Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Mistaken Words ❯ Little Surprises ( Chapter 43 )

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

Mistaken Words

Pious Knight and morgansgirl you two are the best! Thank you so much!

Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing, and I make no money from this...hence the reason why I work for a living.

Little Surprises

It was late at night. Quatre had left for home several hours ago, but before he left, Quatre had brought Heero a laptop, plugged it in, and left it in his friend's capable hands. Heero had been working on it for sometime now and was feeling frustrated at his lack of control. It hadn't been a problem to get his hands over the keys, but his fingers kept slipping up. Heero wasn't able to work with the speed that he was used to and it was irritating. He kept at it though, feeling his dexterity come back to him if slowly. Though he was forced to take breaks to try and stop the tired trembling in his hands, his right hand especially.

He was pausing in his aimless work to give his arms a break, when he heard a knock on his door one that he had been expecting it for some time now. John walked through the door only seconds later carrying a thermos in his hand. That caught Heero's attention. It had been a while since he had seen that. John halted only a couple of steps in the room, “Well this is new,” he said, eyes looking at the computer in front of Heero, “When did you get that?”

“Couple of hours ago,” reaching out with his left hand Heero pulled the screen closed, “Quatre brought it before he left.”

John smiled at that as he walked over to Heero's bedside one hand touching the laptop as his eyes looked to Heero's. “That was thoughtful, have you gotten any sleep yet tonight?” Heero chose not to answer such a loaded question, which was just the answer John had been expecting. Shaking his head slowly, John placed the thermos down on the table, “I brought you a treat tonight, my wife thought you might like a change of pace.”

“Your wife?” Heero asked confused and more than a little concerned, he trusted John but to the world he was supposed to be dead, they couldn't risk the information getting out.

“Don't worry,” John assured quickly, “She has no idea who you are. In the past when I've had a long term patient she's often made soup for them.” He smiled then. It looked nostalgic as though he were remembering those past times. He shook his head a little looking back down to Heero then, a glint in his eyes Heero would have called mischievous. “I didn't think you'd be able to turn down food made especially for you,” John sat himself down on the edge of the bed, his expression turning smug.

Heero's brain didn't even try to think up a retort to that, he had been left stunned by John's words. He couldn't have meant it exactly as he said it, why would anyone, especially someone who didn't even know him, go out of their way to make something for him? Heero couldn't understand it, “Why…” he asked, eyes looking up to John though his head didn't move.

The old doctor chuckled softly, “Why so surprised? Hasn't Ash done something like this before?”

“Ash I know…”

“Merrian's a sweet woman,” John told him as he began pouring some of the soup into the bowel like lid, placing it before Heero along with a spoon.

Despite not feeling very enthusiastic about food, Heero had to admit the soup smelled good, and still stunned by the gesture he felt the need to give it a try. John moved the table a little so the bowl was closer to him and sat back silently watching to see Heero's reaction. Taking hold of the spoon Heero hesitated a few seconds never comfortable under someone's intense gaze, something John seemed to realise as he slowly turned his head away glancing at the clock.

“I'm going off the night shift,” he said, eyes still remaining off Heero though through the corner of his eye he'd still be able to see. “You've recovered enough that I'm no longer concerned, especially now that Trowa's coming in almost every night.”

Heero swallowed the soup in his mouth while focusing his attention on John, “Then I want these off,” he gestured towards the sensors that had lined his chest, since the first moment he had awoke. And though he wasn't being driven insane by the continued beeping of his heart, it was annoying to know that that information along with other things was being displayed in a room nearby.

John didn't answer immediately his eyes tracing over Heero, and a wan smile touched his lips, “Enjoy your soup…” he said at last making to get up then.

“This wasn't a request,” Heero told him quickly, halting John while he was still on the edge of the bed.

“If I remove those, you realise that I or someone else is going to have to come in more often to make sure everything's alright,” John explained looking seriously into Heero's eyes.

“You wouldn't be leaving nights if you thought it could be a problem,” Heero countered determined, it was the next step towards his recovery, and it shocked him just how much he wanted this.

Considering it for several moments John slowly nodded his head, getting up from the bed and moved the table a little further down so he had clear access to Heero's chest. “I'll be taking a couple of days to adjust to the change,” John explained as he opened Heero's shirt to begin removing the sensors that lined his torso. “So I've asked Sally to drop by,” he gathered all the sensors in his hands and moved to place them on the counter.

Closing the front of his shirt himself Heero said nothing in response to what John had told him, he focused more of his attention on trying to tie the two sides together. His hands were getting steadier and stronger with each passing day, the IV in the back of his right hand wasn't even much of a problem, though he was getting tired of having it there. “What about this?” he asked the older doctor, raising his right hand, his own cobalt eyes staring at the needle carefully tapped to the back of his hand.

“I'd like to leave that,” John said returning the table to its original position and seating himself on the bed once more. “Perhaps when you start eating more consistently…” there was a mischievous glint in his eyes as he poured a little more of the soup into Heero's bowl as thought to make his comment a little more pointed.

“Hn...” Heero ground out as he carefully picked up his spoon again, but decided not to press the issue knowing that he'd have no problem removing it himself. He was actually surprised to find himself wanting more of the soup, for the first time in a long time feeling like he could eat a little more. Heero found himself feeling uncomfortable with the silence, he wasn't sure how to deal with this situation with John's wife going out of her way for him. He couldn't even understand why she had felt the need to do something like that. He could feel John's eyes on him as he finished the last of what was in the bowl.

“I'll tell her you liked it?” it was asked as a question but Heero knew John already knew the answer, and he was grateful for that, still unable to put into words what he was thinking and feeling.

“Thank her,” he told John after a couple of moments of silence.

John's face broke out into a smile, “I will.”

WMWMWMW

Heero ground out a sigh, dropping his arms slowly down to his sides, the pain in his body was gnawing and had been from the moment he had woke that morning. He didn't like to let it get to him like this but he found it disrupting every thought he had as he was trying to work. His mind being tired he knew was also partly to blame, he hadn't been able to sleep soundly that night. Trowa had come to see him as was usual a few hours after John had left his room, and they had done some work together though nothing major which managed to leave Heero breathless, much to his disgust. It was after Trowa had left that Heero found himself unable to turn his mind off. It certainly wasn't the first time, and he felt frustration rear its ugly head within him.

There was nothing he could outwardly direct it at, had he been feeling this way while on his feet, Heero would have worked himself until thinking wasn't an option. But it was the fact that he wasn't on his feet, and still wasn't likely to be for some time that kept that boiling frustration coming back time and again. Worst of all, he didn't want to speak with anyone about it, and though he was good at concealing how he was really feeling, his closest friends could always tell. Fortunately, John was the only one to question him on it, for that reason Heero was glad he had a few days were he might not have to deal with it.

Closing his eyes Heero flexed his hands rolling his fingers into his palms making rock hard fists, over and over again. He did this while feeling the burn that ran up his arms the more he worked them, adding to his frustration. He was tired of this, he wanted to just jump up and walk out of this damn room. Biting back a string of dark curses Heero forced his arms back up over the keys of his laptop and forced himself to continue working. The pain did not ease the strong emotions he was feeling, rather it fuelled them, but at least that made it easier to try and deal with them. Trying to slow his breathing Heero attempted to force the pain from his thoughts, he should have been able to but it was too persistent.

A sharp knock on the door sounded into the otherwise silent room, causing Heero's head to jerk in the direction of the door the anger from his features melting away at least from the surface. He had a feeling he knew who it was standing on the other side of that door, and he knew anger and frustration would only make a difficult situation impossible. With his mask firmly in place Heero watched `impassively' as the door slide aside and Sally walked into the room albeit a little hesitantly. To her credit she looked Heero directly in the eyes as she walked towards his bed a small slightly nervous smile on her features.

She looked rather unsure of herself as she stood by the edge of his bed looking down at him, her discomfort further displaced by the shifting of her weight from foot to foot. “John asked me to come in and see how you were doing…” she started rather lamely, but it was a start.

“Have a seat,” he offered voice sounding hollow to his ears as he pointed towards the chair on the other side of his bed.

Sally looked from the chair to him and back again before making her way around the foot of his bed to the chair. Silence passed between them then, somewhat uncomfortable but by no means unexpected. Heero took the moment to close his laptop, and turn his attention fully to Sally feeling now that a distraction that didn't cause further pain was a good thing. “John told me Quatre got you a laptop, I was actually surprised it took this long,” her lips twitched into an almost shy smile.

“Just had to wait for the right person,” he said with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

“John would have said no?” she asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Maybe…” it didn't really matter now, he had it and he knew no one would take it from him.

The silence returned, and as Heero studied Sally he could see that the longer it dragged on for the more uncomfortable she became. And it appeared as though she were struggling with something, but he didn't know how to prompt her, wasn't sure that's what he wanted to be doing. “I've…” her voice cut off almost instantly as though she thought better of what she was about to say, but she started again almost immediately. “I've been doing a lot of thinking,” her voice sounded determined now, though her eyes weren't exactly focused on his face. “You and I have never really talked; if I wasn't hounding you about an injury we'd just go our separate ways.”

Sally dropped her head onto her right palm looking at Heero's face now a determined glint in her eyes. “I've come to speak casually with Wufei over the years, but that's not really saying much, none of you have ever been much for idle chat, so I don't really know what to say to you in this situation.”

Heero understood how she felt, though that didn't make it any easier, as she said he wasn't one for idle conversations, never had been. Ash could talk to him about anything but he never required a response, often times he'd make one up for Heero in an attempt to get something out of him.

“So I've spent the last couple of weeks racking my brain, trying to think of something I could talk to you about that wouldn't be bringing up bad memories.”

“You don't really have to be worrying about that now,” he told her honestly, there really any bad memories now, things that had tortured him in the past didn't really have much power now that everything was working out.

She nodded her head several times appearing to try and prepare herself, gathering her thoughts perhaps. “You knew the ins and outs of the cottage,” Sally began swallowing hard, “But we didn't start seriously discussing its construction until after you had left.”

“Hn…” Heero breathed thoughtfully before he could stop himself. He actually found himself surprised that Sally had asked that, and as he had assured her he did not regret the question, “I was there.”

“I realise that,” she answered almost managing to sound natural, “But why risk it?” she asked her eyes on his face but constantly moving. “There was no way you could know that was where you'd be capturing Relena…”

That statement was true enough, he hadn't known where or when Dante was going to make his move, he hadn't even been sure it was Dante who was going to try and take Relena. Up until just recently he hadn't known whether or not Dante was a member of the Inner Circle, who he had been trying to stop. “At the time I didn't know,” he confirmed, “I wasn't even sure Relena was the target, but I had to stay a step ahead…” that wasn't entirely it though, it was also an almost uncontrollable desire to see the friends he had left behind.

Sally straightened in her chair looking very intent, “Dante was the one who wanted Relena, you assumed he was a member of the Inner Circle,” it wasn't exactly a question.

“Perhaps even the head,” he massaged at his eyes absently, “It just takes so much time to back trace.”

“So in the end it was luck that Dante's goals and the Inner Circle were the same,” her eyes studied him, and Heero thought she looked more relaxed, “Although Dante's was far more peaceful.”

“Basically, Relena was just a means to the end for both of them,” he pinched the bridge of his nose, eyes closing for a brief moment in the hopes of lessening the pain in his head. “If it wasn't for us pilots there wouldn't have been any need to take Relena,” he sighed.

“I know she doesn't blame you for what happened,” Sally sounded like she was trying to comfort.

“Yeah…” he sighed again, “Doesn't change the fact that we can erase information on the Gundams from everywhere but our own minds…” Heero was surprised he was admitting this to Sally but feeling as he was the words just slipped out.

“Are you feeling alright?” she asked suddenly, “Can I get you something?” Heero opened his eyes to look at Sally and found her leaning a little closer to him, her vision intent upon his face. “A painkiller?” she asked after only a couple of seconds.

Heero considered his response for a few really quick seconds, it would certainly just be easier to let Sally give him something than tell her he was fine and create the awkward situation where she might want to try and force the issue. “Yeah,” he told her at last watching the light of surprise enter into her eyes, and for a brief moment she seemed to not know what to do with herself.

Sally stood from her chair and walked back around the bed, knowing without searching exactly where the items she needed were. Heero watched her mutely finding himself pleased that she was acting more comfortable around him, it was defiantly a step in the right direction. Sally was walking back over to his side with the upturned syringe in her hands within a matter of minutes, her eyes focused on getting the air out as she came to a stop at Heero's left side. She looked at him for a time before turning her attention to Heero's arm. Her fingers gently closed around it and she guided his arm so the inside of his elbow was visible.

Her fingers traced down his arm, drawing his attention to see for himself what she was studying. The inside of his arm was lined with track marks from the numerous injections he had received over time. Sally inserted the needle with an expert hand quickly injecting the drug into his system, and then disposed of the used syringe. It didn't take long for Heero to begin feeling the effects of the strong painkiller as it coursed its way though his bloodstream, he felt his entire body relax as the pain melted away.

The silence returned between them as Sally returned to her seat and Heero shifted on the bed finally finding a comfortable position. “Does that happen often?” she asked after a couple of moments.

“Not really,” he responded evasively, it wasn't really something he wanted to be discussing right now. He found himself surprised when Sally didn't press the matter the fact that she was talking right now was enough to let him forget, if only for a moment, the tension between them.

“Duo told me you were there at the wedding,” Sally spoke bridging the uncomfortable silence to another subject.

Heero's now drugged mind took a moment to catch up with the switch, “Well at least to drop off the gift,” he had wanted to be there, but couldn't risk it. He reached out for the glass of water on the table in front of him taking a moment to drink.

Sally watched him silently, waiting for him to finish before she asked her next question, “When did you arrange it all?”

“All?” he asked back not following.

“Arranging for the hotel,” she clarified with a smile, “And dropping it off.”

As grateful as he was to breathe easier and not feel like he had to squint against the light, he wished the drugs didn't effect his thinking. “The hotel was simple, just hacked the system, and the drop off wasn't that much harder,” it hadn't been a walk through the park but so far nothing in his life had been.

“Wasn't much harder!” Sally sounded incredulous as she leaned forward in her seat, “Security was low key but tight.” It had been necessary to have a security detail with so many important political figures attending. But at the same time they kept it quiet, they didn't really want to draw attention to the fact that Duo, a `bodyguard' to Relena had such high connections. “The pilots designed the perimeter themselves.”

“But they weren't trying to keep a pilot out,” Heero shrugged his shoulders a little, “None of you expected I'd come…” that had been his advantage.

Sally's eyes dropped from his face at that, “No we didn't…” her voice lost some of its life, and Heero had a feeling they'd reached the end of their conversation. “We didn't expect you to show up in a few places,” her eyes returned to his face, it would seem Sally was determined to surprise him. “What brought you to the same colony Wufei was on?” she asked then.

The question itself sounded vague, there had been a couple of times Heero was on the same colony as one of the other pilots, but never had he been seen. Except that one time, “Following up a lead on the Inner Circle,” he answered remembering the moment Wufei had cornered him as if it had just happened.

“I know you shot him, but he mentions firing back, he was positive he'd hit you,” Sally seemed to be leading to something, but Heero wasn't sure what.

“It wasn't supposed to turn out that way,” he explained needlessly.

“Where'd he get you?” Sally pressed looking intently into his eyes once more.

Heero thought about the question for a moment trying to remember, “Right arm,” he said finally. He hadn't really been thinking about the injury while he was trying to get off the colony, and once he got back to Freedom's Point alcohol had been his first priority, not that he was going to relay that information to Sally.

“Who patched you up?”

“Ash…he has basic field training from the war,” he was pretty sure Ash had been the one to do it, at least he wasn't able to remember otherwise.

“Wufei really changed after that encounter, he wouldn't speak to any of us about it. We all knew he'd met you but he refused to tell us any details of what had gone on,” Sally leaned back in the chair folding her hands together before her.

“Ash had the same problem,” Heero could recall being pressed by his friend for details the news media hadn't been able to get their hands on, but nothing had been able to get him to speak.

Sally's lips twitched a little at that her eyes turning to the clock hanging on the wall, and quickly slid forward to the edge of her seat. “I need to be going,” she said into the silence and offered Heero another tiny smile, “Try and get some sleep.”

WMWMWMW

Heero's eyes glanced about the room for what had to have been the thousandth time, finding nothing changed and nothing of interest. He was alone in his room, and despite John's warning about the removal of the sensors, he had remained alone relatively most of the day. Focusing his gaze on the clock Heero continued to watch the steady crawl of time feeling frustrated at his restlessness. There was something he wanted…something he was searching for but he had no idea what it actually was. His laptop sat in front of him open and on, just waiting for him to start something, but he couldn't get into it, couldn't focus himself enough. That alone was frustrating in itself, but in the absence of the laptop Heero found nothing to fill the hours of his day, or night for that matter. He'd been unable to sleep soundly for a few days now, feeling tired yet unable to get settled.

Pulling a hand down his face Heero sighed tiredly, wanting to jump up from the bed he was lying in and finally leave this room behind. His left hand flexed into a tight fist while he right gripped his handgun tightly. He closed his eyes trying to draw himself back, to stop this from effecting him so obviously. He wished he could pinpoint what he was looking for, so he could tell himself it was a useless creature comfort he had lived without for more than enough years. Opening his eyes slowly Heero glanced towards the ever diminishing day calendar on the table to his right.

As much as he was grateful to know exactly what day it was Heero hated to see the days slip by him and nothing visible changed with his situation. He was still stuck in this bed an IV line dripping fluids into him. Heero's attention turned to the needle protruding from the back of his hand, and for a moment he let his frustration funnel towards it, and he ripped aside the tape and pulled the thin metal from his hand. Tossing the IV away Heero raised his hand from the blankets watching the small bubble of blood push up from the hole left by the needle, before he turned his gaze to the camera in the corner of the room. He knew this would draw attention, attention wasn't what he wanted, he didn't know what he wanted, but he was sure John would come soon.

The old doctor had returned to his job just two days after switching off the nightshift, it had surprised Heero when he had seen the doctor walk through that door after having been absent. He had actually been pleased to see the old man, something he hadn't at all been expecting. Heero had tried to conceal his reaction, uncomfortable with these emotions he wasn't at all familiar with, but John had noticed, he hadn't made a big deal about it, but it hadn't escaped him.

As though on cue, a knock on the door announced John's presence, and Heero wished in that moment that there had been some way he could lock the door to keep the old doctor out. He didn't want to deal with him right now and couldn't put his finger on why, which only made the whole thing worse for him, the frustration that much stronger. John's expression was hard to read as he crossed into the room carrying in his right hand a bowl, he didn't look displeased but at the same time he wasn't smiling either.

“Somehow I knew you'd do that sooner or later,” he said placing the bowl aside as he strode around the bed to gather up the IV line. John's eyes flickered over to Heero as he moved back over to the other side of the room retrieving an absorbent cloth from one of the drawers before sitting down on the edge of the bed. “You want to tell me what's bothering you?” John asked watching Heero's face as he reached for the former pilot's hand wiping away the small amount of blood.

Had he been able to put it into words, Heero doubted he'd have spoken his thoughts, shaking his head mutely Heero looked away from the old doctor. Pulling his hand back Heero slipped it back beneath the blankets taking a firm hold of the hand gun.

“Well I'd say it's a good thing I wasn't really expecting one,” John commented ever calm and collected as he got up and took hold of the bowl he had brought in with him. He placed it down on the table before Heero along with a spoon and stepped back giving the Japanese man space.

Heero looked into the bowl curious despite himself and found what must have been ice cream within it. It had become a common thing for John to bring him ice cream, mostly simple flavours like vanilla and chocolate, but at times he chose to bring something special. Heero supposed this was one of those times, though he'd never seen anything quite like this, “Is it supposed to be green?” he asked staring at the odd mix of green coloured ice cream and chunks of chocolate.

“It's Mint Chocolate Chip,” John smiled as he spoke it signifying that it was a flavour he liked. “I'll leave you to enjoy it,” he turned then quickly exiting the room, which was odd since he usually liked to be present for the first mouthful. An act which often bothered Heero, but he tolerated. It was a sign of just how much John had come to know him, that he knew such an act would have just put Heero over the top.

Looking down at the green ice cream with an almost distrusting expression Heero reached for the spoon, not really feeling like eating but not wanting to do nothing. The ice cream was soft from having been sitting out, but it wasn't runny either it was just the way he liked it. It had surprised him to find he preferred the cold treat somewhat softer than fresh out of an ice cold freezer, he hadn't originally thought it would matter. Scooping a mouthful up Heero placed it into his mouth as always surprised by the burst of flavour and texture. The ice cream melted quickly on his tongue, leaving hard bits of dark chocolate, making it an altogether unique experience, one he quickly decided was his favourite thus far.

WMWMWMW

The sharp ring of his cell immediately broke through Ash's train of thought, he was sitting in a pub drinking a beer with a friend he had met back when Dante had declared the colonies independence. “Excuse me for a sec,” he said to Milo as he got up off his bar stool to walk outside where it was quieter. “Hello,” he spoke into the tiny phone.

“Ash? It's John,” the old doctor's voice was immediately recognisable.

“John,” Ash greeted rather happily, but worry gripped him almost instantly, “Has something happened?” even standing where he was alone on the street Ash was careful what he said and how he said it.

“He's fine,” John assured quickly, “But he misses you.”

Ash barked a laugh at that, “C'mon, you're kidding right?” he shook his head scuffing his feet on the ground as he paced back and forth, “I mean think of who you're talking about.”

“I have been,” he sounded serious now, “It's the only thing that makes sense, he's been really restless these last couple of days. I'm not even sure he knows why, or is willing to admit it.”

“Well I'll be damned…” Ash breathed with soft chuckle, “Never would have guessed.”

“Feel special?” John asked sounding amused.

“Just confirms something I've always known, that he'd never admit,” Ash laughed again. “Look I'm not sure when I'll be able to get down there again…” he trailed off for a moment his mind turning it over, “With Dante seeing Une it'll make things easier, never thought I'd be saying that” the last was more for himself than John.

“He's got a computer, I'm sure that'll help,” the old doctor informed.

“Really? When did that happen?” Ash's eyes swept over the people who passed down the quiet street without much interest.

“Quatre brought it before he left, at least it'll give you a means for communication, might help improve his mood.”

Ash chuckled again looking forward to relating this story to Dante when next he saw him, “I'll definitely look into it,” he assured.

“Good, I'll call you if anything changes,” John's voice sounded relieved.

“Thanks John,” Ash shut the phone a smile on his face as he walked back into the pub to the beer that was waiting and the story Milo had been relating to him. But his mind just wasn't quite in it anymore he couldn't get over what John had told him. Heero missed him? The idea was enough to have him laughing hysterically right then and there if it wouldn't have drawn too much attention.

Thanks for Reading!

The Calm before the Storm:

A soft almost inaudible knock on the door alerted Relena but didn't even appear to reach Heero. Looking over Relena watched as John quietly stepped into the room a small object held in his right hand. He crossed the room on nearly silent feet coming to a halt at the foot of the bed, he smiled at her warmly taking hold of the small silver item with both hands. “I hope you don't mind…” he half asked raising the digital camera before him.

Relena smiled brightly at the thought, carefully settling her head back to where it had been, “So long as I get a copy.”

“That can definitely be arranged,” he agreed with a large smile of his own.

Relena shifted on the bed a little still careful not to disturb Heero from his sleep, she turned her head towards him studying his features while relaxing her own. This close Relena all but forgot John was even standing there, she hadn't really taken a chance to look at him closely since he had come back to them. His face though still gaunt had filled out a little, returning slowly to what she remembered, chiselled features covered in slightly tanned skin. He was paler than normal but that was to be expected for how long he had been closed up inside. Relena took careful note of the two new scars that marred Heero's otherwise untouched face, as surprising fact considering all the battles he had been in.

She reached out to lightly touch his unruly hair, attempting to remove it from his eyes, Relena didn't try and neaten it, she liked it messy, she just felt it was getting a little long. It had been exceptionally long when he had been brought in, but at some point it had been cut short again, it was beginning to look like it needed to be trimmed. He looked so peaceful laying there, each breath brushing warmly across her skin.

Morganeth Taren'drel