Disclaimer - This is getting really really really really really old. Bad thing is I just realized today that I have to have these on all of my other stories that I haven't even uploaded yet. *groans* Oh well here it goes: Final Fantasy VIII and all of its characters and concepts did not in any way come out of my mind.

Author notes:

"..." spoken words

'...' thoughts

~*~*~*~ - change in time

_____ - change in pov

Under Scrutiny

He watched her as she once again checked his son's vitals. She handled the situation with such a masterous serenity that it almost made him ill. How could she stay so calm?

'Easy,' Irvine thought as she looked over her clipboard. 'She wasn't there.'

"Would you please sit down Irvine," Her unexpected voice startled him. "You've been looming over me for the past half hour." He nervously took a seat in a well worn arm chair against the wall. She crossed her arms and watched as he rubbed his temples anxiously. She took a seat next to him as she glanced at her watch. "I want to keep him a little longer for observation." Irvine looked up at the statement; a mixture of grief and relief contorted his features.

"What's wrong with him?" He asked in an exhausted tone.

"It appears to have been just a febrile seizure. It was more than likely caused by the high fever he had had....he should be just fine," Kadowaki touched his arm in reassurance.

"A seizure?" Irvine raised an eyebrow. "I'm not stupid. Ever'body knows those are bad."

Doctor Kadowaki smiled warmly. "Most seizures are bad news, and I admit his wasn't a good thing, but it appears to have been harmless...just trust me on this."

Irvine nodded slowly as he looked at the bed where his son lay sleeping. "Will it happen again?"

"It could. Only about three percent of children have febrile seizures, and having one makes you more susceptible to having others." Dr. Kadowaki stood up. "Get some rest. He'll be fine here with me."

Irvine shook his head. "I'm not leavin'."

"You need your rest. Isn't that exam tomorrow?" She asked.

"Yeah," He frowned as he suddenly remembered. "But I'm still not goin' anywhere."

"Irvine," She groaned as she trudged into her office. "It's well past one and you have an important day ahead of you. I think it would be in your best interest, as well as Toby's if you went on and got some rest." She poured a cup of coffee. "He'll be fine here with me." She stepped back into the room and let her shoulders slump in defeat. Irvine had fallen asleep, left leg kicked up over the arm of the chair and head resting against the filing cabinet to his right. She quietly went to her phone and dialed a well-known number. "Lee, I apologize for calling so late. It appears that I have your examinee in my infirmary. There's been a bit of a family emergency."

~*~*~*~

Irvine awakened in an abrupt manner a few hours earlier than he would've liked. Doctor Kadowaki looked down at where he'd fallen to the floor. Irvine groaned as he pulled himself into a sitting position.

"I tried to wake you up," She stated as she sat on the corner of her desk. Irvine didn't immediately answer; he just rubbed his weary looking eyes as he stood up. "You need to get to the second floor, room 211 I believe." Irvine turned quickly on his heel and looked at the clock mounted on the wall. "You've only got fifteen minutes." At first he didn't understand what she was talking about, and then he remembered his exam and the events of the night before. He hurried over to where Toby was still asleep and started to sit down. She caught his arm and nodded towards the door. "I promise you he's going to be fine." Irvine looked back at the small sleeping form with reluctance. "If I find anything out of the ordinary I'll call the room and let you know. Now go take that exam. You've worked to hard not to go...besides, weren't you originally doing it so you would be able to be with him."

"How did you...?" Irvine began as he ignored the opening of the door behind him.

She smiled. "Quistis likes to socialize. She's human just like the rest of us here. Isn't that right Mr. Roe," Kadowaki smiled as she squeezed Irvine's arm. Irvine turned quickly to see Nida who froze at the sound of his name. "Go on Irvine," She diverted her attention to her newest patient. "I believe its about time for your next physical and immunizations isn't it?" Irvine quietly left the room and started towards the elevator. Once inside he looked himself over and he looked worn and battered. He gingerly rubbed a light bruise that he'd earned the day before in the training center. He was pretty sure Zell came out of the insanely unconventional grat confrontation unscathed; although it was hard to tell with nearly half of his body still covered in bruises and bandages. Squall hadn't fared so well. Irvine wondered how noticeable his bruises would be the next day. He also secretly wondered if Rinoa was going to come after him for possibly putting Squall in harm's way. Irvine sighed. Things were changing so much. Squall had been blinded at his SeeD field exam, he brought Toby back with him the day after his inauguration ball, Seifer was a SeeD, and now he had to try and pass the instructor's exam. Part of him yearned for some sense of normality and consistency. He was never welcome to change; especially when it affected many things at once. Irvine tucked in the tattered and wrinkled end of his A-shirt. Not that it really made him look that much more presentable to the instructor's board members; he just hoped that it might at least look like he tried to clean up. He laughed inwardly at himself. How was he going to explain why he looked like he'd just woken up after being knocked out in a bar fight. The doors in front of him slid open silently and he stepped out. He walked down the hall and realized with some satisfaction that he'd be in Quistis' classroom.

'At least I'll be in a familiar setting,' He tried to reassure himself. The door slid open and he stepped inside hesitantly to see two members of the board conversing over what looked like coffee and bagels. Both instructors turned to him. The male motioned for him to sit down.

"Rough night Mr. Kinneas," The female instructor said as she stood up and stalked to the front of the classroom. Irvine watched her with a little unease.

"Yeah actually," His mind raced as he tried to figure out a way to explain it to her.

"I don't need to hear your reasons for being tardy and unacceptably presented," She turned to the male. "This is Ramon Morris. An english professor from Trabia Garden. He will be handing out the exams as well as explaining them. I am Doctor Jo Lee Blaire; field expert, martial arts and self defense instructor. I'll be overseeing your exam." She sat down in Quistis' chair and kicked her feet up on the desk. Mr. Morris handed Irvine a packet of papers.

"You are to fill out the first page with your personal information," He flipped the page. "On the second fill out which form of the test you've been presented with and begin with the identification portion of the exam. It is located in the first sections of your testing booklet." He presented Irvine with the small book. "You have three hours to complete two-hundred and seventy-four multiple choice questions, twenty six short answers, and one essay of your choosing. Follow the directions in the booklet. If you have any questions please say so now." Irvine shook his head so the man continued. "If you have any regarding the format of the exam please bring it to the attention of Dr. Blaire rather than dwell on it, for I'm sure you've realized you haven't much time to be making errors. You may start now." Irvine picked up the pencil provided to him and looked at the first question. Dr. Morris walked past Dr. Blaire. "Think he'll be all right?"

"We'll see now won't we," She answered as she continued to watch Irvine.

________________________________________________________________________

"So how's he doing?" Nida asked as Dr. Kadowaki checked his weight. "I talked to Mitchell this morning and he was worried."

"One hundred-fifty-eight," Dr. Kadowaki said to herself. "He appears to be doing much better. But that's all I can tell you so stop trying to get me to tell more."

"He wasn't having a seizure was he?" Nida asked as Kadowaki wrote down his information. She looked at him in a perturbed fashion and pushed him back against the wall with a stern hand.

"Stand up straight and look straight ahead," She then placed her clipboard on top of his head and read the chart with a little difficulty. "Five-foot ten and a half inches. You kids are starting to get too tall," She marked down his height and then motioned for him to sit down. "I can't reveal any information so stop asking about it. Take off your jacket." Nida did as he was told and earned an unsure glance from the Doctor. "What are these for?"

Nida looked at where she was fingering one of his wrapped wrists. "I was training this morning. I like to work on my balance techniques whenever I have the chance." She gave him a skeptical look. "I do," He defended himself. "Even Zell wraps his wrists whenever he balance trains." Satisfied with his answer, she wiped down an area of skin on his arm and pulled out a needle.

~*~*~*~

Irvine rested his head on the palm of his left hand as he reread the question for the fourth time. Things weren't going nearly as well as he'd wished they could. In all honesty, things were going quite disastrous. He could barely stay awake much less concentrate. His mind was still in the infirmary, and he could get nothing done. He let his pencil fall to the desk in exasperation and rested his head in his hands. He had to get his act together. He was failing the exam. Through the hair that had fallen in his face, he looked over to the computer screen to his left. Balamb Garden's emblem was the only thing visible, but it was still a harsh reminder of what he couldn't seem to accomplish. He was beyond stressed and wanted nothing more than to leave. He had to get out of that forsaken room. He cast a quick glance up to Dr. Blaire who was staring back at him skeptically.

"A problem Mr. Kinneas?" She asked.

He remained silent and continued to concentrate on the material before him. Things weren't going well at all. He hastily picked up the pencil and guessed at the answer. He then moved on to the next question; the essay.

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aratcorien - Yes Toby was seizuring. And at least Irvine wasn't the only one freaked out.... not that I'm saying that he should've had company...nevermind. lol Selphie wasn't there because Selphie wasn't there. Boy that sentence said a lot huh. She, as you will find out in the next chapter, was away from Garden when it happened.

Ameli Stoncius - Excuse me? Do you honestly think that you're the only author allowed to ruin the lives of your characters? *snubs nose* It still angers me to think that you did what you did. How could you!? At least I let Irvine's kid live......can't say the same for your Squall's...*tears* You know I won't let you forget that.

Verdanii - baby boy is alive and apparently well...

Dark Topaz - what made no sense? Was it something in the last chapter?

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Here's chapter twelve...although I really hope you guys realized what it was without me having to explain it. With any luck the next one should be up before too long. Also....are you guys watching for hints? Not all of them relate to this story, but they are in there....

Please read and review. It really makes my day and it would really make Toby's too. Come on....the kid's laid up in a hospital bed.