Disclaimer: I don't own final fantasy 8; it is the property of Squaresoft. However all original characters and storylines are mine. No money has or will exchange hands. Thanx

Hi, Thanx sooo much for the continuing support and reviews I've been getting for this story. This chapter's a little late because of writers block and a computer that decided I didn't have permission to save my own document. Anyway, that's enough from me, here's the chapter.


The journey back seemed quieter somehow, like the pain and emotional struggle from before was over now leaving a strange sort of peace in its place. Squall sat at the helm, choosing to manually steer the Ragnarok instead of leaving it to the autopilot; Laguna was in the seat next to him staring out onto the world as they flew by.

He felt content for the first time in twenty years, the guilt he had carried and the hurting that had accompanied it for so long were fading away and he could now look at the world with renewed faith. He couldn't explain it but everything his life had been lacking had in some way been given to him and now he felt like he had some thing to do with his life besides politics.

"Is it ok if we stop off at Balamb first? It's just that there is something I need to pick up." Squall asked, keeping his eyes focused on the steering. There had been something bothering him since Laguna's conversation with Jaylen, he knew he had something that would help his father to gain an insight into his childhood.

"Sure, it's not as if Esthar'll miss me anyway. It's been kinda quiet lately, except for the Galbadian minister wanted to have urgent talks every ten minutes." The president told him slumming into the back of his chair and resting his foot against the side panel.

The commander shook his head and decided to go for one of his rare jokes, "Of course they'll miss you – there's no one else to hero worship when you're not there."

Laguna looked at him, slightly bemused. "Hey you're not supposed to make jokes! You're supposed to brood and complain a lot, well according to Seifer Almasy anyway." He said, the remark gaining a glare from his son.

"I knew it was a bad idea to send him and Quistis to that mission in Esthar – I should have listened to Rin." He grunted, starting to wonder if the blonde gunblader would ever learn how to behave.

But his father just laughed. "All I'll say is it's a good job you don't have any of those fraternal regulations at Garden."

Squall looked confused by this. "What?" he was beginning to have flash backs to a conversation he had with Quistis just before he'd set off to Edea's house a few days ago.

"Oh, you don't know?" and he laughed again. "Those two, they're not together all ready, which by the look on your face I'll take as a no... then they soon will be."

The commander blinked a few times and shook his head, he really didn't want to know what they were or could soon be getting up to.

"Ah, thanks for the warning. I think." He said, still trying to decide whether he should be shocked or not. When he'd assigned Seifer to Quistis in the first place he'd had an inkling that it could lead to something else, but he hadn't given much thought to it since then.

The sound of the elevator rising disturbed his thoughts and he heard light footsteps approach him.

"Squall you do know that we're heading towards Balamb right?" the raven-haired girl asked coming to stand behind her knight.

"Yeah, I have to pick something up before we head to Esthar and Trabia." He told her, looking up briefly to see her looking right back.

"It's ok, I've got to redo my class lists anyway. Xu just contacted us and said that Quistis, who was supposed to be covering my classes this afternoon, is in Deling with Seifer. She also said that the last of the orphanage restoration crews have been brought back to Garden via the ships..." she trailed off when she noticed both men were laughing and that Laguna was pointing a finger at his son.

"SEE! I TOLD YOU!" the president exclaimed before he fell into another fit of laughter.

It didn't take Rinoa long to figure it out and she hit squalls shoulder lightly.

"Don't be so cruel, Seifer's had a hard life too you know." She told them, but only managed to prompt questioning glares from both men. "What? My father told me that some sort of contaminated water killed his family, he also added that he might be using me to get at my father – at the time that is. And I'm babbling now so I'll stop."

Squall just laughed again and he leaned his head to the side, rubbing her hand that lay on his shoulder.

"It's ok Rin. I've just discovered my fathers hidden talent – don't ask." He added "We're nearly there so can you radio Xu and tell her we're coming into land for a short time before we take our visitors home and pick up the transferring SeeD's?"

She nodded "Sure." And she kissed the top of his head before heading towards the control panel hear the elevator, it was easier to use than the one down stairs and she could watch Squall while she was there. Plus Ellone had said she wanted to be alone downstairs so she didn't have to feel bad about leaving anyone out.


"It's good to be home isn't it." Zell commented as he and Laurie took the final steps up the main hallway of Balamb garden.

His wife smiled and sighed happily as she looked around. "Oh yeah, I mean trekking the hills is nice but this place... I don't know, it always seems so relaxing." She enthused.

"That'll be the fountains." He informed her, taking her hand as the continued to walk up the entrance leading to the elevators.

"Hey guys!" a voice called and they turned around to see Rinoa and Squall heading their way.

Rinoa was beaming and she ran up to Zell giving him a warm hug before turning to his wife and doing the same.

Squall on the other hand waved briefly before heading off, at more of a run that a walk, to his and Rinoa's apartment.

"He's got something to pick up." The sorceress informed, watching her knight leave and answering her friend's unspoken question at the same time. When she snapped out of the daze she'd fallen into she turned back to Zell and Laurie. "So, did you have a good anniversary?"

The pair looked at her as if deciding what they were going to say in response, Rinoa was starting to wonder what exactly had happened on those hills but didn't really think it was her place to ask so she just waited for their answer.

"Yeah we did." Zell told her finally, smiling at his wife as he spoke, she had the same placid look on her face as they made a silent decision that no one other than themselves would understand the significance of.

"How about you?" the librarian asked, remembering the tension she'd seen in Squall on the way home form the orphanage.

Rinoa sighed, "It was worth it because of what he got out of it. But I don't ever want him to have to go through anything like that again; I don't like seeing him revert back inside himself like he did when we were away. He deserves so much better." She told them honestly, not wanting to change the mood too much.

Her friends picked up on that and decided to change the subject to something a little more pleasant.

"so, are you back properly now?" Laurie asked only to see her friend shake her head, although she looked somewhat happy about it.

"No, we've got a couple of passengers to drop off and two SeeD's to pick up who are transferring back to Balamb from Trabia." She informed, not quite giving the game away about their returning friends just yet.

But Zell sent a glance her way that told her he knew what was going on and she winked to confirm it.

"So I guess you'll need someone to sort out living arrangements for them and I take it that they'll be living together?" he asked, confusing Laurie.

"Well they are at the moment, so yeah. I think the only requirement is that they're not next to Squall and Me." Rinoa told him and he laughed, finally giving Laurie enough clues as to the identity of their latest transfers.

"They're coming back? That'll be great! All of us together again!" she enthused recalling the year when all of them were at Balamb; it just hadn't seemed the same without them there. But then she remembered another little detail from their time there. "Ah, but can I ask that they're not next to us either? We're going to need to keep our apartment kinda quiet."

"Ok, well I'm not really in charge of it – you could do it if you want and that way everyone will be happy." The sorceress told them, not at all thinking the noise comment was at all strange or really connecting it with anything.

"Thanks."

"It's fine, means one less thing for Xu to do, seems she's been run off her feet since we all left. Which reminds me I've got to go change my class sub's list so I'll see you later." Rinoa added, staring to walk away from her friends.

"Your magic class?" Laurie asked and the sorceress turned to her.

"Yeah, why?"

"I'll sub it for you, it'll be fun to teach that class for an afternoon – plus Zell's going to be busy so if it'll help you?" the librarian explained, but Rinoa couldn't help but think she was taking advantage of her friend.

"Are you sure, you and Zell should still have some time off shouldn't you? And there are other people who can probably sub." But Laurie shook her head and walked up to her friend.

"I'd really like to sub the class, I'm thinking of going for a part time teaching position here as it'll give me something more to do than just sort out the library."

Rinoa chuckled and gave in. "Sure, why not. As long as you want to it's fine and I think you'd make a good teacher. The classes starts at one and finish at three, thanks Laurie." Then she turned to Zell. "And thanks for sorting out the living arrangements, I'll see you guys later." And she left, heading for the library where she'd told Squall to meet her when he was done.


It was late in the morning when Quistis finally drifted out of sleep and rolled in her covers to avoid the sunlight pouring in from the windows. She was surprised to see Seifer still fast asleep in the bed next to her and even more of a surprise when she noticed how peaceful he looked. He always seemed to be awake before she was; well at least he had been on their mission to Esthar a few weeks back and he'd always been up early to get her breakfast.

Which gave her an idea.

So slipping out of the covers and reaching for her dressing gown, she headed for the bathroom to get ready for a little surprise trip to the bakery down the road. It was Quistis's turn to surprise Seifer and to say a small thank you for everything he had done for her.


He couldn't quite out his finger on what had woken him up, he was sure it wasn't the sunlight as he was facing the wall and there defiantly hadn't been any sort of loud noise or movement. Which only left... coffee he could smell coffee and something sweet.

"Morning." And at the sound of her voice he opened his eyes to see her smiling at him with coffee in her hand and a selection of Danishes on his bedside table.

"You're awake?" he asked before realising how stupid his comment actually was.

"And I'm dressed too." Quistis told him edging closer to him on the bed.

"No kidding." Seifer remarked, "and you went out for breakfast." He rolled onto his back and reached his hand out to hers, Quistis took it and made her way further onto the bed.

"Yeah, it's sort of my way of saying thank you for everything that you've done for me recently. It means a lot that you would..." she couldn't think of a way to finish her sentence, but Seifer knew what she meant.

"That I care for you? Hell I'm just relived you didn't try to kill me when I walked into your room the other morning, or that you thought my attempt to show I can be a human being was flawed!" Quistis sent him a glare for that but just started laughing when he glared right back.

"Shall we eat then?" he asked, eying the coffee and the icing covered pastry closer to him, he'd always had a bit of a fetish for those and he wondered if she knew about that.

"No we have to sit here and watch it go cold." She retorted sarcastically.

"Fine well we'll just have to do this then." And he pulled her into his arms; placing his lips firmly on her before dropping back down onto the bed with her on top of him.

She responded and soon it didn't seem that either would be eating their breakfast anytime soon, both now free from the pain of their pasts they could finally be themselves with the only other person who really understood them.


When they'd landed Laguna and Ellone had gone ahead to the presidential palace whilst Squall and Rinoa made the final preparations with Trabia Garden where they would be arriving in a couple of hours.

There had also been the matter of being told about all the new upgrades that had been made on the Ragnarok that they hadn't hear before due to Laguna's rash actions. That in it's self had taken about half an hour, but once the technicians were satisfied that Squall and Rinoa knew how to work the systems they had left them to it.

"Rin, I'm going to head to the palace again, I have something to give to my father before we leave." Squall said, poking his head around the door.

Rinoa was sat at the control panel checking the new systems and how they all worked or could be fixed, she wanted to know everything about running the ship – it seemed she never knew when it could come in handy.

"I thought you might, will you tell him I said thank you for his hospitality and that I hope to see him again soon?" she hinted, although not so subtly as it turned out.

Squall understood what she meant though, he'd accepted that he couldn't just pretend it was all over now and go back to how it was. He wasn't about to separate himself from his father, he was the only 'related' family that he had and he needed the connection.

"He's already invited us back in a few weeks for Esthar cities annual festival and I said we'd go if you wanted to."

She eyed him carefully, "Is that what you were talking about on the way to Winhill yesterday?" the question however seemed to trigger a nervous response in Squall who tried his best to cover whatever had been said with a smile.

"Partly yeah, do you want to go?" he asked and she knew he was trying to change the subject.

Luckily for him Rinoa decided to let the 'other matter', whatever it was, rest for now so she answered his question.

"I would love to, now go before I start asking any more questions. Or your father starts to panic because you haven't been to see him yet." She noticed that his cheeks were going red and she smiled, for some reason she'd always thought he was at his sexiest when he was embarrassed.


Squall eventually found his father in the apartment he and Rinoa had stayed in, Kiros and Ward hadn't made it clear to him why exactly he had to meet him there. He was stood at the windows of the lounge, gazing out onto the oasis that existed within the palace gardens.

"Sis." Squall said finally, he'd tried to get his fathers attention several times, but unable to call him 'dad' he'd made reference to part of his past that Laguna had missed. "My first word was 'sis'." He further explained and his father turned to face him, a question written all over his face.

"How?" he mouthed, barely making a sound at all.

His son smiled. "It's all in here." And he held up a large faded book covered in drawings and photographs.

"What is it?" Laguna asked as he approached Squall.

"It's my memory book, I put it together with some help from Edea after Ellone left. She thought it would cheer me up." The younger man explained remembering the time he'd spent putting it together.

His matron had suggested it when she'd found him crying one afternoon shortly after his sister had left the orphanage. And so it became his way of remembering his sister and the happy times at the orphanage, it also severed as a distraction through out the years before he'd gone to Garden.

It had been his secret and none of the others had known about it, infact the only reason he'd rediscovered it was that when he and Rinoa moved in together she'd found it amongst his stored items.

His father was at a loss for words, he just stood there looking at the book and then to his son. It was such a contrast to the last thing he had been handed by the younger man; this one was filled with happy memories – the other with a painful secret.

"Here." Squall told him finally, handing him the book and choosing to sit on the sofa, Laguna followed him and was soon looking at the pages that detailed his sons childhood.

Through them he saw him grow up, playing and laughing with his friends and though it still hurt that he hadn't been allowed to raise his son, part of him felt settled about it. He knew that it was never too late - all he had to do was just catch up.

When it seemed that he had gotten to the last page, which as far as he could remember was the last picture taken before he went to garden, Squall finally asked the question he'd been wondering about since he'd been redirected around the place.

"Why here?" his voice was soft and quiet, as if somehow not wanting to disturb the peace of the room.

Laguna took a while to answer as he thought about what he was going to say, he was never very good with speeches and this one especially wasn't going to be easy.

"Because this was going to be our home." Squall looked at him but he continued before his son could ask a question. "Originally the plan was for me to spend some time in Esthar after the war had ended – just to make sure I was safe, I wasn't supposed to be president at first. But I knew I couldn't stay here without Raine and I asked the officials who said that she could accompany me for the few months I would have spent here." He sighed remembering the false hope he'd gained when he realised he could see her again.

"But when you returned she'd already died." The younger man finished, aware of the sensitive nature of the conversation.

"Yeah, you and your sister were gone too so I returned to Esthar – having been told I was the cause of Raines death – there was no where else for me to go. And so plans were made around me and I ended up staying here as president."

Squall looked around again and realised how homely the place felt, he knew now why the apartment was so far from the main political parts in the palace and for some reason he knew that his mother would have loved the place.

"Look, I know that it's not much and I'll understand if you don't want to accept it, but if you want you and Rinoa can have this place. I'm not trying to put pressure on you to come back or anything but I'm saying that if you do this apartment is yours." He said everything he was meaning to say in one go so that he couldn't back out, he was just so scared of loosing contact with his family again and –

"I'd love it." his words cut off his father's trail of thought and the president's eyes shot to his son. "I know Rinoa would love this place too and we'll need a place to stay for the festival in a few weeks."

Squall wasn't sure but it his father gave the appearance of someone about to cry, he was smiling so he guessed he wasn't upset and it struck him how much it must mean to the older man. He had after all found his family again, just like he had. He almost regretted the fact that he had to leave so soon – there was so much he wanted to know.

"I have to... we've got to pick up Selphie and Irvine now so I have to go, but I'll be back for that festival, Rin too." And Laguna smiled, remembering their conversation on the way to Winhill.

"Just tell her how you feel Squall, and good luck." He said watching the surprise on his son's face.

"How do you?" he asked, baffled that his father could tell what he was thinking.

"I've been there." Laguna said, sounding more wistful than sad, he was finally coming to terms with the loss and accepting what he did have. There would always be the memories of Raine to stay with him and for now that would be enough.

And not knowing what to say other than goodbye and knowing that that wasn't really good enough, Squall decided to be brave. He approached his father who was now stood again with the book in his hands.

"Do you want this back?" Laguna asked him, but he shook his head.

"No Dad you can keep the book, it should have been yours anyway." Squall told him, keeping his cool and smiling at the way his father's eyes looked like they were going to pop out of his head.

"You here." And Laguna pulled his son into a hug, silently thanking him for being there and for caring, he also sent out a silent thank you to his wife, wherever she was, for leaving a piece of her self behind.


"Irvy, come on, come on they're here!" Selphie squealed jumping up and down at the entrance to Trabia Garden as the Ragnarok landed in front of her.

The cowboy made his way to her as fast as he could, he was after all pulling along two suitcases full of luggage with him. It was his fault for offering really so he didn't complain and he was soon next to the brunette as the main hatch opened to let them aboard.

Rinoa was waiting to greet them just inside, with her warm long coat on and what appeared to be a luggage trolley. She was also jumping up and down slightly, but more to do with the freezing temperatures than anything else.

"Rinny!" Selphie called, running up to and hugging her best friend. "You're here!" and she stepped back, jumping again and clapping her hands.

"Yep, we're here to take you home to Balamb...where's your leaving party?" she had expected there to be other people outside.

"They're inside." Irvine explained, panting and trying to catch his breath as he hauled the suitcases onto the trolley. "We told them to go in before they were frozen to death – we're in winter here in Trabia – which as you can imagine is pretty darn cold."

The sorceress just smiled, "Well the weathers lovely in Balamb so you'll warm up in no time." And she activated the hatch lock before guiding her friends inside. "We should be there in an hour or so, so just leave your things in the hold here and meet us up on the bridge. We've got your accommodation sorted – Zell's seen to that so there's nothing for you to worry about and Xu's seen to passes and everything else so you should be fine." It was obvious how happy she was to have her friends home again and she couldn't stop the smile on her face.

"How about you guys?" Irvine asked her and she looked at him surprised.

"What to do you mean?" she asked.

"Did you get everything sorted out?" she nodded.

"Yeah, everything's fine – certain things have changed for ever, but they're good changes to so yeah. You guys ok now?" Rinoa could remember the way that they had been before she and squall left Trabia the first time.

"Yeah, just had to come to terms with a few things." The cowboy told her honestly, selphie smiled at him before turning to her cousin.

"So... is there going to be a party when we get back?" she asked cheekily.

Rinoa laughed as they headed up to the bridge.

"Oh yeah." She told them, she couldn't wait to get back home and back to her life and her friends then there was also the matter of what Squall was hiding...


Only one more chapter to go now, and I'm going to miss writing this! But as always positive reviews and constructive criticism (thanks Stephen for telling me how to spell that) welcome.