Wufei just nodded and walked over to the TV screen to turn it off. Trowa and Quatre were at the table spreading out the Chinese food they had picked up for dinner. Quatre and Trowa sat down in seats, as did Heero and Duo. Wufei and Sally ate on the couch.
After dinner was cleaned up they all sat around the living room. Duo noting the silence decided to speak.
“So Sally did you call for that appointment?”
“Yes. I had them set it up for tomorrow at noon.”
“Okay. I have a couple of questions that I need to ask you guys.”
“Shoot Maxwell.”
“Well one, how much time did you ask off for me?”
“Three weeks.”
“Okay good. Next question, where is Heero staying? He can't stay with me because I have a single dorm room.”
“Wufei and I still live in that one room apartment so he can't stay with us.”
“He can stay here. We have enough room and the guest room can become his.”
“Thanks Q. Alright onto my final question. Who is going to pay for all his expenses?”
“Expenses?”
“Yeah you know, the medical bill, maybe get him some new clothing, stuff like that.”
“I guess I will. I am a Winner and the one of the richest families in North America. So it shouldn't be a problem.”
“Thanks Quatre.”
During the conversation Heero had gotten tired and had leaned his head on Duo and fell asleep. Duo noticed that Heero was asleep and decided that it was time to call it a night. Trowa drove Wufei and Sally home while Duo and Heero stayed at the apartment. Duo picked Heero up and narrowed his eyes at how light he felt. He knew that was one of the things that needed to be rectified. Quatre walked in front of him to open the bedroom door. Duo laid Heero on the bed and took Heero's pants off. Heero only had the t-shirt and boxers on. Quatre helped him pull the covers down and pull them around Heero. Heero snuggled into the bed but didn't waken. Duo leaned over and kissed his forehead and both he and Quatre left the room. Quatre gave Duo a pillow and cover so he could lay on the couch. Duo thanked him and walked to the living room and laid down. He thought about earlier today especially the bath. He felt himself get hard all over again from the memory. Duo didn't touch it though he just rolled onto his side and closed his eyes. Soon he was asleep dreaming of cobalt blue eyes and wild brown hair.
Heero woke up in the middle of the night. He didn't know why he woke up just that he was scared. He looked around for Duo but didn't see him anywhere. He panicked and started to cry but no one heard him. Heero deciding that he wasn't safe grabbed the cover and got up. It was really dark but being in the dark for so long gave him excellent night vision. He found the door and went out looking for a safe place to sleep. He walked down the hallway and came into the living room. He found Duo on the couch. He smiled in relief and rushed over to him. Duo was stretched out, his head facing away from him. His braid hanging off the couch and coiled on the floor. Heero laid down on the floor near the couch. He took the braid in his hand and curled up into a comfortable ball and fell asleep knowing that Duo was there and would protect him.
Duo awoke the next morning and tried to sit up when he felt his braid was tugged on. He looked down to see what his braid was caught on when he saw it was firmly in Heero's grasp. Heero had his thumb in his mouth and was holding onto the braid like a teddy bear. Duo smiled and laid back down. He reached down and caressed Heero's hair as Heero slept. He was still watching and caressing when Quatre and Trowa entered the room. Quatre smiled at the sight. Duo lying on his stomach with his braid firmly clutched in Heero's hands. Heero curled towards the couch with his thumb his mouth.
“You really should take his thumb out of his mouth. It isn't good that he still does that.”
Duo jolted when Quatre spoke. He looked up and saw Quatre and Trowa. He figured Trowa must have come in sometime after he went to sleep. He took the hand that was stroking Heero's hair and brought it down to take the thumb out of Heero's mouth. Heero frowned and woke up when the thumb was removed from his mouth. He looked up at Duo and smiled.
“Why are you sleeping out here?”
“I got scared and couldn't find you.”
“Well it seems you found me. Come on let's get dressed and have breakfast.”
Duo led Heero back to the guest room, which was now his room. Duo went to help Heero put on the pants but found that Heero didn't need his help. Heero proudly put on the pants himself. Duo smiled at him and they both went to the living room. They could smell breakfast being cooked in the kitchen. Quatre brought out three cups from the kitchen. One was coffee black, another was filled with hot tea, and the third was orange juice. The coffee went to Duo, the tea to Quatre and the juice to Heero. Heero looked at his juice and took a sip. He smiled at the taste and took a bigger drink of it. He looked at Duo's drink and frowned when he saw it was different than his.
“Can I try?”
“You want to try my coffee?”
“Hai.”
“Okay but be careful, it's really hot.”
Heero took the coffee cup from Duo and looked at it. He sniffed it and scrunched his nose at the weird smell. He carefully lifted it and felt the heat on his hands. It started to hurt so he hurriedly took a sip.
“ITAI!”
Duo grabbed the cup before Heero could drop it on himself.
“Quatre, get me an ice cube, please?”
Heero was whimpering from the pain in his mouth and held his hands against his mouth. Duo just stroked his cheek and tried to calm him down. Quatre came back in with an ice cube and gave it to Duo. Duo took the cube and pried Heero's hands away from his mouth. He swiped the cube across Heero's mouth before letting it slip in Heero's mouth. Heero quieted at the cool feeling on his lips. Heero swirled the cold cube through his mouth feeling much better now that the pain was dulled. Duo still stroked Heero's cheek and looked into Heero's eyes. He lost himself in Heero's eyes and kept stroking until Quatre cleared his throat. It broke the spell and Duo pulled back. Duo picked up his braid and offered it to Heero and Heero smiled and seized it.
Trowa came out with breakfast and they all sat down to eat.
“Wufei and Sally are going to meet us at the hospital. We should probably leave soon. He's supposed to be there fifteen minutes before the appointment and it takes at least forty-five minutes to get there.”
“Sounds good Trowa.”
After they were done with breakfast they piled into the car and left for the hospital. Heero was up front this time so he could see the city better. They got to the hospital and went in. They were almost late because Heero had stopped to look at the automatic doors. Duo had to grab him and haul him to the waiting room. They found Wufei and Sally already there waiting for them. They all sat down and waited for Heero's name to be called. Heero saw the toys in the corner.
“Duo can I go touch?”
“You want to play with the toys?”
“Hai, I want to play with the toys.”
“Okay go ahead.”
Heero made his way over to the toys and started to play with them. He looked at each toy and figured out how to play with them. He found one toy interesting and kept playing it until he got it figured out. It was a box with different shapes cut out on the top. There were toys that matched those cut outs and you were to place them in their proper place. Heero was proud that he figured it out and brought it over to Duo to watch.
“Duo look.”
He proceeded to show Duo how good he was.
“Good job Heero.”
Wufei looked at the game and then at Heero and thought of something. He walked over to the games and picked up one for the older children. It was a sliding game, where if you slid the puzzle pieces to make a certain picture. He brought it over to Heero.
“Here try this.”
Heero put down the toy he was playing with to pick up the new one. He was figuring out how it worked when they called his name. They all stood up and walked towards the nurse.
“Come on Heero.”
Heero reluctantly got up when Duo called and put the game down. No one noticed that the puzzle was half finished.
They went into one of the rooms and the nurse motioned for Heero to sit on the bed. Duo helped him up there while the nurse prepared to check him over. Heero looked at her curiously until she got closer. He tried to edge away but he couldn't because of the bed. Duo sensing his distress came up to his side and lightly rubbed his back. The nurse realizing that the patient was nervous tried to be gentle about her ministrations. He flinched whenever she came near him. She looked at his friend and decided to try something.
“Excuse me sir, but you seem to need to be checked too.”
Duo looked at her confused before she subtly motioned towards Heero. Duo caught on quickly.
“Yeah I do. So what's first?”
“Well I need to check your pulse.”
She checked his pulse as Heero watched. Then she moved to Heero hesitantly and waited for him to say it was alright. Heero seeing that it didn't hurt Duo put his hand out and waited for her to do her job. So she did everything to Duo first before she touched Heero. When she was using the stethoscope to listen to Duo breath she noticed Heero looking curiously at her.
“Would you like to hear?”
Heero nodded his head and the nurse smiled. She put the ear parts of the stethoscope to Heero's ears and put the flat part of it to Duo's chest. Heero was shocked when he heard a loud thumping noise. He took off the stethoscope but heard nothing and then put them back on again. He was amazed when he heard the thumping again. She took the stethoscope from him and checked Heero. She also let him hear his own heartbeat. He smiled when it sounded just like Duo's. When she was finally done she left them to wait for the doctor. She wrote down all her observations on the chart so the doctor could ask what was going on. She was only a volunteer nurse at the hospital. She couldn't do much even if she wanted to.
Heero was still sitting on the bed but was getting bored quickly. Duo was still rubbing his back, which gave Heero funny feelings in his stomach. He liked the feeling and didn't want it to stop. Duo hadn't realized that he was still rubbing Heero's back he was thinking of what to do after the appointment. Trowa was sitting in one of the chairs with Quatre standing next to him. Quatre was playing with Trowa's hair, bored out of his mind. Quatre hoped the doctor would get here soon. Wufei and Sally were standing near the door waiting for the doctor. They were conversing with themselves about something the others couldn't hear and kept glancing and Duo and Heero. Soon the door opened and the doctor came in.
“Hello my name is Dr. Stevens. I talked with one of you over the phone?”
“Yes that would be me. I'm Sally. We need your help. See we found him in a basement obviously abused but I don't know the extent of how badly. We wanted you to look over him and see if he needs medical attention. We were also wondering if you could recommend someone who might be able to help us.”
“Does he know how to talk?”
“Yes, and also read. But other things he doesn't know.”
“How does he know how to talk and read?”
“We're not sure. We found books and a radio where he was.”
“Hmmm. Let me check him over and see if I find anything. Why don't you guys wait outside and I'll call you back in when I'm done.”
They nodded and all started to leave. Duo was last to go and gave one last smile to Heero before starting to walk out of the room. He got a few feet away when he was stopped short by a tug on his braid. He turned and noticed it was still in Heero's grip. He walked back over to Heero.
“It's okay Heero, he's just going to look at you. I'll be right outside. He won't take long, will you Dr. Stevens?”
“Nope not long. Just for a little while.”
“No. Duo stays.”
Duo noticing the frightened but determined look Heero was giving him and the doctor decided to see if he could stay.
“Can I stay Doc? I don't think he is going to let go of me.”
“I guess you can stay. It would probably be better for him. Just keep him calm.”
“Can do.”
Then the doctor started his examination. He first checked Heero's head and found nothing wrong and then proceeded downwards.
The others waited impatiently outside for the examination to be over. Soon the doctor opened the door and motioned for them to come back in. They walked in and noticed how Duo was sitting on the examination table with Heero in his lap. Heero was clinging to Duo and had his eyes closed tight. The doctor motioned them to sit down on the chairs.
“Well I checked him over, he only has cuts and bruises. Nothing serious. As to mentally, that I can't tell you. I can recommend someone for him. How soon would you like to meet them?”
“As soon as possible.”
“Well I do have someone in mind and I do believe he is in today. Let me go see if he is busy. If he isn't I'll bring him down here and we'll see what happens from here.”
The doctor left and they all sat quietly waiting for his return. Heero clutched onto Duo, he didn't like what the doctor did to him. Especially when he took his blood. It hurt. It didn't take long for the doctor to come back with a tall man with ginger hair. Dr. Stevens came in behind the man and closed the door.
“Okay this is Dr. Khushrenada. He can help you. I have to go and see more patients. Good day gentlemen.”
With that the doctor left. Dr. Khushrenada looked around the room and it's occupants.
“It's kind of cramped in here, why don't we move this to my office.”
“Sounds good.”
Heero didn't want to move and Duo couldn't since Heero was sitting on him.
“Hey Trowa, could you help me here?”
“Sure.”
Trowa walked over and pulled Heero off of Duo so Duo could get down. Heero didn't like to be moved so he struggled but calmed down when Duo took his hand. Heero stopped struggling and followed Duo out of the room. Trowa just shook his head and followed.
Dr. Khushrenada led through many halls and floors until they finally got to his office. His office was much more spacious and have enough room for all of them. Duo took one of the seats near Khushrenada's desk and put Heero in the other. The rest settled down on the couch that was on one side of the room.
“Well this is better. As you have heard my name is Dr. Khushrenada but you can call me Treize. This young man must be Heero.”
“Yeah this is Heero. Did Dr. Stevens fill you in?”
“Yes he did. I think calling child services is out of the question because he seems to be around 20. Heero do you know how old are you?”
Heero shook his head no and went back to studying the office.
“Well, I think the best we can do is test him to see how smart he is.”
As Treize continued to talk, Heero was getting bored. He was finished looking at the office and the conversation wasn't interesting him. He looked at the doctor's desk and noticed a square thing with a lot of colors on it. He tugged on Duo's sleeve.
“Duo can I play with that?”
“You have to ask Dr. Khushrenada about that.”
“Dr. Khrushrenada, can I play with that?”
“Sure Heero.”
Treize handed the Rubik's cube to Heero and went on to tell the other five about the kind of tests he wanted Heero to take. Heero looked at the cube intently. He pushed and pulled the cube until he got all the same colors on one side. He tugged on Duo's sleeve again but Duo pushed his hand away. Heero tugged on his shirt again and Duo looked at Heero.
“I'm done.”
Treize stared astonished at the finished Rubik's cube.
TBC
Chapter 7
Chapter Index
Chapter 9
