After Colony: Rebirth

000

The nice weather they had enjoyed on Halloween didn't last long. By the middle of November, it was snowing almost daily. Sometimes it was only a light flurry, sometimes it was a blizzard. Though there was one plow and one salt truck on the island, he had yet to see it utilized. Each time there was a heavy snow fall, the townspeople seemed content to walk from place to place and let the wind blow in the ocean's salt water to melt what covered the main roads.

His little guest house was near enough to the water that the snow quickly turned to slush. Phe, on the other hand, was not as lucky.

Wufei was walking back from the grocery store with his bare necessities when he saw her angrily muttering to herself and hunching over to retrieve items from the snow. He approached her with a raised brow and stopped just a few feet away. She hadn't seemed to notice him, and continued about her muttering as she threw some potatoes into her reusable tote bag. It was already nearly filled to the brim and putting strain on its thin handles.

When she stood, Phe visibly jumped at the sight of him, knocking some of the vegetables from her bag again. She groaned and stood with her shoulders slumped and her head thrown back to look at the sky.

"Bad day?" Wufei dared to ask, though he suspected he may have been better off just giving her a wave and letting her be on her way.

"You have no idea."

She had dark circles under her eyes and her hair looked particularly windblown. Wufei didn't comment on her appearance as he bent down and picked up the potatoes that had once again fallen. He was about to reach over and put them in her bag, but he realized that there was just literally no room. Behind her was a crumbled, blue plastic bag sticking out of the snow.

"Give me some of your groceries. I have room in my bag. I'll carry them up to your house," he said and opened his plastic bag.

She looked at him directly for a moment, and perhaps she thought about declining. Instead, she complied. As she did, he noticed that her eyes looked duller than normal. The shine he was getting used to didn't seem to quite show through. She reached into her bag and pulled out four more potatoes and a head of lettuce that seemed to be taking up the most room. "Thanks."

Wufei started up the hill first, prompting her to follow. He could see where it looked like she had started to walk before slipping. He deduced that she had caught herself, broken her bag, and lost her groceries.

"This hill is pretty bad in the winter, isn't it?" He asked, testing to see if he could spark a conversation.

Phe nodded slowly and sighed. "That's why Marty doesn't live here anymore. Bad knees. His girlfriend has a duplex off of Main Street. It's easier on him."

Wufei already knew to expect winter for essentially the next six months, so he understood why someone wouldn't be keen on trekking up the hill on a daily basis. Marty wasn't exactly old, but he was no spring chicken either.

As they moved up the incline, Wufei saw that Phe stumbled two more times. She recovered quickly and said nothing of it. She didn't look at him when she did stumble and he had to wonder if this was a normal occurrence for her. They walked in silence until they reached her door. When they did, she pulled out her keys, complete with a plastic dolphin chain, and tried to open her door.

It was as if she couldn't quite make her hands move the way she wanted. She put the key into the lock and tried to turn, but she couldn't put enough force behind it to undo the lock. He tried to watch subtly, but he was sure she knew he was staring. She groaned and leaned forward, letting her head thunk lightly against the door.

Wufei reached out and put his hand over hers, unlocking the door.

He opened it and took the heavy tote bag from her hand. Without her invitation, he stepped in and walked straight down the hallway to the kitchen—he could see the counters from the doorway. Once he had set her things on the island, he walked back. She was just sort of watching him, a bit of confusion on her face. She opened her mouth to speak and raised a hand, but no words came out and her hand didn't make it to the door frame.

She froze. She just sort of… froze.

The life had left her eyes in an instant.

Wufei watched as her body swayed slightly and started to fall forward. He crossed the distance in an instant and caught her before she could hit the ground. Her body was rigid and she shook slightly. It was just like before—like the instances in the past when her neurochip failed.

Though he wasn't keen on moving her, he couldn't leave her in the doorway. Wufei carefully picked her up and maneuvered her into the living room to the left of the door. There was a large, blue couch with a blanket crumpled at the end. He set her down before going to shut and lock the door.

Wufei unbuttoned his jacket and threw it to the side. For a few moments, he stood over her, a hand in his hair and he tried to figure out what to do. Should he call Quatre? If he called, they could probably have Isabella there by the morning. But then again, if he called, all of the others would be alerted to her presence and he didn't know if bringing everyone else back into her life was a good idea.

It would raise a lot of questions from the townspeople, after all. She could be ostracized and forced out. She seemed happy there, and he didn't want to ruin that for her.

He knelt down and patted around her grey peacoat for her cell phone. He pulled it out and was grateful to find that it wasn't code protected. Wufei clicked through to find her recent calls. She hadn't had many, and most were to and from Marty—which is exactly who Wufei wanted.

The phone buzzed until the older man answered.

"What's up, Phe?"

"Marty," Wufei started, "it's Chang. I'm—"

"What's going on? Why do you have Phe's phone? Where is she?"

He clenched his jaw and held back snapping at the man. "I am at her house. Something's… wrong. I helped her with her groceries. She had a hard time getting up the hill and couldn't unlock her door. She froze and then collapsed. I caught her, so she wasn't injured. But… is this normal?"

There was a loud exhale on the other line. "Yeah… I'll come over and sit with her. Lucky she wasn't alone this time."

"No, you shouldn't come. She said you have difficulty with the hill. It's very slick, you may only cause yourself injury."

"Well she's got no one else and it's best that someone's there when she eventually wakes up. She gets disoriented and confused. She can hurt herself or run off—and trying to track her down in the snow would be worse than me having a stumble or two."

Wufei squeezed his eyes shut and rubbed his brow. "I'll… I'll stay. I'm already here, and I didn't exactly have plans anyhow." The words came out before he really gave it some thought. With the silence that followed, he really should have given it another moment. Marty hardly knew him and was obviously protective of Phe. Wufei was sure that the idea of a strange man in her house while she was unconscious was hardly appealing.

"If anything happens to her…"

"I promise you, I am merely concerned for her. I have no ill intentions," Wufei replied dryly.

"Well alright… But if I can get a ride up there, I'm going to stop by. And call me if anything changes. If it's a normal freeze, she'll be okay in an hour or so. If it goes on longer than two, it'll be all night."

"Understood."

There was a grumble on the other end of the line and then the phone disconnected.

Wufei placed the phone on the table at the end of the couch and then stared at Phe. Just as he was accepting that Edan was gone, she started to show through again. Unfortunately, it was in the worst possible way. He shook his head and sighed before reaching down to unlace Phe's snow boots. Once he had them sitting by the front door, he kicked his own off to keep from tracking more water through the house. It took him a few more minutes of debating before he set to trying to get her jacket off. It took some work, since she was so stiff, but he managed.

He contemplated hanging her jacket in a closet, but he saw that there was a pile of hoodies on an unused reclining chair. He opted to add to that pile instead.

When he caught sight of the groceries he had carried in, he figured he might as well put everything away. His own groceries needed refrigerated anyhow, and he didn't want them to spoil.

Wufei quickly realized that Phe had the same problem he had: things went bad before he could finish them off. Her fridge was filled with containers of old food that needed to be tossed—most were in sealed Tupperware containers, so it wasn't as if there was moldy food just sitting out on a shelf. Unlike him, however, she seemed to have an aversion to cleaning.

Besides her fridge, for the most part, Phe wasn't really dirty or anything. Just messy or cluttered.

So he put her groceries away. And then he loaded her dishwasher. And then he filled her recyclables bag. Before he knew it, he had swept her kitchen floor and wiped down her counters. He moved into the living room where he covered Phe with a blanket before folding the others that were strewn across the room. He put DVDs back in their proper cases and then placed them on the shelves which housed the rest of the entertainment collection. He stacked books and magazines, and threw away a pile of dark chocolate candy wrappers.

When he ran out of things to keep himself busy, he wondered if the rest of the house was in the same state—but that would require snooping, which he wasn't going to do. He flopped down in the recliner, after folding Phe's hoodies and setting them to the side and stared at his handiwork.

And then he frowned.

What in God's name compelled him to do something so domestic? Sure, he found himself a bit annoyed that the woman wasn't a neat freak like him but…. He wasn't even mad. He should have been. He should have left everything exactly how it was, and then given her his critique when she awoke. He should have told her that at the very least, she should have been capable of cleaning up after herself.

But he didn't. Instead, he was mildly interested in learning a few random details about her.

He had learned that she didn't seem to keep alcohol in her house, besides a wine rack at the side of the kitchen. It was completely filled, but with a layer of dust over the bottles. Wufei would guess that it was actually Marty's collection, and not hers. Her favorite snack looked to be chips and salsa, based on the number of empty glass containers he tossed. She had a fancy spice rack which spun around on two tiers. She had everything that they carried in the store, and most of them were half used.

Phe also had a few books on memory loss, which had been discreetly left under a newspaper. Wufei hadn't realized that it was probably something she tried to keep out of sight until after he had already started moving them to her bookshelf. A few clippings from the local paper and print offs from the web slipped out of the books.

They were news reports regarding the CSO soldiers that had been captured just after Moira's death. Most were about their detainment and some were about executions that happened in South America with references to the Rio De Janeiro attack. She also had a few reports of the attack in Stuttgart, which, he assumed, was because she thought that she had been brought in from Germany.

Wufei read over them before shoving them back inside the books. He had already moved them, and he would rather admit to his accidental discovery than try to hide the fact that he had got into something he shouldn't have.

He was quietly sitting on his phone, scrolling through news sites (and unfortunately reading about another attack on Gen Twos that happened in Kansas,) when Phe finally started to show signs of change. He could hear, in the silence of the room, as her breathing started picking up. Wufei looked up at sat at the edge of his chair, watching as her fists opened and shut, grasping the throw blanket tightly. Finally, it was like a jolt shot through her body, causing her back to arch. She writhed around and slipped off the couch. Phe landed on the wooden floor, face down but blinking, and immediately started crawling forward.

Wufei jumped up and moved to her side. He reached down to try to help her sit up, but as soon as he leaned over, her arm shot back and she elbowed him in the stomach. Of course, he certainly hadn't been expecting her to hit him, so he hunched over and groaned. As soon as he recovered, he quickly grabbed her under her arms and hoisted her up. She flailed a bit in his grasp and he readjusted so that he could wrap his arms around her tightly, pressing her back against his chest.

"You're fine," he said slowly, "you're at home, in your living room. Just calm down. You're stronger than this."

She struggled a bit more against him, but then she stopped and her breathing steadied. Wufei loosened his hold on her and carefully guided her back to her couch. When she sat, she leaned forward and put her head into her hands, covering her face from him. There was a heavy tension in the room, not unlike when facing a caged animal. Looking at her, Wufei could see that Phe's body was stiff and tense. Her muscles spasmed under her skin and her fingers dug into her scalp. He did not push her into talking. He stood just a few feet away until she finally sat back and looked up at him.

"Why are you here?"

He doubted she meant to come off as sharp as she did. It was more likely ill displayed confusion.

"After I dropped off your groceries, you collapsed. I called Marty from your phone. He said someone needed to stay with you," he replied.

She narrowed her eyes and furrowed her brows. Ah, there was the confusion.

"But why are you here?"

Wufei shrugged. "Someone needed to stay with you, that's just what he said. I was already here. It seemed ridiculous to make Marty come out in the snow. I… apologize if I should have encouraged him to come instead."

Phe stared at him for another moment or so before shaking her head. "No…. no that's fine. I just… If I'm not alone, it's only ever him. I've never had someone else looking after me."

Wufei backed up and sat down in the recliner once more, his hands on either arm rest. "You've mentioned before about your 'bad days.' Is this what you mean?"

"Yeah," she said quietly and looked away from him. She stared at her TV stand, which was now clear of all DVD cases, and raised a brow. "Sometimes I can feel it coming on. My body doesn't cooperate. It doesn't do what I tell it. Sometimes, I'll be in the middle of doing something and it will come on out of nowhere. Usually that only happens if I start trying to remember… Did you clean my house?"

And that was it. That was all he was going to get out of her, at least for now. She had changed the subject. "I didn't know how long I would be here. I had to find something to entertain myself."

"So you cleaned my house."

"Only this room and the kitchen."

She leaned over to the side and looked into the kitchen. She cracked a smile and laughed, loudly. "Wow, if a magic fairy came in and cleaned for me each time I had one of my fits, I think I would enjoy them much more…"

"Magic fairy?" He wasn't sure if he should be offended by the name.

"Well, you're obviously not human. You're far too perfect. I've seen your shopping cart, so I know you cook. So you cook, you clean, you're a gentleman and a apparently a caregiver. Add the fact that you're well-traveled, obviously intelligent, and pretty cute too—you just aren't human," she said and crossed her arms with a sense of finality.

Wufei stared at her. All sense of confusion was gone, and so quickly that it threw him for a loop. "I can't tell if you're joking, being sarcastic, or flirting with me?" It was his turn to be confused.

She shrugged, "well none of those. I'm merely stating that you're a magic fairy."

"Aren't all fairies magic anyhow? That's redundant."

"Ah, but you aren't denying it. Well, that explains a lot," Phe said and stood. She swayed a bit, but stretched and steadied herself.

He furrowed his brows. "What? No. That explains nothing, because it isn't true."

Phe shrugged but didn't respond. She walked into the kitchen and flicked on another light. She whistled as she looked around, her hands on her hips. He followed in behind her. "Wow, this place pretty much sparkles. Please, feel free to come clean my house any time you like. Next time, I'll send you up to the bedroom."

His frown deepened. Again, he couldn't tell if she was joking.

"Seriously though. It's pretty bad. I have an issue putting clothes away, apparently."

As she inspected her kitchen, Wufei could hear her stomach growl rather loudly. A blush creeped up the back of her neck and reached her cheeks. He stared at her and raised a brow.

"I went to the store to get stuff for dinner and Thanksgiving next week. Give me a break," she said and perhaps pouted a bit. She seemed legitimately embarrassed by the loud noise.

"I didn't say anything. I'll let you get on with your night, then. Remember to give Marty a call. He wanted to make sure you wouldn't need someone to stay with you all night," Wufei replied. He stepped to her fridge and pulled out his groceries.

Phe watched up and as he closed the door, she stepped forward. "If you want, I don't mind having company for dinner. I don't normally get to cook for two."

Wufei paused for a moment before turning back to face her. Being there when she woke up had already been a mistake, and he knew it before that moment. He hadn't entirely figured out why he was staying in the little town of Jasper's Cove, and he couldn't be sure he would stay for much longer. After everything she had been through, it was wrong of him to build a friendship with her when he knew he may just leave her life again. So, he really should just say no and watch her from afar.

But he didn't. What he said was, "I have some business to take care of tonight. Maybe another time."

He really did have business. He wanted to call Quatre to tell him that Phe was having Edan-like attacks, and that help may be needed—quietly, of course. And he really did mean 'another time,' because indirectness was not something he was known for.

But Wufei could immediately tell that Phe had not taken it that way. She took it as rejection. She smiled and laughed, but the discomfort in her eyes was evident.

"Of course. I think I probably took up way too much of your time anyhow. Thanks for your help, I appreciate it. Not sure if I've ever recovered so quickly from one of my fits. If you could just… not tell anyone though…"

"I won't say anything. It's your business and no one else's," he replied and stepped around the island to grab his coat from one of the kitchen chairs.

"Right. Well, thanks again."

Over the next few days, he continued in his routine. During the work week, he would head to Marty's for lunch. Though his usual lunch was still prepared, Phe didn't sit with him when he came in. She gave him a smile and made a few pleasantries, but she was quick to find something else to focus her attention on.

It was Wednesday when he finally had a chance to catch Marty on his own. Phe wasn't working and the restaurant was empty when he entered. A lot of locals left to go see family in more active parts of the country, so there weren't many patrons to be had. When he entered, he found that Marty had boxes out and was counting inventory, much like Phe had done on Halloween.

"'Afternoon," Marty said with a wave as he continued his counting. Wufei took his usual seat and waited patiently for the man to finish. When he did, he threw his clip board on top of the boxes and turned to face Wufei. "You want that usual that Phe makes you?"

"That's fine."

Once Marty walked to the back, Wufei reached over the bar and grabbed the remote to turn up the news. A snow storm was coming. It was likely that the ferry wouldn't be running. He was glad he had stocked up on food and water the day before, though most of the grocery store had been picked over. The shipments were fewer in the winter, but the locals seemed to know that and prepared for it in the fall.

When his food finally came out, Marty dropped it off but didn't walk away. Wufei took the moment to speak with the man.

"Marty," Wufei said casually, picking around at his food, "how often do Phe's attacks happen?"

The man eyed him cautiously before answering. "Depends. The ones she can try to prepare for are maybe once or twice a month. Not too often. Can't say for the other ones. Best my son could figure, if she's put into a situation familiar to her, her mind tries to remember, and it's just too much. We never know when it'll happen. Those tend to be the worst."

Wufei nodded and took a few bites of his lunch. Marty turned and started placing wine glasses into their rack, but he was still close by.

"Has she ever been seriously hurt? You said she's run off before. It seems like having her live on her own is unwise."

Marty put his last glass on perhaps a bit hastily and then turned to Wufei, a frown firmly in place. He leaned forward and placed his hands on the bar, taking up as much space as possible. Maybe he was trying to be intimidating. Wufei couldn't tell.

"Look, pal, I'm thankful that you were in the right place, at the right time last week. I'm thankful that you even handled everything well, though maybe snooping through her things was a bit unwise. But you know, I decided to ask around about you. McGlennen and I play cards, and he had a few things to say about you. Said he thinks you're a soldier, one from the rebellion," Marty said, his hands balling into fists.

Carefully setting his fork down, Wufei sat up and made himself level with Marty's eyes. "I believe what I told Killian McGlennen was that I prefer to keep my past to myself. He assumed I was a soldier with the rebellion."

"So you're saying if I call some of my own contacts, no one will have heard of you."

"That would be very likely," Wufei replied. He didn't think the man would do anything beyond try to intimidate him, but he prepared himself to jump from his stool if need be.

Most soldiers wouldn't have known his name. The gundam pilots did a very good job at keeping their identities a secret. Sure, some people he had worked with would know him, but most would know to keep their mouths shut. He doubted that Marty, who had only served a short time in the military, would have any contacts who would know him.

"Right… You understand my concern, don't you?" Marty asked. "The group calling themselves the Rapture—a lot of people think that they're ex-rebels. Rebels who are angry that some CSO soldiers got away unpunished. If someone like that were to show up in our town…"

Immediately, Wufei eased up. He sat back down and resumed his lunch. "If someone shows up claiming to be part of the Rapture, I advise you to call the authorities. I'm an ex-soldier, but I'm just looking for some roots. Not out to hurt anyone."

To think that someone would think he was part of that organization… That was the biggest insult he had received since coming to the small town.

Marty watched him for a bit longer before backing up to lean against the other side of the counter. "Well… good. We don't mind having newcomers—they're rare in these parts, but it helps mix things up. We just want to protect our own, that's all."

"That's reasonable. I prefer peace and quiet myself. That's why I haven't made an effort to integrate with the rest of the locals. I don't want people knocking on my door. I just want to be left alone."

The other man raised his hands in concession. "Fine, fine. I don't think many people know what McGlennen said. We were wrappin' up when I asked him. Your secret is safe—as long as you keep Phe's to yourself."

"I already told her she had nothing to worry about. If she chooses not to tell anyone, then it's hardly my place to interfere," he said and then gulped down his Iced-Tea.

"Yeah, well, you have her worried, you know."

"Why?" Wufei asked. The words came out in a tone of disgust, but mostly because he couldn't figure a reason why she would think he would talk.

"Said you found some stuff she didn't want anyone to see. Some of the stuff she put together to try to figure out who she is—or was, at least," Marty replied and crossed his arms.

Wufei fought the urge to roll his eyes. She should have just talked to him. "I did not mean to find anything. They fell out of some books. Whatever her past may have been, she should not be punished for anything she doesn't even remember—if there is anything damning to be remembered."

Initially, Marty did not respond. He stared at Wufei, perhaps as if to gauge Wufei's truthfulness. As much as he tried to ignore the eyes baring holes into him, his growing annoyance caused Wufei to look up, just as it seemed Marty had a revelation. The man's eyes widened and lit up, as if he had just put a puzzle together. Honestly, that look made Wufei far more uncomfortable than Marty's intimidation attempts.

"You know, for some reason I actually believe you," Marty replied and cracked a smile. "I may not be a learned-man, but I can be a pretty good judge of character. I'll let you off the hook for now, but if anything happens to my girl, you better believe you're the first one I'm coming after."

"Feel free," Wufei muttered and wiped his hands on his napkin. He crumpled it up and tossed it onto the counter before going for his wallet. He found he didn't have much of an appetite. He pulled out a few bills and dropped them on the bar before turning to head for the door, without his change.

"Aw, hold on kid," Marty shouted, sounding a bit remorseful. Wufei sighed lowly and stopped, looking over his shoulder at the older man. "You got somewhere to go tomorrow? Nothin's gonna be opened."

"I'll manage." Placing his hand on the doorknob, he turned it and opened the door, setting off the little brass bell above him.

"What I mean to say is—if you don't got any plans, you should stop by Marcy's place. She's three doors down from Connie's bookshop. She's got the blue door. We'll be startin' around one. Phe's making the sweet potatoes. Anyhow, you should come."

Wufei didn't respond. He stood for just a moment longer, watching Marty with some interest, and letting a bit of snow blow in from outside. Finally, he stepped out without a single word.

McGlennen's Repair closed up early that day, leaving Wufei with extra time on his hands. He seemed to have a lot of time on his hands, recently. He contemplated taking up a hobby. However, the thought was quickly pushed to the back of his mind. Hobbies were wastes. He should have been doing something productive—but it was hard to be productive when he didn't exactly have any goals.

If this was what retirement felt like, then he didn't think he would ever retire.

Then again, for a good decade of his life, he didn't think retirement was an option. He simply assumed he would die on the battlefield.

Wufei shoved his hands into his pockets and hunched up against the cold. He wasn't too far from his little guesthouse, but his trek had been made more difficult by the sudden accumulation of snow. The ferry would be arriving in just two hours. He had time to pack up and leave, if he felt like it. And days like today, he did feel like it.

Sometimes, he felt like he would wake up one day to find that Jasper's Cove was just a dream. Maybe he was in a coma—maybe he would wake up and the fight against CSO wouldn't be over. He could be suffering from nearly drowning in the North Sea from the night that deBordaris threw him over Swifttrillion. Or maybe everything was a side effect from the tests that CSO had been conducting, and his comrades never actually managed to rescue him from CSO's clutches.

In some ways, those thoughts were preferable. If they had been true, then maybe he would have had a chance to save a lot of people from a lot of anguish.

Wufei sighed, his puff of breath visible in the chilly air.

He wasn't delusional. He knew this was his reality, for better or for worse. So by the time he pushed the Tranquil Inn's front gate, Wufei had already resolved to call Quatre and ask for reassignment.

000

Author's Notes: and once again I find myself thanking Lavenderfiction! I had meant to update this earlier, I really did… Things just got the better of me and I did not! So, thank you for staying on top of things and getting me to post!

Also, thank you to lilxin! Thank you so much for your kind review, I hope you're sticking with me! I know you said you were planning on going back to read After Colony: Revelation, but again, I just warn you (and everyone else) it does get off to a rocky start because I started it so long ago!

Thank you everyone for reading!

Ever Your Servant,

A.F