A/N: Hey my babes, sorry about the long delay. It's been a hectic few months. The biggest whirlwind, however, is that my husband and I are expecting our first baby! I will try to improve in updating but unfortunately growing a human makes me inexplicably exhausted and when I'm not at work or taking care of our dog, I'm passed out cold.
xoxox
Saturday August 4th
"Squall, I'm fine," Rinoa said over the phone. "Please, just focus on recording. You guys were supposed to go in to the studio yesterday to practice but instead you stayed to take care of me. I can only assume that Irvine was taking care of Selphie. And Zell and Quistis were bouncing around between us to check on everyone. I know this has been a crazy few days but please, don't worry about me." She looked into the mirror as she spoke, dotting a few dabs of concealer over the bruises that remained on her flesh.
"I always worry about you," he grumbled. "Especially when you've been in a car accident."
Rinoa let out a chuckle as she could just imagine the frown forming between his brows. "Look, I feel so much better. I'm not as stiff. The bruises still hurt and are tender to the touch but I do see a splotch of yellow in there so that means they're healing."
"Alright," he finally said. "We're about ten minutes out from the studio. I'll call when we get a break."
"Take your time."
"What are your plans for the day?"
Rinoa shrugged and lowered herself into her office chair. "Editing, most likely." She inwardly groaned at the thought of her next project. Watts and Zone had booked to do a wedding the following Saturday. It was the wedding of the couple she and Zone had shot just a few months before. She was tasked with making the guestbook, which consisted of the photographs taken at the beach's boardwalk.
"How's Irvine?" she asked.
"Not saying anything," was Squall's response. Now, Rinoa wasn't entirely sure if that meant that Irvine wasn't saying anything or that Squall wasn't saying anything that he knew of.
With a sigh, Rinoa nodded and tried to wrap up the conversation. "Ok. Good luck with recording. Probably won't see you till…what, Monday?"
"Most likely Tuesday, since we started a day later than planned. Luckily Kiros is understanding with the extenuating circumstances. We'll take a break eventually. I'll text you."
"Ok." She ended the call and turned on her monitor. The screen was filled with the smiling couple. The bride, Fiona, was gazing at her groom, Jacen, with the brightest smile. The shot was taken from behind the groom, almost as if taken by a passerby, who happened to look over and see the look of adoration pouring from the bride to be.
Rinoa couldn't wait to present the couple with the guestbook.
She clicked through her online ordering form and chose the hard cover, perfectly bound so that it lay completely flat when opened, making it easier for guests to write. After a few hours of painstaking editing, she was ready to complete her order. She sent it to one of the vendors that Zone had connections with and waited for the confirmation email.
Absently she rubbed at her throat and thought about Squall. He had been so gentle and caring. Even though she said that she didn't want him babying her, she preened and felt her insides grow warm with all of his doting. He ran her baths, he cooked her meals, he even helped her wash and dry her hair because her shoulder was too sore to lift the hair dryer. "Why are you so good to me?" she murmured, running her fingers over the photograph of him that she had doodled over.
Even when he made love to her the night before, his movements were muted and his thrusts were calm, but his passion was still quite evident. She had awakened in the middle of the night, horny and more than eager. He was completely passed out beside her but when Rinoa ran her fingers over his length, relieved him of his boxers, and took him into her mouth, he stirred awake. He tried to stop her, said that he didn't want to hurt her, that he was still concerned with her healing bruises.
"I don't care," she'd told him.
When he entered her he was slow, gentle, made sure to caress her lips with soft kisses. It was a shockingly opposite sensation from their regular lovemaking. It was the sweetest emotion. It almost made her want to cry.
As she sat there, idly scrolling her social media on her phone, a knock came at her door.
It was Selphie, whom Rinoa quickly pulled inside for a hug. "How are you?" she gasped. "How's your arm? You ok?"
Selphie smiled and gently pushed her way out of Rinoa's embrace. "I'm good," she sighed. "Sore still, but I'm ok. How are you?" She reached up and gingerly touched the healing bruise by Rinoa's eye.
"Same. Sore but doing just fine."
"Good. That's good." Selphie took in a breath and walked over to the couch. "We decided to keep the baby."
Rinoa blinked. She was glad that Selphie was getting right to the point because she was dying to know, but it still shocked her. "Oh! Ok." She sat down with Selphie and patiently waited.
"We talked. For a long time." Selphie chuckled and massaged her temple. "He stayed at my place ever since the hospital. He told me that whatever my decision was that he would support me no matter what. When I told him that I was keeping it…he didn't even blink."
"Is that good or bad?"
Selphie shrugged her shoulders and let out another laugh. "No idea. I mean…you know that I was planning on terminating. But…" She bit down on her bottom lip and glanced away. "When that car first hit…my first thought was that I had to protect the baby. When I told Irvine that he placed a hand over my belly and said 'Because you're a mom.' And my god…" A tear rolled down her cheek. "I lost it. I just broke down." She swiped away at the tear and looked over to Rinoa. "I love him," she whispered.
"I know you do. And he loves you. He's just…an idiot."
Selphie smiled and leaned back into the couch. "That he is. I don't know how we're going to make it work but…we're gonna make it work," she said firmly.
"Are you guys back together?"
"Not officially. He stayed on the couch the first night. Last night I asked if he could sleep in the bed with me. He did but he kept his distance."
"Probably just giving you space and waiting for you to give permission."
"Not sure when I'll give it to him but…" She shrugged her shoulders again and looked over to Rinoa. "Called my parents this morning. Mom's coming out to see me next week."
Rinoa's eyes widened. "Oh? How…uh, how is she taking it?"
"Honestly? Better than I thought! She's telling me to take prenatals, stock up on folic acid…even deposited some money into my account so I could go buy the big jar of it from the vitamin shop." Selphie grinned. "I think she's a tad excited about being a grandma. She's insisted on joining me to my first doctor's appointment. Well, my first appointment since deciding to go forward with the pregnancy."
"And your dad?"
Selphie made a slight face but wiggled her fingers in a 'so-so' gesture. "He's…taking it. I'm sure he would have preferred that I got pregnant after marriage but…what can you do?" She laughed and shrugged her shoulders. "Sometimes Life doesn't go the way you thought you'd had it planned, huh?"
Rinoa shook her head. "No. Definitely not. Well, though I am a bit saddened that I no longer have a drinking buddy, can I just say that I am just a bit excited to go shopping for baby clothes?" Rinoa squealed and clapped her hands while Selphie started to giggle, a smile breaking into her face so wide that her eyes crinkled.
"Oh, don't get me started! I was scrolling online while on the phone with Mom and I've already picked out what crib I want!"
"Aww! How do you feel though? Like do you have morning sickness or something?"
Selphie shook her head. "I get queasy every now and again but it usually lasts a few minutes. Haven't actually puked yet. And it's so weird…" She grimaced and shifted in her seat. "I can feel stuff moving around in there."
Rinoa gasped. "The baby?" she squealed.
"No…like my organs. It's weird. Like, I feel them starting to shift up to make room. And I feel this pulling feeling that I'm assuming is my uterus stretching. I don't know. I have another check up in about two weeks. Because of the car accident they want to keep an eye on me." She took out her phone and showed Rinoa an app. "Look, I downloaded this app on my phone and it shows what the baby looks like."
Rinoa tried not to make a face. She had to remind herself that humans did not look like humans early on in the womb. "It's um…cute?" she managed out.
Selphie giggled. "You don't have to lie to kick it," she said. "It looks like a snake! Or an alien. It doesn't even have fingers and toes yet. But the doctor said that the heartbeat was strong though I can't remember the exact number he gave me."
"What do you think it is?"
"No idea. My mom slipped out "she" when she was talking about it to my dad and according to him she did the same exact thing with me before I was born." She looked down and poked at her belly. "Somehow though…I'm leaning towards boy. No idea why."
Rinoa clapped her hands. "Oooooh it's that maternal instinct!"
Selphie made a high pitched squeal that slowly vibrated into a snorting giggle. "I don't know what you can call it but for some reason I feel like there's a little boy in here." She looked downward and poked at her stomach. "I haven't noticed any weight gain but I feel like I look different."
"You don't look any different, believe me. When do you get to find out what you're having?"
"Well, when I'm about fourteen weeks they can do another ultrasound and if baby is cooperating they can see the genitals. Or I can do a genetic screening and find out as early as nine or ten weeks." Selphie shrugged and let out a sigh. "So. Now I ask what I've been dying to ask." She gave Rinoa a look. "Irvine told me that it was Squall who told him that I was pregnant."
Rinoa kept her face still. "Oh?"
"How did he know?"
"I didn't tell him if that's what you want to know."
Selphie shook her head. "I knew you wouldn't rat me out," she said. "My dumbass left the test in plain view huh?"
"Kinda." Rinoa groaned and ran her fingers through her hair. "Squall thought it was mine."
Selphie paled. "Oh no."
"Yeah," Rinoa said with a soft grimace. "And well…he said that he would be there and support me fully if I wanted to go through with it."
For a moment Selphie didn't say anything, only stared with a slack jaw. Rinoa blinked and sat in the uncomfortable silence. When she thought that Selphie would soon start drooling because she had yet to close her mouth, Rinoa started laughing. "Good god woman! Say something!"
"Uh…ok. Squall said that?"
Rinoa nodded. "Yeah. Why?"
"Well, I mean, it's nothing against Squall but I just never really saw him as that fatherly type." She frowned and held her palm upward as she tried to sort her thoughts. "I mean, aside from one of the band members getting too drunk or something. But I've just never seen him as…you know, a daddy. To like, a baby. A little itty bitty crawly drooly poop and barf machine. Just the big grown up barf machines."
Rinoa chuckled. "I won't lie, I personally can't see anyone like that. Although I also don't have kids on the brain. It's not something in my cards for now."
"Yeah, I didn't think so either," Selphie said with a laugh, looking down and patting her belly.
Sunday August 5th
In the morning, Caraway picked up Rinoa to take her to breakfast. He didn't give her much warning, simply called her and said that he would be at her door at nine in the morning and that she had better be ready to eat.
"How are you feeling?" he asked after she buckled herself into the car.
"I'm good. Bruises and stiffness are all gone."
"I'm sorry I wasn't here for you."
Rinoa made a soft groan and reached over the center console to gently touch her father's arm. "Don't be, please. Everyone's ok."
He took her to the Phoenix Diner because she told him she was craving their omelettes.
"You're not pregnant, are you?" he asked, eyeing her sternly after hearing the word 'craving.'
"What? No. That's—"
"Selphie. I figured as much."
Rinoa arched her brow at her father as he pulled into a parking spot. "How did you even…? The hospital couldn't get a hold of you because you were in a dead zone at the retreat. They told me they didn't leave a message."
"Squall called me."
Rinoa sighed. Of course he did. Why wouldn't he?
He led her into the restaurant and gave a thankful salute to the hostess who sat them immediately. "He said he got my number from your phone while you were sleeping. Let me know that you were alright. When I asked about Selphie he said that Selphie was fine but more concerned about the baby inside her."
Their server arrived with a fresh pot of coffee and a dazzling smile. "Coffee?" he asked the pair.
Caraway nodded, keeping his gaze averted while the server came to set down the steaming pot. "When Squall told me what happened…I thought my heart stopped." Before Rinoa could say anything, he cleared his throat and moved away from her to tug open his suitcase that he had brought in. "Speaking of which, I did some digging while on the retreat. I retrieved some information for you."
Understanding his need to change the subject, Rinoa followed along. "About Squall's dad? That was fast. I only just asked you about it."
"Yes, well, I wasn't allowed to do much of the physical activities," Caraway said with a grunt. "So I was cooped up inside for the most part." He pulled out a folder and handed it to her. "November of the previous year that Squall was born, three military factions were en route through Winhill. Only one squad stayed in town. The squad consisted of four soldiers." He placed three separate sheets displaying each individual men and their names.
"You said there were four," Rinoa murmured.
"The fourth was a woman."
"Ah."
"Now, this man…" He pointed to the sheet in the middle. "He was born and raised in Winhill. Had a family. Wife and two kids. So I think it's safe to say that he was staying with them during any free time." He flipped the sheet over and focused on the two remaining.
Rinoa looked back and forth between the two men on the papers. The photographs were old, most likely taken during the time served. These men were probably in their fifties now. She picked up one photograph. Zacariah Klaus, aged 27 (at the time), from Centra. His eyes were a stunning green and his hair was dark, possibly black, cropped close in utilitarian fashion. Rinoa frowned. "Squall got his looks from his mother," she said. With a sigh she picked up the other photograph. Laguna Loire, aged 29 (at the time), from Deling.
Rinoa swallowed. The man looking up at her was displaying a coy, subtle half smirk that she had certainly seen before. His eyes weren't as steely blue as Squall's. Instead there were more flecks of gray than blue. But there, hanging down his back, was long black hair. "Long black hair," she whispered. "Ellone, Squall's sister, said that all she could remember about Squall's father was that he had long black hair." She looked up at Caraway. "Where is he now?"
"Retired. Lives in Tear's Point with his wife."
"Did he have any kids?"
Caraway shook his head. "None."
Rinoa bit down on her bottom lip as she stared at the photograph. "Wow. Thank you." She handed the photograph back to Caraway and watched as she slipped the pictures back into the folder.
"What are you going to do with this information?" he asked, tucking the folder into his suitcase and sliding it beneath the table.
Rinoa remained still. She wasn't sure what she was going to do with this information. She hadn't planned on receiving any information at all. She hadn't even yet brought up the subject of it to Squall. But now, now she had the name of the man who was most likely Squall's father and even knew the general vicinity in which he lived. Tear's Point was just over a five hour drive away, could easily be made in a day. That made her almost laugh at herself. What was she going to do? Look him up, find his address, and drive up to go see him? Bang on his door and say, 'Hey guess what you've got a son from your one-week stand with Raine Leonhart, want to meet him even though he told me that he really had no intention of ever finding you?'
"Rinoa?" Caraway asked, breaking her from her thoughts. "Rinoa, sweetheart, what are you going to do with this information?"
She sighed and crossed her arms over the table. Gently she shook her head and reached over to pour herself a large cup of coffee. "Nothing," she finally said. She ripped open a couple of packets of sugar and dumped them into her cup. As she stirred the contents she could feel her father's piercing and scrutinizing gaze upon her. "Nothing," she said again quietly. "Maybe one day I will mention to Squall that I have resources he could use to find his father…but I'm not going to tell him anything else."
Caraway slowly nodded. "Whatever you feel is best," he told her. "You know him better than I do, so I trust your judgement."
Squall inhaled deeply on the cigarette, his eyes narrowed as he stared off towards the setting sun that painted the sky with streaks of pinks and orange. He couldn't believe it was already close to eight at night. His arms throbbed from the passionate thrashing along his drums. The backs of his calves screamed from their constant and jarring movements.
It felt great. His blood was practically singing, coursing through his veins with the ultimate high. He finished his cigarette and stubbed it out along the brick wall before tossing it into the garbage.
"How's Selphie doing?" he heard Quistis ask when he walked back in.
Irvine tucked his phone back into his knapsack. "Not much nausea today," he said. "That's really all she's said." He looked up at Squall. "How's Rinoa?"
"Busy," he answered. "She's got a wedding to shoot this coming Saturday and even though she finished the project she was already working on, her coworkers pulled her in to help with a different project to prepare."
"Ooh, a wedding?" Quistis muttered with a scowl. "That's a big step up from band photoshoots and boudoir. She nervous?"
Squall nodded. "She didn't say so but I could hear it in her voice. She was talking really fast and stumbling her words."
A door opening caught their attention and all three turned to watch Zell leaving the recording booth with Kiros. Zell chuckled and lifted his fists into the air in triumph. "Alright!" he shouted. "We're on a roll!" He did a quick boxer's jig and punched a few jabs. "We'll be done in no time!"
Kiros chuckled and gave Zell a hearty pat on the back. "Well…your individual recordings will be done in no time. The editing will take a bit longer." He glanced at the large modern clock on the wall and cleared his throat. "Why don't you guys take a break? Get some dinner or something. Studio is yours all night if you want."
"You sure? We wouldn't want to impose on your staff," Quistis said, nodding at the two men exiting the recording room.
"Don't worry about it," one of them said. "We've got coffee and energy drinks on tap. We can go as long as you need us to."
Quistis made an approving grunt within her throat and sent him a sultry grin. "Really, well I'll be sure to hold you to that."
The man's cheeks reddened a bit but he managed to respond with his own grin and winked at her.
"Great, she's hungry and horny," Irvine muttered, reaching over to grip her bicep. "Come on, my Queen." He jerked his head to the rest of the bandmates. "Let's go to that place down the street, it's got deep fat fried chicken wings and then we'll get you a chocolate cake afterwards."
Quistis' eyes lit up. "How did you know?" she asked breathlessly, instantly wrapping arms around his waist and squeezing.
"Oh please," Zell chuckled. "We've all been with you for how long? He probably knows your menstrual cycle better than Selphie's. Well…I mean, when she had one." He gave Irvine an impish grin before hurrying out the door.
Irvine clenched his jaw and looked over at Squall.
He shrugged. "At least he's not the one having a kid."
