Author's Note: New fic. This one follows the timeline of two of my one-shots (The Verge of Anything and The Silence Afterwards) and takes place about two months after the second fic. Although it is not necessary to read those other two first to read this one. Also, I expect this fic to be shorter and perhaps a little fluffier than usual. :) I hope my readers enjoy it.
I do not own Final Fantasy VIII or any of its characters.
Thank you in advance to everyone who reads/follows/favorites/reviews this. It is always appreciated.
Chapter One
It was a crisp, clear morning as the sun rose over Balamb Garden. A few of the students and SeeDs were already wandering in the hallways, but most of them were still in their dorm rooms. As a result, there was an aura of quiet surrounding the place that would gradually morph into the normal, bustling energy once the students and staff had had a chance to visit the cafeteria and prepare to start their daily routines.
One SeeD, however, had not started his day or even stirred from his bed, despite all his best efforts: the commander of Balamb Garden, Squall Leonhart.
His problem had started innocuously enough. A week ago, Squall noticed that he had been feeling a little more tired than usual, but he chalked that up to the last couple of grueling missions and having to spend so many nights dealing with piles of paperwork afterwards. Then there had been a brief mission where he had had to deal with a particularly powerful Behemoth that had invaded a park in Timber. It had only lasted one day, and he had had plenty of support from his teammates, but still Squall felt strangely spent and weak afterwards. This weakness continued to increase and last night he finally gave in to Rinoa and his friends and went to see Doctor Kadowaki about it.
"Sorry Squall, it looks like you have Cerilian fever," she had told him. "Right now, it doesn't look too serious, but it's better to be cautious. You'll need to stay here at Garden and rest until it's out of your system."
Squall was irritated at her diagnosis and tried to insist that he had too much to do to just lie around and do nothing until his illness went away, but Kadowaki sent a report to Cid and Edea, causing them to intervene as well.
"We know it's frustrating," Cid had told him. "But it's for your own good and for the good of Garden that we keep you here until this passes. Besides, we can't afford to send out a sick SeeD on a mission. What if you were to collapse while on the job? You would be subjecting yourself and your comrades to unnecessary risks."
"Everyone at Garden needs you to be healthy and strong in order to lead them, Squall," Edea said. "So please, try to understand why we must insist that you stay here until you are well."
Squall had not been happy with it, but he reluctantly agreed with their request and tried to use this time when he was confined to Garden to catch up on administrative errands. At first, he was able to work as quickly and efficiently as could be expected with bureaucratic chores, and he thought that perhaps Kadowaki had exaggerated her diagnosis. With each passing day, however, he found it harder and harder to get out of bed let alone try to do office work, leading to this morning when he couldn't even contemplate moving.
Eventually, Squall had to face the fact that he had been trying to avoid for a week: that he truly was very sick.
A couple hours later, Kadowaki stopped by Squall's room to examine him at Cid's request after Squall did not check in as usual with him and Edea. After looking over him for a few minutes, she shook her head.
"You have not been resting as much as you should have and as a result your fever has definitely moved from a mild case to a moderate one," she said. "And there is a chance now that it could get much worse. You will need to stay in bed and get as much rest as possible so your body can put everything into fighting this illness."
"Can't you just give me something for it?" Squall mumbled with a frown.
"I can give you something to make sure that it doesn't become life-threatening," Kadowaki said. "But there is no real cure for Cerilian fever. You just have to ride it out." Squall scowled even more and fidgeted with his blankets.
"Am I going to have to stay in the infirmary?" he asked.
"Ideally, that's what we would do because cases like yours should be closely monitored so that there are no complications that could lead to long-term consequences," Kadowaki said. "But right now, there's no room because of that incident in the Quad."
Squall sighed and nodded his head. Three days ago, a group of the students and SeeDs had started to do some renovations on the Quad which had never been completely repaired after the fight with Galbadia Garden. It turned out though, the structural damage had been even more severe than previously thought, and thus several students were injured when pieces of the base sank down and collapsed inward while they were working on it. Fortunately, no one was killed and none of the injuries were permanent, but it did make it so that every bed was full in the infirmary and Kadowaki had her hands full taking care of them.
"I guess I could just stay here," Squall said.
"That would work just fine if we could get someone to take care of you who could notify me if anything changes," the doctor said. "Is there anyone here right now who you could ask to do this?"
Squall shook his head and shoved his face against his pillow. Last week, Irvine and Selphie had gone off to Trabia Garden to help finalize and then celebrate its rebuild, and they were not due back for another week more at least. Zell and Quistis were currently out on a mission in Dollet to help find ways to prevent any more monster infestations at their communications tower and no one was sure how much longer that would take. Rinoa had offered to take care of him earlier that week, but Squall had encouraged her to go ahead and go back to Timber to spend some time with her old friends in the resistance movements like she had planned a month ago.
The end result was that there was no one at Garden who Squall felt comfortable enough with to let them stay with him for a few days.
"Well, we will work something out," Kadowaki said as she left the room. "I will discuss it with Cid and Edea and see what they can arrange. In the mean time, you should try to get some sleep."
Squall grunted and rolled over so he would face the wall. He then pulled his covers back over his shoulders and shut his eyes.
'Whatever,' he told himself. 'I've taken care of myself for years, so it's no big deal for me to do it again. I'll just get some sleep and stop by the infirmary when I can so Kadowaki can make sure that I'm ok. It's no problem.'
Satisfied with his plan, Squall shifted about, looking for a cool spot on his pillow. Even as he drifted to sleep, however, something in the back of his mind warned him that it would not be so simple.
"And that is my latest diagnosis," Kadowaki said as she sat in a chair across from Cid and Edea. "Commander Leonhart's condition is not critical, but he needs to have someone stay with him just to make sure."
"I see your point, yes," Cid said, nodding. "Well I suppose we will have to see if some of the other students will be willing to volunteer their time."
"But dear, you know that won't work," Edea said, touching his arm.
"Why not?" Cid asked. "There are many people here who admire him greatly. That is why I made him the commander of this Garden. I am sure that if they knew the situation there would be plenty of offers to help."
"That is true, but it still will not work," Edea said, shaking her head. "You know that Squall has never been the kind of person who lets people into his personal space so easily. If we send a bunch of the other students to tend to him, it will irritate and distress him. He won't be able to focus on getting well."
"And it is crucial to avoid stressing him as much as possible," Kadowaki interjected. "His fever could still rise to dangerous levels, and if that happens and he isn't getting plenty of rest and care, it could be very serious. We have to find someone who he is comfortable with so he will be able to relax while he convalesces."
"I understand," Cid said, thoughtfully. "It is rather troublesome that the boy is so difficult at times, but you are both right, of course. But in that case, who can we ask to do this?"
Cid watched as Kadowaki and Edea looked at each other and then shook their heads. The three of them pondered this question silently for several minutes until a ringing tone from Cid's computer caught their attention. Cid looked over, and when he saw who it was, he motioned for Edea and Kadowaki to come see it too. They studied the monitor for only a few seconds before they started looking at each other with knowing smiles on their faces.
"I think we have just found an answer to our problem," Cid said triumphantly.
About four hours later, Squall groaned and shifted about in his bed. He had been able to sleep sporadically for a while, but now he was getting restless and hungry. He thought about trying to see if Kadowaki wanted to see him, but he soon found that he was still too tired and weak to get up.
'No, no, I have to do this,' he told himself. 'If I don't get up once in a while to go to the infirmary, Kadowaki is going to try to find some way to keep me there, even if it is completely full. That or she'll ask Cid and Edea to send a bunch of people in here to check on me all the time.'
Squall frowned again and punched at his pillow. Neither one of those options appealed to him in the least, but he was quickly running out of ideas to avoid one of those outcomes. As he desperately tried to formulate some alternate plan of action, Squall felt a vague misery fill him.
'What is this? It's not like I'm dying from some horrible disease or will never see my friends or Rinoa again, so why do I feel this way?'
Squall closed his eyes again. He hated losing control over his emotions, but he couldn't stop himself from feeling depressed and from wishing that someone would keep him company and take care of him.
'This is why it's not always such a great thing to start relying on other people,' he thought gloomily. 'Because then you get over-dependent and needy. I don't want to be that way, I can't be like that. But I….'
Squall let out a huff, frustrated that he kept dwelling on how much he wanted someone to comfort him and irritated that he was too weak to take care of himself. Moments later, he heard the sound of footsteps entering his room.
'Must be Kadowaki coming here to check on me again,' he thought. 'Or worse, it's one of the students sent here by Cid. Maybe if I just act like I'm asleep, they'll go away and I can…."
"Squall? Squall, are you awake?"
Squall started a little before letting out a long sigh. He had instantly recognized the voice he had heard, and while it was far from one he had expected to hear, Squall found that he wasn't totally surprised by it either. He rolled onto his back and opened his eyes to see a familiar face leaning over him, a face with its usual cheery grin and sparkling emerald eyes which now had a tinge of worry in them.
'Laguna…what are you doing here?'
