/ AN: Thanks for everyone's patience. I took a small break from the "Shinigami and Solo" series. I think the reason I was a little "bleh" about the beginning of this was that I wasn't able to have any artistic flexibility. (What with the original dialogue and action), so after this part I am going to keep it as super-cannon as possible but there will be no "replay" of episodes. I just didn't want to change up the things that ACTUALLY happened. The rest of this fic will be things that happened "between the lines". So, anyway, this story is taking the forefront for a while. I am going through a lot of personal stuff and GW is always a great therapeutic way of dealing with my problems. - BHG /

Ch 2: Looking for the place where we smile again…

Part 1

Duo crouched behind a long counter at the nurse's station and waited for one of the medical doctors to enter one of the patient's rooms. His mission to sneak into the hospital undetected had gone swimmingly, and despite the heightened security on every floor he had managed to slip through rather effortlessly. It was amazing how little anyone seemed to notice a boy in all black with two large backpacks and a metal stick, but he supposed that the sick and dying came in all forms and that the medical workers just took the strange and unusual to be normal.

So they had paid him no mind. However, the higher he got in the building the more difficult his task became. It seemed that they kept the high risk patients on the higher levels and that was why the security guards had all but doubled since the last floor.

A doctor, or perhaps surgeon, had finished looking in a chart and was now sauntering towards one of the closed doors at the far end of the hallway. Duo leaned down close to the ground and peeked around the corner of the station's counter to look at the opposite end of the hall where the stairwell was. He would have to get there, and ascend three more floors before he would find the highest level security sector of the hospital, where he assumed they had taken the strange boy from the naval base.

Duo frowned at the thought and quickly shook his head, his messy bangs flopping wildly against his half-lidded eyes. No… he couldn't think on that now, it would only cloud his head. It was imperative that his focused. He couldn't afford to make any mistakes, not this far into his personal mission.

As he peered down the stark, rather empty hallway he saw that a security guard was hovering around the stairwell. The man was on his cell phone talking heatedly with someone, despite the large sign behind the man's head to signify that the use of cell phones was prohibited. Duo found some amusement in watching the man break the very rules he was paid to uphold.

He waited for a few long minutes for the man to move from the stairwell door, but the guard just wouldn't step away.

Time for a distraction… Duo thought with a wide grin. He searched the barren halls of the unit until he found a tall, blue cart. It was just as tall as he was, and filled with clean white linen. Perfect… he searched the halls, and when he felt nobody would see him he slid out from behind the nurses' station and jumped behind the cart. The guard was now turned in the opposite direction and grumbling loudly into his cell phone. So, with a hard shove Duo sent the linen cart careening down the hallway in the opposite direction of the guard towards a set of closed doors. He then slid back behind the nurses' station and waited. He could hear the high-pitched sound of the cart's wheels straining against the floor as it sped towards the doors. Then with a loud bang the cart smashed to a stop. The sound startled the guard, who then snapped his cell phone closed and ran to the source of the noise.

"Idiot…" Duo whispered under his breath as he watched the man shuffle towards the now upturned cart. A few of the nurses came forth from their patient's rooms to see what the commotion was about. This was Duo's chance, and he took it without hesitation. He quickly ran down the hall and ducked soundlessly into the empty stairwell.

With wide, even strides he ran up the stairs until he came to the fiftieth floor. He smiled in accomplishment. It had taken him the entire morning to get to this point and he knew that his target was nearby. The thought of the other boy made his smile fade and a solemn expression graced his face.

"I wonder if he really is…" Duo bit his lower lip to silence himself and began fingering the thick coil of braid at the nape of his neck. After rummaging through his thick hair for a few moments he pulled forth a lock pick and with a focused expression began working at the complex lock on the door to the fiftieth floor.

Part 2

As Heero began to regain consciousness he immediately began to scan his surroundings. He could feel the sensors on his head and chest as well as the four-point restraints that held him firmly to an examination table. The faint, steady beeping sound of his heart rate was the only noise he could detect. The heart monitor stammered as he began to grow anxious but immediately he restrained his first instincts to break free and willed himself to stay calm. He slowed his breathing to a steady, even pace and in doing so kept his heart rate low and unwavering.

I've been captured. This is the treatment room on the fiftieth floor of the Alliance Military number three medical building in the South J.A.P. area.

He relaxed against the cold metal of the examination table and listened closely to his surroundings. Once he was certain that he was alone he let his eyes crack open. He squinted at the bright, white light above his head before rolling his eyes from one side of the room to the other to assess his surroundings. He had been in one of the Alliance Military hospitals before but never in a room as secure as this one.

His eyebrow twitched in agitation. Damn… this is going to be more difficult than I thought. He strongly resisted the urge to frown. I can't believe it… his thoughts began to drift to the event that had led him to his current predicament.

He had tried to use three missiles to blow up his Gundam, which was not operational and at risk of being found by OZ. He had meticulously planned each degree of coordinate. He was confident that his plan would have worked, that is if it weren't for that girl.

Relena… his breathing became irregular at the thought of the girl who had seen him on the beach, and then again at the academy. She followed me … she just won't stop interfering…

Then his thoughts wavered and he held his breath completely. And Duo… the encounter with the braided boy had almost been lost to him considering all that had happened. Duo… shot me. The idea was almost absurd. After all, Heero had been keeping track of Duo for so long that the idea of the other by sneaking up on him to take a few cheap shots on his body was surreal. And the Deathsycthe pilot had his Gundam, no less! Heero willed himself to relax. He wasn't sure if he should be angry or happy. It had been a long time since he had any sort of conflicting emotions and the feelings he had now were practically unbearable.

A screen flickered to his right and immediately his gaze locked onto it. As if by some magical summons Duo's face appeared in the screen. His mouth began to move so Heero began to read his lips.

"I see you've got no choice but to lie there. I'm sure a talented guy with your skills would be able to read my lips. Well, can ya?" Duo's image stated silently.

Heero felt a wave of anger sweep through his body. First he shoots me, and then he shows up here to taunt me about it. For a fleeting moment all Heero wanted to do was throw his head back and have a bitter laugh at his current situation. Instead, he closed his eyes and shut out the image of the other boy.

It has been years since we last met… his mind began to swirl with the past, things he had buried deep down for so long. Images of Odin Lowe, of the assassination of Heero Yuy, of his guardian's murder, of hiding on L2 colony and his first encounter with the American orphan… it was all coming back to fill his mind. A thick haze of emotion began to settle on his senses and block out all sound and sensation. He made it to Earth. Maybe he remembers… no, he couldn't. We were so young… He gritted his teeth and tried to push back the flood of memories. But if I remember… he must… right? Is that why he is here?

His thoughts were interrupted by a loud explosion. Air rushed over his restrained body, followed by a rain of debris. He opened his eyes and looked to his right once more. The image of Duo had been replaced by smiling reality.

"Time to liven things up, buddy!" The other boy said cheerfully as he approached. Alarms blared from all directions and red lights began to pulse and flash from the large blasted hole through which Duo had come. Heero studied the other boy as he came near.

He looks like the same Duo… Heero concluded as the American boy began pulling and tugging at his restraints.

"Damn! How do you get these things off?" Duo asked in a frustrated tone while pulling forth a knife from his boot.

Heero's eyebrow twitched as he watched Duo waste time on one of the leg restraints. He could hear shouts of guards and frightened medical workers from somewhere nearby. With a quick yank he pulled his hand from a wrist restraint. The heavy material ripped forth, but not before tearing at Heero's skin. He ignored the pain. With a rough gesture he thrust his hand at the braided boy and glared at him in annoyance.

"Hand me your knife. I'll cut them down the middle."

Duo stared wide-eyed at his bloody hand. "Ewww, what'd you do to your hand?" Then he handed Heero the knife and watched as he sliced off the leg restraints. "Damn, you've got some guts!"

After liberating his body from the table Heero slid down to a wobbly stand and looked to Duo. They stared at each other for a moment before Duo blinked and turned to run down a corridor.

"Come on! Let's go!" Duo yelled at Heero. The Japanese boy had no other choice but to follow. They came to a wall that was quickly removed by a grenade. Then Duo handed Heero a parachute pack and ran towards the smoking hole he had created. Heero watched as the braided boy vanished through it with a giant leap. He followed obediently, still in a daze about this entire experience.

Duo is saving me… He jumped from the hole in the wall and began to fall. Air rushed past and battered against his body. Why would he unless he knew… but … it isn't supposed to happen this way. I don't have a mobile suit. I can't continue like this… I…

He closed his eyes as despair swam over his body. He had sacrificed years of his life to intense training bordering torture. Finally the day had come when he would help to liberate the colonies. His mission, the only other thing that mattered, was compromised. It was all for nothing. Had he wasted his life for nothing?

"HEERO!"

The sound of the assassinated leader's name being yelled with such intensity from a familiar voice startled him out of his deep, frantic thoughts. He opened his eyes and saw the ground below him rushing up at amazing speed.

I'm not Odin Lowe Jr. anymore. I'm not "Solo". I am Heero Yuy. I will survive. I will defend the colonies. He grasped the parachute pull and yanked it free. The parachute slipped from the backpack and dragged through the air, but it was too late. It could not lift him to safety. Instead it slowed his fall enough for him to land on a rocky slope on his feet. The rocks came loose and caused him to slide haphazardly down the slope. He lost his balance and began to tumble over and over again, his weak body striking the flat sheets of rock multiple times before he came to a stop in the sand.

His physical pain wasn't an issue. He did, however, feel that his femur had been fractured in the fall and a searing stab of pain emanated from his arm. He slowly pulled himself up to a stand, careful not to add damage to his battered body.

"Dammit, I shouldn't have released my parachute…" Heero mumbled to himself as he came to an unsteady stand. Duo was approaching him cautiously with a confused expression on his face.

"Now I can understand you wanting to take you own life, but maybe, just maybe, you should think of another way of committing suicide, buddy." The braided boy said in a flat voice. Heero sighed and had nothing else to say. He just stood there staring at Duo, wondering if the American boy was going to shoot him again, or continue to help him. Does he know who I am…?

Duo slid up beside Heero and hooked the Japanese boy's arm over his shoulder to help him stand. "Come on, Howard is gonna be at the pick-up point any minute." Then he began dragging Heero alongside him towards the beach. A boat was approaching in the distance, partially concealed by the bobbing waves and whitecaps of the ocean. Heero tried to bear weight on his injured leg but found it difficult. He stifled an urge to groan and kept his eyes downcast.

I can't believe I am here. Heero kept repeating over and over in his head. Why did he save me? Why isn't he carrying out his orders? Coming here is compromising everything we have worked for…

Once they made it to the edge of the water the boat was getting closer. A strange looking man in a Hawaiian shirt and sunglasses was standing in the boat waving a hand at Duo. Duo returned the gesture before gripping Heero's waist tighter.

"I knew I would see you again, Solo."

Heero frowned and kept his gaze locked down at their feet, which were now sinking in the white sand.

"I'm not Solo." He said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. Duo didn't seem to hear him.