Disclaimer: I do not claim to own the anime Gundam Wing or any of its characters. All this is for fun so please don't sue me!

Author's notes: Hiya all! Happy holidays to all my readers! I hope you're all enjoying the Christmas season. I thought I wasn't going to be able to update until this weekend, but since you're all itching to find out what happens next, I figure I better work on it fast. Again thanks to all that reviewed, it was much appreciated ^_^.

Amy: Geez, I thought you were serious when you said you were in ICU *tries to calm her heart down*. I'm a nursing student so words like that tend to make me nervous ^_^. Anyways, don't worry about Qautre. I made it all better in this chapter. Bye the way, congratulations on starting up your C.W.C., I wish you all the best with it. When in January is your birthday?

Bloody Love: Thanks! I didn't think that line would make such a big impact. Well, hope you enjoy this chapter as well. By the way, did you happen to review twice? I got a second review from another 'Bloody Love' and I wasn't sure if that was you as well.

WW: I'm so glad you're enjoying the story. And don't worry, Wufei learns his lesson in this chapter. Happy reading!

Penbee of Treewood: It is a bit hard to decide whether everyone's actions were justified. I just hope you and the others forgive the poor bishounen his little lapse of jealousy. Oh and the name thing. I'm afraid I'm not familiar with Ringleys since I've never seen Dragon Knights. Anyway, Penbee sounds like quite the character.

Jessi Lynn: *collapses with relief* thanks, I'll try my best to keep her that way, I promise. And I'm glad you weren't mad ^_^.

Lady Xiu Mei Phoenix: I'm sorry if I've offended you in some way. I also wear glasses so I should have known better. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter ^_^.

sweetangel14: Yeah, everyone's for Sally on that one, which makes me feel really bad for Wufei now. Well, I got this chapter out as soon as I can, hope it meets your satisfaction. Enjoy!

Chapter 10: Endangered Love

"Quatre! Wait up." Sally caught up with the blond man before he can get into his car. "Listen, I'm really sorry about what happened in there."

The young man shook his head, a genuine smile on his face. "Don't worry about it. I think I understand. I'd probably do the same if I was in his situation."

"Yeah, well," she said, not quite meeting him in the eye. "He still shouldn't have been that rude to you. You know he's really not that bad once you get to know him. I mean, most people haven't seen the other side of him, the better side. He doesn't open up much, you see. And yeah, he may not be the most charming of them all and he can be a jerk sometimes, but…"

"You still love him," Quatre finished for her.

"Yeah," she breathed out wistfully. Realizing the slip, Sally looked up in a panic. "Uh … what I mean to say was…"

Her companion chuckled. "It's alright. I'd be stupid not see how much you care for him after giving that little speech. To be honest, even from the first time I met you, I kinda had the impression that you might already be in love with someone."

Sally opened her mouth to protest, but Quatre cut her off. "You didn't even have to say anything. You were nice and all during our dinner, but I could tell your mind was elsewhere, like you'd rather be someplace else at that moment (1). It didn't take me long to figure out it was him all along. I just feel bad that I interrupted you guys back in the restaurant."

Quatre gave Sally a small frown before asking, "Why didn't you say anything to Relena?"

"What? That I was already in love with someone?" At his nod, Sally shrugged. "I never thought I'd see Wufei again. And it was too late to cancel the date so…"

"Sounds like there's more to this story than just that," he said thoughtful. "Do you need a lift back to your office? Maybe you can even tell me all about it in the car."

Sally hesitated and looked back over her shoulder towards the restaurant. With her mind made up, she turned back to the young man and accepted his offer.

********

Wufei started at the knock that broke through his thoughts and straightened from his chair. "What is it?" he asked brusquely.

The door opened and Duo slipped his head in. "I just wanted to tell you that everyone else has left for the night and that everything in the store is secured."

The other man nodded, but did not say anything else.

"Alright, that's it," the brunette said, walking up to Wufei's desk. "I've held my tongue long enough. I know something's wrong, Wufei. First, you storm in here with black clouds hanging over your head, way ahead of schedule I might add. And then you hole up in your office the entire afternoon without so much as an explanation as to why you're here instead of New York. Didn't the meeting with Mr. Shirin go well?"

"Everything was fine," replied Wufei moodily. "That's why I'm back early."

"Then why are you so …" Duo's eyes widened a fraction as something dawned on him. "Oh no, you gave Sally a surprise visit after coming back and things didn't go well, didn't it? Alright, what did you do, Wufei?"

The other man gave the perceptive supervisor a sharp look. "I didn't do anything," he grimly said.

"Somehow I doubt that. The girl should be ecstatic to see you again after your little heart to heart before you left." Duo saw Wufei avert his eyes and his own narrowed in suspicion. "You did tell her the truth, right?"

"Sorta," the black-haired man mumbled grudgingly.

"Unbelievable," Duo groaned. "What you had to do was so simple, how could you mess it up?"

Wufei glared at the brunette. "I was going tell her everything today, but we got interrupted."

"I don't even wanna know what it was and how you handled the 'interruption'. Whatever it was, call her and apologize. That's the best thing you could do right now."

Wufei watched the other man walk out his office, knowing he was right. He had been thinking of doing just that ever since he left the restaurant, but was too afraid of the rejection he might hear in Sally's voice. Swallowing his pride, Wufei grabbed the phone and dialed the social worker's home number.

After three rings Sally's answering machine picked up. Wufei frowned and looked at his watch. It showed 11:15 p.m., so she was either sleeping already or purposely not answering her phone. He heard the beep, signaling for him to record his message, and sighed.

"Sally…" After a brief pause he softly whispered, "I'm sorry."

He replaced the phone back on its cradle and opened the top drawer of his desk. He took out the small box he had angrily dumped inside earlier that afternoon and carefully opened the lid. The young man studied the charm pillowed within the velvet box, a pair of golden hearts bound together by a single arrow. It was the last piece that would complete Sally's charm bracelet.

********

Lucrecia handed Sally another cup of coffee and sat down next to her on the couch. When the blond showed up on her doorstep just after 7:00 p.m., Lucrecia had instantly known something was wrong. After getting the whole story out from the other woman, Lucrecia was first offended that her best friend had kept a secret from her. But that did not last long and soon the purple-haired lady was offering words of comfort to her friend.

"I still can't believe you've never told me any of this to begin with," Lucrecia now told Sally. "Am I your best friend for nothing?"

"Lucrecia, are you still hung up on that?"

The other woman sighed. "Sorry. Look, like I said, you had the right to be angry with Wufei, but he obviously did it because he was jealous. And from the impression I got, this lover boy of yours isn't exactly the gentle and romantic type. I'm not saying that excuses his behavior, mind you."

"Don't you think I know that," Sally replied. "I'm just really confused right now. I couldn't let him get away with embarrassing my friend like that, but at the same time all I want to do is talk to him and make sure he doesn't hate me."

"Oh honey, he doesn't hate you."

"I walked out on him!" cried Sally. "What if he realizes he's made a mistake. I finally accept the fact that I've been in love with him all this time and I lose him before I can even…"

"Sally …"

"And then there's this," the blond said gloomily, lifting up the charm bracelet that encircled her wrist.

At first, Lucrecia did not know what Sally meant. Then the words she had spoken just before her friend's twenty eighth birthday came to mind.

"Oh Sally, forget what I told about the charms. Like you said, it could be from some psycho. The important thing is that you love Wufei and he's here right now."

"Yeah, but how do I know he feels the same way?"

"Haven't you been paying attention to what you just told me?" asked Lucrecia incredulously. "Wasn't he the one who insisted to watch your dog, fixed your bracelet after helping you find it, kissed you on your porch. And let's not forget the key chain he's kept all this years. All those have got to mean something."

Sally thoughtfully sat on the couch in silent. After coming to a decision she offered a genuine smile to her best friend and made her goodbye.

"Thanks for listening, Lucrecia. I need to get back home and feed Jax his dinner. I came here straight from work and the poor thing must be starving by now."

Sally reached over to open the front door when her cell phone gave a shrill ring. She looked down at her purse with uncertainty.

"Answer it," urged Lucrecia with a grin. "It could be Wufei calling to apologize."

Sally pulled out the phone and peered at her caller ID. She frowned when she saw the number on the screen. "It's Relena. I wondered why she's calling me this late."

"Hey, Relena," she greeted into the phone.

The social worker's frown deepened as she listened to what the other woman was saying on the other line. "What time was that? … Is Jeremy alright? … Okay, I'll be there as soon as I can. Bye."

"Everything alright?" asked Lucrecia.

"Not really," answered Sally. "It's one of the cases I've been working on. I need to get to the kid's place before that sorry excuse for a father of his does anything stupid. Thanks again for the talk, Lucrecia. I'll call you later."

"No problem," she said, giving the blond a hug and walking her to the car. "Take care of yourself, 'kay?"

"I will."

********

The next morning, Wufei parked his SUV along the curb and walked up to Sally's house with every intention of grilling the woman for not returning his call last night. He had just placed a foot on the front porch when he finally noticed the empty driveway.

Dammit, he thought. She's not home. She must really be avoiding me if she'd purposely leave for work early.

He turned around to leave, but stopped when the front door suddenly opened. A redheaded girl of around ten emerged from inside, but froze when she saw Wufei standing just outside.

"Who are you?" asked Wufei with a frown.

The girl frowned back. "Marimeia Kushrenada. Are you looking for Sally?"

The dark-haired man recognized the name Sally mentioned the first time they met at his bookstore. He gave her a brief nod and asked, "Do you know what time she left for work?"

Before she can answer his question, Jax rushed passed her and excitedly pranced around the young man. Wufei bent down to give the puppy's head an affectionate rub. He gave a soft chuckle at the dog's playful antics before looking back expectantly at the redhead.

"I don't know," she said, her suspicion disappearing after seeing Jax's familiarity with the stranger. "To be honest, I don't think she even came home last night."

"What do you mean?" Wufei asked, standing up slowly.

"I usually come by every Friday morning to take Jax for a walk. Her car wasn't in the driveway anymore, but I know where she hides the spare key." She paused as she scratched the side of her head. "At first I thought she left early like you did, but I saw that she still hasn't taken out yesterday's mail from her mail box. Then when I got inside, I noticed that Jax hadn't eaten since yesterday morning."

Worry began to worm itself into Wufei's heart. He did not like what he just heard and asked Marimeia if this had happened before.

"No, never," she said "If she knew she'd be gone for some time, she usually calls me so I can take care of Jax for her."

The quiet musing of both Wufei and Marimeia were interrupted as another car pulled up along the curve. They watched as a dark-haired woman got out of the vehicle and walk up to where both of them stood. The girl smiled when she recognized who it was.

"Hi, Lucrecia. Sally's not here. I had to feed Jax. "

"Hello, Marimeia," the older woman greeted in return. "I know she's not here. That's why I came by. I was going to take care of him for her. But it looks like you already did a good job at it."

"You know where Sally is?" asked Wufei, carefully keeping his tone neutral.

Lucrecia looked over at the young man and offered a small smile when she immediately guessed who he was. "You must be Wufei Chang." She extended her hand towards him. "Hi, I'm Lucrecia Noin, A good friend of Sally's."

The dark-haired man suspiciously shook her hand. "How did you know -" Wufei shook his head and asked a more important question. "Wait. You said you came here to take care of Jax for her. Do you know why she wasn't home the whole night?"

Lucrecia bit her lip and at closer inspection, the young man saw that her eyes were red from crying. Wufei's chest tightened with apprehension, fearing the worst.

"There was a problem with one of the cases she was working with," the dark-haired woman began softly. "The case involved an abusive father. Last night he broke the restraining order placed on him and dropped by his son's foster home. Sally went to make sure the kid was okay. I guess the man finally lost it last night and threatened to kill anyone who'll take his son away from him. S-sally tried to talk to him… the police couldn't stop him in time… he had a g-gun and he s-shot…"

Wufei's heart pounded as he watched the woman in front of him sobbed quietly. He tried to say something, but his throat was not cooperating.

"Is Sally okay?" whispered the frightened girl.

Lucrecia wiped her tears, taking a deep breath she gave Marimeia a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Sally's going to be alright."

She then turned towards Wufei. The man showed remarkable restraint in keeping the emotions off his face, but Lucrecia still saw the anguish in his eyes.

"The doctor's said the bullet didn't hit anything vital," she told him. "She's stable, but hasn't regained consciousness yet. She's staying in one of the recovery rooms at the Rowand Crest Hospital."

Wufei's eyes silently expressed his gratitude. Giving a parting nod, he quickly walked away and made his way to the hospital.

Author's notes:

(1) Since Quatre was an empath in the anime, I figured it's only natural for him to have a sixth sense about these things, even if he isn't one in this fic.

Next chapter will probably be the last one since all I have to do is tie everything up. And it also depends on how long it gets after I type it out. But either way, if it stays one chapter or two, I'll post all of it on my next update. Be back soon!