Chapter 31

Reiming glowered at the message for several minutes, a furious expression on her face.
After a few minutes, Hilde spoke up tentatively, "Reiming?"

"The little fool," was the response.

Hilde tried again. "What are you going to do?"

"What else? Find her, and stuff that medicine down her throat if I have to."

"Why bother?" Zechs asked, folding his arms.

"Meilai spared my life when she had every right not to. Therefore, I am returning the
favor."

"But isn't it her RIGHT to decide whether she wants to live or die?"

"Yes, but I'm going to be selfish. I'm deciding for her, and my decision is that she is
going to survive."

Zechs started to respond, but Duo cut him off. "Give it up Zechs. Don't you see the look on
her face? You may as well be talking to a wall." However, he still turned to Reiming. "But
really, WHY are you so insistant that she live?"

Reiming glanced at him. "Consider it me trying to make up for trying to make sure she die
several years ago. And besides, it's really not my nature to just sit here and let her die,
not without a good fight at least." Standing up, Reiming said, "Now's the hard part: FINDING
her before the poison kills her."

Wufei raised an eyebrow. "Wouldn't the hard part be FORCING her to take the medicine?"

Reiming waved her hand airily. "No, I'm sure I can handle her," she said glibly. Wufei snorted.
"Have fun," he muttered. "If she's anything like Meiran, you'll have a heck of a time forcing
her to do what you want her to."

But Reiming was already walking out of the room. "What are you going to do?" Quatre asked.

"Send her a message via Phoenix. Our suits are linked; the hard part is getting her to
respond. Once she does, I should be able to get a good guess of her general location, and then
I can try to flush her out."

"Ten bucks says it doesn't work," Duo said. "You may make it sound easy, but there are
a hundred things that could go wrong."

"Ten bucks says it does Maxwell," she shot back. "You just wait and see."

a few minutes later...

"I hate to say this, but you know she knows you're going to try and find her. She's not
going to respond," Trowa said, entering Phoenix's cockpit, where Reiming was busily typing.


"Who says I'll be using Phoenix's frequency?" she responded sweetly.

Trowa stared. "Oh," he said.

Still typing, Reiming said, "I'm pretending that this is from the Griffon. It's going to be a
challenge; I'm pretending that I'm Atkins and that I'm challenging her to a battle. She won't
be able to resist."

"Why won't she?"

"I was mainly trained by Himmler, while Meilai was trained by Atkins. Just like
Himmler put me through hundreds of tortuous trials, he did the same with Meilai. She won't
turn down this chance to get back at him."

Trowa thought for a moment, then smiled. "You know, you are extremely devious."

"Like you aren't!" she shot back.

"Did I say I wasn't?" he said mildly, then chuckled when he saw the furious look on her
face. "I'm guessing you haven't had much practice with snappy comebacks."

"Oh shut up."

Soon, Reiming sent her message. She waited for a few minutes, then a response came back. She
read it gleefully, and said, "Well well, looks like I'm going to be ten dollars richer soon!"

Trowa read the message. "So...she's supposedly going to meet you somewhere in Australia huh?
What are you going to do once she sees it's you and not the Griffon?"

"Then I get to chase her around the planet and wear her out."

Trowa raised an eyebrow. "You know, I'm starting to think that Wufei is right. It will be
much harder for you to force that medicine into her than it is for you to find her."

Reiming shrugged. "As long as it gets done, I could care less."

ten minutes later...

"What?! You want ME to go along with you on this crazy idea of yours?"

Wufei stared at his sister, then made a rude noise. "Forget it. If I can't force you do
anything, you can't force me to do anything either."

"Who said anything about forcing anyone? I'm just requesting your help."

"Well then, my answer is no," and Wufei turned to leave.

"Oh Wu-fei-ay," she sang. "Why are you so against this plan so much?"

Wufei looked at his sister suspiciously. "I don't like that tone of yours...something's up."

"Just answer my question."

"It's no business of mine."

"Well then, won't you do it for Meiran's sake?"

Wufei glared at his sister. "Keep Meiran out of this!"

"I'm being serious Wufei. Will you just sit here and willingly let your sister in law
die? I'm not. If anything, think of how Meiran would feel. Think of how she would kill you
when you met her again in the great thereafter. Hmm? Why don't you do this for her sake?"

Wufei sighed. "You know, you play very dirty."

"So I've been told, though not in those words exactly."

"Fine, fine," Wufei said, throwing up his hands. "I'll go...but I get half of the money
you're going to swindle out of Duo," he added with a devious grin.

Reiming pretended to sulk. "Oh no," she pretended to pout. "You are so mean!"

30 minutes later...

"There she is," Reiming said. Putting away her binoculars, she walked back into the
canyon where the suits and Wufei were hidden. "Anyways, I'm going to go out there and confront
her with the Phoenix. When she runs, you go out and help me drive her into a corner, okay?"

"Why is this idea sounding worse and worse by the minute?"

"Just do it," Reiming said, exasperated.

A few minutes later, when Reiming flew out to meet Meilai, the Seraphim stopped short. "Oh
that was very evil Reiming," Meilai's voice floated over the speaker. "I'm guessing you're
going to force me to take the medicine now, is it?"

"Very good. So why don't you be a good little girl and get your butt over here?"

"WHY do you care so much?"

"You're my sister. I'm not going to let you just die."

Meilai sighed. "I appreciate your concern, but sorry, no, I'm not going to listen to you.
I've done my part; now just let me die in peace." And the Seraphim turned around and tore off
at top speed.

Taking off after here, Reiming called, "NOW would be a good time Wufei!"

"Wufei?! He's here too?"

"Of course. He's your brother in law isn't he? Neither of us is going to let you get
away that easily."

The two chased after Seraphim for a while, and then the Seraphim turned around. "I'm sorry
you two," Meilai said, then started firing her beam cannon.

Dodging the blasts, Reiming said, "I'm sorry too," and began firing her own cannon. When Wufei
hesitated, her disgusted face popped up on his monitor. "Okay okay," he muttered, and started
shooting at Meilai with his Dragon Fang.

Meilai was an excellent pilot; however, the poison was working much more rapidly on her than it
had on Reiming, since Meilai wasn't fighting it. Soon, her piloting became less skilled, and
the two siblings pounced. Finally, the Seraphim crashed into a mountain. Reiming landed her
suit and jumped across onto the Seraphim and forced the door open. Wufei landed also, not
daring to go inside the Seraphim; he could hear bits of the conflict floating over, and it was
not pleasant. Wufei could hear several crashes, a good deal of swearing, and a lot of loud
"No's" from what he assumed was Meilai. Finally, however, a somewhat battered Reiming
emerged, carrying a very much unconscious Meilai. She set her down, forced her mouth open, and
poured in the medicine. Then, looking at Wufei, who was trying to fight the urge to laugh
unsuccessfully, she snapped, "Instead of standing there, get back in your suit and help me tow
Seraphim back to the station."

"Meilai give you your money's worth?"

"Shut up."

Wufei just laughed some more, but went back into the Altron. Moments later, the two were heading
back to space, towing Seraphim with them.

back on the station

"You were successful," a surprised Lady Une said.

"Surprised?" Reiming asked.

"Yes. How did you pull it off?"

"Basically, used Griffon's frequency, challenged her to a duel, chased her around until
she crashed, fought her and knocked her unconscious, then forced the medicine down her throat,
just as I said I would," she said breezily.

"And get a few bruises in the process?"

"Weell...I was hoping not to, but it worked didn't it? And," she continued, catching
sight of Duo, "I am now ten, no, er, five dollars richer."

"Five?" Mariemaia asked.

"Wufei agreed to come with me only if I split the money," she explained. "Now, Meilai
needs a room."

"And you need to get ready to run," Zechs said wryly. "I have a feeling that as soon
as your friend comes to, the first she's going to do is try to kill you."

"No worries; I'm sure she'll thank me...eventually."

Zechs prediction came true. Fifteen minutes later, everyone on the station heard, "CHANG
REIMING!!! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE! YOU ARE SO SCREWED!" The shout was so loud that it
echoed through the hallways and shook the panes of glass.

Looking up from the computer, Heero said, "You know, I think she's a little upset."

"Really," Relena said. "I'm surprised you noticed."

Sighing, Heero stood up. "May as well go mediate the little conflict."

"Are you sure that that's a good idea?"

"I'm pretty sure it's not, but I'm going anyway."

Walking down the hall and into Meilai's room, Heero and Relena found a furious Meilai and a
calm Reiming leaning against the wall. Trowa and Wufei were standing outside, carefully away
from the crossfire.

"Reiming...you had NO business whatsoever determining my fate," Meilai snarled, her
fists clenched.

"No I didn't."

"It was MY choice to go and die, but NO, you just HAD to jump in where you weren't
wanted!"

"Yes I did."

Glaring at her with smoldering eyes, Meilai snarled, "Are you just going to stand there agreeing
with me?!"

"Yes."

Meilai gave up. Muttering furiously to herself, she stomped out of the room. "What are YOU
looking at?" she growled to Wufei. "I'm no less pleased with you than I am with her, just so
you know!"

"What am I looking at? You, as far as I know."

"Oh shut up."

"Hmm...you two really are similar. That's the exact same thing Reiming would say."

"What is your point?"

"There is none. I'm just trying not to fan the flames of your rage, so to speak, by
making polite conversation."

"Well, it's not working!"

"Really? That's a shame."

"I swear, I'm going to hit you."

"That's too bad; you seem like such a sweet little girl."

"Little?!" she choked furiously. Raising her right arm, she prepared herself to hit
him, but he caught her arm easily. "Meilai," he said gently. "You know Reiming is right. Like
her, I really couldn't just sit there and let my wife's sister die. Can't you understand that?"

Glaring at him, Meilai slowly felt her anger subside. "It still wasn't any of your business,"
she muttered, sullenly looking at her arm in Wufei's grip.

"You know that it was."

Meilai glared at him. "Let go of my arm," she snapped. Wufei complied. Meilai glared at him a
moment longer, then lifting her head proudly, swept down the hall.

"Meow," Dorothy said, joining them in the hallway. "You were right Reiming; you two
are nearly twins."

"Living together since you were six can do that," she said.

"So...what are we going to do with her?"

"What else?" Relena said. "She's on our side now, isn't she?"

"Hopefully."

"Well, we'll just have to treat her hospitably, and hopefully she'll warm up." Relena
sighed.

Walking up to the rest, Duo said ruefully, "Well, now we have two of them to deal with. OW!"
he added as Reiming yanked his braid.

Chapter 32

Regardless of Meilai's somewhat explosive entrance into their lives, the Gundam pilots and their
friends could not take the time to adjust to her. Time was clearly running short, and they all
feared that Himmler and Atkins would detonate the bombs soon. As soon as Meilai had cooled
down somewhat, Heero immediately approached her and asked her about the status of the bombs.

"Meilai, exactly what did you do to the bombs?"

Meilai, who had been been in the garden, dipping her feet in the artificial stream, looked up
at him. "What do you mean, what did I do?"

"Exactly what it sounds like."

Standing up, Meilai went into the hangar where Seraphim was. She emerged a few moments later
with a print out. "This is what I did," she said, handing it to him. "I put the bombs into
groups, with one bomb, that, once detonated, will send messages to all the other bombs to
detonate also. However, if that one bomb were deactivated, the rest would also deactivate.
Also, the other bombs will not be able to detonate on their own."

"Do Himmler and Atkins know which ones are the ones that control the others?"

"Hopefully not. I made them very random."

"But do you know the exact locations of these bombs?"

"Not exactly...I only know the general area. Only Himmler and Atkins know exactly
where the bombs are hidden...but then again, they may have told a select few."

"Well then," Heero said, "We'd better get started."

that evening

"Really! WHY do people blast that sound so loudly? It doesn't even deserve to be
called music!" Reiming said, annoyed.

The pilots, along with Reiming and Meilai, were standing outside of a what appeared to be a
club. Loud music blasted from within.

Glancing at Reiming, Zechs said, "Isn't that nearly the exact thing you had playing in your
room that evening?"

"I was only playing it to aggravate you. Plus...I had ear plugs," she added.

Zechs shook his head. "You're too much."

In the meantime, Meilai hadn't taken her eyes off the compound. Suddenly, she pointed.
"There," she said. "That's one of Himmler's and Atkins' head men. I'm pretty sure that he
knows where the bomb is hidden around here."
At the sound of her voice, Reiming glanced at him. "Oh him," she said. "I remember him."
He was a perverted son of a bitch, she thought privately. Meilai was having the same
thoughts. The two girls looked at each other, and Reiming nodded grimly. Meanwhile, the other
pilots were sizing him up. "He's big," Duo said, but added, "But the bigger they are, the
harder they fall. He'll be easy," he finished.
In the meanwhile, Meilai shot a look at Reiming. "You can't do it that way," she hissed.
"If you push him too hard, he won't answer your questions!"
"There are ways of making people talk," Heero said grimly.
Meilai shook her head, and turned to Reiming. Suddenly, she started speaking in Chinese.
"We can't let them do that," she whispered.
"No...it is too risky...we have no other choice then...We will have to do this our way,"
Reiming agreed.
"What are you two saying?" Wufei said suspiciously. "Is that Chinese I hear?" he
asked, also in Chinese. The two girls looked at him, then Reiming said quickly, "Switch
dialects." Immediately, they began speaking in a language that even Wufei couldn't
understand.
"Very well then," Reiming said, shuddering slightly. Meilai shuddered also, but then
reached in her pocket and pulled out a coin. "Call it," she said, speaking in English once
again.
"Heads."
Meilai flipped the coin in the air, but before she could catch it again, Trowa reached out and
grabbed it. "What are you two going to do?"
"We're going to get the information out of him with the littlest risk possible."
"How?" but as soon as he said that, Trowa knew the answer. "No," he said. "Neither of
you is going out there," he said firmly.
"What are you talking about?" Duo asked.
Ignoring him, Reiming said, "Forget it Trowa. Your way wouldn't work. We know this guy. We
can handle him."
"So you're going to lower yourselves to the level of common prostitutes, is that it?"
"Prostitutes?!" Wufei said horrified, realizing at the same time as everyone else what
Reiming and Meilai were planning. At the same time, Meilai raised an eyebrow at Reiming.
"You told him. I'm surprised."
"WHAT?!" Duo said, shocked. "Oh no, no no no no NO! There is NO way you guys are
going out there and...and...SEDUCING him into giving you the information! No," he said,
shaking his head. "You guys...you WANT to go out there?!"
"Of course not!" Meilai snapped. "But this is war. Sacrifices must be made, and they
may as well be made by us."
Zechs shook his head. "I don't know what shocks me more, the fact that soldiers would be so
immoral as to be ABLE to be seduced, or the fact that you two are willing to...to..." and he
couldn't finish his sentence.
"Please reconsider!" Quatre begged. "You guys can't...you guys just can't allow that
to happen to yourselves!"
Reiming's eyes were blank. "It's no big deal..." she said dully. "It's...not anything...that
we're not...used to," she finished in barely a whisper.
Wufei stared at his sister. "Oh my God," he choked. "They...they DID that to you two?!" he
finished, nearly shouting. "I'll kill them!"
"Keep it down!" Meilai hissed. "It's a fact of life that that happened. Just forget
that we ever said anything okay?" and with that, she turned around to walk out of the alley
they were hiding in, but suddenly, Heero jumped out in front. "You're not going," he said in
a matter of fact of voice. "We won't let you...we outnumber you three to one. If we have to,
we'll have to forcibly keep you from going...but we won't allow you two to do that sort of
thing to yourselves."
Reiming and Meilai looked at them. Finally, Reiming folded her arms. "Fine, I give you FIVE
minutes to think of a better plan, or we go, and have fun stopping us."
"We'll think of a better plan, but regardless, you are NOT going out there," Trowa said.
Reiming whirled on him. "It's like Meilai said. This is WAR, Trowa Barton. It's not pretty,"
she said furiously.
"I will NOT allow you to go!" Trowa suddenly shouted. Reiming's eyes widened in shock;
Trowa had never raised him voice at her, or anyone, before. "I...I care too much about you to
let you go...I know what it feels like...it's like dying...and I will not let you subject
yourself to that kind of torture..."
"You...KNOW what it feels like?" Wufei said slowly. The pilots slowly turned to
him, gradually comprehending his words.
"Trowa..." Quatre said quietly.
Trowa's eyes glazed over. "Just forget it," he said quietly. "But...I know what it's like,
and," he said, his voice getting stronger as he faced Reiming, "I'm not letting you go."
Reiming looked at him evenly for a long time. Suddenly, Trowa realized that her eyes were
unusually bright.
"Reiming..."
"Trowa, you idiot," she whispered, tears trickling slowly down her face, "I swore I
would never cry again, and look at what you made me do...you bastard..."
Trowa smiled, and reaching out, pulled her close. Leaning against him, she closed her eyes and
listened to his heartbeat. "I feel so safe here," she thought.
Meilai was in the meantime watching this tender moment. "She is so lucky," she thought
enviously. "But she deserves it...but will I ever know love like that?"
Heero suddenly coughed politely. "I hate to do this...but," he said, jerking his thumb out of
the alley. Reiming and Trowa both straightened, focused once more. Finally, Reiming said
quietly, "There...there MIGHT be an alternative..."
"There is?" Meilai asked, surprised. Reiming pulled out a few syringes and vials.
Seeing those, Meilai suddenly laughed grimly. "You're kidding..."
"What are those for?" Quatre asked. "Or...do I not want to know?"
"Truth serum, am I right?" Meilai said. Reiming nodded. "Just like old times, eh?" she
asked Meilai.
"Just what did you two do anyway?!" Duo said disbelievingly. "Sheesh, I learn something
new about you guys every day..."
"I've always been interested in medicine...so I've developed a few little things of
mine over the years. This is one of them," Reiming said, waving the vial. "The others are
a stimulant and a depressant."
"So what are you going to do?" Wufei asked suspiciously.
"Depends on who won the coin toss."
"Oh no-" he began, but was cut off by Meilai. "Relax...one of us is going to lure him
in here, where he'll be knocked out. Then we inject him with the truth serum and stimulant,
but also the depressant, which will keep him senile...and what the HECK am I saying?!" Meilai
whirled around to face Reiming. "Reiming...that many chemicals in his system...you'll OD
him!"
"That's why I didn't want to use this alternative...but do we have choice? Now," she
continued, briskly, who won the coin toss?" and she looked pointedly at Trowa. When he
hesitated, she said impatiently, "Look...it's not so bad as plan A, so just give me the
coin." Finally, he cooperated and handed over the coin. "Heads," Reiming said.
"Looks like I go," Meilai said, briskly turning around. "Wish me luck."
But as she turned, Wufei suddenly stepped out in front. "What now?" she said wearily.
Wufei hesitated, then just said, "Be careful out there."
"Of course," and she stepped around him.
The group anxiously watched as Meilai approached their target. However, they all soon
turned back around. As Reiming prepared the syringes, she noticed that her hands were
trembling. "Why am I so weak," she muttered, cursing her clumsy fingers. Finally, she handed
one syringe to Wufei and one to Trowa. "Just jab these into him," she said.
Meilai in the meantime was true to her word. After carefully enticing the man with a few well
chosen words, she deftly slipped out of his grasp and carefully led him towards them. Once in
the alley, Heero and Zechs pounced. Heero jammed him fist in his stomach, while Zechs slammed
him into a wall. The man slumped over. Quickly, Reiming injected the serum, and Wufei and
Trowa also emptied their contents into his veins. All watched him anxiously. "Oh man..." Duo
muttered. "If this guy's dead..."
But then the man stirred. Groaning, he sat up. His unfocused eyes told everyone that he was
harmless, and they let out a sigh of relief. "All right," Meilai said briskly. "I'll do the
talking. What," she demanded sharply, "Is your name?"
"Jacque...Jacque Willis..." he slurred.
Pleased, Meilai said, "Very good; it worked." Turning back to him, she snapped, "Where is the
bomb?"
"Below...below the building...in a secret basement..." he muttered, head rolling.
"He's going to give out soon," Reiming said grimly. "Hurry it up, Meilai."
"Okay. Now, how do we get there?"
"Find false wall...behind door with circuit box...fake circuit room...type in..." but
with that, Jacque's eyes closed and he fell, completely unsconscious.
Meilai stood up. "Oh well...we have the location, which is what's important. Between all of
us, we should be able to break the codes, no?"
The rest agreed, and they all entered the club. Reiming winced at the noise, but continued
fighting her way through the mostly drunk crowd. "Over here," she called. The rest joined her,
where she pointed to a door in a side hallway. "There." The direction she was pointing to
was across from a grungy restroom, and standing by it were two big men, pretending to lean
casually agaisnt the wall. "Guards," Zechs murmured. "We can take care of-Hey!"
But Reiming and Meilai had already walked forward. "Hello there," Reiming said sweetly. "We
need some help in the restroom...Could you come with us?" she said, sidling up to him and
winking up at him. "It's urgent..."
Next to her, Meilai placed her hand on the other guard's arm. Looking up with what she hoped
was an innocent expression, she said, "Please sir...we really need your help," she said,
batting her eyelashes. "I'm sure it won't be hard for you..."
Needless to say, the two readily abandoned their posts. Following the two girls, they walked
into the bathroom. Reiming and Meilai emerged a few moments later, each wearing smug
expressions on their faces. "Guards go night night," Meilai said sweetly at the bewildered
pilots. But then she dropped her facade when she started to shake. "Oh my God," she
whimpered. Reiming wasn't in much better shape, and Trowa quickly stepped forward to
comfort her. To everyone's surprise, Wufei stepped up to Meilai. Putting his arm around her,
he said soothingly, "It's okay Meilai...it's over now...you're safe." Reiming raised an
eyebrow at Wufei, but didn't say a word. She slipped out of Trowa's grasp. "Don't worry
about us," she said briskly. "Let's deal with the bomb first."
The group turned back to the door. "Danger huh?" Duo scoffed at the sign. "That's an
understatement." The pilots opened the door and came into a room full of switchboards.
Running a hand over one of them, Trowa said, "They're all fake, every single one. But where
is the wall?"
"Here," Heero said. Gripping the edge of the wall, he pried it open, revealing a
staircase. They all walked down it, and finally, came to a metal door with a code pad.
Reiming snorted. "Oh please," she muttered. Removing a hair pin, she prized it into the edge
of the pad. The thing sparked for a minute, then the door swung open. They all walked in,
and after a few minutes, came into a massive room, where they stared at the bomb.
"Well well, so here it is," Duo muttered.
Quatre and Heero were at one of the computers. "It's been a while, hasn't it Heero?" Quatre
said, flexing his fingers. "Let's see if we can deactivate this thing."
Sure enough, after a few minutes of vigorous typing, the bomb was deactivated. Meilai took
a print out from her pocket. "Scratch off the bombs in America, Australia, and the Poles," she
said gleefully. "Now...to Europe."

Chapter 33

And so the cycle continued. Thanks to Meilai's help, the Gundam pilots traveled to each of the
locations and systemically deactivated the bombs. Finally, a couple days later, they were done.

"Whew!" Duo said, wiping his brow. "I'm glad that's finally over!"

The pilots were back on Quatre's station, and for the first time in days, somewhat relaxed.
Though they all kept one eye on the monitor that was showing the space battleship across from
them, they were also sprawled around the large living room in various places. Duo and Hilde
were sipping drinks and watching Jerry chase Reena around the room, while Aelis wrinkled her
nose at them. Zechs and Noin were also watching them. Heero was the least relaxed of them all,
staring at the monitor, but he would still occasionally glance down at Relena, who was leaning
against him, with Mariko sleeping in her lap. Trowa and Reiming were standing together at the
window, looking out at space, with Trowa holding Reiming around the waist, and Dorothy and
Quatre were sitting on a couch. Cathrine was also sitting on a couch, knitting, and occasionally
glancing over at Trowa and Reiming and smiling. Wufei was leaning against the wall lost in
thought, as was Meilai. Suddenly, Dorothy's eyes widened.

"Ow!"

"What is it Dorothy?" Quatre asked.

"Nothing...just a small cramp is all."

But when a similar cramp occured twenty minutes later, Dorothy said weakly, "On second thought...
I think this baby is about to be born."

These words immediately threw everyone in the room into chaos. Relena and Cathrine jumped up to
help Dorothy, and Quatre began fussing over her. Hilde gathered the children and shooed them
away from Dorothy, and Reiming and Meilai went down the hall to the room that had been set aside
for Dorothy to get it ready for her. Duo left and returned with a wheelchair, and, after giving
him a pointed look, Relena got Heero to go and entertain the children. Trowa and Wufei looked on
with interest.

"It's a good thing the possibility of her giving birth in space was thought of," Wufei
said thoughtfully. "With the current situation, it would have been difficult getting her to a
hospital down on Earth." Trowa nodded in agreement.

In the meantime, Quatre had finally persuaded Dorothy to get in the wheelchair, and Duo wheeled
her down the hall. As soon as Dorothy was settled in bed, Lady Une promptly shooed away all the
men, with the exception of Quatre, and shut the door in their faces. Meanwhile, Dorothy was
complaining.

"Of all the times it had to be born, it just had to be now!"

Relena gave her a look. "Is that any way to welcome your first child?"

"No no, I'm not angry at IT, but I'm angry at Himmler and Atkins! Of all the days, they
just HAD to pick NOW to try and pull a coup! Couldn't they just have waited a few more-OW!"

Dorothy was abruptly cut off by another sharper cramp. Quatre sqeezed her hand in
reassurance, and Relena promptly sat down next to her and took her other hand. Meanwhile,
Cathrine and Hilde prepared wet cloths to place on Dorothy's forehead.

outside...

The Gundam pilots were congregated outside. Mariemaia had appeared and spirited the
children away, so it had been quiet. At the sound of Dorothy's yelp, Duo winced.

"That sounded painful...brings back memories of when Hilde was pregnant with
Jerry."

Heero and Zechs nodded. "She's lucky. Lucrezia had to give birth to two," he said wryly.

inside...

Two hours passed. Inside, all the women were busy attending to Dorothy, who was very much in
pain. Reiming had injected her with painkillers, but they had only numbed the pain somewhat.
Lady Une was busy observing the soon to be born baby on the monitor, and Hilde and Cathrine
were still wiping Dorothy's forehead. Noin and Meilai were replacing soiled sheets and supplies,
and Relena and Quatre were still holding her hands, both of their eyes widening somewhat
whenever she gave them a painful squeeze. Finally, after several more hours, an exhausted
Dorothy gave birth to a screaming baby boy. An equally exhausted Lady Une cleaned the infant and
handed it to Dorothy, who was lying on the bed, sweating.

Quatre stared at the baby. "That's my...that's my..." he stammered, unable to finish.

"Son?" Meilai offered with a half smile. But suddenly a real smile broke through.
"He's so cute!" she said, and reached over to tickle it.

Reiming watched Meilai. "Lucky..." she thought enviously. "You're not cold like me."

Meanwhile, Noin went to the door. "It's a boy," they heard her call wearily.

The other pilots crowded into the room to look at the new baby and to congratulate Quatre and
Dorothy.

"He's a little guy, isn't he?" Duo said, leaning over to play with the baby.

Dorothy smiled an exhausted smile. "He may be little, but you wouldn't know how much trouble
and pain he caused."

"We do," Relena, Hilde, and Noin said ruefully. "Men," Hilde said, "are so lucky.
They don't have to deal with things like this."

"What's your point?!" Duo demanded.

"Men are insensitive clods."

"Hey!" said every male in the room, but all the women just smiled.

"Oh wow, is that the baby?"

Everyone turned to face the doorway, where Mariemaia had appeared. Behind her peeked four
pairs of curious eyes. Finally, Jerry darted forward. "Is it a boy this time?" he
demanded.

"Yes," Hilde said, ruffling his hair.

Jerry smiled. "Good, girls are boring."

"Hey!" cried Reena, Aelis, and Mariko furiously. The men in the room laughed also.
"See?" Duo said, turning to Hilde. "That's what our son thinks of your opinion." Hilde
sighed. "He truly is your son."

Reiming leaned forward to examine the baby. "Do you have a name?" she asked.

"Not yet...I figure the...inspiration...will come," Dorothy said. "And I'm really too
tired to think of a name right now." Reiming nodded, still looking at the baby. "I guess it
is cute, like Meilai said," she thought. "I wonder if I would be willing to go through all that
pain..."

However, soon Relena coughed politely. "Dorothy needs rest," she said, shooing everyone away
from the bed. The group reluctantly left; Noin stopping in the doorway, saying, "Tell us
when you decide on a name. Congratulations again!" And with that, the group left a happy
Quatre and Dorothy with their son.

Outside, Relena sighed happily. "Isn't it wonderful Heero? Now Dorothy and Quatre have their
first child!" and she looked at Mariko fondly. "Mm..." Heero said distractedly. Relena
looked up. "Oh..." she said, understanding. "You're worried if the baby will slow us down,
aren't you? And you're afraid that the baby will influence Quatre's fighting."

"I'm worried too," Wufei spoke up. "Now that he has a child...things will be different
for him. He may get distracted."

The group paused in the hallway, their happy feeling dampened. "This is war..." Cathrine
thought bitterly. "In such a happy time as this, war twists it and distorts it so all our
happiness is lost."