Mel: Hmm. let's see how much of this I can get done before I get stuck.

Tsuru: That never stopped you before..

Mel: What's that supposed to mean?

Tsuru: *ignores her* Don't forget the disclaimer.

Mel: *grumbles* I don't see why I have to do it for every smeggin' chapter. You'd think that people would be smart enough to realize that this is a fanfiction. Fictional work being written by a fan. Meaning they don't own the smeggin' anime either!

Tsuru: *sighs*

Disclaimer: Melara still does not own anything anime related, and that includes Gundam wing and all of its characters.

Mel: *is still ranting*

Tsuru: Warnings...

Mel: Nani? Oh. right..

Warnings: This chapter moves along pretty quickly, so if you get lost, just slow down and read it again. It's okay if you do, I don't think it will take too much away from the story.

Mel: *jumping up and down* Can I write it now?

Tsuru: Hai.

Mel: YAYNESS!!!!!

Tsuru: *sighs* She's had too much sugar. not good for her fics..



Quatre's mind slowly woke up, and he began to process information. The first thing he noticed was that he was lying down, most likely on a bed by the feel of it. Then he realized that there were at least two people near by, because he could hear them talking. both were males. Quatre waited, but no names had matched up with the voices yet. He was also cold, but only his chest. There was a slight pressure on him from the waist down, probably blankets. The voices in the room sounded violent.. Well, one of them did... it was Heero and Duo; Duo was yelling. Quatre was about to open his eyes to see what was going on, but decided to listen to the rest of the argument.

"I can't believe you just took off without checking to see if Quatre was alright. You saw that hit he took! He hit his head so hard he temporarily lost his vision! He practically shattered four of his left ribs. We have no idea what else is wrong with him!"

"Duo-"

"You're supposed to be the leader! You're supposed to make sure we all come out of this in one piece when possible! And you just left him!?!?"

"Duo, I'm trying to-"

"And then when we brought him home, what do you do? You drug him! He was already unconscious! Now when he wakes up, he won't be able to tell us what's wrong with him!"

"I did it to-"

"Just what kind of a leader are you?!?! You and Wufei, honestly. The two of you are the furthest things from human I've ever seen!!!"

"DUO! Shut up!" Once Heero had gotten Duo to listen to him, he seemed like he didn't know what to say. "If-If you keep yelling, you'll wake Quatre up."

"H-how dare you!" Duo's voice was filled with venom. "After all you've done to him, you want to make sure I don't wake him up? He's got so much codeine in his blood, I don't think anything could wake him up!"

"Duo!"

"You gave him enough for a person twice his size! You could have knocked him into a comma or something!" Quatre had had enough of listening to this pointless argument. He started to sit up, but was startled when he felt something on his chest holding him down.

"Quatre's awake."

"What?" Quatre heard rushed footsteps coming toward him, and opened his eyes expecting to see the bright eyed Shinigami. He couldn't see anything. His vision was still gone. "Quatre! Are you alright?" Quatre hesitated before answering the question, not wanting Duo to fuss over him more than he already was.

"Well, I can't feel anything, so I don't think what ever you gave me has worn off yet.." Duo rustled something, then spoke.

"You can't feel anything?" Quatre thought a moment more before he gave his reply.

"Well, I can feel vibrations.. And I know something isn't right in my chest. Every time I take in a breath, I can feel vibrations throughout my entire upper body."

"Broken ribs. Can you feel this?" Quatre felt a weight being removed from his chest, then another one put on.

"That depends.. What was I supposed to feel?" Duo let out an exasperated sigh.

"Heero, when I get my hands on you.." Quatre shook his head, then turned his head towards where Duo's voice had come from. If he was lucky, maybe Duo wouldn't notice he still couldn't see. "I'm sorry. So, how's your head? You smacked it pretty hard."

"If I could answer that, I would. As I said before, I can't feel a thing."

"Right. Um. How's your vision? How many fingers am I holding up?" Quatre sighed, and shook his head.

"I have no idea. I can't see a thing." He could feel the rage radiating from the braided 02 pilot, and listened to him dart out of the room. "Duo! Wait!" Quatre could hear Duo's screams from where ever he was in the house.

"Heero! You get over here right now!" Quatre sat up, feeling something slide off of his chest, then tried to stand. His numb legs wouldn't hold his weight, and he fell to the floor. The shock to his head caused him to pass out again.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Quatre awoke again to a dull throbbing pain in his chest. The flesh around his broken ribs had swollen up, which restricted the young Arab's breathing. He began to take in short, quick breaths in an effort to get enough oxygen into his system. As his breathing became more violent, his muscles began to twitch involuntarily.

A cool hand on his forehead caused Quatre to panic. His hands shot out, trying to figure out who was in the room with him. His eyes flicked open, although he still couldn't see anything. His hands buried into long bangs, then traveled down a long face. It was Trowa.

"It's alright. Calm down." Quatre finally managed to control his breathing, making slow, even, but painful inhalations.

"It's too swollen. I can't breathe.." Trowa gently lifted the blond youth up, then pulled the pillow out from underneath his head, straitening his windpipe.

"Is that any better?" Quatre nodded slightly.

"Hai. Much. Arigat?." Now that the drugs had worn off, he could feel the pain covering every inch of his body, the worst part being his head.

"How are you feeling?"

"Aside from the fact that I ache all over, I'm doing pretty well. I still can't see anything.." Trowa pressed his hand against Quatre's head again, then he stepped away. "What are you doing?" Quatre felt a long, thin, stick-like thing slip into his mouth, and under his tongue.

"You feel a little warm. Hold that there while I get some ice to stop the swelling." Quatre grumbled slightly at the way he was being treated. If it were anyone else in this bed, he would be the only one taking care of them. Quatre was sick of people treating him as if he was weak because he was so much smaller than the other pilots. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself.

The thermometer beeped as Trowa re-entered the room. He felt the metal rod slide out of his mouth, and listened to Trowa's grumble at what it said.

"You have a pretty high fever..." Quatre heard something like objects banging together, then felt a stinging cold on his chest.

"Ah-hah! That's cold!" Trowa chuckled lightly, then placed a damp cloth on Quatre's forehead.

"If I take it off, we'll never get the swelling down. You've put up with worse." Quatre could see the smile on Trowa's face in the back of his mind. He didn't smile very often, and when he did, it was only around Quatre and Catherine.

"You have a point. but it's still cold!" For the next few minutes, neither of the two said much. Trowa occasionally let out an exasperated sigh. Quatre had no idea how he looked, but judging by Trowa's muttering, it couldn't be good.

"The doctors have given us two weeks of vacation, so we were planning on staying at one of your mansions, is that alright with you?" Quatre grinned widely.

"What's the occasion? I never thought we'd get a brake!" When Trowa didn't answer, Quatre knew that the vacation hadn't been the doctor's idea. They were probably begged into it.

"Would you like something to eat?" Quatre shook his head, and closed his useless eyes.

"No thank you, I'm going to go back to sleep." Even though the conversation was clearly over, Trowa didn't move from his spot next to the bed. Quatre never heard him leave, even after he had fallen asleep.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

A loud bang from outside woke Duo up, and he flew to the window to see what it had been. They had been discovered.

"Shimatta! Heero, get up!" Duo knocked on the door to the stoic pilot's bedroom. The door flew open, and a very unhappy wing pilot stood in its place. "We've been found out! We have to get out of here now!" Heero nodded slightly, then disappeared into his room to gather a few essentials. Duo raced through the hallway to warn Wufei. The Chinese adolescent was already up and headed for Trowa. Duo grabbed a small box that held his most precious possession, and his hand gun, both of which he tucked into his pocket. He then ran into Quatre's room and scooped the thin boy up into his arms. His eyes flew open, and he began to run his hands along Duo's body, trying to identify him.

"D-Duo? What's going on?" Duo stiffened as he heard a gun shot outside. They were going to try to take prisoners instead of killing them off.

"Change of plans Quat. We're going to take our vacation a few days sooner than expected." Duo quickly left the room, and headed for the back stairs, hoping that he could get out of the house before anyone else could get in.

"Duo!" Wufei hissed, grabbing his shoulder. "It's too late for that now. They've already gotten into the house. Trowa's distracting them while Heero gets his gundam. They're going to pick us up on the roof." Duo nodded in reply, and instinctively held Quatre closer. The blond boy's eyes widened in horror at the realization of what was happening. Duo and Wufei darted into a closet and pulled down the steps that lead to the attic. Duo was now grateful that it had been so hard to find.

"We should wait here until Heero gets here. If we go out on the roof now, they might catch us." Duo smiled at the sightless boy's advice, and placed him down on the floor to help his breathing.

"I agree. We wait."

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Trowa slid silently through the hallway. Although his goal was to distract the intruders, he didn't want to be caught unarmed. His gun was in the drawer in the main hall, next to the living room. There was no way that he could get there without trouble.

"Remember, don't kill them if you can help it. They could be very useful to us." Trowa could hear the soldiers in the room he was about to pass. At least he knew he wouldn't be dead.. for now..

Trowa darted past the door, not bothering to see if he had been seen. It was all or nothing now. As he turned a corner he heard one of the soldiers shriek that he had seen something, and knew he was being followed. He also knew there was no way he could get to his gun. The living room, which stood between him and the main hallway, was crawling with his enemies. He slid into the closet beside him, waiting for a guard to come buy.

"I know I saw one of them. He was right here just a minute ago!" Trowa grabbed the handle to the door, and prepared to swing it open full force. He hit the soldier in the head, knocking the confused man to the ground. While his opposer was recovering, Trowa grabbed his gun and dagger, then he announced his presence to the group in the living room by attacking one of them from the back with the knife.

Bullets whizzed by him, and all Trowa could do was move. He ran across a side of the room, trying to make it to the stairs. If he could keep them away from the doors, Heero would be able to get out. Every shot that Trowa made resulted in another lifeless body on the floor.

A green blur slid out the door, and Trowa turned to watch. Heero had made it out. One of the intruders had followed Trowa's gaze, and had also seen Heero leave. He was dead before the situation could fully sink in.

With his end of the mission at hand taken care of, Trowa searched for a place to rest. He had been asleep when Wufei warned him of danger, and he still hadn't woken up. His mind was slow, and his reflexes were not as good as usual. He was surprised he hadn't gotten hit yet.

Trowa found himself boxed in. He was in the main hallway, and there were soldiers in front and behind him. He gathered all of his strength in his legs to make the jump past the first line. Once in the midst of things, his pursuers would be too confused to attack, giving Trowa a precious few moments to find safety. His jump was perfect, but his landing was off. While Trowa attempted to find his balance, one of the men took the opportunity to get in a hit. The bullet went right through Trowa's right shoulder.

He didn't take the time to return the fire. He simply raced out of the room, headed for the stairs. He could hear Heero outside, it wouldn't be long before they could all leave. At the top of the steps, Trowa was faced with another problem. He couldn't remember which closet had the trap door to the attic.

"Chikusho.." Trowa tried the third door to his right, it wasn't the right one. He didn't have time to try all of the doors. He decided to try the window.

He sped into Duo's bedroom, and pushed the cracked glass out of the frame. Below him, he could hear someone shout when it shattered next to him. Most of the other men were too stunned from seeing a gundam to notice.

Trowa squatted on the window sill, facing the inside. He brought his unharmed arm up outside, and held himself steady as he stood up. On of the soldiers from the hall rushed into the room and spotted him. Trowa made another well powered jump, and managed to grab onto the roof and pull himself up. But not before he was hit by a well aimed shot.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

"Trowa!" Duo gently laid Quatre inside Wing, and ran out to help his friend. He was hanging onto the edge of the roof with one hand, trying to pull himself up. "Hang on buddy. I've got ya." Duo grabbed onto Trowa's arm and hoisted him up. Trowa cried out as his left leg bent. Duo frowned as he spotted the blood soaking that knee, and his right shoulder. "Can you walk?" Trowa shook his head, then looked up at Wing.

"Is Quatre alright?" Duo chuckled and lifted up the uni-banged boy.

"You should be more worried about yourself, and yes. Quatre's just fine."

"Duo! Hurry up!" Wufei shouted from the cockpit of Wing. Duo laughed and jumped in, then gently set Trowa down by Quatre. The tiny space wasn't meant to fit this many people, but it would have to do for now. There was no time to retrieve the other gundams. Besides, Trowa and Quatre weren't in any condition to do anything but rest at the moment.

~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~*~~~

Quatre felt a warm body being set down on his left side, and reached out a hand to see who it was. A large hand wrapped around each of his own, and placed them on his lap.

"It's me, Quatre."

"Trowa." Quatre frowned, and sniffed the air. A strong smell of blood filled his nostrils. "You're hurt. What happened?" Trowa sighed.

"I was shot twice.." His tired voice trailed off, and he slumped against Quatre.

"Trowa?" Warm blood slid down Quatre's bare shoulder from the wound in Trowa's. Quatre's eyes widened in fear for his friend.

"...I'm just glad you're alright..." Quatre pressed on the injury, trying to suppress the bleeding. He felt another hand on his shoulder, and felt Trowa move away from him.

"I'll take care of him." The voice belonged to the last living member of the Dragon clan. "You need sleep yourself." Quatre let Wufei dress Trowa's wounds, but refused to sleep. He wasn't tired, and he wanted to make sure everyone else was alright. After Wufei had finished, he turned to Quatre and put a hand on his chin. "I had hoped you wouldn't be stubborn." A small pill slid into Quatre's mouth, and he was forced to swallow it by reflex.

"Wufei! What did you just give him?" Duo shouted. Quatre's eyes slid shut, and his head landed lightly against his chest, unable to hold it up anymore. "More codeine wasn't it? You can't just keep pumping him full of drugs! What if he gets addicted to it!?!?"

"..I agree.. with Duo.... I don't.. need..sleep..." Quatre lost himself in the drug haze, and remained asleep until long after they had reached his mansion.



Mel: ^__^ And I did all of that in one sitting! Aren't you proud of me?

Tsuru: *sighs* Because she has off of school, she's been compelled to write.

Mel: Is this a bad thing?

Tsuru: Hai.

Mel: *pouts*

Tsuru: Well, review this so she knows she needs to continue.

Mel: Yeah. It's hard to work on the fics I've already started. I have so many new ideas...

Tsuru: Oh no. here we go again..

Mel: *begins to jump up and down again* Ooh! Ooh! I know!!! I'll do one where Heero can only speak Japanese!! That would be fun!!! I'll get to work on that one right now!!!!

Tsuru: *shakes head* Hopeless..