Heero got out of the hospital after a week. His
injury was serious, but he managed to convince the doctors he was healed enough
to leave. His chest was still bandaged up and it would be for while yet. He had
one more thing to do before he could finally put this whole thing behind him.
He would always be grateful to Trowa for saving his life, and he knew from then
on that he could trust him more than anyone. Quatre had taken Duo to his home
to recover from the shock of the incidents. Duo would forever blame himself for
Hilde's death, even though there was no way he could have known. Heero wandered
up to the small plant of earth covered in long green grass. "Hilde."
He stared at the grave. He had not once come to visit since the funeral. He
felt now was his time. He stood over the grave, staring down at it. A soft
breeze stirred his hair across his face and played with the ends of his long
black coat. He shoved his hands in his pockets and spoke. "Relena had her trial.... She tried to
weasel her way out of prison, only to find herself in a worse but more fitting
predicament." He grinned wickedly as he replayed the incident in his
head....
Relena stood on trial, not looking as
sorry for her crimes as she made herself out to be. Heero had been released
from the hospital for the hearing, since he was the detective who headed the
case. With a sure fire bet, Relena plead insanity, saving herself from the
death sentence. The evidence piled against her. She was unaware of Hilde
kicking off her shoes the night of her murder. Detectives had found them
underneath the passenger seat of her car. The boots she had worn were found in
a dumpster not far from her house by a homeless man. The ring included, it was
enough proof she was guilty. Dorothy had been released immediately from the
mental hospital and also testified against her. Dorothy had been nosey enough
to read through Relena's journal, and was shocked to find the entire plot to
kill Hilde written in the pages. The journal was brought in as evidence. It was
the reason Relena had paid her people to lock Dorothy up and keep it under
wraps. Relena had escaped prison and
death and was looking quite smug about it, much to Heero's chagrin. Duo had to
leave the trial after hearing that. He blamed himself for not seeing Relena's
infatuation. He would never recover from it. Heero went with Detective Chang
and Barton to deliver Relena to the asylum. "She deserves the death
penalty." Wufie commented, not caring that Relena could hear every word.
Heero smirked. "Oh I think this is much more fitting." Relena perked
up in the back seat after hearing that. "What's that supposed to mean
Heero?" Wufie parked and Trowa pulled Relena out of the car. They started
walking through the halls, leading down to the last cell. Relena stopped.
"Heero.... What did you mean by that?" She asked again. Heero stared
into her eyes, making her shiver with the coldly satisfied gleam there.
"Do onto others...." He said cryptically before shoving her in and
closing the door. He watched through the camera TV as Relena paced around the
small cell. She turned when the door opened. 3 large men entered and grabbed
her arms. "What are you doing?!" She cried out as they strapped her
in a straight jacket. She struggled until a familiar form entered the room. She
froze, her face going pale. "Dorothy..." Dorothy tossed her hair over
her shoulder and stood tall, not cowed by her treatment here. "So good to
see you Miss Relena." She said sarcastically "Chain her." She
ordered. Relena started to shake with fear. "I can see in your eyes you
wish for mercy, don't you Miss Relena?" She purred as she walked up to her
and crossed her arms. Relena just stared with her mouth open, too shocked to
speak. "I'm sure Hilde would have wanted you to show her mercy too. But
you didn't. You just executed her without a second thought." Relena's eyes
grew round at the mention of execute which made Dorothy laugh. "Now now
Relena, death is much to quick for you...No, I'm only showing you the same
hospitality that you have shown me. Oh...You didn't know? I decided I liked it
here so much that I bought this hospital. You belong to me now. Enjoy your
stay." She laughed delighted at the surge of revenge that flowed through
her as she exited the room, listening to Relena scream and cry at her fate. She
met Heero in the parking lot. "Excuse me." He told Trowa and Wufie as
he walked to meet her. "How are you?" He asked. She smiled.
"Better. Thanks to you." He nodded. "It's over. We can all rest
now." She nodded. "Yes, and you deserve it more than anyone. Hilde
must have really trusted you to come to you like that. I had a couple dreams,
but they were mostly messages trying to reach you. You did it Heero.
Congratulations." She shook his hand and started into his deep Prussian
eyes, before pulling him in for a gentle hug, mindful of his wound. "And
thank you. From the bottom of my heart thank you. I'll always be in debt to
you." She whispered in his ear. He returned her hug. "You didn't
belong in there, and I couldn't have done this without your help. I'm just glad
this is over. We can get on with our lives now. Your a free woman." She
laughed at the sound of that. "Yes I am. Goodbye Heero. I'll be in
touch." She left him standing there staring after her. He asked to be
dropped off at the cemetery afterwards. "Do you want us to wait?"
Trowa asked. Heero shook his head. "No I’ll be fine. I'll call you
later."
And here he was, the
final step he had to take. He kneeled down on the soft earth and let his hand
run over the smooth granite tombstone. He had made sure that her engagement
ring was set in the stone, so she would have it always. His hand came to grasp
the ring around his neck. He still had not taken it off. He let it drop against
his chest. He felt it bounce softly against his bandages and chuckled.
"Well, you always did want me to quit smoking. With this wound I guess
your wish comes true." His fingers traced her name and he felt a single
tear fall from his eye to the soft ground under him. "I love you." He
whispered to his best friend. He would always love her, secretly. No one had to
know but her. He laid down the single white rose he brought with him and stood.
This was the first and last time he would visit her grave. He stared down at
the rose lying against the ground. "It's over...It's finally over."
He took one long breath and looked up to the sky and whispered goodbye before finally
heading home.
The end