Disclaimer: Nope. Still don't own 'em. But I'll let you know if I ever do.

Warnings: 5xH pairing, yaoi pairings, yuri pairings, silliness, pregnant lady.

Archive: Anyone who wants it. Just ask me first.

Summary: A tree falls on Trowa. Really, that's the whole point of this chapter. Okay, okay…Quatre and Hilde have a heart to heart too. And guess who shows up…

"Miracles will happen as we speak…" – Seal.

Little Miracles – A Someone Else's Star Story – Chapter Three

~ Cherry Blossom ~

Hilde looked at Heero for a long time. She observed how skinny his arms and legs looked and his height which, truth to be told, was only a little bit larger then Quatre's. Then she calculated in her head the amount of force it would take to lift a chair and an eight months pregnant lady and carry it over the space of ten feet. She blinked.

"Okay…you're a cyborg is that it? No wait! You're an alien from the planet Krypton, right?"

"Hn." Heero glared at her and crossed his arms over his chest while Duo danced around him, laughing.

"Are you sure you didn't at least injure your back doing that?"

"Hn. I lifted with my legs."

"…Oh."

"Let's get this star on the tree and then we can all go to the mall!" Duo said, searching through the empty boxes for the missing tree ornament.

"The mall?" Heero repeated, looking puzzled. "Why do you want to go there? I thought you did all your Christmas shopping early this year."

Duo blushed and avoided Heero's gaze.

"Well I uh…I wanted to…"

"Spit it out Maxwell. What did you want to do?"

"I wanted to…"

Now Heero looked worried.

"Duo, what is it?"

"I wanted to go visit Santa." the braided youth mumbled, his face red with embarrassment.

Heero frowned. "But…why?"

Duo sighed and hung his head. "I know it's something only little kids do," he said, "but I…I've never gotten a chance to do it. I just wanted, for once in my life, to be like a normal kid at Christmas. You can call me a baka if you want. I know it's a silly wish…"

"Can I come with you?"

Duo looked up, startled.

"You…you're joking, right?"

Heero shook his head. "No. Can I come with you? I never got to be a normal kid at Christmas either. I'd like to find out what it's like."

Duo's eyes glittered suspiciously for a few moments before he broke into a wide grin and flung himself into his boyfriend's startled arms.

"Love you," he whispered, hugging him furiously.

"Aw…" Dorothy exclaimed, brining the camera up again and snapping a picture. "You guys are just too cute!"

"Can I come too?" Catherine piped up. "I've got a few things on my wish list I need to tell Good Ol' Saint Nick as well."

"If she's going, I'm going," Dorothy announced, lacing an arm through her lover's with a possessive smile. "I'll be damned if I'm going to let her sit on some old man's lap without me around to supervise."

Wufei coughed, his face going red as a beet and Hilde grinned.

"Hey now, don't go corrupting my unborn child just yet," she chuckled, putting two hands over her belly as if to cover the child inside's ears.

"Yeah, that's my job," Duo complained, earning a glare from Wufei.

"Just one question," Heero asked.

"Yes Hee-chan?"

"Who the heck's this Santa Claus guy? And for that matter, who's Saint Nick?"

Duo giggled, patting Heero on the back.

"Saa, Hee-chan…I can see my work's cut out for me. We're going to have a lesson in Christmas figureheads."

Heero drew back, a bit of apprehension in his posture.

"This isn't going to be like the time you taught me about mistletoe, is it?" he asked, to which Duo gave a wicked leer.

"Do you want it to be? I could show you a few interesting uses for candy canes…"

"That's quite enough of that!" Wufei yelled, his face going redder by the minute. "I don't need to hear about your perverted exploits Maxwell!"

Duo rolled his eyes. "Sheesh, Wu you're such a prude. If it weren't for the fact that Hilde's eating for two over there…hey, are you sure the mail man wasn't hanging around too often a couple months back?"

Wufei's outraged exclamation echoed in the small room and Hilde had to work to hide her giggles. Of course, nobody else even bothered to do the same.

Quatre was slumped against Trowa, helpless with laughter. The taller boy supported the other just barely; his own efforts at keeping upright seriously limited. Wufei's face was just too priceless. Dorothy snapped another picture before putting down the camera and picking up an ornament from the box in front of her.

"Well, who gets to do the honors?" Dorothy held up the sparkly plastic star that would go on the top of the tree.

"Make Trowa do it," Duo said. "He's the tallest out of all of us."

Trowa, who really did stand about two feet taller then anybody else in the room, stepped forward to take the ornament. He stood next to the tree and ignored the stepladder, choosing instead to reach up on tiptoe to place the star on the highest bough.

When it was in place, he stepped back and nodded a signal to Heero who flicked the light switch, turning the room lights off. The many strands of tiny twinkling lights twined around the tree glowed in the sudden darkness, the different colors reflecting on the faces of those who watched.

"Beautiful," Hilde sighed happily. Wufei smiled at her and put an arm around her shoulders, giving her a gentle squeeze. This would be their first Christmas together as a family and he couldn't help but wonder at the sensation. No longer was he the Solitary Dragon. He had a home now and a family once again.

Do you believe in miracles?

"Yes," he whispered out loud. "I believe."

"Wufei?" Hilde observed her husbands glazed stare and started to worry. Maybe they had gone too far with the teasing? "Are you all right, 'Fei?"

Wufei's eyes focused again and he gave his wife a reassuring smile, taking her cool little hands in his own. "I'm perfect. Everything is just…perfect."

"So sweet…" Hilde whispered, a mischievous grin on her face as she angled her head up expectantly for a kiss. Wufei was just about to oblige when…

"What the…look out!"

"Uh oh."

*CRASH*

The tree, which had stood proudly in the corner before, was now sprawled out on the floor, sending a spray of pine needles over the helpless victims before it. The lights winked out leaving the room clothed in darkness and a general panic was starting until Dorothy found the light switch. They all looked at the tree, slumped over on its side, ornaments and lights spilling off of it and onto the floor. Amazingly, the star stayed on its perch. Catherine came over and kicked the base a little.

"It's dead," she announced.

Quatre's eyes widen as he discovered that one person was suddenly missing.

"Trowa? Trowa, where are you?!"

A groan came from under the tree and one pale hand moved from underneath a pile of trimming.

"Trowa!" Quatre was at his side instantly, his hands trying to move the branches off of his lover. "Are you okay? Is anything broken? How do you feel?"

"Like a tree just fell on me," Trowa answered, the dryness in his voice somewhat muffled by the fact that he was kissing the carpet. "Just get me out of here. There's an ornament poking my ass and tinsel up my nose."

"Hold on buddy," Duo said, his mouth fixed in a wide grin. "Heero's gonna get you out in a second."

He nodded to Dorothy who picked up the camera again and gave him a thumbs up.

"This is going in the scrap book for sure."

"Would you get this thing off me?!" Trowa yelled impatiently.

"Hn." Heero said, grasping the trunk in one hand and pulling it back while Quatre yanked a scratched, bruised, and tinsel covered Trowa Barton out from underneath it.

Hilde snickered and Dorothy snapped the picture.

"Say cheese!"

"I'm going to kill you."

"Stop stealing my lines," Heero remarked casually, shifting his grip while he kneeled down to inspect the base of the tree. "Just as I thought. The stand was not adjusted properly."

Wufei turned to glare at Duo who grinned sheepishly and spread his hands in an "oops" gesture.

"I should have known never to trust Maxwell with anything."

"Hey!"

"I have fixed the problem," Heero interrupted, standing the tree back up and steadying before stepping back. The tree was looking a little worse for wear, its trimmings all on the floor, along with most of its needles. Not to mention that Trowa was wearing most of the tinsel.

"I hate Christmas," Trowa sulked, pulling tinsel out of his hair while Quatre fussed over the scratches on his arms and face.

"Don't be such a Scrooge," the blond chirped. "Think of it as divine justice for making fun of my cooking."

"But Quatre…you're cooking is horrible—"

"Watch it. Another tree might target you."

"At least the star stayed on," Hilde remarked. "And since most of our ornaments are plastic, nothing's broken. Thank goodness we didn't get any of the glass balls. Are the lights still working?"

Wufei plugged them in a flicked the switch. A dull glow illuminated the small bulbs.

"They work."

"We'll just have to redecorate then."

"Mou! I wanted to get to the mall before it got too busy!" Duo pouted. "We'll never get to see Santa at this rate."

"Go on," Hilde said. "You don't have to stick around for the second tree trimming. Take Heero with you. We can clean up here."

"You mean it?"

"Of course. Now get! And don't forget to bring me some candy canes!" Hilde called as Duo grabbed onto Heero's hand and practically dragged him out the door. She chuckled at the trail of dust they left behind them, then turned back to the mess that was her living room.

"So…the vacuum's in the closet, the carpet cleaner is in the basement and the wash cloths are in the kitchen. I'm pregnant and can't bend over so I'll just supervise from this chair over here. Get to work guys! Hop to it, before that dirt stains my pristine carpet!"

"I can't help, I'm injured." Trowa protested.

"And I have to take care of Trowa." Quatre put in hastily.

"Well I…" Dorothy paused, trying to think up a good excuse for not helping. "…uh…"

"That's what I thought. Grab a mop."

"Aw…"

Dorothy, Catherine, and Wufei set to work, cleaning up the dirt and pine needles and then re-trimming the tree while Hilde "supervised" in her chair with a cup of hot cocoa.

"Ah…this is the life." Hilde mused, taking another sip of her cocoa. "Isn't it great that we can all be together at Christmas time?"

Three groans echoed in reply.

"Heh heh heh…Fa la la la la, la la la la."

"Was your wife always this cruel?"

"Yes."

**********

An hour later, the tree had been put back to its normal, decorated state and Hilde was busy showing Quatre and the girls the baby clothes she had bought.

"That's soooooo adorable!" Catherine squeal, holding up a little yellow jumper with teddy bears displayed on the front.

"It's all so tiny…" Dorothy marveled, fingering a pair of minuscule blue booties with tiny pompoms decorating the tops.

Quatre laughed and refolded the baby blanket he had lifted to see the pattern of little dragons around the corners.

"Well, babies are awfully small at first. Where did you find this blanket, Hilde? I've never seen a dragon pattern quite like this before." He asked.

Hilde smiled and stroked the blanket softly.

"Wufei went out and bought it…right after I told him the news. I don't know where he found it. I can't imagine any traditional newborn stores having Chinese style dragons on their baby blankets. He must have requested the stitching specially."

"That's so sweet," Catherine commented, her eyes tearing up.

"You're such a sap," Dorothy said, putting an arm around her lover.

Catherine smiled through her tears and leaned into the embrace. "Don't you know it."

"I can't wait until the baby gets here," Quatre sighed, looking around the room at the musical dioramas and stuffed animals that crowded the shelves of the room. His gaze lasted longest on the cradle in the center as he imagined a child, cooing and laughing inside. "I'll have to teach you an ancient Arabian lullaby."

Quatre hummed a sweet tune, then sang in soft, lilting words that seemed to flow together like water.

"Allaahumma bi-Ismika Amutu Wa Ahyaa…*"

Hilde listened to the soothing melody and smiled, caressing her abdomen, silently entreating the child inside to listen. And she could only assume that her baby understood, for the gentle kicks that had been aimed at her ever since she stood up had paused.

Dorothy sighed and rested her head on Catherine's shoulder. The two laced their fingers together and watched as Quatre took one of the stuffed bears off the shelf and cradled it in his arms, singing softly.

As the last note faded into the air, Quatre seemed to realize what he was doing and blushed deeply, putting the bear back down and giving a sheepish grin to the girls who were watching him with knowing expressions on their faces.

"Uh…guess I got a little carried away." The blond boy admitted. "Sorry."

"Aw, don't apologize. It was cute!" Catherine said. "You'd make a great father Quatre."

"Yeah, too bad aren't able to have one of your own—oof!" Dorothy winced sharply as Catherine drove her elbow into her ribs. "What did you do that for?"

Catherine angled her head towards Quatre whose face had lost the grin it held only a second before. His shoulders slumped just a tiny bit and his eyes turned sad and distant.

"…oops…" Dorothy remarked quietly.

"Quatre?" Hilde moved towards her friend, concerned, but the boy smiled and stepped back.

"I'm going to get some fresh air. You'll excuse me, won't you?" he said, turning to leave before anyone could voice a protest. Hilde watched him go with a sad look on her face.

"Quatre…"

Catherine glared at Dorothy who wimpered.

"I'm sorry. I didn't think."

"Love, you have absolutely no tact."

"I'll go apologize—"

"No," Hilde interrupted. "I'll go. You guys go help Wufei put the turkey in, 'kay?"

Hilde left the room in search of the blond Arabian, following him instinctively to the upper balcony. The air was crisp and cold with the smell of snow still strong on the breeze. Quatre was leaning against the railing, looking out at the neighbors' yard. The kids next door had made a snowman the night before, and some birds were happily pecking at his carrot nose. Hilde sighed and her breath created misty swirls in the air.

"Quatre?"

The boy stiffened and wiped a hand across his eyes before he turned around to face Hilde, smiling.

"Hilde…you shouldn't be out in the cold without at least a coat or something."

"I'm fine." Hilde stated, stepping closer, observing the red-rimmed eyes and puffy cheeks. "Quatre…are you okay?"

Quatre's smiled faltered and his eyes got distanced again as he looked back out at the scenery.

"You know," he murmured, "I was supposed to get married on my eighteenth birthday. I was supposed to pick a bride of a noble family and sire many heirs and take over the company…my father used to talk to me about his plans for me all the time. He was certain that my first child would be a boy. He wanted me to name it after him…to remember him by."

Quatre's voice broke on the word "remember" and he had to wait a moment to compose himself. Hilde waited quietly, a hand cupping her stomach.

"I love Trowa, with all my heart. And I don't regret a moment spent in his company. But sometimes it saddens me…to know how much I've failed my father."

"Oh Quatre," Hilde said, "you haven't failed him. I'm sure that wherever he is, he's very proud of you. Look at all you've done for the world, for peace. Any father would be proud to have you for a son, believe me."

Quatre sighed and nodded, but his expression did not change.

Hilde opened her mouth to say something else but halfway through it turned into a sneeze. Quatre smiled at her.

"Uh oh. Wufei's going to kill me if you catch cold. Let's get you inside." He said, taking her arm and leading her back into the house. Hilde smiled back and caught him up in a warm bear hug, which the boy endured with loving patience.

"Never forget we love you," Hilde whispered furiously into the boy's sweater.

"I won't." Quatre whispered back, tousling the girl's short curls affectionately.

They stayed there like that until the sound of a picture snapping and someone clearing their voice grabbed their attention.

Dorothy stood in the doorway, smirking, while Wufei stood beside her, arms crossed over his chest. Trowa and Catherine stood behind him, trying not to laugh.

"You'd better not be putting the moves on my wife, Winner," Wufei said crossly.

Trowa raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

"Anything you want to tell me, Quatre?"

The two separated with a jump, blushing and stuttering in their attempt to explain themselves.

"Well you see, uh…it's not what it looks like…we were just…"

"Uh huh." Wufei said, shaking his head. "Are you finished your little gropefest or do we have to wait until Yuy and Maxwell get home before we can start the stuffing?"

"Gropefest!!" Hilde huffed, swatting Wufei on the shoulder. "It was just a hug you jerk. Don't make me raise my voice."

"Woman, your voice is already raised."

"IT IS NOT!!"

"Are you having hormonal imbalances again?"

"ARRGH!!!"

Catherine laughed as Hilde started chasing Wufei around the room…well, waddling after Wufei around the room. Pregnant women don't move too quickly in their third trimester.

"Wufei's got more of a death wish then Heero," she joked.

Dorothy smiled and readied the camera again.

"So many Kodak moments, so little film. I'm going to have to reload this baby soon."

Trowa moved closer to Quatre and put an arm around his shoulder.

"What's troubling you Little One? You're eyes are red."

"Nothing," Quatre said, smiling up at the boy. "I'll tell you later."

"Are you sure?" Trowa's green eyes flashed with concern and love.

Quatre lifted himself on tiptoe, pulling the taller boy down to meet his kiss.

"I'm sure. Everything's perfect."

"OW!! Woman!! Stop hitting me!!"

"You deserve it, you jerk!!"

The doorbell rang, and seeing as everyone else was too busy to get the door, Catherine took it upon herself to complete the task.

"Who is it?"

Catherine swung the door wide open to display a tall, snowy figure with a beard.

Dorothy stuck her head around the corner.

"Is it Santa Claus?"

The figure stepped into the light and Catherine squealed and clapped her hands.

"Nope, even better. It's Rashid!"

The tall Maguanac looked at the evilly grinning redhead and her blond haired lover and groaned.

"Not you two! I thought you were in Hawaii!"

"We came back just to see you."

Rashid's scream of agony could be heard all the way across town.

To Be Continued….

* A Dua (prayer) said before going to sleep. Translation: O Allah, With Your name do I live and Die.