How Will You Remember this War?

Quatre awoke in a nice hospital bed, with the head against a nice wall. It took him a while to figure out where he was and why, but after a moment it all came rushing back to him. He looked around him. The room was pretty much empty, except for the usual stuff-a small bedside table, those annoying blippy machines, an I.V., etc. It was just like the last time he had been in a hospital, after he had help Duo and Wufei escape to outer space from earth. The only difference was that he was alone in the room. The last time he had woken up in a hospital bed his sister had been in the room. In this room there was no one but him. He didn't know exactly what to do. They never tell you what to do when you wake up alone in a hospital room. Come to think of it, they never tell you about anyone waking up alone in a hospital room; there is always someone there with them.

Looking around the room, the fifteen-year-old suddenly felt very small. He tugged the blanket free, pulled it around himself, and curled up with his back against the wall. The bandage wrapped around his abdomen holding the gauze to his left side gave a little resistance under the blue hospital gown as he tried to curl up, and it pressed a bit painfully on where the wound was, but after a bit of switching positions, it was comfortable. So comfortable, curled up there on the bed, wrapped in a big blanket. It was just like he would do when he was little, every night, waiting for his father to come in and tell him a bedtime story. He smiled a small smile at the pleasant memory. He moved the blanket closer around his face. He still felt rather achy, but far better than that night.

That night. How long ago was that night? How far behind was that night? That was the night that they won. They won, and then it was over. All of the battles, all of the fighting, all of everything was over. He curled up smaller, burying his cheeks and nose in the blanket, and stared off into space at his feet for a while. He didn't hear the nurse come in.

"You're awake?" she asked. Quatre, a little startled and rather embarrassed, quickly, yet carefully, sat up against the pillows.

"Yes ma'am."

"How long have you been awake?"

"I'm not sure, not very long, I don't think."

"Why didn't you press the call button?"

Crap. "I didn't know I should. I mean, I thought it might bother you."

"It's no bother, it's our job. But now that you're up, are you hungry?"

Quatre hadn't really thought about it. "No, thank you. Please, is there a place where I could get a newspaper?"

"I'll bring one up with lunch. You should at least try to eat something, okay?"

"Okay, thank you very much, you needn't trouble yourself."

"Don't worry, it's my job." She turned to leave, then turned again and said, "You've just woken up, but you still need more rest, got it?"

He smiled, "got it."

Quatre watched the nurse leave the room, then spread the blanket back out over the bed, leaning over (very carefully) to tuck it back under. When the bed was made, with him in it, Quatre rolled over on his good side, with the blanket up to his chin, and fell asleep.

When he woke up again, there was a covered plate and a newspaper on the small bedside table. He was still alone, but it didn't feel so awkward. Almost eagerly, and forgetting all about his promise to the nurse that he would try to eat, Quatre snatched the paper off the table and began to read. It had been two days since they had won. There, on the front page, was a picture of the Gundams. The whole paper was smeared with facts and stories and interviews about the Gundams. There was even that awful picture of Duo. Quatre practically absorbed every bit of information in that paper. On page two, there was a picture of Sandrock with a story about the time when he had destroyed the colony while on the Zero system. Quatre didn't read the article, but ripped out the picture and tucked it under his pillow.

There was a knock at the door and the nurse came in.

"Quatre...that's how you pronounce your name, right? Well, you have some visitors. One says she's your sister."

Quatre, a little unsure, pulled himself into a sitting position against the pillows, then folded the newspaper and set it back on top of the table, next to the plate. The nurse frowned in distaste at the sight of the untouched plate, but left the room to let in the visitors.

Which sister was it? He only knew half of his fifteen...well, fourteen sisters, and all but two were older than twenty-three. Some of them, from what he had heard, were married and had children. When he was very young, there was a family reunion, and he had met all of his sisters there, but it had been hard to keep track of them through the years.

A woman, probably about thirty, with dark black hair entered the room. Quatre was a little confused as to who she was, dark hair was not a trait normally seen in the Winner family. She stood at the opposite wall, her hands clasped in front, her head lowered. She looked nervous.

Quatre didn't know what to think. She looked positively scared, so he decided to make the first move.

"Hello," he said, timidly.

She looked up at him with big blue-green eyes shining. Quatre vaguely remembered her. He racked his memory, until a name came to mind.

"Dana?"

She smiled, tears rolling down her face. She rushed to the bed and had him in a strong embrace.

"Oh, my baby brother. You're safe, I'm so glad you're safe," she sobbed, running a motherly hand through his pale hair.

The wonderful feeling you get when you know you're loved overwhelmed Quatre. He hardly knew her, but she was his sister. She loved him like a sister loves her sweet baby brother and he loved her like a brother loves his adored older sister. This was why he had agreed to fight in Sandrock, this was why he had betrayed his father and left home, this was what he had nearly died many times over for. Family.

Dana still sobbed away, one hand gently rubbing the back of his head. Her tears were soaking the shoulder of his hospital gown. She calmed down a little, let go and sat back, looking at him.

"The last time I saw you, you had just turned one year old and you were just learning how to walk. I was...oh let's see, I was about sixteen and had just had Lee."

Quatre gaped. Dana gave a light laugh.

"Oh that's right, I didn't think Father would have told you. I married at fifteen, very young, but my husband and I were in love, and they were troubled times. My husband, a pacifist as well, would have been forced into joining the Alliance military if we had not wed right then, so Father consented. He was happy for us, but he was never all in favor of the marriage."

Quatre smiled and took it in. He didn't know what to make of the things she was telling him. She had left an open space for him to respond, so he said the only thing he could think of.

"How are your husband and son?"

She smiled foggily. "They're fine, both fine. My husband, Benjamin, he would have liked to have been here, but he couldn't get away from work. He sends you his best."

"Thank you. That's very kind of you both."

"We were both wondering if you knew what you would be doing once you got out of the hospital?"

"I'm not exactly sure. I just...I think I just need to find a place to stay for a while to figure that out."

"Well, Quatre, we would be more than happy if you would come stay with us for a while."

"I'd like that," he said, "I just need to figure some things out, decide where I want my life to go."

"Yes, I understand. You don't have any sort of idea of what you want to do?"

"No," he said.

She looked at him again. Her eyes were clouding.

"Well," she said, "the nurse said you should be out in a few days. You rest up. The others are anxious to see you too. They're coming in from all the other colonies. It'll be like a family reunion with all of us..." she stopped. They wouldn't all be there. Their father, and their other sister, Euraya, wouldn't be there. They had both died the same night, and Quatre had been there, he had watched them both die. They had seen their father sacrifice himself so that Oz couldn't build mobile suits with the colony'ss natural resource satellite. The colony itself had killed him. The explosion had rocked their shuttle, and thrown Quatre out of the seat, hurdling towards what would've been a fatal collision with an unforgiving wall. Euraya had thrown herself between him and the wall, and died right there.

Quatre hadn't realized how much his face expressed what he was feeling, but Dana did, and she had him in a strong hug before more could come.

"It's alright, we're here. We'll all be together in just a few weeks, wait and see. Everything is going to be okay now. We all love you, so much, dear little brother."

Someone cleared their throat loudly. Dana withdrew in surprise. Quatre jumped rather painfully. He rubbed his side gingerly as he looked at the boy standing in the door. The boy looked to be about fourteen, with tawny colored hair and large blue-green eyes. Most of all, he looked bitter.

"The nurse said visiting hours are almost over," he said to his mother, though not taking his eyes from Quatre.

Dana sighed, then smiled warmly at her son. "Quatre, this is my son, Lee. Lee, this is Quatre, my brother."

Lee moved forward rather jerkily and took Quatre's extended hand. He looked at Quatre, almost distastefully. "That would make you my uncle," he said, still engaged in the handshake. "I...I suppose that's right," stammered Dana, uncertainly. Quatre looked at their clasped hands. Lee's hand was strong, muscular and had a healthy, slightly freckled tan. His own was stringy, bony and almost white in color. He could feel Lee's cold stare fighting to catch his eyes again. Quatre didn't even need to look into Lee's eyes to know that this boy was fighting for dominance, desperate to prove himself equal, possibly better than Quatre. He was silently waging a one sided war against Quatre. But for what, Quatre might need just a little more time to discover.