CHAPTER 3


"What are you doing?"

While Dorothy was in the shower, Wufei had taken the opportunity to do a thorough sweep of her bedroom. All her furniture was now in the centre, and he was going over the walls and ceiling for bugs.

He carried on working, speaking over his shoulder.

"Is there a problem, Lady Catalonia?"

"Well yes, as a matter of fact, there is," she said shortly. "I'd like you to return my bedroom to the way it was."

"This is a necessary procedure to perform, and one I should have done a while ago. It'll only take a few more hours."

She looked like she was going to say something cutting, but ended up with, "As you wish, Preventer," and climbed onto her bed in spite of its skewed location.

"So, have you found anything?" she asked brightly.

"Not yet," he said evenly, trying to restrain his annoyance. He sighed inwardly. Why couldn't this girl be more like Sally? His preventer partner knew when to leave him alone. This girl was almost making small talk.

"You won't, you know. Relena's very safety-conscious, someone comes in every few weeks to check the entire building."

"They are doing their jobs, just as I will continue to do mine," he said through gritted teeth. His jaw ached from all the clenching, gritting and grinding of the day, but it was a favourable alternative to murder.

She began to file her nails. "You really hate this, don't you?" she said conversationally.

"That's irrelevant."

"No it's not. You hate the fact that for who knows how long, you're forced to spend every single minute of the day with me." She sounded amused, almost playful.

It grated.

What little patience he had been mustering ran out. "Is this a familiar concept for you, Lady Catalonia?"

"Why yes, as a matter of fact, it is." She propped herself up on an elbow. "How about you?"

"I'm used to enjoying my work."

"I was referring more to whether you are used to people not enjoying your company. They probably hate you, don't they, for being young, and beautiful, and better than they are?"

"Don't attempt to flatter me, Lady Catalonia. It's insulting and ineffective."

"Then maybe they just hate you because you're an ass." She lay back and sighed contentedly. "So, where are you sleeping?"

"Between you and the window."

"Oh, but I like this side of the bed."

"Not on your bed!" he exploded. She smiled.

"Calm down, Preventer Chang. You'll sprain something."

He muttered to himself, and left the walls alone. She sat up eagerly "Finished already?"

"I've finished checking the walls, yes."

"So now what?"

"Now I check everything else."

He made his way over to her chest of drawers, opened the top drawer and, to Dorothy's horror, began to hunt through it.

She leapt out of her bed and ducked under his arm, slipping between him and the drawer. She leaned back hard to slam it shut, hoping she'd taken some fingers off with it. "Get out!" she shouted. "You... You..."

He looked bored. "I have to check all your possessions, Lady Catalonia. That's underwear drawer included."

"But you can't, you just..."

"I'm not about to let you die over some pathetic sensitivities you claim to have."

She blinked in disbelief. "Excuse me, claim to-"

"If you can parade around me in nothing but that, then you can certainly allow me to check through your underwear."

She posed as best she could when leaning against bulky wooden furniture, modelling the expensive negligee she was wearing. "Oh, this old thing? Do you like it, Preventer?"

He raised an eyebrow. The purple, flimsy nightdress was cut short and low, and seemed ready to slip off in an instant. "It's impractical. If you're attacked-"

"Then you'll come to my rescue, right?" She leaned forward and said slowly and clearly, "That is your job, isn't it, Preventer Chang?"

Her face was so close to his that she was going out of focus. He gritted his teeth and ignored the desire to stand back slightly, feeling certain she would see that as a victory.

"If you're attacked, your job is to do as I tell you, and if I tell you to run..."

"I assure you my legs work exactly the same if I'm in a satin negligee or flannel pyjamas."

Wufei fixed her with his gaze. "Please move."

She met his gaze and upped the stakes in their game of staring poker.

"No."

"I'll have to make you."

"I look forward to it."

He leaned down to put her over his shoulder and carry her to her bed, when suddenly everything turned over and around. Stunned, he looked up to see her standing over him as he lay in a heap on the floor.

She was grinning brightly. "I've been taking judo lessons. What do you think?"

He grabbed an ankle and pulled her easily to the floor, landing with a thump on her backside. Her face creased up in pain.

It was Wufei's turn to smile. "I think that knowing a couple of basic moves doesn't make you an expert."

She glared at him. "So how was a novice like me able to bring you to the floor then?"

"The element of surprise can be used even by a total amateur." He stood and reached for her drawers, only to find her jumping up between them again. He sighed.

"Do we have to go through this again?"

"You're all talk, Chang Wufei." It was disconcerting, the way her eyes stared unswervingly into his. He felt slightly unsettled, despite himself, and was able to see how so many fully-grown men feared her all those years ago. "You're probably a total amateur yourself, just some jumped up martial arts rookie."

"If that's what you want to think, that's just fine by me. I hope we're never in a situation where I need to use my skills."

"Skills! The only reason they assigned you to this is because you're the only one who wouldn't try to jump into bed with me!"

He laughed cruelly. "You flatter yourself."

"I speak from experience."

He wondered if that were true, and filed the comment away for future reference.

She smiled. "But I get the impression you're different, Preventer Chang."

"Thank you."

"I think you're gay."

He gave her a withering look. "I'm not gay, and if I were it wouldn't make me any less of a protector."

"Because you couldn't be any less of a protector."

Wufei shut his eyes and focused on not killing her. He'd had this nightmare before, but the person saying these words wasn't his client, but his wife.

Without a word, he stepped away from the drawers and focused on the desk. He thought he heard her begin to protest, but he wasn't in the mood for this game. After a moment, he heard her slip into her bed again, this time remaining quiet.

Wufei didn't find any bugs that night. Thankful that all the furniture was on castors, he was able to move it all back to the sides of the room, in a new, much safer layout, then position himself between Dorothy and the door and window, certain that he would be able to stop any intruders in the night. He knew he couldn't rely on her raising the alarm; she had stayed sound asleep, even when he moved the bed she was on.

He was able to get a good night's sleep himself; it turned out to be a lot quieter there than most places he was stationed. He woke up at five and began with some stretches as per usual.

Dorothy was awoken by a rustling, swishing sound. She opened her eyes, glanced at her clock and wondered with surprise what could possibly be happening at six in the morning

Her question was answered when she turned her head slightly and remembered that she had a new bodyguard.

As his body arched and twisted, she could see his muscles flexing beneath the black, form-fitting shirt. The huge sword he held was being passed easily from one hand to the other, smoothly slicing through the air. His eyes were blank, speaking of a concentration so deep that he didn't have anything to waste on maintaining an expression.

It was an awe-inspiring sight, especially with the rich sunrise filling the room with warm light. He looked truly dangerous for the first time, and she began to wonder if it had taken much self-restraint for him to not hurt her the night before.

As Wufei paused, Dorothy opened her mouth to tell him how impressive he looked.

In a single, fluid motion, Wufei was stood over her, blade point denting her neck. "Say nothing," he whispered. She shut her mouth, smiled and nodded as he returned to his exercises.

The school rising bell chimed at seven, just as Wufei was cooling off. He glanced up at the clock, then picked up his clothes. Dorothy sat up tentatively.

"Wufei..."

He looked over in her direction as if he'd forgotten she was there. It struck her that maybe that was the point of this routine.

That stung slightly.

She didn't like being stung.

"Yes?"

She wrinkled her nose and said with disdain, "Aren't you going to take a shower? Really, you can use mine."

He looked away and spoke quietly. "I can't leave you alone and vulnerable like that."

"And I can't leave you sweaty and smelling like that." She rolled out of bed and stood up. "Can't you just-"

"I can't be in any situation where I'd be unable to help you if you were attacked. That means I can't be in a room with a door if you're on the other side of it, unless I were sure that the room you were in was a safe one. And I'm not."

She nodded. "I see. Put your clothes down and turn your back."

"Suddenly you're shy?"

She rolled her eyes. "You have to do what I say anyway, so just put your clothes down and turn your back."

He turned, and began wiping off his katana, determined to do something useful in the time she was wasting with her pointless vanity.

"You can turn back now."

He turned back just in time to have something thrown at his face. He caught it, looked down, and saw that it was a pair of black swimming shorts. He looked up at Dorothy, and saw her dressed in a black swimming costume with the St Jude's crest on it.

"Do you swim before breakfast?" he asked, frowning.

"Yes. Hurry or we'll miss it."

He turned his back again and pulled on the black shorts.

"My, what a nice...back."

He whipped around to face her, face reddening slightly.

"Shame I can't return the compliment," he snapped, and was glad to see her own face redden slightly.

"Come on," she muttered and grabbed his arm. He slapped her hand off, but followed her anyway.

Into the bathroom.

He gazed at her in disbelief. "What are you doing?"

"Showering," she said innocently.

"In a swimsuit?"

"You have to be in the same room as me, don't you? Well, in that case, I need to protect my modesty."

"You could have fooled me," he murmured, but was cut off as she took his arm and pulled him in after her.

He stared, and yanked his arm away. "What are you doing?"

"I'm not going to have a sweaty bodyguard. Shower, or I'll report you for being overly conspicuous." She wrinkled her nose again. "Believe me, it'd be justified."

He glared at her, and said shortly, "Fine." She beamed at him.

"You're welcome. It's the least I could do after you didn't slit my throat this morning." She turned on the shower and shivered as it touched her skin.

He tried to figure out what she was talking about, and remembered what had happened an hour before. "I didn't want to put up with your mockery at this early hour," he said, beginning to soap down his arms.

"And you're so sure it wasn't flattery?"

"Yes."

She laughed. "Well then, who am I to disagree?" She chuckled to herself at his suspicious expression, and took the soap from him.

The shower wasn't built for two people, and the whole experience was a difficult, awkward ordeal. However, Wufei noted that Dorothy didn't try to touch him once, or tease him in any way. At one point she even blushed, as she turned away, pulled down her swimsuit and washed her chest. Wufei began to think he'd made an impression on her after all.

As he was dressing and Dorothy was brushing her hair, there was a knock at the door. "Mail!" came the muffled cry from behind it, and some letters were pushed under the door. Wufei snatched them up, ignoring Dorothy's outstretched hand.

"Hey!" she said indignantly, "What's the problem?"

He pulled out one of the envelopes and ripped it open. She cried out and launched herself at him.

"Get off, that's private!"

He pulled out the letter and held it high above his head.

Dorothy felt sick.

YOU WILL DIE SOON YOU MURDEROUS BITCH. ONLY THEN CAN WE BE FREE - THE PRISONERS.

"You can't go out today."

Dorothy looked at him in consternation. "Why ever not?"

Wufei almost choked. "Can't you see this note? Don't you realise what it means? They're waiting for you!"

"They've been waiting for me for a long time, and I refuse now - as I always have - to change my plans for them!"

He placed the note carefully inside a plastic bag. "Then you'll die," he said matter-of-factly, sealing it.

"I won't, and nor will I postpone my shopping trip today, or my ball this evening!" she said, raising her voice.

"Then you'll die!" he said, even louder.

"No I won't!" she shouted.

Fury flashed through her eyes until she visibly calmed herself, treating him to her usual smirk. "After all, I've got you as my bodyguard. How can I be afraid?"

He folded his arms. "If you must carry on like this, then there are a couple of things you have to remember."

She nodded. "Of course."

"First thing: I can't leave you, not even for a moment. That means I'll be standing outside every changing room you're in, you can't use the ladies room at any point, and you'd better not try and ditch me, do you understand?"

"Yes," she said sweetly, irritating him further.

"Second thing: you can't mention at any point that I'm your bodyguard."

"I thought you weren't undercover?"

"I'm not, but a little subtlety never hurt."

"Doesn't that mean that if anyone's around, they'll think I'm unprotected and try and shoot me?"

"My mind works just the same whether I'm in a black leather or blue jeans. I can protect you either way."

She smiled and conceded, "All right, I suppose that's acceptable. So, is there a third condition in the couple of things I should know?"

He ignored the mockery in her voice. "If I get killed, you have to run."

She tried to laugh off the chill she felt from his words, saying, "Don't you think you're taking this just a little too seriously, Wufei?"

He shook his head. "It's you that's taking it too lightly, Lady Catalonia. If I'm shot, you have to run, you have to leave me and run. I'll either be killed or helped shortly after, but if you stick around to see which it is, you'll die for certain, and I'll have failed."

"Let me guess: Chang Wufei doesn't fail?"

Yes, he does.

Wufei had had enough. "Will you stop making this about your resentment towards me and listen for once?"

She sighed, making her voice bored. "Fine, if you get hurt, I run."

"Not just anywhere, use your head. It's the same if they try to use my life to make you do anything. If they say they'll kill me if you leave, ignore them, ignore me and run."

She nodded. "Don't ditch you, don't let people know you're my bodyguard, and run if you're in danger."

"Right."

"Right." She folded her arms and appraised him. "Now it's time for some conditions of my own."

He frowned. "Lady Catalonia-"

"And there's the first one. As amusing as it was to begin with, please don't call me 'Lady Catalonia' anymore."

"Fine by me."

"You can call me Dorothy, and I'll call you Wufei."

"I'd rather you didn't."

"But you don't have much of a choice." He glared and she smiled; it was almost becoming a routine.

"Next thing: even if I keep quiet about who you are, it won't do any good as long as you keep acting like a bodyguard."

"So how should I act?"

"Like a man out shopping?"

"Never tried it."

"Well, how about just acting like a man, ever tried that?"

"I'll just follow your example then?"

"Laugh all you want, but I'm not going out with you behaving like some kind of a stalker," she snapped.

"Fine, stay in."

"Not an option! I need a new outfit for tonight."

"So don't go."

"I have to, it's for charity, I was invited by the Raynors." She began pacing. "It's bad enough I couldn't even choose my own escort for tonight, you could at least try to look as if you're enjoying yourself!"

He sighed. "Fine, I'll try and...fit in."

"That's all I ask."

She pulled on her coat and said, turning away, "Now come on, the shops open in fifteen minutes, and I don't want to miss it."

Wufei's thoughts turned fondly to mud duty.