Annie: We are back and with a new story!
SB/Kierra: Why are we a new story?
Annie: Because I felt like it and I was inspired by another story that I read on Archive of our own.
SB/Kierra: Oh, we don't own anything except our OC's.
Annie: Enjoy!
Summary: Wufei is a detective in the homicide unit with the local police department and is assigned two high profile cases. Quatre's family is killed and the people who killed them want him dead as well, people are trying to kill Duo as well since he learned things he shouldn't, and Wufei must send them to his friends, Trowa Barton/Triton Bloom who runs a ranch with his older sister Catherine Bloom and his twin sister Tristina Bloom and adapitive younger brother Heero Yuy, to protect them until the bad guys are caught and behind bars so the two can move on in life. Inspired by a story called "Crossing the Line" by sistercacao that I found on AO3. R&R please be nice with it.
He had a gut feeling that this was going to be a long day when he got the call got the attempted murder case; a violet-eyed chestnut haired 16-year-old boy was almost killed. The boy who said his name was Duo Maxwell, he had called his best friend to be with him when the two of them were shot at again. Wufei took them to the police station to figure out what was going on when he was pulled out and asked to accompany Lieutenant Une to a murder scene.
"This is a fancy place." Said Wufei's newest partner Hilde, she had just transferred over to homicide.
"The rich people live in this area. This is a high profile case." Wufei said.
"Hilde, go speak to those three women, they called it in. Wufei, come with me." Lieutenant Une said as the two went to do as ordered.
"What can you tell me about what brought you three here today?" Hilde asked the 3 women.
"We were to hang out with our friend, Iria, she is the youngest girl. We planned to hang out here before heading to the mall for dinner and get a manni/peddi before going to the movies. We came here and rang the bell but no one answered, we rang it a few times, then we looked in the windows and saw a couple of things out of place. Iria's father has to have things a certain way in the house. Then we knocked on the door and it opened a bit, they always keep the door locked so for it to open like that, we knew something was really wrong. So we went in. That's when we found them like that. All of them dead." The red-headed girl said.
"He wasn't there, I don't think he was even home." Said the black haired girl.
"Who wasn't home?" Hilde asked them.
"Iria's only baby brother. He's five years younger than her. He just turned 16 a month ago." The brunette said.
"What's his name?" Hilde asked
"Quatre Raberba Winner." The redhead said.
"Okay, thanks," Hilde said before she went to tell her partner what she found out.
"Did you get any information, Hilde?" Une asked when she and Wufei saw her enter the house.
"The girls came to get their friend who is the youngest daughter for a girls night out when they noticed something was off. They also said that the only boy of the family, Quatre Raberba Winner, is not among the dead, they believe that he wasn't even home." Hilde said.
"Do they know what the kid looks like?" Wufei asked his partner.
"I believe so." She replied.
"Go see if you can get a picture of him, a recent one," Une said as she nodded and went back to the three girls.
"Do you girls have a recent photo of your friend's brother?" Hilde asked them as they nodded and the redhead pulled out her phone and found a photo of Iria and a boy.
"That's Iria and Quatre. The three of us were invited to his birthday party a month ago when I took that photo." She said as she handed the phone to Hilde.
"Thanks, I'll be right back with it," Hilde said as she went back into the house and "Here's a photo of him with one of his sisters."
"I know that kid, he was with Duo Maxwell after Duo was almost killed the second time before we got them to the police station." Wufei said shocked as he looked at the photo.
"Then I suggest that the two of you head back and break the news." Une said as the two agreed and left after giving the phone back and thanking the three women for their help.
Once back at the station, Hilde and Wufei found the two and confirmed Quatre was who he was and broke the news to him that his family, his father, and 6 sisters were dead. Quatre broke down in tears as Duo held him and comforted him as best as he could before they id'd the 7 bodies of his family.
"We should get them out of here, those bullets could have been for both of those boys, not just Duo." Hilde said as Wufei agreed and the two of them told this to Lieutenant Une and she agreed after another attempt on the lives of Duo and Quatre, which proved the people who wanted Duo dead were still out there and that the people who killed Quatre's family wanted him dead as well. It took Wufei two days to come up with a place to send the boys, now he just had to see if his boss would let him.
"Wufei! My office, now!" came the voice of his boss, Lieutenant Une, as he stood and walked to her office.
"You called?" Wufei asked as he entered her office.
"We need to get those two out of town for a while, I am hoping you have a better place for them instead of WITSEC." She told him.
"Actually, I do. A friend of mine runs the place with his big sister, twin sister, and adopted younger brother. The place used to be a cattle ranch owned by his grandfather on his father's side sold most of the cattle and brought in horses to rehabilitate before selling the rest of the cattle. When his older sister was 5 she told their parents about a kid that need help, they took him in the day the kid's acholic father killed his druggie mother in a fit of rage before setting the house on fire before he killed himself in the front yard. They gave the kid a home, he's now a lawyer thanks to them. The family started taking in other 'at risk' kids or kids who were orphaned or in the foster care system and even kids who are in trouble with the law. Last I heard the FBI sent a family of four in WITSEC to them until some trial was over. Figured the circus will be a good place for them." Wufei explained.
"The circus?" she asked making Wufei chuckle.
"Me, my friend and his adopted younger brother were joking around when we were 6-7 years old and said things like 'Come to the circus where no one will find you'. 'The circus is a great place for troubled kids.' Things like that. The name stuck so when I referre to the place, I call it 'the circus' but on paper, it's called 'Wild Bloom Ranch' most people who went there call it 'the circus' as well." Wufei explained.
"I see, well go pack your things and round up the boys and take them to your friend's place. You will be staying a month, oh and take Hilde with you. One more thing, send Sally and Noin to my office." Une said as Wufei saluted her and left.
"Sally, Noin. Lieutenant Une wants to speak to you now." Wufei told the two women who got up to see what was needed of them.
"Hope it's not bad." Sally Po muttered to her partner Lucrezia Noin.
"Hilde, you and I need to pack for a month, we are taking the two boys from the cases to another location out of town. Pack clothes you don't mind getting dirty." Wufei told her.
"Why?" Hilde asked him.
"I'll tell you when we are on the road." He replied as they packed to head home.
"Looks like we get to take over your cases for a month while you two get to enjoy a vacation." Noin said when she and Sally came back.
"Don't worry about this stuff, we got it covered. Plus we will make sure the other two are ready." Sally said.
"Hilde, meet me here tomorrow at 8 am." Said Wufei as Hilde nodded and the two left the station.
The next day at 8 am Wufei found Hilde with Duo and Quatre, all 3 had their bags packed and ready to go.
"All right, let's load up and get on the road. We have a long drive ahead of us." Wufei said as they packed the car and got in with Wufei behind the wheel.
"Where are we going?" Quatre asked from the back about an hour later.
"My friend and his family own this place we are going to, it's a really nice place. All of us will be working hard at the circus." Wufei said.
"We are going to a circus? With clowns and animals and stuff?" Hilde asked her partner as she and the other two looked confused when he laughed.
"Not that kind of circus, Hilde! My friend, his adoptive brother and I joked around when we were kids and called their place 'the circus' the name just stuck after that. It's a ranch really. They get horses that need some TLC and retraining before being returned to their owners or being sold to a new and good home. Kids-young kids in the foster care system, at-risk kids, or kids in trouble with the law get sent there to get away or find a new path in life. The family's first at-risk kid is a big-time lawyer in the city, he takes some time off to go back to the ranch to help out for a week or two." Wufei explained.
"And why are we going there?" Duo asked.
"Officially you boys are in witness protection and are flying out to another state to stay until the case is solved and the bad guys are caught and brought to justice." Hilde explained having been to that by Sally and Noin.
"That's just what we want everyone to believe, but we are going to my friend's place. The FBI sent a family in WITSEC there a few years ago." Wufei told them, that settled the questions for the remainder of the trip.
"Ty! Oh where is he?" the troublemakers are here. Hey, Max, have you seen Trowa or Heero?" a redhead female said as she spotted a car pulling up.
"Saw Trowa head out to the pen with Stardust, I think Heero is in the garage working on a car." A blonde haired blue eyed 10-year-old boy replied.
"Get them for me, Max?" she asked as he nodded and hurried off as the car came to a stop and the four people got out.
"Hello, Cathy! Where is the troupe?" Wufei called.
"Hello Wufei, Tris is busy cooking and I just sent Max to get the boys. Who do you have with you?" Cathy said in reply as she hugged him and looked the other three over.
"This is my partner Hilde, and our two victims/troublemakers, Duo Maxwell and Quatre Winner. Guys this is Catherine bloom she takes care of the paperwork and finances her at the circus." Wufei explained.
"Welcome, hope you three aren't allergic to anything?" Catherine said as the 3 shook their heads no.
"Wufei!" came a male voice as a brunette male came up to them with another male hot on his heels.
"Triton! Heero! How have you guys been?" Wufei asked them.
"We've been good, Wu. Who are they?" Heero answered as the boys hugged.
"My partner Hilde, she transferred to homicide a few months ago. This is Duo Maxwell and Quatre Winner, we needed to get them out of town till their cases are solved." Wufei explained.
"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Triton Bloom to my family but everyone else calls me Trowa Barton. This is Heero Yuy, my adoptive brother, you'll meet my twin sister Tristina at dinner." Trowa greeted them.
"I'll leave them in your hand's boy. I need to check on the tricksters." Catherine said before leaving.
"The tricksters?" Duo asked.
"What we call the judicial delinquents." Heero said.
"The Misfits are the 'at risk' kids and the forsters are just that the kids in the foster care system." Trowa added.
"Let's get you four settled. Dinner should be done by then." Heero said as the four agreed and grabbed their things.
"What's that building?" Hilde asked pointing to it.
"The dorm, it's where most of the kids sleep, one side is for girls the other side is boys." Trowa said.
"I'm going to hit the shower first, I'm dirtier than you are. You can show them to their rooms on your own." Heero said once the 6 of them entered the house.
"Go ahead, grease monkey." Trowa said a Heero headed up the stairs.
"So who is sleeping where?" Duo asked.
"Catherine has the master bedroom which in on this floor with the kitchen, dining room, the office, laundry room, and a rec room. Upstairs on the second floor is my room and Heero's room that is connected to a bathroom. Hilde, you can have the bedroom that is connected to Tris's bedroom by a bathroom. All the rooms on the second and third floor are connected to a bathroom. We have 8 foster kids living in the house, two are in the rooms on the second floor and the other 6 kids are on the third floor. Duo, Quatre, you two have a choice, you can stay in the rooms on the second or third floor that are empty or you boys can sleep in the dorm. Wufei, you can have an empty in the house or dorm, or you can room with me or Heero." Trowa said.
"I'll room with you, Ty." Wufei said.
"okay, you can show Hilde to her room while you are at it." Trowa said as Wufei nodded and the two headed off.
"I think I'll take a room on the second floor." Quatre said as Duo agreed.
"Alright then, come with me and I will show you to your rooms," Trowa said as they headed up the stairs. Trowa pointed to the left of the stairs saying that his room, Heero's room, Tristina's room and Hilde's room where that way. "This room and the one next to it are free the other two across the hall belong to 2 of the foster boys that live in the house."
The two thanked him and picked their rooms and got settled in. a while later it was time for dinner and everyone in the house came to eat in the dining room and Tristina saw four new faces. Hilde, Duo and Quatre were introduced to Trowa's twin sister, Tristina. After dinner Wufei explained why he and Hilde brought Duo and Quatre to the circus, his friends laughed when he said 'the circus' to the others the first time and they thought it was a real circus. Wufei told them that Quatre's family was dead, his mother died when he was 4 years old, is 6 older sisters and father were murdered recently and the people who killed them wanted him dead as well. Duo, had gotten into trouble with some people who now wanted him dead, Quatre escaped being killed by being with Duo since the two were best friends.
T he next day after breakfast, Trowa, Heero, and Tristina were showing Wufei, Hilde, Duo and Quatre around and explaining what they did and how they helped kids, before shouting caught their attention. A black horse was running loose and no one seemed to be able to catch it. Heero, Trowa, Tristina, and Wufei tried to help the kids catch it, but it veered away and headed towards Duo, Hilde and Quatre.
"Easy, easy. That's it, no one will hurt you, it's okay. It's alright." Quatre said as he stepped forward and the horse calmed down under Quatre's quiet voice.
"Seems we have a horse whisper on our hands, Triton." Tris said mostly to her twin but included the other two as well.
"He does love animals." Wufei agreed as they watched the horse relax and let Quatre rub its head and ears.
"Come on Quatre, let's go." Trowa said to him.
"Go where?" Quatre asked as he looked at him.
"To put this lovely mare in a stall and make sure she is settled. It's what Mark and Andrew were supposed to do with her when she bolted on them in the first place." Trowa said as he pointed to the two teens that stood nearby.
"Oh okay." Quatre agreed and walked towards him as the mare followed.
"You two can move on you your next chore, we've got this one covered." Trowa said to them.
"Okay." Mark said.
"Sure thing Trowa." Andrew said as they headed to the barn at a run.
"What do we do now?" Hilde asked.
"Wufei, you can do whatever you like, you know how things are done here. Heero and I can take care of Duo and Hilde, Triton has Quatre in hand." Said Tristina as Wufei nodded.
"I think I will go help Catherine with the paperwork in the house." He said.
"She will like that." Heero said as Wufei walked to the house.
"You can decide if you want to help Trowa and Quatre with the horses, help me with the household chores, or help Heero in the garage." Tristina said.
"What kind of household chores?" Hilde asked.
"Cooking cleaning, sewing, things like that." She replied.
"What do you do in the garage?" Duo asked as he looked at Heero.
"My main project right now is fixing the tractor. I also restore cars." Heero said,
"Heero is our handyman, if something is broken he can fix it, but he is best if it has an engine. He fixed an old 1920s Rolls Royce and restored it to its former glory and had it up and running by the time he was done with it." Tristina added making their eyes go wide and Heero blushed. A Rolls Royce was a classic car, they were expensive to buy, it was a car for the rich people, sure there were Rolls Royces out there but a 1920 Rolls Royce was something that rich people had in automobile collection.
"I've had a knack for engines. I've helped people with their car if they were having trouble, saved them a trip to the repair shop." Duo said.
"Then you can help me with the tractor." Heero said as he led him away.
"And that leaves you with me. Come on, today is laundry day. I have kids helping me cook and clean, I keep an eye on those who are cooking." Tristina said as she led Hilde to the house.
Life settled and after a week Catherine revealed they were getting 3 new foster kids while 3 of the teens who were 18 were leaving.
"Duo, Hilde, I need you two to stay here after breakfast." Tristina said.
"Okay." They agreed.
"You're with me today, Quatre." Heero told him as he nodded.
"Ready to help with the horses, Wu?" Trowa asked.
"Of course." Wufei said.
"Why the change?" Duo asked as Quatre and Hilde nodded.
"We did not say it before, but the first month a teen comes to us, we rotate them after a week from horses, to the garage, to household chores, to paperwork. After a month we let them go do what they like best." Tristina explained as the 3 nodded.
"Triton, Heero, Wufei, Quatre, before you guys head out can you four find and bring up the two cribs? Then set them up in my room? Tristina, can you take Duo and Hilde shopping? I have a list of things we need." Catherine said as they nodded.
"But shopping day is not till Wednesday." Tristina reminded her sister.
"I know, but this is a special list of items that we need by this afternoon." Catherine said.
"2 cribs., two of the 3 new kids that are coming to us are babies right?" Heero asked.
"Yes. A five-year-old girl and her twin siblings. The twins are 2 weeks old. The five-year-old said her father is in prison when the twins were born and her mother died when giving birth to them, they have no other family." Said Catherine.
"Okay then, let's go get those cribs set up." Trowa said as he stood and led the 3 off.
"Catherine, can you keep an eye on the kids I have today until we get back?" Tristina asked as she stood and her older sister nodded.
"The list is on my desk." Catherine said.
"I'll be right back." Tristina said as she left the room.
"It will be a good thing, having babies here, it will you learn how to take care of them, feeding them and changing diapers." Catherine said to Duo and Hilde.
"Okay, you two, let's get going." Tristina said as she came back before they left.
When they came back they put everything away and settled into a routine for the week. Then after a month had gone by since Duo, Quatre, Hilde, and Wufei arrived, the latter two had to leave, with the promise that they would notify them when the people who wanted the Duo and Quatre dead were caught and no longer a threat to them. Duo went back to helping Heero as Quatre went back to Trowa and the horses. Tristina noticed in the following weeks that Heero and Duo were falling in love with each other and so was Triton and Quatre. She questioned both Heero and Triton about their feeling for the younger boys, they both blushed and said yes they were in love with the two younger boys.
"Welcome back Wufei, I trust your vacation was a good one?" Lieutenant Une asked the day Wufei and Hilde returned.
"It was, the boys enjoyed the circus so much that they chose to stay with the circus." Said Wufei as she nodded.
"Good to hear, how did Hilde like the circus?" she asked.
"She liked it as well." He said.
"Good. Now get to work." His boss said.
"Yes, mama." Wufei said as he left the office and went to speak to Sally and Noin, to learn what has been going on with his cases, while he's been away for the past month.
Two of the cases he had been working on had been solved, but the two high profile cases were still open. Quatre's case was high profile since his family was rich and the owner of Winner Enterprise, Duo's case was also high profile, mainly due to the fact that he was best friends with Quatre. It took 3 months before they got a break in the cases, a young women came forward with some very important information that would help him solve both cases. The female said her name was Dorothy Catalonia and she wanted out of the gang 'White Fang' since the information she had could get her killed and put the gang behind bars as well.
Wufei was shocked at that and had to ask why she didn't come forward before?
"I didn't know for sure. I mean I knew it was important information, but I had to be sure it was correct and that I had enough to help. Can you protect me once I give you the information?" asked Dorothy.
"Of course we can protect you, now what can you tell me about the cases and 'White Fang'?" Wufei asked her.
She started by saying that a rival company wanted to take out WEI so they asked 'White Fang' to kill the Winner family. They were to paid very nicely for each member they killed, but they could not find Mr. Winner's son since he was not home at the time of the murders of his family. The gang had another problem, someone who was not a member of the gang learned of things that no one outside of the gang should know about. They tried to kill the boy 3 times but he got away before he disappeared 4 months ago. The second and third time they tried to kill the boy, they had seen Mr. Winner's son was with him so they tried to kill both twice but they got away before disappearing. Dorothy told them everything that would help them solve the cases that made him send Duo Maxwell and Quatre Winner to his friend's place.
True to his word he sent Dorothy into protective custody and he told Lieutenant Une about everything he had just learned. They got people together and got a plan in order to arrest 'White Fang' and the people of the rival company who paid 'White Fang' to kill the Winner family. It took them another month to arrest everyone and put them behind bars, then it was another month before the trail started and Duo and Quatre returned to the city, with Trowa and Heero in tow.
"The girls stayed behind?" Wufei asked Trowa.
"Yeah, someone had to keep the circus running." He replied.
"How have the two been? I noticed you and Quatre were rooming together, so are Heero and Duo." Wufei said, as he saw a slight blush cross Trowa's face.
"They've been good, we've roomed together since 2 months after you and Hilde left." Trowa said.
"You mean..." Wufei started as he nodded.
"We are, it just sorta happened. Don't know where it's going to go once they are free." He replied.
The trial lasted 2 weeks as the evidence was shown, testimonies given and stories checked and double checked to make sure things stayed the same. All the members of the 'White Fang' gang were sentenced to prison, the length of time varied from one member to the next and the ones who were charged with murder were sentenced to life in prison without parole for 7 counts of murder and 2 counts of attempted murder. The people from the company that had been the main rival of WEI, who were the ones to order the Winner family murders were also sentenced to life in prison. Duo and Quatre were now free to do as they wished, but Quatre had to decide if he wanted to take over his family business or not.
"What do you want to do?" Wufei asked the four of them.
"Triton and I have to head back home soon, it's too much just for the girls to handle for long on their own." Heero said as Trowa nodded.
"I don't have any family, Quat had been family to me, but I feel like going back to the circus." Duo said.
"I have to figure out what to do with my family's company before I can decide. The headquarters are here anyway." Quatre said.
"If you want, you can see about relocating closer to the ranch so you won't have far to go." Trowa suggested.
"I'll think about it." Quatre said as he gave Trowa a smile as he and Wufei watched as Trowa, Heero, and Duo leave and head back to 'the circus'.
It took a couple of months for Quatre to learn the ropes of his family's business and he realized that he could relocate the headquarters and a lot of people like the idea. Plans were made and the land was bought before work was started, it took them a year since the trial, when Quatre took over for the new building to be finished. Those who wanted to stay in the old building could do so, they were required to send files and such to the new one so he as CEO could have a look at them and sign off on them. Quatre planned to live at the ranch and help out when he wasn't "in the office" and if he was needed and was at the ranch, they could call or drive there to speak with him.
"Easy girl, I know you miss him. I do as well." Trowa said as he tried to calm the mare that had claimed Quatre the first full day he had been at the ranch.
"Is someone mopping?" Quatre asked as he found the man he had fallen in love with as the mare whinnied clearly knowing his voice which made Trowa jump and spin around.
"You're back!" he said as he walked over to him.
"Yeah and I'm here to stay. I was able to build a new office an hours drive from here in town and some people came with me, they know if I'm not at the office, they can find me here." Quatre said as the two hugged and shared a kiss.
"I'm glad. Come on let's go tell everyone the good news." Trowa said as Quatre agreed and the two held hands as they left the barn, both ready to start a new chapter in life together with friends and family.
SB/Kierra: That was a long one.
Annie: Yes it is long, I did not want to make this into a muti-chapter story so that is why it's a long one shot.
SB/Kierra: Oh okay. Review please and be nice with it! Cya!
Annie: Bye!