Note: Some minor editing will be taking place for these chapters over the course of the next few weeks. Thanks for reading!

That's The Way

Chapter 1

Stairway to Heaven

A/C 199

The mansion he knew so well feebly stood before him, ablaze and crackling. The structure was crumbling before his very eyes, the foundation weakening with each passing second. He stared on, in shock and awe, his body frozen in place as his brain tried to register what had happened.

How could he have let this happen?

The Peacecraft Mansion, Relena's home, had the best security in the entirety of the world. He made sure of that, her safety always his top priority. But this time he missed something, he slipped up and allowed it to happen. It was his fault either way you looked at it.

Just twenty minutes beforehand she had called him, saying she wanted him here. He was already on his way over when he had received the call. He told her he would arrive soon. He felt the pang in his chest, remembering the last thing he said to her before hanging up the phone.

"You will be safe until I get there."

He was an idiot. Somewhere along the way, he tripped up and he did not see it. His blunder was of the worst kind with an even worse consequence.

He had been a mile away from her when he heard the explosion, feeling it just moments later. Immediately the worry crept into his senses, sending his muscle tense, his heart and mind alike racing and the car speeding in her direction. He weaved in and out of traffic, watching panicked civilians running for safety, grabbing children and a handful items as they instinctively sought safety, hiding from the threat.

He pulled up to see the manor, its once was splendor, in pieces and flames. The explosion had not been a massive one, not taking down the total structure in the blast but setting it to fire and scaring neighbors away. The intent was apparently to only do harm to the Peacecraft home.

The moment he saw the burning building was when his shock set in. He acted on autopilot as he got out of the car and walked up to the black cast iron gates, which guarded the premises to those unwanted. His gaze never broke, his dread never faltered. He never wanted to say it or believe it but his princess could never have survived this. Even if she had made it through the explosion, by now the fire had consumed her.

The question nagged at him, how he could not have been aware of this. There had not been any hint of anxiety or fear in her voice when she called. Everything seemed okay from his point of view. If something were wrong, if she was in imminent danger, she would have offered the distress word during their last conversation. But she did not. Which only told him that this had been a mistake on his part, somewhere in his security it was flawed and his own negligence was what ended Relena's life.

And now Heero stood there, his own failure burning in front of him, taunting him as the time passed ever so slowly. He was briefly aware of the police cars, ambulances and fire trucks pulling up to surround the fiery mass. He did not pay them any mind and he did not move from his position even when they request he do so for his safety. His safety was not an issue to him and should not have been any of their concern.

He was safe. She had not been.

That's when he felt the hands on him, trying to remove him from the site. He knew it was the policemen, so that the firefighters could get to work and he could be delivered to the paramedics for them to check his vitals. He moved with them, his thought process muddled and body unable to respond.

He failed her.

That was the only thing resonating his mind at this point; the dull hum of detachment filled his ears, drowning out the shouting commands of the protectors of the city. The words stung at him, sensation returning to his previously unresponsive nerves.

Finally his body reacted, tearing through the hands that grabbed at him with strength unforeseen by the paramedics. He ran past the workers, shoving past anyone and vaulting over anything that dare get in his way. He heard their cries for him to stop but he refused. He would be the one to save her and if it were too late, he would die right there with her in the same fire that claimed her life.

A crass, vain act, his logical thought process chimed in, the numbness fading as his initial survival instincts all screamed at him to stop, telling him that this was a suicide mission. But he could not obey, the normally dominant rationalization portion of his mind pushed to the back. He was not sure where this part of him came from and he could not bring himself to understand it. This suicidal race would never make sense to him. All he knew at this point was go to her.

Heero's steps never faltered even when he felt the heat radiate against him. He shoved through the deteriorated remnants of the door. Thick smoke began to fill his lungs as he wildly dashed through the first level, searching for Relena. Nothing would stop him at this point. He kept low as he tore a piece of his shirt and covered his mouth to slow the inhalation of smoke to prolong his search.

With each labored breath, his body hurt more, from physical and emotional pain. He could not find her.

"Relena!" The muffled yell of her name tore through him arbitrarily. She would not be able to respond even if by some slim chance she were alive. Relena was a fighter though and she would not give up easy. That was the only shred of hope keeping him moving.

His body was coated in sweat, shaking and weak and he was barely able to breathe. Scouring feebly through high traffic areas of the first floor, the conclusion that she wasn't there told him it was time to move on.

He ran to the burning staircase, ready to check the next level of the failing mansion. He was more than halfway up the steps when the weakened, charred wood snapped beneath his weight. He tried to catch himself on the step above but his fingers only grazed against it and he tumbled with the deteriorated steps, which would have eventually lead him to Relena.

The ground was unforgiving when his battered body thudded against it, the impact momentarily paralyzing him. He took the time to take in a few rattled breaths, the piece of fabric which served as a filter lost somewhere in the surrounding debris. He struggled to push at the foreign weight that crushed his chest, the wooden beams too heavy for his weakened arms to move.

Air was getting harder to take in after he gasp that shuddered through his body. The world spun around him, his vision swimming. He watched the flames dance around him, the smell of burning flesh briefly registering in his senses.

"Relena…" He choked out, his head lolling to the side.

He failed her. He tried so hard to protect her and he completely let her down. The darkness was a relief as it took over his body. He was hoping that this was death welcoming him. The pain of living in a world without her, with the guilt of knowing it was his fault she was dead, was too powerful. This is what he deserved for letting her down.

Death was his release.

A steady beep coaxed him from his slumber, but that was not the singular irritant to rouse him. The pain in chest and shoulder helped to wake him, but it was mostly the knowledge that subconsciously crept into that he was still alive.

The fire had not killed him.

"Dammit…" Heero muttered under his breath, his throat dry and tender. Wetting it with his saliva, he hoped it would offer some reprieve.

He heard voices outside his room, one he recognized as his comrade the other one he was not familiar with. It was an obvious fact that it was the doctor in charge of caring for him.

His eyes had been kept closed this entire time, keeping his heart rate at its steady pace so as not to alert anyone to check on him. He wanted to be left alone. He did not even want the privilege of life to be graced upon him. Everything was too painful.

"So, uh, Doc, how's he been doin'?" Duo asked, his usual jovial tone was dismissed. Heero eavesdropped on their conversation outside the door of his room, doing what he could to find out what was wrong with him without having to talk to anyone himself. Hoping that maybe he would hear word on Relena surviving the explosion and the fire.

The doctor sighed, "He's doing well. There is still some concern with the burns; infection is always a worry in these cases. We do expect him to wake very soon though."

That was as far as the conversation went.

Letting loose a dismal sigh, he closed he closed his eyes and slipped back into sleep.