Author's Note: Bit of a longer chapter this one, to make up for the delay in updating. Been working nights up at the hospital, it's a killer, so I think I should be forgiven, or at least pitied… Hope you like!

Chapter Twenty One

Party 2nite, my house. Seifer.

Rinoa stared at her text; she could have sworn that Selphie had said next week. To double check, she phoned Selphie who confirmed that it was in fact, tonight. Saturday morning was almost over now; if she wanted to shop for a new outfit she would have to be quick.

The SeeD's had all gone out, and Selphie was over Irvine's house with no intentions of leaving any time soon. Rinoa wondered whether to call Squall, he was at the hospital, but he had said to call if she needed him. Although she suspected his reasons for her to call were more along the lines of 'Squall I have been abducted by aliens' or 'the house burnt down', not so much, 'I want to go shopping.'

She dialled his number, and after a few short rings he answered.

"Commander Leonhart," he said, not sounding as if he had looked at who was calling. Rinoa paused; the formality of his greeting surprised her, she said nothing down the line, and there was a moment of silence.

"Squall?" she asked tentatively.

She could hear him telling the other people around him that he would be back in one moment, and then she heard movement and the door shut.

"Yes?" he asked.

Rinoa blushed, she felt stupid now for phoning him, as she could have got a taxi or something, or even the bus. Maybe she could pretend she'd called just for a chat, but even then, she would have disturbed him for no reason.

"Are you coming back soon?" she asked, keeping her tone vague.

She could imagine Squall rubbing at the bridge of his nose, as he always did when exasperated.

"What do you want?"

She was right, he did sound annoyed, but not angry. Hospitals usually made people on edge, and Squall had plenty to be worried about. So Rinoa chose to forgive him.

"Nothing," she said biting her fingernail. "Just…seeing how you are."

There was a long pause, where Rinoa could think of nothing to say, and Squall wondered whether he could believe that or not. No one ever phoned him to see how his day was, the only calls he ever got were business related. Would Rinoa really call him without wanting something?

"I'm fine…" Squall said, feeling a little intruded upon. Why did she care anyway?

"Oh… good," Rinoa said embarrassed, he must have thought her weird now as well as stupid. He'd only been gone a couple of hours, she sounded like she had no life when he wasn't around. Maybe Seifer's party was what she needed. After all, however much she might the SeeDs, they were not her real friends, and they would be gone in a week.

"Rinoa, we need to talk," Squall said in a quieter voice, as if he was afraid someone would overhear. Rinoa's face suddenly drained of all colour, and she was glad that they were speaking on the phone and not face-to-face.

People only every said that when they had something bad to say, or in movies and TV when someone wanted to break-up with the other. She couldn't speak for a moment, so Squall carried on.

"I'm meeting Quistis and Zell in half an hour, we'll talk then."

"Um, are you going to pick me up?" Rinoa managed to squeak out.

"I'll be there in ten."

Those ten minutes were the longest ten minutes of Rinoa's life, in fact it was longer, as Squall was late arriving at her house. Rinoa had been ready to go ever since she had ended the conversation, and had been sitting on the bottom of the stairs with her coat on and her bag in her hands. Her fingers had gone white from where she was holding the bag so tightly, and when Squall finally walked through the front door he noticed how deathly pale she was.

He hadn't expected her to be ready and waiting, but the look on her face told him that she had been waiting anxiously. Maybe he should have told her on the phone, but nothing had been decided yet.

"What's wrong?" she attacked him with. "What's happened? Is it my fault?"

"No," he said surprised. How could she think anything was her fault? She hadn't done anything. Her anxious state surprised him, and he wasn't prepared. "We might be leaving sooner than planned."

Rinoa couldn't hide the look of disappointment that spread across her face. No, they couldn't leave. She wasn't ready for them to go yet. She had only just got used to them being around, and she was sure that they had gotten used to her too. Especially Squall, he included her now, he no longer treated her like an employer, but as one of them…or so she had thought. But if that were true, then why would they leave before they had to?

"But… you are supposed to stay another week!" she said, her voice high pitched in her distress. She heard her own voice in her ears and felt ashamed at her hasty words. It was just a job to them, and she had to remember that.

"The situation with Clari has caused concerns. Zell is adamant that the exams should be ended. Quistis is undecided. We will discuss the option's today… you are welcome to join us…"

Rinoa folded her arms as she looked away. What she really wanted to do was to stamp her feet, run up the stairs and cry. But she didn't dare act on it. She didn't trust that Squall would come after her; it was more likely that he'd just walk out and carry on with his day.

"Would you have asked me to come along, if I hadn't of called you?" she asked finding a steady voice from somewhere deep inside. She didn't know why this had shaken her so much, she knew that they had to leave… she just hadn't been prepared.

"No," he replied honestly. "I've been meaning to tell you for days."

Rinoa frowned.

"Well, why didn't you?" Rinoa asked, she was more than a little annoyed that she had been carry on with her life, when the SeeDs had been hiding a secret from her. What else did they know that she didn't?

Squall seemed loathed to answer, as he turned towards the door and stepped outside.

"We should go," he said leading the way down the path.

The military base let Squall in without any questions. Rinoa gazed out of the window, trying to be angry, but unable to be interested in where she was. She had never been past the gates before; she was familiar only with the civilian area having waited there on many occasions for her father. Squall led her to one of the compounds, before opening the door for her to go inside. She stepped in not expecting to be stared at by a room full of people.

"Here, sit down," Squall said offering her the only available seat left in the room. He remained standing until someone had the presence of mind to fetch him a chair.

Rinoa tried to look around without appear to be doing so, and caught Quistis' eye. She looked surprised to see Rinoa there, but smiled after a while. Zell was too preoccupied with doodling on his notepaper to notice her. At last, what Rinoa supposed was a meeting, began.

"I shall begin with stating what we have discovered from our preliminary investigations on the monster, that we are, for the present, referring to as number 226."

Rinoa looked up shocked to see that her father had been the one to speak. She dipped her head down and blushed. What would he say later after all these other people had gone? Would he be angry that she came here? Not that it was her fault; she didn't know where she would be going. It was Squall's fault she was here.

"Its stats show that it was running at a higher level to most monsters found in these parts, suggesting that it is not native. The thickness of its scales has led us to believe that it has come from a much colder clime. As such we are of an opinion that it has been illegally smuggled into this country, possibly from the Trabia continent."

Rinoa had never seen her father at work, at least, not away from his office at home. She was struck by the way he commanded everyone's attention, including Squall, who listened to him with unwavering concentration. Unlike Zell, who couldn't help but continue his doodle.

"226 has already begun transfer to Garden?" Squall said, seeking confirmation. Once General Caraway answered affirmative, Squall began adding to his notes. "You will fax all your information to Cid Kramer."

"Certainly, the information was sent this morning."

Rinoa listened with awe at the assertive manner in which Squall spoke to her father. She fully believed that there was no way that Squall would let himself be walked over, not like her, who sat in her chair trying to be invisible.

"I believe that you have a theory on what has caused our SeeD cadet, number 0765, her present state of illness," Quistis prompted, her pen paused over her notes. Her manner that was usually strictly formal and professional was doubly so now, and Rinoa knew that she had a long way to go to gain such a confidence that these SeeD had.

"Yes. Purely a theory you understand," General Caraway answered, "But because of the nature of the creature's magic, casting a haste upon the girl may increase the chances of further magic being successful."

Quistis nodded and wrote this down.

"The hospital staff have made some progress since our last meeting," Squall said, "Cadet number 0765's BP has improved significantly, and her blood sugar levels are at a much more satisfactory level. Although she passes most of her day in a deep sleep, there have been periods of time in which she is awake, however, not yet alert." Squall stopped reading from his notes and looked up for questions.

There were none, and everyone seemed satisfied. There then followed the usual summing up of the information shared, a brief plan of action, and date arranged for the next meeting.

As everyone departed, the SeeDs and Rinoa remained. Rinoa had half expected her father to want a word with her, but as he passed he simply put a hand on her shoulder in an affectionate manner, the left the room. Squall waited for everyone to leave before he spoke.

"Your reports please."