And Baby Makes Three
Chapter Seven - Phone Calls
By: Digi-Esca Girl

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X or Squaresoft in any way, shape or form. Okie-dokie? On with the fic....

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"Damnit!" Lucian cursed, slamming his fist down on the table. He'd just woken up to some bad news.

"Honey, hold still. I'm not exactly a first-class doctor, here," His girlfriend chided gently. He ceased all movement
except for his mouth.

"I can't believe they actually stayed in the fight! Wakka said we'd back out and take off laughing after we scared 'em
a little. Are you sure she was telling the truth, Adrienne?" He asked, wincing slightly as she applied iodine to a wound.

"Beth is my best friend. She wouldn't lie. She told me that when Leathen got home last night he was a mess and he
wouldn't tell her why. I have a feeling that he lasted longer than you in the fight?"

"Yeah....If Jecht and Auron find out about this....." Lucian couldn't even finish his sentence. For him, the punishment
wouldn't be as harsh, seeing as he wanted to run, but he simply couldn't due to being unconscious.

Knowing Jecht and Auron, the punishment for the others wouldn't exactly be a walk in the park.....




"No! No, leave me alone! Mommy!!!!"

"Huh....?" Wakka muttered, slowly rousing from his sleeping state. The panic-stricken voice that reached his ears was
coming from the little girl curled up against his side.

Jade was tossing and turning, as if trying to outrun an unseen enemy within her dreams. Her words became unintelligible
the more she tried to speak, and soon she was practically screaming in what seemed to be terror.

Wanting to know what was going on, Wakka sat up, pulling her into his lap and gently shaking her awake. The tears
that traced crystal rivers down her cheeks disturbed him.

'What could have scared her that bad...?' He wondered, watching as her round, glittering eyes slowly adjusted to the
darkness. She looked around for a few seconds, her gaze finally landing on Wakka, who was looking a her with a
genuine look of concern. She simply clung tighter to his shirt, squeezing her eyes shut as if trying to push the dream
from her mind.

"What happened?" Wakka asked, pulling her face away from his chest so she could speak clearly.

"They were hurting me again...." Jade whispered, keeping her eyes shut tight.

"Who was?"

"The big kids."

"From the Orphanage?"

"Yeah. They always hurted me," She whimpered, more tears beginning to well in her eyes.

Wakka had absolutely no clue what to do, so he placed her securely in his arms and stood up, walking out of the room
and down the hallway towards what was most likely going to become a well-known bedroom. He didn't even bother
knocking, and simply opened the door, peering in to see if the occupant was asleep.

As he approached the bed, he found that she was. He had to admit, she really was a beautiful girl. One of her pale,
slender hands was tucked up beside her face, resting just next to her nose and lips. Her mouth was parted very slightly,
and her breathing was rhythmic and soothing to the ear. She had the covers pulled up to her neck, and her ebony hair
was strewn about the pillows, creating a sharp contrast against the white sheets.

Supporting the little girl in his right arm, Wakka reached out and gently shook Lulu with the other. Her eyelids fluttered
open, and she took a second to focus her crimson eyes on the source of her beauty sleep interruption. She was about
to cast a Firaga spell on him, when she noticed the little bundle curled up in his other arm.

"What's wrong?" She asked, sitting up and turning on the beside lamp. She had obviously forgotten that she was wearing
only her black nightdress, which wasn't exactly revealing, yet it showed more than needed.

Wakka, his eyes unconsciously drawn to her chest thanks to the black satin number, momentarily paused to stare. After
about three seconds, he pulled his gaze away and replied.

"Jade had a nightmare about the kids at the orphanage pickin on her." He said, the words slightly twisted by his accent.

The mage looked to the girl, who nodded in agreement. Lulu motioned to a place beside her on the bed, and Wakka
took the hint and sat down. Jade scampered out of his lap and snuggled down between her "parents".

"Do you want to talk about it, Jade?" Lulu asked, pulling the covers up over the little girl, covering Wakka as well.

She simply shook her head no, closed her eyes, and slid down into a laying position under the covers. Lulu and
Wakka exchanged looks, and the blitzer simply shrugged, slipping under the covers beside her. As he pulled the
covers up over his broad shoulders, Lulu sighed and laid down too, wrapping one arm around Jade, who was, at
present, snuggling closer to her.

It seems that Wakka had the same idea, because he, too, moved to put an arm around the girl, covering Lulu's arm
with his own. He was too tired to move it, and he reached up with his free arm to switch off the lamp. Either Lulu was too
tired to move her arm or his, or she simply didn't mind having him touching her.

Somewhere, deep in his subconscious mind, he hoped for the latter.





Tidus cracked open one eye, wincing and quickly shutting it again as a ray of sunlight peeking through the window landed
directly on his face. He turned his head away before proceeding to open his eyes again. This time, he focused them and
looked around the room, making sure that it was his room and not Yuna's, like it had been the last time. It was then that
he remembered that he WAS in Yuna's room, and he groaned almost angrily, reaching up to scratch the bridge of his nose.

His eyes snapped open when his fingertips met with no bumpy, rough resistance, and he clambered out of bed, wincing
every time he had to move his arms, and somehow made it into the attached bathroom. Upon peering into the mirror,
he found that all the remained of his facial wounds was a very faded, tiny bruise on his cheek. Suddenly extremely
curious, he pulled off his shirt, turning around so that his back faced the reflective glass. He saw that all of the skin that
had been scraped off had either re-grown, or new skin had magically appeared in its place. He felt around his back with
his hand, but all he found was sore, yet untorn, muscles.

Pulling up his pantlegs one by one, he discovered that the bruises had faded just like the one on his face. The ones that had
been dark purple 12 hours ago were tiny and barely visible, and the ones that hadn't been as bad were just....gone!

'Wow...Those spells really did work....I am still really sore though....' Tidus concluded in his mind, reaching up to scratch
the back of his head as he continued to stare in the mirror.

"Are you really that vain?" Came a soft voice from the bedroom.

Tidus turned to see Yuna approaching the bathroom, a warm humored smile on her face. Despite himself, Tidus found
that he was slightly smiling back.

"All my wounds...." He began.

"I know. They're gone, right?" Yuna's reply was rewarded with a simple nod, "That was the intention, silly."

"What time is it?" He asked after a few seconds of silence passed. He was the type to get uncomfortable if silence remained
in place for too long, so he always kept conversations going.

"It's just after 9:00, why?"

"My father will probably be phoning soon," Tidus grumbled in reply, walking past her and flinging himself onto the bed.

An action he regretted as pain tore through his arms and legs. He cried out as he landed, and Yuna calmly walked to his side.

"I'm sorry, I should have warned you."

"About what?" Tidus replied, wincing as his left leg began to throb visciously.

"Just because your wounds are healed doesn't mean your brain knows that they are."

"Huh....?"

"Your mind is used to having to put up with wounds like that for weeks, but since I healed them so quickly, your brain
will need a couple of days to catch up to your body." She explained, readying another spell.

"So, I'll be sore for another few days, then?" Tidus asked, watching intently as she focused her energy again.

"Not if I keep doing this," Yuna replied, releasing the white ball of magic into his chest. The pain, once again, dissapted
on contact, and Tidus let out a small sigh.

"Much better. Thanks." He said, rising to a standing position and stretching like a cat. As he did this, a small laugh
sounded from the bedroom doorway. They both turned to see Kieran leaning against the frame, a smile on his face.

"You're funny," He explained, pointing at Tidus. The blonde had to smile at the innocent look on the boy's face, and at the
way his chubby little finger pointed straight at him, as if accusing.

"Funny looking, that is," Yuna muttered under her breath, giggling lightly at the comment.

"What, may I ask, is so funny?" Tidus questioned, looking to the obviously amused brunette.

"Nothing, nothing. Just remembering the first time you staggered home, that's all." She said, her excuse believable.

"Well, I'm hungry, so I'll be in the kitchen if ya need me, okay?" Tidus said, nodding to both of them and strolling
out of the room.

"D'you think I should go down there?" Yuna asked, walking to Kieran and hoisting him into her arms.

"Yeah. Make sure he doesn't blow stuff up...." The boy replied, causing both of them to laugh as they headed for the stairs.






"You know, Leath, I really think that you should tell them," Leathen's sister, Beth, reasoned.

"Tell them what, exactly?! Oh hey coach! Me and the boys went and beat up some other players for no apparent reason
last night, but its ok, hey?!?! So how was your night? No! I can't tell them, because if I do, then we'll all go down!"
Leathen yelled, clearly frustrated with the situation.

"But look, this wasn't all your fault, remember? You said it was Tidus and Wakka's idea-"

"They are my best friends, Beth! I can't go getting them in trouble like that! Friends don't do that to each other!"

"Look Leathen, would you please stop yelling and calm down? We're not going to get anywhere with you in hysterics,"
Beth asked, placing one delicate hand on her older brother's shoulder. He took several deep breaths and slowly sank
down into one of the kitchen chairs. He made a mental note to replace them with more comfortable ones ASAP.

He placed his head in his hands, breathing in deeply for a few minutes, not saying anything. Suddenly, his breath
stopped for a second, as he happened upon a realization. His eyes opened and his head lifted, his hands dropping to
his sides as he stood up quickly. A somber look then overtook his face, and he glanced down at the floor.

"What is it, Leathen?" Beth ventured. She knew how smart her brother was, so she had already figured out that he'd
thought of a solution to all this. What she also knew was how far he would go to protect his friends, and these two
things combined could be hazardous when it came to Leathen.

"Let's just say....I know what to do, alright?" Her brother replied, a tiny smile flitting across his face.

"Just...don't do anything stupid, okay?"

"I'm out of school and everything so I don't have to worry about that...." He muttered, seemingly to himself. Beth
cocked her head to one side curiously.

"Why are you talking like that?" She asked hesitantly.

"I have to go somewhere," He said suddenly, kissing her cheek and walking swiftly towards the door, "I'm not sure
when I'll be back. If Jecht calls, just tell him I've gone out, okay?" He finished over his shoulder, strolling out the door.

"Leathen!" Beth called, rushing to the door. By the time she got there, he was already slamming the car door shut
and turning the ignition of the sporty vehicle.

'Please don't do anything stupid, Leath.....' She pleaded in her mind as he sped off around the corner.




*RIIIIIIING*

One burgandy eye popped open at the annoying sound, closing again as its owner groaned. She rolled over, reaching
with her arm to grab the thing and put the noise to a halt.

"Hello?" She answered sleepily.

"Is Wakka awake?" Came Auron's familiar monotone.

"I think so, Sir Auron." Lulu replied, waking up completely at the sound of the guardian's voice. He chuckled.

"Enough with the formalities. If I remember correctly, you're a guardian yourself."

"Yes, sir, but not a world-renowed one."

"Good point....Is that idiot still sleeping?" Auron questioned, showing his rare humorous side.

"Just a minute," Lulu said into the receiver, placing it down for a second and leaning over to shake Wakka.

He mumbled something unintelligable and rolled over. She sighed and knocked on his skull for a few seconds with
her knuckles, finally rousing him enough for one russet eye to crack open.

"What?" He asked, obviously annoyed.

"Sir Auron's on the phone for you."

"Shit." Was the only word he could form at the moment, trying to wake up.

Lulu heard Auron chuckle on the other end of the line, and she herself couldn't help but contain her smile as the
blitzer got quickly out of bed, fixing his hair and pulling on a yellow shirt that lay in the clean clothes pile on the dresser.

"I'll take it downstairs, ya?" Wakka said, looking in the mirror to make sure the shirt was on properly. That was all
he needed, he thought, to have his shirt inside-out or something stupid like that....

Lulu nodded as her eyes followed him out of the room.

Wakka raced down the stairs, pausing in front of the video-phone before answering it to catch his breath. He used
the shiny, black screen to check his appearance one last time, then pushed the blue button in front of the keypad.

Auron's face popped up on the screen, a smirk in place on his lips, as always.

"G'mornin uh...sir.." Wakka said somewhat uneasily, reaching behind him to scratch the back of his head.

"Wakka....We have a few things that we need to discuss....."


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Here you guys go! Another chapter on file at last! Sorry for the wait, but I spent Christmas with my father and he
doesn't have the internet.

Hope ya like cliffhangers......

Ja ne,
Digi-Esca Girl

laurie_22@hotmail.com