I am SOOOOO sorry about not updating quicker. I kinda forgot about fanfiction for a while...I got sidetracked by Maplestory, can you blame me? Actually, I haven't checked my email in a while either...anyway, you better be happy for this. I went digging through all my files to find the secret folder where I stored all the seperate chapters, in case my parents raided my computer...I almost gave up, but then I told myself, "-author who shall not be named- needs me! Her fans need me!" So I took a deep breath and continued...anyway, read on.

A Memory Lost, A Love Found

Chapter Two

As it turned out, Wufei's idea was a simple yet brilliant one. Once Wufei explained to the other pilots the reasoning behind his scheme, they too could see that it made perfect sense. According to Wufei's logic, Quatre felt safe with Wufei because he was the first person Quatre saw when he regained consciousness. "Well, then," Wufei said. "We'll just have to arrange it so that when Winner wakes up from his nap, the first person he sees is Barton."

Wufei then looked at the other pilots expectantly wondering whether his idea was feasible.

Duo was the first to break the stunned silence. "You're brilliant, 'Fei!" He hooted, thumping Wufei so hard on the back that Wufei actually staggered forward a few steps before regaining his balance.

"Maxwell." Wufei growled, but even he was feeling too hopeful to dampen the mood with a rant.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Wufei saw Trowa's dull eyes begin to brighten. Wufei felt that Trowa's eyes had been too full of pain and grief lately. He sincerely hoped that his plan worked as he didn't think he could bear to see the troubled look in Trowa's eyes for much longer; it wasn't as though Wufei didn't already have enough guilt on his shoulders without having to face that hurt, lost look as well.

Still, although Wufei didn't want to jinx the whole scheme, he thought that it would be best to warn the others in case his plan turned out badly. After all, there was the cliche but true saying: 'the higher one hopes, the harder one falls'.

He watched Duo and Trowa speaking to each other in quiet voices for a few minutes as he thought about how to phrase the warning. "This may not work." He eventually cautioned carefully.

Duo and Trowa stopped smiling and turned to look at him.

"I know that," Trowa finally admitted with a little sigh, "but this is the only hope we have left."

Wufei nodded in sympathetic understanding. They were grasping at straws, and perhaps not even that much.

Trowa was silent for a few minutes more before he once again spoke. "I am very aware that this may not work, but I want to know that at least we tried. I don't want you to feel guilty Wufei; none of this is your fault. I think that if you hadn't been there, Quatre would have been crushed to death." His calm green eyes lifted and locked with Wufei's onyx ones.

They only stared at each other for most likely half a minute, and yet it felt like an eternity. Some deeper, unspoken understanding passed between the two before they eventually broke their locked gazes. Wufei gave a little smile feeling the heaviness which had weighed upon his heart and mind since the accident lift. "Thank you." He whispered gruffly.

Trowa nodded.

"Don't forget, you made a promise, Chang." Heero spoke up. He'd been silent the whole time, silently observing the exchange.

"I haven't forgotten." Wufei replied, glancing at him. "We'll be sitting behind Winner on this side of the bed." At his words, all of the pilots turned to observe Quatre who was lying on his side. They saw him shift slightly, and Trowa moved to sit down in front of him. Quickly the remaining pilots moved to sit down behind him.

There they all sat silently and waited for Quatre to wake up from his nap.

XXX

Two hours later Quatre began to stir. Opening his eyes he saw the boy named Trowa watching him.

"How are you feeling?" Trowa asked softy leaning forward with hands reaching out to touch him.

Quatre jerked backwards, ignoring the hurt expression on the face of the boy in front of him. //Where's Wufei?! He said he wouldn't leave!//

As Trowa continued to reach for him, Quatre scooted backwards on the bed. He didn't realise that he'd reached the edge of it until his hands hit air, and he began to topple over the edge. "Oh!" He cried, horrified, feeling himself begin to fall down, but his descent was stopped by a pair of warm arms closing around him.

"I've got you." A voice soothed gently in his ear.

It wasn't Wufei's voice, and it wasn't Wufei's arms.

Ripping himself out of Duo's arms, Quatre crawled back towards the centre of the bed beginning to feel hysterical. "He promised!" He cried. "He promised!" He screamed loudly even as he shook in fear and wrapped his own arms around himself as though he could pretend they were Wufei's arms.

From his position against the wall, Wufei stared sadly at the trembling figure on the bed. He looked at Trowa feeling intense sorrow. It seemed to him that Trowa's eyes were a mirror reflection of his own. 'Go to him'. Trowa mouthed to Wufei.

Wufei nodded and quickly moved forward towards the bed. Sitting down on it, he closed his arms around Quatre. "I'm here." He murmured soothingly. "I haven't gone anywhere."

With a little cry Quatre wrapped his arms around Wufei's waist, burying his face into the crook of Wufei's neck. "You weren't here!" He cried plaintively, lips brushing against skin.

"I was." Wufei murmured back. "I promised, didn't I? I was right behind you."

"I thought you'd left me." Quatre whispered in a small, hurt voice.

"I'll never leave you." Wufei promised, embracing Quatre more tightly.

As Wufei stared at the other pilots over the top of Quatre's blonde head, he felt sure that the pain he saw on their faces was reflected on his own.

Looking down at the small, forlorn boy in his arms, he called quietly, "Quatre."

Quatre lifted a tear–stained face to look at him.

Wufei gestured towards Duo, Trowa, and Heero. "They're our friends."

Quatre stared at them but didn't say anything.

"They are friends." Wufei repeated carefully.

Quatre just tightened his grip on Wufei.

"Quatre." Wufei said a tad sternly.

Finally Quatre nodded. "Friends." He repeated hesitantly.

"Remember that." Wufei urged.

Quatre nodded pitifully, obviously not really believing his own acknowledgement.

Wufei spoke again. "I want you to take my hand, and take Trowa's too, and then we'll show you the rest of the house."

Quatre obediently took Wufei's hand, but when Trowa moved to take his hand, he balked sliding his hand into his pocket instead.

"Quatre." Wufei ordered firmly. "Take his hand."

Eyes lowered, Quatre reached out his hand and found it taken in Trowa's cool grasp. He tightened his grip on Wufei's hand as Wufei led them from the bedroom, but his other hand remained slack in Trowa's grasp. Trowa was forced to hold on tight to prevent that dainty hand from slipping free.

Trowa wondered sadly if this was a sign. //Perhaps if I don't hold on tight enough, Quatre will slip away like a wisp of smoke.// The thought frightened him and he held on even tighter, only loosening his grip when Quatre made a low sound of distress.

Taking him on a tour of the house with the other pilots following, Wufei pointed out the bathroom, his own bedroom and Duo, Trowa, and Heero's bedrooms. Moving downstairs, Wufei let Duo take over providing the running commentary, and Quatre was shown the family room, the lounge room, the study, and finally the kitchen. By the time the pilots reached the kitchen, Quatre was trembling from exertion.

"Sit here." Wufei urged, guiding him to a chair at the table.

Quatre sat down gratefully. He was feeling exhausted.

"Perhaps he should eat some more soup." Duo wondered aloud, concerned. "It'll help him recover his strength."

"That's a good idea." Trowa murmured.

Duo stood up and went about the task of heating some more soup for Quatre. Bringing it back to the table, he set it down in front of Quatre.

Everyone looked at the soup and then looked at Quatre. He made no move to pick up the spoon, looking instead to Wufei.

"Eat the soup." Wufei murmured gently.

Quatre continued to look at Wufei. Wufei leaned over and picked up the spoon putting it in Quatre's hand. "You'll have to learn how to do this yourself. Now eat."

Then they all waited. Quatre looked disappointed and tried to put the spoon back down.

"Eat." Wufei commanded sternly from where he was sitting beside Quatre.

Finally, with his mouth turned down, Quatre dipped the spoon in the soup and lifted a spoonful to his mouth. He blew on it a bit to cool it down, remembering how he'd burnt his tongue before, and then he ate it. After looking at Wufei again, he lifted another spoonful to his mouth. Wufei was smiling at him.

Abruptly a loud crashing sound in the room next door captured their attention.

"Shit!" Duo swore.

Letting out a startled cry and recoiling sharply from the loud noise, Quatre dropped the spoon. Then in a movement almost too quick to follow, he had himself back in Wufei's lap with his face buried in Wufei's chest.

Everyone stared, a bit shocked at this reaction. "What was that?" Wufei asked a bit absently even as he stroked Quatre's hair trying to calm him down.

"I'll go see." Duo volunteered, glancing quickly at Quatre before leaving.

Less than a minute later he returned. "The wind blew over a vase." He explained. "I've closed the window. Is he okay?" He asked worriedly, gesturing to Quatre.

Wufei looked down; Quatre was still trembling slightly. "I forgot to mention it before; he gets frightened by loud noises."

Trowa made a soft distressed sound before leaning forward to stroke one hand down Quatre's back. "Get him to finish eating." He murmured huskily to Wufei. "He'll need the food to recover his strength."

Wufei nodded and shifted Quatre slightly in his lap. "Finish your food." He coaxed.

Quatre kept his face buried in Wufei's chest. Wufei put the spoon in his hand. "Come on." He murmured.

Quatre let the spoon drop back into the bowl.

Eventually Wufei was forced to pick up the spoon himself. "Open up." He cajoled. Quatre opened his mouth. This time Wufei was able to feed him three–quarters of the soup before he refused to eat anymore.

"Perhaps a bath now?" Duo finally suggested once it became clear that no amount of coaxing on Wufei's part could get Quatre to finish the last of the soup.

Wufei shifted. "That would probably be a good idea. It's been four days since he's last bathed."

Standing up, he offered Quatre his hand again and waited until Trowa had a firm grip on Quatre's other hand before leading him to the bathroom. At the bathroom door they all paused.

Looking at Quatre, Wufei said gently. "Trowa will help you with your bath."

Quatre's eyes widened. "No!"

"Yes." Wufei said firmly. "You need him to help you with your bath."

"Won't have one." Quatre shot back petulantly.

"You will." Wufei replied sternly, and the two proceeded to stare at each other, neither one of them willing to back down.

"Wufei –" Trowa murmured.

"No." Wufei cut him off. "I will not."

Quatre's eyes grew huge and frightened, and he began to cry. Wufei looked away, knowing that he wouldn't be able to stand firm in his resolve if he continued looking at Quatre. Still not looking at Quatre, he pulled his hand from Quatre's clasp.

"Go." He barked at Trowa, forcibly pushing a now screaming Quatre into the bathroom and closing the door behind them.

Left standing outside the bathroom door, Wufei looked at Duo and Heero.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" Duo ventured cautiously. They could all hear Quatre still screaming inside the bathroom.

Wufei swallowed. "Barton is Winner's lover. It wouldn't be right for me to see Winner naked."

Soon the screams turned to sobs and a minute later there was a sudden silence. Immediately all three pilots tensed up in their position beside the door. The next moment the door was jerked wide open.

"He fainted." Trowa cried, obviously panicking. "He was so upset he fainted."

Wufei, Duo, and Heero rushed into the bathroom. Sure enough, Quatre was lying unconscious in the bathtub.

Everyone turned to stare at Wufei. Looking down at Quatre, Wufei finally gave a little sigh of resignation. "Very well, I will help him with his bath." Then he fixed his eyes on Trowa. "But you will stay here with me."

Trowa shook his head. "He panics when I'm around. I think it would be best if you help him, Wufei. I don't want him to injure himself, and the doctor said we had to keep him in a safe and friendly environment."

Wufei once again regarded Quatre out cold in the bath. "Very well." He finally assented.

Duo led Trowa back out of the bathroom, rubbing his back in commiseration while whispering comforting words to him.

Left alone in the bathroom with Quatre, Wufei contemplated the other pilot for a moment longer before finally picking up the sponge and beginning to scrub at Quatre's arms.

Quatre stirred a few minutes later. "Wufei!" He cried, clearly pleased to find that he was no longer being washed by Trowa.

Wufei looked at him. "How are you feeling?" He asked in concern.

"Okay." Quatre mumbled softly, watching as Wufei moved to scrub at his chest.

Wufei cleaned Quatre almost in a clinical fashion, trying to be as neutral and non-threatening as possible, and, once he was sure Quatre no longer had any dirt or dried blood left on him, he began to work on Quatre's fine blonde hair.

"Close your eyes." Wufei muttered as he poured some shampoo into his hands. Quatre obeyed, happily sitting in blissful silence as Wufei massaged the shampoo into his hair. When he'd finished, Wufei rinsed the shampoo out and set to work with the conditioner; Quatre just sat in the bath enjoying the sensation of having his hair washed. He felt all warm and fuzzy, and there was a funny sensation in his tummy.

"Finished." Wufei grunted at long last, rinsing Quatre off one last time before lifting him out of the tub. Setting him down on the mat in the middle of the bathroom, Wufei picked up a large towel and used it to dry Quatre off.

"Tickles!" Quatre squealed as Wufei attempted to pat him dry.

"Hold still." Wufei commanded in a good-natured way, but Quatre continued to squirm around like a live eel. It warmed Wufei's heart to see Quatre finally smile. He hadn't seen a smile around the house for a while now – ever since Quatre's accident, actually. Finally, Wufei somehow managed to get Quatre dry.

When he was done, he looked at Quatre with a mischievous gleam in his eyes. "Ticklish, are you?" Wufei teased. "Let's see where else you're ticklish." And then he proceeded to attack Quatre with his fingers. Before long Quatre was a laughing, breathless mess curled up on the mat, and Wufei used the opportunity to finish drying Quatre's hair.

"Now into your pajamas." Wufei said with a smile as he helped Quatre into some cute, bunny–covered cotton pajamas. Quatre was the only one who ever wore pyjamas. The other pilots used to tease him for that. Wufei hoped with an underlying sense of sadness that there would come a day soon when the pilots could tease Quatre again and that he'd understand their jokes. Right now, Wufei wasn't sure that he would.

Finally Wufei led a clean and dry Quatre back to the other pilots who were waiting in the family room.

"I've sent the doctors an email telling them of Winner's current situation." Heero informed Wufei once they arrived.

"What did they say?" Wufei inquired.

Heero shrugged. "They told us just to hold our position and inform them if anything changed."

"That makes sense." Wufei nodded his head thoughtfully.

Silence fell over the whole group. They all looked at each other nonplussed; no one quite knew what to do. Normally everyone disappeared to his own corner of the safe house to do his own thing, but now that Quatre couldn't remember anything, no one felt like that was the right thing to do.

"Why don't we watch a movie?" Duo finally hazarded. Wufei was actually really grateful for Duo's presence. He'd been coming up with all of the ideas the whole day; first the food, then the bath, and now a movie. Without Duo, Wufei had a feeling Quatre would still be lying in bed hungry, dirty, and perhaps bored.

"Yay!" Quatre clapped in delight. "A movie!" Everyone stared at him in delighted surprise at this unexpected enthusiasm.

"A movie it is, then." Trowa finally murmured, standing up and moving towards the TV cabinet. Turning back he looked at them curiously. "Which movie?"

There was a minute's pause before Quatre spoke up again. "Cartoon!" He cried.

Now all of the pilots stared at each other. Before his accident, Quatre hadn't liked watching cartoons, preferring instead to watch documentaries. Cartoons were Duo's forte. Trowa swallowed a sob and turned back to the TV cabinet. //Quatre's changing.// The next moment he was made aware of a warm presence beside him.

"How about this one?" Duo murmured as one hand closed over Trowa's and the other one reached forward to select a 'Fruits Basket' disc. "He'll like this one."

Rubbing the back of Trowa's hand gently with his thumb, Duo popped the disc into the dvd drive. Then he released Trowa's hand and turned back to Quatre. "You'll like this one." He assured him before leading Trowa back to the couch. Pushing Trowa down beside Quatre, Duo sat down beside him and hit the play button on the remote. The opening credits for 'Fruits Basket' began. Once again, Duo took Trowa's hand, and Trowa gave him a grateful smile. Duo's presence had a calming effect on his building panic and despair. Duo was the only thing keeping him grounded as his world rapidly crumbled around him.

Three discs later, Duo, Trowa, and Heero left Wufei and Quatre still sitting on the couch watching 'Fruits Basket' while they went to prepare dinner.

Duo efficiently sliced the carrots while Trowa prepared the lamb. Heero set the table.

"It'll be okay, Tro." Duo once again tried to reassure Trowa when he saw Trowa pause and stare off into the distance for the third time that night since they'd begun the preparations for dinner.

Trowa turned worried eyes to Duo. "At first I thought that it would be okay – "

Heero and Duo saw him swallow and lick dry lips, "but now I'm not so sure – I'm not so sure it'll be okay anymore." His voice cracked and he turned away from them.

"Trowa." Duo whispered in empathetic sorrow, putting down his knife before moving forward and closing his arms around his friend. Trowa allowed himself to be held.

A few minutes passed in silence before Heero spoke up. "If it turns out that Winner truly has forgotten you, perhaps it would be best if you let go of him."

The next moment Trowa had torn himself from Duo's embrace and slammed Heero against the wall, green eyes blazing with fury into ice blue ones. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?" He snarled.

Heero didn't even flinch. "If that truly does happen," Heero murmured. "Will you try to hold on forever, or will you give yourself a chance and move on?"

The anger left Trowa quickly leaving him feeling shaky inside. He could not answer Heero's question yet, but somewhere deep inside he had a feeling that he would have to before this whole fiasco was over.

"Heero…" He heard Duo start to say.

"Duo." Trowa replied in a manner meant to end the conversation; he quietly moved back to cooking the lamb. Duo closed his mouth, but he continued to stare at Heero who looked back at him impassively.

As he continued to turn the lamb under the grill, Trowa wondered whether Heero knew something he didn't.

Dinner was soon ready, and Duo called Quatre and Wufei in to eat. Turning off the TV, the two made their way to the kitchen table.

Wufei had only just taken a seat when Quatre tried to climb into his lap. As everyone watched, Wufei picked Quatre up carefully and firmly deposited him back into his own seat. "Stay." He ordered. Quatre pouted. Sitting beside Quatre, Trowa cut all of his food into bite–sized pieces for him, but when he handed Quatre a spoon, Quatre refused to eat.

"Eat." Wufei commanded.

Quatre ignored him.

"Come now, Quatre," Wufei switched to cajoling instead. "You need to eat."

Quatre picked up his spoon and held it out to Wufei.

"You have to do this yourself." Wufei refused sternly.

Quatre went back to ignoring him.

"Perhaps you aren't hungry then." Wufei commented calmly, and then as the other pilots watched, Wufei picked up his knife and fork and began to eat his own dinner.

"Eat." Wufei said to the others, ignoring Quatre.

Following his lead, the others began to eat, hoping that Quatre would begin to eat as well if he saw everyone else eat. Still, by the time the pilots finished dinner, Quatre hadn't stopped staring at the wall for a single moment, and his plate remained untouched.

Wufei gave a little sigh of defeat; it was obvious that Quatre was going to be stubborn, and they couldn't afford to let him go hungry, not if they wanted him to recover anyway. Reaching over, Wufei picked up Quatre's spoon. Hearing the 'clink' the silver spoon made on the chinaware, Quatre turned around slowly.

"Open up." Wufei murmured in some bemused resignation, holding up a spoonful of lamb and carrots, and Quatre did, obediently chewing on the mouthful Wufei had given him. Feeling childishly pleased at his triumph, he flashed Wufei a cute grin.

Watching this interaction, Trowa felt a small shiver of fear run through him. Wufei had never been known for his patience. He often lost his temper over the smallest things. Trowa wondered how long it would be before Quatre's clinginess made Wufei lose his temper. He didn't want that to happen. Looking up, his eyes caught Duo's, and he could almost see Duo thinking the same thing. Of all the pilots, only Heero didn't seem to have that worry on his mind. He was calmly focusing on his dessert. Once again Trowa was forced to wonder whether Heero knew something he didn't.

XXX

After dinner, Wufei helped Quatre brush his teeth before leading him to his bedroom where Trowa was waiting. There he attempted to settle Quatre down in bed, but this time Quatre refused to let go of Wufei; instead he wound his arms around Wufei's neck and attempted to draw him down onto the bed. "You have to stay with me!" He cried urgently.

"Trowa will stay with you." Wufei told him, but Quatre refused to let go. When he'd had his nap earlier and he'd woken to find Wufei gone, he'd felt abandoned. He wouldn't let that happen again. "No! You!" He cried tearfully. "He can go to his own bedroom."

Wufei looked helplessly at Trowa, wondering how to tell Quatre that this was Trowa's bedroom.

Trowa's hurt showed clearly on his face. "Stay with him." He finally murmured when he'd overcome his pain sufficiently to speak again. "I'll sleep in your bedroom."

"Barton—" Wufei started to say, looking at Trowa in concern.

"No." Trowa shook his head. "Stay with him." And he stood up and quickly made his way to the door.

Before he passed through, Wufei spoke up again. "Barton."

Trowa turned around, hearing a note in Wufei's voice that he couldn't quite identify.

"He will be safe with me." Wufei said gently, his expression coupled with his tone telling Trowa all he needed to know.

Trowa nodded in gratitude, fully aware that Wufei was telling him that he wouldn't take advantage of Quatre in any way — not that Trowa had really been worried about such a thing from Wufei, but he appreciated that Wufei was trying his best to keep things from spinning out of control.

Turning, he made his way out of the bedroom feeling a stabbing pain in his heart. He paused when a shadow crossed in front of his eyes. Looking up he saw Duo leaning against the wall.

"Tro." Duo acknowledged with a small sad smile.

"Duo." He replied in return.

"You don't want to sleep in 'Fei's room." Duo pointed out with a small grin. "He'll kill you if you mess anything up. Sleep with me tonight."

Trowa stared at him. He was aware that Duo was trying to comfort him. "I don't want to impose –" He began.

"Who's imposing?" Duo asked half-mockingly, flashing him a brilliant grin before grabbing his arm and tugging him towards his bedroom. "Anyway, my hot water bottle's broken." He smiled teasingly. "You can be its substitute."

And Trowa couldn't help but smile back. Duo's smiles were infectious and his warmth was pushing back the cold Trowa had been feeling ever since Quatre had woken up and Trowa had discovered that his lover had somehow forgotten him. Duo had been nothing short of a solid rock of emotional support and encouragement the whole time.

"Thank you." He murmured to Duo, realising with a start exactly how much he meant those two simple words.

"No problem." Duo replied softly, before leading Trowa into his bedroom.