Chapter 37

He didn't know what woke him, but when Duo opened his eyes, he was disoriented. He was lying in a bed naked and raising himself up on his elbows away from his pillow, he realized he was in his room at Seaside Lab. The usual mess was on the floor, clothing, papers, dirty dishes from whatever he had brought to his room to snack on the previous day, or rather several previous days. He blinked, then reached up to rub his eyes. How had he gotten here? Wasn't he on Calabria? Duo remembered fighting with a sword, seeing the wretched condition of the women, and after preparing the burst rock to be transported to the mines some distance from the slave city, he had been exhausted and bedded down with Sadie. How did he wake here of all places?

Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he dragged the sheet up and wrapped it around his waist, and sidestepping the mess on the floor, he went to the window to look out and saw that the sun, only one sun, was shining brightly. A cool, salty breeze rustled the curtains before flowing over him, and he stared at the ocean for a moment as he breathed in the fresh air to clear his head. He must have been dreaming because this was very real.

He turned and headed to his bathroom where he took a long hot shower, turning the jets on so that the water pelted him. He groaned aloud at the pleasure it gave him and he stayed in the shower longer than usual before he finally left, and grabbing the towel hanging over a hook, he found it already damp. He frowned, wondering who had already used it, and then he grinned when he saw a lacy pair of panties lying near the pile of his hastily discarded clothing. Trynity must have slept with him and awoke before him. By now she would probably be jogging, and he could not wait to find her, to tell her of his dream.

As he dressed, he was a little concerned that he could not remember the night before, nor even days or even months if they were on Earth. How long had they been on L10 before returning? Why wasn't she in space working on her fellowship program? The thought that he had prevented her from doing so concerned him, but until he spoke to her, he would not jump to conclusions. There might be a perfectly good reason that she was not in space studying.

Pulling on a clean pair of black jeans and a black t-shirt, Duo stuffed the lacy panties in his pocket so that he could return them to Trynity. If the maid found them and reported them to her father, Duo did not know what the man would do. He headed to the door, pressed the button to open it, and he nearly hit his head on the top of the door jamb. He ducked to avoid it, but he frowned as he realized he was taller than he had been the last time he was at Seaside Lab. How would he be able to ask Trynity about the past few months without her thinking he had lost his mind.

Although he expected to run into the other pilots, the complex seemed to be deserted. He did not see anyone until he went into the garden patio and he was delighted to find Trynity sitting at a table sipping from a mug that he knew was filled with coffee. She seemed to be troubled, but when she saw him, she smiled and set aside the mug before standing.

"You're up! I thought you might sleep longer. That was quite a bump on the head you took in your gundam yesterday during training exercises." She gave him a contrite look and came to take his hands and raised her face to his. "Can you forgive me?"

Duo would forgive her anything. "I'm sorry, I don't remember what I should forgive you for." He was a little confused to find himself looking down at her when he only ever remembered them being eye to eye. Had he grown a foot over night?

"The doctor thought you might be confused a few days," she said with a sigh as she slipped her arms around him and pressed her cheek against his chest. "I did not mean to hit you when your guard was down."

He frowned over her head. "I don't remember anything, Trynity."

She raised her face to look up at him. "Nothing?" The smile she gave him now heated his blood. "Not even last night?"

He wished he could remember! But since he could not, he pulled the panties from his pocket and dangled them before her. "I guess that explains these. Won't your father be angry if he catches us together?"

Trynity laughed and swiped the panties from him. "Why? He would wonder if we weren't together." She took his hand and he noticed for the first time that he was wearing a ring, a plain gold band, and he saw that she wore one as well. He did not remember having it on his finger when he was showering. Wouldn't he have noticed it then?

"Are … are we married?" The question was ridiculous and he could see the humor in her eyes.

"You don't remember that either?" She frowned. "You remember my name, don't you?"

"Trynity," he said with a smile before leaning down to brush his lips over hers. "I would never forget that."

"But you don't remember our wedding?" When he shook his head, she sighed. "I'll show you pictures later. My father wasn't happy that we eloped to L2 and spent a few weeks there, but he couldn't do anything about it."

Duo could not imagine a worse place to get married and spend a honeymoon. "Did we invite anyone? Quatre or Trowa or Hero or even Wufei?"

Trynity laughed. "You really don't remember anything, do you? Quatre returned to L4 to take on the responsibilities of his father's financial empire. Wufei has gone to the university to study law. And Heero is on L10 with Relena."

"What about Trowa?"

"You mean Trey? We left him on Calabria. You cannot have forgotten that! I hope he is all right. I don't think we left him in a good situation. His mother told me that he had a lot of enemies."

"He made his choice," Duo remarked although his gut twisted to think of Trey fighting on Calabria. His dream had been so vivid that he felt as if he were shirking his oath to Arora by being on Earth with Trynity.

She slipped her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his. "And we made ours."

Duo wasn't going to ask any more questions, not with the woman he loved in his arms. He grabbed her backside and set her on the table as he kissed her, and when she reached for the fastening of his pants, he was glad she was as eager as he felt. He didn't wonder why she was wearing a sundress without any underthings when it just made it easier for him. The dishes on the table rattled for several moments as they repeated what they must have been doing the night before, and when they finished, they were both out of breath.

"I like this," he said when his pulse had slowed. "No more sneaking down to the beach at night."

Her legs were wrapped around him, her hands laced behind his neck as she leaned back to look up at him. "We never need to sneak around again."

Duo gently released her and she slid down until her feet touched the ground. "I wish I could remember everything."

She smiled up at him as she reached up to brush a stray strand of hair from his cheek which she tucked behind his ear. "Are you hungry? I can get a picnic basket ready and meet you down at the beach. It's my day off and the sun is shining. I don't want to waste it."

"I am hungry," he admitted, not needing his stomach growling to convince her.

Her laughter made his heart ache and he wanted to hold her after the awful dream from which he had awakened, but when he reached out for her, she evaded him and skipped to the door. Before leaving, she paused and turned to look at him. "I love you, Duo."

He took a step towards her, but she disappeared through the door and he heard her yell back to him to meet her on the beach, that she would be down there as soon as she cleaned out the refrigerator for him.

After crossing the veranda, he took the steps down the beach, running his hand over the railing and raising his face to the sun, the single sun. Unlike the suns on Calabria, this one had the power to burn his skin, but he would rather be here risking melanoma with Trynity. When he reached the bottom of the steps, he kicked off his shoes and bent to pull off his socks before sinking his feet into the sand before he walked towards the shore. Once there, he rolled up his jeans to his calves and waded into the water and stood for a moment looking out to sea.

He hadn't seen any large bodies of water on Calabria, not when he went there with Trey and not in his strangely realistic dream, so this was a treat and he considered throwing off his clothing to swim. He decided to wait until Trynity joined him because there was a strong undertow and he had it drilled into him thoroughly when first coming to Seaside Lab that he should never swim alone. So he waded in water just over his ankles for several minutes before he headed back to the beach. Just as he reached dry sand, he saw a figure approaching from the opposite direction, but he could not quite see who it was because the brightness of the sun was making it difficult to see.

Raising his hand to shield his eyes, he did not have a chance to look when he heard Trynity calling for him. He turned in the direction of the complex to see her skipping down the steps with a basket in her hands. Smiling, he plodded towards her, feet sinking in the sand and slowing his progress, but when they came together, he seized her around the waist and brought her against him.

"Did I tell you that I love you?" he asked before he kissed her gently. "Sorry if I was a brute up there." He nodded to the veranda.

Trynity laughed. "Did you hear me complaining?" She ran a hand over his chest. "I like it when you are a brute."

That didn't sound much like Trynity, but he didn't think about it long, not when she was carrying a picnic basket. "What did you bring?"

"Everything I could dig up." She dropped the basket on the sand and stepped away. "I'm going for a swim. Join me when you have taken the edge off your hunger."

He watched her pull the sundress off, and despite what they had just done, that had not taken the edge off his need for her. Watching her saunter to the shore completely naked made him want to drag her down to the sand with him.

"Duo."

Duo did not want to recognize the dulcet toned voice, but he did and he turned to see that the person approaching was standing several yards away. His heart fell to have his suspicions confirmed and tears made the man blur in his vision. "Don't do this to me, Apolo. I am happy here."

He looked quickly away to watch Trynity cavort in the water, but even though he could make Apolo disappear from his sight, he could not stop his words. "This is my fault, Duo. I must have put you into a trance to aid in healing, but I was careless. I've never had anyone guide me and I made a mess of it."

"Don't worry. I won't sue you for malpractice." He did not look at Apolo as he continued to watch Trynity. "I want to stay here."

"You cannot stay here. Your body will die."

Duo shrugged. "Maybe I was meant to die this way." He pulled off his t-shirt and unbuttoned his jeans. "I'm going for a swim."

A hand on his arm made him pause and he turned to look at Apolo. "Go back," he told the Guerani. "This is what I want, even if it means I am to die. I would rather die here with Trynity than skewered on the point of an imperial sword or devoured by a canyon beast because if I go back with you, that is what will happen."

"What about the oath you made to Arora?"

"No one believes I can keep an oath anyway, so why should I?" Duo pulled off the rest of his clothing and headed toward the water where Trynity was waving to him.

"You would leave us all behind? Even Shamara? That baby loves you."

He stopped just as he reached the water as he thought of Shamara. He had come to care for her as if she were his own, but she was not his child and he was just one of many who would come and go in her life. She would have to get used to losing people who became important to her.

He waded into the water, but Apolo stopped him again.

"Duo, I cannot go back without you."

He turned to see Apolo standing just at the edge of the water and he could see that the other man looked frightened. Duo didn't want this responsibility! He didn't want any responsibilities and they kept forcing them on him, one after another! "If I die, you die?"

"I cannot get out of your trance without bringing you with me. I knew the risk when I entered it, but ..."

"You shouldn't have done it!" he shouted at him furiously.

"Duo! Are you coming in?" Trynity's voice sounded further away and Duo snapped his head around to see that she had swum further out.

"Trynity!" he called out, panicking as he realized she might be caught by the undertow. He started rushing towards her, and when he was deep enough he dived into the water, but he felt his ankle seized. He turned to find Apolo holding him with one hand as he tried to keep his head above water.

"Let go!" shouted furiously at the other man. "If you don't you'll drown!"

"I can't let you go," Apolo told him, sputtering to keep the water from his mouth as he fought to breathe without pulling water into his lungs.

"I have to help Trynity!"

"Duo!" she called again, but this time there was a note of panic in her voice. "I need you Duo! I can't do this alone!"

Duo tried to shake Apolo off, but he would not release him. "Damn you, you Guerani freak! Let me go!"

"You cannot go to her." Apolo sounded strangely calm for a man that was a head dunk away from drowning. "You cannot be there for her. You have to let her go."

"Let her go?" Duo was so outraged by the statement that he balled his hand into a fist and not caring about the consequences, he struck Apolo's face so hard that he felt crunching beneath, and when Apolo released him, Duo quickly turned away and swam in the direction he had seen Trynity. But after several moments of swimming, he realized that she had disappeared. Knowing that he had wasted precious moments arguing with Apolo and that Trynity was caught by the undertow, his heart felt as if it would burst in his chest. If he swam after her, he would be caught too and he would drown.

Turning, he looked back towards Apolo to shout at him for causing this, but he was surprised to see Apolo being dragged to the shore by two more people who had come to save him, a man and a woman. They were too far away for him to recognize, but he didn't care, not even when the man released Apolo on the beach and headed into the water towards him.

Treading water, Duo turned again to face the direction where Trynity had been carried away. He could not see her, and he knew she was probably already gone, but he could not give up on her, not when he had done so already by leaving in that escape pod. He didn't give a damn what happened to him. She needed him and he would not let her down.

Before he had a chance to go further, a strong arm caught him around the neck and he was being pulled back against his will. Duo struggled, but the grip was too powerful and no matter what he did, neither his kicking or punching stopped the man from hauling him back to the shore and he only succeeded in breathing water into his own lungs. By the time they reached the beach, he had no strength left, and he could not breath so he was unable to react when the man threw him on his back and pushed on his chest.

Water surged through his throat and out his mouth, and he turned away to retch before sucking in air. For a moment he remained lying on his side away from whoever had saved him, overwhelmed with anger and grief. Tears ran freely down his cheeks, and his face was a mess from snot and vomit, but he didn't care as he turned to face the man who had forcibly dragged him away from joining Trynity.

But the scathing words died when he found himself facing Dax the Demon.

The Demon met his gaze, not with the malevolence he had only ever seen in the man, but with sympathy and understanding that had the power to diffuse the strong emotions making him tremble. "I could not let you destroy my son," he told him gently, and he turned a proud gaze on Apolo who was being held in the comforting arms of a beautiful woman who looked so much like Arora that she could only be her other, Valerya. She was stroking her fingers through Apolo's hair, but Apolo was watching Duo with trepidation.

Duo looked back at Dax. "Do you guys always swoop in and save the day, or just when Apolo screws up?"

Dax met Duo's gaze. "My son did not realize what he had done when he was trying to healed you. He was already too weak from healing others. But it could not be helped when only he or Arora could have helped you because you were so far gone from poison, and Arora is far too inexperienced. You would have killed her."

"I would not have hurt her!" denied Duo hotly.

"You would have done the same to her that you did to Apolo," said Dax calmly. "You would have done whatever you could to save Trynity."

Hearing him say her name angered him. "Don't you ever say her name again, you rotten bastard! I know what you did to her!" He clenched his hands at his sides when he wanted to tear this man apart for torturing and raping Trynity when he had captured her in the Wastelands.

"That was another life and another man," said Dax and something in his deep, calm voice eased Duo's fury, making the knowledge of what the other man had done to the woman he loved grow disjointed as if it had not really happened.

Duo pressed his fingers to his temples. "Stop messing with my head!"

"Some day you will know the truth, but for now, this will be easier for you to bear." Dax moved away and crouched on the other side of Apolo. "How are you feeling, my son?"

"Weak," admitted Apolo as he clutched his mother's hand tighter.

She leaned down to kiss the top of his head as if he were a small child. "I feel your sorrow, my son. You know we are always with you."

"Not like this," he said as he reached out to his father and Duo could not help but be touched to see Dax take his hand and draw his son into an embrace.

"I am proud of you, my son," Duo heard him tell Apolo. "As your mother said, we are always with you, and one day, Arora will acknowledge our presence as well."

Apolo leaned back to look at his father's face. "You are not still angry that I did not take her for my mate?"

Duo had heard that Dax and Valerya were siblings, and looking between them, he could see that it was true. He could not even imagine Apolo and Arora together when they acted like any other siblings, and yet he could see that there was love between Dax and Valerya.

"When I saved her from the sands, I did it so that you could have her as your mate, but I think I always knew that she was destined for Zeno's son."

Valerya touched Apolo's cheek. "Some day, my son, you will find the joy of love with your mate." She raised her head to look at Duo, and he saw a sadness in her eyes before she looked back at Apolo. "The road will be fraught with much heartache, but you will know a great love."

"As great as our own," said Dax as he reached out to take her hand and their fingers laced, then the two of the took Apolo's hands and the moment their fingers entwined, a bright light flashed, and pain lanced through Duo.

For several moments he could not breathe and he must have lost consciousness, but then suddenly his lungs filled with air and his eyes flew open. He blinked a few times until he focused on Apolo who was lying beside him, his head turned to look at him and he realized that their hands were linked. Duo became aware of the men surrounding the bed, Baerot, Faelan and Ardan as well as several women he had a vague memory of seeing when he had arrived at the slave village.

"My lord!" exclaimed Ardan as he stumbled towards the bed. "You are awake!"

Licking his dry, cracked lips, Duo winced and although his voice was hoarse, he said, "I told you not to call me 'lord'."

He felt Apolo squeeze his hand before releasing him and Duo turned his head to look at him although the effort was painful. He did not know whether to curse him for taking him away from a reality he wanted or to thank him for saving his life. The entire experience had drained him completely and he could see that it had done the same to Apolo.

"You look like hell," Duo told Apolo whose pallor was alarming. His nose looked as though it were broken and he realized that he had done it during the trance.

Apolo needed Baerot's help in rising. "I will rest, and when you are ready, we will return to Edgeland Fortress to continue your training."

Duo's response was a long sigh. "I think I will sleep for a few days." He glanced at Ardan. "Stay here and poke me every now and then to make sure I don't end up in another trance. I don't think Apolo knows what he's doing."

Apolo chuckled although it made him cough. "You won't end up in another trance, but Ardan can stay to watch over you." He raised his head and looked at the females. "Perhaps a few of you can help me to some pillows."

Baerot was divested quickly from his burden and Duo snorted. "I suppose he will keep them so busy for a few days that I won't have anyone to care for me." He looked at Ardan. "Looks like you will be my nursemaid."

"Yes, my lord!" Ardan looked too happy to do the task and Duo shook his head in exasperation although the effort hurt.

"I told you not ..."

"Save your breath," said Baerot with a chuckle. "By the time Trey learns what you did here, he will make you a warlord anyway." He and Faelan walked out, both laughing at what must have been the look on Duo's face.

Yet another responsibility that Duo did not want.

After giving Duo water, Ardan plumped the pillows behind his head and went to sit cross-legged on a mat nearby and Duo closed his eyes, hoping in vain for Trynity to appear, but she did not. Just before he fell asleep, her words came to him.

"I need you Duo! I can't do this alone!"

He needed her too, and he wasn't going to give up on returning to her.