Disclaimer: I don't own them except for the kids!

Warring Hearts, Part 12

Jonathon flinched under Heero's gaze. The one man he was more afraid of then his own father was Heero. His eyes shot to Leigh as she stared at him. Her eyes were wide with shock, disbelief, and hurt. He swallowed hard. It had not been a pleasant twenty-four hours. He had woken up with the worst hangover he'd ever had all because of what happened with Leigh the night before. He swallowed hard when Veronica came into view. He didn't think what he had done with her two Christmas's ago would ever come to light. It was bad enough that David had caught them. It made him hate himself even more. He didn't know what to say or what to do.

"I'll be back," Leigh said, softly as she stood up and left the room. Her heart twisted painfully in her chest as she turned into the formal living room, shutting the door behind her. Tears began to fall.

He watched her leave. He wanted to go after her. The look in her eyes made his heart break even more. He saw the killing look in Wufei's eyes. He closed his briefly. He knew that Wufei was probably thinking of several ways to maim him. He made a move to stand only to come up against Heero. He blanched under the cold Prussian blue eyes.

Duo, sensing imminent violence from Heero, grabbed his son's arm and pulled him away. "I'll talk to him Heero." He dragged his son out of the room and down the hall to the library. He could hear Kellie and David yelling at each other as he shut the door. He looked over at his son. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING!"

Jonathon started a little, but shoved his hands into his pockets. "It was one time. I only kissed her. You really think I would sleep with her."

Duo raked his hands through his hair. "I swear you kids are going to kill me with what you pull. Can you at least tell me why?"

"I was on the rebound from Leigh when she dumped me. I wasn't thinking straight and Veronica came onto me. She found me all too willing to make out with. But all I did was kiss her. My hands were around her waist the entire time."

"She was underage then! If Heero had have found out then, you would have had a much bigger problem. He would have killed you outright!"

"Don't you think I know that! David found out because he walked in on it. He swore he would never tell! I didn't want anyone to know! Especially not Leigh!"

"Well she knows now!" Duo said as he looked up at the ceiling. He looked back at Jonathon. "And you might have hurt her even more."

"Don't you think I know that! My God dad, I know how stupid it was of me to even touch Veronica in the first place!" Jonathon said with exasperation. He raked his hands through his hair.

"You should since you saw what I went through with your sister dating Miles! I may have let her go out with him, but I didn't like it! Don't you remember the pacing I would do until he brought her home?"

"I remember," Jonathon said softly as he remembered the nights that his dad would pace in the hallway upstairs, in the kitchen, in the foyer, and on the steps until Randy came home. Three and a half weeks separated Veronica and Randy in age. He also remembered the way Heero reacted when he found Chris and Victoria together.

Duo sighed. "Just hope that Heero doesn't want to kill you. Veronica is his little girl."

Jonathon looked up at his dad. "Dad, Veronica isn't all what she seems. She knew exactly what she was doing when she came on to me. She's not as innocent as she looks."

"Have you ever wanted her?"

"No. I could only bring myself to kiss her. I do have a conscience dad. I never had a desire to do anything more with her. All I wanted at that time was Leigh. I haven't touched another girl since I started dating Leigh."

"What about Morgan?"

"No. I never slept with her. I thought too much of her. She was too sweet, too nice of a girl. And I cared about her too much to sleep with her."

"And I know you have with Leigh. And I know that you love her," Duo said quietly. He looked down at the thick carpet under his shoes. "But I don't think anything right now will make her come back to you. Not after hearing this."

"I love her. And I would do anything to get her back, but I can't. How can I when I can't tell her that I do?" Jonathon asked in defeated voice.

"I saw the shattered look in her eyes when she left the room. She does still love you, but I don't think she'll ever forgive you for this."

"I have to go and see how she is though. This is my fault. I know I hurt her and there's nothing I can do to reverse it, but I have to do something," Jonathon said as he walked past his dad and opened the door.

Duo shook his head. "This is only going to bring him more heartache. But what can I do? My kids seem to have a mind of their own. Too impulsive, too temperamental, and too hardheaded to listen. Just like me I suppose." He walked out of the library. He looked down the hall. He saw the door open and Victoria stamping out, looking furious. She marched past him. He looked back and saw Chris come out rubbing his side with hand. He arched a brow at him. "And what did you do?"

"I knew about Veronica and Jonathon as well. David told me. That's one reason why my wife is pissed at me. The other reason is, I told her exactly what I thought of her sister. She punched me for that," Chris replied as he leaned against the wall. "And now, I probably get to sleep on the couch until hell freezes over or until she lets me back into bed, whatever one comes first."

Duo sighed. "And what did you say about Veronica? I haven't been hearing very flattering things about her lately."

"I told Victoria that Ver sleeps around and that she isn't the least bit discriminating."

Duo let out a low whistle. "Yeah, I can see why she would be mad at you for that and punch you. Jonathon implied it, but he didn't say anything quite like that to me a moment ago."

"Jonathon doesn't like being blunt. It gets him into trouble. That's my job. And you see what it gets me. By the way, where is he? I saw you rescuing him from the wrath of Heero Yuy."

"He's going to find Leigh."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Chris asked skeptically. "It might be better if he left her alone and not to make it worse."

"I don't think he cares if it's wise. I can't stop him any more then you could. All four of you are like that. You do what you want, regardless of the consequences."

Chris shrugged. "Not the best way to do things, but it does tend to work every now and then."

Duo sighed again. "I didn't teach you guys well enough. You're all too much like me."

"Don't blame yourself dad. Mom tried to curb it when we were little. It's just in our genes," Chris said as he put his hand on his father's shoulder.

"Yeah, but still," Duo said as he closed his eyes, "I wish it wasn't."

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Jonathon wandered down the hall, looking for her. He stopped outside each door down the side hall off of the main one. He heard crying behind the doors of the formal living room. He put his hand up on it and silently pushed it open. His eyes fell on Leigh's back as she was braced against the fireplace. Her shoulders were shaking. The formal Christmas tree gave off a warm golden glow from its soft lights and golden ornaments. He walked towards her and stood behind her. He swallowed hard. "Leigh?" he said quietly as he tentatively put his hands on her shoulders.

Leigh lifted her head from her arms when she heard him say her name. She felt the gentle pressure of his hands on her shoulders. She stood up straight and wiped the back of her hand across her tear stained cheeks. "Just go away."

"I can't," he said softly, hearing the hurt in her voice.

She turned around and faced him. She looked up into his. She balled up her fist and punched him in the stomach since she was so upset. "How could you!" she cried out brokenly.

He winced slightly from her punch. "I'm sorry," he said achingly.

"How could you? With her of all people!"

"Leigh please…"

"Don't you dare do that! How could you make out with a girl her age! Why did you!" she cried out again, her voice becoming shrill.

"Leigh, it was two years ago, I was hurt from you and I didn't know what I was doing. I kissed her to make myself better over you."

"That's not an excuse!" Leigh shrieked as more tears began to rain down her cheeks. She punched him again. "Just how could you!" she sobbed.

Jonathon closed his eyes at the pain he was hearing in her voice. He felt her hand hit him again. He deserved it. "I'm so, so sorry Leigh," he whispered.

She cried even harder. She pulled away from him as she tried to cover up her tears. She didn't want him to see her cry.

He didn't let her. He pulled her against him. She fought for a moment until she slumped against him and cried into his shirt. He rubbed his hand on her back soothingly.

Leigh clutched at his shirt under her hands as she let her tears of anger and hurt pour out of her. She could hear his steady heartbeat under her ear.

Jonathon bent his head over hers. He could feel the hotness of her tears soaking through his shirt. He knew there was nothing that he could say or do to make her stop. He was at a loss since she never let him see her cry, even when he knew he hurt her. He closed his eyes and pressed his forehead on the top of her silky hair. Her sobs were breaking his heart. "Please don't cry anymore Leigh," he whispered sadly.

Leigh cried harder against him. She was using the man that had hurt her the most to comfort her. The faint smell of his cologne clung to his shirt. He smelled like sandalwood. It made her feel a little better inside. She could hear him pleading with her softly over her tears. She choked back another sob in an effort to control herself.

He could hear her sobs dwindle down to loud sniffles against his shirt. He could feel her grip loosening on his shirt as she regained her control. He didn't let go though. She felt too good in his arms. "How many times have I hurt her? How many of those countless times have I made her cry? If I love her so much, why do I do this to her? She deserves someone so much better then me, but the mere thought of her with anyone else makes me want to die. Why did I agree to really end it with her when she asked me to? Why did I do it? Why am I letting her get out of my reach?" He smoothed one hand over her hair, his fingers twisting themselves in the thick skeins. "Leigh?"

She lifted her face away from his shirt, but kept it averted from his gaze. "What?" she sniffed.

"Look at me," he said softly as he reached up with both hands and cupped her face between them. He tilted it up to his. He could see the tearstains on her porcelain cheeks. "I'm sorry. I know no matter how many times I say that won't make a difference. But I am. I am more sorry than you could ever know. I didn't want to hurt you."

Leigh sniffled. "You see that's why."

"Why what?"

"Why you and me can't be together. I hurt you. You hurt me. It's a cycle that we can't seem to break no matter how many times we try. I can't do it anymore. I refuse to go on like that with you. That's why I broke it off for good back in August. As much as I feel for you, I won't doom myself to a life of unhappiness." She pushed away from him. She brushed back a strand of her hair that had fallen forwards. On her wrist was the bracelet that Ling had given her. Her father insisted that she wear it.

Jonathon's eyes immediately went to the sparkling rubies. "Where did you get that?"

She lowered her arm and pulled down the sleeve of her black turtleneck sweater to hide it. "It's nothing."

"Nothing?" he repeated as he gently grasped her wrist and pushed the sleeve back up to reveal it. The rubies glowed. His eyes went to hers. "Who gave this to you?"

"Ling," Leigh said faintly as she looked at the Christmas tree behind him. She didn't want to see his eyes.

"Ling," Jonathon intoned as he looked at her face. His lips twitched. "When?"

"Last night," her voice even fainter then before.

He didn't say anything as he looked at the bracelet. He knew it was an expensive one too. It was similar to one that his dad had bought his mother for Christmas this year except hers were sapphires set in platinum.

Leigh took another step back away from him until her back hit the mantle on the fireplace. "He also told me that he…he…loved…" she trailed off.

Jonathon's eyes shot to hers. "Ling told her that he loved her? Does that mean she loves him?"

She could see the utter confusion in his eyes as they looked into hers. That look made her heart crack even more.

"Do you love him?"

His question caught her off guard. Her eyes bounced away from his to look at the plush carpet. She didn't reply.

Jonathon didn't know what to make of her silence. The ticking clock on the mantle was the only sound in the room. He blinked once. "Do you love him?" he repeated.

Leigh closed her eyes at the sound of his voice.

He waited again. She still didn't answer. He felt panic coming on. "Leigh, do you love him?" he asked a little more forcefully.

Her lips twitched, but she still didn't say anything.

"Dammit Leigh, just answer the damn question!"

Leigh looked up at him. She could see his jaw working from either trying to reign in his temper or keep his feelings bottled up tight. She raked her teeth across her lips. "I…" she started to say, but she shook her head.

Jonathon watched her lips move, but she stopped. His eyes narrowed involuntarily. "Can you just answer the damn question Leigh!"

Her eyes narrowed at the angry inflection in his tone. "What business is it of yours?"

"Don't push it!" he warned, bracing his hands on either side of her.

She glared up at him. "And I'm telling you it's none of your business!"

"DO YOU OR DON'T YOU?"

"YES!" she screamed at him.

His eyes widened and his arms fell to his sides. He looked down at her flashing eyes. He was shocked. Surprised. Broken.

Leigh's eyes widened with realization as soon as the word left her mouth. She slapped her hand over it as she saw several emotions flit across his face as he took a step away from her. "No, no, no, no, no." She removed her hand and opened her mouth to say something, but he pressed a finger against her mouth to silence her.

"You don't have to say anything. I have my answer," he said softly. He traced her lips briefly with his fingertip before letting it fall away. He just looked at her. She was so beautiful that it made his heart ache. His China doll. That flawless beauty that was stamped on every feature. He turned to leave, but he stopped and walked back to her. "I hope you're happy with him," he whispered as he bent down and placed a light kiss on her cheek. His eyes closed and he just barely touched his nose to hers before opening them.

It was there that she saw it.

Jonathon looked into her eyes for a moment before stepping away again. He felt like someone was twisting a knife deep in his heart, tearing it to shreds. He turned on his heel again and left the room.

The door sounded with an audible click. Leigh jumped at the sound. "Oh God, what have I done?" she whispered to herself as she turned and looked into the gilt mirror above the mantle. "Was I so blind that I never saw it?" Her eyes sparkled with fresh tears. "He really did love me," she said brokenly. Pain, even worse then before coursed through her. "And now it's too late and it's all my fault. Oh Jonathon, forgive me for what I've done," she sobbed as she slipped to the floor and cried.

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Jonathon didn't say anything as he reentered the family room. He felt several pairs of eyes on him, but he ignored them and went to stand on the far side of the room. He stared out the window. "I lost her. I lost her. There's no hope in getting her back." He didn't notice Wufei's approach until he was standing to the one side of him. His jaw tightened.

"What did you do to my daughter Maxwell?" Wufei hissed.

"I didn't do a damn thing to your daughter," Jonathon bit out, still staring straight ahead.

"That's a likely story. You always did something to hurt her one way or the other," Wufei shot back.

Jonathon turned his head to look at the older man. "You think I liked to hurt her! No, I didn't. I hated myself every time I knew that I did."

Wufei ignored the ominous glitter that had entered the cobalt eyes in front of him. "I should say so. You hurt her one too many times. I couldn't be happier that she's with Ling!"

"I bet! Since you were the one who so conveniently set her up with him!" Jonathon growled.

"And rightly so! I don't have to worry about her coming home upset because you did something stupid!" Wufei snapped. "I should have never let her go out with you in the first place! I should have been a little more watchful when you started taking interest in her!"

"Maybe you should have! But whether you'd like it or not, I would have dated her with or without your permission!" Jonathon gritted out.

Wufei's face flooded with angry color. "I won't take this from you Maxwell!"

"Too damn bad since that's all you're getting! I don't have to take any of this from you either!"

"Then when I think she's all right with Ling, you just happen to come into the picture! Like tonight, she looked happy enough until your little indiscretion with Yuy's youngest got brought out into the open! You brought her even more misery!" Wufei countered furiously. "Why can't you leave her alone! Why do you have to ruin her chances at happiness!"

Jonathon's jaw worked even more to keep his temper reigned in. It was becoming a superhuman effort. His eyes flashed with a pain for a moment, knowing that he had hurt Leigh like Wufei said.

Wufei caught that momentary lapse in the dangerous shield in the younger man's eyes. "Did you see what he got her for Christmas Jonathon? That beautiful expensive bracelet?" he asked slyly.

Jonathon flinched.

"I see that you did," Wufei continued smoothly. "It's a lovely gift. You can see that Ling is clearly smitten with her. He's in love with her, you know. I can already see him asking her to marry him."

Jonathon saw red and without even thinking, smashed his hand through the glass.

Wufei jumped back startled. He saw the latent violence still flickering in the cobalt eyes.

The sound of breaking glass alerted everyone else in the room however. For a moment no one moved.

Chris's head whipped around.

Victoria looked up from Rhys.

David and Kellie looked up from a wedding magazine.

Sally's eyes shot towards Wufei.

Duo and Hilde turned around startled.

Then Hilde finally rushed over from her seat on the couch. She covered her mouth as she saw her son's hand smashed through the glass. "Oh my GOD!" Her eyes went over to Wufei and they took on a glacial quality. "What did you do to my son!"

Wufei didn't say anything for a moment. He was still in shock over Jonathon's hand going through the glass. He looked back at the petite Hilde, glaring up at him.

His no response infuriated Hilde even more. She saw movement out of the corner of her eye. "NO! Jonathon, don't move your hand!" she ordered as she noticed blood dripping from several long cuts on the top of his hand. It was still halfway through the window.

Duo came over and looked at it. He sighed and then turned particularly furious eye towards Wufei. "You better not think of telling off my wife, or else you'll have me to deal with Chang. And I'm not as nice as she is," he growled.

Wufei glared back at Duo, but said nothing and walked away.

Duo glared at Wufei's retreating back. He snorted angrily and turned his attention back to the motionless Jonathon. He looked over his shoulder at Heero. "Need some help here. I need you to break the rest of the glass so I can pull his hand back through without cutting it more."

Heero nodded and came over. He assessed the shards of glass still left in the frame before slipping off his green dress shirt, wrapping it around his fist, and punching through the remaining glass. The glass rained down on the carpet like ice crystals.

Jonathon didn't say anything. He blinked once as he looked down at his bleeding left hand as his dad carefully pulled it back through. He was in shock.

"Kitchen," Relena said as she pushed open the door for them as they made their way through. She went to a drawer and pulled out towels, setting them on the counter.

"Sally, can you take a look?" Hilde asked worriedly as she sat down behind Jonathon on the other stool.

"Sure," Sally said as she sat down and gently lifted Jonathon's hand towards the light. She turned to look at Wufei as he leaned against the counter. "You better keep your mouth shut for the rest of the night or else there will be hell to pay." Her sky blue eyes narrowed marginally on her husband.

Wufei shoved his hands in his pockets and left the room. "All I said was Ling could possibly ask Leigh to marry him," he muttered under his breath.

Unfortunately for him, Duo heard it as he passed by. He grabbed the back of Wufei's shirt and slung him up against the wall. "You pompous son of a bitch! What are you trying to do to my son! Haven't you done enough by fixing Leigh up with Ling!" he all but shouted. "I don't need you making him worse off then he already is!" He slammed Wufei into the wall for emphasis. "Do I make myself clear!"

It took Heero and Trowa to pry Duo away from Wufei and Quatre pushed him out the door, with Zechs following.

Duo was breathing hard, his temper high once again.

"Duo please, I need you calm or else I might freak out!" Hilde said, her voice cracking slightly.

Duo stepped away from Heero and Trowa and put his arms around her. "I'm sorry," he whispered as he pressed a kiss on the top of her head. He looked over at Sally, who was still looking at Jonathon's hand. "Sally?"

Sally looked up from Jonathon's hand. "I can take out most of the glass. I need my bag from the car." She looked towards Merin. "Could you run out and get that for me dear?"

"Sure," Merin said as she ran out the kitchen.

"And Jet, could you go and keep your father out of trouble?" Sally asked as she turned her attention back to her patient.

"Okay mom," Jet said as he left the room.

Sally waved her free hand in front of Jonathon's face. "Jonathon. Jonathon," she said again. She looked over her shoulder at Duo and Hilde. "I think he's still in shock."

Jonathon dimly heard what was going on around him. It sounded muffled and far away. His mind was still trying to process what Wufei had said to him. "Ling could ask Leigh to marry him. Ling could ask Leigh to marry him. Ling gave her that ruby bracelet." He could see Sally in front of him, saying his name, but it wasn't registering with him. He blinked once, then twice.

A frown crossed Sally's face as she watched the cobalt eyes in front of her blink two times. They still looked slightly out of focus. She thanked Merin as she came back into the kitchen after handing her, her bag. She sighed again as she took out tweezers, cotton, gauze, magnifying glass, tape, and rubbing alcohol. She poured some of the alcohol on the cotton and gently touched it to one of the cuts on Jonathon's hand.

He felt the slight burning sensation, triggering him out of his stupor. He shook his head as his eyes came back into focus and the sound became clear.

She smiled slightly with relief. "Oh good, you're back with us again."

"What happened?" Jonathon asked softly.

"You went into shock, maybe from slamming your hand through the glass," Sally replied as she dabbed at the deeper cuts, making him wince.

"Are you ok Jonathon?" Hilde asked worriedly.

Jonathon looked over his shoulder at his mother. He gave her a reassuring smile. "Yeah, I'm ok mom."

Hilde nodded her head, but she was hard pressed not to still worry. There was a haunted look in his eyes still.

Duo could see his wife beginning to look worried. "Babe, why don't you go back in the other room and sit with Alex and Rhys." He gave her a gentle push towards the door.

She gave him an odd look, but left anyway. She took another worried glance at her son before leaving the room.

Duo tilted his head towards David and Chris, who were both still there. "Keep an eye on your mother."

The two of them nodded and followed their mother out, leaving Duo alone in the kitchen with Jonathon, Sally, and Merin.

"I'm going to take out some of the embedded glass. Merin is going to apply some ice every few minutes to dull the pain, but it is still going to hurt like a bitch," Sally said as she put down the blood soaked cotton. She picked up the tweezers and shook her head at her younger daughter.

Merin placed ice, wrapped in a towel on his hand. "It'll go away in a minute," she said quietly.

Jonathon lowered his eyes and looked at his hand. He could see the slash marks from the razor sharp glass on the top of his hand. He winced slightly as she removed the pack and Sally spread out his fingers on the other towel. He flinched as she carefully touched the tweezers to a wound and drew out a slender piece of glass.

Sally looked up at him. "Do you need something for the pain?"

"No, I'm tough," he replied, grinning slightly at her.

She could see why her oldest daughter was besotted. When he smiled, his eyes lit up briefly. "Just say if you do," she replied as she adjusted the magnifying glass on her glasses and continued with her delicate work of removing the slivers of glass from his flesh.

Jonathon lowered his eyes again, watching as she took out each piece of glass. He would cringe a little each time she removed a piece, but otherwise he didn't move.

Merin watched him closely. She thought her sister was being an idiot for playing around with Ling. She knew as well as their brother did, that she didn't love Ling. She loved Jonathon. And he loved her. She also didn't agree with what her dad was doing. He was being spiteful and petty considering that Jonathon hadn't bothered asking him permission to date Leigh in the first place. "Do you need me anymore mom?" she asked as her mother finally finished taking out the glass shards.

"No. Thank you Merin," Sally answered as she put down the tweezers. Thankfully, there hadn't been a lot of glass for her to pick out. But she was concerned about how deep some of the cuts were and if he had sliced any tendons.

Merin stood and left the room. She knew she had to tell Leigh. She deserved to know what she was driving him to do.

Sally dabbed more alcohol on his hand. It was still bleeding. She slowly turned it over to check his wrist. There were a few slender cuts, bleeding a little, but nothing deep or major. She looked up at Duo, who was still leaning against the counter. He hadn't said anything in the last forty-five minutes. "I want you to take him to get this looked at tomorrow and have a scan of his hand taken. I just want to make sure everything is ok with it."

"Sure," Duo replied as he looked at her. He looked down at his son's hand. His lips twisted as he thought of several ways he could kill Wufei, very, very slowly.

Sally knew what was crossing Duo's mind by the purely evil smile crossing his lips. "Probably trying to figure out how many ways he can kill my husband in the most slow painful way possible. Can't say that I blame him." She looked back at Jonathon. There were things she wanted to say to him. She looked back up at Duo and managed to catch his eye.

Duo saw Sally's look. He leaned away from the counter. "I'm going to see how your mom is," he said as he left the room.

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Sally looked back at Jonathon. "Would you like to tell me what Wufei said to you to make you punch through that security glass?"

Jonathon looked up at her with surprise. "It was nothing," he mumbled.

"It must have been something to set you off," she pressed.

"I felt like hitting something. It was either him or the glass," he replied, his voice clipped.

"Then what was it?"

His mouth twisted into a grim smile. "He told me that Ling could possibly ask Leigh to marry him."

Sally's finely arched brows, raised in shock. "He said that, did he?"

"Yes that was exactly what he said. He also said all I did was hurt her and that she was better off without me," he said bitterly.

"He did, did he?" she repeated through clenched teeth. "He had no right to say that."

Jonathon's lips quirked up into a mirthless smile. "How I wish that were true. But I have hurt her no matter how you put it. Maybe she is better off without me."

"You're too hard on yourself like your father. Even if you think that, he had no right to point it out to you."

"He's her father, isn't he? He's only protecting her by doing what he thinks is best for her. I know my dad would do it for Randy. But at the same time, he shouldn't have rubbed it in my face how I treated her."

"No, he shouldn't have."

Jonathon looked away. "Then she told me herself that she loved Ling."

Sally's eyes widened. "Leigh told you that she loved Ling?"

"Yes."

Her brow wrinkled a little bit. "What is Leigh doing? She knows that she doesn't love Ling, but she goes and tells Jonathon that she does. Why is Leigh doing this to herself? She's dooming herself to a life of unhappiness because she can't see how blindly he's in love with her even though he's never said the words." "And do you believe that?"

"I don't know what to believe."

"Do you love her?"

Jonathon nodded his head. "I do, but I won't hurt her anymore. I can't say those words to her. And I know it pains her when I don't so I'm going to save myself the trouble causing her any more heartache then she's already suffered."

Sally sighed as she began taping thick cotton on his hand before wrapping gauze around it, then taping it. "I'll tell you like I told your father, go to the hospital tomorrow and have your hand looked at. Some of those cuts look deep and I want to make sure you didn't accidentally slice a tendon."

"Thank you Sally," Jonathon replied softly as he stood up. He looked down at his wrapped hand. He smiled ruefully. "The things I do," he muttered as he turned on his heel and was about to leave the kitchen.

"Jonathon?"

He looked at Sally over his shoulder. "Yes?"

"She doesn't really love Ling like she says she does. She loves you."

He smiled sadly. "How I wish I could believe that," he said faintly as he finally left the kitchen.

Sally rested her head in her hands. "When will this ever end?"

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Merin found her sister still in the formal living room. "Leigh."

Leigh rubbed her hand across her raw eyes. She glanced over her shoulder at her sister. "Yes?"

"Jonathon just punched his hand through the security glass in the family room," Merin replied as she sat down in one of the chairs that flanked the fireplace and matched the one her sister was curled up in.

Leigh's eyes became worried in an instant. "Why? Why caused him to do that?"

"Our father did. I don't know what dad said to him, but one minute there was nothing then all of a sudden there's crashing glass and Jonathon's hand is sticking through it."

"Oh God," Leigh moaned as she pressed her hands against her face.

"Oh God is right. What did you do to him? It can't be all dad who did this to him?" Merin asked pointedly.

"I told him that I loved Ling, which isn't really true," Leigh said through her fingers, her voice muffled.

"Leigh!"

"I know! Don't you think I don't know what that would do to him! I love Jonathon and I know that he loves me! I already feel guilty enough!"

"So you finally figured it out that he loved you? Dammit sis, you're such a baka girl! You've been with him for such a long time and you're only figuring it out that he loves you!"

"SO SUE ME! HE'S NEVER SAID THE WORDS!"

"LOVE ISN'T ALWAYS TRANSMITTED IN WORDS YOU DOPE! GEEZ, LEIGH THE GUY WAS SO BLINDLY IN LOVE WITH YOU THAT HE PROBABLY COULDN'T THINK STRAIGT HALF THE TIME!"

"WILL YOU STOP YELLING AT ME!"

"YOU FIRST!"

Leigh shoved her hand through her tangled hair and pinned a glare at her sister. "I don't need you to tell me any of that! I'm stupid when it comes to him! I always have been because I'm so in love with that crazy fool!"

"Well someone needs to tell you! He just punched his hand through glass because he's upset with you and dad didn't help by talking to him! You're going to kill him Leigh! He loves you!" Merin snapped at her older sister, shoving her own midnight hair out of her face. "I saw his hand! I helped mom as she took the glass out! There is a possibility that he might have damaged tendons in his hand because of that!"

Leigh's eyes filled with more tears. She couldn't stop herself as they trickled down her cheeks. She buried her face in her hands again. "This is all my fault. I should have seen what was in his eyes all along, but I was so fucking stupid. I should have seen that he loved me! And now, I hurt him even more then he hurt me!"

Merin's face softened as she got out of her chair. She sat down on the arm of her sister's chair and put her arms around her. She didn't say anything except let Leigh cry out her sorrow against her sweater. "This has to end. This is going to kill the both of them."

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Jonathon sat at the kitchen table in his home as his mother put on fresh bandages since his hand had bled through the other ones that Sally had put on. He watched as her brow furrowed a little as she wrapped his hand. His hand hurt terribly, but he didn't show it.

"There you go," Hilde said softly as she finished taping up the gauze. She looked up at him. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine mom," Jonathon said, smiling a little.

She could see the pain in that smile. He was trying to cover it up like Duo did. Like Chris, David, and Randy did. They all had so much pride and when it took a beating, they licked their wounds in private. She knew how bad his hand must be if Sally recommended him to get it looked at. She gave him a wan smile in return. "Are you sure?" she asked as she stood up from her chair to wash her hands.

"I'll be fine mom, don't worry," he said softly as looked over his shoulder at her.

"I have to worry, I'm a mother," Hilde said as she came back over to him. She brushed his hair back with her hand and looked down at his face. He looked very much like Duo. Chris and him were practically carbon copies of Duo in every way possible. But Duo always said that their smiles belonged to her. She looked at his hand. "You want to take something for that?"

"No, I'll be fine mom. Go on to bed," he said gently as he looked up at her. He could see the concern stamped on every feature. He sometimes wondered how she had gotten through his dad's injuries when she worried so much.

"All right," she said as she pressed a kiss on top of his head. "Don't stay up late ok?"

"Okay," he said quietly as he gave her a faint smile.

Hilde nodded her head and started to leave. She looked back at him. She saw his shoulders hunch a little. She walked back over and slipped her arms around his neck, pressing her cheek against his. "I love you Jonathon," she said as she pressed a kiss on his cheek.

Jonathon's right hand came up and covered his mother's hands linked around him. "I know you do mom. I love you too," he said as he gave her hands a reassuring squeeze. "Now go on to bed. I'm sure dad misses you."

She nodded again and pressed another kiss on his cheek before she turned and left the room. She walked silently upstairs and into the dimly lit master bedroom. She saw Duo standing by the window, staring out. She slipped into his arms, pressing her cheek against his chest. She felt his strong arms come around her. She knew she didn't have to say anything at all. He felt the same way she did about this.

Duo pressed a kiss on top of her head and rubbed her back soothingly. He didn't say a word. He knew that she counted on his strength to get through things. He knew better though. She was way stronger then he. She always had been. He held her tight though trying to assuage her worries at the same time as his. He was more worried then he ever had been about his son. He never had to before. And this was more then even he thought possible. So, he continued to hold her, not saying a word and just letting their actions speak.

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Jonathon looked at his hand. "Well it was either hit Wufei or the glass," he muttered bitterly as he stood up. Pain shot up through his hand. He knew he must have damaged something. It was clearly evident. He looked out the deck doors up at the sky. He stood there quietly. "I should have never fallen in love with her," he whispered as he finally left to make his way up the stairs, only to stare at the ceiling as he lay in bed. Unable to sleep from the pain in his heart.

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Leigh was curled under the covers of her comforter. She sniffed back a few more tears. She couldn't stop crying. She felt empty. She felt so alone. And it was all her fault. She had hurt him, the one man she loved. It was unforgivable. She closed her eyes only to see him there. She opened them again to stare out the window. "I shouldn't have fallen in love with him," she whispered as she rolled over, only to cry some more as part of her died inside.

A/N: I know this was long and a real tearjerker! I was sniffling myself when I was writing this. There will be more coming soon, so stay tuned! XOXO! (Sniffle).