Silver and Platinum
By Selphie Leonhart
Part Three:
So now Rinoa knows that she's gotta bun in the oven....
Rating : Well....this part is better than the others....rated G.
Disclaimer : All characters used in this story are the property of Squaresoft and are used without their permission. Please do not use this story on any other website without my expressed permission. I will allow it, as long as my name reamins attached!
The servant opened the door to Doctor White. He was a serious old man, with grey hair and he always wore the same grey pin-stripe suit. He was led into the drawing room, where Rinoa and Squall sat. Rinoa was laughing as he entered the room, and he took that to be a good sign. The boy he had spoken to on the phone had seemed concerned that she was depressed, and was worried about her mental health. The doctor had told him that it was perfectly understandable, but had come to examine the young heiress anyway.
"Good evening Miss Caraway," he said to her Rinoa corrected him immediatly.
"I'm Rinoa Heartilly. My mother's surname," she said quietly. The doctor nodded in apology.
"So, what seems to be the problem?" he asked her. Rinoa looked at Squall and smiled. Squall answered the doctor.
"We think Rinoa's pregnant." he said. The doctor hid his surprise well. He wasn't happy, he had known Rinoa for a long time, and knew this was the last thing her father would have wanted for her. But still, his duty was to help Rinoa now.
"Alright, lets examine you to see how far along you are, if you are pregnant. I assume you did a test?" he asked, motioning for Rinoa to lie down on the leather couch. She did as she answered.
"I did three tests. They were all positive." she said. The doctor nodded, and checked her heartbeat. He asked her various questions, which she did her best to answer, and eventually let her sit up. Squall looked at the doctor expectantly.
"Well?" he asked. The doctor sighed.
"Yes. Miss Heartilly, you are pregnant. Two or three months, I'd say. Everything seems fine." he said. Rinoa smiled. The doctor continued. "Would you like me to make an appointment for you at the clinic? The Deling City Maternity Clinic is a very good one. You should have a checkup at three months anyway. And you can have an ultrasound as soon as you want." he said. Rinoa smiled.
"That's great!" she said. Squall smiled at her. She seemed so excited by this, and so was he. It was daunting to know that in less than nine moths he was going to be responsible for another life, but he was glad. He had decided ages ago that Rinoa was the person he wanted to spend his life with, and he hoped she felt the same.
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Selphie was absolutely dying to tell someone. She saw Quistis at the end of the corridor, and ran towards her. Quistis turned with a smile.
"What is is Selphie? You look excited." she said. Selphie bit her lip.
"I can't tell you, but....ohh...." she was bursting to tell someone. It was just so excited. Rinoa and Squall were going to be parents! But she shouldn't be the one to tell everyone...what if they didn't want the baby.
Quistis watched as Selphie's face fell. She wondered what was going on. Selphie had seemed so excited a minute ago.
"Selph, what is it?" she asked her friend. Selphie swallowed hard. She backed away.
"Ummm, I gotta go check something," she said, and ran back down the corridor, leaving Quistis confused.
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As Selphie approached the door of the drawing room, Rinoa was just showing the doctor out of the room. She was smiling. Squall was behind her.
"Thankyou doctor. We'll be in touch," she said with a smile. The doctor nodded and walked off, giving Selphie a curious glance as he passed the breathless girl.
"Well?!" asked Selphie, walking up to Rinoa. Rinoa smiled.
"I'm definatly pregnant. I'm going for an ultrasound tommorow." she said.
"Are you gonna tell everyone?" she asked. Squall stepped forward.
"I'm going to tell everyone tonight at dinner. You haven't let it slip, have you?" he asked her. She shook her head. "No. I'm dying to tell someone though!" she said, smiling at Rinoa. Rinoa grinned back.
"Me too. This is so exciting. I feel much to young to have a baby, but, we're both happy about it. It's not as if we can't afford it, and we have this house now." she said, looking at Squall. Squall sighed. Rinoa seemed so pleased with this. He still felt a bit apprehensive. There were complications she hadn't thought of. Like how Garden wasn't going to be pleased at all by Squall's irresponsibility. And the fact that he was a very high ranking SeeD, and he was still on a mission. Were they gonna keep on fighting with a pregnant member of their party? What if Rinoa was injured during battle?
There was a lot to discuss.
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After dinner that night, Squall stood up at the head of the table. The other SeeDs looked at him expectantly. Selphie had a wide smile on her face. He cleared his throat, and glanced at Rinoa before he continued.
"Um, I have something I'd like to tell you all. Selphie already knows," he said with a smile. The others looked at the grinning girl, who had her hand over her mouth to stop herself shouting out the news before Squall had a chance. He looked at Rinoa again, who was smiling at him.
"Rinoa is pregnant." he said. There were gasps, and a high pitched squeal from Selphie, who couldn't contain herself anymore. Quistis stared at Rinoa, a concerned look on her face. Rinoa didn't see the look of sadness which passed over the blonde girls face. Irvine immediatly jumped out of his seat to thump Squall on the back in congratulations. Zell did the same, after the initial shock passed.
"It...is yours, isn't it Squall?" asked Zell, only half joking. It was hard to believe such a thing had happened. At seventeen, children was the last thing on any of their minds.
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As Squall walked into the bedroom, he saw Rinoa standing infront of the huge mirror. She was only wearing a bra and panties, and was examining her stomach in the reflection. She smiled at him as he entered the room.
"Rinoa?" he said as he shut the door behind him.
"Yes?" she said, smoothing her hands over her stomach. There was only a slight bulge in it, it was barely noticible. He stared at her stomach, feeling the usual mixed emotions surfacing as he thought of the situation they were in. He crossed the room to her.
"We need to talk about somethings. I can't stay here much longer. Neither can Selphie, Zell, Quistis or Irvine. We have a mission to complete." he said in a low voice. She swallowed hard, and nodded.
"I know." she said, her voice deep. She had been thinking about it for a while. She knew he wouldn't let her come with him. But she needed to. She couldn't leave her friends.
"Squall," she started, turning to him, her eyes pleading. "Take me with you," she whispered. He shook his head, and stroked her face.
"I can't." he said, feeling terrible. She sighed, exasperated, and turned back to her reflection. She could see him looking at her over her shoulder.
"You're just going to leave me here? All by myself?" she said quietly. He shook his head.
"No! You will have all the servants, and....there's the hospital nearby...you'll be safer here." he said.
"Squall. I can fight. You know I can look after myself. I wont be able to survive by myself. I need to be with all of you." she said pleadingly.
"No, Rinoa. What if I couldn't protect you? What if you were possesed again? I couldn't face it." he said. She looked at him.
"I can protect myself. You don't have to worry about me. Are you scared of what Garden will say? Is that it?" she asked, her voice harsh. She was angry at the thought of being left behind while the others went to kill the sorceress. She had already come so far with them, she didn't want to be left out now.
"No. I don't care what Garden say! I'm not putting you or our baby in danger!" he shouted at her. He instantly regretted it as she began to cry.
"Rinoa, I'm sorry," he said. She hid her face in her hands and just stood there sobbing. He didn't know what to say to her. He felt guilty, he knew all she wanted was to help them.
"Rinoa, I only want what is best for you. I want you to be safe. You know I would die if anything happened to you." She looked up.
"Me. Do you care at all about our child?" she asked coldly. He stared at her, She suddenly looked much older as she stood before him.
"Of course," he said, his mouth dry. She turned to him.
"Then you should let me come with you. So you can be there every step of the way. So you can be there when I need you. What if you aren't there when the baby is born. What if I'm all alone?" she said. Squall understood. He lowered his gaze.
"It would be awful. Ellone once told me....the reason she was trying to change the past was because Laguna wasn't there to see Raine's baby born. If that happened to you and I...." he trailed off.
"I understand. I won't try and stop you coming with us. If you think it is for the best." he said. She nodded at him, and turned back to her reflection. She smiled faintly, and took Squall's hand, placing it on her stomach. He gasped as he felt how warm she was, and as she moved his hand over her stomach, he could feel the bulge there. It was amazing to think that it was his child.
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Squall kissed her softly on the mouth as they stood in front of the mirror. Every day for the past week, she had stood there in the evening, gazing happily at her stomach in the glass. He stroked her hair as she tilted her face up towards him so he would kiss her deeper. Tommorow they would leave for Esthar, but until then, it was their last night together in their home.
She took his by the hand and led him to the bed. They continued kissing, and she smiled as he whispered to her how much he was going to miss the privacy of their own room.
"Then lets make the most of it," she whispered back as she lay down on the bed, looking up at her lover.
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They had to report to Garden before going on to Esthar. The Lunatic Pandora was their next destination, and they had to prepare for a major battle. Squall felt almost nervous as he took the small elevator up to the headmasters office, which was now the controlroom of the garden. The headmaster was waiting.
"Welcome back Squall," he said as the SeeD entered the room. Squall nodded as a greeting.
"What can I do for you?" he asked. Squall saluted, and stepped forward.
"I have to inform you of the condition of a member of our team. Rinoa Heartilly, whose employment we are presently under, is pregnant." he said. The headmaster frowned.
"Squall, I had assumed you were her...ummm 'boyfriend'. Is that not true?" he asked, unable to believe his top SeeD was responsible for this.
Squall looked Headmaster Cid straight in the eye."I am the father of Rinoa's baby." he said. Cid shook his head.
"Squall,....do you realise what you have done? This is very irresponsible. Under normal circumstances, this is a dissmissable offence. How are you going to provide for the child? Are you even going to keep the child?" he asked, disappointed.
"Yes, we are going to keep it. Rinoa is an heiress, she has a lot of money, and a mansion in Deling City. The baby will be well provided for, and I plan to be a major part of it's life. I'm not going to refuse to take on the position of a father. I'm going to be there for her every step of the way," he said, echoing Rinoa's words. Cid smiled.
"I would have expected no less of you Squall. Congratulations. Garden will support you and Rinoa all the way. If you two wish, the pair of you can stay in Garden when it is term time. We'll make child care arrangements for you. As you know, once you are twenty one, you will be able to leave garden when you have recieved all the training we can give you. All you will have to come to garden for after that is to make reports and receive new missions."
Squall nodded. "Thankyou." he said. He turned to leave, but Cid called him back.
"What are you planning to do until the baby is born? Surely Rinoa isn't expected to fight alongside you anymore?" he said. Squall looked down.
"She wants to. She refused to stay in Deling City, and I have promised her that she can come. I'll do all I can to protect her." he said. Cid nodded.
"Squall, you must also remember that you are on a mission. Don't let your emotions get in the way of your ultimate goal, defeating the sorceress. If you fail, then not only will Rinoa and the baby be in danger, the whole world will cease to exist." Squall nodded.
"I understand." he said, and left the office.
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"The six of them sat in the Quad, talking together quietly. Squall was explaning the situation to them all, and Rinoa was sitting next to them.
"Rinoa is going to fight with us," he said, his voice serious. Irvine made a noise of disbelief.
"What if she is hurt?" he asked. Squall looked at the taller boy.
"We'll have to make sure she isn't. Quistis has medical training. And I will be doing my best to protect her. We need to bear in mind that whever we are in a battle, Rinoa is vunerable. But you shouldn't lose your focus on our goal." he said. The other SeeD's nodded. Quistis glanced at Squall.
"What do we do if Rinoa goes into labour prematurely, or unexpectedly, when we are nowhere near a town?" she asked. Squall sighed.
"Hopefully, that won't happen. But if it does, you and I will have to deliver the baby. You know how, right?" he asked her. Quistis looked worried, but nodded.
"I have had a little training, but I think we should visit Dr Kadowaki just to make sure." she said. Squall nodded.
"Does anyone else have any questions?" he asked, looking round at his friends. There was no reply. Then Rinoa sat up straight.
"Um, I wanted to thank all of you. I know this is a difficult situation, and I wouldn't have blamed you if you refused to let me come with you. But I couldn't bear to be left behind." she said, looking round at her friends innocently. They smiled back at her, and Selphie gave her a hug.
"We wouldn't do that!" she said reassuringly. Quistis nodded, and Zell laughed.
"I might be fun, trying to deal with your mood swings....having to fetch you all sorts of weird foods you have a craving for...none of us being able to sleep at night...." he said playfully. She gave him a sarcastic smile, and turned back to Quistis.
"You....if you have to deliver my baby....will you be able to do it? Will it hurt?" she asked, going a little at the thought of labour. Quistis bit her lip.
"I've never done it before, to tell the truth. It was part of the instructors training, but I know that if it comes down to it, me and Squall will be able to do it. Anyway, it'll be you doing all the work!" she said. Rinoa smiled.
"Thanks." she said. Squall stood up.
"Lets get going. We have a long journey." he said, helping Rinoa to her feet.
Part Four