Remember When Arc | By : Ashley Category: Gundam Wing/AC > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1409 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0 |
Disclaimer: I do not own Gundam Wing/AC, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story. |
We do not own the rights to GW! Never have and never will!
Warnings: Angst, language, slight OOC
Archived at: AFF, MM, and www.templeofthegoddess.com
Part two of ‘Life loves a tragedy’ by Sparkling Diamond
PG-SSM & Saiyajin_Raven69
“Last…last rites? What the hell are you talking about?
Are you sure you have the right person?” Duo had vaulted out of the chair he
was in, knocking over the low table, sending books and magazines scattering to
the floor in his haste to reach the doctor.
“Duo Maxwell? Your daughter’s name is Miranda,
correct?” The doctor asked, adjusting his wire frame glasses on his nose.
“Yeah, that’s me. But why…”
“Well, it says in her chart that Miranda Maxwell is
clinically brain dead. Have you not been…” The doctor stopped, looking over
the top of the files at the dark haired teen that had come to stand next to Duo.
“When did this happen? Why were we not informed?” Wufei
snapped out, his arm snaking around Duo’s waist as the braided teen started to
sway on his feet.
“Dr. Douglas hasn’t been in to see you?”
“No. I think you had better explain what is going on,
Doctor?”
&l">
“I’m Dr. Gastin, and you are?”
“Commander Chang Wufei of the Preventers, Duo’s close
friend.” Wufei answered, steering Duo to the nearest chair as he slumped
against him in shock.
“Preventers? I ummmm,”
“Doctor, you are seriously trying my patience. What information do you have regarding
his child?” The Chinese teen snarled, as he glanced at a pale, stricken Duo
seated next to him, before turning his glare back toward the doctor. Dr. Gastin
fumbled briefly with the files in front of him, clearly intimidated by the young
Preventers agent. He raised his eyes, nervously meeting Wufei's narrowed dark
gaze, before clearing his throat and reading from the page.
“As of 5:38 p.m., Miranda P. Maxwell was declared brain
dead, but continues to be kept alive by means of life support. She suffered from
the failure of several organs, including heart, lungs and kidneys. Brain damage
was incurred due to lack of oxygen. She
was resuscitated four times when she stopped breathing, before she was hooked to
a ventilator. We did all we could for her, but she really didn't have much of a
chance for survival.”
“Is that really the case, or could something have been
done to save this child while she was denied treatment as her father called all
over the universe to gather the money to pay your outlandish fees at this
hospital?”
“Our hospital would never deny treatment of a patient,
Commander Chang.”
“Don’t give me that fucking bullshit! The idiots in the
emergency room wouldn't even touch this child until Maxwell could guarantee
payment for her treatment!&n There wasn't anything in the small space
that didn't appear to be second hand, but it was clean, with very little
clutter. A stack of books sat near the entrance of the small kitchen, while baby
toys and a stroller filled a corner near the door. There were a few pictures
that hung crooked on the walls, catching the daaireaired teen's attention. His
own cocky smirk looked back at him from one photograph, and he reached a finger
to touch the grinning faces, but thought twice about touching Duo's things. The same photo hung on his own apartment
wall, an image of himself and Duo just after the war.
“There’s more pictures in those albums over there if
you want to see them.” A voice next to Wufei’s ear startled him, making him
spin nose to nose with Duo.
"Don't sneak up on me like that." Wufei growled,
pulling slightly back in irritation. He
hadn't heard Duo come back into the room; he was so deep in his own thoughts.
“Sorry, man. I thought you heard me. Can I get you
anything?”
“I’m fine.”
“I mean, you came all this way for practically nothi
It’
It’s the least I could do, ya know?” Duo frowned slightly, plopping himself
heavily onto the small couch, only to stand up again to toss away the teething
rings and rattle that he had sat on
“Maxwellcamecame here because my friend needed me. I guess it’s all right for you to
stay. I have to work tomorrow and I have a few classes, so I won’t be around
to visit.” The braided teen shrugged his shoulders, totally confused about the
whole situation. Yeah, he was sad, angry and hurt, but he didn’t need someone
to baby-sit him. He would take things in stride, and get over it, as people
would say. He still had Aleana didn’t he?
“I’ll be fine. I’m sure there are things around this
town to occupy my time until you come back. Why don’t you go to sleep? You
need it, and you look like hell.” Wufei gave a sharp tug on the long, messily
braided hair.
“Yeah, after I take a shower, I think. I probably
stink.” Duo wrinkled his nose at the thought. Yes, he probably did stink to
high heavens.
“Yes, but I was being polite by not bringing up your
personal hygiene.” Wufei sed; ed; ready to dodge anything that might have been
thrown at him. Duo just retaliated by sticking out his tongue.
“Ok, Chang. I got your point. I guess you could sleep out
here, but it’s not very comfortable. You could sleep in my room, if you
don’t mind bunking with my asain.ain. Just be quiet. Aleana sleeps in the same
room.”
“This isn’t a two bedroom?”
“Nope. Can’t afford one of those, Wu. It was just me in
the beginning, so there wasn’t any need for a bigger place. There are some
extra blankets in my room though, if you want to stay out here.” And with
that, Duo left the room, entering the small bathroom quietly, leaving Wufei
alone once again.
“This isn’t what I expected at all.” Wufei blew out a
sigh, looking around for the vid-phone he knew had to be in the apartment
somewhere. He had some calls that he needed to make while Duo wasn't in the
room. He didn't want to upset the
teen any further than he already was.
Finding the vid-phone was somewhat of a challenge, but he
found it under a carelessly tossed baby blanket. He sat himself down in the old,
squeaky chair, trying to decide whom he should call first. On one hand, he
needed to contact the Preventers and let them know where he was, but he also
wanted to call L4, and let Heero know exactly what he thougf hif him at the
moment.
Without really thinking about it, he dialed Heero’s
personal line, not caring what time it was on L4. It rang five times before the
voice mail picked up.
“Yuy, it's Chang. You
are a fucking bastard, do you know that? Don't even bother calling me back, you won't like to hear
what I have to say to you.” Wufei's
voice was seething with an and and he cut the connection as quickly as he had
dialed it. He began dialing the
familiar Preventers' number, but cut it off before pressing the last digit.
“Forget it, I’ll tell Sally and Une in the morning.” He wiped his hand over his face, the
long, emotional hours that he'd spent with his friend finally crashing down on
his system.
Deciding that it would be in his best interests to camp out
on the small couch, Wufei crept silently down to the bedroom to get the extra
blankets that Duo told him were there. There was a soft glow in the room from a
small childish night-light that was plugged in near a small crib next to the
double bed. He took a moment to peer down at the girl, her red curls mussed from
sleep. He whispered a goodnight to her before grabbing the blankets off of the
top of a dresser, and leaving the room before waking the baby.
He made it no further than the bathroom door when a noise
made him stop and listen, his ears straining to hear beyond spr spray of the
shower on the other side he the thin door.
His stomach fluttered at the sound of the heart wrenching sobs, the
agonized wails that he knew Duo was trying so hard to smother. Duo had been so
careful not to show his emotions from the moment Wufei had entered the waiting
room. Now, behind the closed door, within the privacy of the shower, he was
finally releasing all the anguish and pain he was feeling.
Wufei let out a shaky sigh as he closed his eyes, letting
his forehead and hands rest against the bathroom door.
“I'm so very sorry, my friend.”
_________________________________
Morning came faster than Duo expected. Aleana was up before
his alarm clock went off, for the third time that week. Being the generally
happy baby that she was, she had entertained herself with chewing on the corner
of her blanket, giving Daddy some extra winks of sleep. Duo yawned, stretching
briefly before throwing back the blankets in a tangled heap. He was not looking
forward to this day at In In between all his classes and work, he still had to
make funeral arrangements for Miranda. Nothing fancy, he couldn’t afford a
lavish burial for a baby he hardly knew, but in the short time she'd lived with
him, he'd come to love her with all of his heart.
p; Duo called, urgently needing some money, but Yuy told him to 'deal
with it' and hung up on him. That's
why I'm here, now.”
“Is Duo in some kind of trouble?”
“No. He had
recently taken in an orphaned infant, who was rushed to the hospital. It seems that the doctors there would
not treat her due to the fact that he had no insurance on her, and they thought
he wouldn't be able to pay for the charges that would accumulate. The baby died last night, Quatre. I was
with him when he turned off the last of the life support machines. I was with him when she took her last
breath. They didn't even begin
treating her until I arrived, and accepted responsibility for payment of her
charges.” The blonde gasped,
tears welling up in his large blue eyes.
“I'm g tog to stay with Duo for a few days, to help him
out. He's been through a lot in the
past couple of days, and he needs to know that someone still cares aboim.”im.”
“Is there anything I can do, Wufei? Would it help if I made the funeral
arrangements for him?”
“No, I think that Duo needs to take care of them himself. It will help bring him closure. I can call you with the details when
they are made, though. It would be
nice if the three of you could come down. He could use all the support he can get, right now.”
“Of course we’ll be there. I’ll see to arranging a shuttle to
Earth tomorrow. Is there anything
else you can think of?”
“Not at this time, Winner.
Although, might I suggest that Yuy doesn’t answer your calls from now
on?”
&nbo:p>o:p>
Quatre swallowed harshly, nng hng his head at his friend. "I'll speak to him. Please tell Duo that I'm truly sorry
about what happened. I had no idea.
Please, give Duo my love.”
“I will.”
“Thank you, Wufei. Goodbye.”
“Goodbye.” The dark haired teen turned off the screen,
leaning back in the chair with a sigh.
“Just what Duo needed to deal with today.” He whispered
to himself, before putting his call through to Preventers Headquarters.
It took Duo some time, but he was finally able to get his
emotions under control as he gave the squealing, splashing baby a bath. He had
felt the heaviness creeping back into his chest, settling over his heart, but
knew that he couldn't afford to let his heartache overwhelm him today. He had
far too many things to get done, with little time to do them in. He felt lucky to have Wufei with him;
the support of a friend was very welcome in hard times. He wasn't sure he'd have
been able to face another day without the calming influence of Wufei's
compassion. He almost didn't
recognize this mature, supportive man as the boy who could be so arrogant, and
self centered when they first met. He was torn from his thoughts by the tapping
on the other side of the bathroom door.
“Duo? Is everything ok in there?”
“Yeah, I'm fine.” He answered. He wanted to tell his friend that he was doing much better
since he had arrived, but didn't want to seem too needy.
“Do you need any help?”
“Naaa, I've got it all covered." He said, as he pulled the plug on the
baby tub, draining the water.
“Ok. I’ll leave you alone to finish.”
“Hey, Wu?”
“Yes?”
“Thanks for being here, man. I really appreciate it.”
“Anytime, Duo. Any time you need me, I’ll be here.”
The last words were whispered so softly, that Duo never heard it.
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