Rinoa hears the pop behind her and it instantly unnerves her, bringing her back to the night where she almost ended it all. She knows it's not her hands, the pills are not in her possession, but still, it shakes her to her very core that she still needs to take a controlled substance to make her feel somewhat normal.

She has no concept of normal anymore anyways. Her normal has been lying in bed, sleeping or crying or staring at the ceiling all day until dinner time rolls around and she figures she should probably get up and cook before Squall gets home. It would worry him too much not seeing dinner at least attempting to be made, but most nights ended up in take out. That was until the crew moved in.

She actually cooked those days because they would help her: Selphie, Quistis, Zell and Irvine. Zell—well, he would mostly eat the ingredients before, during and after the cooking process and Selphie would slap his hand away. Quistis would roll her eyes, shaking the pan to and fro to make the contents in the pan cook evenly. Rinoa would prep, cutting and dicing and placing things in bowls while Irvine's job was to make sure no one would get burned since he said himself he 'sucks at cooking.'

Squall would watch, letting them all take in the time with Rinoa they so very missed and desired. He couldn't fit in the kitchen with the other five so he would stay in the other room, reading over paperwork despite being excused from work three days ago. While it would look to the common eye as if Squall was reading and re-reading data analysis and political documents, in reality, he's just staring at the papers and criticizing his behavior over the past several months.

It's inexcusable-that's always what it comes down to. He was too caught up in work, their image, to ask for help and tell the truth. While Rinoa always chides him not to get too down on himself, he knows it's the truth. If he had asked for help when Rinoa started not getting out of bed, she would be feeling better.

If he had asked for help, she never would have sought the worst way out of her depression.

Squall's stubbornness and need for privacy drove her to that brink and he will never, ever, forgive himself for it.

Even when Rinoa is better and flourishing like she once was, he'll never stop wanting to make sure she's okay and has everything she could ever need in order to attempt to prevent another break like she had.

He's overcompensating and Rinoa notices it when he thinks he's being sly about it. She notices the extra kisses on her cheek, his calloused fingertips running over the back of her shoulder on a night because he knows she loves it. He makes her favorite tea in the morning and brings it up to her, takes Angelo out in the morning so she doesn't have to wake up too early.

And he gives her her medicine daily.

That was demanded of him, of course, and he would have done it even if it wasn't asked by Dr. Kadowaki. Rinoa isn't trusted with pills until Dr. Kadowaki feels every night Squall pops the top of her prescribed antidepressant and places it before her.

The small yellow pill.

It's the pop that makes her skin crawl because at one point that sound of the top coming off of the bottle was soothing. What was inside of the bottle was going to bring an end to her suffering. Now it's just something that evens out her brain chemistry so she doesn't go too far off the deep end.

She still has fear, though. To her very core.

"It's strange," Rinoa says, bringing her fingers to her lips. She gnaws at her nails, keeping her eyes down. "Whenever I see yellow I think of happiness. Sometimes even of Selphie. But…what's happened to me in order to take this medicine isn't happy at all."

Squall leans back on the chair in front of her, crossing one knee over the other to almost create a barrier. He hates it when she gets sentimental like this; he has not one bone in his body to make associations like she just has. Never has he understood metaphors or similies, but he could tell you the weaknesses of each and every enemy they have encountered and the way politics work.

"Try not to think of it like that. Don't delve too deep. Just take it when you feel ready."

Rinoa reaches forward slowly, grabbing the small pill between her index and thumb before placing the tablet in her mouth. She drowns it in water and swallows, opening her mouth for Squall to see.

He read that some people hide their tablets when they want to commit suicide so he began asking for her to open her mouth and lift her tongue. Rinoa hated it as first, thinking its degrading and that he doesn't trust her, but she realizes he's trying to protect her.

In his own weird way.

"Are you ready for tomorrow?" he asks, taking the pill bottle and placing it inside of his gunblade case. With a click of a lock and key, the medication is safely away and Rinoa feels better not seeing the bottle or the pill in front of her. She sighs deeply.

Their little hotel room in the middle of Deiling City will be their home for the next couple of days. Selphie's idea of a trip was good until Rinoa had to pack. It exhausted her and even made her a little upset since the bedroom has been her niche for months now. It took an extra day to leave, but the group is there now in their designated hotel rooms.

While Rinoa and Squall have their own, Selphie and Quistis share as do Zell and Irvine. Selphie and Irvine have been a couple for years now, but Zell and Quistis didn't want to share or spend the extra Gil for separate rooms. Besides, the trip is about building their friendships like they were back in the day.

Things were so much easier then: fight battles, win the war, conquer the sorceress. Now everyone works and Rinoa focuses on her writing the best she can. She misses those days desperately because there was a rhythm they each followed that made them all so perfectly in sync. Without Rinoa being around not so often, they each went their own ways and would come back together only for lunch.

Getting things back to how they were would be perfect.

"I haven't been shopping in forever. It'll be nice to spend some time with everyone."

"Yeah, and then Selphie wants to go to the bar after dinner. The same one where we went on your birthday, remember?"

Rinoa situates herself in the overwhelming amount of duvet covers and comforters, wrapping up and turning on her side towards Squall. She sees Squall take his shirt off, remaining in his pajama pants before sitting beside her with the covers up to his waist. He lifts his arm, inviting her onto his chest while he turns on the TV.

She cuddles up to him and looks up, "Yeah, I got shitfaced."

Squall laughed out loud. She really did. He remembers carrying her back to the hotel room, her head leaning fully backwards with her eyes shut because everything was spinning. He had to stop at two points because she had to throw up in a trash can on the side of the road. At the one closest to the hotel, she stood up straight, vomit attached to the ends of her raven colored hair and put her hands on her hips.

With a wobble, she had said, "Squall, we're going to be hit by a car."

She had said it so seriously that Squall had laughed. "Rinoa, we just crossed the road. The hotel is down the road, see?" He pointed down the street about two hundred feet, indicating that they no longer have to cross the street.

"We're going to be hit by a car. Why didn't you get a cab?"

Squall crossed his arms, "Rin, there are no more streets to cross."

"We're going to get hit on that street!" She yelled, pointing to the street they had just crossed. Obviously it was right in front of her drunken view but in real life, it was behind her.

"Okay, Rin." That was the last thing Squall said before he had picked her up in his arms, only for her to fall asleep once again.

"You really thought we were going to get hit by a car." Squall chuckles in the present, turning on the television. Rinoa prefers sleeping with the television on now since it makes it harder for her mind to wander at night.

"The street was literally right in front of me."

"So was that hard liquor you slipped on when you were dancing with Selphie on it."

The sorceress turns red, pushing her head into Squall's abdomen with a whine. She feels his fingertips running through her hair as he turns the lights off and moves downwards so he lies flat on his back.

"The guy put it there on purpose so I would slip…"

"What guy?"

"The fat guy at the bar."

"Was he out to get you?"

"…He kept staring at me."

Squall sighs, "Rinoa he kept staring at you because the whole night you were staring at him because his shirt didn't cover the lower part of his stomach poking out of his pants."

"Well, he should have better dressed himself."

"Goodnight, Rinoa."

Morning comes faster than Squall wants but it's the first time in months he finally feels fully rested. It's soothing being away from Garden – from the responsibilities and mountains of paperwork – and with the sun cascading in from the cracks in between the curtains, Deiling feels more like a safe haven than a place that was once the aspired murder location of a sorceress.

The light shines across the floor in a straight line, crawling up to their bed where Rinoa lays peacefully asleep. Squall looks at her, taking a deep breath, before running his fingertips over her arm that is on top of the blankets. He knows it won't wake her; Rinoa's the heaviest sleeper imaginable while he sleeps rather light, but he used to think that if he soothed her in her sleep, that she would wake happier.

It's small things like that that make him sleep easier.

He moves out of the bed slowly before walking to the bathroom to run a hot shower. They're going to walk around the city today, perhaps dive into some shops to the boy's dismay. He knows Rinoa likes to shop, that she hasn't shopped in forever, and once Squall knew where they were going, he had decided to put some money aside for Rinoa in case she wanted something.

She always worries about money since she doesn't have a steady job like the rest of them. He figured at the time it would have been nice to do.

Granted, he had been saving for something else.

The shower water relieves the stress in his back and shoulders; the stress of getting here, the stress of making sure Rinoa is doing okay. He always carries it there; at least that's what Rinoa says when she makes him lay on his stomach on a night as she massages the knots out of him. She would always use the same lavender and chamomile lotion that she used when she couldn't sleep at night. He remembers how she smelled of it that night when they got back after the party and she came into his room.

She couldn't sleep that night.

He tilts his head back, letting the water soak into his hair. He misses how things were before she got sick – before she lost her soul to something that he couldn't even fight with a weapon. He loved coming home to see her there in the kitchen or reading a book in the living room or even writing. Sometimes he would hear her singing along to the radio and see her bouncing around the kitchen with Angelo.

Her spirit is gone and he wonders:

Could I have prevented this?

I get too lost in my mind about it…about her depression and what happened. I just wish I could be of more help but no matter how many things I read, I just get angry.

I want her back. And it's my fault she's gone.

I should have held her more. Told her she's important to me and that she has so much going for her even though it doesn't seem like it now.

I should have told her I loved her more before going to bed instead of just falling asleep while she was talking or mumbling to me…

"Squall..?"

Her voice snaps him back to reality as he pokes his head out of the side of the shower. Rinoa is standing there, her back to him, as she let her pajama pants slink to the ground and her tank top drop beside it. She turns around and climbs in the shower with him, wrapping her arms around him.

Squall hadn't seen her naked in what seems like ages unless she was getting changed or getting out of the shower while he brushed his teeth. They hadn't made love in months considering her moods were swinging from the ultimate left to the ultimate right on a hourly basis. He let her be most of the time unless she wanted something but this…this is something new.

"Can…" she looks up at him, reaching up and twisting wet locks of his hair in between her fingers, "I…don't know if I want to go out today…"

Squall looks down at her, reaching behind him and cupping his hand to gather water. He pours it alongside her arms, her shoulders and her neck. "How come? What's wrong?"

Rinoa shrugs, looking downward and crossing her arms. Squall moves out of the way, squeaking against the side of the shower and pulling her beneath the water. She tilts her head back as Squall shields her eyes from the water, smoothing his hand over her black hair as it dampens.

"I just…I don't want to go. I want to stay in."

He just nods, kissing her forehead and pulling her close. The shower water gets turned off and they both step out. Squall wraps Rinoa in a towel and then himself before drying off, putting a pair of pants on and a shirt, to walk down to the rooms beside theirs to tell their friends that they were not going to go out with them for the day.

"This SUCKS!" Selphie groans, stomping her foot inside of the dressing room. Outside, Quistis leans against the wall, sighing.

"Selphie, that's an extra small. There's nothing smaller."

"No! Not the shirt…"

Zell and Irvine look up, seeing the floral patterned tank top being thrown over the opening between the wall and the top of the door.

"Please," Zell begs, looking to Qusitis for help. "Don't have me go ask for the sales associate for a floral tank top in a smaller size. She told me that an extra small wouldn't fit me."

"You should have told her you wanted to go for the tight and wet look," Irvine snickers. Zell shoves him at the shoulders.

Quistis rolls her eyes, twisting a loose piece of blonde hair around her finger, "Squall said she wasn't feeling it, Selphie. He needs to do what he thinks is best."

"I just miss her." The brunette says, coming out of the dressing room with clothing items flung over each arm. She hands them to the sales associate who has a look of distain and pure annoyance on her face. The girl had been in the dressing room for more than thirty minutes trying on almost everything in the store to make time go faster.

She loves shopping with Rinoa and she's not here.

Selphie giggles to herself, walking out to the main part of the store, "I remember when we went shopping after we got back from the war and Rinoa and I kept modeling the clothes for you guys."

Irvine nods, "Yeah and we kept saying that Quistis was being a buzz kill because she was the only girl who wasn't doing it."

"Modeling isn't my thing," she replies, shrugging as they feel the cold air bite their noses. Quistis wraps her jacket around her tighter, stopping to look around to see what they could do next. She knows the others are doing the same thing – observing and looking around because it's been nearly three hours and it seems like it's dragging even though they've been to almost every shop on the main strip. "You're right, though. It's not the same without them…"

"Should we go check in on her?" Zell suggests, shifting his weight from one foot to the next. "To see if they're doing okay?"

"They may want their privacy, man," Irvine cuts in, holding his hat down while the wind blows, "You know how Squall is with that type of thing."

"But we care about her too!" Selphie sighs, sitting down on a bench. Irvine sits beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders. "We love her just as much. She's important to us."

"We should have noticed sooner," Zell says, looking at the ground. "We knew something was up when she stopped coming for lunch and when Squall didn't really talk about her. We should have said something or gone to see her."

"We can't blame ourselves," Quistis replies, shrugging her shoulders. "For what she's been going through and for what she did."

The four of them all got quiet, looking at the ground. They didn't want to think about it or even talk about their friend who almost ended her life. Their dear friend who fought beside them until the end, backed them up when they needed it, and had some form of comedic relief in the form of irritating Squall-who didn't feel comfortable enough to come to them to ask for help.

They each felt guilty in their own way but didn't dare bring it up to either Squall or Rinoa. All they wanted was Rinoa to get better, to start bouncing again, but they knew that it wasn't going to be that easy.

"Did you see how Squall hit the floor when he came into the infirmary when he saw her behind the curtain?" Irvine asked softly, sighing with pursed lips, "I've never seen him so broken before."

"She's his everything, Irvine," Selphie replies, running her fingertips up and down his leg, "None of us expected it."

"She's always been so happy." Zell comments, "Always smiling."

"Not lately, though," Quistis sighs, "She hasn't been the same for a while. I just can't imagine what they're going through."

"Man, I just feel guilty. Like we could or should have done something." Zell crosses one foot over the next, leaning back with his hands placed behind his head, "Something to make her feel better."

Irvine nods, "If something did happen, we would feel horrible."

"Imagine how Squall feels," Quistis says, looking at the three of them, "Coming in from a business trip and seeing his girlfriend on a bed under a sleep spell because she couldn't escape the thoughts she was having. Any guilt we have, or any feelings we have about this, Squall has it worse. So much worse."

Selphie crosses her legs, leaning her head back so she can see the sky, "I wish we could go back to the way things were. When we were all fighting. Like it totally sucked sometimes but we were all together and…I miss it sometimes…"

Quistis nods, folding her arms over her chest, "But we knew we would eventually either come back to Balamb once we were done and we would get on with our lives. I just don't think any of us predicted how…distant we would get."

"We should have stayed together. In Garden.-where we always have been together. Well, aside from Rinoa and Irvine but…" Zell lets his arms fall at his sides, relaxing his posture while he looks at his friends, "Maybe it would have helped. Us all staying together."

"But think of our schedules, Zell," Quistis replies, turning to the blonde with the tribal tattoo on his face. She internally cringes at it, "Squall is in the office with Headmaster Cid all day until about seven at night, he only sometimes comes down for lunch. I help Xu with running the garden and with errands throughout the day and sometimes go on trips to other Gardens since I have connections. You and Irvine and Selphie help train new SeeD's seven days a week. Rinoa…"

Quistis pauses, thinking about how their lives have divulged into two six completely different paths when at one point, they were all together in one single line, "she's the only one who doesn't really have 'duties' like we do. She writes, and she loves it, but she's not like us."

"Hey," Selphie says, jumping up from the bench. Irvine groans to himself.

He was getting so close to grabbing her –

"Remember when we were in Trabia and Rinoa said she didn't feel like she was on the same wavelength as us when the battle picked up? Maybe that's how she feels now. We just need to slow down and incorporate her."

Quistis smiles at the petite brunette, "Yeah, that makes sense actually."

"But," Irvine asks, standing up behind his girlfriend, "How are we going to do it?"

Selphie turns around with a devious smile on her face as she throws her fist in the air, "Alcohol!"

He feels her fingertips moving up and down his stomach, feeling every bump and curve of his abdominal muscles with each breath he takes. Squall's eyes don't leave her the entire time she does this. Her raven hair is splattered across his arm and her shoulders and she's still in her pajamas she had put on after their shower. Squall had put a shirt on to tell Selphie that they weren't going to go out for the day, but he silently hoped that maybe she would change her mind and at least go out to dinner with them.

He wouldn't push her though. He feels as if it's not right.

Rinoa sits up and stretches, extending her arms over her head and stretching from side to side. Turning around at her waist, she smiles gently.

"Do you think they would still want me to come to dinner with them? I'm getting kind of hungry and stir crazy."

It's like she's reading my mind, he thinks, shrugging.

"I don't think they would mind at all."

She smiles, crawling forward and bumping her nose with Squall's. Rinoa pecks him gently before getting off of the bed and rummaging through her suitcase for something to wear. Meanwhile, Squall grabs his mobile phone and texts Selphie to tell her that Rinoa has changed her mind and would like to meet them somewhere for dinner.

Rinoa pulls a long sleeved baby blue shirt out of her suitcase and lays it on the bed, crossing her arms in thought as she tilts her head to the side. Squall smirks to himself at her thinking process.

"Would it be too much blue if I wore jeans?" She asks, looking at her boyfriend. Squall shrugs, having absolutely no idea how fashion works considering he either wears his leather jacket or his SeeD uniform most of the time. The only time he's not is when he's actually wearing jeans or when he's in pajamas.

As Squall opens his mouth to tell her he doesn't know, there's a knock at the door followed by a loud "Rinny" that was a high enough pitch to break the windows throughout the hotel.

The solider winces, growling as he gets out of bed to open the door. He was met with the faces of his friends, crowded into the hallway. Closest to the door was Selphie, who was bouncing on the balls of her feet, behind her Squall could see Zell, with an indecipherable expression—something between excitement that Rinoa wanted to come out or annoyance at the fact that Selphie just screamed at the highest octave a human could. Quistis seems calm, smiling at her life-long friend at the door and Irvine couldn't be seen fully since he was leaning against the right side of the door frame.

"Rinny wants to come out?!" Selphie asks, progressing from bouncing to actually jumping. Squall simply steps aside, letting the bubbly brunette inside of their room to help Rinoa pick out something to wear. Quistis follows Selphie and Zell and Irvine stay close to the entrance of the room, not knowing if they were welcome within the invisible bubble that the girls had established by talking about clothes and fashion.

"I have no idea what to wear. I have this shirt."

"That's so pretty! Do you have jeans?"

"They're blue, though."

"Leggings would work."

Irvine sighs, "I have no idea how they do it."

With a raised eyebrow, Squall looks up at Irvine. He's only a couple inches taller than Squall without the hat but with his cowboy hat, he's about four inches total taller.

"Do what?"

"The hair, the makeup, the clothes. It seems exhausting."

Zell scoffs, "It's not like you mind it, ladies man."

"Oooh, that's pretty, Rinny!" Selphie squeals, snatching the garment out of the suitcase and thrusting it towards Rinoa. She holds it up at the shoulders, studying the silhouette of the shirt against Rinoa's petite frame before nodding in approval.

"Go put it on in the bathroom. We'll keep Irvine away." Quistis says, sitting on the bed beside Selphie. She has a small smile on her face and is relieved that Rinoa isn't spending the whole trip in the confinement of her hotel room.

Squall turns around, watching Rinoa walk into the bathroom with a smile on her face. She reaches out and touches his arm before closing the door behind her with a click. The boys then walk into the main part of their room; Squall sits on their bed beside Rinoa's suitcase that Selphie is rummaging through and Zell and Irvine sit at the desk that's next to the bed on the left side.

"So she changed her mind, then?" Quistis asks, leaning against the wall. She watches Squall nod before looking up at the group of them.

"She said she was getting hungry and stir crazy. I think she started to feel bad for not going out earlier."

"We understand, man," Zell said, shrugging his shoulders, "No one wants to go out if they're not feeling up to it. We just want her to be happy again."

"I think we all do," Quistis says. She watches as Selphie pulls out a small green box filled with earrings and jewelry.

Selphie admires the contents, letting out a soft 'ooooh' at the mix of vintage and contemporary gem stones. She dashes to the door, snapping the box closed and tucking it protectively under her arm like a football. To everyone's surprise she stops just before the door and knocks rather than barging in.

The blonde shakes her head as she watches Selphie disappear into the bathroom with Rinoa.

"Anyways, it'll take a while. But we're all here for you." She smiles and Squall gets up from the bed, pulling his duffel bag from beneath the bed. He was trained to never leave his things in plain sight from the war, especially since people tend to sometimes have a general distain towards SeeDs.

"Thanks. Rinoa and I appreciate it."

"No!" Selphie shrieks from the bathroom, "Not yet! I wanna do your hair!"

Squall runs a hand through his hair, shaking his head as he hears Irvine chuckle behind him.

"It's like Rinoa's her doll or something."

"As long as she's making Rinoa smile, I don't object to it." Squall replies, putting a hand on his hip and turning towards the group. "Can you leave so I can get dressed?"

A chorus of 'oh yeah' and 'of course' floods the room as the two blondes and a slight red head leave the room. Squall quickly gets dressed in a pair of dark jeans and a light grey sweater that makes the stormy hint in his eyes pop. After he slides on his boots, he grabs his wallet and goes outside of the room, leaving Rinoa with Selphie in the bathroom.

"How long do you think she'll take?" Quistis asks, looking at her watch, "We should get there before it gets too busy."

"Where are we going?" Squall asks. He hears the door click open and he stares, waiting for Rinoa to come out. He's met with Selphie first, who has the biggest grin and look of pride on her face. She puts her hands together, bouncing on her feet as she walks forward to let Rinoa out.

She's wearing a leather jacket with zippers up the hems on each side of her hips, a pair of dark grey leggings and beat up combat boots that lace up to the middle of her shins. The best part, however, was the signature baby blue shirt that was beneath the hardness of the leather jacket. The hem hit her at the widest part of her hips that was now much slimmer since her eating habits had changed so much, but the eyes can't help but draw upwards to the neckline and sleeves of her shirt that were constructed with the most delicate crochet lace. Rinoa ran a hand through her hair that Selphie had loosely curled as she looked down, embarrassed and flushed that everyone was staring at her with such awe.

Especially Squall, who hadn't seen her this dressed up in the longest time. Rinoa looks up at him, biting her inner lip as she walks forward, weaving herself into his arms. The leather of his jacket and hers met with a squeak, making her giggle.

"You look beautiful, Rinoa," Quistis says, placing a hand on Rinoa's shoulder as she pulls away from Squall. "We all think so."

"…Thanks," she replies shyly, "Selphie did a good job."

"Now we're ready to go!" Selphie says, punching the air with a jump, "Time to go paaaaaart-ay!"

Squall raises an eyebrow as Selphie smiles and replies:

"Time to go to the bar!"

The last time they were all here was when Rinoa turned twenty-one and she threw up in a barrel on the side of the road. Squall had been in the booth the entire time with Zell and Irvine who were checking out girls at the bar, sipping his whiskey and soda while keeping a keen eye on Rinoa who he could only see thanks to the flashing tiara that Selphie had gotten her and insisted she wear for her birthday.

Now they were all back here about a year later, crammed in a booth across from the bar with loud music and dimmed lights.

None of this Squall likes, but then he looks across at Rinoa who is sandwiched between Quistis and Selphie, giggling as she takes another gulp of her drink that Selphie ordered her. He sees the glaze in her eyes and he knows that she's going to feel it in the morning, or possibly within a few hours, but he figures she needs the fun and the excitement.

He lets her drink more than he should within the hours they're there. Squall figured the outcome wouldn't be as bad considering they were all eating their fill of various appetizers along with their drinks. Zell, of course, gets his own plate of everything because he hates sharing his food. Irvine said that he was deprived of food too much as a kid and that's the reason for needing his own everything.

Zell glared at him, his mouth full of fried cheese sticks before swallowing and coughing.

Squall keeps looking out into the swarm of people on the floor dancing to the music that had too much bass for his pleasure. There were girls dressed in revealing clothes that should have been more for the summer instead of in the dead of winter, guys that were having too much fun with the girls who had drank too much, and then the people like them who were on the sidelines, eating and joking around.

"Selphie, comes with me to get a drink!" Rinoa slurs, moving towards Selphie who is sitting on the end of the booth. Selphie stands up with a wobble, taking Rinoa's hand and pulling her towards the bar.

Squall shakes his head, sighing while running his hand through his hair. Quistis reaches across the table, tapping his plate with a fork to get his attention.

"She's going to regret this," she yells over the music, but she has a slight smile on her face, "But at least she seems to be having fun."

"Too much fun," Irvine laughs, finishing his beer with a long gulp, "How many drinks has she had?"

"I lost count," Squall said, shrugging, "She's with us. She's safe here."

He turns his body to the end of the booth, looking out into the crowd of people. The light blue of Rinoa's shirt couldn't be seen anywhere and neither could the yellow of Selphie's. Squall scans slower, narrowing his eyes and wondering if maybe he needs glasses since he still couldn't find the two of them.

Zell taps his shoulder and Squall turns around, irritated, worried and borderline getting ready to go search for his girlfriend before he sees Zell's hand raise, pointing right in front of his eyes.

Squall sees two sihlouettes at the bar until his eyes finally focus to what exactly is in front of him. He sees the yellow of Selphie's dress constrasting with the bright lights that flash from above. Beside her, he can barely make out the baby blue shirt that his girlfriend is wearing since it seems to just blend in with the brightness behind her that is the display of various alcohols and spirits. Rinoa spins around, her hair whipping around her face as she stumbles, sending a shockwave across Squall's spine.

Either way, Squall knows he's not going to win. If he takes his drunken girlfriend off of the bar he'll be considered that boyfriend who ruined his girlfriend's fun as well as the guys who were cheering her and her friend seated around them. Although he doesn't care much about what other thinks, he wants Rinoa to be safe and he knows that there are a multitude of spilled drinks already splashed across the wooden bar judging by Selphie's unstable dance moves to the rock music that echoed throughout the small space. He wants to take her off, carry her back to the hotel room and say enough is enough – that it's not her twenty first birthday again and she knows better not to drink this much.

Then there is the angel on his right shoulder, telling him to look at the corny smile spread across Rinoa's face as she reaches towards Selphie, holding her hands and moving from side to side with her hips and shoulders. Rinoa's having fun; something she definitely hasn't had in months due to the depression taking over her system. He knows it's the drunken kind of fun, the messy kind where you can't walk straight and your words are slurred but perhaps she needs a night out with her friends with some liquid luck to get her back in the swing of who she truly is.

Squall thinks to himself, that doesn't make sense considering alcohol is a depressant…also why is the bartender allowing them to dance on the top of this bar? Selphie must have done something...

Shaking his head, he sighs and looks to Quistis. She's the most moral out of all of them and tends to be their guide when they don't know what to do. He doesn't even have to ask as he looks at the blonde; she shrugs her shoulders and looks at the two girls. She sees Rinoa smiling and dancing, now turning her back to Selphie while still holding her hand. Selphie spins Rinoa and their echoes could be heard over the cheering and taunts of the men near them.

"You can wait until she falls off, or go buy a drink and see if she gets the message." Quistis yells to him, leaning on her elbows to get closer. "I doubt she will though."

"Wait until she falls off it is," Irvine says, raising his third beer to the dancing girls on the bar. "I'm sure one of the guys will catch her."

Squall feels his stomach knot at the mentioning of another man putting their hands on his girlfriend, especially in the current predicament she's in now. She's vulnerable, drunk, and is known for making poor decisions even when she's sober-when she's drunk, it tends to be a lot worse. He raises out of the booth, pulling a ten gil note out of his wallet and walks towards the bar.

He keeps his eyes on Rinoa the whole time, hoping either her or Selphie will notice but they don't until Squall orders his drink. Rinoa looks down and beams at him, leaving Selphie alone to dance as she kneels down on the bar, reaching towards him.

"You're so haaaaaaandsome," she coos, running her hand through his hair, "You have beautiful eyes, Sir."

He's trying not to laugh. Rinoa's words are slurred so bad she sounds like a two year old who just learned how to talk, but he wants to keep his face straight so Rinoa knows that her time of dancing on the bar is over. Selphie can do what she wants considering Irvine is probably enjoying the show from afar but Rinoa is his.

Besides, even though the war has been over for some time now, they're still in the public eye and he doesn't want Rinoa seeing herself plastered on any newspapers anytime soon. It's not good for her image.

"Here you go, Sir," the bartender says, handing Squall his whiskey on the rocks. Squall gives him the ten gil, telling him to keep the change, before Rinoa reaches forward, pulling herself into his arms.

The Commander wobbles even though he's had far less to drink than she, put off guard by the sudden public contact. Guys are cheering, patting him on the back and saying congratulations when they have not the slightest idea that she's been his girlfriend for four years now. He rolls his eyes, managing to carry not only his drink but his drunken girlfriend who was now whispering dirty nothings into his ear.

He sits down, placing the tumbler glass on the table while keeping Rinoa on his lap. She's running her fingertips across his neck and he gets chills. He turns his head from side to side to shake off the feeling but she keeps doing it.

"Could you stop?" He whispers to her, "You've had too much to drink."

"Aaaaaaaaand?" Rinoa replies, smiling deviously, "I'm having fun. Didn't you guys want me to have fun?"

"It seems like you're having a blast, darling," Irvine says, laughing as he sits back and watches Squall shudder. Quistis just chuckles to herself, keeping an eye on Selphie as Zell eats another plate of loaded potato skins.

The raven haired girl leans her head on his shoulder, tracing her fingertips down Squall's abdomen to his stomach. "I love you."

Squall places his head against hers, turning to give her a quick kiss on the forehead before wrapping his arms around her. He tells her he loves her too, quietly, since he hates this type of public affection. It's big for him to let her sit on his lap in such a circumstance. That time in outer space when it was just them is one thing, but to be in such the public eye and with their friends is another.

Even after four years of being together, he still feels as if stuff like this should be private and between him and Rinoa. It's just how he always was. When couples would make out in the middle of the halls in Balamb, it just put him completely off guard. He considers it rude and off-putting, so he figures if he doesn't like the look of it, why should he do it himself?

Besides, Squall's a private person; the fact that he thinks like this is no surprise.

"…Squall…" Rinoa looks up at him, her eyes glossy, "I don't feel good…"

"Here come the chunks." Zell says, watching Rinoa intently. Everyone at the table is. Even Selphie jumped down from the bar, skating her way across the room to sit down and make sure everything was okay with the girl.

"Is she gonna be sick?" She asks, watching as Squall lifts Rinoa up, holding her close.

"I'm taking her back to the hotel. I'll see you in the morning."

There's a chorus of 'bye's' and 'feel better Rinoa' ringing in his ears as he walks out of the bar with Rinoa in his arms, thankful when he feels the soundwaves being contained by the building when the door shuts behind them. He walks slowly, making sure not to rock Rinoa too much because he doesn't want to throw out his clothing.

He wouldn't be able to wash it since the hotel doesn't have washing machines. Let alone the hotel probably wouldn't be too impressed with vomit soaked clothes being washed in their appliances.

"I'm sorry I drank so much…" Rinoa apologizes, keeping her head down and her eyes shut, "I had fun, though…"

"That's all that matters," Squall replies, feeling the strain in his arms and forearms from carrying her.

I need to start working out again, he thinks, I'm getting old. I remember when I carried her all the way from FH to Esthar…

"Thank you for coming out with me." She says, "I had fun."

Squall chuckles, she was repeating herself now, "I know you did, Rin. I'm happy you did."

"And I think that I'll feel better soon."

"Of course."

"Once I vomit and sleep."

They're silent until they get to their hotel room. Squall locks the door behind them as Rinoa dashes to the bathroom, hitting the side of the entrance way on the way before falling to her knees and vomiting in the toilet. Squall sighs, putting the key card on the table beside the entrance door before walking into the bathroom, kneeling beside her and pulling up her hair.

He rubs her back, knowing that it's soothing to her until she's done. Tears are running down her face and he knows she hates throwing up more than anything else in the world. He remembers the last time she had food poisoning from a sushi place that had just opened; Rinoa was up throwing up all night and she cried the entire night, saying how much pain she was in and how her throat burned so bad. That was the only time Squall had taken off work because neither of them had slept.

When she pulls away, she wipes her mouth with the back of her hand and reaches forward to flush the toilet. She's less pale in color now as the flush returns to her cheeks. Squall watches her sit back on the tile floor, sighing.

"I hate doing that."

"I know, but do you feel better?"

Rinoa nods, "I drank a lot."

"That you did."

Squall turns around, running the bath water and pouring in some soap to create bubbles. Pulling Rinoa up by the hands, he cups her cheeks in his hands, kissing her forehead before pulling her shirt over her head and discarding it to the floor. Rinoa wraps her arms around herself as she shudders from the sudden cold in the bathroom as Squall unbuttons her leggings and pushes them down for her to step out of. He holds her hand as she does so, making sure she doesn't wobble and trip as she also kicks off her boots.

Rinoa looks down at herself, noticing her hip bones protruding a lot more than they used to. Her breasts have also shrunk; shehadn't noticed until nowthat her bra was a tad too big in cup size. She sighs, wrapping her arms around herself again but not from being cold, but from being ashamed. She had lost more weight than she would like to admit from the lack of eating these past couple of months.

She had let her body be abused for too long. She had let her curves waste away.

Squall pulls her arms away, looking her in the eye before wrapping his arms around her back to unfasten her bra. He turns away to check the temperature of the water, letting her take off her underwear at her leisure. Once the water is hot enough and the bubbles are high enough, he helps her step into the bath.

She sinks into the water and bubbles, sighing at the relief from the cold as the hot water engulfs her body. Squall undresses quickly, getting in behind her in the large bathtub, wrapping his arms around her tightly.

"How do you feel?" He asks, cupping water in his hands and pouring it over her shoulders and hair.

Rinoa replies, "Safe…comfortable. Happy."

A smile tugs at Squall's lips while he leans back and rests his head against the wall behind him.

"That's the best thing you've said in a while."

"Granted my throat burns a lot and I still taste vomit in my mouth but aside from that, I feel good."

"So," Squall begins, "Would you say that Operation: Finding Rinoa is a success?"

Rinoa turns her head. She has an eyebrow raised in question, "Huh?"

"When you went to bed the night that we decided we were coming here, Selphie was saying that this is a mission to make you happy. She decided to call it 'Operation: Finding Rinoa,' since she said it was like we were going to find who you used to be. I said it was impossible considering you're a much different person now than you were when you were seventeen years old when we first met. Then Zell said that wasn't the point and Selphie called me a 'buzz kill' and Irvine said that Selphie's name was cute."

"What did Quistis do?"

"She was too busy planning the entire thing since the others are too dim to actually book and pay for tickets."

Rinoa giggles, resting her head against Squall's chest.

"I'll never be who I was before, you're right…" Rinoa searches through the water, finding Squall's hands at her hips. She intertwines her fingers with his, sighing, "But I'm always going to have this problem. I just need to manage it better and take care of myself. That's all. That's sweet though, that you guys did this for me."

"We would do it for the others too," Squall replies.

Rinoa scoffed, incredulous, "You would be less willing if it wasn't me. You would tell them to figure it out on their own."

Squall doesn't reply because he knows she's correct.

They sit in the bathtub together, silent, until the bubbles have all popped and the water feels much colder than when they had originally entered the gets out first, wrapping a towel around his waist before he extends his hand to Rinoa, helping her to her feet since they're still wobbly.

He wraps a towel around her and they both get dried off, switching into their pajamas that they had put in there earlier in the day. As Squall opens the door to the main room, he hears chattering.

"How long do you think they'll be in there?"

"I don't know but it's been half an hour."

"What are they doing?"

"That's none of your business."

"How the hell did you guys get into our room?" Squall asks; he's irritated at walking out and seeing the four friends in their room. Quistis is on the other side, knowing better to steer clear of Squall's privacy invasion, sitting at the desk while the other four are in a circle on the ground.

"Oh we just said that you had forgotten your key. And then Zell flashed his SeeD badge and we got one." Irvine replies, smirking at the two. Rinoa walks out of the bathroom behind Squall, scrunching her hair dry with a towel. She looks up and blushes, giggling.

"How are you feeling Rinoa?" Quistis asks, leaning forward to see more of her frame from behind Squall.

"Better. I threw up though."

"I did too," Selphie says, making a face, "Irvine made me so I didn't feel worse in the morning."

Squall strides forward, grabbing a bottle of water from the mini fridge in the armoire where the television sits. He sits on the bed, crossing his legs and waits for Rinoa to join him.

"Is there a reason for you to intrude in on our privacy?" he asks, watching as Rinoa walks out of the bathroom and gets into bed beside Squall. He hands her the open bottle having already unscrewed the cap for her, motioning for her to drink.

"We were on our way back from the bar and we were thinking about how much things have changed since we came back from the war." Quistis replies, "And while I didn't agree with sneaking into your room, it made us all think about our lives right now."

"Things were simpler when we were fighting," Zell says, "For all of us. And Selphie reminded us of when we first got back and we all ended up in your room."

"Oh!" Rinoa exclaims, smiling, "I remember that."

"Yeah, how you two walked out of the bathroom and Rinoa was only in a towel." Irvine says, winking.

"For the last time, the shower wasn't draining." Squall sighs, leaning back on his empire of pillows. "I wasn't wet at all."

"But anyways, we just remembered that we…we couldn't sleep without each other there. You and Rinoa were in your bed and we just fell asleep in the same room all together since we didn't like being without the others."

"We felt more protected," Selphie says, "And safe. And I guess we just wanted Rinoa to feel like that. So that's why we came here…to make it like four years ago when we returned."

Rinoa smiles sincerely, pulling her knees up to her chest. She looks around at her friends, at her boyfriend, feeling loved and safe for the first time.

Perhaps she had been doing it wrong all along – secluding herself from everyone else since she just didn't want to hurt them more than she already was. Maybe she needed them more than she would like to admit. They're more than her friends now, they're her family, and she needed their support. Of course, it came at the worst possible timing but she's glad, in this moment, that they're here for her.

"I love all of you, so much." She says, "Thank you for all of this. Granted, just these couple of days aren't going to make me permanently better but…I feel better, knowing that you are here for me."

"We always will be," Quistis says, "Even though we're sometimes far apart."

"This is so CORNY!" Selphie cheers, "I love it!"

The group laughs, aside from Squall, who reaches silently to take Rinoa's hand. Quistis, Selphie, Irvine and Zell go to grab their blankets and pillows before they nestle into the ground while Rinoa and Squall remain on their bed like they did four years ago.

Rinoa never slept so soundly until that night.

Authors Note: This was a long one! It took ages to do. Originally it was going to be two chapters but I confined them into once considering the ending for The Successor Challenge is coming far too soon! I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed - I take your comments to heart and really appreciate the criticism. There is so much love here! Also, a special big thank you, hug and kiss to Rin Seren who beta'd this chapter for me. She tidied it up and cleaned it up and I so appreciate it.

There will be a final smaller chapter - an epilogue if you will. Stay tuned! And thanks again for all the continued support.