Disclaimer: Mine? I wish.

K, I FINALLY got inspiration...not much, but just enough to finish this part of the fic. But enjoy anyway!

Dorothy felt uncomfortably shy, glancing at Quatre covertly as they walked back to their quarters. His hand felt strange clasped in hers, the touch of skin smooth against her work-scarred palms. In the past, men who sought her company did so out of lust...lust for power. As the Vice Foreign Minister's trusted friend, Dorothy made a handsome catch, as her friend and Duke Dermail's only living heir, she made an irresistible prize. Suitors attempted, not to court her, but the wealth and power she wielded, and she enjoyed playing their little games, twisting their words around until they cowered away in confusion and fear. She despised them for that.

But Quatre...Quatre on the other hand, did not need the assets she represented. If anything, he was even richer and more influential than she was, being the Winner heir as well as a Gundam pilot as well. Dorothy let a somewhat amused smile cross her face. It was a novel situation really, to be in a position in which she might be the one accused of coveting his fortune!

"What are you thinking about Dorothy?" Quatre was watching her, and she glanced back up at him, smile firmly in place.

"I was wondering how the court would react upon seeing us now..."

Quatre grinned, spreading his arms wide in a self-deprecatory gesture, "Dirty clothes, dirty quarters..."

"Thin blankets, thin soup..." Dorothy countered, eyes flashing with her own brand of humor, and Quatre caught on.

"And working like manual laborers!" They said in a chorus and Dorothy gave a cynical laugh as she shrugged.

"In other words, they would be horrified." She concluded, attempting to twist the fine flyaway strands of hair from her face.

Quatre conceded the point, smiling slightly at the sight she made as she cursed under her breath at the locks of hair that refused to cooperate. Some people said she was cold, said she was the epitome of a dark cat toying with her mice. He couldn't deny that she did do that on occasion. But it was more of a self-defense mechanism than anything as she fought to maintain her privacy and soul amidst a whirl of political turmoil. She might not be what was traditionally known as beautiful, but she was poised, self-assured, and in her own way, serene. Not like a Releena serenity, but she did possess the same ability to watch and act calmly as the world seemed to fall apart around her.

Dorothy finally managed to get her hair into a messy bun, lip curled in distaste, but she nodded, and they finally arrived at the chambers and Dorothy deftly mixed some tea and medicine, ordering him to drink. "You'll need to get better soon, because until we know for sure that you have completely recovered, we won't be able to escape from this god-forsaken place!" She said, sitting on the edge of the bed with a slight sigh. Her blue eyes snapped in vexation, and she drummed her fingers on the saber hilt restlessly.

"Do you bring that saber where ever you go, Dorothy?"

"Hmmm? Oh, of course." Dorothy smiled, a tinge of malicious humor touching the corner of her lips. "Yes, I do. The guards seem to be slightly hesitant in removing it from my person, and I haven't offered to return it. They donít think it's much of a danger anyway, considering they have been informed that if I make a move out of line, I am to be shot on the spot."

Quatre looked up from his tea in alarm, "Dorothy, maybe you should-"

"I told you. I am a soldier. Soldiers thrive in battle, and this, Quatre, is a battle. You do not throw away your weapons when you know that someday it might save your life."

"Why can't you let go of war? It's meaningless! We shouldn't fight! It's..it's wrong!" Quatre asked, lines of strain crossing his face. "Haven't we had enough death? Haven't we had enough suffering? Why do we have to suffer more?"

For a moment, Dorothy stared at him, shocked by his exceptional outburst. He's so naïve... still so innocent after all the death he's seen...Dorothy shook her head, trying to ignore the voice in the back of her mind that asked the same question. "You speak of an ideal world, Quatre. Such a world, one of complete pacifism, has yet to be formed. The factions of human weakness divide us all, and until we have conquered this, I still must fight. As Mr. Milliardo and Yuy must." There was a slight bitterness in her voice as she added, "We need to fight to protect the innocence of others, and in return, this endless battle takes away ours, making us cruel. But it is a kind cruelty that we must practice. To protect, we must kill, thus death must become kindness in itself."

She chuckled, rubbing her eyes wearily. "People such as yourself should never have been allowed on the battlefield, Quatre. You are too kind. You would never understand."

There was a silence before the bedsprings creaked, and then Quatre was sitting beside her, and somewhat awkwardly, held her head to his shoulder. Dorothy stiffened, then leaned slightly into him, enjoying the tactile contact of one human to another with a small sigh of contentment.

"At least promise you'll try not to kill anyone." There was a note of concern in his voice that bespoke of tenderness and Dorothy smiled.

"That is a promise I will try to keep."

Quatre held her in his arms, trying to quiet the fear in his heart. She was going to get hurt if she wasn't careful...and what was he going to do then?

***

"Um...Heero, what are you trying to do?" Duo hovered over Heero as the Zero pilot's fingers fairly flew over the computer keys, a frown marring his brow.

"Be quiet, Duo."

"But Heero, you're leading us right into that asteroid field!" Duo's voice hitched slightly in panic as he glanced at the large, slow moving boulders careening about in space. Heero glanced up.

"That's the point."

"What??! Why??"

"Following Dorothy's signature trail. This was the last place we tracked her to before she disappeared." Trowa answered calmly, barely missing an asteroid that was moving it's great bulk towards them with slow menace.

Trowa steered the ship carefully along the given route, ignoring Duo's cry of dismay. He was not getting into this.

Duo sighed, scratching his hair absently. "Oh man...why do I have to hang out with crazy suicidal pilots with the fear factor of zilch?"

Hilde smothered a laugh, then hugged her boyfriend with an unsympathetic grin on her face. "Well, Mr. Shinigami, what do you expect? They were Gundam pilots!"

Duo sighed, wrapping his arms around Hilde. "Yeah...well...You'd think after three years of peace, they'd have mellowed out a little bit."

Hilde cocked her head up at him. "So you've mellowed out, Duo?"

Duo grinned, "Me? The great Shinigami? Never, Hilde-babe! I can still kick butt with the best of them!"

Heero snorted slightly before bending back over to his task.

There was a slight smile on Trowa's usually emotionless face before he banished it behind his mask again, isolating the signal to a single pair of coordinates. "We're there." He checked the star map tacked to the side wall. "Asteroid 68."

"Activate a cloak shield. Land on the other side of the asteroid. We'll disembark there."

***

"Sometimes I think I'm gonna be sick or somethin'," Tor sighed, stretching out on the measly pallet the called a bed, "Work in th'mornin. Work t'the night...ain't get any worse'n this." Dorothy remained broodingly silent, leaned against Quatre as he glanced down at her reassuringly. "S'like days o'hell, and ain't no way we gonna be outta here."

Siara jumped to her feet angrily, demanding, "What, y'gonna give up? Don't think so, not me! I'm gonna get outta this shit factory if it's the last thing I do. I ain't stayin' 'ere for the rest of m'god damned life!"

"No one said anythin' bout that, Si. Just gotta face th'facts that we might be here fer awhile." Chris said soothingly, but Siara shook her head angrily.

"B'fore I got sucked into this cesspit, I was a miner. Took care of m'self, ain't need anyone t'take care of me now!"

"Si-"

"No! Can't take much more of this, Chris. I want out. Six months, six goddamn months of haulin' and sweatin' for the bastard! I ain't getting' a red cent for this!"

Dorothy said quietly, "Calm yourself, Siara. We all know how you feel." Siara was about to snarl a harsh retort when Dorothy added, "We all want to leave...but it won't happen if your mind clouds like that. You have to be clear minded and unpanicked if you want anything done. Therefore, when you calm down, we'll talk again."

"Y'got a plan, Doll-child?" Chris asked, leaning forward, elbows resting against his knees.

"A semblance of one, yes...I'm just waiting for one more factor to present itself."

"?" Even Quatre looked at her in amazement, but Dorothy just smiled, a slightly feral gleam in her eyes.

"I want revenge just as much as anyone here, but I also know that we won't be able to do it without a certain Gundam pilot, isn't that right, Mr. Yuy?" All eyes looked around in bewilderment, until they located a silent shadow standing by the wall, green tank top and all.

Quatre gaped in surprise, half rising out of his seat. "Heero...is that you?"

There was complete silence, then a monotone voice replied from the corner. "Yes."

Author's note: k, finished with that part! (Finally) sorry so late! But I have a major 100 pt essay that I had to finish for English before I was allowed to write my fic! *bows* gomen. BUT, this is the next part! Hope you like it! r&r as usual, I luv you guys! MERRY PRE-CHRISTMAS!!! Hope you aren't as tired as I am! J