Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Family Ties ❯ Chapter 112 ( Chapter 112 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

“Family Ties”

January 2007 ShenLong

Chapter 112

[Preventer Communications]

“Preventer Communications, this is Agent Wind; do you copy?”

Sky twiddled the dial and ran a hand over the stubble forming on his chin. “Agent Wind, this is Preventer Communications, Agent Sky here. I read you loud and clear. How is it going up there?”

“All things considered, it’s going fairly well. Is it possible to speak with the Commander?”

“Commander is currently in the medical section. I can try a patch through if that’s any help?”

“Thanks, Sky. That would be appreciated. I take it the other shuttle made it back okay?”

“Yes, it did, Wind. I don’t have an update on the status of either the shuttle or the agents on board, but it landed safely at the shuttle port about a couple of hours ago.”

“That’s good news. Thanks, Sky. By the way, are you living permanently in the communications section?” Zechs questioned.

“No. Why would you ask that?”

“It’s just that every time I call in or have been in contact with HQ you always appear to be there. I thought you may have gotten divorced and married the transmitter,” Zechs teased.

Sky laughed. “I can see why you would think that, but no, I’m still happily married – or at least I think so, it’s been a few days since I saw my wife. With all this shit hitting the fan we were pretty much unable to leave HQ and remain alive. I’m afraid we’ve been living here for the past few days, but now that it is all starting to settle down and things are getting back to normal, we’re allowed to leave.”

“Then why are you still there?”

“Sun and I offered to remain and continue with monitoring the communications. Forest and Oak have gone home to rest and will be back in another twelve hours to take over; then Sun and I can leave for a while. Besides, just think of the size of the pay check I’m gonna get.”

Zechs snickered. “Knew there had to be an ulterior motive. I just hope Une remembers and pays the rest of us the overtime we’ve put in.”

“If she doesn’t you could always set up that Firecell thingy again.”

“No thanks, I kinda like my head attached to my shoulders.”

“Good point. Better see if I can raise the Commander for you. Won’t be long.”

“Thanks, Sky.” Zechs sat back in the pilot’s chair on shuttle 151 and waited, his mind running through the things he had to let the Commander know. A couple of minutes passed and Sky was back on the line.

“I’ll patch you through now, Wind.”

“Thanks, Sky.” The line went quiet, then Une’s voice could be heard.

“Agent Wind?”

“Commander, I thought I’d better call in and let you know what is happening up here.”

“Thanks, Wind, I have been wondering what has transpired.”

“All back up shuttles have arrived and landed safely...”

It took Zechs a good ten minutes to relay all the current information, Une listening and asking a question here and there.

“Space is on his way back now. One of the Winner shuttles detoured to pick him up, but I’m unsure of his ETA.”

“I’ll get you to pass on the information regarding the shuttle to Sky and have him relay it to Storm, the shuttle port can contact him and then let me know when to expect his presence. Do you have a final tally of able bodied prisoners, injured and the dead for me yet?”

“I have a running total, we still have a final sweep of surface and Dome to complete,” Zechs replied. “At this point we have one-hundred and forty prisoners; one-hundred and eighty injured – including Barton and seventy-six deceased. I also have in custody two Senators from the ESUN; a Senator Wainright and Senator Richards.”

The heavy sigh was audible down the line. “It could have been worse,” Une muttered. “I’m glad you got the Senators and that they are alive; they both have a lot to answer for.”

“I think they were quite happy to be found.”

“Pardon?”

“Maxwell originally located them and arrested them. They were restrained in a, shall we say, inventive manner?”

“Really? Do tell.”

“Cord from drapes and a couple of socks for gags.”

“Oh, yuk. Please tell me they were clean socks?”

“I didn’t bother to check.” Zechs shuddered.

“Okay,” Une said, returning to her brisk manner. “How are the repairs coming along?”

“Oil thinks he will have the repairs done ahead of the estimated schedule time as the facilities are excellent. Transport shuttle should be ready to leave somewhere in the next forty-eight to seventy-two hours. The second sweep of the satellite will be conducted in twelve hours and providing we find no other survivors, the shuttles will be able to leave whenever you give the order, Commander.”

“Fine. Wind, inform Mercury that once the second sweep is done they are to wait a further eight hours before returning to Earth. That should be enough time for everything to be secured. Once Oil deems the repairs effective and is satisfied, the transport shuttle may also return. Wind, I want you to remain on the satellite and pilot the transport shuttle back. Return the sheep to the fold first, once they are safe the shuttle can be flown back to the main shuttle port.”
“Roger that, Commander. I’ll be in touch again when the shuttles are ready to leave with more up to date information.”

“Copy that, Wind. Much appreciated. Thank you all for doing a good job. I’ll let you give the information to Sky. Commander out.”

“You’re welcome, Commander. Wind, out.” Zechs waited for a moment before Sky came back on the line and then he gave him all the details of the shuttle that Space would be returning on to pass on to Storm. With his commitments completed for the moment, he removed the head set, rubbed his hands over his face and turned to face Mercury. “You heard all that?”

“Yeah.”

“Good. If anyone wants me, I’ll be in a cabin on shuttle 121 – sleeping.” Standing up, Zechs stretched his lean body, muscles loosening and spine popping. He clasped a hand to his mouth to cover the wide yawn and shuffled out of the cockpit to head for his own shuttle and that much needed rest.

Mercury gave a soft chuckle as he watched the agent leave.

* * *

[Preventer Hospital]

Seeing the state both men were in, Nurse Brown moved to Heero’s side as Sally put down the sound head and went to Duo’s.  Margaret wrapped her arm around Heero’s shoulders, turning the man towards her and allowing him to bury his head against her chest. Her other arm came forth and careful of the cast on her wrist, she drew him into a soft embrace, encouraging Heero to let it all go. She wasn’t overly surprised when she felt his arms wind around her waist as he let the anger, pain and stress flow from his soul.

On the bed, Sally was offering what comfort she could to Duo, holding his hand and rubbing up and down his arm as the tears continued to flow. “It’s going to be okay, Duo. I promise you I’ll do everything I can to see that this baby is safe and that you carry the child to full term,” she reassured gently.

“I know you will, Sally,” Duo managed to hiccup out. “I know you will be with me all the way, just like you were with Keitaro; but...” Duo swallowed. “What about my body? The warnings you gave me about carrying another child so soon after Keitaro?”

“That I can’t answer for you, Duo. But, when we take you through to theater in a few minutes and remove that knife, I will check out your physical state in relation to another pregnancy and give you my findings and professional opinion once you come around from the anesthetic.”

Duo nodded, there wasn’t anything else he could expect the doctor to do. Sally may have been able to produce the impossible at times, but miracles were still a bit out of her range.

Heero’s sobs had settled, Margaret pulling back a little and handing the man some tissues. She discreetly moved to the side to allow him the time he needed to compose himself.

Having blown his nose and cleaned up what he could of the tear tracks, Heero looked to the nurse through red, cobalt eyes. “I’m sor-”

“Don’t you dare apologize,” the nurse said, cutting him off. “You needed to let that go. With all the stress and strain you’ve been under for these past several weeks I’m surprised you haven’t had a major, nervous breakdown. Letting all that out is the best thing for you; now don’t you even think about apologizing for being human.” The nurse fixed Heero with her eagle eye, daring him to argue with her.

Knowing he’d met his match and that the nurse was right, Heero lowered his head. “Thank you.”

“That’s better.” Margaret ruffled his unkempt hair. “Now, son, your partner is about to be prepped for surgery, I suggest you spend what little time you have with him before I take him away.”

“I will.”

“Good.” Nurse Brown moved to walk away. “I’ll just go get myself ready and then I’ll be back to prep Duo.”

Heero nodded and shifted closer to Duo. Sally gave them both a warm smile, placed the sound head back on the side of the ultra sound machine and went to get herself ready for surgery.

* * *

[Winner Shuttle -  Construction 42]

Once the shuttle had lifted off from the satellite surface, Quatre retired to the Captain’s quarters to explain a little. He wasn’t at liberty to divulge a lot and Montgomery knew better than to ask.  Quatre was able to supply enough though for the Captain to be satisfied.

The shuttle’s course had been set for the Preventer port, Quatre not too sure of the frequency the port was using, but he knew Zechs would pass on the information of his returning to Earth in the Winner shuttle to Headquarters. That information would be relayed to the port and once they were closer to their destination he was sure that Storm would make contact.

Raising a hand to cover his mouth as he yawned, Quatre turned to the Captain once more. “Any idea on our ETA?” he asked.

“I’d say roughly another ten or twelve hours. I can have an exact time for you once I speak with the navigational officer,” Montgomery replied.

“That’s fine,” Quatre replied. “If it’s not too much trouble, would I be able to get something to eat, take a shower and possibly find a bunk somewhere that I could take a nap in?”

“Of course, Mr Winner. I should have offered you all that when you first came on board. My apologies.” Montgomery looked aghast that he’d forgotten his basic manners, especially with the Winner CEO.

“That’s quite alright, Monty. We had more pressing issues to deal with first, but I am a little hungry and very tired.”

“You can use my quarters, sir...”

“No, that’s not fair to you, Monty. The crew quarters will be fine.”

“I’m afraid I beg to differ. You won’t be putting me out in the least and I insist you use my quarters. I’ll get the cook to make something and bring it to the cabin for you. You can take a shower whilst you’re waiting for the food to arrive. The only problem will be clean clothes. All I have on board are flight suits or coveralls.”

“Coveralls will do just fine,” Quatre said with a smile. “Thank you.”

“No problem. I’ll have some brought up right away.” Montgomery stood. “I’ll go see to that now and then head to the mess to organize that food for you. The shower is through there.”

“Thanks, Monty; I appreciate all you’re doing.”

With a smile of his own, the Captain left to see about the clothes and food, Quatre went through to  the small bathroom and began to strip off his flight suit. The shower was turned on and he stepped into the small cubicle. There was barely enough room to turn around, but the hot water felt wonderful against his skin. Mindful of the water supply, Quatre quickly washed himself off and turned the tap off. The water was sucked down the small hole and would pass through a series of purifying systems before returning to the large storage tank to be used again for showering.

Toweling himself off and then wrapping the towel around his waist, Quatre stepped back into the cabin, noting the coveralls left on the bed for him and a tray with covered dishes sitting on the table. Pulling the coveralls on, he sat at the table, stomach rumbling and lifted the lids. The cook had sent along a hot dinner for him; lasagna with a side of vegetables.  His mouth watered as the smells hit his nostrils. Picking up the utensils he began to dig in.

Twenty minutes later, the plate was clean and Quatre felt well and truly stuffed. His eyelids were drooping and with the immediate concerns taken care of, he shuffled to the bed and collapsed gratefully onto it. He was asleep before his head had time to make an impression in the pillow.

* * *

[Preventer Hospital]

“Promise me that whilst I’m in surgery, you will get your wounds looked at?” Duo said.

“I’d rather wait here for you,” Heero replied. “My injuries aren’t that bad.”

“Yes, they are. I don’t feel comfortable going in for surgery and you waiting out here when your own injuries need attending to. Sally will be a while operating so you have the time to get yourself fixed up,” Duo tried again.

“I’ll think about it,” Heero compromised.

“Heero?” Duo’s voice was almost a whisper.

“Hai?”

“Where is Keitaro? I... I want to see my son.” Duo’s voice began to crack. The ache in his heart was growing, he’d been too long without seeing his son and felt as if a part of him had been torn away.

“He was with Nurse Brown,” Heero replied with a frown. “I’ll ask her when she comes back.”

“Thank you.”

“Everything will be fine, Duo. Sally will do her best for you and remove the knife, the baby will be okay and you’ll heal up well enough to carry to full term and have another, healthy child,” Heero said, doing his best to cheer his husband up.

“Oh, Heero. You don’t know that, any of it. But, I know she will do all she can for us.”

A lump formed in Heero’s throat.

Sally returned followed by Nurse Brown. The doctor slipping into the operating theater to check she had all the instruments, drugs and other items she would need. Margaret fetched the pre-med and a hospital gown; a paper hat already in her hand.

“It’s time to get you ready, Duo,” she told the young man. “Heero, can you assist me in getting this gown on him, please?”

“No problem.” Heero rose and gently lifted Duo when the nurse indicated so the gown could be placed on him. The paper hat followed, Duo’s braid being neatly coiled and tucked inside.

“I’ll give you the pre-med through the drip, Duo. You should start to feel a little drowsy in a couple of minutes.”

Duo nodded as the nurse began to inject the drug into the cannula.

“Nurse Brown?” Heero began. “Where is Keitaro?”

Finishing off with the drug, Margaret pulled the syringe free and dropped it into the trash. “Keitaro is well and is here at Headquarters,” Margaret replied. “Miss Peacecraft is looking after him.”
Both men gave sighs of relief.

“Feeling a little drowsy, Duo?”

“A little,” Duo admitted as things began to slow down in his mind.

“Good.” Margaret turned to Heero. “I’ll take him through now.”

Heero leaned over the edge of the bed and kissed his husband deeply. “I’ll be right here waiting for you when you come out, Duo. You’re in safe hands.”

“Love you, Heero,” came Duo’s slightly slurred reply.

“And I love you too, Duo. With all my heart and soul.”

Carefully, Margaret began to wheel the bed into the operating theater, Heero watching until the door closed. Once he couldn’t see Duo anymore, he slumped back into his seat and cradled his head in his hands. A second later he jerked upright as Sally stepped out.

“When Chang gets back here I expect you to go with him and let Doctor Phillips take a look at you and treat those injuries.” Seeing Heero about to protest, she raised her hand and continued speaking. “When you are cleaned up and fixed up, find Relena and get your son. That child needs to see you just as much as you need to see him and I’d like it if both you and Keitaro were beside Duo when he wakes up. He’s going to need a lot of emotional support.”

Realizing that the doctor had already contacted Chang and what she said made sense, Heero gave in. “Okay.”

“Good. Now I’m going to go and do my damnedest to fix your husband up and insure he delivers a happy, healthy baby in a few months time.” Sally gave him a smile and disappeared back into the operating room.

Five minutes later, Wufei returned.

*

Trowa was sitting on a gurney, head wound cleaned and stitched, shoulder wrapped and his arm in a sling. X-rays had shown no break in the shoulder, just several torn ligaments and a few strained muscles and tendons. His ankle had also been x-rayed and was, as Sally suspected, broken.

Doctor Phillips had informed him that the break was a clean one and wouldn’t require surgery.  As the bones had shifted slightly, a local anesthetic had been administered and Phillips had straightened the bones then strapped the ankle to hold them in place. The doctor had left the room to locate the plaster bandages and other bits and pieces he would need to secure Trowa’s ankle.

Wufei sat in a chair and waited, his cell phone going off just as the doctor left. He took the call, a small smile on his face. With the call concluded, He turned to Trowa. “That was Sally.  She’s taking Duo into surgery now and expects to be at least three hours in theater with him. I am to go and collect Yuy, bring him here and have Phillips treat him.”

Trowa raised an eyebrow. “And?”

“Sally did the ultra sound. Maxwell is...” Wufei paused and took a step to the door where he stuck his head out and looked up and down. Seeing they were quite alone for the immediate future, he closed the door again, approached the gurney and lowered his voice. “Our suspicions were correct. Maxwell is... expecting again.”

Before he would allow the grin to form, Trowa asked the question. “What about the knife?”

“As far as Sally can tell, it missed that vital organ.”

“Thank god for that,” Trowa sighed out, the tension he’d been carrying lifting from his shoulders. “Does she know what damage the knife has done?”

“She didn’t say, but I’m guessing she won’t really know herself until she operates to remove it.”

Further conversation regarding Duo and his condition was cut then as Phillips returned with a nurse and the plaster bandages. Whilst the doctor and nurse began to task of wetting the plaster bandages in preparation for wrapping Trowa’s ankle, Wufei let the doctor know of Sally’s request and that he would go and fetch the other agent now.

Doctor Phillips acknowledged the request, informing Wufei that by the time he returned, Trowa’s cast should be completed and he would look over the other agent and fix Wufei’s head wound as well. Wufei scowled at that, but nodded anyway.

He quickly passed through the various corridors and located Yuy in the pre-op room; the other agent was looking completely lost and vulnerable and despite Wufei often being called cold and calloused, his compassion surged forth.

“He will be okay, Yuy. Sally is an excellent doctor and she will get Duo and your child through this,” he said softly as he placed a hand on Heero’s shoulder. “Sally told me he is expecting again,” he added.

Bloodshot eyes looked up, Wufei clearly seeing the true fear and worry behind the mask. Heero’s defenses had completely collapsed. “I can’t help but worry, Chang. If I lose him... I... I don’t know what I will do.”

“You won’t lose him,” Wufei said firmly. “Maxwell is a fighter, he’s survived worse than this, he has an incredible will to live and a courage second to none. Have faith in him, Yuy.”

Despite the exhaustion in his mind and body, Heero drew himself up, firmed his resolve and nodded to Wufei. “You are right, Chang. He will pull through this, I have to be strong for him; for him, Keitaro and our unborn child.”
“Good, now that’s the Yuy I know, trust and admire,” Wufei stated with a small smile. “Come on, I’ll take you to Doctor Phillips and get you treated. Once that’s done we will find Relena and your son; I’m sure you are anxious to see him again.”

At the mention of Keitaro, Heero’s eyes softened and a yearning passed over his face. “We should hurry, I want to be back here for when Sally’s finished and Duo’s out of surgery,” he replied and stood up. Pushing the exhaustion to the side, he called on his inner strength and followed Wufei from the room.

* * *

[Operating Theater]

Nurse Brown rolled the gurney into the operating theater where Sally and two orderlies awaited. The orderlies gave the nurse a hand to move the patient onto the operating table and then took their leave. Checking the door was locked so only another doctor who had a pass key would be able to enter, Sally donned her mask and approached the patient. Margaret had fetched the bottle with the anesthetic in it and withdrawn the required amount.

“Feeling drowsy, Duo?” Sally asked.

Duo nodded. It was just like he was on the verge of falling asleep, that place where consciousness is slipping away and oblivion is hovering on the fringes.

“Margaret is going to give you the anesthetic now. When you wake up it will be all over with. I want you to start to counting from ten backwards for me.” Sally gave Margaret a small nod and the nurse slipped the syringe into the cannula.

“Ten... nine... eig-”

Sally checked Duo’s eyes. “He’s out,” she told the nurse.

Nodding, Margaret secured the syringe so she could top up the anesthetic periodically and reached for the betadine to prep the wound site.

Sally pulled the tray of instruments closer. Margaret had raised Duo’s gown and lowered his boxers far enough that they could work on the area without any problem. Having removed the temporary gauze and packing Sally had placed around the knife, Margaret swabbed the site thoroughly.

“You’re going to do the knife first?” she asked.

“Yes. This is going to be the hardest wound to treat so we may as well start with it whilst we’re fresh,” Sally replied.

“Fine with me.” Margaret moved by the instrument tray.

“Then let’s get started.”

~ * ~
tbc...


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