A/N: I'm baaack! Kept you in a real tight position there, didn't I? Hee, hee… I thought I'd taunt you a bit more, but since I found time tonight, I thought I'd wrap this chapter up. Keep in mind though, that my classes began yesterday :-& so I'll also have studying involved, meaning that updates will be a teensy weensy bit less often.
Chapter 9: While you were sleeping…
Quistis woke up in a hospital room. Her whole body was aching and her head was spinning like crazy. She tried to get up from her bed, but she couldn't. Scattered memories from the last couple of hours spun around her mind. She and Seifer tried to escape from the five dinosaurs, but they didn't get far running. The T-Rexaurs caught up with them in less than thirty feet and they had to fight. They managed to avoid the first blows and even damage them a bit, but not for long. Quistis received quite a few hits that weakened her. Soon she wasn't in a position to fight. She barely saw the dinosaur's tail heading straight for her. She thought it was the end, but Seifer rushed in front of her and got her out of the way. They fell hard on the ground and from that point, Quistis couldn't remember much, because she fell unconscious. She vaguely remembered flashes of images, when she had opened her eyes for seconds. She remembered seeing a tall, black-hooded man at some point. Then she remembered being dragged by someone. 'Seifer probably…' she thought. Wait, Seifer? Where was Seifer? Was he alright? Quistis looked around the room in panic and didn't find him there. Where was he? Had he made it?
- "Nurse?! Doctor?! SOMEONE??!!!" she started yelling frantically.
In seconds, two nurses and a doctor burst inside the room. In between her panicking streak, Quistis noticed Zell trying to get through the door, but a nurse shut it and locked it tight. The two nurses rushed to her sides grabbing one arm each, while the doctor took out his stethoscope, pulled up Quistis' robe and started pressing it against her chest. The nurses were able to finally subsidize her and make her lie onto the bed. Quistis was sweating and looking around with a terrified look on her face. Finally, the doctor stopped pocking her with the stethoscope and spoke to her.
- "Can you remember your name?" he asked looking at her eyes, using some sort of torch.
- "Q-Quistis Trepe…" she mumbled.
- "Good. Age?"
- "E-e-eighteen…"
- "Occupation?"
- "Balamb Garden SeeD…"
- "Good. What's the last thing you remember?" he asked.
- "I… I remember being dragged by someone… I was in a forest and…" she began.
- "OK, that's enough. Your memory's fine. Quistis… You're in a hospital. You were brought here by a friend of yours…"
- "Seifer?!" interrupted Quistis.
- "Yes, yes, the blonde young man…"
- "Is he alright?!" interrupted Quistis again.
- "He's stable…" said the doctor; Quistis didn't like the sound of that.
- "What do you mean 'stable'?" she asked.
- "He was really hurt and he'll be out for a few days, but he'll be fine…"
- "'Out'?" she asked.
- "Unconscious." explained the doctor.
Quistis shut her eyes. The doctor kept talking, but she wasn't listening. The nurses were wiping her wet forehead and gave her a sedative injection. After five minutes her friends came inside.
- "Quisty!" said Selphie jumping over at Quistis' bed, hugging her.
- "Ow… Easy, easy…" said Quistis in pain, trying to sit up.
- "Sorry… Does it hurt?" asked Selphie sitting on one side.
- "A bit…" replied Quistis. Rinoa walked over to the other side, while the guys stood up next to the bed.
- "How are you feeling?" asked Rinoa rubbing Quistis' forehead.
- "I dunno… I've got this splitting headache and my whole body hurts… Not too much though…" said Quistis, letting out a small groan.
- "Want to tell us what happened?" asked Squall. Quistis hesitated for a moment, then took a deep breath and spoke.
- "We were training…" she began "… when five T-Rexaurs appeared." Selphie and Rinoa gasped. "We tried to run, but…" she added, bowing down her head. "I got hit a lot and was about to receive a critical hit, when Seifer jumped in front of me and saved me…" everyone turned and looked at each other. "From that moment… I remember almost nothing…"
- "The doctor told us a few things…" said Zell.
- "What did he tell you?" Quistis asked raising her head to look at him.
- "You sure you wanna hear?" asked Zell.
- "Positive." she replied.
- "He said…" began Irvine "… that Seifer brought you here. More like… dragged you. He was really hurt."
- "Bleeding everywhere and shit…" piped in Zell. Everyone gave him a sharp look and he decided to shut up.
- "Anyway…" went on Rinoa "… He brought you here, at Balamb Hospital and told the doctor to call Squall. Then he just… collapsed."
- "He's still not able to tell us how he got away…" said Squall.
Quistis had had enough. She bit her lip and a tear fell down on her cheek. Then she buried her face in her palms and started sobbing uncontrollably. Everyone was shocked; they'd never seen Quistis cry before. Not even as a child. Rinoa gave Squall a nod and whispered to him to take the guys and go out. Squall did so, and Quistis was left with Selphie and Rinoa. They both hugged her and tried to calm her down.
- "It's OK Quisty…" said Selphie caressing Quistis' hair. "He'll be alright…"
- "It's all my fault!" sobbed Quistis.
- "No it's not…" said Rinoa.
- "Yes it is!" she yelled "I was the one who shouted and they heard us…"
- "It's over now…" said Rinoa.
- "What if he never wakes up?! What if I've killed him?!"
- "Of course you didn't!" said Selphie.
- "You're just saying that to calm me down…" said Quistis falling back onto her bed. "Just leave me alone for a while…" Selphie and Rinoa looked at each other.
- "OK… Call us if you need anything…" said Rinoa putting a hand on Quistis' cheek, then got up and left the room with Selphie.
'It's all my fault…' thought Quistis crying 'And he SAVED me… He saved me and now just because he did, he might die himself… And I never even…' Quistis let out a really heavy sob at the thought of that 'And now I might never see him again…'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Selphie and Rinoa walked out of the room and found the guys sitting outside.
- "How is she?" asked Squall.
- "Crying…" said Selphie. Everyone fell silent.
- "Did you really expect such a thing from that bastard?" said Zell at some point.
- "Well, I guess we don't have a reason to call him that anymore…" said Squall.
- "But seriously… It was really… unexpected." said Zell.
- "Seifer's not a bad person…" said Rinoa "I'm not surprised by what he did… Just because he made some mistakes in his life, it doesn't mean that he can't stand as courageous as any of you guys…"
- "Hey, how is he by the way? Did you see him?" asked Irvine.
- "We asked the doctor a thousand times before… He won't let anyone inside." said Rinoa.
- "What are we going to do now?" asked Zell.
- "Cid said to come back and report and then two of us can come back." said Squall.
- "Can't someone stay now?" asked Selphie.
- "Nope. We all have to leave." said Squall.
- "Oh c'mon! That's absurd!" yelled Selphie.
- "I know, but we have to go. Come on… The sooner we leave, the sooner we'll come back." he said getting up and leaving the waiting room with the others.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
In the afternoon, after Quistis had been examined by her doctor, she asked for permission to see Seifer. The doctor was reluctant at first, but then allowed her to do so. A nurse helped Quistis up from her bed and led her to Seifer's room.
- "He might regain consciousness from time to time…" said the nurse to Quistis before getting inside. "…don't worry if he falls back unconscious again, it's normal; he's been doing it all day. Now, do you really want to go inside? He's pretty bad…"
- "Of course I do." said Quistis sounding offended.
- "I'm still not sure if I should let you in…" said the nurse.
- "Please… I've got to see him…" pleaded Quistis.
- "What's your name again?" asked the nurse with a weird expression on her face.
- "Quistis." Strangely enough, the nurse smiled at the sound of her name.
- "Oh… I see…" she said opening the door. "You can go in…"
- "I don't mean to push my luck… but why are you saying that?" asked Quistis puzzled.
- "He's been calling for you… Your name is all he's been saying when he's unconscious…" said the nurse smiling. Quistis was left thunderstruck.
- "Thank you…" she mumbled and walked inside.
When she did, she saw what the nurse had been talking about. Seifer was lying in a bed, covered in bandages on his chest and left arm. He had one on his head as well, covering his forehead. His right eye was bruised and his right cheek was swollen. The other was scratched. She could see some of the bandages were beginning to redden from the blood. She swallowed roughly and walked over to him. She sat on a chair right next to his bed and held his left hand; it was frozen. Quistis rubbed it and tried to warm it up. The room was totally silent. Only the beep of Seifer's steady pulse through the machine could be heard. Quistis got back up and sat next to him on the bed. She put his left arm back in place and rested her hand on his forehead. She caressed his hair, then leaned onto him and kissed his forehead so softly, as if she was afraid of breaking him.
- "Quistis?" sounded a weak voice. Quistis jumped back up startled.
- "Seifer!" she said delighted. "You're up!" she added leaping into his arms.
- "OW, OW! Watch it!" he said groaning in pain.
- "Sorry…Did I hurt you too much?" she asked concerned, pulling away.
- "Nah…" he mumbled. "Are you OK?" he asked.
- "I'm fine, I've just got a few bruises here and there…" she said "How are you feeling?"
- "Like shit…" he said laughing, but quickly stopped because his chest hurt.
- "How did you get away alive?" she asked putting her hand on his forehead, holding his hand with the other.
- "Nosferatu…" he said smiling. "He kicked their asses…"
- "The tall, black-hooded man…" said Quistis. "I saw him…"
- "If it wasn't for him…" began Seifer, but never finished his sentence.
- "Hyne… I was so scared you were gone…" she said caressing his forehead.
- "Me? Ha! I've been through hell and back, five petty dinosaurs won't beat me…" he said cockily and then started to laugh lightly. His chest began to hurt again "Ow… Stupid piece of shit…" he mumbled.
- "Could you stop being so damn arrogant just this once?" said Quistis.
- "You know I didn't really mean that…" he said coughing "Hyne, we were really lucky, huh?" he said looking at her.
- "Seifer…" said Quistis leaning closer to him, standing on her elbow "… I can't thank you enough… You saved me…"
- "Forget about it… I just did what anyone would have done…" he said, trying to shrug.
- "You know that now I owe you one, right?" she said smiling at him warmly.
- "You owe me nothing…"
- "Yes I do." she said holding his cheek. "I owe you a kiss…"
- "You… You're not obliged to…" he said awkwardly "I don't want you doing that just to thank me…"
- "What if I want to do it anyway?"
Quistis caressed his cheek. With difficulty, Seifer slid his right arm on her waist. She smiled and slowly approached his lips with her own. It was actually going to happen; they both wanted it, they both needed it bad. But…
- "Time to change your bandages laddie!" said a plump, lively nurse bursting into the room. Seifer and Quistis were left with their mouths hanging open in mid-air. Seifer made a sound like a whimper of mixed indignation and sorrow.
- "Not again…" he whined.
- "Come on, you can make kissy-face with your girlfriend later!" said the nurse unwrapping a few packs of bandages.
- "Someone really doesn't want this to happen…" said Quistis jokingly. "I'll come and visit later." she said kissing him on the forehead and getting up.
- "Hey, maybe you can change my bandages…" said Seifer to Quistis eagerly.
- "Tough chance handsome…" said the nurse and shoved Quistis out of the room.
- "What have I ever done to YOU?!" Seifer said to the nurse angrily.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
When the nurse had left, Seifer was left alone in his room. His whole body was aching tremendously. He tried to think of something else and keep the pain away from his mind. Then he thought about Quistis… 'Hyne, I'm such an idiot…' he thought. 'Why the hell did I go and do such a stupid thing? Well… I couldn't just let her die, but… When I saw that T-Rex launching its tail on her, I thought… Actually, I wasn't really thinking, I just did whatever came to me… Fuck!' he said shutting his eyes 'PLEASE don't let me be turning into a nice guy…'
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The rest of the day, Seifer kept shifting from consciousness to unconsciousness and vice versa, meaning that Quistis didn't get to see him at all. The next day, Seifer was awake the whole day and his situation was stabilized, but still the couple didn't get a chance to be alone, since he had visitors. He was really surprised to see all of Quistis' friends in his room. They even brought him flowers and Zell was actually nice to him… On the third day it was time for them to leave. The Curaga spells they went under did a really good job; Quistis was fine; she was hardly aching at all, although the bruises were still somewhat apparent on her body. Seifer could walk and was in much less pain. He had taken most of the bandages off; the only one he had still kept was that on his ribs. The bruise on his eye was hardly visible now, but the scratches on his face were still there. Their clothes had been severely damaged, so they were both provided with SeeD uniforms from the Garden. A car came and took both of them from the hospital back to the Garden.
On the way back, Quistis and Seifer sat on the back seat of the car. At some point, Quistis held his hand and looked at him.
- "I would kiss you so hard right now, but that driver guy is looking in…" she whispered to his ear.
- "We'll have time for that…" he said, while Quistis rested her head on his shoulder "Heh… Too bad I'll have to return this when we get there…" Seifer added looking at his uniform. "I missed the test so… I don't think I'll get another shot…"
- "I'm sure Cid will give you another chance…" said Quistis sincerely.
Seifer smiled at her and kissed her hand tenderly. They both said nothing during the rest of the drive. When they finally reached Garden at 3:30 in the afternoon, they were surprised to find a huge crowd gathered outside the gate.
- "What's all this charade about?" asked Seifer looking outside the window.
- "Looks like a… welcoming committee…" said Quistis looking at him puzzled. "We'd better not show that we…"
- "Yeah, better not. Imagine the scandal…" he said grinning "Shall we… go out?"
- "Yeah, go ahead."
As soon as Seifer stepped out of the car the crowd erupted in applause. It got even harder when Quistis came out as well. The headmaster approached them and gave them both a fierce handshake. Cid cleared his throat and the crowd went silent.
- "I'd just like to say to both of you how happy we all are that you've returned safe! We wouldn't want to lose our wonderful Instructor and a newly appointed SeeD!"
- "What?" said Seifer confused.
- "You might have missed the test, but after your courageous deed, you proved that you are more than worthy of becoming a SeeD." said Cid "And…" he said to the crowd "As promised…" he whispered to Quistis. "…we welcome Quistis Trepe back to our Instructor staff!"
The crowd clapped and cheered harder than ever and the duet found themselves dragged inside the Garden. Their friends soon found them and engaged into a frenzy of hugs and kisses. Quistis was immediately taken to her room to rest and change for the SeeD Inauguration party, while Seifer was taken up with the other successful candidates to receive his degree.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The day had gone by in fast forward and without realizing it Quistis found herself getting ready for the party. Selphie and Rinoa were in her room, already dressed and were helping her to pick out an outfit.
- "Gosh, what Seifer did was so… romantic!" said Selphie. "Do you think he fancies you?" she asked Quistis.
- "Really now…" lied Quistis, raising an eyebrow. "He just did what anyone else would have done… Wouldn't you?"
- "Yeah, I guess…" shrugged Selphie. "But it was still really great…"
- "Of course…" said Quistis putting on some mascara.
- "Ooh, nice…" said Rinoa admiring Quistis' make-up. "Come on, put your dress on, we'll be late.
- "OK, OK…" said Quistis grabbing a black maxi dress. She walked into the bathroom and after a couple of minutes she came out.
- "Quisty, you look radiant!" admired Selphie.
Quistis looked indeed beautiful. Her dress looked amazing on her body. It was long with a slit on one side and two spaghetti straps that tied on the back of her neck. She had put black eye shadow creating a 'smoky' effect on her eyes and just some lip-gloss on her lips. She had let her hair down and had made them perfectly straight and sleek. She made a turn around herself.
- "Are you sure none of the bruises are showing?" she asked.
- "Positive. Come on beautiful. Let's go!" said Rinoa excitedly.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
The SeeD ball was glorious as always. Students were dancing around, while others were having drinks and chatted. Quistis looked around to spot Seifer and she found him talking to some guys who had just become SeeDs too. He looked extremely charming in his SeeD uniform. She excused herself from her friends and went to get a drink. Seifer got the hint and excused himself too.
- "A dry Martini please, no olive." said Quistis to the bartender.
- "Hello Instructor…" said Seifer from behind her.
- "Seifer." she said smiling "Congratulations!" she added extending her hand towards him.
- "Thank you…" said Seifer shaking her hand. Quistis felt something between their palms. "A scotch for me." he said to the bartender. "Read it alone" he whispered to her when the guy had turned his back to fix their drinks.
He gave Quistis her drink first and she left, giving Seifer a plain nod. She took a glance at the piece of paper he had given her. Carefully, she unfolded it and read it.
I'll pretend to be tired and go back to my room.
Wait for 15 minutes and do the same.
I'll be waiting in my dorm…
She shoved it in her purse and walked over to her friends. From the corner of her eye she caught Seifer saying good-bye to some people and trying to leave. Unfortunately, Selphie saw him too and called him.
- "Leaving so soon?" she asked him when he approached.
- "Yeah, I'm beat… The doctor said I should get lots of rest. I'll just use a few curagas and in two days I'll be as good as new." he said adopting a highly convincing tired expression.
- "I know what you mean… I don't think I'll stay much longer…" said Quistis. Irvine raised an eyebrow at that, but fortunately no-one noticed.
- "Yeah… Hey Irvine, congrats…" Seifer said extending his arm towards Irvine.
- "Same back at you…" said Irvine shaking his hand.
- "Well, good night everyone…" said Seifer walking out of the ballroom, receiving 'Goodnights' from all of them.
- "Quistis, wanna dance?" asked Irvine.
- "Sure." she said "Rinoa, can you hold my drink for me?" she asked. Rinoa took it and Quistis walked to the dance floor with Irvine.
- "So…" he said at some point. "Seifer and you seem to be getting along fairly well now…"
- "He saved me. I'd be ungrateful if I wasn't nice to him…" she replied.
- "Yeah, I guess you're right…" he said, but his expression was still suspicious-looking.
- "Hey, I still haven't congratulated you…" said Quistis. "Well done…"
- "Thanks…"
- "What was the test like?"
- "Easy… Compared to other challenges I've faced…"
- "I bet…" said Quistis smiling.
She danced with Irvine, chatted with her friends, had her drink and when she thought it was time, said she was retiring to her dorm. She walked out of the ballroom and headed towards Seifer's room. When she got there, she made sure no-one was around and knocked…
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: Ha, ha! Yet another cliff-hanger! Only not so intense this time… You all probably hate for messing yet another opportunity for a kiss, don't ya? To be frank, at first I thought I'd make it a bit romantic like this: Seifer wakes up from the sound of her voice (which did happen), they kiss and right then he falls back unconscious… It would also be good, but trust me… I've saved the kiss (among a lot more) for the PERFECT opportunity… You'll just have to wait for the next chappy! I promise, it will be REALLY rewarding.
It's a special treat for all Seiftis fans. A chapter with 100% Seiftis interaction. No other characters, just them two!
ON THE NEXT CHAPTER OF 'LOVE CONQUERS ALL:
The night Seifer and Quistis spend together…