Who's a Weak Onna?
Chapter 2
House of Pain
AN: I forgot the disclaimer! Well, it was one in the morning when I wrote the first chapter, what do you expect? Here goes: I don't own Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei or Sally. Or Hilde or Noin, or Zechs or anyone else from GW that might pop up in this fiction. Okay? Satisfied?
I don't even own my own home! Leave me alone! I do own a whole collection of Gundam action figures, though.
I have fun playing with them. Growing up sucks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Wufei, can you hear me?"
Coming back to consciousness was like swimming up to the surface through a thick dark sea. And of course, there was the pain.
A groan escaped his lips.
"Don't try to open your eyes yet, you won't be able to see anything for a while," said the gentle, familiar voice. "It's the anesthetic we use. Don't worry."
"Cold."
Sally nodded to a nurse standing next to her with a heated blanket. They spread it over Wufei.
"Is that better?" she asked, putting her face close to his ear.
"Mm."
Seeing his slight shivering diminish, Sally bent over again near his ear.
"You're cold because of the anesthetic too, it lowers your blood pressure. You've just been in surgery to repair your broken femur. I can give you something for the pain now that you've regained consciousness and your vitals are normal."
She nodded again to the nurse, who injected a hypo into the IV line trailing into Wufei's left arm.
Wufei felt a pleasant sensation wash over him and was pulled down into painless darkness again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heero, Duo, Trowa and Quatre were in the waiting room.
Heero sat with crossed legs on a chair, apparently staring at nothing, fingers steepled in front of him. A cold cup of coffee sat in front of him on a table.
Duo channel surfed on the provided television, fidgeting with the end of his braid and putting his hat on backwards, then forwards then taking it off and throwing it at the television. Finally, he found a cartoon channel and settled back, crossing one leg over the other and biting his lip in distracted manner.
Quatre held a book in his lap, but wasn't looking at it. Trowa sat next to him on the ugly blue sofa, occasionally reaching over to brush a long finger down Quatre's arm.
"Shit, what's taking so long?" exploded Duo, for the tenth time in almost 3 hours.
"I'm sure that Sally will give us any news as soon as she can," said Quatre gently, as he picked up his cup of tea and sipped it. Cold. He shrugged and drank it anyway.
Heero raised his brows at Duo, and shook his head.
"I'm going to call Hilde," Duo said, jumping up and disappearing down the hall, long braid slapping against his black clothed behind as he jogged away.
"How many times does that make now?" asked Trowa, with a faint smile.
"Three," said Heero shortly, briefly locking his two dark blue eyes with Trowa's visible bright green one and shrugging.
In spite of his tension, Quatre grinned.
"He never could sit still," Quatre said, "I don't know how he sat strapped in a cockpit all those hours."
"Destroying things seemed to provide enough distraction," said Trowa, relieved to see Quatre smile again.
"Baka," muttered Heero, taking a swallow of his cold coffee.
"Don't you want to call Relena?" asked Quatre, looking over at Heero.
"She always knows where I am," said Heero cryptically, and sat down the styrofoam cup. He rose, stretching out his vertebrae until Quatre heard a faint cracking sound and then resumed the same cross-legged posture on the chair.
"Oh," said Quatre, looking at Trowa and shrugging. Trowa raised one brow in response but said nothing.
The doors at the end of the hallway opened and Sally came toward the group, pulling a surgical mask and hair cover from her long golden brown braids.
"Sally!" said Quatre, jumping up, the book sliding to the floor. Trowa stood too.
Heero raised his eyes expectantly towards the woman, but said nothing.
"Where's Duo?" she asked, looking around.
"Went to call Hilde," said Trowa, pointing down the other hallway.
"For the third time," said Quatre, stepping forward to embrace Sally in a quick hug.
"How are you holding up, Sally?" asked Quatre, holding her at arms length and looking into her tired face.
She smiled wearily. "I should be asking all of you that, Quatre. Did anyone ever tell you that you have a great bedside manner?"
"All the time," said Trowa, seriously, but with a wicked glint of humor in his visible green eye.
Even Heero snorted at that. Quatre blushed faintly and rolled his eyes.
Duo appeared. "What'd I miss?" he asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet and looking from face to face anxiously.
"Nothing yet, baka," said Heero, rising to come over to the others.
Sally took a deep breath. "Let's all sit down, please," she said gently. "I'm dead on my feet."
Everyone took a seat, and looked at her expectantly.
"Wufei has a very bad crush compound fracture of his left femur," she said, folding her hands. "Also, a dislocated left wrist, and of course, numerous abrasions and some deep contusions. Those are nothing to worry about. The leg is the main focus of our concern."
She cleared her throat. "I'll be straight with you. He could lose it, in spite of our best efforts. He's lost considerable bone, and some of the muscle overlaying the bone. It's going to take bone grafts, and a good deal more surgery to try to save his leg."
Quatre paled and turned his face into Trowa's shoulder. Trowa closed his eyes and patted Quatre absently on the back.
Duo jumped up and swore, then turned his back to the others, jerking his hat down over his eyes.
Heero nodded and lowered his gaze to the floor.
"Does he know?" asked Heero, his monotone unusually gentle.
"No, not yet," said Sally. "He only regained consciousness for a few minutes. I had to give him something pretty strong for the pain."
"Can we see him?" said Quatre, pulling his face from Trowa's sweater and wiping his eyes.
"Certainly," said Sally. "I have you all listed as 'family members' on the visiting list, so you can visit him any time you want."
"Thank you," said Quatre simply.
"Come on, I'll take you to Intensive Care," said Sally standing up and leading the way.
"He won't be aware of you on a conscious level, but I want you all to talk to him anyway," said Sally, as the glass doors to ICU slid open. "Even hold his hand, if you want."
"Why?" asked Duo, wrinkling his nose at the smell of antiseptic, bleach and alcohol.
"People can perceive your presence on a subconscious and even unconscious level," explained Sally.
"I want Wufei to know you're all here. Feeling supported is a big part of healing. He needs all the help he can get on that score."
"Holding hands with Wufei," said Duo, grinning faintly. "That's a new one, even for me."
"Maybe he'll wake up and threaten to run you through with his katana," said Quatre, smiling at the mental image.
"Right now, I wouldn't care," said Duo soberly, remembering how pale and broken Wufei looked in his arms on the trip to the hospital.
He swallowed. "Hell, I'll snog him if you think it'd help," he joked weakly.
Heero snorted again. Quatre giggled. Trowa chuckled.
"He's in here," Sally pulled back a heavy curtain to expose a very pale Wufie lying still, connected to various monitors, with several tubes running in and out from under a heavy woven blanket. Wufei's left leg was under a support, the blanket held above it. He left wrist was encased in a plastic splint, and he had serious abrasions all the way up both arms.
"Ah, fuck!" said Duo softly, reaching up to wipe his eyes roughly.
Quatre and Trowa walked over to the still form first.
"Wufei," said Quatre, bending over and gently brushing his lips against the man's forehead.
Sitting on a chair beside the bed, he took Wufei's right hand. "We're all here, Wufei. I know you can hear us, Sally said so."
Trowa stood behind Quatre and put his hands on the blond man's shoulders.
Tentatively, Trowa reached over and placed one of his hands on the one with which Quatre was holding Wufei's.
Duo came over next and put his hand on Wufei's shoulder on the same side.
"I'm here, Wu-man," he said, taking off his billed cap and sticking it his pocket.
They all looked over at Heero.
Heero returned the collective stare, then shrugged and walked over to the foot of the bed.
He simply placed his hand on Wufei's uninjured lower leg and squeezed it slightly.
"That's Heero" said Duo, bending over and whispering into Wufei's ear.
"You're sure he can hear us?" asked Duo, looking doubtfully at Wufei's unresponsive face.
"Yes," said Sally. "On some level. Even people in a deep coma are aware of sounds and touch."
"He knows we're here," Quatre whispered, gently rubbing the back of Wufei's hand.
Duo nodded, "If you say so, Q-man." Sometimes, he almost forgot Quatre's empathic abilities.
"I know." Quatre smiled faintly, his eyes distant.
Everyone stood quietly for a few minutes.
"I have to go," said Heero abruptly, standing back. He looked at his watch. "I'm expected at a function with Relena tonight. Sorry."
"Go ahead, we understand," said Quatre.
Heero nodded. "I'll be back when I can." He left on silent feet.
"Ever the good soldier," said Trowa.
"Yeah, but at least he wears regular clothes now," joked Duo. "Relena must have burned all the spandex shorts in the city."
Trowa grinned.
"Hey, I gotta call Hilde again," said Duo, whipping around to the exit.
"Duo! This makes four times now!" protested Quatre.
"Hey, just because your main squeeze is here to glomp!" said Duo, sticking out his tongue at the blond man.
"Besides, I didn't have anything new to tell her last time, and now I do." He strode out the sliding door that Heero had just exited.
Quatre rolled his eyes at Duo's departing blur and returned to gently stroking the back of Wufei's hand.
Trowa went and retrieved another chair and placed it next to Quatre's as they settled in for a long vigil.
Chapter 2
House of Pain
AN: I forgot the disclaimer! Well, it was one in the morning when I wrote the first chapter, what do you expect? Here goes: I don't own Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre, Wufei or Sally. Or Hilde or Noin, or Zechs or anyone else from GW that might pop up in this fiction. Okay? Satisfied?
I don't even own my own home! Leave me alone! I do own a whole collection of Gundam action figures, though.
I have fun playing with them. Growing up sucks.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Wufei, can you hear me?"
Coming back to consciousness was like swimming up to the surface through a thick dark sea. And of course, there was the pain.
A groan escaped his lips.
"Don't try to open your eyes yet, you won't be able to see anything for a while," said the gentle, familiar voice. "It's the anesthetic we use. Don't worry."
"Cold."
Sally nodded to a nurse standing next to her with a heated blanket. They spread it over Wufei.
"Is that better?" she asked, putting her face close to his ear.
"Mm."
Seeing his slight shivering diminish, Sally bent over again near his ear.
"You're cold because of the anesthetic too, it lowers your blood pressure. You've just been in surgery to repair your broken femur. I can give you something for the pain now that you've regained consciousness and your vitals are normal."
She nodded again to the nurse, who injected a hypo into the IV line trailing into Wufei's left arm.
Wufei felt a pleasant sensation wash over him and was pulled down into painless darkness again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Heero, Duo, Trowa and Quatre were in the waiting room.
Heero sat with crossed legs on a chair, apparently staring at nothing, fingers steepled in front of him. A cold cup of coffee sat in front of him on a table.
Duo channel surfed on the provided television, fidgeting with the end of his braid and putting his hat on backwards, then forwards then taking it off and throwing it at the television. Finally, he found a cartoon channel and settled back, crossing one leg over the other and biting his lip in distracted manner.
Quatre held a book in his lap, but wasn't looking at it. Trowa sat next to him on the ugly blue sofa, occasionally reaching over to brush a long finger down Quatre's arm.
"Shit, what's taking so long?" exploded Duo, for the tenth time in almost 3 hours.
"I'm sure that Sally will give us any news as soon as she can," said Quatre gently, as he picked up his cup of tea and sipped it. Cold. He shrugged and drank it anyway.
Heero raised his brows at Duo, and shook his head.
"I'm going to call Hilde," Duo said, jumping up and disappearing down the hall, long braid slapping against his black clothed behind as he jogged away.
"How many times does that make now?" asked Trowa, with a faint smile.
"Three," said Heero shortly, briefly locking his two dark blue eyes with Trowa's visible bright green one and shrugging.
In spite of his tension, Quatre grinned.
"He never could sit still," Quatre said, "I don't know how he sat strapped in a cockpit all those hours."
"Destroying things seemed to provide enough distraction," said Trowa, relieved to see Quatre smile again.
"Baka," muttered Heero, taking a swallow of his cold coffee.
"Don't you want to call Relena?" asked Quatre, looking over at Heero.
"She always knows where I am," said Heero cryptically, and sat down the styrofoam cup. He rose, stretching out his vertebrae until Quatre heard a faint cracking sound and then resumed the same cross-legged posture on the chair.
"Oh," said Quatre, looking at Trowa and shrugging. Trowa raised one brow in response but said nothing.
The doors at the end of the hallway opened and Sally came toward the group, pulling a surgical mask and hair cover from her long golden brown braids.
"Sally!" said Quatre, jumping up, the book sliding to the floor. Trowa stood too.
Heero raised his eyes expectantly towards the woman, but said nothing.
"Where's Duo?" she asked, looking around.
"Went to call Hilde," said Trowa, pointing down the other hallway.
"For the third time," said Quatre, stepping forward to embrace Sally in a quick hug.
"How are you holding up, Sally?" asked Quatre, holding her at arms length and looking into her tired face.
She smiled wearily. "I should be asking all of you that, Quatre. Did anyone ever tell you that you have a great bedside manner?"
"All the time," said Trowa, seriously, but with a wicked glint of humor in his visible green eye.
Even Heero snorted at that. Quatre blushed faintly and rolled his eyes.
Duo appeared. "What'd I miss?" he asked, bouncing on the balls of his feet and looking from face to face anxiously.
"Nothing yet, baka," said Heero, rising to come over to the others.
Sally took a deep breath. "Let's all sit down, please," she said gently. "I'm dead on my feet."
Everyone took a seat, and looked at her expectantly.
"Wufei has a very bad crush compound fracture of his left femur," she said, folding her hands. "Also, a dislocated left wrist, and of course, numerous abrasions and some deep contusions. Those are nothing to worry about. The leg is the main focus of our concern."
She cleared her throat. "I'll be straight with you. He could lose it, in spite of our best efforts. He's lost considerable bone, and some of the muscle overlaying the bone. It's going to take bone grafts, and a good deal more surgery to try to save his leg."
Quatre paled and turned his face into Trowa's shoulder. Trowa closed his eyes and patted Quatre absently on the back.
Duo jumped up and swore, then turned his back to the others, jerking his hat down over his eyes.
Heero nodded and lowered his gaze to the floor.
"Does he know?" asked Heero, his monotone unusually gentle.
"No, not yet," said Sally. "He only regained consciousness for a few minutes. I had to give him something pretty strong for the pain."
"Can we see him?" said Quatre, pulling his face from Trowa's sweater and wiping his eyes.
"Certainly," said Sally. "I have you all listed as 'family members' on the visiting list, so you can visit him any time you want."
"Thank you," said Quatre simply.
"Come on, I'll take you to Intensive Care," said Sally standing up and leading the way.
"He won't be aware of you on a conscious level, but I want you all to talk to him anyway," said Sally, as the glass doors to ICU slid open. "Even hold his hand, if you want."
"Why?" asked Duo, wrinkling his nose at the smell of antiseptic, bleach and alcohol.
"People can perceive your presence on a subconscious and even unconscious level," explained Sally.
"I want Wufei to know you're all here. Feeling supported is a big part of healing. He needs all the help he can get on that score."
"Holding hands with Wufei," said Duo, grinning faintly. "That's a new one, even for me."
"Maybe he'll wake up and threaten to run you through with his katana," said Quatre, smiling at the mental image.
"Right now, I wouldn't care," said Duo soberly, remembering how pale and broken Wufei looked in his arms on the trip to the hospital.
He swallowed. "Hell, I'll snog him if you think it'd help," he joked weakly.
Heero snorted again. Quatre giggled. Trowa chuckled.
"He's in here," Sally pulled back a heavy curtain to expose a very pale Wufie lying still, connected to various monitors, with several tubes running in and out from under a heavy woven blanket. Wufei's left leg was under a support, the blanket held above it. He left wrist was encased in a plastic splint, and he had serious abrasions all the way up both arms.
"Ah, fuck!" said Duo softly, reaching up to wipe his eyes roughly.
Quatre and Trowa walked over to the still form first.
"Wufei," said Quatre, bending over and gently brushing his lips against the man's forehead.
Sitting on a chair beside the bed, he took Wufei's right hand. "We're all here, Wufei. I know you can hear us, Sally said so."
Trowa stood behind Quatre and put his hands on the blond man's shoulders.
Tentatively, Trowa reached over and placed one of his hands on the one with which Quatre was holding Wufei's.
Duo came over next and put his hand on Wufei's shoulder on the same side.
"I'm here, Wu-man," he said, taking off his billed cap and sticking it his pocket.
They all looked over at Heero.
Heero returned the collective stare, then shrugged and walked over to the foot of the bed.
He simply placed his hand on Wufei's uninjured lower leg and squeezed it slightly.
"That's Heero" said Duo, bending over and whispering into Wufei's ear.
"You're sure he can hear us?" asked Duo, looking doubtfully at Wufei's unresponsive face.
"Yes," said Sally. "On some level. Even people in a deep coma are aware of sounds and touch."
"He knows we're here," Quatre whispered, gently rubbing the back of Wufei's hand.
Duo nodded, "If you say so, Q-man." Sometimes, he almost forgot Quatre's empathic abilities.
"I know." Quatre smiled faintly, his eyes distant.
Everyone stood quietly for a few minutes.
"I have to go," said Heero abruptly, standing back. He looked at his watch. "I'm expected at a function with Relena tonight. Sorry."
"Go ahead, we understand," said Quatre.
Heero nodded. "I'll be back when I can." He left on silent feet.
"Ever the good soldier," said Trowa.
"Yeah, but at least he wears regular clothes now," joked Duo. "Relena must have burned all the spandex shorts in the city."
Trowa grinned.
"Hey, I gotta call Hilde again," said Duo, whipping around to the exit.
"Duo! This makes four times now!" protested Quatre.
"Hey, just because your main squeeze is here to glomp!" said Duo, sticking out his tongue at the blond man.
"Besides, I didn't have anything new to tell her last time, and now I do." He strode out the sliding door that Heero had just exited.
Quatre rolled his eyes at Duo's departing blur and returned to gently stroking the back of Wufei's hand.
Trowa went and retrieved another chair and placed it next to Quatre's as they settled in for a long vigil.