Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Lest We Forget ❯ Three ( Chapter 3 )

Lest We Forget

By Anne

Author's notes: This fic is part of the 'Outlasting Time' arc, which is obviously being written way out of order *grins. For more information and to read the other stories in the series check out the following http://www.angelfire.com/ab7/shadesandechoes/outlastingtime.html

Disclai mer:

Gundam Wing belongs to Bandai, Sunrise and Sotsu Agency. I promise to return the boys when I'm finished.

Alicia Bloom Winner and Michael Maxwell-Yuy belong to their respective parents, and as said parents are ex Gundam pilots and a tad overprotective, ask before you borrow.

Thanks to: Raletha for beta reading, encouragement and getting up early for peeks at what I'd written while she'd been sleeping. The wonders of different time zones :) And for that wonderful information re a certain beverage *grins.

Also to Maureen and Bast, for feedback, encouragement, helpful pointers and comments.

Dedication : This one's for Maureen, in exchange for /Accelerando A Piacere/ *sigh. Love that fic.

Special thanks also goes to Ash for her wonderful Arabian/English dictionary.

Abb means 'father'

Feedback to : anneo@paradise.net.nz

******

Chapter Three

Alicia threw her bag into its usual position by the front door, relieved to be finally home. The day had gone so slowly, and the stupid questions from her classmates during morning break hadn't helped.

"What was wrong with your father?"

"It must be so cool being related to the Gundam pilots."

In the finish she'd sought refuge in Michael's company, meeting him again at lunch. She was torn between making some excuse to run home and check on her father, and the knowledge that it was better to give him the space both he and Daddy needed. The hands on the clock had crawled for the remainder of the day, and the words on the screen in front of her had seemed jumbled, as her concentration levels had gone out the window.

All she could think about was Abb. Why was he hurting? What had happened to cause him to react like that? Why so Daddy so worried? She knew it was something to do with the war, and mentally kicked herself that she'd never put two and two together before. In hindsight all the clues had been there. That first night she'd stumbled into their room, and seen her father at the mercy of the terrors haunting his dreams, had been after she'd asked questions about what she and Michael had seen in those old newspaper clippings. The nightmares didn't happen often but looking back they all could have been triggered by events or discussions she'd overheard concerning that same period of time.

AC195.

The Eve Wars.

Yet both Abb and Daddy had stressed they didn't regret they'd been Gundam pilots, in fact she sensed that Abb especially missed the adrenaline rush of the battle and the feel of Sandrock's controls under his hands. She suspected that although neither of them enjoyed the killing, the bonding of man and machine had been a part of their lives they'd found hard to leave behind.

How could her fathers have such contrasting memories about the same period of time? They seemed able to talk quite comfortably about certain parts of the war and yet other related topics freaked them out. It didn't make sense.

She stood for a moment, tentatively reaching out empathically for a sense of her parents, unsure as to what she should do. Abb's shielding wasn't as strong as usual, a sure sign he was asleep. At least there was no sign of his earlier agitation - there wasn't much in the way of emotion coming from him at all. It was like opening a familiar book to read a story only to find the pages were blank. She frowned. The only other time she'd felt that, her father had been drugged. Could he have taken something to help him sleep? Alicia shook her head. Things must have been fairly bad for that to happen. Abb tried to avoid sedatives, as he usually didn't react well to them afterwards. 'The cure was worse than the disease,' he'd said once.

She strained her other senses, aware of how quiet it was, and heard the muted strains of a solo flute coming from the direction of the study. She slipped off her shoes, so as to not announce her presence and made her way quietly past the family room to the small room overlooking the garden. As she approached, Daddy's emotional state washed over her, the music he was playing intertwining with his feelings to create a weird sense of counterpoint as the melodies of his heart and instrument merged.

She opened the door quietly, surprised that she'd been able to enter the house without him noticing. It wasn't a good sign as to his state of mind. She tried to relax and focus, listening with both her heart and ears. He was playing 'The Old Road' (1), a favourite of both his and Abb's.

Daddy swayed gently in time with the music as he blew over the mouthpiece of the old instrument. The legato notes filled the room as the tune started low, the long phrases gradually building to a crescendo, reaching out to express his melancholy and pain in a way words would never be able to. The pitch grew higher, a lone tear drifting down her father's cheek as he played on, lost in the world of his music. Desperately seeking solace, his fingers strengthened their grip around the flute, as he reached out for some form of anchor, something to use to block the pain of whatever memories had wounded both him and Abb so badly.

He paused, resting his eyes on the violin lying in its case on the shelf in the corner, and she heard his breath hitch. He raised the flute to his lips once more and the tune changed.

No Daddy, not that one.

Not now.

He played the first phrase, the violin melody normally present under the main tune of the flute obvious in its absence. The flute climbed higher, but the timbre of the piece wasn't the same, it lacked the other half of the tune it needed to be complete. The original tune had been for solo flute, but this arrangement needed both instruments - she'd never heard it played any other way. Instead of the wistful romantic conversation between two souls, it was now a mournful cry of pain, as Daddy subconsciously sought the one person who made him complete. This was their duet, not the one her parents had played together when they'd first met, but the one from their wedding. From what she'd been told when they'd finished and put down their instruments that day, there hadn't been a dry eye in the room. It spoke of love, of two soul mates, two halves of the one whole, of coming home. Or so they had explained to her, when she'd heard it for the first time years later and cried, not understanding why it had affected her so deeply inside. 'Music is the language of the soul', Abb had told her. 'It can make you feel in its own special way.'

Daddy was trying to capture that feeling by playing this now. The yearning for something temporarily out of reach, the need for Abb to join him, even though he wasn't able to, tore at her space heart as echoes of his pain cut through her like sharp knives.

He shouldn't be doing this to himself. It wasn't right. Stars Children (2) was their song, his and Abb's. Why was he trying to torture himself by playing it alone? It wasn't right with just the flute; it needed Abb's presence, his fingers caressing the strings of his violin, to make it complete.

Daddy kept playing, unaware of anything but the music. Alicia slowly unclenched her hands - she hadn't even realised how lost she had become in the moment, in his pain, until she had consciously tried to distance herself from it, attempting to recover her own peace of mind. She reached out again for Abb, and was relieved he was still asleep. Picking up on Daddy's projected emotions wouldn't have helped his already fragile state.

Alicia sighed, unable to watch her father torturing himself any longer, and left the room, closing the door quietly behind her. He had always been the anchor of their family, the cement melding them together through emotional crises. He and Abb worked as a team, overcoming, using their individual and joint strengths, whatever life threw at them - when one of them was debilitated, the other filled the breach left. Or so they had in the past.

She'd never seen this reaction from Daddy before, and it scared her. He was always the calm one. Always.

Alicia took a deep breath, came to a decision and made her way to the kitchen. Daddy needed Abb, but as he wasn't able to give Daddy what was needed, she would have to try. She couldn't leave him hurting like this - he needed to talk, to know someone cared, to know someone was prepared to try and help him through his pain.

She flicked the switch on the jug, got out the small stool, and rustled through the high cupboard above the sink. Somewhere in here was what she needed. Abb always made this for Daddy when he was upset about something, and somehow it seemed to help. Alicia paused, a small smile turning up the sides of her mouth. Truth be known, it was probably Abb's presence which helped more. The smile faded at the memory of her father crying, and upset at the thought she'd seen him not coping, and she bit back a sob. It wasn't fair they were both hurting because whatever had happened. All they had tried to do was do the right thing and help people.

Poop and Pox, she muttered under her breath, letting out a cheer as she felt her fingers close around the small oval container. Now all she needed was the Frangelico. Yeah, there it was.

Alicia giggled in spite of the way she was feeling. Whenever she saw the strangely shaped bottle she remembered Uncle Duo's comments. "The bottle is shaped like a monk, because it's good stuff," he'd told her with a grin. "Just remember, quality not quantity. I still remember Uncle Heero's reaction to it, when I…er…accidentally…tipped half the bottle into his drink that time." He wolf whistled, and both Daddy and Uncle Heero glared at him. Abb just stifled a giggle, and whispered something into Daddy's ear. It had been the first time she'd ever seen him blush.

Uncle Heero had snorted, and pretended to pull Uncle Duo's braid, rolling his eyes in feigned disgust.

"Of course," said Uncle Duo, giving her a wink. "I could always tell your daughter the other uses for the bottle once it's empty."

Abb had gone as red as Daddy. "I told you that in confidence…" She'd never found out what they were referring to - Daddy had taken her by the arm and steered her into the other room, pointing out it was way past her bedtime. The weird conversation had always puzzled her. Not even Michael could work it out, though she suspected their parents would be horrified to learn they were even discussing it.

But she hadn't been able to look at the liquor bottle since without giggling.

Climbing down the steps she reached into the cupboard for two cups, wiping the tears from her eyes. She'd needed a bit of light relief to help her cope with what was ahead.

Thanks, Uncle Duo, she thought. He always seemed to provide the right words in these sorts of situations, knowing exactly what people needed to hear to give them the strength to go on when things were getting them down.

She opened the container of Cadbury drinking chocolate, and piled two heaped teaspoon-fulls in each cup. The pure flakes of chocolate amongst the powder just gave it that extra rich flavour. Her fathers had taken a liking to it the first time they'd stayed with Aunt Laura in New Zealand, and she'd kept them supplied with it ever since.

Noting carefully which cup she would give Daddy, she added a good slosh of Frangelico to his, stirring briskly as the hot water and milk went on top. The smell was so good, hazelnut mixing with the aroma of warm vanilla and chocolate, surely it would help him feel better.

"Daddy?" she called, approaching the door of the study with more noise than necessary to warn him of her presence. He would feel embarrassed if he knew she had seen him earlier, of that she was certain. Even though he was more open at home than in public, she knew that the only person for whom Daddy truly let his guard down was Abb....

"In here, Alicia." He was sitting on the sofa overlooking the window, his hand sliding something into his pocket as she approached. She knew the projected calmness for the façade it was. Even though he thought he was hiding his pain, it broke through the brittle walls of his hastily constructed shielding. It would take more than a finger in the dam to keep back this emotional tidal wave.

Alicia handed her father his cup, and he frowned. "Frangelico?" he asked, not succeeding in keeping the surprise out of his voice.

"I thought you needed it," she told him, trying to put on the 'mother' voice Aunt Cathy used on occasion.

A small smile rewarded her efforts. "Thank you. I think you might be right." Daddy patted the spare spot on the sofa next to him, and she scooted into it before he could change his mind. He took a sip of his drink, closing his eyes momentarily as he concentrated on the taste and the smell. "Just the way Cat makes it," he said in almost a whisper, and she knew the comment was more to himself than to her.

"Daddy?" she asked, deciding it was better to jump in feet first before she lost her nerve. "I think we need to talk." She paused. "If you don't want to that's okay but Abb always says its better to talk and as he's not here, well…" She stumbled over her next words in an effort to get them out. "I just want you know I can listen too."

Daddy's hand strengthened his grip on his mug before he answered. "I know you can, Alicia. I just…I just need to be able to find the words, and at present I'm not sure I can."

She laid what she hoped was a comforting hand on his knee and forced herself to smile. "Maybe if I asked questions and you answer what you can?" Part of her hated pushing, but he needed to talk. They both knew it. If Abb were here he'd know what to say. He always knew the right words… It wasn't fair that he wasn't here - they were her parents, they were supposed to be comforting her, not the other way around.

And immediately she felt guilty for being so selfish.

Daddy didn't seem to notice her inner struggle. He nodded, shifting his gaze to examine the daffodils growing in the garden outside, preoccupied with whatever he was thinking about.

Alicia waited a moment, winding her finger around the stray lock of hair that always seemed to fall over her face, before speaking softly. "In some countries they use flowers to remember war, to honour the men and women who have fought and lost their lives fighting for what they believed it. I remember Aunt Laura telling me about Poppy Day once."

"That's one of the reasons we planted them." His voice caught slightly. "To remember. Quatre…Abb said it was important that people weren't forgotten." He paused. "There's a small wooden cross in the middle of the flower bed with his father's name on it. I think a part of him hoped his father would give the approval in death he never gave in life."

Abb's father, her grandfather, was someone they never talked about. She knew he'd died during the war, but it was one of those 'off-limits' conversations. Once, in an attempt to find out more, she'd made a comment about how proud he must have been of Abb fighting in his Gundam to save the colonies. She'd even drawn a picture of him flying off in Sandrock with his father standing waving to him, wishing him luck. Abb had looked at the picture, taken her on his knee and held her close, running his fingers through her hair. When he spoke his voice was sad, and she could hear the tears he was trying to hide. "Daddy and I will always be proud of you. Remember that." But he'd refused to explain further.

"How did he die? Has it got to do with why Abb got so upset?" Surely the two must be connected. "Did you ever meet him?" Even Aunt Iria never spoke much about her grandfather. The only thing she'd said was that he'd thought he was doing the right thing, as did a lot of people during the war.

Daddy took another sip of his drink, and placed the cup on the small coffee table. His voice was calm as he leaned back against the sofa, but he kept glancing at his left hand, as though fascinated by the plain gold band on his ring finger. "He died during the war, and your father felt…saw his death." His voice dropped to a whisper.

"The next time we met he wasn't the Quatre I knew."

Daddy wrapped his arms around himself and shivered, as though trying to keep out a terrible coldness, even though the sun was streaming through the window.

"Daddy?"

"Daddy?" Maybe if she changed the subject? She thought back to the morning at school and said the first word that popped into her head. "ZERO."

Her father's head came up; his eyes reflecting remembered pain as they met hers. "How did you know?" he asked, shaking his head. "Never mind. I'm sure they meant well, but I thought…"

Confusion chased guilt through her mind as she realised she'd uttered the one word she had promised herself wouldn't enter this conversation. "I heard you and Abb say it this morning in class," she explained. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have… but…" The explanation she'd waited for, and needed would never happen. She knew that. Unless…maybe it was better to face whatever was causing them so much pain instead of just running away and trying to forget? Hadn't Abb once told her it was easier to deal with problems if you shared them?

"Everything seems to always come back to ZERO." She felt a pang of guilt with the words, as though she was plunging the knife deeper into her father's heart, but part of her knew deep down it needed to be said. How could she help him, or be there for him if she didn't know the truth? She was old enough to know. After all, how bad could the story be?

"I know you were all known as numbers during the war. Was ZERO another pilot?" Maybe the other pilot had been killed and the others felt guilty? It was the only thing which made sense.

Daddy spoke slowly. "I did promise you an explanation. I suppose it's time you knew the truth." He glanced upwards, as though he could see Abb asleep in the room above them. "I'm sorry, Cat, but it's necessary." He brought his hands together on his lap, twisting his ring over and over, the gesture making Alicia wonder just how bad this story was. Daddy wasn't one for showing such obvious outward signs of nervousness. In fact she'd always harboured a degree of envy as to how he managed to stay so calm, especially in situations most people wouldn't have coped with.

"Abb built the ZERO system after his father was killed."

"System?"

Daddy nodded. "It was designed to gather battle information and use it to plan out every conceivable scenario of attack and defence, and then feed this information directly into the pilot's mind." He was choosing his words carefully, and a part of her wondered if she would be getting the complete story. He was still hiding something. He had to be. The answer couldn't be this simple.

"So Abb put this system into Sandrock?" She frowned. "Why? He's good at figuring stuff like that out on his own. He doesn't need a computer to tell him what to do."

Daddy gazed down at his lap, and rubbed at an invisible mark on his jersey. "He didn't have Sandrock, so he built Wing Zero from blueprints, not knowing the system was in the Gundam. When he received all the data, he wasn't trained to deal with it because he wasn't expecting it. He…wasn't himself even before he climbed into Wing…" He broke off, placed both hands on her shoulders and stared at her intently, as though it was very important she understood what he was about to share.

"It's okay," she started to say. "I know Abb wouldn't deliberately do anything wrong." He couldn't. Abb cared about people, he would never do anything to hurt someone unless he had no choice.

Daddy's shoulders sagged slightly. "His father, your grandfather, had just been killed by the very people Abb had piloted the Gundam to protect. He….he…launched an attack on the…" Another pause, longer this time. "On those ZERO showed him were his enemy. Uncle Heero and I were sent by OZ to stop him…"

Alicia interrupted. "OZ? But I thought…"

"I was undercover in OZ, posing as a pilot at the time." His voice was flat. "Uncle Heero had been captured, and…forced to pilot for them as well."

"But he was just pretending, right? You didn't really have to fight him. It was just a plan to help you and Uncle Heero escape." That must be it. History had been wrong about a lot of things, it had to be wrong about this too.

"It says here that there was an unconfirmed rumour that one of the Gundams was responsible for wiping out several colonies."

He couldn't.

Not Abb.

No way.

There had to be some mistake.

She frowned, her stomach tying in knots as she tried to make sense of what he was saying. Her mind went back to what had happened in the classroom that morning, and the room spun. Alicia became aware of a firm arm around her, as she met her father's gaze.

"Yes," he said in a choked whisper, his eyes glazing over as he remembered the nightmare. "He piloted the Gundam who attacked the colonies. We tried to talk to him, but he wasn't himself." He stopped, removed his arm and took a swig of his drink. For what seemed like forever the room was silent, apart from the sound of Daddy taking deep measured breaths.

"I… he….There…there was an accident." He pulled himself into an upright position and shivered. "Heero and Quatre were captured by OZ, and I was left floating in space."

"No!" The word came out stronger than she meant it to. "Abb would never leave you to die in space. He loves you. Even if that ZERO thing had taken over his mind, he would have never left you." She sniffled, and found herself growing angry at the thought of a machine causing all this pain. All this time and it had been because of a machine. It was unreal.

Daddy shook his head. "No. He would have never left me, part of him never did." He stared straight ahead. "I still remember that field of stars. It was so cold, but I knew somehow it would be all right." His voice was so sad, she could reach out and touch the pain of his memories.

Abb pulled away from Daddy's touch, his voice rising to a scream. "Heero! Let go of me! Trowa's dying!"

"They thought you were dead." Her hand went up to her mouth, as pieces of the puzzle of her father's nightmares suddenly began to fall into place. "He tried to go to you, but he couldn't." She felt an echo of the coldness of that starscape reach out from her father's memories, and began to shake as an inkling of what they must have gone through hit home. "He thought he'd killed you. Oh Daddy…" Alicia let out a sob, but her father was so lost in the past he didn't notice.

"But you told them you were okay, as soon as you were rescued."

Silence.

"Didn't you?"

He shook his head. "I couldn't remember who I was. Even when Quatre came to the circus, I didn't know him." His hands came up to his head briefly, a sharp remembered pain creasing his brow. "He seemed so familiar, I felt for him, yet I watched him leave." She wondered if he even realised she was still in the room as he kept talking, remembering snatches of his past, of their past, she'd never been privy to until now. "Something was coming." Fear came from him in waves, and then a yearning for something just out of reach.

Should she try and offer comfort, remind him it was all over, or just let him talk?

"But you must have gone after him." She could imagine Abb walking away, tears in his eyes and Daddy standing watching him, wondering why he felt connected to this stranger he didn't know. Was the bond they shared between them present even back then? How could Abb have just left Daddy behind?

"He went to fight, to save the colony. We were under attack." His voice grew firmer. "And yes I went to him. I had to. He was crying, calling me. I couldn't ignore him."

"He was crying?" On one level what Daddy was saying made no sense, but on another deeper one, it was so obvious. One soul crying out, reaching out to and being answered by the one person who could. Their love had been so strong, it had transcended even the terrible loss they'd recently gone through.

Daddy nodded. "I knew he needed me, and I went. I left Aunt Cathy and I went back to the battlefield to fight." Was that what Abb had meant when he'd talked Daddy acting on instinct when he hadn't his memories to back him up?

"How did you get your memories back? Was it seeing Abb again?" That would have been so romantic. She could picture it clearly. Abb surrounded by the enemy, Daddy coming to save him. "Was it when you saved him?"

Daddy ruffled his fingers through her hair. "By the time I got there he'd already won that battle. There wasn't a mobile suit left standing. Your father kicked 'some serious butt' during his time as a Gundam pilot." She smiled at his use of the phrase Jason had used to describe Heavyarms. "I didn't get my memories back until later." Another pause. "When I piloted Wing ZERO."

Her jaw dropped. "You piloted ZERO? But I thought…after what it did to Abb. How? Why?"

"I needed a Gundam." The explanation sounded so matter of fact, and yet after what had happened, it still sent a shiver down her. "OZ were attacking the colony where Aunt Cathy was. She would have died. Someone had to save them. I fought the effects of ZERO with Abb's help and my memories returned." He took another sip of his drink, seemingly not noticing it had gone cold. "All the pilots had their own battle with ZERO, although Heero and Quatre were the only ones who mastered the system."

Now she was really confused. "But I thought …" Why would her father set foot in Wing ZERO after what had happened?

"Uncle Heero loaded the system into Sandrock during one of the final significant battles of the war. He knew Abb could handle it, knew he could use it to swing the balance in our favour." His voice had a hint of pride in it. "And he did."

He shifted slightly, glancing again towards the room above them. "I'm just going to check on Abb. Finish your hot chocolate, and I'll help you clean up."

The conversation couldn't be finished yet, surely. Or was this as much as he was prepared to say?

Daddy slid off the sofa in one fluid movement and disappeared before she had a chance to protest, not noticing the slender object fall from his pocket as he left. She picked it up, wondering what it was…and stopped.

It was a photo, creased around the edges from use. It was probably the one of them standing in front of their Gundams that he'd shown Miss Harris, she thought. It made sense that he would be looking at it, while he was remembering all the stuff which had happened.

She glanced at it absently, after all she'd seen it a million times. Even as a toddler she'd loved sitting on his lap while he pointed out the Gundams, and told her about Heavyarms and Sandrock.

What?

This was a photo she'd never seen before.

Why hadn't they told her about this?

Why hadn't they told her?

"Alicia?"

"Huh?"

Daddy sounded worried, as though he'd been calling her for some time. He took the photo from her, his fingers stroking it tenderly. "He doesn't know I have this," her father said. "Duo took it, in case...so I'd have a photo in case he didn't wake up."

He sat down beside her, and grew silent, retreating behind a wall of grief and pain. His full attention was drawn to the figure in the bed, Abb pale and either asleep or unconscious, hooked up to medical equipment. Daddy in the photo was holding his hand, lying on the bed asleep, his other arm hooked around him protectively.

"What happened?" she asked gently.

"It was the almost the end of the war," he explained in a whisper, his voice hoarse with emotion. "We were trying to stop Zechs and White Fang. Dorothy Catalonia challenged Quatre to a sword fight. She had the advantage of using the ZERO system - I knew he was in trouble but by the time I got there…" His voice cracked slightly, then he recovered his composure and continued. "He was floating motionless, blood flowing from a wound in his side."

"She stuck her sword in him?" Alicia couldn't believe it. The bitch. How dare she? "So you rushed him to the hospital?" No wonder he looked so pale, he would have lost a lot of blood. Poor Abb. Poor Daddy.

Daddy shook his head. "I patched him up as best I could and we climbed into our Gundams and continued fighting."

They what? He had got to be kidding…

"We had to stop Libra," Daddy continued. "If it hit the Earth, everything would have been for nothing." He stared the photo in his shaking hands, his next words came out as a whisper. "I'd felt his pain, but didn't have time to focus on it. We had to stop Libra. Nothing else mattered."

The photo fell from his hands and drifted through the air, coming to a halt on the table. "Afterwards everyone was so happy… I went to Sandrock - to Cat….he was lying in there, not moving…" He brushed one hand across his face, and she noticed a fine mist over his normally bright eyes. "For one horrible moment, I thought he wasn't breathing." He took a sharp intake of breath. "After going through so much…to lose him..."

Alicia reached over and took one slender hand in hers. "You didn't lose him. And he knew even then that you loved him. I'm sure that helped him, to know you were there for him."

Regret and guilt flowed from him. "He didn't know. I hadn't told him how I felt." His fingers tightened over hers. "Even afterwards I never said a word."

"But you loved him. He loved you. I don't understand."

Her father didn't register he'd heard her protests but continued talking, as though explaining to the younger version of his husband in the photo his reasoning for his inaction. He traced the outline of Abb's image, stroking the picture absently with one slender finger.

"We lived in different worlds. How could I expect you to give up your position for someone with nothing, not even a name to offer." He shook his head. "We were both soldiers fighting a war, but after that war was over you went back to being Quatre Raberba Winner. I couldn't go back to being Nanashi." His voice shook. "I was Trowa now, your Trowa. You gave me that, Cat. You made me feel as though I had a purpose in life…you still do."

"Daddy?" He was scaring her. Daddy never got emotional like this.

It wasn't only Abb who was haunted by memories of the past.

They all were.

Everyone who had lived through that time had been scarred by it. Some just hid it better than others. If she'd learnt anything from today, it was that.

He turned to meet her gaze, and she reached over to wipe the single tear before it could fall. "Cat…Abb…didn't want you to know. We weren't sure how you would handle the truth, the whole story."

And you still don't. And that's why you haven't told me. I now know what I need to, and it's cost you just to share that.

Daddy, I'm so sorry.

She nodded. "It's okay. I understand." She understood as much as she could, the same way they had shared as much as they could.

He pulled himself to his feet, she could see how exhausted he was. Not just a physical exhaustion but mentally and emotionally too. Acting as strong shielding for Abb that morning, followed by his confronting his own demons had been too much.

"Why don't you go rest?" she suggested. "I'm sure Abb would sleep better knowing you were near. He's going to need you there when he wakes." She smiled slightly. "You know how he is when he's taken something to make him sleep. We won't get much sense out of him for while."

Daddy gave her a quick hug, surprising her with the action which was more in character for Abb than for him. "I didn't want him to take them, but he insisted. Said I needed the break." The corners of his mouth turned up as he attempted to match her earlier smile. "He's hard to argue with once he sets his mind on something."

He leant and kissed the top of her head in a familiar gesture of affection. "And I guess he's not the only member of the family with that trait." He replaced the photo in his wallet, his gaze lingering. "The war wasn't all bad, you know. I did meet Quatre because of it. And you."

"I know, Daddy." She put on her best mother voice. "Go sleep. He's going to need you, later. I'll fix some supper."

"Thank you." He paused in the doorway and gave her a smile, a smile straight from his soul to hers. A rare glimpse into the inner Daddy that usually no one but Abb saw.

"Thank you," she replied, watching him go. Even though it had taken a lot out of them to share their experiences today, she now knew why it had been so important to go to the school and put things right.

The war was in the past, but what had happened was a legacy for the future. Even though history didn't have the facts quite right, it was up to the next generation, her generation to learn the truth and keep it alive. Keep the truth alive, so that their fight hadn't been in vain.

Lest we forget.

*****

~Fin~

*****

Authors notes:'The Old Road' or 'Nakasendo' by Hiro Fujikake 'Stars Children', also by Hiro Fujikake.

Both of these wonderfully haunting tunes for solo flute, with orchestral backing, are from James Galway's CD 'The Enchanted Forest.'