Nothing, in all my years as a field medic in various wars and skirmishes, or my years at the academy, or my time at Preventers had prepared me in the least for showing up at the door of Zechs Marquis only to be greeted by a naked and beautiful young boy kneeling at my feet.

At first I was shocked and appalled. Then the shock wore off and I was simply appalled. I had heard that Zechs was infiltrating a slave ring, but I had never taken it so literally. I had almost thought it could be a joke, but the fact that the boy was obviously underfed and that he never looked at me convinced me otherwise. Finally, I managed to bring myself to step into the house.

The boy closed the door as soon as I stepped inside, then resumed his position on the floor. He still kept his head down, but raised it enough to tell me that Zechs would be a minute longer. I thanked him, then was at a loss for what to do. After what seemed like an eternity, Zechs appeared and convinced me that I was still sane by cursing in surprise.

The boy, unfortunately, assumed that he was in trouble. His apology led to my ill-advised comment of, "They've got him whipped," which nearly sent the boy into shock. It seemed that they, indeed, had whipped him. His back, revealed as he placed his head on the floor in fear, led gruesome credit to that theory.

Zechs, for his part, managed to save the situation. With a grace and compassion that I seldom saw him allow, he calmed the shaking creature and explained the situation. I could tell that he had been quite charmed by the boy and I was glad. I had been worried that he would not be able to work with the slave, but now that Zechs had formed a bond with the boy he would fight all the harder to save and free him.

I entered the kitchen and, locating the coffee pot, distracted myself with making coffee while trying to calm my nerves. Zechs entered and sat at one of the stools surrounding the counter behind me. Heero, I noticed, attempted at first to sit on the floor, but Zechs pulled him up to sit in a stool next to him. They spoke quietly and I tuned them out, not wanting to intrude on what was turning out to be a very personal mission for Zechs.

Once the coffee finished I poured three mugs and went to sit by the boys. Heero, it turned out, had never had coffee before. He didn't like the bitter taste at first, but added a little milk and seemed to quite like it. Zechs also added some milk along with a little bit of sugar. I alone drank black coffee, but I wanted the caffeine more than anything anyway.

When I had finished my cup, I finally felt calm enough to move on, though I was pretty certain there wasn't enough caffeine in the world to get rid of my nervousness completely.

"Alright, let's do this," I said, then remembered I had left my bag out in the car. "Shoot, just let me get my stuff. Zechs, take Heero into the den, please. I'll be there in a minute."

I rushed out to my car and back, realizing that I was somewhat behind schedule for the day. When I returned, Heero was sitting cross-legged on the couch, while Zechs was standing on the other side of the room. I knelt in front of Heero, which seemed to make him uncomfortable but I ignored that in light of recent events, and took out my instruments.

First up was the stethoscope. I placed it on Heero's back and instructed him to breathe in, then out. Next was his reflexes, which were actually better than normal. From there I moved to pupils, glands, ears, and nose, all of which were fine. I was sure to check Heero's vision and hearing, although I was fairly sure they were both fine. Lastly, I had Heero lie down and checked his organs. For the abuse he had received in light of his back, Heero was actually surprisingly healthy. Finally finished, Zechs dismissed Heero to go order lunch, and I was able to speak with him privately.

"He's malnourished, but you already knew that. The scaring on his back could be worked on, but that's all superficial. It shouldn't be hurting him. Other than that, he's surprisingly healthy for what he's been through. How's he working out?" I asked Zechs when we were alone.

"Wonderful, and terrible. He's a great kid, which makes it even harder for me to put him in this situation. If anything happens to him..." Zechs' voice was laced with guilt, he knew what he had to do, he just didn't like it.

"He's no worse off now than he was before. He'd be dead without you. You are trying to help him, you have to know that. And Heero knows that too. Just look at how much he trusts you. He adores you," I said. Even I could see just how taken the boy was with him.

"Of course he does. I'm probably the only person in ten years to show him any sort of kindness. He doesn't know any better."

"Don't be ridiculous. Those who have been hurt the most are the last to trust. He can see that you're trying to help him," I told him. His eyes were still dark with fears of the future.

"I hope you're right."