"Edea? Are you all right?"

Edea turned to look at her husband, Cid. She smiled at him "Yes I’m fine. It was just a bad dream. That’s all."

"Not that same dream again?" Cid asked.

"…Yes," she replied. She let her eyes fall to his face. It was full of concern for her. She was glad to have him there. Just knowing that he loved her and that he would stand by her no matter what was a comfort for her. Cid brought his arms around her. She slumped into his arms.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked her.

"No not right now but I think I’ll have to eventually."

Cid was confused by this statement but decided not to pursue it. Having a sorceress as a wife had taught him that sometimes when Edea acted in a mysterious way, it was best not to question it. "OK. But try to get some rest, all right?"

"I will," she smiled and kissed him. He returned her affection gladly. Edea welcomed these moments of tenderness with Cid. They missed so much in the years when she was possessed by Ultimecia. That experience taught her that she had to make every moment count. The time she spent with the man she loved was precious, especially because of the time they lost. Edea slipped out of Cid’s arms and rested her head on her pillow. Cid did the same. Soon Cid was asleep but Edea kept thinking of the voice. That luring voice that was so familiar and so…alien at the same time. Eventually Edea was taken by a very troubled sleep.

Rinoa Heartilly casually walked through a field of flowers. She felt comfortable here, the place where she and Squall agreed to meet. The flowers, the sunshine, everything was perfect here. Rinoa fell back into a pile of marigolds. She smiled and looked up at the blue sky. This place was truly perfect.

"Rinoa."

"Huh?" Rinoa sat up immediately. "Is someone here?"

"Rinoa, I’m waiting for you. Come to me, my child"

"Who are you?" Rinoa asked. The voice was soothing but it also filled Rinoa with a sense of dread.

"Rinoa, I need you."

The voice sounded far away and with each response it seemed to get farther. Rinoa got up and noticed the field of flowers was gone. The sky and sunshine, everything was gone. She stood in a completely black void. Rinoa tried to speak but found she had no voice. She tried to call out for help but no sound came out. She closed her eyes and wished that this would end. There was a flash of light and beautiful white wings briefly appeared on Rinoa’s back. She opened her eyes and saw the void was gone. She looked around and saw machinery around her. "I know this place…" she whispered right before she collapsed onto the cold floor.

"Rinoa! Rinoa! Wake up!"

Rinoa sat up from the bed immediately, hitting someone in the process.

"Ow!"

"Oh my god! Selphie, I’m so sorry!" Rinoa said as she looked at the young woman sitting on the floor.

"It’s all right I guess," Selphie replied as she got up from the ground. "Are you OK? You were calling out for help so I came in to check on you."

"I’m fine now, thanks. But I just had the weirdest dream." the young sorceress said.

"Weird like how? Scary?" the girl in the yellow dress asked, concern written all over face.

"Kinda…but…I dunno…it was just strange." Rinoa answered. She was desperately trying to remember the dream and was feeling frustrated at not being able to express it to Selphie. Rinoa brought her knees up to her chest and put her hands over her head. "I never have dreams like that. There was a voice telling me to come to it. It was a nice voice, alluring. It was telling me to come to it. But for some reason part of me didn’t want to be anywhere near it. And the strangest part was at the end of the dream right before you woke me up. I was in that research base we found."

"Wow that is weird. Maybe you should talk to Squall about this. He’s the one that knew about that lab or whatever in the first place." Selphie suggested trying to alleviate some of the worries that she could plainly see on Rinoa’s face. "I know it was only a dream and everything but talking to Squall about it might help you get over it."

"Yeah maybe. Thanks Selphie."

"No problem. It’s what I’m here for." she shrugged. She gave Rinoa a quick hug and left the room.

Rinoa placed her head back on the pillow and tried to shake the dream. But she couldn’t stop thinking about that voice. That hauntingly familiar voice. Rinoa closed her eyes and tried to think about something else; eventually a troubled sleep overcame her as well.

Squall got up out of bed. A slow gurgling sound emanated from his stomach. "Damn you Zell. I’ll get you for this one day." He slowly walked out of his dorm and to the cafeteria in search of hot dogs. Squall looked out the window in the hallway outside. He could hear the wind outside and smell the cold ocean air. As Squall got tot the main Garden hallway, he saw a few people jogging towards the training center. Maybe he would stop by there after he had a few hot dogs. Squall looked around at the building’s structure. He had to admit he loved this place. It made him push himself harder to achieve his dream. He was finally a SeeD. He was exceedingly happy he was for that let him meet Rinoa. And Laguna. The first time he met Laguna was when Ellone sent him back into the past. Squall was put into Laguna’s body. These experiences left Squall thinking Laguna was a moron. Who’s leg cramps up when they get nervous?! Squall shook his head. He remembered when he met Laguna in person for the first time in Esthar. And then again on board the Ragnarok. There, Laguna said he wanted to talk to Squall about something important. Squall wondered what it could be. Then Kiros and Ward said something even more puzzling to Squall. Something along the lines of "You look like your mother…good thing you don’t look like your father." This puzzled Squall at first but then he recalled a Moomba that called him Laguna. Moombas remembered people by licking their blood. There it was. Proof. Proof that he was Laguna’s son.

Squall really didn’t know how to handle this. Should he be pissed at Laguna for abandoning him for his entire life or should he be thankful that he had a father in his life? Squall also didn’t know how to handle that his biological mother was dead. To find out you have a mother and then to immediately know she’s dead and you can never meet her was something Squall wasn’t prepared for. Matron and Headmaster Cid had always tried to be a mother and father to all those at the orphanage. They tried to give all the kids a normal life and be a real family. Squall felt that Cid especially had some fatherly instincts toward him, more noticeable after Squall came to Garden. He was grateful for this. Cid would have been a great father to him but now his actual father was here. How should he react? It was a very difficult question. For so many years after Sis left the orphanage he felt as though he was alone. If he didn’t let anyone get close, then he couldn’t get hurt when they eventually left. This worked for years, even after he came to Balamb. It took someone like Rinoa to make him realize that he wasn’t alone and that he needed people. Some of those feelings were still there, more so now that he had this situation with Laguna. Squall ran a hand through his hair. Laguna still hadn’t gotten a chance to have his talk with Squall. It was just a matter of time though. Laguna was stuck at Balamb Garden. Zell was messing around with the Ragnarok. In his words he was "hookin’ it up." So Headmaster Cid offered Laguna a place to stay while Zell did whatever. After all, he was President of Esthar. Squall knew eventually Laguna would catch up to him but as far as Squall was concerned, he would avoid that conversation as long as he could.

Squall got to the entrance of the cafeteria and walked in. He strode up to the counter. "Do you have any more hot dogs left?" he asked the attendant on duty.

"Yeah you’re lucky ya came in when ya did. We still got some left since we just made some for that guy." The man pointed to a man with long hair sitting in the back of the room.

"Oh no…" Squall thought.

"When the President of Esthar asks you for some hot dogs and you ain’t got none, you make ‘em." The attendant continued. "Here ya go, Squall."

"Thanks." Squall replied as he strode over to Laguna’s table.

"Hi Squall. You’re up late." Laguna Loire said as his son approached.

"Couldn’t sleep and got hungry." Squall replied, "How are the hot dogs?"

"Pretty good. Cid said I should try some if I got the chance. I couldn’t sleep either and decided to come here and see if there were any left." An awkward silence passed between the two. Squall knew what was coming so he wasn’t surprised when Laguna said, "Um…Squall…could you sit down. There something we really should talk about."

"Here it comes." Squall thought.

"OK I don’t really know where to start…so…OK I got it now" Laguna started, "When I went to Winhill I met a woman called Raine. She took care of me and after a while, we fell in love. Eventually I asked her to marry me. She said yes. We were happy for awhile but Ellone was kidnapped. I left Winhill and went to Esthar in search of her."

"Yeah Laguna. I know you told us this when we met you in Esthar." Squall stated.

"Oh…oh yeah. I forgot." the man with long hair replied.

"Geez!" Squall thought to himself.

This was going to be that much harder then Laguna first thought. Squall, I just wanna tell you I’m so sorry. If I had known that I had a son I never would have stayed in Esthar for so long. He kept telling himself that and hoped Squall would believe him. He truly was sorry that he wasn’t there to see Squall grow up. Not that the boy didn’t do a damn good job of that on his own. Laguna had to admit he was proud of Squall. His son saved the world. What more could he do?

"Well I left for Esthar not knowing Raine was pregnant." Laguna continued.

"Listen I all ready know what happened to Raine and…I know you’re my father." Squall said bluntly.

"Squall…I’m sorry. If I had known Raine was pregnant I never would have…" Laguna started.

"Save it Laguna…Dad…damn it! I don’t even know what to call you!" Squall yelled. "Maybe I should just call you Mr. President and cover all my bases."

Laguna was silent. Never in all his years did he ever have to do something as hard as this. When he spoke, he did so slowly, "Squall, I never meant to cause you pain. I just…I just wanted to tell you, let you know. And maybe have some kind of relationship with you." Squall looked up at Laguna and saw the man was close to tears. "I know I can never be as big a part of your life as I should have been, never be a real father to you." Laguna’s voice was unsteady. "But I’d like to try."

Squall looked down at his plate and gently nudged his hot dog. So many conflicting emotions were going through him, so many thought racing through his mind. Never had Squall wanted a father and he thought he did a good job of surviving without one. He learned to tie his shoes without a father. He learned to ride a bike without a father. Laguna wasn’t there the day he picked up his first gunblade. Wasn’t there to see all the hours and days that Squall put into mastering his weapon of choice. His father wasn’t there to help him when he almost cut off his hand practicing. When little Squall fell, where was the legendary Laguna Loire to help his son up? Off in Esthar helping people he didn’t know in a country he had no allegiance to while his son was sent off to an orphanage. Half of Squall wanted to get and punch Laguna straight in the face and curse him for abandoning his own son. But the other half, the more persistent half just told him to be happy he had a dad. Told him he was still a kid and he could have plenty of time with Laguna now that he was back in his life. This part of Squall told him that his father was here now and Squall should grab onto him and never let go.

"Listen, I do want to have some kind of relationship with you but I need time. This is really hard for me. Finding out I have a father after all these years, it’s a bit much. One thing I learned fighting Ultimecia is that I have to make every moment count because they’ll never come again." Squall said.

Laguna looked up at Squall, "Thank you Squall. That means so much to me."

"Well this was an interesting turn of events but I need to get back to sleep." Squall got up from the table. "Good night Laguna."

"Good night Squall." Laguna said. As he watched his son leave Laguna Loire was filled with guilt. He thought back to Raine and the day he left Winhill. When Ellone was taken, all he thought about was getting her back. After all, he thought of Ellone as a daughter. She and Raine meant the world to him and he would be damned if anyone jeopardized their safety. At the time Raine seemed as convicted in getting Ellone back as Laguna was. She even offered to come with Laguna to Esthar. She never hinted that she might be carrying a child. Why Raine? Why didn’t you tell me? Didn’t you think I could handle it? Laguna that knew back in his younger days he was pretty irresponsible. But he always tried his best and he liked to hope that counted for something. Laguna knew people trusted him, looked up and to him to do the right things. Sometimes he thought that this trust was misplaced, that he didn’t deserve it. To him he was just a normal guy. Laguna’s thoughts took him back to the day at the Lunatic Pandora excavation site when Esthar soldiers attacked him, Kiros, and Ward. They trusted him to get them out of there alive. Ward was repaid for his trust in Laguna by losing the ability to speak. Laguna still felt guilty about that. Every time he saw Ward he would think of that day and wonder if there was anything else he could have done…maybe if he was a better leader than Ward might still be able to talk.

Laguna got up and walked out of the cafeteria. He walked through the main hall ring and stared at the crystalline water that flowed on the side. This was a beautiful place. Squall must have been happy to grow up here. Cid and Edea did a wonderful job on this place, giving kids a place they could feel like they belonged to. Once again Laguna felt guilt wash over him. He shouldn’t have stayed in Esthar so long. The people may have needed him in the beginning but after awhile he should have went back to Winhill for Raine. If he had then maybe he would have been a good father to Squall. Laguna truly hoped it wasn’t too late to be there for Squall. Squall was a man now, a powerful one at that.

Laguna continued walking until he was in front of a staircase. There was a big directory in front of it. Laguna stopped and took a look at it. Balamb Garden was a huge place and Laguna had yet to memorize where everything was located. He quickly scanned the names of the places and where everything was located. He found the dormitory section. He also noted the where the training center was located. He’d be sure to stop by before he left Balamb Garden. Perhaps he and Squall could go train together as a kind of father-son outing. Laguna chuckled to himself. This could work he thought as he made his way to his room. Everything could work out after all.

See I told you there was Final Fantasy VIII in here. What was Edea’s dream about? And who or what was that voice in Rinoa’s dream? Why did it take her to the Deep Sea Research Lab? Well this chapter was pretty much focused on the Squall/ Laguna relationship. I just find it extremely interesting. As always comments, suggestions are welcome and appreciated.

~Cloud