A/N I'm dreadfully sorry this took so long to put up. The stories been completed for months, I've just been busy with other things and it got put on the back burner. As an apology, I'm posting the rest of the story all in one huge update. Again, my apologies.

Promises

Chapter 4

Trowa watched as Megan's fingers flew over the keyboard. Her demeanor had improved drastically over the last 2 months. She even laughed occasionally. At dinner the previous night celebrating the homecoming of Catherine and Abdul from tour with the circus, she had conversed with the rest of the extended family. After the conversation revealing the truth about their pasts, she had withdrawn for a few days. Quatre revealed to him later that he had never felt such conflicting emotions from their daughter, but they seemed to be calming as time went on.

Now, they were finishing the last chapter of their collaborative effort on a mystery novel. Megan had been focused, throwing herself into their work with a vengeance he had not realized she possessed. He watched his daughter proudly as she pushed the laptop across the table to him, so he could read the paragraph she'd written. He read silently and then smiled to himself. Megan drummed her perfectly manicured fingers on the worktable until finally Trowa could stand it no longer. "Honey, why don't you take a break. You're looking a little pale. Did you skip breakfast again?"

She shook her head. "I ate a banana."

"A banana is not breakfast. You've been feeling under the weather for a week. I think you should make an appointment with Sally."

"No, I'm sure it's just stress. Papa. We've got this deadline looming and I want to get done. Maybe after we're finished, I'll take a little vacation by myself. I could use some time away from the chaos."

Quatre chose that moment to knock on the door and stick his head in. "Megan, I just wanted you to know that I set you up an appointment with Sally. She was able to fit you in at 11, so you'd better get going."

Trowa arched a brow as he wondered just how worried Quatre was to risk Megan's wrath in such a foolish move. Sure enough, she grew visibly agitated. "I'm fine. Would you please stop harping, Babu?"

"No, I will not stop harping." He glared at her sternly. "You're pale, you're not eating and you're barely sleeping. I want you healthy."

Megan sighed heavily. "Will you promise to leave me alone if I go?"

Quatre nodded happily. "Yes. I swear. I won't even ask what Sally says. Do we have a deal?"

Megan grumbled but accepted as she glanced at her watch and rose from the chair. "I'd better go. It's after 10 now."

Trowa watched her go, leaning back in his chair. He was really worried about that child. She simply hadn't been the same.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

Megan watched the clock closely. She'd been sitting in the office for the better part of an hour, waiting for her parent's lifelong friend, who was also her physician. The exam had been quick enough, leading the blonde woman to demand blood samples for further testing. Megan was simply waiting for the results. She scratched her head irritably. Why was everyone spazzing out over a simple little virus? It was just stress… or a stomach bug. She'd been sick for weeks, but hadn't lost weight. In fact she'd gained 3 pounds.

There was a short knock at the door and Sally let herself in. Megan tossed aside the well-thumbed issue of People Magazine and crossed her legs at the ankles to regard Sally, frown firmly in place. The woman took a seat on the rolling stool and opened the files, her expression serious. "Megan, why didn't you tell me you were sexually active?"

Megan blinked. What? "I'm sorry. I didn't know it was anyone's business. It was only one night. That hardly constitutes regular sexual activity."

"Well, I wish you would have told me. What method of birth control did you use?"

"Birth control?" Megan echoed, her confusion mounting.

Sally spoke impatiently. "Yes, birth control. You didn't have unpr…." The clear unlined blue orbs widened in shock and realization. "Meggie, you had unprotected sex your first time out?"

"It wasn't like that… okay… neither of us really thought about it. Besides my chances of getting pregnant are so slim it didn't seem to matter. You said yourself that my periods would never be exactly regular and to get pregnant I'd probably have to use fertility drugs. So what does it matter. Did I get an STD or something? I hardly think that Wu…" Megan caught herself. "I hardly think that would be the case. The person I was with was clean. I know this for a fact."

Sally's eyes narrowed. "Who was it?"

Megan threw her hands up and rose from the chair. "That's it. I'm leaving. If you want to waste my time, today's not a good day. I have a deadline and a lot of work left to do."

"Sit down." Sally spoke firmly.

Megan frowned, something in the doctor's tone holding her back. She sat once again. Sally drew in a deep breath. "I won't mince words. You're 9 weeks pregnant, Meg."

Her breath caught in her throat. "What? That's not possible!" She rose form her seat again. "How is that possible? You said I couldn't…"

"I know what I said… and obviously Nature has a different way of doing things in your case than we thought. The question now is what do you want to do about it?"

Megan's head was spinning. "I'm… I hadn't considered it. Can I… just take a walk?"

"Sure. There's no hurry. Maria will give you an information kit on your way out." Sally's disapproval was hard to take, almost as hard as the news. "And I hope to God you make the right decision for your sake and Wufei's."

Her eyes nailed Sally. The other woman had always been perceptive. It was uncanny. "How did you…"

"I'm not an idiot. You barely stopped yourself from saying his name and he's been just as miserable as you the last couple of months. Now, I'm obligated not to say anything to anyone now that you're a legal adult… but I'd advise you to be extremely careful. This decision you have to make will change your life, and his. No matter what you decide." Sally rose from the stool and with those words, strode from the room.

Megan rose from the chair and made her way out of the office, barely listening as Maria gave her the necessary information packet about her "condition". She clutched the opaque white plastic bag as she made her way out onto the city streets. Her head was swimming with the shock of what Sally had said. She was pregnant. The word echoed in her mind, mocking her as though sealing her doom.

But was it doom? Her fathers would be furious when they found out. No… furious was too strong a term. Disappointed and upset but not furious. They would demand to know the details. Details that she was not ready to share with anyone. She walked blindly, barely pausing for the crosswalk signs. She found herself, oddly enough, in front of Alex's building. She sighed heavily and stared at the door. Alex would be disappointed too. Megan flexed her fisted hands and spun on heel, heading back to her car.

Once inside it, she started the car with trembling hands, cranking the air conditioner to it's highest setting. She stared at the bag she'd tossed onto the passenger seat and reached for it, letting the brochures and instruction sheets flutter into her lap. She ground her teeth as she lifted the one on top.

"Your Healthy Pregnancy." Megan muttered the words to herself as she flipped the booklet open. The picture on the first page showed a picture of a serene mother cradling a sleeping newborn. Megan tossed it aside and reached for the second one. "Prenatal Care and you."

She tossed that one aside as well and lifted the last one. "Unplanned Miracles." At this point she was physically resisting the urge to bang her head repeatedly into the steering wheel. She reached for the bag once more and gathered up the papers and brochures, shoving them unceremoniously into the bag. A rattling noise from the bag caught her ear. She explored it further and pulled out two bottles of pills. One of prenatal vitamins and one of folic acid.

Megan closed her eyes and pushed the offending bottles back into the bag. She reached for her cell phone and dialed information. As she waited for the call to go through, she scanned the street before her distractedly.

"Information."

"I need a travel agency."

"Any particular one?"

Megan bit her lower lip. If she bought the ticket on the internet, her father's would undoubtedly trace the website down and get the information. She hesitated only a moment longer. "The last one on the list, please."

"That would be Omega Travel, one moment for that listing." There was a click, the a robotic voice recited the number in her ear.

She waited for the connection and was rewarded with a lyrically accented voice. "Omega Travel, this is Andrea, how can I help you today?"

"I need to book a flight and hotel, please."

"And where are you traveling to?" Megan's brain suddenly kicked into gear with that question.

She was really going to do this. She'd never run from anything in her life, and now seemed like as good a time as any to start. Her voice was resolute as she answered. "Beijing."

"And when will you be traveling?"

"As soon as possible." Megan crossed her fingers, praying silently that she could leave today. She needed a head start before her parents realized what she'd done.

The sound of typing paused on the other end. "I have a flight leaving today at 4:53 PM out of Peacecraft International Airport. There are seats available in first class sleeper, business class and economy. What is your preference?"

"First sleeper, please."

"One moment. May I have your name please?"

Here, Megan felt a slight panic edging in. She hadn't thought of that. She gritted her teeth. "Can you hold on just a moment?"

"Of course."

Megan leaned over to the glove box and popped it open, extracting the brown wrapped bundle clearly labeled for emergencies. She ripped it open and flipped through the sealed envelopes. Each of the envelopes contained the equivalent of a new identity. Driver's licenses, credit cards and most importantly, passports. She'd never understood the purpose of having so many potential aliases. Given Babu's standing in the business world and the potential for kidnapping when she was younger, she could understand it now. But 10 separate envelopes?

She grabbed one at random and quoted the name labeled on the front. "Kiseki Bloom."

"Will you spell the first name for me please?"

Megan spelled the name carefully, making sure the woman didn't mess it up. She bit her lower lip as Andrea quoted the astronomical price. It would make a major dent in the credit limit on Kiseki's MasterCard. She decided then and there that paying in cash would be the best thing. She confirmed the flight and promised to pick her ticket up at the office in less than an hour. She had to hurry to make it to the bank and there and then to her flight. She thanked the woman and disconnected the call, putting the car into drive with a lighter heart.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Quatre cradled a sleeping Mariam gently, bottled perched expertly with his free hand as he cradled the cordless phone between his cheek and shoulder. "All right, Alex. Thank you. If you hear from her, please let us know."

"Sure thing, Mr. Winner." The young man on the other end hung up. Trowa approached Quatre from behind and took the phone, hanging up the call. He glanced at the other two infants who slept peacefully in their cribs as Quatre moved to the third and gently lowered the little girl into her own.

They exited the room in silence. Quatre leaned against the door for a moment, listening carefully. It was silent. "What did Alex say?"

"Nothing. The same thing all her friends said. The same thing Sally said. Where is she Trowa? It's after two in the morning. Where could she be?" Quatre's distress was obvious as he paced the length of their bedroom.

Trowa stared at the phone in his hands and shook his head. "She said she was stressed, that she was thinking of taking some time out after we finished the book. Maybe she just decided to check into a hotel for the night. I think we should give her more time."

"No, Trowa. It's been 16 hours since she left the house. She was only going to the doctor. She'd have called if she was going to be late. She could be lying somewhere hurt, or worse."

"Quatre, love, please you need to calm down. You know yourself that you'd have felt it if she were in danger or upset. Is she either right now?"

Quatre shook his head vehemently. "You don't understand, Trowa. I can't feel her at all. There's no more connection. It's just gone. I didn't feel anything happen to her, so we know she's alive… but I can't feel her at all. That means there's something not right here."

Cerulean eyes watched as Trowa dropped onto the chaise at the foot of their bed. The taller man remained pensive. Quatre could clearly feel the connection to his husband, as well as to all the other children and pilots. But his oldest daughter, her empathic signature was nowhere to be found. Quatre spoke again. "It's like she just disappeared." He surged forward and pulled the phone from Trowa's hand. "I'm calling Sally again."

"Quatre, please. She doesn't know anything." Trowa ran a hand through his hair, a habit borne long ago in reflex to anxiety. It was the same thing the Megan did when she was upset.

Quatre shook his head. "No. I'll apologize for waking her up, but I want to exhaust all possibilities. The police won't help since she's of age. The Preventer's don't do missing persons cases unless she's been missing 72 hours. And I'm not waiting that long."

Trowa exhaled heavily and let his slender frame fall against the back of the chaise. "Fine."

Quatre dialed the number from heart and waited while it rang. It took five rings before a very groggy Sally Po picked up. "Someone had better be bleeding, dying or dead."

"Sally, it's Quatre. I'm sorry to call you so late, but it's urgent."

The doctor suddenly sounded more awake. "What's wrong?"

"It's Megan. She hasn't come home and none of her friends have seen her. Please, Sally if she was upset when she left your office I need to know why."

Sally's voice was regretful as she spoke. "She was a little upset, but she seemed to be in control of herself. I'm sorry, Quatre. I wish I could help you more."

Quatre could feel his heart breaking. He sank onto the chaise next to his lover and choked back a sob. "Sally, please… tell me what happened."

She sighed heavily on her end. "Quatre, I wish I could tell you, God I wish I could. But I can't break that confidentiality, you know that. Have you tried Wufei, yet?"

"Wufei?" He rubbed his eye wearily. "What does he have to do with any of this?"

Sally seemed to hesitate. "Didn't Megan consider him to be… special to her? Maybe she would go there."

"No, she hasn't spoken to him or of him in months. I doubt she'd be there." A strangled sob of frustration escaped him.

"You might be surprised just how close they really are, Quatre." Sally suggested gently. "I'm sorry to do this, but I have to be at HQ at 6 and I need to get some sleep. Call me in the morning if you don't find her."

"Of course, Sally." He struggled to regain his composure. He hung up and dropped the phone onto the chaise next to them.

What did Sally mean? Closer… to Wufei? Megan knew she could tell them anything without fear of judgment, she'd never kept secrets from them, even if she thought they wouldn't approve. Their daughter was a responsible, level-headed young woman. She'd put thoughts of pursuing anything with Wufei out of her head after their revealing conversation two months ago. The next morning, she'd slept until nearly noon and woken with a shadow of a smile on her face. She'd been steadily improving since then as she worked through what she now knew about them all.

He needed answers… and he needed them now. Decision made, Quatre rose from the sofa, face set in steely determination. There was no sign of his former frustration or anger. If Megan was with Wufei, he'd go over there and retrieve her, as simple as that. If she wasn't… well he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

Wufei. Quatre could gladly cause his long-time friend grievous bodily injury for being the spring board for his child's long bout with misery. He resolutely reached for his car keys. "I'm going to the city. Stay here with the kids and call me if Megan shows up."

Trowa frowned at him, startled at the sudden change in demeanor. "Where are you going?"

Quatre was at the door before he turned, an eerie smile gracing his handsome features. "I'm going to pay Wufei a little visit." He watched impassively as his husband nodded, making no move to stop him.

"If that's what you need to do." Trowa sighed and reached for the phone. "I'm contacting Rashid. There's a shuttle from L4 leaving in a couple of hours he can be here by mid-morning."

"Do it." Quatre turned on heel and made his way swiftly from the room.

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Wufei scowled into his pillow. Something had woken him from a very sound sleep and interrupted his dream. His very good dream. He waited. Sure enough there it was again. A distinct banging on his front door. He growled menacingly and threw back the duvet. He rose from the bed, pulling on the discarded sleep pants as he went.

The pounding continued as he made his way to the door. "All right, I'm coming." He snapped as he unlocked the deadbolt and cracked the door. To his shock, Quatre Winner stood on the other side, his expression just short of rage.

Wufei groaned and shut the door unlocking the chain lock and pulling the door open. "There had better be a damn good reason you're waking the entire building at 3:30 in the morning, Winner."

Quatre's hand shot out and pushed the door all the way open, pushing Wufei aside roughly as he entered the apartment uninvited. "Where is she?"

Wufei blinked, his surprise by the rude entry outweighed by his natural state of anger at being woken. "Where is who?"

"My daughter, Wufei. Where is Megan?" Quatre spun in place, taking in the combined kitchen, dining, and living area as though the person he was seeking would pop out from the pantry to greet him.

The Chinese man frowned. "Megan? I haven't seen her in months. What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Quatre did not answer, but spun on heel and made his way down the short hallway into Wufei's bedroom. Wufei followed, growing more confused by the second. "What the hell is this all about?"

"Where is Megan, Wufei?" Quatre jerked the closet door open and roughly pushed aside the neatly hanging clothing as if she would appear on the shelves behind them. His eyes fell on the floor of the closet where Wufei's shoes were.

Wufei frowned. "She's certainly not in my closet, Quatre. It's not even a walk-in. Now will you kindly tell to me, what is going on?"

He watched as Quatre leaned over and picked something up. Too late, he realized what it was. The sneakers Megan had left at his house after that night.

That one painful, glorious night. The bruises she left on him had lasted for almost two weeks, but the aftershocks of that night stayed with him far longer. And when she at last acquiesced to his demand that she leave before he could damage her further, it was almost 4 am. He'd taken her three times more, each time feeling himself falling further into that trap he'd set for himself. She left smelling of sex and bearing marks all over her tender body. He'd been rough each time, with a brutality that was primitive and savage. And she had not complained or pushed him away. And each time he found his own brand of painful bliss.

Who said love didn't hurt?

Quatre's voice brought him sharply back to reality. "So she has been here."

"She left those here…"

"Shut up, just shut the fuck up." The curse was venomous in it's intensity. Wufei watched in disbelief as Quatre dropped the shoes on Wufei's unmade bed and moved to the dresser, wrenching open drawers. "What else? What else do you have of hers? Hunh? Clothes, pictures…" He methodically ripped the contents from the drawers, flinging neatly pressed t-shirts and pants over the room disregarding Wufei, who stood gaping at him.

He at last stopped when he pulled open Wufei's sock drawer. Wufei's innate embarrassment at this obvious violation of his privacy was squashed promptly by outrage as Quatre lifted something and studied it carefully. The blond man spun to hold up a white camisole top for him to see, his face set in a hard sneer. "What's this?"

Wufei's heart sank in realization of what his friend held. "It's a shirt." His voice was cold, steady.

"It's a women's shirt, more specifically one of Megan's." Quatre balled up the shirt and threw it at Wufei. Wufei did not move under his friend's assault. "Trowa bought it for her birthday."

He turned back to the drawers, and wrenched open the next one. Wufei's eyes widened. He bolted forward. "That's enough, Quatre. That's enough." He grasped Quatre by the wrist, but not before the other man gave a shocked gasp. He roughly pushed Wufei off him, sending him tumbling to the floor.

"You disgust me." Quatre's voice was unrecognizable as he shook the item at him. He snorted. "You keep prizes of all your escapades? Or are these hers too?"

Wufei did not answer as he remained where he was, face aflame.

Quatre's face contorted as he threw the underwear on the bed with the shoes. "You bastard."

x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x x

Quatre cold feel his blood boiling as he stared at Wufei. Suddenly everything clicked into place. Megan had been here. Her clothing was in Wufei's drawers, freshly laundered and waiting for her return. It was as though the other man expected something. But Megan had barely left the house in over 2 months. So it had been at least two months since she'd had any contact with Wufei. Two months… It suddenly made sense. The strange sickness that came and went at the oddest times of the day. Megan eating bananas for breakfast. His daughter hated bananas with a passion. She was pale, sick. A new development.

Her appointment with Sally had upset her enough that she'd disappeared. It was now painfully obvious to him why he'd felt such conflicting emotions from her. It wasn't only her he'd been feeling. He lunged for Wufei, hand reaching for the pistol holstered in the waistband of his pants at the small of his back. Wufei found himself pressed tightly against the floor, Quatre's gun pressed to his temple. Quatre's voice was coldly detached as he spoke. "You raped my child."

"What?" Wufei's voice did not betray any fear, if indeed he felt any. He struggled to free his hands from beneath Quatre's knees. Quatre disengaged the safety on the gun and watched as Wufei squirmed beneath him.

He was surprised by the sudden movement as he found himself tilted backwards and the pistol knocked from his grasp to skitter across the hardwood floor, disappearing beneath the bed. He'd forgotten how fast Wufei could move.

He punched wildly at the other man, taking the opening Wufei let him. His fist connected with Wufei's head with a sickening crack. Pain rocketed through Quatre's chest. He hated fighting with his friends, feeling their pain was always the worst part. He hadn't gotten into a fist fight with Wufei in years.

He swung wildly again, but found his fist caught smoothly. Wufei spoke harshly. "Stop, Quatre. Just stop it, let me speak."

"Why? So you can defend your actions, you cradle-robbing rapist?"

"Stop. I will not say it again and I will not allow you to insult me with such slanderous nonsense in my own home." The words were laced with frustration and Quatre could feel the desperation coming off his life-long friend. He felt his own anger recede a little, enough that he was able to focus on the man who pinned him down.

His voice was now his own, and not the unrecognizable thing he'd heard only moments before. He could hear his own grief and fear as he spoke. "There's nothing you can say that can make this any different, Wufei."

Wufei, now assured there would be no more physical attacks loosened his grip on Quatre's fist, still holding him firmly, but no longer painfully. "You're right. I can't defend myself. And yes, I did sleep with Megan."

The admission rocketed through Quatre, sealing what he had figured out moments before. Wufei continued. "I didn't plan it, and it was a mistake. I realized it almost immediately, but the action was sealed by then. But I certainly did not rape Megan. She came to me. Do you hear me? She offered herself to me. I was drunk and not exactly thinking clearly. By the time I was in control of my senses it was damn near four in the morning. She left and I have not seen or spoken to her since. You have got to believe me, Quatre."

Wufei's regret pervaded Quatre's heart. He knew that his friend was genuinely contrite. He remained silent. "I didn't want to hurt her. That was never my intention, that's why I've stayed away. I don't know why you're here in the middle of the night tearing my home apart and threatening my life, but you're obviously not in your right mind. Whatever Megan's told you, it may be her opinion of what happened, but I did not rape her. She consented quite clearly. I gave her multiple chances to stop what was happening, she took none of them. Now will you kindly tell me why you think she's here?"

"If you let me up, we'll talk."

"Like adults?" Wufei's remark was barbed. "Without firearms?"

"Yes." Quatre muttered darkly.

Wufei was off him immediately, standing over him, extending a hand to help him up. Quatre wasn't ready to forgive him yet. He may not have forced Megan, but he'd certainly behaved badly. Quatre pushed his hand away and rose on his own. "You swear you haven't spoken to her, or seen her."

"Yes. I swear it. I've never lied to you, and I'm not going to start now. What's going on?"

Quatre stared angrily at his friend. "Megan's been sick. She went to see Sally this morning and never came home. She hasn't called. She's just disappeared."

Wufei frowned. "Can't you find her with your… thing?"

"My empathy?" Quatre snorted. Wufei nodded. The blond man shook his head. "It doesn't work like that. It's not a radar. It's only emotions. And no, I can't feel her anymore. She's not dead because I'd have felt her die. But she'd not there at all either."

"Was she horribly ill?" Wufei asked, his concern radiating off him like a beacon.

Quatre pushed down his natural urge to comfort his friend. "I'm not sure. Sally refuses to tell me what was going on, but I think I understand it all now. I'm going to Duo and Heero's next. I'm going to have Duo get me the answers I need."

"How?" Wufei's eyes narrowed.

Quatre's smile was bitter. "By any means necessary. Personally I think it would be easiest to break into her office and just look at the files. But I'm not as good with that as Duo is. He's our resident lock-picker."

"This is not a wise idea." Wufei intoned seriously.

"No, perhaps not." Quatre drew himself to his full height. "But then again it wasn't a wise idea to fuck my daughter either was it? After all, look where that got us."

He turned on heel and strode from the room, letting himself out of the apartment.

x x x x x x x x x x x x

Wufei listened to the front door shut behind the irate Arabian and sank onto the foot of his bed. Sleep would elude him for the rest of the night, he had too much to digest, too much to think about.