I giggle at the title of this chapter...I find it really entertaining. Anyway, I didn't leave you in suspence for TOO long....so here you go!

6. An Unexpected After Dinner Swim

What do I do now? Rikku asked herself as she slid off the booth and started to walk back to the table, leaving Gippal alone to talk with the girl. She couldn't stand to watch anymore of the conversation because it was terrifying her. I can't act like everything is okay, because things aren't okay. But, how is this possible? I'm right here. She looked at her hands to reassure herself that she was in her own body. How could he be looking and talking to me when I'm me? Was that girl me but not me? I'm so confused… She exhaled as she walked back to the table and sat down.

"I thought you left to get some new silverware," Yuna said as she noticed that Rikku came back empty handed.

"Oh, yeah, I must've…forgotten," she said as she attempted a smile. "I'll just ask the waiter or someone to get me a new set the next time they come by. No biggie."

"You okay, Rik?" Tidus asked as he looked at Rikku's face. It looked as if all the color was drained out of her sun-kissed tan skin. "You look like you've seen a ghost."

"No, I'm…I'm okay," she said as Yuna handed her a glass of water and ordered her to drink from it. A ghost…is that what that was? "I think I'm just hungry. Maybe my blood sugar is running low."

"Well, we're going to order in a few minutes, so have some bread," Lulu said as she passed the breadbasket to Rikku. Who needs a mother when I have Yuna and Lulu looking after me! Rikku thought happily as she reached into the basket and grabbed a dinner roll.

Everyone's conversations started up again as Rikku applied butter to her roll silently. Yuna leaned over to her and whispered, "so, where did you really go?"

"I went to the bathroom," Rikku lied as she kept her eye on the roll. She knew she wouldn't have been able to lie if she looked at Yuna in the eyes. "I wanted to make sure that my hair still looked okay."

"Rikku, you went that way, and the bathroom was the complete opposite way," she said, pointing as she spoke. "Now, you can't lie to me. Did you go spy on Gippal?"

"I wouldn't call it 'spying,'" Rikku said as she gave a guilty look toward Yuna. "I just wanted to see who was here for him."

"Sweetie, that would be spying," Yuna clarified and Rikku let out a sigh. Yuna then left 'motherly' mode and went into 'gossip' mode. "So, who was it?"

"I didn't recognize her," she said, lying again. "Maybe she was from the Machine Faction or something. She didn't look dressed up or anything."

"Oh, okay," Yuna said, sounding slightly disappointed. "And here I was thinking that we would have someone to bash!"

"I wouldn't have any reason to bash Gippal's new girlfriend even if he had one," Rikku said as she took a bite of her roll. "I broke up with him, remember?"

"But you guys have been friends since you were young," Yuna said as she noticed that Gippal was walking toward them. "Okay, we'll talk about this later."

"Sure," Rikku said as Gippal sat back down next to her. Thanks, Yunie, for getting all those pesky thoughts in my head again…

"What'd I miss?" He asked as he cleared his throat. Rikku looked back down at her plate; she couldn't look at him without asking him a million questions. "Did we order yet?"

"No, we told the waiters to…well, wait. They should be back any minute now," Baralai said as he put his hand up to his chin. "So, Gippal, who was here for you?"

"Oh, her," he said as he waved his hand as if it were nothing. "It was Perai, she works for me. She just had some questions about how I wanted some things set up for the signing."

No, it wasn't…Rikku couldn't help but say to herself. I know who Perai is. She also looks nothing like me!

"It wasn't a big deal and I told her that it could've waited until we were done with dinner, but you know her." He said with a slight forced laugh. "Everything needs to be solved right away with her!"

"Hmm, sounds like someone else we all know," Paine said, indicating Yuna.

"Hey, I'm not as bad as I used to be," Yuna said as she placed her hands on her stomach. "Now I have an excuse to relax and let other people take care of Spira's problems."

"She hates it though," Tidus said as Yuna nodded in agreement. Before they could say another word, the waiters came back and started to take their orders.

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Rikku remained silent the rest of dinner, which was very unusual for her. Usually she was flitting around like a spastic hummingbird; unable to stay quiet and cease her giggles. She also barely touched her dinner and didn't even touch her Black Macalania Forest cake that she had for dessert, which was even more unusual because it was her favorite. She poked at the cherries with her fork, but she didn't even let the chocolatey goodness enter her mouth. Everyone else was too enthralled with their conversations that they didn't even notice her odd behavior.

"Hey, who's up for another glass of wine?" Nooj asked as everyone held up their wine glasses. Everyone, that is, except Rikku.

"Rikku," Gippal asked as he tapped her on the leg.

"Huh?" She said as she came out of a daze. She blinked several times as she focused on his face. "What?"

"Do you want more wine?" Rikku shook her head and took a sip of her water.

"Actually, I think I'm going to head back to the hotel and lie down. I'm not feeling well." She wasn't lying because seeing herself from a third person's point of view made her feel somewhat ill. It was me, wasn't it? I know that I don't have a twin…what's going on?

"Do you want me to go with you?" Yuna asked as Rikku shook her head.

"No, I kinda want to go sleep or something," she said as she took in a shakey breath. "You guys stay here."

"I'm going to check on you in a little bit," Yuna forewarned as she kissed Rikku on the cheek. "You're worrying me tonight."

"Don't worry about it, Yunie," Rikku said as she stood up. "Have a good night, everyone."

She waved to everyone as she walked out of the restaurant and into the cool night air. There was a slight breeze, causing the temperature to feel a few degrees cooler, but all in all, it was a beautiful night. With the city all lit up, the people roaming the streets, and the leaves on the trees being slightly blown around, Rikku found the sight to be picturesque. It was perfect contemplation scenery. I don't really want to go back to the hotel yet…She pondered as she started to walk along the cobblestone. She decided to go the opposite way and meander by the docks for a little bit so she could have some alone time.

As Rikku heard the waves crash against the docks, she realized how much she loved the city of Luca. As much as she loved Bikanel, it was always too dry and hot there. Too many worries about sandstorms or water shortage as well as watching your step so you don't land in a fiend's new home. Whereas in Luca, it was right on the water, so no water or sandstorm problems evolved. Not to mention that there weren't half as many fiends as there were in Bikanel. As a matter of fact, Rikku couldn't remember if she'd ever seen a fiend in Luca. She heard about the fiasco that happened with Seymour when Yuna was on her Pilgrimage, but all the times she'd been in Luca, there weren't any fiend encounters.

She stopped at one of the empty docks and rested her hands against the stone railings, as she stared out toward the sea. Who is she? Who is this girl? She thought to herself as she saw some dolphins leap out of the water. How does she look so much like me? And more importantly, why is Gippal talking to her? I just don't understand what's going on…

"I knew I'd find you here." Rikku half expected someone to follow her, so she wasn't surprised that it was Tidus.

"Yunie put you up to this, didn't she?" she asked as Tidus walked next to her.

"Gotta obey the worried pregnant wife," he said as he let out a chuckle. "But in all honestly, I'm worried about ya too. You're like a little sister to me, you know."

"I'm your cousin by marriage," Rikku said proudly as she smiled at him.

"I guess you could say that," he said as he sat down on the railing. "Wow, it's gorgeous out here tonight. No wonder you came here."

"I was thinking about going to bed, then I realized that it's only nine o'clock and I haven't had a night on the town in a very long time. However, tonight's 'night on the town' is consisting of me sitting at the docks and watching the sea." The breeze whipped Rikku's hair in her face, so she impatiently brushed it out of the way. "Heh, this is why I never wear my hair down."

"Why? Just because it gets in your face?"

"I usually only wear it down because that's the way that Gippal likes it," she said as she tried to tame down her hair. The me that he was talking to had her hair down…Maybe that's why he likes her?

"How are you doing with the whole situation anyway?" Tidus asked, motioning Rikku to sit down next to him. She obeyed and sighed. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, but I know he's kinda taking it hard."

"I love Gippal, I really do," she started as a giggle escaped. "But the man drives me crazy. He thinks he can order me around and stuff just because we grew up together. I just wanted my independence because I felt he was becoming too attached to me. Not to mention that now he's acting really weird around me. Like, mysterious girls following him around and him lying about them."

"What do you mean?" Tidus asked as he adverted his gaze onto Rikku. "Are you talking about the girl that visited him at the restaurant tonight? He said it was someone from work."

"It wasn't," she said as she started to sway her feet, half afraid that she was going to lose her balance and fall into the water.

"How do you know?" Rikku looked up at him with a guilty smile on her face. "Ah, you were spying. So tell me what you have found out, Detective Rikku."

"I just know it wasn't Perai because I actually know who she is. The girl he was with was blonde, short, and…" She trailed off and Tidus motioned her to go on. "I just know it wasn't her."

"I'm sure Gippal doesn't mean anything by it," Tidus said as he put his arm around Rikku and squeezed.

"Gippal!!!!" Tidus and Rikku both looked at each other when they heard Gippal's name shouted out.

"Did you just hear…?" Rikku asked as she and Tidus exchanged looks.

"Yeah, I did." He said as the looked to the left, taking his arm off of her so he could get a better view. "It sounded like she's in trouble or something."

"She sounded close," Rikku said as she felt a tap on her shoulder. She sounded like—AHHHHHHH!

"Excuse me, but have you seen Gippal?" When Rikku and Tidus looked at the owner of the voice, they both let out a yell in shock. Rikku's breathing started to become more rapid as the girl continued to speak. "He said he would be back by now, but I can't seem to find him anywhere."

"Ri…it's…" Tidus managed to sputter out as the girl looked at them and blinked. She had a million gil smile pasted on her face and Tidus looked at her in amazement. He turned to face Rikku again, but she wasn't there—then Tidus heard a splash. He looked down and realized that Rikku fainted and fell in the water.

"Rikku!!!" He shouted as he jumped in the water after her, without thinking twice.