SERAH

Serah woke with a start and with an urgent twist of her body, rolled over and reached to the small digital clock on the bedside table. She turned it's illuminated face to hers and exclaimed, "My alarm didn't go off! I'm late! Oh no, oh no, oh no!"

Snow stirred and groaned in the bed next to her, half awakened by the sound. She frantically kicked off the bed covers and scrambled around their dark bedroom. Where did she leave her pants? What shirt should she wear today? She grabbed her clothes into a bundle and hastily ran into the bathroom for a quick shower. She washed herself just enough to pass as clean, jumped out and quickly dried herself with her towel before struggling to pull her clothes onto her still wet body.

"Oh come on!" she begged. Finally dressed, she grabbed her bag, a banana from the fruit bowl for breakfast and rushed out the door.

She rounded the corner of the street at a run and was soon able to make out the bus stop. There were people still waiting there, which meant the bus had not come yet. Serah let out relieved sigh and slowed her pace to a quick walk. Her breathing was heavy but she soon caught her breath. She peeled and ate her banana as she closed the distance and carefully stowed the peel in her bag as the bus pulled up with perfect timing. She dug around for her metrocard, tapped on, took a seat and slumped back in the chair with relief. She scanned the people on the bus around her and wondered if they could tell just how close she had come to missing this bus and how she had heroically managed to have a shower, get dressed and be out the door in ten minutes. She could hardly believe she pulled it off and smiled at her victory; this will make a great story to tell Snow later.

She caught a glimpse of herself in the window next to her and, as far as practical, tried to fix her appearance. She prided herself on looking put together, with her rose coloured hair neatly dressed and at least some amount of make-up. Today she had bed hair and circles under her eyes. She finger combed her hair as well as she could before securing it into a messy bun with some spare bobby pins and a hair tie she found in her bag. She had stayed up late pouring over bridal magazines and websites planning her and Snow's upcoming wedding. She knew she should have gone to bed sooner but there was so much to do and, as much as she loved him, Snow was no help at all. It was during these times that she missed her sister the most. If Lightning was around she would be there to help her. She would have been the maid of honour and would have helped pick out the dress, the bridesmaid dresses, the centrepieces, judge the food when picking venues, everything. And she would be happy for her, wouldn't she?

Since they started dating Lightning never hid her dislike for Snow, but when Serah woke from her coma their relationship was a lot better. The shared grief had brought them together and Lightning had given them her blessing. She was so happy to have them on good terms, but that joy was short lived.; not long after (just a number of weeks) Lightning was deployed on a mission and didn't make it back. Serah tried to remember how long and why she had been in a coma but couldn't recall. This all happened in the last year and yet the experience felt so distant on reflection. It was as though she was viewing the past of another person, and the recognition of this thought niggled in the back of her mind. It beckoned her as though she had forgotten something important, but as she focused on the thought it quickly faded and she couldn't get it to materialise. What was it? Before she could think much more about it she saw her stop approaching and pressed the buzzer. She stood and walked to the door, tapped off her card and got off the bus. She hung back and watched the bus pull away from her before heading on, as though by staying she might remember something, but nothing came to her. Her brows furrowed but she eventually shrugged off her unease; certainly if it was that important it would come to her later.

The corridors were starting to fill with students and teachers and Serah greeted her colleagues as she worked her way to her office to deposit her bag and organise her computer for homeroom. Once in the classroom she called out the roll (all here) and read out the few announcements before sitting down in her chair as the students chattered amongst themselves. Serah's laptop sat propped open on the desk and threw a dull glow over her face. She stared blankly back into it with her cheek resting heavily in her palm. She was distracted. The thought from earlier was so close she could feel she almost had it, but like before the more she willed it the further it seemed to be from her grasp.

"What's up with Ms. Farron?"

"Maybe she has a hangover?"

"Hitting it hard on a Tuesday night? Go Ms."

"Maybe she's still drunk?"

The students tried, and failed, to stifle their laugher but Serah paid them no mind. Technically she heard them, but she didn't register their words. That elusive thought was all she could think about. It was like a skittish fish that surfaces for food but shys and darts away when you try to touch it. And the water isn't clear, it's murky. You know it's a fish because what else could it be? But the form is obscured and it's merely a flash of colour and an outline of a shape. What was it? Her reverie was suddenly disrupted by the bell and the rest of the day was such a blur of work and movement that she found no time to think about it further; as easily as it had consumer her she completely forgot that she ever thought about it at all.

"Whoa! What happened to you?" Snow teased as Serah came into the lounge room that afternoon. She stuck her tongue out and dumped her bag on the coffee table,"Hey, that doesn't go there, c'mon."

"Oh, I'll put it away later. Snow! You will not believe the morning I had!" Serah laughed and she leaned back into the couch next to her fiance, "My alarm didn't go off-"

"I know, I was awake" Snow interjected with a grin.

"-and I managed to get showered, dressed and out the door in 10 minutes. I was still so wet after the shower I think I wasted more time trying to just pull my pants on than if I just took the time to dry myself properly. But I made my bus!"

Snow smiled and placed a kiss on her forehead. Serah looked up into his face and examined him in such detail that she seemed to be making a mental record of his features. The truth was she couldn't believe how lucky she is to be loved so much; to know that he never wavered, even when she was in a coma and there was no knowing when, or if, she would wake. It was as she formed the mental image of him and Lightning in vigil by her bedside that she felt it again. It was no more violent than a small ripple but she felt its return with the force of a tsunami. She peeled away from Snow and sat bolt upright, her brows furrowed deep in thought.

Snow was shocked at the sudden recoil and asked, "What is it?"

"I don't know", Serah replied, "I…" she paused and looked Snow in the eye.

"Hey now Serah, you're scaring me."

For a long while Serah stared off into the distance before she continued.

"Snow, what do you remember about Lightning?"

Snow was taken aback by the question, "What do you mean?"

"I mean, what do you remember about her? I feel like, I dunno, something's off. I was on the bus on the way to work and thinking about how nice it would be if she were around to help with the wedding, and I was thinking about my coma, and something felt wrong, like I was forgetting something. Something really important. Then I was thinking about her again just now and I felt it again. I feel like I almost remember and then I don't. Please don't look at me like I'm crazy."

Snow leaned forward and placed a reassuring arm around Serah's shoulder.

"Hey now, of course I don't think you're crazy. Maybe the stress of your new job is getting to you. It's coming up close to a year since Lightning died and maybe that's what's getting you down."

"Maybe," Serah rested backwards into the comfort of Snow's embrace and continued, "but humour me. What do you remember about her?"

Snow exhaled and smiled, "Man… the first day we met in the hospital after you were in your coma she was so angry. She was grieving, you know, and was going through the anger stage. I was in denial about the whole situation and it must have pissed her off. We both visited you daily, and often ran into each other when we'd arrive at the same time of day.

As tough as nails as your sister liked to seem, she showed a love for you that was moving. She never gave up on you, and that you would wake. Any advice from doctors to let you go was met with her steely glare and they eventually gave up the suggestion. I don't blame them, I wouldn't want to face off with her over you."

Snow let out a chuckle and Sarah hugged his arm around herself and they slumped back into the couch together.

"Thank you, Snow."

"Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah, I do. Thanks."

Author comments: Hello there. :) I will be adding chapters to this one progressively. Please let me know what you think of it as I add more. I'm aiming to keep this as close to known canon as possible, so let me know if I misremember something (it's been a while since I played these games).