"Ray of Hope "

Written By: SkyLark

Disclaimer: All standard disclaimers apply here

Creative assistance from Sunhawk

Warnings: AU, language and possible citrus.

Rating: NC 17

Pairings: Eventual 1x2, 5xS, references to past pairings that are a surprise.

Beta Writing By: Deb

" Ray of Hope "

[When I'm lost in the rain,
In your eyes I know I'll find the light to light my way.
And when I'm scared and losing ground;
When my world is going crazy, you can turn it all around]
-Lyrics to `I Turn To You' performed by Christina Aguilera

Nearly dropping the receiver in his hand, Wufei's eyes widened to their near limit. Unable to breathe, his mouth opened and closed until he finally croaked, "F-fiancée?" At that, Treize choked on the mouthful of coffee that he was drinking. Quickly reaching for a napkin from his desk, he wiped his mouth of the drops that managed to sneak out.

Over the line, the young woman replied, "Yes. Odin vanished not long before we were to be wed." There was a hint of uncertainty in her tone as she asked, "You do know Odin Lowe, do you not? His father, Odin Lowe Senior is Senator of Massachusetts. He's going to be running for President of the Earth Sphere next term."

All but jumping to his feet, Wufei covered the receiver. His eyes still wide and his face paling, he mouthed to his recovering
partner, `Oh my God.' Treize waved with both hands at him with a glare of warning to continue the conversation, lest the caller
become suspicious.

Uncovering the receiver, the Chinese pilot cleared his throat and replied, "I am sorry, Miss Catalonia. We live on a very remote
island, here on Horizon Cove, and we are detached from any news that takes place stateside. It took months to make any headway in receiving reports of missing persons from there in trying to identify the accident victim.

"I wish that I had better news for you, but the person that we had found is not Odin Lowe. With only a first name to go by, we will have our work cut out for us in finding his true identity. I was only recently made aware of how popular a name Odin is nowadays."

Slowly taking his seat once more, Wufei stated, "I want you to know, however, that I will pass word along of your fiancé's disappearance. I am very sorry for your loss and will do whatever I can to help."

There was a longsuffering sigh of despair. "I see," Dorothy answered, the deep frown of disappointment and grief evident in her
voice. "Thank you very much for your time, Officer Chang. I would greatly appreciate any assistance that you may be able to offer. Good day to you, sir."

"Good day," Wufei responded, amazed at how steady his voice had remained. Carefully setting the receiver down, he waited for the click as it settled into its hub before he was able to take a deep and calming breath. His dark eyes widening once more, he jumped back to his feet and shouted, "Jesus Christ! I am so fucked!"

Lowering the coffee that was quickly cooling in his hand, Treize rose from his own seat to round his desk. As he closed their office door, he winced, "You might want to keep from sharing that little tidbit with the whole division." His partner was already sitting once more, quickly typing away at his keyboard as his large eyes stared at his large monitor when the blonde officer stood before his desk.

Slightly bending at the waist to try and see the screen, the tall man asked, "Besides the fact that Duo's lover has a fiancée, what
else did you get from that call that has you so worried?" His answer came in the form of his friend turning the screen so that he could see the newspaper article from an Internet page that had been pulled up.

As he excitedly pointed to the screen, Wufei cried, "This is what has me so worried!" `Senator Lowe's Son Missing- Presidential
Hopeful Launches Wide Search' was the headline on the newspaper article. The image amidst the text was a college mug shot of the young Odin Lowe-Heero Yuy.

His own eyes widening, Treize straightened as he exclaimed, "You are so fucked!"

Grumbling, the Chinese policeman rubbed his face with both hands and muttered in frustration, "I know. I know." Reluctantly lowering his hands, he looked up to his partner and good friend with a pleading look. "What the hell do I do?" he more moaned than asked.

With a rough swallow, Treize thought for a moment before shaking his head, "Nothing. You covered yourself well in that conversation. All you can do is let this pass. Heero, well Odin, has been missing for months so it's only a matter of time before the search is called off."

The tall young man raised a hand to point at the other officer with a warning glare. "That kid ran away for some reason. Whatever that was, just let it be now. There won't be any good in trying to dig into this any deeper than you already are."

"Right," Wufei instantly agreed, fervently nodding his head. "I'll just be happy when this whole thing blows over."

Hanging up her phone, Dorothy frowned deeply to herself. Her blue eyes narrowing slightly as she gazed to the receiver, she hummed to herself in thought before walking from her private living quarters.

Just as she stepped out into the hall, the blonde young woman was greeted by one of the estate servants. The brunette woman bowed her head and adjusted her grey uniform as she straightened again with bright brown eyes. Smiling, Dorothy told her gently, "Janice, you know there's no need to bow to me. I do, however, need your help."

The servant nodded and grinned, "Of course, Miss Dorothy."

"I will be doing quite a bit of research in the study," the blue-eyed girl stated. "Please see that my dinner is brought there, as I
will most likely be preoccupied for most the night. I also wish not to be disturbed while I am working."

At that, Janice nodded firmly, "Of course." She turned on her thin heels as Dorothy thanked her quietly and walked down the hall to see that the rest of the staff was advised of her mistress's requests.

Smirking to herself, Dorothy turned to walk down the other corridor. "Now," she said quietly, "I must learn more about this
Horizon Cove."

* * * * * *

Trowa smiled to himself as he walked to the beater of a car that was at the far corner of his shop. The pair of feet sticking out from the bottom of the vehicle gave away the location of the young sailor that he was looking for. His friend had been working on the car for the near entirety of his lunch break.

Gently tapping on the rusted hood, the Latin mechanic shouted over the noise of the shop, "Hey, Heero." With a grunt of
acknowledgement, the Japanese young man slid out on the roller bed from beneath the car. Smirking at the smudge-covered face, the shop owner asked, "How's it coming along?"

As Heero rose to his feet, he removed the cloth and shrugged, "She needs a lot of work, but I should have it running in a few weeks." He winced before stating, "There are quite a few parts that I'm going to need."

With a nonchalant wave of his hand, Trowa reassured him, "No problem. I wouldn't want you using old parts on this thing, only to have them give you problems. Just make a list of what you need and I'll make an order."

Grinning widely, the sailor nodded sincerely, "Thanks, Trowa. You're really going out of your way with this, and I really appreciate it."

"Well, I'm hoping that all of this means you'll keep working here," the tall young man laughed. "You're one of the best mechanics I have on staff, and we really need the extra pair of hands around here."

Shaking his head, Heero chuckled deeply, only to stop when a young woman in a sky blue sundress with long blonde hair that fell past her waist stopped just outside of the shop's open doors to stop with her back to the mechanics inside.

His cobalt eyes widening, he gasped softly as he watched the slender girl. Her hair, straight and shining in the sunlight, blew gently
around her. When she turned, those familiar blue eyes and warm smile fell on him. "Hello, Odin," the familiar voice greeted. "I've been looking all over for you."

"Heero," Trowa's voice called through his vision. "Heero, are you all right?" Jolting back to the present, the Japanese sailor blinked in surprise and shook his head before looking to his concerned friend.

When he looked back to the girl, Heero noted that she had never looked back at him as she worked at pinning the flyer in her hand to the lamppost just outside the shop and on the busy sidewalk. As she turned and walked away, her profile was nothing like the blonde young woman he had envisioned.

Breaking the silence, Trowa's frown deepened in concern as he asked again, "Are you all right, man?"

Finally forcing himself to take a deep breath, Heero flashed him a reassuring smile and answered, "Sorry, I was too busy trying to read the flyer that girl was putting up." At the sagging shoulders and relieved look on Trowa's face, he mentally sighed in relief,
himself. He raised his head back to the flyer as to try and further prove his quickly thought excuse.

In bold letters at the top of the yellow flyer were the words `HORIZON CAPE GALA' along with the images of a Ferris wheel
and firework graphics. At the bottom, in smaller print were the details on when and where.

A smile grew on the shop owner's face as he explained, "It's an annual fair that we have here one of the last weekends before the
fall. We have a carnival, amusement park rides and a huge dance in the center of town." Squinting his emerald eye to read the finer print, he announced, "Looks like it'll be the following weekend."

His gaze widening, Trowa grinned from ear-to-ear as he quickly turned to face his friend. "It's been years since Duo went to that
gala and dance. You should ask him out. I'm sure that someone in his family wouldn't mind watching over the lighthouse for a little while until you get back."

While he knew that finding a suitable replacement would not be a problem, and as much as he had to admit that the thought of
attending the gala sounded like fun, Heero swallowed hard. "I-I don't know how to dance."

"No problem," a young woman's voice interrupted. The pair of mechanics nearly jumped as they looked up to the unnoticed new
arrival. With a wide smile, Hilde shrugged, "Trowa did mention that I'm a dance instructor, didn't he? I'd be more than happy to help. We've been trying for years to get Duo to attend this dance, and now we finally have a reason for him to go."

Smirking, Trowa raised an eyebrow to his friend. "She doesn't take no for an answer easily, pal," he warned. "Best submit before
somebody gets hurt."

The short-haired girl tilted her head in silent question. Heero finally held up his hands and chuckled deeply, "All right. When can
we get started?"

* * * * * *

Later that evening…

Dorothy sighed deeply as she finally shut her computer down in the large study of her estate. The officer certainly had been telling
the truth of the island's remoteness. It had taken a great deal of research to find anything on its location and layout.

A quick mental run of her agenda for the next few weeks and she smiled to herself. Taking up her cell phone, she opened it and
dialed a number that she knew by heart. When there was an answer, the blonde girl grinned, "Yes, I would like to make arrangements for a flight to the coast at the end of the month."

TBC

Chapter 29

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