Workings of a Happily Ever After, The

  ~*~

  "Hey, Sal gal."

  I looked up as Janine sat across from me at the table in the Security Office reserved for interviews and interrogations. I was waiting for my turn to be debriefed. "Hi, Janine," I greeted, tone morose at best. My fingers returned to the duty of picking at the corner of the metal table.

  "So what's got ole HOS in a hellfire mood?" she asked, crossing her arms over her chest. Her usual off-the-clock uniform of black jeans and a black or white tank-tee had been replaced by her SeeD uniform; I noticed the skirt didn't keep her from kicking her feet up onto the table and tipping the chair back onto its back legs. "You lose a report or take a day off you weren't supposed to?"

  I shook my head, giving a deep sigh before crossing my arms on the table and resting my forehead on them. "No." It wasn't fair. I was supposed to be in Deling City with Zell picking out pretty dresses and daydreaming about the wedding I'd waited my entire life for.

  "You finally tell him to go to hell?"

  I shook my head again. "No," I mumbled. It wasn't SLC Seifer's fault radicals attacked the train. I knew that. It was just one of those things that happened when a person chose the SeeD path. But it still isn't fair.

  "Damn, Sally," Janine protested, her feet making a clicking sound as she pulled them down from the table. She gave my head a knock, but I didn't lift it. "What the hell's the matter with you? I hear you got to fight with Squall and Zell, the best rush on the planet, and you're acting as if you're getting court-martialed."

  I sighed and lifted my head enough to meet her dark gaze. "It's not fair, Janine," I complained. "Today was supposed to be wonderful. I was supposed to pick up my wedding dress and pick out my bridesmaid dresses while having fun with my sweetie. But instead? Instead I have to fight radicals and watch Sweetie and Commander Squall get hurt. I had to disobey a direct order and leave my friend alone, even though I knew she was scared. And now I have to sit here and wait for. . ." I bit my lip and lowered my gaze to the table top. "Wait for them to ask me all these questions that I don't know the answer for because a GF came that I didn't know I could summon. That I didn't even know existed."

  "A GF, huh?" Janine leaned forward, arms resting on the table as she watched me. "And you don't remember summoning it?" I shook my head. "What exactly do you remember?"

  I sighed again. "Well, I remember being able to get behind the radical group and doing 'Hell Strike' to take out almost three right off. Then I told Zell that Seifer had ordered me to come, basically, and just kept fighting them off until the reinforcements could come." I shrugged. "Then it was over and Zell said we won and they were asking me about the summon." I looked up to meet her thoughtful expression. "That's all. I don't remember seeing any GF or doing a summon."

  "You remember anything out of the ordinary?"

  "Like what? I was only thinking about what I needed to do: offer back-up as ordered." I frowned and rested my chin on my arm. "Those stupid radicals. Putting all those people in danger when they didn't even do anything to them! If they would just talk to Commander Squall or President Laguna they wouldn't need to do all this stupid fighting, hurting innocent people." I growled. "Makes me so mad!"

  "Were you thinking about that while you were fighting?" Janine asked, tone amused.

  I shrugged again. "I guess. Everything was going so fast."

  Janine reached out and gave my head another knock, gentler this time. I looked up. "Don't sweat it, kid. Why don't you go ahead and grab that hunk of love of yours and take off. I'll take the heat for it."

  I sat up, eyes wide. "You sure? I don't want you to get into trouble."

  "Hell. I've been in trouble plenty. I can handle it." She jerked her head toward the door. "Go on. Git."

  I smiled and stood, grabbing my purse and voicing a rushed, "Thanks, Janie. I owe you one," before she could change her mind or I could get caught.

  Janine watched her go, the smile growing to a smirk as she shook her head. Seifer appeared in the doorway a few moments later. Janine motioned to the seat across from her. "Have a seat."

  Seifer turned the chair, his lips tilted in a similar smirk as he straddled the chair and draped his arms across the back of it. "So?"

  Again, Janine kicked her legs up onto the table. "Just as you figured. Intense emotional situation where all she could think about were the people in danger. Her consciousness fades out; the GF comes in." Janine motioned again toward the door with her head. "She didn't complain of a headache like 'Miss Thang' did. Sally just doesn't remember the summon or the GF showing up. That's it. Now I don't know if that has to do with compatibility or more intensity of emotion or what. Like I said, one minute she's thinking about 'love muffin' and the people on the train, then 'bam' Asura's kicking everyone else's ass but Sally's team and the reinforcements she knows are coming."

  Seifer pursed his lips to one side, seriousness replacing smirk as he stared out the door in the direction Sally had taken. Janine watched him, her own smirk returning as she adjusted her crossed arms. Damn you're hot.

  He briefly frowned before focusing again on Janine, his lips twitching upward. "Good job. Remind me to give you a raise."

  Janine chuckled and slowly stood. "I'll file my request for that this evening. If you've got time," she added.

  "I'll see what I can do."

  Janine turned and left the office, very conscious of his appreciative gaze as her movement gave him something to appreciate.