Chapter Eleven
One Too Many

Duo had taken the elevator to the main lobby. He wasn't sure why or what he was doing. Part of him was still upset with the fact that they had kept Serena a secret from him.

Like they couldn't trust me. Duo thought to himself.

The other part of him was in shock still. He had known Heero long enough to know a thing or two about the guy. Duo knew Heero had no family, so seeing Serena for the first time he knew without a doubt she was a clone.

Hell Quatre's sisters were all cloned in a way. It's not like technology doesn't exist. But it was a little unnerving that there were now essentially two Heero's. One male and one female.

But she's different. She didn't act entirely like Heero. Duo was still a little shocked that she wanted to talk with him. Heero never and still never wants to just "talk." What's her deal anyway?

While he continued to muse to himself he happened to catch a very angry blonde walking his way. He stopped walking with his hands in his pockets as Relena approached him. She stopped directly in front of him as her hands came to rest on her hips. She was staring fiery daggers at him.

Oh yeah, she's still pretty pissed at Heero.

"Heya princess, what can I do for ya?" Putting in his best smile for her.

"You," she started as she lifted a hand to point a finger at him. "Tell me where Yuy is."

"Um. He's busy at the moment, Lena."

"So you have seen him," Relena narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah… but he's uh… a little busy. I can tell him that you stopped by if you want?" Duo wasn't sure if he should be telling her where Heero was or who he was with. Probably wasn't the best idea but then again…

"Where is he, Duo?" Relena's voice rose slightly. Her fisted balling at her waist.

Ah screw it, let Heero deal with her. Plus this is payback for not telling me about our little secret friend. Duo grinned while holding up his hands. "Alright, alright, I'll tell you. He's on the second level of the Medical wing. Four doors down on the right."

"Why is he down there?" Relena shot him a questioning look. Duo's grin widened even more.

"Oh, you'll find out. Have fun princess and don't be too hard on, Yuy," Duo turned on his heel, whistling as he walked away. Wonder what Relena will think of all this. He mused to himself.

Heero and Serena had been talking for a few minutes after Duo left. Serena was sitting back against the pillow that was on the bed. Her arms crossed over her chest as she looked at him with a bemused expression on her face.

"You didn't come here just to talk with me. So what do you need from me?"

"I need help with those encryptions. It'll take less time if the two of us work on them," Heero kept his face impassive. They may have been getting along but he wasn't ready to fully trust her yet.

"You want me to help you?" She lifted an eyebrow at him.

"Yeah, chances are you're-" Heero didn't get to finish as he heard the door open. Swinging his head he locked eyes with one very angry blonde with fiery light blue eyes.

"Heero Yuy, you have some explaining to do," Relena said as she walked into the room.

"Relena, I-" Heero tried to speak but Relena cut him off.

"No, you listen to me. You better have a good explanation for not calling me after the mission. I had to find out from one of my bodyguards that you..." Relena trailed off.

Relena's eyes grew wide, then something changed. Her face paled slightly and Heero knew what was going to happen next. As Relena's eyes started to flutter, Serena surged forward off the bed, catching Relena before she fell. Heero had started to move to his feet, but Serena was a few seconds faster.

Serena held Relena in her arms as she looked up at him. He couldn't believe how fast her reaction time was, but he was grateful she caught Relena before she hit the ground.

Shaking the thoughts away he directed Serena to move Relena to the bed. Serena nodded as she lifted Relena, cradling her in her arms. She placed her carefully down on the bed before Heero quickly gave Relena a once over.

"Your shoulder okay?" He asked as he looked up at her.

"Yeah, it's fine. Is she okay?" Serena nodded towards Relena.

"Yeah, she's fine."

Heero and Serena watched over Relena for a few minutes before they saw her eyes start to flutter. Slowly Relena opened her eyes. Relena gasped as she sat straight up, causing him and Serena to move quickly out of the way. Relena turned her head to either side, looking at both of them. Shaking hands came up to her mouth.

"She… she… she looks just like you!"

"Relena…" Heero spoke her name softly. "I can explain-"

"Relena," Serena cut in. Relena swung her head to look at her. "You need to calm down first. Any questions you have, I'll be happy to answer," Serena said. Relena nodded her head before taking a shaky breath.

"Who are you?" Heero shot her a look from over Relena's head. Serena returned the look before turning her attention back to Relena.

"My name is Serena Lowell. It's a pleasure to meet you, Relena." Heero kept a close eye on Relena. Nodding her head, she dived straight into a line of questioning.

"Where are you from? Rather where did you come from and how did you end up here? Are you Heero's sister?" She turned to look at him, "you said you didn't have any family. So who is she? And why am I on the bed?"

"I'm from L1. Where I came from… well you're looking at him. I ended up here because we just happen to be at the same place at the same time. Heero doesn't have any living family and you're on the bed because you fainted," Serena said. Relena swung her head back to her.

"Okay well, that answers some questions. But what I don't understand is what you mean by 'where I came from, well you're looking at him?'" Serena simply motioned toward him. Relena looked at him with a confused look on her face. "I don't understand. She can't be a child of yours, she's too old to be one. If she's not your sister then that leaves…" Relena gasped again, bringing her hands to her mouth. She turned wide-eyed back to Serena. "You're his clone!"

"You're not going to faint again are you?" Serena tightened her eyes. Relena shook her head.

"No… it's just… is that true?"

"Yes," Heero spoke. He had been quiet, letting Serena lead the conversation. All of her answers were honest to a point and gave enough information without giving too much away. Which was what he had wanted from the start. Relena turned her head to look at him.

"This is why you haven't called me?"

"Yes. Relena, look…" Heero ran a hand through his bangs as he stood to his full height. I'm sorry for not calling but I'm sure you can understand why now."

"Heero Yuy, while I understand you still should've called me," Relena said sternly. Serena tried to stifle a laugh. Her hand came up to her mouth as Heero glared at her.

"Sorry but this is kind of funny. You're in deep shit. If I'm not mistaken, normally people call their significant others when they've been away for a while," Serena said to him in Japanese.

"This doesn't concern you," Heero growled at Serena. Serena held up her hands with a grin on her face.

"No, it doesn't. But it doesn't mean I don't know how you feel about her. Remember?" She pointed a finger at him. Heero glared at her but said nothing. "Apologize and take her out to dinner. It's at least a start. Maybe she won't be as mad at you after that," Serena said with a smirk on her lips.

"Uh…" Relena quietly said. Both he and Serena turned their attention back to Relena. "Um… could we maybe speak English? I don't know that much Japanese."

"Sorry," the two mumbled in unison.

Relena continued to ask Serena questions, to which she was surprised to find Serena so open and replying honestly. Along with a little help from Heero, she learned how they found out about Serena. Though some details were vague, she understood that because this was still an ongoing investigation and she wasn't at liberty to know everything. But she was pleasantly surprised by the conversation she was having with Serena.

Serena had even allowed her to examine her closely. Relena was able to see that while Serena did indeed resemble Heero, she also saw that Serena had features, that in her opinion, complimented her very well. Given the background information that she knew about Heero, she was able to figure out that Serena was enhanced like Heero. Serena had told her that she was the one who caught her before she collapsed on the floor. She was impressed by Serena's response time but she also gathered that Heero was probably still in shock from having her show up. Though she still wasn't going to let Heero off easily for what he had done.

Relena liked Serena so far and she could see herself growing to befriend her. She had offered to bring some clothing for Serena. She had noticed that Serena was wearing one of the Preventer standard-issued sweatpants and shirt. Serena had thanked her but politely told her that she didn't need anything. Relena refused to accept the answer and promised she'd return the following day with something else for her to wear. Serena had shot Heero a look as he stood leaning against the wall. Heero had only shrugged. He spoke to Serena for a moment before Relena reminded him to speak in English.

Relena and Serena continued to chat lightly when someone knocked on the door. Relena saw Serena move slightly, adjusting her position on the bed, locking eyes with Heero briefly before the door opened. It was like they instantly had their guard up, and Relena found it interesting.

Relena looked towards the door as Trowa walked in, carrying a bag of takeout and some drinks in a tray.

Trowa looked around the room to find not only Serena and Heero but Relena as well. Relena was sitting on the bed with Serena and whatever conversation they were having ended and all three turned their eyes on him. Trowa kept his face blank, but he lifted one visible eyebrow for a moment before shaking his head. He walked over to the counter, placing down the food he had gotten.

"Relena, I think it's time to go," Heero said as he stood up to his full height.

"Right…" Relena looked to him and then Heero before turning back to Serena. "It was nice to meet you, Serena. I'll see you tomorrow?"

"It was nice meeting you as well, Relena. You know where to find me," Serena held a small smile on her face.

Relena nodded, smiling brightly at Serena as she stood up. As she walked by him, giving him a nod as well as a smile, "Trowa."

"Relena," Trowa nodded back. Heero came to stand beside Relena. Putting a hand on the small of her back.

"I'll bring you back to your office," Heero said, turning to look at him, "I'll be back later." Trowa gave him a curt nod before the two made their way to the door. Serena yelled something to Heero as the two walked out the door.

"English!" Relena yelled back just as the door shut behind them. Serena chuckled as she shook her head. She turned her deep blue eyes up to Trowa.

"Mind telling me how this one happened? And what was that all about?" Serena let her laughter flow. Trowa smiled as he listened to her. Once she calmed down she waved a hand at him.

"I'll tell you, but as far as the last part, just giving some advice," she smirked at him.

"Ah," turning back to the bag on the counter, he proceeded to open it. Pulling out the food boxes. "I hope you like Thai," he said from over his shoulder.

A/N

Happy Friday! We've made it through the week, and hopefully, everyone is doing well. This will be the last upload for this week, though I will leave you all with the title of the next chapter, which makes me cackle every time I read it. Still in the Dog House. What I can tell you is finally that the M rating starts to come into play in chapter twelve. Wink wink. As well as some fun stuff other than the adult fun stuff... hopefully that's enough information for you to get the hint.

Until Monday,

-MM