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Out of Control, Part 11

Relena continued to smooth her daughter's luxurious hair as she slept. She sighed as she observed the faint tear trails that still marred Veronica's cheeks and had seeped into the pillow and her shoulder. She didn't mind. It didn't happen too often anymore that her daughters would come crying to her anymore. Victoria was too proud and Veronica hid it. "What happened to my little girl?" she sighed again as she let the blond waves sift through her slender fingers.

"That little girl grew up, Relena," Heero commented from the doorway. He glanced over at his youngest child. "Is she better?"

"Better as one can be, I suppose after what Victoria said she witnessed. But I don't understand why she would be so upset over Randy and Vaughn. Those two were always like that, even as children," she replied quietly as she gave her husband a rueful smile.

"Not when she's always seen Randy as a rival for Vaughn's attention or any other boys' attention," he said back as he stood by the side of Veronica's bed and looked down at her. He frowned.

Relena noticed. "What's the look for, Heero?"

"Nothing."

"I know you. You're hiding something. I've learned to read those eyes of yours."

"Its just…oh hell…"

"Heero?"

"This whole situation. The whole thing bothers me. God, if I ever get my hands on that boy, I swear I will string him up the nearest tree until the life is choked out of him."

"Who do you mean? Vaughn or Bobby?"

"Both, Bobby for getting her pregnant and Vaughn for upsetting her like this. You would think that him being the empath, he would know what she felt towards him. And Randy, sometimes, I wish Duo had spanked that girl more often. He would let her get away with murder."

"Some would say we should have done more of the same with Veronica."

"I don't dispute that at all. She should have been disciplined more often and we didn't. Dammit, Relena, I was perfect at everything else! What went wrong?" Heero ranted as he looked out of the French doors out to the lawn below.

Relena stood up and walked up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist. She pressed her cheek against his back. "Because no one can be the perfect parent. Not even you for as perfect as you think you are," she answered as she gave him a brief squeeze. "All parents are far from being the ideal, Heero. And you were a wonderful father, whether you believe that or not, and you're a wonderful husband too," she said with a brief smile.

Heero turned and faced his wife, slipping his arms around her waist. He bent his head over hers, locks of his unruly hair brushing against the sleek neatness of hers. He pressed his forehead on the crown of her head. "I'm glad that you have so much faith in me."

She tilted her head up to look at him. "I've always had faith in you. I've always trusted you. You don't have to be perfect at everything. Mistakes are allowed."

"I've made more mistakes with Veronica than I did with either Victoria and/or Dominic," he said as he stared into her sapphire eyes.

"Veronica was always more wild then they were. We weren't expecting it. Stop being so hard on yourself."

A corner of his mouth tilted up briefly. "Always the optimist."

"Someone has to pull you out of your self deprecation mode and cheer you up," she said, smiling up at him.

Heero couldn't help but smile back at the woman who was his wife. "What did I ever do to deserve a woman like you?"

"A handgun of an older protective brother and an overzealous God of Death."

"I never touched you and you still let him hold it to my head."

"It got you to admit your love for me," she teased. "And a marriage proposal as well. It made Duo happy to see you happy."

"The braided baka was trying to get me killed."

"Oh, but it was worth it, wasn't it?"

He shook his head, still smiling with a smile he reserved for just her. "It was worth it. Definitely worth it," he said as he kissed her on the mouth. He lifted her hand and observed the slender gold wedding band and the channel set diamonds that were her anniversary band. He glanced back over to the bed, where Relena's younger image lay. "But Veronica, I just don't know now…"

"I know you don't like the fact that she's pregnant out of wedlock. I don't like it either, but we told her we would stand beside her and see her through this. Imagine how hard this is for her."

"I can only imagine. This is what Hilde went thorough when she had Chris, but Duo didn't know and nor did she want anyone to tell him. This leaves such a bitter taste in my mouth every time I think of how I could have prevented this."

Relena reached up and brushed back his bangs. "I don't know if you could've prevented this, Heero. As unforeseeable as this was, this might have been fated to happen. Things just work that way sometimes."

"I should have grounded her that first time…I should have killed that Arquette boy for touching her in the first place. What I don't get is that I was the "perfect solider" and yet that crazy braided baka instilled more fear in that boy than I did. I was ten times more dangerous than that God of Death we call Duo."

"Duo used a shotgun. You know how I feel about those."

"I don't need a gun to kill somebody."

"Don't remind me."

"But I am still more dangerous than he is; tell me that I am, Relena."

She sighed. "You are still probably the most lethal man in this world. Does that make you feel better on hearing it?"

"Yes," he replied as he pressed his forehead against hers again. "I protected her reputation the best that I could and now, now with her being pregnant…how am I going to keep her name from being dragged through the mud? There are just so many repercussions…"

"You did your best, Heero. You managed to keep her reputation from me even. So you did a good job in protecting her."

"Being pregnant outside of marriage is a lot harder to cover up especially with our position in the world. This will be on the world stage whether we want it or not. And I feel like this is jeopardizing your position in the government and what they will say about me…the "perfect solider" couldn't even control his youngest daughter."

Relena frowned and cupped his face between her hands. She stroked his cheeks with her fingers. "This will not ruin me, Heero. And if people question our parenting, then let them. It's none of their business. We aren't perfect parents like so many others. And if you keep on talking like this, I might have to smack you."

Heero arched a brow, somewhat amused by her last remark. "The pacifist resorting to physical violence?"

"Only when I need to kick your butt," she replied primly.

"Or Zechs.' Its more entertaining to watch you ream out your brother," he smirked.

"That's Noin's job, but I'm his sister, I'm allowed those liberties."

He chuckled softly and hugged her closer. He pressed a kiss on her temple. "Leave it to you to brighten up any situation, Rel."

Relena gave him a kiss on his cheek. "I'm glad I got you to smile again even if it's only for right now."

The corners of his eyes crinkled slightly as he smiled at her. "You've always made me smile, no matter what. I think that's part of the reason I love you so much. And when I look at Veronica sometimes, I see you in her. She's so strong like you, strong enough to bear the weight of anything and everything life decides to give her, but," he said with a hint of a frown, "this will be the hardest thing she will have to get through. I do have enough confidence in her to know that she'll be ok, but at the same time, I wish there was more I could do for her."

"You're always going to wish that. We want the best for our children because of the kind of life that we've had. We created this world for them so they wouldn't know the hardships that we had to go through at their age. We did our best with Victoria, Dominic, and Veronica. And I don't want you to worry about this anymore. You'll get more gray hair," she said, interjecting some humor into the conversation.

Heero smiled again and let go of her. He walked over to the bed where his daughter slept. He touched her cheek with the back of his hand. He could see her hand resting over her stomach in almost a protective gesture. It broke his heart to see her like this. She deserved so much better than what she was getting even though he disapproved of the whole situation. He gently tugged up the chenille coverlet to her shoulders. "Let's just let her sleep now."

Relena watched him with a tender smile gracing her lips. She was amazed at how emotional he could be, even after being married to him for so long. He didn't show them readily, but there was no doubt that he loved her and their kids more than life itself. She tugged the pins from her hair, letting her hair tumble to her shoulders. It was a pale gold now instead of the dark rich gold of Veronica's. "Yes, let's just let her sleep now. We'll save some food for her if she's hungry later," she commented as she looped her arm through his. She bent down and pressed a kiss on her child's forehead.

They left the room together. Heero closed the door behind him. He felt marginally better after his talk with Relena, but it still didn't diminish the pain he felt for his daughter's dilemma. It still burned in part of his heart, but he knew that all he could do was support her. She was his child and there was nothing he wouldn't do for her.

A/N: A very serious Heero/Relena moment within this story. I hope you enjoyed this part and stay tuned for more coming soon! XOXO!!