SAFE HAVEN

Relena Peacecraft lay on her bed, a shadow of what she once was. She was now twenty-two years old, single, and dying of depression. Technically, it was lack of nutrients, for she'd given up eating in the last couple of days. She just didn't feel hungry anymore. She was wasting away. The doctor had prescribed medication for her, but she hadn't taken it. She wanted to die. Life just wasn't worth living anymore. She wanted to fade away in her bed, peaceful, calm.

There wasn't even any reason for it. One day, waking up at seven am, she just decided not to get up. The prospect of facing the paperwork, the reporters, the meetings....She didn't want to do it anymore. She didn't want to do anything. There was absolutely nothing worth looking forward to. Well, maybe there was a reason for it. That was the reason. There was too much pressure. Way too much. And she had finally cracked.

Relena turned her head, seeing her bathroom before her, the door open. Drip. Drip. Drip. The sink was leaking. She watched the water fall. Water. So cool, so wonderful. Water represented life. Relena wanted no part of it. But water could also present death, given the right situation. She thought of how it would feel to drown in it. The lack of oxygen would be painful, but then she would black out, and be no more. The prospect sounded peaceful.

She sat up rather suddenly, then stood up, feeling her knees start to give. Stumbling to her balcony she stared out to where the ships were docked, by the bridge, getting soaked by the rain she didn't know had been falling. How ironic. She stared at the bridge for a while, imagining herself climbing up on the wall and letting herself fall to the waters below. She would black out on impact, and feel no pain. She would do it. Looking down, she was two stories up. She would jump. If she died falling, well that was the purpose of leaving anyway.

Without thinking twice about it she jumped down to the ground. She didn't even cry out when he knee hit a sharp rock, cutting through her flesh like butter. She was only dimly aware of the blood as she limped away, sneaking through the secret passage only she knew was there, getting past the guards. Her brother would be outraged at the incompetence, but then again, she was sneaking out, not in.

She didn't know how long she had been walking for until she reached the bridge, her wet clothes clinging to her, her pants dark with blood. There were no cars to be seen, no people. She was alone. But then, it was two in the morning. She walked to the highest point of the bridge. The wall on either side was only four feet tall, one foot thick. She climbed it easily and stood staring at the water far below.

" Don't do it." A voice suddenly said, and Relena paused, deciding whether or not she felt like bothering with this person. His voice was so familiar, but she couldn't quite place it.

" Why not?" She finally asked, taking the bait.

" You can't just throw away your life."

" What life? You call what I have a life?" Relena asked, her voice on the edge of hysterics.

" You are Relena Peacecraft. A young, generous, caring woman. What you are doing is selfish."

" Selfish?! I have never once given any thought to myself and now you're calling me selfish?! I have every right to be! Who do you think you are?!" Relena cried, carefully moving her feet so that she could face her companion, her back having been to him the whole time. But even then she couldn't see who it was. The rain was coming down pretty hard, and the man was on the other side of the street, wearing a hat and a dark raincoat. A flash of lightening lit of the sky, but it didn't last long enough for her to see.

" You die now, you take away a leader, a sister, a friend, and a peaceful future. You give back sorrow, death, and regret. Is that what you want?"

" All I want is peace." Relena replied quietly. His words had struck her. Up until now everyone had been so nice, understanding, at her beck and call, trying to help her, they said. And this man, whoever he was, was insulting her. She should jump right now.

" And you can have peace. And much more. If you just step down from that wall. Please...." Relena frowned. His voice, low and musical in its tone, sounded almost heartbroken, cracking on the last word.

" Who are you?" Relena asked softly, peering at the man in the darkness. Slowly he walked forward, coming into the gleam of moonlight that surrounded her. When he was next to the wall he looked up at her and gave her a hopeful grin. Relena's eyes widened in shock and her mouth fell open in surprise.

" Duo?!" Relena exclaimed, jumping back a little in surprise. Her footing gave way on the slippery cement and she wobbled backwards, losing her balance. Duo snatched her hand, attempting to pull her back, and Relena shrieked as she was pulled forward, wrangling her hand out of his grip, surprised at the shock of electricity that flowed between them. She stayed on the wall, her death put off for a time. Duo stepped back, not wanting to upset her.

Relena gasped, nearly hyperventilating. She had almost fallen in. But Duo had saved her. Hadn't she wanted to die? She shook her head, collecting her thoughts. Yes she did. So why should she let Duo stop her? " Why did you save me?"

Duo seemed surprised. " I'm not gonna let you die. You fall, I'll catch you. You jump, I jump too."

" Why? Why would you do that?" Relena flinched as a loud blast of thunder rocked the air, unthinkingly stepping back a bit. Duo eyed the edge warily, and bent down, slipping off his shoes. Relena frowned.

" Maybe you should step down from that wall and talk to me. Then, afterwards, if you still want to kill yourself, I won't stop you." Duo replied easily, looking up at her. Relena stared back down, meeting his violet eyes. A strange shiver ran down her spine. She looked away, about to reply, when suddenly a bolt of lightening hit the pole beside her and she jumped back, forgetting where she was. Abruptly she was falling through the air, the rain pounding on her face, her arms and legs flailing. She tried to scream, but all that came out was a small cry.

She closed her eyes just before she hit the water. Wasn't this what she wanted? Wasn't it? Duo's frightened face flashed before her eyes. He had looked absolutely horrified when she had fallen, having not reached her in time to catch her once more. He had looked down at her for a brief second before disappearing from sight. Relena hit the water, blacking out as her head hit the surface, her last thought wondering whether or not he would save her. Whether or not she wanted him to.

Duo wasted no time as he threw off his jacket, scrambling up onto the wall and diving from the height while Relena was just nearing the water. He was shocked at the freezing temperature, but paid it no heed as he looked for Relena in the water, the salt stinging his eyes. There was no sign of her underneath, the water was to dense. He searched for a moment then came up for air, searching the water's surface desperately for some sign of her in the rocky waves. He caught a glimpse of red in the water before the waves splashed it away and dived down in that direction, a saw a dark shape ahead. He swam desperately for her, and saw that she was sinking slowly, unconscious. He made for her, grabbing her under her arms and pulling her towards the surface, ignoring the burning sensation in his lungs from lack of air, his vision darkening. Finally he broke free, gasping for air, their heads bobbing at the surface. He saw with relief that they weren't too far from the beach and used all of his energy to pull Relena and himself to the shore.

He didn't take time to breath when they reached the sandy, seaweed covered shore, instead he made sure they were far enough from the water and checked Relena's breathing. She wasn't. He checked her pulse. It was still there, but very weak. In less than a second he had tipped her head back and held her nose, inhaling deeply, than came down on her mouth, blowing air into her lungs, giving her mouth to mouth. Duo checked again. She wasn't breathing, and this time there was no pulse. He began CPR.

He pumped her chest, careful not to be too hard. Tears were streaming down his face now, but he didn't give up, giving her two more resuscitating breaths, checking her pulse and breath again. Still no sign.

He continued to pump. " I swear if you die Relena, you won't be the only one!" He cried, then gave her breath again. She had a pulse. He had breathed into her mouth one more time when suddenly she coughed, and water came sputtering out of her mouth and she gasped for air.