Disclaimer: Gundam Wing is copyrighted. You all know what that means, right?
If Only
Part III
By: Penybright
Relena walked anxiously into the hospital room. She wasn't quite sure what to expect. Relief flooded through her when she saw that Heero was sleeping peacefully. Apparently, he had been given a sedative, which had calmed him down. Relena knew there was no telling what Heero was capable of when he was mentally unstable. As she approached his bed, she saw the I.V. tube running from his arm, liquid slowly dripping into it.
"Ah, Minister Dorlain," a voice from behind startled her. Relena turned to see that a doctor had just entered the room.
"You're a friend of the patient I assume?"
"... Yes," Relena answered cautiously. "I guess I am."
"Well, your friend appears to have gone into complete shock. Do you know the cause of this?"
"No, I'm sorry. I have no idea what caused his condition."
"He was brought her from Longmont Memorial, correct?"
"Yes."
"Do you have any idea why he was there?"
"He was visiting someone's grave," Relena replied, thinking that the answer should be fairly obvious.
"Thank you," The doctor replied, nodding. "If we could understand what caused his condition, we would be able to help him a great deal better," the doctor explained.
"How is he?" Relena asked, dreading the answer.
"For now, he's stabilized and resting. When he wakes up, he should be calmer due to the sedatives. For now, that's all we can do."
"Thank you," Relena said kindly.
"Perhaps a familiar face will help him," the doctor said, turning and exiting. Relena turned back to Heero's sleeping form. She supposed that if he didn't get any better, she'd have to contact the other pilots. Maybe, with their combined efforts, they would be able to bring Heero back to his old self. Relena was startled from her musings when Heero's eyes fluttered open. He stared blankly at the ceiling above him.
"Heero?"
Heero turned his head to look at Relena. When his gaze fell on her, Relena gasped. His eyes had a haunted quality to them, their Prussian blue now faded.
"Relena... I..." he abruptly turned away from her.
"Heero, what happened?" Relena asked quietly as she approached him. He refused to look at her, meet her gaze.
"Leave me alone."
"I can't do that. I want to help you, Heero. In order to help, I need to understand what happened. Heero, who has caused you this pain?"
Heero's head suddenly snapped around to look at her. Relena saw profound sorrow etched on his features.
"I killed them," he murmured. "It's all my fault. If not for me, they'd still be alive. Relena... I killed them," Heero said, looking into her eyes, beseeching her for forgiveness. Relena wanted to forgive him, but had no idea what to forgive him for.
"Who?" she whispered softly.
"My... parents..." Heero choked out. Relena gasped, and her eyes grew wide.
"How?" she blurted out without thinking. Heero averted his eyes, turning away once again.
"I destroyed the base they were stationed at. I'm nothing but a murderer! I killed the people who brought me into this world. I repaid their kindness by killing them! They should have killed me when they had the chance, they never should have let me survive..."
"Heero! Don't talk like that! You had no idea that they were your parents. How could you have known? You didn't purposely kill them."
"I killed them," he whispered remorsefully as he began to sob. Relena was completely shocked. She didn't know that Heero even knew how to cry. The Perfect Soldier was now nothing more than a lost child, begging for someone to ease his pain, end his suffering. Relena's heart went out to him. After all he had suffered, he didn't deserve this. Relena sat on the edge of Heero's hospital bed and pulled him into her arms. He grasped onto the lapels of her coat with a death grip, sobbing copiously.
"Why?" he choked out between sobs. "Why?"
Relena held him tighter, willing for his pain to cease. She knew that Heero could survive this. He was strong, but in her heart, she knew that Heero had already given up. He had always survived through impossible odds, but now fate had caught up with him. Relena decided then and there that fate would not have its way. Heero was going to recover. She was going to make sure of it personally. Instinctively, her arms wrapped tighter around Heero, holding him against her as he cried on her shoulder.
"I'm not going to let it end like this," Relena whispered soothingly. "I still believe in you..."
At these words, Heero calmed slightly and his grip loosened. Relena sighed heavily as she felt Heero go lax in her arms as he fell asleep. Tomorrow she would have to contact the others. The pilots now had a new battle to face. Perhaps their hardest yet.
~ Did this chapter turn out okay? Well, I'm finally going to get the other pilots in this story. Also, I haven't decided yet if Heero should have a brother or a sister, or both (or maybe none?). What do you think?