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Disclaimer: Mobile Police PatLabor is the brainchild of MasamiYuuki. I highly recommend this series if you haven't tried it, it's excellent.
The story, a real PWP, is my own creation. If you like it, feel free to let me know. ^_^
Do you love me?
Someone was calling her name, over and over. She could hear it, but only faintly, like whoever was calling was very far away. Why were they yelling she wondered? Her head felt heavy and it lolled to the side. She thought this was odd, but couldn’t stop it. Her face was hot too, very hot. "Am I bleeding?" she asked aloud, but the sound that reached her ears was a mere whisper. The screaming in her ears increased, but she couldn’t hear it anymore. She was lost in a darkness that she couldn’t describe.
***
Asuma was running as fast as he could. He had to dodge bits of building that were falling from the sky but his eyes never left Alphonse. The Ingram had gone down when a section of wall had broken loose and fallen about 12 stories onto its shoulder. From the command car Asuma had tried to contact Izumi but she didn’t respond. Concluding that she must have lost the radio in the crash he had left the car and started towards her, mumbling under his breath. She was going to be unbearable, and all it was was bad luck. It could have happened to Ota just as easily. Sometimes her obsession with Alphonse was pathological, he thought. But he had had this thought before, and smiled in spite of himself. When he heard her whispering, he had become a little concerned and started jogging. He spoke into his headset, now knowing the radio was working, but still, she didn’t answer. When she wondered aloud if she was bleeding, he had broken into a run, calling her name, hoping that the panic he felt wasn’t too obvious. Hiromi, in the carrier, had already called for the ambulance, which had responded to the original alert and so wasn’t far away.
Alphonse was lying prone under a mass of steel and concrete with no signs of power. Asuma called for backup as he viewed the mass of rubble, knowing he would be hard pressed to clear any of it, but doubting that anyone would come, they were all busy. He climbed up a slab that had made a sort of ramp and was able to see the cockpit under the edge of the ramp. At first he didn’t understand what he was seeing, but then he lost all concern for appearances in his panic. Blood coated the whole inside of the broken viewer.
"Man down!" he called, leaping onto the Ingram, and frantically reaching for the manual cockpit release. "Man down! Oh my god, oh my god. Noa!" He could hear the others shouting questions, and answers, and more questions, but he was only focused on getting her out of there. The slab ramp was blocking the cockpit door and without its removal he wasn’t going to be able to do anything. He squatted down and tried to shift it himself, but only managed to cut his palms in the attempt. He put his back against it, strained with all his might, and it slid a few inches. Dropping to his knees he again reached for the handle, "Noa?!" but there was only silence. He threw himself against the viewer, but couldn’t see anything. "Ota, I need you, I can’t get to her, oh my god there’s so much blood. Ota!"
The sound of an Ingram made him look up into the face of machine number 2. He leapt off the slab, pointing unnecessarily. Ota bent over and easily lifted the concrete off and tossed it away. Clancy yelled a warning but too late the slab landed within inches of the command car. Cursing, Asuma again reached for the door handle, only to see that it was crushed into uselessness. "Ota, you’re going to have to open it, the manual hatch handle is broken. But be careful!" he yelled, as Ota giggled with glee at the thought of ripping Alponse’s head off.
Ota was careful, but the operation took far longer than it should have. By the time Asuma was able to scramble into the crushed Ingram the ambulance crew had arrived, along with the rest of Division 2. The firefighters had the building under control, so they stood there, giving moral support. Asuma hadn’t looked up or answered any questions - his whole attention was on the Ingram, and Izumi locked inside.
When he could finally squeeze into the opening he reached in, head first, to see what he could. Izumi was slumped in the restraining gear, the front of her uniform was black with blood, but he could see she was breathing.
"She’s alive, unconscious, and covered with more blood than I’ve even seen," he called over his shoulder. Goto’s voice reached him, telling him to get out of the way and let the professionals do their work. He sat back, and felt hands on his shoulders, drawing him away. He let himself be moved, but didn’t take his eyes off the cockpit. The EMS people were all over the shattered Ingram in an instant, cutting away whole sections to get to Izumi. He stood, silent, watching. Clancy was at his side, her hand still on his shoulder. Goto appeared as Izumi was lifted from the cockpit. A collective gasp went up at the sight of her. Asuma had attempted to go to her, but Clancy had held onto him.
A limp Izumi, strapped to a half spine board, her head immobilized, was pulled from Alphonse. The swarming EMS crew carried her as gently as possible onto the waiting gurney, and had then rushed for the waiting vehicle. Asuma, as if in a dream, immediately moved to the open doors of the ambulance, and no one tried to stop him. He didn’t pause, or attempt to answer the puzzled looks of the emergency crew as he climbed in. Goto had approached the driver, they had spoke for a few seconds and then Goto let them go. Clancy was the first to speak.
"What did he say?"
Goto smiled, "He didn’t think it was serious, it looked like a few cuts, and a broken collar bone. Seems the radio fin had been pushed into the cab, breaking the bone, and accounted for all the blood. He said he would be in radio contact as soon as they know more. I told him to let Asuma stay with her. Now," he said turning to survey the scene, "let’s get Alphonse onto the carrier and back to the bay or she’ll kill us all."
***
Asuma sat in the back of the ambulance, making himself as small as possible. The crew worked with a skill he could only envy. They moved well in the tiny space, talking to the hospital the whole time. He quickly learned that they didn’t feel there was any great emergency, that a broken bone was the worst of her injuries, and that most likely she was unconscious from the pain. He couldn’t help the exhale of relief that escaped from his soul. Izumi was connected to an IV, and an oxygen tank, and looked pathetic and small. He reached up and put his hand on her foot, the nearest thing to him. The crew leader turned to him, "Would you like us to treat your hands?"
Surprised he blinked, and looked down at them. Both were bloody and bruised. He looked at Izumi’s boot, and saw his blood had stained the spat. Nodding he extending his hands and allowed the crewman to clean and dress them.
"She’ll be ok," the man said nodding towards Izumi, "some blood and rest and she’ll be as good as new. Her Patlabor, on the other hand, is going to need a lot of work. You’re with Division 2 aren’t you? We’ve heard of you, and Alphonse," he smiled and leaned towards Asuma, "Don’t worry, she’ll be fine."
Asuma looked down at his bandaged hands and felt himself relax.
***
When the crew of SV2 arrived at the hospital they stood in the door of Izumi Noa’s room and smiled at the scene. Asuma had crossed his arms on the bed, making a pillow of them, and Izumi’s hand was on top of his sleeping head. Clearly, she was also asleep. Goto went to the nurse’s station to see if he could learn anything about Izumi’s condition, and returned in a moment with a doctor. They spoke softly for a few minutes and Goto finally thanked the man and returned to his team.
"She’ll be discharged in a few days; they were worried that the fin might have hurt her head and they want to keep an eye on her," he whispered. Everyone nodded, and backed away from the door, allowing it to close.
"What about him?" Ota asked no one in general.
Goto glanced back at the door and shrugged. "He’s fine right where he is."
When Izumi awoke a few hours later Asuma was still in the same spot. She smiled down at him and once again put her hand in his hair. He turned his head towards her and regarded her with sleep filled eyes.
"Noa?" he whispered, almost as if unsure. He raised his head and looked around. Suddenly he seemed to remember himself and leaned towards her. "Noa, how do you feel?"
She smiled weakly and looked around. "It wasn’t a dream?"
Silently he shook his head. She sighed, but then jerked upright, "Alphonse?!"
Asuma smiled, not surprised her next thought was for her labor. "He’s back at the bay and in better shape than you are," he finished with a wry smile. He was lying, and knew it, but also but he knew her well enough to know that eventually she would understand his reason. "It’s no surprise that he’s also suffering from a broken shoulder, you got away with just a collar bone. There are some cuts on your head, and you know how head wounds bleed," he laughed, he hoped, convincingly. She nodded in agreement.
"My head hurts," she said softly, and in the next moment her eyes went wide. "Asuma, I can’t move! I can’t move my arm!" The panic in her voice drew him closer. He picked up her hand and put his arm around her head on the pillows. "Noa, you have a broken collar bone, they had to immobilize you." He saw tears welling in her eyes; they were wide and staring. Her silence scared him. For several minutes neither of them spoke. Finally Noa turned towards him, tears running down her face, "Asuma?" she whispered so softly he barely heard her.
"Hmm?"
"Asuma," even softer, "do you love me?"
He stiffened in spite of himself, and then chuckled, "Idiot, you know I do, we all do."
"Would you love me if I wasn’t a pilot?"
He moved to where he could look her in the eyes, "I would love you if you were waiting tables, or hauling garbage. You’re just lovable." His tone changed as he pulled his chair closer to where they could see each other, "But I can tell you’re worried, so I’ll reassure you in any way I can. What would you like to hear?" He sat down in the chair, and she turned her head to face him.
"That this was a very little accident and that I’m only here for the evening and I’ll be home in bed tomorrow."
"You are, as always, correct. The only thing that’s changed since you arrived is the days have been lengthened to be 48 hours each. You will be going home tomorrow, but with the longer days…"
Noa smiled up at him, a gleam in her eyes and he trailed off, suddenly sober.
"Noa," he croaked and felt tears threatening.
She reached up and placed her hand on his cheek, "I’m sorry, Asuma, so sorry, if I scared you."
He covered her hand with his own, pressed it hard against his face, closed his eyes and let his head fall forward. "Don’t you ever get hurt again, do you understand?"