Hello! I'm sorry that the last chapter was short. And this one isn't that long either, however I have been away a while and so I felt like I needed to give you a little something. I certainly miss hearing from you all! Please do continue to give me your feedback. You are all so fabulous.

-B.


Tifa walked into her office the next morning, happily remembering her evening spent with the wonderful surgeon , Doctor Sephiroth. She had to admit, she was very surprised at how much the two of them actually hit it off. They both had such high esteem for one another and the work that they did, and they also had quite a few things in common.

A warm smile sprd across her face as she gazed upon the fresh bouquet of flowers sitting on her desk, and this time they had a note attached.

Thank you for last night

-Sephiroth

She held the note in her hands fondly, grazing the parchment delicately with her fingertips. Perhaps she was becoming a little smitten, and by now she knew he must've been the one who had been sending her the flowers all this time.

"I take it your date went well, huh?" Yuffie said with a devious smirk plastered across her face and Tifa's coffee in hand.

Tifa glanced over her shoulder and smiled at Yuffie. A genuine smile that Yuffie hadn't seen before, and Yuffie was actually taken aback by it. It warmed her heart to see her friend happy like this. "It did." Tifa replied warmly. "How was your night with Vince?"

"He's the sweetest man I've ever met, Tifa." Yuffie said as she handed her friend her promised coffee and sat herself on the desk.

"Yeah, he's sweet when he wants to be." Tifa replied before she looked at her schedule for the day. She felt her chest tighten when she saw who her first patient of the day was. Aerith Fair. She would be performing an amnio, and they would be finding out who the baby belonged to.

"Oh no," Yuffie said with a sigh as she looked over Tifa's shoulder. "Do we have to?"

"She's still our patient, Yuffie and we are going to treat her as such." Tifa reprimanded.

"Yeah, you just want to treat it like nothing happened because of what happened between you and Zack." Yuffie mumbled as she hopped down from the desk.

"I didn't reciprocate what happened. That was all on him." Tifa said before sipping her coffee. "Go get a room ready for her." Tifa ordered.

Yuffie sighed and walked out of the office to do as she was told. The last thing she wanted was to see that woman and her two timing beautiful face. She wished she could just hand her off to someone else, but with Tifa and Zack being the only two available obstetricians there wasn't really another option. The hospital needed to hire another OB.

She tried to focus on memories of her date with Vincent as she prepared the room, but instead memories of her ex boyfriend kissing the person whom she would be treating. Why was it surfacing again? She had hoped to have buried that hurt and pain with new and happy moments shared with someone who treated her so well.

Despite her feelings, she made sure the room was in tip top shape. It looked nice and tidy, and everything Tifa would need for the procedure was also in place. Hopefully she wouldn't have to see Cloud.

She made it back to Tifa's office in time to see Zack and Aerith going over the paperwork for her procedure. Zack looked less than thrilled to be there, and little miss sunshine looked nervous as hell. Yuffie wanted to punch her, but she wouldn't dare do that to a pregnant woman.

Tifa seemed to have herself composed, she was smiling and talking them through everything that would take place, even though Zack already knew everything. Of course he did.

It was taking everything within her to keep calm, sitting in front of Zack and Aerith. Tifa still felt guilty for the strange romantic encounter they had shared, even though she put a stop to it. Actually she felt a little nervous. But she wasn't about to let that show.

Once they had gone over everything, Tifa instructed Yuffie to show them to their room while she could prepare for the procedure.

Yuffie, reluctantly lead Doctor Fair and his adulterous wife to the room and got the woman a fresh gown. "Go ahead and change into this and we'll take it from there, okay?"

"I'll be right back, I'm gonna grab something from my office." Zack interjected before he exited the room.

Aerith's green eyes traveled the length of the room as she watched henr husband leave. And she saw the young nurse start to follow suit. "Wait." She said softly. "Can I talk to you? Please?"

Yuffie turned around to face the woman, which was the last thing she really wanted to do. However, Tifa had challenged her to take the high road. "Yes?"

"What you saw a few days ago, it was honestly a misunderstanding."

"What I saw was a pretty passionate kiss shared between two people who were supposed to be committed to other people. " Yuffie crossed her arms. Tifa could get mad if she wanted, but Aerith was the one who brought it up.

"Cloud happened to be stopping by the hospital to meet you," she started. "Let me back up. Before you two got together, we had a small fling. It was around the time I got pregnant. I know, I know. It was a mistake on my part. Anyway, I was here to get an ultrasound and I saw him in the parking lot. And when I told him the baby might be his, we just.. Kissed."

"And you expect me to believe there wasn't something going on before that? That the fling wasn't a continuing thing?" Yuffie crinkled her nose in detest. Who did this girl think she was?

"Yuffie... Nurse." Aerith corrected herself. "I'm telling you the truth. It was a mistake. Cloud and I haven't spoken since then. I told him that I would let him know if the baby was his, but that was it. He feels so bad, Yuffie. I think he loves you!"

"That isn't your business." Yuffie blinked, processing the information the woman was feeding to her. "I don't really know what to say."

"Just hear me out. And hear him out, please." Aerith looked at her sorrowfully, tears pooling within her emerald eyes.

Yuffie felt a tug at her heart, she knew people make mistakes. Zack and Tifa for instance. It was a mistake that they both acknowledged was wrong. But she had just met Vincent, she liked him. She liked Cloud. Maybe it was time for her to press Tifa one more time for what really happened between them. Maybe if she knew, it would help her come to a final conclusion about the man.

"G-go ahead and get changed. Doctor Lockhart and I will be in momentarily." She instructed before walking out of the room and closing the door behind her.

To her surprise, she saw Zack standing beside the door, leaning against the wall. "I honestly think she's telling the truth, Yuffie."

"You think so? You're gonna trust someone who hurt you not once but twice?" Yuffie spat back, frustrated that he had caught on to her emotions so quickly.

"She's my wife."

"And if that child isn't yours? What are you gonna do?" Yuffie was growing more and more angry by the second.

"Well I guess we'll cross that bridge when we get there, Yuff." Zack could see how upset she was, and deep down he was a little upset too. But he was pretty guilty himself because of his feelings toward the doctor who had just walked up.

"Everything okay, you two?" Tifa asked curiously.

"Don't you just look so cute in scrubs." Zack chuckled before walking into the room.

Tifa frowned deeply as she looked after him. Her cheeks flush with a light pink hue. "What the hell." She mumbled, looking at Yuffie.

"Oh this is just the weirdest situation."


"Okay, you know the drill. Bed rest for at least 24 hours, you can only get up to use the bathroom, alright?" Tifa instructed before tossing her purple gloves in the biohazard container. "You should order your lunch soon."

"Thank you, doctor." Aerith said gratefully.

"Should have the results in a few hours. Sit tight, okay?" Tifa smiled warmly and exited the room, desperate to escape from the blue-eyed gaze she was receiving from Zack. She was furious about his comment, sure it was normal for them before their little incident, but not now. She would be sure to scold him.

Yuffie followed Tifa, she too was happy to get out of there. She was unsure she could stay in 'nice girl' mode for much longer. "Cute in scrubs, huh?"

"Oh shut up!" Tifa smacked Yuffie's arm. "Dammit, what's his problem?"

"Tifa you know what his problem is. You." Yuffie stated as the two of them made their way back to Tifa's office. "Don't act like you don't know."

"Doctor Lockhart." A fellow nurse started as she walked up to the pair. "You've been paged to the first floor."

"What's it about?" Tifa inquired curiously.

"The police are here to speak with you." The nurse stated before making her way back to the nurses station.

"Police?! What did you do, Tifa?!" Yuffie exclaimed, looking at her friend in shock.

Tifa shook her head quickly. "I don't know what this could be about. Stay here and get started on my next patient. Hopefully I'll be back up when I can." Tifa said before rushing to the elevators.

Her heart was beating rapidly in her chest, and she felt sick to her stomach. She was racking her brain for any reason the police would want to speak with her, and she simply couldn't come up with anything.

When she reached the first floor she saw two police officers speaking with Vincent in front of her father's office. When they saw her, the three of them walked up to her and met her in the hallway. "Vincent, what's going on?"

"Are you Tifa Lockhart?" Asked a tall, muscular man with a shaved head and dark sunglasses that he was seemingly reluctant to remove.

"Yes, I am. Can someone please tell me what's going on?" Tifa tried to look toward her father's office, and suddenly it occurred to her that this had something to do with him. "Where's my father?"

"He's in custody, ma'am. We need to ask you a few questions." The second officer stated. "Would you mind coming with us?"

"Yes, I actually would. I have several patients today and I cannot reschedule. What the he'll is going on?!" Tifa demanded.

"Were you aware that your father was stealing narcotics from the hospital pharmacy?" This time, the intimidating officer removed his sunglasses and his dark eyes met with hers.

"Stealing narcotics?!" Tifa exclaimed.

"Tifa, calm down." Vincent offered a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"No, I didn't know!"

"Were you involved with helping him acquire the drugs?"

"Helping?! How he hell could I help him, if I had no idea he was stealing them in the first place?" She looked at the officers, both angry and confused. Her father had never shown signs of drug abuse. How could she not know? And second of all, why would they accuse her of helping him? She'd always done things by the book. "My practice is in obstetrics. There's not even a pharmacy on my floor. For you to accuse me is absolutely absurd."

"We just needed to clarify whether or not you knew that he was stealing narcotics. We will be continuing our investigation by questioning other doctors in the area." The second officer stated before the pair walked away from Vincent and Tifa.

"What the hell, Vincent?" Tifa asked as her eyes filled with uncertain tears. "What's going on?"

Vincent looked down at Tifa snd shook his dark head. "Tifa, the pharmacist came forward. He was taking the drugs and he was making her fudge the reports. They found obscene amounts of Vicodin in his office and his house. He's out of a job, he's going to jail Tifa."

"My dad is not a drug addict, I would know if he was high all the time! And what's this business about them suspecting me of helping him?" Tifa panicked, looking at her cousin desperately searching for answers.

"I don't know Tifa. You're gonna be fine, don't worry. The hospital records will show you haven't been anywhere near the pharmacy, and you'll be fine. I'll have the records pulled."

"So who the hell is in charge now, you?" Tifa put her hands on her hips, still reeling from the events that had just taken place.

"The board will be hiring an interim chief. I've got to go to the meeting now. Just try to stay calm." Vincent did his best to reassure Tifa, but it was obvious to him that she was not handling the situation well at all. Truth be told, Vincent knew about this situation a few days ago. The pharmacist had gone to the hospital board first, and Vincent, being the chairman had no choice but to contact the authorities. But if Tifa knew that he turned her father in, she wouldn't forgive him.

Tifa nodded slightly, still rattled. "I should go see him." She frowned, trying to decide if she should stay at the hospital or go visit her father. Whatever she decided, the fact that her father had been busted for drugs would look bad on her and the hospital. This wasn't going to be good, no matter how you spun it.

"Don't go to the police station, they'll only want to question you. But go home if you can't compose yourself."

"You know what, Vincent? Scree you if you think I can't handle my patients and compose myself. I'm not some hormonal teenager incapable of making rational decisions!" Tifa said before she turned around and walked back toward the elevator.

Once inside and the doors were closed she flung her hands over her face and began to weep. How had all of this happened? How did she not know about her father's drug abuse?

She could've stopped it, but she had no clue. She also had no clue that the elevator hadn't stopped on her floor, but the surgical floor instead.

Sephiroth was waiting for the elevator in order to check on the status of a patient awaiting surgery when he noticed Tifa backed against the corner of the elevator crying. Without hesitation, he rushed in and pressed the button that hastened the doors closing.

"Tifa, what's wrong?" He asked worriedly, slowly approaching the crying girl.

Quickly Tifa dried her eyes and looked up at him. His face showed an expression of deep concern. Of course she would run into Sephiroth at a time like this. "I-I'm sorry. It's l... I don't even know how to explain what's happening. I don't want you to see me like this."

"You were there for me in my time of need, I would hope to be able to be there for you as well." Sephiroth was never really good at being sensitive. He didn't know how to comfort anyone, but he was going to try.


Yuffie had been waiting in Tifa's office for around thirty minutes and patients were beginning to back up. She had gotten the first one's vitals and stats, and she was waiting in an examination room. Yuffie was beginning to worry something bad had happened.

Still, despite the worry for her friend, she couldn't help but dwell upon what Aerith had told her earlier. She looked down at her phone, wondering if she should call Cloud and actually hear him out or not. She was pretty torn. On one hand, she had really hit it off with Vincent, and she was catching feelings rather quickly. On the other hand, she really never gave Cloud a chance to explain himself. It looked pretty clear to her, however maybe Aerith's story was true.

Perhaps it wouldn't hurt to give him a call, it didn't seem like Tifa was returning any time soon. Worrying about Tifa would only make Tifa mad. She would go looking if she didn't come back in another hour.

So after making sure the first patient was still comfortable in her room, she walked back to Tifa's office and closed the door behind her. She was a little nervous but she decided she would clear things up for once and for all.

After dialing his number, she nervously put the phone to her ear and waited.

"Y-Yuffie?" Came Cloud's uncertain voice from the other end of the line.

"There's some things I need to know, Cloud. How long were you and that slut seeing each other? Huh? Cause it wasn't just me you guys hurt, you also hurt her husband." Yuffie said in frustration.

"Yuffie, I know. Zack is my best friend." Cloud started. "There was something that happened between Aerith and I a few months back. We were both drunk and honestly I forgot about it."

"Bullshit, Cloud! Then why would you be so eager to kiss her and feel her up in the parking lot?!"

"When she told me that there was a chance it might be mine, I remembered." She heard an exasperated sigh on his end. "When I saw that pregnancy test in the trash can, Yuffie part of me was really excited because I..." His voice cracked, and suddenly he went silent.

"You what? What Cloud?!" Yuffie spat, so ready for her answer.

"I lost my son!" He exclaimed, painfully. "Tifa and I we lost our son, she.. miscarried and our relationship ended after that. And when you didn't tell me about the pregnancy scare it made me angry. Those feelings resurfaced again. And then suddenly Aerith comes along claiming this kid could be mine and I just.."

"Cloud... I-I didn't know. I'm so sorry." Yuffie's eyes stung and her heart slowly shattered. Now she knew, she knew why Tifa never wanted to talk about it. And why Cloud was so angry about the test. And now she was at a crossroads, because her heart was in two places at once.


She'd explained the situation as best she could and as quickly as she could to Sephiroth, but she knew that she had patients that were waiting. Aside from that, Zack and Aerith's results were likely in and she was done crying over the issue of her father. She didn't want to deal with it at the moment.

"God Tifa, that's terrible. What are you going to do?" He had his arm around her as they circled the surgical floor one last time. She had just told him quite a story about her father. No one had even suspected a thing. And now she was likely to be under investigation. The pressure she must've felt must've been unreal. Her practice was at stake.

"I'm going to see my patients, but after work will you come over? Please?" She asked with an unsteady voice.

"Of course."

"Doctor Sephiroth to O.R., Doxtor Sephiroth to O.R." Came the monotone voice over the intercom, ripping the pair apart.

"I'm sorry, see you tonight." Sephiroth said briskly before securing his stethoscope and running down the hallway.

Tifa smiled after him, thankful that she had him as a shoulder to cry on. But now she had work to do, and she was behind so she would have to work quickly. The first order of business would be picking up the results from the lab.

Luckily for her it was on the same floor, so she made her way down the hallway, the opposite direction Sephiroth had disappeared. She was hoping for the best for Zack, because he was so happy he was going to become a father. She didn't want to take that away from him.

In the back of her mind, she wondered if this investigation on her father would hinder her from adopting Marlene. She had become determined.

"Doctor Lockhart, here are your results for Mrs. Fair." The pathologist on the other side of the glass window of the lab handed her a manilla folder with the results.

"Thanks." Tifa said briskly, taking the folder and turning around to walk toward the elevator. When she saw the result she had to admit, she was rather surprised. Now all she had to do was break the news to the couple.