Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VIII...

Author's Note: Sorry for the delay with this chapter. Actually, I haven't even finished writing the next chapter yet. I do have most of the story planned out, though. Thanks for sticking with me!

To Love You More

Chapter Twenty-Eight

"It doesn't mean much

It doesn't mean anything at all

The life I've left behind me is a cold room

I've crossed the last line

From where I can't return

Where every step I took in faith betrayed me

And led me from my home..."

-"Sweet Surrender" Sarah Mclachlan

"THE question is, have you given up on her?" The months had passed, yet that question still found a way to constantly haunt Squall. When Quistis had asked him that, that night after Rinoa's party, Squall had completely frozen. Surely it had been a question she had been dying to ask for quite some time. What had surprised Squall the most was that Quistis hadn't harbored any ill feelings towards Rinoa. Not even after witnessing that dance. It was him that she was mad at. She had every right to be. It was a wonder that she had even remained silent for so long. He had wronged her in so many ways, and on so many levels. She didn't deserve to be treated as second place for the rest of her life. That was why, in that moment, he had looked Quistis straight in the eye and told her that, yes, he had given up on Rinoa, and that she was the only woman he was concerned with.

It had been a lie, of course. What was one more lie thrown atop the pile of all the others? The difference this time was that Squall was going to do everything in his power to turn that lie into a truth. He owed so much to Quistis; he couldn't just give up on her. That was why he had lied to her then. One more lie to save his wife, and, to anyone on the outside looking in, it had worked. They were the perfect, loving couple. Quistis felt it, hell, everyone else felt it. Everyone, that is, but him. He didn't love his wife, it was as simple as that, yet, he cared about her enough to keep up this farce, for her sake.

He had to admit, though, since that night, almost four months ago, not a day had gone by without his decision haunting him. There was always that constant, plaguing thought of what would have happened if he had told Quistis the truth, however painful it would be for her. Would he be with Rinoa now, if he had taken that route? Perhaps, but he doubted it. The way it looked now, Rinoa was well on her way to becoming Mrs. Irvine Kinneas. Rinoa and Irvine had been dating since the night of the party. Some speculated that they had actually started dating before then, but pretty much everyone at the party had witnessed that kiss between them out on the balcony. Of course, rumors had been flying left and right after that, but the truth was revealed with confirmation from both Rinoa and Irvine. She had moved on with her life, simple as that.

Squall regretted the fact that they barely talked anymore. They exchanged pleasantries while working, but that was about it. She always seemed to be with Irvine, and when she wasn't, he never had the nerve to approach her. Rinoa's message had been clear all along. He had been a fool not to heed it from the beginning. It sure would have saved them both a great deal of heartache and pain. Maybe they could even be friends now. Isn't that what they had both wanted? It was amazing, how easy promises could be broken. Now, they were left with nothing. Nothing but regret.

"BETHANY'S Wedding Cakes," Quistis read aloud. "This looks like the place." The blonde stepped into the shop, holding the door for Selphie, who walked in behind her.

"May I help you, ladies?" a middle-aged woman asked from behind the counter.

"Yes," Quistis said. "We need to order a wedding cake."

"Well, that's our specialty here. Would you like to look at a book of samples?"

"Actually, we're ready to order," Selphie piped up. She extracted a slip of paper from her pocket. "I've got everything written right here."

The woman nodded. "Just tell me what you need done, and we'll see what we can do for you."

As Selphie explained to the woman what was needed, Quistis' focus was diverted to a woman and her child looking at the display of various cookies. The woman looked to be about thirty-five, with light brown hair and hazel eyes. The child, who Quistis assumed was her daughter, had light blonde hair and wide, brown eyes.

"Mamma!" the little girl exclaimed, "I want that one!" She pointed excitedly to a cookie frosted in the shape of a chocobo.

The woman chuckled. "Alright, hunny. As soon as the woman finishes helping those people, I'll have her get you a cookie."

"Yay!" the girl shouted, her blonde curls bouncing up and down as she spun around.

Quistis found herself smiling, and then, before she fully realized what she was doing, she had walked up to them. "Hi," Quistis said to the woman. "I'm sorry to bother you, but your daughter is so adorable!"

The woman smiled. "Well, thank you. She can be a handful, but I wouldn't have it any other way. Having her was the best thing to ever happen to me." She smiled. "Do you have any children?"

Quistis shook her head. "Oh, no. I don't think I'm ready to think about having kids yet."

"Why not?" the woman asked. "I was about your age when I had my first child. And," she said, glancing at the ring on Quistis' finger, "It looks like you're married. I'm sorry, I know it's none of my business, but I know from experience. My sister was diagnosed with cancer two years ago. Thankfully, she was able to conceive shortly after. She doesn't know how much time she has left, but at least she has this time to spend with her son."

Quistis nodded. "Thank you for telling me that. I'm very sorry about your sister. I understand what can happen if you take life for granted. It's just that, my husband and I have very demanding jobs. I just don't think we'd have time for a child right now."

"Jobs are important, but no job is more important than family. Are your jobs so demanding that you wouldn't even be able to take some time off?"

The blonde shook her head. "It's not so much my job than it is his. He's the commander of Balamb Garden."

The woman's eyes widened. "I knew you looked familiar! Quistis Trepe, correct?" Quistis nodded. "Well, my name is Nancy. It's very nice to meet you, Quistis."

"Quistis," Selphie said as she walked over to her, "Everything is all set. The cake will be all set for the wedding in two weeks."

"That's great, Selphie." She turned to Nancy. "Well, thank you for the advice. I hope everything works out with your sister."

Nancy nodded. "Thank you. Remember what I said."

The second they stepped out of the shop, Selphie turned to Quistis expectedly. "Sooo, what was that all about?"

"What was what about?"

Selphie rolled her eyes. "What you and that woman were talking about. It looked pretty important."

Quistis shrugged. "We were talking about children, actually."

"Children?" Selphie said, raising an eyebrow. "A-Are you pregnant?"

"Of course not!" Quistis exclaimed, shooting her friend a look. "She was just telling me that I should consider having kids since you never know what could happen."

Selphie nodded. "That's true. So, are you going to heed her advice?"

"Selphie!" Quistis exclaimed.

"Sorry! I was just wondering if I was going to be an aunt soon."

Quistis sighed. "I don't know, Selphie. Having a baby is a big step. I'm not sure that Squall is ready for that yet. We haven't even been married for half a year."

"What about you?" Selphie asked. "Are you ready?"

Quistis smiled shyly. "I've always wanted to be a mother."

"Then go for it! Come on, Quistis. You and Squall love each other, so what's standing in your way?"

"Nothing, I suppose. Well, nothing that can't be compromised, anyway."

"It's settled then," Selphie said, grinning. "I'm going to be an aunt!"

RINOA rubbed her forehead wearily. She had been sitting at her desk for hours, typing SeeD report after SeeD report. It didn't help that her head was completely congested, and her eyes and nose wouldn't stop running. A flu bug had been going around the Garden, and it looked like she was its latest victim. Looks like I'm going to have to cancel dinner with Irvine.

"Urgh," she groaned as she proceeded to bang her head against the desk. "This is just great."

Squall happened to be walking by at that moment, and wasn't quite sure of what to make of Rinoa's actions. "Ahem," he said, clearing his throat.

Rinoa lifted her head from the desk wearily. "Hey, Squall," she said, her voice raspy. "I'm sorry, I'll get back to work now."

Squall raised an eyebrow. "Are you okay?"

She nodded. "Yup. Just fine." She certainly didn't look fine. Her face was flushed, her nose was red, and her eyes were glistening. The question was, should he leave her alone, or press her further? He opted to do the latter.

"Well, you look horrible." He mentally winced. That wasn't exactly the smoothest thing to say.

"Thank you for that observation, Squall. You sure do know how to make a girl feel fantastic."

Squall sighed. "Take the rest of the day off. You should probably go and see Dr. Kadowaki. It looks to me like you have the flu."

Rinoa shook her head. "I'm honestly fine. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go drop these documents off in Cid's office."

She stood up, but was suddenly hit with an extreme dizzy spell. Immediately losing her footing, she stumbled forward. Luckily, Squall caught her just in time.

"You are not fine, Rinoa." He lifted a hand to her forehead. "You're burning up, too. Damn it, Rinoa, I'm taking you to the infirmary."

"I'm not a little girl," she insisted, trying to pull away.

"I never said that you were. You obviously aren't well enough to make it there by yourself, so I'm going to drag you there if I have to. Are you willing to cooperate now?"

Rinoa opened her mouth, ready with an angry retort, when the room started spinning again, and she suddenly went limp in his arms.

"Rinoa!" Squall exclaimed, receiving no response. "Damn it," he said as he picked her up. "See what you get for being stubborn?"

He quickly made his way to the infirmary, ignoring the stares of the passing students. The only thought on his mind was getting Rinoa to Dr. Kadowaki. Finally, he reached his destination, calling for the doctor as soon as he was in hearing range.

"Squall!" Dr. Kadowaki exclaimed. "What happened?"

"She passed out," he explained, out of breath from rushing down there. "She was burning up..."

She nodded. "Place her on that bed there. I'm sorry, Squall, but I'm going to have to ask you to leave while I have a look at her."

Squall nodded. "She's going to be okay, right? It's just the flu."

Dr. Kadowaki shook her head. "I won't know anything until I examine her. I promise that I'll let you know what's going on the moment I find out." She gently shut the door, blocking out all access to Rinoa.

Sighing, Squall took a seat in the waiting area. Screw work. He was willing to wait there for as long as it took. Damn it, Rinoa. You can never listen to me, can you? You always have to wait until it's too late.

"How is she?" Irvine asked frantically as he ran into the room. "I just heard about what happened."

Squall shook his head. "Dr. Kadowaki is examining her now."

Irvine sighed, taking a seat next to Squall. "Do you think we'll have to wait long?"

The commander shrugged. "Who knows?"

"You know, Squall, you don't have to wait if you don't want to. I'll let you know what happens. Besides, I'm sure that you have a lot of work to do."

"No," Squall said. "I can wait."

"Are you sure? Come on, man, you don't have to play hero all the time."

Squall had no chance to respond as Dr. Kadowaki had just walked into the room. Both men looked at her anxiously, trying to judge by her expression just what the news would be.

"Relax, boys," the doctor told them upon seeing their worried expressions. "Rinoa is going to be fine. It looks to me like she has the flu, and, on top of that, she has been overworking herself. It's no wonder that she passed out today. I want her resting and out of work for the rest of the week, and maybe even next week. Rest and lots of fluids are the best thing for her right now."

The men nodded. "Can I see her?" Irvine asked anxiously.

"Actually," Dr. Kadowaki said, looking a bit uneasy, "She's asking for you, Squall."

Squall looked up in surprise. "What are you talking about?"

"Rinoa has asked to see you. I have no idea why. Just remember not to agitate her. She doesn't need any more unnecessary stress."

Squall nodded and walked over to the door. Irvine's eyes bore into Squall's back, watching his every move. Why on Earth would she ask for Squall and not him? Irvine hated to admit it, but he was terribly jealous. He should be the one going to visit his sick girlfriend, not her ex.

"Have a seat, Irvine," Dr. Kadowaki told him as she noticed the look on his face. "I'm sure Squall won't be long. You can see Rinoa as soon as he's done."

"Yeah," Irvine grumbled. "Sounds great."

ALTHOUGH her eyes were closed, Rinoa could sense Squall approaching the room. Perhaps it was her sorceress power that allowed her to constantly feel his presence, or perhaps it was something else entirely. Either way, he was there now, just as she had asked. A stupid move on her part, yes. Smooth, Rinoa, real smooth. Ask for the ex-boyfriend instead of the current one! Part of her had opened her eyes, and, upon instinct, called for Squall. The other part, however, just wanted to talk to him. It had been so long since they had been able to do that. Months ago, they had agreed to be friends. Where had their friendship gone?

"Rinoa?" she heard Squall call softly.

God, even after all this time, the sound of his voice still caused chills to run up and down her spine. Slowly, she opened her eyes. "Hey," she said quietly.

"Hey," Squall echoed, taking a seat next to the bed. "How are you feeling?"

Rinoa shrugged. "Alright, I guess. According to Dr. Kadowaki, I have the flu, and I'm over-stressed. Sounds great, doesn't it?"

Squall shook his head. "You could listen to me every once in awhile."

"Okay, so you were right this time. That doesn't mean that I have to give up my stubbornness."

Squall smiled slightly. "I don't think you could even if you tried."

"You're probably right," Rinoa said, laughing. "You know what, though? Thanks for making me laugh. I really miss this."

"This?"

"This. Our friendship. What happened to us, Squall?" she asked quietly.

"I don't know, Rinoa. You're the one who wanted things this way."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "I never wanted this. I never wanted us to hate each other."

"I don't hate you, Rinoa."

She sighed. "I know you don't. I just miss talking to you, Squall. I don't mean saying a few words to each other while working. I mean real conversation."

"Since when have I done 'real conversation'?" Squall asked, cracking a small smile.

"You used to. We used to." Rinoa shook her head. "I guess what I'm saying is, can we be friends again?"

Squall nodded. "I'd like that. However, right now the only thing you should be concerning yourself with is resting and getting better. You have the rest of the week off, and after that, however much more time you need."

Rinoa rolled her eyes. "I have the flu, Squall. It's really no big deal."

Squall held up a hand. "Sorry, doctor's orders."

"Yeah, whatever. You'll be wishing that you had been singing a different tune when you get back to that stack of paperwork sitting on your desk. Speaking of which, it's been selfish of me to keep you for so long, Besides, you had better send Irvine in. I don't want him getting the wrong idea or anything."

You sound like you want people to get the wrong idea... His words to Rinoa from so long ago suddenly echoed in his head. Shaking it off, he nodded and stood up. "Remember what I said." Once outside of the room, Irvine stood up from his seat. "She wants to see you."

Irvine hurried over to the door. "It's about damn time."

QUISTIS walked into her and Squall's apartment, thoughts of Nancy's words echoing through her head. Children were such a huge responsibility, and a gigantic step in any marriage. However, it was more apparent to Quistis now than it had ever been before. She wanted a baby. She had always been praised for her maternal instincts. A baby would finally give her something to truly make use of her skills on.

Smiling to herself, Quistis entered the kitchen and grabbed a bite to eat. How was she ever going to approach the idea of a child to Squall? They had never before discussed children, hell, she didn't even know if he liked kids. Fear began to creep into Quistis' mind. What if Squall was completely opposed to the idea? He had never expressed any wishes for children, yet he had never said anything against the idea, either. They were young, yes, but they were also responsible. Besides, what Nancy had said was right. You never know what can happen.

From her place in the kitchen, Quistis heard the door open. "Squall?" she called as she walked into the living room.

"Yeah," Squall said as he faced his wife. "How was your day? Did you order the wedding cake?"

Quistis nodded. "Yeah, it was great. Un, how was your day?" Well, at least he seems to be in a good mood.

Squall rubbed his forehead wearily. "Stressful."

...or not. The blonde frowned in concern. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"No, not really. I'd rather hear about your day."

"Actually," Quistis said, twirling a strand of her hair nervously, "I have something to ask you."

"Okay," Squall replied. "What is it?"

"What do you think about having a baby?"