Disclaimers: Gundam Wing belongs to Sunrise. Any songs or quotes belong to their respective authors listed with them.

Author’s Notes: Hey everyone! Thanks again to all who have reviewed me. Uh, not much to say this time around. But enjoy!

//_-

The court had been given a one-hour recess, and Averil desperately needed a breath of fresh air. It wasn’t that things weren’t going well—in fact, the evidence against Morgan and Boris would surely convince the jury—it was just that she felt suffocated being in the same room with the big boys or knowing that they were so near. She stood silently amidst her gathered group of friends, staring at the cold marble floor and occasionally glancing up towards whoever was talking, but she had no idea what was being said. Once there was a break in conversation, she excused herself to go to the bathroom. Thankfully, Catherine, Hilde, and Jazmin didn’t feel the need for a group run.

Averil stood at the sink, wondering why she always stared in the mirror whenever she was troubled. She looked scared, and her skin was paler than normal. She tried to remedy that by pinching her cheeks, but was unsuccessful. On this day, it would be a little more difficult than that to hide her fear. And for some reason, she felt like having a good cry. That was most likely due to the fact that this day was supercharged with differing emotions—anxiety, relief, and some satisfaction, but there still wasn’t any closure. It shouldn’t be long though until she had Kraten in court. Thankfully, he’s not here today. I don’t think I could handle it seeing him glare at me across the courtroom. She worried briefly about where her solid evidence was going to come from, but felt better after telling herself to just take things a day at a time. She also prayed a quick prayer for strength to make it through the rest of the day. Then she gingerly leaned down and splashed cold water on her face, which helped to refresh her. She turned and dried her face with a paper towel and headed for the door. Maybe she’d take a little walk outside, too. She had precisely 48 minutes until she had to be back in that horrid courtroom. There was no way she was going to spend it in that chilling courthouse anymore than she had to.

She walked back to where her friends had been, but they were gone. She searched for them a minute, but didn’t see them anywhere. Oh well, I won’t be going far or be gone for long, so it’s not a big deal. Then she eagerly stepped outside, about to breathe in deeply. She stopped herself though and walked on, past the crowd of smokers enjoying the recess. Farther along the sidewalk, she leaned against a building and watched two squirrels chasing each other nearby, laughing occasionally at their antics.

"Long time no see," said a familiar, arrogant voice.

Averil gasped and raised her eyes to meet cold gray ones. There stood Kraten, dressed as always in his severe pinstriped suit and smirking at her obvious discomfort. "What are you doing here?" she bit out.

"I just wanted to see what would happen to my boys, now that you’ve turned against them," he remarked casually.

"Don’t give me that bullcrap—like you even care about them at all. Besides, I was never on their side in the first place; I was just too scared to stand up to you guys. Well things are different now, so if you would excuse me, I don’t want to talk to you." Averil turned away, wondering where the strength to say that had come from and why her knees weren’t knocking together.

Then her heart lurched as Kraten grabbed her and shoved her roughly into a nearby alleyway. "You don’t just walk away when I’m talking to you," he said harshly, anger glittering in his eyes.

"What do you want from me, Kraten? Huh?! Why can’t you just leave me alone?!" Averil yelled, furious now.

He laughed cruelly. "Who knew my little Lacy could get so mad."

"I’m not your little Lacy anymore," she said bitterly.

"Oh you think so? Well why exactly are you flirting with that Gundam pilot, huh Lacy? Both of us know that you’re just using him and his friends to get me in jail."

"That’s not true!" she yelled savagely.

Kraten laughed again. "You mean to say that you actually love this guy? That’s a laugh. In any case, it’s one-sided—like any man would want you for anything more than your body."

Averil hung her head in shame, hating to hear her fears being voiced aloud. It couldn’t be true. Trowa just wasn’t like that. Then she said in a low, controlled voice, "Don’t talk to me about love, Kraten, when you don’t know a thing about it."

"Oh really? So explain it to me," he ordered, folding his arms and leaning against the wall.

She sighed. "What you don’t understand is that even if he doesn’t love me back, I’ll still love him. It’s not a give and take kind of deal. You give even if you don’t get back." She paused to gather her thoughts, then continued in the same steady voice, "I’m not claiming to know a lot about love, but I do know that my father and mother loved each other, and they loved me, too, and all that I know is what I’ve learned from them." She stopped, wiping a few tears from her eyes, not even looking up at her stepfather—her voice was breaking now, "You know that’s all I ever wanted from you. I didn’t want you to replace my father, but I hoped that you would love me for who I was instead of using me and making me be someone I hated."

Kraten looked irritated and not at all sympathetic. "You hoped? You know you have a real problem. You live in a fantasy world where you think people actually care about one another. Look at the world around you. Everyone’s looking out for themselves."

Averil shook her head. "I feel sorry for you, Kraten. You’re the one who’s blind. Did you ever notice that my mother truly loved you when you first got married? She knew what kind of man you were, but for some reason she was naïve enough to think she could change you. This world may not be filled with loving people, but that doesn’t mean that when you look you won’t ever find someone who cares."

//_-

Trowa shifted positions again, restless. He had long since stopped listening to the discussion. Abruptly, he interrupted, "Averil’s been gone a half hour now. I’m going to look for her."

Everyone stopped talking and stared stupidly, wondering why they hadn’t missed her. Hilde took a sharp intake of breath and said, "She must’ve forgotten that we were coming in here." "Here" was an office room which Mr. Barker had led them into in order to discuss the recent proceedings. Averil hadn’t forgotten, she had simply not heard them discuss it because she hadn’t been listening to their earlier conversation out in the hall.

When Duo and Quatre started to rise from their chairs, Trowa held up a hand to stop them. "You guys stay here. I’ll find her on my own." Trowa checked the bathrooms, the hall, and even the courtroom, but of course he didn’t find her. His stomach was beginning to tie into knots, and his heartbeat was rapid as he furtively looked through the clusters of people in the entrance area. If she got hurt after all of his reassurances that she’d be fine, then . . . well, that just couldn’t happen! Something told him to go outside, sprint past the smokers, down the sidewalk, turn left, and lurch to a stop at an alley.

He was breathing hard, and he knew it wasn’t because of the run. He glanced quickly around the corner, assessing the situation in a matter of seconds. Averil was facing him, and Kraten’s back was to him. There was a dumpster he could hide behind before making his entrance. He crept over to it and crouched down, readying his gun. Averil didn’t see him—her intensity surprised him. He maintained his position and watched, curious as to how Averil would handle Kraten.

". . . but that doesn’t mean that when you look you won’t ever find someone who cares," she said.

Kraten shook his head in contempt. "You only say that because you haven’t seen the truly evil side of this world."

Averil laughed incredulously. "You act as if I didn’t witness you murder those men! Don’t tell me that’s not truly evil!"

"Is that what you’re going to say in court, Lacy? That I’m evil?" He snorted derisively, "You’re gonna have to have some evidence in order to convict me, and you don’t have anything."

Trowa clenched his fists, sending out a litany to Averil, Get him to admit it, come on Averil, get him to admit it . . .

Averil lowered her eyes a little in defeat, invoking a cruel smile from Kraten, but then her eyes opened a little wider and she contained the urge to grin. She looked up timidly, licking her lips not in nervousness but in anticipation. "Kraten," she said softly, hoping he’d take the bait, "Don’t you think that what you did was evil? Wrong? How can you act like it was nothing?"

Yes! That’s it, Averil! thought Trowa with pride.

Kraten gave Averil a strange look, but wouldn’t pass up a chance to jab at her sensitivity. "Like I said, I was only looking out for myself just like everyone else in this world does. I’m not afraid to use whatever means necessary to get what I want."

"Even murder?!" cried Averil, filled with loathing for this man, but inwardly rejoicing in her coming triumph.

"You know I don’t like that word, Lacy. Remember, it’s part of my little method called persuasion," he sneered.

"You’re so full of it," she hissed, "It’s murder and you’re gonna pay for what you did."

Kraten’s air of overconfidence did not falter. "You have no proof. The only people who know that I’m a murderer are you, your mother, and me. You and your mother aren’t enough witnesses to convince a jury."

Averil smiled. "Morgan and Boris know, and who says they won’t spill, adding to the number of witnesses?"

"They know I have connections in jail, and they’ll be disposed of too if they turn against me."

"So what about me?" asked Averil, remembering that she might not get away from him, now that he had her alone.

"You’re coming with me, of course." Averil gasped when she saw Trowa, gun leveled at Kraten, eyes fastened on her.

Kraten turned around, unfazed by the gun. His smile made him appear as if he was tolerating a child’s mischief. "Don’t worry, she’s yours now, to use as you want."

Trowa reluctantly dragged his gaze away from Averil to glare scornfully at Kraten, but he didn’t lower his gun. "She’s not a toy to be handed over to someone else when you’re through with her. Besides, she was never yours to begin with." He moved to grasp Averil’s hand, but continued to glare at her stepfather.

Kraten grit his teeth, finally allowing himself to look openly hostile, instead of displaying his fake, cruel smiles. "You guys go ahead and live in your little fantasy world. I’ll just watch and enjoy while your case against me flounders. I have connections everywhere, and I always get what I want."

Averil shivered and turned away, almost feeling sorry for him. He was so estranged from the concept of love and blind to it when someone actually had loved him. But then she could never forget what he had done to those men, and to her and her mother. Someday, she would find the strength to forgive him, but now the memories were too fresh, and it was too hard. Tears slid down her cheeks as Trowa led her away, his arm wrapped protectively around her shoulders.

Kraten stood stiffly and watched as they left the alley, then turned and headed in the opposite direction, one solitary, ravaged man.

//_-

Trowa found himself having to guide Averil back to the courthouse; she was shaking so badly. Once inside, he led her to a private corner and sat her down on a bench. She clung to his shirt and pulled him down beside her before burying her face in his chest and sobbing. He rubbed her back, his lips on her hair. His relief was indescribable at having her safely in his arms again. "You did it, Averil. I’m here now. It’ll all be over soon," he chanted soothingly.

When she finally pulled away, eyes rimmed in red, she said, "I don’t know what would have happened if you hadn’t come when you did. You’re always rescuing me . . ."

"You didn’t even need me back there. I only interfered because of my promise to protect you." He paused, thinking. "When all of this is over . . . will you . . ." he trailed off, staring at some point above her head.

"Will I what?"

His eyes returned to hers, expressionless, and he shook his head. "Nevermind."

When she could see that he wouldn’t answer, she said, "I did what you told me, Trowa. I used my strengths against him, and he really didn’t understand, but it was sad . . ."

Trowa’s eyes told her that he understood, then he leaned over and murmured in her ear, "I’m so proud of you. You got that all on tape."

She smiled and whispered, "I know. It’s ironic that I learned the art of manipulation from Kraten himself."

The others came up then, all asking questions at once, but Trowa and Averil did not reveal the evidence they had obtained for fear that the public would hear. They would tell their friends later, and as for the rest of the world, well let’s just say that one person would be in for the surprise of his life. He certainly wasn’t going to get what he wanted this time.

//_-

I would give up everything

Before I’d separate myself from you

After so much suffering

I finally found unvarnished truth

I was all by myself for the longest time

So cold inside

And the hurt from the heartache would not subside

I felt like dying

Until you saved my life

Thank God I found you

I was lost without you

My every wish and every dream

Somehow became reality

When you brought the sunlight

Completed my whole life

I’m overwhelmed with gratitude

‘Cause baby I’m so thankful I found you

I will give you everything

There’s nothing in this world I wouldn’t do

To insure your happiness

I’ll cherish every part of you

‘Cause without you beside me I can’t survive

Don’t want to try

If you’re keeping me warm each and every night

I’ll be alright

Because I need you in my life

Thank God I found you

I was lost without you

My every wish and every dream

Somehow became reality

When you brought the sunlight

Completed my whole life

I’m overwhelmed with gratitude

‘Cause baby I’m so thankful I found you

See I was so desolate

Before you came to me

Looking back I guess

It shows that we were

Destined to shine

After the rain

To appreciate the gift of what we have

And I’d go through it all over again

To be able to feel this way

Thank God I found you

I was lost without you

My every wish and every dream

Somehow became reality

When you brought the sunlight

Completed my whole life

I’m overwhelmed with gratitude

Sweet baby I’m so thankful I found you

Thank God I found you

I was lost without you

I’m overwhelmed with gratitude

My baby I’m so thankful I found you

I’m overwhelmed with gratitude

My baby I’m so thankful I found you

//_-

After the good news had been told back at the Winner estate, Quatre suggested they have a party to celebrate not only that triumph, but also the jury’s verdict of guilt for Morgan and Boris. Duo, always up for a party, was the one to make sure it happened. So there they all were an evening later, Duo and Hilde dancing, Quatre and Jazmin out on a balcony, Catherine chatting with some Maguanacs, the rest of the Maguanacs dancing with their dates, and Trowa and Averil sitting together on a secluded couch. At first they didn’t talk much as they watched the others at the party, shared a smile for no apparent reason, squeezed hands, then took another drink of their sodas, and continued on in the same fashion. Finally, Averil spoke over the din of the music, "So what happens next?"

Trowa frowned, obviously being reminded of some unpleasant thoughts. "Let’s talk about this upstairs, okay?"

Averil nodded, wondering what was troubling him, and allowed him to lead her up to their balcony. Once there, she asked, "What’s wrong, Trowa?"

He sighed and didn’t look at her. At length, he answered, "Catherine and I have to get back to the circus soon. The practice period will be over in a few weeks, and we need to use that time so that we won’t miss out on the coming three months of performances."

"Oh," was all she said, and her tone was heartbreaking to Trowa. She must think he was awful! Then she muttered, "I understand. I don’t want to keep you from your duties."

Trowa finally looked at her, and the turmoil of conflicting emotions she saw in his eyes startled her. "I would stay if I thought you really needed me with you, but after what I saw yesterday . . . I think you’ll be fine without me for the rest of this ordeal. But just say the word, and I’ll stay."

Averil missed the pleading in his eyes, the hopeful note in his voice. "No, I’ll be fine," she assured him, although she still wanted him to stay. Yet maybe this was something she needed to see through on her own, to know that she could do it all by herself, but if only they had just a little more time.

He nodded in defeat. "If you ever need me, though, my promise still stands. All you have to do is call me, and I’ll be there in a heartbeat."

"I know, Trowa," she said, smiling.

He brushed the back of his hand across her cheek, then cupped the side of her face tenderly. "What are you gonna do once Kraten’s behind bars?"

She leaned into his hand slightly and closed her eyes. When she opened them again, she replied, "I’ll get my mother settled somewhere, then I want to come back to the circus."

Trowa’s heart leaped joyfully. "Really?" he asked, raising a brow in question.

She smiled, "Yes, I loved what I was doing back there with the horses, and having my own performance, it was great. My true friends are there . . . you’ll be there. It might be awhile though."

"You’ll visit though, won’t you?" he asked, hopeful, his hand moving down to lace fingers with hers.

"Of course, if you keep me up to date on where you guys will be at."

"I’ll call you everyday," he said emphatically.

She giggled, "Yeah I can just see myself sitting on the witness stand and my cell-phone rings." They shared a moment of laughter, then stopped at the same time, fully realizing just how much they’d miss each other. "You know, I broke one of my promises to you. I never rubbed it in when I made you laugh."

"I’m certainly a different person around you," he conceded.

"Me, too. Despite the fact that you think I didn’t need you when I was confronted by Kraten, I never would have been able to say the things I did if you hadn’t offered me so much support and advice before."

"You will be okay without me here?" It was a question.

"Yes," she said truthfully, although she had a nagging sense that they had forgotten to say something important to each other.

//_-

Love has no awareness of merit or demerit; it has no scale by which its portion may be weighed or measured. It does not seek to balance giving and receiving. Love loves; this is its nature.

-Howard Thurman

Love is man’s natural endowment, but he doesn’t know how to use it. He refuses to recognize the power of love because of his love of power.

-Dick Gregory

Author’s Notes: Just to let you guys know about the quotes, I got the idea from some Sailormoon fanfic writers at First Love: A Sailormoon Story Archive, which I highly recommend for any Sailormoon lovers out there. (www.firstlovefics.com) I thought it might be neat to do the same thing myself, so I checked out a couple of quote books and wrote down the one’s that related to my story. I hope you like them. Anyway, please review/email me with any comments or criticisms. Thanks for reading and God bless!

To Be Continued