Okay, it's multi-episode cliffhanger-ender time (I feel like parodying a lot lately [Mighty morphin' power ranger time or something like that. I dunno. I got up too early this morning]).
For all you SW fans out there, I know this sounds a little like a cross between ANH and the original Zahn trilogy, and it's kind of halfway intentional. In light of this, I must add that I don't own any rights to SW in any way, so don't sue or let other people sue on your behalf.
So I lied when I said it'd be until April, but I really don't want to do my history homework. *Gives audience a raspberry*.
Floating Amongst
Wow, I didn't think I would reach that far into the ship, thought Quatre as he slashed at a mid-level deck. An officer had just shot out with the expelled atmosphere. Instead of a quick death, he or she would instead suffocate when the air reserves of their suit ran out. Quatre hadn't meant to kill anybody, but the person was too small to locate among the empty space. "I'm sorry," he whispered, eyes welling up.
"Don't grieve over him." Milliardo said. "It's a loss, and I know we weren't gunning for kill, but we can't help him now."
Quatre tried to forget, but here's the funny thing: you can't tell yourself not to think about something. He'd killed someone. On accident.
A mobile suit came up behind him. It raised its beam saber and—
Milliardo cut it down, and the explosion shocked Quatre back into reality.
"Sorry," he apologized, this time to his fellow pilot.
"Don't be sorry," the elder warned. "Just don't do it again. Being sorry gets people killed."
"Not being sorry results in wars," Quatre countered. He was feeling a little irritable, and Relena's overzealous big brother was getting on his nerves. "There's a bit of a balance, isn't there? Maybe that's why you've died so many times, Zechs."
"I no longer claim that name," Milliardo said, his voice hard. "Just shut up and watch your back."
Quatre grumbled, but slashed around at the incoming mobile suits. He'd been lucky enough to learn where their weak spots were.
More men dead.
~~@[~*,~]@~~
Noin was awoken simultaneously by the two girls that were her charges. Raina started bawling just moments after Akiko stuck her head in the room. "Noin?"
"What is it, Kik?" It was Milliardo's nickname, but the girl liked it. Noin went to go pick up the baby.
"She's hungry. I'll go get the formula," Akiko said immediately. She, like her parents, had already identified Raina's various cries. Noin couldn't make heads or tails out of it. She cradled the child and followed the elder girl downstairs.
Akiko sat on the counter in her nightshirt, swinging her legs as the microwave heated up the bottle. She looked disturbed. Shyly, she held her hands out for her sister. Noin gave the bundle to her gently. "I think . . . I think she felt it too," Akiko said, looking down.
"Felt what, honey?" Noin removed the bottle and tested the temperature on her arm. She handed it to Akiko.
"Something's bad happened." The girl scooted back on the counter and rested the baby on her lap. "I think . . . I think it's Mom."
Noin grimaced. Akiko seemed to have a psychic link to her parents. There was no explanation. She was quite certain something had happened out there. She couldn't do much to comfort the child, though she was taking it quite well. "Your mother's situation is a risky one. Beliv has taken her prisoner. You know the attraction the man has for her."
She shook her head. "No, it's more than that. Mom's hurt, but . . . she's cold."
Noin felt a chill. Oh no. "Can you still feel her thoughts?"
"They're almost not there."
"What . . . what about your father?"
"He's frightened. I can't get him very well. Something's in the way." Akiko sighed and offered Raina back. The baby was too heavy for her to hold for very long, but the presence of her sibling comforted her. "I've barely been able to get him ever since he left. There's interference. I think it's alive, too. He might be trying to block me out."
To protect her, maybe? Noin tried hard not to look frightened. Things didn't seem to be going well.
"Your mom's a strong woman. She'll make it," she said, not quite so certain.
"I hope so."
~~@[~*,~]@~~
Floating amongst the stars, planets, comets, meteors, dust, and most of all the emptiness, the great golden wings of Zero flapped slowly, though uselessly. Such beauty, thought Shukumei, such loneliness. We were destined for the stars, friend.
"Fate speaks of destiny," Heero huffed indignantly. "Isn't that a bit redundant?"
FOOLISH HUMAN CONCEPTS, said Zero.
Heero sighed, weary. He watched the battle from afar, but it was hard to understand what was happenning.
"Relena . . ." the name sprang to his lips all of a sudden. Shukumei made him open his eyes again. Zero, what's going on?
A WOMAN IN A ZER0-GRAVITY SUIT HAS EMERGED FROM A PUNCTURE IN THE SHIP. MY SENSORS DETECT THAT IT IS COMING STRAIGHT AT US.
"On purpose?"
NO. IT IS A RANDOMLY DETERMINED TRAJECTORY.
Shukumei's spoken word . . . Heero leapt forward in his seat. "Relena! How did that happen? Where is she??"
WE MUSTN'T GET INVOLVED, Zero reminded him.
"No! That's my wife! I can't let her die!" Heero pounded his armrests, as if trying to punch the gundam. He had not intended for this to happen. His fingers dashed across the panels and his front screen went blank for a moment. Then, the magnification showed the silent figure of his one love, unmoving. She rotated on her path, and Heero could see her face, blue. He didn't see her breathing. Her eyes were shut.
Heero moaned, low and deep in his chest. It was a very sobering sound, based on the knowledge that his worst fears had come to pass. Zero thought he sounded like a wounded animal. "No, no, no, no . . ." he cried and collapsed against his seat, a pitiful figure of a man. "She can't be— she's not— RELENA!"
The metal reverberated with his desperate call. Zero didn't like the sensation. Heero's emotions were overwhelming the Zero System. Shukumei had long since fled in the face of such obvious accusation. Zero cut him off, both perplexed and angry. It didn't understand pity, but it understood the boundary between life and death.
Heero, grieving, was useless.
~~@[~*,~]@~~
After the initial shock, Relena's panic faded completely. It was impossible to panic in the calmness of space. Stars twinkled, so many more than were visible through Earth's atmosphere. Dimly, she thought she saw one shine gold. Then again, it could have been her delusion or the drugs. She suddenly felt so free.
Everything seemed so far away now. There was no war out here, only peace. Beliv? He was gone forever. Petty politics and under-the-table negotiations? Forget about them! She sighed. It hurt to breathe.
It had hurt to breathe deeply after her babies had been born, too. She thought back to Akiko, eyes like her father's from the start. The girl . . . she'd grow up to be strong, despite the loss of her mother. She had always been Heero's child more than hers; so beautiful and delicate and full of courage. She wondered who Raina would grow up to be. Would she be like her mother, sweet and shy and pale? Would she choose to carry her mother's name on, through her? It saddened Relena to think that her daughter would never know her. But if this sacrifice is necessary for that child to lead a happy life, I'll do it, she thought, with some conviction. She finally realized why Heero had thought that way in the past.
Her breath slowed as her lungs fought to keep themselves full of oxygen, but her air supply was running short. There was no heating system for the suits, as they were not intended to be used as space-suits. The blood had frozen to her body. It itched. It hurt. It was all Beliv's fault it had ended this way.
She thought she heard her name. It sounded like Heero's soft, slightly airy voice. She'd loved it when he said it like that, full of concealed affection meant only for her. She'd never hear it again. She'd miss it. All this time, she'd crusaded to be by his side, and he'd put up no objection, not even one opposing hand. He loved her more than words could ever describe, so he didn't try to say it. Memories flooded back, of long winter nights nestled close, talking softly, sweet nothings that meant everything. She'd always felt protected, lying against him; under his arm and his wing.
"Heero . . ." she whispered, the puff of warm breath clouding the helmet's glass. She had been about to embrace Death with open arms, and many times before, but now she wasn't ready to go any more. No, don't! I can't go now!
Despite her pleas, down swept the angel of death, soaring from the void. Its gruesome, bony face eyed her spirit hungrily. Cruel fate plays dirty tricks, Relena thought before blackness swept through her body.
~~@[~*,~]@~~
"What do you mean we've lost them?" Admiral Beliv demanded out of the quivering major.
"The Admiral asked a question," Ingraham told him.
"Uh, sir, the prisoners in section A-18 have escaped.
"Well find them!" Beliv barked, like an oversized, angry, bushy dog. "I'm not going to lose that Princess! She's too valuable. I'll cut throats, I will!"
"Sir," a tech interrupted. "There's trouble on Deck Four."
"More?" Beliv swelled. "What the hell is it this time, more rebelling officers?"
"No, sir. It's the same ones as before."
Beliv's caterpillar eyebrows fused. "What?"
The tech keyed up a visual. The two black-haired traitors that had accompanied Relena Darlian to the cellblock A-18, in zero-gee suits, were forcing their way into the ship bays. "Stop them, dammit!" Beliv shouted.
A crackle came from the nearest comm set. "We're trying, sir. But the lead one's a sharpshooter. He's felled a dozen of my men so far!"
As the Admiral and Captain watched, Vincent shot two more soldiers. The hallway behind them was littered with dead and dying men. The boy— barely in his twenties, Beliv would have guessed, turned around and shot the security camera.
~~@[~*,~]@~~
Vincent blasted his way down the air-empty hall, not bothering to be even remotely discreet. Soldiers ran to see what the trouble was, and Vincent cut them down with accuracy. Tovah had never seen him so angry. His friend was doing just fine on his own. The man was simply furious. No one dared stop them as Vince barreled his way through the ship bay. The ship started at his touch, and shot out the open lock. Vincent keyed in a general channel. "Gundams! This is Vincent and Tovah, Specials operatives!"
A deep, rough voice Tovah thought he recognized answered. "Don't you have Ms. Darlian with you?"
Vincent hung his head in disgrace. Tovah, sensing his friend blamed himself, replied, "There was an accident. The hull was punctured and we lost her. We're trying to pick her up on this ship's sensors, but they aren't warmed up yet."
A younger voice, one easily recognizable as Quatre Winner's, whispered, "That . . . that was Relena? Oh my God . . ."
"There's a good chance she's still alive. Stop talking like that!" Vince punched buttons on the external sensors. He paused. "There's something weird out there. I'm reading . . . that can't be right."
"What is it?" the husky voice demanded.
Tovah looked. "Ah, it appears to be a large machine, but the computer says it's biological. It's coming right for us."
It, a white streak, swept past and away so fast that the four of them could not distinguish it. In its wake, a small piece broke off and floated towards them. Vince aimed the sensors at it.
The other gundam was quicker. He snatched at it, enclosing it gently in his fist. The pilot emerged, walked down the gundam's outstretched arm. It was no matter that he whispered, for his voice carried such conviction, such pain that Vincent, normally upbeat and in-control Vincent, sobbed loudly. "Relena."
Tovah grabbed the controls, his heart skipping beats, and brought the shuttle in close. The man gathered the body in his arms and they let him in the airlock. He clutched at the inanimate princess until Tovah forced him to put her on the floor. Vincent wiped fiercely at his eyes and went to go inspect Relena. The gundam pilot removed his helmet in a flourish of static blonde hair. The two Specials gasped. "Zechs Marquise!"
He waved his hand, then reached down to pull his sister's helmet off and unzip the bulky zero-gee suit. "I'm Milliardo Peacecraft now. All I am is a worried brother."
Relena was blue. There were tears frozen to her cheeks, now melting. Milliardo put his ear by her mouth, listening for breath, a heartbeat.
The airlock hissed open again. Quatre Winner peered at them. "Milliardo, is she going to be okay?"
There was silence for a full minute, the boys staring at each other and the small woman, usually so full of fire. Accomplished by barely the age of fifteen, a former princess, queen, and respected delegate, Relena had led such a full life in so short a span. She was leaving behind people who would never stop grieving for her. Quatre couldn't imagine how Heero would end up.
Milliardo held the body against his. His shoulders began to shake.
The others hung their heads.
~~@[~*,~]@~~
In a sterile inflatable chamber she'd employed from the medical department onboard the asteroid-base, Phailin probed carefully into Shenlong's outermost NERV circuits. She was going to have to climb bodily into its head, and this dissection would take days. It was like doing brain surgery on a giant.
There was a knock on the Plastic outside. Phailin pulled her head out of the small hole she'd carefully created. The doctor— head of the medical department— which had leant her the sterile atmosphere, peered inside curiously. Phailin wiped at the grease on her cheek and the stray hairs that had fallen out of her constructed knot. Hold on, she mouthed.
A moment later (after going through the mini-airlock that accompanied the sterile chamber), she greeted the doctor warmly.
She looked around. "I didn't expect it to be used for this. You know, no one but certified mechanics with permission and the pilot himself are supposed to work on the gundams."
Phailin dug through her pocket and found her mechanics card. "I have permission from Wufei. I'm investigating some unusual happenings with the equipment."
"Ah." she started slightly at the sound of Wufei's name.
Phailin caught the hint. "You know him, do you?"
"We used to work together, many years ago. He does keep to himself terribly much, doesn't he? I haven't seen him yet."
Phailin searched her memory for the woman's image, but she came up blank. "Forgive me, but what is your name?"
"Hnh? Oh, Sally Poe," she said, distracted. "So where is Wufei?"
"He should be here in a few minutes. He said he was going to check in on my progress. He's a little uneasy that I might damage something."
"Understandable. These gundams are quite delicate internally, I've heard."
"They're a slightly different design than the originals, it's clear."
It was at that moment that Wufei came in. He gave the two women a look and frowned. "What— is something wrong?"
"No. Nataku's fine. It'll take me a couple of days to get all the way through to the center processor, unless you want me to cut my way through and risk damaging something. There's a lot of stuff packed into that little head of his. I wish you'd teach him better Basic, though. I can barely understand him sometimes."
"Take as long as you need," said Wufei hurriedly.
"I thought as much. I'd better get back to work, if you don't mind, Sally."
Behind her, Wufei jerked, then gave the sandy-haired woman a second, wide-eyed glance. He made a gesture towards her hair.
She fingered the ends, which were about chin level. "Yeah, it was getting in the way. So . . . how are you, Wufei? It's been ages."
"Okay, I guess."
"You look . . . good."
"Yeah . . . thanks, I think. Don't look bad yourself."
They looked at each other, then looked away, embarrassed. "Look, Wufei. I was wondering . . ."
"Hm?"
"Well, if you'd like to go to dinner sometime." Sally blushed. "I'd like to catch up on things, you know."
Phailin hadn't closed the door to the sterilization chamber, and was trying to listen in. "Ooh, Wuffie, you draw ladies like flies, don't you?"
Wufei opened his mouth to protest. "Hey—"
Phailin laughed and stepped back toward them. "I hope you two don't take your little dinner too far. I'd be disappointed in you."
"I'd never—" Wufei gave her a look of indignation.
"Excuse me?" Sally interrupted. "Is there something I missed here?"
Phailin laughed again and rubbed against her husband. "You're hunting in my territory, honey."
It was Wufei's turn to blush. "Uh, Sally, I think you've already met my wife, Phailin?"
Sally blinked. "Oh . . . I didn't know—"
Phailin pinched the back of Wufei's thigh for the third time that day (it seemed to be a family trait). "Go ahead, you two go to dinner. I'm not worried. I just like to play sometimes." She climbed back into the soundproof booth.
Wufei scowled behind her back, rubbing his sore backside. "Damn woman," he muttered. "Sometimes I think she'd better pray it's a boy . . ."
"What was that?" Sally asked.
"Ngh, nothing," Wufei said hurriedly. He didn't want to face his wife's wrath if she ever found out.
Sally gestured to the door. "Shall we? Military rations aren't exactly gourmet, but it's the best we'll get until we get moved off this rock."
"Fine. Your treat."
"Yeah, with military doctor money? You've got to be joking."
"A personality trait that's a recent development," Wufei said, feeling rather proud of his dry humor.
"A result of that interesting Phailin, right?"
"Who else?"
Sally cleared her throat, but the woman had never had all that much shame. "So . . . how did you guys meet, anyway?"
"That is a long story."
~~@[~*,~]@~~
Heero returned in a sullen state of mind. He'd thought of nothing but his children during the days he'd traveled toward home. He was all they had left now. He didn't have the nerve to return home before he went to go meet Milliardo, Quatre, and two Specials. Instead, he went to his parents'.
"Heero, what's going on?" Masao asked, immediately detecting his son's somber mood.
"I just need a place to stay. I can't go home."
Megumi walked in from the kitchen, wiping her hands on a towel. "I don't buy that one. What's happened, Heero? Why aren't Akiko and the baby with you? Heero, where's Relena gone? That wasn't her dressed as that pirate, was it?"
"There . . . hasn't been any controversy over that, has there?" Heero's momentary confusion overtook his sadness.
"No, but that couldn't have possibly been her. It wasn't, was it?"
"It was," Heero whispered, unable to look at them. "We tried to rescue her from Beliv. And now— now—" he broke off, finding it too hard to accept.
Masao's face was gray. "What's happened?"
Heero shook his head, his tears hidden by his mussed hair. He didn't want to say they'd be burying her tomorrow. He couldn't speak.
"No . . . she isn't . . . Heero!" Megumi sat down hard. "She isn't . . . dead?"
Heero took a sharp breath at the cruel word.
Masao's usually optimistic face grew grim. He reached out and found a normally reluctant Heero in his arms. The two parents hugged their son tightly, almost afraid to let go. Heero, only because of his exhaustion, was the only one that slept that night.
~~@[~*,~]@~~
The next morning, Masao drove his grief-stricken son to the nearest base, where the Specials officers would be delivering Relena's body. Somebody had tipped the press that Relena Darlian was on the shuttle, and there was a hoard there. Heero kept the windows rolled up to avoid being detected.
It was raining, not hard, but steadily. The sky was a consistent gray, companioned with a cold wind that Heero seemed to feel even through the car's steel skin. Even his piercingly blue eyes seemed to have faded, against the red veins that were clearly visible. Heero had lost weight during the past months, and he looked as if he was at borderline malnutrition. Briefly, he wondered if the public even noticed how the war was torturing him. Somehow, he doubted it.
"You have to go home," Masao said firmly as Heero took out his wallet— to look at the photos of Akiko (he kept forgetting to add one of Raina's). He fingered the little girl's face. "Akiko needs to hear it from her father. You need to give her the sense that you'll be there for her."
"I know that," Heero whispered. "But I still don't even want to tell myself."
Masao put his arm over his shoulders. "The world's lost a great woman. They'll all be there for you. Think of all the friends you have here to support you. No one's going to abandon you."
Heero sighed shakily. "Yeah, I know."
Heero looked up. There was a streak as the shuttle came through the atmosphere. Heero watched it, feeling his heart pound in his chest. He didn't want to see the body.
"Be strong, son," Masao said firmly.
Like the fiery Angel of Death himself, the shuttle plunged mercilessly though the air, and soon could be heard. The sound whistled and yet rumbled, and could be heard on so many frequencies that Heero was sure everyone here would suffer inner ear damage. The air rushing past gave off a sort of piteous cry, as if the whole of earth was mourning for his beloved.
When the whole crowd was lost in the dramatic entrance of Relena's hearse, Heero stepped quietly out of the car. The cold wind rustled his thin clothes— nothing more than a tank and shorts— and played with his hair, brushing it away from the sore and swollen eyes that it needed to hide. Freezing-cold raindrops pelted his bare skin, their fast slanted fall cutting at him like hundreds of tiny needles. Heero had never much liked needles, particularly those attached to a syringe. Over the years, bits of memories had drifted back to him about Dr. J. He remembered the white lab, the treadmills, the fast-paced classes, and most of all the drugs.
He'd never have remembered that without Relena's help. She'd been able to put puzzle pieces of his past back into place. Now, she was gone forever.
Lightning flashed as the shuttle touched down, shielding plates still red. Heero could hear the reporter nearest to him begin his narration into a digital recorder. "Lightning crashes ominously as the shuttle carrying news of the plight of the last member of the Peacecraft family lands on this chilly winter morning. The crowd is quiet; save for the men and women like me doing stories of their own. So many of us are anxious. Fancies run through our heads: Why did Relena Darlian turn suddenly to a life of crime, teaming up with the most infamous pirate this side of the galaxy? Has Eric Beliv finally finished what he started nearly three seasons ago? Is Ms. Darlian still in his grasp, or is she making her way home as we speak? In mere minutes, we'll find out."
Heero knew the answers to all of those. He remembered the last conversation he and his wife had. "I don't think I'll ever be prepared, but I believe in what we're doing. Beliv likes me too much to hurt me more than a little. I won't struggle. It'll only make things worse, once I'm his prisoner. I'll get over it Heero, if you will."
"The thought of him allowed to touch you makes me furious," Heero had said frankly.
"Then why are you sending me on this mission when you know it'll happen."
"Because I don't see I have any other choice."
Heero grimaced. Had he really said that? It would have been fairly easy to find a woman that looked like Relena. Her beauty was not the uncommon kind, although to Heero there was no better kind than hers was (strictly because it was her). Une might have been able to secure a backup. There were a thousand things he could think of now to have altered the mission without risking his wife. Now, it was too late. The shuttle rolled to a halt at the hastily constructed departure podium set up for the press. Heero almost looked away when the door was opened. He did not want to see the corpse of the only woman he'd ever love.
The press started to shout wildly. The reporter Heero had eavesdropped on earlier talked excitedly into his recorder. Heero's jaw dropped at the sight. Even he hadn't been prepared for what he saw.
A lanky, black-haired young man stepped out of the ship, supporting another black-haired individual. Heero thrust his way forward, shoving various people out of the way in his hurry to get to the front.
On the plywood balcony, Relena looked up to find anyone she knew. Surely someone had come to greet her . . .
"Relena!" She heard her name, but the voice was so emotional she almost couldn't tell who it was. She spotted her husband as the crowd around him suddenly thinned as the shouter's identity was revealed. Heero gave her a look of pure shocked joy, and she felt her heart sing. She'd known all along there would be something wonderful to come home to, after the pain and emotional and physical strain she'd endured over the past two weeks.
She called for him, but he was already at the front, an indescribable expression on his pale face. Relena let go of Vincent and jumped from the podium, unable to contain herself any longer. She needed to be in his arms.
Heero stepped back and caught her deftly, his strong, sure arms wrapping around her waist and hugging her as if he'd never let go. He seemed thinner than he had been the last time she'd seen him, still grayer and more lined. Had his worries really been so intense? She leaned against his warm chest, his body a shield from the bitter air and pounding rain. She drifted for a few seconds or a few minutes, she could not tell how long.
She heard her name called and peered past Heero's arm to see Masao, who'd abandoned his car to go make sure his daughter-in-law was really still alive. "So Heero can be wrong! Oh, this is incredible!" He stole Relena from his son for a moment with his own embrace.
"I don't understand," she said, looking at Heero.
He waved a hand. "In a more private situation."
Relena motioned to Vincent and Tovah, who leapt off the podium in a less Relena-ish style and landed like cats. "Heero, Masao, this is Vincent and Tovah. They saved my life.
Vincent saluted. "It is an honor to be in the company of such a great pilot, Mr. Yuy."
Heero returned the salute, his other hand still stroking his wife's dyed hair possessively. "You have my gratitude. Please, ride with us. There is much to discuss."
They pushed their way through the crowd, answering select questions so as not to seem too unfriendly and climbed into Masao's car. As soon as they were out of sight of any cameras, the couple kissed passionately. Vincent stared until Relena flashed the gold ring on her hand. Then he kept staring.
Flashback!
Relena's weak arms crept around her brother as she felt his hot tears of relief against her face. She was still groggy, tipsy and a bit oxygen-deprived, but she could still tell where she was. She'd been drugged so many times before that her mind unconsciously compensated.
Collectively, the four men sighed.
"Help me up," she told Milliardo. Her brother carefully lifted her by the waist, and she cried out in pain. Her hips were on fire. Milliardo looked to the two other Specials.
Vincent hurried forward. "She needs medical attention. She's got some vaginal bleeding that needs to be patched up. I'm sure that frozen blood in there is really comfortable."
Tovah, the certified medic, led them to the sleeping area, which was surprisingly well furnished. Milliardo handed his sister over to Vincent and lent his strong shoulders to pulling out one of the mattresses that folded into the walls. They laid her on it, though she continued to wince. "If I could have you three leave . . ." Tovah hinted, digging through the onboard medical kit for things he might need.
Quatre and Vincent left without protest, but Milliardo stood stonily by his sister's side.
"It would be easier and quicker if you left, sire," Tovah said, pouring drops of sanitizing liquid onto his hands, then pulling on gloves.
Relena looked at him. "Please, Milliardo. Let me try and relax. You being here, admonishing Tovah to be careful is not going to help. I'll have you come see me as soon as we're done, okay?"
Milliardo grumbled, but complied.
"I'm going to give you some anesthetic injections, Ms. Darlian," Tovah concluded after a few minutes. "There's some serious stitching to be done. Beliv ripped you up pretty good and that iced blood had sharp edges."
Relena tried hard not to scream as the needle punctured her sensitive skin, but the cool liquid inside the syringes soon brought her a welcoming numbness. The occasional sensation of a tug or pull didn't bother her at all. Tovah spread some disinfectant gel and wrapped the covers around Relena gently. She was already almost asleep, if not that she'd promised she'd talk to Milliardo.
"How is she?" came the first question from down the hall.
"She'll be fine, given a couple of weeks to a month. She needed a few stitches, but I don't predict any complications." Tovah's voice drifted off while Milliardo's footsteps grew louder.
He made his way quietly into the room, realizing Relena needed rest. He kneeled by her side, rubbing her hand gently. "This is the last time I'll see you for days. Are you okay, little sister?"
Relena smiled, just a bit loopy. "I'll be okay, but I think that anesthetic has some sleep agent in it. I have to sleep. I'll be okay, Milliardo. I just want to go home now."
"I'll be there to take care of you," Milliardo insisted.
"So will Heero. I appreciate the strong men I have around, you know. Someone needs to change the baby besides Noin once and a while."
Milliardo's eyes were downcast at the mention of Heero, and he didn't smirk at the attempted joke. Relena noticed his reaction and looked at him imploringly. "I still blame him a little bit that you came out here," he admitted.
"I knew what I was facing. He didn't want me to do it, trust me. Heero would never let something happen to me. I'm sure he probably followed us out here to make sure I'd be okay."
Milliardo thought about the white steak that had delivered Relena to them. Three more minutes out in space and Relena would have been dead. After a moment, he stood. "I'll see you on earth, Relena."
"I love you, big brother."
"I love you too."
Milliardo changed back into his spacesuit and went back over to Tallgeese. Quatre was going to drop at the asteroid base to get a cargo ship for the gundams, so they would fall behind a little. That was okay. Heero would be there for her.
Flashforward!
"Come on, a nice dinner for Relena and Heero, guys. I'll treat," Masao insisted as they stopped at a small town not more than half an hour from home.
"That would be great, dad," Heero admitted. I haven't had good food in a long time. The town boasted one semi-formal restaurant, which they took advantage of. Heero and Relena took the bench side, the two Specials sat across from them and an extra chair was set at the end for Masao. The dining room was not crowded on the lazy evening, and the service was quite well paced.
The room was dim, lit only by table candles and the soft light overhead. Relena closed her eyes and leaned against Heero's shoulder, holding his hand under the table. "It's a shame we didn't steal any computer information," she said to contribute to the conversation about their escape.
"Au contraire, Ms. Darlian," Vincent said with a grin. He held out his forearm. "We got plenty."
************************************************
Now really, why would I kill Relena? (First of all, she'd kill me.)
I'm going to try and lighten the mood just a bit in the next chapter. Oh yeah, and Death from Discworld appears. Apparently the ghost is a personal friend . . . The next chapter of AC 207: The Hands of Fate: The Finer Points of Living.