:::DISCLAIMER::: I do not own Gundam Wing, any of its storylines, or any of it's character's/ideas/things.... Please do not sue me because the only things I own are a few boxes of cereal and you don't want them. Trust me! I also own a nice cardboard box and an imaginary computer, but these things have more sentimental value than anything. .N. This fic uses a new concept of mine; I call it reverse first person POV. It's where I describe what happens through my eyes of what a character is doing, but instead of saying their name, I say "You."EX: You went to the store to buy a carton of milk. I'd like to wish that it was my own idea, but the idea belongs to Maynard James Keenan of Tool and A Perfect Circle. 0_0 So, no suing me for that please, okay? P.S. This is my first fic, so criticism is highly recommended. I'd like to thank the Academy... oh... Sorry. I'm just a little bit egotistical.
So email me your flames/opinions/praises at: caliko_chick@yahoo.com Thank you!
"talking"
'thinking'
reversed first person POV, you instead of I
************ Story starts/ends
============ POV change you to I, I to you
~*~*~*~*~*~* Flashback starts/ends
***********************************************************************************************
You're lying in a hospital bed, aware of the noises surrounding you. You can hear the constant steady beating of the heart monitor, the steady pumping sound of the respirator, and the shuffling of the feet around you. You cannot feel your body and you're not sure who or what is around you. You feel asleep, but you're still conscience in a way. You hear the people around you, some crying, and some shouting. You aren't quite sure why you're even there. You realize your eyes aren't open. You struggle to get them open, but you can't. Your eyelids are not working right. You wonder what is going on. You have no memory of how you got there, or who you are. You keep trying to regain memory or consciousness, but it's no use. You fall into another deep sleep.
===============================================================================================
"Is he in here?" Hilde asked the others as she arrived in the hospital.
"Yes," Heero responded. 'It's all my fault he's in there... If I had only gone with him,' Heero thought.
"Oh, I hope he's alright," Hilde said.
"The doctor says his vitals are doing better than they were when he came in. They still have him hooked up to the respirator in case he goes into cardiac arrest, " Wufei said.
"What happened?" Hilde asked.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It had seemed like an easy mission. All they had needed to do was go into the World Federation's Headquarters and get a file on the agents responsible for the attack on the L5 colony. So simple, in fact, he told Heero to go back to make sure all the things were in order on Earth. Since this promised a little free time, Heero has insisted not to leave. But Relena knew how to keep him on the ship. She had simply locked him in her room while his partner left. By the time Heero was able to knock down the double enforced steel door, he was already gone.
"Damn it!" Heero shouted at Relena, who was chuckling at Heero. "Come here. Let me tend to your wounds, " Relena offered.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The doctor came in. "Your friend is still in critical condition, but he's getting better. I'd give him a few more days to recover. Even after he's out, he still might not be the same man he was before. He might seem disoriented and confused often. He suffered a concussion when he was injured and he sustained several cuts and bruises. Then he suffered from some sort of trauma and in that trauma, he injured his side and broke several ribs. It's hard to tell at this point, but I'm hoping that the concussion will not interfere with his memory, although it might."
'It's all my fault. Part of being on this team is the protection of all the gundam pilots. Why was I so easily distracted?' Heero thought. He looked over at Relena, who looked even more distraught than he did. 'How could she distract me so easily?'
Relena caught Heero looking at her and tried to smile, but it looked out of place on her grief stricken face.'Why did I let him convince me to keep Heero on the ship?' she asked herself. No answer came to mind than the one she already knew. She dropped her head down to stare into her lap. She closed her eyes and twisted her hands together. Heero came over next to her and sat by her. He put an arm around her shoulder and held her there.
===============================================================================================
Every once in a while, you hear a voice or two creep into your dreams. A male voice saying "Hey buddy, sorry for not going with you back there. I hope you get better soon." or a female saying "Honey, you have to get better...I don't know what I'd do without you." You think that these voices sound familiar. You aren't quite sure who either voice is, but the thing that sticks out the most to you is that both of the voices had a touch of love in them. So you were important. You were loved by at least two people. 'Who are they?' you think. ' For them to love me, they must be pretty important to me.' They sounded like such nice people. You wish you could remember them.
===============================================================================================
The music playing in the hospital waiting room would be enough to drive a man, or a woman, insane, but others, it would put to sleep. Such was the case for Relena. Soon, she was fast asleep in Heero's arms. Her face was streaked with tears and smudged with dirt. She looked like a mess, but at least she looked at peace. Heero held onto her tightly and shuddered when he thought about her being the one in the hospital bed. It was bad when it was his partner, but he'd freak out if it were Relena instead. Heero looked around him at all the people who were there for the same reasons. Some of the others had gone home, but Relena had decided to stay. Heero had decided to stay with her, because he couldn't bear the thought of her being alone in such a place of sadness. He looked at the other people's faces and saw a combination of emotions here. He saw gladness, sadness, anger, and pain. He felt a combination of almost all of them. Relena shivered in her sleep and Heero, careful to not wake her, took his coat from the seat next to him and laid it over her. He thought back to a time when she had shown him the same compassion.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
It had been two years before. He had been out in his gundam, in true Heero fashion, looking for enemies to kill. But then, an oncoming avalanche of enemies attacked him. These enemies worked for the World Federation and were ordered to destroy any gundam pilots they came in contact with. They had missile launchers and attempted to destroy the gundam and its pilot. It was a huge fight and the battle left Heero breathless and scarred. Wing Zero was in no good shape and Heero was worse off than the gundam was. Relena found the pilot and took him to a nearby hospital, against his will. She held his hand while the operations were going on to remove the shards of metal embedded into his body. She felt his hand squeeze around his. He'd never forget how he felt at that moment. She was there. That's all that mattered to him then and still was all that mattered now.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
When Hilde came back the next day, she saw Heero's body closed tightly around Relena's frame. They were both asleep, but they both still looked completely exhausted. She walked over to the couple and gently woke up Heero.
"Uh... Oh Hilde. Hi. What time is it?" Heero said, groggily.
"It's almost ten o'clock. You guys must be starving. Did you eat anything last night?" Hilde asked.
"No," Heero replied. Then he nudged Relena to wake her up.
"Huh?" Relena said as she woke up. "Oh, Hilde. It's sp nice to see you, again. Are the rest of the guys here?"
"Not yet. I called Wufei and told him to call the rest and tell them to get their butts up here," Hilde said. "Are you hungry?"
"Yeah, a little...I'm not sure how much food my stomach could take right now. I'm feeling so nauseous right now," Relena said. "I've been feeling like that since I got the news."
The three walked down the hospital hall to find the cafeteria. They got some pancakes and sausage from the counter and paid for it. They sat at a table and ate their food. No one said a word, but for different reasons. Heero barely spoke anyway, Relena was still feeling tired, and Hilde was extremely depressed. She always thought nothing this bad ever happened to a gundam pilot. They were practically invincible. Well, that thin ice had been shattered this time. 'Even after he's out, he still might not be the same man he was before. He might seem disoriented and confused often,' the doctor's words echoed in her head. She cringed at the thought of him being disoriented. He might need someone to feed him. She felt a tear slide down her face. She knew if he died, she'd be somewhat to blame. After all, she was the one to give them the mission from HQ. If she hadn't done so, he wouldn't be in that hospital bed and she wouldn't have to be here in this hospital.
The three sat in silence as Wufei and the others walked in.
"The nurse at the front desk said you might be in here," Wufei said. "Are you okay, Hilde?"
"Yeah... I'm fine," Hilde responded. She sighed and Wufei knew what she feared. He was dying. That's all that she needed. 'Why didn't I insist on following them?' Wufei questioned himself. 'Why did I keep that promise?'
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Hey guys. We have a new mission," Hilde reported on the screen. "We need someone to get into the World Federation's headquarters and get us a file. We're gonna need a good team, with someone who can be a master of disguise."
"I'll take it," Heero said. "I'll take my partner and we'll go down and check things out."
"Why don't I take it?" Wufei asked Heero. "That way, we don't have to worry about what's going on inside."
"What's that supposed to mean? That I can't handle a little pressure?" Heero questioned Wufei.
"No, I'm just saying that I know that I can get the job done without blowing everything up," Wufei said.
"And I would blow everything up?"
"No, but your psycho partner might."
"Just for that, I'll handle it. I can do the mission without my partner. I'll do it, Hilde," Heero stated firmly.
"I don't think that's such a good idea Heero. You better both go in there. I don't want either of you getting hurt. Heero, you and I both know how his head gets under this kind of pressure. You better make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, " Hilde said.
"I got it."
"And Wufei?"
"Yes?" Wufei responded.
"Don't try to follow them, okay?" Hilde asked.
"Ha! You actually think that I'd let you, a woman, boss me around?"
"Heero, you have my permission to convince him," Hilde said.
"You better not follow us, Chang. Other wise, it's your neck!" Heero growled.
"Alright," Wufei said, slightly afraid.
"Promise?" Hilde asked him.
"Yeah, alright. I won't follow them. I promise," Wufei pouted. 'Since when do I listen to women?'
"Remember Wufei. A promise is a promise," Heero said.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
The four walked down the long hall and went to meet the others in the lobby. When they all had arrived, they walked down to the patient's room. They each took their time in talking with him; each saying what they thought would help him through his struggle with his body. Wufei came last. As he walked inside, a rush of doctors and nurses gathered around his body in an attempt to revive him. One nurse injected him with a clear liquid. "Hurry up. Say what you must. We might get some activity soon. Today is vital in his recovery. If he doesn't wake up today, he might not make it," the doctor said.
"You better get well boy, or else. Your woman is constantly crying and I have to cheer her up. And you know how much I hate doing things like that," Wufei said, once he was close enough to the bed. "Really man, we need you. Please make it through this."
===============================================================================================
The voices became more familiar as you lay on the bed and they continued to talk to you. Always the same thing: "Get better. I love you." You apparently mean a great deal to the female. Then, another male voice, different than the first came in and barked, "You better get well boy, or else. Your woman is constantly crying and I have to cheer her up. And you know how much I hate doing things like that." You keep having the same dream. One where you are controlling a giant machine-type thing and something goes wrong. You remember the burning feeling you felt just before you half-woke up. You're eyes groggily open and you see a black haired Chinese man. You're eyes look around the white room and you can barely make out some of the faces of doctors and nurses. The Chinese man's face sort of smiles...it's more of a smirk. You try to concentrate on his face, but then you feel like you're slipping again. You fall back.... down, down, down into the blackness...
===============================================================================================
"He woke up!" Wufei shouted in the hospital room. "I saw him looking at me. He seemed confused."
A bunch of doctors huddled around him and one shoved Wufei out of the way. "We're losing him."
The rest of the voices became blurred and that one voice ran through Wufei's head over and over again. 'We're losing him...We're losing him...'
Wufei was pushed out of the room before he knew what was going on. Wufei collapsed on the floor in shock. His hands formed a tight grip over his ears to try to block out the sound of that one voice. Nothing worked. The next thing he saw was blackness.
"Wufei!" Sally Po shouted as she saw him fall. She rushed over to him and lifted his body. She brought him back into the waiting room and laid him on a couch. She gently placed a blanket over him. She knew he was in shock and the best thing he could do was sleep.
A doctor came into the waiting room and saw the group. He walked over to Hilde and told her something quietly. She had a look of horror on her face, and everyone expected the worst.
"He's gone into a coma. Deeper than he was before. He may have waken up for a minute, but he went back under. Now his body is starting to reject consciousness. The doctors don't expect him to make it through the night. And if he does, he'll either be in a coma for the rest of his life, or he'll be mentally unstable and/or retarded. Looks like there's nothing that can be done from here," Hilde said, very sadly.
Everyone was in shock from the news.
"Is there a chance that he'll come out completely normal?" Heero asked, while holding Relena tightly, as she cried.
"The doctor says a very slight one," Hilde said.
"Do we even know how it happened?" Heero asked.
"The specialist at the headquarters is trying to piece together both his gundam and the scenario that would've led to his injuries," Hilde said. "So far, our best guess is that he was piloting the gundam towards the colony and he was hit by something. He then, lost control of the gundam and it crash-landed on the colony. They found it and called the authorities and the medics. Then they brought him here," Hilde reported.
===============================================================================================
You see yourself going through your life, watching your life pass before your eyes. You remember the last scene where you were in the gundam. You watch in horror as World Federation mobile suits ambush you. You see yourself try to win the battle, but there are too many. You watch them destroy the gundam. You see yourself black out and the gundam crashes into Colony L5. Then, you see some people pull you out of the wreckage and drag you to safety. Then, you see yourself being loaded into a truck and you see yourself arrive at the hospital. The medics go through your stuff and call the Preventer's headquarters. They inform the headquarters what they saw and what a few people said happened. Headquarters agrees to inform all your friends and all involved parties that they can reach. You then see each of your friends walk into your room and you see each of them put something near you. You see a girl take a ring off her finger and put it on a chain round your neck. She kisses you, then leaves. Your eyes tear up as you see this simple act of love. You decide that this shouldn't be how your life ends.
You struggle and by never giving up, you manage to fight your way back to the surface of yourself. 'Never give up!' echoes in your head, you remember that girl said it to you before leaving, so you don't.
===============================================================================================
"He's coming back! Doctor, it's a miracle," the gang hears from the hospital room. Hilde's ear perked up.
"Did you all hear that?" Hilde asked the gang. After several nods, she shrieks with excitement. "Quick, wake Wufei up."
After they had gotten Wufei up, the doctor came in. She explained that he had revived himself, through some miracle. "You're all pretty lucky to have this young man be part of your group. This kid sure showed some serious courage by not giving up the fight."
"We are pretty proud to know him. He's always shown that courage, when he's not joking around, or trying to make us laugh," Hilde smirked.
"Yeah," Heero agreed. "He's a great guy."
===============================================================================================
You can't even tell how much time had passed, but when you open your eyes, you see the whole gang around your bed. As you look from face to face, you remember each person's name. You see Wufei, Heero, Relena, Quatre, Trowa, Catherine, Dorothy, Sally Po, and Hilde.
"Duo? Duo, are you awake?" Hilde asks. She grabs your hand and you respond by squeezing. You open your mouth to talk, but your mouth's too dry to. You move your lips in silence and she moves her head closer to hear you. You slowly repeat what you said.
==============================================================================================
"I can't believe you! Duo Maxwell, if you were feeling better, I'd slap you. I'd make you go back into your coma!" Hilde screeched at him. Her face turned bright red. Duo's dry lips formed a smile, a big toothy, silly grin.
"What did he say?" Heero asked.
"He told me to get you guys out of here and give him a..." Hilde's voice trailed off.
"A what?" Relena asked. Hilde whispered something in her ear and she started laughing. "I can't believe he'd say something like that."
"Think of who it is," Hilde said.
"Tell me!" Dorothy said. Relena told her, who smirked and whispered it to Quatre, who turned bright red and said it through his teeth to Trowa, who responded by... doing nothing and told Heero, who turned to Wufei and smiled. Soon, the word was spread around the circle and finally got to Sally Po who was so shocked that she turned and fell into Relena, who tripped over Sally's foot and ran straight into Heero, who fell on top of Wufei, who pulled Quatre down, who grabbed Trowa's foot, which threw him off balance, causing him to fall into Catherine, who grabbed Dorothy for balance, but ended up knocking her down as well. Hilde was the only one left standing and she quickly jumped out of the way and watched all of her friends fall all over each other.
"Well, I guess I don't need just you to make me laugh, Duo. This group of monkeys here do fine while you're gone," Hilde told him. "Now you guys get out of here. I've got to talk business with Duo because as soon as he recovers, we're gonna need him again." She waited until everyone left and everything was settled before pulling up a chair to his hospital bed. Duo pressed the "call nurse" button and a nurse came. He asked for water in the only way he could, pointing to his mouth and making noises. She must have understood because not long after, she came back with a glass of water, which Duo slurped down quite quickly. Once Duo's thirst was quenched, he motioned for Hilde to lean closer to him.
"I... love you, Hilde.... Thank... you... for your... advice...If you hadn't... said...'Never... give up... I would... have," Duo gasped out.
"You're welcome. And thanks for at least listening to what I said, for once," Hilde said.
"You're one... hell of a girl.... thanks for being there..." was the last thing Duo said before falling asleep. She held onto his hand and waited for the recovery to begin. He would need her. She was sure of that and she vowed to herself to always be there for him.
***********************************************************************************************
So there it is. In case you've forgotten, my email is caliko_chick@yahoo.com so you can email me your opinions. Thanks for reading
~Kleopatra~