~*~*~
Zell heard the door to the infirmary open and stood to peek around the corner of the room where Sally slept. A man with dark hair, a mustache, and dressed in slacks and a sweater with a dress shirt and tie entered. He looked a little frantic.
Zell stepped out of the room toward the man. “Mr. Regal?”
The man nodded. “Where is she? Is she all right?”
“Dude. She’s fine.” He stuck out a hand. “Zell Dincht. We talked on the phone.”
They shook hands. “Oh. You’re the friend that visited with Sally after she passed the Fire Cavern qualifier.”
Zell nodded, leaned back to peek into the exam room, and then motioned to the door out of the infirmary. They exited and halted outside the double doors.
“What happened?” Mr. Regal asked.
“She took a bad tumble and hit her head. She’ll have a headache the next couple days and be a little out of sorts, but the doctor said she’ll be fine.”
Mr. Regal ran a hand through his hair. “Thank Hyne.”
“Is her ma okay?”
“She’s staying with your mother. In fact, she’s waiting for my call.”
“Oh. OK. If you’ve gotta jet, go ahead. Like I said, she’ll be fine.” Zell gave a slight smile as he crossed his arms. “Sorry about this. She was really pumped about spending the day with you guys. So was I.”
Mr. Regal regarded Zell. “Do you have a moment to talk--Zell was it?”
“Sure. Let’s go check up on Sally, and then we'll jet to the cafeteria.” He pushed open the doors and motioned for Mr. Regal to follow. “Come on.”
Sally still slept soundly, so Mr. Regal gave her a soft kiss on the forehead before following Zell out of the infirmary to the main corridor and then left toward the cafeteria.
“I appreciate the call, Zell. Her mother and I were certain she had another accident similar to the one when Galbadia Garden attacked.” Mr. Regal scrubbed at his scalp. “Thank Hyne it wasn't. I don't think her mother could survive another few months like that.”
Zell nodded. “No doubt. I nearly shit bricks when she told me about it.”
Mr. Regal examined Zell with that typical ‘who are you to my daughter’ look that most fathers acquired on instinct. “Sally’s mentioned you in her e-mails now and then.”
“Really? Cool.”
“You’re friends?”
Zell’s lips twitched. “Well, yes and no. We’re buds, sure, but we’re dating when we get the chance. Just had the first one a couple days ago. She probably hasn’t told you yet. Sally’s kinda quiet that way, you know? Doesn’t wanna make a big thing out of it. I keep telling her that as far as I’m concerned it’s steady.”
“Boyfriend?” Mr. Regal asked, and his quiet tone hinted at shock.
“Sure.” Zell raised an eyebrow. “Hasn’t she ever had a boyfriend before?”
Mr. Regal smiled. “No, she hasn’t. Sally’s quite the shy little thing.”
“I know, but she’s ho--” Zell cleared his throat and then smirked. “But she’s a riot, Mr. Regal. Great sense of humor and all. I can hardly believe some guy hasn’t ever asked her out.”
“She keeps to herself pretty much all the time. Books, computers, studying, writing e-mails and letters. Things of that sort.”
Zell’s smile widened. “Yep. That’s Sally.” His expression changed to a ‘did you know’ seriousness. “She totally rules on the computer, Mr. Regal. Tracked down a cracker that hacked the Network and made it possible for us to nab him. Now Seifer has assigned her to the security section of the Network. He’s top guy when it comes to that, and he doesn’t trust just anyone.”
“Sally? Security?” Mr. Regal’s shocked expression melted to a smile as he shook his head. “Good girl.”
Zell laughed. “Yeah. She wasn't so hot on the idea at first, but it made her feel kinda awesome that she pounded the guy, and then that Seifer wanted her on his team? Dude, you shoulda seen her.”
Mr. Regal chuckled. “I can only imagine.”
“Say. You wanna tour, Mr. Regal?” Zell asked as he motioned to Sally’s father. “Sally said you haven't been here since she enrolled, and I'm sure stuff has changed since then. I could show you around. Not a prob.”
Mr. Regal nodded. “Thank you, Zell. I appreciate it. And call me Michael. I'm in denial of my age, you understand, and ‘Mr. Regal’ makes me feel a tad on the mature side.”
Zell laughed. “Sure thing, Mr--I mean Mi--Dude. I can't call you that.”
“And why is that?” Michael asked with a raised eyebrow.
“You're Sally's pop!”
Michael laughed. “All right then, call me pop. Goodness knows I've been called worse labels in my life. Mr. Regal being the worst of them.”
Zell grinned. “Hey. I can call you that. Sure.” He motioned to the cafeteria. “You wanna grab some grub? Or look around first?”
“I would rather like to take a look-see.”
“Sure thing.” And the two men headed again down the main corridor, Michael Regal towering over Zell a good 10 inches. “I'll take you to the Training Center first. That's where Sally and I work out in the mornings and work on spiffing up the submission we're going to make to Combat King--Say. Did she tell you that she graduated with Rank 8?”
Michael's lips twitched upward. “Yes, she did. She was very excited about that in her e-mail. Said that it was all because of her morning work-outs and her tutor.” Michael motioned to Zell. “I'm hazarding a guess the tutor would be you?”
Zell nodded, grinning. “Yep.” The smile vanished. “But, dude, I hated telling her the staff was all wrong for her. I mean, man, she'd been training for so long. It must have felt like I kicked her in the gut; I know that's what it felt like for me when I saw the look on her face.”
“But you were there with a suggestion for something better, and my honey girl is always looking for something better.”
Zell grinned again. “Then what's her excuse for waiting around for me?
Michael laughed. “You'll need to ask her that question. Although I'm sure the answer will be different than what you'd expect.”
“No doubt. Sally is different than what I'd expect. You know?”
Michael nodded. “Yes. I think I do. I know she wasn't what her mother and I expected.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“The doctors said Beka couldn't have any more kids after Zackary was born.”
“What?”
“I know,” Michael agreed, nodding. “That was our reaction; we always wanted a large family. But the doctors said there was damage to the--Well, I won't go into the details, but the end result was no more children.”
“That sucks!”
The two turned into the side-hall that led toward the Training Center. “Her mother was heart-broken at the news. When Zack was about two we looked into adoption, but Beka just couldn't do it. She refused to give up hope that the doctors were wrong.” Michael smiled. “As you can see, the doctors were wrong.”
Zell grinned. “Major score, Pop. Major.”
Michael laughed. “Yes, it was--” His smile faded when he looked around at the greenery and heavy metal doors of the Training Center. “Honey girl trains here?”
Zell rested his fists on his hips as his eyes twinkled. “Yep. She kicks ass, too. Best student I've ever had.”
A T-Rexaur roared at that moment, causing Michael a sharp twitch before focusing wide eyes on Zell. “What was that?”
“T-Rexaur. Pain in the ass, but not so bad if you've got Blind junctioned.” Zell grinned wider. “Hard to hit when it can't see, huh?” He motioned to one of the doors. “You wanna go in? I can take one on by myself without a junction if you wanna--”
Michael raised his hand with a quickly stated “That's all right. I'll take your word for it. And I'd rather not know what honey girl needs to do in order to be a SeeD. I knew the experience would be good for her, and that's enough.”
“I'll keep her safe, Pop. Swear.”
Michael gripped Zell's shoulder. “Thank you.”