Till Death Do Us Part...

Chapter Three

By Aryn

"Any change, Doctor?"

The mousy little woman pushed her glasses up on her nose and tucked the pen light back into her pocket. "I'm afraid not sir. But it's only been one day."

The young Chinese man stared down with concern at the girl lying on the bed. The doctor patted his arm. "We would only be concerned if the coma lasted more than three days. She's still out of the woods. What would concern me is this hospital bill."

He glanced over at the doctor. "What about the bill?"

"I'm sure it's very expensive having a doctor come out to your house. And having all the medical equipment as well."

"Money isn't important. Just as long as my wife recovers."

"She should. She's very healthy. The only problem that might arise is amnesia. But we’ll deal with that when she wakes up."

"Amnesia? What do we do if she has that?"

The nurse shrugged her shoulders. "We wait. The best you can do is just be supportive till she gets her memory back."

He nodded his head and sat down on the side of the bed. "I'll call you if there's any change."

"All right."

The doctor packed up her things and moved towards the door. "Mr. Ling."

"Yes?"

"Your wife is a very lucky woman."

"I know. She could have been killed in that accident."

"No, I mean for having a husband who's willing to go through what you are. Setting her up here at home, not sparing any expense. Men like you are few and far between."

He merely smiled and nodded his head. "Thank you."

_________________________

The last thing she remembered was a sound. A high pitched squeal...but that was all. She didn't know what it was. And gazing at a high white ceiling wasn't doing anything to jog her memory. She was sore. Her whole body ached. Maybe that had something to do with her surroundings. She couldn't even remember her name.

The face of a Chinese man appeared over her. His deep brown eyes were almost black and locks of fine ebony hair fell over his forehead. He looked...she shut her eyes again. She didn't recognize him. Or at least, she didn't think she did.

A gentle hand was laid on her shoulder as an equally matched voice sounded above her.

"Mei? Can you hear me?"

Her eyes opened slowly. Mei. That was her name, wasn't it? She didn't really know, but something told her that it was right. Mei. She was Mei. At least she had a name. So what was his name? He gently shook her.

"Can you hear me?"

She nodded her head.

He looked to the side, to someone she couldn't see. "Call the doctor and tell her that Mei's awake." He returned his gaze down to her. "You've been in a coma for two days. I was so worried."

She tried to speak but her voice had been reduced to a rough whisper. "What happened?"

The man brushed a few locks of hair off her forehead. "You were hit by a car. We were crossing the street and he never stopped at the red light."

"We were walking across the street?"

"Yes. You, me and our...daughter."

"Daughter?"

The man hung his head. "She didn't make it."

Mei felt her throat constrict. She didn't know who this man was, and she didn't know her daughter either. But she did know what it felt like to lose someone. But why would losing someone affect her this way when she didn't even remember them. Unless...She sat bolt upright in bed.

"Amnesia."

The man wiped away tears that had fallen on his cheeks. "What dear?"

"I have amnesia. I don't remember you."

He sadly nodded his head. "The doctors were afraid of that." He reached over and took her small hand in his. "Don't worry about that. It'll come back to you. But until it does, you can stay here, as a guest in my house."

"Are you my husband?"

"Yes, I am. My name is Deshi Ling and you’re my wife, Mei Ling."

Even as the words reached her ears, she didn't believe them. There was an unmistakable feeling of truth that came over her when he said her name. But everything else lacked that gut feeling of sincerity. Even as he pulled her into an embrace, something felt very wrong. She just hoped that she could figure it out before time ran out. Then again, she wasn't even sure of how much time she had.

_______________________________

Arys gazed out at the rain as it ran in rivers down the car window. They had decided to stay with Wufei for a little longer, and had just taken Trowa and Triniti to the airport. Hana and Li needed Satoru and Araceli just as much as Wufei needed Heero and Arys. It had been five days since Mei's death. The pain had lessened considerably, but there still was a war going on between the glimmer of hope Heero had given her and the cold reality of truth.

"I could have been wrong, Arys."

Arys turned to her husband. "You think that she's really gone then?"

Heero took a few breaths. "I think that if she were still alive, she would have gotten in contact with us by now."

Arys had to admit that he was right. It wasn't like Mei to stay away from her family for this long. She would have called at least. Maybe she should have just accepted the fact of her friend's death.

"Perhaps you're right, Heero."

The car slowed to a halt and Arys felt Heero cover her hand with his. Arys closed her eyes.

"Don't."

Heero didn't listen to her. Instead, as awkward as it was in the car, he pulled her into his arms and held her. She allowed herself a few tears, before hastily wiping them away.

"All I'm saying, Arys, is that if Mei were alive and in a position to come back, she would have by now."

"You think she was kidnapped?"

"I don't know. It's possible. The only thing we can do now is wait a little longer. But I am beginning to think that she may be gone."

His arms tightened around his wife. "I know you want to think differently. We all do."

"Have you spoken to Wufei yet?"

"No, I wanted to have something solid before I said any-"

Arys looked up at Heero, trying to figure out what had stopped him in mid-sentence. His blue eyes were staring straight ahead, through the passenger side window.

"Heero, what is it?"

"Open your window, Arys."

Arys pushed herself up and quickly rolled down her window. A small gathering of people were huddled under large umbrellas.

"Where are we?" Arys asked.

"The graveyard."

Arys shook her head. "Another funeral."

"Look at the woman closest to the grave."

Arys immediately found the woman Heero pointed out and her breath caught in her throat. The profile was exactly the same. If only she would turn around. As if the woman caught Arys' thoughts, she turned and stared directly at the car. Arys almost jumped out of the car, but Heero stopped her.

"It's Mei!"

Heero continued his intense stare. "Wait. Let's see if she comes over to us."

Arys turned back around to see the group dispersing. The man standing next Mei had caught sight of the car. Arys watched as the man slipped an arm around Mei's shoulders and led her off in the opposite direction. The Yuys watched her and the man get into a shiny black Jaguar and pull away.

"Heero..."

"Something's not right."

Arys sat back in the seat. "At least she's still alive."

Heero waited till two cars were between them and the Jag before pulling out. With a slight smirk, he turned to Arys.

"I hope you're up to a little shadowing."

"You bet."