January 2, A.C. 213

Early morning

ESUN hospital, L3

"What did I warn you about Trowa?" Hilde was practically gloating through the phone. Relena groaned in response.

"I know…"

"Did I or did I not tell you not to flirt with him?"

Relena sighed into the phone. "I wasn't intentionally flirting…"

"Okay, well you were encouraging him," Hilde scolded.

Relena's forehead wrinkled. "Encouraging him how? By being friendly with him?"

"Yes!" Even across hundreds of thousands of miles from Earth to space, Hilde's exasperation came through clear as day.

Relena frowned, glancing about the waiting room to be sure no one could overhear her panicked friend, besides Duo, who appeared to be more interested in something on his tablet after greeting his wife and passing the phone over to Relena. She was grateful she'd taken the call off speaker, and even more relieved that they weren't vid-chatting. It was a personal conversation to be having in public, but at the moment, they didn't have much of a choice. Relena knew she could have asked Hilde if they could call her back later, but in truth she wanted a distraction while Heero was still in surgery. Waiting to hear any bit of news was agonizing, and any interruption from her worry was a welcome one. Even if all Hilde wanted to do was chastise her...

"Like it or not, by being friendly to him in response to his flirtatious ways, you were just egging him on," Hilde was saying.

Relena all but snorted. "His 'flirtatious ways'? Trowa?!" He was charming, sure, but flirtatious? Relena thought him far too stoic to be labeled a flirt.

"Oh, come on, like your little inside joke about 'java' wasn't flirting?" Relena could practically hear her friend's eye roll across the phone line. "Please."

"It's just a word," Relena said defensively. "And anyway, what's wrong with an inside joke between friends? He's your friend, too," she added pointedly.

"No, he's Duo's friend whose presence I tolerate on occasion," Hilde sniffed.

"Ouch. That's harsh."

"No, really, though… would you say you and Trowa were really ever 'friends' before all this?"

That gave Relena pause. "Well. We've known each other for a long time. We all have."

"That may be, but I don't see you being all giggly and sparkly-eyed with Wufei," Hilde said hotly. "Just sayin'..."

"Sparkly-eyed?" Relena huffed. "Wouldn't you say that's a slight exaggeration?"

"Yeah, well, I saw what I saw," Hilde retorted. "What's Heero going to say when he sees?"

"Sees what?"

"The photos from the ESUN ball, of course. They're all over the internet."

Relena groaned again. "Great…"

"I think you're going to have to tell Heero about this, before he stumbles on it himself," Hilde added gently.

"Ugh, I don't get it." Relena lifted her free hand and pinched the bridge of her nose. "I danced with several men at the ball, like I do every year. It's part of my job as representative... Why in the world are these gossip sites only interested in Trowa?!"

"Because he's hot," Hilde said simply.

Duo jerked his head up from his tablet. "Hey! I'm hot, too, and I danced with Relena!"

"Of course you are, sweetie," Hilde cooed through the phone. "But Trowa's also not wearing a wedding ring, so…"

"Wow, you two can hear each other?" Relena lowered the phone and gaped at Duo.

"Yeah." Duo shrugged. "She's kind of impossible to tune out, so…"

"Ha-ha," Hilde shot back. "You're one to talk…"

"Please, both of you," Relena cut in, shooting a glare at Duo. "Can we please talk about something else now? I appreciate your concern, really, but… there are far more pressing things to worry about right now." She emphasized this by placing a hand over her stomach, and Duo's eyes drifted there. He immediately winced and looked away.

"Sheesh. I'm sorry. She's right, Hil," Duo added a little more loudly so his wife could hear him through the phone that was still pressed to Relena's ear.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, too," Hilde jumped in. "I just think we need to nip this Trowa thing in the bud now, before it gets any more out of hand."

Relena bristled. "Well, it's not going to. I already talked to him. And so did Duo, although we chose slightly different approaches…" She cocked her head toward her seating companion, and he let out an awkward laugh.

"Yeah, well, I may have slightly overreacted, but then I was under a completely different impression," Duo said sheepishly.

"Which your mother is still under, by the way," Hilde added.

"What?!" Relena screeched, swinging panicked eyes to Duo.

"Yeah, she keeps talking about how you and Trowa 'spent the night together,' and she's practically giddy. I've never seen Mareen giddy about anything," Hilde said, barely disguising the chuckle in her voice. Duo snorted while Relena sank down into her seat, horrified.

"Oh yeahhh, that's right. I forgot you told her that…" Duo reached up to scratch the back of his head. "Funny I didn't question it then… I just assumed you were kidding."

"Because I was," Relena said insistently. "Ugh, this is awful. Now how am I supposed to tell my mother that I not only lied about sleeping with Trowa, but am actually engaged to Heero?"

"Surprise!" Hilde said playfully. "'Oh, and by the way Mom, we're having twins, too!'"

Duo shook his head back and forth. "Yeah, man, that's gonna be a doozy…"

"Well, we'll get to that," Relena cut in, agitated. "First I have to tell her that the Trowa thing is a no-go, and I'm back with Heero…" She found herself sighing again. "She is not going to be happy about that…"

"Yeah," Hilde agreed with a sigh of her own. Duo looked confused.

"Why not?" he asked, splaying his hands. "Doesn't she just want you to settle down already? Won't she be happy Heero's gonna make an honest woman outta ya?"

"No," Hilde and Relena chorused. Duo's brow creased.

"Huh. I didn't realize she hated him so much." He looked at Relena sympathetically while she worried her lower lip.

"It's complicated…" she said. "But in short, she's built up a lot of resentment toward him over the years."

"Well, he has stepped out on you a lot," Hilde piped up. "Can't say I really blame her there, just looking at the whole thing objectively. But we all know Heero better than that… we know how much he really loves you."

Relena nodded although her friend couldn't see. Why she felt even the slightest niggling of doubt, she wasn't sure, but she quickly pushed the feeling down.

"Of course he does," she said with all the confidence she could muster. "My mother just needs to see that. And she will, now that Heero and I are making a commitment…"

"So when's the wedding?" Hilde chirped. "More importantly, what does your maid of honor get to wear? And when are we shopping?!"

Relena laughed and allowed herself to relax, relieved the conversation had finally taken a more positive turn.

"Not any time soon," she said in answer to Hilde's question. "I don't think I could handle wedding planning right now. First I want to get Heero home and nurse him back to health…"

"Awww," Duo and Hilde chimed in unison. Relena smiled while rolling her eyes.

"Then we need to focus on these babies," she added.

"So you don't want to get married before they arrive?" Hilde asked. "People will be scandalized…"

"You mean Mareen will be scandalized," Duo corrected. "I doubt most people give a sh-"

"Either way," said Relena, "there's just not enough time to squeeze in a wedding between now and July. Unless we elope, but…"

"You want a wedding," Hilde supplied.

"Yes," Relena sighed. "I've waited long enough… so what's a little longer? Anyway, I'm going to be showing soon, and with twins I'm probably going to be enormous. I don't want to walk down the aisle with a baby bump."

"Don't you mean waddle?" Duo snickered. Relena resisted the urge to elbow him in the side, like Hilde would do.

"Meanie," she said instead.

"Yeah, Duo, you don't get to comment on a woman's figure during pregnancy," Hilde said hotly. "It's a beautiful thing. And you men are the ones responsible for making us look that way, so you'd better get on board with that."

"Yes, ma'am," Duo said with a grin. He gave Relena's arm a squeeze. "Don't worry, Rel, you'll make a cute little pregnant lady."

"Yes, you will," Hilde agreed. Relena flushed.

"Aw, thanks you guys…"

"And Heero's gonna be so protective of you, you won't have to worry about him taking off on you again- that's for sure," Duo added.

Hilde giggled. "Oh man, I'm picturing Heero as a dad… he's going to give whole new meaning to the phrase 'helicopter parent.'" Both Duo and Hilde laughed at that. Relena only smiled.

"I can't wait," she murmured. "Although I still can't believe this is all happening, finally."

"Well, no one deserves it more than you," Hilde said sincerely. "And if you need me to run interference on Mareen while I'm still in Brussels, let me know..."

"Oh, if only," Relena said with a groan. "Maybe you could just reiterate the fact that Trowa and I are not together, and hint that Heero and I might be? Just to prepare her for the bomb I'm about to drop?" Relena wasn't sure it would help much, but she didn't want to shock her mother into a hospital stay, either. Perhaps Hilde could find a way to soften the blow…

"What should I tell her?" Hilde asked, and Relena could tell her trusted friend was taking this assignment seriously.

"Well, you could tell her that Heero and I have… reunited, and I'm currently waiting for him in the hospital."

"Should I mention the surgery?" Hilde sounded a bit wary.

"If she asks, then sure," Relena said. "You don't have to go into detail. Just don't tell her about our engagement… or the pregnancy."

"Of course not!" Hilde practically shrieked. "Do you think I'm crazy?"

"Yes," Duo teased.

"Not talking to you, buddy," Hilde retorted. "Anyway… You have nothing to worry about, Relena. I'll keep things super-vague."

"Thank you, Hilde. I really appreciate it."

They ended the conversation soon thereafter, with Hilde making both Duo and Relena promise to check in with her later.

"She's such a good friend," Relena said to Duo after they'd ended the call.

"Well, whaddya expect? She loves you, man," he responded with a loopy grin. "She talks about you all the time… how much she misses you, blah blah…"

Relena smiled and leaned her head against Duo's shoulder. "You guys should move closer."

"To where? L1 or Brussels?"

Relena shrugged the shoulder that wasn't touching Duo's. "I don't know… Heero and I haven't had a chance to discuss where we want to live, and raise our children…"

"Then maybe you two should move closer to us," Duo said. "We could be neighbors! Or roommates… We could just get one giant house for the whole family!"

"Oh, my God, can you imagine?" Relena pressed a hand to her mouth as she giggled. "That would be utter chaos."

"Totally," Duo agreed with a nod. "And I've roomed with Heero before; he is a nightmare of a housemate."

"Oh, really?" Relena arched a brow. She'd lived with Heero on and off as well, but had only ever been overjoyed at his presence whenever he chose to stay with her. Of course, she was a little biased…

"Yeah," Duo continued. "Major control freak with the thermostat."

"He never did that with me," Relena countered.

"Not that you know of," Duo huffed. "He probably had it all programmed exactly how he wanted it, and you never questioned him about it because you love him sooo much…"

Now Relena did elbow Duo in the side, albeit gently. "All right, so he can be a tad fastidious at times…"

"A tad... at times?!" Duo balked. "Are we talkin' about the same guy here?"

Relena smiled fondly. "Heero's just very thorough."

"He's very psycho," Duo shot back.

Relena just sighed and shook her head, breaking their contact. "So he likes things how he likes them. I don't mind. As long as I get to be with him... You should appreciate that," she added, "as someone who's been married for a long time."

"Yeah, yeah, I get it." Duo rolled his eyes playfully. "And I'm sure Heero knows just how lucky he is to find a woman who will put up with him and his… ways."

Relena laughed at that. "Well, I'm lucky, too…"

"Mrs. Yuy?"

Relena's head shot up at the use of her not-yet-married name. She'd momentarily forgotten Heero had filled out their paperwork that way.

"Yes?" Relena shot to her feet as Heero's doctor approached. She remembered his last name was Munroe, although she could not recall his first name. Relena instantly disliked his grave expression as he shuffled over to them, but then he'd looked exactly the same when she'd met him hours earlier, right before he took Heero into surgery. Relena assumed the man was always serious, given his profession.

Dr. Munroe had a clean lab coat on over his scrubs, which contrasted with his overgrown salt and pepper stubble and the dark circles under his eyes. "May I have a word?" he asked Relena, without glancing over to Duo.

Relena felt Duo squeezing her hand, but she kept her eyes on the doctor. "Is Heero out of surgery?"

Dr. Munroe gestured toward the double doors leading to the nearby hallway. "Come this way, please," he said without a trace of emotion. Relena's hackles went up as soon as she realized he'd dodged her question. "We should speak privately," the doctor added.

Relena shot worried eyes to Duo, and saw that he looked as anxious as she felt.

"All right," she said warily, turning to follow the doctor. Duo started to rise from his seat, but looked unsure of himself. "Come with us," Relena said, answering the question for him.

"Is he family?" Munroe asked over his shoulder.

"Yes," Relena answered immediately.

Duo looped an arm across her shoulders and hugged her to his side. Relena allowed herself to lean on him as they followed the doctor out of the waiting room, her heartbeat thundering with every step.

A/N: Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed the last chapter! Your comments spurred me on to start the next installment right away. I hope to have more time to focus on this story for the time-being so you shouldn't have to wait too long between updates. Of course I say that, now... :D

The plot is thickening, my friends! I hope you'll stay with me! And... just trust the process.

Happy Sunday Funday!

- RFP