Author's note: I don't own Gundam Wing or its characters. I do own Mara; if you'd like to use her, please ask me.


Oh Baby - Mara

Noin Marquise flipped her bangs out of her eyes. Setting down the diagrams she'd been studying, Noin sighed. Enough was enough; she was going to bed.

Turning off the living room light, Noin crept to the bedroom. She slipped into bed next to her sleeping husband; sleep claimed her before she head hit the pillow.

Someone was lightly shaking her.

"Noin love, wake up."

"What time is it?" she blearily asked.

"7:45. You have fifteen minutes before we have to be at work," Zechs replied.

"What is with me this morning?" Noin said while gulping down her breakfast. "I don't normally oversleep."

"Exhaustion probably."

Noin nodded. The two of them dashed out the door. A week later, Noin seemed to have caught the flu. She couldn't keep anything down, and mornings were the worst. Her physical was in a week, so she had decided to wait until then to see a doctor.

Dr. Aeryn Creighton was a serious woman of thirty-five. She had a sharp sense of humor that surprised people. Her raven hair was worn in a sensible braid, and her eyes were obsidian chips.

Noin liked her. Aeryn had been a soldier in the war with some medical training. She probably would have continued to be a mindless grunt for Oz if not for her husband. John Creighton had crash landed practically in her lap. Somehow the cocky pilot had worked his way into her heart. Their daughter, Azami, was one of the younger children on Mars.

"I'm going to run a few tests," Aeryn said after examining Noin and hearing Noin's description of her symptoms.

Fifteen minutes later Aeryn returned.

"Congratulations; you're pregnant."

"What?"

"You're about two moths pregnant."

"Which means what exactly?"

"You'll be due in May sometime. Probably around the 19th."

"How long can I keep working?"

"You can keep working until the third trimester if you stop doing any really strenuous work at the beginning of the second trimester. You'll be limited to desk work during the third trimester. Also you should come in for a check up every two weeks from now on and every week once the third trimester starts."

"What about travel? Zechs and I have the supply run in three months."

"That should be fine. You might want to check with a doctor while you're on Earth though."

"Thanks Aeryn."

"No problem."

Noin walked down the dusty streets to her and Zechs' quarters.

"Koishii, is that you?" Zechs called from the kitchen.

It always made Noin smile when he called her beloved.

"Yeah."

She entered the kitchen and slid her arms around Zechs.

"Did Aeryn figure out what was wrong?"

"Um, yeah. I'm pregnant."

He turned around, "Your pregnant?"

She nodded. He picked her up and spun her around.

"that's wonderful love. Did Aeryn say when you're due?"

"Zechs, put me down. I'm due around May 19th."

He set her down and kissed her soundly. She smiled; it was good to know he was as pleased about her pregnancy as she was.

The others at the terraforming project smiled whenever they saw the young couple. It was a small community, and the news of Noin's pregnancy had quickly leaked out. New births were always greeted with great celebration. While they were saddened by the loss of one of their best engineers for several months, they welcomed any new addition to the community.

Noin and Zechs were looking forward to surprising Relena and the others with their news. They always enjoyed the opportunity to visit Earth but were especially looking forward to sharing their news in person.

"Brother!" Noin heard Relena exclaim. Noin was still in the shuttle; it wasn't quite time for her entrance yet.

"Where's Noin?" Sally said.

"She'll be out shortly."

A few minutes later, Noin heard Zechs say, "Well not much has happened, but we do have some news."

That was her cue; it meant that everyone was there. Silently she made her way out of the shuttle.

"Zechs," she said stepping into their view. "Have you told them our news yet?"

A collective gasp rose from the group. Quite a few jaws were on the ground, and both Relena and Sally were grinning. Noin walked over to Zechs who wrapped an arm around her.

"Congratulations!" Quatre exclaimed.

"When are you due?" Sally asked.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" was Hildie's question.

"Do you have any names picked out yet?" Relena chipped in.

Noin sat down on one of the crates in the hanger, "I'm due around May 19th. I don't know if it's a boy or girl." She looked at Zechs, "We want it to be a surprise."

"We haven't really made any decisions on names yet either," Zechs added.

All of them went out to dinner together. They were luck that LaCoco's was used to catering to the g wing Preventer team and were willing to put up with their antics. Relena and Sally arranged a baby shower for Noin. Later that week, Zechs and Noin paid a visit to some old school friends of theirs.

Noin grinned at all the startled looks she was getting as she walked through the office of Chedwiggen and Associates. Zechs would be joining her later; he had some errands to run.

"Is Harm here?" she asked the receptionist. "I really need to see him."

"I'll show you to his office," a pretty blond woman said. Noin didn't like her; she seemed rather cold and selfish. "I'm Lauren Singer by the way."

After showing Noin to Harm's office, Singer hurried over to another office. Noin ignored her and opened the door.

"Harm, do you have a minute?"

"Noin! I didn't even know you were in town. Or on the planet for that matter. I see congratulations are in order. Come on in."

She had just seated herself when the door opened.

"Harm?" a dark haired woman said then noticed Noin.

"Hey Mac."

"Noin, it's great to see you. Congratulations!"

Singer was hovering outside the door. When it became obvious that there was not going to be a fight, she left. Noin noticed this, "How long has Singer been trying to cause friction between you two?"

"Since she got here," Mac replied.

Noin just shook her head. Some things never changed. For as long as she'd known them, someone had always been trying to break up Harm and Mac's friendship. It had never worked.

They were interrupted by Zechs' arrival; Singer was hanging all over him. He quickly disengaged himself from her and kissed Noin's cheek to Singer's dismay.

"Sorry it took me so long to get here love. Mac, Harm, it's good to see you again."

Singer looked quite unhappy and after hovering a few moments more, left. The four of them looked at each other and broke out laughing.

"So did anything interesting happen lately?" Noin asked.

"Well, Mulder and Scully finally eloped," Mac answered.

Noin raised an eyebrow, "That just leaves you two of the six of us to tie the knot."

Mac and Harm shared a look. Zechs noticed that Harm looked slightly smug. So, he was working up the courage to propose to Mac.

"Anything else?" Zechs asked.

"Not really, it's been amazingly calm though I heard your friends at Preventer HQ managed to stir up some trouble. Something about the ESUN council and hair dye?" Harm said.

"That was Duo, and it wasn't hair dye; it was that bleach stuff you use to make sun streaks," Noin replied. "I'm surprised a lot of those old farts noticed their hair got whiter."

Zechs nudged her, "Noin, be nice."

She stuck her tongue out at him. The other two laughed.

Two days later, they were heading back to Mars. They had gotten all the supplies for the terraforming project and had also done some shopping of their own. After returning home, the two of them began to set up a nursery. Because they didn't know whether it was a boy or a girl, they chose a light blue and lavender color scheme.

A few weeks later they were discussing names.

"So how does Mara Tenshi Alira sound?" Noin asked.

"I like it; it's better than Beryl Amanda Joyce," Zechs replied.

Noin laughed, "That was one of our worse combinations."

"Mara Tenshi Alira. Now we just have to come up with a boy's name."

There they ran into a wall. They just couldn't find a boy's name that they liked. Finally the gave up deciding that if it was a boy, they would just figure something out.

Noin's morning sickness had stopped, but she was now stuck with a desk job which wasn't exactly her cup of tea. She had to keep telling herself that it was only temporary, and even then she was rather testy. Zechs was being a tad too overprotective if you asked her. It was nice though, in an annoying sort of way. She would be quite thankful when this baby came. Noin was looking forward to having a child but being pregnant was no walk in the park.

She woke in the middle of the night for some reason. She groaned as the clock read 2:13. Why was she up? Her stomach tightened. Wait, it wasn't her stomach that was tightening.

Noin reached over and shook Zechs.

"Huh?" he grumbled sleepily.

"Zechs, I'm going into labor."

"What!"

That was all it took to wake Zechs up. They hurried over to the medical building. Aeryn arrived within moments. Noin's time in labor was thankfully brief though Zechs swore his hand wound be scarred for life.

It was a girl. She was nine pounds, seven ounces, and twenty-one inches. Her head was covered with platinum blond fuzz, and her eyes were a deep violet.

Mara Tenshi Alira Marquise was the newest member of the Mars Terraforming Project. But she was completely unaware of that. Mara slept wrapped in a violet blanket in her mother's arms. Zechs and Noin gazed at her with love. This was their future.

Owari (the end)