She sighed, shaking her head. A week from Monday I suddenly become a field officer again. A knock on the office door brought Quistis out of her thoughts and her eyes up from the desk. Selphie was already settling into a chair.
"How's it going Quistis? You looked like you were daydreaming."
Quistis smiled. "A little I guess."
Selphie's green eyes twinkled "Were you thinking about your new job? I would be. Zack Regal is a hunk."
A finger tapped Quistis' lips. "I suppose I was thinking about the new job, and yes, Zack Regal is a handsome man."
"Where are you going to stay in Timber?"
The sip of coffee Quistis had just taken suddenly slipped down the wrong way causing her to cough. Selphie jumped up and began slapping Quistis on the back. She waved Selphie off as she drew in a breath. "I'm okay, Selph. Your question just reminded me of something."
"Must be pretty important!" Selphie said with a relieved laugh.
"Not really I just have a phone call to make."
"Oh, okay. I'll leave you to it. Maybe I'll see you at dinner?"
Quistis nodded and waved to Selphie as she picked up the telephone and dialed Zack Regal's office number. Ten minutes later, Quistis had a place to stay. Initially, she would live in an apartment near the station. One of the many people who owed Zack a favor for any number of reasons was a landlord.
Quistis slowly pushed away from her desk and stood, taking a moment to gaze out of the window onto the green Alcauld Plains. The view was one she had enjoyed for two years, since Squall had appointed her head of instruction. She was going to miss it, the view being the thing that had brought her tranquility and peace. Privately, Squall had told her he would hold on to her office as long as he could. She hoped it would be long enough.
The classroom on the second floor was empty as Quistis entered. She placed her teaching materials on the desk at the front before taking a slow stroll through the room. Today's class would be the last one she taught for several months. She stopped at the back of the room, looking down at the two desks in front of her. Two of Garden's most promising and skilled students had occupied those seats. She had taught them. Despite her extreme dislike for one, they had both made names for themselves. Squall Leonheart saved the world from a powerful and dangerous sorceress, while Seifer Almasy tried to destroy the same world with the same powerful and dangerous sorceress. Where did I go wrong with him?
Shaking off the dark thoughts, Quistis went back to her desk as students began filing in to the room. Several left gifts on her desk. Cards saying "We'll miss you Instructor Trepe!" and "Enjoy your new job!" littered her workspace. She smiled at the displays of affection, desperately holding her emotions in check. They had never seen her cry, and she wasn't about to change that.
*
A knock on the door brought Quistis out of her thoughts. She had been packing up her room and was taking a short break. The door opened slightly and Squall stuck his head inside the room.
"Hey, Quis, how is it going?" he asked quietly, his grey eyes revealing nothing.
Quistis straightened from her position propped up on her elbows on the now stripped bed. "Fine. I'm almost done here. The car is supposed to be ready to take me to Balamb in an hour."
"Good, then you won't mind a little company," Squall said with the barest hint of amusement. He opened the door a little wider allowing Rinoa, Selphie and Irvine into the room. A small smile crept onto Quistis' face as she looked at Irvine.
"So, the troll downstairs gave you a day pass?"
Irvine tipped his hat. "Yeah, but I turn into a pumpkin at 6. Or is it that he's going to beat me into pumpkin pulp at 6? I can't recall." his grin was infectious and soon everyone in the room was wearing one.
"Quistis, it won't be the same around here without you. I hope you'll come back and visit." Rinoa said quietly.
Selphie nodded her head enthusiastically. "Poor Zell is going to be so busy he won't know which way is up. He's going to be Interim Head of Instruction, and he's so wrapped up in Sally. . . ."
"I'm sure he'll be fine." Squall interjected. Another knock on the door made everyone turn.
Zack Regal poked his head into the room. "Hi Quistis, are you ready to go?" he asked.
Selphie's smile almost lit up the room. "Oh that's so sweet, he came all the way from Timber to escort you."
Quistis smiled nervously. "Yeah, that was sweet of him." she mumbled, knowing he had come to speak with Seifer again. A class bell sounded through the building, making Selphie dash out the door closely followed by Irvine. Quistis saw a look pass between Rinoa and Squall, soon after which Rinoa gave Quistis a hug and headed off down the corridor to places unknown. The three remaining people each took a duffle bag and slowly walked through the hallways to the parking lot.
Squall stopped next to the transport that would take Quistis and Zack to Balamb. "If you have any problems, call us. You know standard procedures."
"Like the back of my hand, Commander."
A friendly smile passed between the two as Zack opened the door to the transport, letting Quistis climb in before him. They rode in silence to the train station, where Zack helped her load her bags onto the train. Their compartment was comfortable enough, having a large plush seat on either side of the window. Quistis scanned the compartment for both audio and video listening devices before sitting heavily on the forward facing chair. She rested her chin in her hand and watched the scenery slowly begin to slide past the window.
Quistis looked up at the sound of a rustling newspaper. She watched Zack as he watched her over the top of his copy of "The Timber Times". Quistis was beginning to doubt her ability to pull the mission off successfully. The thought of having to cozy up to Zackary Regal was making her nauseous, especially since she had finally found someone she really liked in Zone. I hope it's just mission jitters.
Zack finally broke the silence, "So, Quistis, where do we take this from here?"
Her response was to turn her head back to the window where the scenery was now whipping by. "You received the same briefings I did."
"I get the idea you're opposed to this whole operation here, Miss Trepe." Zack's tone was icy and the temperature in the cabin seemed to drop dramatically.
"You expect me to be ecstatic about leaving my position at Garden?"
"No, but I do expect you to be ecstatic about your opportunity to help Garden," Zack pointed at her, "and to bring down the bastards who violated your privacy."
Quistis opened her mouth to respond but snapped it quickly closed as she realized he was right. As he settled back into his seat with a smug grin, Quistis sent him her iciest glare of instant death. Of all the people she had to be set up with it had to be Zack Regal, Hyne's gift to the world of television and machismo. She glared angrily out of the window for the remainder of the trip.
*
"Timber station! We have arrived at Timber station." the sound of the conductor's voice woke Quistis from her light nap. The sharp jolt of the train as it stopped caused her head to run into the window, eliciting a curse. She brought her hand to her forehead to rub the injured spot and scowled at her reflection in the glass.
"Are you all right?" Zack asked, sounding genuinely concerned. He moved toward her, his hand settling onto her shoulder.
Quistis snapped her head around to look at him, "Yeah, I'm fine. I thought you would have been laughing."
"I'm not that much of a creep." he grumbled, gently taking her head in his hands to inspect it for damage. Then he released his hold. "I'm no doctor, but I think you'll live."
Quistis only blinked at him, surprised at his treatment. He could have made comments about her clumsiness, or the red mark developing, but instead he was quite gentle, tender even. She watched as he turned back to the bag at his feet and picked it up, continuing to step out of the compartment.
Quistis also took a bag and slung it over her shoulder, regretting what she had said. Stress always brought out the
worst in her, and now she was taking it out on Zack Regal. She couldn't stand the way he swaggered, or his limitless self-confidence, especially when she doubted herself so much. She sighed as she followed him out of the cabin to the luggage claim.
*
The Timber TV station loomed above as Quistis looked up, a feeling of dread settling in her stomach. She was going to be taking on a new job just to set up a phony relationship--then a phony marriage--when her heart was somewhere else. She had only been able to see Zone a few times since the operation had begun. Once in Dollet, once at the waterfall near the fire cavern, and once at the hearing where it was announced he would be sent to Deling Garden for rehabilitation.
Taking a moment to adjust the jacket of her suit, Quistis nodded briefly to herself and strode purposefully into the building. Zack was waiting for her at the front desk, casually leaning on the highly polished counter.
"Good morning, Miss Trepe. I see your third eye faded away." he said, smiling as if he thought it was funny.
She narrowed her eyes. "Yes, thank you." So much for having a good day.
"Follow me, and I'll show you to your office. Did you have breakfast?"
Quistis nodded. "Yes, I dug my coffee maker out last night before I went to bed."
Zack stopped walking. "All you had was coffee? Is that what you survived on at Garden?"
"Well, we call it 'swamp sludge' or sometimes just 'mud', but yes, the coffee at Garden sustains many people." Quistis smiled, relaxing just enough to be able to show humor.
Zack tapped the papers he was holding against his leg "That explains some things about the place." he returned her smile before continuing down the corridor.
*
The office next to Zack had been empty for some time and now had a fresh coat of paint. Quistis approached the desk and placed her briefcase on top of it.
"Is it satisfactory?"
"It'll do."
A young woman knocked timidly on the door, drawing Quistis and Zack's attention.
"Oh, yes. Quistis this is Reina. She's one of our many interns. She will be your assistant."
Quistis stretched a hand out to the young woman, who weakly shook it. Reina never met Quistis' eyes, looking everywhere but at Quistis or Zack. Quistis had to violently curb her desire to correct the young woman. Sally is a social butterfly compared to this girl.
Zack cleared his throat, cutting the silence from the room. "I'll be in my office if you need anything." he said before leaving the room. Reina's sad, dark brown eyes followed him before settling on the floor at Quistis' feet.
"You may go to your desk." Quistis said, unable to think of anything else. She could have sworn the girl flinched before retreating quickly from the room.
*
The afternoon was spent arranging and organizing her office. Quistis gave Reina errands, issuing the jobs as she would have spoken to a SeeD cadet. She was unable to come up with any other ways to communicate with the girl, since the girl wouldn't speak. With only a short amount of time before the end of the day, Quistis handed a stack of files to Reina.
"File in the tall cabinet, alphabetically, then numerically by year." But as the files were passed, they slipped through Reina's shaking hands to the floor. Reina looked down at the files in horror, dropping to the floor to scoop them up. Quistis allowed a frustrated sigh to escape before she knelt down next to Reina and began picking up the files as well. This only seemed to make Reina more nervous, as she dropped the files she had already picked up.
"I'll get them, get your things and go home." Quistis said as she continued to pick up the files. She could have sworn she heard a choked sob as Reina scurried out the door. Quistis took the pile of papers and folders and stacked them on the desk. She would have an assistant do it tomorrow.
Quistis finished filing a few more items and turned to see Zack storm into her office and slam his notebook down on her desk.
"What the hell did you do?" he yelled.
Quistis turned to face him, her expression calm. "You're going to have to tell me."
"Reina says you fired her, she was in tears. You do not have the authority to do that to my staff!"
Quistis' eyebrows jumped. "I didn't fire her. I sent her home. There is a difference. The girl was about to fall apart."
"This is the real world, Quistis! You can't treat people out here like they're soldiers because they're not. They're people; they have problems. Not everyone is taken care of and fed three good meals a day and given clothing to wear. The sooner you learn that, the sooner you'll..." he stopped, clenching his jaw.
Quistis stepped closer. "The sooner I'll what, Zack?"
"Never mind. Just don't treat people here like they're robots. They have feelings." He turned away, starting for the door.
"No one has ever given a damn about my feelings." she mumbled at his retreating back.
Zack stopped at the doorway and turned. "You haven't been out of Garden for very long. Give people a chance. They might surprise you."
"I won't hold my breath."
Leaning against the door jamb, Zack regarded her with a thoughtful expression. He raised his notebook and pointed at her with it. "By the time this is all over, you're going to have to tell me what happened to make you 'Quistis Trepe'."
*
For another two hours Quistis sat at her desk reading manuals and standard operating procedure handbooks. She sat back, rubbing her eyes as she realized she hadn't eaten that day, except her morning coffee. The sound of the door opening made her open her eyes to see Zack looking at her, the doorknob still held.
"Hey, what's had you holed up in here for the last few hours?" he asked.
"Manuals and handbooks. I want to be up to date on procedures around here."
"I appreciate your studiousness, but those manuals are a little out of date. We just make it up as we go along." He walked over to the visitor's chair and dropped into it.
Quistis tossed the manual she'd been reading over her shoulder with a sigh of exasperation before she looked up at the chuckling Zack.
"You know, Quistis, we should make use of Garden's dime and go have dinner. Maybe have a little fun."
A slow smile spread across her face. "We might as well. I haven't eaten today. What do you wild Timber types do for fun anyway?"
"I think we should go have dinner, and then go see a movie. Maybe I'll take you back to my house, give whoever might be watching us an eyeful."
One eyebrow arched elegantly. "Only if you want my fist in your face, buster."
"Partly, I was kidding. But we will probably have to share a few quick kisses once in a while. I'm an adult, you're an adult. I can control myself." Zack gave her a self-satisfied smirk.
Her eyebrow twitched higher. "I think people will understand if I won't allow public displays of affection. All that military training, you see."
Zack gave her a dubious look before pushing himself up from the chair. "Right, Quistis. Get your stuff together, I'll walk you back to your apartment and then we'll go do something."
*
The aptly named restaurant, Darkwoods, had plenty of atmosphere with brightly polished dark wood everywhere and intimate booths, all lit with candles. The maitre' d greeted Zack by name and lead the two to a table in a quiet corner. A well-dressed waiter immediately appeared for drink orders.
"Would you like your usual, Mr. Regal?"
Zack looked up at him, "Sure." He focused his eyes on her. "Quis, what would you like to have?"
"White wine, please. The Shumi Reserve would be nice."
"Excellent choice, madam. I'll be right back."
"No one has ever called me 'Madam' before." she commented as the waiter walked away.
Zack unfolded the linen napkin and dropped it in his lap "So, are you going to answer my query from earlier in the day?"
"Which one would that be?"
He leaned forward resting his arms on the table. "What makes you Quistis Trepe?"
"SeeD."
"That's not all there is to you, is it? I mean, there was a time you were alive before the Garden Network was formed. You didn't just pop up from a cabbage patch."
"Oh." Quistis remained quiet for a moment, eyes cast down at the table.
Zack reached across the table and touched her arm. "Is it that hard to talk about?"
The waiter appeared with their drinks, a rum and cola for Zack and Quistis' wine. He disappeared as quickly.
Quistis shook her head. "I just..." She picked up the menu and began reading, not really comprehending the words on the page. Then she dropped the menu to the table again before looking up to meet Zack's eyes. "Can we order dinner first? Then I'll talk."
"Yeah, sure. They have an incredible lasagna here."
They sat in silence reading the menus before the waiter appeared. Then they gave their orders, two lasagnas with salad, again sitting in silence after the waiter disappeared.
Quistis broke the silence first. "Okay, um, where to begin?" She cleared her throat. "I don't know who my natural parents are. I grew up in the orphanage run by Edea Kramer until I was adopted. I think I was eight. Then I went to Garden when I was ten. My adoptive family was supportive, but not really able to keep up with me. I made SeeD at 15 and Instructor at 17. I was stripped of my Instructor's position when I was 19 and had it reinstated at 20. I became the Head of Instruction at 21." She looked up to see Zack's amused expression. She frowned. "What?"
"I know all of that. I'm looking for stories about you."
Quistis crossed her arms and looked away. "I don't tell stories about myself. They're generally pretty sad."
"Oh, come on. How old were you when you had your first kiss?"
Quistis rolled her eyes. "Fourteen." Though I'd rather not remember.
"Was it fun?"
"Absolutely not," she scoffed. "I found out the guy did it on a dare."
Zack watched her intently for a moment, tapping his fingers on the table. Quistis cringed at the look of realization that swept across his face. "Head Goon took advantage of you?"
Quistis moved her focus away as she adjusted her crossed her arms. "No." she said through tightly clenched teeth. "He wasn't 'Head Goon' at the time and I was... thrilled that someone showed interest."