It had been three weeks. Three long miserable weeks. Heero sat in his wheelchair, resting. He was always tired. So tired, he wondered if he'd ever be able to do anything. His doctors only said 'Your body is healing, give it some time.' Well, it had been two weeks, and he couldn't even move without getting that sick fainting feeling.

I suppose I should go eat something…He sighed. No one was home except Duo, who was upstairs sleeping. He got home at 4:40 this morning, so I'm not going to wake him up to push me to the kitchen. I'll just have to go myself. They'd all be mad if I didn't eat something… Lethargically, he pushed himself to the door. His cast had been taken off yesterday, and he wasn't used to using his muscles. However, he was determined to take care of himself.

I always used to be able to take care of myself. I've remembered that much. I'm not going to change that now. He told himself, swallowing desperately in order to keep any food in his stomach where it belonged, and not on the floor.

It didn't work. He stopped at the bathroom long enough to throw up in the toilet. He had done that often in the past few weeks. Even though he knew it was bad, he never told anyone about it. I don't want to see any more doctors. I don't care if I throw up every day, I'm not going to see any more stupid doctors! He mentally screamed, rinsing out his mouth to keep himself from screaming for real.

Slowly this time, he set out again for the kitchen. It took an agonizingly long time, but he made it. Pushing himself over to the refrigerator, he poured himself a glass of milk. He got out a box of Fruit Loops and a bowl. He poured half a bowl full of cereal and filled it with milk also. Putting the food away, he took a spoon from the dish rack and moved over to the table to eat his breakfast.

Heero had just accomplished the difficult task of eating two spoonfuls of cereal, when the doorbell rang. He groaned. Man, I hope it's not some Jehovah witnesses… *I don't have anything against Jehovah witnesses, I just think it is annoying the way they knock constantly on your door. Girl scouts too.*

Moving with a speed that made him sick, Heero pushed to the window and looked out it. There, to his dismay, was a Girl Scout. She was ringing the doorbell consistently, looking up at the seven story building with a frown. She pounded on the gate in frustration, and was about to walk away, when Heero opened the window and shouted,

"Hey! Did you want something?"

She turned around with a flash, and held onto the gate. "I'm selling cookies! Anyone in there that might want to buy one?" She asked eagerly.

"Hold on a minute. I'll come out and let you in." Heero replied, heading for the door. Duo would kill him if he missed the chance for buying food.

He left the door open, concentrating on rolling down the ramp. A wheelchair was hard for him to get used to. I don't wanna tip! No one would be around to help me up. He'd done that before. Flipped his wheelchair right over. That was not good.

Heero saw the look on the girl's face when she noticed the chair. He tried to ignore it, as she was trying to suppress it, but it was too obvious. He could almost hear her saying 'What a freak.' He'd seen other people look at him that way, and it hurt.

The wheelchair-bound boy never said a word as he opened the gate. "Come on in the house. I'll get the other guy up." He said quietly, leading the blue haired girl into the apartment.

"Do you live here all alone?" She asked once they were inside.

"No. I live here with 4 other guys. They have jobs, so only two of us are here right now. We each have our own floor, and the guest floor. This is the 'family' floor. I've been kind of camping out here for a few days." He explained.

"Oh."

"Have a seat. I'll go get the other guy." Heero turned and pushed himself into his room. I feel like an idiot. At least I can talk now…

He leaned over and turned on the apartment's comm system. "Duo this is Heero. Wake up."

Duo's Bedroom…

Duo turned. It was extremely hard to sleep at 9:00 in the morning, but he had to try. He was absolutely exhausted from working. He had only gotten five or six hours of sleep in the past few days, and none the last two. Finally, he had come home at 4:40 this morning, deciding to take a break from the scavenging business for a while. Now, Heero's voice disturbed his peaceful reverie.

"Duo wake up. Duo! Come on Duo…there's food down here. And a girl. A cute girl. Come on Duo! She's a Girl Scout - a hot blue haired Girl Scout!"

That got his attention. The braided wonder jumped out of his bed and over to the comm system. "A Girl Scout?" Are we going to get some cookies? Huh? Are we, are we?"

The answer was brief. "If you come down here we will."

"Coming!" Duo replied, turning the communication system off.

He brought some pants to change into, and sped out the door. As he was racing down the stairs, he thought to himself, Heero sounded really tired. I wonder if there's anything wrong. He would tell, wouldn't he? I hope so. Oh well. I've got to be cheerful. Food! Yeah, the girl has food. Wait a minute…Heero's alone downstairs with a girl? Crap! He ran even faster, and burst through the kitchen door breathless.

"What's your problem? Really hungry? Or don't you trust me." Heero gave a small smile.

"No…huff…I…uhh…puff…just…you…were down here all alone, and…" Duo stopped, staring at the girl.

"Her name is Sky High. I think she wants you to buy some cookies." Heero suggested.

"Uh…sure! Do you have an order list?"

"Yes, here it is." She pulled out a paper, pencil, and a calculator to figure costs. "Go ahead and fill it out!"

"Okay." Duo thought for a while, then scribbled his order on the paper.

He walked around the table to give it to her, forgetting that he was only in his black silk boxers and a black wifebeater. Sky looked him over and smiled to herself, trying to conceal her amusement. Heero caught on, luckily, Duo didn't.

"Do you want everything on this list?" She asked.

"Yup."

Sky was shocked, but she certainly didn't argue. After totaling the order up, she announced, "It comes to $238.45"

"$238.45?!" Heero yelped.

"Uh-huh."

Duo turned a little red and turned to Heero. "Can I borrow some money? Just until I get paid?"

"How much?"

"$238.25." He replied sheepishly.

"What did you spend the rest of your money on?" Heero asked curiously.

Duo leaned over and whispered, "Hair care products and clothes."

Heero turned in shock. "Sure you can borrow the money…but we're having a talk later."

20 minutes later…

Duo is sitting on the couch, practically scarfing down cases of cookies. Heero swore he heard him purr in pleasure. That was pretty scary.

"Don't eat all of those. I want some, and I'm sure the others do."

"Aw, c'mon, they won't be back for a long time…I can't wait that long…"

"You'll live." Heero threatened. Even slightly mental, wheelchair bound, and missing half his memories, Heero was a threatening person.

"Okay." Duo squeaked. I can wait. Hmm…I wonder how everyone else is doing…

At the local circus…

Trowa wiped the sweat off his body with a soft towel. It took a lot of strength to perform his acrobatics, and to keep up that strength, he had to work out. The circus had it's own gym, and he used it during his breaks. Right now, the circus was taking a lunch break. He didn't perform until after lunch, so he decided to go get something to eat. Catherine would throw a fit if he didn't.

Walking over to pick up his sandwich, he noticed a girl standing by the road. Her long black hair concealed much of her face, but he could tell she was gorgeous. Her intense, ice blue eyes studied the circus, and the people working there. She seemed to be looking to see if it was worth asking for a job. Beside her was a huge tiger who was also studying everyone.

Trowa felt her burning gaze on him. He knew she was studying his bare chest. Accepting this fact, he lifted his gaze so she could see one of his jade green eyes. As the other was covered with his long bangs; she couldn't see it if she wanted to. Their eyes met, and Trowa felt something - something small, but it was enough for him to walk over and talk to her.

The tiger made no growl as he approached. He had expected that. Thought the girl seemed a tad surprised, he continued with what he was going to say.

"Who are you?" He asked. Oh that was nice Trowa. You think you make yourself better than anyone by not talking, but really, you can be just as stupid by saying little. Now it sounds like you want her to scram.

"That's my own business…unless you work here." The girl replied carefully.

Trowa only nodded. I don't talk to anyone else, and she's not going to get the special treatment just because I…feel something for her.

"Oh. Dakota. Dakota Slayer." She replied.

"Are you looking for a job?" He asked, though it was more a statement than a question.

"Do you think I'd be talking to you if I didn't?" She asked skeptically.

He was beginning to get angry. As he always did, he locked it behind his face. It is to your advantage to keep the enemy from knowing they scored a point. Wait a minute…she's not an enemy…yet…

"If you keep that attitude, you'll never get a job." He snapped. "If you want to get hired, talk to the ringmaster - and be polite." He ended with the slightest hint of a snarl. How could I have felt something for that?

"Trowa!" His sister called, "Come eat something! I want to practice my throwing after you eat!"

"Coming!" He replied, running off to his sister.

Dakota Slayer watched him go. At first, she had thought that she felt something for the strange boy. Whatever it was, it was definitely gone now. Sure, he was cute, but very, very rude. He thought he knew everything.

No one knows everything. She retorted to herself. "Come on Saber, let's go find that ringmaster."

Later, in the practice field…

Catherine was doing good today. Se hadn't come close to spearing him yet. Well, to passerby, she almost hit him every time. They were the only two who knew when it was really close. 'Thunk!' Another one imbedded itself right next to his ear. That was a close one.

She was in the middle of a throw, when the ring master called his name,

"Trowa!"

The distraction made her throw off, and the knife twisted down. Trowa's eyes widened a fraction as the knife came towards him. The blade captivated him, he couldn't move. He heard Catherine's scream, and felt the pain as the knife entered his right arm.

Trowa saw the blood. He was in shock for a few seconds, then he recovered, pulling the bloody knife out of his arm. He took out one of the strips of linen he kept in his pockets for such emergencies, and wrapped his arm up tightly.

Catherine ran to him. "Are you alright Trowa?"

"I'm fine."

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to hit you! It's all my fault! Why didn't you dodge? Oh it doesn't matter! If I was any good, I wouldn't have hit you! Trowa I'm sorry!"

In a rare flash of emotion, he gathered his sister in his arms, trying to comfort her. "It's okay, it'll be alright." He soothed.

Dakota watched from a distance. Her whole attitude towards him had changed. He wasn't heartless, and he certainly wasn't a coward. I may be strong, and I'm definitely not a coward, but I don't know if I could do that. I can tame tigers, but I don't think I could stand there and let someone throw knives at me. What if they missed, like that girl just did? She pondered the thought for a while, until the ringmaster spoke again.

"Trowa, are you able to work?" The ringmaster asked quietly.

He looked up from his embrace, and replied, "My flips might be a little weak tonight, but I can, yes." He always replied in a full answer to the ringmaster.

"Then I would like you to work with our new girl, Dakota Slayer. She will be working in the ring with her tiger. Perhaps you two could work out a new routine, say, with you and her tiger. Sound like a good idea?"

"Yes sir." He replied, knowing it wasn't an option.

Dakota sighed. She didn't need to be 'shown the ropes,' she knew what she was doing. And as for that routine, sure, it would be a tourist trap, but doing it with that boy? Why me?

Trowa broke his hold on Cathy, and asked, "Will you be okay?"

When she nodded, he walked away. He headed for Dakota, and upon reaching her, he said, "Come on. We have a lot of work to do." She didn't reply.

The ringmaster called, "Good luck!" Then, turning to Catherine, he said, "Now Cathy, we need to work on that throw. You can't be startled when someone in the audience talks…" His voice faded out as they walked away.

Great. I have to train someone. Again. And it just had to be her. This is going to be one interesting day…

Quatre's office…

It was three o'clock. So far, it had been a very busy day. Managing all of the Winner Families' affairs wasn't easy. Besides managing all the business facilities, he had recently begun a new program that helped the people living on his land find jobs. He was almost done, the list had been processed, and he was pairing up the people's abilities with jobs.

Just then, his secretary buzzed him. "Mr. Winner?"

His tired blue eyes looked up from all the paperwork. "Yes Elizabeth?"

"Someone is here to see you about a job. Should I send her in?" The secretary asked.

"Uh…" Quatre sighed. More work to do. Still, I can't really turn anyone down… "Alright, send her in."

"I'll get right on it Mr. Winner. She will be there in a few minutes."

"Thank you Elizabeth." Quatre replied, turning back to the load of papers he still had to sort through. He had filled out a few recommendation forms when there was a knock on the door.

"Come in." he directed in a tired voice.

"Alright." In walked a tall girl with long purple hair. The thick strands were pulled back into a ponytail, while a few escaping pieces framed her beautiful face. She smiled, a brilliant smile that lit up her whole face, so much like Quatre's own.

"Hello. I'm J'Amier Starlight. I was wondering if you might know where I could get a job."

Quatre was captivated. The girls slim features caught his eyes and kept them there. Everything she wore fit her so perfectly - flare jeans, high heeled boots, a beautiful blue tanktop…man, was she gorgeous.

"Mr. Winner? Mr. Winner…" She called.

"Huh? Oh, sorry. A job, well…I've had a lot of applications for those recently." He indicated to the formidable pile of papers on his desk.

"Oh, I didn't know…I'm sorry. I can find a job myself…"

"No, no. Have a seat. I'm sure I can find something…" Quatre gestured to one of the large, plushy chairs in his office.

"Thank you." She replied, pulling one up to his oak desk.

"Now," Quatre began, wheeling his chair *I love wheely chairs! Quatre just had to have one! .-_-. * "What are you experienced in?" He questioned.

"Well…" J'Amier put her arms on his desk, pondering for a minute before answering. "I'm good at martial arts. I've always wanted to be an instructor."

Quatre raised an eyebrow. "A martial arts instructor?" Wu Fei had mentioned the fact that he needed help with all the new kids in his program…this would be perfect. "I have a job in mind. It's a part-time one down at the local martial arts center."

"Oh that's perfect!" She exclaimed. "Where is it?"

Quatre looked at the clock. The shiny brass hands pointed to 4:00. Ah…he could stand to go home early for once. He could show J'Amier the center, and beg Wu Fei to give her a job. Besides, he argued with himself, I deserve a break. These papers can wait until tomorrow…I'm already a day ahead anyway…alright I'll go.

"I'll take you there myself." Quatre offered. "Just give me a moment to get my things, and we'll be on our way."

"Thank you! Thank you so much!" J'Amier exclaimed. This was perfect.

Wu Fei Chang's martial Arts Center…

At the end of the day, Wu Fei always gave his students a chance to challenge him. It made them learn respect for their master, as well as giving them a chance to get rid of any cocky attitudes they had from one of his rare compliments. This was always Wu Fei's favorite part of the day. Sometimes an older student would think his age was superior to Wu Fei's 18 years. It never was.

Wu Fei smirked to himself. Who would be the fool to challenge him today? Some would call me prideful. I am not. I merely have developed my skills to the best ability, and perfect them everyday. I am a warrior, I am a man, and I am superior. The smirk faded as he repeated the phrase taught to him so long ago. I am a warrior, I am a man, and I am superior.

"So, who is brave enough to challenge me today?" He asked the group of students sitting on the matted floor.

No one spoke up. The silence was not surprising. Over the past few months, they had seen the damage Wu Fei had caused to rebellious and rambunctious students who thought that they could outwit their master.

Wu Fei noticed a girl over in the corner. She had blond hair, with a small ice blue braid dangling down on one side. Her bright blue eyes studied everyone in the room, as mine did. She wore a tanktop and a pair of fashionable jean shorts. He saw the pom-poms in her hands, and almost groaned. A cheerleader.

"Brett! Go challenge him! You'll win, I know it!" She cheered.

Brett Cunningham looked up from his place on the mat. He was usually a very quiet boy, strong in abilities, but never underestimating anyone else because of them. Normally, he wouldn't have thought about challenging Wu Fei…but that girl…

"I'll challenge you Master Chang." He said quietly, getting up off his feet. Wu Fei was shocked, to say the least.

"Alright! Go bro!" The girl cheered, causing her brother to turn red.

Wu Fei looked at the girl closely. There wasn't much of a similarity…how could they be related? Then it hit him. Brett's father died in the war. I remember that now. She must be a half-sister.

"If you wish. Step into the circle." Wu Fei granted.

Brett slowly pushed himself to his feet, walking nervously over to his master. He took a good stance, as he had been taught. Nevertheless, he had no hope of winning.

Brett started the fight with an attempted drop kick. However, this caused him to be momentarily off balance. That was all his master needed. Lashing out with a double roundhouse kick (is that even a move?) he kicked his student into the wall. The fight was promptly over.

Wu Fei walked over and helped Brett to his feet. Even though he hadn't used all of his strength to kick his student, the boy would probably still be limping. He was right.

Brett got up and slowly limped over to his sister, without a backward glance at his master. Wu Fei was tempted to go up and reprimand Brett for his disrespect, but something stopped him. From the way the boy was walking, he had been hurt rather badly. It didn't excuse him for not using common courtesy, but he could understand.

"Class dismissed." He ended, turning away.

4:45…

Most of the students had departed. Wu Fei had cleaned up, changed back into jeans and a shirt, and was about ready to go home when he noticed that Brett and his half-sister were still there. Why didn't they go home? I wonder if that girl is going to yell at me. Girls have a tendency to overreact. I hope Brett's not hurt too bad, he's one of my good students, and I'd hate for him to get behind.

"Brett, is there anything you wanted to speak to me about?" He asked.

The injured boy looked up. "This is my half-sister, Ice Berk. She came to cheer me on today."

"Master Chang -"

"Mr. Chang. Only my students refer to me as Master Chang." He corrected gently. So she is his half-sister, and what a pretty one she is…

"I'm sorry Mr. Chang."

"That's alright. Please continue." Wu Fei assured.

"I'm sorry that I…caused Brett's injury. It was entirely my fault. If I hadn't cheered him on, he wouldn't have challenged you, and then he wouldn't have gotten hurt! Now he won't be able to train for at least a week!" Ice cried.

"I never said that." Brett added quietly.

Ice was hysterical by this time. "No, you said two weeks, or more! Brett, I-" She stopped again, realizing again that she was supposed to be apologizing to Mr. Chang, not her brother.

"I can give you something that will help." Wu Fei told his student.

For the first time, Brett looked up at his master. His cobalt blue eyes were clouded over with pain. He desperately needed something for his injury.

"Really?" He asked hopefully.

"Yes. I got it out for you. I knew you'd need it." Wu Fei said gently, pulling out a bag of soft, blue powder. "Take a spoonful of this and dissolve it in a large bowl of hot water. Dip a cloth into it, lay the cloth on your injury, and you will be back in class in no time."

"Thank you Master Chang." Brett said, taking the bag. "Come on Ice, let's go."

"Alright. Goodbye Master - Mr. Chang." Ice waved goodbye. She took her brother's arm, and helped him walk.

Wu Fei watched his student limp painfully out of his martial art's center. He felt badly about the boy, but there was nothing more he could do. He had done what he could, now it was up to Brett, and whoever was taking care of him.

The teenager picked up his belongings, and walked over to the light switch. He flicked it off, slowly leaving his building. As he was locking up, he heard a familiar voice.

"Wu Fei! Wu Fei, wait up! I have a question for you!"

Sure enough, it was Quatre. A slim, pretty girl ran behind him. He waited, and the duo soon caught up.

"Wu Fei, this is J'Amier Starlight. She has experience in martial arts, and was wondering if she could get a job." Quatre introduced.

Wu Fei eyed the girl. There was hidden strength in her bones, and a certain something about her reminded him of Merian…"Alright. You can have the job. You will be paid based upon how well you teach." He agreed.

Quatre smiled, as did J'Amier. "Perhaps you could discuss more of this over supper." Quatre suggested.

Always the kind one, the one to offer hospitality to the next person he can offer it to. Sometimes, I think I am too much like Heero… "As you wish." He agreed, and the trio started off for home.

At the gate outside the apartment building…

Heero looked longingly out at the street. Not too many people were going by at this time of night. Everyone was eating dinner with their families. Family. Something I wish I had… He gripped the bars desperately with his hands, hoping to see someone he knew, even if it was a doctor. Looking for someone who wouldn't glance at him like everyone else did. That hurt more than all of his physical pain.

All of a sudden, his eyes focused on someone on the other side of the street. It was a girl. She was small, but gracefully built. Her hair was a lovely reddish-brown color. He found himself drown to her, and he called out softly,

"Hey."

"Huh?" The girl spun, looking around.

"Over here. The boy by the gate." He said, as softly as before.

Peering at both sides of the road, she quickly ran over. She looked down at him, and smiled. That's right, smiled. She didn't do anything else. Heero's head spun. She's smiling. She doesn't look at me funny! Hm…she looks hungry. Maybe she can stay for dinner…

"Would you like…to have dinner with me?"

The girl was shocked. After all, that is not a question you ask to a complete stranger. But she was hungry so…

"Alright."

Heero smiled this time. He reached up and unlocked the gate, letting the girl in. Taking her arm, he led her up to the door. Finally, he had found someone who understood him.

Well, what did you think? Pretty long huh. I wanted to make up for the last one. I also want to thank anyone who pestered me enough to write this. Thank you all. I really like this fic now, so the next chapter may be out very soon!

Jet

P.S. don't own GW! (Though I would like to think I have a claim on Heero…)