Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Going On ❯ Realization ( Chapter 2 )

Chapter 2

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Heero dropped the duffle bag and stared around the dusty foyer of the two floor building. It had belonged to J, now to him. J had died abruptly leaving Heero the owner of a number of laboratories scattered across the colonies and this one apartment.. It was one of the safe houses that only he had used and the only normal residence that J owned. The other pilots did not know about this place.

Sighing for the 5th time in one hour, he set about cleaning the place. He had not been feeling well for the last few days throwing up, feeling nauseated and feeling dizzy. He attributed this to the constant traveling and changes in his eating habits. Feeing rather weak, Heero started cleaning the place knowing he could not afford to hire a cleaner. His savings would keep him moderately comfortable for the next 6 months, but he knew in that time frame he would at least have to find a part-time job. His life had turned upside down in a matter of a few days. Tears welled in his eyes which were hastily brushed away. A part of him wanted to blame it all on Duo, another part on himself for getting so comfortable in a lifestyle and not preparing for hardships. He settled for clearing his mind and not leaving any thoughts in it for the time being.He had moved on even though his heart had protested every stp he took. But this was the way his life was and always had been. Alone.

**

Chang Wufei was pissed. After finishing a 2 month long mission which would have been of shorter duration if most of the researchers in Preventers were not green soldiers, Heero had left L1 early after the mission ended as Wufei had encouraged him to do so. Having finished the paperwork and the tedious job of tying up loose ends, he was finally back on earth. Waiting for Heero in the shuttle port, he had nearly been pickpocketed and now was under the scrutiny of a number of onnas of questionable reputation. Just when one of them advanced towards him, he spotted Trowa standing at the other end of the port. Suppressing a heavy sigh of relief, he nearly galloped towards the tall ex-pilot barely managing to keep a dignified gait.

"Barton" Wufei exclaimed, successfully keeping the tone of relief out "Where is Yuy?" He demanded. "He was supposed-"

"Heero took off. Duo dumped him for Hilde."

Struck dumb for a moment Wufei opened his mouth and a strangled puff of air came out. "WHAT? I want details!" He barked regaining his composure while in some corner of his mind it was noted that his words came out like a teenage girl asking for details of a scandal.

Slipping in beside Trowa he looked on expectantly.

"When we get back to Quatre's" came the soft answer. Knowing the way Trowa's mind worked, Wufei looked away, waiting impatiently while his mind worked furiously on the piece of information it had been fed with.

**

Leaving the now spotless Ground floor of the building Heero stepped out. He looked at the surroundings of the structure. It consisted mainly of expensively built buildings now dilapidated due to time, lack of maintenance and mainly the disturbances due to the war. After wandering around the street rather aimlessly, looking for a grocery store, Heero finally found one. Not too large, but large enough to contain the items he required. He entered quietly and began to fill the grocery cart with foodstuffs and cleaning products quickly and efficiently. After a few minutes, he marched up to the empty counter. A short rather squat woman came bustling, gently pushed him aside and started making out the bill.

"You are new here." It was more a question than a statement.

Heero nodded.

"Well then, where do you live?"

At first glance Heero could tell this woman was no security threat. "3 blocks away. I own the unoccupied building there."

The woman frowned "You live alone? You look like a minor"

"Hn. I can live fine on my own."

"That will be 134 credits."

Heero pulled out his wallet and paid. "Are there any places where I can apply for a job?"

"What kind of job are you looking for."

"Anything. But it would be for the better if it did not consist lots of responsibilities."

"And pay?"

"That can be negotiated."

"I need an assistant to watch over this store, accounts and help shelve the items. Want the job?"

Heero looked at her intently. "Fine" he replied shortly.

"Lisa Peterson" she said and extended her hand. Heero shook it firmly swallowing his dislike for human contact with someone he did not know. He usually preferred to bow of just nod his head.

"Heero Yuy." "Well, Heero, when can you start?" "Tomorrow" Today he had to clean his house. Nodding , he turned and left. "Be here at 8 in the morning"

Looking at his retreating back, Lisa shook her head "Kids."

Heero made it back to his house without incident. Deciding to finish cleaning later, he prepared lunch. Back home, when he was still living with Duo, he used to do the cooking. It was more of a hobby to him than a chore and Duo could not boil water to save his life. Looking in the pan he realize that he had made enough for two people not remembering he was alone. This thought brought another flood of tears. He seemed to be crying a lot these days he noted in his mind.

Sniffling , he sat at the table. Reading the newspaper he had picked up, Heero started to eat his lunch. After he was done he noticed that he had eaten a lot more than he'd expected himself to. Shrugging off such a minor detail, Heero finished cleaning the rest of the house. Feeling tired he had a small snack for dinner and collapsed on the bed present in the bedroom on the first floor falling asleep before his head touched the pillow.

**

"Why is everyone asking me that question?! One last time, yes, I love Hilde. Heero knew that we did not have any permanent arrangement. We were freinds and I am also concerned for him. But its Heero. He can take care of himself. He will be back when he cools off!" Duo glared around at the people assembled around the room masking any concern he was feeling for Heero. Dammit, Heero was his best freind, he would never want him hurt or anything and the people in the room were behaving as if he was Heero's worst enemy!

Seating himself heavily on the couch Quatre explained "Duo, you may love Hilde, but that is not the issue here. HEERO is. We have to find him. Do you have any suggestions where we can look for him?"

"How would I know?" Duo answered sullenly feeling very unhelpful

"That's because Maxwell, you were his lover, not any of us. Surely, you have some concern about him?" came Zechs's scathing reply. "You're lucky Relana is not here or she would have strangled you with your braid. Heero is one of the most important people in her life!"

"He's got a few training labs left to him by J. But he's not there. I checked."

"We will keep looking till we find him" Came Trowa's quiet, firm and finalizing proclamation.

**

Working in Lisa's store was a much easier job than Heero had expected. She lived with her daughter Caroline who was a doctor and ran a clinic present on the first floor of the building. Each treated him like an adored, long lost son or brother. He heard long stories about their lives as Lisa could rival Duo in talking. Meanwhile his spells of throwing up and changes in eating habits kept up. He kept his mind far away from the life he had left behind.

"Are you sick Heero?" came Caroline's high pitched voice starling him out of a doze.

Damn! He had not even heard her approaching. "No. I'm fine" he smiled.

"Great then! Come on I'll feed you. I picked up sushi on the way here!" Heero's face turned a rather nasty shade of green.

Jumping from his seat he dashed into the bathroom. Following him a second later, Caroline found him worshipping the porcelain god.

"Heero, you are not well" she stated. " Why did you come in? Oh, anyway you are here, let me take a look at you." She turned around and filled a glass of water for him to rinse his mouth out.

"I don't like doctors. No offence" Heero gasped.

"Heero, it will take no time. I am a qualified doctor. And I am your friend. This will stay between us. Plus you could have a nasty bug!" she wheedled. "I'll tell my mom you were sick!" Caroline finally threatened.

Giving her a weak glare, Heero nodded.

"Ok. You go upstairs. It's only half an hour to closing time. No customers at this time anyway. I'll close up and follow you."

Heero found himself lying on a cold rather uncomfortable bed with Caroline looming over him. Ordinarily, they both stood at the same height but he hoped to have a growth spurt soon. Having checked his breathing, his tongue, eyes and taking samples of blood Caroline was now gently palpating his stomach keeping up a continuous list of questions doctors asked and a running commentary in between. Finally she looked at him. Pulling him up gently she ushered him into the adjoining dark room to get x-rays.

Done with all the testing, "I'll tell you the results tomorrow. Actually you are in perfect health but maybe you have a bug in your system which needs to be thrown out. I'll drop you home" Caroline lifted her jacket and keys.

"No, It's only three blocks. I'll walk."

"Yeah right. And mom will murder me. She's gone to visit my brother Charlie by the way. Ugh, completely missed my mind to tell you. He's a architect, a year younger than me-" Heero led the way to the car slipping inside to occupy the seat beside the driver's seat strangely comforted by Caroline's ramblings.

The next day, Heero overslept. Rushing out he reached the store an hour late than his usual time. The store was unopened and he frowned. That was Caroline's job.

As he stood at the front door wondering at the closed door, the window overhead opened and Caroline stuck her head out "Hey, get up here by the backstairs! Now!"

Heero made his way upstairs and was immediately hauled inside by Caroline mouth working a mile a minute "Yeah, well see the lab people , bumbling idiots mixed up your blood sample. So I have a small kit here. I'll do the bloodwork myself. Your x-rays will be here any minute now. Oh, there they are." She finished, bouncing up to get the x-rays from the messenger waiting at the front door. Once back she proceeded to swab his arm and take blood samples. Caroline did a number of tests concerning sugar levels, toxin levels. At a particular test, she obviously did not get the desires result as she shook the test-tube filled with urine now a pale blue in color. Shaking her head she redid the test. And again redid the test. Her eyes widened and jaw fell. "Heero?" her quavering voice rang out "What were you symptoms ?"

Coming in from the balcony where he was enjoying fresh air "Well, nausea, dizziness and I have been eating more than usual-" his voice trailed off as the woman suddenly stood , swayed and dashed down the stairs to the store. She was back carrying a small box which she ripped open and conducted a test. Throwing the stick down, she pulled out the x-rays and stuck them under the lamp.

"You know, the people in the lab said they got your results mixed with a pregnant person. So I did these tests. And Heero, the results are the same. They all point that you are pregnant" came her forcedly calm voice after a few minutes of staring at the x-rays

"What are you talking about? I'm a guy-" Heero's voice came out quiet, calm betraying the storm of emotions swirling in him.

"No. Your x-rays! Your body is built different! You are PREGNANT!" Heero stared at her, eyes betraying what he was feeling "You are mistaken. I-" His voice came to a halt as he picked up the pregnancy test Caroline has brought and noted the two blue lines signifying a positive. He felt like he was choking. His life was just the same as he remembered -full of nasty shocks. Throwing the stick down suddenly, Heero ran to the bathroom present nearby. Barricading himself in there he slid to the floor in a corner. He was vaguely aware of pounding on the door and the voices seemed muffled. The door suddenly flew open and Caroline dashed in sliding to a halt in front of him. Gathering his unresisting body close she cradled him murmuring nothings of comfort. Helping him get to his feet she led Heero to an unoccupied bed where she tucked him in and sat stroking his hair lulling him to sleep.

Heero woke up feeling warm and rather tired. Surprising as he had nearly slept the entire morning and it was noon. Then memories assaulted him. Caroline said he was- no he was going to have a baby. No doubt about it. She was a doctor. He wondered how Duo would take the news. A hollow laugh came from his throat. Duo. That was another case. The door opened slowly letting in a sliver of light.

Caroline's honey blond head was stuck inside. "Ah. You're awake. I made some soup. I'll bring it." She left before she could hear any protests. Returning shorthly she set the food on the night stand making Heero drink some water.

Placing the bowl of soup on his lap she took a deep breath "Heero, this was an unexpected turn of events. I'm keeping my word This is between you and me. Do- do you want the baby? It might be dangerous for you and in that case mom will find out and my brother Charlie is also coming and he'll find out." She paused "If you want the baby I'll help you and be there for you. Do-do you know who..di.. did you have a lover? You know who the father is, right?"

Heero lay quietly "I know who he is. We.. well we are not together anymore. He will not be pleased . He found another." He suddenly sat up and glared "I'm keeping my baby! It's mine. I'll…" He was quivering with emotion.

"Sure sweetie. The baby's yours. But we'll have to tell mum `bout it. Eat the soup and try to sleep some more. You look tired." She sat back and smiled gently at him.

Eating the soup without tasting it Heero realized that in this new world, he would not be alone. He had new friends and a memory of what he had left behind with him. Such a situation where he would be vulnerable in a strange place with people he knew since only a week should have made him nervous. But his mind was spinning around the one thought, he would never be lonely, he would have somebody to call his own. Unbidden a small smile graced his lips.

TBC

I'm not really happy with this chapter even though I've rewritten it twice. Oh well will update soon.