Chapter 13 Going Home
Seifer let go of Quistis's hand as Ian came over to stand with them. They stood watching the Ragnorak move closer in the evening sky. When it was close enough Quistis bent down and lit a flare she had retrieved from her pack, to mark their position.
Seifer turned to Ian as he watched the craft land. "So what are your orders, now that you're sending us on our merry way" he asked, his trademark smirk sliding across his face.
Quistis had moved away from the men, heading to the ship, and Ian watched her go. "No, actually your gonna be stuck with me for a little while longer. I'm to go back to Balamb garden and report to Cid Kramer." Ian paused for a moment "About the prison situation…I'm sorry you people had to be dragged into the middle of all this."
Seifer, who had been pulling on his gloves looked up at the other man. "Yeah, well as long as Perry and his men pay, I guess I can live with it." His attention was pulled away when he heard a squeal coming from the direction of the now landed Ragnorak.
Seifer sighed as he saw the cause of the noise. 'It would have to be her' he thought, seeing the bouncing brunette grab Quistis in a bear hug.
"Get ready for a whirlwind," he said to Ian. "You're about to meet the one and only Selphie Tilmitt."
Ian looked up to see a sly grin on Seifer's face. "That bad?" he asked.
Seifer smirked "No worse." Ian heard him laugh as he started walking toward the two women.
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"Quistyyyyy" Selphie came running up to the other woman. "Oh Hyne, Quisty, we've been so worried. Are you all right? Have you been out here all this time?" She then grabbed Quistis in a tight hug.
Quistis hugged her back of a few minutes then pulled back. "I'm fine, Selphie.
"Are you sure you're ok. Are you still in danger? Because I can…"Selphie stopped in mid sentence looking past Quistis. "What is he doing here?" Selphie said in a hardened voice.
Quistis whipped around quickly to see Seifer standing a few yards away, his customary smirk firmly in place. Selphie stomped passed and Quistis tried to stop her. "Selphie, Wait, you don't understand."
She stopped right in front of Seifer. "What are you doing here?" she all but growled.
Seifer looked down at the petite girl in front of him and before he could say anything to her Quistis was there. "Selphie. Please. It's not what you think." Quistis started to pull her friend back.
"Wait. Just what DO you think is going on here?" Seifer asked sarcastically.
"Did you kidnap Quistis?" Selphie asked.
Seifer started laughing at the same time Quistis gasped "No."
"Well then what is this all about," Selphie asked looking back and forth from a now doubled over Seifer to Quistis.
Quistis took Selphie's arm and drew her a few steps away. " What was your mission, Quisty?" Selphie asked still eyeing Seifer.
"Seifer was my mission" Quistis answered.
"What?" Selphie's mouth dropped open as she stared at Quistis in disbelief.
It hurt his bruised ribs and back like crazy, but every time Seifer looked at the small girl he couldn't stop laughing. Just seeing her speechless made him go into another round of laughter.
"Seifer was my mission" Quistis repeated "I, we, I mean my team rescued him," she said.
It was at this time, Ian, who had been watching the three people decided to come forward. He cleared his throat and when he had the attention of the two girls, said, "I'm not sure just what is going on here but I think we better leave before we attract attention to ourselves."
Selphie looked over at him. "Who are you?"
"This is Ian Anders, Selphie. He was sent by Laguna to help us." Quistis answered. "I think he's right we had better go. I'll tell you all about the mission later. Ok?"
"Fine. I'm just glad you're ok." Selphie turned to glare at Seifer, who had finally gotten his amusement under control.
As she headed past him towards the Ragnorak he said "I see they let you play with the big toys now."
Selphie stopped; looking him up and down she took in the bruises and replied, "I see somebody finally gave you that beating you've been begging for." She gave him her own version of an evil grin then continued on her way.
"Ouch." He chuckled as he turned to follow her aboard.
After everyone was settled Selphie took off for Balamb. The ride home was quiet. Quistis and Seifer were lost in their own thoughts. Now that the danger was past they were both exhausted.
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When they landed at the garden Cid and Xu were there waiting for them. Cid came forward with a smile as they stepped off the ship. "Welcome home. Quistis. Seifer. We've been worried about you." He turned to Ian holding out his hand "and you must be Agent Anders. I was informed that you would be returning with my people."
"Yes sir, I was told to report to you." Ian shook Cid's hand.
"Accommodations have been prepared for you. My assistant Xu will show you the way." Cid gestured to the woman standing behind him. "We will meet in my office at 10:00 tomorrow morning for a debriefing. Someone will come for you then."
"Thank you, Sir" Ian said before moving over to where Xu was waiting. She introduced herself then led him into the garden.
Cid turned back to Quistis and Seifer. They had been standing in the semi darkness of the deepening night and when they stepped forward into the light Cid got his first good look at their condition. "The two of you need to report to the infirmary."
"The only place I want to go is my room. To take a long shower." Quistis sighed.
"That's an order, Quistis. I want Dr. Kadowaki to check you over first," Cid replied.
She sighed again "Fine." She knew she wouldn't win this argument.
Selphie came out of the Ragnorak. "Hi, Headmaster Cid." She gave him a big smile.
"Selphie" he nodded to her "Would you please escort Quistis and Seifer to the infirmary?"
"Sure" she bounced up and down.
Cid frowned, watching Seifer limp stiffly as he followed the girls into the garden. Seifer had been unusually quiet, he thought.
Cid pulled out his phone and punched in the number for Dr. Kadowaki. "Dr., it's Cid. Quistis and Seifer are back. I've sent them to the infirmary. I'd like a report as soon as you've examined them."
"Of course, Cid. I'll meet them there right away," she answered.
"Thank you, Dr." Cid pocketed the phone and headed to his office to tell Edea the news.
Quistis had been listening to Selphie chatting nonstop as they moved through the halls towards the infirmary when she noticed that Seifer had fallen behind.
"Selphie, wait," she interrupted the other girl "we need to go back for Seifer."
Selphie, who couldn't stay mad at anyone for long nodded her head in agreement. "Ok. He did look pretty beat up. What happened to him?"
"I can't talk about it now. I'll tell you all about the mission later, including what happened to Seifer. Or at least as much as I know," she answered.
They turned and retraced their steps until they came across Seifer leaning against the wall, resting.
"There you are" Selphie said, skipping up to him.
Seifer looked up when she stopped in front of him "I was just resting for a minute. Hyne, I can get to the infirmary by myself," he snapped.
"Nope" Selphie answered cheerfully "come on Quisty." She grabbed his arm and pulled it around her neck. Quistis took his other arm and did the same. The three of them started down the hall.
"You know, I can walk by myself, but I guess this is one way to get two pretty girls in my arms" Seifer joked with a smirk crossing his face.
Selphie looked up at him. "It's not every day I get to have the great Seifer Almasy at my mercy," she shot back.
When they got to the infirmary Seifer took a deep breath and silently thanked the gods that it was late enough that they hadn't run into anyone in the halls.
"Here are your patients, Doctor," Selphie said letting go of Seifer.
"Good, good. Come in." She moved toward them "Seifer, I want you in there on the table" she pointed to the examining room "and Quistis you can have a seat."
Selphie turned and hugged Quistis "I'll see you later," then left.
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Quistis stopped the Doctor before she went in to see Seifer. "Doctor. Do you think I could go take a shower while you're in with Seifer?"
Dr. Kadowaki looked at Quistis. "Are you hurt?" she asked.
"Only this." Quistis held up her hand.
The doctor took her hand and looked at it. "Hmmm, We'll need to do an X-ray on this to make sure you didn't break anything but I think it'll be Ok to go get cleaned up. As long as you come right back." She looked at Quistis sternly.
"Thank you Dr. K." Quistis smiled at her. Just as she turned to leave, the door opened.
"Where are my children?" Edea said rushing into the room. Seeing Quistis, she rushed over pulling her into a hug. "Oh Quistis we've been so worried about the two of you. When Xi-Wang and Jace were brought back they told us what happened. When they told us you had split up I was afraid you wouldn't be able to evade those men." She pulled back taking in Quistis's ragged appearance and injured hand she was holding up protectively.
"We're ok. It was a long couple of days but we managed." Quistis told her as Edea took her other hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
Edea looked around still holding Quistis's uninjured hand "Where is Seifer?"
"He's in there" Quistis gestures towards the other room. Edea smiled at her then moved to the doorway.
When she saw him sitting on the edge of the table she gasped. He looked up at her and she took in the bruises, the black eye and split lip. "Oh Seifer" she said softly "what have they done to you?" She moved over wrapping her arms around him. "My poor boy."
"Matron" Seifer said but his heart whispered 'Mother'.
Quistis had come to stand in the open doorway and watched Edea comfort Seifer. She saw the glint of unshed tears in his eyes as they slid closed and he lowered his head to the older woman's shoulder.
Quistis moved away quietly, not wanting to intrude but her heart ached for the man that Seifer hid from the rest of the world.
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Author's notes: This story has a mind of it's own. Every time I think I'm going to write about certain things I end up with something totally different. Next chapter everyone should know Seifer's back. ***As always thanks for the reviews. They make me happy. And a happy writer is a fast writer. lol. ***
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Seifer let go of Quistis's hand as Ian came over to stand with them. They stood watching the Ragnorak move closer in the evening sky. When it was close enough Quistis bent down and lit a flare she had retrieved from her pack, to mark their position.
Seifer turned to Ian as he watched the craft land. "So what are your orders, now that you're sending us on our merry way" he asked, his trademark smirk sliding across his face.
Quistis had moved away from the men, heading to the ship, and Ian watched her go. "No, actually your gonna be stuck with me for a little while longer. I'm to go back to Balamb garden and report to Cid Kramer." Ian paused for a moment "About the prison situation…I'm sorry you people had to be dragged into the middle of all this."
Seifer, who had been pulling on his gloves looked up at the other man. "Yeah, well as long as Perry and his men pay, I guess I can live with it." His attention was pulled away when he heard a squeal coming from the direction of the now landed Ragnorak.
Seifer sighed as he saw the cause of the noise. 'It would have to be her' he thought, seeing the bouncing brunette grab Quistis in a bear hug.
"Get ready for a whirlwind," he said to Ian. "You're about to meet the one and only Selphie Tilmitt."
Ian looked up to see a sly grin on Seifer's face. "That bad?" he asked.
Seifer smirked "No worse." Ian heard him laugh as he started walking toward the two women.
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"Quistyyyyy" Selphie came running up to the other woman. "Oh Hyne, Quisty, we've been so worried. Are you all right? Have you been out here all this time?" She then grabbed Quistis in a tight hug.
Quistis hugged her back of a few minutes then pulled back. "I'm fine, Selphie.
"Are you sure you're ok. Are you still in danger? Because I can…"Selphie stopped in mid sentence looking past Quistis. "What is he doing here?" Selphie said in a hardened voice.
Quistis whipped around quickly to see Seifer standing a few yards away, his customary smirk firmly in place. Selphie stomped passed and Quistis tried to stop her. "Selphie, Wait, you don't understand."
She stopped right in front of Seifer. "What are you doing here?" she all but growled.
Seifer looked down at the petite girl in front of him and before he could say anything to her Quistis was there. "Selphie. Please. It's not what you think." Quistis started to pull her friend back.
"Wait. Just what DO you think is going on here?" Seifer asked sarcastically.
"Did you kidnap Quistis?" Selphie asked.
Seifer started laughing at the same time Quistis gasped "No."
"Well then what is this all about," Selphie asked looking back and forth from a now doubled over Seifer to Quistis.
Quistis took Selphie's arm and drew her a few steps away. " What was your mission, Quisty?" Selphie asked still eyeing Seifer.
"Seifer was my mission" Quistis answered.
"What?" Selphie's mouth dropped open as she stared at Quistis in disbelief.
It hurt his bruised ribs and back like crazy, but every time Seifer looked at the small girl he couldn't stop laughing. Just seeing her speechless made him go into another round of laughter.
"Seifer was my mission" Quistis repeated "I, we, I mean my team rescued him," she said.
It was at this time, Ian, who had been watching the three people decided to come forward. He cleared his throat and when he had the attention of the two girls, said, "I'm not sure just what is going on here but I think we better leave before we attract attention to ourselves."
Selphie looked over at him. "Who are you?"
"This is Ian Anders, Selphie. He was sent by Laguna to help us." Quistis answered. "I think he's right we had better go. I'll tell you all about the mission later. Ok?"
"Fine. I'm just glad you're ok." Selphie turned to glare at Seifer, who had finally gotten his amusement under control.
As she headed past him towards the Ragnorak he said "I see they let you play with the big toys now."
Selphie stopped; looking him up and down she took in the bruises and replied, "I see somebody finally gave you that beating you've been begging for." She gave him her own version of an evil grin then continued on her way.
"Ouch." He chuckled as he turned to follow her aboard.
After everyone was settled Selphie took off for Balamb. The ride home was quiet. Quistis and Seifer were lost in their own thoughts. Now that the danger was past they were both exhausted.
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When they landed at the garden Cid and Xu were there waiting for them. Cid came forward with a smile as they stepped off the ship. "Welcome home. Quistis. Seifer. We've been worried about you." He turned to Ian holding out his hand "and you must be Agent Anders. I was informed that you would be returning with my people."
"Yes sir, I was told to report to you." Ian shook Cid's hand.
"Accommodations have been prepared for you. My assistant Xu will show you the way." Cid gestured to the woman standing behind him. "We will meet in my office at 10:00 tomorrow morning for a debriefing. Someone will come for you then."
"Thank you, Sir" Ian said before moving over to where Xu was waiting. She introduced herself then led him into the garden.
Cid turned back to Quistis and Seifer. They had been standing in the semi darkness of the deepening night and when they stepped forward into the light Cid got his first good look at their condition. "The two of you need to report to the infirmary."
"The only place I want to go is my room. To take a long shower." Quistis sighed.
"That's an order, Quistis. I want Dr. Kadowaki to check you over first," Cid replied.
She sighed again "Fine." She knew she wouldn't win this argument.
Selphie came out of the Ragnorak. "Hi, Headmaster Cid." She gave him a big smile.
"Selphie" he nodded to her "Would you please escort Quistis and Seifer to the infirmary?"
"Sure" she bounced up and down.
Cid frowned, watching Seifer limp stiffly as he followed the girls into the garden. Seifer had been unusually quiet, he thought.
Cid pulled out his phone and punched in the number for Dr. Kadowaki. "Dr., it's Cid. Quistis and Seifer are back. I've sent them to the infirmary. I'd like a report as soon as you've examined them."
"Of course, Cid. I'll meet them there right away," she answered.
"Thank you, Dr." Cid pocketed the phone and headed to his office to tell Edea the news.
Quistis had been listening to Selphie chatting nonstop as they moved through the halls towards the infirmary when she noticed that Seifer had fallen behind.
"Selphie, wait," she interrupted the other girl "we need to go back for Seifer."
Selphie, who couldn't stay mad at anyone for long nodded her head in agreement. "Ok. He did look pretty beat up. What happened to him?"
"I can't talk about it now. I'll tell you all about the mission later, including what happened to Seifer. Or at least as much as I know," she answered.
They turned and retraced their steps until they came across Seifer leaning against the wall, resting.
"There you are" Selphie said, skipping up to him.
Seifer looked up when she stopped in front of him "I was just resting for a minute. Hyne, I can get to the infirmary by myself," he snapped.
"Nope" Selphie answered cheerfully "come on Quisty." She grabbed his arm and pulled it around her neck. Quistis took his other arm and did the same. The three of them started down the hall.
"You know, I can walk by myself, but I guess this is one way to get two pretty girls in my arms" Seifer joked with a smirk crossing his face.
Selphie looked up at him. "It's not every day I get to have the great Seifer Almasy at my mercy," she shot back.
When they got to the infirmary Seifer took a deep breath and silently thanked the gods that it was late enough that they hadn't run into anyone in the halls.
"Here are your patients, Doctor," Selphie said letting go of Seifer.
"Good, good. Come in." She moved toward them "Seifer, I want you in there on the table" she pointed to the examining room "and Quistis you can have a seat."
Selphie turned and hugged Quistis "I'll see you later," then left.
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Quistis stopped the Doctor before she went in to see Seifer. "Doctor. Do you think I could go take a shower while you're in with Seifer?"
Dr. Kadowaki looked at Quistis. "Are you hurt?" she asked.
"Only this." Quistis held up her hand.
The doctor took her hand and looked at it. "Hmmm, We'll need to do an X-ray on this to make sure you didn't break anything but I think it'll be Ok to go get cleaned up. As long as you come right back." She looked at Quistis sternly.
"Thank you Dr. K." Quistis smiled at her. Just as she turned to leave, the door opened.
"Where are my children?" Edea said rushing into the room. Seeing Quistis, she rushed over pulling her into a hug. "Oh Quistis we've been so worried about the two of you. When Xi-Wang and Jace were brought back they told us what happened. When they told us you had split up I was afraid you wouldn't be able to evade those men." She pulled back taking in Quistis's ragged appearance and injured hand she was holding up protectively.
"We're ok. It was a long couple of days but we managed." Quistis told her as Edea took her other hand and squeezed it reassuringly.
Edea looked around still holding Quistis's uninjured hand "Where is Seifer?"
"He's in there" Quistis gestures towards the other room. Edea smiled at her then moved to the doorway.
When she saw him sitting on the edge of the table she gasped. He looked up at her and she took in the bruises, the black eye and split lip. "Oh Seifer" she said softly "what have they done to you?" She moved over wrapping her arms around him. "My poor boy."
"Matron" Seifer said but his heart whispered 'Mother'.
Quistis had come to stand in the open doorway and watched Edea comfort Seifer. She saw the glint of unshed tears in his eyes as they slid closed and he lowered his head to the older woman's shoulder.
Quistis moved away quietly, not wanting to intrude but her heart ached for the man that Seifer hid from the rest of the world.
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Author's notes: This story has a mind of it's own. Every time I think I'm going to write about certain things I end up with something totally different. Next chapter everyone should know Seifer's back. ***As always thanks for the reviews. They make me happy. And a happy writer is a fast writer. lol. ***
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