9 Jan 2001
Treize awakes.
DISCLAIMER: All Gundam Wing characters are property of Sunrise, Bandai Visuals, Sotsu Agency, and Asahi TV. This work is not written for profit, but for entertainment purposes only.
PAIRINGS: 6x5/5x6, 13x6/6x13, some very mild 4x9
WARNING: AU/modern day San Francisco; implied yaoi will turn to yaoi and eventual lemon in later chapters
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT: To Alfred Hitchock who directed the incredible film, "Vertigo."
"Dreams are the Royal Road to the unconscious."- Sigmund Freud
When Treize regained consciousness, he found himself in a small, dim hospital room with curtains for walls. He tried to sit up, but a wave of dizziness forced him back down again. The left side of his head, above his ear, felt as though it were on fire and he couldn't stifle a soft hiss of pain as he tried to look to his side.
"I think you'd better lie still for now," said a soft voice. "The doctor stitched you up but she said the painkiller would take about 10 minutes to work. We were hoping you would sleep until then."
He couldn't quite place the voice and was about the risk turning his head again when the speaker moved into his line of vision. It was Quatre.
"What...? Why are you...?" His feeble attempts at speech were cut short by the blond's "Hush," and he simply stared up in puzzlement.
"Zechs called us, after the police got to his sister's house. Asked if one of us could come and stay with you for a bit - make sure you're all right, you know."
"Where is he?" Treize demanded, trying to sit up and regretting it fiercely. "I need to talk to him."
"Well, it'll be awhile, I'm guessing. He's talking to the police."
"Is he all right? Is he hurt? What happened to Relena?" There were a thousand questions hammering at his skull to get out and be answered, and the thought briefly crossed his mind that he must sound like an idiot to Quatre, who was smiling gently at him and patting his hand.
"She's been taken into custody," Quatre said, "and I think she's already been put under a doctor's care. She's here at the hospital, in the psychiatric ward."
"And Zechs? What about Zechs?"
"Like I said," the blond man said with great patience, "he's talking to the police. Noin's with him. "Other than being exhausted, and completely torn up about his sister, he's okay."
"Ah, thank God for that," Treize breathed, closing his eyes and laying back on the pillow. "I was so afraid he'd say the wrong thing and she'd hurt him... "
"They've taken his aunt into custody as well. She nearly attacked the police officers who came into the house. Physically blocked them from going upstairs for awhile. Luckily everything worked out. How are *you* feeling, Treize?"
"Like dog meat," he said, smiling. "And very happy about it, too. I didn't really expect to wake up, so everything right now seems like icing on the cake."
Quatre laughed and squeezed his hand. "That's the way to look at it, I guess."
Treize was beginning to feel drowsy, and the pain in his head was starting to lessen. "Think I'll sleep for awhile," he murmured. "Wake me up if Zechs comes..."
"Sure," Quatre said. "I'll be here. Sleep well."
Treize was dreaming. He was in his office, although it looked nothing like his real office, sitting in a large armchair before a crackling fire. He must have been in the middle of a session, because someone was laying on a long sofa that sat perpendicular to his chair, and they were talking. The words, "She wanted things to stay the same forever," came floating towards him from the person who was on the sofa and he found himself nodding.
"And that's what clinched the case," he was saying, although he couldn't imagine why.
In the dream, he looked over to the sofa and saw that it was Zechs who was lying there. The sight of him gave Treize a delicious thrill and he put down his notes, preparing to go over to the long-haired blond and kiss him.
When he looked back over, however, Relena was lying atop Zechs, completely naked. Then the two of them were both naked and Relena had Zechs hands pinned above him. She was moving slowly up and down on his shaft, her hair blocking their faces from view.
A stab of fear went through him and he gasped, causing her to slowly turn her head towards him. She had no eyes, only sockets filled with strobing lights and he could see Zechs face was blank and dreamy. He let out a scream.
Sitting up in bed, Treize's eyes were wide and staring and his breath was coming in gasps. He was in the same room, but it was darker now, and he could see the lights of the emergency room beyond the curtains. Apparently he had not actually screamed, because no one was rushing into the room to see what was wrong.
His head was still throbbing, but the pain was less, and he gingerly raised a hand towards the wound, feeling thick bandages around it. He had just let himself relax back onto the pillow when he noticed a figure huddled in the room's only chair.
It was Zechs.
Treize sat up again and looked over at him. He was sitting sideways, feet up on the chair, long arms around bent legs. His head rested on top of his knees and he appeared to be sleeping.
"Zechs?" Treize breathed his name, feeling intense relief. If the tall blond man was here, waiting in his room, then he must be all right. It meant he'd have spoken with the police, had been calm enough to convince the ER staff to let him stay, but most importantly to Treize, it meant that he had gotten safely away from Relena. "Zechs..."
The younger man stirred, rubbing his face against his jeans, and then looked up at Treize, blinking. "Oh. You're awake. That's good. How do you feel?"
"Better," Treize said, unable to keep from smiling. "Painkillers are wonderful things."
"Mmmm," Zechs agreed, rubbing his eyes and stretching out long legs before standing slowly and walking to the bed. "The doctors want you to stay here for another hour, just so they can monitor you. Then you can go home. I told them I would drive you."
"Are you sure *you're* up to that?" Treize asked softly, searching Zechs's face for a clue as to how he was handling things.
Zechs nodded. "I... I think I'm still in a lovely state of shock," he said quietly. "Everything feels as if I'm wadded up in layers of gauze... although I know it's all out there - waiting for me."
"You'll be able to handle it," Treize said, taking Zechs's hand as the blond fussed with his blanket. "And I'll be willing to help in any way you want me to."
For a brief moment, Zechs smiled, and it seemed to light up his eyes with warmth. Then the sadness returned. "Thanks, Treize... I don't deserve that kindness, dragging you into this like I did."
"Let's get one thing straight," Treize said, looking directly at Zechs and holding his gaze, "you only did what you were supposed to do - you got help for your depression and insomnia. All of the rest was either Relena's doing... or mine."
There was a flicker of anger in Zechs's expression. "That's ridiculous!" he said, frowning at Treize. "You didn't do anything wrong!"
"I did," Treize said calmly, tugging on Zechs's hand and pulling him a bit closer. "I fell in love with my client. Can't tell you what a big no-no that is in psychological circles. Your sister saw right through me."
"What do you mean?" Zechs said, frown deepening.
"She knew the first time she met me... before I'd even admitted it to myself. She was very sensitive to that kind of thing, obviously."
He lifted a hand and caught a tear as it slid down Zechs's cheek. "Where is she now?"
"They've taken her to a private hospital. The police psychiatrist is going to do some tests, but he doesn't think she'll be found fit to stand trial."
"How does that make you feel?" Treize asked.
Zechs let out a huff of frustration. "Are you *always* a therapist?" he asked. "Isn't there any time you're just a regular person like the rest of us?"
Treize smiled up and him and Zechs almost smiled back. "In other words," Treize said, "you don't want to talk about it right now."
"Very perceptive of you," came Zechs's reply.
A few moments later the front curtain of the room was whisked aside and a woman came in looking tired and harassed. "You must be the doctor," Treize said to her.
"Yes, Dr. Chawla," she said, shaking Treize's hand, then Zechs's. "Now, Mr.... Khushrenada? I've given you a shot of morphine which should take care of the pain for the next couple of hours, but you'll need these filled," she waved two prescriptions at him, "to manage it after that. I've notified your regular physician and you have an appointment to see him in two days - don't miss it."
Treize gulped and looked over at Zechs, who had backed up a bit and looked slightly fearful of the woman.
She turned to the blond and said, "Are you going to be driving him home?" Zechs nodded and she continued. "You'll have to get these filled," she said, pushing the prescriptions at him, which he took timidly. and see to it that Mr. Khushrenada doesn't drive until his doctor allows it. He needs the antibiotic three times a day to prevent that wound from getting infected, and the morphine is every four hours as needed. Bed rest for the next two days, no getting the wound wet, and absolutely no driving, going back to work, or sports of any kind until he's seen his doctor. Do you understand all that?"
Zechs's mouth was open as if to speak, or perhaps protest, but nothing came out. He nodded obediently.
After checking Treize's pulse and blood pressure one last time, and blinding him by waving bright lights in each eye, she pronounced him ready to leave. "I'll have the nurse come in and unhook you from everything, and then you can get dressed and have your friend take you home. Do you have someone to stay with you for a day or two?"
Treize was about to shake his head when Zechs said, "He's... he's going to be staying with me. If... that's all right with you, Treize...?"
"Thanks," Treize said, smiling at him softly. "I really appreciate it."
"All right then," the doctor said briskly, "you are coming with me to get an information sheet on head wounds and what to keep an eye out for." She practically dragged the blond man out of the room by his collar and Treize was left to wait for the nurse by himself.
The drive to Zechs's apartment was something of a blur. Treize had dozed most of the way and Zechs was quiet, letting him sleep. He walked slowly up the stairs, Zechs's arm around him for support and laid gingerly down on the futon sofa when they got inside. For the next 20 minutes or so, Zechs busied himself trying to make Treize comfortable, bringing pillows from the bedroom, water from the kitchen, and trying to get him to eat something.
"You don't have to go to all this trouble, Zechs," Treize said when the blond had disappeared into the bathroom for a washcloth. "You've had a real shock tonight. You should be getting some rest yourself."
"Last night, you mean," Zechs murmured, brushing the cool, wet cloth over the older man's face.
"What?" Treize asked, looking puzzled.
"You were brought into the hospital last night," Zechs said. "You've been there all day today."
"Oh. Sorry..." He frowned slightly, then looked back up at Zechs.
"How *are* you holding up, though?" he asked. "And I'm asking as a friend, not a therapist."
The other man let his gaze drop to the floor and shrugged. "It's up and down. Sometimes I think I'm okay with everything, and other times..."
"Other times it's hell," Treize said softly, finishing the sentence for him.
"Yeah. I think it's going to take awhile to... to really accept everything. And it's strange... I actually sort of... miss her." He looked up at Treize and smiled sadly. "Idiotic, huh?"
"No," Treize said, "it's not. You're missing who you thought she was... or maybe, who she was when the illness didn't get in the way."
"Maybe," Zechs said. "I went with her - to the hospital where she'll be staying, at least for now. She cried the whole time. Kept saying she was sorry that she couldn't protect me better. I don't think she considers what she did wrong. To her it just wasn't enough. She just kept saying she was supposed to save me - to stop me from being hurt."
"I can tell you want to blame yourself for this," Treize said, "but this wasn't your fault. She's a very sick young woman, and she needs a lot of help."
Zechs was shaking his head. "I don't know... she wasn't like this all her life. Something changed her."
"Why don't you let her doctor work on that for awhile," Treize said, brushing a hand across the blond man's cheek. "You've got enough to deal with on your own."
"Yeah - after all, I've got this psychologist with a gunshot wound on my sofa." Zechs looked up at Treize and smiled softly. "Thank you - for doing what you did to help. I don't remember a lot of what went on last night, especially after you were hurt and Relena and I went upstairs, but I know you were trying to make sure I was all right - and trying to stop her." His smile faded and a single tear fell down onto Treize's blanket. "Just like Fei was trying to do."
Treize put a hand out to take a hold of Zechs's and squeezed it tightly. "Zechs..."
"It's okay," Zechs said, passing a hand over his eyes. "Like I said, I have ups and downs. She told me he figured out what she'd done to my parents. That she'd gotten Cathrine to cut the brake cable in their car. She said she couldn't take what they were doing to me anymore and she had to stop them. She really thought that was the best way to keep me safe..."
He put his head in his hand and they were both silent for several moments. "I asked her why she killed Fei, and she said he was a threat... she saw him as trying to undo all the things she'd done to 'protect me.' And you know, it's strange - I listened to her, and I know that somewhere inside me is this huge mass of feelings about it all. Pain and grief and rage... but I just can't feel those right now..."
Treize felt a wave of grief himself. "You said it yourself, Zechs. You're in shock. At some point all of those are going to come out and I want make sure you've got lots of safety nets when they do."
Zechs looked up at him. "Are... are you going to be one of those nets?" he said, voice barely above a whisper.
"That's up to you," Treize said. "If you want me, I'll be there. In whatever role you want me to play."
More tears then, but Zechs was smiling. "Thanks. That's good to know. You should get some sleep, and I'm tired, too. I'll be in the other room if you need anything, okay?"
Treize nodded and watched as Zechs turned off the lights and left the living room. Then he closed his eyes and tried to focus his thoughts only the beautiful face and silky hair of the man in the other room, and not on anything that had happened in the last two days.
/I'll be your lover gladly, but if you just need a friend right now, I can be that, too. As long as I get to be near you... I'll take what I can get./
Treize stayed bundled up on Zechs's sofa for the next three days, after which the doctor said it was safe for him to return to his own apartment. When he got there, he found a message from Anne on his answering machine. She had stopped by the hospital during the day when he'd been mostly asleep and she had spoken briefly with both Zechs and the police. Now she wanted to talk to him when he was able to have visitors. For the briefest moment, Treize found himself thinking that he'd *never* be ready for that conversation, but he braced himself for what he knew was coming and called her.
They had agreed to meet at work after Anne's last patient, and Zechs had driven him to the clinic Now the blond man was standing in at the window in Treize's office as he glanced at the mail that had piled up during the five days he'd been gone.
"You're not going to start seeing patients again, are you?" Zechs asked skeptically, watching as dusk fell over the city.
"No, not for another week at least," Treize said. "Right now I'd probably frighten away the clients, looking the way I do." He pointed to the large bandage that still covered the left side of his head, above his ear.
"Oh, I don't know," Zechs said. "I think you look pretty good."
There was a strange thrumming feeling in Treize's body that he knew had nothing to do with any injury he'd sustained. /Did I hear him right? Is he really flirting with me? Oh, please God... I'll be *so* good.../
"You do, huh?" Treize said, grinning just a bit. "Well, I think you look pretty good, too."
Zechs turned around and faced him, a shy smile on his face. "You're biased," he said softly.
Treize got up from his desk and walked to the window, half sitting on the sill in front of Zechs, arms folded, looking at him. "You're damn right I am," he said and leaned forward until their noses were touching. "How does that make you feel?"
Zechs gave a soft laugh. "No, any line but that one, please!"
They stayed there, so close, just looking into each other's eyes. It proved too much for Treize, who bent forward just a bit and caught Zechs's mouth in a soft kiss.
The blond man didn't pull away and the kiss lingered, they lips brushing as they gently pulled away from each other, but not very far.
And just at that moment, Anne came in.
End of Chapter 18
(:./kumiko/rr18)
