Take One For The Team
Part 2-
Silence was all that sat in the room. From time to time, the sound of a book's pages crackle could be heard. And it stayed this way for some time until finally, a soft groan caught 03's attention. He placed his book down on the nightstand and took the seat next to his comrade's bed. Placing a hand on his forehead, he then placed one on Duo's. There was still a slight fever. Grabbing the already damp cloth, Trowa soaked it in cold water and lightly placed in on 02's head.
"Duo? Can you hear me?" he asked softly. Another groan and his head rolled in his direction. His large violet eyes opened to look into hazel ones. What was going on? His whole body felt like it had been run down.
"Trowa?" Perhaps he could end this confusion.
"Hey. You're going to be okay now." That didn't answer anything. To be honest, he didn't even remember what happened or where they were. The cloth was removed from his head and he could now focus on the pain in the lower portion of his back. "What happened to you, Duo?"
Closing his eyes to blink, 02's memories flashed to the darkness of the hanger and then…that feeling. Of cool steel ripping into you and then pulled out again, but not both. The warm sensation of your own blood leaking down his back, soaking his clothes so they stuck to his skin. Trying so hard to hold in screams of throbbing pain. Slowly, he opened up his eyes again, seeing Trowa staring at him, worried.
"Back at the hanger, the bastard snuck up on me. Didn't think it was as bad as it looked. Guess that's why I'm not a doctor." He tried to laugh, but there was too much pain for that now. Clearing his dry throat, he motioned for the glass of water next to his bed. Trowa understood and gave it to him without hesitation.
"Thank you," he said as he took a long drink. "So…mmmm…what's the damage report?"
"Well, one of your kidneys was hit. You might piss a little blood for a day or so."
"Lovely."
"Yeah. Ha. Lots of blood loss and…" He stopped mid-sentence and trailed off. 03 was looking for the right words to explain. "At some point, the circulation to your legs was shut off. You might not be walking to well for awhile…sorry, Duo."
"So that's what I get for being so damn stubborn. Just tell me one thing?"
"What's that?"
"Did Heero freak when he saw me?" Trowa stared in confusion while letting a small laugh escape. "Hey, don't worry. I'll get over this so that I can get back to helping you guys."
"Duo, you need to take it easy. We can handle ourselves. What we need you to do is relax and get back on your feet. Can you do that Maxwell?"
"I'll see what I can do." Yawning, he sank down under the sheets. God, he was so weak right now and hated it. He was used to getting up and doing something. Not lying around being useless. Although right this second, he did not really care. His eye lids drooped and Trowa knew this was his time to leave. As Trowa moved to the light switch, Duo's shaky voice stopped him.
"Leave it, please. Just for tonight."
"Sure thing, get some rest.
"Trowa? What's wrong? Is Duo…?" Quatre leaped off the couch to meet up with 03 in the doorway. Heero sat in a large chair in the corner or the room, his laptop on an end table. Wufei was catching a nap on the couch, but Quatre's outbreak brought him back to reality.
"Don't worry, Quat. He woke up but he's asleep again." Trowa made his way over to the loveseat and collapsed, rubbing his eyes.
"Did he tell you anything?" Three sets of eyes wandered over to 01 who was quite serious that he wanted an answer.
"All I got was he got stabbed at the hanger. I'm not sure when and now he won't let me shut the lights off in his room. Duo! The kid lives at night!" It was true. He was always the one to shut the light off at night, even before most of them were ready. What really happened that night?
"He's just not ready to tell us everything. Whatever happened that night scared him and obviously it's made him unsure of things. He'll snap out of it, I'm sure." Wufei headed to the kitchen to make himself some tea.
He was right. Duo always bounced back in these types of situations. Later. Everything could be answered later.
"Congratulations Lieutenant." The General saluted Casassa, then shook his hand. "You already have a mission. It involves the other four Gundam pilots. Hunt them down. Destroy them if you wish. You're to take their mobile suits unharmed, understood?"
"Perfectly, sir." He saluted again, and then left the room. As the door closed behind him, worry set in. Had he gotten one of them, and if he did, was he dead? Only time would really tell. Right now, he needed to form a plan of action. It would be tricky trying to take out four Gundam pilots.
"This should be interesting. But it can't be anything my troops won't be able to handle." He laughed to himself as he headed down the hallway towards his chambers.
"Who's glaring at me? It can only be the one person I know like that…" Duo slowly opened his eyes to meet with Heero's curious gaze. "I know you too well."
"Scary enough. How you feeling Maxwell?"
"Like I was trampled by a Leo. Other than that, fine. How about you?"
"Fine." Duo let out a sigh of relief. He had protected Heero once again. But he noticed a look he was given far too often. That question of how? why?
"Remember I shoved you back in the hanger? It wasn't intentional; I had to get you out of the way of that Oz jerk. He could have killed you and I couldn't let that happen, so I stepped in. Bastard left one of those daggers in my back. We had a mission to complete and I couldn't just let you do things alone. So I sucked it up and…ta daa."
"You really are foolish, aren't you Duo?" He leaned back in his seat, stunned.
"What?"
"You never think about yourself, only others. Damn it! You could have died and why? Because your feelings got in the way. You know as well as I do that the first rule of war is to get rid of your emotions. Your risk taking is foolish and you need to focus more. Do you know what I'm saying?"
Looking around the room, Duo tried to take in what his partner was saying. Forget about his friends? Only fight for himself? Is that what they all thought? Maybe Trowa was right. Maybe he should take it easy.
"Okay Heero…you guys win. I should take it easy from now on and not give a damn about the rest of you." Was that what he had said? Heero acted a bit surprised by the American's response.
"Hold on. I didn't mean…"
"But that's what you said Heero, so that must be what you meant. And maybe you're right. So, I'm going to sleep some more before I have my first torture session with Sally."
"Then I'll leave if that's what you really want, Maxwell."
"Don't let the door hit you on the way out…oh, wait. I don't care…" Closing his eyes, he exhaled deeply, having to pretend that he was following a friend's request. With slight confusion, Heero left Duo to sleep. What had just happened? Was it possible that what happened that night made Maxwell loose his will to fight? Did he really survive?
Wufei came racing up the hall towards him, making 01 have to hide his weak point.
"We just got a call-in that land troops are headed this way. They have exceptional radar which means a stealth act is out best bet."
"Okay. We take the mission. I'll pilot Deathscythe so we can break into their lines." He went to go prepare when 05's strong grasp held his arm so that he couldn't move.
"Don't you think you should ask Duo, before you go and use his Gundam?"
"To be honest with you, Maxwell doesn't give a damn anymore. Come, we have to hurry." Breaking free of Wufei's grip, he moved down the hall with great speed. Duo? Not care? Now in his own state of confusion, the Shenlong pilot followed.
Duo wasn't truly asleep yet. In fact he had heard the entire conversation. So it was true. If they could pilot his Gundam, then why was he fighting? It seemed to stick out that he wasn't really needed. That he might even just be in the way.
"Hey, I can take a hint," he said to himself as he drifted off. "I should have seen it so much earlier."
An hour later, four weary boys made their way back to their safe place. Sally was waiting for them as they docked in the hanger.
"Hey, Sally, how's Duo doing?" Trowa jumped out of Heavyarms, stretching his stiffening body.
"You guys need sleep. You haven't gotten any since Duo was brought in. Go on, he's fine. I was actually just about to go and wake him for his physical training. He has to start walking again so the circulation in his legs doesn't clot again."
"I want to go see him. I haven't in a long time." Quatre walked over, a grateful smile on his face.
"Are you sure?"
"He needs our support now more then ever. I want to return some of his favors."
"Not like we'll be getting any from now on." The Japanese pilot slumped past them all, his brief comment disturbing a few of them.
"He's going to be okay. As soon as he gets up and about again, Duo will be Duo again." Trowa was quite upset by Heero's comment. No one had changed and as soon as he was well, everything would be fine.
"Maxwell said that he isn't going to give a damn about us anymore and as much as I don't want to believe it, I do because he never, not once, has lied to me. Something happened or someone said something that is making him act as he is. And when I find out…they will pay." Turning on his heel, Heero exited the hanger leaving the others in silence. He wanted to be alone for awhile. He had to remember what happened that night.
"Heero!" Duo said as he ran through the dark hanger. The figure raised his blades high above his head. 'I'm not going to make it!' 02 thought as he ran full force. It was then he ran into 01, pushing him to the ground. And then…that sensation. Strikes of pain, then seeping, ooziness. Pulling his gun out and firing through his pain to protect his friend, who only yelled at him for being clumsy. How he might jeopardize the mission. Again, fighting screams of agony as he had to pull one of the daggers from his back. Would he die? As the world blacked out…
"Duo, wake up." Slowly, his eyes open upon hearing Sally's soft, nurturing voice. Nightmares. "You ready to start moving?"
"I'm in no rush to do anything for a group that doesn't need me." His words were cold but serious.
"But…?"
"GO AWAY! I just want to go on with life as it is now. Can't you guys understand that?!" He was getting upset, making his back begin to throb.
"Okay. Tomorrow then. You're right, it is too soon." Turning up his morphine a little, she left the room, almost swearing she saw tears in his eyes. Quatre was waiting in the hall, eyes wide with worry.
"What just happened?"
"Heero was right. He's just stopped caring." Quatre started to become dizzy suddenly. His eyes watered and soon he found himself on his knees, crying. "Quatre!"
"It'd Duo's emotions. The anger, defeat…great sadness. He won't…ex…press it." All of 02's emotions were coming out in Quatre. Torturing him.
"I'm sorry, Quat." Duo rolled onto his side, back to the door, tears dampening his pillow.
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Part 2-
Silence was all that sat in the room. From time to time, the sound of a book's pages crackle could be heard. And it stayed this way for some time until finally, a soft groan caught 03's attention. He placed his book down on the nightstand and took the seat next to his comrade's bed. Placing a hand on his forehead, he then placed one on Duo's. There was still a slight fever. Grabbing the already damp cloth, Trowa soaked it in cold water and lightly placed in on 02's head.
"Duo? Can you hear me?" he asked softly. Another groan and his head rolled in his direction. His large violet eyes opened to look into hazel ones. What was going on? His whole body felt like it had been run down.
"Trowa?" Perhaps he could end this confusion.
"Hey. You're going to be okay now." That didn't answer anything. To be honest, he didn't even remember what happened or where they were. The cloth was removed from his head and he could now focus on the pain in the lower portion of his back. "What happened to you, Duo?"
Closing his eyes to blink, 02's memories flashed to the darkness of the hanger and then…that feeling. Of cool steel ripping into you and then pulled out again, but not both. The warm sensation of your own blood leaking down his back, soaking his clothes so they stuck to his skin. Trying so hard to hold in screams of throbbing pain. Slowly, he opened up his eyes again, seeing Trowa staring at him, worried.
"Back at the hanger, the bastard snuck up on me. Didn't think it was as bad as it looked. Guess that's why I'm not a doctor." He tried to laugh, but there was too much pain for that now. Clearing his dry throat, he motioned for the glass of water next to his bed. Trowa understood and gave it to him without hesitation.
"Thank you," he said as he took a long drink. "So…mmmm…what's the damage report?"
"Well, one of your kidneys was hit. You might piss a little blood for a day or so."
"Lovely."
"Yeah. Ha. Lots of blood loss and…" He stopped mid-sentence and trailed off. 03 was looking for the right words to explain. "At some point, the circulation to your legs was shut off. You might not be walking to well for awhile…sorry, Duo."
"So that's what I get for being so damn stubborn. Just tell me one thing?"
"What's that?"
"Did Heero freak when he saw me?" Trowa stared in confusion while letting a small laugh escape. "Hey, don't worry. I'll get over this so that I can get back to helping you guys."
"Duo, you need to take it easy. We can handle ourselves. What we need you to do is relax and get back on your feet. Can you do that Maxwell?"
"I'll see what I can do." Yawning, he sank down under the sheets. God, he was so weak right now and hated it. He was used to getting up and doing something. Not lying around being useless. Although right this second, he did not really care. His eye lids drooped and Trowa knew this was his time to leave. As Trowa moved to the light switch, Duo's shaky voice stopped him.
"Leave it, please. Just for tonight."
"Sure thing, get some rest.
"Trowa? What's wrong? Is Duo…?" Quatre leaped off the couch to meet up with 03 in the doorway. Heero sat in a large chair in the corner or the room, his laptop on an end table. Wufei was catching a nap on the couch, but Quatre's outbreak brought him back to reality.
"Don't worry, Quat. He woke up but he's asleep again." Trowa made his way over to the loveseat and collapsed, rubbing his eyes.
"Did he tell you anything?" Three sets of eyes wandered over to 01 who was quite serious that he wanted an answer.
"All I got was he got stabbed at the hanger. I'm not sure when and now he won't let me shut the lights off in his room. Duo! The kid lives at night!" It was true. He was always the one to shut the light off at night, even before most of them were ready. What really happened that night?
"He's just not ready to tell us everything. Whatever happened that night scared him and obviously it's made him unsure of things. He'll snap out of it, I'm sure." Wufei headed to the kitchen to make himself some tea.
He was right. Duo always bounced back in these types of situations. Later. Everything could be answered later.
"Congratulations Lieutenant." The General saluted Casassa, then shook his hand. "You already have a mission. It involves the other four Gundam pilots. Hunt them down. Destroy them if you wish. You're to take their mobile suits unharmed, understood?"
"Perfectly, sir." He saluted again, and then left the room. As the door closed behind him, worry set in. Had he gotten one of them, and if he did, was he dead? Only time would really tell. Right now, he needed to form a plan of action. It would be tricky trying to take out four Gundam pilots.
"This should be interesting. But it can't be anything my troops won't be able to handle." He laughed to himself as he headed down the hallway towards his chambers.
"Who's glaring at me? It can only be the one person I know like that…" Duo slowly opened his eyes to meet with Heero's curious gaze. "I know you too well."
"Scary enough. How you feeling Maxwell?"
"Like I was trampled by a Leo. Other than that, fine. How about you?"
"Fine." Duo let out a sigh of relief. He had protected Heero once again. But he noticed a look he was given far too often. That question of how? why?
"Remember I shoved you back in the hanger? It wasn't intentional; I had to get you out of the way of that Oz jerk. He could have killed you and I couldn't let that happen, so I stepped in. Bastard left one of those daggers in my back. We had a mission to complete and I couldn't just let you do things alone. So I sucked it up and…ta daa."
"You really are foolish, aren't you Duo?" He leaned back in his seat, stunned.
"What?"
"You never think about yourself, only others. Damn it! You could have died and why? Because your feelings got in the way. You know as well as I do that the first rule of war is to get rid of your emotions. Your risk taking is foolish and you need to focus more. Do you know what I'm saying?"
Looking around the room, Duo tried to take in what his partner was saying. Forget about his friends? Only fight for himself? Is that what they all thought? Maybe Trowa was right. Maybe he should take it easy.
"Okay Heero…you guys win. I should take it easy from now on and not give a damn about the rest of you." Was that what he had said? Heero acted a bit surprised by the American's response.
"Hold on. I didn't mean…"
"But that's what you said Heero, so that must be what you meant. And maybe you're right. So, I'm going to sleep some more before I have my first torture session with Sally."
"Then I'll leave if that's what you really want, Maxwell."
"Don't let the door hit you on the way out…oh, wait. I don't care…" Closing his eyes, he exhaled deeply, having to pretend that he was following a friend's request. With slight confusion, Heero left Duo to sleep. What had just happened? Was it possible that what happened that night made Maxwell loose his will to fight? Did he really survive?
Wufei came racing up the hall towards him, making 01 have to hide his weak point.
"We just got a call-in that land troops are headed this way. They have exceptional radar which means a stealth act is out best bet."
"Okay. We take the mission. I'll pilot Deathscythe so we can break into their lines." He went to go prepare when 05's strong grasp held his arm so that he couldn't move.
"Don't you think you should ask Duo, before you go and use his Gundam?"
"To be honest with you, Maxwell doesn't give a damn anymore. Come, we have to hurry." Breaking free of Wufei's grip, he moved down the hall with great speed. Duo? Not care? Now in his own state of confusion, the Shenlong pilot followed.
Duo wasn't truly asleep yet. In fact he had heard the entire conversation. So it was true. If they could pilot his Gundam, then why was he fighting? It seemed to stick out that he wasn't really needed. That he might even just be in the way.
"Hey, I can take a hint," he said to himself as he drifted off. "I should have seen it so much earlier."
An hour later, four weary boys made their way back to their safe place. Sally was waiting for them as they docked in the hanger.
"Hey, Sally, how's Duo doing?" Trowa jumped out of Heavyarms, stretching his stiffening body.
"You guys need sleep. You haven't gotten any since Duo was brought in. Go on, he's fine. I was actually just about to go and wake him for his physical training. He has to start walking again so the circulation in his legs doesn't clot again."
"I want to go see him. I haven't in a long time." Quatre walked over, a grateful smile on his face.
"Are you sure?"
"He needs our support now more then ever. I want to return some of his favors."
"Not like we'll be getting any from now on." The Japanese pilot slumped past them all, his brief comment disturbing a few of them.
"He's going to be okay. As soon as he gets up and about again, Duo will be Duo again." Trowa was quite upset by Heero's comment. No one had changed and as soon as he was well, everything would be fine.
"Maxwell said that he isn't going to give a damn about us anymore and as much as I don't want to believe it, I do because he never, not once, has lied to me. Something happened or someone said something that is making him act as he is. And when I find out…they will pay." Turning on his heel, Heero exited the hanger leaving the others in silence. He wanted to be alone for awhile. He had to remember what happened that night.
"Heero!" Duo said as he ran through the dark hanger. The figure raised his blades high above his head. 'I'm not going to make it!' 02 thought as he ran full force. It was then he ran into 01, pushing him to the ground. And then…that sensation. Strikes of pain, then seeping, ooziness. Pulling his gun out and firing through his pain to protect his friend, who only yelled at him for being clumsy. How he might jeopardize the mission. Again, fighting screams of agony as he had to pull one of the daggers from his back. Would he die? As the world blacked out…
"Duo, wake up." Slowly, his eyes open upon hearing Sally's soft, nurturing voice. Nightmares. "You ready to start moving?"
"I'm in no rush to do anything for a group that doesn't need me." His words were cold but serious.
"But…?"
"GO AWAY! I just want to go on with life as it is now. Can't you guys understand that?!" He was getting upset, making his back begin to throb.
"Okay. Tomorrow then. You're right, it is too soon." Turning up his morphine a little, she left the room, almost swearing she saw tears in his eyes. Quatre was waiting in the hall, eyes wide with worry.
"What just happened?"
"Heero was right. He's just stopped caring." Quatre started to become dizzy suddenly. His eyes watered and soon he found himself on his knees, crying. "Quatre!"
"It'd Duo's emotions. The anger, defeat…great sadness. He won't…ex…press it." All of 02's emotions were coming out in Quatre. Torturing him.
"I'm sorry, Quat." Duo rolled onto his side, back to the door, tears dampening his pillow.
R&R!!! I won't post again till I have a minimum of 5 more reviews!!