Run and Hide Part 15

Trowa swore. "It's beat to hell," he muttered. I heard him and looked closer at the shuttle. I sat down on the couch in front of the TV, legs weak. 'Beat to hell' was an understatement. But it was in one piece. Wufei was right. I shouldn't give up on Heero yet. I'd seen him survive worse, after all. The doors weren't open, there was no sign of anyone around it, but basic survival training always said to stay with or near the wreck if possible.

"Must've been a hell of a landing." Sally said over my shoulder. She was leaning over the back of the couch, the transmitter next to her ear still.

The picture on the TV suddenly switched to a news anchor. I yelped and Fei swore.

"They can't show what happens when the rescue crew goes in," Sally explained patiently. "Lu says that they're landing right now."

Fei reached out and took the transmitter away from her and walked away. I could hear him snapping at Noin. She was probably snapping back- at least I hoped she was. He began to pace, up and down and I nearly grinned. Fei always paced when he was worried. He tended to rant then too. I hoped Lu was up for it.

Trowa had gone off to join Quatre by the phone. I could hear the two of them talking in quiet voices, but I couldn't make out the specific words. Sally was still leaning over my shoulder. I looked up and frowned at her, noting the dark circles under her eyes. I suddenly remembered and kicked myself.

"Come sit," I told her, patting the sofa next to me. "You should be resting."

"I'm not a piece of china," she complained, but came to sit anyway. I saw her eyes go to where Wufei was walking up and down, muttering into the transmitter.

"No," I agreed. "But it will make us men feel like we're doing something useful if one of us fusses over you."

"Now you sound like Fei," she complained. "I never thought he was overprotective or fussy, until I told him I was pregnant." Her eyes followed her husband and I saw her smile. She'd never admit it, but I suspected that Sally liked being fussed over.

I saw Fei catch her eye and smile back at her. I turned to face Sally and saw that she had moved her gaze to me. "Thanks for letting him....uh..." I told her, wondering how to phrase the rest of the sentence. She knew what I meant, luckily for me.

"I wouldn't keep him away, Duo. I know how important the two of you are to him. You two needed him- and he... well, Wufei needs to be needed." That made me pause and I realized that she was right.

"Yeah, he does. I never realized it..." I met her gaze and smiled for her. "You really are good for him Sally. I don't want that to sound patronizing, but..."

She chuckled. "I get it Duo. He's good for me too." Her eyes went back to Wufei and lingered. "I like to think that everything worked out for the best- especially now that you're back." She paused and lowered her voice. "Fei loved Heero so much- it hurt him that Heero didn't trust that love after you left. I think it made him realize that your love for each other wasn't... balanced enough to work." There was no malice in her tone, just a simple statement of fact.

I understood what she meant. I loved Fei, but I loved Heero more. Fei had loved Heero more too. Heero loved me more. If I hadn't left I wondered if we would ever have realized it. Would it have changed things eventually anyways? I remembered what Heero had said about Fei- that we weren't meant to keep him. Looking at the way Fei looked at his wife, I agreed with Heero.

Sally reached out and put her hand on mine. I squeezed her fingers. She and I sat quietly hand in hand for a long moment.

"Duo," Fei was suddenly next to me, handing me the transmitter. I looked up at him and saw the hint of tears in his eyes. Oh no. My hand shook as it reached out for the transmitter. I felt Sally's hand tighten on mine.

"Lu?" I said into the tiny receiver, my voice shaking despite my efforts to control it.

"Duo," Heero's voice was hoarse, but it was unmistakably him. "You didn't think I forgot my promise?"

TBC...

 

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