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Dream Keeper: Well folks, standard yada. I do not own Gundam Wing. *Sniffs* I wish I did but I don't. The G-boys and girls belong to their respectable owners. I am just using them for this twisted fic. I promise to return them, only slightly worse for the wear when we're through with them.

Christa: Or at least we hope she will. You never know WHO she's gunna kill!

Dream Keeper: Oh, shut up! I'll be nice. Well, for the most part. I don't think I'll kill anyone else now that Alex is dead. *evil laughter* Oh, did you actually think I was going to let her live? Nope! Not a chance!

Christa: *chuckles* For once I agree with her. Alex needed to die so the story would have an ending. Anyway, read on. Enjoy!

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Three Weeks Later

The "sun" shone brightly on the colony but the two people standing in the graveyard thought the day would have been more fitting had it been raining. Both of them wore black, since they had just attended a funeral. Few others had bothered to show up, and none of them had stayed long. They'd all quickly professed that they had other, more pressing engagements and left. Now only the two men remained.

"She saved us all, you know," Jamal said as he stared at the grave.

"I know she did. I'm sorry I doubted her now. The last thing I ever said to her was so hateful. I was just so angry with her because of the way she played with Danny's life," Duo told him. He sounded remorseful, but not sad. He couldn't bring himself to morn her death.

"I just wish she could have lived long enough to see what her father really is like," the younger man replied.

"Speaking of fathers, what's going on with yours?" Duo asked gently.

Jamal grimaced but didn't shirk the question. "He's in jail. If he's lucky he'll only get somewhere around fifty years in prison. If he's not, well. Life without parole is looking good to him right now, given his other choices."

"And you're not upset?"

Jamal looked up at the tree planted behind her grave, contemplating it as he answered. "No, I'm not sad at all. We were never close. I actually think he deserved what he got. He never should have gotten involved with drugs or manufacturing mobile suites. It was his own stupidity that led to his downfall."

"Yeah," Duo agreed as he shifted his weight from foot to foot. "So what's happening with you now?"

"I'm just turned seventeen. I think they'll probably let me run the company as long as I have someone supervising me so I don't abuse my power. Miss Relena became queen at fifteen after all. Running a steel company is much less of a political matter than that. I don't think I'll have any problems."

"That's good to hear."

"You know, she knew about it."

"What?" Duo queried, not comprehending for a moment.

"She knew my father and his associates were going to be arrested that night and she got me out of the house. She told me to come see her. I was sitting right there when my father was yelling at her, and yet I did nothing. I was just so angry with her, with myself. The last think I said to her was also hateful."

"Then we have something in common," Duo agreed.

"How's Danny?" Jamal asked, knowing that he'd been having a hard time.

Duo sighed and closed his eyes, wishing Ihe/I could go back in time and change the outcome of that night. "He's doing better. I won't say he's fine, because he never will be, but he's better. The first person you kill will always stay with you for the rest of your life. There's no way he can escape it. His nightmare will haunt him until he grows old, but he'll cope. It's all he can do."

"Intellectually I understand, but I know I don't really. No one does until it happens to them. And then its too late," he replied as he looked at the older man. Duo had never looked like anything but a teenager before, but now he was starting to look a little older. It wasn't very noticeable, but now he had crows feet at the edges of his eyes and his eyes were more haunted than ever.

"What do you say we go and see how Heero's doing? She was his daughter after all."

"Yes," Jamal agreed. "I'm just sorry he had to loose her before he could get to know who she really was."

"So am I," Duo said as he started walking down the hill towards his car.

Jamal stayed behind a long moment, studying her grave. It wasn't very fancy. Nothing about the funeral had been. Just a plain wooden coffin with a small ceremony and a priest to say the burial words. No one had spoken for her, no one had cried. He even doubted that the priest remembered her name after he'd been paid.

"Well, you've finally embraced the angel of death. I hope you're happy in his arms," he whispered as he lay a yellow rose down on her headstone. Then he brushed his fingers over the writing before he stood to leave, but before he did he cast one last glance over his shoulder at the gravestone. It was simplistic, just like the rest of the funeral. It held but one word: Alex.

***

Heero sat by her bedside and held her hand, praying that she would recover. Already it had been three weeks since the incident and she hadn't regained consciousness once. Her life still hung in the balance between life and death, and even Sally wasn't sure if she was going to live.

"Come on, wake up," Heero pleaded for the thousandth time. He hadn't even gotten to know her and just as he realized how much he loved her, she'd been nearly ripped away from him.

"Still here?" Trowa said as he walked into the room. "You really need to get some sleep. You're loosing weight. When she wakes up she won't be happy to see that."

"How can you be so sure that she will wake up?" Heero asked sullenly, not bothering to take his eyes off of her.

"Because she's a fighter. I've told you everything about those couple of weeks she lived with me," Trowa told him. "She'll wake up."

"It's only through you that I really know who she is. You're the only reason I know how much of a fool I was. I never should have ignored her like that. If she dies, the last thing she'll remember about me is how I yelled at her, and everything hateful I said." he let his sentence trail off and made a bid for his emotions.

"Yes, you were a fool, but that's not the last thing she heard you say. She heard you back there, in that room. She knows that you regret what you said. I think she's only waiting for something."

"What?!" Heero demanded angrily. "What do you think she's waiting for? Is she waiting for me to say I was a fool? I've said it! Is she waiting for me to apologize? I've done that a hundred times over! I can't think of a single thing I haven't done. I've even prayed. I haven't done that since. I can't remember when the last time was." He waited for an answer for the longest time before he finally turned to look at his friend, but Trowa wasn't there.

"I'm not surprised. Even Relena seems to want to leave me alone right now," he muttered to himself as he turned back to his daughter.

"Daddy?" a tentative voice called from the door. Heero turned in his chair to look at his five year old daughter.

"Yes, Kira?"

"When are you going to come play with me? You promised you would," she begged him. "Please?"

Heero felt torn between his duties. He wanted to be there if she woke up, but he also had his responsibilities to his youngest daughter. "Okay, Kira," he said finally. "I'll come play with you."

~*~

Hours later, after he'd spent the day with his family he went back to her room. As he sat down beside her bed he felt guilty for leaving her, but he knew he couldn't wait with her forever. Life goes on, even if you don't want it to. You have to go on with it, or be left behind.

"God, please just wake up. I don't want you to die without actually getting to know me. I don't want you to think I was always like that," Heero whispered as he laid his head down on the hospital bed Sally had rigged for her. "I want you to know happiness. I want you to know what its like to have a family again."

Slowly he let his barriers fall. He didn't think in regards to what wold happen to his reputation if someone found him. He needed release from his pain and he didn't know any other way to get it. For the first time in so many years Heero Yuy, the Perfect Soldiers, cried.

"Daddy?" Someone whispered weakly.

"Kira, you should be in bed," Heero said gently, without raising his head. He didn't want his daughter seeing him in the state he was in.

"Daddy?" she whispered again. This time Heero realized just who was speaking.

"You're awake!" he cried, his head snapping up to look at her as he tightened his grip on her hand. She cried out in pain and he released it immediately, stammering apologies.

"It's okay, daddy," she said, forcing herself to lift her hand to his face. "I'll be fine now."

"Alex, I am so sorry. I never should have doubted you," he started to say but stopped when he saw her shake her head.

"My name isn't Alex."

"She's right you know," Jamal said from behind him, irony mixing with his happiness. "Her name isn't Alex. She died. We buried her today."

"Good," she said. "Then I guess you can call me Nanashii."

"I have a better idea," Duo said as he leaned on the doorframe. "Why don't we let Heero name you? He is your father after all. I'm going to go get Sally."

"Angel," Heero said instantly. "Angel Alexandria Yuy."

"Angel," she said, trying her new name out. "Yes. That will do. How are the kids?"

"They're all fine," Sally said as she entered the room. "It's you everyone is worried about. Your uncle is in a right fit because of your condition."

"Which one?" Angel retorted.

"Zechs."

"I'm always upsetting someone," Angel said gloomily. Then she gave herself over to tears. "Please, I don't care what it is, but give me something for the pain."

"That's what I'm doing," Sally said as she held a cup to her nieces lips. Angel drank obediently and then settled back into a more comfortable position.

"I'm amazed," she said through her tears. "It actually tasted good."

Sally chuckled humorlessly as she said, "I figured you would like at least one perk to being so banged up."

"Thank you, Aunt Sally."

"It's you we should be thanking," her aunt replied. "I've got to get back to work right now, but I'm leaving the pain killers here with Heero. I've got my pager on if you need me. Okay?"

"Yeah." Sally left and Alex turned her head towards where she'd last heard Jamal. Her eyes weren't open, but then again she couldn't use them so what was the point?

"Are you okay? About your father, I mean," Alex asked, half-afraid of the answer.

"Yes, I'm fine with it. I'm glad it happened. Duo's agreed to help me out with running the business. I'm actually most likely going to end up signing it over to him. I don't want it. I want to be a Preventer."

"Just be careful," she said.

"I will be careful," he promised as he walked over to her. "I have to be for you."

"What?"

"Quatre explained everything to me. I'm sorry I made you suffer like that."

"I seem to be making a lot of people sorry suddenly," she tried to joke.

"We deserve it."

"Jamal, as much as I love talking to you, I need to be alone with Heero now, all right?" she asked.

"Okay. Just get some rest and heal," he told her as he leaned down and pressed his lips to her forehead before walking from the room. Heero was too surprised to even summon a half-hearted death glare.

"So everyone is really okay? Even you?" Angel pressed.

"Yes, especially me. If you hadn't gotten him I would be dead right now."

"He's dead? I killed him?"

"Yes. You killed him," he confirmed. Much to his surprised tears started sliding down her face.

"I don't ever want to hurt anyone ever again," she sobbed. "I'm tired of death, I'm tired of killing."

"Then don't," Heero told her. "You don't have to anymore."

"What's going to happen to me?" she asked fearfully. Heero's heart ached for her and guilt welled up inside of him at her pitiful tone and for once he forced himself to face it.

"Relena and I have discussed it and we've decided that you're old enough to make your own choices. We won't decide what is happening with you. That is entirely up to you." Somehow he forced himself to keep his preferences from his voice.

Angel sniffed and opened her sightless eyes to stare at him. "Make me a promise?"

"Anything," he told her.

"People wear masks, crying on the inside, laughing on the outside. I'm tired of wearing as mask, and I'm tired of being strong, daddy. Don't ever send me away again. Don't make me take care of myself or stand on my own two feet without any help until I'm ready to again," she begged.

Heero carefully took her hand in his, making sure not to jar it because of her broken fingers and looked at her. Her face was a mess of bruises still, along with some other parts of her body. Her shot wounds were still visible, making him wince even to think about him. In all she had over fifteen broken bones and had lost a tooth. He knew that he was partially to blame for everything that had happened to her.

"I'll never send you away," he promised her. "And if you can't be strong anymore, then I'll be strong for you. If you can't stand on your own anymore then I'll hold you up. That's what family's for, isn't it?"

"Yes," she agreed happily. "That's what family is for."

~Fini~

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Dream Keeper: Okay, I hope you liked the fic. It's truly done now. You don't get anything else. Please tell me if I spelled Fini right. I wasn't sure if it was that or something else.

Christa: Did anyone guess that Angel was alive? She's started a new life now. She'll go on to work at the circus, Jamal really will sign the company over to Duo and become a Preventer and the two will get married. Heero and Angel make amends and the Yuy's become one big happy family.

Dream Keeper: Blah. You know that Quatre and Cathy get married and so do Midii and Trowa. Yeah. Other than that, use your imaginations. Until the next fic, we bid the adieu.

Christa: Love ya all! *glomps* I hope you know we wrote 115 pgs for you! Hope to see you reviewing some of our other fics. Have fun!

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