[My right hand holds matches, my left holds my past...
I hope the wind catches, and burns it down fast
I'm gonna step into the fire with my failures and my shame
and wave good-bye to yesterday, as I dance among the flames]
--- Lyrics to 'From the Ashes' performed by Martina McBride
Ray of Hope Part 34
The thick darkness finally subsides with effort. As he broke through unconsciousness, Heero took a deep breath that felt like the first he had ever taken. So many things were already running through his mind, so many things that had finally come to light. Finally, bright light filled his vision when he slowly blinked his eyes open.
When he was able to focus, the young sailor found Sally sitting at his bedside. Her hair was a bit ragged, wisps still free of their braids from the wind out on the ocean. And there was a hint of dark circles under her eyes. Straightening in her seat, the braided doctor's own eyes filled with relief as she smiled warmly, "Welcome back."
Heero opened his mouth, but found his throat too dry to speak at that moment. Even as he first moved to say something, the young woman quickly reached for the pitcher of water on the small table next to her. Carefully handing over the glass that she poured, she urged softly, "Drink slowly."
Nodding in appreciation, Heero did as ordered. When the glass was empty, he handed it back over with a quiet, "Thanks." Before he could say anything more, a small flashlight shined into his eyes as the doctor went through her checks on his vitals.
Satisfied that her patient was well, Sally sat on the side of the bed with a deep sigh. "Your body went through a dangerous state of shock when that episode came on," she frowned deeply, her shoulders sagging from their tension. Shaking her head, she muttered, "You scared the hell out of us back there. I had a bad feeling about that trip-"
"I remember, Sal," Heero finally managed to get in while cutting her off.
With a sharp gasp, the braided woman stiffened once more with wide eyes. Blinking in shock, Sally leaned closer to the young sailor and whispered, "I-it worked? You really remember everything from your past now?"
A small smile tugged at Heero's lips as he replied, "I remember enough." Sitting up in his bed, he said urgently, "I have to get a hold of Duo and tell him."
Gently resting a hand on his chest, Sally urged him to lie back down as she stated, "It's too late for that at the moment. It's just after one in the morning and he's most likely asleep in the lighthouse now. Wufei is going to call him at a better hour this morning to tell him what happened." At that, she winked, "I'll tell him to leave out the part about your memory so that you can tell him."
In hearing the hour, the Japanese teenager blinked in surprise. Suddenly, the almost haggard state of his friend took on a new realization. Sally had stayed with him for hours, worked on him with everything she could to get him through his ordeal. Slowly, he reached over to squeeze her hands and whispered sincerely, "Thank you for looking after me this whole time."
Her eyes widening once more, the young woman looked down at their hands and smiled. Gently squeezing back, she raised her gaze and shrugged, "What are friends for, right?"
Sitting up, her gaze shimmered in excitement as she grinned, "So, tell me some of the things that you know. I've been anxious to learn who you are."
Lying back against the head-raised mattress, Heero smiled in his own thrill of finally having some answers. Grateful to have someone to share his story with, he began, "It's mostly broken pieces, but I do remember...."
* * * * * *
Falling onto the couch, his violet eyes wide with worry, Duo breathed into the telephone receiver, "H-he what?"
On the other end, Wufei's voice reassured him, "Heero's going to be all right. Sally told me that he's stabilized and woke up early this morning. There are still a few more tests to be run, but he'll probably be released from the hospital in the next couple hours."
Swallowing hard, the lighthouse keeper asked quietly, "He tried to force his memory back, didn't he? That's why he went out there to begin with."
"Yes," the officer answered simply. "These last couple of weeks, getting his memory back was the only thing that he concerned himself with. He thought that it was the only way you wouldn't have doubts about him. Taking that trip out to sea seemed like the only thing that would work, even though Sally strongly advised him against it."
At that, Duo wrapped his free arm around his waist against the wave of nausea that hit him. "Heero did that for me," he breathed. With tears filling his eyes, he whispered, "Thank you, Wufei. I'll be at the hospital soon." That said, he lowered the receiver and slowly rose from the couch.
Noin stepped into the living room with a concerned frown. "Is everything all right?" she asked gently, resting a hand on her son's shoulder.
Wiping at his eyes, Duo sniffled and met her gaze. "Heero's in the hospital after pulling a stunt to get his memory back," he answered. "It never should have come to this," he thought aloud, shaking his head. "I have to get to the hospital and talk to him. I can't keep waiting for some kind of proof that he'll stick around, when he's willing to go to this extreme for my sake. I should have just trusted him when he said that he wouldn't leave me."
Quickly, he walked across the room to the small closet to remove a black vest. As he shoved his arms through the holes, the braided young man looked to his mother and told her, "Well be back soon."
In hearing the word 'we,' Noin smiled brilliantly and nodded, "All right. I'll start a nice lunch for when you both return, then." With a grateful grin, Duo stepped from the living room and through the front door while closing it quietly behind him.
Chuckling deeply to himself as he hung up his own phone, Wufei smirked to himself, "Plant a seed and watch it grow." A quick look to the clock showed that it was almost ten o'clock. With thick dark clouds coming in to cover the sun, it was difficult to tell just from looking outside that it was midmorning.
Suddenly, there was a knock at the front door. Raising an eyebrow, the Chinese officer muttered, "Who would be stopping over here for a visit?" Walking through the living room, he reached the door and pulled it open.
It was not difficult to recognize the blonde-haired woman standing on his porch from the newspaper articles that had been recovered. The pale blue eyes looking back at him belonged to none other than Dorothy Catalonia- the grieving fiancée of Odin Lowe Jr. His dark eyes widening, Wufei sputtered, "You... um... I..."
The side of her mouth tugging up in an amused smile, Dorothy unclasped her folded hands to removed her pale green sunhat that matched her short-sleeved shirt paired with white slacks. With a small nod, she greeted evenly, "Very nice to meet you in person, Officer Chang. Thankfully, this is a small enough island that it is not hard to find anyone living here."
Finally finding his footing, Wufei straightened and cleared his throat. With a nod of his own head, he replied, "Forgive me for my rudeness, Miss Catalonia. This is just quite unexpected." As he stepped aside, he told her, "Please, come inside so we can talk."
"Actually, I am just going to cut right to the chase," the blonde girl insisted, the evenness in her tone giving weigh to one of more command than warmth. When he looked back with wide eyes, Wufei found grounded determination in the eyes watching him. "This has been a very difficult few months and I intend on getting the answers that I want," Dorothy stated clearly.
Her hands gripping the brim of her sunhat, the wealthy girl continued, "Now, I want to meet the young man that was involved in that boating accident earlier this year. Obviously, there was enough of a connection for the police in my district to send Odin's information over in hopes for a match."
Tilting her head, Dorothy warned, "Now, we could do this the easy way, and have you simply take me to where this young man is, or I will have no choice but to do this the hard way. I am certain that things would be quite troubling for you if the proper authorities were informed that the missing son of Senator Odin Lowe could very well be here, but the investigating officer is withholding information."
Wufei attempted to swallow a few times before he was successful. He was trapped. Even if he refused and lost everything, would find a way to get what she wanted and there would be no way of protecting his friends then. There was no question in seeing the look on the young woman's face that she would make good on her threat.
He certainly had painted himself into a corner. Silently, he cursed himself for ever taking that name from Sally's private records.
Finally, his hand tightening around the doorknob that it had never left, the Chinese officer nodded and told her quietly, "All right. He's at a nearby hospital. I'll fill you in on the details of his condition on the way there."
Relief flooded Dorothy's eyes and face, but she remained firm in her resolve and posture as she replied, "Lead the way, then."
* * * * * *
Heero sighed deeply as he threw on his deep green T-shirt. After a long night and several tests that morning, he was finally deemed healthy for release. All that he wanted was looking forward to was getting to the cabin at the island's ridge so that he could talk to Duo and put his fears to rest at last.
Out in the halls, Duo quickly walked down the corridor with a fresh bouquet of roses that he had stopped to get as a token of apology for his stubbornness. Just as he rounded another corner, the lighthouse keeper froze stiff when he spotted Wufei walking past with familiar blonde girl.
As they passed, unaware of his presence, the American's heart stopped in recognizing the stranger with his friend. "It can't be," was all that he managed to whisper, his violet eyes wide in fear. Wrapping around the corner, Duo kept a safe distance between the two as he followed them to his lover's room.
There was a light knock on the door just when Heero finished tying his sneakers. Rising to his feet, he looked up and called, "Come in." He smiled when a familiar face peeked in. "Hi, Wufei," he greeted. His grin quickly faded when he saw how pale his friend looked. "What's wrong?" he managed softly.
Swallowing roughly, Wufei said quietly, "Heero, I... have someone here who wanted to see you." He stepped forward and held the door open.
When the young woman behind him stepped into the room, she raised her head so that her face could be seen from under the wide brim of her sunhat. Tears were running down the girls face, but she smiled brilliantly with a mix of joy and relief when their gazes met.
His cobalt eyes widening with a sharp gasp, Heero breathed, "Dorothy."
"Hello, Odin," was all that his dear friend could manage.
A sharp laugh exploded from the young sailor before he sprang forward and closed the distance between them to wrap his arms around her thin waist. Lifting Dorothy from the floor, he spun her around until her hat flew off as they laughed. When he lowered her to the floor, Heero had tears in his own eyes. Placing a soft kiss on her lips and several quick kisses on her cheeks and head while they continued to hold each other, he exclaimed, "God, it's so good to see you!"
Just outside of the room, Duo peered in through half-drawn curtain blades with tears streaming down his own face. Whimpering softly, he dropped the flowers in his hand and stepped back from the room. "Goodbye, Heero," he whispered with a last peek on the happy reunion taking place.
Turning on his heels, he did the only thing that he could. He ran.
TBC...
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