seven
Mrs. Henderson lay in a hospital bed, sleeping soundly. Caitlin had long since conked out on the couch, her nose covered with her shirt to ward off the foreboding stench of hospital sterility. Duo paced at the foot of her bed, trying to ward off sleep in his legs. He held a cup of coffee, warming his fingers, but didn't drink much of it.
She's fine, said a nurse, just a few stitches. You really shouldn't worry. Mrs. Henderson is in perfect working order.
She left Duo, who hadn't even listened to her efforts to soothe his nerves. It didn't help, because Irene wasn't the problem that made his gut do the Charleston in his chest. He caught a glimpse of Caitlin's closed, sleeping eyes. Her striking resemblance to Relena Darlian made him grimace and think instantaneously of Heero Yuy. Caitlin didn't belong to him, though. She belonged to herself and some hot shot race car driver named Todd.
Her random sounds of slumber kept his attention, and the early morning in the window behind her was shedding nasty, rainy glares like a grumpy old man. Duo rubbed the back of his neck and continued pacing, trying to walk the reminiscence of Hilde and his time with her out of the present. But she wouldn't leave him be, she walked with him, and she was in the mirror every morning when he looked at himself. Hilde was by his side when he laughed and when he lay on his bed, sleepless. She was his best friend, and he didn't even know what had become of her since he'd left.
What's his name?
Midii stood completely spellbound next to the circus's knife thrower, who'd just given her a mug of steaming tea. That's Trowa, the lion tamer.
L-lion tamer, Midii repeated. This is the cute guy Reese was talking about. Yeah, and it's also No Name! God, is this a test?
The ringleader scared them both and told Midii to get to work on the announcing system that had been garbling speech since their last act. Midii gulped hard and tried to fit a decent façade over herself to keep this so called Trowa from recognizing her. True, her hair had been tamed slightly, and her eyes dimmed from bright blue to slight slate, but she was still the same Midii Une that had betrayed him. The same Midii Une that had told him that she hated him, and also that she loved him.
He didn't see her until she crouched down to the circuitry box to start searching for the problem. He did the same and told her what he'd already done, which had apparently, no affect whatsoever. Catherine and the ringleader went off to tend to the other circus duties and left them together.
I've seen you before, he said suddenly. What's your name?
He's a lot more open than he was so many years ago. Midii Une.
Trowa's head turned quickly to find hers. She pursed her lips and busied her fingers with wiring and perfected mastery of all things technical. Midii. It's been a long time.
Yes it has.
It was the third day of her crusade, and Hilde wasn't faring any better. Heero had force fed her every now and then, but she mostly survived on liquids. They were walking down the street, Heero all too well knowing where to find Duo. As Hilde sipped at her coke, from a styrofoam to go cup from a restaurant she hadn't eaten at.
The night before, while she'd fallen into a sort of fugue, Heero left to find Duo, but instead found out that he was in the hospital with the landlady. Now, he took it upon himself to guide them back together even if it meant more heartbreak on their part. Hilde didn't seem to understand what was going on, even though Heero had explained it to her thoroughly. Ever since she'd spoken out, she'd become even more vegetative. Heero felt sorry for the nurses at Sweetwater. Hilde was more of a trouble than a small child that could cause personal danger to herself, for the matter.
Heero walked in with dinner, and Hilde sat on the side of the tub, draining water, in a towel. She was staring at her wrist, and Heero soon found her with blood streaking across the bony structure of her arm.
Come here, he pulled her up and sat her on the counter outside the bathroom and covered the thin wound with a wad of Kleenex and made sure that she noticed his anger. What do you think you're trying to do?
She didn't speak.
Damn, she's locked herself down again, he swore. He stayed with her for the rest of the night, until twelve, when he set out to get a relevant location of Duo. Hilde didn't bother to eat much other than one or two french fries, and also didn't bother to look Heero in the face or say another word.
Hilde's face paled to a deathly shade of bone white and her eyes widened to display her terror. Heero pulled her along by the wrist she'd so awfully cut the night before and didn't care when she started to cry again. She mouthed over and over, no, but he walked on in his confident, impending pace. They awkwardly entered an elevator and Heero pointed at her, his eyebrows furrowed.
he growled, are going to do this. I wont let you lose your life because he was misled, Hilde. You are going to do this, so help me.
I can't.
The doors binged open and three middle aged women boarded. Heero took Hilde's hand in his and squeezed it, glaring at her. She looked down at the floor. Again, the doors binged and they were on their floor. Heero drudged onward, taking her along for the ride, and found Room 340 without a pinch. It was clear open, and Duo was standing below the television set mounted on the wall. Hilde saw him and froze, right in the middle of the floor. Heero didn't have time to prevent her from backing away. He was already in Mrs. Henderson's room by the time she'd turned away.
Duo gasped and Heero pinned him to the wall. Caitlin woke up and hollered, and made Heero release Duo when he saw her face.
What's going on? she asked.
That's...no, it can't be Relena. That's not her. Duo, I need to show you something.
Out in the hall, Hilde peered to her left and right, unable to find Heero. Feeling completely defenseless, and yet so very free, her calves tightened and powered her right back to the elevator. Her heart pounded, and she found herself saying Heero's name when he came trotting around the bend with Duo in tow. She coughed hard and pushed herself hard against the back wall, the doors shutting just before Heero could stop them, his face registering a strange twinge of desperation.
When she'd hit literal rock bottom, Hilde shot out of the hospital and ran for hours and hours. She ran through downtown and into the residential area where Duo lived, stumbling through the downpour that plagued the city once more and tripping her way out of a sand littered playground. Her entire self gave way when the sun was retreating.
Her feet planted at the trunk of a towering oak tree, landing in the muck and pulling her down into it. Hilde let herself fall, exhausted, and closed her eyes in the mud, sinking into the earth, willing it all away.
I let it go, just like you said, doctors, Hilde wept, now please let me come home.
Heero plodded down the street with Duo, angered. Explain. Now.
About what, Heero? I don't even know what's going on.
Hilde. Tell me what in the hell you were thinking.
His mouth gaped. Hilde. I miss her so much, man. But I can't go rushing back to her. She'll probably hate me for it.
You're lucky that she already doesn't hate you, Heero scanned the landscape for signs of a run away Sweetwater patient. Do you know where I found her?
Duo didn't speak, taking much to the liking of how Hilde had been behaving.
She was in a mental institution.
Heero nodded. She apparently thought that you'd died.
She told me a little about some McMillen shop that exploded. Hilde seems to think that you planned it so you could run from her.
Run? No, no. Bill, the owner. Duo cringed at the image of that man in his head. He told me that, that he and Hilde were...
They went on for a while, past Mrs. Henderson's house. And you believed him? How could you?
I loved her too much to stand in her way, Heero. I didn't want to hurt her!
You already have! Don't you know that she loves you more than life itself? She'd rather kill herself than have you get a hangnail, you damn idiot!
...to be continued...