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

//_-

A small figure padded quietly down the halls of the estate, dwarfed even more from his already short stature by the towering walls of the corridors. A dim light leaked through the eastern doors, enabling him to see somewhat clearly. Yet even if the whole house had been immersed in blackness, he would still know his way around enough to make it safely to the office.

Once again, sleep torturously eluded him. He was almost sick of worrying about everything, but this something, rather someone, who had captured his concern, was certainly worthy of his suffering. He had been trying for days to decipher what it was that was bothering Jazmin, but just as sleep evaded him, so did the answer.

He needed a distraction. Settling into his black leather swivel chair, he drowsily reached for the remote and turned on the television. He flipped carelessly through the channels, seeking something that would lull him to sleep, eventually deciding upon the news. Nothing tremendous had been happening lately, mostly due to the Preventers efforts, so surely this would be the right channel. He situated himself more comfortably in the chair, propping his feet on the desk and preparing himself for the doze that should soon follow. He let the drone of the reporters’ lure him deeper into lethargy, only vaguely listening as he watched the flickering colors that reflected on the polished desktop.

"Last night, it was reported that the trend-setting Lacy Kraten, stepdaughter of Xavier Kraten, who owns the wildly successful Equus Wagers, has been reported missing since one month ago from today. The young beauty appears to have been kidnapped, allegedly in an attempt to ransom large amounts of money from Mr. Kraten."

Quatre hastily removed his feet from the desktop and gaped in shock at the picture on the screen. No trace of earlier exhaustion was present in the alert frame that leaned closer for a better look. Staring him straight in the eyes, rather flirtatiously at that, was a girl with an unmistakable resemblance to Averil. Heck! It was Averil, no doubt about it. He blinked several times, but the image remained. Her chin was tilted coyly, and she wore a large white hat that contrasted her shining scarlet tresses. Her lacy, intricately detailed dress was also white, and she held up a matching parasol in satin-gloved hands. The effect was charming, making her appear as if she was pleading to be taken on a walk through sunlit gardens. But Quatre did notice something peculiar. Her alluring smile did not reach up to her eyes. Instead, they appeared hollow and vacant, with an almost untraceable hint of torment hiding in the corners.

The picture moved from the middle of the screen and shrunk as it flew to the top right-hand corner. Then a solid wall of a man was revealed, with one massive arm wrapped possessively around a petite woman with titian hair like Averil’s. Quatre assumed it was her mother. His attention was drawn back to the man who towered head and shoulders above his wife and the reporter. His thick salt and pepper hair was combed back in a wave, and his face was shaved clean. He wore a spotless, perfectly pressed pinstriped suit, and his eyes were two piercing, cold spheres of steel gray. The reporter asked him to make a statement:

"Whoever it is that has taken our dear Lacy will pay, not us. I’ve sent out my best men to track her down, and they will find her," he boomed forcefully. "I would like to ask that anyone who has information on her whereabouts or who is questioned by my search party that you would please be as cooperative and informative as possible," he said, leaving no room for disobedience, then flippantly, "I have no other comment."

The reporter raised her brows, clearly awed by this man of such height and firmness. Then she asked, "May we have a statement from Mrs. Kraten?"

Kraten lowered his eyes down to the reporter’s level as if it were degrading to do so, frowned in total reluctance to let his wife speak, but gave a gruff reply of "go ahead" as if they should all be thankful that he did so.

The reporter raised the microphone towards the timid woman, and she hesitantly and softly pleaded, "Lacy, please," she wet her lips, "come back to us. We miss you very much, and I-we need you." She looked up quickly to catch her husband glaring at her, so she promptly added on, "Whoever it is that’s taken you will be found and they will receive justice." She finished with a note of strength and hope, and the camera was returned back to the news headquarters.

The reporter continued, "In just the last few hours, we have received an update from Mr. Kraten’s search party declaring that they have a probable location, from a reliable source, on where she is, and at this moment are headed towards that area. More news on this situation will be revealed as soon as possible."

Quatre turned off the TV and dazedly sat back in his chair, his eyes blank with continuing disbelief. Boy, when he’d asked for a distraction, he didn’t think he’d be given anything like this! Was Averil as innocent as she seemed? It certainly appeared that she was here of her own accord, and if she wasn’t, then Trowa would have to be the kidnapper, which was simply ludicrous. He laughed at the thought, but the strain in his thoughts quickly returned. If Averil hadn’t been kidnapped, then she was definitely lying . . . or else Xavier Kraten was lying. He couldn’t help but think that Averil seemed less suspicious. Quatre closed his eyes and folded his hands over his heart, reviewing the bits and pieces that he had seen and heard about the redhead. A moment later he opened his eyes and smiled assuredly. Averil was trustworthy. He could just feel it.

Now what to do about Trowa—should he go out and tell him what he had learned of Averil’s true identity? He wished that Averil would tell him herself. It had turned out that his intuitions were probably right. Averil must be afraid that Trowa would not care for her if he knew that she was Lacy Kraten. But what had Lacy done that would lose Trowa’s respect, besides lying about her identity? And why had she lied?

There was a light knock on the door, and Quatre looked up in alarm as the cause of his insomnia entered the room. "Jazmin!" he exclaimed.

"Good morning, Quatre," she said in her smooth voice, "What are you doing up so early?"

"Well, I-," he couldn’t really tell her that she had given him permanent insomnia so he said vaguely, "I just couldn’t sleep."

"Oh," she paused, finally deciding to step further into the room, "I couldn’t sleep either."

"Come on," Quatre said, standing, "Let’s sit on the couch and talk. I’m afraid we have a problem on our hands—or, at least, I’d like your advice, if that’s okay?"

She smiled softly. "Of course it is. So what’s the problem?" she asked, curling up next to him on the black leather couch.

He leaned his head back and massaged the bridge of his nose. He might as well go right to the point. "Averil isn’t who she says she is. She’s really—"

"—Lacy Kraten," they finished together.

Quatre looked over at her, startled.

"I recognized her from the start, Quatre. We talked. Everything’s going to be fine, and she says she’ll tell Trowa."

"But how did you know that I was automatically worried about that?" he inquired in confusion.

She smiled. "As your personal assistant, it is my job to know what your concerns in business are, so I learn to know what they are in your personal life as well."

He smiled meltingly and laid his hand on hers in gratitude, eliciting a deep blush from the brunette. Then his brow furrowed in thought. "So why is Averil keeping her identity a secret in the first place?"

Jazmin quickly told Quatre all that she knew, specifically that she was in danger. As soon as he heard that, he straightened in alertness.

"What is it?" asked Jazmin.

"Well, I just saw a report about her on the news, and they say she’s being held hostage and that they have an idea of where she is."

Jazmin’s eyes widened. "They’re lying! I don’t know exactly what is going on, but we’ve got to tell Trowa and Averil right now."

"Wait! Trowa doesn’t know the truth about Averil yet, and it’s not our place to tell him."

"Okay, then we’ll tell Averil first. I trust her. Do you?"

"Yes," Quatre replied confidently.

//_-

"Come on, Trowa, let’s run away," Averil said sultrily.

Trowa smiled and answered, "Then let’s go, just you and me."

"Huh?"

Trowa’s eyes opened to reveal the girl of his dreams. "Huh?" he echoed in confusion.

Her eyes were brimming with disquiet. "Trowa, I said we have to get out of here. They know where I am now."

There was no time for him to be embarrassed about talking in his sleep . . . or about his dream for that matter . . . he sat up, never letting his eyes stray from hers. Of their own accord, his hands reached out to grab hers and pull her to him. "What’s going on?"

She glanced nervously towards the doorway, and Trowa realized they had an audience. Quatre and Jazmin stood waiting. Trowa and Averil turned back to each other. She pulled her hands from his grasp and said, "Quatre tells me that they’re broadcasting my disappearance on the news, and Kraten’s lying, saying that I’ve been kidnapped. But worst of all, they’re claiming to know where I am and that they’re on their way. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but we have to get out of here nonetheless."

Trowa threw the covers off and reached for a shirt, unabashed by the fact he wore only boxers. In the circus no one worried about modesty. You were all one big happy family. If Averil had not have been so anxious, she would have laughed at the expression on Jazmin’s face. Good, she wasn’t the only person who blushed easily.

"Have you called Catherine, Quatre?" Trowa asked obliviously as he pulled on some pants.

"No, we just now woke up Averil, so I’ll leave that up to you. I’m going to make whatever arrangements are necessary while Jazmin and Averil wait for the news to cover the story again. So let’s all go to my office." He turned to lead the way and Jazmin followed close behind.

When they were out of sight, Trowa turned to Averil and placed his hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes in concern. "Are you alright?"

She smiled weakly. "Yeah, I’ll be okay just as long as you’re here with me."

Trowa pulled her to him and enveloped her in his arms. "If you need someone to tell you everything will be alright, then I’ll tell you as much as you need me to. I don’t plan on leaving you anytime soon." Then he added wryly, "It seems that I’ve become emotionally involved."

Averil smiled, thrilled and speechless, even in the midst of her apprehension.

//_-

Quatre’s office was a flurry of activity. Averil anxiously paced back and forth across the room while Trowa attempted to contact Catherine. Quatre issued orders on his cell-phone. Jazmin perched gravely on the couch, ready to alert the rest if the news should cover the story again.

Quatre sighed as he finished his calls, at the same time stopping Averil in her relentless path. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders and led her to the couch. "Sit down and relax."

She bit her lip and continued to look worried.

"Actually, we need to get on the move, Quatre," Trowa said, striding over to stand behind the couch.

"Okay . . . is there something wrong?" Quatre frowned, noticing Trowa’s strained tone and wan expression.

"They’ve got Catherine," he answered.

"What?!" Averil cried, turning to look at him.

"They told me that she left yesterday with two men, saying she’d return as soon as possible. She didn’t say where she was going. They were reluctant to let her go, but she insisted . . . uugghh!" he groaned, clenching his jaw to restrain a torrent of curses.

"This is all my fault!" Averil wailed, "I shouldn’t have given her so much information!"

"It wasn’t your fault, Averil," Trowa soothed.

She hung her head despairingly. "Where are we gonna go?"

"Well, until I come up with a plan, I think we’ll stay at Duo’s. Quatre, could you prepare your shuttle for us and load a motorcycle on there, too? I’ll call Duo."

"The shuttle’s already been prepared!" Quatre exclaimed proudly. Trowa nodded, not surprised.

"Hey you guys!" Jazmin exclaimed, "The news report is back on again." Everyone congregated on the couch, attentive to any updates. Trowa and Averil, of course, wanted to know exactly what had been said. After the broadcast, the reporter announced that they had been told that Miss Kraten and her "captor" were on Colony L4, and that the search party would be arriving there shortly.

"Averil, you better pack your bags. We have to get out of here," said Trowa.

"What do you want me to tell them if they come here?" asked Quatre.

"I don’t know yet. I’ll call you from Duo’s."

Averil turned grateful eyes to Jazmin and Quatre, "Thanks you guys for all of your help." She hugged Jazmin, then stood and hugged Quatre, too.

"I’ll get everything ready for you, Trowa. Don’t worry, and I’ll call Duo, too, so that you can pack," Quatre said.

"Thanks," he said simply, then turned to Averil, gently taking hold of her hand. "Come on, let’s go." She smiled while Quatre and Jazmin shared a knowing look.

//_-

Author’s Notes: I hope you’re enjoying the story so far. If you know of any Trowa sites or good Gundam Wing fanfiction sites where I can post this fic, then please email me with your ideas. If you have any comments or flames, review/email me. I can take criticism and I love compliments. Thanks for reading, and God bless!

To Be Continued