Secrets Chapter 3: Sleep

Heero was assigned to guard Relena, being no more than ten feet from her at all times. How the hell was he supposed to do that while she ran around with the kids? They were like monster, the cute little devils. They always pulled at his pant legs and asked him questions, now being one of those moments. The elder, male child Kokuun was talking to Relena in the field outside. Kai, however, kept herself occupied by asking him odd, very random questions. Heero couldn't even hear what Relena and Kokuun were talking about. Another annoyance he had to put up with, Relena the mother and Vice Foreign Minister all at once.

Heero didn't mind the little girl, he just minded the questions, and some of them were personal. Though Kai nodded in understanding after asking a question and not getting the answer. The funny feeling of taking the girl in his arms and playing reluctant father was disturbing, and appealing at the same time.

"Do you like my mommy?" Kai asked. She was sitting in front of him, imitating his cross-legged position. Heero didn't look at her, but looked to Relena. He wasn't quit sure how to answer, neither was he the five other times he had been asked the question.

"She is the Vice Foreign Minister, I am to protect her." Was all that he was able to offer her. At least it was the truth, even if not the whole truth.

"I think you like her." Kai stated. The conversation never went there before.

"Hmm"

"You look at my mommy lots. Can I call you daddy?" Heero nearly jumped from his skin. The fact that he did jump and look at the child wasn't helping matters. Never having been asked that question, and not being prepared for it, he didn't know how to respond. Luckily for him, he didn't have to answer.

Relena and Kokuun got up and were walking toward them. Kokuun laughed a little. Relena sat to the left of Heero and a few feet away. Kokuun and Kai began to play and wrestle. Relena watched them and laughed at their antics. Heero would look occasionally at the children, but would continue, without Relena's knowledge, to stare at her.

"Mommy, join us!'

"Oh no, you go ahead."

"But, that's not fun." Relena smiled at the two. Kokuun had challenged Relena in an unspoken way. Why not play? Even the V.F.M. has the right to play with her children right?

"Do you want to see fun?" Heero watched as Relena got up and ran at the children. Kokuun and Kai yelled, "Run!" and ran off toward a line of trees. Relena caught Kai and tickled her mercilessly. Kai laughed and kicked. Relena noticed that Kokuun was getting away and began to run after him.

"Oh no you don't! Gotcha!" Kokuun began laughing hysterically. Relena and Kokuun's laughs mixed together as Kokuun struggled to get away. Finally letting her son loose, he ran toward the trees again, Kai soon passing her mother hurriedly to catch up with her older brother. They stopped and looked at Relena who still sat on her heels where she had caught Kokuun.

Heero almost laughed. She made such a good mother. He wanted to join them, not because of the ten feet rule, which was now abandoned, but because he felt almost as if they were his family. He wanted to treat them that way too. They would never let him though, so why bother? He stayed seated where he was on the soft grass, contenting himself in watching their joy.

"Ha! You can't defeat us!" Kokuun shouted. Kai nodded her head rapidly, agreeing with her brother. Relena smiled.

"Why not?" She said, tilting her head to the side in a questioning manner. Behind her, Heero got up to move closer to the trio. He didn't want to interrupt, but he was given orders to never be out of a ten feet radius. The twenty feet distancing them wasn't part of the rule. Standing by the tree to Relena's right, it seemed that she didn't notice. Gods, how beautiful she looked.

"Because we are Gundam Pilots!" Kokuun shouted, puffing out his chest with pride. Kai followed his lead. Heero smirked. Relena stood up and put her hands on her hips, lifting her chin in defiance.

"But I'm your mother." Relena ran after them again. Kokuun and Kai screamed and ran behind the tree. Relena followed them until she was almost behind it. That was when the children pounced on her in unison, pushing her to the ground. The pair began to tickle her endlessly.

Relena laughed and wailed. The children were laughing with her. Relena turned onto her stomach and began clawing at the ground, one tear falling down her face as she laughed. They all made quit the sight. Payback was truly a child's best friend.

Heero watched them as the mighty children toppled Relena. A small smile grazed his lips. This was the peace that they had worked so hard for, and it was worth it. If moments like this could be saved he would fight for peace until the end of his days. He only wished that he would have someone to spend that life with, someone who would share the peaceful moments like this with him; someone like Relena. He heard a sound coming closer and turned to meet it.

Both Heero and Relena shot up at the same time. Heero still sitting in the chair near Relena's bed wiped the sweat off his brow. What an odd dream. He was dreaming of a boy that he never met, Relena's son. He finally noticed Relena. She was sitting up in bed, shaking.

Slowly Heero got up and held her. Relena clutched his shoulders and leaned into his neck sobbing. Heero ran his hands through her hair until she stopped crying. Both just sat there for a minute. Kai twitched a little on Relena's side.

Relena looked up at Heero, looking into his eyes. He only looked back, neither knowing what to say. What was there to say? How could anyone really describe what had happened? Relena was the one to break the silence.

"You were in my dream. So were Kokuun and Kai. I was playing with them. I just wish that it could like that now. I wish that I could feel both of them in my arms." Relena looked down, still clutching his shoulders, trying to draw comfort from him.

"Strange. I saw it also." Relena gasped. She looked into his eyes again. Both of them were sharing a dream, but how, neither could figure out.

"I know where he is." Relena told him, stiffening in his arms. Heero loosened his grip a bit and searched her eyes.

"Explain."

"He told me. While you were talking with Kai, I was talking to him. He must have really been in the dream too. I don't know about Kai though." Both looked down at Kai. Kai mumbled her brother's name and curled up into a ball. Tears began to stain Relena's face.

"You have to tell Zechs." Relena looked at Heero and nodded. Heero made to move away from Relena, but she drew herself to him and laid her head on his left shoulder. He put one hand on her back and stroked her hair again. Why didn't he ever seem to know the words to say?

"Stay with me. Please." Four words were all it took, though he was sure the first word she said would have him stay with her forever. He knew that she needed comfort and she wouldn't go to him until morning, he gave in.

Heero nodded and Relena gently slid Kai over. She lay down beside the sleeping girl and looked at Heero, who now had room to join them. Heero looked away from her gaze and lay down. Heero drew the covers over the child and the girl at his side. As he pulled the covers up, his hands grazed Relena's exposed shoulder. This simple skin contact was like a burning sensation. The position he stopped himself in was much worse.

To pull the covers up over both of them he turned his body into Relena's backside, reaching over her to pull the covers over the child. When he touched her skin he stopped there, his arm was now draped over her shoulder. Relena made no move to protest.

Relena was shocked to say the least. Heero had his arm around her! He didn't move it either! Thankfully he couldn't see her flushed face. How she wished with all her heart that someday she might not have to ask him. That someday she might be his, she smiled at the though. It saddened her to think that he might not even know what he did and that they would never be together. She gave an inaudible sigh and closed he eyes, letting sleep come.

Heero slept soundly, never leaving her.

The five sat in the small room silently. They all had worked so hard to help Relena. They couldn't find anything. Even Heero couldn't come up with anything. The lucky man was sleeping soundly, while they had to face hell's fury in human form, Milliardo. How in the world could they tell him that they found nothing? One of them would have to tell him.

They had had this conversation before. This time was the worst. The poor soul who had to go in there would be lost for sure. The paper on the desk in the middle of the room had named the man/woman, being that Noin was one of the five. They all held their breaths and leaned down to see who it was. The list was written randomly. Each had to write there names down on a sheet of paper according to what fifteen numbers each pulled out of a hat.

The list had ninety spaces. Seventeen had already been crossed off, due to the last seventeen times people had to tell Milliardo bad news. Four of the ones leaning over the list sighed in relief. The horrifying task had been assigned. Four heads turned simultaneously to one who was paralyzed. Silently they all said a prayer that they would see their dear friend again.

Standing up, the Chosen walked toward the door that lay at the corner of the room. The dark brown door was looming closer every minute. Death awaited the 'poor soul' on the other side of the door. The door opened and closed. It was nearly done.

Milliardo looked up as his informant walked in, pure horror turned to a shaky calm as the visitor stood before him. Milliardo had always wondered why it was hardly ever the person he asked for information that actually came to tell him. He never asked.

"We...couldn't find him." Came to voice, barely above a whisper. But Milliardo heard it.

"Why not?!" Milliardo stood, knocking the chair to the floor.

"We don't have enough to go off of. We don't have a name of the man, no prints, and no surveillance pictures. No weapon of any sort either. All we have is a list of people who might have bad intentions and background enough to sneak in undetected and willing to hurt a child. It's not enough."

"Where the hell is he?" Milliardo yelled at the downcast form of Quatre, who had been elected to tell Milliardo the bad news.

'Why did it have to be my turn?'

"We don't know." Milliardo pounded his desk.

"That's not good enough!"

Noin, Trowa, Duo, and Wufei entered the room to find Milliardo mere inches away from a terrified Quatre. Milliardo's fists were clenched into a tight ball. He was ready on a moments notice to hit the boy who stood in front of him. Noin ran over to stand beside the angry man.

"We will find him Milliardo, before he does any harm to Relena and your nephew, but we can't do it alone."

Milliardo calmed down a little, Noin always had that effect on him. "What do you need?" He said through clenched teeth. Noin looked at the others who were protecting Quatre from Milliardo's rage.

"We need Ms. Relena." Milliardo turned to her, his fists constantly tightening and loosening, debating whether or not to hit something. He didn't want to bring Relena any more grief, not if he didn't have to, but never was preferred. "She is the only one who might have any information. If she does and isn't telling us, then we can't get her son back."

Milliardo considered this for a moment. They had a valid point. He didn't want to hurt her by reminding her that her son won't be saved unless she tells something to them, but they didn't have much of a choice. He drew in a ragged breath and his shoulders sagged. The group was relieved, no one more so than Quatre.

"We will speak to Relena in the morning." With that said, the group left Milliardo in his office with his newly dented desk. He put his head in his hands. There would be no sleep tonight for him. He hoped that Relena was getting the rest she desperately needed. If he was feeling this way, there was no way for him to imagine what she was feeling.

Next time:

"Relena, we need you to tell us anything you know." Trowa said, hoping his words were enough to get the message without hurting her more than was necessary.

"I know where he is." Everyone except Heero gasped. The room was dead silent.