By Spirit Wolf
Chapter 2
"Master Quatre! Where do you think your picture should go?"
"My… picture?"
A crane rumbled over. Dangling from it was a massive picture of Quatre.
"Um… wherever you like," Quatre said, blushing. The crane headed for the front of the large hall.
"We're running well on schedule," Rashid said, smiling. "The hall will be finished earlier than expected."
Quatre nodded. "Thanks you guys."
"For what, Master?"
"For… for all of this." He gestured to the half-built hall. Already, it looked fabulous. Most of the walls were standing, and several cranes were starting to set-up the roof.
"Don't thank us, Master," Rashid said. "We are forever in your debt."
Quatre shook his head. "No… during the war, you saved - "
A sickening TWANG! sound filled the air, followed by several more.
"AAAAHHHH!!!! NO!"
"MASTER QUATRE! LOOK OUT!"
"ABOVE YOU!!!"
The air was filled with yells. Quatre looked up just in time to see the steel beam, which had fallen from a crane. Without thinking, he dove forwards, knocking a stunned Rashid out of the way.
CLANG!
The beam hit Quatre on the head with full force. He stood, eyes wide and mouth open, staring into space. The beam still rested on his head.
"Quatre-sama!" Rashid shoved the beam off of the still-standing Quatre. It crashed to the floor loudly.
The Maguanacs crowded around, talking loudly.
"Master! Are you alright?"
"I am so sorry, Master! It was an accident!"
"Master! Master Quatre!"
Rashid gestured for them to back away with an arm, then turned to Quatre. "Master Quatre, can you hear me?"
Silence. Quatre still stood where he was, staring straight ahead. He didn't even blink. Rashid slowly moved his hand back and forth in front of Quatre, but his eyes remained blank, staring ahead. Suddenly, they closed and Quatre collapsed.
Trowa sat comfortably on the couch, leaning forward so he could hold the instrument firmly, yet delicately. He began to play. He didn't even know what he was playing; the notes just seemed to flow.
His flute playing was interrupted by loud footsteps down the corridor. Trowa stopped playing as Duo ran into the room, followed (less enthusiastically) by Wufei and Heero.
"You better not be lying," Wufei said, dangerously.
"Nope!" Duo cried. He spun around and held up a small plastic card. Wufei's eyes went wide.
There was a short silence.
"Let's go shopping!!!!!" Duo cried gleefully. "Come on!!! Who wants to?"
He grabbed Wufei's arm with one hand and Heero's arm with the other, and then pulled them both out of the room. A few seconds later, he reappeared, shouting, "Hey, Trowa! Wanna come shopping with us?"
Trowa shook his head. "No thanks."
Duo shrugged and disappeared again. Trowa heard the car engine as his fellow pilots left. He smiled to himself, and began to play where he left off. The song did not have a true direction, it was just one long melody that seemed, to Trowa, to nullify time itself. Finally, the beautiful tune came to an end, and Trowa sat in the sudden, deafening silence.
He jerked when he heard the front door slam open. The others couldn't be back already, could they? How long had he been playing?
He listened closely to the footsteps, and realized that there were more than three people. Suddenly, a large group of Maguanacs raced into the room and disappeared just as quickly, heading up the stairs. They didn't even notice Trowa, who stood up and followed them a few seconds later.
Trowa pursued them down a hallway, and into… Quatre's bedroom? He stood in the doorway as the Maguanacs gathered around Quatre's bed. Trowa got a glimpse of a figure, whom they laid carefully on the bed. The person was obviously not conscious, because he had been slumped over.
Rashid noticed Trowa suddenly, and raced over. "Trowa! It's terrible, Master Quatre…" He trailed off. Trowa pushed past and saw that the unconscious figure on the bed was, indeed, Quatre.
"What happened?" Trowa gasped.
"There… there was an accident at the construction site of the new hall. Quatre was…" Abdul trailed off. Trowa's eyes went wide.
"He's still alive," Rashid assured him. "But he suffered a serious blow to the head, and has yet to wake up." He was biting his lip as he spoke.
Trowa pushed past him and stood beside the bed, staring down at Quatre. The peaceful blonde's eyes were close, and his expression was soft, as if he was sleeping. Trowa could see several white bandages around his head, blending in almost perfectly with his hair.
"We thought here would be the best place for him," Rashid continued. "We tried to call an ambulance, but all the nearby hospitals are full with victims of that new virus."
Trowa nodded. "We'll take care of him."
Rashid led the way out of the room, closing the door so it was only open a small crack. "He had a large gash on his forehead, but that seems to be all."
"We think he could have some damage in his back, but we won't know until he wakes up," Abdul said.
"We are so sorry," Rashid continued. "We certainly didn't mean for this to happen." The Maguanacs all started talking at once, taking Rashid's words as their cue to apologize.
Trowa rose a hand to quiet them down, and said, "Don't worry about it. It was obviously an accident. It's not your fault."
The Maguanacs didn't seem convinced. They followed Trowa down the stairs, constantly apologizing. Trowa allowed himself a small smile. "Don't worry," he assured them. "We'll take care of Quatre."
Heero opened the door with his free hand and pushed it open, leading the way to the kitchen, where he carefully placed his bags of groceries on the counter. Duo quickly followed suit, and Wufei closed the front door behind him as he carried his bags to the counter. Heero started slowly going through the bags, putting its contents away in the fridge, freezer, and cupboard.
There was, of course, a lot of ice cream. At least ten tubs in five different flavours. How totally like Duo.
Then there was Wufei's stuff, which consisted of some pasta snacks, at least five blocks of chocolate, and quite a few chocolate bars. Despite this, the Chinese boy had denied being addicted to it.
And finally, Heero had chosen potato chips, which he had grown quite an affection for.
Besides the groceries, there was a bag full of movie rentals from the video store, and a bag full of hair products, which they all assumed Trowa would need.
Wufei quickly grabbed one of his chocolate bars out of the fridge, and the three boys headed for the living room. Duo waved as he spotted Trowa coming towards them from the end of the hall. "Hey! We bought you some stuff." He stopped when he realized that Trowa unmistakeably had a worried expression. "What's wrong?"
"It's Quatre," Trowa replied.
Heero and Wufei stopped in their tracks.
Trowa entered a side room and reappeared, holding a folded up blanket under his arm. Without another word, he took off down the hall and up the stairs. His fellow pilots followed, bewildered. They pursued him to a dark room, and slowly followed him in. They found themselves in a large bedroom, and instantly noticed a figure lying on the bed, his face hidden by the dark. Trowa unfolded the blanket and carefully lay it over the unconscious figure.
Three sets of eyes widened as they recognised the figure.
"Quatre!"
Aaaawwww......... I am so cruel. How could I DO that to sweet little innocent Quatre? ^_^ Heh heh heh... you wait till you read the NEXT chapter... heh heh heh...