He awoke to a small room that was not like the one he was in before. It was clean, bright, as in filled with light not darkness, and smelled of disinfection. He looked over and saw Hilde in his arms. If he didn't recongize it was her he'd propably scream of fear. He thought he'd surely wouldn't see her again, what happened? His thoughts raced as he looked around something that would trigger what happened, he saw someone before he fell into unconsciousness...who was it?
He tried to sit up. Hilde started to move in his arms,her eyes opened and she darted up.
"DUO!!" she screamed. He let out a slight yelp as she tightly wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Oh...eh...sorry Duo-chan...." She looked at him slightly embarassed at her over doing.
"Where- Where am I?" Duo asked as he looked around the room in confusion. Hilde stared at him bewildered," Do you remember anything Duo??" She blinked in astonishment....he can't remember anything?? MAybe this is a good thing. He doesn't need to know what happened to him, he'll probably to afraid any ways to trust a whole lot of people if knows. Although, he might just be repressing and trying to forget. I hope he remembers everyone though.
The door to his room opened and a nurse walked in smiling. "I'm sorry but you'll have to let him rest now. He;s been throuh a lot and-" Hilde's quick glance shut her up. The nurse knew that look at just lead her out and promised she wouldn't mention anything. " It seems he might be repressing and if he is it's bound to come too eventually but no use rushing it I guess." The nurse said with a hint of worriment in her tone of voice. Hilde nodded and walked over to wake up the guys.
As she passed by a window and glanced out, she noticed that the sun was just rising. She glanced at her watch, 7:32am she thought, the guys have gotten up earlier than this before.... she looked up and noticed how innocent and cute they looked when they were sleeping. But..she couldn't resist the urge to she their faces when she told them Duo had finally woken up.
She walked up to Heero and swiftly went to Quatre whom was sleeping like a five year old in a chair, sideways with legs over the bar and arms folded over his chest. He looks so adorable....ow well...I'll have to wake him anyway...And he can wake up Heero. I'm sure Heero wouldn't take bein' wakened by me lightly. He'd take it the wrong way...and so would Duo.She laughed at the thought then shook Quatre's shoulder. He's eyes open slowly and his face turned from angelic to worriment.
"Hilde- is something wrong?" He took one look into her happy eyes and smiled. "He's awake...." She nodded.
"You wanna tell the others??"Quatre's face turned to horror." What?What's wrong?"
"YOu think I have a death wish...?" He asked quizzically and meaning it.
"Ahh....that's why I asked you." She answered with slight sarcasim in her voice. He smiled and sat up and turned around in his chair. He's a grown man almost yet he acts like a child. Cute!! She knocked the thought out of her head remembering Duo in the morning how he'd act like a child when she would have to wake him up. He'd whine and complain and she'd have to drag him out of bed or steal off the covers when caught off guard. Once she had to ersort to ice cold water but....you know how that turned out. One pissed off, water and freezeing Duo and then it would be Hilde in her work clothes in a cold shower....drenched and freezeing.
The pilots were aloud to enter once Duo got over being pissed at the doctors poking him and testing him. They swore he should have dies already but of course he's a Gundam Pilot.
Lucky us....thank god is all anyone could think at the time.Duo kept glaring at the hovering nurse who kept staring at him worriedly.
"What are you staring at??"He managed to spit out finally to everyone in the room when the nurse finally took that stupid thermometer out.
"We're just worried." Quatre had the nerve to say to Duo whom was already pissed since he can't remember anything anyways. His hair was a tangled mess and he kept ranting on about how it take forever to untangle it. The scabs on his face we're already healing fairly well and so we're the ones on his back and chest, arms and legs.Other than those simple scars you could conclude he was in perfect health amazingly besides the continuous pain he felt when he tried to get up,
"I don't need your worriment, Qat." He glared seriouly at Quatre who cowarded behind Heero. Heero rolled his eyes and glared at Duo.
"Duo...you know he scares easily...." Heero told Duo.
"So...why do you care?" He said mockingly while glaring at the same nurse which made Hilde and the now present Catherine giggle. Catherine was a medical personnal at the hospital. She helped out when Duo came in and helped banage and stitch.
"Because he always comes crawling and hiding behind me and it fucking freaks me out!" Heero amazingly was able to talk more than three words and look seriously pissed at Duo for doing that.
"Oh.....opps!" Duo grinned evilly and giggled at the tick off look and Quatre slowly slipping away towards his g/f Catherine.
The door to his room opened and Doctor Micheal Swan poked his head in and slipped into the room when he saw everyone was calm....especially his patient who tried to kill him earlier when giving him morphene.
"Excuse me.....but Mr. Duo Maxwell can go home now. There is no evidence that he should stay here unless you want him-"
Duo butted in," No evidence?!?! ARE YOU TRYING TO FIND A REASON TO KEEP ME HERE?!?! ARE YOU-" Hilde happenly let her hand fall on top off Duo's head and made a nice thunk."OWWW!! Hilde......." She laughed
"Opps!"the doctor and a few pilots rolled their eyes as Duo tried to get up and go after Hilde.
"he can leave tomorrow morning. Have a good day." The doctor quickly turned and walked down the hall.
Heero smiled evilly," Hey Duo...."
Duo stopped tring to get up and turned to heero, "HUh?"
"You know your gonna have to be in a wheel chair right?"
Duo nodded, "Yeah..why?"
"I wouldn't piss Hilde or anyone off then...we just might send you down a hill."
"YOU WOULDN'T!?!?!?!?!'Everyone nodded. Duo gulped.
To think about these thought in my head make me want to scream as I am beat. I can't see a face..it's too distorted. I want to die but something makes me cling to reality. Hilde....the beatings stop and I fall into unconsciousness...almost. I feel someone checking my pulse and to muffled voices...unidentical and familiar but I can't make the out...
I awake in a sweat. I sat up to fast and my head feels light and my chest and back hurt from the fast strain of sitting up in bed. Hilde woke up and noticed my irregular breathing...she looked at me worriedly. She was saying something but I couldn't here. I could only here the sounds that I could not understand, or more or less, make out of what it was saying. I felt two hands on my face. I'd been toning out and my eyes showed it. I tuned back to reality and saw Hilde holding my face. I blink slowly and suddenly everything is dark.
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RRRIIIINNNNG.......RRRIIIIINNNNG
Quatre sleepily picked up the phone and he became wide awake.
He nodded and started making phone calls.
Everyone except Hilde had gathered at Quatre's house. They all looked worried. Duo was upstairs still unconcious in Quatre's several spare guest rooms. Heero stood up and walked over to the phone.
"Heero? What are you doing?" Trowa asked curiously. If it weren't for his expression you could have sworn he wasn't worried about the situation.
"I'm calling Hilde's parents." Wufei and Quatre looked baffled.
"She has parents??"Wufei ask questionably.
"Yeah...on Earth. When she left for the military she didn't have time to keep in touch."Heero replied as he picked up the phone and dialed their number. He clicked the speaker phone on and waited for a reply.
A woman picked up the phone and look surprised.
"Heero...is that you lad? what brings you to call tis late an hour. Is somethin...What has happened...you only call unless Hilde or Duo is unable...what's wrong what has happened? MARVIN!! Come down here now something's wrong with Hilde and her boyfriend!"
Heero shook his head and turned to Quatre," Do you have a bottle of asprin and achol?"
Quatre looked shocked, "Yes but..."
Heero interrupted," I'm gonna need them...these are absolutly the most annoying and worried parents your ever going to meet."
Quatre nooded," I'll bring some for everyone then..."He walked off as Marvin picked up the phone.
"Heero," he asked in a deep worried tone," What the hell has happened?"
Heero sighed," Hilde has been taken from home....we found traces of blood that are being analysised now for any match. We're trying-"
"Is my daughter going to be found?? Are you going to find her!?!?!!?!?"
Heero sighed and rubbed his temple. He'd dealt with Hilde's parents before. They are the most annoying parents in the Book of World Records. Amazingly Hilde and Duo put up with them. Wufei and Quatre never knew about them since they have a lot of work to do. Quatre with the family business and Wufei with the L5 colony rebuilding. Trowa's actually met them and can't take it whenever they come over. He's only had to use the number when Hilde wanted to see her mother and father only when she's sick and Duo's not around or busy so Heero had to call and endure the frantics of her parents. Also because he would be the only one in the house that could make the call since Hilde would be sneezing to much anyway. Of course, when it came to Duo...Hilde was the same way.
Quatre came back and Trowa and Heero glared at each other as they both grabbed for the aspirin bottle.
"Uh-Hum...about our Daughter...what are we going to do??"
Heero turned his glare away from Trowa and faced Duo's furture parents-in-law. (OKAY, if it's not clear now their engaged.)
"We're gonna get you a flight to the L2 colony and we'll go from there. If Hilde is smarter than she acts...she's bound to have a tracker on her somewhere. If they do I can find them along with their," he points to the the pilots standing behind them," help."
Everyone hung up their phones and Heero started to book flights and Trowa started on the tracker search. They had no idea what frequency they'd be on but it was only 15 different frequencies and the max out time would be 3 hours to actually located them if they had to search every single frequency. Hopefully...they had time.
She remembered the look of the room from where Duo had been found. Dak, musty, blood-stained, and she could remeber the scent.She didn't show herself. No one except G...whom was never caught...saw her.
Duo.....guys.....a little help. Her head hurt profusely. As she rubbed her temples and the back of her head, not simulateously, she heard footsteps coming down the hall and the door unlatch
...shit
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Heero,,Trowa, and Wufei typed furiously. It had already taken them 2 hours for them to get this far and time was running out.
Hilde...stay alive..for Duo's and my headache's sake. Heero thought as the all to familar scene happened all over again. It started this way. Duo kidnapped, them tracking, them rescueing. But one difference now....his girlfriend was now the victim. He couldn't take anything happening to her. He didn't want his best friend's girlfriend/fiance to die for him not being able to find her in time. Plus, he didn't want to deal with her parents critism......yes, the we're very critacally judgemental against people. Surprisingly, Duo past the test...but not completely.
BEEP BEEP BEEP
Everyone's head shot-straight up. A location flashed on the screen from Wufei's laptop.....Hilde's parents looked egar to do something. Heero and Trowa got up quickly and recovered the fastest. They couldn't believe where he was....Duo looked up from next to his furtre....parents.
"What...where is that Trowa?" Marvin asked curiously. Trowa turned and shakily replied," It;s an old hostpital used for torturing those for the alliance in AC167, that is until they destoryed and shut it down in AC192 when an unknown terriost shot the building."
Marvin's mouth dropped and no one but Heero and Trowa dared to move. They started to leave and Duo shot after them.
The hum of the motorcycle was not the only thing clouding his driving, Hilde was the other.
I'm coming Hilde......hold on.
They turned into a an old highway, rotting away from lack of use and fixing and deteroration of the sun...so helplessly beating and pounding it not knwningly making it harder to get to where they were going. A building up ahead could be seen. It's top floors were destroyed so how could it e a place for captives?
"DUO!!" Heero's sharp voice hung over in the air around his ears.
"Yeah? What..how can this be..." Duo was cut off by a scream and someone running towards them.
Hilde?..."HILDE!!" Duo ran towards her. Gun shots rang heavily out past her. Hs mind started racing as he grabbed her arm and pulled her off to the side nder some near by underbrush as Trowa and Heero started rapidly shooting.
"AHHHHHH!!!"the lashing sound carried out. His hands were covered in his own blood. he'd been beat to badly and his head ached from the several punches and metal hitting it. He collasped, unconcious, to the floor.
He'd been holding Hilde tightly and she'd been clinging back. Her head was bleeding heavily and it would stop.
"Duo....." it came out faintly. Almost inaudiable....but he heard it.He knocked his own rememberence out of his head and concentrated on Hilde. The firing stopped and he could concentrate evenly. He took his black coat and tightly wrapped her head in it.
Heero and Trowa helped Duo and Hilde out of the underbrush. Marvin and his wife, Celest, along with the others appeared. Hilde could barely keep her eyes open and half way there passed out in Duo's hold. Quatre opened the door to his car and Duo laid her gently inside with her parents hovering over him worriedly.
"Is she alright?" Marvin asked nervously.
"She's just unconcious. We'll just need to get her stitched up and she'll be fine." Heero said in his monotonous voice.
Duo crawled in the backseat and sat on the floor next to Hilde. His experssion was blank and his eyes closed. Quatre looked worriedly towards him and nudge Heero. Heero saw what he was nudgeing about and turned his head away and started the car. Once they were off and sure Duo couldn't here anything since he looked sleep Quatre turned to Heero.
"Aren't you worried?" He asked slightly angered by the mask Heero was still wearing.
"Yes,,,why?" He said, straight forward and no trace of emotion showd that he was.
"Look at him....doesn't his experssion seem odd. I mean...why does he look that way?" Quatre asked and then decided to look at Wufei who had the same experssion as Heero.
"Heero!" Heeor turned and faced him.
"He's remembering..." Quatre's faced drained of whatever color he had on his face.
"What does that mean then?" Wufei sighed deeply.
"NOw comes the nightmares and no talking from him.....I've dealt with someone in that situtation." Everyone but Heero turned in his direction looking suspicously.
"An old friend of my dad had that and...well...."Quatre turned and asked," Well what?"
Wufei's head dropped, " He comitted suicide about a week later because of what had happened to him."
The car fell silent for the rest of the way home. No one dared to speak...
Hilde was fast asleep in bed when she heard a scream. She woke up with a start noticing Duo upright and drench in his own sweat. He was looking down at his wrists and notice he was rubbing his hand across his right one. Hilde's worriment grew as she watched Duo.
"Duo? Are you okay?" She said taking his hand. Duo wasn't paying attention. He was mostly half asleep still. His head became heavy and collasped onto her shoulder. She closed her eyes and held him like that for a while before laying him down and going back to sleep herself.
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HIlde sat with catherine and Dorthoy in Quatre's tea room( to make him not so pansy like we'll say it's his sister's). He was staying at his sister's place as a babysitter. She was out and she was worried that her house would be robbed and her pets injured if that happened. She had 3 dogs,2 cats, and one bird. They we're in the room down the hall. Heero was poking the bird, Duo and Quatre were playing with the dogs, and wufei and Trowa playing with the cats.
Hilde was the first to break the silence," How's the circus doing Cathy?"
Catherine nodded in comply.Dorthoy noticed no one was mentioning Duo and she wanted to know why and where he got those scars."So what happened to Duo? I haven't seen him in four months and then all of the sudden I see him and he's scared up! I would like to know what happened to him if you wouldn't mind explaining a little bit."
Catherine and Hilde just looked at each other. Hilde excused herself while Cathy explained everything.
%%%%%%%%%%%
Dorthoy was amazed. She couldn't believe that could happen to Duo. She walked out the door followed by Cathy and they watched Duo and the dogs. Hilde slowly approached them from behind. She was in the bathroom. "He hasn't been sleeping too easy. Wufei and Heero think he's starting to remember some things. If he is, we'll have to watch him closely. One of Wufei's dad's friends died because he couldn't handle what he was remembering." Hilde took her eyes from her friends to Duo who was just sitting there now. The dogs, dobermen pinchers, were now playing around Heero and Wufei. Apparently, the cat didn't like that........ She watched Duo sit there before going towards him.
As she started to sit down next to him, she noticed he seemed to be toneing out most of his surroundings. His stare was blank and his eyes vacant. You could probably stick a knife in his hand he wouldn't notice he was so out of it. She laid her hand gently on his shoulder and whispered," Duo? Duo?Please say something.....please." Duo blinked and rested his head on Hilde's shoulder surprising her. She wrapped her arms around him and held him like that. She looked down towards his hands and noticed they were shaking. "Duo?" Her voice more stained with worriement now, took his face in her hands and held his head up eye level. "Duo..you have to try and stop shaking."He blinked again and tried to focus his eyes but he didn't have the strength and collasped in Hilde's arms nearly close to sobbing. She looked over towards Heero who was walking her way. "I can't get him to stop shaking." He was completely trembling. Heero, actually looking worried, helped her take him to his room.
Hilde sat next to Duo's bedside the entire time. He kept twitching in his sleep and talking. She wanted to help him so bad but she knew Duo would have to get through this himself. She felt helpless not knowing how to help...even worse....that she knew she couldn't. I bothered her so much knowing the only person you loved trurly and intiatmately....you couldn't help or do anything to relieve their pain and suffering.
Duo awoke with a start and sat straiht up. He felt someone holding him and realised it was Hilde.
"It's okay, it's okay..." She repeatedly said this to him over and over...but in some sense, it calmed him. He opened his mouth to speak but nothing came out. Hilde wouldn't let go of him and he didn't argue. He was scared for the first time in a long while...he was actually scared. He wrapped his arms Hilde as he drifted into a light sleep.
When ihlde noticed he was asleep, she layed down on the bed with Duo. His head on her chest, arms wrapped around her wiast, she with her hand gently on Duo's head and arm freely around his shoulders. They laid like that for what was left of the night......fast asleep.
%%%%%%%%%%
When Duo and Hilde awakened to the cruel morning sun shining in their eyes, they finally noticed each in arms.
"Hilde......." Hilde smiled at Duo and kissed the top of his head lightly. He looked better than he had last night, Hilde thought. "You were here all night?" Hilde nodded. Duo looked as if he would cry, but fighting back tears, he just held her more closely. Hilde complied and rested her chin on his head.
"Aisheteru, Hilde...." She just smiled back," Aisheteru, Duo." She could feel his body tense up as she brushed over an old bruise on his back. "Sorry...forgot that was there..." She replied to him worriedly. He just nodded and brushed it off.
%%%%%%%%%%
A knock was at the door right after Heero arrived to check on Hilde and Duo.
"Want me to get it?" Yelled halfway across the house.
"I'll get it!" Heero yelled back, slightly annoyed that the fact he was yelling across the house when Hilde was working on her computer and didn't want to be disturbed.
As he reached the door and the knob was turning....he pulled out his gun and eered throught the peep-hole (That's what we call them right?? Yeah..that's what we call them...^^;). As he looked out he noticed a short man with gray hair and a big nose.......Professor G.
Heero ran towards the room where Hilde and Dup were chatting.
"Hey Heero! Who was at the door??" Heero looked at him heaving."What?" Hilde looked up and noticed something was wrong.....pounding coud be heard on the door.
"Heero? What's going on?" She asked tremling.
"G's here....you have to get out...NOW!!" Hilde grabbed Duo and fled towards the back down as Heero sent an e-mail to Wufei and Trowa for help and on to Quatre saying they were on their way.
"Go to Quatre's!!" Heero yelled but not in time to see G at the back door with Hilde and Duo frozen in their places. He smiled at him and pulled put a gun. Next thing Heero knew was the pain in his side and then blackness.
Heero woke in pain as his side flared like fire. When he was able to focus his eyes, he saw Hilde tied to a chair, a bruise swelling on her cheek, nearly unconscious. Next to her, on the ground, lay Duo. He was in a fetal position and shaking. On his arms he could see multiple knife cuts. Heero winced in pain and wondered where the others were. His side was bleeding fast and he wouldn't be able to hold on if they didn't get here in at least an hour.
"Well.....your awake." G said hovering over him. He raised his fist and made contact with his injured side.
"AHHH!" Heero actually screaming in pain.....nothing ever hurt so much. Blood came out of his mouth as he stared at G's hand. Noticing an sharp object...a shard of glass....in his hand.Off to the side of Duo...finally noticing a broken mirror.
"That is what you deserve for trying to get me killed both times. But.....you never managed to find me did you?" He laughed coldly and walked towards Duo. He pulled Duo's hair to make him sit up and when he finally managed to sit up Duo retaliated with a left-over shard of glass from the broken mirror beside him and slit it across G's arm.
"YOU BASTARD!" He yelled as he hit Duo in the head with his fist as hard as he could. Thus sending him across the room about a foot." Learn your manners for the one who'll put you out of your fucking misery.....and your friend here." Duo looked at G then the glass shard he held to Heero's neck. His eyes closed to a glaring slit as G started moving the shard along Heero's neck....not hard enough to draw blood, but to show what he means.
"Get the fuck away from him!" Duo yelled as he stood up slowly, wincing in pain.
"Why should I?" He jabbed the shard in Heero's shoulder making Heero's teeth clench hard and him to lose consciousness. Duo's eyes burned with hatred, he started walking over and by the time he was in hitting range slammed his fist in his jaw. As G hit the floor, Wufei and Trowa happened to finally come. Noticing Duo and his anger at the shocked body on the ground, then Hilde's unconscious form, finally landing on Heero whom was bleeding heavily.
"What the hell happened!?!" Trowa yelled. Duo looked up helplessly and looked towards Heero, "We need to call an ambulance right now before he dies!"
%%%%%%%%%%
At the hospital, Duo held Hilde in his arms and wouldn't let go.(Her parents came as soon as they heard and were pacing in the hall b/c she didn't want to she them). He stared helplessly at his friend laying in the bed next to him.
Hilde had cried herself to sleep blaming she could have done something but frozen up. It wasn't her fault though, Duo thought.
The medical charts for Heero were highly deadly. He lost a sufficant amount of blood to nearly kill him, the nerves in his shoulder were damaged and his side was badly cut open. They were able to stop the internal bleeding but they said Heero wouldn't wake up for awhile.
Hilde woke up and noticed Duo sleeping. She kissed his cheek and went out amd closed the dorr behimd her, to talk with her parents. "You only came to see me didn't you?" she asked eying her parents. "Of coarse we did! Why else would we be here? You think we're here because of that rat you call a boyfriend/fiance, and Mr.Monotone?" her mother said. Hilde smiled knowing that that confirmed exactly what she had thought. "Get out of here." She said in an old fashion Heero Yuy tone.
"What's wrong? Sweetie what did we do?" Her mother looked puzzled.
"You only came here worried about me and not Duo or Heero." Her parents looked puzzled.
"Heero is in his condition because he tried to get us out. Duo is like the way he is because that's him. You hate Duo for growing up differently then I did. Just because he grew up on the streets, doesn't mean you should call him a rat! And so what if Heero acts that way! That's how he was taught to act and little by little he's acting normal. Mr. Monotone? Rat? You suck at being parents."
With a swift turn Hilde stormed away from her parents, going back to where Duo, her fiance, and to where one of her best friend's was possibly dieing.
%%%%%%%%%%
Hilde's parents looked astonished by their duaghter's outburst. They peered through the room and saw her wake Duo. She was crying they could see and Duo.....the one person they despise....was holding her. Hilde's father, storming with rage, burst into the room and grabbed Hilde away.
"YOU RAT!! KEEP YOUR HANDS OFF HER!!" His fist connected with the already swollen cheek, causing him to fall back into his chair. Hilde...with anger in her eyes, swung back at her father.
Her father dumbfoundingly looking at her asked," Hilde? Why did you do that??"
Hilde in tears staring at her father in disbelief could only warn," Do not hit him again." She brushed past him and went over to Duo who was almost unconscious from the blow. Grabbing his face to make it level with hers tried to check for a concussion. "Duo? Duo? You okay?" he nodded and fainted in her arms. She caught him before he slipped to the floor and set him easily in the chair. She kissed his forehead lightly and walked to her father.
"If I see you anyway near me or Duo I will fucking punch your lights out!" The anger in her eyes showed through and he stumbled backwards into Wufei. Wufei's angered look and Trowa's who was coming behind him scared him enough to back off and leave.
Wufei looked towards Hilde, who was holding Duo in her arms and rocking him, just made him smile. He walked up to her with Trowa behind and wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"I hope Heero pulls through this. That was the first time I'd ever heard him scream in pain." Wufei nodded and looked at Trowa.
"Heero pulled through a coma outside of a hospital. He'll pull through this." Trowa stated with such confidence.
%%%%%%%%%%
Like a timer, at the end of his sentence, Heero's eyes fluttered open.
"HEERO!" Hilde laid Duo down in the chair and sat next to Heero. Trowa and Wufei sitting with her.
"Ah....my side hurts." He winced at the pain in his side..it hurt so much. Hilde laid a hand on his head feeling his temperature. She frowned, realizing he had a fever and softly stroked his hair. Heero never looked that much in pain before in his life..or of what they saw of him. Stroking his hair made Heero fall back to sleep.
"He should be okay now." the doctor stood in the hallway smiling. "Don't worry..he'll pull through."
They looked at Heero and then to Duo and smiled. In Hilde's mind, everything was alright.
~OWARI~
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