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"Rescues"Written By: Honor Disclaimer: Despite my best attempts, I have not
managed to steal the boys. I’ll let you know when I succeed.
Archived: Gundam Wing Diaries Rating: R (I think, I really don’t have a
good grasp on the rating system) Spoilers: nada Warnings: TWT, EWWT (I’m acting like the
war lasts a year and a half and Eternal Waltz doesn’t happen)
Lemon, some angst, violence, language, romance Pairings: 3x4 established, working on 5xOMC (anyone
remember Jamie?) and a 1x2 //thought// <<com or phone>> *emphasized* ~flashback~
"Rescues " Chapter Two: Mother Hens
Duo was right behind him. “Tro, breathe! It’s going to take a sec to get there, and for her to load it, and then send back a reply!” Wufei had been stretched out on the couch, enjoying some peace from his latest mission. At his friend’s odd behavior, however, he looked up from his book. “ ‘Her’?” “Quatre has been found,” Trowa replied curtly. Wufei slowly sat up, frowning in concern. “I hadn’t realized he was missing. His mission wasn’t supposed to end until tomorrow.” “Something went wrong,” Duo told him with a grimace. “News reports in the States said that one of the bases was attacked, but the pilot was captured. We weren’t sure if it was Q or Ro until Jamie called us. They both had missions in that area.” “Dammit, Maxwell, when one of my teammates goes missing I want to know about it! I don’t care if you’re not sure who it is!” “I’m telling you now!” Duo protested, ducking for cover behind Trowa. Trowa took advantage of his proximity and forcefully sat him in front of the laptop. “Check your mail.” “And who is Jamie?” Wufei demanded, getting off of the couch to glare at both of them. “An intern that works in the same hospital they put Quatre in,” Trowa answered shortly. “Yeah, and she’s hot too.” “MAXWELL!!” “Will you both *chill*?!” Duo gave them both a glare as he went into his email. “He’s fine! He’ll be up and running like new in three weeks, Jams said so. See, Tro, I told you it’s too soon for a mes—” “One New Message from unknown sour—” *SCREECH!* “WHOOA!” Duo flailed madly as Trowa yanked him to the side, chair and all, then dove for the keyboard of the laptop. From: fatnhappy@highmaintenance.net Hi! Quatre’s asleep right now, and I’m wishin’
that I was too, so this is going to be short. Jamie
Wufei snorted. “You would. Barton, I’m coming with you.” Trowa gave him a glance, questioning. “You’re not reacting or thinking rationally right now,” Wufei stated flatly. “I’ll do that for you. Give me five minutes to pack and we’ll leave. Maxwell—” “I’ll keep the place safe until Ro gets back,” Duo acknowledged. “Get movin’ and call if you need anything.” Wufei nodded. Trowa was already out the door. + “Good Moooorning Sunshine~!” Quatre groaned, cracking open an eyelid. “Please tell me you’re not a morning person.” “Nope,” Jamie cheerfully concurred. “I’m just dry drunk right now.” Letting his eye fall closed, he groaned. “Dry drunk?” “So sleep deprived that you act like you’re drunk or high…usually both, in my case.” “Duo gets like that,” Quatre mumbled. “We usually make him go out so we don’t have to deal with it.” “Smart move, but not possible for you right now.” Jamie’s smile was a tad too sadistic. “I’m going to get up and make some bachelor stew. Sound good?” Quatre sent a query down to his stomach. It took a moment, but the reply was a cautious affirmative. “I think so.” “Hm. You’ll probably get really hungry once you smell it. Need anything before I get started?” “Sleep,” Quatre growled back. It was hard not to smile at her, though. She just looked so…pleased, with everything in general. “Right.” She bounced up to her feet and went out the door, humming something under her breath. To be fair, Jamie tried to stay fairly quiet as she dumped all of the ingredients for bachelor stew into a pot and sat it on the miniature stove. She hummed quietly to herself, instead of singing at the top of her lungs as she usually did. Quatre *was* trying to sleep, after all. Once it was going, she took the trouble of getting the rest of the supplies in from the van and putting them in the cupboard, damning her internal alarm clock the entire time. When the sun came up, so did she, no matter what time she went to sleep the night before. It usually meant she fell back asleep somewhere around three or four in the afternoon to make up for the loss. Everything was done in an hour. “Hm…now what do I do with myself? Check my email maybe? They may have sent back a reply.” Halfway into the room the laptop beeped. Then it beeped three times, in quick succession. Quatre looked up blearily. “A message?” His eyes flew wide at the expression on Jamie’s face. It was cold, set…the face of a soldier. Somehow it seemed wrong to see that expression on her face. “Someone breached the perimeters,” she answered in clipped tones. Going to the corner of the room, she picked up her rifle. “If they make it past me, there’s a .45 in the backpack next to you.” He nodded. “Understood.” “Let’s hope it’s your friends.” With an acknowledging nod she went to the door, cocking the rifle. Her eyes scanned the foliage surrounding the cabin. There was no sound from the outside. A taut minute passed, then another. *clack* Jamie jumped, turning her head to face the sound. It reminded her of two stones being smacked together. But why on earth…? *clickclackclick* “Jamie!” Quatre called urgently. “Don’t shoot, that’s Trowa!” Her eyebrows shot up. Clever. Raising her rifle to aim at the sky she called out “Quatre says it’s safe! Come on out, lover boy.” From the woods melted the tall, slender form of a teenager. Trowa came into focus as he ran up. It was the second figure behind him that surprised Jamie. He was obviously Chinese //and a stud muffin! What is it with all of Quatre’s friends?!// and moved like water over smooth stone. He eyed the rifle in her hands with suspicion until she leaned it against the wall, out of sight. Jamie stepped back to give them room. Trowa was fairly vibrating with the need to visually confirm that his lover was in one piece. Jamie considered it to be rather unfair that he was even hotter in real life. Without missing a beat, she nodded to the back room. “He’s in there. Be careful how you move him.” With barely a nod Trowa ran past her and into the bedroom. His friend came in close behind him, but stopped at the doorway. Whatever he saw there made him relax slightly, and turn his attention back to her. Jamie eyed him back. //Okay, what’s with him? He looks pissed to be here, and especially pissed at me. Granted, he looks hot and kinda cool with that scowl on his face, but its irritating.// Ignoring him for a moment, she leaned into the room to see how things were progressing. Trowa was leaning over the bed, engaged in a rather thorough lip lock with Quatre. Feeling her face flame, she jerked back out of sight. “Well…at least he didn’t move him.” Shaking her head roughly to get the mental picture of two (sexy) guys playing tongue twister, she looked at Cute and Chinese. “You guys must have traveled all night to get here. Are you hungry?” Grudgingly he answered, “Yes.” Urk. It was so completely and totally unfair that this guy, who was being a jerk to her, had the *exact* kind of voice that she loved in men. //Murphy is my freakin’ guardian angel I swear.// “Right. I put on some bachelor stew this morning. Let me rustle up some bowls.” + Wufei watched the female move around in the kitchen, fetching bowls and filling them up with stew. His mouth had been watering ever since he had entered the cabin from the aroma of that stew. It had been at least twelve hours since he had eaten something, and his stomach was letting him know it. He wished that he could relax a bit, and talk to her. He still stiffened up so badly around women, especially ones he found attractive. And Jamie was *very* attractive. She had rich brunette hair that hung midway down her back, neatly caught in a clasp at her neck. He had been close enough earlier to see that her eyes were a type of hazel—dominantly brown, but with hints of green thrown in. This was precisely the type of woman that he liked—confident, capable, and with the backbone and courage to do what she needed to do without faltering. It all led to one thing for him…he was going to make a complete jerk of himself when he was around her. That always seemed to happen, somehow, and he knew it was going to happen this time because he’d barely spent five minutes in her presence and already she was frowning at him! She came past him with two bowls in her hands, and a smirk on her face. Stopping just outside the door she called, “Alright you two, break it up. He’s not in any condition for that type of shenanigans.” “JAMIE!” Quatre protested. With an evil chuckle under her breath, she went into the room. Wufei, almost against his will, stood in the doorway and watched her. She knelt and handed both bowls to Trowa before helping Quatre to prop up on the bed. “There, you both need something to eat. There’s waterbottles in the backpack, Trowa, if you want to grab some.” Quatre looked up as Trowa bent to rummage for the bottles. “Wufei! I didn’t know you came as well.” “Someone had to baby-sit your lover,” Wufei grumbled. “He turned into a complete woman when he found out you were hurt.” Trowa snorted at this, but didn’t comment. Jamie paused at the statement and looked up. “Quatre…he’s a chauvinist, isn’t he?” “Er…kinda?” Jamie rolled her eyes. “Lord deliver us. Well, even chauvinists have to eat. Come along, Grumpy. Let’s leave them a bit of time alone.” Wufei followed her out, mentally chastising himself. Of all the stupid things to say…! Why couldn’t he be more like Duo? Easy of wit and charm? Or like Heero, who apparently possessed that elusive and magical something that attracted women despite his cold demeanor? //Forget it, Chang. Just chalk her up as another woman who wouldn’t willingly be seen with you in public and move on.// In absolute silence he accepted the bowl of stew that she handed him and started eating. Despite his morose musings, the food was *very* good. He cleaned out the bowl in record time. “There’s more, if you wish.” He looked up, puzzled by her calm expression. Odd, she didn’t sound irate with him. “…thank you.” She turned to him, head cocked. “For?” “For Quatre. For this,” he hefted the bowl slightly. “We do not have many allies.” A slow smile spread over her face. “You’re welcome.” //Good. Somehow, she is at ease with me. Now if I can just keep my mouth shut, perhaps I can keep things that way.// Nodding to her, he got up from the small table and went to fill his bowl again. Trowa came out, bearing both bowls. “Is there more?” “I made a lot,” Jamie confessed easily. “There’s probably enough for three or four helpings. How’s Quatre?” “I’m starving!” Quatre called plaintively. Jamie started laughing. “Growing teenage boys…it’s nice to know that certain things never change.” Her laugh was abruptly cut off when the laptop beeped. “Don’t move, and don’t make any sounds. I’m supposed to be alone up here,” she ordered softly. Carefully she moved the laptop out of the bedroom and into the kitchen, turning it to face her and away from the other boys. Before she hit the accept key she took a deep breath and looked directly at the screen. Wufei blinked in surprise. In those five seconds she went from laughing, to cold and serious, to curious and open. Was this woman a chameleon? “Oh. Hello, Tom.” <<Jamie, I hate to interrupt your vacation like this. Speaking of which, where the devil are you?>> Jamie didn’t bat an eyelash. “Up at my Uncle’s place. You sound like something has gone wrong?” << ‘Wrong’ is an understatement. That Gundam pilot we had here has gone missing. We’ve searched high and low and can’t find him anywhere. I know you left right after that whole fire debacle. Did you see anything suspicious?>> “Hm…not really. I was too busy trying to move people into ICU to notice anything.” <<They think he was moved out of the hospital during the ruckus, but of course we can’t be sure. Don’t be alarmed if the army comes and gets you, alright? They’re insisting it must have been an inside job and are going to collect anyone who was working that shift.>> Jamie sighed, smiling ruefully. “My first vacation in over three years, and the army’s going to bust in on it. Figures. Thanks, Tom, for the warning.” <<Sorry, Jamie. I’ll let you have another three days to make up for this.>> “Thanks, I appreciate it. Bye.” <<Bye.>> The rueful mask was dropped as the screen went blank. She looked up, urgency in her eyes. “You’ve got to go.” “Trowa, Wufei, Jamie come in here!” They shared glances before joining Quatre in his room. The blond was visibly agitated and worried. “I heard all of it. Jamie, they’re going to figure out it was you.” She shrugged, hands spread helplessly. “By process of elimination, yes. There wasn’t any way around that, not within the time frame that I had. Don’t worry about me, Quatre. I was raised as a mercenary for crying out loud. I can dodge a lousy OZ patrol.” “For how long?” Trowa asked quietly. “I’ve seen how good you are, but you don’t have infinite resources. They’ll catch you eventually.” “They won’t pursue me like they pursue you,” she pointed out. “Une will not let you slip free,” Wufei snarled. “We know. We have to deal with the woman on a regular basis.” “What do you suggest I do?!” Jamie whirled on him, eyes snapping. “Just give up?” “No.” Quatre shook his head firmly. “You’re coming with us.” “…what?” Jamie croaked. “Are you insane?! I’d be a liability! We both know that!” “You’d be an asset,” Trowa corrected. “You have the medical expertise we don’t, but need. You know how to handle yourself in the field, and with firearms. You’ve proven that you have a knowledge of computers and sneak tactics that is on par with ours. And as a nice bonus, you can actually cook unlike most of us.” “And when OZ suddenly trips over your whereabouts and you have to leave in a hurry?” “OZ doesn’t ‘trip’ over us,” Wufei muttered. “It’s that Pink Sha zi that does that. And since you’re a woman, you can shoot her. Then we won’t have to worry about it anymore.” Jamie cocked a brow at this. “ ‘Pink Sha zi’?” “Relena Peacecraft,” Quatre translated with a sour grimace. “Uh-huh. I want the full story on that later, but right now we don’t have the time. Guys, think about this. Are you sure?” “Stop arguing, woman,” Wufei snapped. “You’re coming with us. Barton, I’ll get the Jeep. Get him ready to transport.” With a final scowl at her he spun on his heel and out of the door. Jamie frowned at his back. “Is he normally that pissy or is it just me?” Trowa sighed. “It’s actually me he’s mad at. He’s just not sure how to act around you.” “What does that make me then? An alien life form?” //Freakin’ chauvinistic misanthropic idiot…// “Quatre, I’m going to give you a mild shot of morphine. It should make the trip less painful.” The pilot grimaced but nodded. “Trowa, if you could help him dress in something besides that hospital gown? I have a pair of sweats here if you didn’t bring anything of his.” Trowa knelt by the bag she had indicated and started rummaging for clothes. In short order Jamie had Quatre prepared for travel, rolled up her sleeping bag and repacked the few personal effects she had brought along. In truth, she had known that she wouldn’t be able to go back to the hospital. Her planning had just bought her a few days. As they piled into the Grand Jeep Cherokee, Jamie glanced over to the driver’s side. Wufei was staring straight ahead, face blank. //I hope going with them isn’t a bad thing…// ~*~*~*~
Footnote: Sha zi—idiot
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