Chapter 11: Revelations (Quistis)
Just to say we're sorry,
For the black eyes and bleeding lips.
And it's hard to forget
How many lies we've told.
Or how old we'd grow,
Before I said goodbye.
So let's scrape our knees on the playground.
It's not your fault,
You feel okay.
It's too late in the day.
It's not your fault,
You feel betrayed.
You can't come out to play.
I never listened to a word you never said.
I never listened to a word you never said.
Wasting the hours now,
We're all suckers for tragedies.
And start this over again,
And you bring us to our knees.
As sunrise comes,
And the story will sell,
A few hundred papers,
So we'll follow you up.
It's not your fault,
You feel okay.
It's too late in the day.
It's not your fault,
You feel betrayed.
You can't come out to play.
I never listened to a word you never said.
I never listened to a word you never said.
So raise your hands up high,
And let this rain pour on.
So raise your hands up high,
And wash us away.
Like innocence and childbirth,
You look just like your mother
And you look just like your father.
Forgive him our father,
Your son is smiling,
So lay roses around you.
Nothing. I cannot feel a thing as I stare at the ceiling, and it is bliss. After comforting Rinoa out of her hysteria I needed to get away from everybody. Slipping away from the conference room and that sickening puzzle of tortured flesh on the table, I actually made use of my own hotel room, creeping in and throwing my body on the double bed with such force that the mattress half shifted off the bed frame. Wrapping myself in my own arms I lay on my side on the bed, glaring at the wall and breathing deeply. Somewhere in the midst of my silent meditation I dozed off, and just now awakened to the empty room. Turning to lay on my back, I stare at the ceiling for a while before getting the itch to move. I jerk myself up and off of the bed, and before I have time to think about where I'm going my feet have brought me to his room.
Not bothering to knock, I open the door and slip in, immediately calmed by his smell. Much like me a few minutes before, he is laying on his back, staring at the ceiling. Unlike me, he has a cigarette between his fingers, and he raises it to his lips and takes a drag. Smoking is a habit he picked up in the time after Time Compression and before we found him again. He had picked up all kinds of bad habits in those fifteen months, as he had tried to drown out the memories of what had happened when he was under the power of the sorceress. It had been very painful for me when we found him, because he had been in such poor shape. Shaking me head, I bring myself back to the present. As Seifer exhales the smoke he turns his eyes to me, standing by the door.
"Well, are you coming in or what?"
Glaring, I close the door and crawl up next to him on the bed, removing the cigarette from his hand and taking a drag before balancing it in the ashtray on the bedside table and laying my head on his chest. His heartbeat under my ear relaxes me, reassures me of his existence. A lazy hand reaches up and unclips my hair, running through it in a lethargic manner. We stay like this for many minutes before we both slowly drift into a deep slumber that lasts until morning.
Waking early as usual I lift my head and rest it in my palm as I watch Seifer sleep for a few moments before dragging myself out of bed, careful not to wake him. He never has been much of a morning person. Lightly kissing him, I slip into the bathroom with a change of clothes to shower. When I'm done I throw my damp hair up into a messy ponytail and dress in jeans and a black tank top before heading down for breakfast with the other early risers…which consists of Laguna, Rinoa, and Zell this morning. Everyone else is still curled up under their comforters, snoozing the morning hours away, and won't be up until ten, at the earliest, I'm sure.
"Good morning, Quisty," Zell greets me quietly, and the others chime in as well. Nodding a greeting back I grab a cup of coffee, a bowl of oatmeal, and a slice of cantaloupe before sitting down at the table. Digging into my food, I note the silence of my companions…not an unusual occurrence recently. Finishing my breakfast, I study the other people at the table before clearing my throat and speaking.
"I think I'm going to go to the hospital…see if I can find anything else out there. Zell, have you been informed of the latest events?" The only answer I get is a nod as he is lost in his thoughts. "Good…Rinoa, Laguna I trust you will clue everyone else in." Standing, I bid them a farewell before going back to Seifer's room to collect my bag containing my ID that will get me into Galbadia Garden, and then heading down to the car we are currently renting to get everywhere we have to go.
The drive is uneventful and I arrive at Galbadia Garden in no time. Climbing out of the car and locking it, I enter the hospital wing and trek to the ward Selphie was held in. Once again finding myself at the nursing station of this ward, I wait for the nurse behind the desk to get off the phone before asking what I came to. When the man hangs up the phone I clear my throat to get his attention.
"Yes, may I help you?" His eyes travel over my body and I bite my tongue just in time to prevent a sarcastic comment from slipping out. I've been spending too much time with Seifer, I think to myself with a smile. If I piss this guy off, I may not get what I want, but I know just as well as any woman that if I can distract him a little with how I look than I should use it to my advantage.
"SeeD Quistis Trepe. I was assigned to a mission involving one of your patients, Sarah Talbucks, whom was recently discharged. Apparently her nurse went with her, but they've both disappeared…any information you could give me would be helpful at this point."
"Ah, yes, Miss Talbucks. Her nurse was Keisha Crovin I believe. If you can just show me some ID I can look it up, get you Ms. Crovin's file even." Pulling out my ID I show it to him and he nods before typing like crazy on the keyboard, probably verifying my identity.
"I'll print out Keisha's SeeD record for you, and Miss Talbucks's medical record from her stay here. That's all I can give you though…literally. I don't know how else I could help you. It'll all print out on that printer over there, but it will take a while…this is a lot of information."
"Thank you very much. I'm sure this will help me out somehow." He nods and is quickly distracted by the phone ringing. I take this as my cue to go, and walk over to the printer, waiting. Picking up the first page, I sigh as I look in the upper right corner…page one of 263? Damn. And that is just the nurse's records. Resigning myself to a bit of a wait I plop down in a chair, slouching.
Just as I am starting to get frustrated with the slow pace of the printer I spot a familiar hat; a hat that I have not seen in a while; a hat that makes me want to hide for a split second. But it is too late, as the owner has obviously already spotted me and is on his way over.
"Hey, Quistis, what are you doin' here?" Taking a deep breath I look up into Irvine's face and smile.
"Believe it or not, collecting information for a mission. Why are you here? I thought you were dispatched on a long term mission."
Shaking his head he removes the hat and slumps into the chair next to me. "Well, things went much smoother than anybody expected…at least, completin' the mission did. I'm up here to check on one of my colleagues that got injured. What kind of mission has you all the way out here?"
"A Laguna Loire mission. Someone in Winhill was attacked pretty savagely and he hired us to investigate." He nods.
"All of ya'll?"
"From Rinoa through Zell. So…what are you going to do now then?"
"I suppose I'll head on back to Balamb, see what Cid has for me. Listen, Quisty…has there been any news 'bout Selphie?" The look in his eyes reminds me of another time, back in Balamb Garden.
My eyes glance around the Quad, taking in the distinct lack of a Garden Festival Committee and causing me to sigh. As I take a seat in a discreet corner I notice someone else walk in and take a seat on what is left of the stage. It takes me a minute to recognize Irvine without his coat and hat, both having recently been abandoned in favor of jeans and a black t-shirt and he has retired his legendary cowboy hat and cut his even more infamous hair to about chin length, his hair held back from his face with gel. The changes that have taken place in him lately have been a bit worrisome. Besides the wardrobe change, he's also stopped flirting with all of the pretty girls and become disturbingly quiet.
Standing from my spot I walk over and sit next to him. My anger subsided weeks ago when he had become so withdrawn…when I figured out that he really did care for Selphie. He looks up at me and nods a greeting before zoning back out again. Placing a hand on his shoulder, I decide my course of action.
"Irvine?"
"Hm."
"You're worrying me. I mean, you haven't been at all like yourself recently and it's starting to scare me, seeing you like this. You've never been the quiet type…not even when we were kids." He just grunts his response. "Well…if you decide to talk about it, I'm willing to listen."
Snapping back into reality when Irvine gently shakes me, I look up into his pleading eyes and feel like a heel. I should tell him…but I can't do it. It is obvious that Selphie went to great pains to disappear, even from us, but especially from Irvine. Just as the side rallying for Irvine starts to make a comeback, a cry breaks through the air…a baby's cry…that I recognize. Turning, I spot Ellone and Kiros walking towards us, Elle cradling Tessa and desperately trying to get her to quiet down. Thankful for the distraction, I jump up and pull Irvine over to Elle and Kiros.
"Irvine Kinneas! I almost didn't recognize you!" Ellone is referring to his clothes, still not his usual sort of attire. He is wearing olive green pants and a dark blue t-shirt, with black boots on his feet. The chaps, the blue vest, even his necklace is gone, and his old earring has been replaced with a simple stud. He doesn't smile as much…and when he does, I can tell that it is fake. An impulse to hug him overtakes me, a need to protect him from his pain…the older sister in me pushes forward with a vengeance, but I hold back. Consoling my sisterly instincts with the knowledge that at least he has his old hat again…trying to trick myself into thinking he is coming around, I tune myself back in just in time to hear his answer.
"Well, Elle, it's a pleasure to see you." He smiles, yet another forced smile, I note. "Who's the little lady makin' all the fuss?" Uh-oh.
"Oh! This is Tessa. Her mother was in the hospital…now she's just…disappeared." Elle directs her next comment to me as Tessa continues to fuss and cry. "We came to visit the Nova's, but I'm afraid Tessa is being quite a handful and I don't want to stress them, what with everything that has been going on recently." She gets a gleam in her eye that I'm not sure I like as she glances between Irvine and I.
Elle moves quickly, transferring Tessa from her own arms into the surprised ones of Irvine. He looks down at the little girl in his arms, and to everyone's surprise, she stops crying and looks up at him. My breath catches in my throat as I watch, seeing two sets of identical eyes staring into one another. She has his eyes…I never noticed it before now. Irvine stares for a few more seconds, and then snaps his eyes up to meet mine when Tessa smiles at him.
All of a sudden I feel guilty. Guilty that I know that Selphie was here; guilty I did not do a better job of protecting her; guilty for ever being angry with Irvine; guilty for knowing that the child he holds now is his, and not telling him. In an attempt to rid myself of the guilt, I do the only thing I can think of at the moment.
"Irvine, why don't you join us…you can help us with this mission. I'm sure Cid won't mind." He nods his consent, once again enthralled by Tessa, who is now a quiet, yawning angel in his arms.
"Elle, Mr. Seagul, you were going to visit the Nova's?"
Ellone drags her eyes away from Irvine and Tessa and looks at me when she answers, "Yes, Quisty. We were going to make sure they were both doing well and maybe let Tessa visit with them."
"Hey, Quis, just what kind of mission is this, anyway?" Irvine cradles Tessa carefully in his arms and I bite back a smile when I notice he is gently rocking her.
"Well…it was an investigation into a brutal attack at first, an investigation into the brutal attack of Tessa's mom, actually. But now there have been new occurrences, and I'm afraid it will now be a search and rescue mission, as it appears the woman has been kidnapped. I can inform you more when we get back to Winhill."
"What's her name—the woman I mean?" Shit.
"Sarah. Her name is Sarah." Don't ask…just don't ask. He opens his mouth, as though to question me further, but he is cut off when my cell phone rings. Thanking Hyne and excusing myself, I look at the screen and see that it is Squall calling and excuse myself to a location out of ear shot of Irvine.
"Quistis here."
"Quistis, Rinoa told me you were at Galbadia Hospital. When you're finished there come to…Sarah's house…we have a lot to talk about."
"Yeah, we do. Listen, I'm getting a bunch of information that will need to be read through. Seifer and I can do that easy enough, but we have an addition to the team." I can hear him shift before he responds.
"Who, Quistis? Cid didn't inform me of anything."
"Well, Cid wouldn't say anything about this because he doesn't know. I ran into Irvine up here…he finished his mission early, and I figure we could use all the help we can get—" I am cut off as I hear noise on the other end, and then Rinoa's voice.
"Are you insane Quisty? Irvine! You know what the situation is here; do we really need him making things worse when we find her? I don't think this is a good idea…not at all."
"Well, I'll take your objection into account, but it's going to happen no matter what. Listen, you know how I feel about this whole situation, Rin. I wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Right now, I think what we need is Irvine…he knows her the best of any of us. Hell, he knows us all probably better than we know ourselves. He'll be helpful in this…especially after he figures out the whole story. As much as we were mad at him, Rin, we both know that he really cares about her and he'll do all that he can to get her back. Now put Squall back on, please." Rinoa sighs on the other line.
"All right."
"So when do you plan to head back here, Quistis?" Squall comes back on the line.
"As soon as I gather up the rest of my information and get everyone settled. I guess Irvine will have to get his stuff as well, and then we'll be on the road back."
"Fine, just come to the house when you get here. I guess we'll have to keep up the Sarah façade for Irvine…not that it will take him long to see through it. Unless you plan on telling him who the victim really is."
"I haven't decided yet if I am telling him anything more than the basics before we got back to Winhill. I'm pretty sure someone will slip somewhere along the way, so it would be best just to inform him on our own…eventually."
"Agreed. See you at the house, Quistis." He hangs up the phone, as do I. Turning back around, I watch Irvine, Tessa, and Elle interact and know…he has to know. There is no way I can live with myself if I don't tell him what is going on…or at least as much as I know about what is going on. Striding back over to the group, I try to figure out how I'll tell him.
"Hey Elle, is it alright if we just take Tessa back with us since she seems so enamored with Irvine?"
"That's fine, Quistis. She's been cranky with us all day, wouldn't settle down at all. I'm just happy to see her smiling, to be honest."
Nodding, I reach out and carefully take Tessa from Irvine. When he gives me a weird look, I grin. "You have to go get your stuff and check up on your colleague. I'll watch her while you do that, and then we can get going. We have to meet up with Squall and everyone when we get back in Winhill, and we cannot be too long, so get going." Irvine shakes his head at me and turns to go.
"I'll meet back up with you in the cafeteria, Quistis. I'll try to be fast." With that, Irvine heads off towards another hall, another ward.
"Quistis…you do plan on telling him, right? I mean, it will only take one time hearing Sarah Talbucks for him to figure it out. Uncle Laguna should have thought of that if he really wanted to help keep her identity secret. I'm actually surprised Selphie didn't come up with a better name than that."
"So am I. Well, I guess after I grab my information we're off to the cafeteria. Have fun visiting the Nova's. I'll see you later Ellone, Mr. Seagul." With that I nod my goodbye and check on the printer. Thanking Hyne that everything is through printing, I balance Tessa before grabbing the papers and shoving them into my bag and heading for the elevators, waving Tessa's tiny fist at Kiros and Elle as they leave.
When I get to the cafeteria, I get a glass of iced tea before sitting down at a table, Tessa in my lap, and pulling the papers out again. Organizing the papers into the correct order, I glance over the front page before once again putting it all into my bag. Tessa begins to get fussy as we sit and I groan as I realize I have nothing to entertain her. Rummaging through my bag, the only thing I come up with are my keys, and she does not seem amused with them. Just as Tessa begins to cry and I start to get frustrated, Irvine appears and takes her from my lap. Like magic, she once again quiets down. Quickly finishing my tea, Irvine, with Tessa in his arms and a duffle bag over his shoulder, leads the way out of the cafeteria, and together we walk to the car, where we get settled for the ride back to Winhill…one that will not be easy for Irvine or me.
Ten minutes into the drive, I decide it is time to tell Irvine as much as I can about just what we are driving towards…just who is involved. Getting up my courage to start, I settle on the only way I know to inform him: Be blunt and just tell the truth.
"Irvine?" God, I'm nervous. He looks at me so I continue. "There's some information about this mission…Okay, so we came here to investigate an attack. The victim was beaten and stabbed, bones broken, she was found hung from a tree by her wrists, apparently she was whipped, all but her underwear removed…left for dead. Sarah…that is what they called her around us. But Seifer and I figured it out. Sarah Talbucks…and Selphie still missing from Trabia." He turns and stares at me, I see out of the corner of my eyes.
"You mean…someone did that to Selphie? She was in Winhill? What for…and—" His eyes get wide as he looks down at Tessa. "The victim was her mom…Tessa is Selphie's daughter." He stops abruptly. "How old is Tessa?"
"She is a little over two months old."
"Two months? She's…she's my daughter."
"I know."
"You know?"
"Yes. I figured it out. Selphie had told me that you two slept together, and then once I figured out she had a baby and the math added up...so, yeah...you're a daddy, Irvine."
"But why did she run away? I just don't get it. I would have taken care of her, I even went to her room before she left to make sure that she was fine but she just wanted me to leave, which made me mad enough to actually do as she said and leave. And you say she was attacked? Who would do that to her?"
"I'm afraid my description does not even begin to do justice to the damage done to her…but you'll see what I mean. Anyway, now she and her nurse have disappeared, and we have to find her…we're going to find her." Irvine is silent, and a glance reveals that Tessa has fallen asleep in his arms. The rest of the drive to Winhill is in silence, Irvine and I both staring out the window in thought, me driving the car as though on autopilot.
Author's Note: Well, here it is…another chapter. What will happen next? Only I know. I'm evil, yes. Anyway, let me know what you think of this chapter. Don't make me beg. Please? The song is Roses for the Dead by Funeral For a Friend.
-Gilly Bean the overworked.
Edited 11.28.08