Halfway to Quatre's estate, Bridget passed out. Kat kept one worried eye on her, and the other concentrating on getting back before it was too late.
He shut down his Gundam, unbuckled them, and carefully lifted Bridget into his arms.
"Rashid!"
The tall man came hurrying forward. "Master Quatre, I wish you would tell us when you..."
His voice trailed off as he noticed the barely breathing girl in his Master's arms.
"Who is this girl?" he asked, falling into step with Kat.
"Our mission," said Kat dryly. "Call Dr. Bayth, Rashid, please. Send her up as soon as she gets here."
"Yes, but... what has happened to her?"
"Treize had two others girls and this one locked up, trying to brainwash them and make them into OZ soldiers. I don't know why, but apparently, they beat up on them when they refused. They... they seem to know a lot about this universe, Rashid... knowledge I would think was limited to the Gundam pilots, Treize, Une, Noin, Sally, Zechs, and yourself. Now, go call Dr. Bayth!"
Rashid hurried off, brow furrowed.
Quatre carried Bridget upstairs, needing the privacy of his own room for the doctor to examine her. Dr. Bayth arrived five minutes later, and quickly shooed Quatre out after asking a few questions and asking for a nightgown for the girl.
Quarte made his way to his sisters' closets, and quickly removed one of the uniform white nightgowns they all wore. He knocked ever so gently on his door, and was rewarded with the doctor's hand beckoning for the nightgown and the sound of running water.
Dr. Bayth left the room a few minutes later, closing the door over silently.
"Master Winner," she began," your mystery lady is fine. She is asleep, and all cleaned up and bandaged. She will probably stay asleep for an hour or so."
"Thank you, Dr. Bayth. Come, I'll get your fee."
"No, no, Quatre. This one's on the house," she said kindly. Jasmine Bayth was almost a mother to Quatre, and she could never take money from him for an act of kindness.
"Thank you."
"You're quite welcome. Now, when she wakes up, give her these pills, and make sure she eats something."
"Sure thing."
"Bye, Quatre."
"Bye, Dr. Bayth."
After the doctor left, Kat took a deep breath and opened his door to see Bridget sleeping somewhat peacefully on her stomach in his bed. He smiled, then moved to change his bloodied shirt. When he got back, he took out a book, sat in a nearby chair, and began his watch.
~Where am I?" ~ thought Bridget groggily as she stirred back to consciousness. ~The last thing I remember is fighting with Mag- oh, shit!~ She suddenly remembered much more, and realized she was in a bed. ~It was just a dream,~ she thought with a pang of disappointment... then she opened her eyes to see Quatre fast asleep in the chair next to the bed.
~Oh my God, I'm in his bed, in a nightgown! Why?~ Then she tried to get up, and her wound answered her. She fell back with a slight yelp.
~Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.~
At her movement, Kat's eyes opened, and he said hurriedly, "Miss Bridget, don't try to move."
"Just Bridget is fine, Master Quatre," she joked weakly.
"Alright then," he said, "but it's Kat."
"Yeah, I know."
"How do you feel?"
"Like I was hit by a truck whose license plate reads, 'Treize's Gun.'"
Kat chuckled. "You're not that far off. You've been through a lot... I'd say even Heero would be impressed. Here, I was ordered by the doctor to give you these," he stated, extending his hand to give her the pills.
"Thanks. Can I have something to drink, so that I can take them?"
"Water ok?"
"Fine, thank you."
Kat disappeared for a few minutes, then returned with a glass of water.
"Here you go."
"Thank you, Quatre... for everything," she said softly after downing the pills, grimacing as they went down.
"I haven't done anything, Mi... Bridget. Where did you come from, that OZ hates you so?" he asked gently. Bridget sat up gingerly, not leaning her back against anything.
She smiled and started to tell him about her life, and did ok until the realization hit her that she might never see any of these people or places again. The more she though of this, the more upset she became, and suddenly she began to cry.
Kat looked alarmed. He asked gently, "What's wrong? That all sounds wonderful!"
"It is.... it was..." Bridget sobbed, " It's just the thought of never seeing it again..."
Kat suddenly understood, and sat, undecided. He hardly knew the girl, but his heart wrenched at the sight of her crying so bitterly. He knew words were meaningless at this point, so he very tentatively drew her into a hug, carefully avoiding the wound on her back.
Bridget melted against him, crying into his shirt.
"It's ok," he said softly, trying to soothe her. His hand went up to gently stroke her hair. "Let it all out."
Inwardly he was cursing OZ. ~ Why would they do this to these poor girls? What have they done?~
Bridget cried for a few minutes, then stopped, sniffling. "Oh, I've got your shirt all wet," she choked out, "and here I am, acting all selfish and ungrateful, while all you've done is help us... help ME..."
Quatre was shocked. "Oh, no! I'm glad that you chose me to confide in, that you chose to confide in someone at all. It can't be good to hold all that in. I'm sorry about what's been done to you, and we're not going to let anything happen to you... I'M not going to let anything happen to you!"
He looked quite fierce during this statement, and, at the sight of Bridget's faint blush, he realized what he had just said and became very embarrassed.
"I know I'll be safe, then," Bridget answered softly.
Kat looked at her in surprise, but the sound of sudden footsteps cut off any chance of a reply. Maggie stuck her head in the room. She shot a significant look at the two on the bed, then closed the door quietly. They took the hint: Bridget scrubbing her face, Kat moving back to the chair beside her.
About ten seconds later, Julie barreled through the door, landing on the bed with a bounce. "Hey, B!"
"Julie, you idiot, you don't go jumping on the bed of an injured person!" Maggie scolded as she entered, the other Gundam pilots in tow.
Julie went to open her mouth, then seemed to suddenly realize something, because her smile grew quite wicked. "Br-"
Heero cleared his throat and said, "Guys, maybe we should try to find out just what OZ knows and/ or wants with the girls."
Duo, his smile mirroring Julie's, started to whine, "Aww, but Heero..."
Trowa reached over and grabbed the back of Duo's shirt. "NOW, Duo."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on, Quatre."
The boys all left, and, as soon as the door clicked shut, Julie pounced.
"What happened?"
Bridget flushed angrily. "Nothing 'happened!'"
"Suuuuurrrrreeeee...."
"No! When I woke up, I was here, and Kat was asleep. He gave me the medicine the doctor left for me, and we talked for a little bit. That's ALL."
"Oh," said Julie, looking quite disappointed. And that was that.
Quatre, on the other hand, was having a harder time with Duo.
"Quatre... buddy... PAL..."
Kat gulped. "What?"
Duo flung his arm around Kat's shoulders in a friendly gesture... then, in one swift move, shoved him into a chair.
"What happened?"
Kat looked confused for a moment, then flushed. "Nothing."
"Suuurrrrreeee..." Duo drawled.
"Honestly. She passed out, so I brought her in, called Rashid to get Dr. Bayth, and brought her upstairs..."
"To your BEDROOM. More precisely, to your BED."
"Oh, yeah, Duo," said Trowa sarcastically, "he was going to put her on the floor."
Ignoring Trowa, Duo turned back to Kat and said, "Well, does the defense rest?"
"No. I got a nightgown from my sisters' closet, gave it to DR. BAYTH to put on her, then waited outside. Once she was sleeping, I went in to make sure she was ok."
"What about when she woke up?" asked Duo suspiciously, making one last effort to make Kat 'guilty.'
"She started telling me about her life, and I guess the shock got to be too much for her, because she started to cry. I gave her a hug, then you guys came up. End of story. She was really upset."
"She's a woman. What did you EXPECT?" asked Wufei, coming all the way inside the door.
Kat worked to restrain himself from snapping at Wufei, but Trowa has no such restraint.
"You weren't even there. You have no idea what they've gone through this past week." The edge in Trowa's voice made Wufei wince involuntarily.
"Hey, Trowa, what are YOU so worked up for?" asked Duo wickedly.
Trowa looked at him. "What?"
"You like HER," whooped Duo.
"No I don't!" snapped Trowa, immediately realizing his mistake.
Heero raised a cynical eyebrow. "Then WHO are you talking about?"
~Shit.~ "No one..." started Trowa when Duo screamed, "YOU LIKE MAGGIE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! TROWA AND MAGGIE, SITTIN IN A TREE, K I S S-"
"MAXWELL!" roared Trowa, lunging for him.
Still singing at the top of his lungs, Duo ran around the room, and eventually, after several thwarted attempts to leave, dove out the open window and rolled onto the grass. Trowa leapt out after him.
Upstairs, Julie stopped in the middle of her sentence and said, "What the hell is THAT?"
Bridget wrenched open the window and Duo's singing floated up to them.
"Get' em, Trowa!" Bridget screamed before Julie could stop her.
Duo screeched to a stop and looked up at her. "Oh, nice to see you too, Bridget," he said sarcastically.
"DDDDUUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Trowa yelled before tackling his buddy to the hard ground. Julie moved to run downstairs and help, but Maggie quickly restrained her.
"Oh, no. I want to WATCH this," said Maggie with eyes alight. She dragged Julie over to the window and held her there as Duo kept scrambling to escape. Trowa didn't realize Maggie was watching, and started screaming at Duo.
"LISTEN, PAL, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT! YOU ARE SUCH A JACKASS! I DON'T LIKE HER, OK?!"
"Ok," called Maggie from the second story window. Trowa's head shot up, giving Duo ample time to get away.
"Shit."
Maggie reached over and closed the window firmly... and then the three girls dissolved into giggles.
He shut down his Gundam, unbuckled them, and carefully lifted Bridget into his arms.
"Rashid!"
The tall man came hurrying forward. "Master Quatre, I wish you would tell us when you..."
His voice trailed off as he noticed the barely breathing girl in his Master's arms.
"Who is this girl?" he asked, falling into step with Kat.
"Our mission," said Kat dryly. "Call Dr. Bayth, Rashid, please. Send her up as soon as she gets here."
"Yes, but... what has happened to her?"
"Treize had two others girls and this one locked up, trying to brainwash them and make them into OZ soldiers. I don't know why, but apparently, they beat up on them when they refused. They... they seem to know a lot about this universe, Rashid... knowledge I would think was limited to the Gundam pilots, Treize, Une, Noin, Sally, Zechs, and yourself. Now, go call Dr. Bayth!"
Rashid hurried off, brow furrowed.
Quatre carried Bridget upstairs, needing the privacy of his own room for the doctor to examine her. Dr. Bayth arrived five minutes later, and quickly shooed Quatre out after asking a few questions and asking for a nightgown for the girl.
Quarte made his way to his sisters' closets, and quickly removed one of the uniform white nightgowns they all wore. He knocked ever so gently on his door, and was rewarded with the doctor's hand beckoning for the nightgown and the sound of running water.
Dr. Bayth left the room a few minutes later, closing the door over silently.
"Master Winner," she began," your mystery lady is fine. She is asleep, and all cleaned up and bandaged. She will probably stay asleep for an hour or so."
"Thank you, Dr. Bayth. Come, I'll get your fee."
"No, no, Quatre. This one's on the house," she said kindly. Jasmine Bayth was almost a mother to Quatre, and she could never take money from him for an act of kindness.
"Thank you."
"You're quite welcome. Now, when she wakes up, give her these pills, and make sure she eats something."
"Sure thing."
"Bye, Quatre."
"Bye, Dr. Bayth."
After the doctor left, Kat took a deep breath and opened his door to see Bridget sleeping somewhat peacefully on her stomach in his bed. He smiled, then moved to change his bloodied shirt. When he got back, he took out a book, sat in a nearby chair, and began his watch.
~Where am I?" ~ thought Bridget groggily as she stirred back to consciousness. ~The last thing I remember is fighting with Mag- oh, shit!~ She suddenly remembered much more, and realized she was in a bed. ~It was just a dream,~ she thought with a pang of disappointment... then she opened her eyes to see Quatre fast asleep in the chair next to the bed.
~Oh my God, I'm in his bed, in a nightgown! Why?~ Then she tried to get up, and her wound answered her. She fell back with a slight yelp.
~Oh, yeah, I forgot about that.~
At her movement, Kat's eyes opened, and he said hurriedly, "Miss Bridget, don't try to move."
"Just Bridget is fine, Master Quatre," she joked weakly.
"Alright then," he said, "but it's Kat."
"Yeah, I know."
"How do you feel?"
"Like I was hit by a truck whose license plate reads, 'Treize's Gun.'"
Kat chuckled. "You're not that far off. You've been through a lot... I'd say even Heero would be impressed. Here, I was ordered by the doctor to give you these," he stated, extending his hand to give her the pills.
"Thanks. Can I have something to drink, so that I can take them?"
"Water ok?"
"Fine, thank you."
Kat disappeared for a few minutes, then returned with a glass of water.
"Here you go."
"Thank you, Quatre... for everything," she said softly after downing the pills, grimacing as they went down.
"I haven't done anything, Mi... Bridget. Where did you come from, that OZ hates you so?" he asked gently. Bridget sat up gingerly, not leaning her back against anything.
She smiled and started to tell him about her life, and did ok until the realization hit her that she might never see any of these people or places again. The more she though of this, the more upset she became, and suddenly she began to cry.
Kat looked alarmed. He asked gently, "What's wrong? That all sounds wonderful!"
"It is.... it was..." Bridget sobbed, " It's just the thought of never seeing it again..."
Kat suddenly understood, and sat, undecided. He hardly knew the girl, but his heart wrenched at the sight of her crying so bitterly. He knew words were meaningless at this point, so he very tentatively drew her into a hug, carefully avoiding the wound on her back.
Bridget melted against him, crying into his shirt.
"It's ok," he said softly, trying to soothe her. His hand went up to gently stroke her hair. "Let it all out."
Inwardly he was cursing OZ. ~ Why would they do this to these poor girls? What have they done?~
Bridget cried for a few minutes, then stopped, sniffling. "Oh, I've got your shirt all wet," she choked out, "and here I am, acting all selfish and ungrateful, while all you've done is help us... help ME..."
Quatre was shocked. "Oh, no! I'm glad that you chose me to confide in, that you chose to confide in someone at all. It can't be good to hold all that in. I'm sorry about what's been done to you, and we're not going to let anything happen to you... I'M not going to let anything happen to you!"
He looked quite fierce during this statement, and, at the sight of Bridget's faint blush, he realized what he had just said and became very embarrassed.
"I know I'll be safe, then," Bridget answered softly.
Kat looked at her in surprise, but the sound of sudden footsteps cut off any chance of a reply. Maggie stuck her head in the room. She shot a significant look at the two on the bed, then closed the door quietly. They took the hint: Bridget scrubbing her face, Kat moving back to the chair beside her.
About ten seconds later, Julie barreled through the door, landing on the bed with a bounce. "Hey, B!"
"Julie, you idiot, you don't go jumping on the bed of an injured person!" Maggie scolded as she entered, the other Gundam pilots in tow.
Julie went to open her mouth, then seemed to suddenly realize something, because her smile grew quite wicked. "Br-"
Heero cleared his throat and said, "Guys, maybe we should try to find out just what OZ knows and/ or wants with the girls."
Duo, his smile mirroring Julie's, started to whine, "Aww, but Heero..."
Trowa reached over and grabbed the back of Duo's shirt. "NOW, Duo."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah. Come on, Quatre."
The boys all left, and, as soon as the door clicked shut, Julie pounced.
"What happened?"
Bridget flushed angrily. "Nothing 'happened!'"
"Suuuuurrrrreeeee...."
"No! When I woke up, I was here, and Kat was asleep. He gave me the medicine the doctor left for me, and we talked for a little bit. That's ALL."
"Oh," said Julie, looking quite disappointed. And that was that.
Quatre, on the other hand, was having a harder time with Duo.
"Quatre... buddy... PAL..."
Kat gulped. "What?"
Duo flung his arm around Kat's shoulders in a friendly gesture... then, in one swift move, shoved him into a chair.
"What happened?"
Kat looked confused for a moment, then flushed. "Nothing."
"Suuurrrrreeee..." Duo drawled.
"Honestly. She passed out, so I brought her in, called Rashid to get Dr. Bayth, and brought her upstairs..."
"To your BEDROOM. More precisely, to your BED."
"Oh, yeah, Duo," said Trowa sarcastically, "he was going to put her on the floor."
Ignoring Trowa, Duo turned back to Kat and said, "Well, does the defense rest?"
"No. I got a nightgown from my sisters' closet, gave it to DR. BAYTH to put on her, then waited outside. Once she was sleeping, I went in to make sure she was ok."
"What about when she woke up?" asked Duo suspiciously, making one last effort to make Kat 'guilty.'
"She started telling me about her life, and I guess the shock got to be too much for her, because she started to cry. I gave her a hug, then you guys came up. End of story. She was really upset."
"She's a woman. What did you EXPECT?" asked Wufei, coming all the way inside the door.
Kat worked to restrain himself from snapping at Wufei, but Trowa has no such restraint.
"You weren't even there. You have no idea what they've gone through this past week." The edge in Trowa's voice made Wufei wince involuntarily.
"Hey, Trowa, what are YOU so worked up for?" asked Duo wickedly.
Trowa looked at him. "What?"
"You like HER," whooped Duo.
"No I don't!" snapped Trowa, immediately realizing his mistake.
Heero raised a cynical eyebrow. "Then WHO are you talking about?"
~Shit.~ "No one..." started Trowa when Duo screamed, "YOU LIKE MAGGIE! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! TROWA AND MAGGIE, SITTIN IN A TREE, K I S S-"
"MAXWELL!" roared Trowa, lunging for him.
Still singing at the top of his lungs, Duo ran around the room, and eventually, after several thwarted attempts to leave, dove out the open window and rolled onto the grass. Trowa leapt out after him.
Upstairs, Julie stopped in the middle of her sentence and said, "What the hell is THAT?"
Bridget wrenched open the window and Duo's singing floated up to them.
"Get' em, Trowa!" Bridget screamed before Julie could stop her.
Duo screeched to a stop and looked up at her. "Oh, nice to see you too, Bridget," he said sarcastically.
"DDDDUUUUUUUUUUUUUOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" Trowa yelled before tackling his buddy to the hard ground. Julie moved to run downstairs and help, but Maggie quickly restrained her.
"Oh, no. I want to WATCH this," said Maggie with eyes alight. She dragged Julie over to the window and held her there as Duo kept scrambling to escape. Trowa didn't realize Maggie was watching, and started screaming at Duo.
"LISTEN, PAL, I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT! YOU ARE SUCH A JACKASS! I DON'T LIKE HER, OK?!"
"Ok," called Maggie from the second story window. Trowa's head shot up, giving Duo ample time to get away.
"Shit."
Maggie reached over and closed the window firmly... and then the three girls dissolved into giggles.