Rain on the Roses
Chapter 5: New Beginnings
By: Starlight – x1

Spring had come at last. The season of newness and refreshing change. Relena stood in the cemetery where her husband was buried holding her son. At five months Eddie was still small enough to fit comfortably in the crook of her arm. He sucked one tiny fist contentedly. Cuddled against her he filled a place in her heart that she hadn't ever known was empty before.

Relena stared down at the gravestone. This time there were no tears. The hurt that had stabbed through her a year ago had faded to a distant throbbing. "I'm going to be fine." She breathed the words to the sky and the newness around her. Leaning over she pressed a kiss to her tiny son's forehead. "Come on Eddie, let's go home."

'''''

When Relena entered the mansion she was greeted by Pagen. The butler had an inscrutable look on his face as he deftly took Eddie from her, cradling him in a professional manner. "Something came for you while you were out Miss Relena. It's in the living room."

"Thanks Pagen." Relena gave him a curious stare before she dropped her purse on a side table and headed for the living room to see what exactly had come. She drew her breath in with pleasure. A large pot of daisies sat on the coffee table.

Relena bent over the flowers, stroking their petals before digging carefully among the green stems to retrieve the card. She read the short message with a smile.

I called, but you were out. I'm on Earth. Want to go out to dinner? Quatre

Relena scooped up the cordless phone and punched in the number written at the bottom of the card.

"Hello?" A familiar, but somewhat groggy voice answered.

"Hey, thanks for the flowers." Relena couldn't keep the smile out of her voice. "What's this dinner invitation about?"

Quatre chuckled wryly. "Oh nothing spectacular, unfortunately. I have a business dinner to attend and I really didn't want to go by myself."

"You'd rather have me along to share the torture." Relena sat back on the couch. "I'll have to think about it for a bit."

"That's fine." Quatre said casually. "You have twenty seconds."

"Twenty seconds? A decision like this and you're giving me twenty seconds?" Relena laughed. "I guess I have no choice. I'll go."

"Good." There was no mistaking the relief in Quatre's voice.

"So when exactly did you get on Earth?" Relena shifted into a more comfortable position and twisted a strand of hair around the forefinger of her right hand.

"Last night. I'm taking a tour of the subsidiary companies Winner Enterprises has down here on Earth and I'm overseeing the possibility of starting another company." Quatre sighed. "All rather necessary but sometimes boring tasks."

"Wow, sounds like you're busy."

"Tell me about it." Quatre let out a sigh. "I think someone came by and totally revamped my schedule without letting me know. There seems to be a ton more meetings and dinners scheduled then I remember okaying."

"I know the feeling." Relena laughed. "There's always so much to do and always someone with a complaint."

"Actually, I can handle the complaints better then the people who always have a 'suggestion.' I always end up standing there, politely nodding my head to some stupid half baked plan for how I can make things better."

"Well, I can see how complaints would be easier to deal with for you. In my case, people who complain aren't interested in finding a solution; they just love to hear the sound of their own voice as it dumps another problem on top of my already overloaded stack. People who have suggestions are at least looking for a solution and are willing to work at solving a problem."

"I hear you." Quatre paused. "Enough talking about work. How's Eddie?"

Relena smiled and the conversation turned to other matters.

'''''''

"You've got to be kidding me." Sally looked at Wufei, a half skeptical, half resigned look on her face.

Wufei was quiet, watching as Sally flopped into a chair opposite him. She glared at him and he returned the look. "I don't like it any more then you do, but it's a possibility we have to look into. You know that as well as I do. There are just too many unanswered questions."

Sally sat back and sighed. "I'm sorry Wufei, I just was hoping my feelings about the accident were wrong and it really was an accident."

"We don't know that it wasn't." Wufei rubbed his forehead. "It's just important that we make sure it wasn't anything more."

The door to their office opened and Middie entered. She was dressed in street clothing as opposed to a Preventer uniform and she carried a manila file folder that she set on the desk in front of Wufei. "Here's all the info I've managed to gather so far. I can't get any more unless I infiltrate the group proper." She reached up and tucked some of her hair behind one ear and sank gracefully into a chair while Wufei leafed through the contents of the folder. His face grew hard and he cursed softly under his breath. Sally got up and hurried around the desk to peer over his shoulder at the paper he was currently reading. She arched an eyebrow and looked up at Middie.

"They were the ones responsible for the random bombings?"

"As near as I could make out. They're at least indirectly responsible if not entirely responsible for the series of hotel incidents that occurred a couple years back." Middie shook her head. "They call themselves Group Vengeance. What their primary aim is, I haven't the slightest clue. It was difficult enough getting that information." She gestured at the file folder.

Wufei nodded. "I'll talk to Lady Une and see what she says." He replaced the paper he'd been looking at and closed the folder. "Zechs'll want to see this."

"I'll drop it off at his office." Sally said.

Middie stood and stretched leisurely. "I've got to go." She smiled coolly and left as quietly as she'd come.

Sally looked at Wufei. "I really hope this group didn't have anything to do with that car accident."

"If they did," Wufei returned her stare, "they'll get what they deserve."

'''''

Zechs sat rocking Eddie. The baby had fallen asleep a long time ago but Zechs was reluctant to put him in his bed. The feeling of the little body relaxed against him was a strangely comforting one. So he continued to rock, cradling his nephew close.

"Well now, if this isn't a Kodak moment I don't know what is."

Zechs looked up to see Relena standing in the doorway to Eddie's nursery, still dressed in her dinner clothes minus the shoes.

"He's sleeping." Zechs said unnecessarily.

"I can see that." Relena leaned down to kiss Eddie. "Noin said you were spoiling him. How long have you been rocking him?"

Zechs shrugged the shoulder Eddie was not currently using for a pillow. "Noin's just jealous that she isn't the one putting him to bed."

"Hey, buster, you'd better watch what you're saying." Noin entered the nursery and gave her husband a mock hard stare before turning to Relena. "So, did you have a nice time?"

"Quatre was there and I always find his company enjoyable. The food wasn't that great." Relena shrugged. "I think the guy hosting the dinner thought amount spent would impress better then quality. Quatre's going to take me out to lunch later to make up for it. I told him he didn't have to, but he insisted." Relena shrugged again and a smile peeped for a moment.

"That's nice." Noin's tone was happy with something else mixed in that caused Zechs to look up at her suspiciously.

"Yeah." Relena yawned and reached up to pull the clips from her hair. The honey blonde mass tumbled down to settle around her shoulders and she let out a sigh of relief as she massaged her scalp with the fingers of her right hand. "I'm so tired." She said around another yawn.

"You should go to bed then." Zechs said reasonably.

"I will after I've tucked my baby into bed and not before." Relena smothered another yawn.

Zechs smiled at her and stood carefully, trying not to shift Eddie too much. The baby stretched and let out a whimper of protest as he was laid in his crib but quickly settled back into the soft quick breaths of slumber. Zechs crossed his arms and watched as Relena tucked a light blanket over her son and caressed his cheek with one finger. She straightened reluctantly and smiled at him. Her smile faded and her forehead wrinkled in slight concern. "Hey, you okay?"

Zechs blinked and realized he'd been frowning rather heavily at her. He smoothed his facial expression into a neutral one. "I'm fine, why?" He regretted the question immediately.

"You just looked worried." Relena was watching him closely.

"I was just thinking. Nothing to worry about." Zechs forced his lips into a smile, hoping it didn't look as fake as it felt.

"Okay." Relena gave him a hug as she passed him on her way to her bedroom. "Good night big brother, Noin."

"Sleep well, Relena." Noin smiled at her sister-in-law and slipped her arm through Zechs' as they walked down the hall to the living room. "You thinking about what Wufei showed us today?"

"Yeah." Zechs nodded. He sat down on the couch and looked up at his wife. "Do you think I'm doing the right thing keeping it from Relena?"

Noin sat down next to him and was silent for a moment. "Well," she began slowly. "We don't really know if Group Vengeance had anything to do with the accident that killed Heero. Until we know for certain one way or another I don't think Relena needs to be bothered about it. If we learn they were responsible for Heero's death then I think we have a responsibility to tell her." She reached out and brushed back some of his hair, a tender gesture. "So to answer your question, I don't think there's anything wrong with not telling Relena about Vengeance right now."

"I guess you're right." Zechs slumped back against the couch and managed a half smile. "It doesn't really matter since its classified information right now."

"See," Noin gave him a playful push. "Stop stressing about it." She leaned over to the coffee table, grabbed the remote and turned on the television. "So, Relena's going out with Quatre again." She sounded pleased.

"What's going on inside that pretty head of yours?" Zechs stared piercingly at his wife. "You sound uncommonly satisfied.

Noin sat on the couch again, tucking her legs to one side and cuddled next to him. "I just think it's nice that Relena's finally getting out again."

"Out?" Zechs lifted an eyebrow even though he knew she couldn't see the expression. "It isn't like she's been cloistered or hiding. If anything she was the one pushing to go back to work."

"She wanted to go to work so she didn't have to sit around here missing Heero." Noin said patiently. "Think for a minute. How long has it been since she went and did something for fun without being prodded into it?"

Zechs thought about it and nodded his head. "I see your point."

"I knew you would." Noin patted his stomach lovingly and began flipping through television channels. She finally found a program that interested her and dropped the remote beside her on the couch.

Zechs leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He woke later with a crick in his neck. He rubbed at it ruefully with his right hand. Noin was relaxed against him, her left arm draped over his middle, her head pillowed on his chest, sleeping. The television was still on, playing a late night movie, an old black and white. Zechs squinted at the screen, staring as a man and woman embraced, kissing passionately. He snorted and reached over Noin for the remote, trying not to disturb her. He turned off the T.V.

Noin stirred and sat up. "Oh, I shouldn't have done that, I missed the end of my movie." She rubbed at her eyes.

"Well, I missed the whole thing." Zechs chuckled softly. "Come on." He stood and offered her a hand. She took it allowing him to tug her up. They headed for bed.

'''''

Quatre arrived at ESUN headquarters precisely on time. He walked into the tall building ignoring the few reporters in the spacious entry and headed for the man at the security desk. "Quatre Winner, I have an appointment with the Vice Foreign Minister."

The man looked at him and then checked something on his computer. "Okay. You can go up." He pulled out the paperback he'd been reading and found his spot again.

Quatre headed for the bank of elevators and pressed the call button. The door slid open and he entered the elevator. He noticed that one of the reporters had her camera half-lifted in his direction and was stealing a glance at the man seated behind the desk. Obviously she figured the picture wouldn't be worth it because she lowered her camera. The elevator door slid shut and Quatre gave a silent sigh of relief and pressed the button for the twenty-ninth floor. The elevator gave the slightest lurch as it began its journey upwards.

Trowa met Quatre in Relena's outer office. The two friends clasped hands briefly. "Relena'll be out in a moment. She's on the phone." Trowa explained.

Quatre nodded and shot a smile at Relena's secretary who was looking at him rather curiously and with interest.

Relena came out of her office carrying her purse and looking slightly annoyed. Her face brightened when she saw Quatre. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting. Just a phone call." She turned to her secretary. "Ellen, I'm going out to lunch and I don't want to be disturbed. No calls unless it's a real emergency, such as terrorists taking over ESUN headquarters or all the colonies self destructing simultaneously."

Ellen smirked. "Don't worry Foreign Minister, I'll take care of the Senator. You go on and enjoy your lunch."

"Thanks Ellen." Relena smiled gratefully at her and followed Quatre out of the office.

In the elevator Quatre looked at Relena. "Just a quick warning. There are several reporters in the lobby. One especially was interested in me. She didn't take a picture as I came in, although she seriously considered it. I think when we come out together she'll be tempted beyond endurance."

Relena shook her head. "There are almost always a few reporters hanging around the lobby. Don't worry about it."

The elevator stopped on the ground floor and the door slid smoothly open. Trowa ushered Quatre and Relena quickly outside to where Quatre's car was waiting. All three got in, the tinted windows keeping the curious press and their cameras from seeing inside. The car pulled away smoothly. Quatre looked out the rear windshield and grinned as he watched a few diehard reporters scrambling for vehicles or cabs. "They won't find us. Rashid'll make sure of that." He said confidently and sat back, relaxing against the leather seat. "The restaurant we're going to is a nice, personable little place"

Relena had to agree with Quatre's assessment as she walked through the door of the small restaurant. The hostess, a plump elderly woman with rosy cheeks, seated them in a back booth.

"This is nice." Relena relaxed against the back of her booth and looked around. Trowa and Rashid had chosen to sit at a table a little ways away where they had a good view of the restaurant. Rashid's large form seemed to almost dwarf the chair he was sitting on as he spoke quietly with Trowa.

"Hi, I'm Cassie, and I'll be your server today." A young woman with bleached blonde hair that was pulled back in a French braid flashed a wide smile at them. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"An iced tea." Quatre looked at Relena.

"Just water for me, thanks."

"All right. I'll be right back to take your order."

Relena felt suddenly shy as the waitress left to get their drinks. She picked up her menu and glanced through the choices.

"Relena?"

"Hmm?" She looked up to see Quatre looking at her questioningly and realized that she'd been nervously flicking the laminated corner of the menu with her thumbnail. "Sorry."

"No problem. " Quatre smiled at her and began to go through his menu as well.

Relena looked around. They were as alone as they could get in a public place. Trowa and Rashid were ostensibly minding their own business. She glanced over the top of her menu at Quatre, taking advantage of his preoccupation with his menu to study him. He was dressed down from his normal business suit attire in a pair of jeans and a light blue button up shirt with the top two buttons undone and the sleeves rolled partway up his arms. He looked up and caught her staring at him. He smiled and Relena was suddenly struck by the subtle sadness she detected in his gaze.

Before either of them could say anything Cassie returned to take their orders. After the waitress had left Relena sat unsure of what to say. Quatre smiled and leaned forward, elbows on the table. "Let's make a deal, no talking about business, for either of us."

"Agreed." Relena smiled. The rest of the meal passed quicker then Relena would've wished. The next thing she knew Trowa was standing next to their table.

"It's time to go. You've got a meeting scheduled."

Relena looked at her watch. "Oh." Regret filled her voice. "You're right."

The ride back to ESUN headquarters was quiet. As the car slowed to a stop Relena looked over at Quatre. "I had a really nice time." She couldn't think of anything more to say.

Quatre smiled, reached over and gently squeezed her hand. "I did too."

Trowa opened her car door and escorted her inside, back into the hurry of the rest of her scheduled day.

'

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(A/N: Yes, I know. Probably not what you wanted to read, but unfortunately this was another necessary interlude chapter. I want my characters to act as much like normal people and stay in character while doing so. But don't worry, Quatre will tell Relena how he feels about her in the very next chapter. So, please, don't abandon me yet. Thanks.)