Author's Notes: I updated! I think Hell froze over! Go me! I hope you all enjoy this next chapter. Please read and review, and I'll love you forever.

Special Thanks to my best bud K-chan for beta-reading for me and to my roomie Vix for her help and support.

Thanks to RikoRishodeathangeloflight, Reliak (aka K-chan and my baby), sindy (2x1? You're in for disappointment, probably reading too much into this), Jennilyn Maxwell (you assume too much on Heero and Zechs, I'm afraid), Kyaroru-chan (many questions are soon to be answered), Kinkosami (aww, thanks, wait no longer!), Lionheart (yeah, I planned out quite a bit of it; I'm glad you can tell), sindy (oh yes he canJ ; keep reading), SpencerBrown (you have a lot of different ideas than I; I hope you like the choices I made instead), Hazel-Beka, kantomon, Deaths Fallen Angel, reviewer (why does everyone keep asking that? Just read the story, people!), sonja (I'm glad you enjoy it and it does not offend you), and (don't worry, story's not dying) for all the reviews. Please review for me, and I will personally thank you in the next chapter.

Warnings: mild yaoi, language, violence, anti-religious statements, death

Duo yawned deeply, stretching out on the bunk, his hands behind his head. He was feeling a lot more tired the last few days. He was pretty sure it was the early August heat. Summers were hell in Poland. But he would much rather be in the barracks right now than outside. Trains had been arriving almost constantly, and all the victims on them were immediately sent to the gas chambers. Duo thanked God that all his friends had come long before that had started. Through the windows of the sorting block, he could see people walking along the path towards the 'showers', not aware at all of the fate that awaited them at the end of the walk. It made him sick, but he had to keep reminding himself that there was nothing he could do to help them. He had four other boys to take care of right now, and he cared for them more than anything else in the world.

"Duo?"

He almost missed hearing his name because Heero almost never said anything at all, but, when he finally shook himself out of his trance to look up at him, he found a pair of navy eyes staring down into his earnestly.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, Heero, kinda spaced out. What'cha need?" He sat up from his reclined position.

Heero glanced over at Trowa and Quatre who were engaged in an animated conversation in French and Wufei who appeared to be napping, though he was sure Wufei was listening quite closely to what he had to say. "Can we go somewhere else to talk?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah… Sure." Duo slid over the side of the bunk, motioning for Heero to follow. The door at the end of the barrack that led to the toilets was open, so Duo took Heero by the hand and pulled him inside the long room. Surprisingly, Heero did not resist the contact between them. Something really had to be on his mind. The smell of the room made his stomach turn, but it was a good place to talk in private without getting in trouble for being out of the barrack. "What's up?"

"I need you to get something for me." Heero went straight to the point.

Duo raised a brow. Heero never asked for anything, and he always seemed to have trouble accepting the tidbits Duo sometimes brought back for him. "What is it?"

"A knife."

"Whoa whoa, no way!" Duo protested, grabbing Heero by the shoulders, his fingers digging into the darker boy's shoulders.

Heero's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Why not?"

"First of all, I can't get ahold of dangerous items like that. Second, no way would I give you something like that. What the hell are you planning to do?"

"It's not your business."

"Oh yes it is! Heero, what are you trying to do?"

"Why should I tell you?"

"Cause I'm not going to let you leave til you do."

Heero gave Duo's arms a sharp shove off of him. Duo recoiled in shock, pulling one of his arm close, rubbing the red marks Heero's hands had left. "Heero…"

Heero glared into Duo's violet eyes. "I've told you what I want, Duo. Are you going to help me or not?"

"Not until you tell me what it's for," Duo replied, his eyes dropping to the floor, letting his arms fall to his sides.

"I'm gonna take out Treize Khushrenada."

"Heero!" Duo gasped, his eyes going wide. "You'll never be able to do that!"

"Who says I can't?"

"You'll never make it out of the block! You're gonna get shot, and I'm not going to help you!"

"Duo, I'm asking for one simple favor here."

"I can't get a knife for you."

"You can get anything."

"No way, Heero! I'm not risking something that big or that dangerous. It's never going to work."

Heero crossed his arms over his chest, glowering darkly. "If Treize is dead, this camp will fall apart."

"You don't know that."

"Yes, I do! That's how the Nazis work. Everything goes straight to the top command. If that's gone, they won't know where to turn, long enough that we can take down the rest of the guards."

"I don't like this plan, Heero, and I'm not going to help you. You're not thinking clearly." Duo's violet eyes met navy ones in a fierce glare. "You can't just walk up to the Colonel's office. You'd never make it past the watchtowers or past the center square."

"I'll never know til I try."

"And what happens when you get killed?" Duo replied angrily, grabbing Heero's shoulders again, his nails digging in tightly. Unexpected tears sprang to his eyes as a lump that nearly choked him formed in his throat. "Heero, you can't do this. I need you to stay alive. I want you here, with us. Please. Stop thinking like this."

Heero gazed back into Duo's overly large eyes, and he couldn't help but feel a bit upset that Duo was hurt by his plan, but anger won over any sympathy he had. "If you're not my friend, you're my enemy."

"I am your friend!" Duo replied, his eyes going wide in shock, his hands falling away from Heero's shoulders again. He had left crescent moon indentations in the coffee-colored skin under Heero's shirt. The tears that had been teetering on his lower lashes finally were given permission to fall, and they coursed down his cheeks in tiny streams. "How could you think I wasn't?"

Heero watched the tears fall like stars from Duo's eyes, but he couldn't shake the feeling that nagged at the back of his mind that he was right and Duo was wrong. "Are you going to help me or not?"

Duo's face melted with indecision a long moment, and Heero could almost see the gears turning inside under that thick, chestnut braid, before Duo replied, so soft Heero almost didn't hear it, "No. I'm not going to help you."

Heero was silent for a long moment, and Duo was almost afraid that he wasn't going to respond at all, before the death bell finally tolled. "Fine. Then leave me alone. I don't need your help."

"Heero…" The tears were back, falling down Duo's smudged cheeks, creating dirty paths down his jaw line. "Don't be like this, please…"

Heero turned and stalked out of the toilet without another word or glance to the other Jew, leaving Duo alone in the stinking room to shed his final tears before going back to the bunk where his other charges were waiting. Heero was gone.

Duo didn't hear another word about their fight after that day, but it was obvious Heero had not forgiven him with every nasty glare he received whenever he looked at him. But, a few mornings later, he didn't have any time to think about it as the early morning roll call approached.

"Come on, Tro. Time to get up," Duo said, shaking Trowa gently. The usual shouts and door slamming hadn't done much to rouse Trowa from his slumber.

"Yes. Come on, Trowa." Quatre stroked the gypsy boy's arm gently.

Trowa's emerald eyes opened weakly, crossing for a moment before they managed to focus on Duo. "I… I don't think I cannot get up."

Duo had to think about that sentence for a moment before slowly shaking his head. "You have to get up. Come on."

Quatre could see Trowa's body flex in an effort to push himself up before he collapsed again. "I… I can't."

Duo hesitated, glancing over at where Heero and Wufei were sitting, watching, their eyes betraying their want to leave and line up. "Go," he told them. "Go line up. I'll wait til Trowa can get up, and then we'll join you."

"I'm staying too!" Quatre replied adamantly.

"No. You go, or you might get in trouble."

Quatre glowered, crossing his skinny arms over his chest. Duo blinked at that before a small smile crossed his lips. Well, Quatre was getting a backbone after all. "All right, you can stay. Heero, Wufei, go. If we're not there in five minutes, find another line to stand in."

The two nodded and vanished over the side of the bunk. Quatre watched them go, then turned to Trowa again. "Trowa, you have to get up."

"I can't." Trowa's voice was barely audible.

"Come on. Please. Try," Duo coaxed gently.

Trowa tried to sit up again, but he made even less progress than the first attempt. "I cannot. You two leave, go me alone."

"We're not leaving you alone," Duo argued. "If we leave you, you'll be taken away."

Trowa's eyes went wider in shock before he struggled again to try and sit up.

"Can't we help him?" Quatre asked Duo softly, pleadingly, as he watched his best friend strain against the weakness in his body.

"If he can't get out of bed, he can't stand up in line. If we hold him up, they'll take him away from us."

"No," Quatre whispered softly, catching Trowa's hand in his own and squeezing it tightly. He could feel every bone in the French boy's hand.

"Then he needs to find the strength to get up," Duo replied gently but firmly. "Trowa, if you don't, we'll all be in trouble. Come on now. I know you can do this."

Trowa tried to sit up yet again, then turned aside, coughing sharply. Duo sighed, reaching over to gently squeeze Quatre's other hand. "Trowa, are you all right?"

Trowa nodded slowly, wiping at his mouth with his free hand before letting go of Quatre's almost-crushing grip. His eyes turned upwards towards Quatre's sapphire ones. "Quatre…"

"Trowa, please…" Tears formed in Quatre's eyes. "Please get up."

Trowa glanced over at Duo, whose heart-shaped face was knitted with concern and a hint of what looked like anger. His teeth found his thin, lower lip, and he clamped them down as he pushed himself up on the heels of hands, struggling to get himself balanced once he was. The world spun a moment before he was able to focus again. "A… All right…"

"You gotta get off the bunk," Duo replied, giving Quatre a nudge to the end of the bed. "Follow Quatre down, all right?"

Trowa pushed the blankets away from him, shivering as the cold wind whipped over his emaciated body. It took him a little effort to crawl to the edge of the bed, and it took almost three minutes for Quatre and Duo to help him down the three slats to the ground. Leaning heavily upon his blond friend, he stumbled for the door, Duo hurrying after them, shooing them hurriedly like a frantic mother hen.

The prisoners had already lined up, and Wufei and Heero were nowhere to be seen, so Duo just steered them into a three-person line at the end of one of the rows, praying that no one would notice their tardiness. The guards that patrolled didn't always pay a lot of attention, as long as everyone kept quiet. He couldn't help but fidget a bit as he felt Trowa shifting from foot to foot, obviously trying to stay upright. He wanted to send Trowa to the hospital, but that was just signing Trowa's death warrant to the gas chambers, and he would not do that, no matter the cost.

The woman with pink ribbons in her hair came for the usual morning roll call, and Duo felt a bit of relief wash over him when she passed by their shortened line without a second glance. He stood as straight and tall as he could, his eyes on the ground, sending up a silent prayer of thanks to Heaven.

Roll call was almost over when the woman officer came walking back along the rows, then stopped right in front of Duo, Trowa, and Quatre. "You three will stay behind."

Duo's eyes widened in terror, lifting his head to look into her merciless eyes, but he nodded slowly, lowering his head so his chin touched his chest. "Yes, Frau Kommander."

Trowa and Quatre echoed his words. The woman smiled a tight, thin-lipped, no-mirth smile before stalking away again.

As the crowd dispersed, Duo caught Quatre and Trowa's hands, pulling them closer to him. Quatre pressed tightly against his side like a child clinging to a mother, looking up at him, questions in his eyes that Duo couldn't answer. He glanced around the open area before blinking in surprise. Heero and Wufei were standing halfway across the square all alone. What were they…?

"You five, line up!" the lady officer ordered, pointing in front of her. Duo gave Quatre a shove, dragging the weakened Trowa behind him, meeting up with Heero and Wufei in the center of the field and quickly steering them all into a perfectly straight line.

"Follow me," she ordered, turning sharply on her heel the way only a soldier could, striding away towards another section of the camp. Duo gave Quatre a nudge to follow her.

"Go," he whispered softly. Quatre stumbled, but he followed after the woman. The five were silent as they walked. Duo's teeth clenched firmly together. Were they headed for the gas? Another job? The Black Wall where they shot prisoners? He received his answer when she stopped in front of a row of barred doors that led into several tiny rooms. She turned to them, and the group simultaneously froze.

"You five don't seem to understand being on time, so, to remind you, you will stay here until evening Zählappell with no meals." She unlocked the door with a key produced from her pocket and held it open, pointing sharply. "Inside, all of you, now! Los!"

When Quatre hesitated, Duo gave him a sharp shove inside. Making the officer mad would only make things worse from them. The others behind him quickly followed him inside, cramming themselves into the small space. It was obviously intended to be only for one person, so trying to shove five teenage boys inside of it was quite a task.

The door slammed with a rusty clang, trapping the five boys inside the small space. Heero and Wufei pressed their backs against the metal door. The lady officer smirked, turning and walking away swiftly, leaving them in the tiny, hot, cramped room.

Duo glanced around worriedly, already feeling the oppressive heat from all five of their bodies collecting in the small space. "We should all try to sit, or we're gonna pass out from the heat."

Somehow, with a lot of swearing and some minor injuries to toes and arms, they all managed to sit down on the cold, cement floor. Duo sat squished next to Heero and Wufei against the door, and Quatre and Trowa sat against the opposite wall. All of their knees were drawn to their chests, but their feet still met in the middle of the room. Eyes averted from each other's shamefully, as if no one was quite sure what to say.

Duo finally broke the silence. "Well, this sucks."

The words did not have the desired affect of cheering them up as he had hoped. He sighed softly. "Look, guys, we're alive, okay? They coulda shot us all, but they didn't."

That seemed to just make the silence hang thicker. Duo leaned back against the door with a defeated sigh. "At least we're together."

That prompted a few nods. Duo gave them all gentle smiles. "Look at it this way. We don't have to work today."

Quatre managed a soft giggle at that. Encouraged, Duo squeezed the boy's knee, which wasn't much of a reach in their cramped space. "We can be here, knowing we're all okay."

Heero crossed his arms over his chest. "You can make everything into a good thing, can't you?" His voice was dark and slightly bitter.

"Kinda have to," Duo replied. "Otherwise you spend your whole life wallowing in self-pity." Heero glared viciously back at him.

Trowa was starting to fan himself with his hand even though it was still early in the morning before the sun had even fully risen. Duo glanced up worriedly. If he was hot already, he was going to be sweltering in a few hours when the sun moved around to shine directly on them. "Trowa? You all right?"

Trowa nodded slowly, but it was obvious from the look in his eyes he was not. Sweat was already breaking out all over his face, making strands of auburn stick to his forehead. In the early-morning light, he was almost sheet white.

Quatre gave Trowa's arm a little shake. "Trowa?"

Trowa groaned, burying his face in his knees. But then his breath started to come in wheezes, and he sat up again, breathing hard, one hand clenched to his diaphragm.

"Trowa? Trowa, are you all right?" Quatre begged softly, reaching up to touch Trowa's cheek. It was burning under his touch.

Trowa started to cough. Deep, throaty, raspy coughs that shook his entire body. His hand flew to his mouth to try to stifle it, but it didn't seem to work at all. Duo cringed. "Hey, Tro. Deep breaths."

"Is there any way we can get some water, Duo?" Quatre asked softly, rubbing Trowa's arm lightly.

Duo shook his head. "I wouldn't dare ask. We're in deep enough shit already."

"I… I be will all right," Trowa replied, every word coming out as a separate breath, the sound of the air in his lungs thick and wheezing, muffled by the hand over his mouth.

Duo nodded slowly, watching closely as Trowa pulled his hand away from his mouth. The hand moved to his lap, but not before Duo noticed that the palm had splotches of red decorating it. Trowa was coughing up blood. He wasn't quite sure yet what Trowa had, but if he was coughing up blood, he was coughing long and hard enough to tear the tender lining inside his lungs. No matter what, that was a bad sign.

No one else seemed to have noticed, not even Quatre, and Duo found himself chewing on his own lower lip as he studied Trowa. The boy looked pale and unhealthy, more than he would expect. He had lost a lot of weight recently in a very short time, more than he should have in the circumstances. And though he hid it well, it was obvious that every night it was an effort even to climb up onto the bunk. He was sick. Very sick. If there was another selection soon, there was no way he would pass it, Romani or not. And that also left that question of what had they taken Trowa's number down for? No one had approached him; no one had taken him away. He didn't know what was worse. Waiting and not knowing, or having him taken away. If Trowa was taken away, Quatre would quickly lose all will to live, and he didn't want that to happen either.

Duo leaned over and gently placed a hand on Trowa's knee. The boy looked up at him through blood-shot eyes. "Hey, Tro, why don't you move over by the door? You don't look so good."

Wufei instantly gave Heero a shove to move him, and the five boys wormed around in the tiny space, scraping hands and stepping on feet in the process til Trowa was leaning against the iron door, breathing deeply. Quatre curled again against Trowa's side, rubbing his arm gently. Duo sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck that was already sticky with sweat. He lifted his braid up and down, trying to cool it. "So… Awkward silence."

Heero rolled his eyes. "Why should we all be punished for this?"

Duo gave him a dark glare. He was getting sick of Heero's holier-than-though attitude when they all should have been there for each other. "Shut the hell up, Yuy. We'd have done the same if it had been you. It's not like we're dead."

"He's right, Heero," Wufei replied, his voice calm and quiet in the way that only Wufei could. "We can handle no food and no water for one day. And we can rest. It could be much worse than this."

Heero growled softly but nodded. Duo gave Wufei a grateful glance. Wufei didn't acknowledge it.

"Everyone sleep," Duo ordered softly. "I think we all need it."

He received no objections.

It was several hours later before Duo suddenly stirred awake. He blinked violet eyes, wondering what had woken him up, other than the heat. He quickly figured out what it was because it was sitting right across from him. Trowa was doubled over in pain, both arms wrapped around his torso, his eyes squeezed shut, his teeth clenched tightly. Quatre had both hands on Trowa's back, rubbing them worriedly. Wufei and Heero had also just awoken, it seemed.

"Trowa?" he asked softly, leaning forward a bit, which wasn't saying much as they were already knee-to-knee.

Trowa's face was a mottled combination of green and white. He looked horrible, and Duo felt his stomach clench in terror. He quickly tucked his legs under him so he could swing himself up to meet Trowa's face. "Look at me."

Trowa's eyes opened ever so slightly, a streak of emerald the only thing visible. "Trowa, are you all right?"

Trowa shook his head weakly before his hand clapped to his mouth. Duo watched his body spasm and clench. He shoved Quatre aside, shifting against Trowa to turn him around so his body was facing the metal-barred door. "Breathe."

Trowa's hands moved to clench the metal bars, breathing through his nose, but it wasn't enough. He vomited all over, doubling over in pain.

Duo sighed silently. Shit. Now Trowa was ill. He needed medical attention, but he wasn't going to get it. He rubbed the slender shoulders gently until the boy had finished retching up last night's meal and was panting intermittently.

"What's wrong with Trowa?" Heero asked, as if the auburn-haired boy was not right there.

Duo shot him a glare. "I don't know. Be quiet."

Quatre reached over to stroke Trowa's hair back from his face. "Trowa? Êtes-vous tout droit? (Are you all right?)"

"Oui," Trowa replied weakly, his voice shaky and rough, though it was obvious he was lying. He clung to the bars like a lifeline, his face covered in sweat that ran down his sunburned cheeks. Some of it might even have been tears; Quatre didn't know.

"Maigre sur moi, (Lean on me)" Quatre whispered, rubbing at Trowa's clenched hands. The boy slowly peeled himself off the gate-like door and curled against Quatre's chest. Duo helped him to lie down, the boy's head going into Quatre's lap. Trowa was taller than all of them, which meant that even curled in a fetal position, he took up quite a bit of space on the floor. Duo was forced to almost sit on Heero and Wufei's laps to give Trowa the room he needed.

Quatre wiped at Trowa's mouth with the hem of his own shirt, stroking the sweat-snarled hair lightly, murmuring soft words in French to the boy. Trowa looked absolutely miserable. The sun shone through the metalwork of the door onto his face, making him look snow white under its fierce hue. Quatre's hand moved to shade Trowa's eyes as best he could. The sunlight was blistering even through the shadows of the framework. Duo felt his shirt soak through completely with perspiration, and he could feel close to him that Wufei and Heero's pant legs were sticky with their own sweat as well. It had to be close to noon, he figured. It was just going to get hotter until the evening brought blessed relief.

Quatre looked up at Duo worriedly as Trowa seemed to drift off into a much-needed sleep. "Duo, he needs to go to the hospital."

"No!" Duo yelped, unable to stop himself, rousing Trowa from his sleepy state. "No way!"

"Shh!" Wufei scolded him, giving him a glare. "Trowa needs rest."

Quatre's lower lip started to tremble, and Duo put up the emotionless shield in front of his heart. Quatre was going to cry. "Duo, he's sick!"

"And bringing him to the hospital is just going to get him killed!" Duo replied.

"Duo, if they can give him some medicine," Wufei started.

Duo rounded on him, glaring darkly. "You don't know! They have no medicine there, Wufei! All they'd do is let him lay there til he died! I'm not doing that to him!"

Wufei pulled back, staring at Duo. Duo never yelled. "Duo…"

"Wrong nothing?" Trowa murmured from his spot in Quatre's lap.

Duo shook his head. "No. Go back to sleep, Tro."

Trowa nodded and closed his eyes again. Duo dropped his voice, turning to Wufei to whisper in his ear. "There are more selections. He'd never make it. He's safer with us."

"We're sentencing him to death this way, Duo."

"…Not yet," Duo replied slowly. "Maybe… I can do something."

"What can you do?" Heero hissed softly. "You're no doctor, Duo."

"But I can work miracles," Duo replied, giving him the barest hint of a smile, the first one he had given Heero in a long time. "I'll try to sneak him some medicine. It should help."

"Duo, be careful," Wufei scolded. "If you get caught…"

"I'll be careful," Duo promised. "When am I not?"

That was true, Wufei admitted to himself. Duo always knew what he was doing. That was how he had survived as long as he had. Duo was a survivor by nature. "All right," he admitted grudgingly. "For Trowa."

"For Trowa," Duo agreed. For the sweet Romani gypsy boy who had befriended all of them and who was now the only reason for living for the weakest of all of them. For Trowa, he would get that medicine. For Trowa.

The heat had made them all dizzy, and Duo was fighting nausea himself by the time the sun finally started to set. As much as he didn't want to admit it, and, as much as no one else was saying anything about it either, the heat, Trowa's earlier upheaval, and all of them having to relieve themselves at one point or another in the same spot, in front of the door, made the air hang thick with a stomach-turning smell that they were trying to get used to. He was sure he was sunburned, and he was drenched from head to toe with sweat. He was sure he wouldn't be able to pull his shirt off without taking off a layer of skin with it. He had spent most of the afternoon plotting and trying to think of what he could get for Trowa. He had no idea what Trowa was sick with, but he figured almost any medicine would help something or another, and that was what mattered.

A different officer came to let them out, skirting around the mess by the door with a look of disgust. He unlocked the door and opened it, then turned away and left without a word. Trowa and Quatre almost fell over, since they had been leaning against the door, but Quatre got shakily to his feet, pulling Trowa up with him. Duo tried to stand up, but his legs felt like dead fish and wouldn't obey his commands. Wufei gave him a light push to help him up, and Duo balanced against the wall, unsteady.

Heero and Wufei stood up, using the wall for support. "Sorry," Duo apologized, knowing he had been sitting on their legs for the better part of the afternoon.

"It's all right," Wufei replied, massaging his leg gently with one hand. "We all were facing discomfort; it's not your fault."

Heero let out a growl in reply, shaking his leg sharply to try and wake it up. Duo tried to straighten out his back, biting his lip as a sharp pain went straight through his lower spine and his hips. "Ouch, shit…"

"Are you okay, Duo?" Quatre questioned softly from outside the door.

"Yeah, I'll be fine," Duo replied, plastering his smile in place, but he was sure it looked as fake as it felt. "Come on, let's just go back to our bunk."

As they headed back through the darkening camp, Duo watched Trowa stumble along next to Quatre. He didn't like the feeling of helplessness that washed over him as he surveyed his group. He had no idea what was wrong with Trowa, Quatre was alive for no apparent reason, Heero was mad at him over something foolish, and Wufei… Well, Wufei was just Wufei, he supposed. How had they managed to become such good friends in the situation they were in? Desperation, maybe. The need for someone to be there for them, to care about them and want them, let them know they were not the dirt they were treated as. Whatever that bond was that kept them together, Duo prayed it would be strong enough to help them all stay strong as they climbed back up into their own bunk.

After lunch the next afternoon, Duo managed to slip two tiny pills into the cuff of his pants for Trowa. He was sure two pills wouldn't cure him overnight, but at least, he hoped, it would stop the coughing and the fevers for a day or two until he found some better medicine for whatever it was that Trowa had. The daily shift was almost over when one of the guards let out a bark of "Attention!" Duo automatically snapped upright, standing straight and tall, turning to face the door. Standing in the doorway, looking as unruffled and clean as ever, was Colonel Treize Khushrenada himself. Duo sucked in a breath. So, the Colonel was making the rounds for inspection. Duo had only seen him twice before, as the Colonel did not venture into the wild rough that was the camp all that often. He was probably afraid his clothing would become dirty from the filth around the inmates, Duo thought to himself as he stood there and tried to not look like he hated the man.

"Prisoners, fall in! Los!" snapped one of the guards, shoving several of the nearest men into a line. Duo quickly left his spot at the long table covered in suitcases, joining the row. He was glad the shift was over. He could get back and give Trowa his medicine. Trowa had been looking ash gray this morning, a color Duo didn't like to see on a face so young, and he had coughed up blood again this morning.

The line moved forward, the guards patting down each of the men to make sure none were trying to sneak things out of the sorting block. Duo hardly paid attention, lost in his own thoughts about how worried Quatre was about Trowa and how he was hoping Trowa would soon get better so they could focus more on their relationship than Trowa's health. Hands moved down his body, but he didn't care. It was just routine.

He was brought back to caring when the hand stopped at his pants leg. "What have we here?" the soldier asked, his hand dipping into Duo's cuff. Duo froze. Shit.

A moment later, the hand reappeared, grasping the two tiny pills between the soldier's fingers. How the hell had they found them? Duo wanted to know. He had smuggled bandages, shoes, food, clothing, paper, anything anyone could possibly imagine, and he got caught with two pills no bigger together than his pinky nail? They had never checked cuffs before. The Colonel standing right by their side must have made them be more thorough than usual.

The soldier next to the one who had frisked him grabbed his gun from his shoulder and pointed it straight at Duo. Duo froze, staring wide-eyed.

He almost passed out as Treize stepped forward, holding up a hand. "Hold your fire."

The soldier obeyed, lowering his gun. Duo forced himself to breathe again. "Out of line," Treize commanded, pointing to the side. Duo quickly obeyed, moving over to stand by the wall. Treize waved the frisking line on.

Once everyone had gone through and moved outside, Treize turned back to Duo, who hadn't dared to move, barely to breathe. "On your knees, Jew," he spat, pointing to the ground.

Duo obediently dropped to his knees, swallowing his pride. Disobeying right now would be a very bad idea.

Treize held out his hands towards the soldier who held the two pills Duo had tried to steal. The soldier handed them to him. Treize studied them a moment as Duo felt his knees dig into the dirt ground. "Antibiotics… Not for you, I assume?" he asked, glancing over at Duo. The braided boy looked relatively healthy, if not a bit pale and thin.

"No, Herr Colonel," Duo replied, bowing his head respectively.

"For whom?"

"A sick friend."

"His name?"

"Trowa Barton, G72543, Herr Colonel."

"Ah, yes… A friend of P133824?"

That was Quatre's number… How did Treize know Quatre? "Yes, Herr Colonel."

"Is Herr Barton ill?"

"…Yes, Herr Colonel." What did it matter to Treize? Did that have to do with Trowa's number being written down? Would Trowa be taken to the hospital or worse?

"What is he ill with?"

"I… I don't know, Herr Colonel," Duo replied softly.

"How ill is he?"

"V… Very. I not think he will survive without medicine," Duo replied, a tiny spark of hope igniting in his heart. Perhaps the colonel would not be as heartless as he thought, and the pills would be returned to him to help Trowa.

Treize nodded slowly. "I see." He smiled as he slipped the pills into his coat pocket, then suddenly pulled out his pistol from his side holster. "Seeing as you broke the rules, however, I'm afraid you must be punished."

Duo looked up, his eyes locking on the barrel aimed right at his head. Before he could do more than think about the four boys he was leaving behind, the crack of the pistol echoed through the room.

The very next morning, Trowa's body joined Duo's in a mass grave on the edge of camp.