[If you're lost, you can look
and you will find me, time after time
If you fall I will catch you,
I'll be waiting, time after time]
--- Lyrics from Time After Time by Cindy Lauper
Life... Really Part 16
Nearly jumping up from the bed when she removed the ski cap from the injured boy's head, Sally stood frozen with wide eyes. Pointing at the cat-eared teenager, she finally found her voice after opening and closing her mouth several times. "W-what is he?"
Wufei was the first to reach her side, frowning, "We don't know. Not even Duo knows. But you have to understand why we've been keeping his identity a secret all this time." He and Trowa breathed a silent sigh of relief when the braided nurse nodded.
Taking a deep breath, Sally went to her work, sitting herself on the edge of the bed again to examine the back of the injured boy's head facing her. Gently moving back some of the long hair after removing the temporary bandage that had been placed over the wound, she narrowed her eyes. "If he had been hit any harder, he would have needed stitches," she frowned deeply.
Quickly, the braided young woman gathered up some of her medical equipment from the bag at her feet. Without looking up from her task, Sally requested, "I am going to need some ice and some more light in here." Instantly, Trowa agreed to gather the ice while Wufei moved some of the lighting fixtures in the room.
As the boys were busy seeing to the needed items, Sally took out her stethoscope and checked the braided teenager's pulse. Placing her palm thermometer against the boy's hand, she took his temperature and moved to oversee his other vitals. Relieved that all seemed well in her findings, she released a sigh of relief.
With three tall lamps moved into place and shining on the bed, it was easier to examine the damage done and the nurse was satisfied that the bleeding had thankfully stopped. "Thank you for getting here so soon," Wufei said quietly.
"Thank you for trusting me," Sally answered just as softly, looking up from her patient. The young couple's eyes met for a moment before the braided college intern looked back to the wound.
Despite the pair's obvious attraction towards each other, it had been decided by both Wufei and Sally to wait until the Chinese teenager graduated high school before pursuing a relationship. That way, they would both be attending the same college as classmates. Then their three-year age difference would not draw so much attention. Still, it was difficult on the both of them at times like this, to not just seek comfort in each other as a normal couple would.
Trowa appeared with a bowl full of ice and some rags. Sally accepted the bowl with a quiet 'thank you' before applying some ice wrapped in one of the rags, she applied it to the wound. A small whimper came from Duo, but he never woke, just trembled from the cold.
Gently, the young woman placed her free hand on his arm. "It's okay, Duo," she soothed softly. "We have to get the swelling down." While the boy did not wake to turn back to face her, Sally knew that he could hear her when his body relaxed along with his breathing.
"That's it. Shhh," the nurse whispered faintly. Her hand moved to rub soothing circles along her patient's back, the other hand still carefully applying the ice.
When her hand brushed against something out of place, Sally blinked and slowly lifted the back of the long sweater. Her eyes widened anew when the long, thin cat tail curled out from its confinement to rest in her lap as if in a way of thanking her where the injured teenager could not. A small smile lit her face and she shook her head in amusement. "Amazing," she breathed.
Swallowing hard, Wufei stepped forward with a concerned frown and asked quietly, "Is he going to be okay, Sally?"
The braided young woman looked up to him and nodded, "He's responding as he should be and his vitals are stable. Once this swelling goes down a bit, I can seal it with a clean bandage. When he's awake, I'll have to run a couple other tests. I wouldn't be surprised if he has some sort of concussion from this."
A shudder ran up the braided young woman's spine and she sighed, "It's a good thing that the two of you called Noin to see if Duo was up to go sledding. I'd hate to think of what would have happened if you didn't find him when you did." Fear suddenly filled Sally's widened eyes and she gasped, "Please tell me that Muller didn't get a chance to see his-"
Shaking his head, Trowa reassured her, "We managed to stop him before he learned Duo's identity."
At that news, the nurse's shoulders eased and she sighed deeply in relief, "Thank heavens for that." To the concerned looks of the teenagers watching her, Sally smiled, "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me." While neither Wufei nor Trowa truly second guessed her reaction to their friend's hidden identity, they both silently released the breath that they had been holding.
After another examination of the injury to the back of the braided teenager's head, Sally deemed the swelling had gone down. Cautiously, she disinfected the bruise and soothed the boy when he whimpered again.
The cat tail in Sally's lap twitched a bit before finally relaxing the reassurances whispered by her calming voice. Blowing on the cleaned wound, the nurse moved to seal it with a fresh bandage. "That should take care of it," she announced quietly.
With a nod, Wufei turned off the three large lamps that he had moved to aid his crush's sigh, sparing only the ceiling light to shine on them. A small gob wracked through Duo's small frame. In his unconscious state, he whispered, "Heero." His hand stretched out as if the other boy were within his reach, only to clutch to the blanket wrapped around him.
Upon hearing his friend's desperate plea, Trowa stated, "I should call Heero and let fill him in on Duo's progress."
Wufei nodded and suggested, "Better contact Noin and Zechs, too. We'll have to get Duo back home before my parents get back from their meeting." Trowa nodded back with an affirmative before stepping from the room.
* * * * * *
Frantically trying to keep his swirl of emotions at bay, Heero stepped through the departure gates of the shuttle station. Thankful that he thought to tell his mother of the paper that Dorothy Catalonia had assigned to him, he was able to find a plausible excuse for his sudden wish to return home a night early.
Heero knew that his mother would be all too happy to allow him the last few days of his winter break to impress his future director of law at Wayne University. She practically shoved him out of the hotel to get to the shuttle port so he could continue his work. He didn't need to admit that he was not able to start the assignment, nor did he have any idea on where to begin.
The Japanese teenager's cell phone rang when he finished leaving his luggage at the front desk to be boarded. Seeing his friend's cell number on the caller id, he opened the phone's flip and answered urgently, "Trowa. How's Duo?"
"He's going to be all right," the tall teenager's voice replied reassuringly. "He hasn't woken up yet, but Sally is keeping a close eye on him. We're taking him back to your house now. That way, he'll be in familiar surroundings when he wakes up. Noin and Zechs will be arriving here in a few minutes."
At the confirmation that his lover was going to be all right, some of Heero's immediate concern began to ebb. "And Sally?" he asked.
Trowa answered, "She's in on the secret. She is handling everything beautifully." There was another pause while the Japanese teenager's shoulders sagged. "Duo will be perfectly fine by the time you get back home at the end of the week."
With a smirk, Heero commented, "Actually, I am at Colony G654's shuttle port right now. I'll be home in the next two hours." Quickly, he added, "Before you ask me how I managed to pull that off, it's a long story I'll fill you in when I get back."
On the other end of the line, Trowa smiled, "Then I'll see that your return stays a surprise for Duo. Just let me know the flight number so I can relay the information to Zechs so he knows when you arrive."
After relaying the flight number and scheduled time of arrival, the two friends ended their call. Closing his eyes and releasing a deep sigh of relief, Heero said a silent thank you to whatever God was listening. When his flight was called, he all but fell into his seat, his knees almost trembling following the stress that he had gone through.
* * * * * *
"You did what!?"
Muller flinched under his father's glare and heated words. Looking up pleadingly, he replied, "Dad, ever since that kid showed up, he's-"
His father never allowed him to get another word in. The tall man just bent at the waist to meet his son's eyes and hissed, "Had you and your friends never attempted to start any trouble with that Relena Peacecraft, you would not be in this situation to begin with."
Straightening, Jacob ran a hand through his short, brown hair. His green eyes still narrowed, he growled, "I am thankful that your mother is no longer here to see her son in this disgraceful light. This is the second time that the authorities have been involved and I will not be bailing you out! You'll just have to sit it out and think of your actions while you sit in your cell the next three days!"
His own eyes narrowing, Muller lowered his head and replied, "Yes, father." The flashing lights from the patrol car pulled up in front of the house and peered through the glass windows of the living room. A shudder ran up the teenager's spine in spite of his dreaded fate.
The officer stepped in and after a brief exchange of words with the culprit's father, handcuffed the boy sitting on the couch. Once his son was taken away, Jacob sighed deeply and ran a hand through his hair again. Watching the patrol car drive off with Muller, he shook his head and stepped back into the house.
* * * * * *
Slowly, Duo's violet eyes began to blink open and he moaned deeply in pain. His head felt as though it were being tightened in a vice and even the single light from Heero's desk lamp pierced his vision, causing his eyes to tighten closed. A few voices around him filled his ears and with a deep breath, he forced his eyes to slowly open once more.
"Easy, Duo," a familiar voice soothed and a hand gently fell on his shoulder. Another, smaller light panned across each eye before it turned off. "Minor concussion. Nothing more," the voice said quietly, the relief clear in every word.
Trying to think through the pain, Duo recalled his last waking moments. The sight of Muller's enraged face flashed before him and with a startled gasp, he sat up quickly. He instantly regretted the sudden move when the vice around his head tightened all the more. Allowing the hands on his shoulders to ease him back to lie on the bed again, the braided teenager's violet eyes took in his surroundings.
At the sight of the concerned faces, Duo breathed a sigh of relief and finally recalled his location in Heero's bedroom. Around the bed, Noin, Zechs, Wufei and Trowa gave their own small smiles of reassurance. Finally, he turned to the one sitting over him, only to whimper with his cat ears drooping when he found Sally Po.
In sensing the boy's distress, the nurse smiled warmly and soothed, "It's all right, Duo, you're safe now." In her words, she spoke not only of his current state, but the fact that his identity was safe in her knowledge. Understanding the full meaning behind her words, the cat-eared youth swallowed hard and nodded.
Slowly, Sally reached up to run a hand through the startled teenager's bangs. Closing his eyes, Duo leaned into the touch and purred loudly, his ears perking up slightly. "Amazing," the nurse whispered with a smile of awe.
Opening his violet eyes again, Duo was thankful that the vice had eased back a bit of its pressure enough for him to think clearly. Turning his head to face the braided young woman sitting over him, he smiled at last. "Thank you," he managed quietly.
"You're welcome," Sally replied in kind. She chuckled deeply when the long cat tail beside the boy began to sway across the bed.
Noin took her 'son's' hand and squeezed it gently. With a small grin, Duo squeezed back to let her know that he was all right. Removing some pills from her bag, Sally placed them in the maid's free hand. Behind Noin, Zechs watched and listened intently to keep track of his 'son's' needs.
Still keeping her voice low as not to stir her patient's concussion, Sally instructed, "See that he takes one of these twice a day until they're out. They'll take care of the pain. See that he has something light to eat tonight before he goes to sleep."
With a grateful nod, Noin replied, "Thank you for all your help, Sally. I don't know how we will be able to repay you."
The nurse smirked, "No repayment needed. Duo is a friend of mine, as well." She turned to meet the violet eyes watching her. "I'll be back to check up on you tomorrow," she smiled kindly. "Until then, stay in bed and get some rest."
Licking his dry lips, Duo gave a slight nod and muttered, "'Kay."
Wufei and Trowa stepped up to the other side of the bed. Squeezing his friend's arm, the Chinese teenager told him, "We'll be back tomorrow, too. It'll be a few days before we can go sledding like we planned, but maybe we can have another sleepover here with Quatre and Relena."
At the hopeful look that his son gave him, Zechs chuckled deeply, "I believe that we could make the accommodations for that. You know that you're always welcome here." Noin's own warm smile and nod spoke of her seconding his sentiments.
Trowa grinned, "Sounds like a plan, then." The tall youth lightly patted his injured friend's shoulder and commented, "Make sure you rest up before then, in that case. You know we'll just be up all night like the last time."
Duo laughed quietly, as much as the pain would allow, "Thanks for looking out for me, Wufei, Trowa." The two teenagers over him grinned back. A sudden, wide yawn overtook the braided teenager and the need to sleep was slowly creeping up.
Lightly clapping her hands, the braided nurse announced, "Okay, boys. Duo has had enough excitement for one day. We best be going." With a wink to her patient, Sally rose from the bed and gathered her bag. Silently, she slipped from the room with Wufei and Trowa close behind.
When the door closed after them, Noin took the nurse's place to sit beside the injured boy.
"I'm going to go downstairs and make up some soup for you," the maid said softly, her relieved smile never fading.
Zechs approached the bed to squeeze the boy's shoulder and stated, "If you like, I can bring up some movies for you to watch so you don't get too bored."
His ears drooping a bit, Duo thought of how he had insisted on going off on his own, only to end up like this and worrying the people that he cared about. He frowned, "I'm sorry to be causing you so much trouble, mom and dad."
Shaking his head, Zechs replied firmly, "No more of that, Duo. You are no burden on us. No one could have seen any of this happening when you left earlier." His 'son' seemed to relax a bit at his reassuring words.
Noin brushed back some of Duo's bands leaned down to place a soft kiss on his forehead. "All that matters right now is that you're home safe now. We'll gladly suffer anything that comes with looking after you," she said quietly. "For now, just get some rest. I'll wake you when I bring up your dinner."
Duo rewarded them with a loving smile and his violet eyes drifted closed. Quietly, the young couple stepped from the room and closed the door behind them. "So when is Heero going to be landing?" Noin asked her lover quietly when they began walking downstairs.
Checking his watched, Zechs answered, "Based on the information that Trowa gave me, his shuttle should be landing in a little over an hour. I'll head to the shuttle port in about thirty minutes to bring him home."
A wide smile tugged at the young maid's lips. "Duo's going to be so excited when he sees him," she commented. "After everything that's happened, they could use some time alone for a change."
"Well, I suppose that I have had you to myself long enough that I could cope with entertaining them and their friends for the next week," Zechs sighed overdramatically. Noin just laughed and lightly punched him on the arm.
* * * * * *
Duo was sound asleep following his light meal of soup when Heero arrived home. The television was still on and playing the movie that the braided teenager had attempted to last through. With a warm, tired smile on his face, Heero removed the backpack from his shoulder. The sight of seeing his lover peacefully sleeping in their bed was the most welcoming sight he had seen in over a week.
Shedding his grey t-shirt, the Japanese youth crawled into bed. Having received the assessment of his best friend's condition, he gently stroked the backs of his fingers against the sleeping boy's face. With a few murmured words, Duo's eyes blinked for reassurance. "I'm better now that you're here." he replied quietly, smiling brightly when he pulled back. Heero managed to fight off the tears that threatened to fill his own eyes in hearing that endearing sentiment. Biting his lip, the cat-eared boy asked, "You're really staying? You don't have to leave again?"
The Japanese teenager chuckled deeply, lowering his head to lie against the pillow beneath him. With their eyes never breaking their gazes on each other, he smiled, "I'm staying. And since my mother thinks I am busy with another paper, she won't be disturbing us for this whole week together."
Again, Duo's eyes widened and his smile grew from ear-to-ear. "Oh and you came back just in time for the sleep over tomorrow," he stated excitedly, his tail swaying behind him.
Heero grinned as he listened to his lover relaying the details of how their friends all planned to spend the following night over. It was good to see that the other boy was certainly showing signs of his usual, cheerful demeanor.
Finally, after talking for a few minutes non-stop, Duo's head began to hurt the slightest bit and he yawned widely. He struggled to keep his eyes opened, his eyelids seemingly determined to win the battle. Heero tenderly kissed his forehead and whispered, "Sleep, little one. I'll still be here when you wake up, so we can talk more when you're up for it."
Snuggling closely to his lover, Duo mumbled an 'okay' before allowing sleep to claim him with a deep sigh. With a smile still tugging his lips, Heero watched the other teenager sleep for a while before finding the television remote to turn off the only source of light in the room. With a whispered 'I love you,' he drifted off to sleep with his beloved.
* * * * * *
The following morning, Noin opened the front door upon hearing a few knocks. At seeing the tall, slender man on the other side, she asked, "May I help you?"
Removing the suit hat from his head to reveal his short, brown hair, the man replied, "Yes, I am sorry to come unannounced but sadly, I am Muller's father. I came to apologize to the boy he had attacked, and to you as well."
Noin blinked in shock, "Oh. Please come in." She stepped aside to allow the young man to enter. "You certainly did not need to go out of your way to do this, sir," the young maid reassured her guest. "What with all of your help following the incidents, no one has ever demanded an apology from you."
Smiling kindly, the man said sincerely, "I do appreciate that, however, someone needs to apologize for my son's actions, since he is not willing. I thought it best to do so in person than by a call. And please call me Jacob."
The young maid returned the smile and nodded, "I will go and see if Duo is awake. Please make yourself comfortable." Jacob replied with a gracious 'thank you' and took a seat at one of the living room's couches.
A few minutes later, Heero led Duo downstairs, supporting his weight a bit under his arm. Having wrapped some bandage tape around the braided teenager's head, no one would be any the wiser that there were cat ears beneath his disguise. Rising from the couch, Jacob smiled in a friendly gesture to the injured boy when he approached.
The moment that Duo got close enough and Jacob saw the violet of his eyes, the tall man's own eyes widened in shock. The braided teenager smiled, "It's all right, sir. My head's not as bad off as it looks."
Mentally shaking himself, Jacob forced himself to smile again. Extending his hand out, he replied, "I am certainly glad to hear that... Duo, is it?"
* * * * * *
After a pleasant visit and a quiet lunch with the residents of the Yuy household, Jacob ran back to his car as it began to rain. His eyes were wide again when he reached his car and returned to the driver's seat. Panting both from his run and from the adrenaline filling his veins, he quickly removed the cell phone from his light coat pocket and pressed a speed dial number.
When the call was finally picked up, his partner's voice answered, "Peterson."
"Peterson, it's me." Slowly, a sinister smile curled on Jacob's lips as he spoke into the phone. "You'll never believe who I found."
TBC...
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