Before we begin, I'm very sorry for the late update. Hopefully it will satisfy your need for toddler versions of your favorite (and least favorite) characters. Also, I've been working on the last few installments of this series so hopefully they will be coming sooner than this one did.

As for the mandatory excuses for this being so late, I was in the Land of Ooo battling monsters and taking down the vampire king (wait, did that happen before my last update? Oops). Then I had to visit family in Gravity Falls (oh, wait, that's already wrapped up and done). Oh, I know! I was helping with the development of Final Fantasy XV! That's the reason that they finally have a release date.

Really, though. College is hard and takes up all the time.

Month 8

Tifa groaned and flailed her hand around, trying to find the alarm clock, but remembered that she had moved it to sit on top of the dresser since she had started sleeping in too much. There had been two times in the past week that Aqua had had to open First Fantasy and that just couldn't happen, 8 months pregnant or not (even if Aqua said that opening didn't bother her at all). Tifa crawled out of bed and noted that Cloud was already out on delivery. He hadn't been having many early days recently. She stumbled around the house after turning off that horrible alarm and got ready before flopping into the car with a massive yawn and heading to work.

Tifa pulled into the parking lot and noted happily that she had beaten her azure-haired employee. But not by much. Terra's pickup pulled up next to Tifa and the man inside waved while Aqua hopped out the passenger seat. Tifa was starting to wonder about Aqua's lack of self-transportation. Once she pulled herself and her watermelon out of the car, she met Aqua at the door (that Aqua had already unlocked...) as Terra called out a farewell and backed out of the parking lot.

"Morning, Aqua. You're early." Tifa noted with a small smile.

Aqua gave a low laugh and held the door open for Tifa, "I guess so. I just thought it would be a good idea to have more people help open, is all."

Tifa waved her hand and turned on the lights, "I'll be able to come in on time every morning again, so you can stay home until you're scheduled to come."

Aqua finished getting the rest of the lights turned on and met Tifa back at her computer, "No it's ok. It's just…um…I don't want to…I don't want you to become overwhelmed this close to your due date, Mrs. Strife."

Tifa's eyes rose. She thought that had been the cause of Aqua's behavior. "Well thank you for your concern Aqua, but I think I'll be okay if you want to sleep more," she laughed.

Aqua smiled and gave a nod.

Tifa knew that the woman would keep dropping by early. She knew that Aqua would probably object to extra pay, too, but Tifa would feel guilty if she just paid Aqua for her scheduled hours. Tifa finished typing out a final email reminding her kids' parents that she would be leaving at lunchtime for Aerith's wedding, so could they pick up their children by then if they were able. She knew that some of the parents were simply too busy to come get their children, or that their workplaces weren't suitable places for the young ones, so Tifa had let Aerith know that a small handful of daycare-goers might need to come along with Tifa for the wedding. Aerith of course, being the sweet person she was, reaffirmed that she loved kids and had prepared a collection of small dresses and suits for potential flower girls and their companions.

Tifa hit send and turned back to her employee, "So how come Terra always drops you off?"

Aqua blushed faintly and scratched the back of her head, "Our normal modes of transport kinda stand out, but we don't have enough Munny to buy another car yet."

Tifa nodded in understanding, now having an argument for giving Aqua a raise.

Tidus pushed the door open with the help of his mother, "Teefiiiiieeee!" he squealed before sprinting behind her desk and hugging her knees. "Croud? Croud?" he started repeating.

Tifa ruffled his hair, "Cloud's busy. He out working right now. How're you, Ms. Zuzela?"

Brittany (not actually taken the name "Zuzela" yet, but Tifa didn't know her maiden name, so…) smiled and called Tidus over to her. The boy left Tifa and ran to cling to his mother's legs instead. "I'm good! But how have you been? I remember being that pregnant with Tidus. Not fun," she laughed sympathetically. It was times like this that reminded Tifa that Brittany was about 8 years her junior, but she didn't say anything.

Tifa grinned and ran a hand across her rather large stomach-melon. "It doesn't help that the doctor thinks the baby could be anywhere between 8 and 10 pounds."

Ms. Zuzela grimaced, "Ooh, good luck."

Tifa laughed sadly, "Thanks."

"Well, I should get going. I'll try to be back by lunch to get Tidus, ok?"

"Great, thanks!"

"Tidus! Gimme a kiss before I leave, 'kay?" she knelt down and accepted Tidus' slobbery baby-kiss before standing and leaving.

Tifa waved as the young mother left the building and got back in her car. She seemed to be doing much better with her son. At least while Tifa was in the same room. But the properly-dressed Tidus had run into the back room to play without complaining of an empty stomach or clinging to Tifa excessively, so he must be getting batter care at home, too.

Tifa was sending the last of the emails when she heard an unfamiliar voice outside singing a song. "BAHNEY IS A DINOSAUR—" the chimes on the door jingled whenever a mother and her son came in. "—FROM OUR IMAGIN-A-SHUN!" Tifa was stunned to see Squall bounding in. His mother, Raine, smiled down at him before addressing Tifa. His voice sounded a bit… British… for some reason.

"Wow," Tifa muttered to Raine, a bit taken aback. "I've never seen Squall so lively!"

Squall got on his tip-toes, trying to look up at the daycare owner. "'ello!" he greeted.

Tifa leaned over to look at the beaming Squall. "Hello!" she echoed back to him.

Raine giggled. "I've been taking him to my friend who's a speech therapist," she explained. "After a few meetings, I can't get him to stop talking!"

Squall grinned and bit his slightly outstretched tongue. "I kin halk!" he yipped.

Tifa nodded at him. "I see! Good for you, baby!" she said. She turned back to Raine. "And you emailed me saying that you couldn't pick him up until the end of the day, right?"

Raine nodded with pursed lips. "Yeah, sorry," she said. "My boss doesn't really like kids."

"I'm not a kid or a bay-bee," Squall snipped. "I'm a Squall."

Raine nodded apologetically, "Ah, right. I'm sorry, sweetie." She reached down and smoothed her son's hair while he turned and buried his face in her pant leg. She looked back up at Tifa, "But I'm a bit worried about how he'll will behave without you here for the afternoon. He still doesn't get along with other kids very well, and I really think the only reason he doesn't act out is because he trusts you."

Squall squeezed himself closer to his mother and peered grumpily out the front door as Rinoa started trying to pull it open. Her nanny discretely pulled the handle and the little girl bound inside. "I opened the door all by myself! Hi, Squall!" she greeted, giving her prince a wave, "Do you like my wedding dress?" she twirled around in the large, white dress, "My mommy got it for me yesterday! And I got this necklace from a bubble machine!" she moved her Dopey plush to her other arm and fixed its hat when it fell over its bright blue eyes, then held a cheap plastic string of beads off of her neck so everyone could see.

Tifa blinked slowly, knowing that Rinoa knew that Aerith was getting married today, and also knowing that there would be repercussions when some kids got to come with Tifa to the wedding and Rinoa couldn't. Her nanny would be picking the miniature bride up at 12:30.

Nevertheless, Tifa peered across her desk and gave a "That's very nice," before turning back to Mrs. Loire while Rinoa tried (and failed) to get Squall to follow her into the playroom. It wasn't long before she gave up and ran off to play with the other kids, but everyone knew she would be back. The little princes seemed to have grown fond of the (formerly) silent Squall. "I had been worried about the same thing," Tifa continued, "But Aerith said that she wouldn't care at all if Squall came to the wedding with me if that's alright with you, Raine."

Squall's mother clapped her hands together happily, "Oh, good! But you let me know if he causes any trouble and I'll come get him as soon as possible, okay? It's at that old church Aerith loves, right?"

Tifa nodded and Raine knelt down to give Squall some kisses before hustling out the door to get to work. Her son waved and hollered a "Bye, Mommy!" before going to sit under Tifa's chair and sing Barney once more.

Rinoa poked her head out of the hallway a moment later, "Who's that?"

Selphie and Firion ran out into the foyer and started singing along happily, causing the original performer to crawl under Tifa's desk and curl up into a tiny Squall-ball.

Tifa picked up the phone only a moment after it began to ring. "You've reached First Fantasy Daycare! This is Tifa, how can I help you?"

"HEY, THERE, TIFA. HOW ARE YOU, TODAY?"

"Oh, hi Mrs. Harvey! I'm doing pretty well. Did you need something?" Tifa tucked the phone in her shoulder before pushing herself out of her chair and shooing the still-singing duo out of the entrance. She saw Squall run off into the playroom, probably to check on his action figures.

"IT'LL ONLY BE GOLBEYEZ WITH YOU TODAY. BAYBEE CECIL HAS A DOCTAH'S APPOINTMENT FUH HIS EAH INFECTIONS."

Tifa nodded, knowing every detail about how the boy caught a cold that quickly had migrated to both of his ears, the poor thing. He hadn't been in to First Fantasy for almost a week now. "I'm glad he's going to be feeling better soon. And his hearing is still okay?"

"WELL, THERE'S STILL A LOT OF FLUID IN HIS EAR CANAL, SO HE SAYS EVERYTHING SEOUNDS FUZZY. THAT'LL PROB'LY GO AWAY ONCE HE GETS HIS SHOT, THOUGH."

Suddenly, Tifa heard Cecil start crying loudly from the background, and his mother gasped, "OH, SHOOT! I DIDN'T MEAN TO SAY THAT SO LOUD!" Tifa heard her hustle into a different room and Cecil's wails became clearer.

"Y-you didn't tell me I was getting a shot, mommy!" he sobbed.

Tifa couldn't tell, but she was sure from the audio that Mrs. Harvey was cradling her younger son, "OH, I'M SORRY, HONEY. BUT YOU'LL FEEL MUCH, MUCH BETTUH AFTUH YOU GET SOME MEDICINE, AND THEN TELL YOU WHAT: I'LL TAKE YOU, YOUR BRUTHUH, AND LITTLE ROSA FROM NEXT DOAH TO GET ICE CREAM AFTUH, BUT ONLY IF YOU PROMISE NOT TO CRY AT THE DOCTUH'S OFFICE."

Cecil's sobs slowed to hiccups, "R-Ro-sa?"

"MM-HM."

There was a pause and then a loud kiss, "THERE'S MY GOOD BOY! NOW GO GET READY. WE HAVE TO DROP GOLBEYEZ OFF BEFOAH WE CAN GO TO THE DOCTUH."

Cecil sniffed loudly and Tifa heard light footsteps tapping away from the phone. "O-okay! Brotheeerrrr! Mommy said get ready to gooo!"

Mrs. Harvey turned her attention back to the phone, "SORRY ABOUT THAT, TIFA DEAH. WE'LL HEAD OUT IN A FEW MINUTES. AND I NEED TO HAVE GOLBEYEZ PICKED UP BEFOAH LUNCH?"

"It's okay. During lunch is just as well, but since you have an ice-cream date, you can pick him up anytime you need to," Tifa laughed.

Mrs. Harvey laughed jovially, "WELL, AWLRIGHT, THEN! I GOTTA GO. SEE YOU SOON, TIFA!"

"Bye!" Tifa hung the phone up and stood before tripping over a little someone sitting at her feet. She flung her arm out to catch her balance, but fell back into her chair, which rolled out from underneath her and dropped her onto the tile. She rubbed her head from where it had hit the chair plastic and looked down at her ankles to see Bartz curled up in a tornado position, probably hoping that Tifa wouldn't land on him. She shook her head as Aqua rushed into the room. The woman blinked in slight horror at the sight of Tifa obviously post-trip.

She rushed over and helped Tifa into a better sitting position, "Tifa, are you okay! What happened?"

Tifa scooched back and pressed a fist into her lower back, while her other hand went to rest on the right side of her pelvic bone. She also took note of a probably bruised tailbone. Of the whole fall, temporarily losing the inability to sit comfortably was the worst part. She cringed, noticing that the inverted baby was now wiggling around in discomfort after bumping against her pelvis, and assured, "It wasn't that big of a fall. I'm fine."

Aqua didn't look too sure, but she gave a half nod and picked Bartz up from his place crouched on the floor. The young boy blinked at Tifa as Aqua pulled to woman to her feet, "I'm sorry, Ms. Tifa. I saw Squall sitting under your chair and it looked fun. Did your baby get hurt?" His large brown eyes scrunched together in regret.

Tifa rubbed the top of his head, "It's okay! My baby's fine, Bartz. Just let me know before you come sit by my ankles, okay? I can't see past my tummy very well anymore."

Aqua set the boy down and he ran into the back, calling for Zidane. Squall came running back into the entrance a moment later with a toy held straight out in front of him. He pointed it up at Tifa and peeked over it angrily. What was wrong? The action figure looked no more beat up than normal. Tifa opened her mouth to ask what happened, but Squall started talking before she could get a word out.

"Somefink is wrong wif Buzz Lightyear's wings," he informed her. While his speech had improved, he didn't seem to notice his new inability to say 'th.'

Aqua took the action figure from Squall and told him that she would fix it. She led him to the playroom while she jammed a finger into the back of the toy.

"Fix my action finger!" he pleaded.

Tifa's stomach was growling furiously by circle time. She had Sora roll in the TV so that the kids could watch Bill Nye. Meanwhile, Tifa munched on the snack that she had packed herself: a pickle-queso-peanut-butter-and-jalapeno sandwich. Ventus, who happened to be sitting next to her, gave Tifa a funny look after smelling the strange concoction. Tifa noticed that her snacks had been getting steadily stranger and less healthy as she went on in her pregnancy. She had broken her promise to herself to eat healthy again! Whatever. She would get back to her active lifestyle after not having a watermelon attached to her front. She looked at Ventus and pointed at the sandwich. "Don't judge," she whispered.

Sora, who was sitting on Tifa's other side, grinned when he saw her snack. "Is that a pickle-queso-peanut-butter-and-potato-chip sandwich?" he asked. "I had one for lunch yesterday!"

Tifa shook her head. "Jalapeno, not potato chip," she corrected. THAT'S what her meals were reminding her of! A teenage boy's!

Circle time almost ended whenever Bartz (who was coming back from the bathroom) tripped over the TV cord and turned off EVERYTHING. There were whines from the viewing children, led by Quistis, who hadn't gotten quite enough of the science guy. Even though the video was almost over, Kairi and Ventus got the thing back plugged in and everyone got to watch Nye's wrap-up song for the volcanic lesson. After this was done, Aqua encouraged everyone go play. Most of the kids opted to remain indoors though, as it was starting to get pretty cold in the November month.

Tifa leaned back in her armchair and started rocking. Her baby was still going crazy from the fall! It must've been the jalapenos in addition to it that was making the kid act up currently. Tifa burped quietly into her fist and rubbed her chest just under the collarbone with a grimace. Maybe spicy food hadn't been the best idea. She was getting a bit of heartburn…

She sighed and started rubbing her stomach gently to try and get baby Strife to calm down. Meanwhile, she watched everyone at play. Roxas was there getting some volunteer hours that day, and the teen was outside trying to coax Zidane out of his tree. Riku had to stay home for a couple days because he caught a cold. Sora was busy chaperoning/playing with Beatrix, Light, Squall, and Bartz while attempting to coax Ventus over to play with them, who was busy keeping Snow and Seifer from coaxing Firion into cutting Terra's hair. Unfortunately, the little silver-haired boy had attacked his own hair again, and had a short lock of bangs sticking straight up in the air in addition to a couple of bald spots.

Tifa stared at the brothers and her eyes suddenly widened. Sora, Roxas, and Ventus were quadruplets. Oh, their poor mother! And the fourth brother… Va..ritan? Vatitus…? Vanitas! That's it! He seemed much more hostile than the others, and personalities are definitely present in the womb. For example, Tifa's little one typically liked to stay in one spot (even ignoring movement restriction due to current size). Right now their head was down and their back went along Tifa's left side, while their butt was up close to Tifa's ribcage, and their knees were all scrunched up. Even before the baby turned over, they preferred to stay in that one spot, and didn't usually kick all that much. With the exception of jalapenos and a big jostle… Tifa groaned and checked her watch. 11:13. She still had until 12:30 before she had to leave to get ready for the wedding. She pulled out her phone and noticed with a pang of guilt that Aerith had sent 7 messages. And Zack had sent 23. How many messages had the puppy sent Cloud? Tifa wiggled around uncomfortably and tried to get her baby off of her bladder, but failed and ended up rushing to the bathroom.

Cloud was riding to First Fantasy when it hit him like a ton of bricks.

Oh Gaia… he was going to be a FATHER.

Cloud didn't even know how to be a father! His own had never been around!

The blonde's head spun, so he pulled over and removed his goggles before he crashed or something, noting a stress-related headache forming at the top of his skull. How do you do something that you have no experience with? Aerith was right in saying he didn't have the most sensitive parental instinct, too, and that meant he couldn't simply trust himself to do the right thing…right?

He pressed his gloved fingers into his eyes and shook his head. Tifa had read that babies can hear their parent's voices in the womb, but Cloud didn't talk all that much, so would the kid even recognize him? His mind flashed to an image of Tifa after just having the baby. Cloud was holding the little blanket-cocooned bundle, but it was just crying and crying and scared of him.

What if his own kid was scared of him?

He pulled out his phone and started to dial in Tifa's number, but hesitated and backtracked before starting on Zack's number, before backspacing again and calling Aerith.

The phone went to voicemail, but Aerith picked it up before the beep announced for Cloud to leave a message.

"Cloud?" she didn't bother hiding the slight surprise in her voice.

He pressed his forefinger and thumb into his temples. "Yeah…"

"What's wrong?"

Was that really the only times he called Aerith? When something was wrong? "Um… I think… I'm scared…"

There was a slight pause before a "Huh…? Ohhhhh, is it because of the baby?"

Cloud's ears flushed pink at being so transparent, and his face knotted into what those who knew him would recognize as a pout, "Yeah…"

The flower girl laughed, "There's no reason to be embarrassed! Come by the house, okay?" she pulled the phone from her ear and covered the receiver, "They're under the sock drawer!" the phone went back to its spot against Aerith's cheek, "I have to go. Zack…has no idea what he's doing," she laughed again, "See you in a bit!"

Cloud mumbled an affirmation before hanging up and sending Tifa a text that he would be a bit later than planned, which garnered an immediate response just to make sure he wasn't late to leave for the wedding. Huh. She was usually too busy to answer that quickly.

Tifa had been gone a while. While the kids weren't misbehaving, it was still best to have the daycare owner's whereabouts known. Aqua was passing by the adults' bathroom looking for Tifa when she heard stifled sobbing and slightly fuzzy song. The blue-haired helper paused and knocked on the door.

"O-occupied…" Tifa's voice sniffed.

"Tifa?" Aqua called quietly. "Are you okay?"

She heard Tifa swallow a cry and the slightly mechanical music stopped. "I-I… oh, don't worry about it."

Aqua remembered that Tifa had been going back and forth to the bathroom before she went missing and would go in and out with an annoyed expression. Oh! That must have been the baby's fault. A few days earlier, Tifa had complained that she always had to pee but would only go a few drops every ten minutes.

"Do you want to use a pad?" Aqua asked. "I think I have some in my purse…"

"Oh, could you?" Tifa squeaked.

"Yeah… but if you don't mind me asking, why are you crying?"

There was a long pause. "ROSE LOVES STEVEN SO MUCH!" Tifa sobbed.

Aqua sighed and shook her head, a smile appearing. "I'll be right back."

About a minute later, Aqua slid a pad under the door to Tifa's feet.

Freedom!

From somewhere in the building, Terra and another girl let out a shriek.

And none too soon.

Cloud arrived at Zack and Aerith's house and was warmly greeted, as usual. What was unusual was the setup in the living room. Aerith had connected the laptop to the TV and pulled up a YouTube video that, according to the title, was in the genre of helping fathers-to-be feel connected to their unborn offspring. Cloud looked at Zack with wide eyes, silently pleading him to not let Aerith make him watch the most likely awful and cheesy video. Judging just from the frozen title screen filling the TV, it was a clip cut from a documentary made at least 15 years ago. Zack avoided Cloud's gaze, but the blonde could see him trying his best not to snicker; and so Cloud was left groaning while a giggling (laughing) Aerith pulled him over to the couch to sit down. She clicked play and both she and Zack disappeared to continue making sure everything was in order for the wedding later. The plan was to have the wedding party arrive at the church between 12:30 and 1:30, where they would get dressed and ready for the ceremony at 5:30.

Meanwhile, it was 11:58 and Cloud was stuck watching a video on how to bond with babies. Thankfully, he would have to leave before the video ended so he could meet his own wife at the daycare. He leaned against his palm and watched with blank eyes as a series of men playing with children took turns filling the screen. Predictably, the kids got progressively younger until a man was pictured lovingly rubbing the belly and gazing into the eyes of his largely pregnant wife. Cloud yawned and cursed Aerith.

Once Tifa had disentangled Terra and Freya after they had somehow gotten Terra's hair tangled in Freya's many-buttoned dress, the two girls took each others hands and ran along to continue whatever game they had been playing.

Tifa checked her phone for the time. It was almost time for parents to start picking up their kids. Squall, Zell, Bartz, and Terra would be staying with Tifa. Just as she checked her phone, the front door opened and Mrs. Harvey's voice rang through the daycare. "GOLBEYEZ! WHE-YUH ARE YOU?"

Golbez ran to the front, excited for his ice cream date. His mother and Cecil (who had two bandaids on his arm; a crisscrossed Transformers and Hello Kitty) waited in the lobby. Tifa went over to her computer to sign Golbez out.

Cecil was poking his mother's leg shyly. "Now we can pick up Rosa?" he asked quietly.

"NOT YET, SWEETIEPIE," she told him.

"Where are we getting ice cream?" Golbez asked happily. "Can we go to the place where they have the Batman ice cream?"

"I wanna go to the frozen yogurt place," Cecil whined. "They have fewer arteries."

One of Tifa's eyebrows went skyward. There's a mixed-up word if she's ever heard one! "Do you mean calories?" she giggled.

Cecil grinned and wiped his runny nose with the back of his hand. "Oh, yeah! Cat-ter-ies."

Tifa smiled to herself as they left.

Most of the parents showed up around 12:15. Nothing out of the ordinary happened as kids left. A few were going to be staying with the helpers at the daycare. The only reason that Tifa had the group of four with her was because if she wasn't in charge of them, something bad would happen. Terra would get picked on, Zell would scream if Tifa or his mom weren't around, Squall would get picked on and fight back, and Bartz… well, there's no telling what he'd do.

After reminding the four that they'd be coming with her, so they had to be on their best behavior, she called Cloud to make sure he had their clothes with him.

A bit out of character, he answered his phone before a single dial tone could end. That wasn't even enough time to fish it out of a pocket!

"Tifa?" he started. Tifa raised an eyebrow. His voice sounded strangely bored and stressed at the same time.

"What's wrong, Cloud?"

Suddenly a fuzzy, yet obviously agonized, woman's scream came through the phone, though it wasn't loud enough to be from someone in the room. Cloud made a strangled noise before the phone was jostled and Tifa heard footsteps. There was the obvious sound of a door opening and slamming shut before outside noises reached the receiver. He sighed, "I'm on my way over."

"What happened? Do you have our clothes?"

"They're folded in one of the bike's saddlebags. I gotta go. See you in a bit."

"Okaaaay? Bye, Cloud."

"Hm." His phone clicked shut and the line dropped.

Meanwhile, Zack came into the living room after hearing the front door slam and let out a yelp when he saw a woman giving birth on the TV. He bolted from the area as the woman let out another pained scream. He shook his head to try and rid himself of the image. "Aeriiiith, can you turn the TV off…?"

"I'm busy, Zack!" She called back from deeper within the house. He groaned and covered the TV with a hand before going back to stop the screaming.

Tifa glanced out the front window when she heard Cloud's bike pull into the parking lot and turn off, then called Squall, Zell, Bartz, and Terra. Several other kids ran into the room to bid Tifa and their friends farewell. Rinoa ran up and jumped into place next to Squall before grabbing his hand, "Ok, Miss Tifa, I'm ready to go!" she chirped happily.

Oh boy, here we go. Tifa helped Squall free his hand from Rinoa's grip (much to Rinoa's displeasure) and looked apologetically at the girl, "I'm sorry Rinoa, but you're going to be going home with your nanny soon."

The little girl gasped in dismay, "What? How come?!"

Zell went and hugged Tifa around a knee while she explained, "I already said why. Your nanny is going to come and take you home soon."

"But Terra gets to go! I can ask- I can ask if my nanny can come with us and help watch all of us! She has to do what I say!" the girl cried in a near-panic.

Tifa pursed her lips and she glanced over at Cloud as he walked through the door carrying several plastic-wrapped outfits. He glanced back at her and his brows scrunched so slightly that Tifa was probably the only one to notice. She raised an eyebrow slightly before ignoring it and going over to her computer to scroll through her emails for anything that might be an explanation that Rinoa would accept. If the girl came to the wedding, Tifa had the feeling that she would end up being very loud and/or try to take the spotlight. After a couple minutes of searching (Rinoa getting more impatient and near tears with each passing second) Tifa finally found one that would work, "Ah, don't you have Toddlers & Tiaras to go to?" Tifa blinked and did a double take. Yes. The email said that Rinoa was due to be on the set of Toddlers & Tiaras at 1:30 today. That explained so much!

Rinoa slumped in annoyance, "Oh, yeah… I don't even want to go today! Donna's going to be with the rest of us and she always cheats! All she wears is swimsuits, and mommy says that they're too im- uh… im-ah-dest for a kid!"

At that time, the front door opened and Rinoa's nanny came in, "Rinoa, come on. It's time to go. And please try not to fight with Donna today."

Rinoa scowled and folded her arms before following her nanny out the door, "She got what was coming to her," she muttered angrily.

"Yes, yes," the nanny waved her hand dismissively before turning her attention back to Rinoa, "but that doesn't mean you can tell your puppy to bite others."

Whenever Tifa, Cloud, and the four kids arrived at the church, they didn't see Zack or Aerith. They did, however, see Rude just outside the entryway. It was strange to see him without Reno, but neither Cloud nor Tifa was upset by the red-head's absence. Cloud greeted Rude and then told Tifa that he was going to get changed and help Zack finish getting ready. Ever since he showed up at the daycare to pick up Tifa and the kids he seemed really… afraid. Afraid of what? He wasn't getting married.

Tifa had to help Aerith get ready, but she couldn't have the kids with her while she helped. At least the boys couldn't be with her, for fear of rambunctiousness. Tifa smiled at Rude sheepishly. "I'm really sorry to ask you this, but can you watch the kids while I go help Aerith?"

Rude glanced down at the kids, then back at Tifa. He nodded and Bartz jumped onto his leg immediately. Terra looked up at Tifa. "Can I help you with Miss Aerith?" she asked quietly.

Tifa smiled. "Of course, sweetie," she told her.

Zell scowled and Squall pouted. "I wanna go, too!" Zell whined.

"I'm sorry, sweetie, you can't come."

"But why not?"

Tifa knelt down to his size. "Because boys can't see the bride before she comes down the aisle. It's bad luck. And you love Miss Aerith, right?"

"Yeeeesss…" Zell muttered, twisting around absent-mindedly.

"And you don't want her to have bad luck, do you?"

"Noooo…"

"Okay, then. Can you behave for Mr. Rude? If you don't, Aerith is gonna have bad luck forever."

Zell grinned, excited for his new mission. "Yes, mama!"

Squall still wasn't very happy with this arrangement, but he didn't voice it. He had become quiet when he met Rude.

Tifa stood back up. "Thank you so much, Rude!" she called. She took Terra's hand and led her into the church.

Aerith was in a small room next to the sanctuary. Yuffie, Mrs. Gainsborough, and a few other girls were helping Aerith with her hair and make-up. The bride's long, white, lacy dress was hung on a wall. Aerith turned around from the mirror when she saw Tifa's reflection in it. "Oh, good! You made it!"

Tifa smirked. "Like I would miss getting to dress you up."

Aerith laughed before cocking her head. "Um, is Cloud acting okay?"

Tifa frowned. "I guess he's acting a bit awkward—well, more than usual," she replied. "Why?"

Aerith turned back to the mirror. "Um, well, I showed him a video and it went in a direction that I didn't know that it would go into," she said.

Yuffie looked up from the foundation that she was blending. "And what direction was that?" she snorted.

"What was the video?" Elmyra asked curiously.

Aerith had a sheepish expression. "Look, it's really not that important…"

"But now we're curious," Tifa said.

Aerith bit her lip. "He was concerned that the baby wasn't going to like him, or something like that," she explained. "So I had him watch a video about how to bond with kids… but then there was a clip of a woman having a baby-"

Tifa cringed and held up a hand. "Say no more."

It didn't take long for Aerith and all of the bridesmaids to finish getting ready. Terra sat in a chair and watched as the women fluttered around and prepared the bride-to-be while one maid at any given time went to go change. Yuffie took care of the flower girl's make-up along with one of Aerith's other bridesmaids, while Tifa and a second friend worked on her long hair. Elmyra was busy putting together Aerith's bouquet. She had tied some twine around some of the lilies from her daughter's garden and arranged them nicely before adding some tiny baby pink flowers to the outside. Finally, she tied a ribbon—Aerith's pink ribbon from Zack—around the flowers to hide the twine. Aerith didn't want to walk down the aisle without her signature accessory, but her mother wouldn't let her wear it in her hair. After putting the worn fabric on the bouquet in a nice bow, she set the arrangement down on the dresser next to Aerith before going to make sure Terra's basket was properly filled with a sunset of rose petals.

When the older woman drew close, Terra raised her hand shyly, "Um. Excuse me, Mrs. Gainsborough?"

Elmyra smiled at the emerald head next to her, "Yes?"

Terra glanced over at Aerith, "Um. Can I go see Miss Aerith?" she folded her hands in her lap anxiously.

Elmyra glanced over at Aerith to see how much longer it would be until her daughter actually donned her dress, then turned back to Terra. "Well, she's about to put her dress on, so lets give her some privacy. You can go talk to her afterwards, okay? I'm sorry we've been so busy. Do you want to put your dress on while we wait?"

Terra's face lit up, "Yes, please!" she hopped out of her chair and carefully removed her fluffy, knee-length flower girl dress from its hanger before bouncing after Elmyra. Yuffie waved as the pair left, then went with Tifa to get Aerith's dress off of its hanger. Aerith looked at it and a giant smile lit her features.

She stood up from the chair she had been sitting in and sighed heavily, that smile still in place. "Wow, this is really happening, isn't it?" she muttered excitedly. "It still seems so… weird, though."

Yuffie took the dress out of the plastic wrapper. "Yup," she said. She began undoing the buttons on the back. "Y'know, all day your mom's been telling me that I'm next. She doesn't get that I'm an independent young woman, does she?"

Tifa smiled, deciding not to add anything.

Pretty soon, Aerith had donned her long, flowing frock. Peeking through the Ancient's thick, tamed, and styled curls was a deep V ending at the small of her back, and lacy, beaded cap sleeves hung nicely on her shoulders. Tifa didn't say anything, but she was jealous of the backless dress. While Aerith's was very flattering, Tifa felt upset that functional backless bras didn't exist for girls that were Tifa's size. That smidge of envy couldn't dampen her mood during her best friend's wedding, though!

"You look so pretty!" Tifa squealed. The other bridesmaids were oohing and ahhing at the bride as well. Even Yuffie, the forever tomboy, commented on how nice the dress looked!

One of the bridesmaids that Tifa didn't know well checked her phone for the time. "Aerith, the wedding is gonna start in about an hour and a half."

Aerith giggled before looking at herself in the mirror and smoothing her skirt.

A little abruptly, a crying toddler came running up to the door and began patting it intently. Tifa sighed, recognizing that cry immediately. Squall…

Well, he had behaved for a couple hours by this point, and the last time they saw each other was when she went to change into her bridesmaid's dress. She turned to Aerith with a sad pout. "Aerith? Would it be okay if I took care of the boys? Do you need my help for anything else?"

Aerith hopped over (careful not to mess up her hair) and hugged Tifa tight from the side to avoid baby strife. "I'm fine! You go take care of your babies," she said with a laugh, "Just make sure they don't get your dress dirty!"

Tifa hugged Aerith back, "Thank you! And thank you, by the way, for not getting hideous bridesmaid's dresses like they do in the movies. Though now I realize I should have made my dress flush against my whole stomach instead of just having it rest on the top half…" she pushed the knee-length hanging fabric so that it rested against her thighs, but it fell back into place as soon as she released it.

Aerith smiled sympathetically, "It's a good thing you thought to wear shorts underneath, then."

Outside, Squall started crying louder and ran away down the hallway when jogging footsteps came close. Reno groaned before pursuing the little human once more, "Come on, kid! I don't have time for this!"

Tifa was about to call Terra until Aerith said the flower girl could stay in the room with the other women. She nodded, told the girl to be on her best behavior (not that it was really necessary), and hurried out the door only to awkwardly step over Zell. He had been crouched in front of Aerith's dressing room.

As soon as he saw Tifa, Zell jumped to his feet and hugged one of her thighs. "Mamaaa!"

Tifa, now immensely more glad to have thought to wear shorts, got Zell's head out from under her protruding skirt and picked the boy up before waddling after Squall's continuing cries. Bartz must have still been with Rude. When Tifa was near the source of the crying, Squall's pitch rose to a scream. Tifa hurried around the corner to see that Cloud had caught the writhing child and was struggling to keep him from falling.

Reno sat down against the crumbly stone wall and groaned. "Ho-ly SHIT!"

"Reno!"

He and Cloud looked over and Cloud immediately approached to hand the screaming child over to Tifa, who awkwardly worked him onto her other baby-obscured hip while Cloud apologized and offered to take Zell. Zell did not appreciate this and clung to Tifa's chest, awkwardly grabbing a highly sensitive breast. Tifa gasped, "Owowowow…! Zell, move your hand!"

He pulled himself up using her shoulder before cuddling against her, "Sorry, Mama."

Tifa hefted the children and glanced at Cloud. He nodded and supported her arms (and subsequently her aching back) before going to find a spot for everyone to sit down at and wait for a sporadically sobbing Squall to stop crying.

Reno trotted a few steps to catch up to the slow-moving couple before looking over at the crying boy and opening his mouth, "So what's up with him?"

"Separation anxiety," Tifa sighed, "It took him months to warm up to anyone other than his mother." She grunted and fixed the boy so he didn't slip out of her and Cloud's hold. "So Bartz is with Rude, then?"

"The older kid? Nah, he's with…" he looked around the hallway, "…Oh, perfect. We must have gotten separated when Squall ran off." The Turk groaned and rubbed his face.

Tifa gave Reno a barely vicious warning look. "Go find my kid." Her eyebrows perked up, "Now."

Reno's eyes widened at Tifa's look before he trotted down the hallway calling for the wayward wanderer.

When it was time for the wedding to finally start, the wedding party split themselves accordingly and got ready to lead the way down. After everyone had made their way up to the alter (Reno was MIA until Bartz reappeared, so Rude and Barret had to walk next to each other to keep the line even. Barret kept Troy, who was his original pairing, between them so create some distance and Rude didn't seem to mind), the crowd stood and turned towards the back of the church, where Aerith was standing with Elmyra. Tifa carefully wiped her leaking eyes and looked down when she felt a tug at her skirt. Squall lifted his arms, "Up."

Tifa shook her head and put Squall's hands back down at his sides before straightening back up as a slow wedding march started from a radio situated in the front of the church.

Squall tugged on Tifa's skirt again despite Zell trying to push the brunette's hands away from her. "Up." He demanded again, more insistent this time. When Tifa denied him again, he started crying and Tifa was forced to pick the boy up, which upset Zell of course.

"I want up, too!" the boy complained.

Yuffie knocked Zell in the shoulder and gave a quiet, stern "Sh."

Zell's face puckered in a pout and he pressed himself against Tifa's leg. Meanwhile from his new vantage point, Squall looked around at the bridesmaids and across the aisle at Zack and his groomsmen before looking down the aisle to watch Aerith come forward, arm-in-arm with her mother. He looked at Tifa and pointed down the aisle, "Why is Miss Aerith dressed like an angel?"

Tifa covered her mouth and forced herself not to cry. She was dressed like an angel! Curse these pregnancy-enhanced emotions! Luckily Aerith didn't react at all if she even noticed, and finished walking up the aisle and stood across from Zack after giving Elmyra a tight hug, a huge smile lighting her features the whole time.

Once Aerith was to the altar the music shut off and the parson began talking. So that she would forget her tears, Tifa tried to picture the man, slightly hunched with age, with a speech impediment. Maiw-wage, she thought. Maiw-wage is what bwings us togethah today. Maiw-wage, that sacwed…

There was a scream from the ceiling and Tifa could hear Reno's hissing voice from the rafters. She could feel the color leave her face as she heard a young boy wail from the dusty ceiling. Oh, god, Bartz! How did he get up there?! Was it okay for her to leave her post at the altar? Besides, she had Zell shackled to one leg and a Squall persistently holding onto her neck. Not to mention she was crying again. While she knew that this was out of her power, she couldn't help but feel responsible for the bawling child. How did he even get up there?!

Troy sat up and fixed his gaze on the source of the noise as people in the pews started gasping or yelping in shock. A small, deep woof escaped the dog's mouth, but it wasn't loud enough to disrupt the ceremony any more than it already was. Barret yanked on his leash and looked at the parson. Luckily, the parson ignored the yelling Bartz and whispering Reno and continued on with the ceremony. Tifa watched in horror as she saw Reno's shadow-obscured figure attempting to climb closer to the boy and beckon him to safety. In a matter of minutes, Reno had snatched up the wandering Bartz (who was clinging to a beam for dear life and shaking like a leaf) and pulled him back to a more structurally sound area.

Not too much later, the parson was about to ask Aerith and Zack for their vows and Reno had settled into the back pew with Bartz at his side. Tifa had breathed an inward sigh of relief when she saw them slip inside, and focused completely on the rest of the ceremony.

As the couple exchanged vows, Terra began quietly sniffling and wiping tears from her eyes. Though she tried to keep her sobs quiet, they steadily began getting breathier and louder. Tifa reached down and patted Terra on the back before readjusting Squall. That quieted her sobs for a moment, allowing for a more dramatic exchanging of rings. Finally, the parson declared, "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

At that time, Terra lost it, Squall buried his face in Tifa's shoulder, and Zell cracked up. Tifa, through her now powerful tears, looked down at Zell in confusion. The little blonde was doubled over as the wedding party began making their way out to the reception area. As she hiccupped a cry away, Tifa nudged Zell to let him know that they had to leave. He cackled, trailing behind her.

Tifa wearily sat down in the reception area and pulled Zell and Squall onto her knees so they would behave. She had been on her feet all day. Between helping Aerith get ready, standing during the ceremony, and taking wedding photos after Zack and Aerith were happily married, Tifa had been standing with little rest for hours. She rubbed her belly with a quiet sigh, trying to get the squirming life in there to take a break from their incessant moving. Cloud came back from taking Bartz and Terra (who was still sniffling) to the bathroom and sat next to his wife.

He tilted his head slightly and his brow furrowed, "You ok, Tifa?"

She played with Squall's fluffy hair and nodded, "Just tired," she laughed, "It's been a really long day."

Bartz squealed and ran over to Barret when the large man appeared with Troy in tow. Barret laughed and hoisted the boy onto his shoulder like he used to do with Marlene when she was Bartz' age. Unfortunately, the boy yelped in panic at being lifted to high and ended up throwing a knobby knee into Barret's chin before clinging to a large arm for dear life.

Suddenly, the overhead speakers burst into static and song as "Never Gonna Give You Up" started playing. Aerith and Zack opened the doors and entered, singing along jovially. After they had taken their seats with their parents and had gotten through all the formalities, Cloud and Tifa said their Best Man and Maid of Honor's speeches to commemorate the couple.

After the reception had gone into full swing and everyone was busy eating and talking, Zack's mother pulled her son (and new daughter) over and asked when she could expect some grandkids, much to the newlywed's embarrassment. Elmyra chuckled from her spot a few paces away. Tifa chuckled and looked at a smirking Cloud while Zack let out an exasperated "Mooooom…".

Squall peered around the room from his spot at Tifa's knee. He had stuck to her like glue ever since the ceremony ended, asking myriad questions about the wedding around them. He had even followed his guardian into the bathroom after vehemently refusing Cloud's offer to watch him. He patted Tifa's thigh, "I'm hungry. Can I have a hot dog?"

Tifa nodded down at the small boy and took his hand before leading him over to the table. Zack had been the one to suggest the grilled mystery pork cutlets. "Well of course! We might want to hurry though, there was a bit of a rush for the hot dogs earlier." Tifa glanced over at Zell, who was sitting between Cloud and Terra and working his way through no less than 3 of the things (with no toppings) and a scoop of macaroni.

Within the next couple of hours, Tifa and Cloud were gathering their things to get ready to go back to First Fantasy so Squall, Zell, Bartz, and Terra's parents could pick them up at 10. The kids had started dozing off about a half hour ago, and the only one with some energy left was Terra. Bartz had fallen asleep first and flat on his back in the play area (a blanket with some books and toys set in a quieter corner of the venue), which had provided Zell a perfect pillow in the form of Bartz' stomach. Squall had stayed awake as long as possible, but was fading in and out of consciousness. He leaned heavily into Tifa to keep from falling over and never let go of her hand. Terra was tired as well, but she had slept longer than the others earlier in the day.

Tifa waved Aerith over when they were about ready to leave. The flower girl approached with hugs aplenty, "Thank you so much, Tifa! I know I've said this a hundred times already, but things would not have gone so great as they did without you and everyone helping to put it together!"

A black blur flew past and Cloud made a muffled noise somewhere between an "oof" and groan. Tifa and Aerith looked over to see that a moderately drunk Zack had glomped the significantly smaller blond and was smothering him in a hug. Cloud staggered backward, arms spread, to keep Zack from knocking the both of them over until the Zack released his grip and gave a casual salute, "Thanks for coming, you two! See you next time!"

Aerith snorted and knocked Zack on the chin, "Next time? Are you implying that you will have a second wedding?"

Zack laughed in his very Zack-ish way and took a large step over to give Aerith a bear hug of her own, "Oh, hell no. That would be WAY too much work! I'll just stick with who I have, thanks." He nuzzled his face into her cheek and hair before giving her a very loud kiss, resulting in a bell-like laugh from Mrs. Fair.

After rousing the children from the car ride back to First Fantasy, Tifa and Cloud lead the sleepy string of kids inside the building, where they were greeted with 4 of the naptime mats laid out with several blankets and pillows lain neatly on top. Tifa smiled; Aqua must have set them out after the daycare closed for the day. However, only two of the mats were to be used. Terra's father and Squall's mother came in from where they had been waiting in the parking lot. Both children ran happily over to their parents and were quickly lifted into cradling arms before everyone bid their farewells and went home for the night. Bartz' father and Zell's parents arrived within 20 minutes of everyone else reaching First Fantasy, and Tifa and Cloud locked up after seeing both of the boys passed to their parents for the night.

"Bye!" Tifa called for the last time as the cars holding Bartz and Zell pulled out of the parking lot, "You have a good night!"

She smiled when the waving forms of the boys was accompanied by a muffled "Bye, Mama!" from Mrs. Dincht's car.

Cloud put an arm around Tifa's shoulders and kissed her temple while she heaved a massive yawn and patted his hand.

On their way home, Tifa kicked off her shoes and blinked in surprise when her ankles brushed together, "My feet feel huge…"

Cloud glanced over at her before returning his gaze to the road, "Want me to run a bath when we get home?"

"No…"

"Okay."

The car ride continued in silence for a few minutes before Cloud glanced over to find his wife fast asleep and leaning awkwardly against the car door. He pulled her arm so that she was sitting straight and tried not to wake her before getting home.

Hey, glorious readers! If you enjoyed this installment be sure to leave comments! Thank you for your patience and your meaningful existence. I love all of you! 333