Disclaimer: I own nothing to do with final fantasy 8; it's the property of Squaresoft. However all original characters and storylines are mine. Thanx

Ok well here it is, the next chapter. Thanx sooo much to all those who've reviewed so far - you've all helped me to carry on writing so please continue – I value your comments.


"Since when do I have that right?" Laguna asked, silently praying to be told he wasn't a total screw-up.

"Since you and my mother... ah." Squall tried to answer, despite appearances it was not meant to be a light-hearted comment or an attempt to lift the mood; it was just the only truth he could think of.

"Oh please! You know how many 'fathers' there are out there who've abandoned women and their children!"

The younger man took in a calm and controlled breath before he screamed at the man sat next to him, was he so blinded by guilt that he couldn't see what was going on?

"They made that choice – you never did. The ONLY reason you left you wife was to save your adopted daughter and the ONLY reason you never raised me was because you didn't know I existed. Damn it would you stop wallowing in self pity and take a look at what you have got!" Squall yelled loosing his temper despite his best efforts as he glared at his father, this was hard for him to say and he just wanted a little help and an understanding about the subject.

'Damn those eyes' the thought flashed through Laguna's mind before he could stop it. He could never say no to them and he wonder vaguely if that was why Raine had passed them on to him, then he realised she'd given him something else as well. Part of her spirit resided inside Squall and with the words the young man had just spoken Laguna finally realised what they meant. He would never be without her and he would never be alone.

"A son – a family, I have you... and Ellone." He sounded relieved and showed the first sign of happiness since all of this had begun.

"Yeah." Squall nodded, relieved himself that he'd at last managed to get the message through so that they could start to talk properly and get to grips with the situation.

He wasn't naïve about it either, this was going to be a long process and he knew that. It had taken him three years to fully open up to Rinoa – now he had to open up in a whole new way to completely different person.

"Squall?" Laguna asked and the younger man turned in his chair to face him.

"Yeah?" came the cautious reply as he studied his father.

"When did you get so damn good at stuff like this?" and despite the fact that Squall didn't entirely agree with the question he decided to answer.

"Practice."

Laguna creased his forehead in confusion. "You've done this sort of thing before? How many fathers do you have?" it served as a way to lighten the mood as well as an actual question.

Squall laughed slightly as he answered. "I'm Commander Leonhart remember? I have to deal with strange situations all the time and a lot of the cadets have pretty heavy histories. So that and Rinoa." Although it was clear from the way he said it that it was because of the latter that he was able to deal with the first.

"You two really do love each other don't you." Laguna said, his voice softer than before.

"Yeah we do." Squall spoke the words with a confidence of the heart; it was the only thing in the world and his life that he was certain of and the only thing he ever needed. To know that she loved him was, he had vowed, the only thing he would truly believe in with confidence. The last thing he ever wanted was to let her think he doubted her because he didn't – he loved and trusted her with everything that he was.

"Then never let her go." His father told him solemnly, echoes of a lost past seeping through. It was his first piece of advice as a father and something he believed in with all his heart.

"If I have any control over the rest of my life, I won't – I can't." and although the statement was absolutely true Squall wished that he hadn't sounded so determined, because now Laguna was going to start asking questions about a subject he hadn't mentioned to anyone.

"How serious is it between you and Rinoa?" he asked, his tact surprising his son.

"We've been living together for a year." But he knew that wasn't quite true and when Laguna sent him a knowing look he elaborated. "Actually, I don't think we've ever really lived apart – it's just that technically we've only lived in the same apartment for a year."

Laguna sat back in his seat, "wow, Gardens kinda liberal letting two people just out of their teens live together." He remarked, then seeing the glare his son was sending him asked, "what?"

"I became commander when I was seventeen." He explained, repressing the need to roll his eyes when his father spoke again.

"Oh, yeah but don't they expect you to set an example?" and again Squall sent him a look – only this time it was more one of exasperation, he seemed to be fitting into his fatherly role quite quickly.

"Anybody would think you had a problem with us living together." He stated calmly, half serious but with a glint of humour in his eyes.

"I didn't – I don't" Laguna corrected himself, "it's just that I can't help worrying that you grew up too fast."

Seeing the look on his fathers face he could see why this was so painful and why he really couldn't stop the regrets for long. Squall was thankful, that in the three years since GF use had been limited, that he'd regained memories of his childhood and learned that it wasn't as lonely as he'd first thought.

"I didn't so don't worry, Edea and Cid let us grow up like most other kids – it was just that there was more of us. It was only really when I went to Garden that I 'grew up' as you put It." he spoke truthfully, knowing now that although parts of his childhood had been sad and lonely when Ellone left him, he had been happy too.

"But still..." Laguna sighed, not wanting to voice or even think about any more regrets he had. Instead he asked something else. "What exactly are your intentions towards Rinoa then?" this prompted the young mans cheek to go red and he looked away, his father knew then that he'd hit on a nerve.

"You sound like Caraway." He commented nervous at how close to a secret he'd been keeping that this line of questioning was getting.

"He's already asked you that?" his father asked surprised.

"Yeah, three years ago when Rin told him she wasn't going back to Deling and that she was going to live at Garden." Squall replied, visually cringing at the memory of his visit. He didn't like being talked down to like some sort of criminal and he hated the way caraway had spoken to Rinoa – it had left him in no doubt as to why she'd left her home in Deling.

"What did you tell him?"

This time Squall almost sniggered when he answered, "that whatever my intentions were, they were far better than his ever could be."

The comment made Laguna wince, "That's a bit harsh isn't it?" but Squall raised his eyebrows.

"Put it this way, WE have a better relationship than Rinoa and her father, not that she hasn't tried. He's just got no trust in her at all – thinks she's weak when she isn't. It took her a while to realise just how strong she is." By the way he spoke about her it was easy for Laguna to see just how much his son loved the young sorceress.

"You know, they might still work things out." He said hopefully.

But Squall shook his head. "No, I don't think they will. Not after Rinoa found out he turned her cousin away when she became an orphan." He explained, being careful to leave out any names, as it wasn't his place to say anything.

His father seemed to take the hint for once and went back to his main point.

"So, what are your intentions?"
"You know, I don't think I'm ever going to like this city." Quistis remarked as they drove down past caraway mansion in her car.

Seifer chuckled and looped his arm around her shoulders; she sent him a startled glance out of the corner of her eye because of the contact.

"If you're not comfortable?" he asked, not wanting to go too far, or infact to distract her from driving. He just wasn't used to respecting boundaries – he acted on his instincts instead of thinking, it was a problem that she'd helped him to make some progress with. But sometimes he couldn't help it and still acted on impulse.

"No it's fine. I'm just not used to it." she told him as they turned the corner. "Seifer, where are we going to stay?"

"Oh, I forgot to mention that didn't I?" and when she nodded he continued, "I rang the hotel here while you were getting packed. The good news is that you get to choose from three beds in the room – the bad news if that I get one of the other two."

Quistis shrugged. "As long as you don't snore it's fine and it's not like we haven't shared a room before anyway." She teased.

"Oh come on, we were seven years old and it was only because you were scared by one of the horror storied me and Irvine told you!" Seifer retorted as they neared the hotel.

"It was scary! I spent the next week terrified that those men wearing the white cloaks would come and destroy the orphanage!" she told him as seriously as she could manage.

He was laughing at her side, "Yeah but you're still here – infact we are here." He told her and she pulled drove the car round to the car park at the side of the hotel.

Seifer got out first and took both overnight bags from the trunk while Quistis locked the car up. Deling city had always looked like a beautiful and vibrant city but to Seifer the place left a lingering feeling of unease that he knew had more cause than just the fateful parade three years ago.

"Hey you ok?" a soft voice asked at his side, his silence and the pain she sensed in him concerned her – even though he tried to hide it she could see right through him.

"Yeah, let's just get inside ok?" And she nodded, reaching to take her own bag. At first he tried to protest but gave in when she glared and then took her offered hand when he realised that was all she wanted to do all along. This wasn't going to be easy – no matter how many times he'd done it, but at least this time he would have someone he trusted with him.
"So what were you thinking of?" Laguna asked an increasingly uncomfortable Squall.

"I, well... um." He sighed, he was aware that most people found this a hard subject to talk about but he just seemed to find it almost impossible. "Well I was –" but the sound of the elevator put an end to Squalls attempt at speaking as Rinoa and Ellone came into view.

His sister looked visibly nervous and a little afraid. She and Laguna hadn't spoken since the night before; Ellone had even ignored him when she'd boarded the Ragnarok earlier.

The silence that fell became awkward quickly so Rinoa chose to speak, it seemed that she always broke silences first, she couldn't put her finger on it but she had always hate them.

"I contacted Selphie and Irvine, they said it's fine and just to let them know when we're ready. She also said that all the paper work and security stuff has been sorted out by Xu."

Squall nodded and motioned for her to walk over, he also sent his father a meaningful stare which told him two things; 'do not bring up the conversation we've just had and go reassure your daughter'.

Reluctantly the other man nodded and stood up, choosing to be far more interested in the hem of his shirtsleeve than Ellone. He it seemed was just as anxious. But when he reached the lift and looked up just enough to see how worried she looked he opened out his arms and held her tightly.

"I'm sorry Elle, I just couldn't deal with this yesterday – not that I'm must better today. I always knew Raines cousin was a jerk but... it doesn't matter, I'm sorry." She just nodded against his chest and held on tight.

Rinoa and Squall just looked at each other, checking that everything was ok, then she sat on his lap – without protest and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"You're still tired aren't you?" he asked softly, placing his arms around her and weaving his fingers together so that he held her securely.

"Um hum, but I'll be fine, you're the one who should be tired though – you were up nearly every hour last night." she replied some what sleepily.

"Yeah but you must have been awake for while to hear what I was saying in my sleep." He told her; unable to stop a smile from forming when she nuzzled against his neck and mumbling a completely inaudible reply against his skin.

Rinoa knew she could have fallen asleep right then and there, there was no place in the world she would rather be. But she was also there for far less selfish reasons, she wanted him to find the same comfort she did and to find peace before they landed.

"Rin, we're almost there." Squall told her, glancing at the auto navigation control screen. He sounded so unsure of himself.

"It'll be ok." She reassured looping her own arms around him placing a gentle kiss on his neck.

"Yeah maybe. But can I ask you to do something for me?" he asked her and by his tone she couldn't make out whether he was serious or not.

"Sure, anything." She said, turning in his lap so that she could see his face.

"Keep hold of my Gunblade." At this Rinoa blinked several times until what he'd asked her sank in properly.

"Your serious aren't you?" she asked, her eyes wide at the thought.

"Yeah." He sighed resting his head against hers. "Will you take it?"

Rinoa thought about it for a second, then smiled knowing that Squall could probably do enough damage with his fists if he really wanted to, but she also knew that he wouldn't use his Gunblade – even if he did take it with him.

"But you probably won't even touch it – you've got more self control than that." She told him. But to her surprise he shook his head.

"You didn't see what I nearly did when Seifer showed his face at Garden after the whole Ultimicia ordeal." His eyes were serious, so she eventually nodded.

"Alright I'll take it, but you'll have to tell me what you nearly did, which I'm guessing is the whole incident I missed when I went to Trabia to say goodbye to Selphie and the one no one will talk about." Squall nodded against her head.

"Does this mean we have to disarm your father as well?" Squall furrowed his brows, internally thankful for her change of conversation but confused by what she said. "He's brought his machine gun with him, Ellone and me found it when we were in the briefing room before." Rinoa elaborated sounding somewhat mischievous.

"Is it loaded?" Squall asked surprised, almost the entire area around Winhill had been cleared of monsters for about ten miles in each direction – there were no need for weapons. The only reason that he and Rinoa carried theirs was that Trabia and other places in the world were still full of them. Plus Squall was Rinoa's knight and there was no way he was going anywhere completely unarmed – hence the reason he wanted her to carry his Gunblade with her.

"Not anymore, Ellone saw to that – although I think he could still fire it if he wanted to – he's got a couple more bullet cartridges in his jacket, I saw them when we first boarded." And she winked as Laguna and Ellone came over.

"We land in about ten minutes." Squall told them changing the mood completely. This was it and they all knew it. Now the past would be faced and dealt with.
"So, what did they say?" Irvine asked as he slid his arm around his girlfriend's shoulders, they were walking towards Trabias ballroom.

"That it could take them a couple of days." Selphie sighed and looked up into the cowboy's eyes for comfort. "I think that something's going on, Ellone was with Rinoa." She told him, obviously worried about their friends.

"Maybe she has a file or Squall just needed to talk to her, you saw the way he was when he was here. And these files are affecting all of us, just give him some time Selphie and he'll be fine." And she might have believed him if she didn't know him as well as she did.

"Irvine, what's in your file? What won't you tell me?" she asked, stopping just inside of the marble entrance.

"Nothin darlin'." But even he knew she wouldn't fall for that, she was too intuitive and could always sense when someone was hurting.

"Hey, look at me." She prodded, leading him further onto the elegant ballroom. "It's ok, you can tell me Irvy."

"I don't... I don't know if I can just go ahead an say it – this ain't pretty, as I've already told ya." He tried to explain as the words of his file entered his mind, he didn't want to know about any of it himself, let alone tell Selphie.

It seemed however that his girlfriend had other ideas, "I've seen and heard a lot – I've seen some of my closest friends being attacked and I've witnessed the greatest evil the world has ever known. But it's more than that, Irvine I love you and I want to help you." she pleaded, her eyes wide and searching his own.

"Alright." Then he took her hand, "but do you really want to talk about it here?" he asked, aware of how empty the place was, it wasn't as though anyone would interrupt them though as hardly anyone went there.

"Yes, come on sit down." She told him and he gave her a look.

"We're in the middle of the ballroom Sephie." The cowboy told her, scanning the area even when she pulled him down to the polished marble floor.

"It doesn't matter, now come on what happened to you and your parents? I've never seen you this agitated or upset." Selphie asked him from where she sat just in front of him, legs crossed in her jeans and yellow t-shirt.

He settled across from her with his feet on the ground and his elbows rested on his knees, he removed his hat from his head letting his golden hair show and then looked to Selphie. It was inevitable that he'd have to go through all the details, no matter how painful.

"My parents had settled in a small town outside Deling a couple of years before the first sorceress war, my dad worked the land and my mom worked in the local shop. I don't know much about their lives until the incident with the hospital an that's just..." he paused and squeezed the bridge of his nose. "There was a siege of the hospital, military forces stormed the place because of enemy sympathisers that were inside – only there wasn't."

"They didn't take that as an answer though did they?" Selphie asked him, concerned at how he was taking this.

"No." Irvine shook his head. "And it's a little more complicated than that. The army were the sorceress's elite forces that had been sent to make a stand in Galbadia – their biggest enemy, all that sympathiser business was just a ploy."

The brunette knew where this was heading and she shuddered. "But it was a hospital." She whispered.

"It didn't stop them, fist they slaughtered everyone that they could find. I don't know all the details and I don't want to. It was plane and simple murder." His angry words scared Selphie as he wore the look he did in battle.

"Irvy?" she asked gently, but his eyes didn't soften.

"The bastards would have murdered my parents as well but my mom managed to get through to whatever sense of decency that they had to let me live." He looked visibly sick. "She was still pregnant so the bastards said that she and my father could stay alive until I was born, AND even that was only done because of the actual Galbadian military pressure."

But frustrated by the situation he hastily stood up and walked away, Selphie didn't leave it very long before she followed him.

"Irvine?" But he didn't turn around or stop walking away. "Irvine." She said a little louder, but still he didn't stop and in the silence of the ballroom she could only hear the sounds of their echoing footsteps. It came as some sort of relief because at least she knew he wasn't crying, but his behaviour worried her – she had never seen him like this. "Irvine you're scaring me." She warned truthfully.

And it was that comment that brought him to a complete halt. He turned then and faced her with the full force of his anger and sorrow staring her in the eyes; she was still scared by it but didn't move from his gaze.

"They kept just enough nurses and a doctor alive until I was born, then they killed them all – letting me go free as some sort of good will gesture." He yelled, angry words resonating with their surroundings. "A good will gesture! They let me go because of that!"

But Selphie couldn't stand it any longer; she ran the sort distance to him and threw her arms around him. Holding him as tightly as she could until he did the same to her and stopped shaking. Irvine didn't deserve to be in that much pain – this wasn't his fault.
Winhill was still a quiet town hidden away on the southern part of the Galbadian continent and despite expansions in it's size and population it still seemed too close knit for comfort.

The village should have been their home, where they'd lived out the rest of their lives in peaceful harmony. Now it was just an embodiment of all Laguna had lost and a cruel reminder of the secret hidden within, a secret who's perpetrator was in for a rather unpleasant visit.

In an effort to calm both men down to a reasonable level, Rinoa and Ellone had made the decision to go in through the 'top' end of the village near the pub and luckily for them there were enough people around to prevent the men from running all of the way down to the shop.

As Squall had requested, Rinoa carried his Gunblade on his holster that had been adjusted so that she wore it across her back, this was she could walk without worrying about it trailing the ground. Squall himself walked at her side with his fists clenched and she could sense his unease.

But despite the prolonged journey and several chocobos running across their path, the four finally made it to the village shop.

"We'll be outside." Rinoa said quietly, Ellone nodded her agreement at this but looked to her father and brother.

"Be careful please." She warned and both acknowledged her before entering the building.

Once inside Laguna had chosen to look to the wall so that Jaylen wouldn't recognise him – it was something that he and Squall had discussed when they were on the Ragnarok before they landed.

The shop was empty so Squall banged on the counter a few times, his anger boiling to the surface. The seconds it took the man to enter the shop felt like hours but he eventually showed himself.

"Hi, are you Jaylen?" the commander asked, keeping his cool and looking into the eyes of the man who had nearly taken his happiness away forever.

"Ah yeah, may I ask who you are." the greying man asked, searching Squall with his stealy gaze as if he was the one who had done something wrong.

Anger bubbled and rose in the young man and his clenched fists tightened to the point that his bones were clearly visible around his knuckles.

"My name is Squall Leonhart. I'm Raines son - the boy who you didn't see fit to call family and the boy YOU sent away." he growled not taking his eyes off the man for a second.

"What?" he muttered suddenly loosing all colour in his face and stepping back.

"Your heard him Jaylen." Laguna said, turning to look the man in the face for the first time. "He's my son."


I know it's abit of a clifhanger end but i wanted to put this chapter up before i go on holiday so that i can put the next one up when i come back. As always, positive reviews and constructive critism is welcome. thanx