DISCLAIMER - I may not own Final Fantasy VIII, or Irvine.........but Toby's
all mine!
Author's note - What can I say? This chapter wasn't really that easy to write. Parts were fun, but definitely not all of it. Hope it turned out okay.
Operation Cowboy
Xu strided slowly down the hallway, making sure to keep her pace relaxed yet steadfast. Clad solely in black, she pulled her hair up into a tight bun on top of her head. As she walked past Zell's dorm room, she saw Irvine standing with his back to her. Zell had accomplished the first part of his job. Now it would be up to Selphie to get them in. Keeping her gaze straight ahead, she reached for her cell phone on her hip and flipped it open. Pressing call to ring a previously entered number, she raised it to her ear.
"Cowboy's in the bird's nest," She stated in an official sounding voice. She flipped the phone shut, rounded the corner and broke out into an all out run to Irvine's room; nearly knocking Seifer down in the process. He had more than likely shouted something after her but she didn't have the time to engage in a verbal spar with him right then. Every step, every contact her heels made with the tiled floor, echoed in her ears as she neared her destination.
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Quistis placed Irvine's Bismark on the top shelf before turning to Selphie. The smaller girl grunted as she hefted the nightstand up into the air and slowly carried it to the closet. Quistis pulled it from her grasp and raised it so that she could slide it on top of his desk.
"I hope he doesn't mind us moving his furniture in the closet," Quistis said as she looked around at his now barren room.
"Nida said to make as much room as possible," Selphie said as she tried to catch her breath. Quistis glanced around worriedly. "Its okay. This is Irvine we're dealing with, not someone as strung out as Xu or Seifer." Selphie shut her mouth immediately when she noticed Xu step into the room.
"Did I just hear my name and Seifer's together?" She raised a brow.
"No," Selphie and Quistis said in unison as the dragged Irvine's bed across the floor and pushed it into the opposite corner. Xu crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.
"Where's Fujin and Nida?" Xu asked when she realized they were two people short. A mischievous grin crossed her features.
"HERE!" Fujin answered rather loudly as she backed into the room, holding the front half of a baby crib. Xu turned around just in time to see them before Fujin backed into her with enough force to send her falling on the floor.
"Watch out," Xu complained as she stood up, rubbing her hip.
"MOVE," Fujin countered as she sat down her end and waited for Nida to do the same. He ignored the scene unfolding before him and pulled a few tools off of his belt. She watched as he methodically began setting up the crib without any problems.
"Excuse me?" Xu asked. Her tone sounded challenging. Selphie shot her a nervous glance and slid Irvine's guitar under his bed. It was obvious that she didn't want a confrontation between the two girls that were clearly at odds with one another.
"Please guys! We have a lot to do," Quistis interjected, drawing everyone's attention. Nida dropped his wrench at the sound of her voice and swore quietly as he dropped to his knees and reached under the bed to grab it. Everyone's attention turned to him for just a moment before they all focused on Quistis. She looked around quickly before she continued. "Okay," She rubbed her hands together. "Selphie, I want you to make his bed so we can put the small stuff on it. Fujin I want you to move his dresser over here, between the two beds. Xu, run to Selphie's room and grab the high chair." Xu looked at her skeptically. "Look, it'd be too odd to see Fujin carrying a high chair down the hall."
"Seeing anyone with a high chair in this place is odd," Selphie added. Nida, who'd been leaning on the side of his partially built bed was hanging off every word Quistis spoke.
"Guys," She rubbed her temples.
"We've got a little over an hour and almost nothing is done," Nida blurted out before he thought about it. Xu took a step back in surprise, bumping into Quistis.
"AGREED," Fujin nodded. "HIGH CHAIR," She pushed Xu back towards the door. She turned to Selphie who immediately began making Irvine's bed.
Quistis nodded to Fujin awkwardly and walked over to where Nida was putting the last rail up on his bed. "Excuse me," She said as she squeezed between him and Selphie. He stiffened up when she brushed up against him before he finally finished. Quistis leaned over the railing and pulled a sheet set over the mattress. He pulled at a latch and lowered the railing for her. "Thanks," She smiled at him. He managed a nervous grin before he turned away and began unpacking various gift boxes and stuffed animals on the bed.
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45 minutes later...
"Hang on man!" Zell pleaded as he tried desperately to keep Irvine in his room. Irvine crossed his arms as he waited for Zell to spill another ridiculous reason why he couldn't leave. Something wasn't right with this situation. "If you two leave...I'll be here all by myself!" Zell exclaimed as he jumped up from his seat on his bed. "Besides, little dude here likes me!"
"Yeah," Irvine turned his head to the door in annoyance.
"You're not still sore 'cause he said my name first are you?" Zell picked up Toby, careful not to bump his still painful injury. Irvine shook his head but still looked upset. "Look at it this way, he was mimicking you. For all he know's Zell means shut up." Irvine looked somewhat satisfied with Zell's story and gently pulled Toby from his arms. "Ah! Come on man!" Zell once again began pleading for Irvine to stay longer.
"We have to go," Irvine shot his friend a worried glance. "We'll drop by later on though." Zell was left gawking in his doorway.
"Well at least let little dude walk!" He cried out. Irvine cast him an odd glance, but then smiled and sat Toby unsteadily on his feet. 'All right! I just bought some time,' Zell thought to himself. Zell watched the baby stumble around for a few seconds before he ran across his room, jumped up on the desk, slid out the window, and landed on the shrub covered ledge just outside. He ran as best he could, considering a few of the shrubs had thorns on them and he was wearing shorts. When he finally reached Irvine's window, he grabbed the ledge with his less seriously injured arm and pulled himself up. "Yo guys! Irvine's on his way! I tried to stop him!" His voice came out a cross between a shout and a grunt. Immediately, everyone that was in the room hurried into the bathroom, leaving Zell where he lay halfway in the window, lying partly ontop of the dresser. Being careful not to bump the camcorder that was obviously put on the dresser to catch Irvine's initial reaction, the martial artist managed to pull himself inside. Luckily for Zell, he fell ontop of Irvine's bed narrowly missing the packages. Before he could get up however, the door slid open, revealing a very shocked and surprised Irvine. Zell sat rigid, not entirely sure what to do.
"What...." Irvine was unable to form a complete sentence. He just stood in complete shock, Toby peeking out from behind his right leg. "Wha..."
Deciding to act where his father could not, Toby ran out into the middle of the floor, fell and landed on his knees. He struggled to look around the altered room, his head obviously still a bit heavy for his neck; made him look almost like a little bobble head. Irvine slowly stepped forward, running his hand along the high chair's seat and examining the crib. He paused, staring at the wooden rails of the crib. He rubbed his thumb along one of the grain marks in the wood as he collected his thoughts.
Leaning on the door-frame of the entrance to the bathroom, Selphie could barely contain herself anymore. She hurried across the room, her little feet barely making contact with the flooring tiles. He didn't immediately react when she hopped up on his back so she could wrap her arms around his neck. He slowly turned her direction and gave her a reluctant smile.
"I knew you wouldn't ask for help, and we all wanted to show you that you had our support," She pecked him on the cheek and then impatiently waited for his response. When none came, she pulled leaned closer to try and see his face. "Irvy?" She tried to persuade him to respond with her best pleading voice.
He coughed a bit in response. His hands pulled at hers, which just happened to be pressing against his trachea. "I can't breathe Darlin'," He barely coughed.
"Oh," She answered a slight bit embarrassed as she let go and fell nearly a foot back to the ground. With his airway now free of any obstruction, Selphie couldn't figure out why he wasn't answering. Worried, she ducked under his arm and wedged herself between him and the crib. She stood with one of his arms gripping the rail to the crib on both sides of her. He started rubbing at the wood again as if he were expecting it to rub away into nothing; as if it weren't really there.
"Who all is we?" He was obviously referring to her previous statement. She looked up at her cowboy who'd taken an interest in the sheets on the mattress.
"The whole gang, and then some," Selphie answered. "You don't mind do you?" She looked up at him, her emerald eyes hanging on his upcoming reaction.
He swallowed before looking at her. She started to take a step back in surprise at the tears in his eyes, but the crib knocked her back towards him. He slid his hands along the polished rails until they pulled her into a rough hug. She could feel his heavy breaths on her neck as he tried to compose himself.
"Hey, uh guys," Zell's voice interrupted. "Toby's taking charge of things." Irvine released her and turned around quickly to see his son up in Zell's lap, reaching for a plush chicobo.
"How did you...When did you..." Irvine said as he sat down on the foot of his bed, tilting his hat back with his left hand.
"If you've applied for an instructor's license, you're going to have to be more articulate than that," Quistis interrupted as she stepped out of the bathroom, followed by; Xu, Fujin, Nida, Raijin, Ellone, and lastly, Edea. Irvine just stared at them all dumbfoundedly.
"We pulled this together in six hours," Selphie answered his unspoken questions. Irvine chewed at the inside of his gum as he looked around the room. "Not everyone could make it, but it was on very short notice." She cast a glance to Ellone who still looked a bit jet lagged. Toby interrupted as he climbed up in his father's lap, still clutching the oversized chicobo by it's tail feathers. Irvine laughed at the sight of the little boy who was dwarfed by the toy nearly twice his size. Out of the corner of his eye, Irvine noticed that Edea was beginning to look as if she wanted to snatch Toby away. He carefully placed Toby on the floor, and watched as he tried to set the oversized plush bird upright.
"Told ya he'd like it. Ya know," Raijin bellowed as he playfully pushed Fujin. She rolled her eyes as she cast her attention to the boy on the floor.
"Hey yo!" Zell called out to get everyone's attention. "Who's going first?"
"I guess you can if you want," Selphie answered as she hopped up onto the bed and sat down rather quickly next to Irvine. If it were possible, she looked nearly as excited as Toby did with his chicobo. Irvine, as well as everyone else in the room turned to Zell.
"I need my lovely assistant to help me," Zell was obviously trying to get Fujin to come over but she just crossed her arms and pretended to look for who he was referring to. "Come on Fuu." She shot him a warning glance for using her nickname but still walked over to where he sat and leaned against the wall. "We had a little disagreement as to what to get," He cast Fujin a cautious glance. "So we got two things." With that statement, Fujin swatted him upside the back of his head. He clenched his eyes at the impact, "Okay okay! Fujin bought both things because I spent all my money paying the students to bring me hot-dogs while I was confined to my room." Irvine, as well as most of the people there laughed at the thought. "So anyway, here you go." Zell handed two packages to Irvine and then shot Fujin a quick look. She just shook her head and slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor, knees pulled up to her chest.
Irvine pulled open the first package to find a toy truck that Toby quickly relieved him of. They all watched in amusement as the little boy hurried across the room to sit the truck down before returning to his father's side and trying to peak at the other gift. Nida, who was knelt beside the bed, just a few inches from Irvine, hefted Toby up his lap so he could see. When Irvine removed the lid off of the second package, he paused and stared at Toby and Selphie who were both eyeing the object inside. He pulled the object out as slow as possible just to irritate them.
Selphie's jaw dropped. "That's a trabian blanket!" She reached out a hand to feel the soft, fuzzy texture of the material. Toby reached out to touch it as well. "Fujin! Where did you find this?"
"SPECIALTY STORE," Fujin answered. "LAST ONE." Selphie slumped her shoulders at the last statement but quickly brightened up when Irvine let her hold it.
"I think this is from Chloe," Quistis handed Irvine a small bag. Just judging the neatness and color coordination on the bag and the paper stuffed in the top, it was obvious the library girl had sent it. He slowly looked inside, almost regretting to have to ruin the near perfectness of her gift bag. Inside, he found three sippy cups and a pacifier; all in a neat roll like she'd glued them in place. He pulled each of them out and sat them by his side. Toby ignored the cups, but picked up the pacifier as he leaned back against Nida's chest.
"Here you go dear," Edea said. "Cid wanted to be here, but with Squall sidelined and most of Garden's higher ranking personnel here, someone had to keep things in check."
Irvine smiled, "Thanks Matron." They all watched as he pulled out one outfit after another. Each one apparently hand made, and each one well suited for the upcoming fall and winter weather. "Did ya make these?" He asked as he examined the five outfits. She nodded as she inspected her own handiwork. "In six hours?"
"My child no," Edea laughed. "Together, those took me about five and a half hours. You seem to have forgotten that when I had seven children running around my house, I had to make their clothes as well as keep an eye on them...believe me, it was no easy task." She cast Zell a quick glance.
"What!? I wasn't a problem child!" Zell defended himself.
"No," Ellone agreed. "You just tried to eat everything that you shouldn't have." Zell looked to Edea for conformation of Ellone's claim and then looked over the unopened gifts.
"Can we change the subject please?" He offered as he grabbed a random gift.
"That one's mine," Xu stated as Irvine looked at the bright yellow paper and the pink bow. "I made the mistake of asking Selphie to wrap it while I waited for you to go to Zell's room." Irvine's laughter nearly came out as a snort causing Selphie to cross her arms.
He noticed her annoyance and pretended to analyze the package. "I think its right purdy," He complimented to make Selphie happy. While he dug his way through the layers upon layers of yellow paper, Selphie pulled Toby out of Nida's lap and into her own. She let him play with one of the buckles on her dress as she watched Irvine pull out two bibs and a package of diapers. "Hey little man, looks like Xu's takin' care of ya," He got his son's attention long enough to show him the diapers and then watch him hide his face in Selphie's neck.
"Irvine Kinneas!" Selphie swatted at her boyfriend. He cast her his best innocent look and ducked as if she were going to swing again. After a moment, Selphie changed the subject, "Here, get that one. I think its from Mitchell right."
Irvine complied and opened the bag. "Whoa! Toby, come here and look at this," Irvine definitely had the boy's attention. Selphie and Nida both reached out to steady him as he tried to step off of her lap and walk across the bed. Irvine laughed as Toby hesitantly looked in the bag, his hazel-blue eyes as wide as they could be. "What is that?" Irvine asked as Toby looked up at him and then back in the bag. Of course Toby didn't answer with any clearly understandable words, but he did reach inside and pull out a few blocks. Selphie leaned foreword and gently placed him on the floor while Irvine handed him the rest of his blocks, one at a time, until his hands were full and he wound up dropping them. Toby watched as they scattered across the floor and then looked up at Irvine with his hand over his mouth. "Its okay pick 'em up."
"All right man," Zell was beaming. "While you open this next one, I want you to tell me what its like to be the only guy to get his very own baby shower." Zell's face held an expression that in its own was hilarious because it looked forced and serious.
Irvine thought about what he'd said as he held the next gift. "Maybe you should open it," He pushed it towards Selphie who pushed it back.
"No! Its your shower not mine," She cast Zell her best angry face and settled back down next to Irvine. She watched as he opened Quistis' gift. He pulled out a small blanket and stopped at the diapers.
'Should I pull them out, or leave them hidden. Maybe for now I should just leave them be,' Irvine decided.
Quistis watched as he tried to decide what to do and laughed. "Just leave them. I'd hate to be the indirect cause of startling him out of his mood anyway." Irvine looked from Quistis to Toby, who was busy loading the back of his truck up with blocks. When the baby realized everyone was looking up at him, he paused and then burst out laughing before he continued playing.
"Aw," All the girls, with the exception of Fujin said.
"What's the matter Fuu?" Zell asked as he brushed her platinum hair from her eyes and looked at her face. She shook her head and continued to watch the baby. "Oh that's right, you were ardently against getting that truck weren't you?" He teased.
"SILENCE!" She said sternly.
"Yup," Zell stopped talking immediately and even placed his hands in his lap to keep from touching her. Left on the bed where the gifts had previously been were a few teethers, some socks, and a small pair of shoes.
"I didn't get a chance to wrap them. I barely got here before you did," Ellone said quietly.
"That's fine," Irvine said as he shifted through them. His hand came to rest on a rectangular box no larger than his SeeD protocol manual. He picked it up and looked around curiously. His eyes stopped on Selphie, but she shook her head.
"I got the high chair and the small stuffed animal in it," She answered his unspoken question. "Nida provided the crib, and Rinoa the sheets in it. She said that they might as well be from Squall considering he said he'd believe you had a kid when he saw it or it ran up and grabbed his leg." Irvine looked around the room, box still in his hand.
"OPEN," Fujin prompted him. Irvine shot her a skeptical look, but did as he was told. Inside, he found a pacifier, thermometer, aspirin, teething gel, and a note. He shut the lid, deciding to wait until later to read the note, and turned to everyone.
"I really don't know what to say guys. I appreciate this," He looked down at the floor and then over to where Toby was still playing in his own little world. "I woulda never asked for this kinda help." With that, Edea hurried over to him and wrapped him in a gentle hug.
~*~*~*~
Later that night, after Toby had finally drifted off to sleep, Irvine pulled out the box, and the note it contained. He unfolded it and laid down on his bed to read it.
Cowboy,
Let's first establish that I in no way consider us friends. Possibly comrades one day in a very distant future, but that will be the extent of it. It was brought to my attention that you're a parent...big surprise...and that you needed assistance obtaining the resources to properly care for your son. If I know your flamboyant friends as well as I believe I do, then I'm sure that they've neglected to supply you with a few certain necessities. You may obtain them at my storage locker in the training hall. My combination is 7-11-3. If I catch you in this locker any time other than tomorrow, I'll personally see to it that you forfeit the fingers used to turn the lock's dial. Other than that, don't let the kid stay up too late. The conclusion of this letter will conclude all aid that I will supply you with from here on out.
Seifer
Irvine stared at the letter for a moment before he folded it up and put it back in the box. 'Seifer Almasy, who woulda thought,' Irvine mused before he quietly walked over to Toby's crib and watched him sleep. The events of the day were still playing through his mind as he pulled the light quilt up to Toby's shoulders and slipped in bed himself.
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Son of Sephiroth - The Nida incident you referred to, is something I made up for my series of stories. It will more than likely be referred to or relived in one of my future stories. There's going to be a story that concerns him......he was neglected in the game, and now I want to fix it.
Ameli Stoncius - Thanks for the review and all your encouraging words. I'm sorry to have to say that you can't have Toby! He's the only character I own! Do you want to strip that away from me! (j/k)
shootinstar - Sorry it took so long. Hopefully the next one will be faster.
Verdanii - Glad you like it.
Dark Topaz - Thanx.
aratcorien - I love writing about Nida. He's so skittish in my interpretations of him. Anyway, I tried to make it go smoothly......I don't know.
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Okay, there's chapter 5. Hopefully Chapter 6 will be up soon. In the mean time, please review. It would make me really really happy.
Author's note - What can I say? This chapter wasn't really that easy to write. Parts were fun, but definitely not all of it. Hope it turned out okay.
Operation Cowboy
Xu strided slowly down the hallway, making sure to keep her pace relaxed yet steadfast. Clad solely in black, she pulled her hair up into a tight bun on top of her head. As she walked past Zell's dorm room, she saw Irvine standing with his back to her. Zell had accomplished the first part of his job. Now it would be up to Selphie to get them in. Keeping her gaze straight ahead, she reached for her cell phone on her hip and flipped it open. Pressing call to ring a previously entered number, she raised it to her ear.
"Cowboy's in the bird's nest," She stated in an official sounding voice. She flipped the phone shut, rounded the corner and broke out into an all out run to Irvine's room; nearly knocking Seifer down in the process. He had more than likely shouted something after her but she didn't have the time to engage in a verbal spar with him right then. Every step, every contact her heels made with the tiled floor, echoed in her ears as she neared her destination.
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Quistis placed Irvine's Bismark on the top shelf before turning to Selphie. The smaller girl grunted as she hefted the nightstand up into the air and slowly carried it to the closet. Quistis pulled it from her grasp and raised it so that she could slide it on top of his desk.
"I hope he doesn't mind us moving his furniture in the closet," Quistis said as she looked around at his now barren room.
"Nida said to make as much room as possible," Selphie said as she tried to catch her breath. Quistis glanced around worriedly. "Its okay. This is Irvine we're dealing with, not someone as strung out as Xu or Seifer." Selphie shut her mouth immediately when she noticed Xu step into the room.
"Did I just hear my name and Seifer's together?" She raised a brow.
"No," Selphie and Quistis said in unison as the dragged Irvine's bed across the floor and pushed it into the opposite corner. Xu crossed her arms and rolled her eyes.
"Where's Fujin and Nida?" Xu asked when she realized they were two people short. A mischievous grin crossed her features.
"HERE!" Fujin answered rather loudly as she backed into the room, holding the front half of a baby crib. Xu turned around just in time to see them before Fujin backed into her with enough force to send her falling on the floor.
"Watch out," Xu complained as she stood up, rubbing her hip.
"MOVE," Fujin countered as she sat down her end and waited for Nida to do the same. He ignored the scene unfolding before him and pulled a few tools off of his belt. She watched as he methodically began setting up the crib without any problems.
"Excuse me?" Xu asked. Her tone sounded challenging. Selphie shot her a nervous glance and slid Irvine's guitar under his bed. It was obvious that she didn't want a confrontation between the two girls that were clearly at odds with one another.
"Please guys! We have a lot to do," Quistis interjected, drawing everyone's attention. Nida dropped his wrench at the sound of her voice and swore quietly as he dropped to his knees and reached under the bed to grab it. Everyone's attention turned to him for just a moment before they all focused on Quistis. She looked around quickly before she continued. "Okay," She rubbed her hands together. "Selphie, I want you to make his bed so we can put the small stuff on it. Fujin I want you to move his dresser over here, between the two beds. Xu, run to Selphie's room and grab the high chair." Xu looked at her skeptically. "Look, it'd be too odd to see Fujin carrying a high chair down the hall."
"Seeing anyone with a high chair in this place is odd," Selphie added. Nida, who'd been leaning on the side of his partially built bed was hanging off every word Quistis spoke.
"Guys," She rubbed her temples.
"We've got a little over an hour and almost nothing is done," Nida blurted out before he thought about it. Xu took a step back in surprise, bumping into Quistis.
"AGREED," Fujin nodded. "HIGH CHAIR," She pushed Xu back towards the door. She turned to Selphie who immediately began making Irvine's bed.
Quistis nodded to Fujin awkwardly and walked over to where Nida was putting the last rail up on his bed. "Excuse me," She said as she squeezed between him and Selphie. He stiffened up when she brushed up against him before he finally finished. Quistis leaned over the railing and pulled a sheet set over the mattress. He pulled at a latch and lowered the railing for her. "Thanks," She smiled at him. He managed a nervous grin before he turned away and began unpacking various gift boxes and stuffed animals on the bed.
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45 minutes later...
"Hang on man!" Zell pleaded as he tried desperately to keep Irvine in his room. Irvine crossed his arms as he waited for Zell to spill another ridiculous reason why he couldn't leave. Something wasn't right with this situation. "If you two leave...I'll be here all by myself!" Zell exclaimed as he jumped up from his seat on his bed. "Besides, little dude here likes me!"
"Yeah," Irvine turned his head to the door in annoyance.
"You're not still sore 'cause he said my name first are you?" Zell picked up Toby, careful not to bump his still painful injury. Irvine shook his head but still looked upset. "Look at it this way, he was mimicking you. For all he know's Zell means shut up." Irvine looked somewhat satisfied with Zell's story and gently pulled Toby from his arms. "Ah! Come on man!" Zell once again began pleading for Irvine to stay longer.
"We have to go," Irvine shot his friend a worried glance. "We'll drop by later on though." Zell was left gawking in his doorway.
"Well at least let little dude walk!" He cried out. Irvine cast him an odd glance, but then smiled and sat Toby unsteadily on his feet. 'All right! I just bought some time,' Zell thought to himself. Zell watched the baby stumble around for a few seconds before he ran across his room, jumped up on the desk, slid out the window, and landed on the shrub covered ledge just outside. He ran as best he could, considering a few of the shrubs had thorns on them and he was wearing shorts. When he finally reached Irvine's window, he grabbed the ledge with his less seriously injured arm and pulled himself up. "Yo guys! Irvine's on his way! I tried to stop him!" His voice came out a cross between a shout and a grunt. Immediately, everyone that was in the room hurried into the bathroom, leaving Zell where he lay halfway in the window, lying partly ontop of the dresser. Being careful not to bump the camcorder that was obviously put on the dresser to catch Irvine's initial reaction, the martial artist managed to pull himself inside. Luckily for Zell, he fell ontop of Irvine's bed narrowly missing the packages. Before he could get up however, the door slid open, revealing a very shocked and surprised Irvine. Zell sat rigid, not entirely sure what to do.
"What...." Irvine was unable to form a complete sentence. He just stood in complete shock, Toby peeking out from behind his right leg. "Wha..."
Deciding to act where his father could not, Toby ran out into the middle of the floor, fell and landed on his knees. He struggled to look around the altered room, his head obviously still a bit heavy for his neck; made him look almost like a little bobble head. Irvine slowly stepped forward, running his hand along the high chair's seat and examining the crib. He paused, staring at the wooden rails of the crib. He rubbed his thumb along one of the grain marks in the wood as he collected his thoughts.
Leaning on the door-frame of the entrance to the bathroom, Selphie could barely contain herself anymore. She hurried across the room, her little feet barely making contact with the flooring tiles. He didn't immediately react when she hopped up on his back so she could wrap her arms around his neck. He slowly turned her direction and gave her a reluctant smile.
"I knew you wouldn't ask for help, and we all wanted to show you that you had our support," She pecked him on the cheek and then impatiently waited for his response. When none came, she pulled leaned closer to try and see his face. "Irvy?" She tried to persuade him to respond with her best pleading voice.
He coughed a bit in response. His hands pulled at hers, which just happened to be pressing against his trachea. "I can't breathe Darlin'," He barely coughed.
"Oh," She answered a slight bit embarrassed as she let go and fell nearly a foot back to the ground. With his airway now free of any obstruction, Selphie couldn't figure out why he wasn't answering. Worried, she ducked under his arm and wedged herself between him and the crib. She stood with one of his arms gripping the rail to the crib on both sides of her. He started rubbing at the wood again as if he were expecting it to rub away into nothing; as if it weren't really there.
"Who all is we?" He was obviously referring to her previous statement. She looked up at her cowboy who'd taken an interest in the sheets on the mattress.
"The whole gang, and then some," Selphie answered. "You don't mind do you?" She looked up at him, her emerald eyes hanging on his upcoming reaction.
He swallowed before looking at her. She started to take a step back in surprise at the tears in his eyes, but the crib knocked her back towards him. He slid his hands along the polished rails until they pulled her into a rough hug. She could feel his heavy breaths on her neck as he tried to compose himself.
"Hey, uh guys," Zell's voice interrupted. "Toby's taking charge of things." Irvine released her and turned around quickly to see his son up in Zell's lap, reaching for a plush chicobo.
"How did you...When did you..." Irvine said as he sat down on the foot of his bed, tilting his hat back with his left hand.
"If you've applied for an instructor's license, you're going to have to be more articulate than that," Quistis interrupted as she stepped out of the bathroom, followed by; Xu, Fujin, Nida, Raijin, Ellone, and lastly, Edea. Irvine just stared at them all dumbfoundedly.
"We pulled this together in six hours," Selphie answered his unspoken questions. Irvine chewed at the inside of his gum as he looked around the room. "Not everyone could make it, but it was on very short notice." She cast a glance to Ellone who still looked a bit jet lagged. Toby interrupted as he climbed up in his father's lap, still clutching the oversized chicobo by it's tail feathers. Irvine laughed at the sight of the little boy who was dwarfed by the toy nearly twice his size. Out of the corner of his eye, Irvine noticed that Edea was beginning to look as if she wanted to snatch Toby away. He carefully placed Toby on the floor, and watched as he tried to set the oversized plush bird upright.
"Told ya he'd like it. Ya know," Raijin bellowed as he playfully pushed Fujin. She rolled her eyes as she cast her attention to the boy on the floor.
"Hey yo!" Zell called out to get everyone's attention. "Who's going first?"
"I guess you can if you want," Selphie answered as she hopped up onto the bed and sat down rather quickly next to Irvine. If it were possible, she looked nearly as excited as Toby did with his chicobo. Irvine, as well as everyone else in the room turned to Zell.
"I need my lovely assistant to help me," Zell was obviously trying to get Fujin to come over but she just crossed her arms and pretended to look for who he was referring to. "Come on Fuu." She shot him a warning glance for using her nickname but still walked over to where he sat and leaned against the wall. "We had a little disagreement as to what to get," He cast Fujin a cautious glance. "So we got two things." With that statement, Fujin swatted him upside the back of his head. He clenched his eyes at the impact, "Okay okay! Fujin bought both things because I spent all my money paying the students to bring me hot-dogs while I was confined to my room." Irvine, as well as most of the people there laughed at the thought. "So anyway, here you go." Zell handed two packages to Irvine and then shot Fujin a quick look. She just shook her head and slid down the wall until she was sitting on the floor, knees pulled up to her chest.
Irvine pulled open the first package to find a toy truck that Toby quickly relieved him of. They all watched in amusement as the little boy hurried across the room to sit the truck down before returning to his father's side and trying to peak at the other gift. Nida, who was knelt beside the bed, just a few inches from Irvine, hefted Toby up his lap so he could see. When Irvine removed the lid off of the second package, he paused and stared at Toby and Selphie who were both eyeing the object inside. He pulled the object out as slow as possible just to irritate them.
Selphie's jaw dropped. "That's a trabian blanket!" She reached out a hand to feel the soft, fuzzy texture of the material. Toby reached out to touch it as well. "Fujin! Where did you find this?"
"SPECIALTY STORE," Fujin answered. "LAST ONE." Selphie slumped her shoulders at the last statement but quickly brightened up when Irvine let her hold it.
"I think this is from Chloe," Quistis handed Irvine a small bag. Just judging the neatness and color coordination on the bag and the paper stuffed in the top, it was obvious the library girl had sent it. He slowly looked inside, almost regretting to have to ruin the near perfectness of her gift bag. Inside, he found three sippy cups and a pacifier; all in a neat roll like she'd glued them in place. He pulled each of them out and sat them by his side. Toby ignored the cups, but picked up the pacifier as he leaned back against Nida's chest.
"Here you go dear," Edea said. "Cid wanted to be here, but with Squall sidelined and most of Garden's higher ranking personnel here, someone had to keep things in check."
Irvine smiled, "Thanks Matron." They all watched as he pulled out one outfit after another. Each one apparently hand made, and each one well suited for the upcoming fall and winter weather. "Did ya make these?" He asked as he examined the five outfits. She nodded as she inspected her own handiwork. "In six hours?"
"My child no," Edea laughed. "Together, those took me about five and a half hours. You seem to have forgotten that when I had seven children running around my house, I had to make their clothes as well as keep an eye on them...believe me, it was no easy task." She cast Zell a quick glance.
"What!? I wasn't a problem child!" Zell defended himself.
"No," Ellone agreed. "You just tried to eat everything that you shouldn't have." Zell looked to Edea for conformation of Ellone's claim and then looked over the unopened gifts.
"Can we change the subject please?" He offered as he grabbed a random gift.
"That one's mine," Xu stated as Irvine looked at the bright yellow paper and the pink bow. "I made the mistake of asking Selphie to wrap it while I waited for you to go to Zell's room." Irvine's laughter nearly came out as a snort causing Selphie to cross her arms.
He noticed her annoyance and pretended to analyze the package. "I think its right purdy," He complimented to make Selphie happy. While he dug his way through the layers upon layers of yellow paper, Selphie pulled Toby out of Nida's lap and into her own. She let him play with one of the buckles on her dress as she watched Irvine pull out two bibs and a package of diapers. "Hey little man, looks like Xu's takin' care of ya," He got his son's attention long enough to show him the diapers and then watch him hide his face in Selphie's neck.
"Irvine Kinneas!" Selphie swatted at her boyfriend. He cast her his best innocent look and ducked as if she were going to swing again. After a moment, Selphie changed the subject, "Here, get that one. I think its from Mitchell right."
Irvine complied and opened the bag. "Whoa! Toby, come here and look at this," Irvine definitely had the boy's attention. Selphie and Nida both reached out to steady him as he tried to step off of her lap and walk across the bed. Irvine laughed as Toby hesitantly looked in the bag, his hazel-blue eyes as wide as they could be. "What is that?" Irvine asked as Toby looked up at him and then back in the bag. Of course Toby didn't answer with any clearly understandable words, but he did reach inside and pull out a few blocks. Selphie leaned foreword and gently placed him on the floor while Irvine handed him the rest of his blocks, one at a time, until his hands were full and he wound up dropping them. Toby watched as they scattered across the floor and then looked up at Irvine with his hand over his mouth. "Its okay pick 'em up."
"All right man," Zell was beaming. "While you open this next one, I want you to tell me what its like to be the only guy to get his very own baby shower." Zell's face held an expression that in its own was hilarious because it looked forced and serious.
Irvine thought about what he'd said as he held the next gift. "Maybe you should open it," He pushed it towards Selphie who pushed it back.
"No! Its your shower not mine," She cast Zell her best angry face and settled back down next to Irvine. She watched as he opened Quistis' gift. He pulled out a small blanket and stopped at the diapers.
'Should I pull them out, or leave them hidden. Maybe for now I should just leave them be,' Irvine decided.
Quistis watched as he tried to decide what to do and laughed. "Just leave them. I'd hate to be the indirect cause of startling him out of his mood anyway." Irvine looked from Quistis to Toby, who was busy loading the back of his truck up with blocks. When the baby realized everyone was looking up at him, he paused and then burst out laughing before he continued playing.
"Aw," All the girls, with the exception of Fujin said.
"What's the matter Fuu?" Zell asked as he brushed her platinum hair from her eyes and looked at her face. She shook her head and continued to watch the baby. "Oh that's right, you were ardently against getting that truck weren't you?" He teased.
"SILENCE!" She said sternly.
"Yup," Zell stopped talking immediately and even placed his hands in his lap to keep from touching her. Left on the bed where the gifts had previously been were a few teethers, some socks, and a small pair of shoes.
"I didn't get a chance to wrap them. I barely got here before you did," Ellone said quietly.
"That's fine," Irvine said as he shifted through them. His hand came to rest on a rectangular box no larger than his SeeD protocol manual. He picked it up and looked around curiously. His eyes stopped on Selphie, but she shook her head.
"I got the high chair and the small stuffed animal in it," She answered his unspoken question. "Nida provided the crib, and Rinoa the sheets in it. She said that they might as well be from Squall considering he said he'd believe you had a kid when he saw it or it ran up and grabbed his leg." Irvine looked around the room, box still in his hand.
"OPEN," Fujin prompted him. Irvine shot her a skeptical look, but did as he was told. Inside, he found a pacifier, thermometer, aspirin, teething gel, and a note. He shut the lid, deciding to wait until later to read the note, and turned to everyone.
"I really don't know what to say guys. I appreciate this," He looked down at the floor and then over to where Toby was still playing in his own little world. "I woulda never asked for this kinda help." With that, Edea hurried over to him and wrapped him in a gentle hug.
~*~*~*~
Later that night, after Toby had finally drifted off to sleep, Irvine pulled out the box, and the note it contained. He unfolded it and laid down on his bed to read it.
Cowboy,
Let's first establish that I in no way consider us friends. Possibly comrades one day in a very distant future, but that will be the extent of it. It was brought to my attention that you're a parent...big surprise...and that you needed assistance obtaining the resources to properly care for your son. If I know your flamboyant friends as well as I believe I do, then I'm sure that they've neglected to supply you with a few certain necessities. You may obtain them at my storage locker in the training hall. My combination is 7-11-3. If I catch you in this locker any time other than tomorrow, I'll personally see to it that you forfeit the fingers used to turn the lock's dial. Other than that, don't let the kid stay up too late. The conclusion of this letter will conclude all aid that I will supply you with from here on out.
Seifer
Irvine stared at the letter for a moment before he folded it up and put it back in the box. 'Seifer Almasy, who woulda thought,' Irvine mused before he quietly walked over to Toby's crib and watched him sleep. The events of the day were still playing through his mind as he pulled the light quilt up to Toby's shoulders and slipped in bed himself.
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Son of Sephiroth - The Nida incident you referred to, is something I made up for my series of stories. It will more than likely be referred to or relived in one of my future stories. There's going to be a story that concerns him......he was neglected in the game, and now I want to fix it.
Ameli Stoncius - Thanks for the review and all your encouraging words. I'm sorry to have to say that you can't have Toby! He's the only character I own! Do you want to strip that away from me! (j/k)
shootinstar - Sorry it took so long. Hopefully the next one will be faster.
Verdanii - Glad you like it.
Dark Topaz - Thanx.
aratcorien - I love writing about Nida. He's so skittish in my interpretations of him. Anyway, I tried to make it go smoothly......I don't know.
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Okay, there's chapter 5. Hopefully Chapter 6 will be up soon. In the mean time, please review. It would make me really really happy.
