A story about Catherine's reaction to Trowa bringing WITH him a half-dead Heero
"Trowa... " Catherine said as he opened the door to his trailer. "You got back late... what's... "
Trowa pulled her inside and shut the door. Catherine looked at the bruised, bandaged body of Heero Yuy on his bed. "What's going on?"
"He's a friend of mine, he got caught in an explosion," said Trowa simply.
"Look at him! Why haven't you taken him to a hospital! He's really messed up!"
Trowa grimaced. "I can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because he'll be in worse shape if I do."
Catherine opened then closed her mouth. Worse? she thought. "Is he in some kind of trouble?"
Trowa nodded. "The worst kind."
"I want to know what's going on right now!"
"You don't need to know."
She leaned over so that her face was within a couple of inches of his and said, "How can I help you if I don't know what's going on? Do you think the other people in the circus aren't going to notice?"
"He's a rebel. He was ordered to surrender; he decided to blow himself instead. He did a halfway job."
"A rebel... "
Catherine looked at the object of their conversation. She saw someone who was nearly as scrawny as Trowa and a little smaller. He was heavily bandaged and only the slight movements of breathing proved that he was alive. He's rather sad looking, she thought, seeing the slight grimace of pain on his handsome face. He can't be any older than Trowa. "He's a soldier? I can't believe it."
"Yes, a very good soldier," said Trowa.
Catherine caught the admiration in Trowa's voice. "You approve of what he did?"
"It's not the act I'm approving, it's the amount of devotion."
Catherine frowned, then said, "Well, if I catch you trying anything like that... "
Trowa put up both hands and said, "Lets take of the wounded before creating any more."
Catherine smiled. "Heh, you just made a joke, not a very funny one, but a joke." Then she said, "But seriously, how are you going to take care of him?"
"He slips in and out of consciousness. I'll get him to drink some liquid nutrition mix when he's awake enough to swallow without choking. I'll even put in an IV if I have to. I'll take care of bandages and dressing. If worse comes to worse, I know where I can get some antibiotics and close wounds with a few stitches. All you have to do is occasionally 'babysit' him when I have to go out and also help keep people from being too nosy about who my guest is. I'll be doing most of the work."
"Do you know how long he's staying?"
"I can't say, it depends on how fast he heals."
Catherine looked again at the sleeping Heero. She took a towel from Trowa's drawer, poured water on it at the sink, then wrung the excess water from the cloth with a two-handed grip. Then she folded it and put it on top of Heero's forehead.
Trowa, watching, suddenly felt a strange sense of déjà vu. It reminds me of... reminds me of someone's touch when I was sick... "You did that like a mother," said Trowa.
"What?"
Trowa then said, "I'm sorry... It's nothing. It's just that a memory... I lost it. However, it just reminded me of what a mother would do."
Catherine pouted. "Well, I'm not planning on being one for a while... I can't very well twirl around with a big belly in front of me."
The image of Catherine twirling around with a huge stomach suddenly popped into Trowa's head and a laugh burst out of his mouth.
"It's not THAT funny!" said Catherine.
"I'm sorry." He continued to laugh.
"Moron," she said. But at least I found out that he can laugh, she thought. It might be a long time until the next one.
The End
(:./mk/interlude)
