Fight the Good Fight
While Milliardo was whisked away to be prepped to go into surgery to see Rome the rest of the gang was herded towards Paris's room. They could hear raised voices as they entered the correct hallway and for those who had keen hearing they understand rather quickly that Paris was being threatened with all sorts of terrible and physically impossible things if he didn't quit trying to get out of bed. Smirking they all moved to stand in the open doorway to see Paris in bed looking a lot better then expected though he was unnaturally pale and his leg was wrapped up in a cast. But for an almost dead guy he looked pretty damn good in their opinions Surrounding him were several women they recognized such as Lana and Ivory while the older lady they guessed to be Ivory's mother held court and was the one giving Paris the tongue lashing with a skill honed by years of dealing with unruly children.
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"I want to see her, damn it." Paris was saying as they came into the doorway, Paris completely unaware that they were there for the moment. "Damn it she needs me." Paris continued only to get whacked on the head with a reminder that it was rude to swear in the presence of ladies and that he hadn't been born in a barn. "Well I was born here so you'd think it would be allowed. Especially since I'm all banged up." Paris muttered in reply before sending her his best puppy dog look. "Please."
"And I'm telling you for the last time, Paris Niles McMaster that you're not getting out of that bed until the doctors say you can. I will tie you to that bed so don't even think about pushing this any further, young man" Umi said with her hands in her hips, well use to handling one of her son's tantrums. Though not hers by birth he was in her heart and as much as she wanted to give him what he wanted she couldn't and that was that. "Now lay there and be quiet before you give yourself a heart attack. You're body's been through enough already without you pushing it back over the limit since you've spent all your teenage years doing just that."
"It's my body and I know it's limits better then anyone on this earth and in the colonies." Paris bitched back though he allowed Ivory to push him back down so that he was propped up by his pillows instead of his hands. "And where the hell is the Doc anyway? He said he'd be back right away as soon as he found out how she was doing."
"How you get the girls is beyond me, Heero man." Duo finally said from the doorway, his voice thick with emotion. His body was okay and Duo actually could recall times his friend had looked a hell of a lot worse then this and been back on his feet in a few days no problem. "All you ever do is yell at them."
"Duo..Relena.. GUYS!" Paris said as his eyes went as big as saucers at the sight of his extended family crowding in the doorway. Everyone was there and how the hell had they known to come? Then his eyes fell on Julian and his heart leapt in his throat. "What the hell are you guys doing here? Julian..hey Julian..you're okay!" Paris said with a huge grin splitting his features. "Guess I owe you a raise, Sue Ling."
"I think your safe recovery can stand in the stead of a raise." Sue Ling said with a small smile on her face. "But a raise is always good too."
"Oh, Paris." Relena finally cried out and running over to him practically threw herself into his arms which thankfully were unarmed so that he was able to hug her back, holding her against him as she cried into his neck. "I thought we were going to lose you." Relena finally managed to choke out, her wet face buried against his equally damp neck.
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"Oh please it's him. If he got stomped on by a Gundam he'd still recover without any ill effects." Duo said with a smirk as he tried to lighten the mood since things were bad enough without all the tension. "And Paris has yet to introduce us to the truly lovely ladies in the room which goes to show just how little manners he has. I'm Duo Maxwell by the way." Duo said with a sweeping bow that had the other pilots, including Paris, rolling their eyes.
"We didn't need to be told that. Paris has told us so much about you all already that we'd know you anywhere." Umi said with a warm and motherly smile. "He always keeps us up to date on what you guys are up to. It's very nice to meet you all. I'm Umi, Paris's former legal guardian and godmother. This is my daughter Ivory and you've already met my son apparently."
"Please to meet you, Mrs. Umi." Quatre said taking her hand and shaking it firmly with a smile on his face that was tired but genuine. "We've been looking forward to meet you and your family too since we were made aware of the fact that you existed."
"Yes, both Rome and Paris played the game well. Very hush, hush. Cloak and dagger." Umi said with a weak smile, the mentioning of Rome's name sobering her quickly. "I hope you all will stay with us at our home for as long as you're here. We have plenty of room and I'd like the chance to get to know you all better, especially you, Duo. I'm sure you have loads to tell me about the delinquent that I haven't heard about." Umi added with a fond smile as she leaned over to ruffle Paris's hair. She was also pleased with the obvious show of love and caring from Paris's Relena but since the girl was busy cuddling against Paris's side she thought she'd leave questioning her till later. After all there would be time for that later. Hopefully soon when Rome was all better. She knew in her heart that Rome would be okay and nothing the doctors were telling her mattered. She knew that girl and she knew the power of love. Her girl would pull through and shock them all.
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"We'd love to and I'm sure we all have stories Paris has neglected to tell you." Trowa said with a nod of his head.
"Where the hell is Milliardo by the way? You did bring him right?" Paris said, finally startled out of the fog he'd been in since he'd gotten here enough to think a little straighter. "If he isn't here one of you have to go get him now."
"He's with her." Wufei said, not having to say who she was since that was pretty obvious. "We managed to convince the doctor to let him try talking her through the operations."
"Okay..then she'll be okay now." Paris said with a sigh as he settled down against his pillow, his eyes beginning to droop as he slowly slid into sleep now that he knew everything was going to be okay. "He won't let her die."
)
Meanwhile
Dressed in surgical scrubs minus the mask Milliardo followed the doctor into the room. There was a curtain placed across her neck so all that was visible was her bruised face as Milliardo slowly moved forward to stand beside her face, a hand reaching out to stroke her cold cheek. "The curtain is you're barrier, Mr. Peacecraft. Believe me you don't want to see beyond it anyway. Talk to her and let her know you're here. That's all you can do for now." Was the advice the doctor gave before patting Milliardo on the shoulder and leaving the room since this wasn't his area of expertise. Not even watching him go Milliardo had eyes only for Rome as he sat down hard on the chair a nurse had thoughtfully placed there when news had come that Milliardo was coming. At first all he could do was stare at her, the lump in his throat just too big to get around but slowly the words came out because he knew they had to. He had to do this for her.
"Hey, you. Looks like you decided to take Paris's spot as to the member of our family who's come the closest to dying. Personally I wish you'd left him with the title but you always strove to be the best so I guess this was just one title you couldn't pass up. But you see that means that you have to wake up and get better now because if you don't then he gets the title and you went to so much trouble to get it. Oh God, Noin you have to be okay." Milliardo said with tears shimmering in the icy depths of his eyes that were usually so cool and hard. "I can't live in this world without you and you know that. You have to. After the war, after everything that happened with Mariemaia you were the only thing that made my life worth continuing. Not Relena, not duty, not pride but you. Because I'd hurt you so much that I couldn't make it worse by dying on you again. I never told you because I couldn't let you know, I could never find the words to tell you. I just told myself you knew I loved you because you've always known me better then anyone, better then me even. I have loved you for so long that I can't remember a time after I met you that I didn't. I wanted, want to spend the rest of my life with you, to have children and grow old with you, love. I know I'm not the best you could do and that I'm a used up soldier with too much blood on my hands and too many dark spots to count but when I'm with you..you make me believe that that doesn't matter. That I could be worthy of you. So you see you have to live to keep the darkness at bay, you have to live because I love you so much that if you die I'll die right along with you. I need you so much, baby. I love you so much. Show them all what you're made of and kick death's ass one more time for me. I don't care what your name is, a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet. I fell in love with your heart and I'm staying in love with it till my dying breath."
Hours Later
Finally wheeled out of surgery the doctors stood amazed that she had survived the first hour of grueling repairs much less the four it had taken to repair all the damage that they were capable of dealing with. The patient was in a deep coma now and most didn't expect her to ever wake from it though a few were guardedly hopefully. She'd been strong enough to make it this far, maybe she could pull this final miracle off. Those who had had any contact with the McMaster family over the years were quick to point out that they were stubborn sons of bitches who weren't likely to let a little thing like death take them down before they were ready to go. Milliardo stayed during the entire time and was now sitting in a chair, holding her hand in the intensive care unit, watching her pale face for any signs of life as the machines and tubes that surrounded her went about keeping her alive. Normally he wouldn't have been allowed to but his financial influence as well as the McMaster family's insured that the rules were bent just this once.
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Paris was being forced to stay at the hospital over night but the doctors agreed to let him out the next day if he continued to improve which of course he would being who he was. They would have preferred to keep him longer but they weren't stupid enough to think that they'd be successful if they attempted to force him to stay. Plus when one factored in the loss of donations the McMaster's provided it wasn't too hard to wear them down into agreeing to the short stay. Once visiting hours were over everyone was ushered out of Paris's room and they all trooped down as a group to see how Rome was doing having been coming down in pairs to visit before. They were told they weren't allowed to go in but they could look through the glass and they all had a clear view of exactly how bad off she was. She was as pale as a ghost and covered in medical equipment which were likely the only things keeping her there at the moment. That and Peacecraft. Quatre and Asia had been able to get some food into him but it was still on the tray beside him, untouched and the man looked just as pale as the patient.
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"Excuse me but I take it you're family and friends of Ms. McMaster?" Came a soft voice and everyone turned to see a young woman in a doctor's coat and tired eyes looking at them questioningly. She was just a little thing, barely reaching Wufei's shoulder but there was something about her that made her seem strong and capable of her chosen profession.
"Yes we all are." Julian said as he looked at her with questioning dark eyes. Did they need blood now or was there some new news that they were about to get that would make things just that much worse or better. "Why?"
"I'm Doctor Kali McNeil, I was one of the people that was in the operating room with her. I just wanted to say that whatever happens that girl of yours is one hell of a fighter and that if there's any way in hell for her to pull through I think she'll find it." The doctor said with a tired smile to go with her equally exhausted body. "She came around part way as she was being prepped for surgery and when she looked at me I saw a person prepared for whatever happens and with one of the strongest wills to fight I've ever encountered. When you're a surgeon you see a lot of people sick and dying, you get a sense of who's going to live and who's going to die by the power of their wills. People who look to be on the edge of death pull themselves back with that will while others who had much better chances slip away because they didn't have the fight in them. It's pretty obvious she's got a lot to come back for." Kali added with a smile that was a bit stronger as though her own will to fight had kicked in. "Well that's all I wanted to say besides the fact that if you have any way of making that man in there eat and sleep please do before he ends up in a hospital bed himself. I don't think Ms. McMaster wants to wake up to see half the nursing staff fawning over him more then they already are."
"We could try but I don't think my brother's going to budge, Doctor." Relena said as she wiped away some fresh tears from her cheek. She just couldn't seem to stop tears from gathering in her eyes every time she thought of how close she'd come to losing Paris and how they might lose Rome at any minute. "He's as stubborn as she is."
"Yeah I kind of got that from the way he spent an entire hour lecturing her about all the reasons why she couldn't die to go with the other three hours of how much he loved her. Personally speaking if I had a fine looking hunk like that talking to me like I was the center of the world I would definitely put my ass in gear to get back to him." Kali said with a chuckle as she pushed some stray strands of blonde hair behind her ears thinking pretty much all the guys in front of her fit the hunk category. "Awesome genes must run in your families."
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"So you think my granddaughter has a good chance, Doctor McNeil?" Niles asked hesitantly with a hopeful look on his tired and drawn face. She didn't look much older then Rome for that matter but he'd take anything at the moment.
"If I were a betting woman..which I am since I'm Irish, I'd put my money down that she'll wake up. As to her condition when she does I don't know but I do believe she'll wake up." Kali said and was about to say more when the speakers crackled with a call for Doctor McNeil to please report to the nearest information desk. "Damn and I was almost out the door too. Where the hell's the luck of the Irish when you need it huh? Well I'm sure I'll see you all again, bye bye." Kali said then grumbling under her breath walked in quick strides down the hallway.
"Well I think that's our cue to head out as well, everyone. We'll take turns coming back here in shifts so that there's family here no matter what's happening." Umi said quietly as she watched the doctor walk away feeling slightly better after the girl's words. "We'll go back to the house and do the pairs shifts again, alright?"
"Sounds good to me." Duo agreed as did the rest of them. Ivory and Max offering to take the first shift the others left to get some sleep before they fell asleep on their feet. Arriving soon enough at the large mansion that was known as Belle Dame, Beautiful Lady the pilots were glad to have arrived and curious about it at the same time. A home for children the house looked well lived in and when lights came on at the front door it was very apparent as some kids had taken chalk and colored all over the long driveway. Stopping to admire some of the pictures they were all soon herded into the front hallway which was warm and inviting, greeted by some of the staff who'd been anxiously awaiting news of the two siblings. The pilots noticed that more then one had tears in their eyes as Umi gave them the news and were glad to see that their friends were so beloved here. Assigned various rooms they were soon ushered to various rooms like they were the most honored of guests and found themselves in rooms fit for kings which other then Relena and Quatre was not normal. Too tired and worn out to do more then change into clothes provided by the staff they all dragged themselves into bed, wondering if they'd be awaken for their shift or to bad or good news.