The Graveyard Shift
by Rabidus Femina
~ I do not own 'If You Asked Me To,' by Celine Dion, nor Gundam W. ~
Note: WARNING---Frequent point of view changes below! Watch for the heading!
Wufei
I stalked into the surveillance room at Preventers headquarters. I was tired. I had not had a full night's sleep in three days. I wanted to be left alone; more importantly, I wanted to sleep. No one offered to take my shift, no one even said that I looked tired; no one cared. Maybe if I just lean back in my chair and dim the lights. No. That would be devious and weak. Weak is one thing I refuse to be. If only I could prove myself to be worthy..
I growled, rubbing my eyes roughly, and leaned forward, locking my chair in place so I sat ramrod-straight. I couldn't fall asleep if I tried. Hah, the brain fools the body so easily. One can do anything if one puts their mind to it. I began to pour over the hours of surveillance tape as, out the corner of my eye, I watched the tape currently recording. It was a dull job, but someone had to do it. The other officers tease me by suggesting I only took this job because Sally Po oversees this shift. The graveyard shift. Preposterous, I tell them, I am repaying my debt to an old friend. Is Sally Po my friend? It doesn't matter, I owe her my gratitude. She helped my comrades and me during the war. That is all I need to know.
It used to be I believed in something
It used to be that I believed in love
It's been a long time since I've had that feeling
I could love someone, I could trust someone.
It's true. I trust Sally Po with my life. I give few people this privilege. I trust her because she has a good head on her shoulders and is proficient with a gun, among other talents. Speak of the devil.here that insurgent woman comes now. I better get back to work, I don't want that woman reprimanding me. I'll never hear the end of it from those buffoons on the next shift. (Author's Note: Here it takes a weird shift. I'll toggle back and forth between memories and the present.)
I said I'd never let nobody near my heart again, Darling
I said I'd never.let nobody in.
~ Wufei stands in front of his mirror. He looks to the bed, with its soft, down pillow. He glares, drops the books in his hand on the floor, pushing them under the bed with his toe. He turns and looks searchingly at his reflection, takes off his glasses, dropping them and crushing them under the heel of his shoe. He tears a strip of cloth off his shirt and ties his hair back. His bearing changes. He looks stronger, more confident. He lowers his head slightly, glaring at himself through his eyelashes. He is ready to prove himself to Meiran.to Nataku. ~
But if you asked me to,
I might just change my mind, and let you in my life forever
If you asked me to,
I just might give my heart, and stay here in your arms forever
I cannot deny it. I admire Sally Po. She reminds me of another.maybe I feel more for her than admiration.. No, that is impossible. It cannot be.I made a promise.to myself. There, she's left. Now I can get back to my thoughts.
If you asked me to, if you asked me to
Somehow ever since I've been around you,
Can't go back to being on my own
~ Wufei looks back at the small village. A young girl runs out as Oz soldiers harass an old shopkeeper. They begin to push her around, laughing. His blood begins to boil. Those unrightous sons of asses. Wufei runs back and lands the taller one a solid kick in the jaw. He swings around and punches the other. After a few more blows, they run. Wufei wipes his split lip with his wrist. The girl, a pretty brunette with braids, smiles.
'Thank you.' Wufei drops his hand to his side. He turns to go, then spins back around.
'That was foolish of you.. Fighting when you cannot defend yourself is selfish and stupid.' He turns on his heel and walks away. ~
Can't help feeling, Darling, that since I found you,
That I've found my home, that I'm finally home.
Sally has always been like that. Rushing into a situation. It almost makes me want to nix that last statement about her having a good head on her shoulders. She has little common sense when caught up in the moment of action, yet she is quite smart.for a girl. I feel comfortable around her, for she is very unwoman like. Not always talking of shopping and men and the like; it is as if she is a man herself, sometimes. For example, when she is barking orders at some simpleton, she loses all femininity, and her voice lowers to a worrisome pitch.
I said I'd never let nobody get too close to me, Darling
I said I needed, I needed to be free.
~ Wufei is in the cockpit of Shenlong. He destroys a few more mobile suits, then flips on his com system. He tells the gundams that he works alone. He is not sure he trusts them. ~
But if you asked me to,
I might just change my mind, and let you in my life forever
If you asked me to,
I just might give my heart, and stay here in your arms forever
I guess you could say I have feelings for Sally Po. I admire her, I think she makes a good commander, and that she is an excellent doctor.sometimes I wonder if she is proficient in the kitchen, as well.
Sally
Yeah, I guess I enjoy Wufei's company. He's good to have around when you want to kick back and hear someone other than yourself yell at the ensigns. I guess I could count him as a friend, but I'm not sure. He says some harsh things sometimes. I am his commanding officer, yet unless we are on duty, he lacks tact. I guess I'll have to think more on that topic.
If you asked me to, if you asked me to
If you asked me to, if you asked me to
Ask me to, I will give my word.to you, Baby
'Cause I need you now, I need you now!
Heh, when I walked in a little while ago, he looked as if he were sleeping. Then he scratched his forehead with his thumb and I knew he was only thinking. I left him to his thoughts. I might get better use of my medical expertise if the ensigns, most of which are older than Wufei, a lieutenant, keep joshing him. He doesn't take kindly to teasing. Okay, so I do enjoy Wufei's company-a lot. He's a talented officer, a unusual one; though, but I have to hand it to him, he's a damn good soldier.heh heh, I bet he sleeps with his katana under his pillow. Wow, the midnight shift is almost over. I'd better tell the officers on duty.
Ask me to, I'll do anything, I'll do anything
[If you ask me to.]
For you, Baby.for you, Baby
If you ask me to.
Wufei
I got up almost as Sally Po walked in. I was so exhausted. She patted my shoulder and smiled.
"Sleep well." I nodded to her and smiled tiredly. Why did she seem so surprised?
"I will, thank you," I told her gratefully. She looked shocked. "Isn't 'thank you' what people say to each other when they are thankful?" She sputtered, so I just made my way to my shared dorm instead. I swear, Sally Po is strange at times.
I'll let you in my life forever.
All you have to do is ask me to!
I dragged my feet back to my bunk room and pulled off my shoes and pants and promptly collapsed face-down on my cot. I curled up contentedly and was soon asleep. Suddenly, it seemed, I rolled out of bed and into a noisy, blaring reality. The sirens were screaming and soldiers were running all over the place. I hastily pulled my pants and shoes on, stumbling out the door. I ran out and grabbed a passing ensign.
"What is going on? Where's Commander Po?!" The ensign snapped a salute and said,
"It's the satellite mission, sir. It crashed a third of the way up into orbit. Commander Sally Po was overseeing the operation in case medical help was needed." I let the squirming man go as I gasped, shocked. How? Why? I ran down the hall and skidded out into the cold night. A passing medic truck stopped and I climbed in. I gulped and looked down at my hands. They were pale and shaking. Why? There were medic trucks-she couldn't be- Yes, that's it. She couldn't logically be.dead.and there still be medic trucks.could she?
[If you asked me to.]
I give you my word.
All ya gotta do, all ya gotta do, all ya gotta do.
[If you ask me to.]
Sally
I hurt all over. I saw a smoldering piece of.something. It was melted, and I couldn't discern what it was. I gingerly rotated my hip slightly, testing. A bolt of lightning shot from my thigh to the small of my back, making me gasp.
Pain. Searing, real pain. At least I knew I wasn't dead. I searched my surroundings with my hands, found a cinder block or something, and pushed myself up. My leg was laying at a weird angle, and I was bruised and burned. I felt dizzy, and found the nausea that had been hiding in the pit of my stomach suddenly threatening to overcome me. My head ached, and I lay my head against the cinder block to steady my swimming vision. I vaguely heard the roar of a motor, which died down, then voices-worried voices. I don't remember what else. I was already passed out.
All ya gotta do is ask me to!
[If you asked me to.]
I give you my word, I give you my word!
Wufei
I saw the smoking wreckage and my breath caught in my throat. Other Preventers, mostly medics, were helping hobbling, bruised, and burned victims out of the remains. I scanned the scene quickly, saw no sign of Sally Po, and began sprinting through the debris, jumping over piles of twisted metal, concrete, and other things. I didn't want to think about what or whom the burned, twisted forms had been. I called out at the top of my lungs, one word, and one word only; running through my head and over my lips.
"Sally! Sally!" I stopped, cupped my hand to my ear, and listened, my whole body straining to hear a reply, a moan.anything. I licked my lips and let loose another call. "Sally! SALLY! SALL-!" I tripped over a stone or something, regained my equilibrium, and continued without skipping a beat. "SALLY!"
Anything, Anything, Baby
All ya gotta do is ask me to!
Sally
I saw him trip over me, but I was too weak to call out. No, I chided myself, I will not give Wufei reason to think me weak. I conjured all my strength, and lifted my upper torso, however shakily I did it.
"Wufei.! Wufei.I-I-I'm o-over here!" The last part was a bit stronger, and I faintly made out the outline of Wufei running towards me. He looked as scared, relieved, and angry-with me and my 'foolishness,' no doubt-as I had ever seen him. He knelt and sympathetically looked at me, then collected me in his arms and began to run, quite fast for a young man carrying another person who was practically deadweight, back to the waiting medic truck.
"Hold on, Sally." He huffed as he neared the vehicle. Did he just call me 'Sally'? Sally and not Woman? No matter, I should answer.
"Okay, Wufei.at least, I'll try." Wufei looked at me sternly, yet it wasn't how he usually looked at me. This look was.softer, somehow.
"Not try; will. I know you can do it. Do it because I'm telling you to." I must have lost *a lot* of blood. Wufei doesn't have any bedside manner.I don't think.
"Okay, Wufei, I will.."
[If you asked me to.]
If you asked me to.
I opened my eyes, then squinted them against the bright rays of sunlight filtering through the venetian blinds of my hospital room. I rubbed my eyes, and did a double-take. Wufei slept upright in the chair by my bedside. His eyes were closed so tightly, that I wondered if he was light- sensitive; my doctor's sense never rests. His brow was pulled over his eyes, probably in a nightmare or such. I yawned and stretched, gently as I could, so as not to wake him. I shifted gingerly, yet I accidentally compressed a worn spring and it creaked, going off like a shot. Wufei jumped, oh, maybe two feet, but as I winced at the ensuing rant, he just smiled, a bare lifting of the very corners of his mouth, but it was a smile. A genuine smile. In my current state of drug-induced grogginess and relief to be relatively unscathed, it was the single best thing I had seen all day. Or maybe it wasn't the drugs talking.
Wufei got up from his chair, and walked over to the bed. He sat on the edge of the mattress, and idly smoothed the bedspread. He suddenly looked up at me, his look more caring and relieved than I had ever seen on his tan face. He suddenly pitched his body forward and enveloped me in a warm hug. I was surprised, but I reciprocated. I tentatively, because of my sores, wrapped my arms around his neck and lay my head on his shoulder. His shoulder jarred against my cheek as his body wracked with quiet tears. He pulled away and furiously wiped them away, mumbling about 'weakness,' and 'stupid emotions.' I smirked. Yep, that was our Wufei. I touched his shoulder gently and he looked up.
"Wufei, could you do me a favor?" He smiled slightly again.
"Anything."
"Could you do that again?"
"What?"
"Hug me."
"Sure." He leaned forward, but I closed the space between us. I hugged him tighter than I should have, considering my injuries, but screw that. I pecked him on the cheek, and I could have sworn he blushed.
All ya gotta do, all ya gotta do, all ya gotta do!
[If you asked me to.if you asked me to]
If you asked me to!
"Sally?" Wufei smiled shyly and I grinned.
"Hm?" He was so cautious, almost.timid?
"Could you do that again?" I chuckled, shaking my head.
"Wufei." I kissed him again, but not on the cheek.
~ END ~
by Rabidus Femina
~ I do not own 'If You Asked Me To,' by Celine Dion, nor Gundam W. ~
Note: WARNING---Frequent point of view changes below! Watch for the heading!
Wufei
I stalked into the surveillance room at Preventers headquarters. I was tired. I had not had a full night's sleep in three days. I wanted to be left alone; more importantly, I wanted to sleep. No one offered to take my shift, no one even said that I looked tired; no one cared. Maybe if I just lean back in my chair and dim the lights. No. That would be devious and weak. Weak is one thing I refuse to be. If only I could prove myself to be worthy..
I growled, rubbing my eyes roughly, and leaned forward, locking my chair in place so I sat ramrod-straight. I couldn't fall asleep if I tried. Hah, the brain fools the body so easily. One can do anything if one puts their mind to it. I began to pour over the hours of surveillance tape as, out the corner of my eye, I watched the tape currently recording. It was a dull job, but someone had to do it. The other officers tease me by suggesting I only took this job because Sally Po oversees this shift. The graveyard shift. Preposterous, I tell them, I am repaying my debt to an old friend. Is Sally Po my friend? It doesn't matter, I owe her my gratitude. She helped my comrades and me during the war. That is all I need to know.
It used to be I believed in something
It used to be that I believed in love
It's been a long time since I've had that feeling
I could love someone, I could trust someone.
It's true. I trust Sally Po with my life. I give few people this privilege. I trust her because she has a good head on her shoulders and is proficient with a gun, among other talents. Speak of the devil.here that insurgent woman comes now. I better get back to work, I don't want that woman reprimanding me. I'll never hear the end of it from those buffoons on the next shift. (Author's Note: Here it takes a weird shift. I'll toggle back and forth between memories and the present.)
I said I'd never let nobody near my heart again, Darling
I said I'd never.let nobody in.
~ Wufei stands in front of his mirror. He looks to the bed, with its soft, down pillow. He glares, drops the books in his hand on the floor, pushing them under the bed with his toe. He turns and looks searchingly at his reflection, takes off his glasses, dropping them and crushing them under the heel of his shoe. He tears a strip of cloth off his shirt and ties his hair back. His bearing changes. He looks stronger, more confident. He lowers his head slightly, glaring at himself through his eyelashes. He is ready to prove himself to Meiran.to Nataku. ~
But if you asked me to,
I might just change my mind, and let you in my life forever
If you asked me to,
I just might give my heart, and stay here in your arms forever
I cannot deny it. I admire Sally Po. She reminds me of another.maybe I feel more for her than admiration.. No, that is impossible. It cannot be.I made a promise.to myself. There, she's left. Now I can get back to my thoughts.
If you asked me to, if you asked me to
Somehow ever since I've been around you,
Can't go back to being on my own
~ Wufei looks back at the small village. A young girl runs out as Oz soldiers harass an old shopkeeper. They begin to push her around, laughing. His blood begins to boil. Those unrightous sons of asses. Wufei runs back and lands the taller one a solid kick in the jaw. He swings around and punches the other. After a few more blows, they run. Wufei wipes his split lip with his wrist. The girl, a pretty brunette with braids, smiles.
'Thank you.' Wufei drops his hand to his side. He turns to go, then spins back around.
'That was foolish of you.. Fighting when you cannot defend yourself is selfish and stupid.' He turns on his heel and walks away. ~
Can't help feeling, Darling, that since I found you,
That I've found my home, that I'm finally home.
Sally has always been like that. Rushing into a situation. It almost makes me want to nix that last statement about her having a good head on her shoulders. She has little common sense when caught up in the moment of action, yet she is quite smart.for a girl. I feel comfortable around her, for she is very unwoman like. Not always talking of shopping and men and the like; it is as if she is a man herself, sometimes. For example, when she is barking orders at some simpleton, she loses all femininity, and her voice lowers to a worrisome pitch.
I said I'd never let nobody get too close to me, Darling
I said I needed, I needed to be free.
~ Wufei is in the cockpit of Shenlong. He destroys a few more mobile suits, then flips on his com system. He tells the gundams that he works alone. He is not sure he trusts them. ~
But if you asked me to,
I might just change my mind, and let you in my life forever
If you asked me to,
I just might give my heart, and stay here in your arms forever
I guess you could say I have feelings for Sally Po. I admire her, I think she makes a good commander, and that she is an excellent doctor.sometimes I wonder if she is proficient in the kitchen, as well.
Sally
Yeah, I guess I enjoy Wufei's company. He's good to have around when you want to kick back and hear someone other than yourself yell at the ensigns. I guess I could count him as a friend, but I'm not sure. He says some harsh things sometimes. I am his commanding officer, yet unless we are on duty, he lacks tact. I guess I'll have to think more on that topic.
If you asked me to, if you asked me to
If you asked me to, if you asked me to
Ask me to, I will give my word.to you, Baby
'Cause I need you now, I need you now!
Heh, when I walked in a little while ago, he looked as if he were sleeping. Then he scratched his forehead with his thumb and I knew he was only thinking. I left him to his thoughts. I might get better use of my medical expertise if the ensigns, most of which are older than Wufei, a lieutenant, keep joshing him. He doesn't take kindly to teasing. Okay, so I do enjoy Wufei's company-a lot. He's a talented officer, a unusual one; though, but I have to hand it to him, he's a damn good soldier.heh heh, I bet he sleeps with his katana under his pillow. Wow, the midnight shift is almost over. I'd better tell the officers on duty.
Ask me to, I'll do anything, I'll do anything
[If you ask me to.]
For you, Baby.for you, Baby
If you ask me to.
Wufei
I got up almost as Sally Po walked in. I was so exhausted. She patted my shoulder and smiled.
"Sleep well." I nodded to her and smiled tiredly. Why did she seem so surprised?
"I will, thank you," I told her gratefully. She looked shocked. "Isn't 'thank you' what people say to each other when they are thankful?" She sputtered, so I just made my way to my shared dorm instead. I swear, Sally Po is strange at times.
I'll let you in my life forever.
All you have to do is ask me to!
I dragged my feet back to my bunk room and pulled off my shoes and pants and promptly collapsed face-down on my cot. I curled up contentedly and was soon asleep. Suddenly, it seemed, I rolled out of bed and into a noisy, blaring reality. The sirens were screaming and soldiers were running all over the place. I hastily pulled my pants and shoes on, stumbling out the door. I ran out and grabbed a passing ensign.
"What is going on? Where's Commander Po?!" The ensign snapped a salute and said,
"It's the satellite mission, sir. It crashed a third of the way up into orbit. Commander Sally Po was overseeing the operation in case medical help was needed." I let the squirming man go as I gasped, shocked. How? Why? I ran down the hall and skidded out into the cold night. A passing medic truck stopped and I climbed in. I gulped and looked down at my hands. They were pale and shaking. Why? There were medic trucks-she couldn't be- Yes, that's it. She couldn't logically be.dead.and there still be medic trucks.could she?
[If you asked me to.]
I give you my word.
All ya gotta do, all ya gotta do, all ya gotta do.
[If you ask me to.]
Sally
I hurt all over. I saw a smoldering piece of.something. It was melted, and I couldn't discern what it was. I gingerly rotated my hip slightly, testing. A bolt of lightning shot from my thigh to the small of my back, making me gasp.
Pain. Searing, real pain. At least I knew I wasn't dead. I searched my surroundings with my hands, found a cinder block or something, and pushed myself up. My leg was laying at a weird angle, and I was bruised and burned. I felt dizzy, and found the nausea that had been hiding in the pit of my stomach suddenly threatening to overcome me. My head ached, and I lay my head against the cinder block to steady my swimming vision. I vaguely heard the roar of a motor, which died down, then voices-worried voices. I don't remember what else. I was already passed out.
All ya gotta do is ask me to!
[If you asked me to.]
I give you my word, I give you my word!
Wufei
I saw the smoking wreckage and my breath caught in my throat. Other Preventers, mostly medics, were helping hobbling, bruised, and burned victims out of the remains. I scanned the scene quickly, saw no sign of Sally Po, and began sprinting through the debris, jumping over piles of twisted metal, concrete, and other things. I didn't want to think about what or whom the burned, twisted forms had been. I called out at the top of my lungs, one word, and one word only; running through my head and over my lips.
"Sally! Sally!" I stopped, cupped my hand to my ear, and listened, my whole body straining to hear a reply, a moan.anything. I licked my lips and let loose another call. "Sally! SALLY! SALL-!" I tripped over a stone or something, regained my equilibrium, and continued without skipping a beat. "SALLY!"
Anything, Anything, Baby
All ya gotta do is ask me to!
Sally
I saw him trip over me, but I was too weak to call out. No, I chided myself, I will not give Wufei reason to think me weak. I conjured all my strength, and lifted my upper torso, however shakily I did it.
"Wufei.! Wufei.I-I-I'm o-over here!" The last part was a bit stronger, and I faintly made out the outline of Wufei running towards me. He looked as scared, relieved, and angry-with me and my 'foolishness,' no doubt-as I had ever seen him. He knelt and sympathetically looked at me, then collected me in his arms and began to run, quite fast for a young man carrying another person who was practically deadweight, back to the waiting medic truck.
"Hold on, Sally." He huffed as he neared the vehicle. Did he just call me 'Sally'? Sally and not Woman? No matter, I should answer.
"Okay, Wufei.at least, I'll try." Wufei looked at me sternly, yet it wasn't how he usually looked at me. This look was.softer, somehow.
"Not try; will. I know you can do it. Do it because I'm telling you to." I must have lost *a lot* of blood. Wufei doesn't have any bedside manner.I don't think.
"Okay, Wufei, I will.."
[If you asked me to.]
If you asked me to.
I opened my eyes, then squinted them against the bright rays of sunlight filtering through the venetian blinds of my hospital room. I rubbed my eyes, and did a double-take. Wufei slept upright in the chair by my bedside. His eyes were closed so tightly, that I wondered if he was light- sensitive; my doctor's sense never rests. His brow was pulled over his eyes, probably in a nightmare or such. I yawned and stretched, gently as I could, so as not to wake him. I shifted gingerly, yet I accidentally compressed a worn spring and it creaked, going off like a shot. Wufei jumped, oh, maybe two feet, but as I winced at the ensuing rant, he just smiled, a bare lifting of the very corners of his mouth, but it was a smile. A genuine smile. In my current state of drug-induced grogginess and relief to be relatively unscathed, it was the single best thing I had seen all day. Or maybe it wasn't the drugs talking.
Wufei got up from his chair, and walked over to the bed. He sat on the edge of the mattress, and idly smoothed the bedspread. He suddenly looked up at me, his look more caring and relieved than I had ever seen on his tan face. He suddenly pitched his body forward and enveloped me in a warm hug. I was surprised, but I reciprocated. I tentatively, because of my sores, wrapped my arms around his neck and lay my head on his shoulder. His shoulder jarred against my cheek as his body wracked with quiet tears. He pulled away and furiously wiped them away, mumbling about 'weakness,' and 'stupid emotions.' I smirked. Yep, that was our Wufei. I touched his shoulder gently and he looked up.
"Wufei, could you do me a favor?" He smiled slightly again.
"Anything."
"Could you do that again?"
"What?"
"Hug me."
"Sure." He leaned forward, but I closed the space between us. I hugged him tighter than I should have, considering my injuries, but screw that. I pecked him on the cheek, and I could have sworn he blushed.
All ya gotta do, all ya gotta do, all ya gotta do!
[If you asked me to.if you asked me to]
If you asked me to!
"Sally?" Wufei smiled shyly and I grinned.
"Hm?" He was so cautious, almost.timid?
"Could you do that again?" I chuckled, shaking my head.
"Wufei." I kissed him again, but not on the cheek.
~ END ~