Author's Note: This story will probably take me a while to write, because I also have a ton of papers to write But here is the next (and a very short) chapter of:

Regret & Redemption

Duo woke up the next morning and immediately regretted not moving to the couch before he fell asleep. He felt like something had run him over, but as soon as he looked over at Hilde's still form, all his pains immediately left him. Noin is going to regret even looking at Hilde…he thought with anger.

He sighed softly and stood up slowly, stretching his bones back into place. He walked through the living room into the small kitchen and made a pot of coffee, figuring that he'd need lots of caffeine to get through the day. As he was making eggs Hilde hobbled in and sat down in one of the two chairs at the kitchen table. She looked like she'd been through hell and back.

Duo turned around as he flipped an egg in the pan, "How are you doin' babe?" he asked softly.

"I'm here," she replied blankly, staring at the wall next to Duo.

"I made eggs, I know they're your favorite," he said, hopeful that she'd eat.

"Thanks," was the only reply he got.

He knew he had to do something to get her out of her mind, otherwise she would just spiral down into someplace he didn't want to follow. He had been there before himself, before the war when he had to fight to survive. It wasn't a sane way of living, and he knew the hurt she was feeling bordered on insanity.

He dished out the eggs on black and red plates, set them down on the table.

"Orange juice, milk, water or coffee?" he asked, going to the cupboard again for a glass and mug.

"Orange juice," she answered, limply picking at the eggs.

Duo poured her a glass and got himself a mug of coffee, sitting across from her as he gave her the glass. They sat eating, Hilde less heartily than Duo, until Duo couldn't take the silence anymore.

"Hilde, I know this hurts, physically and emotionally, but you have so many friends that are here for you. We all really care about you and we'd do anything for you babe," he said, trying to pick the words without going too far.

"I know, it's just…I'm still shocked. It's not here yet," she said, tapping her head lightly, "She's everything to me."

Hilde's eyes left her plate and traveled down to the floor, and he could see tears hit her pants. He had no idea how to comfort her. It had been so long since he had seen her, and she'd changed so much. He knew he really would do anything for her though, and so he cleaned up the dishes, washing them and setting them to dry, trying to figure out what to say. Hilde just sat there, thoughts obviously running through her mind.

"Would it help to talk about it yet?" he asked, looking at her from the sink.

"I don't know," she said.

"How about let's go do something. Do you want to go shopping? You don't have any clothes here, and mine aren't quite your style," he said, trying to perk her up.

He knew that if there was one thing she couldn't refuse, it was shopping. Right after the war, when they were picking up the pieces and trying to make a semblance of a normal life, Hilde would always insist on going shopping with Duo, picking out all of the new trendy clothes for the both of them to try on. She seemed to have a sixth sense at what would look good and bad on Duo, and he actually still wore all the clothes she picked for him.

A little quirk flashed on her face and faded, and she nodded her head, "You haven't bought any new clothes since we went shopping before, have you?" she asked with a straight face.

Duo dramatically winced, "Okay, okay, so what if I have no pleasure in trying tons of clothes on just to find the perfect shirt? With you here I can get rid of everything with holes in them."

"And basically everything else. You really look horrible, you know that? Your shirt definitely went out of fashion four years ago," she stated matter-of-factly.

"I get the point! Sheesh…I guess we'd better get going before people start laughing at me from the streets," he said, looking at her pitifully, as if his life was about to end at that instant.

Her face lost its dark depression for a second, and she nodded. Duo mentally made a note of that, and they left the apartment and got into the truck. It took about ten minutes to get the mall, and Duo was thankful that he hadn't decided on living out in the middle of nowhere. He asked her about her job, and she told him the problems she had trying to find something that fit. She had been a hostess at a five-star restaurant, a pilot at an obscure airline, a radio talk show host, and been at a multitude of other random jobs until she had decided that she wanted to be a veterinarian.

"A veterinarian?" he asked when they entered the mall.

"We went through the war and there was so much anger and war and evilness. And who got the blunt end of it? Animals. They couldn't even protect themselves. I want to help them out because I feel bad," she answered.

Only Hilde would think about the animals' points of views and want to help them, he thought warmly, "Well, where are we starting?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know, let's just follow the route of the mall and see where it leads us," she said, taking the lead.

I really hope I'm not going to regret this…he thought as they entered the first store.