Hereafter

Chapter 20

March Madness #18

"Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man or a nation."

Relena was admitted to the hospital via ambulance with a concussion, dehydration, two fractured ribs, and a host of small cuts and abrasions. A full body scan showed no internal bleeding. A dozen doctors of varying specialties, including Sally Po, inspected every inch of her and gave the same diagnosis: Extraordinarily lucky.

Nevertheless, she was not allowed to leave the hospital. They wanted her to stay the night for observation.

Relena's hospital room was like a private suite in a hotel. The bed was small, but larger than most hospital beds, with systems for monitoring her vitals built into the headwall. The suite also contained two upholstered armchairs, a bistro table, a large television, a bathroom, and a sitting room. The window on her left showed a clear night sky. She could just make out the garden lights and the hill rising behind the empty block of rubble where the ESUN building had stood that morning.

Heero sat on a simple stool by her bedside. He had been there when she first woke up and had not left her side. He seemed calm, but his usual reservedness was punctured by something she could not quite identify. Those dark blue eyes observed every little thing she did with reverence.

"How many times are you going to watch it?" he asked when she picked up the remote and restarted the broadcast of the evening news.

"At least once more," she said, settling back on the pillows as Heero's face appeared on the television.

"You've seen it four times now."

"I know."

"I told you I loved you in person when you first woke up."

"I remember. And I love you too. But shh. You're interrupting my birthday present."

Heero was not comfortable giving speeches, but he was not half bad at it either. She liked the way he looked, standing on a stage with his brown hair tousled by the wind. She really liked how the Preventer's jacket looked on him. She told him so, again, as the Heero on the television finished speaking, closed his eyes for a few seconds, and then opened them wide as if goosed by a ghost. The cameras filmed him running headlong into the darkness.

"Will the Preventers let you keep it?" Relena asked, referring to the jacket.

"Yeah," Heero answered. "I signed up."

"When?" she demanded. Heero had been so reluctant about joining the anti-terrorist outfit. He had expressed to her that he liked the idea of the Preventers, but just wasn't sure what he wanted to do, that he was still trying to figure out his purpose in a world that had abandoned war.

"As soon as they let me in to see you. You were still unconscious, but Sally was here, and I told her I wanted to join. I want things to be different after today."

"Uh oh," she said, though she smiled. The thought of Heero doing more to protect her conjured amusing images of him following her around as an armed escort and insisting she wear Kevlar-plated dresses.

"I just mean I can take better care of you by helping the world become a less dangerous place."

"That's good," she said. "I'm sure the Preventers can use you."

"Relena."

She turned to look at him, caught by the note of seriousness in his voice.

"Relena, I thought you died."

"I know," she said with equal sobriety. "I'm sorry."

She didn't remember much. There had been a loud sound, followed by a rumbling. There had been an instant of puzzled silence, and then the floor had given way beneath her feet. She remembered falling, and the vice grip of panic, but lost consciousness upon impact. The doctors thought she hit her head on the podium.

Heero didn't tell her not to say she was sorry. It wasn't her fault, of course, but Relena had survivor's guilt, and could not help apologizing. She had known the people who had died in the collapse. In a way, they had died for her, died because of things she had said that changed the world in ways people did not expect. She knew that change was painful, that discontent was the first step in the progress of a man or a nation, but there were times when discontent boiled into panic, rage, and hate. The body count today totaled 134 so far. Just today.

When the shock of it all abated, she was certain she would grieve.

Heero did not chastise her for saying she was sorry. What he did do was move from the stool to the bed, sitting beside her on his hip, so close that she could smell the scent of his skin and feel the heat of his blood running through his body. The view of his face filled all her vision.

Heero pressed Relena's hair flat to either side of her face, cradling her whole head between his palms. The words he spoke sounded like a prayer, or maybe a vow.

"Hereafter," he whispered. "You come first in everything I do, Relena. I'm not unsure about anything anymore. You are the center of my life."

Tears formed in her eyes, but she did not cry. She did not expect declarations from Heero. She had known already that he loved her. It showed in the way he treated her, admired her, in the careful way he touched her. But this was something different, something deeper.

"You've changed," she told Heero. "How did you change so much in one day?"

"It was a long day."

He kissed her on the lips, soft and drawn out, as if wanting to meld with her. She wanted to meld with him too. She had had plans for Heero Yuy, plans that were not going to work out in this hospital room with nurses checking on her three times an hour, but… Well, what was that about discontent? Progress. She could wait one more night.

"Heero?" she said.

"Hm?

"I want to watch the video one more time."

A/N: This story is complete.