Chapter 8—Selphie's baby
"Wow, it was such a good idea to come here, Rin," Selphie said as she knocked over two pins. "Ah, damn it!" she cursed when none of the others fell.
"Hey, you know I didn't even know this place existed until Squall took me here the other day. I mean, who would have thought there would be this fantastic bowling alley in the middle of nowhere?" Rinoa said, rolling her ball and watching as it hit over three.
The sound of "Strrrrike!" was heard from nearby, and Selphie looked at Irvine in hatred. He had done nothing but get strikes since they got there. Eventually, they had put Irvine in another lane on his own.
"But Rinny, I thought you said Squall was coming."
"Hmm?"
"Remember, you called me this morning and said we should go bowling, instead of meeting at the restaurant, and that Squall would be coming too," Selphie said, placing her hands on her hips. Rinoa blushed.
"Yeah, he was going to. But something came up and he needed to go sort it out. He wouldn't say what it was, but promised he'd meet us here later," Rinoa explained.
"Oh," Selphie said, turning her back on her friend. "So, um you guys…together again?" she asked, turning her head to look over her shoulder and smiling sweetly.
"I don't think I should answer any of your questions, seeing as you won't even tell me this great secret. I mean come on, Selph, I'm dying to know," Rinoa begged. Selphie sighed.
"Fine. Irvy's finished his game anyway. Let's forfeit ours and get some lunch. Then when we're seated, I'll tell you," Selphie said, placing her bowling ball back on the rack and cancelling the game.
"Selphie, I've been waiting ages for this news. It better be good," Rinoa warned, smiling.
"It is, I promise. Now put that damn ball down and let's eat!" Selphie ordered, grabbing Rinoa's hand and pulling her away from the lanes. On the way towards the restaurant she took hold of Irvine too and pulled them both to a table. "Here, we will sit here," Selphie decided, letting go of their wrists.
"Ouch, Selphie honey…what's the matter?" Irvine complained, rubbing his wrist in a theatrical way.
"I'm sorry, I'm just so excited about our news!" Selphie squealed, making Rinoa even more anxious to know. "What shall we order?"
"How about one of those things that we can all share? You know, with dips and stuff," Irvine suggested.
"You mean like order lots of things and eat a bit of everything?" Rinoa asked.
"Yeah, we could do that," Selphie decided. "So, shall we each order something?"
"Ok," Rinoa said looking over the menu. "I will order this, 'the mega-snack'. You get potato wedges, onion rings, fries, fresh bread, crispy bits of chicken and salad," Rinoa said, reading the list.
"Oh, good choice!" Selphie commented. "Well, I'll get a pizza. Everyone likes pepperoni?" Everyone nodded. "Irvy?"
"Hmm, let me see. Ah ha! Pasta! Everyone loves pasta."
"Ok, well, we're ready to order!" Selphie said, standing up with the intention of placing the order at the bar.
"What are you doing, Selph?" Irvine asked. "It's waitress service here."
"Oh, is it?" Selphie asked, embarrassed. "Oh, who cares? They're taking too long. I'm just gonna go tell that man at the bar what we want," she said, determined.
"No wait, I'll go tell him. You sit here and talk to Rinoa," Irvine said, pushing her back into her seat. Selphie suddenly looked worried and Irvine squeezed her shoulder and walked away. Selphie watched him leave before she began.
"Yeah, well Rinny, you see. I wanted to tell you this alone and face to face…"
"What is it, Selph?"
"I'm... pregnant, Rin," Selphie whispered. She averted her eyes and bit her bottom lip. Rinoa stared at her speechless.
"P..pregnant?" Rinoa repeated. Selphie nodded.
"Do you think that's good?" Selphie asked timidly. Rinoa smiled.
"Of course I think it's good. I just wasn't expecting… Don't you think it's good?" Rinoa asked, worried.
"Me? Yes! I mean of course it was a surprise, and it took some getting used to, but it just seems to make sense somehow," Selphie said, smiling. Tears were shining in the eyes of both of them now, it had been a long time since something emotional had happened to between them but it was easy to cry.
"I'm sure I don't need to ask this but, Irvine's the father right?"
"Of course," Selphie said, wiping a tear from her eye. Rinoa's shy smile began to grow until she was laughing through her tears.
"And here I was thinking you were dying or something," Rinoa said, trying to find a tissue in her pocket.
"I'm so sorry I made you worried," Selphie said, taking her hand from across the table. "I couldn't tell you this over the phone. You're my best friend, Rin, and the only family I've got."
"Oh, I'm so happy for you," she said, standing and walking around the table to hug her friend. "Are you guys getting married then?"
"Yes, but not yet. We want to get things sorted here first, and Irvy still has to buy me a ring." Selphie said looking at her plain finger. "I was thinking about emeralds…" Selphie mused.
Rinoa stood and hugged Irvine as he came back to the table.
"Oh, you guys. I'm so pleased you're happy," Rinoa said, almost cracking Irvine's ribs.
"Thank you, Rin. But there is someone in the doorway for you," he said, prying her away. Rinoa snapped her head up and gasped.
"Squall," she mumbled. "I'll be back in a min!"
Irvine welcomed the moment he had alone to kiss his fiancés cheek. Selphie blushed and held his hand.
"I hope we're doing the right thing, Irvy," Selphie said, unsure.
"We are, we are. Everything's gonna be fine, you'll see," he said reassuringly. Selphie beamed and turned her head to look at her friend.
"Squall!" Rinoa called as she ran towards him. "Thought you weren't gonna show!"
Squall faked a hurt expression.
"What? And leave you alone with those two maniacs!" Squall said teasingly. Rinoa slapped him on the arm.
"Shut up, you," Rinoa warned.
"Yes M'am!" he replied, saluting. Rinoa hit him again.
"Stop it, Squall. Could you get anymore embarrassing? Really!" Rinoa said, tugging on his sleeves. "Listen, there is something I just have to tell you! Selphie's gonna have a baby!" Rinoa squealed.
"Hyne forbid!" Squall muttered.
"Stop joking around. It's great news! Could you honestly say there could ever be a better mother? I mean look at those two, they're so…" Rinoa trailed off in search of a word. Squall looked at her friends who were gazing at each other lost in their own world.
"Perfect?" he suggested. Rinoa smiled up at him.
"Yes. Perfect."
"Hey Squall, man! You wanna come join us?" Irvine shouted over suddenly. Rinoa and Squall tore their eyes away from one another and blushed; Hyne knew how long they had been standing there for.
"Yeah come on, Rin!" Selphie called, waving them over. "The food's here!"
"You ordered?" Squall asked as they walked over.
"It's snacks, really. We ordered enough for you as well, you know in a vain hope that you might show up," Rinoa teased.
"Hey I promised I'd be here, and I am," Squall said, annoyed. Rinoa laughed and sat down at the table.
"I'm just teasing," she said as Squall seated himself.
"Teasing? Who's teasing? Tell me!" Selphie said urgently, bouncing in her seat as she looked from Squall to Rinoa.
"It's nothing," Rinoa said, grinning at Squall.
"It's nice to see you again," Squall said as Rinoa placed a slice of pizza on his plate. He thanked her silently.
"It's been too long. We should go camping again!" Selphie suggested, not considering what had happened last time.
Rinoa blushed, and Squall looked uncomfortable. Obviously they were both remembering that awful trip. The image of Rinoa throwing a necklace on the dirt floor made them both exceptionally quiet. Irvine looked at them both and decided the subject needed to be changed quickly.
"So I hear the new theme park is underway?" he said biting into an onion ring. Squall stopped prodding the pizza and looked up.
"Oh yes. Well, it should be now, now that I went and sorted it out myself," Squall replied.
"Slacking workers," Rinoa added, filling in her friends on the story.
"Well, maybe next time you can take a stick with you, and if they look like they've been slacking. Smack them!" Selphie said energetically. Squall looked shocked, but the rest laughed.
"Then Rin can write about it. I can just see the headlines now…" Irvine said, shutting his eyes and tilting his head back as if to read them from the ceiling. Squall scoffed.
"Yes, well I'm sure public would love that. 'Exculsive! Leonhart Goes Mental, Beats Worker With Stick,'" Squall suggested, keeping his face blank.
Rinoa almost choked on her drink.
"Look there you go, giving her ideas!" Irvine said, looking at Rinoa. She held her hands up to show she wasn't going to lie.
"Well, it would sell. I'm not saying to wouldn't!" she said, smiling. Selphie laughed.
"Well, cheers," Squall said in a mock hurt voice. Rinoa hit him on the arm.
"You know I'd never write something like that," she said seriously. Squall scowled at her. "Stop looking at me like that!" she added after a pause.
"Like what?" Squall asked raising an eyebrow.
"Like that. As if you're about to do something mean!" Rinoa said, shifting away from him. Squall smirked.
"Like this?" He asked grabbing an onion ring from her plate and stuffing it into his mouth. Rinoa looked at him, disgusted.
"Yeah!" she said trying not to laugh. Squall made a grab for another. "Hey, no you don't, these are mine! Ah, Squall get off!" Rinoa squealed, fighting back his hand.
Squall smiled and snaked his arm around her. He pulled her towards him and kissed her cheek, while Rinoa blushed deep red. The others at the table were smiling and rolling their eyes.
"How'd you guys get on bowling then?" Squall asked suddenly.
"Well, Irvine beat us every time," Selphie said sulkily, she prodded a pizza crust with a straw as she spoke. "We had to put him on his own lane in the end."
"I would have thought you'd be great at this, Selphie." Squall said, looking at the people still rolling balls towards pins.
"Yeah, well I guess I'm not. It is fun, though," she said wistfully.
"Hey, Irvine, I bet Squall could beat you," Rinoa said, smiling.
"Shall we have a game?" Irvine asked.
"Sure why not?" Squall said, standing up. "Prepare to die," he added.
"Ha, that's what you think!"
Squall and Irvine continued to make empty threats as they walked away from the women at the table. As soon as they were out of earshot, Selphie raised an eye brow.
"So, Miss Heartilly... What do you think you are doing?" she asked, smiling in an all knowing way, and then nodding towards Squall. Rinoa frowned.
"Would you just stop asking me questions that I don't know the answers to?" she exclaimed, refusing to answer. "I don't know whether we're back together, I mean we just sort of hang out together."
Selphie pulled a sour face and put her head in her hands, resting her elbows on table.
"Hang out together?" She repeated sarcastically.
"Stop it, Selphie. There's no point rushing into something, I mean I'm only 25, it's not as if I'm getting old or anything," Rinoa said, flicking a piece of cheese onto the floor without thinking, as soon as it hit the polished wooden floorboards she felt guilty for doing it.
"Is this still about your job? I mean come on, Rin, a job isn't everything!" Selphie said, looking at her open-mouthed in a cross between anger and bewilderment. Rinoa sighed and looked down at her lap, her hands had twisted into a knot and they suddenly looked shaky. It wasn't long before she realised the shaking was coming from the tears forming in her eyes.
A confused tear ran down her cheek and Selphie suddenly looked concerned.
"I love him so much, Selph," she whispered, still looking at her blurred hands. "But I'm just so scared."
"But why? I can't understand this Rin: if you love him, then why all the wasted time?" Selphie asked, shaking her head. Rinoa lifted her eyes slowly.
"Because if I admit that I want to be with him, I will have to give up my job, and if I do that I will be dependant once again. I won't go back to begging for money. I don't want to be kept by anyone." Rinoa said; the more the words flowed the more determined they became.
"Rinoa, can you really see Squall treating you like that? I admit I haven't known him as long as you have, but I know a good man when I see one, and Rinny, he is totally besotted with you. What else do you want?"
"I just...don't know."
Selphie watched her best friend try to sort her emotions while sat in front of a half eaten pizza. This wasn't the best place for soul searching, and Selphie was sorry she had made her friend upset, but something just didn't add up with what Rinoa was using as her argument. She seemed to be genuinely afraid of being left with nothing; there had to be something she wasn't telling.
"I won't ask you again. You're old enough to make decisions on your own, but I just don't like seeing you so unhappy, especially since I want to celebrate," Selphie said, taking her friend's hand. Rinoa wiped the tears from her eyes and smiled.
"Yes. I'm sorry, Selph," Rinoa said, forcing herself to smile again.
"Let's go and watch the guys get perfect strikes," Selphie said, pulling Rinoa to her feet.
They threw some money onto the table and walked down to the alleys. Squall and Irvine had won one game each, both with very high scores.
"It's so unfair," Selphie moaned. "Why are those two so good at this?"
"Hmm, probably because Irvine had to be good at at least one thing, and Squall has a bowling alley in his garden," Rinoa quipped, smirking.
Squall looked sideways at her and Rinoa winked.
Squall finally won their mini battle and replaced the ball in the stand with triumph. Irvine gave him an evil look in good humour and they both smiled and shook each other's hands. Selphie frowned at the very male way of saying they were friends, why didn't they just hug one another? It wasn't as if they'd die if they did. But for now that seemed to be enough to renew a dusty friendship.
Rinoa was looking at Squall with pride. Selphie was right; he'd never treat her badly. It was obviously from the effort he was making with her friends that he wanted to be a deeper part of her life than just a few nights alone.
"So, what do we do now? I don't think I could play another game even if you paid me," Selphie said, jumping up from her chair as if that action alone would give her an answer. "You know we could go sightseeing!" she suggested enthusiastically.
"Selphie, I'm sure Squall doesn't want to go looking at things he sees everyday," Rinoa said carefully. Selphie looked disappointed.
"Sightseeing is fine. I fact, I've the perfect place," Squall said as he started to walk towards the exit.
"Woohoo!" Selphie screamed, chasing after him. Rinoa and Irvine shrugged and followed.
Once they were outside, the friends stood in the doorway debating how they should travel. They had three cars and four people. Just as it seemed they were settled, a tractor came up over the hill and smashed into the back of Selphie's rented car.
"Okay. That was the last thing I was expecting to happen," Squall said, staring at the wreck in front of them. The driver of the tractor looked out of the window guiltily. He wasn't hurt.
"Problem with the brakes," he said sheepishly. He wiped his forehead with his arm, but then froze when he recognized Squall. "Sir!" he said jumping out of his vehicle and saluting. Squall looked embarrassed.
"I guess he was in the army, huh?" Rinoa muttered to no one particular.
"Are you alright?" Squall asked, walking towards him.
Selphie and Irvine still stood in shock and stared at their car. Finally Irvine blinked.
"Good job we bought that insurance, then," he said, still not fully understanding what was happening. Selphie began to walk towards the smashed car.
"I suppose we'll have to take your car after all," she said, expressionless. Rinoa suddenly burst into laughter; something about this was so ridiculous that she forgot that it was actually quite serious.
Squall was suddenly on his mobile and the tractor driver was being forced to sit down and rest. Squall was convinced that he probably had whiplash from the way he was rubbing his neck.
It was twenty minutes before a siren was heard and an ambulance and a tow truck came rushing out of Esthar to help them. The man was loaded in the back of the ambulance, despite his protests and driven away in a flash of blue light. Selphie's car was put onto the truck, looking sorry for itself, and ordered to be taken back to the hire care firm that had supplied it. Rinoa had stopped laughing a long time ago and was watching Squall with fascination. He dealt with everything so calmly in a way that was almost frightening. It had to be the product of some type of training, and Rinoa had a brief flashback to when Squall had told her about his time in 'Garden'.
Squall gave Rinoa a reassuring smile and she felt slightly better, he wasn't going to scold her for laughing. After everything was sorted and the truck prepared to leave, Squall walked back to them. He looked very concerned about Selphie.
"How's the baby?"
She looked at him blankly, then something triggered.
"Fine. I'm fine, thank you," she replied shakily. "Just a shock, that's all."
"Maybe we should get out of here then," Squall said, walking towards his car. "Rinoa, those guys can take your car right?"
"Sure," Rinoa said, throwing her keys towards Irvine.
"You can follow us into town," Squall said, still giving orders.
"Alright," Irvine replied, nodding and pushing Selphie towards Rinoa's car. Selphie still looked rather white and Irvine looked at her worried. "Hey. Um, maybe me and Selph should just go home."
"No, no I'm fine," Selphie protested. Irvine still looked worried.
"Selphie you've had a shock, you need to rest," Irvine said. Selphie sighed and nodded.
Rinoa looked from one to another. Suddenly she began to notice the bump Selphie carried, which she had missed before. A shock wasn't good for her, she needed to rest.
"I'll collect it some time later," Rinoa said, watching them get into her car. Selphie waved from inside as they drove past.
"Well. I hope she's ok," Squall said, watching them drive away towards Esthar. Rinoa nodded and opened her side of Squall's car. Suddenly she stopped and let go of the handle.
"Hey. Seeing as my car's gone..." Rinoa said, smiling. Squall raised an eyebrow. "Can I drive your car?" she asked, cheekily.
"Miss Heartilly, it would be my pleasure to let you drive," Squall said, walking to the passenger side and climbing in. Rinoa resisted the temptation to punch the air, she'd been wanting to drive this car ever since she saw it. "Just don't go mad," Squall warned as she sat next to him.
Rinoa rested her hands on the soft leather of the steering wheel and then looked down at the pedals.
"It only has two!" She said shocked. Squall just looked at her as if she was mad.
"Well, yeah..." Squall said sarcastically. "Accelerator and Brake. You don't need a clutch," Squall explained. Rinoa still looked worried.
"Talk about cutting corners. I suppose the car flies as well."
"Ha! Very funny. Just drive, or we'll be here forever," Squall said, feeling strange from sitting in the passenger side. Rinoa frowned and started the car with the shiny silver key.
"Ok, here we go!" she said, pressing down on the accelerator. It was odd not to use a middle pedal, but soon Rinoa forgot all about it. "So, what do we do now?" she asked once they were back in Esthar. The car had ran so smoothly that she had forgotten that Squall was even there, all her thoughts were focused on the road.
"I dunno. Home? There's something I
have to discuss with that dear sister of mine," Squall said, looking out of the
window. Rinoa knew there was no point in suggesting any different, Squall had
made his mind up whether he voiced it or not. 'Home' was where they were heading.
A/N: Well there goes another update! Now that Selphie and Irvine are here, and all the news has been told, the plot should now finally begin to emerge. Hurray!
Thank you to Bianka-Chan for beta-ing! And to all you reviewers!
Chrono-Maku
Mariko
Lady Yevon
AngelPrinczcess29
Hiasha
Mariana-chan1
Rizza426
Melissa
Karla3
Andria
Omnitoad (You should never eat more that one waffle if you want to see the light of day again. Lol)
The Angel of the Lion (That is so unfair! Although constantly writing fanfiction is helping me rattle off a 1,200 word essay in an hour…whether the essays are any good is a different matter entirely.)
Amber Tinted (Hey I know that lazy feeling! I wish they'd invent coffee shots. I mean you can get vodka shots, so why not coffee shots?)
Rinoa Heartilly-Leonhart (Nothing quite as glamorous as that I'm afraid, I was just there where it was filmed. They should have cast me in the movie, I would have been fantastic…)
Eiggem3