~~~Part 5~~~
Laguna, Kiros, and Quistis stepped into the plain, white room to find something not so normal- a completely and utterly miserable Rinoa and a rather lost looking Ellone. Not, of course, that Laguna blamed either one.
Dr. Kadowaki looked at Quistis, receiving a discreet nod that was returned as the older doctor went to go get the full set of papers and equipment for the tests - leaving them to talk without her around.
Ellone, her sixth sense of sorts more sluggish than usual, didn't pick up on the three who had just shown up until she actually saw them. Of course, when she did, her head snapped up and she attempted to be cheerful.
"Hi, Uncle Laguna!" Kiros winced, knowing that it probably wouldn't be taken well that she was lying to him too.
/"Too late now,"/ he thought, frowning slightly.
"Ellone," Laguna interjected in a fairly unreadable tone. "Don't. Bother."
"W-What?"
"We met Zell in the Training Center," Kiros explained softly. "He remembered enough of what Rinoa had said that Laguna figured out what was happening."
"Oh my gosh.. Uncle Laguna.."
"Why, Ellone?"
"I'm sorry," Ellone looked down. "I just -"
"Figured I couldn't keep my mouth shut?"
"I-It's not that," Ellone was shaken, clearly but still keeping herself together. "This is a mess, more than anyone expected, and.." She trailed off, uncharacteristically at a lack for words. "We were all just trying to keep as many people from being hurt as possible. We didn't know for sure, and we didn't want to scare anyone without reason."
"I had the right to know," Laguna replied, still in an odd tone, though his eyes had a mix of too many things- mostly hurt- to be in one tone of voice.
"Laguna," Quistis said, taking the chance of using the same soft, stern tone she used when one of the SeeD's needed to be kept from going out of control. "*I* requested that Kiros and Ellone keep you in the dark, it wasn't their idea."
Ellone tried to keep her expression the same as it had been, but couldn't. In fact, before she actually knew what she was saying, she'd blurted something out.
"That's. not true, " it was at that point she realized what she was saying, but she couldn't turn back after that- not easily, anyway. "We just really didn't want anyone to find things out the hard way, and you could sort of threaten that. But everyone could have. The truth is, we just didn't think things through enough," a long pause. "No one ever meant to hurt you, we just.. Didn't think."
"I *did* ask that Kiros not tell you," Quistis said with a slight sigh. At least try to get that much out. "Though that is the reason."
Laguna was quiet for a moment, before speaking very slowly.
"No more of this."
"In that case," Rinoa began tiredly, finally speaking. "I've got some news, good or bad is up to you. Apparently, you're going to be a grandfather."
Laguna stood there with a stunned expression before he spoke.
"Hyne help us all," he sighed.
~~~===~~~
Squall was sitting in his office, going over the latest reports on the new SeeD's, when he heard somebody knock at the door.
"Come in," he said simply, obviously still focused on his work.
The door creaked open, and Ellone's head peered around, followed by Rinoa stepping into the room.
"Squall," Ellone greeted quietly, nodding in greeting. Rinoa didn't say anything.
"Ellone," Squall said, clearly surprised as he looked up from the paperwork. There was something that seemed to be off, but he wasn't sure what - Ellone was here and he hadn't known she was coming, for one thing. And Rinoa was far too quiet.
"Have a seat," he said, motioning to the chairs near his desk. "Is something wrong?"
"That's up to you," Ellone murmured to herself, hoping she'd gone unheard once she'd spoken.
"Yes," Rinoa said softly, "and no.."
He noticed a quiet, almost nervous tone to Rinoa's voice - well, that explained why Ellone was here, at least.
"What's wrong, Rinoa," he asked, setting the files off to the side.
"I just got back from Dr. Kadowaki's," Rinoa blurted, "and.." She drew in a breath. ".Well, I'm pregnant," the last three words came out tersely and quickly, casting a look at Ellone. /Even if he takes that much well./
The expression on his face was half-stunned silence for a moment.
"You're what," he asked, like he wasn't quite sure he'd heard her right.
"She's pregnant," Ellone repeated, keeping the worry off of her face but not quite out of her eyes.
"Elle," he asked politely, "would you mind giving us a few moments alone?"
"O-Okay," mentally, Ellone kicked herself. /He's not going to take any of this any better if *I* go to pieces../
"Thank you," Squall said, waiting for the door to close behind her.
"Rinoa," he said, trying to sort out exactly what he wanted to say. "I know we weren't expecting it, but I'm not going to get upset about it."
"That's. not all, though."
"There's nothing we won't be able to handle, Rinoa. We'll take care of it."
"You know, you can be like your father."
"He does have a few good points," Squall said, making a slightly awkward attempt to smile.
"Somehow I think that's exactly what he'd have said to my mother if he'd been able to stick around."
"You don't have to worry about me leaving, Rinoa - that's not going to happen."
"I know, Squall," Rinoa regarded the statement gratefully. "But what I mean is.."
"Yes," he prompted her, not entirely sure what was bothering her. A few moments of uncomfortable silence passed before he spoke again. "Rinoa, what's wrong," he asked quietly, getting up from behind his desk and moving towards her.
"Squall. I. wasn't worried about what you'd say when you found out I was pregnant. I'm worried about the," Rinoa paused. "The circumstances. I found something out.."
"What is it," he asked carefully, sitting down next to her and putting an arm around her shoulders. He hoped that it was doing some good to try and calm her down - but he honestly wasn't sure if it was helping.
"My father's not my father," Rinoa didn't seem to care too terribly much about *that* fact, but definitely did care about what it ended up meaning. ".Laguna is."
That seemed to reach him.
"What? How?" To his credit, he didn't pull back - physically or emotionally. A few things he'd seen in the past started to fall into place. "Julia," he said, as much statement as question.
"I. I really don't know," Rinoa replied, despite the fact that the two questions were more out of surprise than actual inquiries. "Yes, Julia."
"This complicates things," he admitted, somewhat torn between reactions. "But we can work through this," he added, a stubborn certainty that she hadn't heard from him before.
"We can try, anyway," Rinoa agreed, though she was far more uncertain than Squall.
"Rinoa," he said, holding her close. "If we try is up to you. I'll understand if you don't want to. But we can do this."
"I want to," she assured him, reminded of the fact that Squall could be rather insecure at times. "And I know you can. I just don't know if I'm strong enough for it.."
"Then we'll help each other. This." Squall swallowed slightly, trying to work up the nerve to admit something he hadn't said very often, even if she had heard it before. "This doesn't change how I feel about you. But I think we need to talk with Kadowaki, and Laguna, as soon as we can."
Rinoa smiled. It was small and a bit weak, but it was there and it was sincere.
"You're right, Squall," she concluded after a moment, shifting her head slightly and giving him a light peck on the cheek. "It won't be easy, but we can handle it together."
~~~===~~~
Ellone was sitting outside the office, humming and tapping the arm of the chair she sat in, doing almost anything so that she was moving somehow. She tensed and stopped, though, when she saw the door open and both Squall and Rinoa stepped out, but. neither one seemed upset. Rinoa was in the best mood she'd been in all day, that was for sure, and even Squall had some trace of something- happiness, contentment, something that she hadn't expected, anyway, on his face.
"Is everything alright," Ellone asked tentatively.
"It will be," Squall replied, nodding. "And thanks for coming."
"It's no problem," Ellone replied with a smile.
"Dropping everything and showing up an hour after you find out is not 'no problem,'" Rinoa reminded her with a laugh. "Particularly when you have to convince someone to make an unexpected trip."
"Which we shouldn't have done," Ellone sighed sadly.
"Do you think it'd help any if I talked to him," Squall asked.
"Don't worry about it, Squall," Ellone replied, knowing full well her 'little brother' wasn't about to jump for joy at the thought. "I can take care of it."
"All right," he nodded, half-relieved. "We do need to talk to him before the three of you go back to Esthar, though. I think a few things need to get sorted out."
"He'll probably want to talk with you two, anyway," Ellone pointed out.
"Yeah," Rinoa put in. "But it's not like we can blame him, really," she added helpfully, knowing some part of Squall probably did.
For his part, the lean swordsman refrained from voicing his thoughts on the subject. Instead, he asked a fairly practical question. "Is he still down in medical?"
"I'm not sure- he could pretty much have gone anywhere on the island," Ellone sighed. "Uncle Laguna isn't exactly the sitting around type."
"Well, we'll see if he's down there when we go to talk to Kadowaki," Squall said with a slight frown. "And Elle - thanks for your help."
"It's no problem, really."
"This's gonna get repetitive," Rinoa remarked with a quiet laugh.
"So let's just get going before it does," Squall said, actually chuckling a little as he rolled his eyes and started towards the elevator..
Laguna, Kiros, and Quistis stepped into the plain, white room to find something not so normal- a completely and utterly miserable Rinoa and a rather lost looking Ellone. Not, of course, that Laguna blamed either one.
Dr. Kadowaki looked at Quistis, receiving a discreet nod that was returned as the older doctor went to go get the full set of papers and equipment for the tests - leaving them to talk without her around.
Ellone, her sixth sense of sorts more sluggish than usual, didn't pick up on the three who had just shown up until she actually saw them. Of course, when she did, her head snapped up and she attempted to be cheerful.
"Hi, Uncle Laguna!" Kiros winced, knowing that it probably wouldn't be taken well that she was lying to him too.
/"Too late now,"/ he thought, frowning slightly.
"Ellone," Laguna interjected in a fairly unreadable tone. "Don't. Bother."
"W-What?"
"We met Zell in the Training Center," Kiros explained softly. "He remembered enough of what Rinoa had said that Laguna figured out what was happening."
"Oh my gosh.. Uncle Laguna.."
"Why, Ellone?"
"I'm sorry," Ellone looked down. "I just -"
"Figured I couldn't keep my mouth shut?"
"I-It's not that," Ellone was shaken, clearly but still keeping herself together. "This is a mess, more than anyone expected, and.." She trailed off, uncharacteristically at a lack for words. "We were all just trying to keep as many people from being hurt as possible. We didn't know for sure, and we didn't want to scare anyone without reason."
"I had the right to know," Laguna replied, still in an odd tone, though his eyes had a mix of too many things- mostly hurt- to be in one tone of voice.
"Laguna," Quistis said, taking the chance of using the same soft, stern tone she used when one of the SeeD's needed to be kept from going out of control. "*I* requested that Kiros and Ellone keep you in the dark, it wasn't their idea."
Ellone tried to keep her expression the same as it had been, but couldn't. In fact, before she actually knew what she was saying, she'd blurted something out.
"That's. not true, " it was at that point she realized what she was saying, but she couldn't turn back after that- not easily, anyway. "We just really didn't want anyone to find things out the hard way, and you could sort of threaten that. But everyone could have. The truth is, we just didn't think things through enough," a long pause. "No one ever meant to hurt you, we just.. Didn't think."
"I *did* ask that Kiros not tell you," Quistis said with a slight sigh. At least try to get that much out. "Though that is the reason."
Laguna was quiet for a moment, before speaking very slowly.
"No more of this."
"In that case," Rinoa began tiredly, finally speaking. "I've got some news, good or bad is up to you. Apparently, you're going to be a grandfather."
Laguna stood there with a stunned expression before he spoke.
"Hyne help us all," he sighed.
~~~===~~~
Squall was sitting in his office, going over the latest reports on the new SeeD's, when he heard somebody knock at the door.
"Come in," he said simply, obviously still focused on his work.
The door creaked open, and Ellone's head peered around, followed by Rinoa stepping into the room.
"Squall," Ellone greeted quietly, nodding in greeting. Rinoa didn't say anything.
"Ellone," Squall said, clearly surprised as he looked up from the paperwork. There was something that seemed to be off, but he wasn't sure what - Ellone was here and he hadn't known she was coming, for one thing. And Rinoa was far too quiet.
"Have a seat," he said, motioning to the chairs near his desk. "Is something wrong?"
"That's up to you," Ellone murmured to herself, hoping she'd gone unheard once she'd spoken.
"Yes," Rinoa said softly, "and no.."
He noticed a quiet, almost nervous tone to Rinoa's voice - well, that explained why Ellone was here, at least.
"What's wrong, Rinoa," he asked, setting the files off to the side.
"I just got back from Dr. Kadowaki's," Rinoa blurted, "and.." She drew in a breath. ".Well, I'm pregnant," the last three words came out tersely and quickly, casting a look at Ellone. /Even if he takes that much well./
The expression on his face was half-stunned silence for a moment.
"You're what," he asked, like he wasn't quite sure he'd heard her right.
"She's pregnant," Ellone repeated, keeping the worry off of her face but not quite out of her eyes.
"Elle," he asked politely, "would you mind giving us a few moments alone?"
"O-Okay," mentally, Ellone kicked herself. /He's not going to take any of this any better if *I* go to pieces../
"Thank you," Squall said, waiting for the door to close behind her.
"Rinoa," he said, trying to sort out exactly what he wanted to say. "I know we weren't expecting it, but I'm not going to get upset about it."
"That's. not all, though."
"There's nothing we won't be able to handle, Rinoa. We'll take care of it."
"You know, you can be like your father."
"He does have a few good points," Squall said, making a slightly awkward attempt to smile.
"Somehow I think that's exactly what he'd have said to my mother if he'd been able to stick around."
"You don't have to worry about me leaving, Rinoa - that's not going to happen."
"I know, Squall," Rinoa regarded the statement gratefully. "But what I mean is.."
"Yes," he prompted her, not entirely sure what was bothering her. A few moments of uncomfortable silence passed before he spoke again. "Rinoa, what's wrong," he asked quietly, getting up from behind his desk and moving towards her.
"Squall. I. wasn't worried about what you'd say when you found out I was pregnant. I'm worried about the," Rinoa paused. "The circumstances. I found something out.."
"What is it," he asked carefully, sitting down next to her and putting an arm around her shoulders. He hoped that it was doing some good to try and calm her down - but he honestly wasn't sure if it was helping.
"My father's not my father," Rinoa didn't seem to care too terribly much about *that* fact, but definitely did care about what it ended up meaning. ".Laguna is."
That seemed to reach him.
"What? How?" To his credit, he didn't pull back - physically or emotionally. A few things he'd seen in the past started to fall into place. "Julia," he said, as much statement as question.
"I. I really don't know," Rinoa replied, despite the fact that the two questions were more out of surprise than actual inquiries. "Yes, Julia."
"This complicates things," he admitted, somewhat torn between reactions. "But we can work through this," he added, a stubborn certainty that she hadn't heard from him before.
"We can try, anyway," Rinoa agreed, though she was far more uncertain than Squall.
"Rinoa," he said, holding her close. "If we try is up to you. I'll understand if you don't want to. But we can do this."
"I want to," she assured him, reminded of the fact that Squall could be rather insecure at times. "And I know you can. I just don't know if I'm strong enough for it.."
"Then we'll help each other. This." Squall swallowed slightly, trying to work up the nerve to admit something he hadn't said very often, even if she had heard it before. "This doesn't change how I feel about you. But I think we need to talk with Kadowaki, and Laguna, as soon as we can."
Rinoa smiled. It was small and a bit weak, but it was there and it was sincere.
"You're right, Squall," she concluded after a moment, shifting her head slightly and giving him a light peck on the cheek. "It won't be easy, but we can handle it together."
~~~===~~~
Ellone was sitting outside the office, humming and tapping the arm of the chair she sat in, doing almost anything so that she was moving somehow. She tensed and stopped, though, when she saw the door open and both Squall and Rinoa stepped out, but. neither one seemed upset. Rinoa was in the best mood she'd been in all day, that was for sure, and even Squall had some trace of something- happiness, contentment, something that she hadn't expected, anyway, on his face.
"Is everything alright," Ellone asked tentatively.
"It will be," Squall replied, nodding. "And thanks for coming."
"It's no problem," Ellone replied with a smile.
"Dropping everything and showing up an hour after you find out is not 'no problem,'" Rinoa reminded her with a laugh. "Particularly when you have to convince someone to make an unexpected trip."
"Which we shouldn't have done," Ellone sighed sadly.
"Do you think it'd help any if I talked to him," Squall asked.
"Don't worry about it, Squall," Ellone replied, knowing full well her 'little brother' wasn't about to jump for joy at the thought. "I can take care of it."
"All right," he nodded, half-relieved. "We do need to talk to him before the three of you go back to Esthar, though. I think a few things need to get sorted out."
"He'll probably want to talk with you two, anyway," Ellone pointed out.
"Yeah," Rinoa put in. "But it's not like we can blame him, really," she added helpfully, knowing some part of Squall probably did.
For his part, the lean swordsman refrained from voicing his thoughts on the subject. Instead, he asked a fairly practical question. "Is he still down in medical?"
"I'm not sure- he could pretty much have gone anywhere on the island," Ellone sighed. "Uncle Laguna isn't exactly the sitting around type."
"Well, we'll see if he's down there when we go to talk to Kadowaki," Squall said with a slight frown. "And Elle - thanks for your help."
"It's no problem, really."
"This's gonna get repetitive," Rinoa remarked with a quiet laugh.
"So let's just get going before it does," Squall said, actually chuckling a little as he rolled his eyes and started towards the elevator..