Dearka & Miriallia

Author's Note: Thank you guys for the birthday wishes, sorry for no update yesterday, but I took the day off. 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 28

In The Heat Of The Moment

On the Voltaire three days later…

Dearka sat quietly in his room on the floor with his back against the bed while watching Annabella maneuver around. She looked so happy moving things from his shelves and placing them on the ground in various spots.

"I just wish your mother was here Belle," he thought.

Dearka heard the buzzer on his door and bid them entrance. Yzak entered and saw what he liked to now call, "the rug rat," running around.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked seeing his friends' depressed look.

Dearka looked up at him and shook his head.

"I don't even know what to do," he answered honestly.

Annabella walked up to him and dropped more objects on his lap.

"You could start by cleaning the room up," Yzak said with a grin.

Dearka laughed at his comment.

"No way, anytime I touch anything she doesn't hand me, she gets upset," he said knowledgeably.

"Shiho was able to contact Athrun, but it turns out he is really preoccupied at the moment and isn't very happy with that guy Kira. He may not be of much help right now," Yzak said sincerely.

"Why? What's going on down there?" Dearka asked.

Yzak shrugged as if to say he didn't know, but Dearka didn't buy that and pressed him again.

"What aren't you telling me? You know something Yzak," Dearka pushed.

"It's not your concern right now," Yzak replied authoritatively.

Dearka glared at him. He knew exactly why Yzak was trying to blow him off.

"Look, I'm not going to go giving secrets away to the enemy. I'm just on leave. I haven't been discharged," he said irritably.

"When you don that uniform again, that's when I'll keep you updated," Yzak said smartly.

Dearka rolled his eyes.

"I'll just corner Shiho or Ian," Dearka said.

"You're such a pain in the ass sometimes," Yzak snipped.

Dearka looked over to Annabella and then glared again at Yzak as if to scold him.

"Sorry," Yzak said sincerely.

"It's all right," Dearka replied.

"I'm actually kind of shocked at how well you are doing," Yzak said.

"Want to know the truth?" Dearka coaxed.

Yzak raised an eyebrow in interest.

"I'm not doing that well. I know I shouldn't be doing this, but I've actually had Cadey over here to help me," he confessed.

Yzak shook his head in disgust.

"I can't believe you've been doing that. You're going to cross signals with her again," he scolded.

"I know that, but I don't know what else to do. I can't go to my parents, Shiho has made it perfectly clear that she is not good with kids, you and Ian don't know what you guys are doing either and Cadey is just sitting around with nothing to do. And it does help that she had Belle with her for over a month. I just don't want to get Mir back and have her find out I couldn't handle our daughter on my own," he defended.

"I see what you are saying, but I'm sure there is someone between these two ships that knows something about kids and can help. And to top it off, you aren't handling it on your own," Yzak said still upset with his friends' poor judgment.

"Probably, but are there any that I know well enough to trust with Belle?" he asked.

Yzak shook his head again.

"Whatever, you do what you want, but don't blame me when things get out of hand between the two of you again," he replied.

"Have you talked to Shannon yet?" Dearka asked changing the subject.

"Yeah, she said it was an accident. Although, I am quite ticked that Cadey tried to say I hit her. I may be a lot of things, but a woman beater isn't one of them. Especially with the fact that she's Orson White's daughter," Yzak said furiously at the reminder.

Dearka nodded his head.

"I couldn't see you laying a finger on her for the same reason I've had to restrain myself. But, I thought it might have been Shiho at first with how upset she's been about chasing her down for the past month. I didn't see Shannon as doing anything like that when Shiho mentioned it," Dearka said.

"Yeah, well, apparently Cadey attacked them and Shannon was defending herself. I did put her on temporary suspension though. I can only imagine Shiho didn't mention it because she knew that would be my response to the matter," Yzak replied.

"Not that I don't think Cadey deserved being hit, but if you didn't suspend Shannon, she would be in even more trouble later when Cadey was done twisting her side of the story. Shiho should have known better than to hide that. She could have done more damage then good," Dearka said.

"I know and it's all taken care of, so let's drop it. I talked to Shiho about it too," Yzak stated.

"Fine," Dearka replied.

Yzak walked over and sat on the bed behind Dearka.

"Seriously though, I don't think you should be leading Cadey on like this," he started again.

"How about we drop that subject too," Dearka insisted.

Yzak didn't like being told what to do, especially when he was just trying to help.

"You're such an idiot," he said standing again and walking toward the door.

Dearka looked up at him with annoyance and Annabella ran to follow Yzak toward the door.

"Belle," Dearka called.

She looked back at him and then slowly moved closer to the center of the room.

"Well, at least she's starting to listen to you," he replied as he exited the room.

Dearka sighed while looking at Annabella who had begun to cry at Yzak's departure.

"Belle, please stop crying," Dearka begged.

"If only Yzak knew how much of a handful Belle really is, then he would understand why I had to ask Cadey to help me," Dearka thought trying to reason with himself.

On the Girty Lue…

"How is the progress coming?" Neo asked a technician.

"All her memories have been erased and we are now working on the training system," the technician replied.

"And the child?" he asked.

"It is a little too early to tell. There are a number of problems that can go wrong for the fetus," the technician stated.

"If it gets too dangerous, get rid of it. I don't want to lose her as an Extended. There is just something about her that makes me believe she has the ability to go further than the rest have," he ordered.

The technician saluted as Neo left the lab.

"I know why we are doing this, but I don't know why we are doing it to this young woman. She's carrying a child for God sake," the technician thought in disgust.

He continued to manipulate the computer integrating all the knowledge of Mobile Suit operating directly into Miriallia's brain waves.

"I'll do my best to make sure that your baby survives this process," he thought as he continued his work.

"Make sure if the stress levels rise above the mid mark that we shut down and test her before continuing," he called to a fellow technician.

"But I thought Neo said he wanted it done quickly," came the reply.

"Just do what I tell you and I will deal with Neo," he ordered his colleague.

"Yes sir," he responded and continued on with his duties.

Two weeks later…

"So, what should we do about the dedication ceremony?" Yzak asked sincerely.

Dearka held Annabella in his arms while hanging out with Yzak in his office. Yzak was hiding from Shiho who had apparently cornered him earlier about something personal.

"How about you tell me why you are hiding from Shiho first?" Dearka replied.

Yzak looked up like a deer in the headlights as a blush grew on his face.

"No reason, she's just being pushy today," Yzak answered.

"Pushy huh?" Dearka mocked.

Yzak glared at him and picked up some paperwork from his desk.

"I don't have time for this," he said angrily.

"I don't know what to do about the ceremony. We can't skip it," Dearka said his face dropping a bit as he held Annabella tighter.

Yzak looked up realizing Dearka had answered his question and stopped his incessant torture of his personal life.

"Maybe we can leave the kid here with someone," Yzak reasoned.

"With who? And, that still doesn't solve my problem with Cadey. Our parents will both be there and if we aren't together, things will get a little out of hand," Dearka stated.

Yzak closed his eyes at that comment. When he reopened them, he could see the distress on his best friends' face.

"It's obvious we can't skip and we have to bring Cadey with us, but the question is, how will she behave?" Yzak inquired.

"She's been pretty good helping me with Belle for these couple weeks, but I know she is only doing it to show me that she can be a mother," Dearka rationalized.

"Why not play on her psychosis then?" Yzak questioned.

Dearka looked up at his friend with his eyes widening.

"Wasn't it you that said just a few weeks ago that I shouldn't be leading her on or crossing signals?" Dearka asked.

"Do you remember every conversation we have?" Yzak asked annoyed.

"What kind of person would I be if I did that?" Dearka asked.

"The kind of person you were before you ever met that kids' mother," Yzak stated matter-of-factly.

Dearka rolled his eyes and looked away in revulsion. He couldn't believe Yzak said that to him so bluntly.

"I was never that kind of person," Dearka defended still not looking at him.

"Right, and I'm sure all those girls before her mother would agree with that. In fact, we could take a poll on this ship and that's just for starters," Yzak teased.

Dearka finally made eye contact with Yzak again with a look of warning.

"Did you forget some of our crew are the same that were with us during the first war," Yzak continued to taunt him.

"Are you done yet?" Dearka asked.

"Hey, maybe one of them will be willing to help you with the kid. Maybe even as much as Cadey is," Yzak finished when he saw the newest look Dearka gave him.

"You're just lucky I have Belle in my arms," Dearka threatened.

Yzak smiled contently. He loved it when he could make Dearka feel uncomfortable. It was nice when he had the chance to turn the tables on the prankster.

"So, about Shiho," Dearka started to flip it around again.

It was now Yzak's turn to glare in Dearka's direction.

"I thought we were dropping that," he said.

"No, I was just giving you a moment to collect yourself," Dearka said grinning.

"She wants to go to the ceremony too," Yzak started.

"So, anyone can go. Why can't she come with…" Dearka started and then immediately stopped when he realized what was really bothering Yzak.

Annabella shifted in her place. She was getting tired of Dearka holding her and wanted down.

"Eh," she cried as she tried to slide off Dearka's lap.

"Don't you dare let her down," Yzak threatened.

Annabella started to struggle and cry as she continued pushing herself off Dearka's lap.

"Oh for the love of… She's not going to break anything," Dearka yelled at Yzak.

"You don't know that," Yzak snapped back.

"You know, for all that I put up with from you, the least you could do is try to act civil to my daughter," Dearka said irritably.

"I am civil," Yzak yelled.

"Right like maybe we can leave the kid here with someone was really appropriate," Dearka yelled using Yzak's earlier words against him.

Yzak huffed.

"She has a name Yzak and in case you didn't realize, she is a Coordinator. So, I don't know why you have such a problem with her," Dearka continued.

"Fine. Belle can walk around the office. But I swear Dearka if she touches one thing, I'll kill you in her place," Yzak grunted.

Dearka let Annabella to the ground and she immediately made her way back to Yzak's desk to grab his name plaque. Yzak grunted again when her tiny hands reached over the edge of the desk to retrieve the item. Dearka began laughing, leaving Yzak annoyed.

"Hey look, I'm not dead yet," Dearka teased.

"You are really a pain," Yzak snipped.

"So Shiho wants to meet your parents huh?" Dearka asked trying to calm Yzak down.

Unfortunately for him, this tactic did the complete opposite. Yzak stood up and started to pace while waving his arms in the air.

"She is totally convinced that now is the perfect time for me to introduce them to her," he argued.

"Yzak, you have been with her for over two years and she hasn't once met your family. I think she has every right to be pressing you to do this," Dearka said honestly.

"You're not helping," Yzak yelled.

Dearka waved his hand in the air at him.

"I think you are being overly insecure about this. Shiho is a great girl and you guys are perfect for each other. Who else has ever been able to tell you what to do?" Dearka teased.

"I'm not worried about Shiho, I'm worried about my parents," Yzak defended.

"Huh?" Dearka asked confused.

"They're going to tear her to pieces. I can't do that to her and there's no way I could stand up for her when it starts. She'll leave me by the end of ceremony because I'm not strong enough to stand up to mother," Yzak countered.

A smile drew across Dearka's face upsetting Yzak.

"What are you smirking about now?" Yzak asked.

"It's just funny how we are worried about the same things. I can't bring Belle because my parents will overreact and you can't bring Shiho due to the same reasons. Neither of us have the ability to stand up to our parents," Dearka reasoned.

Yzak flopped himself back down in his chair and spun in a circle.

"Yeah, so what do we do?" Yzak asked.

"We have to go, so we will need to be creative," Dearka replied.

"And how exactly are we going to be creative?" Yzak pressed.

"Not that I want to ask him for a favor, but maybe we could enlist Ian's help," Dearka stated.

Yzak quirked an eyebrow in interest, "I'm listening."

"I may have no choice but to be caddish and use Cadey to get through the ceremony. But if Ian came with us, he could hang on to Belle for me. Which he would if it meant making Cadey happy and possibly bonding with Belle for when we find Mir. Then he could also be a wingman to swoop in and pull Shiho away before your mother can attack her in person. That way, your parents will finally meet her and you won't have to hesitate to defend her," Dearka instructed.

"Hey, that just might work. But, how do we get them to go along with it?" Yzak asked feeling little eyes on him.

"The only way it's going to happen is if I start with Cadey," Dearka admitted.

"And you really want to do that?" he asked feeling a little more uncomfortable that the gaze continued.

"I don't really have a choice. Plus, Athrun may be there. I heard the Minerva is scheduled to be returning for it as a line defense. Maybe I will be able to recruit him to help locate the Archangel myself," Dearka stated.

"Hey, can you do something about the ki… I mean Belle? She keeps staring at me and it's starting to creep me out," Yzak asked.

Dearka stood up and shook his head at how Yzak was behaving. He picked up an objecting Annabella and moved her back to the front of the desk.

"Belle, stay here. You're scaring Yzak," Dearka ordered while mocking Yzak.

She sat down on the floor with a whine and started to bang the name plaque on the floor. Yzak looked over his desk at the toddler on the floor with a bit of amazement in his eyes.

"What?" Dearka asked.

"Nothing. It's just she seems to understand and follow orders remarkably well," Yzak said in awe.

Dearka shrugged at this.

"She is a Coordinator. She's got to have the ability to develop more quickly than other children her age," Dearka rationalized.

"Yeah, I guess. I wonder if we were like that?" Yzak inquired.

"Probably, but if either of us asked a question like that of our parents, they would jump to conclusions," Dearka joked.

Yzak sat back down and shook his head in concurrence.

"Best not to bring that up," Yzak agreed.

Dearka sat still watching Annabella on the floor for a moment before Yzak spoke again.

"You seem to be doing better at the whole father thing now," Yzak reiterated his comment from two weeks prior.

"I'm catching on. It's been easier with Cadey's help, but you were right, I'm setting myself up for disaster. Especially if I try to convince her to stay quiet at the ceremony and act like nothing is wrong," he said dreading his conversation he would have to have with Cadey.

"She won't let you off so easily," Yzak stated.

"No, she won't. My only question is, what will she ask in return?" Dearka said.

"Good luck with that," Yzak said knowingly.

Dearka stood up from his spot and picked Annabella back off the ground. He wrestled the plaque away from her again and put it back on Yzak's desk.

"At least she didn't slobber on it this time," Yzak said optimistically.

"I'll see you later, I should get this over with. We don't have much time with the ceremony being tomorrow and all," Dearka stated walking toward the door.

"Don't do anything stupid," Yzak called.

Dearka looked back with a smile, "I'll try not to."

He walked out the door and down the hall toward his quarters with Annabella tight in his grip. When he arrived, he put her in the new playpen he was able to buy at one of the ports they were at while re-supplying. She giggled intently when she saw all the stuffed toys she could cuddle with. Dearka walked over to his desk and dialed for the Rousseau in order to have Cadey sent to the Voltaire again.

"Hi, this is Lieutenant Elsman, can you have Miss Cadey White sent over to the Voltaire please," he ordered.

"Yes sir," the officer responded.

"Thank you," he said before hanging up the phone.

He walked back to his bed and fell down in exhaustion.

"How did Mrs. Haw do this all day? For that matter, how did my mother do this with me all day?" Dearka thought respectively.

He closed his eyes and started to drift to sleep. He was unsure of what Cadey may have in store for him when he asked her to keep his secret.

End

Author's Preview: Uh oh, he has to beg Cadey for help and after the way he treated her a few weeks ago, she may have something evil up her sleeve. 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.