Deprogramming
Chapter 33

by Scarlet Eve

A/N: GUESS WHAT!? I finished writing my original science fiction novel! It's still in an early draft and all that nonsense, but I'm super excited about it. Took me about 2 years total to write, not including a hiatus from when my ex and I broke up. Anyway, YAY! Thanks everyone for being fantastic readers/fans, and I love you all!

December 29, A.C. 201

1:30 PM Eastern Standard Time

Relena

Dorothy approached Relena, her cell phone in her hand.

"I've just heard from the hospital. They think Commander Smith will be alright," she said. Relena exhaled in relief.

"Thank goodness. We don't need to add another tragedy to this situation," Relena said. Dorothy began to speak again, but was interrupted by many people yelling and running across the snow. Both women turned to see a large group of Preventers who'd escaped from the building running back inside.

"What's going on?" Dorothy asked. They jogged to where the Preventers were congregating outside of a door, trying to get inside. Dorothy strode up to one of the nearest agents and tapped him on the shoulder. "Why are you going back in?" she asked.

The man looked at her, nearly giddy with excitement. "They've arrested the rebel leader!" he said. "We're going in to help extract him and some of the others, along with more Preventer agents."

Relena pressed her hands against her chest - a habit she'd tried to break for years.

"Does that mean Trowa and Heero are alright?" she asked.

"I would assume so," Dorothy replied. "We should wait outside," she added when Relena made a move to enter the building as well. "You know it's not safe in there."

"But-"

"Let the Preventers do what they do best," Dorothy commanded.

Relena nodded and allowed herself to be led away from the building. The scene was chaotic with former rebels, former protesters, Preventers agents, and emergency personnel. Firefighters were working on the building, collecting remnants of the bombs and putting out the fires. Preventer agents and police were working together to calm the crowd, disperse others, and take down statements of what happened at the building, while the ambulances and doctors helped anyone who was hurt.

In the pocket of her tattered skirt, her phone began to ring. Relena checked the caller ID, and saw that it was Colonel Une. Relena answered the call.

"Miss Relena! What the hell is happening over there!?" Une shouted into the phone. Relena flinched and pulled the phone a few inches from her ear.

"A lot, actually," Relena replied. "But I think it's calming down. We just heard them say that the rebel leader was arrested."

"Why is the HQ on fire?"

"The rebels planted bombs around the building while the rebel leader was meeting with the President," Relena explained. Before she could really finish her sentence, Une asked,

"And the president? Is he okay?"

"He's fine. Just shaken up."

"What a mess," Une lamented. "I should have come with you."

"Don't worry, Colonel. There are some extremely competent agents over here," Relena said. "We've already got the situation mostly under control anyway. Now it'll just be clean up."

Une sighed.

"I still don't like being so far away," she said. "This wasn't supposed to escalate this much." Relena couldn't help but chuckle.

"I don't think any of us expected any of this," she said. "Don't worry. We'll be fine."

"If you say so. I'm arranging to have a Preventer jet come pick you all up the day after tomorrow. That way I can be sure you make it back here without incident," Une said.

"Of course. Thank you."

The women ended the call, and Relena returned her phone to her pocket. Duo and Watts appeared from the crowd and made their way towards Relena.

"The cops have the crowd under control," Duo said. "And they're bringing out Mars now."

"I heard," Relena smiled.

"Look! There's Trowa and Heero!" Watts cried suddenly, pointing at the building, then jogging to join the group of people exiting the building. Both Relena and Duo turned in time to see Trowa and Heero push through the doors, the large rebel leader behind them. Both looked worse for the wear, and Heero was limping slightly, but they were at least in one piece. Relena had to restrain herself from running to Heero when the police detective approached him.

"Heero being the hero," Duo commented. Relena smiled. She was anxious to hear what happened, but there was something she already knew - whatever was causing him to freeze up was gone. He must have realized he was still just a powerful without that blasted chip.

Watts returned a few minutes later. "Miss Relena, the Preventers are moving essential personnel to another location for the rest of the day. Sort of like a safe house. Agent Sally asked me to take you and the others there," Watts said. Relena bit her lip and looked back at Heero. "I promise that the others will be brought back to your location once the police have gotten their statements."

"You need to rest anyway, princess," Duo said, giving Relena a nudge.

"Alright," Relena sighed. With Dorothy and the President, Watts led them away to a waiting car.

December 29, A.C. 201

2:00 PM Eastern Standard Time

Trowa

Trowa had to admit that seeing Mars carted away in an armored truck was very satisfying. One less person causing trouble for the world was a good thing. And of course, Relena had done a great job dealing with the people outside, turning them back over to the side of reason. Not that there was any question about that.

While he waited his turn to talk to the detective, he looked around. The scene was breaking up now while the Preventers worked to deal with the damage to their building. Trowa wondered how Commander Smith was doing, and hoped he'd be alright.

As Trowa watched, a black car pulled up in front of the building, and a middle-aged woman climbed out, already on the phone. She was wearing casual clothes underneath her Preventer blazer, and her hair was in disarray. The woman reminded Trowa of Une…

"That's our VP of Operations," Watts said from his side. "She was on vacation. They must have pulled her back here to deal with the building."

"Is that why she looks angry?" Trowa asked.

"She always l0oks a little like that," Watts answered with a laugh.

"What will you do while the building is being repaired?" Trowa asked. Watts shrugged.

"We'll probably set up temporary operations somewhere else. We'll relocate the agent quarters, too, I'm sure," she said. "We have a very nice insurance policy, and most of our data is stored off site." Watts stretched her arms over her head. "Maybe I'll take a vacation. I'm overdue."

"Well if you do, come to Europe. You can visit Brussels, and maybe stop by Spain. My circus is down there for a few more weeks putting on shows," Trowa said, feeling his face heat up as he spoke. Watts turned to him, her eyes bright.

"That sounds amazing! I'll have to talk to Commander Smith," Watts said, dropping a hand on Trowa's shoulder. She smiled widely at him. Something tugged in Trowa's chest. His cheeks burned hotter.

December 30, A.C. 201

11:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Heero

Heero stood beside Relena, trying to keep his eyes open. He'd been with the police detective for most of the night discussing the events of the day, and hadn't gotten back to the temporary location where Relena was staying until almost six in the morning. He'd passed out almost immediately, only to be roused a few hours later to attend the funeral of the Americans ambassador.

The pastor was still speaking while the large group of attendees stood in a semi-circle around the coffin. Heero felt Relena's hand rest on his back, providing him with some much needed support. He glanced at her, and she smiled up at him. She'd promised he could sleep for the rest of the day if he could just make it through the funeral.

Heero glanced around, trying to distract himself to keep his mind active. Commander Smith hadn't been able to attend, as he was still in the intensive care unit at the hospital, but he'd made it through the night without issue, which was a good sign. Heero hoped he'd make a full recovery.

Standing near Relena was Trowa and Agent Watts. Heero narrowed his eyes, noting how - close - the two were standing to each other. Heero wasn't aware that anything had happened between the two, though he wasn't the most observant person when it came to relationships.

The pastor wrapped up the funeral, and the attendees lined up to lay flowers on the lid of the coffin before it was lowered into the ground. Heero was guided along by Relena's hand to stand behind Sally and Wufei. Duo, Trowa, and Watts joined them in a little group.

"The President's jet will be picking him up right after this to take him back to Brussels," Sally whispered. "That will be one less thing to worry about. And Une has us returning tomorrow morning."

"Good," Wufei mumbled. Relena shot him a look, and he turned away.

"Should we really be leaving these guys in the lurch like this?" Duo asked as they shifted forward a few feet. "Won't they need help with this mess?"

"They've got plenty of resources here. This division is one of the larger ones around the globe. They'll be fine," Sally replied. Their group drew nearer to the coffin, so they fell silent. Behind him, Heero could hear Trowa and Watts whispering.

"After we get everything squared away here, I'm taking my vacation. I have about two weeks, so I was thinking I'd head over to Europe and sort of bounce around," Watts was saying.

"That's great," Trowa replied. "I'll send you the information from where we'll be."

"I can't wait to meet your sister. She sounds like a gem," Watts said with a soft chuckle. Heero raised an eyebrow and glanced at Relena, to see if she could hear the conversation. She didn't look at him, but he thought she seemed to be trying to suppress a smile. He nudged her lightly in the arm, and she glanced up, still trying to stop herself from smiling. They were quickly approaching the coffin, so Heero gave her a stern expression, and she nodded, managing to control her facial expression.

As a group, they passed by the coffin, leaving their fingerprints or a flower on the gleaming wood. Heero wished he felt some sympathy for this person about be to buried, but he didn't even know the man. He found it difficult to pretend sadness, and hoped that he wasn't coming off as rude. Though he assumed some might interpret his tired scowl for some appropriate emotion.

Soon, Heero and the others were loaded into cars and on their way back to their temporary lodgings. Everyone in the car looked exhausted, and most were dozing off. Relena seemed to be the only one with any energy left. She was working away on a tablet, and Heero didn't have the mental fortitude to find out what she could possibly be doing.

December 31, A.C. 201

6:00 AM Eastern Standard Time

Duo

The Brussels Preventers, Relena, and Dorothy were finally read to board the Preventer plane to return home. Duo was hopeful that by arriving back before the New Year's Eve countdown, Hilde might spare him some of her wrath. He didn't much care about the changing of the years, but it was important to her.

Duo sighed and leaned back in the chair. They were still in the terminal, waiting for the final security checks to be completed. Heero was still zoned out and exhausted, his hand resting lightly on the spot where Duo had shot him. Even Duo had to admit to himself that he felt a little bad about it, but he still felt there was some justification for it in their past.

Near the edge of the rows of chairs in the terminal stood Trowa and Watts. They were speaking quietly to each other. Duo narrowed his eyes. Was something going on there? He glanced at Relena, who met his eyes. She smiled knowingly. Duo chuckled to himself. Knowing what he knew about that whole situation, Duo sincerely hoped that Trowa could find some happiness elsewhere. Duo loved Relena, but he also knew that she would forever be stuck on Heero, and he on her.

"We are now ready to board Preventer flight 329 to Brussels, Belgium," the woman at the desk said into the PA. Duo pushed himself up from the chair and joiend the small group of his friends who were boarding. He watched out of the corner of his eye at Watts gave Trowa a rough hug, then shouted good bye at everyone as they disappeared onto the jet bridge.

December 31, A.C. 201

9:00 PM Central European Time

Relena

Relena didn't think she'd ever been so happy to be walking through the Brussels airport. She was exhausted, and she knew everyone else was, too. Her plans were to head straight home and sleep through the New Year's celebration.

When they exited the airport to the pick-up area, they were greeted by Une and Hilde, waiting with a large Preventer van. Hilde scream and ran to Duo, throwing herself into his arms. Relena could hear her saying something to him, but her voice was muffled by her sobs. Duo held her tightly, resting his cheek against the top of her head.

"Thank you for making it back in one piece," Une said, approaching Relena and Heero. Relena dipped her head and smiled.

"I've certainly had enough adventure for a long time," Relena said.

"So you'd turn down an offer if I made you one?" Une asked, an eyebrow raised, and Relena very much hoped that Une was joking. She laughed to make sure, and Une just smiled. "Come on, let's get out of here." Une herded the group into the van and sat down in the driver's seat.

Une dropped Heero and Relena off at her townhouse and sped away to drop off the others. Heero helped carry Relena's things inside and together they collapsed on the couch. It felt oddly normal, like they'd just gotten home from a long vacation. Home.

Relena tilted her head towards Heero.

"I never did say how proud of you I am," she said. Heero smiled.

"That's good to hear," he replied. "It was mostly because of you. I've always said that you're stronger than me."

"Oh, don't start that," Relena said playfully, giving him a gentle push. Heero grabbed her hand and pulled her over on the couch until she was sitting on his lap. His dark blue eyes gazed up at her.

"But it's true, and I want you to know it," he said. Relena opened her mouth to protest, but instead, he captured her lips with his, drawing her body closer to him. In the back of her mind, she let it go, knowing that now, she'd have plenty of time to try and convince him otherwise, and he'd have plenty of time to refute her again and again.

THE END

-SE