Chapter Seven

"What's so funny?" asked Kathryn Metallium. A classmate of theirs, she had passed the written test as well and was going on the mission tomorrow too. She was of medium height with long auburn hair she usually kept in a braid. In her cadet uniform, her eyes looked blue, though they had a tendency to look green with anything that wasn't blue. In her hands she held a folded piece of paper, a couple of flowers, and something wrapped in foil.

The three friends just shook their heads as Sam said, "You really had to be there… Kitten." He smiled and dashed off, knowing she hated that nickname, and sure enough, she dropped her parcels on Lexa's bed and chased after him, ready to kill. Kat stumbled, but chased after him still. Lexa had to admit; she was quite startled whenever Kat lost her temper. Usually quite reserved, she put up with a lot before she snapped, and, nine times out of ten, it was because someone (usually Sam) called her Kitten.

On her next pass by Lexa's bed, Kat called out, "Those things are for you Lexa!" and continued running after Sam, whom she was catching up to. "Get BACK HERE!"

Lexa leaned forward and grabbed the paper object first. It was a good luck card. She thought it was sweet; somehow Kat always seemed to know when she needed cheering up. The flowers looked local. She must have picked them from the woods near the Fire Cave. And the foil object. . . she should have known. . . mint chocolate. Kat's favorite confection in the whole world. You never saw Kat without a bar of it in her hand . . . or in her pocket . . . or in her mouth. Lexa smiled at the thought. She took half and held it out to Tom, who knew the routine.

"Lexa, you know I'm allergic to mint!" he said exasperatedly.

"Well, you know I can't eat it all by myself!" she said back, angrily.

Kat hated to see the two argue, as they knew. So she stepped up and took the offending confection out of Tom's hand. "Well, if neither of you are going to eat it, you won't mind if I do," she said lightly. With sugar in hand, she ran and tackled Sam quarterback style. He hit the ground with a grunt, and turned over, ready to apologize. He opened his mouth . . . and had a small piece of mint chocolate shoved into the opening. "HA!" she said triumphantly.

When Squall walked into the infirmary, Kathryn and Sam were sprawled across the floor as if they had been sparring. Though judging from the chocolate in Sam's mouth and in Kathryn's hand, it wasn't sparring. Lexa was on the bed laughing with Tom at the other two teens, though it seemed more directed at Sam. Squall had to admit to himself, though, that at first glance the sight was disturbing. He cleared his throat loudly and inquired, "Kathryn, I hope you didn't come here just to assault Mr. Fox."

She bristled at the name but stood up and helped Sam to his feet. "No, sir. We were joking. I'll save the assaulting for tomorrow." She smiled, waved her goodbyes and walked out. "See you tomorrow!" she called as the door closed.

Squall walked up to Lexa's bed and looked at her, nodding in silent answer to her question from before. He prayed that she would remember their interrupted conversation from earlier.

It was unexpected when she smiled back.

The commander sighed and looked about

Tom looked thoroughly confused at their wordless conversation. Sam was off to the side, just watching. Fortunately for Tom, she cared enough for his feelings (or his ego, Squall wasn't sure) to explain to him their earlier talks about Rinoa's safety and her friendship. Tom nodded his understanding at the end of her explanation, though he still looked a little confused. He voiced his concerns to his superior officer. "Sir, I understand the mission, and I know Mrs. Leonhart feels strongly about the issue, but why put herself in danger like that?"

"She has friends there cadet," he said stoically. "Friends that she had before she met me. Ones she would protect like family, because for a time, they were. She won't stay here."

At this, Tom stood up and said proudly, "Then I'll help too, sir. She means a lot to all of us. And, forgive me sir, I'll be damned if I let anything happen to her after all she's done for us." He took Lexa's hand as he finished that sentence and said, "Especially after she helped Lexa."

Inwardly, Squall was surprised and pleased at the same time. Rinoa befriended people without even trying. Maybe that's what had captivated him all those years ago. Then he remembered why he had chosen to pick them up and not her. "Oh. Before I forget, the reason you cadets are with me is because I'm heading the mission into Timber. You deserve to know who you're working with. In our squad, we'll have several well-trained SeeDs, those you'll know in the morning. As for your student squad leader--"

"SQUALL! I hope you're not breaking, or trying to break, Cid's rules again. I told you last year, they're not supposed to know until the day of the exam!" Xu, their tactical commander scorned from the entranceway. "I know you'd like them to know, but we can't coddle them. Anyway," she continued before he could react, "Miss Harper is technically released. You're free to go," she said to Lexa. Tom, refusing to let go of her hand, pulled her to her feet. Without a sound (which was unusual), Sam scooped up Lexa's 'gifts.'

It seemed Sam couldn't stay silent any longer, though. "I thought Dr. Kadowaki had to be here to release her. Or…" he trailed off and smiled as wide as he was able.

Xu seemed not to notice this and said nonchalantly, "She seemed busy arguing with some Estharians that I'd escorted in." Xu winced in apparent sympathy for the foreigners. "Man, I pity those poor guys. Having to face the Doc's wrath."

At this point, the three teens burst out laughing at something not apparent to the adults. It hadn't been long since he'd been a teenager, but Squall still didn't understand. Sometimes I wonder, he thought, if that isn't a good thing.

"Come on cadets, you've got to wake up early tomorrow. I'm expecting your best." With that, he walked off with his students in tow. He however went to the elevator. Maybe Rinoa was on the balcony again. She liked it there. He'd go find her. She always calmed him down, and right now, he needed calming.