A certain warmth played on Quatre's cheek. He tossed and woke to the presence of a black and brown dog by his face. It licked his face and sniffed his hands. He lifted his head and looked at the creature. The dog, a German Shepherd panted with its tongue dangling gently.
The dog sat, staring at Quatre. Quatre stared back with a developing grin on his pale face. The dog barked softly, startling the youth a bit. He sighed with tired grin. He reached out to the dog. It sniffed his hand again and licked it. He could feel the cuts from his fall. He was still in pain, but some of it eased from earlier. His head was the worse.
Quatre stoked the dog's fur, feeling the softness in his hands, while the dog inspected him.
"Harper, leave him alone," a woman said out from his sight.
The dog turned its head, so did Quatre, but not as fast and far as the dog. He kept his hand on the dog's neck.
A dark haired woman appeared by his side and chased the dog away. Quatre's arm was left hanging at the side of the cot he was laying in. The woman knelt down beside him and took his hand, bending it to a more relaxed position. She grasped his hand in both of hers. She was warm. But despite the comfort, he had to know where he was. His fellow Gundam pilots weren't nearby, so that meant they were not there with him; neither was Heero.
"Who are you?" he asked weakly.
"I'm Marilyn," she replied. "What's your name?"
"Quatre," he said. "Quatre Raberba Winner."
"You're a Winner boy?" she asked with some surprise. His family was the richest family in space. It wasn't much of a shock to him to hear her response.
He faintly nodded and closed his eyes. The woman placed his arm at his side and brushed his bangs with her fingers.
"How are you feeling?" she asked him.
It took a few moments to answer. "My body hurts pretty bad. My head hurts so bad I can barely see." He opened his eyes half way to look at her.
"What happened?"
He couldn't give away everything. "My friend and I got into an accident."
"Who's your friend?"
"You mean he's not here?" His eyes shifted into fear for Heero. If he wasn't here, he was out there alone where the OZ soldiers could find him. He wasn't sure what they'd do to someone like Heero, but he had a feeling he could handle himself. What bothered him was: what if he was hurt even worse than he was?
"No," the woman said. "I only found you. You were badly in need of medical care, Quatre."
"You didn't see anyone else?"
"No," she said. "I'm afraid I didn't look. My daughter only saw you."
He closed his eyes and sighed. "Oh, Heero. Heero. . ." His heart worried for his friend, beyond the physical pain.
"Are you okay?" the woman asked.
Quatre laid his head back. "I guess I'll be okay after a little bit more rest."
The woman smiled gently. "It's good to see you awake. You're in good hands Quatre, I'll take care of you."
"Thank you for helping me," Quatre said to her.
She nodded. "I had to. I was a nurse in the Federation a few years back before I had my little girl. I had a feeling I could do something for you."
He had a little wariness around her now. He wondered if she still had some connections. He worried that if a report went out, she would find out that he was a Gundam pilot. But she seemed too nice, and since she was a nurse, she wouldn't turn him in, would she?
"Is there anything you want me to do?" she asked him.
"I could use something to drink, please." he replied.
"What's your pleasure?"
"Water," he said. "Just water right now."
She nodded. "A glass of water. Okay. Would you like me to get you something to eat, too while I'm in the kitchen?"
"Maybe later, thank you."
"All right, then." She stood up and left the room. She returned with a tall glass of water, almost filled to the top. He watched her and sat up. He squinted his eyes from the several areas of pain at his head. Marilyn handed him the glass. "Here you go."
He took it from her hand and put the glass to his lips. He drank the water down fast, and almost finished it to the bottom. He tilted it away from his mouth and a satisfied sigh. He handed the glass back to the woman. She placed it on the floor.
Quatre tried to hold back a belch, being brought up better than that; but he couldn't keep it at bay. It was louder that he expected it to be. Marilyn giggled lightly at him. Quatre ducked down, a little embarrassed. "Excuse me."
"That's okay, Quatre." She smiled.
Quatre laid back down and covered the blankets over his chest.
"If there's anything you want me to get you, you just tell me, okay?" he heard Marilyn say last before he fell back asleep. He gave a light nod as his eyes faded into darkness.
Quatre couldn't rest, knowing Heero was out alone, possibly hurt like he was. He may not have been so lucky as to be picked up by a Good Samaritan and taken care off. He had to at least look for him, by himself. He couldn't let Marilyn know he was a Gundam pilot. She'd scold him and kick him out, he feared. A little bit more medical attention from her, then he'd be fine.
He threw the blankets off of himself and put his legs over the side of the cot. His head still hurt, but he had to ignore the pain to motivate himself to go find Heero. His shoes had been taken off, so he put them beside him and put them on. He stood up, a little dizzy with pain at first. He regained his self and walked to the open door of the room. He held onto the frame of the door as he looked out if the coast was clear. He looked left and right. He heard Marilyn's voice with another, who was possibly her daughter she talked about.
He guessed to go right, which was a shorter hallway path than the other. He struggled to step carefully, trying not to catch Marilyn's attention. If she saw him up, he had a feeling she would ask him why he was up when he should be laying down. He quietly snuck down the hallway, down to where the living room was. His shoes made a few clicking noises once in a while going down the hall. He took a moment to look back for Marilyn, but didn't see her yet. He went down to the door and silently opened it. It must have been in the early evening, with the lighting of the outside. He turned around and closed the door behind him, carefully watching how he closed it. He ducked away from the window and looked out. There was a path from the steps that led out to the woods. He walked down from the steps and followed the path a few steps.
Where was he really? How far was he from the spot where he and Heero fell from the motorcycle?
He walked on, following the path. He began calling once he reached a good part of the woods: "Heero! Heero." He called over and over, waiting and listening for a response. He walked through the woods, calling and searching for Heero. He bared through the chill of the air, the stinging of his face, the ache in his head, and the hike, and continued on. He guessed it took him about two hours or more on his empty search.
It was getting dark, and with no sight of Heero, sadly, he turned back and walked back to the house, trying not to get lost in the process. He had to take a few courses to remember where he started. It took another hour to find his way back. He saw the lights of Marilyn's home and followed it to the porch.
When he reached and opened the door, inside he saw Marilyn standing. She quickly turned around to him.
"Quatre, there you are!" she exclaimed. "I was worried sick about you. Where did you go?" She sounded like she was his own mother, acting like he had been out all night. It was a little disturbing to him.
"I was looking for my friend," he replied weakly. "I didn't find him." He lowered his head.
Marilyn sighed at him. "You look tired. How about a shower?"
He blinked and looked at her. "All right." He looked down on his clothes. They were dirty and torn in some spots. He lifted his head back up. "But after, I want to look for my friend again."
"All right. Maybe I could help you look. But for now, you can lay down while I wash your clothes. You look a mess," she said with a light smile. "Then after that, you can take that shower."
He nodded in reply.
Beams of white light hit Heero Yuy's eyes while ducked down by a cluster of trees. He concentrated on the collection of men combing the forest for him and Quatre. He evaded them again, keeping low and using the dark as an advantage.
He crawled off to the side, away from the men. If he could get more distance from them, he could escape, and if luck was on his side, he could get to his Gundam, and blow his tormentors away.
He watched as the men, OZ soldiers, pointed in the direction was once was in. They wandered down to several spots, beaming their flashlights in the bushes. He knew if he was spotted, he was going to be caught and be possibly confined. After that, it was fate.
A group of soldiers were getting too close for comfort. He went to grab for his gun, but it wasn't there. He looked back towards the soldiers.
"Quatre." he murmured. He had it, and the Arabian boy was no where to be seen. He lost track of him ever since the crash. The OZ soldiers may have had him already. Quatre fell off of the motorcycle, while he ran into a tree, breaking his leg and cutting his face.
He backed away. It was time he did his best to escape and get to his Gundam however possible.
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