Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII....
Author's Note: Well, this story is at it's end. There will be one more chapter after this one and then it will be over. Thanks for the reviews, everyone!
On the Ice
Chapter 22- Watch Me Shine
"Rinoa, are you ready?" Squall called from his place outside of the door. "We have to get going, or we'll never make the train."
"Coming," she shouted as she threw a few more things into one of her suitcases, picked the rest up, and hurried out the door. "Okay, I'm here."
Squall rolled his eyes. "Aren't you forgetting something?"
Rinoa looked around her in puzzlement. What was missing? There were their suitcases, Squall had the tickets in his hand, and Sabina was right over there. Only, she wasn't. "Where's Sabina?" Squall looked at her pointedly. "Oh my God!" she cried as she ran into the house to retrieve her daughter.
Squall chuckled to himself. "Forgetting our daughter...she must really be worried about this competition."
A few minutes later, Rinoa emerged from the house with Sabina in her carrier. "Oh God, Squall, how could I forget Sabina? I'm such a horrible mother!"
"Rinoa, don't be ridiculous. Everyone makes mistakes and you would have realized Sabina was missing. I highly doubt that you'd leave without her. Besides, you have a lot on your mind right now. Nobody can be perfect."
"But our daughter, Squall! What if you hadn't been here to remind me? What if I really did leave her at home?"
Squall sighed. "It didn't happen, though. You can't keep thinking of what could have been."
Rinoa hung her head. "I guess that you're right. Look at us, though. We really are going to miss that train now."
"Not if I can help it. Come on, get in the car. Make sure you're buckled in, because I'm gonna have to gun it."
Rinoa nodded as she strapped in Sabina, and then herself. "Okay, but please try not to kill us."
Squall grinned. "Just relax, and we'll be there before you know what hit you." He stepped on the gas and the car shot forward.
Rinoa gripped the seat tighter. Oh, God....
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"Quistis Trepe, you had better tell us what is going on!" the officer demanded. "We recorded you on tape talking to Seifer Almasy, so you must know what he's up to. Where is he?"
Quistis rolled her eyes. "I told you once and I'll tell you again, I don't know. However, I do find it a bit ironic that Seifer has been able to escape from here twice. Where are your guards, anyway?"
The officer shot her a look that was full of venom. "You refused to cooperate with us the last time, and Seifer almost got a hold of Mrs. Leonhart. Or is that your plan? To sit by idly while Seifer does your dirty work?"
Quistis bit back a scream. "I'm not lying to you now, and I didn't lie to you before. I fully cooperated with you last time, but you all seem to think I'm keeping information from you."
"Then what were you two talking about?" he demanded.
"He approached me in the hall and told me that he wanted to reform his ways. Then, he asked for my forgiveness."
The officer raised an eyebrow. "And did you give it?"
She shook her head. "No. I told him that after what he did, I could never forgive him."
"Ms. Trepe, you may have personal reasons for withholding the truth about what Seifer said, but know this. Not only is Rinoa in danger, but so is her husband. I know that you've had a...erm, past, with him. Do you really want to see him get hurt?"
Quistis let the information seep into her brain slowly. Squall... She needed to get to him. Knowing Seifer, he would go after him at any cost. Telling the officer what she knew would just hurt Squall. She needed to personally see to it that he was okay. "I told you, I know nothing. Of course I would be upset if Squall was hurt, but there is nothing I can do to help."
The officer shook his head. "Suit yourself, Ms. Trepe. Both of the Leonharts' lives are in your hands. It seems that this doesn't trouble you very much."
She sighed. "Their lives are not in my hands, officer. They are in Seifer's. The only way you can save them now, is to stop him. So I suggest you get working on that right now and leave me the hell alone."
"Have it your way," he said as he signaled for one of the wards to take her away.
If Seifer was able to escape from here twice, then it must not be all that hard. Only I can stop him now. Don't worry, Squall. I'm coming.
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Before they knew it, the day of the competition had arrived. Both Rinoa and Squall were backstage with Sabina close by. They had decided that Zell, who was also at the competition, would watch her once they were up. Rinoa finished feeding Sabina and then set her down.
"Hey, Rinoa, you ready for me to take her?" Zell asked as he walked up to her.
"Not quite. We'll be one fifth and they're still on the singles competition. You're welcome to hang around with her, if you want. Squall and I are just going to go over the routine."
Squall came up from behind them, giving Zell a cold look. "We're trusting you to take care of our daughter. If I find out that anything, anything, happens to her, I will personally take it upon myself to make your life a living hell." Obviously, he wasn't too keen on Zell taking care of Sabina.
Zell gulped. "Point taken. I'll watch her like a hawk."
Squall nodded, still not completely satisfied, and turned to Rinoa. "Do you trust him?"
"Yes," Rinoa said confidently, "I do. So stop worrying. We need to go over the routine. Sabina will be fine."
Sighing, Squall silently followed Rinoa to an open area where they could go over some of their moves. This competition would be one night only. Eight pairs would be competing in a ferocious battle for the gold. Only the best would be able to come out on top.
After going over their moves several times, they felt that they were as ready as they'd ever be. Rinoa was dressed in a light purple, sleeveless costume, while Squall was wearing black from head to toe. They were very pleasing to the eyes and a definite crowd favorite.
"Hey guys!" Selphie ran over to them breathlessly. "They just started the pairs competition, so Irvine and me will be on next. We just wanted to wish you two good luck before we get out there."
Rinoa smiled warmly and gave both Selphie and Irvine a hug. "Good luck to you guys, too! We'll be rotting for you from the sidelines."
Squall settled on shaking Irvine's hand, but was enveloped in a tight hug by Selphie. "Yeah, good luck," he said sincerely.
"Thanks," Irvine said as he and Selphie both got ready to get out there.
"Well?" Squall asked.
"Well, what?" Rinoa said, perplexed.
"Are we going to go watch them, or what?"
Rinoa grinned. "You're finally catching on! Let's go!" She stopped to tell Zell where they would be, and then they were on the sidelines, watching as Selphie and Irvine skated out.
Selphie was dressed in a red, sparkly number, while Irvine was dressed in dark red velvet. They, too, were looking great. Their upbeat music started and they began doing what they did best. A blur of red here, a rush of velvet there...their energy was present throughout. The first jump was executed perfectly, but there was a problem with the second one. Irvine lost his footing right before the jump, causing him to crash into Selphie. The crowd gasped as they saw the two skaters collide, but they quickly got up and finished the rest fairly well.
Waving, they skated off the ice and waited to receive their scores. "The technical marks for Kinneas and Tilmitt are: 5.5, 5.6, 5.5, 5.6, 5.6, 5.6. The artistic marks for Kinneas and Tilmitt are: 5.6, 5.7, 5.7, 5.6, 5.7, 5.8." The marks were alright, but not as well as they would have liked them to be. They were currently in second place. Giving one last wave, they walked over to the side where Squall and Rinoa were.
"Hey," Rinoa smiled brightly and gave Selphie a hug. "You did great!"
Selphie shook her head. "No we didn't. Thanks for saying so, anyway. We did our best...but we could have done better. What an oxymoron, huh?"
Rinoa smiled sympathetically. "Hey, you're not out of it yet. Don't feel upset until you know that you're not in it anymore. The other pairs could do much worse."
"We can only hope." Looking sad, Selphie followed Irvine back into the locker room.
Rinoa turned to Squall. "Poor Selphie. I don't think I've ever seen her look that dejected."
Squall nodded. "It's unfortunate, but you just can't afford to be making those kinds of mistakes here."
She hated to admit it, but Squall was right. You had to have your mind and heart in it three-hundred percent. If not, you would never make it on top. "Come on," Rinoa said as she took Squall's hand. "Lets go and see Sabina one more time before we skate. For good luck."
Squall agreed and they walked back to where Sabina and Zell were. "She's asleep," Zell said when he saw them. "And perfectly fine."
Rinoa brightened at the sight of her perfect little angel. She leaned over and gave her a kiss. Seconds later, Squall did the same. Hopefully, Sabina would prove to be a lucky little baby, but even if they didn't do well, they still felt like they were two of the luckiest people alive. They stood there, just watching her, for a few minutes, until it was time for them to get back out there.
"We'll be right back, Sabina," Rinoa cooed. "Sleep tight."
Squall gave Sabina's hand a small squeeze and then followed his wife to the ice. They skated out to the wild cheers of the crowd. They took their places and then the music started up. Slow and graceful was what they were trying to achieve in their performance. So far, it seemed to be working. Jump here, turn there, speed up, slow down. Rinoa and Squall blocked out everything around them until all they saw was the ice and each other, and all they heard was the beating of their hearts. Rinoa put all of her trust into Squall as he tossed her into the air with all his strength. Confidence grew as jumps were landed perfectly. All the nervousness that had been felt had now evaporated completely. They finished, exhausted, but completely exhilarated all at the same time.
Rinoa ran into Squall's arms and held him tightly. The crowd roared and Squall and Rinoa could not stop smiling. They had never put on such a clean, beautiful performance in either of their careers.. This was what all those months of training had been for. This was the result of enduring all of that suffering and heartache. Flowers, stuffed animals, and an assortment of other gifts were thrown onto the ice. They both scooped a few items up, took some more bows, and skated over to where they would receive their scores.
"The technical marks for Leonhart and Leonhart are: 5.9, 6.0, 6.0, 6.0, 6.0, 6.0. The artistic marks for Leonhart and Leonhart are: 6.0, 6.0, 6.0, 6.0, 6.0, 6.0." The crowd was now on their feet, giving Rinoa and Squall the recognition they deserved.
Tears of happiness streamed down Rinoa's face. She clung to Squall tightly, wanting to bask in that moment forever. However, fate had other plans. In that moment, a sniper was pointed at the happy couple, and then a shot rang out through the arena.
~*~