From
Behind The Glass
Part Nine
It was warm outside. The afternoon sun was
striking everything in its path. With the rain from a few days ago forgotten,
the trees started to stretch outwards, taking in the sun's provided nutrients.
The outstretched branches, in turn, provided a cool, welcoming shade for the
inhabitants below. The greatly needed shade was cool and inviting, attracting
different varieties of animals.
Through one of the bare windows of the
hospital, Trowa could be seen looking outwards with the warm sun striking his
features. He seemed to be in deep thought as he looked far into the distance.
His face was calm and thoughtful, carrying an air of seriousness which
prevailed in his surroundings. It appeared as if nothing could disturb him.
All
of a sudden, a familiar voice brought him out of his silent meditation.
"Ah, Mr. Barton."
He quickly turned around to find the doctor
currently taking off his synthetic gloves, discarding them in a wastebasket
beside him. He took off his mouth guard and rinsed his hands. He also seemed to
be in deep thought as he finished cleaning up, approaching Trowa afterward.
"I'm glad to inform you that the operation
was successful."
Trowa remained silent, waiting for his
intended question to be answered without even asking it. Sensing this, the
doctor decided to answer what he thought was the question.
"Yes, it was very sudden. It did come as a
shock, even to me. Based on his chest x-rays, I never thought that the fluids
in his lungs would build up that fast. The antibiotics don't seem to be
helping."
"I've never been informed of this possible
scenario." Trowa finally spoke, locking his eyes with the doctor. It seemed as
if he was accusing the figure before him.
"It should not have been a possible
scenario considering his age and the supposed strength of his body to fight off
the disease." The doctor answered, reflexively starting to defend himself and
his credibility. It looked to him like this young man did not truly trust him
or maybe even doctors in general. He just wondered what could have caused this.
Of course, if he were ever accused, he would never back away. After spending
many years facing the onslaught of concerned loved ones, he had unknowingly
acquired the skill of self-defense, answering every question as truthfully as
he could.
Being a perceptive person, Trowa noticed
the other's reaction and decided to put aside his doubt in doctors. He needed
to understand what had happened and loosing his temper would only make things a
lot harder for him. Besides, the doctor seemed tired and he himself was not
ready to take on a full-blown, superfluous argument.
"Forgive me if I sounded like I was
accusing you." He simply said, releasing some of the tension that had started
to build up. "I'd rather listen to what you have to say."
"Very well, Mr. Barton." The doctor said
with gratitude. "Let's have a seat and I'll explain the details." They moved to
make themselves comfortable in the bench by the window.
"First, let me answer another question that
I presume you have." By this time, the doctor had mastered art of reading the
expressionless face of Trowa Barton.
"Yes, it was absolutely necessary to do the
procedure because his lungs had stopped taking in the air he needs. We needed
to take out those fluids through suction. It seems that the fluids in his lungs
are building up faster than expected."
"Is that something that should concern us?"
A voice interrupted from the end of the hallway.
"Ah, yes. Your friends seem to come at the
most crucial times Mr. Barton. It's amazing how Mr. Yuy can hear us from all
the way there." He was smiling,
learning to get used to Trowa's unusual friends. " … and the braided one will
collide with us if he doesn't slow down."
Alarmed and yet amused, the doctor quickly moved away
from Duo's intended path while Trowa stood up from his seat and placed himself
directly *in* the path. Just as Duo was about to collide with the steady
figure, Trowa held out his hand and effectively stopped the speedy individual.
"You should slow down." was all he said as he turned
back his attention to the doctor. "Where were we?"
Duo, on the other hand, blushed furiously, mumbling
apologies. After reciting a few of his unbelievable excuses, he suddenly
thought of *the* best explanation. "… The floors are just too damn slippery!"
The doctor just had to laugh at that remark.
"Welcome back Mr. Maxwell." he said. "I take it that
you haven't been banned from the hospital yet, hmmm?"
"As long as he doesn't land his face on Quatre's
sleeping body a third time." Heero had caught up from behind, being followed by
Wufei.
"That won't be a problem. Trowa will probably
throttle him to death before he even gets to do it a third time." Wufei said,
looking over at Trowa for a response. To his disappointment, Trowa had gone
back to looking out the window, appearing very distant, thinking too deeply.
Indeed, he was immersed in mounds of thoughts. He had
started to consider the gravity of the situation. At the same time, he felt
something strange. It was as if Quatre was calling out to him, intending to
tell him something of great importance. Something was going to happen. He was
sure of that.
"Trowa, I think that we could get on with what we
were discussing?" The doctor asked, once again distracting Trowa from his
reflections.
"…as I was saying…" the doctor was starting to say,
but hesitated, feeling the tension coming from the young man by the window.
"…Mr. Barton, I think it would be best if you saw Mr. Winner. They will be
bringing him back to his room in a few minutes. I think that your friends can
ask me all the questions you may have had. They can tell you about our
discussion later."
Trowa agreed, not wanting to go on with the
conversation anyway. He was sure he heard Quatre calling him and at this point,
all the medical explanations to his condition no longer mattered. It was just
too complicated for him to think about.
He began to walk towards the elevator as Duo called
out to him.
"We'll be there in a while!" he said, only to be
ignored by Trowa who was again, pondering on something unknown to the four
figures at the end of the hallway.
By the time Trowa had arrived in the room, Quatre was
already settled in. To his surprise, he was wide awake despite the sedatives
given to him. He was looking out through the window, also in deep thought, just
like Trowa himself had been a few minutes ago.
Seeing the concentration in Quatre's face, Trowa
decided to watch. He knew Quatre could sense his presence but words would only
spoil their contemplation. Then, he came nearer, settling by Quatre's bedside.
Although noticing that his love was still feeble, he picked him up and settled
him in his lap.
"Not tired yet?" he asked softly in his ear, laying
his chin down on the delicate shoulder.
"You know I can only be kept still for so long until
I eventually jump back up." he answered, finally looking down at Trowa, smiling
mischievously.
"Even the drugs won't keep you down." Trowa had to
sigh. " ... and that's ..." he gently pinched Quatre's nose, wriggling it "...
what I don't like."
Quatre tried to giggle but the recent procedure done
on him made it hard. He just smiled the best he could and studied Trowa's
raised eyebrow.
Just as Trowa was going to make another remark about
his stubborn patient, he quickly changed expressions and looked at Quatre
seriously.
"You have to tell me something, don't you?" he asked.
He was then answered with a sad smile.
"You always know, don't you?" Quatre asked, deciding
to continue with what he had to say.
Meanwhile, the three friends were making their way back
to Quatre's room. The talk with the doctor had taken longer than expected.
Apparently, the doctor had decided to answer all of Trowa's unasked questions.
It was very obvious that the doctor assumed Trowa to have endless amounts of
questions.
"That was another bit of information for me to
digest." Duo said, massaging his aching head.
He wasn't the only one who was weary because Heero
and Wufei also had their hand placed somewhere around their head. Duo lowered his hand to check his watch.
"It's just about lunch time. I'm *really* hungry." he
said.
"I guess that we could have lunch before visiting
Quatre. We should leave him alone with Trowa for a while." Wufei suggested,
receiving a nod from each of his companions.
"I knew you'd never refuse me Wufei!" Duo said
sweetly but teasingly as they walked to the direction of the elevator.
An "Ouch!" could be heard as the elevator traveled
downward.
About two hours later, another "Ouch!" could be heard
from the ascending elevator. It was the same voice as before. When the elevator
doors opened, the owner of the voice quickly ran out, only stopping a few
inches away from Quatre's door.
Duo entered and saw something very familiar. Quatre
was on his side, supposedly sleeping. Behind him was Trowa hugging him
protectively. What caught his attention though, was the absence of the IV tubes
connected to Quatre. They were neatly set aside. Another thing that had caught
his attention was the machine to the side of the bed that had a straight line
through it. What was so peculiar was that it didn't make a single sound. Duo
started to find where the machine was connected to only to discover that it was
still connected to Quatre's body. This just confused him even more.
Heero and Wufei had come in not long after Duo, also
noticing the changes. Heero quickly walked over to the machine while Wufei
checked on Quatre. The sound of the machine had apparently been turned off.
Three seconds later both said the same words they
never thought they would say.
"He's gone." It was only then that the three noticed
the trembling Trowa beside him. From his closed eyes flowed fresh tears.