The Claim - part 3


by KatiKat



Slowly, as if making his way through a river of mud Duo woke up. A smell tickled his nose. A stew cooking. Something that under different circumstances, would make his mouth water, but only managed to turn his stomach in this case. He felt the bile rise in his throat, and he tried to turn on his side, but it seemed an impossible task. His limbs felt heavy and he was hot, so hot that he couldn´t even breathe. He tried to open his eyes, but they seemed to be glued together. He started choking, a silent whimper forcing its way through his lips.

Shini raised his head from his new human's chest, hearing the heartbeat going wild. Something was wrong with his new human. He barked, calling the Leader of the pack to help. He then started to lick his new human´s hand in an attempt to make it - whatever it was - better.

Heero abandoned the stew hanging in a kettle over the bright burning flame, and rushed over to the bed. Seeing Duo choking, he quickly turned him on his side, holding a bucket under his chin. Slowly, painfully Duo threw up the meager contents of his stomach. After a couple of minutes of dry heaving, Heero brought a cup of fresh water to his lips, helping him wash out his mouth. Then he gently turned Duo back onto his back.

Finally, Duo was able to get his eyes open. The large irises that almost swallowed the violet pools turned to the Enforcer. They were bright with fever. "Hey..." Duo whispered, his voice hoarse.

Heero covered the bucket with a wooden lid, pushing it to the side and making a mental note to také care of it later. He then sat down on the bed next to Duo, and looked down at his charge, touching his cheeks that glowed pink with fever with his cool fingers. "Hey," he answered. He then rinsed the piece of cloth in a bowl of water and started to wash the sweat covered face.

Duo took a deep breath, and found his chest hurting. He didn´t know why it hurt and his thoughts were too foggy to think about it more thoroughly. "What´s goin´ on?" he asked. His naked body felt so hot under the covers. He wanted to throw them off, but he lacked the power to do so.

"Your fever has risen in the time I was gone. I tried to force it down since I came back," Heero answered. He rinsed the cloth again, pushed the covers down to Duo´s waist and began washing Duo´s arms.


Duo frowned. Fever? He had a fever? Well... that would explain why he felt so hot. He tried to move to relieve the dull ache that sank its teeth in the small of his back, but it didn´t help. With each small move, the ache was growing sharper. Duo decided it was better to keep still then. He felt too exhausted to move anyway.

Seeing Duo lick his dry lips, Heero laid the cloth aside and poured something into a ceramic cup from a pitcher on the table he had moved closer to the bed after he returned home. "Drink this. It should help with the fever and the nausea," he said and helped Duo raise his head from the pillow.


Duo swallowed the lukewarm liquid, not even tasting it. Unfortunately as soon as it hit the bottom of his stomach, it came back up and Heero almost wasn´t quick enough to have the bucket ready this time.

Duo felt miserable, his stomach was hurting, his head was hurting and the ache in the small of his back now turned into a sharp stabbing pain that shot through his body and centered in his lower abdomen. Something was very very wrong, and he felt like crying.

When Heero put the bucket away again, and helped the longhaired boy lie back on the bed, Duo could swear he caught a look of total helplesness that flashed through Heero´s eyes. But when he blinked, the cobalt orbs were calm and composed again. Maybe he imagined it?

"The Healer?" he rasped.

Heero clenched his fist for a second then returned to washing the lifebearer´s body again, trying to cool down the fever. "I went to him. He refused to come. As the chieftain of the village, your father renounced you. You are an outcast now and in their society, you have no place or right to ask for his help. That´s what the healer said." He clenched his teeth for a moment. "I almost broke his neck," he spat out. "But then I settled for his jaw. I went to my friend, Trowa, he is a healer too and he lives in the woods like me, but I couldn´t find him. I left him a message but he obviously still hasn´t returned home yet."

During Heero´s explanation, Duo watched him through heavy lidded eyes. Heero really looked like he was worried about him. Worried? The Enforcer? The Enforcer... what a nice name for a killer. He remembered the time when Heero´s father, Odin, was the Enforcer. He had been killed by some poachers or someone like that. Duo wasn´t sure how he died, since it was a long time ago. The village had then been left defenseless, open to any attack for years since no one wanted to take over the task of being the guardian and the executioner in one, risking his life day after day, until getting killed fighting for the people who would never acknowledge his effort, making him an outsider among his own people instead. No one from the village wanted to take this position, and no foreigners were willing to come here, into the deep woods, so far away from any big towns. So the people waited until Heero was of age, then forced the task on him, claiming the heritage of blood. Heero swore to never forgive them for taking his free will away from him. Duo´s eyes slid to Heero´s shoulder, where he knew he would find the brand marking him as the Enforcer for life, binding him to this fate until the day he died. Breaking this bond was impossible, and was punished by beheading. So Heero served the village, but made sure to not only put fear in the hearts of his enemies, but his own people too. Now the villagers feared the man they made.

A sharp pain, so sharp that it stole Duo´s breath for a second, broke Duo out of his reverie. The cutting pain now devoured his lower abdomen, making him moan and twist his hands in the covers. He clenched his eyes shut, one small tear escaping from underneath his lids.

"Duo?" Heero asked uncertainly, and looked up from washing the boy´s chest. Seeing the lifebearer pale horribly, he asked again, deep worry in his voice. "Duo,what´s wrong?"

"H... hurts," he whispered breathlessly.

Heero looked at the blanket covering Duo from his waist down, then reached out and slowly, as if actually not wanting to see, pulled it away. He gasped, and dropped it to the floor. Duo was lying in a pool of blood, and it was growing bigger by the second.

Swearing, Heero jumped to his feet and calling Shini, he ran to the door. The black dog hopped down from the bed where he was watching his new human, whining almost silently. Heero opened the door, then crouched next to Shinigami. "Trowa. Find Trowa," he said to him clearly, looking directly into his intelligent eyes. "Find Trowa and bring him here. Now."

The dog barked once as if saying he understood, then disappeared into the woods.


TBC

There is a reason why I finished this part here and didn´t make it longer. It´s because you now have to decide - should Duo loose the baby or not? I have ideas how to continue both of these plotlines and can´t decide which one would be better. So I leave the decision to you :) Tell me!