Chapter 18

Quatre opened the door and was glad to see Sally and Wufei talking just down the hall. He motioned for them to come in. Both had been waiting for the girl to be ready to talk. He also got the attention of an orderly and gave him the empty food trays. He held the door for Sally and Wufei to enter and securely closed it.

Quatre frowned as he saw the look on the girl's face. He didn't need to be an empath to tell she was scared of Wufei. Her eyes were trained on him as she pushed back against her pillow in a feeble attempt to put more distance between them as he came ever closer.

"Wufei, you're scaring her," Quatre said quietly when it became obvious that Wufei didn't realize he was the reason for the girl's terror.

Wufei stopped dead in his tracks. He hadn't meant to scare her but he did mean to speak with her. He wasn't sure how this would work if he had to yell at her from across the room. He couldn't see that being helpful at all and it would annoy him at the very least.

Sally gave Wufei an encouraging smile before turning to the girl. "Don't worry about him, dear. His bark is worse than his bite." She looked up. "Oh, sit down, Wufei. You're starting to make me nervous."

He glared at her, but sat, placing the book he'd brought on his lap. Sally rolled her eyes. He really needed to relax. Instead of commenting on it, she grabbed the clipboard and checked the machines. Once the work was out of the way, she turned back to the girl.

"I think we're going to unhook you from some of these. You still need the nutrient drip until you can eat a wider variety of foods, but the other one can go. You don't react well to the drug cocktail we've been using for your nightmares so I think we should dump that altogether. I'll give you something else to help you sleep at night, to use when you think you need them, okay?"

The girl gave a slight nod. Sally removed the brace and checked her shoulder. It didn't look swollen anymore. "This looks like it's healing nicely. Does it still hurt?"

The girl nodded again.

"A lot?" If it was bothering her, Sally would need to x-ray it again to make sure she hadn't missed something before.

The girl shook her head. Sally was relieved. The girl was healing which, given her physical state, was pretty amazing.

"You can take the brace off to shower, but other than that you'll need to keep it on for a few more weeks. You let me know if it bothers you, okay?"

The girl nodded.

Sally removed the wrap on the girl's knee and carefully felt the joint. "I think we can take this wrap off if you promise to take it easy for a while. If you think your knee can handle the weight you can get up and walk around the room a little bit. Which reminds me that I'll need to take your measurements and get you something else to wear. I can't imagine you being comfortable walking about with an open backed nightgown."

The girl blushed crimson, making Sally chuckle. Quatre, leaning against the wall, did his best not to laugh as well. He didn't want the girl to feel like she was some kind of entertainment.

"We'll take care of that a little later, okay?" Sally said.

The girl nodded.

"Why don't you just talk?" Wufei snapped.

The girl cringed.

"Wufei! Leave her alone. She has her reasons," Quatre scolded. He'd had just about enough of Heero and Wufei scaring the poor girl.

"She's making me dizzy," Wufei argued. He knew he should have apologized but he was annoyed that the girl was blatantly refusing to talk.

"Then wait in the hall. I won't have you terrorizing her."

Wufei glared at the blonde and looked at the girl. She was looking down at her lap, her hair covering her face. Her shoulders trembled.

Wufei felt like a heel. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "I apologize," he said softly and deliberately. "I didn't mean to upset you."

The girl slowly lifted her face, watching him through her hair. Her eyes darted to Quatre, who gave her a small nod and smile. This seemed to give the girl enough courage to raise her head. Quatre could feel that the girl still wasn't comfortable around Wufei.

Sally carefully grabbed the girl's chin and forced the girl to look at her. "It's all right," she told the girl gently. "I wouldn't let anyone in here if I thought they would ever hurt you. Wufei means well, he just doesn't always come across that way."

The girl nodded but Quatre didn't feel any change in her emotions. There was nothing to be done about it. Either Wufei would earn her trust or he wouldn't. That was something he was going to have to do on his own.

"Right, now where were we?" Sally asked, bringing the conversation back on track. "I was going to ask you if you got to finish school."

The girl shook her head. Quatre wasn't surprised. Whoever had her had hidden her away for five years. They wouldn't have given her a chance to escape or get outside help.

"Hmmm…well, if you'd like we can arrange for you to study for your GED and get your diploma," Sally suggested cautiously. She didn't want the girl to feel as though she was being forced into anything.

The girl thought it over for a few minutes before nodding.

Wufei took that as his cue. He stood and held out the book to her. It was a GED Study Guide, a rather thick book by most standards, but it would cover everything she would need to know to pass the test. When Sally had spoken to him about her potential lack of education he had suggested the book. Sally had suggested that he present the book to her and offer to help her.

It made sense for Wufei to help the girl study. He'd been quite the scholar in his youth and even now he found every excuse he could to learn something new. Plus, he had been entertaining the idea of becoming a teacher when he retired from the Preventers. This would give him the chance to see if it was truly something he wanted to do.

The girl stared at the book but made no move to accept it.

"You can take it. It won't bite," Wufei told her, hoping she would stop being afraid of him.

She eyed him warily as she slowly reached out and took the book. He gave her a moment to look at it before speaking. She looked back up at him, her features still betraying her distrust of him.

"I will be more than happy to assist you in your studies, provided you quit looking at me like I'm going to chew you up and spit you out."

Her cheeks tinged pink and Wufei chuckled.

"Sally has made sure that I know I can be difficult to get along with, but I will attempt to be more patient in the future."

The girl slowly nodded and the corner of her lip turned up ever so slightly. Quatre could tell she was still nervous around Wufei but was glad she was at least making an effort to be friendly.

Sally was glad that the girl was starting to respond to Wufei, but she had things to take care of.

"Well, since that's settled, why don't you boys leave us alone for a bit and I'll let you know when you can come back."

The two men nodded and headed out the door.

"What do you think, Quatre? Is she going to talk to us any time soon?" Wufei asked as they leaned against the wall outside the girl's room.

Quatre shook his head. "It's hard to say. I don't think she's really afraid of us."

"Then why isn't she talking?" Wufei wondered, the frustration coming out in his tone.

"I don't know. Until her shoulder is out of that brace I doubt she'll be able to write well enough to tell us."

Wufei grunted and the two fell silent.

Inside the room Sally was removing unnecessary tubes and needles from the girl.

"Okay, so I'm going to show you how to remove and replace the IV so you can get up and use the bathroom and shower for yourself, okay?"

The IV was one that had an attachment that could be removed from a needle anchored into the skin. Sally showed her how it worked and had the girl do it a few times to make sure she had it down.

"Okay…now just relax. I'm going to remove this catheter. You'll probably be a little sore but it shouldn't be too bad and it will stop hurting soon."

Once the catheter was gone Sally helped the girl to stand up. The girl clutched Sally's hand as she wobbled on unsteady legs.

"Don't worry, you'll get steadier as you go. And if you ever need help, just let us know. The boys won't let you fall."

Sally helped the girl to take a few steps, glad to note that the girl got more stable the longer she was up. Sally pulled over the chair and had the girl hold onto it for balance while she checked her back. It looked better but Sally was still concerned at the potential for infection. With the girl's health as poor as it was it would be only too easy for her to pick up a bug.

"Does it hurt when I touch it like this?"

The girl shook her head.

"How about like this?"

She flinched.

"I'll take that as a yes. It may not feel like it, but your back is healing quite well. You'll have scars, but there's nothing I can do to fix it. I guess if you're really self-conscious about it you can look into plastic surgery later on. Okay, let's get you measured."

The girl stood patiently as Sally took her measurements and wrote them down.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but you're too skinny. So I'm going to get you some clothes that are a little big because I expect you to fill out a bit, okay?"

The girl nodded. Sally hoped she hadn't scared the girl into eating so much she made herself sick. The girl would fill out naturally just from being fed regularly.

"Maybe I'll start having the boys order you a little junk food just to get some meat on your bones. I'm sure you could handle ice cream or a little chocolate right?"

The girl smiled. It wasn't a scared or shy grin, it was a genuine smile. Sally couldn't help but smile back.

"Okay, I think that's it for now. I'll be back in a bit with some clothes that won't flap when you walk." She winked at the girl to let her know she was teasing. "Do you need to use the facilities before I let the boys back in?"

The girl nodded and went into the bathroom. Sally set about straightening the blankets on the bed and gathering up everything she was taking out with her. The girl left the bathroom and carefully made her way back to the bed. Sally adjusted the bed height so the girl would have an easier time getting in and out when she needed to and then helped the girl get settled. Once the girl had the IV hooked back up Sally nodded her approval.

"All set? Great. I should be back in a few hours. Do you have a particular color that you like?"

The girl carefully wrote out 'Not pink.'

Sally laughed. "I'll see what I can do."

"How much longer do you suppose we'll be waiting out here?"

Wufei shrugged. "Until Sally is done."

Quatre rolled his eyes and scanned the halls for potential threats. There weren't any. Not unless you counted Heero.

Heero strode up to the two pilots with a frown. "Why are you not guarding the girl?"

"I am. Sally needed some privacy so I am waiting for her to finish with the girl," Quatre explained.

"Is the girl ready for a book?"

"She probably will be when Sally is finished with her."

"Good. I'll come by in a while. Just so you know, Duo will be covering the beginning of Trowa's shift. I have to speak to him for a few minutes."

Quatre nodded. "Okay. Is there something we should know?"

"I'd rather not speak of it here. Too many nosy ears. I'll make time to inform you later, perhaps after I speak with Trowa."

The door opened and Sally exited. "She's all yours. Oh, and since you're all here would you pass on to Duo and Trowa that I've approved for her to have ice cream, chocolate and other such treats?"

Quatre nodded and went back into the room. He made a mental note to order the girl a treat with her dinner that night.

Heero frowned.

"Don't look at me in that tone of voice, Heero. She needs to put on weight."

"Too much sugar is bad for her."

"I'm not saying it isn't. A little ice cream or chocolate would probably do her some good. It's called comfort food for a reason."

Heero rolled his eyes and grunted.

"Well, I'm off to do some shopping. You boys have fun and stay out of trouble," Sally said as she turned to leave.

"Do you need assistance?" Wufei asked.

Sally turned back. "No, thank you. I'll be shopping for clothing for the girl. You'll probably just be bored. I'll be fine."

Wufei nodded and watched for a moment as Sally walked away.

"So when are you going to ask her?"

"Huh?"

"Don't play dumb. We can all see it. When are you going to ask her to marry you?"

"When the time is right."

"Well…ask her before the summer's out. I bet Duo you would."

"Stakes?"

"Whoever loses does laundry for six months."

"Duo hates doing laundry, doesn't he?"

"With a passion. The man can pilot anything, dismantle and reassemble any weapon and rebuild cars from scratch but he can't work a washing machine."

"In that case, I'll do my best to make sure you win."

The two friends shared a smirk before parting ways.

Sally hummed to herself as she drove to the store. It was amazing how well the girl was doing. If they could get her to talk it would be better but Sally was willing to be patient. With any luck they would win her over soon.

Sally's thoughts continued as she parked and went into the mall. What would the girl like? She'd said no pink but hadn't mentioned if she had a favorite color. Sally decided just to get a variety of colors. First she went to a store that sold underthings. Those could be any color and were a definite necessity.

She found jeans, several shirts and some pajama sets that would be comfortable for the girl to lounge around in. In any case, the clothes she'd found should keep Chase from claiming neglect on the part of the Preventers. She was on her way back to the hospital with her purchases when she realized she hadn't found the girl any shoes.

"It's not like she's going anywhere any time soon," Sally muttered to herself. And if pressed, she would simply tell Chase that the girl would get shoes as soon as she was well enough to go to the store and pick some out.

Sally parked and grabbed the bags. She hoped the girl liked what she'd picked out.