Chapter 44

Wufei knocked on Sally's office door, even though it was already open.

She looked up from the paperwork on her desk. "Hi, Wufei. To what do I owe the pleasure?" she asked with a smile.

"I was wondering if you had any plans for this evening." Wufei hoped she didn't. She had been pushing herself too hard lately and he was worried about her. He wanted to treat her to a relaxing evening and then go home after making her breakfast.

"Well, I did have some paperwork that I need to finish…"

Wufei nodded and turned away.

"…but it can wait," Sally finished with a smirk. She so enjoyed messing with his head.

"Great. When do you finish your shift?"

Sally checked the clock. "In about fifteen minutes, assuming we don't get any emergencies."

Wufei nodded. "Then I'll meet you at your place in an hour and a half."

"How should I dress?"

"I thought I'd bring you to dinner and rent a movie, so casual would be perfect, unless you'd rather go out."

Sally smiled. "That sounds perfect, Wufei. I look forward to it."

Wufei smiled back. "I'll see you in a bit."

"How did things go today?" Duo asked as Heero entered their apartment.

Heero grunted in disgust.

"That good, huh?"

Heero rolled his eyes. "Those people are disgusting, stupid liars."

"So I take it you didn't get much out of 'em."

Heero shook his head. "They were both high."

Duo sighed and went into the kitchen to make dinner. He wasn't a gourmet chef or anything but he could make a mean pot of spaghetti and meatballs.

"Did you analyze that information I gave you?" Heero asked as he started to pull dishes out of the cupboard.

Duo nodded. "I don't think Chase is from L2."

"What led you to that conclusion?"

"Lots of little things but mostly because he claimed to have participated in the Christmas pageant at Maxwell's Church two years after it burned down," Duo said quietly.

Heero left the dishes on the counter and quickly wrapped Duo in his arms. "I'm sorry. I should have checked the files before giving them to you."

Duo rolled his eyes and gently pushed Heero away. "Leave off, 'Ro. I'm fine." He started to drain the spaghetti noodles.

Heero was worried. He could tell that his boyfriend was most definitely not fine. "Did you find out anything else?" Heero asked carefully.

Duo shrugged. "I tried to talk to Hilde."

"Oh?"

Duo nodded. "I think there's somethin' wrong. I wanna go check on her."

Heero resumed setting the table. "When were you thinking of leaving?"

Duo shrugged. "I dunno. I'm worried about her but we're in the middle of an investigation."

"What if you could kill two birds with one stone?"

"What do you mean?" Duo asked as he brought over the pot of spaghetti and sat down.

Heero sat down next to Duo. "Angus Carruthers is listed as the property owner for the house we found the girl in and Whitaker's residence. He also happens to have a property on L2."

"So you want me to check on the property and see if it's like the place we found the girl, right?"

Heero nodded. "I was going to ask you to go anyway because I figured you'd know the area the best. I was going to wait until we had things here a little more in control. Since you want to check on Hilde, you might as well go now and check it out…though I was originally planning to go with you."

Duo frowned. "You can't come if I go now?"

Heero shook his head. "No. The notice Quatre posted on Whitaker's property said it would be auctioned off next week. That means Whitaker will have to come in to deal with it before then. I need to inform Une of our actions tomorrow so she can handle him when he shows up. And I think it would be wise to stay here in case she needs backup. You could always postpone the trip until after he shows up, I suppose."

Duo thought about that. "No," he said slowly, "something was really off. I think I'd rather go by myself than put it off."

Heero nodded. "I understand. After dinner we can find you a flight."

Duo smiled at his boyfriend. "Thanks for understanding, Heero."

Heero smiled back and reached for Duo's hand under the table. He rubbed Duo's knuckles with his thumb as they ate.

"Wufei, thank you so much. I really needed this tonight."

Wufei smiled down at Sally as they cuddled on the couch. He'd brought Chinese takeout from Sally's favorite restaurant and rented some romantic movie she'd hinted at wanting to see. "You're welcome. I needed the break as well. This investigation has been so busy it was nice not to think about it."

"Mhmm…"

Wufei cleared his throat. This was the perfect opportunity to ask Sally to marry him.

"Sally?"

"Hm?"

"Would you…I mean…I've been thinking a lot lately and…"

"Mm…" Sally shifted and it was then that Wufei realized that she had fallen asleep.

He sighed. He wished he'd thought to ask her while they were eating but he knew she'd been pushing herself to the point of missing meals and didn't want to distract her from her dinner. So, he did the only thing he could do. He kissed the top of her head. Then he picked her up and carried her into her bedroom. He laid her on the bed and curled up around her. She snuggled into him and he smiled to himself in the dark. He'd find another time to ask her to marry him.

"Mmph…no…"

Heero jerked awake as Duo mumbled in his sleep.

"No…"

"Duo?"

Duo rolled over and pushed at Heero.

"Wake up, Duo."

"I'll get you a…mobile suit."

Heero frowned. "Duo, it's time to wake up. I don't want a mobile suit."

Duo didn't wake up. He started thrashing around. Heero jumped off the bed and watched helplessly as his boyfriend was caught in the throes his nightmare. He had learned long ago that he was strong enough to restrain Duo but doing so would result in the braided man having a worse nightmare and a full-blown flashback. As much as it pained Heero to leave Duo alone at times like this, it was the better option in the long run. All he could do was make sure that Duo didn't accidentally hurt himself by falling off the bed or hitting the nightstand. Duo's nightmares were the reason that they didn't keep lamps by the bed anymore. After about ten minutes, Duo curled up and tears dripped down his cheeks.

"I was…too late…too late…" he muttered bitterly.

Heero took that as his cue to crawl back on the bed and pull Duo into his arms. His boyfriend was still asleep, but the worst of the nightmare was over and it was safe to comfort him now.

"Shhh…it's okay, you're safe and I've got you," Heero murmured soothingly.

Duo shifted in his sleep to embrace Heero and bury his face into Heero's chest.

"That's it, just sleep," Heero whispered as he gently rubbed Duo's back. Heero didn't let himself sleep again until Duo was in a deep and restful slumber.

Wufei woke up the next morning to Sally kissing him. He opened his eyes and smiled.

"Good morning, Wufei," she greeted him.

"Yes, it is." Wufei quickly rolled them over so he was on top of her and kissed her some more. Her hands roamed under his shirt. He hadn't bothered to undress either one of them the night before. He stopped making out with her long enough to ask, "What time do you have to go to work?"

"I don't. I'm not even on call."

Wufei smirked. "Really? What did you want to do today?"

Sally's only answer was to start kissing him again.

"You know, Kiri, your back is looking really good. I bet we could get away with leaving the bandages off if you want."

Kiri craned her neck around to try and look at her back in the bathroom mirror. After a moment she looked at Cathy and nodded.

Cathy smiled at her. "Okay. We'll check later to make sure that those few scabs are still intact. It won't do for them to break open and get infected, not when you're so close to being all healed up."

Kiri nodded and went into her room to finish getting dressed. The circus was moving again today and there was a lot of work to be done this morning.

Cathy sipped at her coffee while Kiri finished her breakfast. It was amazing how different the girl looked now from when Cathy had first laid eyes on her. Her bruises were gone and she had put on a little weight. Being outside had exposed her skin to the sun and she had a light tan. She seemed to enjoy working with the horses and Cathy had suggested that she help with the other animals, though Kiri's apparent fear of the dogs worried her. She had no idea if Kiri had been attacked by dogs during her abuse and Cathy didn't want to risk triggering more flashbacks. The Manager had discussed Cathy's concerns with Paul and they didn't see any reason to rush Kiri into a lot of responsibilities. She was still healing, physically and mentally, after all and they didn't want to risk ruining the progress she'd made. Paul had told Cathy that he would casually suggest that Kiri help with the other animals when he felt she was physically ready and he would let Kiri decide if she was mentally and emotionally ready for that step.

A knock on the door brought Cathy out of her thoughts. Kiri hadn't even flinched this time, which made Cathy want to cheer. She didn't, of course, but she did answer the door with a smile.

"Good morning, Cathy."

"Good morning, Paul."

"Is Kiri available? I need to get the horses loaded up."

Cathy turned as Kiri got up from the table. "She's ready. I'll see you later, Kiri."

Kiri smiled at Cathy and headed for the horse enclosure.

Paul was about to follow when Cathy's voice stopped him.

"Paul?"

He turned back to her. "Yes, Cathy?"

"Is she doing okay? I mean…she seems happy enough but I'm never sure if it's just an act or not."

Paul smiled. "She's doing great. The other day I went to check on her and she was asleep in Buttercup's stall."

"Isn't that dangerous?" Cathy asked with a concerned look.

"Buttercup would never hurt Kiri," Paul asserted. "In fact, I think falling asleep like that shows just how safe she feels here."

"If she's sleeping during the day, does that mean she isn't sleeping well at night?" Cathy worried.

Paul shrugged. "She was put through quite the ordeal, you know. From what I've seen she's been pushing herself since she got here, probably because she feels a need to prove that she isn't dead weight. I don't know that her physical condition was really up to it. That little nap was probably just because she's worn herself out."

Paul could tell Cathy wasn't convinced.

"You don't need to worry so much about her," he said. "She's doing well here. And if she feels safe, that's a big step after what she's been through."

Cathy sighed. "I guess. I just wish she'd feel safe enough to talk to us."

Paul put a hand on Cathy's shoulder. "She will. Eventually. She was abused for a long time and it will take her a long time to be able to get over it. The progress she's already made is amazing and I know you had a lot to do with that."

Cathy gave him a small smile. "Thank you, Paul. You always know what to say to make me feel better."

"I mean it. You've been absolutely wonderful with her. I really think Trowa's choice to place her with you was inspired."

Cathy blushed. "Well…I better get things cleaned up here so I can help get the big top packed. I'll see you later?"

Paul nodded. "See you later."

Paul walked casually to the animal tent. He couldn't get Cathy's adorable blush off his mind all day.

"Call me when you land, okay?"

"I will, 'Ro. Stop worrying. I'll be fine."

Heero gave Duo a soft kiss. "I know. I just wish I could go with you."

"I'll keep this trip as short as possible," Duo promised.

"As much as I want you to hurry, I also want you to take whatever time you need to get the job done. The Preventers on L2 can back you up if you need it, so don't take any unnecessary risks. I want you back in one piece."

"I'll do my best," Duo said with a smile.

Heero pulled him in for another kiss. When he released Duo's lips, Heero whispered, "Aishiteru, Duo."

"Aishiteru, Heero," Duo whispered back solemnly. He gave Heero another quick peck before pulling away. "I'll call as soon as the shuttle lands."

Heero watched Duo walk towards the shuttle gate. He knew Duo could handle himself, but after the nightmare last night, he couldn't stop himself from worrying. What if being back on L2 alone was too much for Duo to handle? Maybe he should call Une, tell her that something came up and go with Duo anyway. Heero struggled with himself for a few minutes before finally deciding that Duo would be fine. He watched the shuttle take off before going to his car and heading for his meeting with Colonel Une.