Disclaimer: If they're not mine by now, wishing will not make
them so.
Author's Notes: "The end is pretty seriously nigh."
Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Great show. Thank you all for the continued,
incredible support. It means very, very much to me.
****
To Dance Beneath the Diamond Sky
by Kristen Elizabeth
****
"Dancing is the last word in life." -Jean Dubuffet
****
"All right, Relena. You can move now." The X-ray technician
came back around the glass partition as Relena eased herself off
the cold, metal table. "The results should be back in an
hour or so. I'll have them sent up to the surgical floor. That's
where you'll be, right? Until then..." He handed her the
crutches a nurse had given her down in the ER. "Put as little
pressure on that knee as possible."
She nodded listlessly and fitted the padded arms of the crutches
under her own. "Thank you."
Quatre and Trowa were waiting for her. "What did the doctor
say?" Quatre asked as she made her way over to them.
"I do not see the need for these." Relena handed Trowa
the crutches and tried not to wince as she put all her weight
on the knee in question. "I am fine."
He handed them back to her. "Only a fool would injure themselves
further for the sake of their pride. You are not a fool."
Relena looked down at the white tiled floor. "How is it fair,
Trowa? Crutches can fix me. But Heero...he might never be fixed."
"It is not fair, cher." Quatre pulled her into his arms
for a comforting hug. But Relena had no more desire to be comforted.
As gently as possible, she pulled away from him.
"I need to get back upstairs. The surgery could be over at
any time."
The elevator carried them back up to the fourteenth floor of St.
Luke's, where Duo and Hilde were waiting, keeping up an eight
hour vigil that Relena had been forced to break to have her own
injuries checked out. They waited with as much calm patience as
possible for any news of Heero's surgery, good or bad.
"Princess." Duo jogged over to them as the trio came
into the surgical waiting area. "No one's come out to say
anything yet. But your brother is looking for you."
"Millardo is here?"
He nodded and pointed to the bank of phones several yards away.
"He's over there with Ms. Noin."
Relena followed his finger until she could see her brother and
his fiancee. Millardo was bent over in a plastic chair, his head
buried in his hands. Lucrezia had her arms around him, rubbing
his back. Relena swallowed. "What did he want?" she
asked Duo.
"To talk to you," Hilde replied for her boyfriend. "He
didn't say what about though."
Every inner voice she possessed told her to stay right where she
was, but Relena forced herself to nod again. Re-adjusting her
grip on her crutches, she started towards her family members.
Duo watched her approach them. He couldn't hear anything; they
were too far away. Millardo and Lucrezia looked up at Relena.
After what Duo assumed was a greeting, the company director began
to speak to his little sister.
A minute later, Relena fainted.
****
The first thing he was aware of was pain. It was nothing compared
to the initial pain of being stabbed, but it was strong enough
to rouse him out of the darkness. His entire lower back throbbed
with enough pressure to bring moisture to his eyes. Eyes that
he opened a moment later.
Another pair of eyes stared back at him. They, too, were wet with
tears. Relena's eyes, weeping over him. He tried to speak, to
say her name, but there was something lodged in his throat. His
brow furred.
"Heero." Her fingers were cool against his cheek; for
a moment, he forgot all about the pain. "It's all right.
Someone's coming to take that out; it was helping you breathe
during surgery."
Surgery. He must have been in the darkness for a long time. The
last clear memory he had was of her telling him not to close his
eyes. He hadn't won that fight, apparently.
"You're in the hospital," she continued, although her
voice barely made it above a whisper. "Do you remember...everything
that happened in the locker room?"
He nodded as much as he could. Relena looked as though she were
about to go on, but just then a doctor entered the room.
"Heero," the unfamiliar man said, leaning over him.
"Good to see you back with us. I have a lot to tell you,
but first, let's get rid of this thing." With quick, expert
movements, he detached the blue tube that lead to the intubation
device from the mouthpiece. There was a rush of air. "Okay..."
The man grasped the mouthpiece. "On my count, exhale. One...two...three."
He yanked on the tube, pulling it out of Heero's throat.
Relena bit her lip as Heero coughed for a long minute. "What..."
His attempt to speak came out as a wheeze. "What happened?"
"You came in late last night with a very deep stab wound
to your lower back. You had lost a lot of blood. Fortunately we
were able to get you into surgery in time to repair the damage
to your liver. But..." The doctor hesitated. "I'm sorry
to say we weren't able to save your spleen which took the brunt
of the attack."
Heero closed his eyes. "Relena...are you all right?"
He could feel her fingers entwine with his. "Thanks to you,
I'm just..." Her throat closed up. "...fine. I'm fine.
Don't worry about me."
"We're going to keep you here in the ICU for another twenty-four
hours, Heero." The doctor picked up his chart which hung
from the end of the bed. "And then we'll move you into another
room for probably about a week, depending on how quickly you heal.
I have to tell you, there is a possibility that there could be
complications from the surgery. Embolisms, bowel obstructions,
hernias. But that's why we're going to monitor you very carefully
for awhile."
"Thank you, Doctor," Relena said. "Can we have
a few minutes alone?"
The man replaced the chart after scribbling something onto it.
"You're lucky, Heero. Not many of my patients have a guardian
angel who is as pretty as yours." He smiled. "I'll be
back to check on you in a few hours."
Once the doctor was gone, Relena let her tears fall freely. "Heero...I
was so afraid that I was going to lose you..."
He wanted to put his arms around her and hold her until the end
of time, but the pain was too great to even move his arms. "Tell
me...everything."
When she had finished recounting the events of the fourteen hours
he had missed, Heero had only one question. "The French bastard?"
"The police have him," she said softly. "He...we
won't be bothered by him ever again."
He frowned. "There's something...you're not telling me."
Relena looked away for a long minute. "He killed my mother."
"Relena..." She glanced back at him upon hearing her
name. His eyes, though burdened by his own pain, held so much
sympathy and compassion. "I'm sorry."
"There's no reason for you to be," Relena whispered,
stroking his cheek again. "He'll pay for everything. For
what he did to my mother....for what he almost did to you."
"And what he tried to do to you." Heero closed his eyes
as the pain overthrew his mental block.
She reached for the call button on his bed. "Let me get a
nurse to give you more pain medication." He didn't refuse
the offer. "Heero, is there a way to get in touch with your
father?"
"I have...a number." He gritted his teeth. "He
won't come."
"Heero..."
"I don't care," her boyfriend continued, opening his
eyes. "I...have you."
Relena's eyes watered. "Forever," she whispered. "I
almost lost you tonight, Heero. And I nearly died imagining my
life without you."
"I'll never...leave you."
She smiled through her tears. "I know that now." Relena
leaned forward, brushing her lips against his. "By the way...we
made the company."
The tight corners of Heero's mouth turned up. "Of course
we...did. We're...the best."
The nurse who entered awhile later with a hypodermic of Demerol
had to pause a moment to take in the scene before her. The young
blonde girl with a brace on her knee was lying as gently as possible
next to the dark-haired surgical patient. Their fingers were laced
together, their foreheads touched as they both indulged in a few
moments of sleep after their hellish night. The woman sighed to
herself. To have found that sort of love so young...
Some people had all the luck.
****
After a stop at Hilde's place in Brooklyn to pick up a change
of clothing, she and Duo arrived at his parent's apartment. His
mother met them at the door in a state of near panic. Once Duo
had assured both her and his father that he was alright, despite
the four stitches on his arm, the teenagers took turns retelling
the entire story, as much as they themselves knew.
Sarah, who was on the one hand relieved to the point of tears
that her son wasn't injured, and on the other, overwhelmed by
the tragedies that had befallen his friends, immediately set about
preparing a huge amount of food. The only thing she was able to
control was making sure Duo and his girlfriend were properly fed.
Although eventually she would have to find out how it had come
about that Hilde was back in their lives, holding Duo's hand like
he was her life-preserver. Not that she or Robert minded. In spite
of everything that had happened, their son looked more alive than
he had in weeks.
Duo and Hilde escaped to his room a couple of hours later. They
were alone in the apartment; Robert had taken his wife out for
a much-needed distraction. There was an art show in Central Park,
he claimed. Also, he could tell that what his son needed was a
moment alone with his girlfriend to come to terms with the past
evening, not the well-intentioned smothering he was receiving
from his mother.
"Did you ever meet Relena's mother?" Hilde asked, sitting
on the edge of Duo's neatly-made bed, obviously his mother's doing.
"Just saw her across the lobby at the gala," he replied
with a sigh. "Seems like a fucking lifetime ago."
"It does, yeah." She glanced down at her hands. "It's
so sad, though. And I still don't get why that guy...why he tried
to destroy...everyone!"
Duo leaned awkwardly against his desk. "I think that guy...raped
Relena. Or tried to. Something like that. Back in Paris. Remember
how she used to freak out when I'd touch her?"
Hilde nodded. "God...we were so mean to her! I was....such
a bitch. I didn't realize..."
"I guess Heero must have known. It pretty much explains everything."
He rubbed his forehead. "So, the fucker came here to New
York and I guess he tried it again last night. He must really
hate Relena...how can anyone hate Relena, especially that much?!
I just don't understand!" His fist balled up; he slammed
it down onto a stack of textbooks.
"I don't think it was hate," Hilde whispered, remembering
the French man's desperate cries for Relena. "Love, maybe.
Obsession, definitely." She shook her head. "Scary..."
"Yeah." Duo relaxed his fist. "At least Heero's
gonna be all right."
Hilde nodded. "And you..." Her smile was soft. "Congratulations
on making the company."
Her boyfriend's sculpted shoulders lifted in casual indifference.
"It doesn't seem to matter much anymore. Actually, it never
really mattered all that much. To me, anyways."
"What do you mean?" She tilted her head to the side.
"Duo, dancing is such a big part of your life. It's the future
we always talked about having together. And now it's here for
you. How can you say it doesn't matter?"
"I love dancing, yeah. But if you think I've stuck with it
all these years just for the thrill of wearing tights, you're
wrong." He met her gaze. "Hilde, I danced because you
danced. It's what brought us together."
Hilde licked her lips. "And now I can't dance. Not like I
used to. My therapist says my ankle is getting stronger every
day, but it'll never be able to support me like that again."
She stood up. "But Duo...that shouldn't stop you."
"I don't have the heart for it anymore, babe." He smiled
brightly. "Without you, it's just a hobby."
"So...you're going to..."
"Turn down the offer."
She stared at him. "Just like that?"
"I have a back-up plan," he said, reaching into his
desk drawer and pulling out a single sheet of folded paper. "NYU,
babe. They want me like a junkie wants a hit." After a moment
of silence, Hilde began to laugh. Duo frowned. "What? They
do! They keep sending me orientation packets and housing shit."
"I'm not laughing at you, Duo," she managed to get out
between her giggles. "It's just..." She took a breath
to calm herself. "They want me just as bad."
He double blinked. Twice. "You're going to NYU?"
Hilde nodded. "I must've gotten my acceptance letter around
the time you got yours. It makes sense. We applied together, remember?"
"Oh...yeah! I do remember that." Duo broke into a wide
grin. "We're going to NYU, babe. Together!" In his excitement,
he pulled her into his arms for a huge hug.
She wrapped her arms around his neck. "I love you, Duo."
Thinking of Heero hanging onto his life by a thread and Relena
by his side through it all, Hilde buried her face in her boyfriend's
shoulder. "I'm not ever going to be stupid enough to pull
away from you again. I swear."
Duo closed his eyes, savoring the feeling of her lithe body in
his arms. There had to be a god up there somewhere and it had
to be a good one. It was a miracle that she was back in his life.
"Good. 'Cause if there's ever a next time, I don't plan on
letting you go."
Hilde lifted her head. "How long do you think your parents
are going to be gone?"
"Couple of hours, I guess." His eyes grew wide from
the myriad of dirty thoughts that suddenly plagued him. "Why?"
"I can't do much until I get this cast off." She stared
up at him from behind thick, black lashes. "But I have missed
touching you..."
Duo cleared his throat. "And I've missed...touching...being
touched....in a good way! Missed the bad way, too...."
She smothered a giggle. "When the cast does come off, I want
to make love with you, Duo. Until then..." Hilde bent her
head to kiss his Adam's apple. "Bad touching?"
"Bad touching, good," Duo agreed, pausing only momentarily
to lament the de-evolution of his language skills. "You...
me..."
"On bed," Hilde finished for him. "But the Tarzan
thing is a little kinky for me."
Duo scooped her up into his arms. "Don't worry, Jane. My
lair has sheets from Bergdorf Goodman's."
She laughed as he deposited her onto his "lair." A moment
later, he joined her, careful to hold himself up over her body.
Hilde ran her fingers through his bangs. "It's a good thing
I got to you first, Duo. A normal girl could never handle you."
He lowered his mouth to hers. Breaking for breath, he gave her
a smile of pure love. "A normal girl would never hold my
interest. Much less steal my whole heart and soul."
"Is that what I've done?" Her entire body tingled, not
only from the passionate words, but from the delicious warmth
he radiated.
"You know it." Duo kissed her again, taking his time
to enjoy the warm taste of her lips. "What do you have to
say for yourself?"
Hilde closed her eyes; his kisses were moving down her jaw towards
her throat. "No shame on me..."
****
It had taken a doctor, her brother, a gay French couple and Heero
himself to convince Relena to leave the ICU for some much needed
rest and rejuvenation. She hadn't been able to bear the thought
of going back to the penthouse where her mother's body had been
found, strangled to death. Quatre and Trowa had taken her back
to their suite at the Plaza; the hotel's expensive clothing boutique
had sent up a simple summer dress in her size at Quatre's request.
Once she had bathed, dressed, and forced down several bites of
food she couldn't even taste, Relena wanted nothing more than
to return to Heero's side. But a phone call from Millardo delayed
that; she was expected at the police station to make a statement
against Jean-Paul.
Her friends stayed with her through the ordeal at the station.
As she finally told the entire story of the terror that had seized
her life back in Paris, Relena could feel the past releasing her.
With each word, Jean-Paul's power over her was broken. She had
survived him. Heero had survived him. Her mother had not.
Her grief seemed to be on some sort of delay. Every time she pictured
Helen, Relena's insides twisted up. She had been an alcoholic,
obsessed with recapturing a non-existent past through her daughter,
a fortune-hunter who had sucked both Relena and Millardo's fathers
almost completely dry. And she had been a horrible judge of character.
For that, she had paid the ultimate price.
Relena couldn't hate her. But neither could she stop living in
order to mourn her.
Finally, the questions ended and she was free to go, to head back
to the hospital. Heero needed her and she needed to see him as
though to convince herself that he really was going to be just
fine. She tapped her foot in extreme impatience as the elevator
carried her up to the ICU floor.
She had made only one stop between the police station and the
hospital. The cab had passed a costume shop on the way; she had
made the cabbie wait while she ran inside to make a hasty purchase.
Now, she clutched a shopping bag containing a fake mustache for
Heero and a long black wig for herself.
If he thought they were Gomez and Morticia before, she couldn't
wait to see his face when she dressed them both up.
She approached the ICU desk and smiled at the nurse. "Is
it all right if I go in to see Heero Yuy?"
"Heero Yuy." The woman looked down at her charts. "Oh.
I'm so sorry to be the one to tell you this."
A cold hand squeezed Relena's heart. "Tell me what?"
"About an hour ago...he threw a P.E. Pulmonary embolism.
Blood clot in his lungs," she explained. "They took
him back into surgery to try and fix it."
She couldn't make her own lungs work for a long moment. "Will
he...will he be okay?"
"I wish I could tell you," the nurse replied, apologetically.
"Complications are always harder to correct than the initial
problem." She stood up upon seeing the blood literally drain
out of the blonde girl's face. "Let me help you sit down."
Relena didn't protest and let the woman lead her back to the row
of chairs where she had spent fourteen hours dying inside while
Heero fought for his life. Just when she had been sure they had
won, life had thrown them right back down.
The plastic bag slipped out of her hands and landed on the floor
between her feet. The quiet hum of the hospital was shattered
by her sudden, heart-wrenching scream.
****
To Be Continued