Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Healing Peace ❯ Chapter 5 ( Chapter 5 )

Gundam Wing and its characters do not belong to me, but if my friend ever succeeds in conquering the universe, perhaps I can convince her to give them to me…well, at least Heero.

HEALING PEACE

Warmth. That was the first thing his mind registered as he slowly regained consciousness. Heero opened his eyes. His vision was blurry, but he could make out a female form in front of him. "Relena," he whispered.

Dr. Sally Po turned when she heard the boy on the bed speak. "No," she said gently. "It's Sally Po."

"Sally…?" Heero struggled to sit up. A flash of pain shot through his body. With the burst of pain, everything came back to him. The burning pain, the humiliation, the shame…everything. He had been utterly and totally defeated. And in his mind, the most humiliating aspect of all was the fact that Duo had seen him in his weakness. He winced at the thought.

"Heero," Sally's voice drew the bedridden boy back from the realm of his thoughts. "How are you feeling?"

Heero didn't answer her. He clenched and unclenched his fists, and glared at the bed sheets as if his stare would burn a whole through their clean, pure whiteness. They were untainted, whole. He was merely…used goods.

"Well, don't talk if you don't want to," Sally told him matter-of-factly. "Just hold still so I can change your bandages." She reached her hand toward him.

Heero growled and shied away from her gentle touch. "I'll do it myself," he hissed. His movement had sent a new wave of pain through his body.

"Nonsense," Sally admonished. "Just hold still…"

She was in the process of rewrapping his injuries when the door flew open. In came a cheerful-looking Duo. His eyes, however, betrayed the concern that he felt for his fallen comrade.

Heero's eyes widened slightly, and he turned to face the wall. He couldn't bring himself to face the one who had witnessed his shame. "Go away, Duo."

The smile fell from Duo's face. "Heero," he began. "I just wanted to see how you are feeling."

"Fine," Heero stated flatly. "You can leave now."

Duo looked dejected. "I was here to bring you home, er, well, at least to the house that Quatre has secured for us."

Heero flinched inwardly at the mention of the blonde Gundam pilot. The others. Certainly by now they had all heard of his humiliation. They would look at him with pity, and perhaps even disgust. He was not worthy to fight anymore. He had failed his mission.

"No," he said. "I'm not going anywhere."

Duo opened his mouth to protest, but Sally chose that moment to interject. "Duo, can I talk to you outside for a moment?"

Duo looked confused. "Sure Sally," he answered.

They walked out of the room, shutting the door behind them. "Duo, as you know, Heero's been through a lot."

"Well, of course, Sally," Duo said, exasperated. "I was the one who brought him to you, after all."

"While he was unconscious, he cried out a lot. Mostly about the pain, but he also spoke about the shame. Duo, in his mind, you witnessed his shame. He feels humiliated. I don't think he is ready to face you or the other pilots yet."

"Well, then where is he supposed to go? He can't stay here, it's not secure. OZ would have him again in no time."

"No, he can't stay here," Sally agreed. "Duo, let me tell you the other thing that he cried out in his sleep. It was also the first word that he said when he regained consciousness. He said, `Relena'."

"Oh, that's the chick that he won't admit that he likes." Duo grinned in spite of himself. Suddenly, comprehension dawned on him. "Wait a minute. Are you suggesting that we take Heero to…"

"The Sank Kingdom?" Sally smiled. "Precisely. He can recover there, and when he feels up to it, he will return to face you. Right now though, I think that girl might be exactly what he needs to recover. She has an inner strength to her, and I hope that she will give him a reason to live."

"So how do we get him there?" Duo asked.

Sally clasped her hand onto Duo's shoulder. "That, my friend, I will leave up to you. You arrange it, and I will make sure that he gets there."

* * * *

Well, here it is, Chapter 5. I hope that you enjoyed it. Oh, and thanks to Katie and Miko no Hoshi for their kind reviews. I'm glad that you are enjoying the story, and I hope that I will live up to your expectations. (I know, I sound so formal, right?) To all the rest of you readers, please review! I love to hear from you! Reviews are food for my muses!

And as always, constructive criticism is welcome. Let me know what you think! Ja ne minna!