Seifer stared at Quistis and his brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean you don't remember?"
"I don't remember you," Quistis told him, "I don't remember any of you. I don't remember anything. "I'm so sorry!" The blonde woman began to cry and hid her face in her hands. Marta rubbed her back and Seifer jumped up, preparing to go to her but was stopped by Edea. The black haired woman walked across the living room and knelt down in front of Quistis. She took the sobbing woman's hands into her own and gently pulled them away from her face.
"Quistis?" Edea called. The blue-eyed woman looked up into the honey gaze of the woman in front of her. "Do not cry my child. It is all right that you do not remember us. We are your friends and family. We will help you to remember."
Quistis took a shuddering breath. "I…f…feel s…so bad!"
"You shouldn't," Edea assured, "It isn't your fault." Edea let go of Quistis' hands and pulled a handkerchief out of her dress. She gently dried the blonde's cheeks as her tears subsided.
Quistis smiled at Edea. "Thank you." Her smile faded and a questioningly look came over her face. "You called me your child. Are you my mother?"
"In a way, yes," Edea smiled. The questioningly look turned to confusion as Quistis looked at Edea. "Perhaps you would like to hear of you childhood. I think it will help you understand why we are all here." Quistis nodded and Edea continued. "You grew up in an orphanage in Centra run by myself and my husband Cid."
"We were there too!" Selphie interjected.
"Yes, there were other children in the orphanage as well," Edea agreed. "Selphie," she pointed to the petite brunette, "Irvine," she pointed to the cowboy, "Zell," her finger moved to the man with the tattoo, "Squall," she pointed at the brunette man with the scar, "and Seifer." She pointed to the blonde man who still stood in front of the chair where Edea had stopped them. "Selphie, Zell and Irvine were adopted out of the orphanage but you, Seifer and Squall remained until Cid and I created the Garden. After that, you were admitted as students there and have been there ever since."
"And I was an Instructor there?" Quistis questioned.
"Still are if you want to be," Squall told her.
Quistis nodded, trying to absorb the information. Finally, she spoke. "So, what do I do now?"
"We'd like you to come back to the Garden," Edea informed.
"We think it would be the best place for you to regain your memories," the brunette woman next to the couch spoke for the first time.
Quistis turned to her. "I'm so sorry. I don't know your name."
"I'm Xu," the brunette informed.
"Oh!" Quistis smiled, "you're Lili's sister."
"Yes," Xu nodded.
"And you two are…" she pointed to Seifer's comrades.
"FUJIN," the woman announced.
"I'm Raijin ya know," the man smiled, "we're Seifer's posse and part of the Disciplinary Committee ya know." Quistis nodded with a smile.
"What about us?" Rinoa asked and pointed to Cammi, a hurt expression on her face, "You didn't ask us who we are."
"I already know," Quistis told them, "You're Rinoa Heartilly. You and your dog Angelo performed at the talent show last night. And you are Cammi Jinzyle. You were one of the judges of the talent show." Both women smiled and nodded.
"So," Squall started after Quistis had finished, "Are you willing to come back to the Garden with us?"
Quistis frowned. "I don't know. I know I belong there, but I've got a life here in Winhill…"
"Go," Marta instructed, "this place isn't your home, Garden is. You need to be with your friends and family."
"But what about you and James?" Quistis questioned, on the verge of tears again.
"Angeli…Quistis," Marta corrected, "James and I love you very much but we want you to be happy. I know that the only way you can truly be happy is if you regain your memories."
Quistis nodded. "Thank you." She turned to Edea, who was now standing in front of her. "Is it all right if I say goodbye to my friends here?"
"Of course," Edea smiled.
Quistis turned back to Marta. "Can you send word to James that I'm coming by? And also Dr. Lockheart?"
"I'll have James come home," Marta told her, "We'll be waiting here. I'll also speak with Dr. Lockheart. He may want to come by as well."
"Thank you," Quistis whispered and stood up. "I'll go say goodbye and then come back." She turned to Seifer. "Will you come with me? I don't want to go alone."
"Yeah," Seifer agreed without hesitation. He turned to Fujin and Raijin. "You two stay here. I'll be back."
He walked over to Quistis and the two left the house. As they headed across the plaza, Quistis looked up at the tall blonde.
"Thank you," she said.
Seifer looked down at her. "For what?"
"For coming with me," she clarified with a smile.
"No problem," he smiled back.
The couple walked across the plaza and entered Raine's Pub. When she entered, Quistis saw Pete and Lili were both sitting at the bar. They appeared to be deep in discussion and only glanced up quickly when they heard the bells. They did a double take when they realized it was her.
"Angie!" Lili called, "Xu and some other SeeDs were in here about an hour ago asking questions. Did they find…YOU!" Lili shouted the last word and pointed to the trench coat wearing blonde behind Quistis. "What the Hell are you doing here?! Get away from Angie!" The enraged brunette picked up a chair and began to advance on the blonde man.
"Lili!" Pete exclaimed and grabbed for the chair that was held above her head threateningly.
"Lili stop!" Quistis shouted and stepped in front of Seifer to block him from the angry cook. She stopped walking and began to lower the chair before Pete grabbed it from her and sat it down out of her reach.
"You must be Xu's sister," Seifer chuckled.
Lili's eyes narrowed. "Why the Hell are you here?" She turned to her friend. "Why are you with this jerk Angie?"
"Lili he…" She glanced up at Seifer and then looked back at the cook, "He's my fiancé."
"WHAT?!" Pete and Lili exclaimed in unison.
"He's my fiancé," Quistis repeated, "he's the one who gave me the ring."
"I don't understand Angie," Pete stated.
"My name's not Angie," Quistis told them, "or Angelica. My name is Quistis Trepe."
"Quistis Trepe?" Lili repeated. "The Quistis Trepe who became a SeeD at fifteen and an Instructor at seventeen?" Quistis looked up at Seifer and he nodded. She looked back at Lili and nodded also. "You and Xu are friends. She used to talk about you all the time!"
"Does this mean you got you're memory back?" Pete inquired.
"No," Quistis replied sadly, "I still don't remember anything. Seifer and the others filled me in on a few things."
"So you're a SeeD?" Pete questioned. Quistis nodded. "Wow."
"I'm going back with them," Quistis blurted out, "I'm going back to the Garden. I came to say goodbye."
Lili and Pete both stared at Quistis. "You're gonna leave?"
"Yes," Quistis nodded, "everyone thinks it's best for my memory recovery that I go back to the Garden."
"We'll miss you," Pete told her and hugged the blonde, "You were the best waitress I ever had."
"Thank you both for being so nice to me," Quistis hugged Lili as well.
"Don't be a stranger," Lili ordered.
"I won't," Quistis promised, "Goodbye."
"Goodbye," Lili sniffed.
"Bye Angie," Pete said, "make sure you come and visit."
"I will."
Quistis and Seifer walked towards the front of the Pub. At the door, Quistis turned and waved again. The cook and the bartender waved back as the two blondes exited. Outside, they almost ran right into Xu.
"Hey!" Xu smiled.
"What're you doing?" Seifer asked.
"I'm just saying bye to my sister," Xu answered.
"Ah yes, your sister," Seifer smirked, "You two have a lot in common."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Xu demanded.
"Why don't you ask her?" Seifer suggested, "she was just thrilled to see me."
Xu narrowed her eyes at him and then turned to Quistis. "Mr. Ericson just got to the house, along with Dr. Lockheart and his family." She looked down at her watch. "I'd better hurry. All Garden personnel are supposed to be back by 1630 hours. I'll see you guys later." Xu waved and disappeared into the Pub.
"1630 hours?" Quistis looked questioningly up at Seifer.
"It's military time," Seifer explained, "She means 4:30."
"Oh." Quistis looked down at her watch. "You only have twenty minutes. Shouldn't you go back to the Garden?"
"Nah," Seifer grinned, "They'll understand that I had something more important to do."
Quistis nodded and the two of them headed back to the Ericson's house. They reached the house and entered. They heard voices in the living room and followed them in. Sitting in the living room were Marta, James, Dr. Lockheart, Analise, Tifa, Jessen, Squall and Rinoa. They all looked up as the two blondes entered.
"We're back," Quistis announced, "Where'd everybody go?"
"The others went back to the Garden to tell everyone about your homecoming," Squall answered.
"Dr. Lockheart brought his family to say goodbye," Marta informed. Dr. Lockheart stood and approached her.
"Marta told us about everything," the doctor told Quistis and took her hands into his, earning him a momentary glare from Seifer. "I'm so glad to hear that you're going home."
"Thank you Dr. Lockheart," Quistis said, "for everything."
"No need to thank me," Dr. Lockheart smiled, "I'm just glad I could help you, even if it was just a little bit."
"You helped me more than a little bit," Quistis assured, "You gave me hope when I didn't have any."
The doctor smiled wider and stepped aside as Analise and the children approached.
"You take care of yourself Angie," Analise ordered. "I mean Quistis. I'm gonna miss shopping in Timber with you."
"I'm going to miss you too." Quistis hugged the older brunette. Analise stepped away and her two children came forward. Quistis bent down so she was at eye level with them.
"I'll miss you guys," she told the dark haired children.
"You were the best babysitter we ever had!" Jessen told her, "are you sure you have to go Angie?"
"Her name's not Angie," Tifa reminded, "her name is Quistis."
"Sor-ry!" Jessen muttered.
"You can call me Angie if you want," Quistis smiled.
"Hey Quistis," Tifa whispered.
"What?"
"Is that your boyfriend?" Tifa pointed up to Seifer.
Quistis hesitated, "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
"You're lucky," Tifa stated with a sly smile, "He's cute."
Quistis laughed softly. "Maybe after I get my memory back you can come and visit me at the Garden."
"I'd like that," Tifa nodded.
"Me too!" Jessen insisted.
"No way," Tifa scoffed, "they don't let bratty kids into the Garden."
"I'm not a brat!" Jessen cried.
"Okay, that's enough you two." Analise stepped in between her two children to separate them. Quistis stood up.
"I promise to come and visit here too," Quistis told the children.
"We'd better get going," Dr. Lockheart stated, "and you'd better too. The Garden is leaving at 5:30, isn't it?"
"If we're a little late the Garden will wait for us," Rinoa assured.
The Lockheart's said goodbye again and then left the Ericson's house. Once they were gone, Marta turned to Quistis. "You'd better get your stuff packed, it's almost 5:00."
"You're right," Quistis nodded.
"Do you need any help?" Rinoa inquired.
"Sure," Quistis agreed and the two women went into the bedroom. Quistis pulled a knapsack out of her dresser and began to fill it with clothes.
"What can I do?" Rinoa asked.
"Actually, I was hoping you could answer some questions for me," Quistis replied as she put her clothes into the sack.
"I haven't known you as long as everyone but I'll do my best," Rinoa told her, "What did you want to know?"
"How long have Seifer and I been engaged?" Quistis asked.
"He asked you the night of the attack," Rinoa informed, "so it's been about a month."
"Did I…" Quistis started, "did I love him?"
"Anyone who didn't wouldn't be able to stand him," Rinoa chuckled, "let alone agree to marry him."
"Why do you say that?" Quistis questioned.
"Well, before the two of you got together, Seifer was somewhat of an…" Rinoa trailed off, trying to find the right word. "Asshole."
"Asshole?" Quistis repeated with a slight smile.
"Yeah," Rinoa nodded, "but he's getting better. He's still as arrogant as ever, but he's easier to tolerate."
"Did he love me?" Quistis asked.
"He still does," Rinoa replied simply.
"You all thought I was dead right?" Quistis began. Rinoa nodded. "Did he ever…you know, date anyone after I was gone?"
"Are you kidding?" Rinoa laughed, "I saw one girl ask him out on a date and he nearly tore her head off! No, you are the only one for him Quisty."
"Quisty?"
"It's your nickname," Rinoa said, "from way back at the orphanage."
"Oh." Quistis finished packing her clothes and closed the knapsack.
"All ready to go?" Rinoa asked with a smile.
"Yes," Quistis replied. The two women left the bedroom and joined the others in the living room.
"We're all set!" Rinoa informed. The four people in the living room stood up.
"I guess this is goodbye," Marta commented and her eyes filled with tears.
"Please don't cry Marta," Quistis begged, "I'll come back and visit, I promise."
"You'd better." This from James.
Quistis smiled at the elderly couple. "Thank you for everything you've done for me."
"You don't have to thank us," Marta told her. She hugged the slender blonde woman.
"It's gonna be different without you around," James told Quistis and hugged her also. "I won't have anyone to play Triple Triad with. You've got your cards, right?"
Quistis nodded and patted her pants pocket where the deck of cards was. "Goodbye."
"Goodbye, sweetie," Marta said.
"Goodbye," James echoed.
The group of people left the living room and stopped at the front door. Quistis bent down and said goodbye to Tank and then with tears in her eyes, hugged the Ericsons once more.
"Thank you," she whispered.
"You're welcome," James smiled. The SeeDs stepped out of the house and walked across the plaza. At the bridge that led out of town, Quistis stopped and waved again. She saw the Ericsons wave back and she continued on with the others towards the far end of town where the Garden sat, awaiting their arrival.
"Are you okay?" Seifer asked as they approached.
Quistis smiled. "I'm fine."
Seifer smiled back and the quartet continued on to the Garden. They reached the mobile school and checked in with two SeeDs who were in charge of making sure everyone was present and accounted for. Once inside, Seifer, Quistis and Rinoa took the elevator to the third floor offices to wait while Squall made sure the Garden was ready for departure. About fifteen minutes after they had boarded, the Garden rumbled to life and began it's trip back to Balamb.
Near where Quistis sat on the third floor was a large, glass window that provided a view of the landscape. As the Garden splashed into the sea, she watched as the last rays of the sun fell onto the only town she knew and illuminated it with an unearthly orange glow. As Quistis stared out the window, she saw the quiet little town of Winhill disappear behind the mountains and out of her life.