Author's Note: So good news finished this story! Working part time and bored so lots of free time on my hands. So finished this one it's fifteen parts with 2 lemons and a lime for good measure. I'll try and get the rest of it up soon, promised but I'm having to go back and edit and its taking a long time ;p so enjoy for now.
Second Chance
Part 07 - Don't Fear the Reaper
"All our times have come
Here but now they're gone
Seasons don't fear the reaper."
"Well Captain Yuy, your progress had been remarkable." Heero looked at the computers posting data, "Oh yeah?" he asked, the Doctor Preston nodded, "We installed a reader to feed your progress to us everyday, late at night. We have been going over your numbers all week." Heero was impressed, "You have been having problems with the flexibility of the limbs, as well as dexterity." He flipped his charts, "Anything else?" Heero explained about the weight in water, as well as the issues with the synthetic flesh in the chlorine. Heero pointed to where several spots on his arm and legs that had been bleached white.
"Hmmm have to rework the skin…the facial skin seems intact however," he said studying closely, Heero nodded. "Ok then we will take it off and rework." Heero nodded waited patiently for them to remove the arm and leg skin flexing his metal prostatic. "Ok Heero will give you a call when it's finished." Heero stood pulling his cloths back on, Duo was waiting quietly nearby for him the pair waving to the Doc before heading out. "Can't seem to get the body skin right can they?" Duo asked softly Heero shrugged, "I don't mind, I would be ok not having it at all but it bothers others I think." Duo looked at Heero out of the corner of his eye, he noticed the sad expression that fell across his face before it cleared and he was once more his smiling self. "It had never bothered me," Duo whispered softly, Heero smiled "Ahhh Duo…you have seen me at my very worst, " Heero lamented throwing his real arm around the other he shoved his metal hand in his pocket wondering how his week was going to go in yoga with all the prosthetics exposed.
-#-#-#-
The days took on a familiar pattern; Duo had used of some of his spare holiday time, and had taken Heero's first month of his new actives off. The pair would go to the various classes and in between they would work on the house, which was now in it's finishing stages. They where working on getting shelves up now that the walls where all painted, as well as 'decorative' things Duo felt the house needed. Heero had a sneaking suspicion he'd been talking to Trowa and the pair had been exchanging design tips.
Heero couldn't complain though he had pulled some strings with Quatre and got a state of the art flat screen, HD TV with the surround sound and blue ray player. He had exploited a day when Duo had been called into the office, to spend the day hooking up the damn thing to surprise him when he got home. Complete with empty shelves for movies, Duo had fairly yelled with happiness, well he had hugged Heero and in his excitement and demand they go to the movie store right away. That night they had watched a movie in their own livening room, with their own TV. Before going to their own shared bed. Which brought a whole new set of problems.
Duo's vacation was ending he would be back in the office at the beginning of the week, the house was all but done, it was an idyllic life right down to their shared bed. But it wasn't. They slept together every night no more then three feet apart it was pure torture. Heero ached to reach out pull Duo close…and pound his hot ass into the mattress. Unfortunately he was a coward, and couldn't man up and admit him he was hopelessly in love with him.
Unbeknownst to Heero things where about to change drastically, and his idyllic life was about to be turned on its head and it was all going to begin with a malfunction.
-#-#-#-
Duo sighed it was the middle of his second week back to work and he missed his hectic, work filled days with Heero at home. Trowa called across the office "Duo you finish the downstairs bathroom yet? Because I saw in this magazine these amazing lights you can use…" he trailed off flipping with the home decorating magazine. This was his excitement the office had been slow, an usual but not necessarily bad state of affairs. It gave them time to catch up on their paper work but it also proved to be utterly boring.
Trowa rolled over to his desk chatting a mile a minute showing Duo the pictures, Wufei was off on assignment, so it was just the two of them. Chatting they went over various plans for the still unfinished room Duo was looking at the pictures Trowa was pointing to when his phone rang. Absently he answered it with a short "Maxwell" still looking at the pictures. "Sir! We have a problem!" the frantic voice at the other end all but yelled, Duo gave the phone his full attention "I'm sorry…" Duo began trying to calm the other but he spoke again, "It's Captain Yuy sir he's flatlined!" Duo felt his heart stop in fear; the telephone fell from numb fingers. Trowa was asking him something but he was already out the door and down the hall running for the car thankful Heero hadn't driven him to work.
The car ride was a blur he knew he was speeding, weaving in and out of traffic. Cursing that they now lived outside the city, that Heero was alone…he didn't even bother turn off the Jeep, he simply leapt from it. "Heero!" he yelled running through the unlocked front door. "Heero!" chest ready to burst he ran through the living room into the kitchen. All he saw was feet lying on the floor. He moved forward, compelled to as if in a dream, Heero was on his back unmoving he was only wearing a pair of workout shorts and his duffel was nearby his looked as if he had just come from swimming. "Heero!" it sounded like someone else's voice. His eyes where half open staring at noting his complexion ashen. Duo dropped to his knees feeling for pulse knowing there was none, there was no faint blue glow from his chest, there was no breath…Heero was dead.
Duo wasn't sure how long he sat there frozen, he heard sirens and suddenly Trowa was there pulling him away and the doctors where working quickly trying to shock life back into Heero. They where yelling frantically loading him into the specialized ambulance that screamed its way back to the base. Trowa following driving Duo in a daze.
Duo felt déjà vu all over again, he was in that hospital once more, that dark night…Heero was dead and he was trying to revive his corpse. They reached the compound waiting for news in the small room, much like a hospital waiting room.
It could have been minutes or hours Duo was not sure but doctor Preston walked in looking weary and wrung out. "We got him back Duo," he said without preamble, "There's a problem with his reactor, we haven't figured it out yet but we had to remove it we have him hooked up to the larger machine that's keeping him alive currently." Preston removed his glasses rubbing his eyes, "It was close he was gone for almost an hour before we could get him back." Nodding Duo thanked the Doctor, he stood making his way out, "When your ready go see him he was asking after you."
Duo glanced to where Trowa was sleeping across the room, deciding to let him sleep he slipped out and into the main lab. Heero was propped up on the table an oxygen mask on his chest laid bare as a multitude of wires ran from the hole in his chest cavity. He smiled lethargically, barely aware of his surrounding, Heero knew something had happened and he was once more in the lab but that was about it, he smiled as Duo came close gently taking his good hand, "Hey you," Heero mumbled his voice soft and weak, Duo tried to smile. "You scared me Heero you nearly died…again,"
Heero smiled closing his eyes he hurt everywhere, "Only die once Duo…already have…living on borrowed time." He muttered not making much sense to anyone but himself. Duo gently smoothed back his hair they had taken off half his face to hook up more wires, the main reactor did not work as well as the miniature. His still real eye rolled open and closed Duo looked at his metal half of his face it was always unnerving, seeing the metal skull lipless white teeth glistened and Heero open and closed his jaw trying to speak. Duo felt wetness track across his face, "Heero…" his plea was anguished to the figure on the table, "I am so sorry" he sobbed quietly. "Hey now…shhhh…" he tried to comfort him, "I have no regrets its ok." He slurred smiling faintly somewhere between awake and dreaming. "I wonder if I should have let you go that night…" he whispered softly baring his deepest darkest secret. Heero reached from him blindly, "Glad you didn't…didn't want to leave you Duo, wanted to tell you…" Duo looked up his good eye cloudy with tears. "Wanted to tell you I love you…" he whispered eyes sliding closed.
-#-#-#-
The doctors thought it best to keep Heero unconscious while they tried to figure out the issue with the reactor. The chlorine water had been the cause eating away at the metal plate, they where trying to get a new one, better, stronger and it was easier to keep him alive and unconscious then awake and using more energy. His limbs would have to be completely reworked for the new generator.
Duo visited daily sitting with the barely alive body of his best friend and trying to sort his feeling out. Heero had said he'd loved him, Duo was both elated and terrified, would Heero remember his half consciousness babble, would he remember Duo's secret revelation, the thought that had gnawed and burrowed into his brain making him wonder what could have been. He was still guilt ridden, but part of him was very pleased because Heero was still with him, and he would fight to keep him by his side.
Sighing he held Heero's good hand as long as he could before the doctors kicked him out for the night. Sad and lost he headed home to their new house, now empty and lonely without the presence of the other. This night however his house was lit and two familiar cars sat in the driveway the others where here, waiting for him. Unsure he entered the house slowly, Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei all sat in stone faced silence waiting for him. "Duo…" Wufei began, looking uneasy and turned to Trowa, "Duo we are worried…about you and Heero…" he hesitated looking to his lover, calmly and quietly Quatre articulated their question. "We would like to understand what is happening to Heero." Duo hesitated briefly before nodding; they all sat in the living room ready to listen.
"Where to begin," Duo mumbled, "I guess I should start with the explosion you remember that don't you? Heero saved me, took the brunt of it," the others nodded and Duo soft voice spoke haltingly at first before gaining strength. His eye took a faraway glassy look as he spilled forth the story, as if reliving it. "He lost most of his skull, his right arm, left leg…there was irreversible nerve damage. They had no idea what was keeping him alive at the hospital, he should have been dead, they kept him barely alive with machines." The room was silent, "They came that night, when things where at their worst. They offered him a chance…a chance to live and it was up to me, and that night when he crashed for the last time I signed the papers. In exchange for what we got, it was 10 years military service." A slow tear trickled from his still good eye, "I didn't want to be separated from him, not in death not in life….it worked what the doctors did. The one thing they couldn't do, was reconnect his heart, the reactor keeps it pumping, without it his heart immediately stops beating and is clinically dead. His heart hasn't beat on its own in almost 10 years."
The three looked stunned and confused, "Why?" Wufei muttered to himself, more then the others, "For research they was to be able to rebuild the soldiers who are injured in the line of duty and can be returned to front lines. Now they're expanding into civilian affairs, giving people a chance at a different quality of life. To this end Heero has been testing out all sorts of sport, and exercise classes, including swimming for long periods. The chlorine had eaten away some important something, little fuzzy on the minute details." Duo sighed heavily rubbing his face, "That's about the size of it you know everything…" the other three where silent before Trowa gently reached out taking Duo's hand, he had a very eerie way of reading people, ever since the war. "That's not all, your carrying a burden Duo…a heavy one. That is something you need to talk to Heero about though." The others started in with certain questions and it wasn't long that Duo was feeling better, almost normal and whishing more then anything that Heero was here.
TBC…
