"Cid!"

No answer.

"Cid!"

Nothing.

"Cid, do you hear me?"

She waited a moment, then Shera got mad. She went back into the nursery and picked up the baby. Balancing him on her hip, she strode out of the house to the hanger Cid had built for the Highwind. She found him giving orders to his men about fixing one of the engines.

"Cid!" She said angrily. "Didn't you hear me calling you?"

She might as well have been invisible. He didn't even look at her.

"You're putting it in the wrong place Damn it!" Cid took the crewman by the shoulder and pointed. "It goes right there! Do it right or get out of the way and let someone else do the job!"

"Sorry Sir." The crewman bent down to reset the gear.

"Cid!"

Cid looked up at a man replacing the glass on the observation deck.

"Are you sure that's tinted? I wanted tinted glass this time!" He threw down his cigarette. "If you don't fix it right, I'm coming up there to kick your-"

"CID!!"

He turned to her exasperated.

"What? What is it Shera?" He waved his hands at her. "I'm busy! Can't you see I'm busy?"

"I can see that," she said. "But so am I. I'm busy trying to get out of here. Take your son!"

"I don't have time for him now." Cid gestured at the Highwind. "I've got a lot of passengers to carry next week. You know. There's that archeology convention that's going to be held in Bone Village. I've got to get my ship in shape!"

"The crewmen can handle the ship," she said. "Take the baby."

"Look Shera," Cid put his arm around his wife and led her to the door of the hanger. "I'm sure you can handle the baby for now. I'll take him off your hands after dinner tonight."

"No you won't." Shera pulled free. "You're going to take him now."

"You're not listening to me."

"Take the baby!"

"I can't!" Cid ran a hand across his brow. "I've got these repairs to make!"

"And I've got to go!" She pushed the baby at him. "Take the baby Cid!"

"Go where?" He put his hands on his hips. "What's so important you can't keep an eye on our son?"

"Don't tell me you've forgotten!" Shera looked at him in despair. "I even reminded you this morning!"

"Reminded me of what?"

"Elly Janny and I are going to see a play at the Gold Saucer Theater!" The baby was slipping. Shera adjusted his weight against her body. "I've had tickets for weeks. I told you about this Cid!"

For the first time he noticed she was wearing her prettiest dress. He slapped a hand against his forehead. "That's right. You did."

"Good. You remember." She held the baby out again. "Take the baby."

"Take him with you." Cid made a face at the baby. Baby Cid grinned at him. "He'll love it."

"A baby? At a play?" Shera rolled her eyes at him. "Don't be ridicules. He'll get tired and start crying and no one will be able to hear anything. I'll get thrown out before the show is over."

"Well . . . " Cid looked back at his ship. "Can't you go on another day?"

"This show is sold out Cid." The baby was wiggling. Shera hugged him closer. "Take the baby."

He brightened. "You're not going to make it today. The Highwind is down for at least three more hours. You're going to end up missing more half of the show anyway, so why bother to go at all?"

"I wasn't planning on using the Highwind." Shera gave him a victorious smile. "You're forgetting Elly's husband flies the mail plane. He's going to drop us off. Take the baby."

He stepped back, warding her off with upraised hands.

"Whoa! I've got an airship to fix. I can't watch a baby and fix my ship at the same time. That's impossible!"

Shera moved closer until the only thing keeping them apart was the baby's body.

"I cook your food, clean your house, wash your dirty clothes, wait on you hand and foot, put up with your swearing, follow you around with an ash tray, and design new plans for your airship. If I can do all that and raise your child too, I'm sure you can manage to yell at your men, who are really doing the work, by the way, and watch a little boy!"

"Ouch."

"Take the baby Cid."

"Shera . . . " His voice faltered.

"Take this baby, or so help me Cid, I'm going to wrap those goggles around your neck and strangle you!"

Her eyes were blue lasers. Cid blinked. He took the baby .

"You don't have to get so vicious about it Shera."

She reached in her pocket and pulled out a folded sheet of paper. "Take this."

"What's this?"

"Everything you have to do for the baby," she said. "Like feeding him and changing his diaper and all that."

He turned pale. "No one said anything about changing diapers."

Shera rolled her eyes at him. "He's not potty trained yet Cid."

The pilot looked at his son as if he were growing horns.

Shera looked at her watch. "I've got to go."

"How many times do you change his diaper in a day?"

"As many times as it takes." Shera brushed her at her clothes. "I keep three boxes in his room."

"Uh. . . " Cid grimaced. "He doesn't go through all of that in a day, does he?"

"If you'd spend more time with this baby," she pointed at the Highwind. "Instead of that baby, you'd know the answer to your own question."

She leaned forward and kissed him.

"I'll be back in the morning."

"In the morning?" Cid's voice rose a notch. "I thought you were coming back tonight!"

"Don't be silly." Shera turned back toward the house. "It'll be too dark to come back then. I don't want to meet any monsters on the airstrip."

A chocobo cart pulled up. Shera waved to the man inside.

"That's Neal, Elly's husband. I'll see you later Cid!"

"Wait!" Cid followed her. "What do I do if he cries?"

"Read the note." Shera climbed into the cart. "I'm out of here."

She blew a kiss at the baby.

"Bye baby! Bye bye!"

"Shera!" Cid looked after her helplessly. "I can't do this! I don't know how!"

"You'll learn." she said firmly. "And don't you swear at or around our baby!"

"Shera!"

The cart kept going. Shera waved. "Keep an eye on him Cid. He's a toddler now! He'll get into things if you don't watch him!"

The cart picked up speed.

"Bye the way," She called. "He needs a change now!"

Cid's face fell. "Shit!"

"Tht!" said the baby.

Cid looked at him sharply. "What did you say?"

The baby smiled at him.

Groaning under the burden of injustice. Cid carried his son into the house. He went straight to the nursery.

"This isn't fair!" He muttered. "This isn't a man's job. I've got things to do!"

He laid the baby on the changing table.

"How do you work these damn things?" He examined the sides of the diaper. "I know I've seen Shera do this before."

Baby Cid kicked and squealed. His little legs kicked and churned the air. Cid leaned close. How did you open a diaper? He leaned closer to see, discovering an odor he hadn't noticed before.

"Whewwww!" He shoved himself away from the table. "I think I'm going to need gloves for this."

Leaving the baby on the changing table, he went into the kitchen. Shera kept two pairs of gloves by the sink. Cid grabbed a pair. He went back to the nursery, holding one glove under his arm, while he worked to pull on the other. His eyes widened in shock.

Baby Cid was on the verge of crawling over the side of the table.

"Stop!" Cid rushed forward.

Startled by the sound of his father's voice, the baby flinched and bounced forward. His hand came down on open space. He toppled forward. Cid reached the table just in time to make a desperate grab. His bare fingers hooked the back of the diaper. There was a tearing sound, but his gloved hand was under his son's body now. Heart pounding, Cid pulled the baby back up on the table. He sagged in relief.

"Your mother would kill me," he panted. "She wouldn't let me live long enough to tell my side of the story."

Baby Cid lay still, watching his father with solemn eyes.

Cid leaned over him. "Trust me kid. You can't fly. Not yet anyway."

The baby reached up and grabbed a handful of hair. His face showed strain as he tried to draw his father's hair into his mouth.

"Stop that!" Cid started to reach up and stopped. That odor was back again, but this time he got a better whiff. "What the-"

He pulled his hair out of the baby's grasp and examined the glove. He'd reached in further than he intended to. His fingertips were soiled. Cid's face wrinkled in disgust.

"Ugh!"

Careful not to get the mess on his bare hand, he peeled off the glove. Holding it between the index and forefinger of his right hand, he looked around for a place to get rid of it. The wastebasket was only a few steps away. He threw the glove inside and rubbed his hands on his pants leg.

"Now for you," he said to Baby Cid. "How do I get this damned thing off?"

When they'd first brought the baby home, Shera was determined to use nothing but cloth diapers on her son. After a few accidents on her clothing, the baby's bed and theirs, she changed her mind. Cid had stopped changing diapers long before then. It was all because Shera was so damned fussy about the way a diaper looked. So what if a corner hung out here and there? So what if the corners weren't even? The whole point of a diaper was to put a barrier between the baby and whatever it could leak on. At least he knew where to put the pins, and to his credit, he'd never poked the baby once. That didn't win any points with Shera. If taking the baby away from him to fix the diaper herself wasn't enough, the look on her face said it all.

He didn't stay mad long. As the baby's diet changed, he was glad his wife wanted to change all the diapers herself. In fact, he was hoping he'd stay out of it, right up until the time Baby Cid was fully potty trained. It was just his luck to get stuck with a job, he'd gotten out of for weeks.

Cid picked up the baby wipe container and set it on the table just above his son's head. He examined the sides of the diaper. How did these things work? Tape? He tugged at one. It peeled loose easily. A smile spread across his face. This was going to be easy! He pulled at the other strip. The right side of the diaper opened too. He pulled the front back.

"That was easy," he said to the baby. "We'll get you fixed up in no time!"

He leaned forward to get the wipes. As his hands closed around the plastic jar, he felt warm wet moisture on the front of his shirt. He stepped back and looked down. Wetness poured down his shirt sinking into the front of his pants.

"Shit!"

"Tht!" mimed the baby.

Cid looked up. "You did that on purpose!"

Baby Cid laughed.

"That's not funny!" moaned Cid in dismay. "It looks like I wet myself!"

The baby blew a stream of spit bubbles.

"Shit!" muttered Cid again.

"Tht!" said the baby.

"Knock it off." Cid reached for the buttons on his shirt. "Your mother will kill me if she heard you saying that."

"We're going to have to talk about this when I'm through." Cid peeled off the shirt and dropped it in the wastebasket.

He pulled his undershirt out of his pants and pulled it up over his head. By the time it cleared his face, Baby Cid had turned over and was crawling toward the edge of the changing table. The tape on the right side of the diaper was stuck to his skin. As Baby Cid crawled, he smeared the contents of the diaper on the table behind him.

Cid cried out in alarm. Flinging his undershirt away, he leaped forward, just as the baby would have fallen over the edge of the table again.

"Do you have a death wish or something?" Then he noticed the diaper had fallen to the floor. Content side down, of course.

"I'll just be d-" Cid smacked himself on the side of the head. "Don't swear in front of the baby."

There were sticky smears on the baby's legs. Cid snatched a blanket out of the baby's bed and spread it over the mess. He laid the baby on his back on top of it. He tugged a wipe out of the container. The baby jumped as the cool moist tissue touched his skin.

"Sorry about that," Cid held up a leg and wiped it. "But it's your own fault for moving."

He left the diaper where it was while he worked. When the cleaning was done, he took a new diaper out of the changing table drawer and put it under the baby's rump. The phone rang. Cid grimaced. The phone was in the other room. It rang again. Cid looked the diaper. The hardest part was done. The phone wouldn't take more than a couple of minutes. Swearing under his breath, he tucked the baby under his arm and went into the master bedroom. Laying the baby on the bed, he picked up the phone.

"Yeah? What is it?" His face turned red as he listened. "YOU DID WHAT? Didn't I tell you not to attach that part until the gears were in place? Wait a minute . . . I'll be right there!"

Slamming down the phone, he ran out of the room, snagging a shirt off the doorknob as he went.

Baby Cid waited for his father. He waited, but a baby's patience is short. When Cid didn't come back right away, his attention turned to the night stand. Raising himself on his hands and knees, he crawled to the head of the bed. Pulling himself up on the pillows he reached out and snagged the telephone receiver.

Constructed of light plastic, he managed to pull it off the hook, but it was too unwieldy for his little hands. It fell on the table top. A steady tone droned through the earpiece. The baby tried to pick it up, but all he succeeded in doing, was knocking it over the edge. Dangling by the cord, the receiver lay on the floor.

Undaunted, the baby crawled off the bed onto the table itself. Squeezing past the phone's base, he raised up on his knees and grabbed the lampshade. It rocked under his fingers. Baby Cid found that amusing. Laughing out loud, he beat it with his hands. The lampshade rocked and turned under the punishment. The slender base began to inch toward the edge of the table. An extra hard slap sent it over the edge. It fell to the floor scattering bright shards of glass across the floor.

Baby Cid turned his head at the sound of a high pitched beeping noise. It was coming from the floor in front of the night stand. He looked down. The receiver was the source of the sound. He couldn't get to it, but the base of the phone was still pressing against his legs.

Pleased to find a new toy, Baby Cid sat down. Leaning forward, he rested his hands one of the cradle buttons. The buzzing on the floor stopped. The baby pressed a few buttons. They went down under his touch. He took his hand off the cradle and used both hands to press a sequence of numbers. The sounds of dialing came from the receiver.

The baby stopped pressing buttons to look around. This was no fun. On the floor, the sound of a phone ringing could be heard. There was a click as the call was answered.

"This is the Hot Babes Hotline," said a sexy female voice. "This call is long distance. You have ten seconds to hang up and avoid being charged. However, if you want to hear some really sexy chit-chat, stay on the line, and a Hot Babe will speak to you personally."

Baby Cid spotted the other night stand. There was a box of bright pink tissue sitting there. He laughed.

"Well baby," said the voice on the phone. "You've chosen to hear some really sexy talk! Stay on the line please, your Hot Babe is coming on right now."

Baby Cid looked down.

"Hi Baby," said a new voice. "You ready for a really hot time?"

Baby Cid made a cooing sound.

"All right-t-t-t!" purred the sexy voice. "Do you want me to tell you what I want to do with you? Or do you want to tell me what you're going to do to me?"

"O-o-o-o-o!" answered the baby.

"You want me to tell you?" The voice laughed. "Okay, but it might take a while. We charge three gil for every minute after the first three. Is that okay?"

Baby Cid was drooling. He smacked his lips. "M-m-m-m!"

"All right sugar," the female voice dropped low. "Get ready for the ride of your life. You know what I'd like to do right now?"

"Ah-h-h-h!" Baby Cid turned his attention to the other night stand. "Tht!"

The woman's voice laughed. "Calm down baby. First I'm going to-"

Baby Cid didn't care to hear anymore. He crawled past the base of the phone, back up onto the pillows. The bright pink tissue was like a magnet. He crawled onto the table, knocking the other lamp between the table and the wall. It broke. More glass spread across the floor,

The tissue came out of the box under his inquisitive hands. He put it in his mouth. It soaked up the liquid in his mouth. He tried to pull it out. Most of it came out easily, but some of it stuck to his tongue. Spitting, working his tongue, he removed the flat tasting substance. When he finished, he tugged at another tissue. Another popped up when he pulled one out. He pulled them all out, one by one.

Covered by a mound of pink softness. Baby Cid lost interest. He crawled through the tissue toward the foot of the bed. Halfway there, he paused. Wetness poured from his body. It pooled on the spread, then slowly sank through. Baby Cid waited till the flood was over, before he crawled the rest of the way.

It was a long ways to the floor, but there was nothing to do up here. He leaned over the edge looking for a way down. He over balanced and fell, landing at a awkward angle. He let out a cry. There was no one there to hear him. He cried for a while, then raised himself to his knees looking around. Where was the one who always picked him up and held him? Where was the one who fed him? The one who put him to bed at night every night was gone. Baby Cid crawled a few paces. His eyes fell on the dangling doily on the vanity table. He crawled to it.

Sitting down beneath it, he put the end in his mouth. There was no real flavor there. He sucked at it a bit, then took it in his hands and tugged. It moved, dropping lower. Curious, he tugged again, and again. The cloth was hanging lower now. He took it in both hands and gave a final tug. The cloth fell off the table, bringing a lipstick, nail file and a bottle of fingernail polish with it.

He couldn't get a good enough grip on the nail file to pick it up, so he picked up the polish instead. He sucked on the cap. It had a slightly nasty flavor. He took it in one hand and banged it on the floor before he put it in his mouth again. That didn't improve the flavor. He dropped it in favor of the lipstick. The top fell off, rolling away from him. He started to go after it, but a glimpse of the red thing inside the part he held in his hand kept him in place.

He put it in his mouth. It tasted worse than the polish, but it kind of interesting. He tasted it again, before he decided it wasn't something he really wanted. Dropping it, he crawled toward the bedroom door.

The doorway presented an interesting choice. There were several routes to choose from. Baby Cid settled on his haunches to think it over. The brightest doorway beckoned to him. He crawled toward it. To his amazement, he found a room full of furniture, but caught his eyes was the front door. The screen was hanging open. He giggled and made his way to it.

It took a little while, the effort was worth it when he reached out to touch the screen and it opened even further. Baby Cid crawled out into the bright sunshine. As luck would have it, none of the neighbors were around to witness his escape to freedom. No one saw the baby make his way around the side of the house to Shera's flower bed. Once he crawled across the border, he was hidden among the plants.

He was just about to taste a flower spotted a colorful bug. It was too much to resist. He went after it. The bug was quicker than he. Unimpeded by the foliage, the bug kept well ahead of him. Baby Cid dogged it's heels. The rough ground cut into his knees and hands, but he was determined to get that bug. He followed it all the way through the flower bed until it ended at the back of the house.

The bug cleared the garden and stopped a short distance away. Baby Cid crawled out of the garden toward it. Tired of the chase, the bug spread it's wings and flew away. Baby Cid laughed. His eyes followed the bugs progress through the air. He crawled after it, hoping to caught up, but quickly gave up that idea. He sat down and grabbed a handful of grass. Sticking it in his mouth, he gnawed at it with two little baby teeth.

Several feet away, yellow eyes watched him from the tall grass. It wasn't hungry now, but Velcher Tusks didn't always hunt when they were hungry. They didn't mind storing something away until later. Full from a recent kill, it was on its way to its den to nurse its babies. Taking the human young. Taking the small human now would mean it wouldn't have to go out for food in the morning. The Velcher Tusk sniffed the air. It sensed other humans in the area, but there were none in the clearing but this one. Checking the air again, it darted toward the baby.

Baby Cid didn't look around until the cold wet nose of the Velcher Tusk touched his back. He turned around and flinched. He didn't know what this creature was, but even at this age, he sensed something wrong. His small lips turned down and trembled.

The Velcher Tusk ran its tongue over the baby's back and shoulders. The human's skin tasted salty and sweet. He smelt faintly of urine, but the monster didn't mind. The rough tongue ran over the baby's face and stomach.

Though he was frightened, there was something soothing in the touch of the monster's tongue. As rough as it was, it wasn't really that uncomfortable. Baby Cid giggled, making a face only when the tongue touched his open mouth. He brushed at his face, then dropped on his hands and knees and tried to crawl away. The tongue licked his back once more and stopped. Someone was coming. The Velcher Tusk raised it's head.

A ball bounced into the clearing. A little boy followed it. He stopped when he saw the monster.

It was time to go. The monster could be a scavenger when nothing else was available, but most Velcher Tusks preferred freshly slaughtered kills. Had Baby Cid been an adult, he would have died right there. His youth saved him. The monster lowered its head and opened its mouth. It closed its fangs gently around the baby's body. Holding Baby Cid in its mouth, the monster turned to look at the boy once more. Turning around, it flew across the ground, vanishing in the tall grass. The little boy stared after it, his jaw hanging open. Forgetting about his ball, he turned and ran as fast as his legs would carry him.

"Damn it, didn't you hear me man?" Cid was red faced with fury. "I told you what to do with that part. Now you've gone and damaged it. I'm going to have to repair it before we can use it now!"

"Sorry Captain," said the crewman meekly. "I tried to do it the way you said."

"I ought to kick your ass!" raged Cid. "Of all the stupid, idiotic things to do . . . you're lucky I don't take my lance and beat the shit out of you with it!"

"Sorry Sir," the crewman hung his head. "I made a mess of things."

"You sure the hell did!"

The rest of the crew kept working. They didn't look at Cid or the blushing crewman. No one stood up for him either. No one wanted to deal with Cid when he was in a foul mood. A little boy ran into the hanger.

"Mr. Highwind!"

"Shit!" Cid put his hands on his hips. "This will set me back a few hours."

The little boy tried again. "Mr. Highwind!"

"If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself!" Cid looked up at the sky. "Why didn't I follow my first instinct?"

The little boy tugged at Cid's jacket. "Mr. Highwind . . . please!"

Cid rolled his eyes down at the boy. "Go away Petie. Can't you see I'm busy now?"

He stomped over to his chest of tools and starting rummaging through it.

"Where's my damn wrench?" he muttered to himself.

The boy had followed him. "But Mr. Highwind . . . "

"Go away Petie," growled Cid. "Now! I'm busy!"

"But-"

"But HELL!" shouted Cid. "Get away from me kid. I've got an aircraft to fix!"

Petie was too desperate to be deterred.

"But the baby!" he cried. "The monster got the baby"

The crewmen froze. Cid, kept looking through his toolbox, muttering to himself .

"You've got to get the baby!" The little boy was frantic. "You've got to get the baby before the monster eats him!"

Cid found his wrench.

"Here it is," he said holding it up for the crewman to see. "This is what you should have used."

The crewman in question stepped forward. "Uh- Sir?"

"Get your ass back to work," snapped Cid. "We're really behind now!"

His eyes fell on Petie.

"Are you still here? Get along home."

"Sir?" The meek crewman put his hands on Petie's shoulders. "I believe you ought to listen to him Sir."

Cid rolled his eyes, a look of disgust on his face. "All right, All right! What the hell do you want Petie?"

The little boy looked up at him. "The monster took the baby, Mr. Highwind. It took the baby and ran away."

Cid's mind was on the time he was losing. "What baby?"

Petie's face was pale. "Yours."

Cid stared at him. "What?"

"The monster ran off with Baby Cid."

Cid felt a band of cold clamp around his heart. "What did you say?"

Petie took a deep breath. "The monster ran away with your baby Mr. Highwind."

"No." Cid shook his head. "Nothing's got my baby. He's fine. As a matter of fact, he's in the house with-"

His eyes widened in shock. Before anyone could say another word, Cid dropped his wrench and ran for the hanger door. The first thing he saw, as he ran toward the house was the open door. He almost tore it off the hinges flinging it wider. He ran into the bedroom.

"Cid! Cid! Where are you?"

The lamps were nothing but shades and scraps. There was tissue all over the bed and a big damp spot. The phone lay on the floor. Cid heard a voice. He picked it up.

"Oh yeah baby," said the voice on the phone. "And then I'm going to put my hands on your shoulders and . . . "

"Who the hell is this?"

The voice on the other end stopped. "I'm your Hot Babe sugar."

"MY WHAT?"

"Your Hot Babe, you know," she said. "You call me and I talk dirty to you?"

"Get off my damn phone!" snarled Cid.

"You called me!" she said.

"That's a lie!" His eyes darted around the room. "I'm trying to find my baby!"

He meant to hang up, but in his panic the receiver missed the cradle. Cid ran out of the bedroom.

"But I am your baby," cooed the voice. "And you've found me. Let me finish what I was saying. I'm going to . . . "

Cid ran out the door. The little boy ran up to him. He pointed.

"I saw them out there! The monster ran that way!"

"Thanks kid." Cid ran back into the house. Retrieving his lance from the closet, he ran out the back door. Was his baby dead already?

The little boy was standing in the very spot he had seen the baby last.

"They were here." He pointed down, then at the grass. "It took him that way."

Cid knelt down to look at the ground. There were no tracks. He stood up. Shera was going to kill him. Maybe she wouldn't get a chance. If he couldn't find his son. How could he go on knowing this was all his fault? How was he going to track a monster in the grass? The Highwind was out of commission for a while. He looked in the direction the monster had gone. His eyes picked out a slight distortion in the way the grass lay. His hopes rose. Maybe it wasn't too late.

Home at last, the Velcher Tusk carried the baby into its den. Three young ones awoke and staggered to the adult on wobbly legs whining like puppies. The monster put Baby Cid down. The younger monsters backed away growling. Their mother dropped her head and ran her tongue over the human again. Her little ones stopped growling and moved closer. Baby Cid stared at them as they sniffed at his hands and feet. The bravest licked his arm. The salty taste of the human's skin was curious but interesting. His siblings joined him. Their touch tickled. Baby Cid laughed and tried to touch them. They avoided his hands. Their mother stood back. Her babies were getting their first taste of human flesh. They were too long to enjoy it now, but later, they would remember and seek it out for food. Satisfied with their reaction, she trotted over to a bed of leaves and grass and lay down.

The young ones lost interest in the human at once. The Velcher Tusk lay down on her side. Her young probed the thick green wrinkles of flesh on her underside until they each found a teat. Closing their eyes, they fed on warm milk. Left alone, Baby Cid looked around. The sounds of the monster babies feeding set his stomach rumbling. Where was the one who fed him? His little mouth turned down once more. His eyes filled with tears. He cried.

The Velcher Tusk raised her head and looked at him. He was still where she'd left him. She lay down again. As long as her breakfast stayed in the den, she didn't care what it did. All that mattered now was making sure her babies had enough to eat. Yawning, she closed her eyes to rest.

Cid followed the trail in the grass. What was he going to do if it ran out? His heart was pounding. What if his son was dead? He didn't want a cigarette, he didn't care about the Highwind. All he wanted to do was find his son before it was too dark to see. He pressed on.

"What in the hell was I thinking?" Cid kept his eyes on the trail. "How could I run out and leave my kid all alone?"

The moment of his desertion played over and over his head like the reel of a bad movie. "If You paid more attention to this baby, instead of that baby," said the ghost of Shera's voice. "You'd know the answer to your own question."

Had it been that bad? Had he really been neglecting his son? Now he remembered Shera telling him, most disposable diapers were covered with print. She always held up two packages in the store, then bought the diapers the baby favored. He thought back to the diaper he had almost put on his son, and tried to remember what was printed on it. He couldn't.

How had that happened? He could remember the day he held his son in his arms for the first time. How fragile that little body seemed. How trusting were the little blue eyes. His son. His baby. His only child. His eyes burned. Cid shook his head angrily. This was no time to get mushy. His son was out there with a monster . . . if he wasn't dead already. His thought moved on to tomorrow. He could almost see the look on Shera's face when she found out she'd left home a mother and come home childless. Her imaginary screamed ripped through his head. She'd leave him. He was sure of it.

He wasn't a bad husband. He loved her and he knew without a doubt Shera loved him, but he was what he was, and that was . . . well . . . grouchy sometimes. They had their tender moments, sure, and she made him happier than any woman ever could. She'd reached places in his soul he didn't know existed, but even then, he couldn't help barking at her sometimes, or complaining about something she'd done.

For the most part, Shera took his grouching silently. She understood it was one of his ways of communicating. It didn't stop her from taking him in her arms and making him fly without the Highwind. What a woman! He couldn't think of anyone he'd known in the past, who would have put up with him. Shera understood his love of flying and his dreams of being the first man in space . . . or on the moon. She'd been there all along trying to help him reach his goals. The designs and plans she came up with beat the hell out of anything the Shinra corporation had ever offered to build. Shera was wonderful . . . and the beautiful mother of his son. How could he have done this to her?

His vision blurred slightly. Cid brushed the moisture away. There wasn't any time for that. He was going to find his son damn it, and he'd find the boy alive. He didn't care if twenty fire breathing monsters surrounded him right now. He'd kill them so quick they would have time to growl. He was going to find his boy and take him home!

All cried out, Baby Cid was feeling sleepy, but the coldness of the ground in the den offered no comfort. His damp blue eyes sought out the only source of heat. The monster. She was settled on her bed of brush with her young curled up beside her. Shivering a little, Baby Cid crawled toward them. The mother raised her head to watch. The baby hesitated but his need for warmth sent him forward again. Reaching her side, he pushed his way into the midst of her babies and lay down. The warmth of their bodies was soothing. Closing his eyes, the baby fell asleep.

The Velcher Tusk dropped her head and sniffed at him. The baby didn't move. He had an enticing scent that spoke of tender sweet meat. She stroked his back in long wet strokes. The taste of his skin teased her taste buds. Once she devoured him, the flavor would linger on her tongue for hours after she'd licked up the last trace of blood. The tongue withdrew and the monster yawned. As tempting as it was to take a nibble, she decided not to. Her belly was tight as a drum. Yawning again, she lowered her head to sleep. She had no objections having her food being in bed with her. If nothing else, it would save her the trouble of having to cross the room to get him.

Two hours later, his mind beating him up all the way, Cid was still walking. His determination to save his son had dwindled into an emotion, he'd rarely experienced. Fear. From the time he learned to talk, Cid was a daredevil. Always pushing into situations where his playmates feared to tread, he kept his parents saving his hide or pulling him out of one from one situation or another.

They thought they could relax when he took an interest in birds, but their relief turned to dread when they realized it wasn't the birds he was interested in. It was their ability to fly. A broken arm put an end to flying out of a tree. A sprained ankle was the result of jumping off the roof. His mother was ready to pull out her hair when his father decided the best way to get a handle on things was to teach the boy to fly the right way. It was he, who steered his son toward aviation books. In later years, it was Shinra's fleet of aircraft, that led Cid into the deal he made with President to build a vehicle capable of space flight. The launch that should have taken him to glory ended in failure when he'd had to abort his launch to save Shera's life.

For a long time after that day, he'd hated her. Or at least thought he did. He blamed her for everything that had gone wrong. Hiding behind a barrage of verbal abuse, he'd hidden the depths of his true feelings for Shera. It took Sephiroth killing Aeris to make him see the light.

Cloud's grief, and putting himself into Cloud's place made him realize what he could have lost. He could have been a hero. Shinra would have smothered him in money. He could have improved his designs, built more rockets and gone into space several times. But what would all of that have been worth without Shera?

Cid stopped, shaded his eyes and peered into the distance. He'd run out of grass. Sparse vegetation, low lying hills and scattered clumps of bushes and trees dotted the land on rocky soil. If there were any footsteps to see, only a tracker could have picked them out. Cid dropped to his knees, then sat down hard. The lance rolled out of his hand. It was over then. His son was dead. Without a trail to follow, he could walk for hours in any direction without any hope of finding him.

Cid something he hadn't done since he was a little boy. He put his head in his hands . . . and cried

Ordinarily, sleeping with their mother was something the little Velcher Tusks enjoyed, but today it was different. Today there was a creature in their midst who was competing with them for warmth and they didn't like it. They didn't like it one bit.

If they'd had the teeth to do it, they would have torn the interloper apart, but all milk teeth were good for was nipping, so they made the best of it. The oldest of the brood nipped the baby. Baby Cid woke up immediately, but dulled from sleep, he didn't realize what had happened. He knew when the second monster bit. Baby Cid gasped and pulled away, a look of pain and surprise on his face. One of the monsters nipped him on the arm. The baby yelped and broke into tears. Another monster came at it. He pulled his arm out of the way and swung at it, receiving another nip in return.

He cried out loud and tried to crawl away. They followed, nipping at his bare flesh. The baby screamed.

Lost in misery, Cid didn't hear it.

Growling in their throats, the little monsters darted in and out, nipping at the baby. The anguished child screamed again.

Cid heard something. He raised his head, but the sound was not repeated.

The little monsters were enjoying their sport. They closed inflict more damage, but their mother had other ideas. Still tired from the hunt and having to carry the human home, she was in no mood for a lot of noise. She snarled at her brood.

They stopped tormenting the baby immediately. Running to her side, they threw themselves on her body, licking and whining to win her good graces again. The Velcher Tusk merely grunted and rolled over with her back to them.

Not wanting to be ignored, her babies rushed around her and curled up next to her feet, vying for space. Once they were all settled in, they lay still. Their mother snorted. Baby Cid wasn't screaming now, but his crying was annoying. Determined not to let it bother her, she closed her eyes. Five minutes later she was snoring. Bleeding and hurting from several cuts, Baby Cid went on crying.

Cid stood up. A light breeze made some of the bushes rustle, but Cid strained his ears. He was sure there was an underlying noise. Whatever it was, it faded in and out of range. He took a few steps to the north. It was gone. No . . . there could be something . . .

A bird flew by overhead, screeching.

"Shut up damn it!" Cid shook his lance at it. "Get the hell out of here!"

The bird circled him once, then flew away. Cid cocked his ear to the wind. Nothing. He started walking northward again. After a few steps, he stopped again. There it was. It sounded faint . . . muffled somehow, but kind of like . . . crying. A light of hope rose in his heart. Cid listened harder.

The sound picked up the sound and carried it to him. Yes . . . it was crying. The sound of a baby crying. Cid opened his mouth to shout, then stopped himself. This wasn't just a case of a wandering child. Wherever his son was, a monster was with him. The last thing he wanted to be was cause that monster to attack and kill his son.

Taking care to step on firm ground, Cid moved toward the sound.

"I'm coming baby," he said. "Daddy's coming."

Baby Cid wanted nothing to do with the monsters. Whimpering, he looked around. Dull sunlight came through the dens opening. He crawled toward it.

"Damn!" Cid threw his cigarette down. The crying had stopped. Which way should he go?

Baby Cid reached the entrance of the den and peered up at a incline of packed dirt. The sunlight he'd seen before was shining over the top of a bush that grew a few inches in front of the den's opening. He started up. Behind him, the monsters slept on."

Cid ran back and forth in this direction and that. He stopped several times to listen. The sun was just over the tops of the distant hills. If he didn't find the baby soon, it was all over. The night creatures would be out soon. It was hard enough for an adult to survive an attack. A baby had no chance at. Cid wondered if he should just stay out here and die with his son. At least they might end up in the same stomach together.

You sound like you're giving up, he told himself. You think the kid is dead already. Cid shook his head.

"My son is not dead!" He looked at the sky. "My son is not dead!"

Baby Cid crawled up the incline. It was a painful climb. One of his knees left a trail of blood on the ground. It was colder here than in the den. His lower lip trembled. The creatures in the den had hurt him. Frightened and cold, he kept moving. At last he reached the opening. He crawled to the side of the bush and looked around.

Cid turned in a circle letting his eyes move over every bush and hill. His son had to be out here somewhere. The first edge of the sun was sliding behind the hills. The lump in his throat was big enough to strangle him. Desperately he kept scouring the land.

A bright red bug came ran from under bush and paused facing Baby Cid. He stared at it, fascinated. The bug thumped its rear legs on the ground. Baby Cid didn't move. The bug made a loud buzzing sound and thumped its rear legs again. The baby reached out to insect with his right hand. Hissing and spitting, the bug leaped past the extended hand and landed on the baby's arm. Before it could bite the baby reacted by rearing back so hard, he fell over on his back bumping his head. The bug jumped to avoid being crushed. It hit the ground running for another bush.

Baby Cid had had enough for one day. He screamed and cried at the top of his lungs.

Cid's head snapped around at the sound.

In the den, the Velcher Tusk raised her head.

"Baby Cid!" shouted the pilot. "Is that you?"

The monster scanned the den.

"Where are you?"

Cid ran toward the sound

The Velcher Tusk checked her babies. They were sleeping peacefully. She scanned the den again. Her nostrils widened as she tested the air.

Pausing to gasp for breath, Baby Cid heard his father's voice and broke into an intensified fit of crying. Pushing at the ground with his hands, he did something, neither of his parents had ever seen before. He stood up and took his first baby step. Shaky on his feet, he took another.

Cid ran to the top of the next hill. His eyes searched desperately. Somewhere before him, he could hear his baby crying, but he couldn't tell where the sound was coming from. A cluster of smaller hills were all that he could see. Sparse but thick vegetation was scattered between and around them. Cid propped his lance against his leg, and cupped his hands around his mouth.

"Cid!" His voice cracked. "Where are you kid? Where are you?"

He was just about to shout again, when a tiny figure lurched around the side of a thick bush. The pilot raised his foot to dash forward, but froze when he realized what he was seeing. Crying and dirty, Baby Cid shambled toward him.

"Cid," gasped the pilot. "Oh my . . . oh my. . . you're walking boy! You're actually walking!"

Baby Cid's fear evaporated at the site of his father. A smile lit his little face and he tried to hurry. His gait was like that of drunken man.

Cid started down the hill. "Come to Daddy, baby. Come to Daddy."

Something hurled itself through the bush. Before Cid's horrified gaze, it knocked the baby flat on his face. Baby Cid was too stunned to cry. The Velcher Tusk planted her body directly over the baby and snarled at his father.

Cid found his voice. "Get your ass off my kid!"

Baby Cid raised his head, trying to spit out dirt and cry at the same time. The monster lowered it's jaws until they rested just over the baby's neck. Saliva dripped on the infants back. Her eyes never left Cid.

They stared at each other with hate in their eyes.

Cid kept his voice low, but his words were sharp.

"Take your moth eaten carcass away from my son," he growled "Or I'll make you wish, you'd never been born!"

Velcher Tusk opened her jaws wider. Just as she lowered them over the baby's neck, one of her young ones scamper around the bush and ran into her. Forgetting Baby Cid, the angry mother turned on her baby biting and snapping. Howling in pain, it tried to get away from her. Cid started forward. His baby was laying to close to the furor. There was no way he was going to stand by and watch his child crushed underfoot.

The mother's attack sent the young monster running behind the bush. She went after him. Cid closed the distance to his son. Before he could get close enough, the monster broke through the bush again, placing herself between Cid and her meal.

She was not happy. Undetected many years, this den had been her home for a long time. She'd come here a young female and raised several litters on her own. Now because one of her children, one of the other kind knew where the opening was. The Den had to be protected at all costs.

Cid kept his eye on the monster. A monster with young was far more dangerous than the garden party variety. He crept closer.

"Come on you big bastard!" he challenged. "Come and get me if you can!"

Baby Cid raised his head. The monster leaned down, took the baby's arm in her mouth and ran away with him.

Cid shouted in anger and followed them. He was hard pressed to keep up. The only thing that kept him from giving up was his anger. He'd run the beast to the ground if he could."

But the Velcher Tusk wasn't running away. Her only reason for fleeing was to get as far away from her den as she could get before she killed the humans. Bloody soil was magnet for attracting other predators. If the den was attacked by something larger than she, her family wouldn't have a chance. She ran as far as the next group of hills then turned, opening her mouth. Baby Cid fell to the ground. His face screwed up and he let out a loud cry. His lip trembled with emotion.

"Damn you!"

Cid caught up to the monster and stopped a short distance away, winded.

"Maybe I ought to stop smoking," he said to himself. His face twisted in a frown. "Nah!"

He raised his weapon. "You see this "stick?" he said the monster. "Take a good look at it you mother, because in a few minutes, you're going to feel it all upside your head!"

The Velcher Tusk lowered her head and charged. She was like a moving freight train. Cid dived out of her way. She turned incredibly fast. His next jump wasn't far enough. One of the huge shoulders grazed him, spinning him around and knocking him off his feet.

The monster turned again. Cid kicked out with his feet. One of the heels on his worn black boots caught the monster dead center in it's snout spraying blood everywhere. She pulled up short of trampling Cid and wheeled away. Running a few paces, she stopped, blowing blood out of her nostrils.

"How do you like them apples?" smirked Cid. "I bought these boots on sale!"

The monster raised its head and charged. Cid waited until it was close. He leaped aside at the last instant, holding out his lance to scrape along the side of the passing beast. It howled in pain. Cid glanced at the sun. Almost half of it was in hiding now. He didn't have time to extract a slow revenge. He had to end this quick and get back to the house.

Baby Cid was standing again. He stumbled toward his father. The monster turned its head in his direction and snarled. Gathering itself, the creature leaped toward the helpless infant.

Unable to call for the Highwind, Cid used Big Brawl. The first blow sent the monster careening off course. The second knocked it off its feet. He got in two more strikes against its body before the creature rolled to its feet and wheeled away. The next four strikes just missed its haunches.

Cid rushed forward, grabbed Baby Cid and retreated. The Velcher Tusk slid to a stop and faced him. Keeping an eye on the monster, Cid started backing up. The last third of the sun was resting on the hills. Once it was gone, darkness wasn't far behind. Cid could only wonder what was waking up now. He kept moving. The monster stamped its hind feet.

It's going to charge," he told the baby. "Daddy is going to have to put you down and fight. Be a good boy and don't move. You hear me? Don't move."

Cid backed a few up another hill. Glancing around quickly to make sure nothing was sneak up on them, He gave the baby a quick kiss on the head and put him down. Temporarily soothed by his father's touch, the child's cries began anew.

"Sh-h-h-h!" Cid raised his weapon. "I'll be back soon."

Slowly he moved down the hillside.

"Bring it on," he said to the monster. "It's just you and me now."

The sun slid beneath the hillside. The monster charged. Cid ran to meet her. The Velcher Tusk opened her mouth to make the kill, Cid aimed his spear, rammed it forward and jumped. The monster tried to stop, raising her head to follow his movement. Her sharp teeth grazed his leg. The lance pierced the monster's hide just inside her shoulder blade. The sharp tip found her heart. Still moving upward, Cid relinquished his spear, completing his vault over the Velcher Tusk. He landed just behind her, dropping heavily to his knees.

The Velcher Tusk uttered a gurgling cry, her legs suddenly unsteady. Blood gushed from the wound. She turned in place to face Cid again. Lowering her head she charged. Her legs gave out almost immediately. Falling to her knees, she howled. The Venus Gospel quivered in her flesh. Cid went to her and pulled it out. The monster sighed once and died.

"Da!" Baby Cid cries were pitiful to hear. He shivered in the cold.

"I'm coming!" Cid ran toward his son. Halfway there, he heard a sound. He turned back to look.

The little Velcher Tusks, hearing their mother's death cry were running toward her. They ran right past Baby Cid as if he didn't exist. They saw nothing but the creature who had borne them. Reaching her side, they nosed her body, mewling like mutated kittens. Getting no response, one by one, they lifted their snouts and howled.

Cid climbed the hill to his son. Fumbling with the buttons, he pulled off his shirt. Leaning down he picked up his son and wrapped him tenderly. Baby Cid's cries subsided a bit.

"It's okay now Cid," the pilot whispered. "We're going home."

A trio of growls caught his attention. Standing in front of their mother's body, the young monsters pawed the ground, their eyes fixed on the humans.

"Oh." Cid adjusted the baby on his hip. "You want some of this too?"

The monsters took a step forward. They had milk teeth, but there was still enough weight behind them to knock him off his feet if they tried. Maybe they didn't eat human flesh yet, but their milk teeth could do enough damage to his flesh to render him helpless. Worst still, he'd be so busy fighting them off, it would give something bigger a chance to join in. Cid raised his hand and cast Fire 3.

A ball of fire engulfed three of the youngsters where they stood. The third tried to flee. Cid stopped it with quake, followed by another fire spell. It dropped in a fiery heap.

"You're getting off easy,"he said to the burnt carcasses. "I can see what you did to my kid."

The baby laid his head against his father's shoulder with a sleepy yawn. Cid adjusted him in his arms and started for home. If he was lucky, he wouldn't meet anything on the way.

He hadn't gone far when a Baba Velamyu galloped over the next hill. Cid sent it running in another direction with a carefully aimed Bolt 3.

By the time he reached the tall grass, it was almost too dark to make out anything around him. Far in the distance, he could see a faint halo of light. Rocket Town. He turned his face to the light and kept moving.

He stumbled several times, jarring the baby awake, but he never lost his footing. It was hard navigating through the darkness without knowing where he was putting his feet. Once he stepped in something squishy and a fetid odor, the breeze had been blowing in the other direction. The crunch of bones told him he stepped on kill of a predator. Cid quickened his steps. Predators didn't go far from their kills and he didn't want to be there when this one came back.

From time to time, he was sure something was pacing them. Under the sound of his leather boots, he caught the traces of suspicious sounds. Cid hugged his son tighter. The thought of having to fight with a baby in his arms was too wild a thought to entertain, but putting the baby down to fight wasn't such a hot option either. While he was trying to feel his way around a foe he couldn't see, it or its partner would snatch the child and run. All he could do was pause and listen, pause and listen. Every time he did, the strange noises stopped. He walked for an hour wondering when whatever was stalking them would make its move.

Rocket Town was closer now. Cid was kicking himself for not bringing a PHS along. He could have called ahead for a group of people to meet him with lights and weapons. That's two stupid things you've done today, he thought. Something snapped on his left. Cid stopped to listen. He could feel the hair standing up on his neck. The breeze shifted, bringing with it, the smell of sour meat. It was so bad, Cid wanted to want to gag. Worry lined his face. That smell could mean only one thing. They were being stalked by a monster.

Whatever it was, it had been following them for quite a while. Since it hadn't tried to attack them yet, Cid wondered if it was following them more out of curiosity than hunger. He certainly hoped so, because if that wasn't true, they were in for an attack soon. For lack of a better option, he started walking again. He could hear the sounds of the monster pacing them again.

Cid grit his teeth and kept plodding. If he ever got out of this alive, he would never look at darkness the same way he had before. Childhood nightmares were tame, compared what he was experiencing now. He kept looking around, but there was nothing to see. For thirty minutes he feared his next step would b his last. He was halfway to the distant light when it happened.

Whatever was following them, suddenly thundered and stopped, barring his path. Cid stopped. It wasn't being coy anymore. He could hear it breathing. Carefully he reached into a pocket and pull out his lighter. He hadn't used it before because he didn't want to attract any monster to him. Cid decided that didn't make any difference now. He coaxed the flame into existence.

The lighter wasn't able to put much of a dent in the gloom, but it showed him more than he wanted to know. It was a Velcher Tusk, and this one was even bigger than the one he had killed. The flame of the lighter gave its eyes the brilliant glow of luminous green fire. Cid's heart sank. This monster wasn't curious. It hadn't eaten in a while and it was hungry. All he saw in those eyes was death. He raised his staff. Maybe it would kill him. Maybe it would kill his son, but he wasn't going down without a fight!

A deep throated growl almost made him jump out of his skin. Cid turned. Heavy footsteps were coming toward him. Oh shit, he thought. This is all I need. The monster's eyes were glowing long before it stepped up to the edge of the light. To Cid's dismay, it was a second

Velcher Tusk. He looked from one to the other. What was he going to do now?

The first monster lowered it's head and growled at him. Cid back up a step. The second monster moved a step closer. Clumsily holding the lance and the lighter in same hand and trying to drop neither, rocked on his feet trying to anticipate which one would attack first. The second monster stepped forward again, slashing at him with a claw. As Cid ducked out of the way, he saw the first monster coming at him from the opposite side. He threw himself aside feeling his right ankle protest against the awkward movement. The cigarette lighter flew out of his hand. It struck the ground and went out. The baby whimpered in his sleep. Cid stroked his back to quiet him. It's over he thought. I've killed my own son.

The first monster roared in his face. Hot foul smelling breath and spittle forced him to turn his head and retreat. He braced himself waiting to feet teeth or claw digging into his flesh. The Monster roared in his face again. Heavy footsteps came in from Cid's left. The roaring in his face ended with a loud grunt. There was another roar. It was followed by a howl of pain, then all hell broke loose. Cid's ears were filled with the sounds of ferocious growling and snarling. The monsters were fighting over him.

From what he could make out, they were rolling all over the ground. This was confirmed when they rolled close by, brushing him just enough to knock him down. He managed to take the brunt of the impact, but it woke the baby just the same. Baby Cid opened his mouth in a loud cry. Cid slapped his hand over the baby's mouth to muffle the sound. There was no way he was going to wait around to find out who got to eat him. Clutching the baby against his chest, he ran for the lights of the village.

It was hard going. Unable to judge what the ground was like, he stepped too high when the ground was low and too low when the ground was high. His ankle, already sore, began to throb in earnest. He grit his teeth against the pain and kept running.

The fight was getting more violent. Each monster wanted to run him down, but the other was preventing its opponent from doing so. Cid prayed the fight would last long enough to let him reach the village alive.

His ankle was screaming now. Relentlessly he forced to take more punishment. If he slowed down or stopped now, he wouldn't be able to force himself to go on any further. His ankle would swell up like a sausage in his boot. He wouldn't be able to get it off or walk on it. He and Baby Cid would be sitting ducks. Tears of pain bled from the corners of his eyes. He pushed himself harder. The lights were his only hope. Even if he could stop the monster with magic, the glow of his spell would attract more creatures. The odds of survival would go from fifty-fifty to almost nil. I've got to keep moving, he told himself. If I give up we'll die.

The fight was getting more violent. Cid pushed himself to his maximum speed. His ankle was in agony. Behind him, one of the monsters growls, turned into a series of horrible screams. One of them was losing. When those mournful cries stopped, it would be his turn. Baby Cid was whimpering in his arms.

Cid broke out of the tall grass and ran toward the powerful light posts that surrounded the outskirts of Rocket Town. Two men were standing with guns aimed in his direction.

"Don't shoot!" gasped Cid, shambling into the pool of light. "It's me! Cid!"

One of the men lowered his weapon.

"Captain? You're still alive!" He turned to the other man. "Don't shoot. That's the Captain!"

The other man lowered his gun.

"No!" Cid staggered toward them. "Get those weapons up! There's a monster right behind me."

The screams had stopped. Now they could hear the sound of heavy footsteps moving through the grass.

The crewman looked at each other.

"It's a monster!" panted Cid. "Shoot the damned thing!"

The men raised their rifles just as the creature charged out of the darkness. They fired simultaneously. The Velcher Tusk tumbled onto its face, hopping up immediately. It growled at them and ran back into the darkness. They could hear it crashing through the underbrush. Just the same Cid heard his breath until the noises faded.

"It's gone Sir," said the crewman, Cid recognized as Klynn. He took a good look at his boss and recoiled. "Captain! Are you injured?"

Cid straightened himself with some difficulty. "It's nothing. I just twisted my ankle."

Yarvin, the second crewman stepped forward. "Let me carry the baby for you," he said. "That will make it lighter on your ankle."

Cid gave him a look that dried the saliva in his mouth.

"NO." He hugged the baby closer. "I'm not letting him out of my sight again."

He hobbled home. The neighbors came out of the house to stare and whisper. Everyone knew about the baby being taken away and Cid going after it. No one had ever expected to see him alive again.

The front door was still hanging open. Cid went inside and closed it. Baby Cid started crying.

"You're hungry huh?" He gave the baby a tired smile. "Me too, but I'll take care of you first. Just let me do one thing."

In his haste to leave home, Cid had forgotten to take his Cure materia. He picked up one of the orbs and cast the spell on himself. His ankle felt better immediately. He cast a spell on the baby. The bloody cuts healed. Cid held the baby out a arms length to look him over.

"Good as new," he said.

Baby Cid smiled at him.

Cid took him into the kitchen where he prepared a bottle. He sat at the kitchen table, his shirt still wrapped around Baby Cid and watched him feed.

"You're going to need a diaper," he said when Baby Cid was done. "But first a bath."

Having never used the fancy bathtub Shera had purchased, Cid opted to bathe the baby in one of the double kitchen sinks. He didn't even have to go into the bathroom for bubble bath, since Shera kept an extra bottle or two in the cabinet.

Baby Cid played happily in the suds until Cid pulled him out of the sink and dried him. Finding the baby something to wear and dressing him was a lot easier than Cid remembered it last. He was looking forward to reading his son a book, but the baby fell asleep before the last snap was in place.

Cid carried him to his bed and pulled back the cover. He kissed his son before he laid him down and covered his small body with a light quilt. On the way back to the living room, he passed a mirror and realized how filthy he was. His next stop was the shower.

He emerged from the bathroom clean and exhausted. He started for the bedroom, then stopped, suddenly filled with the need to see the baby again. Cid went into his child's room and stood over the bed. Little Cid looked like a tiny blonde cherub. Cid smiled wiping a tear from his eye. Just one more time, he thought. I just want to make sure he's really okay. Leaning down, he picked up Baby Cid and cradled him in his arms. Looking down into the small peaceful face, Cid felt love spreading through his heart. This was his son. His only child.

He knew he should have put the boy down and gone on to bed, but somehow he wasn't in much of a hurry to be separated from the baby. Taking the quilt along, Cid carried his son into the living room and sat on the couch. He leaned back, laid his son on his chest and covered him with the blanket. He was only going to hold him for a little while, that's all. Just for a while, then he'd put him back to bed. Five minutes later, Cid was asleep.

It was almost nine o'clock when the mail plane landed on the runway. Shera climbed out. Cid wasn't there to meet her. It was to be expected. He probably hadn't checked the answering machine. She'd called several times with no answer. That was to be expected too. It meant he was in the hanger babying his aircraft. She'd put the phone down. It wouldn't have done any good to call the hanger. Knowing Cid, he'd let that answering machine pick up too, but again, he wouldn't get around to checking his messages until he was finished what he was doing. The same thing with his PHS. It was one of the things that annoyed her. Cid was a good man, but sometimes he couldn't get past his flying machine long enough to think of the little things. Shera waved goodbye for her friends and started walking.

She was just thinking about what beautiful day it was when a little boy riding a bike, glanced her way. His eyes widened and he skidded to a halt staring at her. Shera smiled and kept going. She glanced at a shop as she passed. Three faces were pressed against the window. She knew those women, she was just about to wave and smile, when the faces disappeared. Shera paused in the act of raising her hand. The faces didn't reappear. She shrugged and kept going.

Two men were talking near a tree. They fell silent as she went by. Shera felt eyes on her back, but when she turned to check, they started talking to each other again. She turned around. The eyes on her back returned. She turned quickly. This time, she caught one of them before he looked away. Her eyes caught movement in a window of a house beyond the men. A face ducked away the window. Shera knew that face. It was one of the women in her sewing circle. She kept watching. The face appeared, noticed her watching and disappeared again.

What in the world is that all about? she wondered. She debated going into the shop to find out, then decided it wasn't worth the effort. She kept walking, but the peeking faces had made her a lot more observant. As she moved toward her house, Shera realized everyone was watching her. Some people, smiled and said hello before they rushed by, but mostly there were sly glances, vanishing faces and whispering voices. Anytime she passed people having a conversation, they stopped until they thought she was out of earshot. Shera knew these people. Why were they acting like this? She was just about to walk by the door of a dress shop when she heard her name.

"Well I don't care what you say!" Shera recognized the voice as Mrs. Heddington, the nosiest woman in Rocket Town. "I'm going to tell Shera! When I think of what could have happened . . it just burns me up!"

Puzzled Shera stopped to listen.

"It's not your place to tell her." Shera frowned in bewilderment. That was Elmyra's voice. "Cid will tell her in his own way."

"What makes you think he'll tell her at all?" asked Mrs. Heddington. "If I was Shera, I'd rip his guts out and hang them on the clothes line to dry!"

"Stay out of it Edith! He has to tell her. After all . . . the whole town knows!"

Shera stood back, letting Elmyra and her companion exit the shop. They saw her and froze in place.

"Tell me what?" she asked.

Elmyra's face went white. The other woman, Mrs. Heddington, looked surprised for a moment, then a knowing smile appeared. "Hello Shera."

She ignored the greeting. "What is it you wanted to tell me?"

Mrs. Heddington opened her mouth.

"Edith don't!" cried Elmyra. She turned to Shera. "Go home Shera, your family is waiting for you.

Shera looked from one to the other. "What does the whole town know?"

Mrs. Heddington turned to Elmyra. "If she heard that much, she might as well hear the whole thing."

She opened her mouth, but Elmyra shoved her out of the way and stepped up to Shera.

"Go home Shera. Just remember, to error is human, to forgive is divine."

"Forgive what?" A look of alarm spread across Shera's face. She looked at Mrs. Heddington. "What did you mean about Cid? Is he okay?"

Mrs. Heddington laughed at the look her face. "What Elmyra really means dearie, is go home and check your baby."

She winked at Shera and turned away.

Shera blanched and looked at Elmyra.

Elmyra shoved Edith again, giving her a dirty look..

Mrs. Heddington returned Elmyra's look, then glanced at Shera. "If I were you, I'd hurry!"

Shera turned around. Everywhere she looked , there were people staring at her. Her house wasn't far away. There were no signs of life. Cid was usually up at this time. She looked at Elmyra.

"Excuse me," she said. "I'm going home."

She took off at a run.

"Shera wait!" called Elmyra. "Don't listen to this . . . this old busybody!"

Shera only ran faster. She was breathless by the time she reached the door with her overnight bag. Even the birds seemed to quiet down as she walked up to the front door and put her hand on the knob.

She opened the door, holding her breath. The crowd behind her did the same. Shera stepped inside, closing the door in their faces. With her back to the door, she stood surveying the room.

It looked the same as always. No. It didn't. Shera opened her eyes in surprise. Why was Cid sleeping on the couch? And what was wrong with his chest? She moved forward cautiously until she was standing in front of the sleeping man. Her eyes softened. Cid was sound asleep with the baby in his arms. Shera clasped her hands in front of her lips, moisture forming in her eyes.

"Oh how sweet," she whispered. "They look so cute like this."

This was definitely a photo to remember. Shera sat her bag down quietly, along with her purse and went into the bedroom to get her camera. She stopped in the doorway. Both of the lamps were on the floor broken. All but one part of a large spot near the foot of the bed had dried. Shera went to the bed and leaned over to examine it. It smelled of urine. She straightened up in surprise. Hearing a sound, for the first time she noticed the telephone receiver on the floor. She picked it up.

"Did you like that baby?" asked a weary voice. "Next I'm going give you a great massage. I'm going to get this really hot smelling oil and I'm going to . . . "

"And who the hell are YOU?" asked Shera

The voice paused. "Huh?"

Shera tightened her grip on the phone. "What are you doing on my phone?"

"Look lady," said the voice. "I can only take one paying customer at a time. If you want a Hot Babe of your own, you're going to have to hang up and call back."

Shera's gripped the phone so hard, the plastic creaked. "A HOT WHAT?"

"You heard me," answered the bored voice with a touch of annoyance. "Put that guy back on th phone."

"Guy?" Shera turned toward the bedroom door. "What guy?"

"Look," the voice sighed. "There's a guy paying for this call. Put him back on."

"My husband called you?" Shera's voice rose a notch.

"Yeah your husband called me," replied the voice in a mocking tone. "He likes to listen. We've been on the phone for hours now. Hell . . . it's his dime."

"YOU BITCH!" Shera slammed the phone down in the cradle. "Damn you Cid!"

Shera stormed out of the bedroom. She went straight to the baby's room to get his bed ready. First she'd tuck the baby in, then she'd throw Cid out. How dare he? She left home for one day and he jumped on the phone with a bimbo. She stomped into the baby's room and stopped. Her mouth hung open.

There was a diaper lying on the floor next to the dressing table. It was obviously soiled. If the smell wasn't a clue, a pair of flies circling over it like tiny airplanes searching for a place to land was a dead giveaway.

She counted to ten as she went into the kitchen to get a plastic bag. Another shock was waiting.

Muddy droplets were spattered around the double sink. One sink had traces of mud that hadn't washed down the drain. One of the baby's bath cloths lay nearby along with a damp towel. There was no top on the baby shampoo. The baby powder was on the kitchen table. Dirty footprints all over the kitchen led to Cid's boots by the back door. They smelled like they had died. Holding her nose, Shera backed away.

She stumbled out of the kitchen and went into the bathroom to splash cold water on her face. She almost tripped over Cid's pants, lying in front of the door. His shirt was near the bathroom sink.

She picked up his pants and gasped, they were covered with dirt but there were smudges of blood too. She found the same thing on his shirt. The lance was propped against the wall.

Shera's eyes settled on the materia slots. When the lance wasn't in use, Cid put his materia away. Shera touched the colorful stones. The lance was dirty, and she knew battle materia when she saw it.

The phone rang. She went back into the bedroom to pick it up.

"By the way," said the same female voice she'd talked to before. "Your husband is still going to pay for this call. If you took care of things at home, he would have to call girls like me, so watch who you're calling names."

Shera slammed the receiver down.

"CID!"

She couldn't get to the living room fast enough.

"CID!"

He twitched in his sleep. Shera grabbed a handful of blonde hair.

"Wake up, Damn you!"

"Yeowwwww!" Cid sat up blinking fast. The sunlight burned his eyes. He shaded them with one hand holding the baby with the other. His vision cleared.

"Shera?" His face lit up. "Shera? You're back!"

She put her hands on her hips. "I'd think you'd be disappointed about that Cid, considering you can't talk to your Hot Babe while I'm here!"

His face dissolved into bewilderment. "What?"

"How long did you wait before I got out of the house?" she asked. "Talking for hours huh? You were so eager to get on the phone, you left a mess in the baby's room? And what happened to our bedroom? And the bathroom too? Just what the hell did you do while I was gone?"

The baby stirred. Cid adjusted the child in his arms. "I don't know what you're talking about Shera."

"Oh I'll just bet you don't," she said. "Hot Babe indeed!"

Cid glanced at the baby. "He isn't hot. He's fine."

"Smart Ass!"

Cid's eyes widened. Shera rarely swore. "Was the play that bad?"

"I should ask the same about your Hot Babe," she countered. "What did you do? Have one on the phone and one here with you?"

"Hot Babe?" Cid gave her a strange look. "What's wrong with you?"

"What wrong with me?" Shera's voice rose. "What's wrong with me? The whole town knows what you've done. They're out there right now, whispering and pointing at me. Why did I have to find out like this?"

He blanched. "They told you I lost the baby?"

She rolled her eyes at him. "What are you talking about? The baby is right here in your arms!"

He swallowed. "Then you don't know about the monster?"

"What monster?" Shera gave him a strange look. "What are you talking about Cid?"

He swallowed hard. "I almost lost the baby Shera."

"Cid," said Shera slowly. "You've got our son. What do you mean you almost lost him?"

"Oh man," Cid looked away. "Man, oh man. You're not going to like this, babe."

"A monster." Shera stared at him. The muddy boots, mud in the sink, the dirty lance and blood.

She looked at her baby. "Is he all right Cid?"

Cid looked down at his son. "He's fine Shera. I got him back okay."

She just stood there looking at him.

"Shera, I'm sorry." Cid could barely speak past the lump in his throat.

She reached out. "Give me the baby, Cid."

He clutched the baby too him. "What are you going to do?"

Her expression didn't change. "Just give him to me."

Cid felt a cold lump in the pit of his stomach. He gave her the baby. Baby Cid opened his eyes for a second, then went back to sleep. Shera went to the front door.

Cid jumped off the couch. "Where are you going?"

"I'll be back."

The door closed behind her. He wondered if he should run after her. If Shera took the baby and left his life would be empty. Not even the Highwind would fill the void she'd leave behind in his heart.

With that unexpected revelation, Cid sat down expecting the worst.

The crowd was even bigger than before. Shera ignored them. They parted for her as she approached and closed in her wake. She walked right up to Elmyra and held out the baby.

"Please take care of my son," she said to the startled woman. "I'll be back shortly."

"With or without your suitcases?" asked Mr. Heddington eagerly.

Elmyra glared at her. "Knock it off!"

Mrs. Heddington kept her eyes on Shera's face. "That's what you're going to do to Cid right?

You're going to knock his block off!"

Elmyra looked as if she wanted to deck her companion.

Shera turned and walked away without answering. As before, the crowd parted to let her through, then closed behind her. She kept her head high until she vanished into the house.

"Fight, fight, fight!" Mrs. Heddington laughed. "She's going to kick his butt!"

"Oh shut up Edith!" snapped Elmyra.

A few of the children took up the cry. "Fight, fight, fight!"

Elmyra looked around. "Can't you people control your children?"

The parents shushed them at once. They waited.

Shera walked into the livingroom and sat down, on the other end of the couch with her hands in her lap. "I'm listening Cid."

Cid started at the point he'd seen her last and continued his story up until the time she woke him up.

Shera never said a word the whole time he was speaking. Not even the part about the Velcher Tusk holding Baby Cid by the arm changed her expression. By the time he came to the end of his tale, his voice was hoarse with emotion. Shera took her eyes off his face and focused on her hands.

"Are the repairs on the Highwind finished?" she asked.

He cleared his throat. "I don't know."

She kept her eyes down. "Didn't you check?"

He shook his head. "No"

"Why not?"

"I had more important things on my mind Shera."

She didn't say anything for a long time.

He couldn't take it anymore. "What are you thinking about Shera?"

She raised her eyes to his. "I'm thinking about taking the baby and running just as far away from you as I can get.

"I made a mistake," he said. "And it will haunt me for the rest of my life."

She didn't speak.

"But I can promise you one thing Shera. It will NEVER happen again."

She looked down at her hands again.

"I love him Shera," Cid's voice broke. "And I love you. I feel awful about this. You just don't know how awful. It wasn't until he was gone . . . that I realized how little attention I've been paying to him lately . . . and you. I've got it all. A wonderful wife, a beautiful son, a home, the Highwind, Reeve is going to get us the funds for a new rocket, and a great team. Things have been good for me so long, I've began taking things for granted. Even my family. I'm sorry Shera. This is the first time Baby Cid has ever been completely in my care, and I let you down. I'd do anything if I could get that look out of your eyes. If it was possible to turn back the hands of time, I'd wave goodbye to you and keep Baby Cid so close to me, you'd think we were joined at the hip. You might even have to pry him out of my hands."

He was rewarded with a faint smile. Encouraged, he went on. "If I were you, I'd beat the hell out of me. I deserve it. I could have lost our son forever. Just thinking about something like that chills my blood. The things that went through my mind!

He dropped down on his knees in front of her. "Please give me a chance to prove things will be different. I know you probably won't trust me alone with the baby for awhile, but I can live with that. You're an important part of my life Shera and so is my son. I won't ever forget that again."

"The next time I do that, take my lance and whap me on the side of the head with it," he said.

"Beating consideration into your head isn't the answer," she said. "You have to want to be that way on your own."

"Look into my eyes Shera." Cid took her hands in his. "Look into my eyes and listen to what I'm saying to you."

She did.

"I'm not the smartest man in the world Shera, but I've got enough sense to know a good woman when I see her. I don't deserve you."

She dropped her eyes again.

"No Shera," he said. "Look at me."

She returned her gaze to his eyes.

"You're too kind and understanding to have to put up with a man who swears like a sailor, has a bad temper, smokes like a chimney and get so involved in the little things he wants he forgets about the big picture. I leave my clothes where they fall, track up the floor, yell at you, make you wait until I've got time to hear what you're saying and leave you alone for hours at a time while I'm working on the Highwind unless I need you for something. Through all of that, you've never complained. You're raising my baby, you put up with my moods and you're always there to help me with my dreams. You were even willing to die to let me go into space. I can't think of another woman who would put up with my crap. You're one of those women a man dreams about but rarely finds. You're one in a million Shera and I was a lucky man to win your love."

"That love is special to me Shera. I could never go on without it. Like I chose that day to abort my flight to save your life, I'd do the same about the Highwind and any other rocket I could build. None of this means anything, if I don't have someone to share it with. I want to share it with you Shera. I want you and my son at my side. Don't let one of my stupid mistakes be the end of us. I want us to go on . . . together. I love you Shera and nothing will ever change that."

There were tears in her eyes.

He clutched her hand tighter. "Will you forgive me?

Her eyes went to the door.

Cid turned around and looked. He turned around and looked at her anxiously. "What? What's wrong?"

She stood up, walked around him and went to the door. Cid rose to his feet and followed her.

Shera opened it.

Cid fell back a step. "What the hell is this? Why are all these people here?"

Shera didn't even look at him. She stormed out of the door with her head down.

"What the-" Cid followed her.

Wolf whistles and shouts of appreciation rose from the crowd.

"Oh-h-h-h Cid!" cried one woman. "You've got legs!"

The crowd roared.

Looking down, Cid realized he was wearing only his boxer shorts. He ran back inside the house and charged into the bedroom. Grabbing a pair of pants off the back of a chair, he pulled them up on the run. He Fastened them at the waist and opened the door.

Shera was standing with her back to him.

"Shera?"

Without looking back, she walked toward the crowd.

He went after her. "Shera? Shera come back! Where are you going?"

"O-o-o-o-o!" The crowd parted to let them through.

Cid had to run to keep up. "Shera come back . . . please!"

Mrs. Heddington chuckled gleefully rubbing her hands together. "Here they come! And boy oh boy is she ever mad!"

"You don't know that," but the doubt came through in Elmyra's voice.

Shera stopped right in front of them. She looked at Mrs. Heddington."

"You were right!" she said looking the woman straight in the eyes. "I checked on my baby, and now Cid is going to get what's coming to him!"

"What?" Cid looked form one to the other. "What's going on?"

"Give it to him!" Mrs. Heddington cried smacking a fist in her open palm. "He deserves it!"

"Shera No!" cried Elmyra.

"Oh no!" said Shera turning to Cid. "She's right. He deserves it!"

The crowd drew in a sharp breath and held it.

Shera threw her arms around Cid's neck, pulled him close to her and covered his mouth with hers.

He didn't miss a beat. He put his arms around her too and they were locked in a passionate kiss.

Mrs. Heddington's jaw fell open. She stared at them for a moment then turned to Elmyra and pointed.

"Why . . . why . . . she KISSING him!"

Elmyra was smiling. Her eyes danced with joy. "People do, when they're in love you know."

Mrs. Heddington was gaping like a fish. The rest of the towns folk recovered from shock and broke into a happy cheer. Even Baby Cid was awake and grinning in Elmyra's arms.

"After what HE did?" Mrs. Heddington was fit to be tied. "But-but he wasn't watching the baby! It could have been killed? What about all that?"

Shera let go of Cid. She looked at Mrs. Heddington. "Oh why don't you go home and catch flies or something?"

The crowd laughed. Mrs. Heddington turned as red as a beet. "Well I never!"

"And you never will," answered Shera, putting her arms around Cid again. "Maybe if you weren't so busy getting into other peoples business and trying incite trouble, your last two husbands wouldn't have left you!"

"O-o-o-o-o!" The crowd loved it.

Mrs. Heddington stuck her nose in the air and walked away with as much dignity as she could muster under the circumstances.

"I've always wanted to tell her that," said Shera. "Or wished someone else would."

She gave Cid a smile, then reached for the baby. Elmyra gave him up.

"Is everything okay?" she asked.

"Everything is fine," said Shera. "I'm going to take my family home, take care of the baby, then give Cid the rest of what he deserves."

Cid's face went deep red. "Do you have to tell everybody?"

Elmyra smiled. "That's my clue to make myself scarce."

Shera hooked her arm in Cid's as they walked back to the house.

"I'm guessing by that kiss that I'm forgiven," he said. "And I hope you're going to explain what just happened, but there's still one thing I don't understand."

Shera kissed the baby on his head."What's that?"

"What's with the Hot Babe stuff?" he asked. "What did you think I'd done?"

"Oh. That." Shera adjusted Baby Cid in her arms as they came to the front door. "When you left the baby alone, I think he must have been playing with the phone. He accidently dialed one of those phone sex places. She spent the whole day and all last night talking dirty."

Cid gave her an incredulous look. "How can you be sure it wasn't me?"

Shera waited while he opened the door. "Between running to the Highwind and looking for our son, when would you have had time? I figured he must have done it before he went outside."

Cid grinned. "You're one hell of a woman Shera."

"And you're going to have one hell of a phone bill to pay," she said, stepping inside.

He stopped. "Me?"

"Hey," she said looking over her shoulder. "He did it on YOUR watch buddy."

"But that means I'll have to give up putting new carpeting in the Highwind's meeting room!" he said.

Shera turned around and raised and eyebrow. Cid blushed and gave her a sheepish grin.

"Like I said," he said closing door behind them. "One hell of a woman."

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