"Hilde! I need some help here!" A teenaged mechanic with a long
braid yelled. His dirty face came from under the car he was working on,
looking for his partner.
"I've got my hands tied with this computer, Duo!" She responded,
"Can it wait?"
"No!"
Hilde rolled her eyes and ran to Duo. "What's wrong?"
"I can't find a wrench!" He said. Hilde sweatdropped, for the
tool he needed was only a few inches from where he was.
"Duo, try looking a bit harder near your wrist," She suggested,
pointing where the wrench was.
His eyes lit up, "Oh! There it is!"
"Duo...what would I do without you?" Hilde sighed and proceeded
to go back to her own work.
"Wait!" He wailed.
"Now what?!" Hilde asked, running back.
Duo smiled from under the car, "Can you get it for me?"
Hilde was on the brink of exploding, but released her anger with
a tired sigh, "Duo, just get it yourself! Besides, I've ran out of
ZIP disks for the work I need to do. So," She poked her head under the
car, "make sure the house is still in one piece when I get back."
He nodded, trying to keep his focus on his work, "Be careful,
Hilde!" ("Really, Hilde, don't come back dismantled...")
"Yeah, yeah, whatever!" She acknowledged, running to her car.
("Even though he says it sarcastically, he really does care, doesn't
he? But...he couldn't possibly...no, not Duo...") With that thought
in mind, she took off to the nearest store.
***
Three hours passed, and Hilde was still not home. Duo made a
delicious dinner that he hoped Hilde would enjoy, but he began
worrying after he ended up eating it alone.
("It shouldn't have taken her that long to buy a few
back-up disks. She'd be home at least half an hour after she
left...but something feels different about this situation...")
After he dumped his dishes in the sink, Duo took Hilde's
plate and covered it with another to keep it from getting cold
as ice. Then, he plopped down on the couch and turned on the TV.
"All right!" He exclaimed, glued to the sight before him,
"They're ahead by fifteen!"
His team playing in the playoff game was winning. Duo kept
his focus for the rest of the second half, and his expression
changed.
"What?! How could they lose like that?! They didn't
deserve it!" He screamed at the TV. Scampering to his feet from
the couch, he imagined the look on Hilde's face if she saw him
like that.
("Hilde would've enjoyed this one; she would've won the bet
and say, 'Cool it, Duo! I told ya they would lose!' She'd smile
that smile of victory and push me around for the rest of the day.")
He shook his head, ("Why is this happening? It's like I'm
thinking she'd never come back...or...")
Suddenly, the phone rang. Duo ran to it and quickly answered it,
hoping Hilde was on the other line.
"Hello?"
"Duo, this is Relena."
("She sounds worried...") "'Sup Relena?"
"This is really hard for me to say, Duo, but..."
"What's wrong?" His heart began beating at a unusually fast
pace. "Relena?"
"Look, Duo, Hilde's been in a really bad car accident."
Duo cringed at the thought, "Car accident?"
"She suffered from a concussion, a deep cut on her forehead and
leg from flying glass, and three broken ribs. One of those ribs
collapsed onto her left lung, which is the reason for the surgery."
He was literally speechless. Duo held his breath, trying to
process the information Relena fed to him.
"Duo? Are you there? Duo!"
"Relena, I'm going." With that, he hung up the phone and raced
out the door.
***
Relena and Heero sat tensely in the hospital's waiting room.
There was nothing they could do to make time pass at a faster rate.
Apparently, the two contacted their other friends, and were soon
joined by Catherine, Trowa, Quatre, Dorothy, Sally, and Wufei; everyone
but Duo arrived.
"How bad is it?" asked Trowa.
Relena shook her head as Heero wrapped a comforting arm around
her, "Very bad. They don't think she'll make it."
"Duo's not going to be happy hearing that," remarked Quatre.
"However," interjected Wufei, "that girl's got a fighting
spirit, so, we shouldn't worry too much."
"Still, this may come as a horrible thing to say at such a
time, but," Catherine began, "this is reality. She may..."
Trowa held her hand tightly, for she couldn't finish her
sentence. Everyone looked down or at the slowly ticking clock.
It wasn't long until a nurse came into the waiting room, ending
their tormenting wait.
"Are you all of Ms. Schbeiker's family?"
Relena stood, "Is it okay for us to see her?"
The nurse smiled, "She just got out of surgery, and-"
"We won't be long," Quatre reassured as the group filed out
of the room.
They made their way down the hall, trying to find the ICU. Relena
looked around, and gasped at the sight before her. Heero locked his
arms around her, trying to ease her pain.
"I-it was that bad?" Relena stammered, holding back tears.
The rest looked in her direction. There was Hilde, clinging to
life with an oxygen mask covering her nose. A slow bleeping noise from
a machine would tell if she'd live or die. Her face was the same color
as her white sheets. It was a sight that shattered her friend's hearts.
Sally and Wufei cast their heads down, Dorothy stood there wide
eyed as Quatre tried to comfort her, and Trowa held Catherine as
she let silent tears fall from her eyes.
"Duo would go insane if he saw her now," said Sally in
a whispered hush.
"That's because he is going to become insane," added
Dorothy. "He'd be devastated."
They couldn't move at first, for their emotions glued them
to where they stood. Relena took in a deep breath, and proceeded
to Hilde's bed.
"Hey, Hilde," she gently said, holding her hand, "We're all here
just for you. Don't give up the fight, otherwise, Duo's going to throw
a fit at you." She wiped a tear from her face, and smiled, "If you're
wondering about him, he's on his way."
In the background, she heard her friends shuffling around.
Relena looked back, and there he was. She saw his wide-eyed, fearful
expression that melted her heart. However, she smiled and looked
down at her sleeping friend.
"Actually, Hilde, your prince in shining armor just walked in
to save you." She laid Hilde's hand back on the bed, and turned to
Duo.
"Make sure she hears you, Duo." Relena suggested before leading
the group away to give them some means of privacy.
"She's going to be okay, right Relena?" Quatre asked with a
glimmer of hope shining in his voice.
"With Duo standing next to her," began Heero, "a miracle might
happen."
***
It took Duo a while to figure out what he would say to the
person lying before him. Finally, he grabbed a chair, sat down
and took her hand in his.
"Hi there," he said. "Some dramatic opening, huh?" Duo
carefully took off strands of hair that swept across her face,
"Tell me you're going to be okay, Hilde. Open your eyes and take
me from this nightmare."
He looked at the floor, trying to figure out what else to
say.
"I'm okay, Duo." Hilde whispered, smiling weakly.
"Wow, it's amazing what the power of Duo Maxwell can do to
you!" He joked, smiling.
"How long have I been here?" She asked.
Duo looked at his watch, "Just a few hours."
"I see," Hilde said, turning her head down.
"What's wrong?" He gently asked, stroking her cheek with his
free hand. "You're going to be okay, don't worry about that.
You have a strong will, Hilde. With that, there's no chance of you
going away just yet."
She broke a smile, "Thanks, Duo."
"For what?"
"Silly!" She loosened her grip with her hand and wrapped her
arms around him. "You've been so nice, caring and fun to live with.
I'm sorry to have made you worry a little."
"Hey, I wasn't worried," He admitted, then scratching his head
thoughtfully, "I think."
"Aishiteru, Duo." She whispered.
Duo looked into her eyes, "Aishiteru, Hilde." ("Great! Now you're
mine...in that special loving way, of course.")
They looked at each other for a few short seconds, then their
lips met. It wasn't long, but short and sweet. Hilde broke it, for
she had fallen asleep.
"Sweet dreams, Hilde."
****
(A week later...)
It was a beautiful spring day, and everyone got together after
Hilde got out of the hospital.
"How do you do it, Relena?" asked Duo with a stuffed mouth,
"This food is delicious!"
Relena smiled, "Just a secret recipe, that's all!"
Dorothy and Heero leaned over to Relena and whispered, "It's
restaurant take-out, isn't it?"
"Yep." She said, sweatdropping. Then, she turned to Hilde, "Thank
goodness you're finally out of that hospital, Hilde!"
Quatre looked up from his plate, "Yeah, you had all of us on the
edge that week."
She smiled wearily, for she was still somewhat tired, "I didn't
mean to go that far, but all of you kept me going."
Duo wrapped an arm around her, "I was the one who really kept
you going, right?"
"Duo, don't even think about taking all the credit!" Hilde
exclaimed, jumping up, taking her beret off and beating Duo with
it.
Everyone laughed heartily.
"With energy like that..." started Wufei.
"...It's amazing that Duo is still alive." finished Sally.
Duo rubbed the bump on the back of his neck as the laughter
died down, "What was that for, Hilde?!"
She smiled slyly, and kissed him, "I had to do it! You don't
mind, do you?"
"Nope, not at all..." He answered, as the group looked on in
pure astonishment.
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