She did hope he wasn't in the middle of surgery, she wanted to give her poor patient some peace of mind.
She clutched the file a little more closely as she stepped off the elevator and approached the nurses station there.
"What brings an OB/GYN to the surgical wing?" The head nurse inquired as she folded her arms across her chest.
"I need a surgical consult with Dr. Sephiroth, it's fairly urgent." Tifa said firmly. Not too pleased with the way the nurse was currently treating her. What was her problem?
"He's a little busy, currently in surgery." The nurse replied.
"Actually," came a deep, smooth voice from behind, "I've just finished."
Tifa turned around and when she did she felt her chest tighten. There he was. Tall, handsome and stoic, just as before. This time, he wasn't wearing dress clothes, he was wearing green surgical scrubs. And his silvery locks weren't down and flowing freely, they were nearly tied back. He looked more approachable this way. Perhaps because Tifa was more used to people in 'hospital attire.'
"Hello, Doctor. May I speak with you?" She inquired, surprised at how shy she sounded. She inwardly scolded herself for that.
"Of course, we can talk in my office." He replied before turning his back to her and walking down the hallway.
Tifa looked back at the nurse with a scoff before following him. It was impressive that he was already an attending with his own office, most surgeons had to fight for that. He must be good. She noted.
They arrived at his office shortly, and once inside Tifa noted that the man had good taste. The office lacked color, but was elegant in its own way. He had a large mahogany desk, no trinkets or photos sat on top. Just his computer, phone and simple office items like a stapler, tape and pens.
The man walked behind his desk and took a seat, gesturing with his hand for Tifa to take a seat across from him. "What can I do for you, Dr. Lockhart?"
Tifa was finding it odd that her heart rate was elevated. She was angry with herself for getting flustered so easily, but still she pushed it aside and sat down. "My patient, Elena, has a child with a severe birth defect. Her baby has spina bifida. It's bad enough to require fetal surgery in hopes of improving her baby's chances of walking and leading a normal life." Tifa laid out the sonogram for him, and studied his face carefully. His expression didn't change once as he looked over the sonogram.
"Hm." He said quietly, continuing to look it over. "I've never seen one so severe. Surgery is definitely needed. She's ten weeks?"
Tifa had to admit she was very impressed with the fact that he could tell how old the baby was by looking at the ultrasound. He had a good eye. "Yes. Ten exactly."
"She's a good candidate for surgery. I think it can be done." He said confidently before setting the sonogram back down and looking at the doctor across from him. He had to admit, she had a captivating beauty about her. Nothing about her was ordinary. She was strong, independent, and confident in herself. Not to mention she was an excellent doctor.
"You think so? You've done fetal surgery before?" Tifa inquired curiously. She wanted to know what this man was capable of before putting her patient into his hands, and under his knife.
"Yes. I have. I have a one-hundred percent success rate." He stated boldly.
That was absurd. A one-hundred percent success rate was impossible, completely unheard of. "Are you saying you've never lost a patient?"
"I have never lost a patient."
"Okay," Tifa said, still in shock from his last statement. The man was more and more impressive by the second. She was the inferior doctor in this situation, and she began to feel a little self conscious. "I think Elena will be so thrilled. We should schedule her surgery."
"Let's go tell our patient, shall we?"
It was almost time for Cloud to arrive. The lasagna was in the oven and had about twenty minutes to go, and Yuffie was almost ready herself.
She looked herself over in the mirror, pleased with her choice of outfit. She wore a tight fitting maroon pencil skirt, with knee high black socks and ankle-height commander boots. She wore a black tank top with a sheer black long sleeved blouse on top. She felt confident in her clothing choice, she knew it was sure to floor her date. Her ears were adorned with simple, but beautiful black diamond earrings and her lips were a soft shade of red.
After spritzing a little perfume, she made her way downstairs and set the table. "There." She said with a smile after lighting the last candle. She wondered if it might be a little over the top, but she couldn't help it. She was excited and she wanted this night to be romantic. She liked Cloud, and she wanted to see where things would go.
It didn't take long for Cloud to get there, after all he only lived one door away. Still he was a little nervous. He had a good feeling about Yuffie. She was different than most girls he had dated.
Once he had composed himself, he drew a breath and knocked on the door. He was greeted by a lovely young woman. "You look beautiful." He said with a shy smile. He offered her a small bouquet of white tulips with yellow daisies.
"Cloud," Yuffie said as she delicately took the flowers," these are gorgeous, thank you."
"You're welcome, Yuffie." He replied, eagerly waiting for her to invite him in. He could smell the food from outside and it smelled wonderful.
"Come on in!" Yuffie chimed, stepping aside for him to enter.
Cloud gladly accepted the invitation and came inside while Yuffie fetched a vase for the flowers. "How was work today?" He asked curiously as he looked around her home. He noted that things were very neat and clean, the opposite of how his home looked the majority of the time.
"It was good. A little stressful, busy as usual but not bad." She smiled to herself and at the gorgeous arrangement of flowers that now sat happily in a vase of fresh water. She checked the time on the lasagna, it was almost done.
"Can I help you with anything?" Cloud asked as he circled around and walked into the kitchen with her.
Yuffie found it incredibly sweet of him to ask if he could help out, but she shook her head. "No, it's almost ready." She smiled.
Yuffie was proud that she hadn't burned the lasagna, and Cloud seemed to thoroughly enjoy it. They had a great time discussing work, friends and some family life together over the meal. Both of them began feeling closer to one another as the evening went on, and as they go to know one another.
"Yuffie that was amazing, thank you." Cloud said as he followed the girl once more into the kitchen to rinse his plate.
"Truth be told, Cloud," Yuffie started sheepishly, "I can't really cook. My friend helped me make that."
Cloud paused for a moment before smiling and chuckling to himself. "That's okay," he said. "I was beginning to wonder if you were too perfect."
Yuffie blushed and shook her head, "that's just rude!" She teased.
"Oh come on now, it was a compliment!" Cloud teased back, his smile growing a little more.
"Sure, sure it was!" Yuffie suddenly grabbed the hose from the sink and sprayed the blonde in the face with warm water.
Cloud, shocked at first, smirked and took the sprayer away from her in an instant and sprayed her back. Soon a fight for dominance ensued and they were both covered in water. Their hands intertwined and Cloud drew her close, dropping the hose.
They stared into each other's eyes for a moment before both of them fluttered closed and their lips met.
