Chapter 3
"Squally? What's going on? They never call you in at night." Rinoa said lying in bed, while squall prepared himself to get back to sleep.
"I'll tell you in the morning. Nothing to worry about now." Squall said sliding into their large king size bed with silky sheets.
Rinoa wasn't sure what to think of his answer. The only time it was okay to call him in this late was if it was really important. 'What could this mean?' Rinoa thought, falling back into her own deep sleep.
A few hours after getting home, Squall awoke to his wife screaming in her sleep, and shaking violently.
"Rinoa!" Squall yelled putting his hand on her shoulder. She stopped shaking instantly, and slowly opened her eyes.
"Squall?" Rinoa said softly. Squall began to move into and embrace but she screamed loudly making him jump back.
"What's the matter Rinoa?" Squall asked the now crying Rinoa. She stopped only to say this: "You need to tell me what's going on now." She climbed out of bed and left the room without another word, leaving Squall puzzled at what she meant.
Squall clambered out of bed and went out into his contemporary kitchen where Rinoa had started making coffee.
"Rinoa, I highly suggest you drink some tea, because you know how you get when you drink coffee." Squall said angering Rinoa.
"Squall relax! It's decaf." Rinoa said slamming the coffee bean bag on the counter. Squall could tell she was tense.
"Here Rin, why don't you sit down and I'll finish making the coffee while you tell me what's going on." Squall said taking the coffee bean bag and pouring some into the coffee machine.
"Take a seat and tell me what's going through your mind." Squall said leaning against the black granite countertop with his arms crossed.
"You can try to be Irvine all you want, but it will never work." Rinoa said with a smug look on her face.
"That's just it thought, I don't want to be Irvine right now." Squall said, getting a questioning look from Rinoa.
"And why not?" Rinoa asked. There was a long pause while Squall started to think of how he should tell Rinoa.
"Squall?" Rinoa asked quietly. Squall looked at Rinoa and began telling the story.
"The reason I was called in tonight, was because of Irvine. His house was broken into, and his daughter was kidnapped, while he took Selphie out to dinner for their anniversary." Squall spoke quietly as she watched her love begin to cry for their friends.
"Squall, why didn't you tell me?" Rinoa asked giving Squall no time to answer.
"They're my friends too ya know. I would like to be there to comfort them, but I never know, because you don't tell me." Rinoa said looking down at the counter.
"Rinoa I'm just trying to protect you from the evil things I deal with. You wouldn't have wanted to go with me because the sights were so bad. I'll never be able to forget the sights. They'll haunt me forever. Squall said looking Rinoa straight in the eye.
"Squall, will they be okay?"
"I don't know but I know they need us."
"We should let them stay here with us! Knowing Selphie, she wouldn't want to stay there, knowing that the kidnapper could come back and do something to them. I want them to be safe." Rinoa was grinning ear to ear. Squall nodded, and Rinoa's screech rang through his ears.
"Thank you thank you thank you thank you!" Rinoa jumped up out of her seat and ran around the island and gave Squall a HUGE hug.
"Anything to make you happy Rin." Squall said quietly, smelling the rainy scent of her ebony hair.
"Now lets go get some sleep, we have a big day ahead of us." Squall said leading Rinoa aback to the bedroom.
"But what about the coffee?" Rinoa asked as Squall tucked her into bed. Squall smiled and walked out for a few minutes. He came back with a steaming mug of coffee with whipped cream on top.
"I love you Squall." Squall slid into the other side of the bed, trying not to jostle Rinoa. She stayed up drinking her coffee, and when she was finished, she set the mug down on the end table and turned out the lights.
The next morning, squall woke with the sun, and went on his morning job. Rinoa work up at a little past ten, and got herself ready in record time and drove to Irvine and Selphie's house.
It was surrounded by caution tape and was a little weird seeing all the police in their front yard. Rinoa pulled up to the curb where a police officer met her.
"Can I help you ma'm?" Rinoa nodded and replied, Yes, I'm a good friend of Selphie and Irvine Kinneas and was wondering if they were here." The police officer nodded and pointed in the direction of Irvine who was holding Selphie as they strolled around talking to different people.
Rinoa got out of the car and thanked the police officer, as she went up to Selphie and Irvine.
"Selphie!" Rinoa yelled running up to Selphie, almost tackling her to the ground.
"I'm so sorry." Rinoa said hugging Selphie tightly. Selphie pushed Rinoa off gently and looked Rinoa square in the eye.
"I'm okay Rinoa." Selphie said, trying to figure out why Rinoa was grinning like a fool.
"What's up Rinoa?" Selphie asked going back to Irvine and wrapping her arm around his waist.
"You're coming to stay with me and Squall!"
"Squall and I, Rinoa. I thought I taught you better than that." A voice said behind Rinoa.
Rinoa turned around and there was Quistis standing tall and proud next to Seifer who looked very distracted.
"Quisty!" Selphie yelled running up to Quistis giving her a huge bear hug. Quistis was smiling and embraced the happy Selphie.
"Seifer?" Rinoa asked as Seifer snapped to face Rinoa. She jumped at his sudden reaction.
"Are you okay Seify?" Quistis asked Seifer who was full of mixed emotions.
"No I'm not okay why would I be okay?" Seifer yelled acaring everyone there, and drawing a crowd from the officers working in the yard.
"Seifer calm down. What's bothering you?" Irvine asked, hoping he could give some council to his friend.
"I DID IT! When I looked at the inside of that house, I saw what I had done." Everyone looked at him skeptically.
"Seifer what are you talking about?" Quistis asked holding onto his hands not wanting to let go.
"What have I done! What have I done!" Seifer yelled falling to the ground. Selphie only caught when he said he had done it. Had he kidnapped her daughter and killed her babysitter?
"Seifer, do you mean to tell me that you took my daughter?" Selphie said with jade eyes swelling up with tears. Seifer shook his head.
"I cannot believe what I have done." Seifer said quietly. Quistis looked at Selphie who had started crying, just knowing that Seifer had caused all of this.
"Quistis. Why didn't you stop me? I couldn't control myself. I killed all those innocent people." Quistis didn't know what to say, because the tables had turned. She didn't know what he was talking about now.
"Seifer, come on, lets get you home so you can get some rest." Quistis said dragging Seifer to the car while he said to himself, "How can you forgive me for the things I've done?" Selphie sat on the ground quietly crying. Quistis took off in her while Rinoa watched her drive down the end of the street and turned the corner.
"That was a little odd." Irvine said breaking the silence between the three of them. Selphie and Rinoa nodded simultaneously.
"Would you like me to help get some of your stuff to bring back to my house?" Rinoa asked as Selphie picked herself up off the ground and shook the dirt off her dress.
"I would like that." Selphie said leading Rinoa into the messy house.
"I can't bear it. Every time I walk by Camille's room I realize… I miss her." Selphie talked quietly and when they reached her room, she began moving on to other things. Rinoa was standing in the doorway when all of a sudden she felt a wet thing on her calf. She turned around and there was little Rex checking out to see who she was.
Rinoa picked up the cute beagle-basset hound mix. He licked her face and Rinoa giggled at the feeling of a velvety soft tongue tracing over the contour of her nose.
"Are you gonna come with mommy and daddy and stay with us?" Rinoa asked Rex as if she was talking to a baby. Rex just kept on licking her face and was put down after a few more licks.
"You almost ready Selph?" Rinoa asked Selphie, who was zipping up the suitcase.
"Yeah just let me go get some personal things out of the bathroom, and we can get out of this nightmare." Selphie said heading into her master bathroom.
"I'm going to go get Rexes leash." Rinoa yelled from the bedroom.
"Okay it's hanging on the side of the fridge!" Selphie yelled from the bathroom, as there was a loud crash. "OW," Selphie said loudly enough to be heard, but quickly added, "I'm okay!"
Rinoa giggled and went back out into the kitchen. There it was a bright yellow leash hanging on a cool black side-by-side refrigerator. It stuck out like a sore thumb, which made Rinoa laugh a little harder. Irvine and Selphie had way different tastes, but they couldn't be cuter together.
"Rex!" Rinoa yelled taking the bright yellow leash off the hook on the fridge. Rex came running into the kitchen, but due to the slickness of the tile, he slid all the way to the table just on the other side of the kitchen.
"Ooohh!" Rinoa cooed as Rex came tearing around the counter only to slip into Rinoa.
"Be careful little guy, if you can't keep your bearings here, what are we going to do with you at our house?" Rinoa giggled some more when Selphie came out of the hallway with her suitcase and a bag of other stuff, which Rinoa guessed was her personal stuff.
"I'm ready Rin!" Selphie yelled as Rinoa picked up Rex, and put the leash on his collar and the two walked out the front door.
"Hey Irvy, I'm going to Rin's house, you can come whenever you feel fit to!" Selphie yelled from the door of Rinoa's car. Irvine waved, and ran over to give Selphie a kiss.
"I love you Selph, I should get there at about 8:00, I have some errands to do, so I'll see you guys later." Irvine said backing up so the girls could pull away. As they pulled down the street, Irvine walked into the middle of the road and waved.
"Squall! Selphie's here!" Rinoa yelled carrying Selphie's suitcases, while Selphie followed carrying Rex. Squall came out into view, and looked all sweaty and yucky.
"How was your run Squally?" Rinoa asked setting down Selphie's bags and running over to Squall to kiss him. Selphie stood there just watching trying to keep a hold of Rex who was fidgeting to get loose and explore his new territory.
"Hey Rin, can I let Rex down?" Selphie asked as Rinoa replied.
"Of course, here let me help you get settled in." Rinoa said walking back over to Selphie. She put the dog down and he took off to the kitchen smelling Squall and checking everything out. Rinoa took Selphie to the guest bedroom, and helped her unpack her things into the dresser.
"I can't thank you enough Rin. I really didn't want to stay in that house." Selphie said putting some of her panties into the dresser drawer. Rinoa smiled and gave her a quick tour of their room.
"Okay here is your closet, feel free to put anything in it. And over here is your bathroom, the light is on the wall right here, and you can put all your stuff in the cabinets. Make yourself at home. However long you have to stay is fine with me." Rinoa said walking back to Selphie, still putting away clothes.
"Hey Rin, what do you want for lunch?" Squall asked poking his head in the door. Rinoa looked at Selphie who thought for a minute.
"Grilled cheese!" Selphie yelled a little louder than necessary. Squall smiled and headed into the kitchen to make the cheesy sandwiches.
"So does Squall do all the cooking?" Selphie asked as Rinoa nodded remembering one time in particular that she tried to cook.
"Yeah, one time I was trying to make spaghetti, but set a pot holder on fire instead, and the ground beef was burnt. Also the noodles were all mushy because I cooked them too long. Lets just say I'm not the best chef in the world, but Squall here is a pro at it." Rinoa giggled with Selphie. The two girls finished unpacking and walked out into the hallway only to smell the scent of tomato soup.
"Lunch is ready!" Squall yelled from the kitchen. When Selphie and Rinoa walked in they couldn't believe the sight. The table was set, and there was a large bowl of tomato soup, and there were piles and piles of grilled cheese sandwiches.
"Wow! This is more than Irvine and I eat in a week!" Selphie yelled getting giggles and laughs from Squall and Rinoa. Selphie ran over to the table and sat herself down in one of the places set. Rinoa and Squall followed and served themselves from the bowl of soup.
"MMMMM This is good Squall!" Selphie yelled with her mouth full of grilled cheese. Rinoa laughed, and Squall chuckled slightly.
"What did I tell you? He's a pro at it." Rinoa said taking a few spoonfuls of soup.
"If you really want the full experience try dipping your sandwich into the soup." Squall said awaiting the reaction from Selphie who dipped her sandwich into the soup. She tasted the mix of the two and let out a high shrill.
"That's really good too!" Selphie yelled yet again. Squall smiled and Rinoa couldn't even take a bite in fear of it flying out of her mouth.
"I'm glad someone appreciates my cooking." Squall said, feeling a sting on his cheek. Rinoa had slapped him, which made Squall wince.
"Ow what was that for? It was a joke!" Squall said getting a grin on his face. Selphie just sat in adoration of the way Squall and Rinoa interacted with each other. Rinoa chuckled as she tackled Squall right out of his chair, and they both fell to the floor with a thud.
'They are so cute together.' Selphie thought, swallowing the last little bit of her sandwich. 'mm Squall needs to give me this recipe too.' Selphie said to herself as she began laughing at her own thought.
Squall and Rinoa had finished playing around, and were quietly eating their lunch, while Selphie slept in the guest bedroom, for lack of sleep the night before.
"So when is Irvine going to get here?" Squall asked Rinoa, who was eating a little bit more of his soup.
"He said he'd come whenever he got done with his errands." Rinoa said hearing a scream from Selphie's room. They both looked at the guest bedroom. Rinoa stood up quickly and ran into the room where Selphie was still asleep but thrashing around in the bed.
"Selphie!" Rinoa yelled running to the side of her bed, and shaking her to wake her up. Selphie's eyes shot open quickly, and she looked at Rinoa wide eyed.
"She's back."