Title: Mysterious stranger
Summary: Returning home from work Heero finds something unusual in his living room. Uncertain of what to do with this surprise he e-mails his friends for advice. They however have their hands full with their own trouble and Heero finds himself knee deep in a whole new challenge.
Author notes: Okay notes.
No these are not their actual e-mail addresses so give up on trying to mail them.
This story will consist of an amount of e-mails between the guys and certain OC colleagues of theirs. Each of the guys will get their own chapter. The first 5 will be the guys finding their respective stranger and communicating via e-mail with one another.
Note that no canon x OC couples will be made here as I do not approve or support underage relationships of that kind in any way shape or form.
No there will also not be any canon x canon relationships! I've done some refreshing of my Gundam Wing knowledge and I've come to the conclusion that, no matter how plausible and cute some of the pairings are, there is no way they would have any at this point.
NO I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING. THE CREATOR OF GUNDAM WING AND SUNRISE INC. ARE HOGGING ALL THE RIGHTS! That concludes the notes.
Chapter 1, Heero Yuy. Mysterious bundle.
Date: March 21st AC 203
Sender:
Recipients: Q. R. Winner(), D. Maxwell (), W. Chang(), T. Barton ()
Subject: Request information
This is Yuy.
I have a…delicate situation on hand and need advice. Have returned recently from a mission to find a strange bundle in my living room. Within said bundle was to my great surprise a child. I estimate no older than three. Have informed Une of this. She advised to keep the infant close to me as it would be safest that way while she runs an investigation.
Have no idea what to do with it. Searched for information on the internet. Though I'm more concerned with how it came to be in my living room and who put it there. Checked my home. No bugs, transmission devices or other foreign objects. Only the child.
Heero sighed looking at the now sleeping child before reading through the e-mail one final time. He send it from his private address that he'd given only those four. He wasn't sure what to expect but right now those four were the only ones he trusted to ask. He smiled some as he could almost imagine Duo's reaction. He couldn't blame the other man much. After all he could handle the ZERO system but he hadn't the faintest clue as to what he should do with this child. He sighed as in his memory he once again replayed the events of the last few hours.
Upon his returning from work early that morning he had the feeling someone had been there before him and so he systematically worked through each room trying to spot the smallest trace of burglary, sabotage or espionage. Saving the living room which only had a couch and a coffee table in it and his bed linen on the ground before the couch. He often slept on the couch prior to a mission and as such the bundle of sheets didn't seem out of place at all. When he returned to the living room after searching each room of his small apartment methodically his eyes once again landed on the heap on the floor there. Deciding that he should probably put the sheets in the Laundromat he walked over to the couch. However he came to a sudden halt mid bending to pick the sheets up when they moved of their own accord. Heero had by now reached for his gun and was about to pull it out and aim when the sheets lifted and an infant no older than three years of age peeked out from underneath them.
Her eyes big round and a dark blue similar to his own, her hair a long almost black brown silky mass at mid back length, however the most surprising of this sudden encounter with the mysterious bundle was her petit frame. Her skin a creamy brown color and completely void of any clothes. She stared up at him frightened and he felt a strange sensation in his chest. He sheathed his gun quickly and scooped her up blankets and all. He put her down on the couch and watched how the naked three year old struggled with the blankets. When she finally found an exit again and pushed the blankets off Heero couldn't help but smile. She looked rather adorable with the blanket around her small form and just her head and hands sticking out as she looked up at him with her big dark blue eyes.
"You have mail" a voice said from his laptop. Heero winced and quickly turned the sound down. He checked quickly and sighed, relieved that the child hadn't woken. He quickly skimmed through the mail he received from his friends. Wufei's was an automated message which meant he was most likely working and unable to communicate. Both Duo and Quatre gave him the advice to approach a female colleague and request information on how to deal with the infant. It appeared both had a similar encounter as he.
"Good still dry...in the morning I'll buy her clothes…for now she'll have to wear my shirt." he murmured. He then returned to his mail. Trowa's was last. He opened it knowing the other boy knew as much about children as he, but wondering if perhaps Catherine Trowa's sister would have some tips for him.
Date: March 21st AC 203
Sender:
Recipients: Heero Yuy ()
Subject: RE: Request advice
Une informed me of it when I called her about my own little bundle. By now I'm sure you're aware the other three have had a visitor too. This cannot be a coincidence. Une is right though in that these little ones will be safest with us.
I'm thankful that Catherine is here to help me with this. She's quite a hand full this little one. Be thankful though, your little one doesn't try to eat a lion.
T.
Heero chuckled softly as he read the final words of the e-mail. While Duo often claimed he had none, his imagination was painting him a rather vivid and disturbing picture of a three year old chewing on the ear of a lion. He checked on the child again and found her to be sound asleep. He then decided he'd best get as much information as he could; to avoid having to go through the last 4 hours again.
After he put her on the couch, he'd gone to the phone and dialed Une's number. He had explained the situation while putting the naked child back on the couch and trying to keep her quiet so he could hear what Une said. Eventually he'd gone and grabbed some soft type of candy he had laying around and given it to the child which quieted her quickly, until she finished eating it. Une suggested feeding her and playing with her till she tired and he could easily coax her into going to sleep.
Feeding her was no problem, but then however she had to go potty. He'd had no idea what she meant with potty… until his lap became warm and wet and the child began to whimper sadly. He sighed and took her to the shower and cleaned both of them up. Found her a new shirt to wear and a change for him and returned to the living room. It took him a while to calm the distressed toddler and convince her that it was okay and he wasn't mad. When she finally stopped crying he found she'd cried herself to sleep so he'd placed her on the couch and put the sheets he found her with over her then sat down by her with his laptop and sent his friends a mail of which he wasn't sure how to write it properly and to find more information on what to do with this little child.
After some 3 hours of searching through site after site of information he finally settled down to read through all the information he'd stored in the newly made parenting file. He figured it'd be easiest to just download whatever looked useful and read through it all later. While he waited for mails he read through the information he'd compiled and once he had gotten and answered them he continued with his search for knowledge.
Toddlers are learning to crawl, climb, walk, skip and run. They're learning to throw and catch, hold utensils and feed themselves. They're learning to talk! Toddlers are becoming little people—and they are truly an adorable group. To look at.
But they can be a handful to live with. Toddlers are able to explore a dangerous world and their parents must be vigilant every moment of every day to help keep them safe. It can be exhausting and sometimes scary for the grownups. But it seems to be loads of fun for the kids! Climbing, poking, pulling, touching, tasting – these kids use all their senses to learn about the world they live in. It's healthy and natural. The toddler-explorer is fun to watch. Her excitement at discovery is contagious even for worn-out parents…
…some people refer to toddlerhood as "the terrible two's." This is because children this age get frustrated frequently and have lots of tantrums. They may be tired or in pain to begin with and then they have trouble expressing themselves in words. This leads to lots of tantrums. Toddlers can get frustrated because they want to do things that they can't quite do, like make a toy work properly or eat with a fork. This leads to lots of tantrums. And toddlers can be teased by other kids in the family. Sometimes siblings take away their toys or grab things out of their hands. This leads to lots of tantrums. All in all, there are a lot of tantrums that parents have to live with for a couple of years.
"I'll probably have my hands full with you…" Heero murmured staring at the sleeping child. The child sighed deeply in her sleep and suckled on her thumb.
"I better think of a name for you and make a list of things to do tomorrow…and pray that I don't mess up…" he sighed. Thus began a long night without sleep as the former gundam pilot set to work.
"I'll call you Mary. Now let's see…have I forgotten anything? Call boss, go shopping, mile long shopping list, clear out the spare room and turn it into a baby room and get information at the local house of law." Heero mumbled going over his list one more time. He yawned and put his laptop away. Mary had woken a bit so he placed her sheets and all on his chest and rubbed her back soothingly. This had her back to sleep in no time at all and not long after Heero too fell asleep.
One week later found Heero with Mary outside the local court house. Mary was sitting in a dark blue stroller with strawberries on it, wearing a yellow dress with white tights and crimson colored Mary Janes shoes. She held a stuffed rabbit Heero had bought her while shopping earlier that week and her hair was up in cute little pigtails. Upon bringing Mary to work with him Heero found that his fellow female colleagues were more than willing to lend a helping hand and give him advice on many things. He'd listened patiently to each of them and watched with great interest as they showed him the ropes of handling a child. The lessons in how to go about bathing without getting shampoo in Mary's eyes were most helpful as were the ones on how to do her hair up when you have only a few minutes before you leave or while on the road. Now though he stood before the large building where he had an appointment with a lawyer and a judge about legal guardianship which he needed so he could take the child to see a doctor and a dentist and which he might need if the case dragged on for more than two months, which it looked like it would at this point. Heero took a deep breath and entered the building. He reported at the desk and was pointed to the waiting area. Ten minutes waiting later his lawyer arrived and they went to see the judge.
"Mister Yuy. Colonel Lady Une send me the e-mail as agreed upon. I've reviewed your case. As the procedure will take a while to get around to I will give you this paper for temporary guardianship for the duration of one month. You have an appointment with social services tomorrow morning. They will access your situation and make an evaluation. Based on that I will decide whether I prolong your guardianship of this child when the month has passed." the Judge said. Heero listened closely and accepted the paperwork the judge gave him. With his lawyer he filled everything out properly.
"Miss Tailor? What exactly do social services do?" he asked filling out his personal information on yet another form.
"They will have an interview with you and your daughter. After that they will send someone by your house that will access your living situation and review your interaction with your daughter. That person will determine by observation whether you take good care of your child and whether the house she will live in is safe for her." Miss Tailor the lawyer answered smiling kindly. Mary chirred happily in her stroller drinking from her sippy cup.
"House." she chirped happily. Heero smiled and made a mental note to add the word to the list of things she could already say. He quickly finished filling out the paperwork and was given a card from social services to call for further details on the meeting of the other day at his home.
Heero sighed as he sat up in his bed the next morning. Mary was fast asleep in her bed next to his. It was made so she wouldn't be able to climb out or in any other way end up hurting herself. He smiled looking at her and turned on the baby monitor to keep an eye on her while he worked in the room next to his to turn it into a baby room. It was almost finished now. It had been one of the last things on his list as he wanted to make sure the house was baby and toddler proofed first. His guns and bullets lay, save the unloaded one in his back pocket, locked away in the safe in his study along with many daggers and blades he owned and his important documents that he didn't need at that moment and a great deal of data slips that contained the codes to his various bank accounts from during the war.
Heero went downstairs to prepare breakfast for himself and put Mary's ready in the fridge so she could eat it when she woke and wouldn't have to wait for it to be made. It was only four in the morning at this moment, but he'd always been up early. It was becoming harder though since he found Mary, in fact he now actually slept several hours a day; a feat he had believed impossible since before the war. Those websites hadn't lied about raising toddlers being a fulltime job which exhausted the parents. He was thankful that he had a very lenient boss at his real job that made it no problem for him to bring his daughter to work or work from home and never taking a day off or going anywhere on vacation had saved him more than enough days off for whenever he needed them. He was putting those days off to good use this week and the next one to make sure his house would transform in a child safe house. He'd taken the bump proofing tips from his colleagues to heart and made sure all sharp corners were covered with special bumping corners which were blunt and made of a type of rubber that would see to it the child would not hurt itself when running around.
After some four hours Heero found himself sitting at the kitchen table with Mary in her own special chair happily stuffing small pieces of bread with cream-cheese and chocolate onto them into her tiny mouth and enjoying the food greatly. Heero yawned drinking some coffee to try and keep from falling asleep. In an hour the lady from social services would come for the first appointment he had to look presentable and awake. Mary looked at him.
"Papa kay?" she chirped tilting her head.
"Hm? Yes I'm okay. C'mere silly girl you're all dirty from eating." he said chuckling and picking Mary up. He took her to the bathroom and set to cleaning up her face and hands. He put her clothes in the hamper and helped her go potty when she asked to.
Heero was in the middle of changing her clothes when the doorbell rang. He pressed a button next to the changing table in his bathroom which activated a communication system with the front door.
"I'll be right there. Wait a moment please!" he called chuckling some when Mary sat up and grabbed his nose. He pushed the button again and put the girl back down on the table so he could finish dressing her. He then quickly went to the door and opened it.
"Good day mister Yuy. My name is Lisa Aegis and this must be Mary." the stern looking red haired woman at the door said.
"Are you from social services?" Heero asked calmly rubbing Mary's back as she started to whimper and huddled closer into his chest.
"Yes I am. My ID." the lady said her voice and appearance more gentle now. Heero took the card and pulled out a hand held laptop of small size. Mary snuggled up against him as he looked up the ID and verified that she was who she said she was. It took him slightly longer than usual as he only had one hand free. Once he was done he handed the card back to Lisa.
"Come in." he said calmly stepping aside and letting the lady walk in. He closed the door behind her and directed her to the living room.
"Relax mister Yuy. I'm not here to take your child away. I'm just here to do the preliminary evaluation today." Lisa said frowning at how hostile the boy seemed to be.
"I am calm, just unsure of what to expect. I was in a way thrown into this without previous knowledge of parenting. I want to make sure Mary stays safe and well." he said setting Mary down in her play pen giving her a cookie after taking a peek at his clock.
"I see. Don't worry from what I've seen so far you're doing well. If it helps I could explain our usual procedures a bit more?" Lisa said taking notes as she followed him to the living room.
"If you could? I have been rather nervous this morning. I'm not quite used to going into things without knowing what will happen. Something I need to work on. Sorry I forgot to bring coffee while shopping the other day." Heero admitted when he returned with tea.
"No problem Heero. I don't drink coffee. As for the procedure; I start with an interview, just some standard questions. Next I do a check of the house to see if it's up to the latest child safety and health codes and last is a more thorough evaluation of your parenting skills. The last basically means I'll be visiting you regularly to see how you're doing. We'll require you to keep us posted on the child's wellbeing and any doctor's visits and such. Oh and any planned vacations, but you were probably told that already." Lisa said smiling gently as she observed Heero serving tea while keeping an eye on the child eating her cookie.
"Yes my lawyer said something about that; though I don't plan on taking a holiday away anytime soon though. Considering the situation it's not wise." Heero said calmly.
"Very well shall we begin the interview?" Lisa asked nodding. Heero nodded and sat down after handing his daughter her sippy cup.
Heero smiled as he fed Mary apple parts while she sat on his lap. Miss Lisa and he had been talking a long while. In between diaper changes, naptime and now snack time Mary was behaving very calmly.
"You seem to handle a tight schedule mister Yuy." Lisa said watching him.
"I'm just applying what I know. I've always planned things out. Some sites say that structure is important in the child's life. A structured household will make a child feel safe. Can I ask you something?" Heero said calmly looking at his daughter who snuggled up to him looking like she might fall asleep again.
"Of course." Lisa said smiling.
"I've noticed that she seems to become very much frightened when I leave the room. She'll cry and call for me until I come back and it always takes me a long time to calm her from those bouts. Is that normal?" Heero said quietly.
"Hm, it sounds like typical fear of being deserted. It's normal for children at her age when they've been pulled away from their families abruptly. In a sense her parents are gone and when you leave her sight it's to her like you're gone too. It will take a long while to help her see you won't leave. Try stepping out of the room for a bit then back in to show her you'll come back. You could turn it into a game of sorts. Also rewarding her when she doesn't cry when you step out of the room for a longer time could help her overcome her fears. Just telling her you won't leave her will not help; she's still at an age where actions weigh heavier than words." Lisa said thoughtfully. Heero nodded quietly.
"Thanks. I was worried I'd done something wrong." Heero said quietly.
Mary smiled at him and tried to stand up on his lap. The dish with the apple pieces fell as Heero was surprised by the action, but in one quick motion he kept his new daughter from falling and caught the dish as well as the apples. He put the dish down and sat Mary back on his lap so she was facing him. Mary however would have none of that and tried again.
"Mary." Heero said firmly as he sat the child down again. The little girl looked up at him her eyes filling with tears.
"Look at papa. Remember when you fell?" Heero said following what his colleagues had told him. The little child nodded.
"Owie." she murmled sadly.
"That's right. So, you can't do this. You will fall like last time." Heero said watching the child closely as she thought this over.
"No fall! Hug!" the little girl chirped trying again to stand on his leg. Heero put her back down again and looked at her sternly.
"Mary. What do we do when you want a hug?" he asked the child. Lisa smiled at the exchange and continued to watch as the child's face scrunched up in thought.
"Hug?" the little girl asked holding out her hands. Heero smiled and promptly rewarded the child by hugging her.
"That's right. Try and remember for papa." he said quietly.
"Well mister Yuy. I'm done with my evaluations for today. I'd like to make an appointment for next week. I don't think a daily evaluation is needed, but I would like for you to keep a journal on your days. I'd like to know what you run into and if it troubled you. From what little you've shown me I don't think I've ever seen a safer house for a child. I would advise you to put the gun in a safe though." Lisa said calmly.
"I keep the loaded ones locked away to hopefully never be used. I wear a replica without bullet slots because I feel safer that way. It's the only gun I've had on me for the past ten years since the end of the war." Heero said putting Mary in her pen and showing that the area where the bullets were supposed to go was etched and not real.
"I see. Are you seeing a psychiatrist about this? It might be of influence on your being allowed to keep this child." Lisa said handing the gun back.
"I have been seeing doctor Harvram for almost eight years. You can contact him if you want I'm sure he'll tell you I've made a lot of progress." Heero said he smiled as he remembered how he'd first entered the office and how he now entered it. He was no longer tense or unable to sit still for long, he no longer snuck in nowadays and he was even able to comfortably sit beside the window without worrying about being seen.
"That's good. I'll be required to join a session as well. I know there's much for you to think about and a lot of rules and regulations that need to be kept, but please keep in mind that it's for the good of the child." Lisa said nodding as she headed out the door.
"Of course, I'll do whatever is best for her." Heero said seriously. Lisa smiled and shook his hand before going on her way to meet with a few more parents.
Heero sighed and went back to take Mary to the shower for her bath. That had gone well enough he hoped. He was beginning to love the little bundle he'd found and doctor Harvram had agreed that she might be good for him. Having a child around the house would mean responsibility and a new goal in life.
TBC
