I can't believe there's only one more chapter after this one... How sad... Then this will be the first story that I've ever finished! Thanks to all that reviewed the last few chapters and I will try to reply to them all! Well here it is, the second last chapter of Aftermath!

You all know by now that special person that helps with every chappie... BB 4Eva! LOL

Disclaimer: I own no-one of the GS/GSD characters mentioned in this chapter...

Gundam Seed: The Aftermath

Chapter 4

"I'm going to kill my mother for drowning me in her overdue paperwork…" Yzak Joule growled as he flexed his cramped hand for what must have been the umpteenth time that hour.

They had called an emergency meeting for all members of the PLANT Supreme Council members and his mother was obligated to attend. Only problem was she hadn't finished signing and reviewing documents for the next day, and Yzak, being able to forge her signature was left with the mundane task.

His mother would have finished when she returned home but she had assumed that the meeting would go well into the early hours of the morning, when then she would be too exhausted to complete the task.

Now at one am, Yzak was still up, in his mother's office, signing the slowly diminishing pile of documents.

Sighing, he leaned back against the plush chair he was seated on to give his hand and eyes a much needed rest.

'Why did I volunteer to do this again? I'd rather hear Dearka whining over how much he misses Miriallia… Wait, wasn't that the reason I offered to do this for her in the first place.' He let another sigh as he glanced up at the wall clock. '1:30am… and another pile of documents to sign. I could be doing a whole bunch of other things with the time I've wasted doing this…'

A knock on the office door woke Yzak from his thoughts as he furrowed his brow, glaring at the innocent door. 'Who the hell wants my mother at this time of the morning?' he asked himself.

"Um… Ms. Joule… I have that document you wanted…"

Yzak's icy eyes widened at the sound of the voice. 'That voice… It couldn't be? Could it? Shiho…' he questioned as he felt heat rising to his cheeks, his insides tingling and butterflies fluttering inside his stomach. 'Of all the times!'

"Um, I can come back tomorrow Ms. Joule if you are busy now…" Shiho's voice was nervous and tense.

"No… Come in," Yzak growled. A small smirk tugged at the corners of his mouth as he imaged the look on her face upon hearing his voice.

Yzak heard the door click open and swing open to reveal a surprised looking Shiho, whose expression changed from surprise to shock upon seeing that it was indeed Yzak Joule at the desk.

"Captain Joule?" 'Are my eyes deceiving me? Is it really Yzak Joule sitting at that desk?' Shiho asked herself as she tentatively stepped forward, her eyes glued on the white haired male.

Yzak couldn't help but let out a chuckle, "You don't have to call me captain, I'm no longer you superior Captain Hahnenfuss."

"Old habits die hard I guess…" Shiho replied weakly as she placed a hand on the wooden desk, not daring to catch Yzak's gaze.

A silence enveloped the two, both stumped for conversation. They simply gazed at the many different items in Ms. Joule's office…

"So…" Yzak started, unsure of his voice at first but he continued, "You didn't just come here for nothing did you?"

Shiho sighed as she sat down, nodding her head in response to his question. "I was meant to deliver something to your mother but since you're here I might as well tell you now…" she paused, holding her breath before shakily letting it out, "I'm gaining weight…"

If not for the current circumstance, Yzak would have laughed at the embarrassed girl. 'But now that she mentions it… she has been getting plumpish… and I don't like it. Not one bit…' Yzak thought as he noticed her slightly protruding stomach.

"Also… I've been getting sick a lot lately… So I went to the doctor, and well…" she paused once again, fear growing on her face and Yzak knew her next sentence was going to be big…

"I'm pregnant."

It was a lot bigger than what he expected.

After the initial shock, Yzak felt jealously rising in his veins and anger boiling his blood. He was angry, no he was furious.

"Who?" he demanded in a harsh whisper, jealously clearly evident in his tone.

"You!"

Yzak could feel his anger cooling and his jealously subsiding. 'Me? But when…? Wait! That night… when she became a Captain! I was invited to the ceremony and well I think we went a bit overboard… she told me that it couldn't happen!'

'He's so going to kill me… he's so going to kill me!' Shiho told herself she watched him rise from his chair, hands on the table and stare at her. 'I should have never told him…'

But Yzak's next action surprised the brunette for she didn't expect Yzak to crush her body into his own in a vice-like grip.

"If you abort this baby, I will hunt you down Hahnenfuss," he huskily whispered in her ear as he loosened his grip to place a kiss on her unsuspecting lips.

Shiho's eyes widened as she felt numbness taking over all her senses and before she could stop herself, she felt herself returning the kiss, desperate for more and she was disappointed when he broke the kiss.

"I want to start a family with you Shiho… I just haven't had the guts to do it yet." Shiho's amethyst eyes widened further as she sent Yzak a bewildered look.

"Family… me… with?" she stammered as she stumbled out his grip, only to land, rear first on the floor. 'I can't believe this is really happening… I must be dreaming!'

Yzak latched his hand on her wrist and pulled her to her feet, a smirk evident on his face as he dug into his pocket, pulled out a small and smooth object before placing it on her finger.

"Yzak… does this mean?"

But his reply wasn't what she expected, instead she was replied with a passionate kiss that deepened with each passing moment.

'I guess that means yes!' Shiho said before returning the kiss with as much passion and love she could muster…

'SNAP' "Another picture to add to my collection," the calm voice of Miriallia Haw said as the picture was stored in her camera's memory, waiting to be printed and placed with the thousands of others that adorned her walls.

Miriallia removed the camera from her face and returned it to its place on her neck as she walked down the streets of ORB, taking random shots of the many sites and stores.

"I can't believe ORB has recovered so much s-, but Miriallia was stopped in mid-sentence as she found herself falling face-first towards the ground at an extremely fast rate, a small yelp coming from her mouth.

But she never touched the ground.

A pair of strong arms enveloped her waist, stopping her in mid-fall. Slowly the hands gently brought her up and then released her.

Miriallia turned around, a small blush on her face, "Thanks…" she muttered as she nervously tapped her foot on the pavement, hoping that her rescuer would leave so she could forget her embarrassment.

"Milly?"

Miriallia froze as her aquamarine eyes widened, only one person on Earth and on the PLANTs called her that…

Slowly she tilted her head skywards and she was greeted by a face she hadn't seen for months… the face of Dearka Elsman.

"What are you doing here?" she snapped at him, half from embarrassment and half from anger for abandoning her after the last war.

"I came to get you…" he paused as he locked a gaze with her aquamarine eyes, "I just want to talk."

"Well then you can talk to yourself Mr. Elsman!" Miriallia growled as she turned on her heel with the full intention of walking away from the tanned blond.

"No Milly, wait!" A muscular hand grasped her wrist, preventing her from walking further and she had a pretty good guess it was Dearka.

She turned to face him, a death glare coming his way but she couldn't help by soften her gaze at the pleading look on his face. "Please…"

"Okay…" she sighed, giving in and allowing him to drag her off to a nearby café.

"I'm sorry."

Dearka's words stunned Miriallia as she gave him a surprised expression. It was a mere five minutes later and they were seated at one of ORB's fanciest cafés.

'He sure is blunt… But I guess… Can I?' she asked herself as she turned to stare into his tanned face, seeing his sincere expression.

"I abandoned you didn't I? Leaving you here in ORB while I went back to the ZAFT military… I thought that our long distance relationship would work but I put in no effort. For that I'm sorry."

"I can never stay mad at you can I?" she asked him before turning her head to the side, "Me too."

"What?"

Miriallia laughed at the goofiness of Dearka's bewildered expression. She could tell that he really wasn't expecting that reply.

Dearka broke from his stupor and slowly took Miriallia's hand in his own, waiting for her reaction, but when none came he spoke, "So can we start over?"

Miriallia nodded, a small smile gracing her fingers before she squeezed his hand, "Yes, we can Dearka."

Okay... not the greatest because I kinda wrote this on half of a writer's block but hey! Well I hope that you like it even under the given circumstances and that you continue to review! Well since the last chapter is predicted to be long... Ag what the hell, I might have it up tomorrow or Friday by the latest! Thanks again for all the reviews!

Lorelock

PS: I'll give you a small hint of the next chapter... The wedding of a certain Red Knight and Princess... Guess who!