Disclaimer: Don't own the G-boys, girls or former members of Oz. Jinx, Stori and Kinetarou are mine.
Warnings: Violence, Yaoi, Language, Most charas. (probably) OOC, Angst
Pairings: 1X2/2X1, 3XR, 4X5/5X4, 6X9, Hilde + ?
"Spoken"
'Thoughts'
C&C welcome.
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Chapter Two: Falling Star
After Colony 202
10:23 PM
As Heero approached the apartment building, he immediately knew something was wrong. Several of the buildings occupants, all belonging to the Preventers, were standing in front of the building and all of the windows were dark. "Hey, what's going on? What happened?"
"The lights went out about fifteen minutes ago, and no one can get them back on."
"The manager came through and told us all to come outside."
"Have you seen Duo and a little girl?"
"No. I stopped by your apartment on my way down, but there was no answer. I assumed they went with you."
"That's strange. Duo wouldn't have ... Jinx, call Une and tell her to send an ambulance right away." Heero dropped the grocery bags and ran into the building, followed by several other officers. Not even trying the elevator, he took the stairs two at a time and before he realized it, had reached the tenth floor. Moments later, the door to his apartment was off it's hinges and he was kneeling next to his unconscious, blood-soaked lover.
"Yuy, you could slow dow-- oh my god, what happened to Maxwell?!" The Preventers officer knelt beside the two lovers. In the dim light coming from outside, he looked at the still form lying on the floor. Another officer ran in, carrying a flashlight. He grabbed the flashlight and shined it on Duo. "K'so! He's been shot. The bullet must have hit a lung, he's barely breathing. Let's just hope it didn't hit anything else."
He began CPR as two more officers ran into the room. "Find Stori," Heero replied, pointing toward the hallway. "Someone find his niece!"
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10:26 PM
Mariemaia sat straight up in bed when she heard her guardian begin cursing in several languages. "Maia! Call Sally, something's happened at Heero's apartment," the older woman replied, walking past the young girl's room.
Mariemaia jumped out of bed and followed her guardian. She turned on the vidphone and immediately called Sally Po. "Aunt Sally! Something's gone wrong at Heero and Duo's place."
"What?! Where's your mother, Maia?"
"Right here, Sally. I just talked to Jinx and he said someone broke into the building. There was no sign of Duo after the attack. An ambulance is on it's way, but I have the feeling we're going to need your help." Une grabbed her gun from the desk and looked at the blonde's face. "I just hope we don't have to go to another funeral."
Sally nodded grimly. "I'll meet you at the hospital. Any clue who's behind it?"
"None. I'll be at the hospital in ten minutes." Une turned off the monitor then glanced at her adopted daughter. "Call Quatre and Trowa. Tell them to meet me at the hospital. Tell them not to contact Lucy. I don't need her worrying for nothing."
Mariemaia nodded and as soon as her mother left the room, dialed Relena and Trowa. "Barton-san, sorry to bother you so late. The two of you need to get to the hospital right away. Something's happened to Duo."
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1:37 AM
As soon as they stepped off the elevator, Quatre realized something horrible had occurred. The normally stoic Heero was standing outside of the waiting room, staring down the hall toward the operating rooms. Quatre would never mention it, but he could have sworn he saw tears on the other man's face.
A moment later, Trowa walked out of the waiting room and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Any sign of the doctor?" Heero remained motionless. Trowa sighed, glancing toward the elevators. He smiled slightly when he saw Quatre and WuFei and walked over to them.
"What happened, Barton. Why is Yuy so upset? Duo's not ... dead, is he?"
Trowa shook his head slightly. "No. As far as we know, he's still alive," he replied. He glanced back at Heero then moved the other two to the other side of the hall. "Someone broke in to their apartment building. The cops think it was a robbery that went wrong, but Heero doesn't believe it. Duo was shot, close range. He's still in surgery."
Quatre gasped. "Is Stori okay?"
"We don't know. They can't find any sign of her."
"They took her," Heero replied from behind them. He stood beside Trowa and seemed more of a ghost than he had ever been during the war. "They tried to kill Duo and they took her ... a helpless two-year old."
Quatre no longer had to doubt that he had been crying, because fresh tears were now falling down his face. Not knowing what else to do, he walked over to the other man and hugged him. He nearly jumped when he felt Heero return the hug. "It'll be okay, Heero. You know Duo won't let something like this keep him away from you."
"Mr. Yuy?"
Heero turned to see the surgeon standing beside Sally. "Yes?" he asked as Quatre let go of him. "How's Duo?"
The Doctor stepped forward. "Mr. Maxwell is in recovery. The bullet hit his left lung, collapsing it, but we were able to repair the damage. He is breathing on his own and will be unconscious for several more hours," she replied. She sighed slightly before continuing. "Dr. Po asked me not to spare you any of the details, so, here goes. His heart stopped during surgery, but we were able to bring him back. There is the risk that it will happen again, so he will have to remain in ICU indefinitely."
WuFei placed a hand on Quatre's shoulder and looked at the doctor. "But he is alright, right? He is going to live?"
"It's too early to tell, sir. If he makes it through tonight without any problems, his chances for a full recovery will increase dramatically."
Trowa glanced over at Heero, who had been quiet the entire time the doctor had been talking. He placed his hand on the shoulder Quatre wasn't clinging to and squeezed lightly. "When can we see him, Doctor?" he asked, when he noticed how pale the other man was.
"He's still in recovery right now, Trowa," Sally replied. She glanced at the doctor, who nodded and walked back to the recovery room. "I'll go back in there in a minute and keep an eye on him. It will take a while for the anesthetic to wear off, I suggest you get some sleep. Especially you, Heero. And don't worry, I've already talked to the doctors, they'll come find you the moment he wakes up."
"Thank you, Sally," Heero replied. He glanced from her to his friends then back to her. "I guess I should go call Lucretzia and Hilde."
"They already know," Relena replied, appearing next to Sally. She walked over to the group and stood beside her husband. "Hilde's been staying with us the past couple of weeks. She heard my conversation with Mariemaia and called Lucy. When we left, she was helping her arrange her flight."
Heero nodded and looked at all the people now standing in the hall. "I ... need some air," he replied, walking to the stairs.
"Yuy, wait!" WuFei replied, following Heero.
"Should we go after him too?" Quatre asked, looking to Trowa.
Trowa shook his head and looked at the blond. "No. WuFei is the only one of us he can talk to right now. Just give them a little time," he replied. He then glanced at Sally. "We need to get home. You will call us if there's any change?"
Sally nodded. "Of course. And please let me know if anyone finds Stori."
"As soon as we hear from Une, we'll call you," Relena replied.
After they had gone, Quatre sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I knew I should have left the Maguanacs with her."
"Quatre, relax. She probably just got scared and wandered off. Anne's had her best people looking for her since she got the call," Sally replied. "I'm sure they'll find her soon."
"I hope you're right. But I have a bad feeling about this one."
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2:04 AM
Coffee shop near the Hospital
Two dark figures sat in silence as the waitress poured another round of coffee. She smiled slightly at the two uniformed men before moving to the only other customer in the shop. WuFei sipped at his coffee then glanced at his companion. "You're acting like a fool, Yuy. You heard the doctor, Duo's going to be just fine. Stori is the one we should be worried about. She has to be terrified after what happened."
"I'm telling you, Chang, she was kidnapped. She would never have left Duo's side, especially if he was hurt."
"She's only two years old, Yuy. I'm sure she probably just hid in one of the other apartments. Jinx and the others will find her," WuFei replied.
Heero finished his coffee and glanced at WuFei. "You didn't see the apartment. It was a professional job made to look like robbery. They destroyed any sign that Stori had ever been there."
WuFei sighed. "They must have thought Duo lived alone. Especially since you've been away for over two months. But how did they know she was going to be here?"
"They tapped into the communications system on Mars." Une pulled up a chair and sat with the two officers. "I had our guys out there check the comms. Noin's phone has been bugged since the system was installed, two months before Zechs was killed."
"Damn. Any clue who's doing it?" WuFei asked.
Une shook her head. "None. We tried tracing it, but the signal kept bouncing. All we know is that it came from the L3 cluster."
"Home to the Barton Foundation," Heero stated. When the other two nodded, he sighed. "But why go after Zechs' family after all these years?"
"That's what I thought too ... until Duo was shot," Une replied. "I think all of this has something to do with Lucy and the twins. Or their family."
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After Colony 198 - Duo & Hilde's 18th Birthday
Winner Estate: Somewhere in Eastern Europe
"I know you don't like him, but he IS my little brother." Lucretzia smiled at her fiancee as they unpacked their luggage. "Would you at least CONSIDER having him in the wedding?"
Milliard sighed as he closed his suitcase and put it in the closet. "Alright, alright. Duo can be in the wedding, but I don't want his lover there. I can't stand the thought of having the man that tried to kill me, standing beside me on the day I get married. It's bad enough that he's my brother-in-law's lover."
Lucretzia chuckled and kissed the platinum-haired man. "Alright, Zechs. I've already talked to Duo, Heero's going to be in space when we get married," she replied. "so you don't have to worry about him."
"Just the other four," he replied. He easily dodged the pillow she threw at him as he ducked out of the room, bumping into someone as he did so. "Oh, sorry, Quatre, didn't see you. By the way, I wanted to thank you for letting us stay here while we're on Earth."
Quatre shrugged and smiled slightly. "It's not a problem. We like having company around. And with the party this afternoon and the wedding in a few days, we just figured it would be easier to have everyone in the same place for both."
"Speaking of which, how are things going with the wedding plans? Relena isn't talking to either of us," the older blond replied.
"Well, I have been sworn to secrecy," the younger man replied. "And Fei won't let me forget that it is a matter of pride. But, I can tell you this, Duo knows everything. AND he is in charge of finding the minister."
"That, strangely enough, is not a comforting thought." Milliard glanced back at the bedroom he and Lucretzia were sharing and sighed. "Oh well, I have to speak to him about another matter anyway. You wouldn't happen to know where I could find him, would you?"
The Arabian nodded. "Where else would he be on his birthday? He's in the kitchen, bugging the chefs about the food for the party."
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"Will you please just sit down already, Master Maxwell? We can't finish the preparations for the party with you bouncing around like that." The head chef chuckled as the young man simply grinned in reply before moving to sit beside his lover.
Heero rolled his eyes and looked at the braided man. "Koi, you're terrible. The least you could do is behave on your birthday."
Duo smiled and leaned back in his chair. "And what will you do if I don't?"
"Lock you into a room with Dorothy and Relena," Heero replied, smirking. He laughed as the color drained from Duo's face, and he clutched at his braid protectively.
"You wouldn't dare!?"
Heero grinned and reached for Duo's braid. "No, I wouldn't. I'd be afraid of what you would do in retaliation." He pulled the other man close and kissed him.
"Would the two of you please go to your room to do that?" Milliard asked. He chuckled at the surprised reactions from the two younger men as he pulled up a chair beside them. "I'm sure you're making the chefs sick."
Duo made a face at his future brother-in-law and draped an arm around Heero's neck. "Actually, with Q and Wu here most of the time, I think they've gotten used to it," he replied. He smirked at the face the blond made. "So, Zechs, did Lucy kick you out of your bedroom?"
"No, I came to talk to you about something. It can wait, though. I think Heero has other plans for your afternoon."
Heero smiled slightly. "Later, actually," he replied, removing Duo's arm. "Right now, I have to go check on something. I'll be back in time for the party."
"Don't be gone too long, Koi," Duo replied as he watched the other man leave.
The 'Perfect Soldier' smirked as he left the kitchen. He smiled slightly when he saw Hilde and Dorothy standing outside of the library. "Is it ready?"
Hilde shook her head and smiled. "Not yet. I can't wait to see Duo's face when he sees this. He's been in a good mood all day, guess we know what else you got him for his birthday."
"Hn. He's just happy that he has a birthday. This is the first chance he's had to celebrate, so I'm making sure it's a good one," Heero replied. He glanced into the library and smirked as he saw Howard painting tropical flowers on a large sheet cake with chocolate icing. "Even Howard seems to be enjoying himself."
Dorothy nodded. "Any reason to party is a good excuse for Howard to have fun. Besides, I think he drank more rum than he put in that cake," she replied. Her cell phone started ringing and she glanced at the other two before answering it. A few moments later, she smiled and looked at Heero. "Time to go pick up your surprise, soldier boy."
'I think all of this has something to do with Lucy and the twins. Or their family.'
