Chapter 9
'Vision of the future'
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Noin walked into the room. She was wearing a long gray trench coat that almost reached the floor. The bottom of it swayed back and forth like a dress as she approached him with short heavy footsteps.
"Wufei, it''s been a long time. How have you been?" Noin asked smiling at Wufei who was now eye level with her.
`OH NO! Did she see what I just did?!? She had better not tell Sally. ` He stepped away from the bedside unsure of his next move. "Noin, when did you get back?"
Noin looked down at Sally asleep in the bed. "About an hour ago. Une told me about Sally''s condition a few days ago. I''ve decided to stay and keep her company, she''s my best friend and I haven''t exactly talked to her much in the past few years. And we''ve decided it would be best to comeback to earth until the baby is born. Zech thinks it will be easer for me here. Have you been here all day?"
Wufei took a moment to take a good long look at her. Her face had not changed at all. Here hair still hung in front of her face just like Trowa''s does, and the rest seemed to be the same. Well except for the huge stomach. `Yes, she is definitely pregnant. Wonder if Relena knows she is going to be an aunt soon? `
"Yes. How far along are you?" he asked.
Noin hugged her belly. She blushed remembering something; "Eight and a third months tomorrow." came her reply.
"Do you know if it is a boy or girl yet?" Wufei asked astonished at how interested he actually was. `Maybe she didn't see me when I almost kissed Sally? She's not acting as if she knows anything. I''ll just keep the subject on the baby. `
"No, not yet. Were going to wait and see." Footsteps sounded at the door and they both turned around. Another silhouette appeared in the doorframe.
"Their you are." said Zech entering the room. The tall platinum blond made a beeline straight for Noin " You''re a hard one to keep track of. Hello Wufei." He came up behind his wife and hugged her. Noin leaned back into the embrace with a sigh. Tilting her head back she received a kiss from her loving husband. They smiled at each other and Wufei began to feel uncomfortable.
A nurse came into the room again as she passed by. Seeing the visitors she went and got a glass jug of water and ice from the machine down the hall and placed it on the swinging table next to the wall with some glasses. Noin took a glass of the cold water and thanked her. The nurse smiled and left.
He turned his attention back to Sally. She still had not moved. His eyes wondered over the sheets, tubs, and wire up to her lips. He wanted to kiss them, not just a satisfying brush as she slept. He wanted to ravage those lips and have her return that passion back.
"Wufei.." His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his name. He turned back to Noin and Zechs.
"Are you going to stay here much longer?" Noin asked.
Wufei thought about it for a minute. `I do not have anything to do at home... I'' am not going back to the office tonight, it is already closed... if she woke she might need some help or something. ` He looked at the clock on the wall, it struck half past ten in the almost silent room. `I might as well stay a little longer."
"Yes, I am going to stay." he answered. The three talked for a while longer before the two lovers left.
Once again Wufei was alone in the room with Sally. He pulled one of the chairs over to the side of the bed, sat down in silence and watched her sleep. Her soft breathing drifted into the night air of the empty hospital room. The second hand on the clock spun round once more before Wufei fell asleep.
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Sally opened her eyes. The white tile ceiling stared back at her ` Where am I? ` Her whole body felt numb. She tried to move but it was no good, her body was not going to obey. `I''m alive. I didn''t think I was going to live through that. It did not seem real it happened so fast . . . I remember Wufei was there. Yes he was there in the gym before I was taken out. I wonder what he did after I left? I don''t think that was him in the ambulance. ` Sally turned her head to one side.
A window with green curtains was on the far wall. The windowsill outside was concealed in white fluffy layer of snow. Behind that was the outline of the city buildings, the roof tops shimmering in the new morning light. They looked like snow dusted mountain tops at daybreak. Sally smiled to herself, ` It did snow yesterday. `
Sighing she turned her head in the other direction. Her eyes widened in shock as her partner sat next to the bed asleep. His arms were folded across his chest as a few stray strains of black hair hung down, softly swaying as he breathed. `What is he doing here?` Her mind swirled with thoughts. `Maybe that *was* him holding my hand in the ambulance? No it couldn''t have been him! He can''t feel anything for me! If he does it will only end up hurting him, *I* will end up hurting him! No. We are nothing more then work partners. Hardly even friends! . . . . . . . . I love him so much. ` She turned away and faced the window. It no longer seemed beautiful outside the little window, but cold and empty. Just like her future.
Small tears dance in her eyes. They blurred her view of the snowy window then dripped onto the pillow. A lump rose in her throat as she fought back the pain. `This is not happening, this is not happening to me. I will not cry over nothing. He has already seen me cry before and I refuse to go it again! Nothing is wrong with me, I may be sick but there is nothing wrong with me other then that! I do not love Wufei Chang; I refuse to love Wufei Chang! He is younger then me, he is only a boy! An immature, annoying kid who can''t say my name half the time! `
`But... he is no longer a boy is he? ` Her heart said. It began to speak to her soul and she knew every word and emotion was true. `He is a grown man now, and you are in love with him no matter how much you say your not, you can''t fight me. I am your heart after all. `
It was right. Her heart had said the truth about how she felt about him, it always did. But now what? She couldn''t just confess her undying love for him out loud could she? What if she was rejected? That would kill her, but what if he returned it? That would be worse, much worse. If he did love her and he had to watch her die, she would never be ably to forgive herself for causing all that pain.
She choked on another sob. More tears filled her eyes, as she finally was able to turn her body away from him. She hugged herself and buried her face into the pillow trying to muffle her crying.
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*Wufei's Dream*
Wufei stood in the middle of a clearing; the long grass brushing against his legs. He was surrounded in a thick fog that blocked his view after only a few feet. A faint scent blew by on the wind. He tilted his nose higher into the air to try and identify what it could be. He had smelt it before so familiar, and so close. What is it? He stepped forward in the long grass. It crunched under his feet as he walked. For a moment there was no other sound, then he heard it. Somewhere was a voice.
Wufei stopped walking, "Who''s there?" he asked but there was no response. He began to walk and the voice came again. He stopped again but this time it continued. Wufei struggled to make out the words being said but they were too muffled. After standing there for some time they became louder; to the point where he could hear it was laughter. A woman''s voice was laughing. It was soft and sweet like a melody. It seemed to come from every direction encouraging him forward. His body began to move under another power. The grass drifted through his legs as if he wasn''t there. Another clearing appeared and he was sat down.
There in front of him was a small patch of green grass with little flowers everywhere. They cheerfully danced in the laughing wind. He smiled. They were cute. `It''s nice here. Peaceful too. ` Down in front of him and saw a little yellow flower. Its leaves hung limp by its side as the face of the flower hung toward the ground. ` What is wrong with this one?
` He sat down next to it. Slowly he reached out a hand and touched it. It fell over dead.
Suddenly all the flowers in the clearing were screaming. Their wails almost deafening. Pain filled cries that began to hurt Wufei''s ears.
"Stop that!" he yelled at them, but they only became louder. He reached down and picked up the tine dead flower in his hands and the cries ceased. He glanced around; they were all staring at him. They had faces? The flowers had the faces of all those people he had killed during the war and before. Hundreds of the stared back at him with hate filled eyes.
"You" one of them said.
"What?" he answered back. What did they want from him?
"You, you''re the one."
"You''re the reason were dead! Its all your fault!" they screamed at him. They joined their voices together in a roar of horrid words. Each voice screaming at him how he had taken its life. Each one belonging to a family whom they loved and never saw again after they met him.
"You destroyed my mobile suit six years ago during that attacked on the colonies by Oz! You killed me while I was trying to defend my home! My family!"
"I have two daughters with out a father now! My wife went hungry without me there to help her!"
"I was taking Taurus''s out of Victoria Base when you shot down the aircraft! I never got a chance to tell my love what she meant to me!"
"Its all your fault. It''s all your fault! It''s all your fault!" the flowers chanted over and over again.
"It was war, I had to kill, I''m sorry.." he tried to justify his actions. No he couldn''t have caused that much pain! It was not possible to make that many suffer at his own hands!
"NO! You are not sorry! If you were sorry why are you still killing? Why are you still hurting her? You are not sorry. Not one bit!"
"Enough!" he shouted. He was not going to take shit from compost heap bin! He had paid for his crimes and was free from the pain; he would not let them win.
"Wufei..." a soft voice called. He looked down at his hands. There was the little yellow flower its face still turned away from him. The other around fell silent. The tine flower lay still in his hands.
"I forgive you, " it said in a voice hardly above a whisper. "I always will."
That voice, it''s her! He rolled over the flower in his hands and saw Sally''s face. The weak stem became her slender body, and the droop left her arms. The yellow petals melted from her to soft brown hair and a golden sheet wrapped around her body. Wufei now held Sally in his arms.
"Wufei I''m sorry. I never really understood what I did to make you mad at me. I always seemed to end up on your bad side. I didn''t mean it what ever I did. Please forgive me I only wanted to make you happy. I tried to make you happy. Really I did, I''m sorry... " Her choked words sounded in his ears. `What have I done to you?!? Sally I''m sorry. . `
"No, don''t be sorry for anything. I''m the one who was wrong. I didn''t mean any of it! Please forgive me Sally I never meant to hurt you." Tears hung in the corners of his eyes as he spoke. Pain and regret ripped at his chest.
She smiled up at him. That same beautiful smile he loved so much. He felt the pain in his chest ease a bit. Sally lay there in his arms smiling. She reached up a hand to his face and touched his lips. Wufei gasped. Her fingers were cold as ice.
"Remember me.." she said. His eyes widened in horror as her fingertip was ripped away. It turned into a pail petal and fluttered off on the wind. The rest of her hand came after that, and her feet then up her legs melted into petals and blew away on the wind. Her cries of pain split the air.
Wufei looked into Sally''s eyes and found them over flowing with pain. Tears fell onto her gold hair causing it to dissolve into sand. She was dying!
"No! Sally please hold on! Sally please! I love you don't leave me! Please Sally! I love you! Sally!..." he pleaded with her to stay with him. No he couldn't lose her now! He just told her what she meant to him. He had a lifetime of things planed out for them together. Her face melted away into yellow petals, as her eyes said goodbye to him, then everything was silent.
"Sally.." Wufei choked but she was gone. His arms now filled with yellow petals and gold fabric he continued to cry.
"NO!" Wufei howled! How could this have happened?!? How could he have let this happen to her?! She had spent so long trying to please him, and he did not even say thank you! Clutching the fabric to his chest he collapsed.
"She died for you. " the flowers said. "She died to make you happy." The earth beneath him cracked open and he fell into the void.
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Sally brushed her eyes. `I may love him, and maybe he likes me but if anything happens it happens. And if it doesn't it doesn't that is all there is to it. I will not push for anything other then a stronger friendship with him. He knows my fate, and will understand. ` She smiled to herself. It felt good to figure that out. Well sort of anyway, close enough for right now.
She turned over and faced him again. `It must be the drugs I''m on making my emotions go hay wire.` Wufei was still asleep in his chair. There was something wrong with him, his face seemed to be twisted, and his breath began to quicken. Using the side rails on her bed Sally pulled her self to a sitting position and leaned over closer to him.
"Wufei..." She said quietly. Suddenly Wufei''s eyes flew open and he jumped forward. Sally was so surprised to have his suddenly in her face she let out a yelp.
Wufei''s eyes flew open and found Sally right in his face. He stepped back and tripped over the chair he had been sleeping in. As he fell backwards his right arm flew out and hit the swing table next to the wall, with the glass picture of water on it. The table swung around and the motion caused it to move out from the wall. Wufei landed on his back and the back of his head smacked the tile floor. Cursing he rubbed the back of his head.
Sally saw the picture tilt dangerously as the table moved. "Wufei watch out!"
He opened his eyes and looked up just in time to see the thick glass bottom of the picture inches from his face, and then everything went black.
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"I still cannot believe that happened..." Said a female voice. Wufei''s head was splitting with pain. `tell me that last part was a dream.. Please tell me it was all just a dream...` "He really got hit with the water jug bad hun?"
"I know. I thought I was a klutz at times, but I have to say whenever I get hurt I usually stay conscious. I am truly surprised that all he got was a concussion. That was one thick jug! You should have seen the look on the nurses face when she came in to see how I was and saw Wufei out cold on the floor! I never laughed so hard in my life!"
Sally and Noin burst into fits of laughter. Wufei grumbled under his breath. `How dare they laugh at me! That could have happened to anyone! Now I will never hear the end of it..` He opened his eye lids just enough to see where he was. He was in the same room still, but another bed had been moved in for him. `How could this have happened? It was that stupid dream! It messed with my head, and when I saw Sally right in my face I freaked. How humiliating. `
"Still I''m surprised he stayed here with you all night. Maybe he does have a thing for you?" Noin winked and Sally blushed.
"Err...Lets talk about something else, he might be awake you know. He''s asleep not dead!" Sally warned softly. They continued talking, changing the conversation to Christmas parties and shopping.
Wufei lay still on the next bed fully wake trying him not to turn beat red. He had to get out of here. This was to embarrassing! But when, how? Women can talk for hours! He could be there for the rest of the day waiting for a chance!
"Lets get out of here Noin. I want to go for a walk or something. I''ve been in here all day," said Sally.
"Are you sure your feeling up to it?" Noin looked at her seriously, "remember you had that operation yesterday. I''m not sure if your even suppose to be out of bed yet!."
"I''m fine really, I was up a bit already anyway!" Sally said in a cheery voice.
"Alright then lets go. Doc said I could use a little exercises. Zechs sweet heart, will you stay here and look after Wufei for a little while. We won''t be long." Noin asked standing up slowly up and waiting for Sally to get out of bed.
"Sure," he answered. After a minute or two of ruffling around, the women left the room and drifted down the hall.
Wufei sat straight up in bed. Now he could get out. He threw the blanket off of him and jumped out of bed onto the floor. The room shifted under his feet and he sat back down. His heart throbbed in his ears and blood rushed to his head.
"Your not going anywhere." came Zech''s voice. "You got a concussion from that fall you took. Doc said you are going to be in here for a wile for observation, so just lay back down. I told Sally I wouldn''t let you leave."
Wufei sat there for a moment before glaring at Zechs when his vision came back. But he was meet with another plain stare. He turned his attention to the clock on the wall and found it too read noon. Work started at seven, he was late!
"Don''t worry about it." Zechs said reading his mind. "Une said that you are to stay here and take Commander Po home when she is well enough."
"I will do no such thing! I have more important things to do besides wait here for that onna to want a ride home……" Wufei spat. Why should he have to be the one to take her home?! She seems to be fine enough; she''s walking around.
"Such as keeping your job?" Zechs asked. A smirk played at the lip of the platinum blond father-to-be. He shifted his position in his chair. "You know as well as I do when Lady Une means business, and she was not smiling when she heard about Sally. She did not ask you, she ordered you. She did say however, that you could go and retrieve your car from HQ."
Wufei settled back down on the bed. Zechs was right; when Une said something you obeyed no questions asked. He would have to come back and stay with Sally after he retrieved his car. The room fell silent for a wile as nether man spoke. The world outside the window moved by slowly in the deep snows fall. The dark clouds overhead dropped snow as if it were slat from a saltshaker. What was not white that morning was soon covered. Lights shone off the snow sending yellow and red reflections over everything. Shadows danced in the ally ways and corner store parking lots. The floor was mostly quiet except for the occasional nurse or doctor walking by to check on a patient.
A nurse appeared in the doorframe. "Good to see your awake Mr. Chang. How do you feel?" She asked approaching him as she busily wrote on a clipboard.
"Fine." He answered. She put down the clipboard and pulled a small flashlight from her coat pocket.
"I'm just going to give you a little check up now, and then we will see if you are strong enough to go. I was quilt amazed when I found out that you broke the glass picture. Usually you can break those when you heave them at the floor there so thick, but that one just hit you head and split apart! I''m also surprised that all you got was a little cut! With all that glass you could have lost an eye quite easily..."
Wufei put a hand to his forehead and there was a little band-aid above his left eye. The nurse took the light and looked at his eyes, mouth and ears. She picked up her clip board and wrote something.
"Alright Mr. Chang, you seem to be fine now but I want you to take it easy for a day or two." She said as Noin and Sally came back. The nurse then turned her attention to Sally. "And Miss Po. You will be able to leave tomorrow after your checkup."
"Thank you. Hello Wufei glad to see you're up," said Sally.
Wufei mumbled some sort of "Hi" and "I''ll be back in a hour or two," walked past her and out the door. He made his way to the nearest elevator, then to the main floor, and to a payphone where he dialed for a cab. Wufei was going to have to go back to Preventor headquarters, and get his car; that is if he could find it in the white snowy banks. If he was going to have to stay here and take her home he would need his car.
Standing in the entryway Wufei watched the snow fly by the glass doors. It was being thrown up by the wind from the parking lot, and drifting down as it fell off the roof. Flakes landed on the window and melted forming a river down the glass pane till it reached the bottom where it froze; waiting for the spring sun to thaw it out.
TBC
'Vision of the future'
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Noin walked into the room. She was wearing a long gray trench coat that almost reached the floor. The bottom of it swayed back and forth like a dress as she approached him with short heavy footsteps.
"Wufei, it''s been a long time. How have you been?" Noin asked smiling at Wufei who was now eye level with her.
`OH NO! Did she see what I just did?!? She had better not tell Sally. ` He stepped away from the bedside unsure of his next move. "Noin, when did you get back?"
Noin looked down at Sally asleep in the bed. "About an hour ago. Une told me about Sally''s condition a few days ago. I''ve decided to stay and keep her company, she''s my best friend and I haven''t exactly talked to her much in the past few years. And we''ve decided it would be best to comeback to earth until the baby is born. Zech thinks it will be easer for me here. Have you been here all day?"
Wufei took a moment to take a good long look at her. Her face had not changed at all. Here hair still hung in front of her face just like Trowa''s does, and the rest seemed to be the same. Well except for the huge stomach. `Yes, she is definitely pregnant. Wonder if Relena knows she is going to be an aunt soon? `
"Yes. How far along are you?" he asked.
Noin hugged her belly. She blushed remembering something; "Eight and a third months tomorrow." came her reply.
"Do you know if it is a boy or girl yet?" Wufei asked astonished at how interested he actually was. `Maybe she didn't see me when I almost kissed Sally? She's not acting as if she knows anything. I''ll just keep the subject on the baby. `
"No, not yet. Were going to wait and see." Footsteps sounded at the door and they both turned around. Another silhouette appeared in the doorframe.
"Their you are." said Zech entering the room. The tall platinum blond made a beeline straight for Noin " You''re a hard one to keep track of. Hello Wufei." He came up behind his wife and hugged her. Noin leaned back into the embrace with a sigh. Tilting her head back she received a kiss from her loving husband. They smiled at each other and Wufei began to feel uncomfortable.
A nurse came into the room again as she passed by. Seeing the visitors she went and got a glass jug of water and ice from the machine down the hall and placed it on the swinging table next to the wall with some glasses. Noin took a glass of the cold water and thanked her. The nurse smiled and left.
He turned his attention back to Sally. She still had not moved. His eyes wondered over the sheets, tubs, and wire up to her lips. He wanted to kiss them, not just a satisfying brush as she slept. He wanted to ravage those lips and have her return that passion back.
"Wufei.." His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of his name. He turned back to Noin and Zechs.
"Are you going to stay here much longer?" Noin asked.
Wufei thought about it for a minute. `I do not have anything to do at home... I'' am not going back to the office tonight, it is already closed... if she woke she might need some help or something. ` He looked at the clock on the wall, it struck half past ten in the almost silent room. `I might as well stay a little longer."
"Yes, I am going to stay." he answered. The three talked for a while longer before the two lovers left.
Once again Wufei was alone in the room with Sally. He pulled one of the chairs over to the side of the bed, sat down in silence and watched her sleep. Her soft breathing drifted into the night air of the empty hospital room. The second hand on the clock spun round once more before Wufei fell asleep.
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Sally opened her eyes. The white tile ceiling stared back at her ` Where am I? ` Her whole body felt numb. She tried to move but it was no good, her body was not going to obey. `I''m alive. I didn''t think I was going to live through that. It did not seem real it happened so fast . . . I remember Wufei was there. Yes he was there in the gym before I was taken out. I wonder what he did after I left? I don''t think that was him in the ambulance. ` Sally turned her head to one side.
A window with green curtains was on the far wall. The windowsill outside was concealed in white fluffy layer of snow. Behind that was the outline of the city buildings, the roof tops shimmering in the new morning light. They looked like snow dusted mountain tops at daybreak. Sally smiled to herself, ` It did snow yesterday. `
Sighing she turned her head in the other direction. Her eyes widened in shock as her partner sat next to the bed asleep. His arms were folded across his chest as a few stray strains of black hair hung down, softly swaying as he breathed. `What is he doing here?` Her mind swirled with thoughts. `Maybe that *was* him holding my hand in the ambulance? No it couldn''t have been him! He can''t feel anything for me! If he does it will only end up hurting him, *I* will end up hurting him! No. We are nothing more then work partners. Hardly even friends! . . . . . . . . I love him so much. ` She turned away and faced the window. It no longer seemed beautiful outside the little window, but cold and empty. Just like her future.
Small tears dance in her eyes. They blurred her view of the snowy window then dripped onto the pillow. A lump rose in her throat as she fought back the pain. `This is not happening, this is not happening to me. I will not cry over nothing. He has already seen me cry before and I refuse to go it again! Nothing is wrong with me, I may be sick but there is nothing wrong with me other then that! I do not love Wufei Chang; I refuse to love Wufei Chang! He is younger then me, he is only a boy! An immature, annoying kid who can''t say my name half the time! `
`But... he is no longer a boy is he? ` Her heart said. It began to speak to her soul and she knew every word and emotion was true. `He is a grown man now, and you are in love with him no matter how much you say your not, you can''t fight me. I am your heart after all. `
It was right. Her heart had said the truth about how she felt about him, it always did. But now what? She couldn''t just confess her undying love for him out loud could she? What if she was rejected? That would kill her, but what if he returned it? That would be worse, much worse. If he did love her and he had to watch her die, she would never be ably to forgive herself for causing all that pain.
She choked on another sob. More tears filled her eyes, as she finally was able to turn her body away from him. She hugged herself and buried her face into the pillow trying to muffle her crying.
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*Wufei's Dream*
Wufei stood in the middle of a clearing; the long grass brushing against his legs. He was surrounded in a thick fog that blocked his view after only a few feet. A faint scent blew by on the wind. He tilted his nose higher into the air to try and identify what it could be. He had smelt it before so familiar, and so close. What is it? He stepped forward in the long grass. It crunched under his feet as he walked. For a moment there was no other sound, then he heard it. Somewhere was a voice.
Wufei stopped walking, "Who''s there?" he asked but there was no response. He began to walk and the voice came again. He stopped again but this time it continued. Wufei struggled to make out the words being said but they were too muffled. After standing there for some time they became louder; to the point where he could hear it was laughter. A woman''s voice was laughing. It was soft and sweet like a melody. It seemed to come from every direction encouraging him forward. His body began to move under another power. The grass drifted through his legs as if he wasn''t there. Another clearing appeared and he was sat down.
There in front of him was a small patch of green grass with little flowers everywhere. They cheerfully danced in the laughing wind. He smiled. They were cute. `It''s nice here. Peaceful too. ` Down in front of him and saw a little yellow flower. Its leaves hung limp by its side as the face of the flower hung toward the ground. ` What is wrong with this one?
` He sat down next to it. Slowly he reached out a hand and touched it. It fell over dead.
Suddenly all the flowers in the clearing were screaming. Their wails almost deafening. Pain filled cries that began to hurt Wufei''s ears.
"Stop that!" he yelled at them, but they only became louder. He reached down and picked up the tine dead flower in his hands and the cries ceased. He glanced around; they were all staring at him. They had faces? The flowers had the faces of all those people he had killed during the war and before. Hundreds of the stared back at him with hate filled eyes.
"You" one of them said.
"What?" he answered back. What did they want from him?
"You, you''re the one."
"You''re the reason were dead! Its all your fault!" they screamed at him. They joined their voices together in a roar of horrid words. Each voice screaming at him how he had taken its life. Each one belonging to a family whom they loved and never saw again after they met him.
"You destroyed my mobile suit six years ago during that attacked on the colonies by Oz! You killed me while I was trying to defend my home! My family!"
"I have two daughters with out a father now! My wife went hungry without me there to help her!"
"I was taking Taurus''s out of Victoria Base when you shot down the aircraft! I never got a chance to tell my love what she meant to me!"
"Its all your fault. It''s all your fault! It''s all your fault!" the flowers chanted over and over again.
"It was war, I had to kill, I''m sorry.." he tried to justify his actions. No he couldn''t have caused that much pain! It was not possible to make that many suffer at his own hands!
"NO! You are not sorry! If you were sorry why are you still killing? Why are you still hurting her? You are not sorry. Not one bit!"
"Enough!" he shouted. He was not going to take shit from compost heap bin! He had paid for his crimes and was free from the pain; he would not let them win.
"Wufei..." a soft voice called. He looked down at his hands. There was the little yellow flower its face still turned away from him. The other around fell silent. The tine flower lay still in his hands.
"I forgive you, " it said in a voice hardly above a whisper. "I always will."
That voice, it''s her! He rolled over the flower in his hands and saw Sally''s face. The weak stem became her slender body, and the droop left her arms. The yellow petals melted from her to soft brown hair and a golden sheet wrapped around her body. Wufei now held Sally in his arms.
"Wufei I''m sorry. I never really understood what I did to make you mad at me. I always seemed to end up on your bad side. I didn''t mean it what ever I did. Please forgive me I only wanted to make you happy. I tried to make you happy. Really I did, I''m sorry... " Her choked words sounded in his ears. `What have I done to you?!? Sally I''m sorry. . `
"No, don''t be sorry for anything. I''m the one who was wrong. I didn''t mean any of it! Please forgive me Sally I never meant to hurt you." Tears hung in the corners of his eyes as he spoke. Pain and regret ripped at his chest.
She smiled up at him. That same beautiful smile he loved so much. He felt the pain in his chest ease a bit. Sally lay there in his arms smiling. She reached up a hand to his face and touched his lips. Wufei gasped. Her fingers were cold as ice.
"Remember me.." she said. His eyes widened in horror as her fingertip was ripped away. It turned into a pail petal and fluttered off on the wind. The rest of her hand came after that, and her feet then up her legs melted into petals and blew away on the wind. Her cries of pain split the air.
Wufei looked into Sally''s eyes and found them over flowing with pain. Tears fell onto her gold hair causing it to dissolve into sand. She was dying!
"No! Sally please hold on! Sally please! I love you don't leave me! Please Sally! I love you! Sally!..." he pleaded with her to stay with him. No he couldn't lose her now! He just told her what she meant to him. He had a lifetime of things planed out for them together. Her face melted away into yellow petals, as her eyes said goodbye to him, then everything was silent.
"Sally.." Wufei choked but she was gone. His arms now filled with yellow petals and gold fabric he continued to cry.
"NO!" Wufei howled! How could this have happened?!? How could he have let this happen to her?! She had spent so long trying to please him, and he did not even say thank you! Clutching the fabric to his chest he collapsed.
"She died for you. " the flowers said. "She died to make you happy." The earth beneath him cracked open and he fell into the void.
~~ ** ~~ ** ~~ ** ~~ ** ~~ **~~
Sally brushed her eyes. `I may love him, and maybe he likes me but if anything happens it happens. And if it doesn't it doesn't that is all there is to it. I will not push for anything other then a stronger friendship with him. He knows my fate, and will understand. ` She smiled to herself. It felt good to figure that out. Well sort of anyway, close enough for right now.
She turned over and faced him again. `It must be the drugs I''m on making my emotions go hay wire.` Wufei was still asleep in his chair. There was something wrong with him, his face seemed to be twisted, and his breath began to quicken. Using the side rails on her bed Sally pulled her self to a sitting position and leaned over closer to him.
"Wufei..." She said quietly. Suddenly Wufei''s eyes flew open and he jumped forward. Sally was so surprised to have his suddenly in her face she let out a yelp.
Wufei''s eyes flew open and found Sally right in his face. He stepped back and tripped over the chair he had been sleeping in. As he fell backwards his right arm flew out and hit the swing table next to the wall, with the glass picture of water on it. The table swung around and the motion caused it to move out from the wall. Wufei landed on his back and the back of his head smacked the tile floor. Cursing he rubbed the back of his head.
Sally saw the picture tilt dangerously as the table moved. "Wufei watch out!"
He opened his eyes and looked up just in time to see the thick glass bottom of the picture inches from his face, and then everything went black.
~~ ** ~~ ** ~~ ** ~~ ** ~~ **~~
"I still cannot believe that happened..." Said a female voice. Wufei''s head was splitting with pain. `tell me that last part was a dream.. Please tell me it was all just a dream...` "He really got hit with the water jug bad hun?"
"I know. I thought I was a klutz at times, but I have to say whenever I get hurt I usually stay conscious. I am truly surprised that all he got was a concussion. That was one thick jug! You should have seen the look on the nurses face when she came in to see how I was and saw Wufei out cold on the floor! I never laughed so hard in my life!"
Sally and Noin burst into fits of laughter. Wufei grumbled under his breath. `How dare they laugh at me! That could have happened to anyone! Now I will never hear the end of it..` He opened his eye lids just enough to see where he was. He was in the same room still, but another bed had been moved in for him. `How could this have happened? It was that stupid dream! It messed with my head, and when I saw Sally right in my face I freaked. How humiliating. `
"Still I''m surprised he stayed here with you all night. Maybe he does have a thing for you?" Noin winked and Sally blushed.
"Err...Lets talk about something else, he might be awake you know. He''s asleep not dead!" Sally warned softly. They continued talking, changing the conversation to Christmas parties and shopping.
Wufei lay still on the next bed fully wake trying him not to turn beat red. He had to get out of here. This was to embarrassing! But when, how? Women can talk for hours! He could be there for the rest of the day waiting for a chance!
"Lets get out of here Noin. I want to go for a walk or something. I''ve been in here all day," said Sally.
"Are you sure your feeling up to it?" Noin looked at her seriously, "remember you had that operation yesterday. I''m not sure if your even suppose to be out of bed yet!."
"I''m fine really, I was up a bit already anyway!" Sally said in a cheery voice.
"Alright then lets go. Doc said I could use a little exercises. Zechs sweet heart, will you stay here and look after Wufei for a little while. We won''t be long." Noin asked standing up slowly up and waiting for Sally to get out of bed.
"Sure," he answered. After a minute or two of ruffling around, the women left the room and drifted down the hall.
Wufei sat straight up in bed. Now he could get out. He threw the blanket off of him and jumped out of bed onto the floor. The room shifted under his feet and he sat back down. His heart throbbed in his ears and blood rushed to his head.
"Your not going anywhere." came Zech''s voice. "You got a concussion from that fall you took. Doc said you are going to be in here for a wile for observation, so just lay back down. I told Sally I wouldn''t let you leave."
Wufei sat there for a moment before glaring at Zechs when his vision came back. But he was meet with another plain stare. He turned his attention to the clock on the wall and found it too read noon. Work started at seven, he was late!
"Don''t worry about it." Zechs said reading his mind. "Une said that you are to stay here and take Commander Po home when she is well enough."
"I will do no such thing! I have more important things to do besides wait here for that onna to want a ride home……" Wufei spat. Why should he have to be the one to take her home?! She seems to be fine enough; she''s walking around.
"Such as keeping your job?" Zechs asked. A smirk played at the lip of the platinum blond father-to-be. He shifted his position in his chair. "You know as well as I do when Lady Une means business, and she was not smiling when she heard about Sally. She did not ask you, she ordered you. She did say however, that you could go and retrieve your car from HQ."
Wufei settled back down on the bed. Zechs was right; when Une said something you obeyed no questions asked. He would have to come back and stay with Sally after he retrieved his car. The room fell silent for a wile as nether man spoke. The world outside the window moved by slowly in the deep snows fall. The dark clouds overhead dropped snow as if it were slat from a saltshaker. What was not white that morning was soon covered. Lights shone off the snow sending yellow and red reflections over everything. Shadows danced in the ally ways and corner store parking lots. The floor was mostly quiet except for the occasional nurse or doctor walking by to check on a patient.
A nurse appeared in the doorframe. "Good to see your awake Mr. Chang. How do you feel?" She asked approaching him as she busily wrote on a clipboard.
"Fine." He answered. She put down the clipboard and pulled a small flashlight from her coat pocket.
"I'm just going to give you a little check up now, and then we will see if you are strong enough to go. I was quilt amazed when I found out that you broke the glass picture. Usually you can break those when you heave them at the floor there so thick, but that one just hit you head and split apart! I''m also surprised that all you got was a little cut! With all that glass you could have lost an eye quite easily..."
Wufei put a hand to his forehead and there was a little band-aid above his left eye. The nurse took the light and looked at his eyes, mouth and ears. She picked up her clip board and wrote something.
"Alright Mr. Chang, you seem to be fine now but I want you to take it easy for a day or two." She said as Noin and Sally came back. The nurse then turned her attention to Sally. "And Miss Po. You will be able to leave tomorrow after your checkup."
"Thank you. Hello Wufei glad to see you're up," said Sally.
Wufei mumbled some sort of "Hi" and "I''ll be back in a hour or two," walked past her and out the door. He made his way to the nearest elevator, then to the main floor, and to a payphone where he dialed for a cab. Wufei was going to have to go back to Preventor headquarters, and get his car; that is if he could find it in the white snowy banks. If he was going to have to stay here and take her home he would need his car.
Standing in the entryway Wufei watched the snow fly by the glass doors. It was being thrown up by the wind from the parking lot, and drifting down as it fell off the roof. Flakes landed on the window and melted forming a river down the glass pane till it reached the bottom where it froze; waiting for the spring sun to thaw it out.
TBC