Chapter 13

Seifer felt out of place when he stepped into the quiet little Town Square of Winhill. Even though it was a hot summer day, he still wore his grey coat. The few people who ventured to take a stroll in the summer heat couldn't help but look at the statuesque man standing in the square with a gunblade propped on his shoulder.

He eyed everyone he saw in sight, hoping that maybe one of them was Quistis. He had no such luck as expected. He stood at the center of the square deciding where he would start first. Then he saw a small bookstore. He vaguely remembered that the man at the bar told him that Quistis was looking for a job at his mother's bookstore. This must be that bookstore.

Sticking his free hand into his pocket, Seifer headed towards the small bookstore. He pushed the door open and entered to find a red haired woman at the counter.

The woman raised her head, furrowed her eyebrows as she watch Seifer walk in with his intimidating gunblade over his shoulder.

"You should be careful with that thing," she said not looking up.

Seifer arched an eyebrow and head straight towards the counter and pulled out the picture of Quistis.

"I'm looking for this woman. I heard she came here looking for a job."

Lynnette looked at Seifer then back down at the picture and back at Seifer.

"She looks familiar," Lynnette said.

The three words from Lynnette made Seifer's heart race. He was getting close to finding her.

"Do you know where I can find her?" he asked trying to keep from sounding too eager.

"My question is do you really want to find her?"

"Excuse me? Of course I want to find her. I've spent most of the last year trying to find her," Seifer said slightly appalled by the woman's question.

Lynnette stopped what she was doing and leaned forward on the counter and looked at Seifer. "So it's been almost a year, since you've seen her, and for all you know she might be married with a kid."

"Excuse me? Why are you telling me this? I don't even know you." Seifer was getting impatient. "Could you please tell me where I can find her?"

Lynnette scribbled down an address on a piece o paper and gave it to Seifer. "Just follow that road," she said pointing to one of the streets that lead out of the Town Square.

"Thanks," Seifer quickly said and followed her directions.

Quistis used the back of her hand to wipe the sweat off her brow after she put little Seifer into his crib next to the swinging bench on the porch. The inside of the house was hot and stuffy, so she decided to bring out her current knitting project outside with her as she tried to cool off outside.

A light breeze blew by giving her temporary relief from the heat. She looked down at the sleeping baby and carefully caressed his skin as he slept peacefully. She sat down in the swinging bench next to him and picked up her knitting needles and continued knitting. She knitted for some time before she got tired and dozed off on the bench.

She did not know how long she had dozed off, but she woke up to what she thought was her baby's cooing. She turned to look into the crib to find something terribly wrong. Seifer was missing.

She stopped to think for a moment. Maybe Paul had come by early and was in the house with Seifer.

"Paul?' Quistis called into the house. Then she noticed the familiar sleek gunblade propped next to the empty crib. She looked up and saw the shadow of a figure on the other end of the porch. The man had his back to her, but silhouette of the man was very familiar. It was the silhouette of someone she had never expected to see here. She brought her hands up to her mouth as she uttered his name.

"Seifer…"

Seifer turned around to face her. She saw that in his arms was her baby.

"Hello Trepe never thought I'd see the day you would be sitting down and knitting. So Paul? Is that the name of the father?" Seifer asked carefully.

Quistis was speechless. She couldn't believe that it was really Seifer standing before her holding her baby, their baby in his arms.

"What are you doing here?" she finally asked.

"Isn't it obvious?"

Quistis furrowed her eyebrows. "No, it's not obvious," she said and got up from the chair and started towards him.

"You spend one night with me then disappear for almost a year. I guess I missed you. But you obviously you didn't miss me, since you went and got married and had a kid."

Quistis gave Seifer a perplexed look. "Can I have my baby back please?" she said reaching her hands out.

"He's a cute kid. I'll give you that. So who does he look like? Mother or father?" Seifer asked.

Quistis looked into Seifer's eyes. The last time she looked at his eyes, he was beaten and hurt badly. The memory of him lying in the hospital bed almost brought the tears back into her eyes. She quickly blinked them back.

"He looks more like his father," she replied and tried to reach for her baby, but Seifer moved away so she couldn't remove her baby from his arms.

"Seifer, what are you doing? You're going to make him cry," she said placing her hands on her hips.

"He's not crying right now. I think he likes me," Seifer winked.

"But he will. You have a tendency to make people cry."

"You make me sound like a bully."

Quistis rolled her eyes, "Because you are a bully."

"I don't see you for a year and you're still snapping at me."

"I'm not snapping at you," Quistis argued, while Seifer gave Quistis a look. "All right I am snapping at you because you won't give me back my baby."

"Kristy?"

Both Quistis and Seifer looked at the direction of Paul.

"Kristy, is everything all right?" Paul asked again.

"So you are Paul?" Seifer looked at Paul's direction. "The kid doesn't look anything like him," he said to Quistis.

"What's it to you if the kids looks like me or not?" Paul asked defensively.

"I'm just pointing out the possibility that your little Miss Perfect wife might have been cheating on you."

Quistis was horrified and furious that Seifer would say such a thing about her.

"Seifer, will you ever grow up and stop being an ass? Now give me my baby now," she demanded.

Seifer knew that tone in Quistis's voice, and he knew better than to argue with her. He reluctantly obliged and let her take the baby from him. When Quistis was sure the baby was secure in her arms, she gave Seifer a death glare and went into her house.

"Seifer? Now I can see why she left you," Paul said smugly.

"What?" Seifer glared at Paul.

"Let's just say you wouldn't be nominated father of the year any time soon."

"Look, I've know, Trepe, longer than you have, so don't make assumptions about me, especially when you don't know what you are talking about," Seifer growled.

"Trepe? You mean Trent right? Kristy Trent."

"No, Trepe, Quistis Trepe. That's her real name, but I'm sure you didn't know that."

Just then Quistis came rushing out the door, her baby still in her arms.

"Seifer!"

"There's no point in keeping the façade. Your cover is blown. Tell the man the truth," Seifer said to Quistis.

Quistis bit her lips as she watched the different expressions cross Paul's face. He started with appalled confusion to being hurt.

"You're not Kristy Trent?" he asked more as a statement.

She took a step down the stairs towards Paul, who took a step back away from her.

"Paul, I'm so sorry to deceive you. Seifer, as much as you want to hate him, he is telling you the truth. My real name is Quistis Trepe. Before I came to Winhill, I was an instructor at Balamb Garden, a mercenary school. At Balamb Garden, I taught people how to fight. Seifer, here, was one of my best students," she explained

"Your best student? Isn't he the same age as you?" Paul asked confused.

Quistis nodded. "I became a SeeD at age fifteen and an instructor at age seventeen. That is how Seifer was a student of mine," she explained.

"I see."

"I'm really sorry. I can't imagine how I've hurt you. I didn't mean to lie to you. I just didn't know what to do. When I found out I was pregnant, I don't know why, but I just ran. I ran and ended up here. I just couldn't face any of my friends again. I…I couldn't face you," she confessed turning to face Seifer.

"Paul, I'm sorry that you ended up in the middle of this mess," she apologized again to Paul.

Paul remained silent and looked at Quistis and at Seifer then back at Quistis again. He ran his hands through his hair and walked away. He was confused and hurt. He had a hunch that something like this would happen. But he didn't know what hurt more, the fact that Kristy wasn't Kristy but Quistis, or the fact that with the arrival of Seifer meant she would be leaving.

Either way it didn't matter to him anymore. He was in love with Kristy Trent, and she didn't exist.

Quistis felt terrible as she watched Paul walk away. This was probably the last time she was going to see him.

"Trepe?" Seifer came up next to her.

"Seifer, I'm sorry," she said her gaze remained on the floor.

"Why?"

"I'm sorry. I know I should have told you, but I was scared. Then when I was ready to tell you, you left Garden. Then I didn't know what to do," she said holding her baby tighter in her arms.

Seifer placed his hand under her chin and lifted her gaze to look at him. He could see her eyes were rimmed with tears.

"At Galbadia General Hospital, it was you wasn't it?" he said.

Quistis finally forced herself to look into Seifer's green eyes and found the sincerity she had always sought in his eyes.

"Yes," she said softly.

"Why did you come?"

"I don't know. I…" she trailed off.

When she heard the news of Seifer's attack, her immediate reaction was to go to Galbadia to see with her own eyes if he was truly alive. Now that Seifer had asked her the reason for her to go, she didn't have an answer. At least she didn't think she had the answer.

"Quistis, I love you," Seifer finally said. It was his mission for the past year to find her and tell her those exact words. Now he awaited her reply.

"What?" Quistis had not expected this sudden declaration.

"I've wanted to tell you since that night we spent together."

The gathered tears in Quistis's eyes finally fell down her cheeks. He loved her. She never thought she would hear anyone say those words to her. Now that Seifer had confessed his love for her. Then only did Quistis realize that she loved him as well, but her fear prevented her from letting herself admit her feelings for him.

"You love me?" she asked.

Seifer chuckled over Quistis's disbelief and nodded. "Yes and this time I'm not being a jerk and screwing with you. I really do love you."

She furrowed her eyebrows. "Even now?" she said looking down at the sleeping baby in her arms.

Seifer looked down at the baby in front of him. "He's cute enough. I guess we can keep him," he said with a smirk. "What's his name?"

"Seifer."

"Good name."

"I thought you'd approve," Quistis said with a smile, "but what will we do now?"

"I was thinking about taking home with me a Mrs. Almasy, but I didn't expect to bring a Junior along. But why don't we worry about that later. I'm just happy to find you again," Seifer said and kissed her forehead.

Quistis closed her eyes as she felt Seifer's arms wrap around her and her baby. All her fears of being rejected from Seifer were gone as her heart leapt for joy. Seifer loved her and she the emptiness she felt before was filled now that Seifer had found her.

---Finis---