Racing With Secrets
Part 3
"But, sir," the nurse tried to explain again what the problem was. "I understand quite well that the patient should be moved to a regular
room in the pediatric ward, but there are no beds available."
Quatre was tired and very little of his famous patience was left. "Well, damnit! What beds *are* available? Laurel needs to be moved
out of the emergency room and somewhere else *now*!"
Sighing, the nurse turned back to her monitor searching for an appropriate place to put the patient. As the search program ran, she
asked, "What form of insurance does Miss Springfield have?"
"What? 'Miss Springfield'? Where'd that come from?" Quatre was annoyed.
"It's common practice to add the name of the orphanage as a last name when we have a patient like her, it keeps the bookkeeping
straight. I realize you are quite concerned about her, but I didn't catch your relationship to the patient. Are you her older brother or a
cousin?"
"No, I'm not her brother." Quatre sighed and ran his fingers through his blond hair. He knew that if he said he was going to be the girl's
father it would just add to the difficulty. Luckily, he had another idea. "I am Quatre Raberba Winner, head of the Winner Corporation,
and we have decided to cover all of her medical costs in recognition of her bravery regarding saving the lives of the children in the school
bus accident."
Surprised, the nurse looked up and reassessed him. She smiled as the search parameters were changed to the "no cost limit" and she
immediately had success. "Here we go, Mr. Winner! I've located a private room for her in the VIP ward. She will have more medical
attention there than in the regular pediatric care ward. Will this be acceptable?"
"Which floor is it on? I've got another patient I'm taking care of in the cardiac unit."
"Actually, sir, they are on the same floor. They are about 50 meters apart being on separate wings, but it should be convenient for you.
Shall I make arrangements to have her transferred in the morning?" The young nurse was flirting outrageously with the younger billionaire
who wasn't paying the least bit of attention to her overtures.
"No, I want her transferred immediately. She was shot by one of the hospital's guards while still in the emergency room and, frankly, I
want her out of there as quickly as possible." Quatre was decidedly upset with so many things, yet most of all he was tired of being the
responsible one, handling everything for everyone. All he wanted was to get his daughter, at least that's how *he* viewed Laurel, to a
better location right then and there.
"Certainly, sir," the nurse just wanted this taken care of and off her hands. "I've already sent a transfer request for the patient and she will
be in her new room shortly."
"Very good. What room number will she be in? I'd like to check on the other patient and then wait for her in her room."
"Room 222 for the young lady, sir. Did you need me to check the room number for the other patient?" She tried to help as best she
could.
Quatre sighed tiredly, "No need. He's in the CCU, I'm sure I can find that. Thank you for your help." He turned and walked away
suddenly feeling a twinge in his uchuu no kokoro.
Heero never realized he was dozing off until the proximity alarms woke him.
"Kuso! Where the hell am I?" he demanded of no one in particular. Noticing the snow-covered mountains he was approaching, he reset
the auto-pilot for a higher altitude. He checked his headings and navigation charts and realized he was over the Himalayans. Blinking the
sleep out of his eyes, he grabbed the thermos of coffee and downed another cup. It was when he reached into one of the bags for
something to eat that he finally noticed the hand written message "For Heero, Be Careful! Quatre".
Quatre.
Yes, this was Quatre's private jet he was flying and he'd somehow overlooked the fact that he probably should have contacted him.
Flipping on the radio again, Heero established contact with a tower outside Beijing. His Chinese was good enough to get a connection
through to Quatre's cell number. He was surprised by who answered, though.
"This is Trowa Barton, go ahead."
"Trowa?" Heero's voice sounded confused. "Where's Quatre? Has something happened?"
"Yuy." Trowa did *not* sound pleased with him. "We wondered what happened to you. Where are you?"
"I'm over the Himalayas. Trowa, what's going on?" Heero, sounding like himself and not the Soldier, was actually concerned.
"Frankly, Heero, a lot is 'going on' as you so lightly put it. What do you remember from earlier? I don't feel like repeating what you
already know." Trowa was definitely angry and that told Heero more than mere words would ordinarily say.
"I remember being told Duo's new heart was in Tokyo, but not much else other than that I was to go and get it. Trowa, what has
happened?" Heero was almost pleading for information, he felt confused and he didn't like it.
Trowa sighed deeply, trying to hold back his anger. "Yuy, I'm going to keep this short. First, you were *not* told to get a heart, you
decided to *steal* one. If you do, you will probably spend the rest of your life in prison. Second, when you left the hospital, you broke
Wufei's arm and got a little girl shot. Third, Duo has not improved and may not be alive when you return. Beyond that, I seriously doubt
that you care what has happened."
"Trowa, what the hell are talking about? Those things didn't happen, I'd remember if they did! I don't know what your problem is, but
put Quatre on the line, maybe he'll make more sense than you do." Heero was angry, refusing to accept any of what Trowa told him as
being even remotely possible.
"Yuy, I've had enough of your irrational behavior. Quatre isn't here because that girl is still in danger and Duo shouldn't die alone. Don't
contact us again until you come to your senses."
With that, the connection was severed.
What girl got shot? How badly? Wufei's arm is broken? Duo's dying?
All these thoughts whirled through Heero's mind until he could no longer take it. The tiny spark of rationality that had resurfaced was
suppressed once more. The Perfect Soldier reiterated the assigned mission to obtain the heart and there were no other items of higher
priority, therefore the questions were irrelevant. Somewhere, a tiny voice told him he should listen to reason, but the Soldier forced the
voice into a corner so dark its loudest cries could no longer be heard.
After confirming Duo was still unconscious but not in any immediate danger, Quatre wandered down to Laurel's room expecting to find
it empty and waiting for her. To his surprise, she was already there, now comfortably snuggled into a far nicer bed than most patients
ever had. Her IV had been changed and a new one dripped slowly into her arm; he noticed her color was better and she seemed in less
pain. It took a moment for it to dawn on him that she was finally out of the dreadful hospital issue gown she'd worn previously. Curious,
he left to go ask at the nurses' station about her status.
Quatre walked up to the station and was greeted by a nurse who immediately recognized him. "Mr. Winner, are you satisfied with the
accommodations for your patient? We took the liberty of changing her into the robe that was delivered from your hotel."
"My hotel?" Quatre was confused.
The nurse handed him a card, it read: "For Laurel courtesy of Sally Po and the Winner Corporation via the 'Queensberry Hotel'".
Quatre smiled, only Sally would have been thoughtful enough to have arranged this. He would have to thank her when he could keep his
eyes open long enough. A huge yawn escaped before he realized it. The nurse, ever watchful, had quietly keyed in a request for a
second bed in 222 for the child's benefactor. It wouldn't be appropriate to have him fall asleep standing there. During the time it took for
him to get a status report on Laurel, the second bed was in place and the nurse personally escorted him back to the room.
"Mr. Winner, I took the liberty of requesting an extra bed in case you'd like to rest a bit. We were notified you had another patient you
were concerned with in the CCU, and I felt this would be a good place for you to get some rest. Pardon my saying so, sir, but if you
don't lie down soon, I'm afraid you wont be of much help to either patient."
"You're quite right, thank you." Quatre smiled slightly in thanks. "I'll let you know if anything else is needed." After the nurse
left, he went back to stand beside Laurel, getting poor little 'Shinigami' untangled from the covers and back in her hand, he gently kissed
the child's forehead. Then he stretched out on the extra bed. //Just a few minutes of sleep,// he thought to himself, //just a few.//
He was deeply asleep before he even finished the thought. The nurse had expected this and went back in a few minutes later. Taking off
the man's shoes, the nurse tucked him into the bed as though he was the child he appeared to be and added an extra blanket before
leaving the two to sleep peacefully for several hours.
|