Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII. I depend on my daughter, Angeal Valentine (the author formerly known as xXxValentinexXx), and on Bjanik for all my information on the subject.
A/N—The tournament out of state went well. Angeal Valentine tied for first in her division. Bjanik and I ran the center refereeing positions in two rings. We'll see if I can keep the once-a-week posting schedule. Right now there are martial arts competitions about every other weekend until the national championships the first week of July.
In preparation for the return to Shinra, Dr. Caperton removed the remainder of the tubes connected to Tessa's body and ordered an ambulance.
Tessa contacted Glenn and began firing orders: inspect and ready the lab's one remaining tube (Tessa had gotten rid of all but one of the Hojo-era tubes, and the room had become more storeroom than lab); order a two-week supply of the highest concentration mako solution available; and contact Tseng to have Dr. Caperton given clearance and credentials for the lab.
Sephiroth stepped into the hall to see Vincent, who was leaning against the wall and scaring off the staff. We're heading back to Shinra. Would you bring Dr. Caperton in my car? Sephiroth wanted as much as time as possible alone with Tessa before she got in the tube. Oh, and Masamune? Sephiroth tossed him the keys.
Of course.
With that Sephiroth lifted Tessa gently in his arms and carried her to the ambulance.
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"I heard you order extra mako. Are you expecting you might be in there longer than a few days?"
"I'm not anticipating that there will be a problem, but if my levels don't come up quickly, we will need the extra mako. Better to get it ordered now. Occasionally mako solution supplies can be erratic. Besides if all goes well, I'll soak up mako like a sponge. Hopefully we will need extra." She reached out and cupped Sephiroth's cheek with her palm. "Don't worry. We've already decided this is the best thing to do. I should need less mako with just…" Her eyes crinkled with tears again. She was barely able to think about the loss of their daughter.
Sephiroth shook his head. "Just because I know this is the right thing to do, doesn't mean the next few days aren't going to be hell."
"What can I say to that?" She smiled. "It's good to know you'll miss me."
"In spades."
"Just promise me you'll get some rest too. I'll bet you haven't slept since this whole mess started."
"Yeah, well, I've been kind of busy… Besides, who could rest with Vincent thinking at me?"
"I wish he were here to hear you say that!" Tessa took her husband's hand and raised it to her lips. Sephiroth reached behind her head and pulled her to him then kissed her eyes, removing her tears. His tongue persuaded her lips apart and ran over the roof of her mouth. Her hands traced the muscles of his shoulders and upper back before tangling in his silver hair. "I love you."
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At Tessa's direction the ambulance stopped before the Shinra doors by the service elevators, coming to rest in front of Glenn and a tech with a wheelchair. Sephiroth waved the tech and the chair away and lifted his bundled wife himself from the stretcher to carry her to the lab. Once in the back room Sephiroth closed the door on everyone. He helped Tessa out of the hospital gown she was still wearing using the time to re-memorize the feel of her skin under his finger tips and the touch of her lips on his. Her hands slipped under his tee-shirt, pulled it over his head, and untangled it from his hair. She traced her hands over his chest and abdominals.
"Wrap me in your wing… just for a minute... please." His huge wing swept with a whisper around them both. Tessa found herself surrounded by soft feathers held tight against his hard body. "You do know I don't want to do this. I want to stay here with you just like this… where we're all safe…" Sephiroth kissed her hard and long.
"Safe… I'll never let you go, Tess… I'll keep you safe. Gaia, I want to make love to you right now!"
"I want you to!" His feathers tickled her back, and her nipples tightened against his chest. She could feel him stiffening against her.
"But… we do what we have to do," he said.
Tessa smiled, "always… and that's how long I'll love you."
With a last lingering kiss and a deep breath to pull his scent into her lungs, Tessa backed away, her fingers sliding from Sephiroth's, his wing slipping inside his body. She stepped onto the tube's bottom platform, and Sephiroth worked the controls himself to lower the tube over her. A heavy fabric screen had been taped around the tube. It gradually blocked her body from view then her face reappeared as the tube settled into position. "Because we do what we have to do." He hit the "fill" switch listening as the mako solution splashed into the tube, watching as a small shiver passed through her as the cool liquid hit her body, the liquid level rising quickly. Sephiroth pointed at the temperature gauge. Tessa raised three fingers then her thumb upward, and Sephiroth pressed the temperature control button three degrees higher. Sephiroth stepped up to the tube and placed his left hand on the warming glass. Tessa placed her right hand on the glass as well, as if they could touch each other through it. She tried to smile at him. "Ready?" he mouthed. She nodded.
Sephiroth slipped his tee-shirt on then turned to the room's door and opened it. Glenn took over the controls, talking Dr. Caperton through their operation and the monitor readings.
"General, shall I start the anesthesia?"
Sephiroth nodded, and Glenn opened the feed line. Sephiroth stood close to the tube watching as the light in Tessa's eyes dulled and her eyelids closed, her copper hair waving about her head. Glenn and Dr. Caperton again left the room closing the door. Sephiroth leaned his forehead on the glass. "We do what we have to do… Tessa…"
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"Seph, we gotta talk." Mid-afternoon Zack entered the room no one else dared enter. Sephiroth didn't stir. He stood near the tube staring at his floating wife. "Seph, Marcus called in. He needs reinforcements from here. Seems the army grunts he got from Gongaga weren't enough. The monsters keep showing up. Seph, are you listening to me?"
Sephiroth didn't turn. "I heard you, Zack… So, what do you want to do about it?"
This was new—Sephiroth asking his opinion on a command-level decision. "I thought we might send Alars and Britton with three more Soldiers and another twenty grunts. That work by you?"
"Sounds about right. Anything else?"
"Reno and Rude reported in from Mideel. You're not going to like this, Seph… Remember, Banora? Turns out Londo Shinra's commune practically is Banora."
Sephiroth cut his eyes at his second. "Damn… Genesis… Zack, I want guards on this room—two in the hall, one in here—three hour shifts. I won't have her left alone, at any time, for any reason. Understood?" Zack nodded. "I want a second class and two thirds for each shift and be sure Cloud's in the rotation. It'll be good for him to put in some time… Tseng say anything else?"
"Yeah. The terrible twosome will be going into the commune tonight to investigate further."
"So… We wait."
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After leaving Shinra with his new "staff credentials," Dr. Caperton returned to his university medical center office, and thought for a long time even as he worked. Tessa Romera's pregnancy was certainly the most unusual he'd ever seen—mako, stagnant mako, odd genetic material. He and Dr. Romera had already discussed writing an article (perhaps several) after the delivery. This pregnancy would certainly be one for the history books—and the medical journals.
Dr. Caperton dictated his notes and left the disk for transcription. A young medical secretary later slipped it into her player. Eyes widening, she listened to the recording, "Dr. Tessa Romera, wife of General Sephiroth… twenty-two weeks gestation … treatment in vitro with highest concentration mako solution commencing immediately at Shinra medical research laboratories…" The secretary had a second purpose in Midgar. Soon the news was winging its way around Gaia to an interested party.