AN/ Alright! Somehow (I'm not too sure) I broke through the dumb block and got my metaphorical pen back from the gremlins. So I finished edits to the second chapter of this and here it is. Now, I am actually re-posting this because I thought about it and the original chapter 2.1 was still way too long. I have now cut chapter 2 into four pieces and will be reposting the rest of the chapter as seperate chapters. I hope that this way it'll be a bit more managable. Sorry for the confusion! I guess I just gotta learn to reign in my blabber mouth. Oh well. Here's 2.1. More to come!

Disclaimer: /mutters unintelligably/ mumble-rumble /Wufei prods in bottom with Nataku's beam glaive/ ACH! Fine! I don't own Gundam Wing! And you can wipe that smirk off your face Wufei before I have Sally do it for me! Wufei: Injustice!

Living Dreams

Chapter 2.1: The First Awakens

By: Honourable Fool

The light was much too bright here. And the room stunk of that sterilized, clean smell. Shadows flitted across the light and muffled voices could be heard. Where was she?

Relena opened her eyes to find herself in the nurse's office. She was in one of the smaller rooms off the waiting room with a light much too bright for comfort filtering through the translucent glass of the door. The bed beneath her was lumpy and uncomfortable, ironic considering how expensive and hoity-toity this school was. She sat up quickly but regretted it almost immediately. Her head was spinning.

"What do you mean, everything is under control?" Her father's voice seemed to slam against her dazed senses even as it echoed through the wood. "She is my daughter and she needs proper medical attention! You should have taken her to the hospital!" A low hum that was the nurse's voice made its way through the door as well in quiet tones that seemed to try and calm him, but it did little good. "How dare you talk to me like that! Do you know who I am? Do you know how much I pay this damn school in tuition and generous donations? And I get this treatment?"

And there it was at last! Truly this was not about her at all, but entirely about him, his money and his reputation.

"Now, now dear, that's enough. I'm sure she's only doing what she thinks is best for Relena." Her mother's voice was a bit too loud as it floated dreamily through the door. Distantly, Relena wondered how many little yellow pills she had already taken today before coming here.

There was a heavy sound of her father sitting back down again before the nurse's mellow tones took over the conversation. Relena didn't bother to listen. She just wanted her parents to go away. It's not like they cared at all. Father was always too busy with work to care about his family. And as for mother… Mother loved only three things in this world; her yellow pills, her Vodka martinis, and her Latin pool boys. It was disgusting. She hated it. And she hated them. All she wanted was for them to leave.

Suddenly she heard footsteps approaching the door and the nurse's voice saying, "I'll just check and see if she's awake. If she is, I'll allow you to see her briefly. But if she is not than I really must insist that you leave and allow her to rest."

Relena had only the second in which the nurse paused to make sure there were no objections in which to flop back down and arrange herself so that she looked like she was sleeping, before the door opened, flooding the small, confined space with harsh white light.

Moving to stand beside her bed, the nurse called, "Ms. Relena?" in a voice that was a little too loud for the tiny room. "Ms. Relena." she called again, but this time close to her head. A second later a breathy whisper filled her ear as she said, "I know you're really awake." Relena's eyes popped open before she could stop them. "Don't worry," the nurse continued before she could do anything else. "If you don't want to see them give a tiny shake of your head and I'll tell them you're asleep."

A huge wave of gratitude rushed through her for this wonderful, kind young woman before her who had never looked so beautiful! As she gave a small shake of her head, a strong urge washed over her to kiss the woman in thanks before she was able to remind herself that she was not a lesbian, and even if the nurse was such an act would not be welcomed. Instead, the nurse smiled sweetly and nodded a little in understanding, before standing up over her again.

"Ms. Relena!" she called one final time in a voice that Relena now understood to be theatrically loud. Winking at her, she turned away from the girl's horizontal form and shut the door behind her, blocking off most of the light that had been coming through moments before. Relena watched her go, sitting up the moment the door was closed. "I'm sorry," she could just hear the nurse saying. "But you're daughter is still asleep. I'm afraid you can't see her now."

"WHAT?!" her father hollered. She winced.

"Mr. Darlian, may I remind you that you are currently in an infirmary and you must keep your voice down to remain here." The nurse's voice was firm and commanding and more than a little condescending. It clearly reminded him that he was in her domain and, rich as he was, he did not have free reign here.

"Easy dear." Her mother chimed airily.

"You're sure she's asleep and not comatose or dead?" he demanded rudely in a would-be restrained voice. Relena held back a derisive snort.

"I am quite sure, Mr. Darlian." The response was short and in a tone that ended all conversation.

For a moment there was only silence. Then, "Very well."

The sounds of two sets of feet standing and making their way out of the office came through the door before a loud snap that wasn't quite a childish slam cut them off entirely. A moment later the nurse came back in again and sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. She took a moment to feel Relena's forehead and check her pulse while Relena sat quietly, waiting. She just sat there watching the woman she had never paid much attention to. She was not much taller than Relena with a petite form that suggested she would not be getting much larger than she already was. Thick brown hair was pinned back behind her head, a little falling loose around her neck, and helped to secure the small, white nurse's cap she wore on her head that matched the white uniform she wore. She was not impressively pretty, but Relena still thought her to be an absolutely lovely woman for her actions today.

When she was satisfied with Relena's well being she turned to her at last, fixing the girl with a firm stare that she felt must have gone very nicely with the commanding tone she had just used on her father. As she looked into those eyes she noticed that they were a deep, chocolate brown like her hair. Chocolate brown… What did that remind her of?

"Have you eaten lunch today?"

Relena blinked. Her tone was not the soft, sympathetic one she had used when she came in before, but a harsh one, like what she had used on her father. Coupled with the look she found it very intimidating. "Lunch? Er-um… Uh, no. Right now is my math class and that's before my lunch." Her voice gained strength as she spoke. "Well, I'm sure class is over by now and my friends are probably sitting in the cafeteria wondering where I am." She tried to laugh a little, but found it hard under that stare.

For a moment the nurse just looked at her, her eyes boring into her as if trying to detect the lie. Pursing her lips a little, she said, "I don't think so." Relena only gave her a confused look so she continued. "All lunch periods ended an hour ago."

All propriety flew out the window as her mouth dropped in shock. "An hour ago? How long have I been here?"

"Two of your classmates brought you down to me about two hours ago." Disbelief numbed her. How could this be? This was not good at all! "Ms. Relena, what was the last meal you ate?"

"Breakfast." She responded automatically, not even feeling her mouth move. Again the nurse's eyes seemed to try to pierce straight through her.

"Are you sure?"

"Of course I'm sure! Pagan always makes sure I eat before I leave."

"Who is Pagan?"

Relena winced a little before replying, "Our butler" very quietly, as if whispering it would make it less true. Quickly she followed it with, "He and his wife essentially raised me." And fixed the nurse with a stern look of her own, as if daring her to laugh or challenge her claim.

"I see. Well then, perhaps I should have called them in instead." She smiled as she said this, wanting to ease the girl's mistrust. It was not unusual for students to come in to her and ask that their servants be called instead of their parents. But still, this Pagan seemed to be lucky. By her willingness to defend him she could tell that unlike some rich kids she truly loved and appreciated the people who really raised her and did not look down on them at all. "I'm sorry about the 3rd degree but I just have to make sure that you're not one of those girls trying to starve yourself."

Relena blanched at the thought. "Oh, no! I couldn't! I love chocolate way too much for that!"

The young woman laughed. "Well I can't guarantee you any of that, but I can go down to the lunchroom and get you something. Lie down and rest awhile while I do that."

Relena smiled her thanks, lying back down obediently, and watched her leave. As the door softly closed behind her, her mind wandered and her eyes drifted towards the ceiling. What had happened? The last thing she remembered was Mrs. Sweetman writing notes on matrices when suddenly she felt herself falling and everything went black. No, there was something before that. She had been staring at the board, but had stopped taking notes. There was something…

A flash of night sky and chocolate brown locks streaming in the wind came to her and then was gone again. Had she been daydreaming? She never daydreamed, not even when she was a child. Closing her eyes she tried again to remember, digging deep for that flash of memory. There had been a car, a black convertible. He had been in it. The car was going fast… too fast. It had flipped over. And then something hit it. A dark blur.

Relena opened her eyes again, her pulse racing. Was that it? That was the last thing she remembered before passing out. What did it mean?

AN/ Oh! That's actually... short! I'm impressed with myself! Anyways, Relena's parents probably seem highly OOC from the anime, and trust me they're only gonna get worse. If you wanna cut into me for it, go right ahead! Just know I'll probably laugh it off and not take it seriously. This is how I needed their personalities to be in order to tell the story I wanted. Don't worry, I'm sure there are other things you'll hate me more for as we go along. So I can deal with this. KK! Review and it'll make me happy and want to get out more chapters quicker! I already am 6 chapters in and all the early ones need is editing (and cutting apparently!) and they're set to go! So hit the button for instant editing inspiration! And don't forget Inazuma-sama's five star guide! TTFN!

Inazuma Akai's 5 Star Rating System for Fanfiction:
1 star – This fic is unreadable! Get a beta-reader stat!
2 stars – This story needs a face-lift in the worst possible way…
3 stars – Not bad, but with a little more effort you can make it a really good fic.
4 stars – There are some minor errors here and there but otherwise it's a very nice fic!
5 stars – It's an exceptional work of art! More, please?