AN: I'm trying to keep these chapters short - which isn't really my style, as you'll know when I get round to uploading some of my other fics in progress - so pls 4give me if it seems kinda choppy in style :)

Rating: R (I tried to keep it lower, but it just wasn't destined to happen - unlike other things [which are responsible for the rating])

Disclaimer: SG characters are (c) MGM (thankie to Morrigan for that :p).  FF8 characters are (c) Squaresoft, original characters are mine – ask nicely and I might let you play with them, s'long's you don't break them...

Warnings: SxS - Yaoi (guyxguy) later - if u don't like, don't read.  Character death.  Maybe angst (I do like to torture my characters sometimes :p), language (prob nothin u aint heard b4, but still...)

~Chapter Fourteen: In Sickness~

Squall was still struggling to come to terms with the fact that Rinoa now appeared to be an enemy when he heard Seifer groan.  He turned around to find the older man sitting upright, clutching his head with both hands.  As he watched, Seifer peeled one hand away from his skull to grab an elixir from the stool. 

Seifer groaned again as his trembling hand was unable to open the elixir.  The pain in his skull was so intense that even thinking about taking his other hand away wasn't an option.  Cool hands suddenly stole the elixir from his grip, and he moaned a protest, starting to blindly reach for another, only to feel his hand pushed away, and a bottle placed to his lips.  He swallowed convulsively as the bottle was tilted gently and the warming liquid slid into his mouth.  The ache in his skull immediately diminished, and he was able to feebly support himself as he vomited onto the floor.

The cool hands returned, rubbing his back gently, soothing him.  This time the open elixir was pushed into his hands, and he was left to drink it as Squall dealt with the mess on the floor.

Squall fetched the small shovel by the fire and dug a neat hole outside the back of the cabin, before returning, freezing the regurgitated elixir and carrying it on the shovel out to the hole, where he buried it, taking care to ensure the ground when he had finished, looked undisturbed.

Seifer was shivering violently when Squall returned, and although it seemed the headache had gone, his head was boiling, but there was no sweat.  A fever.  Seifer had to be the stubborn bastard he usually was, Squall thought, and get the one thing only time could cure.  Plus there was no food in the cabin, so they couldn't stay there long, not considering Seifer already hadn't eaten for at least two or three days. 

So the next question, Squall mused, hunting for, and not finding, any blankets, was where could they go.  Seifer had managed to struggle out of his trenchcoat, although the effort had exhausted him.  Squall stripped off his own jacket as Seifer began to shiver once more, helping Seifer into it, and then replacing the battered trenchcoat over the top.

His mind was racing, and it leapt into a higher gear as a GF orb rolled across the bed, having fallen from a pocket in the trenchcoat.  He'd always had a high compatibility with every GF he'd had, including Ifrit, which had surprised everyone, including himself and the GF.  Maybe there was some way he could use that affinity to an advantage...

AN: I don't think you'd junction something that steals your memories just to improve your stats, gain a few lousy abilities and one awesome – but quickly tedious – summoning ability.  So, I guess that leaves me buying into the theory that GFs are a lot more versatile – kinda like a quick fix for sorceress abilities, which is how they were developed – and that the powerful ones like Eden can do some really awesome stuff above and beyond their game abilities.