Hi, me again, be patient, I'll go away in a second. Two more songs to disclaim, "Cowboy, Take Me Away" by the Dixie Chicks and "Beautiful Mess" by Diamond Rio, neither by me. In this part, take it as though Thea wrote "Cowboy, Take Me Away", which is a really good song, so please don't sue me! Okay on to part three.

Cowboy, Take Me Away

Part THREE

The pale yellow of Thea's bedroom came slowly into view as Duo's eyes slid open. He glanced over Thea's still sleeping form to see her alarm clock; it had been three hours since Christy had knocked on the door wondering why Thea wasn't up and getting ready for work. Immediately seeing the situation before Duo could react, she decided it would be nice to give Thea the day off.

He was feeling slightly better, in terms of the hangover, but mission-wise, he felt that he had just made the biggest and yet best mistake of his entire life. He was infatuated with her, but he was supposed to kill her—well, maybe not technically "kill" her, but if he were to arrest her and take her back to Preventer Headquarters they would surely kill her because she was this "danger" to society. He sighed and felt her stir slightly under his arm. She opened her eyes slowly and looked up at him.

"G- morning," she smiled. He let go of her only because he felt the severe urge to stretch his muscles, and she seemed to have the same idea. He watched her stretch, reminding him of a cat, the way her toes and fingers curled. She stopped suddenly and looked over at her alarm clock.

"Shit, I'm late for work!" She said sitting up suddenly, exposing her bare back. He smiled and she looked over at him. "Quit smiling at me like that! You shut off my alarm didn't you!" She said angrily. He just couldn't stop smiling.

Then he saw something he didn't see the night before. A small tribal tattoo on the small of her back.

Oh boy, that was it. He wanted her now, with an insatiable need.

"You have the day off," he said not taking an eye off her tattoo. She raised an eyebrow then grabbed his chin to bring his eyes back to her face.

"Come again?"

"Chris knocked on the door a few hours ago, you were still asleep. She just shook her head and said "have fun on her day off." You were gonna be late any way." She narrowed her eyes at him, realizing what would cause her to "be late".

"No work equals no money. I think you owe me, buddy," she said, a smile starting come across her face.

"Hmm... What can I do?" He said, pretending to be deep in thought, "I think I know a good way..." he smiled seductively. She gave him a crooked smile back.

"What are you doing here?" Duo asked before the thought had even finished in his head. Thea raised her head up off his shoulder and gave him a slightly confused look as she rolled of her side and on to her stomach.

"What do you mean?" She asked. Duo regretted saying anything but figured he should clarify himself now.

"Here. In this town," he continued. She looked as though she had never thought about it before.

"Well, I guess because it's the only thing I've ever known, I mean-" Duo cut her off.

"You were born here?" He asked, suddenly hopeful there was a possibility that Preventers had the wrong person.

"I... don't know..." she said, glancing down to the bed sheets they were still enveloped in. He waited expectantly for her to continue. She looked back up at him and let out a small sigh; "about five years ago, B.J., Chris, B.J.'s friend Luke, and I were heading back from a short vacation. I was driving my car, and Chris, Luke and B.J. were in his SUV, a semi rolled my car. I woke up in a hospital bed not knowing whom I was, where I was, or anything."

"You lost your memory?" He said. She nodded looking slightly mournful.

"That was all Chris and B.J. told me. I see flashes of things that are possible memories, most of them happy, but the Doctor says they aren't healthy because sometimes they cause seizures, so he gives me medicine for it," she finished, the mournful look taking over her face again. Duo could tell she missed seeing who she used to be. He was also really sorry he asked. He had never lost his memory before but he knew someone who had, and Trowa wasn't one to want to talk about it.

They were silent for a moment; he was taking in all she had told him. That was why she accepted him so readily: she had no idea that she was an augment. If she knew what she was, as soon as she would have saw his badge she would have been out of that diner. Now what the hell was he supposed to do? He hadn't been using his head this entire week, and now he was involved with the one person he shouldn't be. Lady Une was going to kill him. Well, life definitely wasn't being easy on him, but then again, when had it?

Thea, seemingly bothered by his silence, gave him an apprehensive look. He ran his fingers through the soft, silk strands of her dark hair and gave her a reassuring smile. The sudden seriousness in the air was too much for him, considering he was used to lightness that had been his the past week. Feeling the need to distract himself, and her, he poked her in the side, just as she had done to him the previous night. His lips curved up evilly as he was rewarded for his efforts by a ringing squeal. He laughed as she sat up and stuck her tongue out at him. She was damn beautiful, yes, but also much more than that. He was happy; for the first time in months, he felt at ease. It was because of her.

They spent the remainder of the morning dozing until noon finally rolled around. Thea managed to rustle up and old gas can from the garage and get enough in her jeep to get to the gas station then dropped Duo off at his truck and he headed back to his motel room to get fresh clothes and clean up. He was going to meet Thea back at the diner in about an hour for lunch. He showered quickly and grabbed a pair of black pants and a t-shirt to wear. He was walking out of the bathroom, finishing braiding his hair when he noticed his laptop sitting on the bedside table. Heero expected a report from him today. Duo gave half a thought to blowing it off, but decided against it. Facing Heero would be difficult, but he had to do it. He flipped open his laptop, hit a few keys and Heero's face appeared on the screen.

"Do you have a report for me?" He asked straight away, in his usual monotone voice.

"Well, hello to you too, Heero," Duo said passing him a nonchalant grin he didn't feel. Heero didn't say anything so Duo continued, "Yeah, I ... uh... made some progress..." He was instantly regretting making this call and at a loss for what to say next. Heero took care of that.

"She's an augment, correct?" He asked. Duo looked away for a moment and ran his hand through his hair. He couldn't lie, but he couldn't just answer the question either.

"... Yeah... Yes, she is..." There, he said it. He admitted it to Heero, and to himself. He knew at that moment there was no way that he and Thea would work out; he just had to enjoy it while it lasted.

"Good work. Now find a way to get her back here--I can't send back up, people would get suspicious. The last thing we need is a mass panic," Duo heard a door open then close, and he saw Heero look away from the vid-phone and back. "I have to go, get to work on that; I will contact you shortly." He hung up.

Duo sighed--how could he have just done that? Thea had never hurt anyone. She didn't deserve this at all. He had to do something, soon. He stared at the wall across from him. The old, moldy wallpaper had begun to peel in various places and gave the room a more unwelcoming appearance then it already had. The room only having one light--the bedside lamp, which kept it dimly lit--it almost wasn't worth turning on.

He showed up at the diner earlier then he expected, but Thea was already there anyway. She smiled brightly when she saw him and it snapped him out of his daze. She was sitting on a barstool talking with Christy, who was behind the counter, and two elderly men sitting to her right. Duo sat on Thea's left and she surprised him slightly by giving him a "hello" kiss. He didn't know why he wasn't expecting it, he just wasn't.

"You guys were awfully loud last night," Christy said with a smirk. Thea glared at her and the two old men grinned at each other then at the two girls. Duo was looking back and forth between the two girls, who seemed to be wondering who would speak first.

"You know, you can just shut the fuck up once in a while, Chris," said Thea. She was smiling but there was a note of irritation in her voice. The old men were laughing and Duo couldn't help but laugh with them.

"How can such a pretty mouth say such dirty things?" Christy asked sarcastically.

"Easy, watch: fuck, bitch, dick, cun-"

"THEA!" Said Christy whose hand covered Thea's mouth across the counter, "don't scare our customers away!" She removed her hand from Thea's face, which was smirking evilly. "Do you see what you've gotten yourself into?" She asked Duo.

He laughed.

If the first week of Duo's stay went by fast, the last two were at light speed. He felt as though it had all been a blink of the eye, but time flies when you're having fun. His and Thea's relationship had flourished more then flowers in late summer. He tossed his duffel bag in his truck and turn to find her standing behind him. She smiled weakly at him.

"Call me when you get home, okay?" She asked.

"Na, it'll be late, but I'll call you first thing tomorrow, Kay?" He answered pulling her into his arms. She seemed satisfied with this. "Then I'll call you the day after that," he said and kissed her, "and the day after that," he kissed her again, "and the day after that-"

"I think she gets the general idea there, buddy-" he heard Christy say behind Thea. Duo broke their kiss to see B.J. and Christy standing behind them. He could hear Thea giggling next to him, but was looking at B.J. who seemed as if he had an extremely bad taste in his mouth. Christy smiled and ruffled the hair on Duo's head, which caused him to raise an eyebrow.

"See ya," she said and smiled. B.J. merely nodded at Duo, he nodded back, and then they simply turned and went inside, leaving Thea and him alone once again. He hugged her tightly then took a quick glance at his watch. He was running late.

"I'm sorry, Babe, I gotta go," he said before giving her a quick kiss and letting her go, rather reluctantly.

"You better call me tomorrow or I will march my ass down there!" She called laughing and waving as he got into his truck for the long nine-hour drive.

"I will!" He called back.

Duo parked his truck in its usual spot and grabbed around in the truck bed for his duffel bag. The parking lot lights seemed to be malfunctioning; it was so dark that it felt like you were walking through a black velvet curtain. In his drive back to Preventer Headquarters he decided that he was being unrealistic about his and Thea's relationship. He had to let her go. They were living in two different worlds. He would some how convince Heero and Lady Une that Thea was not a threat and let her fade from his life and him from hers. But what if she didn't?

When he reached the main door, he was greeted by a surprise. Collecting a rather large file from the receptionist was Quatra Rababera Winner, diplomat and business owner from the L4 colony cluster. Quatra and Duo had fought along side each other during the Eve Wars. He spotted Duo and set the file back down on the desk.

"Hey, Duo!" He called. Duo raced up to him.

"Hey Q-Man! It's been awhile, I thought you weren't comin' in for another month or two! What's up?" Duo said shaking his long-time friend's hand. Quatra's entire demeanor changed in an instant.

"... Duo, can I talk you for a moment?" He asked glancing around, seeing who was listening.

"Yeah, sure," Duo said, slightly concerned. Could Quatra feel that Duo's mission had technically failed?

Duo followed Quatra into the break room, which, at this hour of the evening, was empty. Quatra poured himself a cup of tea and offered one to Duo, who refused, preferring coffee if he ever had any. Neither of them spoke until Duo's curiosity got the better of him.

"What's going on, Quatra?" He asked. Quatra was still silent for a few moments. Duo thought he must have been collecting his thoughts.

"Duo, I have this feeling. This horrible feeling that something truly awful is going to happen," he said, staring at his cup. Duo waited for him to elaborate. "I was sitting in my office two weeks ago, about mid-day, and I had this feeling come over me, like a warning, and all I could think about was contacting you." Quatra looked back at his friend.

Duo was in thought. Mid-day two weeks ago was around the time when he made his first report to Heero. "I tried your room and got no answer so I called Heero, and apparently he was on the phone with you when I called. He said you were away on a mission and didn't seem quite like yourself, but that you were okay. I waited a day or two, but when it didn't go away I scheduled some time to come here and so I got here last week."

Duo took a minute to take it all in. He could think of a few things that could happen that would definitely not be good, namely Thea being arrested, they would kill her; or him losing his job, but he'd rather have Thea then his job. "Duo, I can feel it, you aren't yourself at all. Something is truly troubling you. Is it Hilde?"

That was a blatant question if Duo had ever heard one. He shook his head and ran a hand through his hair as he walked away from Quatra. He plopped himself down in a chair.

That was one of the only problems with Quatra. It was harder than hell to keep anything from him. You see, he wasn't a normal diplomat. Well, compared to the general public, neither Duo nor Quatra were normal but Quatra was even more different. For some reason certain members of the Winner family were born with oddities about them. Quatra was empathetic. He could sense things, sometimes before they happened, or the feelings of others; and Duo's frustration was written all over his face so he was sure it was too hard to ignore.

"What is it then?" Quatra asked. He was leaning against the counter across the room from him. Duo sighed. How was he going to explain this, if he was going to explain his and Thea's current situation at all? He decided against it. Realizing he still had his duffel bag in his hand, he used it as an excuse to leave. He mumbled an excuse and left.

He didn't feel comfortable sharing with Quatra his situation just yet. It was mostly the fact that he broke one of the most important unwritten rules: Never get too close to your target. He was never one to follow the rules anyway, but he didn't want the word to get out, not right now. He punched in the code on the keypad and the door to his room slid open. He walked inside and flipped on the light where his roommate, Marcus, was already asleep, for a moment. "Oy! What the bloody- Oh it's you, oh joy," he finished sarcastically. Duo found himself almost enjoying his roommate's discomfort.

Marcus was slightly on the obsessive compulsive side: they didn't get along at all, mainly because Marcus was a neat freak and Duo was lucky if he could see the floor on his side of the room. Duo guessed Marcus's reason he was uptight might have been because he came from a well-to-do family--unlike Duo, who seemed to be spawned from poverty. He would often get remarks--snide remarks--from Marcus about his hair or his clothes. Duo asked him if he was gay once because he seemed so concerned with how Duo dressed. Marcus just glared at him and told him to grow up. Duo however, found all of it rather amusing.

The next morning, bright and early, Duo and Heero had a meeting. It was the only time Heero could get away because of his duties with the Vice-Foreign Minister. That was Duo and Heero's main job: they were bodyguards, but since Miss Relena was taking some time away with her brother and his wife, it left the two of them with nothing to do for awhile. That was why he accepted the mission in the first place, and he really wanted to get out of there for a while. They were sitting in the same break room Duo and Quatra had been in the previous night, and for once in his life, Duo had nothing to say.

"Your orders were to bring her back here," Heero said plainly.

"I know," Duo answered. He didn't know what else to say. Heero seemed slightly disturbed by Duo's lack of conversation; he spoke up.

"Why?" He seemed more irritated then disturbed now. Duo was trying hard to come up with an answer. He couldn't lie to his best friend, but now, it seemed like the only option. Always good at thinking on his feet, he said the first thing that popped into his head.

"She'll be here; I just have to let her come on her own. You go and get her in front of all those people that love her to pieces and see how it goes over." Heero seemed unappreciative of the tone in Duo's voice.

"Then I'll let you tell Une that," he said simply, then got up and left the room. Duo was alone with her picture inside his head again. He decided he had better call her like he promised and got up to head back to his room.

A month passed, although it didn't feel like a month. It didn't go by at all fast, it just seemed a little bit hazy for Duo. Most of the time Duo was miles away inside his head, all the way to that little hick town that survives on elderly tourists and country music, but that little hick town had the world inside it. Her dark eyes haunted him where ever he went, he could feel them, as thought she were watching him from just around the corner and he didn't quite know it.

He was waiting to pick up Quatra at the spaceport, at Quatra's request, for a reason unknown to Duo. He saw the blonde Arabian as he got out of customs and waved to Duo. Duo went and picked up one of Quatra's bags and they walked together to Duo's truck. Duo flipped on the radio and hit the "auto-tune" button. It stopped at a country station. The broadcaster announced a new song by a band called "Diamond Rio" titled "Beautiful Mess". Duo felt the song was about him the entire time he listened to it. Quatra sat patiently in the passenger seat as Duo turned up the volume.

I'm going out of my mind these days
Like I'm walking 'round in a haze
I can't think straight, I can't concentrate
And I need a shave

I go to work and I look tired
The boss man says son you're gonna get fired
This ain't your style
And behind my coffee cup
I just smile

What a beautiful mess, what a beautiful mess I'm in
Spending all my time with you
There's nothing else I'd rather do
What a sweet addiction that I'm caught up in
'Cause I can't get enough
Can't stop the hunger for your love
What a beautiful, what a beautiful mess I'm in

This morning put salt in my coffee
I put my shoes on the wrong feet
Losing my mind I swear
You might be the death of me
But I don't care

What a beautiful mess, what a beautiful mess I'm in
Spending all my time with you
There's nothing else I'd rather do
What a sweet addiction that I'm caught up in
'Cause I can't get enough
Can't stop the hunger for your love
What a beautiful, what a beautiful mess I'm in

Is it your eyes, is it your smile?
All I know is that you're driving me wild

What a beautiful mess, what a beautiful mess I'm in
Spending all my time with you
There's nothing else I'd rather do
What a sweet addiction that I'm caught up in
'Cause I can't get enough
Can't stop the hunger for your love
What a beautiful, what a beautiful mess I'm in

What a beautiful mess, what a beautiful mess I'm in
Spending all my time with you
There's nothing else I'd rather do
What a sweet addiction that I'm caught up in
'Cause I can't get enough
Can't stop the hunger for your love
What a beautiful, what a beautiful mess I'm in

"Hey, if you don't mind me askin', why'd you want me to pick you up?" Duo asked as the pulled out of the space port parking lot once the song finished. Quatra started out he window for a long while before answering.

"I haven't got rid of that feeling yet, Duo." Duo audibly sighed at this. "And I had a dream the other night. I dreamed you died," he said looking over at Duo with concern. Duo almost shivered when he heard that.

"What do you mean I died?" He said, keeping his eyes on the road, afraid that if he looked at Quatra, his worries would be an open book.

"That someone had killed you, and I could hear a woman weeping. It was that most horrible vision I've ever had. Duo, what is going on? I wouldn't have that dream for no reason." Duo sighed again.

"I messed up bad, Quatra. But it's the best mistake I've ever made," Duo said, finally looking at Quatra for a second.

Thea was bored, strumming absentmindedly on her guitar. She missed Duo so much. She missed how he made her feel when he was around, his smile and his laugh. Although she still got to see those things when she talked to him on the vid-phone, it wasn't the same as in person. She hadn't been able to sleep decently since he left; her bed was so lonely, so empty with out him. She had never thought herself particularly sexy, not until she met him, that is. He rocked her little world. She mentally pictured her life without him; it was non-existent. He was her thrill, the wild-ness that she needed in her life. He was her Cowboy. Suddenly filled with inspiration, she grabbed the nearest pen and paper and started scribbling down some words.

Cowboy take me away, fly this girl as high as you can into the wild blue

Set me free, I pray, closer to heaven above, and closer to you

She studied them for a while then started playing on her guitar again, singing with it. She'd stop every few seconds and write more until the entire page was filled. She smiled and sat back into her chair as she read over the page.

She had felt incomplete ever since he'd left; she needed to see him again or she was going to go crazy. She went to vid-phone to dial his number but got no answer. She sighed: he was probably working; he didn't get off for another half-hour. She'd call him then. She had some vacation time coming up that she had to use, so why not use it to go see the one attraction that she couldn't get enough of?