20:46 PM
Not far from where Amy Yuy was stranded at the top of an office building, in an old underground military facility that had closed down long ago, a man was waiting outside a door. He wore a hat over his hair, hair that was so dark brown it was almost black, and as he leaned against the wall the arms that he had crossed were thick and muscular. The corridor in which he stood was badly lit and slightly dingy, badly in need of a mop. Dressed in simple, comfortable clothes, the man stood silently until, finally, the door opened and a deep voice said, "Come in."
The man twisted around and entered the room, his steps brisk and confident. With an appraising eye he glanced around at the office; it was stark and unexciting, but clean and filled with the latest equipment. He turned to the other man sitting at the desk and nodded a greeting.
"You're late, Roberts."
"It couldn't be helped," the first man said, taking a seat without invitation. "We had a little problem with a few of the guards."
The man at the desk sighed and sat back in his chair. "What is it now?"
"Nothing new," Roberts said, his voice void of emotion. "They don't agree with what I'm doing."
The other man gave a wry smile. "I presume you brought them around to your way of thinking?"
"Of course. With any luck, the girl will be dead before dawn."
"Good."
"Did you finish anything today, Tavera?"
"Research," said Tavera, the man at the desk. "Had my boys take a look around the Preventers database."
"Find anything of interest?"
"Now, Roberts, don't rush me."
Roberts abruptly stood. "I finished my duty today. Obviously you didn't – as you haven't, might I add, for the past week. If this continues, something will have to be done."
"Now, now," Tavera said, concerned, "you wouldn't want to lose the best man on your team, would you?"
But Roberts was gone, out of the door and down the hall.
At his desk, Tavera let out a low curse and brought his fist down hard upon the wood.
20:46 PM
There was a knock at the door of the Maxwell home. Hilde, making sure Nathan was playing happily on the floor with a few toys, called for Callie to watch him as she went to answer it.
It was Sally; she seemed weary and worn out, but her eyes were alert and thoughtful. "Hey, Hilde. Sorry I cam so late," she said tiredly. "I'm just passing along some news from Relena."
"Have they returned already?" Hilde asked, her heart leaping into her throat.
Sally shook her head. "I forgot to tell you this, so it's my fault if we lost a clue because of me. But – Relena told me that they had a politician guy over for dinner a few nights before they left, a guy she didn't like. Charles somebody, I don't – "
"Maclemury," Hilde supplied. "She hates his guts."
"Well," Sally said, acknowledging this with a brief nod, "he came with a girl."
"A girl?"
"Yeah."
"And what's this supposed to do with me?"
"Said her name was Schbeiker."
The air rushed out of Hilde's body so fast she had to steady herself against the doorframe. "What?"
"The girl. She said her last name was Schbeiker."
Hilde gave an unsteady little laugh. "That's – that's not funny, Sally. If Duo – "
"I'm not kidding."
The laughter was cut off abruptly. Hilde stared at Sally, and then said in a shaking voice, "If this is a joke – "
"Hilde, Relena asked if I would come over here and ask if you had some sort of relation, somebody we could talk to about this. You know, maybe an aunt, a sister, cousin – "
She stopped. Hilde's eyes were blazing, but with what, Sally couldn't tell.
"I don't." Hilde said, her voice quivering so badly Sally could hardly understand her.
"Don't – don't what?"
"Have a sister."
Sally, more than a little concerned, said comfortingly, "I never said you did, Hilde, I just – "
"I don't have a sister!"
The door was slammed shut, leaving a very stunned Sally on the front porch.
20:46 PM
"Amy!" Relena cried, just as the little girl yelled, "Daddy!" Heero placed his feet as carefully as he could, then reached down and grasped Amy's wrists in his hands. Praying to whatever God was up there, Heero held her as tightly as he could and pulled with all his might. Within seconds, Amy tumbled over the edge of the roof, and into her mother's arms.
"Oh, Amy," Relena sobbed, the tears streaming unchecked down her cheeks. "Oh, my girl."
Amy was crying so hard she couldn't speak; one arm was around Relena's neck, the other around Heero's. Heero didn't speak, either; his eyes were closed, his arms holding his wife and daughter as close to him as he possibly could.
21:02 PM
Beep, beep, beep!
There was general chaos as the vidcam went off. Zechs lunged for the 'receive' button only to trip over Duo, who had also made a leap; the two tumbled to the floor and knocked over Wufei. The Chinese pilot's leg kicked Quatre soundly in the shin, bringing him down to the floor, and as Quatre stumbled he reached out for something to grab and ended up finding Trowa's sleeve, bringing every single occupant of the room down on the floor.
As the vidcam continued to beep, there was a mad scramble of arms and legs and curses and punches as the men each tried to stand and hit the button first. Duo, with a cry of triumph, brought his entire fist down upon the button, only to find Wufei's hand already there. The Chinese pilot howled in pain and outrage as the vidcam screen flashed to life.
It was Relena, wrapped in a big coat and looking windswept and exhausted. But she was smiling, the biggest smile they had seen on her face since Amy was kidnapped, and Duo let out a cry of joy.
"You found her!" he said gleefully. "I told them you would!"
Relena nodded, smiling even through the tears that refused to go away. "She was there. We've got her – Heero's talking to her now." She wiped a hand impatiently across her face, then continued, "He's a bit worried because – well, there were no guards there, guys. No resistance, nothing."
"You're kidding." That was Quatre.
She shook her head back and forth slowly. "She's not harmed, she wasn't guarded – she was just on a ledge at the very top of the building."
Trowa nodded gravely. "Is she psychologically okay?"
"I think so," Relena said, smiling again. "It's just so – " she sighed happily. "Words can't describe."
"So you're coming back?" Zechs asked.
She nodded. "As soon as we can. Heero said he'd call you guys later – I think he's had some sort of idea or something, I don't know."
"Joy," Wufei muttered sarcastically, still holding his hand – the second time it had been hurt that day. "Is anyone else finding it unnerving that Yuy's ideas always end up getting us in trouble?"
Duo grinned broadly. "No."
21:10 PM
After hanging up with the pilots, Relena headed to the room she and Heero shared on the ship. Amy was laughing as she neared the room, and Relena stopped just outside the door to watch.
Heero was lying on his back in the middle of the floor, his eyes closed and perfectly still. Amy was creeping around him on tiptoe, a hand to her mouth to suppress her giggles. She had just barely gotten to the bed before Heero leaped up with a growl and grabbed her from behind, his fingers tickling her stomach mercilessly. Amy burst into peals of laughter again, screaming as her dad pulled her to the floor. Finally she struggled free, then backed up and held out her hand in the shape of a gun. "Pow!" she cried, aiming at the monster, and Heero, with a yelp of pain, fell flat on his face to the floor again.
At this point, Amy looked up and saw her mother, and with the scheming mind of a four-year-old, motioned for Relena to go around Heero from behind. Grinning and nodded as if it were all a huge secret, Relena began creeping silently towards the prone form on the floor. Barely holding in her giggles, now, Amy tried tiptoeing around the monster towards the bed.
Both mother and daughter were two inches from the bed before the monster suddenly leaped up, and in two swift moves had both Relena and Amy on the floor. Unable to stop laughing, Relena cried, "Get him, Amy, get him!" Squealing with pleasure, the little girl began tickling Heero himself, and then Relena turned on him too. Heero burst out laughing, finally crying out, "Mercy, mercy!"
And the instant they stopped, he grabbed them again.
31 OCTOBER 293 - FRIDAY17:16 PM
"He was tall."
Relena couldn't help but glance at her husband in frustration. "Yes, you said that, honey. Can you tell us anything else?"
Amy's face was screwed up in concentration. "Umm..."
Heero leaned forward. "What color was his hair, Amy?"
She pursed her lips severely at her father. "I'm thinking, Daddy," she said sternly.
Her father sat back and exchanged looks with Relena. "Amy," Relena began, "we need you to tell us - "
"Black."
They stopped, surprised. "It was black?" Heero asked eagerly.
"Yup," she nodded.
"And - and what'd they do, Amy? Tell Mom again," Relena pressed.
The little girl heaved a sigh. "The man carried me onto the roof and set me really high up," she explained.
"How'd they get you out of bed, Amy?" Heero asked.
She thought for a moment, then said sadly, "I don't remember."
"All right," Heero said, sighing and sitting back against the wall. "You keep playing, honey - Mom and I will go make dinner, okay?"
Amy nodded, already immersed in her world of fairytale princesses and dolls.
Relena and Heero made their way to the kitchen, silent for the time being. As Relena began to pull vegetables out of the refrigerator for a salad and Heero dropped some chicken into a pot of water on the stove, Relena suddenly asked, "Why'd you stop her, Heero? She might've told us more - maybe she was kidding about the not remembering."
Staring down at the chicken, Heero murmured, "She has a bruise at the base of her skull."
Relena spun around. "What?"
"It's not serious - just enough to knock a four-year-old out. Whoever kidnapped her hit her first, and then took her to the roof of that building."
"How long do you think she was there?"
Heero was frowning, a sure sign that something was puzzling him. "Not long."
"But they kidnapped her almost a week - "
"I know. But even though she was shivering a little, she wasn't sick from exposure. The temperatures had been low the whole day, Re. She wasn't cold enough, if you get my meaning."
"How long would you guess?"
"An hour."
"An hour!" Relena paused, looking up at her husband. "What are you thinking, Heero?"
He glanced sharply at her, then broke into a half-hearted grin. "You know me too well," he murmured. "I think...that it was planned."
"Well, duh."
"No," Heero said, shaking his head. "I mean...the guy. At the restaurant. I think he was sent there, and he knew we'd go to the ship first, and while we did that he - or somebody else - took Amy up to the roof. And - "
"What in the world would that accomplish?" Relena asked, bewildered.
Heero sighed. "That's what I'm trying to figure out."
There was silence in the kitchen for a minute, as Heero continued cooking the chicken and Relena watched. Finally, she inquired softly, "What are you planning?"
He turned sharply, saw the expression in her eyes, and sighed again. "You're not going to like it."
"I don't think I'll have much of a choice."
Heero left the chicken and sat down at the small table, the chair backwards and his arms crossed on the surface of the table. He took a breath and then said firmly, "I think I need to stay."
"What?" Relena cried. "Why? We found her! Heero, you can't - "
"I need to know who that man was," Heero said calmly, then added, "Or who he works for. Relena, you remember the conversation we had with him, right?"
"Of course I do, but I don't see - "
"He acted perfectly normal until you introduced me. When he saw me, his whole - his whole countenance changed, Re. And then - "
"He told us about Amy," she said softly.
Heero nodded without a word.
"I don't understand why I feel so strongly about this, Relena, but I really think I need to stay here and - and figure out who was behind this."
Heero watched her for a long time. Relena was back to steadily chopping vegetables, but her hands were moving methodically and her mind was clearly on something else. After several minutes, she set the finished salad aside and said softly, "All right."
"What?" Heero asked, stunned.
"I'm not saying I like it, but I understand why you think you need to stay."
He nodded.
"Do you," she began, and her voice broke slightly. Relena shook her head and then restarted firmly, "Do you know how long you'll be here?"
Heero shook his head no. "Hopefully not too long," he said quietly.
"All right," Relena said, standing. "We'll leave tomorrow morning, okay? And - and you call the other pilots tonight, tell them what's going on, and they can help you from Earth."
Silently Heero stood, and slowly gave her a hug. "I'm sorry, Relena," he whispered. "I don't want to do this any more than you do."
"Yes, you do," she said, a little sadly. "This is just what you do. You're still a soldier, even with no war to fight."
He bent his head, gave her a kiss, and then went to finish dinner.
1 NOVEMBER 293 - SATURDAY06:32 AM
When morning came, the temperature on L1 was still much colder than usual. The weather monitors were clearly trying to get a good impression going of Earth's winter, but it was a bit aggravating to Heero. As he helped Relena prepare for their flight back to Earth, he was constantly followed by Amy's questions - which he welcomed heartily - as inquisitive as she was, Amy was also bright and registered everything he told her. But the thought of what he was doing was always there at the back of his mind, haunting him terribly, and the cold did not help.
Early the next morning, Relena and Amy were ready to leave the Colony. Heero was kneeling near the gangplank, his arms wrapped tightly around Amy. "Now, listen, you," he said with mock severity. "You have to watch your mother, okay? She can be a little crazy sometimes."
Regarding him with her wide blue eyes very gravely, Amy gave a slow, solemn nod. "Thank you for saving me, Daddy," she said innocently.
His throat catching, Heero gave her another tight hug and said hoarsely, "I'll always be here to save you, Amy." He tickled her briefly before grinning and sending her away.
Then he rose to face Relena. She was calm, regal, as she always seemed to be, but Heero knew her heart. He gave her a hug, a long kiss, and then stepped back slightly.
"I'll call you every opportunity I get," he said seriously. Relena laughed at that.
"I'll be lucky if I hear from you once a week," she retorted, trying to smile.
Heero whispered softly, "I don't know how long I'll be gone, Re, but I will finish as soon as I can, okay?"
This time, Relena managed a grin, and shoved him. "Oh, get going, jerk. Sooner you leave, the sooner you can come back."
Grinning at her, Heero shouldered his bag and turned to leave. The gangplank lowered automatically. Upon reaching the docking bay, he turned around to give Relena a final wave.
She had her hands on her hips, and when he glanced back her face turned indignant.
"Don't you dare leave this ship without telling me you love me, Heero Yuy!"
Heero stopped, a broad grin spreading across his face. "Relena, when we were married, I told you that I loved you, and if that ever changes, I'll let you know."
And as the gangplank began to close, Relena yelled in exasperation, "Heero!"
Laughing outright now, Heero walked backwards with his face to her, his arms outstretched. Giving her a slight bow, just as the gangplank closed, he called, "I love you, Relena," and then had to grin again.
3 NOVEMBER 293 - MONDAY18:23 PM
"I don't approve of this."
Trowa's quiet voice startled everyone else into silence. They were all at Zechs's house for dinner. The only one missing from their usual group was Heero, who had just finished talking with them over the vidcam an hour and a half ago.
Zechs glanced up. "He's fine," he assured the pilot. "You heard him."
"What's done is done," Quatre said gently, eager to ease the tension. "Heero's there, and he won't come back until he's found out what he wants to find out."
"Or if something bad happens down here," Sally murmured.
Duo, at the other end of the table, looked up very suddenly, and Wufei said sharply, "Don't get any ideas, Maxwell."
Hilde elbowed her husband, and he sat back.
"Heero can handle himself just fine," Rebecca said confidently. "There is no reason to worry."
"There is every reason to worry," Trowa said, looking surprisingly irritated for Trowa.
Dorothy glanced up. "I can see what he means." Zechs made a face.
"By all means, do enlighten us," he said, almost sarcastically.
She raised an eyebrow and tossed her blond hair in her diplomatic manner. Quatre had to give a little half-grin at his wife. She was certainly quite a character.
"The events surrounding Amy's kidnapping – and rescue – are both mysterious and dangerous," Dorothy said. "Heero's diving into information that may very well be dangerous for all of us, and it's not like he hasn't been caught before – "
"Once."
The quiet voice came from down on the very end of the table, where Relena was sitting next to Amy. She had been so silent that they had almost forgotten she was there. Dorothy immediately blushed.
"What do you mean, once?" Wufei asked bluntly.
Relena was watching Amy, who was steadily eating her way through a large helping of pumpkin pie. "He was caught," Relena continued softly, "once. When I was the bait, five years ago. He has never been caught otherwise."
"But if," Zechs replied, "you - or Amy - were the bait again. He could be caught again."
"I have no intention of leaving Earth," Relena said bluntly.
"You wouldn't have to." That was Quatre, his face uncharacteristically grim. "If he heard word, somehow, that you in trouble, I don't think he'd stop – "
"Yes, he would," Duo cut in. "He's way too smart for that. He'd check with us first."
"If somebody interfered with the communication lines, and Heero couldn't reach us – "
And within five seconds, everyone except for Relena and the children were in a yelling fit, fighting across the table, arguing back and forth about what Heero would or wouldn't do. It went on, for what seemed like almost forever to Relena, until she could stand it no more. The things they were speaking of – they were the things she had feared the most since leaving him at that Colony. Suddenly, she realized she couldn't take any more, and abruptly, she stood.
Silence fell instantly; her movement was so quick and abrupt that the chair toppled over, hitting the floor with a crash. Amy looked up at her mother worriedly. Relena's fists were clenched, her breath coming slightly ragged. "I think we should be going now."
Immediately, the group realized what they had done. Zechs's look of irritation disappeared to an expression of deep concern, and Hilde said, "Oh, Re, we didn't mean –"
Relena shook her head, cutting her off. "It's nothing," she said, her face devoid of emotion. "We should just leave early. I need to pick up a few things at the store, anyway."
The wives exchanged glances at that comment, but said nothing.
Duo stood, too, looking worried. "You sure you don't want me to drive you home, Re?"
She shook her head, urging Amy out of her chair. "No, that's all right. I'm fine, really. We should – we should just…just get home[sk1] ."
19:42 PM
All in all, it had been a rather uneventful day. After calling the pilots on the vidcam, talking to Relena for a while, he had gone outside of the small hotel he was staying in and headed straight for the restaurant where he and Relena had first seen the mysterious man.
The cold had driven many people back inside their homes for the day; for some reason, the temperature on the Colony had plummeted severely. Heero, bundled up in the heaviest coat he owned, wrapped his hands around his cup of Italian cocoa and relished the warmth emanating from the mug. It was the third of November, and in a month it would be Christmastime.
Sitting back, still studying the few people around him closely, Heero sank into his memories – recent ones, of course. Last Christmas, Amy had been three, and she was in the stage where she possessed an immense and uncontrollable desire to destroy every last thing she was in reach of around the house. Relena had been forced to move the presents from under the tree to on a shelf behind it instead, and the bottom two feet of their Christmas tree had been completely devoid of any and all ornaments.
It had been a wonderful day, though. Heero loved Christmas – a realization he had discovered only in the past few years – and it always made him think of his and Relena's first. That had easily been one of the best days of his life, their first Christmas together; sitting around the tree early in the morning, married not quite five months, tossing presents back and forth and laughing, so full of life and love.
Woman with bright pink scarf, Heero noted mentally, his eyes following her as she strode down the street. Teenager on a bike, black hat.
After presents in the morning, everyone had come over and spent the day preparing for the dinner that evening. The babies – everyone had had one, except for them at that time – had been laid down next to each other on the floor of the living room, and the adults had spent the day sitting around the fire, taking shifts in the kitchen. That had been the day Relena had announced she was four months pregnant – news to everyone, including Heero. Duo had said that he rarely laughed as hard as he had laughed that day, watching the look on Heero's face as he realized he was going to become a daddy.
Old man, bifocals and cane.
And then, only five months later, on April 18th, Amy had been born. Only his wedding day was a candidate in comparison against the anxiety he felt that day in the hospital. He remembered vividly the millions of steps he had used pacing the waiting room as they prepped Relena for labor, and then the near-stopping of his heart as the nurse urged him into the room. Heero rubbed his thumb against the palm of his right hand subconsciously; the hand Relena had squeezed during labor, the hand that hurt so badly immediately afterward that he nearly dropped his new baby girl when the nurse handed her to him.
Two teenage girls, three boys with backpacks.
But oh, the feeling that slammed into his heart when he held Amy for the very first time; Heero was overwhelmed with emotions he never knew existed. One sensation he did remember was an overpowering sense of incredulity; imagine, the thought of he, Heero Yuy – the Perfect Soldier, the weapon of war, the machine, the unfeeling, cold, antisocial killer – was holding his own sweet little daughter. He had gone from staring at her perfect, tiny face to slowly sliding his gaze to Relena, exhausted and sweaty on the hospital bed, but her eyes alight with so much happiness that Heero fell in love with her all over again.
Woman – no, a man – wait, a woman…? Black clothes…spikes…well, I won't be forgetting that one soon.
That had easily been the best day of his life. Nothing had come even close in comparison since then, and certainly not before then. Shuddering, Heero turned away from thoughts of his first twenty years and focused on the task at hand.
There, that's an easy one: that's an…interesting shade of blue on a person's hair.
For a brief second, an image flashed through his mind of Duo, grinning, elbowing him as they walked down the main street near Zech's mansion, as a bunch of vividly-dyed adults strode past. The braided pilot had cracked jokes about that for days afterwards, much to Heero's supposed annoyance but secret amusement.
Heero grinned involuntarily. Ah, Duo. If there was anyone that mattered to him as much as Relena and Amy did, it was Duo. Most of his life as a Gundam pilot, Heero had regarded Duo as the biggest annoyance and pest known to mankind. The incessantly cheerful pilot would in no way leave him alone, creating a world of problems for Heero. He knew no one else that attracted trouble like Duo did.
Young couple, two little girls, scarves and gloves.
But he also knew no one else that could cheer him up like Duo – excepting his family, naturally. Through every hard time in Heero's life, Duo had been there to either cheer him up or yell at him until Heero grudgingly began to see Duo's point of view on the situation. Five years ago, when Heero had been reunited with Relena for the first time in seven years, it had been Duo who had began to crumble the walls surrounding Heero's heart.
Realizing that he was being very uncharacteristically sentimental, Heero grinned a little at himself and shifted positions to better see the street.