Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters, I do not own.
Two – Field Trip
Sometimes fate can suck you in and spit you out and you find yourself on the wrong side of the road.
"Heero…" For once in her life she was left speechless. Throwing whatever sense she had left out the window, she walked up to him, gently wrapped her arms around his neck and stepped into his embrace.
Heero had to quickly reach for his jacket as it trailed down her shoulders. Not knowing what to do with his hands, he simply placed his jacket around the only person who mattered at that moment and drew her closer to him.
"I'll never take it off." She promised. Perhaps this would mark the turning point of their relationship and he might be willing to crawl out of his shell. Relena couldn't have asked for a better gift. As the night drew to a close, they all left for their respective homes and the birthday girl thanked them all for the evening. Once she bid farewell to each of them, Heero was the only one left by her side.
"So, I guess there goes another year, huh?" She commented as Duo and Hilde drove off the parking lot, honking away their departure.
"That's one way of putting it." Heero acknowledged. "Want me to take you home?"
Angling her head to the side as she pondered his offer, she couldn't stop smiling at him.
"What?" He asked as she continued staring at him. Did she consume some alcohol throughout the evening without anyone noticing? She wasn't acting like her usual depressive self. Relena actually looked happy for once.
"It's such a nice night, I think I'll walk." She said as she pointed up to the stars encompassing the darkness of the night.
"You live ten blocks from here…" He didn't like the idea. "And it's late." Heero explained by way of telling her no.
She started walking down the street and gave him a quick wave. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. See you tomorrow at Preventers?"
"Just let me drive you home."
"I'll take that as a yes then?" She said, answering her own question while she lengthened the distance between them. "I need to work off some of this energy anyway, no problem. Oh, by the way, thanks so much for the necklace. I love it! Have a good night."
"Relena!" He called one final time, then gave in, and threw his jacket at her. "Wear it. I don't want you catching a cold." Heero called back at her and smirked a little by her enthusiasm.
She caught it with ease and slipped it over her bare shoulders. Relena gave a final wave and turned around the corner. He wondered why life couldn't be as easy as tonight. The dove was a symbol of new beginnings and he hoped that he would have the courage to fracture through his barrier and be able to fully live his life, now that the war was over. The Perfect Soldier was no longer needed, then why did he have a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach?
New beginnings… That's what it meant to her. She still couldn't believe Heero's generosity. It went beyond comprehension! Relena wondered what the necklace meant to him? The same thing? What if she was putting too much thought in just an innocent gift from a friend to a friend?
One thing was for certain though, he did care about her and that meant everything. As she waited for the lights to turn green, she reached for the necklace for the hundredth time that night and marveled at its beauty, the dove. Then the lights turned and the walking light switched over signaling passage for pedestrians to cross. Without even looking, she began to cross the street.
"Why do you always have to make your shipments at night, Harry?" The woman next to her husband replied.
As Harry turned onto the street in their navy blue truck, he was really regretting having the wife come with him. Every week, he's assaulted with the same banter from her, never satisfied. "Can you just shut up so I can drive this ancient pick-up?"
They prolonged their argument, putting the blame on the other person; neither noticed the red light approaching and the young woman walking right in front of them. "Harry, look out!!!"
Relena heard the screeching of tires and the headlights shining at her. When she turned to see the source of the light, the last thing she heard was crunching metal and shattered glass, then darkness.
"Omigod, Samantha, what did we hit?" Harry asked, sounding out of breath. "Please tell me it was a dog, or a cat."
His wife didn't respond. Instead, she jumped off her seat and ran towards the fallen body in front of their vehicle. She noticed that the incident was already blocking the intersection and several other vehicles were honking at them. Curious bystanders came near to see the commotion and when they noticed a body on the ground, their curiosity grew tenfold.
Murmurs flew across the air:
"Who is she? Is she alright?"
"Someone should call an ambulance?"
"Did someone take down the license of the driver?"
"We gotta help her, god look at the blood."
Harry and Samantha were terrified of the situation and they could only stare at the unbelievable sight before their eyes. "How on earth could you hit a young girl, Harry? Dammit! I don't want any trouble from the police."
"You're right. Let's take her to a hospital, that's what everyone's saying." He responded as a crowd of onlookers surrounded the scene.
"NO! They'll ask too many questions. I don't want no trouble from the cops. Remember last time? Do you want to serve more jail time? Think! We have to come up with something better."
He tapped his foot nervously on the pavement and yelled out to everyone, "We'll take her to the hospital. Don't worry. She's in good hands." Harry walked over to the unconscious Relena on the ground and gently lifted her into his arms. He then carried her to the back of the truck and closed the door.
Samantha was frantic, trying to get her husband's attention. She whispered angrily for his ears only, "Did you not hear me the first time? I said no hospital!"
"Shhh… I know!! We'll take her home and then decide what to do with her." Once all three passengers were in, they backed out of the scene and drove off, leaving the onlookers with a confused expression on their faces.
"Sam, shut up! I know it was dumb of me to speed. What's done is done, ok? We just have to work around it." Harry yelled at his wife as they brought the young girl into their home. He laid her on the couch and sat on the floor, exhausted. "And yes, no hospital. Got it! But what can we do for her? It seems that she has a pretty deep gash on her forehead." He gently touched the skin around the cut and noticed that it stopped bleeding. Harry thanked god for small blessings.
"I don't know what we can do. This is turning into a nightmare." Samantha admitted, rubbing her temples. "I told you not to make those damn deliveries at night. You never listen to me."
The unconscious lady began to moan softly from the pain and slowly fluttered her eyelashes. "Wait, look she's coming around." Harry admitted. They both paid closer attention to her eyes and then they saw a pair of aquamarine spheres staring right back at them.
"Are you alright?" Samantha probed gently.
"Hmm?" The young girl muttered softly.
"You were in an accident. Do you hurt anywhere?" Harry asked as he raised a few fingers in front of her eyes. "How many fingers do you see?"
"Um… 2 and one thumb." She replied.
"Oh, thank god." The married couple answered in unison.
"What's your name, young lady?" Harry asked, hoping to find her parents and send her on her way home.
"My name?"
"Yeah, where do you live? We can send you home so there's no need for a lawsuit right?"
"Shut up!" Samantha scolded and elbowed Harry to his side. "Your address, or maybe even a phone number so we could reach someone?"
"I…. don't know." She looked confused and disoriented.
"You don't know?" They chanted.
"What's your name? Don't make me grow impatient with you." Sam spoke a little louder, growing angrier by the minute.
"I… really don't know."
"Oh, frick!" Sam swore under her breath.
"What, what is it?" Harry asked. "Don't tell me it's…"
"Amnesia."
TBC