Chapter 24

Cathy woke and looked at the clock. It was almost eight in the morning. She had to get up. She had rehearsal at nine and another this afternoon. And somewhere in there she had to have a talk with Trowa. She got out of bed and went into the bathroom to shower. After getting dressed, she headed to the kitchen to get some breakfast.

On the couch, Trowa was barely dozing as the girl slept beside him. His eyes opened as Cathy passed by. She thought about asking him there and then what the hell was going on, but decided not to. She didn't want to wake up the girl after her hard night. She was curled up, using Trowa's arm as a pillow.

"I've got rehearsal. I'll be back in about half an hour. Do you need anything before I go?" she asked softly.

"No. I think I remember where everything is," Trowa replied just as softly.

Cathy nodded and left.

Trowa looked at the girl, who was sleeping peacefully for the moment. Part of him wanted to know what her nightmares were about but part of him didn't. Knowing wouldn't make much difference. It would just make him angry and she would still have them. He turned his thoughts to Chase. The man was a monster pretending to be a lawyer. Trowa still hadn't had a chance to read the reports Heero had given him. He'd read them in private later. He certainly didn't want the girl to stumble across them. Even though she had been there when those girls were murdered, he didn't want her to be reminded of it any more than necessary.

The girl's breathing pattern changed slightly, signaling her imminent awakening. Trowa held still, wondering if she would go back to sleep on her own.

She rubbed her head on his arm and sighed. But she didn't sound upset, which Trowa took as a good sign. She seemed very relaxed this morning.

"Good morning," he greeted her when it appeared she wasn't falling back to sleep.

The girl jumped a little and sat up, looking away. Her ears were bright red. Trowa felt his lips twitch as he tried to keep a straight face. So she was embarrassed, was she? Duo would have teased her. Trowa kept his amusement to himself.

"Sorry to frighten you. I thought you knew I was here considering that you wouldn't let go of me after that nightmare last night." He sat up. She still refused to look at him. "Hey, there's nothing to be embarrassed about." His reassurances didn't seem to be doing any good. What she needed was a distraction. "Cathy's going to be back soon. Why don't you jump in the shower and get dressed while I get the couch put back together?"

The girl nodded and practically jumped off the bed. She got both bags of clothes off the table and headed into the bathroom, not looking at him once.

Trowa shook his head. He didn't know how to fix this new development. She hadn't been embarrassed to be alone with him before. Of course, they'd never slept together before. Trowa's eyes widened as his thought sunk in. If that was how she saw it, of course she was embarrassed. He hoped it wouldn't make her have a flashback or a panic attack. As he put the couch back together and folded the blankets, Trowa wondered how he ought to handle this. Should he apologize and try to make her see it wasn't a big deal or should he ignore it? Maybe he could ask Cathy when she got back.

He went into his room to get dressed. He had just pulled on his pants when there was a soft knock. Good. He could talk to Cathy while the girl was showering. He opened the door and was surprised to see the girl standing there. She just looked at him. Well, of course she did. She didn't have her pen and paper.

"Did you need help with something?" Trowa prompted.

The girl nodded and her cheeks tinged pink.

"It's your back, isn't it?" Trowa hadn't thought about that until just this second. Of course she would need help getting those bandages off. He was a little surprised she was trying to ask him for help, though, considering her reaction to him earlier.

The girl nodded, her cheeks still pink. Obviously she was asking because she had to, not because she wanted to.

"Oh…um well I can help you with it or you can wait for Cathy. She should be here any second." Trowa wanted her to know that it was okay if she didn't want his help. He wasn't going to force her to let him see her without a shirt on.

"I'm home! You two up yet?" Cathy greeted as she came through the door.

What if they hadn't been awake yet? Trowa wanted to roll his eyes at her for being so airheaded. It wasn't that she was stupid, she just didn't always think things through.

Instead, he answered her. "Yeah, Cathy. Hey, can you help with something?"

Cathy walked over to them. "Sure, what do you need?"

"She wants to take a shower but she's got a few bandages on her back that she can't get off by herself. If I was the only one here I'd help her but since you're here I thought she'd be more comfortable with you seeing her shirtless."

Cathy wanted to laugh at how uncomfortable her brother was with this. It wasn't like he'd never seen a girl without a top on before. Dressing rooms were scarce on tour and the performers learned early on not to be body shy. Not to mention that he was only in a pair of jeans at the moment. She'd have to remember to tease him about it when the girl wasn't around.

"Of course. Come on, hon. Oh, and Trowa? Get dressed. The Manager's coming over in a bit and he wants to talk to you."

Trowa nodded and went into his room. He picked up his shirt and looked at it. He groaned and made a mental note not to walk around half naked in front of the girl. Considering where they'd rescued her from he'd probably freaked her out. What if he undid everything and she refused to communicate anymore?

Trowa wished Quatre had been the one to figure out where to hide the girl and take her there. He wouldn't be messing this up so much.

Cathy took the girl into the bathroom.

The girl pulled off her shirt and Cathy had to work hard not to react to the number of bruises covering the poor thing. She would yell at Trowa later for telling her the girl only had a couple of bandages. The girl's entire back was covered!

Cathy bit her lip as she pulled at the bandages. She was trying to be careful, really she was, but she could tell she was hurting the girl. The girl didn't complain or cry, but she did flinch and she hissed a couple of times when a bandage got really stuck. Cathy felt horrible.

She couldn't contain the gasp that burst out when the last of the bandages came free and Cathy got a good look at the girl's back.

"Oh, sweetheart, what happened?" she breathed out, completely aghast at the girl's condition.

The girl turned around, holding her shirt so it covered her front, and shrugged her left shoulder as she bit her lip. The girl's eyes were full of shame and fear. Cathy decided then and there that no matter what the Manager decided, Cathy would watch her for Trowa.

"Well, you let me know when you're done and I'll help you bandage it up again, okay?" Cathy tried to keep her voice light so the girl would know she wasn't in trouble.

The girl nodded and Cathy left her, heading straight for Trowa's room.

Wufei opened the door to admit Heero, Duo and Quatre.

"Any word from Trowa?"

"I got a text saying they'd arrived but nothing since," Heero told the Chinese pilot.

"At least they got there in one piece. I expect Trowa will alert us when he's got her settled and is on his way back."

Heero nodded. "How did things go here?"

"So far so good. Sally is going to meet with Une in half an hour. It might be wise if you were there to back up her story," Wufei told Heero pointedly. He didn't relish the idea of Sally taking the fall for all of them, even if she had agreed to it.

Heero nodded. "I'd planned on it."

"Good. So what's our next move?"

"I think we can buy a couple of days with the story that she's sick. We need to get enough evidence together to arrest Chase before he figures out that we're lying to him." Heero frowned as he thought about how they were going to manage that. "We didn't find anything at the house. Chang, you check the Preventer's databases and see what you can find. Winner, use your connections to find out anything you can about Chase. I want everything we can get on this guy."

"What should I do, 'Ro?"

Heero considered Duo for a moment before responding, "We need information. We all know you know how to get it. If it's illegal, I don't want to know."

Duo smirked.

"However…"

Duo stopped smirking.

"You can't be caught and Chase can't know what you're doing, so no torturing him…yet."

"Well I guess that means I have to go with Plan B."

"I'm going to meet with Une. Then I'll see what I can dig up as well. We're on a tight time frame. The sooner we get the information the sooner we can stop Chase and wrap up this case."

The other pilots nodded and each went to complete their assigned task.

"Wufei."

Wufei turned back at Heero's call.

"Before you go, I need you to do something."

"Sally is everything ready for Chase's visit?"

"Not…exactly."

Colonel Une looked up from her paperwork. "What's the problem?"

"It's the girl. She's had a relapse. Chase can't meet with her today."

"What's wrong with her?"

"Her temperature has skyrocketed and she isn't keeping anything down. I'm waiting for the blood tests to come back to see what caused it. It could be anything from the flu or food poisoning to a delayed response to something she picked up at the house she was kept in. I just don't know yet."

Colonel Une frowned. "Chase won't like this. And it will likely cause him to go to the press with some cockamamie story about us trying to keep him from finding out the truth. I'm sorry, Sally, but we're going to have to allow him access to her, even if it is just long enough for him to see that she really is sick."

"What if she's contagious?"

"Then Chase will have to take that chance, I guess." Une considered her subordinate carefully. "Is there something you're not telling me?"

Sally sighed. Colonel Une had always been able to read her like a book. She was saved from having to answer by a knock on the door.

"Enter."

Heero came in and Sally shot him a look that said, "She knows something's up."

"Yes, Agent Yuy?"

"The girl is ill."

"So Sally has informed me. What is wrong with her?"

"If Sally just told you, why do you need me to tell you again?"

Colonel Une glowered at the agent before her. Sometimes he was a bit too smart for his own good. "I want to know what's going on, Yuy."

Heero looked at his commanding officer. "I can't tell you just yet. You need to trust me. Go along with whatever Sally told you. I gave her orders and she is simply following them."

"You don't outrank Sally."

"Maybe not, but I have been placed in charge of the girl and I am doing what I feel is best for her."

Une gave an exasperated sigh. "I told Chase that you would not interfere with his interview with her. Why are you insisting on doing so?"

"I cannot tell you that just yet."

"Yuy…" There was a warning note in the colonel's voice.

"Colonel, I am asking you to trust me. By not knowing you cannot be implicated."

"Very well. The girl is too sick to meet with Chase. He will want to reschedule. What time frame can I give him?"

Sally and Heero looked at each other.

Colonel Une looked from the doctor to the agent and sighed again. "You can't tell me that, either, can you?"

"I'm sorry Colonel, but…I promise you'll agree with this once you know everything," Sally assured her. "We can't tell you before Chase shows up because we don't want him to suspect anything. And this way, if he does, you don't know anything."

"Fine. But I expect a full report as soon as you feel it safe."

"Of course, Colonel," Heero agreed.

"Chase will be here soon. Sally, I want you to break the news to him about the girl. Heero, it would be best if you were on hand in case he overreacts."

"Yes, Ma'am."

The intercom on Une's desk beeped.

"Yes, Grace?"

"Mr. Chase is here to see you, Ma'am."

"Excellent. Send him in."

Heero leaned against the wall with his arms crossed.

"Ah, Colonel! How lovely to see you again!"

Heero resisted the urge to roll his eyes at Chase's phoniness.

"So, where's the girl?" Chase asked innocently as he looked around.

"I'm afraid there's been a bit of a complication," Une answered carefully. "I'll let Dr. Po explain it."

"I'm very sorry, sir, but the girl's had a relapse. She's in no condition to see anyone right now."

"Oh really?"

Sally nodded. "She's unable to keep anything down and her temperature is through the roof. We're doing everything we can, but with as poor as her condition already was, this may take some time for her to get over. I'm waiting for the results of her blood tests to find out what caused this."

Chase had to work not to scowl. They were hiding the girl, he knew it. But why? Had the little bitch talked? They weren't acting like they suspected him of anything. Maybe she didn't. Maybe she really was sick.

"Can I at least look in on her and see if she's the girl I'm looking for?"

"I don't see the harm in it," Heero answered to the surprise of the doctor. "If you'd like, I'll take you to see her now."