A/N: Another Sunday Funday is upon us! Hope you're having a wonderful weekend, and happy father's day to those of you celebrating your dads, granddads, husbands or any special dads you know and love. In light of that, today's chapter touches more on Heero's role as a father... It's also on the longer side to make up for some of the more recent chapters being so short! I hope you enjoy!

- RFP


Relena clutched her hand to her side. Her skin was becoming warm and sticky with her own blood. The blast from Bennett's handgun had been such a shock, the pain barely registered. Instead, Relena was struck by a cruel irony. Time and time again she had stared down the barrel of a gun, but had never actually been shot. As she realized this, pain tore through her abdomen and, despite her best efforts, she moaned in agony.

Bennett was saying something to her in sickly sweet tones, no doubt in mock sympathy, but his words, whatever they were, swam around Relena's head.

"You… didn't shoot to kill…" she muttered weakly, her mind growing hazier as the seconds ticked by.

"No, not this time," Bennett sighed, dropping to his knees beside her. "You got a little out of sorts, though." Relena saw him smirk through blurry eyes. "Better behave from now on."

She lifted her head to nod, but it lolled backward.

"Come on, then." She felt Bennett hoisting her up by her armpits. "Better get you stitched up. You'll want to stay awake," he added, his tone jeering. "The fun's just getting started..."

Relena swayed against his hold, willing her legs to cooperate. She had no choice but to stagger after her captor.


Heero was pushing Zero to its limits. At the very least, it would take him hours, still, to reach the L3 colony cluster. Hours he didn't have to spare. His mind whirred with possibilities, trying not to focus on the worst, but as usual, Zero made that impossible. The interface had shown Heero every potential outcome, and none of them were reassuring. It almost felt as if Zero were taunting him as image after image of a battered, bloodied Relena flashed before his mind's eye.

He was working to fixate on something - anything - else when the Gundam's center console lit up with an incoming call. One of the Preventer shuttles. Heero didn't bother to check which one as he accepted the call.

"Heero." Raquel's soft, alto voice filled the cockpit, her hazel eyes boring into him from the screen. Then, apparently realizing she'd broken protocol, she addressed him more formally. "Agent Alpha," she corrected herself in a more stilted voice. "This is Agent Morena." Raquel, as a fledgling Preventer, didn't yet have a codename. "Do you copy?" Heero's eyes snapped to the monitor.

"What do you want?" he barked. "I'm busy."

"I know," she said calmly. "But I'm the communications officer onboard, so it's my job to check in with you. Our shuttle has left the Earth's atmosphere and, according to our calculations, isn't too far behind your suit. At this rate we should reach the L3 region around the same time."

"Not if I can help it," Heero muttered. Raquel clucked her tongue.

"I see. We'll do our best to catch up to you, then."

"Good luck with that," Heero grumbled. To his chagrin, Raquel chuckled softly. "Something funny?" he snapped.

"No, it's just amusing to see you in battle mode," she said, her eyes shining through the screen. "It's a side of you I've never seen before. You're usually much... friendlier to me." Heero lowered his eyes, somewhat chastised.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I… am not myself at the moment."

"I think you are," Raquel countered. "You'd do anything to get to Relena, I know. No matter who you have to push aside in the process." Heero glanced back up, expecting to see an angry or jealous expression, but Raquel's gaze was calm. Compassionate, even. For some reason her caring only served to annoy him more. He didn't need her pity, or anyone else's.

"You don't understand," he said sullenly.

"I understand more than you know," Raquel said, her eyes closing as she sighed. "Do what you have to do, Heero. But please... be careful."

Heero grunted a response, knowing he had no intention of following her request, and ended the transmission. Communications officer or no, the only other agents he planned to communicate with on this mission were his fellow Gundam pilots. Including Zechs, if his former brother-in-law had gotten over their earlier confrontation. At least Heero knew that Zechs had more at stake in this mission than the likes of Raquel. He wished she had stayed on Earth. He didn't need the distraction.

As he maneuvered Zero past the lunar base, he briefly considered how Raquel might feel, being part of this mission to rescue her lover's ex-wife. Heero detested the term "lover" almost as much as "ex," but it was the aptest way to describe his entanglement with the younger agent. She was little more than a source of release to him - he could hardly say they were friends, even - and she purportedly understood that, but chose to stay by his side despite his indifference. Heero struggled, at times, to repay her kindnesses to him, while she basked in what little attention he paid her. He didn't understand it, but then it was bothersome to try to understand women.

At first he thought of Raquel as merely another conquest, one of a string of drunken one-night stands he'd embarked on in his quest to forget Relena. That tactic proved futile. The fact that those other women weren't Relena made it impossible to form attachments, let alone feel good about what he was doing. And, although he wouldn't admit it to the likes of Duo, who was still married, somehow, or Trowa, the known lothario in their circle, Heero hadn't enjoyed the random, meaningless sex as he thought he would.

"All women are the same in the dark," someone - probably Barton - had told him, but Heero found it simply wasn't true. No matter how many notches he'd added to his bedpost - and, if the boasting he'd heard from fellow male agents was to be believed, weren't all that many compared to other men his age - nothing could compare to what he had with Relena. She had his soul. Not even their broken vows could change that. They were supposed to be forever, an oath he had planned on taking to his grave.

Heero still struggled, as he'd always struggled, to connect with others. He met Raquel shortly after she'd joined the Preventers the previous summer and started training under Sally. Heero was unnerved to discover how much Raquel reminded him of Relena; not in her looks so much as her mannerisms, her way of speaking. Her quiet strength and resolve in the face of conflict. Her secret thrill for danger. Traits they had in common. To his surprise, they formed a bond and, before he knew it, they had taken their mutual attraction to the next level. But Heero knew he could never forge a deep enough connection to promise his life to her. Her affection was but a balm for wounds he still carried. For all of the giddy pillow talk she whispered into the dark, Heero couldn't bring himself to give her the desires of her heart.

He had informed Raquel bluntly, not too long ago, that he would never remarry. She had stormed off, slamming his bedroom door behind her. Heero hadn't bothered to chase after her. She returned an hour or so later after sobbing in his bathroom, something else he had ignored. He made no apologies for his admission and found he couldn't feel sorry for her; he had been honest, and whatever she decided based on that was her choice. He thought perhaps that would be their undoing, but Raquel stuck around, undeterred. And Heero, weak as he was, had continued to seek solace in her arms, no matter how selfish or depraved it made him feel.

As Heero continued to guide Zero through the atmosphere, racing against time, his thoughts kept flowing back to Relena. His ultimate weakness. It was no secret, even to her, he was sure, that he still loved her. That he had never stopped. He suspected even Zechs knew it, and that gave the blond man yet another reason to despise Heero. The two men had never truly become close, even as official family members, both taking their in-law status in stride. But Heero couldn't shake the feeling that Zechs still expected more from him.

Zechs's words from the bunker came back to Heero. "Sometimes, a man needs to assert himself."

Clearly he still blamed Heero for walking out on his sister. Heero wondered what Relena must have told him. Despite her disappointment in him, Heero couldn't peg her as the bitter type. He imagined she had kept the details of their divorce to herself, and her brother had merely filled in the blanks, coming to a conclusion that suited his own misgivings about Heero. Which, frankly, Heero didn't care about. He was fine with being the scapegoat; he didn't need to vindicate himself to anyone. Except for Ella; but he knew, for whatever reason, his daughter thought the world of him.

He and Ellie had a bond and a quiet understanding that surprised even Heero. He felt it the first time he laid eyes on her in the hospital room. His first concern had been for Relena, who was sweaty and exhausted after her hours-long labor. But after the nurses had cleaned off their newborn and handed her, swathed in a terry blanket, to Heero… in that instant, he knew. Another blue-eyed blonde had stolen his heart.

From there, he and Ella were practically inseparable. Heero's urge to protect her was just as strong as his impulse toward Relena. At first he was surprised that he could feel that way about another person besides his wife. Also unexpected was how quickly parenting instincts came to him; Heero knew not even Relena had expected him to take to his new role so well. She was a natural as a mother, and Heero had planned to simply follow her lead. But as Ella grew older, his protective instincts only increased, and with that came more structure and discipline, albeit with a measured dose of humor. No matter what restrictions or punishments he imposed as Ellie had her rebellious moments - which Heero knew would only ramp up over the next few years - it was clear that she adored him. And that was undoubtedly why Relena had insisted that she and Heero do their best to co-parent Ellie. Which had been going well, considering...

Still, Heero yearned for the life they used to have, as a family, even though things weren't bad between him and Relena, now. They got along, at least. The first year or so after the divorce had been the hardest, and although Heero still missed Relena, he was focused on fortifying a friendship with her. After a while, they were able to converse almost as easily as they had before their conversations started disintegrating into vicious fights. Now, it was almost as if neither one of them could remember what they were fighting about in the first place.

Heero thought of when he last saw Relena, mere hours ago. She'd had that certain sparkle in her eyes as she looked up at him, tossing out whatever teasing words she had said to provoke him. Knowing full well she would always, always get a rise out of him. He wished he had run after her, pulled her to him and kissed her goodbye. No- that he'd insisted she stay there, with him.

Zechs was right. He shouldn't have let her go.

He also knew she would have gone, anyway.

Heero took one hand off of his controls and reached for his cell phone. How tempting it was to call her number, but he knew it wasn't wise. If he managed to reach her, it would only draw attention to her. And she was likely locked in a struggle with her captors, if- Heero squeezed his eyes shut. His mind wasn't ready to go there. Instead, he scrolled through archived text messages. He had to go back five years to find one that wasn't related to an Ella pick-up or drop-off. He smiled when he landed on one that was particularly suggestive. And then he remembered the voicemails.

He had saved plenty of them, and it took mere seconds to locate one from before life started to unravel. Heero found a favorite old message and hit play.

"Hi baby, how are you? I miss you so much. I hope the mission is going well, and you're staying safe. I'm pretty swamped with work over here, as usual. We have a meeting tonight that will probably be on the contentious side, so I expect it to run rather late. I just didn't want you to worry, in case you call and don't get a hold of me right away. The security team is doing a fine job, so there's nothing to worry about there. But please… come home to me soon, sweetheart. Ellie misses you, but I'm pretty sure I miss you more. It's rather lonely in bed without you, night after night… Ugh, I could go on forever, I know, but I'd better let you go. Please call whenever you can, okay?" He heard her sigh. "Okay, honey, I love you. Goodbye."

Heero's throat tightened as the message ended. He immediately hit replay.


- RFP