Touchdown in Kansas City

The plane came to a slow stop and people started standing up right away. Duo sighed. The woman next to him smiled a bit.

"Oh... you need to get out," he said. "Umm..."

"It's okay," she said. She had seen him come in. "I can wait."

"You sure?" She nodded. "I'm really sorry about making you wait."

"It's no big deal." They watched as people started filing out. The rest of the group waited for a bit, letting people out as they had to. They'd been separated from each other throughout the plane because of the airline switch. Mia and Jess were behind Duo. "What happened to your leg?" the woman said out of curiosity, making conversation while they waited.

"Huh? Oh..." Duo got embarassed. "I uh fell down the stairs. Stupid cat." She chuckled.

"They do like to sleep in rather awkward places," she said. He nodded.

"Yeah..." Mia leaned forward, listening through the gap between the seats. Jess shook her head.

"How long are you supposed to be on the crutches?"

"I have to go back for a checkup when I get back home," Duo said. "They're not really sure yet."

"Oh, wow."

"Yeah," Duo said. "The doctor said if I'd fallen just a bit off, I could have been a lot worse off."

Mia rolled her eyes.

"Really?"

"Yep." Duo nodded. The plane was starting to clear out. Mia stood up.

"Oh, look, Duo," she said, "the attendant should be coming back pretty soon." Duo sweatdropped.

"Oh!" The woman was startled by Mia's appearance. "Are you two together?" Jess stood up as well.

"Yup," Mia said.

"She's my sister," Duo said quickly.

"Oh. You two look alike," she said, smiling. Mia blinked, then yelped as Jess yanked the back of her shirt so she'd fall back in her chair.

"What'd you do that for?" she hissed.

"Let him have some fun, huh?" Jess retorted before getting back up to grab her bag from the overhead compartment.

The woman was startled when Mia was pulled back. Duo chuckled nervously. "She's a bit strange sometimes," he said. Mia glared.

"If Hilde gets pissed, don't say I didn't warn you," she said to no one in particular.

"I hope my bags here," Marta said as they waited for the plane to empty out.

"I would hope so, too, considering we just took three flights to get here," Jess said. She pulled her bag down from the overhead compartment. "Ready, guys?" The attendant had returned with Duo's crutches.

"Thanks," he said. They made their way off the plane, though Duo had to say goodbye to the woman that had been next to him, and headed for the baggage claim.

"This is a really small terminal," Mia said.

"Fine by me," Duo grumbled. "I've had enough of big terminals."

"We have to stop back in Cleveland again on the way home," Jess reminded him.

"This sucks..." he growled.

They grabbed their bags off baggage claim and requested a shuttle to the hotel from the stand nearby.

"I think this is one Robert Otiz said we take," Marta told them. "KCI."

"Yeah, I think so, too," Jess said.

"I think... it's out there," the attendant told them. She pointed down towards the little shelter thing to catch the shuttle busses at. Duo frowned.

"No chairs?" he said. They made their way down there to wait for it. Duo leaned against the side wall. Jess just outright sat on the ground.

"I'm so tired," she said. "I can't wait to get into the hotel room and take a shower."

"Me, too," Mia said.

"It's hot out here," Duo mumbled. Jess took her sweatshirt off from over her teeshirt and tied it around her waist.

"You were freezing when we left New York," Mia snapped at him.

"Well, here in Kansas City, it's hot," he snapped back.

"Oh, quit it, you two," Jess said. "We'll have to leave you here otherwise." The twins looked away from each other, both steaming. Jess sighed. "Siblings..." Quatre blushed.

"Just be glad Duo and Mia don't have 28 more," he said with a small chuckle.

"Trust me, I am!" Jess said. Duo and Mia both stuck their tongues out at them. The shuttle finally arrived and loaded them up. It was about an hour to the hotel, and the driver gave them some weird directions about where to go for shopping. Marta just really wanted to hit a mall of some sort. Jess rolled her eyes, figuring they'd probably get lost with the directions he gave them.

The hotel was on a steep hill, which was interesting for Duo to try and keep his balance on.

"This is certainly a challenging trip," he growled as Mia hovered next to him so he wouldn't fall.

"Oh, stop," Mia said. She walked with him around the van and to the hotel door. It was a revolving door.

"I can't do that," he said. Someone next to him opened a regular door.

"Sir?" The twins looked. The doorman smiled.

"Oh..." Mia smiled. "Thanks. Come on, Duo." He sighed in relief and followed her in. The rest weren't far behind.

"We'll need a credit card," the receptionist said.

"Huh?"

"We don't have anything to put the security hold on," she explained. "We need something to do that."

"I just wanna take a nap," Duo said quietly.

"We were told that the school pay for it," Marta said. "Briarcliffe College... they pay." Jess grumbled. She could so see where this was going. They bounced it back and forth, neither one backing off.

"Can we just try to get in touch with our professor and confirm things?" Jess asked the receptionist. "There's no one in the administrative offices on weekends over there, but, it'll be easier for our professor to work things out on Monday than for us to."

"Alright," the receptionist said.

Jess called his cell phone and Marta called his house. Professor Newman and his wife had gone out to get some last minute provisions and they had apparently left the phone at home because Jess just got his voice mail.

"Can we just check in now and have him contact you?" Jess asked. The receptionist sighed a bit, but then nodded.

"Alright," she said. She logged them in and gave them their key cards.

"Thank you so much," Jess said before Marta could rattle off another complaint. "I really appreciate that." She smiled, and they headed upstairs.

"These elevators are really tiny," Duo said.

"Is it me or does this place seem really deserted for a Saturday?" Mia asked.

"Not every place is busy 24/7 like New York, Mia," Jess said. "Of course, this place reminds me of a taller version of Buffalo at the moment." They got into their room and called down to the desk to try and get in touch with Jill and Julie, the other two SIFE members that had arrived that day.

"The Starbucks is closed!" Jill complained. "On a Saturday!! And there's no convenience stores around here to get cigarettes! I just want a freakin' cigarette!"

Jess shuddered. "It's Buffalo! I swear!"

Memphis Blues

Another rush through the airport ensued after they landed in Memphis. They didn't have much time to make it to the other gate, and they had to go from Continental to Northwest this time. About halfway there, they paused.

"We get on ahead and let them know you're coming," Jess told Mia and Duo. Quatre hung back as well.

"Alright," Mia said. As they headed off, Duo sighed.

"Let's just take it easy on this one," Quatre said. "They have to hold it... or get us another flight." Duo smiled a bit.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" he said. Quatre blushed. Mia shook her head.

"Duo..."

They stopped at the terminal connecting hall.

"More moving walkways," Duo growled.

Meanwhile, the others were rushing through the crowd. "What gate did they say we were at again?" Jess asked.

"C-21," Marta responded.

"This is the last boarding call for Flight 2908 to Kansas City, now boarding at gate C-21."

"Wait!" Jess yelled. They ran forward, quickly explaining what had happened.

"We can't hold it for long," she said.

"I understand, but I'm not sure when he's going to get here," Jess said. "Plus... how big is the plane?"

"He'll have room, if that's what you're wondering," the gate attendant said.

"Okay..."

It wasn't too much longer for Duo to get there. He was just as tired as last time.

"Alright, let's get you on board," the gate attendant said.

"Do I have to give you the crutches again?" he asked. She smiled and shook her head.

"No... this is a bigger plane than what it sounds like you'd been on today." Duo sighed in relief and followed her down the jetway. His leg was getting sore. Jess had complained her feet had swelled up. He could sympathise with that. His ankle felt like it was three times its normal size, and his knee was killing him. He was just glad to get settled again in a seat.

Cleveland Rocks

"Come on!" Duo had been one of the last ones off the plane because it was really narrow, and he'd had trouble with his crutches as a result. Now that he was off, they were making their way along the corridor to the crossover between terminals.

"What time is it?" Jess asked as they hurried.

"We have twenty minutes..."

"Damn," Mia said.

"I'm trying," Duo said, out of breath. Part of the group started down the escalator. Duo froze at the top.

"What's wrong?" Mia asked.

"It's moving..."

"Yeah?"

"I..." He frowned and shook his head.

"Just take the stairs if you're nervous about the escalator."

"It'll take too long." Jess looked back up and noticed the twins were still at the top of the stairs.

"Damn... I'll be back," she said.

"Hurry up," Quatre told her. She jogged back up the steps of the escalator, trying to go quicker than the steps were moving down.

"What's the matter?" she said as she got back up to the top.

"The stairs are moving," Duo said, looking embarassed. Jess looked around.

"There... an elevator." Duo looked where she was pointing. "Come on," she told them. They headed that way. Once down, they came out to see the others had managed to hold a cart driver.

"It'll be quicker... and Duo won't have to worry about balancing on the moving walkway," Quatre said with a smile. Duo sweatdropped, scratching the back of his head.

"Good idea." They climbed on. The driver took them through the tunnel, chatting the whole way, asking them where they were from and where they were going. Jess and Marta chatted right back along with him... Marta more than Jess. They got to the other side.

"The elevator's around the back of the steps," he said. Again, Duo got a bit embarassed.

"Thanks!" Jess said as they pulled their bags off the cart. They came up on the other side of the tunnel.

"Okay, where gate D17?" Marta asked.

"All the way down there..." Jess said, pointing at the sign.

"Let's go then..." They started off again, with Duo hobbling along as quick as he could.

"Don't they have carts up here?!" he grumbled. Mia hung back, not wanting to leave him alone. Maybe the others could stop the boarding if they had to. Turned out they didn't. The plane was delayed again.

"I just hope we make connecting flight in Memphis," Marta said.

"Yeah..." Duo said. He winced, sitting down in a chair. "Damn..." Again, the gate attendant came around to gate check the bags. Mia looked annoyed.

"Doesn't this airline have any normal sized planes?" she growled as the attendant walked away.

"Guess not," Duo said, holding his crutches.

Boarding Call

The group took their time enjoying their breakfast. They had a couple hours to kill, afterall. Jess's dad was happy he'd been able to get some coffee into his system. Duo was, too, for that matter. Jess was glad Duo had gotten some coffee since it meant he'd be a lot less cranky.

They headed back to wait for Marta. Jess got her boarding pass and met up with Marta on line at the counter.

Duo looked at his watch.

"How much longer?" Mia asked him.

"About an hour or so... provided there's no more delays," he grumped. Mia nodded.

"At least we're getting there," Sage said. "Jess was pretty upset with everything that happened this morning. The confusion on the phone with Marta was crazy."

"What were they working out?" Rowen asked.

"I'm not exactly sure, but it sounded more like an argument than a discussion." Quatre nodded, agreeing with Sage's take on the matter.

"Jess said there's two changeovers now," Mia said. "We're stopping in Cleveland, and then Memphis. We have about an hour in each place." Duo sighed, leaning back in the chair. Jess and Marta came over and sat down. The gate attendant circulated through the passengers.

"That's too big for the plane," she told Jess. "You'll have to check it."

"Check it? But the girl at the counter said it was fine."

"These are smaller planes. You'll check it here, and then get it back right at the jetway in Cleveland."

"Umm... okay... but can I take my laptop out?" The attendant nodded and Jess took the tag to attach it to her suitcase. As the attendant walked away, Jess opened her bag to get her laptop. "At least I won't be losing it if I get it back right at the jetway. The last thing I need is to lose my bag... I don't want to have to go shopping for a new suit when we get to Kansas City." The gate attendant came back around again and looked at Duo's crutches. Duo looked back up at her.

"Lemme guess... no room..." he said. She frowned a bit.

"Don't worry, we'll get it worked out," she said then. "I'll come back in a bit." He nodded and she continued her way through the waiting area. Duo sighed.

"This sucks."

"I want to know just how small this plane," Marta said, her Polish accent tainting her English. "My bag is not too big."

"Yeah, it kinda baffles me, too," Jess said.

"I don't like small planes," Marta said. "I don't like flying, either." Jess just chuckled.

"We'll be okay," she said. "Don't worry about it." The attendant came back.

"The aisle is really narrow," she told Duo. "We'll board you first, and the flight attendant can assist you with getting on the plane, okay? You can work out disembarking when you arrive in Cleveland." Duo sighed, but nodded.

"Okay," he said. "Thanks..."

Go West! Maybe Not...

"It's too early..." Duo said.

"Are you sure the plane leaves at this time? Those storms sound like they're nasty..." Mia switched off the TV.

"I called last night," Jess said. "It was on time."

"That was last night... and, if it's later... I wanna sleep," Duo complained.

"Oh, stop..." Mia said.

"Come on, we have to get through security," Jess said, "and Dad's not happy without his coffee in the morning."

"Alright... alright... Shotgun," Duo said.

"Goes without saying, crutch boy," Mia said sharply. Duo stuck his tongue out at her and she rolled her eyes. They headed outside.

With Jess's dad's truck packed up, they headed for the airport. As they walked into the terminal, Jess's cell phone started to ring.

"Who's that?" her mom asked.

"Voice mail..." Jess called her voice mail and listened. "Oh, this sucks!"

"What?"

"The plane! It's delayed... Marta got called by the airline."

"How long?" Duo asked.

"3 hours!!!"

"I coulda slept!!!" he said.

"We all could have, Duo," Jess said.

"Well... let's get breakfast," her mom said. "Your father wants his coffee." They went to the diner across the street from the airport before she checked her stuff in.

"I need to call Marta," Jess said. "I'll meet you guys inside."

"Alright," her mom said. They went and got a table while Jess called Marta. She came in a little while later as the waitress was taking their orders. She quickly ordered something and sat down.

"So?" her dad asked.

"Marta said she got a new flight plan already... and that the guy was supposed to change mine, too... so I called Continental, but the woman didn't change mine. I don't know what's going on... It's too confusing. I just want to get to Kansas City... where I'm supposed to be." Jess sighed.

A Little Lesson

It wasn't that long before Sally returned. She had a brace for his ankle. She showed him how to put both on.

"I want you to keep these on 24/7 until next time... you can take them off when you wash, but that's it." She held out her hand. "Stand up for a second." Duo eased himself off the table, holding on to her for balance. "How tall are you now?" she asked him. He shrugged.

"I dunno..."

"You're taller than me, right?"

"I think so..." They looked at each other for a moment. Sally could remember when he was a full head shorter than her. Now, he looked to be a couple inches taller than her.

"Yeah... I'd say about 6 feet." He looked down, judging for himself.

"Okay." He leaned back against the table again and then looked up again as one of the nurses came in. Sally told the nurse his height and headed out. The nurse adjusted the bottom of the crutches she had with her.

"Try this," she said.

"Umm..."

"Okay?" He shrugged. "Too short?"

"I don't know." The nurse chuckled.

"You've never been on crutches before, have you?"

"No..."

"Let me see." She looked at him a second. "Don't lean down on the top like that... you're supposed to put your weight on your hands."

"Then why do they come all the way up?"

"For balance." She beckoned him towards her, nodding at him to swing through. He moved forward a bit, unsteady with the movement. "Let me see this one." She took the one from his right and readjusted the height. "Better?"

"I guess... but now they're uneven."

"I'll even them up, but which one feels better?" He looked down at both, thinking about it.

"The right one."

"Okay." She took the left one from him and readjusted it as well. "There. That should do it." He nodded. "Do you have stairs at the house?" He nodded. "Alright. We'll make our way down the hall... and I'll show you how to do stairs in the other room."

"Okay..." He looked a bit unsure of that, but let her help him along. It took a little while, but the nurse finally felt okay enough to let him go. She'd had to catch him a few times, but he didn't fall too much.

"You're alright with it now?" she asked him.

"Prob'ly 'bout as good as I'm gonna get," Duo said.

"You'll get better at it.. but hopefully it won't be too long that you'll be on them." She smiled.

"Thanks."

The Verdict

"How long ago did you fall?" Sally asked.

"Two days..." Duo said. He flinched as Sally examined his ankle, unable to stop himself from pulling away from her slightly. He rubbed his knee, the sudden movement having made it ache a bit.

"Easy... You got yourself pretty bruised up."

"Damn cat..." he growled. Sally chuckled.

"Relax your leg," she told him for about the fifth time since he'd gotten there. "If you keep tightening up like that, I'm not going to be able to tell anything."

"It hurts when you do that," Duo complained. "I can't help it." Sally sighed.

"Lay down."

Duo laid down, wincing slightly again as his ribs reminded him that they were bruised again, too. Having taken a hit there a few times thanks to OZ, the Gundam engineers, Trowa, and Heero, Duo was pretty familiar with that feeling. He sighed, trying not to heed the protest from his side.

After reminding Duo several more times to relax, Sally finished checking him out.

"Mostly, it's just bumps and bruises," she said to him, writing a few notes in a folder. He slowly sat up and looked at his still swollen ankle. He frowned. "You're going to be stiff and sore for a few more days at least, probably longer with the deep bruise on your side. However-"

"There's always one of those..." he mumbled. Sally just sighed.

"I want you to stay off that leg," she said. "That's a really bad sprain in your ankle. With the way it seems you landed, I'm surprised you didn't end up worse off."

"Thanks for the optimism there, doc," he retorted. She stood up, taking the folder in her hand, and turned to him.

"Seriously, Duo," Sally said. "Most people would have broken something. If you had rolled a bit further on that leg, you could have done some serious damage. You're pretty lucky."

"Why do I have a feeling I'm not as lucky as I could have been?"

"For the simple fact that you got hurt at all," Sally said, raising an eyebrow at him. "You could have just bounced down the stairs and been fine. I've seen that, too. Anyway, I want you off that leg, so I'm going to have one of the nurses see how you handle being on crutches. We'll keep an eye on it, so I want to see you again in 10 days. Once I get an idea on how it's healing up, then we can figure out where to go next."

Duo looked rather upset. He didn't like the idea of being stuck on crutches. It was seriously going to suck for doing anything, especially the upcoming trip... and Jess's house had stairs!

He sighed.

"You'll be okay," Sally said. "You just need to let things heal."

'Which will be a challenge in and of itself for a Gundam pilot...' she added silently.

"Stay here," she told him.

"Wasn't planning on running off," Duo grumbled. Sally shook her head and walked out.

Duo sat on the examining table, swinging his good leg impatiently as he gingerly rubbed his side where he'd bruised his ribs.

"I don't believe this," he mumbled to himself. "This so sucks..."

Stubborn as a Mule

Mia came into the living room. Duo was asleep on the couch. She frowned slightly. She had tried to get him to see Sally yesterday, but he'd been stubborn about it. Not surprising... She didn't exactly like doctor's visits either... but sometimes you had to go.

"Duo."

"Uh-huh..." He didn't move.

"Come on... Get up."

"Do I hafta?"

"Yes." She sighed. "Here... put this on your ankle." He looked at her for a moment. She was holding an ice pack. Duo sighed. His ankle had swollen up badly from the fall. He frowned as he sat up. He was still stiff. He'd banged himself up pretty bad, the worst of it being his ankle, but his ribs and knee were pretty sore, too. Mia reached over and helped him sit up. "You really should go see Sally if you're still in so much pain."

"It's not really that, Mia," he said. "I'm just stiff."

"You could barely walk on that leg this morning," she reminded him. "It's better to go and be told there's nothing to worry about than to make an injury worse by not getting proper treatment."

"Like you enjoy going to the doctor's?" Duo countered. Mia leveled a glare at him and dropped the ice pack in his lap. "GYAH!! That's cold!!" he squeaked.

"I know," she said and walked away. He clutched at the ice pack, shivering slightly, and reached down to put it on his ankle. He winced.

"Is everything okay?" Quatre asked as Mia came back into the kitchen.

"Fine," she said sharply. Quatre frowned, as did Sage and Rowen.

"Guess not," Rowen said quietly as Mia stomped her way back down into the basement to finish her laundry.

Duo's a Clutz

Duo yawned. Jess had left the blinds open again after she left for work, and the sun always beat down through her window. He looked around. There was only one other person left... Rowen.

'Jess couldn't have the room on the other side of the house... could she?' he thought dismally, pulling the blankets over his head.

"Duo! Rowen! Breakfast!" Mia was downstairs.

"Later..." he responded. Rowen didn't even answer, he just pulled himself deeper into the blankets. Downstairs, Mia sighed. Those two were *so* not morning people. She finished up and put things out on the table for the rest of the group.

"Thanks, Mia," Quatre said.

"Yeah... it's not much," she said. "I'm not much of a cook."

"Well, out of the people here, you're probably the best one," Sage said with a smile. Mia actually blushed slightly. Quatre chuckled at her.

"Now there's a rare sight," the blonde Gundam pilot said teasingly.

"Duo's rubbing off on you, Q," Mia responded. Now it was Quatre's turn to blush. Mia laughed.

The group assembled finished their breakfast. Quatre and Sage cleaned up as Mia went upstairs to check on the two sleepyheads.

"That's a bad spot, Ivy," she said to the fluffy red cat. Ivy meowed and rolled over. "Silly cat," Mia said. She stepped over her and walked down the short hall. "Hey, you two," she said loudly. Duo grumbled and held the covers down tightly. Rowen sighed and rolled over. She put her hands on her hips. "Wake up."

"Why?" Duo said.

"Because you'll never get to sleep tonight," Mia said with a laugh. "Come on..." She turned and walked out again. Rowen stretched and yawned.

"Guess we should get up," he said to Duo. Duo just growled. Rowen chuckled and headed for the bathroom. Duo stayed under the blanket. Mia headed downstairs into the basement and started up the computer. Sage walked outside and sat down in the grass. He began meditating before his morning run. Quatre sighed and sat down on the couch in the living room. He switched on the TV. As everyone settled into their morning routines, Duo finally got up.

He blinked, rubbing his eyes against the sunlight in Jess's room. With a large yawn, he headed out. Rowen was in the shower upstairs, which meant he had to go downstairs to the other bathroom. Jess's parents had closed the door to their bedroom, so the hallway was dark in contrast to Jess's sunlit room. He got to the top of the stairs.

Ivy let out a screech as Duo stepped on her, her red fur blending in with the reddish brown carpet, especially in the dark hallway. She jumped, attacking Duo's leg with her claws. Duo let out a yelp and tried to get away, losing his balance. Before he could catch himself on the banister, he fell. Ivy jumped away, hissing and spitting at him from the top of the steps as he tumbled about half way down. Duo managed to catch himself before he crashed into the drysink at the bottom of the steps.

"What happened?" Quatre was on his feet and at the bottom of the stairs in an instant. "Duo... are you alright?" Footsteps pounded up from the basement.

"Duo?" Mia called. "What happened?"

"Stupid fucking cat!" Duo said sharply. He was slow to sit up, sore just about everywhere from the fall.

"Are you okay?" Quatre asked. Mia reached forward to him.

"Don't get up, yet," she said. Duo winced. "Careful... how bad are you hurt?"

"I dunno... everything hurts..." He closed his eyes against the aches and pains.

"Does anything feel broken?" Quatre asked. Duo seemed to think about that one for a second.

"Don't think so..."

"Can you stand?" He shrugged.

"Can I just stay here for a while?" he asked quietly.

"Stairs aren't wide enough..." Mia mumbled. "C'mon... Let's get you to the couch, at least." She and Quatre reached over to flank Duo in case he had trouble standing up. They each took an arm and eased him up. He wobbled slightly, clinging to both of them. "Okay?" He nodded. "Alright... nice and slow." She wanted to make sure he wasn't too hurt to walk.

They moved him forward slowly and his right leg buckled. "Oww..." Mia and Quatre both grabbed Duo tighter. "Shit..."

"What?"

"That hurt..."

"We should get him sitting down," Quatre said. Mia nodded. Duo shook his head.

"Wait..."

"Don't put your weight on it," Mia said. "Lean on us." He hesitated. "Come on... it's okay... we've got you." Together, Mia and Quatre maneuvered Duo to the couch. "Put your leg up..." Mia told him. He winced, biting his lip. "Where does it hurt?"

"My ankle..." he said, his voice tight. "At least... that's the worst of it." Mia untied his sneaker. He clenched his teeth as she eased it off his foot.

"It's already starting to swell," Mia said. "Quatre... get some ice, okay?" Quatre nodded and left. Mia grabbed one of the throw pillows. "Lay back a bit... it needs to elevated." Duo didn't argue. Mia carefully lifted his leg and put the pillow under his ankle. Quatre returned with the ice pack. Mia knew Duo was bad off because he was so quiet. She took the pack from Quatre and placed it on his ankle. He winced.

"Just take it easy, okay?" Mia said. Duo nodded.

"Sure..." He sighed.