Hola, minna-san. (Gotta love mixing your languages!) Anywho, I'm back again, with another fic. And this one's short, sad, and even a little funny. Poor Duo (-_-)*
Anywho, warning time, this is a 1xR fic, so don't get mad, cuz I warned you. But, WAIT!!!
Please read it? Please? *begs with big watery anime eyes* I'll R&R you too! *big smile* Promise!
Ok, enough with that! On with the fic!
Dealing with an Angel
* * *
The TV flickered to life, and the picture came into focus slowly. It was nearing two in the A.M., and for some odd reason, the perfect soldier found himself sleepless.
'Like I need all that much to begin with.' Heero Yuy thought with a wry twist of his lips.
The screen flickered once more as the color balanced, he had left it on a news station. There was a stout newswoman on, in a crisp suit despite the late hour, and a small picture of Relena in state uniform in the upper right corner.
"And in breaking news, KCDV has learned that the attack on Relena Peacecraft was not fatal, but..."
Heero's nearly black eyes widened in shock. There was a rushing sound in his ears, and it seemed all he could hear was his heartbeat.
'Relena....' The name crossed his mind, bringing with it images..Dancing together when they were only fifteen...The first time he had told her he would kill her.....When she had torn up his birthday card for her, and mouthed to him "Give it to me in person, next time."
Something had kicked in and kept him from sleeping. The wrenching feeling that he had tried to ignore clenched Heero's gut. Something was wrong, and it concerned Relena.
"The attack on Relena Peacecraft was not fatal, but the Vice Foreign Minister is in a coma, in grave condition in the ICU ward of St. Regina's hospital in Tokyo. The attack came only a few hours ago, at her home in the Cinq Kingdom. So far, police say that it could be anything from terrorists to an enemy political party. All factors are being considered at this time."
Heero jumped from his bed. Tokyo was only a few hours from here, he could be there by sunrise. Heero changed into dark jeans and a jacket. He grabbed only the essentials: gun, keys, money, and was out the door in less than a minute.
* * * *
Quatre sighed, leaning back against the wall in the uncomfortable plastic waiting room chair. He felt Trowa stir nearby, and glanced over at him, noting his sleeping face. Duo was sprawled across from him, Hilde gently pillowing his braided head in her lap. Her face was likewise peaceful, drifting in the greyness of sleep.
Milliardo, Noin, and Wufei all sat in a corner nearby, but far enough away as not to disturb their sleeping companions. They were talking in hushed tones, voices and faces serious on the gravity of the situation. They were most likely discussing guarding tactics, who would take what shift when. Or, the way the attack had come, so easliy, and when no one expected it...
Quatre looked down, his teal eyes filling for what seemed the thirtieth time that day. The person they all wanted-needed-to be here for Relena, was missing. 'But how can he be so oblivious? Surely he's seen a newscast by now, knows what happened..'
Another thought wormed its way into Quatre's mind. 'Perhaps...he has seen a newscast, and......and...hasn't come? NO! Heero wouldn't....would he?' The tears that had threatened to overflow earlier fell onto Quatre's cheeks, splats of emotion that did little to lessen the worry he had for his friend just inside the room to his back-or the friend that was still missing.
'I swear to God, Heero, if you do not come...'
* * * *
The sun rose over the hills, barely clearing the tall buildings to shed her golden light onto the hard packed streets. The few flowers, in answer to her greeting, turned to her. They soaked up the glowing sustenance, gentle and fragile in their beauty, but voracious in spirit.
'Like Relena...' The errant thought crept into the tousled brown head, as hard, steely blue eyes picked a way between the early-morning traffic. The hospital was near, and Heero only sped up in his haste to get there.
He pulled into the parking lot doing around 110 kph. Several ambulance attendants yelled at him, but Heero didn't care. He practically jumped off the bike, and ran through the sliding glass doors to the ER.
"What floor is the ICU on?" Heero grabbed the first nurse he could find.
The nurse, not used to being set upon by anyone that feriocious, paused while answering. The burning in this young mans eyes terrified her..."Level four. But, young man, young man!"
Heero was off and running before the nurse had said "man" the first time. He found an elevator, and hurriedly pushed 4, over and over until the doors crept to a close.
When Heero heard the ding that signified that he had reached the floor, it had seemed an eternity. He practically burst through the doors, and ran forward to the nurses station.
"Where is Relena Peacecraft?" Heero glared at the male nurse.
"Sir, unless you are family, I cannot give out that information. You may however-"
"WHERE IS SHE?"Heero had reached over the desk, grasping the man's scrubs and lifting him off the floor-all with one arm.
The nurse swallowed nerviously, and managed to get out a strangled "Room 11."
Heero dropped the nurse as if he burned his hand, and set off at a fast lope towards Relena's room.
* * * *
Duo hummed to himself, balancing the six cups of coffee and one cup of tea, easily in his arms. He was having a harder time, however, keeping the four sticky buns in wrapped packages between his arms and his body.
'Damn plastic packaging....'Duo wriggled his arms in closer to his body, hoping that the buns would stop their slow, inevitable path to the floor.
Just then, rounding the corner at the fasted speed known to man, someone smashed right into Duo, spilling scalding coffee all over his black minister's habit, and managing to squish the buns in the process.
The person-whoever it was-did not stop, just seemed to jump right back up, and keep on running.
Duo sat up, aware of the stinging pains all over his torso-not to mention other, slightly more sensitive areas.
Quatre burst out of the door to the waiting room and into the hall, looking first towards Relena's room, and then back again to Duo.
"Duo!" Quatre exclaimed, running over to his old friend, and helping him up.
Duo clutched Quatre's extended arm, barely managing to speak one word. "Ice."
Quatre winced as he saw where and how much coffee had been spilt on his friend, and finished helping him up. "Lets go to the nurses station, maybe they can get you in some clean clothes and some ice."
Duo only nodded emphatically, and walked gingerly towards the station.
* * * *
Heero jumped up from whoever he had ran into, his objective was far too close for him to get distracted now. He almost ran past the door, and stopped and skidded to a halt when he realized which one was hers.
He reached forward, and gently opened the door.
The first thing Heero noticed when he saw her was that she was breathing. He sighed. 'I got here and she is ok. I got here and she is ok. I got here and she is ok.I got here and she is ok...' the words echoed through the pilots mind, over and over.
But from her face, she was far from okay. She was pale, the usual rosy blush gone from her cheeks. Her hair no longer shone the way it usually had, her eyes were closed. Heero felt a mixed blessing in this-for to open her eyes and see the lack of life there-or to leave them shut, and not force him to see her withering spirit die away.
He walked on unsteady feet towards the bed, and took a seat in the nearby chair. He reached out, and touched her hand. It was so cold...
Heero grasped her hand in his, rubbing, chafing hers so as to gain some warmth. It was to no avail.
He bowed his head on the side of her bed, her icy hand pressed to his cheek. 'I failed you. I said I would always protect you, and now....this is all my fault. All my fault! How could I ever let this happen? How? Why would anyone want to hurt you? Why? You are goodness, and happiness, you never hurt anyone in your life! All you strive for is others and this is how they repay you? Why...' A warm trickle of liquid mingled on the sheets, Heero bolted upright, afraid that he had hurt her more than he already had, by making her bleed..
But the sheets were still clean. Slightly darker in its stain, but no more so than water. Heero brought his free hand up to his face, his jaw lack in shock.
'I'm crying? But...soldiers don't cry...'
* * * *
Duo and Quatre arrived at the nurse station to see and hear the male nurse ranting to the charge nurse about some madman.
"And he just charges in here, demanding to know where she is, and I started to tell him our policy, but he just yanked me by my scrubs, with one arm no less, right off the floor and asked again! I was in complete shock by now-"
Duo and Quatre looked at each other, and back at the scrubs the man was wearing. They had been torn, and the look on the man's face was enough to convince them.
"Heero." They both said at the same time.
"Excuse me, ma'am, but did the young man have unruly brown hair, dark blue eyes, and glare at you like he wanted you to die?" Quatre asked.
"Yea. How'd you know?" The nurse asked, eyes wide.
"He's a friend of ours. Don't worry, we'll talk to him." Duo assured, smiling. "In the mean time, could I get some help? We had an unfortunate accident with the coffee." Duo smiled at the woman, ignoring the still fuming look on the other male nurse's face.
"Oh, of course. Right this way, young man."The smiling charge nurse led Duo to a bathroom, while Quatre went back to the waiting room, relieved.
* * * *
Heero sat alone in the room, thankful that none of the other pilots were in there just now. He needed time alone with her. To tell her everything...
He wiped the tears away, but they just kept on coming. Heero didn't understand this, but he knew what he had to do.
Wait until they stop.
But they didn't.
The tears, crystal clear orbs of emotion, just kept crawling down his face. Heero didn't understand. 'I thought crying would make it hurt less, but....it.....doesn't..'
Heero would have remained there, wondering the emotional and physical mechanics of crying, had she not stirred.
"Heero..." Her lips parted, and the name fell off her tongue so easily, despite the parched throat and aching she must be experiencing.
"Shh. Relena, don't talk. You have to save your strength. I am here now. I will protect you." Heero found himself suddenly hovering over her.
Relena's lips moved into a semblance of her dazzling smile. But her eyes were shadowed with fear. "I...have to....tell you.....something..."she choked out the words.
Heero looked into her eyes, and saw her urgency. 'She's afraid....afraid she'll die.' "No. Relena, listen to me. You will recover. You will get better, and then I will never leave your side. This will never happen to you ever again. Do you hear me Relena? Never again. Forever."
Relena's eyes brightened visibly, and Heero couldn't tell if it was him, or something else-but for a second, they seemed to be like they used to be...bright with hope that everyone else lacked, having the strength of spirit even he didn't have. It flickered, and something inside Heero-deep down-gave way. 'What is this feeling? This tugging of my heart...this positive feeling? Is this...hope?"
Relena's eyes closed slowly, and Heero would have jumped on top of her to start CPR, but a voice stopped him.
"She is only sleeping."
* * * *
Milliardo stood up, walking the length of the waiting room. 'Where is that boy with the coffee?' He ran a hand through his platnium locks, stress emanating from every movement he made.
Just then, a black figure whizzed by the door, someone closely resembling..
"Heero?" Lucrezia Noin's voice asked no one in particular.
Six sets of eyes all looked towards the door.
Noin's eyes caught Milliardo's. The question in them was simple.
Milliardo shook his head. 'It was the boy, but he will need time alone with her..'
Quatre got up and rushed out to the hallway.
* * * *
Heero would have normally reached for his gun, but he realized, that wasn't his first instinct with this-person-whoever it was. He turned, smutty blue eyes meeting golden ones.
"She is only sleeping." The nurse repeated. Her rusty curls were taken back from her face, piled into a bun twisted around a pencil. The light glinted off the curls, creating a golden halo effect around her, even in the dull, placid enviroment of the hospital. Her face was gentle, her skin ivory, a slight blush on her cheeks. Her little mouth was pink, soft and effortlessly pulling itself into a smile. Her amber colored eyes twinkled with some inner mischief, a spirit not broken.
Her scrubs were uncharacteristically white. Everything on her was white, from the cross around the graceful neck to the shoe covers on her feet.
Heero took in every aspect of this strange nurse with his blue eyes, the lack of trust clear in the jet colored depths.
The nurse's smile softened, and Heero found himself thinking, 'That is the way a mother smiles at her children...'
She moved into the room, gently closing the door behind her. She brought a clipbaord from behind her back, and walked to the oppisite edge of the Relena's bed, amber eyes never leaving off their contact with the blue ones across from her.
"So, will you tell me how the patient is doing today?" She laid the clipbaord down on the bed, her hand grazing Relena's in the action. Relena stirred at the touch, her ocean colored eyes fluttering open at the touch.
"Oh..."Relena sighed. "You came back, tenshi."
The nurse nodded, and Heero noted the soft motherly smile on her face again.
"Of course I did. Now, sleep." The nurse almost purred the last word, and Relena's eyes closed dutifully, her chest rising and faling in a regularity she didn't have before.
Heero looked at the nurse, eyes wide. "Who are you?" His harsh monotone broke the feeling of peace within the room.
The smile faded from her face, and her eyes swung from Relena's face to his. "A nurse."
"Where's your ID tag?" Heero countered.
"Oh, right here." The Nurse pivoted, showing him a large plastic-and no suprise here, white-tag with silver letters. It read: R.N. Arella. ICU. St. Regina's Hospital.
Heero nodded once. He didn't like to be proven wrong.
"So, can you tell me how she is?" Arella leaned forward, pulling a stool up behind her to sit on.
Heero sneered. "No. You're the nurse."
Arella, only smiled and chuckled. "A true warrior."
Heero felt his body go taut, and was suprised to feel himself flinch. Her remark was oddly unsettling to him.
The silence in the room was unbroken but for the bleeps of the machines, dutifully going on, marking Relena's bitter fight for her life. Heero became aware of Arella's eyes on him, and he turned, never one to run, and stared back. The amber eyes that had glowed before with warmth and life now glew with something else-something Heero found disconcerting. And that made it all the worse, as Heero had only felt disconcerted once before in his life.
The staring continued until Heero could take it no longer. Those eyes, those golden eyes, he had seen before. Out of the corner of his eye, on the battlefield, over his shoulder in his gundam, accompanied by a frightful whsipering of feathers, golden in light and soft as cloud in their lack of substantiality...
Heero broke the gaze, and thought,'I have seem you before, you impostor. Who are you?'
"Yes, she is on the brink. So close to death. And this far from life. Did you ever realize, that people think the gateway to Heaven is at the oppisite end of the gateway to Hell, and yet, if you think about it, they are but a hairwidth apart. One step, one stumble, and you can immediately end up on the wrong path. Or, vice versa." Arella's soft voice broke the sacred hushness of the vaulted room.
Heero listened, for once, and realized the truth in her words. Here he was, next to someone he had promised to protect always-would willingly die for-and he had forsaken her. He had fallen on the wrong path.
"Do you think all this"Arella's fair hand gestured at all the machines, the elaborate pumps and IV's, "is worth it? All to save one life? But, is her life worth living? She must be so lonely. Her constant companions heartache and sorrow for transgressions she had no part in. Her duty in itself, solemnity in the worst of storms. Can you tell me, what would make it all worthwhile? Can you?"
Heero's eyes left Relena's face, and looked back to the seemingly familiar one of the person across the bed.
"You can. You know it yourself. But who will give this to her? She has been left without, faced with work only she can do. You know as well as I-she holds the gossamer strings of this world together. They are fresh, and soft in their hold. She must tighten them, harden them. But without strength-" A slightly tremulous frown played over the soft flesh of the nurses dewy mouth. "Tis' hopeless."
Heero's inner training revolted against Arella's statement. 'Nothing is ever just done. There is always a way out of any situation.'
Arella's golden hued eyes seemed to laugh at him. It wasn't until Heero was about to take the fool woman's head off that he realized he had voiced the thought out loud.
"What would be the way out this time, Heero Yuy? She lives a life without love. I personally don't see how she went on this long." Arella looked on the young man with pity, which inflamed Heero even more.
"What? Can't you see? She is so strong! You said it yourself. She holds everything together! She will-CAN go on. She has to." Heero's outburst did not seem to frighten the nurse one bit. He was standing suddenly, arms thrown wide beseechingly. Heero's vehemence suprised himself-but he could see, not this 'nurse'. He took his seat again, awkward in the rush of forbidden emotion.
She leaned across Relena, looking Heero dead in the eye. "What for? Peace? Herself? Or maybe....someone else?"
Heero for once, found himself unable to look someone in the eye. "She has friends." He replied, his voice gruff with feeling.
"I think you, even a gundam pilot, knows that you don't live life for the love of friends. You live it for the love of another. Who will give that to her?" Arella countered this time, quicker than Heero had thought her to be.
"There are many that would have her." Heero was growing tired of this nurse and her games.
"Yes. Many would have her, but who will love a heart that was never their's in the first place?" Her voice had dropped to a whisper. Golden eyes locked with blue ones, their owner's knowledge mocking the former Wing Zero pilot.
Heero shook his head. 'What was this? This feeling in his chest, this aching? Was it?....it couldn't be....but...'
"I have found, that in all my travels, and all my time here, love as pure as hers is to be cherished. Don't run because you are afraid. Love, Heero. That is all that matters. To love, and be loved. Life is too short. Trust me, in the blink of an eye it can end. Surely, as a veteran, a warrior, you understand that."
Heero looked up at the nurse. There was a pleading in those eyes-and a bitterness as well. She had loved, and lost.
As if reading his thoughts, she said next, "It is worth more to love and to loose, than to never have loved at all. Pain fades, but love does not. Don't you see? And while life will fade, and eventually pass away, love-true love-will not. That is what she offers you. Please, take it. And never let go."
Heero's head was spinning. 'I am a soldier, the perfect soldier. Soldier's do not have emotions.'
"How long will it take you to realize? You are human, Yuy, and have emotions. What do you think those tears were? That frightful, dread feeling in your chest? You are afraid. That Relena will die. That she will pass and you will never get the chance to tell her. How long will you bet that life will be kind and let her live? You can't afford that chance." Arella's voice broke through Heero's thoughts once more.
'Why is it so hard to breathe?' Heero took in a ragged breath. "Well, what should I do? She's asleep, I can do nothing!"
Arella crossed her arms, leaning back on the stool, golden eyes narrowing. "You know exactly what you have to do."
Heero looked at the nurse in her defiant pose. She certainly had her mind set-and Relena.....she might not make it past the night....
Heero stood over Relena, brushing the hair back from her ear. He gently leaned down, and whispered, "Ai shiteru."
He kissed her cheek, once, and stood back up. For some odd reason, the room seemed brighter, and he could breath much easier than he could before.
Arella however, seemed to be displeased.
"What?" Heero asked indignantly. "Isn't this what you want?"
Arella could only nod. There were tears in her eyes....the nurse stood up, and it wasn't until then that Heero realized how tall she was. How strong she seemed to be...
Arella too leaned over Relena, and kissed her forehead. The next few words she mouthed were almost barely imperceptible, even by Heero's sharp hearing.
"Awake and arise, Daughter of Adam...."
Relena stirred in the bed, her eyes opening....and searching....
Heero.
"Heero. I...I..."Relena's eyes were now wide open, the light that was there burning like never before.
"Shh. Its ok. I am here now. Nothing will ever happen to you, ever again."Heero grasped her hand, and found his heart beating erraticly at her slight smile.
* * * *
"Milliardo, sit down. You're making the rest of us dizzy." Noin's voice cut through the hours of fatigue that surrounded the former Lightning Count.
Milliardo, by no means obedient, sat down anyways, tired of pacing, and decided to move his foot back and forth.
"Where is Duo with the coffee? And Quatre? Where did they get to?"
"Here we are!" Quatre cried, walking through the door with three cups of coffee.
Duo followed him in with coffee, tea, and new sticky buns, in a set of pink scrubs.
Hilde's eyes lit up when she saw him. "Well, don't you look like a sexy-"
"Please, honey, save it for later." Duo winked at her.
Quatre walked to Noin and Milliardo, handing them their coffee."I think you should know, Heero is-"
"In Relena's room."Noin and Milliardo replied, taking the warm cups of energy gratefully.
"Why, Duo. You look an onna even more than usual in those clothes." Wufei snickered at his friend's outfit.
"They only had nursery scrubs long enough to fit me. So I guess I'm stuck in these."Duo's hand was behind his head, the grin never leaving his face.
"I would say they highlight your eyes Duo." Quatre sat back down by Trowa, and exchanged a glass of coffee for his preferred tea.
Duo chuckled. "They do, don't they?"
Noin and Milliardo smiled. "Do you think Heero's having any positive effect on her?" Noin asked quietly, while sipping from her coffee unobtrusively.
Milliardo reached over and squeezed the woman's hand in an uncharacteristic show of affection. "I'm sure."
* * * *
Two nurses ran by the waiting room, a flash of green against the pale pastel colors of the hospital hall. They were heard saying something about odd chart readings in room 11...
"Whats going on?" Hilde asked.
En masse, all of the group ran down the hall to Relena's room.
* * * *
Milliardo was the first of the group to reach Relena's room. He beheld Heero, standing by Relena's bedside, refusing to budge when a nurse asked him too. The other nurse was busy taking vitals.
"Really, I am quiet fine..." A voice broke through the semi-chaos of the room.
"Lena..." Milliardo pushed through Heero and the nurse at the bedside to get to his newly awakened sister.
"Lena...you're.....you're..." Milliardo opened and closed his mouth
"Awake?" Relena suggested, smiling at her brother.
Milliardo grasped his sister into the little semblanc of a hug he could give her. "Yes, Lena, awake. How do you feel? Ok? Do you hurt? Is everything alright?"
"I'm fine. Now." Relena looked and smiled at the perfect soldier, standing beside her head.
Heero just stared at the ground.
Milliardo stood, straightening his spine. "Yuy." He nodded brusquely.
"Zechs." Heero looked back at him.
"Relena!" Duo and the others filled the room.
They ringed around her bed after some gave her hugs, some nods, and someone just a short,to-the-point, "Hello, onna."
* * * *
Heero looked out the window above Relena's bed. The curtains had been drawn back, and the full moon was visible, shining onto Relena's head and lighting the dirty blond tresses with hints of silver.
The afternoon had gone well. Relena had chatted with all her friends until she had grown tired. At that, Heero had forced them all out of the room, even Zechs and Noin.
She had slept most of the day since then, and Heero didn't mind. It gave him time to think about her, about what had happened.
'I told her I loved her. Do I?' Heero thought, gazing at the slumbering figure. Through his thoughts, Arella's words
came back to him...
" ' And while life will fade, and eventually pass away, love-true love-will not. That is what she offers you. Please, take it. And never let go. ' "
Heero smiled wryly at the thought. 'If the others knew that a woman-a nurse, dedicated to the healing of others, no less-had convinced me to tell Relena how I feel....A nurse?' Heero's thoughts quickened in their direction.
'No nurse in this ward wears white scrubs. No nurse in this ward has silver lettering on their tags. No nurse in this ward....There was no nurse in this ward was dressed like Arella. Therefore, Arella was no nurse.'
Heero quickly thought back over his languages..Arella. Arella was Hebrew. 'Arella is Hebrew for....' Heero could feel it, it was on the tip of his tongue. 'What did Relena call her? Tenshi? That's 'Angel'...'
'Arella is Hebrew for 'Angel.' ' Heero realized.
'Have I been...dealing with an Angel?'
* * *
So, did you like it? It was relatively short, compared to all all my other stuff. Anywho, please review. Even if you just write, "Good." Or "It SUCKED!!!!111"
Heheh....
Anywho, disclaimer: I don't own GW, or any affiliated characters. I do however, own this fic. And we all know what an angry authoress is capable of, don't we?
Well, you're the only one that doesn't. -_-*
All C&C (Comments and Criticisms) go to me,
~TenshiKachuu
Anywho, warning time, this is a 1xR fic, so don't get mad, cuz I warned you. But, WAIT!!!
Please read it? Please? *begs with big watery anime eyes* I'll R&R you too! *big smile* Promise!
Ok, enough with that! On with the fic!
Dealing with an Angel
* * *
The TV flickered to life, and the picture came into focus slowly. It was nearing two in the A.M., and for some odd reason, the perfect soldier found himself sleepless.
'Like I need all that much to begin with.' Heero Yuy thought with a wry twist of his lips.
The screen flickered once more as the color balanced, he had left it on a news station. There was a stout newswoman on, in a crisp suit despite the late hour, and a small picture of Relena in state uniform in the upper right corner.
"And in breaking news, KCDV has learned that the attack on Relena Peacecraft was not fatal, but..."
Heero's nearly black eyes widened in shock. There was a rushing sound in his ears, and it seemed all he could hear was his heartbeat.
'Relena....' The name crossed his mind, bringing with it images..Dancing together when they were only fifteen...The first time he had told her he would kill her.....When she had torn up his birthday card for her, and mouthed to him "Give it to me in person, next time."
Something had kicked in and kept him from sleeping. The wrenching feeling that he had tried to ignore clenched Heero's gut. Something was wrong, and it concerned Relena.
"The attack on Relena Peacecraft was not fatal, but the Vice Foreign Minister is in a coma, in grave condition in the ICU ward of St. Regina's hospital in Tokyo. The attack came only a few hours ago, at her home in the Cinq Kingdom. So far, police say that it could be anything from terrorists to an enemy political party. All factors are being considered at this time."
Heero jumped from his bed. Tokyo was only a few hours from here, he could be there by sunrise. Heero changed into dark jeans and a jacket. He grabbed only the essentials: gun, keys, money, and was out the door in less than a minute.
* * * *
Quatre sighed, leaning back against the wall in the uncomfortable plastic waiting room chair. He felt Trowa stir nearby, and glanced over at him, noting his sleeping face. Duo was sprawled across from him, Hilde gently pillowing his braided head in her lap. Her face was likewise peaceful, drifting in the greyness of sleep.
Milliardo, Noin, and Wufei all sat in a corner nearby, but far enough away as not to disturb their sleeping companions. They were talking in hushed tones, voices and faces serious on the gravity of the situation. They were most likely discussing guarding tactics, who would take what shift when. Or, the way the attack had come, so easliy, and when no one expected it...
Quatre looked down, his teal eyes filling for what seemed the thirtieth time that day. The person they all wanted-needed-to be here for Relena, was missing. 'But how can he be so oblivious? Surely he's seen a newscast by now, knows what happened..'
Another thought wormed its way into Quatre's mind. 'Perhaps...he has seen a newscast, and......and...hasn't come? NO! Heero wouldn't....would he?' The tears that had threatened to overflow earlier fell onto Quatre's cheeks, splats of emotion that did little to lessen the worry he had for his friend just inside the room to his back-or the friend that was still missing.
'I swear to God, Heero, if you do not come...'
* * * *
The sun rose over the hills, barely clearing the tall buildings to shed her golden light onto the hard packed streets. The few flowers, in answer to her greeting, turned to her. They soaked up the glowing sustenance, gentle and fragile in their beauty, but voracious in spirit.
'Like Relena...' The errant thought crept into the tousled brown head, as hard, steely blue eyes picked a way between the early-morning traffic. The hospital was near, and Heero only sped up in his haste to get there.
He pulled into the parking lot doing around 110 kph. Several ambulance attendants yelled at him, but Heero didn't care. He practically jumped off the bike, and ran through the sliding glass doors to the ER.
"What floor is the ICU on?" Heero grabbed the first nurse he could find.
The nurse, not used to being set upon by anyone that feriocious, paused while answering. The burning in this young mans eyes terrified her..."Level four. But, young man, young man!"
Heero was off and running before the nurse had said "man" the first time. He found an elevator, and hurriedly pushed 4, over and over until the doors crept to a close.
When Heero heard the ding that signified that he had reached the floor, it had seemed an eternity. He practically burst through the doors, and ran forward to the nurses station.
"Where is Relena Peacecraft?" Heero glared at the male nurse.
"Sir, unless you are family, I cannot give out that information. You may however-"
"WHERE IS SHE?"Heero had reached over the desk, grasping the man's scrubs and lifting him off the floor-all with one arm.
The nurse swallowed nerviously, and managed to get out a strangled "Room 11."
Heero dropped the nurse as if he burned his hand, and set off at a fast lope towards Relena's room.
* * * *
Duo hummed to himself, balancing the six cups of coffee and one cup of tea, easily in his arms. He was having a harder time, however, keeping the four sticky buns in wrapped packages between his arms and his body.
'Damn plastic packaging....'Duo wriggled his arms in closer to his body, hoping that the buns would stop their slow, inevitable path to the floor.
Just then, rounding the corner at the fasted speed known to man, someone smashed right into Duo, spilling scalding coffee all over his black minister's habit, and managing to squish the buns in the process.
The person-whoever it was-did not stop, just seemed to jump right back up, and keep on running.
Duo sat up, aware of the stinging pains all over his torso-not to mention other, slightly more sensitive areas.
Quatre burst out of the door to the waiting room and into the hall, looking first towards Relena's room, and then back again to Duo.
"Duo!" Quatre exclaimed, running over to his old friend, and helping him up.
Duo clutched Quatre's extended arm, barely managing to speak one word. "Ice."
Quatre winced as he saw where and how much coffee had been spilt on his friend, and finished helping him up. "Lets go to the nurses station, maybe they can get you in some clean clothes and some ice."
Duo only nodded emphatically, and walked gingerly towards the station.
* * * *
Heero jumped up from whoever he had ran into, his objective was far too close for him to get distracted now. He almost ran past the door, and stopped and skidded to a halt when he realized which one was hers.
He reached forward, and gently opened the door.
The first thing Heero noticed when he saw her was that she was breathing. He sighed. 'I got here and she is ok. I got here and she is ok. I got here and she is ok.I got here and she is ok...' the words echoed through the pilots mind, over and over.
But from her face, she was far from okay. She was pale, the usual rosy blush gone from her cheeks. Her hair no longer shone the way it usually had, her eyes were closed. Heero felt a mixed blessing in this-for to open her eyes and see the lack of life there-or to leave them shut, and not force him to see her withering spirit die away.
He walked on unsteady feet towards the bed, and took a seat in the nearby chair. He reached out, and touched her hand. It was so cold...
Heero grasped her hand in his, rubbing, chafing hers so as to gain some warmth. It was to no avail.
He bowed his head on the side of her bed, her icy hand pressed to his cheek. 'I failed you. I said I would always protect you, and now....this is all my fault. All my fault! How could I ever let this happen? How? Why would anyone want to hurt you? Why? You are goodness, and happiness, you never hurt anyone in your life! All you strive for is others and this is how they repay you? Why...' A warm trickle of liquid mingled on the sheets, Heero bolted upright, afraid that he had hurt her more than he already had, by making her bleed..
But the sheets were still clean. Slightly darker in its stain, but no more so than water. Heero brought his free hand up to his face, his jaw lack in shock.
'I'm crying? But...soldiers don't cry...'
* * * *
Duo and Quatre arrived at the nurse station to see and hear the male nurse ranting to the charge nurse about some madman.
"And he just charges in here, demanding to know where she is, and I started to tell him our policy, but he just yanked me by my scrubs, with one arm no less, right off the floor and asked again! I was in complete shock by now-"
Duo and Quatre looked at each other, and back at the scrubs the man was wearing. They had been torn, and the look on the man's face was enough to convince them.
"Heero." They both said at the same time.
"Excuse me, ma'am, but did the young man have unruly brown hair, dark blue eyes, and glare at you like he wanted you to die?" Quatre asked.
"Yea. How'd you know?" The nurse asked, eyes wide.
"He's a friend of ours. Don't worry, we'll talk to him." Duo assured, smiling. "In the mean time, could I get some help? We had an unfortunate accident with the coffee." Duo smiled at the woman, ignoring the still fuming look on the other male nurse's face.
"Oh, of course. Right this way, young man."The smiling charge nurse led Duo to a bathroom, while Quatre went back to the waiting room, relieved.
* * * *
Heero sat alone in the room, thankful that none of the other pilots were in there just now. He needed time alone with her. To tell her everything...
He wiped the tears away, but they just kept on coming. Heero didn't understand this, but he knew what he had to do.
Wait until they stop.
But they didn't.
The tears, crystal clear orbs of emotion, just kept crawling down his face. Heero didn't understand. 'I thought crying would make it hurt less, but....it.....doesn't..'
Heero would have remained there, wondering the emotional and physical mechanics of crying, had she not stirred.
"Heero..." Her lips parted, and the name fell off her tongue so easily, despite the parched throat and aching she must be experiencing.
"Shh. Relena, don't talk. You have to save your strength. I am here now. I will protect you." Heero found himself suddenly hovering over her.
Relena's lips moved into a semblance of her dazzling smile. But her eyes were shadowed with fear. "I...have to....tell you.....something..."she choked out the words.
Heero looked into her eyes, and saw her urgency. 'She's afraid....afraid she'll die.' "No. Relena, listen to me. You will recover. You will get better, and then I will never leave your side. This will never happen to you ever again. Do you hear me Relena? Never again. Forever."
Relena's eyes brightened visibly, and Heero couldn't tell if it was him, or something else-but for a second, they seemed to be like they used to be...bright with hope that everyone else lacked, having the strength of spirit even he didn't have. It flickered, and something inside Heero-deep down-gave way. 'What is this feeling? This tugging of my heart...this positive feeling? Is this...hope?"
Relena's eyes closed slowly, and Heero would have jumped on top of her to start CPR, but a voice stopped him.
"She is only sleeping."
* * * *
Milliardo stood up, walking the length of the waiting room. 'Where is that boy with the coffee?' He ran a hand through his platnium locks, stress emanating from every movement he made.
Just then, a black figure whizzed by the door, someone closely resembling..
"Heero?" Lucrezia Noin's voice asked no one in particular.
Six sets of eyes all looked towards the door.
Noin's eyes caught Milliardo's. The question in them was simple.
Milliardo shook his head. 'It was the boy, but he will need time alone with her..'
Quatre got up and rushed out to the hallway.
* * * *
Heero would have normally reached for his gun, but he realized, that wasn't his first instinct with this-person-whoever it was. He turned, smutty blue eyes meeting golden ones.
"She is only sleeping." The nurse repeated. Her rusty curls were taken back from her face, piled into a bun twisted around a pencil. The light glinted off the curls, creating a golden halo effect around her, even in the dull, placid enviroment of the hospital. Her face was gentle, her skin ivory, a slight blush on her cheeks. Her little mouth was pink, soft and effortlessly pulling itself into a smile. Her amber colored eyes twinkled with some inner mischief, a spirit not broken.
Her scrubs were uncharacteristically white. Everything on her was white, from the cross around the graceful neck to the shoe covers on her feet.
Heero took in every aspect of this strange nurse with his blue eyes, the lack of trust clear in the jet colored depths.
The nurse's smile softened, and Heero found himself thinking, 'That is the way a mother smiles at her children...'
She moved into the room, gently closing the door behind her. She brought a clipbaord from behind her back, and walked to the oppisite edge of the Relena's bed, amber eyes never leaving off their contact with the blue ones across from her.
"So, will you tell me how the patient is doing today?" She laid the clipbaord down on the bed, her hand grazing Relena's in the action. Relena stirred at the touch, her ocean colored eyes fluttering open at the touch.
"Oh..."Relena sighed. "You came back, tenshi."
The nurse nodded, and Heero noted the soft motherly smile on her face again.
"Of course I did. Now, sleep." The nurse almost purred the last word, and Relena's eyes closed dutifully, her chest rising and faling in a regularity she didn't have before.
Heero looked at the nurse, eyes wide. "Who are you?" His harsh monotone broke the feeling of peace within the room.
The smile faded from her face, and her eyes swung from Relena's face to his. "A nurse."
"Where's your ID tag?" Heero countered.
"Oh, right here." The Nurse pivoted, showing him a large plastic-and no suprise here, white-tag with silver letters. It read: R.N. Arella. ICU. St. Regina's Hospital.
Heero nodded once. He didn't like to be proven wrong.
"So, can you tell me how she is?" Arella leaned forward, pulling a stool up behind her to sit on.
Heero sneered. "No. You're the nurse."
Arella, only smiled and chuckled. "A true warrior."
Heero felt his body go taut, and was suprised to feel himself flinch. Her remark was oddly unsettling to him.
The silence in the room was unbroken but for the bleeps of the machines, dutifully going on, marking Relena's bitter fight for her life. Heero became aware of Arella's eyes on him, and he turned, never one to run, and stared back. The amber eyes that had glowed before with warmth and life now glew with something else-something Heero found disconcerting. And that made it all the worse, as Heero had only felt disconcerted once before in his life.
The staring continued until Heero could take it no longer. Those eyes, those golden eyes, he had seen before. Out of the corner of his eye, on the battlefield, over his shoulder in his gundam, accompanied by a frightful whsipering of feathers, golden in light and soft as cloud in their lack of substantiality...
Heero broke the gaze, and thought,'I have seem you before, you impostor. Who are you?'
"Yes, she is on the brink. So close to death. And this far from life. Did you ever realize, that people think the gateway to Heaven is at the oppisite end of the gateway to Hell, and yet, if you think about it, they are but a hairwidth apart. One step, one stumble, and you can immediately end up on the wrong path. Or, vice versa." Arella's soft voice broke the sacred hushness of the vaulted room.
Heero listened, for once, and realized the truth in her words. Here he was, next to someone he had promised to protect always-would willingly die for-and he had forsaken her. He had fallen on the wrong path.
"Do you think all this"Arella's fair hand gestured at all the machines, the elaborate pumps and IV's, "is worth it? All to save one life? But, is her life worth living? She must be so lonely. Her constant companions heartache and sorrow for transgressions she had no part in. Her duty in itself, solemnity in the worst of storms. Can you tell me, what would make it all worthwhile? Can you?"
Heero's eyes left Relena's face, and looked back to the seemingly familiar one of the person across the bed.
"You can. You know it yourself. But who will give this to her? She has been left without, faced with work only she can do. You know as well as I-she holds the gossamer strings of this world together. They are fresh, and soft in their hold. She must tighten them, harden them. But without strength-" A slightly tremulous frown played over the soft flesh of the nurses dewy mouth. "Tis' hopeless."
Heero's inner training revolted against Arella's statement. 'Nothing is ever just done. There is always a way out of any situation.'
Arella's golden hued eyes seemed to laugh at him. It wasn't until Heero was about to take the fool woman's head off that he realized he had voiced the thought out loud.
"What would be the way out this time, Heero Yuy? She lives a life without love. I personally don't see how she went on this long." Arella looked on the young man with pity, which inflamed Heero even more.
"What? Can't you see? She is so strong! You said it yourself. She holds everything together! She will-CAN go on. She has to." Heero's outburst did not seem to frighten the nurse one bit. He was standing suddenly, arms thrown wide beseechingly. Heero's vehemence suprised himself-but he could see, not this 'nurse'. He took his seat again, awkward in the rush of forbidden emotion.
She leaned across Relena, looking Heero dead in the eye. "What for? Peace? Herself? Or maybe....someone else?"
Heero for once, found himself unable to look someone in the eye. "She has friends." He replied, his voice gruff with feeling.
"I think you, even a gundam pilot, knows that you don't live life for the love of friends. You live it for the love of another. Who will give that to her?" Arella countered this time, quicker than Heero had thought her to be.
"There are many that would have her." Heero was growing tired of this nurse and her games.
"Yes. Many would have her, but who will love a heart that was never their's in the first place?" Her voice had dropped to a whisper. Golden eyes locked with blue ones, their owner's knowledge mocking the former Wing Zero pilot.
Heero shook his head. 'What was this? This feeling in his chest, this aching? Was it?....it couldn't be....but...'
"I have found, that in all my travels, and all my time here, love as pure as hers is to be cherished. Don't run because you are afraid. Love, Heero. That is all that matters. To love, and be loved. Life is too short. Trust me, in the blink of an eye it can end. Surely, as a veteran, a warrior, you understand that."
Heero looked up at the nurse. There was a pleading in those eyes-and a bitterness as well. She had loved, and lost.
As if reading his thoughts, she said next, "It is worth more to love and to loose, than to never have loved at all. Pain fades, but love does not. Don't you see? And while life will fade, and eventually pass away, love-true love-will not. That is what she offers you. Please, take it. And never let go."
Heero's head was spinning. 'I am a soldier, the perfect soldier. Soldier's do not have emotions.'
"How long will it take you to realize? You are human, Yuy, and have emotions. What do you think those tears were? That frightful, dread feeling in your chest? You are afraid. That Relena will die. That she will pass and you will never get the chance to tell her. How long will you bet that life will be kind and let her live? You can't afford that chance." Arella's voice broke through Heero's thoughts once more.
'Why is it so hard to breathe?' Heero took in a ragged breath. "Well, what should I do? She's asleep, I can do nothing!"
Arella crossed her arms, leaning back on the stool, golden eyes narrowing. "You know exactly what you have to do."
Heero looked at the nurse in her defiant pose. She certainly had her mind set-and Relena.....she might not make it past the night....
Heero stood over Relena, brushing the hair back from her ear. He gently leaned down, and whispered, "Ai shiteru."
He kissed her cheek, once, and stood back up. For some odd reason, the room seemed brighter, and he could breath much easier than he could before.
Arella however, seemed to be displeased.
"What?" Heero asked indignantly. "Isn't this what you want?"
Arella could only nod. There were tears in her eyes....the nurse stood up, and it wasn't until then that Heero realized how tall she was. How strong she seemed to be...
Arella too leaned over Relena, and kissed her forehead. The next few words she mouthed were almost barely imperceptible, even by Heero's sharp hearing.
"Awake and arise, Daughter of Adam...."
Relena stirred in the bed, her eyes opening....and searching....
Heero.
"Heero. I...I..."Relena's eyes were now wide open, the light that was there burning like never before.
"Shh. Its ok. I am here now. Nothing will ever happen to you, ever again."Heero grasped her hand, and found his heart beating erraticly at her slight smile.
* * * *
"Milliardo, sit down. You're making the rest of us dizzy." Noin's voice cut through the hours of fatigue that surrounded the former Lightning Count.
Milliardo, by no means obedient, sat down anyways, tired of pacing, and decided to move his foot back and forth.
"Where is Duo with the coffee? And Quatre? Where did they get to?"
"Here we are!" Quatre cried, walking through the door with three cups of coffee.
Duo followed him in with coffee, tea, and new sticky buns, in a set of pink scrubs.
Hilde's eyes lit up when she saw him. "Well, don't you look like a sexy-"
"Please, honey, save it for later." Duo winked at her.
Quatre walked to Noin and Milliardo, handing them their coffee."I think you should know, Heero is-"
"In Relena's room."Noin and Milliardo replied, taking the warm cups of energy gratefully.
"Why, Duo. You look an onna even more than usual in those clothes." Wufei snickered at his friend's outfit.
"They only had nursery scrubs long enough to fit me. So I guess I'm stuck in these."Duo's hand was behind his head, the grin never leaving his face.
"I would say they highlight your eyes Duo." Quatre sat back down by Trowa, and exchanged a glass of coffee for his preferred tea.
Duo chuckled. "They do, don't they?"
Noin and Milliardo smiled. "Do you think Heero's having any positive effect on her?" Noin asked quietly, while sipping from her coffee unobtrusively.
Milliardo reached over and squeezed the woman's hand in an uncharacteristic show of affection. "I'm sure."
* * * *
Two nurses ran by the waiting room, a flash of green against the pale pastel colors of the hospital hall. They were heard saying something about odd chart readings in room 11...
"Whats going on?" Hilde asked.
En masse, all of the group ran down the hall to Relena's room.
* * * *
Milliardo was the first of the group to reach Relena's room. He beheld Heero, standing by Relena's bedside, refusing to budge when a nurse asked him too. The other nurse was busy taking vitals.
"Really, I am quiet fine..." A voice broke through the semi-chaos of the room.
"Lena..." Milliardo pushed through Heero and the nurse at the bedside to get to his newly awakened sister.
"Lena...you're.....you're..." Milliardo opened and closed his mouth
"Awake?" Relena suggested, smiling at her brother.
Milliardo grasped his sister into the little semblanc of a hug he could give her. "Yes, Lena, awake. How do you feel? Ok? Do you hurt? Is everything alright?"
"I'm fine. Now." Relena looked and smiled at the perfect soldier, standing beside her head.
Heero just stared at the ground.
Milliardo stood, straightening his spine. "Yuy." He nodded brusquely.
"Zechs." Heero looked back at him.
"Relena!" Duo and the others filled the room.
They ringed around her bed after some gave her hugs, some nods, and someone just a short,to-the-point, "Hello, onna."
* * * *
Heero looked out the window above Relena's bed. The curtains had been drawn back, and the full moon was visible, shining onto Relena's head and lighting the dirty blond tresses with hints of silver.
The afternoon had gone well. Relena had chatted with all her friends until she had grown tired. At that, Heero had forced them all out of the room, even Zechs and Noin.
She had slept most of the day since then, and Heero didn't mind. It gave him time to think about her, about what had happened.
'I told her I loved her. Do I?' Heero thought, gazing at the slumbering figure. Through his thoughts, Arella's words
came back to him...
" ' And while life will fade, and eventually pass away, love-true love-will not. That is what she offers you. Please, take it. And never let go. ' "
Heero smiled wryly at the thought. 'If the others knew that a woman-a nurse, dedicated to the healing of others, no less-had convinced me to tell Relena how I feel....A nurse?' Heero's thoughts quickened in their direction.
'No nurse in this ward wears white scrubs. No nurse in this ward has silver lettering on their tags. No nurse in this ward....There was no nurse in this ward was dressed like Arella. Therefore, Arella was no nurse.'
Heero quickly thought back over his languages..Arella. Arella was Hebrew. 'Arella is Hebrew for....' Heero could feel it, it was on the tip of his tongue. 'What did Relena call her? Tenshi? That's 'Angel'...'
'Arella is Hebrew for 'Angel.' ' Heero realized.
'Have I been...dealing with an Angel?'
* * *
So, did you like it? It was relatively short, compared to all all my other stuff. Anywho, please review. Even if you just write, "Good." Or "It SUCKED!!!!111"
Heheh....
Anywho, disclaimer: I don't own GW, or any affiliated characters. I do however, own this fic. And we all know what an angry authoress is capable of, don't we?
Well, you're the only one that doesn't. -_-*
All C&C (Comments and Criticisms) go to me,
~TenshiKachuu