Author's Note: Surprised by the recent update? Well, since last chapter most likely didn't feed your hunger for me, I have decided to give y'all another update. From here on in, though, it will be the usual three days so don't look in too much of this quick update. Enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing.

Warning: Language, religious overtones

Continuing Where We Left Off

She had to have been an angel, she just had to.

Duo knew that he didn't know a lot of stuff. He knew he wasn't smart like Solo was about things. In fact, it had only been a couple of days ago that he learned what an angel was.

He was definitely sure that that woman over there, that nun as she called herself, was an angel.

Sister Helen was her name and he had fallen in love with her, not in that whole way that Dorothy's friends Heero and Relena were, but it was love somehow, he just sure what kind it was. He loved it whenever her violet eyes would land on him and brighten with a wondrous light; how whenever she spoke to him, her voice would sound like the most beautiful music he had ever heard; and he loved it more than anything whenever she would kiss him on the forehead in that caring way that he had never been shown before. He had gone as far as to request her to tuck him into the loaned bed he had been given every night.

He only hated it, though, when she wasn't paying any attention to him but to some other kids, one in particular named Adrian. He didn't like it when Adrian was near her and he especially didn't like it when she had picked Adrian up once and he had given him a raspberry. His other side hadn't liked it either but he had refrained from teaching this Adrian a lesson mainly because he didn't want to make Sister Helen sad.

Whenever he wasn't with Sister Helen, he was usually with Solo who was doing his own thing, grumbling about being kept up here when they should have left a long time ago. Duo could see through Solo's mood that he cared about these people even though he didn't want to show it. Solo had been a street kid after all, whatever that meant.

It was Trowa who was keeping them there, insisting that he wanted to see if Catherine would be all right. He kinda agreed with him on that point because Catherine was also nice and she was good with throwing a knife.

It wasn't like they were unwelcome anyway; Father Maxwell was always there to make them feel at home and he liked the guy as well, not as much as Sister Helen but then again he hadn't liked anybody as much as he did her unless you counted Solo but Solo was his friend. Solo had given him his name, Kid, how could he not owe so much to him? Anyway, Father Maxwell was a really nice guy, even when he was talking about someone else called God, whoever that was. Also, Father Maxwell seemed to like him better than Adrian so that put him up a few more notches in his book. Plus he knew it was him in that confessional thing even though the man always denied with a smile on his face.

Who else was there now? He knew there was someone else but he just couldn't put his finger on it…oh yeah, Dorothy, had could he have forgotten? Yeah, she had been very quiet but maybe that was because Solo had told him that girls were noisy. Eh, it wasn't like she meant anything to him.

Now that he was on the subject of people he didn't care about, he had also spotted another man walking about and he didn't like it whenever he caught the man looking at him. The guy just looked sad for some reason and whenever he had tried to point him out to Solo, the guy would just disappear when he wasn't looking. He didn't like it one bit, especially now that he was waiting his turn for confessional and that guy was watching him again from one of the pews. He debated whether or not to blast the guy but decided not to since not only Sister Helen and Father Maxwell would be upset but he would also make God unhappy and he didn't want that. But he was considering it more and more as he was sure it was Adrian in there, hogging up all the confessing time and everything.

Flicking a quick glance to see that strange man eyeing him, he turned his glance into a full on glare, giddy that the man quickly looked away. Wow, it had actually worked! He had been practicing that look in the mirror, trying to get it to look just like Solo's. He'd have to thank him for it the next time he saw him, that was if he could get into that confession booth sometime today.

Of course, that soon presented the problem of what he was going to confess about today. He hadn't done anything bad; at least he didn't think he did. Did that bad look he gave that man count as something bad? Best to be safe, he supposed. How about some bad stuff his other self did? He felt a slight headache awaken in his head and he quickly forgot about that thought. Perhaps he'd let his other talk about that some other time.

He felt someone sit next to him in the pew and when he looked to see who it was, his face brightened up.

"So what ya up ta, Duo?" Solo asked, slouching in his seat, his green eyes half lidded as he looked down at the braided boy.

"Waitin'," he answered.

"For what?" Solo asked back, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards.

"Confession."

The smile that may have been growing died altogether and the blond raised an eyebrow at him. "Confession? Why'd ya want ta do something like that?"

"It makes Sister Helen happy if I do it," Duo shrugged.

"Ooh, ya got yourself a little girlfriend now, huh?" Solo teased.

"Solo, stop," Duo complained halfheartedly as he cheeks pinkened in embarrassment.

"She's a bit old," Solo continued, "but maybe older women are your tastes. Good luck with that, she's a nun."

"What's that mean, being a nun?" Duo asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"It means women who don't screw and are devoted ta God," Solo snorted in contempt. "Why'd they do something stupid like that is beyond me. What a waste of ass."

"Solo!" Duo admonished. "This is a church! Ya can't say ass in a church, ass!"

"You just said it," Solo replied smirking as Duo covered his mouth in horror. "Twice. Besides, what's the worst that can happen?"

"Perhaps you have a lot on your soul?" a deep voice spoke up in front of them. Looking up, Duo paled as he saw Father Maxwell standing right there, a smile on his face, his eyes squinting in mirth under dark eyebrows.

Father Maxwell was a large man with hardly any wrinkles unless you counted those around his small eyes, which he claimed were a result from laughing too much. His short, graying hair was starting to go into the balding phase on top of his cylindrical shaped head, his face smooth with strong features including a large, hawkish nose and a strong, cleftless chin. His shoulders were broad like Solo's, maybe even more broader than that, his body posture ramrod straight even though he was at ease, and his large hands were clasped behind his back lazily. He was dressed entirely in black, the one exception being the white under his collar that stuck out just in front of his neck. The priest's presence alone was calming in nature and could even humble the most hostile of people, including Solo even though the blond resisted as much as he could.

"Maybe you would like a turn?" the Father hinted, his eyes flicking over towards the confession booth. "You know, lighten the burden on your heart, shoulder it with someone who won't utter a word of it no matter what…"

"Thanks but no thanks," Solo replied, stretching his legs out as he got more comfortable in his seat, his hands grabbing one another behind his head.

"But Solo…!" Duo protested.

"It isn't our place to force your friend into something he doesn't want to do, child," Father Maxwell interrupted gently. "If Solo wants to keep it to himself, then he has that right to do so. Come along now, Duo. Adrian is finished so it's your turn."

Duo looked worriedly back at Solo who made a "go ahead" gesture. "I'll still be hear when ya get out," he told him.

Still looking undecided, Duo nevertheless went into the booth, closing the door behind him. As soon as Solo heard the door shut, he sighed and let himself slump further onto the pew he was sitting on. He couldn't believe that Duo had bought into that Catholic mumbo jumbo so easily. Solo himself didn't believe in God, though he had at one point, mainly because if there was a God, then why did he let those assholes in the white coats do horrible things to them back at that lab? It was one thing believing in God when you were eating out of a garbage can but it was another thing when you were a human guinea pig.

Still, he couldn't blame Duo for buying into it. Duo, at least this personality of Duo, was incredibly naïve and the thought that there was some all powerful father figure watching over everyone was awe-inspiring for him.

He was getting restless; they had spent too much time here. Even though he didn't like church, he didn't want anything to happen to this one, for some strange reason. He didn't like thinking like that, especially since he had taken part in destroying an entire town and a circus not too far back and hadn't given a care about either of those.

Actually, those two things were kinda cool now that he thought about it.

Glancing over at the confession thing, whatever it was, he blew his lips and looked around, trying to find something to do that didn't involved looking at those dumb hymn books filled with nothing but dumb songs about a guy named Jesus saving people. Pfft, well if he was so good at saving people, why hadn't he saved him? It was so stupid. Then he caught a look at a guy who, had he known, had been casting looks at Duo previously.

Solo frowned and the guy looked away and did his eyes deceive him but did that guy look a bit guilty? Hmm…eh, it wasn't as if the guy had some life altering crap or something like that.

Now what was he going to do to pass the time?

---

Trowa took in a deep breath of fresh air as he entered a courtyard situated in an opened area of a church that also served as a local orphanage. It had been some time since he had last felt the heat of the sun on his skin; he had spent most of his time here looking after Catherine who was still recovering from their accident just outside of the church itself.

The sandstorm had passed, naturally, but he still remembered quite vividly how the nearby plants had been screaming at him as the storm appeared right behind them. He had been told that the storm in itself hadn't been natural, which confused him somewhat until he added in the factor of more of those boys who were after Solo and Duo, the same ones that had destroyed the circus, his old home. Then things like an unnatural sandstorm became more readily believable.

However, even if he did acknowledge that, there still was one problem. The RV was totaled and buried under tons of sand. Even if they could get it out of the ground, how were they going to fix it? None of them, that he knew of, were mechanics and back when he and Catherine were still with the circus, one of the friendly circus folk would take care of it for them. They needed to find some new wheels or hitchhike around the state of Arizona if they didn't want to get this church and the orphanage to become another casualty in the storm of destruction that seemed to follow Solo and Duo everywhere they went.

In the meantime, though, he was letting the buzz of all the plants in the church's courtyard unwind him and his anxieties for the moment. Of course, he didn't let all the noisy traffic in that came from all the plants; that was a surefire way to get a migraine, at least for him it was. In all honesty, plants were chatterboxes that had to talk all the time. If he hadn't had as much control as he did when it came to blocking things from his mind, he would have gone insane from all the "noise."

The earth he much more preferred over the plants only because it was silent most of the time and when it did speak up, it usually had something important to say.

Oh wait, you probably have no idea about what was going on and what he was talking about? Well, to make a long story short, Trowa, and he assumed Solo and Duo went through the same thing, had been part of an experiment that had resulted in him receiving the ability to not only communicate with the plants and the earth itself but wielding the plants and all powers of nature should he call on it. But his abilities were far different from Solo's invincibility and Duo's time manipulation as well as those other boys who were chasing after the latter two. Sure, it was exciting but Trowa rather preferred things being calm and easy-going. A person could only take so much excitement before they cracked.

So where was he again? Oh yes, he was taking a stroll out in the garden, wanting to clear his head out and settle himself in the moment before retreating back to Catherine's bedside and nursing her back to health. As he took his stroll, though, he nearly ran over the other female in the ragtag group that he had been apart of.

Dorothy Catalonia, or that's how she introduced herself to him.

He didn't really know much about her except that she had ran into Solo and Duo some time before he met up with them while accompanied with two other teenagers whom they were separated from during the circus attack. All he did know hadn't come from her but from Solo who happened not to have a high opinion of her. Truth be told, Solo didn't have a high opinion of anybody except for Duo and, oddly enough, Catherine. But back to Dorothy, the blonde girl with the eyebrows that took away from her natural beauty was seemingly enjoying her time out in the garden as well. She was just sitting there on a stone bench, lost in her own thoughts. The unibanged youth decided to try and give her some company; the fresh air looked as if it had made him more sociable.

As Trowa sat down beside her, it turned out that she wasn't as lost in thought as he had believed. As soon as he had been within ten feet of the bench, she had looked up at him with blank eyes but he could tell that she was aware of her surroundings and him. However, he didn't make an attempt to make any conversation, instead offering his silent companionship should she want it.

"What do you see in them?"

He blinked and turned his full attention towards the blonde headed girl who was looking straight at him with her pale blue eyes that sometimes reminded the youth of the sky, that perfect robin's egg blue that was so rare to find in someone's eye. He raised his visible eyebrow up, asking her silently to elaborate and maybe repeat herself while she was at it.

She stared back at him for a few seconds before acquiescing to answer his unspoken question. "Why are you so nice to those two, Solo and Duo I mean."

Ah, so that's what she was thinking about. Still, there had to be more to it than that. He was an excellent reader of people; it was what he used when selecting people to trust after his ordeals on the metal table. So what was really on her mind…

"How do you mean?" he asked aloud. "Is there some reason why I shouldn't be 'nice' to them?"

The look she gave him was so informative, at least to him it was, telling him more of what she was thinking about in that blonde head of hers than any words she could have uttered. Still, it would be better for her to say it out loud to confirm his suspicions.

"You can't tell me you've forgiven them," she blurted out. Eh? Now what was that all about?

"Forgiven them for what?" he asked, hoping for her to clarify.

"You know," she shrugged, looking at him helplessly. "What happened back at the circus, they completely destroyed it! And then there was your car—"

Okay, that confirmed it. Nice to know that his abilities weren't so rusty after being among the trustworthy circus where he didn't have to be suspicious of anybody. "How was that any of their fault?" he interrupted. "It was a freak sandstorm that totaled the RV."

"And the circus?" Dorothy pressed.

The sudden image of seeing the animals, all wounded from acid burns he found out later, flashed before his eyes but did not linger. "That was those other boys," he replied.

"And those other boys were after Solo and Duo," Dorothy added on.

"And they were the ones who destroyed the circus," he counted, beginning to enjoy this interaction. "If I recall correctly, it was Solo and Duo…well at least that other Duo, who were trying to stop those other boys. Was it Solo who injured the circus animals? Was it Duo who tore the Ferris wheel apart? No, those two just happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time."

"I can agree to that," Dorothy muttered to herself but the unibanged youth caught it.

"Come again?" he asked, pretending to be ignorant.

"Those two tore up my hometown," Dorothy admitted to him and Trowa could see the resentment she still had for it. "There's nothing left of it. If they hadn't have come and taken Heero hostage, then I would still be home, with my family, going to school, teasing my best friend over how lovey-dovey she is with Heero, not here with no one I know and…and…"

"How do you know you would have been still alive if they hadn't have come?" Trowa countered smoothly. "Perhaps their coming might have prolonged your life."

"As if," Dorothy snorted. "They're being chased by freaks just like them, that's a real improvement. I'll live to see one hundred by sticking with them if I'm not killed at seventeen."

"Now you're just being sarcastic," Trowa said.

"Ya think?" Dorothy snapped.

Trowa shook his head but he wasn't in the least bit offended. "Watch this," he instructed as he held out a hand towards an apple tree that was a distance away from them. Slowly the tree began to lean towards him, its branches stretching out further and further until a ripe apple was just hovering above his hand. Without even blinking, Trowa eyed the apple intently until it let go of the limb it was holding on to and landed in his hand. Without a second thought, Trowa gave a silent thank you and watched the tree resume its original position on opposite side of the open courtyard. Turning back to Dorothy, he offered the apple to the wide-eyed girl who was staring at him in disbelief, or maybe it was horror…

When she didn't take the apple, he turned in his seat and held the fruit out to a nearby orphan who was also watching him with wide eyes, the small girl differing in reaction as she tiptoed closer to Trowa until the young man could put the apple into her hand.

"Thank you," the small girl said shyly before scurrying off. Trowa watched after the girl until she was out of sight before turning back to Dorothy who was now looking at him in a more peculiar way though he could not see any horror this time around.

"So now what do you think of me?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"How…how did you…?" Dorothy began but couldn't quite finish.

"Don't judge people before you get to know them," Trowa said instead. "There are reasons why everybody acts like they do. When I look at Solo, I see a boy who is scared, scared that people are going to hurt him and he's going to do his best to try and push them away. Perhaps that is why he is invulnerable? He acts all macho and says he doesn't care but that's a front. Didn't he save you back at the circus? Duo, though, he's a bit more tricky. You know that he has multiple personalities, right? Ask yourself, what could have happened to him that was so traumatic that his mind created another personality? It isn't something that is the typical run-of-the-mill, I can tell you that. Well, whatever it was, it brought those two together and together they escaped it for whatever reasons they had to do so. They were probably the same reasons why I escaped as well. They have a story, Dorothy, most likely a harsh one, one that has shaped them into the people they are today. That's why I am 'nice' to them."

Standing back up, Trowa stretched himself. "Think about what I said Dorothy," he continued. "There are many reasons why a person can hate another. Just make sure they are good reasons first otherwise you might regret it."

Smiling a small smile to himself, he left the girl mulling over his words. Now, he needed to get back to Catherine and see how she was doing.