A/N: Hi everyone, I'm back! Thanks to all of you for waiting so patiently for my return and I'm really sorry it took me so long, but I was away on vacation and where I was there was no Internet… and no Fan Fiction site. Anyways, I hope you didn't grow tired of me. Here's chapter 13.

Chapter 13

Nooj's get-together

The few moments that followed Wakka's phone call remain clouded in my mind; I don't know if it was the stress, the excitement, the nervousness or maybe the three put together, but every time I try to replay those moments in my head they're like covered by a vein. I remember Paine telling me that she needed to take her sister to the hospital because Wakka was too nervous to do it and we both ran outside the house and into Paine's front porch, where Lulu was seated on a chair, patiently waiting for someone to arrive and take her.

"So," she smiled tiredly and put a hand on her stomach, "who's taking me after all? Wakka wanted to do it but in his state he would kill us all."

"I'll do it." Paine responded in a collected voice.

Lulu smiled at her sister and got up, heading to the car. Paine and I tried to help her, but she refused gently, telling Paine to start the car and then turning to me "Can you do me a favour, Yuna?"

"Sure," I said, still holding her arm.

"I've packed some things for me and the baby, while we're still in the hospital, but I'm sure Wakka will forget about them and Paine's too busy to be asked." She paused and closed her eyes, inhaling sharply. I could feel her arm tensing beneath my grip.

"What's wrong, Lu? What happened?"

She exhaled slowly and then opened her ruby eyes. "It was just a contraction. I'm fine." She turned her gaze to me again and continued "Could you get my stuff and then take it to the hospital? I'm going to need it."

I nodded seriously. I was a little afraid ― after all, Lulu was my first friend to give birth and I was worried about her ― but I was sure she was going to be okay; she was strong and wise…

She had another contraction, snapping me out of my thoughts. I helped her getting inside the car and then leaned against the door, poking my head through the open window and winking at Lulu "I'll see you soon, okay, Lu?"

She returned the smile. "Sure, Yuna."

I stepped back and Paine drove away. It was only when I heard a male voice yelling that I realised that Wakka hadn't gone with them. I turned around to see his huge figure running in my direction, waving his arms in the air.

"Come back! Come back! I have to go with my wife, ya!" He stopped when he reached me and took a hand to his chest, trying to recover his breath.

"Take it easy, Wakka." I told him reassuringly "I'm going to the hospital too. I'll take you to Lulu before the baby's born, you'll see."

"You'd do that, Yuna?" He looked so sad and disappointed that I could do nothing but smile sympathetically and nod.

"But first I gotta do two things, 'kay? Wait for me by my car, I'll be there in one minute." Those last words were screamed over my shoulder for I was already dashing towards my house, entering it and climbing the stairs until I reached my bedroom. I grabbed my purse and shoved the wallet, the cell phone and the keys inside it, running out of the room and into the hallway where I bumped against Rikku.

"Ouch!" She complained, taking her hand to her forehead.

"I'm sorry, Rikku." I held her arm to steady her "I'm in a bit of a rush right now. Lulu's gone to the hospital to have the baby, and I'm going to meet her there with Wakka."

My cousin's eyes widened and then, when she understood my message, she said in a whining voice "I wanna go too."

"Rikku…" I began.

"Please, Yunie, please." She continued, tugging at my shirt like a child who wanted a candy.

I couldn't waste my time trying to make her understand the reasons why she didn't need to go, so I just told her to keep her quiet "Okay, if you insist. But this is not gonna be a picnic, Rikku, so I want you to behave yourself, okay?"

"Of course, Yuna, I promise." she said with a grave expression.

I managed to smirk at her. "Then go to the car, I'll be there in no time flat." And with that I took off again, returning to Lulu's house and entering through the kitchen door (fortunately, Lulu rarely locked that door ― and even if she did, she had given me a key to enter anytime I wanted). I went upstairs and into the bedroom Lulu and Wakka shared. I had been there thousands of times before Lulu had got married and a few more after Wakka had moved in. Small differences marked those two periods of my friend's life ― when she was still a single woman, Lulu always kept her room really neat and tidy, painted in dark colours and full of study books of black magic and some stuff she needed to do the spells. When she and Wakka had decided to marry, she redecorated the room and moved her magical things into a study room, where she worked now, and changed the colour of the room to a soft orange (she said it didn't make any difference to her and that it even reminded her of Wakka's hair…). The room was still clean, but if someone looked around, they could find a blitzball thrown into a corner, a pair of socks under the drawer or even some clothes placed on a chair; being pregnant didn't give Lulu the kind of mobility to do the chores and Wakka wasn't the most organized person in the world.

I looked around and saw the suitcase Lulu had told me about almost immediately for it was in front of the wardrobe. She had probably put it there so it would not be forgotten when the time came, but that had been precisely what had happened ― with Wakka's anxiety and Paine's fast actions, no one had even thought about the suitcase twice (I would say not even once); only the pregnant woman herself…

I snatched the bag and ran outside through the front door, locking it behind me and heading in my car's direction. Rikku and Wakka were already there… and Tidus was with them. Damn it! I had completely forgotten all about him being in the house with Rikku. She had probably told him what was happening and invited him to come along. And she was right in a way ― Tidus was Wakka's best friend and he was also very close to Lulu and if we were going to the hospital he had every right to tag along. So I just kept quiet while I approached the car and threw the bag into the backseat.

"So, let's go, people." I said, climbing to the driver's seat and waiting for them to take their own seats. Wakka sat beside me, biting his nails; Rikku was behind Wakka and Tidus was once again behind me. This time though I didn't pay him much attention for my thoughts were on Lulu and the yet unborn baby. Wakka was certainly thinking about the same because I had never seen him so nervous and so tense; the man didn't speak a single word, which was very unlike him, and couldn't stop biting his nails. On the other hand, Rikku couldn't remain still for a moment and she wouldn't shut up, but Tidus asked her to and she obliged, if only for a couple of minutes. In the meanwhile, Tidus was trying to calm Wakka down, telling his friend that everything was going to be alright and that soon enough the red-haired would be holding a beautiful baby in his strong arms.

The ride to the hospital had never seemed so long to me (and I had done it a lot of times lately because of Shuyin and Jecht) and when we finally arrived Wakka sprinted inside the building, asking the nurses where his wife was. I, in contrast, went directly to the receptionist, telling her who I was looking for and why I was looking for her. She asked me if I was a relative, and I told her I was with Wakka, the husband. Things got easier from that point on. She called a nurse who took Wakka and the suitcase into the room where Lulu had been placed while she awaited the baby's arrival and a few moments later Paine came to meet us because only one relative was allowed in the room at a time.

"How's she doing?" I asked her the moment I saw her coming out of the double doors that kept that area separated from the rest of the hospital.

She took a seat. "Lulu's strong, she'll be okay. But I'll tell you one thing, I wouldn't want to be in her place."

"Yeah," Rikku agreed, adding in a weak voice "If having kids means a lot of pain I don't think I want them…"

I laughed. "You say that now, Riks, 'cause you're young and you're scared 'cause of Lulu, but one day later you'll want kids. You're crazy 'bout them."

"I don't know, Yuna. Would you want kids if you knew you'd suffer a lot to have them?" she asked me, her huge green eyes staring at me.

"Absolutely." I answered firmly "I've always wanted at least two kids, but I wouldn't mind having three…"

"You sure look like a mother talking…" Paine said with a small smirk.

I smiled. "I know, but I can't help it."

Sometime later I got up. "It's gonna be a long wait. I think I'm gonna get some fresh air. If you need me I'll be right outside the main doors, okay?"

Rikku had fallen asleep curled up on a chair and Tidus had disappeared through the doors that led to his father's room (I believed that maybe all that talk about babies and mothers had brought him too many memories ― memories of us, of his childhood, of his deceased mother…) and so Paine was the only one to nod and watch me leave the waiting room, heading to the main doors. But I was stopped before I could go out because the rain that had momentarily stopped had started to fall again and so I had to remain on the inside. The doors were opened and people were constantly going in and out, the ambulances coming and going, the moans from the injured a constant noise in the back of my head. I crossed my arms tightly over my chest, repressing a chill. With the rush I hadn't brought any jacket or coat and that had been silly of me because now I was cold and had nothing to warm me up.

I'm not sure how long I remained there, leaned against the doorframe, watching the grey sky while people moved around me. I don't even remember what I was thinking while I was there, waiting for Lulu to have the baby, waiting for the news, waiting for something…

Suddenly I felt two hands on my shoulders and I turned around immediately, almost hitting whoever it was that had put the jacket over my shoulders. But when I saw who it was I froze, my jaw dropped to the floor and I forgot all the words I've ever known. It was Tidus. And it was Tidus' jacket.

"You were shivering." He told me, holding his hands up in a defence gesture. Then he let them fall down by his sides and averted my eyes, turning his head to the sky on the outside "I know how you hate the rain…"

I didn't know what to say, so I changed the subject "How's Lulu doing?"

"She's still waiting… The nurse talked a lot, but all I understood was that she's still waiting."

"Well, these things take time. I'm sure the baby will be out by nightfall."

"Yeah…" he trailed off and I knew instantly that he wanted to say something else. That look in his eyes was unmistakable. I was right. After a short silence he said "You know what you said back there, Yuna… about having babies…"

I stopped him before he could go any further. "Are you sure you wanna talk about this right now, Tidus?"

I was afraid of what he might say. He turned his head to meet my eyes and the intensity I saw in his made me hold my breath. Oh Yevon, what could he possibly be thinking? Two years ago I would have encouraged him to tell me all his problems, so I could share his burdens and ease his pain, but now it was my pain I wanted to ease and I could not do it with him talking about our past and our past dreams…

After what seemed an eternity, Tidus finally spoke, averting my eyes again "You're right. This isn't the time or place."

We remained silent for a moment or two before I suggested "I think that maybe we should check what's going on… Maybe there's some news."

He nodded and we started walking towards the waiting room. He opened the door for me and before I entered he touched my arm gently, calling my attention and saying in a low voice "I think you should call Shuyin and tell him Wakka's about to be a father. I'm sure he'd like to know that."

I looked up and was about to ask him why he didn't do it himself when I remembered their last meeting. Yet I was glad to know that Tidus was worried about his brother. It made me believe that reconciliation was possible between the two of them. So I just told him obediently, while entering the waiting room "Sure, Tidus, I'll do it right away."

-----XX-----

It had been more than five hours since we had arrived at the hospital when we finally had some news about Lulu's condition. Even though Paine had asked several times how her sister was doing, the doctors had only given her vague answers, telling her that the baby hadn't been born yet and that Lulu was being an excellent patient. At last, Wakka came out of the double doors, grinning ear to ear and walking proudly towards us.

Paine got up immediately. "What's going on?" Instead of answering, Wakka threw his arms around her, pulling her into a huge, breath-taking bear hug. "Wakka!" she reprimanded, stepping back and away from him.

He kept grinning like an idiot. "I have a son, ya! I have a son!"

I sighed and grinned too, congratulating him. Rikku screamed happily and jumped on Wakka, trying to hug him. Tidus' face lit up with joy and pride in his friend and he slapped him in the back, telling him how lucky he was. As for Paine… She was livid and yet a beautiful and true smile lightened her expression, making her eyes sparkle in bright red. She was truly happy. I nudged her gently and when she looked at me I told her "Go meet your sister, Paine. Wakka's gonna stay here for a while. Go."

She nodded, the smile never leaving her face and she went through the doors, heading to Lulu's room. Wakka continued to talk about his newborn son, looking like the happiest man to ever walk on Spira. I felt so glad for him.

My phone began to ring and I picked it up. It was Shuyin. I had called him a few hours earlier, following Tidus' advice and telling Shuyin what was going on with Lulu. He had been pleased to hear the news and had even said that he would come to the hospital, but when I told him his brother was there he changed his mind. It had been like that since Tidus had returned ― every time Tidus was present, Shuyin wouldn't show his face… And even though we had talked a lot about that (I had been with him several times during the last few days), I hadn't been able to make him change his mind about his reactions towards his brother. Anyways, Shuyin had asked me to keep him informed, but he was the one who was calling me every hour or so. I believed he wanted to be there with the rest of us, but he knew he wasn't needed and besides Tidus was there and… well, he could always visit Lulu and Wakka any other day, after all he had been to their house just last week, catching up all the times he'd missed out over those two long years and re-establishing their former friendship.

"Shu, I've got great news!" I exclaimed, grabbing the phone with both hands "Lulu gave birth to a little boy! Wakka's so happy about it!"

I heard him laugh on the other side "I bet, Yuna! I'm happy for him too! Could you put him on the phone, please?"

"Sure." I turned to Wakka "Wakka, it's for you; it's Shuyin."

Wakka's smile widened, if that was possible, and he took the phone, putting it on his ear and stepping aside to talk more privatively.

"Do you think we can see the baby?"

I turned to Rikku, watching her excited expression. "I'm not sure; after all, the boy's just born. Maybe the doctors will want to wait before they expose the baby to our presence or so…"

"Yeah, Yuna's right." Tidus added "Let's wait until they say we can walk in, okay?"

Rikku sighed and agreed, sitting back on a chair. Another hour passed until the doctors told us we could go in and see Lulu and her baby. But we could only go one at a time, plus the relative. Paine had come out to exchange places with Wakka, who had entered with Rikku ― she had to be the first one to walk in, otherwise she wouldn't just shut up and she wouldn't give anyone a break. While she was in there, Tidus and I asked Paine a lot of questions about the baby and, to my surprise (I don't know if Tidus noticed, but then again he didn't know Paine all that well…), Paine answered them all with ease and without any of her sarcastic remarks. She was really affected by this. I remember thinking that she really needed to take in some emotion at times, to make her more… human, I guess.

Tidus went in next. I had gently given him my turn, because I knew how anxious he was ― I could tell from the way he was always running his hands through his blonde hair or fidgeting with his fingers.

Before Tidus came out, Gippal, Baralai and Nooj showed up. Rikku had secretly called them and told them what was happening and so they had come as soon as they could. They had come to support their friend Paine and also Lulu, who they were really fond of.

"Congrats, Paine," Gippal said, hugging Paine, "now you're an aunt!"

"How does it feel?" Nooj asked, resting his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm really happy for you, Paine." Baralai told her, without touching her but looking at her with a very sweet look in his eyes.

She returned the look and this time she was unable to say anything mean or cold to him. She only managed to smile and say softly "Thanks."

"Hey, d'you think we could see the boy?" Gippal asked suddenly, breaking the moment. He still had his arm around Paine's waist, but she didn't seem to notice.

She sighed. "Yeah, we can, but it's only one person at a time and it's taking so damn long till I see my nephew again…"

Nooj chuckled. "Well, you're definitely getting into the spirit of being an auntie, aren't ya?"

She punched his elbow, but there was a smile playing on her lips when she did it. "Stop that, Nooj!"

I smiled and my eyes travelled from them to Rikku and Gippal. He had left Paine with Nooj and had approached my cousin from behind, startling her and making her almost jump. She had slapped his arm, but that didn't seem to bother him, for he remained close to her, asking her something I couldn't hear and trying to calm her down when she started to smack him again. I giggled at them and turned to look at Baralai, who was standing in silence, watching Paine attentively with sad eyes. I wondered if he had ever seen her so cheerful before…

I was about to go talk to him when Tidus appeared, his expression one of pure joy. I couldn't help but smile too when I saw his eyes without that permanently hidden sorrow in them. He looked directly at me when he said "He's beautiful!" and I silently thanked him with a nod.

It was my turn now. I made my way through the hospital hallways and softly knocked at the door. Wakka's voice told me to come in and so I did it. As soon as Lulu saw me her smile widened to match my own and she gestured for me to approach.

"Lulu, he's so sweet!" I told her, taking a peek inside the blanket she was holding close to her chest. The baby was asleep, but it didn't make any difference, he was sweet all the same. And he was exactly like his father…

"No, he's not!" Wakka countered, when I told him that "Look at his chin ― it's exactly like his mother's."

I laughed and said "Of course, his chin is like his mother's, but his hair, his forehead, his nose are exactly like yours. Admit it, Wakka, the baby wouldn't look more like you if you put him in a blitz uniform with a blitzball under his arm…"

Wakka pondered that for a few seconds and then he reluctantly agreed with me, still doubting a little.

Lulu laughed at his expression and said "Wakka, dear, could you please go and call Paine? I'm sure she's dying to see her nephew again. It won't take long, I promise." She added, when she saw her husband making a face.

He ended up nodding and leaving the room, not without giving me a hug first and telling me to take care of his wife and his baby. I said I would and when I heard him leaving I took a seat on the bed, next to Lulu and the baby.

"He really is the sweetest thing." I repeated, holding out my index finger to caress the baby's clutched little hand.

"Thanks." She said, nestling the baby closer to her. She then chuckled and looked at me "Can you believe I'm on cloud nine right now? I feel happier than ever before. And it's all because of this little boy here…"

"You know your problems have only begun, right?" I teased, elbowing her gently.

"I know. But I think it's worth it."

"I think so too…"

Lulu and I remained in silence until Paine joined us. We hadn't talked much, but there was no need to ― our silence had been more comfortable than many conversations. I think that's just the way it is: when two people are friends, there's no need for words to express the feelings inside.

-----XX-----

Lulu came home two days later, the baby cradled in her arms. Wakka was being extra-careful with his little boy and also with his beloved wife, even though she had told him hundreds of times that she wasn't sick. Paine had been home for those two days, because of school and all, but Wakka had stayed in the hospital with Lulu at all times, except when he needed to go to work, coaching the kids in the Besaid Blitzball Stadium. Now the whole family was returning home.

That night, Uncle Cid, Rikku and I paid a visit to them ― Brother hadn't shown up for dinner and nobody knew where the hell he was. So it was just the three of us when Wakka opened the door and let us in. I put the box with the strawberry cake I had made earlier that day on the kitchen counter and then returned to the living room, where Lulu was relaxing and welcoming Uncle Cid. Rikku looked like a child, trying to catch the baby's attention and pouting when he didn't even bother turning around in his crib to face her. Paine and I sat together on the sofa and we were talking about school and the test we were going to have the next day. Suddenly, Wakka sat beside his wife and called our attention, making us turn to him.

"I just wanted to say…" he started, pausing dramatically to keep us focused on him "That I have already chosen a name to my baby boy."

Lulu looked at him with an amused expression. "Is that so?"

"Yes, it is so." Wakka replied solemnly, not noticing the irony in Lulu's voice. "His name is going to be…"

"Lemme guess! Lemme guess!" Rikku was jumping up and down "His name's going to be Wakka Jr."

"No!" Wakka retorted, shocked.

We all laughed.

Later, Paine would tell me she was afraid her brother-in-law would choose to name his kid after his departed brother Chappu, and Lulu would confide that she had allowed her husband to choose the name because he had let her choose everything else and she wanted him to feel important too. But in that moment, I didn't know any of this and so I clapped with the others when Wakka told us proudly "My son's name is going to be… Vidina!"

-----XX-----

"Rikku! Are you ready or not?" I yelled from the bottom of the stairs, looking up and trying to see my cousin's figure.

Paine was already on the outside waiting for us near my car. It was Saturday night and we were going to Gippal's house, where Nooj was holding a meeting for his friends. Everyone of our group was going to be there, plus LeBlanc (to Paine's chagrin) and, in a way that I still can't explain, Tidus. I think Rikku was the one who insisted with Nooj to invite him, but it could also have been Nooj's decision, after all they had got along great lately. It didn't surprise me, though ― Tidus had always been very sociable and friendly to everyone…

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" Rikku yelled back, running down the stairs and almost bumping into me.

"Watch it, girl…" I stopped when I looked at her clothes and at her hair "Where do you think you're going, Riks?"

"To Nooj's get-together." She replied plainly "Why?"

"Have you looked yourself in the mirror yet?" I asked her with an amused smile.

"What! Is something wrong with my make-up! Is it my hair!"

She had a desperate expression and it made me frown.

"No, sweetie, everything's perfect. That's the problem. Don't you think you're a little dressed up? After all it's only a small meeting with our friends…"

She blushed. "Do you think that? It's that… well, I mean… you see…"

I laughed. "Yeah, Rikku, Gippal's gonna be very impressed."

"No! It's not that!" she said a little too quickly.

"Of course not, cous…" I giggled again and made my way outside.

"Finally." Paine remarked, unfolding her arms and opening the passenger's door. I sat beside her on the driver's seat and fastened the seatbelt. "What took you so long?"

I pointed to the backseat where Rikku was looking herself in the mirror again and Paine nodded her understanding with a slight smirk. I started the car and we sped off to Gippal's. We got there fifteen minutes later only to find out that we were the last ones. No big news on that one ― with all the time Rikku had taken to prepare herself… Of course we didn't mention that part to keep Rikku out of embarrassments ― even Paine kept her mouth shut. We just apologized for the delay and made ourselves comfortable on the sofas with Rikku sitting quite close to the only other Al Bhed in the room…

We chatted for awhile until Paine dropped the question. "So… when are you planning on telling us what this Luca thing is about?"

Gippal and Rikku shifted in their seats, somehow getting closer to each other.

"Eh eh… you see…" Rikku started.

"Right… we thought that…" Gippal said at the same time.

"Well, you are gonna have to explain it sooner or later, guys." Baralai added. He was seated next to me and I was resting my head on his shoulder. Since we had met, our friendship had deepened and we had become closer and now I even thought how I could have been so silly to think that Baralai and I could possibly hook up sometime ― now I could see him as nothing more than a great friend. Unfortunately, someone didn't share my point of view for there was a pair of piercing blue eyes set on us. I could only imagine what Tidus was thinking about seeing me that intimate with Baralai but by the way his gaze was fixed on me, his brows slightly frowned and his lips tightened together in a line, I could tell it was nothing good. Maybe he thought that there was something going on between me and Baralai… Well, I couldn't blame him ― I had thought the same when I had seen him with Dona and then he had said she was just his friend. What I didn't understand was why he cared. Then again, I didn't understand why I cared about him and Dona either, so…

"Well," Gippal began "it all started when Cid's girl and I were talking about the time I lived in Luca. Suddenly we thought it was a good idea to go and spend some days there. We started looking up for hotels and tours and things like that―"

"And we found out this huge promotion that was too good to be true!" Rikku continued "So we thought that we should all go together and we made the reservations."

"We know we should have told you first, but―"

"It was such a good offer that we thought that if we took time to ask you it would probably expire or something…"

"Yeah. So we booked the hotel and the tours for eight people ― we knew Nooj wouldn't go without LeBlanc" at this point LeBlanc threw her arms around her boyfriend and kissed his cheek "and Rikku was planning on inviting you." Gippal finished, turning to Tidus.

He took his eyes off of me for an instant. "Yeah, I really appreciated the invitation ― I wasn't expecting it. Thanks."

"Anytime." Gippal said back, shrugging as if it wasn't a big deal.

"Anyways," Rikku proceeded, leaning back on the couch. "Everything is already set up: we leave Friday at 9a.m. and we return Monday at 6p.m."

"You happen to know that Friday and Monday are school days, right?" Paine inquired, her gaze travelling between Rikku and Gippal.

"Yeah, but it's only two days and we can catch up easily…" he responded "Besides, none of us has tests those days, we checked it."

"Oh, you did?" Paine raised an eyebrow.

"Yup." Rikku beamed proudly. We laughed.

"Well, I guess it's okay then…" I said, unlinking my arm from Baralai's and straightening up. "Count me in."

Baralai and Tidus agreed and Paine jut nodded. It was her way of showing that she would go too.

"Nooj and I are in too, loves. Aren't we, Noojie-Woojie?" LeBlanc turned to her boyfriend, who had turned a light shade of pink before nodding his agreement.

"And how do we get there?" Nooj asked, trying to divert the attentions.

"Driving." Gippal answered "We can take my car and yours, or Yuna's. We're eight, so it's enough if we take two cars. Then we take the ferry."

"You do know that driving, it takes seven hours from Besaid to Luca, don't you?" Paine asked coolly.

"Sure, but do you have any other ideas?" Gippal asked back.

"Well, I do." Tidus said from where he was. We all looked at him. "We could take my airship. It's not the same as cars, but―"

"You have a ship?" LeBlanc questioned, sitting up straight. She had been very excited when she had met Tidus for the first time, since he was a star and all, and even now she looked at him like he was a celebrity. No one else in our group did it, but LeBlanc couldn't help it, it was just the way she was…

"Yes, I do. Auron gave it to me for my last birthday. It's big enough for twelve people, so we would be comfortable enough. Besides, once we get to Luca we could always rent some cars…"

Gippal looked up, pondering that idea. Finally he smiled and nodded. "I think it's a great idea. It's a lot faster and it allows us to save some more money to rent the cars. Yeah, it's the best."

Everyone agreed and the rest of the night was spent discussing other small details about the trip, like where we wanted to go, what we wanted to do or how we wanted to spend the days…

When we finally left Gippal's house, everything was already set up and everyone had agreed on going. Now, we just needed the week to be over…

A/N: I know this isn't the best chapter ever and I'm sorry for that, but I've been dealing with a huge crisis of writer's block ― couldn't even write two chapters during the vacation time ― and this is really been stressing me out. Maybe now that I'm back I'll get my inspiration back.

Anyways, today I was about to post two chapters, but the second one isn't ready yet. So I ask you to be more patient and to put up with me for a little longer. I'll be posting the next one in a matter of days, I promise.

I don't know if I'm allowed to do this, but if I'm not, just tell me and I won't do it again. While I still don't know, here go my thanks:

ANIMEGURL04: Well, here's the update. It took some time, but it's finally here. Yeah, Yuna's beginning to realize she still has feelings for Tidus ― strange feelings she can't/don't want to understand, but they're feelings nevertheless… Maybe when she admits them, things will get easier for both of them. If she'll ever admit them… ;-)

Yuna But Blonder: Thank you, the update is here. I hope it didn't disappoint you.

Sum1special: Thanks, I did.

Rachel XXX: Thanks. Glad you liked it, I really hope you liked this one too. Sorry about the cliffy, but I thought it was a great way of ending the chapter. And as you can see, everything's fine and everyone's happy. Oh, and I'm sorry for the long wait too…

tidusXyuna637: Thank you. As you can see, the end of august came really quickly, didn't it? ;-) Oh, and don't be sorry about wanting to have Tidus and Yuna back together. It's only natural, I want them together too, believe me… But I'll go where the story takes me, so… We'll see.

Da KeR MysTeRr: Thanks, it's good to know you liked it, maybe you'll like this one too… hopefully. I know what you mean about not feeling like writing, I've been feeling the same. Add that to a major writer's block and you'll see what I'm going through… Well, anyways, the chapter's here and now I'm gonna read the fics that have been updated during my absence ― yours included. See ya soon.

Tidus + Yuna Flamboyent: Yes, they aren't a couple, but that does not mean they aren't going to be a couple in the future. As I said before, I've got plans for them and I'm sure you'll like it. I'm just not sure how this fic will end, that's all…

kyritawuv: Thank you. I'm also glad that Tidus and Yuna are interacting more ― after all, the story revolves around them and if they'd be indifferent around each other I would not have a plot… As for Paine, well, she's human too and that's what I wanted to show, that she doesn't have a rock instead of a heart… If you got that message, then my job was well done. :-)

seelenspiel: Thank you so much for the review, I'm really happy you like the way I write. It gives me strength to continue.

Duderman: I would love to receive the money, but I need Baralai in my story. He still has some unsolved business to take care of, so I can't make him disappear… As for Yuna, well she's strong and stubborn, but she's also reasonable and I think that when she figures her feelings out she will admit them… Anyways, thanks for waiting and I hope you won't think I wasted your time.

angelixx: Thanks, I will keep writing, don't worry.

Well guys, that's all for now. I promise I'll be back sooner this time. And if you wanna make me happy don't forget… just review. Love ya all…