Book Five
Part 28
Without you I'm not okay
And without you I've lost my way
My heart's stuck in second place ooh
Without you
"Without You" - Dixie Chicks
The Jeep came to a halt at the end of a long drive over county roads. Anicka woke up and tried to move, to no avail. She could see Quatre's closed eyes in front of hers. He was laying over her, around her, protecting her, fast asleep, so she didn't try waking him. Duo, however, did.
"Quatre, you up?" The Arabian woke with a start. His deep, dark eyes stared forward into Anicka's pools of brown. She smiled and he hugged her tight.
"Yea, Duo," he answered. "We'll be inside in a minute, leave the couch open for us."
"All right, Quatre," he said, and left them in the car together.
"I could hear you, Quatre, I couldn't wake up, I tried, but I couldn't. It hurts, it hurts so much…"
"What hurts, Anicka? What?" He released her slightly.
"Everything. It hurt not to have you there with me. It hurt when they hit me – every day. They punched me, it jumped, Quatre. The baby jumped at the sound of your gun when you got me. It knew it was safe."
"I should have come sooner."
"It wasn't your fault, you didn't know what to do."
"But I could have let them get me, too, then I would have been there with you."
"But we wouldn't be out right now if you did. I missed you."
"I missed you, too. Do you want to go inside? It's warm in there."
"Yeah, but Duo's in there."
"He'll be fast asleep by now. He sleeps heavier than a rock on a Sunday."
"What?"
"Let's just go in."
"I don't think I can walk, Quatre. They hurt me pretty bad."
"I gotcha." He got out of the car and picked her up, as he had done earlier that night, and carried her inside. The place had been cleaned since the night of the kidnapping, it looked like she was just going home. Quatre laid her on the couch, and asked, "Do you need anything?"
"Um, help into my pajamas, please?" They smiled at each other. He walked over to her bag, next to the bed Duo was on, and took out an old T-shirt, the one he had seen her wear the morning after he met her. He walked back over to her, slowly. She lay there, smiling, waiting. He walked over to her and sat next to her body, slowly taking her battered shirt off. She reached down her figure and undid her dirty pants; Quatre took off his shirt. He stood and pulled her pants off, throwing them into a pile with the shirts, and then his pants. He lay down over her, holding himself up with his arms. She propped herself up with her good arm and kissed him. She pulled him down with her other arm. He grabbed several blankets from the back of the couch and pulled them over himself, staying slightly above Anicka. He kissed her cheeks and neck, but she grew limp. He stopped and checked her breath. She was sleeping soundly. She breathed "I love you" to him in her sleep. He kissed her once more and relaxed next to her, the dawn light shining through the windows.
Part 29
Duo sat up on the bed and looked around. Quatre and Anicka were sleeping soundly on the couch, covered in a pile of blankets. The sun was in the west, setting for the day. Duo got up and put his clothes on for the day. He left a note on the kitchen table, saying "Hey, Guys! I left at about 7 last night, I'll be back tomorrow with a carrier for Sandrock and Swordsong – looks like Swordsong'll need some help getting back. See you then!" He left, quietly, and went towards the safe house.
The baby woke up. It was squished between the body it was in and someone else. It was too hot, so it kicked in all directions. Anicka and Quatre woke up simultaneously. "Sorry," Anicka joked.
"It's okay," he understood. "You want something for breakfast? Toast? Juice? Eggs?"
"Scrambled eggs on toast, juice on the side, please," she answered.
He got up and went to the kitchen and saw the note from Duo. "Anicka, Duo's getting us a carrier for Sandrock and Swordsong! Says he doesn't think you can fly her back."
"Neither do I," she said, lifting herself up by her good arm and the couch.
"Good, I don't want you to get hurt worse than you already are."
"What do you mean by that?" she stalled. She swung her good leg so she was sitting on the couch. Then, gripping with her toes, she grabbed her pajama shirt and picked it up. "Thanks for helping me with this last night." She pulled it over her head and attempted to stand, but fell backwards onto the couch.
"What are you doing?" Quatre cracked an egg into the pan. Leaving it over the wood-burning stove, he rushed over to her. "Anicka…" He helped her up to a sitting position. He gently lifted her up and became her human crutch, half-carrying her to the kitchen. "We need to get you to a doctor," he said, setting her in a chair.
"How about when we get home?"
"Are you going to make it that long?"
"I've made it this far."
Quatre went back to the stove. "Crap, I burnt the eggs!" Stirring frantically, he removed the eggs from the skillet and put them on a plate. "Will these be okay?"
"They're perfect!" She looked at the eggs. They were browned and crispy on some parts and gooey in others, but she didn't care. It was her first decent meal in almost a week.
"Perfect? They look gross!"
"Quatre, I've been eating ground mush for the past week. This is so good," she said with a mouthful of food.
"What happened there, Anicka? Duo said they beat you."
"They did. Whenever I did or said anything wrong, or anything that they didn't like, they hit me. Some guards were worse than others were, though; they tried not to hit me in the stomach. When Duo escaped, the night guard beat me bad. That's why I was sick last night."
"I killed him, Anicka. I knew he did it and I killed him. Catalonia, too."
"You… did… WHAT?!"
"They died at my hands. And I have no regrets."
"Oh… Kay. Umm…" She stuffed her face full of food to keep herself from saying something she would regret.
"What's that?" Quatre said suddenly after a few minutes of silence. "Do you hear anything?"
"No…" A loud noise, like an airport runway, sounded through the forest. "Yes."
"Must be Duo, he's back for the Gundams. Want to go meet him?"
"Sure, can you help me?"
He smiled, lifted her off her feet and brought her out to the meadow. The carrier's engines stopped, parked exactly where Deathscythe had been. Duo jumped from the cockpit, letting himself down by retracting string, and landing on the ground softly.
"Hey, guys! Ani, you're awake! Feeling okay?"
"I guess," she said, trying to stand, but still leaning on Quatre for support. "We're going to the doctor when we get back."
"Did you tell everybody what happened, Duo?"
"Of course I did, everyone wanted to know. Even Trowa."
"What does he have to do with this?" Anicka asked, remembering their last conversation. It felt like such a long time ago.
"What did he tell you before we left, Anicka, when you were packing. You said it was Gundam program stuff."
"He threatened me, he told me something and hit me and yelled at me about us getting…" She realized Duo was there and stopped.
"He's-dead-I'll-kill-him," Quatre said all in one syllable, fuming, "How dare he…"
She put the pieces together – Trowa's jealousy had pushed him to betraying their location to Quatre's enemy. "Let me, when I'm better. It's me he messed up," she said, when she wanted to yell incoherently about crushing his skull and ripping his balls off. I could have died! She thought.
He could have killed her! Quatre thought.
Duo was confused. "What's going on?"
"We'll tell you on the way back," the couple said.
Duo volunteered to get Sandrock and Swordsong into the carrier. Quatre got a few of the new blankets from the cabin and put them over Anicka's seat in the cockpit. He helped her in, and Duo got in after finishing with the Gundams. Duo flew the craft back.
"What do you mean about Trowa, guys? What's going on?"
"He's jealous of me for some reason. It's so bad that he had to tell Catalonia where we were going. He used me for bait, tried to get something from Quatre. It backfired, I don't suppose he thought I would almost die."
Quatre was fuming, muttering "I'll kill him…" under his breath, continuously.
"Trowa? Really? What made him that jealous?"
"Ask him," she said, thinking she'd scream the real reason from the rooftops when she got home. "Omigod!" she realized with a start, "We left the Jeep!"
"That's okay, we've got a van, and Quatre's got at least one car," Duo said. "I admit it, that Jeep sure pulled through, though."
"I've been meaning to ask, how did you guys get me out?"
"It was all my idea," Duo said, noting that Quatre was still fuming, staring out the window. "I let them find me. They had a crappy old car, so Quatre followed them in the Jeep until he saw the building. Then he parked and crawled on the ground and hid there. You know what happened with me. Then I met him in the field, and we got some rifles out of the Jeep. We snuck in, shot anyone who tried to stop us, found you and got you out. And here we are, about to land at home."
"We're here already?"
"Yeah, there it is, right under us. Here we go…"
They started their descent, Quatre muttering the whole time.
Part 30
Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there
With open arms and open eyes yeah
Whatever tomorrow brings, I'll be there, I'll be there
"Drive" - Incubus
"They're back," Heero said. The sound of the carrier landing shook the house.
"Already?" said Wufei.
"You heard Duo earlier today, he said they'd be back soon," Heero said. Trowa rushed down the hall to his room and they heard the door lock behind him. "What's eating him?"
"We're ba-a-ck!" Duo yelled from the warehouse door into the house.
"Welcome back!" Heero yelled. Duo jovially bounce-walked into the room. Quatre followed, carrying Anicka, as if it were now his custom. But, this time, he had a fire in his eyes such as none of them had ever seen – even when he was crazy. No, this was a differently crazed Quatre. The angry fire was only burning for one person – Trowa.
"Hello everyone!" Anicka shouted form the arms of her fiancé. "We're not late, are we? How is everybody? I missed you guys!" Anicka was trying to cover up the Arabian's anger with her own blend of excess kindness. She received odd looks from Heero and Wufei.
"Hello," Quatre said in a low voice. "Where did Trowa go?"
"To his room, why?" Wufei said.
"I have to talk to him. Anicka, do you want to sit on the couch?"
"Sure, the rest of you want to come with me?" she addressed to the remainder of the group.
"Yeah, let's go, guys," Duo joined in. "Ani, you want me to help you?"
"Okay." She shifted from lying in Quatre's arms to leaning on Duo's shoulder. "Thanks!" The group went into the living room, except for Quatre. He went down the hall to Trowa's room.
"Can I come in?" he said politely, reaching for the door handle.
"Sure." The door unlocked. Quatre opened the door and shut it behind him. He walked up to Trowa and slapped him hard across the face.
"That's for Anicka," he kicked Trowa in the chest, knocking him over, "and that's from me. What the hell were you thinking?"
"What do you mean?" Trowa said, trying to sound innocent, clutching his chest in pain.
"You know what I mean…" he said in the lowest, angriest voice he could. "You told Catalonia where we were going! What were you thinking? He almost killed her! Did you see? She almost died! And why? Because of your own selfish ambitions. I could kill you for it."
"Sounds like you pretty much got it figured out…"
"No, I don't! What made you so jealous that you would try to eliminate the one woman I have ever loved?"
"The only one you have ever loved? You mean there haven't been any others? Don't you think anyone might have ever thought that way about you?"
"No, Trowa… you don't mean…" His anger deepened.
"What do you think?"
"I think you have to stop lying to me. Enough of this crap, Trowa. I know Anicka told you – about us getting married. If you didn't like it, you could have come to one of us. I thought I could trust you, Trowa!"
"And I thought I loved you!"
"Trowa… no. I'm sorry, but no. And you should apologize to Anicka, she could have lost the baby, no thanks to you," he stopped and left the room.
"They sure are yelling in there," Anicka noted a little after Quatre entered the room.
"What happened, Anicka? Duo told us a little bit of what was going on, but what happened?"
"They beat me up if I said something wrong, they beat me if I did something right, they beat me when I tried to escape… and now I hurt all over…" she moaned, "can one of you call the doc for me? I need to go there sometime soon…"
"No problem," Duo got up and went to the kitchen, and Quatre walked out of the hall.
"What's up, Quatre? She tried to sit up and Quatre sat under her head, becoming her pillow.
"Nothing," he started absently twirling her hair.
"Did you tell him?"
"Socked it right to him," he said sarcastically and truthfully.
"Just got off the phone with Doctor Sun, you're set for tomorrow at ten-thirty," Duo said, walking in to the room.
"Sun? Iria? Really?" Quatre said, sitting up straight.
"Yeah, they asked for our address, and when Quatre's name came up, the receptionist signed you up with Iria."
"Quatre, that's your sister, the one in the…"
"Yeah. You get to meet her tomorrow, great."
"I have a lot of people to meet, don't I? You all have told me so much about all of these people that I don't even know."
"We should have a party," Heero said sarcastically, not meaning anything by it.
"That's a great idea, Heero! We haven't seen everyone together in one place in a long time, sounds like a good idea," Quatre said.
"I was being sarcastic…" he confessed.
"It's still a good idea," Anicka said. "I do want to meet everyone." The doorbell rang.
"Who is that?" Duo said rhetorically, answering the door. "Oh my god!" he yelled. Arms and legs circled around him.
"Duo! It's been a while!" The girl released him and turned to the rest of the room. "Oh! Who're you?" she asked Anicka, seeing her on the couch with Quatre.
"I'm Anicka. And you are…"
"Hilde Schibecker. Pleased to meet ya!" she took Anicka's hand and shook it. She leaned over to Quatre and whispered "Good goin'!" Quatre grinned.
She sat over by Duo on the other couch, Wufei and Heero sat in the chairs. "What are you doing here, Hilde? Your visit is totally unexpected," Duo asked.
"Rumors around the Preventers said that there was a new Gundam traveling with Sandrock. I came to check it out."
"Oh," Anicka yawned, "it's just me. Quatre, what time is it?"
"Whoa! It's eleven o-clock already!"
"I'm going to bed. Sorry I can't stay and chat, I've had a long day, Hilde. Will you be here tomorrow?"
She looked up at Duo and he smirked, yawned and nodded in one motion. "Sure. See you tomorrow," she answered.
Anicka tried to get up, but could only sit awkwardly, gripping the back of the couch for support. Quatre smirked, noting her dilemma. "Goodnight, everybody," he said, picking her up yet again and carrying her into his room for the night.
Part 31
"Breakfast, anyone?" Hilde asked the next morning when Quatre and Anicka had made their way to the kitchen in their pajamas.
"Sure," Anicka said sleepily, "I'll have a bowl of cereal and orange juice."
"In the same bowl?" Hilde asked, confused.
"Yeah. Problem?"
"No, but gross! Why would you want that?"
"Because I'm pregnant."
"Oh! Well then…" she poured Anicka a huge bowl of corn flakes and drowned it in orange juice.
"Ask Duo for the details. Where did you sleep last night?" Anicka pried, noticing that Hilde was cooking in one of Duo's old t-shirts.
"Duo's room," she answered with a smile in her voice as well as on her face, handing Anicka the bowl of cereal.
"Is he up yet?" Quatre asked, pouring himself a glass of juice.
"He told me he had a long day yesterday, so I let him sleep in for a while. Said something about 'living out of a cockpit for a day' – I didn't ask. Shouldn't you be leaving now? It's a quarter to ten."
"Nine-forty five! Anicka, we have to go," Quatre said hurriedly. He ran into his room and came back with a shirt half on, one shoe on, three in hand and a trench coat over his arm. Anicka shoveled her 'cereal' into her mouth as fast as she could. Quatre rushed over to her, handed her a hat and wrapped her in the coat. "You'll be changing there anyway," was his excuse. He put her shoes on her feet and carried her out to the car.
Part 32
"We're here for Doctor Sun," Quatre said to the clerk at the desk after a forty five-minute long drive in the car to the office.
"She's with a patient right now, I'll tell her you're here," the clerk told Quatre. He proceeded to pick up the intercom phone and then said, "Doctor Sun, your ten-thirty is here, Doctor Sun – ten-thirty," he put down the phone, "She'll be here in a minute or two."
"Okay," Quatre said. He walked away from the desk and sat down in the chair by Anicka. "She's coming."
"Good. I can't wait." A nurse walked through the door.
"Anicka Estralla? The doctor is ready."
"Here we go," she stated. Quatre stood and helped her up, and they followed the nurse to a back room.
"Here, put this on and sit on the bed." The nurse handed her a hospital gown and left the room. Quatre busied himself by sitting on a wheelchair and doing wheelies on it. Anicka took her clothes off and put the gown on, as the nurse had told her to. She sat on the bed and watched Quatre's miserable attempts at balancing the chair on its back wheels until a fair-haired woman in a lab coat walked in.
"Hello, I'm Iria Sun, I'll be your doc… oh!" She stopped short, for Quatre had fallen backwards in his chair and landed on the floor with a thump. "Quatre?!"
"Iria! Ouch," he stood up and hugged his older sister.
"What are you doing here, Quatre?"
"Your patient – she's my fiancé."
"Really? Well…"
"Um, not to interrupt the family reunion, but can we commence with the doctorin', doc?" Anicka said jokingly. Iria turned to her and smiled.
"No problem, Anicka. Quatre, could you leave for a little while? I'll see you later, I have a job to do!"
"Sure, see you later, Iria," Quatre said. He kissed Anicka and left the room.
"Well, Anicka, how have you been feeling?" Iria asked, checking Anicka's eyes and ears.
"Today, I've been fine. Yesterday, I just got back from the former Americas and slept most of the day. But two days ago – I passed out at least twice and was beaten."
"Looks like it. Can you tell me what happened?"
"Quatre and I were out in the woods for a trip. These guys came and captured me and I was in a cell for a week. They beat me, then Duo and Quatre came and got me out. Then I came back here and Duo booked me a doctor's appointment. I kind of needed one."
"I can see why. Is there anything specific you want me to check out?"
"I'm pregnant."
"Oh! Great. I'll order a scan for you. I'm a gynecologist, too, I'm pretty much certified for everything. Anything else?" She picked up a clipboard and a pen and jotted things down.
"I don't think so. The baby's father, Iria. He isn't Quatre. He's from my colony. He died after I left."
"I don't need to know. I'm just the doctor."
"But I'd be telling you anyway, or you'd find out after it's born. I might as well tell you now."
"Good point. Anything else under your gown?"
"Yeah," she took off the dressing and laid it next to her. "Are these bad?"
"Whoa!" She was taken aback by the large amount of purple and blue marks on the woman's back and chest. "What happened?"
"Those are from the cell. When Duo escaped, the guard knocked me down and started kicking away. Then I passed out."
"Did this guy kick you in the stomach?"
"Yeah. But the baby kicked back after. Whoever is down there is pretty feisty," she laughed and Iria laughed, too.
"I'll have to run some tests to see how much damage they made." She scribbled on the chart again and picked up her stethoscope. "Could you take a deep breath?" She did. "Was there anything else wrong after that, Anicka? Other than passing out. Any pain?" She moved the stethoscope repeatedly.
"Yeah, my stomach hurt, so did my leg and wrist – but they were broken. I've been pretty drowsy lately."
"You can put your gown back on, I'll order the tests and ultrasound. Be back in a minute."
"Could you send Quatre back in?" she asked politely.
"Sure." Iria smiled and left the room. A couple minutes later, Quatre entered and sat on the bed next to her.
"What did she say?"
"She's going to run some tests and see what happened. We'll find out about the baby, too. If it's going to be all right, and if I'm all right. Tests and stuff."
"Good. Did you tell her everything?"
"Yeah. You know, I just thought of the first thing I'm going to do when we get home," she said thoughtfully, fingering through her hair.
"What?"
"Take a long bath." As she finished the sentence, Iria walked in, followed by a nurse and a big machine with a monitor on it.
"Hello again, Anicka and Quatre. I have the ultrasound machine, we can do that now. Quatre, if you'll sit in that chair," she motioned to a chair in the corner, "and Anicka, lay down, please." Anicka lay down on the bed and Iria prepared her for the ultrasound. The machine screen turned white, then black with rough lines on it. Quatre stood up, rushed over to Anicka and gripped her hand. "There's the baby."
Anicka looked on with tear-filled eyes at the rough shape of her soon-to-be child. "Oh my God…" she trailed off, squeezing Quatre's hand.
"Yeah," Quatre leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "Thanks, Iria. How is it doing?"
"I can tell you both now, this baby is going to be a fighter. From what Anicka told me and from the ultrasound, I can see it. This baby is totally healthy. Do you want a picture of it? For the records?"
"Sure," Anicka breathed. Iria punched a few buttons on the back of the machine, and a picture printed out from the side. She took it off the printer and handed it to Quatre. He smiled, and Iria turned the ultrasound off and took it off Anicka. She pulled her shirt back down and sat up on the bed. "Where to now, Iria?"
"I have to take you to the testing lab, since we can't do x-rays on you. They could be harmful to the baby. Why don't you get into the wheelchair, I'll clear a room." She left.
"Look at this," Quatre said to Anicka. He brought the picture over and sat by her. She took it and he picked her up and placed her in the wheelchair. He leaned over her shoulder and looked at the picture. "We could put this on the fridge at home, don't you think? The guys would love it."
"I know I do," Anicka answered, touching her stomach. Iria came back in.
"The testing room is just down the hall. Would you like to join us, Quatre? It'll give us a chance to catch up," she said, sounding less like a doctor and more like a big sister.
"Sure. Can I push the chair?" he asked.
"No problem." The trio walk-wheeled down the hall, Iria and Quatre exchanging stories from their experiences in the past years. Anicka put her own two cents in when it came to how they had met. They got to the room and the technician took over, laying Anicka under the machine with a heavy pad protecting the baby from the harmful rays. Iria and Quatre went to a room with a thick window looking in at Anicka. She turned her head to look at them; he smiled and blew a kiss. She caught it and smiled back. Iria pressed a button and Anicka could hear her speak. "We've got to stay back here when the machine's going, but we'll be back out when you're done."
"All right." The technician positioned Anicka under the lens and walked back to take the picture. They repeated that several times and the technician told her to get back into the wheelchair while she got the pictures developed. Iria and Quatre left the back room and Anicka tried her hardest to sit up. Quatre lifted her gently back into the chair. "Time to find out what's been going on down there lately."
"I'll take you to the room and find the resident orthopedics doctor. Can you get her back all right?"
"I'll find it." He started wheeling the chair down the hallway and Iria went back the other way. He found the room, brought her in and sat down.
"Quatre, when's your birthday?" she inquired, tipping her head slightly and staring right at him.
"Next month, the seventeenth, I'll be eighteen. Why?"
"Just wondering. Mine's in two months," she paused, "I've been thinking, what are we going to do when the baby's born? Our rooms are kinda too small for two people, let alone three. They are in the end of the hall, could we maybe tear out the wall in between them or something?"
"Why don't we talk about it when we can do something about it, Ani? You're in pretty bad shape."
"Yeah. Okay," she twirled her still-dirty hair. "Quatre…" she whined, "I need a bath."
"That we can take care of. But not here. Later. At home."
"I love you."
"I love you, too." He leaned in and kissed her in a way he never had before. They leaned away right before Iria came back in.
"Anicka, we'll put your wrist and leg in splints so you can take them off to bathe. You're right, they were broken, but your bone structure is remarkable to say the least. They healed up faster than I could have ever thought. You still have some slight cracks in your bones, but they should heal with the help of the splints," she took Anicka's arm and put a blue splint on it. "Does that hurt?"
"No, feels fine," she said, twisting her arm a couple times. Anicka lifted up her leg as best she could and Iria put a splint on it.
"How about that?"
"Nope, still doesn't hurt. Can I walk on it?"
"I wouldn't suggest that for a day or so. Work your way into it. You should probably have someone help you around for a couple days."
"You can count on me," Quatre said in a corny voice, saluting his sister with three fingers, making them all laugh a little.
"I knew I could. I'll show you how to get to the door, and I'll see you around?"
"Of course! I'll have to come back for baby appointments."
"Call the receptionist for those, okay?"
"No problem," Quatre answered, lifting Anicka off the table and setting her in the chair. They walked out to the lobby and Quatre carried Anicka out to the car. They sat in silence, still taking in all that had happened in the last two weeks. Anicka snickered.
"What's so funny?" Quatre asked.
"You know why all of this happened."
"All of what?"
"The last few weeks. Don't you remember why we left, originally?"
"No…"
"Quatre, we were going to get married. And then…"
"Then let's go now."
"NOW?"
"Sure. I'm up for it."
"Not now. Too much has been going on… I need to let it sink in. And I need a bath. I feel kind of dirty."
"Okay, fine." They were quiet the rest of the drive.
Part 33
"We're back again," Quatre said, carrying Anicka into the house once more. He carried her to her room. "Why don't you get ready for a bath. I'll go run the water."
"Okay." She undressed and put on an old robe from her bag. She took out a brush and started to brush her matted, dirty, unwashed, curly brown locks.
Quatre walked in, stared at her and smiled. "You look so beautiful."
"What are you talking about? I look like I've been in a hole for a week."
"No, you look so cute – I mean, in the robe, doing your hair. Are you ready?"
"Yeah. What time is it?"
"About noon."
"Seriously? No wonder we're so hungry."
"I'm not hungry," he said, lifting her up.
"Yeah, but Baby is, and that makes me hungry." They left the room.
"Well, do you want anything right now?" he asked, standing her up next to the towel rack. "Hold that," he said, untying her robe.
"Thanks, but, Quatre, you don't have to do this, I can get into the tub by myself." She balanced on one leg and took off her wrist splint.
"But you're hurt," he stated in a devious tone of voice. He pulled the robe off her shoulders and moved in front of her. "And I want to help you."
"But I… I'm all dirty…" she trailed off, seeing in his eyes that he wasn't listening and realizing now that she was naked. "I… I can't…" she stopped, interrupted by his lips pressed up against hers.
"Yes, you can," he picked her up by her armpits and set her in the water.
She sighed and closed her eyes as she immersed herself in the hot water and bubbles. "Lock the door…"
Suddenly, he closed the curtains. She sat in the warm water and could feel the grime coming off her body. "What are you doing?"
"Joining you."
"No, no, Quatre…" But it was too late. He had pulled the curtain away again and stepped gingerly into the giant bathtub next to her.
"I need a bath, too, you know. Not like I did anything while you were gone."
"What do you mean?" she asked, leaning on his shoulder.
"I was a wreck. Even ask Duo. Didn't even change clothes."
"Quatre…"
"I love you, Anicka. I couldn't stand it… it's like…"
"Like you found a piece of yourself you never thought you lost?"
"Yes… how did you know?"
"Because I feel the same way. I felt like I was going crazy… like I was in a box that kept getting smaller… I couldn't breathe… I just…" she broke down, crying on his shoulder.