Chapter 53

Hilde woke up from her nap and sat up. A wave of nausea washed over her so she hurried out of the bedroom and quickly located the bathroom on the shuttle. She emptied her stomach and groaned as she rinsed out her mouth. Why did morning sickness have to hit her in the afternoon? It was so unfair. The book she'd read on pregnancy had said that "morning" sickness might last a few months or it might last the whole pregnancy. She really hoped it didn't last the whole pregnancy.

There was a light knock on the door. "Miss Hilde?"

Hilde opened the door to see Amal. He looked concerned.

"Are you feeling poorly?"

"It's nothing," Hilde told him. "You wouldn't happen to have a toothbrush I could use, would you?"

"Of course, Miss Hilde." Amal quickly retrieved a new toothbrush and a small tube of toothpaste for her.

Hilde brushed her teeth and felt much better. If she had to throw up at least she didn't have to taste it all day. She left the bathroom and wandered through the shuttle. She wondered how Duo was faring with Gabe.

"Miss Hilde?" Amal's soft voice pulled her from her thoughts. "Would you like some tea?"

"I don't know," she answered. "I…" Hilde looked down and placed her hands on her stomach. She took a deep breath before admitting, "I'm pregnant. And I don't know what I'm doing. I don't know what will hurt the baby and what's okay, so I better not. I'm sorry. I appreciate the offer, though."

Amal smiled at her. "Don't be sorry. It is wonderful that you're going to have a baby. Please relax and rest. I will bring you something special."

"Kiri! Come meet the new horses!" Paul grinned as Kiri walked up to the horse paddock. "What do you think? They're pretty, right?"

Kiri nodded and clucked her tongue at the horses. The white mare ambled over, expecting a treat. Paul handed Kiri a sugar cube and watched as the young woman gently stroked the mare's velvety nose. It was amazing how much she had changed since coming here. He still wasn't sure how to get Kiri to talk, but he figured that she would, with time.

The appaloosa gelding noticed that the mare was getting attention and hurried over to get his fair share. He nickered at Kiri and tried to push the mare out of the way. The mare nipped at him and he moved away from her.

"I think she's used to being queen of the corral. As long as she doesn't start the fights I don't mind if she finishes them. This guy'll learn not to try and push her around, won't he, Kiri?" Paul said as he reached in his pocket for some more sugar cubes. "Here." He gave Kiri the cubes and watched as the horses carefully took their treat from her. He wanted to make sure that they weren't going to nip at Kiri like they did at each other but it seemed that his worry was unfounded. They were well-trained and very calm towards people.

"The white one is named Snowdrop and the appaloosa is named Jake. I'll get their feed bags set up and then you can feed and groom them along with Buttercup and Rocky. But if they get to be too much for you to handle, I want you to let me know, okay? The Manager mentioned getting more help but I don't know when he'll find someone. And I don't want you exhausting yourself, y'hear? Cathy won't thank me for that."

Kiri nodded and continued to stroke the horses. The horses seemed to have agreed to tolerate each other if it meant that they would both be pet.

Paul grinned to himself and got on with his work. He was certain that it was just a matter of time before Kiri started talking.

Duo practically dragged Gabe into the L2 Preventer station. It had taken him longer to get all of Gabe's information than he'd expected, but he wasn't disappointed. Gabe knew a lot. "Sit down," he ordered gruffly as he shoved Hilde's ex into a cheap plastic chair in lobby. Rashid stood menacingly next to Gabe as Duo approached the agent at the receptionist desk with a grin.

"Good afternoon, Miss." Duo pulled out his badge. "Who's the lead agent here? I've got some important intel and a request for backup."

"I'm sorry, Sir, but Agent Larkspur is extremely busy today. Your meeting can be scheduled for—"

"I don't think you understand," Duo interrupted. "I don't care if Agent Larkspur is busy. Colonel Une sent me here and I will complete the task she gave me. I really don't think she'd like to hear that you're not cooperating. And this case is kind of time-sensitive, so a little speed would be appreciated."

The receptionist gave a long-suffering sigh and picked up her phone. She relayed Duo's request, not bothering to hide her annoyance. She hung up and looked at Duo. "As I said, Agent Larkspur is extremely busy. However," she added quickly when Duo scowled at her, "He has authorized another agent to assist you. He said he would send out his choice in a moment."

Duo nodded. "That's fine. While we're waiting, I'd like to lock up this guy." Duo gestured at Gabe. "He's already got a rap sheet a mile long and he's admitted to a lot of new stuff. He's also a flight risk so no bail option, got it? I'm sure Colonel Une would love to have a chat with him as soon as I finish following up on the lead I got out of him."

The receptionist frowned at Gabe. The man had a black eye and a swollen lip.

"Don't even think of arguing with me on this one," Duo told the woman. "I originally picked him up because he was beating his girlfriend. I don't want him to be able to get at her anymore so if you don't lock him up I'll be forced to shoot him and that would get blood all over your nice clean carpet."

The receptionist scowled but she nodded and used her phone to call a couple of agents to take care of Gabe. Duo repeated his instructions regarding the prisoner to the new agents so there would be no misunderstandings. He made it very clear that Gabe was to be locked up until Une said he was free to go. Of course, Duo planned to request that Une have him sent to a high security prison to keep him out of trouble and as far away from Hilde as possible.

Once Gabe was taken back to a cell, Duo thanked Rashid again for all of his help. "Tell Hilde that I'm fine and she can relax now. Tell her I'll call her as soon as I get this taken care of and for her not to worry, everything's under control."

"I will, Master Duo," Rashid promised.

"Oh, and Rashid? Keep her safe."

Rashid could hear the concern in Duo's tone. He smiled. "Of course, Master Duo. I will send regular updates to Master Quatre and ask that he pass them on to you."

Duo grinned. "Thanks, man. I owe you one."

Rashid took his leave and Duo plopped into one of the chairs to wait. He really didn't like to be kept waiting, especially when he knew they needed to hurry. He got up and went over to the receptionist.

"Hey, I hate to be a bother but this tip is kinda gettin' cold. If you guys can't help me, tell me now and I'll handle it on my own."

The receptionist scowled at him and opened her mouth to tell him off, but she was interrupted by an agent coming out of the back.

"Agent Maxwell?"

"That's me," Duo said cheerfully. He looked over the agent. She was very pretty. She had dark hair, almost the color of Heero's, and aqua eyes. 'If Heero and Quatre had a kid, that's what she'd look like.' Duo had to quash his smirk at the thought. He could imagine Quatre's indignation at the suggestion.

"I'm sorry to keep you waiting. I'm Agent Cresswell. If you'll come with me we can discuss your case."

"Lead the way!" Duo followed her to a small interrogation room. It had a small table with one chair on either side of it. Duo frowned. "So…where's everyone else?"

"I'm afraid that Agent Larkspur hasn't authorized anyone else to assist you yet," Agent Cresswell answered apologetically. "He wants me to talk to you first and see how many agents you'll need before assigning them to your case."

Duo took a deep breath and exhaled. He hated Agent Larkspur and he'd never even met the man. "Then I guess I'll give you the abridged version because it looks like I'm gonna have to repeat myself in order to brief everyone else."

Duo appreciated that Agent Cresswell was attentive and took him seriously. She made notes on a small notepad and asked intelligent questions to help her understand. She was what he considered to be a good agent. She even had a list of gear he thought they'd need.

"How many agents do you think we'll need, Agent Maxwell?"

Duo thought it over. "Well…let's see…this place is bigger than the last joint we raided. But given what I've heard about Larkspur, he won't give us what we ask for. I think we need at least twenty agents. But tell him we need fifty. We'll be lucky if he gives us ten. Oh, and ask him for ten medic units. That way we might get one and we'll need at least one if we find anything like before."

Agent Cresswell nodded. "Unfortunately, you're right about Larkspur. Let me see what I can get for us." She stood.

"Hey, before you go, can I ask you a couple of questions?"

"Okay." She sat down again.

"How long have you been an agent?"

She looked down at the table. "About six months."

"What've you done until now?"

"Mostly…they've had me writing parking tickets," she admitted. "They don't think I can do this job."

"Is that because you're a woman?" Duo really wanted to know. If there was sexism at the Preventer level they were going to have a harder time bringing pimps to justice on L2 and Colonel Une would need to know about it.

Agent Cresswell shook her head. "No. It's because my older brother was an agent here a few years back. He did some things he shouldn't have, like taking drugs out of the evidence lockup. They assume I'll make the same mistakes."

Duo shook his head. "They shouldn't judge people like that. You're not your brother. You shouldn't have to prove yourself to them. But if we play our cards right, this case should set them straight."

Agent Cresswell gave him a grateful smile. "I'll see about getting those agents for you.

Sally rolled her eyes at the new text on her phone. She had no idea that Wufei was such a worrywart. "For the tenth time today, I am FINE!" she texted back. Seriously! One bout of the flu that lasted five days instead of two and he went off the deep end. "You'd think he thought I was dying," Sally muttered to herself. Her phone chirruped again.

"UGH! What now!?" she snapped as she looked at the text.

"I'm glad you're feeling better. Would you join me for dinner this evening?"

Sally sighed. She wasn't sure why she'd gotten so upset over his texts. Wufei was just being sweet, in an annoyingly obsessive way.

"Sure," she texted back.

"Great. See you at six. Love you."

"Love you, too."

"Here you are, Miss Hilde." Amal handed her a cup of tea. "I spoke to my mother and she recommended this blend. She said it would be safe for the baby and with any luck, it will help with any nausea you might be experiencing."

Hilde took a tentative sip. "Mmm…what's in this?"

Amal smiled. "My mother told me it was a secret family recipe. But it's mostly mint and cinnamon," he told her with a wink. "An odd combination to be sure, but she swears it works wonders."

"Thank you, Amal. When do you think Rashid will come back?"

Amal shrugged. "He'll be back when he's back. I wouldn't worry about him."

Hilde took another sip of her tea. She wanted to ask more questions about where they were going but she wasn't sure how to bring it up.

"Would you like to call your husband and let him know you are safe so he won't worry?" Amal asked, holding a cell phone out to her.

Hilde looked down and shook her head. "I'm not married."

"Oh…I'm sorry if I've upset you. I didn't know," Amal told her quickly.

"It's okay," Hilde told him. "It isn't like it came up."

"Do you need to tell the baby's father that you're okay?"

"NO!"

Amal looked surprised at Hilde's reaction.

"I…I'm s-sorry," she stammered out. "H-he doesn't know and…and I'd like to keep it that way. It's…safer."

Realization dawned on Amal. He reached out and gently traced one of the bruises on Hilde's cheek. "The father…he did this?"

Hilde nodded.

Amal's expression darkened. "We will keep him from you, Miss Hilde. He will not touch you ever again. You have my word."