Special thanks to Milaya Milen Zeal who reviewed nearly every chapter and gave me the momentum to get going again.
CHAPTER 35
Heero stared out the windshield with bloodshot, sleepless eyes. He was on his way to Dr. Croats office. He'd heard nothing about Duo for 3 weeks now. And there was no sign of any ransom being demanded. Heero didn't know what to think anymore. He'd checked and followed any lead on any rebel activity and none had lead to any sort of clue. He was frustrated and exhausted. He slept when Quatre told him too, worked when Quatre wasn't yelling at him and ate if food was in the room with him. Wufei and one other bodyguard were switching on and off in 12 hours shifts so that Heero could concentrate fully on the search for Duo. Trowa was helping as well, asking anybody he knew with connections to keep an ear out.
Dr. Croats was going insane. His experiment, his precious, one shot experiment was missing and at a very crucial time for the pregnancy as well. Dr. Croats said he was going to teach Heero how to tell if someone was in labor and what to do if they were. He also mentioned something about crude cesarean methods. Heero sighed. This was time not spent looking for Duo, but Heero decided that if he didn't step back and think of something else, no matter what, his head may explode.
Heero pulled into doctor's office, his eyes blearily looking at the door. He walked inside and automatically went to the front desk and asked for Dr. Croats. They directed him to the waiting room and Heero sat down.
"Mr. Yuy?" A warm hand was on his shoulder, gently shaking him side to side. "Please Mr. Yuy, wake up?" Heero's eyes opened, though they felt as if they were carrying a weight as heavy as Atlas'.
"Yes?" Heero pulled himself upright. He never had this much trouble waking up. He shook his head and forced himself into alertness.
"Mr. Yuy, its unhealthy to get so little sleep. Perhaps you should take a rest when we are through here." Dr. Croats said benignly. Heero nodded. Even he knew his limits and he was fast approaching his. "Come with me, I'll make this as brief as possible."
Heero followed him, trying not to run into the wall. He shook his head again and then took a seat in the doctor's office when they arrived. Dr. Croats frowned and then ordered his nurse to bring in some coffee. The nurse sighed and did as she was told.
As Heero sipped at some coffee, Dr. Croats took out a chart. He set the chart up on a counter, with its back against the wall and stood, waiting for Heero's full attention.
Heero stared into space, he vaguely noted what Dr. Croats was doing, but couldn't muster the energy to react. The coffee wasn't going to do anything, his body was immune to caffeine by now, but it gave him something concrete to do.
"'ahem?' Mr. Yuy, if I may direct your attention to these charts?" He pulled out a whiteboard marker and popped off the cap. The chart was of a large pregnant belly, with seemingly random dotted lines on it. "I need you to watch me carefully." He paused and added softly, "For Duo's sake."
Heero's eyes wrenched themselves upward and Heero focused on the chart. His eyes absorbed the information, but his mind wasn't focused on it. "For Duo's sake" Heero hated the way that sounded, so lost and forlorn. Hopeless even. If he couldn't find Duo soon, he would surely go insane.
Heero blamed himself, if he could go back and get Duo that hamburger and fries he would. But he couldn't. Why? Because Duo was gone. The first thing Heero would do if – If? When had it become a matter of if? -- when they found Duo was to buy him a burger with an extra large fry. And then when Duo got sick and was angry at Heero, Heero would just give him a hug.
Thats what Heero wanted right now. He craved for Duo's touch, a hug, even a fleeting nudge as they passed in the hallway. Heero brought his attention back to the doctor. Panicked, Heero forced his mind to recall exactly what the doctor had told him. Something about cesareans and Ah yes, how to perform one and how to tell when its time.
"Wait a minute," Heero said, his eyes blurring in confusion. "Why did you just tell me this?"
"Because if an emergency occurs, I want you to be fully prepared to if the situation occurs to assist Duo in a birth." The doctor sighed and wiped a hand over his face, "I'm too old to be running around and you would probably get there first, so its best that you know what is going on."
Heero nodded in consent. "Is that all then?" The doctor looked a bit taken aback, but he shook his head in agreement.
"Yes, thats all." The brown haired man nodded curtly and walked out of the office in a daze. He needed to get back and keep looking, opening the car door he rolled away.
The petite brunette stamped her foot in agitation as she waited for a ride. Her contact on Earth was mysteriously missing and she had no way of getting hold of him. Hilde stared in anger as another cab passed her by. Pissed and anxious, she waited for the next cab to come her way. Clutching tightly to her one piece of luggage, she vaulted off the curb and slid onto the hood of a slow driving taxi.
That got his attention.
She slid off and landed neatly on her feet on the other side. "Ma'am? Are you okay?"
"Peachy, and if you get just give me a ride, I would be even better!" The driver looked at her with wide eyes and nodded, motioning for her to get herself in. Satisfied Hilde did so and gave him directions to Duo's lovers house.
She hadn't heard from Duo in a long while, every time she called she was disconnected. The last she had heard from him was that he had moved in with this Heero Yuy and things were going swell.
And then there was nothing.
Hilde was frustrated. Logically it would make sense to assume since Duo was always absentminded that he had simply forgot and was too lazy to return her million phonecalls. But then again, there could be something wrong and she had no way of knowing. So, she bought a ticket and headed down to Earth to locate her scatterbrained friend.
The taxi pulled up to the address Hilde had given him and she got out. Grabbing her luggage, she yanked it out of the taxi and looked through the gate and down the drive. She saw only a charred skeleton of what was once a home. She gaped.
"Hey lady? Ya gotta pay still ya know." Hilde turned.
"Umm, could you just wait a minute, I've got to check something out." Dropping her luggage she ran to the gate and pushed on the intercom buzzer. A voice answered.
"I'm sorry, no one is permitted inside these grounds until further notice."
"Please! I need to know where to find Du-" Hilde said desperately, pushing on the buzzer once more.
"No one!" Static filled the speaker. Hilde growled. Fine, if that was how they were going to be.
To the taxi driver Hilde asked him for a ride elsewhere and got back in the car.
Heero stared mutely at Duo's garage. Heero came here frequently, just in case somebody else came with information about Duo, or if Duo himself decided to show. Heero was sitting outside the door, waiting for the mechanics to get back from their lunch break. Heero sighed, if smoking wasn't such a degenerative habit he would definitely be a hardcore smoker. Anything to get rid of this stress right now. Heero rolled his shoulders.
A taxi cab pulled up, and from outside the cab, Heero could hear two people arguing inside. The messy haired man sighed and shook his head. People these days could be so rude.
Heero turned again, peeking in the window to see if perhaps they had slipped in whilst he had been otherwise preoccupied. Nope, not a soul within sight. He turned back.
There standing about two inches from him was a young familiar looking girl. She looked a bit peeved and there was a suitcase resting on the ground next to her feet.
"Heero right?" Heero nodded, filing through his minds resources trying to place her, "Where in the world is Duo?" Her voice came out exasperated and she blew a wisp of hair out of her eyes..
"Ah, Hilde, ne?" She nodded. Heero remembered now, she was Duo's friend, it had been awhile. So glad was he that he had placed her that he nearly forgot why she was tapping her toe impatiently. "Oh, right." Taking a deep breath Heero ran a hand through his hair. "Actually, he's missing."
"What?" She asked, Duo had been known to have tantrums and disappear for several days at a time, she wasn't too concerned. "How long has he been gone this time?"
Heero looked at Hilde confused, "This time?" She gave him a look. "Well, its been about three weeks actually."
Hilde sputtered, "Th-three weeks!?!" She stared at him in awe for a brief moment and then she clenched her fist tightly and pulled back. The muscles in her arm bunching up, she swung and cleaned Heero Yuy, the Perfect Soldier, bodyguard to the most powerful person on Earth's clock.
Heero staggered back. It wasn't often someone had the gall to smack him, and then live to tell the tale. She stared at him spitefully. "HOW THE HELL DID YOU LOSE HIM!?" She screamed her voice piercing through Heero's exhausted fog and awakening him fully.
"I didn't lose him, he was kidnapped."
"Have you been looking!? Have you called the police?"
"I have been looking, but we can't call the police because of his condition. I've looked everywhere."
"Everywhere? You could hardly have looked everywhere, since obviously you haven't found him yet." Her bright turquoise eyes stared at him intensely. "His old apartments?" Heero nodded, "The doctor's office? The junk yard? Norris' house?" Heero stopped nodding.
"No, we haven't checked there yet." Hilde grabbed his hand.
"Then what are we waiting for? Lets go!"
tsuzuku
Gomen nasai! The Evil called exams appeared and stoled me away from my pc. It is now 11:41... i have been since 5:25 I need sleep.
There won't be an update next week as I will be in ... some state other than this one (its a tour so i'm not sure exactly where) but when i come back there will be one. And yes, Duo will finally have the baby
If you need to be added to the "update email list" just tell me so in your review
Annie
