(fic) Lifebearers and Sires - On the Run - Gundam Wing

[katikat]

On the Run
U, Fantasy, MPREG ~ 1+2, 13+6 ~ Heero, Duo and Trowa are on the run. Fortunately, they meet new friends. Sequel to "The Claim".

Prolog

Although it was only mid-afternoon, the streets of the small port town were dark and empty. Snow was falling heavily and bitter wind made the ice cold ocean waves crash against the shore. All the townspeople were at home, hiding behind heavy shutters and barricaded doors. The winter was unforgiving.

They´d been running for days now, always south through the mountains, the fresh snow and sharp wind covering their tracks. Finally, they dared to approach civilization, hoping that they left their pursuers behind. And because they didn´t have any other choice.

Trowa was wading through the knee-high snow, bent forward against the wind, nose and mouth covered with a dark shawl. He was carrying three back packs - one his own and the other two belonging to his friends. He looked over his shoulder to make sure that he didn´t lose them in the ice cold darkness. No, there they were. One shape, darker than the background, stumbling through the heavy snow.

Trowa frowned. They needed to find shelter soon. Around midday, Duo collapsed from exhaustion and severe blood loss. It had been almost a week, but his bleeding still didn´t stop. Even though the healer gave no outward sign, it worried him a lot. That was highly unusual, even in such a situation as Duo´s. A lifebearer in his state should be kept warm and made to drink a lot of herbal teas that would help him replace the blood he was losing at an alarming rate and not be running through the woods in such icy cold.

He saw Heero hoisting up the precious burden in his arms. The blue eyed man didn´t show any signs of tiring, but Trowa knew that even the strong Enforcer couldn´t keep on going like this much longer.

Trowa turned back to the port town ahead of them, squinted and blinked, trying to clear his sight. Dartville. He had visited this town once or twice in the past while going south. If he remembered it right, they had a really good inn somewhere in the maze of narrow streets. Hopefully, he would be able to find it soon for he really feared for Duo. It became impossible to rouse him in the past hour. They had to get him somewhere warm immediately.

They stumbled through the empty streets, the wind crying louder and louder. The mild snow storm was turning into a full blown blizzard. There! The squeaking hanging sign with "Black Feather" painted on it. Thank the gods...

*-*-*-*-*

The bartender´s bald head shot up as the main door flew open, hitting the wall. Wind and snow rushed into the warm room, making the candle flames dance. Two snow caked figures stumbled in, one of them closing the door with a bang, then leaning against it. For a moment the only thing breaking through the silence of the empty room was the harsh panting of the new guests and the crackling of wood in the large fireplace.

"May I help you?" asked the red faced bartender finally. The newcomers turned to him and with a blink he realised that there were actually three people, not two. One of the men was carrying someone else in his arms. The figure was not moving.

The one leaning against the door straightened and pulled down the shawl, revealing his face while he approached the bar. "Yes, we would like to rent a room," he said, his voice rough from the cold.


The snow on the guests' cloaks was starting to melt in the heat of the room, dripping to the ground and leaving small puddles of water on the wooden floor. The bartender frowned, his gaze switching from the puddles to their plain clothing. "Do you have the money to pay for it? Ain´t cheap here." The man carrying another one in his arms frowned at him.

"Yes, we have the money," answered the green-eyed man at the bar, fishing out a gold coin from the depts of his clothing. The bartender´s eyes gleamed, seeing so much money at once. He reached out to grab it, but the owner of this small fortune snatched it away. "The room."

The bald man nodded eagerly, his attitude changed in a matter of seconds. "Of course, sir, of course. Would you like something to eat too and maybe a hot bath for your friend?" He pointed at the unconscious figure, making the carrier glare again.

"We would like that," answered the green eyed man politely, then dropped the coin into the outstretched hand of the bald bartender.

The plump man grinned, shoving the money into a small pouch at his belt. "Follow me, sirs."

*-*-*-*-*

The bartender, who said "call me Warrick" showed them to their bedroom. The shutters on the two small windows were closed tight, leaving the room in complete darkness. But that changed soon as the candles in the iron candle holders on the walls and the fire in the fireplace were lit. It was a nice spacious bedroom with two large beds, a fireplace, a table and three chairs.

In a matter of moments, a large wooden bath tub was carried in by two panting young men - by the sagging corners of their mouths, watery blue eyes and thinning hair Trowa guessed that they were the bartender´s/owner´s sons - followed by several buckets with hot, steaming water and a promise of a warm meal when they were ready.

Finally alone, Heero allowed Trowa to unwind the heavy coat in which they bundled up Duo, then let the lifebearer reluctantly out of his arms and laid him on the bed. Quickly undressing themselves, the two young men returned to their friend and started to pull the wet clothing off him. Trowa examined every inch of revealed flesh, looking for frost bite and fortunately finding none. But Duo´s complexion was alarmingly pale and when they finally reached for his trousers and pulled them off, Heero couldn´t help but gasp. They were caked with blood.

===

1

Heero submerged his hand in the water in the wooden tub to make sure it was only luke warm. He wanted to warm Duo up and not scald him. After checking the temperature, he turned back to the bed where the lifebearer was laying naked. For a second he stopped, his gaze traveling up and down the unnaturally pale figure.

Duo´s ribs were sticking out, just like his hip bones. He hadn´t eaten for too long already. During their monthly bleeding, the lifebearers weren´t allowed to eat solid food because their weakened system wouldn´t be able to process it. The second reason was the risk of infection resulting from the place where their birth organs were located. The only nutrition the lifebearers could consume was a strong tea or a mild broth. But since they were on the run, it was impossible to cook a broth or anything similar, which meant that Duo had been virtually living on water and tea for almost a week now. And it was showing. Very much. When Heero expressed his concern about Duo´s condition, Trowa assured him that the lifebearer´s system was used to dealing with such burden, though he had to admit that it was quickly becoming too much to handle for the longhaired young man. And coupled with the major blood loss that came with the bleeding that wouldn´t stop...

Heero swallowed painfully, stepped to the bed and lifted Duo in his arms. The lifebearer was feather light, nothing but bones and skin. The pale skin was ice cold but even though the room was slowly warming up, it was still pretty cold and Duo wasn´t even shivering. Heero´s heart clenched seeing the blood that marred the flawless skin of the longhaired man´s thighs.

Damn it to hell! Heero would NOT lose him! He refused to lose him so shortly after finally finding him again. If he had to move the earth and sky, he would, but he would keep him.

Heero moved closer to the bathtub that stood in front of the fireplace. Slowly, carefully, he lowered his love into the water. Although it was only luke warm, the pale figure in his arms still flinched and gasped as he was submerged. The water immediatelly started to turn pink.

Heero frowned. After letting Duo´s legs sink completely into the water, he pulled up the sleeve on his left arm which he used to keep the lifebearer upright, then he made sure that the long rope of hair was hanging over the edge of the tub and not getting soaked. He reached over to a small wooden chair on which the owner´s sons left a wash-cloth and a sliver of soap. When he turned back again, he almost gasped in surprise. Duo´s eyes were open and were following his moves sluggishly.

"Hey there," Heero whispered, dropping the cloth into the tub and lifting his hand to push the bangs out of the pale man´s eyes. "You´re awake now?"

Duo blinked again and licked his dry, chapped lips. "Yeah," he croaked out. "Where...?" he asked, his eyes moving around the room slowly, while his head lay heavily on the Enforcer´s strong arm.

"We´re in Dartville. Trowa found us an inn," Heero answered, then found the wash-cloth in the water and started to wash Duo´s skin slowly.

The lifebearer gasped as if Heero was hurting him, but when the Enforcer wanted to stop, with a small protesting sound, Duo encouraged him to continue and so the blue eyed man went on.

"Where... Tro...?" Duo whispered again, sounding incredibly tired. His eyelids started to droop again.

Heero washed Duo´s chest, then his arms. "He just stepped out for a minute." When Duo blinked and looked at him, the Enforcer continued. "He wants to try another tea since the one you´re drinking is obviously not working. The bleeding still won´t stop. Trowa thinks that maybe it´s just fatigue. Your body is simply too tired to handle the added stress anymore. He is convinced that the only thing you need is rest. Really long, uninterrupted rest." Heero nodded firmly, replacing 'thinks' with 'convinced'. ´He is convinced´ sounded much more reassuring than ´he is not really sure what´s wrong with you´, Heero thought.

Duo nodded slowly, then let his eyes roam around the room again. After a while he frowned. "Shini... gami...?" he asked, trying to find the beast he loved so much.

Heero sighed. "He ran away in the woods." The lifebearer gave him a worried look. "No need to worry, really. He´ll be okay. He can take care of himself. I´m sure he´ll be back before we know it."

Duo eyed him, still a little doubtful but any other conversation got interrupted by Trowa´s return. The healer stepped into the room, carrying a tray with various steaming bowls on it, then closed the door. Walking to the table, he noticed the longhaired man following him with his eyes, while Heero ran the thin wash-cloth over the lifebearer´s body.

"I see our patient is awake," Trowa said, setting the tray down on the table. "Perfect timing." He puttered around on the tray a bit, then walked to the tub and laid his hand on Duo´s cheek. The longhaired man was getting some color back. At the same time, the lifebearer began to shiver a bit. "You´re starting to warm up and beginning to feel again, that´s why you´re shivering," Trowa explained when Duo´s question didn´t pass through his chattering teeth.

Heero looked at his long time friend. "Maybe we should get him out then?" he asked. As an Enforcer he knew a lot about cleaning and sewing wounds caused by teeth, claws or sharp knives and hypothermia was not something completely unknown to him but... this was Duo and some small part of him needed to be reassured that he was doing it right.

Trowa nodded and helped Heero get their now shaking patient out of the tub. With joined forces, they dried him with the towels that came with the wash-cloth and the soap, dressed Duo in a warm shirt and underwear with fresh padding, then tucked him into the soft bed. The whole time the lifebearer
hung in their arms like a lifeless doll, his eyes almost closed, leaving only a small sliver of white and violet for everybody to see.

"No, no, no," Trowa said in a firm voice, when Duo closed his eyes and started to fall asleep. "First you have to eat something. We have to get some nutrition into you." With that, he returned to the table and took one of the white porcelain bowls in his hands. He took off the lid and immediately, the room was filled with the smell of chicken broth. When he returned to the bed, Heero had already propped Duo up and pushed two more pillows behind his back, so that he was almost sitting. The shaking did subside a bit, but he was still shivering unnaturally. Unfortunately, he didn´t look much more awake than a moment ago.

"Here," the healer said, pushing the bowl and a spoon into Heero's hands. "He has to eat it all."

Heero nodded. After the first spoonful, Duo tried to turn away, making a protesting sound deep in his throat. His body wasn´t used to eating anymore. But they had to force it to remember how to do it. No protesting helped and so, spoon after spoon, the small bowl of broth disappeared into Duo. It took quite some time, but with Heero´s infinite patience and warm encouragement it went down and fortunately stayed down, too.

When Duo swallowed the last bit of broth, Heero smiled at him - the first true smile in a small eternity. The Enforcer laid the spoon in the bowl, then reached out and smoothed the hair from Duo´s forehead. The lifebearer tried to smile, too, then blinked and his eyes closed.

Heero sat there for a long time just watching his charge sleep. His left hand still rested on the now slightly feverish brow, the other clutched the bowl so tightly that it threatened to break.

"He will be all right," whispered Trowa from behind him, letting his hand fall onto the Enforcer´s shoulder.

Heero swallowed painfully, then dropped his left hand into his lap. "How do you know?" he rasped, a world of anxiety in his voice. "Even after losing the baby he wasn't in such a bad state." He paused, then took a deep breath. "I´m afraid, Trowa," he admitted quietly. "I´m scared that I´ll lose him. I can´t lose him. He is... he is all I have..." His voice broke at the end of the sentence.

"I won´t let him die. I swear," the healer said in a serious voice, squeezing Heero´s shoulder tightly. "Now that we got him somewhere warm and safe, he can rest and gather strength. That´s what he needs the most." He let his eyes linger on the prone form of his friend, then continued. "Until now, I handled him like a normal lifebearer who got his bleeding, quite heavy ones, but that´s all. Obviously, I was wrong. Maybe I should think about him as ill. I tried a different concoction. One I used to stop heavy bleeding from wounds. I mixed it into the soup. I didn´t use it before since it´s quite powerful and may cause a fever. Besides the patient needs to move as little as possible and you know yourself how we spent the past week. But now..."

Heero sat there for a moment, then nodded and cleared his throat as if embarassed by his own display of emotions. "I... I understand."

As if sensing how uncomfortable the whole situation was for Heero, Trowa let his hand drop from his friend´s shoulder and returned to the table. "We should eat, too, before it gets cold." Pointedly, he turned his back to Heero, letting the Enforcer gather his emotions. "Warrick´s mate cooked us some stew..."

Heero nodded even though his friend couldn´t see him. The Enforcer got up, the spoon slightly clattering in the bowl. He bent down and smoothed Duo´s wrinkled covers, then touched one of the lifebearer´s now flushed cheeks with the tips of his fingers.

Yeah, Duo would get better soon. And then they would begin their new life somewhere safe.

*-*-*-*-*-*

Trowa yawned as he was descending the steps to the inn´s main room, the spoons clattering a bit on the tray he was carrying. He couldn´t wait to get to bed. Heero already fell asleep sitting at the table, head resting on his arms. The healer decided to carry the tray down and ask for a kettle with fresh water that he could hang over the fire in their room. Soon it would be time for another cup of his concoction, so he should have the water ready.

He reached the foot of the staircase, then turned to the left where the bald bartender was nodding off behind the bar. Trowa didn´t even notice that it was already evening. The blizzard was still raging outside and the inn was still empty. The healer wondered how Warrick held his business above water during winter. Dartville was a small town that lived only from the small port the merchants used for trading with the people from the mountains. Small fields surrounded the town, but the harvest was meager and the only source of income were the sailors. And in winter...

Trowa set the tray on the bar and was about to wake Warrick, when he heard a scratching, whining sound at the door. Frowning, he looked at the door, then back to the bartender, who was still sleeping soundly. When the strange sounds continued, he moved closer and was about to lay his hand on the bolt, when there was a knock… well, rather a strong kick at the door.

Warrick´s head shot up and he blinked sleepily. "What the...?"

"Open the door!" came a muffled shout from behind the strong hardwood door.

Trowa laid his hand on the knife on his belt, then pushed back the bolt, ignoring Warrick´s loud protests. There was a blizzard outside after all and no one without a really good reason would be outside at this hour. He opened the door and needed to step aside, as a big black blur on four legs rushed in – Shinigami, the healer registered with a sigh of relief – followed by a tall man, to whom another figure clung desperately. The room filled with the wheezing, crying sound of the ice cold wind, but even over the eerie howl, Trowa heard the man shout.

"We need help!"

===

2

"We need help!" the man shouted, his voice harsh from the bitter cold outside.

Trowa pushed the door shut and patted Shinigami, who sat by him wagging his tail, on the head. "What happened?" he asked, regarding the newcomers warily.

The man looked at the bartender, who still stood behind the bar, mistrust written on his face, then back to Trowa. He reached up and pushed the hood of his expensive pelt coat from his head, revealing red-brown hair, forked eyebrows and a long aristocratic nose. "There was an avalanche. My men and I were riding through the pass when it came down. I don´t know how many of them are hurt. The horses ran away and our sleigh was destroyed. We need to gather people and go looking for survivors!" The tall man was panting, his cheeks red from the ice cold wind. The look in his clear blue eyes was urgent.

Trowa nodded and was about to speak when the bartender jumped in. "Well, of course, sir, but... there is a blizzard outside and people won´t risk their lives... for what may be nothing," he said, the greedy gleam in his eyes betraying the statement, though.

Trowa sent him a disgusted look.

The man´s eyes narrowed, and he squeezed the figure clinging exhaustedly to his side tighter. "I have money, bartender!" he spit out in rage. With that, he reached into his coat and threw a heavy pouch on the ground, letting the gold coins spill. "Now go and organize a search party."

Warrick threw himself at the fortune, but before he could touch the gold, the man continued, the threat clear in his voice. "But I would advise you not to fail because I will have your head if you do!"

The bartender stopped and looked up at his new guests, fear flashing in his eyes. Gathering the money quickly, he started to yell for his sons, then disappeared through the door behind the bar.

Shinigami´s panting was the only sound that broke through the silence that fell upon the room. The man, judging by his clothes was some sort of noble, looked at the black beast that stood by Trowa´s side. "This is your dog?" he asked.

Seeing no need to deny it, Trowa nodded.

"He saved our lives. If it hadn´t been for him, we would have never found our way here."

Before anything else could be said, the man clinging to the aristocrat´s side shuddered, gave out a moan and his knees buckled. The brown haired stranger immediately focused all his attention on his companion and sank to the floor with him.

"Is he hurt?" Trowa asked, moving closer.

"Not exactly," answered the aristocrat, then pushed the hood from the moaning man´s head, revealing long, pale blond hair, sickly white face and glassy blue eyes. "He is my mate...-" he shot Trowa a quick look "-... and is about to deliver our first born."

*-*-*-*-*-*

"What´s going on?" Heero asked, standing up as Trowa entered their room again.

"There was an avalanche and some riders got caught in it," Trowa said, heading towards the fireplace where they hung up their clothes to dry. "Warrick organized a search party, but they need a healer. Unfortunately the town´s healer died this summer in a shipwreck. I offered to go with them."

Heero frowned and step closer to his friend. "Is it a wise decision?" When Trowa looked at him, getting dressed, the Enforcer continued. "The blizzard is still raging. How do you plan to find the people?"

Trowa smiled. "Shinigami will help." Seeing Heero´s confused look, he added. "Your dog found the leader and his mate and brought them here safely. I´m sure he´ll be able to find the way back. After all, he is pretty used to such weather."

"The leader and his mate?" The Enforcer raised his eyebrows.

Trowa moved to the table and started to pull things out of the backpack he left sitting on the chair, to make place for bandages and other things they would need to take with them. "Yes, actually, they took the room next to ours. The leader´s mate is in labor. Fortunately, Warrick´s mate seems to be this town´s midwife. He promised to take care of him while we go to search for the men."

Heero nodded reluctantly. He didn´t like the idea of his friend going outside in this weather, but he understood his motives. If it wasn´t for Duo, he would have probably gone, too. But Heero´s priorities changed since he had taken a mate.

"Promise to be careful?" he asked, touching Trowa´s arm in concern.

The healer looked him in the eyes and nodded firmly. "I have no intention of dying yet. After all, I haven´t found my mate yet, have I?" He smiled slightly.

Heero frowned. That didn´t erase his concern. He knew the legends that said those who died without finding their chosen one would never find peace in the afterlife. Not that he believed it, but he knew that Trowa did. The idea of dying alone was probably the only thing that terrified the healer. And Heero knew that if he hadn´t met Duo first, they would have probably ended up together. As much as Trowa was happy for the Enforcer finding his chosen one, Heero could sometimes feel the longing emanating from his friend.

"Trowa..."

The healer waved his hand, stopping him before he could say more. "Don´t worry, Heero." He then turned to the pouches and small bottles he laid out on the table. "Here is the medicine Duo has to take every couple of hours." He lifted up the blue tanned bottle with white powder. "You´ll have to take a half of a tea spoon and mix it in a cup of water. Chicken broth would be even better. The next dose he has to take in two to three hours. The next one in five hours from that moment, okay?"

Heero took the bottle and nodded, listening to his friend´s instructions.

"It´ll make him really sleepy, but hopefully it´ll stop the bleeding. Did you check...?"

The Enforcer nodded. "Yes, just before you returned. The bleeding seems to have slowed down," Heero answered the unfinished question, trying not to sound excited about the fact. They still had a long way to go.

"That´s great." Although they still hadn´t won the battle, Trowa did seem relieved, too.

The healer threw the grey backpack over his shoulder, then went to the bed where Duo was sleeping quietly. The lifebearer´s cheeks were glowing red and perspiration gathered on his forehead. But for the first time in a week, his sleep seemed quiet and undisturbed.

Trowa touched Duo´s face. "The fever doesn´t seem to be any higher. That´s a good sign. It seems that his body is finally reacting to the medication. But watch him closely. Should his fever get higher, you have to cool him down."

Heero stepped to his friend´s side, then set the bottle down on the night table next to the bed. "Yes, don´t worry about us," he said, seeing the dilemma in Trowa´s eyes. The injured men would need him, but to leave his patient... "He won´t be alone. We will be okay until you return."

The healer looked at his friend, then down at his patient. Finally, sighing deeply, he hefted his backpack higher on his shoulder as he crossed the room and opened the door. There he stopped and looked back at his friends.

"Return safely, Trowa," Heero said.

The healer nodded sharply, stepped outside and closed the door.

*-*-*-*-*-*

Trowa went a couple of steps down the corridor, where the door to the room next to theirs was left gaping open, yellow light spilling into the darkness. He stopped in the doorway, waiting for the nobleman to notice him.

The brownhaired stranger was sitting on the large bed where his blond mate was lying, dressed only in a long white shirt, his round stomach creating a big bulge in the white, soft looking material. The lifebearer was obviously in pain, his face contorted, eyes screwed tightly shut. His hands were gripping the bed covers tightly and he was biting his lip so as not to scream.

"Shh, it´ll be okay... it´ll pass, Mil," whispered the nobleman, caressing the blond, sweat soaked hair. "I´m so sorry that I got you into this. We should have stayed at home and tell the king to go to..."

Whatever he wanted to say, it got cut off by a loud, painful scream that finally tore through the pregnant man´s throat. His body went completely taut and still, before relaxing into the soft mattress. The contraction was over. The blond man was panting harshly through his blood smeared lips. The brownhaired stranger was caressing him, trying to comfort him in any way possible, knowing that this is something the lifebearer has to go through alone.

Trowa cleared his throat to make them notice him. Immediately, the nobleman´s head snapped in his direction, eyes wary. Recognizing the healer, he relaxed a bit, then turned back to his mate.

"Beloved, I have to go," he said quietly. The pregnant man´s eyes snapped open immediately and he gripped his mate´s hand tightly. "Shh, it´s okay, Mil. I´ll be back as soon as possible. I promise. But our men are in trouble. You remember the avalanche?" The lifebearer nodded slightly, exhausted. "So you see, we have to go back and help them. If we wait, they could all die."

Mil, the lifebearer, looked at his mate with resignation. "I... understand..." he said, his voice hoarse from screaming.

The brownhaired stranger smiled, then lifted the lifebearer´s hand to his lips and kissed it. "I´ll come back as soon as possible, I swear. Until then, Tosten, the owner´s mate will take care of you. He works as midwife in this town," he explained, seeing the questioning look on his mate´s face.

As if knowing that they were talking about him, Tosten, a short man with a hard face and watery eyes appeared in the door and pushing Trowa to the side a bit, he stepped into the room. "Warrick says that everything is ready," the man said with a bit of a lisp in his voice.

The nobleman nodded and with a last kiss, he got up and crossed the room to where Trowa stood. There he turned around to look at his mate, who at the same moment cried out and dug his fingers into the bed covers as another unexpected contraction seized his lower body.

"Go, go," Tosten waved them off impatiently. "He is in good hands. I helped with at least a dozen births already and all the kids are alright. There is nothing I can´t handle here."

Trowa watched as the nobleman sighed, forced himself to tear his eyes from his suffering mate and stepped outside the room. When the door closed and he and Trowa were left in the darkness of the corridor, the stranger sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Okay, let's go. The sooner we leave, the sooner we come back," he said finally with a weary voice. His desire to stay was unmistakeable, though.

Trowa nodded but before he could move forward the man stopped him with his outstretched hand. "Since you´re willing to risk your life for us, maybe I should introduce myself. I´m Count Khushrenada, first general of the King´s army... but Treize is enough."

*-*-*-*-*-*

In a dark corner of the inn´s main room, Warrick pulled one of his sons to the side. Looking around his gathered neighbours, he made sure that no one was listening, then whispered. "Go find Howard. Try it in Dartmoore first. Tell him that his boy is here along with a rich hostage to take."

The young man blinked at his father stupidly. "But father, the blizzard... the waves´ll be..."

Warrick hissed angrily. "It´s only a couple of miles up the shoreline. The town will be empty, which means Howard´ll never get a better opportunity to snatch his prey and the pregnant one, too. I´m sure the noble bastard would be ready to pay a fortune to get him back!" He smiled wickedly. "But don´t forget to remind him who sent the message. I want a piece of the pie, too!" When his son nodded somewhat reluctantly, Warrick pushed him a bit. "Now go. You don´t have much time."

When the inn´s owner´s son headed for the kitchen and the back door, Shinigami, who was until now lying silently by the fireplace, lifted his head from his paws and rumbled deeply in his throat.

Warrick shot the dog a dark glare, hissing. "Shut up, beast!"

Shinigami bared his sharp teeth. He didn´t like that man and he would not allow him to hurt his humans!

===

3

With a frustrated sigh, Heero listened to the clock in the inn´s main room striking at the half hour again. In just a couple of minutes, he would have to get up since Duo´s next dose was due in half an hour. The Enforcer heaved tiredly, then turned to his side and rested his head on his bent arm. From his bed, which was closer to the door, he now faced the sleeping lifebearer. He listened to his silent breathing and closed his eyes to at least try to take a nap.

When the clock struck fifteen to, an even more frustrated Heero just gave up. He sat up on the bed, swung his legs over the side of the bed and pulled his tall boots on again. Then he bent forward, rested his elbows on his thighs and looked at the sleeping Duo. In the dim glow of the fireplace he couldn´t see much, but it was enough to recognize the gentle rise and fall of his love´s chest. Some time ago, he would have never believed that a simple thing as watching somebody sleep would fill him with such innermost peace. And with such a worry too...

He was not used to caring so much and it scared him almost out of his mind when he realized that should the most precious thing disappear out of his life... he wouldn´t be able to continue living on his own. He had been with Duo for only a couple of weeks, but the lifebearer had lived in his heart since they were children. And now that it seemed like his wish for happiness could become true, their life offered them no peace or safety. First Duo´s child, then the village and now his illness... and he feared that the miscarriage might have damaged something inside Duo and that even though he got his monthly bleeding, it might still be impossible for him to have children. He didn´t ask Trowa for he was afraid to hear the answer. If it was true... it would kill Duo for sure.

Heero reached over the narrow gap between the beds and took Duo´s left hand in his. He stroked the knuckles with his thumb gently and smiled when the lifebearer responded instinctively and squeezed his hand a bit. Duo´s skin was still a little warm but the high fever he got after the first dose of Trowa´s medicine was slowly ebbing. Heero was glad because he knew that a high fever could do just as much as the bleeding did.

The clock struck for the next hour. The Enforcer lifted his mate´s hand to his lips and kissed it, then laid it back on the bed. Heero smoothed the wrinkled bedclothes, then got up. It was time for another dose of Duo´s medicine. He walked to the fireplace, placed another piece of wood on the dying fire, then headed for the door. There should still be some chicken broth left in the kitchen if he remembered right. Then he smiled. They were stuffing Duo so full of it that he would probably never want to see another bowl of chicken soup for the rest of his life.

With a last glance to the sleeping lifebearer, Heero opened the door and stepped outside the room. Closing the door again, he headed down the corridor. While walking past the room next to theirs, he could hear a ragged, painful moan, that turned into a muffled cry of pain. In answer to this heartwrenching sound, an irritated voice snapped something that the Enforcer couldn´t decipher through the barrier of the door.

Heero frowned, then remembered what Trowa told him. The aristocrat´s pregnant mate. What idiot would take a pregnant lifebearer near the end of his pregnancy out in such weather?! But then a small voice whispered in the back of his mind: The same who took a sick, bleeding lifebearer out in one of the worst blizzards he had ever seen. The Enforcer sighed and acknowledged the truth in the small voice´s words. He didn´t know why the aristocrat did it, but sometimes, it couldn´t be helped.

For the last time Heero looked at the closed door behind which a lifebearer was bearing a new life, then continued down the corridor.

*-*-*-*-*-*

Duo wasn´t actually sure what woke him up but as soon as he opened his eyes, somewhere in the house a door slammed shut with a loud bang. The lifebearer frowned, then turned his head to the side to look around. The fire was burning brightly in the fireplace and in its light, he noticed that the room was empty.

Duo´s frown deepened. Where were Heero and Trowa? He thought harder about it and some half forgotten memory surfaced in his mind. Didn´t Heero say something about a rescue party the last time the Enforcer woke him? The lifebearer's eyebrows knit together and he tried to remember more, but wasn´t sure what was truth and what were only half-remembered dreams. The potion they poured into him was really powerful and robbed him of the ability to think properly.

Suddenly, there it was again. A silent moan that hid a world of pain in itself. Duo´s heart ached just listening to it. Where did it come from? When the sound came again and ended with a desperate sob this time, Duo squirmed. Someone was in pain and nobody was obviously doing anything about it. He couldn´t just lie there and listen to it. If Heero had been there...

But he wasn´t and so Duo slowly, carefully sat up on the bed. The simple motion brought a moan to his lips. The pain wasn´t as bad as it had been in the past week, but it still lay deep in his belly. It concentrated under his belly button, shooting painful cramps to the area around his kidneys. Duo took a deep breath and tried to ride the pain out as Trowa taught him during their escape when no medicine they tried seemed to ease the constant pain that haunted him. It took a bit but finally the cramps stopped.

Duo threw aside the layers of warm covers and immediately the chilliness of the room attacked him. He shivered. Obviously, not even the brightly burning fire in the fireplace could really warm up the inn´s room when an ice cold wind was was trying to break through the shutters. He raised himself on his arms and slowly moved to the side of the bed. To lower his legs to the ground was not an easy task and when his feet touched the cold floor, he shivered again. For a moment he just sat there, breathing heavily, sweat running down his face. Even such a simple act tired him out quickly. Another pain filled cry that rang through the walls propelled him to move though. He propped himself on the small nightstand with one hand and on the bed with the other and with all his strength, he got up. For a little while he just stood there, swayed a bit and hugged his middle to relieve another cramp that seized his lower body. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to breathe again. The coldness of the room started to seep through his knee length white shirt that was the only clothing he had on. He was not sure if his moving out of the bed was such a good idea, but his pondering of the reasonability of his actions was interrupted by another gutwrenching moan.

Taking a deep breath, he hunched over and started to move around the bed. His steps were short and unsteady and by the time he reached the door, he was shaking like a leaf. For a moment he rested his forehead on the hard wooden door and once again wondered where Heero was. It was not like him to
leave Duo alone. Hopefully, nothing bad happened. But then Duo pushed his worry about the whereabouts of his love to the side, knowing that no matter what, Heero would not leave him behind or alone. Though feeling sick to the bone, the lifebearer smiled at the thought of his mate.

Finally, Duo gathered enough strength to open the door and walk into the corridor. The long and narrow and very dark room was even colder. The lifebearer´s feet were freezing from the icy cold floor. Standing in the corridor, shoulders slumped and hugging himself tightly to get at least a little warmth back in his body, Duo wondered what to do now. He had no idea where the moans had come from, only that his whole being ached to help the person in pain. That was the nature of lifebearers. Inability to help a hurting being brought them almost physical pain.

Another moan reverberated through Duo´s soul. Locating the source of the painful sounds in the room next to theirs, Duo slowly padded the few steps down the corridor, touching the wall with one hand to keep balance. Finally, he reached the door he was heading to and knocked silently.

"Hello?" he called quietly, but except for another cry no answer came. Taking a deep breath and knowing that Heero would probably be angry... no, furious at him for doing such a thing, he touched the door knob and turned it, opening the door a crack. "I´m coming in, okay?" he called out again, his
voice still a little rough, but loud enough to be heard in the room behind the door.

Duo opened the door wide, revealing a room that was almost identical to theirs, except that there was only one large bed. The coldness here was even more biting, though. Duo looked around and what he saw made him gasp in horror.

There, on the bed, between twisted bed clothes lay another lifebearer. He was dressed only in a thin white shirt that rode up high over his belly that was heavy with child. The stranger's body glistened with sweat and his platinum blond hair was sticking to his forehead. But that wasn´t what horrified Duo so. It was the fact that the other lifebearer was tied to the bed with heavy ropes that bit deeply into his wrists and ankles. His legs were spread and bound to the bed posts, but there was enough slack in the ropes so that he could bend his knees but not close them or anything else. His arms were tied above his head and he was gagged with a white scarf that was tied around his head and he was biting into it with pain. From the shivers that ran through the stranger´s body, the taut belly and the painful cries, it was obvious that he was in the throes of labor.

"Gods..." Duo whispered and as quickly as possible, he crossed the room on his unsteady feet. As soon as he reached the bed, he bent down to untie the scarf gagging the lifebearer. The blond man´s eyes were tightly shut and before Duo actually touched him, he hadn´t been even aware of the braided man being in the room. "Shhh, I won´t hurt you," Duo whispered when the stranger tensed even more and his eyes flew open, revealing panic and pain filled blue orbs.

The whole time Duo tried to untie the knot that got tangled into the long blond mane, the pregnant lifebearer was watching him warily and hopefully at the same time. And when the knot finally came undone and Duo rid him of his gag, the stranger swallowed painfully and gritted his teeth, hissing as another contraction ripped through him. "Help me!" he screamed, almost lifting himself up from the bed as he strained against his bonds.

Before Duo could move, there was the sound of running feet on the stairs. The braided man turned around just in time to see a short, hardfaced man whose watery eyes were filled with rage burst into the room through the door Duo left gaping open.

"What are you doing here?!" screeched the man and rushed to the bed. "Don´t touch him!" With this sharp, angry order he pushed Duo to the side so brutally, that the sick lifebearer stumbled.

Crying out in shock, Duo fell to the floor, pain ripping through him as he hit the ground hard. Blackness clouded his sight but even through the fog that surrounded him he saw how the pregnant stranger recoiled from the angry man´s touch, moaning just as much in fear as in pain.

The short man turned to Duo again, fury written all over his face. "How dare you!" He stepped closer to the fallen lifebearer and Duo instinctively curled up, covering his head with his arms. The man raised his hand to strike again and shouted. "You little..."

When silence suddenly filled the room, Duo risked a quick look through his arms. The short man stood now frozen in the middle of the room, hand still raised, but the fury in his face was now replaced with horror for there, on his throat, a sharp blade of steel glistened in the light from the fireplace.

"Heero..." Duo whispered. His voice quivered with relief and pain.

The Enforcer looked down at his mate, his eyes full of concern. "Are you all right?" he asked.

Duo tried to move, but froze immediately when suddenly, a strong cramp seized his lower body. "I... I don´t think... so," he stammered through his clenched teeth and closed his eyes tightly.

Heero's eyebrows knit together, a murderous look in his eyes, when he saw his mate in so much pain. He pressed the knife tightly to the short man´s throat, drawing blood. The Enforcer felt a strong urge to cut the man´s throat for what he did to Duo and... he threw a glance at the tied lifebearer on
the bed, who was now almost sobbing with pain, straining against his bonds... He increased the pressure on the blade and the man in his hold whimpered as a small trickle of blood started to run down his throat.

But before Heero could do more, a shocked voice came from the door. "By the gods, what´s going on here?"

===

4

"By the gods, what´s going on here?" Treize asked, his voice full of shock as his gaze took in the braided boy on the floor, the unknown blue-eyed man holding a hunting knife to Tosten´s throat and his mate tied to the bed with ropes. Before he could do or say anything more, the healer who was standing by his side rushed into the room and to the fallen boy.

"Are you okay?" Trowa asked, kneeling down on the floor by the lifebearer´s side. He reached out and touched Duo´s pale face, checking his temperature and sighing with relief when only slight warmth met his touch.

Duo´s eyes fluttered open and he looked up at the brown-haired young man from his curled up position on the hardwood floor. "Don´t know..." he admitted. "Cramp... in my stomach..."

Trowa frowned. "Didn´t I tell you to not get out of bed?" he chided the lifebearer sternly.

At the same moment, the shocked stupor finally left Treize´s body and he entered the room, quickly crossing the distance that parted him from his mate. His face blanched and eyes filled with horror as he noticed the bloodied wounds where the coarse ropes tore Mil´s skin. "Gods..." he whispered, pulling his knife out of the sheath at his belt and quickly cutting the restraints.

Finally able to move, Mil curled up at his side, clutching his swollen belly with his arms, eyes squeezed tight. He moaned and shuddered as another contraction ripped through his body.

Treize stroked the sweat-soaked blond hair. Feeling his mate shiver, his eyes filled with rage. He turned to Tosten. "What have you done?! You bastard!" In two long strides, he reached the now pale looking Tosten and tore him out of Heero´s arms. If the Enforcer hadn´t moved his hand away quickly enough, he would have cut the midwife´s throat.

Treize bunched the front of Tosten´s shirt in his fist and threw the man against the wall with a loud thump. "What were you doing here? What do you have to say for yourself?" he screamed, the fury about what happened to his mate filling him with a violent rage.

Before Tosten could open his mouth, Trowa spoke, disgust evident in his voice. "He is a traditionalist," he explained.

Heero, who tucked his knife away and decided to let the aristocrat handle the inn owner´s mate, crouched next to the healer. "What does that mean?" he asked, gently, carefully helping Duo sit up so that he could take him in his arms and return to their room. Lying on the cold floor didn´t do the lifebearer any good.

As the Enforcer lifted his mate in his arms and stood up, Trowa got up with him. "They are convinced that the pain of birth is a punishment sent on the lifebearer by the gods. They regard the lifebearers as tainted flesh, seducers, as nothing more than a womb for bearing a child. Their traditions say that a lifebearer should not get any help while bearing a child. If the gods want the baby to be born, it will be born and if the child or the lifebearer die in the process, it´s the gods' will, too."

Duo, who was now safely snuggled in the strong arms of his mate, opened his eyes and looked at his friend with shock written on his features. "That´s.... that´s nuts!" he whispered, horrified. "We are not animals to be bred and left to our fate!" His face contorted as the prospect made him feel slightly nauseous. "How could you do that? You´re one of us, too!"

Tosten, who until now struggled in the aristocrat´s tight grip, stopped his efforts to free himself and looked at Duo over Treize´s shoulder. "Sinful flesh," he spat out, loathing filling his voice. "All lifebearers will end in the underworld and will know nothing of gods mercy."

All the men, save for Mil, looked at Tosten with disbelief in their eyes. Then Treize dragged him to the open door, and threw him out of the room onto the cold floor of the dark corridor. "Get out of my sight!" he snapped at him in rage. "And don´t you dare come anywhere near my mate again!"

The small man nodded, then scrambled away quickly.

"It´s unbelievable that such things still exist among our people," Treize whispered, then turned to the other occupants of the room. "Who knows how many innocent lifebearers died in this village because of that close-minded madman."

The grim silence that fell upon the room got interrupted by a painful moan escaping the huddled figure on the bed. The aristocrat immediately rushed to his mate, kneeling on the floor by the bed.

Trowa looked undecidedly from one lifebearer to the other. Both needed his attention. Duo might have been hurt worse, and the pregnant one...

Seeing the healer´s dilemma, Duo whispered. "Stay with him. I will be fine. Heero will take good care of me, you´ll see." Then the braided lifebearer closed his eyes and let his head fall back to his mate´s shoulder exhaustedly.

Trowa looked the Enforcer in the eyes and Heero nodded. "Duo is due for another dose of your medicine. Even if you could give him your attention, you probably would not be able to do anything more. But here, you can do something. That lifebearer has been through a lot already and he needs your knowledge to bring that child into the world. There is no one here who could help him, besides you."

The healer took a heavy sigh, then touched Duo´s cheek again, pushing the brown bangs from the lifebearer´s forehead. "You stay in bed, do you hear me? No more walking around and getting in trouble, okay?" He said it with a small smile to try and lift Duo´s obviously crushed mood.

The braided boy opened his eyes and returned the smile with some effort. "Okay." But then his eyes slid to the moaning, shuddering figure on the bed and the smile disappeared. "Can you take me to our room now, Heero?" he asked quietly, closing his eyes.

The Enforcer frowned, obviously not liking the depressed mood that radiated from his mate. Giving Trowa one last glance, he headed for the door. The healer followed him, closing the door behind him silently.

*-*-*-*-*

"Why did you get up?" Heero asked as he lowered his mate on the bed gently.

Duo sighed, his eyes still closed. Without protest, he endured Heero lifting his gown to check the padding. He was over the embarassment such intimate things would have caused him a couple of months ago. Now he regarded it as another necessity for his recovery. He would be happier, if Heero touched him down there for a completely different reason though. That thought did manage to bring a bright flush to his cheeks and he almost hid his burning face in his hands.

Heero grunted, obviously satisfied. "Obviously, no damage was done. The bleeding is nearly stopped, too," he said, lowering the gown back in place and covering Duo with warm blankets. "You didn´t answer my question. Why did you get up?"

The lifebearer sighed again. It was obvious that Heero would not let it go. Duo looked at the taller man, then moved his eyes to the side. "I heard him moaning and crying. I had to do something about it. I couldn´t just lie here and listen to it."

Heero straightened and crossed his arms on his chest. "And why didn´t you wait for me? You know that I wouldn´t leave you alone for a long time. I would´ve been back soon."

At first Duo only shrugged, but when the Enforcer still waited for his answer patiently, he reluctantly continued. "It... hurt to listen to him. It was as if someone was driving a knife through my heart and soul. And not only that... I..." His voice trailed off and he clamped his mouth shut as if realizing that he had almost revealed something he didn´t want to.

But Heero wouldn´t leave it be. Obviously, something was bothering Duo. "You...?"

Duo swallowed and lowered his sight as if not daring to look him in the eyes. "I... ached... inside." With that, he lifted his hand and touched his abdomen which was flat now, but had been throbbing with life just months ago. "It was as if my whole being knew that there was another lifebearer expecting here and it longed for being filled with life again..."

Heero frowned. His heart clenched in the face of Duo´s pain and the longing in his voice. He didn´t know how to comfort him, he was not good with such things and so the answer took him probably longer than it should have for suddenly, Duo´s eyes snapped open and he looked directly at the Enforcer.

"How can you still want me?" The self-loathing was fairly evident in his voice. "I´m damaged goods. I could not even carry a child to term. The child you were forced to claim as yours. And then the whole thing with Howard-" he shuddered at the thought of the old man he used to love as an uncle "- and my bleeding. Who knows if I will ever be able to have children again. I´m more trouble than I´m worth." His voice dropped and he lifted his hands and hid his face behind them.

Heero shuffled his feet once, twice, not knowing what to do. Then with a sigh, he sat down on the bed and sitting Duo up carefully, he took him in his arms. "That´s not true," he said, as he squeezed his mate gently. "I won´t listen to you demeaning yourself. You´re the best thing that ever happened to me. I´ve loved you for years and I will never leave you, for anything in the world. Do you hear me?"

Duo laid his head in the crook of Heero´s neck, relaxing slightly, feeling the pain slowly leave his body. He closed his arms around the Enforcer and brought himself even closer. Then he nodded in answer to Heero´s question. Maybe if his mate would repeat it often enough, he would learn to believe it in the end.

"And it doesn´t matter for me if you will or will not be able to have children. I do want to have kids, but your kids, not just kids. And if it´s not possible - and there is the big if - there are enough children out there who don´t have anybody." Heero caressed Duo´s back, feeling the warmth of his skin through the thin cloth.

The lifebearer blinked, then straightened and looked his mate in the eyes. "You... you wouldn´t mind taking in a child that´s not yours?" he whispered, clearly shocked. It was highly unusual for a Sire to take care of a baby that was not his. But on the other hand... Heero took him in even though he expected Wufei´s child and even claimed it as his own in front of the whole village, so... maybe... just maybe he really wouldn´t mind...

Heero smiled one of his rare smiles, then pushed the long bangs away from the lifebearer´s forehead. "Of course not. But let's not worry about that now, okay? First, you have to get better."

Duo nodded, then nuzzled his cheek against the Enforcer´s warm hand. "And we didn´t even kiss properly yet," he sighed mournfully.

Before the braided young man could blink, Heero lowered his head and touched the lifebearer´s warm lips with his own. It was a gentle kiss that didn´t demand or force. Their lips moved against each other in the sweetest of touches that left Duo breathless, and feeling butterflies flapping their wings in his stomach.

When they finally parted, Duo sighed and laid his head back in the crook of Heero´s neck. Feeling the Enforcer´s heart beat just as wildly as his own, he sighed happily, then closed his eyes. "Can we do that again soon? I think we need more practice."

If the lifebearer didn´t know better, he would have said that the Enforcer choked down a laugh.

*-*-*-*-*-*

It was a couple of minutes later when Heero slowly descended the stairs to the inn´s main room. Trowa was helping with the birth and Duo was nodding off in their room. And since it was time for the lifebearer´s medicine, Heero decided to finally fetch the broth they needed and ask someone to bring hot water to the aristocrat´s room. The Enforcer didn´t know much about births, but one thing he did know for sure: they were messy. Trowa would soon be in need of water to... do what he needed to do.

Stepping into the main room, he looked around. There were fifteen, maybe twenty men sitting around the room, looking grave. The soldiers Trowa helped to rescue. He didn´t even have the time to ask how it went. But from the grim expressions on the men´s faces, it was obvious that not all of them got rescued.

While walking through the rows of tables and heading for the bar where the short, sour looking lifebearer - Tosten - was sitting, he kept looking around, trying to find his dog, Shinigami. Seeing him nowhere, he stopped by one of the older looking soldiers.

"I´m sorry, sir, but..."

The man lifted up his weary face. "Yes, young man?"

"Have you seen my dog? Big, black..." Heero didn´t actually know how to describe the beast that was his dog. Dangerous looking?

The older man smiled tiredly. "You mean Shinigami? He brought His Highness and the healer to us. He helped us find some of the men who were still breathing, but then..." The man frowned. "I think he ran away. I remember the healer calling his name, but he kept running."

Heero sighed. Well, Shinigami wasn´t a puppy, he knew how to take care of himself. Thanking the man, he continued toward the bar.

Tosten didn´t look pleased with his request to heat up some broth for him and bring water for the healer to use. But seeing Heero´s stern look, he got up from his chair to go to the kitchen. But before he could take more than two steps, the Enforcer caught him by the front side of his black tunic and pulled him close over the bar.

"And don´t you dare mix something in it that could cause any of the lifebearers any harm," Heero hissed, his eyes glinting dangerously. "If you do, I swear that I will pour it down your throat!"

Tosten blanched, swallowed, then scurried off quickly glad to be out of sight.

Waiting for the broth, Heero turned around and leaned against the bar. He crossed his arms over his chest and let his eyes wander around the room again. That was when Warrick walked out of the kitchen, looked around nervously, then moved to the nearest window.

The shutters were open and the first rays of daylight were peeking through the thick glass of the window panes. Obviously, the storm was over and the wind quieted down, too. Warrick stepped to the window and looked out, licking his lips nervously. Obviously not seeing what he desired, he moved around the room, looking out of every window and getting more and more nervous with each step.

When he finally arrived at the bar again, Heero, who had been watching his progress through the room with a frown on his face asked with mild curiosity. "Are you awaiting someone?"

The bartender almost jumped out of his skin. He looked at the Enforcer, then to the nearest window and back. "Err... no, I was just..." He shuffled his feet and Heero noticed that beads of sweat appeared on his forehead and the upper lip. The Enforcer narrowed his eyes.

Before Warrick could say more and Heero ask more, there was a scratching sound at the door. The room fell even more silent and everybody turned to the doorway. Then one of the soldiers, sitting closest to the door, got up and opened it cautiously.

Shinigami darted in through the narrow passage of the open door. He stopped in the middle of the room, and unaware of having the attention of every occupant in the room, he shook the wet remnants of snow out of his black fur. Then finally noticing his master, he happily dashed to him, wagging his tail.

Heero frowned at the beast. "Where have you been?" he asked sternly, but the dog didn´t seem worried about his master being angry with him. The Enforcer sighed in resignation, and touched Shinigami´s head to scratch him behind the ears.

Almost immediately, though, the Enforcer froze. He lifted his hand from Shinigami´s midnight fur and looked at it. His palm was red with blood.

===

5

A frown settling on his face, Heero dropped to his knees and started to run his hands through the midnight black fur of his dog. He could find no injury, nothing that would cause this much blood.

"What´s wrong?" The soldier Heero talked to just a couple of minutes ago got up from his chair, and crouched next to the Enforcer.

Heero looked at him and blinked once in surprise. He didn´t notice that the man was quite that huge while he was sitting at the table. "Nothing," the brown haired young man replied, wiping his hands off on his dark trousers.

The soldier frowned, deep wrinkles creasing his forehead under the bush of his salt-and-pepper hair. "Is it blood?" he asked, catching Heero´s hand in his and turning it palm up to reveal the dark red smears.

The Enforcer froze, and had to fight off the natural reaction of breaking the man´s arm. Noticing Heero´s reaction, the soldier let him go. "Yes," the young man answered.


The older man waited for Heero to continue, but getting no other answer, he asked again. "Is he hurt?"

The Enforcer frowned at him. "No, he isn´t. I think he went on a hunt." With that Heero got up, patting the dog on the head. Shinigami wagged his tail a bit, looking like the world's happiest puppy instead of the dangerous creature he was.

The soldier got up, too, the dark expression still marring his face. He scratched at his graying beard for a moment. "Would your dog attack a human?" he asked.

Heero narrowed his eyes a bit. "Of course." The man´s eyes widened at the admission. "He is a watcher, to guard and protect, not some puppy to cuddle. If he wasn´t able to attack anybody I order, he would be of very little use to me."

Before the man could ask anything else, Tosten returned, a sour expression on his face. He set the bowl of broth on the bar with a loud bang, leaving them alone again.

"And would he attack without you ordering him to do it?" The man wouldn´t leave it alone.

Heero picked up the bowl, then turned to him again. "Yes, if he found it necessary to protect anyone, then he would attack. He is well trained." As if understanding what had been said about him, Shinigami wagged his tail again.

The soldier opened his mouth to ask something else, but Heero glared at him and he changed his mind. He stuck out his right hand. "My name´s Rufus. I´m the captain of His Highness´ personal guard."

Heero hesitated a bit, then shook his hand. He didn´t bother to introduce himself, though.

Rufus raised his eyebrows, then his face was filled with amusement. "Suspicious, aren´t you?" he laughed, resting his hands on his hips.

The Enforcer didn´t deem it necessary to reply to that comment. Instead he slapped his thigh, giving Shinigami an order to follow him, then he headed for the stairs.

"Do you know why I asked about the dog killing a human?" the soldier called after him.

Heero stopped at the first step, but didn´t turn around. Shinigami did turn around though, trying to look like the most carefree creature on earth.

"Because there are no animals big enough to bleed this much around here in winter, young man."

Not answering the implication, the Enforcer started to ascend the stairs. Shinigami wagged his tail at Rufus one last time, and baring his teeth, he threw a glance at Warrick standing in the kitchen door. Then he followed his master up the stairs.

Rufus watched them go, then turned to look at Warrick, who was now pale as a sheet. Horror was written in his features as he stared at the place where the black beast was standing just a couple of seconds ago.

"Hm, I wonder whom he hunted," Rufus mumbled under his breath, watching Warrick disappear into the kitchen.

*-*-*-*-*-*

"Come on! Push! You have to push!" Trowa ordered the panting, exhausted lifebearer, who lay limply in his mate´s arms. Mil´s body shuddered with another contraction, but the blond man could only groan. Trowa wiped his forehead with the back of his hand. This wasn´t going well at all.

"Maybe you could give him another cup of that potion?" Treize suggested. He looked rather desperate as he sat behind his mate, supporting him and wiping his sweat-stained face with a wet piece of cloth. "He looked better after he drank it." He pointed at the now empty cup, sitting on the night table.

Trowa, who was kneeling between the blond man´s spread legs, shook his head. "It´s dangerous. It can give you more strength and energy temporarily, but it also makes the heart beat faster, which puts a lot of strain on the body. In Mil´s state, it could kill him."

Crestfallen, the Count looked down at his mate and kissed the top of his head. Mil raised his glassy eyes to Treize and his lips that were bloody from him biting through them in an effort not to scream moved. "I´m... sorry..." he whispered, shuddering again, a keening sound leaving his throat as another contraction seized his body. He had no strength left to answer the call of his body.

Cursing Tosten to the ninth hell and back, Trowa looked the aristocrat in the eyes. "Treize, he has to push. He has to. The baby wants out. If that doesn´t happen, they will both die." The healer hated the look of horror that settled on the Count´s face. "If worse comes to worse, I can get your son out, but Mil..."

"Get the... baby out..." Mill whispered through his tightly clenched teeth. "Save... him!"

Trowa swallowed painfully and tore his eyes from the pain-twisted face of the lifebearer. This wasn´t his choice.

"You coward!"

The healer´s head shot up as he heard the Count shout. Treize was now looking down in his mate´s confused face, rage written in his feature where just a couple of seconds ago horror and desperation ruled.

"You´re nothing but a coward, Milliardo!" the aristocrat continued to shout. "You´ve been the captain of my personal guard! You´ve beaten Rufus in hand-to-hand! You´ve even defeated me in sword fighting!"

He shook with rage so palpable, that Trowa could almost feel it on his tongue.

"How dare you!! How dare you try to leave me alone here! We have fought side by side in the army! You even pulled me out of that damn sleigh when we got caught in the avalanche! And now you decide to simply DIE? No! Not in this lifetime! I won't let you leave me!"

Mil was looking at him, an indescribable expression on his face. But when another contration ripped through his body, his muscles clenched as he used all the strength he had left to push. He cried and screamed, almost removing himself from his mate´s arms.

"That´s it!" Trowa encouraged the other man. "Come on. Come on!"

The blond man was sobbing now, shaking like a leaf, but the soft murmurs of his mate coaxed him to reach deeper into his reserve, to use all he had to give life to their baby.

"I can see him! Only a moment now. Just a little more. Please!"

"I caaaaaaan´t!" Mil screamed, the last ounce of strength leaving his body together with the miracle of new life.

Trowa was kneeling between the pale, trembling legs as the child left his bearer´s birth channel and slipped into his waiting hands. Taking one deep breath, the wrinkled, slippery bundle started to cry for all he was worth, protesting against the harshness of the world. The healer lifted the child higher for the new parents to see, and smiled one of his rare, genuine smiles.

Treize laughed out loud with happiness. He squeezed his sweat-soaked mate tightly. "Love, you did it!" he couldn´t stop laughing, feeling the strain and anxiety leave his body. "Isn´t he beautiful, Mil?" When his mate didn´t answer him, he looked down worriedly, but the clouds that started to gather on his face disappeared almost instantly.

Milliardo was sleeping the sleep of the bone deep exhausted.

*-*-*-*-*-*

The room was quite safe for the cracking of wood in the fireplace. Curled up, Duo was facing the wall, pretending to be asleep. He drank the broth Heero brought him, welcomed the black beast that was Shinigami... and all the time he was listening to groans, screams and shouts coming from the next room.

He could handle it, he really thought he could. But when he heard the first cry of the newborn baby, his heart seized and tiny, shaky sobs started to force themselves out of his throat. By the gods, he hated to be so emotional, to feel this way... But it hurt so incredibly much, knowing that he could have had the same thing if...

There was a warm hand on his shoulder. Heero lifted the covers and slipped under them, spooning behind his mate and bringing him close to his chest. In the safe haven of the Enforcer´s arms, Duo let himself cry for his loss for the last time. For when he woke up, he would never look back again. It was time to let the past rest.

===

6

It was the rumbling of his own empty stomach that woke Heero up. He lifted his head and through sleepy eyes, he looked towards the window. The cold
winter sun was peeking through the heavy shutters. It must have been already past midday.

He propped himself on his elbow and looked down at the sleeping Duo, curled up on his side with Heero spooned closely behind him. The Enforcer lifted
his hand and gently he touched the dry tear tracks on his mate´s face. He frowned. He didn´t like it when Duo cried. He wanted to see the braided young man as happy as he had been when they were carefree children.

Heero´s hand moved lower, his fingers touching the lifebearer´s rosy lips. There was a gentle smile on them that was in contradiction to the salty paths
his tears left behind on his cheeks. The shorthaired boy traced the contours of his mate´s lips and they parted slightly under his gentle ministrations. He now felt Duo´s warm breath on his fingertips.

He remembered clearly the first time he felt the desire to kiss the longhaired young man. It had been before Duo forgot all about him, before his heart broke to pieces. They were sitting on the river bank, keeping silent and watching the clouds move in the blue sky. He remembered looking to the side at the angelic face with large excited eyes, and thinking "now or never". But before he could do more than just lean over, they were attacked by the beast that destroyed all his hopes and parted him from his best friend for years to come.

And now he had Duo back, in his arms, in his bed. Bonded to him before the people. But the bond was false, built on a lie he constructed to save the
broken, beaten lifebearer´s life. He didn´t regret claiming Wufei´s child as his own. It didn´t matter who the child´s Sire had been... and had the baby survived he would have made sure that it wouldn´t lack for anything. But the child was gone... and Duo truly returned to him, loved him... Pain and delight came hand in hand.

Duo mumbled something in his sleep and wriggled a bit closer to his mate. Heero groaned silently and had to force down the sudden assault of desire
that came with the longhaired man pressing his slender frame closer to his. He had never had a lover. Not one. Not that he lacked any offers. The Enforcer was a figure of power, only second to the chieftain - a good party for a mate. Others - Bearers and Sires - saw just the thrill of danger... But he simply couldn´t do it. He had been in love with Duo for years and years, almost his whole life and he couldn´t simply imagine anyone else in his bed or his arms.

And so he waited, nursing the spark of hope that maybe, just maybe... Until the day when he watched Wufei make love to Duo in the clearing in the woods he had to protect. He stood in the shadows of a large tree, watching the blackhaired man undress Duo and take his virginity. It broke his heart anew, another hope crushed. And even though it pained him, he watched them every time, imagining himself in Wufei´s place... He decided never to tell Duo. Even though he didn´t like Wufei, these were very private experiences, not suited for public knowledge of any sort.

Heero caressed Duo´s cheek again. Being this close to his mate made a flame of desire lick his insides and he wanted nothing more than to truly claim
Duo as his... But now was not the right time. Howard was still after them, the lifebearer was recuperating from a serious illness and their future was still more than uncertain.

Before Heero´s thoughts could move further, his empty stomach rebelled again. The Enforcer couldn´t actually remember when the last time he ate
something was. So, first things first. He slowly extracted himself from the sleeping braided man, sat up and swung his legs over the side of his bed. He
pulled his boots on, got up and made sure that Duo was covered properly. Shinigami padding after him, Heero headed for the door and giving the
slumbering lifebearer one last glance, the man and dog slipped out of the room.

On the corridor, he moved to the door of the neighbours' room and rapping silently, he opened it and peeked inside. Sitting by the wooden cradle they
managed to find in the village, Trowa lifted his head up and waved at Heero to come in. The Enforcer stepped in, his dog following him.

Giving the sleeping blond lifebearer on the bed a careful glance, Heero whispered. "Do you need anything? Maybe something to eat?"

"No, I´m fine," Trowa answered, rocking the cradle gently. "I ate with Treize not so long ago. How is Duo?"

"Sleeping." Heero stepped closer to the cradle and looked inside. Among white, fresh smelling sheets a tiny child lay on his back, the nipple of his
almost empty bottle still in his little mouth even though he was deep asleep. "Is he okay?" the Enforcer asked in concern, remembering the shouts of pain coming from the room.

"That´s what I would like to know, too." The tired, sleepy voice sounded from the bed behind their back.

Both men turned around to see the blond man rubbing his eyes with the heels of his hands. Then with a pained groan, he propped himself on his
elbows and looked at them questioningly.

"How is my son?"

Trowa gave the blond man a small smile. "He is just fine. Sleeping soundly. He was pretty hungry before, but luckily when the village heard about your
baby being born, they brought some fresh milk. We should let him sleep, Your Highness." The healer didn´t forget to add the proper title to his answer. After all, even though he knew this man´s body pretty intimately, he didn´t know anything about him as a person.

Milliardo lifted his eyebrows and smirked. "I think you can call me Mil. No need to bother with formalities from a man who knelt between my spread legs."

Heero swallowed a smile when he saw Trowa, the fearless healer, blush. To cover his embarassment, Trowa cleared his throat, got up and helped
Milliardo sit up. Then he pushed two pillows behind his back and let him lean back into them. This allowed him to relax the strained muscles in his abdomen.

"So," the blond man began as his eyes swept from the healer to Heero and back. "If I remember right, then you´re Trowa." Said man nodded. Then Mil
pointed his finger at the Enforcer. "But I don´t think I met you before."

"Oh, you did. But at that time you were rather... busy," Heero answered with a straight face.

"Oh," was Mil´s reply as he went bright red. Realizing how many people witnessed his giving birth was starting to make him feel embarassed.

"This is Heero. He is my friend," Trowa introduced him, ignoring the Enforcer´s glare.

Milliardo frowned. "I think there was another man... a long haired one... Tosten... he pushed him and..." The blond man looked at Trowa. "Is he alright? He seemed hurt."

"Yes, he is okay," Heero answered instead of the healer, not wanting him to say Duo´s name aloud. They were still being hunted after all. It was likely that Howard didn´t know his and Trowa´s names, but Duo´s name was something different.

Noticing the silent exchange of stares between the two men, Mil decided to change the subject. "My son... is he a Bearer or a Sire?" he asked to break
the tension.

Trowa looked at him, surprised. "That won´t be known until he reaches puberty. You didn´t know?" The healer seemed shocked at the common knowledge among the people.

Mil blushed deeply and looked away. "I... that is..." He fell silent, not meeting the man´s eyes.

Trowa frowned. He sensed a secret of some sort. "During puberty, the Sires get more muscled and their body hair starts to grow, too. Bearers are leaner
and have no body hair at all." When Mil squirmed in the bed, the healer´s eyes narrowed, then grew large as he realized something. "Body hair... you´re a lifebearer, but you do have body hair. How is it possible?"

The blond man squirmed again and blushed even more deeply. He knew about which body hair Trowa spoke. "I... well..." He sighed in resignation, his
blush receding. He looked at the two men. "Can you swear that this will stay among us?" he asked, a deep, serious tone in his voice.

Trowa and Heero looked at each other. They knew everything about having secrets. The men nodded.

"You see... My mother was Other," he explained silently.

The healer and the Enforcer blinked in surprise. Others, Other People... a nation living on a continent behind the great ocean. A nation with no lifebearers but men and women as they called the persons bearing children. Others called themselves "humans", denying the same status to Sires and lifebearers, regarding them as lesser creatures, abominations, misfits of nature, just like the people of the OZ empire thought the same about the Others. There was a permanent state of war between the two nations that both called themselves humans, the border running through the middle of the great ocean unbreachable under the punishment of long and painful death.

"How...?" Trowa asked, confusion vibrating through his voice.

"Mother was Sire´s prisoner of war, more like a slave than a mate who hated her master more than life. She bore him two children, me and my sister
Relena. A son was the price for letting her go. She gave me up gladly, took her daughter and left." That was when Mil blushed again. "I... I didn´t know I was a lifebearer. I grew body hair, though not a beard." He threw a quick glance at the short dark stubble on Heero´s chin. "I didn´t bleed at all. But then... then I got pregnant with Treize´s child."

Trowa wanted to ask more. The curiosity of a healer became aroused. No one had ever met a half-blood. But the pain in Mil´s voice told him that there was another painful story behind it, so he decided to let it go. At least for now.

Milliardo sighed and looked Trowa in the eyes. "You must understand. I´m telling you this only because I don´t know how my origin can affect my
child. If it ever came out..." There was a tone of dread in his voice.

Half-blood... abomination... the punishment for cross-breeding was death.

"We won´t tell anybody. I swear," Heero said quietly.

Mil looked at him. Seeing the seriousness in his eyes, the blond man nodded too.

"I don´t know what effect your blood could have. The boy looks normal and behaves like a normal OZ child should," Trowa said. "But you should watch
him closely during his childhood and especially puberty. It would be better to save him the troubles you went through."

The lifebearer nodded. "Could you tell me more specifically what I should look out for?"

Before Trowa could speak, Heero jumped in. This discussion wasn´t relevant to him and his stomach was still empty and growling. "I will go find
something to eat now, okay?" Then he turned around, slapped his leg to get Shinigami who was watching the cradle with curious eyes. But before he opened the door, he spoke, not turning around. "The longhaired lifebearer is my mate and his name is Duo." A secret for a secret. Even though the blond man didn´t understand its importance.

*-*-*-*-*-*-*

"But Father..." the young man protested.

Warrick hissed in anger. "You must go. I fear that the black beast got your brother. If it´s true, then I will make them pay dearly!" he spat out, face red with fury. "Your brother was an idiot, but he was my son. We need to bring Howard here immediately. I don´t know how long they´ll stay. I heard that the Count let the smith repair the sleigh and since it wasn´t broken that badly, they could leave in a couple of hours if need be."

The son shuffled his feet and rubbed his nose, looking at his father with uncertainty in his eyes. "But what should I...?"

"Howard should be in Dartmoore right now. The blizzard is over so you can take the horse. It´ll take you two hours at the most. Bring him here. I´ll
get my money for the Count´s mate and for Howard´s boy toy and my revenge, too!" Warrick´s eyes glazed over with hate. Seeing his son still hesitating,
Warrick pushed him hard. "Go. Now!"

The son dragged himself to the door with hesitation, stopping and looking at his father now and again. He didn´t like the whole situation one bit. There
was the Count´s personal guard gathered in their inn after all. But seeing that Warrick wouldn´t relent, the young man sighed with resignation and reached for the door knob.

But before he could open the door, a painful scream forced its way through his throat as a sharp hunting knife tore through his left shoulder and pinned him to the wooden door.

===

7

When the painfilled cry echoed from the kitchen, all the men in the inn´s main room fell silent and turned their heads toward the swinging door behind the bar. A couple of seconds later, the door banged open as Warrick was thrown through it. He stumbled, fell and slid over the floor. Before the door could close again, Shinigami shot out and towards the inn´s owner who was lying on the ground. The dog stood over him, a deep rumble escaping his tightly clenched jaws, bare teeth only millimeters away from Warrick´s throat.

"Help me!" yelled the scared man. "Get this beast off me!"

The men who jumped to their feet as Warrick was thrown into the main room looked at him oddly, then turned around as the door leading to the kitchen swung inwards again and the figure of Heero appeared in the doorway. The young man´s face was contorted with fury. Before the Enforcer could make more than one step into the room, Tosten, who was standing at the bar, gripped an empty frying pan. With a yell, he threw himself toward the other man. Heero reacted in the blink of an eye. He ducked under the pan, let the force of the swing carry Tosten past him, then turned around and kicked the lifebearer in the back. With a scream, Tosten flew through the door into the kitchen where he hit something with a loud crash.

Not bothering to check on Tosten, Heero headed towards the whimpering Warrick, a dark look on his face.

"Somebody help me! He is mad! He´ll kill me!" Warrick yelled again, but every time he tried to scramble away, Shinigami´s growl grew louder. The inn´s owner swallowed, seeing the sharp teeth and blazing eyes of the beast.

One of the soldiers obviously decided to play the hero, for he made a step towards the two men and the beast, but Heero gifted him with a furious glare that froze the poor man in place and made him swallow nervously.

The Enforcer pushed Shinigami to the side, took Warrick by the front of his shirt and pulled him to his feet, revealing the incredible strength hidden in his young body. When the scared man´s feet left the ground, with a scared whimper, he dangled from Heero´s hands. Rufus, the captain of the Count´s personal guard, stepped forward.

"Sir?" Questioningly, he turned to Treize, the only man who remained calmly sitting when Warrick made his entrance. Rufus didn´t know what was going on and with no information, he was asking for orders on how to proceed.

Slowly, Treize stood up and his men stepped to the side as he walked towards Warrick and the Enforcer. Stopping only a couple of feet away from them, Rufus at his left side, he crossed his arms over his chest.

"What´s going on here?" he asked unfazed, as if such scenes were a part of his everyday life.

Heero shot him a look. He had a decision to make. He needed to protect Duo and keep their secret. But if keeping his mouth shut would endanger other people... That was unacceptable. And so, in a matter of a second he decided. Shaking the man in his grip, he spat out. "This man sold your mate!"

Treize froze, his body taut. He looked from the Enforcer to Warrick and back. "What does that mean?" His voice was ice cold and threatening. Nobody would endanger Mil and their son.

Heero shook Warrick one last time, then threw him aside with such force that the man flew through the air and hit the wall close to the kitchen door with a sickening thud. "He sent his son to Howard, the leader of a local mercenary group, with a message that there is rich prey waiting for him here. He probably wanted to kidnap your mate and try to blackmail you for money!"

The Count forced himself to remain calm. His men didn´t have such restraint, though. As one they stepped forward, hissing in anger. They loved their lord and were completely loyal to him. And Milliardo had been one of them once and they still considered him one of their own. If someone was posing a danger to their lord and his mate, they would take care of him.

Treize stepped to Heero´s side and looked down at the inn´s owner, who was watching them with an expression of horror on his face. "Is that the truth? Did you plan to harm my mate?"

Warrick swallowed. "No... no, that´s not true. I don´t know any Howard!" he whimpered.

Heero made a gesture with his hand. "Shinigami!"

The dog, who until now stood by his master´s side, moved towards the lying man, sharp teeth snapping together.

Warrick curled in on himself. "Call him off! I don´t know anything!" he yelled.

Heero didn´t do anything though, and the dog moved closer and closer, the low rumbling escaping his throat echoing through the silent room. The Enforcer watched with cold eyes as the black beast moved closer to his prey.

"It didn´t have anything to do with the Count!" Warrick shouted finally, as his panic and fear of the large wolf like creature overcame his reason.

Heero snapped his fingers, calling Shinigami off. The dog stopped moving, but didn´t back away.

"What do you mean?" Treize asked.

With a shaking finger, Warrick pointed at Heero. "It was all about them. The longhaired Bearer..."

Heero interrupted him before he could spill more of their secret. "What about the Count and his mate?" The Enforcer could feel the weight of Treize´s gaze on him, but decided not to react.

"It was all about money, nothing more. I swear," the man on the floor whimpered, his look fixed on the still growling creature in front of him. "I didn´t want to hurt him."

Treize´s eyes narrowed. He knew there was more behind it. It wasn´t only about him and Mil. They were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Not that it excused what Warrick did. He would make sure that the inn´s owner paid for his crime. But there was...

Heero continued with his interrogation. "I heard you saying that Howard was in Dartmoore right now. It´s only a couple of miles from here. When did you send your son to him?"

A gleam of defiance returned to Warrick´s eyes. "It doesn´t matter. Your beast killed him, I´m sure of it. You´re a murderer!" His explosion was short lived though, since in reaction to his outburst, Shinigami moved closer again, head hanging low to the ground.

The Enforcer didn´t say anything. Not even his closed off expression changed after the accusation had been thrown into his face. Although he wore a mask of ice cold indifference, his mind was racing. Did Shinigami really stop the messenger? That would explain his bloody fur. But he couldn´t bet their lives on it. And if the messenger did get through... Warrick must have sent him before leaving with the rescue troupe. That meant that even if Howard waited for the blizzard to end, he would be on his way to Dartville right now... Heero felt his heart freeze. They needed to get out of there immediately.

"Shinigami, stay!" Heero ordered the dog, who obediently lay down, his watchful eyes fixed on the trembling coward in front of him. Feeling the Count still watching him intensely, the young man turned to head for the stairs but stopped short, seeing Trowa standing at the foot of the stairs and Duo on the uppermost step.

"What´s going on?" Trowa asked quietly. The healer heard the fight and came down to check out what was going on.

With a grim expression, Heero walked past Trowa, motioning for him to follow. At the top of the stairs he took Duo, who was white as a sheet by his elbow, and together they disappeared in the corridor.

Treize stood there in the middle of the main room and his men. With narrowed eyes, he watched the three mysterious young men whom he met only hours ago climb the stairs. He had many questions and only a few answers. He hated to be left in the dark, especially if his ignorance could endanger the ones he loved. He respected other people´s secrets, but this time he and especially Mil and their baby were involved, too. And since the three young men refused to cooperate, he would have to find information elsewhere.

With that thought, Treize turned to the quivering man on the ground. Flanked by his men, his hand gripped the hilt of his sword tightly and with his voice dripping with hatred, he said, "Tell me everything, Warrick, or I swear you´ll curse the day you were born."

*-*-*-*-*

"What´s going on?" Trowa asked again as they stepped into the long dark corridor leading to their room.

"Warrick knows Howard," Heero answered quietly. He cursed inwardly as he felt Duo freeze. "He sent his son to him. I think he recognized Duo. Howard must have been here before us, or maybe he sent one of his men to all his contacts along the shore and in the mountains."

Trowa nodded. "I wondered how he could afford to run an inn in this hole. Did you notice that there are no guests besides us and the Count? He must work as a middleman between Howard and the traders from the South. I bet he gets his fair share from the goods Howard is stealing from the caravans and the villages."

Duo listened to the other men talk quietly. Instinctively he wanted to protest and say that Howard was no thief... but then his mind froze. Why wouldn´t he be a thief? He was a murderer after all. The longhaired young man couldn´t believe that for a couple of hours he allowed himself to forget their situation. They were on the run from a man he considered an uncle just a couple of weeks ago. He remembered sitting on Howard´s knee as a boy and listening to the older man tell him stories about great battles. The mercenary leader always brought him small gifts, hugged him and praised him for his achievements... A feeling of nausea overcame Duo as he realized what a malicious intent was hidden behind the kind mask of the man who could almost be his grandfather. Unknowingly, Duo huddled in on himself and dropped his head.

"You okay?" Heero asked, squeezing his mate´s arm gently. When the lifebearer nodded without raising his head, the Enforcer sighed. "Go get dressed quickly. We have to leave immediately," he said, and gently pushed Duo to the door of their room.

The longhaired young man nodded once again and complied without protesting.

Before Heero could follow him, Trowa laid a hand on the Enforcer´s shoulder, stopping him. Heero turned to him, a question in his eyes.

"Heero... I´m not sure Duo is well enough for a long walk. He stopped bleeding only hours ago and a laborious walk in the snow is the last thing he needs. He should be resting and not running around," the healer said quietly, not wanting the lifebearer to know what they were talking about.

The Enforcer sighed and rubbed his face with his hands, then he propped them on his hips. "I don´t think we have a choice, Trowa," he answered, his eyes fixed on the figure of his mate sitting quietly on the bed in their room. "We could try to buy a horse in the village but it would only slow us down in the woods. We´ll need to move forward fast. And if we stay on the road, Howard will catch us before nightfall. He could be here any minute."

The two friends looked each other helplessly. It was either stay and fight, or run and risk Duo´s life. And since fighting was not an option...

"We should get dressed," Heero said quietly, then moved into the room

Trowa was left standing in the corridor, looking at his friend as he crouched in front of his shellshocked mate. He listened to Heero talking silently to the almost unresponsive lifebearer, watched him take Duo´s hands in his and rub the white knuckles with his thumbs.

There had to be a way out... another option. Because the options they were facing right now - to stay or to run - would both end in disaster.

*-*-*-*-*-*

When Trowa stepped into the room, Mil, who was holding his child in his arms, raised his head and looked at him. "What´s wrong?" he asked, seeing the grim expression on the healer´s face. His gaze travelled over Trowa´s warm coat and the backpack slung over his shoulder.

"We need to be going now," the healer answered quietly. "I only wanted to check on you and your son for the last time."

Mil frowned. "Going? Where? The sun is already setting. You want the spend the night outside?"

Trowa dropped the backpack on the ground and walked to the bed. With a gentle smile, he looked down at the slumbering child tucked warmly in his Bearer´s arms. He raised his hand and touched the thick bush of brown hair on the top of the boy´s head.

"Trowa?" Mil pushed again, catching the healer´s wrist in a surprisingly tight grip. "What´s wrong? Does it have something to do with your friend not wanting to tell me the name of his mate?"

The healer pulled away from the blond man and sighed. "It´s rather... complicated. I´m sure Treize will tell you more."

"But we would rather hear the details from you," came the voice from the door.

Both Trowa and Mil turned to the doorway where Treize stood, legs lightly spread, arms crossed over his chest, frown on his face.

Trowa looked away. In the span of only one day, he befriended the Count and his mate. But friends or not, Duo´s secret was his to keep and his to tell.

Slowly, Treize stepped into the room. "Warrick had some interesting information to share. But that´s only one side of the coin. I don´t trust him and that´s why I would like to learn the truth from a man I did entrust the life of my mate to."

Trowa looked at him, but before he could even open his mouth to say something. Heero and Duo appeared in the doorway, ready to leave. The Enforcer´s face was set in stone, while the lifebearer looked paler than snow.

"Trowa, we have to go now," Heero said, his voice serious. When Trowa didn´t move, but only shifted his gaze from his two friends to Treize and back to Heero and Duo, the Enforcer continued. "If you decide to stay, I will respect that. But we can´t lose any more time."

Treize turned to him, uncrossing his arms and letting one hand rest on the hilt of his sword. "Yes, you have no time left. My men found out that Tosten´s gone. He was in such a hurry that he even left his bleeding son behind," there was a note of disgust in the aristocrat´s voice. "One of the horses disappeared from the stall, too. I would say he is headed for Dartmoore. So even if your dog killed the first messenger, Tosten will get to Howard and tell him everything."

Heero froze and laid one arm around his mate´s shoulders in a protective gesture. His eyes grew ice cold as he looked at Treize. "So... what do you plan to do? Prevent us from leaving and give Duo over to Howard? Do you hope that this way you´ll save yourself and your mate?" There was a venomous tone of challenge in his voice.

Treize´s eyes filled with fury, and his whole body tensed even more. He gripped the hilt of his sword even more tightly, his knuckles going white. It was obvious that he had to use all of his will power to prevent his anger from exploding. "Only your love for your mate gives you the excuse to say something like that," he forced out through tightly clenched teeth. "I do realize that you know nothing of me, just as I know nothing of you. But I´m offering you my help anyway."

Instinctively knowing that Heero was about to refuse any help, but realizing that they did need help at the same time, Trowa jumped in. "What did you have in mind?" His voice was quiet but firm. His green gaze met Heero´s blue one in a battle of wills. The healer refused to back down.

Treize's posture relaxed a bit as he looked at Trowa. "Warrick told me what´s going on here," he said, feeling Heero´s eyes burning holes in him. "This Howard guy wants Duo for a mate, but since he was claimed already, you decided to run. Is that the truth?"

Trowa nodded. "Yes."

"It´s not that simple." At the whispered words, everybody turned to Duo. The longhaired lifebearer was hunched in on himself as if in physical pain. He didn´t meet anybody´s eyes when he continued. "Howard... he and his men burned down the whole village in revenge for me taking a mate before he could claim me. He is... a violent man. A murderer." Finally he raised his gaze and looked at Treize. His violet gaze was full of pain. "Nothing will stop him from getting what he wants."

Treize nodded slowly, as if something he already knew was confirmed. "That´s what I thought. It would be better if all of us got the hell out of here. My sleigh is ready. The damage hadn´t been significant. That´s why the smith was able to repair it. My men are already preparing the horses, so we can leave as soon as we pack our things."

"What are you saying?" Trowa asked.

"I want you to ride with us," Treize said, looking from Trowa to Heero and Duo. "Your mate," he addressed the Enforcer, "is obviously not well. He can ride in the sleigh with Milliardo. We have some spare horses since three of my men died in the avalanche. You and Trowa will ride with me and my men. That way we can get out of here before this Howard and his men arrive."

Trowa nodded slowly. "But won´t he catch us on the road?"

This time it was Mil who answered with a smile. "We only have to reach the port of Dartvalley. The waters in the bay never freeze, that´s why the king sent one of his ships for us there."

Treize nodded. "Yes, it´s only ten or so miles from here. My men will protect us on the road, and the king´s men are awaiting us in the port. Should something happen, we will send a messenger to Dartvalley for help."

Silence fell over the room so that the shouts of men and neighing of horses under the windows could be heard. Everybody turned to Heero. Now it was up to him. He needed to decide if he would entrust to them the life of his mate.

It was Duo who broke the heavy silence. "We should go with them," he whispered. "It doesn´t matter to us where we are headed, and it´s our fault that they got pulled into the whole thing. Besides, we... I wouldn´t make it out there in the woods," he added, letting his friends know that he heard their conversation in the corridor.

The Enforcer looked into the braided lifebearer´s pale face. The violet eyes were serious, filled with trust in his mate. Heero knew that no matter what decision he made in the end, Duo would follow him without complaining. Even if it meant wading through the snow in the dark woods, risking his health. And so for the first time ever, he decided to lay their fate in someone else´s hands.

He looked the Count firmly in the eyes and nodded. "We will go with you."

===

Epilogue

It took them only a couple of minutes to pack all their things and bundle Mil and the newborn child warmly. Trowa expressed some concern about exposing the child to cold so shortly after his birth, but seeing no other way out, they at least wrapped him in thick furs to minimize the exposure.

The soldiers were waiting for them with the sleigh and horses in front of the main door. It was already dark outside, but the surrounding area of the inn was lit by torches. While descending the stairs, Mil was leaning heavily on Treize, gritting his teeth as every step jarred his strained muscles. Trowa was following them, the happily slumbering child in his arms.

Heero had already helped Duo down the stairs and into the waiting sleigh. Shinigami was dancing around them, wagging his tail as if he couldn´t wait to be on the move again. Heero covered Duo with furs and smiled at him assuringly as the braided man kept looking over his shoulder, checking the road heading North for any signs of Howard and his men.

"Don´t worry," Heero whispered to him, catching Duo´s face in his glove-covered hands as the violet eyed young man kept looking around nervously. "I´m sure the Count sent out sentries. We would know if someone was coming."

Duo looked at him, swallowed, then nodded once.

They both turned around as the main door of the inn opened and Treize stepped out with Mil. The blond man was breathing heavily, droplets of sweat were running down his face. He was white as a sheet and his lips were pressed together tightly.

One of the soldiers opened the door of the sleigh, and Treize helped Mil get in. It was a slow process full of painful, half-broken gasps as the lifebearer´s body protested against the harsh treatment. Finally, Mil was seated though and the Count covered him with the pre-heated furs. Treize leaned closer, gave Mil a quick peck on the lips then covered the blond´s head with the hood of the warm coat.

When the aristocrat moved to the side, Trowa stepped into his place and with a small smile, he laid the baby in his Bearer´s waiting arms. Then the door of the sleigh was closed. With a last smile and touch to Duo´s cheek, Heero followed Trowa to where the soldiers were waiting for them with horses.

Even though the front and the sides of the sleigh were rather low, the back was higher not allowing the occupants of the sleigh to see what was happening behind them. And since the horses were waiting for their riders behind the sleigh, Heero disappeared from his mate's sight. Duo looked around nervously, not wanting to meet the eyes of the man sitting next to him. He still felt quite guilty for pulling other people into their affairs. But in the end, he allowed himself to throw a small glance to the side. He started when he realized that Mil was watching him searchingly.

"I don´t think we have been introduced properly," the blond man said, a small smile playing around his mouth even though exhaustion carved deep lines in his pale face.

"Uhm... I´m Duo Max... Yuy. Duo Yuy," he introduced himself hesitantly.

"Are you sure?" Mil asked him, his smile growing. "You seem rather hesitant about it."

"No... I mean yes. Yes, I´m sure," Duo said more firmly, lifting his chin.

"Good. I´m Milliardo Peacecraft-Kushrenada, Baron of this and Count of that. To introduce a nobleman is rather complicated," he sighed, then winked at Duo. "But it would be alright if you called me Mil or Milliardo. The whole title is a rather long tongue twister. I would shake your hand, but as you can see, I´m rather busy right now." He lifted the sleeping bundle in his arms a bit, then smiled as the child gave out a sound resembling the mewling of a new born kitten.

Despite his nervousness, Duo smiled at the nobleman sitting by his side. He took an immediate liking to the blond man and couldn´t help but admire his strength. Milliardo didn´t complain, nor did he blame them for anything. He simply accepted the facts of the situation they needed to handle it somehow. Duo wasn´t sure if he could find such courage in himself.



The child made a contented huff. Duo looked at the bundle in the blond man´s arms and asked curiously. „Does your son have a name?“



Milliardo laughed. „I must admit that we didn´t actually have the time to find one. My pregnancy was rather… unexpected.“ With the last word the blond man´s face grew serious and something resembling to pain entered his blue eyes.



Duo didn´t know what to say.


"So," Mil broke the silence that settled over them. "Will you tell me what´s going on here? Nobody wants - or has the time - to tell me anything. It´s quite annoying."

Duo swallowed and turned his eyes away. "It´s... a rather long story..." he stated quietly.

Mil nodded. "Good. We have time," he prompted him. "And I swear that I will never betray your trust. Trowa and Heero know my secrets too. At least some of them..."

The braided young man sighed. He really felt the need to talk to somebody. Not that he didn´t love Heero and Trowa dearly but... they were simply too close to him for Duo to talk to them about what he felt. And so, with a heavy heart, he started his story...

*-*-*-*-*

From the back of a tall, black horse Heero watched Treize talk quietly to one of his men, Rufus if he remembered it right. The Enforcer noticed that at least two thirds of the Count´s men - including the captain of Treize´s personal guard - were staying behind. He had a suspicion what the aristocrat planned to do but he wasn´t sure if it would work out.

And so when Treize mounted his nervously dancing horse, Heero moved closer to him. "You want to get them," he stated, his voice flat.

Treize looked at him, adjusting the reins in his gloved hand. "Yes," he answered simply.

Heero shook his head. "You don´t know Howard. You have no idea what he is capable of," he warned the Count.

The aristocrat looked him squarely in the eye. His voice was ice cold. "And you don´t know me and what *I* am of capable of!"

Heero had no answer to this statement. The two men looked each other in the eyes for a couple of seconds, then the Enforcer turned his horse and joined Trowa right behind the sleigh, Shinigami trotting after him.

Treize kicked his horse and raised his hand, giving the small procession the sign to go. The horses moved forward.

*-*-*-*-*

Howard jumped down from his horse in front of the inn and threw the reins to one of his men. For a moment, he stopped in front of the dark building and looked around. Something was wrong here, but he couldn´t put his finger on it. Tosten, the little coward, told him about the Count and his guards, but now everything seemed to be quiet. Almost too quiet, he would say.

Narrowing his eyes, he stepped to the main door, took the knob in his hand and turned it. The heavy wooden door opened easily. He pushed it open until it hit the wall. The main room seemed to be empty. Did the bird fly away already?

Howard stepped into the room, his men following him. He noticed that the wooden floor was completely wet as if dozens of snow covered feet ran around the room. Suddenly, Warrick appeared in the swinging door leading into the kitchen. He was pale and he trembled nervously.

"Warrick," Howard greeted him coldly with a nod and stepped closer to the bar.

The inn´s owner swallowed, his eyes darting from side to side. "He... hello, Howard. So, Tosten... uhm, he found you."

"Yes, he did," the mercenary leader answered, his eyes narrowing further as he watched the man behind the bar look around fearfuly. "He said that Duo is here. Is it true?"

"Uhm..."

Noticing droplets of sweat run down Warrick´s meaty cheeks, Howard let his hand drop to the hilt of his sword. Then suddenly there was a noise coming from the first floor, and simultaneously a shout echoed from the outside.

"Warrick! What have you done?!" Howard snapped at him, baring his sword. His men copied his move, just as the swinging door banged open and the sound of feet running down the stairs reached their ears.

The inn´s owner raised his arms defensively. "It´s not my fault. You have to believe me!" the man yelled, stepping back from the furious mercenary.

"No, I don´t!" Howard retorted and swung his sword. Warrick followed his mate into the realm of the dead.

Then the mercenary leader turned around to the chaos that erupted in the room in the mean time. His men were fighting the soldiers of the Count´s personal guard, and even though the mercenaries were of a larger number, they couldn´t compare themselves to the king´s elite troupe.

Howard gripped the hilt of his sword more tightly and cursed loudly. He would get them for this. They would pay! He would make Duo his even if he had to return from the dead to do it.

He cried out and threw himself into the battle.