Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy 7; it belongs to Tetsuya Nomura and SquareEnix.

Short and sweet. I'm back from Cowboy Bebop and ready to write. As always, forgive my typos, spelling, and grammar errors. In this chapter I brought some characters in. The problem is that I haven't really seen much but AC. I really don't know how they act, chances are that there will be some oocness. However, I guess part of it could be part of this new baby experience….I guess. It's a short chapter, this last one, and it's also very segmented. Anyway, I hope you like it.

…On with the story!

NMM—In the End, There's More to It Than That—MMN

Thank goodness. Thank You. Thank you; thank you, thank you. Cloud repeated in his head over and over again. It was only four and the baby was coming—this time for sure. He felt terrible seeing Tifa in pain and felt even worse as she held his hand in a stone grip.

"Sir…Sir. Will you be coming in?" Cloud was a little startled. Was he? "If you are, I need you to get a few things on." Cloud halfway nodded.

"I'll be back soon." Cloud said releasing Tifa's hand. She forced a smile through her physical pain.

HHH

The rest of the group was waiting outside on the chairs nearby. Yuffie found it even harder than the usual to keep still and even Vincent fidgeted a little with his foot. Barret was trying to calm Marlene and Denzel down. And Cid was trying to make Yuffie be quiet, but wasn't helping much.

"You're not supposed to curse in a hospital." Yuffie told Cid. A nurse passing by said, quiet please.

"Fine." He retorted. But he continued, "It's a damn hospital. Why in hell would you not curse in a damn hospital? People are in fu—" Vincent rose from his seat and walked slowly towards them. He stood in front of Cid.

"It's a maternity hospital." Vincent said.

"More the reason to."

"There are too many children around for you to be cursing. If you will continue to do this, it is best you go outside. And take Yuffie with you too. You two are making this unbearable for everyone around you." Vincent gazed from Cid to Yuffie and sat down.

"Wow." Yuffie whispered to Cid. "Did you count how many words he said that second time?"

"Forty." Cid whispered back as he took his seat again. "Exactly forty."

"Maybe he talks a lot when he's nervous."

"Beats the hell out of me." Cid said shrugging his shoulders.

Vincent gazed back at both of them and turned away. He rested his arm on the chair and supported his head with his hand. He was the first one to spot Cloud; still wearing the blue clothing the nurse had given him. Vincent stood up quickly and his sudden movement caused the rest to see Cloud. They stared at him waiting for some sort of information. Cloud's look was completely unreadable. Sadness. Happiness. Anxiousness. Relief. Maybe it was a combination of everything all at once. Cloud swallowed. He was still taking in everything that had happened. Suddenly, he felt his hand cramp. He stared down at it. He remembered Tifa, her face full of pain, then. It happened. And he was there to see it all. And he didn't know that it would ever make him feel like this. And everything stopped now. Because it was over. Just when it had begun. It was so fast. And yet felt forever. And—

"Cloud." But it was not Yuffie, or Cid, or Barret, or Vincent, or Marlene who said it. It was Denzel. He cleared his throat too. This silence was killing him. "D-Dad?" Cloud was shaken from his thoughts. Dad. He was a dad. Not of one. But of two. Two beautiful children. "Dad. What happened?"

"It. Went. Everyone—Okay." He said finding his voice a bit hard to use. A wave of relief covered the group, including Cloud. "Everything went just fine."

"Boy or girl?" Barret asked.

"Girl." Cloud responded as he smiled. Everything was fine. "She's got Tifa's hair. My eyes. I think."

"Ah!" Barret said. "You owe me Cid."

"Damn it. I should've known."

"Did you hear that Marlene. I have a sister." Denzel said very exited. He jumped up and down and gave Cloud a big hug. "I have a sister."

Yuffie took Marlene by the arms and had her doing some sort of dance. Everyone was making too much noise. The nurse tried to get to be quiet again, but it was impossible. Vincent's phone rang. Everyone stopped and looked at him. He walked a ways away and answered just to find it was a wrong number. When Vincent went back to the group, Cloud was already gone.

"He's already gone to see Tifa." Yuffie said. "Kind of odd isn't it." Vincent looked at her. "Took him forever to tell Tifa that he loved her. And now they're practically inseparable." Vincent nodded. "It's like he wants to make up for the time they lost."

"No." He said. Yuffie looked at Vincent strangely. "He knows he can't get that time back. He spends so much time with her because that's what he always wanted to do. He's not making up for the time they lost. He's making the best of the time they have left."

"Are you in love again Vince?" Yuffie said trying to elbow him. He walked away. She shrugged the thought away. "Forty-two. That was forty-two words."

HHH

Cloud was sitting besides Tifa's bed, holding their baby. He still wasn't sure of how to hold her correctly, so he tried to be very careful. Tifa was resting in bed watching him as he rocked the baby back and forth. Cloud was smiling widely. He held the baby insecurely; his arms were a bit awkward and his shoulders were higher than usual. Tifa gave a small laugh. He looked at her. "We're parents again." Tifa said.

"Yeah." Cloud responded.

"You know. I think I liked the other way better." Cloud looked at her confused. "The way we got Denzel." She giggled. "But. If we had to go through all this just so I could see you holding our baby like that. I think it's worth it." She reached out her hands and Cloud placed their baby carefully in her arms. He sat closer to the bed. "She's so pretty. But I guess all parents think that about their children."

"No." Cloud said touching the baby's hair. "She's the prettiest baby."

HHH

The next day they were released from the hospital. The first few nights were sleepless. Finally, after what had seemed to be years, Cloud was sleeping past two. The house was very quiet. Tifa felt Cloud's head resting against hers and wondered what he was thinking or dreaming, or both.

"Cloud." She said. Cloud gave a small grunt but responded a very low 'yeah.' "Do you remember what you told me on our honeymoon."

He chuckled a little. "What of all things?"

She laughed and he laughed with her. "You said that we'd go through everything together. Right?"

"Yes. I did. Why?" And almost as if Tifa had known, Adaiah started crying.

"C'mon Cloud, let's go." Tifa said getting up from bed.

"I'll be there in a second." Tifa laughed as she put her slippers on. She tapped his shoulder and he turned around in bed to see her. Her loose hair tickled his face as she leaned down to kiss him. "Okay." He said still feeling her breath.

He got out of bed and they walked towards the door. And just to make sure that it wasn't all a dream, Cloud pulled Tifa close to him and embraced her. "I love you." He told her.

She smiled. "I love you too." She grabbed his hand and they walked out of the door.

Cloud might have taken longer than even he had wanted to say those three words, but he knew that the past was the past. With this beautiful reality before him, he felt he couldn't wish for more. He wanted to spend the rest of his life enjoying this 'new' life. The life he had always wanted. A live with Tifa. A life with all his friends. A life that he could always enjoy, even if there were obstacles and losses. He didn't have to worry. Whatever was thrown at him, he knew something for sure. He wouldn't trade his life for anything.

After Tifa had finished feeding Adaiah, Cloud asked to hold her for a moment before they went back to bed. "When I was in the hospital," Tifa said. "One of the nurses said that you were one of the best fathers she'd seen."

"Really?" Cloud said, and he could feel a kind of pride and joy swell inside his chest.

"Yes. She said that not that many men, even if they love their wives, really stay there throughout the entire process…Just know that, I really appreciated you always being there for me."

"Why wouldn't I have been there?" Cloud asked and gave her his best smile. "Remember, through everything together."

NMM—Fin—MMN

Quick Note: Adaiah means precious charm of God and is a unisex name.

Okay, guys…and gals too, well, you know what I meant by guys. I hope you enjoyed it. Thank you for reading and that I'd like to hear what you thought. I really appreciate your support. Yeah, and I'm sorry I changed my penname on you, I just opened a DeviantArt account and NMM was already taken so I figured to just go ahead and be NonMetallicMetal. It's just that NMM was so much quicker to write. Oh, well…

Thanks to: DynastyWARRIORS, elebelly, Twin A 07, and Cedarville. You all get a jar of imaginative cookies, your choice of kind.

Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! I appreciate your support. :smiles: