Sorry about snapping with regards to Dirty Jobs. I just really think a continuation of that story is the wrong way to go :S

But it's a close race, so I'm curious to see which one wins!

For those who can't find the poll: it is at the very, very top of the profile page. Above PM/Follow/Favorite

As for this story: remember, I'm just having some fun. All I can hope is that you'll have a bit of fun reading it.

Carry Me Home

Duo didn't like waiting rooms, not even ones as nice as the one of the fertility clinic. He had spent a lot of time in waiting rooms, at the hospital and at the free clinic. None of the memories were good. His discomfort was showing in the way he kept jittering his leg and shifting in the chair. He caught Heero looking at him and he offered him a smile. "Sorry. I shouldn't be the one who's nervous."

"Don't worry about it. I get it." The shorter man momentarily leaned his head on Duo's shoulder and pulled away only after planting a kiss on the side of his neck.

The entrance doors burst open, drawing everyone's attention to the flustered blonde and his stoic companion stepping indoors. Some relief calmed the storm in aquamarine eyes when the searching gaze landed on Heero and his boyfriend.

The man shook the rain out of his hair and rushed up to them. Trowa followed in a more composed state. "I'm so sorry we're late."

Heero chuckled. "But you're not late."

The blonde checked his watch. "Technically we're late. And we shouldn't be. There was traffic – some accident on the parkway. We were stuck for like half an hour trying to get into the city. But, that's no excuse, we should have considered something like this. We should have left home sooner." A hand on his shoulder finally stopped his rambling.

Trowa offered Duo and Heero an apologetic smile, before guiding his husband to take a seat next to the Japanese man.

"I was so worried we would miss the appointment," Quatre whispered, now self-conscious as he became aware of everyone in the waiting room staring at him with some measure of irritation.

"These things never start on time. Stop stressing, you made it."

"I'm so nervous." Quatre wrung his hands together and pinched them between his knees.

"Yeah, me too."

Duo put a hand on the back of Heero's neck and gave him a little squeeze, wanting to comfort him after doing such a piss poor job the past twenty minutes, too focused on himself.

"Hi, Duo. It's nice to see you again."

Duo hadn't met with the happily married couple since first running into them that one Friday night that started this crazy journey. That was six weeks ago.

He had the feeling the two weren't exactly excited about him being involved in this part of their lives, which was understandably a very intimate and precious time. But at least they accepted that they couldn't stop their surrogate from being with him. They were respectful. They were nice guys, Duo didn't doubt that. The interaction between them was just strained. Going forward with their relationship at this odd time, Duo and Heero both knew that it would affect their relationships with the people around them.

"Mister Yuy?" A nurse called.

All four men shot up from their seats, then laughed sheepishly at themselves.

They followed the nurse into an examination room, piling into the small space where the doctor that Heero and the two husbands were familiar with joined them.

"Heero, welcome back," said the pretty physician. "How have you been?" She patted the examination table, urging him to climb on.

"Good." He made himself comfortable, lying prone on his back and folding his hands over his abdomen.

Doctor Po stood to his right and the couple to his left. Duo awkwardly stood by in the corner, feeling like the kind of intruder that he had promised he wouldn't be. "Maybe I should-… wait outside?" He threw a thumb over his shoulder.

"No, Duo, of course not," Heero was quick say and Duo wasn't sure if Heero was aware or not, but his blonde friend tensed up. "I want you here."

He nodded stiffly.

"Have you been experiencing any pain, nausea, feverish symptoms?" Po inquired as she sheathed her slender hands in latex gloves.

"No, not after the first two days after the embryo transfer."

"That's very good. Any bleeding?"

"No."

"Alright, sounds promising."

Quatre reached out and blindly reached for Trowa's hand, clasping it tightly.

"Have you noticed any changes in your physique?"

"My favorite skinny jeans don't fit right anymore," Heero said offhandedly. "But that's maybe because I started eating for two, like, three months ago."

The doctor chuckled lightly. She asked him to lift up his shirt and routinely massaged his abdomen, checking for sensitivity. Then she explained she would be performing an internal ultrasound to confirm whether the embryo had taken and she had him take off his jeans and underwear, holding up a sheet to give him privacy and she helped him prop his feet up in the stirrups.

"My favorite position," Heero winked at Duo.

"Well, I wouldn't know, would I?" The long-haired man joked in return. They hadn't been able to have sex yet and self-control had been a challenge on more than once occasion.

He wiped his hands on the denim over his thighs and watched Doctor Po arrange the equipment and seat herself on a stool between Heero's legs. He puffed out his cheeks as he released a tense sigh, but then couldn't help but smile when he made eye-contact with his boyfriend.

From where Duo was standing, he couldn't see the computer screen that everyone else was staring at intently. The doctor threw some medical terms around that didn't mean anything to Duo, but was apparently positive. She continued to move the ultrasound probe in search of a heartbeat. Duo noticed that his boyfriend was panting and unable to look at anyone. He knew Heero felt a lot of pressure. He didn't want his friends to suffer again, after the previous surrogate had decided at the last minute not to go through with it. The procedure was expensive too and while Quatre was originally from a wealthy family, they were estranged and the two husbands didn't have much savings left.

"Oh, this is it. Let me turn it up for you." Po twisted a dial on the computer.

A hollow sound filled the room. It didn't really sound like a heartbeat, just a muffled noise with a quick rhythm to it.

"That's the heartbeat," she said.

And Duo's heartbeat silenced.

Quatre and Trowa were overjoyed. They hugged and kissed each other first and then Quatre hugged and kissed Heero.

"Careful, Quat! I have a fucking probe up my ass!" He laughed, elated. "Excuse my language, Doctor."

"Don't worry about it, I consider it a medical term."

Duo smiled, watching happiness spread throughout the room. His gaze met Heero's and in response to his beckoning hand he stepped closer. Once he was at the side of the bed, Heero reached a hand around his neck and pulled him down for a quick kiss. It was nothing more than a peck on the lips, but it was the most intimate kiss they had shared.

Doctor Po pointed at a shape on the screen, trying to get everyone to wrap their brains around the fact that the little bean would grow into a person. She would get them all screenshots and she assured Quatre every time he asked that, as far as she could tell at this early stage, it was healthy. It was exactly as developed as it should be, it was in the right location and the heartbeat was strong.

Heero couldn't tear his gaze away from the ecstatic couple, drinking in the sight of their jubilance. "You're going to be parents," he whispered reverently, adding to their joy.

Duo gripped his boyfriend's hand and squeezed it tightly.

The examination continued with a draw of blood to run some standard labs and Po relayed as much information as she could, further preparing them for the upcoming process, but she ended up giving up with a laugh and saying she would try again at their next appointment. Nobody was really absorbing any of the information at the moment.

As promised, they left the clinic with print outs of the ultrasound. The little shape didn't look like anything to Duo, but Quatre and Trowa could not stop staring at it.

The four of them went to lunch to celebrate. Before their meals were served, Duo noticed Heero was becoming quiet and distant. The smile melted from his face and his expression became blank.

"Excuse me, I need to-…" He made a vague gesture in the direction of the restrooms and then scooted out of the booth and left Duo alone with the two husbands.

By then all three of them were aware that something was off and Quatre and Duo got up at the same time.

Trowa stopped his husband with a touch to his arm and he nodded at Duo, encouraging him to be the one to go after him.

Duo appreciated that. He followed Heero to the unisex restrooms; a small, tiled space with only two stalls. Heero stood at the sink, clenching his fingers around the edges, he breathed slowly and deliberately through his nose, fighting hyperventilation. His head was bowed, letting his bangs fall into his face and not looking at his reflection in the smudged mirror.

"Hey…" His tone was soothing and he approached him slowly. He placed his hand on the man's lower back and rubbed in circles.

The pitch of his breaths changed. He sucked in air more rapidly and his bottom lip quivered.

"Okay… okay… Just breathe… Shhh…" He moved the hand on Heero's back up to his hair, carting his fingers through it in a way his own mother used to do with him. With his other hand he covered one of Heero's. He was gripping the sink so tightly that his fingers were trembling.

"It's real now," the Japanese man managed to ground out and a single sob escaped him. "It's real. I'm pregnant. This is my best friends' baby. I'm responsible for that life now."

Duo let him talk, hoping his touches would be a comfort when he knew he would never find the right words.

"I'm scared shitless."

He leaned his chin onto Heero's shoulder, carefully bringing their bodies closer and closer together, gauging if it was what Heero wanted and needed. It seemed to cure his trembling.

"Am I going to feel like this for the next eight months?"

"I don't know," he said, feeling stupid and useless.

Heero sucked in a deep breath. "They're so happy now. What if-…?"

"You shouldn't think like that. You're healthy. It's healthy. And you'll have three people taking the best care of you. I'll do whatever I can to make sure you don't have to feel like this again, okay?"

Heero nodded. He released his hold on the sink and twisted around to press himself against Duo and wrap his arms around him.

He hugged him back tightly until he calmed and felt ready to go back out to their table. Being faced with his concerned friends, Heero brushed it off as hormones and Duo backed him up.

Duo was able to postpone his own panic attack until he got home later that afternoon. Heero had invited him to come home with him, but he had urged his boyfriend to just go to bed and rest instead. The other didn't object, although Duo could tell by looking into those blue eyes that Heero was not oblivious to Duo's private distress.

It wasn't a surprise to him anymore that he was in love with Heero. Everything about their relationship moved quickly. He felt like months' worth of dating, talking, kissing and longing had been crammed into the past six weeks. Yet, still, he couldn't get enough of the other man. It was never enough. It had been the second week when he realized he was in love with the man. It had been a few days later that it dawned on him thathe had been wrong; he had been in love since that very first night. It was love at first sight.

But Heero was doing something bigger and more important than dating Duo. He was a part of something greater. He was creating a family and, as such, was an extension of that family.

It was such a powerful thing and Duo had – inadvertently – become a part of it as well. It was overwhelming. All of it. Not in the least his guilt about insinuating himself in this precious budding family when it was clear Quatre was weary about inviting in a stranger and likely bitter about knowing that he had no choice but to accept his presence.

He was terrified that he would screw things up.

Reaching out in desperation, he headed out and went to the diner around the corner from the gay clubs and bars. Trusting he would find his mother there, since she regularly worked double shifts.

She was a bright and colorful appearance in her rainbow apron and platinum blond wig. Her eyeshadow was blue and too intense and her lipstick surely left a mark on his cheek when she grabbed him and planted a kiss on him.

"My sons returns to me!" She said to the patrons; mostly twenty-somethings carbo-loading in preparation of a long night of drinking and dancing. She ushered Duo to come sit down at the bar and she walked around to pour him coffee. Her many bracelets jingled. "I haven't seen you in ages." Her tone was light but he knew he was being scolded.

"Yeah, sorry. Busy."

"Too busy for your own mother, hm…" She brought him a slice of pie as well. She put her elbows down on the counter and propped her chin up in her palms. "How's Heero?"

"Good." He took a sip. She didn't know about the doctor's appointment they had gone to today. But she knew what Heero was involved in and she didn't approve of Duo, in turn, getting involved himself. She was the wrong person to turn to, because he knew she wouldn't say the things he wanted to hear, but she was always the person he came to, so it was automatic.

"Hmhm. Am I ever going to meet this boy who's been keeping my son so very, very busy?"

He had been more than happy for him and Heero to remain as secluded from the rest of the world as possible, these past six weeks; taking the time to enjoy and explore each other. But reality caught up with them today and they couldn't hide out forever. It wasn't like he didn't want to introduce his boyfriend to his mother. He was just worried about how everyone was going to react, especially now that it would only become progressively more obvious how strange their whirlwind relationship was, as Heero would start to show.

"Of course," he said.

"Sweetheart, what's wrong?"

"He's pregnant," he blurted into his coffee and he took a quick sip because his tongue went parch dry saying the words. "It was confirmed today."

"And you were hoping it didn't take," she concluded.

He bit his bottom lip and bowed his head. He put the cup down before his hands started to tremble so badly that he would spill the black liquid. "I'm awful."

His mother reached across the bar and cupped his face in her hands. Her palms were course and her long acrylic nails scratched him, but the touch soothed him nonetheless. She pulled him towards him and pressed a kiss to the top of his head before combing fingers through his hair. "You are not awful."

"It's not even… It's not like I really hoped for it to have failed," he tried to explain himself, sniffling as he was on the brink of sobbing. "But it did cross my mind today that it'd be better if Heero and I just had a little bit more time. A bit more time to ourselves." He pulled back, away from her touch and scrubbed his face with his palms, not lowering his hands again until he was certain he wouldn't cry and could muster up a wry smile instead. "I know what you're going to say. That I should have walked away, that I should have let it be a one-night stand and nothing more."

She pressed her lips together.

"I love him, Mom," he confessed pathetically.

"I know you do, sweetie." She pushed the slice of pie closer to him, but he wasn't in the mood to eat.

"It's so fucking complicated. I feel like one of the dads doesn't really want me there. And, honestly, I feel like I shouldn't be there. I want to be with Heero and I want to take care of him, but at the same I'm so worried about fucking everything up and breaking his heart when he's at the most vulnerable time of his life… It's only been six weeks. I've known him for only six weeks." He shook his head at himself. He'd been in enough failed relationships to know there were so many things that could go wrong, in spite in the best intentions and, considering the circumstances, things were more likely to get emotional and heated than normal.

"I've raised a good son, Duo," she said solemnly and she offered him a smile. "Whatever happens, you shouldn't feel guilty and you shouldn't blame yourself."

Her words surprised him. He knew she wasn't supportive of this relationship – she had warned him about the exact fears that currently gripped at his heart – but he appreciated her support of him. "Thanks, Mom."

"Now eat your pie."

He chuckled and wiped a hand by the corner of his eye where he felt a tear starting to form. He accepted the fork that was handed to him and he took a few bites to placate her, before encouraging her to dig in with him. It was a relief to know that, in spite of everything, he could still count on his mom. If Quatre and Trowa were even half the parent she was, this kid would be damn lucky.