Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing.
For the heart I once had
Chapter 10
Aalia looked up from her study books when Trowa came barging into the living room. There was a smile on her face, but it disappeared when she saw the look on his. "Trowa? Is something wrong?"
"Hey," he said softly, while approaching her.
He took her hand and pulled her out of her seat, wrapping her up in his embrace. Confusion swirled in her stomach when he buried his face in her hair and sighed.
"What's the matter?" she asked while sliding her arms around his neck. "Why are you home so early?"
"I got to go home early," he murmured into her hair, then cupped her cheeks and made her look at him. "There's…"
"Hmm?" She gave him a small smile and rose up on her toes to kiss him.
"There's something I need to tell you."
He took her hands and led her to the couch, where he made her sit next to him.
"Razouli is determined to keep coming after you it seems," he said.
"Oh…" Her eyes clouded with the implication. "Does that mean we have to go into hiding again?"
"No." He swallowed visibly. "I'm in no condition to protect you yet and I don't want to put you and the baby in any danger."
"But staying here…" she started to say, then fell silent at the anguish in his gaze.
"Une has arranged for you to go into witness protection."
She stared at him, dumbfounded. Until the information sank in. "What?"
"It's just for a couple of months, until the court date."
"Y-you mean… I have to leave?" She questioned, her eyes going wide. "No!"
"I'm sorry, Aalia." He pulled her into his arms again and buried his face into her hair. "I swear… If there had been another option I'd taken it. No matter how hard we try, he'll keep coming after you."
A dry sob tore from her throat. "How long will I have to hide?"
"I don't know. We're busy rounding up the investigation and then we can apply for court."
"But it could take… months…" Years even. "Oh God."
Her tears soaked his shirt as she buried her face into his shoulder. She'd have to be on her own and she had no idea if she could do that without Trowa to support her.
"I promise you, we'll work as fast as we can." He cupped her cheeks, and wiped away her tears. "It's just a couple of months."
She took a deep breath and nodded. She'd have to be strong. And Trowa was right, it was just a couple of months. But they were crucial months, in which her belly would grow round, and he wouldn't be there to witness it.
"How long do we have until I have to leave?" she asked.
"Until tomorrow morning."
She bit down on her lip and more tears rolled down her cheeks. She sobbed and buried her face in his, wailing with frustration and anger. "I hate him!"
He caressed her hair and back, trying to soothe her. "I swear… I'll make him pay for this."
She tightened her arms around him and shook her head. "Don't go getting yourself in trouble. It's not worth it."
But what was life worth if Razouli remained in the picture?
-x-x-x-
Aalia woke from a restless slumber. Judging by the dim light that filtered through the curtains, it was still early. Her stomach felt a little queasy, so she turned over on her back and tried to breathe through the nausea. It took a while, but eventually her stomach calmed enough for her to turn towards Trowa.
Even in sleep his face showed the anguish they both felt over the forced separation. He'd tried to hide it from her the previous evening, but it was clear the whole situation hurt him too. It had been apparent the way he had kissed her, and in the way he had held her as he had made lover to her so tenderly. The night had been a combination of passion and tears, and neither of them had gone to sleep until the early morning hours.
She'd wanted to hold on to him for as long a possible, but all too soon their time together would come to an end. But it was just for a couple of months, she told herself. It would be good for her self esteem and confidence to do this, even if being alone scared her.
She didn't want anyone to risk their life for her again. The witness protection program was the only choice she had. She sighed and snuggled closer to Trowa, pressing her lips against his chest to wake him up with gentle and teasing kisses. She'd make the best of the last moments she would have with the man she loved.
-x-x-x-
Trowa sighed and handed the last bag with Aalia's stuff to the ESUN agent in charge of Aalia's case. He would get her a new identity and help her get settled in, and Trowa would contact him when Aalia could come back.
Duo was sprawled out on the couch in his living room, as the both of them would dive into the Razouli case right after. Trowa was glad for Duo's insistence of being there during the day. It would give him a distraction, keep his mind on the case.
Aalia reached for his hand and curled her fingers around his. She was trying so hard to be strong, but he could see she was at the verge of breaking. He pulled her into his arms and held her tightly. He buried his nose in her hair and breathed in deeply, branding the scent of her in his memory.
"I love you," she whispered.
He cupped her cheek and kissed her, and felt her tears on his fingers when they rolled down her cheeks. "I love you," he murmured back.
She attempted a small smile. "See you in a few months."
"Hmm." He rested his hand against her belly for a moment. "Take care of yourself for me?"
She nodded and stepped back.
The agent came walking back into the living room. "Miss Winner, if you are ready to go, we'll take our leave."
She bit her lip and nodded, leaning in to kiss Trowa once more. Just a few months, he told himself again as he gathered her close for a last embrace. She burrowed in his shoulder and he felt her tremble as he held her.
"Good luck with getting everything ready for the court case," she said bravely, even if her voice trembled just like the rest of her.
"And you be strong."
She pulled back and smiled. She was trying so hard, and he could only admire her for it. She turned away and trailed after the ESUN agent as he led the way out of the apartment. She gave him a last lingering look over her shoulder and then the door fell shut behind her.
Trowa collapsed back in the arm chair and buried his face in his hands. "Fuck."
Duo's hand came to rest on his shoulder and squeezed, empathetically. "She'll be fine."
"I know," he said. "That doesn't mean I have to like it."
"No," Duo said. "Come on, let's get to work. It'll keep your mind off things."
They settled at the dining table, and dove into the case. Duo proved to be a good distraction, and they managed to round up a couple of their file folders before the end of the afternoon. Duo stuck around for dinner, for which Trowa was glad.
But when his friend left, he was alone. There was a horrible empty feeling in his stomach, and his thoughts were almost too loud in his head. He poured himself a drink, slamming back the vodka in one go. It was the coward's way, he knew, but he just had to get through that first night.
His woman and his child were gone and he hated the thought of not knowing where she was or how she was doing.
He stumbled to the bedroom and collapsed face forward on the bed. Something on Aalia's pillow caught his eye, and he reached for it, and he nearly fell apart when he discovered it was one of the soft green baby socks she had bought.
She had left him one.
Christ, they hadn't even had the time to get her first ultrasound taken together. The sock was the only tangible reminder of what they had created together. When she came back… her belly would be round. A small smile came to play over his face.
He was looking forward to it.
He held onto that thought like a lifeline as he drifted off into slumber.
-x-x-x-
"I have the statements from the other witnesses here." Heero dropped a file onto the table in the meeting room that he, Trowa, and Duo had claimed to work on their case.
They were going through all the gathered evidence again, looking for little things they might have missed. Trowa was adamant at having a watertight case, and the others had his back on that. The sooner Razouli was dealt with, the sooner Aalia could come back.
Trowa poured over Aalia statements again. Reading her words, despite the horrific content of her statements, gave him a feeling peace. It made him feel like she was still with him and not in some remote location where nobody knew her real name or who she really was.
Had already been four weeks since she had left?
Four weeks of sleeping alone, four weeks of not seeing her smile. How was she feeling? He was dying to know, to see her, hear her voice. He wanted to wrap her up in his arms and bury is nose in her hair, to drown in that enticing scent that clung to the blond locks.
His friends were helpful enough, often staying over at his apartment or inviting him to theirs. It wasn't unusual for them to pour over the case during the evening hours as well. Trowa was determined to prove that Razouli had hired the assassin and add those findings to the existing case. If they could add that to the case, he'd probably get a life sentence without parole, to the top security prison in Vught in the Netherlands. That was their goal.
He looked up when Duo put a cup of coffee down next to him. "Thanks."
"You're welcome," Duo said cheerfully, while taking his seat again.
Trowa leaned back in his chair, rolling his shoulders as he did so to get rid of the tension in them. He caught Heero looking at the file folder in his hands, and raised an eyebrow in question.
"You've read her statements a hundred times already."
"I know."
Duo rested a comforting hand on Trowa's shoulder and grinned at Heero. "Trowa is just pining a little."
Trowa scowled at Duo. "I'm not pining."
"Sure you're not." Duo chuckled and grabbed a folder from the pile they still had to go through and shoved it into Trowa's hands. "Give me the other one."
Trowa reluctantly handed over the folder to Duo and sighed. "Fine."
Duo just grinned at him and turned his attention back to his own folder. Trowa prepared to dive into the new folder, but he caught Heero smirking at him from across the table.
"Not a word."
"I'm not saying anything," Heero countered dryly.
Trowa shook his head, his spirits lifted a little at his friends' antics, and went back to work.
-x-x-x-
It was three weeks later that his world came crashing down.
Trowa had pulled himself through the days as best as he could, and they were booking success on the court case. The investigation was rounded up, the reports turned in to the ESUN attorney, and a date had been set for the first hearing. Six more weeks and he would see Aalia again.
In the hours after work he'd been busy trying to secure the house he had set his sights on. It was a good distraction, getting all the paperwork ready, and having meetings with the bank. If everything went according to plan, he could sign the contract within a week.
He might have the house ready before Aalia's return.
He was whistling to himself as he walked down the hallway at Preventer Headquarters. He found Wufei waiting in front of his office, along with an unfamiliar dark haired woman in a grey business suit. The badge on her jacket declared her a visitor, and that was rather unusual. They never had visitors over without an appointment.
"Wufei," he said as he reached his office, fishing his keys out of his pocket to unlock the door.
"This is Agent Hauff from the ESUN's Secret Service," Wufei introduced the woman. "She is in charge of the witness protection program."
Trowa frowned and opened the door to his office. He had a sense of foreboding that he was not going to like whatever the woman had to say.
Agent Hauff entered his office, followed by Wufei, who closed the door behind him.
"You better sit down."
Those word made him pin the woman in front of him with a glare. "What's going on? Is Aalia okay?"
The woman seated herself, and Wufei grasped Trowa's arm, dragging him over to his desk and forcing him to sit down in his office chair.
"I am afraid I have some bad news," Agent Hauff began. "As far as we can tell Aalia Winner is safe."
"As far as you can tell?" Trowa asked cynically. His heart was beating a mile a minute in his chest and it felt as if a stone had settled in his stomach.
"Agent Simmons, who was in charge of her case has been killed two days ago."
Trowa blinked and sagged back in his chair, feeling relieved at her words. Aalia was okay. "So, what has this to do with Aalia?"
"Agent Simmons is the only one who knew about Miss Winner's whereabouts." Agent Hauff looked utterly unhappy with the information she was revealing. "He never put her records into our system."
Trowa felt all color drain from his face, and a terrible rushing sound filled his ears. "You mean… you don't know where she is?"
Agent Hauff solemnly shook her head. "No. I'm afraid we don't."
- End chapter 10 -