[And anytime you feel like you just can't go on
just hold on to my love
and you'll never be alone]
      --- Lyrics to 'You'll Never be Alone' by Anastacia

Life... Really Part 23

The remainder of the morning was a whirlwind for Duo as he was surrounded by his friends and his -temporarily named- official parents. In hearing the events of the prior evening, he was shocked to learn how influential Heero's mother had been in his rescue. With so many guests, she had opted to speak with him later.

After spending some time with the people surrounding him, despite the breakfast that he was given earlier, the weakness in his body crept up on Duo again. Sally was quick to pick up on the subtle change in the braided teenager and ushered everyone from the room, insisting that her patient be left to rest for a while. With hugs and kisses, his visitors reluctantly departed from the bedroom with promises of stopping in the next day.

Sighing deeply, Duo's violet eyes drifted closed as he fell back onto the mattress. Beside the bed, Heero chuckled deeply and carefully tucked the sheet around his lover. Brushing back the long bangs from the cat-eared youth's face with a gentle hand, the Japanese teenager smiled lovingly down on him. He bent down to place a lingering kiss on the pale forehead and whispered, "I love you."

At the soft affirmation, Duo slowly opened his violet eyes to smile a mumbled, "Love you, too, 'Ro." His eyes closed again when he yawned widely, his long tail stretching along with the rest of is body.

Heero chuckled deeply again before kissing his lover's lips in a brief brush. "Get some sleep, Duo," he said quietly. "I'll be back to check on you in a little while, okay?" There was a faint, murmured affirmative from the cat-tailed youth that caused the other boy's smile to grow a bit. He waited until Duo's chest rose and fell evenly in sleep. Satisfied only then, he stepped from the room quietly.

When he went down into the living room, Heero found his mother still working at her laptop. Looking up, Danielle smiled and gave a small nod before returning to her work. Sitting in the couch across from her, the Japanese youth sighed deeply and closed his eyes.

The red-haired lawyer looked over to him and frowned in concern, "You really ought to get some rest, yourself, son. It had been a long two days for you."

Snorting slightly, Heero shook his head, "I want to help you with the case. There isn't much time to prepare for the Supreme Justices. Dekim is going to find the best lawyers he can to see that he gets Duo back."

His mother closed her laptop and moved to sit beside him. Running a hand through her son's unruly hair, Danielle smiled reassuringly, "And you'll need to be rested and prepared if you can help effectively. Now go upstairs and get some rest. I'll worry about the trial enough for the two of us for now, okay?"

His eyes drifting closed in spite of his attempt to stay awake, Heero finally sighed, "All right." Just as he rose from the couch, the front doorbell rang.

"Ah. That must be him," Danielle told herself she stood. Turning towards the other doorway, she called, "I'll get that, Noin." The young maid's voice replied in acknowledgement. With a look of confusion written on his face, Heero followed after his mother just to watch as she opened the front door.

Stepping back with a relieved sigh, Danielle greeted, "Thank you for coming so quickly. I do hope that I am not taking you away from anything important."

A familiar voice replied, "Not at all, my good madam. You are not one to call on me unless it is a matter of urgency." As the tall man stepped into the house, his kind smile grew a bit when he looked to the Japanese teenager. With a nod, he commented, "It has been a while, Heero. Good to see you."

As he broke from his confused state, Heero subtle shook his head. He grinned back with a nod of his own, "Trent." With an exchange of glances between the young man and his mother, he announced, "I'll be upstairs if either of you need me." He turned to quickly climb the stairs to take up one of the spare beds.

It had been a few months since he had seen the young prodigy of a lawyer ever since his mother insisted on their meeting when she worked to bring Trent Clark into her firm. The fact that his mother had called on him could only mean that she meant to have his aid in defending Duo. Between the two of them, and with his own assistance in the background, Heero hoped that it would be enough.

When her son was out of earshot, Danielle gestured towards the living room. "Please make yourself at home, Trent. I had Noin start some tea and coffee, so that you may have your preference," she spoke in her very hospitable voice that she had homed over the years.

Stepping into the room with his briefcase, Trent took up one of the chairs at the coffee table as he replied, "Coffee would be wonderful, thank you." Lowering his case at his feet, he folded his hands in his lap as Danielle sat across from him in the couch after collecting their steaming cups.

After taking a sip from his coffee, the young man's mouth curved in a lopsided smirk as he lowered the cup onto the table. "I may only have been working with you for a short period of time, Danielle," he began, "but I do consider it my duty to comment that you and Heero look as if you've both been drug by a car a few times around the block."

Danielle's head fell back with bubbling laughter at the attempt to lighten the tension in the air. When she regained her composure, she nodded with a tired frown, "The reason for that is why I have called you."

Lowering her cup, the young woman leaned forward and said quietly, "I need your help, Trent. What it entails may be something that you might not feel up to. If that is the case, I will hold no grudge if you decide to stay out of this."

Appreciating the fact that there was no pressure on his part, Trent straightened and nodded, "Very well. Let's just start from the beginning, then."

*   *   *   *   *   *

Duo's cat ears twitched at the sound of a light rapping at the closed bedroom door. Swallowing to dampen his dry throat, he called quietly, "Come in." His ears perked and a wide smile spread on his face as Noin walked in with a tray of beverages and snacks. "Hi, mom," he spoke softly, the joy in his voice not lost.

Setting the tray down beside the bed, Noin smiled lovingly as she sat beside the braided teenager. Gently kissing his forehead, the young maid ran a hand over his hair. With a deep purr of content, her son smiled and closed his eye at the touch. "How are you feeling?" she asked as she handed over a glass of water.

His throat feeling better after a few gulps from the glass, Duo replied, "A little tired, but all right." Looking over at the box of crackers and display of cheese, his tail swished excitedly. Like his breakfast, it was light to recondition his stomach to filling. But for him, it was as big a feast as he had ever seen.

At seeing her son's anticipation, Noin chuckled deeply, "If you can handle this and what I am making for your dinner, I have ice cream waiting in the freezer for you." She laughed as Duo quickly took up a couple crackers and slices of cheese.

While the braided teenager chewed his morsels, the young maid ran a hand through his bangs and commented, "Duo, Heero's mother would like to meet with you, if you're up to it." At the wide-eyed fear that appeared in this boy's eyes, she smiled, "It's all right. You know that she went through a great deal to get you back safely."

Swallowing hard, Duo nodded with his head lowering. While it was still a wondrous shock to know that Heero's mother was the reason he was back home, it was still difficult to get past the image he had of her prior to his disappearance. That controlling, demanding behavior was all that he could bring himself to think about.

Finally, Duo had run away because he was afraid of the strain it would but on the relationship between her and Heero. He never wanted to cause any trouble, but nothing he ever did seemed to be enough to appease her.

With a gentle hand on his cheek, Noin brought her son's violet eyes to focus on her, breaking him from his thoughts. "You know that if I didn't think this was a good idea, I would never agree to her seeing you," the short-haired maid grinned. "I am your mother now, and regardless of what anyone else says, I will always be your mother. I have a responsibility to look out for you and protect you."

Biting his lip, Duo managed to contain his fears and gave a small smile of relief. In seeing that, Noin's own smile grew a bit. "If you'd like, I could get Heero to stay here with you while his mother is here. Or if you would like, I will stay here."

The braided teenager shook his head, knowing now that his mother was right. If there were any doubt of Heero's mother's intentions, Noin would never agree to her meeting and speaking with him alone. "That's all right," he replied, his voice much more certain and not lacking his gratitude for the offer. "I'll speak with her."

With a firm nod, Noin rose from the edge of the bed. Placing another kiss on her son's braided head, she winked, "I'll go get her, then." As she turned on her heels, she stepped quietly from the room.

In the brief minutes that he waited, Duo took a deep breath. Taking up his tail, he fidgeted with it in his nervous gesture. There was another soft knock on his door as it cracked open. Danielle peered into the room, meeting his violet gaze. There was a long pause as they just stared at each other, neither really sure what to do at that moment.

Slowly, the red-haired lawyer stepped into the room, closing the door behind her. Duo swallowed hard, but did not allow his worry to appear on his face as Heero's mother approached without a word. Instead of taking the chair, she opted to sit on the edge of the bed and their eyes met again. Her mouth opened and closed a few times, showing her struggle to find the right words, stunning the braided youth as he continued to clutch onto his tail.

Finally, Danielle bit her lip and lowered her head. When she raised it to meet Duo's gaze again, he couldn't help but gasp in shock in seeing the small tears in her cobalt gaze. Moving slowly, cautiously, the young lawyer reached up to cup the side of the cat-eared boy's face. With a small whimper, she whispered brokenly, "I am so sorry, child."

An onslaught of emotions coursed through Duo in that one moment. Never before did he ever see such a genuine concern and sadness in those eyes when looking into them and the last of his fears melted. Seeing for himself that Heero's mother had changed, his overwhelming appreciation for what she had done to save him took over. With tears filling his own eyes, he leaned forward to wrap his arms tightly around Danielle's neck.

Blinking her wide, dampened eyes in shock, Heero's mother felt her lips tug up in a small smile. She raised her arms to carefully wrap them around the thin, trembling youth. Tentatively, then with more assurance, the lawyer ran a hand over the back of the braided head for support. At the deep, rumbling purr that she was rewarded, her smile grew with a small chuckle of awe.

When they finally pulled back and dried their own eyes, Danielle took a calming breath. "It took me some time to see the error of my ways, Duo," she began quietly as they watched each other, really seeing each other for the first time.

She had to clear the lump in her throat before continuing, "I want to thank you for making my son happy while I could not. And I sincerely hope that you can forgive me for the things that I had said and done in the past. This transition is not easy for me, and I may slip up at times, but I am trying."

Giving her a smile of reassurance, Duo replied softly, "I'll be happy to help, if you ever need it." He bit his own lip to prevent another attack of tears before saying, "Thank you for saving me."

With a smile, Danielle cupped his face again and whispered, "You're very welcome." Straightening, she took another deep breath while wiping the last of her tears away. Her calm reserve returned in her eyes as she stated, "The reason I am here, now, is because I need to discuss with you where we stand."

Her red head tilted a bit and she continued, "I take it Heero and the others gave you that there is going to be a trial deciding your fate." Seeing how close her son and the braided teenager were, she had hoped that her client was given some kind of overlook on his future, as opposed to her having to take him off guard with the news.

As he took up his tail again, Duo folded it with his hands in his lap and nodded. "Well, I wanted to go into further detail in reference to the case with you. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. We only have a month to prepare, and I am going to have my work cut out for me."

There was a moment of hesitation before the young woman commented, "That is why I have asked one of my best lawyers working for my firm to assist me. He is here now, and would like to meet with you, so that he can decide if this is something he is up for. I wanted to wait for your permission before allowing him to come in so we can discuss this further."

Duo blinked his wide cobalt eyes. Heero's mother had waited for his permission before taking matters into her own hands. She was going through every measure she could to see that he was going to be defended properly in this case. Overwhelmed, his cat ears perked and his smile beamed his appreciation as he nodded enthusiastically.

Relieved at her client's response, Danielle smiled back and nodded, "All right." With that, she rose from the bed and opened the door. Peeking her head out of the door, she bent to take up her suitcase and there was a quiet exchange of words on the other side before she opened the door widely.

A tall young man with short, light brown hair with gold highlights that shown under the light followed Heero's mother into the room. In looking to the teenager in the bed, he froze in his steps with wide eyes, his jaw falling slack. Duo just smiled and waved with a welcoming, "Hi." His long tail swished widely behind him.

Gently lifting the stunned young man's jaw with a finger under his chin, Danielle smiled, "Trent, this is Duo." She gestured with her free hand to the braided teenager with her free hand and turned to the boy. "Duo, this is Trent Clark. He is the most accomplished of lawyers, having started on his own to win quite a few high profile cases."

His tail continuing to sway behind him, Duo nodded and grinned with another wave, "Nice to meet you, Trent."

Trent shook his head, breaking himself from his surprise before smiling sheepishly, "It's a pleasure, Duo." Stepping forward, he shook hands firmly with the teenager, blushing slightly, "I do apologize for my lack of tack just now. I suppose that I had a difficult time picturing what Danielle was trying to prepare me for."

As their hands broke apart, Duo chuckled deeply, "It's all right. I'm kind of used to it, now. No harm done." Taking up his tail in one hand and a tall, furry ear in the other, he gently tugged. "And they are real."

Unable to help it, Danielle chuckled deeply in pleasant surprise of how well Duo was responding. Trent just smiled in awe, shaking his head in wonder as he breathed, "This is remarkable." He took the seat beside the bed and folded his hands in his lap, leaning forward. "And you have been able to keep this identity hidden for almost a year now?" he asked in clear interest.

Grinning from ear-to-ear, Duo answered, "Just wear a ball cap, or ski cap and some large shirts to hide my tail, and no one could tell."

"Amazing," Trent grinned, shaking his head again. Sitting back in his seat, he watched as Danielle took a seat beside at the edge of the bed. Running a hand through his short hair, the young man sighed deeply, "Well, needless to say, this is the first I have been informed of any of this. I will be learning just as much about this trial as you will." Duo gave a firm nod of understanding.

Taking up her cue, Danielle replied, "Right. I thought it better to go over the details of the trial with the both of you at the same time." She opened her brown leather suitcase to remove a large pad of paper, notes already etched out on the top.

After removing her wire-framed glasses and placing them on the bridge of her nose, the red-haired lawyer gazed over her notes. "Duo is the product of a cell splicing experiment that Dekim Barton and Jacob Muller had conducted. Their experiment was to create what they called a neko, a combination of human cells and some animal's cells that would enhance their bodies to take on a great deal of stress. In Duo's case, obviously, they opted to splice a cat's cells."

With a low whistle, Trent folded his arms, commenting, "Dekim and Jacob work for the government. I can imagine that they were not very pleased with the fact that you managed to take him out of their hands."

Frowning deeply, Danielle lowered her notes into her lap to meet his eyes. "Not at all, Trent," she replied. "They had created Duo as a test to show that they can create any number of clones like Duo, enhanced by animal cells to do what no normal human being can do. Not only that, but they have manipulated their bodies to take on a great amount of toxins and other stresses that are used in warfare."

A shudder ran through Duo and his tail curled into his hands again. His eyes widening, Trent paled as he asked quietly, "You mean to tell me that they plan to make such clones to send off to war as opposed to normal humans?"

With her anger building at the notion, Danielle answered, "Yes. If they were able to pull this off, the Earth's government would give them unlimited resources to create an army of millions, and more as they wished to produce them, at their disposal."

"My God," the brunette lawyer breathed and began to wash his face with his hands.

Duo swallowed hard and lowered his head. Gently running a hand over the back of his head for support, Danielle tried to soothe the braided teenager as best she could. With this being his first time in learning why he was created, she could only imagine how difficult this was on him. His life was forfeit as far as Dekim and Jacob were both concerned. He was just the first of countless others that would be used, sent off to die so that normal humans could live without having to fight a day in their lives.

For a long moment, silence hung heavily in the room before Trent spoke up, lowering his hands. "Then this trial is going to have to be fought before the Supreme Justices." It was more a statement that a question, as this was the first he was given any pieces of the puzzle to the trial that Danielle insisted she needed help in.

Trying not to wince, Danielle nodded. She knew that the young man had also yet to defend anyone before the highest of juries. For any lawyer that had to stand before the Supreme Justices, it was a nerve-wracking concept.

"Who are the Supreme Justices?" Duo inquired, raising his head.

Danielle turned to meet his violet eyes and answered patiently, "The Supreme Justices consist of seventeen judges who act as judge and jury of the cases presented to them. They are mixed in age, gender, race, religion. Each Supreme Justice represents the Colony- and for one Justice the Earth- which they come from. The verdict reached by them can never be contested again."

His voice distant, Trent stated, "They are the last word of the law. That is as simple of an explanation as one can give." Danielle nodded solemnly, swallowing hard at the realization of that. Truly, there was no better explanation than that.

Lowering his braided head to stare at the tail in his hands, Duo said quietly, "So if they decide that I am no more than just an experiment, I will be sent back to the lab to die and no one will be able to keep that from happening."

Gently lifting his head so that their eyes could meet, Danielle spoke clearly, "I will not allow them to come to that decision, Duo. Whatever I have to do, I promise to see that the Supreme Justices allow you live your life."

The braided teenager's violet eyes filled with tears and his lip trembled in fear at what could happen. With a sniffle, Duo leaned forward to wrap his arms tightly around Heero's mother, burying his face in her shoulder. As she returned the embrace, Danielle slowly rocked him, rubbing circles down his back. When she pulled back, she wiped the tears from the heart-shaped face with a sad smile.

"You should get some rest," the red-haired lawyer offered. "I'll discuss this further with you when you are up to it." When Duo nodded, she ran a hand through his long bangs. Trent was already to his feet with an unreadable expression on his face. As the braided teenager settled down into bed, Danielle tucked him back in before leading her associate from the room.

Quickly, the red-haired woman moved to the spare room her son had taken up. After relaying to him what had happened, Heero went to keep his distraught lover company at his mother's suggestion. It was going to be a very challenging few weeks for the braided youth. Whatever support he could have now, the better.

When they stepped back into the living room, Trent sighed deeply as he fell onto the large sofa. Danielle stood before him, frowning deeply, "He is quite the remarkable boy."

Sighing deeply, Trent nodded, "That he is."

As she lowered her head, Danielle spoke sincerely, "Trent, as I mentioned earlier, there is no obligation to your working with me on this case. As much as I would love to have your assistance, there is a great deal that I am asking of you if you agree to this. Should something go wrong, a loss before the Supreme Justices can be devastating for a lawyer's career." Her breath was nearly lost when he looked up with a fierceness in his eyes.

"Just what makes you think that we are going to lose the case?" Trent asked.

"We?" Danielle repeated, holding her breath in hoping that she had heard him correctly.

Smiling warmly, Trent rose to his feet, never breaking their eyes. "I am devoted to this case. And I am greatly honored that of all your staff, you asked me to be the one to assist you."

All but collapsing from relief, Danielle sighed deeply with her shoulders sagging. "Thank you," was all that she could manage. "I will see that you are compensated for your work and time, she began, only to be cut off when the young man raised his hand and shook his head.

Trent smiled sincerely, "No need for that. I miss my old days of defending someone simply because it was the right thing to do. That boy deserves the right to live his life. Defending him simply for the sake of seeing that that happens will be my payment."

Small tears filled Danielle's cobalt eyes. She, too, had begun her practice with the same notion. She so badly missed those days now. Clapping his hands, Trent took on his air of professionalism as he stated, "Now, with only a month to prepare, we best start by discussing where we need to begin."

A small smirk tugged Danielle's lips, the thrill of preparing for a case enrapturing her. "I already started by asking Heero and his friends for the names and numbers of everyone who came in contact with Duo. I have a few to begin making contacts for witnesses. Heero will also be assisting where needed."

From there, the two lawyers sat together as they discussed their plan of attack.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Adjusting her deep green suit coat and skirt with her free hand and gripping her briefcase with the other, Danielle took a deep, calming breath. The last four weeks had passes so quickly, she hardly had a moment to catch her breath. Now, on this morning of the trial, all that she could do was hope that she and Trent had adequately prepared.

For a moment, she just stood before the closed wooden doors that led to the court room. There would be no turning back when passing through them. The empty, marble-floored hallway took on a life of its own as she waited in silence.

Dressed in a fine, grey suit, Trent approached the young woman with a smile and suitcase in his hand. "You look quite ravishing, if I may say," the brunette smirked.

A faint blush tinting her cheeks, Danielle smirked back, "Why thank you, Trent. You look quite handsome, yourself. Is complimenting your boss in such a way a common thing of yours?"

Raising an eyebrow, Trent replied smoothly, "Only when it helps ease the tension in the air." Before Danielle could respond, the young man gestured to the two boys walking up behind him.

Their hands joined, Heero and Duo regarded the two lawyers with nods. They both seemed to age as they stood there in suits, the Japanese boy in deep blue and the braided teenager in black. A low brimmed, business cap tapped off Duo's look and his tail was hidden under his suit coat. Both boys looked terribly nervous.

With a reassuring smile, Danielle stood before the two boys. Gesturing to the hat that he wore, she addressed Duo, "This will be the last time you'll ever have to hide yourself. Your image will be on every front cover and shown as the top story on every news station throughout the duration of this trail for the next few weeks. Do you think you're going to be okay with that?"

Biting his lip in anticipation, Duo nodded enthusiastically, "Yes." Eagerly, he removed the hat and opened up his coat to allow his tail to sway freely. Whatever the outcome, he would be seen for who he was. That alone was something that he had dreamed of.

At the sight of his lover able to show himself in the open, Heero smiled warmly. Kissing the other teenager's cheek, he whispered, "I'll be sitting right behind you." Nodding his appreciation, Duo hugged him fiercely before the Japanese youth stepped into the court room after embracing his mother and shaking Trent's hand.

Clapping Duo on the shoulder after they waited a long moment Trent smiled, "Just don't forget to breathe." When the braided teenager chuckled deeply, he told him, "We're ready when you are." Danielle nodded to show that she truly was set to go.

Slowly, Duo took a deep breath and nodded to them, "Okay. I'm ready." Her smile growing, Danielle turned to open the double doors that led to the court room. Inside, cameras flashed and all eyes of the filled space turned to the back of the room.

TBC...

 

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