They'd Ride in Silence (Part 1)

CONTENT WARNING: This fic is going to have some psychological warfare. If it gets too intense, you should stop reading or skip a section.

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Heero's Colony

Oh, it had to be a joke. Heero woke up and went straight to work on looking for the information he needed, but his first step just changed. Con or not? He broke into Relena's records. As much as he didn't want to go to her, he could save himself a lot of grief if he stopped her now. Her surgery was that day. She hadn't had any other surgeries. There was no way she could be pregnant.

He picked up the phone and dialed her up. No answer. He looked at his watch. She could be heading there right now. Option number two since he was still in the colonies? He dialed a different number.

"Noin here."

"Don't let Relena go to surgery today," he answered.

"Surgery?"

She didn't even know. "She is getting a tonsillectomy. Don't let her go. There is a rebel group that may be tracking her there." Technically it was correct, and it should make them move faster.

"I'll let her brother know."

There. That should take care of that. Now? To figure out what RTL was really trying to accomplish. After a few minutes though, he got a call back from Noin again. "Did you tell him?"

"She's already gone."

"Then go after her." He couldn't. He was in the colonies.

"She didn't go to the local hospital. I don't know what you see on the computer, but she went to a special surgery colony. She left early this morning. Her brother tagged along behind her, but he didn't tell her."

That sounded like Zeches. "Which colony?"

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The Special Surgery Colony

Oh, the air. So relaxing. So lovely. So . . . interesting. Dorothy smiled politely as Heero Yuy approached her. "This is a surprise. Are you here to see Miss Relena?"

"Yes." Gruff. Annoyed. Yes, he was feeling himself. "Where is she?"

"She comes tomorrow," Dorothy revealed to him.

"What are you doing here?" Such an accusation. "Tonsillectomy? From Earth to here after two weeks?"

"My, my. Aren't you nosy in my records lately." She could see him hovering over Relena perhaps, but he paid attention to her surgery too? She touched the top of her hat. Speaking with Heero Yuy wasn't as fun. He tended not to speak much and she didn't really want to talk.

"Why are you up here ahead of Relena? Why does the computer say Relena is up here?"

She didn't know. She reached over to her phone and showed him the proof of her digital tickets.

"You should be better by now." He was staring at her. Not, angry. Was he studying her?

She had no choice, he wouldn't move the conversation along. "Healing takes time." Ooh, she felt that.

"Open your mouth."

For goodness sake, could he be less crude in his requests? A please would go a long way. Did he suspect her of something in the surgery? She opened her mouth toward him. He had taken a small light out of his pocket, gripped her mouth and looked down her throat. He let go. That was terrible. He didn't hurt her mouth, but one didn't do such a thing with a lady. She hoped this visit would be over soon.

"Your tonsils are missing, you did have the surgery."

What? He had doubted that? Oh, and now he had grabbed her phone and started to dig through her messages. Honestly. Now he was going for her purse. "That's my purse." He opened her purse and took her liquid medication. "My medication. I need that." He was staring at it.

"You should be healed by now. This might be hurting you, not helping."

Okay, that offense was forgivable now. Why in the world was Heero Yuy so interested in her surgery and her healing? Then again, she hadn't been healing. It's the reason she took Relena's invitation in the first place. Could her medication be corrupted? Was Heero Yuy there to stop Relena's surgery?

"Don't take that medication anymore. Don't take any drugs. Don't drink any alcohol." He was looking through her messages now. "She comes tomorrow. When you see her, tell her not to go for the surgery." He put her phone back down and started to walk off, when his own phone rang. He picked it up and the expression on his face changed. "They aren't here. Relena isn't here, it's Dorothy Catalonia alone. 6:00? This morning?" He looked down at his watch, hung up and then just glared at her. "Relena's already here, she came before you."

Why would she lie? Oh. Well, Heero was running like his tail was on fire. He still had her medication too. At least she was on the humidifying colony.

---

Colony Hospital

It was a small operation, but Zeches wasn't far away from Relena. He stayed out of sight, but he had been concerned. Especially since Dorothy Catalonia just had the same problem. Zeches had been trying to cover up her history too, there were so many that could still be after her. For good or for bad, he wanted her to simply live the life she chose. No matter how anything turned out. He looked at his phone and answered. "What is it, Noin?"

"Heero is coming."

Ugh. "I am right here, just outside the room where she had the surgery," Zeches insisted. "According to the doctor, she's eating cold gelatin."

"He's still coming. I have a bad feeling, Zeches, that he's not saying everything. You should go in and check on your sister."

"It already happened." Goodness. What was Heero's problem? Zeches was plenty enough if any rebels or traitors or anyone came to hurt his sister. He would be right there. Protecting his own sister. But? For him to be moving that fast, knowing he'd been there. Maybe Noin was right.