My Ramblings: This story is untitled as of yet, because I suck at titles. The first one to review and suggest a title that I like is the title I will use and I will dedicate the story to you. By the way, it starts in Heero's POV
Summary: A few years after the Eve Wars, and Heero has only really kept contact with Wufei. Only because their jobs are related. 'Fei is a paramedic and Heero is a Preventer. Anywho, Heero gets a call from Wufei regarding a certain braided American.
Key: HhHh: Switching to Heero's POV
DdDd: Switching to Duo's POV
TtTt: Switching to Trowa's POV
WwWw: Switching to Wufei's POV
QqQq: Switching to Quatre's POV
'thoughts'
"words"
emphasis
Chapter One
The phone at the front desk rings. "Hello?" I hear Alexia answer. "One moment please." She calls out, "Heero Yuy; Line one," as the light on my phone starts to flash. I pick up the receiver.
"Hello, Preventers' precinct 13. Heero Yuy speaking."
"Heero?" The voice on the other line is staticy, but I can tell who it is.
"Wufei? I haven't heard from you in a while. Where are you?"
"I'm at the hospital." Wufei's voice is tight with anxiety and worry. "Can you come down?"
"Why? What's wrong?"
"It's Duo. I know -"
"I'll be right over." I hang up the phone. "'Lex?" I call through the office.
"What's up?" Alexia answers.
"I need to leave a little early. Can you explain to the boss? A friend of mine is in the hospital and I really need to be there for him."
"Sure." I hear sympathy in her voice. "You go. I'll make your excuses."
I smile warmly at her as I leave. "Thanks, 'Lex. I owe you one."
"You owe me a lot more than one, mister. But don't worry about it."
I nod and leave, heading for my car. Thoughts whirl in my mind as I drive, the most prominent one being 'What's wrong with him?'
I begin to feel slightly sick as my mind tortures me with ideas. He was raped, he was beaten, he was killed, he has cancer. 'Oh, God, don't let it be something bad. Don't let it be too late.' I think I will die if it's too late. I was working up the courage to call him. I really was. How can something bad happen to him? He's Duo, Shinigami, perfect, invincible.
I pull into the hospital's visitors' parking lot and hurry inside. Quatre Winner, a friend of mine is waiting. His face is worried, his eyes sorrowful and scared. Never, not even fighting in the war, or getting captured OZ troops, have I seen his face like this. My heart beats faster, and I feel myself getting scared. Wordlessly, he leads me to an elevator and presses the button for floor 5, a floor I know only too well. Floor 5 is the ICU floor. We enter the waiting room to see Trowa Barton sitting silently in a corner, and Chang Wufei pacing anxiously. They look at me. Wufei stops pacing.
"What's-," I begin. My voice comes out no more than a squeak. I clear my throat and start again. "What's going on?"
The two look at Quatre, who explains. "Heero… Duo's neighbor… found one of his cats in their yard. She went to go return the cat and… Heero, Duo – Duo slit his wrists. And possibly OD'ed on anti-depressants."
I couldn't believe this. Duo – happy, perky, annoyingly funny Duo tried to commit suicide? It makes no sense. I'm so lost in my own disbelief, I don't realize Quatre is speaking until he shoves an envelope at me. On the front it says "Heero." I recognize Duo's messy scrawl. I sink into a chair, trying to gather my courage to read it. I can't. I just can't.
"Heero? You okay?" I hear Quatre ask, but his voice is distant. The rushing in my ears is drowning out every other sound.
Suddenly a thought hits me. What if Duo's not even alive? What if he succeeded? "Quatre?" I ask, the rushing dying down. "Is he – is he – I mean, did he – " I fumbled to ask what I needed to ask.
Quatre understood what I needed to know. He nodded a little nod. "Barely. He's on life support. He's unconscious now."
I nod. "What are his chances of survival?"
Trowa looks at me like I'm nuts. "How can you ask that? Dammit, Heero, he's on life support!"
How can I tell him it's the only way I know how to deal with this? How can I tell him that if I don't have statistics to deal with, I'll go insane?
Quatre seems to understand. "Not good. If he makes it through the night, it will be a miracle. And even if he does, the chances of him surviving through the end of the week are about half a percent."
I nod, feeling tears prickle at the back of my eyes. "'Scuse me." I hurry to the bathroom. I won't cry. Crying is for women and children. Once I'm back under control, I go back to the waiting room.
Quatre comes up to me. "Do you want to go see him?"
I almost nod. Almost. But then I think about Duo lying in a bed, hooked up to machines. The thought in itself is enough to choke me up. I shake my head. "No, Q. I don't think I can bear it."
Quatre nods. "Did you read the letter?"
"No. I can't bring myself to do it."
I guess he hears my self-disgust in my voice. "It's ok, Heero. It's hard. I only opened mine just before you arrived. We're going to go sit with him. If you need something, the nurses at the reception desk can help you."
I nod. I want to go. I need to see him. But I can't. Seeing Duo hooked up to all those machines… I couldn't deal with it. I'm sure of that.
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It is nearly midnight when they leave. I won't go with them. Quatre tries to make me come, but I can't leave. I can't bring myself to see him, but I can't bring myself to leave him. The nurses on night shift come and check on me every now and then. They brought me some food a while ago and told me if I needed anything, just come to them. I can tell Duo is in good hands.
I sigh, getting up. I want to see Duo so bad. But I know if I do, I will cry. There will be nothing to stop me. 'Is it such a bad thing now?' I think. 'The others are gone. There is only nurses around and they would understand.'
'No,' I tell myself. 'No, I will not go. I can't.'
But I do. My feet slip silently down the hall, going to Duo's room. If he wakes up… I can't let him be alone. I have to let him know I'm here for him.
I peer into rooms. None of the people look like Duo. Finally, one of the nurses, Kelly, comes up to me. "Mr. Yuy, I can't have you looking into all the rooms. Patient privacy, you know. He's in room 16, just at the end of the hall."
"Thank you." I go in the direction she pointed. There it was… room 16. For a moment I pause outside the door. Gathering my courage I enter.
The intensely clean whiteness of it all hits me. The white walls, the white tile floor, the white ceiling, and the white sheets.
Blood drips into Duo from an IV. A heart monitor keeps track of every fluttery beat. A tube runs down his throat.
The sight of Duo makes me want to cry. His skin is a deathly white. His amethyst eyes are closed. And his hair… That beautifully long hair is unbraided and tangled, matted with dirt.
I go to his bedside and take his hand. I'm so shocked by how cold he is.
The next thing I know, I'm on my knees. I bury my head in my hands, squeezing my eyes shut against the tears. I can feel them fighting to get out. Suddenly, one trails down my cheek. The others follow it, playing a sad game of follow the leader. I can't stop them. I realize I don't want to. I let them go. All the tears I'd been holding for nearly eight hours. For two years… ever since the war ended.
I manage to pull myself into a chair. Forty minutes later, my eyes are finally dry. I fidget with the covers on Duo. Kelly comes in to check his pulse and breathing. She writes something on her clipboard.
"Kelly?"
"Yes, what can I do for you?"
"Could you get me a small tub of warm water, a towel, and some shampoo and conditioner? And a brush. I'd like to take care of his hair."
Kelly nods understandingly. "Of course. I'll be right back." She hurries out of the room.
For half an hour, I squirm in my seat. Finally she brings the things I asked for. "Thanks."
"You know, Heero, talking to him might help."
I look up, surprised. "You mean he can hear me?"
"Well, it's not scientifically proven. But, when some people wake up from comas, they say they heard the things they were told. Others don't. But it can't hurt."
I nod thoughtfully. "Yeah… I'll try it. Thanks, Kelly."
"Any time. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to get to checking on other patients."
I nod and watch her leave. Gently, I pull Duo's hair from under him and dunk it in the little tub. "Duo, it's Heero. Can you hear me? I'm here." I begin washing Duo's hair. "You're hair's a mess. Why did you do this? What could have been this bad?" I pause. I have no idea what to say next. "Quatre gave me the letter you wrote. I haven't read it yet. I can't find enough courage." I finish washing his hair then drying it. "I'm sorry I haven't been there for you." 'Come on Heero, tell him. Tell him.' I can't tell him what I need to. "I kind of disappeared after the war. Well, except Wufei knew where I worked. I work with the Preventers." I pick up the brush and begin getting the tangles out, talking about random things, and crying on and off. I finally finish at six in the morning. Deftly, I braid the long hair. I've just settled into my own thoughts when I hear voices coming down the hall.
"I can't believe Heero won't come visit him," Trowa's voice floats to me.
"I can't believe he just left! God, what an ass. What if Duo wakes up and there's no one here for him?" That was Wufei.
"Guys, come on. This has been hard on him."
"It's been hard on us too, but we aren't the ones running away like some weak, cowardly dog."
"I have to agree with Wufei on this one, Quatre. Duo's done a lot for him. And he's acting like nothing's wrong."
"I know. But, I can't blame him. It's how he handles things."
"What if Duo died last night? Is Heero going to act like he's still alive? Or like he never existed?" Trowa opens the door. He looks towards the bed, and a surprised look crosses his face as he sees me. "Heero?"
I nod silently. I can't blame them for thinking those things. I was really detached yesterday. "Don't worry Trowa. I've been here all night. I won't let him die. He means too much to me." Wufei and Quatre come in behind Trowa, surprised at hearing my voice. "I'm sorry for the way I acted yesterday. I couldn't deal with it. I wanted to visit. But… seeing him hooked up to all these machines…" I let the sentence hang, unfinished. The tears are coming back. And I thought I'd cried them all away last night. I busy myself with tucking the blankets around Duo tighter.
"Duo… Quatre, Trowa, and Wufei are here. We're all here for you, so you gotta hang in there, ok?"
The others look at me like I'm crazy. "Heero, he's in a coma," Quatre reminds me gently.
"I know. But I have to let him know we're here. I have to tell him he has support and we all want him back."
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