Chapter 43

As soon as Clare was well enough, Lady Une promptly called a meeting with Duo, Hilde,

Quatre, Dorothy, Thomas, and Clare to discuss what had happened. She had heard about the

seeming supernatural incident regarding Thomas and Clare as he defied modern convention

and pulled Clare out of a coma, even possibly reviving her after her heart had stopped

beating, and wanted the details. She felt somewhat heartless for bringing up such a

touchy subject, but as their leader, she felt it necessary.

And so they came, all six participants sitting in a row across the table from her, with the

Maxwells on one side and the Winners on the other, their children next to each other in

between. Duo looked anxious, Hilde perplexed, Quatre resigned, and Dorothy serene as

always. In the meantime, Thomas and Clare nervously stared at just about everything else

besides each other, save for quick apprehensive glances. Lady Une noted the obvious

tension in the room, and cleared her throat.

"Alright everyone, let's try to make this as quick and painless as possible. As you all

know, Clare recently attempted suicide (at this, Clare flushed and quickly put her arms

under the table, trying to hide her scars), and Thomas seemed to have something to do with

it (Thomas flinched and stared at the floor). Now, I don't want to sound like I'm prying

into something that's none of my business, but as this incident involved two very critical

people of Operation Firestorm, I'm going to have to ask you what happened. Clare, I'm

going to start with you," Lady Une finished.

Clare hunched over in her chair even more as she heard her name mentioned, but after a few

uneasy moments, she finally lifted her head. "Well, um...Thomas and I, we, well, had a

little...misunderstanding, and that made me, um..." and she shot a desperate glance at her

parents.

Seeing his daughter's discomfort, Quatre sighed. Patting her hand, he spoke up. "Perhaps

I can help elaborate," he said, much to Clare's relief. At Lady Une's nod, Quatre said,

"You all know that I am an empath, and that Rayan has inherited my abilities. What you may

not know is that Dorothy has some empath-like skills as well." He paused to let that fact

sink in, and then continued. "To certain people close to her, namely, people she feels

very strongly for, she is able to feel, read, and influence their thoughts, depending on

the intimacy she has with that person, and especially if that person is not aware of her

abilities. This is Clare's ability," he finished, nodding towards his daughter.

"However, for such a connection to be made, the relationship must be very strong," Dorothy

spoke up suddenly. Glancing at her daughter, and then at Thomas, she continued, "Usually

blood relations will strengthen the bond, but for such a strong relationship like the one

you two have, it means that some other connection must have been established..." and she

trailed off, casting meaningful looks at the two.

At the mention of this, both Thomas and Clare paled visibly. "Mother-" Clare said

anxiously, but Dorothy shook her head. Looking at her daughter firmly, she said, "You

must be held accountable for your actions."

Duo spoke up. "I have," he began, casting an unreadable look in his son's direction, "a

distinct suspicion of what 'connection' you might be talking about, but I'd like to hear it

directly," and he looked pointedly at his son. Thomas sighed, then said heavily, "The

night that Rayan came back insane, Clare and I...well, I tried to make Clare feel better by

making love to her," he finished wearily.

Duo sighed, Hilde's jaw dropped, Quatre and Dorothy looked grim. Noting their reactions,

Thomas raised his hands. "It's my fault. I know that and I'm sorry. Clare had nothing to

do with-"

"That's not true!" Clare said suddenly. Standing up, she cast pleading looks at the

Maxwells. "Uncle Duo, Aunt Hilde, it's all MY fault. I seduced him because I couldn't

handle the stress on my own and so I turned to the physical-"

"Clare, it's okay. I should've been stronger, but I chose to give in. Really, I-"

"No Thomas, it's MY fault. I totally took advantage of your-"

"Enough!" Lady Une cut in. Both teenagers jumped at her voice and sheepishly sat down,

once again trying to avoid looking at each other. But the argument continued:

please clare, stop taking the blame. it's really not your fault.

how is it not my fault? i knew you liked me, and i took advantage of that.

look clare, i chose to do it. i could've said no, but i didn't. stop trying to blame

yourself.

stop trying to blame yourself! who was the one who stripped herself nake-

alright, now that's far too much information. you two, please stop arguing and pay

attention to lady une.

oh, sorry daddy...

um, sorry uncle quatre...

And all three turned their attention back to Lady Une, Quatre blushing furiously at what

he had just overheard in their "conversation." Dorothy, on the other hand, looked

somewhat amused.

i don't see what's so funny!

oh, it's quite amusing darling. i love it when you go pink.

perhaps we should be paying more attention to the conversation at hand?

yes dear, but it was you who initiated this conversation here.

...

"So in any event, you two...engaged in a sexual relationship. Then what happened?" Lady

Une asked somewhat stiffly.

Clare cleared her throat. "Well...I guess you could say I myself wasn't very clear on what

had happened, especially when I realized I could suddenly feel Thomas' thoughts. But when

I figured out that I could influence his thoughts, I became a little...childish. I was

the one who made him forget his meetings and instructions...It's all my fault, I know! I

was frightened and stupid, and well..."

Thomas picked up where Clare left off, staring ashamedly at her hands. "Well, I didn't

handle that very well, after being humiliated and scolded by everyone, so when I also

figured out who it was I was feeling in my head, I reacted...badly. I confronted her,

called her terrible things...I'm so sorry, it was inappropriate, and if I had known it

would affect her so strongly..." and he cast a pleading, apologetic look at the Winners.

Lady Une sighed. "Well, I guess that explains most of it. I'm guessing that after Clare's

suicide attempt, due to this 'connection' you two had established, you were somehow able to

pull her out of it, is that correct?" At Thomas' hesitant nod, she continued, "Very well.

I'm going to let this drop. You two may discuss your relationship on your own, and I'm

certainly not going to interfere. However," and she narrowed her eyes, "Clare, you must

realize that you are a very important person, and that your actions may have consequences

you yourself may not foresee. For example, how do you think it would've looked if people

found out that the Winner daughter gave birth out of wedlock? Or that she had killed

herself over a spat she had with her lover? Thomas, the same goes for you. As a Gundam

pilot, do you understand the uproar you would've caused had Clare died? A Gundam pilot

involved in a scandal that resulted in the death of a member of one of society's highest

profile families? You two, along with your parents if necessary, can establish the

boundaries of your relationship without me in the picture. However, should your actions

jeopardize this operation, you can count on me to take the necessary actions. This meeting

is over," she finished, standing up.

Thomas also started to stand, but a gentle hand from his mother stopped him. "Mom?" he

questioned.

Hilde smiled gently. "I think," she said, "you need to straighten some things out with

Clare," giving him an encouraging smile. Duo tossed his hands in the air. "Don't say

anything too stupid, alright? You're my son, I know that might be tough," he said wryly.

Hilde chuckled a little, then patting her son on the head, she and Duo headed for the

door. The same went with Quatre and Dorothy. "Talk to him," Quatre encouraged. Dorothy

nodded, stroked Clare's hair, and the two left with Lady Une, shutting the door behind

them.

Silence.

Thomas stared at the wall, Clare stared at her hands, eyes lingering on the scars on her

wrists. Finally, Thomas cleared his throat.

"So, ah..." he began nervously. Clare raised her eyes hesitantly, finally looking at him

full in the face. "So...what are we now?" she asked softly.

"Well, um, we can still talk to each other in our, um, heads, right? So that means we

still have to kinda like each other right?" he asked quickly.

Clare managed a small smile. "Yeah, I guess that means we still kinda...like each other."

More silence.

"Say, Thomas...what you said to me earlier, you know, in my head? Did you, you know, did

you actually, well..." and she trailed off nervously.

"Oh, you mean that part, you know, um, THAT part? Or uh, are you talking about, hmm, well,

I guess there really would only be THAT one part right?" he babbled, stumbling all over

his words.

Clare smiled sadly. "...Never mind," she said softly, standing up to leave.

"Wait Clare, I didn't mean that!" Thomas said quickly. Clare shook her head. "No, really,

it's fine," and she turned to leave.

Thomas grabbed her shoulders, surprising them both. "No Clare, please," he begged.

Taking a deep breath, he looked at her straight in the eyes. "That time...when I said I

loved you...I really meant it," he said softly. "I really did. I wasn't trying to just

convince you of something, I meant what I said."

"Really?" she asked hesistantly, staring at her feet.

"Yeah...yeah. Really," he said nervously. Realizing he was still holding her shoulders,

he let go quickly. Running a hand through his hair, he let out a nervous laugh. "I mean,

okay sure fine, I'm what, sixteen years old? What do I know about love? I know less

about...empaths. But hey, you know," and he smiled at her, "This empath thingy, you

feeling my thoughts and I yours, I know at least that it can't happen unless we love each

other. And that's good enough for me."

Clare finally lifted her eyes off the ground. "Do you mean that?" she asked fearfully.

Thomas grinned sheepishly. Scratching his head, he said, "Yeah! Hey, you love me too

right?" he asked anxiously.

Clare burst into tears. Thomas nearly fell over in despair. "Wait, no! I don't mean it

like that-Oh stop that look! Stop it!" she finished, bursting out laughing. Sniffling

and trying to wipe away her tears, she grabbed onto his arm. "I'm sorry, I'm not trying to

scare you. Of course I love you!" she finished, looking up at him. Seeing his look, she

started giggling again.

Thomas glared at her. "Oh so now I look funny huh? Is that so? Huh? HUH?" and he

tackled her and started to tickle her. "So who's funny now huh?" he said playfully,

mercilessly poking and prodding her.

"Stop it! Thomas, stop!"

"Apologize for laughing at me!"

"Okay, fine! I'm sorry! Now get off me!" she said, giving him a shove.

Thomas grinned and let her up, then pulled her close. "I'm glad we got a second chance

Clare," he said gently, burrowing his face into her hair. Clare smiled and closed her

eyes. "Yeah...me too. Me too."