Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Friends Will Be Friends ❯ No One's Gonna Stop Me Now ( Chapter 12 )

 

 

 

 

Author: Caitilin

Title: "No one's gonna stop me now"
Arc: Friends will be Friends (1/?)
Warning: perverts lurking, please use the delete key if this offends.

Archived: http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php/108211

Disclaimer: I am one with the Divine, sue him/her/it

Author: Caitilin

Title: "No one's gonna stop me now"
Arc: Friends will be Friends (1/?)
Warning: perverts lurking, please use the delete key if this offends.

Archived: http://www.mediaminer.org/fanfic/view_st.php/108211

Disclaimer: I am one with the Divine, sue him/her/it

No one's gonna stop me now

 

It took almost half an hour before the database had uploaded to Preventers, as unfortunately my priority access had been locked out. I wasn't surprised, that was a standard security measure but it did mean I had to make do with the less secure and less speedy lower priority connection.

 

I babysat it as patiently as I could though, as all of this would be for nought if Preventer didn't have the data to support prosecutions. Marie kept anxiously glancing at the door, and it was all I could do not to do the same.

 

As it finished uploading, I gagged and bound the techie who still had not regained conciousness and the moment the transfer was completed I took Marie's hand again. I wasn't leaving her behind.

 

I also wasn't planning on wiping the database here. It would serve as additional evidence, I hoped. I just hoped there wouldn't be anything on there about me. I didn't want anyone to know what had happened.

 

Peeking around the door again, everything was still clear. We made our way carefully downward through the narrow, winding passageways that appeared to be in the basement. People might even term these catacombs, but I wasn't going to give them any fancy names. I did however, decide to take the first stairwell upwards as soon as I saw damp and moss growing on the walls. As soon as we were up several levels, the building shook as if my a mighty explosion. Several seconds later there was another one, and another.

 

If I wasn't mistaken, then the cavalry was there.

 

However, the stairwell was also entirely the wrong place to be, so I pulled Marie along as we ran away from it.

 

We ran through several corridors that looked exactly the same as the last ones, until we reached a door labelled "Hangar".

 

This sounded promising. It was huge, but on the other side I saw a door marked 'exit'. This was definitely promising. As we ran across the floor, several people stepped out with guns, and we skidded to a halt. On the other side, from the door we had just come in there came a cry of 'Preventers, freeze!' and I put on a spurt of energy to get us out of the firing zone. I didn't come this far just to be gunned down by both the good guys and the bad guys.

 

As I ran, bullets started to fly, and I felt a tug on my hand as Marie cried out. Looking back, she was laying on the floor, clutching her leg. There was no way I could leave her like that, and I sprinted back. As I did so I heard another cry of 'Freeze!' from the doorway and I felt the sting of a bullet graze on my arm.

 

It took me a moment to realise, but I was in the clothing of an enemy security guard and running. This was, maybe, not the best position to be in.

 

I slid over the concrete floor until I was laying next to Marie, then covered her with my body, my arms covering my head. I was down, my arms were in sight, hopefully Preventers wouldn't shoot me. I was also low enough that hopefully the main fire fight would miss me, and Marie should be shielded as well as possible.

 

"Stay still!" I told her.

 

"I'm scared and my leg hurts." She told me.

 

"I know, it'll be over soon. Don't worry sweetie, the good guys are here. We'll get that leg looked at as soon as the shooting stops." I told her.

 

We stayed like that, huddled on the concrete floor of the hanger until the shooting stopped. Even once the shooting stopped I wasn't stupid enough to put my head up, until I heard someone near me.

 

"Get up slowly scumbag. Keep your hands where I can see them. You're under arrest."

 

I got up slowly, keeping my hands away from my body. Yup, I was being arrested.

 

"What are the charges, officer?" I asked as I moved. For some reason the entire situation tickled my funny bone. Maybe I really was cracking up.

 

As I got up, I got a good look at Marie. There was a streak of blood on her shift near what I estimated to be her knee.

 

"Christ, we've got a hurt kid here!" The Preventer called out, loudly.

 

He approached me and I stood there willingly with my hands out. We'd get this sorted later, but for now it didn't make sense to argue with them. The rookie, Shah according to his uniform, read me out my rights, and informed me that I was being arrested for 'child trafficking, kidnap, extortion, evading arrest and that he was sure he could tack on a few more to that' while he zipcorded me. Damn but he pulled them tight behind my back. I hoped he hadn't reopened any of the welts there.

 

Marie, wisely stayed down, but when she saw me zipcorded ojbected.

 

"You can't arrest him! He's one of the good guys! Take them off!"

 

She was getting quite upset, and making to stand up, so I crouched down.

 

"It's okay Marie, we'll get this sorted. In the mean time, I need you to do what the officers say, alright? They won't hurt you." I promised.

 

"But I want to stay with you." She told me. She was starting to cry now. Her leg must be really bothering her. I wasn't going to tell her not to cry or anything patronising like that though, she had the full right to feel and express her feelings. Not like me and more extremely, Heero. I wasn't going to ask any kid to suppress their feelings.

 

"I need you to be brave for me just a little bit longer." I told her, as I was yanked up by Shah.

 

"That's quite enough of that." He told me, as he manhandled me. Another officer who had come up with a warm blanket, and was approaching Marie. She was scrabling back, despite her leg as he loomed over her.

 

"Why don't you give it to her and then back away?" I suggested.

 

"Shah. What in the name of the ancestors are you doing there?" Someone snapped in the background. Ah, Chang if I wasn't mistaken. I don't know anyone else who uses that expression.

 

Shah moved slightly, and he came into view.

"This pervert had a kid with him." Shah explained.

 

Chang's eyes narrowed as he addressed Shah.

 

"That pervert, as you put it, is the Preventer who we were looking for. Didn't you read the memo? Listen to the briefing? Or did it escape your mind?" My, my, our dragon was in a sour mood. I'm just glad it wasn't directed at me. "Undo him."

 

"I can't Sir. He's zipcorded." Shah explained.

 

"Then take them off." Chang bit out.

 

"I can't. I don't have anything to do that with."

 

"Oh? We will be discussing this after this operation. I expect you to report to me in the morning with a full report. Now go and secure the area. Take your partner with you, I'll handle this. Barton, turn around. "

 

I turned around willingly, and saw that Marie had picked up the blanket and wrapped it around her. Shah and his partner were walking away, as I felt the zipcords drop off.

 

"Are you wounded?" Chang asked.

 

"Bruises, some minor lacerations." I replied.

 

"Good, you can help secure the area then."

 

"Negative. Marie needs medical attention. Bullet wound to the leg." I nodded at her, then walked over, and told her to hold still, then scooped her and the blanket up. My arm twinged a bit, but that was all. I could carry her easily, she wasn't heavy.

 

Chang frowned.

 

"In that case, I'll get someone to escort you. Otherwise you'll get shot, dressed like that." he said, then used his comset to call Duo.

 

I smiled. Duo had been found and was here!

 

"He's been found?" I asked in conformation, not quite willing to believe it yet

 

"How many Duo's do you know? Yes, he's been found." Chang replied.

 

"Tro-man!" I heard Duo call as he bounded up dressed in full Preventer gear. The first thing that hit me was the enormous grin on his face. It could have lit up the entire hangar. The second thing that hit me was Duo's hand as he clapped me on my back, and I winced and held on to Marie tighter so I didn't drop her.

 

"I would appreciate it if you don't do that any more." I told him drily.

He took me in for a moment, spotted Marie, then whistled. "Looks like someone took a lump out of your arm there. Want me to take over?" I shook my head. Marie was my charge.

"Duo, this is Marie. Marie, this is Duo." I introduced them.

 

"Maxwell. Take Barton and his charge to Po, then return." Chang ordered, interrupting the conversation.

"It's good to see you though." I told him next. Good didn't begin to cover it, but it was all I was willing to say in public.

 

"Yeah, sure, you betcha." Duo told Wufei. Looked like someone had been feeding Duo sugar and caffeine, or he was on an adrenaline high. Looking around, I was willing to bet on the second. Still, it meant I got to talk to him longer if he escorted us, so I was not displeased.

 

Duo let us out of the hangar, and Marie put her arm around my neck and snuggled down in my arms. I don't know what I'd done to deserve her trust and affection like this, but I wasn't going to do anything to jeopardise it, so I ignored the bullet crease on my biceps as I carried her.

 

Duo was carrying on with a whirlwind recital about how Wufei, Quatre and Heero had come to get him, and something about a girl called Julie and how he'd missed us. I just let the sound of his voice wash over me as we walked, not paying full attention to what he said but enjoying it. It was a good thing he was with us though, as we met a few patrols of Preventers that Duo had to clear us with.

 

He led us through several corridors into as small courtyard where Sally had set up a triage area and another group of Preventers were securing prisoners. Duo let us to Sally, who was monitoring a heart rate monitor she had strapped to her patients chest.

 

"Hey Sal, look who I found?" Duo greeted her.

 

"Trowa, good to see you. Your condition?" She asked, not taking her eyes of her patient for more than a glance.

 

"A nine, minor lacerations and bruises. Marie is a six possibly higher, gunshot wound or crease to the leg." I told her. I've done triage for Sally before, she has a very accurate numerical system to rate people and prioritise them. One through three for life-threatening, four through six for definite hospitalisation, seven through nine for out patient basis injuries and ten for health people. Children get automatically bumped up one, babies two and criminals down one. Not enough that anyone can accuse us of not treating them, we just don't prioritise criminals before our own or civilians with the same wounds.

 

"There's stickers over there, as well as some first aid boxes. I need you to prioritise people for me." She ordered, most of her attention still on her patient. I carried Marie over.

 

Unwrapping her from the blanket, I saw that I would have to lift her shift, so I opened one of the boxes and got ready what I thought I might need and slipped on a pair of rubber gloves.

 

"I need to lift your shift a bit to take a good look. Can you do that for me?" I asked her gently. I was definitely not going to assume anything or take any liberties, not after what had happened to her.

 

Marie nodded and lifted her shift a bit, then turned to watch what I was doing. "You don't have to look if you don't want to, I'll tell you what I"m doing." I suggested.

 

"I want to know." she told me. She's a brave girl.

 

Her leg was smeared with dried and drying blood, as but it all seemed to be welling slowly from a crease just above her knee. The bullet didn't seem to be there, so I only put on a pressure bandage and some clear water-based disinfectant. They wouldn't thank me at the hospital if I put anything coloured or gunky like salve on that they'd then have to scrub out. Marie watched intently as I explained to her what I was doing and why, and when I was done I patted her knee gently and pulled down her shift, then wrapped her up again.

 

"I need to go and help other people now, can you watch over these things for me? Make sure only people with Preventer uniforms take them, okay?" I told her, indicating at the first aid boxes, water bottles and blankets stacked up.

 

"I can do that." she nodded.

 

"Good. Now, there's one more thing. I need you to take these stickers, and write the numbers one through nine on them as many times as the roll is long. " I tore half a dozen off to take with me, and gave her a pen as well as keeping one for myself. It would save me writing prioritising numbers. "And I want you to stick one on your own shift, where its well visible that has a six on it." I instructed her.

 

"She nodded eagerly, and set to work, her tongue peeking out from her lips as she wrote. Good.

 

I snagged a Preventer jacket to help deal with the confusion, then spent the next few hours doing triage, assigning numbers and helping Sally getting people prioritised. The worst part for me was when some of the captives were brought out. Some of them were in terrible conditions, and some of them fought us, not believing we were truly here to help them. Luckily, I'm apparently not threatening enough looking that most of them would let me practice my first aid skills on them, and those few that wouldn't would let Sally do so.

 

It was only when I found it was just Sally, me, Marie and a few other Preventers and the all-cleared signal was given and that it clicked to me that nobody had taken her Marie off to the hospital. She was still sitting quietly in the corner monitoring the use of the first aid boxes. It was only when I looked closer that I noticed that her 'six' was upside down and made a 'nine'. It also looked like it had been torn off and put back on a few times.

 

Raising an eyebrow, I looked at her questioningly. She raised two and looked back.

 

"Your sticker appears to have reversed itself." I murmered to her as I picked her up.

 

She looked at it innocently, then turned to me.

"So it has." She agreed, then grinned. She knew she'd put it upside down, I knew she'd put it upside down and she knew I knew she'd put it upside down.

 

I carried her out to one of the cars, when Sally hopped in the drivers seat.

 

"I'm driving. I need to go to hospital anyway, and so do both of you." She told us. Bossy woman, but she was right. Besides, I probably should get my back looked at.

 

We were quiet on the way, Marie strapped in in the back, me in the passenger seat and Sally driving. Neither of the women felt any need to talk, for which I was grateful as it meant I could sit back for two minutes and relax. Sally is one of the few people besides the other pilots I feel safe enough to do that with.

 

*******

 

I wasn't too happy at the way I was told to keep outside the sterile field in the operating theatre, but I could understand it. Besides, from where I sat I had a good enough view of what was going on, and I could hear what they said. I could also see the heart rate monitor and Quatre's leg.

 

Desmond the Anaesthetist caught Quatre's heart rate rising only slightly before I did, and was topping up the drugs before I could even say anything. For doing his job competently I was grateful to him.

 

From what I could gather they removed the smaller splinters and pinned the larger ones back on, then pinned the bones back together again and cleaned the whole area once again. It was only then that the closed the wound and sealed it with neoskin. If he was lucky, he wouldn't even have a scar there.

 

The entire surgery only took a few hours, and then Quatre was being wheeled out into a recovery room and I followed him. I felt totally drained from just watching it. They strapped a blood pressure meter to him, and a Regen unit to his leg there and Mai Lee joined me sitting next to him as he slept it off. Everyone in the recovery room had a nurse next to him or her, something I heartily approved of.

 

It wasn't long before his heart rate started to rise, and he whimpered softly, tossed his head to the side in an uncontrolled movement and cracked one eye open a little bit to glare balefully at the blood pressure meter.

 

"The cuff is bothering him." I told Mai Lee

"We can't take it off until the drugs are out of his system, or at least until he's a lot more awake." she told me, and it did make some sense but I could understand Quatre's frustration. Waking up to something clamping down on your arm before you were supposed to can't be fun.

 

"H'ro? Hurts. Ev'rybody hurts." Quatre slurred, his eyes closed again.

 

It didn't take a genius to figure out what he meant, but Mai Lee didn't know about his abilities.

I clasped his hand in mine, and told him

"Just concentrate on me. I'm not hurting, just concentrate on my feelings instead." I worked hard on projecting calm and tranquillity. Not that I do either of them very well, but hopefully that and the closer contact would drown out the pain the other patients were feeling.

 

"He's a newtype." Mai Lee breathed, her eyes widening as realisation hit her.

 

"I'm binding you under nurse-patient confidentiality as well as the Earth and Colonies Official Secrets Act. You are not to breathe a word verbally, in writing or by any other form of communication to anyone. You are not to put any notes on this in his file, or any personal recordings either. If you do, you are liable for any damages caused and you could be prosecuted. Do you understand?" She looked well startled now, so I continued on a gentler tone.

 

"You've seen what happens to them on the news. We don't want that happening to Quatre, and I'll do anything I have to to keep him safe. Absolutely anything.

 

"I won't tell anyone, I promise. Is there anything he needs?" she asked me.

 

Not much I could think of that wouldn't arouse suspicion.

 

"It's the drugs and the amount of people who are in pain around him that are affecting him. Not much we can do about that, this is a hospital." I told her.

 

"Be better when I wake up." Quatre mumbled, and tried to get more comfortable in sloppy, jerky movements. "Leg hurts."

 

Mai Lee adjusted his drip ever so slightly.

"I'm afraid we can't give you any more morphine, you're already on the maximum safe dose. I'm going to check with the doctor and see if we can get you moved to your room." she said as she stood up and left.

 

We sat with Quatre for a while longer. Each time he opened his eyes, he opened them for longer and wider, and in time he rolled his head my way so he could look to me and I smiled back.

 

"Story?" he asked me, after a while. Yeah, I could see where he would be bored. I just wasn't certain I had the courage to say what I wanted to say.

 

"I owe Trowa and apology. I quite unfairly acted upon incorrect information. " I looked at my hands as if to divine any information from them. J never put any stock in palm reading, so he never taught me that skill. All I saw was lines and callouses. It was easier talking about myself in third person. Taking a deep breath, I continued.

 

"Our fictional boy, Heero, had just entered puberty when he noticed the changes in his body. Upon questioning his mentor, J explained the biological changes he was undergoing. What J did not explain was the mental changes that come with maturity. J was not a very social person and did not teach Heero very many social skills, but saw that either he, or some of his colleagues met all of Heero's physical needs."

 

"Heero didn't know better than that this was normal, until he was sent on a mission to Earth. There, he met four other boys and learned that they, unlike him, had social lives. He spent the next few years watching them, and discovered that he felt some of the feelings he had felt for J's assistants for them too. But there was more than that. He felt new feelings, feelings he couldn't identify."

 

"He did a lot of research on them, and discovered that what he was feeling for most of the pilots was probably respect, coupled with a certain amount of lust. He also discovered he had no such feelings for girls. However, one pilot in particular he felt more than just lust and respect for, and it took him considerably longer to pin down what exactly he felt for that boy. Even now, he's still not certain, but he cares deeply for him. This is all going over your head isn't it? You can barely keep your eyes open." For some reason it amused me that I'd just opened my heart to Quatre and he was barely concious enough to recognise it.

 

"'M list'ning." he assured me, just as Mai Lee came back.

 

"We can move him now." She told me, and undid the blood pressure cuff.

 

It didn't take her long to manoeuvre us down some windy halls to a larger room. There were five beds in it with room for a sixth, but none of the others were occupied. She wheeled Quatre in the place of the sixth one, hooked up his IV and then strung up his broken leg to a contraption that came down from the ceiling, then walked over to another bed and handed me a generic hospital issue plastic chair.

 

"If he wants water, give him slow and gentle sips. If you need anything, press the buzzer. If he gets nausous, buzz the nurses station. There's apparently been a large group of wounded people come in, so it may take is a bit longer than normal to respond." She told me, and hurried off as I nodded.

 

Quatre appeared asleep in the bed. Maybe without the cuff continually squeezing his arm, he could get some sleep.

 

I sat next to Quatre, just holding his hand for over two hours until he opened his eyes again. This time he was a lot more alert.

 

"Hi." I greeted him, feeling a bit silly.

 

He yawned, unlaced his fingers from mine and stretched as far as he was able to with his leg hanging from the ceiling. After he quickly rearranged the blankets better to his liking, he took my hand in his, and I felt absurdly happy about it. I offered him a cup of water, and he sipped it cautiously.

 

"So which one of us is it that you are interested in?" he asked me after he had whetted his lips and mouth. It appeared he'd remembered more than I thought he would. In some ways I was relieved, it would save me explaining it all again. In some ways I was apprehensive. This is where he would find out and reject me.

 

"You." I told him. I didn't want to look at him, I didn't want to see the rejection on his face. I unclasped my hand from his. "I won't bother you with it though. We can still be friends, I hope?"

 

"I'll be honest Heero, I care a lot for you. You're smart, cute and I am attracted to you. But I do need to know what you would want out of this relationship. "

 

I felt a little hope blossom. It couldn't be this easy, could it? I considered for a moment.

 

"With J's assistants it was just mutual relief. I want more than that. I'm just not very good at this Quatre, I don't know what to do. I've never done this before." I admitted.

 

He smiled.

"We can find out together then. I don't just want sex, Heero. I want a real relationship. And if that means we have a few bumps finding out what we want, that's alright. I don't want to have to hide it though. I want to be able to walk down the street holding hands, or kiss in the park or in front of the others. Is that acceptable?" He asked me.

 

That was more than I'd dared hope for.

"Does that mean I get to take you to the movies this weekend?" I asked hopefully.

 

"Only if I get out of hospital." Quatre countered, then snuggled down into the pillows some more.

"So when do you think they'll release me?" He asked.

 

"I can find out." I offered.

 

"Nah, if they've got a big group come in, then let them be. That's more important." Quatre said, and yawned again.

 

"Sleep some more." I suggested. I was quite content to sit here and hold his hand while he did so.