Nightmares of the Past

By: Liewe

Standard disclaimers apply, please don’t sure me…

He gazed at the crumpled picture, his face a mask hiding the pain he felt when he gazed at his sole memento from their life together. Fate could be so cruel at times, he thought, his gaze drifting to the horizon. They had been so happy together, but then as always a job had come between them, but not his, hers, she had been called away by one of her friends from the past. He had waited for her for three years, and he would continue to wait for her for all eternity, she was his life.

Across the gulf of space that separated them, a young woman lay in a coma, her life stalled, her mind forever young. The nurses passed the young woman with a cursory sympathetic glance, at the young woman, so alone, so forgotten. In all the years no one had come to visit her, not one soul, the girl remained nameless and alone. Her body healed, but her mind sealed away from society, scared away by a nameless terror until the day she was called back into the world.

Quatre watched with sadness as Trowa went through the movements of life mechanically, without emotion, without purpose. Things had changed so much, since Midii’s disappearance, gone was the laughter, the joy, now only a shell of a man was left.

“Trowa,” he said in passing, his eyes conveying the pity he felt for his friend. They had looked high and low for Midii over the past three years and never did they find an inkling to her where abouts. She hadn’t been seen nor heard from since her shuttle crashed. He wished he could have been more help, but now it was up to Trowa, he had to say good-bye, some things couldn’t be changed, he thought with a sigh.

“Yes,” was the mechanical reply, as he turned to face his friend, his eyes vacant and staring.

“Never mind,” he said softly shaking his head in resignation, they had tried so hard for so long to return Trowa to normal life, they couldn’t keep on trying to break down that brick wall.

“I just know she’s alive out there, somewhere” Trowa thought sadly as he continued down the passageway, his head held high as he thought of her. He missed her so much, she held his heart in the palm of her hand, and he refused to believe that she was dead. He would know it in his heart, he would know.

Midii lay there, her mind frantically trying to return to him, the man she loved. She should have never left him, she should have listened to her instincts, it had been a trap. The perfect trap for the perfect spy, she thought ruefully, her still face twisting into a ghost of a smile. She loved him and her promise was engraved on her heart, she would return to him, through heaven and hell if she had to.

“Will she ever wake up,” a young nurse asked the attending doctor.

“We can only hope, her body’s healed, but her mind, has not,” the doctor said clipboard in hand as she checked the vital statistics of the sleeping spy.

“Doctor, should we put a small story out about her, maybe her family will see it and then she can finally rest,” the nurse said softly, tears in her eyes.

“I will leave that up to you Destiny,” the doctor said before leaving the room, a shake of her head at the foolish romantic notions of the staff passing through her mind.

Destiny smiled, she got such a warm feeling when helping others, it was the meaning of her life. To help others, it was what she had been born to do, for generations her family had helped others and she was one among a hundred generations.

Three years ago, young woman was found floating in space, with no name, and no form of identification. For the last three years she has lain in a comatose state, her body’s healed but her minds trapped in an endless cycle. She is approximately 5 foot 2; she has platinum blonder hair and is of slender build. Please if you have any information as to this young woman’s name or her family please contact the St. Xavier’s Memorial Hospital on the L3 Colony.

The short blurb under the young woman’s picture would be sure to gain them some headway in the search for the young woman’s identity. She hated to see a young life whither away slowly, before finally the light was extinguished from their soul, the young woman had a lot to live for, she surmised. Through an endless volley of surgeries, the young woman had fought to retain her tentative hold on life, but something had stopped her from waking up.

“I see you placed a story about her in the paper,” the doctor said looking over Destiny’s shoulder a look of approval in her eyes as she checked the vital signs of the sleeping beauty.

“Yes ma’am, I hate to see her lying here day in and day out, she deserves a chance to have someone care for her, it’s her only chance of waking up,” Destiny said softly.

“So you believe in the power of love,” was the soft question.

“Yes I do.”

“Well, maybe sleeping beauty will get lucky.”

“I hope she does,” Destiny whispered as she turned off the lights and closed the curtains, taking one last look at the pale young woman she had grown to think of as a sister though they had never shared a word.

Across the vast void, in the safety of his office, Quatre perused the paper, his mind cataloguing away the current events as he flipped from page to page, before his fingers stopped at a picture of a woman he knew. He rose abruptly from his chair, his teacup crashing to the floor as he held the paper clenched tightly in his hands, his eyes scanning the story with intrigue.

“She’s alive,” he said aloud, his mind slowly processing what the news would mean. Trowa would finally be able to come out of his shell; things could finally get back to a semblance of normality. With trembling fingers, he called the hospital his eyes wide with surprise.

The next morning he sat on a shuttle Iria by his side as the traveled to verify Midii’s identity. HE wouldn’t get Trowa’s hopes up for something that was not true, he refused to hurt his best friend like that, not when the poor man had almost lost his heart loosing her twice before.

They followed the young nurse down the endless corridors, their eyes fixed ahead. His mind on the repercussions of his discovery, and hers on the possibility’s of recovery the young woman faced. Waking from a three-year coma was almost an impossible chance, the mind had lain dormant for too long, and things were forgotten.

“Mr., Ms. Winner, here is the patient, is she the woman you know,” asked Destiny with a smile, her eyes shining with the knowledge that her plan was working.

“Where was she found,” Quatre asked softly a hand straying to push back a lock of Midii’s hair.

“Floating in space near the Lagrange point, her space suit was almost out of air, we have no idea how long she was just floating there,” Destiny said softly.

“Her body was so severely damaged that it took a volley of surgery’s to help her along the way to recovery, but still over the years she hasn’t woken, she fought to survive but there’s never been a hint that she’ll wake up,” Destiny continued, a tear in her eye.

“She’s a fighter though,” the doctor said from the doorway. “My name is Dr. Nadine St. Michael, a pleasure to meet you.”

“It’s wonderful to meet the person who’s been keeping Midii alive,” Quatre said his eyes wet with tears of joy. “My name is Quatre Raberba Winner, I’m a friend of hers, and this is my sister, Dr. Iria Winner.”

“Nice to meet you,” Iria said softly as she glanced over Midii’s charts her eyebrows raising at the amount of injury Midii had sustained and still managed to live. “Can I talk with you out in the hall,” she asked her eyes wide with surprise.

“Of course,” Nadine said gesturing for Iria and Destiny to follow her before firmly shutting the door behind them.

“Midii, he’s been so lost without you, he’s barely functioning, I think it’s only the promise that Cathy extracted from him that he’s still alive. He has searched tirelessly for any sign of you; he isn’t the man you left behind. He’s a hollow empty shell now, he’s a machine, he breaths, he eats, he barely sleeps, and he doesn’t feel. Come back to him Midii he needs you, he’s only half a person without you,” Quatre whispered, his forehead resting against one of Midii’s cold hands.

He jumped as he felt a small twitch of movement before the machine monitoring her heart began to beep like crazy, and her eyelids began to flutter. The nurses and doctors swarmed around the room, pushing him out of the way.

“She’s out of the coma, but she’s resting now, the recovery period will take a long time, she’s been out of the swing of things for a long time and there may be gaps in her memory, large gaps or ones that are miniscule,” Dr. Nadine said to Quatre as Iria watched on. “Your sister has put in a request for her to be moved to your company’s hospital on L4, do you agree?”

“Yes completely, the sooner the better,” he said as he looked out the window, his mind in the clouds. What would he say to Trowa, how would he approach the silent man, he mused.

He sat on the hard plastic chair in the hospital waiting room, his mind returning to the questions that his mind had raised when Midii had woken from the coma. The questions which Iria’s talk with the Doctor had raised in his mind, he didn’t know what they had talked of while in private conference.

He watched as they wheeled Midii past his vantage point, the army of technician’s monitoring her condition as she was transferred to Iria’s care. She just shook her head as he moved to follow, and Doctor Nadine pulled him into the small room, to give him the answers to the questions that had been raised over the past day.

She sat in a snow-covered field, tears streaking her face as a battle raged around her. She could hear people screaming, and the hum suits as they engaged in mortal combat. She could see the blood raining down around her, forming a perfect circle, as she sat immobile and terrified. Her voice paralyzed in fear, finally unleashed when her memory changed to one more recent than before. She could feel the shuttle exploding around her as she screamed of her terror only to be taken into the comforting embrace of two strong arms.

Quatre just sat and rocked her shaking form muttering words of comfort into her hair as he desperately tried to distill the terror, which haunted her. The dreams were so vivid in her mind that he could glimpse at the horrors, which plagued her nights and thoughts. He could feel her fear and it shook him to the core, it reminded him of the war and memories he would rather forget. He gently placed her back into the soft feather bed as her breathing deepened and she fell once more into the realm of sleep.

“She’s asleep,” he voiced to the silent watcher as he ran a hand through his sleep-mussed hair.

“The same nightmare,” Iria asked softly as she entered the room syringe in hand.

“Yes the same nightmare, but clearer than before, more tangible,” he replied softly, a forlorn glance at Midii’s tortured face. “It won’t end until she’s seen it through to the end will it,” he asked as he crossed over to the chair which he had been occupying before Midii’s dream had called him to his duties.

“This will let her rest for now, she won’t dream, she’ll only sleep,” Iria said softly as she injected the milky liquid into Midii’s veins her face strained and tired. “You are right about the nightmare though, it’s a memory, one she’s suppressed, one to terrible to remember.”

“How do you mean, from what I can see, the memory is horrific, but why does it plague her night after night,” he asked with a yawn.

“It’s important, key to her existence, but right now she can’t face looking at her own destruction. Will Trowa be arriving soon?”

“I understand, I only hope she can gain the strength soon. Maybe Trowa can help, he’ll be arriving tomorrow, but I still need to tell him the situation. He and Cathy are coming for a small vacation,” he said, his blue eyes dark with fatigue.

“Should I have Rashid pick them up,” Iria said as she stood by the doorway.

“Yes, please,” Quatre, said before falling asleep in the chair.

He was standing in a meadow, so like the ones, which used to rule his life. Where they would train, where they would hide, it was a part of his part. The ones who had taken care of him, the mercenaries, surrounded him, their faces were solemn as they stared at him. Sorrow and grief hung in the air as they waited for his reaction to the young woman who lay pale as marble in the center of their circle. Her skin pale white, her red lips still and drawn in a thin line, as she lay there, unmoving, lifeless. Her golden hair spread about the ground, carpeting it in the wealth of her.

“Her will is fading,” whispered the captain as Trowa saw Midii’s form flicker, fading slightly before becoming solid once more.

“She needs you strength,” another voice whispered, before their faces began to swirl and all he saw was Midii, her still form, and pale skin.

“Trowa! Trowa! Wake up,” Catherine said as she shook him, her lavender eyes looking at his face worriedly.

“I’m up, what’s wrong,” he asked as he looked around the empty shuttle.

“We’re here, Rashid is waiting for us,” she said quietly before standing up and stretching in the aisle. “He said Quatre had asked him to pick us up.”

Catherine watched with sad eyes as Trowa mechanically walked from the shuttle, his step’s heavy and leaden with the pain of a lifetime that he refused to indulge to anyone. Not his sister, not his friends, not even himself, he kept the pain hidden as he hoped against hope that she was still alive and would come back to him. If only things were so simple, Catherine thought, if only Midii could return to him.

“Master Trowa, Mistress Catherine, I trust you had a nice trip,” Rashid said as he opened the door to the limousine for them, before sliding in as well.

“We did, thank you Rashid,” Catherine said with a smile.

Trowa just nodded in response as he stared out of the tinted window, gazing at the tree’s that passed them by. In his mind, he could see her lying there fading in and out of reality, and he was so helpless, he couldn’t help her. He ran an unsteady hand through his bangs as a single tear slipped down his cheek leaving a silver trail in its wake. When Rashid motioned to speak, Catherine silenced him with a shake of her head and wave of her hand.

“Quatre said for me to tell you that he has a guest that he thinks you both will be happy to meet,” Rashid said as they turned into the curving Winner driveway.

“Who is it,” Catherine asked her lavender eyes curious.

“I’m afraid that is a surprise,” Rashid said as he noticed that his statement had caught Trowa’s attention.

“Catherine, Trowa, it’s so nice to see you again, Quatre’s resting, he was up late last night finishing up some deal,” Iria said as she walked out of the house her arms wide open ready to accept a the siblings into her embrace.

“It’s nice to be here Iria, we need a vacation, don’t we Trowa,” Catherine said as she stepped from the welcoming embrace and nudged him in the ribs.

Iria led them through the winding halls of the sprawling mansion, her conversation with her brother replaying in her mind. He didn’t want to get Trowa’s hopes up, but keeping the young woman from her husband wasn’t the right way to handle things. She shook her head as she led the way down the hall to the room, which held Midii’s sleeping form.

“I’d like you to meet our guest, a Midii Une-Barton,” Iria said as she stepped out of the way to show Quatre spoon-feeding the young blonde woman.

“Midii,” Trowa said softly as he crossed the room and pulled her into his arms, burying his head in her hair.

“Iria what is going on,” Catherine asked softly as she witnessed the scene before her.

“She was on L3, she recently woke up from a three year coma, we moved her here in hopes of a more complete recovery. She’s paralyzed, I don’t know if it’s permanent or temporary, but we’ll see with time,” Iria said shaking her head.

“Who are you,” Midii asked softly, her voice coarse.

“Midii this is the man I was telling you about, your husband.”

“My husband,” she said tilting her head to get a better impression of Trowa’s face. Unsteady fingers moved to caress the noble lines of his face, as she struggled to remember.

“That’s another thing, her memory, she had amnesia, thing’s have been getting better over the past week or so, but as I said before time will only tell,” Iria said to Cathy before exiting the room.

“Yes, your husband, Trowa Barton,” Quatre said softly.

“You don’t remember me,” Trowa asked softly his eyes full of sorrow.

“I’m sorry sir, I don’t remember much of anything, not since I woke up. Quatre has been trying to help me remember who I am, but it’s so hard. At night, I can see things in my nightmares and each time they get clearer and I remember a little more, but I’m having trouble remembering faces. Will you help me as well,” she asked her blue gray eyes full of pleading.

“Of course, of course I will,” he said pulling her into his arms again and hiding the tears, which fell.

-The End

AN: Well what do you think? He found her again, and she just needs a little time, tell me what you think please?