The Oath

Squall silently slipped into Rinoa's room, never realising he could feel so hollow while still dreading the coming conversation. He really didn't want to be doing this. He wanted to revert to his old ways and push these thoughts and feelings away until they no longer plagued him, banished with all his other forgotten memories. However, to simply disregard Ami, to seal her to the same fate as Ellone had not five years ago, seemed just as painful and would leave Rinoa to suffer alone. How could he abandon his wife now? He didn't want to lose Rinoa for something neither of them had any power over.

The small bedside lamp had been switched on, giving the room a depressing murkiness. The figure of his lover could be made out on the bed, too still to be asleep.

"Rinoa?"

There was no response. It was tempting to turn round and leave, pretending that Rinoa was just asleep, but it was a lie and he knew it. She was as eager as he was to avoid the coming conversation. He walked across the room, treading softly, as if the wrong step could make everything worse, sending their lives into a further downward spiral. Rinoa's head remained turned away as she lay on her back, not moving as he approached, not even as he sat down on the bed beside her.

"Rinoa?" he repeated her name, "I know you're awake."

He had hoped that she would react to that. What should he say now? Was he supposed to do something? Neither of them wanted to talk about this, but he understood that it had to be done, not that the knowledge helped him. He didn't know where to start. Should he hug her? Should he leap straight in there? Normally, he would have looked to Rinoa for the cue, but now…

"I'm sorry," Rinoa whispered, finally breaking the tense silence, "I'm so sorry, Squall."

"There's nothing to be sorry about."

She shook her head against the pillow. "I don't know what happened. I don't understand why it happened. I didn't want this, I-" A sob broke free from her.

"It's not your fault." Squall tried to reassure her and yet he found himself unable to articulate what he really wanted to say and the assurance that she needed to hear. His mind was left blank and his body useless. He needed to do something else.

He found his hand resting against her arm, causing her to open her eyes to look at him.

"What did I do wrong?" she pleaded, as if she expected that he'd give her an answer, an answer he just didn't have.

"Nothing, it wasn't anything you did."

"I must have done something wrong. I should have read more, but I didn't think I needed to do anything. I thought it would all be natural, that it would just happen."

"It is, it was-"

"Then why did I reject them!" she raised her voice to cut through his. That panicked edge was back as the tears started to flow again.

"You didn't reject them Rinoa, you could never reject them."

She rose, propping herself up on her elbow, moving slowly and carefully to avoid jerking her healing c-section. "But I did."

"It wasn't you. You didn't decide to do this anymore than you decided to fall pregnant."

"But it was my body. Women aren't supposed to abandon their children while they're still inside them. What's wrong with me? Is it because I'm a sorceress, or is it something else?"

"I think we're just…" He searched for the right word, yet the only one that came to mind was the one that Laguna had used — unlucky. It didn't seem to ft though; it was too flippant and unsatisfying as a reply. It would have been more appropriate to say 'screwed over by fate.' "We're not the first ones this has happened to and we won't be the last."

Rinoa's fingers clenched the front of his shirt, seemingly afraid that he would leave. "It hurts so much to lose Ami. I'm so angry, at myself and life for this, but I don't want you to hate me. I'm scared you'll pull away from me and I can't lose you too because of this."

Closing the space between them, he pulled his wife towards him, gathering her up in his arms and drawing her close to his body as she sobbed.

"I could never hate you; I need you too much, now more than ever."

The dam broke and Rinoa wept, Squall tried to prevent his own emotions from overwhelming him again. He fought them down. Not now, he needed to be strong for his lover. He had to hold and comfort her, to be her pillar of strength; he couldn't do that as a blubbering fool. This was about Rinoa and letting her know that they were as strong as ever, because Squall could not do this on his own. But as the indistinguishable words escaped her lips, merged with her weeping, he found that his resolve was pushed to its limit.

He took in a shaky breath to calm himself, holding his love tighter to lend him strength. He had to be strong. However, her sobs seemed to penetrate his defences and his vision blurred. He had to be strong, he couldn't cry. He had to be Rinoa's rock, but his body wouldn't listen.

"We'll get through this," he promised to them both, desperately trying to keep the tremors in his voice at bay, "I will be there, always. We'll get through this and raise a wonderful, strong son. No matter what, we won't lose anyone else."

(&)

"…Also, make sure someone is there to meet General Caraway when he arrives. His flight should come in early this evening."

Laguna relaxed against his chair as he spoke to Kiros, waiting for…something. If he was honest, he wasn't entirely sure what he was waiting for, but he knew that he couldn't leave. With Squall and Rinoa finally asleep, there was little else he could do except hang around. There were things that needed to be arranged, but he'd chosen to leave that 'til a more reasonable time. Not that he normally called seven a.m. reasonable, but it was for Kiros and it was a damn better sight than 4 a.m.

So, he had waited, read some magazines, drank cold coffee, waited some more, wrapped an arm around Elle as she fell asleep on his shoulder, waited a bit more, played a game on his phone and counted the tiles in the sitting area floor. Finally, Laguna had become bored enough to call his friend an hour before he intended to at the eight o'clock start.

"I'll make sure there's a car to take him straight to the hospital. Shall we tell him what's happened?"

Laguna sighed. "There's no point waiting 'til he gets here. Let him have some time to digest the news before he arrives. I can't imagine that Squall or Rinoa want to deliver the bad news themselves. Speaking of bad news, have the reporters got a sniff of the situation yet?"

"Not as far as we're aware, but it's possible that someone has noticed your presence in the hospital. But if all is quiet on your end and we haven't been alerted, then I doubt it."

Elle stirred on his shoulder, but didn't wake. It was quite amazing that she could sleep through all this chatter. "Let's keep it that way for as long as possible, I don't want this turning out like the café meetings — that's the last thing we all need. If they starting catching on then stall them for as long as possible, if that doesn't work then distract them with something."

"With what?"

"I dunno. Tell them we're giving pensions to dogs or something. You're the brains of the two of us, you'll think of something. If they know Rinoa went into labour, they'll ask why I'm hanging around here and why she's in hospital for so long. It'll be best to keep this under our hats 'til after they've left the hospital."

"There's a good chance they won't notice. All eyes are on your anniversary and with Rinoa's due date further in the future, they won't be looking to her just yet. They'll expect an announcement to go round to announce she's given birth anyway. I will have to make sure you're not expected anywhere any time soon though. I'll change your schedule for the next few days. Luckily, people are used to your…eccentricities, so they shouldn't be too suspicious, especially with all the activity going on at the moment."

"Did I have anything important today?"

Kiros snorted. "Would I give you anything important after a big party? Though I doubt anyone's mind is on bills or reforms. There was one interview with the 'Esthar Call,' but that can be delayed until after the holidays. Speaking of which, you will have to appear in the shopping district at the end of this week to close the celebrations. Not that you can spend the rest of week in the hospital."

He'd never really thought about that. "I guess so. Well, I'll be there on Saturday if you can get a car for Caraway, keep the reporters away and hold down the fort for me."

"In other words, you'll sit in hospital while I do all the work."

"Hey, I can't work in the hospital."

"Not entirely true. I'll send some papers for you to look over when Caraway arrives."

"You're a heartless man, Kiros."

"This country would be in ruins if I wasn't," his friend joked before becoming serious again. "Is there anything else you'd like me to take care of?"

"Just make sure Squall's friends know what's going on."

"Take care of yourself Laguna, not just Squall and Rinoa."

"Will do. See ya later," he added before sliding his phone back into his pocket.

He tilted his head back to rest against the wall and sighed. It would really help him pass the time if he knew what he was waiting for. For Squall to wake up and need something he guessed, or for Caraway to arrive. Either way, he wasn't going to be going anywhere anytime soon.

"You should go home."

Laguna jumped out of his skin, causing the girl asleep on his shoulder to jerk awake with a small cry. Apparently this was one thing that she couldn't sleep through. They both looked up at the doorway to see Squall leaning against the frame. He spoke again.

"You don't have to be here."

Straightening, Ellone spoke up. "We want to be here, we want to support you."

"Nothing's happening, nothing for you to do here, so you may as well go back."

"That's not the point."

"You were asleep."

Ellone blushed a little in embarrassment and Laguna swooped in to her rescue with a retort to Squall.

"Like you should be."

Squall ran a hand through his hair, coming to sit at other side of the corner to them. "I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep."

"Want me to get you something?"

"I'm fine; I'll go back in a minute."

"Want me to tell you a bedtime story?"

Squall's mouth twitched up and Laguna got the impression that his son wasn't laughing with him per se.

"What?"

"Rinoa said something similar to me once."

Laguna grinned, now that he would pay to see. "Did it work?" He took the silence to mean yes and stretched his arms in preparation. "Well, it's been 20 years since I read anyone a story, but I was pretty damn good at it. Wasn't I, Elle?"

She smiled up at him. "The greatest. Whenever I went to bed, Uncle Laguna was there to tell me a bedtime story and he always told the best."

"What was your favourite…Oh yeah, the one about The Elephant King. You asked for a new story about that elephant every night for two months, until Raine and I got married."

She laughed, resting her head against his shoulder. "How did you put up with me? You and Raine must have been desperate for some time alone."

"Oh, most of the time it was okay, but every now and then, you would come in the middle of the night when we were sleeping…"

(&)

"…Uncle Laguna."

The man blinked away sleep as his name was hissed out. He felt a small hand tugging on his arm and he groaned, wanting to go back to sleep, but not having the heart to turn the little girl away. He opened his eyes fully as the Elle whispered his name again, squinting past Raine, asleep in his arms, into the gloom of the room.

The little girl stood beside the bed, staring up at him. "Uncle Laguna, I woked up and can't sweep. Can you wead me a stowi?"

He knew that Raine would have said, 'no, go back to bed' right now. Having him in the house was not an excuse to get an extra story every night and that the child needed to learn that she couldn't have everything that she wanted.

However, just looking at those big puppy dog eyes now, how could he say no? He just wasn't as strong as Raine was.

"Okay, Elle. Just one story and then you have to sleep. Now go wait in bed," he whispered, trying his best not to wake his new wife.

"But I wan' it now."

"I will be two minutes. You just need to go back to bed and wait there."

"Why?"

"Because…" Oh boy, how to put this? "I need to get dressed."

"You don' need to dwess. It's jus' a stowi."

Oh yes, he did. "Yes, but, I'm not wearing pyjamas."

"Ooooooooh," and then her eyes slide over to where Raine lay. She frowned. "Why aren't you weawing pyjamas?"

"…" This was very, very awkward. A lie, a lie, a lie… "Erm, we…got hot." He tried not to sound too triumphant when he said that last part.

She looked confused. "I'm not hot."

"Well, when two people share a bed, they sometimes get…hot, but it's okay because they're married. But never get too hot until after you're married."

That was…incredibly lame. If anything he made it all sound more suspicious. The girl, however, looked thoughtful for a moment and then nodded, the concept making sense to her.

"Okay, I'll go. Be quick," she commanded before trotting off.

The man let out a breath of relief. That was close, but he doubted that even Raine could have handled that better. He looked down at his wife, seeing her steady breathing and small, blissful smile touching her lips.

He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Cheater."

"Maybe next time you'll ignore her and let her go back to sleep on her own," the woman whispered back.

"And ignore that look in her eyes?"

"If you don't open your eyes, you won't see it."

"But I'll still know it's there."

She shook her head ever-so-slightly, shifting to let Laguna free. "Better go before she comes back."

"Good point." He sat up, looking around him. "Erm…" He seemed to be saying that a lot tonight.

"Foot of the bed."

"Thanks."

He grabbed his trousers, slipping off the bed and snatching up his shirt for good measure. He moved away as Raine made herself comfortable again. Laguna approached Elle's bed to see her kneeing by the window, peering up at the stars. She turned round when he sat down beside her and pointed up at the sky, grinning.

"I saw a shooting staw."

Laguna smiled softly. "Did you make a wish?"

"A wish?"

"Yeah, a wish," he pulled back the covers and waited for her to climb inside. "To the Star Princess. You know the story, right?"

She shook her head. Humph, fancy not know the star princess story. Winhill was more remote than he thought.

"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess who lived high up in the heavens. Every night, she would rise higher than any other star, shine twice as brightly and watch over the people of Gaia. Every morning, she fell into a deep slumber and waited to shine again at night.

"One evening, as she watched over the lands, a handsome prince was riding through the woods on a midnight-black horse. He was a famous horseman, but tonight he had managed to go astray. She watched as he went round and round in circles, doomed to be lost for all eternity. Feeling for the young man, she gathered up all her energy and moved to stand above the palace, shining brighter than she had ever shone before, pointing him in the direction of home. Thanks to her help, he managed to find his way back to the palace, but as she blazed in the sky, she realised that she shone too brightly for too long and she tumbled out of the sky.

"She was found the next day, sleeping in the palace gardens and she amazed everyone with her breath-taking beauty. The King and Queen were so impressed that they ordered that she be cared for until she recovered, in the hopes that she would marry their son when she awoke. As soon as the prince laid eyes on the princess, he fell in love. Every day, he came to sit by her bedside, watching as she grew stronger and stronger, each day shining a little brighter. When she finally woke up, he was the first one she saw, she recognised him as the prince she had helped and was impressed by his dedication.

"The two spent every day together and the more time the star princess spent with the prince, the more she fell in love. Soon the two were wed, however, stars are not meant to marry humans.

"A year after they were married, a sorceress came to the palace gates and demanded to see the royal family. She told them that stars did not belong on Gaia and they always had to return to the heavens after they had regained their shine. The family begged the sorceress to reconsider, but knowing how dangerous it was to have such things where they did not belong, she returned the princess to her rightful place.

"But, falling into grief, the Star Princess could no longer shine brightly and she threatened to disappear into nothing. Seeing the star's despair, the sorceress took pity on her. She told the star that if she collected 100,000 wishes, then they could forge a new star and she could return to her prince. The star was thrilled and shot off across the sky in search of wishes.

"So, every time you see a shooting star, it's the Star Princess collecting wishes so that she can return to her love one day and every wish you make upon a star brings her closer to her own wish."

Laguna looked down to see Ellone fast asleep…

(&)

"… and not much has changed," the man noted, watching his surrogate daughter once again sleeping on his shoulder.

Squall watched them. "You two really should go get some sleep."

Laguna indicated to Elle. "She's already getting some."

"Some proper sleep."

"Caraway's arriving this evening; we'll leave then if you like."

"You don't need to take shifts watching over us."

"And you don't need to do this on your own."

Squall had no comeback to that.

They sat in silence for a couple more minutes before Laguna decided to speak about his conversation with his friend, hoping it would ease some of Squall's troubles. "I've spoken to Kiros and he's cleared my schedule, though I didn't have anything important in the first place anyway. I've also asked him to pick up Caraway and bring him here and to keep the reporters away."

"Thank you."

"Is there anything else you need?"

Squall shook his head. "I don't know, have no idea what comes next."

"You go get some sleep."

"And after that?"

"That's for us to worry about later."

Squall nodded and stood. "I should get back to Rinoa."

Laguna watched his son walk away, softly adding, "Don't forget that you're not alone, you're never alone anymore."

End of The Oath

Wow, that last line can sound reaaaaaaaally creepy. Hope you guys enjoyed this. I actually found that first scene really hard to write (way harder than the last chapter), so I hope it's not filled with epic fail.