Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII....

Author's Note: Wow, I think that this is the fastest I have ever updated! Lol, thanks for the reviews!

On the Ice

Chapter 18- Old Connections

The months passed by, and everything seemed to be going perfectly well for the Leonhart family. Rinoa's physical therapy would be over in a month's time, when they would establish if she could skate or not. In the meantime, Squall had taken a job as a mechanic down at the auto shop, claiming that he had always been good with those things. Rinoa spent the days at home resting or getting all the latest gossip from Selphie. Life had become much brighter with Seifer and Quistis out of the picture.

Now, as Rinoa waited for Squall to come home, she felt like her life really did have meaning. Of course, she was extremely nervous about having the baby, but she couldn't have been more excited. One more month... she mused. Then, their lives would change forever.

A key turning in the doorknob brought Rinoa out of her reverie. "Hey," she greeted Squall, "how was work?"

He shrugged. "The same old. Pete is still on my case about my being a skater. Thinks I should quit and become a fulltime mechanic instead."

Rinoa chuckled. "Hey, at least he thinks you're talented. Would you like me to get dinner ready?"

Squall shook his head. "What did I tell you, Rinoa? You are eight months pregnant and it is your job to rest. Let me worry about dinner."

Rinoa couldn't help but smile. Months ago, she wouldn't have even dreamed of letting Squall near the oven. Over the months of her pregnancy, he had studied up on how to cook, and surprisingly, he was pretty good at it. "Alright then, you handle it. But I have to admit, I am going out of my mind! Do you know how boring it is to do nothing but rest?"

"You'll thank me later. After the baby is born, neither of us will be getting much rest. Believe me, enjoy it while you can."

"Well, maybe we'll be lucky and get a quiet baby. That's probably not going to happen, though, right?"

Squall shrugged. "It's very doubtful."

Rinoa sighed. "Either way, resting every minute of my life is not fun. I don't think I'll survive another month of being cooped up in here!"

"I figured that much," Squall said, grinning. "That's why I bought us these." He handed Rinoa an envelope.

Raising an eyebrow, she opened the envelope. Inside were two round trip train tickets to Fisherman's Horizon. "Oh Squall...this is fantastic! But...with the baby and all the hospital expenses, isn't this out of our budget?"

Squall smiled sheepishly. "Okay, so I kind of lied when I said that I bought the tickets. Actually, Pete and the guys all chipped in. They said to consider it an early baby shower gift."

"But I'm not having a baby shower!"

"Well, they don't know that," Squall winked. "We leave tomorrow and we will be staying for three days. Fisherman's Horizon is supposed to be a peaceful town, so I figured it would be perfect when they told me."

"You know, maybe you should become a fulltime mechanic after all. It definitely has its perks. Tell the guys that I am indebted to them."

"I will. You know...being married also has its perks."

Rinoa grinned. "Oh yeah? And what would those be?"

"Well, for one, getting to do this any time that I want to." With that said, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her.

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The next morning, Squall and Rinoa were all ready to go. Selphie and Irvine had dropped them off at the train station, and now they were all waiting for the train to arrive.

"You take care of yourself, alright?" Selphie ordered. "Remember, Rinoa, no extreme activities. You are eight months pregnant."

Rinoa rolled her eyes. "Squall has basically been telling me the same thing. How irresponsible do you think I am?"

Selphie shrugged. "I was just reminding you, is all."

Irvine smiled. "You listen to the little lady now. She knows what she's talking about."

Rinoa raised an eyebrow. "You too, Irvine? Alright, I do appreciate your concern and I promise that I'll keep myself out of trouble."

"You can be sure of that while I'm around," Squall assured them.

Rinoa groaned. "That's why I need to get away from you."

They all laughed. "Oh, we're not going to be here when you get back. We're going to a competition in Balamb tomorrow," Selphie informed them.

"Oh, well, good luck," Rinoa said sincerely. "When will you be back?"

"Probably not until next week. The competition spans over the course of three days, and after that, I figure a mini vacation couldn't hurt," Irvine grinned.

They all turned around as the train pulled in. "Well, I guess we should get on board. Thanks for driving us here."

"Oh, it was no problem," Selphie said as she hugged Rinoa. "You go have fun, and worry about giving birth when you get back. We'll be here for you when that happens."

Rinoa smiled. "Thanks, you two. Good luck in Balamb!" With one final wave, they both boarded the train.

A few minutes later, the train took off, leaving the city of Deling behind. Rinoa was extremely happy with her life, and with her friends, but she couldn't help feeling a bit envious of them. God, how she missed skating.

"Rinoa, are you alright?" Squall asked.

"Yes, I'm fine. I was just thinking about how wonderful it would be if I could skate again."

Squall shook his head. "You were just thinking about how wonderful it will be when you skate again."

Rinoa sighed again. "We can only hope."

"No, Rinoa, we have more than hope. You know all of the progress that you have made with your physical therapy. Your leg is practically as strong as it ever was. I know that you're going to beat this."

Rinoa smiled faintly. "You really do believe in me, huh? Well, if your faith in me is so strong, then I think that I had better get some faith in myself. Then, I can beat this."

"You will," he said as he squeezed her hand reassuringly.

She nodded. "I will."

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Some time later, Squall was jerked out of his light slumber as his cell phone rang. He answered it quickly, so it wouldn't disturb Rinoa, who was still asleep on the seat next to him.

"Hello?"

"Squall...it's, um...it's me."

"Quistis?" he asked surprised.

"So you can still recognize my voice after all this time. Does that mean that you have been thinking about me, Squall?"

"No," Squall said coldly, "it hasn't. Why are you calling me?"

Quistis sighed. "I'm not going to beat around the bush here. I have some things that I need to tell you. Of course, I would much rather tell you them in person..."

"Forget it, Quistis. I am not coming to see you in jail."

"I figured you would say that, although I had hoped.... Anyway, I'm just going to have to tell you this over the phone. Are you alone? That prissy little wife of yours isn't listening, is she?"

Squall gritted his teeth. "No, Rinoa isn't listening. Can you please make this quick? It's not exactly the best time."

"Yeah, well it's not like I exactly have all the time in the world here. You know, we're only allowed one call a week and then they monitor your time, too. So, if you just came here, it would be much easier."

"Just spit it out, Quistis! What the hell do you want? You know that I'm not going to come and see you."

"Alright," she snapped, "you don't have to raise your voice with me. I called to tell you that not a day has gone by that you haven't been on my mind. Actually, to tell you the truth, you are the only thing that keeps me from going insane in here. Have you ever been locked up? Believe me, you don't want to experience it. But Squall...you are my light in all of this. You make things okay."

Squall rolled his eyes. "Spare me the pity act, Quistis. Do you honestly believe that I can forgive you for turning to Seifer and then attacking Rinoa? She may never skate again because of you! Don't you give a damn?"

"Look, I'm sorry about that, but forget about Rinoa. What about me? I've known you much longer than that little twit has, so why don't you admit that we belong together? I really do love you, Squall."

"Well Quistis, that is all great and dandy, but remind me why I should care again? Wait a minute, don't. I really don't need to hear any more excuses. Good bye Quistis. Don't call me again."

"Who was that?" Rinoa asked groggily as she wiped the sleep from her eyes. "You sounded pretty upset."

Squall massaged his forehead wearily. "That was Quistis, and you're right, I am pretty upset."

"What did she say to you?"

"Basically that she loves me and that we belong together. She thinks I should divorce you and go running straight to prison and into her arms," he said bitterly.

Rinoa looked surprised. "She actually said that?"

"Not in so many words, but you could tell that's what she was hinting at."

Rinoa just shook her head. "Are we ever going to be truly rid of them?"

Squall shrugged. "Let's just say that I doubt this is the last time that we will be hearing from either of them."

Rinoa groaned. "And it all begins again."

"I think that we should relax. The most they can do to bother us is call. Anything other than that would be pretty hard to do from a jail cell."

"I just don't want to have to deal with them again. I mean, why would Quistis call now, out of the blue?"

"Maybe she really is going crazy in there. Regardless, we shouldn't worry about it. We have too much to live for."

The conductor's voice came over the speakers. "Attention ladies and gentlemen, we have now arrived in Fisherman's Horizon. Please watch your step while disembarking and have a nice trip."

Squall stood up and grabbed Rinoa's hand. "Come on. This trip is supposed to be about relaxation. So, lets get you doing some of that."

Rinoa smiled. "I seem to do enough of that at home, but I'm too exhausted to argue with you. So, for now, I am yours to command."

Squall grinned. "Mine to command, huh? I could have some fun with this...."

~*~