Along with life in general keeping me from updating, I lost my grandfather in October 2016. He was an amazing person, kind and loving, and like a second father to me. He was my safe place. Today, August 14th, would have been his birthday. And with the birth of Reno and Cloud's twins, I give life again to my grandfather Emmett. I love you, I miss you. Happy birthday, PawPaw.

This chapter is also dedicated to Mrs. Janice, who raised an amazing daughter who i'm proud to call my sister from another mister. In loving memory of Emmett and Janice. May they live on through us, our families, and now in my story.

ETA: 8/20/2019: And with this chapter, Part One is complete. I will be doing an entire rewrite of this fic soon, under the same name. If you are interested, it will be posted on AO3 (see my profile).

~Princess Turk

Less than fifteen minutes later, Cloud and Reno were on their way from Nibelheim to Midgar. Reno was piloting the helicopter like he never had before, as fast as the chopper would go.

Cloud was puking out of the side door, groaning as the Nibel mountains whizzed past. They would soon near North Corel, and he hoped he'd stop puking before then. It could get really messy for the unsuspecting victim of a fly-by puking.

He laughed to himself despite how miserable he felt.

"You got the sympathy vomits going on, yo!" Reno quipped before reaching a shaking hand into his pants pocket for another cigarette. Cloud heard the clink of the Zippo lighter and smirked. It was the third cigarette the Turk had smoked in the fifteen minutes they had been up in the air.

Cloud crawled his way back to the safety of the co-pilot's seat and buckled himself in. "Ugh," He groaned. "Sympathy pukes or motion sickness, who cares. It's all the same to me."

"Did you take the medicine Tseng gave you?"

"Yeah. Feels like it's finally kicking in," Cloud replied. He kicked back in the seat, sighing to himself. "Two babies."

"Two fuckin' little ones," Reno grinned. His heart was pounding so wildly as he inwardly grimaced at the idea of two screaming babies at once. "Fuck. How in the fuck are we gonna do this, Cloud? We don't even have anything for one baby, let alone two."

Cloud moaned and put his head in his hands. "I don't know, but we've got to think quickly. Where are they gonna sleep?" he replied, his voice muffled slightly between his fingers.

"Well... there's always the dresser drawers..." Reno quipped. Cloud looked up from his hands, bewildered at the redhead.

"We can't put our babies in there!"

"They can't sleep in the bed with us, yo. That'd be weird," Reno said.

"Yeah, you're right," Cloud said. He chewed on a fingernail and went into deep thought for the rest of the ride, musing about babies: childproofing, clothing, diapers, and vomit. Lots of vomit. And shit.

He threw his seatbelt off and scrambled back over to the door of the helicopter, letting loose a stream of puke that rivaled all others.

He stayed there for the rest of the flight.

Tifa was screaming when Reno and Cloud entered the building; they could hear her two hallways away. She was screaming about gods, chocobos, the weather, and monsters. Reno laughed nervously as they sped up their pace to get by her side. "Yo, you think maybe she needs some medication?"

Cloud was paler than usual. He didn't answer. His stomach was flipping and diving, turning and burning. He ducked off into a bathroom, mumbling a hasty, "Go on ahead!" and Reno broke into a run. Tseng's office was empty. He followed the screams to the Shinra lab, where he threw the heavy door open and stopped in his tracks. There was blood all over the floor, a trail leading to the back of the lab. Oh my gods.

"Tseng!"

Tseng hurried to the front of the room, his hair disheveled and dripping in sweat. He wore a pair of medical gloves that were wet with blood. Reno stood aghast - and finally started outwardly panicking. He bent over, his hands on his knees, panting heavily and choking back tears of fear.

"There's no time for that, Reno! You're an ex-Turk! You've seen worse! Get in here now!" Tseng shouted, motioning for the redhead to follow him further into the lab.

Tifa lay on a lab table, her clothing soaked in fluids and blood. It dripped off the sides of the table like a broken spigot. She was crying, but her screaming had stopped. "I've started sedation, Reno," Tseng told him. "She should be asleep soon. She's had a very difficult time. Several of the bones in her pelvic area and a few of her ribs have been broken from the strain of the quick transition. I've started a Mako infusion and am giving her extra blood."

"The babies?" Reno panted.

"They're okay. They should be here any moment. Where is Cloud?" Tseng replied.

Reno let out a long sigh and looked up at the ceiling. "He's puking his guts out. He'll be in here soon," he answered.

As if on cue, Reno saw Tseng glance behind him and nod his head. Reno turned around and crossed the room to Cloud. The blond was shaking and unsteady. "They're gonna be okay, yo. The babies are fine. Tifa's just having a difficult time, that's all," Reno said, wrapping his arms around Cloud. "It's gonna be okay, babe."

Cloud melted into his hug, sighing heavily and closing his eyes. His nervousness subsided as Reno began whispering to him. At first it was barely intelligible - then, Cloud finally got it: "I love you and our babies. I love you, I love you, I love you."

Cloud began to cry into Reno's shoulder."I love you too, Reno. More than you'll ever know," he sobbed.

"I'm the luckiest man ever," Reno whispered, hugging him tighter.

Their calmness was interrupted by Tseng. "It's time!" he announced.

Hand in hand, Reno and Cloud joined Tseng at Tifa's side. They gazed at the various medical tools and the two bassinettes at the foot of the lab table where Tseng stood. They watched in awe as Tseng reached under a half-curtain and grunted, moving his arms.

"It's like he's preparing a chocobo for roasting," Reno whispered, snickering at his old boss. Cloud groaned and shook his head. He winced, imagining what was going on behind the tiny curtain.

Then, a cry.

Reno gasped as Tseng lifted a tiny, squirming infant to show them. Cloud grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

"It's a boy," Tseng announced.

They watched in awe as Tseng clamped their son's umbilical cord and wrapped him in a soft blanket after taking the child's weight and cleaning him up. He motioned for Reno to come over, and handed the baby to him. Reno walked back over to Cloud, who had tears streaming down his face. Reno's own tears began to fall as he peered down at the tiny face. Little wisps of brown and blond hair peeked out from under the blanket. Cloud touched the baby's hand and held a tiny finger between two of his own.

"Hello, baby. I'm your daddy," Cloud whispered, his throat tight with emotion.

"He needs a name, guys," Tseng interrupted. He was filling out paperwork hastily while keeping an eye out for the second baby to arrive.

Reno's breath caught in his throat. Fresh tears came from his eyes.

"Emmett," he said. "His name is Emmett."

Reno looked over at Cloud. "I have no memories from my childhood. All except for one fleeting glance. I think maybe it was a dream. Maybe it was real. A very kind and elderly man whose name was Emmett. I was once told by Shinra that he was my grandfather, but it was never proven. I couldn't find any records of him even existing. But in the split second of the memory, he was smiling at me from behind his glasses."

"Reno..."

"He had the kindest eyes i'd ever known, until I met you."

Tseng quickly jotted the name down and jumped from his chair. "Here comes the second one!" he shouted. Faster than Emmett was born, the second baby had arrived. "It's a girl this time!" Tseng announced, grinning and holding the child up. After cleaning her up and wrapping her in a blanket, he handed her off to Cloud, who stared down at her in amazement. The little girl's hair was streaked with red and blond. He turned to Reno and grinned.

"Here's our daughter," Cloud said. Reno walked over and smiled at the baby. "Meet your daddy, Janice."

"Hey there, little J!" Reno cooed, leaning down to kiss the infant on her soft head. "I like the name, yo. Where'd you come up with that one?"

Cloud smiled. "It was the name of a baker in Nibelheim during my childhood. She was the sweetest lady and had a lovely garden outside of her store," he replied.

"Those are two fine names, guys," Tseng said from his paperwork. "You all should head to the break room and have a rest. I'll be in there shortly.

As they sat in the Shinra building's break room, they appreciated the comfort of the large couch and the silence of the building. Neither one of them could stop staring at their little bundles, born from a miracle of Shinra science. Both children were completely biologically theirs, and it was the first time they'd actually been grateful for the lab.

What brought hell for many, had brought heaven for Reno and Cloud.