A/N: I've been writing almost non stop ever since I posted the first chapter... my average seems to be like 2-3 chapters a day. Whew! I'm not going to give any more details away from here on out, other than yes, it's still a Squinoa. Keep reading!!
Chapter 7 - The Arrival
"Squall, open up!" a deep, booming voice shouted, muffled by a heavy door.
Squall opened one eye, glancing at the clock. 5:14 a.m.
"Son of a bitch," Squall groaned, reaching for the discarded t-shirt he'd left somewhere on the floor.
"Squall!" the voice rang out again.
"I'm coming. Keep your damn pants on."
He quickly donned the t-shirt and pulled the drawstring on his loose cotton pants tighter, fumbling toward the door.
"What?" he growled, swinging the door open violently. He calmed when he saw who it was. "Oh... hi, Dad."
Laguna cocked an eyebrow at him. "Such enthusiasm."
Squall rolled his eyes, backing away from the door allowing Laguna to enter. "Don't bitch about it. At least I said 'hi'."
"And for that I'm grateful," Laguna said, bowing mockingly to Squall, who rolled his eyes again and turned to dig through his closet for some decent clothes.
"Did you come to pester me?" Squall asked.
"Maybe a little," Laguna replied, looking around the room. "So, where's Rinoa at this hour?"
"In her dorm, where she lives."
"What did I miss?"
Squall sighed miserably, and pulled a shirt from his closet. "We broke up."
"What happened? Damn, I liked Rinoa. She was good for you."
"I know," Squall said, now digging through his dresser. "We're just taking some time apart. We're still on good terms, so don't worry... you just might still have grandchildren one day."
"Who said anything about wanting grandchildren?"
Squall shot him a look.
"Ok, so I like the idea... a little," Laguna said.
Squall shot him the same look again.
"Alright, I submit. I want grandchildren," Laguna sighed, holding his hands up in surrender. "But not right away, mind you. I mean, I'm only forty-six. And I don't look a day over thirty-six."
"...And you still fight like you're twenty-six," Squall mumbled, then turned to his father. "Do you know how many times I've heard this?"
He stepped into the bathroom, closing the door before Laguna could say anything else. The sound of the shower running was heard seconds later, and Laguna flopped back onto the bed, determined to take a nap before the beginning of this big mystery-mission.
I don't see how Squall stands getting up this early.
Quistis stared blankly at the ceiling of her dorm, having been unable to get to sleep all night. Every few minutes, she would glance between the bathroom, where that life-altering piece of plastic lay on the counter next to the sink, and the clock, reminding her just how long she had before Seifer usually called her.
She finally rolled over on her side, trying to force her eyes to remain closed, but to no avail. Her eyes would automatically snap back open once she tried to relax.
She groaned and rolled onto her stomach, burying her face in her pillow, trying to force her eyes to stay shut that way. Then she would become uncomfortable and would turn back onto her back, only to repeat the staring process. The ceiling, the bathroom, the clock.
At some point, she fell asleep only to be woken up, what she thought was only moments later, by the phone ringing. When she opened her eyes, her room was flooded in daylight. She'd slept for about three hours.
It suddenly sank in that the phone was still ringing. She bolted upright, staring at it. She battled with herself for a moment about whether she should answer it or not. Finally deciding that she couldn't put it off forever, she quickly grabbed the receiver.
"Seifer?" she panted.
"Yeah, how'd you know?" he asked from the other end. "And why are you breathing so hard at seven a.m.?"
Quistis took a deep breath. "I have something to tell you."
Squall and Laguna walked briskly to the cafeteria, hoping to get some coffee before their meeting. It was only going to be a small meeting, between themselves, Cid, and Seifer on the phone, but that didn't make it any less important and Squall wanted to be alert.
They entered the cafeteria and ordered their coffee, then took a seat at their usual table, which was currently unoccupied.
Moments later, Rinoa approached with Zone.
"Laguna!?" she exclaimed. She ran to him as he stood smiling and gave him a tight hug.
"Hey, kiddo," Laguna said, chuckling at her excitement.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, sitting down.
He sat back down, as well, shooting a brief glance to Squall, who sat watching Rinoa. "Well, I have some things to take care of here, nothing really."
"Well, I'm so happy to see you! Did you ever meet my friend Zone?" she asked, gesturing to Zone as he sat next to her.
"I think so," Laguna replied, extending his hand to Zone. "Right after the Ultimecia thing."
"N-Nice to see you again, M-Mr. President," Zone stuttered, shaking Laguna's hand.
"Call me Laguna. That president stuff only flies in Esthar."
Zone nodded, smiling weakly, then stood. "Excuse me... I have to leave." He clutched his stomach and walked away briskly.
Rinoa watched this with amusement, then turned back to the table, muttering, "Poor guy."
She looked up at Squall and raised an eyebrow when she saw that he was watching her. "See something you like?"
Squall's mouth cracked into a smile, keeping his eyes on her. "Maybe."
She batted her eyelashes at him and smiled seductively. "Hmm... too bad."
Laguna watched the exchange with interest, commenting, "Well, I can see this won't last long."
"What's that?" Rinoa asked him.
"You guys will be back together before you know it."
Rinoa shrugged, sending another seductive glance at Squall, who just chuckled.
"Well, we should be going," Squall said finally, rising from his seat. Laguna stood, as well.
Squall looked at Rinoa and sighed, then took her hand and lifted it to his lips. He kissed her knuckles softly, whispering against her skin, "Good day, Miss Heartilly."
He left before she could speak, Laguna trailing behind.
Rinoa smiled and sighed, glancing around the cafeteria for someone she knew, as she was now alone at the table. Her eyes settled on a familiar blonde, several tables away. The girl was by herself, her blue eyes fixed on Rinoa. Squall's illustrious dancing partner.
Rinoa smiled awkwardly and rose, deciding she should check on Quistis.
"So that's where I'm at now," a deep voice said through a speaker on Cid's desk. "Somewhere between screwed and brutally skull-raped. These Shumi guys won't tell me shit."
"Well, Seifer, you've given us enough to work with," Cid said, looking between Laguna and Squall as he spoke. "Though I'm not sure where we should start. Any ideas, gentlemen?"
Squall thought for a moment and spoke up. "The Shumi have few allies... they like me and my father, but not enough to share any kind of information THAT substantial. This is obviously an enormous weapon they have, whatever it may be, and they're not going to let just anyone know about it... but then how did these mystery soldiers discover it?"
"They had to have told someone," Laguna piped in.
"Exactly," Squall said.
"Whatchya think, Commander Obvious?" Seifer said from the speaker.
"Well... there two likely candidates I can think of," Squall began, ignoring the remark. "Norg may or may not have been one of them, but that we may never know-"
"Being that he's dead and all," Seifer interrupted, dryly.
"And the other," Squall continued, again ignoring his friend. "Is residing in Fisherman's Horizon."
"Ah... Grease Monkey;" Seifer said. "Good thinking, puberty boy."
"A little testy today, aren't we, Seifer?" Cid questioned. "Why all the smart ass remarks?"
Seifer sighed. "I apologize... I got some news today and I'm a little... distressed. Nothing relative to this case, don't worry."
"Is everything alright?" Cid asked.
"Yeah... but listen, I must ask a favor of you."
"I'll certainly help if I can, what is it?"
"Just make sure Quistis isn't being over worked. And make sure she gets plenty of rest. And make sure she's eating well. And-"
"Is something wrong with Quistis?" Cid interrupted.
"Uh... well... shit, I'm sure you'd find out sooner or later. She's pregnant, sir."
The three men in the office froze and looked at each other.
"Well... we'll, uh... we'll take care of her the best we can," Cid finally said, fighting a smile.
"Thanks, sir," Seifer said, releasing the breath he'd been holding.
"Anyway, Squall and Laguna will be assembing a small group and will be sent to FH, shortly."
"Ok, great. Keep me informed," Seifer said.
"We will," Cid replied. "And Seifer?"
"Sir?"
"Congratulations."
"Will Irvine Kinneas, Selphie Tilmitt and Ri-... Evelyn Samuel please report to the commander's office? Irvine Kinneas, Selphie Tilmitt, and Evelyn Samuel report to the commander's office."
Squall shut off the small microphone on his desk and waited patiently for the group to arrive, trying to ignore the quizzical look on his father's face.
"Ri-... Evelyn Samuel?" Laguna mimicked, raising an eyebrow.
"Don't start. I have good reason." Squall said, leaning back in his chair.
"And that reason is?"
"Rinoa is too well known... if I need someone to go under cover, it'll need to be someone no one's familiar with."
"So, who's Evelyn Samuel?"
"She a new SeeD, a field medic."
"She's new and she's a field medic? This doesn't sound like someone Squall Leonhart would normally send into a mission like this," Laguna observed, unconviced of his son's reasoning.
"You haven't seen her on the field," Squall defended. "She's quick and she's damn good. She's certainly not an amateur."
"I'll take you word for it," Laguna sighed in defeat. "But don't you think Rinoa will be a little upset after that little slip-up?"
Squall didn't have a chance to answer as the door opened and the three SeeDs entered. They stood at attention in front of his desk, waiting for their commander's orders.
"You have a mission," Squall stated, handing them each a folder. "This is all the information you'll need. Be ready by this evening at 21:00 hours and assemble at the front gate. Dismissed."
Eve sent a small smile to the commander as she turned to exit, but not before seeing the smirk he gave her in response.
"Quistis, are you ok in there?" Rinoa shouted from outside the bathroom door.
"Yeah," Quistis breathed, raising her head from the toilet. "I'll be out in a sec."
"Ok..."
Quistis mustered the energy to finally stand and brush her teeth. She finished and stepped out to the bedroom, seeing Rinoa looking worriedly up at her from the edge of the bed.
"So... how did he take it?" Rinoa asked.
"Better than I thought, really," Quistis sighed, sitting in her desk chair. "He flipped out about me working too much and not getting enough rest, but other than that he was quite calm."
Rinoa raised her eyebrows. "Well, that's good. I kinda figured he'd- "
"Will Irvine Kinneas, Selphie Tilmitt and Ri-... Evelyn Samuel please report to the commander's office?" Squall's voice said through the intercom. "Irvine Kinneas, Selphie Tilmitt, and Evelyn Samuel report to the commander's office."
Rinoa and Quistis exchanged quizzical glances as the intercom clicked off.
"That's new," Rinoa commented. She thought for a moment and shrugged. "Whatever."
A/N: Moving along a bit slowly, I know... but I'm working on it... you know, my goal here is to make it on someone's favorites list. grin
To DBH- Yay! A Fan!! Anyway... bows you catch on quickly, grasshopper bows, but I may pull a few more surprises outta my $$. Keep reading! Thanks for the compliment, by the way... I giggled like a school girl when I read that you were enjoying it so much.
To yummychocolatexD- Thanks for the comment! I've been updating several times a day, so keep watching for new chapters. And like I said before in one of my other notes, it may take time to get there, but this is a Squinoa!
To lendmemoni- I dig your name. Thank you, thank you, thank you for the fantastic compliments! I've been trying really hard... I keep editing each chapter little by little... I'm such a perfectionist. I don't even have spellcheck to work with... groan
To Littletiny- I'm so glad to hear that you're as obsessive as I am! lol... I do update quite frequently, so keep checking! I'm really glad you're enjoying it so much... thank you!