Author's Note: Okay, my faithful readers. It is now 11:20 PM Friday night. I'm going to try and write this chapter tonight and have it posted by tomorrow morning. And, I would like to apologize for leaving you with a cliffhanger. I truly wanted to get this chapter posted the day after I posted the last one, but we all know how Fanfiction.net has been acting for the past couple days. And, with papers and midterms with school, I just couldn't find time to write this. However, I'm pleased to say that my Spring Break officially began at 1:50 PM today and will not end until 10:00 AM Monday morning, March 15. So, I'm free to do what I want when I want. Yeah, so anyways, I know you guys don't really care what I write up here. You just want the chapter, right? Right. So, here we go.

Note to Cookie: You're right about the tattoo thing. Honestly, I didn't even consider him having a tattoo until I wrote chapter 8. So, will pretend that in chapter 7, when Yuffie woke up with him in his bed after the Halloween party, that he was lying in a way where she couldn't see it. And, your English seems to be fine. In fact, you have a better grasp of it than some native English speaking people I know.

By the way, I know in my last chapter I begged for reviews to be e-mailed to me. Thank you to those who did. But, since FF.net is working again, it will no longer be necessary.

[Disclaimer: I do not own any characters portrayed in the story unless they are my own, completely one-dimensional original characters that really have no importance in the story. However, if anyone knows who I can call to buy Squall, please tell me immediately]

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Chapter Eleven: What Now?

No sooner had Yuffie lay on her bed with the letter to Squall still clutched in her hand, than she heard the sound of a key being pushed into the doorknob. She quickly rolled over and feigned sleep as Kairi walked into the room. As the water in the bathroom sink was turned on, a startled gasp floated across the room to Yuffie's ears.

Kairi ran to Yuffie's bed and began shaking her shoulders, holding the empty pill bottle in her hand. "YUFFIE! GET UP, NOW!" she yelled, still violently shaking her roommate.

Yuffie jerked herself out of her roommate's grasp. "What, Kairi? What do you want?" she demanded.

The red-head shoved the empty bottle in Yuffie's face. "Where are all your pills, Yuffie? This thing was nearly full this morning." Her violet eyes were wide with fear and confusion as she continued to stare at Yuffie.

"I...I...I flushed them down the toilet be-, because I don't need them anymore," the ebony-haired young woman finally stammered out.

Kairi shook her head. "No, Yuffie, you didn't," she stated rather calmly as she reached for the phone. She quickly dialed 9-1-1, the number drilled into her head since she could remember. The operator soon came on line, asking for the nature of the emergency. "My roommate just took a bottle of sleeping pills." There was a short pause. "No, she's still conscious." Another pause, "Ambien," Kairi said. Before hanging up, she gave the operator their address.

Yuffie threw herself back down on her bed in defeat, tears falling from her eyes. "Why did you have to come back so early, Kairi? Why?" she begged through broken sobs as she curled into a fetal position.

Kairi came and sat next to her, visibly shaking. "Yuffie, why did you do it? What's wrong? You can tell me anything." A few tears began forming in the red-head's eyes, but she stubbornly pushed them back. Now's not the time, Kairi, she told herself. You have to stay calm until the ambulance gets here.

Her roommate ignored her questions, curling her body up into an even tighter ball as the sobs continued to wrack her body. Kairi continued to sit on the bed, reaching out a shaky hand to rub her back in an attempt to soothe the pain. It wasn't long after she had placed the call, when she heard the paramedics beating on the door. Kairi rushed to let them in and they quickly carried Yuffie out on a stretcher, telling the red-head that she would have to come to the hospital in her own vehicle. She consented, and decided she would bring a change of clothes for Yuffie as well.

It was as she was opening the top drawer of the dresser near Yuffie's bed, when Kairi's eyes wandered to the crumpled envelope lying near the tear-stained pillow. Curious, she picked it up and turned it over, reading the name Squall on the back. She slowly opened it and pulled out the note within. As her eyes skimmed over the letter, they widened in shock and finally narrowed in rage. Searching Yuffie's address book, she soon found the number she wanted and lunged for the phone, dialing furiously as she mumbled, "That bastard."

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Squall opened his eyes, finding himself in his own room at his own apartment, but something felt different somehow. He couldn't quite place it, but he felt a presence that he hadn't felt for a long while. His eyes darted around the room, searching for the source of this feeling.

Not finding anyone or anything, he arose from his bed and slowly walked to the kitchen. There, on the counter, was the broken picture of Rinoa. The one Yuffie had vengefully thrown at him. And, behind the counter, staring at him with her dark brown eyes was her. Rinoa. The one he had given his heart to completely, only to have it shattered with her death.

"Rinoa," he whispered, his voice barely audible even to his own ears.

"Yes, Squall. I'm here," she called to him. Or at least it seemed she called to him, for he could hear her voice in his head, but her lips had only curved into a sad smile.

He started towards her, desperate to hold her in his arms once more. But as soon as he was within reach, she stepped back. "I'm here, Squall. But not in the way you want me to be."

"But, Rinoa...I need you," he cried.

She pointed to the broken picture on the counter. "Squall, you must move on. You cannot keep holding onto the past."

A few tears fell from Squall's eyes. "I'm so sorry, Rinoa, but I've betrayed you. I--"

She interrupted him. "No, Squall. You did not betray me. She is with you, and I am not. She can love you in a way that I cannot any longer. She gave you the greatest thing she could–she is alive, and she is here. Don't throw it away, you have my blessing. Now go."

Squall reached out to touch her, his hand within inches of her face–

The telephone rang, jolting Squall out of his dream. He found himself in his bedroom, the noon sun filtering through his curtains. After his guilt-ridden experience in the bio lab that morning, he had returned to his apartment for a nap. Reaching across the bed, he grabbed the cordless phone. "Yeah," he answered rather grumpily.

"Squall! You have some explaining to do," an angry voice on the other end yelled.

"First of all, it's Leon. And, secondly, who the hell are you?" he demanded.

"This is Kairi, you know, Yuffie's roommate. Remember her? You nearly killed her, you bastard."

Temporarily shocked, he couldn't speak for a moment. "What the hell are you talking about?" he finally replied.

"Here, why don't I just read you what she wrote. I mean, after all, her suicide note is addressed to you."

"SUICIDE NOTE!!!!" he screamed into phone.

"Yes, suicide note." Kairi paused for a moment, letting that sink in before she read the note. "'Squall–

You loved me and you left me. You took me and then ignored me. A mistake, you called it. Perhaps it was. I can't live with the pain anymore, and the pain won't go away...so I will not live at all. Know this...no matter how much I hate the idea, I love you. I love you...

Yuffie'"

"Is-, Is she alright?" he managed to stammer out quietly, praying she would still be alive.

"I'm not sure. Luckily, I found her before the pills knocked her out. But, if you come near her, I will personally make sure you never--"

Squall didn't hear the rest of her threat as he hung the phone up and scrambled out of bed. Throwing the first shirt and jeans he could find on, he quickly put on his sneakers and ran out of the house, grabbing his car keys on the way.

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Upon reaching the hospital, Squall didn't even ask the receptionist where Yuffie was, knowing she would not allow him access as he was not the next of kin. He simply burst through the doors and walked down the hall, looking at the names of the patients on the charts hanging outside their doors. When he finally found the chart with the name "Yuffie Kisaragi" written at the top, he started to push it open, only to have an orderly restrain him.

"I'm sorry, sir. But I cannot allow you to go in there," the young man told him as he grabbed Squall's arm to pull him back to the lobby.

Not wanting to put up with anything and needing to see Yuffie right then, Squall's hand quickly formed a tight fist, which he then used to smash the orderly's face. The young man crumpled to the floor, out cold, and Squall simply stepped across him and walked into Yuffie's room.

She sat on the bed, coughing from the charcoal they had made her drink to bring up the pills. Hearing the door open, she turned to see the last person she expected to see here. "What are you doing here?" she rasped between coughs.

He took a step towards her. "Kairi called me and told me what happened." Yuffie continued to stare at him, her eyes giving off the same hollow look he had noticed in the bio lab that morning. "She read me your note, Yuffie," he said quietly.

"Oh, gawd," she exclaimed as she ran a hand through her hair. She sat there for a moment, tears running done her face. Squall walked even closer to her, reaching out a hand to lay on her shoulder. As soon as he made contact, she hissed, "Go back to your old girlfriend!"

He took a step backwards, quickly pulling back his hand. "What old girlfriend?" he asked confusedly.

"The one in the picture," she yelled, exasperated.

"Yuffie...she's not here," he whispered.

Yuffie's haunted eyes bored holes into his as she glared at him. "Well, where is she? I'm sure she's better for you than I am!"

Squall closed his eyes for a moment, before answering her. "Yuffie–she hasn't left New York in almost three years."

"Why not?" Yuffie persisted.

"Because...that's where she's buried," he finished.

Yuffie's eyes widened in shock. "You mean...?"

Squall nodded slowly, "Yes, Rinoa is dead." Before Yuffie could say anything to this, hospital security had busted open the door, taking Squall into their custody for his attack on the orderly. She watched in silence as they dragged him out the door, leaving her alone again.

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Because of her suicide attempt, the doctors at the hospital marked Yuffie as mentally unstable and in need of evaluation. She would be kept in the hospital's psyc ward while she underwent therapy for the next month. For the first two weeks, Yuffie was not allowed to be alone at any time or have any visitors. By the third week, Aerith was coming by, bringing her homework from her classes so she wouldn't be too far behind. It was also in the third week of her evaluation that she called Squall and asked if he would come, not giving any reason, just asking if he would come.

Squall arrived at the hospital as soon as he was able, the nurses and doctors giving him a wide berth as they recognized him as the one who had become violent only weeks before. He was led down a long hall until they reached a door. His escort pulled out a card key to unlock the door and allowed Squall to enter the room.

He stepped through slowly, surveying the scene around him. He jumped when he heard the door slam shut behind him and was shocked when he saw that there was no doorknob inside the room. The room itself had completely white walls, no patterns or designs, just plain white walls. Looking at the bed, he saw her, lying perfectly still. She appeared to be comatose, her chest hardly rising with the breaths she took. He nervously approached her, softly calling her name.

When she didn't answer, he began to fear that she really was comatose. His steps quickened as he walked to her. "Yuffie," he called a little louder this time. Still no response. Sitting on the edge of her bed, he reached out and grabbed her hand, gently squeezing it, hoping for a response.

Jerking back to reality from the world she created in her head to flee to, she looked at him confusedly. They continued like that for a moment, just sitting there in silence. "Why?" Squall finally asked.

She reached out a hand and touched his face. "I want out. Just let me see you one last time. Let me touch you one last time. I want out. I can't do this anymore. Let me go." She broke down as she finished, letting the tears flow freely down her cheeks. Not knowing what else to do, Squall wrapped his arms around her and let her cry into his shirt until her tears were spent. He knew it was his fault she was in this condition, in this place.

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When her month was finally up, Yuffie was allowed to return to school, much to the disappointment of her parents who hoped she would drop out and return home with them. She cringed when she remembered her mother's reaction to reason she tried to kill herself. The only thing Yuffie could make out among all the yelling was the phrase "used goods," and the word "slut," but she tried to push it out of her mind.

In her bio lab, Yuffie stayed after class to turn in the special reports Mr. Siewort had her complete as an alternative to the bio labs she had missed. He flipped through the pages, raising an eyebrow at some passages, before shoving it into his already full briefcase and leaving the room.

Yuffie returned to where she had left her backpack on the counter, noticing Squall was still there. She sighed. "This has been one hell of a roller coaster, Squall."

"I know."

"I know I love you, maybe I always have--" she began before he interrupted her.

"Which is what I'm afraid of," Squall whispered.

She ignored his comment and continued. "–but we can't go on, not when things went so wrong. We just can't. I'm sorry." She refused to meet his gaze.

Stricken, Squall quickly tried to think of something to say. "What say you that we just...start over? From the beginning?" he asked.

Thinking for a moment, she replied, "I guess that could work."

"Right, then."

She started to walk away, then turned back, asking, "Excuse me, is this seat taken?"

Squall smiled, "No, you can sit down."

"I'm Yuffie...what's your name?" she asked as she reached to shake his hand.

There was a long pause as Squall stopped to think how to answer her simple question. He realized that both Rinoa and Yuffie had loved Squall, and it was Leon who kept messing things up. It was Leon who insisted on dwelling in the past, walking down life's highway while looking backwards. It was at that moment when Squall decided that Leon was dead. He reached out and took Yuffie's hand, shaking it.

"Squall," he answered.

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Author's Note: I have finished this story at long last, and it's only 2:30 AM. Okay, readers, I have an announcement to make. Right now, I have 86 reviews. If I get 100 reviews, I'll start writing a sequel to this that will have plenty of Squffie fluffiness. So, that's 14 more reviews. Do you think you can do it? Anyways, I'm going to post this and go to bed. I'll post the credits in a separate chapter and add it on Saturday or Sunday. Anyways, read and review. Remember, that's only 14 more reviews until I meet my goal!!