Disclaimer: I find myself often wondering what the actual owners of Gundam Wing think of our fics….since clearly I don't own it or I'd have already released more episodes!!!

So this chapter is thanks to Ember who lent me her lap top while she was at work till 10 (poor thing) on Harry Potter Night. Everybody say thank you!

Beyond the Grave

Chapter 12: Awakening

Duo couldn't breathe for the pillow smothering his every breath. He gasped for air, managing to pull in little gasps from where the pillow gave around his mouth a little. He pushed and pulled at the pillow, trying to get her to let go but couldn't get her skanky nails off the fabric.

All the while the sound of her shrill voice still reached him past the muffling of the pillow. She was persistent and Duo was surprised at her desperate strength.

But in the end Duo Maxwell was a Gundam Pilot, he was the definition of 'elite' and he was able to grab hold of her wrist with one and got his other around her neck, able to stifle his own panic from the lack of air. He all but stopped breathing since he couldn't get a good breath anyway and concentrated on his hands, with his left hand on her wrist he began to twist his hand and with his right hand at her neck he began to squeeze slow and steady, knowing he could very easily crush her windpipe if he needed to even if he was reluctant to kill her here.

But he'd known for years the truth about Relena Peacecraft and he had no hang ups over her death. He'd only ever held off on assassination since Heero seemed to hold some kind of respect for her, something that kept him from seeing the real her.

Now though, he had the perfect excuse of defending himself if he chose to use it, but he wasn't quite there yet, he still had questions to ask her...and Heero.

Duo waited patiently, even as his vision started to go grey and blurry, for the pain to make Relena let go. Even as the thought of them both choking each other to death almost made him giggle madly. But Duo won out in the end, ready for death where as Relena was not. She pulled back trying to break his hold on her and let the pillow fall from her hands at last. Duo let go of her as sweet cool air rushed back into his lungs and he concentrated on seeing things clearly again.

Duo eyed her warily as she stared daggers at him, one hand at her throat as if she couldn't believe he'd almost killed her. Obviously she had no clue how much Duo was suddenly wishing he had.

"You...you..." Relena gasped as she stood there, hating Duo. Duo found a smile which he had almost forgotten and used it on her. It was enough to cut her off, the pure madness in it making her shiver in realization.

"I was merely defending myself; it's not my fault you pulled away before I could kill you." Duo smiled at her and waited for her next move, were she a cat he was sure he could have seen the muscles bunching in her haunches, ready to spring as she pounced.

Relena, despite her sudden fear of the man lying in the hospital bed before her, was ready to do anything and everything to save her Heero from this mad man. She didn't let her mind linger on the words 'murder' or 'lawsuit', she just launched herself at the hospital bed and as she went she reached out and started grabbing wires and tubes. She pulled and yanked and then set in on Duo, brandishing fingernails that were a lot longer than his and tiny fists and were quick and sharp. She scratched a lot more effectively than Duo had, drawing blood instead of just causing small welts. And her little fists hit him again and again, his raised hands barely staving off the constant rain of her wrath.

Duo tried to get a hold of her again while trying to keep her away from his face, but it wasn't working; she kept squirming out of his grasp and started in on the screaming again. Duo was just trying to avoid Relena's attempt to gouge out his eyes when he finally heard running outside in the hallway. He was a Gundam Pilot, but he was also a Gundam Pilot being pulled out of his hospital bed and pummeled, he was so not above asking for help just then.

"Over Here!" Duo yelped, "Help!" Relena managed to pull him out of the bed and started kicking him as well and Duo tried to reach out and trip her up and was rewarded with a kick to the forearm as he balled up to protect his belly. He cried out in pain as he felt her shoe connect with his bone and then someone else was with them in the room.

Duo heard Relena scream in surprise and then in pain and then she wasn't on top of him anymore. She was gone and careful, gentle hands were helping him up and hovering over him protectively.

"H-h-h-Heero!?" Relena's voice confirmed what Duo's body had known instinctively from the first moment Heero had touched him and when Heero's scent had invaded his senses.

"Don't you fucking say anything!" Heero growled out at her, his gaze leaving Duo long enough to shot her a look that Duo was sure could have killed any normal human being.

Then he was focused back on Duo. "Are you ok? Anything Broken!? If anything is..." Heero's threat made Relena shrink in on herself and push herself back against the far wall, cowering, but still shooting glares at Duo.

"No, nothing broken." Duo hissed and let Heero help him to his feet and back to the edge of his bed. He stayed in the wreath of Heero's arms and watched Relena warily, waiting for her to go off again, but Heero's presence seemed to be enough to keep her plastered to the wall.

"I'm sorry Duo, I would have been sooner but I was detained in the waiting room." Heero's words were as cold as Duo had ever heard them and Heero shot Relena a glance.

"I'm so sorry Heero! T-they weren't supposed to-" Relena tried to apologize but was cut off by Heero.

"I told you not to speak!" Heero snapped at her. And Duo found Heero gone from his side and in front of her. "You don't ever need to speak to either one of us ever again." Heero's voice had gone quiet, at its most dangerous as he towered over Relena who quivered before him.

"But Heero, I'm just trying to save you from-" Relena started and Duo just barely saw Heero's hand go up before it came down across her face. The sound told Duo it was less of a slap and more of a hit. He wasn't sure whether to be shocked or to smile.

He decided to just keep silent and watch as Heero handled the woman who Duo knew now was responsible for his time with Aykan, it was really rather perfect since Duo wasn't really up to disposing of her himself just then. It was all he could do to keep sitting there, his head was fit to split, memories assaulting him and skin stinging where the she devil had clawed him or ripped some kind of needle from inside him.

"P-please Heero! Can't you see..." Heero growled at her and she shut up.

"You want to know what I see!?" Heero demanded the quiet rage a lot worse than if he'd been yelling at her. "I see a woman who has deceived an entire planet, including colonies and convinced them that she is worthy of respect and her position as a leader when really she is nothing more than a murdering, disgusting, revolting, Bitch and a sad excuse of a human being!!!"

Relena whimpered but kept her mouth shut this time. Pleading with her eyes to which Heero was blind. He sneered at her and grabbed her by the upper arm and dragged her to the door, Duo started to protest, but then shut his mouth as he caught a glimpse of Heero's face as he pulled Relena after him. He wanted a shot at Relena, but not that badly.

Heero threw Relena out the door of Duo's room, sending her crashing into the far wall and then threw a last parting shot at her. "And you were lousy in bed." Then he slammed the door closed and locked it for good measure.

Relena ran; hate burning in her tears and sorrow tailing along on her heels. How dare he! How dare he humiliate her like that! This was all Duo's doing! Heero was never himself when that man was around!!! Duo had Heero fooled all over again. Just like before. That braided fool was trying to steal Heero back away from her.

DAMN THEM!!!!

Relena gathered her broken men from the waiting room and fled. Since Duo was going to force her hand, she would make sure no one would soon forget Relena Peacecraft's wrath!

But a dark thought entered her mind as she sat scheming in the black pickup. If Heero couldn't be swayed back from this, then wasn't he better off far, far away from Duo's manipulations. She'd have to save Heero, from Duo…and from himself.

Heero and Duo locked eyes across the room and they both stared at each other in silence. Both waiting for the other to say something first, waiting for something to break the silence, both unsure of what to say next.

"I'm sorry!" Heero said at the same time Duo said, "Thank you."

"What for?" Their words tripped over each other again.

"For getting rid of her of course, what are you sorry for!?" Duo demanded, easing himself back into his bed and bemoaning the fact that all these wires and tubes would have to be replaced again.

Heero came to his side again, helping him back under the covers, "I shouldn't have left. We've been monitoring her movements ever since… but we forced her to leave her house last night, and I should have known she'd try something as soon as she knew we couldn't monitor her as well anymore."

"Forced her to leave her house!? What did you do!?" Duo asked, a laugh jumping into his words mid sentence.

Heero looked slightly sheepish as a smile crept onto his face, "Set off and locked the alarms so she couldn't turn them off."

"HA! Really!? That's hilarious!" Duo laughed and then hissed as he tenderly tested his arm where Relena had kicked him and found a large bruise already forming under his skin.

"That looks bad." Heero's brows furrowed in worry as he took Duo's arm into his hands gently and brushed his fingers gently across Duo's skin.

"Yeah, that's gonna be a beauty." Duo agreed and continued searching to find what other damage she'd done. His face and arms were scratched near to ribbons and she'd gotten a good kick to his shin as well as a good bruise to his hip when she'd pulled Duo out of the bed.

"Lovely. I didn't even look this bad after a tussle during the lunch hour with Aykan!" Duo joked, but a glance at Heero told him that the joke wasn't all that funny.

"I'm sorry." Heero said again.

"So, just when are we going to get to the point where you and the other guys stop apologizing?" Duo asked, laying back against his pillows and calling for the nurse now that he could get a hold of his button.

Heero blushed slightly and looked down. "What we did was…"

"Was perfectly normal, given that you thought that I was dead!" Duo sighed heavily. "I'm not saying I forgive you all just yet for believing that in the first place, but I get that you're sorry. So you don't really need to say it anymore."

Heero felt his heart clench at the words, but he also felt a bit of relief. He wasn't sure where to go with that, but he didn't have to make the decision as the nurse chose that moment to come in and panic.

In less than two minutes Duo was being looked over by a doctor and security was talking to Heero. It was a bit of a tricky situation, but since Relena and her 'guards' had been caught on tape Heero was able to at least start the process of a restraining order against Relena for Duo and himself. It seemed like a bother to him, but at that moment he'd take anything he could so that he could at least have a guard for Duo if he needed to leave again. But he didn't trust the police or the Preventors to administer justice against Relena at all, so the point was really moot.

"Will you able to keep these ones in Mr. Maxwell?" The doctor teased as he reinserted the IV drip to the inside of Duo's arm, the last one left.

Duo gave him a big smile, "Assuming no more crazy blondes are allowed in to visit me."

The doctor gave a nervous laugh, and promised to be back after lunch to check on him. Then Duo and Heero were alone again, staring at each other. And that's when Duo remembered why Heero had left in the first place and what had happened while he was gone. He decided to push Relena out of his mind for now since she'd been dealt with for the moment. No doubt she would reenter their lives again at the worst possible moment ever, persistent bitch. But something else seemed like the much more pressing to him.

"Here, they found it in the waiting room, I dropped it but I think its ok." Heero handed over a plastic bag with the local electronics store logo on it, the music player he'd promised. Duo just held it, not knowing what to do with it, and looked up at Heero.

"I don't remember how to read or write." He couldn't even read the logo on the bag, couldn't read the directions on how to use the player, not that he'd need to anyway, couldn't read the expression on Heero's face!

"WHAT!?" Duo demanded, feeling suddenly defensive.

"What do you mean you don't remember how?" Heero asked, not sure he was hearing this right.

"I mean I started to write you that list you said you'd get me and I couldn't remember how to spell or write or anything. Then when I tried to read something, when I try to read this," He held up the bag, "I can't!"

Heero could hear the anger, the stress and the fear in Duo's voice, but he didn't know how to react to this either! Duo always blindsided him, even when he wasn't trying to. Probably even when he didn't want to, like now.

"I'll get the doctor." Heero's only idea. He turned to leave and Duo reached out and grabbed his arm.

"Delay that!" Duo muttered and pulled Heero back to his side. "Just…can we just wait a little bit before we call him back? We could tell him when he comes back after lunch."

Heero didn't like it, strained against it, but he also didn't want to leave as Duo's arms snaked around his waist. He looked down at Duo in confusion and in question.

Duo sighed against Heero's waist and finally admitted, "I forgot who she was. Didn't recognize her when she came in."

Heero had been wondering how Relena had gotten that close to Duo to hurt him without Duo calling for someone earlier or at least getting out of the room. Maybe locking himself in the bathroom…

"I forgot how I ended up in Aykan's loving care." Duo kept talking and Heero schooled his thoughts so that he could give Duo the attention he deserved. "I can't believe I forgot that!"

"Your brain may have suffered damages since we couldn't…" Heero started to explain but Duo cut him off.

"I know the science of it. But shouldn't someone remember something that bad happening to them!?" Duo asked, disgust tasting sour on his tongue, "That's no something someone should forget."

Heero pulled Duo against him tightly, aching for him. This was something he really didn't know how to fight. Something he couldn't protect Duo from, and it killed him inside.

"But I remember it now. When she shoved the pillow into my face it all came back." Duo rubbed his head while not moving from Heero's side even when Heero tried to jerk away.

"When she what!?" Heero made a moment as if he was going to go off after her again, but Duo held him in place with his next words.

"I remember how I died Heero."