Note: Hi everyone! HEY! Where did all my fans go? What happened to them? Oh well at least I still got many reviews thank you for all those who did! I am definitely almost finished this story. This is actually the longest story I have had to write! x_x Seriously~ out of all my stories, this is the longest chapter EVER! Well, anyways back to Squall, Laguna, Ian and Rinoa story! Yes it's more like that… Last time, we had Rinoa go home to an empty crib and Laguna telling his side of the story on why he's been distant from Squall and Ian *gasp* possibly kidnapping his own child! What now???? OH THE DRAMA!!!!
Chapter 31 – Breaking The Rules
She looked so much like him. The eyes, the way the hair curled in all the directions, but the way she smiled, reminded him of her mother. A beautiful girl with many dreams and a heart that went way beyond anyone he has ever known. And she was right there in his arms, being cradled in his warmth, not knowing that to her, he was just a stranger. Despite that, however, he loved her all the same. It didn't matter just as long as he could hold her as long as he wanted.
"Ian? Are you in here?"
He looked up, startled by the sound of his wife's voice. Guilt was crawling inside him again, having forgotten that Bridgette was going to act differently if she saw him holding a child whom he fathered from a girl twenty years younger than him. Of course, she knew about what had happened. It wasn't fair keeping the secret from his wife, but she has no idea about... "Ian? Where are you?"
It was now or never. He couldn't hide her any longer. "I'm in the living room sweetheart!" he yelled back from the living room. Ian glanced down at the basket in front of him and smiled at the small little face of Diana. "I would like you to meet someone!"
Bridgette walked over to the living room, her heart pounding in fear. Is this what she thinks it is? It couldn't be possible! She thought as she neared her husband. She didn't want to believe it! She didn't want to think that Ian would kidnap his own child from her mother. It couldn't be… "Ian? What's going on?" She didn't want to ask because she already knew, but she had to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
Ian turned his face to her and nodded down at the basket sitting on their main couch. "I would like you to meet your new daughter…Diana!"
"Diana?" she gasped as she noticed that what she didn't want to believe was true after all. There was the baby, her eyes looking up innocently at the man she will never know as her father and a smile that resembled that of her mother. Bridgette couldn't believe this. "What's going on Ian…I thought she was back in Seattle!? And… What did you do? Why is she here? Did you…?"
Ian looked up, his face with a look she has never seen on him before. Was it…satisfaction? "I took her here…where she truly belongs. She doesn't deserve to live in a place where she would eventually die." He rocked her bed gently and smiled down lovingly at the baby. "She needs a real home…with us."
Bridgette shook her head in disbelief. "I don't want her in this house. We already have a son. Why do we need another child? Diana already belongs to her mother, Ian. We can't take her away from her mother." She stood behind him, unable to make another move ever since she saw Diana there.
"She is OUR child Bridgette!" Ian said, his voice growing louder. He stood up and turned to look at her. "She belongs to us…a REAL family!"
"She is not MY child, Ian!" Bridgette yelled back. "We already have a son! Michael may only be nine years old, but he is a smart boy and he would know whether he has a real sister or not! We can't keep her Ian!"
Ian looked back down at Diana. "I won't give her back to that stupid, naïve little girl who doesn't know how to take care of a baby! She is MY child too! Not just hers!"
"Oh, so she's the stupid one?" Bridgette clenched her fists at her sides and stared at the back of her husband's head. She didn't need to spell it out for him to understand what she means. Ian knew what she was going to say next. "Ian, if you want to keep her, then you can't keep both me and our son!"
The dark haired man turned to look at her in disbelief. "Are you…threatening to leave me with Michael?"
Bridgette nodded. "If that is what I have to do, I will."
"You can't…" He didn't finish his sentence, because before he had a chance to, Diana began to cry. "It's okay Diana! Daddy's here. Daddy will always be here. I won't leave you anymore." He kneeled down in front of his child and began rocking her little bed again.
She couldn't believe this. Had she lost her husband already? Tears began to fall from her eyes. So he chooses to be with the child that stupidity bore, instead of making his REAL family stay with him. It was a good thing Rosario was off today, or else she would be taking her side and then there would be arguments going on from Rosario and Bridgette to Ian.
"MOM! I'm home!" came a small voice from the front door, followed by the front door shutting to a close. Bridgette turned her head to where the voice came from, quickly wiping the tears away so Michael wouldn't be suspicious.
"What are you going to tell, Michael now, Bridgette? He would never leave his father behind, because he needs me. EVERYONE needs me."
"Mom? Dad? What's going on here?" Michael's head peeked from around the corner, looking around at the still shadowed figures of his parents. He noticed his mother was looking at him, red in the face, while he noticed his father crouched in front of the couch, looking at something. "What's dad doing, mom?"
Bridgette didn't answer. Instead, she walked up to her son and grabbed his hand. "Michael, I want you to pack your things. We're leaving!" She looked over her shoulder to see Ian's shoulder stiffen just in time before leading her son upstairs to his room.
"Why? Where are we going?" Michael asked by the time they made it to his room. He looked up, but his mother did not answer as she began pulling out his clothes from the closet and the drawer and stacking them all on his bed. It was until she kneeled down and pulled out his luggage from the bottom of his bed did she look at him straight in the eyes, giving Michael a chance to her teary-eyes.
"I want you to pack your things, no questions!" With that said, she stood up and went to her room to get her things ready, leaving her son confused and shocked at the same time.
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"DAMMIT!" he hissed, slamming a fist down the table. Edea winced, while Laguna looked up, startled by the sudden outburst, despite him knowing what Squall was angry about. The sixteen year old looked around at his father. "Well!? Why aren't we doing anything to arrest Ian!? He kidnapped Rinoa's daughter for goodness sakes!!!"
Laguna shook his head. "We can't arrest him unless we have a warrant and evidence that he kidnapped her."
"What are you talking about?" Squall stood up and looked down at the older man. "He DID! You confirmed it yourself from Ian's wife!"
"I already called the police back in Seattle, Squall," Laguna replied as calmly as he could. "And they explained that they can't make an arrest unless there is proof. They believe that it was the social services that took her and they can't do anything about it. Besides, they can't find him ANYWHERE in Seattle. He's either here somewhere to another state."
Squall began to pace around the room. "He could be back here at his house. His wife probably already knew that he was going to kidnap her in the first place and decided to become an accomplice for him. After all, she is his wife! She would probably do anything to protect him!"
*****************
"But mom! Why are we leaving? Isn't dad coming with us?" Michael practically dragged his feet to keep his mother from walking too fast down the stairs and out of the house. When they made it at the bottom of the stairs, he glanced at his father now sitting on the couch, holding something in his arms. Curious, he pulled himself away from his mother's grasp and turned around to look. "Dad?"
Ian looked up and smiled. "Michael, I'd like you to meet someone," he said quietly.
Bridgette tried to grab her son's hand, but Michael was too far out of her reach. "Michael! Let's go!"
"Daddy, what are you doing?" He moved a little closer to his father and was able to see what he was holding in his arms. It was something pink and moving. A baby… "Who is that?"
Ian smiled wider, his eyes holding that odd looking aura. "This is your-"
"MICHAEL JAMES ADAMMS!" Bridgette roared.
Startled, Michael jerked his head at his mother, his eyes widening in horror at the sound of his mother's voice. He was practically yanked from the living room and dragged out of the house, pulling their suitcases along urgently.
Ian gently put Diana back down in her bed and ran out to follow his family he was going to lose if he didn't do anything to stop them. "This is crazy Bridgette! You don't have to leave because of one child!" He grabbed Bridgette's hand and forced her to look at him. "If you can just learn to accept-!"
Bridgette pulled herself away from him. "I don't HAVE to leave Ian! I NEED to! So unless you get your act together, Michael and I can't stay here anymore! I can't accept what you're doing! If I do, I will be reminded of what you did!!!! Come on Michael!" She opened the front passenger seat of her car as Michael jumped inside, obviously scared. Bridgette stuffed all their luggages inside the trunk and quickly walked to her side of the passenger seat. Ian wasn't finished with their conversation as he followed his wife to the passenger seat and pulled her back out.
"I WON'T LET YOU LEAVE!" He gripped his hand tight around her arm.
Bridgette was now scared, her eyes staring back at him with fear he has never seen before. "Please…please let me go." Tears automatically fell all at once from her eyes. "I won't be able to take this Ian. I can't. I've been living with this knowledge about you and her together…with a child. For a long time, I have had to deal with it, but now that Diana's with you, I know I won't be able to stand it."
Ian released his grip. "I- I'm sorry," he stammered. "I don't know what came over me."
Bridgette hopped inside her car and closed the door. She glanced out at the opened window and frowned. "It's too late for apologies now." She roared the engine to life. "We'll be staying with my parents in California. I'll send you a copy of the divorce papers soon." She rolled the window up and drove out of the driveway.
Michael looked over his shoulder at his father's disappearing figure.
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Silence. It seemed to be the only habit that evolved between Squall and Laguna. In reality, they don't know that that was the only thing they had in common. Their pride to apologize to each other, knowing the fault of the other was much too high for both father and son to really negotiate their relationship.
"Well, what are we going to do now?" Squall asked, glancing at his father.
Edea sat there, listening to their conversation, not knowing what to say to the two.
Laguna looked up from his thinking and sighed, shaking his head. "I'm not sure."
"You're not sure!? You're the mayor for goodness sakes! DO SOMETHING about this! This is clearly kidnapping!!!!"
Suddenly, the phone rang. All three jumped up, startled by the noise. Edea stood up and picked up the phone and held it close to her ear. "Hello?"
"Hello, is Mayor Laguna still there?"
"Uh…sure, may I ask who's calling?" The two men watched her listen to the other line and the moment her eyes lit up in shock, they were suddenly startled from their seats as if the phone would start walking away if it wasn't given to any of them. After a few seconds, Edea handed the phone to Laguna, who took it without question.
"Yes, this is Laguna…"
"Hello Mr. Loir. This is Bridgette, Ian Adamms' wife? The one you spoke to yesterday?" There was a sound of a train howling in the background, telling Laguna that she was somewhere in the road.
"Yes, Mrs. Adamms, what can I do for you?"
"Actually, shortly, I won't be Mrs. Adamms anymore. I have something to tell you." She took a deep breath and looked around making sure no one was listening around as people passed by to catch their train ride. Bridgette cuffed the phone with one hand and whispered something in Laguna's ear. Michael gave his mother a very curious look. He was getting confused every second.
Laguna listened intently as the story unfolded from Bridgette's lips to his ears. Squall watched at his father's reactions to whatever news he was getting, his fists clenched in front of him, eager to find out what they were talking about now. There was a few nods, then after a word of 'goodbye' Laguna hung up the phone and glanced at Squall. "Squall, I think you'll be delighted to hear that the person who I was talking to was Bridgette, Ian's wife. She has given information on Ian's whereabouts and word has it, he's still in Washington. And he has Diana."
Squall felt his fists clenched a little tighter, now turning white from the pressure. The young brunette stood up and walked over to the front closet to grab his coat, but before he headed out the door, a hand on his shoulder stopped in just as he was about to step outside. "Hang on, Squall."
"What is it?" Squall was getting frustrated with all the waiting. He couldn't wait any longer. He was missing the dance, which meant he couldn't go with Rinoa because of it and possibly, Rinoa didn't go because she's too devastated of her daughter's disappearance.
Laguna walked pass him, blocking his son from the doorway. "I want you to think this through. I don't want you barging in there and make a scene. Just follow me in there and don't say a word, because if you lose your temper, there's a possibility that he could charge you for assault, then he would have proof to keep his child."
"What kind of proof would that be?" Squall was putting on his jacket hastily, eager to go into the Adamms' residence and beat the crap out of Ian, but part of him told him that his father was right about one thing. He definitely didn't want to be arrested.
"You are Rinoa's boyfriend, therefore his lawyer could play around with that and make the jury think that SHE would not fit to be a mother for having a boyfriend who assaulted people."
"But-!" However, before he had a chance to finish his sentence, Laguna lifted up his hand to stop him. "Just please do as I say…for once." Squall, obviously had no choice, so he frowned and nodded in agreement. "All right," he replied.
"Good. Edea! We're going now!"
Edea appeared from the kitchen. "Please be careful," she yelled.
Laguna and Squall both nodded. They silently left the house and began walking down the sidewalk. The dark haired man glanced at his son, whose hands were stuffed inside his jean pockets, as if trying to conceal his clenched fists. "Do you know where their house is?"
Squall nodded and said nothing.
"Good and remember Squall…" He paused when his son jerked his head at him and gave him a piercing glare. "I guess we already established that." He watched as Squall walked ahead of him, not saying another word after that. "When we get there, wait for me by the front steps until I get there. I don't want you knocking on the door and find him there and start beating the hell out of him, got that?"
"Whatever…" Squall replied, removing his hands from his pockets, which, to Laguna's surprise were not clenched after all.
_____________
When they arrived around half an hour later, Squall did as he was told and waited by the front steps of the house until Laguna rounded the corner to join him. His father walked passed him and knocked on the door. He gave his son a glance before they heard the door opening ever so slowly. It wasn't a surprise when the door only opened halfway to reveal a chain in between them and a face peering from the inside. "Who is it?" the familiar voice asked, though more so familiar to Squall than Laguna.
"My name is Laguna Loir…Are you Mr. Adamms by any chance?"
"I've never heard of a Laguna Loir," the man replied.
Squall stood at the back, doing his best not to burst through the door and choke the living daylights out of Ian. "Perhaps, you have. Your wife has told you that she hired a lawyer to defend your rights in the court? I am also the Mayor of Seattle."
"My wife left."
"I know sir," Laguna replied. "But…"
"Hang on a second," Ian interrupted. He closed the door, but both men could not hear the clinking of chains as if to unlock the door. Laguna and Squall glanced at each other. "What's going on?" Squall wondered. Laguna shook his head in response and leaned his ear against the door. He could hear faint footsteps, followed by the cries of a small child.
Because the crying was so loud, Squall could hear it from where he was standing. "She IS in there!!!!" he yelled, shoving his way pass his father and pressing his own ear against the door. "Dad!"
Laguna nodded. "I know, I know, but be patient Squall. Just barging in there and making a scene won't help the situation better. It will only make matters worse."
Then they heard a backdoor opening and closing. The cries of the child dispersed and all they could hear in the inside was silence. "He left through the back door!" Squall whispered loudly, looking at his father.
Laguna was perplexed. He had no idea this was going to happen. "No way…" Then, he heard it. A car was being started to life, as clear as day and it was right behind them. Laguna and Squall jerked their bodies around just in time to see the shadowed figure of a tall man carrying something in his hands and putting it at the back seat. "HEY!" Laguna yelled. The man looked up, said nothing and ran to his side of the driver's seat.
Squall's eyes widened, clenched his fists and ran towards the car. "You bastard! Come back with Diana! IAN!!!!" he yelled as loud as he could, running faster now as the car pulled up from the curb.
Laguna followed suit, his heart pounding in fear and his face filling with total disbelief. He watched as his son stopped to take a breather and looked up to see the car fading into the distance. "Don't worry, Squall, he can't go anywhere," Laguna said as calmly as he could, placing a hand on his son's shoulder.
Squall slapped his hand away and looked over his shoulder to glare at his father. "I TOLD YOU WE SHOULD'VE CALLED THE POLICE! TALKING DID NOT HELP!!!!" He straightened up and clenched his fists until they were white.
"Calm down, Squall…"
"I WON'T CALM DOWN! YOU TOLD ME TALKING WOULD HELP! BUT IT DIDN'T! IT ONLY MADE MATTERS WORSE!" With that said, he took a deep breath and walked pass his father.
Laguna stood there, aghast, unable to say a word back to his son to comfort him. There was none at all, because…because Squall was right after all. However, there was no point in giving up now. There were still ways they could get her back. He reached inside his jacket pocket and dialed a number. When it was complete, he pressed the phone against his ear and waited for three rings before someone answered. "Hello Craig? I need you to do something for me."
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There was no way to bring her back now. She was in her own little world. Part of her REALLY died because the piece of the puzzle, which was Diana, went missing. Patti glanced at the dress Rinoa bought for the dance a week ago. It was just sitting in her closet, waiting to be worn. There was two more days left until the dance and unless they do something to get Diana back, the beautiful dress would never be worn. The sandy haired woman turned her head to where the dark haired girl's form laid still on her bed, just staring up at the ceiling like a dead corpse. She looked pale and thin, but who could blame her? She hasn't eaten for at least two days. Nor sleep in those days for that matter. Patti was very frightened for the sixteen year old girl.
And then, she heard the doorbell ring, followed by an urgent knock on the front door. Patti quickly left the room to answer the door and found herself face to face with a young man with wavy brown hair, gasping for air. "S-Squall?" She had no idea he was back in Seattle.
Squall looked at her with desperate eyes. "Where is she?"
Patti nodded her head up the stairs. "She's in her room, but…"
"But what?" Squall looked at her curiously. There were tears in the woman's eyes now, no longer able to hold it back.
"But she won't eat anything. She hasn't even slept either. Rinoa would just keep staring at the ceiling, like she was dead…I'm so scared for her!"
Squall placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry I'll get her back somehow. Ian won't go anywhere out of the state and I'll make sure of that."
Ian? Patti thought. Could it be? "Did he…? No…"
However, Squall didn't answer her, instead, he ran up the stairs and into Rinoa's room to find her pathetically sitting up, but did not move from her spot on the bed. She looked out the window and just stared. Squall stood there for a couple of seconds, before greeting her silently by kneeling down on his knees in front of her and wrapping his arms around her waist. He looked up and stared into her empty eyes. "Rinoa?"
She didn't answer, but she seemed to have acknowledged his presence by looking down to where he was. However, she seemed to have just stared straight through him. Squall felt his heart sinking into his own puddle of guilt and shame. Without a second thought, he buried his face into her lap and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Rinoa. I was so stupid to believe my father that talking would bring Diana back, but I should've listened to my instinct and did the opposite! I should never have let my guard down! Diana may be gone, but I promise I won't fail you next time! I won't be your failure anymore! I don't want to see you sad anymore!!!!"
With those words, he tightened his arms around her, but not enough that would keep her from breathing and wept.
GoodGurl: *gasp* Squall? Crying? Well, he's been doing that a lot lately, even in front of his father. I feel soo sorry for Rinoa though and that Ian bastard! Grrrrrrrr!! Anyway…what will happen next? Stay tuned!!!! ^^
Chapter 31 – Breaking The Rules
She looked so much like him. The eyes, the way the hair curled in all the directions, but the way she smiled, reminded him of her mother. A beautiful girl with many dreams and a heart that went way beyond anyone he has ever known. And she was right there in his arms, being cradled in his warmth, not knowing that to her, he was just a stranger. Despite that, however, he loved her all the same. It didn't matter just as long as he could hold her as long as he wanted.
"Ian? Are you in here?"
He looked up, startled by the sound of his wife's voice. Guilt was crawling inside him again, having forgotten that Bridgette was going to act differently if she saw him holding a child whom he fathered from a girl twenty years younger than him. Of course, she knew about what had happened. It wasn't fair keeping the secret from his wife, but she has no idea about... "Ian? Where are you?"
It was now or never. He couldn't hide her any longer. "I'm in the living room sweetheart!" he yelled back from the living room. Ian glanced down at the basket in front of him and smiled at the small little face of Diana. "I would like you to meet someone!"
Bridgette walked over to the living room, her heart pounding in fear. Is this what she thinks it is? It couldn't be possible! She thought as she neared her husband. She didn't want to believe it! She didn't want to think that Ian would kidnap his own child from her mother. It couldn't be… "Ian? What's going on?" She didn't want to ask because she already knew, but she had to make sure she wasn't dreaming.
Ian turned his face to her and nodded down at the basket sitting on their main couch. "I would like you to meet your new daughter…Diana!"
"Diana?" she gasped as she noticed that what she didn't want to believe was true after all. There was the baby, her eyes looking up innocently at the man she will never know as her father and a smile that resembled that of her mother. Bridgette couldn't believe this. "What's going on Ian…I thought she was back in Seattle!? And… What did you do? Why is she here? Did you…?"
Ian looked up, his face with a look she has never seen on him before. Was it…satisfaction? "I took her here…where she truly belongs. She doesn't deserve to live in a place where she would eventually die." He rocked her bed gently and smiled down lovingly at the baby. "She needs a real home…with us."
Bridgette shook her head in disbelief. "I don't want her in this house. We already have a son. Why do we need another child? Diana already belongs to her mother, Ian. We can't take her away from her mother." She stood behind him, unable to make another move ever since she saw Diana there.
"She is OUR child Bridgette!" Ian said, his voice growing louder. He stood up and turned to look at her. "She belongs to us…a REAL family!"
"She is not MY child, Ian!" Bridgette yelled back. "We already have a son! Michael may only be nine years old, but he is a smart boy and he would know whether he has a real sister or not! We can't keep her Ian!"
Ian looked back down at Diana. "I won't give her back to that stupid, naïve little girl who doesn't know how to take care of a baby! She is MY child too! Not just hers!"
"Oh, so she's the stupid one?" Bridgette clenched her fists at her sides and stared at the back of her husband's head. She didn't need to spell it out for him to understand what she means. Ian knew what she was going to say next. "Ian, if you want to keep her, then you can't keep both me and our son!"
The dark haired man turned to look at her in disbelief. "Are you…threatening to leave me with Michael?"
Bridgette nodded. "If that is what I have to do, I will."
"You can't…" He didn't finish his sentence, because before he had a chance to, Diana began to cry. "It's okay Diana! Daddy's here. Daddy will always be here. I won't leave you anymore." He kneeled down in front of his child and began rocking her little bed again.
She couldn't believe this. Had she lost her husband already? Tears began to fall from her eyes. So he chooses to be with the child that stupidity bore, instead of making his REAL family stay with him. It was a good thing Rosario was off today, or else she would be taking her side and then there would be arguments going on from Rosario and Bridgette to Ian.
"MOM! I'm home!" came a small voice from the front door, followed by the front door shutting to a close. Bridgette turned her head to where the voice came from, quickly wiping the tears away so Michael wouldn't be suspicious.
"What are you going to tell, Michael now, Bridgette? He would never leave his father behind, because he needs me. EVERYONE needs me."
"Mom? Dad? What's going on here?" Michael's head peeked from around the corner, looking around at the still shadowed figures of his parents. He noticed his mother was looking at him, red in the face, while he noticed his father crouched in front of the couch, looking at something. "What's dad doing, mom?"
Bridgette didn't answer. Instead, she walked up to her son and grabbed his hand. "Michael, I want you to pack your things. We're leaving!" She looked over her shoulder to see Ian's shoulder stiffen just in time before leading her son upstairs to his room.
"Why? Where are we going?" Michael asked by the time they made it to his room. He looked up, but his mother did not answer as she began pulling out his clothes from the closet and the drawer and stacking them all on his bed. It was until she kneeled down and pulled out his luggage from the bottom of his bed did she look at him straight in the eyes, giving Michael a chance to her teary-eyes.
"I want you to pack your things, no questions!" With that said, she stood up and went to her room to get her things ready, leaving her son confused and shocked at the same time.
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"DAMMIT!" he hissed, slamming a fist down the table. Edea winced, while Laguna looked up, startled by the sudden outburst, despite him knowing what Squall was angry about. The sixteen year old looked around at his father. "Well!? Why aren't we doing anything to arrest Ian!? He kidnapped Rinoa's daughter for goodness sakes!!!"
Laguna shook his head. "We can't arrest him unless we have a warrant and evidence that he kidnapped her."
"What are you talking about?" Squall stood up and looked down at the older man. "He DID! You confirmed it yourself from Ian's wife!"
"I already called the police back in Seattle, Squall," Laguna replied as calmly as he could. "And they explained that they can't make an arrest unless there is proof. They believe that it was the social services that took her and they can't do anything about it. Besides, they can't find him ANYWHERE in Seattle. He's either here somewhere to another state."
Squall began to pace around the room. "He could be back here at his house. His wife probably already knew that he was going to kidnap her in the first place and decided to become an accomplice for him. After all, she is his wife! She would probably do anything to protect him!"
*****************
"But mom! Why are we leaving? Isn't dad coming with us?" Michael practically dragged his feet to keep his mother from walking too fast down the stairs and out of the house. When they made it at the bottom of the stairs, he glanced at his father now sitting on the couch, holding something in his arms. Curious, he pulled himself away from his mother's grasp and turned around to look. "Dad?"
Ian looked up and smiled. "Michael, I'd like you to meet someone," he said quietly.
Bridgette tried to grab her son's hand, but Michael was too far out of her reach. "Michael! Let's go!"
"Daddy, what are you doing?" He moved a little closer to his father and was able to see what he was holding in his arms. It was something pink and moving. A baby… "Who is that?"
Ian smiled wider, his eyes holding that odd looking aura. "This is your-"
"MICHAEL JAMES ADAMMS!" Bridgette roared.
Startled, Michael jerked his head at his mother, his eyes widening in horror at the sound of his mother's voice. He was practically yanked from the living room and dragged out of the house, pulling their suitcases along urgently.
Ian gently put Diana back down in her bed and ran out to follow his family he was going to lose if he didn't do anything to stop them. "This is crazy Bridgette! You don't have to leave because of one child!" He grabbed Bridgette's hand and forced her to look at him. "If you can just learn to accept-!"
Bridgette pulled herself away from him. "I don't HAVE to leave Ian! I NEED to! So unless you get your act together, Michael and I can't stay here anymore! I can't accept what you're doing! If I do, I will be reminded of what you did!!!! Come on Michael!" She opened the front passenger seat of her car as Michael jumped inside, obviously scared. Bridgette stuffed all their luggages inside the trunk and quickly walked to her side of the passenger seat. Ian wasn't finished with their conversation as he followed his wife to the passenger seat and pulled her back out.
"I WON'T LET YOU LEAVE!" He gripped his hand tight around her arm.
Bridgette was now scared, her eyes staring back at him with fear he has never seen before. "Please…please let me go." Tears automatically fell all at once from her eyes. "I won't be able to take this Ian. I can't. I've been living with this knowledge about you and her together…with a child. For a long time, I have had to deal with it, but now that Diana's with you, I know I won't be able to stand it."
Ian released his grip. "I- I'm sorry," he stammered. "I don't know what came over me."
Bridgette hopped inside her car and closed the door. She glanced out at the opened window and frowned. "It's too late for apologies now." She roared the engine to life. "We'll be staying with my parents in California. I'll send you a copy of the divorce papers soon." She rolled the window up and drove out of the driveway.
Michael looked over his shoulder at his father's disappearing figure.
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Silence. It seemed to be the only habit that evolved between Squall and Laguna. In reality, they don't know that that was the only thing they had in common. Their pride to apologize to each other, knowing the fault of the other was much too high for both father and son to really negotiate their relationship.
"Well, what are we going to do now?" Squall asked, glancing at his father.
Edea sat there, listening to their conversation, not knowing what to say to the two.
Laguna looked up from his thinking and sighed, shaking his head. "I'm not sure."
"You're not sure!? You're the mayor for goodness sakes! DO SOMETHING about this! This is clearly kidnapping!!!!"
Suddenly, the phone rang. All three jumped up, startled by the noise. Edea stood up and picked up the phone and held it close to her ear. "Hello?"
"Hello, is Mayor Laguna still there?"
"Uh…sure, may I ask who's calling?" The two men watched her listen to the other line and the moment her eyes lit up in shock, they were suddenly startled from their seats as if the phone would start walking away if it wasn't given to any of them. After a few seconds, Edea handed the phone to Laguna, who took it without question.
"Yes, this is Laguna…"
"Hello Mr. Loir. This is Bridgette, Ian Adamms' wife? The one you spoke to yesterday?" There was a sound of a train howling in the background, telling Laguna that she was somewhere in the road.
"Yes, Mrs. Adamms, what can I do for you?"
"Actually, shortly, I won't be Mrs. Adamms anymore. I have something to tell you." She took a deep breath and looked around making sure no one was listening around as people passed by to catch their train ride. Bridgette cuffed the phone with one hand and whispered something in Laguna's ear. Michael gave his mother a very curious look. He was getting confused every second.
Laguna listened intently as the story unfolded from Bridgette's lips to his ears. Squall watched at his father's reactions to whatever news he was getting, his fists clenched in front of him, eager to find out what they were talking about now. There was a few nods, then after a word of 'goodbye' Laguna hung up the phone and glanced at Squall. "Squall, I think you'll be delighted to hear that the person who I was talking to was Bridgette, Ian's wife. She has given information on Ian's whereabouts and word has it, he's still in Washington. And he has Diana."
Squall felt his fists clenched a little tighter, now turning white from the pressure. The young brunette stood up and walked over to the front closet to grab his coat, but before he headed out the door, a hand on his shoulder stopped in just as he was about to step outside. "Hang on, Squall."
"What is it?" Squall was getting frustrated with all the waiting. He couldn't wait any longer. He was missing the dance, which meant he couldn't go with Rinoa because of it and possibly, Rinoa didn't go because she's too devastated of her daughter's disappearance.
Laguna walked pass him, blocking his son from the doorway. "I want you to think this through. I don't want you barging in there and make a scene. Just follow me in there and don't say a word, because if you lose your temper, there's a possibility that he could charge you for assault, then he would have proof to keep his child."
"What kind of proof would that be?" Squall was putting on his jacket hastily, eager to go into the Adamms' residence and beat the crap out of Ian, but part of him told him that his father was right about one thing. He definitely didn't want to be arrested.
"You are Rinoa's boyfriend, therefore his lawyer could play around with that and make the jury think that SHE would not fit to be a mother for having a boyfriend who assaulted people."
"But-!" However, before he had a chance to finish his sentence, Laguna lifted up his hand to stop him. "Just please do as I say…for once." Squall, obviously had no choice, so he frowned and nodded in agreement. "All right," he replied.
"Good. Edea! We're going now!"
Edea appeared from the kitchen. "Please be careful," she yelled.
Laguna and Squall both nodded. They silently left the house and began walking down the sidewalk. The dark haired man glanced at his son, whose hands were stuffed inside his jean pockets, as if trying to conceal his clenched fists. "Do you know where their house is?"
Squall nodded and said nothing.
"Good and remember Squall…" He paused when his son jerked his head at him and gave him a piercing glare. "I guess we already established that." He watched as Squall walked ahead of him, not saying another word after that. "When we get there, wait for me by the front steps until I get there. I don't want you knocking on the door and find him there and start beating the hell out of him, got that?"
"Whatever…" Squall replied, removing his hands from his pockets, which, to Laguna's surprise were not clenched after all.
_____________
When they arrived around half an hour later, Squall did as he was told and waited by the front steps of the house until Laguna rounded the corner to join him. His father walked passed him and knocked on the door. He gave his son a glance before they heard the door opening ever so slowly. It wasn't a surprise when the door only opened halfway to reveal a chain in between them and a face peering from the inside. "Who is it?" the familiar voice asked, though more so familiar to Squall than Laguna.
"My name is Laguna Loir…Are you Mr. Adamms by any chance?"
"I've never heard of a Laguna Loir," the man replied.
Squall stood at the back, doing his best not to burst through the door and choke the living daylights out of Ian. "Perhaps, you have. Your wife has told you that she hired a lawyer to defend your rights in the court? I am also the Mayor of Seattle."
"My wife left."
"I know sir," Laguna replied. "But…"
"Hang on a second," Ian interrupted. He closed the door, but both men could not hear the clinking of chains as if to unlock the door. Laguna and Squall glanced at each other. "What's going on?" Squall wondered. Laguna shook his head in response and leaned his ear against the door. He could hear faint footsteps, followed by the cries of a small child.
Because the crying was so loud, Squall could hear it from where he was standing. "She IS in there!!!!" he yelled, shoving his way pass his father and pressing his own ear against the door. "Dad!"
Laguna nodded. "I know, I know, but be patient Squall. Just barging in there and making a scene won't help the situation better. It will only make matters worse."
Then they heard a backdoor opening and closing. The cries of the child dispersed and all they could hear in the inside was silence. "He left through the back door!" Squall whispered loudly, looking at his father.
Laguna was perplexed. He had no idea this was going to happen. "No way…" Then, he heard it. A car was being started to life, as clear as day and it was right behind them. Laguna and Squall jerked their bodies around just in time to see the shadowed figure of a tall man carrying something in his hands and putting it at the back seat. "HEY!" Laguna yelled. The man looked up, said nothing and ran to his side of the driver's seat.
Squall's eyes widened, clenched his fists and ran towards the car. "You bastard! Come back with Diana! IAN!!!!" he yelled as loud as he could, running faster now as the car pulled up from the curb.
Laguna followed suit, his heart pounding in fear and his face filling with total disbelief. He watched as his son stopped to take a breather and looked up to see the car fading into the distance. "Don't worry, Squall, he can't go anywhere," Laguna said as calmly as he could, placing a hand on his son's shoulder.
Squall slapped his hand away and looked over his shoulder to glare at his father. "I TOLD YOU WE SHOULD'VE CALLED THE POLICE! TALKING DID NOT HELP!!!!" He straightened up and clenched his fists until they were white.
"Calm down, Squall…"
"I WON'T CALM DOWN! YOU TOLD ME TALKING WOULD HELP! BUT IT DIDN'T! IT ONLY MADE MATTERS WORSE!" With that said, he took a deep breath and walked pass his father.
Laguna stood there, aghast, unable to say a word back to his son to comfort him. There was none at all, because…because Squall was right after all. However, there was no point in giving up now. There were still ways they could get her back. He reached inside his jacket pocket and dialed a number. When it was complete, he pressed the phone against his ear and waited for three rings before someone answered. "Hello Craig? I need you to do something for me."
**************************
There was no way to bring her back now. She was in her own little world. Part of her REALLY died because the piece of the puzzle, which was Diana, went missing. Patti glanced at the dress Rinoa bought for the dance a week ago. It was just sitting in her closet, waiting to be worn. There was two more days left until the dance and unless they do something to get Diana back, the beautiful dress would never be worn. The sandy haired woman turned her head to where the dark haired girl's form laid still on her bed, just staring up at the ceiling like a dead corpse. She looked pale and thin, but who could blame her? She hasn't eaten for at least two days. Nor sleep in those days for that matter. Patti was very frightened for the sixteen year old girl.
And then, she heard the doorbell ring, followed by an urgent knock on the front door. Patti quickly left the room to answer the door and found herself face to face with a young man with wavy brown hair, gasping for air. "S-Squall?" She had no idea he was back in Seattle.
Squall looked at her with desperate eyes. "Where is she?"
Patti nodded her head up the stairs. "She's in her room, but…"
"But what?" Squall looked at her curiously. There were tears in the woman's eyes now, no longer able to hold it back.
"But she won't eat anything. She hasn't even slept either. Rinoa would just keep staring at the ceiling, like she was dead…I'm so scared for her!"
Squall placed a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry I'll get her back somehow. Ian won't go anywhere out of the state and I'll make sure of that."
Ian? Patti thought. Could it be? "Did he…? No…"
However, Squall didn't answer her, instead, he ran up the stairs and into Rinoa's room to find her pathetically sitting up, but did not move from her spot on the bed. She looked out the window and just stared. Squall stood there for a couple of seconds, before greeting her silently by kneeling down on his knees in front of her and wrapping his arms around her waist. He looked up and stared into her empty eyes. "Rinoa?"
She didn't answer, but she seemed to have acknowledged his presence by looking down to where he was. However, she seemed to have just stared straight through him. Squall felt his heart sinking into his own puddle of guilt and shame. Without a second thought, he buried his face into her lap and closed his eyes. "I'm sorry, Rinoa. I was so stupid to believe my father that talking would bring Diana back, but I should've listened to my instinct and did the opposite! I should never have let my guard down! Diana may be gone, but I promise I won't fail you next time! I won't be your failure anymore! I don't want to see you sad anymore!!!!"
With those words, he tightened his arms around her, but not enough that would keep her from breathing and wept.
GoodGurl: *gasp* Squall? Crying? Well, he's been doing that a lot lately, even in front of his father. I feel soo sorry for Rinoa though and that Ian bastard! Grrrrrrrr!! Anyway…what will happen next? Stay tuned!!!! ^^