An: So my cliffies aren't very cliffy-ish, but Oh well, Have fun!

Ch. 23 – Safety

Hilde watched horrified as Jason Landings fell toward her and dropped his gun. Then, she screamed.

"Hilde, shut up, will you?" Heero growled, climbing out of the bushes.

His braided buddy knocked him over trying to rush to her. "Are you ok?" She didn't answer, she just stared at the bleeding body only inches from her feet.

"Pansy." Heero mumbled under his breath. Heero bent down and felt for a pulse. "Damn I'm good."

"Is he dead?" Hilde finally managed, now visibly shaking. Duo held her tightly, and she made no protest.

"Yeah. Good riddance." Heero glared down at the man who had caused him so much pain and heartache. "Just wish I could have made him suffer a little longer."

Duo stroked Hilde's hair. "He's gone. He can't hurt any of us anymore."

Heero sighed. "Guess I'll need to call this in."

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"Tell Relena I'll be back as soon as possible."

"I think she can bear to be without you a few more minutes, especially when she hears the good news." Milliardo half smiled.

"What news?" Relena inquired, but when Milliardo held up a finger she sat back and waited patiently.

"Thanks again, goodbye." Milliardo hung up the phone and looked at her, now smiling wider and wider. "They got him."

"What?" A puzzled look came over her.

"Kevin's dead."

Then the shock set in. "H..how?"

"Hilde."

"Hilde? What did Hilde have to do with any of this?" Relena immediately became frightened. Please tell me she's ok.

"They used her as bait. She agreed to do it. She went on a date with him and he pulled a gun on her." Relena gasped. "Don't worry, Heero shot him before he had the change to hurt her."

She sighed, relieved. "So Hilde's alright?"

"Hilde's fine. Well, will be fine. She's shaken up, very according to Heero. But she'll recover soon. Duo's taking care of her. And he promised he'd be back as soon as it all got settled." Milliardo didn't even cringe on the words. The past few days he'd spent a lot of time with Yuy, and they hadn't killed one another yet. He makes her happy. Just keep saying it. He makes her very very happy.

"He's gone…" It all finally started to sink in. "He'll never call me or send me notes or put my pictures in anything again…"

"Relena are you ok?" Milliardo asked, question her tone. She sounds sad instead of relieved.

"Yes, I'm fine. I just…it's a strange feeling. Not to fear something any longer. Not that I haven't felt it before. This time it just seems so different." She laid a reassuring hand on her stomach and grabbed at the sheet a bit. "Have they talked about releasing me?"

Milliardo didn't understand her jump in conversation, but he went with it anyway. "Soon. They're not sure when, but soon. They want to be one hundred percent sure you're ok before they let you go home."

"Alright." She looked down a moment. "Are they sure he's dead?"

"In the morgue." What are you still so worried about? What exactly did he do to you to make you this afraid of him?

Relena knew he couldn't hurt her. In her head she knew it, but in her heart he still frightened her. The way he spoke. The way he said 'our relationship' when she and he both knew they never had a relationship unnerved her. It had all been an act. She knew it had been, but the thought of him still sent cold shivers down her spine.

"Relena he's gone. It's going to be ok."

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"Am I ever getting out of here?" Relena sat on the end of her bed, dressed, bound and determined not to stay here another night.

"There's not guarantee they're releasing you. I wouldn't have gotten dressed all ready." Heero chided her.

"I'm not stay here. If I have to walk out of here myself. I'm ok. They told me my baby was ok. I have no reason to be here."

"You were unconscious for two days…"

"I'm fully awake and ready to go home now."

He knew there was no use in fighting with her, she was in one of those moods again. They seemed to be fluctuating more and more.

A cheery nurse popped her head into the room. "Here you are Mrs. Yuy, release papers. If you'll just sign here." She pointed to a line at the bottom, and Relena quickly penned her signature. "Thank you, hope not to see you back too soon." She smiled.

"Not any more than I do." Relena mumbled. "Car?"

"On it." Heero signed, walking out of the room.

Relena didn't wait on Heero to come back up and retrieve her as she knew he would want her to. She merely walked down to the main doors and waited to see the limo pull up and Heero step out. He gave her a disapproving look but said nothing. He simply opened the door for her, then got in behind her and shut it again.

The ride home was quiet, Heero never took his eyes off her, and Relena never glanced his way. She mostly stared out the window, happy to be away from the whitewashed walls of the hospital. Heero reached out a hand to touch her shoulder, and she jumped.

"Sorry…" He mumbled and replaced his hand back at his side.

She turned back and looked at him, smiling a little and stroked his hand with hers. "You just startled me. I was just thinking…"

"About what?"

Relena looked away and sighed.

"What's the matter?"

"Nothing…"

"Do we need to go back to the hospital?"

"No! No…it's nothing like that. I know he's gone, but…"

"He's gone Relena. Do I need to take you to the morgue?"

"No…"

"Your brother told me about earlier…"

"You and my brother actually speak," she laughed. "That's so amusing."

Heero took both her hands in his, "He can't hurt you anymore. He can't hurt us anymore. He can't hurt anyone anymore. He's gone. Do you hear me?"

"Yes." She nodded and dropped her head.

Heero wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close. "Nobody is ever going to hurt you. Do you hear me? Either one of you. I won't let anything happen to either one of you. You both mean more to me than life itself. And whatever I have to do, I'll protect you right up until my last breath."

An: Special Thanks to all of you who reviewed!

heaven'sgirl – U're one of the few who believed my cliffy. Lol. Thank you!

Hououza – You're no fun, you know that? Just kidding. No, I don't have really believable cliffys. I know it. You know they're gonna be ok from the start. It's their story.

Raizard333 – Good enough punishment?

Moonlitesadness – Lol, thanks for the review. I loved your reaction. I love to get some emotion out of readers.

Animegirlfan – Haha, Thanks for the review. Hope u're satisfied.

Jellybeanxx – All cleared up? Thanks.

Tori – Thank you. I've only got one chapter left!