Life Goes On Part 2
Sally went over the reports and test results for the third time since her arrival and swift escort into Doctor Khushrenada's office. Shaking her head, she sat back in the chair opposite of the tall man behind the desk and sighed deeply, "According to these findings, I have to agree that Duo's collapse was from nothing more than dehydration and exhaustion." Lowering the papers in her hands onto the flat surface, she frowned deeply.
Raising a ginger eyebrow, Treize replied, "But you don't believe it to be that simple. Your past assistance in Mister Maxwell's care would give you the advantage to diagnose him properly. What is it that has you doubting what you're seeing?"
"If you knew Duo the way I know him," the braided young woman began with a smile, "you would know that despite how much he may 'push himself', he always has energy to spare. He has the endurance of a ten year old on a sugar rush. A slight case of dehydration wouldn't be enough to make him collapse as he had." Her frown returning, she stated, "Yet, there is nothing showing any signs that anything something else is wrong and so I have no choice but to agree with your conclusion."
With a small smile, Treize shrugged, "Everyone has the ability to force themselves beyond their limits. I doubt that Mister Maxwell would be any different. Despite his physical differences, his chemical makeup is exact to any normal human like you or I. He's an incredible creature."
At that, Sally felt her own lips tug up in a small grin. "That he is," she nodded. "And I am certain that you would rather refer to him as Duo and not Mister Maxwell."
The tall man chuckled deeply, "I'll keep that in mind." He folded his hands and frowned in thought before stating, "I was quite taken aback at how Duo reacted to waking in that hospital room alone." Sally shuddered at the thought of her friend cutting up his own arm in desperation to free himself. When she had been advised of the incident by Treize, he skin crawled.
Slightly tilting his head, Treize asked, "Might I ask why he was pleading to me that he didn't want to die? To be quite honest, I did not follow his trial and I only have a vague idea of his ordeal with what little Heero suggested. Seeing as how I am also looking to be of the best assistance to his care..."
For a moment, Sally debated over sharing her friend's past with the man she had only man moments ago. In the end, she knew that she would not always be readily available to help Duo as she had been now that he was away at college. From what she could tell of the handsome doctor, she certainly didn't have a reason to doubt that he was sincere in his wish to look after the neko.
And in the end, the more allies that Duo had, the better.
Taking a deep breath, the braided young woman began, "The sole purpose of Duo's existence was to use him as a test for what would become a weapon of war. While his makeup is no different from ours, his endurance against a number of toxins and other internal system failures far surpasses that of any normal human. Being the first successful creation, he was put through a battery of tests that nearly killed him..."
* * * * * *
A slight creek from the door as it opened stirred Heero from his brief rest. Sitting up, he smiled at the face peering carefully into the room. Lightly kissing the hand in his own, the Japanese boy whispered, "Duo, look who's here."
Sighing softly as he turned his head towards his lover, the braided, cat-eared boy blinked his violet eyes open. Slowly turning his head towards the door, those eyes widened and filled with tears as he whispered, "Mom."
Noin bit her lip and stepped into the private quarters with Zechs close behind. The blonde man's concerned eyes fell on their son as he entered. "Dad," Duo smiled. Quickly, his adoptive parents moved to the bed just as Heero moved back to give them some space.
Fighting her own tears, the retired maid sat at the edge of the bed and wrapped her arms tightly around her son just as he clutched onto her. Lightly kissing the side of his face, she told him, "We've been so worried about you."
From where he stood at the other side of the bed, Zechs smiled lovingly down on the boy peering up at him. Reaching down to rest his hand on his boy's braided head, he said softly, "Good to see you, son." he bent over to gently kiss the neko's head.
With a small sob, Duo breathed, "I love you guys so much." Back by the wall, Heero fought his own tears as he watched the heart-warming scene.
The door opened once more for Danielle and Trent to hurry in, the worry etched on their faces. Sighing in relief, Heero smiled, "Mom." Meeting her in the middle of the room, he hugged her tightly as she pulled him close. He grinned at the blonde man approaching and nodded, "Trent." The two young men exchanged a firm handshake of respect.
Pulling back, Danielle advised her son, "We would have been in here sooner, but I had to handle a few pests while Trent snuck Sally inside to meet with whoever has been looking over Duo." Heero chuckled deeply, knowing exactly what 'pests' his mother was referring to. He never did have a doubt that she would be able to handle those damned reporters.
After their reunion with the Japanese teenager, Danielle and Trent moved to greet the cat-tailed boy at the bed. Tightly hugging Duo, the redhead chuckled deeply at the sound of the neko purring in her ear. Just as she pulled back, the door opened once more as Dorothy ran into the scene. "I came as soon as I saw the report on the news," she panted heavily. Her eyes scanning from her pupil to Heero, she asked, "What happened?"
Behind the blonde law director, Sally and Treize entered as the braided young woman answered, "Exertion and dehydration." All eyes fell on the two newest visitors and she shrugged, "Nothing more than just overdoing it." With a friendly smile at her friend on the bed, she told him, "I'm sorry, Duo, but we're going to have to order that you get lots of sleep and do very little to stress yourself for the remainder of the week and next week at the very least. Which means that you'll have to take an early leave from your classes."
Determination etched on her face, Dorothy nodded firmly, "Done." She turned back to the still-reeling patient and reassured him, "I'll meet with your professors first thing in the morning to inform them that you are exempt from the remainder of your classes and any assignments that they give before the break."
Violet specks widening, Duo sputtered, "B-but I don't want to miss that much class time. That's five full days that I'll be away. This is just my first semester!" Tail and ears drooping, he looked from one face to another with pleading eyes and a small pout.
Chuckling deeply, Zechs rubbed the top of his braided head and told him softly, "Doctor's orders, son. If they want you to get rest, then you need to listen. You don't want another blackout episode, do you?"
Instantly recalling the unsteady feeling that he had before losing consciousness, Duo shuddered. He finally sighed deeply, "No." His shoulders slumped in defeat at knowing that he didn't have an ally in the room. In the end, he had to admit that he was still quite tired.
With a smile on his own face, Heero reassured him, "You know you're well ahead of any of your professors' lessons. Besides, you don't have any more projects or assignments that are due before we head home for Thanksgiving."
"Yea, I know," Duo admitted, his head lowered. Noin shook her head in amusement before pulling him into a tight embrace while kissing his cheek.
Clearing her throat, Sally announced, "I have also been discussing several things with Doctor Khushrenada. He is in the middle of making arrangements that should Duo need any further, emergency medical care, he will be the one to look after him."
The tall man nodded firmly, "So as to have a familiar face here." At that, both Duo and Heero brightened a bit, smiling their appreciation and acceptance of the offer. In the short time that they had known Treize, he certainly seemed like someone they could trust as a friend in a town that was still very new to them.
Smirking to his patient, the ginger-haired doctor commented, "Seeing as how I now understand what caused your episode this morning, I will be sure that Heero be close should you ever wake up in one of these rooms again."
Trent quickly gazed to the bandage that no one had addressed and asked in concern, "Is that what happened to your arm?"
Duo blushed and nodded, "Yea. I woke up alone in here and kind of... panicked. I just wanted to get out of here so badly that I didn't even know that I was hurting myself." Both Zechs and Noin gathered closer to their son in support.
From his place at the foot of the bed, Heero bit his lip in recalling the scene that he walked into when he heard his best friend screaming out. The sight of the blood running down his arm and the frantic look in those violet eyes shook him to the core. Just knowing how terrified and desperate the neko must have been to hurt himself with his....
Nails.
His cobalt eyes widening, Heero felt his breath hitch in his throat. In his worry over his lover, he never really thought over how he managed to cut himself so. Looking to his lover's hands as they remained folded in the smaller boy's lap, he stiffened. At the tip of those long finders were long, pointed nails-the left colored with spots of blood.
Swallowing hard, the Japanese youth blinked in shock at the sight. Duo never had nails like that before. Heero knew that he certainly would have noticed them before. Not wanting to disturb the tranquility in the room, or his partner's happiness at being reunited with his family, the young artist remained quiet but stored the issue for a discussion with Sally later.
"Heero," Danielle frowned in concern as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Are you all right? You look upset over something."
Quickly recovering from his stunned state, Heero smiled to her, "I'm fine. I've just had a few too many scares today, I suppose." His red-haired mother nodded, but her own cobalt eyes showed that she was not entirely convinced.
Much to the unruly-haired teen's relief, Treize broke in as he stepped forward and announced, "Duo, you're free to leave here as soon as you wish. If you have any further spells, please don't hesitate to contact me directly. When possible, I will stop by your apartment to see if a visit here is necessary." That said, he reached into his white coat pocket to remove a card that he handed over.
Tail swinging and ears perked, Duo accepted the business card with a wide smile. There was an understanding in the nice man's eyes that he found very reassuring. Obviously, Sally had filled him in on his past if he was willing to take whatever steps needed to see that he was comfortable. "Thank you, Treize," he smiled sincerely up to the tall man. "I really do appreciate all of your help."
Winking, the ginger-haired doctor grinned, "My pleasure." He turned to hand over another card to Heero before shaking his hand firmly. "I also wrote my residence and cell phone numbers there if you cannot reach me here."
Taken aback at how kind the doctor was, Heero nodded, "Thank you, Treize." A smirk tugged his lips as he commented, "No offense, but I hope that we won't have to be in contact with you too often. If I have more scares like what happened today, I'll be the one in the hospital bed."
With a loud, full laugh, Treize replied, "No offense taken." Gently patting the young man's shoulder, he said quietly, "Take care." As he turned to leave after a round of handshakes and words of appreciation from Noin, Zechs, Danielle and Trent, the ginger-haired man and Sally shared a warm smile and a quiet exchange of farewells.
Quickly turning so that his legs hung from the side of the bed, Duo kicked them up and down as he smiled, "Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm ready to get out of here."
Chuckling deeply, Heero walked around Noin to brush back his partner's bangs and kiss his forehead. "Just take it easy, love. I'll go get your clothes."
By the time the Japanese teen had returned, Dorothy and Heero's cell phones were both filled with worried messages from Trowa, Relena, Quatre and Wufei after they had seen the brief announcement about Duo's arrival at the hospital. Once those calls were handled and their friends were finally convinced that all was fine, arrangements were made for the travelers to stay at one of the near hotels for the evening.
* * * * * *
In the early evening the following night, Duo sighed deeply as he sagged into the couch he'd been sitting in for the better part of the day. Remote in hand, he continued to flick through the channels that had nothing really appealing at the moment. Under Heero's strict orders to rest while he was away or be forced to return home so Noin and Zechs could keep their eye on him, the neko was not about to call the bluff.
Being confined to bed was one thing. Being confined to bed away from Heero was something that he wouldn't be able to handle.
When the door to their apartment finally opened, Duo sat up and turned his hope-filled eyes to the entrance. At Heero's entrance, his clumped cat ears perked and his limp tail swayed excitedly as he greeted, "Hey! How was class?"
Carefully handling the large paper bag in his hands, Heero kicked his foot back to close the door while he smiled, "Just fine." Heading over to the couch, he bent down to kiss his lover's lips soundly before smirking, "You seem happy to see me."
"Of course I am," Duo grinned back, "Seeing anything other than these four walls and television is a treat."
Heero gave him a mock pout and huffed, "I'm hurt." The braided teenager just laughed that broke his 'hurt' partner's act when he joined in. Bending down once more, the Japanese student kissed his love once more and asked, "How are you feeling?"
Shrugging, the neko answered, "Fine." His nose scrunched up as he sniffed the air when the wonderful aromas from the bag reached him. Pushing himself up to kneel on the couch, he pressed his nose closer to the bag. "What's in there?" he inquired with the innocent curiosity of a child.
A small smirk tugging his lips, Heero replied, "Dinner from Gratzies, that Italian place we were going to visit last night. I got some of your favorites." Opening the bag, he held up a large, styrofoam container as he winked, "And dessert for later."
Duo rose from the couch practically glowing as he threw his arms around the other boy. "Thank you!" he cried excitedly. When he pulled back, he purred, "You always take such good care of me."
"And I am honored to do so," the Japanese student whispered before kissing his lover one last time. Gesturing to the kitchen, he suggested, "Let's eat before this gets cold."
Looping his own arm through one of Heero's Duo smiled from ear-to-ear as he was led into the small dining room with all of his problems long forgotten.
TBC...
Back to SkyLark's Fanfictions Page