His eyes fluttered open slowly, an effort that cost more than it
gave when the sudden light blinded him and made tears catch in his
lashes. Colors swam before him and he blinked, resolving the mass of
images into a recognizable hospital room. For a brief moment, he was
disoriented, unable to remember what had happened. He had been on
that street, the one he went to all the time and he had been driving
home and then…

And then what?

Machines were beeping at him and tubes were everywhere. Assessing
the damage, he realized his right leg was in a cast and he had a
heavy bandage around his ribs. Something had happened to him.
Something awful.

A glimpse of gold hair and ocean eyes flashed inside his head and he
gasped aloud, jerking under the sterile white sheets, making one of
the monitors next to his bed beep in warning. Almost immediately, a
doctor poked her head in, stepping up beside his bed when she
noticed he was awake.

"You're finally awake," she said warmly as she checked the many
machines he was hooked up to. When he didn't answer, she picked up
his chart from the bottom of the bed and flipped through it nimbly,
a pensive frown on her face. "You had a rough time there for awhile,
Mr. Johnson. We thought you might leave us."

Try not to think of this as a leaving…

"I…I almost died," he said, uncertainly, a hint of a question in his
voice. The doctor looked up, her twisted braids sliding over her
white lab coat.

"Very nearly. You were in a bad car accident. A pickup hit you head
on in an intersection. The driver was intoxicated." She tilted her
head at him. "He made it out without a scratch, you were not so
lucky."

"What's wrong with me?" he asked, feeling very out of touch. This
wasn't his life, was it? Surely it was…more than this?

"You've got three broken ribs, a broken leg, and a severe concussion
along with various cuts and bruises. You lost a lot of blood since
it took awhile for them to get you out of the vehicle. You were
pinned pretty good." She smiled at him, hoping to reassure
him. "Don't worry, we're taking good care of you, and you're in
marvelous health. Your recovery will be quick."

"I…" he paused, not really sure of what he wanted to say. "Has
anyone…Does anyone know?"

"Your ID said you worked for the Preventers. We notified your
superior and he called a friend of yours, Lydia Hanson?" He nodded
and she continued. "She should be arriving soon. She was at work
when she got the call." The doctor took another step towards him and
this time, when he looked at her, a memory imposed itself over her
face and he stiffened, a familiar weight settling over him.

"Sally?"

She blinked. "I'm Dr. Crawford, Adin." She flicked her nametag with
one finger but he had looked away, to the ceiling, dark eyes
suddenly so anguished that she leaned over his bed rail. "Mr.
Johnson? Are you in any pain?"

He closed his eyes. "I'm Adin."

She watched him uncertainly. "You suffered a terrible head injury,
Mr. Johnson. You've been in a light coma for about thirty-six hours
due to some swelling of the temporal lobe. It's normal in your
circumstances to be unable to think very clearly. It will pass now
that you are awake."

He opened his eyes and gazed at her intensely and she blinked,
feeling…something… struggle to break free inside of her.

"You don't remember."

"Remember what, Mr. Johnson?"

He shook his head and then regretted it with a grimace. Dr. Crawford
smiled sympathetically. "Rest for now, Mr. Johnson, your body needs
to recover. I'll send Miss Hanson in when she gets here. Until then,
if you need anything, push the call button by your bed. A nurse will
come immediately and I'll be back to check on you later this
evening."

The door to his room swung shut as she left and he breathed out
heavily, so weary in mind and body and spirit that he wasn't sure if
he could take anything else. He felt strange now, his memories split
between all the lifetimes he could still remember. He knew things
now that he would have never known before, such as the fact that he
knew beyond a doubt that he could pilot any of the old MS suits
hidden away in one of the Preventer warehouses. In this life, he had
never flown anything other than a Preventer shuttle, there had never
been a need. He had never even seen a battle but he could remember
the feel of an automatic weapon in his hands. It was odd, and a
little disturbing, and he realized he would have to be careful with
what he said.

He awoke before he even knew that he was asleep, shifting as much as
he could without pulling anything sore. A quick intake of breath
warned him as much as the words that flowed thickly to him.

"I wasn't sure if I should wake you."

Lydia stood in the corner of the room, arms folded across her chest
almost protectively. She was watching him with large blue eyes, pale
blonde hair tucked securely behind her ears. She was tall and thin
and her posture reflected her self-importance. Even her voice held a
cultured nobility that instantly grated on his nerves. It was almost
as if she thought that her own words were more important than anyone
else's. As if she were used to everyone agreeing with her on a daily
basis.

He almost laughed as he realized why.

Sylvia Noventa.

Who said Fate did not have a sense of humor?

"Hello, Lydia," he said calmly, feeling rather powerful as he
watched her with deep eyes. She had never been able to change him
and now she never would.

She frowned, seeing something within his gaze. "Adin?"

He shook his head, "No."

She blinked twice. "What?"

"I'm not going to Mars with you. My place is here, on Earth. It
always has been." He paused, watching her reactions. "And you've
known that all along."

She stiffened and her hands came down to her sides in a motion of
offense. "I only wanted what was best for us. Besides, you were
becoming obsessed." Anger and humiliation flashed through her
eyes. "I didn't know how to compete, Adin. I was losing you."

"I was already lost," he answered flatly and she took a physical
step back at the finality to his voice.

"Well," she said, after the silence had stretched between them, "I
guess that's it then." Her jaw tightened and she headed towards the
door. "Have a good life, Adin. I hope I never see you again."

He didn't say anything as she left, which was fortunate as an
orderly in scrubs waltzed in, violet eyes full of curiosity as Lydia
brushed past him without even looking. The young man whistled lowly
under his breath and came to stand beside Adin's bed, his hands
laden with a lunch tray.

"How are ya today, Mr. Johnson? Good to see you finally awake. You
missed out on some good meals." The orderly winked good naturedly
and Adin frowned and spoke purely on instinct.

"You never change, do you."

It wasn't a question and the orderly didn't seem to think it was an
odd statement. He simply winked again and sat the tray down on
Adin's lap table. "We all change, Mr. Johnson. Only our souls stay
the same, everything else is affected by the experiences we
accumulate through our life." He patted Adin on the shoulder like a
child before waltzing back towards the door. "Don't look so shocked,
Heero. Everything is going to be alright."

Adin jerked forward, his muscles aching in protest. "Wait!"

But the man was gone.

A few minutes passed before Adin could bring himself to sit back
again, his eyes landing on the jiggly green jello that wore grapes
in the shape of a smiley face. He shook his head but couldn't stop
the smirk that crossed his face. Though he had glimpsed a wonderful
world that still awaited him, this reality was what was important.
He still had a life to live and when he returned to the land of
ghosts and memories, he wanted to be able to tell her he had done
his best. For her.

He closed his eyes and leaned back into his pillow.

"Yes, Duo, everything is going to be alright."

THE END.