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 25
En Route
He couldn't believe what he had heard when he called Miriallia. "Is she serious? She wants to meet Cadey too? Unbelievable!" he thought with frustration as he waited in the car for Cadey to get out of the pharmacy.
"Whatever it is the doc gave me, I'm going to have to take triple the dose to make it through the pain of watching these two meet," he said softly staring out the window.
Before long, Cadey was back in the car and handed the bag to Dearka. "Here you go. I also got you a bottle of water so you can take one when we get on the shuttle. But I think you should wait until we get on in case it has any adverse side effects," she stated as she buckled her seat belt.
"I think I'd rather wait until I'm in the comfort of my own bedroom to risk taking anything. I want to be under Mir's supervision, not yours," he said sarcastically.
"Suit yourself, it's not my back that hurts," she replied as she pulled a notebook out of her bag.
Dearka's eyebrows raised in curiosity as he watched her flip open the pages and quietly begin reading them. Shifting slightly he leaned over to see what she was working on. Just as quickly as she opened the book, she closed it again.
"Do you mind?" she asked in annoyance.
Unfortunately for her, Dearka was a quick reader. "I do when your notebook is eerily similar to courses I took at the academy," he stated realizing what she had been up to for the past few months.
"I'm just as capable as you are Dearka!" she yelled. She hadn't meant to scream at him the way she did, but she knew she'd have to defend her decision to join when he found out.
"I never said you weren't capable," he said tearing the notebook out of her hands.
"Hey!" she cried.
He flipped it open and scanned it quickly. "I just know this isn't the right place for a person like you," he finished.
It was worse than he thought. She was taking all the advanced courses from what he saw in the notes. Probably on her way to becoming an elite, something he had lost status from thanks to both his actions and her concerns.
"You're almost done," he noticed.
"What do you care?" she asked ripping the notebook away from him.
"I care because…" he paused before finishing.
"What? Go on, say what you were about to say," she chided.
"Because regardless of how things turned out between us, I don't want to see you get hurt anymore than you already have, physically or emotionally. I would have thought what I did in the stable would make that apparent," he snipped back at her.
Cadey rolled her eyes in aggravation. "I don't have time to argue with you about this. I have to finish the last few lessons so I can have Kelley send them in for me while I'm staying with you and your new little family," she said with sarcasm seething out.
"Fine, whatever!" he snapped as he turned to look back out the window. His back was hurting anyway and it was moving up to his head. The pounding felt as though someone was using a hammer on his skull.
Still feeling uncomfortable with what he had just learned he turned back to her and stared as she continued working. Feeling his eyes on her, she closed the book again and looked at him. Her own eyes full of agitation. "What is it? Do you have to keep staring at me?" she asked with a huff.
"I'm not staring at you, I was just thinking," he spat back.
Cadey took a deep breath to calm her nerves before continuing her conversation with him. "What were you thinking of asking me?" she asked him knowing he had been debating questioning her.
"Never mind, forget it. It's a stupid question anyway and it's really none of my business like you said," he replied turning away again.
Cadey shook the notebook in frustration, smacking it against her legs. "You are driving me crazy Elsman! Just ask the damn question so I can finish studying!" she demanded.
"Fine!" he yelled back at her. It took him a moment to think of how to phrase it. He was curious to know, but didn't want to look jealous at the answer he could possibly get. There was always the chance.
After a moment of considering his options, he asked the question he wanted to know most. "How did you do on all of the practical tests?" he asked.
Once again she huffed at him and flipped her notebook back open. Looking down at it, she answered him. "You can't be serious. That's what you want to know so badly," she scolded as she got back to work.
"Is that your way of saying that you're not going to tell me?" Dearka inquired.
"That's my way of saying that you really don't want to know. Your ego may get crushed a little," she said with a small visible smirk on her face.
"Better than I did then, huh?" he asked. He knew that all the test scores from every military officer were made public in the system. Unfortunately ZAFT didn't believe in privacy in that arena, but most soldiers didn't look out of courtesy for their fellow teammates. It only made him realize that Cadey had not cared about certain rules of ZAFT military etiquette.
Cadey closed her notebook again for the umpteenth time and decided to put it back into her bag after looking out the window. They were almost at the shuttle port and it was no longer worth struggling to read her notes anymore. "Look, I'm just kidding. I don't know your scores. To tell you the truth, I was curious, but one of the friends I made there said that it's some unwritten rule that you don't invade the privacy of other personnel. I don't quite understand why. After all, it's posted there because they want people who join to do better than their counterparts, but I guess it's a no-no," she stated calming his fears.
Dearka was slightly shocked. He really didn't expect her to say that. He was so sure she was going to do whatever she wanted, as she always did. But to his delightful surprise, she hadn't. Although still wanting to know her score he spouted off one of his scores. "I had a 624 in ballistics training, how did you do?" he asked knowing he had one of the highest scores during his time there.
Cadey looked over at him again and smiled. "Still not as good as you, but I think I held my own with a 620. I could be a sharp-shooting rival of yours if I wanted to be," she teased.
"But I could probably take you down any time," he replied laughing along with her.
As they continued to laugh together, they felt the car stop. An intercom came on and they both heard the driver announce their arrival. The attendant opened the door for them and offered to carry in Cadey's bags, but Dearka just waved him off. "I'll carry Miss White's things in to the shuttle port. We'll be okay from here," Dearka stated grabbing both their bags.
The attendant bowed to the two respectfully and then headed back to the front passengers side of the Whites' car. Cadey smiled again making Dearka's guard go up. "What?" he asked.
"Still the same gentleman I remember from back then. Well, once we got to know each other better," she said with a wink.
"Yeah, yeah, let's go Miss White. We'll miss the shuttle if we hang out here reminiscing about the past and I'm not about to make my wife wait another minute to see me again," he said as if pouring lemon juice into the open wound she had.
On Februarius…
Miriallia paced back and forth wondering how two hours could feel like forever. "Miriallia stop pacing you're making us all sick," her father scolded from the couch. He was also pretty nervous about seeing his son-in-law again and continued to flip through the channels on the television.
"Honestly, they have over a thousand channels in the damn PLANTs and still there's nothing on to watch," he groaned.
"Miriallia? What are you worried about?" her mother asked making her own attempt to calm her daughter down by rubbing the sides of her arms when she finally caught her to stop her motion.
"It's just that it's his first time coming home and with Nora and Annabella, I'm just a little nerve wracked. What if he doesn't like what I did with the place?" she asked concerned.
"I'm sure he'll love it," Mrs. Haw replied.
"I'm sure he won't notice," Mr. Haw said obnoxiously.
"Mom!" Miriallia cried out now more stressed than ever.
"Don't listen to him honey. You know how he gets with anything having to do with Dearka. I know he is going to love your home together," she reassured her daughter.
Kelley sat on the stairs watching the family's nerves get the best of them. She tapped on her legs with a pen she had neglected to drop when she finished filling out some forms for Councilman Elsman a few minutes prior.
Miriallia heard the noise and began to become agitated by it. "I don't mean to be rude, but could you stop that please?" she ordered politely.
Kelley's eyes widened in shock from the demand, but she respectfully listened and put the pen in her pocket. "I'm sorry Mrs. Elsman," she replied.
Miriallia sighed and looked over at the girl again. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap at you," she said as she made her way over to the woman and breaking free of her mother. Oddly the two of them had begun to get along a little. She wasn't sure of how or when it happened, but it did nonetheless.
Miriallia sat down on the stair below Kelley's and looked up at her. "So, what do you think? Do you think he'll like it?" she asked. She knew Kelley had been there through everything and even helped decorate with her.
"He's going to love a lot of things in here. And he's going to be really impressed that you were able to convince his father to let you clean out his room over there," she stated.
It was true. Without telling Dearka her plan, she had Kelley set up a meeting with her father-in-law right after her conversation with Dearka when Nora was home from the hospital. She had gone in and convinced him to allow her and Kelley to clean his room out and bring his things to his new home. She knew there was only one thing she had to say that would make him agree.
One Week Earlier, Elsman Mansion, Februarius 1…
"If you think about it, it makes perfect sense. Whether I'm there or not, you're going to let him keep the house to raise his daughters in, so why not let him have his personal things there," Miriallia explained.
He could see her point. Deep down, no matter how much his son disappointed him, he still had some feelings for him and for his sons' children. Not that he would ever admit it out loud or regret any actions he had taken up to this point over the situation.
"I see your point. Fine, Kelley, make it happen and warn Dearka's mother before you start unloading his room. Just make sure she understands that she is not to interfere," he responded dropping some papers into another stack.
Miriallia's face lit up. She hadn't been sure how he was going to react, but it ended up being to her advantage. She took it and ran with it, not saying another word except giving her thanks for allowing her the time to speak with him.
"Now if you two would excuse me, I have a meeting I must attend," he answered her show of gratitude.
The two young women stood up and graciously nodded and headed toward the door until they heard him speak again. "When Dearka arrives back in Februarius, which I'm sure will be soon with your daughters' return home, do tell him to come here with the girls. Apparently my wife has decided she wants some sort of relationship again with him and those children of yours," he said unemotionally.
Kelley turned and nodded to the Councilman before pushing the door open for Miriallia. She knew he had just given her an order and even if Miriallia or Dearka protested, she was going to have to insist.
Once the door shut between them, Miriallia looked around the foyer. "Wow, this place really is magnificent, isn't it," she said looking at all the high archways.
"Why are you so impressed? It's not much bigger than your new home," Kelley replied.
Miriallia walked around and did a small spin as she saw the top to bottom marble throughout the area. "No, I mean architecturally it's gorgeous. This is really where Dearka grew up?" she asked.
"Well that's a stupid question. Of course this is where he grew up. Now would you like me to call someone at this moment and get some boxes to pack his things or would you like to come back?" she asked with her phone in hand.
Miriallia's eyes fell from the sky and she looked at Kelley, "Hmm? Sorry this is so breathtaking that I wasn't really listening."
"I said do you want to do this now or later?" Kelley asked again.
Before Miriallia could answer she heard another voice. "Thank you for those kind words about my home."
Miriallia and Kelley flipped around to see Dearka's mother standing behind them. "I'm sorry, I haven't introduced myself to you yet, have I?" she replied sweetly. Miriallia was confused. She remembered what Dearka had told her about his mother. About how shocked he was at her response to everything and the things she had done to hinder him as well.
"I…" Miriallia started but was at a loss of words.
"Hello Mrs. Elsman, we're here to pick up Dearka's things from his bedroom. Will that be all right if we do it today?" Kelley asked making the arrangements without Miriallia's final word.
Her eyes dropped realizing what it all meant. "I guess he had to move out on his own someday. Of course you can, you do remember where it is, right Kelley?" his mother replied.
"Yes ma'am, I do. I'll just get things rolling Mrs.…I mean Miriallia," she said beginning to get herself confused.
"It's okay, she is Mrs. Elsman as well now," Dearka's mother stated matter-of-factly to take some of their edge off.
Sadly it didn't help Miriallia at all and she was as stiff as a board. She remained quiet as Kelley excused herself from the room. Part of her wanted to scream out and beg her not to leave her alone with Dearka's mother out here and his father on the other side of the door. After all, any minute he would be heading out for his meeting leaving her trapped by the two of them with no one to support her.
"This was probably not one of the best ideas I've had lately," she thought.
"Would you like to have a look around?" his mother asked trying to lighten the mood between the two of them.
Miriallia's eyes lit up again. She was curious to see the home her husband grew up in and this may be her only chance. "I would love that," she said her eyes darting around to all the beautiful curves of the room.
"I see you have a thing for architecture as well," she replied as she grabbed the young girls' hand and began to give her a tour.
"I love a lot of things. I'm a photographer but some of my passion is taking photos of the fine architecture of many classic and historic buildings. I'd have to say your home falls under the classic portion," she stated happily.
"Well then, feel free to take as many photos of our home as you would like someday," she extended an open invitation to the young Natural.
It certainly wasn't what Miriallia had expected, but she kindly agreed to the possible future visit to her in-laws home.
Present, En Route to Februarius 2…
Dearka had closed his eyes for a much needed nap. He wanted to make sure nothing would stand in his way of spending time with his girls. But each time he got comfortable, he heard Cadey flip another page. Every page turned was bringing her that much closer to becoming a soldier.
He opened his eyes again to look at her. "Now what?" she asked skimming the pages and then writing in her notebook what her thoughts were.
"Are you sure about this? Is this something you really want to do?" he asked concerned.
"What else is there for me?" she asked knowing he wouldn't have a clear answer to give to her.
"A little late to start with the self pity, don't you think?" he asked realizing what she was up to.
She sighed and looked back to her notes. "Fine, it's obvious you don't really understand what I mean and you certainly don't care either."
Dearka shook his head in annoyance again. "Are we really going to do this again? You know, this back and forth, around and around thing? I don't have the energy to put up with much more," he replied knowingly.
She blinked at him with a look that told him he needed to elaborate his statement for her. Huffing at the unvoiced request he explained more. "Look, if you're going to join the military for real, then there's only one place you're going to be and that's stationed with us. I'm sure you and Ian have it all planned out. Then I'm going to have to protect you, which is really going to be a thorn in my side because since we were together as an official couple, that's all I've ever done. I can't protect you, the ship, my friends and my family, it's too much," he stated matter-of-factly.
"I didn't ask you to protect me and what makes you even think I need protection anymore?" she said with offense.
"Because you're Cadey White, the most stubborn, frustrating, and rebellious woman in my life. Trouble follows you wherever you go and on those rare occasions that it doesn't, you cause your own. Somehow I know I'm always going to be the one picking you up when you fall whether I want to or not," he answered.
"Like Yzak does for you?" she asked intrigued.
Dearka laughed to himself a little realizing how similar they really were. "Yeah, I guess so," he said.
"The only difference is the two of you are friends. I can't say the same for us, can I?" she asked sounding dejected.
Dearka's violet eyes closed and he shook his head. As he reopened them, they glistened with a soft glow. "We're friends, okay. Just stop interfering in my personal life. You're pushing me to take drastic measures," he responded.
Cadey smiled at him. "Friends, huh? And I have to stop interfering in your life, but you can still interfere in mine?" she questioned making her argument.
"Fair enough. Fine, I won't say another word about you joining up if that's what you really want to do. But I'm warning you, you do anything sketchy and I'll shoot you myself on the battlefield. You won't have to worry about the enemy," he said with a smirk.
"Well look at you, assuming that I'm going to be stationed with you," she smirked.
"Don't even feed me that line. We both know that's where you'll end up, I'm not that naïve," he answered.
"Well, you're right, that is where they intend on putting me when I finish. But it's not because of you; my father wants me wherever Ian is. He thinks that will keep me safe somehow. Plus, I only agreed to it because as I was saying before there wasn't anything left for me. All my friends are unfortunately orbiting around you right now and that's why you'd be stuck with me, so I can be close to them, and no other reason. So I guess we have a deal then. I'll stay out of your personal business as long as you stay out of mine," she smiled as she repeated his agreement.
After all, she had no intention of causing him any trouble. She was going to leave that to Ian, Kelley and his father to take care of. "It's not like I need to get my hands dirty to see your marriage disintegrate," she thought as she relaxed in her seat for the remainder of the trip.