Dearka & Miriallia
Author's Note: I am totally dedicating this chapter to Writer of Dreams (she was the one who gave me the courage for one of the scenes last chapter and made the story even better than it was originally planned for so long ago). I'm all starry-eyed at her courage. I didn't get everything in the chapter that I hoped for, but it will be coming in the next few so I'm in a good place. I'm in a great mood and I love the new twist to the plot (thank you Angel of Dreams, the next chapter will be a dedication to you). 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 26
A New Addition
Miriallia's eyes fluttered open and she sat up carefully. Her hand was on her head in an attempt to stop the room from spinning.
"Where am I?" she thought still dazed.
The room was bright white and smelled as though she was in a hospital. The scent of sterilizing agents overwhelmed her senses. She looked down and saw herself attached to a few machines and began to feel the cool liquid being pumped into her hand by way of an IV. Her eyes were still trying to focus but she was able to make out the opening of the door and a person walking through.
"How are you feeling?" Neo asked.
She wasn't sure if she should answer and sat there in silence.
"It seems you have learned a little too much on one of your field trips," he continued throwing a bunch of pictures on Miriallia's lap.
Everything was still blurry to her, but she didn't need clear eyesight to figure out the EAF knew what she was doing at San Juko.
"What do you want from me?" she asked indignantly.
"I would like to make you an offer," he said.
She eyed him with malice, her mind working in overdrive to free her.
"What makes you think I would accept any offer from you or work with you for that matter?" she asked bitterly.
Neo walked to the side of the bed and brushed her bangs out of her eyes and leaned over to her. Miriallia cringed at his touch feeling chills when he whispered in her ear.
"Who said I was asking?" he whispered hitting a button on the console next to the bed.
Another drug was pumped through the IV and immediately into her bloodstream forcing her to fall back to the pillow, eyes closing as she struggled to stay awake. Neo walked to the door and allowed the technicians entrance to the room.
"I want her memories wiped out. Start her training simulations immediately. We have already lost too much time and too many Extendeds. I want her ready to go in a few weeks. There is something about her that strikes me as the perfect candidate," he said with a grin.
"Yes sir," one of the technicians said as he moved to the bed and began to set up the equipment.
"Very soon, we will have the upper hand again," Neo thought as he walked out of the room.
On The Voltaire…
It felt like the nightmare was never ending to Shiho as another round of tears came from Annabella early in the morning. Yzak had his hands over his ears and tried to escape three times during the screaming match, with no luck. Shiho had decided she wasn't going to go through this alone and kept stopping his attempts at freedom.
"Where do you think you are going?" she yelled at him.
"What do you mean?" he asked snidely.
She glared at him when she had exited the bathroom.
"Don't even think about it. I know what you are trying to do," she said venomously.
"I do have a ship to run. I don't have time for this. Besides, Dearka will be back soon and you can drop the kid off on him," Yzak said defensively.
"Oh no you don't," she screamed over Annabella's loud voice.
Yzak thought he was going to lose his mind from all the commotion.
"Here, take her," Shiho cried handing Annabella to Yzak.
Yzak held her out in front of him with terror in his eyes.
"What the hell am I supposed to do with her?" he yelled back at Shiho.
"I don't know and I don't care," she said leaving the room.
Yzak stood there dumbfounded and Annabella grabbed for his silver hair.
"Hey watch it kid," he warned before placing her back in the crib.
She stood up and started to scream again, shaking the gate to the crib with all her might. In between cries Yzak could make out a word she was mumbling.
"Mu mu ma, mu mu ma," she repeated with tears streaming down her face.
"You want your mama, huh?" he asked the little girl.
Annabella started to sniffle, calming herself down slightly. She was no longer using her high-pitched scream, but a muffled cry. For a moment Yzak felt bad for her. He out of all people could understand the love of a mother. He watched Annabella as she stretched out her arms signaling she wanted to be held. Yzak just glared at her.
"Ump," she stuttered.
Yzak raised an eyebrow at her.
"No way kid, you're going to have to wait for Shiho to return," he said to her.
"That is if she returns," he thought nervously.
Annabella still had tears falling down her face as she tried again.
"Ump," she demanded again.
Yzak shook his head no to her and she began to scream again.
"All right already," he begged as he picked her up.
She sat in his arms and smiled grabbing for his hair again.
"Don't make me put you back in the crib," he warned the toddler.
She smiled and giggled at him wrapping her arms around him.
"Dearka is dead when I see him," Yzak thought.
The door swished open again revealing Shiho with a look of shock.
"How did you…" she questioned before losing the ability to speak.
"I have no idea, but you take her," he said passing her off to Shiho.
The minute Annabella was in Shiho's arms she started to cry and struggle out of her hold reaching for Yzak.
"I don't think she wants me," Shiho said with a smirk.
"Well I'm not taking her," Yzak stated coarsely.
Annabella demanded again with another high-pitched cry.
"If you don't take her, I'll follow you all around the ship with her. And, you won't be happy if she's screaming the entire time," Shiho threatened.
"Fine," Yzak huffed grabbing Annabella again.
Annabella smiled and sniffled her last few tears back.
"She is Dearka's daughter and he does tend to follow you like a puppy dog himself. I guess his daughter takes after him," Shiho teased.
"Dearka does not follow me like a puppy dog, it's more like a hyena the way he finds everything to be a joke snickering the whole time," Yzak replied.
"Sure it is," Shiho teased again.
"Cut it out," he warned.
She looked over at the clock and almost fell over from the shock of how late it was.
"I have to get ready, my shift is starting soon. You have fun with her," Shiho said running into the bathroom.
"Hey wait a minute!" Yzak yelled.
"No time, sorry," she said again through the door.
"Last time I checked, I was the Commander and I'm changing the shift schedule," he cried with a panic.
"Then it will look like favoritism," she sang from the shower.
Yzak grunted in displeasure while glaring at the door. He looked back down at Annabella who had made herself comfortable in his arms.
"Does she eat?" he called through the door.
"Well, she is human, so I would assume so," Shiho mocked.
"You know what I mean," he scolded.
Yzak heard the water turn off and waited a few minutes for Shiho to exit. She came out in her red elite uniform straightening and brushing it into place.
"Why don't you go talk to Cadey about it? I might kill her if I see her and she probably knows what to do with Annabella. She has been on the run with her for almost a month now," Shiho replied tying her hair back.
Yzak's eyes narrowed on her.
"I'm getting tired of you setting me up," he said angrily.
"Setting you up? How am I setting you up?" she asked innocently giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Shiho…" he said raising his voice slightly.
Annabella looked back between the two before smiling and pulling on Yzak's hair again.
"Gotta run," Shiho said with a wink.
As quickly as she could, she ran out of the room. She could hear Yzak yelling at her to come back, but thought it best to ignore him.
"Shiho, this isn't funny!" he yelled down the hall after her.
He looked back down at Annabella who was making herself comfortable.
"How am I going to get anything done with you here?" he asked her with a softer voice.
She cooed at him while reaching for his hair. Yzak jerked his head away.
"You have to cut that out, it's annoying," he reprimanded.
She smiled at him again and ignored his order forcing Yzak to give up and let her do what she wanted.
"Women, you always get everything no matter how young or old you are," he said mockingly to himself.
He walked down the hall with Annabella while soldiers standing around stared at him.
"I am sure you have something to do," he threatened making them scurry around to find someplace safe to hide from Yzak's wrath.
Yzak walked to one of the rooms and buzzed before entering. He walked in without waiting for the response. On the bed, Ian was laying still.
"Did you need something? Or is it that you aren't able to take care of Annabella?" Ian asked.
"I don't need your help. I can take care of the kid myself," he stated stubbornly.
Ian raised his eyebrow to him when he looked over.
"Of course you can," he said slyly.
"Look, I just came to tell you that Commander Letner has officially terminated your leave and transferred you to a new post," he informed Ian.
"Really? So I guess I'm back with ZAFT," Ian said quietly.
Yzak was getting irritated with Ian's calm attitude.
"He thinks he's so great. He's got another thing coming," Yzak thought.
"So, where is this new assignment I've been placed in?" Ian asked.
"Right here," Yzak replied.
Ian sat up with his eyes widened.
"Here with you?" he said a little less calm.
"Got a problem with that?" Yzak asked.
Ian glared at him.
"No doubt he had me transferred here so I would have to see Dearka again. Damn it!" Ian thought.
"No problem at all Sir," he replied through gritted teeth while saluting.
"Well, since I can't stand you, I'm sending you over to the Rousseau for now. Until Dearka returns that is," he said with a grin.
As much as Ian couldn't stand Yzak ever since they were in the Academy together, he knew better than to say anything now that Yzak was his commanding officer.
"Yes sir," Ian said saluting.
"Don't worry, I'll only bring you back for a few hours when Dearka gets here, then I'm sending you back over to the other ship again. I'm sure Dearka wouldn't want to be stuck on the Voltaire with you either," Yzak mocked walking toward the door with Annabella.
Ian stood up from the bed and smiled at Annabella over Yzak's shoulder.
"Get in uniform and transfer over there immediately. I'll send for you after Dearka gets himself settled," Yzak ordered.
Ian saluted as Yzak walked out the door. He smiled at Annabella's face hoping he would be able to see Miriallia again, even if she was attached to Dearka's side.
On Earth…
Dearka opened his eyes and felt the pain returning to his shoulder. He cringed as it shot through his entire body.
"Are you okay?" Mrs. Haw asked sweetly.
Dearka hadn't noticed her sitting in a chair beside the bed.
"Uh, yeah. How long have you been…" he started to ask.
"I couldn't sleep and was worried about you, so I came back in a couple hours after you fell asleep," she admitted.
"Oh," he replied.
"Here, take this now and you will have the last one for your trip back to the PLANTs. I'm sure they will be able to take care of the rest when you get there," she said handing him another OxyCotin pill.
"I should have been gone by now," he said sincerely.
"Don't worry, Mr. Haw is gone now that he doesn't have to watch you and Miriallia like a hawk, so you can take your time," she said.
Mrs. Haw watched Dearka's eyes fall at the mention of Miriallia.
"Now, don't look so sad. I know you are going to find Miriallia and save her. For now, just think of how wonderful it will be to finally spend time with your daughter," Mrs. Haw said with a smile.
"Why are you so kind to me?" Dearka asked.
"I told you why," she answered.
Dearka took a deep breath through another shot of pain before taking the pill from Mrs. Haw's hand.
"Maybe I should ask it in a different way," Dearka replied.
Mrs. Haw looked at him with confusion in her eyes.
"Why are you so kind to me when Mr. Haw has such hatred for me? I guess I would have thought that you and your husband would come to some kind of agreement either both for me or against me," he asked again.
"I take it your parents don't disagree on much in front of you then," Mrs. Haw stated matter-of-factly.
"Uh, well no, they don't," he admitted.
"So, you always feel as though they gang up against you," she analyzed.
"Yeah," he said.
She closed her eyes to think for a moment and then reopened them with a look of conviction.
"It seems Coordinators really are different than Naturals even in the way they behave around others," Mrs. Haw said.
Dearka's eyes widened a bit from her comment. He hadn't expected such a direct attack on the subject of Coordinators versus Naturals.
"I'm not trying to offend you," she continued.
His eyes softened again at those words.
"I'm just stating my view from everything that has been going on in this household for the past month and some of the things that you've said yourself," she stated.
Dearka's brow furrowed in concentration on the meaning of her words as he took the water glass she offered him.
"I have also noticed you and Miriallia doing it too. Although, you get much more agitated then most natural men would when she doesn't agree with you in front of people and does her own thing regardless of your protests," Mrs. Haw said.
Dearka laughed to himself at that realization of Mrs. Haw's. She had noticed a lot more than he had given her credit for.
"I guess that's true. It does drive me a little insane," he acknowledged.
"You have to understand that in most natural homes there are definite public displays of differences of opinions and plenty of fights between people. I can even guarantee that your house has seen its' share of those disagreements. I'm just guessing that it doesn't happen often in front of you or others. In the end, a compromise is reached before anyone else has a chance to notice it, including yourself," Mrs. Haw said.
Dearka knew that to be somewhat true, but his parents stuck together on issues so often that he couldn't imagine them fighting one another or even disagreeing. Even when his mother did disagree with the marriage arrangement, she still forced him to go through with it. He knew even if he had mentioned Miriallia when she asked what was on his mind that day; it was only to know what he was thinking and not to stop the insanity or go against his father.
"I personally think you and Miriallia are a perfect couple and you make her happy," Mrs. Haw said with a smile.
Dearka felt his face blush a little at her sweet words.
"But I would be lying if I said Mr. Haw was going to accept you anytime soon," she said the smile disappearing.
Now he began to feel guilty and the concern showed on his face again.
"But I know what you are really asking, so here is your answer. Something as trivial as me siding with you and Miriallia is not going to destroy my marriage. Regardless of our disagreements on this matter, he can't change the way I think or feel, so he will just go on complaining in the corner or trying to make you uncomfortable and miserable," she said with a small laugh.
"Sounds like a promising future for me," Dearka said sarcastically.
"That's the key to surviving in this world. Realizing you can't force a person to change their ways, only that you can give them the opportunity to decide if they want to follow a different path. But it always has to be on their terms," Mrs. Haw said.
Dearka was amazed at how open-minded Mrs. Haw was. The only times he heard her speak up was when Mr. Haw had bashed him and Miriallia completely. He hadn't noticed just how brilliant Mrs. Haw really was.
"Just remember, Miriallia takes after me," she said with a wink.
Dearka smiled at that starting to feel a little less pain in his shoulder. The pill was beginning to take effect. He sat up and Mrs. Haw stood from the chair.
"Why don't you go take a shower and then I will re-bandage that wound for you before you head out," she partially ordered.
"Okay," he answered shyly getting out of the bed.
He headed down the hall to take a shower and wash the blood that had dried on his skin. As he turned on the shower, he could hear Mrs. Haw outside the door at the linen closet. Carefully he stepped in, making sure not to raise his arm too high. When he was done, he walked back to Miriallia's room and changed into some clean clothes from his duffel bag. He heard a knock at the door and threw the shirt he was going to wear on Miriallia's bed.
"Come in," he answered.
Mrs. Haw entered with some bandages and antibacterial gel. She walked over to him and put the stuff down on the bedside table. She sat down on the bed and patted it indicating for him to take a seat. He did so obediently and watched as she bandaged the wound back up. When she finished, she helped him get his shirt on and buttoned it for him.
"Are you sure you will be okay to drive and carry both bags?" she asked like a nervous mother.
"Yeah, I'm sure. I'll be fine. Thank you," he replied.
"At least let me help you carry them down and put them in the car," she said.
"If Miriallia is anything like you then I already know I don't have a choice," he said smiling.
Mrs. Haw stood up and grabbed the two bags.
"You are right on both counts, she is like me and you don't have a choice," she said as she headed out the door.
Dearka grabbed the keys to Miriallia's car and followed Mrs. Haw downstairs.
"Now, make sure you call me when you get back there so I can talk to Annabella again," she said as he slid into the car.
He grabbed his sunglasses from the front zipper of his duffel bag and smiled at her.
"I will," he said.
"And, be careful, especially when you go looking for Miriallia. I want you both back safely," she said with more worry.
"I'll get her back and we'll both be fine," he promised.
Mrs. Haw was about to say something else but stopped suddenly. Dearka looked at her concerned when her mouth opened and closed again quickly.
"Just get her back, soon," she said after rethinking her words.
"It's not my place to tell him. He'll get her back and she will be able to do it herself," Mrs. Haw thought.
She walked back from the car and watched Dearka head out for the shuttle port.
"Please bring my girls back safely," she thought while waving to the departing car.
Dearka hit the buttons that Mrs. Haw had mentioned the night before as a map came on the console guiding him to the shuttle port.
"Not bad, I really like her car," he thought.
He continued his drive in peace with a small smile on his face from all the kind and enlightening things Mrs. Haw had said. In a way, she was trying to teach him a lesson for his life with Miriallia. Even though his father was mostly neutral when it came to Coordinators and Naturals co-existing, he knew he didn't agree with them as co-habitants.
"I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it," he thought as he continued on his way.
End
Author's Preview: Neo wants Miriallia for an Extended! Wow, Dearka had better find her quickly. And now Ian is assigned to Yzak's team. In the meantime, Annabella gives Yzak a run for his money. 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.