Quatre slept for several hours. The doctor and a nurse came in to check on him and each reassured Duo that the blonde was recovering well but Duo didn't fully relax until Quatre woke up again.

"Hey, Quatre. How are you feeling now?"

"Better, surprisingly. I've been sick for so long that I think I just thought it was normal. I feel so much better now that I can really feel a difference." Quatre adjusted the bed so he was sitting up.

"Good. Listen…I got some stuff to talk to you about."

Quatre frowned. "Okay."

"Wufei and I have been talking and he said somethin' that kinda stuck with me. We know that Rashid is gone and you have other Maganacs you can ask but…I was wonderin' how you would feel if me and Wufei became your new bodyguards."

Quatre stared at Duo. He certainly wasn't expecting that.

"I mean, we know we can never replace him but we just…we know you need someone you can trust right now and Wufei's kind of out of action for a couple of months so it would just be me to start," Duo added quickly. "And we won't be offended if you tell us no."

"Doesn't Hilde need you to run her scrap yard?"

Duo shrugged. "Business has really slowed down lately and I feel bad makin' her pay me when I don't really do much anymore. To be honest, it's really been boring. This…uh…rescue mission made me realize how much I miss being in the middle of things."

"You should probably go back to the Preventers, then. My life is pretty boring for the most part," Quatre pointed out.

"Don't give me that. You think I haven't checked up on you these last three years? You've kept Rashid busy enough." Duo smirked at Quatre's glare. "And besides, I've missed bein' able to hang out with you. This way we can get all caught up. Then Wufei will get better and try to keep us out of trouble so we might want to make as much trouble as we can as soon as possible."

Quatre grinned. "Yeah, Duo, I think I'd like for you and Wufei to be my bodyguards. Thank you for your generous offer."

Duo rolled his eyes. "Don't go all formal on me, Quat. Just so you know it was all Wufei's idea. I'm not really sure why he thought he and I would make a good team, though. We might kill each other."

Quatre chuckled. "He's had plenty of opportunity for that already. I think if he was going to kill you, he would have already done it."

Duo snorted. "Who says I won't kill him? He's a real pain in the—"

A knock on the door interrupted. Duo cautiously opened the door and was surprised to see Wufei standing there, a little unsteady on a pair of crutches.

"Oh, hey, Wufei. We were just discussing your earlier proposal."

Wufei shuffled inside and carefully sat on the chair Duo had just vacated. "It's good to see you awake," he greeted Quatre. "How are you feeling?"

"Better. How is your leg?"

Wufei shrugged. "Broken knee. It's annoying but not serious. I should be up to speed in a few weeks. How far have you come in your discussion about my 'proposal', as Duo put it?"

"I accept your offer to be my bodyguards. Although, Duo was wondering why you thought to ask him to partner with you and I admit I'm a little curious as to why you felt it would take two of you to guard me."

Wufei nodded. "I think that would be obvious. Heero now has Relena and Trina to take care of and Trowa has Dorothy and their son to think about. Clearly, Duo was the only other option."

Duo frowned. "So basically…I was the last resort?"

"Not at all." Wufei shifted in the chair to look at Duo. "I considered our differences in personality and I felt that we would both benefit from the other's opinion in any given situation."

"So why not just do the job yourself?" Duo asked. "It isn't like you really need my help to keep Quatre safe."

Wufei considered his answer carefully. "For one thing, I am out of commission for several weeks. Quatre is going to need extra security immediately. His Maganacs are down several members after that last attack on his home and they are in mourning for Rashid as much as Quatre is. We are outsiders and as much as we respected Rashid, we were not as attached to him and are therefore more able to push our grief aside and do what needs to be done."

At the mention of Rashid, Quatre looked out the window, hoping his friends wouldn't notice the tears that had suddenly forced their way into his eyes. He'd been able to keep Rashid's death out of his thoughts because of everything else that was going on but he no longer had that luxury.

"Hey, Quat? You okay?"

Quatre quickly blinked, hoping that the tears would disappear before the others saw them. "I'm fine, Duo." Quatre's voice was a little husky, but he hoped that Duo would chalk that up to how recently he'd woken up.

"Don't give us that, Winner," Wufei said. "We may not have spoken much recently but we know you better than that. You have every right to grieve."

Quatre nodded but didn't look at his friends.

"Do you want us to go?" Duo asked.

Quatre shook his head. "I'll be fine. Wufei, you still didn't answer my question. Why do you think it will take two of you to keep tabs on me?"

Wufei and Duo exchanged a look when Quatre continued to look out the window.

Wufei cleared his throat. "It's been my experience that when someone does everything alone, they tend to get burnt out easier and if there are two of us, it will be possible to alternate vacations and other necessary leave should it arise."

Duo raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by 'other necessary leave'?"

"Well…I'm going to ask Sally to marry me."

A/N: Not much of a bomb but I think this story is winding down. At least, my muse hasn't thrown any curve balls at this point.