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"Healing Ties "Written By: Eliza
Disclaimer: Don't ask, Don't tell, Don't own,
won't get sued (hopefully) Warnings: sap, angst, Self Insert Pairings: None yet
Summary: The war is over now can the girls actually
help Heero to let go of the soldier enough to let him find happiness
with the person who's stolen his heart, or is the Perfect Soldier
destined to spend the Peace time he's worked so hard for alone.
Part 1
Grinning and shaking her head, Dr. Blaine picked up both boxes and headed to the nurses station, her heart light and free like never before. She loved her job; she just agreed, in part, that she needed to take some time to find herself again. Smirking she shook her head //I sound like the character out of Toria’s book.// Finding Myself: A Place To Call Home had hit the best sellers market, just before the war had gone into full blown mode, and surprisingly had stayed there, for several months, after the war had begun. The small pause between the first war, and the Eve war had shown another small up swing in sales for the novel, and had earned TK a small corner of the market, so that now when her new books came out, it was hard to get a hold of one. //Unless of course you have connections, like knowing the autho.r// Liz grinned. Each new novel that came out was handed to her personally, and she laughingly shared them all with the girls at work, bearing the teasing that went along with it. The girls at work knew that she and Tk were good friends. Pausing at the nurse's station to sign her punch out card one last time, Liz smiled at the many well wishes from the staff, and turned for the doors. It hadn’t been fully her decision to give up her practice; the board had approached her, only two days after peace had been announced and told her that she was being given an extended leave of absence, before she suffered a full scale burn out at the ripe young age of thirty-two. “Hnn, I’m perfectly capable of continuing my duties, even if only on a part time basis.” Liz grumbled as she shifted the two boxes in her arms. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that,” a friendly voice spoke from behind her, “talking to yourself is a sure sign you need a break!” Smiling sarcastically, Hawk Clowd stepped forward, taking one of the boxes in her own arms. “How you getting home?” Smiling widely at the appearance of her friend, Liz shrugged slightly. “Cab, I guess!” "Not anymore," Hawk said as she grinned. "I'm kidnapping you." She added with a small evil chuckle, "And you're gonna like it." Shaking her head in amused exasperation, Liz followed Hawk to her car. As they placed the boxes in the trunk, Hawk turned to Liz with a wicked grin. “Now for step two of the plan,” Hawk said, pretending to twirl a mustache. “Put this on.” ‘This’ happened to be a folded bandanna, and Liz threw her friend a questioning look. “No questions, just get in the car, and put it over your eyes,” Hawk mock growled. Shaking her head in silent amusement, Liz did as she was instructed, unable to keep from grinning like a Cheshire cat. Of all her friends, Hawk and TK were the only two she’d trust so blindly, knowing that neither of her best friends would ever let her fall. “Just relax, I got two stops to make,” Hawk said starting the car. "And no peeking." She said firmly as she turned the radio on, turning the volume to a level that made talking impossible. Sighing in mild annoyance, Liz snuggled back into her seat to wait. ========================================= Seeing her friend relax back into the seat Hawk smiled softly, ~~Oh yes, you definitely need a break Liz~~ Pulling the car onto the street, Hawk shook her head; Liz had spent the last five years, working not only double shifts at the hospital, but also working to complete a psychology course which had helped her deal with a lot of the soldiers that had come through the hospital. Hawk frowned and shook her head, ~~ Sad how some of those soldiers were no more then babies ~~ Thinking back to ‘John”, Hawk shook her head again, knowing he was a key factor in why Liz had added a Ph.D. in psychology to her MD. Stealing a sideways glance at her friend Hawk smiled softly as she noticed Liz’s relaxed posture. ~~That’s it Liz, get some rest, you deserve it.~~ Pulling up in front of the bus station, Hawk left the car running to let Liz know this was just one of their stops, and walked around to lean on the side of the car. TK had met her special someone, and gotten married, moving away from the small town they’d all pretty much grown up in, but it hadn’t dampened their friendships. ~~If anything we’re closer now then ever~~ Hawk thought with a soft smile. “Thinking about me?” A light chuckle accompanied the statement as Toria Kaitlin Welch stepped out of the bus station and moved towards the car with her suitcase. Shaking her head and grinning, Hawk glanced back over her shoulder at the window; Liz was still asleep. “You know it babe!” Hawk joked lightly as she opened the trunk, then grabbed Tk in a quick hug as soon as the other woman's suitcase had been put down. “Missed you.” Hawk said softly, then motioned for Tk to get in the car and not make any noise. Throwing a soft smile in Liz’s direction, Tk settled back into the back seat. Moving away from town, had been one of the hardest things she’d ever done, but her writing career allowed her to pack up and go pretty much as often as she liked and her husband was very understanding about the tie she had with the two other women. Tk smiled softly at the thought of Tim, <You’re just to good to me sweetheart. Not many men would let their wives run away for three weeks, without so much as batting an eyelash.> TK shook her head softly, knowing what they had in store for Liz was one of the reasons Tim hadn’t made a fuss; he was as attached to the two women as she was. As the car pulled into a driveway, TK caught Hawk’s eye in the rear view mirror, and smiled. Leaving the flat had been one of the most difficult things any of them had done, but her getting married and Hawk’s moving in with her boyfriend had prompted Liz to let the place go, so she could move closer to work and get a small one-bedroom apartment of her own. Shaking her head, Tk stole a glance at Liz <She’s been so wrapped up in school and work that she hasn’t been looking after herself, or her love life.> Grinning madly, Tk got out of the car. <Well that’s all about to change my friend.> Knowing Liz as well as they did, she and Hawk had both come to the conclusion that the best way to get Liz perked up was to shove her into a new life as quickly as possible. Thus Liz's three-week vacation had been planned, along with Tk and Hawk's suprise for her. “Come on sleepy head.” Hawk shook Liz’s arm gently. “Time to wake up.” “Hmm... Hawk?” Liz shook her head sleepily and tried to rub her eyes, her hands meeting the bandanna, and her mind snapping immediately to the surprise that Hawk had mentioned. “Can I take this thing off yet?” she growled softly, with a small smile to let Hawk know she wasn’t really upset. “Not just yet,” Hawk said helping Liz from the car and turning her so her back was to the flat. TK stepped forward and into Liz’s line of vision, knowing she’d be the first thing Liz would see, and that was exactly what they wanted. “OK, now!” Hawk said with a chuckle. Removing the blindfold, Liz stood blinking in the afternoon sunlight, trying to let her eyes get accustomed once more. As her eyes began to focus, she could make out a figure standing in front of her, and as they cleared, she squealed in delight, throwing her arms around the woman in front of her. “Toria! When, who, what, how....” Breaking into chuckles at her friends obvious lack of verbal skills at the moment, Tk grinned wildly. “ If you’re not happy to see me I can go home,” she teased lightly, grin widening as Liz hugged her tighter. “You're not going anywhere.” Liz said with conviction, drawing back to look at her friend. “Now what the heck is going on...” Liz’s voice broke off as she turned on Hawk for answers and got a view of where they were. “Surprise.” Hawk grinned at the adorably confused look on her friend's face, the grin widening as Tk handed Liz a small flat box done up with a red ribbon. “Open it,” Tk urged as Liz simply stood there dumbfound. Slowly pulling the ribbon off the box Liz shook her head still confused. Opening the box Liz frowned, her confusion multiplying with the piece of paper tucked in the box. Pulling it out and finding a key underneath; Liz looked expectantly from one friend to the other. “The flats yours...well ours,” Hawk said, grinning from ear to ear, and bouncing up and down. Shaking her head and looking to TK, Liz raised an eyebrow. “Hawk and I tracked down the owner,” TK said, smiling at Hawks exuberance. “And we bought it.” She finished simply. Shaking her head at her two friends, Liz smiled sadly. “Guys, it’s not the same... don’t get me wrong it’s a lovely idea, but I didn’t leave because I couldn’t afford it, I left because...” “We know why you left,” Hawk said softly, “and what do you say we take this inside?” She gave Tk a wink, letting Liz know the surprise wasn't over yet. Shaking her head as Hawk grabbed the key from her hand, Liz looked at TK and shrugged. “Tor, I really don’t think....” “Just give us an hour to explain," Tk interrupted, a small hint of an indescribable emotion in her eyes, "and if you're still sure you're not interested, we'll put it on the market." Nodding Liz followed TK to where Hawk was waiting at the front door. =========================================== An hour later, still shaking her head at the plan the girls had outlined to her, Liz found herself awed that her friends felt she had the ability to pull off what they were suggesting. Having checked with town laws, TK and Hawk had gotten together and decided that there needed to be a type of halfway house, for soldiers that had no place else to go. With three boarders at a time, and Liz living in the master bedroom, the flat would become a temporary home for the soldiers unsure of their futures, giving them the chance to both work their way back into society, and have someone to talk to on a professional basis as well. ‘And who better to over see it, then you’ Hawk had stated. At Liz’s questioning look, TK had backed up Hawk, stating that the two of them would be around for three weeks to get it off the ground, and then Hawk would come round twice a week to help out, and she herself would drop by for a few days once a month. They also told her that they'd already begun advertising the place and would find someone to oversee it if she wasn't up to the challenge. Wandering through the flat with Hawk and TK looking at all the changes they’d had made, Liz found herself slowly catching the indescribable feeling she knew must have taken over her friends. The idea of helping the men and women of the wars get their lives back together was something Liz had dreamed of, but had been unsure how to really go about it, her psychology the only step she knew. // Leave it to TK and Hawk to figure out something like this.// She thought smiling softly at the back of her friends heads as they led her through the flat, pointing out little details. Each bedroom now had it’s own bath, and along with the rest of the flat, was fully furnished. She shook her head sadly as Tk opened the door to 'John's' room. //No, simply what *I* will always think of as 'John's' room.// Liz gasped in surprise as the girls revealed the room decorated back to the way it was before she’d left. Turning to TK, Liz stumbled over the words, and simply ended up stating, “How?” Smiling softly, Tk watched as Hawk held up her key chain. “Never give me the extra key to your place, and not expect me to make myself at home.” Chuckling at Liz’s frown, Hawk gave her shoulder a quick squeeze. “It can’t stay like this if we’re advertising three boarders,” Liz said sadly, her gaze drifting lovingly over the familiar room. “Hnn, I like it.” A deep male voice caused the three girls to swing around in surprise. The young man standing in the doorway causing Liz to do something Hawk and Tk had only seen her do once in thirty-two years. |
