Disclaimer: For the LAST time on TCoL, I don’t own GW!  “This is the end, of Aquarius, the end of…” SHEESH…where the HELL did THAT come from!?! This chapter is DEDICATED to everyone who has read and reviewed, and this WHOLE SERIES is dedicated to my little sister, J.A. who wants me to do a sequel to ‘Dedicated to Maree’. (Not on your life! …ok, maybe)  Anyway, This is the final chapter of TCoL! I think ten chapters is a nice even number. Well stop reading the disclaimer, now! ^_^

THIS IS THE REVISED VERSION!

The Colours of Life

Epilogue: The End

By: J.B. Santiago

  - Somewhere in Europe, Earth – Real Time -

The private jet landed right on the large ‘X’ on the ground.  The landing pad was surrounded by large stone pillars its architectural style reminiscent of ancient Greece.  “Has the Council assembled?” Asked William as he and the other Councillors stepped off the jet.

The woman looked at the ragged appearances of the four. ‘Seven were sent, four came back.’ Nodding her head and giving a sympathetic glance at all of them, “Yes, all of them are here except those of the Red Council.  I’m assuming there isn’t any of them left?”

Alessio shook his head, angrily.  “We are not that lucky. Bu - ”

“Don’t start, Alessio.  Dorothy and Bethany are still in Florence, they opted to go to the hospital where their friends are being treated.”  William replied, motioning for the woman to lead the way to the Great Hall.  The woman crisply walked past the pillars, leading the Councillors through a series of passages before they reached two gigantic doors. 

“Here we are, ladies and gentlemen.”  She said feigning boredom.

“Thank you, Julia.”  William bowed slightly, as the others entered the Great Hall; he closed the doors softly, missing the sardonic expression Julia gave them as she stood on the outside.

“Hello.  Son.”  A voice thundered, in the semi-lit hall.  It looked very similar to the Hall Romefeller met in, except the stage held five high-backed chairs, behind a long table; only one chair not having someone sitting in it.

“Father,” replied Alessio, his voice angry, “the Red used us!  Mario is dead because of the Red! That whor - ”

“Only the Black Council would blame the person who saved the world!” retorted Veronica.

“How can you stand up for that, that butana?! Giuseppi is dead because of her!”

A loud ‘bang’ was heard and the four turned towards who did it.  An old man, with greying hair and tanned skin, put down the walking stick he had just hit across the table.  “Enough!  This is not the time to argue.  Just tell us what happened.”

Myra taking this opportunity, spoke up, “Dorothy jumped into the portal and it closed.  We thought that was it.  We had won but then one of the Gundam pilots told us to throw the keys and codes into the closed portal.  They ended up sinking into the portal.”  She paused, but the four people sitting in the chairs just stared silently at her so she continued, “Then all these colours started shooting out everywhere and some of them began to join together and it turned into Dorothy.  She was alive but unconscious.  The keys and codes didn’t reappear though.”  She finished, looking at the four.  Her eyes tried to search for some feeling in her grandmother’s face but saw none.

The head of Blue Council nodded.  “That will be all.  Julia will escort you to your rooms, please get some rest.”  He gestured to the door.

“But Uncle, how about Sylvia? Or Giuseppi and Mario?  How are you going to - ”

“Already taken care of.  Don’t worry.  You are excused.”  He interrupted in a more authoritative tone.

Before another word was said a loud “GO!” was heard from the head of Black Council and even Alessio wisely left the Hall quickly.

The head of Green turned towards the three men seated next to her as the doors softly shut.  “The Darkness has been vanquished, for good it seems…”

“Do you think Red has done it?  If Dorothy truly defeated the Darkness and lived…She will be a greater enemy to us.”  The head of Black grumbled.  “We must eliminate her now before the power manifests itself and she becomes too powerful to kill.”

“How do you know she will be a threat?  If she has regained the powers of old, then isn’t it plausible that we will regain the old powers as well?”

The head of Gold tapped his walking stick thoughtfully against his chin.  “Our monitors have shown that Subspace is becoming heavily flooded with magical energy… If we can tap into it then the old powers may resurface…”

“To be rid of these pathetic human bodies…Dorothy doesn’t know about this, does she?”  Three heads shook their heads.  The head of Blue smiled, greedily, “I assume she hasn’t been told all of the Ancients scriptures.  Good.  The longer she is kept in the dark, the more time we have before her powers begin to reveal themselves…Send a team into Subspace, we’ll start now.”

“No doubt, Red will be monitoring Subspace.  Place a Cloak on the team.  If Red is monitoring Subspace, they’ll be doing it on a weaker signal – probably laptop.  A Cloak will hide any of our…investigating.”

The four nodded to each other, all their eyes hinting at greed.  Soon…soon, if everything went as planned, they would be powerful enough to rule the world.

         ******************************

  - Florence, Earth – Real Time -

What a sorry bunch they made.  Not that she was expecting them to look all happy and cheerful considering where they were and WHY they were here.  Bethany shifted the slight weight of the laptop from one leg to the other.  She had brought it to monitor Subspace.  Just in case any ‘residue’ from this battle managed to escape.  She watched the radar picking up nothing.  The other Councillors had gone their separate ways.  They would report back to the Council.  Bethany stole a glance at her cousin.  Dorothy was sitting next to her, in those awful plastic chairs in a drab hospital waiting room.  Bethany noted how Dorothy hadn’t moved from the position she was in since the hospital staff told them to take a seat.  She was leaning slightly forward on the balls of her palms, as if ready to pounce, her eyes distant as she stared straight ahead, not really looking at anything.  She didn’t seem to hear anything, or realise if anything was happening around her.  ‘Completely ignored me, when I told her to wash the dried blood on her hands.’  Bethany sighed inwardly, looking at the only decorative item in the room – a pot plant that needed about a month’s worth of water.  Standing beside it was Wufei, studying the floor while Sally seemed to be trying to find exactly the same thing Wufei was studying.  Duo and Hilde sat close together, hugging each other, Duo occasionally kissing her hair.  Heero had a firm grip on Relena who had her eyes tightly closed.  Bethany quickly averted her eyes away from Relena, as the events that had transpired when they had jumped into the ‘time wall’ came rushing back.  Gulping back the bile threatening to rise in her throat she stared intently at the screen again.  The only people not there were the two gatekeepers, Catherine and Nanashi, who were being treated for trauma and malnutrition; and Trowa was with his sister, not letting her out of his sight.  They were situated a floor below the rest of the gang, who were waiting outside the operating room where surgeons were currently trying to save Quatre.

“Excuse me, I’m Doctor Rossi.  Are you the people who brought a Mr Quatre Winner, here?”  A tall, slightly tanned man in surgeons scrubs said.

Bethany answered for the group, “Yes we did.  How is he, Doctor?”

“The first bullet singed his right leg; just minor bleeding.  The second bullet, punctured his left shoulder, missing any important nerves but the third one punctured his left lung, narrowly missing his heart but it has caused massive internal bleeding and his lung is flooding with blood.  We’re doing the best we can but his blood type is rare and he is going to need blood transfusions.  Do any of his relatives live close by?” said Dr Rossi.

Everyone looked at each other.  Duo said, “His sisters all live on the Colonies.  We don’t know if any are here.”

The Doctor nodded grimly.  “Do any of you have the blood type Rh negative?”

The room was silent as everyone shook their heads. 

“I have that.”  Everyone turned to look at Dorothy.

Bethany stood up suddenly almost breaking her laptop.  “What?!”

Dorothy repeated, “I have that.”

The doctor looked at her quizzically.  “Are you sure?”

“Yes, check my medical records.”  Dorothy said calmly.

Dr Rossi nodded.  “Ok.  Come this way please and I’ll have the staff check your records and then if everything’s correct, we’ll start the blood transfusion right away.”  He began to walk towards the swinging doors.

Everyone watched as he disappeared into the next corridor.  Dorothy turned to Bethany.  “Change my records, Bethany.” 

“What?!  Are you crazy!? We can’t give blood!”  Bethany stared at her cousin incredulously.

“Why not?” Asked Hilde.  “Doesn’t your blood contain healing properties?  That would save Quatre, right?  Besides if your blood type is a match…”

“Our blood type is compatible with any other blood type! … Yes, it might save him BUT our blood doesn’t generate as quickly as normal humans do.  Blood loss of about a litre in a normal human would take about a week to generate, for us about a month and a half to 2 months.  In that time we’d be as weak as a person with no immune system.”  Bethany glared at her cousin. “Do you know how much they’ll take from you?  Enough to keep you wheelchair bound for God knows how long!”

Dorothy glared back at her, shoving her hands in front of Bethany’s face.  “See this!?  I have his blood on MY hands.  CHANGE. MY. RECORDS.”  Dorothy stalked towards the swinging doors, disappearing into the next corridor.

Bethany just stared at the doors still swinging from the force Dorothy had pushed them with.  “Argh!  Ma va funculo!”  She sat down hard, and started to type furiously on her laptop.

“Signorina, your first and last names, please.”  Asked the nurse at the staff desk.

“Dorothy, D-O-R-O-T-H-Y.  Catalonia.  C-A-T-E-L-O-N-I-A.”  She replied watching the woman type in the information.

“I’m sorry, signorina but I can’t seem to find your records.  I’ll go check again.”

Dorothy nodded, watching the wall clock tick away the seconds.

“I’m sorry but your name isn’t in the medical database.”  The woman said apologetically.

Dorothy feigned worry and asked, “Can I see?”

The woman kindly complied; moving the computer screen so Dorothy could view it as well.  “Oh!  You’ve spelt my surname wrong.  It’s

A not E.”

The nurse looked at the screen, “You said E.”

Dorothy shook her head.  “It’s been a trying day.”  The nurse nodded smiling and changed the misspelled name.

“Hmm…it seems to be coming up in pieces.  Sorry, to make you wait so long.” 

Dorothy just nodded, watching the clock tick.

“Oh!  Here it is.  I’ll page Dr Rossi and tell him that your blood type is a match.”  The nurse pressed in the doctor’s pager number.

‘Thank you, Bethany.’  Dorothy thought as Dr Rossi escorted her to the operating room for the blood transfusion.

         **************************

Trowa watched as Catherine, slowly breathed in and out.  She had been examined and would be fine, getting away with only minor bruising.  Trowa knew psychologically, she would be scarred for life but he would be damned if anything happened to her again.  He held her soft hand, carefully rubbing it affectionately before bringing it up to his face, kissing the back of her hand.  “I’m sorry I didn’t protect you, Cathie.  Next time…there won’t be a next time.”  He whispered to her sleeping form.  Carefully putting her hand back down to her side, he stood up quietly, leaning over her, pushing the stray hairs away from her face before lightly kissing her forehead.  She shifted slightly towards him, her eyes fluttering open.

“Trowa?” she murmured, still half asleep.  “Check on Nanashi, for me, ok?  She needs a friend.”  Then she closed her eyes fully, lying on her side now, asleep once more.

Trowa raised an eyebrow. ‘Even with everything that’s happened she still has a heart big enough, to care for people she hardly knows.’  He frowned when he thought of whom she had just asked to check on.  ‘Midii…’ He lifted the sheets closer to Catherine’s shoulders. ‘I think I will check on…Nanashi.’  Walking out of the hospital room, he entered the room opposite.  A slight breeze greeted him from the open window.  He saw a figure deftly climb out onto the fire escape.  Racing to the window he roughly grabbed the person’s arm just as they were about to slide down the railing.  Grey eyes met flashing emerald ones.

“What do you think you’re doing…Midii?”  Trowa asked in a low voice, still keeping a keen grip on the escapee.

The figure lowered her gaze, her voice a soft whisper, almost breezy like the wind. “Please…I - let me go, Nanashi…Trowa.  I need to go.”  Then she gazed back up into those emerald eyes, her grey orbs filled with tears.

Trowa blinked trying to figure out what to say, not loosening his grip.  “Catherine told me to check on you.  She said you needed a friend.”  He didn’t know why he had said that but it was the only thing that was coming up in his mind, her eyes filled with tears was making him feel…confused.

Midii felt her tears roll down her cheeks.  She hadn’t been expecting that reply.  She wanted to get the hell away from him.  Years of believing he was dead because of her and now here he was, alive and incredibly well.  After years of blaming herself - years of hating herself for what she had done, for what she was.  Midii wanted to get the hell away from him.  He had changed his life around.  He wasn’t a mercenary anymore; he had a loving sister and friends that cared for him.  While she was still what she was all those years ago.  She would have laughed and told them they were nuts if someone had told her she would be saved by Nanashi from an evil magical force intent on destroying Earth.  “I – I don’t need a friend.  I need you to let go off me.  I have to leave this place.” 

Trowa felt her shake slightly, as the wind picked up.  “You should stay.  You’re still weak.  Cathie would want you to stay.”  He stared at her tears and used his free hand to softly wipe them away.  “I think it would be best if you stayed.” He added, whispering.

Midii felt hot and cold all of a sudden when he touched her face.  She recoiled as far away as she could since he still had a strong grip on her arm.  She shook her head.  Tears streaming down her face once more.  “Please – please.  I can’t handle this now.  I have to go.”

Trowa’s eyes widened, as he let go of the weeping woman.  He nodded his head.  “Then go.  If you think that’s best.”  His voice was at its indifferent best.

Midii brushed away the tears from her face, nodding then slid down the railing, running away from Nanashi – Trowa as fast as humanly possible.  Nearing the third floor she heard Trowa yell, “Cathie and I work at the Circus.  Cathie would want you to visit.”

She stared up at the fire escape, Trowa’s outline could be seen from the lights around the hospital but she couldn’t make out his eyes. She nodded, knowing he could see her and then continued to go down.

Trowa watched her reach the ground floor and run into the night.  He didn’t know why he had said that.  Shaking his head, he went back into Catherine’s room, kissing her again before softly shutting her door and heading to the floor the others were on. He needed to figure some things out. ‘I think I’ll take the stairs.’

         ************************

“You know what I don’t get, why that man was still alive even with the Darkness gone.”  Duo wanted to fill in the silence that had once again descended on the group when Dorothy left. 

Bethany looked up at her screen, her face still lined with anger at her cousin.  “I didn’t mention it?”

Duo shook his head.  “No you didn’t mention it.”

“Oh.  It’s because that man was a willing disciple of the Darkness.  The Darkness needed at least one human being who willingly followed it.  My knowledge on these types of people is sketchy at best, but the Darkness probably spoke through this man, ordering the soldiers around.  Kind of like the second in command, I guess.”  Bethany glanced at the doors Dorothy had gone through before turning back to Duo.  She gave him a small smile.  He nodded, smiling back.  Silence once again descended on the group.  He couldn’t take anymore of this.  He gently pushed Hilde away from him, facing her.  “I’m going to go get something to drink, do you want anything?” 

She shook her head.  “Does anyone want anything?”  He asked the rest of the group.  Bethany and Sally shook their heads while Wufei didn’t move at all.  Heero shook his head, trying not to move Relena who looked like she had fallen asleep.  Duo nodded and headed towards the elevator. He reached the third floor of the hospital, where the main cafeteria was situated. The place was closed since it was a little past 2 in the morning.  The time displacement from being in Subspace was a little off putting.  He had just spent close to three days in Subspace but it was barely a day in ‘normal time’.  His body screamed for sleep but he didn’t want to dream of what had happened.  He kept seeing Quatre fall as bullets ripped into his body.

Duo turned on the TV near the coffee machine.  A news bulletin came up…

“Reporting live, off the coast of Corsica, where the remains of a luxury yacht is being dragged in, having collided with a freight liner and exploding on impact…We’ve just gotten word on who’s yacht it was…Phil, the yacht you see being dragged in belonged to Sylvia Noventa.  It seems she and two male companions went for a boating trip late this afternoon and lost contact with the coast guards - ” Duo turned off the TV. He shook his head. ‘Damn, those Council people work fast.’  Walking to the coffee machine, he stared at the coffee machine.  “Decaf, Coffee, Hot Chocolate…”

“You always get Hot Chocolate, Duo.”  Hilde hugged her husband, her arms wrapping around his midsection, resting on his chest.

Duo moved around to hug his wife back.  He smiled wearily at her. “I know but I don’t want to hurt the other selection’s feelings.  Couldn’t keep away from me, huh?”  He gave her a light kiss on her forehead, before kissing her nose and then giving her a longer kiss on the mouth.  “I love you, Hilde.”  He whispered hugging her closely to him after they broke apart.

Hilde laid her head on his chest, “I love you too, Duo.”

“Happy Wedding Anniversary, Hilde.” 

Hilde paused in her breathing.  Then she broke out into raucous laughter.  After everything that had happened, SHE had forgotten and HE had remembered.  She kept on laughing, a grin breaking out on Duo’s face before he started laughing too.  After a few moments they settled down and Hilde tugged on his braid playfully.  “Thank you, Duo.  I needed that.  We both needed that.”  She rested her head on his chest again as they slowly moved to music only they could hear.  Duo stopped shuffling suddenly and Hilde looked into his eyes expectantly. He rummaged through his pockets until he found what he was looking for.  He took out a small jewellery box.

“I’ve been carrying this around everywhere.  I wanted to give it to you at the perfect moment…well this is close enough.”  He opened it in front of her to reveal a pair of heart shaped, sapphire earrings with a small diamond in the centre, set in 18ct gold.  He stared at her with his beautiful blue eyes, waiting for her approval like a puppy dog.

Hilde gasped at the gift.  ‘He really went all out.’  She gazed at him, reaching out for the jewellery box and placing it on the table beside them before wrapping her arms around her husband and giving him one very heartfelt kiss.  As they broke apart to breath, he said, “So, I guess you like it.”  She gave him a light ‘whap’ on the head before continuing their tongue war.

“Does it usually take this long for them to take blood?”  Bethany asked Sally, her face beginning to show signs of worry.

Sally blinked, her concentration broken.  She looked up at Bethany’s face and tried to look reassuring.  “It does take awhile, Bethany.  Don’t worry, I’m sure Dorothy’s fine.”  Sally tried to find the spot on the floor she had been concentrating on.  She thought she saw a bullet roll on the floor.  Blinking a few times, the bullet disappeared.  ‘Great, now I’m seeing things.’  She got up, walking towards the staff desk.  “I’ll go see what’s going on.”  She said over her shoulder to the others.  No one acknowledged her except Wufei who began to follow her.

Turning a corner she leaned against the wall, the staff desk metres away from her.  She slid down the wall until her chin was level with her knees.  She placed her hands over her face, blocking out the florescent light.  This whole ordeal was too much.  They had lost so many people.  They had lost Relena…but Bethany had gotten her back but she had this haunted look to her now.  There had been a silent pact not to say a word to the others but she didn’t know how long that would last.  Now Quatre was lying on an operating table, fighting for his life while Dorothy was doing something that could jeopardize her life to save his.  Sally felt a tear trickle down her face.  She quickly wiped it away, not noticing a figure standing beside her.

“You know, the seats aren’t that bad.”  Wufei stared down at her before sitting next to her on the floor.  “But the floor is comfortable.  Beats standing up.”  He didn’t look at her, staring straight ahead.

“Wufei…I’m glad you’re ok.”  Sally looked at his profile, trying to find any change in his posture.

He looked back at her.  “Are you ok, Sally?”  He asked sincerely.

Sally hid her surprise well.  “I will be.  I just need to…I don’t know what I need but I will be ok.”  She said more confidently then she felt.

“I’m here if you need anything.”  He said kindly.  “If you want I’ll even dress up in that purple dinosaur suit; I know how much that made you laugh.”

Sally couldn’t hide her surprise anymore.  “Ok, what have you done with the real Wufei Chang?”  She pretended to search his face, giving his hair a tug, “This is a wig, isn’t it?  Where’d you put him, you impostor!?”  She said playfully, a smile returning to her face.

Wufei smiled back.  “The real Wufei Chang is currently indisposed at the moment.  He is trying to figure out where justice is at moments like these.”  His face darkened slightly.  His obsidian eyes watching her pale blue ones.  “Sally…” 

They both leaned forward slightly, their eyes half-lidded as they reached out to kiss each other.

“Sally, what’d they – Oh! Oops!  Sorry I, ugh - ” Bethany stuttered out, as she saw Wufei and Sally quickly stand up, avoiding each other’s gazes.  “I think I’ll just go back to the waiting room.  Uh, see ya!”  With that Bethany hurried back to the waiting room, leaving the Sally and Wufei just standing there.

They glanced at each other, quickly looking away.  ‘Oh for crying out loud, Sally!  You’re a grown woman!’  Sally steeled her nerves and grabbed Wufei’s head, planting a not-so-friendly kiss on his mouth.  He seemed to object for a few moments but then responded in kind.  Letting go of his head and placing her arms around him as he placed his arms around her waist, they placed all the words they wanted to say to each other in that kiss.  Stopping to breath, Sally smiled wickedly, “Would you really wear that dinosaur costume, for my benefit?”

Wufei nodded, dazed, not noticing the evil gleam in Sally’s eyes.

“I’ll remember that for future reference.”  She said, leaning in to kiss him again.

Relena woke up with a start.  ‘All those images…’

“What’s wrong, Relena?”

Relena faced the gentle voice.  Heero’s Prussian blue eyes, gazed at her with such intensity she had to look away.  She couldn’t lie looking into those eyes.  “Nothing, Heero.  Just a bad dream.”  She looked around the empty waiting room.  “Where is everyone?” she said just as Bethany came back, her face a little flushed.  Their eyes locked onto each other’s and Relena suddenly didn’t want to be in this room anymore.  “Heero I think I need some fresh air.  Walk with me outside, ok?”

Heero nodded and they headed towards the elevators, leaving Bethany alone in the waiting room.

Relena breathed in deeply, once they got outside.  The wind was picking up slightly and Heero hugged Relena as they walked around the perimeter of the hospital. She always felt safe in his arms but now it didn’t make her feel safe.  It just reminded her of what she would have lost if she had died.  No, if she had stayed dead.  She couldn’t keep this from him but what was she going to say?  That she shouldn’t be here, but thanks to Bethany she was?  She silently thanked God that that infernal machine had exploded in that ‘time limbo’.  A machine that powerful, that terrible, wasn’t supposed to exist.  ‘Rather hypocritical of you, isn’t it Relena?’  She thought bitterly.  That machine had saved her but in that ‘time limbo’ when they had jumped into that image…

Heero felt Relena tense.  Gently moving her around to face him, his arms still hugging her, he asked “What’s wrong, Relena?”  Relena tried to avoid eye contact but Heero just softly held her face with his hands.  “Tell me.”

She stared at him, her resolve breaking down until she closed her eyes and whispered, “I died, Heero.”

Heero’s eyes widened.  “What?  Relena you’re not making sense.”

Relena shook off his hands and stared directly into his eyes.  “No, I’m telling you the truth, Heero.  I died and Bethany went back in time and took me before I could get killed.”

Heero continued to stare at her.  “You didn’t fly out here?  Bethany took you from the past to bring you into the present?”  He just stared at her, his voice not changing at all.

She nodded.  “The time machine malfunctioned and we ended up in a ‘time limbo’.  I saw entire pasts flash before me.  I could have entered any one of them and changed the future.  I could have saved my father.  I could have stopped my biological parents from getting killed.  I could have stopped so many terrible things from happening…but I didn’t.  It was bad enough that I was alive.  Heero, me being alive has changed the future…” She began to cry, all her worries in the form of tears. 

Heero swept her up in his arms. “For the better, Relena.  For the better.”  He cooed in her ears grabbing tightly onto her. ‘His Relena had died…’

“How do you know that?!  Heero - ” She was silenced as Heero kissed her..  He kissed her face all over, kissing away the tears.

“You make my world better, Relena.  You’ve just been given an extraordinary gift - life, Relena, life.  A life I want to spend with you forever.”  He kissed her again.  He would show her how much she meant to him, to their friends, to the world.

         ***************************

Trowa entered the waiting room, expecting everyone to be there.  The only one there was Bethany and she looked either flushed or angry, probably both.  She saw him enter with a questioning look on his face and said, “Dorothy’s giving blood, Duo and Hilde are having coffee, Sally and Wufei are asking the staff questions and Heero and Relena went outside for a walk.  How’s your sister and the other Gatekeeper?” 

Trowa gave her an odd look, before speaking, “Cathie’s asleep and Nanashi…left.  I came up here to check on Quatre.  How is he?”

“I have no idea, but he’ll survive, his chances increased greatly when Dorothy decided to give blood.”  She said this angrily.

“Hey Trowa!  How’s Cathie?”  Trowa turned around to see Duo and Hilde, Duo his arm around Hilde’s shoulders.

“Better.  She’s asleep.”

“That’s good to hear.  How is that other girl?” Asked Sally as she and Wufei walked back into the waiting room.

Before he could answer, another voice spoke up,  “Cathie’s ok?  That’s great to hear.” 

Trowa saw Relena and Heero walk hand in hand, to where they were sitting before. Relena seemed to have brightened a little bit. ‘Only person missing is Dorothy.’  He thought before answering Sally’s question.  “Nanashi left.  She – she didn’t like hospitals.”

“Rather rude.  Didn’t even stay long enough to thank everyone.”  Huffed Bethany.

“She doesn’t like hospitals.  What can you do?”   Everyone looked at the swinging doors where Dorothy stood.  She walked slowly toward the seat she had sat on before, leaning heavily when she got there.

“How much blood did they take, Dory?”  Bethany asked anxiously.

“Hmm…?”  Dorothy’s eyes seemed glazed over.  “How much…?  A lot…yes a lot…I feel…” She didn’t finish as she slumped over, having fainted.

**************************

Dr Macini carefully began to stitch up the young man’s chest.  The internal bleeding and blood flooding had been stopped and the young man was getting blood pumped back into him.  It had been a blessing to find out that woman had the same blood type.  Dr Macini absentmindedly wondered how this young man had gotten the bullet wounds.  He didn’t look like a gang member.  He actually looked vaguely familiar.  ‘Wonder what his name is’, he thought, stitching the chest cavity up quickly and efficiently.  Then he heard it. A long Beep.  “He’s flat lining! Get the defibrillator!” yelled Dr Macini.  He began massaging the heart through the open chest cavity. “Come on, come on, stay alive dammit!”

         **************************

Dorothy opened her eyes.  She was lying down on a hospital bed. 

“Dorothy, are you ok?” asked a very worried looking Bethany.  Around the room the others were assembled, either staring at her or staring at each other.  Dorothy got up slowly.  She was about to answer when a sharp pain shot through her body.  She clutched her chest and before her heart stopped, whispered “Quatre.”

         **************************

She was in a white place.  The white didn’t blind her though.  ‘Where am I?’ Dorothy unconsciously reached out; she could sense him.  “Quatre…”

He was in a white place.  He reached out unconsciously; he could sense her.  “Dorothy…”

Dorothy saw him.  Quatre saw her.  They stared into each other’s eyes.  Pale cerulean-lavender met bright azure. 

Those eyes that showed her kindness, shone with love for her. 

Those eyes dared him; challenged him, loved him.

They simultaneously raised a hand to touch each other.  Their fingertips touched lightly…

         ***************************

Dr Macini and his team breathed a sigh of relief.  The patient’s heart had begun beating again.  “Good work everyone.”  One of the nurses wiped away the sweat from the doctor’s forehead as he continued to stitch up the patient.  “You’re one lucky man.”  Dr Macini said to the patient. ‘Thank goodness I didn’t stop.’

         ***************************

Bethany stared at her cousin.  The beeping sound from the heart monitor was a welcome noise in an otherwise silent room.  ‘Cardiac arrest…Sheesh Dorothy, I thought you were a bit fitter than that.  When you get out, I’m going to suggest a personal trainer.’  She gave a small smile, as she moved Dorothy’s fringe from her eyes.  ‘Don’t scare me like that again, cousin.’

“Excuse me, what happened here?”  Dr Rossi asked.  He had been expecting to tell this band of people the good news, in the waiting room not a hospital room with one of them hooked up to a respirator.  His eyes widened as he saw the cause. “Cardiac arrest?  I’ve never had someone give blood then go into cardiac arrest before.”  He ‘hmmed’, continuing to read the chart, “She had the cardiac arrest around the same time…” He said softly to himself.  He straightened up, placing the clipboard back into its place.  “I’ve come with good news.  Your friend is going to be ok.  He’s expected to make a full recovery.  He’s still under heavy sedation but you’ll be able to see him in a few hours.”

A semi-loud cheer erupted in the room as the group hugged each other and murmurs of “I knew Quatre’d make it” and “everything’s going to be ok” spread through the room.

“Ugh.  I have to see him.”  Dorothy said hoarsely, waking up and trying to get out of the bed without tangling the respirator.

“Dorothy!”  Bethany hugged her cousin tightly, “You’re awake!”

The gang’s spirits were rising; everything really did look like it would get better.

“Bethany…let go…I…need…to see…Quatre.” Dorothy wheezed out, as she unsteadily sat up, swinging her legs to the side of the bed.

“Whoa!  Hold on, Miss Catalonia.  You’re in no shape to be moving now.  Mr Winner will still be there in the morning, I assure you.  Please just try to rest for now - ” Dr Rossi was cut off by Dorothy who gave him an icy glare.

“I’m going to see him now.”  She tried to stand up but her legs felt like jelly so she sat on the bed again.

“See, Miss Catalonia? You need rest.  Even if you were able to get up and go to his room, he would be asleep.  He’s still heavily sedated from the operation.”

Dorothy smirked at the doctor.  “Ok, Dr Rossi.  How about this:  You bring me to his room and if his asleep, then you can use restraints to keep me from moving but if he IS awake you leave me alone.  Deal?”

The doctor raised an eyebrow.  ‘She must be under an effect of a drug, she couldn’t possibly think she could win?’  The doctor shrugged.  “Ok, if you really want to be restrained on a bed…”

The doctor and Bethany helped Dorothy into a wheelchair, while the others watched as Bethany wheeled Dorothy in the direction the doctor was headed. 

“50 bucks, blondie’s right.”  Said Duo, as the trio left the room.

“You’re on.”

         ***************************

Dorothy saw Quatre, tubes running through him, machines beeping and flashing constantly.  The doctor looked at the patient, his eyes firmly shut closed.

“See, Miss Catalonia, his asl - ” Dr Rossi didn’t finish as a soft voice said, “Dorothy.” It was so soft it could barely be heard through the noise the machines were making. 

Dorothy bit down a ‘told you so’ and just settled for smirking condescendingly at the doctor.  “Bethany, help me up.  Dr Rossi, our deal?”  As Bethany helped her towards the bed, where Quatre’s half-lidded eyes stared at her; the doctor stood at the door open mouthed. “How…how…” He shook his head, leaving the room as promised.

“Thank you, Bethany.”  Dorothy said pointedly.

“Yeah I know, I know, I’m going.  It’s good to you again, Quatre!”  With that Bethany closed the door quietly behind her, leaving Quatre and Dorothy in the hospital room alone.

“Dorothy…” Quatre said throatily, the tube affecting his speech.  Dorothy placed a well-manicured finger to his lips.

“Shh…don’t try to speak…” She shifted from her sitting position on the bed until she was lying next to him.   Quatre entwined his fingers with hers as they just gazed at each other.  They leaned in, their foreheads touching lightly, their lips millimetres apart.  Emotions, words, actions, raced through both their minds - what do you do to the person who can read your mind, know what you desire, know your deepest secret with only one glance into their beautiful eyes?

Dorothy broke their gaze, moving downwards until her head rested on his chest.  His free hand ran through her pale hair.  They didn’t know what to do with this…closeness, not yet anyway but together…together they would find out what it meant. 

She heard his heart beating; beating in time with hers.

The End…of the Beginning…

         ****************************

Person who is thrilled to have finished a WHOLE series! AND REVISED as well!:

Any mistakes, please feel free to tell me about them!

Can everyone say SAP?  This entire epilogue almost dripped it…Sorry to all those people who read my summary and were expecting one of them to die…TWO of them died instead, my apologies! ;-) This is one sappy happy, romantic ending isn’t it? (Well I hope so, anyway). The sequel WILL be much lighter, and not so heavy handed (hopefully no one dies!  I think).  Well… What did you think?  Please R&R, C&C, FLAMES (I’m sure someone out there is kind enough to give me one).  I’m hoping at least seven people review so I can have a grand total of FIFTY! I never knew so many people would ACTUALLY review in the first place, and I want to show my gratitude for everyone through my THANK YOU list:

First to my beta-reader, who is ridiculously sharp, gives amazing ideas/hints/suggestions and writes GREAT skits but won’t post them – ANNE! (I like the name Angel since he’d most definitely be blue-eyed, blond haired! ^__~ but that’s just me)

To my incredibly loyal reader and reviewer, who lifts my spirits up whenever I read her reviews and whose detective fic needs to be continued! – mama-sama!

To another faithful reader and reviewer, Ayanami Chan! Whose fics are all favourites of mine.

To Jaid Skywalker (whose fic, she HAS TO FINISH,) gave me such nice reviews and e-mail! (Yes I’m e-mail starved ^_~)

To fUnNiEbOnEs2k…your nickname took me forever to write…hehe…A fellow fan of QxD and occasional best-friend ~_^

To Meio-chan (Meio-Sei No Musume) who really, really wanted another chapter, lol, hope these last two have been good!

To foole who made me realise this fic made someone laugh, which I was ecstatic over since I thought this fic was getting too heavy.

To blue eyes, who pushed my review count past 40!! Thanks! ^_^

To rokjai, mariel4000, kmf, Cyberwing, Sad Angel, Winnie, Duo’s ONLY Chick and Aria who have all read and reviewed with such nice, positive, self-esteem lifting comments.

To Karen, who gave me such a generous e-mail!

AND to the very FIRST person who reviewed TCoL…Relena Joy Peacecraft!

THANK YOU!!!