AN Well, hello there. The next chapter. Oh, dear, Heero is in trouble. Again, keep an eye on Wufei. Nopt that he's doing that much. Enjoy reading!
Disclaimer: I forgot, but do you guys really think I own it? Come on! Get real!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Under Pressure
Chapter 2
~~~~~~~~
Relena angrily threw the next rejection lettre aside. Great, as things stood now, only a fifth of
the world was willing to take a seat in the Covenant. And she could not accept that. It was all or nothing.
If not all nations agreed, she would have to dismiss the Covenant, as sad as that may be. She could not
risk the possibility of the Covenant growing into a next Alliance or Romafeller.
She looked forward to next week. Then she would visit the colonies. More specifically she would
visit the Winner company. She looked forward to seeing Quatre again. And maybe she had a chance to see
Heero, too. Again her thoughts drifted towards him, as they had done so many times before. Three years.
Three years since she had last seen him. And that meeting had been in a room full of people, where she
couldn't have said what she really had wanted to say. She regretted that ever since.
And tonight she would meet Milliardo and Lu. That was something to look forward to as well.
Unfortunately that did not solve the problem she had right now. If only it could.
A knock on the door pulled her out of her misery. "Yes?"
Anna opened the door. "A call, minister, from Hilde on line four. It sounded rather urgent."
"Thank you, Anna." Her secretary closed the door, while Relena reached for the buttons on the
left side of her desk. The communication screen flickered on and Hilde appeared on it, looking very
flustered.
"Relena, you will never guess what happened yesterday."
Well, this could prove to be a very pleasant interruption of her work. "If I cannot guess, then you'll
just have to tell me."
"Right." Hilde pushed her hair back. "Remember how I told you I had been feeling a bit weird lately?
I went to a doctor to see if there was anything wrong with me and there wasn't. Which is good news, I know,
but it's not the end of the story. Just because there was nothing wrong with me, didn't mean there was nothing
going on."
"Oh, would you cut the suspense already?" Relena cried out exasperated.
"Indulge me, will you? Duo didn't let me finish either."
The minister sighed, but nodded. "Go ahead."
"Speaking of Duo, he was so thrilled when he heard, he asked me to marry him. Oh no, that's not really
true. He said he had been meaning to ask me for weeks, he just couldn't find the right time."
"He proposed?" Relena yelled. "No way! Really?"
Hilde beamed. "Yes, he did. Oh, I am so happy right now. I couldn't be any happier, I think."
"So, when is the wedding?"
"Well, it's gonna have to be within the next three or four months, cause otherwise I won't fit properly in
a wedding dress."
"Why not?"
Hilde just smiled secretive and let Relena puzzle it out herself. It didn't take her long.
"You're pregnant?" she whispered.
Hilde nodded with a glowing smile.
"Oh, Hilde that's just wonderful! Congratulations! So when are you due?"
"The 24th of September."
"I'll be there! I'll definitely be there."
Hilde frowned. "Can you fit that into your schedule?"
"Sure I can! It's not every day your best friend delivers a baby! The world will just have to make it without
me for a few days. I have about a year holiday time left."
"That bad, huh?"
Relena nodded. "I haven't had more than a day per half year off for the past four years. I really could use a
break. So call me as soon as you have set a date for the wedding, okay?"
"I will, Relena. Don't worry, I will."
"Have you heard anything from the others?"
Hilde shook her head. "No, Quatre is very, very busy. I think the only one more busy than him, is you. Heero
is just working, but according to Duo, who spoke to Quatre about a month ago, he's fine. We saw Trowa about six
weeks ago. His circus came by. But I thought you were going to Quatre's next week. At least you can ask him about
Heero."
"What makes you think I will only ask about Heero?" Relena inquired innocently.
Hilde laughed. "You can't fool me, my friend. You are head over heels in love with that man and I bet not a
day goes by that you don't think of him."
"I am not in love with him!" Relena protested angrily.
"Whatever you say, dear. You can fool yourself all you want to, but your words don't convince me."
The other line whined. Saved by the bell. "I have to go, there's someone on the other line. Talk to you soon,
okay?"
"Definitely. Good luck with your work, Relena."
"Thanks." They disconnected.
On the other line was Quatre. "Hi, Relena. How are you?"
"Considering my workload, I think I'm doing rather well."
The former Gundam pilot smiled. "I know what you mean. I just called to say there's been a slight change of
plans. I won't be able to meet you on the L4-7 colony, because I'll be staying at the D6 colony for at least the next two
weeks. Something very interesting came up and I want to direct my full attention to it. Does it wreck your plans to
change course?"
Relena shook her head. "No, not at all. Every other business I have in outer space cannot be dealt with on
either colony, so it doesn't matter at all."
"Okay, great. I have to go now. See you in a week."
"Yeah, bye."
Relena stared at the empty screen. Quatre inexplicably led to Heero, since that man was now working for
the Winner company. She wondered how he felt, shoveling dust and rubble around.
~~~~~~
Well, Heero wasn't feeling too great. But not because of the dust, except that it made him cough his lungs
out. He rubbed his forehead, wiping sweat away. He felt a little lightheaded. Maybe the oxygen supply was failing.
It wouldn't be the first time. Except that it didn't really feel like it. And nobody else seemed to suffer from it. He
took a deep breath, but was cut short by another fit of coughing.
"You shouldn't breath in too deep there, Heero," said Anton, slapping his back, trying to lighten the strain.
"Maybe you should get yourself to the doctor, hey? You don't look so good."
"I'm fine," Heero grunted. "It's this annoying dust."
Anton nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if we come back with dustbags for lungs."
Heero laughed curtly about the misplaced joke, but was again cut short by those racking coughs. He decided
to just ignore it. Angrily he wiped his mouth, leaving a dark stain on his sleeve and set back to work.
At the end of the day he was as worn out as after three days of continuous battle. Maybe Anton was right.
Maybe he should see a med. But not today. He was too tired. Right now all he wanted was sleep.
They got back to the barracks. By that time Heero was seeing double. It was a relief when he could finally
hoist himself in the top bunk he occupied.
"Hey, Heero, I don't want to ruin your bedrest, but shouldn't you at least take your shoes off?"
Anton's voice barely penetrated Heero's clouded mind, but the latter thought his friend made a valid point.
So he pushed himself upright again and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He had meant to jump down easily,
but he wasn't allowed. The moment his feet hit the ground, his knees buckled from the shock of the landing and he
dropped to the floor. Worse, the coughing he had been suppressing all afternoon, wouldn't be kept down any longer.
He broke down completely, his body tormented by the terrible coughing.
"Hey buddy, are you alright there?"
Heero didn't register his friends words. He couldn't even breath. Every gush of air burned in his throat, making
the coughing grow worse. His arms were tightly clamped around his chest, trying to relieve him from the pain. A metallic
taste he knew all too well touched his tongue. Two hands grabbed his shoulders, trying to pull him upright, but they froze.
"Somebody call the doctor," he heard a voice yell. He fought to open his eyes and then saw the reason for the
panicked tone. On the floor in front him laid a pool of blood. He wiped his mouth and stared at the streaks of redness
on the back of his hand. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. Something had damaged his lungs, and if he were
to make a bet, he would guess on something in the strange lab.
The pain in his chest was building. He clutched his sides in a hopeless attempt to quell it. Every breath came
with more pain and more coughing. Oh, God, make it stop! He couldn't remember himself begging for anything. He
vaguely remembered him saying defiantly to Treize once: 'I don't believe in God.'
Nothing, in all the time he had been a Gundam pilot, all the times he had been shot, blown up or in any other
way been hurt or maimed, had been as painful as this. This wasn't something he could fight. There was nothing to focus
on, to forget the pain. This weren't more or less superficial wounds caused by his lack of care for his own body during
battle.
The pain seemed to tear him apart. The last coherent thought he had was directed to Earth.
Relena...
~~~~~~
The blackness of space dotted with tiny specks was the only thing visible through the shuttle's window. Relena
sighed and leaned back in her chair. They would reach the colony soon. She looked forward to seeing Quatre again. It's
been so long, since she had seen any of her friends. The only thing that slightly worried her was the fact that Dorothy
Catalonia would be there as well. Relena wondered what on Earth had possessed Quatre to hire that woman. It wasn't
like she disliked Dorothy or distrusted her. What was past, was past and should be forgotten. Quatre just didn't strike
her as the type to take a liking to Dorothy. But perhaps she was wrong. People could change and there was no reason
why both Quatre and Dorothy couldn't overcome their differences.
Relena and Heero had become friends in some odd, twisted way, and she supposed they differed at much from
each other as kind Quatre and war loving Dorothy. If Dorothy was still as keen on war as before. Relena had heard from
Trowa that during the battle on Libra Dorothy had had a run in with both Quatre and Trowa and that meeting had probably
opened her eyes to some extent. The two men had left her quite stricken.
Lu had met her a few times the past years. To her the girl seemed definitely to have calmed down.
The colony hovered into view. Relena fastened her seatbelt and awaited the landing. Transportation to the Winner
company stood ready and she arrived at the large building swiftly. At the entrance she was startled to find Dorothy. She
had not expected to be confronted with her so soon. Quatre should have warned her.
"Good day, minister Darlian. Welcome to the Winner company." The woman's voice contained the right amount
respect for the vice foreign minister, but Relena sensed a wavering. Dorothy was uncertain as to how Relena would
respond to her. Relena looked at the young woman standing in front of her and saw what Lu had meant. The raving fires
in Dorothy's eyes had quieted. Instead a soft glow of kindness filled them. The same kindness that rested in Quatre's eyes.
Relena smiled. Obviously Quatre's presence had been a great influence on Dorothy. "That's no way to greet an old
friend, Dorothy. As I told you before, call me Relena."
Dorothy's face broke into a wide smile, a genuinely happy smile. "Thank you, Relena." She reached out both her
hands. Relena took them in her own.
"It's been a long time. What have you been up to lately?" the vice foreign minister asked.
Dorothy shook her head. "That's too long a story to tell. It'll have to wait. Come now. Quatre wants to see you."
Relena's eyes narrowed, when she heard the other one mention Quatre's name. There had been a hint in her voice,
the same tone she could hear so clearly from Hilde when she spoke of Duo. Dorothy liked Quatre. Maybe it was even more
than liking, but that was not for Relena to start prying for.
Dorothy led her inside through a grand hall. They took the elevator to the seventeenth floor, down the hall, until
they stopped in front of a large double door. When Dorothy opened them it turned out the room behind it was Quatre's
office. A large desk pecked with documents, much like Relena's own desk looked like, was set to the left side of the
room, while in front of the large window some pleasant looking arm-chairs were grouped around a low table.
Quatre stood looking out of the window his back turned to them. As Dorothy closed the door he turned around.
"Welcome, Relena. It's nice to see you again in person." His smile might be warm meant, he looked very weary, and
worried. "Have a seat, please. Did you have a pleasant journey?"
As Relena sat down, she answered, "Yes, very well. Thank you. What's wrong?"
Quatre sighed and set down himself. "It's useless to try and keep anything from you, is it? About a week ago
one of the workers on the 98-264 mining asteroid stumbled across a hidden laboratory. The chef of the asteroid,
decided the man would guide a few scientist into the lab. It appeared it had been made for biochemical research.
The main drive of the computer was still intact and the scientists, who were supposed to leave the next day to report
to me and be reassigned elsewhere, brought it back with them. The data we have recovered so far, has told us an interesting
tale dating from the early times of the colonies, 22 AC to be exact. Unfortunately, the three men fell ill a few days ago, all
with the same symptoms, bleeding lungs. Yesterday the worker from the mining asteroid was brought in as well, fallen with
the same disease."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Quatre. I understand if you are to busy investigating this."
The tired man shook his head. "It's not that. I didn't know until I saw yesterday. Relena, that man is Heero."
Relena froze. Heero? Heero is sick? That can't be!
Quatre lowered his head in his hands. "The doctors are completely baffled as to what caused this. Our only hope are
those records on the disk. Maybe something can be found there."
"Heero is sick?" she whispered.
A hand squeezed her shoulder. "Would you like to visit him?" Dorothy's voice broke in. "He is in the medical wing
of this building."
"Yes, yes I would like that very much."
Quatre led them, but Relena didn't pay attention to where they were going. She hardly felt Dorothy's hand gripping
hers in silent support and the concerned look the woman gave her completely escaped her notice. All she could think of was
Heero. Heero was sick. Never, ever had he been sick, nor any of the other Gundam pilots. They were to strong to fall ill.
She didn't notice Quatre had stopped to talk with a doctor or that they continued walking. It was only as they neared
a large window that gave people a view of the room behind it, that she snapped back to reality. She suddenly dreaded nearing
the window. With frightening certainly she suddenly knew Heero's chamber laid behind it. And as long as she hadn't reached
it she could still hope it was all a joke, a lie.
But when they halted in front of the cold glass all her hopes were crushed.
Inside, stretched on a bed lay Heero Yuy. At the head of the bed equipment bleeped. A heart monitor showed the green
line of Heero's heartbeat. An IV pole was heavy with bags filled with liquids that flowed into his arm. There were tubes and
wires everywhere; Relena could hardly make Heero out.
"Over the night his condition worsened." The doctor's voice caught her attention. "He developed respiration problems
and we had to intubate him. I don't know how long that will last. His lungs are failing him. There's nothing we can do. I'm sorry."
'Nothing we can do,' it echoed in her mind. 'There's nothing we can do.'
"Dorothy?" Relena whispered hoarsely.
"Yes?"
"Would you please call my secretary, Anna, and tell her to wipe my agenda clean until further notice?"
"I will. Now come. You look like you're about to collapse. Let's go back."
Relena stubbornly shook her head. "I want to stay here. I'm not going anywhere."
"No, Relena, I won't let you just stand here to drown in your own misery. Come on. We'll get you a room close by. Now
come."
Relena's resistance broke and she let herself be guided away. Dorothy was true to her word. The room they got her was
close to the hospital wing. Dorothy settled Relena in a chair and poured her some tea. Then she got down on her knees in front
of the former queen of the world and took her hands.
That soft touch broke through her paralyzation. Relena dissolved in tears. Dorothy took her in her arms and held her,
without saying a word. There was nothing to say. As things stood now Heero would die.
Relena cried herself to sleep.
Wufei carefully investigated the area. Things looked quiet, but by now he knew better. His arms still hurt from where
the electrical shot had hit him. Not that he would ever let himself be bothered by it, he just preferred to avoid further harm to
his body. There had to be a way to avoid the security line and enter whatever it was guarding.
He looked at the ground for signs disturbed earth. Or maybe a line that would indicate the border of the security system.
There it was. It was difficult to distinguish, but between the meager grass that tried to gain a hold here and there, run a
thin line where nothing grew. If he would follow that around, at least he would get an idea as to how big it was he was after.
And so he set out to walk around the perimeter, making sure he wouldn't get so close he would be zapped again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AN Poor Relena. Or not, if you don't like her. Poor Heero though. I tried to make that scene with him a little angsty, to clearify the
fact that he has absolutely no idea what he's supposed to do, when his body is failing him in such a manner. There is nothing he can
do to stop it. Hope it worked.
Well, that's it for now. A little longer than last time, I think. Please review. Next update is due next week.
Disclaimer: I forgot, but do you guys really think I own it? Come on! Get real!
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Under Pressure
Chapter 2
~~~~~~~~
Relena angrily threw the next rejection lettre aside. Great, as things stood now, only a fifth of
the world was willing to take a seat in the Covenant. And she could not accept that. It was all or nothing.
If not all nations agreed, she would have to dismiss the Covenant, as sad as that may be. She could not
risk the possibility of the Covenant growing into a next Alliance or Romafeller.
She looked forward to next week. Then she would visit the colonies. More specifically she would
visit the Winner company. She looked forward to seeing Quatre again. And maybe she had a chance to see
Heero, too. Again her thoughts drifted towards him, as they had done so many times before. Three years.
Three years since she had last seen him. And that meeting had been in a room full of people, where she
couldn't have said what she really had wanted to say. She regretted that ever since.
And tonight she would meet Milliardo and Lu. That was something to look forward to as well.
Unfortunately that did not solve the problem she had right now. If only it could.
A knock on the door pulled her out of her misery. "Yes?"
Anna opened the door. "A call, minister, from Hilde on line four. It sounded rather urgent."
"Thank you, Anna." Her secretary closed the door, while Relena reached for the buttons on the
left side of her desk. The communication screen flickered on and Hilde appeared on it, looking very
flustered.
"Relena, you will never guess what happened yesterday."
Well, this could prove to be a very pleasant interruption of her work. "If I cannot guess, then you'll
just have to tell me."
"Right." Hilde pushed her hair back. "Remember how I told you I had been feeling a bit weird lately?
I went to a doctor to see if there was anything wrong with me and there wasn't. Which is good news, I know,
but it's not the end of the story. Just because there was nothing wrong with me, didn't mean there was nothing
going on."
"Oh, would you cut the suspense already?" Relena cried out exasperated.
"Indulge me, will you? Duo didn't let me finish either."
The minister sighed, but nodded. "Go ahead."
"Speaking of Duo, he was so thrilled when he heard, he asked me to marry him. Oh no, that's not really
true. He said he had been meaning to ask me for weeks, he just couldn't find the right time."
"He proposed?" Relena yelled. "No way! Really?"
Hilde beamed. "Yes, he did. Oh, I am so happy right now. I couldn't be any happier, I think."
"So, when is the wedding?"
"Well, it's gonna have to be within the next three or four months, cause otherwise I won't fit properly in
a wedding dress."
"Why not?"
Hilde just smiled secretive and let Relena puzzle it out herself. It didn't take her long.
"You're pregnant?" she whispered.
Hilde nodded with a glowing smile.
"Oh, Hilde that's just wonderful! Congratulations! So when are you due?"
"The 24th of September."
"I'll be there! I'll definitely be there."
Hilde frowned. "Can you fit that into your schedule?"
"Sure I can! It's not every day your best friend delivers a baby! The world will just have to make it without
me for a few days. I have about a year holiday time left."
"That bad, huh?"
Relena nodded. "I haven't had more than a day per half year off for the past four years. I really could use a
break. So call me as soon as you have set a date for the wedding, okay?"
"I will, Relena. Don't worry, I will."
"Have you heard anything from the others?"
Hilde shook her head. "No, Quatre is very, very busy. I think the only one more busy than him, is you. Heero
is just working, but according to Duo, who spoke to Quatre about a month ago, he's fine. We saw Trowa about six
weeks ago. His circus came by. But I thought you were going to Quatre's next week. At least you can ask him about
Heero."
"What makes you think I will only ask about Heero?" Relena inquired innocently.
Hilde laughed. "You can't fool me, my friend. You are head over heels in love with that man and I bet not a
day goes by that you don't think of him."
"I am not in love with him!" Relena protested angrily.
"Whatever you say, dear. You can fool yourself all you want to, but your words don't convince me."
The other line whined. Saved by the bell. "I have to go, there's someone on the other line. Talk to you soon,
okay?"
"Definitely. Good luck with your work, Relena."
"Thanks." They disconnected.
On the other line was Quatre. "Hi, Relena. How are you?"
"Considering my workload, I think I'm doing rather well."
The former Gundam pilot smiled. "I know what you mean. I just called to say there's been a slight change of
plans. I won't be able to meet you on the L4-7 colony, because I'll be staying at the D6 colony for at least the next two
weeks. Something very interesting came up and I want to direct my full attention to it. Does it wreck your plans to
change course?"
Relena shook her head. "No, not at all. Every other business I have in outer space cannot be dealt with on
either colony, so it doesn't matter at all."
"Okay, great. I have to go now. See you in a week."
"Yeah, bye."
Relena stared at the empty screen. Quatre inexplicably led to Heero, since that man was now working for
the Winner company. She wondered how he felt, shoveling dust and rubble around.
~~~~~~
Well, Heero wasn't feeling too great. But not because of the dust, except that it made him cough his lungs
out. He rubbed his forehead, wiping sweat away. He felt a little lightheaded. Maybe the oxygen supply was failing.
It wouldn't be the first time. Except that it didn't really feel like it. And nobody else seemed to suffer from it. He
took a deep breath, but was cut short by another fit of coughing.
"You shouldn't breath in too deep there, Heero," said Anton, slapping his back, trying to lighten the strain.
"Maybe you should get yourself to the doctor, hey? You don't look so good."
"I'm fine," Heero grunted. "It's this annoying dust."
Anton nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if we come back with dustbags for lungs."
Heero laughed curtly about the misplaced joke, but was again cut short by those racking coughs. He decided
to just ignore it. Angrily he wiped his mouth, leaving a dark stain on his sleeve and set back to work.
At the end of the day he was as worn out as after three days of continuous battle. Maybe Anton was right.
Maybe he should see a med. But not today. He was too tired. Right now all he wanted was sleep.
They got back to the barracks. By that time Heero was seeing double. It was a relief when he could finally
hoist himself in the top bunk he occupied.
"Hey, Heero, I don't want to ruin your bedrest, but shouldn't you at least take your shoes off?"
Anton's voice barely penetrated Heero's clouded mind, but the latter thought his friend made a valid point.
So he pushed himself upright again and swung his legs over the side of the bed. He had meant to jump down easily,
but he wasn't allowed. The moment his feet hit the ground, his knees buckled from the shock of the landing and he
dropped to the floor. Worse, the coughing he had been suppressing all afternoon, wouldn't be kept down any longer.
He broke down completely, his body tormented by the terrible coughing.
"Hey buddy, are you alright there?"
Heero didn't register his friends words. He couldn't even breath. Every gush of air burned in his throat, making
the coughing grow worse. His arms were tightly clamped around his chest, trying to relieve him from the pain. A metallic
taste he knew all too well touched his tongue. Two hands grabbed his shoulders, trying to pull him upright, but they froze.
"Somebody call the doctor," he heard a voice yell. He fought to open his eyes and then saw the reason for the
panicked tone. On the floor in front him laid a pool of blood. He wiped his mouth and stared at the streaks of redness
on the back of his hand. This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. Something had damaged his lungs, and if he were
to make a bet, he would guess on something in the strange lab.
The pain in his chest was building. He clutched his sides in a hopeless attempt to quell it. Every breath came
with more pain and more coughing. Oh, God, make it stop! He couldn't remember himself begging for anything. He
vaguely remembered him saying defiantly to Treize once: 'I don't believe in God.'
Nothing, in all the time he had been a Gundam pilot, all the times he had been shot, blown up or in any other
way been hurt or maimed, had been as painful as this. This wasn't something he could fight. There was nothing to focus
on, to forget the pain. This weren't more or less superficial wounds caused by his lack of care for his own body during
battle.
The pain seemed to tear him apart. The last coherent thought he had was directed to Earth.
Relena...
~~~~~~
The blackness of space dotted with tiny specks was the only thing visible through the shuttle's window. Relena
sighed and leaned back in her chair. They would reach the colony soon. She looked forward to seeing Quatre again. It's
been so long, since she had seen any of her friends. The only thing that slightly worried her was the fact that Dorothy
Catalonia would be there as well. Relena wondered what on Earth had possessed Quatre to hire that woman. It wasn't
like she disliked Dorothy or distrusted her. What was past, was past and should be forgotten. Quatre just didn't strike
her as the type to take a liking to Dorothy. But perhaps she was wrong. People could change and there was no reason
why both Quatre and Dorothy couldn't overcome their differences.
Relena and Heero had become friends in some odd, twisted way, and she supposed they differed at much from
each other as kind Quatre and war loving Dorothy. If Dorothy was still as keen on war as before. Relena had heard from
Trowa that during the battle on Libra Dorothy had had a run in with both Quatre and Trowa and that meeting had probably
opened her eyes to some extent. The two men had left her quite stricken.
Lu had met her a few times the past years. To her the girl seemed definitely to have calmed down.
The colony hovered into view. Relena fastened her seatbelt and awaited the landing. Transportation to the Winner
company stood ready and she arrived at the large building swiftly. At the entrance she was startled to find Dorothy. She
had not expected to be confronted with her so soon. Quatre should have warned her.
"Good day, minister Darlian. Welcome to the Winner company." The woman's voice contained the right amount
respect for the vice foreign minister, but Relena sensed a wavering. Dorothy was uncertain as to how Relena would
respond to her. Relena looked at the young woman standing in front of her and saw what Lu had meant. The raving fires
in Dorothy's eyes had quieted. Instead a soft glow of kindness filled them. The same kindness that rested in Quatre's eyes.
Relena smiled. Obviously Quatre's presence had been a great influence on Dorothy. "That's no way to greet an old
friend, Dorothy. As I told you before, call me Relena."
Dorothy's face broke into a wide smile, a genuinely happy smile. "Thank you, Relena." She reached out both her
hands. Relena took them in her own.
"It's been a long time. What have you been up to lately?" the vice foreign minister asked.
Dorothy shook her head. "That's too long a story to tell. It'll have to wait. Come now. Quatre wants to see you."
Relena's eyes narrowed, when she heard the other one mention Quatre's name. There had been a hint in her voice,
the same tone she could hear so clearly from Hilde when she spoke of Duo. Dorothy liked Quatre. Maybe it was even more
than liking, but that was not for Relena to start prying for.
Dorothy led her inside through a grand hall. They took the elevator to the seventeenth floor, down the hall, until
they stopped in front of a large double door. When Dorothy opened them it turned out the room behind it was Quatre's
office. A large desk pecked with documents, much like Relena's own desk looked like, was set to the left side of the
room, while in front of the large window some pleasant looking arm-chairs were grouped around a low table.
Quatre stood looking out of the window his back turned to them. As Dorothy closed the door he turned around.
"Welcome, Relena. It's nice to see you again in person." His smile might be warm meant, he looked very weary, and
worried. "Have a seat, please. Did you have a pleasant journey?"
As Relena sat down, she answered, "Yes, very well. Thank you. What's wrong?"
Quatre sighed and set down himself. "It's useless to try and keep anything from you, is it? About a week ago
one of the workers on the 98-264 mining asteroid stumbled across a hidden laboratory. The chef of the asteroid,
decided the man would guide a few scientist into the lab. It appeared it had been made for biochemical research.
The main drive of the computer was still intact and the scientists, who were supposed to leave the next day to report
to me and be reassigned elsewhere, brought it back with them. The data we have recovered so far, has told us an interesting
tale dating from the early times of the colonies, 22 AC to be exact. Unfortunately, the three men fell ill a few days ago, all
with the same symptoms, bleeding lungs. Yesterday the worker from the mining asteroid was brought in as well, fallen with
the same disease."
"I'm sorry to hear that, Quatre. I understand if you are to busy investigating this."
The tired man shook his head. "It's not that. I didn't know until I saw yesterday. Relena, that man is Heero."
Relena froze. Heero? Heero is sick? That can't be!
Quatre lowered his head in his hands. "The doctors are completely baffled as to what caused this. Our only hope are
those records on the disk. Maybe something can be found there."
"Heero is sick?" she whispered.
A hand squeezed her shoulder. "Would you like to visit him?" Dorothy's voice broke in. "He is in the medical wing
of this building."
"Yes, yes I would like that very much."
Quatre led them, but Relena didn't pay attention to where they were going. She hardly felt Dorothy's hand gripping
hers in silent support and the concerned look the woman gave her completely escaped her notice. All she could think of was
Heero. Heero was sick. Never, ever had he been sick, nor any of the other Gundam pilots. They were to strong to fall ill.
She didn't notice Quatre had stopped to talk with a doctor or that they continued walking. It was only as they neared
a large window that gave people a view of the room behind it, that she snapped back to reality. She suddenly dreaded nearing
the window. With frightening certainly she suddenly knew Heero's chamber laid behind it. And as long as she hadn't reached
it she could still hope it was all a joke, a lie.
But when they halted in front of the cold glass all her hopes were crushed.
Inside, stretched on a bed lay Heero Yuy. At the head of the bed equipment bleeped. A heart monitor showed the green
line of Heero's heartbeat. An IV pole was heavy with bags filled with liquids that flowed into his arm. There were tubes and
wires everywhere; Relena could hardly make Heero out.
"Over the night his condition worsened." The doctor's voice caught her attention. "He developed respiration problems
and we had to intubate him. I don't know how long that will last. His lungs are failing him. There's nothing we can do. I'm sorry."
'Nothing we can do,' it echoed in her mind. 'There's nothing we can do.'
"Dorothy?" Relena whispered hoarsely.
"Yes?"
"Would you please call my secretary, Anna, and tell her to wipe my agenda clean until further notice?"
"I will. Now come. You look like you're about to collapse. Let's go back."
Relena stubbornly shook her head. "I want to stay here. I'm not going anywhere."
"No, Relena, I won't let you just stand here to drown in your own misery. Come on. We'll get you a room close by. Now
come."
Relena's resistance broke and she let herself be guided away. Dorothy was true to her word. The room they got her was
close to the hospital wing. Dorothy settled Relena in a chair and poured her some tea. Then she got down on her knees in front
of the former queen of the world and took her hands.
That soft touch broke through her paralyzation. Relena dissolved in tears. Dorothy took her in her arms and held her,
without saying a word. There was nothing to say. As things stood now Heero would die.
Relena cried herself to sleep.
Wufei carefully investigated the area. Things looked quiet, but by now he knew better. His arms still hurt from where
the electrical shot had hit him. Not that he would ever let himself be bothered by it, he just preferred to avoid further harm to
his body. There had to be a way to avoid the security line and enter whatever it was guarding.
He looked at the ground for signs disturbed earth. Or maybe a line that would indicate the border of the security system.
There it was. It was difficult to distinguish, but between the meager grass that tried to gain a hold here and there, run a
thin line where nothing grew. If he would follow that around, at least he would get an idea as to how big it was he was after.
And so he set out to walk around the perimeter, making sure he wouldn't get so close he would be zapped again.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
AN Poor Relena. Or not, if you don't like her. Poor Heero though. I tried to make that scene with him a little angsty, to clearify the
fact that he has absolutely no idea what he's supposed to do, when his body is failing him in such a manner. There is nothing he can
do to stop it. Hope it worked.
Well, that's it for now. A little longer than last time, I think. Please review. Next update is due next week.