Back at Garden Squall's condition had not improved and Quistis still had to take the duties of "commander" of Garden. The job was harder than she thought. After hearing that Max had not arrived to his designated Vacation spot had not helped her stress levels. She tapped her fingers restlessly on the table as she read the days files. The repairs were going smoothly enough and most of the injured students had all been given a bill of good health. That didn't help her however, Squall was still out of it and she had to keep in charge until he recovered… if he ever did. As she felt herself begin to nod off to sleep, a light knock came from her door and she snapped back up.

"Who is it?" She asked a bit groggy.

"There's a message for you, Commander." Replied a timid voice on the other side of the door.

"Alright… come in already."

With all of the work she had lately, her patience was beginning to wear thin. A small, no more than 13 year-old boy, walked into her office with an envelope in his hand. He walked quickly over to her, handed her the letter, and ran out of the room. In her semi-awake stupor, Quistis fumbled around trying to open the envelope, but succeeded, pulling out a short letter addressed to her.

"Dear Quistis," Began the letter. "I thought I'd tell you I met your student Max Caron today. He seemed concerned about Squall and Rinoa. I just heard the bad news about what happened, and I'm praying for Squall to be okay. I had a feeling you didn't know where he was going so I figured I'd give you the heads up. Good luck, and tell Squall hi for me when he wakes up.

Sincerely,

Laguna Lorie."

She sighed as she finished.

'He's okay,' she thought. 'And at least now I know where he is… but what's he doing in Esthar?' She placed the letter on the desk and read it over again a few more times. Something was off about this, what would Max be doing so far away? Wasn't that where Rinoa was? She didn't really like the whole situation, but she knew he could take care of himself and the recent workload was killing her. She began to think that maybe she needed a vacation. She looked at the letter once more, folded it up, and put it back into its envelope.

'Whatever happens,' she thought. 'I just hope he's okay.'

In a strange way, Max kind of reminded her of Squall in certain ways. She chuckled as she remembered back to his younger days in Garden.

"Poor Squall had such a hard time making friends back then." She giggled again.

Another knock came from her door and she pulled her mind from the flashback.

"Come in."

The same small boy walked in and walked over to her desk.

"Th-there's news fr-from Dr. Kadowaki." He continued to shake as he stood there, Quistis's eyes watching him.

"Thank you, dismissed."

He raced back out of the room and Quistis made her way to the door.

'I wonder if Squall has woken up yet?' She walked out the room.

Proceeding directly to the Infirmary Doctor Kadowaki greeted her with a simple smile as she approached. Quistis felt a bit uneasy about that smile, but brushed it off as nothing.

"What is it you wanted to see me about?" She asked.

The doctor's smile faded at the question.

"Well, I have good news and bad news."

She defiantly did not like the sound of that.

"What's the bad news?" Straightforward as always.

"The bad news is," she took a few seconds to finish. "Rinoa may not be able to be revived and all of the research I've done doesn't help."

"The good news?"

Her smile returned.

"Squall is awake and he wants to talk to you. He's still a little woozy from the medication, so if he says something odd, that's why."

The doctor ushered Quistis into the room and pointed to the far room. The very room she had found in Squall after his battle with Seifer years ago. It was a bit ironic really. Yet again, a soft groan from Squall's room brought her out of her reverie and she continued to the room.

"Squall?" she said softly. ""Are you okay?"

He looked up at her, but his mind seemed elsewhere, after such an experience as his how could he even focus. Nevertheless, she walked into the room and sat next to him on the bed. His once steel-blue eyes looked empty, as if he had given up on living. Where was that fire from before? The strength all had looked for in times of need. She tired not to think of that as she sat there with him.

"Squall?"

His only response was a nod.

"How are you feeling? Head hurting or anything?"

He shook his head.

"Okay. I've taken command until you're cleared by the doctor so just rest until then."

Another nod.

"It's good to see you're doing okay, Squall." She began to walk out of the room when she heard his voice behind her.

"Rinoa…" He whispered. "What, what happened to… Rinoa?"

Quistis did not even turn around.

"She's dead, Squall. She…" She stifled a sob. "She died protecting Garden from Seifer. M-Max accidentally killed her while going for Seifer."

"I, where is Max? I need to talk to him. Tell… him… I'm sorry." Squall fell back onto the pillow of his bed and soon was back to sleep. Quistis couldn't stand being in the room right now and soon went back to her office. There she sat for hours on end contemplating…

'Squall, I'm so sorry… we tried so hard to save Rinoa. I just hope maybe Max can do something, anything, to bring her back.'

She stared out into the evening sun and sighed. She didn't like the situation, but all she could truly do was wait and hope for the best.

"Good luck, Max, and I hope you find whatever you're looking for."

With that, she too slowly drifted off to sleep.


Yet again sorry for the long updates. I Hope you all have enjoyed the story so far. Thank you everyone for the riviews! I really appreciate it! I hope you liked reading this story as much as i enjoyed writing it! Till next time. Vincent Sekod