Disclaimer: no, I do not own them... Square does... do I have to keep doing this? Anyway, I digress, please, read on...
Caraway Returns
Rinoa and Squall after the party ventured up to his dorm room and lay down in his bed. They were happy and smiling at each other as Squall ran his hands through her hair not saying a word to each other just enjoying the silence; along with each other's company. Rinoa finally decided to break the silence.
"So what should we do about my father?" Rinoa asked a little hesitant about laying that amount of pressure on him with that simple question.
"Well, technically, he can't do anything because you are old enough to be out on your own and make you're own decisions. I don't think we have anything to worry about" Squall answered her with a smile on his face as he continued running his fingers through her hair. He let a smile grace his lips as a rather large grin appeared on Rinoa's face.
"Oh, I am so lucky to have you Squall" Rinoa replied as she threw her body on top of Squall and hugged him. He didn't even hesitate to wrap his arms around the woman that would soon be his wife forever. He hugged her for hours until they fell asleep in each other's arms.
The Next Morning (With Caraway)
General Caraway woke and went down to the kitchen table to read the morning newspaper and have his morning coffee. He found it kind of odd that his daughter wasn't awake by now. Usually she would have been up and doing chores around the house by now. He stood up from his chair and made his way back upstairs to his daughter's room. He knocked lightly three times and said "Rinoa honey, are you awake?" When no answer came he slowly opened the door and found that no one was in the bed. His face turned beet red with anger and screamed "RINOA!"
He slammed the door and ran to his study, picked up the phone and ordered that soldiers immediately go out and search Balamb for his daughter. He was furious with Rinoa that she would actually have the gall to run away from him. Why did she wait 3 years?
With Rinoa and Squall
Squall's eyes slowly opened only to have sunlight blind him and force him to close his eyes again. Rinoa was in the kitchen area of his dorm making breakfast. He heard where the noise was coming from and slowly made his way over to the disturbance.
"Good morning sweetheart" Rinoa said as her back was facing her beloved.
"Good morning" Squall stated half asleep. He walked over to his fiancée and put his arms around her waist. He held her tightly afraid that if he let go, she would be taken away again. Rinoa stopped cooking for a minute and held his arms against her stomach and they stayed that way until they heard a knock on the door. "I'll get it" Squall said while groaning at whoever was disturbing his first morning with his lovely soon to be wife.
Squall opened the door and said "Yes?" He opened the door to reveal the three friends that had brought back his lovely woman. He smiled as he gestured the three of them to come in. Irvine, Selphie, and Zell all took a seat on the couch in his living room and smiled at him; well, Irvine's was a perverted smile anyway.
"So what can I do you three for?" Squall asked as he sat down on one of the chairs. He watched out of the corner of his eye Rinoa making breakfast.
"Well, we just wanted to see how you two were holding up. Word has it that Caraway sent some troops out to look for Rinoa, so I would keep a hold on her so she doesn't get taken away again" Selphie said with a smile. She curled up next to Irvine who put his arm around her and held her close.
"I heard my name out here and was wondering who it was" Rinoa said as she came out with two plates of eggs, toast, and bacon for her and Squall. She set the plates down and ran over to Selphie and gave her a big hug.
"Well, as Selphie was telling Squall, your dad is out looking for you Rinoa, I'd stick close to him at all times" Irvine said as he filled in Rinoa with what Caraway was planning.
"God, that is so like him too, why can't he just leave me alone?" Rinoa said as she let go of Selphie and sat on Squall's lap.
"Well, word also has it, and I wanted to wait until Rinoa was here too to tell you this, but he also wants to marry you off to some guy named Seifer" Selphie said with a horrid look on her face. "Do you know him Rin?" Selphie asked with a questioning face.
Rinoa's eyes suddenly went to the floor. She couldn't believe that her own father would sell her off to marry the one person that she truly does not like at this moment. Rinoa would love to run away with Squall, marry him, and be away from her father forever. She finally spoke,
"He's my ex-boyfriend" Rinoa said with downcast eyes.
With Seifer
Seifer had received a phone call from General Caraway that morning telling him of his plan. Seifer of course obliged and would love to marry Rinoa. Although, she did tell him that she wanted him out of his life forever. She's moved on. She doesn't love him anymore, but any chance to have Rinoa again is worth going for.
Seifer made his way up to Caraway's door and knocked on it. Rinoa's father answered and didn't hesitate to let him in.
Caraway led Seifer to his study and was going to have a discussion with him on how to get Rinoa back and away from Squall.
"On Rinoa's wedding day, you will bust in and say you have a binding and signed contract that you two were wed way before she and Squall ever met and that you haven't gotten a divorce yet, and that is our plan. I hear that they are going to get married within the next month or so, so be quick about it. Find someone to forge Rinoa's signature and fast!" Caraway instructed and gestured for Seifer to leave.
'I have you now my precious Rinoa forever!' Seifer thought to himself as he left the Caraway mansion.
With Rinoa and Squall
The five friends chatted away as to how they were going to get Rinoa away from her father. Finally, after 15 minutes of discussing, Squall raised his hand and gestured everyone to be silent. The four quieted immediately and listened to what Squall had to say. He was about to speak when he heard a knock on the door. Squall got up and walked towards to door. He opened it and was surprised at whom he saw; Laguna?
"Dad, what are you doing here?" Squall asked surprised that his father would show up.
Laguna hesitated a little before asking if he could come in. Squall opened the door and allowed his father to enter to room. Laguna noticed that there were already people in the room and hesitated before saying he needed to talk to Squall in private.
"Sure dad, we can talk in my room" Squall suggested and the pair made their way towards the dorm room. "So what's up? I mean, usually you don't make house calls" Squall chuckled a little before telling his father to sit in the chair across from the bed as Squall took a seat on the bed that Rinoa and he were sharing just this morning.
"I have something to tell you that might not make you very happy Squall. I found out from my sources that Caraway is planning on marrying off Rinoa (okay, at this point, Squall already told Laguna that he was marrying Rinoa, I know I didn't write it, but for my sake just go with it please?). "I don't want to see you two ripped apart; I really like Rinoa, she's a keeper" Laguna said with a smile on his face.
"Dad, we already know, Selphie told us this morning, we were just coming up with a plan when you knocked on the door" Squall said with a solemn look on his face. "I didn't think you cared enough and all, with you being the President and me being your son. I thought that being President was more important to you" Squall said with a depressed look on his face. He looked down to the floor and avoided eye contact with his father. Squall and his father have never really spoken a lot since he became President. He always thought his father's job was more important to him than his family.
"Look at me Squall; you know that is not true, you know I care about you more than anything in the world. I admit I do have a lot of responsibilities as a President, but first and foremost, my family comes first" Laguna said getting up from his chair and sitting next to his son on the bed. He put his arms around his son and hugged him; hugged him for what felt like the first time in a really long time. He smiled at Squall hoping that he got his message through.
Squall hugged his father back and was relieved to know that someone cared for him. Someone loved him; other than Rinoa of course. It was a wonderful feeling knowing that he had family he could count on when he needed it.
Rinoa was wondering about what was so important that Laguna needed to talk to Squall about. She pondered for a couple of minutes before Selphie interrupted her thoughts and asked if she wanted to go shopping.
"You know, tonight we're having another celebration to commemorate the new SeeDs right? I think we should go shopping right now and get a beautiful dress that will knock the socks off of our guys okay?" Selphie stated sounding very ecstatic about it.
"Why didn't you tell me sooner Selphie? I could have gone out shopping a long time ago if I had found out about this sooner. Alright, let's go!" Rinoa said with a large grin on her face. Tonight, she would dazzle Squall with a beautiful dress. Unfortunately for Rinoa, tonight would be the last night that Squall would ever be able to see his lovely fiancée. Caraway had a plan up his sleeve. The information Selphie gave to Squall was just a distraction. Caraway was going to take his daughter back tonight; when she was alone without Squall nearby.
Shopping Mall with Selphie and Rinoa
Selphie and Rinoa had been shopping for half an hour when they stumbled across one last store that they had hoped they would find a dress in. They walked in and gasped with their mouths hung open at all the gorgeous dresses in front of them. Selphie immediately took Rinoa's hand a led her to the nearest dress rack.
Rinoa had tried on dresses colors ranging from yellow to brown. Finally, Selphie gave her the perfect dress. It was a light blue halter dress that came down to her ankles and had slits up along the sides ending just midway to her thigh. She loved it. "This is perfect Selphie, perfect" Rinoa said with a gleam in her eyes.
Selphie had picked out a pale yellow strapless dress that came down to her ankles and had slits on the sides just like Rinoa's. The pair left with their gowns and made their way to Rinoa's room to prepare for tonight's event.
1 hour later
Squall was showered and ready to go 10 minutes after Rinoa and Selphie came back. It didn't take long for the men to get ready because all they had to do was jump in the shower, get dressed and throw on some deodorant and body spray. Of course, for the women, it took at least an hour to get ready because they needed to get in the shower, get out, get dressed, dry their hair, do their makeup, and all sorts of things that women do when they get ready for a special event. Rinoa and Selphie were putting on their final touches when they heard a knock at the door. "Here they are" Selphie said with excitement.
Rinoa opened the door and found her soon to be husband in a tux along with Irvine and Zell by his side. They smiled and Squall just gaped at the dress that Rinoa was wearing. He could never get tired of staring at this woman. He loved her so much.
"Are you just going to stand there with your mouth hanging open catching flies or are you going to take us to have a good time at a party?" Rinoa giggled as she saw a blush creep to Squall's face. He offered her his arm and the two men escorted their dates to the dance. Zell's date was waiting there for him. Zell had asked the library woman out and she had said yes.
They arrived at the ballroom within 10 minutes. Squall and the gang made their way across the room towards a table. Once seated, they started talking about tonight's events and what they were going to do afterwards. Rinoa suggested that all of them go back to her and Squall's place and just hang out. Everyone nodded in anticipation.
The music started playing a slow song and Rinoa glanced over at Squall who was staring off into space and wondered if he would want to dance with her. Finally, Squall felt someone watching him and he turned his head and faced Rinoa. She lifted one finger (like in the game) and smiled at him. He nodded and they made their way to the dance floor. They danced for hours and were enjoying each other's company when suddenly the lights went out. Squall held Rinoa close by him and made sure no one made a move to hurt her even though he couldn't see a thing. Suddenly, there were gun shots and everyone started screaming and was diving on to the ground. Thankfully, Squall memorized the ballroom and knew exactly where to go. Although, when he turned to run with Rinoa by his side, he didn't feel her hand in his. Squall started to panic. Then he heard Rinoa screaming his name at the top of her lungs. He started to run towards her voice but it kept getting more distant. Whoever did this is going to pay severely.
Seifer had blindfolded Rinoa and started to run out the door with her in his arms; he was carrying her bridal style. Rinoa's screaming started to get annoying to Seifer so he put a gag in her mouth to shut her up.
Squall found the light switch by the wall and turned it on. Everyone started to get up off the ground and Squall scanned the room to make sure everyone was okay. He was still very upset that Rinoa was kidnapped. He would do everything in his power to get her back.
Squall ran to his office and called the one other person he needed help from in this matter; his father.
"Presidential office, how may I help you?" the operator asked politely.
"Yes, this is Squall, Laguna's son" he said without hesitation, "This is an emergency" he stated with fear in his voice.
"Hold on one moment Squall, I will put you through immediately" the operator said and put him on hold for what seemed like forever to Squall but was only 15 seconds.
"Hey Squall what's wrong? I heard from my secretary that it was…" Laguna was cut off by Squall hurriedly telling him what was wrong.
"Rinoa's been kidnapped dad and I need some help" Squall said as he was on the verge of tears. "I finally get my best friend and future wife back and now she's gone again, what do I do? Please help me dad, please" Squall said desperately while crying a little bit.
"Ok, ok calm down, now who do you know that would take Rinoa? Wait a second, it's most likely Caraway, and he probably hired someone to do it for him" Laguna said with anger in his tone. "I will be over right away, you stay right there Squall and don't move."
Squall and Laguna hung up and he made his way back to the ballroom. He sat down at a table and began to think why Caraway would want to do this to his own daughter. About 10 minutes later Laguna rushes through the main doors into the ballroom and scanned it to see where his son was. Laguna saw a lone figure sitting alone and thinking to himself and Laguna smiled 'Always thinking' Laguna said and made his way over to Squall.
"Hey Squall" Laguna said hoping to snap Squall out of his thinking state.
"Oh, hi dad, I'm so glad that you're here, I didn't know who else to turn to."
"It's okay, it's what I'm here for, to help you" Laguna said with a large smile on his face. "Now, would you like to explain to me what happened?"
"Okay, so Rinoa and I are dancing when all of a sudden the lights turn off and I hold her close to me so she wouldn't get hurt. Then, when I go to run, she's not there, she must have ducked to the ground and crawled away and the kidnapper must have gotten to her before I could" Squall said with tears in his eyes and a pain indescribable in his heart.
Laguna pulled his son close to him and hugged him as Squall cried into his chest. He knew what kind of pain Squall was going through. He can speak from personal experience. Laguna remembered a quick memory of Raine and smiled. He loved her so much and he missed her very much too.
"Ok, here's what we're going to do. We are going to try and find a way to get into Caraway's house and get Rinoa back" Laguna said with determination in his voice.
"Selphie found a way before and we got Rinoa back, although I don't know if that will work a second time; he probably bolted all the windows and doors so she can't get out this time" Squall said with a tear streaked face.
"Well, then we'll just have to take her back with force then" Laguna said. He was horrified that Caraway would even do this. The pair stood up and made their way to Squall's office where they could talk more about their plan, but it was put to a halt when Selphie, Irvine, and Zell walked up to them.
"Squall, what's going on? Where's Rinoa?" Selphie asked with a worried tone to her voice.
"She…she was kidnapped" Squall said and ran off with Laguna right behind to his office where they would plan out what would happen next.
A/N: Hey hey I'm back after almost a month. I know this chapter is probably pretty short but I thought I would update before I go away for the weekend. You know the drill, R&R and I will update as soon as I can. Also, please please please read my other story, it's an Inuyasha/Kagome piece called "The New Kid" I still need some more reviews on that before I update again. Peace out kids!