Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, its characters or storyline. This story is mine, as are the OCs. This is it: the big chapter where Leon and Tifa's family of two officially becomes a family of three! Let the cute-induced cavities commence after this chapter. Um, I guess a slight warning, there is a birth scene. It's pretty implicit and non-graphic, but…warning anyway, I suppose. Enjoy meeting the new addition to the group!

..:-X-:..

097 – Baby

The Jeep wasn't running right. Leon had set out that afternoon to fix the old beat up vehicle. It had never run smoothly, but even being automotive-inept, he knew that the bang-clank-strum-bonk noise was indicative of something not working properly. Fortunately or unfortunately, Cloud had been in the same general area of the garage performing maintenance on Fenrir. He had taken one glance over in Leon's direction and figured out that Leon had less than no idea what he was doing.

Now Leon found himself standing three feet away from the Jeep as Cloud leaned over the open engine cavity, prodding and tinkering with the parts.

"That…noise…probably because the…carburetor…blew a…spark plug…messed up the transmission and…brake fluid." He mumbled aimlessly.

Cloud didn't even look up from the engine. "You're just blurting out car jargon. You have no clue what's wrong with this thing, do you?"

Leon didn't respond until Cloud finally looked up at him. He glared at the man for a long moment before muttering, "I don't need your help. Go back to your dumb motorcycle."

Without flinching, Cloud lifted a giant rusted coil out of the engine cavity. "I will, if you can tell me where this goes." He challenged.

Leon narrowed his eyes, feeling his phone buzzing in his pocket. "Fine. It…" He tugged the phone out with one hand and pointed to the lower right corner of the engine with the other. "It goes there."

"Eeennt." Cloud made a loud buzzer noise with his mouth and tossed the coil over his shoulder. "Wrong. It goes nowhere. Except maybe the trash."

Leon grumbled and saw Tifa's name on the caller ID. "Hello?"

"Hey." She sounded breathless. "Where are you?"

"At the garage—" Leon started.

"Getting his ass handed to him." Cloud mocked loudly.

Leon kicked him in the shin and turned away so he could ignore him. "What's up?"

"Come home." She said tersely. "Or the baby will get here before you do."

Leon's spine straightened, and his eyes widened. "I'm on my way. Are you okay? How far apart are contractions? Is someone there with you?"

"Cramping. Ten minutes. And Aerith." Tifa's voice sounded strained.

Leon spun back around to see Cloud staring at him with wide eyes. He stammered, holding the phone to his ear. "I gotta go…do Dad things."

Cloud pointed to the door, "Go then!" He shooed, a grin curling his mouth.

Leon suddenly felt like he was being pulled in a dozen different directions, and he awkwardly stared for a moment at the disheveled state of the Jeep.

"I'll take care of this. What do you need?" Cloud asked flat out.

"Ah, Leon." Tifa gasped on the phone, Aerith's voice was in the background.

"I'm coming, babe." Leon told her, looking to Cloud. "Call the department. Tell McCallister to take over for the rest of the day. She'll take care of my schedule. Thanks."

"Yeah, yeah, go!" Cloud pointed to the door again.

Leon didn't need telling again. He practically left a Leon-shaped hole in the wall as he bolted out of the garage and sprinted home. Duke was barking in the front yard as he vaulted up the front steps. He skidded through the front door and nearly wiped out on the side table by the door, staggering off balance into the living room, phone still at his ear.

"Tifa." He called out. "Aerith."

"Upstairs." Aerith answered.

He bounded up the stairs and reached his and Tifa's bedroom as a panting, sweaty mess. That made he and Tifa a matching set, as his wife was sitting on a wooden chair, hands on her knees as she leaned forward, breathing heavily as her hair clung to her face. She was only wearing a t-shirt, and her swollen belly was poking out from the bottom of it. Aerith was squatting in front of Tifa, talking to her in low, reassuring tones. Apparently he'd stumbled in right in the middle of a contraction.

Aerith looked over at his entrance, as Tifa's eyes were screwed shut. "Hey. Whoa." Aerith blinked at his appearance. "You have no blood in your face."

Leon couldn't think of a smart comeback, wiping idly at his face, as though to coax some color back into it: he didn't want Tifa to see him petrified. Even if he completely was. Especially since he completely was.

Tifa exhaled suddenly in a rush and a warbling groan. "Ugh, that's been the worst one yet." She murmured, straightening a little as her eyes found Leon's. "Hey, you."

Leon wasn't prepared for this. For nine months, they had been planning, preparing, bracing themselves for the arrival of this baby. They'd read books and baby-proofed and done research…and the whole time that Tifa had been carrying their child, Leon had been carrying the growing terror of 'what if.' What if something went wrong? Giving birth at home couldn't be as safe as a hospital, around doctors and medicine and emergency…stuff. Given that his own mother had died as a result of childbirth, the nightmare had been increasingly haunting him. Losing Tifa. Losing the baby. Losing them both. He wouldn't survive it.

But throughout all of that, Tifa had been a rock. She had been a superhero for the past nine months. Never batting an eye. Never sharing any doubts or fears or trepidation. For her, this was going to happen, and it was going to be fine because she would MAKE IT SO. But, in that moment that Leon's eyes met hers, he saw that fear. He saw pain and exhaustion and fear running rampant there.

Something in him shifted in that moment. He slipped into combat mode, grabbing onto the calm that he'd developed during the war, the ability to shelve emotions and fear and thoughts of mortality. He needed to be the rock this time.

Then Tifa broke eye contact with a startled cry. "Ah, ow, another one."

..:-X-:..

After the first 14 hours of contractions, Tifa began to regret her decision to go painkiller-free, because the subsequent half an hour brought with it the most intense pain that she had ever experienced.

"Already?" Aerith was saying.

Tifa couldn't speak; she just nodded and kept her eyes squinted closed as she breathed against the pressure in her lower body. She had felt the first contractions early that morning, just as the sun had been rising. After a week of false labor and the usual Braxton-Hicks cramps, she had dismissed the brief pangs. But as she had been punished all morning and afternoon for her dismissal, it had taken her water breaking in the shower to drive reality home.

The contraction dulled enough for Tifa to catch her breath, looking up from her sitting position. She had seen Leon come in, like a hurricane, but when her eyes found him this time, the panic of his presence was reduced. He'd taken off his jacket, gloves, and silver Griever necklace, leaving him just in a white t-shirt and pants as he knelt down in front of her beside Aerith.

"Hey, you." He returned her greeting belatedly, his voice quiet and smooth.

She breathed measuredly, running one hand around the bulge of her stomach. "Leon." Just saying his name brought some relief, however minuscule. She reached out and found his shoulder with one hand. "Baby's coming."

"I can see that." He covered her hand on his shoulder with his own, giving it a light squeeze. "Contractions seem pretty close together. When did this start?"

"Over twelve hours ago." She replied with a hiss as her muscles cramped. "I'm sorry. I didn't know this was what real labor felt like. I thought…ugh…" She inhaled sharply.

"It's okay." He murmured immediately. "I'm here right now."

"Are you good there?" Aerith was asking from the side. "If you need to move, you can go ahead. Your body knows what it's doing."

It didn't feel like it knew what it was doing, Tifa mused. Her body felt like chaos: all adrenaline and hormones and pressure. Hot tears hit her eyes as the next wave of pain hit. She involuntarily leaned forward, her other hand finding Leon's other shoulder, so that he was square in front of her, on his knees on the floor while she sat on the edge of the chair. A groan clawed its way out of her throat as the pressure in her lower pelvis escalated, and she barely registered Leon's hands on her knees, holding her steady.

She had to do something. She had to move. She had to push back against the pressure or it was going to tear her apart. When Aerith had last checked her, she had been almost fully dilated, but not quite all the way there. That was before the contractions began to eclipse each other. Tifa gritted her teeth as she groaned again and did just that, pushed back against the pressure. The pain didn't ease, but it didn't get worse, as it had been before.

"Breathe." Aerith advised. "Just—are you pushing?" She asked in surprise.

"Ihadto." Tifa blurted in a rush. Inhaling again as the pain faded, she wiped her forehead. "I had to." She straightened. "I need to move."

Leon popped up off his knees, faltering almost imperceptibly when his bad knee protested. Then he was on his feet in front of her. "I've got you."

Tifa let him take her arms, helping her stand. Ever since this had all started, she had been walking and moving and trying to get the process moving along. Now it had moved along a lot farther than she had expected, and all she wanted to do was lie down. She aimed herself toward the bed, and Leon picked up on it, keeping a hand at her back as she shuffled to the bed, ready to support her if she needed it.

She sat tentatively on the bed before sliding back and maneuvering onto her side, lying there with her eyes closed and trying to regulate her breathing. If her body had any idea what it was doing, this was going to be over pretty quickly.

"I'm going to see how far you are." Aerith said, sitting on the edge of the bed at Tifa's feet.

Being too strung out to put up a resistance, Tifa let Aerith check her out, and a few seconds later, she could feel Leon close by, one of his hands finding hers. She squeezed back, the anxiety bubbling up in her chest.

"You're fully dilated." Aerith informed. "The steering wheel is in your hands, Tifa."

Tifa opened her eyes and looked at Leon, and then she lowered her eyes to her stomach. This was actually happening. They were…they were about to meet their baby, their daughter. They were about to become parents, a new dynamic duo. Color had returned to Leon's face plus some, as he now looked slightly flushed, making his eyes overbright. But he was completely calm, still and strong right there in front of her. And he had been a panicky mess throughout all 9 months of this…If he could stay calm, then she could stay calm.

..:-X-:..

Leon was not calm. Every flicker of pain in Tifa's eyes, every cringe that crossed her face, and every noise of distress across her lips was like a knife in his chest. Tifa was in pain, and that was a direct violation of what was acceptable to Leon. But her eyes stayed on him, so he stayed as outwardly calm as possible, even as her shoulders trembled and she continued to breathe heavily.

Aerith had parted Tifa's knees and taken up station at that end of the bed. "Do you feel like pushing again?" She asked.

Tifa sniffed and nodded, shifting but staying on her side.

"All right." Aerith said. "Push with the contractions, rest in between okay?"

"Ah, okay." Tifa mumbled, her body tensing as another bout of pain came.

Leon felt utterly useless as he held her hand. Tifa held her breath, her torso curling in slightly as she pushed with the contraction. Leon started to count off ten seconds in his head, but then snapped out of it.

"Five, six, seven." He said aloud. "Eight, nine, ten."

At 'ten,' Tifa exhaled and gasped for breath, brow furrowed as she relaxed.

"Good." Aerith said. "That was perfect, Tifa."

Tifa breathed deliberately, removing her hand from Leon's and touching her stomach, "She's not moving." She said.

"That's okay." Aerith assured. "It's going to take more than one push." She offered a comforting smile. "Pace yourself." She looked to Leon, giving a short tilt her head toward Tifa.

Leon took the cue. "Might feel better if you sit up, Tifa."

She swallowed and nodded, "Okay."

"You don't have to." Leon jumped to her aid as she started to get up. "Whatever feels comfortable."

"None of this is comfortable." She murmured with a wince.

Instead of dragging the pillows together to prop her up, Leon immediately filled the space between her and the headboard himself, sliding behind her to effectively be her backstop. He felt her lean back against him, her body warm, if sweaty and tense. Feeling like he was holding her and supporting her enhanced his sense of purpose. She was doing all the hard work here, but he was going to be the best cheerleader in Radiant Garden. That was for damn sure.

Tifa said nothing of his impromptu action, merely dropped the back of her head in the crook of his neck and leaned against him. Her right hand found his again and squeezed. He could feel the anxiety and pain through that squeeze, and Leon turned his head, pressing his lips into her hair comfortingly.

"You're doing so great." He spoke into her hair. "You're amazing."

Tifa didn't outwardly respond, too focused on what was coming. When it came, she tensed and lifted her head from his neck, bowing forward with a low noise from her throat. Leon was careful not to jostle her, but he remained steadfast against her back as she endured it.

"One, two, three…" He counted off. "Four, five, six…"

Tifa released her breath and harshly inhaled again, resuming her push against the contraction, squeezing his hand. Aerith was watching for movement, and Leon couldn't read her expression.

So he kept counting. "Seven, eight, nine, ten."

Tifa exhaled again, keening lightly as she reclined against his chest.

"Great, that was great, Tifa." Aerith said. "On the next—"

Tifa yelped and went rigid again, "Ow, ow, ah…" She abruptly started pushing again.

..:-X-:..

No sooner had the contraction ended than another immediately took its place. So Tifa did what her instincts told her to: she pushed. She lost all awareness of Leon behind her and Aerith in front of her. The pressure of the baby moving down her body was smashing through her lower back, and she cried out in pain as it overwhelmed her, along with a sudden burning between her legs.

"Oh, there she is." Aerith sounded far away. "Her head…She's crowning."

Leon was counting, but Tifa barely heard him until he reached that blessed 'ten.' But even as 'ten' came and went, she had no reprieve. The contraction didn't fade, the pressure didn't ebb this time, and the active pain caused her to let out a startled cry.

"Okay, easy." Aerith was instructing. "Gently."

"Remember to breathe." Leon's voice was close, right behind her.

Tifa was still holding his hand, and she tightened her grip as her insides twisted, sending a fresh onslaught of pain through her pelvis. She curled forward, straining against it, and she felt movement…but it wasn't enough. It wasn't enough!

"Help." She wheezed, feeling her knees trembling.

"We are, but we can't do this for you." Aerith was saying. "We're right here."

Leon used his free hand to slide her hair away from her neck, his other hand locked in her vise-like grip. "You can do this. I love you."

Tifa gave a breathless yelp as her insides tightened again. "I want her out."

"Give us another push." Aerith nodded, "Her head is coming. Push, Tifa."

Tifa felt something in her right hand grip crack and pop loudly as she bore down, curling forward as she pushed. Aerith's hands were guiding her knees farther apart, and Tifa anchored onto that, moving both hands under her knees, finding some source of control. Her jaw clenched as she expended more energy, and she was rewarded with a sharp drop in the pressure.

"Head is out." Aerith informed.

Tifa sagged back against Leon, feeling his heart hammering against her back, while her own pulse throbbed through her skull.

"Tifa." Leon sounded breathless. "Her head…I can see her. She's almost out."

Almost. Tifa swallowed and opened her eyes, fear welling up and threatening to stop her heart. "Aerith…How's she…look?"

Aerith was moving towels around, hands ready to catch the baby. "She looks perfect, Tifa." The woman smiled widely, tears rimming her eyes. "She's right here. She's just right here." She reached up, taking one of Tifa's hands and guiding it to feel the baby's head.

"That's your baby." Aerith pressed. "You're touching your daughter."

Tifa reminded herself to breathe as emotion flooded her chest. She felt Leon shudder against her back, but there was no time to ponder why.

"Another one's…coming." Tifa panted. "The shoulders…"

"The head is the hardest part, remember?" Leon said, but his voice was trembling now. "She's almost here. You're doing so great, Tifa. You're so strong."

Tifa's lip wavered at that, and Aerith held the baby's head steady.

"Try to relax through the next contraction." She was saying. "Breathe through it. Let it do all the work, if you can."

Tifa breathed heavily. "Feels better…when I push…"

Aerith nodded, "Okay. It's up to you."

"Okay." Tifa repeated. "Okay…ooh."

As the pressure returned, Tifa gave in and pushed, feeling the shoulders moving down. She ran out of breath and stopped pushing, crying out when the pain went on without her. She inhaled and bore down again, acutely aware of every fiber of her being and of the being emerging from her.

"One more push." Leon was coaxing. "Come on, Tifa, you can do it."

"Here she comes. She's coming." Aerith's voice went up a notch.

..:-X-:..

For one eternal moment, Leon could only see Tifa, her face rigid as she strained to give birth, her body shaking in his arms, blood coloring the sheets under her. He could only lean forward with her in that eternal moment, as though he could transfer some of his strength to her, as her reserves were running out.

For that one moment, there was only Tifa. In the next moment, it was Tifa and a baby.

Aerith moved quickly, catching the newborn as the tiny life exited Tifa's body in a rush of fluid and blood. Tifa gasped and sagged against Leon, as though her bones had vanished. He grabbed onto her, but he could feel her heart pounding and feel her breath on his jaw as she panted. Their eyes didn't seek one another this time. They were locked on the pink and purple body in Aerith's hands. The body that wasn't moving or making any sound.

"Leon." Tifa whimpered weakly.

"You did it." Leon wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "You did great. You were perfect. You're okay. It's okay."

Aerith turned the newborn over, making sure all of the tiny airways were clear. So tiny. The baby was so much smaller than Leon had ever thought. Babies were small, of course, but she looked so…fragile and impossibly vulnerable.

"Be careful." He blurted, as Aerith tapped on the baby's back.

Then the newborn coughed, hiccupped, and two tiny lungs filled and offered a loud cry. Suddenly animated, the baby girl let out a loud scream at the new world she'd just been shoved into. The noise was wet and shrill…and it was the most beautiful sound that Leon had ever heard.

"Leon…" Tifa gasped this time, her voice cracking.

"I see her." Leon choked. "She's here. She's…she's perfect."

Aerith made quick work of cleaning the fluid from the newborn, turning her onto her back and wrapping her in a loose baby blanket. All the while, the child wailed.

"Oh my God." Tifa murmured brokenly. "I did it. Look at her."

Aerith smiled, tears rolling down her cheeks. "Hey, time to meet your parents, little one."

Tifa found the strength to sit up, holding her arms out. Aerith happily deposited the bundle into her arms, careful to move the still-attached umbilical cord out of the way. Tifa sank back against Leon, completely still now. The newborn's screams had lapsed into unhappy whimpering at that point.

"Hi." Tifa said. "Hey. Hello, baby."

Leon could do little more than stare. The baby was small and bright pink. She had a tuft of dark hair plastered to her scalp, and her eyes were squinted closed. She looked so squishy and soft and tiny and fragile and perfect. The bottom had fallen out of Leon's stomach, and his chest felt like it was going to explode.

This was his daughter. He had a daughter. She was right there. Tangible. Touchable.

As soon as that thought registered, there was nothing more in all the worlds that he wanted to do more than touch her. He started to move his hand, but pain splintered up through the fingers of his right hand that Tifa had crushed—and probably broken, if the unnatural angles were any indication—so he switched quickly to his left hand, lifting it from Tifa's side. He hesitated for a microsecond before smoothly cupping his hand around the back of the baby's head.

She was warm.

Leon broke.

It was as though a new chamber in his heart had been carved out, and it was immediately filled with a resonating sense of love and fear and responsibility for this new, tiny life. It was so intense and it hit so hard that he physically stopped breathing. It was painful. He thought he had known love, experienced fear, and always felt responsibility. He had never felt it so keenly though.

His vision slurred and he blinked furiously, refusing to let anything spoil the view of her. One of her arms had gotten loose from the blanket, and her hand was curled in an itty bitty fist near her jaw. Tifa made an indescribable noise and lifted a hand, tracing a finger over those tiny fingers.

"Our little rockstar." She whispered.

Leon choked, his lungs remembering to breathe before the rest of him did. As he got his breath, the heat burning across his face and behind his eyes felt like it was spilling over, and his nose burned as he slid his thumb down the baby's cheek, settling on her little shoulder. The newborn squirmed and gave a half-hearted whimper.

"Hey, Dad." Aerith chirped suddenly. "Would you like to cut the cord?"

Leon blinked again—why was it so hard to keep his vision clear?—and found Aerith sitting by Tifa's legs, having already tied off the umbilical cord and holding a set of surgical scissors. He stared at her, dumbstruck for a moment. She'd just called him…He was a…

Tifa turned her head, looking up at him. Still sweaty and flushed, but the pain was gone from her face and her eyes were beautifully bright and reflective. She was glowing in new motherhood, and she was smiling. She pursed her lips briefly as their eyes met.

"Oh, Leon." She said softly, reaching up and brushing a hand across his cheek.

He closed his eyes briefly at her touch, and her thumb slid across the hollow under his left eye, dragging away moisture. As did the rest of her entire hand. His chest constricted and Leon cleared his throat, straightening.

"Yeah. Yes." He repeated, wiping at his face, only to find that both eyes had been pouring hot tears down his face. "Yes."

Tifa sat up away from him, and Leon wiggled out from behind her more reluctantly than he'd done anything in his life. He involuntarily kept his right hand away from touching anything, taking the proffered scissors somewhat awkwardly with his left hand. Aerith gestured where to cut, and Leon deftly closed the blades around the cord, severing it.

Aerith was wiping at her own happy tears, though they were trickles on her cheeks as opposed to the veritable rivers running down Leon's face, clinging to his jaw and making a break down his neck.

"Congratulations." She said in a breaking voice, pulling him into a hug.

He was so limp that he caved right into the hug before sinking out of it to sit in front of Tifa and the baby. Tifa smiled at him, and she lifted a hand to his neck. Leon needed no further prompting and came forward, kissing his wife on the mouth. She returned the kiss, both their tears mixing together with the sweat on her face.

Leon withdrew first, scooting closer and looking down at their daughter. "Hi." He greeted hoarsely, touching that tiny fist as she curled it against her chin.

There weren't words for this.

"Hello there, Mackenzie." Tifa said. "We're your parents."

"Mackenzie." Leon repeated thoughtfully.

Tifa canted her head, looking down at her, "She's not a Mackenzie."

"Here." Aerith appeared in Leon's periphery, holding a bag of ice. "Your hand."

Leon took the bag and glanced at his right hand. His ring and pinkie fingers were already bruising and swelling. Both fingers would need to be reset, but he just dropped the ice on top of them for the time being with a grunt of thanks.

"She looks like a Kayla." Aerith mused.

"Mikayla." Tifa corrected. "To start with an M, right?" She looked to Leon.

He smiled and looked from Tifa to the baby. "It beats Moonbeam-atron." He leaned closer. "Do you want to be a Mikayla?"

The baby gurgled once and moved her fist again.

"I think that's a yes." Tifa cooed, lifting the baby's head to her lips. "Welcome to the world, baby girl."

..:-X-:..

Preview for next week: Yuffie snorted, "Aaand baby's first swear word learned from Uncle Cid."