Across the Divide and Through Valhalla

Cheers

Chapter 40

Sam grinned at Caius before she laid the other two shots out in front of Sephiroth and Genesis too. Before everyone picked up their glasses, Sherry held out a hand. "One minute." Everyone turned to her, and she picked her glass up and continued. "Before we get started, I wanted to get something off my chest. I sure as hell don't want to get maudlin later."

Daniel snorted beside her, and she shot him a glare. She turned to her guests first. "I apologize if this gets sappy, but I need a moment." Caius gave her an understanding look and a nod. At his action, the other two did as well. They may not understand what was going on, but they at least knew something was.

Sherry then turned to Sam and Daniel. "First, I want to tell you that, even though I may not have said it, I'm proud of how you turned out. You went from an emo twit to an amazing man."

"Really?" He gave her a disgusted look, and she grinned back. It faded quickly as she tried to keep herself under control. She hadn't thought about what this would be like in front of an audience.

"Yeah. In all seriousness, I want you to know that the two of you are great parents. You have nothing to prove, so you just need to focus on being happy. On making each other happy. You don't ever-" She had to stop and swallow the lump that was forming before she could speak. "You don't ever have to worry about making the same mistakes our parents did because you are already better parents then they could dream of being. Promise me you won't be so hard on yourselves about it anymore."

Sam stood and wrapped her in a hug so tight, Sherry thought she was going to spill her drink. When she finally let go, Daniel gave her one as well. His whisper was barely heard. "Thanks, sis."

She nodded when he stepped back and raised her glass. "Cheers." They both raised theirs toward her as well and echoed her sentiment before they downed their drinks too. The three men quickly followed the example.

Once it was down, Sherry put her glass on the table and turned back to Daniel with a grin. "I guess what I was saying is, go get 'em, tiger."

Daniel froze as Sherry's grin widened. He gave her a deadpan look as her grin kept growing. "I swear to god if you start singing that stupid song, I will pin you down and tickle you until you piss yourself."

Sherry clamped her lips together in a blatant attempt to stifle whatever it was she was thinking, but it didn't last long. It started out low but just got louder. "It's a beautiful day in the neighborhood, a beautiful day for a neighbor. Would you be mi-"

She was cut off at that point as Daniel lunged for her. She managed to dodge with a laugh as she ran for the door to the beach. She was still singing over her shoulder. "Oh, it's Daniel Tiger's neighborhood, a land of make-believe."

That was as far as she got before he tackled her to the sand, or rather, grabbed her and fell to the sand and took her down with him. He was as good as his word, though. Within seconds, Sherry was laughing so hard she started snorting. "Stop! Please! I swear, I'm sorry!"

Daniel grunted. "That's what you said the first thousand times!"

She saw the rest of their group come out and managed to plead through her laughter. Sephiroth looked over at Genesis. "Should we help her?"

Genesis looked a little torn. Finally, he looked back with a frown. "I believe I have already angered him enough."

Daniel must have heard him, as he looked back and raised a brow. "That's right. This is family matters."

By that time, Sherry had managed to wriggle so that her sides were somewhat protected, but her brother wasn't ready to give up. She was still laughing. "I swear I won't sing it again. God Daniel, I'm getting sand in places it's never supposed to be!"

At that point, he finally relented and helped her to her feet. Sam was standing next to the others with a grin. She shook her head at Sherry. "You should know better."

Sherry almost felt like singing it again anyway but thought better of it when she remembered that it was more than just family that night. With a sigh, she grinned at them all. "Let me get the sand out of my clothes, and then we can get started playing."

Caius was giving her a bemused look as the rest went back inside. "What was that about? I do not believe I have ever seen you act like that."

Sherry paused as she was trying to shake the sand from her pants and looked up with a grin. "Really?" She stomped a couple of times and shook her head as she thought about it. She supposed they hadn't had much chance to other than when they went swimming, and he hadn't gone.

She looked up with a grin. "Sometimes, it's worth it to remind yourself that every person has a little light inside. A little bit of the child they used to be. It may seem childish to some people, but to me, it's a reminder of that little light. A reminder not to let it be blown out." She gave him a wink as she passed him and walked back into the condo. "Besides, it's fun." He chuckled as he followed her in. She continued to surprise him, and he was finding that it didn't bother him at all.

They ended up playing cards for nearly three hours and emptied more than four bottles between them all. Thankfully, the two Soldiers really could take a lot, and were not as sloshed as they should have been. They both sucked at Texas hold 'em. It wasn't that they couldn't strategize. Oh no. No, their problem was the fact that they couldn't bluff to save their lives, and it only got worse the more they drank. Sherry had never seen anything as hilarious.

Despite how fun it was, they finally called a halt to it when Daniel realized it was getting close to midnight. As Sherry and Sam were cleaning up and trying to figure out where everyone was going to sleep, Daniel stepped up to Genesis. He watched the Soldier for a moment before he spoke up in the most somber voice he had used that day.

"Look, I know you know I don't like you much, but I want you to know what I'm about to say has nothing to do with that."

Genesis raised a brow and looked over at the other man. "Oh? I would have never guessed."

Daniel frowned at the sarcasm but managed to hold onto his temper. "Look, I see the way you've watched my sister all day. It wasn't like that when I was there before. You've known her what? About a month now?"

Genesis realized that this conversation was suddenly more serious than he had expected and cleared the smirk from his face. "I am unsure what you mean."

Daniel snorted. "Don't play dumb. I'm not trying to pick a fight with you."

Genesis' eyes narrowed. "What is your point?"

Daniel sighed and looked across the room to where Sam and Sherry were looking for the extra blankets the place was supposed to have. "All I'm asking is don't use her. She's a big girl, so I won't tell you to stay away. If she wants you, that's her business, not mine. Just remember that now is a really shitty time for her to try to deal with troubling emotions. She's already got enough she's juggling as it is."

Genesis was silent for several moments. He didn't know quite what to say. He couldn't deny that he found Sherry attractive, but he had not thought about it more than that. Daniel was correct in that she was a busy woman. Still, if he was given an opportunity, would he take it for pleasure's sake alone? He was shocked to find he couldn't answer that question. Not even to himself.

Finally, he turned to Daniel. "I will promise that no matter what happens, I will never make her feel that I have only used her for physical gratification alone."

Daniel frowned. That was what he had asked for. He wasn't sure why he was still pissed off, but he pushed it back and held out his hand. He reminded himself again that she didn't need him to protect her as Genesis took it, and they shook. He just hoped the man was as good as his word.