Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing or Anything else copyrighted in this story. I write this purely for entertainment and receive no profit.
Note: words in italics are meant for emphasis while a phrase between '' is a person whispering italics and '' are thoughts
Thank you Ley, Ninjor, lil' Dreamer, Dana, Cruel Destiny, majin_b, Relena Maxwell, Kmf, Josh, Radical Edward, Meio-chan, Silver Wing, Wildfire's Flame, Jupiter's Light and last but NEVER EVER least Dark Deity. Thank you all for your criticism and suggestions.
Chapter 15- Teetering
By Aku Tenshi
"Hurry up this one's pregnant!" an ER attendant shouted over the hustle and bustle of the emergency room, hurriedly he and a team of three others rolled the stretcher off of the back of the ambulance and down the hall. The unconscious woman's platinum black hair was plastered to her face by a thick coat of sweat.
Another team of four rushed another victim this one a female also, only her hair was a dirty blond, tied into pigtails.
"Her vitals are falling!" a different attendant shouted, their gloved hand checking her slowing pulse.
"Get her in the operating room stat!" shouted a doctor, who joined the team in pulling and pushing the stretcher to the designated room, patients doctors and the like moved out of their way, fearing being rammed with the hurtling stretcher.
They turned down another hallway and pushed through the double doors, the sign above it flashed "Operating Room."
From outside in the hallway, frantic shouting and cursing could be heard as the doctors scrambled to save her life.
Tasha hurried as she assembled the cart, with the trays; she'd feed Lucretzia first and then the others, after all ladies first. Her hands trembled as she did so as if she knew something horrible was going to happen today, something evil. After she finished readying the tray she left the kitchen her hair, now in a braid, twirling behind her, at the moment she wanted to forget so many things and just let go of everything but she dared not to. She lightly touched the object that was nicely tucked away in the waistband of her pants and her shirt nicely covering it, quickly she pulled back as if her hand had been burned. She was able to confiscate the weapon from lock up 'Just in case.' She repeated to herself. Quickly she ran up the flight of stairs and into Lucretzia's room, she saddened when she saw Lucretzia lying on the bed, her hair construed and still wet tears drying on her sleeping face. She sighed and gently shook Lucretzia to awaken her from her slumber. Lucretzia's eyes flashed open and she glared at Tasha.
'You! You said you'd help! But their dead tomorrow, she'll kill them!' she whispered harshly.
Tears slipped from behind Tasha's long lashes and she looked steadily at Lucretzia, "I was trying but now...now it's too late. And the lord knows I would do anything to keep all of you alive." Tasha said quietly her voice unusually calm.
"Why? Huh what have you got to lose, why are you helping us in the first place?" Lucretzia asked angrily she had lost most of her sense of logic to anger and grief.
'I have everything to lose,' Tasha whispered and when Lucretzia's glare did not relent she added calmly 'I love Heero.' and turned quickly abandoning the tray of food next to the bed and running out of the room.
Lucretzia's eyes widened with shock and remorse as she stared after the girl, she flinched when she heard the door slam shut. She felt so horrible, she knew she could trust Tasha but she didn't know that she loved Heero. She sighed and began picking at her food barely hungry at all.
Tasha stopped and dried her eyes on her arm and sighed; she leaned against the wall and glanced up at the ceiling. 'When will this torment end? Why, oh why? Teresa I wish you were here, you were the only one I could trust, now I have no one. How will this all end, I know not for the better.' She thought and straightened up. She turned and walked back downstairs to her cart and rolled it towards the prisoner's block, where she would see Heero. Calmly she turned the knob and stepped into the room her bangs shadowing her eyes, which were still moist with tears.
"Is it true then? That she plans to kill you all?" she asked her voice dark and morose.
Quatre nodded "At dawn tomorrow." He stated.
She looked up revealing her tear laden eyes and her mouth contorted to a frown, "How could she, she could at least have a bit of sympathy…humanity left." She croaked, mostly talking to herself.
"Relena has no humanity." Duo scoffed.
"Ida." Tasha mumbled.
"What?" Wufei asked.
"Her name…I overheard…night…Teresa…murdered." She chocked out and tried to keep her voice from cracking again.
Heero's prussian blue eyes tried to find hers but she kept avoiding his gaze, quietly and quickly he picked out of his manacles and stood.
"Everything about my life is a lie a goddamned lie!" she exclaimed angrily, her fear and sorrow had consumed her into a fit of rage.
She gasped when she felt arms around her and looked up into the steady gaze of prussian blue eyes. She smiled sadly and laid her head against his chest and cried, finally she had a shoulder to lean on.
Sinews, tissues and blood, that's what the doctor had to work through, to save this young woman's life. His sweat didn't dare to fall for a nurse was there to blot it away as he quickly moved aside flesh and bone to retrieve the bullet and stitch up the wound. Finally he spotted the bullet; luckily it had dodged her spleen, stomach and kidney. But it was lodged into liver; with any penetration of the organ there was a copious amount of blood. This woman had already lost so much, and what made it worse was that at the moment she was still a Jane Doe, which meant they didn't know her blood type, or what she was allergic to. He sighed,
"Nurse get me type O blood stat, and get Dr. Shields in here NOW! I need another surgeon!" he barked to the nearest two nurses. Their heads bobbed up and down and they left in a blurring of blue.
He sighed as a trickle of sweat dotted his forehead; he was relieved of the moisture when a nurse wiped it away. He looked at her BPM as they were slowly dropping and rising, still not stable. He waited a minute, sending a prayer to God as he tried to save her life. And then it happened, the woman's pulse stopped.
"Get me those damn paddles!" He shouted to the nearest attendant, he didn't notice Dr. Shields walk through the doors her, scrubs and gloves already on. She heard the BPM machine make a shrill whining sound and rushed into action with her accompanying doctor. Her eyes widened momentarily when she saw who the patient was, her long time friend and colleague Dr. Sally Poe.
Tasha stopped crying when she heard something, no rather someone as he slithered up to the door. Quickly she knocked Heero down, hard with her fist. She held her breath when Raphael opened the door and smirked.
"Tasha darling you can't play with them now…it's their feeding time." He said as he leaned against the door his eyes slowly scanning over her figure and stopping at her breasts.
"Hey ogre my face is here!" she exclaimed and pointed to her face with her hand.
"Ah yes," Raphael mentioned as his eyes slowly left her breasts and moved to her face. "Anyway what is he doing out of his manacles?" Raphael questioned.
"He was badmouthing Relena, and you know I cannot allow that." Tasha responded her arms crossed over her chest and her eyes hardening.
"Ah yes," he murmured and walked up to her gently he wiped a tear off her face and held it on the tip of his finger. "And what of this?" he asked.
Tasha had recoiled at his touch snapping her head back as far as it would go from his reach. "Like I said he bad mouthed Relena, and she is my long time friend…it made me angry and sad at once." She explained and sniffled as if to emphasize her point.
Heero's head was down, his eyes staring at the ground and he scowled 'she shouldn't have to lie for me to that!' he thought angrily but kept his eyes to the floor nonetheless.
"Well then," Raphael said as he held one hand on the butt of a gun and with the other he brought his hand back to Tasha's face, she slapped it away. He frowned in turn "I guess we should take care of this now." He finished and pulled out his gun he aimed it at Heero's head. "Can't have rift raft like this bad mouthing Relena now can we?" he asked.
Tasha gasped and slapped his hand away, "You know she said at dawn no sooner no later." She sternly told him.
Raphael looked to her but didn't lower his gun, with his other hand he reached out and grasped her arm tightly and pulled her close, he whispered in her ear 'I see you're trying to help them because you love him, but you shall either say you love me, and allow me to bed you or I'll kill him and you.' He threatened.
Tasha drew back from his vice grip, "Never! I will NEVER love you!" she shouted and backed up.
"Fine have it your way," he said and pointed the gun at her.
Tasha didn't hesitate to pull hers out and point it at him in turn, "I don't want to do this, Raphael!" she admitted.
"Then say it!" he ordered.
The room was silent as watching the standstill, 'I will die first before you harm any of them, before even she harms any of them.' She whispered and laughed, she had finally teetered over the edge. Her eyes hardened over with the emotion of pure hate so much so that even Raphael was stunned. Without hesitation she pulled the trigger the sound resounding through the prisoner's block.
His body fluttered to the floor with a thud, she had managed to shoot him in the stomach and he was still breathing, he reached for his fallen gun but Heero kicked it away and over to Wufei, who had easily picked out of his locks and was standing, along with the five other young men, he picked up the gun and placed it in his waistband. Raphael looked stunned as he saw all of them out of their chains, their anger overtaking them.
"I could never kill, Raphael not even you." Tasha said softly and handed the gun to Duo. "I am never good with weapons." She mentioned.
"But…why?" He was able to stutter out.
"It's all a lie," she murmured and then turned to the door, "Come this way, we'll get Lucretzia and get out of here." She directed and walked out of the door. The five men followed after her.
Relena had heard the shot for she was on her way to the prisoner's block, she momentarily stopped and calculated the situation in her mind. 'If I go there and they've escaped it'll be too late to get to Lucretzia, but then again maybe someone killed one of them…' Relena trailed off in her thoughts and shook her head, she reversed direction and headed to Lucretzia's room her gun in hand.
TBC
This story is winding down…but I don't want it to!! I love this story too much, (sigh) I must end it though, sadly. There are maybe two chapters left, and then the epilogue.