To see responses to reviews, check my story information page. The link is on my profile page.

MY BORDER DOESN'T WORK ANY OTHER WAY. :)

When Julie turned three, Ellone started coming over to play with her quite frequently during the weekdays of the summer while Squall was at work. "I hope you don't mind," Raine always said. "If she gives you any trouble, let me know. She just loves coming over here. You know, if you want me to pay you for watching her, I can."

Rinoa insisted, "It's okay, really. I don't mind. She's good. No trouble at all."

The two children were as close as sisters despite the fact there was about five years between them. Rinoa was happy to see her daughter have this kind of relationship with someone. She never told Squall that Ellone came over and she told Julie not to say anything either. For some reason, she just didn't feel it was a good idea to tell him. Would he get mad? Possibly. Did she want to find out? Of course not.

It was nice to have Ellone around to help a bit. The wife of Squall Leonhart was feeling stressed out by little problems that were occurring. Arguments over meaningless things became their nightly routine. Rinoa began to allow Julie to sleep in their bed with them. She does this because almost every night, Squall has his hands on her and it's obvious to her what that means. As much as she loved him, she just felt exhausted at the end of the day and wanted to sleep. It surprised her that he didn't fall asleep faster than she did. His job must have been tiring. To give herself a better excuse to say no, she had Julie sleep in their bed with them.

"She has her own room," Squall always reminded her. She doesn't answer, pretending not to hear. One night, out of the blue, Squall said, "Julie told me something very interesting today. She said she had the best time she's ever had with her best friend."

Rinoa swallowed as she said, "So? Ellone comes over and plays with her. There's nothing wrong with that."

"No, there isn't. I just wondered why you didn't tell me."

"I don't know… Figured you'd get mad or something."

"Why? Did Laguna come here?"

"No. Squall, I'm not stupid. You think I'd really let him in our house after what he did? Glad you trust me so well. Makes me feel real good."

"I'm sorry," he said. He wrapped his arms around her and kissed her cheek. She rubbed his arm. Julie was sleeping in front of Rinoa. He kept kissing her cheek, going down to her neck. It made her skin tingle.

"Squall, don't. Julie's right here."

"She's got her own damn room! Put her in there!"

"Just go to sleep. I'm tired." He growled and roughly turned away from her.

A few nights later, Squall began to work late. Rinoa was asleep by time he got home. It was better that way for him; he could avoid being questioned. In a way, he was getting revenge, made him feel like a kid. The whole situation began to upset Rinoa. She felt lonely and started calling his office during the day. He only answered a few times. "I was busy," he claimed.

She mumbled under her breath, "Yeah sure." She was thankful Ellone and Raine didn't come over the morning she woke up crying. But that afternoon, someone else did. A hug was the greeting she received from Fujin when she answered the door after the bell sounded. "Hi Fujin. What are you doing here?"

"Just came to visit with you," Fujin said.

"Well come in and have a seat." They sat down on the couch where Julie was playing with toys on the floor. Fujin couldn't help noticing that Julie looked like a miniature Rinoa. "What's new? How have you been?"

"Not a whole lot. A little disappointed that Seifer hasn't called me in a while. Not much I can do about that though. He's got his girlfriend so…"

"Do you like him?"

"… Is it obvious?"

"Not really. I mean, after a while you begin to wonder but nothing that's noticeable right away. How long have you liked him?"

"I don't know, a long time. I can't tell him though. He wouldn't be interested. Anyway, change the subject. How have you been?"

"Not so good. It's been lonely around here. Squall's working late and I miss him so much."

"Oh, honey, he's not working late."

"He's not?"

Fujin shook her head and said, "No, he's been coming over to our house. I didn't know 'til yesterday 'cause I've been gone all week. I assumed you knew. I should've told you. Sorry."

"It's okay," Rinoa said. "You didn't know. I assumed he was out cheating on me. At least I know where he's been. Have to ask him what he was doing over there."

"Yeah. I don't know what they were up to. I went straight to my room… Have things been rough between you two?"

"A little, yeah. Fujin, do you want to come with me on a short trip to buy something?"

"Sure." Since Rinoa did not have one, they took Fujin's car, traveling to the nearest city. "What are we looking for exactly?"

"I just want to grab something real quick. Here's ten dollars. Can you take Julie over to get a toy? I'll meet you out here in a few minutes."

"Okay… Come on, Julie. Let's get you a toy." A small hand reached up to Fujin. She held it and they walked to the toy store next door. She wondered what Rinoa was up to, though she knew it was none of her business. More than likely, she would find out later. Julie's eyes got wide, after they walked through the automatic doors, when she saw all the toys on the shelves. The baby dolls attracted her the most. "I want baby," Julie said as she picked one up. It was a regular baby doll in a pink pajama suit with a white ruffled collar. Other than putting a plastic spoon to its mouth, you couldn't do anything special with it like change its diaper. "Baby don't wanna be in da box."

"Let's go bring her to the register then." It rang up as more than ten dollars but Fujin didn't mind making up the difference. Rinoa wasn't outside so they waited in the car. Julie told Fujin she was going to name the baby "Cherry". "Cherry, huh?" Fujin said. "That's a pretty cute name. Did you make that up yourself?"

" Uhh… Yes. I did."

"What do you think your mommy's doing?"

"I don't know."

"I don't either. We'll have to ask her when she gets back." Rinoa returned with a bag carried behind her as if to hide it. "What'd you get?" Fujin asked after the car door slammed shut.

"Just some clothes," she said. "Did Julie find something?"

"Yeah. She picked up a baby doll and decided to call it Cherry. Tell me what you found." The bag was handed over as Rinoa's face turned red. "I wasn't going to tease you for buying lingerie. What are planning on doing with Squall when he gets home?"

"Nothing. I'll just do what I can to keep him there."

"You really thin that'll work?"

"I don't know. I hope so, but… it's weird just thinking about it. Basically I'm just giving into everything he wants so he'll stay home."

"He's not cheating on you though."

"He could start."

"I don't think fucking his brains out is going to make anything any better. I'm not trying to criticize you, that's just my opinion. So don't yell at me."

"I wont," Rinoa said. "Let's just go." That night, Rinoa stayed up until Squall came home. The whole time she waited, she was deciding whether or not to wear her new clothes. Shyness got the best of her and she decided against it. The only reason she bought it anyway was as a last resort. Looking at the bag made her feel foolish and ashamed. She was too shy to show herself off- even to her own husband. When Squall walked through the door, he was surprised to see Rinoa sitting on the couch. "What have you been doing?" she asked immediately.

"I was at uhh… I was at… um… Rajin's house," he stuttered.

"That's great but I asked what you've been doing. You smell like alcohol. You were drinking weren't you?" He didn't give her an answer. There was no need. She had figured it out. Lucky for him he wasn't completely wasted. But he did feel dizzy and had to sit down. "Squall," she said while she took hold of his hands. "Please don't do this. I want you to come home. I miss you. Have you only been drinking at Rajin's or other places too?"

"… Went to a bar a few times."

"I don't want you going to a bar. If you get drunk enough, you could do something rash. If you want to drink, please do it at home. Please."

"… Okay." He was hearing what she was saying but it wasn't really sinking in. She hugged him, hiding her face in the crook of his neck. When she dropped her arms, she took his hand and led him upstairs. He looked at her with blank confusion. It was impossible to know what he was thinking if anything at all. She had to help him get dressed for bed. When he lay down next to Rinoa, he realized something was missing. After a moment (a long moment), it finally registered there was no Julie. Before he could even ask Rinoa's lips pressing against his in a sweet kiss silenced him.

"Squall, I love you. I'm not mad at you and I'm sorry for making you mad. Please stay home." In response, he kissed her, moving from her mouth to her jaw line. She let him do what he wanted so that he would come home tomorrow night.

In the morning, after the sun had successfully beaten down on Rinoa's eyes to wake her up, she got dressed. It was late enough for her to know that Squall had gone to work. "Mommy. Mommy," Julie called. "I gotstahave to drink pee!" Rinoa had to go get her daughter out of her crib and put her down on the floor. They still hadn't bought her a regular bed yet. Rinoa was saving a little money here and there to do so. While Julie scurried off to the bathroom, her mother started breakfast. The smell reached Julie as she was going back to her room. She decided to dress herself. She pulled a white short-sleeved shirt over her head that had the cartoon version of a dog printed on it. In the bottom of her drawer she found some shorts to throw on as well as some mismatched socks.

"Ellone is going to come play with you today. When her mom drops her off I'm going to see if she can watch you two for a few minutes. I have to go to the store real quick, okay?"

"Okay. Can we get some cookies?"

"Sure, honey." Raine didn't come by until about noon. She was more than happy to watch the girls for a few minutes. Because she didn't have a car, Rinoa had to walk. But she made it quick. The grocery store really wasn't that far away. And only a couple blocks away from there stood the liquor store, which was where she wanted to go. How odd life is. Now things were different. She figured it would be safer to have Squall drink at home rather than some other place where something bad could happen. She didn't want to put his life or their marriage at risk.

Then a thought ran through her head, causing her to stop there on the sidewalk. Was it possible to have him quit now while the habit was just arising? This way the demon could be killed before it completely took over her husband and everything would be better. They would be the happy couple they started out to be. No, she shook her head. That wasn't something he'd agree to and she couldn't force him to go. If she threatened to throw him out he may just find another companion. That would tear her to pieces.

At home, the children greeted Rinoa with smiling faces, eager for the treat she'd said she'd bring. "You each can have one cookie," she told them. In the kitchen, she hid the beer in the cupboard where the kids couldn't reach it. Then she let them devour their snack. Raine made sure to give Rinoa a hug before leaving. The young mother had a seat on the couch where the white bear, given by Rinoa's parents to Julie, sat also. But the fur of the stuffed animal was not really white anymore. Over the few years it'd survived, it began to take on a grayish color. Some of the strings on its eyes were frayed and its bow was missing. Changes can occur so quickly. Sometimes those changes felt as though they passed as quickly as a person could blink. Why couldn't some things remain the same? Rinoa asked herself, thinking of the happiness she'd once shared with Squall. Why couldn't that one thing remain the same? Why did he have to drink? She could handle Julie and she could handle having a job but that… She couldn't handle Squall turning out like his father. She couldn't handle her family being turned into Laguna's. Something would have to be done.

So what did she do? She called Selphie, trying not to get upset as she told her everything. Selphie decided to come over. "Wow, she's so big," Selphie said when she saw Julie. "I remember her as a baby."

Rinoa responded, "Yeah. I'm sorry I haven't seen you guys in a long time. I was going to have all of you over but… things haven't been all that great."

"So I understand. How bad is it?"

"Well I've told you the worst of it. I'm afraid he's going to turn out like his father, you know?"

"Yeah. Here's what you should do: come up with a plan to get him to quit then act on it. If you need any help at all, I know we'll all be willing to help. Don't be afraid to ask us." Her raven-haired friend nodded. "Tell you what. Let me talk to Zell, maybe he can be of some help."

"Okay. Thanks, Selphie."

"So, other than that, how are things?"

She shrugged. "Boring, tiring. I've had too much time to think and I don't like it. Can't wait to have a job and be too busy to think."

"Aunt Rinny," little Ellone said. "Can I give Julie her bear? She wants it."

"Of course. Go ahead. Stay in here with her though. She likes to get into things sometimes."

"Okay. I'll go get her." Ellone took the three-year-old by the hand and led her back into the living room. There she retrieved her bear.

"What are the others up to?" Rinoa asked as she watched the little ones sit on the floor.

"Well," Selphie started, "Quistis and Zell are going out. Isn't that a surprise? I never imagined she'd get together with him. Not that she finds him disgusting or anything, mind you. She just doesn't know him all that well. But after a few dates, she made up her mind. The good thing is, he's patient with her. She's been so busy 'cause of college, it's unbelievable."

"I bet. That has to be stressful. Have to see her when she's got the time."

"We should all get together again when she has a break. That'd be fun. Maybe we could all go on a little trip or something."

"Is Irvine living with you now?"

"Yes he is. We're both saving up money for, well, everything I guess. A house, future bills, just to have a good start on it all. That way we wont fall into debt right after we move in."

"That's not a bad idea. At least you'll be prepared." Selphie stayed until Raine came to get Ellone. Once all the visitors were gone, Rinoa started dinner. Julie fell asleep watching TV on the couch. When Squall walked through the front door, he was greeted with a kiss. "I missed you," his wife said. He wrapped his arms around her, giving her a gentle squeeze.

"I might go out later," he said. She instantly became angry. She knew what he meant. He was going to go out for a drink. Her fingers wrapped tightly around the collar of his shirt.

"No, you're not. You're staying here. If you want to drink, fine I can't stop you. But do it here. I'm afraid of what'll happen if you go somewhere else and do it." They stared at each other for a moment until Squall sighed, a signal that he'd given in. "Go look in the cupboard above the fridge." She listened, hearing the small door open and the can cracking open. Guilt filled her heart. She'd allowed him to do this and she knew that she would continue to allow it for days to come.

At night, Julie would have to sleep in her crib. Squall drank enough to make it noticeable. His voice seemed a little off and his speech was hardly coherent. When he was kissing Rinoa, it felt slobbery, disgusting. The way he climbed on her made her feel worse. The whole act was repulsive, not loving. Afterwards, while Squall was asleep, Rinoa felt the need too shower before returning to bed.