Lost and found

by DCIMorse

During the war Lady Une lost a part of her memories which are returning years after.Where this leads to? Read it then you know. Finished this storyfor now I think

3. Lost sister

The next morning Ann woke up in the arms of Trowa who was already awake. She kissed him and got out of the bed to take a look at her girls. She opened the door to their room and saw Annie sleeping in the arms of Mariemaya as if the taller girl was protecting her from whatever was harming her. After she closed the door she walked to over to Trowa and got into the bed.

"Mariemaya looks and acts like her father more and more lately and I start to wonder what she might end up doing once she grows up." lady Une said

"I think she will become a great woman just like her father used to be."

"I only hope she won't start wars just like her father did"

"She will fight her battles differently but she will be as good at it as her father was."

"Sometimes even you amaze me Trowa, I don't know why but you seem to be able to reassure me that nothing really bad will happen to her as long as we teach her the right things to hold on to."

"That is something I would love to do the rest of my life. I hope that some day we can say that we raised them well."

"What about having a few children ourselves?" Ann asked

"I would love to have some children with you but we have a responsibility towards Annie and Mariemaya too"

"They will always be our children too." lady Une responded while she laid her head down at Trowa's chest. He looked down at her and kissed her forehead while he held her tightly. He started to wonder how she was going to deal with everything while he was still touring around as a singer and as a circus artist. He looked at her face which betrayed a lot of worries too. He decided it was time to have a talk about the way their nearby future would turn out to be.

"Ann, what would you say if I told you that as soon as my tour as a singer is over that I will move in with you to help you out in the household?" he started and while he looked down at her she had a surprised look in her eyes, "It will make things easier on you and by the way you are looking at me now I can see that you weren't exactly expecting this from me."

"Well we just don't know each other that well to just decide to move in with each other over night even though I could use the help at home because my housekeeper isn't the youngest any more and I think that Annie and Mariemaya will be to much of a hand full for her to handle. With me working over ten hours a day and even at home I don't get any rest because by the least trouble the president is all over my case, that is why I hired Heero so he could take my place when I happened to be unavailable to help and in the past six months he did an excellent job at it but still I need to cut back in hours so the children get the attention they need from me. With you helping me would make it easier but you also can't quit your job like that. What would the people at the circus say about that, especially Catherine will be disappointed in you."

"I know but I can't just let you drown in your work and raise two children at the same time so let me help at home as well as at the job. You know I can be useful to the Preventers and I will be at home for you to help you to raise those lovely ladies and some day even our own children."

Lady Une's eyes started to twinkle at the thought of having a few more children of her own and she smiled at Trowa and said, "Do you really want children of me?"

"Yes why not, a few mini you's bossing other kids around while a few mini Trowa's are giving their parents grey hair with all the stunts they pull off on a daily bases. What do you say?"

"Hmm, one mini me and one mini you will do to give me grey hair in due time and you might be white by the time they have grown up." Ann laughed while her hand slowly moved down south. Trowa kissed her tenderly and asked her if she needed some more practise at making babies and she nodded with a naughty smile on her face. Soon the two of them were caught in a very noisy game which woke up the girls in the next room.

"It seems like mum and Trowa are at it again" Mariemaya sighed

"At what again" Annie asked her curiously while she looked at Mariemaya who looked at her and wondered how to have this talk about the birds and the bees with her sister. She decided to go about it carefully so Annie wouldn't be to upset about what her mother was doing with her lover. Half an hour later the girl finished her story and Annie looked at her with a smile.

"So mum is having sex with Trowa and this may some day end up with having another baby in the family." she reasoned.

"Yes that is how nature works but don't be in a hurry to try it out yourself." Mariemaya warned.

"I won't, mum got me when she was nearly thirteen so I am not in a hurry to try that out myself. What about you?"

"When I am old enough and I have found the right guy I will try it but only then."

"So will I"

The two girls laughed at that note and went over to the door to listen if their mother and Trowa had finished their love game and it was safe to walk in. After they heard that the two of them were actually talking to each other the girls decided it was safe to knock on the door and walk in there. As soon as Lady Une saw her girls walk in she invited them over to the bed where the four of them were having a conversation about what they were going to do that day.

On the way to the L4 colony Quattre contacted Heero who was on his way to L4 as well but he had to take a commercial flight where as Quattre had the luxury to fly his own shuttle.

"Heero I have a lead on Ariana but there is a lot more to the story than even I expected. I don't understand why she was supposed to be dead anyway so what was it that was wanted from her?"

"I don't know either but maybe Dorothy can help us with that and since she happens to be your fiancé you could ask for her help."

"I didn't have to ask her since she remembered something that might have some connection to the Une family. Her grandfather had some dealings with Count Une but what was exactly going on no one knows. I think it had something to do with getting rid of my family in order to gain control over the L4 colonies."

At that point Dorothy interrupted the two men "Hey guys, I just found out that my grandfather wanted Count Une to get his daughter Ariana to marry someone of influence at the L4 colonies since they would become the most difficult to control if it would come to a take over by Oz. He made sure that Ariana ended up at the right place to be found alive and rescued by the right people. In the end she would end up in the hands of the Winner family and become a target. Quattre's father took her in but he knew he couldn't keep her so he hid her with someone he thought he could trust. In the end he was betrayed by his friend who wanted something in return, the girl would have to marry Quattre as soon as Quattre was of age. There was a contract drafted between Mr Winner and Mr Ahmadi who suddenly saw a great opportunity to seize control over the Winner company."

"According to that contract I have to marry Ariana unless certain conditions weren't met but I have to read that contract again so I know if there is something I can use to bargain with. If there is something useful in there I will definitely use it to my advantage and I hope there is something in there I can use. As far as I know there are a few things I might throw at him but I fear that won't be enough to help us out at the moment but maybe I can pull something off that might help us."

"I hope you can because I won't be able to. If this was already planned by Romefeller then we are in for quite a legal argument and I am no legal expert." Heero replied finishing his call.

Dorothy looked at Quattre who seemed to be lost in his thoughts. She wondered what was on his mind right now. She was wondering how he would handle things from the moment he had read the contract.

"Quattre what is on your mind right now." she asked

"Honestly, I 'm thinking about the fact that I might end up in a double marriage if I can't find something I can use to get out of this marriage with Ariana. I never dreamed of marrying more than one woman like my father. I only wanted one wife and the only one I want to marry right now is you. If I have to marry Ariana too I wouldn't know what to do, I 'm not like my father who was able to keep all of his wives happy."Quattre answered.

"I know you have only eyes for me but if you are forced to marry Ariana I won't get angry at you for something that had already been arranged before you even knew about it. Even I was almost married off to someone but the poor guy died before I even met him, lucky me I guess."

"Well I was worried about you getting angry at me but even more about how I was going to make it work out between all of us. You are going to be the lady of the house no matter what everyone else wants from me. You are already carrying my child which gives you the right to be my one and only love and if you have to share me with another woman you still will be my number one."

"Quattre no matter how this thing turns out remember I will still love you as much as I do now. At least I know I will get a little competition in the house." she said wiggling her eyebrows. Quattre started to laugh while his fantasy ran wild.

Heero decided to call Relena after he arrived at L4 because he missed her presence in this particular mission he was on now. This mission called for a clear headed diplomat and not a hot headed preventer. He was going to meet with the Ahmadi family first so he could see how Ariana was doing and how she was doing but a few calming words were needed first before he went on his way.

"Hello you are talking with Relena Darlian," He heard her voice at the other end.

"Hello it 's me honey," Heero started "I just arrived on L4 and I needed to hear your voice again before I go off to meet the Ahmadi's. I miss you here beside me but I have to do this on my own because Ariana is my sister. How is everybody back home doing?"

"Well after Trowa left to continue his tour Ann cried for a while but she turned her attention to her girls. Now we are all walking around in the town shopping for Annie. You should see how the girl was amazed by the dresses Ann showed her to fit. She asked her mother how rich they actually were but Ann didn't answer that question. Mariemaya has been looking around for fitting jewellery which she paid out of her own pocket. Now we are looking for some shoes for the next lady Une."

"I 'm glad to hear you 're all having a great time in Bernkastel. Well I have to go because I 'm reaching my destination. It was good to hear from you again."

"It was nice of you to call, goodbye."

"See you soon" Heero ended the call. He looked at the Ahmadi manor in front of him while he wondered about the things he could expect over there. He wanted to see Ariana and he really wished she was well. Even though he never met her he felt as if she was his responsibility. After he announced his arrival at the door he was led in by a servant who brought him to a man who looked well in his fifty's. He studied Heero for a while wondering why a high ranked preventer would want to visit him. The man felt there was something familiar about this young man but he didn't know what it exactly was. Heero studied the man in front of him and had the feeling that his usual way of threatening his opponent wouldn't work out. This time he had to work out a different strategy to obtain what he had come for. He smiled for a while so the older man wouldn't suspect him to be a wolf in sheep's clothes.

"Good afternoon Mr Yuy, what brings you to my humble home?" Mohamed asked.

"My business concerns a young woman who is living in your home. The woman with the name Ariana Une, daughter of Count Une. I represent her last relatives on their behalf." Heero said.

"Which relatives?"

"Her sister Ann Marie Une and her cousin Annie Ariana Une."

"Why are you asked to represent the Une family?"

"I am their half brother Jonah who had supposedly vanished without a trace."

"You are Jonah Une, the bastard child that Sebastian Une wanted dead."

"Yes, I am that boy"

"What do you want with Ariana?"

"I came here to reunite her with her family as it should be but first I want to be sure she is well and I trust that everything is well with her otherwise the old Mr Winner wouldn't have sent her to you to take care of her."

"Of course you can see her but first I want to see some papers that prove that you are who you claim to be."

Heero had expected this so he put his briefcase on the desk and pulled out the necessary papers to prove to Mr Ahmadi who he was. The man studied the papers carefully to be sure he didn't overlook any detail and in the end he looked up at Heero with a satisfied smile. Heero knew he gained the old man's trust enough to at least get a look at his sister.

"Why doesn't lady Une herself come over to see her sister?"

"At the moment she has other businesses to attend to so I offered to help her out on this matter. I will inform her on everything she needs to know before she comes out here to take her sister home."

"She can't take her home, you see Mr Winner and I had an agreement with each other."

"What kind of agreement?" Heero asked knowing too well what Mohamed was talking about.

"Well this may come as a surprise to you but Ariana has been arranged to marry Mr Winner's son Quattre and there is a contract stating that."

"As far as I know local law you can't arrange a wedding between someone who moved in from outside the colony unless you have a legal document that states that you can act on her parents behalf."

"I have such a document and the moment Sebastian Une signed it he gave up all his rights as a father and now she is legally my daughter so I can arrange a wedding between her and Quattre Rebarbra Winner."

"I'd like to see the document"

"But off course." Mohamed went to his filing cabinet opened it and pulled out the document. Heero studied the document for a while and found out this document was already drafted before she was actually even send to Mr Winner. Mohamed was in this game long before anyone suspected it on L4. Heero faced a tough decision, fight the document and loosing all together or acknowledge it as legal and ask for concessions for him and Ann.

"I see the document was drafted long before she even came to your family. I wonder why that is"

The old man knew what Heero was playing at so he decided that he would be better to come clean.

"This is something I am not really proud of but I saw an opportunity to get into the higher circles of our society and I grabbed it. I was told by a man who called himself Duke Dermail that he had to hide a young girl who would end up dead some day if he would not intervene then. I said I would love to help him if he would give me something in return. He knew exactly what I wanted and he promised he would help me with it and so the plan was formed to convince Count Une to sign over his parental rights to me in return Duke Dermail wouldn't turn him over to the proper authorities. After that Sebastian had to turn her over to me but he saw that differently so he tried to strangle her and he failed at it but Dr Braun who was at the time a good friend of the Winners turned her over to them so Duke Dermail aired the rumour of her being wanted by Romefeller. Mr Winner came to me because I was always a trusted friend of the family but I seized the opportunity to get what I wanted after all an arrangement that was beneficial for all sides involved. I intend to hold on to the contract that was drafted between Mr Winner and me no matter what. I have earned my place in the high society here."

"Ann won't be to happy about it and as for Mr Winner I feel sorry for him"

"What do you mean?"

"Well he finally found the woman he wants to spend the rest of his life with and now suddenly he has to know that he was supposed to marry someone else instead."

"It seems like he wants to marry someone before he is of age so I have to remind him before he does something stupid and thus destroying his family's future."

"What are you talking about?"

"That my dear boy is none of your concern."

"Well then can I at least see my sister before you have her married of to Mr Winner."

"Alright, you can see her now but just for half an hour."

After that Mohamed summoned a servant to get Ariana and bring her to them. He told Heero to wait for her there while he was going to talk to some people about the latest developments at the Winners. Heero knew he had shaken up things a little but it was worth it. Now he was given some time alone with his sister. A few minutes later a young woman followed by Mohamed walked in. Her face was covered by a veil but her eyes were the same as her mother's and her sister's.

"You can take off your veil my child" Mohamed said to her. She took off her veil and Heero was surprised how much Ariana and Ann resembled each other.

"My name is Heero Yuy and I am here to see you and bring you greetings from your sister Ann. You may not remember me but I am in fact your half brother." Heero started looking at her startled face. "I am very happy to see you sound and well" he continued

"I will give the two of you some time to catch up on things" Mohamed interrupted and then he left the room.

"Are you really my brother Jonah?" Ariana asked

"According to these papers and documents I am" Heero answered her showing the paperwork he brought with him. She looked at it and then looked him in the eyes and started to cry.

"Is something wrong?" Heero asked

"It has been so long that I heard something from Ann and you that I almost gave up hope on seeing any of you back. Especially you were the last one I was hoping to see. Father had removed you from us so he wouldn't have to look at you any more. He told mother that you were a mistake to begin with and that she had better accepted the fact that she had two daughters already. Mother looked at it differently because she wanted a son so he wouldn't come down on us any more the way he did at the time."

"You seem to remember what was going on in the past, Ann didn't"

"At first when I came here I didn't either. Actually I had nightmares about my past but the only thing I remembered clearly was our father strangling me because I was to weak according to him. Ann was his favourite because she somehow dealt with all the things he did to her. I remember the beatings, the wounds she had and the many times she had been raped." At that point she started to cry. Heero walked over to her and held her in his arms. She looked up again and continued her story. "I didn't have the guts to help her and to get him to stop what he was doing to her. Mum never tried because she was to afraid of him and if she did he 'd cut her up. The one time dad wanted to have a go at me Ann stepped in and offered herself to dad just to protect me. He pushed her on the floor did his thing and then he turned to me telling me I was lucky that I had such a strong sister. Two weeks later he came home drunk and walked in the living room with a gun. He ordered me to tie up Ann in a chair and then I had to sit on my knees next to her. Mother cried out not to hurt us but father aimed his gun at her and fired. He killed mum first and then he turned to me and said only obedient daughters were allowed to live. He ordered me to take of my clothes, put my hands under Ann's skirt and start rubbing her thighs. I did as he asked knowing that he would do something to me when I didn't do as he asked but I was wrong. As soon as I was rubbing Ann's thighs he grabbed my hips and started to push himself into me. I never felt that much pain and I never had since then but I now understood what Ann was suffering and why she wanted to protect me from him. As soon as he was finished with me he ordered me to go to bed but I knew why he wanted me gone so he could take another crack at torturing Ann again. For the first time in my life it was time to show him I was not going to let him torture her again so I refused to go out. He looked at me and said that I was to weak to do what Ann could so he took a piece of rope and strangled me. After that I woke up in a hospital remembering what he had done to me and I wondered how Ann was doing. The doctor at the hospital said that I would never have to go home again and that he knew somebody who could help me. I took the chance of getting out as Ann always told me to do when it was offered. Now I feel guilty about the fact that I have taken it without getting her out of there too." She folded her hands in her lap and started to cry again.

"If it helps a little," Heero started to comfort her "She had been brainwashed several times since then so she didn't remember how or when you were killed. She even got pregnant at the age of twelve had the baby six weeks before her thirteenth birthday. She didn't remember any of it until a few days ago. I think you had a good shrink helping you to deal with your nightmares and somehow he resurfaced memories that could have been buried inside your head for years but now you can talk about them."

"Mohamed made sure that I was given the best treatment to heal again from the traumatic experiences throughout my childhood. I am very grateful to him and I can't wait to return the favour to him. He has been like a father to me, at least he took care of me as my real father should have."

"I see he has taken good care of you but I want you to come home with me so you can meet everyone. Ann, Annie, Mariemaya, Relena and Trowa are all looking forward to see you." Heero told her looking at her reaction.

"Who are Annie, Mariemaya and Trowa?" she asked

"Annie is Ann's daughter, she named her Annie because at the time she didn't know what to call her baby. Mariemaya is the daughter of Treize Kushrenada who once tried to stage a military coup but got beaten by the gundams. Ann has adopted her six weeks after the coup. Trowa is a good friend of mine and Ann's new love in her life. They both fell in love during the war but got separated for a long time and on top of that she lost all memory about that. She found out again a few days ago."

"It seems like she has found happiness at last. I wish I could see her but I have other obligations right now."

"What obligations do you have?"

"Well in a few months from now I will be introduced to the man who I will marry in a year from now. I have been told he is a handsome man, charming and he is supposed to be a war hero. His name is Quattre Rebarbra Winner, have you met him during your time in the war?"

"He is a brother in arms, since we both were fighting for the colonies it was inevitable to run into each other. We became friends but he never mentioned that he was arranged to marry someone. He just announced to me the other day he was going to marry a friend of Relena, so if he knew about you marrying him he wouldn't have asked for her hand." Heero told her checking her reactions. She was a bit surprised but on the other hand it was possible that the young man didn't know about the arrangement between his father and Mr Ahmadi.

"When is he going to get married" she asked.

"I heard something about next month although it hasn't been confirmed yet."

"Mohamed won't be to pleased with that because he was promised that I would be the first wife in the household."

"I don't know what Mr Ahmadi and Mr Winner agreed upon but I can't just accept the fact that I find you to see you get married off to one of my best friends." Heero stated. At that point Mohamed walked in to tell her to go back to her room. He turned to Heero and started to talk.

"Mr Yuy I have done some checking up and it seems like you have ties to the Winner family."

"So what if I do"

"Well that would make things easier for me. I want you to tell him that I want a meeting with him in two days concerning his marriage with Ariana. You would do me a great favour by reminding him of the contract that was drafted between me and his father."

"I wonder if he knew that such a contract existed." Heero bluntly remarked.

"He should have known by now. His father would tell him at his eighteenth birthday."

"Quattre's father is dead for nearly five years so I doubt he was able to tell him about the contract between you and him."

This hit Mohamed in the face, he never thought about the fact that Mr Winner hadn't told anyone else. He suddenly realised that if no one ever told Quattre he was supposed to marry Ariana that he was well within his rights to marry another woman before he married Ariana. The contract was clear about details like that too. He suddenly realised that Mr Winner must have known he wouldn't live to tell Quattre about the contract so he added this clause that if Quattre would marry another woman than Ariana because he never was told to marry her first than he could marry the other woman and then he would get married with Ariana later. Mohamed underestimated the Winners and now he saw his great opportunity to become a member of the high society slip through his fingers. Heero looked at him with an expressionless face, told him he was leaving and he would bring Mr Ahmadi's message. He turned around and left the Ahmadi manor to go to the Winner mansion.

At the Winner mansion Quattre was looking through the contract his father had with Mr Ahmadi. He made sure that everything he read could help him to get out of this marriage. Dorothy was looking through another part of the contract. She looked at Quattre who looked very concerned.

"This contract is ironclad. I can't find anything that I can really use against Mohamed in order to get out of this marriage. The only thing I can use is the fact that I have never been told that this contract existed until now so you can get at least your rightful place as my first wife. Ariana then will be the second wife. I don't know if I will be able to treat her as a husband should and that would not be fair to her. She deserves better than this. I only want to marry you and no one else. What is the part of the contract revealing to you about what would be the compensation for refusing to marry her?"

"Well first of all you will loose all your rights as the head of the Winner corporation, second you will loose your fortune and there is a page missing here with other agreements followed by a fourth compensation which will take away your rights as head of the family."

"I wonder what is on the missing page. You don't have it lying around there because this set of papers is complete."

"No I don't have it here and we have to know what is on it. It may help us to take the right decision." Dorothy said.

Quattre called in Rasheed to find Irea and send her to his office if she was available. Ten minutes later Irea walked in looked at the couple in front of her who were looking at a certain part of the marriage contract.

"Irea there seems to be a page missing in this contract, do you happen to know where it is." Quattre asked her.

"I don't know what you mean Quattre. I don't know what I have to do with a missing page" Irea answered.

"Don't lie to me" Quattre reacted angrily

Irea saw that her dear little brother was getting angry and this wasn't the time to play dumb so she produced the page which she had hidden in another file. Quattre looked at it and started to realise why she had hidden this page.

"Our father really made a deal with the devil. You will have to marry his oldest son when I refuse to marry Ariana. I see that every single one of my sisters is set up to marry a relative of the Ahmadi's. You thought by hiding this page I would push forward and would only marry Dorothy and that you and all of my sisters sacrificed your freedom to choose your husbands for my happiness. If there is someone who has to right the wrongs here it is me. I can live without the riches we have, I can start a new business for myself but don't ask me to sacrifice my own family because I won't." Quattre barked at Irea. Dorothy walked over to Irea who was about to cry and put an arm around the woman's shoulder.

"We know you meant well but hiding things from us is not right, especially not to family. If that marriage is unavoidable we have to go through with it anyway. Quattre is as disappointed as I am about the fact he never was told that he was arranged to marry someone else besides me, but we can't change that now. If you thought that Quattre would let his family be torn apart to get what he wants more, you have another thing coming. He always puts family over business but this contract is a mix of business and family making it a one way deal with only one beneficial party: the Ahmadi patriarch. He knows that no matter what Quattre will marry Ariana because this contract states he will loose everything including me and the child we are expecting." Dorothy comforted Irea.

Quattre read the contract again and then looked up at his sister shaking his head. He knew that he had to marry Ariana weather he liked it or not. He hoped that she would at least be understanding about the whole situation and that she would take his offer to marry her after he married Dorothy. Hopefully Heero could be successful in dealing with Mohamed but the chance that he would get out of this marriage were low. At that time Rasheed came in his office announcing the arrival of Heero. Heero walked in greeted everyone and told everyone what he knew up to this point and had to disappoint Quattre that he couldn't get him out of this arranged marriage. Dorothy looked at Quattre who seemed to be on the brink of a breakdown. She put her arms around him and she started to caress him trying to calm him down but as soon as he felt her arms around him he started to cry. Heero told everyone he was leaving so they could take care of each other. Irea offered Heero a room where he could stay until the talks with Mohamed were over so he could at least help Quattre. Heero accepted the offer and Rasheed showed him his room. The moment Heero was alone he started to cry as well. For the first time in years he wasn't able to help someone he cared for and it made him feel angry. He would have loved to get Quattre out of this marriage with his sister Ariana. He wanted to take Ariana home and he also wanted that Relena was there with him. He picked up the phone and called her. The moment he heard her voice he started to feel a bit better and he told her everything that had happened that day and how disappointed he was about the fact that he couldn't help Quattre and Ariana out of the marriage they were forced in. Relena calmed him down and told him that maybe in some way this could end up well. He thanked her for listening to him and he told her he couldn't wait to hold her again in his arms. He hung up after that and decided to get some sleep to clear his head from all his worries.

On earth Relena was walking over to lady Une's room to tell her what Heero had told her. Once she was at the door she heard the children and lady Une laughing and Relena lost her courage to tell Ann what Heero found out. Lady Une had heard enough bad news for the past few days but she also had the right to know. While she decided what to do the door opened and Annie ran right into her.

"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to..." the young girl started but Relena smiled at her telling her it was alright. Ann who was curious about what was going on at the door came out and saw Relena.

"Relena what brings you here?" the woman asked. Relena looked at her trying to hide whatever she was feeling at the time but Ann saw right through it.

"What is it Relena?"

"Ann I just had a phone call from Heero and there is good news and there is bad news." Relena started with a trembling voice. Lady Une told her to come in expecting the worst. She knew Relena was struggling about how she would bring the news so she told her not to be afraid about what she had to tell her. Relena started to tell her about the fact that Heero had found her sound and well on L4 with a family called Ahmadi. When lady Une learned about the fact that Mohamed Ahmadi was the legal guardian over Ariana and her father gave her up to him she was a bit surprised. Then Relena crushed every hopes Ann had about seeing her sister again as a free woman because she was arranged to marry Quattre.

"Are you sure about this? Has father given up his paternal rights to this man?" Ann asked

"Yes and Heero tried to find a legal way to get around the legal documents but the only way we can get Ariana out of this marriage is by making Mr Ahmadi to give up his rights as her guardian. Which he will refuse." Relena said

"At least we know that she will end up with a good husband" Ann sobbed

"Yes she will but it just isn't right" Relena replied holding back her tears but soon enough both women were crying and the children came over to sit with them and tried to comfort them. Some time later the two women were feeling better and took the girls in their arms and asked them if it would be a good idea to have a girl's night out. Mariemaya jumped off Relena's lap telling them it was a great idea while Annie looked at her mother with a puzzled look.

"Mum, going out while aunt Ariana is in trouble?" she asked

"Ariana is not in deep trouble, she can handle it up to a certain extend besides uncle Heero is there to help her." Ann replied.

"Knowing Heero he will step on a few toes to get what he wants" Relena added.

The girl still wasn't satisfied with the answers she got. Lady Une said that she shouldn't worry and there was nothing they can do about it anyway so it wouldn't hurt to let go for just a few hours. She sent the girls off to change and then she turned to Relena.

"Relena you don't have to keep on your own room, why don't you move in this room there is place enough for the four of us. It 'll save you money and you don't have to come here to see if everything is alright."

"I have the feeling that you want me around to help you with the girls. They are quite a hand full but I would love to help you but when Heero calls I 'll be outside unless he would ask for you."

"So you take me up on my offer?"

"Yes I do, besides it is quite lonely without Heero around. We can keep each other company. I 'll be getting my stuff and see you in half an hour here. You 'd better be ready for our evening out."

"I will be!"

Relena left the room to gather her own things and about twenty minutes later she was back. Mariemaya and Annie were looking at her moving into their room with a broad smile on their faces.

Ann told the girls to be good while they were out in town. After that they left the place behind and went nuts all evening. They returned late in the evening and went to bed immediately.

Mariemaya woke up as Annie was tossing and turning in her sleep crying out to someone to stop. She touched Annie's arm in order to wake her up. When the girl woke up she looked at Mariemaya with a frightened face.

"Hey you were having quite a nightmare" Mariemaya apologised for waking her up.

"It is alright, I am having these nightmares since I was ten." Annie answered.

"What are they about?"

"It is always the same, I see mum lying down under an old man who is doing god knows what to her and then he tells me that she has been a bad girl and that she deserves this punishment. Mum is always crying to let me go and that she would do everything he wants her to. After that he puts a gag in her mouth as he continues with what he was doing in the first place. I always beg him to stop and leave mum alone but he never listens. As soon as he is finished he tells me that some day she will give me a baby brother. I don't understand why he is hurting her that way."

Mariemaya understood what the girl was telling her so she took her into her arms and said that Annie shouldn't have to worry about that. Annie nodded and laid her head against Mariemaya's chest while she let her tears flow freely. Mariemaya kept her arms around her and comforted her until she fell asleep. Mariemaya looked at the girl in her arms and wondered what was going on in her mind. She held her arms around her and fell asleep herself.

Lady Une also was having a restless sleep. Relena suddenly felt Ann's elbow in her ribs waking her up. She looked at the woman next to her who was wrestling with her blankets as if someone was lying upon her. Relena decided to wake up lady Une and ask her what the dream was all about if she could remember. By the time Relena's hand was close enough to lady Une to wake her up Ann was waking up with a loud scream. She looked around with a bewildered look in her eyes. Relena, who was a bit startled, told her it was all a nightmare. Lady Une sighed and looked at her.

"I was dreaming about the times my father had abused me. I never had these dreams before because I couldn't remember it. The only time I did remember of those days was the one time that happened before I ran from home and I got over it pretty good after some time. Now I have to deal with all these horrible memories too. Being raped once was bad to get over but being abused so many times makes me feel, I don't know, filthy. I could have stopped him by kicking, beating and biting him but I never did anything. I just let it happen because he was my father and father knew what was best." at that point Ann started to cry. Relena put her arms around the woman and comforted her. Ann laid her head against Relena's chest. While both women were lying on the bed lady Une continued her story.

"He told me that I was a very good girl if I would do as he told me and he would make sure no one would hurt me. At first he only touched my vagina or licked it but with time he started to shove his fingers in me. I was eleven when this all started and by the time I turned twelve I was his sex partner for at least three days a week. I remember the first time he fucked me I was to surprised to say no to him. Later on I asked him why he did this to me he told me that everyone did it. I should have known better but I believed him. Mum didn't care any more what happened to me or Ariana since she only cared about what happened to Jonah and she did everything to find him again. When I told her what daddy was doing to me she said that I was telling lies, that he wouldn't do that to me or Ariana. She was lost inside her own search for Jonah that she didn't notice any more what was going on at home. I think that was the reason why father had killed her because she didn't care about her children any more. I remember the times he looked at Ariana in the same way he looked at me when he felt the need to fuck me. I walked up to him told him to stay away from Ariana and take me instead. He told me that at least I did care about Ariana's well being before he took me to bed with him. I think that he saw his opportunity to get rid of mum and turn me into his life partner. I think he has always been somewhat of a paedophile with incestuous tendencies and as soon mum stopped to look after us he took advantage of the situation. The first time he took me to bed with him I wondered why he wanted me instead of our mother next to him in bed. Well I found out soon enough. First the somewhat innocent games followed later by the systematic brainwashing in which he made me believe that I wasn't doing anything wrong. I really thought that what we were doing was normal. Can you imagine my surprise when I found out that it was not? It was my tutor who told me that my father was not allowed to go to bed with me. Three days later father had fired her but I believed her."

"Why did you believe her?"

"Because father had killed mum and Ariana the day before. I remember how he came home, pulled his gun, aimed at mum saying that she was a bad mother and shot her. I ran over to her but dad grabbed me and tied me to a chair while Ariana was trying to get away from us. Then he grabbed her by her neck and told her to sit on her knees in front of me. I begged my father to leave her alone and take me instead. I knew he would hurt her so I offered myself to him again and again but he told me that I was not her mother so he could do with Ariana as he pleased. He ordered her to put her hands under my dress and start to rub my thighs and vagina. He sat down behind her and pulled down her panties and started to rape her. She looked up to me while her hands were clawing into my thighs. I told her to hold on even though it hurt like hell but I knew that the pain she was feeling was worse than the pain I felt at the time. She kept looking in my eyes and cried until he had enough fun with her. After that he told her to go to her room but she wanted to stay with me so that he wouldn't hurt me again. I told her to go to her room and not to worry about me any more because it was already too late for me. She grabbed my hips and pulled herself close against me trying to protect me from what she thought to be the same fate that she went through. Father put his hands around her throat and killed her while he was fucking me. When he came in me he let go of her lifeless body. After that he picked me up kissed me and brought me to bed. The next day I told everything to my tutor who then confronted my father. That was the last time I saw her and later I found out that he had ripped her tongue out and made sure that she couldn't tell any one who she was in any way. I found her again after the war hidden in our cellar where she was abused by my father as a human toilet. As long as he lived he didn't even once use the toilets in the house to do his business, he did it always on her. When he died she thought she could finally get out but my father's staff didn't let her out because they feared that they would have to go to prison for not helping her. Well when I found her I was so angry that I fired them all and replaced them. I took her with me and brought her home again. Three days later she died leaving me a thank you note on her deathbed. I wished I had been with her when she died because there was so much she wanted to tell me but her body was failing her rapidly. At least she died in peace. I 'll never forget the look on her face when I found her in the cellar. The look of disbelief, the pain and the happiness that someone finally came to rescue her. She held on to me like a child would hold on to it's mother when I walked her out of her cell. She was weakened by the things my father had done to her and according to the doctor that examined her she had not long to live so I searched for her family and they came for her as soon as possible. Then came Sally to me with the offer to lead the Preventers and I went to Brussels to see what it was all about and when I came home again her sister came to me with her final note. It said that she hoped that I would come home to get her out and when that wish came through she could die in peace knowing that I was safe." Ann sobbed.

"I don't know what to say right now. Usually I 'm so good with words but there are no words for all the things your father did. How can I understand what you have gone through? You have been living in hell until you went to the academy." Relena tried to calm her down. Ann put her arms around Relena's chest, laid her head on Relena's shoulder and cried for a while. Relena held her in her arms while she kissed the woman's hair. Ann looked up to Relena, lifted her head and kissed Relena full on the lips. Relena was to surprised to immediately react but once the shock wore of she gently pushed lady Une back.

"Ann, why did you kiss me like that"

"I...well...oh God, mum used to kiss me like that when she comforted me"

"It sounds as if your father was not the only paedophile in the house."

"She never touched me like my father did, she only kissed me that way. She just kissed me like that, nothing else. Come to think of it I sometimes kissed Mariemaya like that and she never thought anything wrong with it."

"But I do, you French kissed me. I hope you 're not attracted to me because I don't want an affair with you."

"I am not in love with you although you really know how to kiss. I can see what Heero sees in you. You really are as passionate as he claims you to be."

"You talk about me?"

"Well Heero only talked about you with me because he wanted to keep it between me and him. Looking back on it, he only shared the general info on you with everyone but he told intimate details to me. He knew we were brother and sister during the war but he never told me because he couldn't prove it. In my heart I must have known it too because I never shared his stories with any one else."

"Well since you have been swapping stories about me maybe I can tell you this too. Did you know that Heero had this recurring nightmare about you and him fucking each other."

"He never told me"

"He told me one night some time after the war. I asked him why he called it a nightmare and he told me then that it was not right. At the time he left it with that but now it all makes sense. These nightmares became less recurrent after we spent our first night together. Every now and then he wakes up after this nightmare screaming your name."

Ann wondered why Heero had nightmares like that, she could barely remember holding him in her arms when she was four let alone remembering what happened to him. She laid her head down on Relena's chest and soon after she fell asleep. Relena held the woman in her arms wondering about what had happened between her and Ann. That kiss changed her view on lady Une a little. No mother would kiss her children in that way and that is what put Relena on her guard. Was lady Une loosing her last marbles or has she been raised in a way no child should be raised. If her definition of a comforting kiss was French kissing she must have been raised completely wrong. Relena remembered her first French kiss and at the time she was with Heero.

Quattre looked up to Heero who was reading a newspaper while they were waiting for Mohamed Ahmadi to arrive. There was a lot of tension in the air because today Quattre would see the woman he was supposed to marry. Dorothy and Irea walked into the living room where both men were sitting.

"Hey bro, everything alright?" Irea started up the conversation

"I will be as soon as this meeting is over. I just can't wait to tell Mohamed the bad news." he replied

"What bad news?"

"That Ariana isn't going to be his 'first lady'"Heero stated

"I remember something about a small compensation for that" Dorothy cut in.

"Yes I know but I will offer him something to sweeten the deal." Quattre said

"What are you up to?" Irea asked.

"Well in the past two days I have talked to Yasmina, Jason Ahmadi and a few lawyers. It seems like Jason has feelings for Yasmina and she has feelings for him so I set them up to meet. Yesterday they had their first date and it went remarkably well. I practically had to use force to get him to go home while Dorothy had to drag Yasmina in." Quattre told Irea who seemed to get his idea.

"So in order to get a little something out of it you are going to offer Yasmina as a possible wife for his youngest son. I love the way you think." she reasoned.

"In a few minutes Mohamed and his sons Yussuf and Jason will arrive so I want Dorothy to keep out of sight as well as every sister here at home. You Irea will have to be at the meeting at first since you knew about this contract and never told me. You will have to explain why you never mentioned it to me until it was too late off course. I hope you will tell the truth." Quattre continued.

"I will tell the truth but when I am done I will join Dorothy in the recreation room." Irea told him.

"That alright but one more thing, you will have to wear a veil and preferably something more ladylike since Mohamed is a bit of a traditionalist. I don't want to anger him further by not showing some respect for tradition." Quattre told Irea, who immediately took off to her room.

"Well does this mean that when we are married that I have to wear a veil too when he comes to visit us." Dorothy asked. Quattre looked at her and nodded. Dorothy shrugged, kissed Quattre and left the room.

"You do know Quattre that Dorothy will refuse to wear a veil under any circumstances. My advice is not to cross her on that." Heero said.

"I know but for now she will behave. We made a pact that when the two of us are married she will do as told when she is here at L4. When we are on Earth she is free to do whatever she wants. I am even considering moving to Earth so she can live her life as freely as she is used to. It also means that Ariana will live closer to her family." Quattre replied looking at Heero who started to smile. It seemed like Heero was expecting this to happen.

About ten minutes later Rasheed walked in to announce the arrival of the Ahmadi delegation. Quattre told him to bring them to his office while he stood up and gestured Heero to follow him.

As soon as everyone was assembled in Quattre's office Mohamed started to speak.

"May I thank you Mr Winner and your family for the hospitality you are showing us. It is a great pleasure to know that I am as welcome to this house as I was in the past when your father was still around. I hope that you don't mind me saying but today will be a glorious day for both you and me. Mr Winner as you should know by now your father and I were good friends and we both meant well for you and your future so I have made arrangements with your father to make sure you get the future you deserve."

"Will you get down to business," Heero interrupted "We all know why you are here so cut the crap will ya."

"Mr Yuy, I think you need some lessons in manners but since you insist, I am here to see if Mr Winner is going to honor the agreement his father and I had. We agreed that he would marry my adopted daughter Ariana when he would come of age. It came to my attention that you weren't going to do so but you planned on marrying another woman instead."

"You heard right Mr Ahmadi but I haven't completely discarded the agreement yet. I wasn't aware that I was arranged to marry Ariana until I announced I was going to marry Ms Catalonia. The reason why I wasn't told in time is simple: my father was supposed to tell me on my eighteenth birthday or his lawyer who drafted the contract but both of them died before that day. There was only one other person who had knowledge of this contract but told me about it when it was too late. I did something I shouldn't have and now I am paying the price. I therefore have to deny Ariana's right as my first wife but I will compensate you for the suffered loss."

"You mean you are still going to marry her I suppose but who else knew about this contract since your father and his lawyer were dead there was no one else but me who knew about it." Mohamed asked.

"I knew you 'd ask that question so I am going to let that person explain it. Rasheed would you please send in Irea." Quattre continued

Rasheed opened the door and Irea came in making everyone turn their head. She had changed into a dress that really showed her body shapes. For a moment Mohamed couldn't get his eyes of of her. He turned to Quattre and asked why she was there.

"Well she was the one who told me about the deal you and father made with each other. Now let her do all the explaining." Quattre answered as he turned to Irea who started to tremble.

"Good afternoon gentlemen, I am Irea Winner, Quattre's older sister. As you are informed I was the last one alive to know about the marriage that was arranged by Mr Ahmadi and my father. I found out about it a few months before Quattre went off to earth to fight Oz. I was in father's office looking for some articles concerning medical care when I found this file on his desk. When I looked in it I found out what it exactly was, an arrangement to marry Quattre and Ariana Une, the girl father saved from death. It was quite a surprise since I was told by our parents that we wouldn't be forced in an arranged marriage and yet there it was an arranged marriage. I confronted father with this knowledge and he told me that if Quattre knew what was good for him he would better marry her. I never disagreed with my father before then but that evening I was so angry with him that he always forced Quattre into doing things which were supposed to be good for him. Little did I know that Quattre was ready to defy him on looking for a different solution to the war that was coming our way. In the end Quattre left us to fight and I hoped for his sake he would return a hero and that father would break the agreement you had with him. Unfortunately father died in the war and Quattre started to fight even harder to create the peace he longed for. He did come home a hero but no one told him what his future held in store since I was told never to tell him about the arranged marriage and the lawyer never got the chance to tell him either. He died in the Mariemaya uprising."

Mohamed looked at her and started to wonder. Had the old Mr Winner known that these events would happen? Was it possible that he left his son a way to get out of this marriage?

"Well it seems that I had to come out here sooner so Mr Winner would have known about our arrangement." Mohamed started "I have to say your sister is a very obedient woman when it comes down to it. She would some day make a fine wife, hopefully one of my sons."

"Irea will marry who she wants, when she wants." Quattre told Mohamed. "I intend to keep our father's promise that she as well as my other sisters can marry the man of their choosing."

"Will they make the right choices in men?" Mohamed asked.

"Well, if they don't it is not my problem but theirs and that is why Irea is not married yet she hasn't found the right man yet to marry. Irea you may go join our other sisters and my fiancé in the courtyard." Quattre told her.

Irea walked out with a graceful bow, still trembling but relieved that she was allowed to go to her sisters and Dorothy. As soon as she was out of sight Mohamed turned to Quattre wondering what this young man was up to since he dropped the word fiancé on purpose and without hesitation. Maybe he was going to announce now that he would not marry Ariana and by doing so hand over the entire Winner company to him. Mohamed discarded the idea immediately because Quattre also mentioned that he would keep his father's promise that his daughters could marry the man of their own choosing and it seemed that the young man meant what he said.

"Well Quattre you still haven't told me if you are going to marry Ariana or not. I have to remind you that the price for not marrying her is quite high."

"I am aware that, you see I can't really marry Ariana before I have married Ms Catalonia." Quattre started to tell

"You will marry her first as promised in the contract" Mohamed interrupted

"Will you please listen first before you start arguing about what is in the contract and what is not in there."

"I certainly will not...The agreement was that you marry Ariana when you are of age and she would be the lady of the house. Then you can marry whoever your heart desires, is that clear?"

"You tell me to turn my firstborn into a bastard child." Quattre calmly answered looking back at Mohamed who suddenly realised what was going on. Dorothy Catalonia, the Dutches Dermail, was expecting a baby and Quattre was its father so he had to marry her before he could marry Ariana. Even if he would marry Ariana before he married Dorothy, Ariana would still loose her rank over Dorothy since she would bare their first child before Ariana would.

"This puts a different light on the situation," Mohamed began "Excuse me for loosing my temper but I thought you wanted to get out of the agreement your father and I had."

"Actually if I could get out of it I would but I doubt that you are willing to let go of the arrangement my father and you had. I have a proposition for you, I will marry Ariana as agreed but we have to discuss a few things. I will acknowledge her as my wife but not as the lady of the house. She will get her share in the family fortune as soon as she bares her first child. As compensation for her not being the first lady here you will get the money as agreed in the contract. You don't have to pay the dowry either. Last but not least, it came to my attention that your son Jason and my sister Yasmina have been meeting each other secretly in the past few months so yesterday I asked them out on a date with me and my fiancé so we could establish for ourselves what was going on between them and we were pleasantly surprised when they announced they loved each other and possibly want to marry some day. I will give them my blessing if Jason will ask for her hand and the Ahmadi family will receive an exclusive dowry."

"Jason, son, what is Mr Winner talking about?" Mohamed asked his youngest son.

"The truth father, Yasmina and I love each other since university but I never told you because I was afraid you wouldn't approve my relation with her."

"Jason, any relation with a member of the Winner family would be fine by me. You know that."

"Yeah, as long as there is coming money your way," Jason answered.

"Hey don't use that tone of voice at me" Mohamed replied

"Actually he has, in a way, a point" Heero spoke up "If the deal with Quattre's father didn't involve so much money I bet you would let Ariana and Quattre go their own way."

"If it was only money I was interested in I would not go through all this trouble of reminding Mr Winner of the agreement his father and I had. You see to society I am still considered a servant to the Winner family whereas Quattre's father called me an equal. The only way to get society to see me like that is through this marriage." Mohamed clarified the story.

"It is true Heero, he means more to the Winner family than just being a faithful servant. He will gain the respect he earned from our society but to get it Ariana and I have to marry each other. I don't like it any more than you do but that 's the way things go here on L4. Someday this society will acknowledge true friendship over servitude." Quattre replied.

"Now then Mr Winner since we can come to an agreement I would like to accept your proposition but since you are willing to decline the dowry your father and I agreed on I will have to decline the money that you were to pay if you married someone else before you would marry Ariana. It sounds to me that we are all victims of circumstances and we can now look forward to a nice future for all of us. I only have a small request, would you please marry Ariana before your first child is born." Mohamed pleaded.

"Off course I will but first I 'd like to meet her before I decide on a wedding date." Quattre said

"Quattre, I thought you would ask for her so I brought her with us and she is waiting in the car for you. I can assure you she is everything you can wish for."

"Well since I know her sister I think she will be."

"Then you also know about the hell she has fled from to end up at my place."

"I know that her innocence was violently taken from her and that she might still have nightmares about that."

"Well I have done as much as I could to take those away but it was not that easy. It took her years not to jump up and run into a corner of her bedroom whenever I entered to see how she was or to simply say goodnight. Once she was lying in bed already because she was ill and I happened to pass her room so I entered to see how ill she was and the moment I entered her room she crawled in a ball, shivering more of fear than because of her fever. I don't exactly know what happened back then but I can imagine it must have been horrible." Mohamed sighed looked at Heero who nodded.

"Well then," Heero started to lighten the mood "Why don't we call in Ariana and let her and Quattre meet each other."

"That would be a good idea," Quattre agreed

"You youngsters are as impatient as I was when I met my first wife." Mohamed laughed while he gestured Yussuf to get Ariana. A few moments later he returned with her and Quattre smiled when he saw her enter his office. Heero looked at him and excused himself so Quattre could be able to talk with her in private. Mohamed called his sons and followed Heero. As soon as Ariana and Quattre were alone she took of her veil and looked down to the floor. Quattre walked over to her, cupped her chin and lifted her face until he could see her eyes. He looked into them and then he spoke.

"Ariana, I think you know by now that I already am marrying someone else before I will marry you but that doesn't mean that I won't marry you. My fiancé and I have already agreed that you will be part of our family. I will treat you the same way I will treat Dorothy and try to show you as much love as I possibly can. I can't honestly say that I love you right now but given time I will learn to love you."

"I know that I will never be the love of your life but I will be a good wife to you as I possibly can. You may learn to love me over time and I will love you. Over time we may have the happy family we both have dreamed of even though it turned out a little differently then we both expected."

Quattre nodded as he closely watched her and started to wonder how much she resembled her older sister. For a moment he thought they could be twins but Ariana was a bit smaller than Lady Une. Her face was softer and she had these sparkling grey eyes. She blushed during the entire time that he was looking at her. Then he noticed that she was frailer compared to Ann who was a bit muscled. She was more beautiful than Quattre expected . He walked over to his desk to call Rasheed to bring a cup of tea when he suddenly heard a knock on his door.

"I am sorry to interrupt" Rasheed walked in "but somehow Yussuf managed to insult Heero in such a way that he challenged him to a duel. I believe the exact phrase Yussuf used to provoke him was that Heero should have taken care of his sisters instead of running away from his responsibilities. Heero replied by telling him that he hadn't run away but that he was removed by his stepfather from the family. Yussuf said that if he was a man he should have made his way back to his family instead of staying away and return home as soon as everything is over. Heero admitted he should have returned sooner but then again how could an eight year old boy help his sisters if he wasn't even able to help himself. Yussuf insulted him by saying that maybe he wanted to sleep with his sisters too just like his stepfather. Heero told him to take back that remark but Yussuf refused, even Mohamed told Yussuf to take back his words or Mr Winner might reconsider his deal but still the man refused to apologise so Heero challenged him to a sword fight. Yussuf already pulled out his scimitar whereas Heero has no sword yet."

Quattre walked over to a painting which he took down and behind it were lying all kinds of swords on a display. He took a katana from it and walked out of the office telling Ariana to follow him. As soon as he came out into the garden he saw Heero diving away from another swing from Yussuf. Quattre threw Heero the katana who grabbed it while jumping in the air,unsheathed it and landed on his feet to parry Yussuf's next attack. Ariana walked out after putting her veil back on and looked at the whole scene as if she was in a movie. Mohamed walked over to her and told her not to fear for anyone's life. He looked up to the balcony overlooking the garden where several of Quattre's sisters and a blond young woman had gathered. Even though he couldn't see her face he knew that the blond woman in front of all the other women was Dorothy Catalonia, Duchess Dermail. Then he looked back at the fight seeing how well his son fought but was no match for the faster and more agile Heero. After a while Heero was able to disarm the man and put his blade to his throat.

"I won" Heero said then turned away from him and apologised to Mohamed and Quattre and walked in the house. Mohamed walked over to Yussuf and hit him over the head telling him to shut his mouth every now and then. Jason was looking at Quattre who didn't seem to be surprised about the outcome of the fight.

"Quattre let me apologise for my brother's behaviour..." he began but Quattre interrupted him.

"There is nothing to apologise for. I know what kind of person your brother is but I also know Heero too well to know that when challenged he doesn't back away from a fight. As long as he doesn't need to kill someone he will be alright but don't push him to far. He can turn into a ruthless killer in just seconds. His training has transformed him into a perfect soldier and when he is forced to be that person again I can only say God help us."

"Is he that dangerous?"

"Even more than that but lets talk about something else while Heero cools his temper and Yussuf is being led off the premises." Quattre changed the subject while he walked over to Mohamed who saw Rasheed escort Yussuf back to his car. Quattre asked Mohamed to follow him back to his office for a cup of tea and the old man accepted his offer but asked if Ariana could spend some time with the women present in Quattre's house. Quattre brought Ariana to the courtyard where the women had reassembled after the fight between Heero and Yussuf. Irea welcomed the young woman in their midst and introduced her to everyone present while Quattre left them to finish his talk with Mohamed. When he entered his office Jason and Mohamed were discussing the possible marriage between Yasmina and himself. It seemed that the Ahmadi patriarch was pleased his son was in love with her and that the feelings were mutual. Quattre interrupted their discussion and offered them a cup of tea.

"Well Quattre now that you have met Ariana what are your thoughts about her?"

"She is as beautiful as her sister, I think that over time we will come to a good understanding. I feel that I will learn to love her and someday, hopefully soon, she will give birth to a child. I hope that you would accept the honor to be the child's godfather if it is a son."

"I will but first things first. We should discuss a wedding date first and then we talk about children. Do you have a date in mind?"

"Actually I was discussed this with my fiancé and we agreed that Ariana and I should get married the same day the two of us would get married. You see she is afraid that if we wait too long that she can't be present at the wedding. She thinks that she might be confined to her bed by then just like her mother was when she was pregnant of Dorothy. This way we can also save some money as well because we will have everyone present at one party."

"You think that I want to sit with the Catalonia family at one table?"

"Actually the only family member Dorothy has left is Mariemaya Kushrenada so I highly doubt it you have to sit down at the same table with a member of the Catalonia family. General Catalonia died during the war and his wife died when Dorothy was young. The only kind of family she has left is a few good friends who also happen to be friends of mine."

"It pleases me to hear that the man who was responsible for the death of my second wife died in the war he started. Actually it was Duke Dermail who started this war to gain power so he could rule earth as well as the colonies. He never had peace on his mind and his son in law did just what he wanted to achieve his goals. Maybe it was a good thing you decided to fight Oz and Romefeller. Nevertheless I still feel like this war hasn't ended yet."

"The war is over now so enjoy the peace while it lasts, hopefully our entire life, and try to forgive those who wronged you. I lost my father because he didn't want Oz to take over L4 and the mining colonies. Oz killed him for his actions but with the help of the people of L4. I forgave them after the war although it still hurts. In my rage I destroyed several colonies and that is something no one can forgive."

"You were forgiven by the people who lost their homes back then because they saw how they had wronged you. I was one of the people who spoke up after your father was killed and showed them how wrong they were. Oz was everyone's enemy, not to the Alliance only but to everyone who longed for peace."

"Now to get back to real issue, do you agree to the proposition that I will marry Ariana the same day I marry Dorothy?"

"I don't see a problem with that now. Who will be your best man for the wedding?"

"Which wedding?...Just kidding, I was thinking about asking Jason as my best man since he has the intension to become my brother in law, what do you say Jason" Quattre asked turning to Jason.

"I will accept your offer Quattre but why don't you ask a friend or a relative."

"I thought I just did" Quattre answered.

"Son, it seems like you just been declared a member of the Winner family."Mohamed laughed "but now something else do you think that I can ask Lady Une to be Ariana's maid of honor."

"I think that Ariana should ask that herself."

"I don't know where to reach her that 's why I am asking"

"Neither do I but maybe Heero knows, just a second."

Quattre walked out of his office to see if Heero happened to be around. He found him in the garden reading a book on the theory of total pacifism.

"Heero, I need to ask you something."

"Let me guess, you want an explanation for the fight here in the garden"

"No I already know what happened and Mohamed apologises for Yussuf's behaviour. What I wanted to ask you is Lady Une's private phone number."

"Oh, Why..."

"Well Ariana wants to talk to her and she wants to ask her something."

"I see, well then lets see what I can do" Heero said as he pulled out his cellphone and looked up the Ann's phone numbers. He wrote them down so Quattre would hand them over to Ariana. He even made Quattre swear that only Ariana was given these numbers. Quattre went back inside to his office.

"Heero gave me the numbers you need but he made me promise to give them to only Ariana."

"I don't see a problem with that and what 's more I would like to go home now but I am leaving Jason and Ariana behind so you get to know her better and Jason will chaperone you. I expect you will be doing the same for him so he won't do something stupid with Yasmina."

"Don't worry about that besides there are eleven sisters here to chaperone me too not to mention Ariana's half brother who might knock me out when I do something inappropriate."

"Then I think I can leave you all in good hands."

"Yes you can."

"Well then Mr Winner it was a pleasure to be here and hope to see you soon to ask me for her hand" the old man said then bowed and left. Jason and Quattre looked at each other then walked out of the office to the courtyard where all the ladies were swapping stories with each other. While Jason was stopped by Yasmina Quattre went on to find Ariana. He found her talking with Dorothy.

"Good afternoon ladies," he started "How are my lovely to be wives doing"

"We are getting along just fine" Dorothy answered with a big smile.

"We got to know each other and I have to say we were making up a few dirty fantasies about you." Ariana teased.

"What kind...never mind, actually I came over to make it official," Quattre told them while he pulled out a small box in which were two rings. "Dorothy Catalonia and Ariana Une would you love to marry me?"

Both women looked at each other surprised he asked both of them in the same time, then looked back at him and answered simultaneously "Yes we will marry you.". Quattre put each of them their engagement ring around their fingers after which they both jumped up and kissed him on each cheek.

"Look Ariana, I never thought it was possible to make him blush like that." Dorothy squealed when she noticed Quattre's red face "Now I now it can be done"

"Ok ladies, I never expected the two of you to jump me like that either. Ariana I have here something for you." he told Ariana as he pulled out the note that Heero gave him as well as his cellphone. He handed her the note and the cellphone while she looked at him wondering what this meant.

"Why are you giving me this" she asked.

"Well I heard you wanted to ask someone close to you to be your maid of honor. The note holds her phone numbers and you will need the cellphone to call her."

Ariana realised what Quattre just offered her and tears came to her eyes as she thanked Quattre and Dorothy. She tried hard not to cry but the tears just kept rolling over her cheeks as she dialed a number. When the call connected and she heard her sister's voice at the other end she couldn't say a word so Dorothy tried to calm her down while Quattre took the phone and told Lady Une what was happening. When he stopped talking he heard that Ann also started to cry and Relena had to calm her down while Mariemaya kept the conversation going for the time being. As soon as both women had calmed down they took another turn at trying to talk to each other.

"Ann is it really you?" Ariana asked

"Yes it is me Ariana, I am surprised you are still alive. I thought you were dead." Ann sobbed.

"So did I until I woke up in a hospital alive and well. It is so good to hear from you again. If I could I would like to come over to see you again but I can't. I have a wedding to prepare." Ariana told her

"So I heard but you don't have to wait to see me for long because I will come over once all the paperwork for taking Annie home is finished. I expect that to happen in two days so if God is willing we see each other in three days."

"I called because I have something to ask you, would you like to be my maid of honor?"

"I would love to but you called at a very bad time because I have to go now to talk to a few people who will decide whether I will be allowed to take Annie home or not."

"Well then I will see you in three days, Goodbye."

Ariana hung up, turned to Quattre handed him his phone, put her arms around his neck and kissed him. Dorothy watched the entire scene unfold and her heart filled with happiness as she saw how Quattre looked at her while he held Ariana in his arms. She knew that he loved her more than he would love Ariana but she had to make sure that he wouldn't make Ariana feel that she is just the woman he had to marry to keep everyone happy. He seemed to have the same idea as he kissed her back making Dorothy smile. A few moments later Heero joined them.

"Hey lover boy go easy on my sister will ya. I want you to hold your horses until the wedding night or else you will personally get acquainted with my fists." He threatened Quattre.

"Heero where have you left your manners" Ariana yelled at him

"If he didn't use this kind of language I would be concerned" Dorothy interrupted her before she went on.

"He happens to be the designated chaperone." Quattre added with a smile on his face as Heero started to laugh. They all talked for a while until Jason came over to tell them Ariana and him were leaving to go home. They all said their goodbyes and left.

Three days later Lady Une, Relena and the children arrived at L4. Quattre, Heero, Jason end Ariana were waiting for their arrival at spaceport. When Ariana saw her older sister she immediately ran over to her and put her arms around Ann who was too surprised to react at first. When she realised it was her younger sister who held her in her arms she put down her suit case and embraced her sister as well. Tears were rolling over their cheeks while they held each other tightly. When they kissed everyone looked surprised at them except for Heero and Relena who knew a little more about their background.

"They must have been more than sisters" Jason wondered

"I think so too." Quattre joined him.

"No, it 's just that both of them have been brought up not knowing any better than kissing each other like that." Relena clarified the situation.

"Aha, so Quattre are you going to let Ariana to bring up her children like she was." Jason asked.

"I don't think so" he replied.

After that Quattre told them to follow him outside where a limo was waiting for them. When they got in Ariana took the seat next to Quattre who put one arm around her waist and asked Lady Une to sit next to him too. When everyone had taken their seat Ann asked why Quattre insisted that she would sit next to him.

"Well I would like to have a little chat with you about your sister and what perks she has." Quattre started the conversation.

"Ah, well as long as I can remember she used to love to tickle me whenever she felt like it." Ann began "She also has this typical Une temper and she is even more impatient than I am."

"Sounds like fun,"

"You 'll change your mind after your first argument you 've had with her. I also remember she liked to throw around dirty diapers in the nursery, especially the one she ..." Then Ann's expression on her face made everybody laugh while Ariana's face turned red in shame.

"Ok. I 'll keep her out off the nursery as soon as our first child is born"

"Hey, I was one year old when I did it and it only happened once." Ariana defended herself

"Actually it was twice." Ann reminded her. "Remember your second birthday"

"You may remember but I don't"

"It is one of the perks of being an older sister." Ann teased her.

"While we 're on the subject, I remember you loved to throw marbles at people's heads."

"Guilty, but you have to admit it was fun throwing them at dad who never knew who or what hit him."

"Ok I have to admit it was fun."

Everybody listened to the Une sisters bringing up stories about their childhood years and about the years they spent apart from each other. When they arrived at the Winner mansion everyone had the feeling that this family reunion was the best thing that had happened in years for all involved. Annie was quite excited when she saw where her aunt was going to live soon. She looked at Mariemaya who looked at everything as if it were a dream. A tear escaped the girl's eyes making Annie ask her why she was crying.

"The roses in the garden remind me of the rose garden at my father's estate."

"You miss him do you?"

"Yes I do but at least I know that I will get a great stepfather in return."

"You make it sound as if mum is your biological mother too."

"I feel more related to her than I ever did with my mother." the redheaded girl answered.

"Girls why don't you get in and unpack. After that you can wonder about in this garden as much as you like." Ann told her daughters as she followed the servants who were carrying their suit cases. Heero and Relena looked at her and Ariana going in together with the children. Relena then turned her head to Heero and kissed him while Dorothy and Quattre were kissing each other.

Six weeks later at the Ahmadi home.

"Ann this is already the third day in a row we have to look for you in the powder room. Are you sure you 're going to be fine for the wedding." Ariana asked her sister.

"Yes I will be fine, I have been to the doctor yesterday and he doesn't think it is something really bad. Besides I was fine all afternoon yesterday so no worries about me going to spill my guts during the wedding." Lady Une answered.

"And you are sure you 're not pregnant?" Ariana teased Ann.

"Yes I am sure" she barked

"I think she is," Dorothy said "She has that glow about her that most pregnant women have."

"It takes one to know one" Relena added to the conversation.

"ok, it is the old lets conspire against Ann thing again. I assure you that I 'm not pregnant because I never have unprotected sex."

"Are you sure about that?" Mariemaya asked

"Off course I am."

"Really mum?" Annie pushed

"Suddenly I 'm not that sure anymore" Ann started to think back to the days after she got together again with Trowa.

"Hmm, I think that we have a winner here at the baby jack pot" Ariana stated.

"And first prize is a wedding for the happy couple expecting the baby" Relena laughed while Ann started to feel small. Her cellphone started to ring so she could get out of the room while everyone else was laughing at her.

"This is Lady Une speaking."

"Good morning Ms Une this is Doctor Jameson, I have your test results back and let me be the first to congratulate you on your pregnancy."

"I 'm pregnant? Waw, how far am I along"

"Roughly six weeks I think."

"Thank you"

After the doctor had hung up she immediately dialed Trowa's number. When he picked up she asked him where he was and if he was sitting down. After he assured her that whatever she had to tell would not knock him off his feet she told him she was pregnant. Trowa suddenly sounded very excited and told everyone who was there with him the news that he was going to be a father. Lady Une felt like this confirmed how much he loved her. Once she told him that they would talk about it a little more after the wedding ceremonies she hung up and went back to the other women.

"Girls I have to tell you something," she started once she came in "You were all right, I am pregnant. It seems that the one time I had unprotected sex I got myself pregnant."

"One time?" Mariemaya wanted to make her confess

"Alright, it was more than once but let that be a warning for you young lady."

"Hey I 'm not the one having sex without any kind of protection." Mariemaya laughed.

"And I will make sure you won't have sex until you are eighteen."

"What about me?" Annie asked

"The same goes for you." Ann told her daughter.

They all went on with the preparations for the wedding talking about babies, husbands and marriages.