A Silver Lining Part 21

After opening one of his few boxes marked 'FRAGILE' in large and red letters, Duo began to removed the newspaper that he used to protect some of his most precious belongings. It was still hard for him to believe that he was now living in an actual house, as opposed to the apartment-made-office that he had shared with Hilde for the last few months.

Even more amazing to the braided pilot was the fact that Heero had called him to live with him in the large estate. Just to be on the safe side, Duo had waited out a few of days to see that the living arrangement would, in fact, have a sense of permanence before really making himself at home. After a week of having lived at the beach house, the American now felt comfortable enough to remove his more personal items.

With a warm smile on his face, Duo unraveled one of the large, silver frames that was just one of many in the box. It was one of the rare pictures he managed to take during the war. This image was one of the five Gundam pilots, taken by Sally during their stay on Peacemillion. The five teenagers in the image were lined up before one of the high railings. Just behind them, the head of Wing Zero made a perfect background.

From left to right, the younger selves of Wufei, Quatre, Heero, Duo and Trowa were displayed. The braided pilot chuckled deeply in recalling how Sally had patiently waited until everyone had at least some kind of smile on their face. Trowa and Wufei finally relented. Of course, Heero opted to refrain from that, compromising to allow the braided pilot beside him to drape an arm over his shoulder, instead. It was a fair trade as far as Duo was concerned. It was one of the only group shots he managed to get of all of them.

Heero stepped into the living room as Duo was still admiring the framed photograph. "What do you have there?" he asked in a rare display of genuine curiosity.

Looking up, Duo smiled and handed the frame over to his friend. "Look familiar?" he grinned. While the other pilot gazed to the image, Duo went back to his work of uncovering his other pictures from the box.

With a half-smirk, Heero snorted, "How could I forget this? You wouldn't stop singing 'I'm Henry the Eighth, I am' until I finally agreed to getting into this shot." He raised an eyebrow and peered at his comrade. "Purposely out of tune, no less."

Duo laughed, "Hey, whatever it took." Taking up a couple smaller frames of other images he had taken of his friends, and a few of himself with Deathscythe, he chuckled deeply, "I could have resolved to even worse tactics as far as my song choice." Carefully, he began to set the frames atop the large mantel over the fireplace.

Mentally cringing at some of the other songs that the braided pilot had used to get his way at other times, Heero focused his attention on the silver metal that served as the frame. With wide, cobalt eyes, he gasped quietly, "This is-"

Looking over his shoulder, Duo smiled and nodded, "Gundanium. I had taken some large parts from Deathscythe before having to destroy him."

A small grinned tugged at Heero's lip. It all seemed too fitting a thing for Duo to do, keeping a part of his beloved suit around and giving it a new use. It just gave the picture, something already sentimental in itself, that much more meaning behind it.

In studying the photograph for a bit in silence, Heero frowned to himself. He was the only one of the group without some kind of smile on his face. "We should take another picture like this some time," he said quietly.

The surprise was evident in Duo's widened eyes as he suddenly halted in his work. Blinking in shock when he turned to face his partner, he asked, "R-really?"

With a small nod, Heero looked back to the photo and replied, "Only this time, I think I'll smile in it." His eyes met his partner's again and a small smirk fell on his lips. "You can still drape your arm on my shoulder if you want."

At those words, Duo's heart jumped in his throat. A broad grin broke on his face that could have lit the room on its own. "We'll have to arrange that with the others some time."

Carefully taking the photo back, Duo's smile never wavered and he carefully settled the large frame in the center of the smaller ones as the focal point over the mantelpiece. Stepping back to appraise the display beside his friend, he sighed deeply, "There. Now this place is officially home."

Beside him, Heero couldn't help but smile slightly with a nod and a quiet, "Agreed."

*   *   *   *   *   *

"Duo... Duo! Wake up!"

The voice that had seemed so distant for what seemed like ages finally broke through the darkness of unconsciousness. With a deep groan, Duo slowly blinked his violet eyes opened. One of the things that he noticed already was that he was lying on his back. The second realization, due to the texture of the ground under his hands, was that he was lying on sand.

Duo's vision burring in and out of vision, his gaze finally focused on his two, very concerned friends kneeling at either side of him. In finding recognition in the braided pilot's eyes, both Quatre and Relena sighed deeply in relief, their shoulders sagging.

"We've been trying to wake you for some time now. You've had us pretty worried," the Arab smiled. With a small whimper of concern, Yuuki slowly walked up to her owner and licked his hand.

Still a bit dazed, Duo reached up to rub his aching head when Relena's hand quickly stopped his wrist. "You have a pretty bad gash on the side of your head, Duo. We managed to stop the bleeding, but it shouldn't be agitated."

Finally, flashes of memories came flooding back to Duo as his last conscious thoughts returned. With a sharp gasp and widened eyes, he sat up abruptly. The moment he managed to get upright, his head began to spin. Forcing himself to focus, he did not hear the concerned voices of his friends trying to get him to lie back down.

The sight that awaited him caused tears to spring into Duo's eyes and every inch of his body to go numb. Where the large, beautiful house that he and Heero had once stood, only a crater, and a fraction of the skeletal frame of the house, remained.

All around, shards of glass, wood, metal and other items were scattered about for what seemed many yards. Unable to breathe, his mouth opening and closing but unable to find his voice, the braided pilot simply stared in shock.

There was nothing left. Nothing left of the place that Heero and Duo had called their home. What had taken years to make the secluded house a livable haven and all the memorandums that had been store there... everything was just... gone in an instant.

A hand falling on his shoulder with a tight squeeze snapped Duo from his thoughts and he turned to face Quatre. The blonde pilot's eyes were shimmering with his own unshed tears and he breathed, "I'm so sorry, Duo."

Swallowing hard, Duo closed his eyes and took a deep breath. This was not a time to grieve. They just narrowly escaped being killed in that blast. He forced the tears back and focused on his friends, asking in a thick voice, "Are you both all right?" The young couple nodded.

"We managed to get just far enough to miss the blast and most of the debris," Relena reassured him. "If anything, just some scrapes and bruises. You got the worst from the explosion." Just as Duo's mouth opened, his eyes still filled with concern, she answered before he could ask with a warm smile, "The baby's fine."

Finding relief in that news, Duo let out a deep sigh, only to look up in alarm with a pair of headlights pierced through the night. A familiar, red Civic peeled down the road that led to where the house once stood. Coming to a sudden halt, the driver's door opened and Lady Une came running to the huddled group, shouting, "Is everyone alright?" She was relieved to hear three confirmations.

Quickly, the Commander knelt before Duo, who clearly was the worst off of the group. She nearly winced at the sight of the gash that ran down the right side of his forehead, ending just at his eyebrow. "I didn't want to call for an ambulance and risk having the person who did this think there was a chance anyone got out alive. But we should have that wound looked after."

With a nod, Quatre added, "I'd like to make sure that the baby is all right, too." Just as Relena was about to protest, he met her gaze and reassured her, "Just to be safe."

Quatre knew Relena's concern. Seeing a doctor meant that there was a chance something could have hurt their child and it was something that the young woman would have a great deal of difficulty in coping with if it were true. Finding all of the understanding and support in her lover's eyes, Relena bit her lip and nodded.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Having moved to a secluded meeting room, Zechs paces anxiously. Sitting at the round table in the center of the room, Noin watched with a deep frown of worry. Across from her, Scott Daily sat with his head lowered. In the center of the table was a large vid phone. The scene was all so simple and yet so complicated at once, thanks to the rise of emotions running through everyone gathered.

"She should have called by now," Zechs sighed deeply. Turning on his heel, he hit his flatted hands on the desk with a loud slam that caused Scott to jump. The tall man leaned towards the frightened, white-haired Preventer and yelled, "So help me, if anything happened to my sister-!"

Desperately, Scott fell back in his seat and cried, "I swear that I had nothing to do with this! Had I known that Agent Maxwell was still on the Earth, at his residence, I swear I would have warned you sooner!"

Rising to her feet, Noin placed a hand on her lover's back and spoke soothingly but firmly, "Zechs, if Scott is the reason we knew to warn Duo and the others of their endangerment in the first place. He's already shown that we can trust him."

With a deep sigh, Zechs lowered his head a bit and straightened. With his fists tight at his side, he asked in a deep growl, "What was it in our mentioning of that sixth agent that alarmed you into asking of Agent Phoenix's whereabouts?"

The white-haired Preventer swallowed hard and licked his lips. "When I was approached by Jessica to join the White Out Organization, she had said that if all else failed in their plans to get the Gundam pilots, she and the other leaks could always just find ways of knowing where they live," he answered. "Now that they know the last leak left, I figured that it would be their next move if they felt desperate enough."

Suddenly, the screen on the vid phone blinked on and Lady Une's image appeared. Quickly, Zechs' eyes widened and questions were about to course from his opening mouth when she smiled, "Zechs, you can stop worrying, as I am sure you have been. Relena and the baby are just fine. We are at the hospital now."

Physically relaxing with sheer relief at the announcement, the tall man nodded his appreciation, unable to quite make use of his voice for a moment. Shaking his head to snap out of his thoughts, he asked in sincere apprehension, "And Quatre and Duo? Were they able to get out safely?"

"They're both fine as well," the Commander reassured. "Duo needed a few stitches to close a head wound, but that's the worst of the injuries between the three of them." Her frown deepened, "But Heero and Duo's house was completely destroyed. They were lucky to get out alive."

Palling, Noin brought a hand to her mouth with a quiet, "My God." She swallowed the lump that had grown in her throat over the gravity of the situation. With a deep breath, she asked, "What is our next course of action?"

With a deep sigh, Lady Une rubbed the back of her aching neck and stated, "I have already taken all precautions in seeing that the records of their visit here at the hospital are removed from records that can be tapped into. I want whoever did this to think that they accomplished their task." The two Preventers watching her nodded their agreement to her quick decision.

In the closed off waiting room of the hospital, the Commander leaned her back against the wall behind her and folded her arms. A decision needed to be made and quickly. In this game of chess, every move counted, lest the game end before they were able to move ahead.

A plan in motion, Lady Une stated, "Quasar is the safest place for our leak's targets right now. I am going send Relena with Duo and Quatre in one of our intractable shuttles later this night. Since those shuttles are used regularly for missions where stealth is required, this leak won't think anything is out of the ordinary if one of those crafts missing from the hanger."

Taking a moment to appraise the third Preventer, Lady Une raised a thin eyebrow. With a hint of unease in her voice, she asked him, "Are you certain that this is the last leak within the Preventers, Agent Rain?"

Quickly straightening in his seat, Scott nodded firmly, "Yes, Commander. I can tell you that with all certainty." At the young woman's nod, he added, "If I might suggest, I think it would be wise to keep the Gundam pilots out here until they can all be relocated from their current residences. If this person was able to find one home, they know where the others are."

Her brown eyes slightly losing their edge, Lady Une nodded, "Yes, of course. Over the next few days, I am going to work on relocating all of the pilots to a remote location where they can stay together. It is going to take some time, but I'll feel better in knowing that they won't be separated until we find who this last leak is."

Both Zechs and Noin were satisfied with the plan at hand. It was best not to take any unnecessary chances at this time, considering how close their luck had just come to already running out.

"With where Quasar is drifting, the shuttle carrying the others will be arriving about this time tomorrow," the Commander informed. "I already notified the crew to continue on an uncharted course as to stay out of any possible radar pick up. They will not be returning to the Earth until I give them further notice."

Lady Une focused on Noin and Zechs as she stated, "I want to be informed the moment you learn anything more." Two firm nods replied. With a tired smile, the young woman said gently, "Now, get some sleep, all of you. It's been a long day." At that, the connection was cut off and the vid phone's monitor went black.

Lowering his head, Zechs frowned deeply, "It's been a long five months."

*   *   *   *   *   *

"You did what!?" he shouted over the vid phone. "We need those pilots alive! What part of that order did you not understand!?"

"Sir, forgive me. I just-"

"I do not want your excuses! I have to be the person to explain to him what you've done." A long pause and a deep sigh before calming. "You said that they had tried to escape just before the explosion?"

"Y-yes, Mister Henderson. I had put motion detectors at each door in the event that they tried such a thing." A rough swallow. "The area has been closed off for the police and Preventers to investigate. I can't get anywhere near to see, myself, if there were any survivors."

"Survivors or not, the other pilots will most likely be moved from their own residences. You had the opportunity to hold onto some valuable information and you wasted it in such a foolish act."

Silence.

"For your sake, you better pray that they somehow made it out alive. And you had better get your head on straight. You may be the last, but we can get more agents where you came from, should we ever find the need. I would hate for you to suddenly face an... unfortunate accident."

"I assure you, sir, I will not make such a mistake again."

"For both of our sakes, you had better not."

*   *   *   *   *   *

The following morning, Trowa and Anna were walking down one of the many long stretches of hallways of Quasar. The ex-Heavyarms pilot frowned in worry and nervously clutched at the large, raggedy brown teddy bear in his hands. "I hope that she likes this," he thought aloud.

Anna smiled and peered at him from the corner of her eye. "She'll love it," she reassured him. Turning, she adjusted the large, purple silk bow that she had added around the bear's neck. "There's a lot of history behind this little guy. You sure you're ready to give it up?"

With a small smirk, Trowa nodded, "Yea." There was nothing more to be said in the matter. It was time to finally let a lot of things go. With his free hand, he took Anna's and squeezed it as they made the rest of their journey in silence.

The double doors at the end of the hall opened to them and the young couple entered. Biting her lip, Anna scanned the room filled with children that had been recovered in their last rescue. Trowa's hand around the bear in his grasp just tightened.

Eighteen children total, all orphaned thanks to the White Out Organization. They varied in race and sizes, aging from five years to ten. The groups of children were all laughing and playing with their new toys that had been donated to the Preventers over the years for those missions involving children.

From coloring books to a wide range of stuffed animals, action figures and other playthings to entertain the youngsters certainly came to use now. The four Preventers watching after the young ones laughed and partook in the festivities. There were smiles and nods exchanged between those agents and their visitors when their gazes met.

Alone in the furthest corner of the colorfully painted room sat Rachel. The little girl hugged her legs to her chest, and her back was to the group gathered, her gaze focused to the ocean of stars past the window where she was perched. Cleaned and in new clothes that were not tattered in any way, it took a moment for Trowa and Anna to recognize her.

"She's kept to herself like that since she was brought here yesterday," one of the agents advised the young couple with a sad smile. She ran a hand through her long, black bangs and sighed deeply, "We've been trying to get her to interact, but she just pushes away even more."

Anna gave a small nod and replied quietly, "Thank you, Karen. You guys are going a great job in here."

Trowa was already walking over towards the secluded child.

Rachel couldn't remember the last time she saw so many stars, even from the few memories she could remember her life on that Colony. Looking down to her new, purple shirt with pretty pink flowers sewn in that wrapped around the hem, she was still in awe at how good it was to be in clothes that did not have holes in them.

Along with her new jeans and white sneakers and a purple headband to match her shirt, Rachel had one of her first full outfits since... she couldn't remember when. Her hair was clean and smelled like lavender-she thought that was what that nice Preventer named Karen said the shampoo smelled like. It all still just seemed too good to be true.

...But with it all, her nightmares never left her. Her pain over losing her mother was still there.

"Hey, little one," a voice broke through Rachel's thoughts and she spun around. Her brown eyes widened in recognition of the tall man standing before her with a warm smile. Trowa's smile grew a bit and he chuckled deeply, "I hardly recognized you for a moment."

Slowly, the ex-Gundam pilot knelt before the child, keeping their gazes locked, and he spoke in a kind voice, "I never got to introduce myself before." He extended his hand still smiling as he stated, "I'm Trowa Barton. And I believe your name is Rachel?"

Blinking her wide eyes, Rachel blushes lightly. A wide smile spread across her face and she nodded enthusiastically. Trowa chuckled deeply again and gently patted the top of her brunette head. "You're a very brave little girl," he told her sincerely. "What you did back on that ship saved all of us. Do you know that?" With a breathy, tiny giggle, Rachel's blush grew just a hint and she shrugged shyly.

His hand tightening around the bear in his right hand, Trowa frowned a bit and said gently, "I... I know that it's not much but-" Slowly, he raised the raggedy bear with the purple silk ribbon around its neck up to the little girl. "I wanted to give this to you."

Rachel gasped sharply at the sight of the teddy. Never before had she owned a toy of her own. All she ever wanted was a teddy bear, like she had seen other children in nicer homes carry around. And this Preventer was going to give her one for herself.

Clearing his throat, Trowa explained softly, "Anna's the only other person who knows that I had this bear from the time I was about your age. I hid it so no one else saw it. But when I needed it, it was always there. It helped we get through a lot of difficult times."

With small tears filling her eyes, Rachel whispered in little more than a breath, "W-were you hurt, too?"

Not having expected that question, and what it implied of the two of them, Trowa's own eyes shimmered a bit. Taking a deep breath and whispered, "Yea." He reached up and wiped his eyes before the tears fell on their own accord.

Sniffling, Rachel was a bit surprised, not only at the gesture by Trowa, but at easily she came to like him. Men always frightened her, ever since she and her mother were taken away from their Colony. But this man saved her life. He was nice to her and took her from the bad men. She didn't want to see him upset.

Licking his lips, Trowa smiled slightly and pointed to the silk bow and stated, "The bow is from Anna. Some time, I'll have her explain what it is from, since that's not really my place." He looked back up to meet the child's shimmering gaze and offered, "We wanted you to have this."

In a flash, the little girl jumped from her perch and threw her arms tightly around the neck of the man who saved her. Taken aback, Trowa's emerald eyes widened in initial shock, then relaxed while a renewed grin played on his own lips. Carefully reaching up, he embraced the trembling girl tightly.

Swallowing past the lump in her throat a few times with tears running down her cheeks, Rachel tried a few times before finding her voice to whisper brokenly, "T-thank you."

Trowa closed his eyes and replied just as softly, "You're very welcome." When the little girl pulled back at last, the tall pilot lightly tapped the tip of her nose and spoke in a friendly tone, "You take good care of him for me, okay?"

Rachel's smile grew and she clutched the brown bear tightly to her when it was handed over. Lightly patting the top of the bear's head, Trowa smiled wistfully, "Good bye, old friend."

Having to dry her eyes before being seen, Anna stepped into the scene and knelt beside her lover. At the sight of the pretty lady who helped her after she was saved, the child's smile brightened anew and she hugged her neck tightly. It had been a long time since Rachel could remember being so happy.

*   *   *   *   *   *

Sally seemed to be in an even-happier-than-usual mood this evening, Heero noted. In realization of that, he was thankful once again that his pain medication was no longer needed and he could think clearly again. While he would still be restricted to a bed for a couple of days on account of his abdominal wound, it was less unnerving now that he did not have to deal with the side effects of being on medication as well.

Considering he had set his shoulder on his own the moment he was alone, despite the braided woman's wish to have it heal on its own, Heero was surprised that she did not give him a longer lecture over the matter than she had... Something was going on.

"What are you hiding?" Heero finally asked just as the tall woman removed the IV from his bedside.

Sally's grin just grew all the more at the question and she shrugged, "Oh, you'll see in about a minute." Heero's mouth was opening in protest when the braided woman's pager went off. Quickly glancing at the small window, Sally mentally sighed in relief. As she walked towards the door with the IV bag, she called over her shoulder, "Just try and take it easy, okay? I would hate to have to break you away from your guest."

"Guest?" Heero repeated with a confused look on his face. The door slid open and his cobalt eyes widened with a sharp gasp. In little more than a whisper, he breathed, "D-Duo?"

TBC...

 

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