Chapter 36

Duo woke slowly. He was warm and wrapped in Heero's arms. He loved waking up this way. Heero's steady breathing told Duo that he was still asleep. Duo smiled to himself. Then he frowned. Heero always woke up before he did except…

Duo wanted to hit Heero. He'd actually had a flashback and then acted like he'd only pretended to! Duo pulled out of Heero's arms and got out of bed, pulling on his pajamas. His movements made Heero stir.

"Duo? What time is it?" Heero murmured groggily.

Duo didn't answer right away.

Heero opened his eyes. "Duo?"

"Time for you to tell me why you lied to me."

Heero sat up. "What are you talking about?"

"Last night. You actually flashed, didn't you?" Duo continued without giving Heero a chance to answer. "Then you pretended like it was just a ruse so we could share a bed. I thought you were being romantic for once. Instead you were lying. WHY?" Duo glared at Heero as he waited for an answer.

"It's…complicated."

Duo rolled his eyes and headed for the door.

"Wait! Where are you going?"

Duo looked at Heero, his hand on the doorknob. "It's complicated," he sneered before leaving Heero's room, slamming the door behind him.

"Have a good show, Catherine! Break legs as they say."

Cathy laughed. "Thank you, Torvald."

Cathy left for the main tent trying to focus on her performance. It was harder today because she was fairly positive the girl would come around today or tomorrow. She'd told Torvald about the nutrient shake in the freezer in case the girl woke up and wanted something more than the soup. Cathy sincerely hoped the girl wouldn't freak out at Torvald. It wasn't like Cathy had had a chance to introduce her to him and knowing the situation that Trowa had found her in made Cathy worry. Torvald wouldn't do anything to hurt the girl, but she had no way of knowing that.

"CATHERINE!"

Cathy jumped. "Oh! W-what did you need, Paul?"

"You're on soon. You need to get your head on straight," he told her with a frown. "And I was wondering how the girl was doing."

"She's doing okay. Torvald has been sitting with her while I've been performing."

"If you need anything, anything at all, you let me know, okay?"

Cathy nodded. "I will. Thank you."

"You're welcome. Please keep your mind on your act today. If anything happened to you I…I don't know what we would do with the girl. And Trowa wouldn't be too pleased, either."

Cathy smiled. "I promise I'll be fine."

Paul nodded and left her to warm up. He wondered if she'd caught his almost slip and if Trowa would kill him if he knew.

Duo was about to slam his own door behind him when a hand stopped him. He turned to see Heero glaring at him.

"Why is it okay for you to yell at me and run?"

"It's complicated."

Heero forced himself to take a breath and count to ten. Duo could be really immature when he wanted to be.

"Duo," Heero started through clenched teeth, "I wanted to explain to you why I did what I did. But before I can do that I need to know that you are actually going to listen to me."

Duo crossed his arms. "I'm listening."

Heero stepped inside Duo's room and shut the door. "I admit that I flashed. I came out of it as soon as I had you pinned to the bed and I realized that I didn't want to hurt you. I…I acted like I hadn't because the last time I flashed…you decided I shouldn't be around the girl. I didn't want to be taken off this assignment because you thought it was too much for me. I'm sorry. I should have just…told you before, I guess."

Duo frowned. "Is it too much for you?"

Heero glared at him. "I can handle it."

"Then what made you flash? I know you can handle stress, 'Ro. What haven't you told me yet?"

Heero looked away and took a deep breath. "I got the official list from the Forensics Team. The one with the names of all the girls they were able to identify."

"And?" Duo prompted when Heero paused a little too long.

"Sylvia Noventa was on the list," Heero whispered. "I don't know why her grandmother didn't report her missing."

"Sylvia Noventa? Are you sure?" Duo was familiar with Heero's attempt to reconcile his mistake at New Edwards.

Heero nodded. "The knowledge was…upsetting."

Duo wrapped Heero in a firm hug. "I'm sorry, 'Ro. D'you want me to look into it for ya? See what I can find out about her and why her grannie didn't file a report?"

"I think it would be better. That way Une can't say I was too close to the investigation and take me off."

Duo nodded. Heero and Mrs. Noventa had kept in touch over the years. Usually it was just a simple Christmas card but occasionally Heero would have flowers sent to the lady. Duo wondered if Heero knew when her birthday was or if it was the anniversary of the botched New Edwards mission. He didn't want to pry and he never paid much attention to it before. That was Heero's business. This development made Duo wonder if he'd kept in touch with Sylvia at one point and then lost contact with her. If that was the case, Heero probably blamed himself, which could have been enough to trigger the flash.

"It's weird," Heero murmured. "The last letter Mrs. Noventa sent me said that Sylvia was doing well and she'd just gotten a letter from her."

Duo frowned. "That doesn't sound right. Is it possible there are two girls named Sylvia Noventa?"

"Possibly. But it's not a common name. What are the odds?"

Duo continued to hold Heero, letting him calm down to lessen the risk of another flash. What were the odds?

Torvald pulled out the frozen shake as soon as Cathy left. If the girl awoke the shake would be too frozen for her to drink it. Torvald hoped Cathy was right and the girl would wake up sooner rather than later. He wanted the girl to be better. She seemed to have had a rough life so far and he had hopes that it would get better from here on out.

Torvald tip-toed into the girl's room to check on her. She did seem to be sleeping better than she had the last couple of days. Her facial expression was relaxed and her breathing even with no hint of bad dreams. He went back into the kitchen and put the thawing shake back into the freezer. He didn't want it to thaw too much before the girl woke up to drink it. Cathy had told him he was welcome to watch television if he wanted but he didn't want to accidentally disturb the girl. Instead he sat at the kitchen table and thought about the letter he was going to write to his mother. She was 97 and couldn't see or hear anymore, but Torvald wrote to her faithfully anyway. He wanted to tell her that her soup had helped the girl to feel better. He knew she would be pleased to know.

Torvald frowned at a small sound from somewhere within the trailer. He listened closely for a moment and heard a door open and close, followed by another door opening and closing. After a moment, the toilet flushed and the water ran.

Torvald was elated. The girl was awake and able to move about. He knew it was a silly thing to get excited over, but she had been so sick that it was a relief. He thought about going to greet her, but decided that he didn't wish to disturb her if she was going to go straight back to bed. He could tell Cathy she woke up and let her handle the girl. As much as he wanted to introduce himself, there really wasn't any hurry.

A small gasp made him look up. The girl was standing in the entryway to the kitchen, her eyes wide. Torvald felt bad. He hadn't done anything but clearly his presence upset her. He figured the only way to set her at ease was to let her know that Cathy hadn't abandoned her.

"Ahhh…you are awake. Do not be afraid. Catherine will be back momentarily." Torvald waited for a moment to see if the girl would respond. He didn't want to rush her or scare her off. Her bruises were fading, though still visible. He wondered briefly how much longer she would be stuck with them.

When it was obvious the girl wasn't about to talk back, Torvald tried again. "Catherine said you would be hungry."

He stood and frowned as the girl stepped back quickly. "Do not have fear of me. I am the strong man for the side show, but I will not harm you."

The girl seemed to freeze as Torvald went to the freezer and removed the shake. It was still thawed enough that she could drink it. He went to the cupboard and got a glass to put it in. He held out the glass for the girl to take.

She stared at it.

Torvald was about to put it back, thinking that maybe she wasn't hungry when she reached out a trembling hand and took it gingerly, as if afraid it would bite her fingers off.

"Ah, yes, now we are friends," Torvald announced with a large grin on his face. He put the rest of the shake away and sat at the table again. He invited her to sit with a sweep of his hand but she didn't move.

"The manager said you are shy. My stage name is Massive Marvin the Magnificent!" he said stretching his arms out like the barker that announced him at the side show. "But to my friends, I am Torvald. What is your name?"

The girl didn't answer. Instead she busied herself with the shake. Torvald wondered how long it would take him to earn her trust. Given how she'd been treated, he guessed it would be a long time and that made him sad. He was friendly by nature and hated to see others upset. It was part of why he'd joined the circus. People came to the circus to have a good time and he loved putting smiles on their faces.

It was plain to see that he wasn't the only one relieved when Cathy came through the door.

"Ah Catherine! How did it go?" Torvald asked.

Cathy smiled. "Great, Tor. Thanks for your help."

"Is no trouble. Anytime." Torvald gave the girl a smile as he stood. "I am glad you are feeling better. I will see you again soon, yes?"

The girl thought for a moment before slowly nodding. Torvald was thrilled. After the Manager had said that she might not respond at all, he took it as a step in the right direction. He left Cathy's trailer excited at the thought that the girl was going to be just fine.

"Here." Trowa dropped the file on Wufei's desk. "That's everything I could dig up."

Wufei picked up the file and perused through it. "Wayne Harris…seems the story Quatre got from the lawyer was accurate."

Trowa nodded. "Yes, unfortunately…there's no sure way to positively link the two."

Wufei raised an eyebrow.

"I found everything I could on Donovan Chase as well. If he is Wayne Harris, he did a pretty thorough job of making a history for himself. Wayne Harris grew up on Earth while Chase supposedly grew up on L2."

"Then someone from there must know him. I'll have Duo check with some of his contacts on the colony and see if he can't dig up something further."

Trowa nodded. "Are they done with Relena's case yet?"

Wufei shook his head. "Hardly. As much as I hate to think it, these two cases are almost definitely linked. And Chase is that link."

"That is not a good development."

Wufei nodded his agreement. "As long as the girl stays hidden and safe, things will be better."

"Yes, but the sooner we can crack this and get her life back to what it should be, the better off she'll be."

Wufei sighed. "True. But how normal can her life get after everything she's been through? I'm afraid she will always be jumpy, especially around strangers, which will make finding employment extremely difficult for her. And then there are the possible problems with her health that she will encounter."

Trowa nodded. "I'm not saying those aren't possible scenarios. However, if we can put Chase and Decart away and prove to her that she is safe then I think that she has a fighting chance. You saw her. What's to say that her stubbornness won't continue to serve her and help her get over this?"

Wufei shrugged. "She might. However, any change in her won't be a magical overnight development."

"No, it won't." Trowa didn't add that if the girl got attached to the circus and was comfortable calling it her home, that would be enough for him to consider this mission a success. The Circus could be a family for her as it had become one to him and she would be guaranteed a livelihood even if she didn't talk or interact with the audience. He knew the Manager wouldn't turn her out on the streets to starve or get picked up again.

"Sorry I had to leave you. We had a matinee today," Cathy explained. "You look much better. I talked to Sally and she thinks you must have picked up a bug. Your immune system hasn't been exposed to the more common germs from the past five years and when I took you to the mall, they decided to attack. Since your body hasn't been exposed to them, you couldn't build up immunities and being sick was your body fighting back."

Cathy quit talking for a moment to let the girl absorb the information. "Do you want anything to go with your shake? I know! How about a grilled cheese sandwich?"

Grilled cheese was simple and quick and Cathy was actually pretty good at making them. She was delighted when the girl nodded.

"Great. Give me just a second to change out of this and I'll make you one."

Cathy hurried into her room. She figured the girl would be hungry and didn't want to make her wait too long before being allowed to eat. She threw on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before hanging up her costume. She had another performance tonight and didn't want to have to iron it later.

Cathy left her room and found the girl curled up on the couch watching a press conference. Cathy wondered if the girl had any idea what was even going on. Spotting the Preventer Agents behind Miss Peacecraft, Cathy grinned.

"You know, if I wasn't so fond of the circus life I'd have Trowa hook me up with one of his Preventer buddies. I swear that being hot is part of the job description."

The girl gave her a shy smile and her cheeks tinged slightly pink. Cathy wondered if she thought one of the agents was cute but was afraid that teasing her would make her withdraw.

So instead, Cathy said, "I can't imagine her speech is anything new. Why don't you give me a hand with lunch instead?"

The girl nodded, turned off the television and stood up. She followed Cathy into the kitchen.

"So did you ever learn how to cook?" Cathy asked.

The girl nodded.

"Great! Do you know how to make grilled cheese sandwiches?"

The girl nodded again.

"If you'd like, you can get those started." Cathy got out the bread, butter and cheese for the girl. She found a pan while the girl sliced the cheese. While the girl put together the sandwiches and started them cooking, Cathy dug through the cupboards. "I'm sure I've got some canned peaches in here somewhere. Do you like peaches? Or would pears be better?"

Cathy looked at the girl for some sort of answer and saw that she was staring off into space. "Are you okay?"

The girl didn't respond. Cathy wasn't sure she'd heard her. Cathy looked closer. The girl's hands were shaking. Cathy frowned. Something was wrong but Cathy had no idea what. The sandwiches were ready to be flipped but the girl didn't seem to notice.

Cathy moved carefully over to her and still she didn't move. Rather than let the sandwiches burn, Cathy gently took the spatula from the girl. The girl jumped, her eyes wide and afraid.

Cathy casually flipped the sandwiches and smiled at the girl. "It's okay. You don't have to be afraid, you're not in trouble."

The girl seemed to relax a little and went over to the table. She sat in a chair and looked down. Cathy felt bad. She hadn't meant to make the girl feel like she wasn't allowed to help. Deciding to let her have a few minutes to herself, Cathy finished the sandwiches and put them on plates, all thoughts of finding canned fruit to go with them forgotten.

The girl flinched and looked up ever so slightly as Cathy set a sandwich in front of her. Cathy gently lifted her chin.

"Hey, what's this?" The girl had been crying. Cathy hadn't thought that she'd been so hard on the girl that she should have a reason to cry. Maybe she was embarrassed.

"I'm sorry I upset you," Cathy said softly.

The girl shook her head and wiped the tears from her eyes.

Cathy put a hand on her hip and tapped her lip with the fingers on her other hand as she puzzled out what the reaction could mean.

"He attacked you in the kitchen, didn't he?" she asked.

The girl flinched but nodded. Cathy's heart broke all over again. How was she going to help this girl if she didn't know what had happened to her?

Cathy sat next to the girl and took her hand. Giving it a reassuring squeeze, Cathy said, "Trowa won't let him get away with this. You're safe here. The Manager, Torvald and I won't let anything happen to you. Even Johnson, as crotchety as he is, wouldn't want to see you hurt, okay?"

The girl nodded. Cathy felt better and hoped that she'd gotten through to the girl. If the girl could just believe that she was safe here, maybe she could begin to heal.

"Now, why don't you eat? You must be starving. And after that you can shower and change and I'll bet you feel tons better."

The girl nodded and ate her sandwich. Cathy let the girl eat and thought about how she was going to have to change her approach. She'd have to tread carefully. But the girl had seemed eager to help with the cooking. Maybe she didn't know that's how she'd respond either. Cathy wondered about that. What else would take them both by surprise? If there was no way of telling, maybe they should just dive right in and do everything. Then Cathy could deal with each situation as it came up. It would be ideal if she knew in advance but until the girl talked, she was just going to have to wing it.

"So…I was thinking. There's another show tonight. Would you like to go?"

The girl blinked in surprise before nodding and giving Cathy a shy smile. Cathy wanted the girl to smile more often. She was really quite pretty when she smiled, even with the yellowing bruises. Cathy smiled back.

"Great. If you're done I'll help you with your back and you can get cleaned up."

Cathy stood, leaving the dishes on the table. She'd take care of them while the girl was changing. Cathy led the girl into Trowa's room.

"Your clothes are in the top two drawers and I hung up some things in the closet. Don't worry, Trowa doesn't mind if you use his room. He's not going to need it for a while."

Cathy helped the girl out of her shirt and carefully pulled the bandages off her back. It was red and Cathy felt guilty for not checking it enough while the girl was sick. She clicked her tongue, which made the girl look at her.

"I'm going to call Sally about your back. I just want to make sure it's red because it's healing and not getting infected," Cathy explained.

The girl looked a little worried but she nodded and started rummaging through the drawers for a change of clothes. Cathy left her to shower and went back into the kitchen.

Cathy dialed Sally's number and held the phone with her shoulder while she cleaned up lunch.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Sally. It's me."

"Cathy! How is everything?"

"Well, my kitten seems to be doing much better. She's awake and eating now."

"That's such a relief!"

"Yes, but I had another question."

"Okay."

"That sore on her back looks red. I wasn't sure if it was infected or not. How can I tell?"

"It might be red because it's healing. Was the sore broken open or oozing pus or liquid?"

"No. It seems to be clean."

"It's probably fine then. Just keep an eye on it. If it doesn't look like it's getting any better, call me again and we'll figure out what to do."

"Thank you so much Sally. I'll let you know if there are any other developments."

Cathy hung up and finished the dishes. It wasn't long before the girl came back from the shower. Cathy bandaged the girl up and told her what Sally had said.

The girl nodded. Cathy tried to be gentle as she bandaged the girl's back, but the girl still flinched a couple of times. Once her back was taken care of, the girl disappeared into Trowa's room.

Cathy left her alone. She didn't want the girl to feel pressured into hanging out if she didn't feel like it. As time for the performance drew closer, Cathy went into her room to change. Fully costumed, Cathy knocked on the girl's door.

She frowned slightly when there wasn't an answer. She inched the door open and saw the girl curled up on the bed asleep. Cathy smiled at how innocent and peaceful she looked. She carefully closed the door and called Torvald to see if he could sit with her one more time.