As promised, here's chapter twelve! Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters. Special thanks goes out to yami, Ladybug, and blue ice 2 for your words of encouragement and I'm glad that you all like my story.
hikaru-wings: As for the doctor stuff, one of my favorite shows is Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman. And since my story is set in the past, I had to find some creative techniques in the medical field. :-)
sweetangel4: Thank you for noticing my mistakes in chapter 11, hopefully my revisions worked out. I totally agree with you about the creative aspect about stories being set in the past. I guess that's a reason why I never do actual fic writing on the current timeline of GW...oi... ;-)
Ripple Effect
Sally ran into the room and tried calming the nineteen year old down, "She's trying to regain consciousness right now...whatever you do, don't restrain her. Otherwise, she could injure herself."
Trudy interjected, "Can't you give her something to calm her down?"
"I'm afraid I can't...the chloroform is still within her body and if I give her something else...there could be deadly consequences." She looked towards her patient, "It looks like her fit is over. All we can do right now is wait. Do her parents know about this yet?"
"I'm afraid not, they headed back to Newberry just days ago. I've been so wrapped up in this that I forgot to inform them." The woman started to sob again.
Sally went over to comfort the woman, "It's all right, I'll send them the message myself. All I want you to do now is get some rest and stay by her side for now. She'll need all the support that she can get once she wakes up."
"Thank you," she whispered and she resumed her position by Relena's bedside.
She then left the room, while a couple of her nurses were on standby just in case there was an emergency, "It was just a false alarm...nothing to panic about, you can go back down to the kitchen." She walked down the hallway and before long, she stood in front of Heero's room. She slid the door slightly and noticed that the lights were still on, "Why are you still up?"
"I heard the maid's scream." He took a deep breath in and ignored the pain he was feeling, "How is she [really] doing?"
There was no use in trying to evade Heero's question, "I can't fool you even in one little thing can I? To begin with, she's still very weak from her blood loss and it's too early to tell if she'll make a full recovery, but I believe she'll regain consciousness soon, the earlier the better. You'll have to excuse me now, I have to make an important phone call to her parents." Before she left, she asked him one little question, "Is there any family members that I can call for you?"
He looked towards her with his Prussian eyes, while his face showed no emotion at all, "No, not really...to them...I'm already dead."
"All right then, if you need anything let me know. I'm sure your friend, Duo, will be here again." She closed the door to his room and headed down the stairs, but a feeling of sadness for Heero kept nagging in her mind.
"Relena, where are you?" Katrina searched through her misty surroundings. "Relena?!?" She continued to walk, tripping over a few branches and twigs that were scattered about. She frantically called out her daughter's name, but she didn't get a response. Instead, her voice mocked back at her. The sounds of small waves crashing against a shoreline slowly increased in volume and right then, the location dawned on her. She carefully walked over to the shoreline and found a small body lying at the water's clear surface. "NO!"
Katrina awoke from her nightmare and jolted straight up from her resting position. Her forehead was dotted with sweat drops and her breathing was irregular. She looked towards the other side of the bed and noticed her husband wasn't there yet. She quickly pulled a shawl over her shoulders and left the bedroom. The hallways were dark, but a faint orange-yellow glow came from a room she knew too well. She quietly walked down the hallway, trying not to disturb Pagan from his sleep. She passed the faithful servant's room and saw the door leading to her husband's study was ajar. "Why are you still working?"
He looked up from his small stack with his glasses on the end of his nose, "I'm just finalizing a couple of new ordinances for the town, before we leave again for Winfield."
He resumed his task, but noticed his wife was on pins and needles. "Is something troubling you?"
She nodded and pulled her shawl closer to her shoulders. "I had the same nightmare again. This time I found Relena by the lake...she was lifeless." With the last three words, she started to tremble uncontrollably, "I can't help it that I had something to do with this eerie feeling."
He got up from his seat and hugged his wife to reassure her that it was just a nightmare. "Everything will be all right...it's just a nightmare." He kissed her on top of her honey blonde hair.
"This time I'm not so sure." She held tighter to him and took the scent of his clothes in. "I think I should have been more open to her." She looked into his blue eyes, "There's something wrong I can feel it...we need to go back now."
The sound of his wife's voice added a chilling feeling down his spine. He knew that his wife wasn't easily disturbed by nightmares, but with this nightmare involving Relena, there was a foreboding feeling that something wasn't right at all. Right then, the black phone rang off in his study and scared the two of them out of their wits.
The silver-haired patriarch slowly walked up to the device and each ring sent chills up his spine. His hand quivered over the receiver, but in one swoop, he placed the receiver to his ears and listened to the incoming message.
"Is this the Peacecraft residence?" a woman's voice sounded off.
"Yes, this is. Peacecraft speaking." A curious look went out to his wife, who stood pale as ghost in her nightgown.
She tried to deliver the news as gently as she could, "My name is Dr. Sally Po. I don't know how to bring this to you...but...your daughter has been seriously wounded just a day ago. She's lost a tremendous amount of blood and we're waiting for her to fully regain consciousness. She wringed the black cord in her hands, "I'm sorry to give you the news in this early hour. Um...Trudy is with her right now," she hoped that her sentence would bring some comfort to the father. "Again, I'm truly sorry."
"Thank you, Dr. Po." His voice was shaken and he closed off the connection. As he faced his wife, tears started to pool in the corner of his eyes and he then whispered the news in her ears. "I'm sorry darling...you were right...we need to get back to Winfield now."
"NO!!!" The woman's cries seemed to shake the foundations of the house as Pagan came running into the room. She then collapsed into her husband's arms and sobbed uncontrollably.
"Pagan, I need the carriage to be loaded with our luggage at this instant. Relena needs our help." He continued to console his wife, "I think you should come along with us too."
The butler acknowledged and hastened his task...for time wasn't on their side at the moment. Within fifteen minutes, everything was packed including his own belongings. Outside, the horses were heard as they were being hooked to the carriage. The old man carried the luggage down the stairs with the help of the carriage driver. Before long, the Peacecrafts emerged from their home in the faint early daylight, but the skies showed a threat of rain.
"We should be there by nightfall...I have a couple of documents that need to be handed over in town before we're on our way." He continued to console his wife by placing his hands over hers. "She'll make it through, Katrina."
"I hope so," she whispered softly. She dabbed her already red swollen eyes with her cotton handkerchief. "I don't want to lose another [child.] I've already lost Milliardo from my previous mistakes."
William didn't dare to step back into Western Springs, since the news of Relena and Heero had spread like wildfire. He had decided to travel in the thick woods with his horse. The pair rested by a small streambed for the majority of the day in case anyone wanted to avenge for Relena's and Heero's attack. The incident was still fresh in his mind along with the bloodied pistol that was concealed in his saddlebag. Once the sun filtered behind the horizon line, the two resumed their journey to the next town, which William had no clue of.
The two continued down a well worn path and they came across a circus train. He eyed the group suspiciously to see if they had any watchmen on duty, but he saw most of the members were gathered around a small well-lit campfire. He dismounted from his horse and allowed it to roam freely on its own. Without anyone looking, he snuck aboard in one of the trailer like a wagon that was tuck behind a grove of trees. Outside voices from the campfire drifted over his way and he heard someone approaching the wagon.
"I'll see you in the morning, Manager." A female voice trailed off into the dark night.
In an instant, William bolted behind a small curtain area as he saw someone entering the cramped space. Her eyes and short brown hair whipped about her. She placed a star-shaped earring down on her dressing table and began brushing her hair. The soft glow of the candle lighted her pale skin.
He looked for a way to escape, but then he knocked over a small wooden box. Catherine immediately blew out her candle and stared into the darkness of her trailer, her eyes frantically searching for the mysterious visitor. "Who's there?" she shouted out loud into the dark abyss. Luckily for her, she still carried her performance knives with her. She waited quietly like a cat before walking slowly to the door. She saw the back curtain shuffle slightly and threw her knife in the direction. The metal pierced the curtain like butter and she heard a man's moan coming from behind the curtain and knew it wasn't Trowa's. Being alarmed, she headed towards the door, but then she felt a cold hand grasp around her neck.
"I don't think you're going anywhere right now."
She fought the man off of her and took one look at him. The light that entered from the window revealed his features. "It's you...you're wanted in Winfield."
"News sure does travel fast in this part of the country." His right arm continued to bleed, but that didn't deter him in silencing his identifier.
"Oh no you don't," she ran to her small secret cache of knives by the door and threw one in hopes of warding off the surprised Bennett.
He picked up one of the knives and silver flashed in the dimly lightly room. He had her cornered in her trailer and with that she screamed in horror.
Outside, the circus members heard the cry. "It's Catherine." Trowa looked up from the glowing embers and immediately ran to her trailer. He pressed his ear against the wooden door and heard some commotion coming within. In seconds, he kicked the door open and found her lying on the ground, covering a wound to her right shoulder, while her assailant was ready to strike again.
"Trowa," she whispered.
"Cathy!" He lunged at the man and pulled him out of the trailer. His eyes noticed that her attacker still had one of her knives in his hands.
"Be careful, Trowa." She stood in the doorway with her left hand clutching her right shoulder...the blood just pooling within her hands. She struggled to maintain her balance, but then collapsed at the doorway of her trailer.
He immediately recognized the man that he was struggling against, "You're the one wanted in Winfield."
"You guessed right," he scoffed. The knife was in position to stab. With that, he lashed out at Trowa, but missed. His aim was unsteady.
Before long, Trowa grabbed the knife and tossed it on the ground somewhere. "This is for Cathy." He punched William in the stomach and the man keeled over to the ground. Around him, a group of his circus friends watched the entire scene, he called out to the group, "Make sure you bound him tightly. I don't want him escaping." At that moment, he returned to Cathy's trailer with a worried look, "Cathy, stay with me," he shouted and patted her face in hopes of keeping her awake.
"Trowa." Her eyes fluttered for a brief second. "I'm all right, just fainted that's all."
"Let me look at that wound." He gently lifted her to a sitting position against the doorframe.
"Don't worry, Trowa, it's not that deep...seriously." She pulled her right arm away from him. A shock wave of pain ran through her nerves, but deep down she was more worried about him.
"You don't have to put a strong front up, Cathy." He pulled her into his arms and hugged her.
Surprised by his support, she began to sob quietly on his arms, "You're my brother, Trowa, and I don't want to lose you."
"I know...I know..." He gently rocked her and applied pressure to her wound. In front of the trailer, he could hear William struggling against a group of circus workers.
It was already nightfall and Milliardo looked over to his sleeping wife. The baby laid in its cradle, peering up towards the white ceiling. He cautiously walked over to the cradle and picked up his infant son. His tiny blue eyes peering into his own father's. "Now you be good now and don't give your mother such a hard time." He gently kissed him on the forehead and rocked him to sleep. In minutes, the aquamarine eyes were hidden underneath the small eyelids and Milliardo laid him back into the cradle.
He felt a familiar stare watch his every move. "I'll send for you when the time is right."
"All right then...be careful." She kissed him, "It looks like you should have kept a closer eye on William than on Heero."
He smiled at his wife and kissed her one more time. "Look for my message in three days...hopefully I'll be in Winfield by then." He took one last look at his infant son and shut the door behind the two.
He saw his mother-in-law emerge from the foyer, her maternal instincts were still accurate enough to pick up the first sign of trouble emitting from Milliardo's face. "What's wrong?"
"It's my sister back home...there was an incident with her ex-caller. I need to ride back immediately. Lu and the baby are doing fine. I'm sorry to leave abruptly, but I promised I'll send word in three days to her."
"All right then...I wish you didn't have to leave so soon after the birth." She went to a small closet by the door and pulled out an overcoat for Milliardo. "You might need this, the weather looks like it could turn any second." She also grabbed a small sack from a nearby table, "Here's some food too...it's not much, but it'll suffice. I know you have to pack light."
He nodded in return and kissed his mother-in-law on her forehead.
She called out to him, "Ride carefully now." In minutes, he was out of her sight.
He rode all night long, only taking periodic stops to let his horse rest for a while. "I knew I should have stayed longer in Winfield." He kicked the dirt in front of him with frustration that he couldn't do anything. "When I find that b-stard, I'll make sure he'll pay for what he has done." He gritted his teeth as he prepared for another ride that would take him closer to Winfield.
A pair of hazel eyes awoke to the sounds of wagons being loaded, along with commands of some workers trying to collect the last of the circus troupe's belongings. He tried to move, but noticed that his feet and hands were bounded by a piece of thick rope.
"I wouldn't move if I were you." Trowa flashed a knife in front of him, readying himself to throw it at William if he dared to move. "You have a lot of explaining to do once the sheriff arrives."
"Are you going to just stand there with that knife of yours?" A small smile graced his lips, "Or will you be a kind caretaker and hand me a cup of water?"
"You're not worth it...but seeing that we need you alive...I guess I'm obligated to do so." He walked off to a small wooden barrel and grabbed a brass cup from one of the tables. He carefully watched William from the corner of his eye, as he dipped the ladle into the cool liquid.
"Fool," he murmured under his breath. He saw a small stick jutting out from the ground and slightly shifted to the object. "Just perfect." He looked about him, making sure no one was really watching him and began to rub the rope against the stick. The knot around his hands began to loosen and he was half way through when something silver flashed towards his left side. He was taken aback from the sight.
"I don't think it's time for your escape yet." He bent down and took the stick away from William. "Here's your water that you requested." He placed the brass cup on the grassy ground and left William to fend for himself, "Next time I won't miss...you can count on that."
With that, Trowa walked away from the miserable man that sat on the ground. He looked over to where Cathy was nursing her right shoulder. "How are you doing today?"
"A little better...I won't be able to perform for at least four weeks." She turned her face away from her brother, trying to conceal a small trickle of tears. She didn't want him to know that she might not ever regain full use of her right arm, since the knife wound was deep.
He heard the sadness in her voice, "The doctor already told me about your situation...you'll get better...you're strong, Cathy." He then changed the subject in hopes of lighting her spirits up a little, "I just threw a knife at the man and I have you to thank," and he smiled towards her.
"I guess you do." A small smile appeared for a brief moment.
"We better start packing before the Manager gets worked up again." He led her by her left arm and the two crossed a small patch of a meadow before arriving at the circus tent to gather their belongings from their act.
But before that, out in the distance, they both heard the sounds of galloping hooves coming towards their direction and the sheriff emerged from the open road. The two were in earshot of the conversation between him and the Manager. "The fugitive is over by the water barrel. We made sure that he didn't escape during the night."
"Thank you, I'll take it from here," his southern accent was noticeable, "I'll make sure that he'll reach Winfield in one piece...rumor has spread throughout the nearby towns about [him.] I've heard in Winfield, they placed a price for his head by some of the neighbors close to the Peacecrafts." The sheriff looked over to the restless man of the hour and untied the rope that bounded his legs still. "Time to go, Bennett."
"Fair enough for me." He maliciously eyed the naïve sheriff, who placed him in the make shift jail wagon. He watched the sheriff walked to the front of the wooden wagon. Before long, he felt the wagon move. "What an idiot," he whispered under his breath. He began to work on the rope that bounded his hands together on a sharp jagged board, "Stupid fool...he didn't realize that these ropes were becoming undone." In minutes, he felt the ropes give away, "Time to make the great escape." He eyed the latch to the door of his tiny cell and with a couple of attempts, he managed to finally open it. He walked back to the opposite end of the wagon and braced himself for his jump. In seconds, the feeling of rough dirt was on his barren hands and face, as he tumbled continuously for a couple of minutes before coming to a stop in a small brush beside the dirt road. To the sheriff, he heard a thud, but figured that the wheels ran over a pothole and shrugged off the sound. He continued to drive towards Winfield without ever realizing that his suspect escaped.
William slowly rose to his feet and dusted his pants off, "Fool!!! You haven't seen the last of me yet...mark my words." An evil grin graced his face and he then headed in the opposite direction of Winfield.
Katrina gazed upon her sleeping daughter and brushed several loose honey strands away from her own face. The ride to Winfield was uneventful, but each bump along the journey sent butterflies swirling in her stomach. She didn't know what to expect...whether Relena was bleeding to death or wrapped in numerous bandages. But the sight before her, diminished the majority of her fears...she was glad that her only daughter was still alive.
She looked over to the lace curtains and saw a hint of sunshine breaking through the light fabric. Figuring that the air might due some good for the two of them, she went over to open the window. The past day or so was just a blur to her...everything coming at her in one brief instant...the phone call...the revelations from the incident...the conditions of her daughter and Heero. She couldn't believe it that she had overlooked him in the first place...seeing that he "didn't" fit the match for Relena to begin with. Instead, she looked towards William. The memories from their first meeting seemed so real and it was unthinkable he could have harmed her daughter. A sickening feeling formed in her conscience and she was beginning to blame herself for letting a monster in her daughter's life. "I've brought this on Relena and now I'm paying for it," she thought to herself. "How can she ever forgive me?" She looked out towards the glass, trying to find some absolution to her true problem.
A soft moan came from Relena, as she tried getting up from her bed.
Katrina immediately ran to her daughter's side, "Relena dear, you shouldn't get up too fast, you might get a dizzy spell."
The young girl pushed the hand away, "I'm fine." She blinked a couple of times, trying to adjust to the well lighted room. "What day is it?"
"It's Monday." She looked worriedly at her daughter. "Do you remember what happened to you?"
She looked directly into the older woman's eyes, "What are you talking about? I was here all week." She raised both of her hands and rubbed her forehead. The confusion was taking its toll on her mind. "Who are you? You don't look familiar at all."
Katrina was speechless that her daughter didn't remember her at all. "I'm your mother," the word escaped painfully from her lips.
Again, she looked blankly at the woman. "I'm sorry, but I don't remember you at all." She tried getting up from the bed, but Katrina would have none of that.
"I'm going to leave for just a moment, I'm going to get Dr. Po here." With that, she quickly left the room and found Sally sitting in the hallway with a cup of tea. "Dr.Po, I think we have a problem."
"What is it?" Sally immediately shot straight up.
"She doesn't remember me at all and she doesn't even remember what happened to her by the lake. What's wrong with her?"
Sally's fears were finally awakened to this new discovery, "I'm afraid she has amnesia."
Katrina just stared in disbelief, "Memory loss..."
"The day of her attack, she was submerged in water and there was a concussion. I'm sorry, Mrs. Peacecraft."
"Will this be temporary?"
"I'm unsure. Sometimes patients do recover their memories, but it just depends on the severity of the trauma. I'll check on her now." She gingerly walked to the door and knocked on it, "May I come in Relena? It's Dr. Po." She heard a faint acknowledgement coming from the other side. "I see you're finally awake today, you gave us quite a scare over the past two days." She pulled out her stethoscope and listened to her respirations and heartbeat. "It seems like everything is working perfectly."
Right then, Pagan was at the bedroom door carrying a breakfast tray. It was the first time he saw Relena for weeks. "Good morning, Miss Relena...I've made you some breakfast."
Sally then asked her patient a question, "Relena, do you know who this person is?"
She looked at the man for a couple of minutes, but the name seemed to elude her. "I'm sorry, I don't know. What's wrong with me?"
"I'm afraid you might have temporary amnesia."
"What? It can't be." Her eyes widened in shock.
"I know it may seem overwhelming now, but everything will be revealed shortly to you. For now, I just want you to rest." She smiled and walked away, allowing Pagan to have some time with Relena.
"Well let me introduce myself, I'm Pagan, your butler." The old man placed the small tray on a nearby nightstand and handed her a small bowl of oatmeal. Realizing Relena's situation, he didn't dare reveal too much about their past. "I believe Trudy should be here shortly, she's another servant that serves you, but stays here in Winfield."
"I see. It's nice to finally put a name to a face around here," she smiled and started eating the oatmeal, as Pagan watched her.
Katrina watched from the hallway as Pagan began to bond with Relena. "I just wish there was something I could do." She knew that her husband wasn't around at this time, since he went into town to see if there were any telegrams from Newberry and to grab the morning news. She paced the hallway back and forth, trying to calm her nerves down, but then she felt a pair of eyes focus in on her. It was Heero.
She tried to avoid his stare, but she couldn't any longer. She walked into his room...unaware of how she should start the conversation, but then she cleared her throat, "How are you doing today?"
"Better." He was trying to be polite as he could.
The silence in the room was driving her crazy, "I know we didn't get off on the right start, but I'm sorry for being judgmental on you."
"Apology accepted." He looked away from her and focused on a small painting on the bedroom wall, "How is she doing today?"
She was happy that he changed the subject, "She finally awoke this morning, but there's something else...she has amnesia. Sally doesn't know if it'll be temporary or not." She looked towards Heero and noticed he just turned quiet in one second. Gauging by his response, he was shocked as well. "I was wondering if you could do a favor for me?"
"What is it?"
She paused for a brief second, wondering if she was making the right decision, "I know this might be a long shot in triggering her memory, but could you visit her one of these days? If you don't want to, I understand." She headed for the door, "I just want my daughter to recover from this."
"When is the best time?" Heero looked towards her way.
"I'll ask for Sally's opinion and Heero, thank you."
TBC
Well, how was that for chapter twelve? I have to head back to summer school soon, so updates will be irregular again. Let me know if you want me to e-mail you about future updates. Other than that, thanks for reading chapter twelve and please review. :-) Thank you. Until next time...take care everyone!
