A/N: Oy, sorry this took so long. I have had a bit of writer's block and I'm hoping that I've worked through it enough to make some progress on these stories, especially with Nanowrimo just around the corner. Anyway, thank you so much for sticking with me so long and enjoy!

Chapter 57

"Sylvia was safely delivered, Heero."

"Thank you, Quatre."

"How's Duo doing?"

"Duo's…coping," Heero said with a look at his boyfriend tossing fitfully on the bed. Heero had figured Duo would fall asleep quickly but he hadn't expected the nightmares to start immediately. Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do to help.

"Do you need me to come over and help you with him?"

"I don't think so, but thanks for the offer. I expect he'll have nightmares for a few days, though. I'm considering making him take a day or two off so he can rest but I'm not sure what good it will do if he can't really sleep."

Quatre ran a hand through his bangs. "Yeah, that's a tough one. Look, if you can't get him to sleep after a few hours call me and I'll come over and do that empathy thing I did with the girl and see if that helps anything."

"I don't want to make you come all the way out here."

"Heero, you're being stubborn. You don't live that far away and I don't mind. I don't want Duo to suffer."

Duo whimpered and rolled over.

Heero sighed. "Okay, Quatre. You win. If he doesn't settle in a few hours, I'll call you."

Sally laid her head down on her desk. She was exhausted…again. How was she always so tired now? That touch of the flu shouldn't still be affecting her this way.

"Dr. Po? Dr. Po? Are you okay?"

Sally raised her head to see Hannah standing in the doorway to her office.

"I'm fine. Did you need something?"

Hannah hesitated. "Um…it's not important."

Sally let out an exasperated sigh. "Then why did you bother me?"

"I'm sorry, Dr. Po. I was going to ask if I could switch night shifts with you but…"

"It's fine, Hannah."

"Are you sure? You look exhausted. I can find someone else. You should go home and sleep."

"No, Hannah. I'm fine. You go ahead. I'll see you tomorrow."

Hannah looked like she wanted to protest but Sally stared her down until she left. She was going to prove to herself that she was over the flu.

Heero finally gave in and called Quatre. He couldn't bear to watch Duo suffer through another nightmare. He'd jerked awake after four of them already. There was no way that what Duo was doing could be called resting and he really needed it. Heero had had to help Duo get a drink of water because he was shaking so badly from exhaustion that he nearly dumped the glass down his front.

Quatre didn't take long to arrive and by that time Duo was dozing fitfully again. Quatre could feel the stress coming from Duo long before he set foot in the bedroom.

"Did he tell you what happened?" Quatre asked Heero quietly before going in to see to Duo.

Heero nodded. "Somehow the location was tipped off. One of the girls died in Duo's arms. They didn't get there in time to save any of them."

Quatre shut his eyes and took a deep breath and let it out slowly. Then he went into the bedroom and laid down on the bed, pulling Duo into his arms. Duo whimpered and wrapped his arms around Quatre.

"It's okay, Duo," Quatre murmured softly as Duo clung to him. "You're safe. Heero is safe. You've done the best you can do and now you need to rest. We need you. Heero needs you. The girls we have yet to find need you and for that you need to be rested and ready to fight again. Let go of the past, you can't change it. It can't hurt you anymore if you let it go."

Duo muttered something that neither Quatre nor Heero understood.

"It's okay, Duo," Quatre murmured again. "It's okay. Everything will work out. You'll see. Rest now."

Duo rubbed his face into Quatre's chest and muttered, "Heero."

Quatre gave his friend a soft smile before carefully pulling free of his embrace. "I think he's calmed down now, Heero," he said softly as he got off the bed. "You stay here with him, I'll let myself out."

Heero nodded and laid down on the bed with Duo, who quickly attached himself to Heero let out a sigh.

Heero smiled at his boyfriend and that was how Quatre left them, cuddled together and content.

Crackers helped settle Sally's stomach. But what she really wanted was bacon. Preferably drenched in maple syrup. She frowned. She usually didn't crave meat or sweets like this. But after not feeling well enough to eat properly, she supposed she was just hungry and that was the smell coming from the cafeteria this morning. So she decided to splurge and get a side of bacon. She couldn't remember when anything had tasted so good.

Duo woke wrapped in Heero's arms. He looked up through his bangs at Heero, who looked tired, but was awake.

"Didn't you sleep at all?" Duo asked groggily.

Heero shrugged. "I slept a little. I'm fine. How are you doing this morning?"

Duo shrugged. "Okay, I guess. I feel a little better."

"Good." Heero leaned down and kissed Duo. "I was worried about you. I want you to take today off, okay?"

Duo thought about arguing but snatches of memory stilled his tongue. "You had to bring Quatre over last night, didn't you?"

Heero nodded. "You slept much better after he left. I only wish I'd had him come over sooner."

"S'okay," Duo murmured. "I would'a put it off, too." He yawned. "We need to check on that girl."

Heero frowned. "What makes you say that?"

Duo sat up, pulling out of Heero's embrace. "They knew, Heero. They knew we were coming. They might know where we stashed that girl and they might not. But I think we need to be sure. I could go."

Heero shook his head. "I want you to take it easy. I'll send Trowa and Quatre. It isn't like we've got any good leads right now anyway. Agent Cresswell said she'd keep us posted on anything else they find but until we get something, we're a little stuck."

"You didn't find out anything about that Branagh guy?"

"No. We checked his last known residence but it had been cleared out. The property is still in his name, though, so Une is going to keep an eye on it. I suspect he's hiding out with that Whitaker character but there's no way to prove it or search his place without a warrant and we don't have enough concrete evidence at the moment to justify one."

"Oh."

Heero kissed Duo on the cheek. "You relax. I'm going to make you breakfast in bed."

Cathy got out of the car and stretched. It was good to be out of the truck. They'd driven to the new location late last night and this morning Cathy had taken Kiri to the local shopping center for a few supplies. Local was a bit of a stretch. It was still a fair distance away and Cathy could tell she wasn't the only one sick of being in the car after last night's drive. At least they were supposed to stay here for a week this time.

"Catherine, may I have a word with you?" the Manager asked as he walked over.

"Of course. Here, Kiri, take the bags to the trailer, okay?"

Kiri nodded and took the bags.

"Kiri, Johnson would like for you to meet him at the corral. He wants to introduce you to the new hostler," the Manager said. He wanted Kiri to be aware that there was someone new with the circus so she wouldn't be afraid if she saw him before Johnson had a chance to introduce him properly.

Kiri nodded and headed off to Cathy's trailer.

Cathy followed the Manager into his trailer. He offered her a drink and they sat down.

"How is Kiri doing?" the Manager asked.

"She seems to be doing really well. I just wish I knew how to get her to talk."

The Manager nodded. "Do you think she has found an act that she would like to perform?"

Cathy shrugged. "She isn't very good at throwing knives. She's much better at the tight rope, but I suspect that she's afraid of heights. I can't get her to walk on a line that's any higher than six inches off the ground."

The Manager chuckled. "Well that won't work, will it?"

Cathy shook her head. "No. Paul said he would teach her how to ride the horses. I don't know if that will work if she's afraid of heights."

"You never know," the Manager said thoughtfully. "She might enjoy it. Well, I won't keep you. I just wanted an update. Let Kiri know that she can try whatever act she likes. If she doesn't want to perform she is welcome to continue helping Cindy and Tony with the ticket booth and the snack stands."

Cathy nodded and stepped out of the trailer, almost bumping into someone. "Oh, excuse me."

"That's okay, Cathy," Trowa said with a grin. "I was going to see you after I checked in."

"Trowa! How long are you staying?"

"Probably only a few hours. Quatre and I are just checking on Kiri. I wish we had better news but we're at a bit of a dead end in this investigation."

Quatre was waiting by their car. He gave Cathy a small wave, but didn't make any move to come over. He knew she still hadn't forgiven him.

Cathy nodded. "That's too bad, but it's great that you were able to come. Can I ask you a favor while you're here?"

"Sure."

"The truck's been making a funny noise. I was going to take it in to the mechanic tomorrow but if you could look at it, that would be great."

"No problem. We'll be over in a few minutes."

Paul showed Carter around the circus setup. Carter was very attentive and asked intelligent questions. Paul was confident that Carter would work out just fine. He wasn't another agent but if Trowa had recommended him then at least he would be good with the horses. The only other important thing to do today was to introduce him to Kiri and explain how to communicate with the girl. Cathy had taken Kiri shopping earlier and Paul wasn't sure when they'd be back. But he had told the manager to have Kiri find him when they did return so Paul decided to head towards the horse paddock. He could run Carter through the routines and show him where things were kept. He smiled as he saw a young woman at the paddock.

"Kiri!"

Kiri gave the horses a final pat on the nose and turned to face him. Paul was glad he had a chance to introduce Kiri and Carter so that she wouldn't have any reason to be afraid of him. She looked nervous as it was. Paul hoped to fix that.

"Kiri, this is Jason Carter, the new hostler. Carter, this is Kiri. She helps feed the horses and she also runs messages for the Manager. She doesn't talk, so you'll have to get used to asking 'yes or no' questions to her."

Carter wasn't overly concerned about her. She was not his target so he gave her a quick once over and then had to look again. It couldn't be. There was no way he was that lucky. But it was. She had put on weight, which The Master wouldn't like but it was the girl that had gotten away. The Master would be so pleased to have her back. Carter couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face. He also couldn't help but remember what she had been trained to do.

"It's nice to meet you…Kiri." Changing her name didn't change who she was and Carter decided that he didn't need to worry himself about the agent's sister anymore. The Master would settle for this little prize, though having both would be icing on the cake. Kiri was target number one and if time and opportunity permitted, Catherine would now be target number two.

The man called Johnson interrupted his thoughts. "See you later, Kiri. Come on, Carter. I'll show you where we keep the tack."

Neither man noticed the girl run off in a panic.