Chapter Five

"You look different today," she placed the petite cup down back on the porcelain saucer. "I take that work has been busy for you."

"It has its ups and down." Her eyes scanned around her parents' apartment, noting several of her school photos were displayed on the mantel and a couple of Milliardo, her older adopted brother. "There are rumors they might hire a new doctor soon."

"Oh really?"

"Dr. Morgan is retiring soon and he's looking to find extra help to cover the practice."

"Well, it will be good for you then."

"I need the hours and the patients to get a paycheck, Mom." She took a sip from her wine glass.

"Enough of this business chatter," she tapped on her daughter's knee. "Anything in the love department? I need to know the latest gossip."

"Mother," she grinded her teeth.

"You must be seeing someone by now at least."

She played with the napkin on her lap, twisting the white cotton between her fingers. "And why would you want to know?"

"I want to have grandchildren of course. Your father and I aren't getting any younger."

"His name is Dave Schwarz and he is a doctor." She saw her mother's interest piqued at the mini crumb of information.

"How long have you two been together?" her eyes were beaming.

"About a year," she smiled.

Her mother let out a sigh of relief, as if a heavy burden was lifted off her thin shoulders. "I might just have to start getting the invitations ready."

"Not just yet, I don't want to rush things."

"Fine then, let me know when." She took a spoon and swirled some more cream into her second cup of coffee. "I would like to meet him and so would your father." She was already contemplating what the dinner should be, "How about this Friday?"

"That should work, since this weekend we're off."

"Perfect."

…

Heero typed away on his laptop, wondering when his next assignment will turn up. His eyes quickly scanned his inbox, and still there was nothing new. He was stuck in purgatory. Each day since his chance encounter with Relena seemed to be the same routine, and there was nothing he could do to break it.

The apartment was quiet again, since Duo jetted off to a last minute gig for extra cash. The imaginary friend let out a soft sigh, and finally made up his mind. The stalker trait in him awakened and he needed to talk to her in person again. He was tired of watching her from a distance and wasting time. He needed to know that this wasn't a random fluke at all. There must be a reason why he ended up here after all this time.

The streets were busy with the morning traffic, as he continued on foot. He spotted the all too familiar bakery that Relena frequently haunted, but she was nowhere to be seen. He was beginning to wonder if he had imagined everything, but no. She had seen him literally in the flesh with her own eyes.

His last meeting with her didn't go exactly the way he wanted, but he needed to find answers for himself. Seeing that it was still early in the day, he decided to venture out to a local bar. Just maybe he might get his answers there.

The air was stuffy for the early summer, but there were several customers scattered throughout the small establishment already diving their worries away in their drinks. His eyes scanned the darkened room, and out of the corner of his eye, he saw a cluster of them standing by a pool table in the back corner.

The sounds of the small balls ricocheting off each other echoed faintly towards him.

"Aren't you a fish out of water," a pair of soft brown eyes locked in on him. "The last I heard of you…you were up in Michigan somewhere."

"Hn."

"Which begs the question why are you here?" Normally, she knew Heero wasn't the one to frequently haunt these kinds of places. He was a loner that made his way through his assignments without any trouble.

He spoke bluntly to the point, "Une, have you had any of your kids remember you?"

"Not that I can recall," she played with her shot glass after sinking a ball in the corner pocket.

Right then, the others looked up from their short game of pool, as they eavesdropped on their conversation.

With five pairs of eyes looking at him, "Has anyone else?" And he was met, with nos all around from his counterparts.

"You truly are in on your own, Yuy. I don't know what else to say."

"Has there been anyone else in the past before us?"

"No," she shook her head. For the all time she has been in this business, she couldn't recall any stories of this ever happening. "You must've done something."

He ran his hand through his brown locks, "I left her a teddy bear."

"That's the only connection, nothing else."

"Nothing else?" She looked squarely in his eyes, "I really don't have an answer here. Maybe HQ made a mistake somewhere along the way."

"Hn."

He truly was in on his own, and here he was back to square one. Was it his mistake to leave the teddy bear? Of all his assignments, that was the only thing that was different. The single anomaly that stood out against his flawless record.

…

The weather had taken a turn for the worse as she left her parents' apartment that day. She pulled out her lime green umbrella and walked quickly to her car. The drive back to the city wasn't as troublesome, since the majority of the cars were heading out to suburbia.

The rain continued its soft cascade from the heavens as she pulled up to her apartment complex. Seeing that Dave wouldn't be home for a while, she decided to take a small walk at the nearby park. The beads gently pelted against her umbrella as she walked beneath the catalpa and maple trees.

A couple of runners passed by her on the small trail, as she continued to her walk. Everything seemed to fall into place, and she couldn't complain. Life was good to her and she knew it. But once in every so often, she could feel that pull back to Heero. Whenever a random stranger with chocolate brown hair passed by her, she would see his face. Why was he coming up now?

The day they had a chance encounter, she knew she shouldn't have scolded him and punched him, but having pent up feelings over a decade, she had to vent at him. Hopefully he understood. He always understood when she was little.

To be honest, she had been avoiding her frequent haunts just to avoid him for these past several weeks. But on several occasions, she felt his presence nearby, but she ignored the twinge in her heart. "Heero." Is it possible to fall in love with an imaginary friend?

She continued to walk, as her eyes honed in on a fountain. Its underwater lights from the pool sparkled in the light shower, as small puffs of water shot out and dove back in to the other side. Every so often, she heard loud plops.

The wind started to pick up as the shower intensified. The rain began to feel like needle pricks on her skin, as the cold liquid ran down her bare arms.

"Perfect," she muttered under breath. She quickened her pace against the falling liquid and with increasing steps, she felt something stab in her shoulder and the sharp pain ran down her back. She gasped for air as she continued her walk. Her hand lost its grip on the umbrella, and all of a sudden she couldn't catch her breath.

The blond doubled in pain as she fell to the ground, and she felt her heartbeat s racing with every breath that she tried to take. "This can't be happening," she thought in her mind, "I'm too young."

Her thoughts swirled as she tried reaching her purse to grab her cell phone. At the same time, the pain intensified and her vision fogged before her. "Somebody please help me," her words barely a whisper as they drowned in the rain.