Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Counterfeit God; Part I ❯ Chapter 15
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Shiratori-Strife Inc 
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 10.08.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 191 | Status: Completed
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst / Drama / Adventure / Action | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 10.08.2006 | Pages: 3 | Words: 3.7K | Visits: 191 | Status: Completed
If you want to get the full effect of what happens to Shera in this chapter, putting on the AC soundtrack (disc one, song two) would add to it. I was listening to it when I wrote it and it kind of fit with the mood of the scene!
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Chapter 15
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“I can’t say I wasn’t expecting this,” Sirius gave Rude one fleeting glance before she snuffed the cigarette and turned back to the building. “I guess we should head back in; see if there’s any word?”
Cloud nodded, un-phased by Rude’s appearance. Truth be told, he’d expected it as well. After all, no one knew Nobunaga Eko better than Rufus Shinra, so it only made logical sense that he would send a Turk to help in the protection of her. But if Rude thought he was going to be standing in the bedroom all night just to make sure nothing came in, he had another thing coming. Outside of it? Sure, fine, whatever. Inside? Laughable.
Not to mention that Cloud wouldn’t hesitate to slit the Turk’s throat if he even so much as breathed inside of the doorway.
Checking his defensiveness in surprise, Cloud’s hold on Sirius’ hand tightened significantly.
Reign it in, Cloud.
I’m trying…
---
“Shiratori?”
Reno’s head snapped up when he heard his name being called and immediately climbed to his feet, looking nervous and as if he didn’t quite know what to do. The nurse smiled softly as he approached.
“Morghann?”
“Doing fine,” The tension in the room eased tremendously with that having been said. “Aside from a few complications during delivery, everything went well. Morghann is severely malnourished, but we’re pumping fluids into her, and when she wakes up, we’ll see if we can’t get her to eat something. She’ll probably be hesitant because, believe me, she isn’t going to be feeling well when she wakes up,”
Reno was already starting to relax a little, but he still had another concern to voice. “And the baby?”
“She’s doing just fine, too,” The nurse smiled brightly. “Congratulations. You have a healthy, beautiful baby girl,” A collective sigh of awe from the women in the room made Reno smile.
“Can I see her?”
“Of course! If you’ll follow me?” When she turned and walked through the double doors on the other side of the lobby, Reno and a few of the others followed her. The nursery was quite a walk from the lobby, but they hardly noticed the halls lengthiness. As expected, the nursery was full of newborns, but it didn’t take long for Reno to recognize his own daughter. She had a bit of red hair poking out from under the pink cap.
“Morghann isn’t going to be well enough for the next few days to nurse, so we’re going to have to start the baby off on a bottle,” The nurse motioned him towards the rocking chair on the far side of the room and moved carefully between cribs until she reached the newest addition. Reno rolled up his sleeves and fought against the shaking of his hands as the nurse came back and motioned for him to hold his arms out. The nervousness vanished the second that baby girl was placed in his arms and was replaced by a feeling of joy he hadn’t felt in a very long time. She was so small, so beautiful, that he started crying.
The baby stirred, not opening her eyes, but clearly awake. “Hi…” Reno breathed, not really knowing what else to say.
“She recognizes your voice,” The nurse said in awe when she saw that the baby was snuggling into his chest. “It’s always an amazing sight,”
“I can’t quite…”
“It’s a lot to take in at once,” The nurse smiled at the others all crowding the window and looking in. The men didn’t look as interested as the women, but she gave them a knowing smile when she saw them peeking over the heads of the women to see inside. Rude had slid his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose to get a glimpse of the newest addition to the world and quirked a small smile for a brief second. Reno looked so…at peace with everything in that moment. The nurse reached for a readied bottle of breast milk, checked that it was at the right temperature and handed it to Reno.
“If she doesn’t take it right off the bat, don’t fret. Be persistent with her and she’ll understand. When Morghann’s well enough, she’ll be able to nurse the baby and things should go a lot smoother,” The nurse smiled in approval as Reno gently pressed the bottle’s nipple to his daughter’s lips and watched her resist at first, then, with a little encouragement from Reno, accept the offering of food.
“Cut me a little slack, kid. I’m new at this,” That’s when she finally opened her eyes and stared up at him while she took the milk and his heart nearly stopped. Those beautiful orbs of her were the most gorgeous shade of green he’d ever seen in his life, but there were traces of her mother’s sapphire mixed in with it. The gasp of awe could barely be contained.
“Can I ask you something?”
Reno looked up at the nurse for a brief second and nodded as he looked back down at his squirming newborn.
“What happened to Morghann? And that other woman that you all brought in with her?”
Reno’s blood ran cold as he looked back up at the nurse. She looked familiar to him in that moment and then he realized it. She had worked in the infirmary at the Shinra Company helping to treat the SOLDIER’s and everyone else employed, along with their families. She was an older black woman, a little plump in her age, but as nice and as goofy as they came. He remembered her from a couple of his own visits to the infirmary while having been employed under Rufus’ father.
“Do you remember Nobunaga Eko?”
“That freak scientist who was doing all those strange experiments? The one that destroyed that village all those years ago?”
“Yes,”
“Isn’t he dead? Is someone copying his experiments?”
“No. There are no copycats. It’s him. He’s alive,”
Something flickered in the nurse’s black eyes and she looked suddenly angry. “Then the rumors about Rocket Town are true?”
Surprised by this, Reno looked up at her. “Rumor about what’s going on has reached Midgar?”
“A couple of days ago, a woman came in here talking about how she’d gone to Rocket Town to purchase a Materia that would help fertilize her land for the Chocobos she raises and said that it was all gone. When she asked for it, the townspeople got a little hostile, so she turned tail and came back home.”
Reno’s eyes narrowed in fury. “He’s trying to complete that experiment he was working on all those years ago. When Morghann and Shera spoke against him…” He shook his head, unable to go on. He’d seen what Shera had looked like and he couldn’t think about it anymore. It was just too horrible. And Morghann? She’d suffered a different kind of torture entirely, but she was still in really bad shape. That’s when Reno remembered what the nurse had said earlier.
“What kind of complications happened during delivery?”
The nurse hesitated and then gave in with a heavy sigh. “She was in pretty bad shape, I can’t lie about that. We knew there was a pretty big risk of her remaining health if we took the baby by C-Section, but if we hadn’t, you wouldn’t be holding your daughter right now. Morghann hemorrhaged for a little while, so we had to do a blood transfusion at the same time, which made the process a little longer. But her blood clotted and she stabilized. When we got to the baby, she’d been suffocating because the umbilical chord had gotten wrapped around her neck. But we gave her plenty of oxygen and she leveled out. Other than that and Morghann’s malnourishment, they’re both healthy. We had to be sure about it though, which is what took so long,”
Feeling some sense of closure after hearing this, Reno nodded and turned his attention back to his infant daughter. “What about Shera?”
“I don’t know. She was in worse shape than Morghann. Honestly, it’s a wonder she’s lived as long as she has, but her will to live is weakening…We’re not sure how much longer she has or if there is even a chance for recovery. But she’s holding on. I think she’s waiting for something…”
Reno nodded, thinking that he understood what was happening with Shera.
“I’ll go check on Morghann,” The nurse exited the room, leaving the door open so that the others could creep in and adore the baby for a little while. Sirius was the first one that came inside and leaned over them both, grinning.
“Reno, she’s gorgeous,”
“Sirius…” He looked up at her and looked unsure of himself. “You know more about Morghann’s past than any of us and…Her mother…What was her name?”
Sirius eyes widened and filled with tears at the sudden realization. “Oh, Reno! It was Sarah…Her mom’s name was Sarah,”
Nodding, Reno looked back down at his daughter and smiled proudly. “Sarah Shiratori,”
“Morghann will love it,” Smiling and tickling the infant’s chubby pink cheek, Sirius felt something inside of her click and she glanced quickly at Cloud through the window. When would it be safe for them to do this for themselves? She looked back down at the baby who was now staring up at her in wonder and inhaled sharply at the sight of those lovely eyes. “She’s gonna break some hearts, Reno,”
“If I let anyone get near her, which isn’t likely. First guy that shows up gets shot or severely beaten with my damned rod,”
Giggling, Sirius patted him on the back and motioned for Marlene and Denzel, who’d just arrived with Tifa and Barret, to come and see their newest friend. Denzel didn’t really know what to say. Reno wasn’t the type of guy he envisioned as a father figure, unless the man had random kids all over both continents, which wouldn’t surprise him, but a baby with one woman with no conditions, no chance of a parting? No one had really expected it, but then again no one really knew Reno as well as Morghann or Sirius. Marlene, on the other hand, was no less than overjoyed. For her, little Sarah was practically her baby sister.
Yuffie and Tifa came in next, smiling down at the angel in Reno’s arms.
“She’s gonna be a looker!” Yuffie giggled when she saw the tuft of bright red hair poking out of the pink cap. “Look at her hair!”
“How darling,” Tifa smiled as she reached out and touched the baby’s cheek. “Reno, she’s precious!”
“Mine,” He said with a smile, cuddling his newborn. Sarah looked at all of them and then ignored them, her attention back on her half empty bottle. It was adorable.
“Cute kid. Sucks that she looks so much like her father,” Sirius smacked Cid’s arm as he came in and giggled at the evil look Reno shot the man. Truth be told, Reno wasn’t really ready to deal with Cid. After all, like a dumb ass, Cid had left Morghann ALONE in Rocket Town, knowing that something was wrong there. Still, this wasn’t the time or the place to voice his loathing of the man.
“Cid,”
When Cid’s eyes met Reno’s, the older man flinched inwardly. He could understand why he was getting that look.
“You should go see Shera. She’s not in very good shape,”
Wounded, Cid nodded, hearing the dismissal. “Yeah, I should do that,”
“Come on, kids!” Barret said, grinning too widely. “Let’s leave the new daddy to admire his daughter for a while! Let’s go get some food!”
----
Two hours later, when Sarah had fallen asleep peacefully in his arms, Reno had allowed the nurse to take her from him so that she could sleep in her crib while Reno sat with a still sleeping Morghann. He stretched in the chair, uncomfortable with it’s lack of cushion. It was doing murder to his rump.
“I won’t have an ass at this rate,”
“You didn’t have one to begin with,”
Surprised, Reno looked down at Morghann and smiled gently. “Welcome back. You had us all really scared, Morghann,” Reno smiled at Morghann as she stirred, groaning in the pain in her abdomen as it reached her reawakening senses. “Shit, that hurts…”
“Nurse said you wouldn’t be too comfortable for the next few days,” Reno took her hand and hated how pained she looked.
“I’m at the hospital?” Sadness filled her eyes. It’s a pity about the baby… “Oh, Reno…”
“Morg? What’s wrong?”
“The baby…I…I couldn’t…”
“Sweetie,” He leaned down and kissed her, smiling softly. “Morghann, the baby is fine,”
“What?” Staring at him, the tears just kept flowing, but this time they conveyed a different emotion. “But that bastard said that…I don’t understand…”
“Aside from a problem with the chord, the baby is fine. Morghann, we have a daughter,” The joy in her face was nothing short of awe inspiring. She wanted to hug him, but it was so difficult to sit up on her own, and when she tried, all she felt was pain.
“Careful,” He urged as he helped her, pausing when he saw the bruises on her arms. “Morghann…”
“I couldn’t connect this time,” She whispered, hating the sight of them. They reminded her too strongly of how weak and vulnerable she was right now and she really didn’t like it. “When I get better…I can try again,”
“Here,” He fixed her pillows so that she could rest back against them comfortably while sitting up in the bed.
“What happened?” She rubbed her face and studied the IV that was still pumping blood into her veins. “Reno?”
“You bled too much during the surgery, so they had to do a blood transfusion. And other than being malnourished, you’re healthy. I think I’m supposed to shove food down your throat now that you’re awake,”
“Only if it’s something Tifa made,” The thought of hospital food brought a sour look to her features. “Did they get him?”
Reno hesitated and then shook his head. “No, we didn’t. By the time we got there, it was already almost too late. When we moved in…he was gone. But we all saw him standing over you in that weird altar thing…”
Morghann shuddered as she remembered it. There was so much she needed to tell him. So much she had to say to him. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry, that she loved him and their baby and just wanted to move on. But she had a feeling he already knew that. She just wanted to tell him… “Can you help me walk?”
“Why?”
“I have to pee…” After Reno stopped laughing and that tedious task was taken care of, Morghann started to get emotional again. “What about Shera?”
“We don’t know,”
“I want to see her, Reno…If she’s going to leave us I want to say good bye,” He couldn’t deny her that, not when Morghann had been through a similar torture. She needed her chance to say good-bye before Shera returned to the Lifestream.
---
Cid hesitated in the doorway; the sight of Shera’s bruised and battered body making his stomach turn in the wrong ways. What the hell had that freak doctor done to her? Carefully, quietly, slowly, Cid stepped into the room and stopped next to her bed, his lips parted in shock. He was stunned. He didn’t know what to say or what to do for her. Bandages were everywhere, but he had a feeling that those weren’t what was keeping her alive.
How she was even still breathing on her own was a mystery of its own.
“Oh, Shera…What did he do to you?” Sitting down in the chair next to the bed, he reached out and took one of her heavily bandaged hands and stroked her bruised fingertips. He grimaced when he heard the fragile bones rub against each other. Her pulse was so weak that he could hardly feel it. “You’re hanging on and I don’t think you should. I don’t deserve you. Not through all the hell I’ve put you through. It’s not right for you to hang on for me, sweetheart,” He reached up and touched her face, realizing that she was in some kind of a dream. “But I’m honored that you’ve been waiting for me. You’re waiting for me to say goodbye?”
When there was no response, Cid felt the emotion clogging his throat. All the wires, the IV’s, the drips, the tubes; it was all too much. “I left you behind and I shouldn’t have. Forgive me, please, sweetheart,”
“Cid?” Supported completely by Reno and another nurse who was also at her side, Morghann came into the room. “How’s she doing?”
“Not good,” He whispered, hardly able to talk. “I don’t know if she can even hear me,”
“She can hear you,” Morghann whispered, tears lighting her eyes. Carefully, Reno and the Nurse helped her into the other chair and stepped back, letting both Cid and Morghann have their few minutes with Shera in peace. “We got away, Shera. We’re home,” Taking a deep breath, she couldn’t quite get rid of the lump in her throat. “We love you,”
“So much,” Cid choked, shaking his head and resting it against her cold palm. “So, so much…”
Morghann gasped in her crying and shook her head, lowering it onto the bed. She couldn’t take it. The loss of a friend after losing her parents the way that she had was just too much. Reno was at her side in an instant, holding her, cradling her.
“You can let go, sweetheart,” Cid whispered, stroking her cheek again. “Don’t suffer because of me. Not for any of us,”
“She’s waiting, Cid,” Reno whispered, not quite able to fight back his own tears. “Tell her, Cid,”
“I love you, Shera,” He kissed her, sobbing against her flesh as he said it.
“I…love you…too…”
Morghann cried out into Reno’s chest with the all too familiar feeling that death had just swam into the room. The nurse turned the monitors off, shook her head and moved to stand out in the hallway to allow the friends to be alone. Cid’s cries outweighed Morghann’s but it couldn’t be helped. Shera was gone.
“We were too late,” Reno whispered, clutching Morghann tight to his chest, rocking with her. “We were too late…”
---
“You named her Sarah?” Morghann leaned into Reno as they both looked through the glass at their sleeping daughter. “Oh, Reno, thank you!”
He hugged her, unable to say anything else. Too much had happened today and none of it would be forgotten any time soon. So, instead, he just cuddled her as they admired their hard won daughter. The others had gone to say their good byes to Shera and had understood that hugging Morghann would be the only thing they could do, but none of them could have ignored the way she clung to Sirius and the other way around. They had both shared a brief but wonderful friendship with Cid’s girlfriend, and losing her after nearly losing each other had been a little much to handle.
But as she gazed down at her newborn, Morghann realized that everything would be all right. All she had to do was believe that little Sarah would bring light into this new darkness. She would be the joy and the happiness from which the others would be able to move on.
“I want to hold her, Reno,”
“Let’s get you two acquainted then,” Reno smiled softly as they entered the nursery and were greeted by a very happy looking nurse. Obviously related to the other… The second Morghann held her daughter in her arms, the sadness was gone, replaced instead, with renewed hope and joy.
“Hey there, Sarah…I’m your mom,”
---
End Chapter
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Chapter 15
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“I can’t say I wasn’t expecting this,” Sirius gave Rude one fleeting glance before she snuffed the cigarette and turned back to the building. “I guess we should head back in; see if there’s any word?”
Cloud nodded, un-phased by Rude’s appearance. Truth be told, he’d expected it as well. After all, no one knew Nobunaga Eko better than Rufus Shinra, so it only made logical sense that he would send a Turk to help in the protection of her. But if Rude thought he was going to be standing in the bedroom all night just to make sure nothing came in, he had another thing coming. Outside of it? Sure, fine, whatever. Inside? Laughable.
Not to mention that Cloud wouldn’t hesitate to slit the Turk’s throat if he even so much as breathed inside of the doorway.
Checking his defensiveness in surprise, Cloud’s hold on Sirius’ hand tightened significantly.
Reign it in, Cloud.
I’m trying…
---
“Shiratori?”
Reno’s head snapped up when he heard his name being called and immediately climbed to his feet, looking nervous and as if he didn’t quite know what to do. The nurse smiled softly as he approached.
“Morghann?”
“Doing fine,” The tension in the room eased tremendously with that having been said. “Aside from a few complications during delivery, everything went well. Morghann is severely malnourished, but we’re pumping fluids into her, and when she wakes up, we’ll see if we can’t get her to eat something. She’ll probably be hesitant because, believe me, she isn’t going to be feeling well when she wakes up,”
Reno was already starting to relax a little, but he still had another concern to voice. “And the baby?”
“She’s doing just fine, too,” The nurse smiled brightly. “Congratulations. You have a healthy, beautiful baby girl,” A collective sigh of awe from the women in the room made Reno smile.
“Can I see her?”
“Of course! If you’ll follow me?” When she turned and walked through the double doors on the other side of the lobby, Reno and a few of the others followed her. The nursery was quite a walk from the lobby, but they hardly noticed the halls lengthiness. As expected, the nursery was full of newborns, but it didn’t take long for Reno to recognize his own daughter. She had a bit of red hair poking out from under the pink cap.
“Morghann isn’t going to be well enough for the next few days to nurse, so we’re going to have to start the baby off on a bottle,” The nurse motioned him towards the rocking chair on the far side of the room and moved carefully between cribs until she reached the newest addition. Reno rolled up his sleeves and fought against the shaking of his hands as the nurse came back and motioned for him to hold his arms out. The nervousness vanished the second that baby girl was placed in his arms and was replaced by a feeling of joy he hadn’t felt in a very long time. She was so small, so beautiful, that he started crying.
The baby stirred, not opening her eyes, but clearly awake. “Hi…” Reno breathed, not really knowing what else to say.
“She recognizes your voice,” The nurse said in awe when she saw that the baby was snuggling into his chest. “It’s always an amazing sight,”
“I can’t quite…”
“It’s a lot to take in at once,” The nurse smiled at the others all crowding the window and looking in. The men didn’t look as interested as the women, but she gave them a knowing smile when she saw them peeking over the heads of the women to see inside. Rude had slid his sunglasses down the bridge of his nose to get a glimpse of the newest addition to the world and quirked a small smile for a brief second. Reno looked so…at peace with everything in that moment. The nurse reached for a readied bottle of breast milk, checked that it was at the right temperature and handed it to Reno.
“If she doesn’t take it right off the bat, don’t fret. Be persistent with her and she’ll understand. When Morghann’s well enough, she’ll be able to nurse the baby and things should go a lot smoother,” The nurse smiled in approval as Reno gently pressed the bottle’s nipple to his daughter’s lips and watched her resist at first, then, with a little encouragement from Reno, accept the offering of food.
“Cut me a little slack, kid. I’m new at this,” That’s when she finally opened her eyes and stared up at him while she took the milk and his heart nearly stopped. Those beautiful orbs of her were the most gorgeous shade of green he’d ever seen in his life, but there were traces of her mother’s sapphire mixed in with it. The gasp of awe could barely be contained.
“Can I ask you something?”
Reno looked up at the nurse for a brief second and nodded as he looked back down at his squirming newborn.
“What happened to Morghann? And that other woman that you all brought in with her?”
Reno’s blood ran cold as he looked back up at the nurse. She looked familiar to him in that moment and then he realized it. She had worked in the infirmary at the Shinra Company helping to treat the SOLDIER’s and everyone else employed, along with their families. She was an older black woman, a little plump in her age, but as nice and as goofy as they came. He remembered her from a couple of his own visits to the infirmary while having been employed under Rufus’ father.
“Do you remember Nobunaga Eko?”
“That freak scientist who was doing all those strange experiments? The one that destroyed that village all those years ago?”
“Yes,”
“Isn’t he dead? Is someone copying his experiments?”
“No. There are no copycats. It’s him. He’s alive,”
Something flickered in the nurse’s black eyes and she looked suddenly angry. “Then the rumors about Rocket Town are true?”
Surprised by this, Reno looked up at her. “Rumor about what’s going on has reached Midgar?”
“A couple of days ago, a woman came in here talking about how she’d gone to Rocket Town to purchase a Materia that would help fertilize her land for the Chocobos she raises and said that it was all gone. When she asked for it, the townspeople got a little hostile, so she turned tail and came back home.”
Reno’s eyes narrowed in fury. “He’s trying to complete that experiment he was working on all those years ago. When Morghann and Shera spoke against him…” He shook his head, unable to go on. He’d seen what Shera had looked like and he couldn’t think about it anymore. It was just too horrible. And Morghann? She’d suffered a different kind of torture entirely, but she was still in really bad shape. That’s when Reno remembered what the nurse had said earlier.
“What kind of complications happened during delivery?”
The nurse hesitated and then gave in with a heavy sigh. “She was in pretty bad shape, I can’t lie about that. We knew there was a pretty big risk of her remaining health if we took the baby by C-Section, but if we hadn’t, you wouldn’t be holding your daughter right now. Morghann hemorrhaged for a little while, so we had to do a blood transfusion at the same time, which made the process a little longer. But her blood clotted and she stabilized. When we got to the baby, she’d been suffocating because the umbilical chord had gotten wrapped around her neck. But we gave her plenty of oxygen and she leveled out. Other than that and Morghann’s malnourishment, they’re both healthy. We had to be sure about it though, which is what took so long,”
Feeling some sense of closure after hearing this, Reno nodded and turned his attention back to his infant daughter. “What about Shera?”
“I don’t know. She was in worse shape than Morghann. Honestly, it’s a wonder she’s lived as long as she has, but her will to live is weakening…We’re not sure how much longer she has or if there is even a chance for recovery. But she’s holding on. I think she’s waiting for something…”
Reno nodded, thinking that he understood what was happening with Shera.
“I’ll go check on Morghann,” The nurse exited the room, leaving the door open so that the others could creep in and adore the baby for a little while. Sirius was the first one that came inside and leaned over them both, grinning.
“Reno, she’s gorgeous,”
“Sirius…” He looked up at her and looked unsure of himself. “You know more about Morghann’s past than any of us and…Her mother…What was her name?”
Sirius eyes widened and filled with tears at the sudden realization. “Oh, Reno! It was Sarah…Her mom’s name was Sarah,”
Nodding, Reno looked back down at his daughter and smiled proudly. “Sarah Shiratori,”
“Morghann will love it,” Smiling and tickling the infant’s chubby pink cheek, Sirius felt something inside of her click and she glanced quickly at Cloud through the window. When would it be safe for them to do this for themselves? She looked back down at the baby who was now staring up at her in wonder and inhaled sharply at the sight of those lovely eyes. “She’s gonna break some hearts, Reno,”
“If I let anyone get near her, which isn’t likely. First guy that shows up gets shot or severely beaten with my damned rod,”
Giggling, Sirius patted him on the back and motioned for Marlene and Denzel, who’d just arrived with Tifa and Barret, to come and see their newest friend. Denzel didn’t really know what to say. Reno wasn’t the type of guy he envisioned as a father figure, unless the man had random kids all over both continents, which wouldn’t surprise him, but a baby with one woman with no conditions, no chance of a parting? No one had really expected it, but then again no one really knew Reno as well as Morghann or Sirius. Marlene, on the other hand, was no less than overjoyed. For her, little Sarah was practically her baby sister.
Yuffie and Tifa came in next, smiling down at the angel in Reno’s arms.
“She’s gonna be a looker!” Yuffie giggled when she saw the tuft of bright red hair poking out of the pink cap. “Look at her hair!”
“How darling,” Tifa smiled as she reached out and touched the baby’s cheek. “Reno, she’s precious!”
“Mine,” He said with a smile, cuddling his newborn. Sarah looked at all of them and then ignored them, her attention back on her half empty bottle. It was adorable.
“Cute kid. Sucks that she looks so much like her father,” Sirius smacked Cid’s arm as he came in and giggled at the evil look Reno shot the man. Truth be told, Reno wasn’t really ready to deal with Cid. After all, like a dumb ass, Cid had left Morghann ALONE in Rocket Town, knowing that something was wrong there. Still, this wasn’t the time or the place to voice his loathing of the man.
“Cid,”
When Cid’s eyes met Reno’s, the older man flinched inwardly. He could understand why he was getting that look.
“You should go see Shera. She’s not in very good shape,”
Wounded, Cid nodded, hearing the dismissal. “Yeah, I should do that,”
“Come on, kids!” Barret said, grinning too widely. “Let’s leave the new daddy to admire his daughter for a while! Let’s go get some food!”
----
Two hours later, when Sarah had fallen asleep peacefully in his arms, Reno had allowed the nurse to take her from him so that she could sleep in her crib while Reno sat with a still sleeping Morghann. He stretched in the chair, uncomfortable with it’s lack of cushion. It was doing murder to his rump.
“I won’t have an ass at this rate,”
“You didn’t have one to begin with,”
Surprised, Reno looked down at Morghann and smiled gently. “Welcome back. You had us all really scared, Morghann,” Reno smiled at Morghann as she stirred, groaning in the pain in her abdomen as it reached her reawakening senses. “Shit, that hurts…”
“Nurse said you wouldn’t be too comfortable for the next few days,” Reno took her hand and hated how pained she looked.
“I’m at the hospital?” Sadness filled her eyes. It’s a pity about the baby… “Oh, Reno…”
“Morg? What’s wrong?”
“The baby…I…I couldn’t…”
“Sweetie,” He leaned down and kissed her, smiling softly. “Morghann, the baby is fine,”
“What?” Staring at him, the tears just kept flowing, but this time they conveyed a different emotion. “But that bastard said that…I don’t understand…”
“Aside from a problem with the chord, the baby is fine. Morghann, we have a daughter,” The joy in her face was nothing short of awe inspiring. She wanted to hug him, but it was so difficult to sit up on her own, and when she tried, all she felt was pain.
“Careful,” He urged as he helped her, pausing when he saw the bruises on her arms. “Morghann…”
“I couldn’t connect this time,” She whispered, hating the sight of them. They reminded her too strongly of how weak and vulnerable she was right now and she really didn’t like it. “When I get better…I can try again,”
“Here,” He fixed her pillows so that she could rest back against them comfortably while sitting up in the bed.
“What happened?” She rubbed her face and studied the IV that was still pumping blood into her veins. “Reno?”
“You bled too much during the surgery, so they had to do a blood transfusion. And other than being malnourished, you’re healthy. I think I’m supposed to shove food down your throat now that you’re awake,”
“Only if it’s something Tifa made,” The thought of hospital food brought a sour look to her features. “Did they get him?”
Reno hesitated and then shook his head. “No, we didn’t. By the time we got there, it was already almost too late. When we moved in…he was gone. But we all saw him standing over you in that weird altar thing…”
Morghann shuddered as she remembered it. There was so much she needed to tell him. So much she had to say to him. She wanted to tell him that she was sorry, that she loved him and their baby and just wanted to move on. But she had a feeling he already knew that. She just wanted to tell him… “Can you help me walk?”
“Why?”
“I have to pee…” After Reno stopped laughing and that tedious task was taken care of, Morghann started to get emotional again. “What about Shera?”
“We don’t know,”
“I want to see her, Reno…If she’s going to leave us I want to say good bye,” He couldn’t deny her that, not when Morghann had been through a similar torture. She needed her chance to say good-bye before Shera returned to the Lifestream.
---
Cid hesitated in the doorway; the sight of Shera’s bruised and battered body making his stomach turn in the wrong ways. What the hell had that freak doctor done to her? Carefully, quietly, slowly, Cid stepped into the room and stopped next to her bed, his lips parted in shock. He was stunned. He didn’t know what to say or what to do for her. Bandages were everywhere, but he had a feeling that those weren’t what was keeping her alive.
How she was even still breathing on her own was a mystery of its own.
“Oh, Shera…What did he do to you?” Sitting down in the chair next to the bed, he reached out and took one of her heavily bandaged hands and stroked her bruised fingertips. He grimaced when he heard the fragile bones rub against each other. Her pulse was so weak that he could hardly feel it. “You’re hanging on and I don’t think you should. I don’t deserve you. Not through all the hell I’ve put you through. It’s not right for you to hang on for me, sweetheart,” He reached up and touched her face, realizing that she was in some kind of a dream. “But I’m honored that you’ve been waiting for me. You’re waiting for me to say goodbye?”
When there was no response, Cid felt the emotion clogging his throat. All the wires, the IV’s, the drips, the tubes; it was all too much. “I left you behind and I shouldn’t have. Forgive me, please, sweetheart,”
“Cid?” Supported completely by Reno and another nurse who was also at her side, Morghann came into the room. “How’s she doing?”
“Not good,” He whispered, hardly able to talk. “I don’t know if she can even hear me,”
“She can hear you,” Morghann whispered, tears lighting her eyes. Carefully, Reno and the Nurse helped her into the other chair and stepped back, letting both Cid and Morghann have their few minutes with Shera in peace. “We got away, Shera. We’re home,” Taking a deep breath, she couldn’t quite get rid of the lump in her throat. “We love you,”
“So much,” Cid choked, shaking his head and resting it against her cold palm. “So, so much…”
Morghann gasped in her crying and shook her head, lowering it onto the bed. She couldn’t take it. The loss of a friend after losing her parents the way that she had was just too much. Reno was at her side in an instant, holding her, cradling her.
“You can let go, sweetheart,” Cid whispered, stroking her cheek again. “Don’t suffer because of me. Not for any of us,”
“She’s waiting, Cid,” Reno whispered, not quite able to fight back his own tears. “Tell her, Cid,”
“I love you, Shera,” He kissed her, sobbing against her flesh as he said it.
“I…love you…too…”
Morghann cried out into Reno’s chest with the all too familiar feeling that death had just swam into the room. The nurse turned the monitors off, shook her head and moved to stand out in the hallway to allow the friends to be alone. Cid’s cries outweighed Morghann’s but it couldn’t be helped. Shera was gone.
“We were too late,” Reno whispered, clutching Morghann tight to his chest, rocking with her. “We were too late…”
---
“You named her Sarah?” Morghann leaned into Reno as they both looked through the glass at their sleeping daughter. “Oh, Reno, thank you!”
He hugged her, unable to say anything else. Too much had happened today and none of it would be forgotten any time soon. So, instead, he just cuddled her as they admired their hard won daughter. The others had gone to say their good byes to Shera and had understood that hugging Morghann would be the only thing they could do, but none of them could have ignored the way she clung to Sirius and the other way around. They had both shared a brief but wonderful friendship with Cid’s girlfriend, and losing her after nearly losing each other had been a little much to handle.
But as she gazed down at her newborn, Morghann realized that everything would be all right. All she had to do was believe that little Sarah would bring light into this new darkness. She would be the joy and the happiness from which the others would be able to move on.
“I want to hold her, Reno,”
“Let’s get you two acquainted then,” Reno smiled softly as they entered the nursery and were greeted by a very happy looking nurse. Obviously related to the other… The second Morghann held her daughter in her arms, the sadness was gone, replaced instead, with renewed hope and joy.
“Hey there, Sarah…I’m your mom,”
---
End Chapter