This will be the last chapter—though I'm thinking about giving the fic a facelift.

After all of the preparations, Christmas Eve was upon them. All the shopping was complete. The decorations were beautiful. The tree shone brightly with many colorfully wrapped gifts beneath it, and mistletoe hung in the doorways. There were wreaths on doors, and red bows placed sporadically through the house. Candles burned in the windows. Outside, snow fluttered down like fluffy white feathers. The snow was still its lovely virginal white. It looked like it was going to be a perfect Christmas.

Nikita had come down with something, but refused to rest until she completed Heero's present. She did not have as much time as she liked, and she was not at optimum performance…but she worked at it anyway. She spent hours designing and preparing. That was the difficult part. By Christmas Eve it was prepared to be installed, but that could wait till after the holiday. She was exhausted. Nikita sat back from her computer, rubbing her aching belly.

"You are going to be a feisty thing, little one," She whispered to the slightly pronounced swell. Feeling a bit dizzy, she decided to lie down. She was asleep in a matter of minutes. Heero entered their bedroom, and smiled at her slumbering form. Her dark brown hair was tousled in a perfectly messy way. Her lips were slightly parted, pink and soft. Even sick and exhausted she managed to be perfect to him. His eyes fell to her very slight bulge. Heero's smile broadened. 'Our child,' he thought to himself. After years of taking life, he had aided in created one. That was the most beautiful concept he had ever come to understand. Lilith Jade Yuy or Michael Tristan Yuy, they had finally decided. He was not ready for a child, frankly he was terrified, but he knew that he would not have it any other way.

Heero's beeping laptop brought him out of his dreamy reverie. He immediately disabled the alarm, not wanting to awake Nikita. It was a message. Normally he would have read it and responded immediately, but whatever it was could wait. Everything that meant anything to him at all was in that house. In that room. Nothing could change that.

Julia sat in her room, thumbing old scars on her wrist. During all of the yuletide preparations, she remained rather recluse. Nikita had been engulfed in her mechanical project, and the only other person in the house who really interacted with her—Duo—would probably rather chew broken glass than talk to her. Several times she thought of apologizing, but saw no good coming of it.

'Would he forgive me? I've been so horrible to him…he wouldn't give me the time of day, if I were the last human alive.' She thought. Sighing, Julia lay down on the bed. She curled into a tight ball, and squeezed her eyes shut. There was a light knock on the door.

'I don't know if I could face Duo right now…' she inwardly groaned, but sat up. She answered the door. Much to her surprise, it was not Duo standing in the door way. It was Quatre . He smiled sweetly at her.

"Hello, Julia. What's the matter? You've been cooped up in here for days!" He exclaimed. Julia felt caustic response about to roll off of her tongue. She bit it, and tried to smile. Quatre had done absolutely nothing wrong. He did not deserve to be treated harshly.

"Oh, I just have not been feeling well," She lied. Quatre folded his arms, stepping further into the room. He shook his head no. Julia arched an eyebrow.

"What? You don't believe me?" She questioned. She was preparing to become very defensive.

"Absolutely not. You can't lie to me, Julia, I am a true empath. I can feel your sadness, and it hurts me. You don't have to tell me anything if you aren't comfortable," Quatre explained. Julia nodded; she could tell that he was not finished.

"I came to let you know, that we are all worried about you—we would like you to come out, have fun with us. Duo is especially worried." He informed her. Julia reeled at this, both eyebrows shooting up in shock. Duo was worried about her?

"Duo? Are you sure?" She questioned. Quatre gave her a very warm smile.

"Of course I am. If you just came out, for a little bit, you would see. No one is mad at you!" He smiled warmly and left her to deliberate over what he said. Moments later there was another knock on the door. She assumed it was Quatre.

"Quatre, I appreciate your efforts, but I'm not ready to come out yet," She said as gently as possible. A head poked into her room. In stead of the bright blue eyes she had been expecting, a pair of wide violet eyes regarded her tentatively. It was Duo. Julia felt her expression hardening, and her self-defense mechanisms arming themselves. Duo noticed her tense up, and put both hands in the air.

"Look. I came to form a non-aggression pact, at least for Christmas!"

"A non-aggression pact?" She questioned curiously. Duo nodded. An entire 45 seconds had elapsed, and they were not at each others throats. He relaxed his arms as he watched Julia deliberating over his proposal. He waited, a bit on edge, for her snide or caustic retort. He sat down beside her, bracing himself for whatever she would hurl at him. For the first time, she did not instantly insult him. But what did occur—he did not prepare for. She fell into a pitiable heap in his lap, and began to sob. Duo's eyes widened in complete shock. A few days he may have reveled in seeing Julia in such a pathetic state, but her sobs pulled at his heartstrings.

"Please don't cry…I didn't mean to…" He tried to explain. Hesitantly he put his arms around her, and gently stroked her hair. Duo felt awkward at first, but her hair felt like silk against his fingers. It suddenly felt natural.

"Julia, just let it go," He said quietly, "I don't know what happened before, and I won't be as bold as to say that it's all over now. But the one thing I do know is that—if you let me, I'll keep it from happening again." Even in her state of distress, his words, his touch—was comforting. 'How could I have been so cruel to someone so sweet?' She thought. Julia felt suddenly humiliated. She cried even harder.

"Come on, babe…don't tell me I made you feel worse…"

Duo hummed as he rocked her back and forth. He tried to think of more comforting words, but could find none. The sobs had went from completely debilitating, to just debilitating. Progress? He hoped so. Duo patiently hummed, rocked and stroked her hair until the sobs died down completely. He only moved to grab a box of tissues. When she could finally speak, she looked up at him.

"Did you mean it?" She asked. There was a slight quavering in her voice.

"Ever last word," He answered confidently. Julia was slightly incredulous.

"Even after all the horrible things I have said to you? About everything?" She questioned further. Duo nodded, there was a smile playing upon his lips. She seemed to fit pretty well in arms

"Yes, of course I can forgive you! You make it sound like you eat small children!" He said lightly. This brought a smile to her still tear-streaked face.

"I don't know…I hear they're tasty…" She laughed, she relaxed her body. Duo lay back, and she didn't let go. She buried her face into his chest. The sobbing had ceased, but she was still crying. Unprovoked, she spilled everything that had been on her chest for the passed decade. Everything from her father walking out, to the loss of her mother, to witnessing her Uncle kill her Aunt…She explained her bitterness towards Elliot and Nikita, the suicide attempts… The whole time, Duo listened intently. He did not say a word at first, just gently rubbed her back as she cried.

"How did you try to do it?" He questioned.

"I took a whole bottle of painkillers, and went to sleep. For some reason, I woke up. " She responded.

"Perhaps you woke up, because it simply was not your time," Duo stated pensively. Julia thought about it for a moment.

"What? Do you believe in God and fate and all that?" She questioned.

"Well, God I am not entirely sure about. But fate? Definitely. Too many things fit for it to be an accident."

"Hm," She hummed into his chest. The tears had finally stopped flowing, but neither of them moved for a long time. Eventually, the both of them nodded off to sleep. Not a few moments later, Quatre lightly rapped on the door to check on Julia. He peaked in, and smiled. The seeing Julia and Duo sleeping peacefully in each others arms was a heart warming Christmas miracle—and he didn't even celebrate Christmas. He exited as quietly as he entered.

Christmas morning came quickly. Duo gently shook Julia.

"Babe, babe, wake up—it's Christmas!" He said. Her eyes fluttered open, and she smiled at the site of Duo. He smiled back at her. Duo began heading towards the door, but Julia grabbed his arm.

"I just want to thank— " She began, but he put a single finger to her lips and shook his head. A wistful smile played upon his lips.

"Don't mention it babe, it's what I'm here for." They proceeded downstairs. Nikita was ecstatic to see Duo and Nikita---not fighting. She hugged them both.

"It really is Christmas! Let's open presents!" She said excitedly.

"Heero—you first!" Duo exclaimed. He knew that Nikita was dying to give him his present. Duo handed him a brightly wrapped box. Heero unwrapped and opened the gift. It was a thick hardcover book. From Conception to College: A Guide for Dad. Heero smiled slightly, and flipped through the pages. There was an entire section dedicated to dealing with the moods and phases of a pregnant woman.

"Thanks, Duo." Heero said, "You know I'm going to need it."

"This one is from me," Trowa stated handing Heero a simply wrapped box. He removed the bow and tore the paper. In the box, there was smaller unopened box: memory expansion for his laptop. Quatre handed him his own present. It was a framed photo of Heero and Nikita. It had been taken long ago, on their first date. Nikita wore that stunning purple dress, smiling beautifully. He was smiling ever so slightly.

"I thought you didn't celebrate Christmas?" Wufei questioned.

"It doesn't mean I can't buy gifts for my friends!" Quatre countered. He looked at Heero, who was staring nostalgically at the photo. Quatre smiled, he knew he would like it. Wufei stepped forward, handing him a box. It was a new hand gun. A Glock. Heero tested the weight in his hands.

"Very nice weapon," He assessed finally. All the pilots had give Heero their gifts, now it was Nikita's turn. She all but threw the box at him. Heero couldn't stifle the smile. He opened the box painfully slow.

"C'mon! Open it, open it!" She rushed him. There was an unlabeled software drive, and two oddly shaped remotes. He was confused.

"What is this for?" He questioned.

"It's for Zero!" She exclaimed

"What does it do?"

"I have not installed all the components yet, but tt will enable you to control your suit with the remotes."

"How?"

"The same principal under which you minimodels work. Except these remotes are touch sensitive. You handle them as you would the controls."

"It would be like…" Quatre began

"A mobile doll," Heero finished.

"Impressive," Wufei commented

"Incredibly" Trowa also observed.

"What is the software for?"

"It will serve as Zero's "eyes" until I build a set of goggles. I have several prototypes, however—they have all been bulky and cumbersome. You can view the position on the laptop." Heero was genuinely impressed. He kissed his fiancée. Duo got many vintage 21st century records and CDs. Trowa visibly enjoyed his presents from Duo, Heero, and Nikita, especially upon hearing the story behind the shirt. Quatre had bought him a flute, and Wufei bought him a set of throwing knives.

"I'm a winner!" Quatre exclaimed laughing, as he viewed his presents. The teddy bear playing the violin was almost too cute for him to handle. Trowa bought him a book of music, while Wufei had gotten him a glass chess set.

Julia sat back and watched the happy occasion quietly. She did not expect a gift from any of them. She had been such a bitch, she had wondered if one of them would just outright shoot her. As the day unfolded, she pieced together that they were all the famed Gundam pilots. She did not care…what boggled her mind was the night she shared with Duo. 'Would he really protect me?' She thought. 'He is so gentle…but there is this enormous strength inside him…'

His voice pulled her from his thoughts.

"Julia, I got you something." Duo handed her the box. She opened it up: It was a 21st century antique portable disk man. And a CD: System of a Down—Toxicity. She grinned

"How did you know? I've looked all over for this album!" She exclaimed.

"I just had a feeling," Duo said smiling as she thanked him with a hug.

"I'm so sorry, I don't have anything for you," Julia said. Duo grinned, and pointed up. They were standing directly beneath the mistletoe. He winked. Julia had to stand on her tiptoes to reach his lips. A soft, sweet, chaste kiss. It was brief—almost too brief.

"So what did you get me?" Nikita asked. Everyone had dispersed to play with their new toys before dinner. They were alone in the living room.

"Well I was thinking…with the baby on the way and all…"

"Yes?" She said, excitedly.

"That perhaps we should…move out…together."

"What are you saying, Heero?"

"I was going to give you the deed to a house…but I wanted you to be able to choose." Nikita screamed in delight, "You're gonna buy me a house?!" Heero laughed, swinging her around in a complete circle. She smiled into his kiss. It was a perfect. Everything was perfect. Any doubts she had before melted away because things were finally falling into place. Julia and Duo had finally –and literally—kissed and made up. She could not be more thrilled to be alive, to be with Heero—having his child.

"You have no idea how much I love you," Heero whispered.

"And I you," She replied. They walked hand in hand to call their housemates to dinner, and inform them of the good news.

The End!! Finally!

Sylver Secret