Title: A Long Journey
Rating: PG-13 for language
Notes: This is the fic response for Shi-Chan. ^_^ I hope you like.
I'm also not sure if I should continue it or not. Only if I get
enough feedback… then I'll write a sequel. ^_^
Disclaimer: I don't own GW… me just likes to play with them. ^_^;

Chapter 1/2

The doctor come into the room and sat down in front of Heero and Duo
with a worrisome face. Heero was holding Duo's hand as they sat next
to each other in chairs in the doctor's office. A smaller room with
wood panels and little things here and there… some statues, model of
the human body, even a picture or two drawn by his children. Duo
sighed at the thought of children… he would like to adopt one, one
day. Dr. Hoffman is read on his panel sitting on the too small desk
Duo saw as he awaited the doc's diagnosis for his blood test.

Dr. Hoffman started out, "well Duo… you're healthy in every other
aspect… but I do have some bad news." Duo face fell and Heero
squeezed his hand tighter as the doctor continued. "I can see the
situation… between you two… is a little different but that will not
get in the way of what needs to be done."

"Well what needs to be done!?" Duo said trying to keep calm but
excited at the same time… not wanting to hear the bad news.

Dr. Hoffman sighed and went on, "You have diabetes Duo, type one.
You'll need to take an insulin shot everyday in your abdomen and
check your blood every few hours. You'll also need a very regulated
diet and not fattening foods. It's ok to eat a little and sparingly…
you'll need to watch your medicine and blood closely so you don't end
up on a few floors below us in the emergency room." The doctor had a
worried face as he watched crystals form at Duo's eyes and then he
dropped his head.

"Can you give us a list of everything that is needed and a diet of
what he can eat?" Heero said in a soft voice as he leaned over to hug
Duo to him.

"Yes… the nurse will have one when you go to the desk when you pick
up the prescription. You can get the blood test kit almost anywhere.
It's available at Wal-Mart, Target, or just the pharmacy." He tried
to smile is comforting smile but just seeing a young boy with his
whole life ahead of him this way. The war had ended 3 years ago and
they needed peace… not this to get into the way. "Here… take these
papers to the front and I hope everything works out. You'll need to
re-schedule for an appointment in a week to make sure you're
adjusting to your medicine." The doctor got up and shook hands with
Heero while he stood with Duo silently crying on his shoulder.

"Thank you Dr. Hoffman, and we'll see you in a week." With that the
couple left the office and went to the front desk.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"DUO! You need to take this shot!" Heero ran down the hall after a
scared and crying Duo. Chasing him into the study room of their
apartment. It just the day after they had visited the doctor and Duo
needed to get his shot… but as soon as the braided one saw the long
needle he fled the room with Heero running after. "Duo! Get your ass
back here!" He tackled his to the ground and grabbed his braid…
making it so he couldn't move or it'd pull it even more.

"Goddamnit! Let Me Go!" Duo squirmed even more under Heero… seeing
the needle still in his hand he calmed down… not wanting to get stuck
on "accident." Heero sat on Duo's butt so to not hurt his back but he
can't move still, he held the needle just enough in Duo's line of
vision to make him calm down… then Duo said something
unexpected. "You know… if you didn't have that needle in your hand…
I'd ask if you wanted a little morning sex since we're already in
position." Duo gave a wink at Heero as the bronzed skin turned a
light pink. Duo chuckled underneath him and rested his head back to
the floor… tears still falling down his cheeks. "Please Heero… I
don't like needles… please. Couldn't they have made it shorter? I
mean… it only needs to get to the blood… not my intestines in the
middle!" Duo sighed exasperated as Heero just looked at him.

"The doctor said you didn't have enough insulin in your body and too
much glucose [1], if you didn't take the shot… you could pass out
like the other night. Do you honestly want to do that again?" His
cobalt eyes gazed softly down at the boy who was too scared right now
to even move on his own. "Come on… if you promise not to run I'll let
you up and we can do this slowly and not painfully."

Duo looked skeptical at first but then saw the care in his eyes.
Heero had changed after the war… his human side came out and he knew
he cared a lot for him as well. "Alright… just please don't jab it at
your first chance." The two boys got back up and Duo followed Heero
back into the bathroom where Duo sat down onto the plush covered
toilet seat. "What are you going to do now?"

"Well Duo… you need the shot no matter what. Your blood sugar has
gone up again and the pills you can only use for when eating really
sweet or junk food. If you take the shot… we can go out for lunch and
then the park if you'd like?" Duo looked surprised but then grinned
from ear to ear as he unbuckled his jeans and turned his head away…
not wanting to see the needle go in. That was the last thing he
needed to see. "Ok Duo, I need you to hold still… I will try my best
to not make this hurt but I'm not making any promises." He saw Duo's
head nod in agreement and eased the needle in… squeezing and then
pulling it right back out. Taking a cotton ball and pressing it to
Duo's bare skin, he kissed his forehead and whispered into his
ear, "all done, Love."

"What?" Duo looked back at Heero and then down… a cotton ball was
pressed against him and the needle was resting on the counter. "I
barely felt it." Blushing he looked up at Heero. "Thank you Hee-koi,
I love you."

"I love you too, Duo. I'm proud of you." He kissed his temple and
then his mouth… cupping both of Duo's cheeks in his hands and closing
his eyes. Duo wrapped his arms around Heero's waist and eagerly
kissed back. He knew this was going to be a long and hard journey…
but with Heero he would get by at least.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
"Are you doing alright Duo?" Heero looked over at his lover while
they were sitting on the ground. The sun was shining that day and
squirrels were chasing each other. Heero was glad they had decided to
move to earth. It turned out to be best for Duo to get fresh air and
be able to have open space. Besides… they didn't need the worry of
the colony sicknesses constantly being filtered through the air
system. It would just worsen the situation.

Duo looked over at Heero and smiled… thinking how nice he always is
and how much more Heero has been doing lately since the needle had
scared Duo half to death. In a few weeks Duo would be able to do it
on his own and not worry… but he'd be happy to do it right now for
him. His braid was hanging over his shoulder and the sun was catching
the color in it, making it seem red but a dark chocolate brown in the
shade of the tree. "Yes Heero… I'm doing fine. But I have a question
for you. What was your first reaction when the doctor said I had this
illness?"

"I was shocked at first… and then very, very sad. Sad for you because
I knew you loved doing things but being too active might cause injure
to your body and then not enough exercise would do the same. Then my
instinct was to comfort you because I love you." Duo smiled even more
at Heero, leaned over, and kissed his cheek.

"I love you too, Heero."
~~~~~~~~~ [1] – glucose… it's sugar/fat. The insulin makes the
balance.
On to part 2…

Chapter 2/2
Same exclaimer and warning as first chapter. ^_^ enjoy!

~*~*~*~*~ A week later~*~*~*~*~*~

Dr. Hoffman sat down once again in front of Duo and Heero just like
he did a week ago and flipped through a few pages of Duo's blood
test. "Well… you are adjusting just fine but you need to get more
exercise. Run an extra lap everyday instead… and stretch out at home
before hand… it makes it easier."

"Yes, doc… is there anything else that we need to be notified of?"
Heero scooted forward in his seat and turned slightly towards
Duo. "Anything you want to ask about Duo?"

"Well… yes…" Duo was stuttering and was a little hesitant in
asking. "Well… um… is this a permanent thing or do I only have to do
this for a year or something?"

"I'm sorry Duo… but it is permanent. I wish I could say otherwise."
Dr. Hoffman looked sympathetically at the young couple and then
turned his head back down to his papers.

"Alright… I guess we should be leaving. Thank you for your time Dr.
Hoffman. We'll re-schedule for in a month." Heero and Duo smiled at
the doctor and left the room… the doctor looking amazed at the two as
the door closed. I do hope that those two will be all right.
~*~*~*~*~ Two weeks later ~*~*~*~*~

Sirens and blaring lights rushed down the street… making cars jump
out of the way as they headed to a small apartment complex. Two men
got out of it and wheeled a stretcher down the gravel and quickly
into the building… up the elevator to the third floor. Then turning
out to the right and into room 304. There lay a boy with the longest
braid… his head sitting in another boy's lap. Heero and the two
paramedics all got Duo up onto the stretcher and the 3 took off to
the elevator. Back down to the floor Heero jumped in after them into
the ambulance and they were off.

"So what exactly happened here?" Asked the first paramedic.

"He has type 1 diabetes and he forgot to do his shot yesterday and
today. I found him passed out when I got home from the grocery store."

"Alright… we'll need to get him to the emergency room. Hand me an
insulin pack over there." One paramedic gestured over to the corner
at the other paramedic. "So what's his and your name?"

"I'm Heero, and this is Duo. We're both 20 years old."

"So is this your roommate or something?" The second medic asked as
both were working furiously to get Duo's blood pressure taken and an
IV into his arm.

"Um… yeah… we're roommates. But is he going to be all right? I've
never had to deal with going to the emergency room before."

"He should be… he'll probably be sleeping for a while after he has
been taken care of at the hospital. We're going to Saint Jude's
Hospital if you were wondering."

"Alright." With that Heero sat back and let the medics finish their
job.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Heero was sitting by Duo's bed… holding his limp hand in his and
looking up at his closed eyes. Please Love, Duo, my Angel… wake up
and be all right… please. Heero looked up when he felt movement on
the bed. He looked up to see tired violet eyes looking down at him.

"Duo! You're awake! Oh gods I thought you'd never come back to me."
Heero sat up straight and wrapped his arms around Duo… the violet
eyed boy happily returning the embrace. Heero leaned back and gazed
into Duo's eyes as the doctor came in to find the two. He just
ignored the two detaching and Heero sitting back in his chair.

"Well… I do have some good news… and some bad." Duo's face fell at
the sound of that. "The good is that you can get out of here in a few
hours after a couple more tests are run. But the bad is that your
condition has worsened and if you forget to take your medicine again…
you might not wake up for a long time next time you take a trip
here." The doctors face was sad and disappointed at the same time
because of how young the boys were… but the patient should have taken
his medicine. "I'll leave you two to visit a little more." The doctor
turned around and exited the room.

"Duo… I'm having mixed emotions right now. You worried me sick when I
came home to find you lying face down in the kitchen. Second… I'm mad
at you because you didn't take your medicine. But I think I'm getting
over being upset and just being worried right now." Heero smiled and
kissed the back of Duo's hand.

"I know Heero… I'm stupid and irresponsible. I'm sorry Heero… I
promise I won't forget it again." Duo's purple eyes darkened with
sadness but were lit up again when the Japanese boy threw his arms
around him and squeezed tight.

"Don't ever do that again." Heero whispered into Duo's ear. All Duo
could do was smile… thinking how much his life changed in just a
month.

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