When Mac woke up the next day, she smiled. She looked at her clock. 1:46. Then, she remembered why she slept so late. Her smile disappeared and she swore. She got up and got dressed and went downstairs to face the lions.

"So, sleeping beauty decided to grace us with her presence today." Milliardo commented dryly from the couch. He turned off the TV and Noin looked up from her seat cuddled up practically on top of Milliardo.

"Funny." Mac said. "So, what's the deal?"

"I just can't believe that you went out at midnight, and to top it off, you were suspended, and you're not exactly supposed to be gallivanting around town." Milliardo ranted. Mac smiled at the phrase that she herself had used the night before and said that she sounded like Milliardo when she said it. "I don't see anything to laugh about."

"What, oh sorry." Mac said, tuning back in.

"You always do that. You always tune me out!" Milliardo whined.

"Oh, really? Sorry." Mac said, not sounding sorry at all. Milliardo growled at her.

"You're pushing it. I can't handle this! I'm sending you back as soon as possible!" Mac winked at Noin. Noin attempted to frown at her and act stern, but ended up smiling and winking back. Milliardo saw the exchange of winks. "It's a conspiracy!" he exclaimed. "You're in on it together!"

"Milli, get over it. You'll never succeed in punishing me. Face it; no matter how you try to hide it, you're a softy. And we love you for it." Mac said, smiling evilly. Milliardo lowered his head in defeat.

"I've been discovered. Damn." Mac giggled.

"I had so much fun last night!" she told Noin. "I danced like crazy with just about everyone there. Then, Zach came, and helped me tick off Bri, but then he wouldn't help me calm him down. I saw the b-" she started to say, but Milliardo shot her a warning glance from his position in a chair with his head in his hands. "I saw the stupid guy trying to pull a move on his best friend's girlfriend! So, now, I give up on guys. I barely have a date with him, and he's already dumping me."

"Don't worry, hon." Noin said. "It took me forever to find the right guy. And then, when I did, he left me for someone else." Milliardo's head shot up.

"I never left you!" he protested.

"Milli, honey, I wasn't talking about you." Noin said. Milliardo looked relieved, and then offended.

"HEY!" he yelled. Noin and Mac giggled.

"Noin, can we go shopping? I need some clothes." Mac said, in a pitiful voice.

"Sure honey." Noin replied.

"Didn't you just get that little strip of cloth that you call a shirt, a few days ago?" Milliardo asked.

"Milli! First of all, it's a tube top. Second of all, I went shopping at the beginning of the week. It was so long ago!" Mac said. Milliardo sighed dramatically and put his head back in his hands.

"I'll never understand women." He muttered.

"Don't even attempt to. You'll only give yourself a headache. Men just weren't supposed to understand their superiors." Mac said to him. She giggled and dodged his hand as he tried to hit her. She ran out the door with Noin, giggling.

Milliardo looked up. "This is a good thing. They're gone. Time for food." Milliardo got up and went into the kitchen to see if he could successfully eat everything in there.



"Oh! This is perfect!" Noin exclaimed. Mac looked over. Noin was holding a dress.

"Uh.isn't it just a bit big?" Mac asked, looking at the tent. Noin laughed.

"No, it might be too small in a little bit." Mac's mouth dropped open.

"Noin!" she squealed. They hugged. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Well, I haven't quite told Milli, and I wasn't sure if I should tell you about it first." Noin admitted. Mac took a step back.

"You haven't told Milli? Oh, that's definitely not good."

"I know, but I'm just trying to find the words." Noin looked at Mac. "You won't tell, will you?"

Mac made a cross over her heart. "I promise, but I do know a way you could tell him."

Noin looked interested. "You do?"

"Sure. I mean, I know Milli's a man, so it might take awhile, but all you have to do is by some baby clothes and he just might take the hint." Mac said.

"You know, that just might work." Noin said, already forming the plan in her mind. "Thanks kiddo." The two women walked out of the store.



"HEERO! HEERO! WHERE ARE YOU?" Duo yelled. Heero sighed and put his head in his hands. 'It's only a matter of time.' Heero thought.

Outside the room, you could hear skidding and THUD. Then, swearing followed by pounding on the door. "Heero! I know you're in there! You can't hide from the Shinigami! OPEN UP!" Duo yelled.

"It's unlocked, Duo." Heero said. The pounding stopped and the doorknob turned, suspiciously. The door opened slowly.

"Oh! Whadda know! It IS unlocked!" Duo exclaimed. Heero sighed again and hit his head on his desk. Duo looked up from the fascinating door and focused back on Heero.

"What is it this time, Duo?" Heero asked, expecting the worst.

"My comics came!" Duo yelled. Heero struggled to keep the ever-straight face.

"Anything else? Or is that all?" Heero asked.

"Oh, yeah. Sally wants to talk to you." Duo said, nonchalantly. Heero once again struggled not to roll his eyes.

"Thanks, Duo." Heero said, and got up and left. 'Will he ever grow up?' Heero thought as he walked down the halls to Sally's office.

"You wanted to see me?" Heero asked.

"Oh, Heero. Yes, I did." Sally said, looking up from her computer. "Listen, I know that we usually don't do this, but I want you to bodyguard for someone here."

Heero raised an eyebrow. "Relena's here?" he asked, trying to suppress his excitement.

Sally shook her head. "No, I'm sorry Heero. Relena will be here as soon as possible, but she still has things to do in the Kingdom."

Heero tried not to look crestfallen. "So, who is it then?"

"Well, it's. Let me tell you about why first. There has been some reported of OZ activity in the area. It's said that they are looking for a gundam pilot." Sally paused. Heero raised an eyebrow.

"Don't tell me I have to bodyguard Duo." Heero said. "I will refuse."

Sally laughed. "Oh no! Duo can protect himself. It's someone else I'm worried about. You see, she hasn't been tested to her full ability yet, so we're not sure if she can handle them. We also would like to keep it a secret that there's a new gundam pilot."

Heero's mask dropped for a second and showed his astonishment and horror. He quickly recovered. " She, her. Mac. You want me to watch over Mac."

"Right." Sally said. She had never seen the look on Heero's face a moment ago. "Is there a problem?"

Heero shook his head. "No." He turned on his heel and left. 'Mac. I'm supposed to baby-sit Duo's little sister. Oh, God, I've been reduced to babysitting.' Heero thought in despair.



"Milli! We're home!" Noin called out. The women tried to get through the foyer with all their bags. Milliardo came to the doorway and looked at them.

"God, that's a lot of bags. Did you use my credit card?" Milliardo asked, suspiciously.

Noin walked over and kissed him. "Yes." Milliardo's mouth dropped open. He followed the, numbly, into the living room. They set down their bags and opened them all up.

Mac started taking out all sorts of clothes and accessories. Noin took out some clothes. Milliardo did a double take on what she was taking out.

"Aren't those a little small?" he asked. "For you and Mac?"

"They aren't for us." Noin said, bringing out more and more of the tiny clothes. Milliardo, being a man, still didn't get it.

"Then, who are they for?" he asked. Noin and Mac exchanged looks and sighed in unison. "I'm really missing something here, aren't I?"

"Yes." Mac said. Noin shot her a look.

"Honey," Noin said, getting closer to Milliardo. "These are for a mini you." Milliardo looked confused for a minute, then, a light bulb went on over his head.

"Oh!" he said. Then it sank in. "OH MY GOD! I'm gonna be a dad."

"Click." Mac said, through her tears of mirth. She was laughing herself sick at Milliardo's stupidity. She already had to sit down. Milliardo shook himself out of his dazed state and glared at Mac.

"Hey! It just took me awhile because you guys didn't just come out and say it!" Milliardo glared harder at the laughing Mac. Just when Mac thought she would burst, the doorbell rang and someone came walking in.

"Hey Kedzie! Oh, hi guys." Brian said. "Kedzie, guess what?" Mac opened her mouth, but Brian didn't let her say anything. "I'm getting a job!"

"What?" she asked. "Where?"

"On Earth! I'm going to Earth! Can you believe it?" Brian yelled.

"W-w-what?" Mac stuttered.

"That's right! Earth!" Brian grabbed Mac and swung her around. Mac was stunned. She couldn't talk or move. Brian realized that Mac wasn't moving, and stopped his happy jig. "What's the matter?"

"N-n-bu-bu-bu-h-h." Mac stammered.

"You sound like my car revving up!" Brian joked.

"You're leaving us?" Mac finally croaked.

Brian stopped in his tracks. "What do you mean? You left." Brian pointed out bluntly.

"But, but." Mac said.

Brian laughed grimly. "And here I thought you would be happy for your jobless friend! Boy, that really stakes out where we stand in our friendship."

"No, Bri, it's just, wow!" Mac covered up. "Earth! That's all. I'm ecstatic for you! I mean, you're the first person in the whole universe to make me speechless! Congrats!"

"Oh! If that's what you mean, thanks!" Brian started explaining his job, but Mac wasn't listening.

'He's leaving me. I can't believe it. Brian is leaving. To EARTH! Earth of all places. I know I left, but not to EARTH!' Mac thought numbly.

"I'm gonna live in America and it's a great job!" Brian said, breaking into Mac's reverie.

"What is it again?" Mac asked.

"I'm working on building shuttles." Brian explained. "As soon as I'm settled, I'll send for you Kedzie."

"Ok, that'll be great." Mac said with false enthusiasm. Brian swung Mac around again and walked out the door.

"Well, Brian's going to Earth." Noin said.

"I'm glad he finally got a real job. Good for him, huh Macky?" Milliardo said.

"Yeah, right. Good for him." Mac replied, still numb. She climbed up the stairs into her room with Noin looking worriedly after her.

"You okay, honey?" Noin asked.

"Yeah, just tired. Too much shopping." Mac replied.

Noin and Milliardo exchanged glances. "Okay, now I'm worried about her. She just said that she had too much shopping."

"She's in shock. Just leave her. She has to go back tomorrow anyway." Milliardo said, pulling Noin into his lap. Noin giggled. "So, I'm gonna be a daddy? Well, do we know if it's a mini me or mini you?"

"No, I didn't think we would find out until she/he is born." Noin responded.

"Okay, I suppose so, but it's gonna be hard to wait." Milliardo whined.

"Don't worry, it'll come fast enough." Noin told him. "In fact, we only have about five months to go."

"What? Well, then." Milliardo asked. He kissed Noin's stomach and Noin giggled.



BEEP! BEEP! BEEP! INCOMING MAIL!

"Damn. Who now?" Mac grumbled, getting off her bed and plopping herself down on the computer chair. She clicked the button to get the call.

The vid-screen popped up. "Hello?" Mac asked. A face popped up on the screen.

"Hiya! I missed you! Did you miss me? Oh of course you did!" the face said.

"Duo!" Mac groaned. "Duo now's not the time."

"Yes it is! I'm telling ya. Now is definitely the time!" Duo exclaimed. "This is kinda confidential, but I thought you should know, since it's about yo-"

Duo was replaced by Heero. "Sorry, Mac. Listen, your brother has a big mouth. Forget what he said." Heero said in his ever-present monotone. Mac could hear sounds of struggle in the back round.

"What's going on Heero?" Mac asked.

"I just shoved your brother in the closet. He's trying to get out and he will soon, so I'll tell you something and then sign off. Be careful when you come back tomorrow okay? Don't talk to anyone strange or anything. I know that sounds like what your mother would say when you were 5, but I'm very serious. Got it?" Heero asked.

"Yea, but what's the big deal?" Mac said.

"I'll tell you tomorrow." Heero said. Mac heard, as Heero was signing off, the closet door open up and Duo's cry of triumph. Then her screen went black.

"That was weird." Mac commented. She got up and started packing; she had an early flight.



"I promise I will call you as soon as I go into labor." Noin promised the next day.

"Good, otherwise, I'll call everyday until you tell me that she's coming!" Mac teased.

"How do you know it's a she?" Milliardo asked.

"I have intuition." Mac said. "I have a gut feeling."

"Well, we'll just see how good that intuition of yours is." Milliardo teased. They all stood in uncomfortable silence for a moment.

"Bye!" Mac said, hugging Noin.

"I'm gonna miss you hon." Noin whispered. Mac fought back tears. They pulled apart and Mac stood in front of Milliardo. They stood like that for a few seconds, and then Mac threw her arms around Milliardo's neck.

"Bye Milli." She said. She pulled back and then managed a weak smile for them and turned around to go on the shuttle.

When Mac found her seat and sat down, she went over last night's encounter with Brian when she went over to his house.

"Knock, knock? Anyone home?" Mac asked, letting herself in Brian's apartment.

"I'm in here!" Brian called from the bedroom. Mac made her way towards his room.

"Hey Bri." She said. He looked up from packing.

"Hi Kedzie!" he exclaimed. "I'm glad you're here. I wanted to tell you that I really appreciate you being okay with this. I know that you don't really want me to go, but you're at least being supportive."

Mac bit her lip and looked at the floor. "Yeah." she mumbled. Brian looked closer at her.

"What's the matter?" he asked. Mac unsuccessfully attempted to push the tears from her eyes.

"I'm just gonna miss you." She said, blinking quickly to keep the tears at bay. He walked over to her and hugged her.

"I'm gonna miss you too, but we'll be okay. I mean, we were okay when you left for the Preventors." Brian said.

"I know." Mac broke down. She started crying silently. "But EARTH, Brian! You're going to EARTH! That's a long way away, and you are just up and leaving! You didn't even think about the rest of us! I'm gonna miss you too much! It was a comfort to know you were right where I had left you and that I could always picture you doing something. But if you go somewhere else, I can't picture you! I don't want you to go!"

Brian's face darkened. "You left. You went somewhere that I couldn't picture you! You, you, you! You are only thinking about yourself! Well, Kedzie Rose, here's some news for you: I want to go. This is what I've always been wanting, and I'm not going to let you ruin it for me!"

Mac took a step back. She felt as if he had just slapped her. "Fine. You feel that way, then maybe it's better that you leave! Noin will have her baby, and life will move on. We'll never think of you again! NEVER!" Mac was screaming on the top of her lungs by the time she finished. Brian flushed deep crimson.

"Yeah, well, I'll go and marry and have kids, and we'll never even think of you and your stupid gundams! We'll develop better things!" Brian yelled back.

Mac gasped and stepped up to him, her eyes flaming. "If that's the way you really feel." She hissed, and then she punched him in the stomach. His eyes got huge and he slumped.

Mac was too far gone to care about what she just did. She looked down at him. "Good bye. I hope you'll bathe in your guilt when I'm a famous gundam pilot." She hissed.

His response was hardly audible, but Mac heard it. "I hate you."