Liberation

-----part 1----- 

She could barely recall the time when she'd been male.

That had been five years and seven children ago. She loved every one of her 
children. Their father she utterly despised, however. He had forced himself on 
her repeatedly. He'd beaten her for simple mistakes, and tortured her for what 
he thought of as the big ones.

She'd agreed to the operation, and to what would follow:

Her marriage to this man.

She had no choice, unless she wanted her friends to die.

They were released unharmed, as promised. She had later learned that they'd 
returned to the Oz installation to rescue her. But by that time, the base had 
been evacuated and she and her captors were now elsewhere.

"Duo?!"

She was so stunned that she spun around. She saw Wufei there and was about to 
throw her arms around the other pilot. Then she remembered her children at home. 
If she didn't come back...

"I'm sorry." She said. "You obviously mistook me for someone else. Excuse me."

"Wait," Wufei grabbed her arm. He knew damned well he hadn't mistaken her for 
someone else. He didn't know why she was a girl, but that wasn't important. The 
important thing was that he'd found Duo. Duo had been missing, and presumed dead, 
for five years and Wufei had finally found him. Or her.

Duo wrenched her arm free. "I have to get home and start supper for my family." 
She told him. "The general doesn't like to be kept waiting."

"You don't love him." Wufei whispered.

"He'll hurt the children if I leave him." Duo whispered back. Out loud she said 
"I love him with all my heart. He's been a good husband."

She paid for her food and left the market.

-----part 2-----

Duo fell to her knees as her husband slapped her across the face. 

"You let yourself be seen." He accused her.

"I didn't!" She protested. "It just happened. I swear it. I didn't know he was 
there. I tried to tell him I was someone else."

"Get up on the bed."

"Please, no."

He slapped her again and tore the dress she was wearing. "I told you to get up 
on the bed." he screamed at her.

Duo laid down on the bed, tears flowing from her eyes, as the general shoved 
himself into her over and over until she was sobbing in agony and holding her 
stomach. Then he stopped and rolled onto his back. 

"You deserved it." he told her. "Now get up, clean yourself up, and make dinner."

Duo lay there, bleeding and crying. "I have to go to the hospital, you son of a 
bitch."

The general slapped her. "You have to make me dinner." he told her. "I know full 
well this is an escape attempt."

"You stupid, selfish bastard!" Duo swore, angrily. "You just made me ..."

The general slapped her again.

"LEAVE HER ALONE!"

"Wufei..." Duo whispered.

Wufei kept his gun trained on the general as went over to Duo and saw that she 
was hemorrhaging badly. He picked her up, draping her over his shoulder.

"My children..." Duo protested, terrified.

"They're safe." Wufei assured her. "They're with Heero and Trowa outside." He 
carried Duo out to the area where the other two pilots were waiting with Duo's 
seven kids.

*****

"Is mommy gonna be 'kay?" Duo's three year old daughter asked as she stood in 
front of the chair that Heero was occupying in the hospital waiting room. She 
was looking up at Heero with eyes full of curiosity and fear.

"I hope so, kiddo." Heero sighed.

Wufei came out of the room where he'd been talking with the doctors.

"How is she?" Heero asked.

"She'll be fine." Wufei said, smiling down, briefly, at the little girl. "At the 
moment, however, she needs her rest."

"Wait here." Heero told Duo's daughter. He pulled Wufei around a corner, made 
sure the little girl hadn't followed them, then looked up at Wufei. "What's 
wrong?"

"Duo had a miscarriage." Wufei told him. 

-----TBC-----