Disclaimer: Don't own Gundam Wing or The Parent Trap.

~*~

The Maxwell Trap

by Dorothy Winner

~*~

The revolving doors of the Brussels Intercontinental Hotel spun as Hilde and Sydney entered the hotel's main lobby, suitcases in hand. "Well, it's easy to see why this place is five hundred credits a night," said Hilde, commenting on the sheer opulence of the hotel. The two of them crossed the lobby over to the front desk.

"I have a reservation for room 443," Hilde said to the desk clerk. "Last name Schbeiker."

The desk clerk typed the name into his computer. "Schbeiker, Hilde?"

"Yes." Hilde rummaged in her purse and took out her credit card. "We'll be staying for the next two nights."

"One moment, please." The clerk took her card and returned it several moments later with a receipt. "Please sign on this line… and here are the cardkeys to your room. Enjoy your stay."

"Thank you." Hilde handed Sydney the cards as they walked away from the desk. "You know what, why don't you go on ahead up to the room without me? I just need to go to the ladies' room. I'll meet you upstairs, okay?"

"If you say so, Mom," said Sydney.

"Thanks, Syd. Here, could you take my suitcase with you?"

"No problem." Sydney grabbed the handle of Hilde's suitcase. "Geez, Mom, how much did you pack in here?" Sydney spotted the elevators at the far end of the lobby. "Great," she said as she proceeded to half-carry, half-drag her mom's suitcase over to the elevators…

~*~

At the same time, a luxury taxi pulled up outside the Brussels Intercontinental. A door opened and Melanie got out, checking her reflection in a compact mirror. "Ugh, that shuttle flight was absolutely terrible. The service was slow, the air was stale, and the seats were cramped… I told you, we should have just taken one of my father's private shuttles. We definitely won't be using public travel during our honeymoon, I'll make sure of that…"

Heidi tuned out Melanie's voice as she helped her dad get one of Melanie's three suitcases out of the trunk. It had taken every ounce of effort to keep from screaming during the flight as she was forced to endure watching Melanie and her father holding hands and looking into each other's eyes and kissing… Heidi shuddered at the memory.

After loading all of Melanie's luggage onto a cart, the three of them entered the hotel. "Could you go ahead and check us in, Duo-dear?" said Melanie. "I'm going to the ladies' room to freshen up."

"Sure, Melanie," said Duo. "I'll wait for you out here."

"Thanks, doll." Melanie blew Duo a kiss as she walked away.

Heidi rolled her eyes and followed her father to the front desk. She looked around at the hotel and spotted Sydney, halfway to the elevators with Hilde's suitcase. Eyes widening, she tugged on her father's braid. "Um, Dad… I think I see someone who needs help with their luggage. I'll meet you in the room, okay?" Plucking one of the cardkeys the clerk had just given to Duo out of his hand, she took off.

Duo blinked. "Why am I always the one to get left behind?"

~*~

Melanie walked briskly toward the ladies' restroom, her heels clicking on the marble floor. The door to the restroom opened and Hilde came out, colliding into Melanie. There was a slight pause as the two of them looked at each other, Melanie's regal, icy features a striking contrast to Hilde's delicate, elfin beauty.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry," said Hilde as she helped Melanie pick up her things. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," said Melanie. "Don't worry about it." She continued past Hilde and went into the bathroom, feeling a little unsettled. There was something strangely familiar about that woman…

~*~

Hilde walked past the front desk as she headed for the elevators, narrowly missing seeing Duo as a bellhop going in the opposite direction walked part Hilde with a large vase of flowers. Pressing the up button, Hilde began searching her purse for her cardkey as she waited for the elevator. "I must have given both of them to Sydney," she said to herself. "I'd better double check the room number to make sure…" Zipping up her purse, Hilde turned around and headed back to the front desk to ask the clerk.

Meanwhile, Duo had finished checking-in and left the front desk, sitting down in an armchair to wait for Melanie. He wasn't waiting for long; Melanie came out of the bathroom a few moments later, giving Duo a quick kiss. "Did you get the key to the honeymoon suite, darling? I'd just love to go and see it…"

"Right here." Duo took the key out of his pocket and held it up. "We can go take a look at it now, if you'd like."

"I'd love to." Duo put his arm around her and they walked towards the elevators, passing Hilde at the front desk without realizing it. Duo pressed the up button and a pair of elevator doors opened. Duo and Melanie stepped inside. "Alone at last," said Melanie, wrapping her arms around Duo.

"Room 443. Thanks," Hilde said to the desk clerk. She turned around and spotted an open elevator. "Wait! Hold the doors!" she called out, running toward the elevators.

Duo looked up at the sound of Hilde's voice at the same time Hilde came to a dead halt in front of the elevator. The two of them locked eyes. Duo went completely ashen; Hilde took a step back, her eyes widening in confusion and shock. Melanie, her back to Hilde, continued kissing Duo, totally oblivious to Hilde's presence.

The elevator made a pinging sound and the doors began to close. Duo leaned further and further to his right, trying to keep his eyes on Hilde but the doors shut, leaving both of them standing where they were, stunned at what they had just seen.

~*~

Hilde strode down the hallway of the fourth floor, her lips set in a thin line. "SYDNEY MAXWELL!!!"

At the exact same time, two doors right across from each other opened and Sydney's and Heidi's heads poked out. Hilde did a double take. "Girls, don't do this to me! Which one of you is Sydney?!"

Sydney slowly raised her hand.

"I'll be having some words with you, young lady," Hilde said sternly. She turned to Heidi. "Oh, honey, it's so good to see you," she said, giving Heidi a hug. "I've missed you so much…"

"Um, you know what, might I suggest we take this all inside," said Sydney, ushering Hilde and Heidi into the room Hilde had reserved.

Hilde let go of Heidi and pointed to the bed. "All right, both of you, sit down," she ordered. Sydney and Heidi plopped down side-by-side on the bed. Hilde began to pace. "You…" She pointed to Heidi. "I mean, you…" She pointed to Sydney, then threw up her hands. "One of you led me to believe that your father knew I was going to be here today… Well let me tell you, the man I saw in the elevator had no idea we were even on the same planet, let alone the same hotel."

"You saw Dad?" Heidi said faintly.

"I certainly did," said Hilde. "Don't you think I've imagined what it would be like to meet your father again after all these years? Well, me standing there gaping like an idiot while Duo Maxwell is wrapped up in another woman's arms is not exactly the scenario I had in mind."

"You saw Melanie?" Sydney said, even more faintly.

"Oh, so that's her name?" said Hilde. "I suppose you simply forgot to tell me about her earlier. Slipped your mind, I daresay…"

"Mom…"

"I suppose what disappoints me the most," said Hilde, "is the fact that my own daughters lied to me and I don't know why. You promised to tell me the truth, Sydney," she said, looking at her reproachfully. "Care to tell me the rest of it?"

Sydney forced herself to meet her mother's gaze. "Mom… Dad's getting married."

Hilde blinked. "Really? Getting married? To this Melanie woman?"

"She's absolutely horrible, Mom," said Heidi. "We can't let him go through with it."

"Girls, your father is a grown man and quite capable of deciding who he wants to marry," said Hilde.

"But she's all wrong for him," said Sydney. "She doesn't love Dad, she loves his money. And the only way he won't marry her is…"

"…is if he sees you again," finished Heidi.

Hilde raised an eyebrow. "You planned this entire thing, didn't you? You're trying to set me up with your father."

"Why not?" said Heidi. "You're perfect for each other."

Hilde shook her head. "Girls, it's not as simple as that… You know what, I'm not going to argue with you right now. I still have to take a shower and make myself look presentable…"

Both girls stood up in objection. "But Mom…"

"We'll discuss this later. Now go and find your father, tell him what you've done and we'll all try and figure out a way out of this mess." And with that, Hilde went into the bathroom and locked the door with a loud click.

Heidi and Sydney exchanged worried glances. "Well, look at it this way," said Sydney, "she's worrying about her appearance, which means she'll be competing with Melanie… Okay, here's what we'll do. You go back to your room and stay up here just in case Dad or Melanie comes by. I'll go downstairs and see if I can find Dad in the lobby. If either of us finds him, we'll keep him away from Melanie. Sound like a plan?"

Heidi rolled her eyes. "We never had a plan in the first place…"

~*~

In another suite a few doors down, Melanie was shaking her head in confusion. "No, I don't understand."

Duo was nervously straightening his clothes and checking his reflection in the mirror. "I just need to go downstairs for a few minutes and clear my head," he said, "then I'll meet you for lunch."

"Clear your head?" asked Melanie. "What do you have to clear your head about? Is something wrong?"

"No, babe, everything's fine," Duo said, quickly kissing Melanie on the cheek. "I gotta go." He went to the door and opened it. "I'll see you in the lobby, okay?"

"But Duo…"

"See ya, babe." Duo left the room to head for the elevators and ran into Sydney. "Dad!" she exclaimed happily, not having seen him all summer.

"Oh hey, kiddo," Duo said distractedly, "I'm just heading down to the lobby. Do me a favor, Melanie's in her room; keep her company, okay?"

"Sure thing, Dad." Unable to help herself, Sydney gave Duo a hug. "It's really great to see you, Dad."

"It's really great to see you too, squirt," said Duo, ruffling Sydney's hair. "I'll see you later, okay?" He turned around for a moment as he continued walking toward the elevators. "Hey, is that a new outfit you're wearing? It looks good on you…"

~*~

Hilde turned on the shower faucet only to find that no water came out. "Oh, I don't believe this!" She stomped out of the bathroom in a terrycloth robe and grabbed the phone to call the front desk. She suddenly changed her mind and put the phone back in its cradle, instead leaving the room and knocking on the door across the hall.

The door opened and Heidi's head popped out. "Yeah Mom?"

"Okay, who am I talking to?" was Hilde's first question.

"I'm Heidi." She noted Hilde's state of dress. "So what can I do for you, Mom?"

"Well for some reason the shower in my room isn't working, so I'm just going to have to use yours. Is that okay?"

"Just be quick about it," said Heidi as she ushered Hilde into the bathroom, "we don't want Dad finding you in here…" She grabbed a pile of towels from the bathroom shelf and thrust them into Hilde's arms. "Go on, hurry up!" she said, shutting the bathroom door in Hilde's face.

Hilde was taken aback. 'She's more like her father than I thought…'

~*~

After his frantic search of the lobby turned out unsuccessful, Duo headed toward the front desk to ask for Hilde's room number was only to bump into Sydney again. "Hi Dad, what's up?" said Sydney.

"Aren't you supposed to be keeping Melanie company?" asked Duo.

"Uh… she wasn't in her room, Dad," said Sydney, thinking quickly. "You know, Dad, you're looking a little frazzled; why don't you go back to our room and take a shower or something?"

"A shower?" Duo checked his reflection in a mirrored wall panel. "Ugh, I'm a complete mess… you're right, I think I'll go back upstairs and fix myself up… if you see Melanie tell her I'll be down in a minute," he said, heading toward the elevators once more.

Duo stepped into an elevator just as Melanie stepped out of another one. Spotting Sydney, she walked toward her. "There you are, Sydney; have you seen your father?"

Sydney looked at Melanie blankly. "Sorry, do I know you?"

Melanie blinked. "Excuse me? In case you've forgotten, I'm your father's fiancée…"

"Ohhhhhh. Melanie. Hello…" Sydney looked Melanie up and down. 'Well, if it isn't the infamous Melanie…' "Sorry, didn't recognize you there for a second. Um, nope, I haven't seen Dad."

"Well, if you see him, tell him I'm waiting for him, okay?" said Melanie, walking away.

Sydney smirked. "Melanie, you don't stand a chance…"

~*~

"Mom! Hurry it up in there!"

"Hold your horses!" Hilde hurriedly tied the belt on her robe and grabbed her things. "My hair is still dripping wet—"

"Well, dry it when you get into your own room, you're taking way too long!" shouted Heidi.

Hilde opened the bathroom door with a huff. "You know, if you ask me, your living with your father has had a bad influence on your behavior—"

"Uh huh, we can talk about it some other time," said Heidi, steering Hilde out of the room and to the door across the hallway.

"You're not listening to a single word I'm saying, are you?"

"Not really," said Heidi, plucking Hilde's keycard out of her hand and sticking it into the doorknob slot for her. "You could say my pretending to be Sydney has made me act more like her. See ya," she said, pushing Hilde into the room and shutting the door.

A moment later, the elevator doors at the end of the hallway opened and Duo stepped out. "Sydney?"

"Dad!" Heidi exclaimed, startled. "What're you doing back up here?"

"I was gonna ask you the same question… I could have sworn I just saw you downstairs…"

"Me? Downstairs? Oh, um… I was just… going to the room to watch TV?" said Heidi, grinning sheepishly.

"Oh, all right… well, I'll just be taking a quick shower," said Duo.

"A shower? Why?"

"You told me to, remember?"

"I did? I did," said Heidi, making a mental note to yell at Sydney for putting her in this situation. She gestured toward the door. "After you."

"Okay…" Duo unlocked the door with his keycard and the two of them entered the room. Duo went into the bathroom to turn on the water and instead was startled to find a lacy, leopard print bra hanging on the railing of the shower door.

"What the…" Duo picked it up and peered at it curiously, wondering how it had got there. He went into the bedroom. "Hey Syd?"

"Yeah?" said Heidi, her arm in midair as she was flipping through channels.

"Um, you still haven't seen Melanie around?"

"Nope. I don't think she's even been in here yet."

"Oh." Duo went back into the bathroom. Scratch that; there were just some things he really didn't want to know…

~*~

Wearing a new change of clothes and possibly too much cologne, Duo was back downstairs twenty minutes later, searching the outdoor pool terrace for Hilde. Duo didn't doubt for a moment that it had been Hilde he had seen at the elevators… so why was he having such a hard time finding her? She had to be somewhere in the hotel… Surely she couldn't have left without so much as a hello…

Turning around, Duo spotted Hilde arriving from across the pool, wearing a blue, low-cut three-quarter sleeve shirt that matched her eyes and a black, knee-length a-line skirt, her hair pulled up into a loose twist with short wisps framing her face. Hilde smiled shyly and waved, putting on a pair of sunglasses.

A large group of tourists went by in front of Duo just then, blocking Hilde from view. "Excuse me… pardon me… MOVE!" Duo shouted, trying to keep sight of Hilde, but after the last tourist had passed Hilde was nowhere to be seen. Why were there so many people at the pool deck all of a sudden?

Duo hurriedly began to make his way over to the other side of the pool, lest Hilde should leave the area. He walked past Sydney sitting on a chaise and sipping a pink lemonade. "Looking for somebody, Dad?"

"What?" said Duo, not really paying attention, having spotted Hilde ordering an iced tea at the bar. Duo sidestepped around several people, nearly tripping over a life preserver in his haste.

Heidi grabbed his sleeve to steady him. "You okay, Dad?"

"Fine. Never been better." Duo absentmindedly patted Heidi's head and moved on. Hilde was now walking away from the bar with a tall glass of iced tea, making her way over to a cluster of café tables over by the hotel's gardens near the deep end of the pool.

By now, however, Duo was no longer watching where he was going…

"Dad, WATCH OUT!!!" Sydney and Heidi yelled at the same time as Duo's left foot caught on the leg of a lounge chair and he pitched forward, falling headfirst into the deep end of the swimming pool with a terrific splash.

Hilde turned to see Duo haul himself out of the pool, completely soaked, with an inch long gash on his right temple. "Oh my God! Duo!" Hilde ran over to where he had staggered over to a chaise and sat down. "Could someone please get a first-aid kit?" she called out.

"Hilde? What are you—"

Hilde thanked a towel boy for bringing her a first-aid kit. "Don't move, Duo, I have to stop the bleeding. Let me see that cut…"

Duo pushed her arm away. "Will you stop—I'm perfectly fine—"

"You're not fine, Duo, you're still bleeding all over the place—"

"I am not…"

"In case you didn't notice, Duo, that red substance dripping down your face is called blood…"

Duo suddenly found himself on his back. "Really, I can take care of myself—"

"Stop moving, Duo, I can't see—"

"Will you stop fussing—"

Hilde sat astride Duo's lap to try and immobilize him. "I'm not fussing, I'm trying to keep you from bleeding to death—"

"You're making a big deal out of nothing—it's only a scratch—get off—"

"I would if you'd stop moving—"

"You don't have to do anything, I'm fine—"

"Typical Gundam pilot, always ignoring your injuries—"

"For the last time, I'm not injured!"

"Keep still!" Hilde leaned forward with the gauze. "Okay, let's patch you up…"

At this point, Duo's male rationale kicked in, as he realized he was pinned under a still very attractive Hilde, with a perfect view of her cleavage.

Duo immediately ceased struggling.

"There you go," said Hilde. "How does that feel? Duo?"

Hilde looked down into Duo's eyes at the same time Duo looked up into hers. Hilde still found herself irresistibly drawn in by their intensity. She brushed Duo's wet bangs out of his face and began to lean closer.

'It's been so long…'

"Just where have you been, Duo?!"

Melanie walked into the pool area, breaking the spell. Duo immediately shoved Hilde off of him and Hilde landed painfully on the pool deck. "Melanie… this isn't what it looks like… I can explain…"

"What on Earth is going on here? Why are you all wet? And who is this woman?" Melanie said angrily.

"Um… I know this is gonna sound crazy…" said Duo. "I'm having a hard time believing it myself but… this is my… ex-wife, Hilde."

"Ex-wife?" said Melanie. "Here? Today? My, my, what a coincidence…"

"Yeah, I was thinking the same thing myself… What are you doing here, Hilde?" asked Duo. "I haven't seen or heard from you in the last eleven years and all of a sudden you're popping up everywhere I look and… well, we're all pretty confused here and I would really appreciate an explanation and you seem to be the only one with answers and what I'd really like to know is…"

Heidi popped up next to Duo. "Dad, I can explain why she's here."

Sydney popped up on his other side. "So can I, Dad."

Melanie screamed and jumped back. "Who—what—"

Duo looked back and forth between the girls several times. "Sydney? Heidi? Both of them?"

"Am I missing something here?" said Melanie.

"Uh, Melanie…" Duo began, "did I ever mention that Sydney was a twin?"

"Definitely not," said Melanie. "Two of them? How wonderful."

"They switched places on us at camp, Duo," said Hilde. "They arranged this whole thing from the start."

Duo blinked. "You mean I've had Heidi all this time?"

"Yeah," said Heidi. "I guess you and Mom sort of think alike because you both sent us to the same camp. We met and the whole thing kind of just spilled out. I wanted to know what you were like and Sydney wanted to meet Mom… so we sorta switched lives. You're not mad, are you?"

"Of course not…" Duo took Heidi into his arms and hugged her. "I just can't believe it's you… the last time I saw you, you had diaper rash… Look at you…" Duo pulled Sydney to him. "This is amazing. Both my girls… seeing you together…"

"So let me get this straight," said Melanie. "You're the girls' mother?" she said, pointing to Hilde.

"I am," said Hilde.

"And you and Duo have each been living with one twin?"

"Yes we have."

"And they switched places at camp to get to know the other parent."

"Correct."

"So I guess the real question would be… what are we all doing here on the exact same day?"

"The girls… arranged for Duo and I to… discuss their custody situation," said Hilde, choosing her words very carefully.

The twins smiled.

Melanie's eyes narrowed. "How… sweet of them. Conveniently scheduling this while Duo and I are supposed to be looking for a place to honeymoon and all."

"Well, better to find out now than later, right?" quipped Sydney. "Before you get married and all. Now all the cards are out on the table. Imagine if another twin showed up on your doorstep a few years into your marriage…"

"Yes. Very fortunate." Melanie forced a smile. "Well, I guess I'd better leave this up to you two. Just remember, we still have a flight departing for Paris tomorrow morning. With or without either of you," she said, shooting a nasty look at the twins. She turned around and walked back into the hotel.

Duo stood up. "I guess I'd better go upstairs and change into something dry." He looked at Hilde. "So… how do you want to do this?"

Heidi whispered something into Sydney's ear. "We know," said Sydney.

"Know what?" asked Duo, turning to his daughters.

"Know what to do," said Heidi.

"But… you're going to have to wait to find out," said Sydney.

"What do you mean we have to wait? You're not telling us?" asked Hilde.

"Nope," said Heidi.

"Well why not?" said Duo.

"Sorry," said Sydney, "it's on a need to know basis."

"And you don't need to know quite yet," said Heidi.

"Just meet us downstairs in the main lobby at six o'clock tonight," said Sydney.

"Wear something nice," said Heidi.

"Something nice? What for?" asked Hilde.

"Can't tell you that," said Sydney.

"You're just going to have to trust us," said Heidi.

"Now if you'll excuse us, we have some arrangements to make," said Sydney. She grabbed her sister's hand and the two of them walked away.

"Uh… what just happened?" asked Duo.

"I'll tell you what happened," said Hilde, "we're two grown adults who just let ourselves be manipulated by a pair of eleven-year-olds."

"I know," said Duo. "Shouldn't we be worried?"

~*~

TBC…