AN: sorry for the long delay, having editing/tweaking issues...

Title/theme: INJURED
Genre: Serious
Approx time line: Phase 46 of GS
Summary: "

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Murrue Ramius breathed a sigh of relief as the enemy disappeared from their radar. Finally, they had a moment of peace.

Calling out a few instructions for the crew to keep watch, she exited the bridge and headed for the infirmary. She felt a sudden anxiety to get there quickly, to see if he was all right.

She was scared when she heard Kira's voice over the intercom telling her that Mwu was injured. Her knees grew weak as her imagination ran wild with thinking about what could have happened to her beloved. Then the rational side of her brain argued that Mwu was an experienced soldier, and he could take care of himself.

The door to the infirmary slid open as she got there. The doctor was just exiting.

"Is he asleep?" she asked him tentatively.

The doctor shook his head. "No, you can visit for a bit, but he'll need to rest soon."

She nodded and entered the room, sighing with relief when she saw that he was still conscious and smiling as he saw her enter.

"Hey, look who's here to see me!" he grinned at her as he tried to push himself up to a sitting position. Even though he tried to hide it, she still saw him wince in pain. She quickly ran to his side and gently pushed him back down.

"Stop it, Mwu."

It was up close that she'd saw the extent of his injury. Judging by the amount of bandages on his abdomen and right shoulder, and the forced-looking smile on his face, she concluded that even though it wasn't life threatening, it was still pretty serious.

She must have looked pretty worried and scared, for he patted her hand with his left hand to reassured her. "It's just a scratch," he said nonchalantly.

Instead of making her feel better, he saw with dismay as tears began to gather in her eyes.

"Why are you crying? I thought I was the one who's supposed to be in pain." He chuckled slightly as he tried to tease her, but it came out half-hearted. His laugh had sounded strained and tired, lacking in its usual cheer as he tried to hide another wince, and there was no mirth in his usual grin.

"When I heard from Kira-kun that you were injured, I, I was scared." She looked away, slightly embarrassed, but she couldn't help herself. She knew they were in a war, and both Mwu and herself could be easily injured. But it had always been an unsaid fear in the back of her mind that she could lose him, just as she had lost her past lover.

"You told me you would be careful!" she turned back to him with an accusing tone, furiously trying to hold back her tears. "And why do you have to hide your pain like that!"

"I'm sorry," he answered softly. She looked away again, feeling guilty as she caught his weary tone.

A moment of silence passed between them. It was finally broken by her soft, mumbled voice.

"I-I'm sorry too. I just…"

"It's okay Murrue. Please don't worry about me too much. It's not as bad as it looks."

Another moment of silence.

"So, how's the kid doing?" Mwu asked suddenly.

"I don't know," she answered. "I'll go ask," she added when she saw the worried look on his face. She went over to the phone and dialed the number for the Eternal.

Mwu closed his eyes and sighed, trying to ignore the numbing pain in his wounds. The actual wounds weren't too serious, but he was quite tired after running so much and using up too much energy. He also lost quite a bit of blood as well. But he tried to hide his pain, because he didn't want to scare her or to make her worry about him.

Murrue returned from the call and pulled up a stool next to his bed.

"They said that Kira-kun is fine," she answered the questioning look in Mwu's eyes, "He didn't seem to have any physical injuries, he just fainted, probably because he was tired."

Mwu nodded in acknowledgment. "That's good to know. Poor kid…"

Picking up a leather-bound photo album beside her, she asked softly as she flipped through the pages absent-mindedly, "So, what exactly happened in there?"

So Mwu told her about their encounter with Rau Le Creuset in Colony Mendel, how they entered the lab and discovered the works of Dr. Hibiki.

"Even though Kira's not injured physically, he must be in a lot of psychological pain," Mwu said softly. "I'll never forget that look of shock and dismay on Kira's face when Rau told him about his birth. I wonder if what that man said is all true, that bastard!"

Murrue could see the anger in Mwu's blue eyes. She gently stroked his hair to calm him.

"He said that Kira was Humanity's dream, the Ultimate Coordinator," Mwu continued, calmer this time, "He said that Kira was something that shouldn't be allowed to exist," he finished softly, "And that many of his siblings have been sacrificed for his birth."

Murrue looked down, not sure how to reply. Instead, she flipped through the pages of the album idly, pausing at a photo of a man carrying what looked like a young Mwu on his shoulders.

"This is…" she whispered questioningly.

"My father, he was a rich and an arrogant man who always belittled other people," he said simply, turning his head away from her. "He died when I was young, and that was all I could remember of him."

"But this," his fist clenched, "This is…" he paused and struggled to find the right words. "This is unbelievable! How could this have happened! That man, Le Creuset, is my father's clone, and a failed one at that. His telomeres are shortened, which means that his life will be shortened as well."

"It's not your fault Mwu," she whispered softly as she caressed his brow.

"I almost feel sorry for him, being the result of a rich man's fantasies, and being cast aside after being discovered to be a failure. That man has no past and no future. He cannot have any dreams or a life. But he wants to bring the world to an end with him. I can't just sit here and let him do that! I have to stop him."

"Please, don't be so hard on yourself," she whispered softly, "We all want to stop this war, you're not alone. So please don't try to shoulder everything yourself."

He laughed weakly. "No, you're right, it's you who has the tendency to do that." Then he turned towards her with a grateful smile. "Thank you."

He tried to reach her face with his uninjured left hand, but since she was sitting on his right, he couldn't quite reach. She had to stifle a giggle at the soft childish whine coming from him and the slight look of disappointment and frustration on his face.

"Oh Mwu," she giggled as she leaned down, "I'll make it easier for you then."

Reaching out, he gently caressed her cheek, and smiled as she closed her eyes and leaned into his hand.

"Thank you, Murrue." He pulled her face closer, eyes closing as their lips met in a tender kiss.

AN: aww, isn't that cute... I know he came out onto the bridge before she came to see him, but I kinda forgot that part as I wrote this, so let's pretend that scene didn't happen... I actually wrote this a while ago, but was having issues editing and finishing it (I have a couple of ideas like that, floating around, waiting to be finished...). but I love their little talk in the infirmary, and it did seem that Mwu kinda felt sorry for Rau, because I think he knows what it feels like to be cast aside. anyway, what she tells him at the end kinda echoes what I had him tell her in "Assurance".