In Sickness and in Health

Seifer grimaced at his reflection in the bathroom mirror as he ran his hand across his chin. The goatee he was growing to disguise himself was coming along nicely but was very itchy. He had also been persuaded to let his normally cropped hair grow out some. All in all, the disguise worked. The change in hairstyle, coupled with the goatee and thin glasses made him look different enough that no one glanced at him twice. No one dreamed that the 'rookie' army officer was really a SeeD trained combat machine, ready to deal out death at a moments notice.

Seifer turned from his perusal of his reflection when he heard a groan from the bedroom. Quistis was lying in bed, tossing and turning in her sleep. She groaned loudly again and her arms wrapped tightly around her stomach. Seifer frowned in concern and moved quickly to the bedside. His cool hands went to her forehead and wrist and he scowled. She was burning up and her pulse was racing. She groaned again and curled up into a ball under the sheets. Seifer's hands went to her shoulders and he shook her gently. When she didn't respond he shook her harder.

Her blue eyes snapped open as she sat up and gasped for breath. He steadied her and peered at her in concern. One hand rested on her heaving shoulders and the other gently cupped her cheek.

"Are you okay?" he questioned as she looked over at him.

She started to nod but thought better of it when spots danced before her vision and the room shook. Instead she just flopped back into the bed. Just the simple effort of sitting up left her breathless.

"I'm taking you to the doctor. Try to get dressed," he ordered her.

She would have argued if she wasn't so nauseous.

It was only after she was dressed and ready that Seifer realized that he had no car and he could not really make an unconscious woman walk downtown to go to the doctor's office.

With a sigh he wrapped Quistis' arms around his neck and pulled her onto his back. He hooked his arms under her knees and set off down the road. If he had known that he was mirroring Squall's actions when Rinoa was comatose he would have had second thoughts about carrying the unconscious woman across town. His only defense would be that he hadn't carried her across two continents like his rival had done.

Once they arrived at the doctor's office the self-conscious SeeD quickly deposited his sleeping partner in a chair and went to talk to the doctor. The check up didn't take long and when completed the doctor proclaimed that Quistis Trepe, slayer of a sorceress, savior of the world, professional mercenary, and all around superhuman woman, had been floored by a bad case of the flu.

If Quistis hadn't been glaring at him from the examination table Seifer would have been laughing. It wasn't that he was glad she was sick it was just heartening to know that there was something that could beat Quistis Trepe. She needed to be weakened sometimes. This would be good for her. It proved that she was still human.

When they left the office Quistis insisted that she was well enough to walk herself back home. Seifer reluctantly let her walk, knowing how stubborn she was. He did, however, keep one hand on her arm to steady her. She kept trying to jerk her arm away but that just made the dizziness worse. They had barely gone two blocks before Quistis' weakened legs deserted her. As her knees gave out Seifer scooped her up before she could hit the ground and continued the trek back to their house.

Their arrival back at their house was heralded by Quistis' loud protests that she was capable of taking care of herself and that Seifer put her down. He objected to both arguments and insisted on carrying her and on taking care of her. She was fighting him every step of the way.

He deposited her gently in the bed but she was determined to get up so he tied her down using her own whip. Her shrieks of protest could be heard from down the block. Sighing, Seifer gagged her with a handkerchief.

"I didn't want to do that, you know. You're just being stubborn. You need to rest. I'll go make you some soup," he said as he walked to the kitchen, "And you will eat it or I will feed it to you," he finished, poking his head back into the bedroom.

Her blue eyes widened and muffled cursing could be heard from behind the gag.

Rinoa exchanged glances with Squall as they walked up the street in Timber. Cid had given them permission to visit Quistis and Seifer as long as they were discreet about it. They were walking down the road their friends lived on, looking for the house, when they heard screams coming from a home further down. The screams were quickly silenced and they continued walking.

Seifer slowly and cautiously removed the gag from Quistis' mouth, waiting for her to scream at him again. Her azure eyes were glaring at him in anger but she didn't make any vocal protests. He warily placed the handkerchief on the nightstand as he reached for the spoon that rested in the bowl of soup. The instant his fingers touched the spoon she let out a loud shriek. He jerked in surprise, dropping the spoon.

Squall and Rinoa were on the front porch of their friends' house when they heard the scream echo from inside. Squall reared back and kicked the door in and Rinoa concentrated on a spell, ready to defend her friends. The scene that greeted them could not have shocked them more.

Seifer, after dropping the spoon, snatched to gag from the nightstand and shoved it back in Quistis' mouth.

So, when Squall and Rinoa came in, Seifer was sitting on the side of the bed, on which Quistis was tied up with her whip while gagged.

"Seifer Almasy! What do you think you are doing? Let her go, right now!" Rinoa demanded.

Quistis began nodding feverishly, all the while glaring at Seifer angrily. Squall was still dazed, staring at the two.

Seifer's blonde head whipped around when he heard the young sorceress' voice command him to release Quistis.

"Commander Puberty? Rinoa? What are you two doing here?" he asked.

"What are you doing to Quisty? Why is she tied up and gagged?" Rinoa responded.

Seifer looked back down at his 'patient' who was struggling to free herself from the whip.

"Oh, she's got the flu but doesn't want to rest or eat her soup," Seifer explained to the confused sorceress and her boyfriend.

Rinoa's caring brown eyes immediately filled with worry.

"Aww is she okay?" she asked as she moved to the bedside.

"She will be in a few days, if she rests," Seifer said glaring at Quistis when he came to the end of the statement.

Quistis just glared right back and rolled her eyes when Rinoa nodded agreement with Seifer. Squall came over slowly and looked down on his captured friend.

"Sorry Quistis, but I agree with them," he stated. Seifer's smug smirk leapt to his face and Rinoa smiled. If Quistis had been able to move Squall would have been running for his life. The look in her eyes showed him that.

"I do, however, think that they're being a bit excessive," he continued. Rinoa frowned at him instantly and Seifer groaned. Quistis began nodding again. Seifer sighed and snatched the gag from her mouth. Immediately, the room filled with Quistis' voice.

"HOW DARE YOU?!?!?! LET ME GO THIS INSTANT! I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! AS SOON AS –," Quistis' tirade was cut off as Squall forced the gag back into her mouth.

"Now now Quisty, that is no way for you to talk to him. Seifer is just trying to help you feel better faster," the SeeD commander admonished the struggling woman.

If it was possible Quistis' face got even redder and a vein on her forehead began to throb. Seifer swallowed hard and took a deep breath. His hand cautiously reached to where the barbs of the Save the Queen were secured. He quickly released them and cringed. Quistis' hands were instantly around his throat, choking him. Her momentum threw them both backwards, off the bed. She landed on top of him, still grasping his throat tightly.

Rinoa gasped and grabbed Quistis around the waist, trying to pull her off the gasping ex-knight. Squall reached under Seifer's shoulders and jerked him away by his coat. Rinoa managed to get Quistis back on the bed and Squall helped Seifer to his feet.

"Quistis, what is going on with you?" Rinoa questioned as she put a stop spell on the sick instructor.

Quistis, obviously, couldn't answer but she seemed to calm down. Rinoa removed the spell but made sure that Squall was between Quistis and Seifer before doing so. Quistis didn't move just laid there, breathing heavily. Rinoa reached forward and placed her hand on the blonde woman's forehead.

"Hyne! She's burning up. Seifer, go get a cold, wet cloth from the kitchen," Rinoa ordered.

The blonde quickly followed her directions and was swiftly beside the bed with the cloth. Rinoa took it and began to gently wash her friend's face. Quistis' eyes had drifted closed and everyone was fairly sure she was asleep. Squall, wanting to be helpful and to avoid Rinoa ordering him around, went into the kitchen and came back with a large bowl of cool water and a bottle of pills that had come from the doctor's office. He deposited them on the nightstand by Rinoa's elbow and quickly retreated. She gave him a smile of thanks and Seifer rolled his eyes at them.

"So, Seifer why are you trying so hard to help Quistis all of a sudden? Before you wouldn't have cared at all," Squall questioned his rival.

Seifer considered Squall's question for a long moment. He sat, staring at the floor, deep in thought.

"She's my friend and my partner. This mission might take a long time so it just seems like a good idea to get in the habit of helping each other out. She's sick and way too stubborn to actually take the time to get better so I thought I should help her get better. Even if she doesn't want my help…" his voice drifted off and he looked back up at Squall.

"Is that a good enough answer for you?"

Squall nodded and gave a small smile.

"You've changed, Seifer."

AN: I know this isn't what I said was going to happen in this chapter but I really couldn't think of anything to write for that so I wrote this instead.

Next Chapter: Seifer and Quistis do some nighttime sneaking around.