Chapter 16 / 20
Written by Jessi Maxwell - send C&C to Megami_no_Remon@hotmail.com
Wufei slowly raised his head. The base had finally stopped shaking. Amazingly enough, the explosion in the hangar hadn't killed the three of them. Quatre was beginning to look around, and Duo was still unconscious on the wall. Wufei cursed and fumbled for the lock pick. After a few minutes of aggravated searching, he located it and proceeded to work on Duo's handcuffs. After what seemed like an eternity, they clicked open. Wufei and Quatre carefully laid the broken, bloodied body down on the ground. Wufei's fists were clenching and unclenching in sheer rage. Quatre was whispering soothing remarks and gently brushing the hair from Duo's battered face.
Wufei and Quatre both jumped at the sound of screeching metal. A light shone in the room, and Wufei looked around for something he could use as a weapon, even as he shielded his eyes. He nearly broke into sobs of relief when he heard Heero's voice.
"Wufei! And...is that..."
Wufei nodded. "Hai! I have both Quatre and Duo here...but they're both pretty badly beaten up. Quatre is better off than Duo. We need to see Sally, and we need her *now*." Heero gave a 'hn' of assent, and Wing Zero's hand stretched forward. Wufei and Quatre climbed aboard, carefully setting Duo down on the gundanium fingers. Heero lifted the three of them out of the ruins of the base, and carefully cupped the other hand over his precious burden. He proceeded to fly at top speed to visit Sally Po.
~ ^ * ^ ~
Three very nervous Gundam pilots sat outside in Sally Po's waiting room. Trowa, Heero, and Wufei both bore it with stoic appearances, but in truth they were all terrified for their friends, Wufei more so. He had grown to love both Quatre and Duo, and couldn't bear the thought of either of those lights being extinguished from his life forever.
After what seemed like an eternity, Sally came out and sat down across from the three silent pilots. Wufei couldn't read anything from her expression.
"I have good news, and...well, somewhat bad news for the both of them. Nothing too bad, though..." she began, flipping through papers. "Quatre will be fine after a while. That is the good news. The bad news is, he's likely to be somewhat skittish in any...ah...romantic endeavors. That is the not so wonderful news. Duo...his physical injuries were far worse, and he lost a lot of blood, but he should recover. We've already done surgery to set his broken bones, and sewed up anything that needed stitches. Amazingly enough, he will have very minimal, if any, physical scarring."
Wufei caught it immediately. "Physical scarring...how about emotional?..." he asked softly. Sally winced slightly.
"Well, in that area...I don't know what to tell you. It's going to take time, and a lot of caring. I'm sure you can handle it...I know you are all pretty close." The three pilots nodded their assent. It was time for the healing to begin.