Diamond in the Rough

DISCLAIMER: Don\'t own! As a matter of fact all I truly own is a car that is threatening to go on strike any day now! Don\'t sue. Can\'t get blood from a stone!!



BETAS: I\'m truly blessed by my wonderful team of Betas. Sana and Chris, thanks a ton for all your help!



AUTHOR\'S NOTES: I want to thank everyone for their very helpful input on the pairings they\'d like to see. For some reason, every pairing I\'ve tried in my mind hasn\'t worked out. But the ones that were suggested have given me a whole lot of good (i.e. very dirty) ideas! There are a few ANs at the end of the chapter that explain a few things.



THANKS AGAIN FOR READING MY LITTLE DRABBLES









EVERYONE’S A VICTIM







Duo drifted in and out of sleep. Sometimes the pain would overwhelm the medication that he had been given to stop it and he would flounder into full consciousness. During those short periods of awareness, he worried about what his father would say or do to him for this fiasco. It wasn’t his fault that Barton had lost his temper and creamed him during the game.



The fourth time he struggled awake, Owen was there, sitting in a chair next to the bed. His handsome features were set in a look of disgust and barely contained rage. Duo tried to draw back from him, fear evident on his face.



“I see that you’re awake,” Owen growled at him, getting to his feet and coming over to the bed.



“Yes, sir,” Duo squeaked his voice and body trembling with ill-concealed fear.



“I can’t believe that you’re any relation to me. One little hit and you’re running up medical bills. You are a total waste of money and if I didn’t need you for your talents, I wouldn’t keep you around.” He gave Duo a malicious grin. “As a matter of fact, Roger has offered me fifteen hundred dollars for you. And after today, I’m really considering it.”



“I didn’t—”



“You didn’t what? Didn’t think about how this would affect the family? Didn’t care about what would happen to your brother and I if certain information got out?” He raised his hand and brought it down against the boy’s cheek.



Duo whimpered when his father’s broad hand smacked his face. The movement set off a series of sharp pains throughout his whole body. One, crystalline tear ran into the chestnut hair at his temple. He knew better than to cry out, that would only lead to more pain when he got home. No one would dare go against his father. There would be no prince on a white horse to come to his rescue. Duo understood at that point that there would come a day when he ceased to be useful and then he would disappear. He could almost hear Owen telling the people at work that his naughty foster son had gotten fed up with the life he was leading and had run away from home.



“I don’t see what Roger sees in you,” Owen sneered. “You’re fat, ugly and couldn’t carry on an intelligent conversation if you tried. As a matter of fact, I don’t know what any of your Johns see in you. And I can see why you don’t have any friends; no one would want to be friends with a worthless little bitch whore like you. You disgust me.” He glared down at Duo with a look that most people reserve for what they step in on the lawn. “Don’t expect to see me again until you’re ready to leave. Do you hear me?”



“Yes, sir,” Duo murmured, barely able to keep the tears that threatened from falling. “I’ll have the hospital call you when I’m ready to be discharged.”



“Good, you do that.” Owen turned on his heel and strode out of the room. His hurried footsteps carried him past the family waiting room where two of Duo’s classmates waited for permission to see him. The smaller of the two sat, riveted to his seat, both hands clutching his shirt above his heart with silent tears running down his face.







* * * * * *







Quatre and Trowa had gotten to the hospital while Duo was still in the emergency room, but because they weren’t related to the patient, they were informed that they would have to wait until Mr. Reid got there before they could see the braided boy. After he had been transferred to the intensive care unit, they were shown to the family room to wait until Duo’s father made his appearance. The smallish room had four large recliners, a table with four chairs, a microwave and a coffeemaker all crammed into it. Against the back wall was a bathroom with a sink, toilet and shower. A TV hung from the ceiling and at the moment one of the many soap operas played on the screen.



“Do you think that Mr. Reid will be here soon?” Trowa asked Quatre.



“Don’t know. He seems to be quite attentive to Duo – or at least from what I’ve seen.” Quatre tapped his forefinger against his lip. “But there’s a lot of contradictions that I don’t understand. For one, why the hell is the man allowing Duo to sleep around in the first place? Shouldn’t he have more control over him? And two, why was Duo in school today with his injuries? Wouldn’t someone who truly cared for him want him to be at home where he’d have time to recuperate?” Quatre gave his crush a sad smile. “I’ve gotten some interesting feelings from Duo in the few times that I’ve met him. There’s a lot of self-loathing and some anger issues that I don’t understand. I guess that we’ll just have to wait to talk to Duo. I’m not sure that I would believe anything that ….” Quatre seized his shirt with both hands and gave a small, keening cry. “Oh god it hurts.”



“Quatre?” Trowa asked, getting out of his seat and coming towards the petite blonde. “What is it?”



“It’s Duo,” the petite blonde gasped, tears flooding down his cheeks. “He’s wishing that he could die and doesn’t care what happens to him.” He threw himself against Trowa’s chest - knowing, at a subconscious level, that there would be comfort and strength in the circle of his arms. “Oh God, Trowa! He’s ready to kill himself. There’s so much pain. Something’s happened. We’re going in to see him and I don’t care if the nurses call security, I’m not leaving him alone when he’s like this.” A small sob escaped Quatre’s throat. He drew himself up, put his emotions under a tight lock and wiped the tears off his face. He gave Trowa a weak smile. “I don’t want him to see my tears. It’s time someone was strong for him.”



Trowa gave the little blonde a smile, took his smaller hand in his and then ushered him out of the room. Hand in hand they entered the foreboding dusk in the ICU. The only sounds reaching their ears came from the various machines used in the unit. The constant hiss and click of the respirators, the deep bong of an alarming heart monitor and the hushed voices of staff, visitors and patients. A ringing phone blared above the other sounds, startling Quatre as they approached the nurse’s desk.



A woman dressed in street clothes answered the phone and paged for one of the nurses – or so Quatre assumed. She set the phone back on the cradle and turned her attention to the advancing young men.



“Can I help you?” she asked as they came up to the desk.



“Yes, I’m Quatre Winner and this is Trowa Barton,” Quatre said, motioning with his free hand. “We’re here to see Duo Maxwell, if that’s at all possible. We’ve been waiting for his foster father to come up and someone from the emergency department said that they would let Mr. Reid know that we’re here.”



“Yes, he was informed of your presence and said that he would be greatly honored if you would visit Duo. Unfortunately, Mr. Reid was called away on business and he had to leave. If you’d like, Duo is in room seven. Just go around the corner and it’s the last door on the right.”



“Thank you so very much,” Quatre said, giving the woman one of his patented, heart-melting smiles.



“You’re quite welcome,” she said, turning her attention back to her work.



They quickly rounded the corner and followed the directions to Duo’s room. They could see the braided boy through the large observation window that allowed the nurses to see how each patient was faring without entering the room.





Duo lay on his side, cradling his braid like a security blanket. He nervously picked at the rubber band on the end. A thirteen-inch television sat on the end of a crane-like arm; its black screen reflecting everything on the bed. The boy almost swam in the bedclothes, a slight figure in a sea of white linens. And except for his hair and the black circles under his eyes, Duo could have been a corpse. Quatre steeled himself before knocking on the doorframe and walking in.







* * * * *







Duo closed his eyes, after his father left. He unconsciously picked at the end of his braid, slowly shredding the ends below the ponytail holder. The injury on the football field had left him exhausted and sore and Owen’s visit had taken any desire he might have had to survive and ground it under the man’s unrelenting black loafer. Why couldn’t he ever do anything right? Why did he always seem to do the wrong thing at the wrong time? No wonder Owen hated the sight of him – he was a worthless piece of shit and not important enough to waste your time on.



When door swung in, he opened his eyes and looked at the figures that entered his room. Quatre gave him a nervous smile, his fear of Duo’s reaction written plainly on his honest and friendly face. And Trowa’s look of chagrin startled the braided boy.



“Hey, guys,” Duo asked, a false brightness coming over his face and voice. “What brings you here?”



“Well,” Quatre answered, “we wanted to make sure that you were all right. And Trowa has something that he’d like to say to you. As soon as he can find the right words, that is. But he’s been hanging around with Heero too much and you’ve seen what has happened to his personality. It went right down the tubes. I just don ‘t know what we’re going to do with him. Any suggestions?”



“Well, you could give him away to the gypsies. My mother used to always threaten me with that one. But I told her that they wouldn’t want me…. too wild, y’know?”



“Hmm. Well, that is one possibility. Any other ideas?”



“Not off the top of my head. I’ll let you know if anything comes to mind.” Duo gave him a lop-sided grin.



“Duo,” Trowa said, moving over to the bed. “I’m very sorry about what happened today. Could you find it in your heart to forgive me?” He took Duo’s free hand and held it very gently. “There were things going on that made me frustrated and I had no right to take it out on you. I promise from now on to keep my temper under control.”



“Hey, Trow, you don’t need to apologize to me.”



“Actually, Duo, I do. There was no reason for me to take out my ill temper on you. As Quatre pointed out, I’ve been spending too much time with Heero and his personality has started to rub off.”



“Look, Trow, I forgive ya. But there really isn’t any need to explain to me about what happened. I’m used to getting a little banged up every now and again.” He gave both young men a sad, half grin. “So, what else do you have planned for today? Gonna do anythin’ excitin’?”



“Not that I know of. Probably just head home and do homework,” Trowa said, sitting in the chair next to the bed.



“We probably shouldn’t stay too long,” Quatre piped up. “I don’t think that the nurses would want us to tire you out. I promise that we’ll be back tomorrow and I’ll pick up any schoolwork that needs your immediate attention, okay?”



“Thanks, Kitty-cat-cat-Quatre. And thanks for coming to see me,” Duo responded looking up at the petite blonde. “Would you mind terribly if I spoke to Trowa alone for a few minutes?”



“No, I’ll be waiting just outside the doorway for him.” Quatre smiled and slipped out of the room.



Trowa cocked his head to one side and looked at the frail being in the bed. “What’s so important that you have to talk to me alone about it?”



“Do you have any idea how to screw around with another man?” Duo asked, looking down at his long slender fingers.



The rooster-banged boy turned a brilliant shade of crimson. “Ah…no” he finally managed to spit out, after opening and closing his mouth several times. “Why?”



“I can teach you the basics. You’ll have to practice, but with someone that really cares about you and that you care about, it can be something wonderful. Are you willing to listen to me?”



“You’ll help me?”



“Yeah, it’s the least I can do for what happened between me and Cat. You two deserve to be happy.” Duo moved slightly, trying to get more comfortable and began to careful explain the things that he had learned through trial and error. Trowa reached into one of his jeans’ pockets and withdrew a small notebook and pen. With each revelation he wrote down notes.









* * * * *







Quatre stood, watching the two young men through the window in the hallway. Some of the things that Duo was saying had Trowa blushing and stimulated Quatre’s curiosity. He was so intent on the tableau going on in the room that he didn’t notice a strange man coming up behind him until his breath blew against Quatre’s ear.



“Hello, pretty one,” a gravelly voice said. “What are you doing waiting in the hall?”



The little blonde whirled around and then shrank back from the darkly handsome figure standing there holding a bouquet of balloons. Malevolence rolled off the man in almost overpowering waves and Quatre nearly panicked when he felt the smooth, coolness of the glass against his back.



“Oh dear,” the man said, giving the petite blonde a wicked smile. “Aren’t we a bit jumpy?”



Quatre could feel both Duo’s and Trowa’s eyes watching him through the protective barrier of the glass. He moved toward the dubious safety of the room where his boyfriend and their newest friend were. The feelings coming off the man standing in front of him nearly made the petite blonde gag. Lust, desire, a need to see things suffer and an overwhelming egomania rolled off the man. For a brief second, Quatre could see into the very heart of the beast and what he saw there left him open and exposed to the evil that dwelled in the very core of the stranger. The wicked smile on the man’s face widened to an open leer. The sound of someone scrambling for the door brought a wave of relief to the cornered young man. The feel of Trowa’s arm slipping around his shoulders produced a sigh of relief from the little blonde.



“Oh. I see,” the man said, giving the pair a lustful smile. “An unbroken mare and his virgin stallion. Why don’t you come with me, pretty, and I’ll teach you the way of things. Then you can come back and show your lover what you like and how you like it. Sound like a plan?”



“Leave them the hell alone!” Duo screamed out the door, trying to untangle the tubes tying him to the bed, in order to come to his new friends’ rescue. The man turned his attention from the pair in front of him to the struggling boy in the room.



“He can’t stand the thought of sharing me with anyone else,” the man said, his lips curling into an empty smile. “I’ll be right there, Sweetling. Just get your panties out of a knot.” He inclined his head to the young men standing between him and the room. “If you’ll excuse me, there are a few things that need taking care of.”



“Sure,” Trowa answered. “We were just coming up to see Duo. I guess that the more the merrier, right?” He gave the man a forceful glare. “I don’t think that you want us to have to call for one of the nurses or maybe the police? I mean it’s not like you’ve got anything to hide, right?”



The man gave the rooster-banged boy a nasty glare and then he smiled again. “I didn’t realize that Duo had any friends other than me, of course. I’m so glad that he has finally started to make some friends his own age. Don’t you agree?”



“Of course,” Quatre said, a smile, cold smile gracing his lips. “I forgot my manners, my name is Quatre Raberba Winner and this is Trowa Barton. We go to school with Duo and came over here to see how he was doing. Who are you and what brings you over to see our friend?”



“You’re Winner’s youngest, huh?” the man asked, his look becoming contemplative. “I’m Roger Muscat. You’re father and I do business together and I know Duo through his foster father.” Quatre didn’t miss the scorn in the man’s voice.



“Really? You and my father have a business relationship? Maybe I need to discuss his choice of associates with him. Unlike some people’s, my father tends to listen to his children’s opinion of those we meet. There’s something very not right with you and I plan have a long talk with him about you.” Quatre drew himself to his full height (which would have worked better if he were a few inches taller).



“Listen, pretty, stay out of things that don’t concern you,” Roger sneered at him. “Those who interfere with my plans tend not to stay in good health for long.” He grabbed Quatre’s chin in a tight grip, causing the petite blonde’s eyes to widen in shock. “Do you understand what I’m saying, pretty?”



“I think you’ve made yourself quite clear,” Quatre shot back, pulling his chin free of the hard grasp and staggering into Trowa as he lost his balance.



“Yo, Kitty-cat!” Duo’s voice broke through the stalemate in the hallway. “Can you and Trow come in here?”



“Sure, Duo. Just give us a few minutes to get rid of this man.”



“Quatre, just leave him. I’m sure that he’s only here to see me because he knows Mr. Reid,” Duo begged, his voice heavy with fear and pain.



“All right, Duo.” Quatre said, poking his head into the room. “We’ll stay until he leaves.”



“You don’t have to. As a matter of fact, it might be better if you and Trow just left now.” He looked out the window to the hallway, at the man standing there giving him an evil stare. “I’ll be all right. Besides, you need to get home and get your homework done for tomorrow.” Quatre gave the longhaired boy a nervous look. “Don’t worry, he won’t try anything here, ‘kay?”



“Are you sure,” Quatre asked, taking one icy hand in his.



“Yeah, he’s not going to do anything where there maybe witnesses. So, why don’t you and that handsome hunk that’s attached himself to you head out and do the things that you need to. Unlike me, you have school tomorrow and I don’t think spending the evening here is a good excuse for not getting your stuff done for your classes. Please, don’t give the teachers something more to hate me for.” Duo gave the two boys a weak smile. “If you find the time, maybe you can come back up in a day or two.” The look that he gave Quatre and Trowa was pathetically hopeful. The blonde decided right then to come up and visit this boy, who had turned his world upside-down.



“We’ll bring your homework up and help you to stay up with your classes!” Quatre exclaimed. “I’m sure that we can do it. And that way you don’t have to worry about falling behind.”



“You’d do that?” Duo asked, his violet eyes filling up with tears.



“We would more that willing to,” Trowa answered. “I think it’s the least I can do for loosing my temper in the first place.” He pulled Quatre closer and took Duo’s other hand. A single, crystalline tear ran down the injured boy’s face. Trowa gave the cool hand a quick squeeze and then released it. “I’ll have to agree with you in one way. It’s time that we headed home. Quatre’s dad tends to worry if he’s too late. We’ll see you right after school tomorrow. Sleep well, Duo. And don’t let that jackass stay too long. Okay?”



“Yeah,” came the faint answer. “See you guys tomorrow.”



Quatre carefully let go of the hand that he held. He gave Duo a big grin, leaned down and gave the boy in the bed a hug. Duo tried to pull away from the gentle embrace, his eyes growing huge in shock.



“We’ll see you right after school. So be ready for us.” Quatre flashed Duo a cheerful grin. “And if you’re a very good boy for the nurses tonight, I’ll even bring you a treat.”



“I don’t think I have any choice but to be good,” Duo responded. “They’re probably not going to let me go too far with that thing stuck in my side.” He gestured to the rubber tube attached to his left side with what looked like a mountain of tape.



“Okay. Then you lay here and just think of getting better and we’ll see you in the afternoon.” The two boys separated and walked out of the room. Roger nearly knocked them down entering the room, holding the balloons in front of him. Quatre glared at his back, feeling like they were abandoning the young man to the not so tender mercies of the scoundrel with the gifts. He gave Trowa a weak smile.



“Don’t worry about it,” the banged boy said. “Duo knows enough about this guy and we’re just going to have to trust his judgment.”



“Duo’s terrified of that…. person! I don’t feel right just walking out. I’m pretty sure that guy’s one of the people that he…ah…um…. you know.”



“Yeah, I got that feeling too. But we can’t do anything if he doesn’t want our help. We’ll just have to hope that Duo knows him well enough to be safe.”



“I know. But that doesn’t mean that I have to like it!”



“Agreed.” The two young men walked out of the ICU and headed out to the parking lot. Somehow during the journey, Quatre’s hand ended up in Trowa’s bigger one. The electric jolts of flesh on flesh made them both tremble, slightly.







@ @ @ @ @ @







Duo watched Roger like he would watch a rattlesnake. His whole body trembled with fear at the cold, malicious grin the older man gave him. He knew that when he finally got out of the hospital, Roger would make him pay for his act of near defiance.



“We think that we can order around our betters now, do we?” Roger asked his face flushed from the effort of keeping his anger in check while the other boys were there. “Was anyone speaking to you, Bitch? Haven’t you learned to keep your mouth shut in the presence of you betters, you worthless piece of shit?”



“No, Sir. It didn’t mean to correct you. But it thought that things would work much better for You if You didn’t try to do anything to Mr. Winner’s youngest child; not only his youngest, but also his favorite child, Sir.”



“So, you were looking out for my best interests, hm? I don’t believe it!” He reached out and grabbed the slender shoulders, ignoring Duo’s cry of pain. The heart monitor, set well above the bed, began to alarm as the boy’s heart started racing. The rapid pulse was the only thing that gave his terror away.



Duo caught a glimpse of hot pink out of the corner of one eye and he turned his head toward the bright color. One of the nurses stood looking into the room and talking on either a walkie-talkie or a cell phone. Over the noise of the apparatus, the boy could hear the operator.



“Attention all personnel … Code Man … ICU … Room 116,” the woman’s voice stated calmly and succinctly. “Attention all personnel … Code Man … ICU … Room 116. Attention all personnel … Code Man … ICU … Room 116.” In less than a minute, the hallway just outside Duo’s room became filled with security officers, male nursing staff and a few police officers (whom Duo found out later were there drinking coffee and eating doughnuts).



“Looks like our time will be cut short,” Roger sneered at the slight figure in the bed. “I’ll be back to see you when you’re feeling better.”



“Yeah,” Duo dully said. “I didn’t think I would get off so easily.”



Roger gave him an evil grin and walked to the doorway, holding his hands up to show that he wasn’t carrying any weapons.



Duo watched the man leave, feeling relieved to have gotten away with out any new bruises or injuries. He drew as deep of a breath as he could and burst into tears. He felt arms go around his shoulders and looked up at the woman who had introduced herself as Margery. She gave him a soft smile and gently held him close.



“That’s it,” she said, “let it all out.”



“Please don’t,” Duo begged around the tears. “I’m not worth your time.”











AUTHOR’S NOTES – Just to clear a few things up.



1.) Before anyone asks, if Duo were able to breath on his own they wouldn’t have put him on the ventilator. But they would have placed a chest tube in. A chest tube is a set of rubber tubes attached to a water filled apparatus that draws the loose air out of the lungs and chest (yes, I know that most people like air in their lungs, but if it’s free and putting pressure on the lung tissue the organs don’t work all that well. And I would like thank Dr Anora Henderson and Julie Hennabold RN for their wonderful knowledge and for letting me drive them crazy with questions.



2.) A code man is a way for the hospital to page for every available man and/or woman to help get him or her out of the facility. I’ve been on code mans where the one that needed to be escorted out was a punk with a handgun or some form of sharp implement. And every hospital that I’ve worked in has had the same code for extra personnel needed.