notabunneh

I awoke this morning to a sight that I have not seen in many, many years. It would appear that the first snowfall of the season came during the night and from the looks of things, I don't think its going to be stopping anytime soon. The local high school has canceled classes today so Balthier and Albanion are outside throwing snowballs at each other like the idiots that they are. If either one of them, and I'm thinking a certain pirate will try it because he's done it before, decides to come in and give me an ice cold hug, he will be smacked. It's warm and comfortable in here and, please, no one die of shock, but I have cookies in the oven.

I think I'm turning into a housewife... x.x

Balthier has a doctors appointment later this week with his neurologist just to make sure that things are healing well since he's been out of the hospital. He's been having headaches though I'm not sure if they're something to be worried about or something he's going to have to live with due to the seriousness of his injuries. We'll find out soon I hope.

( [Private to the She-Bitch] )

For those of you that haven't heard, Rikku is back in Twilight Town. We managed to get her away from Spira without much trouble and she's staying with Cloud in his dorm room right now. She's confused, but that's completely understandable. She also doesn't see why she has to update a group of strangers about how she's doing, so I'm going to try to do that for her until she starts remembering things correctly.

Besides being confused most of the time, she's having horrible headaches, but I've taken her a few things that I got in Ivalice and the herbs seem to be helping. There are times when you can see her emerging from the shell she's pulled herself into, but when she notices, she pulls back and its almost as if you were imagining things. She'll be okay, she just needs some time to recover.

Balthier and I need to find a proper way to thank Luxord's parents for looking after Albanion on such short notice. We've been told that he behaved himself, but I'm willing to bed that he slipped out the window a few times once they went to bed. You'd think that disappearing during the night would lose its appeal after a while.

On a lighter note, I'm disappointed by the lack of bets on my last entry about the results of my ultrasound. Maybe I'll keep it to myself... :3

It would seem that when it rains, it pours around this place, hmm? So many unexpected things have happened these past few months that at times, you just have to sit back, observe and try to take it all in and wonder how so much has happened in such a short amount of time. Balthier and myself... though I do suppose that was a long time coming. Sometimes it takes the strangest set of circumstances to finally push two people together. I know at the beginning, I was convinced that he was simply with me because I was carrying his child, but now, there's no doubt in my mind. I was a fool of a Viera to ever doubt him...

And then there's Albanion. There are times when I have to hide my laughter when he and Balthier get into little spats. They're so much alike that with the glares they were giving one another, they might as well have been looking in a mirror. Things are going to be fine, we just have to give him a little space and let him adjust to everything while Balthier and I do the same. Though we do need to either teach him to knock on the bathroom door or get a lock... he's already barged in on Balthier and I when we were ah, busy in the shower... -__-

Larxene? How are things with you and the little ones...? Did you ever manage to get a hold of Xigbar? If you need anything, just let the two of us know. The same thing goes for you too, Aeris and Luxord. Just say the word and we'll do whatever we can to help.

On a slightly lighter note, Larxene, I have stolen your gynecologist and have an appointment with her tomorrow afternoon. After calling my old one an "old bat" she wants to do a complete exam as well as an ultrasound. If things go well, we'll be finding out the sex as well... though it depends on the baby cooperating and letting us see what we want to see! Anyone care to make a guess as to what we'll be having this time? Another boy perhaps? Maybe a girl that Balthier will lock in her room until she's thirty~?

( [Private. Visible to all friends of Rikku] )

I'm sure a few of you noticed the rather large airship that was hovering over the city for an hour or so the other day. You're welcome for your first glimpse of The Strahl. Unfortunately she was only docked long enough for Balthier to get there, grab the controls and head straight back to Ivalice.

We're going to be here for a few days... at least a week, maybe a bit longer. And, when we return to Twilight Town, we'll have someone with us if things go well. Our son... he's alive...

( [Private visible to close friends] )

[the transmission and quality of the call is poor, staticky and spotty at best. She sounds tired.]

...thier? My ..ologies... supposed to be home days ago but some things came up. Things I didn't expect. I hope to head home tonight if more things don't go wrong. [her voice goes soft and the clang of metal against metal is heard] Bloody ship. Next time, we get someone more reliable to look after her!

[there is soft static coming from the line along with the sounds of a ship being repaired, almost as if she has forgotten about the phone for a short while before the line goes dead]

Today has been a mixture of happy and of sheer, mind blowing stupidity. Sometimes I wonder how people manage to get medical degrees and still be so damned slow.

I stole Balthier away from his hospital room early this morning because his doctors were actually nice enough to let him out for my doctors appointment. It was going well until the doctor decided it was time for an ultrasound. Doesn't sound like a big deal, right? It was my first one and all and Balthier looked more excited than I've seen him look in ages. It was all going well until the idiot of a doctor looked at the ultrasound screen (where little ears were just starting to become visible), then at me, and then back to the screen before finally turning back to me and asking: "Those are REAL?!" The look of disbelief and shock and disgust on his face made me glad that I had Balthier there to hold me back or he wouldn't have been practicing medicine for a long long time.

Needless to say, I'm on the search for a new doctor. At least that's what I said earlier. But, the more I think about it, the more I don't want a doctor. I don't want to give birth in a place that's full of machines and death. I'm going to look into finding a midwife and having a natural birth. And by natural, yes, I mean no pain medication and I'd like it to happen as close to nature as possible. As in the woods near those little houses that Balthier and I decided to look at while no one was there. Who needs a realtor when you know how to pick locks and can look around at your own pace?

Speaking of Balthier, he was driving the nurses and doctors so insane that they told me not to bring him back! We've been working to get him settled back into his dorm room and he's been going through his things while I've just been sitting and watching as he remembers little things. He's doing good though!

( [Private to Vaan] )

Hmm, so little to say these days. It's cool days like this that remind me of home. You can actually smell and feel the leaves changing. The woods near here are a buzz with the workings of the creatures doing their last minute storage for the long hibernation of winter. Balthier and I would normally be preparing The Strahl for a long winter and joking about going off to find warmer climes until the snow and cold blows away from our usual haunts. So many nights spent planning for warmer days, yet it never happened. No matter, the ship was always warmth enough and various inns were always accepting of those will gil.

I miss the skies

Balthier, love, how would you like to be free of your room for a bit later this week? It's amazing how easy it is to make your doctors see things my way. Just flash them a small, bend forward a bit and they're like putty in my hands. ;)

Larxene, you haven't gone off and had those babies without telling anyone now have you? The offer to call me no matter what time it is if you need anything still stands. I know Xigbar is away and we will make sure to punish him for that later. Just hang in there, you don't have much longer to.

On a final, more anger inducing note. To the students on campus who decided it would be a good idea to come up to me and grab my ass while informing me that you were looking for my tail. You deserved exactly what you got. :|

It has come to my attention that I just might need to get the ass kicking stilettos out of temporary retirement. Why you might ask? Well, it has come to my attention that I need to kick some ass. More specifially the ass of a blonde male that I haven't even officially met. No one makes Rikku cry without dealing with me. End of story.

A question for you all. Say a certain Viera is going to start apartment hunting. Where exactly would be the best place for her to start looking? Someone point me in the right direction please. I don't want to find a cheap apartment and realize it's so cheap because it's in a crappy part of town... don't worry about the price when making suggestions. I can always turn Balthier in and collect the reward money. :3

( [Private. Viewable to all close friends with the expection of Balthier] )

I spent most of the other day in the garage for the first time in forever. It was nice to finally get down and dirty and came back to the hospital all covered in grease. Gave the doctors and nurses a shock when I came in dirty and a little bloody. Felt great actually! I then had to suffer through and try to get clean in a hospital shower, but it was worth it! Much better than being stuck in class or in the hospital all day!

I just hate to think of the workload that's going to be waiting for everyone when classes actually start back. I've heard rumors that they're going to cut out part of winter break and make the semester even longer just to make up for the time we're missing now. I'm not a fan of that idea at all, even though I'm taking the spring semester off, it doesn't mean that I want to go longer during the fall one. I have things I want to do before I'm not able to do it...

I've been sitting here with this journal entry page open for quite a while now and nothing is coming to me. This is supposed to be a place to express what I've been doing, any feelings about life, that sort of thing, but there's nothing that I really want to say.

I don't have any exciting life updates. Class and entertaining Balthier. And I seem to be failing at the last one lately. There's only a certain number of things you can do when he's stuck in a hospital room. Hopefully this sickness passes soon so that he can actually go outside into the courtyard for a little while. Anything to get him out of here.

Larxene, you've been quiet lately, is everything okay over there?

And, to the rest of you that just happen to be sick, feel better soon, okay?

I know I've been horrible at updating everyone on Balthier's progress, but I think he did a nice job of informing you all himself about how he was doing!

I know I'm far from experienced in the medical field, but from what I've seen of how he's been acting, he's well on his way to getting back to normal. Let's just say that he has all of the workings of a functional male brain in every way. In some ways, it's like he's a teenager again...~

As for me...? Well, classes started back on Monday so after making sure that Balthier was up and around and surviving, off I went. I'm taking so many classes this semester. I need to make up for what I'm not going to be taking next semester. Hopefully I can take some of the ones I need online so I don't miss out on too much when I'm sitting around doing nothing but getting fat.

I guess I have a dorm room to myself huh? I wonder if my stuff actually got moved since I haven't been to the dorms in quite a while... I should look into that...

I-I don't even know why I'm updating this right now.

Balthier is doing okay. He's in the coma now, and we're hoping that come next Monday things will be better for him. I with him when they put him under, he went out with a smile on his face and joking with the doctor. I'd say that's a sign of good things to come, right? A little good luck isn't too much to ask, right? It was good intentions that left him like this... all I'm asking is for some luck to get him through this...

Rikku, are we still on for tomorrow night? My bike needs to be used and what better place that the shady streets of Twilight Town? Make them jealous that nothing they have can ever touch my bike~!

Namine, Larxene, you guys free at all this week? I just need to keep myself busy before I sit in this hospital room and go completely insane watching him sleep.

I know it's been a few days and that I've been slacking on updating about Balthier. I do have news, and it's a mixed bag, that's for sure.

The good:
He's remembering things again! And he's had lots of visitors that he's remembered and it seems to have put him in a rather cheery mood. Riku, Namine, Kairi, thanks again for coming to visit. And Luxord is away on visit him at the moment I do believe, hopefully he'll stay in a good mood, at least until Monday.

The bad:
Balthier... he's still having seizures. Nothing as bad as the one he had last week, but they're still pretty bad. The doctors are trying something with him; there are no guarentees that it will work, but it's worth a shot. Monday morning, they're putting him into a medically induced coma for a week to give his brain a chance to heal properly. If you want to see him, this is your last chance for a week...

I'm going to be here as much as I can... though mainly to sleep. I just don't want to be too far from him. Anyone want to keep me occupied this week? Larxene, I'm looking at you!

Just keep him in your thoughts, and I'll let you guys know if anything should happen before the week is up.

Hey everyone...

This is just a very quick update to get the word out to Balthier's friends about what's going on. Balthier had a seizure last night. A bad one. The doctors immediately started doing tests and, long, tense, and worrying story short, he's in surgery right now.

I've spend my morning yelling at two doctors and a group of nurses because this could have been prevented! They missed a hematoma on his initial head scans. How the hell do you miss something like that? I'm sure that yelling at them didn't help, but it certainly made me feel better.

I don't know how long he's going to be in surgery, but I'll keep you all updated. Just keep him in your thoughts, please...

I never thought that I would use this journal as much as I have. Maybe it's because I'm stuck at the hospital in more ways than one. Can, uh, someone go sit with Balthier? I'm a couple floors below his right now and no matter how much I argue, they aren't going to let me go up to his room until they officially release me. Riku? Rikku? Anyone...?

Did I happen to mention that I'm a patient here now? They're being insane. I got a little dizzy and light-headed last night. I told the doctors that I just needed to eat but they didn't believe me and shoved me into a gown and a hospital bed. They're running some tests yet they looked confused at the sight of me. I'm sure the sight of my blood is going to throw them for several loops and I wish I could see the looks on their faces.

( [Private to Larxene] )

So here we are, hospital day...oh god what is today? Thursday? Friday. Today's Friday (at least for a few more hours) so we've been here for four days now. Feels like so much longer than that. I think time is just dragging because I haven't been feeling very well lately. I think that just proves that hospital food is out to kill anyone who dares to eat it. Rikku, Larxene, can one of you bring me real food, please?

But enough about me, I'm not the one you guys want updates on. Balthier... well, he's alive as you all know! I think he's starting to get better. Either that, or it's like I told Larxene earlier, it's just wishful thinking on my part. I got a genuine smile out of him earlier today and he was actually holding my hand instead of looking confused and pulling away whenever I touch him. I think that's an improvement, yes? The doctor's think he's going to be stuck here for a while, I'm not sure what he's going to do about classes if he can't remember things...

I wish I knew what to say or what to do to suddenly make him remember. I know it's not possible, but a girl can wish, right? I just want to wake up from this very uncomfortable chair to find that this has all been a very, very bad dream. Okay, that's it. Enough of me moaning and moping about this. I've already had my allowed breakdown, I need to stay strong for him.

Anyone besides Larxene and Rikku want to come visit? Maybe having his friends here will help him... and it just might keep me from going insane just sitting here waiting

I know that there are quite few people out there that are probably watching my journal like a hawk wanting an update. I honestly don't have much to tell you. The doctor's themselves don't know much. Balthier woke up for a few minutes earlier and he... he doesn't remember anything. He didn't even know his own name or who I was... I think that was the hardest thing I've ever had to experiece.

The doctors say that his brain is swollen and it's just going to take time for him to recover. They don't know how long it'll take for him to get his memory back or if it will even come back. He's damn lucky to be alive.

I just... god I don't even know what to do with myself right now. I'm sitting here with me andI think part of him knows me. Whenever he seems restless all I have to do is reach over to touch him or say something to him and he calms down.

If anyone needs me, I'll be at the hospital.

Rikku, since you wanted an update I thought I'd take a moment to do just that. I'd text you but I can't find my phone at the moment. I don't remember where I threw it last night in a moment of frustration.

The good: We know who has Balthier.
The bad: We don't know where he is.
The ugly: The bounty hunter doesn't care about the price on our heads. He's doing this for his own sadistic pleasure.

We've spent most of the night forming plans and trying to find out more about the people who have him and where they're holding him. No luck yet, but something has to break soon. I'm not leaving him there.

Saix... that off you made me, does it still stand?

Dammit Balthier how could you have been so stupid?! After how many years of telling me to be careful anytime I stepped off the Strahl, how did you of all people manage to get bested by a bounty hunter of all people?! Ugh as soon as I see you, you're getting smacked silly -___-