Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Calamity's Child ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

It was decided that the doctor would stay at the mansion. Even with his reassurance that there was still nearly two months left, he and Reeve felt that it would be better to be safe than sorry. They had no idea what could happen, and should the blond go into premature labour the results could be deadly for both parent and child. So Cloud cleared out another room in the mansion, right next to his. The invasion of his personal space wasn't appreciated, but Cloud had to concede the point, as it was the most logical. There wasn't much point in having the doctor stay there for emergencies if there was an entire mansion between the two of them. The blond was also drilled daily on the warning signs of when to call for the doctor. Cloud had groused that he might as well just follow the older man around, but had hurriedly changed the subject when Myaki mentioned that might be safest.

Thankfully, Nanaki was there, and half the time the feline would end up lounging next to Cloud's bed, or in his room somewhere. He hated to admit it, but he wasn't really able to defend himself at this point. Tsuragi had been hidden somewhere, even though he could barely use it effectively, and his body was growing too quickly for him to adapt. Apparently Reeve had been worried that the swordsman would still try to practice - which was a valid concern, because he could practically feel himself losing muscle mass. The weakness made him irritable, but he just had to suck it up at this point and deal. And keep reminding himself that it was only temporary. The doctor had also prescribed exercises that would help him keep in relatively good shape, which Cloud was grateful for. The easier it was for him to get back into fighting shape afterwards, the better, so far as he was concerned; especially as he would have a baby to protect on the way back to Edge.

Reeve had to go back to Midgar the following day; even though as President of the WRO he could find plenty of reasons to disappear for a few days, he couldn't do it too much, or certain groups (the Turks) would figure out where he was going, and from there, Cloud's secret. The executive did promise, however, to come back for the birth. Cloud had already decided that Reeve would be named the child's godfather. From the start, the older man had been there for him, not looking at him like he was a freak, not batting an eye at his more violent outbursts, and helping even in ways he wouldn't have expected, such as finding a discreet doctor and stopping the rumours around town. He more than deserved the title, even if no one else knew why.

Life fell into a somewhat comfortable routine after the Doctor Myaki arrived. Cloud would wake up, make breakfast for the three of them - he had learned all of his cooking skills from his mother, and could cook a decent meal, even if it wasn't gourmet - and then submit grudgingly to a check-up by the doctor. He had questioned the everyday bit, but Myaki was unwilling to take any chances. Since he kept them all non-evasive (except for a once a week blood test) the blond hadn't really been able to complain too much. That may have had more to do with the growing collection of ultrasound pictures that had taken up residence in a box under his bed (which Cloud would deny owning, but would pull out at any opportunity). It was nice to be able to remind himself that all of this torture would be worth it in the end.

There was also the pleasure he couldn't quite hide at hearing the heart beat or feeling the baby move (now that he knew that's what it was). One of the more memorable check-ups was when Dr. Myaki had asked Cloud about names, and he realized that he hadn't even thought about that. The next shipment from Reeve had included a book of baby names, which he took to reading at night, asking Nanaki his opinion when he came across a name he particularly liked.

Afterwards, Myaki would make any trips out to the town that was necessary, including any of the random cravings that he may have. Occasionally Cloud would join them and he would go with the doctor as `Sera'. Annoyingly, the maternity pants didn't fit him - but since that meant he hadn't gotten hips he was willing to wear the dresses. He also hadn't gotten other certain...feminine parts...so he continued with the padded bras as well. It had been a relief when he hadn't started to develop breasts, but none of the reports he read suggested that he would, and the doctor had confirmed that if he hadn't by now, he didn't have to worry about that, at least. Apparently Hojo hadn't bothered to add mammary glands, both because Cloud had been unconscious and wouldn't have been able to nurse an infant anyway, and because none of the artificially conceived pregnancies had gotten to that point. Dr. Myaki, looking over Hojo's notes, had said it would have been a dangerous (not that Hojo would have cared), time-consuming (the main reason for it being scrapped) and ultimately pointless series of surgeries, IF it had even worked.

So, much to Cloud's relief, bottled milk had been put on the list of supplies needed.

The blond had been surprised, the first time he had visited the town after Reeve's last visit, to find the rumours had stopped. Kale had thankfully backed off, though he almost wished all he had to duck was the other man's poor attempts at courting. Now he had to deal with the hordes of women who had descended on him, offering advice, opinions, and gossip. And touching - he felt his hand instinctively twitching for his sword every time someone walked up and boldly laid their hand on his growing stomach. A few times he had been unsuccessful at stopping the growl of irritation, but to further annoy him, all that got him was a strange look - no fear, no backing off.

He had to admit, some of the advice was useful - the heated pads for his back were a godsend - but everything else made him want to hide. Cloud knew they meant well, but still. Perhaps being shunned would have been better. Give him a pack of monsters over a pack of nosy women any day. At least monsters he knew how to deal with.

The worst he had experienced since Reeve's intervention was when he was looking at the bottled milk. One of the older women had asked him, rather haughtily, if he thought he was too good to breastfeed. However, it had only taken the bewildered blond replying that he couldn't to turn the woman's look from scornful to sympathetic. She then proceeded to explain all the different types and nutrients that a newborn would need. Cloud had emerged from the store with his head spinning but a bag full of what Leiza had said was the best bottled milk on the market.

Cloud had questioned buying so much, since he still planned on going back to Edge after everything was over, but both the doctor and the women he spoke to told him that he'd be surprised how quickly he went through supplies. Thankfully money wasn't an issue, but the totals were still shocking.

Doctor Myaki hadn't changed his estimate of thirty weeks, and those two months were spent preparing. They had to get a crib, since neither Cloud nor the newborn would be able to travel right away, and the baby would still need someplace to sleep, even if it was only temporarily. In addition to the gallons of milk there were also mountains of diapers, bags full of clothing, pacifiers, even toys. The room they had chosen as the temporary nursery was close to overflowing. Cloud had questioned how all of it was going to get back to Edge, but Myaki had just laughed at him, and explained that most of it would be used or outgrown within a few months. The blond had stared incredulously at the doctor and wondered how anyone managed to raise a child without going broke - or insane.

Then there was The Day that Cloud had - grudgingly - let Mae into the house.

The girl had taken to coming over every few days, since Cloud wasn't really able to get to town much anymore. Expecting that the blond was getting bored (which was true, even if he didn't particularly want Mae's company to ease said boredom) she had taken it upon herself to visit him and break up his days. She thought it was `so romantic' that Reeve had `insisted' on having the doctor stay with Cloud, Of course, to her, it just appeared like a nervous father with his `wife' so far away from a larger city and more modern facilities, and there was no way he was enlightening her on the truth of the matter.

So every few days she would come over, and talk at him about what was happening in the town, and occasionally even drag a few responses from him about how the pregnancy was going. Mae had even convinced him to show her a few of the ultrasound pictures which she had cooed over. At least she was one of the few people who seemed to realize he didn't like being touched.

Showing her the nursery hadn't seemed like a bad, or dangerous, idea. When she had stepped inside, stared around in shock, and then promptly left, Cloud wasn't sure what to do. He didn't particularly care for her visits, but the manner in which she left had seemed...suspicious.

He had, unfortunately, been proven right when she showed up a few hours later with a smirking Kale and several cans of paint. Cloud had been unceremoniously shut out of the room and told not to open the door until he was told to. Retreating to the library (the normal one; he had taken extreme pleasure in setting fire to everything still left in the labs), he had almost forgotten about the couple upstairs until they came to get him.

The room had been completely transformed - everything had been put away in the dressers, the crib had been set up, and the room had been painted blue and yellow with a decorative border running along the middle. He was really hoping the figures on it weren't what he thought they were, however. The blond decided that it had to be the paint fumes - fading but still noticeable to Mako enhanced senses - that was making his eyes water.

“You two didn't have to do all of this.”

Mae grinned and patted his arm. “Of course we did. You are our friend, after all, and it's not like you could do it yourself at this point. No lifting, and paint fumes are bad for the baby.”

Cloud flushed a bit at the friend comment - he felt bad because he didn't really consider either of them friends; plus he was lying to them and he would be leaving town in just a few months. Yet they had still put in all this effort for him.

“I just meant...well, I'm going back to Edge.”

“And where were you going to keep it until you left? It took us half an hour just to find the crib.” Cloud thought he might have preferred it when the man was trying to be charming.

“What Kale means is that even if it's only temporary, babies need a nice, comfortable, cheerful place to sleep. Now you have one.”

Cloud surreptitiously glanced at the rest of the manor, but was smart enough not to mention that. He could only imagine Vincent's reaction if he were to ever come back and find the entire place painted in pastels. He mumbled another thank you, but luckily the two noticed his embarrassment and quickly changed to subject, insisting on him going back with them into town for dinner.

When he returned later that night, Nanaki was in his usual place on the rug at the foot of the bed, a grin on his face.

“Baby chocobos?”

“Shut up.”

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It was edging towards the thirty-second week when the doctor deemed Cloud (and more importantly) the baby ready. It was a balancing act - he had said that doing a c-section too prematurely was dangerous if the lungs weren't fully formed, but the risk of Cloud going into labour when there wasn't any place for the baby to go was just as hazardous to the child's health. Reeve had been called and was on his way, and Cloud was attempting to not hyperventilate.

While he was very glad that the pregnancy would be over and he could have his body back, he was worried about flashbacks to the lab and going into a panic attack or something similar during the surgery, and the fact that after this he was going to be a parent - something he was in no way prepared for.

He was told to go walk around while they waited for Reeve to arrive, and Dr. Myaki set up what he would need for the delivery. Cloud very firmly pushed the images of Mako tanks and lab tables and needles out of his head and went to walk around the restored gardens. The second floor had been more or less off limits for the last two weeks - he went down the stairs once in the morning and back up the stairs once in the evening, and that was about all his body could take at this point. Even walking around the garden would end up tiring him out - but that was probably the doctor's plan. Tire him out so he couldn't freak out once he was on the operating table. He cringed and went back to studying the flowers. Too bad he didn't know what any of them were other than the roses.

The blond heard the helicopter well before it came into sight, and had more than enough time - even at the slow pace he had to go at - to get back inside before it touched down. Reeve entered the manor a short while later, noticing the blond eyeing the kitchen.

“Nothing to eat or drink, you know that Cloud.”

Cloud nodded, even if he was famished, his nerves wouldn't allow him to eat at this point anyway. “Can you go see if Dr. Myaki is ready for me?” He knew he sounded like a little kid, but he did not want to go in that room a second before he had to. Thankfully, Reeve understood that, and his reasons behind it as well, and readily agreed, disappearing into what had been a lounge, but they had converted into an operating room. Two full walls were windows, which Cloud had refused to let be covered. Being able to see the sky when he was getting poked and prodded made him less likely to panic.

The previous few weeks, he had been told several times what to expect from the caesarean, and he knew that, considering what he'd already been through, this was straightforward, simple, and probably not even painful. Unless the Mako burned off the anaesthetic too quickly - that had been one thing they discussed, and Cloud had agreed with the doctor that if that happened, he'd deal with the pain, since too much could hurt the baby, and it wasn't like a cut in his stomach was the worst pain he'd ever dealt with.

Still, when the time came to change into the hospital gown and get onto that table, he found his hands shaking. Perhaps coming to Nibelheim, to willingly go through a surgery in the same town - in the same house - as everything that had been done to him, hadn't been the best idea. At this point though, all he could do was force himself to calm down, and get on the table.

It was padded, nothing like the cold sterile tables in the lab. The light was natural, except for a small light directly above his abdomen, not the glaring fluorescents. And most importantly, it was Reeve and Dr Myaki, not Hojo and whatever nameless wannabe scientist he had helping him.

They had gone over the entire procedure step by step beforehand, since Cloud had grudgingly told them about Hojo's tendency to brag as he was working, so Myaki would speak as little as possible during the surgery. There also wasn't the screen that the doctor had said was normally used, since Cloud was far too paranoid to not be able to see what was going on, and it wasn't like seeing a little bit of his own blood and guts would bother him too badly.

He still didn't watch as the needle entered his skin though - that was something that never failed to make him queasy.

Dr. Myaki didn't bother to wait for the anaesthetic to take full effect, knowing he was working against the Mako burning it off as quickly as it could. Cloud couldn't help flinching at the first cut, but otherwise remained still and simply watched. He could see the doctor's desire to see how the womb had been grafted into his body, but to his relief, Myaki suppressed that urge, and instead concentrated on extracting the infant.

He couldn't really see what the older man was doing, and thankfully after the first cut he couldn't really feel anything either, but Reeve was there, helping the doctor and acting as a makeshift nurse, so at this point all he could do was trust his friend. It only seemed like minutes later when he saw the doctor carefully cutting away the umbilical cord. The blond only got a glimpse of something wrinkly and red before Reeve had wrapped him up and taken him over to the side of the room to clean up. Cloud closed his eyes, glad it was over, but couldn't help the smile when he heard the tiny wail of his newborn son.

“Do you have a name for him?”

The blond smiled. “Rune.” He levered himself up on his elbows, grateful that his stomach had already started to shrink. He'd have his abs back in no time. The Mako was already hard at work repairing the internal damage the birth had caused. Dr. Myaki was still insisting on stitching him up, although he felt it was a waste of time. When he opened his eyes though, he stared in shock. Glancing up at Reeve, it appeared the older man had come to the same conclusion.

“It's only his hair, Cloud, and it may darken as he grows. Everything else takes after you.”

“How...?”

Reeve shook his head, but waited for the doctor to leave - the other man clearly realizing this was a private conversation -before continuing.

“I should have considered that, I'm sorry Cloud. We knew from what happened at the temple that Sephiroth had some way of finding you, and since Hojo was working with him, the knowledge of the womb would have been there. It could have been a last ditch effort by Hojo to continue his experiments. Perhaps he felt that since artificial insemination didn't work, he could try again using the natural method. Sephiroth's reasons behind it...well, those are harder to comprehend. The point, though, and I can run the tests to prove it, is that this isn't Sephiroth. I think it's safe to assume he is the other father, but I can already see that there is too much of you in him already.” Reeve glanced at the pair, and the fading but still slightly visible worry in his eyes. “Just raise him with love, Cloud, and you have nothing to worry about.”

Cloud breathed a sigh of relief and held out his arms to take his son. True to Reeve's word, the little boy had bright blue eyes that were slowly closing as the baby fell back asleep. He couldn't help the grin that came to his face. Regardless of how it happened, he would love his son. He would also make sure that Rune had a better life than either of his fathers. There was just the matter of making sure none of his friends noticed that his little boy had silver hair.

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The first few days after the surgery were hell for Cloud. Dr. Myaki had forbidden him from even leaving the bed, regardless of the fact that his body had already nearly healed. He had not allowed Cloud to use potions or cure Materia, saying that when it came to births, even c-sections, they tended to do more harm than good. (The doctor had gone into a technical explanation that had lost the blond at the first ten-syllable word) At least Cloud had his advanced healing - otherwise he could have been bedridden for weeks. So now he had a grand total of two scars on his abdomen - the short one where Sephiroth had stabbed him all those years ago in Nibelheim, and this new one low on his belly. It had surprised him when it had faded down to a white line, but hadn't completely disappeared; but thinking about it, it made sense. Small wounds healed up in minutes, and probably wouldn't have left scars even if it wasn't for the Mako in his body; larger wounds, the ones that would scar he had used magic or a potion on. Even if he wasn't in the middle of a battle, he had gotten so used to making sure he was always in top shape - even if they were someplace `safe', after all, didn't mean they couldn't get attacked without warning. It made him curious as to how that worked, but unfortunately the only one who would probably have had an answer for him would have been Aerith.

Still, even if he was unable to do too much on doctor's orders, he got to spend most of his time with Rune. The boy was incredibly tiny, even though he was assured by both Reeve and Myaki he was a normal size, even a bit bigger than the doctor was expecting, given the circumstances. Cloud had been so nervous holding him - with his enhanced strength he had been afraid of squeezing him too hard, or holding him too lightly to prevent that from happening and dropping him instead. At least when he was more or less confined in the bed he didn't have to worry about the boy falling far. Even when he wasn't actively taking care of Rune, he found he didn't want to go too far away. He regretted not having the crib in the room with him, but at the same time, if he had done that, he'd likely be getting no sleep at all. Still, he found himself in the nursery every spare minute, smiling down at his son. It still didn't seem quite real to him, but it was still wonderful. Damn them both, but Reeve and Nanaki were right about that. He still hated what Hojo had done to him, but it didn't make him love Rune less.

He had wanted to be on the road right away, but unfortunately Cloud had to concede that it just wasn't possible. The boy needed far too much attention for the blond to even attempt a cross-continent trip. The swordsman also had to admit he really wasn't up to the trip either. He was still sore and woefully out of shape. His metabolism had burned away most of the extra weight, but even lifting his beloved sword was a task he didn't want to consider right now.

All in all though, he wasn't doing that badly. He had plenty of opportunities to get back in shape, and home up on his neglected fighting skills in the area; Reeve was still helping, as was Dr. Myaki, and Nanaki (who had been pretty much reduced to a living baby monitor)

Plus, the longer he was here, the longer he could avoid the uncomfortable questions that were sure to come when he returned home.

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The blond shifted his son on his hip and glanced around the manor. He had to admit it didn't look nearly as scary anymore as it had. The dust was gone, windows and walls were whole, and even the outside was well-kept. He still couldn't bring himself to live there, even if he didn't have responsibilities in Edge, but it would make a good home for someone.

The last few months had been exhausting.  He had known taking care of a newborn would be a lot of work, but the reality was so much worse than what he was expecting.  Reeve had stayed for a week, but then he got word of a building collapse in Edge, and he and Dr Myaki had left.  Nanaki tried to help as best he can, but without hands most of it was left to Cloud. So the following months had been spent trying to get everything ready to leave for Edge, training to get his body back in shape, and attempting to sleep, interspersed at random with cries for food or a change of diaper.

If Rufus could guarantee a full night's sleep, he'd even take the blond's offer to return to Shinra.

Rune's hair had darkened to a platinum blond - still lighter than Cloud's own hair, but different enough to hopefully not raise any suspicions in his friends. The boy's eyes were also the same vibrant blue that Cloud's had been before four years in a Mako tank, but blue eyes were common enough, especially in an infant, to not give away Rune's parentage. He hoped. The story of where he `found' Rune changed every day, and the blond had reluctantly come to the conclusion that he'd probably end up going with whatever came to mind when asked.

Getting back to Edge was going to be a challenge as well. Even though the stops to feed and change Rune wouldn't be quite as frequent with the four month old, it would still take a lot longer than if he was on his own. He wasn't really worried about the danger at this point - he had fully recovered his strength by this point, testing himself on some of the dragons before making plans to leave. But now he had to leave in the next few days - it was nearly a year to the day that Meteor had been stopped, and if he wasn't back Tifa and the rest of them wouldn't let him forget it.

He had emptied out and converted some of the compartments on the bike so he could fit in what he needed for Rune, and still fit in his sword. He had planned out the trip to be able to spend most nights in inns, with access to stores where he could resupply, but he didn't want to depend on that, not when it wasn't just himself. Cloud could live off the land - Rune couldn't.

When he had said he'd go back to Edge on Fenrir, Reeve hadn't thought that taking an infant on the bike was a good idea, and now that the time had come, Cloud was rethinking it as well - but at the same time, there wasn't really a choice at this point. He had made it as safe as possible, the bike was sturdy, and he wasn't going to be speeding like he normally did.

Nanaki had left earlier that morning, wanting to stop by Cosmo Canyon before returning to Edge, and he had packed as much as he could into the bike the previous day, so now there really wasn't anything left to do. As much as he wanted to be home, he found himself procrastinating leaving. With an annoyed grumble, he closed and locked the door. His extended stay would have probably stopped any rumours of the place being haunted, so locks would now be necessary.

Rune was strapped securely in the holder on his chest; in the slim chance a monster actually attacked him, his back would be far more vulnerable. Cloud double checked everything one last time then headed out, resisting the urge to look back.