All the Pretty Little Horses

"How'd it go?" Sally questioned as Duo ducked into her dark green jeep. He slammed the door shut, and she pulled away. Duo sighed, sinking into the cushions of the passenger seat. Sally smiled sympathetically and shook her head.

"That bad, eh?"

Duo shook his head, "No. It was okay, I guess. She wants me to come back next week."

"That's pretty standard, are you going to?" She questioned. He shrugged.

"I might," He replied.

"That's good," Sally replied. Duo muttered something that sounded like "if you say so" but Sally wasn't sure, and didn't ask. There was long, mildly uncomfortable silence. With a sidelong glance, she caught the look in Duo's eyes. He was deep in his thoughts. Sally didn't like the quiet; it reminded her of the time she shared with Wufei after the incident. In the car, on a ship, anywhere they were together it was almost always in complete silence. He would talk when it was necessary, and she had given up trying to have conversations about anything other than work. It had been different before. Wufei had been fond of classic literature and poetry. Sometimes he would recommend books; sometimes it was a friendly intellectual debate. But after their night of drunken passion, silence reigned supreme. Before she could continue to think about Wufei, Duo's deep voice pulled her from her thoughts. She was so grateful to hear a voice other than the one in her mind that she didn't catch what he said. From the look on his face, she missed a lot.

Duo eyed her warily, "Are you all right, Sally?"

Sally shook her head and gripped the steering wheel, "What? Oh yes, I'm fine. Just thinking. What did you say?"

"Thinking about what?" Duo inquired. Sally stalled with a slight grimace on her face before she responded, "Oh, it's nothing."

"Were you thinking about Wufei?" Duo inquired further. Sally laughed dryly, with an almost embarrassed smile.

"You caught me."

Duo smiled, "Well if you're gonna try and hide your thoughts, come up with somethin' better than "nothing" as your cover."

"Alright, duly noted. What did you say before, anyway?" She questioned.

"The doctor wants me to talk to you."

Sally nodded, "Okay, about what?"

"Everything, but I don't think it's fair."

"You don't think what's fair?" Sally asked gently. Duo shrugged uncomfortably and looked out the window.

"Dumping anything on any one person. I mean, you have your own problems to deal with."

"I'm not going to force anything out of you Duo, but I'll just say this. Sometimes the simple act of sharing the words can be all the help in the world."

"Why's that?" Duo questioned. He still wasn't looking at her.

"Think of it as bearing a literal load. When you share the load with someone, the part you carry isn't as heavy anymore," Sally explained. Duo shook his head in disagreement before he spoke.

"That's just it though," he began, "It's not a literal load. It my past, my thoughts, my problems. In the end, all I would have done was drag someone else down. I'd hate to drag down someone like you." There was strange tenderness in the way he said "someone like you" that she almost missed. Almost. Sally slid the gearshift into park and sighed. She only wanted to help, why did Duo find it so difficult to let someone help? She sighed again.

"Sometimes not being able to help someone you care about is enough to drag anyone down," Sally stated gently as she pulled the key from the ignition. She started to get out of the car before she added very softly, "At least that's how it is for me."

Duo did not respond. He simply got out of the car and followed her into the house. He watched her walk ahead of him, his imagination getting the best of him. Duo tried to envision how different things would have been if she had kept the baby. He saw her tiny frame with the telltale bulge of pregnancy. How would Wufei react? What kind of father would he be? Duo had trouble imagining the ex-Shenlong pilot changing diapers or singing lullabies, but somehow knew that he would have found a way. Because Wufei was like that, he found a way to be honorable in any situation. He was pretty sure it was not his place to judge, but he was almost positive that Wufei would have wanted to take part in creation of life. He would have wanted to give life after all the years of taking it. Sally's voice pulled him from his thoughts.

"You're so quiet, Duo. Did I upset you?" Sally asked. She had taken her coat off and was hanging it up in the closet by the door. Duo shrugged out of the borrowed Preventer's jacket. There was no nameplate on the garment, but he was almost sure it was Wufei's. He was not entirely sure how he felt about that. Sally took the jacket from him and hung it up.

"No, you didn't upset me. I was just thinkin'," He replied, plopping down on her couch. He fiddled with the end of his braid as Sally took a seat next to him.

"About what?" She questioned.

"Oh, nothin'," He replied with teasing smile. Sally rolled her eyes, but returned with a smile of her own. It was not mocking or teasing, but genuine and perhaps a little sad. She put her hand on his. Duo's eyes widened as he looked up at her. He was silent as she spoke softly.

"Duo, you don't have to tell me what you're thinking about. I just want you to know that if you change your mind, and need someone to listen to---I'm right here. I wont be a doctor, I won't try and analyze you're words. I'll be your friend—someone who cares about you and wants to help."

There was a sad, fond smile on Duo's face and his eyes quivered with unshed tears. He interlaced his fingers with Sally's. For a moment it looked like he might burst into tears and Sally felt a pang of alarm. She didn't mean to make him cry! The feeling dissipated when she realized he was smiling.

"When you said that, it reminded me of someone," He replied, absently running his thumb over the delicate structure of her fingers. She smiled, when he began to speak with out her prompting.

"Sister Helen said somethin' like that to me. I had been mopin' about a friend I had lost before I came to that church. He'd been like a brother. She said that I didn't have to tell her what was botherin' me, but if I changed my mind. She would be my friend, she wouldn't be a nun, wouldn't condemn my sins…just someone who wants to help."

The look on his face was melancholy and distant, even though he spoke with a gentle fondness. Sally sighed quietly, leaning her head against his shoulder. He rested his on top of her head, still idly running his thumb over fingers.

"I suppose I remind you of a lot of things," She said.

"What makes you say that?" Duo questioned.

"You called me Stella, when you had the flashback," She replied softly. Duo's entire body went rigid at the name, and Sally instantly felt pangs of regret when he pulled away from her. Cold air replaced the warmth of his body against her. Duo folded his hands and rested his chin on the platform of intertwined fingers. His eyes were closed.

"Stella was my sister," He stated slowly, his eyes became more distant, "She died."

Sally wanted to offer her condolences, but she knew it would sound trite, and her voice was caught in her throat. She remained silent, and he continued.

"I was young when I lost her, but I still remember. Stella was somethin' else. She was kinda quiet, but ballsy. At the time, I was too scared to stand up against him. Too weak. She wasn't weak though."

There was admiration in his words, but there was so much pain and sadness in his eyes. Sally clasped her hands together, waiting for him to continue. He remained silent. Finally finding her voice, she gently asked, "Stand up against who?"

"My Father," He replied. There was a bitter, disconcerting venom in his voice that made Sally's hair stand on end. His eyes were dark with a cold, dangerous anger. She was sure that that was the face people saw before they died at the hands of the God of Death. The darkness in his eyes brightened when he made eye contact with Sally.

"Stella would have liked you, I think. You kind of remind me of her, but not really." Duo said. He had taken her hand again.

"What do you mean?" She inquired.

"You…you remind me of all the good things I've ever had. You remind me of Stella, of Sister Helen. You remind me of me Ma, of Hilde…" He trailed off. As he spoke, he had gotten closer and his other hand had found her cheek. The heat from his touch was causing her to blush.

"Duo," She managed to whisper, placing her hand on top of his on her cheek.

"You remind me of so many good things, Sally. But then there is you: this beautiful, amazing person." He kissed her forehead, and as he continued to speak he punctuated each sentence with a gentle kiss.

"You saved my life," He said, kissing her nose.

"You took me in," Duo whispered, pressing his lips to her cheek.

"You took care of me," He kissed her nose again

"You force fed me soup."

Sally barely had a chance to chuckle before his lips found hers in a dizzying kiss. And for the second time that week, time stood still.

---

Sorry about the wait, I got distracted by my other fic Restless Knights—it was so fun to write I got carried away. Anyhow, so Duo and Sally finally have their first kiss—even though it was tempting for them to have another interruption…I decided to give in to the fluff. So what's going on with Heero and Wufei? Has Heero lost his patience and found an apartment of his own? Whatever happened to Hilde anyway? Those questions might be answered later :-) And as always, leave a review!

Syl