Not Alone

Chapter XII "Not Alone"

No more are the days that I will

Fear for I have found a strength that

None can match and I'll push forward

Never has the blood in my veins

Flowed so fiercely as when I feel this around me

I am whole

I'm not alone with the touch of your hand

I am whole again

–"Not Alone" by All That Remains

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Quistis' ears perked. They were talking about her, she just knew it. She ran to her bedroom door, her hair cascading down like a curtain around her shoulders, the small ribbon she was using to hold her hair up fell forgotten on the floor. The ten year old opened the door a crack and squinted as she peered out, spotting her foster parents in the living room.

"There's no need for us to attend...whatever it is she asked us to go to. She knows our work is important, we've had this night planned for weeks."

Quistis' face fell at the end of her mothers words. One small hand tightened into a fist and her cheeks flushed with anger and disappointment. She told her parents about her awards ceremony long before they had anything planned for tonight! She made sure to check their calender one day she came home from school early while they were still gone. They didn't have anything planned and she begged them to attend the ceremony this time. This was her last school event and they had promised they would go!

Tears swelled in her sky blue eyes, but she quickly rubbed them away. We are not raising a weak child that cries, their scoldings still fresh in her head.

"Well good thing her school is within walking distance, we should go before we're late."

Quistis quietly shut her door. She picked up her discarded ribbon and returned to fixing her hair. Ribbon tied and her dress void of any lint or wrinkles Quistis slumped on her bed. Her eyes stared at the small table across from her, dozens of trophies, ribbons and medals decorated the furniture. Some were earned from science fairs, sports, but most were academic awards. Straight A's, honor rolls, some were awards for advancing to higher grades. Tonight she was going to accept an award for moving onto high school. The normal age for students to begin high school was at the beginning of their adolescence and she was barely ten, didn't that make her special? She just wanted to hear her parents praise her. Everything else she's done they never took notice. What did she have to do? Win a war? Find a cure for cancer?

A weak smile spread on her suddenly tear streaked face. She remembered a schoolmate's words once, "you're lucky to get so many awards". A small laugh escaped her lips. He said she was lucky. For what? Because she received a few more useless pieces of wood and plastic? They were nothing more but junk, her mother always pointed that out every time she knocked one over whenever she was vacuuming. They were nothing more but junk to her parents, so that's what they were to Quistis too.

No, the lucky one was that boy. Even though he only received an award for perfect attendance both his parents were always there to watch him, cheer for him when he was presented his junk of an award.

Quistis would gladly exchange all of her awards just to see her parents smile at her, to say they were proud of her hard work, to say they loved her. A sob wanted to escape her throat, but she swallowed it back. She couldn't cry, her parents wouldn't approve of it. Glancing at the clock, Quistis figured she'd better start walking before it got too late.

She took one last look at the picture sitting next to her lamp. The picture was of her and her parents. She smiled wide, showing off straight white teeth, but both her parents didn't smile. Their faces were as stern and void of any emotion just like the dull background of the picture. Sighing, Quistis grabbed her coat and headed for the door.

Once outside she spotted the perfect attendance boy across the street. He and his parents were well dressed, the father mentioned something about pizza after the ceremony and the boy jumped, his face filled with joy. They all climbed into their vehicle and disappeared beyond the street.

Sighing, Quistis zipped her coat, made sure the door behind her was locked, and started walking...alone. Again. She tilted her head back and looked at the stars, quietly whispering, "why don't they care?"

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She did everything she could. Granted, Garden didn't have the best medical equipment, but they have magic. Without magic, Dr. Kadowaki thought, Quistis wouldn't have survived the surgery. Garden certainly did not have the proper tools to conduct any sort of surgery, even something as simple as appendectomies. Dr. Kadowaki, nevertheless, made due with the tools at her disposal, and depended on magic like a newborn depends on its mother for survival.

The surgery was a success, the repercussions of the blunt force head trama Quistis suffered was healed at a torturous slow rate to avoid the creation of scar tissue in the brain and blood vessels. Surgery was needed to avoid anymore hindering consequences, and more importantly death.

Now, however, the more nerve wrecking part; awaiting Quistis to awaken. There were still many more conditions Quistis could suffer, but could only exhibit in a conscious state. Would she suffer from amnesia? Develop a mental disorder? Could she lose some or all of her motor skills? The problem with healing magic is that it only repairs the broken tissue and reconstructs it back to its uninjured state. Magic, however, cannot heal tissue or nerves that have already expired. The time between Quistis' injury and her transport to the infirmary was more than enough time for several tissues and nerves to die.

Now, all that the older woman could do is sit and wait. She drained her cup of coffee, the caffeinated liquid had long gone cold, but she needed the energy boost. She wanted nothing more but to sleep and wish everything had been a dream. Everything a dream and to awaken to the sound of Quistis wakening her with a cup of steaming coffee in one hand and her deck of Triple Triad cards in the other.

The doctor watched the sleeping SeeD before her. She found herself thinking, wishing, she'd give anything to reverse this whole mess. Balamb Garden was nearly destroyed with all of its recent abuse, near destruction by long range missiles, Balamb's head figure struggle, followed by a direct attack by Galbadian Garden, and now this.

The older woman didn't know how to define this mess, it borderlined on a riot. Honestly, she had no idea a mere fan club, which consisted mostly of students, could cause such a panic and stand a chance against Garden's authorities. Panic spread through Garden about a well known and popular SeeD had nearly been killed by a sorceress. Rumors became worse as they spread from different lips, some have said that Quistis was killed. An infamous SeeD killed by a sorceress that has lived within Garden for the past few months. For a sorceress to live among SeeD's is like a mouse living with a den of cats. The world was still recovering from the previous sorceress war, no doubt many will assume a new one will erupt. But this time it will be much worse if people assume SeeD's are now working with sorceresses. Without people's trust then Garden has no business, no source of income.

Feeling a migraine tingling in the back of her eyes, Kadowaki returned to her desk and collapsed on her chair. She shouldn't be giving herself a headache over this, and she suddenly felt eternally grateful her job was strictly slapping band aids on injured kids. She'd hate to be in the headmaster's shoes. The door opened suddenly, a female voice penetrating the quietness of the cold infirmary.

Standing to greet, or rather heal, her newcomer the doctor frowned at the sight of the injured woman before her. "Xu? What in Hyne's name happened to you?" Her brown eyes focusing on the younger woman's forearms.

Xu's face fell into a frown, her eyes slits and a slight shaking of her arms. Or perhaps it was shock. She winced and cursed as she lifted her arms to her eye level. "This is what happens when you are ordered to protect a traitor from being castrated by a very loyal fan club."

Doctor mode turned on, Kadowaki gently pushed Xu onto an available bed. She immediately fetched a box of supplies.

Xu cursed again, the pain in her arms resurfacing as she tried to move her arms into a more comfortable position on top of her lap. "I really hate to admit this doctor, but you'll need to give me a tetanus shot as well." She winced again, imagining the torture of the injection. Her and needles did not have a mutual enjoyment.

Nodding, the doctor dug through her injection supplies. "Explain what happened."

Xu made a noise in the back of her throat which closely resembled a growl. "I was assigned to accompany the traitor--"

"You mean Commander Leonhart?" Kadowaki asked as she rid the syringe of air bubbles.

The SeeD stared at the syringe for a moment before continuing, "he's been stripped of his rank and until Quistis petitions against it, he has been relieved as a SeeD."

The doctor paused momentarily. "Isn't that punishment a little harsh?"

Xu snorted. "The emo twat knew who was responsible for attacking Quistis and allowed it to continue. For how long he knew we don't really know, but he had the chance to prevent it or at least warn Quistis before she was--was--"

Kadowaki nodded. "What will happen to Mr. Leonhart then?"

A harsh chuckle. "Who knows. The eggheads were discussing his further punishment until we were interrupted by psychopathic Trepies."

Dr. Kadowaki began cleaning Xu's arms and immediately recognized the cause of her wounds. "You were bitten?"

Xu winced at the touch of alcohol and cursed. "Yes! Those psychopaths, luckily they didn't have weapons, but that didn't stop them from trying to rip the traitor with their bare hands. I had no choice but to step in and protect the bastard, which by the way I was veryclose to saying 'screw orders' and joined the crazies. But I know if I did that then Quistis would be angry with me. Have you ever been with an angry Quistis before, Dr. Kadowaki?"

Done cleaning and healing one arm, the older woman set to work on the other. "No, can't say that I have."

"You don't want to." Xu warned, flexing her freshly healed arm. "So I stepped in to protect the traitor, the crazies weren't too fond of me getting in their way. I swear I almost saw my life flash. At first they were just trying to shove me aside, but when I grabbed onto them and wouldn't let go they tried to literally chew their way out!"

Jumping from the sudden feeling of a sharp prick on her arm, Xu turned away and shut her eyes tightly, her breathing increasing slightly. It'll be over, it'll be over. Don't think about it. Oh screw it, it hurts like hell.

Kadowaki pulled out the needle and immediately placed a band aid on the puncture wound, pressing on it slightly to stem the blood flow. Knowing she'd have a bruise, Xu still never felt happier to finally be done with the injection. "How is she?"

The older woman sighed softly. She slowly tossed every used tool and gauze away in their proper containers before collapsing on her stool. She really needed a power nap, or at least a very large cup of coffee. "She's stable. For now."

Xu frowned. "What do you mean 'for now'?"

Dr. Kadowaki explained Quistis' situation, and the difficulty of examining what damage has been done without the proper medical scanners. "Therefore we'll just have to wait until she awakens."

"How long will that be?"

The doctor shrugged. "That I cannot say. For all I know she can remain in a coma from hours, to days, to weeks, to---well you understand."

Xu's fists tightened. "That bastard! I highly suggest you don't give Quistis' condition to anyone except Cid and the rest of the eggheads. That might convince them to give Squall even more punishments. Oh and don't tell Seifer. We're having a hard time as it is keeping him contained down in the basement. If he were to catch wind of this I don't think any of us will stand a chance to prevent him from skewering the traitor."

"Isn't calling him a traitor a little harsh?"

Xu cursed. "What he did was treason. Even if Rinoa did not harm Quistis intentionally she is still a sorceress, and as SeeD's our primary purpose is to rid of sorceresses. We thought having one within arm's reach would make everyone safe. Obviously that didn't work out as planned. He was the commander for Hyne's sake! Lover or not, he has sworn to serve Garden. Part of serving Garden is following the rules, and I believe harming another SeeD is considered treason."

"But it was Rinoa's powers, her inner emotion, that triggered her powers to manifest themselves to harm Quistis." The doctor pointed out.

Jumping off the bed, Xu gulped quick breaths. It wouldn't be wise for her inner emotions to gain control over her fists. "There's such a thing as second degree murders is there not? People that knew something bad would happen to take a person's life, but they do nothing. That is the same in Squall's case."

"Squall and Rinoa are lovers, are they not?" Dr. Kadowaki remained calm as the younger woman glared at her. She didn't mean to sound defensive of Squall's lack of actions, she too is a close friend of Quistis' but she could understand why Squall did the things he did. What he did wasn't acceptable by all means, but she could still understand why he did what he did. "If you were in Squall's shoes, what side would you choose?"

Xu let out a frustrated cry as she rubbed her eyes. All of the sudden emotions, shock, anger, worry, everything was too much to absorb at once. Normally she would be calm, but she just watched her best friend be carried off to the infirmary. The sight of Quistis' face, her shirt, her hair all stained dark red from her blood. She could have sworn she saw Quistis' skull oddly shaped. That brought chills down her back, goosebumps to her arms and her stomach to lurch. Then she had to defend the very traitor, the one that allowed Quistis, the person who taught him everything he knew and helped him get to his position thank you very much, all while worrying about her best friend pulling through the surgery. Now she hears Quistis may be paralyzed, forget all her memories, forget her, or she may never wake up. So yes a lot of emotions are going haywire and the doctor wasn't doing anything to help her feel better.

"Who cares if they were in love or not, no harm would have come to Rinoa if Squall told us it was her behind Quistis' assassination attempts. Rinoa was a lot of people's friends, Hyne she was a close friend to Quistis before their little spat. We wouldn't have just killed her. If we were willing to just kill her we would have done so a long time ago. Quistis wouldn't be on that bed, Rinoa wouldn't be on her way to Esthar, I wouldn't have been zombie chow, Selphie wouldn't be traumatized. If Quistis doesn't wake up in perfect condition Selphie will blame herself and I don't want to see what that'll do to her Dr. K, I just don't." Xu breathed as if she had finished running a triathalon. "I get what you're trying to say doctor, it is somewhat understandable what Squall did. But what he did was stupid and he betrayed Quistis."

Kadowaki rose her eyebrows. "Why do you say he betrayed her?"

"Isn't it obvious? In Squall's simple mind he had two choices. He could protect Rinoa and sacrifice Quistis, if he could sacrifice her he could sacrifice anyone else. Or he could have protected Quistis and allowed Rinoa to be taken away, her powers to be closely studied and monitored by that dude from Esthar. He didn't want to lose Rinoa, even though they were no longer together. What he did was selfish. He betrayed Quistis." Xu paused. Her throat was a bit dry, but she didn't want to bother Kadowaki. The woman looked like she would collapse of exhaustion if she stood. "After Rinoa was escorted to the Ragnorak, Seifer managed to escape momentarily and he immediately sought out Squall. The two fought again. I was one of five that had to tear Seifer off of Squall and do you know what I heard Seifer tell Squall as he was beating him?"

The doctor shook her head. "Seifer said that Quistis told him what had really happened between her and Squall on that mission that caused Squall and Rinoa to break up. The rumors say that Quistis took advantage of Squall when he was injured. That wasn't true, Quistis had recurring dreams of what happened that night. Most of it wasn't clear but it appeared that Squall was the one that took advantage of Quistis. When Seifer found out he threatened to return to Balamb and kill Squall. But Quistis wouldn't let him, she kept telling him that she knew Squall didn't hurt her."

A new expression overcame Xu's frown. Her face softened and she stood. She stepped into the only occupied room and watched Quistis quietly. Dr. Kadowaki followed close behind, remaining quiet to hear Xu finish her story.

"'If Squall were in my place he would protect me.'" Xu whispered softly. She felt tears threaten to surface. She immediately thought of Squall and allowed the anger to overcome her sorrow. "That's what Quistis told Seifer when he asked her why she was protecting Squall. Hyne, Seifer wouldn't stop saying those words. He kept drilling them into Squall's head everytime he punched him. He also drilled them into my head, as well as the other SeeD's that were there. I only pray to Hyne that those people don't speak a word of what Seifer said to the Trepies. They're pissed enough as it is. They hear about it and they'll start another war."

Xu stretched out her hand, wanting to touch Quistis' heavily bandaged forehead, but afraid to cause more harm. Instead, she lowered her hand to Quistis' own hand, gripping it tightly and willing her friend to awaken. "I'll never forgive Squall. After everything Quistis did for him, she was fired for going out of her way to be sure Squall would graduate a SeeD. She went out of her way to help him defeat Adel and Ultimecia. She allowed him to blame her for his failed relationship. She believed he would protect her as she has protected him." This time a tear did escape, and quickly rolled down her cheek, neck, and was immediately absorbed by her shirt. She hoped Kadowaki didn't see it. "He's a traitor."

Dr. Kadowaki remained quiet. She didn't know what to say. What could she say? Everyday she remained in her infirmary, healed a few injured students and SeeD's. They were her source of gossip. She never really knew what had really happened. Quistis never visited her as she normally did, she kept to herself. Then her thoughts shifted to Seifer. She glanced at Quistis and allowed a small smile to spread on her lips. "Seifer really cares for Quistis, doesn't he?"

Xu snorted again. "He won't admit it. But actions speak louder than words. The way Seifer was beating Squall..."

"Then he does care for her. Mr. Almasy is not a part of this Garden, he is free to return to his home and forget any of this happened. Yet he has remained. I heard he was able to find out what really happened between Squall and Quistis on their mission."

Xu laughed. It was a bitter laugh, but it dissolved into a more sorrowful one. "To think all this has happened over nothing."

"Where is Seifer, by the way?"

Xu shrugged. "In one of the holding cells in the basement. I think he's calmed somewhat, the last beating he gave seems to have satisfied his lust for violence."

Kadowaki frowned. "Why has Squall not been sent here if he is injured?"

Xu shook her head. "It's been ordered for him to clean up...Quistis' room with nothing but a sponge and a small bucket of water. He'll be in there for hours. Cid made it clear he will not be brought here. He'll just have to live with the bruises and cuts on his face. I hope Seifer gave him another scar."

The younger woman pulled her hand from Quistis'. She was ordered to return to the meeting, but she didn't give a damn about that at the moment. Quistis' friends would want to see her. It might do well for Selphie to visit first, Quistis looked good. Better than how she looked when she was brought in that is. Seifer would want to see her as well. And since he gave Squall's pretty face an ugly beating she might, just might, be supportive of his and Quistis' relationship. What makes you think they will have a relationship if Quistis awakens paralyzed? Who's to say she'll wake up at all? Or what if she wakes up a much different person?

"No." Xu whispered to herself.

"No, what?"

Xu started. She forgot Dr. Kadowaki was standing behind her. "I was thinking to myself." She returned her gaze to Quistis and smiled weakly. "She'll pull through. She always does. Do you remember that day those jerks told Quistis she'd have to kill a T-Rexaur by herself to pass a class?"

The older woman chuckled softly. "How could I not? She cast float on you and dragged you in by your foot. That's a very difficult image to forget."

Xu's face colored. That night she had sneaked into the secret area to smoke a cigarette or two. Smoking always calmed her nerves, and she nearly smoked a whole pack. She had been worried about the SeeD written exam she would be taking in a few days. On her way out she witnessed a small girl fighting a T-Rexaur alone. That girl appeared to be injured and exhausted and was a second away from being the beasts midnight snack. Xu tried to intervene and attempted to blind the monster, grab the girl and run like hell. Instead, after casting blind the beast roared and flung its tail at them, which nailed her from behind and hurled her into the concrete wall, knocking her unconscious.

She awakened that next day with a concussion, bruised ribs and a dislocated wrist. That girl she tried to help always came to visit before and after her classes. That damn shrimp suffered nothing more but a few slashes across her arms. Most of the wounds weren't even caused by the monster, but instead were caused by the girls strange choice of a weapon: a whip. Xu was seventeen then, and was knocked out by a T-Rexaur in less than ten seconds. Yet that girl, aged thirteen, took the beast out single handedly. That was the day she met Quistis.

Xu had failed the written exam that year. Angry and frustrated Xu had contemplated on quitting all together. Until Quistis helped her in multiple ways, she showed how to improve her study habbits, quizzed her, Hyne she gave Xu hell if she ever woke up feeling lazy and prefered to escape to Balamb to get drunk and get laid instead of studying. The hard work paid off. Her second attempt came and she passed the exam, nearly acing it. Of course when Quistis had the required amount of credits to take the exam two years later she aced it, but that wasn't the point.

Quistis would pull through. She had to. Without her--no Xu couldn't think like that. Xu's life would be boring without Quistis. She just recently planned out her wedding damnit, and Quistis was going to be her maid of honor. It was strange to plan a wedding without even being engaged first, hell she didn't even have a boyfriend at the moment, but nevermind the small details. Bottom line was she relied on Quistis on many things. Losing her would be like losing a thumb. Life would go on but you wouldn't be able to enjoy it as much.

Who knew how the rest of Quistis' friends would take it. How would Seifer fare, Xu wondered. No, she couldn't think like this. She glanced at her watch. She reallyshould be getting back to that meeting. Normally on such meetings she always caught a wink or two, but was always elbowed awake by Quistis. Sometimes she pretended to fall asleep and wouldn't move whenever she was elbowed just to see how many times Quistis would try to jerk her awake. She always got a kick out of tricking her blonde friend, she fell for it every time. The memories struck her and she suddenly felt disappointed Quistis wouldn't be there to force her out of her nap.

Before leaving, Xu gave Quistis' hand a firm squeeze. She never noticed Quistis' fingers twitch when she pulled her hand away.

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Of all SeeD's that were assigned to keep an eye on him it had to be chicken wuss. After he punched Squall into next week a few hours ago he felt his nerves calm somewhat. His body still felt tense and restless and there was nothing in his cell that he could hit to ease the adrenaline that still remained in his body. Well there was still the walls but those were made out of pure concrete. He kicked it once and his toes still felt numb.

Zell was assigned to keep guard outside his door. Seifer smirked and had bugged the shorter blonde for everything. He complained about anything just to get under Zell's skin. The tattoed SeeD was not very patient. Five minutes into complaining about being hungry Zell finally stomped off to the cafeteria. He wasn't a very good guard either. When he returned he was empty handed. The dumbass ended up forgetting why he was getting food and ended up eating it. He took another half hour to go back and return with uneaten hot dogs. He hesitated and seemed unrelectant to give Seifer his food.

That prompted Seifer to voice his enjoyment the hot dogs. He's eaten better ones at Esthar, but knowing how much the shorter blonde lovedBalamb Garden's hot dogs Seifer exaggerated his enjoyment of his meal just to piss Zell off. Even though Zell had eaten a few minutes prior he still stared at Seifer's hot dogs with his mouth salavating. Later Seifer complained about being thirsty. Zell behaved the same, he stupidly left his post, got the water but forgot it was for Seifer and drank it, returned to his post empty handed and left again. Seifer was grateful for Zell's short term memory span. It was too much fun watching the shrimp run back and forth constantly.

After his thirst was quenched he complained about feeling hungry again. Seifer wasn't really hungry, but he just wanted Zell to run around again. This time Zell didremember to bring Seifer his food, but he took a little longer than normal as he stayed in the cafeteria to eat a few more hot dogs himself. Upon returning, Seifer "accidently" dropped the food and refused to eat them. Zell fetched fresh ones, but Seifer simply stated he lost his apetite.

Crossing his muscular arms across his chest, Zell leaned against the door. Another stupid move, Seifer thought. He could very easily squeeze his hand through the small opening on the door and punch the shorter man.

"Of all people why did it have to be me!" Zell hissed through clenched teeth. He glanced at his watch and started jumping on the balls of his feet. "Quisty should be out of surgery now. I want to see her."

Ears perking, Seifer thought of a way to get out. He couldtake advantage of Zell's carelessness, but that wouldn't be very satisfying. He grinned and started to complain again. This time he wanted a bathroom break.

"I don't care." Zell scoffed with his mouth full of half a hot dog. He couldn't let them go to waste, despite his stomach already feeling close to bursting. "Piss yourself for all I care. Piss in there, you'll have to live with the smell for hours." He chuckled at the thought.

Seifer grinned again. He could take advantage of Zell's closeness to the doors opening in a different way.

Another sound erupted from the thick quietness. That sound was a zipper, as if it was being undone or zipped up Zell didn't know, but he did recognize the sound. Curiousity took over and he turned around. The lower part of his eye caught movement. Looking down slightly he noticed Seifer pressed against the small opening of the door that was used to pass in food and water.

Despite being a bit slow, watching Seifer reach into his unzipped pants caused Zell to jump back and scream. "Okay man! I'll take you to the damn toilet! Not here!"

Seifer zipped up again and tilted his head back as he laughed. The door opened and Zell cautiously stepped in. Too easy, he thought. He punched Zell, wincing when his fist grew numb and exploded in pain. He shook and massaged his knuckles as Zell hit the floor with a loud thud. "Worst guard ever."

Now to find the infirmary. If he found Squall on the way he wouldn't let him live. No scratch that. Seifer cursed and scratched at his scar. If he killed Squall then Quistis would never forgive him. Fine he'll just kick Squall and make sure he'll never be able to reproduce in the future. The thought brought a smirk to his face. He made sure to lock the door behind him.

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Garden appeared to have gone back to normal. Sort of. Classes seemed to have resumed, although many students and SeeD's litered the lobby, all of them too busy gossiping to really notice Seifer. Then again with his hair no longer slicked back and his gray trenchcoat absent it was easy for anyone to not recognize him. He nearly ran into Xu, but was able to hide behind a much larger instructor that had been passing through.

Seifer had hoped he wouldn't bump into anyone in the infirmary, but when he stepped in he wasn't expecting for it to be deserted. Normally the first person anyone entering would bump into would be that old older woman doctor. Whatever her name was Seifer couldn't even pronounce it. Shrugging, Seifer quickly found the only occupied room. He stepped into it but was nearly pressed against the back side of the woman doctor.

Opening the door made his presence known to the other occupants of the room and multiple set of eyes turned to look at him. The doctor stood directly in front of him and on either side of Quistis' bed was that girl in the yellow dress, although now she was sporting a simple shirt and jeans that were too big and long for her, and the cowboy wannabe. Yellow dress, or too small for her clothes in this case, had eyes worse than the stoners that lived a room below Seifer. Her eyes were blotchy, tear stains on her cheeks, and her nose runny. She glanced at Seifer for a second then turned her attention back to the sleeping Quistis.

Cowboy hat watched Seifer silently while the doctor immediately recognized the new guest.

"Seifer? What are you doing here? Xu told me you were being kept downstairs." The doctor replied.

The ex-knight shrugged. "It was only a temporary hold. I'm free to go wherever I wish."

The doctor smiled. "And the first place you sought out was here?" Her smile widened and she glanced at Quistis for a moment. She returned her attention to Seifer and caught him staring at the recovering SeeD with a much softer expression on his face. "You really do care for her."

Seifer frowned and looked away from Quistis. He never really was the type of guy to jump on a couch and scream about loving someone. Wait, did he say love? He shook his head and noticed cowboy hat and yellow dress looking at him. His frown deepened and his eyes narrowed into slits. He couldn't stop the slight blush he felt creep on his cheeks.

Old older woman doctor laughed. Seifer eyed the pen in her lab coat pocket silently wanting to grab it and stab the woman with it. "Irvine, Selphie perhaps we should give Seifer a little private time with Quistis."

Seifer stepped aside and allowed the doctor to exit the small room. He felt his cheeks get warmer and he suddenly wished his hair was longer to hide his darkening face.

Irvine placed an arm around Selphie's tiny waist, whispering into her ear. "C'mon babe, she'll be okay."

Selphie shook her head slowly. Her grip on Quistis' hand increased. "I'm not leaving." Her voice broken by the sudden hiccups which were caused by her crying.

Irvine sighed softly and pressed the tiny girl onto him. He tried to lead her away, but she wouldn't let go of their childhood friend. He couldn't blame her. He too felt horrible beyond words for not being able to control his body all those times he tried to shoot Quistis. The first time he shot Quistis he felt a part of him break inside. He couldn't forgive himself for causing Quistis harm. To see her fall onto the concrete floor with a steady pool of blood spreading around her he nearly went insane with guilt. But when he saw her again, the second time he attempted to assassinate her again, he couldn't help but feel relieved when he saw her perfectly healthy again. He stopped trying to pull Selphie away then. He knew how she felt.

"Sorry man, you'll just have to endure the double date." Irvine smiled weakly at Seifer.

The blonde didn't say anything. He simply stepped by the other side of Quistis' bed. His fingers twitched, as if wanting to grab onto her hand.

Long, quiet minutes passed. The only noise in the room was the steady beep of the heart monitor. Once in a while Selphie fell into another sob, Irvine would comfort her, but nothing he could say would ever help her feel better.

"They say people in a coma can still hear what is being told to them." Irvine said to Selphie softly.

The small girl nodded, but didn't say anything for a while. She couldn't as she continued to silently cry for the next few minutes. More slow minutes passed, Selphie's breathing calmed and no hiccups kicked in, she finally whispered the same three words over and over again. "Please forgive me."

Seifer remained quiet for a long time. He tried to think of a few things to tell Quistis, but couldn't bring himself to do so. He eyed her pale hand, but couldn't bring himself to hold it. Why was he so afraid to show his feelings for Quistis in front of her friends? Perhaps a part of him was still denying the feelings he had for her. Still had. Have. Whatever, he cared for her. He eyed her hand one last time. Memories of that same hand healing his wounds resurfaced. Those same delicate fingers caressing his scratches and bruises away. The same hand that sent chills down his spine every time they ran across his skin.

"You shouldn't bother asking." Seifer said, his sudden voice making the crying girl jump. "You of all people should know Quistis. She will forgive you. No matter what happens to her. Hyne, as much as I hate to say it I don't doubt that she'll forgive Squall and Rinoa as well. She's that kind of person. She can never bring herself to hate someone."

Selphie didn't say anything, in fact Seifer's words seemed to only make her cry more and harder.

Seifer winced at her crying. His patience began to run thin, he could never stand to listen to people cry continuously. Instead of feeling sympathy for a crying person he only wanted to kick them out the door. But he endured Selphie's sobs a little longer, he couldn't bring himself to kick her out. If he did then Quistis will kick him in the ass. Thinking of an angry Quistis suddenly sent a chill down his back. As much as he loved pissing her off, when she lost her patience, which was extremely rare, and she got angry...well she gets scary.

Cowboy hat looked to be on the verge of tears himself. That or he was constipated and was in terrible pain. The expression on his face was hard to interpret. Then Seifer remembered the scar Quistis showed him. The scar on her left shoulder, inches wide of her heart. He reached over and tugged the neckline of the paper gown Quistis wore to the side, exposing said scar.

Selphie and Irvine didn't say anything at first, they just watched with a very confused expression plastered on both their faces. Selphie wanted to slap Seifer's hand away, how could he even think about doing such a thing in front of them! However, once her eyes noticed a scar her mouth shut and her face fell into a frown. She and Rinoa dragged Quistis to the beach some time ago, before when Rinoa and Quistis were on friendly terms, and Selphie never noticed such a large scar on her shoulder. It stuck out like a mole, she would have noticed it before. Unless that scar is from--

"Recognize this, cowboy hat?" Seifer announced.

Irvine frowned at the nickname and would have said something against it, but his attention was caught on what Seifer pointed at. He didn't need to be told what he was looking at. He knew the source of that scar Quistis was sporting. Looking at it made his stomach turn and he winced.

Seifer rolled his eyes. Were all of Quistis' friends such...such softies? Nevermind that. "Juding by your face, you recognize this is the same spot you shot Quistis."

Irvine tilted his head down his hat casting a shadow over his face. His eyes narrowed. He didn't know Seifer personally, but he heard enough stories from Squall and Zell about the ex-knight, how he enjoyed angering and annoying people. But pointing out what he did to his own friend was a low blow. His lips became a firm line and his hold on Selphie's waist tightened a little. Suddenly he wished he could have the same limit break Quisty has, a laser to shoot out of his eyes. Despite the consequence of such power, Quistis mentioned doing said spell hurts like hell and leaves her with a headache afterwards, he'd sacrifice his own eyes just to have that ability and drill a hole through Seifer's forehead.

"Where are you getting at?" Irvine hissed through clenched teeth. It wasn't like him at all to get angry, he was always laid back, but Seifer was hitting the wrong nerve.

Seifer smirked as he watched cowboy hat glare at him. He held up his hands in an innocent gesture. "Don't you know that she's proud of that scar?"

Irvine didn't believe the jerk. Why would Quistis be proud of something like a scar? Normally women hatedscars. It was an ugly mark on their flawless skin. Even though Quistis wasn't exactly the most vain woman he's ever met, he still doubted Quistis would even be proud of such a large scar. It was slightly star shaped and large, one end ran from the outter edge of her shoulder to right above her heart. Since it was still fresh the whiter, newer flesh welted. No, she couldn't be proud of that. "You're lying." He mumbled.

Cyan eyes rolled again. "I may be a lot of things, bastard, arrogant, cocky, self absorbed, etcetera etcetera but I've never been a liar." No reply from cowboy hat. "She told me she's proud of that scar because it's proof that you overcame mind control when it mattered most. You saved her life, and she's proud to have proof of it marked on her skin."

Irvine's face softened. It was strange, he felt like he was hallucinating. While Seifer recited Quistis' words he envisioned her standing before him, her face, her lips, and her voice saying those words to him. That sounded just like something Quistis would say, there was no way Seifer would have been able to make it up. It was the truth. It had to be. He looked at Quistis, his chest feeling so much lighter and easier to breathe. He inhaled deeply, savoring the feeling. Was he relieved? Quistis not only forgave him, but she was grateful. He found himself suddenly reaching to Quistis and placing a cold finger on her warm flesh, feeling the scar. A small smile began to form on his face. He pulled away and returned to his spot behind Selphie, glancing at Seifer momentarily. He wondered why Seifer would want to cheer him up, but he was grateful for the words.

Seifer sighed aloud. "So you see short stuff," he refered to Selphie, she ignored his comment, "feeling bad for yourself is a waste. No matter what you did to her, Quistis will only be grateful that you saved her life."

Selphie gasped and glared at the taller man. "How can you say I saved her? Look at her! She may...she may..."

Sighing again, Seifer scratched between his eyebrows. "Didn't you hear what I told cowboy hat? How much do you wanna bet that when Quistis wakes up she'll be proud of any of the scars you gave her? She doesn't look at the glass half empty. In her eyes you saved her because you, too, stopped yourself from carrying out what Rinoa's powers were ordering you to do."

Selphie's large, red eyes watched Seifer as he spoke. After he was finished she had nothing to say. She didn't want to argue in front of Quistis. She probably felt bad that her friends were arguing about her and there was nothing she could do to stop it. She noticed movement in the bottom of her eyes. Glancing downwards she watched Seifer's fingers run across the back of Quistis' hand. Then she watched his face. He wasn't wearing the usual frown he sported. Instead, his face looked calm. His eyes were also different, normally they were cold and stern. But now, well the way Seifer was looking at Quistis looked a lot like how she's caught Irvine looking at her whenever she wakes up in the morning and catches him smiling at her. A small smile formed on her tear stained cheeks. She nodded, finally understanding what Seifer was trying to say. Quistis wouldn't want her to feel so horrible for something she literally had no control over. And she did save Quistis last minute, she could have easily finished her off, but she didn't.

Faint memories of that weird dreamresurfaced. Selphie couldn't remember what in Hyne's name she was doing, but she did feel that something wasn't right, she was doing something she shouldn't be doing. The more she thought about it the more she remembered. Her eyes clenched tight, the darkness that overwhelmed her helped her mind remember what she heard and felt. Something hard in her hands and what felt like a lot of water all over her fingers. She was hitting something with whatever she was holding. Then there was a voice, Quistis', saying something but she couldn't understand. She swung again and then she heard something she did understand. "Selphie, stop. Please wake up."

Her eyes snapped open. Instead of being in that bloody room, she was in a clean, tiny and cramped infirmary room. The memories of that dream gave her goosebumps and she started to feel a little queasy. Bottom line was she stopped. When she heard Quistis' weak voice asking her to stop she knew she had to have been doing something she wasn't supposed to. Her body had kept telling her to continue, but she had forced her body to listen to her mind.

Selphie took one last glance at Seifer. He still watched Quistis, his fingers still running over her hand. Smiling, she forced her shaking fingers to part from Quistis'. She pushed Irvine away gently, ushering them both out of the room. "Five minutes." She told Seifer before closing the door.

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Seifer remembered why he hated hospitals, or in this case the infirmary. He's had nothing but a small stool to sit on. After a while his body weight completely flattened the cushion, so now his ass felt flatter than the floor. Without a back rest on the stool his back had already been hurting. The seat was also much shorter than the bed so he felt like a dwarf and if he leaned forward he could rest his arms and head on Quistis' bed but after some time his back would feel like it was in knots. The air conditioning was very strong, he found himself wishing he had his infamous coat. The room was too quiet, Seifer was never really a type of person that enjoys total silence.

His joints popped as he stretched, his rear end felt numb and his stomach was starting to want another pair of hot dogs. He glanced at the small clock that hung on the wall right above the door, only half an hour had passed since cowboy hat and yellow dress left. He was grateful to get away from them but now he wouldn't mind having them in the room just so he could listen to something else other than the constant beeping of the heart monitor.

The room was too small to allow him to pace about, but he couldn't bring himself to sit back down on that now flat stool. He had to do something, anything to distract him. He wasn't exactly the type to sit around and wait. Obviously his impatience cost him several SeeD exam attempts. No, he didn't want to think about that right now. If he thought about Squall for even an milisecond--

Relax, Seifer told himself. He chewed on a fingernail and glanced at Quistis again. Her thin eyebrows were knotting together, she almost looked like she was in pain.

Of course she's in pain you dumbass, she was hit in the head dozens of times untill her skull cracked open. Seifer could feel another adrenaline rush burning through his limbs. He bit on his thumb to keep himself from either tearing everything in the room apart or finding Squall and cracking hisskull apart with his teeth. His tongue tasted copper. He hissed and pulled his bloody thumb away from his mouth. Wiping his thumb with a nearby unused gauze Seifer sat on the side of the bed and contemplated on leaving. He couldn't just sit and wait for Quistis to awaken. Watching her in such a state only made him want to bash Squall's face in even more than he's already had.

No, he couldn't leave Quistis alone again. If he didn't leave her alone before she wouldn't be in this condition in the first place. But if you didn't speak with Ellone the attacks would have continued. Rinoa never would have learned the truth.

A small smirk grew on Seifer's face. Arging with yourself can't be healthy, he thought. He sighed loudly and hung his head. It wouldn't be a bad idea to take a nap, he hadn't slept since Ellone showed him Quistis' memories. Just thinking about sleep suddenly made him feel exhausted.

He analyzed the bed under him, it was wide enough for Seifer to lay next to Quistis. If she were merely sleeping he would have no qualms about sleeping next to her. But since she was injured he was a little afraid to knock her off the bed and injure her further. No, he'd rather just sleep on the cold, hard floor. Or sit on that damned stool and rest his head on the bed. He'd have a hell of a neckache later, but it was better than accidenly knocking Quistis off the bed. He did tend to hog not only the covers but the whole bed as well.

Supressing a yawn, Seifer glanced at Quistis one last time. He fought the urge to lift her eyelid and shine a flashlight into her pupil to awaken her. It was a favorite trick of Fujin's and Seifer had been meaning to try said trick on Quistis at least once. She'd probably try to shove the flashlight somewhere very painful, but it'd be worth it. Sighing for what felt like the twelve time that hour, the ex-knight knew doing such a thing wouldn't make her wake up.

"Damn it, Quistis, snap out of it." He whispered sternly into her ear. His eyes widened slightly, he hadn't realized how close he placed his face to hers. He watched her full, pink lips for several moments and fought the urge to place his lips over them. Kissing someone who was unconscious on a bed was just corny, it was something that happens in a boring romance chick flick. Seifer wasn't that type of guy. Shifting his eyes to her eyelids, he gently placed his fingers over the flesh as if enticing her eyes to open. He would kill just to see her sky blue eyes again.

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It was cold. Nothing could register into her head, her thoughts, her concerns, everything was focused on how cold it was. Her body was even beginning to become confused, it didn't know whether to feel numb or hot. She never felt so cold that she literally felt hot until now. It was a horrible feeling.

Quistis didn't even know how she came to be in this cave. She couldn't remember anything, how she came to be here nor what she did before she ended up in this freezing death trap. What felt like years ago, she awoke from a deep sleep and found herself in this Hyne forsaken cave. The cave was small enough for her to sit in comfortably, if it weren't for the ice cold rocks under her. Directly in front of her was the exit, she could see the outside. There were snow covered trees as far as she could see. But everytime she tried to leave there was some sort of invisible barrier keeping her inside.

Worse, she couldn't use magic. Each time she attempted to summon a fireball to at least keep her hands warm she couldn't even produce a flicker. She didn't have her weapon either. Not that it would help to break whatever spell was keeping her trapped inside. But just having her whip within reaching distance always helped her feel easier, safer. What was even more strange was that for as long as she's been in this cave she's had yet to feel hungry or thirsty. All for the better of course. Only thing worse than being trapped in a freezing cold cave is being trapped in a freezing cold cave while hungry and thirsty.

One thing that she did feel was sleepy. She's read enough books both fiction and medical to know that feeling tired when freezing cold was a very dangerous condition. It also means that death is approaching. For hours Quistis had done everything to keep herself awake, from calling for help and banging on the invisible wall to jumping, to pacing, anything and everything to keep her body moving and to stay awake. Nothing she did worked. Jumping and other forms of exercise did nothing to make her feel just a little bit warmer. She was able to keep herself awake at least.

Now, she's felt so physically and emotionally drained she just planted herself onto the hard floor, her back leaning against the wall and her knees to her chest and her arms hugging her legs. The cold air did enough damage to her throat to where she couldn't speak aloud very well. Every time she attempted to say something her throat would hurt. Even mumbling would hurt.

Hurting is good. Concentrate on the pain.

Placing her head on her knees, Quistis mumbled to herself. The pain in her throat made her eyes water. The exposure to water, which rapidly became nearly cold enough to form an icicle, helped her feel more awake. But how long would she be able to keep this up? She didn't know, perhaps the spell would wear off soon. But who put her here? And why? Quistis shook her head. She could think about the why and how once she found a way out of this rock. But she needed to find a way out soon.

She started when a sudden noise penetrated the bitter air. It was a strange noise, something Quistis couldn't explain nor recognize. She searched the small cave, although it was way too small for anything to hide without her noticing. Perhaps the noise came from outside?

Feeling a new surge of energy, Quistis stood on shakey legs. She hugged herself and rubbed her arms, just realizing she was dressed in her SeeD uniform. Funny, she couldn't remember the last time she even wore these clothes. Since her instructor dismissal she had no need to wear the uniform.

The noise came again, distracting her from her sudden thoughts of how she became dressed in her abandoned uniform. Maybe the noise came from the spell deactiviating? Quistis hoped, even silently prayed that was the case.

The invisible wall was still there, she couldn't step past the entrance of the cave. Feeling frustrated, Quistis punched at the barrier and grew surprised when her knuckles didn't explode in pain. In fact, her hand began to feel quite warm. She reached with her other hand but the unseen wall kept her at bay. The other warm hand, however, was stuck. It couldn't be pushed farther away nor could it be pulled. The blonde placed her free hand on top of the captive one, hoping the warmth would spread, but grew disappointed when there was no spread.

As fast as the warmth came it vanished, leaving Quistis' hand feeling numb from the sudden change of temperature. She reached out again, wanting, needing that warmth. The clear barrier wouldn't let her through still.

Feeling deprived and nearly frantic, the SeeD tried punching and kicking again. She still couldn't feel any pain despite her feeling her limbs strike the unseen wall. The rapid movement did nothing to warm her, it only drained the little energy she had.

She didn't care, though. She had been sitting in this cold hell for hours, maybe even days. Its felt like she's been here for days. She wanted to feel warm again. Now that she finally felt some of it she wanted it back. She couldn't have imagined it, it felt too real. Punching and kicking her invisible captor left her feeling breathless. Her arms and legs felt too heavy to life, let alone move. Feeling both helpless and hopeless, she collapsed on the painful ground. Curling into a fetal position to keep warm, Quistis bit down on her lip to keep herself from crying.

Why was she in here? What did she do to deserve such a madening punishment? Did she die and this was her punishment for betraying Squall and Rinoa? She bit down harder on her lip, drawing blood. Her eyelids were getting so heavy. Maybe she could close them just for a few seconds. A few seconds couldn't hurt, she wasn't going to fall asleep. She just wanted to rest.

"Please forgive me."

Sky blue eyes opened and immediately watered from the sudden exposure to the cold air. That noise was louder, clearer. But this time she recognize that the noise was actually a voice. A very familiar voice at that. Was she hearing things maybe?

Forcing her heavy limbs to move, Quistis managed to crawl towards the exit. The invisible wall was still there of course, but she pressed her ear against it, hoping the wall didn't mute sounds either. She held her breath and waited.

"I'm so sorry."

The voice was much more louder and more clear. She wasn't hearing things! She had to get outside. Grabbing a nearby rock, the blonde threw it at the exit and quickly ducked when the rock ricoched.

Plan B. She felt along the wall, hoping to find a hole. The voice came again but was fading. She was running out of time. She tried hammering the rock into the wall, which only resulted in injuring her hand thanks to the rough surface of the rock and the force she used trying to drill her own hole. Eventually the voice stopped.

Retiring to the floor again, Quistis craddled her injured hand. Exhausted and frustrated, the blonde rested her head against the hard wall behind her and slowly allowed her eyelids to shut. She couldn't get out. She was trapped here and she was going to die.

"Damnit, Quistis, snap out of it."

It was a different voice. It still sounded so familiar, but she just couldn't place the voice. Was it one of her friends? She wasn't sure. How could she hear a voice and not recognize it? She couldn't tell if it was male or female for Hyne sake.

Wait, this voice distinctly called her by name. Was someone looking for her? Ignoring the stiffness from her limbs, Quistis forced herself to stand and crossed back to the hidden barrier. She couldn't see anything past it. But, was it possible that someone was looking for her? She tried calling out, hoping the barrier wouldn't mute her voice, but her throat wouldn't cooperate.

Cursing, Quistis quickly thought of a new plan. Then it hit her and she cursed herself for not thinking of it before. All this time she had been concentrating on the obvious exit but it was impenetrable, but she never analyzed the cave's walls. Maybe the spell wasn't blocking the exit, it was possible it just made a dead end look like the exit.

She began to grope the other walls. They were painful to touch, her hands were beginning to feel numb. She searched until she felt something in a corner. The rock wasn't as rough as the others. Strangly, the longer Quistis touched it the more she realized the wall gave a faint vibration. Pressing her shaking fingers against the surface also felt a bit warm, which was a huge welcome for her numbing skin. The longer she left her hand on it the warmer it grew. She placed both hands on the spot and sighed in some relief, the warmth spread.

Once feeling came back into her hands she tried hammering into the warm spot but received no positive results. Magic still didn't work. She didn't want to exactly start punching and kicking the rocky surface either for her bones' sake.

Sighing in defeat, Quistis submitted to her prison. At least the warm spot kept the chilliness at bay, so long as she kept her hands on it. After what felt like hours, she tightened herself into a ball while keeping as close to the wall as possible. Leaning against the warmth she sighed as she felt the heat slowly travel from her back to the rest of her body. If she was to be trapped in this cave forever would it be better to just allow the coldness to kill her or should she stay in this warm area and live forever?

That was a strange question, Quistis thought. Thinking hurt, she had been thinking too hard lately when she sought a way to escape. Perhaps the purpose of this trap was to wait for her to submit? There she was going again, thinking again. She could think again later. All she wanted to do now was enjoy the warmth and rest. The mental and physical fatigue combined with the warmth amplified the heaviness of her eyelids. Finally, she allowed her eyes to close.

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Realizing she had fallen asleep, Quistis started and snapped her eyes open. Something was different. She blinked several times to clear her vision. After a moment, the first thing she realized was how warm she felt. Then she shut her eyes and groaned, her head felt like it had been split in two. When she lifted her hand to her forehead she gasped when she touched what felt like fingers. She wanted to sit up but once the back of her head left the comfort of the pillow her skull exploded into tiny shards of piercing pain.

The blonde fell back onto the pillow. Instead of gripping her aching head she felt those fingers again. Soon a warm sensation flowed onto her skin and soothed some of the pain away, it was a cure spell. Quistis didn't want to open her eyes yet, she was afraid if she opened them again she'd find herself inside that freezing cave again and everything was just a dream. She felt the fingers on her forehead twitch and she squeezed them.

"Rest."

It was that voice again. The voice that distinctly called her when she was trapped behind that sealed cave. Frowning, Quistis cracked open an eye and looked for the owner of the hand on her head. Narrow cyan orbs stared into a half open sky blue one. She could recognize those eyes anywhere.

Feeling a little more awake, Quistis opened both her eyes and slowly turned her head so she could face Seifer. She frowned again. Not that she wasn't happy to see Sefier, on the contrary she felt, or rather heard her heart rate increase due to the heart moniter nearby. She was happy to see Seifer still by her side and very flattered. She squeezed his fingers again and smiled.

"Stupid, lazy--"

Quistis' smile faded and she snorted. Her throat felt dry but she forced her vocal cords to work again. "Hello to you too, Seifer." She winced as she spoke, her throat felt as if she gargled glass. She felt Seifer's hand escape from her grasp and she suddenly felt vulnerable and disappointed at the broken hand contact. She blinked and found a glass of water with a straw in front of her. Quistis eagerly took the straw into her mouth and drained the glass.

Seifer took the glass away once she was done and returned to standing by her side. He pushed aside some of the hair on her face and examined her head. He poked her forehead and Quistis winced. He looked surprised to see her in pain and immediately followed up with another cure spell.

Quistis had never felt awestruck. At least not with Seifer. She didn't know Seifer was capable of being so...caring.

He did break his neck protecting you how many times now? Okay so maybe calling Seifer uncaring was insulting on his behalf, but he wasn't exactly the ideal nice gentleman.

"Quistis?"

The injured blonde blinked. She wasn't used to him calling her by her first name either. There have only been a handful of times he hadn't called her instructor. Everytime he called her by name she couldn't help but feel that something was amiss. "Sorry?"

"Nothing."

Quistis frowned. "I didn't hear what you said."

"Just forget it."

Quistis' frown deepened. But after a moment the throbbing ache became stronger and she stopped. She didn't want to get into another argument with Seifer. Not now that she finally woke up in--

--Her head exploded into a greater throb as she remembered everything that happened prior to her waking up in that strange cave. It had to have been a dream. But it had felt so real. "How long have I been unconscious? Where's Selphie? Rinoa?"

"Whoa, whoa." Seifer rose his arms up defensively. "I'll ask the doc for a chill pill, but give me a moment to take a breath before answering a question."

The blonde SeeD wanted to roll her eyes but she decided not to, she didn't want to risk making her head hurt worse again.

Seifer seemed to have sensed her growing pain and placed his healing hand over her head again. Everytime he cast Cure it eased the pain away for a few moments, but the pain always came back eventually. But it was better than nothing. "Now let's see. You've been sleeping your lazy ass for oh this should be the third day now."

Quistis opened her mouth but held back her words, with the glare Seifer was giving her she didn't want to tempt him to cast a different spell.

"Yellow dress is fine. She hadn't slept since thatday and funny how now that she finally does sleep you wake up." Seifer retracted his hand and walked to the other side of the room. Quistis followed his change of direction but her eyes stopped when she saw what was behind Seifer.

The ex-knight noticed her gaze and he nodded at the mess of flowers and cards laying behind him. "Just about every dead man walki--I mean treppie sent you all this stuff. Other students and SeeD's too. Hyne, even the flower shop in Balamb sent you a thank-you-for-increasing-our-business boquet of flowers."

A smile returned to Quistis' pale face. She felt like she was five years again on her birthday when she stepped into the orphanage and found the table covered with gifts from Edea. That was the last time she spent her birthday at the orphanage, and the last time she felt excited on her birthday. All of the flowers and cards, while most people saw them as junk gifts, Quistis always appreciated the effort and time people put into purchasing said gifts. Especially considering that there is no place in Garden to get flowers or cards and it's a long trip back to Balamb.

"Don't start crying on me now, instructor." Seifer warned, his eyes rolling.

Quistis ignored him and shook her head softly. "Where's Rinoa? And Squall?"

Seifer's face darkened. His glare made Quistis feel nervous.

"You've only been conscious for a few minutes and you already figured out what we couldn't in weeks." Quistis and Seifer both turned to face Dr. Kadowaki, whom just entered the room without either noticing. The doctor was immediately at Quistis' side with a clipboard in her arms. "Seifer, could you please alert the Headmaster that Quistis has awakened."

Seifer frowned and crossed his arms. "I'm not a messenger boy. Give that job to yellow dress."

The glare from both Kadowaki and Quistis was enough to make Seifer leave the room without another word.

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Esthar Department of Sciences and Research

Head Scientist Dr. Odine

Phone: 381-590-187

Quistis stared at the small phone card for what felt like hours. In her other hand she held her cell phone, the same number from the card flashing on the phone's small screen. Sighing, Quistis turned off her phone and hung her head.

"Still trying to build the balls to call that woman?"

Nearly falling off the quad's bench, Quistis looked behind her. Her heart leapt as she watched Seifer decrease the distance between them. He sat next to her and pulled the card and phone from her hands.

"Why do you refer to her like that?" Quistis asked. "I know a lot of people hold grudges against their ex boyfriends or girlfriends but--"

"For one thing," Seifer interupted, "she wasted no time in sticking her claws into puberty boy immediately after I was supposedly dead. That says a lot for her feelings. And two, she was the one that nearly killed you a dozen times over and nearly mentally disturbed your friends. So yeah she isn't exactly on my good side."

Quistis sighed again. "It couldn't be helped. She loves Squall and her powers just manifested from her strong emotions."

Seifer snorted. "Yeah strong emotions. Edea says that's how the powers grow. It's only a matter of time until those powers start controlling her emotions."

Quistis hung her head again. "At least Rinoa is working with doctor Odine. She doesn't want her powers anymore."

"Yeah and where are her powers going to go? That is IF that guy can find a way to remove her powers. You can't just get rid of them and hope they disappear. They need to go somewhere, to someone."

"I'm afraid you're right." Quistis stared up into the darkening sky. "Still, despite everything that's happened. I just wish Rinoa and Squall would leave Esthar and come back home. Everyone was happy."

"Were you?"

Quistis blinked as she stared at Seifer. "Was I what?"

"Were you happy?" Seifer repeated.

A faint blush crept to Quistis' cheeks. She looked away.

"Well?"

"Yes." Quistis finally answered. "I was happy. I just--"

"Just, what exactly?" A smirk grew on Seifer's face.

Quistis glared at him. She knew where he was getting at. "Forget it." Seifer chuckled. She responded by punching him in the arm. "Jerk."

A long silent moment passed, which Quistis was greatly grateful for. She always enjoyed the quiet moments she and Seifer spent together.

"Do you forgive him?"

Quistis mentally groaned. That was still a sensative subject for which she still had no answer. Squall had broken her heart again when she figured out that Squall was willing to let her die rather than tell Rinoa about her powers. "I don't know. I will, one day. All wounds heal in time, but I'm afraid he's still given me a scar that can never go away." Quistis placed her hand over the scar on her shoulder. "A scar, while healed but is still a burden to the carrier. Selphie and Irvine have been scarred. Irvine still feels nervous everytime he looks into the scope because he's afraid my image will appear over the crosshair. Selphie is afraid to wake up in the mornings because she's afraid she'll wake up in another bloody room."

"How did he scar you?"

Quistis bit her lip. "I trusted Squall. I believed that if I were ever in trouble he wouldn't hesitate to save my life, as I would for him and all of my friends. Now, I don't know. I'm afraid to trust someone. Especially if my life is at stake."

Seifer didn't say anything more. He frowned as he stared at the woman before him. Did that mean she doesn't trust him?

The shorter blonde placed her hand on Seifer's forearm and she smiled weakly. "But you've given me hope that people are still worth trusting. Even though you were getting paid, money still isn't worth losing your life over. But you still put your life and health in jeaperdy just to protect me. That meant a lot to me, Seifer. No one's ever looked out for me, protected me. As an orphan, and a SeeD I've always had to look after myself."

Seifer stood up suddenly and scratched the back of his head. "This is a really corny moment, instructor."

Quistis giggled. Something Seifer wasn't expecting. He expected to hear her bitch at him for calling her that nickname she loathed.

"Why are you laughing?"

"You're so afraid of voicing your emotions." Quistis stood up, but she did so a little too quickly and she felt the world spin. She placed a hand on her head.

Seifer was immediately in front of her, his arm steadying her and his other holding her face up, concern showing in his eyes.

Quistis smiled and placed her hand over his. "But you are more of a man of action rather than words, and that's more comforting."

Seifer rolled his eyes. "You shouldn't be out and about anyway. That old woman has Zell and Xu looking for you."

Now that the dizziness had faded Quistis pulled away and began walking back to the Garden, Seifer following closely. She clasped her hands together and stretched her arms in front of herself. "I've been feeling fine. I just wanted a little fresh air." She paused suddenly causing Seifer to bump into her. Turning, Quistis held onto Seifer's arm, her face flushing. "I'm glad you came to visit."

Seifer ran his hand through his hair. "Yeah well it's not like there's much to do in Balamb anyway. The fish weren't biting."

Quistis smiled, she could imagine Fujin and Rajin catching fish easily and a frustrated Seifer stomping towards Garden to blow steam by picking a fight with Zell. Since everything had settled Seifer and his friends decided to use his hard earned money to settle in Balamb City. When Quistis had questioned Seifer about his prior plans of his money, he originally wanted to start his own mercenary business in Esthar. But Seifer responded that the mercenary business never would have worked out, and Rajin blurted that they were barely scraping by. And they all missed the ocean too much to want to stay in Esthar any further. Of course that was Seifer's excuse for moving to Balamb City. Quistis had a different theory for his moving. But she could never get Seifer to admit it. Yet.

Seifer knocked her out of her thoughts when he placed his warm, soft lips over hers.

"Yo! There you are!"

Seifer growled under his breath and Quistis quickly pulled from the kiss, her face turning into a dark red. "Zell?"

The shortest blonde of the group jogged up to the couple, he hunched over to catch his breath. "Xu...Selphie...angry...made me...run around Garden."

"What's wrong chicken wuss, been swallowing too many wieners?" Seifer announced, he was still angry for Zell's interruption of their intimate moment.

Zell stopped panting, his fists tightened and his face turned into a slight shade of purple. "That's it! Just 'cause you an' Quisty are goin' out don't mean I can't kick your ass!"

"Oh? I don't hit women, but I can make an exception for you, chicken wuss." Seifer smirked.

Quistis sighed and rolled her eyes. She was about to step inbetween the two men but she was suddenly tackled by a brown and yellow blur.

"Quisty! Oh-where-in-Hyne's-name-have-you-been-we've-been-looking-everywhere!"

Quistis tried to squirm out of Selphie's bear hug, but damn was she strong for being so tiny.

"Hey! You're hurting her!" Seifer stomped towards the two women but had to quickly duck a kick that was aiming right for his face.

"Now, now, my girl ain't hurting Quisty. Aren't cha hun?"

Quistis glanced at the quads entrance and saw Irvine's tall, slender form step outside. She felt herself able to breathe again when Selphie finally let go.

"Why'd you run off anyway, Quis?" Irvine asked once he approached the rapidly growing group.

Selphie noticed something shiney in Quistis' hand and quickly stole the phone once she identified what said object was. She dialed and immediately spoke into it. "Xu, I found her! She's in the quad! Get here quickly so we can drag her back to her bed."

Quistis groaned. So much for getting any quiet time with Seifer. "No dragging is neccessary Selphie. I'll go voluntarily."

Before the group could leave they had to intervene with the fight between Zell and Seifer. Well, Seifer wasn't doing anything other than ducking Zell's blows and teasing him, further angering the short SeeD. One thing Seifer learned about Zell during the sorceress war was that the angrier and more emotional Zell became the worse control he had over his martial arts. He knew his weakness and took full advantage of it. That was until yellow dress and cowboy hat stopped the fight.

"Come on, Seifer." Quistis whispered into his ear, her arm was coiled around his own. He growled dangerously again, his jaw muscles tensing, but he gave in and walked away from the trio.

Irvine kept Zell's anger in check by distracting him, which only took one question about the library girl. Zell spoke like Selphie, pronouncing a whole sentence into one word and taking one deep breath after each "sentence". Selphie took point of the group but was mostly distracted by Zell's stories of him and his book worm girlfriend, and she seemed to be the only one to understand his rapid speech.

Quistis noted their distraction and pulled on Seifer's arm. "Do you have float equiped?"

Seifer smirked. "Having a GF junctioned in Garden is against the rules."

"Nevermind the rules, do you or don't you? I have some extra that you can draw."

"When have I ever played by the rules, instructor? You of all people should know that. And yes I have float. Why? Are we going to cast it on them and while they're hurled into the air we make a run for the exit?"

The shorter blonde shook her head. "Don't call me that. And no, my idea was more of jumping off the quad's ledge and using float to cushion our fall."

Seifer chuckled. "I prefer my idea more but I suppose we can go with your plan. Where are we running off to?"

Quistis shrugged. "Anywhere quiet. I love my friends dearly, but they can be suffocating sometimes. Let's go now!"

The chatting trio reached the quad's exit and nearly forgot about the people behind them. But by the time they turned around both blondes were gone.

"Weren't they just behind us?" Zell asked, dumbfounded.

Selphie groaned. "They got away again! Fan out and find them!"

lLlLlLl

Quistis giggled as she and Seifer took off for the nearest patch of trees. She continuously glanced back at Garden hoping she wouldn't see any of her friends look over the edge, but luckily she never saw any of their heads poke out from the quad's edge. Once she and Seifer reached the safety of the trees' cover she collapsed on a turft of grass. Her head began to throb and now she deeply regretted jumping off Garden and sprinting.

Not a moment passed and she felt Seifer's strong hand on her head, casting cure. She closed her eyes and welcomed the soothing sensation the spell brought. Then she remembered that dream of her in that freezing cave. The warm spot she felt on the wall had to have been when Seifer was casting cure on her.

Smiling, Quistis squeezed Seifer's fingers. "Thank you."

"Can you walk? Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to--"

Quistis stood up. "I'll be fine. So long as you're here." Her head was still aching, but that was to be expected until she fully recovered from her concussion. "Let's just take a nice, slow walk. We have all day, right?"

Seifer stared at the shorter blonde, studying her to see if he could notice any pain in her face, her voice, her eyes. Eventually his face softened in satisfaction when he saw none. He stood next to Quistis. "Great, a boring walk. I could have done something more constructive and fun in Balamb."

Quistis started walking, leaving Seifer behind. "If we head for Balamb there's a chance Xu will arrive momentarily. Only she will figure out we're not at Garden. And I wouldn't put it past her to figure out where you live and kick down your door."

Seifer grimaced. "I know I hated her for a reason. She's almost as smart as you."

"So if I'm smarter than her does that mean you hate me more?" Quistis' face fell. Her sky blue eyes darted to the floor and her head bowed.

Seifer felt as if he was slapped. Quistis' sudden sad face felt more painful than a firaga spell to the face. "Quistis, I--"

The blonde SeeD's shoulders started to shake and Seifer cursed. Now he made her cry. He reached for her shoulder and used his hand to lift her chin, but when he saw she was only laughing he suddenly felt like an ass. A complete and total ass. He fell for her trick. "Damn you, instructor."

Quistis laughed harder. "I like it more when you call me by my name you know."

"Not going to happen." Seifer spat.

Quistis rolled her eyes. She looked for a more comfortable spot to sit on and found one near a fallen tree. Sitting on the grass, she leaned against the trunk and leaned her head back so she could look at the steadily glowing stars. When she didn't sense Seifer's presence next to her she patted the floor beside her.

Seifer groaned. Staring at the stars wasn't exactly on his to do list with Quistis, but screw it he was tired from the moving, working, and fishing. He got as comfortable as possible next to Quistis. She immediately hugged his arm and rested her head on his shoulder. Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier until she allowed them to close.

"I thought you were tired of sleeping." Seifer said suddenly, his deep voice cutting through the thick silence.

Quistis' eyes opened lazily. "I am. But I feel sleepy all of a sudden."

"You're still recovering, dumbass. Of course you'll feel tired." Seifer sighed. He rested his head back onto the tree trunk and stared at the stars. Funny how he used to always think of Adel everytime he looked at the stars. But now the image of her face was long forgotten as he watched the golden orbs. "We may not have to worry about anyone trying to kill you, but we do still have to worry about something in this forest that might want to kill us."

Quistis hugged his arm tighter. "With you protecting me, Ultimecia can return from the dead and try to kill me and I wouldn't feel the least bit threatened."

Seifer didn't say anything. He just continued to watch the stars. "Quistis?" She didn't reply. Instead, a soft snore escaped.

Grinning, Seifer sighed. He'd let her sleep for a while. For now, he'll just enjoy their quiet moment. He had a feeling that with her friends and his they were going to have a hard time getting quiet moments like this.

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--End

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A/N: Whoa, I wasn't expecting the chapter to be this long, but considering it was the final one I wanted to make sure I concluded everything. With this being the last one it was also the reason I took so long to finish writing it. I wanted everything to be "perfect" and so I wasn't happy with a lot of the previous drafts I had written until I was content with this one. I usually don't write "happy" endings for my stories, I tend to have some sense of doom in the horizen, but with all the crap I put Quistis through I thought she deserved a happy ending. Finally, I deeply appreciate those that have taken the time to give me feedback throughout the story and if I weren't a poor college student I'd hire personal chocolate covered strippers to each reviewer's home. But alas, I'm just a poor college student.