As Trowa prepares to tell me his story we feel ourselves ushered over to a
quieter area in the street. A blanket is wrapped around my shoulders and I
assume that we have been taken care of by the ambulance men. Trowa helps
me to sit down by a wall and I feel him sit next to me. His arm rests
around my shoulders and suddenly I don't feel cold or frightened anymore.
Beside me Relena collapses on the ground and Heero sits on her other side. Relena and I are both awaiting an explanation.
(AN - For this part I'm going to use a flashback from Trowa because otherwise the explanations etc would be boring and too wordy.)
"It all started when I left you at Doctor Dalzell's office." Trowa begins.
"I'm scared." Sienne whispered, tears threatening to prick her eyes.
Trowa squeezed her hand. "Don't be." He said. "Remember that this is just a consultation, you won't be having an operation or anything today."
"But it's so final." She said. "If he tells me that I'm permanently blind then that is it. There will be no more hope."
"There's always hope." Trowa replied, taking her other hand in his. "A battle may seem pointless and never ending, but eventually there is an end. There is always hope, you just have to look for it. Quatre says."
The moment had been lost. As soon as Trowa mentioned Quatre she pulled her hands away from him.
"Sienne, Quatre and I are just." Trowa began quickly, but at the moment the door opened and Doctor Dalzell walked out.
"Ah, there you are. Come along inside then Sienne and we will get started. We should be finished in about an hour or so." He said to Trowa.
Trowa walked down the corridor sadly, not even having time to say goodbye. He could have kicked himself for being such an idiot. Why had he mentioned Quatre like that? He had almost been able to explain that he didn't love Quatre in that way. They were just friends now. It was Sienne whom he really liked.
Trowa left the building and entered the one next door, the hospital. He quickly found his way to the main reception and asked where the maternity ward was. He hoped that Quatre would be there when he arrived.
Peering through a door he saw Quatre sitting inside. Trowa knocked before entering the room. He walked through and was instantly granted a view of the entire room. And he was shocked by what he saw.
Quatre was sitting on a chair beside his sister, who sat up in bed holding a newborn baby in her arms. But perched on the bed next to her, with his arm around her shoulders was none other than Duo! And Wufei was sitting in a corner, talking to Relena. And there was Heero, standing silently by the window.
"It has happened then." Heero said solemnly as Trowa closed the door behind him.
The five Gundam Pilots looked to each other in astonishment. It had been three years since the end of the wars, and they had not all been reunited like this for a long time.
Stunned, Trowa found a seat and sat down in it shakily. "What are you all doing here?" He asked.
"Trowa, you remember I told you that my sister was expecting?" Quatre said. "I didn't know who the father was. Well, when I showed up today I met the father."
"Yours truly." Duo said, standing up and half saluting Trowa. "It's good to see you Tro."
Trowa took a while to take this in. "But Wufei." He began.
"I'm here on business. I'm a secret agent now. I got a phone call from someone who thought that they were being stalked, so I came here to do some surveillance."
"I was the one being stalked." Duo added. "But I had no idea that my secret agent would be Wufei."
"So where to Heero and I come into this?" Trowa asked.
"Relena and I are here on holiday. It was a last minute idea sprung by an acquaintance of ours. He had booked a holiday and at the last minute he couldn't go, so we took his place." Heero explained. "When I found out that you were in the area too Trowa, I was worried. Then I met up with Quatre who told me why he was here and I told him that you were here."
"It's all very complicated." Quatre agreed. "What I find strange is why we are all here, in this hospital."
"Well, you and Duo are here because of the birth." Wufei said. "And Relena and Heero are here because Relena is bound to do hospital visits as one of her royal duties. I am here because Duo employed me to be here."
"And I am here because I had to take a friend to a meeting." Trowa finished. "She is next door now."
"Sienne?" Relena asked.
"Yes, she had a doctor's consultation to go to." Trowa explained. "I offered to drop her off and then I thought I would come and see Quatre and his sister."
"But is this just a coincidence?" Heero asked, walking over to Relena and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Because I'm a bit suspicious of this whole situation."
"So you should be!" A voice came from the door. In all the talking they hadn't noticed a man dressed in black enter the room. He was accompanied by six others, and they all held guns at the people in the room.
Trowa leapt to his feet. So did Quatre and Wufei. Duo moved in front of Quatre's sister and child protectively. Heero stood in front of Relena, who remained behind him looking scared.
"I suggest you leave." Duo said angrily. "I did not invite you to visit my fiancée and friends."
"Quiet you!" One man said, pointing a gun not at Duo, but at his child. "You wouldn't want such a happy event to be tainted now, would you?"
Duo made to leap forwards, but Quatre held him back. "Who are you and what do you want?" He asked, his voice trembling with anger.
"We only want to hold conference with The Gundam Pilots." One man said. "The rest of you can leave the building."
"What if we don't want to?" Relena asked, more bravely than she felt.
"That would be very stupid." The man said. He pulled out a little control with buttons on out of his pocket and pressed one button. Instantly a loud explosion rocked the room and screams could be heard from around them. Heero held Relena tightly and Duo put his arms around his child and fiancée.
"Now I suggest that you evacuate this building." The man said. No one moved. "You!" He said, pointing to Relena. "Take that woman and her child and leave. We have no quarrel with you."
Relena looked to Heero for reassurance but Heero just nodded. "Get out of here." He said to her. "And make sure the hospital is evacuated." His monotone voice cut the silence and didn't serve to comfort any of the group assembled in the hospital room.
"Good idea kid." The man said. Relena quickly crossed to the bed and help Quatre's sister to stand. She helped her out of the room and cast a worried glance back at Heero before she left. "Now the rest of you, line up against the wall."
They all did as they were told, but slowly. In frustration the man pressed a button on his control. A bigger explosion rocked the room.
"Do as I say quickly or else!" The man shouted at them. "I have five more explosions set to go off and I will activate them if I get any resistance."
"What do you think Quatre?" Trowa asked the blonde haired boy next to him.
"Five more explosions would be too much for the building to take." Quatre whispered back. "But if we were to activate all the bombs at once then four or them would cancel each other out and only one would go off."
"That is exactly what I was thinking." Trowa said grimly. Beside him, Heero also nodded. They all seemed to agree that something should be done sooner rather than later. "On three." Trowa muttered. "One, two."
"Three!" Quatre and Heero shouted together. All three of them ran at the man holding the control box, Wufei and Duo, seeing what they were doing, also joined in. Heero managed to grapple the man to the ground and Quatre fought bravely against the other two. Heero knocked the control box out of the man's hand and it went flying across the floor.
"Trowa!" Heero shouted. Trowa saw the box and dived for it. His hand pressed all the buttons at once and a huge explosion rocked the building. One man leapt at Trowa and hit him a blow across the head with the side of his gun. Trowa reeled across the floor but was not knocked unconscious by the blow. He stood up shakily to see that Heero had backed away, his eye swollen and blackening. Quatre was wiping blood from his lip. Wufei and Duo were both held in arm locks by two of the men.
"Hands in the air, or these too get it!" One man shouted. The other six men nodded, pointing their guns at the boys. Heero, Quatre and Trowa raised their arms slowly and backed up against the wall. Heero peered out of the window and saw that the emergency services had already arrived and the buildings nearby had been evacuated. 'At least no one else will get hurt.' He thought, turning back to the men.
Wufei and Duo were released and forced to stand with the other boys. "And now we will take our revenge." The man said, raising his gun and pointing it at Heero. "Starting with 'The Perfect Soldier.'"
Beside me Relena collapses on the ground and Heero sits on her other side. Relena and I are both awaiting an explanation.
(AN - For this part I'm going to use a flashback from Trowa because otherwise the explanations etc would be boring and too wordy.)
"It all started when I left you at Doctor Dalzell's office." Trowa begins.
"I'm scared." Sienne whispered, tears threatening to prick her eyes.
Trowa squeezed her hand. "Don't be." He said. "Remember that this is just a consultation, you won't be having an operation or anything today."
"But it's so final." She said. "If he tells me that I'm permanently blind then that is it. There will be no more hope."
"There's always hope." Trowa replied, taking her other hand in his. "A battle may seem pointless and never ending, but eventually there is an end. There is always hope, you just have to look for it. Quatre says."
The moment had been lost. As soon as Trowa mentioned Quatre she pulled her hands away from him.
"Sienne, Quatre and I are just." Trowa began quickly, but at the moment the door opened and Doctor Dalzell walked out.
"Ah, there you are. Come along inside then Sienne and we will get started. We should be finished in about an hour or so." He said to Trowa.
Trowa walked down the corridor sadly, not even having time to say goodbye. He could have kicked himself for being such an idiot. Why had he mentioned Quatre like that? He had almost been able to explain that he didn't love Quatre in that way. They were just friends now. It was Sienne whom he really liked.
Trowa left the building and entered the one next door, the hospital. He quickly found his way to the main reception and asked where the maternity ward was. He hoped that Quatre would be there when he arrived.
Peering through a door he saw Quatre sitting inside. Trowa knocked before entering the room. He walked through and was instantly granted a view of the entire room. And he was shocked by what he saw.
Quatre was sitting on a chair beside his sister, who sat up in bed holding a newborn baby in her arms. But perched on the bed next to her, with his arm around her shoulders was none other than Duo! And Wufei was sitting in a corner, talking to Relena. And there was Heero, standing silently by the window.
"It has happened then." Heero said solemnly as Trowa closed the door behind him.
The five Gundam Pilots looked to each other in astonishment. It had been three years since the end of the wars, and they had not all been reunited like this for a long time.
Stunned, Trowa found a seat and sat down in it shakily. "What are you all doing here?" He asked.
"Trowa, you remember I told you that my sister was expecting?" Quatre said. "I didn't know who the father was. Well, when I showed up today I met the father."
"Yours truly." Duo said, standing up and half saluting Trowa. "It's good to see you Tro."
Trowa took a while to take this in. "But Wufei." He began.
"I'm here on business. I'm a secret agent now. I got a phone call from someone who thought that they were being stalked, so I came here to do some surveillance."
"I was the one being stalked." Duo added. "But I had no idea that my secret agent would be Wufei."
"So where to Heero and I come into this?" Trowa asked.
"Relena and I are here on holiday. It was a last minute idea sprung by an acquaintance of ours. He had booked a holiday and at the last minute he couldn't go, so we took his place." Heero explained. "When I found out that you were in the area too Trowa, I was worried. Then I met up with Quatre who told me why he was here and I told him that you were here."
"It's all very complicated." Quatre agreed. "What I find strange is why we are all here, in this hospital."
"Well, you and Duo are here because of the birth." Wufei said. "And Relena and Heero are here because Relena is bound to do hospital visits as one of her royal duties. I am here because Duo employed me to be here."
"And I am here because I had to take a friend to a meeting." Trowa finished. "She is next door now."
"Sienne?" Relena asked.
"Yes, she had a doctor's consultation to go to." Trowa explained. "I offered to drop her off and then I thought I would come and see Quatre and his sister."
"But is this just a coincidence?" Heero asked, walking over to Relena and placing a hand on her shoulder. "Because I'm a bit suspicious of this whole situation."
"So you should be!" A voice came from the door. In all the talking they hadn't noticed a man dressed in black enter the room. He was accompanied by six others, and they all held guns at the people in the room.
Trowa leapt to his feet. So did Quatre and Wufei. Duo moved in front of Quatre's sister and child protectively. Heero stood in front of Relena, who remained behind him looking scared.
"I suggest you leave." Duo said angrily. "I did not invite you to visit my fiancée and friends."
"Quiet you!" One man said, pointing a gun not at Duo, but at his child. "You wouldn't want such a happy event to be tainted now, would you?"
Duo made to leap forwards, but Quatre held him back. "Who are you and what do you want?" He asked, his voice trembling with anger.
"We only want to hold conference with The Gundam Pilots." One man said. "The rest of you can leave the building."
"What if we don't want to?" Relena asked, more bravely than she felt.
"That would be very stupid." The man said. He pulled out a little control with buttons on out of his pocket and pressed one button. Instantly a loud explosion rocked the room and screams could be heard from around them. Heero held Relena tightly and Duo put his arms around his child and fiancée.
"Now I suggest that you evacuate this building." The man said. No one moved. "You!" He said, pointing to Relena. "Take that woman and her child and leave. We have no quarrel with you."
Relena looked to Heero for reassurance but Heero just nodded. "Get out of here." He said to her. "And make sure the hospital is evacuated." His monotone voice cut the silence and didn't serve to comfort any of the group assembled in the hospital room.
"Good idea kid." The man said. Relena quickly crossed to the bed and help Quatre's sister to stand. She helped her out of the room and cast a worried glance back at Heero before she left. "Now the rest of you, line up against the wall."
They all did as they were told, but slowly. In frustration the man pressed a button on his control. A bigger explosion rocked the room.
"Do as I say quickly or else!" The man shouted at them. "I have five more explosions set to go off and I will activate them if I get any resistance."
"What do you think Quatre?" Trowa asked the blonde haired boy next to him.
"Five more explosions would be too much for the building to take." Quatre whispered back. "But if we were to activate all the bombs at once then four or them would cancel each other out and only one would go off."
"That is exactly what I was thinking." Trowa said grimly. Beside him, Heero also nodded. They all seemed to agree that something should be done sooner rather than later. "On three." Trowa muttered. "One, two."
"Three!" Quatre and Heero shouted together. All three of them ran at the man holding the control box, Wufei and Duo, seeing what they were doing, also joined in. Heero managed to grapple the man to the ground and Quatre fought bravely against the other two. Heero knocked the control box out of the man's hand and it went flying across the floor.
"Trowa!" Heero shouted. Trowa saw the box and dived for it. His hand pressed all the buttons at once and a huge explosion rocked the building. One man leapt at Trowa and hit him a blow across the head with the side of his gun. Trowa reeled across the floor but was not knocked unconscious by the blow. He stood up shakily to see that Heero had backed away, his eye swollen and blackening. Quatre was wiping blood from his lip. Wufei and Duo were both held in arm locks by two of the men.
"Hands in the air, or these too get it!" One man shouted. The other six men nodded, pointing their guns at the boys. Heero, Quatre and Trowa raised their arms slowly and backed up against the wall. Heero peered out of the window and saw that the emergency services had already arrived and the buildings nearby had been evacuated. 'At least no one else will get hurt.' He thought, turning back to the men.
Wufei and Duo were released and forced to stand with the other boys. "And now we will take our revenge." The man said, raising his gun and pointing it at Heero. "Starting with 'The Perfect Soldier.'"