For warnings and disclaimers, see Chapter 1.

Chapter 5/?

Heero, Quatre, Wufei, Duo, Harmonie, and Aliera trudged into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Sally and Trowa brought coffee, and then sat down also.

"Noisy last night, wasn't it, Trowa?" Sally remarked casually, noting with glee the blushes on the couples' faces. Trowa merely nodded, his visible eye sparkling with restrained humor.

Harmonie began rummaging through the cabinets. She pulled out a stack of bowls and several different boxes of cereal, setting them in the middle of the table. Then she grabbed a handful of spoons from a drawer and a jug of milk from the fridge. She looked sleepily at the table and pointed. "Breakfast."

Aliera looked at the food and made a face. "Ick. I am so NOT in the mood for food right now."

"Allie. EAT," Sally commanded. Aliera pouted but did as asked.

Meanwhile, Heero was on his third bowl of Captain Crunch.

Harmonie looked at him. "Little hungry, are we?" she snickered, then put a hand over her mouth as she felt her stomach turn. Wufei looked at her worriedly. "I'm okay." She said before suddenly running out the back door and emptying her stomach on the lawn.

'She couldn't be....could she?' Aliera thought disbelievingly. Meanwhile, everyone except Sally was wincing at the noises that Harmonie was making as she vomited.

Harmonie walked back inside calmly and washed her mouth out with some water from the sink. When she was through, she turned and glared at Wufei. "I hate you." She stated and left the room.

Duo jumped up from the table and followed her to the living room, where she lay curled up on the couch. He looked at his sister, who had her eyes clinched shut and her arms around her stomach. She grimaced. "Sally!" Duo called. "What's wrong with her?" He asked when Sally came rushing into the room.

Sally glared at him slightly. "Nothing is WRONG with her."

"Whaddya mean, nothing's wrong with her? Look at her!" he gestured wildly.

Harmonie straightened slightly and glared at her brother. "I'm pregnant, okay?" she said a bit angrily. Duo stopped abruptly and looked at her. His eyes rolled in the back of his head as he fainted. Harmonie rolled her eyes and sighed, muttering something about Wufei doing the same thing.

Sally brought Duo back to the conscious world. He sat up and groaned a bit, then got a gleam in his eye. Harmonie looked at him apprehensively, wondering what he was planning. He got up and calmly walked back into the kitchen. He strolled right up to Wufei and punched him without the slightest change of expression.

"Duo!" Harmonie yelled and ran into the kitchen, after him.

Wufei sat on the floor, nursing his already swelling jaw while Duo stood over him, yelling.

Duo turned around to face her and she decked him.

Aliera was bent over almost double trying not to burst out laughing. Quatre had his head in his arms, and his shoulders were shaking. When he lifted his head, he took one look at the three of them and laid his head back down, silently laughing.

Harmonie glared one more time and turned to leave the room. As soon as she was out of earshot, Quatre, Aliera, and Sally burst with laughter, leaning on each other and the table. Trowa's lips quirked slightly into a ghost of a smile, his eyes singing with mirth.

Heero looked up, grunted, and continued eating breakfast.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Heero's laptop beeped in his room. He opened it up and read the message and blinked at it. They had a mission. A mission that would require at least six people. He went downstairs and into the living room, the centermost room in the house. "Hn!" He yelled, gaining a look of satisfaction as everyone in the house collected into the living room.

"What's up?" Aliera asked, coming into the room. Duo and the rest of the pilots followed.

"Mission." He stated in his ever so informative manner.

Harmonie rolled her eyes. "We guessed," she said sarcastically. "What do we have to do?"

Wufei watched his girlfriend protectively as she unconsciously rubbed her lower abdomen, a plan already forming in his head to make sure she didn't go on this mission. Duo was looking at Aliera with the same look in his eye.

Aliera felt Duo watching her and turned to look him in the eye. "Yes?"

"Um..." he responded intelligently, then looked at Heero. "So what's the mission?"

"We will need at least three Gundams, optimally four, and three people to infiltrate." He stated.

Aliera's eyes brightened. "I get to be sneaky?" she asked, bouncing. Harmonie looked at her and rolled her eyes.

Quatre started and looked at the two pilots, then glanced at Harmonie and Aliera.

Heero was steadily making out plans for the mission, oblivious to everyone else. Suddenly, he stood up. "Duo, Wufei, Quatre and myself will be in our Gundams, Trowa, Aliera, and Harmonie will infiltrate."

"Hell, no!" Duo jumped in. Wufei agreed with a sharp shake of his head.

Harmonie and Aliera glared at their respective boyfriends. "Duo, I'm am perfectly capable of taking care of myself." Aliera stated, still glaring.

Wufei whispered something to Harmonie, who turned up her glare in response. "Who the hell do you think you are, Chang?" she almost shouted. "You can't tell me not to go!"

Sally interrupted. "But I can. I overheard, and he's right. You, young lady, are staying here." Harmonie glared at her about to protest. "I will tie you up if I have to, besides, we need to talk. Duo, back off. Allie's right. She is perfectly capable of going on the mission." He glared at her and Aliera smirked.

Harmonie 'hmph'ed and sat down, sulking. "It was worth a shot."

Duo sat next to his sister and sulked as well. "So when do we head out?" Quatre asked, blocking out the emotions from the sulking twins.

"Wait. Who's going to take Harmonie's spot?" Aliera interrupted. "You said we'd need seven people for this mission."

"Hn." Heero stated, glaring at Sally and reworking his plans.

"Would you like to argue with me, Yuy?" she snapped. "I'd be fascinated to hear you try to persuade me to let her go."

Heero shook his head in the negative. "We can pull it off with 3 Gundams. Duo, you will go with the ground team, but bring your Gundam, you may have to use it still."

Duo nodded. He didn't look happy. Aliera half-glared at him. "I'm going. Get over it."

"So when is everyone going to leave me with the psycho doctor?" Harmonie asked.

Heero grunted. "In 4 hours." She nodded, still sulking.

Aliera looked at Harmonie. "Well, I'm hungry, do you want to cook or should I?" Harmonie stood silently and walked into the kitchen, closing the door a bit harder than necessary.

"Okay. I guess that answers that," she said quietly.

Sally stood, pointing at Wufei. "Chang, go calm her down. She doesn't need to be stressed." Wufei nodded slowly and stalked into the kitchen after Harmonie.

"Harmonie?" Wufei questioned, moving closer to her, preparing to give her a hug.

"Chang Wufei, touch me and I will kill you. It is your fault I am stuck here," she seethed. She slammed some vegetables on the counter and began to peel and slice them, using more force than was necessary.

"My fault!?!" Wufei gaped at her, "You are the one..." he started, before having his arms full of a suddenly sobbing Harmonie.

"I'm sorry!" she wailed. "I just feel so....out of control. You know I didn't ask for this," she continued before breaking down again.

"Shh... I know... calm down..." Wufei stroked her hair, "I'm here..."

Harmonie sniffled, "I need to finish dinner..." she pulled away and finished peeling the vegetables, a lot more gently now.

Wufei hugged her from behind, placing his chin on her shoulder. "Everything will be all right, I promise," he whispered.

Harmonie nodded and poked him. "Now get out of my kitchen." She giggled.

Wufei smiled and mock-saluted. "Yes, ma'am."

He turned to leave and Harmonie smacked his butt playfully.

Wufei 'eeped' slightly and turned back around. "You must be punished," he said softly, stalking toward her in a way that made her mouth water.

Harmonie smirked. "I thought I told you to leave?"

He shrugged and pounced, laying her back on the kitchen table.

In the other room, Quatre and Aliera looked at each other, checking to see if they were sensing the same thing. "Um... no one go in there..." Aliera smirked.

Duo looked confused. "What's going on in there?" Aliera LOOKED at him and he immediately got the picture. His eyes widened. "Oh. Oh my."

Duo grinned at Aliera suggestively.

Aliera gave an answering grin and ran up the stairs, Duo following close behind.

Sally started to turn red.

"DUO!" Sally yelled. "Wait!" She ran up the stairs and handed him something. Duo looked down at it, then at her. "I'll not have two sets of idiots in this house."

Duo nodded. "Understood. Thanks," he replied, then sprinted to the bedroom.

Sally sighed wearily and sat on the steps, silently wondering if dinner would ever get cooked.

********************

"Let's rock and roll," Duo crowed, leaping into the Fukaku, Aliera taking the driver's seat and Trowa seating himself in the back.

"You guys be careful," Harmonie warned over the communicators.

Aliera talked to the Jeep and it started up quickly. "Okay, we're off!" she declared, pulling out of the garage.

"Heero, Quatre, and Wufei will follow in their Gundams," Harmonie said. "They should be leaving......now!" On cue, the Gundams shot from the hangar into the air, heading toward their target.

Aliera pushed the Fukaku to go as fast as it could, almost keeping up with the Gundams, who would arrive about 10 minutes before them.

Just as planned, the Gundams arrival drew out most of the soldiers in the base, making it easier for the ground team.

********************

Back at the house, Harmonie paced back and forth worriedly. "I have a bad feeling about this," she said to herself.

Sally glared at her. "Sit. Down. Worrying won't help."

"Something's wrong," she insisted. "I don't know what, but something is not right."

*********************

"This is too easy," Duo muttered as they crept through the hallways. "We should have run into someone by now."

Aliera nodded. "We expected most of the soldiers to go out in the mobile suits... but not all of them!"

She closed her eyes and reached out with her senses, feeling the area around them. Her eyes snapped open. "Someone's coming, and they're definitely NOT friendly!" she said, increasing her pace to a dead run. Duo and Trowa followed, eyes searching.

They turned a corner and were face to face with a large group of Oz soldiers, with Lady Une at the front.

"Shit!" Duo and the others took cover as the soldiers began to fire.

Harmonie's voice made itself known over the communicator. "What's happening out there?!" she asked worriedly.

"Elite soldiers. Une's with them," Trowa replied, shooting and hitting some of the soldiers.

Duo pulled a grenade off of his belt, signaling to Aliera and Trowa. He pulled the pin and tossed it into the back group of the soldiers, silently counting. "NOW!" They dove into the nearest room.

The grenade exploded, felling the soldiers. When the dust cleared, however, more soldiers rushed out, creating more problems for the pilots.

"Guys! Step back!" Aliera ordered, stepping forward. Duo and Trowa fell back, wondering what she was about to do. One of the soldiers fired at her. Before the bullet could reach her, though, she held out her hand in a warding gesture. The bullet stopped in midair and fell to the ground.

She glared at the soldier and lifted him into the air. Half of the other soldiers ran away in fear at seeing their comrade floating in mid-air.

"NO!" Duo protested. Aliera lost concentration and dropped the soldier. He hit the ground with a sickening crack as his neck broke.

She winced. One of the soldiers saw his chance and fired at her again. She fell to the ground with blood streaming out of her right shoulder.

"SHIT!" Duo yelled.

"WHAT HAPPENED?" Harmonie asked over the communicators.

"Allie's down. Soldier got in a lucky shot," Duo replied tensely, taking the soldier out. He kneeled beside her.

"ABORT MISSION! Just destroy as much of the base as you can with the Gundams! Ground Crew, get out of there!" Harmonie practically screamed to everyone.

"Acknowledged," Duo said. He picked Allie up. Behind them, one of the soldiers carefully took aim. Allie looked over his shoulder and her eyes widened. "STOP!" she screamed. She grabbed Trowa and disappeared right before the soldier fired.

His bullet hit empty air.

They reappeared beside the Jeep. Allie groaned once, then passed out.

"Duo, you have to go help them in Deathscythe. I'll take Allie back to the house." Trowa told him. Duo nodded, a cold rage in his eyes. He gently placed her in the passenger seat, then turned and ran to his Gundam.

Trowa looked at the steering column. "Now how the hell do I start this thing?"

"Tell it to start up," Allie whispered, waking up slightly. She patted the dash lightly. "Fukaku, time to get going." The Jeep immediately started, sounding almost eager. She smiled lightly and passed out again. Trowa's visible eye widened slightly, and he spun the Jeep around and towards the house, faster than it had ever gone before.

Duo leaped into Deathscythe's cockpit, powering up the Gundam. "Hey, buddy. Ready for some action?" he asked, a grin on his face that was just a little too wide. His eyes shined with the promise of death.

The Gundams quickly lay waste to the base. Duo continued stomping around the base yelling unintelligibly. "DUO!" Heero yelled. "STOP!" Duo ignored him until a weak voice came over the radio. "Duo.....stop....come back...." He stopped so suddenly it almost threw him off balance. He placed his head in his hands and leaned over as far as the harness would allow.

"Come on Duo, time to go home." Quatre said gently. The four Gundams made their way back home. As soon as Deathscythe powered down, Duo jumped out of the hatch and rode the wire down, sprinting into the house.

He ran into the living room. Harmonie stood at the top of the stairs. "She's up here." Duo nodded and, without another word, ran up the stairs past her to his bedroom.

Sally stepped out of the bedroom just as he reached it. Duo looked at her, worry and fear visible in his eyes and body language.

Sally sighed. At least he cared about her. "She should be okay. The bullet wound was pretty nasty, but I managed to get it out and sew her up. She exhausted herself again with the telekinesis. All in all, it was pretty rough and she needs to go to sleep, but she's waiting for you, so go ahead." Duo nodded and took a deep breath. He quietly opened the door and stepped in, walking almost hesitantly to the bedside.

"Hi..." he said almost shyly, hesitantly holding her hand, feeling as if he might break her.

"Hey," she replied, her voice just above a whisper. She frowned slightly when she felt his worry. "I'm okay, I'll recover. I'm not leaving you so soon," she soothed. Instead of having its desired affect, anger and remembered pain crept into his eyes.

"Why did you do that?" he asked mildly, although Allie could feel the anger pulsing in his mind. "You scared me half to death out there!"

"Duo....I..." she weakly protested, but he continued, oblivious. "Christ, when I saw you go down....I thought my world had ended! And then you used up more energy by 'porting us out of there?!? It could have killed you!" He stood up abruptly and paced the room, trying his level best not to break down and cry.

"Duo!" She said a bit louder this time. He stopped pacing and looked at her, his rage dancing in his eyes. "Come here." She patted the bed beside her and smiled wanly at him. Duo went back to the bed and sat next to her. "Look at me. I'm okay. I did what I had to do. If I didn't do what I did, we would be dead right now!"

He sighed. "I know....but what's gonna happen next time? Watching you today made me truly realize that none of us might survive. That scares me so much," he said softly, taking her hand again and laying it on his cheek, looking at her.

"I know... it scares me too! But we all went into this war knowing that we may die... not necessarily wanting to, but it was a very distinct possibility." she smiled ruefully at him. "I promise to be more careful, okay?"

Duo sighed. "I guess that's the best I can hope for," he said. He rolled his eyes. "Lord knows what happened last time I tried to stop you."

She pulled him down to lay next to her. "Sing to me?" she asked, looking into his eyes. He thought for a moment and began to sing softly. She fell asleep in a matter of a few seconds.

//Every time our eyes meet

This feeling inside me

Is almost more than I can take

Baby when you touch me

I can feel how much you love me

And it just blows me away

I've never been this close to anyone or anything

I can hear your thoughts

I can see your dreams

I don't know how you do what you do

I'm so in love with you

It just keeps getting better

I wanna spend the rest of my life

With you by my side

Forever and ever

Every little thing that you do

Baby I'm amazed by you

The smell of your skin

The taste of your kiss

The way you whisper in the dark

Your hair all around me

Baby you surround me

You touch every place in my heart

Oh it feels like the first time every time

I wanna spend the whole night in your eyes

I don't know how you do what you do

I'm so in love with you

It just keeps getting better

I wanna spend the rest of my life

With you by my side

Forever and ever

Every little thing that you do

Baby I'm amazed by you

Every little thing that you do

I'm so in love with you

It just keeps getting better

I wanna spend the rest of my life

With you by my side

Forever and ever

Every little thing that you do

Oh, every little thing that you do

Baby I'm amazed by you