Relena's surprise wore off quickly—Of course he knew I was here, she thought—and she stepped into Heero, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and hugging him close. His arms slipped around her, just for a second, but the motion lacked his usual careless grace. He was uncertain of her motives, and she realized that he didn't fully trust her.

She couldn't blame him. She'd put him through hell these past few weeks yet, for some unfathomable reason, he'd chosen to stay at her side.

She wasn't sure she deserved it.

"I came down to check on Faith, but she isn't in her room," she explained. "Your light was on, so—"

He stepped to the side and Relena saw Faith asleep in a graceless sprawl across his bed. It was so unlike the calm, tidy girl Relena had come to know that she couldn't quite suppress a chuckle. She sobered at the look Heero shot at her, controlling herself so she wouldn't wake her daughter.

"Is everything okay?" she asked. It was three in the morning, after all, and Heero wasn't the type to let just anyone into his private space. Faith hadn't been allowed in their bed when she was little—they'd worried about spoiling her, among other things—so it certainly didn't seem appropriate now.

"It's fine now that she's sleeping," he replied quietly, pushing her back into the hall and closing the door without a sound. "I'm going to get a drink. Do you want something?"

"Yes," she said after a moment's thought. She wanted to talk to him anyway. It was late, but since they were both up, she might as well say what needed to be said.

Relena let Heero lead her to the kitchen, blinking as he hit the switch and light flooded the room. She clung to his hand as he filled her tea kettle and set it on the burner. The pantry was a tight squeeze for two people, but they made it work. Heero was, as always, resourceful and deliberate in his movements, and he easily worked around Relena as he retrieved packets of tea and a pair of mugs.

It was one of those simple, domestic moments that only seemed blasé until it wasn't there anymore. Some things, Relena was learning, were all too easy to take for granted.

They settled at the table while they waited on the kettle; Relena dragged her chair around and sat as close to him as she could get. If he minded, he'd say something. Tiptoeing around him wasn't going to fix anything; Heero respected her because she was bold, and he loved her because she didn't let him intimidate her. Shyness at this point would make him uncomfortable and push him farther away. And Relena was tired of pushing her husband away.

"What happened to your hand?" he asked, startling her from her quiet observation.

She looked down at her left hand; she'd been fiddling with it again, massaging the tender areas without thinking.

"I broke it," she confessed. Her voice was eerily calm to her, considering the subject; she was starting to think that maybe she'd run out of tears. "I fell down the stairs—just like Lucy told you. I tried to catch myself, and I broke two of my fingers and a couple of other little bones. They took the cast off the day before you came home."

He reached for her, and she let him take her hand. She closed her eyes while he examined it carefully; it was almost a caress. He was always gentle with her. Even when he was angry about something.

"You should have told me," he admonished.

"I know," she whispered. "For what it's worth—I'm sorry."

Sorry wasn't enough. She knew that. He'd forgive her—knowing him, he already had—but it would take time to build back the trust they'd once had in each other. She'd do it, though. No matter what it took.

The kettle started steaming. Heero snagged it before it could whistle and wake Faith. He poured water into the mugs and set the tea bags to steep. It wasn't as good as loose leaf, but sometimes it was more convenient. Relena didn't mind.

"Thank you for—earlier," she mumbled as she watched the tea bleed dark lines into the hot water. "I think I needed to hear that."

Heero didn't say anything, but Relena knew he was listening. She took a breath, trying to calm herself—I'm not going to cry anymore. I'm just not—and collected her thoughts.

"I called Sally after you left," she continued, staring at the tabletop, a little embarrassed to be making this confession. "She recommended a psychiatrist, and even went so far as to arrange an appointment for me. I'm going Wednesday. Tomorrow, I guess."

It was late. Or early. Anyway. Today would be business as usual. Tomorrow—Relena was determined to start putting her life back together. She sipped at her tea, weak though it was, and tried not to be afraid. She'd faced worse things, after all. And Faith had been seeing a psychiatrist for years—it was required for all of the students at her school, to keep the suicide rate down—and she seemed okay.

"Do you want me to go with you?" Heero asked, concern in his eyes. He rarely masked his emotions around her anymore; at least she hadn't lost that.

Relena considered briefly. "No," she replied. "At least, not this time. I'm still getting used to the idea of going, and I think it's best if I start by tackling my personal issues. After that—we'll see."

He nodded and the quiet agreement was reassuring. He usually supported her decisions—and when he didn't, he gave her a good reason for his dissent.

"I'll talk to Faith in the morning and set things straight with her," Relena said. "I'm not going to throw my daughter to the wolves. No matter what happens."

"I didn't think you would, once you had a better grasp of what's been going on," Heero replied. "But then, I never thought you'd want a divorce, either."

Relena shrugged. She still wasn't sure about that—whether she wanted it, or even where the idea had come from—but she didn't have much to say about it now. She was tired, and she thought the psychiatrist might help her figure out exactly what had gone wrong in their marriage.

She covered up a yawn. "Sorry. I'm just—sleepy."

"Hn," Heero mumbled, in what might have been agreement. "I'll be right back," he said, getting up and walking back toward his room. She nodded and finished her tea, listening for him but hearing nothing. Maybe, now that the worst of their problems seemed to be over, he'd move his things back upstairs with her.

Or maybe she'd move hers downstairs with him. Faith seemed comfortable in her room, and Relena knew she needed to have someone nearby at night. Heero's probably gone to check on her now, she mused, setting her empty mug down on the tabletop and wandering down the hall after him.

Sure enough, he was moving Faith back over to her own room. Relena bit her bottom lip, trying not to smile as Faith snored uninterrupted through the entire process. She's an awfully deep sleeper for a girl who takes so much after her father, she thought as she hurried to assist.

"She's really out, isn't she?" Relena murmured as she pulled the sheets back over Faith.

"Dak said it happens after certain kinds of seizures," Heero explained as they crept out of Faith's room and pulled the door to. "It's part of her brain's normalizing process. He sent me a file; you'll get a copy next time you turn your printer on."

"Thank you." Even if Heero had shouldered most of the Faith's care, Relena wanted to know as much as she could—and help as much as she could.

"Leave the kitchen like it is," she said when Heero turned to go back. "We'll clean up tomorrow. It's late."

He nodded. Relena started for the stairs and hesitated for the barest second, wondering if it would be pushing her luck to ask if she could stay with him tonight.

But then she remembered that it was her house and, problems or no, he was her husband, and she didn't need to ask for anything. If Heero was uncomfortable with her, he could say something. She reached out and took his arm, and he let her lead the way.

"I'm not babysitting."

Somehow, Wufei's blunt refusal came as no surprise. But Faith had planned accordingly—and it didn't hurt that Hilde had taught her how to talk a stubborn man into doing pretty much anything she wanted. The trick was to make it seem like it was his idea.

Faith shot Wufei her blankest, most innocent stare. "Who said you had to babysit?" she asked. "I don't see any babies around."

To his raised eyebrow, she added, "I'm an intern. It's for extra credit. If you really need a title, you can think of yourself as an instructor; it serves our purpose, and it sounds nicer than babysitter, too."

"I thought Commander Une wasn't going to let you go back to school," Wufei said pointedly. "Extra credit seems like a waste of time at this point."

"Lenny doesn't know that, now, does he?" Faith asked, laying her ace on the table. If this didn't work, she'd be banished to her mom's office instead, which would completely ruin her plans for the day. "You did say the competition is good for him."

That got a laugh out of Wufei and a startled look from her dad, who'd only agreed to let her stay if she could convince the other agent to keep an eye on her. Her dad was going down to the basement to use some special computer, and Faith wasn't allowed anywhere near it.

"All right," Wufei agreed. "But I don't want to hear a peep unless you're in trouble and you need help. Understood?"

"Completely," Faith said. She looked up at her dad. "Satisfied?"

"It'll do," her dad replied. He turned to Wufei. "Call me if you think she's up to something. Leave her alone too long and she gets—creative."

"Hardly," Faith muttered, though she didn't have to wonder where he'd gotten that idea. "I'm perfectly capable of quietly keeping myself entertained."

"Uh-huh," he said. "I guess someone else changed my ringtone to something called 'Friday' and then called me while I was meeting with Relena's security detail this morning. I don't want to know how you even found something so annoying."

"I guess I don't need to ask where Len gets these ideas," Wufei muttered. "He tried the same thing on Sally at breakfast—but the song was called 'Like a Surgeon.' She thought it was hilarious." Faith grinned, completely unashamed. Her dad only rolled his eyes.

"Consider yourself forewarned," he said to Wufei. "She set an alarm and changed some of my other settings, too."

"Mmm," Faith murmured, looking away. He apparently hadn't noticed the new games yet. Getting ahold of his cell phone had been difficult—not that she was going to admit that—but it was completely worth the effort. "Maybe next time you'll put your phone someplace where I can't get my hands on it. You're getting soft, Dad—next thing you know, somebody's going to start planting bugs on you."

"It hasn't happened yet," her dad replied. "And if I ever catch you picking my pockets, you're going to be in serious trouble."

"We'll see if you can catch me first," Faith said, trying not to giggle when he scowled at her.

"All right," he said. "I'm going. Behave."

He ruffled her hair, much to her annoyance, and then he was gone. Wufei stayed behind, eyeing Faith speculatively.

"I'm going to work," Wufei said after a moment. "Mess with Heero all you want, but stay out of my office. If I find anything wrong with my phone or my computer, you're my first suspect."

Lucky for you, I'm not interested in your stuff, Faith thought as she watched him go. Because that sounded like a challenge.

Faith closed the door and locked it for good measure, and took a look around. Her dad's office hadn't changed much; if she hadn't been there when the man shot himself, she wouldn't have believed it had ever happened.

As it was, the memory made her stomach lurch. She was glad she hadn't seen anything more than a few drops of blood on the carpet. Faith took a deep breath and tried to ground herself—she had work to do, and not a lot of time to get it done. She pulled her tablet out of her bag and tapped out a quick email to her mom.

I'm in. He's out, and the babysitter won't be hard to sweet talk. Let me know when you're ready.

This was going to be too good; her mom had helped her cook up the plan at breakfast, while her dad was showering. Faith had been surprised at her mom's devious streak—and altogether too pleased.

Unfortunately, all of the straightening she'd done yesterday had been undone during the investigation. Faith settled in to rearrange papers and clear off her dad's desk again while she waited for her mom to respond. At least the work went faster the second time around. She was almost finished when her tablet pinged.

Zakdak: Hey. Dad told us what happened. You okay?

Faith considered. Not really, she thought. But she didn't want to worry Dak—he spent enough time fussing over her already, and she honestly had no idea why. She knew all of her brothers cared about her, at least on some level, but Dak was the only one who ever really showed it. It was kind of weird.

Faithless: I'm fine. Really. How's the shuttle coming?

Zakdak: Srsly? People are trying to kill you, and you're worried about the shuttle?

Faithless: I just want to see it finished someday.

Zakdak: Riiiight. Oh. Trowa has a present for you. Maggie helped pick it out.

Faithless: Thank you! And thank Maggie. I miss you all.

Zakdak: Don't go all soft now, Fay. We'll see you again soon. Somehow.

Faith wished she shared her brother's optimism. So far, everything just kept going farther down the crapper. But there wasn't a whole lot she could do to fix it, so she finished sorting through her dad's papers and then got up and started taking the picture frames off the wall.

She'd almost finished pulling all of the pictures out of their frames when her tablet chirped. Faith checked out her mom's email and smiled.

Go sweet talk the babysitter. We're waiting.

On the surface, Kiba Hydroponics was just another small, family-owned business. The company had grown quite large in recent years, however, and lately it had started involving itself in public works projects and currying political favor.

The owner, Satoshi Kiba, was in his late sixties. He made decent money, owned quite a bit of real estate both on Earth and on several colonies, and gave regularly to several charities. He supported his two granddaughters, whose parents had died during the Eve Wars.

And that was where things started looking suspicious. The girls were fraternal twins, brought up from frozen embryos two years after their parents' deaths. It was possible that Satoshi had paid a surrogate to carry the embryos to term because he missed his daughter and son-in-law, but it seemed strange that a man of his age would want to raise two children on his own.

The girls' businesses were stranger still.

One of them, Selda, owned a mining operation. She held the deeds to several resource satellites and a refinery. The other girl, Arielle, was the owner of a construction company. Between the two of them, they had some kind of influence on every major colony cluster and they had close to three thousand employees.

But since the girls were minors, Satoshi Kiba held a controlling interest in both companies. He also controlled his nephew's space exploration venture, and a few other small businesses.

The operation was similar to the Winner family's vast holdings, although it wasn't as old or as well-established. And, unlike Winner, a majority of Kiba's employees had ties to the White Fang. If they weren't actually White Fang members, they were directly related to them.

It was all circumstantial evidence, of course, but combined with Faith's witness report from yesterday's incident, Heero thought he had enough to encourage Commander Une to conduct a more thorough investigation of Kiba's holdings. If Kiba wasn't actually connected to the Red Fang, it was possible that a few isolated Red Fang members were using the company as a front.

Heero printed the relevant documents and stuffed them into a file folder. It would probably take more than that to bring Kiba down, but it was a place to start.

Notes: Yeah...That last section didn't come out the way I wanted it, but I'm tired of staring at it and trying to make it work. Thoughts? Suggestions? Chapter 22 is coming along, and it's better. I promise! :D

Thanks so much for all of the reviews, favorites, alerts, etc. It's wonderful! You guys make me smile.