Disclaimer: I keep repeating myself over and over...I don't own Gundam W!

Tommie Girl here! Sorry to have kept you guys waiting on Heero's condition. This chapter has new details on what's up with our critically wounded war hero and his death-defying lover, Duo Maxwell. Both have survived, and just you wait to hear what Heero underwent since the last chapter! Enjoy Chapter 5.

"H-heero...no...please, don't be dead...Heero, please...I love you..."

The faint moans coming from Room no. 206 were faint and pleading. However, there was nothing the nurses could do to help the poor boy lying defeated on the hospital bed, wrapped in bandages and pouring fearful sweat from the pores of his slender body. The bangs hanging over his forehead were now damp and stringy, his unbraided hair amassed over one shoulder like a hot, heavy blanket. His head tossed from side to side deliriously, and his body burned with fever. He was now off the oxygen, but he would need it again soon, if he developed a respiratory infection.

"Daniel? Daniel, wake up! Talk to me!"

Duo simply refused to respond to their calls, as if he were trying desperately to keep from waking up...as if he didn't want to believe in the nightmare of reality...

He felt drugged to the max. Everytime he woke up, it seemed, they immediately injected him with another dose of morphine, or whatever it was that...yawn...

"Poor kid. The only thing I can do for him now is to sponge him down, change his bandages, and make sure he doesn't die in his sleep." One curly-haired nurse remarked one afternoon as Duo was administered another dose of powerful painkillers. "Of course, I'm exaggerating," she added after a brief moment.

"I have a son his age back at home." an eavesdropping woman announced loudly. " He sure ain't going to war to get himself blown to shreds. He's going to become a doctor, so he can sew up the people who do get blown to shreds. If only kids these days would amount to something decent, we wouldn't have to be worrying about families getting blown up and stuff like that."

The curly-haired nurse opened her mouth to say something, but then she was interrupted by a small but gentle voice behind her. She turned around.

"That's not necessarily the case." a young lad with platinum blonde hair was standing by her elbow. "All young people can amount to anything and still do good deeds for humankind. Even if it means risking their lives, fighting for what they believe in." His eyes, though soft in tone, were filled with unfathomable confidence.

"Well, I never...!" the woman said incessantly, but was cut off by the arrival of a tall, thin young man. His long, brown bangs hid most of his face, and he was dressed in a navy blue trench coat reaching to his shins.

"Hello," he said quietly. "We came to pay a visit to our dear friend. Have you seen this face lately?" he held up a small 5x7 photo of a laughing boy with a sparkling amethyst gaze and chestnut-brown hair, braided into a long, thick rope that hung down his back. Beside him stood a wiry young male of about the same age with piercing eyes and a stony face. His arms were folded across his chest and he seemed to be ignoring the happy teenager prancing along next to him. They appeared to be celebrating a special occasion; the two were dressed in formal tuxedoes and the braided boy was holding a glass of champagne in one slender hand.

"What is this?" The nurse wanted to know. "Who are you?" She refused to let go of the photo until the tall boy gently prised it from her fingers.

"Please. This is urgent, and we swear it won't take long." the blonde insisted. "It's just that...he's one of our closest friends, and he really needs to be with us right now. We are so concerned for his well-being, and it would crush him to hear that we wouldn't be allowed to visit..."

"No visitors at this time, sweetie." the nurse broke in. "As of right now, he's fast asleep. How could he possibly hear you or sense you're right next to him? I think it's best that you wait for him to get better, then try talking to him then. Good day...!" she turned around to walk away, but the tall kid was already standing in her way. "He's asking you nicely." he said, with evenness and clarity. "This is all we're ever asking of you."

Speechless, the nurse finally got the message, and told them the number of Duo Maxwell's room.

"Thank you so much!" the blonde boy smiled a sweet, angelic smile, and for a split second, the nurse thought she spotted tears sparkling in his eyes. She silently watched them depart for Daniel Maverick's aka Duo Maxwell's room.

Heero Yuy's heartbeats were slow...rhythmic. As if at any given moment it would cease to stop beating and remain motionless forever. However, that was hardly the case. For now, he was taking care of the Perfect Soldier as if he were worth his weight in gold...or gundanium alloy. His name was Dr. Fleishcer, and he was in charge of repairing the boy's mangled body using his latest bit of technology: regrowth and regeneration, a technology that was discovered earlier on, but it was terribly unrefined and tedious to work out. It had taken decades of dedicated research to actually attempt to grow a single baby lab rat inside a clear glass tank full of liquid; an artificial womb. The whole affair was undertaken as a secret operation. The government would go ballistic literally and figuratively if they were ever found out, for obvious reasons, and Dr. Fleishcer was hell-bent on keeping everything top-secret, confidential, classified, and as many other words which fit that category. This was his life's work, and he wasn't going to let it go without a tremendous fight. Right now, however, Dr. Fleishcer was more interested in observing the naked human form floating inside. He sighed contently, and turned to his colleague, Dr. Muller.

"Any drastic changes in temperature?"

"No sir."

"Good. Keep it at that. We don't need any foolish mistakes at this critical point in time. It will be a few weeks before his arm will be ready to self-stabilize. I put you in charge of that job. You got it?"

The young scientist nodded curtly. "Yes, sir." he replied, and went back to his calculations. Dr. Fleishcer turned back to the glass tank, bubbling with clear, warm fluid. The figure inside had grown back most of his dark brown hair, and it was silky and as rich as chocolate due to the abundance of vitamins. The veins and tissue in the new arm were formed, as delicate as can be. A breathing mask supplied oxygen to the body, a feeding tube provided all the nutrients for his developing limb. The rest of his wounds seemed to be healing rapidly, with little or no scarring. Broken bones slowly knitted together and grew back stronger than before. It was a masterpiece. It was perfection. Brilliance at its finest! Dr. Fleischer smiled proudly.

"My, Heero. It's been so long since I've seen you. You were only a pint-sized brat the last time Dr. J came to visit. He raised you to be even more despicable. Then again, that probably wasn't his fault; silly old man. Thanks to me, you've got a second chance at life, a second chance to breathe, a second chance to experience the wonders of the human world...Trust me, you haven't seen anything yet. I'll show you what a real scientist is supposed to do." the scientist sank into a nearby chair and folded his arms behind his head, crossing his legs into a comfortable position.

"Am I ever the genius!" he said loudly to no one in particular.

Back in Duo's room, Trowa and Quatre were sitting on either side of the hospital bed. Poor Duo was still out of it, unfortunately, but his temperature had gone down and was now relaxed for the moment.

Wufei showed up two hours later. "How's he pulling through?" he asked. Trowa had called him earlier, to tell him the news. They had finally located Duo, he was seriously injured, but he was alive. Heero, most unfortunately, was still MIA.

Quatre nodded. "Fine. The nurses say he'll probably be out for another two to three hours, depending on how much pain medication he's on. That stuff sure knocked him out." He sleepily laid his head down on the bed by Duo's hand. Trowa and Wufei looked at each other silently and didn't say a word for another five minutes or so.

"How'd you find him?" Wufei asked at last.

"We hacked into the hospital's computer network. We toggled with the possibility that Duo might use his initials as a key to his whereabouts by choosing an alias that used the same initials, 'D' and 'M'. Once we had tracked down several hospitals with possible candidates, we simply chose the hospital closest to the site where their mission took place, which happened to be here. Once things fell into place, it wasn't that hard to find him."

Quatre raised his head. "But first we had to convince ourselves that they were alive. It's risky travelling these days, especially if you're a Gundam pilot in hiding. So we contacted a member of the Sweepers Group to haul us over here. It was way easier than being a stowaway on some shuttle, and creating fake ID would've taken too long. However, I'd still rather use my real name and ID no matter what the case..." the blonde muttered to himself.

"We also could've stolen our own shuttle." Trowa added.

"Hn. I see." Wufei nodded his head and gazed at the battered Duo, whose eyes were now rolling under his eyelids. He was probably dreaming. Wufei picked up the clipboard to check out Duo's status.

"Serious condition. This guy won't be moving for weeks. " Wufei replaced the clipboard to its spot and took a seat next to Trowa.

"Why aren't we looking for Heero? We found Duo now, didn't we?"

Trowa sat quietly, then spoke. "I have a hunch that Heero could be alive, but barely. His chances of making it out alive are slim, due to his suicidal nature and his inflexible ways. The only thing that would stop him would be if he lost all his chances for suicide. And then there's the fact that he doesn't self-destruct without a reason. It has to be part of his mission, or else he wouldn't do it. It would also have to have come from his mentor for him to self-destruct. He just doesn't take orders from anyone."

"Even Duo, apparently."

"I'm afraid it appears so. It just so happens that he was caught up in the middle of it, whatever plan Heero had."

"Must've been a terribly easy choice, judging by the way Duo came out."

Quatre sighed sadly. "We'll get all the answers when he wakes up. I hope to God we find Heero. My heart aches from their pain. I want them to stop hurting." Quatre gazed hopefully at Duo one last time before falling asleep with his head resting on the white sheets, platinum blonde hair falling around his baby-round cheeks.