Crazier than Crazy

Julia chuckled softly and she shook her head. Cloud on the other hand raised an eyebrow.
"Started so early, huh?" he said playfully nudging Aeris. "Well, we'll probably head to Charlie's house in the morning if you wanna stop by. He's doing a little welcome home type deal."

Aeris nodded, nudging him back as she smiled.
"Okay, sure." She told them. "I'm looking at moving out sometime next week, but I'm going to be staying in a hotel so I'll be out of your hair. New parents, a crying baby, you know." She laughed. "She's beautiful Jules, really." She told her friend, hugging her tight before hugging Cloud as well. "I'll see you in the morning!" She told them, and then she left.

Cloud smirked, and he hugged Aeris goodbye before sitting in the chair. Julia looked over to him and she shook her head.
"You should go home." she whispered.

"Nah, I'm fine here, just get some sleep." Cloud said already closing his eyes. "I can sleep anywhere. Remember that."

Cloud fell asleep before Julia did. She was watching Emma kick and move in her little bassinet before she finally drifted off to sleep, but only...she wasn't sleeping. The long beep of the monitors sounded, and Cloud jumped awake, thinking it was his phone or something else until he saw the nurses rush in.
"J-Juls?" Cloud got out.

"Someone get him out of here!" The nurse said.

Everything happened so fast. One minute he was fighting against the nurse, the next he was sitting in the hallway on the floor, fingers gripping his hair so tight they might get ripped out. He couldn't even understand the doctor tell him Julia had died. How did that happen? She was fine, she was talking to him before they fell asleep, it didn't make any sense! He stormed away from the doctors and nurses, calling Charlie, but he didn't even know where to begin...

Aeris had gone to Cloud's apartment before the hotel that night. She had cleaned it spotless, then hung a banner that said congratulations in pink letters. She had made homemade chicken noodle soup and left it in the fridge, in case no one felt like cooking. Then she gathered her things and drove to her hotel. In the morning her alarm went off, and she reached for her phone to text Cloud.
How's the proud papa this morning?

Cloud was with Charlie that morning, trying to soothe a crying Emma as the man made arrangements for his daughter. He heard his phone go off and he reached for his pocket and frowned. He got up and went outside with the baby to call Aeris.
"Aeris...Juls died last night." He managed to say when she picked up the phone.

Aeris had answered the phone with a smile, but it had quickly faded. Julia had been fine. She had been alive and laughing and holding the baby.
"What, I-" She whispered, trying to process. It was the twenty-first century but that didn't mean women didn't die in childbirth, or shortly after. She could hear Emma crying over the line. "I'll be right there, okay? Just hang on." She told him.

She showered and dressed faster than ever before, before driving out to Charlie's house. She knocked on the door, a lump in her throat. She usually wasn't close to girls, but Jules had been her closest girl friend. It wasn't fair.

Charlie answered the door. He was a mean looking old man, but he was kind to those who earned his respect. Aeris was one of those people, and he knew how close she was to his daughter.
"Hey, kid." He said letting her inside. "Cloud's in the living room."

"Charlie, I'm so sorry." Aeris whispered when he opened the door. She could Emma crying, and she followed the noise until she found Cloud and his daughter. When she saw Cloud she openly cried, tears running down her cheeks. He had loved Julia. Her heart was breaking for him. "She was okay. What happened?" She asked him, reaching out to take the baby. He must have been so stressed.

Cloud hadn't cried...not yet. He was running on empty, helping Charlie with the arrangements, taking care of Emma. When he saw Aeris, he didn't want her to cry and he shook his head.
"She had internal bleeding." He whispered. "They didn't realize it...they...no one fucking caught it. No one..."

Aeris took the baby and patted her back, rocking her gently. She sighed, wiping her eyes against her shirt on her shoulder. This is exactly why she hated hospitals. How many nurses and doctors had she walked by that day? And no one had caught it?
"Are you okay? I mean I know you're not, but are you in shock, do you need to freak out?" She whispered.

Cloud looked up at Aeris and he shook his head.
"I'm fine." he snapped. He didn't usually snap at Aeris, but he wasn't himself at the moment and even he was caught off guard. "I just...I need to...I don't know..."

"Go outside, and do what you need to do." Aeris told him, not even flinching when he freaked out. She remembered burying her mother. She hadn't liked the woman at all, had borderline hated her in fact, when they were lowering Marisol's casket into the ground, Aeris hadn't batted an eye. After the service she had gone to her aunt's house. Her aunt had handed her a bowl of potato salad, and asked her if she was okay. And Aeris had thrown it on the ground, watching the glass shatter into the million pieces she felt like. "Go on." She urged him. She had the baby, and she swore right there on her life that she would love that little girl, for Julia.

Cloud looked at Aeris and he nodded, moving outside and lighting a cigarette. He paced back and forth making phone calls, and telling people when the services were. Hell, he even called Shaun. He didn't know why, maybe because at some point Shaun had been his best friend, and the stunt he pulled at the hotel all those months ago didn't even matter to him anymore.

Shaun wasn't expecting the phone call. He almost didn't answer it, but curiosity got the better of him. He listened to Cloud speak about Julia, Shaun knew her, and he was shocked. He didn't think women just died in child birth like that still. After a moment Shaun hung up the phone rubbing his face in his hands.

Aeris eventually settled into a recliner with Emma, putting the baby in her lap on her back. Yuffie used to love a trick where Aeris settled her just like that and then rose and fell on her tip toes, just enough to rock her.
"I'm sorry Emma." She whispered, sighing.

Rosetta was sleeping next to Shaun, her naked body half covered with a sheet. When the phone rang she groaned, pulling the pillow over her head. When she heard the sound of the call terminating, she rolled over, propping her head up in her hand.
"What is it?" She asked him, concern flooding her features when she saw the look on his face.

Emma cooed softly, oblivious to he sadness in the air.

Shaun looked up at Rosetta.
"That was Cloud." he whispered. "One of our friends died after giving birth...was his old lady. ended up having a kid all this time we were hiding from him. Who would have thought."

Aeris got Emma changed and down for a nap, before she went to find Cloud. She didn't approach him, just standing outside with him. What could she say? He had loved Julia, he had such a shitty home life and finally he had the dream, a woman and a baby, and now a key piece of that was missing. It was just so...shitty. And unfair.

Rosetta put her hand on the side of Shaun's neck as he spoke, frowning. She couldn't have children. She remembered the surgery she had underwent when Marcus had beaten her so severely one of her ovaries had ruptured. She had always wanted one though, a baby. She couldn't imagine having one and then dying.
"That's awful. That she died, I mean." She whispered. "Does this mean if you go to the funeral he won't shoot you?" She asked.

Cloud looked up when he heard Aeris and he motioned her over to sit with him. He lit up another cigarette then, and he offered one to her in silence.

Shaun leaned into her touch, and he closed his eyes. He didn't want to imagine if that had happened to him, if it were Rosetta he knew he'd lose his mind. He wondered how Cloud was even functioning right now.
"Yeah, we have some honor among assassin's and gangbangers." He smirked after a moment. "No fighting at a funeral. You may have beef but it can wait sort of thing."

Aeris sat down next to him when he offered, shaking her head at the cigarette.
"No thank you." She told him quietly. If she was going to be taking care of Emma she didn't want the baby inhaling smoke all day. Second hand was whatever, she could change her clothes. She put her hand on Cloud's back and lightly ran her nails over his shirt, just rubbing his back.

Rosetta laughed, leaning in to kiss him softly. She wrapped her arm around him, resting her head on his shoulder. It was so strange, being this close to someone. She had stopped lying to herself months ago though, she knew how strongly she felt about Shaun.
"Oh okay, so stay through the service and then get shot, that's good." She smirked. "That's awful." She whispered, thinking. "I mean Cloud is a...monster, sort of, but no one should lose someone they love like that. Especially with a newborn. I can't even imagine."

Cloud nodded and he closed his eyes. He and Julia started off nothing more than a fling and while she was pregnant something did happen. And now it was all gone. He was alone with a baby. He took Aeris hand and just held it, staring straight ahead of him blankly.
"I invited Barrett." He whispered. "I'm calling off my men."

Shaun rubbed her back as she wrapped her arm around him. He nodded as she spoke. He pulled back a bit to look her in the face and he sighed. He caressed her cheek softly, his expression sad.
"Neither could I...if it were you...I wouldn't know how to function."

Aeris nodded, thinking that was a good thing.
"Okay. I'm glad, Julia liked him." She told him quietly. "I'm going to stay in the apartment with you and Emma. I cancelled my deposit." She whispered, she was gentle about it but also firm. "Do you know when the service is?"

Rosetta brushed her nose against his, running her fingers through his hair.
"You'd never have to worry about that. I can't have children." She told him. "When I was fifteen I was seeing this boy in town, and I came home a minute or two late for curfew. And Marcus just laid into me. He caused one of my ovaries to rupture, they had to remove it. The other one has some damage to it. Which sucks because I always wanted a little bugger." She explained. "Honestly though, I'm really hard to kill, so don't worry." She smiled. "I'm not going anywhere."

Cloud nodded, but then he looked up when she spoke. He smiled then, knowing Aeris was always willing to help or take care of things.
"You're the best." He whispered. "And we're having it in a couple of days. Need time for some of the crew to come around."

Shaun raised an eyebrow as she spoke, and then he was sad. More for Rosetta than anything, and a bit for the both of them. If this was...something they could never have their own children. Maybe it was for the better. Shaun knew he was sick. He wouldn't want to pass that on.
"We'll adopt a little bugger." He smiled smoothing back her hair.

Aeris nodded. She'd need to buy a black dress.
"I'm not the best, but I'll always be here. Ride or die." She smiled weakly. She had told him that early on when they first met. She thought he was an asshole, and she had gotten in his face. Telling him he was going to be sorry for being a dick because she was a ride or die and he was missing out.

Rosetta tilted her head before the mask came off. It happened from time to time, where she would let the flippant care-free wall go.
"I can't." She whispered, trying not to get emotional. "He takes everything I love. I've spent millions of dollars just trying to keep Maggie safe. If I lost you, or our baby, I don't know...I don't know what I would do."

Cloud shook his head at her. He chuckled softly, it turned into a choked sob then. He quickly wiped at his tears and he looked up to Aeris and nodded.
"Ride or die." He whispered, nodding.

Shaun frowned and he rested his forehead against hers. He caressed her face softly and he let out a long sigh.
"I love you, Rosetta Thomas." He whispered. "And I won't let anything happen to you. I'll kill everyone and everything that tries to hurt you."

Aeris pulled him close, wiping away a stray tear. She kissed the top of his head and rocked him, almost the same way she had done for his baby.
"I've got you." She told him quietly, letting him fall apart.

Rosetta had to focus very hard on what he was saying, it sounded like he was speaking from so far away. Was this what love was? She tried to picture her life without Shaun, and she found that she couldn't. More so even, that she didn't want to. She smiled, eyes watering as her lip wobbled. So life wasn't perfect. But she had Shaun, and he loved her. And that was as close to perfect as she needed anything to be.
"I love you too, Shaun Barrett." She whispered.

Cloud couldn't remember the last time he cried. Aeris arms around him and the rocking did him in and he let out a muffled sob letting the tears fall. He had kept it all in the last eight hours running on zero sleep while those around him vented or cried. He was the strong one for everyone, but now Aeris was. to him.

Shaun was worried he had said too much. Maybe she didn't feel the same way about him. Maybe she liked him but just didn't love him or anything. When Rosetta spoke he smiled moving to kiss her softly on the lips.
"Oh good. Was worried there for a second." He chuckled.