Dearka & Miriallia
Book II
Disclaimer: It is obvious by now if I'm here that I do not own Gundam SEED, Gundam SEED Destiny or any other Gundam Series. But any characters I create to place in this world are mine (But I don't mind if you guys want to use them too. I have no problem with that. You don't even need to ask me. I enjoy sharing to make other stories the best they can be.)
Chapter 8
Settling In
Three weeks later…
Miriallia waited patiently as Dearka got Belle ready in her light blue dress. She had remembered a lot in the past few weeks and unfortunately for her, Cadey was one of them. "Where'd she get that outfit?"
She already knew the answer, but felt like asking anyway just to see his reaction. "You know where she got it. Belle stay still honey," Dearka said struggling with his little girl.
Miriallia hopped off the bed and grabbed Belle's coat. Another gift from the woman she hadn't personally met yet. "Let's go you two. I'm going to be late!"
"We're working on it!" Dearka snipped winning the battle to get Belle's arm through the final sleeve.
"Well hurry up!" she snapped back.
"You're just lucky you're pregnant right now," he said with a smirk indicating he would normally be a little more irritated with her nagging.
"Yeah, whatever, can we just go now? I've been waiting weeks for this appointment," she said with the anxiousness of a small child waiting for a treat.
"Fine, let's go. Belle put your coat on," Dearka ordered and sent his little girl toward her mother.
Belle obeyed and slipped her arms into the sleeves with her little black paten leather shoes clopping on the ground as she twisted her body into the coat. Her medium length hair had lengthened since she had been in the PLANTs and had begun to curl more leaving her practically looking like a child model. She still had her deepened tan skin like her father and crystal sea blue eyes like her mother.
Dearka could tell by looking at her that someday he would be beating the guys off with a stick to protect his little girl. A smile ran across his face. "Go figure, it used to be me that other father's would try to protect their little girls from. Now I'm going to be doing the same thing," he thought.
He heard Miriallia tapping her foot at him as the future faded back to the present. Quickly he moved in and swooped up their daughter moving past his irritated, pregnant, but beautiful fiancée. He felt her hand push him on his back in a playful attempt to make him move faster as they headed for the shuttle bay.
Today was a special day for Miriallia, she was finally going to see her baby for the first time and see how he or she was doing. As they made their way there, Dearka saw Ian walking through the halls. But before he could call out to him, Ian slipped down another corridor in a sly attempt to avoid the happy little family.
It was too much for him to take and the only way to avoid the pain was to avoid them all together. So most of the time he acted as if he didn't notice them and would say he must have been off in his own world when Dearka would call him on it.
"Is he mad at me or something?" Miriallia asked with concern.
"No, I don't think it's you he's mad at sweetheart," he answered placing his arm around her and herding her toward the bay.
Dearka knew full well whom Ian was frustrated with, even if he wouldn't admit it. But the fact was they had called a truce and Ian was staying true to his word and no longer moving in on Miriallia giving Dearka a moment to finally breathe. "Guess I can't blame the guy, it can't be easy to see Miriallia with me," he thought.
In a matter of moments they had made it to the Rousseau for the appointment. Annabella hopped out of the shuttle with a bright smile and took off in a sprint toward the exit of the hanger earning a sigh of exhaustion from Miriallia. "Could you go get her please? I won't be able to keep up with her."
Without a word he jumped off the shuttle and chased Belle down while Miriallia walked at a normal pace to catch up to them. Once Dearka had her in his view he called to her. "Annabella Miriam Elsman, stop right there!"
Belle stopped in her tracks and began to giggle as she turned to see her father now within inches of her. He caught her off-guard and began to tickle her turning her giggles into full out laughter. "You are a little monkey, you know that?"
"Are the two of you done?" Miriallia asked raising her eyebrows with a smile on her face seeing what she had only dreamed about when she had waited for Dearka to return to her so long ago now in front of her.
"Yes mommy," Dearka and Belle said at the same time to tease her.
When they finally made it to the doctor's office Belle ran into the room and Miriallia put her hand on Dearka's chest. He looked down at her with a look of concern. Did she not want him to go in with her?
"Before we go in, I have to ask you a favor," she stated with a forlorn look.
Good, she wasn't going to tell him she didn't want him there. But what could it be that was bothering her?
"I want it to be a surprise for both of us. I don't want you trying to find out whether the baby is a boy or girl. Can you promise me that you will wait to find out with me?" Miriallia pleaded.
"Uh, okay if that's really what you want. But aren't you curious at all? I know I am," he said his eyes softening.
"Of course I'm curious, but I really want it to be a surprise. I waited to find out what Annabella was and I want to wait to find out what this baby is too. So that means no sneaking around behind my back Dearka Elsman," she warned with a wink.
"Alright, I won't be a snoop, I promise," Dearka said with a smile.
As the two headed in, they saw the doctor listening to Belle's heartbeat with his stethoscope. Knowing the entire situation the family had been in from the Commander and all the things Dearka and Miriallia had said themselves since he was treating her, he had taken the opportunity to take care of the toddler. He smiled at them as they looked on with a little confusion. "I figured I would give her a little check-up while you guys took your time out there. I realized she probably hadn't had one since she was back on Orb."
"That's right, she hadn't had her check-up before everything happened either, so she is definitely long overdue. Thank you," Miriallia said remembering the appointment had been schedule for a month after they would have originally been home from her photo shoot.
"Then should I bank on the fact that she hasn't had any of her updated inoculations either?" he asked earning a grimace from both Dearka and Belle.
"No shot!" Belle cried and pulled away running to hide behind her father.
"She's not really the bravest when it comes to shots and no, she hasn't been updated yet," Miriallia said smiling.
"Don't worry Belle, you're father hates shots as much as you seem to and speaking of your father," he looked over at Dearka with his eyebrows raised, "he seems to be overdue for his as well. January has come and gone my friend and you were in Orb on leave and weren't around for the immunization adaptations. You're lucky the Commander is a friend of yours or your file would have made you inactive right now."
"Damn, forgot about that. I was supposed to do that the last day of January. Yzak had it typed in the system anyway?" Dearka asked realizing Yzak was looking out for him even when he didn't think he was.
"Yup and you still need it regardless of what your file says, so I told him I would take care of it and make sure you were legitimately up to date," the doctor said with a content smile.
"It must be your favorite thing to see soldiers like me squirm at the thought of those immunizations," Dearka stated noticing the exuberant smile his face.
"It's why I started in the first place," he teased as he patted the seat.
"Go on," Miriallia said with a smile and pushed him forward.
"I'm sure you're just enjoying this too, aren't you," he huffed shaking off his grey sports jacket and making his way over after grabbing Belle from behind him.
"Oh please, I've had more shots and blood drawn between these two pregnancies and everything else I was put through to have any sympathy for you," she said crossing her arms.
"No! No shot!" Belle cried as Dearka sat down with her in his arms.
She threw a fit and continued to squirm trying to get out of Dearka's grip with no luck. Dearka held her tight as the doctor used the retractable needle on her upper right thigh. Before she could scream again, it was all over. "See Belle, it wasn't that bad," Dearka said calming her down.
"Iron," Miriallia stated to the doctor.
He nodded his understanding and got the stuff ready he would need for Dearka. "We'll give her a small breather and deal with the Lieutenant here first."
"Don't let her go yet Dearka," Miriallia ordered as he winced in pain from one of the three shots he had to be given.
"Why?" he asked wishing he had a free hand to rub his arm in between the first shot and the one coming next.
"You'll see," she answered keeping quiet about what was going on.
"You two are talking in code and why is it kids can get all their immunizations in practically one shot and with such a more convenient needle," Dearka noticed a little jealous of his daughters treatment.
"Because they need different immunizations than adults do, you've already had all of those when you were her age," the doctor answered while sticking him again.
"And the code you two are speaking in?" Dearka coaxed.
"You'll see," the doctor repeated Miriallia's words.
Dearka felt the final jab from the third needle and tried desperately to move his left arm around Belle to rub the right one to no avail.
"Dearka, stop that, you have to hold her still," Miriallia snapped at him.
He stopped trying to rub his arm and moved his hands around Belle's waste to stop her from squirming when she saw the doctor approaching her again. "Oh I see now."
Gently he took her right pointer finger and pricked it with a small retractable stick and used a glass slide to collect the blood before wrapping her finger with a colorful band-aid. "You can let her go now, she's officially done."
Dearka was glad to let her go because it meant he was free to rub his arm and hopefully stop most of the throbbing. "You know, I thought we came here for Miriallia and somehow you tricked us into getting updated too."
"Yes well you both needed this done and there's no better time than when you don't expect it so none of the staff has to hear your excuses on why you missed your appointments," the doctor stated knowing full well Dearka's track record.
The doctor moved beyond Dearka and grabbed Miriallia's hand leading her over to the reclined chair for her ultrasound. "And now on to you my dear, are we going to find out the baby's gender today or just if he or she is progressing well?"
"Just whether or not he or she is progressing well, I want it to be a surprise what the baby's sex is," Miriallia stated as Dearka's eyes fell.
"I was hoping you would change your mind," Dearka said bummed out.
"Now, now, you'll know soon enough. She's almost halfway there after all," he teased Dearka.
In no time at all, the four of them could hear the baby's heartbeat through the device and on the screen came a miraculous image in Dearka's eyes. "Is that it? Is that our baby?" he asked in amazement.
Miriallia moved her hand and slipped in under to grasp Dearka's. He had Belle on his lap and felt Miriallia squeeze his hand gently. He looked down at her and smiled softly. He had never seen such an amazing sight in his entire life.
The doctor began snapping pictures on the screen and labeling them for review as he watched the rhythmic heartbeat continue on the monitor. "It's looking like your baby is doing perfect. He or she is in good condition and growing at just the right pace. There are no problems that I can see on any of the scans. I think you are clear of the danger you had been in when you first came to me a couple of months ago. I'll take care of you as long as you are on the battle ship, but I am going to urge you to think about leaving before getting much further. You don't want to have the baby up here since we don't really have the facility to accommodate any procedures needed from possible complications," he stated sternly.
"So, what do you suggest I do with her?" Dearka asked not giving Miriallia a chance to speak.
"I have the name of a great OB/GYN on the base if you don't want her too far from you while you are on active duty. It would be better if you got a place assigned to you down there for her and your daughter to stay at instead of keeping them up here. That way she will be taken care of if anything unforeseen occurs," he answered handing Dearka a business card.
Dearka was at a loss for words. He wasn't used to taking care of anyone other than himself, medically speaking. But now, his fiancée and daughter's well being were his responsibility and making so many decisions was becoming overwhelming. "I could really use some parental help now. Too bad they want nothing to do with me," he thought saddened by the update Yzak's mother had given them.
He felt the doctor pat him on the shoulder as Miriallia jumped down to get changed behind the curtain. "You're doing fine son. These two beautiful women are in fine hands," he said with a smile and pinching Belle's cheeks to earn a giggle from her.
"I hope you're right," Dearka said feeling worried about the road ahead of him.
Miriallia stepped out from behind the curtain and looked at the two men. "Am I all set then?"
"Yes, I'll see you in a month for your check-up and make sure you call me if you have any problems between now and then. I'll send the results of her iron test back to the Voltaire by the end of the week and Dearka can pick it and her official inoculation records up whenever he has a spare moment," the doctor stated.
"Thanks doc," Dearka said grabbing his jacket and Belle's coat from the chair she had left it on when she had entered before her parents.
"Think nothing of it. It's my pleasure; I don't get to take care of the little ones the way I used to. I'm always stuck with you guys now and you're bigger babies than they are," he said with a wink.
"Hey, I don't recall crying or whining during the immunization," Dearka defended.
"Yeah, but you do tend to do your damnedest to avoid them every year. As I said, we all know you too well," the doctor replied shooing him toward the door.
Dearka and Miriallia headed to the shuttle bay with Belle in tow. Dearka had decided it would be easier to just hang on to her this time instead of letting her roam free the way she liked to do. He just wanted to get back to the Voltaire so he could think about what to do with the two of them in the near future. "The doctor doesn't want her on the ship much longer, but how am I going to afford to keep them on the base or pay for all the medical bills she'll receive if I don't keep her on the ship," he thought worried.
In the past few weeks of being together with her, he never once told her the situation with his parents or how he was flat broke. And he definitely didn't want her to contact her family at this point. He still wasn't ready to face the music with her father yet.
"I can't ask Yzak to help me out this time. Asking him to pay for Miriallia and Belle is going a bit too far," he thought.
"Hello, you in there?" Miriallia asked waving her hand in front of his face.
"Huh?" Dearka said snapping out of it.
"You look overwhelmed, is it because of the baby?" Miriallia inquired.
She had been so worried about everything else, like regaining her memory and taking care of Annabella that she hadn't for one moment stopped to think that Dearka, although excited, may be having a hard time digesting the fact that she was indeed pregnant for a second time.
"Yes, I mean no, not because of the baby. I'm just worried about taking care of you all," he said honestly.
Miriallia's eyes softened and she grabbed his head and pulled it to hers. She gave him a deep, long kiss earning an 'ewe' from Belle. Belle's reaction didn't faze either of them as they continued, the passion growing deeper between them. Belle began to push on their shoulders in an attempt to separate them, but failed miserably.
Dearka continued to kiss his beautiful bride-to-be and began to let Belle slip to the ground gently. When he heard her shoes tap on the ground, he released his grip from her and wrapped one of his arms around Miriallia dragging her closer. He was right where he wanted to be as he explored every region of her perfect mouth. His other hand ran down to her belly as he felt the little bump that was his second child.
When they finally parted they both heard Belle speak. "It's about time!" Hardly a phrase for a girl her age, but then she was advancing pretty quickly hanging around all of the off duty soldiers who enjoyed her company in the Rec Room. In fact, she may have been advancing a little more quickly than Dearka would have preferred.
"What was that for?" Dearka asked ignoring his daughter's comment.
"That was for thinking you needed to take care of all of us on your own. It was really sweet and romantic, but I don't want you to feel obligated to be the sole protector of our family. We're supposed to be a team remember, so whatever the problem is we can take care of it together," Miriallia reminded.