Silver and Platinum
By Selphie Leonhart
Part Four
Rinoa is seven moths pregnant now, and they are in the middle of the Centra continent.....
Rating : ......um.....12? I dunno......It isn't full of sex scenes, but it isn't meant for children either.
Disclaimer : All characters used 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 remains attached!!!
She was out of breath, and close to tears as Squall helped her sit down in the shade. He sat beside her, and rubbed her back as she tried to regain her breath. The last few weeks had been really hard, as the SeeD's tried to build up their levels and gain GF's for their upcoming battle. She leant against his chest, glad for his strength as she began to recover. Rinoa shut her eyes, and tried to summon the strength to get up again. She knew if she stayed there she would become sleepy and would not be able to carry on. Quistis was standing over the couple, looking concerned.
"Squall, this isn't good," she said, looking at the shaking Rinoa. It had been a tough battle they had just fought, but the others had recovered in a few minutes, Rinoa had been in pain for at least fifteen minutes. She knelt down as Rinoa gave out a little cry and clutched at her stomach, which was now vastly swollen. Quistis gently removed Rinoa's hands and placed her own on Rinoa's stomach. She could feel the baby kicking her, and guessed this was what was causing Rinoa pain.
"Rinoa, can you sit up?" asked Squall softly. She gulped, and made an effort to not lean against him. Quistis stood up and offered Rinoa her hand. Rinoa took it, and stumbled to her feet. "I'm feeling better now," she said. She wasn't as out of breath as before. Quistis took out a tiny bottle from her pocket.
"Here," she said, making Rinoa drink the potion. She smiled as the colour returned to Rinoa's cheeks. Squall pulled Rinoa towards him, and put a hand on her stomach. He smiled as he felt the baby move. It made Rinoa wince.
"She's strong," she whispered to him. Squall raised an eyebrow.
"She?" he asked with a slight smile. Rinoa blushed.
"I feel it.....I know it's going to be a little girl." she said softly. He gave her a look of disbelief.
"How can you tell?" he asked her. She shrugged.
"I just know." she said. Squall put his arm around her, and led her to where the others were. Rinoa felt a sudden stab of pain in her stomach, but she ignored it. She had been having pains for the last few days, and it was nothing new.
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"Squall!" she gasped, waking suddenly. Rinoa sat up quickly, and wiped at her forehead. She was sweating, and moaned as she felt another shuddering pain in her abdomen.
"Squall!"she called again, her voice high pitched. She shivered, and raising her arms, tried to touch him, but couldn't reach. She wasn't surprised he couldn't hear her, it was so cold there they were all sleeping under piles of blankets. Luckily, someone else had heard her call. Quistis touched Rinoa's shoulder. She was a light sleeper, and had heard Rinoa's cry for help. She sat up, and pulled the blankets off Rinoa, laying one hand on the breathless girls forehead. Rinoa tried to tell her what was wrong, but another wave of pain hit her, and she was unable to talk, instead made a high pitched moan. Quistis was very worried. Rinoa was only seven and a half months pregnant.
Quistis reached over Rinoa and shook Squall awake. Immediatly he focused on Rinoa, and swallowed hard. "She's....in labour?" he asked Quistis. She nodded, and Squall kissed Rinoa's cheek quickly before fetching some cloths which they had prepared for this purpose. By now, the other three were awake.
"What is it?" asked Selphie sleepily. Her eyes opened wide as she saw Rinoa. She gasped, and asked Quistis what she could do to help. Quistis was feeling very stressed. Just then, Rinoa screamed as another contraction came over her. Quistis worked at removing Rinoa's clothes, and concentrated on the training Dr Kadowaki had given her. To her surprise, Squall was being very calm about this. She smiled to herself. He had been showing his feelings a lot more recently, but he was still the cold-hearted Squall they all knew and loved.
Rinoa screamed again, and Quistis winced, promising herself never to have children. Rinoa seemed in agony. It was freezing cold in the tent, but Rinoa was sweating. She was writhing in agony on the hard floor of the tent, even though Squall and Quistis were doing their best to but blankets under her. Quistis was talking to Rinoa, trying to calm her down, when Squall went pale.
"Um, Quistis....she's bleeding......" he said. Quistis almost laughed at the look on his face. He looked terrified. She reassured Rinoa everything was alright, and had a look. "It's normal Squall," she said quietly, not wanting to alarm Rinoa. Squall nodded, and went back to comforting Rinoa.
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It went on long into the night. Shivering with cold, Selphie huddled under the blanket with the other two, as they listened to the moaning and screaming coming from the tent. She was sitting on Irvines lap, and he was shivering as well. The blanket hardly seemed to help at all. She smiled as Irvine wrapped his arms around her. She could have kicked herself for only bringing two sets of clothes with her. A tiny yellow dress, and her SeeD uniform. The sleeveless dress was freezing, and she couldn't sleep in her uniform. Luckily, Irvine had given her his big coat, which was fleecy, and warm.
Zell got up and walked around. There was no chance of any of them sleeping anymore that night. They had to find out if Rinoa was alright. He jogged up and down, and Selphie followed him sleepily with her eyes. He began punching the air, and she began to get annoyed.
"Zell! For God's sake sit down!" she called to him. Irvine smirked at the look on Zells face as he obeyed the tiny girl. He sat up a little, shifting Selphie to the side.
"D'you always do what she tells you?" he teased the blonde.
Zell stood up again and resumed punching the air. Irvine laughed. Selphie made a little grunt of annoyance. She stood up. "Zell! I'll punch you for real in a minute if you don't sit on your goddamn ass and shut up!" she said.
She was cold, tired, and very irritable. Zell backed off and sat against a rock, sulking. Irvine broke the tension by laughing. Selphie spun around to tell him to shut up, but before she could open her mouth they heard a noise pierce the silence of the desert air.
A baby crying.
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It wasn't exactly the most elegant moment in Rinoa's life. There was blood everywhere, all over both Quistis and Squall. But she was half laughing, half crying. She was holding Squall's hand so tightly he was afraid she was going to break bones.
Quistis yelled at Squall to fetch her a cloth. Squall did his best to free himself from Rinoa's grip and threw the wet cloth into Quistis' outstretched hands. The tall blonde girl was very stressed, which was very unusual. Quistis was usually calm and serene, and to see her dashing around the tent was strange, and a little disturbing.
Quistis had laid the baby between Rinoa's legs as she fetched scissors to cut the cord. She was worried, as the baby wasn't crying. Dr Kadowaki had warned her of this, and said the first thing to do was cut the cord, and then to check if the baby had any blockages in its throat.
She cut the purplish cord, tying it with string. Squall was calling to her, trying to find out what was happening. He was anxious, but Quistis didn't have time for him now. She picked the slippery baby up, and putting its head against her shoulder, hit its back sharply. Immediatly, the baby began to cry as the fluid was cleared from its lungs. Squall managed to wrench his hand free of Rinoa's and rushed to Quistis' side. Quistis was holding the baby and smiling as she wiped the blood and gore from it's tiny body.
Squall knelt beside Quistis, and picked up the baby. It was so tiny, and he felt instantly attached to it. He carried it over to Rinoa, and laid it on her chest. She had stopped moaning, and instead was speechless as she stared at her child. She raised a hand to it nervously, touching the tiny crying thing. With Squall's help, she sat up, and picked up her baby, holding it tight against her. She was crying now, as she stared in wonder at the child. Squall found that his mouth was dry, and the usually cold, emotionless young man found himself with tears in his eyes.
"It's a little girl...like you said..." he whispered. The baby had stopped crying now as Rinoa held her, and stroked the baby's head. The baby had very fine dark hair, and it's tiny eyes were shut. Rinoa touched her baby's tiny fist, watching as the little fingers curled around her own.
Quistis cleared her throat. It was a very emotional moment, and for some reason, she wanted to start crying. But she had a job to do. She hadn't said anything, but Rinoa had been bleeding a lot, even though it had stopped now.
"Um, Rinoa," she said softly. Rinoa looked up. Quistis continued.
"I'm going to have to...you need stitches," she said. Rinoa winced.
"Really...." she said looking disturbed. Quistis nodded, and smiled at her friend.
"Trust me, you wont feel anything. Compared to the pain you went through a few momemts ago, this will be nothing." she said. Rinoa nodded. Quistis smiled at the baby.
"You should feed her," she reminded Rinoa gently. Rinoa nodded, and smiled down at her child as she prepared to feed her for the first time.
Squall glanced at Quistis, who was unrolling the pack of medical instruments Dr Kadowaki had packed for them.
"Do you need any help?" he asked quietly. Quistis shook her head. Squall looked back to the baby. It suddenly occured to him, they didn't have a name for her.
"What are we going to call her?" he asked Rinoa. She stroked the baby's dark hair and smiled.
"I don't know. I've thought of a few names, but nothing special." she said. Just then the baby made a gurgling noise, amking it's parent look down to it. The baby opened her eyes, making Rinoa gasp.
"Look! They're green. Look how vivid the colour is...." she said. Squall stared into the baby's eyes, smiling.
"Vivid....what a lovely name..." he murmured. Rinoa heard him, and thought about it.
"Vivid...yes. It's special. Lets call her Vivid." she said, looking down at the baby, who had finished feeding by now. She passed Vivid to Squall with a smile, and buttoned her shirt up.
He stood up, holding his daughter. She gurgled, and opened her dark green eyes, staring back at him as he held her awkwardly. Rinoa gazed up at them, with a smile on her face.
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Quistis left the tent, holding as bowl of dirty water. The others rushed to her as she knelt beside the stream, washing the bowl.
"Is Rinoa okay? It the baby alright?" asked Selphie anxiously. Quistis washed her hands and re-filled the bowl. She stood up and smiled at her friends.
"Yes. They're both fine. I thought Squall was going to pass out for a minute or two, but he's fine too." she said. Selphie jumped up and down. Quistis laughed. Irvine's coat was so big on her, it trailed on the ground.
"Can we see the baby?" asked Zell. Quistis shrugged.
"Wait until Squall's finished. When I left them, Rinoa was still feeding the baby." she said, heading back to the tent.
Selphie turned back to the others, and jumped up and down for joy, clapping her hands. Irvine put his arms around her shoulders, and she hugged him tightly.
On the horizon, the first grey light of dawn was beginning to break in the sky.
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Squall sat with the baby, which was wrapped in the blanket they had brought along for it. Vivid was opening her eyes more often now, and everytime she did, her parents stared them in wonder. They were a beautiful shade of green, and Rinoa could tell that in a few months they would lighten to be like Squall's bluish green eyes.
She was sitting on a pile of clean blankets, which Quistis and Zell had washed in the early hours of the morning. Sitting up straight, she took the baby from Squall as she began to cry, and started to feed Vivid. Squall gazed at the couple in wonder. Rinoa was so natural with the baby, and he was amazed how strongly he felt towards the pair of them. When he held Vivid, he felt so protective, and felt so much love for her. He had decided he would do whatever he could to get the best for her.
There was a call from outside the tent. No-one else but Quistis had seen Vivid yet, as Rinoa had been asleep until now. Now Selphie was dying to see her. Quistis pushed aside the flap of the tent and entered. She was carrying some food and fresh water for Rinoa. She smiled as she saw the mother with her child.
"Rinoa, are you hungry?" she asked. Rinoa looked up and smiled.
"Yeah, I'm starving!" she answered. Squall stood up, and rubbed his eyes. He had only slept for a few hours, and was exhausted. He decided to see how the others were doing. He hadn't seen any of them since last night.Leaving the tent, he was greeted by a chorus of congratulatons and applause. He smiled despite himself, and even allowed Selphie to throw her arms around his neck. Irvine slapped him on the back hard to show congratulations, and Zell punched the air in excitement. Squall motioned for then all to calm down.
"It's....a girl," he said. Selphie gasped and jumped up and down, and the guys grinned broadly.
Squall was pleased they were happy. He was very proud of his daughter.
"Rinoa's fine, and so is the baby," he said. He was interrupted by Selphie, who was still jumping up and down.
"What's she called!?!" she yelled. Squall smiled at her.
"Vivid. We've decided to call her Vivid." he told them. Selphie clapped her hands in delight.
"What a beautiful name!" she said wistfully. Squall nodded.
"She's a beautiful baby." he said softly. Zell and Irvine gave him a funny look.
"You...er....you're not going all soft on us now, are you Squall?" asked Irvine, teasing him. Squall gave him a sarcastic look.
"Wait till you see her. You'll think she's beautiful too." he said. Just then, The flap of the tent was opened by Quistis. Rinoa stepped out into the light. She was holding Vivid in her arms.
"Ohh...." gasped Selphie, rushing to Rinoa's side. Squall did the same, slipping his arm around Rinoa's waist to support her. Rinoa handed Vivid to Selphie carefully. Squall watched in amazement as Selphie cradled the baby. He was surprised at how the women seemed to be perfectly natural at holding the baby, washing the baby, and feeding the baby, considering they had never done it before. He had felt awkward when he had first held Vivid. She was so small, as she was premature, she almost fitted into the palm of his hand. At the most, she was only about eight inches long.
He watched as Selphie rocked Vivid gently in her arms, singing softly to her while Rinoa watched with a smile on her face. He tightened his grip on Rinoa's waist, as he watched his child. Rinoa turned her face to him, and smiled as she saw the protective look on his face. She put her hand on his chest, and leant her head against his shoulder. She felt tired, but very happy.
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Squall held Vivid as they walked, letting Rinoa rest her arms. Even though the baby was very light, over such long distances it was hard to hold her constantly. They were forced to walk to the nearest town, the Ragnarok had run out of fuel before they managed to reach Esthar, and there was no other choice for them. Once they got to Esthar, the technicians would be able to sort out their ship and they would be able to fly again.
Finally they stopped. Squall could see Edea's orphanage in the distance. It was ruined now, but there they would be out of the burning sun, which would be a blessing as it was nearly midday. Rinoa was out of breath as she walked, and was leaning heavily on Irvine, who was trying to hold her up. Quistis was looking at her, concerned.
"Squall, I think we should stop." she said. He sighed, and pulled the blanket further in around Vivid's face. He was trying to shade her from the searing sun as much as possible. She was sleeping, as usual, and he smiled as he looked down at her. He looked up at Quistis. The instructor had her hand over her eyes, as if she had a headache. She looked pleadingly at Squall.
"Rinoa needs a break," she said to him. He nodded, and looked around him. There was absolutely no shade for miles. All he could see was hard rock ground, and in the distance a forest, but much closer the ruined orphanage. He pointed it out to Quistis.
"There's no shade. It'd only take us about half an hour to get to the orphanage." he said. Rinoa moaned.
"Squall, I'm too tired..." she said. She had her eyes shut as she walked, clutching at Irvine in an attempt to keep upright. Squall finally gave in.
"Ok, lets rest." he said. Irvine helped Rinoa sit down on the ground, and Quistis brought out bottles of water she had filled at the stream. She passed one to Rinoa. Rinoa took it gratefully, and smiled at Squall as he sat down beside her. Vivid began to cry. Squall passed her to Rinoa, who sighed as she took the screaming baby. She was so tired....
Finally, they reached the orphanage. It was such a relief to enter the cool stone building by the sea. From here they would be able to call the Garden , and ask for transportation. Rinoa collapsed on one of the beds, grateful for rest. Squall took Vivid out onto the beach, and sat with her on the sand, listening to the waves.
It brought back memories of his own childhood, when he, Quistis, Zell, Selphie and Irvine all used to play together on this beach. Until Ellone had disappeared. The he hadn't played with the other children anymore. He had been five years old when she had gone. At five years old, he had lost his enthusiasm for life. Edea had taken him to Balamb Garden, and he grew up there, learning how to fight. It was something he could lose himself in.
He looked down at the tiny baby in his arms, wondering what she would grow up to be like. He had his whole life planned for him the moment he was enrolled in Garden. His destiny was to become a SeeD. He would be happy if his daughter became one too. He smiled at her, touching her tiny hand. She wrapped her fingers around his, and again he thought how amazing she was.
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Rinoa woke up, and realised for the first time in weeks she wasn't too cold, too hot, or too uncomfortable. She sat up straight, and immediatly looked around for Vivid, momentarily alarmed as to where she was. Then she realised Squall must have her. Getting out of the small bed, she crossed to the open doorway. Down on the beach she could see Squall. He was sitting on the beach, with Vivid in his arms. She leant against the doorway and smiled as she watched the two most important people in her life.
Stepping into the sunshine, she walked down the stone steps to the beach. She tried not to make a noise, so as not to disturb Squall. She could hear him talking to Vivid softly. She smiled, and crept up to them. She could only hear a little of what he was saying, but it sounded like he was telling her about when he used to live here. She laughed softly to let them know she was there. Squall looked up, and smiled at her. She stood there, the wind blowing her dark hair out behind her, and her blue gown was flapping in the wind. She looked like a vision, thought Squall. He stood up, and passed Vivid to her.
Rinoa took her child, and looked down at her sleeping baby. Her hair was thicker now, and was very dark, like Rinoa's own hair. Over the last few days, her eyes had become lighter.
Squall put his arm around Rinoa's waist, and the two of them walked along the beach, as Rinoa rocked Vivid in her arms. They could hear the waves crashing on the shore next to them, and the cry of the seagulls above them. The air was cool and fresh, and smelt of the ocean.
Looking out over the sea, Squall smiled as he saw a familiar shape. The Garden was slowly coming towards them, Quistis had called them to come and pick them up. He turned back to Rinoa, and she smiled up at him, feeling content. Vivid woke up, and began to make gurgling noises. Rinoa laughed, and talked to her quietly. Squall wondered what would have happened, had they not gone to Deling City that night eight months ago. He wouldn't have Vivid, or be so in love with Rinoa as he was now. Feeling an overwhelming desire to show Rinoa how much he loved her, he pulled her and Vivid closer to him, and kissed Rinoa gently on the lips.
Quistis watched them from a window in the orphanage. They made such a beautiful family. She sighed wistfully as she saw Squall pull Rinoa towards him and kiss her. Her long jet black hair flowing in the strong sea breeze, making them look like they were on the set of a romance film. She wished momentarily that she could have the love of Squall instead, feeling the familiar cold jealousy creeping over her. Instead she left the window and picked up the box of baby clothes she had found.
They would suit Vivid perfectly. Quistis picked up a little woollen dress, and felt tears come into her eyes as the clothing brought back painful memories, She had never, ever told anyone about her own baby. The one she had lost.
No-one had ever even suspected Quistis had been pregnant. After the one night stand she had had with the other instructor, she had realised she was pregnant. By then it was too late. There was nothing she could do about it. Not that there had been any other option in the first place, Quistis would never had agreed to abortion. The day she had gone to tell the headmaster, she had woken up soaked in blood, and in agony. She had miscarried.
Quistis wiped her eyes and put down the dress. She wondered what her own child would have looked like now. She would have been almost two years old by now. Quistis was almost nineteen, and she had slept with the instructor when she was barely seventeen. He had taken advantage of her, she knew that, but she had been too scared to tell anyone. SeeD was her life. If she had been dismissed, then she would have no where else to go.
She went back to the window, needing fresh air. She could now see the garden in the distance, and was happy to think that she would soon be in her home.
Finally, she would be able to forget. She was over the worse now. It had given her peace to be able to safely deliver Rinoa's baby, and seeing Vivid made her happy. It put her mind at ease over what had happened to her own child.
She smiled as she saw the couple embracing on the beach. They were perfect for each other. She really was happy for them. She hoped that one day, she would find her own man, who would love her as much as Squall loved Rinoa. Then she truly would have peace.
The End (finally!)
What do you think?????????? Was it good? Was it utter rubbish?????? Urgh...I never usually write mush stuff like this...maybe I'll revise it and stick an NC-17 rating on it. Hehehe....