Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

Author's note: Just a little forewarning. There may be some mild stuff inappropriate for younger children such as some blood and some uncomfortable things as well. It's not as detailed though. The uncomfortable stuff in more terms in what Mothers face during the labor process. Also, there may be possible OOC among the characters due to the circumstances they are put in this story…I think. I tried my best to have them stay in character. Another little warning: information provided about the laboring process is different for every person. The information provided came from my notes and from my book and what I learned from class. Do not take my word for it.

Please read the author's note after reading this story for notes. Enjoy! ^_^

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Chapter 4:

Okaeri

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While everyone was in Tifa's room, chatting up a storm and causing unintentional ruckus in the room, AVALANCHE style, Cloud decided to reside in the comfy waiting room to help him relax a bit. He truly was happy to have his friends here to support this special day, but right now, he needed a breather. It was a hectic day and he wanted to clear his mind. He wanted to make sense of things before taking the next step. Of course, he made sure to tell Tifa that he will be in the waiting room for a bit. For some reason, she just smiled brightly and nodded, as if she knew.

He sighed as he leaned against his chair. He couldn't believe he was here; the very hospital that brought anxiety and dread to him. Now, it was the waiting game. If only he knew what to do. He was here for Tifa, but what else could he do other than just stay by her side?

"You can try walking with her," a voice said, causing Cloud to look up. In front of the doorway was Denzel, holding an open book on his right head with a title that read: An Intro to First-Time Fathers through Pregnancy. He sat himself right beside Cloud as he turned to the next page. "It says: by walking with her, it would help distract her from the pain. It is good to walk during the latent stage of pregnancy." He looked at Cloud and smiled again. "I don't know what it means, but walking with her should be okay."

Cloud's face softened as he rubbed Denzel's already messy mop. "So…you knew," he said.

He nodded. "You always locked yourself in your office. Tifa always wondered what you've been doing in that office..." Both were silent for a moment, watching some staff members walking by the waiting room's open door. They could hear the distant sounds of the IV Pumps and the sounds of baby's heartbeat.

"You're worried, aren't you Cloud?" Denzel asked. Cloud heaved a sigh as he kneeled against his knees, his arms supporting him.

"Hm. You're also perceptive. Just like Tifa and Marlene."

"I learned from you too," Denzel added with a grin. "I learn from the best."

Cloud gave a proud smile at that.

Denzel turned his attention back to the door. "You're always like this when you think that someone is going die," the boy spoke. "You were like this when I had Geostigma…"

Cloud's eyes widened a bit. Come to think of it, he was like this when Denzel had Geostigma. He always stayed up all night, looking through all these medical textbooks, trying to find a cure for this disease. Countless times, he ran into dead ends. There was no cure or managed treatments for Geostigma. When he attained it, he knew it would be the end. But, from what he learned from those two days, he shouldn't give up. He should keep trying.

His past experience applies to this and he was trying his best to find any means to help Tifa through this pregnancy. Now, he truly regretted not going to the Lamaze classes with Tifa in the past.

"I don't know what to do either," Denzel said sadly. "The only thing I could do for Tifa was carry her things. I didn't know what else to do."

Cloud ruffled his head. "You did a lot of things today, Denzel. You did well when I was out. I'm proud of you for that." Denzel smiled brightly, enjoying the little praise from his role model.

"This time, I won't leave you guys alone. Let's work together…as a family…"

Denzel couldn't agree more.

The commotion finally died down as the AVALANCHE crew decided to grab some needed food from the cafeteria after the long journey. They were also mindful that both Cloud and Tifa need to be alone for a while. So they went off.

The entire time her friends were there, Tifa was distracted enough to not notice the intense pains from her contractions. But with her friends gone, she felt it again. Tifa inhaled and exhaled as she tried to settle her contractions. In that moment of pain, she felt Cloud hold on to her free hand as he returned from his little break. This calmed her a bit, feeling the warmth of his hand.

"T-they're too much to handle, huh?" Tifa asked as she settled herself into her pillows. He only nodded in response, his eyes looking elsewhere. She noticed the faraway look in his eyes. This worried her.

"Cloud…?"

Cloud looked at her.

"Tell her how you feel…you owe it to her, you know. Especially since she's pregnant. And you know how pregnant women are, Chocobo head."

He could hear Zack's advice in his head as he replayed his conversation with him. Cloud knew he wasn't really supportive during the past 2 months. He felt bad and could only do little things for her. But, he had a lot of things in his mind. He continued to drag on his thoughts.

"Are you brooding again?"

Brooding? Cloud gave a small smile, remembering Tifa giving him that speech a while back when he was about to run away again. Slowly, he sat himself back into his seat next to Tifa and rubbed her hand. Carefully, he was gathering some thoughts into his mind, trying to organize every thought he had.

"Tifa…" he began as he looked deeply into her eyes. She cocked her head questioningly, waiting patiently for him to answer.

"I…" He looked at his hands as he continued to rub her hand comfortably. "Sorry…I wasn't much help…"

"Cloud, you've been a lot of help," Tifa interjected.

"But…I should of been there when you went to the doctor each week. I should have been with you in those…Lamaze classes. It's just…"

He sighed. This was definitely tough for him to express his emotions. But he had to move pass this. It was now or never to tell her what was really going on through his mind.

"There is something I should of told you..."

He closed his eyes. "I had a dream that started 2 months ago. I had a dream of you and our baby…dying from some unknown cause. You were on this bed. You didn't wake up when I called you or held your hand. You didn't open your eyes when I kissed you. The only thing I saw was that smile you always had. The doctor came in then and told me about you. He also told me our baby did not make it as well. He said you had a difficult birth…"

He stopped his motion on Tifa's hand and held it fervently in his. He could remember clearly the smile Tifa gave him in that dream. It was very similar to the way Aerith smiled before she passed away. It scared him to death.

"I felt…horrible. The only thing I did was stand there and watch you both die. I-I couldn't protect the precious people left in my life. I felt that maybe…I wasn't worthy to be the father of our child. I felt that I wasn't worthy to be with you, Tifa."

Tifa watched him express every emotion he had that was bottled up inside. She knew that once he comes out into the open, he will let it all out. Tifa slowly reached for Cloud with her free hand and placed his head against her chest. The moment he felt her warmth, Cloud instantly relaxed as he wrapped his free arm around Tifa's waist gently. "Cloud, just because of that dream doesn't mean you're not capable of raising our child or protecting me. It's just a dream. You've raised Denzel and Marlene well. You've done a wonderful job. You were always there for us, even though you were busy with work. You helped around the bar and even protect me from flirty guys when I wasn't capable of fighting. The little things you've done are all I could ask for."

It was comforting to hear Tifa say such things. Knowing that he was the major impact of their lives was more than enough to make him feel confidant to go through this.

"I can't risk losing you or our child. I can't lose you both…"

"And you won't. You're here now."

For a moment, a comfortable silence fell between them. She looked down at her blankets as she thought about something. "There is one thing I want you to do, Cloud." She looked lovingly and determinedly into his eyes when he looked into hers. "Don't leave my side…"

That one request made him smile as he leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips. It was the first time Cloud showed some display of affection in a public area. It made her happy knowing Cloud would go to any lengths to protect and love her. "Ah..."

Night fell fairly quickly as colors of the afternoon filtered Tifa's hospital room. Cloud watched the colors slowly turn dark as he sat on Tifa's bed, holding Tifa in his arms as she slept the pain away. Since the conversation, Cloud never left her side, even now as the pain of her contractions began to increase. He did everything he could. He supported her when she was walking down the halls, he talked to her and tried his best to get rid of her pain, and he made sure that she was comfortable. He gave her ice chips to keep her hydrated and cool. He wiped away the sweat from her brow.

Her pain had grown as time passed by. It was growing ten-folds now. It was quickly driving Tifa crazy. It was making it harder for her to sleep. She dealt with a lot more pain in the past, but never experienced a pain like this. The nurse explained to them that this was normal as the muscles were stretching to reach that 10 cm opening for the baby to come out. But it may take a while before she reaches the next stage since this was her first child and mothers with their first child usually take longer.

"Cloud…" she muttered helplessly. Cloud only held her closer when he heard her mutter his name in pain.

"What should I do?" Cloud thought as he looked at Tifa's pain-stricken face. "Is there something I could do to make things easier for her?"

"Try talking to her…talk to her about your baby…talk about anything happy…"

Cloud's eyes snapped open as he heard that all too familiar voice. "Aerith…"

"Sometimes I wonder if you are the right guy for Tifa. You're so dense sometimes…"

Why was everyone telling him he was dense today? Cloud sighed. "But…this is something…I'd never experience…"

"This is normal for every pregnant women. There's nothing much you can do Cloud but give her support. She feels a lot better right now since you're with her. You did more than enough. Now, let Tifa handle it from here. I think it's about time you talk to her about your child. You haven't talked to her about it that much you know…"

Aerith was right. He hadn't asked a lot about the baby during the passing 8.5 months. If this was a way to lower Tifa's pain, then it shouldn't be a problem. "Tifa," he called with a gentle voice. "Is our baby a boy or a girl…?"

A look of surprised passed through Tifa's eyes as she looked at him. "C-cloud…? Why are you asking…?"

A curious look passed through Tifa's face as she watched Cloud looked away, scratching the back of his head. He had a look that looked as if he was a kid who stole the cookie from a cookie. Clearly, he was ashamed to ask and felt like he wasn't worthy knowing about the baby since he hadn't asked about him or her. Because of that dream he had, it halted him from asking about the baby. Most likely he was trying to not get to know the baby as he feared that if he gets attached, it would devastate him if the baby did not survive. Tifa understood. There was no shame in asking.

A loving smile passed through her features as she gently placed her hand above her swollen belly. "I don't know the gender of the baby," she started, causing Cloud to look at her. "I wanted to be a surprise for us once he or she was born. I wanted both of us to know together." She began rubbing her belly, her eyes visibly soften. "When he or she wakes up, it starts kicking early in the morning, just like you. It loves it when I sing to it each time. It kicks me harder when it doesn't eat. It's honest…just like you."

She sighed as she let her eyes gaze towards the ceiling. "But each time I think about him or her in my arms, I…I don't know. It's just this weird feeling." She grasped Cloud's hands. "I get scared sometimes too. Just before you came here, I overheard a conversation were one mother lost her baby during birth. I'm scared that everything may not go right…"

"I'll make sure everything goes all right," Cloud said. "I'll make sure the doctor is doing it right…"

Tifa smiled. "Cloud…" Before she could say anything else, an intense pain suddenly came and she moaned loudly.

"Tifa!" He looked at the contraction machine to see that her contractions are coming closer together. The baby's heart rate still remained on the 130-140 marker, but was going a little down at the end of each contraction. Cloud's eyes narrowed in determination. "Tifa, can hear me? Squeeze my hand if you do." She squeezed his hand. Cloud had to fight off his own yelling as she was holding his hand too tightly. It almost felt as if his hand was breaking.

"Okay, okay…remember to breath…breath…" Tifa immediately heard what he said and took in a deep breath. After letting it out slowly, she began to breath in and out, increasing the rhythm during the intense pain, and took a cleansing breath when it ended. Tifa sighed a bit after that and smiled at Cloud.

"Even if you didn't go to the Lamaze classes, you seem like you know what to do. I didn't know you knew when to breath during contractions…"

Cloud instantly looked away, embarrassed.

The nurse came in right then. She looked at the fetal monitor, noting how frequent the sloppy hills were appearing at the bottom of the screen. "The contractions are definitely increasing." She looked at the fetal heart rate. "Okay, Tifa, I want you to lie on your left side. This way, it helps prevent blockage of blood to the baby, helps with the movement of the baby and give it proper oxygenation." The nurse looked at heart rate again to see it improve. "Just to be on the safe side, I'm going to need to see how far the dilation came." From the nurse's pocket, she took a sterile glove packet that had only one glove. She put it on with her dominant hand and began to spread her legs apart.

Cloud's eyes widened and immediately covered Tifa with a blanket. "W-wait. What are you doing?" he asked in an assertive voice.

"I'm going to check inside to see if there any changes."

"C-changes?! So you're going down there to check if there are changes?! Isn't there another way instead of invading her privacy like that?!" By now, he was blushing.

Tifa sighed. Cloud was being dense again. Then again, when it comes to her, he was overprotective.

"I have to do a vaginal exam. I need to know how far she is opened, her effacement levels, the station of the baby's head to see if it's crowning or not…you know the nitty gritty stuff," she said. The nurse began pull the blanket again, but Cloud stopped her. Wasn't putting her finger in there invasive?

"Then, what about that ultrasound instead?"

"It does help determine the baby's position and show how well her vagina and cervix is for birthing but, I need to know how her inside is doing…"

"Then…x-ray…"

"And risk her and the baby's health? You know radiation do to your cells without proper protection, especially to your reproductive system. It may take a while too and very inconvenient at this point."

"CAT scan?"

"Preferably used for checking abnormalities with the organs like the brain if a patient suffered from a stroke."

"Then I should do it."

"I understand that you don't approve of this, but please let me handle this. I won't hurt her. Are you even aware what you looking for?"

"Yes!" For a moment, Cloud paused. He scratched his head and looked at the nurse. He shrugged his shoulders.

Tifa sighed. "Cloud! Let her do her job!"

Cloud backed away. He still didn't like it. Joyce sighed as she inwardly laughed with Tifa. Husbands were nervous wrecks, especially insecure men like Cloud. Cloud winced a bit when Joyce did what she intended to do. After a minute or so, she finished up and took her sterile glove off and dumped it in the trash. She was about to make Tifa comfortable when she noticed liquid coming out. This alerted the nurse. "You're water just broke..." The nurse took out a box of strips from her pocket. Donning some gloves, she grabbed some samples of the liquid. The strip turned blue instantly. "It looks like amniotic fluid."

"What's happening?" asked Cloud curiously.

"Nothing's bad. She's progressing pretty well. She's already 6 cm."

"6 cm?! How can you tell!?!"

"How wide the opening is with my fingers. I can feel it around my finger. One finger can mean-"

Cloud immediately shook his head. He didn't want to know at all.

The nurse simply laughed. "Anyways, her membranes ruptured, or in more common terms, her water broke. The baby will be descending to the opening in a rapid pace now. With the aminotic fluid decreasing in the womb, the baby might be at risk for compressed umbilical cord since there's no fluid to support it. So I made sure the umbilical cord is not being compressed and made sure the baby has the right representation. I may need to put an internal monitor now since her membranes ruptured."

"Internal…"

"A probe that is placed on the baby's head. It measures the heart rate accurately."

"A probe?" Cloud's mind was reeling. "No!"

"Don't worry. The baby won't be harmed. Trust me." Cloud looked into the nurse's eyes to see the sincerity in them. With a sigh, Cloud sat himself back down to his seat.

"Do as you like…"

The nurse nodded. After putting that in, she started cleaning up. As she finished cleaning up, she noted the look on Tifa's face. "You seem tense, would like some pain medications? From here on out, you will feel intense pain. All I can give you right now is pain medication. I can also enlist you to an epidural if you want…"

Cloud was still trying to recover from what he'd seen. "Do as you like," he repeated. He had no clue what an epidural was but whatever the nurse said may be beneficiary to Tifa. The nurse wasn't sure as she looked at Tifa. Tifa simply shrugged her shoulders and gave the nurse permission to do what she needs to do.

For a few minutes, after the nurse left, Cloud sat by Tifa, looking at the door, wondering what will happen next. Then, he heard the sounds of a cart coming towards their room. Tifa's nurse came in and a man with a green bandana on his head and wearing green scrubs came in, wheeling a cart covered with a sterile blue drape with a box that said, "Epidural Starter Kit."

Cloud instantly stood up protectively. "This is good news, Tifa. This is our Anesthesiologist, Doctor Poke and he's free to do your Epidural," the nurse said with a smile.

"Good day everyone! Does anyone need a poke today?"

Cloud narrowed his eyes. He gave him his most devastating glare, Cloud-style, but it didn't seem to affect Anesthesiologist. "What does that suppose to mean?!"

Tifa sighed. Cloud couldn't even tell whether the guy was telling the truth or when he was joking.

"Ha ha! So this must be one of those husbands or boyfriends. No, no I'm just joking. As you can see my name's Doctor Poke. I like to make jokes about my last name because I actually poke needles into people's bodies."

Cloud wasn't at ease at all. He gave the doctor a cold stare. "Can't take a joke huh?" the doctor asked. "Well, I understand. This is a tense moment after all."

"Way to go to break it," thought Cloud sarcastically.

"So, what is this Epidural that Joyce was talking about," Tifa inquired, referring to her nurse who was present.

"Ah! An Epidural! An Epidural is basically for your pain." He opened the container and Cloud peered in to see a huge needle syringe, a huge needle, a small tubing, and some smaller needles with liquid in them. There was a blue cover, some swabs, an iodine solution he had no idea what was for, and some sterile gloves. He was suddenly feeling queasy.

"We're putting this little thing here into your spine, into the Epidural space, around the lower back area," he began as he showed the big needled to them. Cloud was beginning to sweat.

"What it does is that it basically numbs the pain from your contractions. It's like an IV placement but a little different…" Doctor Poke reached for the tiny tubing in his little tray. Cloud could barely concentrate as it was as the doctor was explaining it to them. Were they really going to put something like that in Tifa's body? He felt his world about to go black.

While the Doctor was explaining it, Nurse Joyce was observing the surroundings when she noted the pale look on Cloud's face. "Umm…Doctor…I'm sorry to interrupt you, but I think it's not the best for her right now…"

"Ah, really? Why?"

Joyce scooted a chair under Cloud's bottom. Making sure it was steady and safe, she got in front of Cloud and gently pushed him back. Cloud instantly fell onto the chair like a rag doll.

"Cloud!" Tifa yelled. "Joyce! W-what happened?!"

"For one, Doctor, you're not using the sterile gloves, so the equipment is basically contaminated." The Doctor looked at himself to see that he was indeed contaminating the equipment. He immediately put it down.

"And I don't think Tifa needs it right now. I think she's able to tolerate it, right?" Joyce asked, which Tifa nodded since now she knows what an Epidural is.

"Oh, okay then. Just let me know when you change your mind." With that, he left with his cart.

"I hate it when males are here, watching an Epidural," Joyce said. "This always happens, you know. That's why I don't like husbands or boyfriends there when they watch an epidural. They watch and forget to breath and end up like him."

Tifa nodded her head. She could see why.

"But, it makes me wonder why Cloud suddenly fell like that when we didn't do anything?"

Tifa had an answer for that. "Well, he isn't too fond of needles. He had a very traumatic experience with hospitals when he was young. He was…always sick a lot. So, he gets paranoid when either Marlene, Denzel, or me go to the hospital. It's not his cup of tea." While the nurse nodded in understanding, she didn't want to give in the details of Cloud's past. After all, Joyce might freak out that the actual hospital stay was a test tube in a makeshift laboratory in Shinra Manor where there was a lot of taboo things done onto Cloud, thanks to Professor Hojo.

"Oh…" she heard a groan and Cloud came to.

"Cloud? Are you alright?" Tifa asked.

Cloud put a hand on his aching head. "Please tell me he didn't…"

"No, he didn't…"

"Tifa…don't do the Epidural."

"Of course, I won't…"

"Especially from Dr. Poke." He looked at Tifa momentarily before turning away embarrassingly. "Do me a favor?"

"Sure…"

"Don't tell anyone I fainted…"

Cloud's senses immediately turned on during his sleep. Instinctively, he looked at Tifa to see her withering in pain. "Tifa…"

Tifa's face was contorted in pain. The once happy smile that was displayed several hours ago was no longer there. She gave a small cry as she winced. Cloud looked at the monitor to see that the sloppy hills were only a several boxes away from each other. She was sweating profusely as she clenched her bed sheets. She was breathing rapidly as she tried to use the breathing techniques to help her and the baby. She looked up at the sound of his voice.

"Cloud…"

He nodded his head and immediately pressed the nursing call button. "Yes, can I help you?" one of the nurses asked through the intercom.

"Please…call…Joyce," Tifa said pleadingly. "I…think…it's time…"

"I'll be sure to notify immediately. Hang in there." Within minutes, Joyce came in.

"Okay, Tifa, how would you describe your pain?" she asked as she put on another sterile glove, which made Cloud a little bit uneasy.

"Excruciating," she said. "Also, I feel like…I'm pushing down…"

Joyce immediately looked at Tifa. "10 centimeters," Joyce said. "I'm going to call the doctor. It's time."

Both Tifa and Cloud sighed a huge relief after hearing such great news. After hours and hours of waiting, it has finally come. Cloud sat back on his seat, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Cloud…I'm not sure if I can do this," Tifa suddenly said, causing him to look up. "I-It's too much for me handle…it's too much…"

Cloud was literally surprised. Why did she suddenly change? "Tifa…"

Tears started to swell in her eyes. "Can I do this? Can I really do this? I'm scared…what happens if…if…"

"Support her, Cloud. She needs you more than anything right now. Remember this is normal."

Cloud held her hand. "You will do great Tifa. Don't be scared. Just take you time, don't stress yourself…"

"Please hurry! I want to get this over with!" she yelled, surprising Cloud. She felt like she was losing control of the whole situation. She never felt such excruciating pain in her entire life. "Cloud…please… get the doctor…" She couldn't talk after that as she was gasping in pain.

The doctor finally came in after Tifa's nurse continuously called him to come stat. Tifa's sudden mood swings was a surprise to Cloud, but Joyce explained it to him that it was normal. People's moods change when they were pain. Usually, the sudden aggression in their behavior was mostly vented out to the supporting person. This did not settle onto Cloud's mind and made him a bit uneasy. Tifa was breathing in and out as she felt another wave of contractions.

"Okay, Tifa, let's get the show on the road," the doctor said after putting the appropriate sterile gear for the birth.

"Finally!" Tifa retorted after going through another contraction. "I couldn't take it anymore! I can't believe I'm going through this! Cloud! I can't believe you're putting me through all this! Don't come near me ever again! Did you know it's his fault?!"

By his fault, that meant Cloud. "But, Tifa…!"

"Don't even say a word, Strife!" Tifa yelled angrily. "I don't even want to hear about whatever problems you have! Can't you see I'm in pain here?! Can't you be a little more useful?!"

Cloud sighed and knew he had to get out for a bit to relax his already stressed out mind. Without another word from his part, he started out the door.

"No…wait…Cloud! Don't go!" Tifa cried, her voice suddenly changing from anger to desperate. Cloud slowly turned around, ready to get hit whatever emotion she had. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say that. I mean…you are being useful. It's just…well…I don't know what's wrong with me." Tifa began to cry. "I'm not sure what to do. Why am I being such an emotional wreck?"

Cloud voluntarily held onto Tifa's clenched hand. "You're not an emotional wreck," he reassured, using his free hand to stroke the top of her hand. "I'm supposed to be the emotional wreck here." This earned a little laugh from Tifa. "Tifa…be the strong girl I know."

Even though it was a short sentence from Cloud, this simple phrase slightly elevated Tifa a bit, momentarily making her forget the pain. "Look, I know you are a lot of pain. And you feel as if you can't do this. But, I know you can do this, Tifa. Remember, we are having our first child together in…our family…"

"Our…child…family…" Tifa said dazedly.

Cloud nodded. "I'll be with you every step. I won't leave your side. I promise."

"Cloud…" She gazed into his eyes that were somehow glowing. His expression showed softness and encouragement; the only expressions he only showed to her. Her tired eyes soon regained the determination. She nodded her head. "Yes…I can do this…" She held onto Cloud's hand as she looked at her doctor and nurse.

Both the doctor and nurse watched the entire exchange between the two and were amazed by the sudden change in Tifa's personality the moment Cloud talked to her. They balance each other out completely. This kind of couple was rare among all the people they met. They were completely in synch with each other, knowing what they truly needed.

The doctor nodded his head. "All right, I'll let you know when to start pushing."

"Be sure to get some rest in between pushing," Joyce advised. "We don't put further complications on you. If you push without resting, your body will not be able to handle such stress and would ultimately collapse. It would also increase the chances to put trauma on your body." Tifa nodded her head. "Cloud will help relay the message to you on your progress."

"Okay, Tifa, here comes another contraction. I want you to push as possibly as you could," the doctor said. He checked the monitor once more. "Alright, push!"

Tifa clasped onto Cloud's hand tightly and immediately started pushing, screaming painfully as she felt the pain. Cloud winced at how tight she held his hand, but ignored the pain as he helped her through it, whispering words of comfort. The process kept repeating self after that.

"A little bit more," the doctor spoke.

Cloud looked at the clock to find it had been almost 2 hours since Tifa began to push. Does it really take that long for the baby to come out?

Tifa rested her head against his after pushing as far as she could. She took this time to rest. Cloud wiped the sweat from her brow from a clean napkin he grabbed from the nightstand. Tifa sighed a bit in relief, giving Cloud confirmation he was appreciated for doing such little things.

"Okay, Tifa, we'll push on this one," the doctor said after a few minutes. "All right, push!"

Tifa went on that cue and pushed all she could. Cloud watched where the doctor was, eyeing curiously on what to expect to come out. "I see the head!" Joyce said excitedly. She went over to the birthing warmer and grabbed a bulb syringe, ready to suction the baby's mouth and nose. Cloud's eyes widened when he saw the forehead of their child. He felt his whole entire body begin to quiver.

"Tifa, just one more push for me! I got the head in my hands."

"The last spurt, Tifa," Cloud said weakly from his quivering state. "You can do this…the doctor is supporting our child's head."

Tifa nodded her head and pushed on cue. Right then, as Cloud watched, the baby came out. Cloud's eyes widened as a gush of fluid and blood came out. Joyce immediately suctioned the mouth first and nose. With its first breath, the baby gave a loud cry.

Tifa's body instantly relaxed after giving that one last push. When she heard her baby's first cry, she felt like crying out of happiness. "Cloud! Our child!" Tifa said happily as she turned to look at him. Her smile slightly dwindled when she looked at Cloud's shocked face. He looked a bit pale. "Cloud?"

After the doctor checked the cord and placenta, he grabbed the umbilical cord and looked at Cloud with a smile. "Would you like to do the honors and cut the cord, Cloud?"

Complying, Cloud grabbed a sterile scissors from Joyce and placed it on the spot where the doctor recommended cutting. With one snap, the cord was cut. The nurses there clapped as the doctor immediately clamped the cord, indicating the end of the baby's life in the womb and the beginning of the baby's life in the outside world. As the baby continued to cry and was placed under the warmer for further inspection, Cloud wobbled his way to the door.

Tifa knew that look too well. "Oh no…"

The moment they heard Tifa was about to give birth to her first child, the gang huddled in front of the door, waiting patiently for someone to come out. They heard her cries of pain as she went through the birthing process. Shera, who had her first child a few months ago, knew too well of Tifa's experience. She wanted to help, but knew that Cloud was the one to give her the support she needed.

"Daddy," Marlene said meekly as she looked at her father.

"Yes, darlin'."

"If the stork is coming to give her the baby, why is Tifa getting hurt?"

That earned a shocked look from everyone, Barret's face being the most shocked out of all of them.

"The stork is delivering the baby, right? So why does it hurt?"

Yuffie and Cid began to snicker. This left Barret in an unusual situation. Everyone's eyes were on him.

"Well! Umm…you see…darlin'…well…i-it's hard ta explain. Umm…"

Before embarrassing himself even further, the screams suddenly seized and the door to the room opened. Cloud came out with a ghostly look on his face.

"Ah! Spike! Great timin'!" Barret immediately as he walked up to him. "Ya have no idea you saved me from embarrassin' myself!"

"So! So! So! Cloud! What's up? Is Tifa okay?" asked Yuffie in her usual hyper state. "Is the baby okay? Is it okay to see her? C'mon ya stupid jerk! Why don'cha answer huh?!?"

"Hey, hey! Give the guy some space, youngster!" Cid scolded.

"Who you callin' youngster, you old geezer?!" Yuffie retaliated.

"Old Geezer?! Why I oughta…!?"

"Do I have a little sister or little brother?" asked Denzel amongst the now talking crowd, interrupting another verbal fight against Yuffie and Cid.

"Baby…came…Tifa…" Everyone was silent the moment Cloud spoke up.

"Cloud? Are ya okay?" asked Barret curiously.

"Tif…is…"

Shera and Cid's eyes both widened knowingly. Cid slapped his hand on his forehead. "Oh no."

"Lot's….of blood…came…out…"

Before a proper answer was said, Cloud's eyes suddenly closed and his body fell forward.

"Wah!! Cloud!"

Cloud Strife had fainted…again.

"Cloud…Cloud…! It's time to wake up…" Cloud heard a gently voice in his head. "It's time to meet your child. Tifa's waiting for you…"

"Tifa…" he whispered unconsciously.

"Ha, ha, ha! I can't believe he fainted! To think he slaughtered sees blood every day from hacking the life out of those creepy monsters. Then we see him faint after seeing blood coming out of--!" The sentence was abruptly cut off by the sound of a slap. "Alright, alright, sorry, I'll stop. Sheesh, I'm trying to wake him up, you know."

"Cloud…wake up before Yuffie will do something you'll regret…"

Cloud regained consciousness when he suddenly smelt something moldy in front of his nose. Cautiously, he opened his eyes to find a green, dirty sock barely a few inches away from his nose. Immediately, Cloud rose up and glared at the person who dared to put that disgusting thing in front of him. Yuffie snickered as she stood up straight, holding the sock with teasers.'

"Ha! I knew that will work!" Yuffie said proudly as she stuck the sock into the biohazard trash bin. "To think that Denzel's dirty sock I found under the steps would help."

"Umm…Cloud…please don't tell Tifa I hid my dirty socks behind the steps," Denzel said pleadingly. "I only did that because she gets mad at me for dirtying my socks every day."

Cloud was still trying to regain what he lost from his mind. Everyone was gathered around him.

"What happened?" he asked, clasping his forehead.

"You've been K.O.'d for a few minutes," Barret said as he helped Cloud to his feet. "Gotta say, never saw you fainted like that. Pretty funny if ya ask me."

Cloud rubbed the back of his head, trying to figure out where his mind was before fainting in front of everyone. With the noise level around him, it was pretty hard for him to find out why.

"You said something in the lines of 'Baby,' 'Tifa,' and 'Lot's of blood'," Vincent said through the noise. Cloud looked at Vincent for a moment, trying to absorb what Vincent had said. Then, it him all at once. Cloud's eyes went over to Tifa's door that was now closed. Fear went through him. Why was the door shut? Did something happen to her or his baby?

"Tifa!" Cloud called. "Tifa…is she…? Is our baby…?" Images of his dream flashed before his eyes. He hoped to God that this did not come true.

"Both of them are doin' fine, Chocobo brain," Cid said. "Man, you were worse than me when my precious little girl was born."

Shera only dreaded his reaction. "He would use his potty mouth all the time. He was making the doctor and nurse angry..."

"Whatever! At least the job was done! Our baby was born! So 'nough of that!" Cid then looked at Cloud. "Anyways, go. Tifa's waiting for ya."

"She won't let us see until you see. Geez, you are a troublesome guy," Yuffie said, crossing her arms. "And hurry your arse over there! I wanna see the baby too!"

Cloud only nodded his head. Slowly, he opened the door. The room was slightly dim. The only well lit area was the light above Tifa's bed. The place was clean as he first saw it. However, the monitor was not on and there was no sound of a fast heartbeat. Close to the bed was the baby warmer, which was still on. His eyes gazed to the form on the bed. Tifa sat there, her eyes peering down at a bundle wrapped in a light blue blanket. Her upper body was slightly exposed as the bundle was laid there for extra warmth. Right then, Cloud was captivated by the way Tifa looked, holding the special life in her arms.

"Cloud. Congratulations…"

Tifa's mesmerized eyes soon broke her gaze away from the bundle into Cloud's glowing eyes. Although his lips were slightly tight, his glowing eyes were soft and filled with happiness. Tifa smiled genuinely as she motioned him to come closer. "You're finally up. Are you okay?" she asked softly as Cloud sat on the bed.

Cloud only nodded his head bashfully.

"Joyce said it was normal for first-time father's to act like that," Tifa said with a smile. "And to think the great Cloud Strife would faint over seeing blood."

"I-it's not that! J-just…the fact seeing something coming out of you…is well-" Cloud couldn't finish. He was too embarrassed to say anything more. Tifa only giggled, trying to tone herself down.

Suddenly, a gurgle was heard between them. Looking down at the bundle between them, Cloud eyed the baby curiously. The look in Cloud's eyes made Tifa smile. "Cloud, hold out your arms."

Cloud did as he was told as he slowly extended his arms to Tifa as if he were to hug her. Tifa looked at their baby for a moment and gently placed the bundle into his arms.

"W-wait, Tifa. I'm not sure…"

Right then, instincts came in and he cradled the baby in his arms. Tifa repositioned his arms to where he could see the baby's face in front of him. Slowly, the baby's eyes opened and revealed the same eyes as his. Cloud's eyes widened when the baby looked at him curiously. Slowly, the baby's eyes closed again and a knowing smile appeared on the baby's lips. This made Cloud smile genuinely. Just as he was hoping for; his baby's smile was just like Tifa's. He looked at Tifa to see her smiling. "See, you're doing fine," she reassured as she leaned her head against Cloud's shoulder tiredly. Quietly, the two new parents gazed lovingly at their new addition to their growing family. They watched the baby sleep in Cloud's arm comfortingly as Cloud began to rock the baby to sleep. Cloud averted his eyes to Tifa who had a gentle, motherly look in her eyes. Slowly, Cloud leaned in and kissed her gently on the lips.

They returned to look at their baby and to see it coo a bit, as if it was dreaming.

It was then Cloud placed a genuine smile on his lips. "Okaeri…"

Author's Note 2: Thank you guys so much for the reviews! Also, I want to extend my thanks to those who added this to their favorite list or alerts. I'm so happy to see that everyone likes this story. I decided to call this chapter, "Okaeri," or Welcome Home because…well…you'll see. I wanted to use Welcome Home, but decided to use the Japanese language just add something to it. I'm sorry for the long chapter. I know it's brutal. But I wanted to add in a lot of things since this is the climax of the story. So, I had some trouble with this chapter. I did a lot of major cutting. I'll probably come back to this story to revise this chapter once I have time. I'm sorry if the characters seem a bit OOC, but you know how some situations changes people when it comes to pain, stressful situations, and such. Cloud's fainting situation actually did happen to me when I was watching an epidural. The husband seemed so concentrated on the Epidural procedure that he fainted right in the room. My nurse says it's typical for some men to faint like that because they forget to breath. She described another experience too when she noticed one of her other patient's husband was about faint after the baby was born. I just wanted to add this in just for fun. It's so unlike Cloud, but you know, this is his first time dealing with this kind of experience, and I wanted to see him faint, you know, break down the cool, collected Cloud a little bit. Now for some information that you're all curious about for this chapter:

There are 3 stages of labor: the first stage is divided further into categories. The first category is the Latent Stage. There physiologic changes within the body. There will be a beginning of regular, mild contractions that will gradually increase in intensity and frequency. Effacement is basically your cervix walls thinning out to provide easy access for the baby to go through. Dilation will occur and will stretch at least 0-3cm. During this stage, the pregnant women will feel relief that labor begun and very excited to have this baby. There is some anxiety during this time. Typically, no medications are given at this stage because it may slow the process of labor down and may put some complications to the child. Usually non-pharmacological ways to deal with pain are usually encouraged such as talking with someone, walking, using the exercise ball by moving your hips back and forth to help with the pain.

The second category is the Active Phase. This is when contractions begin to increase in intensity, frequency, and duration, effacement of cervix is completed (usually labeled as 100%), dilation is 4-7 cm and fetus begins to descends to pelvis. Discomfort will begin to increase. The mother will feel increase anxiety, feels helpless, and less sociable as the mother is more concentrated on the pain. During this time, to comfort the mother with the pain, nurses can distribute pain medication at this time. Normally, nurses do not provide medication during the Latent Phase because it may slow down the labor process. Nurses in this stage will assess vital signs, cervical dilation, effacement, fetal monitor, bladder fullness. They make sure that the needs of the mother is met.

The last category of the First Stage is the Transition Stage. Contractions continue to increase in intensity, duration, frequency, cervix dilates from 8-10cm, bloody show will appear due to completion of dilation, fetus will descend rapidly into the birth passage. The mother may experience rectal pressure (feeling as if you need to go to the bathroom), or nausea or vomiting. Mother will have increased anxiety, will be irritable, will need the support of the significant other, family member, or nurse at bedside, and feel eager to complete this birth experience. Mother will feel tired, so it is important to support them (like how I demonstrated with Cloud and Tifa), important to let them the progress of the birth, mother may feel restless, must encourage them to keep going, help with breathing techniques, and mother may try to convince the nurse to give pain medications. Pain medication is not given at this stage because it may affect the baby's respiratory status. Please be advise that it varies from person to person. So sometimes, it does not go smoothly.

The Second Stage comes in with dilation of the cervix and ends with the birth of the infant. This is where the woman begins to push. At this time, the mother may feel a sense of purpose, but also feel helpless, frightened, and irritable.

Third Stage comes in with the birth of the baby and ends with the delivery of the placenta. This when the mother feels relief as the baby is born and worry more of the welfare of the infant than anything else. At this time, the baby is taken in for observation, placed under the warmer, suction mouth and nose, making sure the baby is breathing right. Once the initial assessment of the baby is done, the baby is given to the mother to establish bonding. Skin-to-skin helps. But it really depends on the hospital. Some do the assessment in the room while some hospitals do the assessment of the baby in the nursery. In my opinion, I think bonding should establish right away and doing the assessment in the room is better.

Some little facts I want to add in:

An epidural is an anesthetic agent that is placed into the epidural space of your spine. The effects of this drug produce little or no feeling to the area from the uterus downward. Basically, you won't feel any pain, but it really depends on your perception.

Fetal Monitors are monitors that basically monitor the baby's heart beat. There are two types: one is the External Fetal Monitor, with two tranductors, one for the baby and the sound of the heart beat and the other that is placed on the fundus (the very top of the cervix), that measures the contractions. An Internal Fetal Monitor is a little probe that screws itself onto the baby's head and monitors the heart rate more accurately. It does not affect the baby and usually is placed once the water broke. Accuracy is important for the determination of the baby's heart rate because once that fluid is out, the baby is at risk for umbilical compression (the baby's lifeline) and may not respond well to the contractions.

Once the baby is removed, the baby is suctioned mouth first then nose to prevent choking of any contents in the mouth. The first thing the baby will do when he/she is cry. It's dangerous if that baby gives in that first breath and chokes with fluids in the mouth.

Support. I stress support all the time. Support can really go a long way.

Did I leave anything out? This stuff is strictly from my notes and books, mostly the basics. Remember, it varies from person to person. Not all people experience the same thing. Have any questions? Feel free to ask. I can only give this information. I would get into detail, but it might confuse you more. One thing I want to point out is the laboring process takes a long time. Sometimes it takes 7 hours sometime 24. Again, it really depends. Sometimes you have a first time mother who gives birth within 7 hours. So it's unpredictable. Anyways, I hope this is resourceful. Thank you to everyone who reviewed this story as well as favoriated and put on alert. I'm pleased to see that everyone is enjoying this story. The next chapter will be the epilogue. It's already written up and will be put in tomorrow or the next day. Just one question I would like to ask: what name should I put for the baby? The gender won't be revealed until the epilogue, so I was wondering what kind of name because I ran out of ideas. It can be a boy or girl. I was leaning towards the name Sora for the boy (not any relation to the Sora in Kingdom Hearts, by the way). For the girl's name…can't think of any. My minds so fried from summer school so I can't think straight. Anyways, thanks again! Until next time! ^_^