By: Aja Golde
For summary, disclaimer and mild warnings, see chapters one and two.
Author's Notes: Okay, I have never worked at Disneyworld, so things happen the way I imagine they could happen at a theme park. If you've actually worked at Disney or someplace similar, feel free to shoot me a message with advice. I also don't know medical jargon, so I skipped the mumbo-jumbo and came up with something that I thought was appropriate. For this chapter I listened to an "I'm Blue" remix on YouTube, posted by TorkoalAqua.
Chapter 5
Day 2 9:30 AM
It was a determined Quatre who strode into Animal Kingdom; last night's conversation had emboldened him. He couldn't help but feel a little hurt on his friend's behalf, and yet he couldn't stop the clenching of his stomach whenever he thought of Trowa. The two feelings were beginning to give him a headache, but he charged ahead anyway. He was prepared to first thank Trowa (and he convinced himself that the meeting was not going to be awkward, because he did not have any sort of fling with Trowa) and then go and confront Heero. Quatre wasn't the best at throwing punches, but he was sure he could plan some kind of revenge on Heero for stringing along his friend so convincingly.
The morning air was fresh, perfumed with the scent of numerous flowers; the dew that slipped off the palm leaves landed on Quatre's nose. Quatre sucked in a big breath before he approached the pen with the goats.
"Trowa?" he called.
"Yes?" said a voice behind him.
Quatre turned and stepped out of the way for Trowa who was holding a few large tubs.
"What're those?"
"New tubs for water."
Trowa stepped into the enclosure and then filled up the tubs using a hose.
"I wanted to thank you for yesterday. It was a very nice thing to do, requesting front row seats for us."
Trowa shrugged one shoulder and looked away.
"We really enjoyed the show. Thanks for recommending it."
Trowa stared at some point over Quatre's shoulder, frowning.
"How's Clementine today?"
Trowa immediately looked at him, and that same timid smile came to his lips, "She's great, would you like to see her?"
Quatre nodded and Trowa whistled at the little goat, who was too happy on the playground to answer to Trowa's demands. Trowa grunted, obviously not satisfied, and then held out a hand, "Come on. Hop over."
"What? I don't think that's allowed."
"I know," Trowa said, "but there's no one watching right now."
Quatre looked at the handful of visitors, and while he didn't think they'd report Trowa, he'd rather not get caught doing something illegal. He did not want to be the only person to be banned from Disneyworld.
"Go on," Duo snorted from behind him and Quatre jumped, having forgotten he was there, "live a little. You might as well enjoy yourself before you take on Heero. No offense, but that man looks like he could bend steel."
At that sentence Trowa raised his eyebrows, but said nothing. Quatre stuck his tongue out at Duo, but grabbed Trowa's hand just the same and stepped over the blue ropes. Trowa led him, still holding onto his hand, to the playground. Clementine looked up when she saw them, and stretched out her neck so Quatre could pet her. Quatre leaned in and planted a kiss on the goat's nose (completely aware of the gagging noise Duo made when he did), and turned to find Trowa smiling again, but not at the goat. At him.
"Um," Quatre said intelligently.
They released each other's hands as if they had touched fire.
Trowa went back to staring over his shoulder and Quatre gave Clementine a few more pats before turning to leave.
"Wait," Trowa grabbed his arm, "do you know a man with blond hair?"
"Besides myself?" Quatre asked, raising his eyebrows.
Trowa nodded, still looking over Quatre's shoulder.
"No. Why?"
"There's a man staring at you. He has been since you arrived. I saw him around here yesterday evening too."
"Maybe he just likes the animals and is wondering why I'm standing in the animal pen."
Trowa didn't give an answer, he just let go of his arm and went back to the goats. Quatre, miffed at Trowa's sudden change in behavior, climbed back over the blue ropes and looked for the blond man Trowa had mentioned. But he saw nobody. A flash of panic flared in his chest, but he shoved it down. So far nobody had approached him, asking him if he was truly Quatre Winner or requesting an autograph or anything else, so Quatre assumed he was safe. He wasn't as well known as some of his older sisters, preferring to stay out of the camera's eye as much as he could, even though he was the only Winner male this generation and therefore pinned to be the next great political figure.
"Watson?"
Quatre turned and Trowa stood petting Clementine, emerald eye observing the area around them, "I'm going to the party tonight. The one in Magic Kingdom?"
"Oh? I haven't told Duo about that yet, but he'd probably want to go."
Trowa looked on the verge of saying more, but in the end he just nodded and turned back to the goats. Quatre saw that as a clear dismissal and joined Duo, both of them turning to walk back to the train.
"So, how'd it go?" Duo asked.
"You weren't eavesdropping?"
"Trowa talks really quietly."
"You haven't…noticed anyone watching us, have you?"
Duo did a quick survey around them, "Well, there's a little old lady who looks like she's got the hots for you, but besides her, nobody seems to be paying attention to us. Why?"
"Nothing," Quatre shrugged, not wanting Duo to worry, "but you haven't seen anyone you recognize?"
"Not a one. Is something wrong?"
"Just wanted to make sure we're still anonymous," Quatre answered quickly.
"Hmmm….ok. Let's go bug Heero now!"
Duo gave him a crafty smile and Quatre figured that in the ten minutes he had left him alone, Duo had concocted a plan that could spell trouble for Heero.
Day 2 10:30 AM
The Everest ride was almost old news to Quatre, who automatically got into the front row only line, and walked behind Duo as he went up to Heero, who was again holding the microphone, looking at the next coaster coming in.
"Hey Heero," Duo leaned on the edge of the control panel, "miss me?"
Heero started violently, turning around to level a glare at Duo, "You don't quit, do you?"
Duo leaned forward, nearly in Heero's face, "Quit what? All I'm doing is riding this ride. I happen to like it. You've got nothing to do with it."
Heero harrumphed.
"Too easy," Duo chuckled quietly, "then again, you are a fake-out. I think you owe me quite a number of things, starting with your phone number.""
"The stuffed animal wasn't enough?" Heero shook his head, but he was smirking.
Duo frowned, alluring voice vanishing as quickly as smoke, "What stuffed animal?"
Heero pinched the bridge of his nose, "The huge Yeti I had sent to your hotel. How many other stuffed animals were you expecting? Do you try to lift one off of every ride operator you come across?"
"I didn't get a stuffed Yeti," Duo scowled, "I checked with the front desk, and they didn't have anything for me."
The gates opened, however, and Duo was forced to enter the coaster and Heero had to make his speech, "Welcome, foolish travelers…"
"I can't believe he got you something," Quatre said to Duo, thinking he'd be thrilled.
"Either that or he's yanking my chain."
"You really think he was bluffing?"
"Don't know. But if he's not, then why wasn't his present delivered?"
"-and if you happen to survive the Yeti, then be sure to tell your story to a newspaper. Reporters usually hang out at the Restaurantosaurus just waiting to discuss unusual stories over lunch," Heero said, looking straight at Duo as he said it, "two o'clock is usually the best time to catch them."
As the ride began Duo turned to glare at Quatre, "What the hell was that about?"
Quatre closed his eyes, thinking, "Restaurantosaurus is a dining hall in DinoLand U.S.A. I don't think reporters hang out there, he made that up. Heero was looking at you as he said it…so he probably eats there and wants you to join him?"
"He wants me meet him for lunch, most likely to discuss my missing Yeti. That's what he meant by 'unusual stories'," Duo said slowly, working it out as he spoke.
"As far as code goes, that one was pretty bad."
"Well he made it up on the spot!"
"You're cute when you're defending him."
"Oh shut-up."
Day 2 11:30 PM
Duo and Quatre walked over to DinoLand U.S.A., figuring they would go on some rides before meeting Heero for lunch. It was filled with mostly kiddy rides, although the ride Dinosaur looked pretty exciting. Quatre, however, decided that he had had enough of thrill rides for one morning and forced Duo to go on some of the other rides with him.
"You've never been on the Dumbo ride, have you?" Quatre asked.
"Are you trying to insult me?"
"No Duo, it's based off of the movie Dumbo about an elephant with extremely large ears. Magic Kingdom's most famous kid ride is the Dumbo ride. You have to go on it, it's a classic!"
"But we're not in Magic Kingdom."
"Animal Kingdom has a similar ride, only instead of flying elephants, it has flying dinosaurs. It's called the TriceraTop Spin."
"There's quite a line."
"Oh come on! We've been on the Everest ride four times now."
"All right, all right, don't whine. I'm not sure I'll even fit."
So Duo and Quatre stood in line for the TriceraTop Spin, a ride with sixteen outstretching arms, a green dinosaur attached to the end of each arm. The arms moved up and down while the base of the ride spun them around and around. A man with spiky dark hair led them to their seats. Due to Quatre and Duo's height, Quatre was forced to sit in the front and Duo was made to sit in the backseat.
"At least we don't have to share the dino with two annoying little boys," Duo snorted, glaring at said little boys as they were led to their seats. They had been constantly tugging on Duo's braid while in line. It had only stopped when Duo had threatened that he would make a triceratops eat them.
"Your way with children amazes me," Quatre said right as they were lifted into the air.
The wind on Quatre's face was a blessing, a brief respite from the heat, and Quatre could see the entirety of DinoLand, Everest towering over the trees, and the Tree of Life across Discovery River. But all of a sudden the wind in his face stopped, and his bangs fell flat against his forehead. A grinding noise assaulted his ears and he looked back at Duo, "What's going on?"
Duo was clinging to his seat as their dino began to waver in the air. He was looking at where the arm was connected to the ride.
"Shit, Quatre, something's wrong with the arm."
And then they dropped.
Quatre had been on airplanes, and he always remembered the sinking sensation in his stomach when he experienced air turbulence. This was worse. Unlike the airplane, the triceratops didn't bob on the air, it ripped through it. Quatre couldn't even breathe enough air to scream before he was rammed against the side of the dino, clinging to it as he saw the pavement reach up to meet his face. Because the arm had been built on an angle, the frill of the triceratops hit first, grinding against the ground so that sparks flew into the air. A chunk of it broke off. Quatre felt the shock of impact enter his feet and side, but was protected by the sheer thickness of the triceratops. His fingers and toes still went numb, and his teeth felt like he had just ground them against a chalkboard. His ribs dug into the hard casing of the dino, and he felt bruises forming.
The arm finally went still and Quatre dragged in a large breath of air before beginning to pant. He carefully removed his fingers from where they had been clinging; they were red and some of the skin was peeled away.
"Duo?" Quatre asked, turning around, his heart thumping wildly.
Quatre immediately let out a giddy sigh when he saw Duo blink at him, eyes wide. Duo grunted, but didn't say anything. Quatre frowned, noticing Duo's neck was craned at an odd angle.
"Duo?" Quatre began to panic, but his legs were tingly and he couldn't seem to move, "Okay, don't move, help is on the way, the ride operator called in some people, I think everyone else is stuck in the air for now, those two boys are looking at you, they're scared. I'm scared. Everybody's scared."
"Breathe Quatre," Duo gasped.
"You can talk? Oh good. Can you feel the rest of your body?"
"Hair-stuck-under-dino," Duo grunted.
Quatre, moving carefully, half afraid he'd tip the dino over, eased his legs out of the ride and looked around the side. Sure enough, Duo's long braid was caught underneath the weight of the dino.
"Oh God. You could've died. Your neck could've snapped. Holy fucking shit Duo, you're the luckiest bastard to ever walk the fucking Earth," Quatre held a hand to his chest, feeling a little out of breath as the possibilities flooded his mind.
"You? You're the ride operator?" A man demanded as he entered the ride area. The employee with the dark, spiky hair nodded.
"Send these people away," he gestured to the line of visitors waiting to get on the ride, "The ride is closed. I've called in the mechanics and Reedy Creek Emergency Services. Tell the riders that we'll get them down as soon as possible and ask if there are any more injuries. The first order of business is taking care of the grounded dino."
As the ride operator began to speak into the microphone, the man walked towards them and squatted by their fallen dino, eyes going over the damage, "A Medical Assistants Response Cart is on its way and Reedy Creek will send some firefighters to move the dino and help the remaining passengers."
Then the man turned to Duo and leaned over to feel his pulse and check his eyes, "Blink once if you can hear me."
Duo rolled his eyes, but blinked.
"Good. Blink once if you have troubles breathing, twice if you don't."
"I'm-fine," Duo said, stuttering.
"Can you feel the rest of your body?"
"Perfectly. Just-free-the-damn-hair."
"Do you feel disoriented, sick or have a headache?"
"None-of-the-above."
The man turned towards Quatre, "Do you feel well enough to stand? I'm going to have to clear the area so the dino can be lifted."
Quatre nodded and grasping onto the man's forearms, was lifted carefully from the ride. His legs were wobbly and his side was sore, but he was immediately transferred into the arms of another person and noticed the golf cart that had pulled up. It was equipped with medical emergency equipment and the paramedic who sat Quatre down on a nearby bench was introducing himself.
"Hey, I'm Walker. I'm here to patch you up, but you look pretty good," he talked as he took Quatre's pulse, checked his pupils and felt his chest, ordering him to breathe in and out.
"I'm fine. My friend, Duo, he's the one who needs the attention."
But Walker continued to check him over, feeling his head for bumps and taking a look at the purple mark that adorned the right side of his chest. He continued to press on his ribs, and the diagnosis was that they were not broken, just bruised. He then proceeded to wrap his chest while the firefighters arrived on the scene.
"I need you to relax," Walker said, "take even breaths, okay? Zechs will make sure everything is fine. He's the area manager and I've worked with him before. He's not sloppy and Reedy Creek has been working with Disneyworld since the thing was built."
"Zechs…he's the man with the long white hair?"
Walker nodded and Quatre felt a little better. Zechs was the man who had first approached them.
A metal grating noise permeated the area as several men lifted the dino enough so that Duo could free his hair. Then another paramedic checked him over. Quatre could hear Duo's protests even from where he sat.
"I tell you, it's just a neck strain. Nothing an ice pack won't fix."
"You could have damaged or bruised vertebrae."
"Just an ice pack will do. I've had these before. They hurt like hell for a few days, but they get better."
"You can barely move your neck."
"Well that's because it's strained. A couple pulled muscles are nothing to worry about. I just want to continue on with my vacation."
"You could have a possible case of whiplash."
"Nothing some pain killers won't cure. Hand me some Advil if you've got any."
Beside him, Walker chuckled, "Sounds like your friend is making quite a scene."
"He's not very fond of hospitals."
"Well unless you really want to go to one, I think you're just fine. We do many of these treat-and-release-on-the-scene deals, and as both of you are conscious, it's unlikely you'll need serious attention."
"Won't we have to report the accident?"
At that Walker laughed, "Accidents aren't reported unless an overnight stay at a hospital is required, and even then the parks in Florida aren't legally required to report accidents involving injuries."
"Wow," Quatre said, partially in disbelief, and partially in relief. Duo and he wouldn't have to make a report. Their vacation would continue to be a secret. Unless…Quatre looked over at Duo, who was cradling an ice pack to his neck. If Duo needed medical attention, or was seriously injured, Quatre wouldn't think twice about filing a law suit.
Twenty minutes later a flustered paramedic released Duo, though she gave him several business cards recommending physical therapists and neck injury specialists. The firefighters and mechanics were busy clearing away the debris from the fall, getting the other passengers to the ground, and discussing the plausible reasons for the accident.
"We had quite a scare, didn't we?" Duo walked up to Quatre stiffly, still holding the ice pack to his neck, "Are you okay? I thought we were goners for a second there."
Quatre reached out a hand to clasp Duo's arm, wary to draw him into a hug because of his injuries, "I thought you were a goner. The way your neck was bent…God Duo, lucky your neck was bent sideways and not backwards. Are you sure you're okay? We can go to a hospital if-"
"No!" Duo shouted, "Look, I'm fine. I'll take it easy. I promised our paramedic friends I would. Besides, I can't miss lunch with Heero. I've been looking forward to that all morning!"
Quatre sighed, "They should really add a hair-length requirement to these rides. No one with hair over two feet should be able to go on. I'm surprised your hair has never gotten caught in anything mechanical before."
"How are you two feeling?" Zechs asked as he walked over.
"Just peachy," Duo grinned, "a few bumps and bruises here and there, but nothing life threatening. We'll take the day easy, have some lunch, maybe go back to the hotel to rest and see how it goes from there."
Zechs nodded, "That's excellent. I was hoping it wasn't anything too serious. We're still looking into why the mechanical arm failed, but I'm glad you're all right, if there's anything you need-"
"Nah," Duo cut in, "everything's fine. But if we do need something, we'll track you down."
"At least let me get you some meal vouchers-"
Duo shook his head, but Zechs was a stubborn man. So, instead of giving them free meals, he gave them Fast-Passes.
"Disney employees can write Fast-Passes," he explained, snagging a form from the spiky haired employee, "I'll arrange so that you can use this for any ride in Animal Kingdom, AFTER, of course, you get some rest."
Duo took the sheet of paper and folded it into his wallet, "Thanks, man. But Watson and I are starving, so we're going to head over to the Restaurantosaurus, if we're free to leave...?"
Zechs excused them, but as they were heading to the diner they passed the two little boys who had been annoying Duo earlier. They were looking at the braided teen with wide eyes, and one whispered to the other, "He's so cool."
"The dinosaur must have made him mad, look what he did to it."
They then looked at the dino and said as one, "Awesome."
But what Duo and Quatre didn't notice was a strange blond man pulling aside the spiky haired Disney employee. He passed him a slip of paper and then walked away.