Chapter Sixty-Four: Reactions
It was a very rare occurrence for the cool, composed General to be rendered absolutely speechless, especially for such a long stretch of time.
Aralyn's brow wrinkled in worry, and she reached up and gently brushed his bangs from his eyes. "Seph, what are you thinking?"
"I'm not sure," he admitted.
Aralyn took this as a bad omen and hung her head. The sparkle in her eyes was gone and there was no sign that minutes ago she had been barely able to restrain her joy.
"No! I don't mean it like that!" Sephiroth quickly amended. "I'm just in shock, that's all. Aralyn, I'm happy."
She looked up and locked eyes with him. "Truly?" she asked. She knew he couldn't possibly lie to her when she looked at him like that.
"Truly."
"You don't sound convincing," she pointed out.
Sephiroth grinned, lifting her feet from the ground and swinging her around in a circle. Aralyn laughed in delight. "Is that better?" he asked, touching his forehead to hers and kissing her.
"I'll take it," she said, smiling. She sighed wistfully. "Can you believe we're going to be parents?"
"No," Sephiroth said simply and honestly. "I can't but…I'm happy all the same."
Zack stared at Sephiroth, open mouthed, hardly blinking. Sephiroth was glad to meet someone who had a harder time accepting it than he did.
"You…she…pregnant?" Zack stammered.
"That is what I said," Sephiroth reminded him, turning back to the pile of papers on his desk.
Sephiroth counted thirty clicks of the clock before Zack's mouth closed, and fifteen more before his comrade tilted back his head and laughed. He rushed to Sephiroth and gave him a strong, happy hug. "A kid! Wow, man! That's amazing!"
Sephiroth had never been one for hugs but he let Zack hang on for a while longer before he cleared his throat in a signal to get off. Zack did so, still smiling. "Wow. So…spill the beans! Boy or girl?"
"We're not sure," Sephiroth said. "Aralyn hasn't been to a doctor yet. We might decide to keep the gender a surprise."
"When is it due?"
"Again, I don't know. We waited quite a while, until we were sure that she was well enough along. She's somewhere around five months," Sephiroth shook his head, smiling. "But you'll be the first to get the news."
"Sweet!" He calmed down enough to sit down in a chair opposite of Sephiroth's desk. "So that's why Aralyn hasn't been at work. I did wonder."
"She wants to come back, but she gets so sick that she can barely stand. I don't know much about pregnancies, but that doesn't seem typical." Sephiroth's smile faded, replaced by a solemn, thoughtful look.
"Hey, man, I'm sure she's fine," Zack assured him.
"At least the baby is. She can hardly sleep anymore, the baby kicks so hard."
"Must be your child," Zack agreed. "Man, I gotta drop in sometime and check on Aralyn. I have to see this for myself. You are taking good care of her, aren't you?" Zack was playfully accusing.
"As best as I can. I don't know about these things," he admitted.
"You need to take her to a doctor, Seph."
Sephiroth frowned. "She won't go."
"Wait, what?" Zack looked oddly at him. "Say that again?"
"She knows how much I wanted to keep our marriage a secret, and she's afraid that the doctors will pry and find out."
"So she plans to carry a baby for nine months without medical guidance?"
"She says that women have been doing this long before modern medicine."
"What happens when she goes into labor? Are you the midwife? 'Cause I'm certainly not gonna do it."
Zack may as well have dropped an anvil on Sephiroth. He jumped high, looking alarmed. "I…hadn't thought of that…"
"Look," Zack said. "I'm going to find her a doctor. I'll find someone who will keep it all quiet. If Aralyn doesn't like it, tell her to live with it."
"Thanks, Zack," Sephiroth replied gratefully. "And in return, I'll bring you to Faramir to see Aralyn."
"Will you fly me?" Zack asked, giving his best puppy-dog face.
"No," was the prompt response.
Sephiroth wanted to kill Zack.
He had adhered to his normal lunchtime schedule, calling Aralyn at home before he even thought of food. She had seemed all right, if not exhausted. Zack had been absent from the cafeteria, so he ate quickly and returned to his office.
The note had been on the table. "I hear you need a doctor. I might be able to help. Stop by my office and we'll talk. –Rufus Shinra."
The last thing he wanted was the heir to Shinra in on this.
He spent the rest of the day leaving threatening messages on Zack's cell. When the spiky haired Soldier finally called back, he was as shocked as Sephiroth had been.
"I didn't tell him, I swear!"
"How else did he find out, then?" Sephiroth snapped.
"Look, I haven't breathed a word! You gotta believe me!"
A knock on Sephiroth's door forced him to call the conversation to an abrupt halt. "Come in," he said, trying not to sound as frustrated as he felt.
Rufus Shinra had decided to come to him about the matter.