Disclaimer: Accomplished many times.
Author's Notes: I don't like repeating a stupid disclaimer, but I can never thank you all enough for your kind words about my stories. I hope I keep living up to them.
****
Some Kind of Wonderful
by Kristen Elizabeth
****
"You're old enough to kill, but not for votin'. You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin'? And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin', but you tell me over and over and over again, my friend, how you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction...take a look around you, boy. It's bound to scare you, boy." -Barry McGuire
****
Washington D.C.
October 21, 1967
Relena woke up with a strange, solid wall of warmth next to her. Blinking, she sat up in the little tent; the lump in the blankets stirred. Once the sleep was cleared from her eyes, Relena whispered, "Quatre?"
His eyes opened, revealing deep aquamarines. "Morning."
She licked her lips. "What are you doing here?"
"Nothing illicit, I promise." Quatre sat up, stretching. "You fell asleep on my shoulder last night."
Relena picked up her shawl and drew it around her arms to ward off the early morning chill. "Why didn't Duo make sure I got to my tent?"
"He was a little...."
"Stoned?" Relena smiled.
Quatre pushed the blankets off his legs. "Did you sleep all right?"
"As well as can be expected in a tent." There was a pause. "Quatre...I just want you to know..."
"Relena, you don't have to..."
She cut him off. "No, let me." After a moment, she continued. "You once told me that you found me very attractive."
"I still do," he said softly.
"Last night...when we kissed. Well..." She met his gaze. "I've always found you attractive, too."
A smile spread onto Quatre's handsome face. "I've wanted to be with you for a long time, Relena. Is this the moment I've hoped for?"
"I don't know." Her smooth brow crinkled. "I'm trying to figure everything out. You..." She swallowed. "Heero."
Quatre nodded. "Part of you will always love him."
Relena hesitated. "Quatre...more than just part of me is still in love with him."
"It's never been my intention to be the thing that comes between you and him," Quatre finally said. "But I've never met the man. I suppose that makes it easier for me to wonder why someone who you claim loves you so much...could hurt you so immensely."
"He didn't want to, " she whispered. "He had to."
"And he left you all alone, without a word." Quatre reached out and ran his fingers through her long, silky hair. "I will never leave you alone, Relena. No matter what."
Relena felt the hot pressure of impending tears. "I just need more time, Quatre. I need to make sure."
Nodding again, he leaned forward enough to press his lips against hers in a soft, brief kiss. "Take all the time you need. I'll still be here."
A second kiss was interrupted by a rustling at the flap of their tent. Duo stuck his head inside, his braid undone, hair flopping every which way down his bare chest. "Relena..." he began, but stopped when he took in the sight of her, sharing a blanket with Quatre Winner.
Relena cleared her throat. "How was your night, Duo?"
"Pleasurable," he replied. Giving her a highly raised eyebrow, he continued, "How was yours?"
"Restful," Relena assured him. She crawled towards the opening of the tent and stood up outside next to her best friend. "Nothing happened in there but sleep."
Duo held up his hands. "I told you to do what's best for you. Who am I to say what that is?" He put his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "Just so long as you're happy, princess."
She turned her face into Duo's muscled arm. "Yeah." Pulling back, she wiped her eyes. "So, what's for breakfast?"
****
The wide steps of the Pentagon building overflowed with color, sound and motion. Relena lowered the poster in her hands that bore the words "Peace Now," and looked around. Quatre had been right. It was one of those times in her life she would never forget.
Thousands of fellow protesters swarmed around her, singing, chanting, screaming, crying out for justice. The rhythm of the crowd was in her blood, all she could do was surrender to it. Her voice rose with the others, combining in mid-air to rock the usually quiet atmosphere of the capital.
Someone's hand found hers. She glanced over to see Quatre, weaving his fingers through hers. He was smiling as he chanted; his face was peaceful, as though he were born to live in this moment.
"Peace now, freedom now! Peace now, freedom now!"
Duo appeared at her other side, a leather head band that Relena recognized as Rebecca, the History major's, was wrapped around his forehead, explaining in whose tent Duo had spent the night. There was also a yellow flower stuck in his braid; Relena hoped he knew, but wasn't about to tell him. All she did was quickly untangle her fingers from Quatre's.
"Peace now, freedom now! Peace now, freedom now!"
The only dark cloud on the horizon was the interlocked line of military police blockading the steps of the massive, white building, only ten feet from where the NC State students stood. Young men in clean fatigues and hard helmets carrying heavy weaponry stared out over the crowd, a silent, but forceful presence.
Relena could see Heero in each one of them.
A petal from one of the flowers in her own hair brushed her cheek as it fell to the ground. She glanced down, tearing her attention away from the hum of the chant. It was right then that the people behind her pushed forward. She was knocked off-balance and stumbled out of the protective shield of Quatre and Duo's bodies.
The protesters behind seized the opportunity and pressed through the space between her two friends, pushing a disconcerted Relena along with them. She could hear Quatre yell out her name, but the force two dozen determined bodies placed on her was too great for her to fight her way back.
Her feet were moving, but through no will of her own. It was a survival tactic; if she stopped moving, she would be trampled. The crowd wasn't stopping for anything. Relena could see nothing but arms, legs, angry faces. As they moved further forward, she fought back, desperate to claw her way out of the tangle of people.
"Relena!" Duo shouted over the roar of the chant.
There was more screaming, but Relena could make out no other words. She was still being pushed along with a sinking feeling that the crowd trapping her in its midst was moving closer and closer to the line of military police.
"Stay back!!" a male voice shouted, no doubt a young soldier. "Don't come any closer!"
She began to hear pieces of a new chant. "Peace now....not against the soldiers...freedom now....against the war..."
Someone's elbow jabbed her in the ribs. Relena clutched at her side. Somewhere in the midst of her pain, the crowd she had been caught in reached the military police. There was motion all around her, but she was only aware of the dull throbbing in her ribcage. Her breath was becoming labored.
She turned around and came face to face with a soldier, no more than eighteen years old. His eyes were the same shade of blue as Heero's. The rifle in his hands was raised over his head. When he slammed the butt of onto the back of her neck, the entire world exploded into complete blackness.
****
Vietnam
"We've got another one!!"
Dr. Sally Po paused only long enough to brush a sweaty curl of dark blond hair out of her eyes before she ran up to the medics. "Over here," she instructed, guiding them towards the only unoccupied operation table.
"Gunshot wounds to the shoulder and thigh, possibly elsewhere. It's too dark and there's too damn much blood." The men lifted the new patient from their blood-soaked stretcher and laid him down onto the table. "You got it from here, Doc?" one medic asked her.
She nodded. A nurse was already on her way over with a fresh tray of supplies. The two medics she recognized took back their stretcher, returning to the jungle for more survivors. A third man, who she had assumed was also a medic, stayed back, watching carefully.
Sally ignored him for the moment. "Give him 10 cc's of morphine," she ordered the nurse. As the younger girl was carrying out the instructions, Sally grabbed a pair of scissors and started cutting the soldier's uniform in the places where she could see the most blood.
When she had determined that there were only wounds in the shoulder and thigh, she ordered water to clean the area. There was no way to extract the bullets without being able to see through the blood.
At the first touch of the hot water on his injuries, her patient cried out and without warning, launched himself into a sitting position. He made a frantic, morphine-induced grab for Sally. "I can't find him!!" he screamed, his bloody fingers grabbing her uniform shirt. "I can't find him!!"
It was the first time she had looked at the man's face. His almond-shaped eyes were dark, clouded with pain, fright, panic. Sally blinked. He was the image of what war could do to a person.
The stranger who had come in with him made a grab for the wounded man's hands, yanking them away from Sally and allowing her to take a step back.
"Get him in restraints!" Sally ordered.
"No, it's all right. He'll only fight more if you try to restrain him, and he might end up hurting someone." The soldier's companion held him to the table. "I can hold him down."
Sally wiped her brow with the back of her wrist. "I have to dig two bullets out of him. You can't possibly keep him down for that long."
"Find him!!" the wounded man cried. "Where is he?!"
"Your morphine will kick in soon, won't it?"
She stared at the other man as he continued to keep his friend down. "Yeah." She sighed. "All right. Hold him for as long as you can." Sally thrust her hands into a bowl of warm, sterile water provided by a nurse. After pulling on a pair of fresh latex gloves, she reached for a probe.
Her patient bucked when she dug into the wound on his leg, but his friend managed to steady him enough for Sally to continue working. By the time she pulled the bullet out of his flesh, he had relaxed almost completely, although he was still conscious.
"Where is he...can't find him..." No longer screaming, his voice had dropped to a flat monotone as the morphine worked its way into his system.
"What happened..." Squinting, she read the name off the other man's uniform. "Private Barton?"
He looked down at his friend. "Our squad was attacked in the middle of the night. They came out of the jungle, completely decimated our night patrol." With a shake of his head, he continued. "Wufei...that's his name...he went down in the fray."
"Can't find him..." Wufei whispered, his eyes glazing over.
Sally blinked to clear away the perspiration dripping into her eyes. "Who's he talking about?"
The man named Barton took a moment to reply. "Our friend. Heero." His jaw grew tight. "After we got the situation under control....we couldn't find his body."
"Well, that's good, right?" Sally started on the wound in Wufei's shoulder. "If there's no body, then he must still be alive."
He shook his head. "The 'Cong who got us had hand grenades. They can shred a man to bits, leaving nothing behind." There was a pause. "We'll go back tomorrow and pick over the camp for...remains, but I don't have much doubt. Heero's dead."
****
To Be Continued
Author's Notes: I don't like repeating a stupid disclaimer, but I can never thank you all enough for your kind words about my stories. I hope I keep living up to them.
****
Some Kind of Wonderful
by Kristen Elizabeth
****
"You're old enough to kill, but not for votin'. You don't believe in war, but what's that gun you're totin'? And even the Jordan River has bodies floatin', but you tell me over and over and over again, my friend, how you don't believe we're on the eve of destruction...take a look around you, boy. It's bound to scare you, boy." -Barry McGuire
****
Washington D.C.
October 21, 1967
Relena woke up with a strange, solid wall of warmth next to her. Blinking, she sat up in the little tent; the lump in the blankets stirred. Once the sleep was cleared from her eyes, Relena whispered, "Quatre?"
His eyes opened, revealing deep aquamarines. "Morning."
She licked her lips. "What are you doing here?"
"Nothing illicit, I promise." Quatre sat up, stretching. "You fell asleep on my shoulder last night."
Relena picked up her shawl and drew it around her arms to ward off the early morning chill. "Why didn't Duo make sure I got to my tent?"
"He was a little...."
"Stoned?" Relena smiled.
Quatre pushed the blankets off his legs. "Did you sleep all right?"
"As well as can be expected in a tent." There was a pause. "Quatre...I just want you to know..."
"Relena, you don't have to..."
She cut him off. "No, let me." After a moment, she continued. "You once told me that you found me very attractive."
"I still do," he said softly.
"Last night...when we kissed. Well..." She met his gaze. "I've always found you attractive, too."
A smile spread onto Quatre's handsome face. "I've wanted to be with you for a long time, Relena. Is this the moment I've hoped for?"
"I don't know." Her smooth brow crinkled. "I'm trying to figure everything out. You..." She swallowed. "Heero."
Quatre nodded. "Part of you will always love him."
Relena hesitated. "Quatre...more than just part of me is still in love with him."
"It's never been my intention to be the thing that comes between you and him," Quatre finally said. "But I've never met the man. I suppose that makes it easier for me to wonder why someone who you claim loves you so much...could hurt you so immensely."
"He didn't want to, " she whispered. "He had to."
"And he left you all alone, without a word." Quatre reached out and ran his fingers through her long, silky hair. "I will never leave you alone, Relena. No matter what."
Relena felt the hot pressure of impending tears. "I just need more time, Quatre. I need to make sure."
Nodding again, he leaned forward enough to press his lips against hers in a soft, brief kiss. "Take all the time you need. I'll still be here."
A second kiss was interrupted by a rustling at the flap of their tent. Duo stuck his head inside, his braid undone, hair flopping every which way down his bare chest. "Relena..." he began, but stopped when he took in the sight of her, sharing a blanket with Quatre Winner.
Relena cleared her throat. "How was your night, Duo?"
"Pleasurable," he replied. Giving her a highly raised eyebrow, he continued, "How was yours?"
"Restful," Relena assured him. She crawled towards the opening of the tent and stood up outside next to her best friend. "Nothing happened in there but sleep."
Duo held up his hands. "I told you to do what's best for you. Who am I to say what that is?" He put his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head. "Just so long as you're happy, princess."
She turned her face into Duo's muscled arm. "Yeah." Pulling back, she wiped her eyes. "So, what's for breakfast?"
****
The wide steps of the Pentagon building overflowed with color, sound and motion. Relena lowered the poster in her hands that bore the words "Peace Now," and looked around. Quatre had been right. It was one of those times in her life she would never forget.
Thousands of fellow protesters swarmed around her, singing, chanting, screaming, crying out for justice. The rhythm of the crowd was in her blood, all she could do was surrender to it. Her voice rose with the others, combining in mid-air to rock the usually quiet atmosphere of the capital.
Someone's hand found hers. She glanced over to see Quatre, weaving his fingers through hers. He was smiling as he chanted; his face was peaceful, as though he were born to live in this moment.
"Peace now, freedom now! Peace now, freedom now!"
Duo appeared at her other side, a leather head band that Relena recognized as Rebecca, the History major's, was wrapped around his forehead, explaining in whose tent Duo had spent the night. There was also a yellow flower stuck in his braid; Relena hoped he knew, but wasn't about to tell him. All she did was quickly untangle her fingers from Quatre's.
"Peace now, freedom now! Peace now, freedom now!"
The only dark cloud on the horizon was the interlocked line of military police blockading the steps of the massive, white building, only ten feet from where the NC State students stood. Young men in clean fatigues and hard helmets carrying heavy weaponry stared out over the crowd, a silent, but forceful presence.
Relena could see Heero in each one of them.
A petal from one of the flowers in her own hair brushed her cheek as it fell to the ground. She glanced down, tearing her attention away from the hum of the chant. It was right then that the people behind her pushed forward. She was knocked off-balance and stumbled out of the protective shield of Quatre and Duo's bodies.
The protesters behind seized the opportunity and pressed through the space between her two friends, pushing a disconcerted Relena along with them. She could hear Quatre yell out her name, but the force two dozen determined bodies placed on her was too great for her to fight her way back.
Her feet were moving, but through no will of her own. It was a survival tactic; if she stopped moving, she would be trampled. The crowd wasn't stopping for anything. Relena could see nothing but arms, legs, angry faces. As they moved further forward, she fought back, desperate to claw her way out of the tangle of people.
"Relena!" Duo shouted over the roar of the chant.
There was more screaming, but Relena could make out no other words. She was still being pushed along with a sinking feeling that the crowd trapping her in its midst was moving closer and closer to the line of military police.
"Stay back!!" a male voice shouted, no doubt a young soldier. "Don't come any closer!"
She began to hear pieces of a new chant. "Peace now....not against the soldiers...freedom now....against the war..."
Someone's elbow jabbed her in the ribs. Relena clutched at her side. Somewhere in the midst of her pain, the crowd she had been caught in reached the military police. There was motion all around her, but she was only aware of the dull throbbing in her ribcage. Her breath was becoming labored.
She turned around and came face to face with a soldier, no more than eighteen years old. His eyes were the same shade of blue as Heero's. The rifle in his hands was raised over his head. When he slammed the butt of onto the back of her neck, the entire world exploded into complete blackness.
****
Vietnam
"We've got another one!!"
Dr. Sally Po paused only long enough to brush a sweaty curl of dark blond hair out of her eyes before she ran up to the medics. "Over here," she instructed, guiding them towards the only unoccupied operation table.
"Gunshot wounds to the shoulder and thigh, possibly elsewhere. It's too dark and there's too damn much blood." The men lifted the new patient from their blood-soaked stretcher and laid him down onto the table. "You got it from here, Doc?" one medic asked her.
She nodded. A nurse was already on her way over with a fresh tray of supplies. The two medics she recognized took back their stretcher, returning to the jungle for more survivors. A third man, who she had assumed was also a medic, stayed back, watching carefully.
Sally ignored him for the moment. "Give him 10 cc's of morphine," she ordered the nurse. As the younger girl was carrying out the instructions, Sally grabbed a pair of scissors and started cutting the soldier's uniform in the places where she could see the most blood.
When she had determined that there were only wounds in the shoulder and thigh, she ordered water to clean the area. There was no way to extract the bullets without being able to see through the blood.
At the first touch of the hot water on his injuries, her patient cried out and without warning, launched himself into a sitting position. He made a frantic, morphine-induced grab for Sally. "I can't find him!!" he screamed, his bloody fingers grabbing her uniform shirt. "I can't find him!!"
It was the first time she had looked at the man's face. His almond-shaped eyes were dark, clouded with pain, fright, panic. Sally blinked. He was the image of what war could do to a person.
The stranger who had come in with him made a grab for the wounded man's hands, yanking them away from Sally and allowing her to take a step back.
"Get him in restraints!" Sally ordered.
"No, it's all right. He'll only fight more if you try to restrain him, and he might end up hurting someone." The soldier's companion held him to the table. "I can hold him down."
Sally wiped her brow with the back of her wrist. "I have to dig two bullets out of him. You can't possibly keep him down for that long."
"Find him!!" the wounded man cried. "Where is he?!"
"Your morphine will kick in soon, won't it?"
She stared at the other man as he continued to keep his friend down. "Yeah." She sighed. "All right. Hold him for as long as you can." Sally thrust her hands into a bowl of warm, sterile water provided by a nurse. After pulling on a pair of fresh latex gloves, she reached for a probe.
Her patient bucked when she dug into the wound on his leg, but his friend managed to steady him enough for Sally to continue working. By the time she pulled the bullet out of his flesh, he had relaxed almost completely, although he was still conscious.
"Where is he...can't find him..." No longer screaming, his voice had dropped to a flat monotone as the morphine worked its way into his system.
"What happened..." Squinting, she read the name off the other man's uniform. "Private Barton?"
He looked down at his friend. "Our squad was attacked in the middle of the night. They came out of the jungle, completely decimated our night patrol." With a shake of his head, he continued. "Wufei...that's his name...he went down in the fray."
"Can't find him..." Wufei whispered, his eyes glazing over.
Sally blinked to clear away the perspiration dripping into her eyes. "Who's he talking about?"
The man named Barton took a moment to reply. "Our friend. Heero." His jaw grew tight. "After we got the situation under control....we couldn't find his body."
"Well, that's good, right?" Sally started on the wound in Wufei's shoulder. "If there's no body, then he must still be alive."
He shook his head. "The 'Cong who got us had hand grenades. They can shred a man to bits, leaving nothing behind." There was a pause. "We'll go back tomorrow and pick over the camp for...remains, but I don't have much doubt. Heero's dead."
****
To Be Continued