Chapter 37

"Hey everyone, check this out!" Meilai called several days later. The group hurried
over to the monitor and stared. Various mobile suits were leaving the base and heading out to
space or the Earth. "They're deserting..." Heero said quietly. Duo smiled savagely. "Ha,
looks like no one wants to work for THEM anymore!" he said gleefully.

"Himmler and Atkins won't take this well," Reiming said quietly. "We'll have to
fight them now, whether we want to or not. In this position, they may do something
desperate." The other pilots looked at her grimly and agreed.

a few days later...

"Impressive..." Reiming said, looking at the upgraded gundams. Heero's Wing gundam,
now made of X-Gundamium like all the others, sported larger boosters and a larger shield.
The beam cannon had also been upgraded, and the beam saber made longer, and extra ammunition
added. The Deathscythe had a double bladed weapon now, with more than one buster shield.
Heavyarms had had its defense upgraded, and even more weapons, along with the addition of a
longer thermal knife and an extra beam sword. Sandrock had two more extra scythes on its back,
and extra boosters, to make it quicker. Altron's Dragon Fang had been upgraded to make it
more powerful, and it's trident made larger to give it a longer reach. The trident had also
been given a second end. Finally, Epyon's whip had been made stronger, and it's beam sword
even more poweful. It too was also equipped with larger boosters to make it more agile and
quicker.

"Wow..." little Jerry said, staring. "Are you sure I can't pilot your suit Dad?" he
sulked. Duo laughed. "With luck, you won't ever have to..."

Reiming turned around. "Run this plan again, just so I'm sure of everything."

"You and Meilai go and attack the base. This will draw out Himmler and Atkins, and
then you four can fight all you want. The rest of us will deal with the mobile dolls. Also, at
the same time, we will be trying to get close to the base to destroy it." Heero said.

Reiming nodded, and turned to Meilai. "Ready...Veylona?"

Meilai nodded grimly, a steely glint in her eyes. "Of course, Lillith."

"Oh more thing," Heero said. Looking each in the eye, he said, "Do NOT use the ANTI
XERO system unless you absolutely have to," he said. "The rest of us will be running on the
XERO program also."

"You will know if we're going to use it," Reiming said in an icy voice. At the sound of
her voice, Trowa and Wufei turned to stare at her. Her eyes were dead once more, but she
smiled fleetingly. "Last battle, and then I can forever forsake the name Lillith."

"The same here," Meilai said, her eyes cold as well. "I will no longer be Veylona...
but first, I must kill the one who destroyed my humanity..."

The other pilots stared at them for a while, and then nodded. "Let's go," Wufei said, and they
all turned to their suits.

"Wait!" Cathrine called. Running to Reiming, she said awkwardly, "I...I don't doubt
that you will emerge victorious, but just in case...thank you...for giving my brother
back to me..."

Reiming looked at her coldly, and Cathrine shuddered a little. But then, she said, "I didn't
do anything I shouldn't have. But I accept your gratitude. Maybe later, I can express my
gratitude better," and she abruptly turned around and jumped into Phoenix. The other pilots
did the same, and each turned to face the space battleship.

outside...

"Ready, Lillith?" Meilai called over.

"Ready."

On the side, Wufei called to Heero, "I think we'd best leave them alone for now," he said.

"Roger that."

Resolutely, the Phoenix and Seraphim flew towards the station, and sure enough, the Chimera and
Griffon came out. "Wow..." Duo murmured. "Impressive suits."

Duo was right. The Chimera was a weapon juggernaut. Humanoid with the face of a lion and
wings on its back, it had a weapon similar to Wufei's Dragon Fang. It was armed with several
gatling guns, just like Heavyarms, and it also wielded a large beam sword. The Griffon was
smaller, but still a suit to be reckoned with. Like the Phoenix, it had wings and face of an
eagle, but it was stockier than the Phoenix. It wielded a double headed energy staff along
with a beam cannon, with smaller rocket launchers in various places, just like the ones on the
Wing gundam. The four suits met in the middle, and all stopped.

In Reiming's cockpit, the face of Himmler flashed up. "He's gotten older and grayer," she
thought. His face had an ugly sneer on it. "So...you think you've won?" he demanded. "You
haven't. Atkins and I will come back, stronger, with more supporters. We WILL triumph!" he
shrieked. Reiming said nothing, but thought to herself, blathering old fool. He's cornered,
and he knows it.

In Meilai's cockpit, a similar exchange occured with Atkins. Though she was tempted to lash
back at him, Meilai kept her face empty of expression. Before the battle, she and Reiming had
had a long talk. "We don't say a WORD," Reiming said firmly. "It will give them a hand hold
over us."

While Meilai reminisced, Atkins lunged for her, weapon out. Meilai responded by parrying with
her saber, and the two hacked away at each other. Himmler in the meantime drew his gatling
guns and started firing, lashing out at the same time with his Dragon Fang. Reiming avoided
most of the shots and struck back with her beam cannon.

"Now would be good," Duo said grimly, watching the four and watching the mobile dolls
that came out from the station.

"There's...500 of them?!" Quatre said, surprised.

"Oh well..." Zechs said. "Let's go."

The gundam pilots flew to meet the robotic fighters and plunged into the fray.

In the meantime, the four fighters were at a standstill. All had scored hits on each other,
but neither was winning. Meilai had succeeded in knocking away and destroying Atkins' beam
cannon, although the explosion it caused had impacted her suit as well. In the meantime, the
wings on her suit, which in reality stored several missiles, had been damaged. The damage had
caused the missiles to explode, throwing her suit off balance. Reiming had mananged to
incapacitate Himmler's Dragon Fang, but not before his gatling guns riddled her suit with
bullets. However, fortunately for her, in his frenzy to shoot her, Himmler had used up the
majority of his bullets.

The gundam pilots were having some difficulties also. Each had been surrounded by mobile dolls,
and they had been forced to fly around rapidly to avoid getting hit and to have the mobile
dolls shoot each other down.

"These dolls are about the same as the ones years ago," Quatre thought, wiping sweat
from his brow, "But their sheer numbers makes things difficult..."

However, the gundam pilots were not gundam pilots for nothing. In a matter of minutes, there
were only 200 dolls left.

"Whew!" Duo said, exhausted. "This is harder than I thought it would be..."

In her battle with Atkins, Meilai's temper had been building, and she felt like screaming at
him. Finally, she could hardly take it anymore, and contacted Reiming. "Lillith?" she asked,
but Reiming shook her head grimly, concentrating on the target in front of her. "No," she
said simply.

The gundam pilots continued hacking away at the mobile dolls. Finally, after a long time, all
were destroyed. "Time for the station," Wufei said, heading towards it. The other gundam
pilots followed...and received an unwelcome surprise. "This isn't X-Gundamium!" Trowa said,
surprised. "No...it's much much denser..." Zechs mused. Raising his beam sword, he brought
it down hard...and nothing happened. "Oh no..."

Back in their battle, Himmler smirked. "You think we'd make our station so weak?" he mocked.
Reiming grit her teeth and continued hacking away. Meilai did the same. However, then,
Atkins moved a lever in his suit, and suddenly, the massive beam cannon on the station moved.

"What?!" Zechs said, shocked. "Everyone, move!" right as the cannon fired. It missed
the gundams, but it still damaged them. "Well, this is great," Duo muttered. "We're alive,
but in our condition, we can't destroy the station...not that we were having much luck
before anyway..."

Meilai shot another look at Reiming. This time, neither hesitated. "Heero, Duo, Trowa, Quatre,
Wufei, Zechs," Reiming said. They got the hint, and each disabled the Xero system.

"They disabled the system?" Atkins said, suspicious. Then his eyes widened in
realization. "Too late," Meilai snarled, the first thing she had said, and tapped in ANTI
XERO. Reiming did the same. Immediately, the Phoenix and Chimera began giving off intense
energy.

In the cockpits of the Chimera and Griffon, both pilots clutched their heads. "What...the...?!"
Himmler stammered, and tried to disable the system. "Computer overloaded?!" he choked, staring
at the message.

In the Phoenix, Reiming smiled savagely. "Like my little surprise, old man?" she sneered,
fighting back her own pain. "It's more intense than she said it would be!" Wufei said
furiously, realizing that Reiming had deliberately made the amount of intensity higher than
she had told them. "REIMING!"

In the cockpit of the Griffon, Atkins, barely fighting back the pain, snarled, "One...last...
surprise!" and pressed a button. Instantly, the cannon completely exploded, blowing back the
gundams.

"I can't move!" Duo called. "Deathscythe is completely down!"

"That's not all..." Quatre said. "There's another cannon on there!"

"WHAT?!" shouted all the pilots. "That's right; it was hidden and couldn't be
activated until the main cannon exploded...and it's aimed right at Earth!"

"Can we stop it?" Heero demanded. "No...the computer has been programmed ahead of
time..."

During this time, Trowa was thinking. Scanning space for the cannon, he saw the cannon
slowing emerging from the debris, aimed towards Earth, then he looked at the four
battling suits. Finally, he made a split second decision. "Wufei," he called. Wufei
stared at him grimly, and nodded. "Reiming, Meilai," Wufei called. "Disable your systems now!"

"WHAT?!" Reiming snarled, almost doubling over in pain. The other two suits are
stronger than I thought...they should have been completely overloaded by now! she thought.

In response, both Trowa and Wufei typed in the word DEFER and transferred all their power to
their attack energy.

Reiming stared. "You have got to be kidding me..." she muttered. "You STOLE that out from
under my nose!"

"Yes yes," Wufei said impatiently. "Now, DISABLE!"

"I'm disabling..." Meilai gasped. "I...I trust Wufei."

Reiming hesitated, then disabled also. "Your plan had better be good," she growled.

Meanwhile, both Himmler and Atkins sat up. "They disabled it..." they murmured. "Oh well, all
the better for us."

In the meantime, Trowa and Wufei used their deferred power to start filling the area with
blasts. "What?!" Meilai said, staring. "Oh!" she said, staring at the cannon. "Lillith?"
"I understand," Reiming said. And with that, both girls flew towards the Chimera and Griffon
while they were distracted by Trowa and Wufei, and slammed them into the cannon. The thing
sputtered for a moment, then exploded, causing a chain reaction and taking the station down
with it.

Chapter 38

The space fortress exploded in a burst of light. Debris went flying everywhere, only to
disintegrate. The pilots watched this display silently. "It's over," Trowa said quietly,
"It's finally over..."

Reiming and Meilai stared at the remains of the station. "After all those years," Meilai
murmured. "We...we're finally...free..." Then she started to cry silently.

"Meilai, are you okay in there?" Wufei called.

"Yes," she sobbed. "I'm more than okay."

Reiming didn't cry, only sat staring mutely at the debris. "They paid for the crimes they
committed, at long last," she thought silently. "And I am free."

Trowa's face flickered onto the monitor. "Reiming?"

Slowly, Reiming turned to face him, and she smiled. "Trowa...thank you." Trowa smiled at her
gently. "Let's go."

And so each of the pilots turned back to the station, some towing others, some flying on their
own. But regardless of the conditions of their suits, they all felt the same. "Mission...
complete," Heero said, turning around and flying back, where Relena and his child awaited him.

As the pilots flew in, their friends rushed out to greet them. Howard and his crew all started
to cheer, then jumped up to help them all out of their suits, then proceeded to pummel each of
them soundly on the back. Duo leaped out from his suit first, and, with a few strides, raced
up to Hilde and picked her up and spun her around. "We did it baby!" he crowed, while she
laughed. Dorothy handed Rayan to Lady Une and ran towards Quatre. "Quatre!" she cried, tears
streaming down her cheeks. Seeing her, Quatre laughed and jumped out, then to everyone's
surprise, pulled her towards him and planted a long kiss on her lips. Enjoying his wife's
shocked expression, he chuckled, "What, you didn't think I had that in me?" Zechs also
received an elaborate welcome from Noin, who was crying with joy. She hugged him hard, then
allowed their two exuberant daughters to join in in the celebration.

Finally, Heero stepped out from his suit. "Heero..." Relena said, standing in front of him
calmly. Then tears flowed from her eyes. "You came back to me Heero," she whispered, then
threw herself forward and into his arms. "Daddy!" Mariko shrieked, following her mother's
suit. Looking up at Relena, she said, "You weren't wrong Mommy. You and Daddy are okay!"

Trowa and Wufei also left their suits, then turned back to wait for Reiming and Meilai. Slowly,
the doors to the two suits opened, but neither girl stepped out. Instead, they silently
observed the celebration that was going outside. "Do I have a place here?" Reiming
wondered, suddenly insecure. "The last traces of the only life I've known for more than a
decade have just disappeared...What now?" She was jarred from her ponderings by Meilai, who
stepped from her own suit into hers. "Meilai..."

"We have new lives now...Reiming," Meilai said gently. "Let's put our past behind us."

"I...I feel...lost..."

"So do I...but you know as well as I that there are people in this world who...who
love us," she whispered joyfully. "We do have a place in this world Reiming."

Reiming thought about this, then smiled. "Yes...we do have a place in life," and she stepped
from her suit. "Trowa Barton..." she said quietly, turning to face him. Trowa stepped
forward and stopped a foot in front of her. Reiming hesitated. "I..." she faltered. Can I
do this? she thought. Yes, I'm a new person now...I can do this! "Trowa, I love you," she
said firmly, looking straight into his eyes. Trowa said nothing, but smiled and drew her to
him and into his arms. "I love you, Reiming," he said quietly, then bent down and kissed her.

"Meilai?"

Meilai turned slowly and faced a smiling Wufei. Suddenly, she started laughing. "I'm so
happy!" she said. "Peace...it is finally here once again!"

"Is that all?" he said teasingly, pulling her close.

She smiled up at him mischievously. "Well, what do you think?"

"I think-" and was shocked to find himself cut off when she kissed him. After, he
said, "I think you are much too aggressive for your own good, you onna!" he said.

She raised an eyebrow at him. "Is that right?"

Wufei smiled. "And this," he said, kissing her passionately for a long time, "is how you give
the person you love a real kiss," he said smugly when they finally came up for air.

"YO!" a voice bellowed in his ear. Wufei started and turned indignantly to face a
grinning Duo and company. "Hurry it up a little really! Or at least get a room," he added
devilishly.

"Or go into the garden," Reiming called from her position in Trowa's arms.

Meilai put on an innocent expression on her face. "Will you be spying on us again?" she asked
with feigned innocence.

Reiming winced. "Ugh...never again," she muttered. "I'm surprised that I'm not blind."

"Oh be quiet," Wufei said crossly. "It's not anything I'm sure you and Trowa won't be
doing anytime soon!"

"Hey!" Reiming said furiously. "We haven't done a thing!"

"And that's a good thing?"

"Ha! You just proved my point. Men are all perverted jerks."

"Hey!" all the males cried, while the women laughed. "It's good to know," Hilde gasped,
"That someone else here shares my sentiments!"

Laughing, the entire group went back inside for a well deserved rest.

a few months later...

"When's he gonna do it?!" Duo said in an exasperated voice.

"Shh!" Reiming whispered sharply, eyes not leaving from the scene in front of them.

Hilde smacked Duo on the head, saying impatiently, "Really Duo! This was YOUR idea!"

Relena raised an eyebrow. "Just like at my proposal a few years back?"

"Exactly."

"Shh!" Dorothy said, leaning forward more to get a better look.

In front of them were Wufei and Meilai. It had been several months since their triumphant
return to the Earth. In fact, the press still hadn't let up on the issue. The pilots had
been portrayed as messiahs; baby Rayan Winner had been in the papers for at least a month, his
picture under the bold headline of "Winner Heir Finally Born!" and Reiming and Meilai hailed as
the "heroic deserters." With THIS development, Dorothy thought, the press would have a field
day.

Wufei and Meilai were walking through the park, holding hands. The entire group was crouched
behind a group of trees, and of course, Duo was holding the camera. "Aw...come on! It's
cold out!" Duo complained. "Of all the times, he just HAS to pick winter to propose!"

"Shut up!" Hilde, Dorothy, and Reiming snarled. "You'll give us away."

Meanwhile, Meilai was blowing on her hands. "It's so cold!" she complained, turning to Wufei.
"Wufei, do you have an extra pair of gloves? I haven't been able to find mine for the longest
time!"

"It's now or never," Wufei thought. Nodding, he reached into his jacket pocket and
fished out a pair of gloves, one of which that had a curious lump in it. "Here...you can
borrow mine."

Behind the tree, the entire group strained forward. "About time!" Duo grumbled, zooming in.

"Thank you...my hands are so cold!" Meilai said gratefully. "Here, I'll rub them for
you," Wufei said.

Behind the tree, the entire group nearly fell down with disappointment.

Wufei raised an eyebrow. He had to admit, they had hidden themselves well, and if it hadn't
been for Duo's inability to whisper, he wouldn't have known they were there at all. Smiling to
himself, he continued to take his time. "There," he said. "Better?" Meilai nodded, and
leaned against him contentedly. "Let's go find a place to sit down now, shall we?" he said.
She nodded.

"Well that's just great...the nearest bench is 200 feet away!" Duo muttered. Meanwhile,
Reiming watched her brother with narrowed eyes. "Huh," she said. "What?" Relena asked.
"He's doing it on purpose. He knows we're here."

"WHAT?!"

Hilde turned to Duo. "This is all your fault!"

"MY fault?!"

"Yes! You're too loud!"

"Fine fine," he grumbled. Meanwhile Reiming straightened and stepped into the open.
"Reiming, what are you doing?" Dorothy asked. "Hurrying it up. I'm cold," and she began
mouthing at Wufei, Hurry up! Wufei raised an eyebrow and pretended to not understand. She
glared and drew a finger across her throat, giving him a nasty look. Wufei hastily covered his
laugh with a cough, and when Meilai turned around at the sound, Reiming dove back behind the
tree.

But Wufei took the hint. Stopping, he said, "Meilai, your fingers will freeze. Why don't you
put on the gloves?" Meilai agreed. "Okay," she said, starting to put them on, then froze,
eyes wide.

"Here it comes," Duo said, zooming in.

Fingers trembling, Meilai pulled out the box. "Wufei...this is...this is..." she sputtered.
Wufei smiled and took the box from her. Bending down to one knee, he said simply, "Meilai,
will you marry me?"

"Wufei...I...I...I am so happy! Yes, I will marry you!"

Then, FLASH.

Meilai whirled around. "What?!" she sputtered. "Duo!"

"Hehe...it's been three years and I still have my impeccable camera skills," Duo said
smugly, patting the camera.

Meanwhile, Wufei was laughing at Meilai's expression. "You knew?!" she demanded.

"I heard them, and when Reiming realized that, she made me stop stalling on purpose
and so I hurried up."

"Reiming?"

"Hello Meilai," Reiming said casually, stepping out from behind the tree. Looking at
Wufei, she said, "Let me guess, Duo was being too loud." Wufei nodded.

"DUO!" Hilde howled, stepping into the open. "Idiot!"

"Gomen nasai Hilde!" Duo pleaded, raising his hands in surrender. "I'm very sorry!"

Meilai stared. "Hilde?"

"May as well come out," Dorothy sighed, and she and Relena also appeared. Meilai stared
some more. "Are Heero and Trowa here as well?"

"They were smart and stayed in the car," Duo muttered, rubbing his hands. "Geez
Wufei! Could you have gone any slower?!"

"Yes."

Ignoring Duo, Hilde stepped up and hugged Meilai. "Congratulations Meilai!" she said
warmly. "Thank...thank you..." Meilai said, somewhat overcome. Then a wide smile
appeared. "I don't believe how happy I am right now!" she gasped. The others laughed, and
Wufei put his arm around her. "Well then, are you ready to go home to a heated house?"

"Not yet," Relena said, clearing her throat. "After we found out about your proposal,
ah, Heero and I, oh, shall we say, have a um, SMALL, party at our place waiting for you."

Meilai raised an eyebrow. "Small?" she asked skeptically.

"We-ell..."

Meilai sighed, then smiled. "It's okay, I don't mind large parties."

Wufei groaned, and they all laughed once more.

Chapter 39

Trowa stood somewhat nervously in front of the Preventer headquarters. After the war, Wufei had
decided to go back to his old job, and Meilai had joined him. Staring at the building some
more, Trowa fingered the box in his pocket and, taking a deep breath, went in.

"Hello Trowa," Meilai called out, wearing her new Preventer uniform. "Didn't expect to
see you here."

"Hello Meilai. Is Wufei in?"

Meilai glanced at him oddly. "Yes...Here to see him?"

"Yes."

"Okay, I'll tell him then."

"Thank you."

Meilai got up and walked down the hall and knocked on a door. "Wufei?" she called. The door
opened. "Hello Meilai. Is it time for lunch already?" Wufei asked, confused. "No no, Trowa
is here to see you."

"Trowa?"

"Yes...Any reason why he's here?"

"I have no idea."

Wufei left his office and went to meet Trowa. "Trowa, good to see you. What do you need?"

"Um..."

Wufei stared at him. True, Trowa didn't talk much, but he usually wasn't speechless, as he
clearly was now. Meilai glanced at the two men. "I'll leave you alone," she said, standing up,
and bending down to receive a kiss from Wufei as she left.

"So Trowa, what's the matter?"

Finally, Trowa cleared his throat. "Wufei...I'm here to request your permission-"

"Permission?!"

"Yes...permission...to propose to Reiming," he said in a rush.

Wufei stared. "I...I appreciate you coming...but you don't need my permission..." he stammered.

Trowa shrugged. "You're her only living relative...I thought I should ask you."

Regaining his composure, Wufei said, "Well then, thank you for coming. You have my
permission, if that's how you want to put it..."

Trowa stood, and so did Wufei. "Thank you Wufei," he said. "Good day."

a few days later

"This is much more like it!" Duo said from his perch in the light box in the circus.
Once again, the entire group had congregated once more, only this time, they were inside a room
with a heater. Below them was the circus ring, and they were watching Trowa as he
performed some acrobatics.

Squinting down, Noin said, "I see Trowa...but where's Reiming?"

"Don't worry about that," Cathrine said, walking in. Smiling smugly, she said, "I made
sure that she was sitting right in the front, where she's supposed to."

The group watched as Trowa performed some more tricks, then leaped up in his standard spin in
the air. "Oooh!" the audience said, awed. But instead of landing in the ring, he landed
outside of the ring...in front of Reiming.

"Oh, so THAT's where she is," Hilde said, leaning forward as Duo zoomed in with his
lens.

Down in the audience, Reiming stared at Trowa. "Trowa...?"

Trowa bowed, and then went down on one knee and pulled out a box. "Marry me?" he asked.

Regaining her composure, Reiming smiled impishly, and said, "Here's my answer," and pulled him
towards her for a long kiss. "Aww..." the audience sighed.

Up in the box, Duo was taking picture after picture. "See, this is what I really like about
this," he said gleefully. "I don't get caught after taking just one picture."

Back down in the audience, after the two pulled apart, Trowa took the ring and put it on her
finger, while the audience cheered. The ringmaster came out and said, "Let's hear it for
Trowa Barton and the soon to be Mrs. Reiming Chang Barton!"

Over the roar of the audience, the pilots and their wives opened the window. "Whoo-hoo!"
Duo bellowed over the crowd. "Way to go Trowa!" Surprised, both of them turned around and
stared, while Duo waved gleefully. "Duo..." Hilde groaned, hiding her face.

after...

"It's a wonder how the press caught on so darn quickly!" Reiming muttered, glaring
out at the numerous reporters that waited outside, waiting to pounce as soon as they set
foot outside of the tent. Trowa smiled. "Oh, it's not so bad. Remember how furious Wufei
was, when he got to work the next day after he proposed and the reporters had surrounded the
Preventer headquarters, purposely waiting for him?" Reiming sighed. "I suppose you're right,
but that doesn't mean that I like them!"

"Congratulations Reiming!" Dorothy called as the group thundered downstairs. Reiming
was looking at the camera Duo was holding. "Just how many pictures did you take?"

"You don't want to know."

"You're probably right..."

Smiling, Relena said. "It's okay, we predicted this would happen. There are several cars
waiting for us out the back. Ready to escape?"

a year later...

"OH MY GOD!"

Trowa winced at Reiming's howl of pain. She had been in labor for several hours already, and
unlike Dorothy, the baby had most definitely not appeared yet. Trowa sighed...Reiming's
petite figure definitely had its disadvantages, and this was one of them.

Nervously, the doctor approached them. "Mrs. Barton...the cervix is completely dilated now...
the baby should be here any minute now..."

"THAT'S WHAT YOU SAID TWENTY MINUTES AGO!"

Trowa sighed and squeezed her hand. "Hang in there a little longer Reiming..."

Reiming turned to face Trowa. "Now...I know what Meilai went through," she gasped. A few
months earlier, Meilai had given birth to twin boys. Being petite, she had been in labor for
many hours and had gone through a lot of pain.

Reiming winced once again in pain, and Trowa squeezed her hand. "I...won't...swear..." she
muttered through grit teeth. "I refuse to have the first word our child hears to be a
profane one..."

outside

"It's been hours!" Wufei said franctically, pacing back and forth. "How much
longer?!"

"Wufei, calm down," Meilai said soothingly, feeding her two sons. "It's not going to
help Reiming with her labor. Remember how long I took?"

"Yes...but...but..." Wufei sputtered, still pacing.

"Wufei, be a good husband and listen to your wife," Zechs said wryly.

Noin shot him a look. "You should take your own advice," she muttered.

Dorothy smiled. "All our husbands should take his advice."

"Very funny," Quatre muttered.

Mariemaia looked up from playing with Mariko. "I wonder how much longer?" she said worridly.

"Don't worry...Reiming is very strong, as I'm sure we all know," Lady Une said.

an hour later...

"Trowa, help me here. My vow is becoming increasingly hard to keep," Reiming gasped.
Trowa pat her cheek. "I have faith in you Reiming. You won't break a promise." But even
though he was calm, Trowa was in pain also. Seeing his wife writhe in pain and suffer for the
last 24 hours or so had been difficult. "This must be how Heero, Duo, Quatre, Wufei, and Zechs
all felt like," he thought. But another yelp of pain from Reiming brought him back to reality.

"Now, Mrs. Barton! It's coming now!" the exhausted doctor said. And with one final
push, a crying baby girl was born. Reiming lay down, exhausted, muttering. "What?" Trowa
asked, after he had recovered from the shock of seeing his newborn daughter. "Never...never
again..." Reiming muttered, but turned to look at her daughter lovingly. "She's...my
daughter..." she said incredulously. Then her eyes filled with tears. "Trowa...I am so
happy..." Trowa smiled, and leaned down to kiss his exhausted wife, then kissed his
newborn daughter. Then he stood to tell everyone the news.

outside...

The door swung open, and everyone jumped to their feet. "Girl," Trowa said simply, then his
face broke into a radiant smile. "She's...beautiful."

The pilots rushed forward to congratulate Trowa. "But how's Reiming?" Wufei asked
worridely. "Exhausted, but very happy." Wufei let out a sigh of relief.

Duo looked around and smiled. "Well...we've all come a long way, haven't we?" he said
quietly, serious for once. The pilots all nodded. "It's been so many years..." Quatre said,
in wonder. "Now...we're all married, and now we all have kids too!"

Relena smiled and nodded. "Yes...it's been a while," she said, slipping her arm through
Heero's.

Trowa smiled, and said, "Well, I'll be going back now. Thanks for staying here."

"Wait Trowa! Name would be good!" Duo called. Stopping, Trowa said, "Oh yes, her
name is Giselle Barton." and he turned back to his wife.