Konnichiwa Minna-san! I'm back with the second chapter of this little ficlette. I don't have much to say about this aside from some characters in this might be a tad bit out of character. But aside from that, you can get started after the stupid disclaimer…Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam 00 or the characters. Veda and Tieria are just allowing me to borrow them for a while.

Happy Reading!

Chapter Two: Feverish Memories

Sumeragi sighed as she watched Tieria toss and turn restlessly in his sleep. Tieria hadn't woken up since he had been brought here and his fever wasn't yielding either. Sumeragi wished that there was something that she could do to help the boy but until his fever fell, all she could do was watch him and make sure that his condition didn't get any worse. Tieria's breathing was extremely raspy and every so often he would moan or whimper in his sleep.

She was worried about the boy. In the past few months, Tieria's health had been unusually poor. In the past few months she had lost count of the times she found Tieria lying in bed because he felt ill. She had also noticed that his clothes weren't fitting as well as they used to. His custom made uniform was baggy on him, meaning he hadn't been eating. And he was almost always tired. Tieria always seemed to be able to work longer hours than the others had been able to but recently, after just a few hours of work, Tieria would be on the verge of collapse.

Sumeragi nearly jumped out of her skin when Tieria suddenly cried out in his sleep. She was beginning to wonder if she should call for a doctor. Tieria had a poor tolerance for heat and with his temperature as high as it was, he was probably in severe pain. /If he doesn't improve by morning or gets worse, I'll call for a doctor/ She thought.

"Come on Tieria," She muttered as she took the boy's limp hand in her own, "Hang in there…"

"How's he doing?" Linda asked as she walked into the room, "I heard him cry out not to long ago."

Sumeragi sighed, "He hasn't changed at all," She said, "I'm wondering if I should call for a doctor. He must be in pain…I don't think I've ever seen Tieria get this sick before…"

"How high has his fever gotten?" Linda asked as she placed her hand on the boy's forehead.

"It was up to forty point one the last time I checked," Sumeragi said, "I shouldn't have let him go to the cemetery alone…He would be alright if I had refused…"

"I don't think so," Linda said, "I don't think Tieria-kun's illness has anything to do with the fact that he spent six hours in the rain. He was looking rather ill before he left."

Sumeragi gasped, "I can't believe I didn't notice," She muttered, "But then again…Tieria seemed to be avoiding me this morning…He knew he probably looked terrible and he avoided me so I wouldn't find out he was sick. He should really know better…what on earth was he thinking?"

"You need to remember that Lockon-kun was Tieria-kun's first real friend," Linda said, "It was Lockon-kun's birthday and Tieria-kun probably felt the need to visit his best friend on his birthday. Tieria-kun is very stubborn, when he wants to do something he's going to do it regardless if we try to stop him or not. I'm sure, had it been any other day, Tieria-kun would have held off until he felt better."

Sumeragi sighed and nodded in agreement. Unless it was absolutely necessary, Tieria wasn't the type of person who would put himself in harm's way. The boy was super intelligent however sometimes he seemed to lack common sense. "You should get some rest Linda," Sumeragi said, "I'll be alright watching Tieria tonight…it's the least I can do for him…"

"I'm just as worried about Tieria-kun as you are," Linda said, "Plus Mileina told me to "make sure Erde-san is okay." I'll keep you company. That way in case one of us needs to run to get something he's not alone."

"Okay," Sumeragi said, "Thank you Linda…"

While in his feverish sleep Tieria dreamt. He dreamt about all the times he had spent with Lockon in the short span of time he had known the man.

From meeting the man for the very first time to the last time he had seen the man alive, he relived it all. He was stuck here reliving his past in an endless loop that he couldn't get out of. If he tried to return to consciousness an intense heat and an unbearable pain would drag him back into unconsciousness. Not having the strength to fight his own body, he slipped into a deeper stage of unconsciousness.

It was a normal morning on the Ptolemaios but something was slightly amiss. Lockon Stratos wasn't his normal happy-go-lucky self. Tieria wasn't normally one to notice behavioral changes in his comrades but he did pick up on this one. Apparently, according to the others, Lockon being in a bad mood was just as strange as Tieria being in a good mood.

"Is something wrong, Lockon Stratos?" Tieria asked as he looked up from his book.

"I didn't think you cared," Lockon said uncharacteristically.

"I was just wondering if whatever seems to be bothering you would affect your ability to fight," Tieria said, "We always need to be in top form if we're going to carry out the plan."

"Everything is always about the plan with you isn't it?" Lockon asked.

"Well…"

"Perhaps you should try thinking about how your comrades are feeling instead of the plan all the time," Lockon said.

"If you're ill you should head down to the medical room," Tieria said.

"I'm not sick," Lockon said, "I just have a lot on my mind. So you can go back to your little carefree world where all you care about is the plan and Veda." With that Lockon left the dining room leaving Tieria rather confused.

Tieria shrugged as he finished his coffee then headed off to Veda's terminal to see if he could find any clues as to why Lockon was acting so odd.

As Tieria mentally leafed through Veda's immense network he came across something that caught his eye. He came across Lockon's birth date…which happened to be that very day. /I thought people were normally happy on their birthday/ Tieria thought, /So why is Lockon so upset?/

He didn't quite understand how birthdays worked. He wasn't human, he had no real birthday. He had been assigned a "birth date" that was based solely on his personality to avoid any of the problems that may have arisen if he said that he didn't have a birth date. He had been assigned a fake age as well for the very same reasons. But neither his fake birth date nor age meant anything to him. They were just there to avoid any suspicion about his less than conventional upbringing because explaining that would probably take days.

He closed his connection to Veda and headed to Sumeragi's room. Normally if he had a question about something that Veda hadn't taught him, he went to Lockon but seeing as though this matter involved Lockon he decided that confronting him about it would not end well.

Since there were no missions scheduled for that day Tieria found Sumeragi in her room.

"Tieria," She said. She seemed rather surprised to see the boy at her door, "Can I help you with anything?"

Tieria sighed and diverted his gaze from hers. He felt silly asking such a foolish question, "What to people…normally do on their…birthdays?" He asked.

Sumeragi's eyes widened. She didn't think Tieria would ever ask such a question, "What brought this about?" She asked, "Whose birthday is it?"

"It's Lockon's birthday," Tieria said.

"Is it?" Sumeragi asked, "Why do you want to know?"

"Lockon seemed to be in a very foul mood this morning," Tieria said, "I was under the impression that birthdays were something most people celebrated."

"Did you ask Lockon if there was anything bothering him?" Sumeragi asked.

"He seemed to avoid the subject," Tieria said.

"You should go and talk to him," Sumeragi said, "I really can't help you with this. I don't know what Lockon is thinking."

Tieria sighed as he nodded and headed to Lockon's room. When he got there he wondered if asking the man about what was bothering him was really such a good idea after all. However despite any doubt he may have had, he paged the man anayway.

"Tieria," Lockon said as he opened the door, "What are you doing here?"

"Today is your twenty-fifth birthday is it not?" Tieria asked.

"Yeah," Lockon said, "But how did you know…Never mind I know how you know."

"I was under the impression that birthdays are something that most people celebrate," Tieria said, "So why do you seem so upset?"

"You wouldn't understand," Lockon said as he attempted to shut the door but Tieria had placed his hand on the sensor so the door wouldn't close, "What is your problem today?"

"The fact that you're not your normal carefree self," Tieria said, "And I'm not the only one who's noticed it either."

Lockon sighed. There was no easy way to get rid of a stubborn prying Tieria, "I made a promise to someone a long time ago," Lockon said, "As you might not have known, almost my entire family was killed by terrorists when I was still a kid. There's only one other person in my family besides me now and it's my younger twin brother. The year our parents and little sister were killed we made a pact to spend the day "with" our family. Every year we would head to the cemetery on March third, our birthday, and we would just spend the day there regardless of weather. It was the only time I saw my brother. This is the first year I haven't been able to get there since the incident."

"You should have told someone ahead of time," Tieria said, "I'm sure you would have been clear to go."

Lockon scoffed, "Why?" He asked, "I'm no better than the terrorists that killed my family all those years ago. You said it yourself "to the world, we make fine terrorists." I'm a hypocrite. I hate terrorism and yet I am a terrorist…how ironic…"

"If you still want to go, I'm sure it can be arranged with Veda," Tieria said, "I can label the request as urgent and get it processed right away. If you put the request in now, I can get you to Ireland before nightfall."

Lockon looked over at the smaller Meister, "You would do that?" He asked in disbelief. He didn't think that Tieria would be willing to use Veda for anything that wasn't a part of the plan.

"It is your birthday," Tieria said, "It's the least I can do for you."

"Thank you so much," Lockon said as Tieria started to walk off.

"However," Tieria said as he stopped, "I'll do it under one condition…"

"What would that be?" Lockon asked worried as to what the boy would come up with.

"You cheer up a bit," Tieria said with a hint of what Lockon thought was a smile, "Happy birthday."

Lockon nodded and quickly went off to write up his request.

Later at supper that evening Sumeragi approached Tieria.

"Did you find your answer?" She asked.

"I did," Tieria said.

"Does it have something to do with the fact that Lockon was cleared to return to Ireland for the day just five minutes after he submitted the request?" Sumeragi asked.

"It does," Tieria said.

"And I'm guessing you had a hand in that," Sumeragi said, "Seeing as to how it was marked with the highest level of priority."

"Perhaps I did," Tieria said as he left the room. It was right then and there that Tieria Erde decided that perhaps doing something nice for his comrades once and a while wasn't such a bad thing after all.

Sumeragi sighed. It was nearly daybreak and while Tieria was no long crying out, moaning and whimpering in his sleep, his fever was still very high and he was still restlessly tossing and turning.

"Linda, will you watch him while I go to the front desk to get the number for a doctor?" She said, "He needs medical attention…I just can't watch him struggle any longer."

"Alright," Linda said as Sumeragi went to get dressed.

Sumeragi was about to leave the hotel room when a soft moan escaped from Tieria's lips. It was different then what he had been doing all night and it made her turn towards the boy.

"Tieria-kun," Linda said softly as she placed her hand his forehead, "You're awake."

Sumeragi quickly abandoned the thought of leaving the room and rushed to the boy's bedside, "You're awake," She nearly cried, "Do you have any idea how worried we were?"

"What happened?" Tieria whispered unable to find his voice.

"You collapsed at the cemetery," Linda said as she stroked the boy's hair, "You're lucky someone was there to help you. Take it easy for now, you're very sick."

"Tieria," Sumeragi said as she rummaged around in her bag, "I know how much you don't like taking medication but I would like you to take a fever reducer."

"Why?" Tieria whispered, "It's best to let a fever come down naturally."

Sumeragi sighed, "You're running a fever of over forty degrees right now," Sumeragi said, "I know it is best to let a fever fall on its own but…I don't think I could handle having to watch you struggle until your fever fell naturally…please Tieria."

Tieria sighed and nodded in compliance.

Linda carefully helped Tieria sit up. Sumeragi then handed him two small pills and a glass of water. She watched as the boy took the medicine then rested against the pillows again.

"Do you need anything else?" Sumeragi asked.

Tieria shook his head and shut his eyes.

"Alright," Sumeragi said, "Get some sleep. You're sick and we're scheduled to return tomorrow."

Sumeragi wanted to chastise the boy for his serious lack of better judgment from the day before but now wasn't the time. Right now nursing Tieria back to health took top priority, she could yell at the boy when he was feeling better.

"I'm sorry I worried you…" Tieria whispered.

"Don't worry about it," Sumeragi said, "We'll discuss it later. Get some sleep for now. We're returning to space tomorrow and odds are you'll still be sick, so try to get as much sleep as you can today."

Tieria nodded and slipped into a deep sleep.

The next day, before they headed for the airport, Sumeragi, Feldt and Linda stood in front of the Dylandi family grave. Tieria had stayed in the car. He was still running a fever and Sumeragi wasn't about to let him stand out in the rain again. But Tieria wasn't complaining, he still felt rather sick and he really wasn't looking forward to traveling in such a condition. Wang Liu Mei was going to fly them to the linear train with her private jet but they were going to have to stand in a customs line when they got to the linear train. He knew that it was going to take nearly the entire day to get back to Krung Thep and he was still feeling rather weak and tired so he wanted to save his strength.

Feldt quietly sobbed as Linda gently embraced her. Sumeragi knelt down and placed a rather large bouquet of flowers on the ground, "Happy birthday Lockon," She muttered.

"Happy birthday," Feldt muttered as she looked up.

"We should get going," Sumeragi said softly, "We have a long journey ahead of us."

Feldt nodded in compliance and they all walked back to the car.

So there it is. Poor Tieria, he had a rough night with the fever and the dreams he kept having. In the little dream it was almost as if Tieria and Lockon switch personalities huh? The dream probably took place after Tieria revealed Nadleeh ahead of schedule. I've decided to extend this fic to three chapters. So just sit tight for the last chapter! Until next time! Ja ne Minna-san!

Ex-Shark-V-005