~~~Part 4~~~
Quistis and Ellone walked through the door to the infirmary quietly, moving over to where Rinoa was sitting with a look that said she couldn't decide if she should be nervous or depressed.
"Elle and the others are here, Rinoa," Quistis said quietly, glad that the heavy doors would keep the young sorceress from hearing what they'd said in the hallway.
"Hi, Ellone," she smiled weakly. "How have you been?"
"Rinoa," Ellone sighed, trailing off.
"She knows, Rinoa," Quistis said quietly.
"...I thought as much," Rinoa admitted. "I'm just waiting for Dr.Kadowaki. I suppose we'll need Laguna to come here soon."
Ellone frowned, but quickly rid herself of the expression. /She's got to know before Uncle Laguna comes here../
"We've told him that it'll be a few minutes," Quistis explained. "He doesn't know the full story yet. And... there's something else you should know," she said hesitantly, not quite sure how to say it, or even if she should. /Where's Kadowaki,/ she thought to herself.
As if on cue, the older woman came in from the lab, a thin frown on her face as she looked at the preliminary results of the blood work.
"U-Um." Rinoa quavered. "Is something wrong?"
"Rinoa," Kadowaki said softly, "I think we should talk alone for a few minutes, unless you would rather have some company with you."
Ellone winced, already knowing the news. "I really think we should go with her.. Whatever it is, we're her friends and we should be there for her..."
Rinoa nodded wordlessly, but then added quietly. "Thanks, Ellone."
"All right," Dr. Kadowaki nodded. "We can talk out here, then. Rinoa, did you and Squall ever talk about children?"
"Not really," she fought back the dread that rose in her stomach.
"I thought as much," the older woman sighed. "I'm afraid that the bloodwork shows that you're pregnant. You're not very far along, but your hormone levels are already starting to change."
Rinoa gaped in shock, and appeared to be trying to say something, but failed quite miserably.
"Are you going to be okay, Rinoa," Quistis asked quietly, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder, trying to be supportive.
Quite suddenly, Rinoa grit her teeth and clenched her fists. "That's it, then. Get Laguna. I have to sort things out."
Ellone was a bit surprised, and definitely worried. That had been far too much like what someone would have expected from Squall a year ago.
"I think it might be a better idea to wait on that, Rinoa," Kadowaki cautioned her. "This is going to be a surprise for him too, at least as much as it is for you."
"Look," Rinoa sighed. "I know that, but.. With this information, I. we all need to be sure."
"I know. But it won't help if you're upset when you tell him. I just think you should take a bit to cool down first. I'd prefer if you weren't in the room when I ran the tests, honestly - it'll seem a bit more normal."
".I'll leave, then," Rinoa sighed. "I think I might go grab lunch in Balamb, then come back. Is that any good?"
"That'll be fine," Kadowaki nodded. "I'm sorry this had to come up this way, but I thought you'd prefer to know as soon as possible."
"I-It's OK," Rinoa assured weakly.
"I'll go find Laguna," Quistis said quietly, standing to leave. "I'll let you know when I'm on my way back with him."
"Alright. I'm gonna go now.."
"It'll be okay, Rinoa," Quistis said softly, putting her hand on Rinoa's shoulder briefly before she left.
~~~===~~~
"Gross," Zell grimaced, wiping his hands on his shorts and leaving blackish- blue stains on them.
"That's just wrong," Laguna wrinkled his nose at what had once been a fearsome creature. It certainly wasn't any more, Kiros observed; more bloodied chunks of flesh.
"Very," Kiros agreed. "Though I'd imagine you're thankful you use a gun right now.. Zell, T-Rexaur blood doesn't wash out.."
It was just about then that Zell realized who he was talking to. "Hey - what are you two doing here," he asked, seemingly not hearing Kiros' last comment.
Laguna shrugged, seemingly searching for a reply. "The same thing you are, I guess," he replied finally.
"No, I mean why are you *here*, here?"
Kiros made a motion with his hand across his throat for Zell to shut up, but the young fighter didn't seem to notice it.
"They need something for Squall's files, I guess," Laguna explained. "I'm not quite sure about what exactly, though..."
"That's weird," Zell said, frowning slightly as he leaned back against one of the railings. "Wonder if it has to do with whatever it was Rinoa was so hysterical about yesterday?"
Only the fact that Laguna was there kept Kiros from stepping up to Zell and calmly strangling him. He was still tempted, but it wasn't an option now.
"Rinoa? Is something wrong with her?"
"She's fine, Laguna," Kiros said quickly. "She was just a little wound up about something yesterday. Quistis told me about it when she called to have us come up here."
"I'll say she was wound up," Zell half-laughed. "Doesn't take much to make her get like that, though."
"Oh," Laguna blinked. "What happened, though?"
"I dunno," Zell said, ignoring Kiros glares and less subtle messages to stop talking. "She just came running through the halls, said something about her mom's diary - can't quite remember what it was, though," he shrugged. "Something weird, that's all I remember."
"Julia," Laguna inquired with mild interest. "Wonder what could have gotten her so upset in Julia's diary.."
Kiros offered a silent prayer that Zell's current attempt to remember wouldn't prove any more effective than the last one.
Unfortunately, it did.
"Oh, I think I remember now. It was something about before she married Caraway - kept talking about those dreams Elle sent us to."
"Huh. That's. weird," Laguna murmured. "That doesn't make much sense. Rinoa hadn't even been born then.. She probably wasn't alive at all, in fact.."
"Well, that's why she had to read it in Julia's diary," Zell pointed out.
"Come on, Laguna - we should probably get going back down to medical," Kiros said, finally deciding to try and end this before it got any worse.
"It's the Doctor's break time, isn't it? I'm pretty sure twelve to one is her lunch break.."
"She said she was going to make an exception for this," Kiros said quickly. "She wanted to get it over with as soon as possible."
"Oh - I remember now," Zell said suddenly.
"Damn," Kiros swore under his breath, hoping Laguna couldn't hear.
Laguna apparently didn't, and turned to Zell. "Oh! What?"
"Something about Caraway not really being her dad," Zell said. "Not sure why she'd be that upset, though - she didn't like him in the first place, I'd think she'd be glad to fine that out."
Kiros winced when a shocked look gradually crept onto his friend's face.
"No way," Laguna laughed half-heartedly. "That isn't.. Right. It can't be."
"Well, that's what she was saying," Zell shrugged. "Really didn't make all that much sense."
"We should get going, Laguna," Kiros said, his voice much calmer than he was.
"Yeah, I guess so," Laguna agreed, not quite masking what was bothering him as well as Kiros did.
/Dammit,/ Kiros thought to himself as they left the Training Center. /Why'd we have to run into the *one* person who could screw things up this badly?/
"Oh, there you two are," Quistis said as she spotted them in the hall. "Laguna, Dr. Kadowaki's ready to see you."
He remained quiet for a moment, then shook his head. "No. I need to talk to you.. Both of you," he looked from Quistis to Kiros. "First."
Kiros sighed slightly, nodding. Quistis looked between them, keeping her concern from her face the same way she always had, but suspecting somewhat what had happened.
"All right," she nodded. "Where would you like to talk?"
"I guess just somewhere where half the Garden can't listen in."
"Closest place with good locks would be the hall to Medical," Quistis said, certain that her suspicions had been right. "Anywhere else is pretty much public access at all times."
"Fine, that works," Laguna agreed distractedly.
The trio covered the distance to medical in a time that was only beaten by somebody taking a patient there - due largely to the wide berth the disturbed look on Laguna's face earned them from the other students. Quistis activated the security locks on the doors, and tried to calm herself down.
"What's wrong?"
"What exactly's going on here," Laguna asked directly. "And don't lie." He cast a hurt look in Kiros' direction when he said that.
Quistis started to answer, but Kiros held up a hand to stop her.
"I'm sorry, Laguna, but we all thought it would be better if you found out later, when we were sure. We found out that there's a good chance that Rinoa's your daughter, by Julia."
He blurted out the first thing that sprung to mind. "Does Squall know?"
"No, he doesn't," Kiros said, shaking his head. "Not yet. We've all agreed that it would be best if we had confirmation before telling him - it'll be a shock either way, and you know he doesn't handle things like that well."
"I know.." Laguna sighed. "Look, let's go."
"Just remember, Laguna," Kiros said, opening the door to Medical, "you have to let Rinoa tell him when she's ready. It's best that he hears it from her and Ellone.."
Quistis and Ellone walked through the door to the infirmary quietly, moving over to where Rinoa was sitting with a look that said she couldn't decide if she should be nervous or depressed.
"Elle and the others are here, Rinoa," Quistis said quietly, glad that the heavy doors would keep the young sorceress from hearing what they'd said in the hallway.
"Hi, Ellone," she smiled weakly. "How have you been?"
"Rinoa," Ellone sighed, trailing off.
"She knows, Rinoa," Quistis said quietly.
"...I thought as much," Rinoa admitted. "I'm just waiting for Dr.Kadowaki. I suppose we'll need Laguna to come here soon."
Ellone frowned, but quickly rid herself of the expression. /She's got to know before Uncle Laguna comes here../
"We've told him that it'll be a few minutes," Quistis explained. "He doesn't know the full story yet. And... there's something else you should know," she said hesitantly, not quite sure how to say it, or even if she should. /Where's Kadowaki,/ she thought to herself.
As if on cue, the older woman came in from the lab, a thin frown on her face as she looked at the preliminary results of the blood work.
"U-Um." Rinoa quavered. "Is something wrong?"
"Rinoa," Kadowaki said softly, "I think we should talk alone for a few minutes, unless you would rather have some company with you."
Ellone winced, already knowing the news. "I really think we should go with her.. Whatever it is, we're her friends and we should be there for her..."
Rinoa nodded wordlessly, but then added quietly. "Thanks, Ellone."
"All right," Dr. Kadowaki nodded. "We can talk out here, then. Rinoa, did you and Squall ever talk about children?"
"Not really," she fought back the dread that rose in her stomach.
"I thought as much," the older woman sighed. "I'm afraid that the bloodwork shows that you're pregnant. You're not very far along, but your hormone levels are already starting to change."
Rinoa gaped in shock, and appeared to be trying to say something, but failed quite miserably.
"Are you going to be okay, Rinoa," Quistis asked quietly, putting a hand on her friend's shoulder, trying to be supportive.
Quite suddenly, Rinoa grit her teeth and clenched her fists. "That's it, then. Get Laguna. I have to sort things out."
Ellone was a bit surprised, and definitely worried. That had been far too much like what someone would have expected from Squall a year ago.
"I think it might be a better idea to wait on that, Rinoa," Kadowaki cautioned her. "This is going to be a surprise for him too, at least as much as it is for you."
"Look," Rinoa sighed. "I know that, but.. With this information, I. we all need to be sure."
"I know. But it won't help if you're upset when you tell him. I just think you should take a bit to cool down first. I'd prefer if you weren't in the room when I ran the tests, honestly - it'll seem a bit more normal."
".I'll leave, then," Rinoa sighed. "I think I might go grab lunch in Balamb, then come back. Is that any good?"
"That'll be fine," Kadowaki nodded. "I'm sorry this had to come up this way, but I thought you'd prefer to know as soon as possible."
"I-It's OK," Rinoa assured weakly.
"I'll go find Laguna," Quistis said quietly, standing to leave. "I'll let you know when I'm on my way back with him."
"Alright. I'm gonna go now.."
"It'll be okay, Rinoa," Quistis said softly, putting her hand on Rinoa's shoulder briefly before she left.
~~~===~~~
"Gross," Zell grimaced, wiping his hands on his shorts and leaving blackish- blue stains on them.
"That's just wrong," Laguna wrinkled his nose at what had once been a fearsome creature. It certainly wasn't any more, Kiros observed; more bloodied chunks of flesh.
"Very," Kiros agreed. "Though I'd imagine you're thankful you use a gun right now.. Zell, T-Rexaur blood doesn't wash out.."
It was just about then that Zell realized who he was talking to. "Hey - what are you two doing here," he asked, seemingly not hearing Kiros' last comment.
Laguna shrugged, seemingly searching for a reply. "The same thing you are, I guess," he replied finally.
"No, I mean why are you *here*, here?"
Kiros made a motion with his hand across his throat for Zell to shut up, but the young fighter didn't seem to notice it.
"They need something for Squall's files, I guess," Laguna explained. "I'm not quite sure about what exactly, though..."
"That's weird," Zell said, frowning slightly as he leaned back against one of the railings. "Wonder if it has to do with whatever it was Rinoa was so hysterical about yesterday?"
Only the fact that Laguna was there kept Kiros from stepping up to Zell and calmly strangling him. He was still tempted, but it wasn't an option now.
"Rinoa? Is something wrong with her?"
"She's fine, Laguna," Kiros said quickly. "She was just a little wound up about something yesterday. Quistis told me about it when she called to have us come up here."
"I'll say she was wound up," Zell half-laughed. "Doesn't take much to make her get like that, though."
"Oh," Laguna blinked. "What happened, though?"
"I dunno," Zell said, ignoring Kiros glares and less subtle messages to stop talking. "She just came running through the halls, said something about her mom's diary - can't quite remember what it was, though," he shrugged. "Something weird, that's all I remember."
"Julia," Laguna inquired with mild interest. "Wonder what could have gotten her so upset in Julia's diary.."
Kiros offered a silent prayer that Zell's current attempt to remember wouldn't prove any more effective than the last one.
Unfortunately, it did.
"Oh, I think I remember now. It was something about before she married Caraway - kept talking about those dreams Elle sent us to."
"Huh. That's. weird," Laguna murmured. "That doesn't make much sense. Rinoa hadn't even been born then.. She probably wasn't alive at all, in fact.."
"Well, that's why she had to read it in Julia's diary," Zell pointed out.
"Come on, Laguna - we should probably get going back down to medical," Kiros said, finally deciding to try and end this before it got any worse.
"It's the Doctor's break time, isn't it? I'm pretty sure twelve to one is her lunch break.."
"She said she was going to make an exception for this," Kiros said quickly. "She wanted to get it over with as soon as possible."
"Oh - I remember now," Zell said suddenly.
"Damn," Kiros swore under his breath, hoping Laguna couldn't hear.
Laguna apparently didn't, and turned to Zell. "Oh! What?"
"Something about Caraway not really being her dad," Zell said. "Not sure why she'd be that upset, though - she didn't like him in the first place, I'd think she'd be glad to fine that out."
Kiros winced when a shocked look gradually crept onto his friend's face.
"No way," Laguna laughed half-heartedly. "That isn't.. Right. It can't be."
"Well, that's what she was saying," Zell shrugged. "Really didn't make all that much sense."
"We should get going, Laguna," Kiros said, his voice much calmer than he was.
"Yeah, I guess so," Laguna agreed, not quite masking what was bothering him as well as Kiros did.
/Dammit,/ Kiros thought to himself as they left the Training Center. /Why'd we have to run into the *one* person who could screw things up this badly?/
"Oh, there you two are," Quistis said as she spotted them in the hall. "Laguna, Dr. Kadowaki's ready to see you."
He remained quiet for a moment, then shook his head. "No. I need to talk to you.. Both of you," he looked from Quistis to Kiros. "First."
Kiros sighed slightly, nodding. Quistis looked between them, keeping her concern from her face the same way she always had, but suspecting somewhat what had happened.
"All right," she nodded. "Where would you like to talk?"
"I guess just somewhere where half the Garden can't listen in."
"Closest place with good locks would be the hall to Medical," Quistis said, certain that her suspicions had been right. "Anywhere else is pretty much public access at all times."
"Fine, that works," Laguna agreed distractedly.
The trio covered the distance to medical in a time that was only beaten by somebody taking a patient there - due largely to the wide berth the disturbed look on Laguna's face earned them from the other students. Quistis activated the security locks on the doors, and tried to calm herself down.
"What's wrong?"
"What exactly's going on here," Laguna asked directly. "And don't lie." He cast a hurt look in Kiros' direction when he said that.
Quistis started to answer, but Kiros held up a hand to stop her.
"I'm sorry, Laguna, but we all thought it would be better if you found out later, when we were sure. We found out that there's a good chance that Rinoa's your daughter, by Julia."
He blurted out the first thing that sprung to mind. "Does Squall know?"
"No, he doesn't," Kiros said, shaking his head. "Not yet. We've all agreed that it would be best if we had confirmation before telling him - it'll be a shock either way, and you know he doesn't handle things like that well."
"I know.." Laguna sighed. "Look, let's go."
"Just remember, Laguna," Kiros said, opening the door to Medical, "you have to let Rinoa tell him when she's ready. It's best that he hears it from her and Ellone.."