Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Mistaken Words ❯ All Is Not Lost ( Chapter 29 )

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

Mistaken Words

And a very special thanks to both Pious Knight and neekabe who made the chapter possible!

Disclaimer: I don't own Gundam Wing

All Is Not Lost

Wufei's onyx eyes scanned over the room he had just finished preparing. It was a special room that Sally had specifically for the pilots to make caring for major injuries easier on her. It hadn't been used all that much since it's creation, but Relena had spent a fair amount of time in the room when she had returned to them. Being on the same floor as all of their rooms and Sally's made watching over which ever one was in there all that much easier. He had spoken to John shortly before the doctor had taken Heero into surgery to let him know that he was preparing a room for Heero to use.

From what he gathered it was still going to be a while before Heero was ready to be moved to this room. But Wufei had made sure John had his cell number on him, so that when he was ready to move Heero they would be able to help clear the halls. The others hadn't said much since finishing their assigned tasks, and frankly he wasn't surprised. Wufei had volunteered them knowing that when needed they'd be there, despite the guilt they were all carrying with them. It was not going to be easy to work this all out. Wufei felt a slight relief wash over him at having been the only one to really considered there might have been more to this that what they had seen. But he knew he was not altogether blameless himself. With all that time to think about it, he should have gone searching, he should have found what Heero had left for them.

It was easy to look back on everything that had happened over the last few years and see all the places that they had gone wrong individually and as a group. But as they say, hindsight is twenty-twenty, and no matter how long you look back and tear yourself up, it wasn't going to change that you are always in the present and that you must make use of the time you have. Wufei hoped they'd all one day be able to make it back to where they had once been. He hoped the friendship born through experiences during the war would not be so easily severed. November ninth had proven otherwise, nevertheless that didn't mean they couldn't come back from that, and he was positive that everyone wanted too.

Glancing at his watch, Wufei saw it to be a little after two in the morning. At this point he knew he wasn't going to be getting any sleep this night, and he doubted seriously that the others would be any different. Relena had insisted on remaining as close to Heero as she could while he was in surgery, so Wufei had left her in an observation room. John was the only one to know she was there. It was difficult to tell just how Relena was taking the whole situation, but Wufei had no trouble reading the guilt and hurt that marred her pretty features. But that was only external, he had no way to even begin guessing what she was feeling or thinking internally. None of them had been in a situation like this before; they had nothing to compare it too. She seemed at least to be holding herself together, and for the moment that was good enough. Wufei hadn't missed the effect Relena being near Heero had had on the wounded pilot, it was a good sign to say the very least.

Satisfied that everything was as ready as it was going to be, Wufei made for the door and stepped out into the hall. Movements further down caught his attention and Wufei watched as both Trowa and Duo made their way into a common room they all shared on this floor. His apartment was not lacking in room to relax, but Duo had thought it might be nice to have a room separate from their own in which they could meet. Curiosity pulled Wufei towards that very room. The expression on both their faces had not been all that encouraging, but then again after what they had learned he didn't expect any of them to be smiling anytime soon.

The door had not fully slid closed when Wufei came to it, and he pressed the button on the side panel without looking. His eyes were focused inwards along with his hearing. A conversation seemed to be in progress, and Wufei was surprised to hear it was not just Duo and Trowa, but also Zechs' voice was filling the otherwise quiet room. Crossing over the threshold Wufei brought the conversation to a sudden halt, and he found four pairs of eyes watching him, though only two were actually present in the room. Zechs and Quatre had called up on vid phones, and it seemed to Wufei that it had been them who initiated the conversation with Trowa and Duo. He wondered at what they had been planning to discus, that they had not thought to include him.

“So you were right all along…” Duo spoke up bitterly from the chair he was sitting in, he had not bothered to get up, but rather dropped his head back so he was looking Wufei's way. “Why aren't you rubbing it in?”

Wufei felt instantly put on the defensive by this, he tried not to let it show though. He could understand where the frustration was coming from, he felt it himself, at the loss of three years of a good friendship. “I'm as much to blame for the last three years,” he responded evenly, “There's nothing that should have stopped me from finding that file.”

“Except for our constant pressure to hate him,” Trowa was quick to put in, a pointed look in his eyes, and Wufei knew he was thinking back on that conversation they had had on the shuttle ride back to earth.

But Wufei was already shaking his head, “All that did was keep me from sharing my views aloud.”

“This is all my fault,” Quatre interjected into the silence that had followed Wufei's statement. “He told me, as clearly as he could…and I never listened,” his eyes were hidden behind a curtain of bangs as he refused to look at any of them.

“What good will it do to sit here and lay blame? The past can't be changed no matter how much any of us want it to be.” Wufei's own frustration was beginning to build, and not just from the fact that there was nothing he could do. Matters weren't going to improve any if the others couldn't step out from under the shadow of their past. He knew it was not easy to ask, as they had only learned the true weight of the last three years, but wallowing in self pity wasn't going to change a damn thing.

“That's easy for you to say,” Duo almost snarled, “You're the only one walking around with a clear conscience.”

Wufei's anger peeked at that, “I shot him just as surely as he shot me! I blamed him just as much for what we thought he did to Relena! Why am I not allowed guilt?!”

Duo came to his feet, face dark with internal anger just begging to be released. Wufei stood in the face of it without flinching. He knew where than anger was really directed, and despite what Duo wanted to believe, he knew just as well as the rest what it felt like to hate yourself completely. The braided man took a threatening step towards Wufei, but quickly drew himself up, “FUCK!!!” he shouted that single word carrying with it a torrent of his anger and frustration. “Why the Hell did he have to do this?! He played us all!!” Duo was shaking with his anger now, but there was nowhere for him to release it, there was pain in his eyes as he tried to contain it.

The silence that took the room was heavy, Wufei nearly felt his shoulders ache under its weight “How are we ever going to make it up to him?” Quatre breathed, it was clear he wasn't really expecting to receive and answer. And the silence that continued after was the clear and obvious answer.

“Well we aren't going to get anywhere if we just sit here feeling sorry for ourselves,” Wufei knew he was repeating himself but what else could he do? The conversation would just go continuously around in circles otherwise. “We need something to focus our attention on.”

Duo threw himself to his feet pacing the room after throwing a glare Duo's way, “That's easy for you to say!”

The Chinese man tried to contain his frustration, shouting Duo down wasn't going to accomplish anything. The former pilot was merely trying to deal with what he was feeling, and if the only way he could handle it was to take it out on Wufei, the Chinese man felt he could deal with it. Besides he had been the brunt of a great deal of frustration for the last several months. “This isn't getting us anywhere…” Trowa spoke up for the first time, his voice emotionless, his eyes shielded.

“It is easy for you to say focus on something else,” Zechs spoke up rubbing a hand over his eyes, “But what? You already know this isn't something we're just going to be able to put behind us.” His voice was filled with hatred, but it was entirely directed at himself. Wufei didn't have to guess why. It had been Zechs who had played a huge role in reducing Heero to his present condition. It was no surprise that he would be replaying those moments over in his head, but they all had moments like that, moments of quality time with Their own personal demons that they were one day going to have to reconcile themselves with.

“Then I suggest we start researching this Inner Circle,” Wufei interjected into the heavy silence.

“Have you forgotten what Heero had to do to learn anything?” Trowa ask dryly with an eyebrow lifted.

“Of course not, but that shouldn't stop us from trying. He might be our best source, and we'll have to wait till he's able to speak. You wanted something to focus on; I'm just suggesting something we can do.” Silence once more followed whether they were considering his suggestion or once more in there own little hells, trying to grapple with the impossible, Wufei didn't know, but he hoped it was consideration.

He was half way to leaving the room when his cell phone rang sharply into the silence, and he quickly reached for it, bringing it to his ear while his eyes remained watching the others. “Chang here,” he spoke into the small item.

“Wufei? It's John. He's out of surgery, we'll be ready to move him soon,” the old doctor informed with more that just a note of relief in his voice.

“How is he?” Wufei saw the looks the others were sending his way, there was no questions about who he was talking to, or about.

“Well I'd love to say this fixes everything…” John began softly, “But I'm afraid this is only the beginning, he'll most likely be out for quite a while, but it won't be long now before the withdrawal will set in.”

Wufei winced internally. He hoped it would be as easy to deal with as Relena's had been, but he knew that was a lot to hope for. Relena had not been on the drug for nearly as long as Heero had, and she had also been given he luxury of being weaned off of it. “Alright, we have a room ready for him, I'll make sure everything is ready for moving him before I come down to meet you.”

“Okay I want to have him settled in as soon as possible,” with that John hung up, and Wufei slipped his phone back into his pocket. “We'll need to secure a rout for John and Heero, I'm going down to meet him,” he made his way towards the door casting one last glance back over his shoulder, “At least it'll give you something to do.”

Une looked over the statement she had prepared several hours ago for what seemed like the thousandth time, still unsure that it would come off the way she wanted it too. It was not an easy announcement to make. Only nine hours before Une would have had no problem with it; it would have been the moment they had all been waiting for. It would have finally closed a dark chapter in all their lives. Now however everything was different. He hadn't betrayed them; he had continued fighting for the peace despite the cost to himself. The world was going to go on believing his had tried to kill Relena, they wouldn't know of his sacrifice. Not that Une thought for a moment Heero would want to be publicised like that, but she wanted them to know, she wanted to correct the last three years.

Still Une was no fool, she clearly understood the reason why—for the moment at least—the world needed to believe Heero had died. She was glad now that the pilots had taken so much precaution before bringing Heero into the building, that certainly made keeping his continued presence here a secret all that much easier. Standing, Une made her way to the large windows at the back of her office, looking out over the world, and the still climbing sun. It was still early for a press conference, she had considered calling it anyways, as this was sort of a special situation, but had decided against it. She still could use a little more time to prepare.

Mostly she was unsure of what tone of voice to use, she didn't want to come off as regretful for the death of this `traitor'. The world would expect a firm uncaring tone…perhaps even slightly victorious. She felt comfortable that she'd be able to fool the world with as much skill as Heero had, though (granted) hers was the easier of the two jobs hands down. Looking out over the waking city in the distance Une found herself wishing for the comforting presence of Treize, he had always lent her strength, even when she hadn't been aware that she needed it. Still in death she felt strength from him, but it was not always enough.

Dante offered the same strength, but she was more reluctant to take if from him, there was distance between them, and they were not in the same organisation. It made her feel weak to rely upon his strength, and at the same time it made her feel alive in ways she hadn't felt for years. There was something secretly nice about being able to rely upon a man, in certain situations. But she couldn't be doing that now, Une silently chided herself, she needed to be focused. Just standing around her office wasn't going to do any good, so she moved back over to her desk, pressing the intercom button with her index finger Une spoke to her secretary. “Nyla, is everything assembled for the conference?”

“Yes ma'am, everyone's here, and the major news stations have been mentioning the nine o'clock conference for a few hours now.”

“Good, have word sent that the conference will be happening now, I'll be down in a few moments.” What's the point of putting it off any longer? Besides just sitting her was allowing her mind to wander in ways she would have liked to avoid.

“Yes ma'am,” Nyla's softly accented voice responded.

Une withdrew her finger and gathered together the papers that were on her desk, placing them in a leather folder before she made her way to the double doors. She offered Nyla a brief nod as she passed, walking with a steady stride to the main door. Once out in the halls of the agency, Une wore a superb mask; it was no particular expression, but at the same time there was something there just around her eyes. She knew people could stare at her for hours without knowing her true intentions, and that was just the way she wanted it.

“…The colony is planning an evening shower for the end of the week other than that the week should be lovely the weather seasonably warm. Bill, back to you…” the weather lady said ending her section of the news. There was really little use for her now, what with the weather being controlled by someone on the colony. But it was still nice to know when the rain was coming.

Ash hardly paid any attention to the news, as the anchor started onto a story that they had already covered to death. His focus was never on much other than one thing: Heero. It didn't matter that it had been a little over three months without word from the Japanese man, Ash was determined to find him. There was just no way he could ever being himself to believe that Heero had just up and left, as Dante seemed happy to accept. Every free moment he had was given over to his search, and he had noticed a steady decline in his free time as Dante seemed to always have more and more jobs for him to do. He didn't doubt that was done in an attempt to end his apparently unhealthy obsession.

He knew Dante was only worried about him, and a part of Ash's mind could see and comprehend why. He had lost weight in the last few months more focused on his search that eating, but Dante was doing his best to rectify that now. And Ash knew he had become far more distant with the people around him, yet that was something that Dante couldn't change, despite his best efforts. From where he sat in his living room Ash kept half an ear on the morning news, and vaguely heard the anchor interrupt his interviewee.

“…Sorry to cut you off Mr. Kain, but we have just received word that Commander Une, head of the Earth Defence Corp, will be holding the press conference early, we go now live to earth where we await her arrival. We are told she should be there any moment. The purpose behind this conference is unknown to us at this moment…” The anchor man glanced down at his notes before starting into a recap of what he had just said for those who were just coming in.

The name Une caught Ash's attention but not enough for his to take his eyes off what he held in his hands. The pictures that he had put up in Heero's apartment, the ones that had mysteriously been torn down, something Ash knew Heero wouldn't do. If that had been his intention all along he would have done so the day Ash had first put them up. Ash couldn't stop himself from looking at them, and wondering. It ate away at him, and he would have given anything to discover what had become of his friend.

A new voice breaking through the silence of his room, caught Ash's attention, and he half listened to what it had to say. “…I've called this meeting to announce the end of a dark chapter in the history of the peace. Heero Yuy, former bodyguard to Relena Peacecraft, and more recently traitor to the peace, has died.” Une's voice was indifferent to the words she was speaking.

Ash jumped forward in his seat, his mind shut down when he heard her words, unable to understand what Une had said, but she was not done. “For three long years Yuy had eluded us, however we were finally able to corner him. We had hoped to bring him to proper justice. Unfortunately the life he was forced to lead, remaining in hiding, wore away at his heath, and he died early this morning, despite our best efforts.” Ash couldn't believe what he was hearing: dead? It didn't seem possible, he had watched as Heero eluded death, as easily as he eluded the people perusing him, how was it that death had managed to catch him now?

Falling back against his firm couch Ash stared at the ceiling without seeing, feeling like the life had been sucked out of him. This couldn't be the way his three long months of searching were to end, it wasn't a possibility. He wouldn't accept this as the answer he had been searching for. Ash felt his eyes prick with oncoming tears, they were formed from endless frustration, and loss, but he would not let them fall, he would not be that weak, Heero would not have wanted that.

“How did it happen…?”

John looked down on Heero's unconscious form, now in the proper place, a hospital bed with warm blankets covering his thin frame, and a shirt clothing his upper half. He was clean now, his skin no longer dull, his hair not limp or greasy. But John thought if it were possible Heero looked worse than he had before all this good was done for him. He knew it was partly due to the stress that everything had put upon his body, and secondly the dose of Adnolprinaminophen he had been given to ease—but hopefully avoid—the withdrawal. John knew in the end Heero'd be better off for it. Carefully he checked all the tubes and wires that fell away from Heero's body, there were so many of them that they seemed to over shadow the boy.

Briefly he glanced up to see where Relena had seated herself on Heero's right, she held the boy's hand gently in hers, remaining completely still, as though fearing the tiniest twitch would cause Heero pain. John smiled privately to himself, almost positive that he saw Heero breathe a little easier with Relena's personal contact. She was not the only one who watched over Heero. Wufei also stood over the bed, expression grave, arms folded across his chest, his stance saying he wasn't going anywhere. John fought back a yawn as he turned his attention back to his sole concern.

“You should head home and get some rest, John,” Wufei's smooth voice broke the silence of the room.

John glanced Wufei's way, “You've been up as long as I have,” he told the young man, calmly.

He thought he saw the smallest of smiles flicker across Wufei's face at that, then came the response, “I'm used to little sleep.”

A part of John wanted to retort with `so am I!' but he knew that those days were behind him, a by product of old age. Still he didn't want to just leave the boy; that went against everything ounce of training in him. “I can't just leave him unattended.”

“Neither can you remain awake twenty-four/seven, it's just not possible.” Wufei took a step closer to the foot of Heero's bed, “Besides he's not alone. I'll be here for him.”

“But you're no doctor,” that was what worried John the most, that something drastic would happen during the day.

“No, but Sally's here,” Wufei sounded so confident that she would come id needed, John only wished he could share in the Chinese man's confidence.

John shook his head, “What if she refuses to come?”

“Believe me, I can persuade her.” There was something distinctly threatening about the way Wufei had spoken those words. “Trust me, he'll be alright, well looked after, besides he'll need you during the night.”

Hesitating a moment John reached out to place his hand upon Heero's forehead. The mention of Sally sent John's thoughts turning. He couldn't let matters remain the way there were, something had to be done about her. She had to be willing to come to Heero's needs, but he knew it wouldn't be easy to do. She knew the truth now, and rectifying that with what she had done, was not going to be easy for her to do. But the fact remained that she needed to do just that, and John was not going to leave until he had set the ball into motion. “Alright, you should get some sleep too,” John directed that towards Relena, who was obviously fighting her need to rest.

She looked up at him offering a sad smile, “I will, I just don't want to leave him right away.”

“He won't wake for quite a while,” John reassured stepping away from the bed to stand before Wufei. “Sally's apartment is on this floor is it not?”

Wufei looked at him, as though wanting to get an idea of what John's intentions were before answering, “Yes, it's the fourth door down on the right.”

“Alright, I'll leave him with you, call me if anything goes wrong…” he wondered if he'd have an easier time sleeping at night knowing Heero was finally in good hands. He doubted it however, though Luc was no longer around, withdrawal could set in at any time, and in his present state John still had his doubts that the boy could handle it. Casting one last glance over Heero's form and the two who stood guard over him, John left the room and made his way down the hall.

Coming to a stop outside Sally's room John gave himself a moment to gather his thoughts before knocking on the door. This was not going to be easy, and it was very important that he kept his patience with Sally. Giving into anger wasn't going to accomplish anything, in fact it would probably only succeed in making the who situation worse. He finally knocked on the door, and waited for a reply but in receiving none John wondered what he would do. It wasn't like he could force her door to open, and he wasn't about to shout what he need to say through the thick metal.

“I thought she might be like that…” Wufei spoke up from just a little way down the hall, and John jumped gripping his chest. He had not heard the youth come up behind him. “Sorry,” the Chinese man offered with a half smile.

“I really need to speak to her,” John said looking back to the door. Wufei said nothing as he came up beside the doctor, and struck a quick sequence of keys causing the lock to give way, and the door to slide open. He offered John a sympathetic look before heading back towards Heero's room. Drawing a quick breath John walked into the darkened room.

“Sally?” he called softly into the silent rooms, stepping in he let the door slid close behind him and waited a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light. The living room appeared to be empty, but John could see a glow coming from down the hall, and he headed off in that direction. John felt a spark of worry as he made his way towards the spare room, where the eerie glow was emanating from. He could only imagine how Sally would have taken the shocking information, he only hoped she was not so consumed with shame that she did something stupid. He didn't think Sally was weak enough to fall so far.

Rounding the corner John looked into the room that Sally had converted into a study, and there she sat behind her desk, eyes focusing on the screen of her computer. Both her hands were pulling through her hair as she mouthed words he assumed she was reading off the screen. “Sally?” he asked, trying to get her attention. She didn't look up from the screen. John stepped into the room hoping to here what Sally was whispering to herself.

“I will use my power to help the sick to the best of my ability and judgment; I will abstain from harming or wrongdoing any man by it." It didn't take much for him to place it now, it was the Hippocratic Oath. He wasn't surprised that it had been that passage that she focused on.

“Sally!” He was more forceful this time knowing he needed to get her attention, “Don't do this!” He wanted her to feel the weight of what she had done, but not if it was going to completely incapacitate her. There was no telling when she would be able to bring herself to function, and Heero needed her now.

“I broke my oath!” Sally cried, as though trying to drive him back by the force of her anger.

“Yes, you did.” There was no use denying it, she had broken it, and in perhaps one of the worst ways. Sally flinched back at his words, illuminated by the computer screen had it was clear she had been crying, and tears still stood out at the edges of them. “But what good will come from you sitting here torturing yourself?”

She looked horrified at herself, as though she had just awoken from a deep sleep only to now see what she had truly done. “I let Luc have his way with him, I didn't do…anything…”

John was no longer mad at Sally. That had washed away the moment he had gained control of the situation and Heero had been taken to better care. Now all that remained was disappointment, he cared for Sally a great deal, and still believed despite all this she was an excellent doctor. Certainly there could be no excuse for what she had done, though a number of them jumped into his mind. But he wanted to know how they could move on, surely there had to be a way. Would Heero have wanted this? That seemed to John to be the central most question in all of this.

I've…never hated…any of them…

Heero's words echoed through John's head as he looked down at Sally. If she had only heard him say it, knew the way he had said it, it might have made this easier. He doubted that anything short of going back in time and doing this all over again, was going to make this easy for Sally. “Sally, he knew,” John pulled a hand down his face, “He wanted you to believe he had done it. He did all this willingly, knowing what would happen.”

“There's no way he could have foreseen this.” Sally forcefully shook her head, unable to give in.

“Perhaps not, but that doesn't change the fact that he isn't blaming any of you.”

“But that doesn't matter John,” Sally wept angrily, “I broke my oath, I betrayed who I am!”

John folded his arms across his chest, assuming a strong stance, “So you're just going to sit here torturing yourself, when you could be out there making it up to him?” His voice was harsher than he would have liked, but as this conversation was going, John was really beginning to think this was the only way to get through to her.

“I have no right to go to him! I have no right to even be a doctor!” she was on her feet shouting now, it was clearly directed at herself and not John.

“I'm not here to make that judgement. I won't deny what you did was wrong, but that doesn't mean we can't make amends for the mistakes we make.” His tone suddenly became more gentle, “We all deserve a second chance, that doesn't just apply to Heero.”

Sally rubbed at her puffy red eyes, “I don't think I can give myself that chance…”

“You owe it to Heero to try.” They stared at each other for several minutes in the uncomfortable, and John could feel his exhaustion flowing in on the tails of the adrenaline that had just flashed through him. “Sally, with the world thinking Heero has died, nothing that happened here can come into the news, you have to be able to function normally.”

That seemed to catch her attention, but nothing on her face seemed any different, she only looked more closely at him. “I don't want to live with this…”

“There really isn't that much choice,” John eased, knowing there was little else to say that wasn't going to start a recap of everything that had already been said. “Look, just promise me you'll be there for him if Wufei calls you. This isn't going to get any easier if you wait too long…”

She looked hesitant for several minutes, truly torn within herself, but she did at last nod her head, only slightly. That was all John wanted to see. He knew there was no way to turn this around in just a few minutes, it was going to take many months. If they could even get this moving at all. With one last look at Sally's tear streaked face, John turned to make his way back out of the room. He needed to get home and try to find some rest so he'd be able to deal with whatever might come his way the next night.

“We were unable to learn much during his last hours, about his intent over the past three years.” Une's voice continued clear and true as she looked out over the men and women that the camera couldn't see. “Though we were able to confirm that he had been working alone, when he attempted to assassinate Relena Peacecraft, it however is still unclear why he suddenly felt the need to do so after having served as bodyguard.” She drew in a breath as the close of her announcement, and Luc found himself doing likewise.

What was this they were spouting? Heero had died? It didn't seem possible to Luc. Sure the he hadn't been in the greatest condition, but what had caused Heero's sudden turn for the worse? None of this sounded right to Luc's ears, but what else was there? Had Heero managed to somehow change all their minds? It didn't seem possible with all Luc knew about the situation, but wasn't it the only answer—as unbelievable as it might be—out there?

“I'll now take a few question,” Une opened the floor, and a surge of voices overwhelmed all other sounds, as everyone shouted to be heard. It was a shocking announcement for all, but Luc thought none more so than himself. He took a slow drink of his orange juice, trying to understand all of this.

They were lying, that much Luc would have bet his life on, but why? And did they plan on leaving him in the dark? It occurred to Luc then that this must have been John's work, and his grip on the glass in his hand tightened dangerously. That man's ethics infuriated Luc, Heero was the enemy, plain and simple. No favours should have been afforded him. But this old doctor saw things differently and continued to interfere. Luc shook with his pent-up frustration, how he hated Heero for all that had happened; Luc had not even begun to pay that bastard back for the pain he had caused.

Blinking in sudden shock, Luc looked down to his bleeding hand, he had crushed his glass without even realising it. Wincing in pain, Luc stepped away from the mess and moved to his kitchen, trying to remove what of the glass that he could into his garbage. The pain overpowered the emotions, drowning them for a time. Rinsing his hand with warm water Luc reached for his portable phone, and dialled Sally's number from memory, determined to get some answers to this whole mess.

The phone rang into his ear continuously, clearly with no answer coming. Luc swore under his breath as he dropped the offending object down beside him, and turned his attention back to his hand. He was going to get to the bottom of this, and find Yuy wherever he was. Even if it meant digging up his grave, though Luc seriously doubted it would have to go that far. There was simply no way Heero could have been dead.

Une remained at the podium, surprised at how long this had been going on for. She had opened the floor to questions once she had finished her statement, and they just seemed to keep coming. A great deal of them were reworded questions from another report that she had refused to answer from the one who came before. They were certainly determined, but then it didn't matter where in the world you went the press was always the same, they would never take no for an answer. Une was feeling her patience slip with each passing minute. How much longer should she really let this continue?

“Commander, can you tell us what the next step is?” A female voice managed to rise above the holler of the crowed. “What will be done now with Yuy's remains?”

The question was no surprise to Une, it would have come up with anyone, but it caused such an anger to rise within that she was hard pressed to keep her mask in place. They were completely heartless, it didn't matter any longer that Heero `had' been a human being like everyone else, deserving at least a little respect despite what he had done in life. Drawing in a calming breath without appearing too, Une readied a response in her mind. “As with every human being he will be accorded the respect that is due. His body will be cremated, and buried in a numbered plot of the city's cemetery.” Une looked out over the room, dreading the next words she had to say, “Are there any other questions?”

The silence that had overcome the room as she answered was once more overpowered by the roar of so many voices. With the floor once more opened, she could heard dozens of questions related to the last that she had answered, none of them worth paying any attention too. But a voice rose up from them all, asking a question Une was surprised she had not heard earlier.

“Commander, how has Miss Peacecraft taken to this news?” A male reporter asked hand raised above his head to draw attention to himself.

Une took a brief moment before she answered the question, “Relena like everyone is relieved to know that the peace is now secured once more. At the same time she wished this could have turned out differently, that she might have been able to face Yuy, and understand why he chose to shoot her.” She felt that was the best answer to give on the matter. Had Heero actually died without giving any information, Une was sure that it would have consumed Relena being unable to know for sure what had happened that day. She and Heero had just been too close together for that incident to ever be put behind her without the truth.

Gathering the folder she had carried into the room, Une drew herself up and looked into the crowed that fell away before her. They had once more began their verbal shoving, but she had had enough. She knew they could easily keep her here for hours, and there was so much more that she needed to be focusing her attention on. “I'm sorry, but this is all I'm going to say on this subject,” Une excused herself stepping away from the podium, but not surprised when no one accepted her words. They continued to shout, even after the wooden door closed behind her.

Glancing up from the floor Une came face to face with Nyla, and gave a little start. Internally she berated herself for having not been aware of the other woman's presence. Her irritation however was quickly over come with curiosity, as she wondered what would have brought her secretary all the way down here, to met with her. “Commander, Dante would like to speak with you.” There was the answer to her question, but it wasn't quite what Une had been expecting.

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Unexpected Revelations:

John's steps felt considerably lighter as he walked towards Heero's new room, everything had changed in a way that John had told himself wouldn't be possible. But it was, and Heero was where he should be, receiving the care that he should have had from the beginning. All that had allowed him to sleep soundly during the day, relaxing as he had not been able to do since first meeting the boy in that stark room. The news of Heero's death posted all over the news had caused a few question with Merrian, she had wanted to know if that way the patient he had been watching over. And though he deeply wanted to tell her the truth, John felt it was still a risk—he trusted his wife implicitly—accidents however could still happen. The fact that he was going into work that night was enough to put her questions to rest.

Stepping off the elevator John was surprised to see someone standing outside Heero's room hand posed over the keypad but remaining unmoving. As John drew closer he saw it to be none other than the President of the Colonies Quatre, the young man's soft blond hair fell over his eyes shielding them from John's view. John thought the youth completely lost in thought but as he stepped closer he noted a distinct change in the Quatre's stance, he knew he wasn't alone. John felt an instant wave of protectiveness wash over him, but he pulled it up, wanting more to know why Quatre was just standing there.

“Mr President?” he started cautiously.

Quatre's head came up slowly, eyes looking to John, they were concealing what the youth was really thinking, “Please just Quatre.”

“Alright,” he responded easily eyes traveling to the closed door before Quatre. “How long have you been standing here?” was his next question, he wanted to start the conversation but couldn't think of anything else to start with.

“I uh…” he glanced down at his watched and smiled sheepishly, “half an hour.”

John nodded in understanding, taking a carefully step closer, “Any reason why you haven't gone in?”

“I don't think I can face him…” Quatre's head dropped in shame at that admission.

“You know he won't be awake?” John attempted to ease, his early protectiveness for Heero's benefit dissolving in the face of this young man's obvious guilt. A part of him wanted to keep them away from Heero for what they had done, but what would that solve? Nothing it would only be hurting Heero, the boy's reaction to Duo was enough to prove that.

Morganeth Taren'drel