Home is Where the Heart Is

Chapter 8

A few days after Catrina was rescued

"You will NOT keep me in this bed a moment longer, Quatre!" Poor Quatre had been charged with the duty of keeping Catrina in bed until she was better. Personally, he couldn’t hate this job more. His sister was not one for bed rest or recovery at all.

"Now, Quatre. We’re both civilized people right?" Catrina asked suddenly.

Uh oh…Quatre thought. That’s not a good sign.

"And Sally said I could get out of bed when I was better, and I’m better so you will let me leave, now, right?"

"Sorry, Catrina. Sally also said you wouldn’t be better for another couple of days, at least," Quatre responded.

"Then I’ll have to escape,” she pulled a gun from under the pillow.

"Where did you get that?" Quatre asked.

"It was a get-well gift from Heero. He thought I might need it later. Wasn’t that thoughtful of him?"

"You wouldn’t kill your own brother, would you?" Quatre asked nervously, almost afraid of the answer.

"Well, I guess not." Quatre gave a sigh of relief and slowly relaxed. "But I would injure him." Quatre gulped. Of all my sisters, why did I have to discover this one? “Now, I think I shall leave. Outta my way,” Catrina sounded very unhappy now. Quatre silently decided it would be a good idea to get the others in here. He slowly moved backwards towards the dresser and pressed a button that Duo had suggested installing after recalling Heero’s first meeting with her. Instantly, the sound of heavy feet on the staircase below filled the vast room.

"Quatre? Did you press that button again? No fair!" Catrina grumbled as Duo and Hilde entered the room.

"Whoa! Catrina! Where’d ya get the gun? Nice. Hey…isn’t that Heero’s?" Duo questioned.

"It was a present. And I’m not giving up this gun to any of you until you let me out of this room!" she launched into a glare.

"Catrina?" Heero’s voice came from outside the room.

"What, Heero? Can’t you see I’m busy?" She swung the gun in the air for emphasis.

"Heero! Please get the gun that you gave to Catrina," Duo asked. Heero looked at the three in the room. Quatre was shivering at the thought of his sister shooting him point blank, Duo was grinning nervously, and Hilde stood behind her fiancé, shooting glances at the angry girl. Smiling, Hilde inched her way from behind Duo and left out the door. We should be friends, she thought.

*********

Sometime Later

Quatre slumped down in his chair. It had taken several hours to get the gun away from Catrina and now she was refusing to speak to any of them other then Hilde, who had left early, and Heero, who had given her the gun in the first place. Quatre had tried to coax the gun away, but after two hours, his voice was hoarse and she hadn’t given up her weapon yet. Duo took on another tactic. He left and climbed up the balcony, much like he had seen Heero do, and snuck up on her from behind, while Quatre continued to beg her to give him the gun. He tackled her, and grabbed the gun out of her grasp before she could fire at him with it. That had been most interesting.

Quatre reached for his teacup and began to sip from it. The mansion had been a lot quieter recently. Everyone went home after Catrina had been rescued except for Duo and Hilde, who thought that they needed a vacation. Heero decided to stay because he didn’t want to go back to the empty scrap yard by himself. Sally and Wufei had also stayed. Sally because she wanted to make Catrina got plenty of bed rest and Wufei because…well, for one thing Sally wouldn’t let him near the restaurant without her because he would start terrorizing the busboys and yelling at the waitresses for only being able to get such a ‘weak’ job. Last time she had left him alone, almost half their employees had quit. Moreover, Wufei didn’t seem to be exactly mad that Sally wouldn’t let him leave. And Trowa had stayed because the circus he traveled with had given everybody the month off. Only Abdul and Rashid remained out of the forty of the Magunacs.

I wonder where Sally and Wufei were today when Catrina got the gun. Come to think of it, they haven’t been around a lot lately. Quatre smiled. The front door slammed to the sound of Wufei’s yelling.

"I let you win, women! You think I would lose to the likes of you? You’re a weak onna!"

"Weak? I seemed to be doing quite well in the match, wouldn’t you agree?" Sally snapped back. The two of them marched into the kitchen together.

"You only beat me because those foolish officials wouldn’t let me fight with my katana!" Wufei snorted. "It was unjust."

"Wufei! It was a fencing match! You can’t use real weapons!" Sally said. She then saw Quatre sitting at the table, his eyebrows raised, staring at them. "Oh. Hello, Quatre. How’s the patient?" Sally asked, switching to doctor mode.

"Catrina is fine." Quatre said. "She is feeling much better. We were wondering if she might be allowed out of her room every once in a while…" Quatre said slowly.

"No, I think she should stay inside for at least another week," Sally mused.

"Another week?!? But….but…." Quatre looked terrified. "Only if someone else takes care of her for awhile." Quatre had the look of a trapped animal.

"What happened Quatre? Is Catrina okay?" Sally asked after seeing the look in his eyes.

"Oh, she only threatened us with a gun for….three hours!!" Quatre said.

"This is wonderful!" Sally exclaimed.

"Wonderful?!? What are you saying? It’s good she attacked us?" Quatre asked incredulously.

"Well, by showing signs of aggression, she is obviously showing that some of her strength is returning," Sally explained.

"Really? So, do you think she could get out of bed earlier then planned because her strength is ba…" Quatre began.

"Absolutely not. She may be feeling better, but that is no reason to put her health in jeopardy!" Quatre’s mouth fell open.

"Sally…you should have seen her! There is no way you’re going to be able to keep her in there!" Quatre said.

"Yes, we can. I’ve dealt with patients like this before, Quatre."

"Really? Who?" he asked.

"Well, I’m not allowed to talk about a patient’s confidential information, but…if you guess I suppose…" Sally smiled.

"Oh, sure! Do I know him?" Quatre said.

"Yes, very well, too."

"That makes it easy! It must be Heero! He’s the only person other then Duo, and Trowa, and Wufei…" Quatre looked confused.

"It was Heero. We figured out several ways to keep him in his room…though some weren’t as affective as others…" she said half to herself. "Quatre, do you have any strong locks that you can’t pick?"

"Yeah…I think I do…there are probably some in the basement. Unless they melted down when Catrina and Heero set of the explosives," Quatre replied.

"Good. You go get those and I’ll meet you up in Catrina’s room," Sally finished.

"Okay…" Quatre said slowly.

"And Quatre?" Sally called over her shoulder.

"Yes?"

"Don’t tell Catrina anything, okay?"

*********

Later-Night

Catrina awoke to a darkened room. The curtains had been pulled over the window, emitting the moonlight. The door was pulled tightly shut. She reached under the pillow to get the gun, only to remember she had it no longer.

She got out of bed and dressed. Then she walked over to the door and tried it. Locked. Moreover, from the feel of it, it would probably take at least an hour to break it. An hour she didn’t have. I’ll just go out the leap off the balcony, then, she decided. Pulling back the curtains she discovered a very large, heavy padlock on her sliding doors. Someone is a little overprotective. That didn’t stop her, though. Hardly pausing a moment she went back to her closet, reached up onto the top shelf and felt around until she discovered the small box she had left. Opening the lid, Catrina revealed several small knives, a mini hand revolver, and a glass cutter. Heero is so helpful when it comes to little things like this. He even sharpened it for me! Wasn’t that thoughtful of him? She grinned happily.

Catrina walked over to the window and opened the blinds again. She began to slice the pane out of the window, leaving just enough room for her to slip through. After the pane had been cut, she let it drop inside the house, whereupon she dragged it over to a wall and leaned it up. I hope Quatre’s not too mad, Catrina thought as she admired her handiwork.

Grabbing a jacket, Catrina stepped into the night. A soft ocean breeze stirred her hair, which was in its regular ponytail. Catrina made her way to the edge of the balcony and looked downward. She was on the third floor, and, much to her distaste, if she injured herself by jumping, then the fun was over before it began. So, Catrina scaled the wall.

Upon reaching the ground, she glanced around. Quatre didn’t have any guards, but he had adopted some dogs from a local shelter to protect his property. She had already befriended these animals, but she still didn’t want any of them to spot her and send up a ruckus. After reassuring herself that no animals were about, and then proceeded to make her way to the stables.

Catrina swung open the doors to the stables. Horses snorted and stamped their feet. It was warm inside the colossal barn. The roof rose overhead to form a cathedral-like peak. Catrina ran down to Ash’s stable, ignoring the slight pain in her side. Ash was her favorite horse. He was lithe and thin, but built with strong shoulders. Catrina and Ash had developed a trust with each other in the short time they had known each other.

After saddling Ash, she rode out into the cool evening air. Stars shone brightly from the sky and the ocean glittered in the distance. Catrina rode Ash down towards the ocean, hoping to reach it and be able to return in the few hours that she had. Then she had to repair the window, which would take several hours….

After thinking about it, she decided it wasn’t really worth returning home for. Quatre would discover the window anyway, so she might as well enjoy her freedom now. Before they all locked her up again in those tiny rooms. Well, the rooms really weren’t that small….but….

Catrina sighed. She hated being kept in those rooms. She felt like a caged animal. They didn’t understand. Now, she felt especially trapped after being stuck in that compound for so long. If Heero and Duo hadn’t rescued her…she didn’t want to think about it.

A soft breeze tugged at her hair as she neared the water. A small outcropping protruded from the shore. Catrina dismounted from Ash and made her way onto the rocks. She freed her hair from its ponytail and felt it whipping across her face. She never wore her hair down anymore because it got in her way so often. No one had seen her with her hair down since she was a young child. Wind tore at her slight figure as she stood on the ledge.

Catrina yawned. She hadn’t realized that she was so tired. After escaping and running away on horseback…and her side was beginning to kill her. Maybe just a short nap wouldn’t hurt, she thought as she lay down on the grass and promptly fell asleep.

*********

Heero awoke to the sound of birds chirping and sunlight streaming through his window. Everything was bathed in brightness and the day had begun without him. He never slept this late.

Heero showered, dressed, and headed out to get some breakfast. His stomach growled with impatience but he ignored it, taking a detour to visit Catrina first. He was finding that he really liked Catrina the more he saw her.

He swung the door open to her room. Duo had stolen the gun he had given her, so he would have to get that back for her later. Heero halted in the doorway when he discovered she wasn’t in the bed. He glanced around the room, his eyes landing on the window. Cool air was wafting from its gaping hole.

Well, looks like that glass cutter came in handy, after all. I’ll have to get her a lock pick, too. Heero decided, after examining the heavy padlock on the sliding doors. He could guess that she had got tired of being locked in here and had just left.

Closing the door, he moved downstairs to get some breakfast. As he entered the dining room, everyone looked up at him.

"And where’ve you been, Heero?" Duo began. "You never sleep in! Did you stay up late last night?" He grinned sweetly. "Been visiting Catrina, hmmm?"

Heero hardly moved an inch at his comments. "Sorry, Duo. But she isn’t here right now," Heero said as he swallowed several pieces of toast, preparing himself for the search that was sure to come in a moment. He suspicions were confirmed as Quatre’s head swung upward.

"What did you say, Heero? Where is my sister? What have you done with her?" he insisted. Heero mentally sighed and decided not to respond to the question. Quatre and the others waited a moment later to see if Heero would say anything at all and then bolted out from the room and up the stairs, heading for Catrina’s quarters. As they reached the floor, they saw Sally knocking softly at the door.

"Catrina? Are you still mad at me? I need to come in and see if you’re healing properly," Sally called and opened the door. The room was empty and the curtains were flapping gently in a breeze. Sally’s mouth fell open as she saw the window. "And how did she manage that?" she asked slowly.

Duo bonded into the room, took one look around, and promptly announced, "Glass cutter."

"We will have to spilt up and look for her!" Sally said. Heero knew just where she was going. Catrina had told him countless times that when she was better, she and her horse would head down towards the ocean and stay there until they were forced back inside. It was quite obvious that Catrina did not like being kept locked up in a room.

Heero was making his way towards the beach when he heard Quatre yelling that Catrina had taken her horse with her. Heero allowed himself a smirk. He was right.

He walked for about an hour until he reached the shoreline of the ocean. He strolled up and down the coast, looking for Catrina or her horse. After several hours, he saw a beautiful gray horse standing by an outcropping of rocks that was ringed by a stand of bushes. Heero would bet anything that he would find Catrina beyond there.

He pushed past the horse and the foliage and there she was, fast asleep. Her hair fanned out about her face, framing it in a golden-brown halo. The sun made it look like depthless pools of bronze. Her hands created a pillow for her weary head and her face was turned to the sky, allowing the spring sun to chisel and define her features like nothing he had ever seen before. Her long, thin body was stretched across the soft grass, seeking a comfortable purchase on the ground. Everything about her radiated beauty. Heero felt something deep inside him begin to stir.

Catrina stirred slightly, as if sensing another presence was near her. Heero backed away before realizing that she had not awakened and was simply dreaming. She whimpered softly and cringed away towards where Heero stood. He reached a hand down and softly stroked her cheek, trying to wipe the nightmare away.

At the touch of a pair unfamiliar hands, her eyes fluttered and opened slowly. She couldn’t quite see who was in front of her, but they appeared to be bending down towards her. Catrina’s judgment was clouded by the remnants of the terrifying dream she had just witnessed. She didn’t think twice about leaping up and away from her attacker until she discovered the ground under her feet giving way. It was then she realized that she was well over forty feet from the ground and that she was now falling, backwards, towards the rough waves and grainy sand.

Heero watched in horror as Catrina leapt away off the edge of the cliff and fell towards the earth. Something tore at him as he jumped to her aid. But it was too late. He missed her and could only watch as she hit the sand with a sickening impact. Heero ran from the cliff and reached her motionless body in less than a moment.

"Catrina?" he whispered. Hope burned through him as she moaned and tried to sit up. He pressed her back down and began feeling for injuries along her arms and legs. Amazingly, she wasn’t hurt seriously, though it felt as if she had fractured one of her legs badly.

"Ow. Heero?" Catrina asked in a shaky voice. Heero looked down at her and glared. He didn’t say anything. Then he scooped her up into his arms and began to walk back up the hill towards Ash. Catrina took a moment to realize what he was doing and then began to struggle. "Put me down! I can walk just fine! Heero!" she grumbled, twisting around.

"You hurt your leg when you fell. You can’t walk," Heero said in a dull voice. Her face fell.

"Great. Now I’ll have to spend even more time in that room," she mumbled. Heero looked down at her. Catrina was looking somewhere off into the distance, no longer struggling. Her face was crestfallen at the thought of being stuck in that room again. He actually began to feel a bit sad for her. He hated the thought of being "taken care of" as much as she did.

"Don’t worry about it," he stated flatly. Heero had made up his mind to help her. It is just a mission, nothing more, he told himself. However, for some reason he didn’t believe it.

"CATRINA!" Quatre squealed at the sight of Heero and Catrina coming up the walk with Ash trailing behind them. "Are you okay?" he asked as he reached them.

Quatre, do I look okay to you?" she snapped.

"She’s upset," Heero said.

"Um…I noticed. What happened?"

"She fractured her leg."

"Oh no! Catrina! How did you do that?" Quatre asked.

"She fell," Heero answered for her, sensing that she didn’t want to talk right now. Catrina gave him a small smile.

"Oh. Well, we’ll get you right to bed! C’mon Heero. We decided her room would be on the second floor now. Sally and Wufei are taking your old room upstairs, Catrina. Her room is the fifth door to the left," this was said to Heero. "We also thought that…." Quatre continued to talk, but Heero was thinking to himself and ignoring him. My room is right next to Catrina’s. Heero wondered at this for a moment until he realized that Catrina had fallen asleep in his arms and Quatre was still talking to the both of them, never knowing that they weren’t listening.

"Quatre," Heero said quietly. He nodded his head at Catrina. Quatre looked up towards the house and whispered to Heero to bring her up to her room.

*********

Over the next several days, Catrina stayed in bed and did not ask to leave or complain about having to stay inside. Heero visited her almost daily. Normally, he would come in and sit down. Then, the two of them would just glare at each other until it was dinnertime. Heero would go and eat, then return. Catrina didn’t know if Heero realized how much she liked his visits to her. It would be an extremely boring day if he didn’t come by.

That particular day, Heero hadn’t shown up yet and it was almost lunchtime. Catrina was bored out of her mind and about ready to throw herself out the window when Heero walked in. Catrina smiled to herself. He sure took his time, she thought.

"Hello Heero. And how have you been?" she asked. Heero didn’t reply, but strode over to the bed and looked over at her.

"Where has everybody been, anyway? I haven’t seen them all day." Heero just glared at her for a long time. "Fine. Where are Sally and Wufei?"

"Out to eat for the past five hours."

"Duo and Hilde?"

"Working on garage profits."

"Quatre and Trowa?" Heero shrugged.

"They’ve disappeared."

"Oh. So, everybody is having fun but me and you, huh?" she smirked. "No surprise,” she mumbled under her breath. Heero shook his head. Catrina was sick of staying in here. Maybe I can help her out, he thought to himself.

"Heero? Where are you going?" Catrina asked worriedly. "You’re not leaving are you?" Heero made his way over to her closet and began to pull out an outfit. He tossed it onto the bed and left the room.

"Gee thanks!" she called after him. What is he thinking? she wondered as she began to dress. It was quite difficult considering that her leg was still in a cast. "Heero? You can come in now." She called out to him. Heero reentered the room. "Now, what is this all about anyway? Why won’t you say anything? Tell me!" she insisted when he just leaned against the doorway and didn’t respond. Suddenly, he moved over to the bed and scooped her into his arms.

"Let’s go outside," he said.

"Huh? Heero? HEY! Put me down!"

"No."

"No?! Are you kidding me?" she yelled. He put a hand over her mouth.

"Quiet. Do you want to be caught?"

"No….but I still don’t get it. Why are you helping me?" Heero didn’t answer. Soon they had reached the door. Catrina swung an arm out and pushed it open. She found them in one of Quatre’s many gardens. Heero brought her over to an ordinate wood bench and carefully set her down.

"There," he said and sat down next to her.

"Thanks Heero. That was really sweet," Cat whispered as she peeked out from under her chocolate colored bangs. A light blush crept over her face.

"Hn."

Catrina sighed. There had to be a way to get through to him. But what could she do? A sudden, evil thought stole into her mind. She reached a hand over and carefully covered his own. She gazed at his unchanging face and thought she saw the slightest twitch. Ha! The Great Heero Yuy…still, he hasn’t said anything yet…

She looked at him for a long while. She didn’t know whether he knew she was staring intently at him or not. No matter. She decided to give up her little quest and just enjoy the beautiful day. She could make Heero show emotion later. Giving a slow happy sigh, she leaned her head against Heero’s shoulder and closed her eyes, soaking in the sun. As she fell asleep, Catrina could barely feel Heero’s fingers tighten on her own.

*********

Duo and Hilde stared out their window to their room at the since before them in the little garden.

"Is that….Heero and Catrina?" Hilde asked suddenly.

"I think so…Hilde-babe, do you know where the camera is?" Duo grinned.

"Why, right over here, dear," she said happily and tossed him their digital camera.

"Perfect shot, too. This is going to be fun."

"Yep! Let’s go!" Hilde whispered and moved over to the window and pushed the blinds aside once again and opened the window. "Clear shot from here!"

"All right! Here ya go, Heero!" Duo called as he snapped a picture of the two together. "Now, let’s see how this turned out, shall we?" he asked as he moved over towards his laptop.

*********

Catrina slowly opened her eyes. She noticed that she was back in her own room again. A slow smile spread over her face as she remembered her afternoon with Heero. I must have fallen asleep out there. I wonder where Heero went. A shadow shifted across the room and Hilde stepped into view.

"Afternoon, Catrina," she said. Catrina’s eyes traveled to the clock. It was past four already.

"Hey, Hilde. Everything okay?"

"Sure. Say, did you have fun this afternoon with Heero?" Hilde grinned in an off-handed manner.

"Yes…why?" Catrina asked suspiciously.

"Well, Duo and I saw you’ll outside on the bench and…" Hilde trailed off to see Catrina’s reaction.

"Can’t hide much from you two, can I?"

"Nope! So…you like Heero as much as everyone thinks you do?" Catrina blushed.

"Well…yeah…." She answered quietly.

"Good. Then you’ll appreciate this gift even more then I thought," Hilde said and tossed a small box onto the bed next to Catrina’s side. "Just don’t tell Duo that I gave it to you. He was planning on torturing Heero with it, but I decided that you could use it more then we do." With that said, Hilde turned and left the room.

"I wonder what it could be?" Catrina whispered to herself. She slowly opened the box and discovered a small picture with her and Heero surrounded by the gardens lush foliage. She was sleeping on Heero’s shoulder and Heero had his head atop hers and his Prussian blue eyes closed. I’m going to have to thank her… Catrina thought.

*********

Over the next few months, Catrina and Hilde became best friends. They talked almost daily about Heero and his past. Catrina learned about what Hilde knew about Heero’s past and the details of the war that the Gundam’s and their pilots fought so hard in. She began to understand Heero and the others better.

Heero also stopped in every day. He would carry Catrina out to the garden and they would sit on the bench for hours, until the last trail of sun had faded away. Then he would take her back to her room and leave. The others had developed a rotation with her so she would never have to eat dinner alone. She enjoyed eating with Duo and Hilde because of their hilarious antics. Wufei would lecture her on the injustice of the world and Sally would tell him to shut up. They always brought a smile to her face. Quatre talked to her about everything he could, while Trowa looked on silently through one eye. However, it was the time with Heero she treasured the most. Even if they were silent moments where no one spoke and the only sound was chewing, she loved it.

Finally, her leg was healed and she was able to walk again. Everybody was happy that she could move about of her own free will again. Catrina had just finished her dinner and was now in her room, carefully brushing out her hair when the soft insistent beeping noise came from her computer, telling her that she was needed for another mission. No! her mind screamed in rage. I was just having fun! And Heero and I were finally becoming more then friends! Not now! However, she knew that she had no choice but to go on and fight yet again.

*********

Catrina glanced about the empty hallway before silently slipping from the doorway of her room. It was almost one A.M. and she was making her way to a shuttle port so she could begin her mission a little bit sooner. A movement in the shadows caught her eye.

"Who’s there?" Heero appeared from the shadows.

"Where are you going?" he asked quietly.

"I have a mission to complete. That’s all I can tell you. Sorry," Catrina whispered to him. Heero nodded.

"Here, then. Open it on the shuttle."

"Thank you, Heero," Catrina said, accepting a small box from his hands. "I will." Then, almost out of instinct, she stepped towards him and brushed a light butterfly kiss on his cheek. "I’ll miss you." And with that, she was gone. Heero stood, staring at the place she had been a moment before turning and heading back to his room.

*********

Catrina sat on the shuttle with her eyes closed. It was several moments before she remembered the gift Heero had given her. I guess I should open it now… she thought. Pulling the lid off carefully she discovered a green sweater wrapped around a small object. She unwrapped the sweater remembering when she had told him that he owed her a new one and discovered a tiny model of…Wing Zero. In its hand, it held a small note that read,

Come back to me.

Heero