Ch. 10 A Stranger on his Arm

Something soft brushed against the back of his hand. Straining to open his eyes and focus them, he was greeted by an extreme headache that demanded he keep his eyes shut. His whole body felt week, like it had not moved in weeks; just lifting his hand off the bed was a chore. As the pain in his head subsided he tried again, this time only opening his eyes into slits, just enough to see what was on his hand.

Lying contentedly at his side was Zeus. He stared for a moment, more confused than anything. Where had the cat come from? Zeus was back on Earth and the last he knew, he was in the colonies. He closed his eyes again while idly rubbing his finger against Zeus' soft fur. Nothing was making sense any more, he did not care either. Odd, for the first time he felt things were going to be alright, that he did not need to worry about what was going to happening in the next moment.

He heard the door to his hospital room and cracked an eye to find out. Thought his vision was blurred he could tell it was not Quatre and that was all he needed to know. Whoever it was came close to the bed and lifted Zeus from the bed. The sudden loss of the familiar warmth made him uneasy.

"You need to decide what you're going to do." Came a rough voice.

Heero instantly recognized the voice as Rasid. Obviously there was a reason he was in his room and not Quatre. Rasid never talked to him unless he was concerned about Quatre. That thought made him a litter nervous, whatever Rasid had to say, would not be good.

"This is the second time Master Quatre has been hurt."

His eyes instantly snapped open despite the blinding pain it caused. He tried to climb out of bed but a set of strong hands held him down.

"Emotionally Heero."

He relaxed back into the pillows, eyes closed again.

"To be blunt, he's been through hell and you either need to be there for him or leave. It's as simple as that." Rasid set Zeus back down on the bed and left.

Heero felt emotionally, as well as physically, drained. Rasid was right; he had forced Quatre along unknowingly into his troubles and then disappeared when he was needed most. It was not fair to Quatre and he knew the strain he was putting on his relationship. Things had to stop now before they got any worse and something terrible happened.

He ran his hand gently over Zeus' back, relaxing more and more with each pass over the silky coat. Before long he was asleep but still contemplating what he would do about Quatre.

(o)(o)(o)

He was finally going home. After spending a month in physical therapy, which he hated, they were releasing him. It turns out he had been in a coma for the past month or two that even the doctors weren't sure he would come out of. Now that he was being discharged from the hospital would come the moment he would have to inform Quatre of his decision. While stuffing what few possessions had been brought to him into a bag he heard the door to his room open. He tensed a little knowing what was to come, but hid it behind his usual mask.

Zeus jumped up on the bed for some petting which Heero readily obliged, allowing some of his tension to escape. When Zeus hoped off the bed and headed for Quatre Heero knew the time had come. Still pained by his decision, he hid behind the soldier mask that had always protected him in the past before turning around.

"You ready to leave then?" Quatre asked happily as he scooped Zeus up into his arms.

Heero had the urge to say yes and just walk out the door, but he knew it was the wrong thing to do.

"I'm not going home." He stated bluntly.

"I figured that. You probably want to get back to Preventers and report what happened first. I'll drive you there." Quatre turned to head out the door hoping Heero would not do what he feared he would.

"No, Quatre. I can't be with you any more." He thought his voice faltered but he held his ground.

Quatre froze, his worst fear becoming reality. Just when he needed Heero most, again, he was being left behind, cold and alone. His mind screamed out for him to protest, argue some sense into Heero but he knew it would be in vain.

"I understand." Quatre said his voice as cold and emotionless as Heero's. Knowing the situation was over he continued out the door with no destination in mind.

Quatre's cold tone had him on the verge of running out the door after him, but it was for the best that they separated. He could not keep putting Quatre through this kind of punishment day in and day out. His job prevented him from having a real life and he could not make everyone around him suffer for it. Still, he felt as if a piece of him had died when the door had shut behind Quatre's retreating back.

(o)(o)(o)

The following week was not much better than the previous. People in his office had refused to talk to him when word spread that he and Quatre were no longer together. Only Janice still talked to him, however rare that was now that she had been promoted to a Preventer agent after her work with Quatre. While she was still his secretary, she was often gone on assignment. After doing a little background check, he discovered a lot about her, but never brought it up.

She had served during the war as an undercover agent within the Oz ranks. Her hacking abilities could rival Duo's along with his own, which is probably how she managed to gain access into his computer. Not only that but, her personality had everyone trusting her allowing to gain rank in Oz's troops. She had been allowed access to valuable information during the war.

On top of that she had done well to cover up her tracks within Oz and after the war. It had taken him the better part of the week to find any information on her at all. For whatever reason she did not want people to know about her past and he did not intend to disrupt her hard work. With the war over she was a valuable asset to the Preventers and was providing them with more contacts every day concerning sensitive cases. Janice would do well in Preventers.

He, on the other hand, had drowned himself in work trying to keep him mind occupied, but late at night, while he lay awake in his bed, he could not help but think of Quatre. More and more he doubted his decision about breaking up with him. Quatre knew the risks of being with him and he had accepted them. At the same time Heero could not expect Quatre to keep up with the ever changing torrent of emotions that came with his job. Still, life seemed so empty and meaningless without him.

Shaking his head he forced himself to concentrate on the file he had been working on. Quatre would move on just as he would eventually and things would be normal again, or at least he hoped they would. At that moment Janice choose to walk into his office giving him yet another excuse not to concentrate on work.

Giving him a halfhearted smile, she set more files down on his desk. "Une says that these are to be finished by the end of the day." Janice said on her way back to the door.

Heero flipped through the files realizing they were the files he had just finished the day before.

"I already did these." He stated flatly.

"I know, but they were done wrong, Une wants them done correctly this time. I already fixed the files from the rest of the week, but I don't have time for those. I'm leaving on assignment."

Fixed the files form the rest of the week. How had he been so out of it that Janice was now double checking his work? It must have been some minor work here and there, nothing major.

"Thanks Janice, I'll have these to Une by the end of the day."

Just as she began to shut the door, Heero could not help but ask, he needed someone's input.

"Janice?" he asked, a little nervously.

"Yes, you screwed up, now would you fix it already." She was blunt to the point, the way she had always been with him.

"I wasn't talking about the files."

"I know." The door closed behind her ending the discussion.

He sat in stunned silence. Was he that obvious? How had he fallen apart so quickly and not even notice it? Angry with himself he furiously set to work on the file he had been on so that he could finish the others before five. It was Friday and he planned to leave his apartment and do a little drinking.

(o)(o)(o)

That evening on his way home he passed by the restaurant that he and Quatre had gone to almost every week, at least during the time between the two major cases that nearly got them both killed. Passing by the large front window he saw two familiar faces. Stopping to get a better look he discovered Janice and Quatre sharing dinner together. Quatre was smiling and laughing, something he had not seen in some time. He could tell that Janice was excited about something. He could not watch any more and continued on his way. It was becoming painfully aware that Quatre had moved on.

At the club, as he sat at that bar being hit on by unattractive men and drowning himself in alcohol, he heard familiar voices again. Turning on the bar stool he saw Janice and Quatre, but they were accompanied by another man, a very attractive one at that. The group seemed quite happy chatting about who knows what and laughing. It hurt to see Quatre so happy with another man. Downing his drink his paid the bartender and left before he became angry and in his drunkenness, did something irrational.

(o)(o)(o)

I know! It's been a long time between posts. I'm really sorry for that. Hope you all enjoy this chapter! Thanks for all the reviews!