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 16

Details

Dearka sat alone in the waiting room with his head in his hands. He had escorted Miriallia back to her room once their time with Nora was up. She needed her rest and with his father roaming around the hospital somewhere, he didn't want a repeat of the earlier incident to happen in front of her again. "Well speak of the devil," he thought as that same person made his presence known with a small clearing of his throat.

"I spoke with your mother just now," his father stated as he sat down next to his son. The air chilled as Dearka's anger began to resurface once again. The look on his face as he began to lift his head had even scared the attendant at the nurses' station out of the area.

"Why are you still here? Do you just enjoy torturing me? I told you to leave my family and I alone," Dearka replied.

He was tired of being under this man's thumb. Time and time again he rebelled and they just kept following him around. He felt like his life was always being remodeled around him and he had no say in the décor.

"I am your family and don't you EVER forget that," his father said with affirmation.

It was unbelievable to him. "Does he really think every thing that happened could be wiped clean so easily? Or does he expect me to grovel for his help? This man's arrogance is overwhelming sometimes," he thought not replying to his fathers' statement.

"I see; you're not even going to acknowledge me. I did get you and that Natural play toy of yours in to see the baby girl, but I guess that's not enough for you," he said as he leaned back into the seat and folded his arms across his chest.

Dearka rolled his eyes and stood up. "You just don't get it yet do you? I love her and I'm not leaving her again. I'm not a kid anymore and I don't need your assistance. I can get by on my own. And that last remark, doesn't even deserve a response," he said sounding as if he had finally taken his responsibility seriously.

"Get by on your own, huh? How are you planning on doing that? Using her family's money instead of mine?" Tad asked sarcastically.

"It's none of your business how I plan to take care of them. But no, I don't plan on taking a dime from them or you for that matter. You act as though I don't have a career of my own and you assume she doesn't either. Between the two of us, we'll be fine," Dearka stated.

He stood up and began ruffling through his back pocket. Pulling out his wallet, he opened it up and searched through pulling out card after card. Dearka dropped them on the table in front of his father. "I don't need these anymore," he said as he shuffled away.

He was now leaning against the wall on the other side of the room. His stance mimicking his fathers, arms crossed in front of him and the same disappointed look on his face. Although Dearka's look was more of a disappointment that he was even related to Tad Elsman, while his father seemed to just be disappointed in the decisions his son had made up to now with his life.

"You don't really expect me to believe you don't need these," his father said now sifting through the cards. One card in particular caught his eye and he looked up at his son.

"It's not bad enough that my daughter is so sick that she may not even survive, but you have to travel all this way to tell me what a screw up you think I am and then say quite a few nasty comments to Miriallia as well. I'm not taking this abuse from you anymore and you can tell your wife that too," Dearka scolded.

He pushed himself off the wall using the muscles in his back. The jerking motion his body made showed the disregard for his fathers' company. He walked to the exit and pushed through the double doors sensing he wasn't completely free of the man he loathed.

"So how long did it take you to clean out that account?" his father said still holding the cards with the one in question on the top of the pile.

Dearka turned around quickly, startling the man behind. "Why can't you get it through your thick head. I don't want anything to do with you and there isn't anything you can say or do that will change that!"

"I wouldn't be so hasty with my words if I were you," Tad said using a now calmer voice.

"Well, good thing you're not me, so you don't have to worry about it. As for that one account, it was mine to begin with," Dearka snipped sounding like a child. The people walking down the hallway that had stopped to stare at the two of them quickly slipped away when Dearka looked at them with his dangerous violet eyes. They were practically screaming how hostile he could become if someone got in his way. He was almost a perfect copy of Yzak not so long ago walking down the halls of the command post before the attack at Heaven's base.

"You know as well as I do that the little girl in that ICU needs more care than even this hospital can give and that one account alone isn't going to pay for that," Tad began.

"I see; you're sticking around to bribe me again. So what do you want me to do this time? Oh wait you're like a broken record aren't you? Drop Miriallia and marry Cadey White so you and Councilman White look good in the public eye? Is that it? I told you I didn't need your help and I meant it. I'll have arrangements made to transfer her soon," Dearka replied.

"And how soon is that? At this rate, I don't think soon is even SOON enough. She needs help now Dearka. The one thing we never did when we took that other little girl from you is harm her in any way. I wouldn't do it to this one either," Tad reprimanded.

"You may not have physically hurt her, but you could have mentally destroyed her. Sending her off with God knows who in some arrangement you made to keep my daughter from me so that you and your wife looked good. And let's not forget the little party your security team had with me. I'm sure they enjoyed kicking around 'the spoiled rich brat' to the point that they almost killed me," Dearka yelled back causing one of the passing doctors to shoot a glare in his direction for his forceful tone.

"Well, you did put up one hell of a fight. I don't think it would have been as bad as it was if you hadn't tried to fight back. You ended up hurting six of the men you know," his father said with a sick look of pride on his face.

Dearka scoffed at his reaction. "I wasn't doing it for fun or to impress you. I was fighting to save my daughter. You know the one you kidnapped and practically sold at the flea market. And it wasn't even a fair fight with how many of them you sent after me."

"I didn't practically sell her at the flea market, don't be so overdramatic. She was placed with responsible and trustworthy people. She never really even left the grounds of the estate. You definitely lack faith in your family don't you? Speaking of which, my wife is YOUR mother. Stop pretending that we aren't related to you! She has been worried about you since that day and when Cadey showed up at the door, she had hoped that you had come to your senses," Tad responded.

"I HAVE come to my senses. I'm where I need to be and this is where I want to stay for the rest of my life," Dearka said as he turned to continue down the hall to escape his father.

"And what happens when she wants to leave PLANT with your children? What will you do then? And how long will it even take you to get help for your youngest in there that's fighting with all the strength in her tiny body just to take a breath?" Tad called out to regain Dearka's attention.

Dearka turned with his fists clenched. He was tired. Tired of being abused, tired of being manipulated but he knew his father was right. His little girl was fighting to hold on and Miriallia was falling apart. Who was he kidding, he didn't have a chance to save his daughter without some help and finding a way to contact Miriallia's family would take too long at this point. So Dearka did the only thing he could do and swallowed his pride. "What do I have to do?"

"Well, it's good to see that you still have some sense. You've come a long way from the boy that said he never wanted to be a father that day in the office during our arrangement with the White's. Maybe you'll make a good father after all." The comment made Dearka grit his teeth and start second-guessing his choice to investigate his fathers' plans more thoroughly.

Tad pulled out his cell phone and began making the call. "I haven't agreed to anything yet so what do you think you're doing?" Dearka asked getting more irritated.

Tad looked up and stared his son directly in the eyes. "I don't think at this moment it matters anymore what the deal is. You and I both know you don't have a choice and there is no way you will reject the proposal based on your situation. I just wanted to make sure that this family of yours is as important to you as you've been claiming it is. Now that I see it clearly, we can discuss the details of the agreement once I take care of this."

Dearka closed his eyes and looked away. He couldn't stand what he was about to do. Agreeing to terms that he didn't even know yet for the sake of his daughters' life; he never thought he'd see the day that he'd have to choose between Miriallia and their children. He felt as trapped as he did the day Cadey made her proposal to leave him be.

Tad closed the cell phone and walked over to his son. "Now this is a multi-step agreement. You will do them in order and you will not argue with me about it. A team of specialists are on their way into your daughters' room right now, so we should go find a quiet place to discuss my terms," Tad stated and waved for him to follow.

"You had them waiting here the whole time. You really are sadistic aren't you? You're actually enjoying this. You're probably happy that Nora is in this state now that it gives you the upper hand," Dearka growled.

He followed his father obediently down the hall, a rarity as it was, and slipped into the conference room his father instructed him to enter. "No doubt this was all set up too," he thought. His father sat down in one of the chairs and tossed a set of papers at him.

"Here you go. Read and sign them," he stated. Dearka looked at him with confusion and then noticed someone else in the room.

"I get it now, a witness. Official documents huh? Should I bother reading them?" His anger was rising. He was pinned down and once again it was thanks to his father.

"Only if you want to know what the rest of your life will be like," Tad answered. They sat in silence for a moment. And then Dearka noticed something on the paper.

"You need Miriallia's signature too? Why?" he became concerned.

"If you read the agreement, you'll understand. I'm just making sure you don't lose any more time with your children than you already have. I'm taking a different approach on the situation than I did before. Just read it," Tad explained.

Dearka began to read it from top to bottom, his eyes widening as he went. He couldn't believe what it said. "Is this for real? Where's the catch?" Dearka asked untrustingly.

"No catch, it's there in black and white. You and this Natural will be married and it will be dated before your first daughter was born in the records. You will both live in the PLANTs on Februarius but not on the estate, so you won't have to feel as though we are controlling you, as you like to put it when you talk about how 'evil' your mother and I are. We have already set up a home that I'm sure she will like. I took the liberty to see where the girl grew up and replicated it as much as possible. You will remain in the military and you will no longer be taking these leaves of absence. It's beginning to look bad on your record and there is only so much Yzak Joule can do for you now. But the one thing I need your Natural girls' signature for is that if, for any reason, she chooses to leave you after you are married, you will retain full custody of the children and she will not be permitted to return to Orb with them. After all, they are of the Elsman bloodline. I can't just let her walk away with them and leave you with nothing after all you've done to keep your family together," Tad stated the terms of the agreement.

"It seems to good to be true. Somehow I think you have an ace up your sleeve and that you are hoping she leaves me for some reason. And what if I don't want to live on the PLANTs anymore? How is this even fair? You're locking me into this arrangement and it's no different than when you arranged my marriage to Cadey. Or is that your plan? Are you hoping I won't want to marry Miriallia if you're forcing my hand?" Dearka replied.

"I assure you, there is nothing more too it. I'm just being a good businessman. The fact of the matter is if something happens she will leave and take the children with her. This guarantees it will not happen. And if you really want to live in Orb or someplace else in the future, we'll re-write the agreement or work out an addendum. I don't think this is too much to ask for saving your youngest life, do you? In fact, I think you gain more than you lose," Tad coaxed.

Dearka took the pen and signed his name the witness now practically drooling on his shoulder. The papers were swept away from him before the pen ever left the paper and with the ink still wet was returned to the Councilman's hand. "It seems we have a deal then."

"Looks like," Dearka retorted.

"I think it would be in your best interest if I presented, um…Miriallia was it, with this contract, don't you agree son?" Tad asked standing from his place.

Dearka closed his eyes and shook his head in agreement. As he re-opened them, he realized he had definitely just sold his soul to the devil himself. But his father had access to things out of his reach and his daughter was now critical. He couldn't afford to be cautious. "Yes father," he replied pushing the chair back and standing up.

His hands were on the table and his head was down with his eyes closed again. When he heard the door shut he opened them to see he was alone. The only sound that could be heard was his fist slamming the table as he cursed under his breath.

"The only thing is, will she sign the papers and even forgive me for signing them before speaking with her," he thought desperately. He looked around the room and wondered how long he should wait before he made his way back to Miriallia. How long did his father need to present this to her anyway? It didn't take him very long at all to convince Dearka he was in desperate need of help.

Dearka opened the door to the room and figured the best thing would be to go and see how Nora's condition was while he waited for his father to finish forcing Miriallia into the agreement as well. Before even stepping foot out of the door, there were people blocking his path.

"Lieutenant Elsman, I'm sorry sir but we've been instructed to make sure you don't leave this room until the Councilman returns," a soldier replied.

An annoyed look crossed Dearka's face. "Figures. Look, I just want to head to the ICU to get an update on my daughter. I don't care if you follow me," he stated trying to move past them.

The soldiers were insistent, but respectful of their equal. "Sir, I apologize again, but we must follow our orders. Please allow me to get the status report and bring it to you here," the soldier declared apologetically.

Dearka sighed deeply and stepped backwards to the room he had been in. "Fine, please retrieve the update for me and I'll remain in the room," he answered, once again not putting up a fight with something his father had demanded.

Miriallia's hospital room…

"So you see, it's all written out accordingly and Dearka has already signed the agreement," Tad said gently trying to coax the young woman to sign the papers.

Miriallia nodded her head as she read through the terms. "It seems you didn't waste any time seizing the moment Councilman Elsman," Miriallia answered sounding more adult than she had ever sounded in her life. The harsh times of war had made her stronger and having her children helped her age quickly.

"Miss Haw, if you saw the opportunity to bring one of your daughters home to you, would you not do the same no matter how much they kicked and screamed," Tad said eloquently.

"I don't believe they would ever feel the need to run away from me in the first place, so I'm not sure what I would do given the situation," she replied with truthfulness. She began to sign the paperwork no longer questioning his intentions. She had felt the same as Dearka; the choice was obvious. Fortunately for her, all though the outcome would have been the same, she was given the opportunity to hear all the details of the agreement.

"I take it if we choose to move to another location we must first discuss it with you and Mrs. Elsman?" she questioned already knowing the answer.

"Please don't fret Miss Haw, I can promise you, we will not be that difficult to convince if the two of you feel you need a lifestyle change," Tad said as his assistant serving as an official witness retrieved the papers from Miriallia.

"There are already specialists working on your daughter as we speak. She is in the best hands that PLANT can offer. With that said, she is in the best hands in the universe and I can almost guarantee she will come out of this unscathed," Tad continued as he looked over both signatures.

"I expect we will be receiving a copy of the agreement for our records as well?" Miriallia's tone was melancholy as she looked around the room for something else to affix her stare upon. She couldn't stand to even look at the man that had worked the situation over to his advantage so well.

"Of course I will have them made immediately for you. I will also make arrangements for the paperwork to arrive for your marriage certificate. I need to have that attended to as soon as possible," Tad said.

"I'm sure you do. It wouldn't look good on the family name if your son showed up with two children out of wedlock. I do have one question if you would grant me at least that," Miriallia started.

"And what would that be Miss Haw?" Tad asked curiously.

"Will you allow it if we still had a ceremony at my home in Orb if I agree to create the gathering as a sort of vow renewal instead of a wedding?" Miriallia asked thinking of the plans she and her mother have always dreamt of working on together.

"I don't see why not. Every young woman deserves a true wedding day," he said with a wink, much like Dearka's, as he exited the room.

The assistant lagged behind and looked over to Miriallia. "Miss Haw, I will return soon with Master Elsman and the paperwork. I will also stop by and pick up the current status report on your daughter. And, I'll be joined with a personal assistant for you and Master Elsman per Councilman Elsman's request," the man said.

"Thank you, but that won't be necessary. Dearka and I don't need a personal assistant and I'm more than capable of getting a report on my daughter," Miriallia responded politely.

"Miss, I don't think you understand. When the Councilman orders something all terms must be followed through with," the assistant stated with an air of warning to his tone.

Miriallia's eyes darkened as she realized what he was saying to her. It was the same as being imprisoned, but her cage happened to be a little larger than most. She nodded in agreement and allowed the man to leave the room.

"This would never have happened if I had been able to contact my parents in Orb. No doubt the work of my soon-to-be dear old father-in-law," Miriallia thought agitated. She lay back on her bed and closed her eyes awaiting Dearka's arrival. Even she wasn't sure what to expect now.

"There's no doubt that man has something planned to tear us apart, but I don't think he knows who he's dealing with. I don't care what he throws at me; I'm not leaving my children. There isn't anything that senseless man can do to destroy our relationship so badly that I would leave them behind," she contemplated now falling deep into her thoughts in the quiet room.