Blood Bonds
By Tygerlilee
Chapter Twenty-Seven
CollapseTake Three
Disclaimer: GrrrCan't I just put one at the beginning of the story and forget about the rest? I don't own it!!
"So were you scared?" a well-endowed blond in a short skirt and tight blouse asked breathlessly.
"Oh yah, but I wasn't too worried. After all I'm"
Heero tuned Huy's bragging session to a cheerleader out when he felt his lunch start to ascend. He saw Etrea out of the corner of his eye start to come over to their table, but then she turned away in a huff. At least she was being spared, Heero thought.
The bell rang suddenly, much to Heero's delight and relief, and they separated off to classes.
Miss Kiloah handed out practice A.P. tests and started the timer the moment they all sat down. Heero glanced up at Huy every now and then to see that Huy was writing away.
At the end of the day, Heero and Huy walked slowly and carefully down to the dorms. Heero took Huy's bag from him as they plodded up the stairs, laughing and talking the entire way.
Something had changed between the two that Heero couldn't quite understand. They were ten times closer than before. Heero could tell exactly what Huy was thinking at about any time, and vise versa. It was almost the way science fiction novels described the phenomena of ESP. Heero didn't know what he was going to do once they graduated, but he knew that he would always have a true friend.
A little tap on the window caught their attention and Heero got up to see who it was. Duo's goofy face greeted him below. "Hey man! You gonna stay up their studying all night? Get yo' butt down here ASAP!"
"What if I don't want to!" Heero yelled back.
"I'll sic tweezer eye-brows on you!!"
Heero smirked and helped Huy down the stairs again.
"Who is tweezer eyebrows'?"
"Just some really strange common acquaintance. What's up, Duo?"
"Let's go shoot some hoops, I'm bored. This place is so clean that it makes me sick."
"Why does it matter if its clean or not?" Huy asked.
"Duo runs a salvage business," Heero explained and added when Huy didn't seem to comprehend what he had just said, "He collects old metal and MS parts left-over from the wars and sells them."
"After I clean them up and make them all pretty!" Duo said gleefully.
"Are you ever sad?" Huy queried abruptly.
"Yup. I was pretty down when we all got captured and thrown into that prison. And that doctor guy really beat on me, it hurt. And then Quatre went all psycho on us and we didn't know if Trowa was on our side or notat least you and Wufei wondered," Duo rambled.
"Are Trowa and Quatre the other two pilots?"
"Uh-huh. And are they weird."
"No more so than you" Heero interjected.
"Ah wellbut you gotta wonder about those bangs of Trowa's. How is he and preppy boy doing anyway?"
"Trowa's still in the circus I assume. Quatre is preparing to start running the company. He gets it when he turns twenty-one."
"Poor guytwenty-nine sisters–all femaleHilde's hard enough to deal with."
"Of course they're all female, they're sisters," Heero muttered.
"Waitwhat is this Quatre guy's last name?" Huy asked, stumbling on a piece of cement broken from the sidewalk.
"Winner."
Huy pitched forward, almost falling on his face. "WINNER!! No way!! They're peacafistsuh, pacifists!!"
Duo grinned. "The son and heir ain't."
"Duo doesn't know what he's talking about," Heero jumped in. "They are pacifists, but the father was the purist. The children generally believe that sometimes war is necessary for peace."
"Oh. Did you say that that other guy was in the circus?"
"Yup. They're in the colony right now. They might even come here" Duo said.
"HEY!!" Huy interrupted. "Remember that circus that came through here earlier, last semester, Heero?"
"Yah."
"Some guy nodded at me. He had really funky bangs that stuck out."
"That was Trowa all right," Duo said happily skipping down the street, braid bouncing.
They stopped at a local court and pulled open the tin trash can to get a basketball. It was a handy storage place–they just hoped no one would find it.
Duo grabbed the ball and made for the other end of the court and Heero chased after him while Huy sat and cheered to two on making random comments. But then the ball rebounded against the backboard and knocked into Heero, landing him on his side, arm tucked under his thigh in a twisted position. Duo ran over and turned Heero onto his backside.
"You okay?" he asked as Huy hobbled over toward them.
Heero's eyes looked out of focus and he had to shake himself a little before sitting up. "I'm fine. Don't worry about me." Then he stood up and took the ball, shooting a three pointer.
After four weeks, Huy's casts still hadn't come off. But he was healing fast, and the doctors said that it wouldn't be too much longer.
Now Duo was a regular with the group of friends and often the instigator of all mischief–a band of marauders. Things had definitely become more interesting with Duo around. Just within the past week they had rolled three cars, plastic-wrapped another one and a row of lockers, turned all of the trash cans on the campus upside down, nabbed orange construction cones and decorated' the school's roof with them, and changed the words of a local elementary school's sign to read "We eat children". Gluing metal money was always fun too.
Of course, eventually Duo would have to go home--Hilde had actually called to yell at him for leaving her alone with the yard. But Duo managed to find a couple good battle sites near the colony, so, while Heero and Huy were in school, he worked, which somewhat appeased Hilde abated her fury'.
Then the fog came back. Heero decided that whatever he had, it liked to go into remission, and then come back with a bangoff and on, off and on. He was nervous and scared.
But also Morris was still at large. Heero had given Lady Une the information he possessed, but nothing had happened. Any time he passed a store with a television on, he always searched it for the news, or looked at newspaper headlines in the machines. He may not be a preventor or someone close to Relena, but he did worry about the fragile peace she had created. Fighting was no fun.
The next day after school, Heero said he had to do some research in the library, and Huy didn't feel like tagging along, so he went back to the dorm by himself. Gingerly he lied down on the bed and closed his eyes, sighing in relief. Rest. Blissful, sweet rest. His leg was killing him.
He picked up the book that he had been reading and tuned out the city noises, dissolving into the plot. Though a very social person, Huy felt drained and welcomed the silence. Everything was right and it all was good. He was "home", healing, he knew all about Heero, who had opened up and was doing wonderfully. A little rough still, but he was doing good. And life was good.
Until he heard the ambulance scream down the road.
He didn't know' where the vehicle was going or whom it was for, so to speak, for no one told him, but still, he sensed it. It was just a sick feeling, and he knewHeero. His stomach plummeted, and he forced himself up. His hands were shaking so badly that he couldn't get his shoe on and he dropped his crutches three times before he was out the door.
He clumped clumsily down the flights of stairs, going as fast as he could, trying hard not to fall. However, despite his careful pains, he pitched forward on the last flight and fell all the way down, his metal crutches clattering after him. The pain in his leg was murder, but he grit his teeth and reminded himself that he had felt worse. He had to find Heero and make sure he was okayhe had to.
As he finally exited the dorm building, he heard the vehicle screech away down the street and he stood there feeling lost, scared, and helpless.
Galloping footsteps thudded to a halt behind him, and Huy was afraid to turn to see who it was. "Huythat was"
"I know who's in that ambulance. What happened?" Huy said after interrupting Neas' hesitant voice.
"It was at the library. He was studying just like normal, and then all of a sudden he rested his head in his arms and didn't get up. We tried to shake him awake, but he just sat there. Then we turned him over to see if he was breathing and his face was like chalk, yellow chalk. He was all sweaty and clammy. We panicked and called an ambulance."
"Good. Maybe we'll find out what's really wrong, and he'll get better," Huy said to himself, staring down the street the ambulance had gone down.
"Huy, the emergency rescue guys looked pretty nervous when they saw Heero. He might not"
"Heero will be fine." Huy seemed to be trying to convince himself of it.
Heero opened his eyes to see workers crowded around his body. They were in blurry white suits, working hurriedly, no–frantically, over his body. Something in him was throbbing, but he didn't know what.
Handshands, lots of hands over him. A bright blinding light as the floor jerked to a stop. But floors don't jerk to a stophe must be in an automobile of some sort. He was jarred up and slanted and then downhe was being carried.
It hurthe was aching terriblyall over
A loud sound Heero couldn't identify was blasting in his ears. It hurtit was hurting so much
Someone's clouded face looked down at him, prying his eyelids open, looking at his eyes. Then the person turned and shouteda sharp pain in his armhe was fadingthings were blackswirling mass of blissful emptiness
Then he realizedhe was dying. It was a sudden realization that struck him–he was really going to die this time. After all that he had gone through, after years of hoping and wishing, he was really going to die.
And he welcomed that darkness hurdling toward him, enveloping him, with a smile.
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Huy snuggled in his bed, praying that Heero would be okay. He finally had gotten over the shock of that afternoon's events, and Heero had always been fine before–but now there was a nagging horrid feeling in his gut. He knew that this was it.
Duo's usual tapping at the window drew his attention and he crawled to the window, pushing it open, bracing himself to tell Duo what happened.
But Duo had the first word. "Hey Huy!! Get down here, we're going to see what's up with Heero!" he whispered loudly up the three stories.
"Duo, in case you have forgotten, I am handicapped! I can sneak' anywhere!"
"Yah you can. I'll come up and help. Get out of the way." Within minutes, Duo had swung up the tree outside of Huy's window and slid into the room. "Come on buddy. Get your shoes onor just shoe, I guess."
Then the two teenagers limped out of the building. Duo and Huy sat down on a bench waiting for the city bus to pass by. If Huy hadn't been handicapped, they would have walked, the hospital was close enough.
"Duodo you think that he'll be alright?" Huy asked, afraid of answer.
"Heero's super-boy. He'll pull through. And whata' you talkin' about anyway? We don't even know what's wrong with him yet. It's not like it's really serious. I bet he just ate something funny at school."
Duo's optimistic voice comforted Huy somewhat, and he wanted to believe the words, but he couldn't really trust them. "But he's been sick ever since I've known him. He collapsed last semester, and then I met some guy from his old colony who said he was sick there too. This is a long-term thing. I'm scared."
"Don't be. He'll be fine."
"I wish I could have your hope and optimism. Are you always this hopeful?"
Before Duo could answer, the bus rolled to a stop and he helped Huy onto the blue vehicle. It was only a stop-filled ten-minute ride to the stop closest to the hospital. They hoppedwell, Duo hopped and Huy clatteredoff of the bus and walked to the tall white building, asking the nurse for Heero's room.
The woman looked suspiciously down at the teenagers. "Family only."
"I am family. I'm his twin brother," Huy said.
Duo's opinion of Huy's fabrication skills lifted as the woman typed Heero's name into the computer. "You can't see him. He's in intensive care."
Both boys' mouths dropped to the ground. "What's wrong with him?" Huy asked softly.
"Maybe you should contact your parents and get them down here. Then we can have them speak to the doctors," she told him.
"But we go to a boarding school. My parents live on another colony," Huy informed her, slightly indignant.
"Get them on the phone, and I'll get the doctor."
She led them into a little office and pointed to the vidphone while she went off to call the doctor in charge of Heero's care. Huy's hand shook as he dialed.
"You're actually calling your parents?" Duo asked in a whisper. Huy ignored Duo and prayed that his parents would answer.
After five rings, Ai's groggy voice and sideways face half buried into a pillow answered. "Hi Mom," Huy greeted.
Ai perked up and sat with her back against the backboard. Ryuzou shifted in his sleep beside her. "What's wrong Huy? Are you alright, honey?"
"I'm fine. It's Heero."
Ai blanched and gripped the sheets. "What's going on?"
"I don't know. The doctor's wouldn't tell me. Me and Duo.."
"Who's Duo?" Ai interrupted.
"Another of the Gundam Pilots. He showed up a while ago. Apparently Heero was calling all the other pilots to find out if they knew anything about me. Anyway, Heero collapsed today in the library. Well, not collapsed, just fell asleep and wouldn't wake up. And his face was yellow. But as I was saying, me and Duo snuck over to hospital and I told them that Heero was my brother"
"Huy" Ai's voice warned.
"It's not like I was telling Heero or anything! But that's not the point. They want to talk our parents and won't tell me anything."
Ai nodded and jumped out of bed, turning on the light and kicking Ryuzou in the back as she threw clothes on. "UhMom? What are you doing?"
"Getting myself presentable at this ungodly hour!! Ryuzou, get up!"
"Whatwhat's going on"
"Heero's in the hospital and we've got to talk to the doctors!"
"What!!" Ryuzou jumped up.
Huy rolled his eyes as he listened to his parents panic to get dressed and rush to the living room. "What happened?" his father was asking for the fifth time.
"Heero collapsed at school and he's in the hospital," Ai said carefully. "Huy baby, you still there?"
"Mom, what does it look like?"
"Don't get smart with me!! It's two in the morning and I'm half asleep!"
The door clicked and the nurse came in with a middle-aged man behind her. "Mom, the doctor's here," Huy said quickly.
The man smiled awkwardly as he took the receiver from Huy and situated himself in front of the screen. "Goodmorning, Mrs. Yuy."
"Mrs. Iwasato actually. What's wrong with Heero?" A confused look crossed the doctor's face, but he didn't say anything.
"Perhaps I should ask your son and his companion to leave the room"
"No! Don't," Ai burst suddenly. "I mean, they will be hearing about it later on anyway. This will just save time and confusions in communication. What's wrong with Heero?" she asked again.
"Well, we are running some tests right now to confirmwe are not very sureit's awfully unusual"
"Just spill it. What's going on?" Ryuzuo growled from over Ai's shoulder.
"We think that he has acute myeloma, which is"
"Leukemia. Heero has leukemia," Ryuzou interrupted, growing ever more impatient. "You are kidding. Kids rarely get cancer, most especially myelogenous leukemia."
"Well, that's why we are so hesitant to saywe are running tests, and"
"But Heero's been sick for so long, how could he have acute myeloma? Doesn't that happen pretty quickly?" Huy asked from behind the doctor, making him jump.
"Well, uh, yes. We think that it was in the chronic stage and then progressed suddenly to acute. He has all the symptoms from what I can see of his medical recordsketchy as it is. The anemia, recurrent waves of weakness and dizziness, slow healing, uh, the fractures"
"FRACTURES!!" Ai, Ryuzou, and Huy all screeched. Duo snickered in the background.
"Uh, yes. Heero has several severe fractures. His femur, and"
"When?" Huy asked, confused.
"Didn't you see him fall the other day when we were playing ball? His face as scrunched up and then he said that he was fine?"
"Ohhe is so dead" Huy muttered, but then the reality of what he just said hit, and he started to cry.
"But I may be wrong. Myloma rarely occurs in people younger than forty. And considering your ethnicity. Asians rarely have leukemia."
"But it does happen," Ryuzou said harshly.
"It has before. I'm very sorry, but I'm not too hopeful. I would like to think that I am wrongbut if I am right, Heero hasn't very long."
"What about treatment? Isn't there chemotherapy or" Ai trailed off, at a loss for words.
"This is where I am not sure about anything. Chemotherapy does help to stave off the cancerin fact it can force it into remission. If Heero has been sick so long and not fallen apart, he must be around some form of radiation, which would act as chemo does, and thus, the myeloma will fade in and out. Some days he would be normal, and others painful. I don't understand how"
"Heero used to be a mobile suit pilot," Duo offered.
"That might help" the doctor muttered.
"What does that have to do with it?" Huy asked.
"The radiation emitted from beam weapons and various equipment. But how he could be around radiation during the school year is anyone's guess," Ryuzuo said.
"But that won't completely eradicate the cancer," Ai drew everyone back to the subject.
"Yes. A bone marrow transplant would be our best bet. The bone marrow is diseased, thus his level of plasma is incredibly low and his immune system is very weak, almost non-existent. If we can cut out the cancer and transplant some healthy bone marrow, generating new stem cellsbut we have to find a perfect match." The doctor paused for a second. "That can be a challenge. Even in large families, often the bone marrow does not match."
"What about in the case of twins?" Huy asked quietly.
"Well, for identical twins, that would be no problem. They have very close if not identical DNA so the matches work. You're not" the doctor trailed off.
"Huy," Ryuzou warned.
"Dad, this is ridiculous. It's not like we have to tell Heero. Yes, Heero and I are identical twins."
"I don't mean to pry, but the last names and"
"We used to live on one of theunstable colonies," Ryuzuo explained. "When Huy and the boy now known as Heero were three, we fled, but Heero was lost in the crowds. We never found him, until out of the blue a boy shows who is identical to Huy and who has no memories of any family. It's too coincidental to be anything else. We haven't told Heero though. We believe he has some emotional hang-ups so we have been hesitant to tell him anything."
"But we will still have to test, to find out for sure."
"Here," Huy held out his arm. "I'm right here!"
The doctor looked down at Huy and shook his head. "Call us when you find out for sure. If we need to fly out there, we will," Ryuzou told the doctor and hung up.
Duo sat silently with his mouth hanging open.
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Huy paced up and down the hall as Duo snored away on a bench. The tests were positive.
The test were positiveHeero has cancer
Huy stopped and leaned against a wall, then sank to his knees, his face buried between them. He wanted to cry, tears were so close, but they wouldn't quite come. Huy sat up and sniffled and punched to ground below him. He hated everything. It wasn't fair. His brother was going to be taken away from him again, but this time, it would be forever. But teenagers never got leukemia, it was always the older people. It was impossible, it just couldn't happen.
He punched harder, and harder, over and overup, clench, down, up, clench, down
"Huy? What are you doin' man?" Duo asked groggily.
Huy didn't look up–he didn't want Duo to see his red face. It wasn't fair, Heero was seventeen. "Nothing," he whispered.
Duo got up off the bench and climbed over to where Huy was scrunched on the floor, settling down beside him. "I know how you feel. It's crazy that this is happening to Heero, after all that he has been through, leukemia might get him. But then again, he may live," Duo said hopefully.
"You think so?" Huy almost whimpered.
"Yah. He'll be fine. He always is."
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Heero could feel the haze all around him. Things were dark and cloudy again. The blond man, Huy stumbling on his broken ankle, dark park, cold, cry, wet, salt, Ryuzou, Ai, Huy, his bunkbed made up, but still warm from a night of sleeping, Huy stumbling down stairs, Huy's appendages encased in plastic bags so that he could take a shower, wet, tears, blond hairlight, lots of light, a haze.
Hello honey! Her cheerful voice rang. He stood there, watching her as she turned to check something in the oven.
Relena? He asked timidly.
What is it?
Daddy!! A little girl with flying pigtails screamed happily as she ran into the room, giggling into his knees.
Daddy she said contentedly.
Dinner's almost ready, Relena said. She had a blue apron on, tied about her round stomach, another babyanother baby
Bwear!! I want my bwear!! He yelled in frustration.
TAI!!! His mother screamed. Painsomeone stepped on his hand, but it was okay. He had bear. Brown and soft. Cinderella was dirty like bear was. She probably was smelly too. Cinderella had blond hair, and was pretty. Prince Charming came and married her. They were at a ball. Really crowded, lots of people, like at the ball. He would find Cinderella. Bear would help.
Cinderella? Cinderella?
Are you lost, kid?
Nowa. Wooking fow Cinderwella. Where Cinderwella?
Tall man looks around, confused. Cinderella? He asked, confused. I don't see a Cinderellacome, I'll help you find Cinderella.
Owka!! Bwear Hewp!!
Hewp!! Help!! He dodged the lance coming towards him. His horse was strong, but tiring soon. He leaned on his lance for a moment to clear his head and breath. He was the red swath of material stuck into a corner of his shoulder armor. Lady fair was watching, he was fighting for her.
Dust, sweat, smellpanting. He was so tired. So very tired, but an injustice had been committed and needed to be corrected. Correction.
"I think he's coming to!! Go tell his brother. He'll want to see him."
White light, lots of white lightconfused. Lady fair, Relena, Cinderella, Relena, Cinderella, Lady fair, Relena, Bear
"Heero? Hey, how are you feeling?"
"Honey, he probably can't understand you, or even recognize you. But don't worry–that's normal, for this. He's very sick, in a delirium. You shouldn't expect too much."
"Heero? You there?"
Ouch his back is stabbing him, no a pain is backing stab, no, his stab is paining him. light Cinderella he never found CinderellaDaddy!!! Round belly babies innocents hurt. Why did he hurt? Backing paining stab
"When are your parents coming?"
"As soon as possible."
"GoodI'm afraid we may not be able to save him. You'll need to prepare yourself"
"I need to get a drink of water"
"Don't worry Huy!! Heero, he'll be fine! He always is!!"
"Whatever"
"I think you should be a little more sympathetic to your friend. It's hard enough to see his brother suffering so without your unbiased optimism."
"Well aren't we Miss Bright-and-chipper!!"
Run!! Run away, faster, faster, faster!! Don't hide!! Fight, be a man.tired, hurt, tired run!! Run, funfun bearHuy bear, Gina pink, Toshi meanmean beanbean, yuck.
Stabbing Backing PainingBacking Paining StabbingPaining Backing StabbingPhysical Breakpoint Systemsave worldlady fair with red swathmust right wrong
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A/N Does this make any sense to anyone? It really is supposed to, but maybe only to me because I wrote it. If you are too confused, you can ask me about it and I'll try to explain. Just remember that when you are sick, you are delirious and have mixtures of fantasy's and memories. I knew someone, that when they were sick, they imagined out this huge elaborate story about getting chased by demons and saving the world. They are very interesting. But this is kind of the same thing, a mixture of memories, repressed and those more recent, and fantasies.
Sorry that this is such a short chapter, but I'll have the next one out soonbut I just felt that all of this needed to stay together and I didn't want to add stuff just for the sake of adding onto it. That would make it boring and pointless. The question that follows all of this is, does anyone want a sequel? I'm already thinking that far in advance [there are a couple more chapters left in this story]. But I've got a few ideas for a sequel that will follow a different venue. Does anyone what it? Or leave rest of the story to the imagination?
If you have any questions about leukemia itself, ask and I'll try to answer them. I'm not a doctor or a pre-med. student, or anything like that [but I do plan to major in nursing when I start college next semester], most everything is from research I did last summer for this story [I told you I had the entire thing planned out from the beginning] and some information gleaned from my anatomy and physiology classes this year. Anyway, sorry for the long notes and short chapter, I hope you liked it and will like the remainder of the story
Toodles for now, Tygerlilee =^,^=