Infirmary Fiction
Summary – (Prequel to Pink December) Dr. Kadowaki tells her one thing, Rinoa says another. Up until that moment, denial's been her only way of coping. Now, she'll need to find another way. One-shot.
Author's Notes – I know that these one-shots distract me from my main stories but… I really, really wanted to write about a certain part that Rinoa briefly described in Pink December. Oh, and in case if you haven't read Pink December, it's not necessary that you read it, but I have to warn you that this'll spoil its ending.
Either way, hope you guys will enjoy this one!
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BZZZZZZZT!
-Whack!
BZZZZZZZZZZZZZT!
-WHACK!
Bzz…
After retracting the arm responsible for silencing her alarm's infernal buzzer underneath the covers again, Rinoa groaned.
'Stupid alarm…'
A moment later, she finally caved, whipping the covers off her body. If there was a way she could have slept in some more, Rinoa would have done it, but she knew better than that. Today had a lot in store for her, and even if she didn't want to face half of it, getting up earlier was just one of the sacrifices she was going to have to make.
She dangled her feet over the edge of the bed and placed them on the carpet. But before she even got the chance to stand up completely, she fell back on the bed again – her legs had fallen asleep. She grumbled again.
'Stupid feet…'
Seeing as there was practically nothing she could do until the prickly paralysis would eventually subside, Rinoa sprawled over the large bed, arms flailed behind her head, absent-mindedly looking at the ceiling. A sigh escaped. She'd been alone in this spacious bed for a little over a month now. The original three weeks had turned into five. She'd only gotten a single call during that timeframe and it was the one responsible for the additional two weeks tacked on for that all-important mission of his. But at least today was the day he was supposed to come back home.
…Not to mention it was also the date of her scheduled follow-up appointment with Dr. Kadowaki, the reason why the alarm went off at the ungodly hour of eight o' clock in the morning.
When her legs were finally un-prickly enough to stand up again, she hopped off the bed and turned to face it, leaning against the mattress to fix the covers. After a couple quick pulls and tugs, the bed was back to its former un-crumpled glory. Rinoa laughed a little. Who would have ever guessed that Squall's neat-freak traits would have rubbed off on her, the one and only Rinoa Heartilly, mess-maker extraordinaire? She surely didn't, not even after living with him for over three years following the Ultimecia incident.
After one final giggle, her smile sobered and Rinoa felt a strong lurch in her stomach.
'…Hyne, not this again…'
Holding her hand over her mouth in the internationally-known gesture of 'I'm gonna be sick', she raced out of the bedroom and into the adjacent bathroom, promptly making use of the porcelain fixture. Still slumped over the toilet after a couple of dry heaves, tears streamed freely down her cheeks and onto her clothes, making them damp in the process.
'Dr. Kadowaki better have some kind of medicine for this…I don't think I could take another week of this…whatever this is. I hate feeling so moody, exhausted and like a walking puke projector all the time. I want to be my normal self again.'
Followed by a latch of her hand onto the handle and a quick flush, Rinoa got up from the cold tiles, and washed her hands in the sink. Once the soapy water had cleaned them and the tap was turned off, she stared at the mirror intently. The reflection showed many anomalies of usual self – messy, matted hair instead of her typically sleek raven tresses, bloodshot eyes in lieu of her naturally vibrant ones, maroon rings beneath them where there should have been nothing but untainted alabaster skin, and most noticeable of all, a prominent frown plaguing her usually-smiling lips.
Still looking in the mirror, she immediately went to work on the things that were possible to fix. She attacked her unruly locks with a couple of rigorous brushes, tackled her teeth and tongue with a toothbrush, splashed some water on her face followed by a dab of concealing make-up here and there, and last but not least, she strained that frown into a grin again.
"I'll be fine." she reiterated to her reflection. "I'm going to dress, walk out that door, get through that appointment and before I know it, it'll all be back to normal again. Nothing will go wrong."
And with that, she left the bathroom only to realize that she'd have to go back and brush her hair and reapply her make-up once she'd put on her clothes on. A genuine giggle and smile escaped her lips.
'…Some things never change.' she mused to herself.
A figurative hop, skip and jump later and Rinoa was already in the bedroom, pawing through her drawer, looking for something suitable to wear for the check-up. Specifically a top with no sleeves in case Dr. Kadowaki wanted to draw some more blood and whatever pair of shorts, skirts, pants or khakis looked best with it. Eventually, she found a simple light blue tank top along with a long denim skirt, pretty yet practical for the warm May weather. That way, in case an urge to take a stroll outside before lunch arose, she wouldn't be too hot or too cold.
Placing the clean set on top of the bare drawer, she shucked off her pyjamas, which consisted of weathered blue flannel bottoms and an old grey shirt of Squall's, and placed it beside the pillow on her side of the bed. She would have brought his shirt up to her nose to breathe in some of his personal scent, but after five weeks, Rinoa knew that the effort would be futile. The lingering smell had already dissipated a long time ago.
After picking up the pale tank top and putting it over her head, Rinoa had to tug on it a little more than usual to pull it down. And when she proceeded to zip and button up the skirt, it too had also seemed a little snug against her frame. She rubbed her eyes with her thumb and forefinger.
'I think I'll have to get someone else to do my laundry, I swear I keep on shrinking everything I own in the wash.'
'…Either that or go on another shopping spree and save myself the hassle.'
-Drrring! Drrriing!
Faster than her mind registered the action, she jumped on the bed and eagerly grabbed the phone near the alarm clock.
"–Hello?"
"…Is this Miss Rinoa Heartilly?"
She gulped. "Y-yes. Yes it is."
"Good. This is Jeremy Blake; I'm one of the fifteen SeeDs deployed on the Closest Island to Hell mission under Commander Leonhart."
Her stomach plummeted. "He's…he's not coming home tonight, is he?"
"No, I'm afraid he isn't. There's been another complication and he'll have to-"
"-Lemme guess. He'll have to stay for another two weeks?" she deadpanned.
"I'm sorry ma'am but that is indeed the situation we're looking at the moment."
"No, it's…okay." A cross between a sniffle and a cough erupted at the base of her throat. "…What about SeeDs Quistis Trepe and Selphie Tilmitt?"
"They're on temporary leave to collect additional supplies."
"…That's good. Listen, I have to go now."
"W-"
Click.
Listlessly plopping the phone back onto its cradle, Rinoa limply sat over the bed's edge, tears splashing her bare feet.
-—-
"You're late for the appointment Rinoa." Dr. Kadowaki intoned sternly from behind her desk, hands clasped together.
Rinoa on the other hand, was sitting in the meager stool in front of her, feet and legs sandwiched together, awkwardly perched on the metal ring supporting the stool's bottom, hoping that she wouldn't notice her puffy red eyes.
"Sorry. I got an urgent call right as I was heading out the door and it…tied me up for a while."
"Fair enough."
Rinoa shifted uncomfortably, something about the doctor's gaze was a tad unsettling.
"Well, I've found the cause of your frequent bouts of nausea."
"…Was it a mix of the flu and food-poisoning like I thought?"
"No. An abnormal amount of stress is the culprit I'm afraid. Emotional stress can eventually take its toll on the body physically and produce nausea and the other symptoms you were describing. Unfortunately, other than taking it easy, there's nothing I can honestly do for you."
She looked down at her hands. "…I see."
"Rinoa, as a medical professional, it's my obligation to ask further questions if I feel that the patient's situation warrants it. Have you truthfully told me everything?"
She tilted her head at a normal level again.
"Yes…but I don't know where this pent-up stress could possibly be coming from. I have no reason to be stressed. None what so ever."
"-By any chance, was that call about Commander Leonhart's mission getting prolonged again?"
"Yes, but I don't see why that would stress me. Mission extensions aren't an uncommon thing and it's not like it's being extended because everyone's getting injured. If anything, I'm lonely and bored, not stressed."
"Rinoa…" the doctor's tone became grave, "I know that there's something else that's bothering you and if you don't find it necessary say anything, I'll give you a valid reason to be stressed if you can't find one. You have my word on that."
Rinoa frowned but stayed silent.
"…Well?"
Her mouth opened but no words came out.
"I'm in no mood to fool around right now. If you don't stop this nonsense, I'm going to tell you something you won't want to hear whether you like it or not."
"–Do you think it's possible that my sorceress powers could have been responsible for any of the symptoms? …Or that they could have screwed up the results from tests you performed?"
Dr. Kadowaki let out a deep sigh. "Rinoa, I've warned you not to fool around and you've chosen to talk about things you know aren't true. Now you leave me no choice."
Rinoa bit the inside of her lip and her hands gripped the seat of the stool for dear life.
"The readings from your blood and urine tests both tested positive for high levels of hCG."
"I…I don't know what that means."
The good doctor let out another sigh.
"–I apologize, but it means that you're pregnant."
Suddenly, that all-too familiar sensation of bile climbing up her throat made her get off the high stool, instinctively grab the nearest garbage pail and crouch down. There wasn't even time for her to turn around to shield Dr. Kadowaki from the sight of her throwing up the dregs of colourless acid from her stomach. Then, while she was still on the floor with the garbage pail between her hands and knees, for what felt like the thousandth time today, her eyes welled up with tears and she cried. She felt a mildly comforting hand on her shoulder after hearing some footsteps.
"…Are you going to be okay?"
Rinoa didn't respond. She only sat there idly, blankly staring at the garbage can.
'Hyne, why do you have to be on that stupid mission Squall? I want you here, to help make all my problems go away… I can't deal with this all by myself.'
'How am I going to tell you though? I know that the instant I tell you, I'm going to see the shock on your face as clear as day – and that's probably the part I'm most scared about because…I know I won't be able to avoid it. It wouldn't be right for me to decide the baby's fate without you here. It's our child, not just mine.'
'But what if you're not back before I start showing or after we can do anything about this? Are you going to hate me for keeping the baby?'
'What if I start showing enough so that people will spread rumours about us while you're still away? I'm already starting to get too big for my regular clothes, how big will I be in another two weeks? I don't want to be the one who'll ruin your reputation. What if my pregnancy gets you fired?'
'Hyne, Hyne, Hyne… I'm twenty years old, you're going to be twenty-one and we're going to be parents in less than a year… What do I do? Who am I going to lean on with nobody here? Hyne……'
"…Rinoa, are you listening to me?"
Rinoa blinked, only to realize that she had been absentmindedly cradling the garbage pail for the past little while. Setting down the trash can, she encircled her now-bent legs with her arms, innocently looked up from the floor and saw the look of concern on the doctor's face along with the clipboard in her hands.
"I'm sorry…" the raven-haired woman sobbed, "-ever since Squall left, I've been zoning out a lot, thinking about so many things while trying to push out other thoughts." During a pause, she managed a bit of a smirk. "…I guess I picked up a lot of his quirks and didn't notice it until now."
The doctor nodded warmly. "Now Rinoa, I know that this'll be tough for you to answer these questions, but just so I know how far along you are into this pregnancy, I have to ask them. And so I can thoroughly analyze the situation."
Rinoa nodded quietly.
"When was your last period approximately?"
"Um…end of February or…somewhere around there."
"-Since then, how many have you missed?"
"I'm not sure. Two, maybe three?"
"Hm. Could you lie down on the bed over there with your stomach uncovered for me please?"
She did as she was told. Shortly after, the doctor perused her faintly distended abdomen, writing notes down furtively on her clipboard. Eventually, when the note taking stopped, Dr. Kadowaki allowed her to pull her shirt back down and sit up on the bed. At that moment, all Rinoa could do was eye the older woman's face as she was looking down at her clipboard.
The doctor switched from looking at the clipboard to looking at her directly.
"I'll have to run more tests on those samples to get an accurate date of conception and the estimated due date, but if I were to make an educated assumption, I would say that you're a little over two months."
Her gaze wavered slightly. "So…if I'm this far along now, that means I'll have my baby sometime in December?"
"Providing what I said was accurate, yes."
"…Okay."
"Rinoa, would you mind if I asked you one last question?"
She demurely nodded.
"-Is Squall the father?"
There was a long and awkward pause before Rinoa answered.
"……Is Cid going to fire him if he is?"
"Good heavens, no! The Headmaster would never do something that harsh; he understands that these things can sometimes happen. If anything, he'll make sure that Squall won't have any long term or high risk missions for a while."
"…That's good to hear. I was worried about that, especially if the baby ended up looking more like him than me."
"-But are you going to tell him soon?"
"I'm not sure…I kind of want to wait until he gets back since I don't want the news to distract him on his mission. Hyne only knows that he doesn't need that with all of the troubles they seem to be having over there. But even if I wanted to, I don't think I'd be able to contact him because he's always tied up with something to stay put for a transmission."
"There might be a way to relay a message to him if you catch Quistis and Selphie early enough."
A light bulb went off in her head. "Where would they be?"
"They're at the front gates, loading extra supplies onto the Ragnarok."
Rinoa hopped off the bed. "I have to go now, thank you for everything!"
Before the doctor had the chance to say anything else, she'd already bolted out the door.
-—-
"Hi Rinoa! Trying to sneak on board to see Squall?" Selphie joshed.
Rinoa smiled. "No, I think Dr. Kadowaki would have my head for that."
"Aw, you're no fun. I think Squall would have enjoyed the company. I swear that he's getting grumpier by the minute without you there-"
Another voice cut in from behind them. "-Well anyone would be if they had to spend seventeen hours a day working non-stop like he's doing right now."
The shadows finally cleared and Rinoa could discern Quistis's form.
"Hi Quistis. I got the call that everyone's staying for an extra two weeks. Do you think it'll be the last extension?"
The blonde shrugged. "It's hard to say. Even with the extra effort everyone's been making, I don't have a good idea of when we'll be done. It changes all the time."
"Oh. Well in that case, if either of you happen to see Squall, could you tell him that I'm thinking of him for me? I'd really appreciate it."
Selphie reacted with a peculiar look. "Are you okay Rinoa? You look a little…um, pale, even for you."
After the brunette's comment, Quistis came closer. "Selphie's right, you do look pale Rinoa. Have you been sick recently?"
Rinoa shifted a little. "Sort of…"
"Oh, is that why you went to see Dr. Kadowaki?" Selphie asked.
"Yeah… but it turned out that I was just run-down from a little stress, that's all. I guess being alone at the Garden does that to people."
"Well if you're just lonely, why don't you come with us?" Selphie offered. "We could use the help and I'm sure everybody would love to see you again."
Rinoa shook her head defensively. "-I'm really sorry, but I can't. Dr. Kadowaki told me to stay put and rest. Besides, from what Squall told me about this mission before you all left, I don't think I'd be of any use to you. Especially now, in my condition…being fluey and all."
Now it was Quistis's turn to give Rinoa a peculiar stare. "…Is there more to this Rinoa? Your story's not very consistent."
'Quistis never misses a beat, does she?'
'…I guess I'll have to tell them.'
"…Yeah, there is actually."
"-Like?" Selphie chimed in.
"-Promise not to broadcast what I say to everyone?"
Both of her friends nodded in compliance.
"Well, at my follow-up appointment after Dr. Kadowaki ran some tests, she told me something that…I sort of knew all along, but at the same time, I had tried so hard to ignore."
There would have been a silent moment between the three if not for Rinoa's deep and calming breath.
'Be strong Rinoa, you can say it.'
"…She told me that I was about two months pregnant."
If Squall's reaction ended up being anything similar to Selphie and Quistis's, Rinoa figured that she'd have virtually nothing to fear as Selphie went over to tackle-hug her in sheer excitement and Quistis's lips curved into a warm smile.
…But she knew better than that.
Right after the hug, Selphie proceeded to exuberantly bombard her with questions. Most of which, Rinoa had no real answers to, seeing as she'd only learned of the pregnancy this morning. Quistis, on the other hand, had only posed one simple question. And truth be told, it was the only one that truly had any real impact on her at the moment.
"If you're not coming, do you want us to tell him?"
"No. No, I don't."
"Are you sure Rinoa? I'm positive that he could get a temporary discharge to come back to the Garden and talk to you about it."
"I still stand by what I said because it's not fair to everyone else. I don't want everybody working any harder than they have to just because of me. Besides, I don't think that a distracted leader will do you guys any good. Another two weeks won't kill me."
"Rinoa," Selphie piped in, "I'd hate to say it but, what if the mission gets extended again or if Squall gets forced to stay somehow? What will you do then?"
"I really understand where you two are coming from, but trust me, I'll be fine. Before I was denying everything, thinking that this couldn't possibly be happening to me, but now I know that I have to be strong for the two…-three of us. I may not like the fact that Squall may come later on when I'm starting to show but, I'll be a better person from it."
"…So you only want us to tell him that you're thinking of him?" Quistis reiterated.
"Yes. That, and good luck."
"Don't worry Rinoa. We'll all try our best to finish this mission as fast as we can, for your sake."
Subconsciously placing a hand on her lower stomach, Rinoa nodded in agreement.
"I hope you're right Quistis, I hope you're right."
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Ending Comments – Hope you guys liked this. Reviews are once again, very appreciated.
-Emerald-Latias