Fate Chapter 12
New Beginnings
By Tifa Gainsborough
The warm afternoon sun filtered in between heavy curtains. Multi sized prisms hung in the window, catching the light; casting sparkling rainbows across the small nursery.
The man standing in the doorway reached out, trying to catch on of the elusive rainbows. He smiled as it slipped between his finger.
“I don’t think he will much care for rainbows,” he mused to himself out loud.
“Yes, she will,” a soft voice replied.
Strong hands gently stroked the curve of her belly, soothing the life within. Transfixed, his eyes refused to leave her hands. Watching with a certain wonder.
“How’s Shanna?”
The question jerked him from his daze. “The same, still complaining about her physical therapy.”
A smile touched her lips. “That’s good. She had me worried when she went along with it without a word of complaint. Not like our Sha-”
“I almost forgot,” he exclaimed, cutting her off mid-sentence. “The T.O.M results came back.”
Reaching into his pocket, he produced an envelop. The slight tremble of his finger made him even more nervous.
“Oh?”
The T.O.M test was the nickname for the Traces of Mako test. The high number of baby’s born with serious birth defects had alarmed many physicians. With nothing to regulate the flow of Mako these days, it had a tendency to flow out of every crevice in the Planet’s surface. More and more people were coming down with cases of Mako poisoning.
It was now standard for all expecting mothers to have the T.O.M test performed.
“The envelope isn’t going to open itself,” she laughed.
“I know,” was his quick reply. “I’m afraid of the results.”
The rocking chair creaked under her heavy weight as she rose. Averting his eyes, he couldn’t look at her. The light pressure on his shoulder startled him. Out of the corner of his eye, he looked at her.
“Whatever the results,” she whispered, resting her head on his shoulder. “We face them when they come.”
Steady fingers took the envelop from his hand. He held his breath, hoping for the best, yet fearing for the worse. They had both been soaked in Mako a few months back, the risks were much higher for her. He could not keep himself from worrying.
“Trista!”
She only smiled, tearing the envelop in half. He wanted so desperately to return the smile. To laugh at the joy she had in shredding the envelope.
“But I really think it would be be-”
A soft finger lay against his lips, halting the rest of his protest. Soft lips enveloped his, drawing his attention else ware.
~*~*~*~*~
The skin was tight, yet surprisingly soft under his roaming fingers. Pushing down, the occupant inside responded with a sharp kick. Trista moaned in her sleep, trying to roll away from him.
“You know kid, we went through a lot to get you into this world,” Conlan whispered to his unborn child. “There are so many people you won’t be able to meet. Such as Diallo and Mitsu. Or any of your grandparents. But you have me and your mother, who is a very special woman.”
Leaning down, he lay a soft kiss on the exposed skin. Straightening up, words continued to flow.
“So many sacrifices to bring you here. People, like Cloud Strife and Tifa Lockheart, that did such horrible things. Trying now to make amends for the actions they inflicted under a monsters control. You’ll meet them, I promise you,” he paused, unsure as to why he made that promise. “It’s odd, once they were enemies. But things change, they always do.”
“Who are you talking to?” a sleepy whisper inquired.
“Your stomach,” his reply meet by laughter. “Hoping the little one inside can hear me.”
“What are you telling her?”
Lying down beside her, wrapping his legs with hers. Callused hand resting on a swollen breast. “What a wonderful mother she has.”
“A few more weeks and you can tell that to her in person.”
The moon outside cast it’s soft glow across the Planet. Soft breeze playing tag with the trees. New life stirring inside expectant mothers.
The Planet could rest, peace finally upon it.