Disclaimer:

No owning of the franchise...

Author's Note:

Well, everyone, this is the final chapter of Our Life, As It Is Now. So I hope you enjoy the last chapter! And I want to send a special thank you to everyone who came back to read this story after such a long hiatus. I wouldn't have gotten this far if it wasn't for you wonderful readers supporting me along the way! Thank you so much!

Well what are you waiting for?! There's a chapter to be read! Go go go!

Chapter X:

Nicholas Adam and Malia Marie

I flew into the ER's waiting room and spied Barret standing alone, staring up at a television that was playing a late night talk show. "Barret!"

He whirled around and smirked when he saw me. "Damn, Vincent, took your sweet time did ya?"

"How's Tifa?"

"She's doin' fine," the large man replied, smiling widely. "And let me be the first to congratulate you on being a father."

My shoulders drooped in disappointment. "I missed it?"

Barret's smiling face grew solemn. "Yeah, I'm sorry, man. From what Cid says the contractions started on the ambulance. We tried callin' ya to tell ya that Tifa was getting ready to give birth but you didn' answer."

"I didn't even hear my phone," I said, my hands balling into tight fists. "I can't believe I missed it. I wish I could have been here."

"Hey, it's no big deal, man," he said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "Come on, Tifa's resting right now. You can go get a peek at your lil ones."

"Are they alright?" I asked as he escorted me through the white washed halls.

"Course they are!" He exclaimed. "The bastard was too far away from Tifa to do any real damage."

We entered the maternity ward and Barret steered me over to a large Plexiglas window where three nurses were taking care of a about a dozen new borns. My eyes were immediately drawn to a large bassinet that held two small babies wrapped in a blue and pink blanket with small caps adorning their heads. Barret waved at one of the nurses when they saw us and the one standing closest the the large bassinet excitedly waved another one over. They happily scooped up the tiny infants and scurried over to the window to display them for me and Barret.

At that moment, as I gazed at the children I had made with Tifa, I felt more love for her than I had ever felt since I married her. A genuine smile appeared on my face as I looked between the two, amazed that that two infants had a part of me in them. I silently cursed myself for missing their birth.

I found myself staring at their closed eyes, wondering what color they would be when they finally opened. Would their hair be black like mine or dark chocolate brown like Tifa's?

I mouthed a silent thank you to the nurses before they returned the babies back to their bassinet. Barret chuckled beside me and slapped my back.

"They're cute, huh?"

I nodded, unable to take my eyes off of them. "They are."

"Well, come on," he said, laying his hand on my shoulder once again and leading me away from the window. "Let's go see Tifa."

Oh, my back... I winced as my back continued to throb as my mind slowly came back to consciousness. I rubbed the sleep out of my eyes and was shocked to find all my friends crowded around my bed. I smiled as I realized all of them were sleeping. Marlene was curled into Yuffie's lap and Nanaki was snuggled up at the foot of my bed. Cid and Shera were sitting beside each other, their heads lolling against their chest and Reeve had fallen asleep with his hand under his chin.

As I was leaning back against my pillows I casually laid my hands over my stomach and jumped, gasping in fright when I felt my now flat stomach.

Nanaki's head flew off his paws, his hackles raised. "Are you okay, Tifa?" He asked, crawling towards me.

"Where are they, Nanaki? What happened to them?" I asked in a panicked voice, not remember that I had already given birth to them.

"Tifa, your twins are fine. They're with the nurses right now," the large feline replied, nuzzling my arm. "They're beautiful, Tifa."

I breathed a sigh of relief and flopped back down into my pillows as my memory came rushing back to me. "Now I remember. I was so delirious earlier I could barely tell up from down." I took a deep breath and adjusted my position so my back wouldn't hurt as much.

"Is Vincent here yet?" I asked, inspecting all the faces around my bed again to make sure I didn't over look him.

Nanaki shrugged his large shoulders. "I am not sure," he said, shaking his head. "Barret volunteered to wait for him in the front. That was over half an hour ago though."

The opening of the door silenced both of us and a broad smile crawled onto my face as the man of the hour walked through the door, followed by Barret. Without missing a beat, he rushed to my bedside and hugged me to his chest for the first time in a month. I wrapped my around around him with crushing force and smothered my face into his chest, reveling in the smell of his clothes and the essence of him.

"I love you," I whispered into his shirt.

He brought his right hand up and ran his fingers through my hair. "I love you. More than you know."

I pulled my face away from Vincent's chest and kissed his neck lightly a few times. I felt his body relax and melt into me at those simple touches. He sighed and kissed my forehead before cupping my face with his hands.

"Have you seen them yet?" He asked, a slight sparkle in his eyes that I had never seen before.

"No, I passed out after they were born. I just woke up a few minutes ago," I said, unwrapping my arms from around Vincent's waist and leaning back against my pillows. "Can I see them now?"

Vincent looked back at Barret who smiled and nodded before disappearing out of the door again. Vincent settled down in a vacant chair next to my bed and took my hand into his while I waited to see my twins.

Nanaki chuckled and rested his head in my lap. "It's rather comical that the man who misses his offspring's birth is the first one to see them, isn't it, Tifa?"

I smiled and scratched the top of the big cat's head. "Yes, it certainly is." I looked over at Vincent and started laughing when I saw the uncomfortable look on his face and squeezed his hand comfortingly. "It's alright, Vincent. I know what you had to do." I paused and took a deep breath. "It's alright."

Vincent brushed my knuckled with his thumb and looked at me adoringly, a small smile tugging on his lips. He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted as Yuffie chose that point in time to let out a very loud and obnoxious yawn.

"Boy, I sure did need that nap," she said, her voice thick with sleep. She lazily rubbed her eyes and jumped in surprise when she saw me sitting up. "Oh, Tifa!" She carefully lifted the still sleeping Marlene off her and set her back in the chair before coming to my bedside. "How are you feeling?"

"My back and stomach are a little sore but other than that I'm fine."

"That's good. All of us were so worried about you." Her face brightened a small amount. "Have you gotten to see them yet?"

I rolled my eyes and feigned sarcasm. "Don't tell me you got to see them too."

Yuffie nervously scratched the back of her head. "Well, all of us kinda got to. It was from a distance though. None of us has held them yet."

I sighed and reassuringly patted the young ninja's hand. "Thanks, Yuff."

Barret barged through the door then, effectively waking everyone in the room up. "Alrigh' everybody, up an' at 'em!" He bellowed. "We havta move these chairs outta the way!"

Everyone listened to the large man's instructions and pushed all the chairs towards the far wall to make room for the twin's bassinet that the nurses wheeled through the door. I stared down at the small blue and pink bundles in anticipation, my heart beat quickening at finally getting to see the children I had so longed for.

The nurses carefully picked up the tiny bundles and brought them to me, helping me arrange them so they were laying in my arms comfortably. I took a few moments to gaze at them and almost felt like crying as I gazed upon the products of mine and Vincent's love for each other. These two beautiful babies that we had made together.

Well, at least I know he makes adorable children. I thought with a smile. They're more beautiful than I ever imagined they would be.

"We're glad that you're awake, Mrs. Valentine," one nurse whose name tag read 'Michelle' said. "Now we can finish their birth certificates." The other nurse handed her a clipboard, her name tag reading 'Janice'. "Do you have names picked out?"

I nodded, unable to rip my eyes away from their sleeping faces. "I do." I paused for a moment and looked at my son. "Nicholas Adam and..." I paused, looking at my daughter. "Malia Marie." I looked at Vincent as I finished speaking and when I saw the proud expression that he wore I knew I had chosen the right name for our daughter.

"Those are beautiful names, Mrs. Valentine," Michelle said, scribbling the name's down quickly. "We'll have those finished for you when you're ready to go home. Congratulations!"

"Thank you," I whispered, taking my eyes away from my twins long enough to smile at the nurses as they left, leaving the bassinet behind.

"Malia, huh?" Yuffie mumbled. "That's beautiful, Tifa. Where did you get it?"

"It was in a word search I was doing a week ago. I'm not sure what it means."

"Wow," Yuffie said with wonderment. "That's a gorgeous name."

"Well, I think the new parents would like to be alone for a while. Come on, guys, let's go," Barret said, ushering everyone out the door.

After everyone had shuffled out of the room and the door latched shut behind them did I look back at Vincent. He was staring at our twins like they were the finest porcelain dolls in the world. His eyes shone with hidden thoughts as he looked upon them.

"Which one do you want to hold first?" I asked.

He blinked and looked up at my face. "Hm?" He mumbled, not hearing a word that I had said.

"Do you want to hold Nicholas or Malia first?" I asked again, laughing a small amount.

He licked his lips and rose from his chair, closing the small gap between himself and my bed. I saw his eyes stray to Malia more than once before he spoke. "Can I see Malia?"

"Of course you can, Vincent. You're her father. Take her," I said, unable to help pass my small daughter to him.

He raised shaking hands and began to reach for her, but hesitated and stopped short, flexing the shining digits of his claw. I knew immediately what he was thinking.

"You won't hurt her, Vincent."

That simple statement was enough to make him commit to take her in his arms. He gently scooped her head into the palm of his claw and carefully lifted her away from me. He brought her towards his chest and stared at her, a look of wonderment shining in his eyes. I shifted Nicholas from my left arm to my right and lovingly brushed my fingertips over his cheek. I jumped in surprise and jerked my hand away when he stirred, slowly opening his eyes, revealing dark pools of brown that shone red when the light hit them at just the right angle. My heart fluttered as my son inspected my face, committing it to his memory.

I smiled and felt tears well up in the corners of my eyes. "Hello, Nicholas," I said, barely above a whisper. I leaned down and kissed his forehead, hugging him to me as close as I possibly could without smothering him.

I glanced over to see how Vincent was faring with Malia and was overjoyed to see that she had opened her eyes as well. Vincent was staring down at her with the most captivating stare I had ever seen and Malia was staring right back. My attention was wrenched away from the heart warming scene before me when I felt a soft touch on the side of my face. My heart melted when I realized Nicholas was the one touching me.

Somehow he had wrestled his left arm free of his blanket and was working on the right one. I reached over with my left hand and grabbed his tiny fingers, my heart swelling with pride as I felt him squeeze my finger. "You're gonna be a strong one," I whispered.

Vincent leaned down and planted a kiss on my forehead. "I love you, Mrs. Valentine."

"And I love you, Mr. Valentine," I said, turning my head to look at him.

We kissed then as both of our children squirmed in our arms.

A/N: Oh and the pronunciation for Malia is Ma-le-ah. And it's actually the name of my cousin's dog.

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