Alone Part 3

Something was poking me in the cheek. Unpleasant popping noises filled my ears. I opened one eye. Duo was leaning over me the end of his braid smacking my cheek. "Quatre?"

"Duo," I responded, squinting up at him. "What am I doing on the floor?"

"You got shot a few times," he told me. His fingers waggled in front of my face, tinged with red. "See?" He frowned, concerned. "Can't you feel it?" It was supposedly the wounds you didn't feel that killed you.

Now that he drew my attention to it, I could feel it.

There was a sharp ache in my calf and my temple throbbed. I raised a hand up and touched liquid warmth.

"Just grazed there," Duo reassured me as his hands tightened on my leg. "Trowa's on his way."

For a moment relief swept over me. Then I remembered that seeing Trowa wasn't the same as it had been in the past. Trowa was on his way because he was the one with the field med training, not out of any particular concern for me.

"How is he?" I heard Heero call, and I began to register the infrequent popping sounds in the background as gunfire. The noises made my skull pound.

"Still with us," Duo answered. "Need a hand?"

"No. Not many left. Trowa's on his way." I blinked and wondered why I hadn't heard Trowa say anything. Then I realized that the familiar pressure of the headset was missing. Duo's was dangling around his neck, disconnected and I wondered why.

"Feeling cold Quatre?" He asked me and I shook my head. I wasn't cold, not with that warmth trickling down my face and neck. I closed my eyes again. It was too hard to keep them open.

"Quatre!" That wasn't Duo's voice. Something thumped next to me, and then a familiar touch was wiping the blood off my face. "Duo, you should've been putting pressure up here too!" I heard Trowa snap.

"I only have two hands," Duo replied mildly. "And the leg wound looked worse. Plus I had to make do with my stash of supplies- you have all the extra stuff."

"Tighten that up." I felt material being wrapped tightly around my calf.

"Yes sir Dr. Barton."

"Did you manage to clear us a path?" Heero's voice now. The popping noises had stopped.

"Of course." Faint hint of exasperation. Funny how I could still recognize it.

"Did you secure the doors?"

"Yes!" The faint hint was now obvious. "Speaking of, take this," rustling noises, "and lock that one."

I heard the clack of the magnetic seal snap on the door, sealing it shut.

"Well, our backup's here, do we take him down or wait?" Duo asked.

Gentle hands were now busy at my temple where I felt the press of a bandage.

"He's a target," Heero pointed out. "He'll have to stay here."

"But they'll need our help down there," Duo countered.

"I'll stay," Trowa said and I couldn't tell what emotion his voice held. "You two go down and help."

"Okay!" Duo sounded positively cheerful and I wondered why. Was he that eager to leap back into action still? "We'll send someone up when it's secure."

A clatter of footsteps and they were gone. I heard Trowa settle himself into a more comfortable position, the soft click of metal against metal that told me he had his gun ready just in case.

I suppose I should've opened my eyes and let him know that I was conscious, but then I would've had to talk to him. It was easier to lie still and be quiet. Easier to pretend that he was beside me because he cared not because he had to be there.

There was a long silence. I felt the ghostly touch of hands several times over my wounds, checking the bandages. I could hear the sound of running feet and gunfire, but they were all far away. It was kind of pleasant to just drift, Trowa's warmth beside me.

"Damn it Quatre," I nearly jumped when he spoke. His voice was soft but in our little sphere it was loud enough to be shocking. "How did we come to this?"

I opened my eyes with some effort and blinked up at him. He didn't look surprised to see me awake.

"You know how," I managed. "You fell in love with someone else."

"Even if I did," his eyes met mine, "why would that destroy our friendship?"

"You didn't tell me about it." I retorted.

"There was nothing to tell." He frowned. "It was a job- undercover- that's all it was. But you were so damn sure that I would betray you! That I had been betraying you!" His voice rose and I blinked at him, shocked. Trowa never raised his voice.

I tried to collect my wits, my head pounding furiously. "If I wronged you, I'm sorry," I tried, falling back on the familiar comfort of the formal words, the distance they implied helping me to hold myself together.

"You're sorry?" He repeated, his voice softer. "Quatre, you and I were together for years. I was loyal to you, I loved you all that time and now, after your assumptions wrecked our relationship all you can say is sorry?"

I closed my eyes again, my head hurting worse than ever, leg throbbing in pain, but neither one as awful as the tightness in my chest.

It hurt too much. I couldn't deal with this right now. But that wasn't fair to Trowa. I managed to open my eyes again, noting the blackness that had narrowed my sight considerably.

"I am sorry, Trowa," I repeated, knowing that those weren't the words he wanted me to say. I couldn't figure out what he wanted me to say. It was easier to simply close my eyes and let the darkness swallow me.

~*~

I cursed to myself as Quatre slipped back into unconsciousness. Idiot! The man was wounded badly and here I was yelling at him. He couldn't deal with this right now. Why the hell had I even started?

Quatre was pale, he had lost quite a bit of blood, and his skin was cool under my touch. I braced myself against the wall and tugged him up into my arms, his head on my shoulder. I made sure my gun hand was free, just in case, and wrapped my other arm around his waist, trying to share my warmth with him.

His weight against me was a familiar comfort, even now. I cuddled him closer, careful of his injures and hoping that help came soon. I watched the rise and fall of his chest and promised myself that the next time Quatre woke up that I would be better in dealing with him. Our relationship argument could wait until he felt better.

I just hoped I could keep that promise. My anger at the man in my arms seemed to be an uncontrollable thing. I truly hadn't meant to lash out at him like that.

Footsteps pounded up the stairs a while later. I lifted the gun but put it down again at the sound of Duo's familiar whistle.

"Ready to go Trowa?" He grinned. "Or are you too comfortable to move?" He leaned over and braced Quatre as I got to my feet. I holstered my gun and then picked Quatre up.

"Are the EMTs here?" I asked Duo as we started down the stairs.

"Yes. How is he?"

"Not good. He's lost a lot of blood."

"He'll pull through- Quatre always does."

I didn't reply. Quatre had not wanted to pull through this one.

That thought made me tighten my hold on the man in my arms.

He would not escape me that easily.

TBC...

 

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