Okay, so it SEEMS like it's a day late, but it isn't. Thanks to my new school schedule, I'll have to start updating up Thursdays instead of Wednesdays. Sorry about any inconveniences and what not. Anyway, enjoy.

Note: The 500th Reviewer story is now up! Read, enjoy, etc.

Disclaimer: If I owned anything like Duo or Heero or GW, I'd be able to afford a new computer, wouldn't I? Obviously, it's not mine.

Dedication: Miss Macabre (again :S) She won a contest!

Chapter 35: Two Weeks Later

Wufei ran a hand through his hair. He was letting it dry before he pulled it back again. Wufei had returned to the job he'd found some time before. He couldn't make himself call it anything other than that, but the ones to whom it mattered knew what he meant.

Wufei went down his self-made list of chores, which had grown from merely making his bed and meditating to include watering Heero's herbs and taking care of the beast. Wufei pulled on a pair of dark jeans and a white T-shirt. Then the chores began. Contrary to what most people believed, Wufei simply pulled up the sheets and the comforter, tossing the pillows on top of it all. There were a few wrinkles, and it wasn't even on one side, but Wufei didn't waste his time on them.

Then Wufei planted himself in the kitchen. After a bit of quick research on plants, Wufei had a feeling he would be able to keep the herbs alive. He sprinkled the water with a bit of plant food, which he had moved to sit by the watering can, which Wufei now kept under the sink, though it hovered a bit precariously over a number of cleaning agents that Wufei never used. Then he set the can in the sink and let cold water run into it while he retrieved fresh dishes from the dishwasher for the cat.

"Demon!" Wufei ordered the beast. And she came, hopping up onto a tiny counter. Wufei scooped some soft food from a can and mashed it in the dish, shoving it in front of the cat. The rest of the food he put in the fridge with a lid. It had taken Shinigami three days from Wufei's last trip from the hospital before she decided to sleep on his bed and another two days before Wufei stopped kicking her off. Now at night, he slept on his side and the cat he called "Demon" curled up against his stomach.

Wufei watered the plants mechanically before putting the empty can under the sink and sat down with a cup of tea and a bowl of leftover fried rice. However, he only drank the tea. The rice went into the trash. At some point, Heero had installed a trash compactor, which had made Wufei uneasy when he realized Heero double-lined the compactor.

Wufei put the dishes away, listening to the clunk of plastic. Only now did he see the significance of that. He'd merely assumed for so long that Duo was merely clumsy, which was true enough. It had seemed odd that Heero kept the cutlery locked up as well. He knew hiding the razors was because that was what Duo had used the first time, but in a way he'd never really believed it had happened.

Wufei wiped down Demon's corner; she was the messiest eater Wufei had ever come across. She always had dry food out of her dish, and she shoved a bit of soft food out of her bowl. The Chinese man had no idea how she managed it, but he scolded her just the same before spraying down the tough spots. He'd picked up a bottle of all-purpose spray and a general hard floor cleaner after he realized Heero had a different cleaner for nearly everything. Now that he was truly living in the house instead of just sleeping there or sitting in the living room, he was beginning to see things how they really were.

He pulled his hair back with a groan and straightened everything up again, though he kept a neat house just from his habits of putting things away when he was done. He was just wasting time today. He eyed the package on the coffee table, and the bag on the floor by it. He couldn't wait any longer.

"Demon." He called, and the cat, who was still a kitten, came. Wufei scooped her up and put her in the bag and picked it up. She peered out, meowing loudly. Duo's pet bag—he hadn't liked carriers.

"We're going to go see Duo today, Demon. Behave." Wufei set the bag down in the kitchen, pulled his khaki jacket off the back of a chair, and put it on. He tucked the package from the coffee table into a pocket inside his jacket, tucked a wallet into his back pocket, and grabbed the keys to his red pick-up truck. It was a veritable monster—every bit a guy's truck.

Wufei took off, Demon mewling on the seat next to him Wufei initially tried scolding the cat, but when she only cried louder, he gave up, though he wouldn't quite lower himself enough to comfort a mere cat. A female cat at that.

The Chinese man parked and swung out of the cab before retrieving the little Siamese kitten. He marched up to the building, and through glass doors to a lobby. At the reception desk, he signed in.

"Ah. You're early. A nurse will come to get you in a few minutes. Also, please sign a form for the items you have brought. From our records, the cat has already been cleared, correct?" A blonde asked him quickly. She was in her thirties; neat and efficient.

Wufei nodded and signed before taking a seat in one of the ten or so plush chairs near the receptionist. Quatre, being the generous soul that he was had taken on full responsibility for paying the numerous medical bills Heero and Duo now created, so it was nothing but the best for both of them. This meant that Duo was twenty minutes away from Wufei while Heero was a couple of hours away.

As the Chinese man and the Siamese kitten waited, both grew quiet. A slight woman approached Wufei; she wasn't old, but her eyes were. "Wufei Chang?"

Wufei nodded.

"I'm Marianne Oakland, one of the nurses here. Mr. Chang, if you'll come with me, I'll take you to the family therapy session. It should last an hour. After that, you are allowed half an hour visiting Duo." She smiled and waited for Wufei to get up and follow her.

Wufei forced himself not to drag his pace as he followed Ms. Oakland. She opened a door with a keycard, holding it open for the Chinese man. She offered him a brief explanation. "I know it seems strange to have the patients locked in; however, some patients occasionally try to leave, presenting a potential danger not only to themselves, but others as well."

Ms. Oakland stopped at a receptionist and turned in her first keycard. "We have to sign in here, Mr. Chang. This lets the facility know exactly where everyone is." She quickly signed, adding date and time to her entry. Wufei followed suit, and the receptionist passed a second keycard to Ms. Oakland. "After this door, we'll be heading towards the therapy room."

Wufei glanced through the doors they passed if they were open; in one, he saw a group of patients in what looked like a commons area. This facility specialised in eating disorders. Seeing patients with gaunt faces that showed off bones and dark hollows like Duo's did; seeing those gazes that saw something that Wufei couldn't see; it made Wufei feel sick. It was even more painfully true now, and he was simply glancing through a passageway bordering their world. He only knew that Duo was one of them, but he didn't know what they were.

Ms. Oakland stopped before a last door. "Mr. Chang, Duo and Dr. Fitzgerald are right through this door."

Wufei's throat went dry and something twisted inside him. He couldn't move. He was terrified of what lay beyond that closed door. He breathing quickened slightly.

"Mr. Chang. I know it's hard, but it's even harder for Duo. Please don't disappoint him. He's still Duo. His illness hasn't transformed him into a monster." The last part, Ms. Oakland snapped.

"I… don't think he's a monster." Wufei started. "I just… I lived with him…before…"

Something flashed across the nurse's face briefly. "I understand… It's all right, and it's not your fault. Duo will be glad you came, and I believe seeing his kitten will get his spirits up. It's amazing what a furry animal does. I'm glad Dr. Fitzgerald approved it. I'll watch the kitten back here during your session and bring it to the room when you and Duo visit."

Wufei nodded and Ms. Oakland opened the door for Wufei. He thanked her with a nod; he still tended to think he was superior to women, but he had learned to respect them much more on the past few years. His time with the Preventers had heavily influenced him, primarily in the form of his now ex-partner Sally Po. She had left the force a few months before he had once she had learned of a pregnancy only four months after her marriage to a co-worker. Wufei glanced around the room and swallowed heavily. Two girls had IVs dripping into their wrists, and every other chair held someone with an eating disorder, obvious by thinness. It shocked him at how drastic the change was between the people who, like him, had come on visitation and the frail, sickly figures on each side.

A steel-haired man at the head of the table sporting a stiff moustache met Wufei with surprisingly warm blue eyes. "Wufei Chang?"

Wufei bit back a retort about the proper order of his name; he was getting used to the general way the world looked at his name. "Yes." He nodded as he spoke.

"Excellent. Only one more person to show up and we can begin. Please sit on the right side of Duo, Mr. Chang." The doctor smiled warmly.

Wufei frowned deeply at the last three words; he wasn't sure if that meant Duo was being treated as a friend, or if he was being treated as a mere child. It was then that Wufei spotted Duo; he swallowed hard on bile threatening to rise from his throat. How had he been so blind that entire time? He had lived with that idiot for months and he was an ex-soldier. A pilot who had to be incredibly accurate and notice every single little detail, yet he had missed everything. Hollow cheeks that only the most emaciated models sported and skin tight around hard angles of bone made the American's head seem huge and bulbous atop a little doll frame. Muscles had once rippled across his chest and once, though Wufei would never admit this even under oath, Duo had bested him in an arm wrestling match. Sure, Duo had accumulated a slight amount of pudge after the war, but Wufei felt that Duo would break in a slight breeze. No, Wufei realized suddenly. Duo was already broken.

In a daze, Wufei sat beside his friend and comrade with a slight scowl; he usual expression. Soon, a plump woman ran in three minutes after the session was supposed to start and breathlessly took a seat next to a waxy-looking blond with thin hair. The session began immediately; those within the centre were asked to introduce themselves and tell the group whether or not they had an eating disorder, but less than half of the group admitted to that, and Duo was adamant that nothing was wrong with him. Wufei had to watch as Duo's face flushed and his hoarse voice angrily demanded the doctor let him go home and that Wufei should go to hell for ever putting him in here. Wufei just sat there. What was he supposed to do? He was beginning to realise that not only would Duo need therapy, but he might just need it and he had to learn how to deal with Duo as he was now. Then he introduced himself and his relation—close friend—to the group.

To Wufei, the session had been a joke; the patients talked about their week, or were asked to. Some patients refused to speak at all. The visitors could comment and ask non-invasive questions if they wished. How the hell would that help anybody was Wufei's question. But it eventually ended and Ms. Oakland bustled into the room. "Duo, Mr. Chang, please come with me." She took Duo's hand and led him towards the door as he followed mutely.

She led them to a small bedroom with two beds on either side of the room. Wufei assumed it was Duo's room. "I'll be back in a moment to check on the two of you, but I trust you enough, Duo, to leave you alone in your room, all right?" Whenever Ms. Oakland spoke to Duo, her voice was a bit softer, with an inviting edge hinting a truly caring about her patient.

Duo nodded and slowly sunk down to sit on the edge of his bed. He was staring at the floor the entire time. Wufei sat on the opposite bed. "This is the first time they said I could visit…"

Wufei was met by nothing. "Duo… I-I'm sorry…" What the hell was he supposed to say? He attempted a few more comments, but they were met mostly with silence, once he earned a soft grunt. Then he remembered the package he'd tucked into his jacket; it was wrapped with several layers of white tissue paper and a stick-on bow. "I have something for you." He drew it out and walked over to Duo and placed the package into his hands.

Slowly, so slowly, Duo began to wrap it and Wufei almost wondered if he was only unwrapping it because it was in his hands. Duo finally withdrew his journal and uttered a breathless "thank you". He already sounded exhausted.

Longer silence ensued until Ms. Oakland knocked and brought Wufei's bag into the room. "Mr. Chang brought you another present, Duo, but she can only stay for a little while. Maybe if you ask Dr. Fitzgerald nicely, he'll let Mr. Chang bring her back again, hmm?"

Duo looked up, and Wufei pulled a rather irritated and loudly meowing kitten out of the bag. "Demon isn't happy with me for putting her in that bag…" She wriggled free of Wufei's hands and stared up at Duo. She scolded Duo thoroughly for leaving her before pressing her head against his legs, marking him as hers all over again. A ghost of a smile lit Duo's face as she crawled onto his lap and began purring as loud as her tiny body would allow. Wufei watched from the opposite bed for the rest of the visit in silence. He was completely amazed at the sudden change in Duo brought on by the cat. Now he was quietly murmuring to the kitten and petting her. He definitely was happier with Demon than he was with Wufei and the entire staff at the centre.