His hands possessively took hold over the swell of the hips of the goddess that lay on top of him. He took in a deep breath and closed his eyes as he reveled in the scent of her hair. She curled her fingertips over his chest, one long nail tracing lazy circles across his skin. She cuddled in closer, making quiet noises like a sated kitten. It was a stark contrast to the sweet ferocity she had rocked him with while straddling him.

Squall placed a gentle kiss to the top of her head. "I love you," he whispered.

Rinoa lifted her head and her swollen and love-bitten lips curved into a smile. "I love you," she returned, her fingers reaching up to trace his jaw. She moved forward so that her lips slanted over his, her teeth gently nibbling on his bottom lip.

His arms snaked around her and held her so close, held her so tightly, he never wanted to let go. But he had to. Morning was now here and the gravity of the situation was beginning to weigh heavily upon both of them. Carefully he rolled her over so she lay on her back. His fingers wove their way through her hair and he gazed down at the warm brown eyes that looked back up at him.

"We need to go, don't we?" Rinoa said quietly.

With a soft sigh he wrapped a coil of her hair around his finger. "We probably should," he said with a reluctant groan. "I'd rather we didn't but…" He leaned in and gave her a deep, slow kiss before pulling away. "Come on." He shifted to his knees and pulled Rinoa to sit up.

He tried to help her dress, but as he stooped behind her to work the zipper, he paused at the sight of the torn back. His lips twisted as the gears in his head began turning.

"I know, I ruined it," Rinoa yawned, daintily patting her lips with her fingertips. "I'm surprised the damn thing stayed on as long as it had."

Squall grunted and then gripped the top of the dress and tried his best to tie the two ripped pieces of fabric together. "It'll have to do for now," he decided. "Once we land we'll get you home and you can change." He handed her his plain black t-shirt to put over the torn dress. "It's more readily accepted that I show up without a shirt than you without one," he answered her questioning gaze. With a quick tug he pulled up his pants and buckled himself together.

For a moment they stood in the dilapidated remnants of his childhood that he couldn't even remember. He allowed his eyes to roam over the broken chunks of concrete, the smashed in wooden bedframes…and outside the hole in the wall where a window used to be was a beautiful view of the ocean and the lighthouse. And right in front of him was the most beautiful creature he had ever lain eyes on. Even with her hair a nest of knots and fly-aways, her skin covered with dirt and scrapes from their rolling around on the floor, and her knees bloodied from their ferocious lovemaking, she was the only thing that warmed his heart and made him smile.

It had been something that the Garden had been researching—although that research had been put on hold because of the current circumstances—if it was possible to restore the memories that had been lost due to the usage of the Guardian Forces. It was something that Squall had always wondered. Did he even want to remember? He had used his role as Commander to desist the SeeD usage of Guardian Forces well over a year before. Since then he had wondered how his childhood had been. He couldn't even remember his mother's face. He had seen photographs of her at Laguna's house, had heard Ellone describe her, but he couldn't even remember the sound of her voice.

Did his past even matter to him anymore? As he stared at the raven-haired beauty before him, he knew his answer. No. The past—what he could remember, what he couldn't remember—helped shape him into the man that he was now, but it didn't help his future to continuously try to resurface it. No, what mattered was what he wanted now and what he wanted for the future—their future. As far as he was concerned, there was no future without Rinoa, his Rinoa.

He saw her blink at his sudden grin and then her cheeks began to flush and she lowered her face and started to fuss with her hair. "Fuck," she mumbled. "I must be a sight."

It made him smile wider and he enveloped her within his arms and slanted his lips over hers. He swallowed the surprised little squeal that popped from her and replaced it with his tongue. When he pulled away the slight flush she'd had from embarrassment had been replaced with desire. "You are everything I have ever needed in life," he whispered against her cheek.

She folded into his embrace and dragged her nails over his chest. "What if we're separated again?" she breathed against his skin. Her eyes closed at the thought. She didn't want to be apart from him again.

"We'll get through it," he declared. "Like everything else in life we will get through it."

Rinoa pulled away and gently touched his chin. "What if it takes another five years?"

"Then it takes another five years."

Her brows furrowed together and Squall could see the tears that threatened to spill. Quickly he cupped her face within his palms and kissed her forehead. "This time I will follow you," he promised. "I don't care what the sisters tell me, I don't care what your father tells me, this time I will make sure to know where you are. If I have to build a damn house across the street from where the sisters take you then so be it."

Rinoa chuckled at the thought and grasped his wrists.

The sound was so light, so fragile, it pulled at Squall's heartstrings. He pulled away and held her hands in his. "We'll get through this," he said again. "I'm not letting you go this time. I won't make that mistake again."

Rinoa softly nodded and brought up one of his hands to kiss his knuckles. "Ok," she sighed. "Let's go home."

Together they exited the orphanage, left behind the past. The future held no guarantees, no promises, not even for people like them. The past was something they did not have the power to change, all they could do was make sure that their present and future was what they wanted.

Squall helped her into her seat aboard Ragnarok and tossed his jacket over the arm of his chair. He flipped the switches and turned the gears. Beneath him the large hunk of metal rumbled and shook. He looked over to Rinoa who sat in her chair with her legs curled up beneath her as she watched him work. She sent him a soft smile.

"Ready?"

"Ready as I will ever be, Commander," she assured him.

As they lifted into the air and Squall took hold of the wheel, the radio began to crackle with static.

"Ragnarok, come in, over," came a stern voice. "Ragnarok, come in, over."

Squall didn't let go of the controls but he instantly looked over to Rinoa, whose eyes had widened at the sound of the voice. With an aggravated sigh Squall leaned over and flipped on the intercom. "Have you been waiting for Ragnarok to go live this whole time, General?"

"Don't fucking give me that…over."

Squall actually chuckled at Caraway's outburst. He could feel the General's icy cold glare coming through the speaker like pins and needles. "I'll take that as a yes. Over."

"Leonhart," Caraway warned. "Have you found my daughter? Over."

"Yes, we're on our way home now. Over."

Caraway released a sigh of relief. "Safe travels. Over."

Squall shut off the intercom and glanced over to Rinoa. She was still staring at the speaker where her father's voice had just come from. She took in a deep breath and turned to face Squall as she exhaled. No words were said, only soft and tired smiles reflected between them the rest of the way home.

The small crowd that had gathered was apparent before the ship had even landed. Squall slid on his leather jacket and zipped it up to his throat before he took Rinoa's hand to exit. "Hey," he said before he opened the hatch. "Whatever happens, I am here for you. I am always here for you."

Rinoa stood on tiptoe and kissed him. "Oh, no matter where I'm going I'm shoving you in my suitcase, don't you worry."

The doors opened and Rinoa flinched, her hand gripped Squall's in reflex as she awaited everyone's reactions. She couldn't tell what they were thinking, couldn't read anyone's expression as she and Squall fully exited the ship.

The first person to approach them was Caraway. He came before Rinoa with his face completely devoid of any emotion. Rinoa pressed her lips together and almost sheepishly looked up at him. "Hi," she said quietly, her voice cracking momentarily during that one syllable word.

His stony features melted abruptly, breaking into the face of a father who had seen his daughter's lifeless body. He surged against her, pulled her into a heavy and all-consuming clench. "You were dead," he gasped against her hair. "I just had to make sure you were real." He broke the embrace and held her at arm's length. "Your disappearance was felt by the sisters," he told her, his voice suddenly switching back to business mode. "They'll be here tomorrow night." He removed his hands and waved her off. "I suggest you go home, clean yourselves up, and enjoy tonight."

Used to his stern and dismissive ways, Rinoa would have normally just blinked and continued on. But this time it was different. She had overheard the nurses at the hospital talk about how the usually stone-faced and abrasive General Fury Caraway had broken down on the beach at the sight of his daughter dead and covered in her own blood. When she was in the hospital and still in a coma-like state while she healed, she knew he came to her room. She remembered hearing his voice, remembered hearing him read to her.

Inside his wallet he carried two pieces of paper. They were letters he and Julia had written when they discovered that they were going to have a child. He once told her that Julia had come up with this idea that they would write a letter to their unborn child and that after the child was born they would put the letters into the baby book.

Rinoa couldn't remember what the letters had said, she only saw them in person very briefly when she was only a child, but she distinctly remembered hearing Caraway speak the words, "To my future, my legacy, my greatest work of art that I have ever created, you are more than I deserve and for that I will make sure you are given everything you will ever need in life." She reached out and grabbed his arm. She caught the look of surprise that crossed over his features before she threw her arms around his neck.

I love you too, she thought. It was something she couldn't yet bring herself to say aloud, but she knew this action would speak volumes. His hands cautiously came up and rested on her shoulder blades. After a moment they pulled away and he gave her a slight nod. His lips offered the tiniest of smiles and soon he departed into the crowd.

It wasn't long before the two of them were bombarded with hugs and friendly punches from their peers. Selphie practically leapt into Rinoa's arms and planted kisses along her cheek. Irvine patted Squall on the shoulder while Zell gently landed a punch to Squall's arm. Rinoa turned and saw Quistis. The blonde woman was smiling so gently at her. "Welcome home," she whispered. Rinoa's throat tightened and she yanked her into her arms.

After the tearful reunions with their friends, Squall and Rinoa were finally allowed to retreat back to the apartment. Their first destination was the shower. As the steaming water rained down upon them, Squall ran his fingers through Rinoa's hair and helped her rinse the shampoo out. She closed her eyes and reveled at the sensations that ran across her body from his touch. His arms wrapped around her, his cheek kissed hers as her back was pulled flush against his chest.

When they exited the bathroom nearly an hour later, Squall was welcomed with frantic buzzing from his phone. The contraption had nearly exploded due to the multitude of incoming text messages. Their friends had offered to take them out to dinner, to which the couple had politely declined. However, they were not taking no for an answer.

I know you have NO food in the house. At least let us make you guys dinner.

Squall's lips upturned into a grin as he read the text from Irvine. He looked over his shoulder and watched Rinoa dress herself into black sweats and a blue camisole. "They demand to bring us food."

Instantly Rinoa's stomach began to growl and bit her lower lip. "I guess I can't say no to that," she said. Her eyes traveled down Squall's naked torso and lingered over the knotted scar tissue between the junction of his ribs. She approached him and gingerly ran her fingertips over the raised flesh. "Do you forgive me?" she whispered.

He took her hand and placed her palm over his heart. "I forgave you the moment I heard you say my name." With a tender grip around her wrist, he raised her fingertips to his lips and pressed soft kisses against the flesh. "I was so scared," he murmured against her fingers. "I knew that the poison had driven you mad. I knew that those actions were not from the real you. I knew that you were still in there…somewhere. What I didn't know was how to get you back. I wasn't sure if I had the power to save you."

Tears prickled at the corners of Rinoa's eyes but she willed them to stay back. "I was still in there," she whispered. "Somewhere deep down inside I was still in there. I was in constant argument with myself and sometimes it seemed like with a third person as well. That person could have been Hyne, it could have been the poison incarnate, I have no idea…but it felt like my mind was splitting into separate routes. However, one thing was always certain."

Squall ran a hand over the bend of her waist. "And what was that?"

"Aside from us all having the desire to protect our children…all the separate routes wanted to end with you by my side."

"I am your Knight. I always will be." He pulled her to him and closed his eyes in bliss as she wrapped her arms around him. "I thought I had lost you. I'm not going to let that happen again. I'd bleed every last drop for you," he said.

Rinoa buried her face into his chest and planted a kiss over his beating heart. "I'd rather you didn't," she admitted. "But I appreciate the poetry."

A knock sounded at the door and Squall growled. Even though he was grateful to have friends who cared so much about him and Rinoa, at the moment he wanted to be completely selfish and keep all of Rinoa's time to himself.

Rinoa traced the sharp curve of his jaw and sent him a smile that said that she felt exactly the same. "Put a shirt on," she said. "I'll get the door."

The next night…

The meeting with Hyne's descendants was much more public than Rinoa or Squall had expected. When Rinoa exited Squall's car her eyes widened at the large crowd that had already gathered. She smoothed down her long pale blue skirt and looked up at Squall. He looked just as surprised as she did, only his surprise was shown through the furrowing of his brow. With an arm around her waist he eased her towards the crowd.

Caraway was the first to greet them. "I wasn't expecting such a large turn out," he said.

"Are they here?"

He nodded at Rinoa. "Yes, they're speaking with some of the sorceresses right now." He turned towards Squall, leaned in, and almost in warning, said: "Your father's here as well." He ignored Squall's question of "Why?" and herded them through the crowd. Caraway brought Rinoa and Squall to two women who appeared to be in their early fifties. One had silvery white hair and amethyst eyes while the other had shining charcoal hair and eyes so brightly green that they nearly appeared yellow.

The one with charcoal hair approached Rinoa first and immediately bowed to her. "Sorceress Rinoa," she whispered. "It is wonderful to finally meet you. I am Hecate. This is Ishtar. We are the descendants of Hyne's sisters."

Rinoa bowed to both of them and gently smiled. "It's an honor to meet you two," she said. "What are you able to offer these women?"

"Control," responded Ishtar. "Sanity as well, hopefully."

"Since this strain of power within them is still so new," Hecate began, her bright green eyes scanning over the wary faces of the sorceresses behind her. "We ourselves have much to learn about them. However, what we have gathered is that they are not able to…" She twisted her lips as she thought of the word. "…project their powers onto another sorceress candidate, much like Edea did to you those years ago."

Edea tilted her head as she listened to Hecate speak. "Yes," she gasped. "I still have my powers from when Rinoa resurrected me. I hadn't had them for years until that moment."

Ishtar nodded her head and tucked a strand of silver behind her ear. "That itself is also another matter that we must discuss," she said to Rinoa. "When you resurrected the sorceress candidates who had passed on, you broke the cycle that had been set in motion for the last thousand years."

Rinoa frowned as she tried to understand what these two women were telling her. "Wait…you mean that I…?" She couldn't even form it into words.

Ishtar waved her hand over the crowd of sorceresses before them. "You have created a new era, Sorceress Rinoa, the cycle that Hyne had created a thousand years ago has been broken by your actions to bring these women back from Death."

"For a thousand years the lineage of the Sorceress was chosen at random. However, because of you, the Sorceress lineage is now something that a woman is born with." Hecate looked over the shocked and confused faces of the women surrounding her. "Almost a vast majority of these women had passed on, correct?" she asked Rinoa.

"Yes," she nodded. "The poison had killed them and I brought them back."

Ishtar turned her icy amethyst eyes back to Rinoa. "And in order to bring them back you had to sacrifice some of your own power and bestow it onto them."

"Yes," Rinoa whispered. "Yes…but—"

The older woman stepped forward. "Because of the sacrifice that you made these women were not born again into candidacy, they were born again as sorceresses. The power was already within them."

"While their powers will never be as strong as yours, their powers do not need to be passed on to another candidate in death," Hecate chimed in. "You are the Sorceress of this time. When your time comes you must pass on your powers in order to go peacefully. These women do not need to."

A broken sob came from one of them women in the crowd. Rinoa immediately honed in on the woman in question and she sucked in a breath at the sight of the heartbroken expression on the woman's face.

"Does this mean that it is now hereditary?" the woman asked, tears threatening to stream down her cheeks. "I do not want to run the risk of passing this onto any future children I may have!"

Rinoa felt her throat tighten as she heard a few more woman vocalize their similar feelings. Hyne had originally made these powers to be a gift for the humans. The magic was supposed to be a blessing…but now it still remained to be seen as a curse. Fingers strongly gripped her hand and she turned to see Squall staring down at her. From that simple touch she felt his strength and the heat of his passion for her. She gave him a reassuring smile and turned back to her daughters.

"Please," she said loudly, her hands raised high above her head. When silence wafted over the crowd, Rinoa took a deep breath before continuing. "I know that you are scared, I am too." She gave the women in front of her a watery smile and placed a hand over her heart as she spoke. "This magic, this power that has been bestowed upon all of you—all of us—was supposed to be a gift. I know that right now it seems farthest from that, but please, I beg you, work with me. I do not know exactly the repercussions that will be wrought due to the magic that I have cast, but please believe me when I say that you will not be alone. You will never be alone." Rinoa swallowed and bowed her head. "I do not ask for your forgiveness, because I have yet to forgive myself…but I do ask that you let me help you get through this, for however long it may take. Until my dying day I will work my hands to the bone to make sure that you all will never suffer again, because as your Mother that is my duty and that is my right."

A shuddered breath escaped Rinoa and she quickly wiped away a tear that managed to trickle down her cheek. "I was lost in my rage, my hatred…the poison consumed all that was left of my heart and my sanity. Blindly I made you follow me down that path to darkness. I gave you no choice." She scanned over the faces of the women before her. Her eyes landed on Edea, who offered her a warm and heart-wrenching smile, and Rinoa held her head high. "I give you a choice now," she proclaimed. "Follow me in this journey to reclaim our magic as a gift and not as a curse. Together we can salvage our future. If you choose not to follow me at this time for any reason at all, I want you to know that I do not blame you. This is your life, your choice, do with it what you will. If there comes a time that you change your mind you will be welcomed without hesitation. You are my children. You are my future, my legacy, and my greatest works of art ever in creation. You are more than I deserve and for that I will fight until my last breath to make sure you are given all that you will ever need in life." She looked over to Caraway after she spoke, their eyes locked, and even though she couldn't read his expression, she did catch the glimmer of a tear that shone over his eyes.

Edea was the first to step forward, her hand over her heart as she gazed at Rinoa. "I will follow you," she said softly.

"As will I." A blonde girl, hardly over eighteen and with scars running down her shoulder, stepped up.

A few women in the back raised their hands. "And us!"

"Me too!"

Rinoa couldn't stop the tears this time. They flowed freely down her cheeks and her fingers flew to her lips. While there were a small handful of women who sadly shook their heads and sank away from the crowd, she smiled at them and silently wished them well.

Ishtar and Hecate turned back to Rinoa with glittering eyes. "What is your plan, Sorceress Rinoa?"

"During the War, we took up camp in a mansion. Edea, who has the longest experience with being a sorceress, taught these women how to control and use their magic. We will continue to do so. We will create a home for these women, whether they feel that they have nowhere else to go or because they want to strengthen their knowledge, we will create a safe haven for them." Rinoa nervously sucked on her bottom lip. It was not her most thought out plan, she was playing everything by ear since she had no idea which direction this meeting with Hyne's descendants was going, but she spoke from the heart. What she wanted most for these women was for them to feel safe. After the hell they had been put through, after the War she had put them through, they deserved at least that much.

Hecate nodded as she listened to Rinoa's wishes. "It will take some time to create such a home for these women," she said.

"Yes, it will," Rinoa agreed. Inwardly she scowled at the reminder that she had destroyed Norg's mansion. It was the perfect size for housing her children. "Perhaps…maybe we could look at some property…"

"I have property," came a voice.

Squall's brows raised at the owner of that voice. The man looked over at him with a sheepish look that was gone the moment he set eyes on Rinoa. Laguna ignored the looks from his son and approached the Sorceress.

"Years ago, when Kiros, Ward, and I were still in the Galbadian Army, we bought some property just outside of Deling. I can't for the life of me remember what in the hell we bought the damn thing for…it used to be a hospital. But lack of funding and the War had left it abandoned." Laguna rubbed the back of his neck as he continued. "We have been getting quite a bit of offers on it. Most of the offers are from big time companies who want to turn it into some kind of factory and pollute the earth."

Rinoa blinked in disbelief as she listened to what this man had to say. "Are you…are you offering to sell it to me?"

"Sell? Oh my dear girl," Laguna chuckled and waved a hand of dismissal. "I will gladly give it to you." He turned his eyes to Squall and outstretched his hand to him. "I will never be able to make up for the mistakes I have made in your life, Squall, but at least allow me to do this one thing for you." His gaze darted to Rinoa for a brief moment. "For you…and for the woman you love."

Squall looked down at the Laguna's upturned palm. Yes, there would be nothing that Laguna could do to make up for abandoning him at that orphanage, for robbing him of the warm and safe life a child should have. However, Laguna was offering a new life for not only Rinoa, but all the sorceresses. Without hesitation Squall slapped his hand into Laguna's and firmly gave it a shake. "Thank you," he said.

Laguna squeezed Squall's hand once more before allowing him to release. "Don't thank me just yet," he added. "It needs a lot of work and is far from move-in ready. However, I am willing to be a part of this organization for the new sorceresses. After all, some of these women are Estharian and are therefore my responsibility."

"I will help you as well," agreed Caraway. "We have many resources in Deling that we could offer to help these women."

"Same with Balamb," said Cid, a firm arm around his wife's waist. "These women are children from every country. It is our duty to protect them and ensure that they receive the proper care they require."

Hecate and Ishtar clasped their hands together as they watched the crowd readily vocalize their decision. They would help. They cared for these women. Even some of the SeeD soldiers who had previously vowed to kill the sorceresses before them, stepped forward and pledged their assistance.

"We will follow your every order, Commander and Sorceress," vowed Nida, his hand instantly at his temple in salute. Behind him the following soldiers loudly expressed their agreement.

Squall looked over his soldiers, his children—as Quistis had so accurately described—and couldn't have felt prouder. After the battle with Ultimecia, their lives, their outlook, their political views had been vastly upturned. Afterwards they still trained, still put their lives on their line, were still mercenaries…but without the goal of destroying the sorceresses all they were was…lost. Their path and destination had become unknown. Now, the path was still hazy but it was slowly becoming more and more clear.

He gratefully bowed to his SeeD. "Thank you." No words could ever be enough, could never express enough, and could never fully define how thankful and how blessed he felt just for having these soldiers in his life. Beside him Rinoa dropped her head and clutched her heart.

"Thank you," she struggled through the tears. "Thank you…"

It would not be easy, but then again…nothing ever would be. It would take time, patience, tolerance, and it would take the drive to succeed. Together the Sorceress and her Knight, the Knight and his Sorceress, looked over the faces around them. Their hearts beat rapidly as they watched their children come together, timidly, warily, even skeptically, but together they came to create a new world. A new lineage.

A new bloodline.

Rinoa turned and wrapped her arms around Squall's neck. "Our children," she whispered. "They're coming together as one." The smile that broke out upon her lips warmed Squall's heart and he leaned in to gently kiss her forehead.

"Our family," he said.

Rinoa softly chuckled within her throat and closed her eyes, content and sated with the emotions that swarmed her at the present moment. The future was never a guarantee, not even with all the magic that she possessed could she ever create a set future. What she could do was help this new world, help strengthen these women whose lives she had forever altered, because to her, it was their future that mattered. Would these women pass their powers to their offspring like Ishtar and Hecate assumed? It was much too soon to tell. But these women looked to her to lead them and Rinoa refused to let them down. She had blindly led them into a War they had nothing to do with, she would lead them to serenity.

With her Knight beside her and she beside her Knight, she felt she could take the world on. "We'll see this through?" she asked him, curling her slim fingers across the front of his shirt.

"Until the last drop of blood beats from our hearts," Squall declared, bringing Rinoa's fingers up to his lips. He brushed a kiss across her knuckles and held her tightly against him. "I promise."

I'll dig a hole and bow my head.

To see you smile, I'd face my death.

Realms of fear, they speak the truth.

What has past, I hand to you.

Bleed for me, I've bled for you.

Embrace me, child, I'll see you through.

And there you have it folks. It's taken seven (!) years but I have finally completed my 'baby.' Thank you so much for joining me on this story. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I have. Thank you to all who reviewed, to all who added Bleed for Me to their alert or favorite's lists, and to any and all who simply just came to read =) Whether you loved or hated this story, I appreciate you coming along for the ride.

xoxox

"Bleed for Me" music and lyrics belong to Black Label Society