"No!" Hilde's hopeless, choked screams echoed flatly under the deafening roar of the falling pile of metal. Duo turned around, watching the scene as it transpired in slow motion.
"Hilde?" He murmured in confusion, as the rush of heavy metal seem to overwhelm the small figure in the sort of slow motion where you know the ending result will be nothing less of disaster.
"Duo!" Her final word was cut off abruptly as the world came sharply into focus for Duo, resuming its natural speed.
He hadn't known that she was below him as he carelessly dug through the pile of junk. He had warned her not to come into the junkyard after they had learned that she was with child. Dropping an item that he was holding, Duo quickly darted down the small hill of metal debris, sick as in knowing what was lying beneath the wreckage.
Upon reaching the area that he thought she was in, he dropped to his knees and began to dig frantically, unknowingly crying her name with tear-filled eyes. He began to become panick-stricken as no sign of life was shown. After what seemed like hours of futile digging, he realized he was holding her cold hand, gently fingering the engagement ring. "Oh no.. Hilde.. what have I done.. Hilde.. I was so stupid... I should've looked.. I shoulda known that you were there.. I love you so much.. you're not dead.. you can't be dead... you're just hurt, that's all, just hurt bad, but the baby's going to be okay.. yeah, that's it.."
*~*
Quatre cast a look of utter concern and worry over to Trowa as he did his best to stir Duo from his nightmare. "Trowa, help me! I can't wake him up! He's not waking up!" Quatre started to shout as he frantically shook Duo by the shoulders. Duo's body was as limp as a wet rag as his friend tried to rouse him.
Duo's head rolled side to side as he murmured almost incoherently. "Hilde.. Come on, baby.. Get up.. Open your eyes, baby, please.." Reluctantly, Duo Maxwell was pulled back to his 'so-called' reality. "Mmffmm.." he voiced softly as he opened up his pure-blue eyes. Gazing into Quatre's face, he started to babble, "I had that dreamIhadthatdreamagainI HAD THAT STUPID DREAM AGAIN!"
Quatre took his hands away from Duo's shoulders as the braided young man looked over to the empty cot beside of him. A look of shock crossed his worried features, but then melted away into a look of contentment. "Oh, Hilde," Duo muttered happily, "I had that silly dream again. Yeah, the one about you and that junk pile. It scares me so much, baby! I wouldn't be able to live if I lost you."
Quatre walked over to the remaining three boys, leaving Duo alone to ramble idly with his 'finacée'. "He's delusional again.. The dream he's talking about.. I heard him.. tell her.. that it was about her death." The young Arabian man glanced at Trowa and Wufei. "Do any of you know anything about her death?"
Wufei folded his arms across his chest, his brow furrowed in thought. "He said that.. he came home and found her dead. Maybe that is what is disturbing him. That he wasn't there to help her."
Trowa nodded solemnly in agreement, a look of thoughtful concentration covering his features.
Quatre looked confused for a moment. "Did he mention anything about a junk pile? He started babbling about that a few minutes ago..."
Heero had his back turned to the group and was sitting on the cold, stone floor, typing fervishly. "Maybe he didn't tell us the whole story.."
"What do you mean Heero?" Quatre asked softly as he opened the refridgerator and pulled out some orange juice. 9:00 sunlight streamed through the small windows and basked the sleepy group.
Wufei rubbed his eyes and yawned loudly as he sombered over to Trowa. "He kept me up all night going on and on about something, hard to understand what he was saying though." The young Chinese pilot said a tad grumpily.
Trowa nodded solemnly again. "Yes. He had us all up, remember?"
Quatre cringed, nearly dropping the container of orange juice as a cold hand was placed on his arm. "Don't forget about Hilde! She needs it now more than ever, What with the baby and all!" Duo's voice was unnaturally cheerful, which was a feat for him, being as it was hard to get his voice more cheerful than it allready was. His eyes glittered like that of an animal trapped in a cage. They held an unnatural glassy expression.
"Uh.. Uh.. Right Duo! Ok, uh.. get her a glass and I'll take care of it." Quatre shot Wufei a careful look. Wufei shook his head in turn and moved behind Duo.
"This is enough." Chang Wufei said in a cold voice, he was about to put his foot down about the whole thing. "He needs to come to terms with what happened. Allowing him to think that she were alive is stupid when the truth is that she is dead."
Duo's cheerful demeaner fell as suddenly as night falls on the dark side of the moon. He turned his head slowly and gazed with a mix of hate and confusion. "Who's dead? Did someone die?" He asked. It seemed as if his eyes momentarily sought then understood the truth, then they blanked over into that same glassy stare.
"Just tell him. There's no use in delaying his recovery. It's been three weeks allready." Heero said in his cold monotone. He continued to work at his laptop, shielding himself from the group as only he could.
"I don't know Heero, don't you think we should wait for the doctor?" Quatre said in a worried tone.
"Doctor?" Duo looked to the group, his face a shade paler. "What doctor? What are you guys talking about?" He gave a furtive glance over to the empty cot, then back to the group.
Trowa reached out and took ahold of Duo's hand, turning it over and exposing the freshly healed gash on his wrist. He need not to draw attention to its twin on the other arm. "You... need.. Help Duo. All we want to do is help." He looked at the group. "We have allowed this to go on for too long now, we should have stepped in sooner."
"Oh! Don't worry about that Trowa, they're just tiny little scratches! I did it when I was working in the junkyard, and besides, Hilde fixed me up like new, she's great with stuff like that you know." Duo looked at his friend with an almost insane unconscious denial.
::Duo my man, you're going nuts. Ever heard of the river in Egypt? It's called DE'nial.::
Duo shook his head and tried to block his mental voice of sanity, though it wasn't willing to die as quickly as Hilde did.
"No.. go away.." He told his appartition of normality and essence of sanity.
"Duo?" Quatre asked softly.
"Mmm..." Duo responded in a dull drone.
Heero rose from his spot on the floor. It had taken alot for him and Duo to become friends, and now that they were, there was nothing in the world that was going to deteriorate the bond. Though Heero himself would never admit to anything as petty as mere friendships.
"Come on." He said. "Your coming with us." His monotone rang flatly in the quiet room.
"I ain't going Nowhere." Duo said stubbornly, casting a now feverish glare at the perfect soldier.
::Up and at 'em big man! There's nothing like seeing a shrink first thing in the morning!::
"Shut up." The braided youth scowled as he climbed futher back on his bunk and hopefully futher out of reach of the approaching group.
"Come on Duo, we are only trying to help you." Wufei said as he moved to the corner of the cot, in attempts to block any escape.
"Stoppit! Leave me alone! I don't know what you want from me!" Duo yelled as he pressed himself against the wall, a look of abject terror crossing his exhausted features.
"It's allright, just take it easy." Quatre soothed gently, reaching forward and gently touching his hand to Duo's hot brow.
Duo looked up to his friend. "Quatre... " He shook his head and reached out, slapping the blond boys hand away and diving past him, tangling his feet in the sheets and falling to a heap on the floor with a dull thud. "Umpf..."
Voices seemed to blend together as the world went in and out of focus.
::Looks like they mean business, better go with 'em.:: The essence of Duo chuckled softly within his minds ear.
"No.." Duo whimpered softly as he curled into a ball on the floor. "Just leave me alone! You'll wake up Hilde!" He turned mad eyes up to Quatre as the Arabian boy pulled him up with the help of Trowa.
"Sssh.. It's going to be allright Duo. Just let us take care of things."
"The doctor will be waiting for us." Heero stated as he shot a glance to the clock.
"That's right, we don't want to keep Dr. Todd waiting do we?" Quatre said as he pulled a now weakly struggling, confused Duo up by the arms.
"Hilde?" He murmured in confusion, as the rush of heavy metal seem to overwhelm the small figure in the sort of slow motion where you know the ending result will be nothing less of disaster.
"Duo!" Her final word was cut off abruptly as the world came sharply into focus for Duo, resuming its natural speed.
He hadn't known that she was below him as he carelessly dug through the pile of junk. He had warned her not to come into the junkyard after they had learned that she was with child. Dropping an item that he was holding, Duo quickly darted down the small hill of metal debris, sick as in knowing what was lying beneath the wreckage.
Upon reaching the area that he thought she was in, he dropped to his knees and began to dig frantically, unknowingly crying her name with tear-filled eyes. He began to become panick-stricken as no sign of life was shown. After what seemed like hours of futile digging, he realized he was holding her cold hand, gently fingering the engagement ring. "Oh no.. Hilde.. what have I done.. Hilde.. I was so stupid... I should've looked.. I shoulda known that you were there.. I love you so much.. you're not dead.. you can't be dead... you're just hurt, that's all, just hurt bad, but the baby's going to be okay.. yeah, that's it.."
*~*
Quatre cast a look of utter concern and worry over to Trowa as he did his best to stir Duo from his nightmare. "Trowa, help me! I can't wake him up! He's not waking up!" Quatre started to shout as he frantically shook Duo by the shoulders. Duo's body was as limp as a wet rag as his friend tried to rouse him.
Duo's head rolled side to side as he murmured almost incoherently. "Hilde.. Come on, baby.. Get up.. Open your eyes, baby, please.." Reluctantly, Duo Maxwell was pulled back to his 'so-called' reality. "Mmffmm.." he voiced softly as he opened up his pure-blue eyes. Gazing into Quatre's face, he started to babble, "I had that dreamIhadthatdreamagainI HAD THAT STUPID DREAM AGAIN!"
Quatre took his hands away from Duo's shoulders as the braided young man looked over to the empty cot beside of him. A look of shock crossed his worried features, but then melted away into a look of contentment. "Oh, Hilde," Duo muttered happily, "I had that silly dream again. Yeah, the one about you and that junk pile. It scares me so much, baby! I wouldn't be able to live if I lost you."
Quatre walked over to the remaining three boys, leaving Duo alone to ramble idly with his 'finacée'. "He's delusional again.. The dream he's talking about.. I heard him.. tell her.. that it was about her death." The young Arabian man glanced at Trowa and Wufei. "Do any of you know anything about her death?"
Wufei folded his arms across his chest, his brow furrowed in thought. "He said that.. he came home and found her dead. Maybe that is what is disturbing him. That he wasn't there to help her."
Trowa nodded solemnly in agreement, a look of thoughtful concentration covering his features.
Quatre looked confused for a moment. "Did he mention anything about a junk pile? He started babbling about that a few minutes ago..."
Heero had his back turned to the group and was sitting on the cold, stone floor, typing fervishly. "Maybe he didn't tell us the whole story.."
"What do you mean Heero?" Quatre asked softly as he opened the refridgerator and pulled out some orange juice. 9:00 sunlight streamed through the small windows and basked the sleepy group.
Wufei rubbed his eyes and yawned loudly as he sombered over to Trowa. "He kept me up all night going on and on about something, hard to understand what he was saying though." The young Chinese pilot said a tad grumpily.
Trowa nodded solemnly again. "Yes. He had us all up, remember?"
Quatre cringed, nearly dropping the container of orange juice as a cold hand was placed on his arm. "Don't forget about Hilde! She needs it now more than ever, What with the baby and all!" Duo's voice was unnaturally cheerful, which was a feat for him, being as it was hard to get his voice more cheerful than it allready was. His eyes glittered like that of an animal trapped in a cage. They held an unnatural glassy expression.
"Uh.. Uh.. Right Duo! Ok, uh.. get her a glass and I'll take care of it." Quatre shot Wufei a careful look. Wufei shook his head in turn and moved behind Duo.
"This is enough." Chang Wufei said in a cold voice, he was about to put his foot down about the whole thing. "He needs to come to terms with what happened. Allowing him to think that she were alive is stupid when the truth is that she is dead."
Duo's cheerful demeaner fell as suddenly as night falls on the dark side of the moon. He turned his head slowly and gazed with a mix of hate and confusion. "Who's dead? Did someone die?" He asked. It seemed as if his eyes momentarily sought then understood the truth, then they blanked over into that same glassy stare.
"Just tell him. There's no use in delaying his recovery. It's been three weeks allready." Heero said in his cold monotone. He continued to work at his laptop, shielding himself from the group as only he could.
"I don't know Heero, don't you think we should wait for the doctor?" Quatre said in a worried tone.
"Doctor?" Duo looked to the group, his face a shade paler. "What doctor? What are you guys talking about?" He gave a furtive glance over to the empty cot, then back to the group.
Trowa reached out and took ahold of Duo's hand, turning it over and exposing the freshly healed gash on his wrist. He need not to draw attention to its twin on the other arm. "You... need.. Help Duo. All we want to do is help." He looked at the group. "We have allowed this to go on for too long now, we should have stepped in sooner."
"Oh! Don't worry about that Trowa, they're just tiny little scratches! I did it when I was working in the junkyard, and besides, Hilde fixed me up like new, she's great with stuff like that you know." Duo looked at his friend with an almost insane unconscious denial.
::Duo my man, you're going nuts. Ever heard of the river in Egypt? It's called DE'nial.::
Duo shook his head and tried to block his mental voice of sanity, though it wasn't willing to die as quickly as Hilde did.
"No.. go away.." He told his appartition of normality and essence of sanity.
"Duo?" Quatre asked softly.
"Mmm..." Duo responded in a dull drone.
Heero rose from his spot on the floor. It had taken alot for him and Duo to become friends, and now that they were, there was nothing in the world that was going to deteriorate the bond. Though Heero himself would never admit to anything as petty as mere friendships.
"Come on." He said. "Your coming with us." His monotone rang flatly in the quiet room.
"I ain't going Nowhere." Duo said stubbornly, casting a now feverish glare at the perfect soldier.
::Up and at 'em big man! There's nothing like seeing a shrink first thing in the morning!::
"Shut up." The braided youth scowled as he climbed futher back on his bunk and hopefully futher out of reach of the approaching group.
"Come on Duo, we are only trying to help you." Wufei said as he moved to the corner of the cot, in attempts to block any escape.
"Stoppit! Leave me alone! I don't know what you want from me!" Duo yelled as he pressed himself against the wall, a look of abject terror crossing his exhausted features.
"It's allright, just take it easy." Quatre soothed gently, reaching forward and gently touching his hand to Duo's hot brow.
Duo looked up to his friend. "Quatre... " He shook his head and reached out, slapping the blond boys hand away and diving past him, tangling his feet in the sheets and falling to a heap on the floor with a dull thud. "Umpf..."
Voices seemed to blend together as the world went in and out of focus.
::Looks like they mean business, better go with 'em.:: The essence of Duo chuckled softly within his minds ear.
"No.." Duo whimpered softly as he curled into a ball on the floor. "Just leave me alone! You'll wake up Hilde!" He turned mad eyes up to Quatre as the Arabian boy pulled him up with the help of Trowa.
"Sssh.. It's going to be allright Duo. Just let us take care of things."
"The doctor will be waiting for us." Heero stated as he shot a glance to the clock.
"That's right, we don't want to keep Dr. Todd waiting do we?" Quatre said as he pulled a now weakly struggling, confused Duo up by the arms.