You heard a knock on your door as you sat there on the couch with Ignis. He was resting his head on your lap as he laid on his back while you rubbed his sore stomach from the earlier training session. You had both been there for awhile after you got dressed again after your showers. And you had finally unlocked the doors so that everyone could come in and check on Ignis, if they wanted to. Well, perhaps not everyone. There was one person in particular, that you really didn't want to see right now. But so far you had had King Regis, Korn and the doctor from the hospital stop by to check on him.

You looked down at Ignis as he tried to relax. But this wasn't easy since he would jolt every once in a while from the pain in his stomach muscles. The doctor had said that he was impressed that it was only torn muscles considering the blows that he took. In fact he had said that he hadn't seen muscles tear like without there being more trauma. The relief though was that the doctor said that it would heal naturally in a few days. But in the meantime, he would have to deal with the pain. King Regis on the other hand, said that he would send Noctis in later with something that would speed that up for him.

You dropped your head as you slowly rubbed your fingers over his stomach. You both knew that there had also been some additional strain put on his stomach. And now as you watched him as he laid there, you felt bad for causing more harm than good with your shower idea. You were jarred out of your thoughts though when you heard the knock on the door again.

"Who is it?" You called over the movie that was playing on the TV.

"It's just me." You heard Noctis' voice say from the door.

"Come on in." You called back to the door.

You turned and watched Noctis walk into the room with a concerned look on his face as he came up to the couch. You smiled back at him as he walked up and sat down on one of the chairs next to the couch. He gave Ignis a once over as he sat down. Ignis had his head on your lap as his body was laying on the couch in his black jeans and a black and white speckled shirt.

Ignis had his right knee propped up as it laid back against the couch and his left arm was lying across his eyes. He had been laying there waited for the medicine to kick in that he had just been given for his stomach ache by their favorite doctor from the hospital. Who is apparently the only doctor who is allowed to help anyone from the royal family and those who serve him. Which would explain why he came by to check on Ignis on a Sunday night.

"How are you feeling, Iggy?" Noctis asked as he leaned forward in his chair and set his elbows on his knees.

"I could be better." He admitted as he kept his eyes closed.

"I can imagine. So how many times did he slam into you?" Noctis asked straight out.

You gave Noctis a stern look.

"It doesn't matter how many times. One time, that hard, from my dad, is too hard for anyone." You stated as you tried to prevent Noctis from bringing it up or from asking more questions about it.

You slowly moved your hand across Ignis' stomach as you tried to soothe it for him. He slightly grunted from a jolt that shot through his body as he was still hurting from your dad slamming him in the stomach twice. Once with his foot and the other time with his shoulder as he had slammed him to the ground for the second time. Although, unknown to everyone else except you and Ignis. His stomach had been further stressed by a certain activity that you had both quite enjoyed at the time, while sharing a shower. But this bit of information was only known by the two of you. The last thing you needed was anyone prying into your personal lives like that.

"So you say. But anyway." Noctis said as he looked at his retainer. "I'm glad that doc didn't find anything majorly wrong."

"Agreed." Ignis said as he fought off a deep groan from the dull pain in his abdomen. "Although I wish the medicine would kick in a little quicker."

"That would be helpful. I can't have my retainers laid up with so much work ahead of us." Noctis said with a smile.

"No, I suppose that won't work. But not to worry." You responded. "We'll be ready for you. Just give him some time to recover." You said as Ignis placed his hand over yours as it sat on his stomach. "This, of course, will start with a good night's sleep."

"Of course." Noctis said with a smile.

"Doc said that he should be fine in a couple days. Just as long as he doesn't over do it." You said as you glanced down at a smiling Ignis. "But that won't be a problem, he will be safely on the ground giving instructions. You and I will be the ones who have to be able to move around."

"Good point." Noctis said as he smiled at Ignis. "Of course I don't really like you being in pain. So how about we use this instead of waiting for it to just 'go away'." Noctis said as he placed an elixir on the table. "It's much faster than any old medicine, plus he can keep a clear head."

Ignis turned his head and glanced over at Noctis. He smiled when he saw the familiar purple liquid in the bottle on the coffee table.

Then he grinned at Noctis. "Thanks for the assistance Noct."

"Oh, that reminds me." You said as you looked back down at Ignis. "Will you be joining me tomorrow? You know, when I go through the closets and dressers?"

"Of course." Ignis said as he turned back to face you.

He moved his hand away from his face so that he could wrap his fingers around your leg to support the weight of his arm. "In fact I was planning on asking Noctis, Gladio and even Monica if they wanted to help out as well. I figured that we could make a day of it. Besides, I don't think you should have to do it by yourself. And the more people helping, the easier it will be. We will help you to sort them out, organize the others, or discard those that need to be. And I figure that if we get done early enough, we could head over to the mall and get our suits and dresses for the ball."

You gave him a big smile as you ran your fingers across his face. "Now that sounds like fun."

Meanwhile..............

The night air felt chilly as it blew across his face ever so often. The cool air was the only thing that he could feel at the moment. Everything else felt numb to him as he stood there staring out over the city from the top of the north tower. But that seemed to be a norm for him anymore. He seemed to be numb to everyone and everything. The only thing that he had any feelings for was you. But after what he did to Ignis and you that day, he felt like he lost even that. And he didn't blame you for being upset with him. After all, he had hurt your boyfriend during a simple training session.

He dropped his head in frustration as he recalled the events from earlier. From him grabbing you and slamming Ignis with his foot. To watching Ignis throwing up in the trash can. He felt his jaw clinch once again as he feel his rage start to surface again at the knowledge that he had lost control once again. He knows better then to go that hard on young trainees. And especially kids. But it was just like what he had done to you in Altissia, when he had pushed you harder then anyone else. And at times, almost to your breaking point.

At first he had it in his head that it was the only way that he could keep you safe. But then later on, he couldn't tell if it was to make you better or if it was to make him feel better by thinking that he could train you to survive anything. Either way, he knew now that he never should have pushed that hard. He just wished that he thought about that before, when you had been doubled over after those extreme training session.

He drained the bottle in his hand. Then he traded it out for another one from the box. He put the top of the bottle on the edge of the railing, then popped the top off by tapping the bottle down. The cap fell and landed on the ground by his feet silently as the sound of it hitting the concrete roof was blown away with the breeze.

He put the bottle to his lips and let the cool liquid slide down his throat as he tried to forget the glare that you had gave him. But the look was still there. And had been there each time and with each bottle that he drank. Despite his best effort to make it disappear like the beers in his hand.

He stared off in the direction of the house as he recalled each harsh word that the two of you had exchanged over the past few years. He would rather hear all of those words again if it meant that he would never see that fury in your eyes again. He took a long drink as he seemed to be falling further away each time from anything resembling happiness.

Which is why he didn't smile or even react as he heard someone walking towards him as he leaned up against the railing as he downed half of his beer. He tried to ignore the person as they came walking up. For even though he knew that someone would come looking for him. His heart broke as he slightly glanced back and realized that it wasn't you.

Now he wasn't sure how long that he had been up there. But as he glanced over at the half drunk 24-case of beer, he figured that he had been there for a few hours now. Well that, and the fact that after he had left the training room. He had gotten in his car and had driven to the local liquor store so that he could drown out his mistakes once again.

Of course when he got there, he changed his mind. Hard liquor usually didn't agree with him, unless it was in a mixed drink. And even then, he had learned to only drink certain ones. Otherwise another side of him, that he didn't particular like, would come out and make things a hundred times worse. And he had sworn to Lynn that he would never let that side of him out again. Not after almost hitting her one night, shortly after losing their son.

So he decided that instead of liquor, he would go with his favorite beer and leave it at that. Once the case is done, that would be the end of it. Of course he hadn't counted on drinking this much so far. But he also expected to be feeling something at this point. A buzz, a drunk, or anything, other than the pain and shame that he was still feeling.

"I thought I might find you up here." He heard Korn's familiar voice say from behind him.

"What, did the maids tell you?" He asked coldly as he took a drink. "Or did you look at the security cameras instead?"

"With you I don't have to use either one." Korn said as he came over to the railing and stood beside him. "You always do the same thing Paul."

"Tst. And what would that be?" Paul asked as he looked down as he waited for the heavy blow to his ego.

"You hide yourself away so that you can slowly destroy yourself." Korn said as he crossed his arms as he looked at Paul.

Paul continued to looked down as he took another drink.

"Well I can't very well do it in public. And I won't do it in front of my daughter." Paul returned coldly.

"You shouldn't be handling it this way at all." Korn stated as he looked at his old friend.

"Then how would you have me handle it? Huh?" Paul sternly said as he started to round on Korn.

"Come on. Bestow upon me some of your bright wisdom." Paul said a sarcastic tone.

"I would be trying to clear this up with my daughter first and foremost." Korn began to say in a normal tone as he tried to ignore Paul's true tone.

"She doesn't want to talk to me." Paul interrupted as. He leaned back up against the railing.

"Then I would explain things to Ignis." Korn continued.

"Already did." Paul said in a short voice as he interrupted again just before to took a long drink.

"Then perhaps you need to start going out again." Korn said as he looked at his broken friend.

Paul was taken back as he looked at Korn with a surprised look. "And why would I want to do that?"

"It's been three years Paul." Korn said as he watched him carefully. "Don't you think that it's time to let Lynn go and start living again? Even if it is only to take a woman out to eat once in a while."

"I don't think that I'm ready for that yet." Paul said before he took a long drink.

"It doesn't have to be anything serious you know. Hell even just getting laid would do you some good." Korn said with a smile.

"What the hell is that suppose to mean?" Paul said as he gave him a stern look.

"I'm just say that you need to go out once in awhile. It's not healthy to work as hard as you do and not take a break once in a while." Korn said as he walked up and put his hand on his shoulder.

"Your one to talk." Paul said back to him. "When was the last time you went out?"

"Last week actually." Korn said as he gave him a slight smile.

"Your kidding?" Paul said as he crossed his arms in front of himself as he gave Korn an unconvinced look.

"Not at all." Korn said as he smiled back. "I took her out for dinner before we attended the symphony."

"You? At a symphony?" Paul half laughed and half smiled. "I must meet the women who would talk you into going to one of those."

"You have meet her." Korn replied with a smile. "You might not know her as well as I do of course. But you have meet her before. She just might be better known to you as (y/n)'s choir director from middle school."

"Mary?" Paul asked as he looked at Korn in disbelief. "Your dating Mary Julius?"

Korn gave Paul a slight smile as he crossed his arms as he looked at him. Paul smiled back at him and gave him a slight laugh.

"That makes sense." Paul replied with a slight smile before he finished off his beer and traded it out for another one as he grabbed an additional one. He opened up both of them, then handed one of them to Korn.

"Here." Paul said as he held out the bottle to Korn.

"Thank you." Korn said as he took the long necked bottle from him.

"I must say that I'm impressed that you stepped out of your usually comfort zone to reach her like that." Paul said as he raised his bottle to take a drink.

"Thank you." Korn said as he returned then took a drink. "Perhaps it's your turn now."

"Perhaps later." Paul said as he looked at the bottle before he look a long drink. "I would be afraid of putting them in danger at this point."

"You do know that your protected here right?" Korn said as he watched carefully. "You and your daughter."

"Here yes." Paul said as he gestured to the citadel building. "But not out there." He continued as he turned back around and looked at the city.

"I can't even protect my own daughter. So why would I want to drag a innocent person into the hell that we have had to live through." Paul said as he dropped his eyes again. "I couldn't even protect my own wife when it really counted."

"You can't keep beating yourself up over that." Korn said to him as he watched him. "You have to know by now, that what happened to Lynn isn't your fault. None of it."

Paul didn't say anything as he kept his head down. He wasn't sure what to believe anymore. He had run every second of those days through his head over and over again as he tried to figure out where everything went wrong. From them breaking into his house by forcing their way in by knife point. To him breaking through the elevator walls with the robot so that he could make his escape with Lynn's body so that he could bring her home for a proper burial. None of it seemed to make any sense. Not then and not now.

https://youtu.be/YIOjZk1_7bo

At first all you could hear was screams. Panicky screams coming from women, children and even men. They seemed to be coming from the streets below. Then you saw people running from one of the streets as they tried to escape . But why are they running? You wonder. Why are they so afraid?

Then as if to answer your question, you saw the trees suddenly ignite as a huge being came walking out of the side street. Your breath caught as you stared at the horns and sword that it carried. Flames danced off of him as he slowly walked out onto the main street. There was no mistaken, it was Ifrit.

You seemed to be transfixed as you watched the civilians run while the glaves ran towards the deity. Only for him to blast an inferno wave of flames at them with the wave of his hand. The blast incinerating half of them in one sweep. Then he turned and seem to look you right in the eye. You could feel the heat from his gaze and presences as if there was a fire in your face.

"Ahhhhh!" You screamed as you sat straight up in bed.

You then fell silent as you looked around the dark bedroom. There was no deity, no flames, no threat. But you could still feel the heat from the flames as if it was burning your very skin. Then you felt the chill of the cool room temp on your hot skin. That was when you became aware that you were covered in sweat as you sat there in the bed. You felt your whole body shaking as your heart was beating hard against your chest and your breathing was only coming is short bursts.

Was that real? Did I just see Ifrit in Insomnia? By why? How? You thought as your mind started going a hundred miles an hour.

Then you jumped as Snowball jumped onto the bed. She meowed at you, then walked up and started rubbing up against you. You started to pet her with shaking hands as you tried to calm down. She purred and nugged you as if trying to distract you. But you just couldn't seem to get the images out of your head.

Why now? You thought to yourself. Why am I seeing this now? I haven't seen any images in so long. I still remember them all. There isn't a detail of any of them that I could possible forget. But why now? After all this time?

Suddenly your door flew open and in ran Noctis followed by Ignis. Both of them had their weapons out and ready to strike. You jumped back to the sudden burst in. Which cause Snowball to jump back down from the bed as she ran off to hide.

Everyone froze for a moment as they looked around as if expecting to find someone creeping around your room. Then as they looked around and saw that there was no one. They both stood back up and released their weapons into a burst of blue essence. You dropped your head as they looked around. You hadn't realize that you had been loud enough to wake them up.

Then as they stood back up, the overhead lights suddenly were flicked on. Everyone then turned and saw your dad standing by the light switch with a serious look on his face. They both stood there staring at him for a moment as if unsure of whether to be relieved or concerned at the sight of him.

"Thank you boys for responding so quickly." Paul said to Noctis and Ignis. "But I can take it from here. Why don't you head back to bed now. She can talk to you about it in the morning."

Ignis and Noctis both looked at you as you sat there in your bed with a shocked look on your face. Then you dropped your head as you brought your knees up to your face as you curled up in a ball. You were actually slightly relieved that your dad had walked in. You really didn't want to have to explain what you had just seen to either of them. Not yet anyway. Not until you were sure of what it all meant.

Besides, you were afraid that they wouldn't understand. After all, these weren't normal dreams or nightmares to some extent. No. This one was just like the other visions that you had had. And you still hadn't quite sorted them out yet. You had almost thought that you were just losing it since you hadn't had them since you had left for Alitissia. But now with this one, you were more unsure then ever.

"But..." Noctis started to argue.

"I understand your concern." Paul said with a reassuring smile. "But it's late. And you need your sleep your highness."

Noctis looked over at you as he tried to get your attention. But you kept your eyes down as if you were lost in thought. He hated not knowing what was going on without talking to you. But it didn't look like your dad was going to give him that chance.

"Let's let it be for now." Ignis quietly said as he scanned your body and could tell that you were still trying to calm down.

But he was glad to see that you weren't at a panicked state.

Shaken, clearly, but not panicking. "She seems fine for now. And we can talk to her about it tomorrow after she has had a chance to talk to her dad."

"Fine." Noctis said in a stern voice. "But if I hear anything else from this room, I'll be back and I won't leave until morning."

"I don't think any of us would leave if we heard anything else coming from this room tonight." Paul answered with a slight smile. "Which is why I'll be staying in here for the remainder of the night."

Both Ignis and Noctis dropped their gazes as they glanced at the floor for a moment. They should have felt better that your dad was with you. But at the sametime, they had gotten so use to looking out for you, that even having your dad take their place wasn't putting them a bit at ease.

"It's okay." You quietly said as you sat there with your arms wrapped around your legs as you looked down. "I'm fine. It was just a nightmare. I'm better now. Really."

Ignis narrowed his eyes as he watched you. He could tell that you weren't being quite honest. And he could sense that you were hiding something. Which was odd for you. He had never known you to hide anything from them. Especially from him.

"Only if you're sure." Ignis answered as he watched you closely.

"Yeah." You quietly said.

"I'll see everyone in the morning." You said then slid back down in your bed as you pretended to go back to sleep.

"You heard her." You heard Paul say to them. "Off to bed then."

You laid there quietly as you heard the door close and saw the lights go back out. You pulled the covers tighter around yourself as you tried to stay calm. If felt like only a few minutes as you laid like that for hours as you kept playing the vision through your head again and again as you memorized as many details as possible. You had done the same thing with all of the other visions. They all meant something, but you weren't sure what any of them were about.

Finally you gave up and looked over at your alarm clock. The green numbers told you that it was 0400. You sighed to yourself. So much for getting some sleep. For you had once again spent more time laying awake then you had asleep. Oh course you were grateful for the few hours that you had gotten. For any sleep was better than none at all.

You rolled over on your bed so that you were facing the main part of the room. You could just make out the silhouette of the couch from your bed as it sat there in front of the tv and in your line of sight to the porch. You dropped your head as you remembered crawling out of bed and joining Ignis on the sofa bed when you had been upset from the last dream. This time though, you knew that he wasn't there. Your dad made sure of that.

You signed to yourself as you sat up and swung your feet out to place them on the floor by the bed. You slowly slid off of the bed and headed to the bathroom to use the restroom. After a few minutes you walked back out so that you could head down to the gym. You figured you might as well start your day. Besides, you figured that you might be able to think clearer once you calmed back down your jitters through physical exercise. Busy body, clear mind. It was one thing that Monica had taught you.

You walked over and turned on your bedside light. Then you stood in front of your suitcase as you pulled out your workout clothes. That was when you heard something stir on the couch. You froze in place as you watched someone sit up. You were slightly relieved to hear your dad groan as he sat up. But then again, you were slightly upset that he hadn't gone back to his own room.

"Is it that time already?" He said as he turned to face you as he placed his arm on the back of the couch.

"If your talking about training time? Then yes." You said coldly as you took your clothes and started to walk them into the bathroom.

"No. That's not what I'm talking about." He calmly said to you.

You stopped in your tracks and turned back to face him. He was giving you a slightly hurt look as he searched your face. You hadn't seen that face before. Not once had he ever showed you any signs of weakness from him until that moment. You couldn't help but stare at him.

"Then what do you mean?" You quietly asked.

"Did I somehow miss you stepping through the door where you become that quiet teenager who no longer wants to talk to her parents anymore?" Paul said as you saw the hurt in his face as it seemed to intensify in his voice.

"I had hoped that you wouldn't be one of those. But I guess that I haven't given you much of a choice now have I." He finished as he dropped his head.

"That's not it." You said as you watched him clenched his jaw as he tried to restrain his emotions.

"Then what is it?" He asked as he slowly raised his head.

You dropped your head and slowly made your way over to the couch. He watched you as you walked over and sat on the other side of the couch from him. You weren't quite sure where to begin. There was so much that was making you frustrated with him. But at the same time, maybe he could help you figure out what these visions were about.

"I'm not quite sure how to talk to you anymore." You said as you kept your head down. "For it seems like everytime I try to help you, you shut the door in my face. Then you push me further away from you. When all I'm trying to do is help."

Paul dropped his head as he clenched his teeth together again. As he listen to your words, they seemed to cut him deeper then any knife could have cut into his flesh. But he knew that you were right. He had been pushing you away again. But this time the words were harsher and the reactions were much stronger.

"I don't mean to push you away." Paul said as kept his gaze away from you. "But at the same time, I'm suppose to be the one in control of everything. I'm supposed to be the one that you come to for your problems. Not the other way around."

"Who says you can't come to me?" You said as you set your clothes down on the table and slid up closer to him. "I may not be mom, but I still know you better than anyone else in this place."

"I suppose you do." He said as he slowly looked back up at you. "But there are still things that I can't talk to you about."

"That's fine." You said as you placed your hand on his. "There's things I won't talk to you about either. But that's what our friends are for."

Paul slightly smiled. "Very true."

"But we can talk about us as a family." You said as you placed your hand on his chin. "You say that you want to protect me. I want to do the same. We're all thats left. There isn't anyone else. And I'm not about to stand still and watch you disappear right in front of me."

Paul looked down and swallowed his pride a bit as his heart started to break at the thought of losing you again. He then looked up and saw the tears starting to form in your eyes as you looked at him.

"I love you dad." You quietly said as you bottom lips started to tremble. "Nothing will ever change that. But let me help you so that we can stay as strong as we were when mom was here."

Paul bit his bottom lip as he fought the tears that were starting to fall down his cheeks. You saw this and couldn't keep your tears contained anymore. So you reached over and wrapped your arms around his neck in the biggest hug that you could give him. You felt your throat tighten up as you tried to keep the tears in. But as he wrapped his arms around you, you could feel him release the pinned up pain that he had been hiding for so long. You pulled him closer as you joined in.

You held each other for what seemed like an eternity before he released you. You slowly sat back as he released you to grab both of your hands. He had his head down at first as he tried to regain his composure. Then after a few deep breaths, he looked back up at you.

"Let's say we go down and do our training session the right way this time?" Paul said as he looked at you with pride and compassion again. You smiled back at him and nodded.

******Author Note******

Ok. Now that they have made up, it will be easier to continue now. But it looks like they might have a visitor who wants to stir up trouble.

Please be sure to join me as they get ready for the Founder's Day Celebration and a ball to remember.

Thanks for reading. :)

***********************