Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or its characters. Nope. Not at all.

A/N: Sorry this took a while to write, I had a lot of distractions happening, but hopefully I'll be able to get back to regularly getting chapters out. Hope you like. R & R.

Chapter 7: A New Beginning

A few weeks had passed since Elmyra had found Aeris at the train station and they had fallen into a comfortable routine. It was a surprise to both of them how well they got along. For Aeris, what would have been a giant hole in her life had been filled by someone who was kind and good and it was comforting for her to know she was helping Elmyra as well. She had been alone and worried for so long, it was nice for her to be able to give her attention to Aeris. She would still go to the station every morning to check if her husband had come home, but it wasn't the only thing preoccupying her mind.

It was rarely quiet when they were together. For the first time in her life, Aeris was able to speak freely and about whatever was on her mind and she took full advantage of this new freedom. She opened up to Elmyra and told her about her life before, how people in lab coats were asking her questions and giving her tests to do, that she used to take care of the plants that were in the building and many other things. They were taking care of the plants in the church when she told about how her mother and her escaped from the laboratory.

"Do you feel lonely sometimes?" Elmyra had asked after Aeris finished talking about the escape. It had been the first time Aeris had really spoken of her mother and Elmyra was a bit concerned that she hadn't really cried since her mother died that day. But Aeris only smiled and shook her head, the loose curls around her face swayed gently.

"I miss her very much." She said sweetly, "But she has already returned to the planet so I don't feel lonely." She spoke like Elmyra should know exactly what she was talking about then she turned to the plants and gently brushed her fingers against a tiny bud that had sprouted.

"The planet?" Elmyra asked perplexed. "Do you mean a star in the sky?"

"No, our planet. Gaia." Elmyra wanted to asked her more, but lost her train of thought when she saw the bud slowly open to reveal small yellow petals. She felt her jaw drop and looked on in amazement as Aeris smiled tenderly at the new flower. "So pretty. The plants are growing so well now, aren't they?"

Elmyra only smiled in return unable to think of anything to say. As she continued to work with the now flourishing plants, she watched Aeris from the corner of her eye as she did the same. Aeris did not notice her watching though, she was engrossed with the greenery and tended to block out everything else around her.

When she had been gardening in the arboretum, even though she could feel the life in the plants and each one linked with the planet's consciousness, she hadn't realized until she came here how detached from the world those plants truly were. What had been a quiet hum in the man made garden floating above the earth, was now a full symphony hidden in the shadows. Every leaf, every stem was intertwined in a vast network of life and consciousness that stretched on without limit. When she touched the plants, she felt immersed in an ocean of thought but did not feel overwhelmed by it. It cradled her, comforted her and gave her purpose.

She knew this was a special place. Even though the church was broken down, it was filled by a serene aura that settled on anyone who entered. It hadn't been an accident that she came here. Even if Elmyra hadn't brought her, she knew she would have found it sooner or later. Gaia had called her to this sacred place to heal the life that had been sleeping within. That is what she had resolved to do and she would continue doing so until she was called somewhere else.

Elmyra regarded Aeris who was reveling in the intricate song of life that she was completely unaware of. It amazed her that one so young could go through so much tragedy and yet be the very picture of tranquility. It became clearer every day that Aeris was special and now she understood why people had been studying her and why she had run away. She knew in her heart that they were probably looking for her and wondered how long it would be before someone came asking if anyone had found a little girl. An idea that had come to her before surfaced once again and she wondered for a moment if it would be for the best. Aeris had become so dear to her, she had fallen in love with her and wanted nothing more than to protect her.

She thought more about the idea, rolling it over in her mind and finally decided that it was indeed for the best. She cleared her throat to get the little girl's attention. Aeris broke away from what she was doing and turned to her companion. She smiled to let her know she was listening.

"Aeris," She began a little unsure, but felt that she should ask. "what do you think about us maybe becoming a family?" Aeris' eyes widened in surprise and she added hastily, "I don't ever want to replace your mother, but it would mean a lot to me if I could call you my daughter." When Aeris only stared at her, Elmyra began to think maybe it was a bit too soon to ask. She was startled when Aeris flung herself into her arms and hugged her tightly.

"You wanna be my mom?" She asked in a tiny voice. Since she came home with Elmyra, she had felt like a guest in passing and often wondered what was going to happen when she had to move on and was a little bit scared of what that meant. Elmyra had been so kind and caring and made it easy to love her. She meant what she said about not feeling lonely because her mother had returned to Gaia. She could hear the voices of the planet comforting her, but what helped more than anything was that Elmyra was with her.

"Yes, I would like that very much." She said as her eyes started tearing up. She held Aeris close and gently caressed her hair. "Can I be your mom?"

Aeris pulled back and nodded as she wiped her eyes and gave Elmyra a big grin. From that day forward, she called her mom and didn't give it another thought.

After they shared another embrace, they turned back to the plants in an uncommon, but comfortable silence. Once they had finished tending to them, they made their way back to the house where they were going to make a delicious dinner to celebrate their new family.

On the way, Elmyra considered her husband. It had been a long time since she had spoken to him about children and with him having to leave for Wutai, they both agreed it would be better to wait until the war ended before they talked again about starting a family. He would certainly be surprised to see he had a daughter when he got back, but Elmyra decided she would cross that bridge when she came to it. She wasn't worried though. After all, who couldn't love this little girl?

Once they got home, Aeris happily ran upstairs to wash up for dinner. While she did so, she listened to Elmyra singing an old folk song to herself as she prepared for dinner. Her lips turned up into a smile when she thought about how happy she was, but it was quickly replaced by a deep frown. She turned off the water and wiped her hands dry and took a deep breath. A terrible, familiar feeling had surrounded her like a blanket and she hugged herself tightly. He was dying.

"Aeris!" Elmyra called, "Are you going to help me?"

Aeris placed her hands together and took a sharp breath in as his spirit fell away and returned to the planet. He had been strong and determined to come home, he wanted to be here and was on his way when he died. Elmyra called her again and she shook her head sadly thinking about how devastated she would be. She took a deep breath and made her way downstairs.

"Mom." She said and noticed Elmyra's face light up at the new title, but then faded when she saw Aeris' solemn expression.

"What is it?" She asked frowning. Aeris walked over to Elmyra and gently touched her hand.

"Please don't cry. Someone dear to you has just died." Aeris lowered her head as she spoke and Elmyra's frown deepened. "His spirit was coming to see you, but he already returned to the planet."

They stood that way for awhile as Elmyra processed what Aeris had just told her. It can't be true. She told herself. She's just tired. She's been working hard and probably just imagined it...

"Well..." She started to say feeling at a loss for words, "why don't we finish dinner and we can talk about this later."

"Oh. OK." Aeris said simply with a small smile. She was surprised that she had taken the news so well and started getting ready to prepare dinner. She got out the apron that Elmyra had given her and tied it around her waist and took out a mixing bowl and a whisk and several measuring cups. Elmyra watched her and smiled to herself, she was so sweet and eager to help.

She pushed their conversation out of her mind and went to work. Together they made a lovely dinner, singing songs as they did and when it was ready they sat down to eat. They talked and laughed and all the while twinges of doubt sat at the edges of Elmyra's mind. What if she's right? She would think and instantly suppress the thought. She would not allow herself to think such sad things, not on such a special occasion.

Tonight, she was a mother who was sharing a meal with her daughter and everything else would have to wait.

A/N: Whew! I have to say this was a pretty hard chapter to write, but I think it turned out ok though. With Elmyra's account ingame, it didn't seem like it had taken that long for Aeris to start calling her mom and I really wanted to set out that scene as realistically as I could. Very difficult, being that if I were in her place there would be no way I'd ever call anyone else my mom, but then I have to remember that Aeris isn't me, she's Aeris. Anyway, let me know what you think.