Drifted
Chapter Ten: Back to the Garden
By PasifiKStaR

Author's Note: I can't remember where I found out Angelo was a girl, all I know is that I was surprised. -_-;; Thanks for all the name suggestions! I wish I had more puppies to name, but I liked the idea of Selphie's puppy being named after Irvine or something that reminded her of Irvine. I'm thinking 'Irvy-poo'...yes, I will eventually find something better. @.@ And we'll make it a shitzu. And to go along with Angelo, we'll have Demona - something opposite Angelo. How's that? ^_^ MORE Shout Outs! Thanks to all the reviewers who suggested names!!!

*All Standard Disclaimers Apply

Rinoa jumped up and down and moved her arms and legs as she danced on the lower floor dance floor with the other girls. Squall sat up on the balcony, over looking the dance floor. He took a sip of his drink and looked back over the balcony. Rinoa saw him and waved energetically.

He gave a slight wave back before being slapped in the back. He whirled around and saw Zell and Irvine joining him. "What's up?" Zell said. "How come you're not down there dancing with the others?" he shouted above the music.

"I can't dance." Squall stated simply. He turned back to his drink and Irvine and Zell shook their heads.

"Rinoa's waiting for you!" Irvine shouted. "Come on, you can't leave her down there the whole time!"

"I'll come down when I feel like it." he replied casually.

"That means he's never coming down," Zell sighed. "Could you at least watch my coat? It's getting hot down there."

Squall nodded as Zell and Irvine put their coats on the table next to Squall. They stood up and headed back down the stairs. Squall looked up and through the open door of their private room, he saw Laguna carefully trying to teach the new puppy to sit. Squall shook his head.

*She can't learn when she's that young...* Squall thought to himself. He turned back to the dance floor when a heavy ringing reached his ear. Even through the high energy, pumping sounds of the music, he could hear it. It was a familiar ring tone - simple and to the point.

"Squall! Join us!" a voice shouted from downstairs. Squall couldn't hear it as he was concentrating on finding the source of the sound. It was a cellular phone and it was hidden somewhere in the folds of Irvine's jacket.

*That's MY phone!* Squall said. He hesitated, wondering if he had a right to go through Irvine's jacket. *It's MY phone,* he reminded himself. Without a second through, he dug through the cowboy's jacket and pulled out a sleek little black phone and flipped it open to the screen. His eyes went wide. *Oh, shit...*

Selphie looked over at Irvine and slowed her dancing down. "Irvy, where's your jacket!?" she shouted over the loud music. Irvine pointed to the balcony upstairs where he could barely make out Squall's head.

"I left it with Squall!" Irvine shouted. "It was getting hot."

Selphie's eyes went wide. "Irvine, his PHONE is in your jacket!" she nearly screamed.

"So!?" Irvine said. "What are the chances of it going off!?"

Selphie looked back up at the balcony and saw Squall standing up, looking seriously concerned as he talked rapidly into a black phone. "Oh, Hyne!!" Selphie shouted.

She took off to the side. Rinoa caught her in the corner of her eye as she ran up the stairs. Irvine was about to run after here, when Rinoa grabbed his sleeve. "Where's she going!?" she shouted.

"Upstairs!" Irvine said. "Squall got a hold of his cell phone!"

"Oh, okay!" Rinoa said, not really understanding what the big deal was. She let go of Irvine and continued to dance with the others while Irvine ran after Selphie. By the time she got to the upper level, Squall was finishing up the call.

"Yes, sir, I'll get right on it!" Squall was shouting. "It shouldn't be a problem!"

"Oh no..." Selphie frowned. Squall pulled the phone away from his ear and closed it. He put his hands on the table and took a deep breath. "Squall?"

"The alarms went off at the Garden," Squall said. "It might just be a gas leak or something, but I have to go back and check on it."

"No!" Selphie said. "We'll do it! Irvine and I will go!"

"We will?" Irvine asked. Selphie shot him a looked and he nodded. "Yeah! Yeah, we will!"

Squall shook his head and put the phone in his pocket. "You can't, you need a code that I have."

"Then give us your code!" Selphie asserted, as if it were so simple.

"I can't," Squall stated. "It can access confidential files, you know that."

"Well, you can't just leave," Irvine said. "You're on vacation!"

"I need to go check on the Garden before it opens up the week after next," Squall told them. "We can't have students and SeeDs returning to the Garden if there is a gas leak."

"So, you're just going to leave?" Selphie piped, almost shocked. "But you've barely been here a week!"

"You'll come back right?" Irvine added. He gave a slight smile. "I mean, you WILL come back...won't you?"

Squall took a deep breath and shook his head unsurely. "I don't know...it depends when the problem is fixed."

"Squall, you can't leave!" Selphie pleaded. "You and Rinoa just got back together! You can't just leave!"

"Selphie, I have, too," Squall said. "I need to go and buy a ticket."

"A ticket to where...?" a softer voice said behind them. Squall looked past Selphie and Irvine and swore. He closed his eyes and looked away.

"Balamb," Squall told Rinoa hesitantly. "The alarms went off at the Garden and I have to go check on them."

"Can't someone else do it?" she asked. Squall shook his head. "Oh...well, when are you coming back?"

"I don't know," he stated softly. "It depends when everything is fixed," He looked up and met her eyes reluctantly. "Rinoa, I'm sorry-"

"It's okay!" she said with a warm smile. She extended her hand. "Let me get my stuff and tell Laguna."

"What...why?" Squall asked, confused.

"I'm coming with you."

Squall looked down at the young woman sleeping next to him on the train. Her head was leaning against his shoulder as a small dog curled up at her lap while Angelo curled up at their feet. He sighed tiredly.

*How did I let her talk me into this?* he asked himself for the billionth time. And for the billionth time, he answered, *Because part of you wanted her to go. That's why you caved.*

He heard yipping and looked over. The Angelo miniature dog barked quietly at him and Squall smiled. He reached over and picked up the small dog, placing her on his lap. "What's wrong, Demona? Is the ride making you sick?"

She whimpered slightly and Angelo stood up. She sat in front of Squall and Demona and comfortingly licked the puppy's face. "You'll be all right," Squall told her quietly as he placed her on the seat across from him. Angelo jumped up and sat next to Demona, curling the puppy next to her. "Angelo will make sure of that."

The little dog yipped some more and snuggled against Angelo's fur. Squall felt a smaller hand go over his. "Mmm...how much longer?"

"We're almost there," he assured Rinoa as he leaned down and kissed her head. "Are you excited?"

"I'm just hoping that it's nothing serious," Rinoa yawned tired as she sat straight up. She stretched out a little. "Is Demona okay?"

"She's fine," Squall assured her. "Did you have a good nap?"

"Yes...did you sleep at all?" Squall shook his head and Rinoa let out a heavy sigh. "Squall, you have to get some rest."

"I can rest all I want after we get to the Garden and we figure out what's wrong," Squall said. "Anyway, Cid contacted Nida and Nida's already there."

"Does he know what's wrong?"

"Not yet," Squall replied. "We'll find out and then as soon as we fix it, we'll go back to the resort."

"I need to get back by this weekend," she said as she looked at her watch. "Seifer wasn't too happy when I told him that I was going with you to the Garden."

Squall rolled his eyes. "Not happy is an understatement..."

"Where are you going?" Seifer asked as he and Quistis arrived at the private room where Rinoa was packing her things away neatly.

"To Balamb Garden."

"No, really. Where are you going?" Seifer insisted. Quistis went over to talk to Squall, who was telling Zell and the others what was going on.

"To Balamb Garden," Rinoa said. "Squall has to go back and I'm going with him."

Seifer's eyebrows furrowed. "You ARE aware that you have a shoot this weekend, right?"

"Right."

"And you will be back by then, I'm assuming?"

"Uh...sure..."

"Rinoa, this is serious," Seifer stated. "Don't flake out."

"I'm not flaking out!" she insisted.

"Why do you have to go anyway? Isn't this Captain Puberty's problem?" Seifer said as he looked over at the group.

"I want to stay with Squall!" Rinoa insisted stubbornly as she lifted up her puppy in her arms.

"What about the video!?"

"The video will be fine!"

"It's not a music video without the singer!" Seifer growled. "You better be back by this weekend!"

"And if I'm not!"

"Then...then..." Seifer stammered. "Quisty! Help me out!"

Then Seifer freaked out about the deadlines and the cost of producing the video and then gave her a never ending lecture on how much effort it took him to book a certain director and how her make-up crew was coming specifically for the shoot.

Even as they drove them to the station, Seifer continued his speech about how she was making it difficult for everyone, including her precious Squall. As she waved out the train to the others, Seifer continued to screech out "YOU BETTER BE HERE!!!"

"He'll deal," Rinoa stated casually. "So...um...you have a new room?"

"Yeah, it's more like a little suite now," he said casually as he looked over some papers that he had set aside earlier. "It has a small kitchen and a couch. There's a desk."

"What about the bed?" Rinoa asked hesitantly.

Squall felt his face grow warm as he avoided eye contact. "What ABOUT the bed?"

"Well...is it...you know..." Rinoa stammered. "Will it fit two people?"

Squall looked up at her. "I thought you might want your own room, like before."

"Right! Right!" Rinoa gasped. "My own room! Of course! What was I thinking right? Of course, I'm getting my own room." Squall smiled slightly and put the papers down. He reached over and drew her into her arms.

"I would rather you stay with me," he whispered into her ear. Rinoa flushed deeply as she felt his lips against her cheeks. The slowly worked down her neck as he tugged on her jacket to reveal some more skin to kiss. "Is that all right?"

She let out an incoherent whimper and he took that as a yes. He closed his eyes as he slowly moved his mouth against her nape. Rinoa chewed on her bottom lip. She wanted to giggle, being extremely pleased. She opened her eyes and two brown orbs went wide. "Squall..." she said.

"Hmmm?" he whispered roughly as his hand cupped her chin and turned her head more towards him.

"Squ...Squall, stop..." Rinoa said nervously.

Squall frowned. "Why...?" He opened his eyes and looked up. Immediately, Squall shot him a cold look. Rinoa covered her face with her hand and shook her head, embarrassed.

A train attendant stood there, his head turned away as a blush covered his face. "Uh...we've arrived in Balamb..."

Squall carried a duffel bag with him and one of Rinoa's bags. Rinoa carried a paper bag with dog food in one hand and a small dog's carrier in the other. Angelo walked next to them, looking excited as she re-entered a familiar place.

"It hasn't changed much," Rinoa said as she followed Squall into the building. "Should we put the things away?"

"Let's head up to the control room first," Squall said. "Nida should be there. Maybe he can tell us what's wrong."

Rinoa nodded. She decided that it was a good idea, seeing as if would be safer as well. What if they went straight to his room to put their things away and it was infected with some airborne disease. She looked down at Angelo and since the dog didn't seem to smell something weird, she decided it must be safe.

They got into an elevator and Rinoa looked around. She smiled and giggled. Squall looked over at her strangely. "What?" she asked, still trying to suppress her giggles.

"Why are you laughing?" he asked, confused.

"I once caught Zell and Shizuka making out in an elevator," Rinoa snickered. "I was waiting to go to back to my room and when the doors opened, they were all over each other. I couldn't stop snickering as they tried to talk their way out of it and play it off."

Squall smiled slightly. The elevator let out a ping and the doors slid open. They walked out, followed by Angelo, and headed down the corridor to the control room. Rinoa looked around. It was still the same old Garden.

The sliding doors opened and they walked into the room. Nida looked up. "Oh, good, you're here just in time," he said as he stood up. He noticed someone behind Squall. "Whose...Rinoa?"

"Hi, Nida!" Rinoa smiled brightly.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, shocked, yet slightly pleased. Squall seemed somewhat pleasant rather than the irritated captain he had expected to arrive.

"Checking out my new home," she winked. "So, let's find out the problem so we can fix it and relax."

"Okay, well..." Nida looked back at the screens and panels. "Squall's guess was right. It is a gas leak on the lower levels. I've contacted some service repair men to come and fix it, but we need Squall's code to enter those levels."

"Have you closed off the surrounding areas?" Squall asked. Nida nodded. "Make sure to vent them."

"Right," Nida said.

"When will the repair men get here?" Squall asked.

"This afternoon," Nida said. "They'll meet us by the front of the Garden and we'll escort them to the lower levels."

"Do we need any special equipment?"

"I'm assuming that they'll bring breathing masks with them," Nida replied. "But for our own safety, we should get a pair from the stock room."

Squall nodded. "All right. Make sure that the other rooms that have been effected are closed off and vented. Keep the room with the leak contained until the repair men get here. Call me when they arrive and I'll meet you at the front."

"Yes, captain," Nida said. He gave Squall a salute. "Uh...should I call your office or your...um...private line?"

Rinoa looked over at Squall who narrowed his eyes. "My OFFICE." he stated strongly. Nida nodded.

"Right...of course!" he stammered nervously. Rinoa just smiled.

"It was nice seeing you again, Nida." Rinoa waved and Nida smiled back before turning back to his work. Squall lead Rinoa and Angelo back to the elevator.

They rode it to the level where Squall's new room was. "It's kind of a mess," Squall said. "They made me leave for Trabia on such short notice, I didn't have a chance to clean up."

Rinoa nodded, expecting his room to be littered with clothes and probably stacks of papers on his desk. The door slid open and they stepped in. "Lair." Rinoa said as she looked around the room. It was covered with a dark colored rug. To the right of the door was a small kitchen with a mini fridge. There was a small circular table next to it with one chair.

Across from the 'kitchen' was a living area. It had a simple couch with a large television in front of it. There was a small wooden coffee table between the two littered with several magazines and three DVDs. Across from the door was a shelf of books next to a door.

Squall wandered through the door, tossing his leather jacket on his desk, which was opposite the living area. It was neatly organized with papers set up in their own color coordinated stack. Even the pens were kept neat and organized. Rinoa knelt down and put the dog carrier on the floor. She opened it and Demona tumbled out, yipping for attention.

Angelo came over and the little dog followed Angelo to explore the new room. "You can put your stuff here!" Squall's voice called from the bedroom.

Rinoa blushed slightly as she walked across the room and into the bedroom. Squall was opening the curtains that looked outside across one wall. It was quite a large window and went from one end of the room to the other. In the middle of the room was a simple king sized bed with a black head board. There was a night stand on each side with a simple black lamp on each.

He had a wardrobe and a dresser to one corner and another shelf of books to one side with a smaller television on top of it along with a DVD player. She turned her head to one side and saw the bathroom. It was small, but kept neat. "You're such a neat freak, Squall."

"I like to be organized," he answered as he walked over to the phone by his bed. He pressed some buttons to get his office calls forwarded to his bedroom. Squall sat on the edge of his bed and looked at her from where she was standing at the door way. "Well? What do you think?"

"It's nice," Rinoa nodded. "A lot of room...but that's probably because you keep it simple." She put her bag on the floor and walked over to the bed. She sat on the edge and smiled as she sank in.

"Did you expect it to be hard?" Squall chuckled as he fell back on his pillows. "The original bed was taken by Irvine...I don't know WHERE he was going to fit it. But Selphie said that I should get a better bed after they helped me move in. So she and Irvine went out and got me this one for my birthday."

"That was nice of them," Rinoa said as she bounced on it. She turned around and removed the boots off her feet before crawling next to him. "Speaking of birthdays, what did you get me? I don't recall ever getting a present from you."

"How about a vacation away from everyone?" Squall offered.

"Nice try," Rinoa replied. She laid down next to her and stared up at his ceiling. Squall's eyes were drifting to sleep as they laid there. "Squall...?" she whispered after a few moments.

"What?" he asked in a tired voice. His eyes were closed, but he kept on arm around Rinoa.

"Are you my birthday present?" she asked quietly.

Squall paused. "What do you think?" he finally asked.

Rinoa closed her eyes and smiled contentedly. "Thank you."

Next Time:
You're alone in the Garden. What would YOU do? Squall and Rinoa indulge themselves in some light hearted fun and are caught in a surprise visit when the others drop in. If we get around to it, Selphie and Irvine go get her new puppy (or adult dog). Still no plot.