Betrayal

Chapter II

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Of all days Deiling City's public transportation seized because of heavy rainfall, it had to be now with Seifer running all over the place with a dying woman in his arms.

His apartment was a block away but what could he do once he took her to his room? That is if he managed to get her into his room. He could just picture himself right now running inside the main hall and startling everyone with a bleeding girl in his arms. No chance would he be able to get her into his room and heal her. The ambulance would be called but the only hospital in Deiling City was at least thirty minutes away, plus the heavy rainfall would cause dozens of car accidents within minutes, making ambulances rare to come by.

They would be lucky if they had to wait at least an hour for help to pick up the injured girl and take her to the hospital. But by then she might bleed to death. Seifer just couldn't risk losing her at the moment, he's caused way too much deaths and injury in the past and he vowed to himself to help anyone who's life was at stake.

Taking her to the hospital was out of the question, he had no choice but to sneak her into his apartment and heal her himself. He wasn't great at first aid, but he to try at least.

Now the question was, how to get her into his room? Going in through the front was impossible if he were to sneak in without being noticed.

A soft groan escaped the wounded girls blue lips--

--Blue?

Only way to get her lips blue would be that her temperature was lowering, must be from the cold rain. Her clothes were soaked with water and blood.

Finally Seifer thought of a plan to sneak in undetected. He ran up through the fire escape route and squeeze into the window he always leaves open.

--Oww, damn floor is covered in water.

Seifer quickly, and carefully, jumped up to his feet. His knees were stinging with pain but he ignored them and softly laid Kelia (Quistis) on the bed and quickly dived for the light switch. He peeled off his black jacket and threw it carelessly on the ground and stepped into the small kitchen.

He hadn't been washing dishes lately and he was out of clean bowls. Cursing his laziness, he washed the nearest bowl as fast as the speed of light and filled it with warm water and fetched a clean face cloth from the bathroom.

Millions of thoughts ran through Seifer's head as he tried to plan what to do first. He sat the cloth and water bowl on the nearby corner table and examined Kelia. He had to find the main wound that was bleeding so much. But her wet clothes clung to her skin and it was hard to find most of the wounds.

Now any normal breathing male would enjoy the opportunity to take off the clothes from a beautiful woman such as Kelia but under these circumstances his brain, for once, overpowered his hormones.

Once her clothes were off, excluding her undergarments, he quickly whipped away the blood with the wet facial cloth with extreme gentleness. Most of the wounds were clogged and he didn't want to open them again while cleaning them. And he found which injury was bleeding the most, the excessive gashes all over her right arm and shoulder.

What the hell did these girls do to her? Her arm looks like it was put in the blender.

Seifer, being poor in first aid, usually never keeps Cure's in stock. He had a few for emergencies but they were obviously not enough to heal every wound on Kelia's body. The small ones could be healed and leave no trace of a scar while the larger ones were better off being wrapped up.

And after two long and stressing hours, Seifer was finally wrapping up Kelia's right arm with some bandages he snuck out from the first aid storeroom in the main office downstairs.

Finally...done.

He sighed heavily and collapsed on a nearby chair. His first plans were to get into the shower, eat something, and sleep. But with Kelia on his bed, he would have to sleep on the floor.

Well...at least you saved her life...remember that. And she'll have to repay you somehow.

Seifer was beyond exhausted, treating people wasn't as easy as it looks. So he stood, grabbed some clean clothes, and headed for the bathroom.

After a nice refreshing and warm shower, Seifer emerged completely fresh and relaxed. He was so tempted to just grab extra blankets and pillow and crash on the floor there and then. Except one thing kept him from moving...His apartment was a mess.

First impressions were important, and Seifer did not want Kelia waking up in the middle of filth. Surely she have her first negative impression of Seifer, and he did not that. Now that he finally moved into a new city, got a new job, he finally meets a young lady he found extremely attractive, plus he saved her life.

So Seifer excluded his thoughts of sleeping and started cleaning the many empty coke cans on the floor, the crumb filled pizza box in front of the small TV, and several clothes that covered the carpet. Once everything was picked up and placed in two large black bags, Seifer set to work in the kitchen where a mountain of dishes eagerly awaited to be washed.

Kitchen spotless, apartment actually looking like the way it looked once Seifer had moved in, and the trash thrown away outside. Finally the ex-knight could get his well deserved rest.

He threw down a pillow and several blankets on the floor and laid on top of them. First it wasn't as comfortable but he was too tired to care. All that mattered to him right now was sleep.

But suddenly the thought of his plans tomorrow swiftly removed all sleepiness from his eyes. He bolted right up and glanced at the clock, which showed fifteen past midnight, and cursed under his breath.

He had work first thing in the morning and would be gone all day. He couldn't leave Kelia alone without being watched over. What if she woke up while he was gone? Would she stay? Or would she just leave and never see him again? Or what if her condition got worse?

Seifer swore again and slammed his fist on the gray carpet. There was no way he could miss work tomorrow, he needed every penny he could muster and he wasn't on good terms with his boss. Apparently he remembered Seifer perfectly well as Edea's knight during that parade. Plus this was the only available job in the whole city, if he lost his job at the Car Rental who knows how long it would be until he could find a new job. He was already on tight terms barely paying for the roof over his head, the apartment was as cheap and run down as possible, and he had just enough to buy food.

He did have some gil saved up but that was for a motorcycle. He needed wheels badly, he was tired of public transportation and being stuck in small seats between old people or smelly homeless people.

But what was he to do. He needed someone to stay here and watch over Kelia while he was at work. Perhaps...he could hire a nurse or doctor to stay and watch over her while he's at work. A part of him knew it would take just about majority of his savings to hire a private nurse or doctor for one day, but another part of him knew it was the only way. Perhaps Kelia would offer to pay him back, and if she was low on gil then...yeah she might pay him back in a different payment.

Seifer smirked at that thought and quickly got up and grabbed the phone. He called the main office and asked if he could be given any numbers of doctors or nurses that would make house calls. He was in luck, and was given a few.

Well the way a male brain works, when a beautiful young women is asleep in their room, was kicking in again and the trademark smirk appeared on Seifer's features. He took one last moment to look at the girl before him and stood up and headed for the bathroom.

...

Seifer emerged from the bathroom freshly washed and relaxed. He hung up his towel and quickly dressed, he was afraid Kelia would awaken and see him butt naked...though he wasn't embarrassed to show off his equipment to women but still it would be embarrassing to be caught naked even if it was from a girl.

Finally dressed into a pair of sport pants and a muscle shirt, Seifer walked hungrily into the kitchen and pulled out left over pizza from the fridge. Once it was warmed up he inhaled the pizza and looked around his apartment. It was a royal mess, he didn't want Kelia waking up in the middle of this filth.

Sleep would have to be put on hold. Seifer sighed while he turned on the water and began washing dishes. After the kitchen was cleaned he ran around the place picking up empty coke cans, pizza boxes, and clothes that were lying around. He didn't have a vacuum, plus they were probably loud enough to wake up the whole neighborhood and he wasn't on everyone's good side as it was. Everyone that set eyes on him were overpowered by fright from women and hate from men. Apparently everyone remembered him as the sorceress' henchman.

Once Seifer was done, the only thought that remained in his mind was what to do with Kelia while he was at work. He had no friends, Fuujin and Raijin remained in Balamb, and his only alternative was to hire someone to watch over her.

Sighing, Seifer rubbed his bloodshot eyes and looked inside the telephone book that was kept forgotten in a drawer on the far side corner beside the entrance door. The ex-SeeD cadet grabbed the telephone book and searched desperately inside for any caretakers for hire.

With shocking luck, Seifer found a small ad in the yellow pages about a retired doctor who offered home calls. This was the closest the blonde could find so he picked up the phone receiver and dialed.

After five rings, there was a soft click and a shallow sigh could be heard.

"H-hello?"

"Is this Mr--" Seifer checked the ad for the name, "--Kaden? Or...doctor Kaden?"

"Yes...who is this?"

"My name is Seifer Almasy, I'm calling for information about your ad in the phone book. It mentions you offer home calls."

"Yes that is correct."

"Sir...do you...I mean...do you watch over the sick or injured person for a period of time?" Seifer whispered. His heart thumped painfully in his chest as he awaited the answer.

There was a sudden cough and a grunt before the man replied. "You mean like baby-sitting? Yes, I do that. But I charge by the hour."

Seifer swallowed the large lump in his throat and opened his mouth, "How much?"

"Two hundred gil."

"Two hundred?!" Seifer exclaimed. A whispered groan in the back made him realize not to be too loud. "...Alright. I have an injured friend in my apartment, she was beaten up by some girls when I came by and stopped them from killing her. I live way on the south-west area of Deiling and the nearest hospital was at least thirty minutes away. I have no car and public transportation was just too slow, she was bleeding a lot so I rushed her to my apartment. I've bandaged her up but she's unconscious and she hasn't awaken...and I have work tomorrow morning and I cannot miss it."

"Alright, sounds like a job to me. Give me your address and time you wish for me to be there."

"20932 Cariates Road, Deiling Apartments, floor seven, room number 9F at six in the morning."

"Great, I'll be there sir. Thank you and good night."

Another click and silence told Seifer he had hung up.

Perfect...he hired some old retired doctor to look after Kelia. He would be gone eight hours and Dr. Kaden is charging him 200 gil an hour! That would equal to 1600 gil. Certainly that was nearly half of his savings. Too late now to debate over this. He ran his hand through his short blonde hair and hissed in frustration. Sighing, he settled on the floor and pulled the blankets over his shoulders and slept.

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The next morning didn't go well for Seifer at all. He overslept and was awakened by the sound of someone knocking on his door, Dr. Kaden.

Seifer dressed as he explained the story about Kelia to the doctor, apparently he was half asleep and didn't really catch what Seifer was telling him.

Dr. Kaden was several inches shorter than Seifer with brown and gray hair, a slight mustache growing, and had a black suit on. He held a large and plumb leather bag that held medical supplies in case he needed some and gave Seifer a few papers to sign. They were simply confirmation papers of their deal and the yellow copy was for Seifer and the pink for Dr Kaden.

With one last glance at Kelia and a nod to the doctor Seifer left the apartment and wet for work. Somehow he felt it was going to be an extremely long day.

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"Ok sweetheart, let's see how you're doing." Dr Kaden whispered to no one in particular.

He pulled a chair and set it beside the bed where the sleeping blonde laid and sat while he placed his bag on his lap and searched inside for some supplies. He pulled out a small pocket flashlight, turned it on, and leaned forward and used his free hand to lift Quistis' eyelids and he flashed the flashlight to see the reaction to her pupils.

Both eyes appeared normal so he set the flashlight back in his bag.

"Now let's just move this out of the way." He said again as he pushed the blanket on Quistis aside to examine her physique.

She was still in her undergarments and her arms and legs were bandaged but her torso was in perfect condition except for numerous bruises.

He checked for any broken bones and used scan to see if anything was fractured. Next, he pulled out fresh and clean bandages from his bag and took off the bloody ones Quistis had. With new bandages the doctor got up to fetch a large bowl of water, soap, and a sponge and used them to clean off the blood and dirt on her body and face.

After that he got up, around noon, and searched in the drawers and closet for some extra clothes. He found one large shirt and put it on the sleeping patient. His stomach grumbled, signaling he should grab a bite to eat, but he couldn't leave the place. The girl had yet to awaken and if she did she might suffer from shock after a brutal attack and waking in a place she's never been in.

The retired doctor sighed and stepped into the kitchen to see what was in the fridge. There was nothing but left over fast food. In the cabinets there was some bread and cereal. He checked in the fridge again and found some sandwich meat, cheese, and lettuce. Kaden helped himself to four sandwiches and made two more just in case Quistis awakened before Seifer came back from work.

Once lunch was done, Kaden sat himself in front of the TV and watched several shows until he would hear a groan or cough from the sleeping blonde.

Near five in the afternoon, Kaden heard another groan from Quistis. He turned off the TV, stood and went to the girl's bedside to see what was wrong.

He called her but she showed no signs that she could hear him. Then he noticed how much she was sweating. Placing his hand on top of her forehead, his eyes widened from the touch of such heat.

He grabbed a small facial cloth, wet it, put a large ice cube in the center of it before folding it neatly, and placed it over Quistis' head. The moment the cloth touched her head, her eyes opened slightly.

"Wha--"

She blinked the sleepiness out of her eyes and scanned her surroundings. She wasn't in her hotel room, she wasn't in her dorm back at Balamb Garden, and she wasn't in a clinic room. Thinking the worse, she sat up and prayed to Hyne she was being held captive from Rinoa or Squall.

"Shh, rest sweety." Said a deep masculine voice from beside her.

She turned and came face to face with a blur sight of an old man with a small smile.

"Finally you've awakened. How do you feel?"

A strong wave of dizziness consumed her and she was forced to lie back down on the bed.

"Wh--where am I?" She asked hoarsely while brining up a hand to her forehead. Not only was she dizzy but she had a terrible headache.

"In Mr. Almasy's apartment. Isn't he a friend of yours?" Asked the old man.

Quistis groaned and shut her eyes tight. Almasy...did he mean Seifer? "Y-yes. We met awhile ago. But...why would he bring me here?"

"I do not know that my darling." Smiled the old man. "He said u were bleeding too much and it would have been too late to get you into a hospital. So he brought you to his home and tended your wounds. Apparently he had work this morning but he didn't want to leave you alone uncared for. So he hired me."

Quistis groaned again, the rest of her body was beginning to get its senses back, including her nervous system.

Just then a door opened and the familiar ex-knight walked in the apartment looking exhausted and extremely angry.

"Why hello there Mr. Almasy. Your friend Kelia has finally awakened." Dr Kaden smiled warmly. He stood and gathered his bag and supplies. "How was your day?"

Seifer's lip curled and he winced slightly. He glared at Kaden but then his face softened as he watched Kelia in bed. She didn't raise her head off the pillow but her eyes blinked as she stared at the ceiling.

"...I was fired." Seifer whispered.

A/N: Kind of a long chapter, my next one will be shorter.