Chapter 10

"Anything I should be aware of?" Quatre asked Wufei as he took over guard duty.

"No. Sally has her drugged but if she has another terror or if she wakes up we're to alert Sally immediately."

Quatre nodded. "Any word on how Heero's doing?"

"Duo told me he was doing fine. It was a short flash."

"Well, that's good. Will Duo be taking his shift after me or should I call Trowa?"

"Duo is planning on relieving you. Is there anything else you require?"

"No, thank you, Wufei."

Wufei nodded and left Quatre alone with the girl. Quatre sighed and sank into the chair. He wished the girl would wake up and talk to them. He jumped as his cell phone rang. Only a few people had this number.

"Yes?"

"Quatre? Is this a bad time?"

Quatre smiled. "Of course not, Iria. What can I do for you?"

Iria was one of the few sisters that cared whether or not they were interrupting something.

"Well, I have some news and…oh, Quatre! James and I are getting married!"

"That's wonderful!" Quatre meant it. He liked James. The man would take good care of his sister. And Iria sounded so happy that Quatre couldn't help but be happy for her. "When's the big day?"

"Not for a couple of months. I wanted to give you lots of notice so there are no excuses for you not to come, okay?"

Quatre shook his head. Iria knew him too well. It wasn't like he intentionally didn't come to family events, but things came up and he couldn't always rearrange his schedule. "I'll do my best."

"Good. Oh, and I want you to bring a date, okay?"

"What? Why?"

Iria sighed. "Quatre…I love you and I don't want to see you alone forever, okay? Besides, if you don't bring a date you know Talia will try to set you up with all the single girls that come. I'm doing you a favor."

"Thanks for the warning. I will do my best to find a date," Quatre promised. He'd rather bring someone on his own than to put up with his sisters pushing every single girl they could find at him.

Iria started in on the details she'd already approved and was starting in on a list of things she still had to do when Quatre's attention was pulled away by the girl.

She was shifting on the bed, as if trying to get comfortable. There was a small whimper followed by a gasp.

"Iria, I'm sorry to interrupt but something's come up, I have to go," Quatre quickly explained. He didn't want Iria to hear the girl scream and start asking questions he couldn't answer.

"Oh, okay…" Iria sounded disappointed.

"I'll call you back as soon as I can," Quatre promised.

"Okay," Iria answered more cheerfully. "I'll talk to you later little brother."

"Talk to you later, Iria." Quatre hung up and turned to the girl, biting his lip.

She had curled herself up into a ball, well as much of one as she could manage, and was crying silently. She was still asleep as far as he could tell and it worried him. He watched the tears drip down her cheek as he decided whether or not to alert Sally.

He had just decided not to bother when the girl went stiff and let out an ear-splitting scream. He pushed the button to alert Sally and gently placed a hand on the girl's arm. He tried to focus his thoughts to see if he could tell what she was dreaming about, but it didn't work. All he got was fear, pain, and enough loneliness to send his mind reeling.

Initially, he pulled his hand back but gritted his teeth and focused before touching her again. This time, instead of trying to read her, he tried to send thoughts of safety and comfort to her. He wanted her to know she was safe and had nothing more to fear. He wanted her to know he was concerned about her and that she wasn't alone. He could feel the fear, pain and loneliness flowing through her and mentally pushed his thoughts through.

He felt triumphant as the girl quieted and the troubled expression left her features. He could still feel fear and pain, but it was nowhere near as great as it was only moments before.

"That was incredible. What did you do?"

Quatre jumped at Sally's question. He'd been so intent on his experiment that he hadn't heard her come in.

"I…" The world spun and Quatre grabbed for the chair. He hadn't realized it would take so much out of him.

"Are you alright?"

Quatre nodded as he sat. "I've never tried that before. I didn't take into account possible side effects."

"What, exactly, did you do?"

"I focused on pushing my thoughts into her. I wanted her to know she was safe and didn't have to be afraid. I wasn't sure it would actually do anything but I figured it was worth a shot."

"As amazing as it was, I don't think you should try that again any time soon."

"I'm fine, Sally. I probably just need something to eat, which I was going to order soon anyway," Quatre said, brushing off Sally's concern. His abilities were something he'd never taken the liberty to 'play' with before. It was tiring, but exhilarating at the same time. And if they let him get through to the girl and ease her suffering, it was worth whatever energy it cost him.

"Well, for the time being, if she has another terror, just let me drug her. You'll be no good as a guard if you're exhausted from trying to divert her fits or whatever it is you actually managed to do."

"Okay, Sally," Quatre conceded. She had a point, after all. That didn't mean he couldn't try it again after he was rested up, but Sally didn't need to know what he was planning.

Sally checked the girl before leaving. Quatre wasn't positive but he thought he heard her mutter "Stubborn Gundam pilots" as she left.

Quatre chuckled to himself and ordered something to eat before flipping through the stations on the television. Now he would get to see how long his little experiment would keep the girl from having another night terror. He would call Iria after his shift was over. Then she could tell him about wedding plans to her heart's content without being interrupted.

Heero woke with Duo curled up around him.

"Hey, babe…you feelin' better?"

"Yeah."

Duo gently rubbed Heero's arm. "I talked to the others. Wufei thinks maybe you shouldn't guard the girl anymore."

Heero frowned. "I can handle it."

"'Ro…how many times do I have to tell you that it's okay if you're not perfect?"

"That's not the point," Heero said, sitting up. "If I don't take my shifts then you have to cover for me and that isn't right."

"Actually, Heero, I think Wufei might be right. Hang on! Hear me out," Duo insisted as he sat up as well. "We talked earlier about seeing if there were any other witnesses living around that house we raided. I think you ought to do it. We all know that you won't overlook anything and if we can reassure the girl that we're doing everything we can to find these guys, maybe it'll get her to trust us enough to talk."

"You're assuming she'll ever wake up," Heero muttered.

"Don't think like that," Duo chided with a frown.

Heero sighed. "Sorry," he muttered. "Things look pretty hopeless right now. Sally said that the girl might be asleep because her body has decided it's safer that way." Heero snapped his fingers. "That's it! That's what was so important! If she's asleep because it's safer it probably means she wasn't beaten for screaming in her sleep. The nightmares are a new development. Maybe…maybe the nightmares are her way of processing what happened to her and they developed because she realizes on a subconscious level that it's safe enough to begin the healing process. Sally said her body was functional, so she'll probably wake up when her mind is ready to deal with this on a conscious level." Heero leaned back against the pillows. "It's just a matter of time."

Duo smiled. "Well, in that case, don't you think we ought to try and get the dick that did this to her before then?"

Heero nodded. "I'll try to gather more information if you think that will be of the most use."

"Unless she wakes up and starts talking, that's our best bet for finding our guy."

"What about Une? She wanted us to guard the girl."

"She also wants us to solve this ASAP. The four of us can handle guarding her while you gather evidence. With her knee messed up it isn't like she'll be running out on us and since the five of us and Une and Sally are the only ones who know who she really is, keepin' her location a secret should be easy."

"I suppose," Heero said slowly. He glanced at the clock on his bedside table and sat up again. "If I leave soon I can be back at the crime scene tonight."

"What? But we just got home!" Duo protested.

"The sooner I gather intel the sooner I can be back," Heero pointed out. "And the sooner we wrap up this case the sooner we can go on that Alaskan fishing trip you've been hinting at for months."

"You mean it? We can go?" Duo threw himself at Heero, knocking his boyfriend back onto the bed, and kissed him soundly. "I love you," he murmured when they came up for air.

"I love you, too, Duo," Heero said, giving his boyfriend another peck on the lips. "I should go so I'm not trying to navigate those woods in the dark. With any luck the team there will have found something already and I won't be away long."

Duo nodded and rolled off his lover. "D'you want something to eat before you go?"

"That might not be a bad idea," Heero said as he got up and started throwing clothes in an overnight bag.

Duo grinned and headed for the kitchen.

The next two days went by slowly for Duo. Sure, he had time to finish the book he'd started last month and he got some time to play video games, but without Heero around, his life was pretty boring. The only 'work' he had to do was guard the girl. Really, guarding the girl consisted of watching television and waiting for her next night terror, which didn't happen nearly as often as they expected after Quatre's experiment. For some reason, she only had them when Wufei and Duo were on duty.

Wufei took it personally even though Quatre insisted that the girl wasn't conscious enough to control herself. Quatre secretly thought that Wufei shouldn't watch the girl because it obviously upset him, though Quatre couldn't pin down exactly why that was and Wufei certainly wasn't going to volunteer the information.

Sally found it interesting that the girl seemed to relax the most when Trowa and Quatre were on duty. From a medical standpoint, it made no sense. Well, it made sense with Quatre, given his experiment, but it didn't explain how she reacted to Trowa. She even asked them to change up the guard schedule just to see if that changed anything. Every time, without fail, she had a terror whenever Duo or Wufei stepped in, even for a few minutes.

"What do you think, Wufei?" she asked the third morning over breakfast.

Wufei shrugged. "It may have to do with the fact that they were the first to touch her after she was found. That's the only connection I can see."

"You know, you may have something there. Subconsciously, she knows they had the chance to hurt her and didn't. But really, it should be the same with you and Duo."

"I suppose…except…"

"Except what?"

Wufei sipped at his coffee. "Well…Duo was in a foul mood when they found her and I…well, you know how I get sometimes. She may not feel safe around us because neither of us were very patient that day. I think we scared her without meaning to."

"Oh." Sally was quiet for a few minutes while she sipped at her coffee. "Do you want me to ask if Quatre and Trowa will take over guard duty exclusively?"

"No. I don't think we need to go that far unless you feel that the sedative is going to do her harm."

Sally sighed. "Well…I think…I think we need to put her on a feeding tube. If she isn't going to wake up…"

"Hm…have you tried having Quatre ask her to wake up?"

"Do you think that would work?"

Wufei shrugged. "I don't see how it could hurt anything."

"He's on duty right now isn't he?"

"No. Trowa's on right now but Duo's next, so if she could wake up before his shift she might not have another terror today. I can call Quatre and have him meet us if you like."

Sally stood and gathered their breakfast dishes. "Let's get going, then. If Quatre can get her to wake up, it'll be better to do it sooner rather than later."

"Thank you, Agent Coleman. I will be sure to give this report to Colonel Une." Heero dismissed the agent and finished packing the back of his vehicle. Internally, he was very disappointed with what they were able to find. There were no records of any kind at this location. He had been unable to trace the video feeds, which was annoying. And there were no neighbors for miles. So basically, the trip had been a waste of time. Heero closed the back hatch as a sleek black sports car pulled up.

He frowned. Nobody was supposed to be at the location except Preventers and no one drove a vehicle of that make as far as Heero could recall.

The door opened and a man got out. Heero sized him up. He was around 6'3", sandy brown hair beginning to gray at the temples, somewhere between 45 and 50 years old if Heero had to guess, and wearing a very expensive looking suit. The man looked at Heero, who was shorter by about five inches. "You there…who's in charge?"

"I am."

The man raised an eyebrow in surprise. "Do you expect me to believe that? Who is your commanding officer?"

"Colonel Une."

"I wish to speak to him."

Heero didn't like this man. "She is back at headquarters. I am Special Agent Yuy and I am in charge of this investigation. What do you want?"

The man cleared his throat. "My apologies. I am Donovan Chase. I am the lawyer for man who owns this house and he would like for you to leave."

"This is a crime scene. You are actually trespassing at the moment."

The man frowned. "Where is the girl that was renting the home?"

Heero raised an eyebrow. "Classified." He didn't like the way this man just expected him to give out sensitive information.

The man pursed his lips and pulled an envelope out of an inner pocket on his suit coat. "This is an order for you to vacate the premises and turn the girl over to me. Immediately."

Heero took the envelope and immediately ripped it in half, letting the pieces flutter to the ground. "My orders come from Colonel Une not some jumped up lawyer in a cheap faux Armani suit. I suggest you leave before you are arrested for obstruction of justice."

Chase scowled. "This isn't over. I will be speaking to your superiors about your unruly behavior."

Heero snorted. "Knock yourself out." 'Literally,' he mentally added.

Chase got into his car and sped away, the tires kicking up gravel and dirt as he did so.

"Who was the suit?" Agent Walters asked as he walked over.

"Claims he's the lawyer for the owner of the property."

Walters was surprised. "Let me guess, he didn't know anything about the bodies in the attic."

Heero shrugged. "I don't care. He's after that girl that was alive."

Walters swore. "Don't let him near her. Any guy that greasy is up to no good."

Heero nodded. "I need to get back and speak to Une before he ties up her time."

"Good luck, sir," Walters said with a salute.

Heero nodded his thanks and got into his car. As he drove, he wondered if the lawyer knew more than he was letting on.