(no subject)

[leatheredlion.livejournal.com]

Who: Squall & Rinoa
When: During the Heartless invasion
Where: Balamb Garden
What: Rinoa goes into labour
Rating: R



Rinoa had heard the commotion. There was so much screaming and shouting... all the sounds of the Heartless outside. She'd been in the library, just trying to read and relax some, but the sounds had jerked her from her daydreams and she'd been ready to run out and help. Angelo had been curled up around her feet but the sounds made the dog bark like mad. Rinoa rose from her seat, a hand on her very large pregnant stomach as she tried to move but a sudden sharp pain hit her, bringing the teen to her knees and creating a pained sound that made Angelo nuzzle her cheek, whining with worry.

Squall had separated from the party, leaving Sora in charge. He had to find Rinoa. She wasn't in the dorm and it worried Squall. He cast aside his responsibilities as Commander for the selfish act of needing to find Rinoa. He cut and slashed his way through the Heartless as he searched the building for her. He pushed the library door open; he was bloodied and cut, dripping with sweat. "Rinoa?!" He rushed over to his pregnant lover, dropping to his knees in front of her.

Another cry of pain came from her as she supported herself on one arm, the other gripping her stomach tightly. "Squall... what's going on?!" She wheezed through her words, her eyes full of tears as she looked up at him, another pain shooting through her, causing a strangled scream.

"The Heartless are attacking. But don't worry about that... let's concentrate on you." He cooed, trying to comfort his lover. He threaded gloved fingers through her hair, his free hand resting on her stomach. "Shh, shh take deep breaths, try and relax."

"Oh Gods, it hurts so much!!" She panted as she shifted to sit back against the leg of the table she'd been sat at. Her knees were bent up and her hands grasped her stomach as she tried to breathe properly. "Squall... Loire... h-he's coming a-and... nghh..." She needed to tell him just what Mickey had said. It was now or never. She looked up to the ceiling, crying out a little in pain, panting hard. "Mickey said... ngh... he'll be Heartless..." She revealed, her eyes shifting to look at his face.

"He... he can't be coming... it's too soon! He won't survive..." Squall removed his jacket, laying it by Rinoa, before pulling his t-shirt off. He removed his gloves, stroking Rinoa's hair softly. "Shh. Forget what Mickey said. We saw Loire on the scan, remember, he was a perfect little boy."

"Squall... no, I can feel it... his... his claws..." She wheezed more, getting a sharp pain and forcing herself to push a little, the heels of her lolita shoes pressed into the floor, her teeth gritting. "He's coming..." Rinoa grasped hold of Squall's arm, fingernails digging into his skin.

Squall winced a little at Rinoa's nails, gritting his own teeth. He stripped her from the waist down. One hand continuing to pet her hair. He gave her one of his gloves. "Here, bite down on this when the pain gets too much."

Rinoa held onto the glove, curling up in pain a little. "I'm so sorry..." She whimpered, growling in pain and soon slipping that glove into her mouth to bite down on it as she pushed more, feeling an excruciating pain inside her.

"Shhh, shhh don't talk now. We'll get through this." Squall reassured her, kneeling between her parted legs. There was no way he was going to risk leaving her to fetch the doctor, so he had little choice but to deliver the baby himself. He gave her stomach a gentle rub. "You're doing great, keep pushing."

Rinoa pushed back against the table, screaming in pain past the glove, an inky blackness seeping from her as she pushed, her eyes streaming with tears.

Squall swallowed hard, leaning in to press tender kisses to Rinoa's head. His own feelings didn't matter, not now, he would sort himself out later. Rinoa was his main priority right now.

Rinoa panted hard, pushing more and crying in pain as the infant began to crown, soon enough the head was coming and the teen was trembling in pain.

Squall continued to comfort Rinoa, kissing her head gently, whispering soothing words to her. He felt physically sick at the sight of that Heartless infant crowning. It was supposed to be a magical moment but it was pure torture. Once the infant crowned, it wasn't long before the rest appeared. Squall's hands were coated in the black bloodied sap as he tied and cut the umbilical cord, wrapping the infant in his t-shirt. It was the shape of a baby but it's skin grey and eyes unopened; but beneath the lids no doubt a sickly yellow. Tiny fingers were tipped with razor sharp claws.

Rinoa gave a final few pushes to get the placenta out and she rested back against the table, sobbing. "Squall... I'm sorry..." She reached out her hands, wanting to hold her baby, even if it was a Heartless. No matter what, it was her child, and they'd figure something out to help him. They just hand to.

Squall handed the grey skinned infant over to Rinoa. He wiped sweat from his forehead, smudging blackness across his skin. He wiped his hands as best he could on his jacket, wrapping the placenta in it, moving it aside to keep the place as clean as possible.

Rinoa cradled her son close, sobbing and rocking him slowly. "This is all my fault... my light wasn't strong enough to help him." She looked to Squall with grief and sorrow. "I'm so sorry... I'm sorry, Squall. I... I'm sorry..."

Squall couldn't look Rinoa in the eye, he knew if he did, his tears would start and never stop. He reached out an arm, pulling Rinoa into a loose hug. "Don't blame yourself." He pressed a kiss against her forehead. "How... how long did you know?"

"A... a couple of months? I don't know... near the beginning..." She brushed her fingers of Loire's inky skin, causing the infant to sigh with a slight hiss. "Mickey came to me in a dream and... and this is what he did."

Squall swallowed hard, looking away from her. "Why... why didn't you tell me, Rin?" He asked, voice cracking slightly

"Because I wanted to protect you. I... I thought my light would be enough to save him. I... I thought I could fix things." She sobbed, cradling Loire a little closer. "I'm sorry... I didn't want to hurt you like this..."

"We..." Squall took a deep breath, letting out a sigh. "We should get you both to the Infirmary. You need to be looked at by a proper doctor..."

Rinoa nodded a little, taking her underwear and pulling it back on, tugging her dress down. Shakily, she clambered to her feet, wishing she'd decided to be barefoot that day as she walked in her high heeled shoes, holding Loire like he was made of glass. So far, aside from the hissing sigh, the boy hadn't made many sighs of violent behaviour... or even life.

Squall picked up his jacket, throwing it into the trash. He picked up his gunblade. "Shall I carry you?" He asked, watching Rinoa for a moment.

Rinoa shook her head. "No... I-I'm alright..." She could feel what seemed like blood trickling down her thighs but really it was black, inky and staining her skin.

Squall moved over to her, wrapping his arm around her waist to support her, his free hand gripping his gunblade, in case he needed to cut a path through the Heartless.

Rinoa's eyes were filled with tears as they walked towards the Infirmary, her wings fluttering out and curling around both her and Squall as they walked. Almost like a shield, nothing seemed to approach just yet and she was thankful that she could do something, just a little something, to help.

Squall led her to the Infirmary, barely saying a word the whole way there. Once inside, he left Rinoa and the infant in the capable hands of the doctor while he tried to wash the inky blackness from his own skin.

Rinoa sat on the edge of the bed, clinging to Loire and refusing to let anyone near him, aside from Squall, if he tried.

"Come on, Rinoa, we need to take little Loire and get him checked over, as do we need to do with you." The doctor murmured, holding her hands out for the baby.

Squall's eyes were damp with unshed tears. He swallowed hard, his stained hands clenching into fists as he stared into the mirror above the sink. He gritted his teeth, moving over to Rinoa. "Rin... let the good doctor do her job... Loire... he needs looking at and so do you..."

Rinoa shook her head, whimpering slightly. "He-he'll be okay... we just... we need to get away from Balamb. The Heartless must be doing something bad to him..." She looked up at Squall helplessly. "Please, Squall..."

The doctor looked to Squall, her brow furrowed. "If she doesn't hand him over, I'll have to use force, Squall. I don't want to snatch a child from his mother, even if..." She stopped, not wanting to say 'even if he's a Heartless'.

Squall bit his lip hard to force those tears not to fall. He held his arms out for the child. "Please, Rin... We'll get away from here, you, me and Loire, but for now he needs the doctor. She won't do anything to hurt him."

Rinoa nodded slightly, handing Loire to Squall, swallowing hard. "Please, don't let them hurt him, Squall..." She sobbed softly and Angelo, who'd been at Rinoa's side the entire time, nudged at Rinoa's knee, whining with worry.

The doctor gestured to a nurse to help Squall with the baby while she guided Rinoa back to lay down, removing the teen's underwear to give her a check-up.

Squall handed the infant to the nurse, unable to look at that grey manifestation of a child for more than a few minutes. Those tears pricked at his eyes, desperately wanting to fall. He left the nurse to tend to Loire and moved over to Rinoa, taking hold of her hand.

Rinoa cried quietly, wincing now and then at the doctor's poking, her hand shaking in Squall's. "I'm sorry, Squall... I tried my best... I didn't want to worry you... I thought I could handle everything."

As soon as the doctor had finished her check-up, she took off her gloves and sighed softly. "She's torn and there is a lot of blackness still inside her womb but it'll come out when she returns to menstruating. I just... I've never seen anything like this. It's inconceivable."

Squall sniffled, refusing to cry in front of everyone. He gave Rinoa's hand a gentle squeeze, looking at the doctor. "But she'll be fine? And... Loire?"

The doctor slipped on fresh gloves and moved to inspect Loire, gently lifting each eyelid and checking for a pulse. "Well, he has a heart, I can hear it beating. Though, it is painfully slow. It's best if he's put in intensive care. We'll try our hardest. I'll do my best, Squall."

Rinoa watched the doctor, her eyes still letting tears free as she leaned into Squall a little, her body aching and her heart broken at the sight of her child.

Squall gave a soft nod, choking a little on those damned tears. "Thanks Doc." He murmured, petting Rinoa's hair, pulling her into an awkward hug. "It'll be okay, Rin."