Quis:
One calm, tranquil day in Balamb, a box was shipped in, addressed to: CID KRAMER- HEADMASTER-BALAMB GARDEN.
Quistis88:
"A package for me!?" He mused. Cid rarely received anything special --- on second though, he never received anything at all. Until now, that is. Like a child under a Christmas tree awaiting to open his presents, Cid shook the box and heard a few thumps.
Quis:
Out popped a rather large egg, with a tag attached to it. Said tag read "Enjoy- love Edea". Cid looked perplexed for a few moments, and then, the egg did something curious. Cid never HAD seen an egg hatch, and he dropped the egg in surprise.
Quistis88:
The egg cracked and out came a fluffy, adorable chicobo. No, let me rephrase that.
Out came a fluffy, adorable, furious chicobo.
It stared at Cid and Cid stared back. The chicobo took a few steps forward with its beak held high. Cid swallowed hard.
Quis:
The Chicobo then did something completely unexpected. It warked, and then flew up onto Cid's shoulder, perching there.
Quistis88:
"GAAAAHHHHH!!! Get it off, get it off!" Frantic, the Headmaster ran out of his office, and ran past Xu.
"What the ---- " Before she could say more, Cid had disappeared. "Shoot . . . " She grabbed the mic on her desk. "Attention, Balamb Garden. It seems that our Headmaster has lost it. Please remain calm and alert. Thank you for your cooperation."
Quis:
Xu would be in need of a nice long vacation if all these--disasters kept occurring. First it was the incident with Squall, followed then, by the Trepies and NORG's ghost, followed by the disasterous wedding of Squall's and the most recent one--Cid's bright orange blooomers being on display for the entire world to see. It wasn't ideal.
Quistis88:
Meanwhile, Cid ran through the halls of Garden, screaming at the thing perched on its shoulder. It had managed to stay on there all this time. Cid was not impressed. He ran to the Quad and saw Rinoa and Squall.
Quis:
Squall looked up at the sound of someone's screams, thinking that it might have been a cadet. But, no. As luck would have it, it was Cid. With an expression vaguely resembling some form of amusement, Squall spoke. "Everything alright, Headmaster?"
Quistis88:
"Everything alright, you ask! Everything alright!?" Cid screamed. Squall and Rinoa exchanged looks. "I have a THING on my shoulder and it won't come off! Can't you see it!?"
Rinoa looked at it more closely and squealed. "Oh, but sir, he's SO CUTE!!!"
Quis:
Cid shot an annoyed glare at Rinoa. "Cute? I HATE this thing. Curse the day I ever married a Sorceress!" he shouted, almost startling a few cadets. Thankfully, the cadets had been forewarned, and were thus unmoved by Cid's apparent insanity.
Quistis88:
"Watch it, sir," Squall commented. But maybe Cid could be right in a way, Squall thought, remembering his wedding. "Did Matron get this for you?"
"Yes, it came from an EGG. An EGG! Like a . . . a . . . chicken . . . thing . . ."
"You mean you saw it hatch!?" Rinoa clapped her hands. "That means you're his father now!"
Quis:
"It IS a Chicobo," Rinoa pointed out, somewhat unfazed by the whole incident. She was calm--that much was apparent. "And what are you going to do with it?"
Quistis88:
"What am I going to DO with it!? I will do NOTHING with it! Nothing at all!" Cid stormed away. If they weren't going to help him, he'll just have to find someone else.
Quis:
Squall, at the last minute, grabbed the Chicobo off Cid's shoulder, fearing that the deranged headmaster might just do something drastic. And I mean drastic.
Quistis88:
The chicobo flapped its tiny wings madly and Squall had a little trouble holding on to it. It pecked Squall's hand.
"YARGH!" Squall yelled and let go. The baby chicobo beat its wings some more and hovered clumsily in the air.
Quis:
Fortunately, the Chicobo didn't get very far. Rinoa held out her hands, and the tiny chicobo seemed drawn to her. It was weird.
Quistis88:
"Squall! It's darling! Will you get me one?" she begged. "Please, please, please?"
Squall cradled one of his hands. "NO!"
Quis:
"C'mon, Squall....you still owe me a wedding present and this is what I want," she reasoned, looking at Squall pleadingly. Sighing and knowing he couldn't deny Rinoa anything, he frowned.
"Only on the condition that you keep it *well away* from me," he said, in a somewhat stern voice.
Quistis88:
"Oh, I promise, I promise!" Rinoa hugged the little thing and it seemed to smile.
Squall couldn't help but wonder: What if he DID get her a chicobo? Would Angelo eat it?
Quis:
As though Rinoa was reading Squall's thoughts, she spoke up. "I don't think Angelo would eat this little cutie...She's been too well-trained for that," she said. "And besides, I'd keep it in a cage."
Quistis88:
As soon as the words escaped her mouth, the chicobo looked up at her, eyes wide.
"Oh, no, no, not you."
Quis:
She stroked its downy head. It seemed to relax. Then, without any warning, it warked.
Quistis88:
"What's it want now!?" Cid was still standing there, annoyed with the chicobo.
"Umm . . . I don't know . . ." Rinoa said.
"It's probably hungry," Squall deducted. Let's take him to the cafeteria and feed it some hot dogs."
Quis:
Just then, Zell's girlfriend, Gwen, burst through the shrubbery. "Feeding a Chicobo hot dogs?" she said, astounded. "Zell will go spare." She patted her large, pregnant belly.
It was in that moment, that the sun went down.
Quistis88:
"It's getting dark," Squall said to Rinoa. "Better get him inside."
"Okay!" They walked back inside with the chicobo like two newlyweds with a baby. Cid ran after them.
Quis:
Rinoa's own pregnancy was giving her troubles. Now well into her seventh month, she could hardly see her feet for her large belly. The Chicobo had chosen the most inappropriate moment to wark, and Rinoa grimaced--embarrassed. It was one thing being the Commander's pregnant wife, and another thing being a woman the cadets stared at with a chicobo.
Quistis88:
"Just ignore them, Rin." Her husband said.
"Thanks, Squall."
They sat down in the most secluded area in the cafeteria, and Rinoa set the chicobo on the table while Squall went to get the hot dogs.
Quis:
But he was not fortunate that night. No. Zell and Gwen, apparently, had already gone on their hotdog-eating-spree, and now all the cadets were disgruntled looking kids. It was never fair. However, Squall had managed to bribe the Caferteria staff into giving them Chinese.
Quistis88:
Squall set down a plate full of fried rice, with small pieces of ham and scrambled eggs mixed in. It smelled delicious to Rinoa's growling stomach. She reached for a fork and by the time she looked back at her food, the chicobo's beak was in it.
"No! BAD chicobo! BAD!"
Quis:
Rinoa all but had to stop the Chicobo from eating her food, by giving it little grains of rice. It seemed happy enough. "By the way, Squall," she said, "What are we going to call the kid?" she pointed to her stomach.
Quistis88:
Squall shrugged. "Whatever."
"We can't call the kid that! He'd think you were calling him every five minutes!"
"I do not say whatever every five minutes!"
Rinoa laughed.
" . . . whatever."
Quis:
She smirked triumphantly. "HA!" she said, crowing over her small victory, "I knew it!"
Quistis88:
The chicobo warked in agreement. Rinoa spoke to it.
"I just can't see why Cid doesn't like you. He's just a grouchy old man. Don't mind him."
Quis:
"Why don't we just call the kid after the grouch?" Squall muttered--hoping he'd be unheard. Rinoa, however, heard it, and her eyes flashed.
"You're not being that supportive, Squall," she said, turning the waterworks on.
Quistis88:
" . . . sorry." Squall patted her shoulder. He hated Hyne for making him deal with pregnant women.
Rinoa sniffled. The chicobo stopped its eating and hopped gently onto her stomach and cuddled her.
"OH! Squall, he's so adorable! Can't we keep him?"
"It's Cid's, of course we can't."
Quis:
"You can keep it," the soft tone of Matron's voice could be heard as she materialised out of the shadows. "I sent it to Cid, thinking he could pass it on to you," she smiled at Rinoa. "And I heard your argument about the name of the baby. How does 'Serrenaiah' sound?"
Quistis88:
"Sounds great, Edea!" Rinoa beamed. "Much better than Whatever!"
Edea raised a brow. "Whatever?"
" . . . whatever . . . " came from Squall's corner.
Quis:
Edea turned to face Squall. "Well, she's right you know....if you called your kid 'Whatever', the poor thing would get confused whenever anyone said the word."
A pained look crossed Rinoa's face. "Oh hyne!" she gasped.
Quistis88:
" . . . . . . " Squall stared at her.
"Squall . . . I . . . I . . . " Rinoa clutched her stomach and the baby chicobo warked and flapped its wings excitedly.
"You . . . what? . . . OH!!!" He quickly rushed to her side.
Quis:
Edea discreetly excused herself, and went to get Kadowaki. "She's in labour, I believe," Edea told Kadowaki, who then followed Edea back down to the Commander's dorms.
"Hold on, honey," Edea said, as she took up her place on the other side of Rinoa. Squall thought his hand would break--in the deathgrip Rinoa had him in.
Quistis88:
The chicobo perched on top of Squall's shoulder, eager to see what was going on. With his free hand, Squall tried to push it off, but the fluffy yellow ball with legs would not budge.
"Rinoa, I need you to push . . . " Dr. Kadowaki said. Both Squall and Rinoa pushed. But for Squall, it wasn't to push the baby out, but to push the chicobo off.
Quis:
"SQUALL LEONHART! GET THIS DAMN BABY OUT OF ME NOW!" Rinoa yelled, and Kadowaki gave a sympathetic glance at Squall.
"All pregnant women are like this, Squall....she won't remember a thing after it's done," she explained, noting the confusion.
Quistis88:
"It's not HER I'm worrying about at the moment . . . " Squall knew Rinoa would be fine. He also knew that the chicobo was stronger than one of his arms. Was that good or bad?
"AHHHHHHH!!!" Rinoa's screech bounced off the walls.
"YAAARRRGGGHHH!!!" Squall screamed as the chicobo bit him.
Quis:
The chicobo was baka. Just when Squall thought things were bad--they turned to worse. At that moment, Seifer, Irvine and Zell bounded into the room.
"Squall, mate!" Zell greeted, before a furious Edea clamped one hand over Zell's mouth.
Quistis88:
Rinoa was mad. "No, no, no!!! Get out, get out, get out!!!"
"We don't need anymore people in here! Beat it!" Squall was tending to his injured hand any way he could.
Quis:
A look of comprehension dawned on Irvine's face, and he turned to the other two. "C'mon, guys...." he said, trying to plead with them. "Unless you want Squall to chop you into a million pieces, let's get the hell outta here."
Quistis88:
"And miss THIS?" Seifer frowned. "You're kidding me."
Squall, by now, was fuming. "You're gonna find something ELSE missing if you don't get out of my sight, Almasy!"
Quis:
Irvine all but had to drag Zell and Seifer out of the room. Hyne knows he'd seen Squall as angry as this before, and it wasn't a pretty sight.
Turning back to Rinoa, he started whispering sweet nothings into her ear, hoping to soothe his wife's pain with his words.
Quistis88:
He wiped the sweat off her face with a handkerchief the chicobo had fetched and continue to whisper while Dr. Kadowaki told her to push some more. Edea was watching from a corner, biting her lower lip.
Quis:
"I'm just thinking," Edea said, as she continued to bite her lip, "That if this baby is a girl, then there'll be problems later on. Something about latent sorceress powers."
But, as luck would have it, at that very moment, Rinoa's water broke.
Quistis88:
"Ahhhhh!!!"
"It's okay, Rinoa, it's okay! It'll be okay!" Squall was trying to comfort her, but it seems that Rinoa proved to be a difficult case at the moment.
Quis:
Edea watched as Kadowaki swiftly put an IV line into Rinoa's arm, and started pumping a local anesetic into the womb. "That should help the pain, dear," Kadowaki said, as she helped ease the baby's head out of the opening.
Quistis88:
Squall leaned over to see the baby, and when he got his first glimpse . . .
He was horrified! Is that what babies are supposed to look like!?
Quis:
A tiny patch of hair--the same dark colour of Rinoa's could be seen from the top. Soon, the rest of the body followed. Then, the baby started to squall.
Quistis88:
The baby was crying and the chicobo was screeching. Squall couldn't take anymore. "Ahhhh! Shut up, shut up!"
Rinoa heard him. "Don't tell the baby to shut up!"
"I wasn't telling the baby, I was yelling at the chicobo!!!"
"Well, don't yell at the poor thing!"
Quis:
"Oh, isn't he beautiful," Rinoa cooed as the baby stopped crying momentarily. Kadowaki took the child from her, and motioned with her head for Squall to follow her.
"We'll clean him up, and I'll let you bathe him, if you want....Trust me, Squall, you won't drop him."
Quistis88:
Little did Squall know that the chicobo was hanging onto one of his belts, so Squall didn't know it was "following" them. In another room, there were things like soap and shampoo ready for the baby.
Quis:
If anyone had told Squall that when he was eighteen, he'd be a married man, and a father--he would've laughed right in your face. Now, however, it was true. Squall felt the most amazing surge of joy when Kadowaki placed his son in his arms after he'd been bathed. It was one of the most amazing feelings in the world, and he would not trade it for a lifetime.
Quistis88:
"SQWARK!!!"
"Frick!" Squall's eyes opened wide and he hugged his son tightly, looking around.
"Wark wark," the chicobo said. It was on his shoulder again.
"No, get off!" This time, it did, and it landed on his son's head.
Quis:
The baby let out a wail of surprise, and it took all of Squall's ability not to drop his son in fright. "You stupid bird!" he shouted, as he shooed Chicobo from the room. Hastily deciding that remaining in the bathrooms with a mischievious chicobo was NOT in his--or his son's interest, Squall made a quick departure.
Quistis88:
Running out into the hallways of Garden, Squall received quite a few stares, and funny noises from the female cadets. He stopped running for a bit and looked behind him, and he saw . . .
Quis:
Pippin---err, I mean, Selphie running up towards him. "Squall!" she exclaimed, "What a cute baby!"
Quistis88:
"No, it's MINE!" Squall said.
"FINE . . . geez, I wasn't gonna take it or anything . . ."
Quis:
Just then, Quistis and Xu appeared. "What a cute baby!" they said, and Squall hung his head as his son began to scream.
He also began to scream. Kadowaki heard it, and fortunately, came to Squall's rescue. "All of you, get back to your dorms. Leave the Commander in peace!" she hissed.
Quistis88:
They left, and the Commander was in peace again, all right . . . pieces, I should say. He was bawling and the chicobo had stopped to stare.
"Why can't you people just leave me the frick alone!?"
Quis:
Kadowaki put an arm around Squall's shoulder, and led him back to his quarters. Gently, he handed his son to Rinoa, with a soft kiss on her lips. "By the way, we're yet to decide what to call him," he said.
Quistis88:
"Oh, he's so adorable, I don't know WHAT suits him!" Rinoa took one of the baby's hands in hers.
Quis:
"What about....Mr Toodles Leonhart?" Selphie suggested as she entered the room. Squall hung his head.
"Not you again, Selph," he said, "I love you, Selphie, I really do, but you need to piss off at the moment, sis," he said.
Quistis88:
Selphie's smile disappeared and she whimpered as she walked away. Squall felt a little . . . bad.
Quis:
Rinoa slapped Squall on the head. "You big meanie!" she laughed, "Don't do that again!"
Quistis88:
"I'm sorry, honey . . ."
"Honey!?" Rinoa was shocked. He must be going nuts.
Quis:
"What? I'm not allowed to call you pet names, Rinny?" he said with mock indignation.
"Is that your feeble attempt at cracking a joke, Squall-boy?" she laughed. "By the way, how does Jachan Caraway Loire Leonhart sound as a name for your son?"
Quistis88:
Squall scratched his head. "It's good, but . . . really long, isn't it? What if he ever gets detention and has to write out his name over and over? He'd hate us."
Quis:
She nodded. Squall DID have a point, ya know. "Well, if you're his father, he can say that you'll come beat the baddies up with your gunblade. That way, I'm sure nearly EVERY teacher little Jach has will be scared of crossing you, the saviour of the world," she laughed--and it was a tinkling laugh that was filled with joy.
Quistis88:
Squall considered her points and found them to be valid. He picked up his son and told him sternly, "You hear that, Jachan? If anyone's bossing you around, tell them they'll answer to daddy."
Quis:
And as if Jachan had heard his father's words, and the meaning behind them, he smiled.
The end....or is it?
One calm, tranquil day in Balamb, a box was shipped in, addressed to: CID KRAMER- HEADMASTER-BALAMB GARDEN.
Quistis88:
"A package for me!?" He mused. Cid rarely received anything special --- on second though, he never received anything at all. Until now, that is. Like a child under a Christmas tree awaiting to open his presents, Cid shook the box and heard a few thumps.
Quis:
Out popped a rather large egg, with a tag attached to it. Said tag read "Enjoy- love Edea". Cid looked perplexed for a few moments, and then, the egg did something curious. Cid never HAD seen an egg hatch, and he dropped the egg in surprise.
Quistis88:
The egg cracked and out came a fluffy, adorable chicobo. No, let me rephrase that.
Out came a fluffy, adorable, furious chicobo.
It stared at Cid and Cid stared back. The chicobo took a few steps forward with its beak held high. Cid swallowed hard.
Quis:
The Chicobo then did something completely unexpected. It warked, and then flew up onto Cid's shoulder, perching there.
Quistis88:
"GAAAAHHHHH!!! Get it off, get it off!" Frantic, the Headmaster ran out of his office, and ran past Xu.
"What the ---- " Before she could say more, Cid had disappeared. "Shoot . . . " She grabbed the mic on her desk. "Attention, Balamb Garden. It seems that our Headmaster has lost it. Please remain calm and alert. Thank you for your cooperation."
Quis:
Xu would be in need of a nice long vacation if all these--disasters kept occurring. First it was the incident with Squall, followed then, by the Trepies and NORG's ghost, followed by the disasterous wedding of Squall's and the most recent one--Cid's bright orange blooomers being on display for the entire world to see. It wasn't ideal.
Quistis88:
Meanwhile, Cid ran through the halls of Garden, screaming at the thing perched on its shoulder. It had managed to stay on there all this time. Cid was not impressed. He ran to the Quad and saw Rinoa and Squall.
Quis:
Squall looked up at the sound of someone's screams, thinking that it might have been a cadet. But, no. As luck would have it, it was Cid. With an expression vaguely resembling some form of amusement, Squall spoke. "Everything alright, Headmaster?"
Quistis88:
"Everything alright, you ask! Everything alright!?" Cid screamed. Squall and Rinoa exchanged looks. "I have a THING on my shoulder and it won't come off! Can't you see it!?"
Rinoa looked at it more closely and squealed. "Oh, but sir, he's SO CUTE!!!"
Quis:
Cid shot an annoyed glare at Rinoa. "Cute? I HATE this thing. Curse the day I ever married a Sorceress!" he shouted, almost startling a few cadets. Thankfully, the cadets had been forewarned, and were thus unmoved by Cid's apparent insanity.
Quistis88:
"Watch it, sir," Squall commented. But maybe Cid could be right in a way, Squall thought, remembering his wedding. "Did Matron get this for you?"
"Yes, it came from an EGG. An EGG! Like a . . . a . . . chicken . . . thing . . ."
"You mean you saw it hatch!?" Rinoa clapped her hands. "That means you're his father now!"
Quis:
"It IS a Chicobo," Rinoa pointed out, somewhat unfazed by the whole incident. She was calm--that much was apparent. "And what are you going to do with it?"
Quistis88:
"What am I going to DO with it!? I will do NOTHING with it! Nothing at all!" Cid stormed away. If they weren't going to help him, he'll just have to find someone else.
Quis:
Squall, at the last minute, grabbed the Chicobo off Cid's shoulder, fearing that the deranged headmaster might just do something drastic. And I mean drastic.
Quistis88:
The chicobo flapped its tiny wings madly and Squall had a little trouble holding on to it. It pecked Squall's hand.
"YARGH!" Squall yelled and let go. The baby chicobo beat its wings some more and hovered clumsily in the air.
Quis:
Fortunately, the Chicobo didn't get very far. Rinoa held out her hands, and the tiny chicobo seemed drawn to her. It was weird.
Quistis88:
"Squall! It's darling! Will you get me one?" she begged. "Please, please, please?"
Squall cradled one of his hands. "NO!"
Quis:
"C'mon, Squall....you still owe me a wedding present and this is what I want," she reasoned, looking at Squall pleadingly. Sighing and knowing he couldn't deny Rinoa anything, he frowned.
"Only on the condition that you keep it *well away* from me," he said, in a somewhat stern voice.
Quistis88:
"Oh, I promise, I promise!" Rinoa hugged the little thing and it seemed to smile.
Squall couldn't help but wonder: What if he DID get her a chicobo? Would Angelo eat it?
Quis:
As though Rinoa was reading Squall's thoughts, she spoke up. "I don't think Angelo would eat this little cutie...She's been too well-trained for that," she said. "And besides, I'd keep it in a cage."
Quistis88:
As soon as the words escaped her mouth, the chicobo looked up at her, eyes wide.
"Oh, no, no, not you."
Quis:
She stroked its downy head. It seemed to relax. Then, without any warning, it warked.
Quistis88:
"What's it want now!?" Cid was still standing there, annoyed with the chicobo.
"Umm . . . I don't know . . ." Rinoa said.
"It's probably hungry," Squall deducted. Let's take him to the cafeteria and feed it some hot dogs."
Quis:
Just then, Zell's girlfriend, Gwen, burst through the shrubbery. "Feeding a Chicobo hot dogs?" she said, astounded. "Zell will go spare." She patted her large, pregnant belly.
It was in that moment, that the sun went down.
Quistis88:
"It's getting dark," Squall said to Rinoa. "Better get him inside."
"Okay!" They walked back inside with the chicobo like two newlyweds with a baby. Cid ran after them.
Quis:
Rinoa's own pregnancy was giving her troubles. Now well into her seventh month, she could hardly see her feet for her large belly. The Chicobo had chosen the most inappropriate moment to wark, and Rinoa grimaced--embarrassed. It was one thing being the Commander's pregnant wife, and another thing being a woman the cadets stared at with a chicobo.
Quistis88:
"Just ignore them, Rin." Her husband said.
"Thanks, Squall."
They sat down in the most secluded area in the cafeteria, and Rinoa set the chicobo on the table while Squall went to get the hot dogs.
Quis:
But he was not fortunate that night. No. Zell and Gwen, apparently, had already gone on their hotdog-eating-spree, and now all the cadets were disgruntled looking kids. It was never fair. However, Squall had managed to bribe the Caferteria staff into giving them Chinese.
Quistis88:
Squall set down a plate full of fried rice, with small pieces of ham and scrambled eggs mixed in. It smelled delicious to Rinoa's growling stomach. She reached for a fork and by the time she looked back at her food, the chicobo's beak was in it.
"No! BAD chicobo! BAD!"
Quis:
Rinoa all but had to stop the Chicobo from eating her food, by giving it little grains of rice. It seemed happy enough. "By the way, Squall," she said, "What are we going to call the kid?" she pointed to her stomach.
Quistis88:
Squall shrugged. "Whatever."
"We can't call the kid that! He'd think you were calling him every five minutes!"
"I do not say whatever every five minutes!"
Rinoa laughed.
" . . . whatever."
Quis:
She smirked triumphantly. "HA!" she said, crowing over her small victory, "I knew it!"
Quistis88:
The chicobo warked in agreement. Rinoa spoke to it.
"I just can't see why Cid doesn't like you. He's just a grouchy old man. Don't mind him."
Quis:
"Why don't we just call the kid after the grouch?" Squall muttered--hoping he'd be unheard. Rinoa, however, heard it, and her eyes flashed.
"You're not being that supportive, Squall," she said, turning the waterworks on.
Quistis88:
" . . . sorry." Squall patted her shoulder. He hated Hyne for making him deal with pregnant women.
Rinoa sniffled. The chicobo stopped its eating and hopped gently onto her stomach and cuddled her.
"OH! Squall, he's so adorable! Can't we keep him?"
"It's Cid's, of course we can't."
Quis:
"You can keep it," the soft tone of Matron's voice could be heard as she materialised out of the shadows. "I sent it to Cid, thinking he could pass it on to you," she smiled at Rinoa. "And I heard your argument about the name of the baby. How does 'Serrenaiah' sound?"
Quistis88:
"Sounds great, Edea!" Rinoa beamed. "Much better than Whatever!"
Edea raised a brow. "Whatever?"
" . . . whatever . . . " came from Squall's corner.
Quis:
Edea turned to face Squall. "Well, she's right you know....if you called your kid 'Whatever', the poor thing would get confused whenever anyone said the word."
A pained look crossed Rinoa's face. "Oh hyne!" she gasped.
Quistis88:
" . . . . . . " Squall stared at her.
"Squall . . . I . . . I . . . " Rinoa clutched her stomach and the baby chicobo warked and flapped its wings excitedly.
"You . . . what? . . . OH!!!" He quickly rushed to her side.
Quis:
Edea discreetly excused herself, and went to get Kadowaki. "She's in labour, I believe," Edea told Kadowaki, who then followed Edea back down to the Commander's dorms.
"Hold on, honey," Edea said, as she took up her place on the other side of Rinoa. Squall thought his hand would break--in the deathgrip Rinoa had him in.
Quistis88:
The chicobo perched on top of Squall's shoulder, eager to see what was going on. With his free hand, Squall tried to push it off, but the fluffy yellow ball with legs would not budge.
"Rinoa, I need you to push . . . " Dr. Kadowaki said. Both Squall and Rinoa pushed. But for Squall, it wasn't to push the baby out, but to push the chicobo off.
Quis:
"SQUALL LEONHART! GET THIS DAMN BABY OUT OF ME NOW!" Rinoa yelled, and Kadowaki gave a sympathetic glance at Squall.
"All pregnant women are like this, Squall....she won't remember a thing after it's done," she explained, noting the confusion.
Quistis88:
"It's not HER I'm worrying about at the moment . . . " Squall knew Rinoa would be fine. He also knew that the chicobo was stronger than one of his arms. Was that good or bad?
"AHHHHHHH!!!" Rinoa's screech bounced off the walls.
"YAAARRRGGGHHH!!!" Squall screamed as the chicobo bit him.
Quis:
The chicobo was baka. Just when Squall thought things were bad--they turned to worse. At that moment, Seifer, Irvine and Zell bounded into the room.
"Squall, mate!" Zell greeted, before a furious Edea clamped one hand over Zell's mouth.
Quistis88:
Rinoa was mad. "No, no, no!!! Get out, get out, get out!!!"
"We don't need anymore people in here! Beat it!" Squall was tending to his injured hand any way he could.
Quis:
A look of comprehension dawned on Irvine's face, and he turned to the other two. "C'mon, guys...." he said, trying to plead with them. "Unless you want Squall to chop you into a million pieces, let's get the hell outta here."
Quistis88:
"And miss THIS?" Seifer frowned. "You're kidding me."
Squall, by now, was fuming. "You're gonna find something ELSE missing if you don't get out of my sight, Almasy!"
Quis:
Irvine all but had to drag Zell and Seifer out of the room. Hyne knows he'd seen Squall as angry as this before, and it wasn't a pretty sight.
Turning back to Rinoa, he started whispering sweet nothings into her ear, hoping to soothe his wife's pain with his words.
Quistis88:
He wiped the sweat off her face with a handkerchief the chicobo had fetched and continue to whisper while Dr. Kadowaki told her to push some more. Edea was watching from a corner, biting her lower lip.
Quis:
"I'm just thinking," Edea said, as she continued to bite her lip, "That if this baby is a girl, then there'll be problems later on. Something about latent sorceress powers."
But, as luck would have it, at that very moment, Rinoa's water broke.
Quistis88:
"Ahhhhh!!!"
"It's okay, Rinoa, it's okay! It'll be okay!" Squall was trying to comfort her, but it seems that Rinoa proved to be a difficult case at the moment.
Quis:
Edea watched as Kadowaki swiftly put an IV line into Rinoa's arm, and started pumping a local anesetic into the womb. "That should help the pain, dear," Kadowaki said, as she helped ease the baby's head out of the opening.
Quistis88:
Squall leaned over to see the baby, and when he got his first glimpse . . .
He was horrified! Is that what babies are supposed to look like!?
Quis:
A tiny patch of hair--the same dark colour of Rinoa's could be seen from the top. Soon, the rest of the body followed. Then, the baby started to squall.
Quistis88:
The baby was crying and the chicobo was screeching. Squall couldn't take anymore. "Ahhhh! Shut up, shut up!"
Rinoa heard him. "Don't tell the baby to shut up!"
"I wasn't telling the baby, I was yelling at the chicobo!!!"
"Well, don't yell at the poor thing!"
Quis:
"Oh, isn't he beautiful," Rinoa cooed as the baby stopped crying momentarily. Kadowaki took the child from her, and motioned with her head for Squall to follow her.
"We'll clean him up, and I'll let you bathe him, if you want....Trust me, Squall, you won't drop him."
Quistis88:
Little did Squall know that the chicobo was hanging onto one of his belts, so Squall didn't know it was "following" them. In another room, there were things like soap and shampoo ready for the baby.
Quis:
If anyone had told Squall that when he was eighteen, he'd be a married man, and a father--he would've laughed right in your face. Now, however, it was true. Squall felt the most amazing surge of joy when Kadowaki placed his son in his arms after he'd been bathed. It was one of the most amazing feelings in the world, and he would not trade it for a lifetime.
Quistis88:
"SQWARK!!!"
"Frick!" Squall's eyes opened wide and he hugged his son tightly, looking around.
"Wark wark," the chicobo said. It was on his shoulder again.
"No, get off!" This time, it did, and it landed on his son's head.
Quis:
The baby let out a wail of surprise, and it took all of Squall's ability not to drop his son in fright. "You stupid bird!" he shouted, as he shooed Chicobo from the room. Hastily deciding that remaining in the bathrooms with a mischievious chicobo was NOT in his--or his son's interest, Squall made a quick departure.
Quistis88:
Running out into the hallways of Garden, Squall received quite a few stares, and funny noises from the female cadets. He stopped running for a bit and looked behind him, and he saw . . .
Quis:
Pippin---err, I mean, Selphie running up towards him. "Squall!" she exclaimed, "What a cute baby!"
Quistis88:
"No, it's MINE!" Squall said.
"FINE . . . geez, I wasn't gonna take it or anything . . ."
Quis:
Just then, Quistis and Xu appeared. "What a cute baby!" they said, and Squall hung his head as his son began to scream.
He also began to scream. Kadowaki heard it, and fortunately, came to Squall's rescue. "All of you, get back to your dorms. Leave the Commander in peace!" she hissed.
Quistis88:
They left, and the Commander was in peace again, all right . . . pieces, I should say. He was bawling and the chicobo had stopped to stare.
"Why can't you people just leave me the frick alone!?"
Quis:
Kadowaki put an arm around Squall's shoulder, and led him back to his quarters. Gently, he handed his son to Rinoa, with a soft kiss on her lips. "By the way, we're yet to decide what to call him," he said.
Quistis88:
"Oh, he's so adorable, I don't know WHAT suits him!" Rinoa took one of the baby's hands in hers.
Quis:
"What about....Mr Toodles Leonhart?" Selphie suggested as she entered the room. Squall hung his head.
"Not you again, Selph," he said, "I love you, Selphie, I really do, but you need to piss off at the moment, sis," he said.
Quistis88:
Selphie's smile disappeared and she whimpered as she walked away. Squall felt a little . . . bad.
Quis:
Rinoa slapped Squall on the head. "You big meanie!" she laughed, "Don't do that again!"
Quistis88:
"I'm sorry, honey . . ."
"Honey!?" Rinoa was shocked. He must be going nuts.
Quis:
"What? I'm not allowed to call you pet names, Rinny?" he said with mock indignation.
"Is that your feeble attempt at cracking a joke, Squall-boy?" she laughed. "By the way, how does Jachan Caraway Loire Leonhart sound as a name for your son?"
Quistis88:
Squall scratched his head. "It's good, but . . . really long, isn't it? What if he ever gets detention and has to write out his name over and over? He'd hate us."
Quis:
She nodded. Squall DID have a point, ya know. "Well, if you're his father, he can say that you'll come beat the baddies up with your gunblade. That way, I'm sure nearly EVERY teacher little Jach has will be scared of crossing you, the saviour of the world," she laughed--and it was a tinkling laugh that was filled with joy.
Quistis88:
Squall considered her points and found them to be valid. He picked up his son and told him sternly, "You hear that, Jachan? If anyone's bossing you around, tell them they'll answer to daddy."
Quis:
And as if Jachan had heard his father's words, and the meaning behind them, he smiled.
The end....or is it?