By Kristen Gupton-Williams

When the airship came to a stop over Rocket the following day, it was a somber occasion. Any excitement that Tifa may have felt over seeing Cid and his infant was dampered by the thought of Jaras no longer being around. Vincent and his wife exited the airship as it came to rest in the same field it had used before. Jaras came out with them only for the purpose of good byes.

Vincent went over and embraced his son. "We will come see you soon, all right?"

"Okay." Jaras had his eyes closed for the duration of the hug, fighting back the emotions that were drilling at his heart. "Thanks."

Once Vincent stepped back, Tifa went up and also took Jaras in her arms. "I’ll miss you."

A lone tear managed to escape and Jaras’ voice wavered. "I’ll miss you, too. Good bye."

Tifa finally let go and returned to Vincent’s side. They both could clearly see the pain on Jaras’ face and felt badly for him.

Jaras wiped his eyes and gave them a shallow nod before turning and reboarding the airship. He made his way to his quarters and locked himself in knowing that he would need to be alone while he fought off his heartbreak about leaving his father and Tifa.

Vincent and Tifa remained where they were until the airship slow began its ascent into the air. Both of them were heavy with emotion over the bittersweet departure of Jaras but soon Tifa’s excitement over seeing Cid won out.

Tifa pulled on Vincent’s arm, snapping himself out of his reverie. "Let’s go!"

He smiled at his wife and began to follow her as she made her way toward Cid’s house. They went through town at a brisk pace, finally rounding the last bend onto Cid’s street.

There, as was all too familiar they found Cid under the hood of the vehicle that rested in his front yard, his back turned to them. As they got closer, they noticed that the baby was no where to be seen. When they were just a few yards away, Tifa announced their presence. "Cid!"

The pilot, not expecting anyone jumped upright in surprise, bashing his head into the hood of the vehicle. "God Damn it!"

Tifa shrunk at witnessing his head trauma. "Sorry…"

Cid spun around and he wiped his hands on a dirty rag. "What the Hell?"

Once Cid was facing them properly, both Tifa and Vincent couldn’t help but burst into laughter. The object of their amusement was the front pack that Cid had strapped on with the baby snuggly nestled into it.

"Oh my God that is soooo cute!" Tifa squealed in her delight.

Cid rolled his eyes and tossed the rag in his hands to the ground. "Oh yeah, ha ha very funny. I’m glad this amuses you."

Vincent made a halfhearted attempt to regain his composure and address Cid properly. "Hey… how are you doing?"

"Fine, considering." Cid eased the baby out of the pack and held him out for their approval. "Getting bigger isn’t he?"

Tifa stepped up and took the baby from the pilot. She immediately cradled the infant to her and smiled. "Oh he looks great, Cid!"

He puffed with a bit of pride at her approval of his son’s condition. "Well we’ve been doing all right."

Vincent looked over Tifa’s shoulder at the child and smiled despite himself. There was clearly a lot of Cid visible in his tiny face. "I can’t believe how much he already looks like you."

"You think?" Cid took a few steps closer so he too could see his baby. "When I look at him all I see is Shera."

Upon the mention of his wife’s name, Tifa brought her attention up from the infant and locked gazes with Cid. "How are you doing?"

He shrugged slightly and looked off to the side. "I’m okay I guess. I never thought I would say this but I really fucking miss her."

Even in the most serious of situations Cid was still Cid, and Vincent stepped over to his friend’s side. "Been rough, huh?"

Feeling a touch odd with discussing his feelings with Vincent, Cid couldn’t look him in the eye. "Yeah, it has been. Hell, I’m pretty sure that if I didn’t have to keep it together for the baby’s sake I would have snapped a long time ago."

Vincent nodded knowingly, and dared to reach out and place a hand on Cid’s shoulder. "Well we’re here to help you in any way we can."

Cid was even himself surprised when he failed to recoil from Vincent’s touch. He smiled up at the taller man weakly. "Thanks. Let’s go in."

They all filed into the kitchen and sat around the table, Tifa still holding onto the baby. Before sitting, Cid pulled a pitcher of iced tea from the refrigerator and set some glasses on the table. He then landed heavily next to Tifa and smiled at her. "What have you guys been up to?"

Tifa glanced up at him briefly. "I think that is something better told by Vincent."

Cid turned to face him. "Well?"

"We went to Midgar and hunted down Hojo." Vincent stated simply.

"And?" Cid’s curiosity was piqued.

"Hojo was killed and his last experiment terminated." He stared down at his hands folded on the table’s surface.

Cid’s eyes went wide and he leaned forward in his seat. "No shit?"

Vincent smiled faintly. "No shit."

"I’m impressed." Cid looked over at Tifa. "We’re sure he’s dead this time, right?"

"Yes." Tifa didn’t bring her gaze up from the baby.

"Who may I ask had the honor of killing the son of a bitch?" Cid asked, turning back to Vincent.

"Jaras." He replied.

Cid sat in stunned silence for a moment before slamming his hand into the table’s surface. "God damn, I didn’t know the bastard had it in him!"

"He did." Vincent couldn’t help but feel a slight bit of pride within him. "Saved my life and killed Hojo in one fell swoop."

"Well I’ll be…" Cid leaned back crossing his arms over his chest. "I never would have guessed."

Vincent smirked, "Neither would I."