Broken Wings - Chapter Sixty-Three
Sephiroth was just preparing to head for home when the call came.
"Sephiroth?" a gentle, feminine voice asked. He recognized it as Dr. Calvin, the sweet, caring woman that he and Aralyn had gotten to know quite well over the past months.
"Yes. Is something wrong? Is Aralyn all right?" He had become increasingly tense as the due date crept closer and closer. It was not unusual for him to phone the woman at every little oddity Aralyn went through.
"She's all right, but it's time."
Sephiroth breath was knocked out of him.
"It's all right! We've got her, and she's fine. Zack's coming to take you to the hospital wing. He's quite frantic so you'll have to forgive him."
"Is she…?"
"She's fine, Sephiroth, stop worrying! We're not going to let anything happen to her. Just stay in the lobby, and try to breathe."
Zack's quick knock came seconds after he hung up the phone. The Soldier was incredibly jumpy, and babbled nonsense. He wondered what the Shinra employees would think of him being escorted by a man who couldn't even coax out a coherent sentence. Sephiroth found it easiest to simply ignore him.
Within the next few hours, he was going to be a father.
Zack had been convinced to take a seat, but Sephiroth had been pacing since their arrival. The lush carpet was flattened where he had trod over and over again. Eventually he would stop, look at the clock and grip his head and begin again. The receptionist looked at him sympathetically, and at his request, turned off the soothing lobby music that was only aggravating him more.
"Look man, it's not going to kill you to sit," Zack tried for the umpteenth time.
Sephiroth stopped, and Zack thought that for a moment he had caught the General's attention, but it was only to glance at the clock, and then he resumed his routine.
Zack sighed and turned again to the dull magazines that the lobby offered. "You're going to run a hole in the floor."
No answer. Zack hadn't expected one.
After a period of time that Zack hadn't managed to follow (although he would be willing to bet his paycheck that Sephiroth could recite how long it had been down to the second), a door opened and a nurse whispered something to the receptionist. The woman smiled and looked at the General, who had stopped in anticipation. "Sephiroth," she called.
"Is Aralyn…?"
"So quick to assume the worst?" the receptionist put away the papers she was filing so that she could converse with the approaching Zack and Sephiroth. "You have a strong, healthy baby boy. Congratulations!"
Zack wasn't sure what he expected Sephiroth's reaction to be, but he was rewarded with seeing his General's tense form relax as he breathed out air that he probably had been holding for a while. Zack clapped his commander on the shoulder. "That's great, man!"
"Can I see her?" Sephiroth asked anxiously.
"No…not yet. She's still in labor."
Sephiroth looked at her, the pieces not quite coming together yet. "But I thought you said…"
Zack laughed as he finally understood. "You're getting twins, Sephiroth!"
The receptionist nodded. "We all assumed there was only one, but what a surprise it was!"
Sephiroth was smiling genuinely, his shining as bright as they had on his wedding day. "Twins…?"
"It won't be long now," she assured him. "You've been here a while. Go get something to eat. Celebrate. We'll take good care of Aralyn and the children."
Zack grinned like a Cheshire cat as the men exited the lobby. "I can't wait to see the Sephiroth-and-Aralyn juniors! Can I call them squirt?"
"They are going to have better names than that," Sephiroth said, but he smiled at his comrade's enthusiasm.
"Got any ideas?"
"I want Aralyn to have a say in the decision."
Zack turned the opposite direction from the food court. "I want to get Aralyn one of those 'Congratulations' balloons or something fluffy like that. Maybe some flowers…she likes roses, right?"
"Red and white," Sephiroth confirmed. "And I'll come with. She will probably want something in the chocolate department."
"And then we can get food?" he asked hopefully.
Sephiroth chuckled, knowing Zack's weakness. "Yes, my friend, then we can get food."
A/N: I said the babies were due on Wednesday, and they were born on time! Yay me!
Surprised? Excited? What do you think?
Next chapter you'll get to meet the two little fuzzballs. (and they're so cute, because they're Sephy's kids!!!)