"Alright," Squall started in a quiet voice, scanning the eyes of those scattered around his office.

"Where's Quistis?" A high, female voice piped up. Squall's smooth forehead creased for a moment as he frowned at the perky brunette sitting on the arm of one of his good chairs.

"She's… ahh… not coming," he replied hesitantly, running his hands over some papers scattered on his desk. This comment was met by more than one confused expression. "Aw hell… Quistis is the reason I'm calling this 'meeting'. It's come to my attention that she's been a little more… distant than usual," he started, and ran a hand over her face. "And I don't know how to help her." It was true that despite Quistis' rank as a mere SeeD, she was one of those who Squall relied most upon. It was she who ended up receiving he blunt end of his anger and frustrations with the trials of running a Garden and dealing with inter-city politics, and it was she who kept him grounded. More often than not, she knew a great deal more about what was happening than he did, and so Squall had come to see her as more of a crutch than anything else. As of late, however, Quistis was becoming more and more absent, and when she did show up to help him at meetings and conferences, she wasn't quite… there. There was always Xu, but Squall shied away from relying on her too much – while he felt bad about it, he didn't trust Xu as he did Quistis – the result of umpteen battles where she'd held her own and protected his back. It was a comrade's bond, a warrior's bond… and although Squall didn't like to pry into other's lives, the changes in Quistis' demeanor over the last couple months were both confusing and depressing. "I honestly don't know what to say or do to help her through whatever she's going through – I don't want to pry, but… I really don't like to see her this way."

"What about a vacation?" Zell prompted excitedly, as if he was the last person he'd expect to have an idea – apparently what he thought to be the greatest idea in the world, at that.

"Yeah!" Prompted Rinoa from beside the martial artist. "Time off would be great… give her time to think and all." It was at these times that Squall wished Cid would return from his six month hiatus from the entire Garden system with Edea – Cid always seemed like such a capable leader, and he knew Quistis better than any of them… well… almost better than any of them. There were experiences that accompanied the group's quest to end the Sorceress' reign that were incomparable and incomprehensible to anyone who hadn't been involved in them, and throughout those experiences, the few who were akin to it formed bonds with one another that could never be broken. Squall didn't know why, but for some reason, a vacation seemed the last thing that Quistis needed – God knew she hadn't done any real work for several weeks anyway, and Squall feared that time away would simply provide her with a more comfortable atmosphere for losing herself in whatever she was going through. At a loss for a more eloquent way of expressing himself, Squall stared at the clutter on his desk, his frustrations mounting, and was immediately relieved when Irvine spoke up.

"Why don't you send her on a mission?" The cowboy asked, running his finger along the tomes that lined the bookcases in Squall's office, absentmindedly scanning the titles with his sharp, mauve eyes. Squall looked up, surprised.

"That just might be it," he replied shortly, mentally reviewing the cases that had yet to be investigated.

"Good idea, Irvy!" Selphie piped up from her corner, and Irvine flashed her a winning smile.

"It'd have to be something meaningful, though," Zell murmured, his chin on his fist. "If I know Quisty as well as I think I do, she'd see through this in a second if it was some half-assed mission. She needs something she can dig her teeth into." Squall nodded.

"Should she go alone?" Rinoa asked curiously. Squall glanced up at her tersely.

"It depends on the mission, but I'd almost rather send her alone." The room fell silent.

"Why on earth would you want to do that?" Selphie asked. "Isn't the point to involve her in things again? How would sending her alone accomplish that?" Squall gave a sigh of frustration. It was unfortunate that the position of Commander required so much communication. He was so much better at making decisions on his own – justification was so hard to articulate.

"Quistis… is kind of a loner," he started, and Zell threw his hands up in the air.

"EXACTLY!" He cried, and then paused when all eyes turned to him. "Well, we want to involve her! Send her with at least one other person!" The room erupted into conversation until Irvine cleared his voice.

"I see what Squall's saying," he drawled, eying the Commander carefully. "Quistis has more discipline than all of us combined can vouch for. What the Commander's going for, instead of involvement, is distracting Quistis away from her problems and giving her something else to think about. Honestly, I think achieving that would be easier if there was only one person to account for." The room fell silent again. Squall nodded his thanks to Irvine, whose mouth tilted into a lazy smile.

"I guess I see what you're saying," Zell admitted grudgingly.

"Like I said, though," Squall continued, "it all depends on the mission. We'll see what I can come up with on such short notice." The rest of them nodded, and Zell jumped up to look at the clock.

"Is the meeting adjourned?" He asked anxiously, and Squall raised an eyebrow inquisitively at him.

"Unless anyone else has anything to say, yes," he replied, and without waiting for anyone to say a word, Zell sped out of the room.

"Hotdogs at 10 AM everyday," Selphie explained with a shrug. They all nodded and then filed out of the room, with the exception of Squall, who dropped his head on his desk with a satisfying 'thud'.

"Squall?" A soft voice floated in from the doorway, and Squall didn't lift his head to reply.

"What?" He asked. He heard light footsteps walking over to his chair, and then a hand on the back of his neck.

"Are you okay?" She asked quietly, running her hand over his shoulders.

"Yes" came the muffled reply. "I'm just wondering if I'm doing the right thing by intervening with Quistis. She's too damn stubborn to ask for help." Rinoa snorted.

"Sounds like someone else I know," she murmured, gazing out the windows behind them at the sun blaring down on the earth. "Did you get someone to go look at the air conditioning?" There was silence, which Rinoa took as a no. "I haven't known Quistis as long as you all have, but I think that you and Irvine have a point. The mission is a great idea."

"Do you really think so?" Squall asked quietly, lifting his head off the desk to look at her. Rinoa nodded.

"Of course! My first thought was a vacation, too, but I didn't even stop and think about the fact that she might have too little to do."

"Well… not that she has too little to do… I mean, she helps me out a LOT, probably more than she'll ever know, but I don't honestly think her heart is in it." Rinoa nodded.

"I see what you mean. Do you think you could work an Instructor's permit back in this whole equation?" Squall looked at her evenly.

"I could try… it would be a long shot with some members of the Garden committee and it totally depends on the mission and the outcome… dammit, I wish I had a mission ready for this."

"Ask Xu to find you one," Rinoa suggested, running her fingers through his hair as she walked toward the door. "I've got a class in three minutes – see you later." Squall allowed a small smile to grace his features as she walked out of the door, and resting his chin on his fist, he buzzed Xu.

"Yes?" She asked professionally, her voice a little distorted by the speaker.

"Xu, did you receive any new mission requests this morning?"

"Did you go through the dozen I left in your folder yesterday?" Squall sighed.

"Yes. Any more?" There was a pause.

"Well, there is one…" Squall frowned at the hesitancy in her voice.

"Why are you hesitating?" He asked quickly, and Xu paused.

"This one might… occupy you for a little bit," she replied.

"Get in here," Squall snapped, switching off the speaker. A second later, there was a knock on the door, and Xu stepped in, a thick file in her hand. "Are those the mission specs? That looks pretty damn urgent to me." She hesitated a moment, and Squall stuck his hand out across his desk for the folder. She placed it in his hand and he dropped it on his desk and flipped it open. He was surprised to see the face of Seifer Almasy glaring up at him from the page. "I thought we granted him residency in Balamb? What the hell is this?"

"Keep reading," she said shortly, rocking back and forth on her heels.

"Oh," Squall replied, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the rest of the page. "Oh."