Great Lengths
Author: DoraeAzure
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters don't belong to me, much as I hate to admit it, and this fic is for entertainment purposes only, so I'm not making any money off of this. Oh! And I don't own Tylenol.
Notes: When I sat down to write this, I really wanted to do a Heero x Relena thing, but every time I tried, it didn't work out right. So I decided to try it from inside someone else's head, someone who wasn't immediately involved, and this is the result. Now quit wasting time here and move on to the story. Happy reading!
Pulling back the lacy white curtains, she reached out and, with a little effort and a very unladylike grunt, managed to slide the window pane aside, letting the warm afternoon breeze into the stuffy bedroom. Smiling, she breathed deeply of the fresh air coming in from the garden. The roses must be blooming, she decided, the air was heavy with their sweet scent. She loved roses. Loved them almost as much as…
"Miss Relena!" she finished, surprised to see that very person walking the garden paths below, a sad, faraway look on her beautiful face. Tucking long, wheat blond hair behind her ear, she watched as Relena moved slowly past the flower beds, absently trailing her fingers through the leaves and flowers of a gardenia bush and hardly even blinking when she almost walked right into the branch of an overhanging tree. She continued on in this fashion until she was out of sight around a bend in the path, moving slowly off towards that secluded part of the garden where the roses grew and the little stream that was their life's blood ran through the man-made gauntlet of lily laden pools and tiny water falls until it disappeared under a little bridge and continued on it's happily bubbling way throughout the rest of the garden.
Dorothy turned away from the window with a sigh, wondering what Relena was doing home from work already as she walked over to her desk. She sighed again as she settled herself in the overstuffed chair behind it and turned back to her computer, making a face at the massive number of windows sitting open on her desktop, all requiring her immediate undivided attention. She had condemned herself to a life of hard work and very little free time the day she signed on as Relena's personal assistant, but there was nothing she had done in her entire life that she regretted less than the decision that had brought her here.
The war had been as hard on her as anyone else, and it had taken her a good year after the final battle on Libra to even begin to come to terms with everything that had happened, most especially the antagonistic part she herself had played. During that time, she, like everyone else on Earth and the colonies, had carefully watched the movements of Relena Peacecraft-Darlian, waiting to see what kind of world they were to have now that peace had been established. Dorothy's own interest in the efforts of the government were more sadistic than those of the rest of the world, however, in that she was every moment half expecting the whole thing to fall apart in their hands. To Dorothy's utter amazement, it hadn't. Relena encouraged Earth and the colonies to work together, to help one another to rebuild their war torn world, because they were all in the same predicament, and they responded with an enthusiasm that seemed to surprise everyone but Relena herself. After all, it was nothing she hadn't expected.
Dorothy, watching it all on her second hand TV in the darkened living room of the dirty little apartment she had rented in an obscure part of town on L4, was surprised merely that they responded so well. Anyone who heard Relena speak always tried to do what she asked of them, her never ending faith in people driving them to live up to her expectations, but Dorothy had expected them to take longer to adjust to the idea of pacifism. Apparently they had had better luck than she herself in pleasing the young foreign minister. That was part of the reason she remained hidden in her grubby apartment, living under an assumed name and trying her best not to be noticed. She'd even cut her hair, dyed it brown, and found colored contacts so that no one would recognize her. She felt that in playing her part as she had, she had some how let Relena down. She had not only rejected the other girl's pacifistic ways, but she had done so in favor of total war. She had encouraged people to destroy one another, and the sick, twisted person left behind after her father's death had enjoyed every minute of it, even as it killed whatever kindness was left in her. Even when the war had ended and she had hidden herself away, partially in an attempt to overcome at least some of the guilt that plagued her every thought, she still found herself unable to believe that humankind could live in a completely pacifistic world. So the longer the peace stretched on, the longer the people continued to respond to the call for disarmament, the more surprised Dorothy became, and the more certain that it could not last.
And so it was with a grim smile that Dorothy watched as Dekim Barton's militant organization attempted to forcefully take control of the government. And though a part of her beamed in triumph that she had been right all along, another part of her died when she first heard news of the kidnapping of the Vice Foreign Minister and the demands of the group who had captured her. And that had been the greatest surprise of all. Had she actually begun to believe that peace might be possible? Had Relena nearly pulled her into believing in her dream of total pacifism? And had she actually been hoping that maybe, just maybe, the peace that had lasted so much longer than she had expected would continue? She who had reveled in the glory of war? And it was that day she had made the most important discovery of her life thus far: she had been longing for peace all along.
So on the day Heero Yuy appeared in the sky over Barton's hidden base and broke through the heavily guarded doors to rescue the Vice Foreign minister and "kill" the little red haired girl who had come, to him, to symbolize war itself, Dorothy made a resolution. She decided that if the people of Earth and the colonies could come together against those who desired war and risk their lives to hold on to the peace they had fought so hard for, then she too could do her part to help build this new world, frightening though it was. If Relena would take her, she would do her part. Maybe then she could make up for at least part of all the grievances she had caused.
She had arrived at the Minister's office a mere twenty four hours after the minister herself, and was shown into the girl's office just in time to see her fling a huge paper filled folder at the farthest wall. Which just happened to be the one in which the door was set. Dorothy had ducked just in time, but the secretary had not been so lucky.
"Oops! Sorry Saunders, I didn't know you were coming in here!" exclaimed a very red Relena as she rushed across the office to help her secretary to her feet.
"Miss Relena, please tell me this isn't the file that I brought in here just half an hour ago. That this file that you threw at my head is not the same one that Senator Craigon asked you to review for the meeting tomorrow. That this file," the secretary held up the empty folder and waved it under the nose of the embarrassed Vice Foreign Minister, "is not the same one that was tying up my printer for forty-five minutes this morning, just so you could have plenty of time to review it and make the necessary changes in time for that same meeting. Tell me this isn't that file."
"Um, of course not, Saunders! This isn't that file. This is another file completely!"
"What am I going to do with you?" asked the secretary in exasperation, rolling her eyes at Relena's half teasing denial as she began to pick up the papers now covering the thickly carpeted floor. Dorothy hesitated only momentarily before bending to do the same.
"Don't worry about it, Saunders, I threw it, I'll pick it up. You go ahead and go back to work. I'm serious," she added when her secretary just looked at her. " I've got it. Really." Saunders gave her a dubious look before heading back out to the reception area, but not without throwing one last glance back over her shoulder as she closed the door behind her. Dorothy turned her attention to Relena, who had gone back to picking up the scattered papers.
"I'm so sorry about that," said Relena, still bent over, "I'm not usually like this, but it's been a busy week and I just haven't-Dorothy!" Relena jumped back as she finally recognized her guest. Dorothy wordlessly handed her the stack of papers she had just picked up before moving to sit in one of the blue chairs across from Relena's side of the huge mahogany desk on the other end of the spacious room. When she was seated, she turned to look at the younger girl only to find her standing with her arm still half extended and full of papers, right where she had left her.
"Miss Relena, speechless. Now there's something I never thought I'd see," said Dorothy thoughtfully, her tone just slightly condescending. That brought Relena back to reality. She looked suspiciously at the tall, thin, blue eyed girl sitting before her desk, took in her hostile demeanor, and wondered what she'd done to deserve this week.
"What can I do for you, Dorothy?" she inquired in her most pleasant voice, forcing a smile as she set the messy pile of papers back on her desk and took her seat behind it.
Dorothy opened her mouth as if to answer, and by the look on her face, Relena suspected it would be something snide and insulting. But then something flickered across Dorothy's features, and the arrogant look she had worn moments before was suddenly gone, only to be replaced by a guarded emotionlessness. Her mouth still open, Dorothy paused, everything about her seemingly on edge as she carefully considered her next words.
"I…I want to…help." Her reply was slow and deliberate, if uncertain.
"Wha-what?" If Relena had been expecting anything, it sure hadn't been that! Dorothy's statement had taken her completely by surprise and there had been something almost warm in her tone, a warmth Relena was sure she'd never heard there before. "What?"
"I want to help. I want to help keep the peace."
"You-you do?"
Dorothy nodded slowly, flicking a loose strand of still dyed brown hair back behind one ear. "It seems as though everyone else has done their part. I have decided it is time for me to do mine." She paused. "I want to help."
"You really want to help?"
Dorothy stared coldly at her. "Is it really so hard to believe?"
"No! No. I just meant…I'm just surprised, that's all. No one's seen you since that day on Libra, I guess we all kind of thought you were dead. I'm so startled to see you alive that I'm just not thinking clearly, that's all."
"Look if you don't want my help, I can just leave." Dorothy's voice was cool as she got to her feet, smoothing her skirt and picking up her purse as she turned to go.
"Dorothy, please stay."
It was Dorothy's turn to be surprised. The Vice Foreign Minister had just asked her to stay, and she'd sounded like she meant it. She turned to look at the figure behind the desk.
"What?"
"I apologize, Dorothy. I was startled, but that doesn't excuse my rudeness. If you would be willing to help, well," she leaned back in her chair, spreading her arms to encompass the mass of paperwork that covered every available surface, including the floor. "Let's just say I could use all the help I can get. I would greatly appreciate any contribution you would be willing to make to lighten the load. Please. Stay."
And so it had been settled. Relena pulled up a contract, Dorothy signed it, and Relena put her right to work. That had been two years ago and much had changed since then. Relena and Dorothy had grown to be close friends, despite past history, and Relena helped her to remember how to enjoy life. Slowly, under Relena's patient instruction, she began to allow the more pleasant half of the emotional spectrum to have a place in her life as her barriers slowly broke down. Soon the cold, hate filled person Dorothy had been no longer existed, and the person left, though still reserved, now had a full range of emotions to live by. Unsurprisingly, it was the day she first remembered how to cry that she knew she'd be okay.
Trowa had once made a comment about her inability to cry. Well, she could cry now. And smile, and laugh, and yell, and a hundred other expressions she had forgotten in her bitterness and anger. She still fought her personal demons from time to time, but those times had become the minority. And it was all because Relena had given her a second chance. She owed so much to her friend. And so far, the only way she could think of to repay the other girl was to continue helping with Relena's heavy workload.
And it was heavy. They didn't really have time for doing much of anything else. But when they did, they made the best of it. They went out to eat, went to the movies, and the park, and best of all, the mall. They did all the things normal teenage girls do together, the only difference being the four young men carrying guns that seemed to accompany them everywhere they went. And like any mischievous pair of girls would do, they ditched the bodyguards whenever they could. Until the day when, caught without their bodyguards, Relena nearly lost her life to the gun of a former Oz soldier. If Heero Yuy hadn't stopped him just in time…
"Stay with your bodyguards." Piercing blue eyes glared out at them from beneath messy brown bangs, his face all but hidden in the shadows from the building behind him. It gave his fierce stare a menacing touch, she noted, watching as he stood over the body of their attacker, gun still in hand, his gaze shifting from one girl to the other.
Despite the fact that some part of her brain was still unaffected enough to make such observations, she was sufficiently cowed by his sharp reprimand to have echoed Relena's soft "Yes, Heero," almost before the words were out of the other girl's mouth. He accompanied them back to Relena's mansion, where her bodyguards were pacing nervously on the front porch. All except one. He was lounging almost carelessly on the bottom step, elbows resting on the top, watching the road with a self-confident expectancy. Heero proceeded to tell the four men exactly what he thought about them, their abilities as guards, their level of intelligence, and anything else he could think of to criticize. Though it was delivered in the same stoic voice he always used, his stance conveyed quite clearly the message his words, however scathing, never could: he was furious. The pacing guards froze the moment he rounded the corner, standing at stiff attention, though Heero was already berating them. They flushed and paled by turns throughout his short but belittling speech, and swallowed nervously when Heero delivered his parting threats. Dorothy really was quite embarrassed for them. Imagine, letting such expression show on their faces while being reprimanded by a commanding officer. How unprofessional. They had made a mistake, they should suck it up and take the consequences like the men they were supposed to be. She shook her head. Only the one sitting on the step appeared to be unaffected by the fury in Heero's words, and the threats didn't seem to faze him either. In fact, the only reaction he seemed to have at all was one of annoyance.
"Geez, Heero! Knock it off already. We get the idea. You're angry, you'll kill us if anything like this ever happens again, we're idiots who aren't qualified to guard our own mothers, yadda yadda yadda. We heard you the first time."
"Duo. She could have died."
"Heero. No she couldn't of."
"Have," corrected one of the other guards quietly. Both men glared at him. He shrank back, turning three shades of white and tried hard to hide behind one of his friends. Heero turned back to Duo.
"What if I hadn't been there? That man could have shot her!"
"Oh, come on Heero, you know I was there the whole time. You just draw a little faster than I do. And I took the short cut home." Heero turned questioning eyes to the other guards.
"Well, he did get back much later than we did, sir, only about five minutes before you, actually."
"See?" Duo grinned again. "No worries. Who do you think I am anyway? A common guard? Really now, Heero, your faith in me astounds me." Heero returned Duo's arrogant smirk with one of his own, his only conformation of the friendship they shared, and turned to go. Relena caught hold of his wrist before he could make it down the drive. He didn't even turn his head, merely looking at her out of the corner of his eye.
"Thank you, Heero."
He said nothing in return, just looked at her, but Dorothy could have sworn she saw something flash between them before he turned his gaze forward and continued on his way.
Which gave her an idea. She knew Relena was in love with Heero. Heck, everyone knew Relena was in love with Heero, even if she hadn't seen him in a year and a half. Well, everyone except maybe Heero himself. But few people knew Heero loved her too. Dorothy prided herself on being one of the few, thanks to a combination of excellent spying skills and an ability to read people. Unfortunately Relena was not. Which was why she was down there looking so forlorn. Something really should be done to remedy the situation. Dorothy looked at the window, then at her computer screen, and back again. She thought for a moment, chewing her bottom lip, wondering. To work or not to work, that was the question.
"Oh, shove the work," she muttered, standing up so fast that her chair shot across the plastic mat on the floor behind her desk until the wheels caught on the carpet and the whole thing tumbled to the floor. She paid it no mind as she sprinted out the door, not even bothering to shut it, and took off down the stairs, out the back door, and across the wide lawn to the garden. She jogged down the garden path until she came to the little bridge that crossed over into the half-hidden area that was Relena's favorite, where she slowed enough to catch her breath and straighten her clothing. When she could breathe again, she jumped the stream, preferring that to crossing the bridge for some reason, and went looking for Relena.
She found her almost immediately, sitting quietly by one of the small ponds fed by the stream, trailing her fingers through the water and watching the ripples they made. Dorothy looked around for some sign of the guards she knew were there, shrugged when she didn't find any, and quietly sat down beside her friend. Relena didn't acknowledge her presence, but then, Dorothy didn't acknowledge her either. Instead she picked a dandelion that had gone to seed and blew, watching as the fluffy white seeds floated away on the soothing breeze that swept through the clearing, picking up strands of their hair and sending them twisting through the air in multihued banners of flaxen and honey. Dorothy stared at the stem in her hands, thinking absently of the wish that would never come true, no matter how many dandelions she blew. Quatre… She looked away.
They sat that way for a long time, Dorothy twirling the naked dandelion stem with long slender fingers, Relena trailing her hand through the water. It was peaceful, and yet, it wasn't, as each was thinking of people so close and yet, so far away. Relena broke the silence first.
"Why are you still here, Dorothy?"
Dorothy knew immediately what she meant. She brought her knees up perpendicular to the ground and wrapped her arms around them.
"Because you still need me."
"I could make do. You should go home. You want to anyway. You have wanted to." Relena lay on her back in the long grass, crossing her arms under her head as she stared up at the sky. Dorothy sat for just a moment longer before joining her there, and the two girls fell silent as they watched the clouds float by. After a long time, Dorothy finally spoke.
"Come with me." Relena slowly shook her head.
"You know I can't."
"They'll kill you here."
"Yes." Relena paused. "They still need me." Dorothy nodded.
"They need more than you can afford to give."
"And you."
"And me," agreed Dorothy, "and me."
"Go home, Dorothy. There's no reason we should both suffocate."
Dorothy was tempted. She had inherited her grandfather's estate after his death, and she missed it terribly. It was her home, and she had been wanting to return to it ever since she had recovered herself, but she had refrained from leaving. Relena still needed her. Relena had been there for her when she was in need, the least she could do was return the favor.
"I have lived in your house for the last two years," she said finally, "now you come live in mine. You complain about never seeing our friends. Midii's promised to come room with us too, if you'll come."
"I can't quite my job, Dorothy, I just told you that."
"I never said you should." Relena looked at her.
"None of the other representatives live at the capital," Dorothy finished, still not looking at her friend. Relena looked away.
"None of the other representatives have my job."
"What difference does that make?" Another long silence.
"I'll think about it."
"Good." A pause.
"Dorothy why are you here?" Dorothy smiled. The subject had changed.
"I was about to ask you the same thing. You know I took the day off so I could actually get some work done. Every time we have a seminar like the one coming up, I have people coming into my office every two minutes with questions and complaints. It's unnecessary."
"I'd forgotten about that. I wondered why you were faxing me all that paper work when your office is right next door. I also wondered how you were getting through it so fast. I hardly managed to read three paragraphs before someone interrupted me. I got frustrated, so here I am. It's days like this I miss having Saunders there to chase people off."
"I miss her too. It's not easy being your personal assistant and your secretary."
"What are you trying to say?" Relena looked at her sharply. Dorothy shook her head, smiling just a little, and checked her watch.
"We should get back to work."
"Mmm. Yeah. About half an hour ago."
Dorothy shrugged. "Sometimes it is necessary to take a break to clear your mind." She climbed to her feet and stretched, long and slow like a cat, enjoying the relaxed feeling generated by the stretch and the sunlight. Relena followed her example and the two headed back towards the house.
A shadow flickered through the trees to their left as they neared the end of the path. Dorothy caught a glimpse of a Preventers uniform. Relena followed the movement with her eyes as well.
"It's getting easier to spot them," she murmured under her breath. "Used to be I couldn't ever find them until we reached the lawn." Dorothy smiled tightly and flexed her fingers. There were times, like when she first spotted that guard, that first half-second it took to identify him as a Preventer, that she wished she still carried a weapon. She sighed as they left the garden, following a new path up to the house. Five guards materialized around them.
"Five?" She paused. There were normally only four…
Relena seemed to have come to the same conclusion, as she, too, had stopped for a closer look. Her eyes widened.
"Milliardo!" Relena flung herself at her brother, throwing her arms around his neck and holding on tight as he picked her up and whirled her around in a circle. She laughed and he set her down.
"Where's mine, 'Lena?" Immediately she jumped into Duo's open arms, laughing even harder as he danced her around. "Didja miss me?" Although Duo had played bodyguard on more than one occasion, he normally lived on L2 where he ran a scrap yard with his girlfriend, Hilde Shubeiker, and Relena didn't get to see him very often.
"Of course, Duo." She turned to Quatre, who gave her a friendly hug and a gentle hello. She returned his smile cheerfully and proceeded to greet Trowa, who gave her a loose hug, and Wufei, who was, of the four pilots present, most commonly one of her body guards, as he worked with the Preventers full time. Dorothy, meanwhile, had stepped back into the shadows, for the most part content to watch the reunion of which she played no part. Although she knew of all of the pilots, and had spoken to each of them more than once, she wasn't close to any of them and was not really part of the group. She often felt like an intruder on such occasions as these, so she looked around for the best way to get back to the house without attracting attention to herself.
"What are you guys doing here?" she heard Relena ask as she set off down a side path. Immediately there was a flurry of answers about the Preventers needing more guards for this weekend's seminar, something else she couldn't quite understand, then an exchange of shouted insults between Wufei and Duo. By the time she was nearly to the back door, she could still hear them going faintly behind her, they were that loud.
Dorothy glanced back over her shoulder at the group and shook her head. Duo and Wufei were standing almost toe to toe, shouting at each other while the others watched in amusement.
Her attention was suddenly diverted back to the house when she heard a faint sound from within. She frowned, knowing no one else was home, and was about to go looking for the source when she heard her name. She looked over her shoulder again and saw Relena waving her arm to attract her attention.
"Dorothy, come back!" she called.
"Yeah, Dorothy, come join the fun!" put in Duo, waving for her to come back, though she knew he called only because Relena wanted her to come, not because he preferred her presence.
Dorothy had just opened her mouth to answer when she heard another sound from within the house, a sort of scuffing noise. Her head snapped back around and she stared hard at the door like it would give her all the answers, ignoring the laughing shout from behind that was her name. She hesitated, wondering if she had just imagined the sound. Shaking her head she had just turned back to face her friend when a loud crash sounded from above and behind her. Without a second thought, Dorothy spun around and leapt towards the house, the ten yards left between her and the back porch suddenly seeming much too far. Behind her she heard shouts of protest, followed by the sound of running feet. But they were too far away. She was too far away.
She hit the door at a dead run and barely paused to open it as she charged through the living room and dashed up the stairs. She arrived at her bedroom first, stopping only long enough to see that it was trashed but empty. Then she heard a noise further down the hall.
"Relena's room," she muttered taking off again, flying down the corridor and kicking open the door to Relena's room, which slammed back with a tremendous crash. The person within had just enough time to look up from his ransacking before Dorothy knocked him to the floor. She, on the other hand, had been able to look him over, albeit briefly, in the two seconds it had taken her to cross the room. Although the look hadn't told her much, she had at least been able to observe that he was a little on the short side and rather stocky. He was broad through the shoulders, barrel-chested, and heavily muscled. All in all, she was inferior in both strength and raw power, but she had speed and agility that he couldn't match, and she had the element of surprise on her side. The battle could go either way.
Dorothy didn't bother considering what would happen if she lost. She knew losing meant death, and that wasn't an option. Death hadn't taken her during the war, and it sure wasn't gonna take her now. So she jumped into the fight with fierce determination and trusted her well-honed skills to save her. And since her warrior instincts had kicked in about the time she'd started for the house, she had all her old skills back full force. Unfortunately, once Dorothy began a battle, she tended to act without considering the consequences. She flung herself at the man without a thought as to the fact that she was completely unarmed and unprepared for a fight, nor that he might not be either of those things. It wasn't until he suddenly had the upper hand in their miniature battle, pinning her to the ground and pointing a gun in her face, that she began to wonder what she had gotten herself into.
"Good-bye," he growled, pulling back the safety. She snarled, and sharply twisted her body to the side. The bullet hit the floor less than an inch from her head. Twisting back, she pulled her hands free, grabbed both sides of his head, and slammed her forehead into his face, stunning him. Before he could recover, she wriggled out from beneath him, leapt to her feet, and kicked the gun out of his hand. Her next kick was aimed for his head, but he grabbed her ankle and twisted it hard to the left, slamming her back into the carpet. They rolled for a few minutes, struggling, then suddenly there was a knife in his hand and it was pointed at her throat. She grabbed his wrist and tried to push his hand away, but he was much stronger than she, and even with both hands she barely managed to slow the inexorable movement of the knife towards her exposed neck.
Dorothy was just beginning to think she might die after all when she spotted the gun lying nearby. Struggling wildly, she managed to force him away just long enough for her to reach out and grab it. The movement caused the knife to slip, and she felt the sharp blade slice deeply into her left shoulder. She ignored the pain, aiming the gun at the man's head and jerking the safety back with her thumb.
"Good-bye," she hissed as she pulled the trigger. The man jerked back, froze, and fell away to the side, the lower half of his body still covering hers as she slowly sat up, trying hard not to be sick at the blood covering her hand and clothes. She was amazed to discover that she was shaking. Swallowing hard, Dorothy put one trembling hand up to her forehead as a wave of dizziness and nausea hit the pit of her stomach and spread swiftly through her body. She had never been so close to losing her life in hand to hand combat before, and never had she fought such a messy battle. She was disgusted.
She looked up as she heard movement in the doorway, being careful not to move her head too quickly, and met Relena's shocked gaze. She couldn't hold it, and dropped her eyes, feeling suddenly ashamed of herself, though she had done nothing wrong.
"Oh no, Dorothy!" moaned Relena, closing her eyes and turning into her brother's comforting embrace.
Dorothy's eyes dropped down to her hands, which she turned over slowly, examining them as if she had never seen them before.
"There's blood on my hands," she whispered almost as if she was surprised. "There's blood, on my hands. I'm responsible for the death's of so many, but this is the first time the blood has ever been on my hands." Dorothy frowned. She was feeling lightheaded, and everything was fading in and out of focus. She fought hard against it, but black spots formed across her vision and began to expand as the feeling in her limbs slowly seeped away. She wavered, protested, and fell into darkness with a sigh of relief.
When Dorothy next became aware of her surroundings, it was night. She looked around slowly, cautious of the headache she felt lingering on the edge of her mind, and saw that she was clean, bandaged, and back in her room, which had been cleaned. She'd been out of it for awhile. Just then Relena walked in with a glass of water in one hand and a white bottle in the other. She smiled when she saw Dorothy awake.
"Oh, good, you're back with us. You should probably take these now then." She held up the bottle as she crossed the room. When she reached the bed, she set the water down on Dorothy's nightstand and proceeded to twist of the cap.
"Here," she said, shaking two pills out and handing them and the glass of water to Dorothy. Dorothy looked at the pills suspiciously, then threw a questioning glance at Relena, who was closing the bottle back up, or trying to.
"Stupid childproof caps," she muttered, twisting the lid around on the neck of the bottle. Her eyes met Dorothy's briefly as she struggled with the cap, and she rolled her eyes when she saw Dorothy's hesitation. "It's just Tylenol, Dorothy, so take them already! It'll help with the pain. Ha!" she exclaimed as the cap finally snapped on. Dorothy shook her head and lifted the glass to her lips with her good arm as Relena took a seat in a chair near the bed. When Dorothy had finished the last of the water she set the empty glass back on the nightstand and settled down under her covers, pulling them up under her chin and closed her eyes, hoping sleep would ease the pain. She was no closer to her goal ten minutes later when Relena spoke.
"Why'd you do it?" Dorothy opened her eyes to look at her friend. Relena was sitting in her chair, hands folded in her lap, eyes focused on something out the window that Dorothy couldn't see.
"I've always been the last resort body guard, Relena. My job includes protecting you. So I did."
"Your job is to assist me with my job."
"And your job would have been seriously endangered if I hadn't stopped him before he found that treaty we worked so hard on. I'm assuming that's what he was looking for." Relena nodded. She seemed about to say something, but hesitated. Dorothy waited patiently. She could afford to wait if it allowed Relena to find the right words to say what she needed to. Whatever it was was clearly bothering her. With an impatient shake of her head, Relena gave up and spoke bluntly.
"Let's do it." Dorothy looked at her sharply.
"Do what?" she asked, even though she knew full well what she was talking about.
"I want to go."
"Why?"
"I'm tired of people trying to sneak into my house to murder me, or steal my files, or take my belongings as souvenirs. I'm tired of being scared. I've even forced you to revert back to fighting. I want out."
"What about work?"
"Like you said, I don't have to be here to work. I can still go to all the conferences and seminars, and I can travel down here if they need me for something, it's not that far. But they don't need me here for everyday paperwork, I can do that anywhere so long as I have access to a fax machine or a computer. Please, Dorothy, my friend, let's just go. I'm tired of this. I want to have a life, to have time to spend with all our friends. Neither of us has seen Hilde or Catherine or Midii in months. And if Midii really does come, half the group will already be back together. I need that. Besides, everything here reminds me of…of…" she stopped, sighed, and shook her head. "I can't forget him, but I can't spend my whole life remembering either. I want out." Dorothy nodded slowly and closed her eyes. Silence filled the room, and Relena smiled as a sort of quiet relief flooded her mind. She was moving on. Dorothy must have been thinking along the same lines because a moment later she sighed and whispered one word, a word that rang with such resolution, such finality, that Relena's breath caught.
"Home."
Rrring!
With a tired groan she rolled onto her stomach, buried her face in her arms, and tried desperately to ignore the sound. Unfortunately it didn't work. The ringing continued. Another groan, this one muffled by pillows and arms, issued from the annoyed would-be sleeper. She grabbed a pillow and pulled it over her ears, hoping the thick feather filled material would dull the sound of the ringing telephone. When the ringing still persisted, she threw off the covers and lay on her back, one arm flung across her eyes.
"Go away!" she shouted, her voice reverberating through the empty room. Silence followed this outburst and she sighed a huge sigh of relief, relaxing back into her mattress, a tiny smile gracing her features. She was just drifting off again when another ring cut through the silence. With a little whimpering groan, she forced her self into a sitting position.
"Why me?" She climbed slowly to her feet. She had been working all week to make sure there was enough security for the seminar that weekend, even tracking down most of the gundam pilots to come and help out, and now that it was over, all she wanted to do was sleep.
"But no! Someone has to go and call me at four in the morning, probably for something stupid like where the reports on last week's missions are. Wait. Four in the morning? They know better than to call me this early. Unless something's seriously wrong! Shoot!" Lady Une flew across the room and scooped the receiver out of its cradle.
"Hello?" she said breathlessly, fully awake now. "Wait, slow down, I can't understand a word you're saying. Who's missing?" she paused listening.
"What?"
Relena hefted another box up the wide spiral staircase and tossed it carelessly into the doorway of her new room.
'It's just a bunch of papers,' she thought to herself, hoping to assuage the guilt she felt for treating the box so badly. 'No such luck.' With a frustrated sigh, she picked up the box and set it down right side up on the stack of boxes already sitting on the floor next to her desk.
"A normal teenager wouldn't feel bad for having tossed a box of papers into their new room, so how come I have to? I'm eighteen for goodness' sake! Why can't I just be normal?" she finished mournfully.
"You? Normal? Ha! Give up Relena, it's never gonna happen. You're just too strange." Relena swung around to see a young girl around her own age leaning against the doorframe, an impish smile gracing her delicate features. She was a petite, attractive girl, with short blond hair and green eyes that sparkled brightly with mischievous gaiety. Relena grinned back at her.
"Did anyone ask for your input, Midii?" She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest and glaring at the girl. Midii's grin merely widened, and she pushed herself away from the doorway, rolling her eyes in an exaggerated manner.
"Now is that any way to greet a friend?"
"You started it!" Laughing, the two girls hugged happily. "I'm so glad you're here, Midii. This is going to be so much fun!" Midii smiled at her.
"Is this all of your stuff?" Midii flung an arm out, indicating the numerous boxes stacked against nearly every wall and pushed into piles in the middle of the floor. Relena nodded. "Good, then you can help me unload mine!" Midii grabbed her friend's wrist and pulled her, laughing, out the door and down the stairs. Dorothy watched them tear down the hall and out the front door with a tiny smile. Shaking her head, she turned back into her large first floor office, where she had a phone call to make and some planning to do.
Heero, she had decided earlier, was an idiot. An idiot who happened to be in love with her friend but who would never come around to admitting it without some help. And so, thanks to her evil plotting, he was now an idiot who had no idea where her friend was. Dorothy grinned a wicked grin.
"I'm a genius."
Quickly she dialed up Preventer headquarters, using her cell phone instead of her vid-phone because they couldn't trace it to her house. When she finally got through all the recordings to talk to a live person, she told the harried secretary that she'd like to speak with Lady Une.
"You and everyone else, lady. She's very busy right now and can't take any telephone calls. Sorry."
"You tell her I've got some information on the whereabouts of the missing Vice Foreign Minister, and I guarantee she'll take it."
"You're not the first to use that line either. Try again?"
"I'm not kidding, I really do have information she needs to have."
"Uh-huh, and so does every other reporter who's called here trying to get through to the Colonel."
"Miss, I understand that you've had a hard day, but it is going to get much harder for you if you prevent me from speaking to Lady Une."
"That's nice. Look, can't you just save us both some trouble and hang up? You're not going to talk to Lady Une today."
"If you don't believe me, contact the Colonel and tell her that Doria needs to speak with her. You can let her tell you to put me through."
"I'm not going to-"
"Just do it," commanded Dorothy in her best granddaughter-of-the-Duke voice. Still the secretary hesitated. "Now," she added, trying hard not to grit her teeth in frustration. There was a click on the other end, and a moment later soft elevator music drifted through the earpiece. Dorothy yawned, and leaned her head on one fist, bored and annoyed. Just seconds later, the phone came suddenly and violently to life.
"Doria, where the heck are you guys?" hissed Une, angry but quiet. Dorothy could hear a lot of noise coming over the phone behind Une's voice and smiled. 'Look at the commotion we've caused.'
"Lady Une, are you aware of how hideously boring your hold music is?"
"Where. Are. YOU?" She roared into the phone, all caution forgotten. If Dorothy was taking the time to criticize, they were in no danger.
"Temper, temper, Lady Une. Yelling gets you no where in life."
"Doro-"
"If you call me that," interrupted Dorothy, "I'll hang up right now. I don't want anyone knowing you've had any contact with me. You call me Doria, just like you're supposed to." Dorothy Catalonia-Doria. It was her code name, the one she was supposed to use if she and Relena ever got into trouble and needed to call without letting anyone know who she really was. She most definitely didn't want anyone knowing now, not just yet.
"What kind of game are you trying to play? And where's Relena? The bodyguards got there this morning and you were both gone. I've never been more terrified in my entire life."
"Our disappearance frightened you that much?"
"No. I knew you probably hadn't been kidnapped because all your belongings had disappeared too. No, Heero Yuy is what scares me. He's been prowling around my office terrorizing my staff since seven o'clock this morning. Someone made the serious mistake of calling him and telling him that Relena was missing" Lady Une's voice dropped so low Dorothy could barely understand her. "Do you know how frightening it is to have Heero Yuy seriously angry with you? I thought I had escaped ever being on the receiving end of his death glare when I signed on as head of the Preventers. And now he's sitting behind my desk, typing away on my computer, glaring at me every five minutes. AND IT'S ALL YOUR FAULT!"
The sudden increase in volume made Dorothy jump. She held the phone away from her ear and glared at it, but brought it back when she heard Lady Une continue speaking.
"So," Une was saying, "what did you want to tell me?" Dorothy heard silence behind Une and frowned.
"That was beautiful, Colonel. I tell you I don't want anyone knowing I've contacted you, and you yell into the phone. Why did I call you?"
"Doria…" said Lady Une warningly.
"If you don't promise to behave, I'll hang up right now."
"That's all right, we should be just about finished tracing your call anyway." Dorothy smiled again.
"Of course, I knew you'd try that when I called you, which is why I'm on my cell phone."
"Shoot."
"Uh-huh. You promise?"
"Yeah."
"Okay, here's the deal. 'Lena and I- you're not recording this are you?" More oaths. "That's what I thought. Stop and erase whatever you have. Immediately. Or you get nothing. I'm serious Lady Une, this is important to us. And I don't want anyone on the other lines either." Lady Une sighed.
"Markson, Phillips, hang up on your end." Muffled protests. "You heard me. Do it, now." A pause. "All right, Doria, we're alone. Start talking."
"Relena and I got tired of having near death experiences every other day on top of being mobbed by her adoring fans and dealing with the stress produced by her job, so we moved. For the sake of our peace of mind, we don't want anymore people than necessary knowing where we are. I have my own guards, so you don't need to worry about our safety, but if it would make you feel better, you may choose one, one, bodyguard who will be responsible to you. Just give me their name and I'll get in touch with them. As for work, Relena will still be attending all the things on her schedule. I will continue to send you a new schedule every month, with weekly updates, just as I have been, so you can take the necessary security precautions. All of Relena's paperwork will be faxed or e-mailed to the central office from here, and anything she needs to oversee personally will be attended to if you let me know about it ahead of time. Do you have my cell number?"
"Yes."
"Good. Now, about that guard, am I correct in assuming that you do want to send one?"
"Obviously."
"Then it's necessary to make a few provisions before I allow you to select one. First, someone who's single would be ideal, as we are too far from Preventer headquarters for commuting. Unless, of course, you can find an agent whose whole family is willing to move, but that would be very inconvenient. Second, they should be someone who can keep a secret when the job requires it, and who you personally trust not to leak information of our whereabouts. Third," she gave a long paused for dramatic effect, "no Heero Yuy." 'Hah! That should get him.'
"WHAT!"
"Volume, Lady Une."
"What do you mean?" she repeated in a lower tone. "He's the best we have!"
"True. But you're supposed to be an intelligent woman, Lady Une. You should be able to figure that one out on your own." She gave Une a moment to think about it.
"Oh," said Une when it dawned on her. "Oh."
"Yes," Dorothy replied mockingly, "oh. So pick someone else. If Yuy has a problem with that, he has my cell phone number as well. I'm sure he knows what to do with it. You may tell him I have seen her, if you must, but don't tell him she's with me."
"All right. Now I have two questions for you. One, where are you? I really do need to know so that if something happens, I know where to go."
Dorothy thought for a moment, not wanting to chance someone having tapped the wires to listen in. She wouldn't put anything past Heero Yuy. After a moment she gave Lady Une her house number. It took Une a moment to realize that's what it was, but she was much relieved when she did.
"Thank you," she said.
"Your welcome, of course. Now, the second question?"
"Right. This whole bodyguard thing really bothers me. One Preventer really can't provide enough protection alone, and he'll be the best you've got, I don't care how good your guards are. Is that number possibly negotiable?"
"No. But if it makes you feel better, Midii is staying with us as well."
"Midii Une?"
"The very same."
"All right then. I suppose you won't reconsider?"
"Good-bye, Lady Une."
"I thought not." Dorothy hung up. Grinning, she stretched, and left the office, carrying her cell phone in her pocket and feeling very pleased with herself. Everything was going according to plan. She figured if she didn't hear from Heero by the end of the evening, she'd see him bright and early tomorrow morning.
Dorothy gracefully placed a dozen red roses on the plain yet elegant gravestone, and slowly stood up, clasping her hands before her and closing her eyes in silent commemoration of the man buried below. She purposely ignored the tingling chill that suddenly ran up her back, the definite feeling that she was being watched. She was going to finish this correctly, even if it meant making him wait, especially if it meant making him wait. When she was done, she opened her eyes, but otherwise did not move.
"What can I do for you…Heero Yuy?"
"You know where she is."
"It is possible."
"Tell me." Dorothy swung around to face him, her long hair swinging heavily around her waist as she moved, pale against the black shirt and pants she wore.
"And what would you do with that information, Heero?" Heero glared at her. Dorothy gave him and amused look.
"Really, Heero, what kind of answer is that?"
"She's not safe."
"She has a whole company of guards, an ex-spy, and a Preventer agent protecting her. What could you do to protect her that they could not?"
"Perhaps nothing. But I won't know until I see for myself."
"In other words, you still don't trust me not to betray her, even after two years." Though she had known already that it was true, not just for Heero, but for all the gundam pilots, it still hurt some how to see the shrewd, searching look he threw her way. She smiled one of her cold little smiles to cover the discomfort caused by wounds only partially healed.
"Don't worry, I'm not surprised." She smiled again. "How about I make you a deal." His head jerked around sharply, his eyes meeting hers in a piercing stare. "You come to my house this afternoon, and I'll let you see her."
"Let me-"
"Stop, Heero. I am not holding Miss Relena hostage," she told him, rolling her eyes. He glared again, and she sighed. "Look, I still can't tell you where she is, but I can arrange for you to see her, see for yourself that she hasn't been harmed. It's the best I can do, Heero." He watched her carefully for a moment, then nodded slowly. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded slip of paper.
"Come to this address at three o'clock this afternoon," she told him, stepping forward and placing the paper in his hand. "There's a little gazebo located in the garden around the back. I'll meet you there, but make sure you're not seen." She paused and cocked her head at him before continuing in a far more mocking tone, "I'm sure you can handle that, right?" She started past, but stopped only a step behind him. "Oh and Heero?" He turned to face her. "This is probably your last chance." She shot him a knowing look and once again turned to go, leaving Heero standing alone in the middle of the cemetery, staring at the paper in his hands.
The hands of the clock jerked around to settle on the two and the six, and Dorothy opened the door. 'It's time.' She carefully carried her silver tea tray outside, humming as she walked down the garden path to the gazebo and trying again to ignore the feeling of being watched. She had known he would come early and was even expecting him to bring one of the others, just in case. She supposed they were hiding somewhere in the bushes, analyzing her every move. She sighed and pushed away the dark melancholy that was threatening to consume her. She had resigned herself to endure the suspicion of the gundam pilots long ago, knowing that the same mistrust that had always lingered between herself and the pilots still remained, and probably always would. She had tested the emotional brick wall between them enough times to know it wasn't coming down anytime soon, and they wanted it that way. She certainly wasn't going to beat herself up over it. Still, sometimes the loneliness was nearly enough to tear her apart, especially since at least one of the pilots was always near Relena, most commonly Wufei, for protection, and Quatre, who handled business negotiations with her. It got hard.
Annoyed with herself for indulging in self-pity, Dorothy shoved those thoughts out of her head and set the tray down in the center of the wooden table under the roof of the gazebo. Pulling out a chair, Dorothy gratefully dropped into it and began preparing herself for the battle of wills she knew was beginning even now. Everything always had to come at the cost of war where those boys were concerned, and the price she paid each time was beginning to take its toll on her.
Taking a deep breath, Dorothy settled her arms just below the elbows against the arms of the chair and laced her fingers together over her stomach. Closing her eyes and leaning her head back a little, she forced herself to focus on the nature around her. She listened to the birds chirping in the trees, heard the wind whispering through the leaves of the bushes nearby, felt the breeze cool on her face, breathed the soothing scent of roses and lavender from the garden around her, and began to relax. One by one she concentrated on each muscle in her body and forced it to loosen until the dark cloud over her head had disappeared and she was perfectly calm and content. When she was finished she noticed that the air pressure had changed and something was different. She smiled a tiny smile, not the cold, condescending smile she usually gave, but a gentle, serene smile that was almost completely out of character, despite her fairly recent transformation. Today was beautiful; she had resolved not to let him bother her.
"Hello, Heero. Take a seat." She motioned towards the chair nearest her, and heard him pull the one farthest from her out instead. She ignored the subtle insult and remained still for a moment, not yet willing to face the coming confrontation. After a moment she realized that there were indeed two of them.
"Your friend may have a seat as well, if he likes," she said softly, still calm and collected, intent on enjoying her rare, and rather sudden, good mood. She made them wait only a moment before opening her eyes and smiling easily at the two boys. She was surprised to see that it was Quatre who had accompanied Heero this afternoon, having expected him to bring Duo or Trowa, but she took it in stride and refused to let her surprise show on her face.
"Tea?" Reaching out, she picked up the teapot and lifted a cup and saucer to the spout, expertly pouring tea into the cup until it was three fourths full. Heero looked suspiciously from the cup in her hand to her face and back again.
"Oh, come now, Heero, I haven't poisoned it. Even Miss Relena drinks my tea." Glaring at her, he reached for the cup. She nearly let him have it too, but pulled it away at the last second instead. "Don't you want me to put some sugar in your tea, Heero?" she questioned innocently.
"I don't want you putting anything in my tea, Dorothy Catalonia," he growled in return.
"Of course, Heero." She smiled sweetly and handed him cup and saucer, seriously amused. It was normally so hard to tease Heero, he never seemed to have any buttons to push, but today she had him at her mercy and she was truly enjoying herself. She caught Quatre looking at her strangely and she arched a challenging eyebrow at him. He didn't want to play too, did he? She hadn't thought Quatre was the type to enjoy that almost hurtful type of game, and he had to see that Heero was losing. No, he had dropped his gaze to the table, frowning. Good, she would leave him out of it then.
"Would you like some, Quatre?" It was only polite to ask. He looked at her critically, then turned his gaze away and shook his head. Quatre, turning down tea? So. He didn't trust her either. She had mostly expected that too, though. She knew Heero wouldn't have taken any if she hadn't challenged him to drink it. She shrugged and happily poured herself a cup, adding half a spoonful of sugar and stirring it in with great enthusiasm. When there wasn't any grainy stuff left at the bottom of her cup she sat back and took a sip, closing her eyes and savoring the sweet taste on her tongue.
"Mmmm." She hummed softly to herself. Raspberry, her favorite kind.
"Where is she, Dorothy?" Heero was clearly getting impatient. She shook her head and sighed, then opened her eyes to look at him, the corners of her mouth tugging up mockingly.
"You're slipping, Yuy," she quietly informed him, obviously enjoying herself. "I can almost tell what you're thinking by the look on your face." Immediately his face lost all expression, his eyes staring coldly at her from beneath wild bangs. She rewarded him with another of her taunting little smiles, telling him without words that he was allowing himself to be manipulated. Though he never moved a muscle, she could almost see him changing tactics, knowing him well enough to know that if one method didn't work, he'd try another. He was tenacious that way. She sat back and waited.
'Round two,' she sighed mentally.
"So what have you been doing lately, Dorothy?" Now that was a change of pace. Heero making small talk? Even stranger than Quatre turning down tea.
"Not a lot, really. Just negotiations between some rather competitive companies, a couple of new treaties, reorganizing old legislation, mostly just busy work."
"Just how much of this is Relena involved in?" he asked pointedly.
Ah. So that's where he's headed. But why? He knew she'd been in contact with Relena. She shrugged noncommittally.
"Whatever she needs to be involved in."
"You do still work together, right?" Quatre was trying to head off the coming argument before it began. Same old Quatre.
"Yes."
"Where?" Heero was watching her carefully, his voice as empty as always.
"Wherever necessary." Silence. She knew Heero was frustrated with her evasive answers and was trying to think up a question that would give him a clue to Relena's whereabouts. She sighed. Again. If he would only be patient…
"So what have the two of you been up to?" She had decided against playing defense in this game of twenty questions. The two pilots exchanged wary glances.
"Nothing really…" Quatre's words were carefully chosen to reveal nothing, but they told her clearly that they were hiding something. Oh well, she had no need to pry. She had spotted Relena's blond head through gaps in the shrubbery and the waiting game was over. Heero and Relena about to meet, all unaware. This should be interesting.
"We have another guest," Dorothy smiled brightly at Heero and motioned with on hand toward the ivy covered archway nearby. Relena stood frozen beneath it, eyes locked on the brown haired blue eyed boy seated across from Dorothy.
"Heero!" She was surprised to say the least.
"Relena."
'Heero never was one to waste words,' Dorothy thought sarcastically. She turned to Relena.
"Heero and I ran into each other last night, and I took the liberty of inviting him over to join us for tea this afternoon. It's my little gift to you. I hope you don't mind." Relena's gaze shifted back to Heero.
"You look well," she stated quietly, all surprise gone from her countenance.
"I am." Heero's face was similarly masked. Dorothy looked back and forth between them with growing amazement, and frustration.
"That's it? No passionate reunion?" Two very different pairs of blue eyes settled on her. Heero was the first to react.
"I don't have time for this," he glared and pushed his chair back as he stood. "I'm leaving."
Dorothy had never thought to see Heero embarrassed. It was an interesting thing to witness. She smiled.
"Sit down, Heero," Dorothy told him, amused, "You'll be leaving Relena all alone with me if you leave, and we both know how untrustworthy I am." Relena turned startled eyes on Heero, and the glare he sent Dorothy's way in response confirmed her suspicion that the boys hid their mistrust from Relena wherever possible.
"Would you care to join us, Relena?" Dorothy asked, reaching for another cup and saucer. By the time Relena had reached them and seated herself between Heero and Dorothy, a steaming cup of tea was waiting for her.
"What kind is it?" the Vice Foreign Minister asked curiously, delicately smelling the tea over the rim of her cup.
"It's raspberry."
"Really?" Relena's attention flew from the tea to Dorothy's face. "I thought we were out of raspberry." Dorothy nodded.
"We were." She grinned. "Thank goodness Midii went to the store today. That herbal stuff was making me very grumpy." Relena laughed.
"Boy, don't I know it!" She only laughed harder when Dorothy glared at her, both girls momentarily forgetting the two pilots as they settled into their daily tea time routine. When Quatre quietly cleared his throat however, both girls snapped back to reality and, exchanging guilty looks, turned their attention on the boys.
"Where have you been, Relena? We've all been so worried." Quatre looked almost accusingly at her. He wasn't acting like himself today…
"Ah, well…" Relena cleared her throat. " I needed to get away, find someplace else to call home."
"Why?" Heero's question was short, to the point, and the release to a floodgate of explanations. Dorothy took it as her cue to leave. She stood swiftly and began to gather the tea things together. Heero, she was not surprised to see, had emptied his cup just to spite her. She shook her head as she picked up his cup and set it on the tray with the others. Taking hold of the tray, she headed down the steps leading from the gazebo to the garden path below.
"Where are you going Dorothy?" Relena asked curiously, just a hint of panic in her voice. Dorothy paused on the top step and smiled reassuringly at her.
"I'm taking these back to the kitchen. Whoever has dishes duty today won't be happy if the dregs of Heero's tea dry on the bottom of his cup. Scraping those out isn't much fun."
"Are you coming back?"
"Sure." She continued on down the steps, hoping, praying someone would remind her…
"Dorothy, wait!" Relena's voice followed after her and she smiled with relief before spinning around to face the other girl.
"You forgot the teapot," Relena told her, her eyes laughing at her forgetfulness.
'Yeah, on purpose.'
"Quatre, can you grab that for me, please?" Without waiting for an answer, she moved quickly down the path, hoping she got far enough before Quatre caught up with her to be out of earshot. She stopped momentarily beneath the archway and turned to face the table again. Quatre was only just standing up.
'Good.'
"Heero," she called, getting his attention. His look was half glare, half question. "Don't forget what I said yesterday!" And with that she was gone around the corner and out of sight, Quatre hurrying to catch up with her and wondering why he was bothering.
"Yesterday?" Relena looked at Heero curiously. "What'd she say yesterday?"
"Oh and Heero?" He turned to face her. "This is probably your last chance." She shot him a knowing look and turned to go again, leaving him standing alone in the cemetery staring at the address on the paper in his hands.
"Last chance for what?"
'Last chance for what?' he had wondered. Well, now he knew. He rubbed his hands over his face. "Last chance…"
"What?"
"Never mind." He looked up at the sky, thinking, choosing his words carefully, then dropped his gaze down to meet her eyes. "Relena, we need to talk…"
"Dorothy, why are you walking so fast?" The usually kind boy was annoyed. It had been a very bad day thus far, and the thought of spending the afternoon with Dorothy hadn't improved his mood any. They never had gotten along, at least not since she had stabbed him so mercilessly. He winced at the memory.
"I don't want to miss it."
"Miss what?" he asked exasperated. She had been muttering under her breath about not missing "it" ever since they had left the gazebo. She grinned brightly at him, an expression he found surprising, but not displeasing.
'Far from it in fact.' He shook his head at that unbidden thought. Still, there really was no denying that she was pretty, beautiful even, and she'd been very polite and hospitable, at least to him, ever since they had arrived. Maybe she wasn't so bad…
"You'll see," she replied airily. He groaned. Any good feelings he had been momentarily harboring for her dissipated with that annoyingly ditzy response.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Dorothy ignored him, and continued speaking, speaking so softly that she almost seemed to be talking to herself. Quatre leaned forward to catch her words.
"…after I've gone to such great lengths to arrange it, I'm gonna kill him."
"Kill who?" Quatre asked, having caught only the tail end of her sentence.
"Heero."
"Are you crazy?"
"Huh?"
"You're gonna kill Heero? Even Duo wouldn't try that."
"What?"
"You said you'd kill him."
"Well, I will if he messes this up. It took me far too long to set up."
"What did?"
"Relena and Heero being alone."
"Why would you want that?"
"So he can accomplish his mission."
" Accomplish his… So you blackmailed him!"
"Blackmailed who?"
"Heero."
"Why would I do that?"
"To get him to complete his mission."
"I hadn't thought about blackmail," Dorothy said thoughtfully, then shook her head, hurrying up the walk to her back door. "I don't think blackmail would work on Heero."
"It must have, there's no other way he'd kill Miss Relena."
"Why would Heero kill Miss Relena?"
"Because that's his mission, which you wanted him to complete." Dorothy stopped walking and turned to look at Quatre.
"Quatre, what are you talking about?" Quatre stopped too, just a step ahead of her, one hand on the doorknob.
"I'm talking about how you threatened to kill Heero if he didn't kill Miss Relena. Blackmailed him into doing it. Though I'm surprised he agreed. I was sure she meant more to him than that." He frowned and opened the door. Dorothy stared at him, ignoring him as he tried to wave her through the door ahead of him, a frown creasing her forehead as well. Quatre watched her carefully as a smile slowly spread across her face and a quiet sound, something almost like giggling, seemed to be coming from her direction. But Dorothy didn't giggle. Did she? His question was answered a moment later when the giggling grew louder and soon morphed into a full blown laugh. He stared at her, bewildered, as she clutched her stomach and bent over, tears wavering in her eyes.
"Dorothy?"
"Oh, oh Quatre," she gasped, trying to control her laughter and talk at the same time. She wiped the tears away. "Oh, you're so funny! No, no! Don't be mad," she reached out and caught his wrist as he started to turn away, his face clouded over with anger. She was laughing at him! "It's just…it's just, well the thought of Heero ever feeling threatened by me is really very funny. Now Quatre, stop glaring at me. You have to admit it sounds rather ludicrous. He's one of the most dangerous men in the world, and I'm a politician. He's seen far too many things worse than me to ever be intimidated by anything I could do, and you know it." He gave her a questioning look, clearly confused. "Here, let me show you." She led him through the house, up the stairs to the upper den, a spacious, sunny room on the corner of the house, with huge bay windows stretching nearly from floor to ceiling and taking up almost half the room. She pulled him right up to the windows and stopped, clearly looking for something.
"Ah! There." She pointed out into the garden at a spot near the gazebo they had so recently occupied. Quatre smiled at the sight that met his eyes. Heero and Relena sat at a small fountain, fingers laced together, sharing a sweet first kiss.
"Heero tracked me down yesterday, looking for her, so I set up this meeting and told him it was probably his last chance. I figured it ought to be enough to get him to act." She shrugged. "I was right."
"You did this?" She nodded.
"She's my best friend. For a long time, she was my only friend. I needed some way to try to repay her for all she's done for me, and she was so unhappy without him."
"I see." He dropped his gaze to the floor. Dorothy smiled at his unwillingness to meet her gaze.
"You really shouldn't believe everything you hear, Quatre," she reprimanded gently, "even if it's coming from Heero. I'm not as evil as he makes me out to be." He shot her a guilty look and she laughed. "Don't worry about it," she said as he opened his mouth to apologize. "It's already forgotten." She watched as he shifted his weight nervously from one foot to the other and cast about desperately for something to say to break the uncomfortable silence. "So, we seem to have some time on our hands. How about a game of chess?" Quatre's eyes met hers and he smiled.
"That would be nice."
So what do you think? I've always thought Dorothy was a fascinating character, very complex, so I was kinda nervous about trying to get into her head. I know she's a little out of character most of the time, but I figured after two years with Relena she wouldn't be quite the same person she had been, so I took some liberties with her personality. Still, I'm not sure how well this turned out, I'm obviously a little biased, so I would really, really love it if you guys would review for me. Thanks guys!