Desha's Reno of the Turks Fan Fiction

Interludes – Scene 17

Scene Notes: Reno once got stuck delivering a baby… It’s an experience he’d really rather not relive.

From Chapter 20: Down to the Market

“Oh, thank Ifrit,” Reno sighed in relief, “That’s somethin’ I really don’t need to see more than once…”

Tseng snorted in laughter, both at Reno’s response, and at Elena’s confused expression. “Reno is the only Turk since the founding of Shinra who holds the honor of having delivered a baby,” he explained.

“Didn’t know traumatic experiences counted as an ‘honor’ now,” came the petulant reply, as he drew his hand back from the girl, “That shit scarred me for life.”

---

Tseng’s phone rang late Saturday night… so late, in fact, it was technically Sunday morning and he’d been in bed for hours. He forced his eyes open and rolled over, groping for the device. He noted the caller ID on the screen before answering and sighed. It figured.

“What have you done now and how much trouble are you in?” he asked, running a hand through his hair. Whatever answer he’d been expecting from his young rookie, it certainly wasn’t the shrill, pained scream his PHS suddenly emitted. Tseng was instantly wide awake. “Reno?!”

The Turks second-in-command dragged himself to the edge of the bed, nearly tripping over the covers he’d knocked to the floor in his surprise.

“I… uh… Tseng? I got a problem… A really big problem…” the younger man’s voice said, trembling slightly. He sounded terrified. The screaming in the background had stopped for the moment, but had been replaced by a loud, keening moan. It sounded like a woman’s voice.

“Where are you?”

“Train to Sector 3… I was headin’ home for the night.”

Tseng spared a few seconds to zero in on the bedside clock. “Reno… it’s nearly three in the morning…”

“Fuck, fine… I was headin’ home for the morning, then! Point is power’s out, train’s stopped, and I’m stuck in this fuckin’ tunnel with –” The teenager was cut off by another scream. Whatever was happening, the woman sounded like she was in pure agony. “… Her. Oh, dear Ifrit… what the hell is that? Uhh… O-okay, wait! Seriously, wait!”

“Reno… calm down, and tell me what’s going on,” the Turk leader said, concerned. He was already dressing… though he had no idea where he thought he was going to go. If Reno was trapped on one of Midgar’s trains, he could be just about anywhere in the city right now.

“What’s goin’ on? This lady’s havin’ a kid and I’m the only one in here with her, that’s what’s fuckin’ goin’ on!” his rookie replied, the eighteen year old’s voice gradually rising a full octave. “Tseng… help…” His tone was pleading and desperate… he sounded utterly lost. The senior Turk could hear the woman nearly sobbing. She seemed almost as frightened as Reno did.

“Alright… just relax.”

“You’re fuckin’ kidding, right?” Reno replied, with a slightly manic laugh, “I’m not sure you fully grasp the situation here, boss. There is a kid comin’ out of her. Like right now.”

If the situation hadn’t demanded an absolutely serious response, Tseng might have laughed at that statement.

“I’m perfectly aware of where babies come from… Now will you please calm down and focus?” He couldn’t help feeling just a little hypocritical saying that. Tseng was fairly certain ‘calm’ wouldn’t have been his state of mind in Reno’s shoes either. Turks trained for a variety of circumstances… childbirth wasn’t one of them.

“Just tell me what to do!” he pleaded.

“There’s very little you can do besides try and help her through it. Can you see the baby yet?”

“Well, I can see somethin’ anyway… Wouldn’t swear it’s human…”

“Reno… please be serious…” Tseng said, shaking his head. The woman was crying out again.

“Look, I’m tryin’ my best here, man… Oh, god… I think… Oh, fuck, it’s comin’ out… Is there s’posed to be blood? ‘Cause there’s kinda a lot of blood…”

“Just let her push and support the baby’s head as you guide it out… Do you have anything to wrap it in?”

“Uh… yeah. Just… H-hang on, I gotta…” There was a soft clatter, and Tseng assumed Reno had been forced to set the phone down. He could still hear him faintly over the mother’s cries, talking to her, though it was hard to make out what he was saying. It was several tense minutes before anything changed. Suddenly, the distinct sound of an infant’s wail echoed over the line, and Tseng smiled.

“I-it’s… um… here…” Reno managed, picking the PHS back up, “For the love of Ifrit, Tseng… get someone who knows what there’s doin’ down here before anything else happens… Please…”

“Just sit tight… I’ll get ahold of someone who can get you out of there,” he replied.

---

It was nearly twenty minutes before medical personnel and someone from the transportation department managed to extract the trapped passengers. Tseng was waiting patiently at the Sector 3 station for their arrival. When the train finally pulled in, he watched as a young woman and a newborn were rolled away on a gurney to a waiting ambulance. It was a few moments more before a very pale… and oddly shirtless… rookie emerged as well. He spotted Tseng and all but ran for him, eyes wide.

“Are you alright?” the senior Turk asked, vaguely amused by the teenager’s rather shellshocked expression.

“It’s a girl,” the redhead said faintly, and Tseng chuckled.

“What happened to your shirt?”

“Needed somethin’ to wrap her in…” he replied, staring blankly. Tseng gently guided him towards the stairs leading up the the street.

“Come on… I think you need to go home and go to bed.”

“I think I need a drink.”

“We’ll see,” he replied, smiling indulgently.

When they reached the top of the stairs, the rookie paused, fixing his mentor with a very serious look. “That shit ever happens again, you’re dealin’ with it… Not me.”

Tseng laughed softly and led the somewhat traumatized rookie toward his car.

~fin~