The fake morning sun was
streaking in against the crumpled body of noin laying exausted on her bed in the
colonies. Noin slowly streched her legs out, with a yawn in the greeting of day.
Her eyes burned from crying throughout the night, every time she moved she
remembered that she was alone in the bed, and fear would hit her once again. "So
he's really gone," she said without a wimper."I guess I'd better get a hold of
myself, its not like me to be so emotional" she looked down and placed a hand
down on her stomach where her child was "I guess it's all your fault that I am
emotionally weak right now" she felt the new life form kicking and straining to
move freely noin chuckled a little "I guess I know who you'll take after, your
just as active as your father" her eyes focused on the window as they started to
well up with tears again, she looked down with defeat
"You are so mixed up
zechs" she ran her finger tips over his jacket still hanging on the door, she
picked it up and shoved it gainst her face to wipe away the tears she breathed
in deeply, "hmm it smells like you" a lone tear drifted down and hit the jacket
where the OZ emblem used to be. "Why does there have to be so many battles still
inside you, I thought that by coming with you when you left earth that I'd be
able to help you deal with all your mixed emotions, quit hiding zechs I know
your feelings go MUCH deeper than you let them apear, inside your a sea filled
that is tearing against itself deciding which way your life will go"
she put the
jacket neatly back on the hook on the door and went to the bed and started
making it, "Mayby if I clean a bit with my natural woman talents, I can deal
with waiting for you, but please zechs, come back to me. I am not strong as I
used to be when I had to wait for you." she went over to a bag of hers that
never was left unpacked, noin went searching cafully through this bag picking up
the remnants of a forgotten time when she was a luitenant and training her
recruits she stopped short when she saw what she was looking for. She looked
down at the dusty picture frame and picked it from amongst the other belongings.
she pulled the protective paper from in front of the glass picture
"I've had
this ever since when we were in school together, but I guess it's time to add to
it, and I think we can leave it out so I can have you with me even when your
gone" She pulled a small photograph of herself and zechs and placed it under the
glass beside the other pictures, the scratching of the glass under her
fingernails made her shutter, she closed her eyes remembering a time when all
she did was dream of being with zechs together with him in battle she placed the
picture right on a table in the bedroom
"You know when you accualy come into
this world"she said looking down at her stomach "you'll have these pictures to
see what your father was befor he removed his mask." she gently rubbed where her
child was "Well the day will go on withor without me, so I might as well go down
to headquarters if I'm not going to stay in bed anyway" she grabbed her own long
jacket and pulled it around to conceil the baby under its protective layers. She
headed out the door with one last glance at the photgraphs. Pictures of zechs
with his mask when he was 18 in training school with noin, all different poses
of him, but the masterpaice, noin thought was the newest, of zechs with a
~smile~ and his arms wrapped protectively around noin, whose smile was so
guenuine looking up at him like that. Noin turned and walked out into the colony
thinking to herself of how it was such a miracle that she got zechs to pose for
that photo with her. 'I guess it's like a mgical spell that love can cast at
times allowing accual enjoyment even though life has so many plagues for you'
she thought,then she spoke up and said "Zechs lets find that spell again, so we
can keep hold of it for you this time!"
The afternoon heat was at a
blistering high. The wind wipped around any who dare walk in a sand sorm, it
saught those who were strong and pelted then with this minnute bits of stone.
Quatre was amoung the few enroute during this sand storm "I must make it to the
city befor nightfall, Rashiid is waiting for me so they can have theyre meeting,
Why didnt I just grab an old OZ carrier and fly hear" quatre chuckled outloud to
himself "Yea and be shot at from people fearing another war or something" he
pulled his wrap closer around his head "Man this is blinding I should have been
there 40 minutes ago, why'd a sandstorm have to come up now anyway" he pushed on
stronger forcing his body against the almost impenatrable wall of sand. Finally
quatre could see the lights of the city, but everything started going blurry for
him "My head feels... Feels like I'm ready to black out, whao I cant see
anything I'm so dizzy" everything was spinning untill he stumbled to the ground
'whats wrong with me' he thought. he was almost paralyzed he tryed to move but
he couldt tell if he was or wasnt. He felt a streaking pain in his arm. He heard
voices coming from in front of him "There he is, hurry up lets help him he's
fallen, hold on master quatre" said one of the maguanat corp "Whats happened"
another said. quatre soon felt big strong rashiid wrap his large arms around
quatre and carry him into the city. Quatre thought he could hear rashiid and the
others saying something to him but soon his world went fuzzy and then turned
black. The next thing he remembered was waking up to the soft warm lighting of a
candle in the window with a sky of midnight blue and sars as a backdrop. Quatre
slowly came into reality and did a little systems check on his body. he lifted
his hand a wiggled his fingers, "Huh thats funny..." he lifted his leg and
twiched his foot "I'm....I seam to be...ok!" he slowly sat up in bed to see
where he was, he grabbed his head "Whao I feel like I've been run over by a
train my head is being torn in two My chest burns and feels like its been
trampled" he squeezed his glamourouse eyes shut to the pain. "Whatd those guys
do to me". just them Rashiid walked in the door "Ahh Master Quatre you're up, we
were very worried about you" Rashiid's face told it all his face seamed paler
and very drawn out from worry "I'm sorry to have worried you rashiid, but what
happened to me?" quatre said still a little shakily. Rashiid handed quatre the
glass of water he had brought in for him "Well the dr. says that you...uhh had a
heart attack." quatre's eyes opened wide in disbelief, he tryed to shake it off
"What!?... a heart attack,??? I couldnt have had......... but how.....My family
has never had......how did I get......rashiid!!!!??????!?!?!?!" quatre was
practically screaming, he was deeply confused "Please master, calm down You only
had a minor one but you've obviously have other problems with your heart because
it had been weakened and you just never realized it! The dr. said he could tell
from past damage, and almost anyone can have a heart attack your just really
much too young but your more prone to it because of the stress you've been
through," Rashiid sat down with his hand on his head "I guess I'm just suger
coating this but it really is very seriouse." quatre was silenced, 'how could
this be happeneing, all of a sudden like there was no tomorrow things are being
thrown at my face and right down my throat, one second I'm walking for a regular
everyday meeting the next second my life is going alll blurry and then befor I
know it I'm told that Iam haveing heart attacks and heart troubles' quatre sat
staring blankly at the wall for quite a while. Rashiid sat with his hands
clasped and his eyes shut tight in thought. Quatre's calm and gentle brave voice
broke the silence when he quietly said "This must be the reasen I've lost it in
the past in battles, at our return to space, the zero system, the final battle"
his eyes sparkled in the starlight cast on the bed amongst the candlelight.
happiness and a lifetime of adventure danced in his eyes "Rashiid what did the
dr. say I should do?" Rashiid opened his eyes in alarm to the question then
breifly he stated "That you shoud take it easy, he did some tests and when the
results come he will inform us he said to just take it easy for the time and
give your heart a rest" quatre looked at his dear friend and protector "Rashiid
dont worry, I shouldt have started at you the way I did just then when you told
me, I'm sorry!" he smiled when the captain of the moguanat corp. looked up at
him, "Hey we've been through a lot were not gonna let this slow us down now are
we? Rashiid looked up at him with such admiration, and yet rashiid felt tears
well in his eyes "Such brave eyes you have dear master quatre" and they both sat
in the room quietly awaiting the new day and answers that could change quatre's
life.
"Good Morning Lucreizia, What a surprise to see you back so soon"
Said an unusualy cheerful, lutenant of preventers "Yes sir" said an exausted
noin "We'll be happy to have you back on line here, preventer noin, are you well
enough to man the scanners in sector3 I mean in your condition you really should
take it easy and that seams to be the most inactive sector latley" Noin felt
lightheaded because of the pain in her body but she smiled at the liutenant and
said "Yes sir, just let me go to the lockers and get suited up for this" she
turned to head out and then trying to keep a good atitude she looked back at the
luitenant and said "If my uniforn still fits around me that is" she winked at
the relieved luitenant and headed out "I think she'll get through this just fine
with that sense of humor, I just have to remember that she wants this kept kinda
low key" he said and left to go into the office board room. Noin shuffled
through the corridoors, 'to live in this life it seams like a plague after
plague of misery and punishment from love' she looked at her hands 'zechs you
will see that you can heal, but eith these weak hands I cannot do that for you'
she looked ahead of her at the door to the lockers ' you are stronger than you
sometimes realize, zechs and I know if youe reach deep enough you'll find the
strength to overcome whatever questions and hurtles that have come from the
choices you make' noin stopped short of the door and said aloud "Life is
replaying, but I cant make a difference all I do now is follow my orders and
hope to understand your secrets" she walked into the room to see a familiar
figure. "Sally....? Sally-po!" she went up to the figure "Noin how are you" said
sally "Wow, what are you doing in this area?" noin asked, trying to hide her
fatigue. Sally looked noin right in the eyes, "We've got rebels beginning to
durface on a few of the colonies" noin looked at her "Is that all?" she said
with question. "Sally turned away from noin and started laughing "Still as
gulable as ever I see" Noin held her stomack breifly "Well I releived because
thats all we need right now on top of the people wanting weapons returned, A
preventers work is never done is it then sally" Sally smiled at her friend "It
is so good to see you noin, but you dont seam yourself, are you doing ok?, Is
that loner zechs still around I thought you came into space with him?" noin felt
her eyes well up with tears, so she turned and started getting her suit out of
her locker "Well, I dont know exactly where he is, he had some things to tend
to" She gathered herself and smiled at sally, "What has been going on around
earth?" Sally looked out the window of the door, "Wow your base here is pretty
busy?" She turned and sat down beside noin who was sitting on one of the benches
pulling on her jacket "Well theres been a lot of confusion, our preventer base
there has been packed with missions of putting out those fires that start from
the confusion, and of course I've kept on top of it" she said with a grin at
noin "Why else would you say that my code name was water, heh" she and noin
laughed alittle and sally asked noin a question "Noin really I can tell
somethings wrong, This isnt like you to beat around the bush,. I know you keep
things to yourself but This worrys me, you dont look right" noin's eyes opened
wide, 'does it really show' she though 'the baby? no she's talking about how I
look upset, does zechs have such an affect on me that even sally or other people
can tell' noin zipped her jacket up and looked at sally's questioning face she
breathed a heavy sigh "Well Zechs leaving so suddenly kindof has shook me up
this time" sally cocked her head and looked at noin "But he was always taking
off and very secretive" noin agreed by nodding her head but still spoke up "This
was different this time, he knows how weak I am right now, mayby it's because
I'm tired or mayby Its because I'm..." She held back befor saying it and looked
at sally's inquisitive face "I have to be direct, I'm pregnant sally" she closed
her eyes at the though of her saying it right out and out liike that. She had
wanted to keep it very quiet and not tell anyone yet. but sally's face softened
more "Ohh noin" her face went so happy and excited, she put an arm around noin
in an understanding hug "I'm soo happy for you, is zechs the.." noin spoke up
"Yes of course zechs is the father, but I dont want this spoken of to anyone"
sally looked at noin "I know what it's like noin, dont worry, I am a true friend
I wont say anything to anyone, but does zechs know?" noin nodded her head "Yes
he knows and he has been so helpful, You wouldnt even recignise him how gentle
he has been with me, but I think that this happening was just the breaking point
for his emotions, everything thats happened to him in the past and everything
with the wars, and then having to deal with this on top of it." sally seamed
very helpful, she gave noin a reasuing look "Well its always hard for the man to
deal with the idea of having a child run around the house, esspecialy if theyre
used to being a loner as much as zechs is" noin closed her eyes and clenched her
hands to her stomach again "No whats so hard on him now is that, my body isnt
right to carry a child, and Its been painful and hard up till now and I'm not
even half way through the pregnancy, the dr. said that the baby might not even
go till full term, in fact it might not even make it at all, and then theres the
risk on my own life...and that is what zechs cant deal with. he's lost to many
people dear to him, but I still dont know what he's trtying to prove by running
off like this" noin pulled her bottoms on of her uniform "Ohh well, we'll all
deal with this in the time to come" she said holding her belly. "You never did
tell why you were here in this area?" sally looked as if she had been pulled
back into reallity "Ohh yea we have a couple of new recruits that we would like
this sector or specifically 'you' to train!!! but now that I've found out about
your condition would you still be up to the whole ordeal? theyre a couple of
younger girls and we want to show them the ropes and get them used to the
preventers" noin looked up from her oblivion, "Ohh sure I can handle them mayby
it'll keep my mind off of all the trouble with the baby and zechs, where are
they from anyway?" sally sat playing with one of the tags on another preventers
jacket and spoke up "Theyre from, tokyo but thyre homeland is america, theyre
sisters, I dont really know much about them to tell you the truth but also since
you were out of commision for a while they wanted me to come and help this
sector till you could come back to the moon base with me," noin loked at sally i
wonder "Hey that place is still in action after everything in the wars and the
new aliance?" sally smiled "Yea that old place will never go out of style its a
hunting ground for the tourists!" noin grabbed her belt and wrapped it around
her "Hey this thing barely fits me" she said with a little chuckle "Lets go get
on the ship for the rounds today, you can help me, It'll be good to have
company"noin tyryed really hard to hide her discomfort and agony of missing her
beloved zechs but headed out the door while sally strode behind her together
they headed for the shipping gates.
