New Haven

Chapter Twenty: Recovery.

Wufei entered the recovery room and bee-lined to the bed holding the holder of his heart not needing a guide any further. He placed a gentle kiss to slightly parted lips. He smiled as they moved slightly under his own.

He pulled away to find eyes trying valiantly to open. He looked down into the depths and smiled. “It’s alright love. We got the bastard and you can rest easily. You have a daughter, sister-in-law, and brother to get better for. So go back to sleep and let us care for you.”

A slight nod was his answer and with a little yawn his love fell back into morpheus.

The heart and respiratory monitor settled into a steady rhythm as Duo fell back to sleep. The nurse who was watching it sighed in satisfaction.

Sally laughed softly at the end of the bed. “Stubborn little monster, isn’t he?” She asked rhetorically.

Wufei looked up with a happy sigh. His Duo was alright. “You expected anything less?”

Sally laughed and didn’t answer the question. “I had them set up a room with cots for all of you to sleep in. I don’t think those kids are going to let you two very far for awhile. Une has given you a sabbatical for the next six months for you to work on New Haven and helping your family to recover.” She looked down at the sleeping man. “I’ll only keep him here for about three days or he’ll cause some sort of mischief. The nurse will show you to the room after you get your family. By then he’ll have been moved there.”

Wufei nodded and pressed a kiss to Duo’s forehead and took a long loving look at his love. He brushed the hair from his face and smiled at the peaceful look that his love wore. He had forgotten how beautiful this man looked while he was asleep. He would never forget. He would find time to watch this man sleeping in the future.

He turned to see Sally looking at him wryly. “Yes?” He asked dryly.

“Just thinking what I would be doing if Anne had been hurt.” Sally answered quietly. “I would probably be doing what you just did.”

Wufei snorted. “No you would have been in the operating room watching another doctor’s every move as he worked on her just to make sure they did their job the right way.” He grinned when Sally chortled at the picture he had painted. He moved away from the bed wistfully. “I had better get to children before Howard decides to kidnap them.” Sally continued to chortle as she watched him leave.

Wufei smirked as he made his return trip to the waiting room. A nurse who had been waiting followed quietly behind him. He ignored it as he slowly approached the room. A small smile spread over his face as he heard children giggling in the room. He stopped to listen to what was being said.

“So, Wufei drops his gun and stares at the puddle in horror. He can’t believe that the puddle at the door was growing.” Howard recounted. “He didn’t know Duo then. All he knew was that if he opened the door to the bathroom he would flood the place. Duo you see didn’t know that that was the room I had assigned to Wufei. He thought it was the room that I was using. So Wufei starts swearing and hollering and soon has a great big audience. The guys decide to tease him saying that he was a wimp, and other things like that. Wufei smirked went to one side of the door suddenly and promptly opened the door. A wall of bubbles and water poured out the door and soaked all the people in it’s path. That was just about everyone. Accept me. I had some warning because I saw him smirk. Behind me I could hear my Duo giggling away unrepentantly.”

Wufei grinned he remembered that. Duo had done that as well. He shook his head wryly and pushed open the door. “Don’t get any ideas. Your not going to pull that prank. Or else you get to clean up the mess.” He told the two teenagers listening avidly to Howard’s words. “You pull a prank you clean it up.” Wufei said adamantly. He stood with arms crossed glaring at the perpetrator of the story. “Don’t give them ideas. Duo will give them enough ideas on his own.”

Howard looked up at the chinese man and grinned. “How’s my boy?”

“Sleeping peacefully. Now that he was told everyone is safe and sound.” Wufei answered dryly. “He had to have it confirmed so he wouldn’t fight the anesthetic. He is now happily dreaming up trouble for me to reap the rewards of.” He looked at the teens fighting of sleep to find the six year old holding out her arms. “Well little one, it seems you can’t sleep with out me. You’ll have to fight your Duo-daddy for me.” He took the steps needed and scooped up the child. “And do you remember your name?” He asked of her.

“Chang Sakura.” She told him softly.

Wufei looked down startled. “Did you say Chang Sakura?” He looked down in confusion.

“Grandma Long was looking for my Baba.” The little girl whispered. She was barely audible. “Mommy got me and Grandma and Grandpa off the colony before it went boom.” She looked up with wide onyx eyes and looked at him sadly. “But the mean man came and took them away before we could find Baba.” Wufei’s knees buckled and he fell heavily to them on the floor. “Will you find my Baba?”

Wufei stared into the face closely picking out features that were so similar to his own. “Do you know your Mommy’s name?” He asked softly already knowing the answer.

“Chang Meiran.” She told the man holding her firmly in his arms.

Wufei turned and looked up to see Heero standing in the doorway. “I have a daughter.” He whispered to the other man. The other people looked at the duo in bewilderment.

Heero’s eyes widened in shock as he took in the features of the child. She was the spitting image of the man holding her. “Wufei?”

Wufei’s face slowly darkened as he remembered what she had been through. “That man almost raped my daughter!!!” He roared.

Feet were heard running down the hall at the shout. Heero held up placating hands.

“He raped my Duo and he almost raped my Sakura blossom!” Wufei roared louder.

Zechs and Noin barreled into the room to see Wufei crouched on the ground. He was curled protectively over a child and the raw anger that fell from him in waves swamped the room.

Heero was approaching him carefully when the shuffling steps were heard outside.

“Maxwell!” They heard shouted from further down the hall. “What are you doing?”

Duo pushed carefully through the door and with out hesitation went straight to his dragon.

Une and Howard were herding the teens from the room occasionally looking back at the scene. Une couldn’t believe what she had heard the little girl say. She turned disbelieving eyes to meet Howard’s. She grabbed at Sally as she went to storm past them into the room. She needn’t have bothered. Sally had stopped at the scene before her.

Duo had sat down beside his love and leaned forward and placed his head on the free shoulder. “Fei its alright. Its over love. He won’t hurt any of us ever again.” Duo shifted slightly and looked up into onyx eyes. “He may have took my body and family once but he didn’t do it again. We’re safe.” He closed his eyes tiredly and hoped that the words helped his love.

Wufei let the tears fall as the words seeped into his mind. It finally dawned on him that Duo was beside him and he shuddered and tried to get control of what he was feeling.

Duo looked down into an impish female version of his love’s face and blinked. “Hello.” He whispered softly. “I’m Duo. Who are you?”

“Chang Sakura.” She answered hesitantly. She didn’t know what was going on and she was scared.

“Your Baba is just upset that he didn’t get there sooner to make the mean man go away.” He smiled softly at her in a reassuring way. “He is your Baba. He is Chang Wufei.”

The smaller onyx eyes widened in uncontained joy. “Baba!” She shouted gleefully as her smaller arms wrapped around Wufei’s neck. “I found you Baba.” She repeated the last sentence over and over like a chant.

Wufei let the tears flow freely. His loved ones would be alright. “Oh god.” He whimpered. “Oh Nataku thank you for us getting to that room on time.”

Duo pulled back to look more closely at his love. With dawning horror he realized what Wufei was implying. “I should have let you kill him.” He stated flatly as he looked at the man he loved with all his heart.

“I couldn’t have done it in front of her.” He whispered. “Not in front of my daughter.”

Duo nodded and slowly attempted to get to his feet.

Heero stepped forward and aided the injured man. He gently pulled him to his feet and turned to help Wufei.

Wufei was already on his feet offering support to his love. He ignored the audience that they had gathered and made his way to the hall supporting Duo on his left side.

“Duo,” He murmured as they made there way to the room that would be their home for a few days. They followed a nurse rushing ahead of them to get the room properly prepared for them. “The young man who is trying to support you on your right is Damian Maxwell. The young lady hovering on my left is Chang Katey.” He looked down into questioning violet eyes. “We’re keeping them.” He stated calmly.

Duo looked over at the teen helping him on his right side. He took in the wiry muscles and long cooper braid. He gave him one of his patent grins that had some pain visible in it and received a tentative smile in return. He turned his violet gaze to the other teen and looked over the slenderly built girl. He took in the expression that he knew so well. His grin widened and he winked at her cheerfully. “Welcome to the fold. Do I have a lot to teach you. The biggest thing is how to be children again.” The tentative smiles he was receiving widened into true smiles.

Wufei nodded and turned into the room the nurse motioned them into. He helped his love onto the bed indicated and allowed the nurse to do her job.

He noticed the other bed pushed up against the right side of the one he had helped Duo onto and grinned unrepentantly. He made his way around the end of the bed Duo was being settled onto and crawled with his clinging flower onto it. He motioned the other two to the cots set up in the room.

“The bathroom is through that door.” The nurse indicated the door on the other side of the room. “If there is any trouble press this button,” She motioned to a button and intercom system behind the head of Duo’s bed. “And some one will be with you immediately. If there’s nothing else. I’m just going to run and get some drinks and food for you. No Mr. Maxwell. You only get water.” She interrupted Duo as he opened his mouth.

“Actually,” Duo retorted dryly. “I wanted some ice chips.” He told her darkly.

She blinked at him not knowing what to say.

Sally who had come to check on her patient heard the tail end of the conversation. “Ice you can have. You know better than to do things like this Duo.” Sally told the great Shinigami in just as dark tone as his own. “You could have broken your stitches and started the bleeding again.”

“Fei needed me.” Was the only response she received. He turned to the man sitting comfortably beside him rocking his daughter to sleep. He reached out a hand and curled it around a strong bicep. The arm loosened its hold on the child and Duo let his hand slide down to tangle his fingers with Wufei’s.

Wufei didn’t look up at the gentle touch. He had known. Deep down he had known there was a reason the man had destroyed the church besides the fact that rebels had taken control of it. Duo had been there. The man had tried to kill the proof of his sickness and missed. ‘Thank Nataku.’ Wufei told himself silently as he pressed a kiss to the soft hair of his daughter. ‘Thank Nataku he wasn’t there. I don’t know what I would do without him. And I would never have found my daughter in time.’ He looked up to his right slowly and met sleepy violet eyes. They promised healing love and everything that he needed in this world to survive. He nodded to his love in answer to the promise there. “Sleep love. I’m not leaving.” He told him quietly.

His words had been meant for Duo but his daughter took them to heart as well and closed her eyes at the same time and with a sigh that was similar to Duo’s own fell back to sleep.

Wufei looked up to see Sally watching the scene with a tender smile on her face. He eyes wandered to the teens to see them watching him with sleepy eyes. He smiled and winked.

Damian gave him a little grin. “We’re hungry so we’re going to wait for the food before sleeping.” Damian told him in hushed tones. “He’s an amazing person.” Damian told the man sitting with his arm full of daughter on the bed. “Is she really your daughter?” He asked with no little confusion.

“Yeah,” Katey whispered curiously. “Is she really your daughter?”

“Yes. I married her mother when I was sixteen. The war started soon after that. When I was twenty she informed me that she had become pregnant and I needed to come home.” He hugged the child to his side more firmly with his free arm. “I tried to get there. I tried so hard. But I didn’t make it. I didn’t know if my wife had given birth. I didn’t know if I had a daughter or a son. I didn’t know…” He broke of with a little sob. “I thought I had lost everything. Everything I held dear to my heart that I was trying to protect because my stubborn wife had called me coward and challenged me into becoming the warrior that I already knew I was.” He looked down a the precious gem he held. “Thank Nataku for the precious gift she had given me. She has given me a new brother and sister. She has given a love that I never thought I would find. And She has brought me to my daughter.”

Unbeknownst to him Howard, Une, Zechs, Noin, and Heero stood in the hall listening to him. Tears were pouring down the women’s face and a promise was given by the men to never let this family ever be harmed again. They would never let this family be torn apart or hurt. The world wouldn’t know what happened to it if something did. They quietly crept away to let the new family to their peace.

Wufei looked up at the sound of the door closing to see Sally silently leaving them. He smiled through his tears at the woman’s understanding. He looked over at the teens. He saw the tears in their eyes and smiled at them.

A knock on the door interrupted what Wufei was about to say.

A head peeked carefully in to the room and the nurse blushed at the sight that greeted her. “I have food and things here.” She whispered to them.

Damian uncurled from the cot he was on and took the tray from the nurse. He handed out the things and placed a pitcher of water and ice on the table close to Wufei incase Duo needed it during the…Damian looked out the window and grinned wryly. It was already almost morning. He put down the tray and pulled the curtains closed to allow better sleep and received a murmur of thanks. He settled back into his cot and ate the food. To him this food was heavenly. He grinned as he saw Katey breathing in the food.

Wufei snorted at the expression of delight and sublime heaven on the teen’s faces. “You haven’t even tasted real food yet.” He told them in hushed tones. “Wait till Duo is up to cooking. He is a certified chef from Julliard.” He told them dryly.

Damian choked and Katey looked confused. “Julliard?” Damian hissed in amazement. At Wufei’s nod he turned and explained the facts to Katey succinctly. Katey turned in awe to the men on the bed.

“Yes Julliard.” Wufei murmured. “He also graduated from the paramedic and nursing course at UNY.” Wufei chuckled softly at the expressions on their faces. There was no way he would be able to explain the looks. It was some where between awe struck and looking at a god look. “Go to sleep. You can ask us all the questions you need to tomorrow. We’re not going anywhere.” They nodded and curled into there blankets like kittens.

Wufei watched as they fell asleep before he settled into his own sleeping position. He settled on his side his daughter between him and Duo. His hand still tangled firmly with Duo’s. “It’s time to recover and learn now.” He murmured drowsily as he fell into the world of slumber that beckoned to him.