Chapter 11

"What do you think, Quatre? Will it work?"

Sally, Wufei, Quatre, Trowa and Duo were meeting in the girl's room.

"I don't know, Sally. I've never tried anything like this before. Don't be surprised if nothing happens."

"Quatre," Trowa said quietly, "will it hurt to try?"

Quatre shook his head with a small smile. "No. It won't hurt to try. Here goes nothing."

He took a moment to center his thoughts before touching the girl's arm. He could still feel fear and pain but it wasn't anything like when they first found her.

'Please wake up…you're safe now…we won't let anyone hurt you…we want to help you…please? Will you wake up?'

There wasn't a feeling of resistance like when he'd reassured her the other day, so he figured his thoughts were getting through to her, but whether or not she chose to believe him and wake up was an entirely different story. And what if she wasn't waking up because she was still too injured? He didn't want her to wake up if it was going to prevent her from healing.

He finished his mental mantra and pulled his hand away. It was up to her now.

"I think…that's all I can do," he muttered.

"Well, it was worth a shot," Sally said.

Quatre nodded and took a step towards the door but faltered. Trowa jumped to catch him.

"Sorry…thanks, Trowa," Quatre said quietly. "I'm not used to doing that."

Sally frowned. "Quatre, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked."

"No, Sally, it's fine," Quatre insisted. "I'll just get something to eat and get some rest and I'll be fine."

"Well…if you notice any other negative side effects please let me know. I don't want you doing anything that could potentially damage your health."

"I will, Sally," Quatre promised.

Trowa opened the door to lead Quatre out and found Heero on the other side, hand poised to knock.

"Good, you're all here," Heero said as he entered.

Trowa shut the door.

"You're back!" Duo practically jumped into Heero's arms. "What did you find? Didja catch him?"

Heero embraced Duo, but Duo could tell his mind was elsewhere.

"What's wrong?"

Heero didn't answer right away. He was trying to put his thoughts together. "I just came from speaking with Une. When I was at the site, a man showed up claiming to be the lawyer for the owner of the property. He wanted me to turn the girl over to him."

Duo snorted. "Yeah right."

Heero nodded. "I warned Une that he would probably be coming to see her and she said she'd deal with it as she saw fit when the time comes. Because someone is trying to get her, I want to increase security. From now on, the six of us are the only ones allowed in."

"But what if she takes a turn for the worse?" Sally asked. "I might need help."

"I understand. That's why Wufei will no longer be on guard duty. He'll be your help if you need it."

Wufei was surprised. "Heero, I don't know if I know enough to fill in for actual medical personnel."

"I don't think it will be a problem. She's on the mend. It's only a matter of time before she wakes up."

Sally exchanged a look with Wufei. "Heero…before you came…I was about to give the girl a feeding tube. She isn't coming out of it."

Heero frowned. "Are you sure? Maybe we just need to be patient."

Sally shook her head. "She needs nourishment. The nutrient drip isn't going to cut it much longer. She's been starved for far too long. Had she been stronger to begin with, I wouldn't be so worried about it."

Heero grunted. "Then get the help you need to set her up and from that point on there will be no one else allowed. Agreed?"

"Are you certain that the lawyer will find out where she is?" Quatre asked. "Her records show she was in a car accident and has been treated for bulimia. And we changed her admission date and treatment information so it looks like she's been here for a couple of weeks already."

"I don't want to take any chances. She's the only lead we've got right now. We didn't find anything new at the site. Unless we get a lead elsewhere, she's it."

Sally sighed. "Okay, Heero."

"Sally…I think the girl is starting to wake up."

"What makes you say that, Quatre?"

Quatre shrugged. "She feels…different somehow. I can't really explain it. Maybe give her some time before you put the tube in. I might be wrong."

"What are you talking about?" Heero asked.

The others quickly filled him in on Quatre's 'experiment'.

"I'll give her some time if you go home and rest," Sally promised.

Quatre nodded and he and Trowa left.

Duo pouted. "You finally get home and I'm on guard duty. That sucks."

Heero smirked and gave his boyfriend a peck. "I'll be home when you get done. I've got some information to sort through, anyway."

"Fine," Duo groused. "I'll be watching TV all afternoon so if you get bored you can keep me company."

"Perhaps. It depends on how my research goes. I'll see you later."

Wufei and Heero left, discussing extra security measures, and Duo plopped himself into the chair. At least he had something to look forward to.

Sally was about to leave when she noticed movement on the bed. She motioned for Duo to be quiet and watched as the girl's eyes slowly opened. Sally shook her head in amazement. Quatre would be relieved.

Duo grinned. Now they'd get some answers and he could be done with this stupid guard assignment. He reached for his phone to call Heero and tell him the girl was awake, but Sally stopped him with a shake of her head. He frowned, but sat still in the chair and watched the girl.

The girl was looking at the bandages on her wrist with a frown. Sally approached cautiously and the girl's head snapped up. Sally smiled to set the girl at ease. It didn't work. The girl looked at Sally as though she expected to be hit.

Sally chose not to react to it. It was better to let the girl know she wasn't in trouble for her reaction. "It's good to see you've woken up. My name is Dr. Po. What's your name?"

The girl stared at Sally, uncertainty in her eyes.

Sally gave the girl a minute, not wanting to push her so early on. "It's okay. You can talk when you're ready."

Sally checked the machines and made notes on the clipboard. The girl was doing better, but she wasn't out of the woods just yet. She thought about what she was going to tell the girl. Sally didn't want to frighten her by accident. That could be harmful to her health at this stage. Moving slowly, Sally turned to face the girl. "You'll need to stay in bed for a couple of days. I'd rather not restrain you, but that's up to you. Stay in bed of your own accord and we won't use the straps, okay?" she said gently.

The girl seemed to think it over before giving Sally an almost imperceptible nod. She still looked like she expected to be beaten, but Sally was just glad she was responding.

Sally smiled. Maybe the girl just needed some encouragement. "You're recovering just fine. If you need anything the call button is here and the buttons to adjust the bed are here." The girl flinched when Sally got close as she showed the girl where the buttons were, but Sally ignored it. It was to be expected for now and if Sally got upset, it might make the girl retreat even farther. "I'll be back to check on you in a few hours so just take it easy, okay?"

The girl didn't react so Sally gave her another smile and left her with Duo. She had other things to attend to and perhaps the girl would respond to Duo's friendly disposition. And if not…well, they'd cross that bridge when they got to it.

Duo watched the exchange from the chair on the other side of the room. He thought about grilling the girl, but figured it wouldn't hurt to let her wake up a little more. Some people weren't overly talkative when they first woke up. Hell, some mornings you couldn't get anything out of Heero except "Hn" until he had at least three cups of coffee in him.

He watched as the girl inspected her arm curiously before laying back on the pillow. She turned her head towards him and started. Her eyes widened and Duo frowned because she looked like she was about to cry. He hated that look. Maybe if he talked to her she wouldn't be so scared of him.

"So you finally decided to join the land of the living, huh? Well, that'll make Quatre and Trowa happy, anyway. They've been pretty worried about you." He stopped talking and stood up, stretching his arms above his head to get the kinks out of his back. He mentally cursed as she flinched. "You've been in and out for three days. My name's Duo by the way. Just so you know you're under 'round the clock supervision at least until you give us your statement."

There was no point in letting her worry about why he was there and it might set her at ease to know she was being protected. "We need to know how long you were there and what went on. It might be hard for you to talk about, but it'll help us get the baddies in jail, okay?"

The girl looked away. She still looked upset. Duo didn't know what he could do to make her feel better. He bit his lip and pulled his braid over his shoulder.

"Hey, you okay? You want me to get Sally?" The girl looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Well, it was a start, he supposed. "You're just…looking a little paler than usual is all." He started fidgeting with the end of his braid, a nervous habit he'd picked up over the years. "Do you even know how to talk?"

The girl took a few seconds to respond, but she nodded once.

"Well that's good anyway. I'd hate to have to question you only to have you ignore me," Duo said with a grin. He frowned when she didn't react. "Hey, don't be so serious. I was trying to make you laugh. So, um…you don't feel like talking, I guess."

She stared at the ceiling. Duo sighed. He supposed he should have expected this. She wasn't exactly talkative when they first found her. What if she wasn't talking because she thought he was mad at her?

"Hey, don't worry about providing your statement right now. Sally says that you need to recover a bit before she'll let us interrogate you anyway so just do what she says and take it easy," Duo told her, trying to keep his voice light and friendly. "You'll like Sally. She's a great doctor. She'll have you fixed up in no time. You'll see. In a few weeks you'll probably be in such good shape you'd never guess you were so beat up." The girl closed her eyes. "Oh…okay then…"

Duo knew she was still healing and he mentally berated himself for tiring her out. He had a tendency to talk too much and he knew it. He just wanted her to feel safe around him so the distrust would leave her eyes. He sighed. He should have known it wouldn't be that easy.

He settled himself back into the chair and sent out a few texts to let Heero and Quatre know that the girl had woken up. He spent the rest of his shift texting back and forth with Quatre and watching television.

=Hey Quat she woke up

==Really? :D Did she talk?

=No.

== :(

=She was only up for about ten minutes.

=Maybe l8r?

==Maybe. I'll try when I come on shift.

Quatre closed his phone with a sigh. He knew it was too much to hope she'd start blabbing about everything that had happened to her, but he had hoped she would tell them something. His phone alerted him to an incoming message.

He couldn't help but grin. Duo was bored and asking silly questions.

=Quat if you squeeze a cow will milk come out its nose?

==Don't you have to make it laugh for that to happen?

=What's a pirate's favorite movie?

==?

=One that's rated Arrrr!

==*facepalm* Really Duo? Where do you come up with this stuff?

=XD

=Hey Quat! What do you call a fly with no wings?

==I'm not sure…

=A WALK!

Quatre rolled his eyes.

==LOL

==What do you call a cow with no legs?

=Shorty?

==Ground beef.

Duo snorted. He had to think of a really good one now.

=Did you hear about the restaurant on the moon?

==No...

=Great food but no atmosphere!

==For a second I thought you were being serious.

=Haha…got ya!

==If they did build a restaurant on the moon, would you want to go there?

=After being held prisoner there, I don't think so. It'd be too weird.

==I agree. But I suppose other people might want to. Do you think it would be profitable?

The text conversation about the marketability of a moon-based restaurant continued as the girl slept. Duo was grateful she didn't have any more terrors. He hoped she would wake up while Quatre was there. Maybe she would be okay with talking to him.