Okay so to make up for the long wait, I will post up two chapters that I have. The next chapter is not done but I finally like where the next chapter is going so it shouldnt take that long.

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I sat in the clinic, staring down at Duo's peaceful face while sleeping. Wufei had been so forward to him; I began to wonder if there was something between them. Duo hadn't done anything to stop his advances, but who knew how awake and aware Duo really was at the time. Maybe Duo would really want to go with Wufei... I could feel my nails biting into my hand at the thought; I didn't want him to leave. I didn't want to let him go, but wasn't this exactly what I was preparing for when I pushed him away? Didn't I already see this coming? I had to stop thinking like that though, nothing was finite, and this was going to take time.

Harris walked in with Trowa and Quatre, I nodded to the group. It was decided that we were going to move Duo to my house immediately. Harris agreed when I told him about Wufei coming into the clinic with Duo when no one was here.

It was decided that Trowa and I would carry Duo to my place, and Quatre and Harris would be there to assist. I wrapped him tightly in a few furs, it was still cold outside and the last thing Duo needed was a chill. Trowa and I lifted him and carried him out. There was a small crowd gathered around, the pack was extremely nosey. I couldn't exactly blame them for it either. My blood boiled when I saw Chang, he was watching us very closely and seemed to trail about a dozen feet behind us the whole way even going so far as to follow us into my house.

We laid Duo gently on our old bed after unwrapping him from the blankets. I laid the still warm furs on top of him and added a few more for good measure. I was tempted to crawl into the bed with him and never let go, but I still had guests, and I would be overstepping my bounds.

I walked out into the kitchen were Harris had taken a seat at the table and Trowa and Quatre glared awkwardly at Wufei. I joined in their glaring but it seemed to roll right off his coat.

"I am here to ensure Duo is properly cared for and nothing more and I will not leave until I am satisfied that he is properly settled."

I think he was hinting that he wanted to go in and see Duo, but there was no chance of that in my mind. But before I could say anything we heard some slight whimpering coming from Duo's room. I turned so fast the room seemed to have some trouble keeping up. It also seemed no one would be denied access to Duo now, as they all followed me in. The small room was now packed. But we were all silent as we heard Duo whimpering. We couldn't make out most of it but something finally got through.

"Hot…it's too hot"

I jumped forward to place my hand on his forehead, fearing the worst. But just as my hand covered his forehead his body shifted, back into that cursed human form. I froze and I think everyone in the room stopped breathing and I could just picture their eyes falling from their sockets in my mind. I was scared; I didn't know what they would say or how they would react. Quatre was the first to break the imposed silence.

"What is this? Is Duo a human?"

Harris seemed to be slightly puzzled as well but responded. "No, humans are unable to change at all; I have never seen anything like this."

The one that shocked us all though, was Trowa...

"I have... well I mean.... never mind I will show you. Give me a moment I will be back soon."

We sat there just gaping as Trowa ran out the front door. The only one left to speak or do anything was Wufei. He moved forward next to me and reached a hand out and brushed the human-like bangs away from Duo's face.

"He still smells like Duo, and he is still Duo. I am not seeing a problem here?"

I was shocked to say the least, that he had been so quick and openly accepting of this change in Duo. I was expecting some sort of scene or maybe hoping that he would now find Duo vile and would let go of his pursuit. Considering my own reaction to the change in Duo, Change definitely had just beaten me.

We were all sitting at the table when Trowa came back in, clutching an odd looking book in his hands. We had pulled a few furs off of Duo and then Harris told us it would be best to just let him be. Harris was the first to speak up, at the sight of his son clutching the book.

"That's one of the books from my clinic."

Trowa nodded and then launched into explanation. "When I was young, my mother would leave me at the clinic a lot with father. She was always freaking out that I would get hurt and didn't want to leave me alone, but she had things to do. There was not a lot of entertainment for a kid in a clinic, but eventually I took to reading some of the odd books. I remember reading about this in one of the books when I was young."

He put the book down on the table and opened it, searching through the pages to find what he wanted. "This is mostly a healing book but it also has a good amount of history for our species in it. It's a very in depth history with a lot of rare information, things that we don't normally learn."

Harris nodded in understanding and added his own words to the conversation. "I usually use these books for medical references; many of my books have entire sections I have never even looked at, because they do not contain medical information."

Trowa's eyes continued to scan the pages until he stopped and picked up the book, reading it aloud. "A commonly unknown historical trait for the wolf species is their ability to change into a human form. This species was believed to have descended from humans in some ways and before the great wars; they often hid among humans looking just like them. After the banishment many of the sub-species stopped using this ability and it was lost. Almost no packs are known to still change into this form, but there are hundreds of hidden clans, all varying in appearance and ability, though it is suspected that all wolves can accomplish it, but do not know how."

The book was then set on the table before us all, so everyone could read. It was shocking, to say the least, for all of us. To think that we could probably all change into a third form was beyond unbelievable. We could look like humans naturally and that this information was virtually unknown. Duo had shifted into the form by accident at first, or so he had told me. But it could have been anything that set it off, it could have been anyone that had changed.

We all sat in silence for a few minutes and I was the first to speak, saying what we were all thinking. "So, the book suspects we can all change into a human form, not just a select few. So this means that, we could change as well."

I didn't exactly feel comfortable having Wufei still present but I had somewhat put his presence and conflict in the back of my mind. There were bigger things at work here, how did we inform the pack of this? I had been afraid to show Duo to them like this before, and I felt a little ashamed of that now, but I still had the same worries. How would they react? I decided then and there that I would not put Duo as the front man in this. He was sick, he was tired and he was weak. He had been through enough pain to last him forever; if anyone was going to take the brunt of whatever was to come it would be me.

"For now, I suggest we do not tell anyone Duo can do this. People will be harassing him non-stop just to get a look. I don't know how some of the older members will react either. I think its best to just let this stay hidden until someone else can figure out how to do the change."

Harris agreed quickly, I really liked the man; he always had his patient's best interests at heart. Wufei responded next, stating that he didn't see the need for all this secrecy amongst a pack but that he would do what was best for Duo. Quatre and Trowa nodded in agreement.

"I think for now we all just need some sleep and we will figure this out in the morning."

Time had slipped by quickly with the rush of everything. It was late and we were all, clearly, tired. Wufei left my house without a fight and the others wandered off to their own homes. I locked the door tightly behind Wufei, not wanting him to sneak in, during the morning hours to try and visit Duo.

I checked on Duo one last time, finding him sound asleep and seemingly comfortable before I went and climbed into my parents bed. As comforting as it would be to have Duo curled up against my back in our old bed just like old times, I knew I had no right.

I fell asleep after a while, but it felt like only moments later I woke up again, there were sounds coming from Duo's room. I leapt out of the bed and ran in there. He was crying out and thrashing around slightly. I kneeled next to him, running my hand over his forehead, feeling that his fever had gone up a bit. It was nothing alarming, but obviously enough to cause him pain. I gently clasped his bare hand and squeezed, speaking in a low and firm tone, telling him to wake up. About the fourth time he seemed to catch on and his eyes flew open, as he sat up quickly in the bed.

"Wh.. where am I?"

He seemed to be having trouble figuring everything out so I kept my voice as calm as I could.

"You are home, we moved you here earlier this evening."

He looked down at the bed, then around the room and seemed to accept all of it. Suddenly his whole body jumped, and he spun to face me, reeling a little bit at moving so fast. I grabbed onto his shoulders to steady him but he was desperate to get out whatever he was thinking.

"Noventa, it was Noventa. Please you have to be careful you have to stop him. I didn't do it please it was Noventa... I tried to stop them from killing mo... your mother but I failed, I was so weak, I am so sorry Heero."

His voice was taking on a desperate almost frantic tone too it. I squeezed my hands around his shoulders and interrupted him.

"We know Duo, we found you in Noventa's old dwelling. You don't have to worry, Noventa is dead. We found out everything. You don't need to apologize; I know you tried your best."

He bit his lower lip and looked away nodding. I could see the emotion building in him, and the tears being held in check behind his eyes.

"I wasn't strong enough to stop them, I am sorry I am so useless. I couldn't even protect her..."

I let out a deep sigh, and sat on the edge of the bed, pulling him into my arms into a hug.

"None of this was your fault. I am so sorry for everything, for suspecting you, for attacking you. Chasing you away, everything that has happened, it was all my fault."

He pulled back, gazing at me wide-eyed. Like I just told him we were going to sacrifice him to the wheat gods or something.

"No, no, Heero you did nothing wrong. It made perfect sense for you to blame me. I probably would have blamed me in your position. I don't blame you at all."

I could feel tears prickling in the back of my eyes and I pulled him into a tight hug. As much as I had wanted to hear him say he forgave me, I didn't want him to say he didn't blame me. I blamed me, and I think Quatre did as well, but Quatre was too kind to say anything. I needed someone to blame me. But I didn't feel like fighting with Duo about this. I heard him whisper something and just barely caught this.

"Where were you before you woke me up? I know you weren't in here with me."

I nodded and loosened my arms from around him, letting them fall to my sides. I could see him get a look of confusion then he looked down to his lap. He spoke up again, as I was getting ready to reply.

"Oh! I am sorry I didn't realize I was in this form. I will change, I know it bugs you."

I put up a hand to stop him, but he had already shifted into his half form. "No, Duo it doesn't bug me, I am just worried about what the pack is going to... do if they are frightened by this change. I don't care what you look like I just want you to not change around the others of the pack. Just until we can get this figured out..."

I continued on after a short pause, realizing his question was still lingering. "I was sleeping in the other bed by the kitchen."

He gave me a funny look "But then where is Odin sleeping?"

I hesitated, knowing this was going to be hard to answer. "Odin ... Odin is dead. Noventa killed him shortly before Noventa died."

I could see his ears turn back and lay down and his hands started to shake. He threw himself against me and I felt him shaking. It didn't last long, he was so worn out it exhausted him and he fell asleep. Once I knew he wouldn't wake I laid him back down fully on the bed and went back to the other bed.

I woke up again to the sound of pounding against my door. I could see Chang through the glass and snarled. I opened the door and stepped out, closing it behind me. "What do you want?"

He crossed his arms defensively and smiled, his voice taking on a sarcastic tone. "I came to bid you good morning and see if you wanted breakfast. I think we both know I am here to see Duo. Now if you will move aside?"

I had just about enough of him at this point. "No, I refuse to let you see him, I forbid it."

I had been about to tell him that we would finish negotiations today and he would leave but he interrupted me with almost a roaring voice. "It's not your choice to make. Do you really think you are any better than Odin if you keep controlling him like this?"

I felt my hand close around his throat before my brain caught up to it. I let it go immediately though. Replaying his words in my head, because damnit he had a good point. It wasn't my choice to make. I opened the door and leaned against the frame, letting out a long, frustrated sigh before nodding. "Fine, you can see him, but I will throw you out if you do anything wrong."

He smiled then, and I could see just how handsome he was. Again I wondered how much was between the pair of them. Was I wrong to do this and keep them apart? I had not yet spoken to Duo about Chang and the bargain, would Duo be mad? I decided then that I would let Duo decide what he wanted to do. If he wanted to stay here I would be elated... if Chang had won him over... I would let him go. He deserved better than me, and I had no qualms in admitting Chang was infinitely better, he didn't deserve Duo, but he was far more worthy than I.

I shut the door and walked into the kitchen, able to still see Duo and Wufei out of the corner of my eye. He just sat on the edge of the bed and gently stroked Duo's arm. I started to make something for breakfast. I wasn't exactly the greatest cook but mom had taught me a few things. I think my heart was ready to break when I saw what happened next.

Duo slowly opened his eyes, and blinked away the morning drowsiness. When he finally saw and recognized Wufei he got the biggest smile I have seen since before I left for the forest. He sat up in the bed and threw his arms around Chang's neck. Wufei took too much pleasure in the contact for my taste and he pulled Duo close, hugging him tightly.

Their voices were low but I could still hear everything once Duo pulled back. "Wufei? What are you doing here?"

I saw him smile and chuckle, reaching up to run his hand over Duo's ear. "Well here I came all this way for some swimming lessons only to find my teacher was incapacitated."

I could see Duo roll his eyes and swat at Chang playfully. "What idiot comes to swim in winter? The river is probably frozen solid Wuffles!"

Wufei laughed at that and made a quick comeback. "Well then maybe I came to get lessons that would teach me how to walk on water."

Duo looked thoughtful for a moment before he smiled again. "That's rather clever; I guess I never thought of walking on ice like that before."

I felt like throwing something at Wufei. They got along so well, clearly they were at the least, very good friends, probably much better than I had been with Duo. I decided then to let my pride take a hit if it was for Duo's benefit. I walked over to the pair and leaned against the door frame. Duo turned and smiled "Good morning, Heero."

My heart jumped at the smile and his voice but I tried to keep my own from squeaking because of it. "Good morning, Duo. Chang are... will you be staying for breakfast?"

I could have laughed at the look Wufei gave me but instead I just settled for a smug smile. Duo turned to Wufei and grabbed his hand. "Please stay?" I knew Duo was using his pleading face and if Chang was mortal there was no way he could say no.

But any smugness I had was lost at Duo's pleading for him to stay and holding his hand. Wufei nodded and agreed to stay. I had dug my own hole with that one, but it was worth it if it made Duo happy.

We were half through breakfast when we got our first visitor. I had decided Duo would stay in bed and we would sit around him and eat. This was the scene Quatre had burst in on "Good morning, everyone." He froze at the sight of Wufei next to Duo's bed, and I know he was shooting questioning looks at me but I ignored them, I didn't want to explain anything right now.

He enveloped Duo in a hug and sat next to him on the bed, happy to just sit and talk while the rest of us ate. Breakfast wore Duo out, all the visitors and excitement was too much for him and I could see him struggling to stay awake. Now I had a good reason to toss Chang out and I wasn't going to pass it up. I picked up my plate and Duo's. "I think Duo needs some more sleep so let's all leave him alone for a while"

Duo looked like he wanted to protest but all that came out was a large yawn. He lay back down after Quatre stood up and I pulled the blankets back up around him. Change didn't need a second hint and left the house quickly, and Quatre went with him.

As Duo slept I sat in a kitchen chair, contemplating what was going to happen next. How I was going to handle all of this. I had already decided to let Duo decide if he wanted to go with Chang or not. That was one thing I would be careful not to unduly influence. But should I tell him of my father's deal? My feelings?

If Duo was going to go with him it wouldn't be for a while. Duo would not be up to that journey anytime soon and I wouldn't let him, even if he hated me for it, I wouldn't have him hurt again if I could stop it. He wouldn't leave until he was ready, if he was leaving.

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