I should have known Duo would not wait long to cause more trouble. In fact, I was almost relieved. While having him quiet and docile for a few while was a nice, it was also unnerving. It was odd, because I hated to fight with him, but I almost hated not fighting with him more. At least when he fought me he had been vibrant and alive. He had laughed and played just as hard as he had fought me, and he had gotten just as excited as he got angry. It had been a constant wavering between two extremes, but it was exciting and challenging. Every day was an adventure of some kind.

In defeating Duo I had destroyed that sense of adventure and excitement. I had hoped to get Duo to submit, but I never intended to destroy his spirit. Watching him slink around the house like a beaten dog... it was sickening.

But there was nothing I could do. I had no choice but to act against Duo's disrespect, and now that the act was done I could only ride the waves of my action and hope that things settled again. It seemed, once again, I had no option when it came to Duo.

So it was a relief to see Duo in the middle of a situation again, even if the situation was his own choking. I was in my office when it happened, and Heero came through the back of the house. I was quite a raucous, and by the time I got there all the other boys had already gathered around Duo, who was thrashing and trying to breathe.

"What happened here?" I demanded. Unfortunately I forgot to specify a name, and so got five responses and not a single answer.

"He can't breathe!"

"They were in the barn!"

"Get Sally!"

"Help!"

"Ungh! Kaff!"

The last response, which was made by Duo, was actually the most informative. It told me that there was nothing lodged in his throat, nor was his esophagus completely closed. It did not, however, tell me what had happened. But it seemed that saving his life was probably more important than that, so I quit asking questions and headed for Heero.

"Heero, follow me. Wufei, call Sally. The rest of you get out of the way," I demanded, pulling Duo's twisting form from Heero's arms. Then I turned toward the medical room, Duo in my arms and Heero at my heels.

"What happened?" I demanded, rushing down the hall.

"I don't know!" Heero gasped. "He-... he was complaining about the barn being... being haunted. He said he felt strange inside it. I thought... I though he was being dumb and then I found him... like this!"

I nodded, pausing a moment for Heero to open the door, then rushed into the room and put Duo on the table.

"Keep him on the table," I demanded of Heero. Duo's thrashing had become weaker, but I still didn't doubt he would throw himself from the table in his panicked struggles. Heero hesitated a moment, then gave Duo his weight to help hold him still.

I began searching Sally's well organized shelves, careful not to work myself into panic. I would have to keep myself calm to properly care for Duo. Meanwhile, I could hear Heero cooing to Duo on the other side of the room, trying to keep him calm. I managed to find the syringes, then quickly filled it from the drugs in the small refrigerator. Duo was too busy chocking to see what I was doing, but he did tense drastically as I injected him with the muscle relaxant. In another moment he relaxed, but he was still struggling for air.

I began my search again, but this time I had no idea where to look for the equipment I needed. Several minutes passed, all the while Duo's struggles were growing weaker and Heero's words were growing more frantic.

"Come on, Sally," I whispered to myself. "I know you think of everything, so where did you put it?"

Finally, on the lowest shelf of the cupboard next to the bed, I found it. To anyone else it would merely look like a small machine connected by a plastic tube to a medical breathing mask, but to me it looked like salvation. Quickly I pulled the machine out and plugged it in, relief filling me at the sound of its quiet hum. Quickly I put the mask over Duo's nose and mouth, holding him still as he struggled to pull it off.

"Leave it be," I commanded. "If you don't want to die."

Duo glared at me in response, but settled to gasping for breath.

"Don't gasp," I told him. "Try to breathe slowly."

"Is he... Will he be alright?" Heero whispered.

"He should be fine," I responded, but kept a close eye on him none the less neither of us relaxed for several minutes, until Duo began to breathe normally.

"What happened?" Heero finally ventured. "It... I mean... I don't believe in ghosts, but..."

"Don't be ridiculous. That barn isn't haunted, nor was this reaction caused by anything supernatural."

"Then what...?"

"I... would rather not say. I'm not a doctor, so it would only be speculation."

"Come now, Zechs," Sally said, surprising us both as she entered the room. "We both know what happened. I'm surprised you didn't catch it earlier."

"He blamed all the symptoms on some ridiculous idea of the barn being haunted. It wasn't unlikely that he would escape the procedure without any side effects, so I didn't feel the need to pursue it."

"Don't get defensive. I'm not accusing you of missing something. Even the best doctors can't make a diagnosis if the patient won't tell them what's wrong. And it looks like Duo didn't know what was going on either. So, as with most teens, this all seems to be a case of miscommunication," Sally said, dropping her bag to check Duo's vitals.

"Uh..." Heero interjected, "Excuse me, but what's going on? What's wrong with Duo?"

"Oh, nothing serious," Sally said offhandedly. "It seems that, due to all the damage to his lungs, Duo has contracted asthma. It's probably a pretty severe case if he has this kind of reaction, but it's not really a big deal. With modern technology we can cure him in about a week with breathing treatments."

"Speaking of which," I interjected, "Does the hospital have the equipment to do the treatments?"

"Yep. Like everything else down there, it's not state of the art, but it'll do the job just fine. We should start as soon as possible. Actually, if no one has any objections, I'd like to take him with me later tonight to run some tests and start the first treatment. Once he's recovered, of course."

"Of course. I agree, though, sooner would be better than later. We're running low on time for Duo to practice for Collar. He will still be able to compete, won't he?"

"I don't see why not, as long as the treatments go well. But we'll see how he feels at the end of the week. I assume you know how to deal with the side effects of the treatments, correct?"

"Side effects?" Heero wondered, still holding the unresponsive Duo's hand.

"Nothing major," Sally responded with a reassuring smile, "but the treatments can cause severe dryness in the mouth and throat. Nothing a hot shower and a cup of tea won't cure."

"I can make sure he gets that," Heero said seriously.

"No, you can't," I replied. Heero looked slightly stricken.

"Why not?"

"You'll be sleeping. Like before, we have to get Duo into the hospital when the least people are there to see him. I assume he'll be leaving somewhere around one in the morning for the treatments and won't return until nearly four. Does that sound about right, Sally?"

"Sounds good to me. I can get the night nurse to help me with the procedure, but I probably won't even need her help."

"But..." Heero protested.

"I'm not going to give in on this," I warned, giving Heero a mild glare. "We've wasted too much time to have you tired during your training. I assure you, I can take care of Duo when he comes back. He'll be in the bed next to you by the time you wake up," I assured him, placing a hand on Duo's shoulder. Duo glared and pulled away. I smiled at his guts. Even after a near death experience, Duo was still a brat.