Hello! I'm very sorry for the delay! Sometimes things get busy, you know? Anyway here's the next chapter and I do hope you enjoy. I don't think I have to remind you that I am not a medical professional... So keep that in mind. If you are one, don't read this! You'll judge me. Anyway. One more thing. THANK YOU ALL FOR THE REVIEWS! Really I am quite grateful and thankful. I'm honored that you are taking your own time to read my silly little story. And even more honored that house have complimented it so graciously. My heart is happy. Thank you!

Love, -B.


It had grown rather late in the evening, and so far Tifa had yet to be called for another delivery. She found herself looming outside the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, continuously checking on the small little girl that had been named Marlene.

She knew once Child Protection Services, CPS, had become involved, she knew that without a doubt the mother would not be allowed to keep the child. And she didn't deserve to, the baby needed a stable mother who could care for her properly. She couldn't help but wonder if it was at all possible, if the baby pulled through, to adopt the child herself.

She couldn't help it, once she delivered the child, she felt like she loved her instantly. And the worry she felt toward the baby was unrelenting.

Tifa was suddenly pulled away from her thoughts by the feeling of a lukewarm hand upon her right shoulder. She turned her head and was surprised when she saw Doctor Sephiroth standing there beside her.

"How's the little one doing?" He asked in a concerned manor.

Tifa had to admit, he was the last person in he world she would expect to see up here checking on the baby, or perhaps he was just checking on her. Still, she felt comfort immediately for some reason. Tifa shook her head as if to tell him the child wasn't doing well.

"The nurses are skilled, they'll take good care of her. She'll make it." He assured as he looked into her eyes. He didn't know what had overtaken him, but he knew he needed to do something. Anything. This was an opportunity to speak with her, perhaps get to know her.

"Thank you, Doctor." Tifa said gratefully. She didn't know why, but she felt like he had rescued her just then. From her own worry that had been consuming her and driving her to a dangerous ledge.

"What does your schedule look like? I know you're here all night as well." He stated as he retracted his hand from her shoulder.

Tifa felt cold after that, but she appreciated the effort he was making to comfort her. And she couldn't help but wonder if he was trying to ask her out. "I've got a patient who was induced about an hour ago. But she's not making any progress really, so.."

"You do need to eat, come." He said to her turning on his heel and walking toward the elevator.

A smile spread across Tifa's face at his words. He was telling her, rather than asking. But she, in all honesty, didn't mind it. She practically needed him to tell her, otherwise if he had given her an option, she would've stayed there all night.

So she gave the child she had been watching so desperately through he nursery glass one last look before following the silver haired man into the elevator.

He had to admit, he was glad she followed him. He didn't know what he would've done if Doctor Lockhart hadn't gotten into the elevator, he knew that he would've felt incredibly stupid and pretentious.

"Thank you, Doctor. I needed to get away from there for a moment." Tifa said kindly as she looked at the doctor across from her.

"I thought you might." He replied.

"So about earlier, you know when I was in the surgical wing. We were talking, you were going to say something?" She looked up at him with curious eyes.

Sephiroth gave a faint smile and nodded, "I had planned to ask you to dinner."

Tifa found herself a bit flustered and caught off guard. She knew, even though she hoped that she wasn't, she was blushing. "Does this count?" She asked casually, trying to remain calm.

"No." He said with a light chuckle.

"So this is like a pre-date?" Tifa knew that if she did say yes to him, her father would take credit for it, that was the last thing she wanted. But it didn't mean she would say no, she just would neglect to tell her father about it.

"Sure. It's like a screening."

Tifa giggled, was the serious and stoic surgeon being funny? It was even funnier with his calm expression. "Okay. Deal. A screening and then a date?"

"Precisely. Are you interested?" He inquired as a silvery brow raised.

"Yes, I think I am." She said with a smile.

When he saw her lighten up, and give him a real, genuine smile, Sephiroth became addicted. And from that point on, he made it a personal goal to chase after that smile. And do what he could to see it. "Great." He said following the tone of the elevator bell as they reached the first floor where the cafe was.

The pair walked in together and caught several curious glances from a few nurses, and patients, and families of patients. They paid no mind.

At this time of night, the only option for food were sandwiches. Both doctors were aware, they weren't that bad. At least it was something.

When they found their seats, Sephiroth found himself hoping to goodness the woman wouldn't get paged away, like she always seemed to when they were together. But it didn't look like it would happen.

"So where did you come from, Doctor Sephiroth?" Tifa inquired curiously, before frowning at how terrible her sandwich tasted.

He chuckled lightly at her scowl and look of contempt toward the food she was trying to eat before answering. "I went to med school in Gongaga."

Tifa gulped down as much water as she could without choking before responding. "Do you know Doctor Fair?" She inquired, knowing that her friend had also gone to med school there.

Sephiroth nodded. "Yes. We went to school there together. I always ridiculed his choice of specialization."

"Is there anything wrong with what he picked?" Tifa now gave him a look of contempt. She was proud of the work she did.

"It's not the line of work, it's the fact that a pretty boy such as himself would pick to work as a women's doctor. He was asking for it."

"And what do you mean by 'it', Doctor?" Tifa crossed her arms.

Sephiroth sighed inwardly, he was in trouble now. "Women throwing themselves at him."

"Well with Zack, I'm sure that happened before he became a doctor." Tifa defended. Still feeling a little burned by what he said.

Sephiroth noted that Tifa not only dropped the 'doctor' from Zack's name, but she just called him Zack. Zack alone. How close were they? "I didn't mean to offend you, Doctor Lockhart."

"No, it's okay. I understand what you meant. It's fine. So do you like surgery? What you specialize in now?" Tifa shook it off, she could tell he didn't mean to insult her career.

"I enjoy it. I like practicing here as well, it's a good facility." Sephiroth noted as he watched the woman across from him subtly scrutinize him.

Tifa smiled at him. "Well my father takes pride in this hospital that's for sure. I'm glad you enjoy it."

Sephiroth gave her a nod. "How's Elena doing?" He inquired curiously.

Tifa smiled fondly, it was nice to hear him ask about the patient they had previously bonded over. "She's doing well. I think she's getting antsy, being on bed rest for so long can take a toll."

"But everything seems to be looking good?" He asked.

Tifa gave him a nod and a smile. "It all looks great. Baby is doing well too. Thank you for your help with her. I should've trusted your judgement back then."

"I'm glad to have helped, Doctor Lockhart." He replied kindly.

"You can call me Tifa." She offered with a warm smile.

"Wel then, I'm glad to have helped," he paused. "Tifa."


Yuffie walked around Tifa's house in boredom, she didn't really like it there unless Tifa was there. She had nothing to do. Unless she wanted to drink, because Tifa stoked her house full of wine. Every closet had a secret stash. Maybe she should've just gone to her place, at least she could put in a movie.

She found herself wondering how on earth she just so happened to catch Cloud and Aerith that day. But she knew that sometimes people were asking to get caught when they knew they were doing wrong. People slip up and are bound to make mistakes. Still, she did miss him a little. It wasn't like she had gotten asked out by Vincent, all the hurt that Cloud had caused had just disappeared. And the feelings she had toward Cloud hadn't just dissipated.

When she was alone, that's when everything really sank in. Memories of the blonde flashed through her mind. The recollections of fun times they had together continually pushed themselves to the forefront of her mind until it nearly drove her mad. Her chest suddenly felt right, and she began to really grieve.

Maybe wine wasn't such a bad idea after all. Tifa wouldn't mind, and if she did Yuffie didn't have to tell her. She shuffled her way into the spacious kitchen and walked up to the wine cabinet. She settled for a sweet white wine, red was too bitter for her anyway. "Tifa, why don't you have any fun liquor?" She asked aloud. But then she remembered, Tifa is a doctor. And of course wine is healthy for the heart and lower in calories than other alcohols.

After pouring herself a glass, she walked herself back to the living room. She kept wondering just what Cloud had done to Tifa, something bad enough to keep her single for five plus years. Yuffie sighed to herself and plopped down onto Tifa's couch. She was hoping that tomorrow Mr. Valentine would be released from the hospital.

Suddenly, a smile crept across her face as she realized. Tifa was Vincent's cousin. Perhaps she had some family photos hiding somewhere in the house. After finishing her glass, she sprang up from the couch and began her search.

Now she was feeling a little more cheery, and perhaps that was the wine, but she didn't care. The first place she searched was the living room. She looked in the cabinets of the entertainment center only to find movies and a few board games. She rolled her eyes and moved on to the upstairs area. She didn't want to search Tifa's bedroom. That would just be too personal.

So onward she went into the guest bedroom. She noticed a few boxes atop the shelf in the closet. That had to have some kind of memorabilia from Tifa's past. Standing on her tippy toes, she reached up and got one of the dusty boxes down. She turned her body and set the box on the floor. "Hmm... Let's see what we have here... Tifa's gonna kill me." She said with a sly giggle.

She sat herself down beside the box and opened it up, sure enough, there were pictures. But she frowned at the first one she saw that was still in a frame. It was a very young looking Tifa and Cloud with their arms around one another, posing for an awkward photo taken by a parent no doubt. She couldn't believe how small they looked. It was bitter sweet for Yuffie to look upon them as a pair. And part of her began to regret the decision to snoop around.

She dug deeper into the box and found an entire stack of loose photos. She began to shuffle through them. Some were of Tifa and Cloud being goofy teenagers, and some of Tifa and her father. But then she finally hit the jackpot. She stumbled across photos of what seemed to be a family reunion. Tifa and Vincent were seated next to one another at a dinner table. Tifa was smiling warmly and Vincent looked less than thrilled that his picture was being taken. His hair was much shorter then, barely even grazing his broad shoulders.

Yuffie giggled to herself, thinking how adorable he looked. He must've only been sixteen or so. And Tifa looked to be around the same. The closer Yuffie looked, the more she realized the resemblance between the two. "They could really be siblings." She whispered before continuing her search.


The night wore on tirelessly. Tifa found herself pacing the halls and sipping on coffee to keep herself awake as the hours continued by slowly. It was about three a.m. now. She and Doctor Sephiroth had talked for around an hour before he was whisked away for an emergency surgery.

She didn't expect her patient to deliver until the later morning hours, she want progressing in dilation and just needed rest. Tifa was trying to restrain herself from checking up on the baby girl from earlier, but she couldn't help herself. She walked down the hall and through he nurses station, into the NICU. The nurses weren't too accustomed to a doctor walking in on their turf, but welcomed her regardless.

"I wanted to see little Marlene." She admitted to them, almost shyly. The nurses gladly ushered her in, and she walked to the little girl's panda warmer. The poor thing was hooked up to an iV, a blood pressure monitor on her foot and heart and breathing monitors taped to her chest. She was also on oxygen.

"Has she got apnea?" Tifa inquired as she stared down at the fragile creature who looked to be incredibly still.

"Yes, she stops breathing periodically, and her dependence on drugs has us giving her small doses of amphetamines, to keep her from withdrawal while we wean her."

Tifa couldn't really find words. But she felt anger rising up within her. Anger toward the irresponsible mother who got herself pregnant in the first place, knowing she was probably a life long junkie. Angry that she had the baby with zero prenatal care because she knew she would get caught using drugs.

The baby was small, and fragile. She had a tuft of dark brown hair, and almond shaped eyes that were still glazed with the baby color of blue that most newborns have. Her hands curled up into tiny fists and she kicked he tiny legs a few times, and Tifa felt her heart leap a little. She turned to the nurses by her side. "Has CPS been contacted?"

"We called them once this little one was stable, they'll be here around 8:00 this morning." One of the nurses replied.

"Please page me as soon as they do. I'd like to speak with them."


The next morning, Yuffie woke on the floor of Tifa's spare bedroom, surrounded by old pictures of Tifa, Cloud and Vincent. She looked at her phone, relieved to know that she still had time to get ready for work.

While she put the pictures back into the box, she inwardly hoped that when she arrived at work, Vincent would be getting ready to be discharged. "There." She said to herself after returning the box to its place.

She made quick work of showering and doing her normal grooming routine. She was eager to get to the hospital, even if it meant she got there early. She put on her fresh pair of navy blue scrubs with a pink long sleeved top underneath it, and once she was finished with her makeup she pranced downstairs and snatched her keys from the counter

She arrived at work in almost record time, but that was because Tifa's home was quite close to the hospital. Purposefully of course.

The feelings of sadness and remorse were fading away, becoming covered up by the excitement she felt toward seeing the dark haired patient that awaited her. But being in the parking lot threatened to take that away from her. So she quickly got out of her car and ran inside, away from the painful memories, away from the hurt.

She was greeted by the ladies at the front counter, and she waved back. She took a deep breath and stepped onto the elevator to make her way onto the second floor. She was also hoping that he would be discharged so she could resume her place in the labor and delivery unit. She was ready to be back where she belonged.

Once her things were nestled away in her locker and she was officially on the clock, she made the familiar journey down the hall to room 212. After knocking and receiving the okay to enter, she walked in.

Doctor Hewely was in the room already checking over Mr. Valentine's incision. And Yuffie could tell it was healing very nicely. She also noticed that his Iv was taken out. That was a good sign. His foli car here was also gone. From what she could tell anyway.

Vincent looked up when he heard the door close, and he was pleased to see nurse Yuffie walk in. Her countenance seemed to be slightly less chipper than usual, but she still wore a welcoming smile. "Good morning, nurse Yuffie." He greeted before wincing as the doctor prodded at his wound.

"Sorry," Doctor Hewely offered. "You're looking good, I think you're ready to go home."

Vincent sighed relieved. "Good. It's about time I get out of this bed before my muscles atrophy." He said with a light chuckle.

"Glad we were able to treat you, Mr. Valentine." The doctor started, "Yuffie go ahead and do a final work up on him and I'll get the discharge forms for him." He stated before exiting the room.

Yuffie was glad to. She walked to him and took he blood pressure cuff from the machine beside his bed. "Give me your arm." She said softly.

Vincent happily obliged and raised his arm a bit from its resting place upon the bed he was so eager to get away from. Her cool hands touched the skin of his arm as she wrapped the cuff around his muscle. Soon he felt the discomfort as it squeezed the life from him, he always hated getting his blood pressure taken.

Yuffie smiled at the healthy reading before she removed the cuff and tried not to stare at the defined muscle. She couldn't help but notice once again that he was just in impeccable shape. "Looking good." She stated before realizing what she had said. "Th-the numbers j mean." She said with a nervous giggle.

Vincent chuckled to himself and quirked a curious brow. "Oh? Why thank you." He teased.

Yuffie playfully smacked his arm before taking his temperature and recording it on the computer in the room. Following that, she removed her stethoscope from around her neck and put the plugs in her ears. "It's cold, I'm sorry." She said before placing the end upon his chest under his gown. "Deep breath."

Vincent inhaled deeply and exhaled at her command, and repeated the process once before she moved the stethoscope to listen to his heart. He wondered if his heart rate was elevated a little, he certainly felt like it was.

"Everything sounds good. You're healthy as a horse." Yuffie giggled as she returned her stethoscope to its rightful place around her neck.

"You've taken such good care of me. Thank you for all of your kindness." He offered her gratefully. "When are you off?" He inquired curiously.

"I'm off at seven. If you're asking about dinner, let's plan for tomorrow night."

"It's a date." He replied with a smile.

A/N: next chapter will be more exciting I promise! The dates are coming up!