Chapter Six

Once again settled comfortably into a bed- though not hers- Mimi was plagued by scenes from her dream. Had Mr. Corrigon really deserved to die? She didn't think so. Not because of her. What would Yamato and Sora think of her if they knew that she'd gotten a man killed? Would they condemn her? God she hoped not, she's lived with accusations for years but she didn't think she could stand it if they looked at her with the same contempt that the people of New York had.

Should she tell them? Could she tell them?

Before she could decide, the door to Yamato's room opened and the man poked his golden head through. The smell of bacon sent her stomach rocketing back up into her throat, but she managed heroically to choke it back down where it belonged.

"Are you hungry?"

Mimi shook her vehemently, not willing to risk opening her mouth when the stench of fried animal fat hung heavy in the air.

"You sure?" Mimi nodded. "Okay then, sleep well… Mimi." I wish! She thought longingly as he quietly closed the door; but with the dream so fresh in her mind that she was afraid to close her eyes lest it surface again. At the moment all she wanted to do was force the memories to the back of her mind and forget them.

But didn't psychologists say something about it being healthier to talk about disturbing memories? Was there really anyone she trusted enough with her feelings to pour her heart out to? She wasn't sure. Her relationship with Yamato was so new that she was loath to kill it as it blossomed. And she was only just getting to know Sora again. What if neither bond was strong enough as yet to withstand the strain such a confession would entail?

Finally, after endless worrying and finding herself no closer to a decision, she drifted reluctantly to sleep.

****

Yamato sat across the coffee table from Mimi's friend, Sora; who -for the first time since she'd arrived- had fallen into blessed silence. He was flopped back on the couch, wanting more than anything to kick the red headed chatter-box out and crawl into his bed so he could hold his Mimi. Surprised at himself, for the thought held no sexual innuendo, he would have dug deeper into it, but the woman across from him opened her mouth again.

He resisted the urge to groan.

"I've been thinking…" She started, almost timidly. He smirked in dark humor.

"Sounds painful."

"I was saying." She continued, ignoring his comment and shooting him a glare that was meant to be withering. "Mimi seemed upset when I got here and-"

"No really?" Damn but the woman was annoying! He'd had five seconds of God Sent silence. Five Seconds! And then the woman had decided to exercise her tongue some more! And the starry eyed worship with which she had greeted him was beginning to make him sick! But it seemed his sarcasm was accomplishing one thing, if not sufficing in shutting her up; at least she didn't appear to be so enamored with him anymore. In fact, she looked fit to kill.

He smiled.

"Would you be serious! I am trying to think!"

"Well… by all means, don't let me stand in the way." Sora's glare, if possible, grew more intense.

"I've been trying to figure out what's been wrong with her since she got here, but she just wont tell me-"

"Did you give her a chance to talk?" Bright red flags darkened her cheek bones and her eyes shot sparks at him.

"Of course! I don't talk all the time."

"You mean you actually breathe once in awhile?" His eyes widened in mock amazement and he wondered if it was healthy for her face to be as red as her hair or if he should call an ambulance.

"Mimi hasn't really talked to me about her life before she got here, I wondered if maybe she'd talked to you?" She said stiffly after remaining silent for several seconds in which Yamato had thought that she'd finally gotten the point. No such luck.

"I tried to ask her last name once but I wasn't particularly encouraged by the way she reacted.." He answered dryly.

"Oh?" The way she replied suggested that she didn't have a clue as to what he meant. So Mimi didn't flip out on her friends- that made him feel special. Really. "I've tried to steer the conversation that way a few times but…" This time she trailed off by herself.

"Did you ever ask her?" He found he was becoming interested in the conversation, and why shouldn't he be? It just happened to be on one of his favorite subjects- Mimi.

"Well…. No" She sounded a little sheepish.

"Maybe you should have."

"I was trying to be subtle, certain matters have to be handled delicately."

"Well obviously subtle didn't work."

"Oh, so are you suggesting we just march in there and demand to know what happened while she was in New York?"

"New York…? Is that where she comes from?" The woman's mouth all but dropped open.

"You mean you didn't know that she just came home from New York? She really hasn't told you anything?"

"Didn't I already mention that she wasn't fond of talking about herself?"

"You don't even know her last name do you? Well I'm not going to say another word about Mimi until I get a chance to talk to her! If she didn't trust you enough to confide in then I'm sure not going to give her away." She stood up from her chair and marched towards the door to his bedroom.

Yamato stayed seated. If he wanted information, the best place to get it was from Mimi, not her overly vocal friend. He was more than willing to work for her trust. He had a feeling it would be worth it.

****

The sound of the door opening invaded the blackness that surrounded Mimi as she slept, warm and content, in Yamato's bed. Soft foot steps carried the person into the room until they were standing by the bed. She felt the skin in her arms tingle as she thought of someone looking down on her curled under the blankets, but her eyes felt to heavy to lift and she was perfectly willing to leave them closed.

A shifting in the mattress announced that whoever was in the room had just sat on the edge of the bed nearest her. A warm hand brushed her ear as it removed strands of hair away from her face and she knew who it was from the electricity that curled her toes even before he spoke.

"My poor, little angel." He said in a low, purring voice. She felt a gentle tug on her scalp and realized vaguely that he was running his fingers through her hair. His presence was oddly comforting and she felt herself drifting back into dreamless slumber when the door opened again and Sora's voice penetrated even the semi-consciousness that Yamato's had only enhanced.

"What do you think you are doing in here?" The demand was uttered in a harsh whisper, but it sounded like a shriek on Mimi's awakening senses and, feeling a headache begin behind her eyes, she groaned out loud.

"You've waken her up!" Yamato's accusation was downright hostile and Mimi wondered abstractly why they were not getting along.

"Mimi, how do you feel?" This from Sora, her voice much sweeter sounding than it had been seconds before but still unwelcome to her ears. Another groan slipped from her throat before she could suppress it and Yamato's shifted on the bed as he leaned over her, his hand still buried in her hair.

"Are you okay, Angel Mine?" Genuine concern laced his voice and Mimi opened her eyes to look up at him, the throbbing in her head making her feel disoriented and she was sure if she was standing she would have swayed.

"My head hurts." She said in a small voice, realizing with irritation that she still sounded like the stupid frog.

"Poor Baby! Do you want some aspirin?" Sora again. Mimi shook her head negatively, then winced at the pain that cause.

"We better go and let you get back to sleep, maybe the headache will be gone when you wake up again."

"No!" Coming to an instant decision, Mimi sat straight up in the bed, and instantly regretted it, but she couldn't let them leave for fear that she would loose her nerve and be unable to speak to them. "Please… Don't go, I… have something I want to tell you guys."

****

Yamato listened to her story, growing increasingly furious with nearly every word she spoke, her voice threatening to break at any moment. That some bastard had even thought to harm Mimi, much less attempted to force himself on her made him down right murderous. He registered vaguely that such hatred for a stranger was foreign to his personality, but put it down to his Mimi's situation

"Mr. Corrigon had just ripped the front of my uniform open," She continued with her story, her voice wavering and her hand coming up to rub the skin above her right eye. "That's when Mr. Deveral shot him in the head.

"Of course, Mr. Corrigon was dead, but there was no way to hide that Mr. Deveral had killed him because my screaming had brought the entire household running and the cook had called the police." Her voice choked to a stop and she took a minute or two to collect herself again.

"The trial took several months and in the end Mr. Deveral was found guilty of murder. He never made it to jail though. It seems- I mean, Mr. Corrigon had very powerful friends and Mr. Deveral was shot down coming out of the courthouse that last day." It appeared as though she couldn't go on and Yamato reached out a reassuring hand to pull her to him, but then thought better of it. Everything that had happened in the time he had known her seemed to fall perfectly into the story and he didn't want to push her where she didn't want her to go.

"Poor Mimi! To think that horrible man tried- that he was actually going to-" Sora broke off and coughed self-consciously. Mimi's hand came up to rub above her eye again and Yamato remembered that she'd said her head hurt.

"But he didn't deserve to die." Mimi said in a small, fragile voice that twisted Yamato's heart and made him forget his decision not to push her as he reached out and hugged her to him, cradling her against his chest as though she were a small child. With her head resting on his arm she was close enough that he could see the bright shine of tears in her eyes.

"Oh Mimi, my angel, don't cry." He spoke, his voice husky from the suspicious lump in his throat. But before he's even said the words, the tears were spilling over. Her soft hands came up to curl around his neck as she turned her face into his shoulder and wept.