Welcome back to another round! And let the craziness begin, I say! Please email me if you have any questions (quatresboo@hotmail.com) …your requests for who I should pair Quatre with (remember, non-yaoi…sorry 3x4 fans!) are great! I just might have to elaborate on certain parts of the plot to make it more interesting…stay tuned for more drooling over Quatre! I hope your enjoying it and I REALLY, REALLY, REALLY appreciate the support, suggestions, and comments in your reviews!!! It's what keeps me interested in writing! On to the fun, eh?

On another note…still don't own Gundam Wing…*sigh*

Grand Prize Winner (pun intended)

Part 4: The Rescue—The First Arrivals

Hilde stared up at the Winner estate in awe. Every time she visited she was blown away by the sheer size of it. She and Duo had visited several times, but she was sure she'd never get used to its size. As she gaped at it from her seat in the back of a limo—one that Quatre had sent to pick them up—she pictured herself as a princess, coming home to her vast estate to lounge in all its lavish glory. It was a poke from Duo that brought her out of her reverie a few moments later.

"It's only a house, babe," he reminded her quietly, unimpressed by the size of the building looming in front of them. He had settled back against the limo's seat cushion as if he was used to riding in a vehicle of such luxury. He even knew the driver by name.

"So Quatre's having you drive limos now, Auda?" he asked casually. The Arabian man smiled into the rearview mirror.

"No. Quatre-sama would never ask us to do such menial tasks. I told him I'd pick you and your lovely guests up as a favor," he replied. "We Maganac are only visiting. Pretty soon we'll be back in the desert."

Hilde smiled, picturing Quatre trying to politely turn Auda's offer down. She knew he didn't like asking the ex-army to do such unimportant things when they visited, but they were so loyal to him that she was sure any of them would give their lives for his.

Though she had carefully kept it from Duo for months, Hilde had always wondered what it would be like to have someone like Quatre interested in her. She imagined that, once taken by a girl, Quatre would spoil her silly, all in an attempt to prove how deeply he cared. She even, though she was ashamed to admit it (but not much), had harbored a small crush on the man for the past year or so. Not that she wanted to split with Duo; it was simply a fantasy, a daydream that she sometimes indulged herself in.

She glanced at the other passenger in the car. Angel had been uncharacteristically silent during the entire ride. Hilde wondered if it was nerves. Everyone was nervous when they met Quatre for the first time, or even when they came to the estate for the first time. But it was more than just nerves on Angel's part. It seemed to be genuine worry.

"Ang?" she asked softly. "You okay?"

Angel turned and smiled at her friend. "Of course. Just thinking, that's all."

"Right."

The girls lapsed back into silence, and Duo pulled Hilde closer to him. It was just another reminder to Angel that she was a third wheel-and an unattached one, at that. Something akin to loneliness struck her painfully in the chest, but she impatiently pushed it aside. She didn't have time for romance, end of story.

She placed a serene look on her face and prepared herself to enter a home worthy of royalty.

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"You always get so moody when we come here, Wufei," Sally commented, looking at her partner with a mix of concern and exasperation.

"I think," Wufei replied tightly, "that Quatre feels as if he must…compensate for something."

Sally hid a smirk. Wufei had picked that line up from a movie, and often used it when someone made him feel inferior. Though, glancing up at the size of the house, Sally pondered for a minute about whether or not Quatre was compensating for something. Though, of course, it was his father that the estate had been built for. She grinned at Wufei.

"I'd say it was his father compensating, except for the late Mr. Winner ended up having thirty children," she answered finally. Wufei's lips twitched into a smile.

"I suppose you're right," he agreed. Then, scowl firmly back in place, he said, "Come on, woman, let's go see if Quatre has any extra rooms."

And, of course, Quatre did. He greeted them exuberantly at the door, having seen their car pull up as he himself returned from the office.

"Wufei! Sally! It's so good to see you!" he cried, embracing Sally warmly. He turned to Wufei and they shared a handshake. "I'm so glad you're here. Duo and Hilde are on their way. In fact, they're bringing a friend. Relena should be flying back in a couple of days," he explained, leading his new guests inside.

Sally was grateful that Quatre hadn't been upset about them merely showing up. She suspected, though, that his happiness to have them stay with him branched off of loneliness from living alone in such a large house.

"It's kind of like a big reunion," Sally commented. Quatre beamed.

"Quite right," he replied. "In fact, I think Zechs and Noin will be back from Mars in a few days. I offered to let them stay here since this is where Relena will be."

Wufei remained silent, but nodded as Quatre went into details about his guest list. Sally noted that it had gotten quite enormous in a short amount of time.

After they had settled in, Quatre bowed himself out of their presence and headed to his home office to finish up some work. Sally slipped into Wufei's room.

"He's got quite a number of people coming by."

"It's a bit early for gathering together all the wedding guests," Wufei agreed with a wry half-smile. "He's either nervous or lonely."

"Or," Sally mused, "both."

"I wouldn't put it past him. He was the most torn up of all when everyone split apart after the war."

"I still can't believe that you came to work with me as a Preventer," she commented, and Wufei shook his head, the wry smile still in place.

"Sometimes," he told her, "neither can I."

She threw a pillow at him in mock anger. "You are so…infuriating," she fumed. Now Wufei was full-on smiling. Sally nearly did a double take as he threw the pillow back at her.

"That's my job," he shot back, and ducked to avoid a second pillow.

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Quatre had just gotten to his third-floor office when the doorbell rang. He grinned and immediately rushed down to answer it. He knew it was Duo, and Duo had always been one of Quatre's closest friends. He was excited to see his friend again, especially after such a long absence. It had been nearly a year.

"Quatre!" Duo shouted when the blonde threw the door open. They hugged, and Duo affectionately thumped his friend on the back. "Long time no see!"

"Indeed," Quatre replied, and turned to Hilde. He smiled at her and bowed to kiss her hand. "Hilde, you are more beautiful every time I see you. I trust that Duo has been treating you right?" he asked.

"Of course," Hilde replied, grinning in return. Duo wrapped his arm possessively around his girlfriend and took matters back into his own hands.

"'Member that roommate I was telling you about?" Duo asked, and Quatre responded with a nod. "This," he continued, stepping aside to bring his roommate into view, "is Angel."

Quatre blinked in surprise, then smiled warmly and stepped forward to kiss her hand as well. She was quite pretty—a fresh sort of cute-sexy that always caught a man by surprise—and well dressed. She responded politely to his greeting, and he was impressed with her manners. Her golden hair, too, caught his attention, and he found himself imagining that shade on Relena.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," he told her, and then led them inside. All the while, he tried to forget the shade of Angel's eyes and pictured instead his fiancé. Of course, that was tough, considering how little he actually saw his fiancé.

Bugger, he thought after a moment. It's going to be a long week…

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Catherine was overjoyed when she found out that Hilde and Sally were in the house, and was excited to meet Hilde's friend Angel, as well. It helped her take her mind off of being the third wheel when Kathleen and Trowa were together. And, upon meeting Angel, Cathy decided they'd get along just fine. Angel was easygoing and funny, but also very polite and gentle. Her contrasts from well-mannered lady to full-out tomboy were amusing. Sally seemed to take to her as well.

"So, Sally, you're Wufei's partner?" Angel asked. The four of them were sitting in the lounge, which was really simply a large room with big, soft chairs.

"Yeah," she replied with a slow smile.

"I heard that he's…a challenge," Angel continued, amused by Sally's secretive smirk.

"He's not as tough as he thinks."

"He's a good catch," Angel said with a nod. Sally grinned.

"I've got a plan for him."

Catherine grinned back. "Sal, I think you've had a plan to get Wufei since you met him."

Hilde chuckled. "Sure, but the hard part is getting it to work."

The girls all shared a knowing smile.

"Okay, so Sally's after Wufei, and Hilde's with Duo…Cathy?"

"Nope, I'm a loner," she replied cheerily. "It's not so bad, either."

"How's Kathleen?" Hilde asked suddenly. Cathy laughed.

"Just fine. She and Trowa are taking a nap. Apparently being pregnant makes you sick, sleepy, and hungry."

"Ahhh," Angel mused. "So it's kind of like being a teenage guy going through a growth spurt."

They all glanced at her, and she grinned sheepishly and shrugged. "I grew up with a lot of guys."

"So," Sally murmured, stretching, "you're not attached, Cathy…but is there anyone you're after?"

Cathy blushed and shook her head, then squeaked when three pillows hit her. "Okay! Okay! I've got a crush on…" Suddenly she was very quiet. "…quatre…"

"What was that?" Angel urged, as she and the other two women leaned in closer.

"Quatre!" Cathy repeated loudly. Then she wished she hadn't said anything. For the rest of the evening her three friends continued to tease her about being after a claimed man.

Amazing how something so juvenile could cheer her up so quickly.

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Heero Yuy escorted his girlfriend up the steps to Quatre Winner's front door. Makoto Tanaka had been his girlfriend for about two months, but his crush for four years. He'd been courting her for three. The amazing part was, if they weren't alone, Mako was able to see why Heero had all the horrid nicknames he'd acquired during the war. But when they were alone, Heero opened up a bit more. His eyes softened, as did his touch, and he was relatively talkative. And sometimes, he was tender, vulnerable, and open. No one as of yet had seen that side of him. Mako was the only person he could open up to so completely, and he suspected that was because she was very much like himself.

Whatever the reasons, he was glad to have her companionship as he entered the estate. She was his rock, keeping him levelheaded as he struggled to fit in a peaceful world. In fact, it had been a surprise to hear that Quatre had invited him to stay in the estate until shortly after the wedding. Mako had been overjoyed—she'd always wanted to meet his friends—but Heero had become nervous and self-conscious in his quiet, don't-talk-to-me-unless-you-have-a-death-wish sort of way.

The plan to break up Quatre and Relena had been her idea, anyway. It was only right that she be there to see it carried out. He turned and caught her eye, giving her a small smile. They needed very few words to communicate, and they seemed to always understand each other perfectly.

"Ready?" he asked.

"I was born that way," she replied.

So together they headed toward Quatre's office, eager to begin their plot to "save" him. After all, he certainly wouldn't do it. Every once in a while, Heero decided, things just needed a woman's touch.

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Dorothy hated all the company. It meant that the dinner table was full, the talking was louder, and, blast it all, there was no hot water in the morning when she took showers.

Plus, there were other girls milling around suddenly, and not all of them had boyfriends.

Life, she decided, is not fair.

At all.

Oh, blast it all!

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Quatre shivered unexpectedly as he finished up his work. Something had sent chills down his side, and he had the strangest feeling…

"Why," he murmured out loud, "do I get the feeling like someone's after me?"

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Author's Notes: Sorry about the corny ending…just a bit of wry humor, you understand. Sorry that Dorothy's part is so small in this chapter!!! How's it going? Pretty soon Quatre's gonna have a full house! Hopefully you guys don't mind the OCs I threw in…can't wait to hear from all of you! Keep sending in your great reviews! And I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Happy reading!