Note: Sry for the )s but it's the only way I can make my paragraphs stay paragraphs --;
Another Battle to Fight
As soon as they cold everyone in the room was out of there and on their way to Italy, the group all ready to go with only Lady Une remaining behind to get everything in order and cover for the ones leaving. Ordering reports as soon as they had word Lady Une waved the plane good bye and sent up a prayer. Having hired a pilot to fly them everyone was seated in their seats, as quiet as people in a church during a funeral. Finally Duo needed to talk before he went nuts going out of his mind with worry. Apparently Paris was going to be okay but how okay was his body going to be if Rome died, especially since it had been to save him. "Hey, Julian. Who were all those people that came in there at the end?"
"A lot of them would be friends of theirs, Ivory and Max are Rome and Paris's god siblings and their parents were Rome and Paris's legal guardians after their parents died." Julian said, concentrating on the question as a way of distracting himself. "They're really nice people, I know they can't wait to meet you guys since Paris and Rome have told them so much about you guys."
"So were Rome and Paris staying with them at the home after they left Preventers?" Quatre asked to keep the conversation going. The silence had been killing him and it had only been Asia's hand in his that had seemed to tether him to his sanity. "Or do they have their own places in Italy?"
"No they stayed at the orphanage." Julian said the realizing that they didn't know what he meant explained. "Once they came of age Rome and Paris arranged to turn their family home into an orphanage for war orphans and children that had no where to go. Paris, Rome and I pay for it all and its a pretty amazing place let me tell you. Uncle Niles wanted a big place with plenty of yard and space for his kids to play in so it was already custom made for a lot of children and Aunt Umi, their godmother loved the idea since it meant she could stay home with her kids and still be working since she hates to be idle. She basically runs the place with help from the other people that work there and we have a pretty good adoption rate. Actually Paris..finally started the motions to adopt Lena." Julian said with a sad look, wondering if his cousin would continue with the process or simply lose interest in life now that all this had happened.
"Heer-Paris was going to adopt a little girl?" Relena said in surprise never having really pictured him as the type to adopt a child, especially when he would be doing so as a single parent. After all it was hard enough with two parents much less one.
)
"Yeah he was. Lena's mother was a single mother who was killed due to complications during the birth. Ironically enough one of the women that had taken a part time job at the home was also a single mom and had been really concerned that her son would suffer because he didn't have a daddy to teach him guy stuff and be there for him. So anyway Max, Paris and I along with some of the other guys promised that we'd all spend quality time with the kid when we could and so that he'd be better off then all the kids because he'd have more then one dad figure. So anyway Paris drops in at the hospital to see Bryce, the boy and he's in the maternity area rocking Bryce. There's Lena crying her heart out all alone and the nurses can't seem to get her to be quiet. So anyway Paris is there in the rocking chair rocking Bryce with this nurse pacing back and forth to try and calm her down and this mother starts screaming that there's something wrong with her baby girl. So the nurse quickly up and dumps Lena in Paris's lap and runs over to the mother who's baby was fine by the way, the new mother was a bit of a worrywart apparently. So anyway there's Paris balancing Bryce in one arm and Lena in the other and the kid's just stops crying and stares at him. So there are these two just staring at each other for a good two minutes, little Bryce sleeping away and the nurse comes back and just gaps at them. Apparently Lena hadn't stopped crying since she was born except when she was sleep or being fed, the nurses and doctors had been at their wits end. So Paris said he'd keep holding her too until he had to go and asked her name but the baby didn't have one since her mother had died before she could give the baby one. They were calling her Jane like in Jane Doe but Paris hated the name so he started calling her Lena and from then on he'd always ask to hold both her and Bryce when he came to visit. Even the nurses started to call her Lena. Anyway when he found out she was an orphan he arranged for her to be transferred to the home and she's been there ever since. He always wanted to adopt her but he said it wouldn't be fair to her to stick her with one parent and one who worked as much as he did. But Lena had other ideas and always seemed to know when a prospective couple were looking her over because she'd turn into a little hellion and scare them away. Plus I don't think Aunt Umi tried too hard to find Lena a family knowing that Paris was meant to have her. Anyway when Paris left Preventers he decided that since he was his own boss now he could be there for her and that one parent was better then no parents."
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"Yeah, well I can't wait to meet her." Duo said with a smile as he tried to picture a mini version of a female Heero and thought it extremely funny and sad at the same time. "How old is she?"
"She's going to be two in a couple of months. Everyone was joking that Paris was getting her just as she hit her terrible twos." Asia said with a laugh, remembering the face Paris had made at them as he cuddled Lena against him. He'd been her dad and her his daughter since the moment they'd met, Asia thought with a smile remembering how Paris had talked about the little girl over the years. Lena had always been one of his favorite subjects like any proud daddy. "She's really a sweetheart, she'll have you all wrapped around her little finger in no time I guarantee it. Though she has a thing about pink so once you start spoiling her rotten don't buy her anything that color cause she'll just throw it away and ignore it."
Not even listening Milliardo concentrated on looking out the window and blocking everything from his mind knowing that if he didn't they'd overwhelm and kill him. She would be alright because no matter what her name was he knew her and just how stubborn she could be. She'd fight and fight hard to come back even if only for her brother. Then he would see her alive and smiling again and he could tell her all the things he'd needed to tell her but had held back for one stupid reason or another. All the words she's wanted to hear but that he'd never been able to get past the lump in his throat which had kept them bottled up so tightly. Well he wasn't going to let that happen anymore. All he asked was for a chance to tell her how he felt and hope she'd give him the chance to show her that he meant them. Damn it why hadn't he said them before when they could have saved her, Milliardo thought as he leaned his head against the chair in front of him as his face visibly showed his pain. If he'd told her how much he'd loved her maybe she would have let him help her instead of being in the dark to everything.
Seeing her brother's face Relena set her arm around his shoulder and laid her head against his neck, telling him silently that she was there and that she understood how much he was hurting. She knew that Paris was alright, she didn't think that Ivory had been lying about Paris's condition which meant that physically she knew her love was alive but was he well? His sister had made the ultimate sacrifice for him but would Paris do as Rome had said and live the life she could very likely never get to live or would he sink into despair because he hadn't been able to save them both. She knew Paris wouldn't easily accept that there had been no other way and it would eat at him that he hadn't gotten to her before she'd been shot the first time or that he hadn't protected her when they were first taken. The fact that he was only human wouldn't sink into that thick head of his and he'd likely always blame himself to some degree. Which was why Rome had to be okay or she didn't think Paris was going to be anywhere near okay. Rome needed to live for Milliardo too because Relena didn't think her brother would be able to survive if he lost her, especially like this. Her brother would blame himself just as fiercely as Paris would and Relena could see them both being eaten alive in their grief and self blame. Both of them had lost their parents to violent circumstances that they couldn't control and both had sought to fight to change the world that had taken from them so much. They needed to protect and to fight for their loved ones, they needed that as much as they needed air and water. And they would crumble if they failed again in their eyes.
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"I didn't even know that they'd changed it into a home for orphans." Niles senior said with a sigh as he listened to his grandson talk about his grandchildren that he didn't know as well as he knew his secretary it seemed. Then again he hadn't been inside that house since his son had died except to pick up Rome a few times and usually he'd sent a car for her rather then even going to pick her up. He hadn't wanted to see the house and all that it had represented to him. "So they were pulling the wool over my eyes the whole time..not that I made it hard for them to do. When Rome wouldn't bend to my will I basically pushed her aside and believed what information I occasionally got as to what she was doing with her life. I never even bothered to find out what Paris was up to. He was simply in school like Rome was suppose to be. They even forged report cards and stuff so that I wouldn't know what they were really up to hte little scamps. Were..were they happy with their new life, Julian?"
"They were very happy, Grandfather." Julian said with a smile as he patted his grandfather's hand before motioning to the people around them. "They were surrounded by people who loved them..how couldn't they be."
Later
Walking as a large group out of the limos that had picked them up from the airport the group was met at the doors by Max who had been sent down to meet them once Julian had called ahead to confirm that the siblings had been taken to the hospital and which one. Normally a handsome young man with black hair and eyes Max looked a lot older then normal and utterly exhausted as he walked forward to give Julian and Asia hugs, nodding at the rest. "You guys made good time considering the traffic." Max said with a wearily smile that was obviously forced.
"How are they?" Julian said, reaching out to squeeze Max's shoulder then remembered his manners. "Oh and this is Max guys, you would know everyone here, Max."
"Oh course, I've heard enough about them that I feel like I know you guys already." Max said with a nod, his eyes lingering on Niles before moving back to Julian and his question. "Paris will be fine, he's awake and lucent at the moment in his bed where they're keeping him for observations at the moment. He took a bullet to the leg and one to the chest but that one missed everything vital. He's expected to heal up quickly and only be stuck in bed and chair for a few weeks. He's already tried to get out of his room twice before he got caught and put back to bed where he should be right now. Rome..Dr. Cassius said that if it had been anyone other then a McMaster they would have been dead before they got with miles of the hospital. He says that it doesn't look good but that if anyone could pull it off it would be her, Julian. She's lost a lot of blood and the stomach wound...well he says he can't even give us odds as to what chance she has. But if I know Rome she'll live just to prove that not even death can take her down till she's good and ready to go."
"Does she need blood? They can take as much as they want after Sue Ling knocks me out. I'm pretty sure my blood type is the same as hers." Julian said with a fierce look, eager to do anything that might even slightly improve her chances. The fact that he was deathly afraid of needles didn't even factor into the equation in this case. 'And anything I have is hers just name it."
"The same goes for all of us too." Quatre piped up as they waited for elevators, the other pilots and friends all nodding their agreement to Quatre's statement. "If she needs anything we can give it's hers."
"Right now she's set but I'll let the doctor know that there's even more people willing to give whatever's needed." Max said with a genuine smile of gratitude, his eyes falling on Milliardo and staying there. He knew who he was and was wondering if perhaps he was the key to bringing Rome back. He knew his god sister well and he knew how much this guy meant to her, that she would do just about anything for him. Even fight a seemingly impossible battle against death to be with him. And this guy didn't look much better, Max though noticing that the guy looked at least ten years older then he knew him to be and there was something in his eyes that even though the grief wasn't advertised Max would be willing to bet there was a lot hidden behind those icy blue eyes. Getting into the elevator, crowding in like sardines in a can they made their way to the fifth floor where Paris was first and made their way down the hallway.
"Niles, Julian, Max." A voice called out and the group turned to see a man around Niles age walking briskly towards them wearing a doctor's long white jacket and looking far too frail at the moment. "I'm surprised and glad to see you, Niles." The man said as he stepped forward to take Nile's hand in his. "And you three have brought quite a crowd with you."
"Let's just say I finally got some of what you've been telling me for years through my thick skull, Julius. Max said that you were looking after Rome and Paris but that you can't give us her chances?" Niles said as he looked at his old friend with a look close to pleading. He had known Julius since they were boys and Julius had been his family's doctor since Paris and Rome's father was a wee infant. There was no one Niles would trust with his grandchildren more. "Tell me I'm not going to outlive her too."
"I can't tell you that, Niles. I wish that I could." Julius said with grief on his own face having known Rome since she was a baby climbing into his lap to get at the candy he'd always kept in his pocket for her and her brother when he'd come to visit the family. It had killed him to see Niles junior die so young, a man in his prime and so full of life leaving little Rome and Paris behind. And he'd mourned for his friend Niles, even more so when the man had turned away from the children instead of drawing them closer. Now that it would appear his friend had learned his mistake there might not be the chance to set things right. "I've nursed that girl through chickenpox, countless scrapes and broken bones and I can say without a doubt that she's one tough cookie but this..this might be the one time where not even she can muscle her way out of it. She's in surgery right now and I can say she's got the best hands working on her and she's a fighter but sometimes that just isn't enough. All we can do is hope and pray right now that everything works out. Since I recognize some of you from pictures might I suggest that all of you make your way to Paris's room and see about making him stay put before he actually succeeds in making it to the hallway and tears up my stitches? I know that he needs you all quite a bit at the moment."
"Dr. Cassius, before you were saying earlier that it was likely the fact that there was Paris to think about that kept her alive this long. Could someone go into the operating room to talk to her? Encourage her to fight harder." Max said as an idea began to form in his mind.
"Well it's true that the patient can occasionally respond to the voices of loved ones but she's in surgery, Max. And even if we were to allow it.. it would take a lot to simply will her back through words and Paris is in no shape to do it whether he believes that or not." Dr. Cassius said with a shake of his white head.
"I wasn't talking about sending Paris in, Doctor." Max said with a smile as he got behind Milliardo and pushed the surprised older man forward towards the equally surprised doctor. "She'll listen to him, she loves him. If she'll come back from the dead for anyone other then Paris it will be for him."