Normally, Dorothy didn't let things get to her. She moved through her own troubles in life with as much grace as she could. Yet? As she made up the steps to Quatre Raberba Winner's personal room, she felt great unease. Nothing he had done made any sense and many coincidences raced in her head with each step she took up the winding staircase. Her and Relena had a similar surgery. Heero had suspected her medication was stalling her healing. She was being accused of killing someone, and even though she should be cleared of it, Quatre Winner had practically stole her from the situation. What could be going on?'
What could be going on that could possibly include her? Her time in the spotlight should be dimming. She was there for Relena when she needed information, and perhaps when she got older, she would look into going into her own political career. Other than that, her grandfather was gone, and she was simply there. The backdrop of someone once involved. Yet? On the last stair to climb, she only wished she could feel like all of it was in the past. She reached toward the door and knocked.
Mister Winner answered it. "Hello. Please come in." He gestured her into his room.
Why did they have to meet in there of all places? "There was a lovely lounge downstairs." He didn't seem to be budging.
"Sit down, Dorothy Catalonia." Quatre Winner gestured to the window. "I have something I need to explain to you. It's going to be life changing, and I'm sorry. There's no real way to do this right, but I've delayed long enough. Trowa already lost track of his."
Trowa Barton? "Lost track of his what?"
"Dorothy, just hang on. I?" Quatre gripped his hands to the sides, like he was fighting against something. "There's a group called Revenge of the Lost. They've targeted the previous Gundam Pilots."
A group targeting the former pilots? "How unfortunate." What did it have to do with her though?
"The Press and Relena."
Okay? Once again, she still didn't understand what he was trying to say. "They framed Miss Relena, and they are framing me for the death of a colonist."
"No, they? Well, they did frame Relena, but not quite as much as you think."
This. Man. He was not quite as forthcoming as she presumed he could be. "Not quite as much as I think?"
"Yes. She wasn't there for a secret abortion," Quatre said, "but she can't prove it. That's why Heero took her, he knew she couldn't prove it. She was pregnant, she just didn't know it."
Miss Relena? That. Well? That.
"Revenge of the Lost did it. There's advanced technology that isn't out to the public yet. It assures pregnancy the first time during, you know?" Slipping, and she was starting to guess why. "Your own surgery."
Nuh uh. He couldn't be going there? That was utter ridiculousness what she was starting to think. "Please be more forthcoming?"
Quatre Winner gestured to her. "Your carrying mine."
" . . . a little less forthcoming that that." A little too late to say that. "Tonsillectomy."
"Yeah. That's why Heero took your medicine," Quatre said. "There's more too."
Oh. "More?"
"You were selected because I guess they thought I made a difference in your life. No one really knows. Wufei didn't even know his. Trowa's was an ex-spy. Anyhow, I'm falling off topic. Sorry." Quatre moved toward the large window in his room, but didn't open it. "Their ultimate goal wasn't just to do this though. It was . . . the running theory?" Fidgeting. "A young lady named Hilde Schbeiker is carrying Duo's and she was just in the hospital for sepsis. His mom died of sepsis. We think that? Your probably targeted to die the way our own mothers had. Just to hurt us."
"Usss," she hissed lightly. Not in anger, not in sadness, more wonderment. "Us, us, us, usss." Not her. Nothing to do with her. Nothing to do with Relena. These other three. None of them. Just the pilots. They were being used against the pilots. "The pawn on the chessboard. Always fascinating," she said. "One move, to move ahead. Fighting with the others to try and get across. Others being much more powerful, it continues on it's way, often to be sacrificed in the glory of the battle to save the king."
"There's no king to be saved," Quatre Winner said. "Dorothy Catalonia. I'm sorry." He turned back around to look at her. "I won't let them kill you. We are going to figure out how to beat Revenge of the Lost before anyone dies."
"And yet, one pawn may have already fallen in this worthless game that has only losers," she reminded him. "I believe you said Trowa Barton lost his ex-spy?"
"There's no telling about that yet," Quatre Winner confessed. "Heero and Relena are going to stay here until the coast is clear. I need to get you out of the colonies. You need to be on Earth."
"And how am I supposed to die?" she asked boldly. "Mister Winner?"
"Quatre is fine, Dorothy," he answered. "It doesn't matter as long as I can get you off the colonies and back to Earth."
"Mm. Well? This was not what I was planning to happen on my lovely trip to the colonies," she confessed. Far from it. "Are we all positive that this was used on little me?" she asked. "Not a coincidence?"
"Two out of five confirmed," Quatre said. "The mother of Wufei Chang's child and Relena."
He spoke so familiar of those terms now. That didn't set well with her. Most likely he didn't feel like being on first and last name terms with the mother of his child was appropriate. He wanted to make it feel like they were closer than they had been. "I understand the information now, Mister Quatre Raberba Winner." They were not that close. "I will take the first guest bedroom you showed us too, thank you." She bowed lightly, turned and tried to leave. Her back was turned against him. She was almost there.
"Acting formal isn't going to change the fact your pregnant, Dorothy." His voice had to reach her ears. She didn't like that. While they hadn't been close, he had still affected her in the past. He'd seen into her, past even the depths she had known about herself. "Nor will it change that it's mine, and you are now in danger. This group does not kid around. You need to stay near."
In his room? "Like the winning prize out of a grab bag at a lovely birthday party?"
"You're not happy and I get that. I'm not either, but I couldn't have changed anything. You are mad at the wrong person," he insisted. "I know that you see that. For the innocent inside of you, you need to listen."
An innocent. An innocent within her. "While I am a decent lady, Mister Winner, I also know how to defend myself quite well."
"They don't come straight at you. It isn't a fight of hands and feet or guns or weapons of any kind," Quatre insisted. "They come in a way you least expect it. You're my responsibility too."
"Chivalry isn't needed for this moment, Mister Winner."
"How am I supposed to live with myself, knowing I let an innocent woman carrying my own child die? That's not chivalry, that's being human."
Damn it! This. Guy. She took a deep breath. He still made so much sense. She squeezed the dress she wore abruptly and turned back around to face him. "A fine point, Mister Winner. I won't leave your abode until anything is confirmed to be true or false."
His eyes were still lingering on her though. "You know, Miss Dorothy? I can't believe you actually managed to keep your hat on after all that running."
Miss Dorothy. That was better. "One of my finest hats."
"Your sunglasses too, Miss Dorothy," he offered again. "You'd think you would have taken those off by now."
Why? Why did he have to go and do that? Why did he have to know that? Not again. She didn't move as he strolled over and took off her sunglasses, making her feel like a fraud. That.
He hugged her. She stood still. "You don't have to say anything. You don't have to do anything. You don't have to prove anything. I'm just asking you to stay. If you do, I promise I'll give you everything I possibly can to keep you safe until we take down Revenge of the Lost."
One of those moments in life. Where you don't know what's right or what's wrong. Just stuck there with a young man holding her, almost in desperation. Yet herself faring no better. She could watch herself as close as possible, but she knew Quatre was right. She was better off staying near them. Her chances of surviving this sickening twist were greater. Had it just been her, maybe she could think more clearly. But Quatre Winner called it right. An innocent. If she died, in a glorious battle or not, an innocent of no fault. No blame. No shame. No regret. No nothing. Fine. But? She would stay in her own style. "Ask me politely."
"Will you stay here where I can keep an eye on you and the unborn better, Miss Dorothy?"
There. "Fine."
"Will you follow me off the colonies when I get a chance to sneak you to Earth?"
Made sense. "Fine?"
"Will you stay in my room with me, and share a bed?"
What was this obsession with bed sharing? Even Heero had it with Relena.
"Revenge of the Lost, although they aren't known to kill, they usually attack when someone is off guard. A simple injection could keep you from waking up the next morning."
Oh. This group truly was ruthless. "Fine. Until it's safer, I will remain within your escorted presence." Yes, that did feel better. "It's best to do what I can to survive. Who knows if I can contribute someday to make a difference in the world?"
Quatre let her go. "A very fine line of thought, Miss Dorothy. We all have to survive, to stop this enemy."
Entering Wufei's Colony
Wang Mei-Lin. It was hard to place her. She was certainly no Nataku. She didn't ring out or yell with admonitions of her feelings or try to fight against him. She wasn't overwhelming. Not underwhelming. She was simply there. As he stepped off the shuttle with her, she remained obedient as they walked to his place.
"Are we there yet?"
A slight tease? "It's a small colony. It doesn't take long to move around."
"You can see there are maybe 50 residents," she said again. "I never was one for the small village stereotypical life. Such a burden."
"You aren't the only one who's burdened," Wufei reminded her.
"I am leaving my colony for a place that is more of a relic than a home."
Uh? "My home is not a relic!" He warned her. He had yelled at her, yet she didn't respond. Much.
"Whatever you say."
Uh. "You are one of those passive aggressive women," Wufei said, casting judgment on her. "If you have something to say, then say it."
"Were you not listening?" She said. "I told you that your colony is a relic. It's not passive aggressive. It's called stating the obvious while staying at a polite decibel of speech."
Wufei stared at her. He tried to stare down at her, to make her take him seriously. "I didn't need to go and grab you. I could have left well enough alone. Don't give me a hard time."
"Your contradicting yourself," she said back to him. "You do not like passive aggressiveness, yet you are now telling me not to give you a hard time? I have been forcibly taken from my colony for the good of it. To pretend that is fine and to not give you a hard time would be passive aggressive. Chang Wufei. Where do I stay?"
"With me," Wufei said. Unfortunately.
"Not advisable," she warned him. "Staying together without some semblance of marriage would only make this situation look worse."
"You are carrying my child, woman! You can't look any worse." She had a strange look on her face for a second. "What were you thinking just now?"
"How many other women in history have probably heard that line," she said. "It's quite a rare line to use for anyone, except for intolerably terrible women who gift themselves the wrong way. Therefore, please refrain from saying that in public again."
What? "What are you saying?"
"You're an idiot, don't speak of the mother of your child with those words in public, the public will get the wrong impression. Is that more clear for you?" She looked ahead. "I would walk off faster to wherever my destination lies, but I don't know where you live yet."
Oh no. She wasn't passive aggressive, she was one of those annoying ones who spoke their mind first before thinking about what they say. Revenge of the Lost just had to screw him in the worst way. "I don't think we are going to get along that well, if you don't compromise some."
"Meaning?"
"Think before you talk and show some respect!" Wufei yelled toward her. "Honestly. Why couldn't they have given me a quiet one?"
"Hilarious," she answered. "That's what I was thinking."
"A quiet one that accepts the role she plays and stops talking back!" He yelled once again.
"I dislike yelling. The more someone yells, the more restless I become," she admitted. "Watch your tempo and I'll be better. Not perfect, I'm not this sweet girl model that will let you trample her. Do you have any food? I still haven't eaten today."
"Food?"
"Yes, mother of your unborn child, forced into this odd situation, has not had any food since her attempted wedding this morning." She watched as someone crossed her path, leering at her. They knew she didn't belong and she was not quiet about it. "It's a crooked plan by a group using advanced technology, I'm not a whore. Mind your own business."
"They were minding their own business and don't say that!" Wufei warned her. "Don't draw attention to yourself."
"I haven't," she insisted. "You are the one still yelling."
Ah! Honestly. Why? Why couldn't it have been someone he at least knew? Why couldn't it have been someone quieter? Reserved. A decent woman. No, no it just had to be a random stranger from an almost enemy colony that had to be chosen! Giving her another place to live wouldn't be easy. There were empty areas, but then he would have to explain what she was doing there in more detail. He didn't need anyone interfering in his life than they already had. Then again? If he did get her a place of her own, then the child could be raised by her. He would be a short distance away. He could choose himself how he would conduct himself as a father as time went on. Not much to do in the beginning anyhow. "We will see how you act, Wang Mei-Lin. If you are good, then maybe I will find a place for you."
She gave a slight nod, but not a committed nod. He continued toward his home with her. Duo had sent him something in a message but he hadn't checked on it yet. With him, there was no telling what news there would be. If it were terribly important, he would call later.
Food, food, food. The woman wanted food. Wufei checked through his cupboards. Then, as if she couldn't be more irritating?
"Gluten-free food only."
Wufei threw a glance her way.
"What is that look?" she complained, yet still in such a low tone. "Meat. Vegetable. The most basic of food that isn't bread. It's not hard."
Wufei could do basic. He went to his fridge. Meat. Vegetable. Simple eating. "Cook what you want. I have something to do." He needed to check out that message Duo left.
"Do you want me to cook you something, or are you a little less useless than Zhang Li?" She asked. He didn't answer her as he left. He went out the door to start looking into Duo's files when he noticed residents staring at him. He'd already explained, but not everyone was catching up to it yet. He left off the RTL, and simply tried to-
"That girl is a Zhang," one of them interrupted his thoughts. "They shouldn't be here. You want to get all frolicky, do it off the colony."
Like this man was going to tell him where he was allowed to live? "I already cleared it with the leaders." The leaders being those who first came there and cared enough about their culture to try and preserve its line.
"What are you doing with her?" another one asked. "I mean, if you want to date away from our culture. Marry even, fine, but from the Zhang colony?"
Wufei ignored that question. He already answered one of them. His life wasn't their business. He was busy looking through what Duo sent him when-
He threw a single glance at the upstart who ruined his phone. "Kid." A ten maybe twelve year old just threw a single whack at his phone. He hadn't wanted to injure it, but now his phone was on the ground. Destroyed. "Where is your mother?" It was a phrase that worked for the weakest of children, to send a tremble through their bones. Yes, it went running behind a woman.
"You should keep a questionable Zhang off of our only home, or get out," she told him directly. More approached from behind.
Wufei left the phone on the ground. "This is my home, and I won't be bullied off of it. I asked for permission. I was granted permission. That is that."
"You didn't ask us!" The boy said from behind his mother, but stayed hidden behind her.
"Face your opponent when you have something to say," Wufei demanded of the boy. "Hiding behind your mother only shows your cowardism even more."
"Don't call my son a coward," the woman yelled back at him. "You are the one who are going against it! You should have got permission from everyone, not just the few that were here first. The rest of us say no!"
One woman. No fighting skill. They were really causing this kind of scene about it? "Ridiculous. She doesn't even fight. I can't believe you are showing such colors to the only Zhang colonist who ever visited." If lies got the job done, so be it. "We are trying to show peaceful colors, so that more will not want to cause a fight with us. With these numbers, until more (or if more) can be found, we have no chance of winning. It would be a slaughter."
"A peace representative?" The woman now looked as sheepishly as she had been and more of the crowd was starting to disperse. "I didn't know that."
"It's foolish to consort with the enemy!" The boy said behind her, but his mother picked him up and hushed him up.
