"Owww! That smarts, Sallllyyyyy!" Duo was too busy wallowing in his own painful body parts now to take note of Quatre and Dorothy's love adventures. He jumps up from being sprawled all over the floor in the agony Sally Po's mechanations on him with her "poison" potions put him through. His angry eyes find his buddy Wufei in much the same straits.

This Dr. Po must've gotten her medical license from the dog pound, the way she's handling our painful wounds...Ouchie!!!.....

"Oh, does it smart?" Sally's face was smirking, mockingly condescending and sarcastic at the same time. She grins behind their backs as she finishes laying the bandages rather roughly, as punishment, on Duo's "tender not as seriously injured as it simply was a royal pain in the butt" kind of wound.

Now, you're turn, Mister "I'm disgusted" Man....

Sally turns with bandages and scissors well in hand to her Chinese partner's injuries.

"Don't even think about it." Wufei stops her in her tracks with a halting arm out. (To which he grits his teeth to stifle the pain the action causes his sliced up shoulder.) "Just give me those bandages. I can do it myself." Wufei had noticed the purposely rough and vicious way the woman had been dealing with Maxwell.

Simply because we were commenting on fool Winner's infatuation with the root of all evil? Hmph! You side with her because ALL women are weak, evil creatures! Ha!

"Ergh!"

In his enthusiastic putting down of the female sex, Wufei had forgotten to grit his teeth and the pain stabbed both up and down arm and chest more than even he could bear for that second. He hoped against hope that Sally had not noticed this singular weak moment in his otherwise spotlessly strong life of battle.

However....

She had.

The bandages he had yanked from her hands rolled across the marble floor to her feet already told the tale.

"No-you-can't. Here, give me those." Sally Po sighs in frustration as she scoops up the roll and tugs the scissors from Wufei's hands. "Why do all men think they can do EVERYTHING by themselves ALL the time?" Sally grumbles as she expertly cuts and sizes and tapes up Wufei Chang's rather bloody shoulder. She quickly examines the wound and seals it up for the time being, not once looking Wufei in the eye.

"Because we can---and we do." Wufei states, standing up straight despite the pain. But even the way he said it, in that oh-so-macho tone, makes Sally stop herself from getting angry. She realized that maybe these five boys---these five men---had come into their own as warriors and that maybe these five COULD do anything---from saving a kingdom to rescuing a Colony, to preserving the world.

But it isn't just because they're men as Wufei would want me to believe.....It's because you're heroes.

Sally lets her anger and frustration at his nasty words pass. Her eyes look to the strong person Chang Wufei was---and always would be, despite the rest of the world. He, for one, would never, ever give in to being weak.

And I respect that in you, Wufei. Even if you are a male chauvinist pig most of the time.

Sally chuckles to herself, though she goes a little easier on the bandaging now as Wufei grunts at her, oblivious of her feelings for him as of yet.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Heroes.......

One such "hero" was not as oblivious to his girl's feelings for him, but that wasn't what kept Heero Yuy coming back to her. He wasn't as interested in her girlish emotions and silly romantic notions as she would like him to be at all.

No, Heero was more interested in protecting her more than anything else in the universe. He cared more about her life than the entire universe's existence, and though he didn't quite understand why, Heero Yuy knew one thing---it burned in his subconscious---even to the depths of a heart that neither lived nor loved, only methodically, clinically beat in his scarred and battered chest---he would give his life for hers.

If Relena Peacecraft Darlian lived, the rest of the world need not. As long as she was safe and protected, and starting from this day on, Heero vows that he would be the one to do just that. He would protect her, even if the world was being destroyed---even if space itself would be breaking up, he would be there to save Relena, to take the hit for her, to carry her pureness away from the tumultuous times she was living in.

And this is how Heero intended to live from now on. As he always has, day to day, giving his all for his new mission---and this time, the mission was her.

Relena's protection.

Mission accepted.

"Heero! Stay still! Miss Sally's coming! You're wounded and bleeding." Relena's voice was trying to be as stern as her happy heart and relieved soul could be this night. After all, it's not every day a girl's kingdom gets saved from nuclear obliteration AND her missing guy turns up and walks back into her life, is it?

Relena turns from Heero's beaten and battered form, crumpled in a pile on the ground, to wave Sally over.

She was glad that Trowa had hauled off the unconscious bloody terrorist that had been laying beside where Heero decked him.

Or was that an upper cut left punch, Heero? I suppose I'll have to learn it from you someday...

"Don't bother, Relena." Heero's droll voice was as stiff and emotionless as ever, as despite Relena's warnings, he gets to his feet on his own. He didn't even have to grit his teeth to the pain his hundred or so broken bones have ever afforded him.

Relena watches in horror and shock as the man of her dreams' arm hangs limply at his side at a contorted angle. It was so obviously badly broken that even she could tell.

"Oh, Heero! Miss Sally, hurry! I think his arm is broken! Come and---"

But before a gasping in fear Relena has the chance to blink twice, Heero Yuy had taken firm hold of the broken limb in his other---

And with a loud crack audibly heard and sharp twist inhumanly possible to stand pain such as this, Heero Yuy sets his own arm back in place. He squeezes it and then bends it, forming and unforming a fist in his "good as new" elbow and arm.

"---see...." Relena in disbelief, finishes her sentence to Sally, in awe. The elder woman joins the young princess and merely smiles. She long ago realized that this young man, Heero Yuy, was not only unbelievable in both strength and healing and stamina, but he was also astounding in his sense of purpose.

Sally knew Heero Yuy well enough, through their times together, to know that he now had a new purpose in life from the determined look in his almost machine precision blue eyes.

And her name is 'Relena.' Boy, oh boy, if this situation is any indication, she sure is going to need you as her bodyguard, Relena. I just hope YOU can put up with this man's 'electric personality', Princess...

Sally smiles at Heero's unresponsive emotionless attitude, even as he looks the woman he obviously, to the rest of the world, loves, in the eye.

But I do feel your pain in that respect, little girl. Sally thinks, not needing to lay a medical finger on Heero. That boy can take care of himself.

She nods to him as she goes back to treating the real 'babies.' Duo was whining of hurting and needing pain killers already.

"I'm coming, I'm coming..." Sally turns with her own amused sigh, but before she leaves, she turns a head back to Heero. "I don't even have to say it, but, you're going to take care of things around here tonight, eh, Heero?" Sally didn't have to ask for her answer was clearly written in Heero Yuy's steely eyes. After all, after today's harrowing death threat and terrorist strike, there may be more danger left amongst the vast, hidden halls of the palace.

But if there was, Heero would be the man she'd want in charge here to protect the fragile peaceful kingdom. Besides, Heero had a vested interest in protecting Sanc. Relena's smile from ear to ear was enough to see just why Heero Yuy nods in answer.

And all of Sanc could sleep again tonight because of him and his protection of both the beautiful land and its beautiful princess who had somehow captured his icy hardened heart and was slowly melting it....

Slowly....