No rambling from me, I'll shut up so you can read.
* * * * *
Past, Present, Future
by Grace Musica
Chapter Fourteen
...Into Eternity
* * * * *
A year after Steve married and was a father-to-be, Trowa came down with a bad cold. He missed about a week of work, and finally Sally Po came by, worried about him. She gave him a quick look-over before giving him her professional opinion.
"Trowa, you've got influenza."
"The flu?"
"No, influenza," Sally corrected, packing up all her equipment. "A strain of influenza killed thousands back in the early old twentieth century, much more severe than the flu that people used to come down with to get a few days off of work."
"I thougth they had finally stamped out both before the colonies were even built."
"Not entirely. After all, this is Earth, where the disease started. It's in the entire ecology, it's still here. And since the government thought it fit to stop giving out the vaccination before all of us were even born, we have no immunity to it." She sighed. "Bedrest, a lot of penicillin, chicken noodle soup, and ginger ale, that's all I can do. The rest is up to you."
* * * * *
But Sally's best wasn't working, and Trowa was getting sick of lying abed day after day. He started to get worse and worse, his fever shooting though the roof. Quatre managed to get a hold of some influenza vaccines, and had Sally administer them to everyone who had come in contact with Trowa, and was still visiting him.
Finally, it came down to Sally having Trowa moved to the hospital, so he could be under a 24 watch. He condition was dropping steadily, and he slid into fevered sleep two days after arriving.
* * * * *
He was surrounded in a dark fog, light faintly shining at the horizion. The ground beneth his feet was warped, heat-abused and glassy; he kept losing his footing. He waved his hand in front of his face to try and rin his vision of the hampering fog, but it only came back stronger in its wake. He peered, and noticed that the light to his right was stronger.
When all else fails, go into the light.
He walked in the general direction, walked for what seemed like days, weeks, years. Finally, the fog disappeared, revealing the sky, which was lightening from black to deep purple to a darker blue. He noticed that the ground beneth his feet was becomming more falt, normal, with a few signs of life popping out of the ground here and there. He kept walking, then started to run towards the bright rays on the horizion.
Finally, he stopped. He was standing in a huge meadow, the sun shining brightly in a clear blue sky, a light breeze rippling his hair gently. He walked a bit into the sea of grass, but stopped again when he heard his name.
"Trowa!"
He turned to see two people running at him; Cathy and Midii. Both of them threw their arms around his neck and kissed his cheeks.
"Oh, Trowa, I've been talking with your wife for quite a while," Cathy told him as she pulled back, grinning. "You got a little spitfire here, don't you?"
Trowa grinned like an idiot at his sister, until Midii reached up and pulled his head down for a long, sweet kiss. She pulled back and Trowa realized that she was wearing the ivory dress, and looked as young as she did when they first were married. Therefore, Trowa figured he must look like hell, compared to the two beautiful women he had missed so much standing in front of him. He ran a hand through Midii's blonde hair. "Oh, God, Mid. I've missed you so much."
"And I you." She smiled and kissed him again.
"Am I dead?"
Midii shook her head. "Yes and no. You're dead right now... But you still have the chance to go back."
"I choose you," Trowa said immediately, taking her hand.
"Choose carefully, Trowa. Think about our children." Midii squeezed his hand. "They need their father."
"They also needed their mother. They're old enough now to take care of themselves."
Midii raised an eyebrow. "Really? Did you know that our little Jessica is pregnant?"
Trowa shook his head as his heart leapt. Another grandchild.
"She does. She's been planning to tell you for a month. She hasn't even told her husband yet. She wants you to be the first to know. And if you were to die... She could lose the baby."
Trowa looked into Midii's eyes. "Don't guilt trip me, please Midii. I have wanted to see you so badly..." He put his arms around her, holding her close. "To hold you... Kiss you..." He bent his head down to capture her lips with his.
"As have I," Midii sighed as he pulled back from their kiss. "But other people need you more than I do. Go back. Tell stories about me--about us. Make sure our kids know the real us. And when you work on Earth is through... I'll be waiting."
"How long will that be? Seeing as you seem to know everything now."
Midii smiled. "It's one of the perks here. But to answer your question... Fifteen years. Next Wednesday."
"That's a long time, Mid."
"I know." She leaned up on tiptoe and gave him a kiss. "Make the most of it."
* * * * *
"DADDY!"
Trowa smiled weakly as Jessica threw her arms around his neck, crying her eyes out. Her husband stood behind her, a hand on her shoulder and smiling.
"I'm glad to see you're awake, Dad."
"And I'm glad to see the two of you," Trowa replied, smiling back at his son-in-law.
"Daddy, Daddy, you almost died! Your heart stopped, and the doctors came in and did the electricity thing with those awful de... De... Aw, whatever the hell those things are called, the paddles that shock the hell out of you, and your body jumped so horribly..."
"I did die, Jess."
Jessica froze, eyes filling up with tears. "You did?!"
Trowa nodded, and Jessica threw her arms around his neck again.
"Shh, shh... Baby, calm down. I'm still here." He pulled back and studied her face. "And I saw your mother. She misses you very, very much, and she's watching over you every day."
A tear slipped down Jessica's cheek at that, and Trowa brushed it away. Then he grinned. "And she tells me you have some big news for me..."
* * * * *
* * * * *
Past, Present, Future
by Grace Musica
Chapter Fourteen
...Into Eternity
* * * * *
A year after Steve married and was a father-to-be, Trowa came down with a bad cold. He missed about a week of work, and finally Sally Po came by, worried about him. She gave him a quick look-over before giving him her professional opinion.
"Trowa, you've got influenza."
"The flu?"
"No, influenza," Sally corrected, packing up all her equipment. "A strain of influenza killed thousands back in the early old twentieth century, much more severe than the flu that people used to come down with to get a few days off of work."
"I thougth they had finally stamped out both before the colonies were even built."
"Not entirely. After all, this is Earth, where the disease started. It's in the entire ecology, it's still here. And since the government thought it fit to stop giving out the vaccination before all of us were even born, we have no immunity to it." She sighed. "Bedrest, a lot of penicillin, chicken noodle soup, and ginger ale, that's all I can do. The rest is up to you."
* * * * *
But Sally's best wasn't working, and Trowa was getting sick of lying abed day after day. He started to get worse and worse, his fever shooting though the roof. Quatre managed to get a hold of some influenza vaccines, and had Sally administer them to everyone who had come in contact with Trowa, and was still visiting him.
Finally, it came down to Sally having Trowa moved to the hospital, so he could be under a 24 watch. He condition was dropping steadily, and he slid into fevered sleep two days after arriving.
* * * * *
He was surrounded in a dark fog, light faintly shining at the horizion. The ground beneth his feet was warped, heat-abused and glassy; he kept losing his footing. He waved his hand in front of his face to try and rin his vision of the hampering fog, but it only came back stronger in its wake. He peered, and noticed that the light to his right was stronger.
When all else fails, go into the light.
He walked in the general direction, walked for what seemed like days, weeks, years. Finally, the fog disappeared, revealing the sky, which was lightening from black to deep purple to a darker blue. He noticed that the ground beneth his feet was becomming more falt, normal, with a few signs of life popping out of the ground here and there. He kept walking, then started to run towards the bright rays on the horizion.
Finally, he stopped. He was standing in a huge meadow, the sun shining brightly in a clear blue sky, a light breeze rippling his hair gently. He walked a bit into the sea of grass, but stopped again when he heard his name.
"Trowa!"
He turned to see two people running at him; Cathy and Midii. Both of them threw their arms around his neck and kissed his cheeks.
"Oh, Trowa, I've been talking with your wife for quite a while," Cathy told him as she pulled back, grinning. "You got a little spitfire here, don't you?"
Trowa grinned like an idiot at his sister, until Midii reached up and pulled his head down for a long, sweet kiss. She pulled back and Trowa realized that she was wearing the ivory dress, and looked as young as she did when they first were married. Therefore, Trowa figured he must look like hell, compared to the two beautiful women he had missed so much standing in front of him. He ran a hand through Midii's blonde hair. "Oh, God, Mid. I've missed you so much."
"And I you." She smiled and kissed him again.
"Am I dead?"
Midii shook her head. "Yes and no. You're dead right now... But you still have the chance to go back."
"I choose you," Trowa said immediately, taking her hand.
"Choose carefully, Trowa. Think about our children." Midii squeezed his hand. "They need their father."
"They also needed their mother. They're old enough now to take care of themselves."
Midii raised an eyebrow. "Really? Did you know that our little Jessica is pregnant?"
Trowa shook his head as his heart leapt. Another grandchild.
"She does. She's been planning to tell you for a month. She hasn't even told her husband yet. She wants you to be the first to know. And if you were to die... She could lose the baby."
Trowa looked into Midii's eyes. "Don't guilt trip me, please Midii. I have wanted to see you so badly..." He put his arms around her, holding her close. "To hold you... Kiss you..." He bent his head down to capture her lips with his.
"As have I," Midii sighed as he pulled back from their kiss. "But other people need you more than I do. Go back. Tell stories about me--about us. Make sure our kids know the real us. And when you work on Earth is through... I'll be waiting."
"How long will that be? Seeing as you seem to know everything now."
Midii smiled. "It's one of the perks here. But to answer your question... Fifteen years. Next Wednesday."
"That's a long time, Mid."
"I know." She leaned up on tiptoe and gave him a kiss. "Make the most of it."
* * * * *
"DADDY!"
Trowa smiled weakly as Jessica threw her arms around his neck, crying her eyes out. Her husband stood behind her, a hand on her shoulder and smiling.
"I'm glad to see you're awake, Dad."
"And I'm glad to see the two of you," Trowa replied, smiling back at his son-in-law.
"Daddy, Daddy, you almost died! Your heart stopped, and the doctors came in and did the electricity thing with those awful de... De... Aw, whatever the hell those things are called, the paddles that shock the hell out of you, and your body jumped so horribly..."
"I did die, Jess."
Jessica froze, eyes filling up with tears. "You did?!"
Trowa nodded, and Jessica threw her arms around his neck again.
"Shh, shh... Baby, calm down. I'm still here." He pulled back and studied her face. "And I saw your mother. She misses you very, very much, and she's watching over you every day."
A tear slipped down Jessica's cheek at that, and Trowa brushed it away. Then he grinned. "And she tells me you have some big news for me..."
* * * * *