(Listens to the sounds of bodies (body?) falling over in shock)
I know it's been like forever since I've updated, but let's just say that the updating of an old favorite got me inspired. So much so that there might even be more to this and an update to New Beginnings as well. (Hell just froze over)
Cross your fingers and enjoy.
Lani (aka SilverLady)
Golden Lights Part Fifty
By SilverLady
Heero leaned back in his chair, a look of indifference on his face, as Trowa paced before him. Every now then he would frown slightly, but gave no other indication of his thoughts as Trowa explained what had happened.
"So we headed back here as fast as we could," Trowa said, running his fingers through his hair. "But when we got back we were told that you had brought Duo here. I knew you didn't like to bring many servants when you come here, so as soon as it was light enough we headed out here to try and find you."
Trowa gave a lopsided grin as he looked at his best friend. "My heart damn near stopped when we came in and you didn't answer us."
Heero was silent for several minutes. "Let me get this straight. You blew off an important treaty talk."
"He signed the damn thing," Trowa interrupted. "And it was the original one that Uncle sent, not his fucked up versions."
Heero glared at him for the interruption. "You raced back here, risking yourself, your men and the animals by not taking proper rest breaks. Then you come out here and break into my home and run around yelling like a banshee."
"I did not!"
"All on the word of an obviously deranged women. Do you really think so little of me, that I would not be able to defend myself and Duo?"
"No…it was just that…. She had the knife," Trowa protested weakly, beginning to see how irrational his behavior must look like from Heero's point of view.
"What knife?"
"The one you bought for Duo. She said she used it to kill
the both of you and that she was going to use it on me."
"And where is this knife?"
"Um, in my bag, I think."
"May I see it?"
"I left the bag on the horse. I'll probably have to go chase it down. I sorta…forgot to tie him up when we got here."
Heero sighed but rose to his feet. "Then let's go catch him."
Trowa looked sheepish as he followed Heero from the room. He really had run off half-cocked. He just hoped Heero would understand how badly he had been scared, afraid of loosing his best friend.
***
Quatre sat quietly beside the large bed, watching Duo as he slept. Although Heero had said nothing as he had grabbed Trowa and walked out of the room, the glare he had sent the small blonde told him clearer than any words that he was expected to remain with Duo until Heero returned.
Frowning slightly, he studied his sleeping friend's face, making note of the dark bruises under his eyes and the sunken appearance of his cheeks. Combined with the startling pallor of his skin, it told Quatre just how sick Duo had been. Of how sick he still was.
Quatre reached out and ran a gentle finger along Duo's cheek. Just how close had they come to loosing him, Quatre wondered.
Duo stirred slightly at the touch. "Heero?" he whispered, his voice barely heard. His body trembled slightly as he drew in a slow, painful breath.
Quatre bit his bottom lip, not liking the sound of Duo's slow breathing. "No," he whispered back, leaning forward to practically press his lips to Duo's ear.
"Q?"
"Yes, it's me."
"Back?"
"Yes. We finished the talks and came back to see how you were doing. I was worried about you and so was Ma….Trowa."
"Sick."
"I know. But now that I'm back I can help make you better."
Duo snorted slightly at that statement, but was then racked by a painful cough. "Chest….hurts."
Quatre ran his hand soothingly down Duo's side. "I know it does. I'll find out what Heero had been doing and then I'll see if anything my people did will help. There are several remedies for chest colds that my ancestors came up with over the years. Though the desert is very hot most of the time, it can be very wet during the Delmin. That's when people would get sick, from the damp and the cold of the weather and the caves where we took shelter."
"Q?"
"Yes?"
"Stay. Talk."
"If you want me to. At least until Heero gets back. I'm sure he won't want me around then."
"Stay. Here. 'til not sick."
"You mean here at the estate?"
"Yes. Heero….needs….help."
"He might not agree, but if that is what you want I doubt if he'll argue. I'll stay."
Duo's eyes slid slowly closed, the short talk obviously having worn him out. "Promise?"
"I promise.
***
Heero studied the knife he held in his hand carefully. He was certain that it wasn't Duo's knife, although it was very similar to the one he'd bought him. "What did she say about the knife? Did she actually say it was Duo's?"
"No."
"Then why think that it was?"
"Is it?"
"No. It is very similar but it's not his."
"How can you be sure?"
Heero held the knife up, the sun glinting off its smooth blade. "No writing. Duo's blade had writing on it, which spells out 'Shinigami'. There is nothing on this blade."
Trowa sighed; he had forgotten that little fact. If he had remembered that then he would have realized she was just trying to upset him. Which she had done very well. "She said that it was a beautiful piece of work that she was sure he was loathe to loose, but he had no more use for. That she thought it had sung when it drank 'his and his master's blood'."
"Nothing more that insinuation."
"No."
Heero nodded. He was glad that the woman had not gotten a hold of Duo's knife, which was back in the city, safely locked away. If she had gotten it from it's hiding place, it would mean she had found the other things he kept there as well. He was relieved to know that she hadn't. There were things in there that he didn't want anyone to ever see, not even Trowa.
"You shouldn't have let her get to you like that."
Trowa made a noise of protest, but Heero held up his hand.
"But I understand. I probably would have reacted the same way, if the situation were reversed."
Trowa blinked at the underhanded compliment. He had made note of the word probably in that sentence, though, and understood Heero was implying that he would have investigated and thought things out more thoroughly before running off.
"You mean a great deal to me as well." Heero turned to look at his friend, wondering if Trowa really did know how much his friendship meant to him.
"It wasn't just you I was concerned about," Trowa said softly. "How is he doing, really?"
Heero sighed. "Better than he was, but still not so good." He let all his worry and fear show in his eyes as he looked at Trowa. "I…I thought I was going to lose him. His breathing just kept getting worse and worse. It sounded like he was drowning and the doctor said that he was. That there were so many irritants in the air they were making things worse. That his lungs were producing so much fluid to try and get rid of them that he was literally drowning in it. So I brought him out here, hoping that the cleaner air would make things better. And it has, somewhat. His breathing is a little better than it was.
"But then the doctor gave him this stuff, to try and clear up the fluid in his lungs. It's only made him worse, though. He started throwing up and nothing seems to settle his stomach. He's just getting weaker and weaker." Heero closed his eyes. "I'm afraid I'm still going to lose him." Heero made a choked sound. "I can't loose him."
Trowa laid his hand on Heero's shoulder but said nothing. He had no answers.
***
Quatre sighed as he mentally catalogued the symptoms his friend displayed; comparing them to the things he remembered learning from his mother and oldest sister, both of whom had been healers for his tribe.
The most worrying symptom was the sound of fluid in Duo's lungs. It seemed that the airways were still irritated and inflamed, causing them to produce too much fluid in an effort to soothe and relieve the irritation. He would have to do something to clear out the fluid and ease the inflammation of the airways. His sister had once shown him a poultice of herbs that could be rubbed on the chest and would produce a soothing and healing vapor to help ease the inflammation. Plus she had taught him how to make a mist treatment that would help loosen the phlegm in Duo's lungs and make it easier for him to expel it. A prospect he was sure Duo was not going to enjoy.
His other main concern was the weight loss. He could feel Duo's ribs as he rubbed his friend's back. He would have to ask Heero if there had been any nausea and how long had it been occurring. Too long a bout of nausea could cause other complications, including dehydration. Depending on what had caused the vomiting, there were several things he could do to treat it. He could even make a drip to insert directly into one of Duo's veins to introduce fluid directly into Duo's system. In fact, if he was nauseous, if would probably be a better way to introduce some medicines in the same way.
He sighed again, wishing that his sister was here, but she was gone like the rest of his people. She would have been infinitely better at dealing with this than he was, for she'd had the years of training and experience to fall back on. He had only the few things he had learned while helping her, usually against his wishes. He hoped that it was enough and wished that he had paid more attention to what she had done, not fretted about being taken away from his games.
He began making a mental list of the things he would need, some of which he would probably have to return to the city to get. He never even considered Heero refusing to allow him to treat Duo. All he concentrated on was how he could make Duo well again. And he knew, that with the right tools and herbs, he could make Duo well again.