Heero arrived in the colony's city center to find it all but abandoned.

He made no effort to conceal Heavyarms or dock it in some hidden locale, after the others had informed him that they'd all left their Gundams out in the open, near the site of the bombings. As Heavyarms made its descent, Heero glimpsed the other four suits, including his own, lined up like sentinels around the buildings.

At least what was left of them.

There had only been the three blasts, but they had been enough to take out sizeable chunks of the hotel and conference center where the ESUN summit was to have taken place. From what the team could gather, the bombs hadn't been the crude, homemade explosives usually favored by terrorist factions, but rather sophisticated devices, designed to have maximum impact. With devastating results.

Anger gripped Heero as he exited Heavyarms and made his way on foot toward the hotel, where the others were waiting for him. They had set up the deserted structure as their command center.

Heero surveyed the rubble as he made his way through it, half-expecting to see more sorrowful remnants of the horror that had occurred there just yesterday. A child's shoe, perhaps, or teddy bear. There were no such items there - if there had been, surely they would have been taken in as evidence - but Heero could see them in his mind's eye. This conference had been for diplomats, so there was no reason to assume any children had been in harm's way, but Heero knew it was still a very likely probability that some had been injured or killed.

It made him think of Ellie, and he felt a squeezing sensation over his heart. Although he'd been experiencing these types of feelings more and more over the past ten years, the flood of emotions he had when thinking of his child were sometimes still new, and strange, to him. He felt a protective surge welling up in his chest. If he hadn't known Ellie was somewhere safe, with Noin as her guardian, he knew he would have lost it by now. The very thought of anyone harming his child was enough to send him into a rage. He understood why Relena felt so passionately about breaking up the trafficking ring, once she learned of its existence.

There was, simply, no greater love than what a parent could have for a child. Or so Heero had come to know. He loved Relena more than he knew was even possible, and she was part of him - but Ellie was his own, a perfect combination of him and Relena. For that reason she was more precious to him than life itself.

Heero wished he knew how much longer this investigation could take, so he could talk to Ellie and give her a timeline of when he and Relena would be able to return to her. The thought made him anxious. He was tempted to pass his work off to someone else, and convince Relena to do the same. They could both take a leave of absence. Family leave. They needed to leave, and be a family.

He doubted he could talk Relena into abandoning her work at such a crucial stage, even if she had been keen on trying to make another baby. Then they would definitely need some time off.

For a brief moment, the possibility disrupted Heero's warring thoughts, and he smiled.

He reached the hotel entrance and his phone had a signal, so he decided to make good on one promise he'd made to Relena. He quickly selected her name and placed the call.

He didn't expect his call to go straight to voicemail, especially since Relena had been so happy about getting her phone back; he figured she'd be attached to the thing, still. But he decided not to let that bother him; she was probably resting, or busy getting back to her hectic workload.

For the first time in a long time, he left her a voice message.

"Hey, baby," he said in low tones. "Just wanted to let you know I got here. This place is like a ghost town." Heero paused and scratched the back of his neck with his free hand. It was a little bizarre, emptying his thoughts into Relena's voice mail inbox. He didn't usually just say what he was thinking, especially over the phone. But he was determined to try and communicate better, from now on.

"Anyway. I'm about to meet with the others, including your brother. I'll touch base with you again when I can. I hope you're feeling better." He felt lame, saying all these things, but he wanted her to know he was thinking of her. "I love you," he added before hanging up.

Heero realized that he hadn't said those three words over the phone in a long, long time. He wondered if Relena would pick up on that when she received the message later.

His lips twitched and he turned to enter the building.


Relena realized Sally was leading them to the women's locker room. Her interest was piqued. She wondered what the plan was for Trowa, though. Sally turned and addressed him.

"Trowa, can you head to the control room? Now that you're all repaired and rested, you can give Agent Okeda your official statement. We'll meet you there later," she added.

"Works for me," Trowa said evenly. He glanced at the locker room door. "What do you plan to do?"

Sally broke into a grin, and jerked a thumb toward Relena. "I'm going to get this lady suited up. She's helping us, now." Relena's heart leapt. She turned to beam at Sally, happy she would have a chance to be productive. Trowa arched a brow.

"Heero might have something to say about that."

Sally waved a dismissive hand. "So what."

"He could very well kill us," Trowa groused.

"What else is new?" Sally rolled her eyes for Relena's benefit. "Anyway, we'll see you on the bridge in a bit." She angled her head toward Relena. "After I get you sorted, I need to go make the rounds in the sick bay. But after you report to Okeda, I'm gonna have him give you and Trowa a task."

"A task?" Relena glanced over to Trowa. "What sort of task?"

Sally's grin broadened. "It's time for another round of interrogations. Normally Wufei would still be going strong, so we have to keep at it in his place. It's tough with less senior agents on board; I'm sure he's pissed he's missing this." Sally seemed to find this amusing.

Trowa frowned and folded his arms over his chest. "Are you so sure that's a good idea, bringing Relena into that?"

Relena planted her hands at her hips and glared up at her so-called friend. "Sometimes, I swear you're worse than Heero."

"I take that as a compliment," Trowa said, nonplussed.

"Relena will do fine," Sally jumped to her defense. "Why wouldn't we send a politician in there? She's a natural." She gave Trowa a playful punch on the arm before pushing open the locker room door. "Now get lost, Barton. Little creepy for you to be hanging around outside the ladies' room..." Sally folded her arms over her chest and tapped her foot, looking at Trowa pointedly.

His face went red but he didn't offer any further protest. With an eye roll, he turned his heel and walked away.

Relena couldn't help but laugh at his plight as she followed Sally inside. "Poor Trowa..."

Sally led Relena to center of the room, over to a set of lockers. They were alone, save for one woman who had her back turned to them, dressing in an olive and black Preventer's uniform. Sally opened one of the lockers and started pulling out clothes and handing them to Relena.

"These may not be a perfect fit, but they'll do for now," the agent said. "I find I like the fit a little on the looser side, personally. Anyway, give them a try."

The other woman whirled around then, and landed a hard stare on them. Relena was so startled, she took a step backward. It was the younger woman from the gym. Relena quickly took her in. She was on the small side, but curvy. And very pretty, with long, wavy dark hair that Relena instantly envied. The woman would have been even prettier if she hadn't been scowling. Her hazel eyes were red-rimmed, as if she'd been crying.

Relena's heart thrummed loudly as she and the other woman continued to size each other up. For a brief moment, she felt like a deer in headlights.

"Oh, hi, Raquel. Sorry, I didn't see you there." Sally spoke casually, seemingly unaware of the tension between the two other women.

Raquel. So that's her name. Relena had a sudden bitter taste in her mouth.

It was even more painful than Relena had anticipated, coming face to face with a woman - a gorgeous, voluptuous, younger woman - who had been intimate with her husband. Heero had touched her. Relena's mind flooded with images of Heero and Raquel entwined, naked. The thought made her boil inside.

Relena had been on dates with other men over the past few years, including Paul, but she hadn't crossed that physical line with anyone. She couldn't. She'd allowed a few of them to kiss her, but she'd had too many inhibitions to take things any further. She'd never wanted anyone the way she wanted Heero.

Still, she knew it was hypocritical of her to demand celibacy from Heero, after she'd left him willingly. He was a man; he was wired differently. But in the moment, Relena didn't care. A torrent of emotions threatened to overtake her. She wasn't just jealous of Raquel.

She was insanely jealous.

Relena worked to calm her racing heart and steady her breathing, before she would say or do something she might regret.

"What's going on?" Raquel turned questioning eyes to Sally. Her voice was a low, husky alto. Great. So she also happened to have a sexy voice. Everything about the woman seemed to ooze sex, at least in Relena's mind.

She wanted to kill her.

But that would not have been fitting of her position. She mentally chided herself and tried to remain calm. She was good at defusing tense situations, keeping her cool all the while. She could not - would not - allow herself to lose control, and give the other woman the satisfaction.

Sally was bringing Raquel up to speed, but Relena had tuned her friend out, keeping her gaze locked on her new rival. She watched as Raquel's expression went from surprised to irritated as she listened to Sally. Relena finally tuned back in when she heard her name.

"It only makes sense to bring Relena on board," Sally was saying, "since she's been actively investigating this for years."

Relena turned to her friend, frowning. "How did you know that?"

"Heero told me, before he left." Sally's eyes twinkled. "I should have known, though. It's all starting to make sense as the pieces come together…"

Raquel's scowl deepened. "And you think Heero would approve of this?"

Relena instantly disliked the way Raquel said Heero, with the proper accent, her silky voice caressing each syllable of his name. It was too familiar. Too intimate. Possessive.

Relena was about to snap that whatever Heero thought was none of her business, but Sally spoke again.

"It's not up to Heero; it's up to me." Sally tipped her head to the side and smiled. "I'm the senior agent on board, so I get to call the shots. Isn't that fun?" She chuckled. "Well, it's fun for me."

Raquel harrumphed and started throwing her things into her locker. Sally and Relena exchanged looks behind her back.

"Anyway, Raquel," Sally continued, "I hope you'll join me in welcoming Relena to the team."

Raquel's shoulders slumped, but she turned and flicked her gaze over to Relena. "All right," she mumbled. "Welcome."

Relena wasn't sure she'd ever heard a less enthusiastic welcome in her life, but she was no stranger to people disliking her due to her politics. This was different, clearly. This was personal. Still, Relena was determined to regain the upper hand.

"It's good to finally meet you, Raquel," she said in her steadiest voice.

"Oh, shoot! I forgot you two haven't been formally introduced." Sally gave a little bow. "My bad. Relena, this is Raquel Morena, one of our newest field agents and communications officer. She joined the force last summer. Raquel, this is-"

"I know who she is," Raquel snapped, fixing her gaze on Sally. "Everyone does."

Sally looked surprised by the outburst. She narrowed her eyes and looked as if she was about to reproach her recruit, but Relena spoke first.

"I know a little about you, too." Relena stared evenly at Raquel, watching as her face turned several colors.

Sally looked wildly at both of them. "Now, wait a minute. You mean-"

"What?" Relena sighed, her irritation building.

"Heero told you?" Sally asked quietly, her eyes pained.

"I'm afraid so," Relena said through clenched teeth. The bitter taste had returned to her mouth. Of course, Sally knew, too. And how many others? Relena felt like a fool.

"Oh, please," Raquel scoffed, eyeing Relena scornfully. "Like you have any right to be upset about any of this. You got the guy; what are you complaining about? You need to get over yourself." She returned her attention to her locker.

Relena clenched her hands into fists. "I dare you to continue speaking to me that way."

Raquel's staccato laughter rang in the locker room. "Really? What, do you think you're still queen or something?" She rolled her eyes to the ceiling. "You're being ridiculous."

It took all of Relena's self-control to keep from storming over to Raquel and striking her hard across the face. But Sally shot Relena a warning glance, seemingly reading her mind.

"Raquel," Sally said in a harsh voice. "Relena is technically your boss. And mine. You need to show her some respect. Apologize," she added, even more sternly. "Now."

Raquel squared her shoulders and turned back around to face them both.

"I'm sorry," she said flatly to Sally before sliding her gaze back to Relena. "But I won't take back what I said. You may be my boss, Relena, but I don't have to like you. And, for the record..." She took an aggressive step forward, stopping just short of Relena's face; even though she was several inches shorter than Relena, she tipped her chin up in defiance. Relena sucked in a breath.

"I think you're selfish, and spoiled, and I don't know what he sees in you," Raquel said finally, her lips curling into a sneer. With that, she whirled away, her long hair whipping behind her, and stormed out of the locker room, slamming the door behind her.

Relena swung wild eyes up to Sally. Her friend sighed and wrapped an arm around Relena's shoulders.

"I'm sorry about that. She's a little young, still, and impetuous. I've had a bit of an issue trying to get her to rein in her temper, in the past. I'm sorry you had to deal with that." Sally let out a low exhale, her own shoulders sagging. "I'm going to have to reprimand her later."

Relena didn't know why, but she felt defeated. She sighed and shook her head, trying to force the ugly confrontation from her mind.

"That's all right. I brought this upon myself."

Sally squeezed her shoulders. "That's not true. Raquel's a good agent, but she can be kind of a bitch." Relena laughed in spite of herself. "And had I known about her involvement with Heero sooner, I would have tried to put a stop to it," Sally added. "Or, at the very least, discouraged it. I only just found out, myself."

"I'm not sure there was anything you could have done. And, anyway, it's over now. That's why she's lashing out," Relena explained. Sally's eyes widened.

"So Heero broke it off?"

"Yes. That's what he told me, and I trust him."

"Good for him." Sally gave Relena another squeeze before releasing her. "Does this mean you two are all patched up, then?"

Relena finally allowed herself to smile. "Seems so."

Sally grinned at her. "So when's the wedding?"

Relena barked a laugh. "What wedding? I'm not doing that all over again."

"Why the hell not?! You of all people would relish the excuse to get all dressed up again," Sally teased. "Tell Heero he's put you through enough. At the very least, he owes you another wedding."

"Oh, I don't know," Relena said warily. "Of course, I love Heero, and I plan to spend the rest of my life with him. But I'm not so sure I want to be married to him again."

Sally's brows shot up. "Seriously?"

Relena shrugged and splayed her hands. "Too much drama."

Sally tossed her head back and roared with laughter.


A/N: Well, well, well... speaking of weddings, mine is less than a week away, now! At this time next week, I should be enjoying my post-wedding brunch! Mimosas all around! But it looks like there won't be a wedding in this story... or will there? Think Relena meant what she said? What would Heero have to say about that? Too much drama, or not enough? Don't worry... there is plenty more to come. ;)

Thank you all so much for helping me top 300 reviews - unbelievable! - and for sticking with this story over the past few months. I wish I had the time right now to respond to each and every one of you, but we will have to catch up after the wedding! Hope you all have a lovely week, and enjoy your Sunday Funday!

Love, love, love!

- RFP