Incognito:

A Sequel to Chasing

By Dragonfire

AN: Okay, so I know everyone's going to shoot me, but I just did a complete editing of this story and am re-posting ::wince:: every chapter up again, edited to the best of my ability (and there'll still be mistakes, probably). I am so sorry - I know the few people with me on their author alert lists are going to sue or something…but I finally decided on how I want to end this one and had to change a couple things in order for that to work…my sincerest apologies!!

Anyway…for those who don't know, this is a sequel to the fic "Chasing", but this one can pretty much stand on its own. Hope you enjoy the ride! :D

Chapter 1

25 OCTOBER 293 - SATURDAY

17:49 PM

"Callie, would you get down from there!"

The small, dark-haired little girl looked down at her mother and called back defiantly from the roof, "Dad said I could come up with him!"

Hilde Maxwell rolled her eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. "You are so dead, Duo," she muttered under her breath, then raised her voice and yelled, "Duo Maxwell, would you tear yourself away from that stupid generator and look at what your five-year-old daughter is doing!"

A man in his mid- to late-twenties appeared next to the little girl, with dark blue eyes and a braid that reached all the way to his waist. Duo put his hands on his hips and studied his daughter thoroughly as Hilde tapped her foot impatiently, until he said, "I don't see anything wrong."

"Duo!" Hilde cried. "She's on the roof, for heaven's sake! Relena and Heero should be here any moment and she's got mud all over!"

Duo sat idly on the edge of the roof, pulling Callie into his lap. "So? It's not as if Heero cares. Besides, knowing that family, Amy will probably be dirty too."

Hilde didn't reply; instead, she simply glared at her husband. Sullenly, Callie took the hint and dropped nimbly to the roof of her father's pick-up truck, then to the ground. Avoiding her mother's gaze, the little girl went inside to clean up. Hilde turned her glare back to her husband and said warningly, "Duo – "

"I know, I know," he said, but instead of dropping to the truck roof, he gave Hilde a roguish grin and leaped all the way to the ground, landing on his feet nimbly but still scaring his wife half to death. Straightening from his landing, he gave her a wink and followed his daughter inside.

Hilde gave a low groan of exasperation and went inside behind him.

17:59 PM

A very hasty ten minutes later, Hilde and her entire family – herself, Duo, Callie, and tiny Nathan (only six months old) – were outside to greet their best friends. Immediately, Amy – the little blonde-haired girl – ran into the house with Callie. A dark-haired, blue-eyed muscular man gave Duo a grin and a mumbled greeting – something very kind and considerate, Hilde was sure – followed by a graceful blonde woman giving Hilde a very strained smile.

"Evening, Hilde," said the tall man in his deep voice, nodding to her in greeting and touching Nathan gently. "How is everything?"

"We're managing," Hilde said, returning his smile. "Perhaps you could talk to Duo about letting his daughter on the roof?"

The blonde woman's head snapped up. "What? Are you serious?"

Duo held up his hands defensively. "Hey, I didn't –"

"Don't you dare get any ideas, Heero," the woman said sternly. "If you so much as – "

"I really didn't – "

The woman ignored Duo's protests. "The whole paintball thing was bad enough, you hear me? If I ever catch her on the roof I'll chop your head off, I swear I will."

Heero gave Duo a strained smile and said, "Of course, honey."

"You better believe her," Hilde warned him. "Relena's top of our kickboxing class already."

Heero winced. "Yeah, I remember."

Relena laughed and Duo said, "I think it's time for dinner, don't you, Heero?"

Before the wives could say anything, Duo grabbed his best friend by the arm and the two escaped inside.

18:47 PM

After dinner, Amy and Callie went to Callie's room to play Barbies, while Hilde put Nathan down to bed and the adults sat around the table talking.

" – but Senator Rowlings was completely opposed to the idea," Relena was telling Duo. "He thinks that the publicity you pilots got five years ago ruined the 'authenticity and reality of the entire Gundam situation.'" Relena made a face. "He doesn't realize that you're just as dangerous as you've always been." She paused, and then said with a smile, "Except for Heero here. He's grown soft in his old age."

Heero made a face at her, and Hilde laughed. "Pretty soon the women will be protecting the men."

"I certainly hope not," Heero retorted, and ducked to avoid Relena's fist. He grinned cheekily at her and said, "I think I'm getting good at this."

"I was talking to Zechs the other day, before he left for L5," Relena said, toying with her fork. "He thinks that we should forget about the movement."

"Are you serious?" Hilde said. "Finally. Revealing the Gundams would've spelled danger for all of us."

Heero glanced at the back room, where the laughter of their daughters could be heard. "Thank goodness for that. Who convinced him?"

"I did, of course," Relena said with a grin. "Actually I threatened him, but then again he is my brother. The only thing is, it wasn't just me. During the meeting, I met this young man, somebody Maclemury, and he was the only one – out of all of those people – to agree with me. But the weird thing is - "

The back door opened, and the two little girls came out, almost exact opposites – Callie Maxwell with her dark hair and eyes, and Amy, Relena and Heero's daughter, with Relena's blond hair and Heero's captivating dark blue eyes. Amy, a year younger than her best friend, climbed up on her father's lap and said, "Dad, I'm tired."

Callie chose to sit in an empty chair, and nodded in agreement.

"Boy, that's a first," Hilde said with a raised eyebrow.

Callie made a face almost involuntarily, and Duo couldn't help but laugh.

"We're going, honey," Heero said to his daughter.

"Yeah, we better go," Relena stood, pushing in her chair and pulling on her jacket. "Thanks for dinner, Hilde."

Duo and Hilde rose, too. Hilde smiled and said, "Anytime, Relena. Are we still on for your house tomorrow evening with the Winners?"

Heero nodded, also pushing in his chair and lifting his daughter onto his shoulders. "Thank goodness it's not Wufei. Lately, he and Duo are pretty…well – "

"Combustible," Relena supplied wryly, following Hilde to the door.

"That's not funny," Duo retorted.

Heero and Relena exited the house, waving goodbye and with Heero throwing over his shoulder, "You never are, Duo."

23:32 PM

It was late October, and as they drove home it began to snow the first snowfall of the season. Amy was asleep in the backseat, and Relena had leaned her seat back to relax.

"I swear, she makes the best angel food cake in the world," Relena murmured, closing her eyes.

Heero grinned. "Duo told me it was a mix."

Relena opened her eyes. "You're kidding."

"Nope."

"Duo's kidding."

"Actually, for once I don't think he was."

Relena groaned. "Oh, that's not funny."

Heero smiled, then after a moment said thoughtfully, "Who was that young man you were talking about earlier? The one that agreed with you on the movement?"

"Somebody Maclemury," Relena said, making a face. "I don't think I like him very much."

"Tell me about him."

Relena smiled at her husband. Even after more than five years working in the Preventers he was still a mercenary soldier at heart, taking in information and storing it away for future use. "Well, he's smart. Very smart. He's got a Ph.D. and he majored summa-cum-laude in anatomy and medicine, but he says that he's got a feel for politics."

"He said that?"

"I quote."

"Go on."

"The thing is, he really does 'have a feel' for the business. He's already got Schwartz wrapped around his finger – very, very persuasive."

"So are you."

Relena smiled. "Anyway, we were in the monthly meeting – everybody important from the Colonies and the Earth – discussing the Gundam movement. Of course everybody knows I oppose it completely, but then again everybody knows I'm married to you." Heero grinned but kept silent. "But Senator Yates brought up this argument we had the last meeting about the publicity and everything from when we first returned from the mess five years ago, and of course after he finished I was ready to stand up and give him a piece of my mind."

"Did you?"

"No," Relena said, still sounding slightly puzzled about the whole thing. "But only because he stood up first."

"Somebody Maclemury?"

"I think his name is Charles."

"Very fancy."

"Well, it's Charles Maclemury the Third."

Heero snorted.

"Anyway, he stood up and started yelling – yelling, Heero, and nobody yells in a meeting like this – about how the Gundam pilots have done wonders for society today – "

Heero had a fleeting image of Duo's broken-down mechanics shop and smiled wryly.

" – and how bringing the Gundams back would only complicate things further, that we'd have an uproar with the press and museums would throw fits and the Department of Defense would give a full-scale fight to get them as weapons. Basically, exactly what I was going to say, minus a few certain words, of course."

Heero grinned again.

"But what was even more amazing was the fact that they listened to him, Heero. I was just sitting there staring with my mouth open because nobody ever takes my side in discussions about the Gundam pilots, and Schwartz and Yates and even Rowlings were completely brought to see my side. I think I was in shock for the rest of the meeting."

"And you've never seen him before?"

"Once or twice, but never in a Senate meeting like this."

"How did he get there? He's not really somebody important, is he?"

"I suppose he is," Relena said thoughtfully. "Somebody said he was related to Chairman Flanders, but I'm not entirely sure. In any case, he certainly looked like he belonged there."

"What does he look like?"

"Mmm…blonde hair, blue eyes, tall, strong-looking. Handsome, I guess – he was followed around the entire day by a girl who must be a supermodel – but he's just…I don't know…stiff." Relena made a face. "And did I mention conceited?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean conceited. Arrogant. Self-absorbed. Stuck-up. Egotistical."

"Ouch."

"I went up to him afterwards and asked his name and everything – hey, I was curious – and he gave me this look like I was dirt, Heero. Dirt. And then he gave me this snappy, little polite reply and complimented himself. I asked what college he went to – Yates was watching me, I had to make conversation – and he went off on this spill about how he graduated with honors from high school and got a full scholarship to the best university available. Not a nice guy."

"Sorry."

Relena shook her head. "I just…ooh, I don't know, I just hate people that think they're the best things in the world."

Heero rubbed her shoulder lightly. "Don't let him get to you."

Relena smiled and closed her eyes. "Trust me, I won't. Life is too good to let a jerk like that ruin it."

Heero grinned and let her fall asleep, realizing not for the first time that the past five years had been the happiest of his life.

If only he knew that all of it would be gone by ten o'clock the next morning.