He felt like a mobile suit had been dropped on top of him. His body ached from head to toe. He groaned and tried to roll onto his side, but a wave of nausea swept over him, pushing Wufei back into the coolness of the bed. Don't be a weakling! his mind warned. Wufei curled his fist into a ball. Alright, concentrate. One. Two. Three!
He sprang from the bed, and onto his feet. Dizziness swung into full force. Wufei clutched the bedside stand for support with one hand as he swayed. The room twirled before his eyes. Round and round it went, and Wufei felt the bile rising in his throat. He hunched over, sweat running down his face.
Suddenly, he was back in the bed. A gentle hand stroked his face. Different visions danced in front of his eyes. Everything was so blurry, but he recognized something...someone. The outline of her face was undefined, but her eyes, he saw them clearly. They peered at him through a thick haze, beckoning him. Wufei reached outward. "Sally," he whispered delusionly. Her gaze wavered and slowly melted away. Then it was gone.
The heat rose around his body, consuming Wufei in a blaze. He closed his eyes and waited. He waited for the cold touch of death to come. He begged for it. Wufei offered his soul. He wanted, needed relief of his burdens. He couldn't bear them anymore. He was tired of living.
****
She watched him sleep. She felt so helpless just sitting there. Sally did not regret bringing him into her home. He needed someone to care for him. And she was going to do it, even if she had to give him tranquilizers to keep him from leaving the guest bedroom. But, even as a doctor, she had done all she could. It was up to Wufei now.
His sickness was a shock to everyone. Wufei had never, in all the time he worked with the Preventers, been in bad health. He at least never showed it. This past week though, he acted differently. She knew something was wrong. Wufei came in late. It seemed like even threating people had become nonexistent to him. She had pondered this change night after night. She worried continuously, but he denied that something was the matter. She felt momentarily better...until he fainted at work.
Sally remembered the frightening feeling she experienced while waiting for the lab results to come back. She was scared. The thought of Wufei dying ripped her up inside. It enveloped her heart and strangled it.
Then, it came in. The blood tests were given to her by the assistant in the blood lab. Her hand shook violently, and she almost dropped the paperwork. Sally hastily searched herself for the inner strength to look at them. She skimmed them quickly, looking for the final diagnose.
Sally almost jumped out of her skin. She shouted out in joy, and crushed the lab assistant in bear hug. "It's the flu! Wufei has the flu!" she exclaimed to no one in particular. Several people in hall gave her odd looks.
"That's...uh...good," the assistant said awkwardly. "Can you ease up a little?"
Sally let him go, and smoothed out imaginary wrinkles in her jacket. She smiled, once again happiness taking over. She slapped the assistant on the back in fairwell. He coughed and sputtered in reply.
****
Wufei stirred in his sleep, breaking Sally's train of thought. She sat up and leaned forward, staring intently at his still 1000 form. She watched over him this way until the sun began to set and the room grew too dark to see.
Sally felt an odd tingle in her chest. It was unfamiliar, but pleasant. She did not know what it was, but only cared to revel in it at the moment. It comforted her, like her grandmother once had when Sally was a little girl. She felt the air stir, as if someone were moving through the room. Sally pressed her back into the chair. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise, and squeezed her eyes shut as a familiar sensation washed over her. It gently sifted through parts of her loosened hair. Sally relaxed her tired muscles and sighed softly, "Grandma."
It quickly vanished, and Sally opened her eyes to the silence of the room. She half-smiled. "Thanks," she whispered. Outside, a friendly breeze awakened the leaves to play.
****
His fingers trailed across the sheets. They felt so cool, so soft. He didn't own anything like this. He had never felt anything like this. Wufei did not want to open his eyes. If I can just stay, I will always cherish this place.
He tried to ignore the truth. He buried it, but it always came back to haunt him. Peace would never be his. He was too soiled, too corrupted. His soul was forever dark.
He surrendered to his conscience, as always. Wufei opened his eyes to the sun. It blinded him with its brightness. He lay still under the covers, letting his eyes search the room. He took in his surrounds efficiently. Feminine, he thought. Nothing in the room gave Wufei a clue as to where he was. Until he came to the corner nearest to the window.
She was curled up in an oversized chair. Her hair flowed freely down her shoulders, no longer confined in two braids. Half of her face was hidden by it. Wufei watched her attentively. Her chest rose and fell in a stead rhythm.
"Sally," he breathed. He shook his head and mentally slapped himself. What am I doing? he wondered. Being a weakling, answered his conscience. Wufei silenced all thought. He pushed back the covers and slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed.
****
A cold draft washed over her arms, and her body shivered in response. It tickled her skin, lightly at first. Soon it became more urgent, pricking her like needles. It filled her lungs with a sharp sting, calling her, waking her. Sally shifted under the coldness, her eyes feeling too heavy to lift, but she forced them open.
Sally blinked several times to focus her vision. Inhaling deeply, she stretched her cramped muscles. Sally checked her watch. 9:00 a.m. I slept that long! she thought in shock. Oh well. She sighed. Standing up with a bit of difficulty, she glanced over towards the bed...the empty bed. Sally's mouth dropped open, but she quickly closed it, growing angry.
"He's trying to leave, is he? Nobody escapes the great Sally Po!" she growled slightly. I guess a little force is necessary. Checking for her gun, she realized she had left it in her room. Walking to the bedside table, she pulled open a secret compartment and took out a spare one. Not to worry! I always have extras.
She grinned. "The hunt is on!"
****
She exited the room and headed towards the her small, but quaint living room. Positioned behind a wall, she planted her feet apart and prepared to capture her prey. Take a deep breath. Ready. One. Two...
A strong hand grabbed her arm, and Sally jumped in surprise, losing her balance. She screeched and fell backwards, sending the intruder down with her. Sally rolled to the side and jabbed her gun into the figure's side.
"Put that gun down, Woman! Are you trying to kill me?!" Wufei shouted and grabbed it from her.
Sally hunched over to keep her laughter in check. Her eyes twinkled as she said to him, "If I wanted to kill you, I would use my hands."
His scowl darkened and he snorted. Wufei stood up, dragging Sally with him. She remembered his condition, and her facial expression changed rapidly. Wufei noticed and took a step back. Her eyes narrowed, and she slowly extended her arm. Pointing to the guest bedroom, she commanded, "Get back in the bed."
Wufei stood his ground. "Don't order me around, Woman."
Sally snatched the gun from his grasp, and pointed it in his face. "Now listen here, little man. You don't talk to me like that again, or you're gonna have an extra hole in that God-for-Saken head of yours. Now MOVE!"
Wufei debated his options. Knowing Sally, she wasn't kidding. "As you wish." He bowed slightly and preceded down the hall. The gun had disappeared, and she followed right behind him, giving herself a mental pat on the back.
****
Wufei stared at the bed, and then looked towards Sally, the frown on his face deepening. She motioned towards it. He refused to move.
"Wufei, you are sick. You need rest," she tried explaining the situation to him.
"I feel fine," he replied. Wufei tried not to grimace. He felt like crap. I will not show any weakness.
Time to try Plan B. She smiled inwardly. "Wufei," she said softly, placing a hand on his arm, "please." Her eyes grew sad and teary. She sniffled. "Please. If not for your health, then for me. It hurts me to see you like this. I just want you to get well." She rested her head against his shoulder. She had the expression of little child, innocent and sweet. This look had melted many hearts in the past.
The side of Wufei's mouth twitched, his face unreadable. He detached her grip on his shoulder, and turned her around until as she in front of him. He brought his face dangerously close to hers. Sally froze. His gaze traveled across her face, perusing her skin...as if in search of something. Her breath caught in her throat, and bubbling sensation spread like wildfire throughout her body. Wufei locked his eyes onto hers, his fingers running through her hair. They ran down the side of face, soft and light as feathers, and came to rest under her chin, tilting it upwards. He brought his lips an inch from hers.
"Who has control over who now?" he murmured. Then Wufei released her.
****
She reached upward with both hands and clutched the place where her heart lay, protecting it. She shuddered, feeling so stripped and vunerable. Wufei left her standing in a daze. Sally blinked, her stupor broken. She watched Wufei close the draperies and get into the bed. Their eyes met and she turned her head away, feeling an unfamiliar burning creep over her face. She felt his eyes on her face, looking past the flesh and into her sheltered soul.
She turned away quickly. Did...Did he see? She wrapped her arms around her body. She needed to protect them. She had to in order to survive. No one must find them; no one must expose them for all to see. The secrets, HER secrets were the only part she had left. He...He will never get them! She spun around, anger shaking her body. "They are mine. MINE!" she screamed at a startled Wufei. She fled the room as the tears crept down her face. He will never have the secrets of my soul!
****
Sally flew into her room, and locked the door. She grabbed her gun from the dresser, and held it pointed towards the door. Slowly backing up across the room, her hands trembled violently, and the gun wavered back and forth. She felt her back touch the far wall, and pressed her body against it. With one hand, she wiped her face roughly. Sally sank to her knees, not bothering to catch the falling gun. She buried her face in her hands as fresh tears appeared.
He won't get them. He won't,she thought over and over, looking for comfort in those words. He will hurt me. Like they did. I must be strong. I will be strong. With that last thought, Sally felt her presence. Grandma. She reached out into the air.
"Help me," she pleaded. She closed her eyes as a comforting feeling enveloped her, and fell into a dreamless sleep.
****
He stared at the ceiling, thoughts running through his head in chaos. What was the matter with Sally? Who were 'they'? He pondered these questions over and over until his head hurt. She had never acted like that before. Granted he had seen her angry, but tonight...tonight she seemed scared, like a cornered animal.
He had followed Sally after the initial shock wore off. He could hear her through the door. Wufei listened to her sob, and it practically tore him up. It was the most heart-wrenching thing he had ever heard in his life. And then he heard her ask for help. She sounded desperate. He tried to open the door, but it was locked. For a moment, Wufei considered breaking it down. He decided he couldn't run the risk of Sally killing him instantly, not in the state she was in. Women...Wufei just did not understand them.
Finally, he decided that Sally would probably not appreciate him barging in. That did not stop him from worrying though. The feeling was all so new to him. Wufei would have never believed that he would be spending his time worrying about a...a woman. He wanted so badly to say that they were weak and leave it at that, but through his experiences it would be a lie. And Wufei did not waste his time with lies.
Sally was the most courageous female he knew. When they first met, he had tried to push her away. He insulted her continuously, but she did not seem to be affected. Her tolerance amazed him. Her will to fight astounded him. Then after the war, she still stayed in the military field. Sally fought to keep peace, to make sure people were happy.
Wufei's feelings towards her were unclear to him. He knew he respected her, even admired her sometimes. But there was something else...something he did not understand. It was a sensation he had never experienced before. He had never felt this way about his dead wife. With Meiran it was just convenient. It was duty.
He stopped thinking. Everything was too hazy. He felt hot...hot and tired. Wufei put a hand to his forehead, as he had seen Sally do. He seemed to be warmer than usual. Wufei tried to move, but it was difficult. His body would not obey his commands anymore. They were useless. Wufei regretted that Sally had left, not that he would ask for help. He had too much pride. Her presence was comforting, though he had a hard time admitting it to himself. Could it be I need her? he pondered.
****
Her body screamed in protest. Sally tried to stand up, but her legs refused to work properly. She had just woken up. That's the last time I sleep on the floor, she thought. Sally felt dread in the pit of her stomach when she remembered why she had been on the floor in the first place.
"I cannot face him," she said to the picture of her grandmother. Sally felt ashamed for yell at Wufei like that. He probably thinks I'm a lunatic, and has left already.
She decided to go and see him, praying he was sleeping. Then again, Wufei was a light sleeper. One could drop a pin and he wake up in a whirl of madness, yelling something about enemy troops. Lord knows, she had been that way at one time during the war. I guess he hasn't let the past go yet, she concluded.
The past...her past was something completely different. It was not dark, as some would put it. Hard was the right word. She grew up in China, with a family bent on tradition and the "right way" of doing things. When she was a child, the other children would laugh at her, making fun of her hair an 1000 d eye color, anything that differed from them. They drove Sally away, secluded her and then used it as yet another reason to hate her.
She would often go and visit her grandmother. The old lady was no fool; she knew of Sally's hardships. She tried to provide comfort as best she could to the little child. So Sally stayed away from most of the social groups and spent her time at a small lake listening to her grandmother's tales.
When she announced to her family that she was leaving to join the military, they were all surprised. Her parents forbided it, saying they did not know why Sally was being so dishonorable. It went to the point where Sally was in tears from their cruel words. She fled to the lake in search of solace. Her grandmother was saddened that Sally was going to leave, but accepted it because she loved her granddaughter. If this would make Sally happy, then so be it.
Sally's memories of China were something she still had a hard time of letting go, especially those of her grandmother. The news of her death had left Sally even more aliened from her family. They let her go to the funeral under the condition that she leave immediately afterward. Sally never got to say goodbye.
Her friends at work showed their sympathy, but they could do nothing to help her relieve the pain. She threw herself into her work during the day, and cried herself to sleep at night. It would have continued this way until Sally destroyed herself, but then she had the dream.
It came on a night when troubling weather was brewing outside Sally's apartment window. Her grandmother was sitting at their special meeting place by the lake. She had a placid expression on her face, hands folded in her lap. Looking out on the lake, she began talking to Sally. She said that it was time for Sally to move on. That what was past was unchangeable,and that Sally needed to let it go in order to live in the present and look to the future. She told Sally that now was the time to gather her strength. She predicted a great change for humanity, a time of turbulence. She then stood up in a gesture of departure, and turned to Sally.
"Child, I will always be there when you need me. Not all things need to be seen in order to exist. They must be in your heart first." She bowed slightly as it had always been her custom, and softly smiled. "Goodbyes are not forever if you do not believe so. And I," she spoke directly to Sally, "do not believe in them." With that remark lingering in the air, Sally woke up.
****
Shadows hung around the hallway ominously, waiting, watching. They played along the walls in many different forms. Sally shivered as her shadow followed at a close distance as if it was mocking her. She could not stop the knot from growing in her stomach. It was such a familiar warning of danger. She hurriedly walked to the guest bedroom, the uneasiness disappearing when she touched the cold doorknob.
She turned it and pushed the door open quietly. Sally lifted her head and watched the fluid movements of a nearby tree outside the window. It swayed with grace, working together with the wind. She felt that there was some mysterious rhythm that humans would never know, a harmony they would never have.
She sighed and continued towards the bed. He's sleeping, Sally thought with relief. Wufei looked so peaceful and strangely innocent. Not that he wasn't innocent, it was just the opposite. He still had his soul. Even after the war, it is still good; she could tell. When Wufei was awake, his eyes were hard...cold from the things he had seen, experienced. She wondered how he dealt with the pain, if he, in fact, even did at all.
She leaned closer to get a better look at his face. She frowned, and put a hand to his forehead. He's burning up, Sally concluded, concern filling her eyes. She left towards the bathroom, and returned with a dish of cold 1000 water and a washcloth. Dipping the cloth into the water, she wiped his face slowly. He shivered, but did not wake up.
Through the rest of the day and night, she tended to him. He woke up occasionally, but only for an instant and sometimes without recognizing her or where he was. She just comforted him as best as she could, keeping Wufei in the bed. The nightmares would come and go in his dreams, and Sally would be there to hold him, rocking his unconscious body in a motherly fashion. She tried to imitate her grandmother, remembering different things that had comforted her through her childhood.
****
After the endless hours, Sally's body began to wear down. She had a hard time keeping it from collasping in exhaustion. She refused to give in. It isn't about me anymore. Wufei needs my care, she repeated to herself when the darkness came close to taking over. Everytime she succeeded in pushing it back, but it was relentless, and in her condition, it became more of a struggle each time to fight it off.
Her body ached. The blood pounded in her head, causing her ears to ring. Sally had not eaten in a long while, and her blood sugar had dropped dangerously low. She lifted herself from the bed to go lie down in the chair. Her legs wobbled, and she cursed at her stupidity for neglecting her needs. Wufei was all that had filled her mind lately.
I am not going to make it, she thought just before her legs gave out. "Wufei," she whispered as she fell. The darkness overwhelmed her, and Sally did not have the strength to fight it anymore. Her mind drifted into an eternal abyss.
****
Eyes closed, Wufei brought his hand towards his face. He touched the cool skin in wonder. The heat...It's gone, he marveled. His body felt relaxed, calm. There was no pain. He lay in the bed pondering this change. Has my sickness just disappeared? How? he questioned himself.
Wufei turned his head and noticed a bowl sitting on the bedside stand. It had a rag of some sort hanging off the side with a puddle of water below. He stared as drop after drop fell from the cloth and landed quietly, momentarily causing ripples in the puddle. Sally, he concluded.
Wufei struggled into a sitting position, demanding his body to work properly. He could hardly see anything because the moonlight had been blocked by the draperies. He huffed in irritation, deciding to open them himself. "Where is that woman?!" he mumbled. He straightened his stiff muscles, and began hobbling towards the window.
"That senseless, weak, wom....Oof! What the hell?!" he exclaimed as his foot hit something in the middle of the floor, sending Wufei tumbling downward face first.
He scrambled onto his knees, rubbing the side of his bruised face. He reached outward in search of the object that he had tripped over. His fingers came in contact with something soft. He drew back at first in uncertainy, but it struck a chord in him. It was familiar...very familiar.
Then it hit him. It felt like Sally's hair. He remembered the sensation on it beneath his fingers before she had run off upset. The same feeling came to him, and he reached out to touch it again. It...It is her hair! Wufei thought in horror as the realization dawned. I tripped over her. Why is she on the floor? Question after unanswered question ran through his head.
"Sally?" No answer. He crawled closer. "Sally?" Silence. He began to grow upset. "Sally? Sally, answer me." He felt her arms, and made his way up to her face, cupping it. "Sally, dammit! Answer me, Woman!" he shouted.
His hand then immediately went for her pulse. He searched. He pressed harder. Nothing. Wufei broke into a sweat. He pressed twice as hard. Something...faint, but there. Her pulse flowed beneath his finger. She's alive. Sally is alive.
He pressed a hand to his heart to try and stop its rapid beating. He inhaled deeply in relief. Wufei's hands trembled as he brought them to his face. Watching them shake, he attempted to gain control of body once again. Stop it. Just stop it! he screamed at his hands.
Wufei turned his attention back to Sally. He slid his arms around her back and knees, lifting her body as he rose to his feet. He gently layed her down on the bed. Wufei towered over Sally, staring intently at her face. He brushed his knuckles against her temple. "Don't scare me like that again."
****
Her head hurt something awful. A mangled arm would be less painful, Sally thought. She sighed, and tried to sit up, but there was something pinning her body to the bed. Not something...someone. Sally's eyes widen in surprise. Wufei was draped across her, asleep. She was in the bed with Wufei!
How in the hell did I get here? The last thing I remember was falling... She stared at his sleeping form. The frown on her face slowly curled into a smile. "Well, I'll be..." she muttered.
Sally carefully tried to untangle her body from Wufei's. She needed some aspirin...and bad. Snuggling can wait, she chuckled. She slowly began to slip out of the bed, but an arm snaked around her waist.
"Where do you think you are going, Woman?" Wufei grumbled, his face still buried in the pillows.
"Aspirin calls, Sweetheart." She patted his back. "I'll be right back," she said reassuringly. He released his grip and rolled on his side, watching her retreating form.
Sally returned in record time. She smiled sweetly at him, gently shoving Wufei over so she could lie down. She tucked her head under his chin, and closed her eyes.
"Sally, earlier you seemed upset. Do you remember?" Wufei asked softly. "Who are 'they'?"
She was silent for a moment. "I...I will tell you some day. Some day soon," she said. She wrapped her arms around his waist. "I promise."
Sally huddled closer into his warm body, and he tighted his grip in response. Wufei let his eyes drift shut, and they fell asleep.
THE END
What did you think?