XII
Several Days Later


There was a familiar knock at the door, and Squall stood up. Moving over to the entrance to his room, he punched the 'OPEN' key and waited for it to slide open. When it didn't, he scowled and called "Come in."

The door opened to reveal Nida standing there--in uniform--with another SeeD dress uniform hanging over his elbow. "I see you're feeling better," he said. "I take it no one's come to kill you in the past few days?"

Squall shook his head. "The door was locked the entire time," he said darkly.

Nida shrugged apologetically. "Kadowaki's orders," he said. "You know how it is."

"......." Squall answered.

Nida handed the dress uniform to him, waiting as he took it. "It's time for the Commander to make a public appearance," he said. "We need to show Garden that you're still here. There have been some uncomfortable questions."

"Really," Squall returned flatly. "And Kadowaki's not afraid that I'll--"

"You'll have an escort," Nida said.

Figures. "Who?"

"You get your choice between me, Nida or the junior Instructor's Council representative to the Administration Committee," Nida said. Seeing Squall grimace, he crossed his arms. "Don't complain," he said. "I spent some time convincing Kadowaki not to have one of the junior med staff chaperone you around. Apparently she still doesn't trust me for sneaking you out of the Infirmary at night."

Squall stared at him. Nida shrugged.

"Hey, that's what friends are for," he said. "Anyway, she'll get over it eventually. She's just a bit torqued that I went around her authority."

"And you didn't bother to tell me this--"

"--because you're so much of a stickler to the rules that you probably would have tried to drag me back to the Infirmary with you. And in your condition, you'd have ended up unconscious in the halls and then we'd really have something to explain," Nida said. "I'll be waiting in the hall. Put on your uniform and come out."

Turning, Nida exited the room. The door hissed shut behind him, locking with a mechanical click. For what had to be the fiftieth time, Squall wondered if he should be thankful or irritated that Nida was his friend.

--- - - - ---


There was a knock on the door behind him, and Nida turned to key in the code and let Squall out of his room. The Commander was just pulling on his gloves, covering the bandage that still graced his wrist. Nida noticed him glance up at the sounds of bells from the direction of the main Garden ring, and shrugged.

"It's the eve of the Festival," he explained. "Selphie wanted to celebrate the holiday properly--meaning on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The band is here--as I'm guessing you can tell."

Squall made a noise that was incredibly noncommittal.

"Selphie has it all planned out, it seems," Nida said. "There's a party tonight, and everyone's brought gifts for other people in Garden and put them under the tree. Then there's the Dance in the ballroom, which will last until almost midnight. Tomorrow, everyone gets woken up by the Parade that she's making the band put on, and go find their presents and open them." Nida snorted. "Should be amusing to watch the chaos. After that's all done, the Cafeteria is catering some big lunch, and that's about when the Inspector should arrive. You and ValHalla will escort him around, present him with something-or-other as a sign of Garden's appreciation--Quistis is in charge of that--and send him on his way. That done, we can all relax and enjoy the Christmas cheer until we decide to go to sleep. Sounds like Selphie's idea, doesn't it?"

Squall nodded. Nida turned to him, hand on his hip.

"Look," he said. "I don't like this arrangement any more than you do, but if we're going to be stuck together we might as well have a conversation. ...you do still remember how to speak, don't you?"

Squall glared at him for a moment. "Yes," he said.

"Good." Nida started off towards the Quad, Squall following sullenly behind him. "You'll excuse me while I play doctor for a moment. How are you feeling?"

"Fine," Squall said.

"Lingering nausea, fatigue or lightheadedness due to blood loss?"

"No."

"In other words, stop asking questions. Right." Stepping onto the Garden ring, Nida made a wide, sweeping gesture. "Selphie's really done a number on this place, hasn't she?" he asked.

Looking around, Squall was forced to agree. Garlands and wreaths dotted the halls, and every potted plant in sight was decorated. The Quad and Cafeteria areas were even more heavily adorned--the entire Garden was projecting a festive air. Nida gestured that Squall was supposed to go first, and Squall started towards the Quad.

Halfway through the hall leading to the huge recreation room, he was ambushed by a yellow blur of motion. Selphie latched onto his arm, pulling him toward the Quad with enough force to make him stumble. "I'm so glad you're better!" she bubbled. "Come on! You have to see what we did with the Quad! The tree looks soooo pretty...."

Nida coughed, and turned to Selphie. "So, I guess you'll be taking care of him for the rest of the evening?" he asked.

For the first time ever, Nida saw a verifiable look of alarm on Squall's face.

"Kadowaki said it was okay," Selphie answered. Turning, she gave Squall a broad wink. "She said it would be good for you," she continued.

Squall turned to Nida, who held both hands up. "If Kadowaki says so," he said, and headed off.

"Oh, come on!" Selphie said as Squall raised a hand to his forehead. "I won't be insufferable. I promise."

Turning, Selphie dragged him into the Quad. For a moment, Squall could only stand there, staring at the massive changes and trying to calculate how much effort must have gone into creating such a scene.

The entire lower level of the Quad was dominated by a massive evergreen, needles a dark green contrasting beautifully with the soft blues and off-whites of the Quad. Globes, ribbons and small stationary lights hung from almost all of the branches, and a huge SeeD symbol was perched on the top. Presents were heaped under the tree--Selphie had obviously gotten through to a lot of people with the fliers. Wreaths adorned the walls, and tables decorated with holly dotted the area holding refreshments.

"Glad to see you on your feet again," came a voice, and Squall turned to see Quistis approaching him. With a small smile, she said "You may not want to stand there."

Squall glanced up as she pointed, noticing that he was standing directly under some sort of plant with small, white balls. Stepping out of the doorway, he glanced at Quistis questioningly.

"Mistletoe," Quistis said. "I'll explain later."

Selphie burst out laughing. "It was the perfect opportunity, Quisty!" she said.

Quistis's eyes gleamed with amusement. "Yes, but he would never forgive me," she said.

Squall rapidly decided that he didn't want to know what they were talking about.

"You were almost late, Squall," Quistis said, checking her watch. "Come on--the dance is going to start."

"Where did Nida go?" Selphie asked.

Squall jerked a thumb back towards the Garden ring. "Cafeteria," he guessed.

"Oh," Selphie sighed. "I hoped he would be my partner again...."

"Again?" Quistis asked. "I can't recall ever seeing you dance at one of these."

"I just learned," Selphie evaded with a blush. "Anyway, let's go."

Still being dragged by Selphie, Squall had little choice but to follow Quistis through the decorated hall and into the Ballroom, where the band was just getting ready to play.

--- - - - ---


Nida was leaning against the wall in the Cafeteria, drinking something almost sickeningly sweet that the Cafeteria workers referred to as "Egg Nog" when he saw her. Tall and lithe, she was dressed in a low-rank SeeD dress uniform and moved with a sort of wary grace that reminded Nida inescapably of something. She was moving amongst the sparse crowd in a way that Nida could recognize as trying very hard to not attract attention.

Setting down his glass, Nida moved to talk with her. He knew this woman--he was sure of it.

Stealing up behind her, he caused her to spin around with a tap on her shoulder. For an instant the most remarkable hazel eyes stared into his--

"Lialla!" he whispered, feeling as if someone had dealt him a physical blow. "What are you--"

Lialla's face had drained of all its color in moments, and before Nida could finish the sentence she had mumbled "Excuse me!" and rushed for the door. Without a second thought Nida ran after her, bursting into the empty halls. No one was out walking around--everyone was at one of the social focal points, or at the very least in their dorms trying to get some sleep. It was easy to follow her as she ran all-out for the entrance.

Rounding the corner to the entrance, Nida got a glimpse of her speaking to someone. Nemo, he identified, putting the name Squall had given him with the figure. Nemo turned to look at him, then patted Lialla on the shoulder. Lialla ran off--away from Nida--and Nemo made a gesture toward his side that was painfully obvious one of reaching for a gun. Nida ducked behind a plant, waiting until Nemo had wasted at least one of his bullets. With a quick flick of his wrist, he dropped one of the throwing knives from the sheath on his wrist into his hand. Nemo would learn something very quickly--no matter what appearances said, Nida was never unarmed.

Nothing happened. Cautiously, Nida stuck his head out from behind the plant.

He looked around the hallway and cursed. Nemo was gone.