Quatre sat at the table staring into his cup of tea. It had been about a week since the group had escaped from the mall. It was about nine in the morning, and yet Quatre seemed to be the only one awake. He would expect Duo to sleep this late, and possibly Hilde…especially now… After what Catrina had told him, Duo was in for some sleepless nights. Trowa normally didn’t sleep in, but, knowing him, he had probably got up already and was doing some obscure project in his room. Wufei and Sally…well, after living around Wufei for so long, he really didn’t want to know why the Justice Boy was still in his room. The only two he really wondered about was Heero and Catrina. Heero was never one to sleep in, and, as for Catrina, she hadn’t ever slept past eight before.
At that moment, his sister wandered in. Her hair wasn’t in its ponytail, though it had been brushed. She was dressed in a white bathrobe. Looking over at Quatre, she yawned.
“Morning…” she mumbled.
“Uh…good morning, Catrina. Why you up so late?”
“It’s not that late, is it?” She looked about for a clock.
“No…not really. But…normally you’re up before everyone!”
“Yes, but I didn’t get much sleep this last week. I had to work on several problems that Lady Une sent me. She had been having some trouble with her computer system. I checked it out and fixed it. Then I discovered that they had a hacker. Stupid hacker was smart. I hate smart hackers. It took me all night just to pinpoint their location. And even when I did, I couldn’t catch them. So I found Heero and he networked our computers together. We trapped the hacker between us and destroyed their connection,” she finished. “Now, do we have any coffee, or am I going to have to act like this all day?”
“Well…um…actually Duo is the one who makes coffee. And he isn’t up yet.”
“Oh…okay…Do we have any liquid substance that has caffeine in it, then?” she asked.
“Of course! This tea has caffeine in it. There’s more in the kettle on the burner.”
“Thanks, Quatre,” Catrina said. Heero wandered in several moments later. He looked almost as tired as Catrina.
“Coffee?” he asked Quatre.
“No. Tea. Caffeine.” Catrina pointed to the kettle. Heero nodded.
“Thanks.” Quatre stared. Catrina was on her seventh or eighth cup of the tea. She looked as if she was waking up…slightly…
“I’m so tired. I don’t like being tired. This tea isn’t doing much for me, either. I need some sort of exercise. Something to wake me up. Something…” A dangerous gleam entered her eye. She looked over at Heero. Heero was too sleepy to notice a thing. Quatre, however, did see the look.
“Heero…I think that your life is in danger…Heero?” Heero still wasn’t responding. He sleepily glared at his tea. Then placing the mug onto the table he turned and glared at Quatre.
“This isn’t coffee,” he stated. Quatre sweatdropped.
“No, Heero, that’s tea…tea…” he said slowly.
“Tea?”
Quatre sighed. “I thought that Catrina told you that already. She said that it was tea… Didn’t you hear her?”
“…”
At that moment Catrina cackled evilly and launched herself on Heero. Heero collapsed on the floor, his face trying to mask its surprise.
“Ca…Catrina? What are you doing?!?” Quatre asked.
Catrina didn’t respond. She pushed herself off Heero and ran out of the room. Both men stared after her.
“Wh…what was that?” Heero asked slowly.
“Um…Catrina’s idea of exercise?”
*********
Heero walked slowly out of the kitchen. Catrina was nowhere in sight. He sighed, wondering where she had got to. He made his way into the living room. He had just cleared the doorway when Catrina launched herself from somewhere out of his range of vision, and landed on top of him. She was dressed in her normal outfit, and her hair was in it regular ponytail.
“Catrina??” Heero said, surprised. Catrina smiled happily, nuzzled her cheek against the side of his face, and bolted from the room again. Heero stood up slowly, staring at the place where she had disappeared.
Stepping out into the hallway, he was once again confronted with Catrina. This time, she jumped from eight or nine feet, glomped him, and raced off down the hall. Duo emerged from the shadows, laughing.
“So, Heero…what’s up?” he asked. “Catrina seems to be in a good mood today.”
“Shut up.”
“I wonder why…I heard she was with you last night…”
“Go away.”
“You and her make the cutest couple!”
“Omae o korosu.”
“Aw…we should double date sometime!”
“Quiet.”
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you? We could go to a movie. The dark movie theater…”
“Duo…”
“Yeah, I know… Anyway, has anyone made breakfast yet?”
“…”
“I thought so. See ya later, Heero. By the way, watch for Catrina. She seems to have discovered a new source of entertainment…”
*********
Several hours later, Heero carefully peered around a corner, searching for Catrina. For the last couple of hours, he had been jumped on, glomped, hugged, and nuzzled from every angle. Duo watched him from a doorway.
“HEY, HEERO!” he yelled. Heero jumped at least a foot in the air.
“Duo…”
“What’s wrong, Heero? Catrina making you paranoid?”
“…”
“You seem to be a little jumpy today,”
“…”
Duo laughed again and moved off down towards the study. Heero continued on his way to the living room. He planned to stay there until Catrina found him. As he entered the room, he carefully glanced about; making sure that there was no place Catrina was hiding. He sat down on the couch and was just beginning to relax when Catrina appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and sat in his lap.
“Hello, Heero,” she greeted him. Heero started.
“Where did you come from?” he asked her.
“Me? Why, from where I was waiting for you,” she answered.
“Oh…” They watched each other for a moment, before Catrina smiled.
“Well, I’ve got to go…see ya!” She kissed him lightly on the nose and raced out of the room again. Heero touched his nose and blinked. Then he rose and moved down the hall where Catrina had gone.
Entering the study, he glanced about. Just as he expected, Catrina appeared from some corner of the room and tackled him. She lay on top of him and looked deep into his eyes. Her own eyes glinted dimly in the sunlight. Slowly, she leaned down and kissed Heero softly.
And that was the way Duo found them.
“H…Heero? Catrina? What…?” Catrina broke off the kiss and turned towards the speaker.
“D…Duo?” she said slowly. Duo, who had gotten over his initial shock at seeing the two of them on the together, began to grin.
“I’m sorry. Was I interrupting something?” he asked. Catrina blushed and Heero glared at Duo from where he was lying on the floor.
“What’s wrong, Heero? You looked pretty happy a minute ago…”
“Omae o korosu!” Heero began to get up, but Catrina pushed him back down.
“Heero, leave Duo alone. You know he’s just kidding.” She looked down at him. Heero nodded slowly. “Good. Now, Duo,” she turned to look at the standing man. “It’s not what you think…”
Duo’s grin became larger. “Oh, of course. I’m so sorry. Would you mind telling me just what you were doing down there, then?”
“Um…well…H…Heero and I were just…um…”
“Duo? Where have you been?! I’m tired and extremely hungry and you’re out here, talking to those two. It’s all your fault that I’m pregnant and…” Hilde appeared in the doorway.
“WHAT?!” Duo facefaulted. “You…you’re…what???”
“Oops…” Hilde shrugged. “You heard me.” Duo swallowed.
“H…how long until…?”
“A little over four months. Aren’t you happy?” Hilde smiled.
“F…four months?”
“Yep! Twins!”
“T…t…twins?” Duo fainted. Hilde kneeled by his side.
“Duo? Are you okay? Duo, wake up!”
“Well, Hilde, I think that was an interesting way to break it to him…” Catrina remarked.
“What are you two doing on the floor, anyway?” Hilde asked, looking over at her.
“Um…nothing…absolutely nothing…”
*********
Heero glanced over the table at Duo. He was extremely pale and kept staring at Hilde. When she reached up inside one of the cupboards to get the plates, Duo leaned over and opened his mouth.
“No, Duo, I don’t need your help, and, yes, I feel just fine. You just stay where you are and leave us alone. Tease Heero or something. You’re good at that, aren’t you?” she said. Catrina snickered.
“Duo? Why don’t you talk to Heero about today?” Catrina suggested. Duo’s eyes lit up and he turned to Heero. Heero glared at Catrina’s retreating back.
“Hey, Hilde, would you help me in the kitchen a moment, please?” Catrina said.
“Sure. Duo, finish setting the table. Wufei and Sally won’t be here tonight. They’re out somewhere together. I think that they’ll be out until ten or so. Quatre should be home soon and Trowa went down to the circus to see if he could get an extended vacation, so he won’t be here either. Now, hurry up. I’ll be right back.” Hilde walked into the kitchen and looked around.
“So, Catrina, how’s the dinner coming?” Hilde asked.
“Hm? Oh, fine. Could you cut up those carrots please?”
“Of course.” They finished the end of the dinner, and carried it out onto the table. Quatre was there, cowering in the corner, Heero was glaring at Duo, waving a gun in the air, and Duo was hiding behind a chair, trying to calm Heero down.
“HEERO!!!” Catrina shouted. “What do you think you’re doing?!?” Heero winced. Duo giggled.
“No, Duo, I don’t need your help, and, yes, I feel just fine. You just stay where you are and leave us alone. Tease Heero or something. You’re good at that, aren’t you?” she said. Catrina snickered.
“Duo? Why don’t you talk to Heero about today?” Catrina suggested. Duo’s eyes lit up and he turned to Heero. Heero glared at Catrina’s retreating back.
“Hey, Hilde, would you help me in the kitchen a moment, please?” Catrina said.
“Sure. Duo, finish setting the table. Wufei and Sally won’t be here tonight. They’re out somewhere together. I think that they’ll be out until ten or so. Quatre should be home soon and Trowa went down to the circus to see if he could get an extended vacation, so he won’t be here either. Now, hurry up. I’ll be right back.” Hilde walked into the kitchen and looked around.
“So, Catrina, how’s the dinner coming?” Hilde asked.
“Hm? Oh, fine. Could you cut up those carrots please?”
“Of course.” They finished the end of the dinner, and carried it out onto the table. Quatre was there, cowering in the corner, Heero was glaring at Duo, waving a gun in the air, and Duo was hiding behind a chair, trying to calm Heero down.
“HEERO!!!” Catrina shouted. “What do you think you’re doing?!?” Heero winced. Duo giggled.
Everyone was gathered in the living room, quietly staring into the fire. Duo and Hilde were a the couch, curled up together. Trowa and Quatre each sat in armchairs, reading. Sally and Wufei were sitting together on the floor. Catrina was lying on the floor, in front of the fire. Heero was leaning against wall, watching the girl by the fire.
Sally stood up and moved out of the room after a few words to Wufei. She returned a moment later, with a box.
“I got you another gift, Wufei. I decided that the parrot was a bad idea, anyway. So I thought you might like this pet a little better,” Sally told him. Wufei opened the box and pulled out a little calico kitten.
“So, Wufei, do you like it?” Sally asked.
“It’s a cat.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Female?”
“Of course.”
“Good. Then I shall call it Nataku.”
“WHAT?!?” Sally shouted. Catrina began to laugh.
“Wufei…You will not call that kitten Nataku. I’ll bring it back before I let you do that…Do you hear me? No Nataku!!” Sally threatened.
“Quiet, woman. You are a weakling and don’t have the heart to take it back!” Wufei contradicted.
“No…maybe not…but…” Sally looked about the room. Hilde was smiling and looking at the cat fondly. “I can give it to Hilde!” Sally snatched the cat from Wufei’s hands and handed her to Hilde.
“Wow! Thanks, Sally! She’s a cutie, too!” Hilde had a huge smile on her face as she hugged the little kitten.
“You can keep it as long you don’t call it Nataku.”
“Oh, don’t worry. I won’t. In fact, I’ll call it Roxy.”
“AHHHHHH!!!! INJUSTICE!! WHAT A WEAK NAME!! NOOOOOOO!!! HOW COULD YOU CALL IT ROXY?!?”
“Well, thank you very much for the gift, but I’m really tired. I’m going to go to bed, now. Roxy can sleep with me and Duo. C’mon you two, let’s go.” Hilde headed up stairs, with Duo trailing behind her.
“I guess that we should all get some sleep. I’m going down to the mall tomorrow… No, not that mall, Wufei, and I’m going to buy a book that I saw down there. If anyone wants to come, I’ll be leaving around nine. Anyone?”
“I can’t. Wufei and I are going to work on the restaurant profits tomorrow,” Sally said.
“And Hilde and Duo are going to be busy later on. Hilde’s going to be getting her ultrasound around eleven,” Quatre said slowly. “Trowa?”
“I’ll be at the circus then.”
“Oh…”
“I’ll come, Quatre. I don’t have anything to do!” Catrina said happily. Quatre smiled.
“Oh, good. For a moment there, I thought that I would have to go all alone. And what about you, Heero?”
“…I’ll go.”
“Great! Now, that that’s all settled, why don’t we all get some sleep,” Quatre said cheerfully and left. The others followed him up to their rooms. Soon the house was silent and everyone slept.
*********
Next Morning
Quatre waited for the others to appear downstairs. Heero had wandered in some time earlier and was now waiting for Catrina. They had both been waiting for over an hour for her to appear, and she had yet to make a showing.
Finally, Heero got bored with sitting at the table and he stood up.
“I’m going to go upstairs and see if she is awake,” he told Quatre.
“Good idea…I’ll…um…stay here…” he responded. Heero nodded and walked up the stairs. He knocked on Catrina’s door. There was no answer. Not bothering to try again, he pushed open the door and stepped into the room. Catrina was no where to be seen. Her bed was unmade and the entire room was one giant mess.
“Catrina?” Heero called. Still no answer. As he wandered about the room, he began to pick it up. Clothes went into a pile, random stuff that was scattered about the floor into another. He even made the bed. Catrina still hadn’t shown up by the time he had reorganized the entire bedroom, so he began to wander about.
He found the door to the bathroom and pushed it open, expecting to find another mess. However, he found Catrina in a little white towel, quietly putting her wet hair into a ponytail. She turned at the sound of the door opening. Heero blinked. Catrina moved back slightly in surprise and the towel slipped down slightly. She pulled it closer to her and stared back at Heero.
“Ack! Heero what are you doing in here?” she asked, trying not to let the towel fall. Heero didn’t respond. Slowly, a slight blush began to tinge his cheeks.
“Quatre and I were waiting for you downstairs and I came up here to see if you were still sleeping…” he said.
“Well, you could have knocked!!” she said, still fighting with the little towel. It slipped down further. She plopped down in the corner, and pulled the towel up in an attempt to cover herself. Heero’s blush became worse at the sight of her glaring at him from her position on the floor.
“I did knock. You just didn’t hear it.”
“Fine…that’s just fine. Now, would you mind leaving? Tell Quatre I’ll be down in a minute.”
“Do you want me to help you up?” Heero asked her, before realizing that she planned to stay there until he left the room.
“No, I do not want you to help me up…If you do then this towel will fall right off and you know it, too!” Catrina snapped. Heero bent down next to her.
“I didn’t mean it like that…” he said slowly. His face was right next to hers.
“I’m sure you didn’t! Now…thank you for coming up to see if I was all right…why don’t you go back downstairs and wait for me there,” she said and began to push him back with one of her feet. Heero grabbed her leg.
“But I like it here.”
“HEERO!! This is no time to be un-Heeroish. You go back downstairs! Quatre will be wondering where we are!”
“So?” Heero began to tug on the towel.
“Oh, no you don’t…my towel…do you hear me? Mine…” Heero paid no heed to the girl.
“Heero…don’t make me fight back…”
“You can’t.”
“What do you mean, I can’t? I can fight back!”
“Not if you want that towel to stay on…”
“What?! Hey! This is unfair!” Catrina shouted while trying to keep her towel covering her.
“Heero…I’m warning you…let go of my towel!”
“No.”
“Why not? You leave my towel alone!!”
“No.”
“HEERO!!” She kicked at him with her other leg. This hardly bothered Heero, however, who simply grabbed her other leg in his hand. With both her legs trapped, and her hands busy holding up her towel, Heero was able to do whatever he wanted to, without any resistance from Catrina at all. His hand was inches from her towel, when Quatre appeared in the doorway.
“Hey, Heero…did…you…find… WHAT…ARE…YOU DOING WITH MY LITTLE SISTER!!” Quatre’s eyes took the gleam of the Zero System.
“It’s okay, Quatre…I…um…slipped and Heero was helping me up. Weren’t you Heero?” Heero nodded.
“Oh…okay…well…Heero and I will wait for you downstairs. See you in a couple minutes, kay?”
“Okay, Quatre…” Catrina watched the two go. Heero glanced over his shoulder before closing the door. He had a self-satisfied smirk on his face.
“Bye Catrina,” he said softly. Catrina glared at him.
*********
Ten minutes later Catrina arrived downstairs, wearing clothes. They piled into one of Quatre’s helicopters. Abdul was at the front, waiting for the three of them to enter. Quatre sat in the back with Catrina while Heero sat up in the front, taking on the role of the co-pilot.
Catrina leaned back into the seats and began to chat with her brother. Heero sat up in the front, doing nothing, while Abdul happily flew them towards the mall.
Half an hour later, they were there.
“Now remember, Abdul, this time if we don’t come back in two hours you come in after us with the others. Is that clear?” Quatre asked. Abdul nodded. “Good. We’ll see you in two hours at this spot.”
The three walked into the smallish mall and headed towards the bookstore. On the way there, they saw a pet store, with several puppies in the display. Quatre, being the sweetie he was, instantly went over to them and began to talk to them through the glass. All the little dogs rushed up to him except for one tiny golden Labrador. Catrina noticed this and walked inside the store. She spoke to one of the clerks, and, this one not being an animal lover of vast proportions, roughly picked the animal up, and dropped it into her arms. As soon as Catrina was holding the little pup, it began to squirm and happily lick her face.
“Oh, Heero, look! She likes me! Aren’t you a cutie!” She began to talk to the dog. “I wish that I could take you home with me!”
“Why don’t you?” Heero asked her.
“Why? Well…um…Quatre probably doesn’t want a dog.” Heero looked over to the glass. Quatre was holding two little fluff balls, trying to hush them up and stop them from covering his face in sloppy puppy kisses. Heero looked back at Catrina and raised an eyebrow.
“Okay…so he would love to have another animal around. But…I’m already living there with him and using his quarters and such…and I just don’t want to bother him with anything…I think that if I got a dog, and he might have to take care of it sometimes, and…I don’t want to stick him with anything else. I’m not sure if he even likes me hanging around all the time.”
Heero watched her and the dog for a moment before nodding. “We should get going then. Quatre needs his book.”
“Yeah…I guess so…” Catrina looked sadly down at the little dog. “Too bad. I really liked this one.”
Heero smirked secretly and walked over towards Quatre. It took a much longer time to find the book that Quatre wanted, because Quatre is quite addicted to bookstores. The three stayed in the tiny corner shop for over an hour, marveling over one book after another. Catrina was distant from the others. She participated with the shopping, but her mind was obviously somewhere else. Heero watched her out of the corner of his eye, and conversed quietly with Quatre on a few occasions.
Much later, the group appeared out of the mall, trying to drag what looked like some thirty-seven bags of heavy books. They finally reached the helicopter, but Abdul made the conclusion that they wouldn’t be able to carry so much weight on a single helicopter. So, with the use of his cell phone, Quatre had Rashid come down to get the books. Catrina and Quatre returned on the helicopter with Abdul, while Heero stayed behind, sitting amid a huge pile of bags, getting strange looks from the people walking around him, waiting for Rashid.
Dinner
Everyone was gathered around the table, happily eating. Duo, who was now fascinated with every move his wife made, stared at Hilde while shoving food into his face. Hilde was more graceful then her husband, though slightly unnerved with his constant staring. Catrina was still quiet, and was thinking her own thoughts. Heero was eating, not doing much other then eating, except for the occasional glance over in Catrina’s direction. Quatre was conversing with Sally. And, from the looks of it, Trowa was having a staring contest with his roast beef. Wufei, who had accidentally stabbed himself with his fork earlier, was now outlining why one should never stab the Great Wufei.
The group finally dispersed and everyone went their separate ways. Sally wandered off with a medical book under one arm, Wufei left to train outside, Hilde walked towards her bedroom, with Duo following at her heels like a little dog, and Quatre and Trowa sat down in the living room for a game of chess.
Catrina sat at the table by herself for a few moments after everyone had cleared out, then she too stood up and began to make her way to her own room. Before she had taken more then three steps from the dining room, Heero stepped around behind her and covered her eyes. Catrina started, because she didn’t know who the hands belonged to.
“Wha…?” she began. Heero leaned down to her ear.
“It’s me,” he whispered.
“Heero? What are you doing?” Catrina asked. Heero didn’t answer. He tugged her towards one of the rooms. Catrina heard a door open and close and a slight rustling sound off to one side of her. Heero turned her towards the sound and moved him hands away from her eyes. Sitting on Heero’s bed was the same cute little puppy from the mall that Catrina had been holding several hours early. It was wearing a big green bow that had flopped down onto one side and was tripping it up whenever it tried to move. The entire bed was one giant pile of feathers. The little dog looked up with feathers falling from its mouth and a pillowcase hanging from her ear. She gave a tiny bark and tried to leap over towards Catrina and Heero, but the giant bow got in her way again and she ended up landing somewhere in the middle of the bed, sending feathers flying everywhere.
“My bed…” Heero mumbled behind her. Catrina took no notice of what he was saying, however, for she was far too happy about the small furball squirming about to notice anything else. The little animal finally managed to untangle itself from the ribbon and leaped off the bed, towards the overjoyed Catrina. She picked up the tiny puppy and hugged it. Heero watched her back, feeling a slight sense of happiness as she bent over the tiny mass. Suddenly, she spun around and came within inches of his face.
“Heero! You bought me the puppy! That’s so sweet of you! Oh, thank you!” She threw one arm around Heero and kissed him happily. Heero was very surprised by this sudden development, but not unhappy in the least bit. The puppy, not about to be left out, leaped up between Catrina and Heero, balancing itself between their bodies, began to lick both their faces in sloppy puppy kisses. Catrina burst out laughing and pulled away from Heero. Unwilling to let her go so easily, Heero held onto her arm until she moved away from him.
“Now what should we call you?” Catrina asked the dog. She wiggled. “Hm…” She looked over at Heero and smiled slightly. Heero watched her without moving much.
“What about Shadow?” she asked. The dog barked its agreement. Catrina’s smile grew. “Good! We both like it, then!” Heero twitched.
“Well, Shadow and I are going to go outside for awhile and get some exercise in. Wanna come?” Catrina asked Heero. He frowned. Whenever she wants exercise, she always pounces on me. What is she thinking, playing with that animal when she could be leaping out of doorways and knocking me down? he paused. Fine, then. Why should I care if she wants to play in the backyard with that dog instead of glomping me? He sighed rather loudly.
“No thank you, Catrina. I have to do some work on my computer.”
Catrina looked slightly hurt. Since when is that stupid computer more important then me? Well, maybe he really does have something to do. Otherwise, I’m sure he’d come with me…I think. She smiled and left the room. Heero sat on the bed, trying to gather what was left of his pillows into a pile, and watched her go.
The night surrounded Catrina and Shadow, pressing the forest closer to them. Over four months had passed and Shadow was now a full-grown Labrador. She trotted next to Catrina, panting softly. Catrina seemed overly distracted, even more so then usual. With a soft whine, Shadow slipped ahead of her a few feet, before falling back to her side.
"What?" Catrina looked down at the dog. She finally began to notice her surroundings, and realized how dark it had become. "Oh no…not again. C’mon, Shadow, we had better run home. Quatre is going to be so mad at me for missing dinner again…" Both bolted towards the house, running gracefully like a pair of deer, one tall and one small. They reached the house in little over half of an hour, and the air around them now pitch black. Catrina pushed open the door and ran inside, carefully closing it as quietly as she could after Shadow was in. Grabbing the dogs collar so she would make no noise, the two of them began to creep towards the stairs. If they could only make it upstairs…
"Catrina, where have you been? You are driving me nuts staying out late like this!"
*Nod.*
"Um… Hi Quatre, Trowa. I was just taking a walk around the property… That’s all. I never went beyond the fence!"
"…Catrina, my property here is about a twenty miles in any direction. You know I did that for privacy. How can you say that you only went on a walk around the property?! That’s almost a hundred miles! First, you started to live in the library, then, you decided that you would rather hang out with the animals around here for hours on end rather then see your own brother that hasn’t known you until recently, and now, you just leave and wander around until late at night when you try and sneak into the house! Do you know how much I worry about you? If you would at least tell me that you were leaving and wouldn’t return for an entire day then I could understand. But just disappearing is insane! I can’t take it anymore! And it’s not only me, but it’s Heero too! He went out to look for you and found absolutely no traces of you! When he got back here, he was actually worried about you. He wanted to keep looking for you, but I told him that it wasn’t worth it because you wouldn’t come home until you wanted too. Why have you been doing this? Is something bothering you? And if it is, why haven’t you come to me, yet? I want you to stop leaving at absurd hours of the night or morning or whatever and join the human race!" Quatre blinked, seeming surprised at himself.
Catrina swallowed and stared at her older brother.
"Quatre…I don’t care what you think! I like being by myself! Before I was always alone! And then, just because I discover that I have a huge family that is richer then anything I can imagine, you expect me to change my ways! All I want to do is be alone and I don’t think that I need to tell you everything that I do all the time! I am not a little kid! I lived on my own for most of my life and will continue to do so! And nothing you can say can stop me!" Anger flashing through her eyes, she turned and stomped up the stairs. Quatre heard the door slam, and then everything was silent. He turned to Trowa.
"Have you ever seen her like that before Trowa?"
"No."
"Why in the world was she acting like that? Is there some reason she is mad at me? Was I too harsh on her? I knew that I shouldn’t have taken Duo’s advice to just tell her what I was thinking."
"No…it was fine, Quatre. She isn’t mad at you, rather someone else. I think that she has more on her mind then she prefers. Maybe you should go in and talk to her, quietly and try to figure out why she is in such a mood. However, from the way she responded to your questions, I can guess that she is under a lot of stress and will probably not take whatever you say very well."
"Um…will this be anything like the time that she fractured her leg and had to stay in bed for weeks and everyone made me take care of because I was her brother and ‘the only one that could control her’?"
Trowa took a moment to think. "It will probably end up worse then that little incident. Catrina needs someone to vent on, and, well, whoever talks to her about her state of mind will put themselves in the position for Catrina to vent on."
"Worse?"
"Worse."
"Oh no…I can’t deal with that! Catrina… Who else would talk to her? Who would let her vent on them?"
Trowa sighed and put his hand on Quatre’s shoulder. "Maybe we should give her some time to herself and not bother her for a month or two. When she feels like it, she’ll talk to you. Otherwise, I have another plan if she still continues to disappear, but it will take a month or two before I can actually do anything. Does that make you feel better?"
"Well…I guess so. I still wish that there was something that I could do to find out why she is so unhappy."
"Everything will turn out okay, Quatre, I’m sure it will."
*********
A month later, the late afternoon light filtered through the window, finding Quatre, Trowa, and Heero reclined in the library. Catrina had "gone out" again last night around nine and hadn’t returned yet.
"Do you think that there could be anything more to worry about?" Quatre asked the two others across from him. Duo had called in around two A.M. from the hospital with news that Hilde had just gone into labor. That was when they discovered that Catrina had gone, taking her horse and the dog. Quatre was worried about her, but, then again, she had always come home before. And they were all very impatient about Hilde and her children.
Suddenly the vidphone began to ring. Quatre lunged for it and swiftly answered it.
"Hello?"
Duo’s happy, extremely tired face appeared on the screen. He waved a bandaged hand at the assembled group.
"You wouldn’t believe what I’ve been through."
"Nice to see you too, Duo," Heero mumbled.
"Duo! How’s Hilde and the kids?" Quatre was almost bursting with excitement and worry.
"Hilde is fine. The doctor said she only has to stay in the hospital for another two days before she can leave. And the kids…well…they are…um…noisy, I guess. I haven’t been able to talk with my wife for more then a moment without one of them starting to cry or ‘talk’. You should hear Hilde. ‘Oh look Duo, he’s trying to say something!’ ‘He’s talking to you, Duo!’ Man, I have never seen her so happy before," he smiled.
"Hey, Duo, what happened to you hand?" Quatre asked, noticing the bandaged fingers for the first time.
"Oh, that? Well…Hilde broke four of my fingers and fractured my wrist," he winced at the memory. "The doctor said that they would be healed in a month of two."
"Hilde…broke your fingers?!" Quatre asked in amazement.
"And fractured my wrist. As I see it, I guess I kinda deserved it. Though I think that the name calling was a bit much. Oh well. It’s all over now! Thank goodness for that. Oh, by the way, is Catrina around? Hilde asked me to see if she could spend a moment and talk to her."
"Um…actually, we haven’t seen her since yesterday. You see, she has been under a lot of stress lately, and is apparently coping with it by disappearing for several days on end," Quatre explained.
"What are you talking about, Quatre? I don’t think there is anything in the world that could cause Catrina enough stress that she would have to disappear!" "Well…" his gaze flickered over to Heero’s stony features for a moment, "apparently there is."
"I think that I understand. If you need any help with her, let me know and I’ll…um…do…something."
"Thanks, Duo. Would you tell Sally that I sent her the documentation that she asked for earlier this week?"
"Yeah. So, how…" Duo was cut off when a rather loud wailing noise erupted from behind him. "Oh man, not again. Look, guys, I have to go. If you would talk to Catrina the next time you see her, Hilde would be thankful. Um…see ya later!"
"Bye Duo! Good luck being a new dad!" Quatre said as the vidphone flickered off. He yawned and looked over at the clock.
"It’s already seven o’clock! And we haven’t even eaten dinner yet! Oh dear…" Quatre jumped up and proceeded to herd everyone into the dining room. Heero lingered, staring at the vid-phone, which held his long-time friend’s face only a moment ago. Then his gaze tripped up to the window where he could see the sun setting behind the coastline. The ocean was bright, orange and red coloring the water. The sky itself appeared to be going up in flames. It almost appeared as if there was a huge battle occurring far off in the distance, and the explosions were staining the pure clouds. For a single moment, Heero’s mind was filled with the screams of the dying. He couldn’t hold back a violent shudder.
Why must I think of these things? Why can’t I just forget about the war and the killing?
He sighed, softly, because he did not want Trowa or Quatre to hear him. Even with the war over, he realized that he could never become like "normal" people. He might be able to get close, learn to smile and laugh over time, but he could never be what the others were. The training he was forced to endure as a young boy had broken his sprit. He felt as if he was still waiting for orders to move out and kill again. Just waiting…
*********
The three of them were gathered around the table. Trowa and Quatre talked quietly about Duo’s new children. Heero stared down at his food, pushing it around, his mind in other places.
"Heero? Have you heard a word I’ve said in the past ten minutes?" Quatre asked.
"Hn."
"Heero, is something wrong? You seem upset."
Heero raised an eyebrow. The look on his face asked what was wrong with Quatre and of course there was something wrong with him, couldn’t he tell? But all he said was, "Hn."
Quatre sighed. "You’ve been unhappy for quite a while, Heero. I am beginning to worry about you. As if it wasn’t enough that Hilde just had two twin baby boys, whom we don’t even know the names of yet, and Catrina is having a hard time coexisting with people, but now you have to go and become upset over something, too. Please Heero, if something is wrong, would you just tell us and get it over with?"
Trowa glanced over at the two of them and nodded. "Quatre is right, Heero. You need to let us know what is bothering you so we can help you out with whatever you ne-"
Heero slammed his fist on the table. "There is nothing that is "bothering" me, Trowa." He pushed his chair away from the table in a violent shove and stomped from the room, a deadly glare etched upon his features.
"Heero?" Quatre looked stunned.
"I know what’s wrong with him," Trowa said. Quatre looked surprised.
"What?"
"Heero is unhappy with your sister’s recent behavior because I believe that he has grown very fond of her in these past few months. He wishes to know what is wrong with her so he can comfort her and therefore become closer to her and enter her ring of trust, which, though he doesn’t realize it yet, he is all ready in."
"Wow, Trowa! You should have been a psychologist!" Trowa blinked and said nothing. The two of them retreated to their separate rooms as the night continued to age. Heero, however, did not join them in their retirement. He stood outside on the balcony, quietly staring off into the thick night. Trailers of fog twisted their way through the towering trees. A soft mist filtered down around him, sticking to his eyelashes. Heero noticed none of these things, however. He was too caught up within his own thoughts and musings. The recent dawns had taken on the appearance of bloodstained skies. Little did he know that Catrina had noticed the same change in the surrounding atmospheres, and it had triggered something inside of her that she had been working to forget for years. Once the dark had sheltered him from his sins, but tonight in only crowded his mind and made it even harder to sort through his jumbled thoughts.
*********
Catrina wandered through the forest, searching for something she knew she would never find. Her body cried out for sleep, and she wanted nothing more then to lie down and rest, but if she risked that…it might come back. It could continue to haunt her. Destroy her.
In her mind she cursed the sunrise. It was the cause of all her pain. In the end, it always was. The beginning of a new day always reminded her of how her mother hadn’t had the chance to see it. But the blood in the sky. It was horrible. It made her think about the day she had been in the flowers when the sky was darkened forever. The sky had been bloody that day too.
Tears ran down her face. She wiped at them, not realizing it as she did. The pressing darkness had fallen around her a short time ago and now consumed the trees around her, cutting her sight down to a mere five feet. It bothered her little, though. Being blinded be fog and dark wasn’t something she wanted to concern herself with. Not today.
Where could she go? There was no place to go… She was stuck here, not able to leave this place. She had too many things to think of, too many things to finish. She sat down on the grass, feeling its moistness soak through her jeans. She ignored the discomfort and lay down. Though she hadn’t slept for almost a week, she still wouldn’t allow herself to drift off. If she did, the dream would return. It would return. Her mother and the blood. All the blood.
She groaned and flopped a hand over her eyes. She could feel the wetness making her hair stick together. I don’t want to think anymore. I want to sleep. No! I can’t sleep… The dream will come back! But I’m so tired. I want to sleep. I need to sleep. No…I don’t need to sleep. There is no way. I…I…
The ache of fatigue soon took over her body, and she closed her eyes.
*********
Heero squinted into the dark. It was almost pitch black. He could hear Quatre in the background of the house, calling for Catrina, in hopes that she had returned. There was no answer to his strained calls.
Heero sat, thinking. He had to admit that he, too, was curious as to where Catrina had gone off too. There were simply too many places that she could be, where she could hide. And, yet, Heero felt that he owed it to Quatre and, even to Catrina, perhaps, to find where she hid. It was important to Quatre. He needed his sister.
Somewhere, in the back of his mind, Heero thought that he might need her too.
*********
Heero walked out the door, closing it silently behind him. He wished he knew where to begin his search. The only thing he was surrounded with was trees. Lots of trees. Thousands of places for someone like Catrina to hide.
This could be harder then he thought. Even as he wondered where to go, his feet, almost from there own volition, began to walk into the woods. Heero moved in a straight line. Inside, he felt as if he knew where he was going, and where Catrina rested. In his mind, Heero began to wonder if he was going insane. There was no way that anyone could know where Catrina was, unless she had told someone, which she hadn’t, or left some obvious trail at the opening of the woods, which she also hadn’t done. Why, then, was he so determined to continue the way he was going?
*********
Shadows patterned the entire area in their delicate webs. Buildings and mobile suits loomed in the distance, casting a dark and foreboding feeling throughout the surrounding valley. A young girl, with her chestnut hair bound up in a ponytail, was bent over; picking the brightly colored wildflowers that grew there. Wind shook their stems lightly, and blew the tiny child’s hair about. Puffy white clouds drifted lazily through the sky. The day was alive with the songs of birds.
In her young, child-like mind, the wondered if her mother would like the pretty flowers that she picked for her. She reached down, intent on picking a beautiful gold and purple flower free from the ground to complete her mother’s bouquet, when, abruptly, the soft quiet of the day was shattered, and the normality of her life was altered forever.
Behind her, the powerful military base, her home, exploded. The ground shook and tossed the child off her feet. Screams of the dying suddenly covered the land like a heavy cloud. The bird songs cut off abruptly and the white clouds turned a deep maroon color, looking like the sky itself was bleeding. Debris rained down throughout the valley and all around the little girl. Burning wood and smoldering metal landed next to the poor, confused child. In moments, the only signs of the beautiful valley that had once resided there, snuggled between the mountains, was clutched in the tiny girl’s hand. The flowers she held seemed to wilt before the heat and devastation that they faced.
Standing, the little girl stared at the blackened shell that had once been her only home. Her mother had been in the base when it exploded. But…why would anyone want to hurt her mother? No one would want to hurt her! Not on purpose… The little cherub’s eyes clouded with tears as the shining flowers dropped from her fist. She began to run back towards her home, where the painful screams of the dying could still be heard with a clarity that she would remember all her life. She was crying out her own mother’s name as she tried to get her short, stubby legs to carry her back to where she was needed.
When she finally reached her home, the last of the enemy’s mobile suits were disappearing into the distance. However, her mother was no where to be found. She wasn’t near the dark husk of their house, and she wasn’t outside in the singed garden she kept.
Sirens shrilled to deaf ears, and dead bodies littered the streets. Few were moving. Those who were seemed in such pain that the little girl somehow wished that they weren’t moving at all. She ran up and down the compound rows, searching futilely for her mother. Finally, she located her between two wounded soldiers, who were trying to help her stand. In horror, she could only stare at her once beautiful mother. Half her face was covered in blood, and her left side mangled beyond recognition.
"Mother!" The girl ran towards the half-dead woman, who slowly opened one of her eyes. The soldiers hadn’t been able to raise her more then a foot off the ground without her crying out in pain, so they carefully leaned her on a slab of rock. The woman reached her hand out for her little one.
"You…you’re okay?" She asked in slow, halting words.
The girl, with tears pouring out of her huge, emerald eyes, she nodded. "I was picking flowers. For you." Realizing she had dropped all her flowers, but a single one, she held it out for her mother. It was a tiger lily.
Her mother smiled, and, although it obviously pained her, reached up for the flower and her daughter. She pulled the girl close to her, and took the flower. "Thank you…it…it’s beautiful. Now…I have…" she winced suddenly, "something…for you. Please take…it and…"
"Mother?" The little girl’s eyes widened.
"It’s okay, sweetie. I’ll be fine. But…I want you to take this…here…hold out your arm…" The girl did as she was told.
The bloody, dying woman lifted her own arm and unclasped a bracelet that rested there. It was interlocking silver with but a single charm. The charm was a tear-shaped emerald that caught the rapidly fading light.
"But…mama, that’s your favorite bracelet!" The girl protested as her mother snapped it onto the tiny wrist.
"No…now…now it’s yours. My only daughter," she stopped for a moment, as if remembering. "You…are a very…im…important child. You will never kn…know how many people out there love you. I want you to…to call…"
She stopped.
"Mama?"
"Catrina…don’t…ever…forget how special…you…are…" At that her mother closed her eyes, and never opened them again. Catrina threw herself on her mother’s body, crying.
"Mama? Mom, wake up!! Be okay!! You’re okay!! MOMMY!!!" Catrina began to cry harder then any river could run.
Something was shaking her. Something she couldn’t see. "What? Who?" She opened her own eyes to see a pair of concerned and unhappy Prussian blues. Tears began to flow unchecked down her cheeks.
Heero, for his part, was surprised he had even found her. She had been lying on the ground so quietly he would have stepped on her, had she not cried out so suddenly. She had been twisting in the grass, crying in her sleep. All he could think of was to awaken her. And now she was crying. He was more confused then he ever had been before.
"Catrina…?"
She looked up at him with wet eyes shining with freshly shed tears. She managed to tell him, in slow, halting words, of her dream. Heero listened silently, without betraying any emotions on his face.
"I’ve been having…this…this nightmare since I was a little kid. But…once I met you…and…Quatre…and the others…I stopped having it. But…it’s come back now. And…it’s worse then ever. I don’t know why, but…I can’t…I can’t…" Fresh tears began to fall and she pulled her legs up to her chin.
Heero had no idea what to do. He wasn’t used to dealing with distraught women. It just wasn’t something he did.
Catrina felt isolated from the world as she sat in the dark, shadows cloaking her body, hugging herself, crying. Her tears seemed echo through the woods. With some kind of baser instinct, Heero leaned over and hugged the shivering female’s body to his own.
"Catrina…"
Catrina looked up at Heero. His eyes shone with an acute sadness, something which he didn’t usually allow others to see. He leaned towards her, all his questions held in his eyes.
"Heero?"
He didn’t speak, but, instead, pressed his lips to hers. She understood, finally. He pulled away from her to peer into her glistening eyes, still wet with tears. She nodded and hugged him to her. For the first time since he was a little boy, Heero could feel himself finally become content. He had all he ever wanted in his arms.
Heero looked so happy. He had a glow about him that made him appear almost as a young boy again, trying to find his way in the world. Catrina smiled and leaned into another kiss.
*********
It was early. Too early. Pre-dawn found Quatre sitting unhappily at the table in the dining room, drinking his tea. He wasn’t able to sleep, no matter how hard he had tried. He was too worried about his little sister.
He glanced over at the clock and sighed. Five AM in the morning. What was wrong with him? Catrina would be fine by herself, wouldn’t she? He stared into his tea, brooding. He was so deep in thought that he didn’t notice as the time moved slowly by
He didn’t notice his tea getting colder and colder. He didn’t notice the clock turn to five thirty.
However, when the clock turned its digital numbers to five thirty-three, Quatre did notice something. The front door slammed shut, sending it’s loud crash reverberating through the house. But that wasn’t the noise he was so surprised at hearing.
He could hear Catrina’s laughter.
Looking out the entrance of the kitchen saw a most peculiar sight. After so many months of having her not talking and being so withdrawn from everyone, this sight was just that much stranger.
Heero was with Catrina, and the two of them were walking up the hall. Actually, only one of them was walking. Heero was giving Catrina the classic piggyback ride. She had her arms about his neck, her head thrown back in laughter. She was also wearing his black jacket. This wouldn’t have been so surprising had both of them not been soaking wet. It almost appeared as if they had both been outside rolling around in the grass…
Quatre stopped thinking. He had some of those scary mental pictures flashing before his eyes. Somehow, he managed to keep quiet as the two of them walked past him, and a door slammed shut up the hall. It took Quatre but a moment to realize it was only one door. One door. Millions of mental pictures.
His screams could have woken everyone in the house…if there had been anyone paying attention.
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So, how did you like it? Not too bad I hope! ^^;; I can’t believe that I finally finished this chapter! Only one more to go now. -_- *sniff* You wouldn’t believe how much fun I’ve had with this!! ^^ If anyone has any comments, please please PLEASE e-mail them to me!! catrina_winner@sailormoon.com. Kudos for everyone how have sent me comments!! ^^ I love you all so much! (That’s a…total of…two people!!) I’d put your names up here…but I don’t know if they would like it… So, you can only wonder!! ^^;;; (Would you just look at what finals have done to my mind? Mush I tell you! MUSH!!!)