Jaid: Hiya guys. I'm sorry this chapter wasn't out sooner, but some people were not cooperating. *glares at Naga and Jad*
Jad: At least it's longer.
Naga: *burps*
Jaid: Naaaga!
Naga: What? Those were some great pork chops.
Jad: You could've let me have some.
Naga: No way! Amber gave them to me!
Jaid: Uh, anwayz on with the Chapter…
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Chapter Twenty
Midii looked up as the sound of hoof beats drew near. Jimmy walked over to her and nudged her head with his nose. But Midii's attention was on the rider. Trowa was slumped over Jimmy's neck, a glazed expression in his green eyes. Midii gasped and tried to help him off of the horse, but Trowa ended up sliding and falling on the ground with a thud. Midii winced and proceeded to drag him into the cabin.
* * *
"Daddy?" Mariemeia barely whispered.
"Shh." Trieze said, bending over and smoothing her red hair. "Don't talk, Princess. It's not good for you." His voice was thick with unshed tears.
"Stay?" Mariemeia asked.
"Yeah, I'm going to stay right here." Trieze promised, cupping her cheek in his hand. "Don't worry, Marie, I'm not going anywhere."
Mariemeia nodded and closed her eyes. Just outside the doorway, Iria and her nurse, Jim watched the scene. Iria leaned forward and closed the door. Leaning against it, she sighed.
"It's been a long night." she commented. Jim nodded, his light green eyes on her face.
"You okay?" he asked, putting a hand on her slender shoulder. Iria smiled and nodded, then grinned, looking at her apparel.
"I suppose I ought to get some real clothes on, huh?" she said. Jim grinned back mischievously.
"Oh, I don't know." he said casually. "You look pretty fine to me."
"That's enough!" Anna came in, a stormy look on her dark face. "Miss Iria, get up those stairs and change. It's bad enough he has to see you in your pajamas; the other guests don't need to." Iria rolled her blue eyes and climbed the stairs.
"And you, young man," Anna turned to Jim, who was easily five times her height and ten times her strength. "You go on and get!"
Jim held up his hands in mock surrender. "Yes ma'am!" He strolled out. "Oh Anna," he said, turning at the doorway. "You look nice in pajamas too."
Anna threw a convenient shoe at his back. It hit the closing door with a thud and Anna could hear Jim's laughter. Shaking her head furiously, she climbed the stairs as well.
* * *
"Here." Relena placed a mug of coffee on the table. Sitting opposite Heero, she raised her own mug to her lips.
"Thanks." Heero said. Relena smiled. There was a pause.
"So," Relena broke the silence. "What have you been doing lately?"
"Not much." Heero answered. Relena nodded. Another pause. Relena was about to say something when they heard the front door open. Alarmed, Relena stood and walked out the kitchen. Zechs strode past her.
"Zechs?"
"Where's Lu?" He asked, going up the stairs.
"She went back to the ranch." Relena answered, following him. "Why, what's wrong?"
"Nothing." Zechs told her, looking for ammunition. "And everything."
"What do you mean?" Relena demanded.
"We had a death." Zechs sighed. "Dorothy's maid was shot and killed."
"Oh my." Relena gasped. "What about Dorothy? Is she okay?"
"Yeah." Zechs re-buckled the belt that held his holsters. "I'm going to check on Une and Mieran, then go back over to Dorothy's."
"All right." Relena said, dumbly watching him as he checked through some more things. He turned and looked at her.
"I'll be back in a few hours, hopefully." he told her, putting his hands on shoulders and kissing the top of her head.
"Bye." she said softly. He smiled as he exited. Relena went back to the kitchen. Heero was gone. She sighed softly and sank into an empty chair.
* * *
Quatre, Duo, WuFei, and Catherine sat at a table in the hotel, eating breakfast. They all knew it was a risk; if Traycsant or one of his men came in, there was a good chance they'd be recognized. But all were too tired and too hungry to care.
"We need to get back." Quatre said, not for the first time.
"Yeah, but what about Mariemeia?" Duo pointed out. "We can't take her and Trieze won't leave without her."
"He could stay behind." Catherine suggested.
"No good." WuFei shook his head. "Traycsant is not fond of Trieze. Probably take the first opportunity to get rid of him."
"If he finds out that Trieze is here." Quatre said, then sighed. "But leaving Trieze here by himself isn't…" Suddenly his voice trailed off.
"What?" Duo asked.
"The Maguanacs." Quatre said. "We can ask some of them to come here."
"Won't that be taking them away from their families?" Catherine asked quietly. Quatre winced.
"Yes." He admitted. "But I don't know what else to do now. I've got to get back; you need to come with me. Mieran needs WuFei." He looked thoughtfully at Duo. "Of course you could always stay, Duo."
Duo negated that suggestion with a glare.
"We could do that." WuFei agreed softly. "But having some Magaunacs here might not be a bad idea."
"I'm going to be stuck here whether I like it or not, huh?" Duo asked nobody in particular. To his chagrin, the other three members of the party turned and said "Yes"… at the exact same time.
* * *
Midii climbed on Jimmy's back. "I know," she breathed, "That you've just had a long ride, but I need you right now Jimmy."
The bay tossed his head as if he understood.
"Good." Midii said in relief, then spurred Jimmy into a gallop.
* * *
Zechs entered the Catalonia home. It was eerily quiet. Turning, he closed the door.
"Zechs!"
The young man jumped and whirled to find Dorothy at his elbow, an excitement lighting up her eyes.
"Don't do that Dorothy." he said angrily. "I'm on edge as it is."
"Sorry." Dorothy apologized in an unconvincing tone. Grabbing his arm she pulled him towards the stairs. "Come here."
"Wha…?"
They entered Dorothy's bedroom and Zechs stopped in amazement. The bed was littered with gems, pieces of metal and the floor littered with what must have been, at one time, beautiful dresses.
"I found them." Dorothy half whispered, almost laughing. "I found the crown jewels, Zechs."
Zechs blinked. "Yeah I guess you did." he grinned suddenly. "Now, Catalonia, just what are you going to do with them?"
Dorothy's happy and pleased expression disappeared. Moaning, she hit her head against the wall.
"Yeah, that's what I thought." Zechs said wryly.
"Great!" Dorothy muttered. She looked up a dangerous look in her eye. "If one of them even touches these…"
"Hold it." Zechs interrupted. "I'd rather not hear more, thanks. Lets just figure out how to hide them again."
"Right." Dorothy sighed. "Oh wait." She went to the chest, opened it and pulled out a beautiful, albeit plain, black dress. "I promised Rose a dress to bury Janet in."
Zechs nodded, his smile fading.
"I'll be right back." Dorothy said quietly.
* * *
"This is kinda fun." Hilde said cheerfully, standing at the counter. Mieran looked up and smiled. Kneeling down she checked some inventory on some of the lower shelves. When she stood, she saw Hilde looking at her in confusion.
"What? What is wrong?" Mieran asked.
"Mieran," Hilde asked. "Are you pregnant?"
Mieran grinned. So, she was finally beginning to show. "Yes." she answered happily.
"Oh!" Hilde looked surprised, then laughed. "Well, congratulations."
"Thank you."
The door opened and WuFei came in, looking tired and dusty. Mieran immediately went over and embraced him. Hilde looked politely at the counter top. She looked back up as WuFei walked over too her.
"Thank you, Ms. Noin." he said. "I assume your still going by that name?"
Hilde nodded. Although she and Lucrezia shared different fathers, they had had the same mother. Hilde had taken to using Lucrezia's name so as not to be confusing.
"You need to rest." Mieran said quietly.
"I can stay and help." Hilde told him. "I don't mind. The ranch can run itself for a day. Besides, Lucrezia's there now, anyway."
"Thank you." WuFei said quietly. Together, husband and wife walked up the stairs. A few minutes later Mieran came down.
"He's asleep." she said.
"That was fast." Hilde commented. Mieran laughed.
* * *
Duo sat on the porch swing, watching people as they passed by. His mind wasn't really on what he was doing though; he was thinking of Hilde and their up-coming wedding.
Duo was shaken out of his reverie by a horse galloping up. A small, slender blonde girl dismounted even before the horse had stopped and ran up the steps. Duo followed her.
"Doctor!" the girl cried. "Doctor Iria!"
Iria came out of the room where Mariemeia was currently sleeping.
"You've gotta come quick." Midii gasped. "I mean right now. I don't know if he's going to die…"
"Duo, go get Jim and our horses please. Anna!" Iria called, grabbing her black bag and hurriedly making sure everything she would need was in there.
"What's happened?" Iria demanded.
"I don't know, but he came-"
"He who?"
"Trowa. He came home all bloody and unconscious. I've come as quick as I could-"
Midii was cut off at the arrival of Anna. Iria gave her a few last minute instructions on what to do if Mariemeia re-awakened, then she and Jim headed out with Midii. Midii rode with Jim, since her own horse was too worn out to go anywhere. Duo promised to care for it.
* * *
Une slowly lowered her self in a chair, only half-listening as Mary scolded her for exerting herself. Everything was blur; she wouldn't get new glasses for a while and even then she would have to go back East for them.
"Now just sit here and be quiet." Mary ended her lecture by walking out.
I wonder if this was how Leia felt? Une idly thought, then looked over to where her desk would be. She really wanted to look through some files; bills and other things had most likely piled up during her illness. But with her bad eyesight, it was going to be difficult.
Shrugging, Une stood up and slowly made her way over to the desk and sat down in the chair without falling. Then she felt for the papers, bringing them close to her face and squinting to see them. It would be difficult, yes, but she could do it.
* * *
"Morning Dorothy!" Hilde greeted her. Dorothy smiled, but inwardly groaned at the dark-haired girl's energy. Dorothy felt like falling over.
"I need these things." she said tiredly. Hilde looked over the list, then gave Dorothy a bewildered glance, but proceeded to fill out the order.
Mieran came in from the back room. "Hello, Ms. Dorothy."
"Hello." Dorothy answered. Mieran looked at the items Hilde was placing on the shelf and raised an eyebrow. Dorothy kept a innocent (well, as innocent as she could get) smile on her face. Hilde rang up the items and Dorothy paid, then left the shop. Hilde and Mieran looked at each other.
"What do you suppose she wants with all that?" Hilde asked.
Mieran shrugged.
* * *
It was late afternoon by the time Quatre rode into the Maganauc village. But he was totally unprepared for what he saw. The tiny, one room building that had housed over forty families were now reduced to ashes and rubble. The stone walls over several wells had been smashed in, and the barns, corrals, and storing bins had also been burned.
Quartre slid off of Ria* and walked towards the destruction. He stopped blinking, almost unable to take it all in. Suddenly breaking into a run, he ran to the remains of the buildings, praying that nobody would be there. There was. Several half charred bodies were among the ruins; mostly looking to be women and children. Quatre turned around and emptied his stomach. Breaking into sobs, he sat there for a moment, heaving. Then, getting up, he forced himself to look at the bodies again, to see if he could identify them.
"Oh no." he didn't know the woman's name or the name of the infant that was in her arms. But he knew the charred clothing and the necklace she wore. It was Rashid's wife. Quatre buried his head in his hands and wept, losing track of time.
About an hour later he looked at the sun, which was coming closer and closer to setting time and got up, looking for some digging tools. He didn't know exactly who these people were, but he was not going to leave their bodies at the mercy of coyotes or carrion fowl.
* * *
Iria bit her lip as she watched the young man thrash weakly with fever. She had done all she could. She met Jim's green eyes. Concern shone in them as well.
"It's done, Doc." he said quietly, as if reading her thoughts. "We've done what we could. The boy's in God's hands now."
"What do you mean?" Midii asked. She had just walked in and had caught the last part of the statement.
"Midii," Iria had found out the girl's name by now. "We don't know if Trowa will make it. He's lost a lot of blood and it was over an hour before he got help. Plus the trauma is bad enough to kill him."
Midii stepped back, her pale face becoming even paler. "No." she whispered, clenching her fists. "NO!" Turning, she ran out of the cabin, tears streaming down her cheeks.
"Midii!" Iria called after her. Jim caught her arm.
"I think she needs to be alone right now." he said quietly. Iria nodded, tears welling up in her own blue eyes.
* * *
"How long did I sleep?"
Mieran jumped and turned to her husband, who had walked up behind her. She smiled. "Almost all day." she told him.
WuFei shook his head.
"You needed it." Mieran told him. She placed her tiny hand in his and leaned her head against his shoulder. "I'm glad you're home."
WuFei nodded, allowing a small smile to appear. "You're beginning to show." he observed. Mieran nodded.
"Yes. A few more months." she sighed. "Hopefully a strong son."
"Maybe." WuFei said. "I don't think I would mind a daughter." he added very quietly.
Mieran turned to him confused, but with an amused glint in her eye.
"Oh really?" she asked, crossing her arms. "Well, this is a change." WuFei blushed slightly and glared at her, but with no real strength behind the look. Mieran hugged him.
"I'm just teasing."
WuFei hugged her back. They stood there for a few moments, quietly, each lost in their own thoughts. Finally, Mieran broke the embrace and pulled away.
"But I do hope it's a boy." she added and went to go prepare dinner.
* * *
Une squinted at another piece of paper. Hmm, this is interesting. I wonder… Quickly, she put it in an envelope to give to Trieze.
* * *
Alone again. Relena sighed. Zechs was gone, Quatre was gone, Lucrezia was gone and so she was eating dinner alone, again. Biting her tongue, she tried not to give in to tears, but sometimes, it was so hard to be alone.
"Mind if I join you?"
Relena bit back a scream and whirled around in her chair. Heero stood there, looking at her with a smirk on his face.
"Heero Yuy!" Relena fumed. "Do you always have to sneak up on me like that?"
"Yes."
Relena glared and Heero smiled.
"May I join you?" he repeated. The glare faded from Relena's face.
"I guess." she said, getting up and grabbing an extra bowl. Filling it with soup, she handed it to him.
"Thanks." he said as he took. For one instant, their hands touched and both froze, just looking at each other. A blush crept into Relena's cheeks, and Heero got a look of uncharacteristic gentleness.
"The soup will get cold." Relena finally said. Heero put the bowl on the table, but his eyes never left her face. He took her hands in his, and they simply stood there, looking at each other.
"What?" Relena finally asked. "Why are you staring at me like that?"
Heero looked away. "I don't know." he admitted softly. "I guess, I just…I don't know."
Hesitantly, Relena reached over and gave him a friendly hug. Heero surprised her by returning it. Pulling away, she smiled.
"Your soup will get cold." she said to him again. He gave a slight smirk and sat down. Relena sat opposite him. Heero looked at her.
I've forgotten how pretty she looks when she blushes. he thought, then blinked in surprise. Heck, I've forgotten everything…including why I left in the first place.
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Jaid: I know, sappy moments. But I figured with all this destruction and depression, we needed it.
Naga: *gagging* I sure didn't.
Jaid: *hits him over the head with frying pan*
Naga: You ought to know by now that doesn't hurt.
Jad: Why?
Naga: *grins and pulls down his hood* ACME protection helmet. Ordered it last year after Bugs Bunny told me about it.
Jad & Jaid: *Huge sweatdrop*
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*I'm going to be calling the horse "Ria" so we don't get her confused with the Doctor Iria, k?