Squall awoke to find himself standing in a field, full of long, green grass. He was uninjured. Even his facial scar, his trademark, had disappeared.
"What's happening?" He asked, directing his query at no one in particular. His voice had a strange metallic echo to it...
"Squall?" He heard a female voice call. It can't be… he thought. You're dead. But then again, he glumly remembered, so am I… He turned round to see the face of the woman he hadn't seen since he was a baby.
"Mother?" He asked the dark-haired woman, who bore a striking resemblance to Squall himself.
"Squall," Raine answered, slowly walking forward and embracing her son, as he did the same thing to her.
"What's happening?" He asked Raine, tears of emotion uncontrollably falling from his eyes.
"This is not your time," she answered cryptically, "but I must tell you these things. Listen carefully, Squall," she said in a motherly tone, "and heed them. Be true to Rinoa. Never make her angry. You are to her as Laguna was to me."
"OK," Squall said, breaking down completely.
"Talk to your father," Raine continued. "He loves you, and if you ask him never to leave you, then he never will. And Squall," she said, releasing her son and staring at him in his tear-streaked face, "make time for your friends. They're good people who care deeply for you- they'll stand by you through thick and thin. You owe it to them to do the same." Squall nodded.
"I will, mother," he said. "I love you..." he wailed. Raine embraced her son once more.
"I love you too, Squall," she said. "You're a strong, handsome, brave young man who people can't help but adore. Don't blame Seifer- even he'll come round in the end." Strangely, when Raine mentioned Seifer's name, Squall felt no rage or spite, but instead, felt pity.
"This is your destiny," she said, as Squall faded out again.
"Mother?" He asked towards the fading image of his mum. "MOTHER!" Squall suddenly felt an arc of electricity pass through his body, and passed out. He awoke to find himself lying shirtless on a table, with needles and tubes in him, and two small burn marks on his chest.
"We've got a pulse!" He heard a familiar voice shout. Dr. Kadowaki? He thought, weakly. Slowly, he turned his head, to see a sight he'd been longing for for days- Rinoa's smiling face, staring straight at his. She had obviously been crying, and quite heavily so. Squall, who was all but bereft of energy, flashed a brief smile back.
"Hey..." he croaked, knowing how he must look, but trying to show Rinoa just how much he loved her.
"Squall..." she said to him, still crying, but this time, they were tears of happiness. However, Dr. Kadowaki put her arms around Rinoa and gently escorted her out of the room. Squall tried to raise his right arm to wave at her, but it was still in agony from where Seifer had stamped on it.
"I'll be back later, Squall! I love you!" She shouted as the good doctor escorted her out of the room. Squall was barely able to mouth "I love you" back at her before losing consciousness again.
Squall awoke some time later to find himself in the side room of the infirmary. It was mid-afternoon, and the sun was shining through the window. Squall was slightly stronger now, so he turned his head, and, seeing Dr. Kadowaki, addressed her.
"How long was I out?" He asked her, making her jump slightly.
"Oh, you're awake!" She was somewhat surprised- she hadn't expected him to regain consciousness until the following day. "You should get back to sleep- you need your rest."
"How long?" Squall re-iterated. He was in no mood for rest. Dr. Kadowaki relented, and answered his question.
"Eight hours. You were brought in here at 7 AM, and it's 3 now." Squall slowly shook his head.
"I mean before that," he said, "after I lost consciousness at the prison." Dr. Kadowaki smiled.
"Only a few hours," she re-assured him. "You were brought straight here on the Ragnarok. We nearly lost you."
"Thanks for bringing me back," Squall said, gratefully. "I want to see Rinoa," he said again, this time more forcefully. The doctor shook her head.
"You're still weak," she said, "too much excitement might send you into another coma. I'll let you see her tomorrow morning. What you need to concentrate on is resting, and getting better." Squall then asked the question she hadn't wanted to hear.
"How bad are my injuries?" Dr. Kadowaki sighed- she had some bad news, and she felt it best to wait until her patient was a little stronger.
"Tomorrow, Squall," she replied. Squall was not happy at this answer.
"I need to know, doctor," he said, forcefully, "if I'm to get better." Dr. Kadowaki sat down with a dour expression on her face. Even if it's bad news, Squall thought, I still need to know.
"Most of the surface injuries were easily treatable with magic and medicine," she began, "but your wrist and your leg were different matters. If you don't push it, and stick to the exercises and magic program I give you, your wrist should be fully healed in four weeks." Squall sighed with relief- for a broken wrist, four weeks was not a bad recovery time.
"And my leg?" He asked. Dr. Kadowaki started speaking, only with a very serious tone.
"That's a different story, I'm afraid. The blade punctured one of your quadriceps muscles, and the bullets nearly tore it to shreds. Had he done any more damage, it was likely we'd have had to amputate." Squall was shocked at this news, but he didn't let it show. Taking a big gulp, he asked the question he really didn't want to know the answer to.
"How long?"
"Well," Dr. Kadowaki answered him, "with the right program of exer-"
"How long, doctor?" Squall asked, more forcefully this time. Dr. Kadowaki sighed.
"At least fourteen weeks, Squall," she said, quietly. Squall closed his eyes, unable to believe what he'd just heard. Fourteen weeks. That was over three months. He'd be off his feet, unable to train, barely able to walk, for over three months. Dr. Kadowaki stood up, and left him in peace, but not before some parting advice.
"You should get some sleep, Squall," she said before closing the door on him. However, Squall couldn't sleep. He kept thinking the same thing, over and over again. Three months… three months… Squall fell asleep that night, wondering how he was possibly going to survive for three months doing nothing but re-habilitating.
Squall again found himself standing in a grassy field, bereft of his scars and injuries. He knew immediately what it meant.
"Mother?" He asked, expectantly. What he got, however, was different from anything he could possibly have expected.
"Hello, Squall," he heard the familiar voice of his father call from behind him. Squall turned round, and sure enough, there stood Laguna Loire- the president of Esthar, and his father.
"What are you doing here?" Squall asked, defensively. Laguna simply smiled.
"I hear you've got some free time ahead of you, Squall," he smirked.
"It won't all be free time," Squall corrected his old man, "I'll have to re-habilitate, I'll have work to catch up on, and-" Laguna waved his hand, stopping Squall in his tracks.
"Recently," he started, "a very clever and beautiful woman gave you some advice. I suggest you act on it. Hell," he continued, laughing, "It's not like you don't have the time!" Squall nodded, remembering what his mother had told him when he was, for a brief moment, dead.
"OK," Squall said, " I will." Laguna smiled.
"Trust me, you won't regret it," he said, backing off. "Oh, and don't forget to call me!"
"I won't!" Squall shouted after his fading father.
Squall woke up in his hospital bed, smiling. It was probably the most pleasant dream he'd had in a while. Opening his eyes, he was alarmed to find a pair of hands cutting off his vision.
"Guess who," the familiar voice of his lover came from behind him. Squall's smile widened. Reaching over with his left hand, he took one of Rinoa's hands and gently kissed it.
"Hi," he said simply, turning over, before Rinoa leaned in and kissed him on the lips. He let her hand go, and she sat down at his bedside.
"How are you doing?" She asked him, still grinning slightly.
"Well," Squall answered, joking but trying (badly) to sound serious, "I feel like my right hand's in a vice, I've got a bite bug in my thigh, but with you here, I couldn't feel better." Rinoa giggled slightly- to say that Squall wasn't usually one to crack jokes was one of the biggest exaggerations of all time. Squall continued.
"Any news on when I can get out of here?" Rinoa smiled again- Good news! Squall thought to himself.
"The doc says," she continued, "that if we treat you with magic once every four hours, you can be discharged this evening." Squall smiled, and laughed a bit himself.
"I really, really," he said, "cannot wait to get back to our home." Rinoa stopped smiling for a minute, and then started a more serious conversation.
"Squall, about what we said to each other the night before you left..." Squall cut her off with a wave.
"Forget it," he said, dismissively. "We all say things we don't mean at times. If I upset you, then I apologise." Rinoa was dumbfounded.
"No," she said, "It was my fault. If I wasn't so stubborn I-" Squall cut her off again.
"It's OK," he continued, smiling lightly, "I'm willing to put it behind us if you are." Rinoa smiled again.
"OK," she started, "who are you, and what have you done with the real Squall?" Squall laughed again.
"I am the real Squall," he said, "I just haven't acted like it until now." He then realised that he had something to ask Rinoa. He sobered up his expression.
"On a more serious note, though," he asked, "how did I get out of the prison?" Rinoa also sobered up.
"We found you just as you were about to be-" she hesitated, but Squall knew exactly what she meant.
"Go on," He said, reassuringly.
"Me and Zell broke in from the top floor and caught Seifer unawares. We freed Quis, Selphie and Irvine, but what with trying to save you and Seifer's magic, we weren't able to finish him off." Squall nodded.
"Was anyone else hurt?" he asked, quietly. He was relieved when Rinoa shook her head.
"No," she said, "there were too many of us. He did manage to catch Quis in the arm with his gunblade, but it was only a flesh wound, easily treated."
"Is she alright?" He asked, still concerned.
"You can't even tell where he hit her," she answered. Squall breathed a sigh of relief. Rinoa's expression went dour again, though.
"But," she said, glumly, "Selphie's been a little depressed lately. I'm not sure why. She said she'll only talk to you about it." Squall nodded- he had an idea why that was.
"Hasn't Irvine been able to cheer her up?" Usually, when Selphie had been a little glum, Irvine was always on hand to cheer her up. Unfortunately, Rinoa shook her head.
"She says it's something she'd only feel comfortable talking to you about." She said, before saying with a mischievous grin, "It's not something I should be jealous about, is it?" Squall chuckled.
"With Selphie? Everyone's younger sister?" He shook his head. "There's only one girl for me, and that's you." Rinoa smiled, and kissed him again.
"I have to be going," she said, "you know how Quis gets when you're late for classes." Squall raised an eyebrow.
"So you're not quitting the Garden after all, then?" Rinoa smiled.
"Never in a million years." She kissed him again. "I love you, Squall."
"I love you too, Rinoa," he said back. Rinoa waved coyly as she left, and Squall waved back (with his left hand, of course), grinning. Three months, he thought, this isn't going to be so bad after all… Suddenly, Squall remembered something Edea had said to him a few months earlier, shortly after the end of the Ultimecia incident. Summoning over Dr. Kadowaki, he asked her for a telephone...
"What's happening?" He asked, directing his query at no one in particular. His voice had a strange metallic echo to it...
"Squall?" He heard a female voice call. It can't be… he thought. You're dead. But then again, he glumly remembered, so am I… He turned round to see the face of the woman he hadn't seen since he was a baby.
"Mother?" He asked the dark-haired woman, who bore a striking resemblance to Squall himself.
"Squall," Raine answered, slowly walking forward and embracing her son, as he did the same thing to her.
"What's happening?" He asked Raine, tears of emotion uncontrollably falling from his eyes.
"This is not your time," she answered cryptically, "but I must tell you these things. Listen carefully, Squall," she said in a motherly tone, "and heed them. Be true to Rinoa. Never make her angry. You are to her as Laguna was to me."
"OK," Squall said, breaking down completely.
"Talk to your father," Raine continued. "He loves you, and if you ask him never to leave you, then he never will. And Squall," she said, releasing her son and staring at him in his tear-streaked face, "make time for your friends. They're good people who care deeply for you- they'll stand by you through thick and thin. You owe it to them to do the same." Squall nodded.
"I will, mother," he said. "I love you..." he wailed. Raine embraced her son once more.
"I love you too, Squall," she said. "You're a strong, handsome, brave young man who people can't help but adore. Don't blame Seifer- even he'll come round in the end." Strangely, when Raine mentioned Seifer's name, Squall felt no rage or spite, but instead, felt pity.
"This is your destiny," she said, as Squall faded out again.
"Mother?" He asked towards the fading image of his mum. "MOTHER!" Squall suddenly felt an arc of electricity pass through his body, and passed out. He awoke to find himself lying shirtless on a table, with needles and tubes in him, and two small burn marks on his chest.
"We've got a pulse!" He heard a familiar voice shout. Dr. Kadowaki? He thought, weakly. Slowly, he turned his head, to see a sight he'd been longing for for days- Rinoa's smiling face, staring straight at his. She had obviously been crying, and quite heavily so. Squall, who was all but bereft of energy, flashed a brief smile back.
"Hey..." he croaked, knowing how he must look, but trying to show Rinoa just how much he loved her.
"Squall..." she said to him, still crying, but this time, they were tears of happiness. However, Dr. Kadowaki put her arms around Rinoa and gently escorted her out of the room. Squall tried to raise his right arm to wave at her, but it was still in agony from where Seifer had stamped on it.
"I'll be back later, Squall! I love you!" She shouted as the good doctor escorted her out of the room. Squall was barely able to mouth "I love you" back at her before losing consciousness again.
Squall awoke some time later to find himself in the side room of the infirmary. It was mid-afternoon, and the sun was shining through the window. Squall was slightly stronger now, so he turned his head, and, seeing Dr. Kadowaki, addressed her.
"How long was I out?" He asked her, making her jump slightly.
"Oh, you're awake!" She was somewhat surprised- she hadn't expected him to regain consciousness until the following day. "You should get back to sleep- you need your rest."
"How long?" Squall re-iterated. He was in no mood for rest. Dr. Kadowaki relented, and answered his question.
"Eight hours. You were brought in here at 7 AM, and it's 3 now." Squall slowly shook his head.
"I mean before that," he said, "after I lost consciousness at the prison." Dr. Kadowaki smiled.
"Only a few hours," she re-assured him. "You were brought straight here on the Ragnarok. We nearly lost you."
"Thanks for bringing me back," Squall said, gratefully. "I want to see Rinoa," he said again, this time more forcefully. The doctor shook her head.
"You're still weak," she said, "too much excitement might send you into another coma. I'll let you see her tomorrow morning. What you need to concentrate on is resting, and getting better." Squall then asked the question she hadn't wanted to hear.
"How bad are my injuries?" Dr. Kadowaki sighed- she had some bad news, and she felt it best to wait until her patient was a little stronger.
"Tomorrow, Squall," she replied. Squall was not happy at this answer.
"I need to know, doctor," he said, forcefully, "if I'm to get better." Dr. Kadowaki sat down with a dour expression on her face. Even if it's bad news, Squall thought, I still need to know.
"Most of the surface injuries were easily treatable with magic and medicine," she began, "but your wrist and your leg were different matters. If you don't push it, and stick to the exercises and magic program I give you, your wrist should be fully healed in four weeks." Squall sighed with relief- for a broken wrist, four weeks was not a bad recovery time.
"And my leg?" He asked. Dr. Kadowaki started speaking, only with a very serious tone.
"That's a different story, I'm afraid. The blade punctured one of your quadriceps muscles, and the bullets nearly tore it to shreds. Had he done any more damage, it was likely we'd have had to amputate." Squall was shocked at this news, but he didn't let it show. Taking a big gulp, he asked the question he really didn't want to know the answer to.
"How long?"
"Well," Dr. Kadowaki answered him, "with the right program of exer-"
"How long, doctor?" Squall asked, more forcefully this time. Dr. Kadowaki sighed.
"At least fourteen weeks, Squall," she said, quietly. Squall closed his eyes, unable to believe what he'd just heard. Fourteen weeks. That was over three months. He'd be off his feet, unable to train, barely able to walk, for over three months. Dr. Kadowaki stood up, and left him in peace, but not before some parting advice.
"You should get some sleep, Squall," she said before closing the door on him. However, Squall couldn't sleep. He kept thinking the same thing, over and over again. Three months… three months… Squall fell asleep that night, wondering how he was possibly going to survive for three months doing nothing but re-habilitating.
Squall again found himself standing in a grassy field, bereft of his scars and injuries. He knew immediately what it meant.
"Mother?" He asked, expectantly. What he got, however, was different from anything he could possibly have expected.
"Hello, Squall," he heard the familiar voice of his father call from behind him. Squall turned round, and sure enough, there stood Laguna Loire- the president of Esthar, and his father.
"What are you doing here?" Squall asked, defensively. Laguna simply smiled.
"I hear you've got some free time ahead of you, Squall," he smirked.
"It won't all be free time," Squall corrected his old man, "I'll have to re-habilitate, I'll have work to catch up on, and-" Laguna waved his hand, stopping Squall in his tracks.
"Recently," he started, "a very clever and beautiful woman gave you some advice. I suggest you act on it. Hell," he continued, laughing, "It's not like you don't have the time!" Squall nodded, remembering what his mother had told him when he was, for a brief moment, dead.
"OK," Squall said, " I will." Laguna smiled.
"Trust me, you won't regret it," he said, backing off. "Oh, and don't forget to call me!"
"I won't!" Squall shouted after his fading father.
Squall woke up in his hospital bed, smiling. It was probably the most pleasant dream he'd had in a while. Opening his eyes, he was alarmed to find a pair of hands cutting off his vision.
"Guess who," the familiar voice of his lover came from behind him. Squall's smile widened. Reaching over with his left hand, he took one of Rinoa's hands and gently kissed it.
"Hi," he said simply, turning over, before Rinoa leaned in and kissed him on the lips. He let her hand go, and she sat down at his bedside.
"How are you doing?" She asked him, still grinning slightly.
"Well," Squall answered, joking but trying (badly) to sound serious, "I feel like my right hand's in a vice, I've got a bite bug in my thigh, but with you here, I couldn't feel better." Rinoa giggled slightly- to say that Squall wasn't usually one to crack jokes was one of the biggest exaggerations of all time. Squall continued.
"Any news on when I can get out of here?" Rinoa smiled again- Good news! Squall thought to himself.
"The doc says," she continued, "that if we treat you with magic once every four hours, you can be discharged this evening." Squall smiled, and laughed a bit himself.
"I really, really," he said, "cannot wait to get back to our home." Rinoa stopped smiling for a minute, and then started a more serious conversation.
"Squall, about what we said to each other the night before you left..." Squall cut her off with a wave.
"Forget it," he said, dismissively. "We all say things we don't mean at times. If I upset you, then I apologise." Rinoa was dumbfounded.
"No," she said, "It was my fault. If I wasn't so stubborn I-" Squall cut her off again.
"It's OK," he continued, smiling lightly, "I'm willing to put it behind us if you are." Rinoa smiled again.
"OK," she started, "who are you, and what have you done with the real Squall?" Squall laughed again.
"I am the real Squall," he said, "I just haven't acted like it until now." He then realised that he had something to ask Rinoa. He sobered up his expression.
"On a more serious note, though," he asked, "how did I get out of the prison?" Rinoa also sobered up.
"We found you just as you were about to be-" she hesitated, but Squall knew exactly what she meant.
"Go on," He said, reassuringly.
"Me and Zell broke in from the top floor and caught Seifer unawares. We freed Quis, Selphie and Irvine, but what with trying to save you and Seifer's magic, we weren't able to finish him off." Squall nodded.
"Was anyone else hurt?" he asked, quietly. He was relieved when Rinoa shook her head.
"No," she said, "there were too many of us. He did manage to catch Quis in the arm with his gunblade, but it was only a flesh wound, easily treated."
"Is she alright?" He asked, still concerned.
"You can't even tell where he hit her," she answered. Squall breathed a sigh of relief. Rinoa's expression went dour again, though.
"But," she said, glumly, "Selphie's been a little depressed lately. I'm not sure why. She said she'll only talk to you about it." Squall nodded- he had an idea why that was.
"Hasn't Irvine been able to cheer her up?" Usually, when Selphie had been a little glum, Irvine was always on hand to cheer her up. Unfortunately, Rinoa shook her head.
"She says it's something she'd only feel comfortable talking to you about." She said, before saying with a mischievous grin, "It's not something I should be jealous about, is it?" Squall chuckled.
"With Selphie? Everyone's younger sister?" He shook his head. "There's only one girl for me, and that's you." Rinoa smiled, and kissed him again.
"I have to be going," she said, "you know how Quis gets when you're late for classes." Squall raised an eyebrow.
"So you're not quitting the Garden after all, then?" Rinoa smiled.
"Never in a million years." She kissed him again. "I love you, Squall."
"I love you too, Rinoa," he said back. Rinoa waved coyly as she left, and Squall waved back (with his left hand, of course), grinning. Three months, he thought, this isn't going to be so bad after all… Suddenly, Squall remembered something Edea had said to him a few months earlier, shortly after the end of the Ultimecia incident. Summoning over Dr. Kadowaki, he asked her for a telephone...