Dearka & Miriallia
Author's Note: Thank you all for your condolences, you guys have made me feel a lot better. I'm sorry for depressing everyone. And I'm sorry for not waiting too long for other reviewers on last chapter, but I promised to get this one up quickly. Depending on the review speed, I will work on getting the next chapter up. Thanks again for the support everyone!
Disclaimer: It is obvious by now if I'm here that I do not own Gundam SEED, Gundam SEED Destiny or any other Gundam Series. But any characters I create to place in this world are mine (But I don't mind if you guys want to use them too. I have no problem with that. You don't even need to ask me. I enjoy sharing to make other stories the best they can be.)
Chapter 21
A Lion Versus A Tiger
"I guess Annabella looks a lot more like Dearka than even I thought if mom could see the resemblance right when she walked through the door," Miriallia thought.
For a few minutes they sat in silence until Mrs. Haw spoke up.
"So, what is your name again dear?" she asked politely.
Mr. Haw was still fuming in his chair. If looks could kill, Dearka would have been dead by now.
"Um, Dearka," he replied softly.
The last time Miriallia had seen Dearka so shy was when he was imprisoned on the Archangel and he tried to get her to tell him about Tolle.
"That's a very nice name," she said.
"Thanks," he replied.
More silence fell upon the group.
"So how was your trip mom?" Miriallia asked nervously.
"It was nice. We had a good time," she replied.
"That's good," Miriallia said elbowing Dearka.
He looked over at her in confusion.
"What the hell does she want me to say?" he thought.
"Uh, where did you go?" he asked.
"I don't think that is any of your business," Mr. Haw stated sternly.
"Honey please, show some manners," Mrs. Haw reacted.
Dearka put his head down and just stared at the ground. What he wouldn't give to beat the man to a pulp right about now.
"If only I didn't promise Miriallia I wouldn't fight back. Damn it!" he thought.
"Manners? You think I should show manners to the kid that knocked up our daughter and then ran out on her," he yelled standing up.
"Daddy!" Miriallia cried.
Dearka could feel the threat looming over him and wasn't pleased.
"Good job Dearka. You knew this was going to happen. Why did you ever agree to that stupid plan of Miriallia's? Well, that's easy, because you love her you idiot," he thought.
"Don't you daddy me young lady," he scolded.
She stood from her spot almost panicked showing Dearka her terror from her father's tirade.
"Let's go Dearka," she ordered with the fear still present in her eyes.
"Huh? But I thought you wanted to tell them about Annabella," he slipped out evilly.
Mrs. Haw's eyes widened.
"What about Annabella?" she asked.
"It's nothing that concerns you!" Miriallia shot back.
"Don't you dare speak to your mother in that tone," Mr. Haw yelled.
Dearka stayed in his spot on the couch and refused to move. Although he could do without being in the middle of her family squabble, he felt he couldn't leave without getting an opportunity to say what he really thought. He had been present for enough of his own and was positive he would be able to handle it.
"What are you doing?" Miriallia asked.
Dearka looked at her with a renewed courage. He couldn't believe Miriallia had stood up for him and realized no matter what she said or what lies they told, Mr. Haw wouldn't accept him because of his previous relationship with Miriallia two years ago. She had given him the reason he was waiting for to stand up for himself.
"We're not leaving until we tell them the truth," he stated.
"Are you crazy?" she asked.
Dearka stood from his spot now towering over Mr. Haw. There was no reason for him to play shy anymore. Miriallia had already taken the first step allowing Dearka to fight without her realizing it.
"Here's the deal. If you sit down, I'll tell you about Annabella. If you don't, we walk out that door and so help me God, you will never see her again," Dearka threatened.
Mrs. Haw was taken aback at this turnaround of power and Mr. Haw just glared at him before taking his seat.
"Well, he isn't as timid as I thought he was," Mrs. Haw thought.
Mr. Haw realized he was defeated for the moment. Miriallia looked up at Dearka while taking a seat again with a look in her eyes that showed how afraid of him she was currently.
"I'm so sorry Mir. I didn't want to scare you, but if you are going to walk out that door anyway, then there is no reason for me not to be straightforward," he thought.
Dearka sat back down next to Miriallia and stared at her parents intently.
"If you think some punk kid is going to come into my home and threaten my family, you have another thing coming," Mr. Haw yelled from his chair.
"Well, first of all, let's clarify things. I'm not some punk kid. I'm Annabella's father, a Coordinator and a soldier of the ZAFT military," he replied.
Miriallia threw her hands to her face when he mentioned his status.
"What is he doing?" she thought exasperated.
"Your daughter decided it was best not to tell you the entire truth about me in the past and I can see why from how you acted the minute you found out who you thought I was. And now you have made me see that it didn't matter what we told you, because you were never going to accept me," he answered.
Mrs. Haw just stared at her distraught daughter before looking back at the young man slightly pleased.
"Why don't we start at the beginning? I didn't meet her in the beginning of the war, I met her in the middle of it and we weren't friends. We were enemies and I was a prisoner at the time. Things happened and I changed my views on the war because of her influence and joined the Clyne faction that worked with the Archangel. Miriallia and I became closer and that's how Annabella entered the picture," he stated the short version.
Miriallia could feel her anger rising again. She had specifically told Dearka not to do this. She couldn't even imagine what her father was thinking at that moment.
"It would have been better if we just left," she thought trying to keep her face hidden.
"Now for the part you really want to hear. You're daughter brought Annabella to San Juko to get some pictures of an EAF facility for her job. She was spotted by the EAF and saved by my ZAFT forces that were on a mission there. On the base was the first time we had met since the Archangel. Since those two years we were apart, I was engaged to a young woman for political purposes back on PLANT much to my dismay," Dearka continued.
Miriallia felt like she was going to faint now and peeked her eyes through her spreading fingers. She could see her father's anger and her mother's concern.
"Why are you doing this Dearka? There is nothing to gain by telling them this way," she thought.
"Apparently, my fiancée over heard our conversation when I first learned I was Annabella's father and took off with her to the PLANTs. We are going up there to find her and bring Annabella back safely," he finished.
"Thank God he didn't tell them we slept together again," she thought.
"So, you don't know where they are right now? Aren't there almost ten settlements for each city in the PLANTs?" Mrs. Haw asked.
Dearka looked up at her with amazement that she knew those facts.
"Yes there are," he answered politely.
"Then how can you find Annabella?" she asked.
"Well, he has a friend mom who found her already and they are tracking her everywhere she goes until we can get up there," Miriallia jumped in.
"Look, I know the two of you don't like me and have had your minds made up about me for two years now, but I don't want anything to happen to Annabella. I would give my life to protect my daughter now that I know of her existence. If I had known about her back then, I wouldn't have let things come to this. I wouldn't have agreed to my parents arranged marriage and I would have stayed with Miriallia," Dearka said in earnest.
"Seems we agree on something," Mr. Haw said as he stood from his chair and walked out of the room.
Miriallia raised her head in amazement when her father did this. Mrs. Haw stood and walked to the foyer as her husband walked up the stairs.
"I need to go clear my head," Mr. Haw said quietly to Mrs. Haw.
"What just happened?" Dearka whispered to Miriallia.
Mrs. Haw turned around and re-entered the living room.
"It seems you may have made a connection with Miriallia's father. Although, I don't approve of the way you did it," Mrs. Haw said with a playful wink.
Dearka looked back at Mir with confusion.
"Daddy just basically accepted you, well, sort of," Miriallia said with a smile.
She threw her arms around Dearka's neck with excitement. Dearka began to blush feeling Mrs. Haw smile upon him while Miriallia was crushing him from the embarrassment.
"You must have gotten to him when you said you would protect your daughter," Mrs. Haw said.
"I can't believe it. You actually broke through that wall my dad puts up to every guy I've ever been with," Miriallia said shocked.
"Every guy? You mean there were others besides…" Dearka started.
"A few before and after," she winked.
"Great. That bit of information would have been nice to know earlier. Hey where do you get off yelling at me about Cadey then?" Dearka asked irritated.
Miriallia waved her finger at him.
"Now, now, don't tell me you are jealous Dearka Elsman," she replied teasing him.
Mrs. Haw walked out of the room to give them some privacy.
Simultaneously on Martius 1…
"This girl is ridiculous. Does she really think I don't see her following me for the past two days?" Cadey thought.
"Come on Emma, I think this is not a good place for us to stay. I know someone who will know a better spot," she told Annabella.
She walked back to the house and grabbed a suitcase after closing all the blinds.
"Yzak, Cadey is up to something. I think she finally caught on that she was being tailed. I wouldn't be surprised if she runs again," Shiho reported.
"What's she doing now?" Yzak asked.
"She drew the blinds shut throughout the house. I don't know what she is doing but she may be packing," Shiho replied.
"Keep your eye on her. I'll send some more people down to help you. We can't let her get away," Yzak said concerned.
"I'll be waiting," Shiho answered.
A half hour later…
Inside Cadey was finished packing the suitcase with things she had recently bought for Annabella.
"I'm not letting them take you away from me Emma. You are my only link to your father," Cadey told the baby.
Annabella just sat on the floor and played with all her remaining new toys Cadey had purchased for her a couple days ago on their shopping spree. Cadey got on the phone with a very close friend to ask for some assistance.
"Kelley, please help me out. I need to get out of here. You are the only one who knew where I was, but somehow that girl found out. I think she is attached to Yzak in some way," Cadey informed her friend.
"Isn't Yzak, Dearka's best friend?" Kelley asked.
"Yeah, unfortunately," Cadey replied.
"Then don't you think Dearka is looking for you himself?" she asked.
"No, he's probably still on Earth with that fiancée stealing tramp. But I know he'll come around soon. I just need to stay out of sight until he does. If Yzak and his minions get me and Emma first, I'll never win him back," Cadey answered.
"Fine, leave the bags by the back door. I'll get a ticket ready for you at the self check-in at the port so you don't have to wait in any lines. Go to December 4 and go to my family's cottage in the mountains. You remember it don't you?" Kelley asked.
"Yup, how could I forget?" she replied.
"I can't believe I'm helping you with this wacky plan of yours," Kelley stated.
"It's not wacky. You'll see, I'll have Dearka back soon," Cadey answered.
"I'll be waiting to see it happen for myself. I'll come by and pick up your bags after the person tailing you follows. Head out now and I will be there in a few minutes," Kelley replied.
"Thank you for helping me Kelley and thank you for staying on Martius 1 with me for the past two days," Cadey replied.
"What are friends for if not to help in some crazy illegal schemes," Kelley joked.
"It's not illegal," Cadey answered.
"Have you lost it? Kidnapping is illegal even on the PLANTs!" Kelley yelled.
"Not necessarily. If you think about it, Emma is going to be my stepdaughter. I'm engaged to her father, therefore, making it legal," Cadey rationalized.
Kelley was about to speak again and then decided it was best not to.
"Just be here soon. I'm heading out the door with Emma now," Cadey stated.
Cadey left the house and walked down the street to catch a taxi.
"Now what is she up to?" Shiho thought.
Shiho immediately got back on her communicator to Yzak.
"Yeah," came an aggravated response.
"She's on her way to catch a taxi. Where the hell are those men you were sending?" Shiho asked angrily.
"They are on their way. It's not easy to transfer them from a battleship to a random PLANT you know," Yzak said in irritation.
"Well, she's going to get away," Shiho responded as she tried to grab a taxi herself.
"Did she have any bags?" Yzak asked.
"No," Shiho said.
"Then, what makes you think she is on the run again?" he asked.
Shiho squinted her eyes at his question. She was able to catch a taxi while getting ready to respond.
"Follow that taxi up ahead," she ordered the driver.
"Yes ma'am," came the response.
"Just call it woman's intuition," Shiho replied to Yzak.
Yzak rolled his eyes at her comment from his office on the Voltaire.
"Look, I have a strong feeling she noticed me the past two days and she is on the run. She's run before without any luggage, just because she has stuff at that house she was in doesn't mean she wouldn't leave it behind. You guys are all filthy rich," Shiho scolded.
"Fine, I'll see what I can do," Yzak said before hanging up on her.
"That son of a…" Shiho started.
The taxi stopped and Shiho looked up.
"The other taxi stopped here ma'am," the driver stated.
Shiho handed him her credit card and watched Cadey run out toward a set of metal doors with Annabella in her arms.
"I can't believe he hung up on me," Shiho thought angrily.
As Shiho looked up she saw the sign, she realized she was right.
"Damn! Thank you," Shiho said as she grabbed her card back and exited the taxi.
She ran into the Martius 1 shuttle port and tried to locate Cadey. People were everywhere and she was having trouble seeing through the crowd. Shiho ran through the halls and searched all the check-in counters.
"Is it ever not busy in a shuttle port!" Shiho screamed to herself in irritation.
People began to look at her and she returned their looks with a glare continuing on her way.
"Damn it! She had it planned already. She probably had a ticket ready at the self check-in. Now I'll never find her," Shiho thought furiously now.
She flipped open her communicator and was once again connected with an annoyed Yzak.
"Now what did you do?" Yzak asked.
"What did I do? I'm doing you a favor Yzak. This isn't any official order that you gave me," she reminded him.
"What happened?" Yzak asked sternly.
"She got away. I told you I thought she was running. But of course you never listen. She had it planned from the beginning and must have had a pass waiting for her at the self check-in so I wouldn't be able to find where she was headed. Send your men to the house. Maybe we can find some clues as to where she went," she replied.
"When did you start giving the orders?" Yzak asked irately.
"When you decided you were too good to listen to your girlfriend!" Shiho yelled.
"I don't recall that arrangement," Yzak smirked.
"You are really asking for it Yzak," Shiho threatened.
"I'll send the men over to the house, but in order to do that, we need to hang up," he stated with his smart mouth.
"Fine!" she roared and flipped her communicator closed.
She grabbed another taxi and went back to the house to see if there was anything she could find.
Back at Miriallia's home…
Dearka's cell phone rang in his pocket for the first time in two days. Miriallia looked at him in confusion.
"Hang on," he said as he grabbed the cell phone from his pocket.
Miriallia moved away from him and scrunched herself up on the other side of the couch.
"Hey, what's up?" Dearka asked.
"She's gone. She realized she was being followed and Shiho tried to keep up with her, but that girl of yours was a bit too clever for her," Yzak replied.
"How so?" Dearka inquired curiously.
"When she realized she was being followed, she took the kid and caught a taxi to the shuttle port. The thing is, she had a ticket waiting for her so that Shiho wouldn't have time to catch up or see where she was headed," Yzak replied.
"The kid has a name and it's Annabella," Dearka stated angrily at his friend.
"Yeah, yeah, fine. She took ANNABELLA and I can't locate her name on any itinerary so she is definitely using an alias. She has a few of them from what I can tell. None of the passenger names match from the few flights she escaped on," Yzak informed him.
"Then there is someone helping her," Dearka concluded.
"I can't see how she could pull THIS off by herself. Not to mention when Shiho informed me she was on the run, she said she had no bags, but there isn't anything but the furniture left in the house she was staying in. The toys and clothes are all gone," Yzak stated.
"She bought Annabella furniture?" Dearka asked feeling a little more confident that Annabella was doing all right.
Miriallia listened to the conversation intently trying to piece together the puzzle from the one side she could hear.
"That's not the only thing. Shiho said she renamed your little girl. She is calling her Emma," Yzak said.
"Emma?" Dearka asked in confusion.
"Shiho says she thinks Cadey has really lost it. She thinks you three will be a happy family once you get back up here. She's waiting for you to show up and I wouldn't put anything past her right now. I think to be on the safe side, you should wait there until we locate her again so she can't get the jump on you. You never know who is helping her here and you and that Natural girl of yours will be prime targets right now," Yzak said.
"Yeah, I guess you are right. Damn her!" Dearka said contemplatively.
"Just sit back and relax. If I need to extend your leave for this, so be it. We'll find her and then you can get back up here to the PLANTs and finally come back to work," Yzak said.
"Thanks again, I owe you," Dearka said.
"Yes you do. I'll keep you updated and I'm going to collect," Yzak replied.
He hung up his cell phone and looked at Miriallia again.
"To answer your question from before, no," he scolded her.
"Who was that?" Miriallia asked forgetting what she was teasing him about previously.
"Yzak. It turns out Cadey realized she was being followed and ran from Martius 1. No doubt she is trying to find another place she can hide. But I don't think Yzak will be able to track her down so easily this time," Dearka stated.
"Well, what should we do then?" Miriallia asked.
"If I show up right now, Cadey may do something stupid. She may even have someone try to hurt you or me for that matter," Dearka cringing at the thought.
"Maybe we should stay here until she is located again and then head out to get her," Miriallia answered.
"That seems like the best option, but I have a feeling Yzak and Shiho aren't too happy with me," Dearka explained.
"But he is your best friend, right? He should do it, no questions asked. We can wait here until they find something. I can show you around Orb or something," Miriallia replied.
Dearka began to feel a little uncomfortable at her proposal.
"Yzak is already working on it. He has never let me down but where would we stay?" he asked.
"Why not stay here. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to intrude," Mrs. Haw replied entering the room with some drinks.
"That's okay, but here?" Dearka asked in shock.
"Sure, why not? You are Annabella's father and you have proved yourself worthy enough to my husband for the time being," she replied.
"That's a great idea mom," Miriallia said with excitement.
"This is another recipe for disaster," Dearka thought.
"Oh, but what about the dedication ceremony on the PLANTs. Don't you have to be at that?" Miriallia asked.
Mrs. Haw put the drinks down on the table.
"Thank you," Dearka replied.
"Oh, it's no trouble," Mrs. Haw said before exiting the room again.
"Are you listening to me Dearka?" Miriallia asked irritated.
"Yeah, I was trying to be polite your highness," he answered mocking her.
She rolled her eyes at him in annoyance.
"The dedication ceremony isn't for another month and a half," he replied.
"Wow, it's that far away?" she asked.
"Well, that much time doesn't really seem that long to a soldier of ZAFT. We are always so busy that it flies by," he replied.
"Oh," Miriallia said.
"I'll still take you if you want to go. That is if your father will let me take you anywhere," Dearka said sincerely.
"You are amazing," she said jumping into his arms.
"Yeah, I've been told that," Dearka teased as he held her tight.
She was about to kiss him when they both heard a throat clear.
"Daddy," Miriallia said letting go of Dearka quickly.
He could feel the heat rushing to his face again. Her father entered the room and sat down across from the two lovers.
"Here's the deal young man. You will stay here with our family until you get information on my granddaughter. But, I will be watching you like a hawk. Do you understand?" he asked.
"Yes sir," Dearka replied courteously.
"Miriallia, there will be no more of this behavior from you either," he said accusingly.
Miriallia blinked in confusion.
"No more jumping all over him and you will both keep your hands to yourselves under my roof. I realize you two have probably already had more premarital relations since you found each other again, but this is my home and my rules. Is that understood by both of you?" he asked setting down his ground rules.
"Yes sir," Dearka replied again.
"It's best not to stir things up again. I think I've done enough of that to last me a lifetime in this family," he thought.
Miriallia was about to protest when she felt Dearka tap her gently. She looked at him and decided to follow his lead on this.
"Yes daddy," she said.
"Good. Dearka, follow me," he said as he stood from his seat.
Dearka stood up to follow feeling a little insecure again at the turn things had taken all from the moment he said he would protect his own daughter with his life.
"Daddy? Where are you taking him?" Miriallia asked standing up herself.
"Well, he needs a place to sleep, doesn't he? Why don't you go help your mother in the kitchen Miriallia? We have a few more things to discuss," Mr. Haw replied.
Dearka looked back at her and nodded that he would be okay. Miriallia shrugged and headed into the kitchen to help her mother.
"Sir? What else do we have to discuss?" Dearka asked sounding innocent now.
"I'm not falling for that routine. Too many people have tried to pull that off. Besides, you've already shown me your vicious side and I have to say I'm impressed with the way you handled yourself," he said walking toward the stairs.
Dearka followed closely behind as they made their way through the hallway.
"Once again, I think I've gotten myself into trouble," Dearka thought.
End
Author's Preview: Here comes the new twist in the next chapter. Stay tuned to find out what it is. Please read and review for me so I can continue on my happy way.
Reviewer Response: Hello to all my wonderful reviewers. Thank you so much for all your support and reviews on all my chapters thus far. I love you all so much! Unfortunately due to possible changes in TOS (which is still unconfirmed) all responses are now located on my personal website. Please click on my profile page to link to the website. Thank you.