Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Mistaken Words ❯ Because You Need it That's Why! ( Chapter 45 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Mistaken Words

Thanks to my editors! Pious Knight and morgansgirl You guys are great!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, and do not make and money off of it….

Because You Need it That's Why!

“So John, you going to tell my why I'm here?” a female voice asked from behind.

John turned to face Lauren with a smile, “I would have thought it'd be obvious Leon, I have a patient that needs your expertise.”

“Hmph, usually you bring me to the infirmary, not some out of the way corner of the agency,” Lauren had stopped walking, and John turned to look at her finding her arms folded across her chest.

“Well, this isn't exactly your usual patient,” John replied vaguely with a smile on his face. She was a woman in her early forties, nearly John's height and built rather broad in the shoulders. John had always known her to be that way, she had the strength necessary to work with just about any size patient, not that that would be a concern with Heero. Leon's brow drew down a little as John continued to smile at her, she was a stubborn woman. Who wouldn't back down from any challenge.

“You're not going to tell me any more?” she asked nearly tapping her foot.

John shook his head, “At the moment, no. But if you'll follow me things may start to make sense.”

“May?” the therapist asked finally stepping up beside John, “That's not much help.”

“Sorry, this isn't really a normal situation,” John apologised as they finally reached the door he had been looking for.

“Well I can see that, just who exactly are you wanting me to work with? The king?” there was a laugh in her voice as she said it.

The doctor laughed himself, “No, certainly not that,” he punched in the code and motioned for Leon to proceed him into the room.

Une rose from her seat at their entrance, along with Wufei and the smile dropped from Leon's face, “Commander Une,” she spoke with surprise.

“Lauren Stokes, John's told us a great deal about you,” Une welcomed in a business like way as she extended a hand towards the therapist, “Please just call me Une.” They had spent several hours discussing this meeting before John had actually gone out to arrange it. Unable to divulge any details until Leon agreed to work with a patient she couldn't even know the name off right off was not going to be easy to work with. John had faith that Leon would be willing to perform the job, but they had to be sure first of all that there was no chance of this information slipping past her for any reason.

Leon's eyes worked from Une to Wufei and back again, John could tell she was trying to figure out just what was going on. “Uh…call me Leon…” it was an odd pet peeve of hers she never liked being called by her actual name. The way John understood it, back when she was about two or three an uncle unable to remember the name Lauren had started calling her Leon instead, after than it had just stuck. John had thought it an odd story at the time, but the name suited her, though that could have just been for the fact that he hadn't known her by anything else.

“Please have a seat, Leon,” Une bade moving back to her seat across the table along with Wufei. John settled himself back in the chair knowing he was basically riding the sidelines on this one, that was unless Leon got out of hand. She could be incredibly headstrong sometimes there was no telling her anything other than what she wanted to hear. John wouldn't say he had a knack for dealing with her, but she did tend to listen to him, if only a little.

“This wasn't at all what I was expecting when John called me in today…” she said rather bluntly, willing to speak her mind almost any time. “Just what exactly have you got me into John?”

“Nothing illegal, we can assure you of that,” Une answered for the old doctor, while John just nodded his head in agreement, understanding how this must have looked for the therapist.

“What sort of patient are we dealing with here?” Leon quickly questioned, but didn't give them time to respond, “I can't think of many that would in any way require the overview of both the Commander of the Earth Defence Corp. and one of Relena's personal bodyguards.”

Une rested her hands calmly upon the table, “Before we can get to that I need to know if you're working with any other patients at this time?”

“Not really,” Leon began a note of suspicion in her voice, “I see one patient every other week just to make sure he's keeping up, but that'll end soon.”

“If you take on this patient it'll be imperative that you don't take on any more patients,” John explained softly, they couldn't have her trying to balance Heero along with any other too many chances for questions to be asked. Though that wasn't to say making herself unavailable wouldn't also do the same.

Leon glanced about the room, “Just who is this patient? Why would something like that be such a concern?”

Wufei sighed then, they had all known this wasn't going to be easy. “Can you at least answer one question?” he asked onyx eyes expressionless, “Are you willing to work with just one patient without revealing the patient to anyone?”

“Leon, John has told us you're the best there is, that's why we've come to you first,” Une said then, following John's advice. Leon was a self assured woman, not at all above flattery.

She looked at John then, having the decency to blush a little but not bothering to attempt to down play the praise. “This isn't normal…” she breathed more to herself, as she still sounded undecided. But at the same time John could see her curiosity was peeked by all this secretiveness, “Alright, I'll do it.”

A tiny smile flickered across Une's lips then as she motioned silently towards Wufei, who opened the folder in front of him and removed a single sheet of paper. “We'll need you to sign this Non-Disclosure Agreement before we can proceed,” Une told the therapist as the paper was passed across the table.

Leon's eyes quickly read over the document, “This is really serious…”

John knew she was talking to herself more than the room but decided to put in his two cents anyways, “With good reason, believe me.”

“I think it's worth pointing out that once you're in, that's it, you're in, we can't afford to have you going back.” Wufei folded his hands before him after placing a pen on the paper in the center of the table, “Will you see this to the end?”

“Hard to say when I don't know what I'm getting myself into,” Leon admitted honestly, “But I've never been afraid of a challenge before.” Leon said with a smile as she scrawled her name across one line before passing it back. “I just wonder was all this necessary? If you had asked me to keep quiet about this, John you know I would have.”

“With this we're not taking any chances,” Wufei interjected before John could respond, but that had been roughly what he would have said anyways so he didn't complain. Une signed the paper before putting it before Wufei, and with that last signature the deal was done.

A moment of silence passed over the room, but it was only that, a moment, “So who's the patient?” Leon didn't seem able to contain her curiosity any longer.

“Heero Yuy,” Une told her bluntly.

“What?” she looked to each person sitting around the table, “No really, who's the patient?”

“Une wasn't lying, Leon,” John told his friend, wondering how he would have reacted in her situation.

“For reasons that don't bare going into at this moment, we needed the world to believe Agent Yuy was a traitor, and also dead,” Une explained then, drawing Leon's disbelieving gaze back towards her, “Obviously we need the Earth Sphere to believe he's still dead.”

Leon's face became incredibly serious as she looked from one face to the next, “I'd like to know exactly what's going on. You have to realise just how little sense this is all making right now.”

Une pushed her chair back from the table, expression firm as she spoke to the therapist, “At the moment we only need you to help Agent Yuy get back on his feet. That doesn't require any more information than medical, which John will be more than happy to fill you in on,” with that said Une stood from her seat extending a hand towards Leon, which the therapist slowly took. “If you'll excuse us, we have other matters to attend to,” John also rose from his seat as Une and Wufei both made their way towards the door.

Mentally bracing himself as the door closed behind them John turned to regard Leon, seeing the look of displeasure on her face, “Just what have you gotten me into?”

“You were left with every opportunity to say no,” John attempted to placate with a raised hand, “You understand why I couldn't tell you anything.”

“I'd say I don't really understand anything right now,” she folded her arms across her chest, “Just what the hell has been going on around here?”

John sighed, “I'm not in a position to tell you any more than what Une already has, I know how you feel though, I just hope you'll be able to work with him despite that.”

“I guess I don't have much choice now…” together they moved towards the door, “So how'd you get drawn into this, I thought you had retired.”

“I tried too…” John began with a smile, “But there's always someone who needs help.”

“I take it he's not being kept in the infirmary.”

“No, too risky,” the old doctor reached into a coat pocket and removed a key card, “He's being kept in a room that's more than adequately equipped for his needs. This key card will get you past all the security,” he passed it too her as they left the office portion of the agency.

Leon turned the card over in her hands, “Are you going to tell me a little about him?” she glanced at the men and women walking by all busy with their jobs, “I can see this isn't the best place to do it.”

“I'll tell you all I can about his condition once we get up to his room,” not much was said after that as the two walked through the numerous halls until they reached the elevator needed to take them to the pilots' wing of the base. John watched Leon carefully through it all, able to almost see the thought process upon her face. She was looking progressively more frustrated with each passing minute, but there wasn't much John could do about that. He felt positive that once Leon was in her element working with Heero, how Heero had come to be here, and why the world had to think he was dead, her frustration would no longer matter.

They stepped off the elevator and John lead the way down the empty hall, choosing the door next to Heero's room. Leon gave a small start on entering the room, to find nothing but observation equipment, “I thought I'd be meeting the patient…” the therapist said taking a step further into the room, and turning to face John.

“Not today. I wanted to get everything arranged first. Heero didn't exactly sleep well last night, and I'd imagine he's still sleeping now,” walking over to the monitoring screen John saw exactly what he expected to see.

“He's not on a normal sleep schedule?” Leon sounded surprised by that.

“Mostly,” John responded taking a seat, and pushing one closer to Leon, “In any case, here's your patient,” he gestured to the monitor displaying the color image of Heero sleeping in the large hospital bed. “And here's all the medical info you should need,” they had gone rather sparingly on the details of how Heero's injuries had occurred, much as he had back when Heero had gone in for surgery.

Leon pulled her eyes away from the screen to read through the thin folder, “Well this is about as vague as everything I've been told so far…” she said after several moments.

“It'll tell you everything you need to know,” John defended.

“Is how the injuries happened classified or something?” she fired back.

“No, just not important to your job,” the old doctor turned more fully to face the therapist while leaning his elbow on the table face. “What is important is that you listen to what I'm about to tell you and do as I say,” that raised an eyebrow.

“You know I don't take orders, especially from someone who has no experience in the field,” Leon told him bluntly.

“But I do have experience with Heero, and I can tell you without any hesitation that's he's unlike any patient you've ever worked with. You can't treat him like you would all the rest,” John's eyes drifted back to the computer screen briefly wondering if this could possibly work out.

Leon sighed, “What are you suggesting?” John didn't miss the stress of that last word, Leon could be an infuriatingly stubborn woman.

“Never go into his room without first knocking,” he began firmly.

“Well that's just common courtesy,” Leon responded sarcastically.

“But easily forgotten,” John returned seriously, “When I take you in to see him tomorrow--”

“Wait, you'll be there?” she sounded incredulous, “You know I work alone.”

John shook his head, “Not this time.”

“What, you think he needs you to hold his hand?”

“No, but I do think it's safer for everyone involved if I'm in the room,” John drew in what he hoped would be a calming breath. “Nevertheless, this is all beside the point, I don't want you to do anything without first telling him. And leave it an option for him, don't try to force anything on him.”

Leon laughed then, a dry sarcastic laugh, “You want me to leave it for him to decide…” she turned her chair away slowly nodding his head. “And you also what to see him back up on his feet…” Leon stood from the chair, “If I left anything as an option for my patients they'd never walk again! What makes you think he's so special?”

“Leon I can tell you right now, you'll have a hard time getting him to rest once he's moving, he wants to be back on his feet more than anything,” The old doctor came to his feet then, wanting to be at eye level with Leon.

“You know you're starting to sound like every parent I've ever had to deal with…” she said narrowing her eyes and shaking her head.

“Then you're clearly not listening to me,” John retorted, “He's a soldier Leon, has been since he was a small child. Old habits die hard, and things haven't exactly been easy for him of late.” John briefly debated how much he should tell Leon to try and get his point across, he didn't want to reveal more about events that Heero would have wanted, and he was pretty sure mentioning Luc would be crossing a line. “I'd say the best way to learn is through experience but I don't exactly want to be putting him or you through that, so for now just humour me.”

The therapist folded her arms across her chest in what had come to be a trademark pose for her. Her expression wasn't pleased but John thought she might actually have been thinking his words over. “I had no idea this is what I was signing on for,” she shook her head.

“If I had told you all of this before you signed the form, would you have refused?” John seriously doubted Leon would refuse anything, the only real question was would she do as he said, that John was not nearly so sure of.

Leon was a long time in responding, “I don't know…” she said finally, “I honestly don't like what I'm hearing but I guess I'll see tomorrow whether or not this is going to work,” Leon reached for the folder sitting on the table. “Is it alright if I take this with me, to review his condition?”

“That's not a problem,” they had taken special precautions to leave all mention of Heero's name from the file, he had known Leon would want to go over it before actually meeting with the boy.

“What time do you want me to meet with you tomorrow?” she asked, taking a step towards the door.

“Would ten be alright?” hopefully Heero would sleep better tonight and actually be awake.

Leon flipped the key card between her fingers, “I'll be here.” Casting a friendly smile John's way, Leon walked from the room and John breathed a sigh of relief. Despite her aggressive nature John knew she didn't hold that anger for a long time, it was just how she had to be for the job she was required to do.

Sitting back down in his chair, John looked that the monitor seeing Heero shift slightly on the bed, still appearing fast asleep. Was now the time for him to really start thinking about how he was going to make the introductions? Sighing softly John knew it wasn't going to be easy, and more to the point nothing he thought of here would make any difference, he'd simply have to play it by ear, and hope he could make Heero see reason.

WMWMWMW

Heero lay in his silent room, eyes focused on the screen of his computer as he scanned over the information that was popping up. He had been spending his spare time searching through everything in the agency along with talking to Ash. They had established a secured line of communication shortly after Ash had returned to the colony, and spoke often. Ash rarely asked how Heero was feeling, most likely realising just how easy it would be for Heero to just disappear to avoid answering the question.

At the moment Ash was out running an errand for Dante, leaving Heero alone to do little more than continue catching up on the little details he hadn't had time for during the three years he had been gone. Heero was particularly drawn to anything heavily encrypted it wasn't much of a challenged to get around unless it had been written by one of the pilots. Such was what he was dealing with at the moment. He had stumbled across this file hidden away and the heavy security surrounding it had been an instant magnet, he couldn't think of what would require such a degree of care.

After only a few minutes of studying the encryption, Heero felt near positive that Duo had written it. Given a little time he'd be able to find his way around it. He felt a spark of excitement at cracking the code and discovering what required such protection. John had been in once today, and Heero hoped he might have a good stretch of time to himself to work at this, he really hated having to stop part way through.

WMWMWMW

John pushed his chair back form the desk as he moved to rise, he had been watching Heero from the observation room, as he waited for ten o'clock to come and for the day to actually begin. To say he felt nervous was an understatement. The fact that Heero might never forgive him for meddling in this was hadn't escaped him, but he wasn't about to let that stop him. This is what needed to be done, and so help him he'd see it through to the end.

Rising from his chair, John moved towards the door, wanting to meet briefly with Leon before they both went into Heero's room. It certainly wouldn't hurt to reiterate some of what he had said the day before just to make sure things went as smoothly as they could. Stepping out into a hallway that for all intensive and purposes should have been empty, John saw a sight that nearly stopped his heart. The door to Heero's room was opening in and Leon stepped through knocking as she did.

WMWMWMW

Busy hacking his way through the complicated coding Heero was almost completely unaware when the door opened, so used to a knock coming first that he found himself totally off guard. Panic gripped Heero's heart painfully as his ears registered the sound of someone knocking but it didn't matter now. His hands dropped away from the computer, searching out his gun, in what he wished could be a fluid motion. Heero pulled the weapon from its concealment and levelled it as surely as he could in the intruder's direction.

The woman who had just walked through his door stared at the gun in shock, her mouth hanging open as though she had been caught halfway to saying something. “Who the hell are you!” Heero demanded trying to replace the panic with anger. He was armed, he wasn't defenceless any longer, this woman couldn't do anything to him.

“Heero!” John's voice called out suddenly a familiar and reassuring sound, “I'm sorry,” he apologised sounding horrified. The old doctor stepped in front of the woman, his expression becoming angry, “Leon wait for me outside!” there was no room for argument in his tone, and the woman still staring at Heero's gun didn't. She backed up without a word and the door closed behind her.

Lowing the gun slowly Heero didn't release the grip, not feeling threatened but at the same time not wanting to be caught off guard again. John turned from the door looking upset, “Heero I'm so sorry that happened, I told her not to do that.”

“Just who is she?” Heero demanded working at getting his breathing back to normal, as his heart racing the way it was felt kind of painful.

“Her name is Lauren Stokes, she's a physical therapist I brought in to help you,” John explained.

Heero blinked in surprise, still having no idea what John was talking about, “This is the first I've heard of it,” he said darkly, not liking having `decisions' made for him without his knowledge.

“Would you have been receptive to the idea if I had mentioned it a week ago?” John asked back, face calm eyes hard to read.

“No,” Heero told him without hesitation, “I didn't ask for this.”

“And you never would have,” John fired right back, “I've been watching you, working with Trowa, it has been helping, but he doesn't know what you need. I want to see you get the right help so you can make a full recovery.”

Heero shook his head, none of this mattered, none of this was John's concern, he would make it back on his own terms as he always had, “No,” he growled the word out as an end to the conversation, but John was far from through.

He folded his arms across his chest with a shake of his own head, “The only answer here is yes,” he stated as though it was the only fact important to the world. “I understand you're lack of trust in someone you've never met, but Leon's the best there is--”

“Trust has nothing to do with it,” Heero ground out, it wasn't entirely true, but it wasn't at the true heart of the matter. He wasn't in control, and that was a place Heero felt he needed to be no matter what.

“Heero, I don't want to sit by and watch you lose movement like you did in your shoulder, not when there's something I can do to prevent it,” there was a note of finality to John's voice then.

Briefly Heero considered his shoulder, it was something he hardly ever thought about anymore, at the time there had been nothing they could have done differently. Why wish for something you couldn't change? He had simply worked at getting as strong as he could, and learned in the process how to compensate for the lost movement. “Why do you care so much?” he demanded then, knowing he had asked a similar question of the old doctor not too long ago, this time he was searching for a different answer.

John appeared slightly taken aback by that question, a flash of hurt racing across his eyes before he managed to hide it again. “Isn't it obvious Heero?” John asked back in a quiet gentle voice, that betrayed a little of the hurt he felt. Heero held firm to his anger, not wanting to let himself feel regret over this, in the end it had to be his choice, no one would run his life. “I'm going to see you get better no matter what it takes,” he said firmly as though reaffirming his resolution in his own mind, but it did nothing to change Heero's way of thinking.

“It's not your decision to make,” Heero said, desperately wanting to be on his feet and closer to eye level with the old doctor.

“It is this time,” John folded his arms as though that should have ended it all.

“Why?” Heero's hand gripped his gun until it hurt, but the pain proved an outlet to his anger.

“Sometimes Heero, parents do what they feel is best for their children,” John explained his voice becoming gentle again, as he lowered himself to the edge of the bed, “Despite what their children want.” It was so matter of fact, and so straight to the point that Heero felt stunned, it was the last answer he had expected to receive.

He didn't honestly know what to say to something like that, he was not at all familiar with the definition of parents. He knew there was something fundamentally different between parents and guardians, which he knew he had had a few of over the years. But that didn't help him to know how to deal with this. A part of him wanted to flare up at the statement, what difference could that make? John feeling like a father to him? It shouldn't have mattered to Heero at all, but somehow it did. The more rational side of his mind told Heero, he couldn't disregard what he didn't fully understand. Still at the same time he was no less eager to let that physical therapist near him.

“For now let's just let her evaluate your condition,” John continued seeming to take Heero's silence as acquiescence as he stood from the bed. He smiled down at Heero warmly, his expression looking hopeful as he stepped towards the door. For his part Heero still found himself at a loss for words as he tried to understand the old doctor. He couldn't help but wonder how Sally would have handled this situation, had she not been weighed down with guilt, Heero knew without a moment's thought an argument would have broken out. Would he let her simply assume it was alright as John was so clearly doing? So why was he letting John assume so now? It was a question Heero didn't have an answer for, as he watched the old doctor walk from the room.

WMWMWMW

The subtle smile on John's face faded as he walked from Heero's room. This encounter had gone better than he had hoped, which really wasn't saying all that much. Heero's reaction at the end had not even entered his mind before he saw it. Stunned, thoughtful, and even a little pleased? He had looked totally confused like the thought of a parent was a foreign concept to him. John supposed that wasn't all that surprising considering the life Heero had had. Though he was surprised that it had been enough to silence the boy. It pleased John in so many ways, and at the same time saddened him, it was just one more reminder of what a sad childhood Heero had lived through.

A part of him was eager to fill Sally in on the progress they had made so far, but he reminded himself this was only the beginning. And Heero hadn't actually accepted Leon's help, so there was no telling how this second meeting was going to go. Stepping out into the hall John found Leon pacing the far length, she appeared to have recovered from her initial shock and appeared about as disgruntled as usual. “I told you!” John ground out, pleasant feelings aside he had been painstakingly clear, “Specifically, that you needed to knock.”

“I did knock,” she threw back halting and planting her feet, ready for a fight.

“That wasn't good enough!” John shook his head, “He needs the warning, before you open the door,” he stressed the word `before' closing the distance between them.

“He's not a child John,” Leon returned, “As you said he's a soldier, hell he's armed! What are you so concerned about?”

John hesitated in answering, debating for a heart beat just how much he should divulge, but if he wanted to make this painfully clear to Leon, it would have to at least be most of it. “The last time someone walked through that door unannounced they tortured him, that tends to leave a lasting impression.”

That stopped Leon in her tracks, “What?” she shook her head while stepping right before John her eyes piercing into his, “Tortured!”

The old doctor raised his hands quickly and calmly, that was just the reaction he had known he would get but hadn't wanted to receive. What could he honestly say to this? `it wasn't important'? not only was that not true, but it sounded just like Heero. John sighed, he wouldn't have had to mention it at all if Leon had just listened to him in the first place. “We have it under control, it's just really important that you don't catch him off guard.”

She didn't appear entirely convinced as she glanced around John to the door behind him, “Does he still have the gun?”

“Yes, but I wouldn't worry, he's not likely to shoot you,” Leon looked less than thrilled by his phrasing but if she remained a little wary of Heero, all the better, perhaps then she'd actually listen. He was half way tempted to assure he the gun was little more than a security blanket, but that would have sounded less reasonable than John pictured right now. Giving his head a brief shake he looked directly into Leon's eyes, “So are you ready to go back in there?”

“He's agreed to this?” she asked sounding incredulous.

“Well he at least hasn't out right said no,” John admitted stepping towards the door he had recently left.

“You'll be sitting in…” Leon no longer sounded entirely bitter about that arrangement, and John had to hide his knowing smile from view.

“It's for the best,” at the very least he hopped he could be a calming force for Heero, though he wasn't about to hold his breath, that was a little more Relena's role to play. Turning to motion for Leon to come towards him, John drew in what he hoped would be a calming breath, “Just remember to let him know what you're doing. A less abrasive approach wouldn't hurt either…”

That caused Leon to scoff, “He's got to be about the most spoiled patient I've ever been asked to deal with.”

“He's hardly spoiled Leon,” John countered, while at the same time wondering to himself if that was really the truth. After only a seconds thought John came to the decision even if Heero was he deserved it more than anyone the old doctor could think of. “You know better than anyone that the same tactic won't work for every patient.”

“Alright…” she said with a sigh as though preparing herself for the coming battle, “Well, let's see what I'm up against.”

John smiled a little as he pointedly knocked on the door before swiping his card through the reader. Even before the door had fully opened he could feel the tension in the room, Heero lay there waiting, his expression no longer appearing stunned, but had settled into a displeased glower. John however remained pleased, and as upbeat as he dared, nothing was going to make this easier. “Heero this is Leon Stokes” John introduced, choosing to use the therapist's preferred nickname. He then turned to Leon, “And Lauren, this is Heero Yuy.” He smiled at her, “Now with that out of the way, let me just move this,” the old doctor took a moment to move the table with Heero's laptop aside before walking across the room to take a seat in the chair next to Heero's bed.

From here he could watch Leon work with Heero, and perhaps better gage the boy's reaction to it all. For several moments Leon remained rooted where she was looking at Heero, and for his part the former pilot nearly glared daggers into her. Blinking as though snapping out of a trance Leon finally moved forward placing her file onto the table John had pulled away from the bed and opening it. She reached for a pen in her pocket, and took a moment to review the information. John wanted to say something to ease the tension he could feel emanating from Heero, but what could he possible tell the boy that would help in any way.

Leon stepped up to the bedside her golden brown eyes looking Heero over in slow sweeps as she opened her mouth to speak. “I've reviewed your medical files that John has provided me with, but I'd like to see for myself how you stand right now.”

Heero remained silent, watching the therapist with unwavering eyes, and John thought he saw the boy's hand flex over the gun concealed beneath the sheets.

“So I'll tell you what we're going to do,” Leon sounded a little more relaxed now that she was speaking to Heero, and John was glad that she was making herself clear to him. “I want to work each joint and muscle, find out what hurts and how much strength you have.” She lightly rested her hands on the edge of the bed carefully closing the distance, “That'll give me a good idea of where to go from here, and how best to get you back on your feet again.”

She glanced John's way with a questioning light in her eyes, as though she had expected to receive some sort of verbal response from Heero. John merely smiled, it'd be a cold day in hell before Heero offered anything to the conversation. He only hoped Heero could tolerate it enough to let Leon actually help him.

“Alright, I'd like to start with your left leg, I understand it didn't receive any injury?” she directed her question John's way, and the old doctor mutely nodded. It was about the only part of Heero that had escaped damage. Reaching out almost hesitantly Leon lifted the blankets from Heero's body and moved them aside to expose the desired limb. Heero's body tensed in response but Leon kept working, she expertly lifted Heero's leg, and began her exam.

“I'm going to need you to be honest with me Heero,” she explained as she slowly began to rotate his ankle moving his foot one way and then another, while her other hand—holding the joint—gently pressed on it. “This is going to hurt, I just need to be sure of when it does, so you're going to have to tell me,” she continued her work eyes flickering from his ankle to Heero's face, “If you don't feel anything I'm going to have to start worrying about nerve damage.”

John held his breath in Heero's continued silence, watching closely to see if he'd speak but as the seconds continued to pass, and it was more than clear Leon was loosing patience John chose to speak up for the boy. “The joints in his legs may not be as stiff as you'd expect,” he said finally drawing both eyes too him. “A friend has been working them carefully for a little over a month now, he's also been working to build up the strength in both legs.”

Leon halted in her work turning a shocked expression John's way, “Why wasn't I told about this?”

“I don't see why it would matter, he hasn't hurt anything, in fact he's made your job a lot easier,” John defended calmly.

“Easier?” she demanded lowering Heero's leg back to the bed far more gently than her outward demeanour implied. “You had an amateur start working with him?”

“Enough Leon, he's done it before, and there was no harm done,” John knew even if he was able to placate Leon, once she made it to Heero's shoulders he'd be eating his words. It was by no means Trowa's fault that Heero lost the movement, but he already knew Leon was not likely to see it that way.

“Over a month…” Leon mumbled to herself rubbing at her temple, “Alright, I guess I'll have to do this a little differently.” She stood a little straighter then looking down at Heero, arms folded across her chest, “Heero how far can you raise your legs?” she asked then, and John held his breath hoping Heero would comply.

A frustrated sigh escaped Heero, seconds before his eyes looked to John, and he slowly raised his knees off the bed, as the old doctor had watched him do many times. As much as Heero's actions pleased John, he refrained from smiling openly, feeling that would do little more than anger the boy further.

“Not bad,” Leon commented as she unfolded her arms and took hold of Heero left leg, moving so she was partly on the bed she adjusted her hold so she could better apply pressure to the limb. “Push back,” she instructed leaning into his leg, “And let me know if it hurts!” Leon stressed watching his face like a hawk.

John too studied Heero's disgruntled expression, he had been able to tell with little effort when the boy was in pain, and if Heero would refuse to admit it to Leon himself, John would take it upon himself. At the very least if his leg wasn't hurting breathing likely would, it was clear this was a strain for Heero as sweat began to bead on his forehead. As Leon let up Heero breathed deeply trying his best to conceal a wince. John shifted forward on his seat as Leon moved off the bed, having missed the reaction.

“Who's been working with him?” she asked even as John had opened his mouth to speak, “That's not bad,” that was directed Heero's way. “He's better than I expected when I read the file,” she flexed her hands as she walked closer to Heero's head.

“That's good to hear,” John smiled with some relief, he hadn't doubted Trowa's work with Heero, but it was still nice to hear it had done good. “Leon, his ribs are still sore,” he began no surprise receiving a dark look from the boy.

“I'll keep that in mind,” she nodded her attention turning to the folder she had left on the table so she could scribble some notes onto a blank page. “Has any work been done with your arms?” she asked then.

Much to John's surprise Heero answered, it was the first he had spoken since the returned to his room, “A little.”

Leon nodded, “Then I'd like to move on to that.” Stepping back to the bed she lifted Heero's left arm, holding the limb at the wrist and elbow, “Are you right or left handed?” she asked in an almost conversational tone, as she worked.

“Both if I need to be,” Heero responded watching her warily.

The therapist began working Heero's shoulder, “Hmm, you have an old injury here?” she continued to move the joint as much as it could, “There wasn't any mention in the folder…”

“It's old,” John answered, noting Heero was almost leaning away from Leon to keep that feeling of distance between them. The longer he watched this, the more he began to wonder if this was actually going to work. They had made it this far, further than John anyone thought they would. But that didn't mean he was in the home stretch, he didn't like the stress he saw in Heero's eyes. There had to be a better way to do this, for the moment he just wanted to wait and see in the hopes that Heero might relax and be able to work more comfortably with Leon.

Drawing in a slow breath, he watched Heero's eyes darken dangerously as he jerked his arm from Leon's grasp. Pain flashed through his eyes like lightning there and gone an instant later, “Next time tell me when it starts to hurt,” Leon said forcefully. John sighed this wasn't likely to work.

Thanks for Reading!

Cornered With Nowhere to Run:

Relena settled in resting her left hand lightly on his chest, her fingers absently playing with the folds of his shirt, “Do you need anything?” she asked looking deeply into his eyes.

Heero's first thought was Not while you're here but that wasn't something he felt he could externalise, so instead he just looked back, and shook his head. Relena's smile grew as though she could read his thoughts and she leaned in slowly pressing her lips to his. His hand, still carefully tangled in her hair, pressed against her back, holding her where she was as he moved to deepen the kiss. He felt her hand slip inside his shirt gently stroking down his side, it was a light ghosting touch which caused him to shiver. They had managed to cross the barrier, break down that imposing wall that stood between them, Heero wasn't entirely sure when it had happened, or who had put more aside and struggled harder, but they were there.

Pulling back just enough to draw a breath of air Relena smiled down at him, “This isn't really restful is it?” she asked in a breathless voice. Settling down beside him Relena rested her head lightly on his shoulder removing her hand from within his shirt as she tilted her head to look up at him. “Do you remember Heero?”

He looked down at her his senses surrounded by her presence, “Remember what?”

“What changed us…” she answered vaguely, her eyes studying his face waiting for what he was sure should be recognition.

A bit of advice given to him by Duo floated out of the depths of Heero's mind as he looked back into Relena's eyes. `About the only advice I can offer is to remember just about every little event, you'll never know which is really important to them until they ask about it later.' Heero didn't have to think for long to know what Relena had been vaguely referring to. His right hand moved from its resting place at his side and reached across his body for Relena's entwining their fingers together.

Morganeth Taren'drel