thanks for reading! Sorry to disappear for weeks
"Are you sure you'll be ok?" Cloud asked as you dismounted Fenrir.
"Of course I will be. You worry too much Cloud" You told him. You had just gotten to Junon and Cloud had been trying to convince you to stay with him while he does his deliverers and you'd go see your mentor later but you wanted to catch up with her. While you hated keeping things from Cloud you didn't want to say anything until you knew for sure, after all talking about it may make you hopeful and you didn't want to be let down.
"Can you blame me?" he asked.
"You seem to forget that I survived for three years on my own" you teased him.
"I know" he replied knowing he was not going too win this one.
You put a hand on his cheek, "It's only a few hours" you told him.
"Then you'll be back in my arms"
"Then I'll be back in your arms" you agreed before kissing his cheek, you had just pulled away but Cloud pulled you into a passionate kiss. You were stunned for a moment, before you gladly returned the kiss. When the kiss was finished you lingered for a moment getting lost in Cloud's shockingly blue eyes before assuring Cloud that you'll be perfectly fine and you'll even keep your phone on you just in case.
You waived to Cloud as he sped away and you headed into the familiar University medical center where you completed most of your medical degree. As you approached the desk you were surprised to find that you recognized the secretary.
"Autumn Knight is that you?" The meek women asked.
"In the flesh Dehlia" you replied with a smile, Dahlia was an older widow, after her husband died she took to metaphorically adopting all of the medical students, yourself included. She's probably the only reason you didn't starve to death durning your clinical.
She pulled you into a hug, "Its so good to see you" she told you, "What brings you here?" she asked.
"I'm meeting with Dr Winters" you told her
"For a check up or as a colleague?" she asked eyeing you carefully, Dahlia had no medical experience whatsoever but some how she always knew when something was up.
"A bit of both" you admitted.
As if sensing your unease she changed the topic, "Were you ever able to find your brother?" She asked.
You nodded, "Yes, I can't believe its almost a year since I found him" you replied. And so you told her all about how Riley had been adopted by Cid, how you found Riley and how Tifa took you in. You left out the details of the dealing with Sephiroth and tried to keep the conversation about Cloud to a minimum because you could talk about him forever.
"Oh its so great to see you're doing well" she told you.
"Dahlia, are you trying to keep Dr Knight away from me?" A familiar voice said.
"Oh hush" Dahlia replied.
"Hey Dr. Winters." you greeted with a warm smile.
"It must say I was surprised to hear from you but I'm glad you decided come" Dr Winters she said as she pulled you into a hug.
"I did go m.i.a didn't I" you admitted sheepishly.
"I didn't mean it like that, I always knew you'd be like your mom, strike it out on your own." Dr. Winters told you as she began to lead you in the direction of her office. "Your mother would have been an extremely successful doctor in any of the cities but she knew where she was needed most and filled that void" she mused.
"Mom hated big cities, besides people would come from all the small towns around to see her for treatment." you agreed.
She nodded thoughtfully. "And now you've settled in Edge?" she questioned. "What made you pick that old slum?"
"Well almost a year ago I was still looking for my brother, turns out he'd been staying with a group of friends going back and fourth between Edge and Rocket Town. I just happened to walk into the 7th Heaven bar trying to get some water, showed the bar tender a photo of my brother and she just said that he'd love to see me and she'd go get him" you explained as you reached the office, going into detail about how Cid adopted him and he'd usually stay in Edge with Cloud, Tifa, Marlene and Denzel. "They just took me in too, they've really become like a family to me" you told her.
She had offered you a seat and put on some tea so the two of you could talk comfortably.
"It sounds like you found a group of really generous people." Dr Winters agreed.
"They really are, a bit motley and rough around the edges but they are really wonderful. Tifa especially, no questions asked she just took me in, all she asked was that help with the kids and work in the bar. And Cid he always takes such good care of Riley." you couldn't help but mention how Cid took the kids on a trip. As you spoke of your friends, you couldn't help but notice the look Dr. Winters was giving, you weren't sure how to read it so eventually you just asked what the look is for.
"I know you're not one to believe in faith but it sounds like you were meant to meet these people."
You absently bit your lip. You were a very different person when you were in medical school. You entered the program bruised and beaten, a victim of abuse, mourning the death of your parents, fiancé, town, and unborn child. At that point you just couldn't comprehend things like faith and hope, you were, for lack of a better word so broken at that point in your life.
"I think I was meant to meet them" you said carefully, you couldn't help but let your mind wander to thoughts of Cloud, you hadn't said much about him just yet. "When Jace was dying, he told me to find Zack and Cloud, when i found out that Zach had died I stopped looking but the night Tifa took me in, I met Cloud Strife." you smiled to yourself. "Jace was right, Cloud takes care of me"
Dr Winters got a sly smile. "It seems in more way than one" she said making a dirty joke.
"Dr. Winters!" you were shocked, you expected this from Dahlia but not Dr. Winters.
"Oh come on, we all have needs" Dr. Winters reasoned, "nothing to be ashamed of, but I can see you're embarrassed so this is a fairly new relationship?" she questioned.
You nodded, "We've only be official for a few weeks, we both had a lot of emotional baggage so it took a while" you admitted.
Dr. Winters nodded thoughtfully before changing the topic and with a soft smile she said, "I really am glad you're looking better and seem much happier. I was worried when you graduated and went off on your own but it seems everything worked out?"
You nodded, "I am happy and I do feel better." you agreed.
But ever the professional Dr. Winters moved on to the next topic, you spent the next several hours going over everything you would need open a clinic in Edge. Everything from where to get medical equipment, antibiotics and medical supplies, how to keep medical records and a few contacts of people to reach out to for advice. You even started a plan so you could open the clinic as soon as possible and as you build up some revenue you'll be able to get more equipment and continuously build on.
"Awe what happened to the happy optimistic girl that walked in here?" Dr Winters joked as the business portion of your meeting came to a close.
"She realized she in way over her head and has a lot of work to do" you mumbled biting your lip, as you glanced over your notes. You have a lot of work ahead of you but you know Edge needs a clinic and treating people in Tifa's living room is only a temporary solution.
"It will be a lot of work, but you're determined and it sounds like you have a good group of friends who are willing to help you." Dr Winters told you. You nodded with a soft smile, you know all of your friends will be more than willing to help you. "Now" Dr Winters said catching you attention,"Something has been bothering you?" She asked, but from her tone she already knew something was bothering you.
You weren't how to say this, after all Dr Winters is the one who came up with the diagnosis that you're infertile, you looked at the test results, knew about all the scar tissue and for a majority of the last four years have haven't gotten your period but you needed to know for sure if you really are infertile.
Dr Winters put a hand on your shoulder, "Autumn" She started but corrected herself "Dr. Knight you can tell me anything, I would never judge you, I might poke a little fun at you but whatever it is you can tell me" she prompted.
You bit your lip and thought for a second before speaking, "I got my period a few weeks ago, it was a little irregular but just like the ones I had before the the miscarriage."
Dr Winters was shocked for a moment and sat down, you could see she was confused and conflicted. "But the scar tissue" she mumbled almost to herself. "We both looked at the results, that would be impossible…" she trailed off.
You knew you had to tell her what happened. "There was a curaga spell…" you trailed off.
"Curaga can be very powerful, especially combined with materia but theirs never been any records of it healing…" she tailed off for a moment, "Something like your case."
"I know" you replied, you've been reading every medical journal you could find and never found anything like what happened to you. "But theirs something else"
She pinched the bridge of her nose."Please don't tell me you did something stupid and reckless. I know i said i would never judge you but that look on your face just gave me chills, its the same look your mother would give me whenever she was up to no good."
"Well it was reckless," you mumbled. "Did you hear about the events in Edge just before Geostigma vanished?" you asked timidly.
"Oh course I did, those whatever they're calling them? Remnants, running around kidnapping all those poor kids. Their was even a rumor that Sephiroth returned." She was anxious speaking about this. Dr Winters was a first responder durning Sephiroth's original rampage and she knew all about your own history with him.
"Sephiroth did return, One of the remnants kidnapped me and Cloud pursued them to save me. When he finally got me away from them he told me to go back to Edge and find our friends, but he was going after the remnants and I just couldn't leave him. If he was hurt..:" you trailed off trying to compose yourself before continuing, "I couldn't let what happened to Jace happen to Cloud, I wouldn't listen and I went with him to the final battle. Even when Sephiroth returned, Cloud still defeated him. But Cloud was distracted, the remnants started fading into the Lifestream and I'm the only one who saw it coming" You had to pause again to compose yourself. Dr Winters put a hand on your shoulder understanding that this was really hard to talk about. "One of the other remnants shot at Cloud and I couldn't let what happened to Jace happen to Cloud, but the only way I could prevent it was to throw myself in front of it."
"Autumn you didn't" She mumbled more to herself. Instead of speaking you moved the collar of your shirt to reveal the bullet entry wound scar. Dr Winters nearly gasped. "It would have pierced your heart! How did you survive?"
You bit your lip again, "I didn't, I remember being shot, Cloud catching me, he was crying, but I was just so happy i saved him. The next thing I remember is waking up in a pool of water" though you did leave the part about seeing the ghosts of basically everyone you've ever cared about, this story was already too crazy to believe. You tried to describe the curaga spell and that the waters at the church is what purified the geostigma but you just could't find the right words. At the end of your story Dr. Winters just sat there in a shocked silence. You were getting anxious scared of what her response will be when she gets over the shock. "Dr. Winters, I don't understand what happened to me that day, but I think something changed, my scars don't hurt like they did. I need to know if… if I'm healed. I've been so scared and anxious, I need to know and you're the only person in the medical field I trust." you were not doing a good job of explaining yourself, you were rambling and panicking, you grasped the wolf earring on your necklace for comfort.
Dr. Winters was silent for a few tense moments but finally spoke, "we'll try" she said quietly, "Go get a gown on, we'll run some tests" it was almost as if she couldn't believe the words coming out of her own mouth. You stood up and were about to speak, but she stopped you. "I don't know what any of this means. As a doctor I would say its impossible, but i care about you and I really hope you prove me wrong." she said. You could feel tears welling up in your eyes as you hugged your mentor, she was shocked for a moment but gave you a warm smile and hugged you back before ordering you to get a gown on again.
(Riley)
You sat on a fence next to Skylar watching Denzel and Marlene ride chocobos, or at least attempt to… turns out riding chocobos while definitely fun is basically an extreme sport, the overgrown chickens take pleasure in clumsily running around, you fell off more than a few times.
"Don't you want to be out there with them?" Skylar asked quietly.
"No, not at the moment" you replied glancing in her direction.
She's been quiet and distant. You didn't blame her, the adults haven't been talking about it much and whenever they do they try to keep quiet about. You knew exactly what was going on. Skylar's an orphan just like the rest of you…but unlike the rest of you her parents are still alive. You weren't sure what to do or say but then you remembered what something your mom told you, it was a vague memory, it was so hard to remember anything about her but you could clearly remember this piece of wisdom. Sometimes you don't need to do or say anything, sometimes you just need to be near, to show them you care. So you inched a little closer to Skylar and just sat there, watching Marlene and Denzel. Skylar looked at you in disbelief, you just offered her a small smile. After a few moments Skylar inched closer to you and rested her head on your shoulder, you couldn't help but smile to yourself.
(Tifa)
It was a fairly slow day for the bar, you had opened early, mostly out of sheer boredom. Autumn, Cloud and the kids had only been gone a few days and you were finding that you actually hate all of your newfound free time, granted you really liked sleeping late and not having to cook breakfast for small army but were beginning to really hate how quiet it is. You had called Cid again but each conversation gets shorter and shorter and usually ends with him saying "get off my back women," but you were worried about Skylar you couldn't help it.
You poured another round of beers for the group of mechanics that wandered in a while ago. You carried the tray over to their table and passed out the beers. As you started to head back to the bar Vincent stormed through the door and he did not look happy. He instantly began scanning the room, he startled pretty much all of your customer except Alex and Jacob who have become accustomed to the grumpy old vampire.
"Vincent, I'm happy to see you but you're scaring my customers" you told him as you unsuccessfully tried to wrangle the big weird vampire dad who looks surprisingly angry. "Vincent chill out!" you snapped at him, which seemed to finally catch his attention. "I really never thought I'd have to say that to you" you mumbled to yourself as you ushered Vincent over to a barstool. "Well?" you questioned as soon as he was settled. Vincent remained silent, he faced you but you could see his eyes still darting around the room. "Come on, you can't barge in here scare my customers and not tell what the hell is going on." you prompted.
"Wheres Autumn?" he asked.
You were a bit caught off guard, "She's in Junon with Cloud, meeting with her old mentors, why?" you asked. Vincent sighed seemly in frustration, he's so hard to read. "Is everything ok?" you asked. Vincent paused a moment before nodding. "I don't know what you've been investigating but you'd tell me if Autumn was in danger right?" you asked. Vincent nodded again. "Then whats with the urgency?" you asked. You mind was already jumping to conclusions and all of them ended with Autumn being put in danger, but Vincent just remained silent. "Vincent I'm worried, you don't freak out for no reason." you told him.
Vincent seemed to frown for a moment but finally spoke. "I was following an old lead, I think it was a dead end, maybe it doesn't exist but theirs no danger" he told you.
You weren't sure what Vincent was keeping from you but whatever it is made you worry. You know he must have a good reason as to why he's withholding information because it's Vincent and he always has a good reason but it still made you feel uneasy.
(Autumn)
"What does this mean?" Dr Winters trailed off.
"I don't want to get my hopes up" you told her as you nervously bit your lip.
"The scar tissue is gone" Dr Winters said in disbelief.
All of your test results were coming back and as much as you were scared to admit it they were looking really good. Dr. Winters even called a gynecologist, Dr. Livingston to come in and review the tests and they came to same conclusion as you and Dr Winters: the scar tissue was drastically reduced, ovulation was low but viable, hormone levels average.
Dr. Livingston was looking at the last of your test results, you anxiously bit your lip in anticipation of his diagnosis. Dr Winters could see your distress and put a hand on your shoulder in an attempt to calm you, it didn't work, but still you appreciated the effort.
"Did you endure a great deal of trauma after the miscarriage? Dr. Livingston asked.
Your initial reaction was to withhold information, you finally understood why patients keep secrets from their doctors, but you bit your lip and spoke "Well there was a period of time after the miscarriage that I was being physically abused."
"Dr Knight, I don't mean that, that much is clear in your medical records, I know its uncomfortable but theirs a gap in your history from the time of the miscarriage till your enrollment as a medical student, was there any other traumatic event between those two times."
You were about to speak when Dr. Winters spoke in your place. "There are several months where Dr Knight was imprisoned by the ShinRa corporation, she has no memory of those months and we've already contacted ShinRa for her medical records of that time but they have not gotten back to us."
"Thats not entirely true…" You trailed off, Dr. Winters looked at you. "I don't know everything that happened, I have a very convincing friend who got Rufus ShinRa to release some files about the time I spent captive. I found out that Dr. Hojo would beat and torture me daily because he thought I had my mother's medical journals on the SOLDIER program, we were given the bare minimums for nourishment and in that time I took a pint or two of my blood daily to be used in a transfusion."
"Three pints?! Autumn you could have died, why would you…"Dr Winters began scolding you, but stopped when she saw your face. "Its in the past, I'm sorry, but why would you ever do that?"
"I didn't have a choice, there was a Solider who was dying of mako poisoning, he needed the transfusions to survive" you looked away, It kindof felt like lying but they didn't need to know that it was Cloud you were saving.
There was a silence, you weren't sure if it was more awkward or more tense, either way you hated it. You were thankful when Dr. Livingston spoke. "Do you want my honest opinion?" he asked.
"I need to know" you replied.
He gestured for you join him in reviewing your medical records. "Think of it as a timeline" he said. "Here are you extremely detailed records from childhood, to adolescence, your first period, onward- all very healthy, then here." He pointed to the records kept from the doctor you saw in Nibleheim who confirmed your suspicions. "Is where your miscarriage was first documented, I don't agree with that doctor's results, especially compared to the results from here." He pointed to the records kept while you were in medical school. "Something happened between these two point, it sounds like the abuse you suffered by Dr. Hojo and those blood transfusions are what actually caused your infertility. I believe that doctor in Nibleheim misdiagnosed you initially, I don't think it was the miscarriage that caused the infertility, but the trauma and abuse suffered after it."
"Then shouldn't they be reported?" Dr. Winters asked.
"I wouldn't, I probably would have drawn the same conclusion at the time. " He turned to you. " Excuse me for my lack of bedside matter but to put it bluntly only because I'm speaking from one medical professional to another, the miscarriage was bad, it definitely effected your fertility but did not cause the infertility. That was caused by the inability to allow your body to heal and the massive blood loss."
You bit your lip, maybe Dr. Livingston didn't come to the same conclusion that you and Dr. Winters did.
"Thats why this is such a miracle, I don't know how its possible, everything in your medical records leads to this being impossible but look here" He said gesturing to the results from your tests from when you first started living at Seventh Heaven. "These results are very similar to the ones from the Nibleheim doctor. But look at these" He pointed to the tests from today, "The scar tissue is drastically reduced, hormone levels right around average but almost identical to your level prior to miscarriage, ovulation is viable albeit low."
"Can you just tell me already!" you blurted out, a moment after you spoke you realized what you had done. "I'm sorry Dr. Livingston, I appreciate your opinion on this, please continue." you said quietly as you looked away absently holding the wolf earring for comfort.
"No need to apologize, I got carried away, your condition really is a medical miracle, because under the right circumstances you would be able to have children."