Gundam Seed Destiny Fan Fiction / Gundam SEED Fan Fiction ❯ Eternal Destiny ❯ Chapter 6

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

"Eternal Destiny"

a Gundam Seed Fanfiction

Chapter Six

Started: July 2006

Edited: November 2006

Words: 16,717

Parting of Ways.

Lacus Thinks Politics

Collared

Not Alone

Mother Knows

Found

Janlynn

Reunion

No Choice

Comfort

82 EC April, Orb Union Parliament House, Representative Zala's Office

A raptitious knock and a squawk of protest from his secretary heralded Yzak's and Dearka's entrance. The dart soared unwaveringly from Athrun's fingers, embedding itself in the abused photo tacked to the far wall.

"Don't bother waiting to be announced or anything," the dark-haired man commented dryly. "Just come on in."

"Don't mind if we do," Dearka quipped, strolling over to take a closer look at Athrun's target, and whistled impressively. Certain members of parliament were completely indiscernible, their faces pecked away from the darks sharp point. One body in particular displayed decidedly more abuse than the rest.

"Bad day at the office?" he commented, plucking free the darts and returning them to the master of the suites.

"I've had better," Athrun answered, nodding in thanks as he took the darks back from his friend. "And to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" he continued, forcing himself to return the darts to their home in his desk drawer.

"We can't stay here any longer," Yzak began without preamble. "I'd hoped your wife would have been back before the Vanguard departed, but I can't postpone our venture much longer. I've been entrusted by Plant to speak with the former Earth alliance governments."

"I know," Athrun sighed, slumping down into his executive chair and leaning forward to rest his forehead against propped up hands. "I'd hoped they'd at least find her by now."

"There's been no news from the Archangel then?" Yzak questioned, frowning as he too took a seat.

"None encouraging." Athrun rubbed at tired and aching eyes for a moment before rallying himself. "I know you can't stay here any longer, Yzak, but I thank you for your help."

"So formal?" Dearka protested, propping himself negligently against the chair Yzak had chosen. "Please! Of course we'd help you, man. That's what buddies are for, right?"

Athrun smiled weakly at the out-going man. "Right."

"Gratitude accepted," Yzak nodded stiffly. "In return, perhaps you could give me your opinion on these men."

He held out a slim disc, and Athrun readily took it, keying it into his persacon. Bios of the leading governmental heads of state scrolled across his screen, leaving Athrun to frown.

"I haven't dealt much with these men personally yet," he hedged, "So I doubt my opinions would really be useful. But, I know someone who has. Risa?" he called into his pager. "Will you please contact Minister Tohsihiro and see if he's available to join me in my office, please."

"Right away, Athrun-sama," the young woman replied, and Athrun turned back to Yzak.

"Toshihiro is Orb's Prime Minister, and I trust his assessment and opinions."

Yzak nodded and took to standing and staring out the window.

"The chairman thinks I'll be of help down here," he announced into the stretching silence.

"But you disagree?"

"No, but it's not always possible to talk people out of something they want to do."

Athrun's eyes fell on the council picture Kira had been thoughtful enough to tack to the far wall sometime before the Archangel's departure. "I agree."

"Then you think war is unavoidable?" Dearka wanted to know, frowning as well.

Athrun sighed and leaned back in his chair. "The fighting has already started, hasn't it? Right now it's mostly small scale skirmishes along borders, but there have been casualties, and there will be more before the matter is settled. Whether it will escalate into a full-scaled world war... well, I hope not. I've seen enough of war and fighting."

"We all have, but that doesn't mean it's avoidable," Yzak reminded him, turning away from the window with arms crossed and chin high.

"I think your best allies lay with the European and Asian governments," Athrun offered. "If war can be avoided, they will follow that path, as long as it allows them their independence in the end. It is the Atlantic Federation you will need to convince to peacefully let go of the past."

"They're a rather hot-headed lot," the commander growled.

"I'm not sure you have room to talk there, captain."

"Shut up, Dearka," Yzak snapped while the blond threw a wink at Athrun. "What about Blue Cosmos? We haven't heard much from them in the last eight years, but I know they weren't completely finished. Is it possible they're behind all this mess?"

"It's possible," Athrun allowed, "but if they are, I don't see why. They have nothing to gain by keeping the old Alliance together, do they?"

"Who knows for sure what those people are thinking," Yzak returned.

"Well, it's true that the Atlantic Fed will lose a lot of its control once the Alliance is dismantled, and we all know that Blue Cosmos was primarily seated in the North Atlantic. The Euro-Asians are calling for a return of the United Nations, right?" Dearka laid out. "But they're offering to include Plant as a participant. It seems to me any Blue Cosmos people wouldn't be too happy with that."

"No, they wouldn't," Athrun mused.

"Sir?" his intercom called out. "The Prime Minister said he'll be able to join you within half an hour. Shall I order for lunch to be brought up for you and your guests?"

"Yes, thank you," Athrun responded before turning to his two current companions. "Well gentlemen, since we have a bit of a wait, can I interest you in a game of darts?"

"Do you have any normal targets around here?" Dearka responded with a gleaming white-toothed shark smile.

****

Private Island between Orb Territory and the Marshal Islands.

"Carry me away to a land where happiness lives. My hand in yours; together, let's find that place."

The song softly ended, and Lacus held a cautionary finger up to remind the two robotic companions to remain quiet. Both Orange and Blue Haro flapped their ears at her, eye sensors glowing in acknowledgement before they buried under their respective child's bed sheets and switched to hibernation mode. Lacus smiled, staying just a moment longer to watch over the two sleeping boys.

William and Seri would try to leave soon, too, she knew, just like the other children. It was their right. She had not been the only one to have set up a trust fund for the Valentine orphans. Although she and Kira had elected to become personally responsible for only a select few, the fund would allow any child orphaned by the wars an allotted sum of money that would pay for the majority their post-elementary education. It was just one of the programs she had surreptiously helped set up while the governments were busy struggling to find a way to maintain the tentative peace.

That peace had lasted now for more than half a decade with nothing more than skirmishes within borders. She had hoped--they had all hoped--they would see the decade out without having to face the fires or war again. It was not to be.

She leaned heavily against the doorframe, weighted down by the imposing emptiness of her home. Her home, the home she and Kira had created together. The home they chose to share happily with almost ten other orphans--like them, the victims of war, the hope of the future. All but two of those children were gone to find their own fortunes, taking the moneys scholarships and trust funds offered them and scattering across the globe and into space.

A hand lifted almost unconsciously and rested against her abdomen, a habitual action she had yet to give up. At one time, she had hoped to fill this home with the voices of her own children; the proof and product of hers and Kira's love for each other. They would have... if not for her own traitorous body, she thought with burning emotion, banging a fist against the innocent doorframe before pushing away from it and striding purposefully towards the outside door.

It was too stifling inside; the emptiness too imposing. She had to get out, to escape just for a few minutes. If she could just get outside and allow the heavy ocean air to clear her head maybe she would be able to think better and be of more use than she had been recently. She had the puzzle in her hands; she knew she had the pieces laid out before her, but she couldn't make out the shape or the picture yet. There were too many questions clogging her head, preventing her from asking the right questions. She knew it. She knew if she could just ask the right questions, then the picture would form.

The waning moon was just coming out over the water, giving off enough light to guide her nocturnal stroll down towards the shore. The tide was still coming in, eating up much of the sandy beach, and she slipped off her shoes and allowed the cold water to rush up around her toes and ankles. And then she began to walk, and as she walked, she carefully laid out all the pieces of the puzzle before her, trying once again to take in their shape and picture.

The Euro-Asians had been hinting for nearly half a year that they were ready to break away from the Earth Alliance--longer than that if you knew where to look for the signs. She had suspected that the two governments would consolidate their resources, possibly formally forming a new union, as they had announced only a few short days ago. It was no secret thereafter that that new governing body was seeking alliances with other Earth nations, the Orb Union included.

Was Plant included in those new alliance talks, she wondered. Quite possibly. It would explain why Plant's chairwoman had sent Yzak down to Earth. That was a mistake, Lacus believed, but she had declined the requests for her to join the governing body of Plant years ago. She didn't exactly regret that decision, even if some things she heard made her sad. Still, it was worrisome to think that Plant's Supreme Council was seriously considering getting involved in this current drama. The current Chairwoman was of the Radical party, Lacus remembered, the first to attain the position since the last war. It was quite possible that she had elected to sign an alliance with the Euro-Asian Federation if it promised to be beneficial to Plant in the long run.

Yes, that would explain Yzak and his warship's presence here on Earth, even if the council decorated it with words of peace and support. She wished she had taken the opportunity to have visited with the Zaft commander, but it was too late now. He and his ship had left Orb's hospitality already.

So then the Euro-Asian Federation was recruiting support and allies... for war? Did they really plan to go to war with the Atlantic Federation?

It was plausible, of course. The Atlantic Federation had the most to lose by the disbandment of the Earth Alliance. It had used its supposed superiority to subjugate both the African and South American governments, setting up their own dummy governments to lead those continents. But both continents had continued to resist through small rebel groups and individual resistance bands.

Until recently.

In fact, the last several months had almost been too quiet, she thought, frowning. Had the soon-to-be Euro-Asian Federation already contacted those resistance groups? Had more alliances been formed? A bargain made and agreed to? Was what was being played out now just one giant coup de tete designed to break the majority of Earth's governments free from the Atlantic Federation's control?

But Orb wasn't part of those countries. Orb was sovereign. How then, did the world's elaborate chess game involve Cagalli? Why was she taken? Was it possible that the one had little or nothing at all to do with the other? That the timing was just a coincidence?

Helena Crisner. Mendel Colony. Plant.

It tied back to Plant, she thought, turning around to look back on the path she had covered. Even in daylight, the trail leading up to the house would be beyond sight, she thought, and set her feet towards heading home. Home, and her hand raised again to her empty belly. This was her fifth miscarriage; the doctors were strongly against her attempting to get pregnant again. Even Kira had sided against her. He didn't understand, she thought, the need a woman feels to be full of life, to be a part of bringing a new life into this world. She had wanted that so desperately, wanted that with Kira....

There were other ways to have a child, she knew that. And none of those ways, in any way, made the child less precious--she believed that. But it had been a move she had feverently hoped to never have to make for herself. Plant's scientists were still looking for more improved ways to continue the next generation of coordinators. Like Kira.

'Kira,' she thought with a musing frown. Born with special abilities, beyond that of a normal coordinator. Born at the Mendel Colony Facilities, where Dr. Crisner had worked. Crisner's field of research had also been genetic reproduction. What had the woman learned in her studies? Why would she want Cagalli if it was coordinator reproduction she was interested in?

Unless...

Had it really been Kira Cagalli's captor had been interested in?

'Or was it Athrun?' she thought to ask herself a moment later. Athrun, like herself was a third generation coordinator. With Athrun, she had known her probability of conceiving a child naturally was near zero... And yet, Cagalli's pregnancy was unplanned. Both Cagalli and Athrun had been taken by surprise, while she and Kira had been trying for years to conceive and had only managed it a handful of times---each one of those conceptions ending in failure, her fault.... while Cagalli remained healthily pregnant well into her fourth month.

Was it because she was a Natural? Did that allow her to conceive and hold onto the baby? Who else was a third-generation coordinator? She couldn't pull any names readily off the top of her head. The largest coordinator population in the cities was still of the first generation--like Kira, like most of her childhood friends or their parents. The second generation was slowly attempting to surpass those numbers, but they had yet to manage it. The third generation.... was the smallest population, their ages ranging primarily mid-teens down to recently born infants. That didn't mean there weren't other third generation coordinators of age, though.

But... what if Cagalli wasn't taken because of who she is or what she is... but because of what she carries--the fourth generation of the coordinator race?

"Hello! Hello! Lacus!"

"Shh," the pink-haired woman chided her overzealous robotic companion as she retrieved her slippers and approached the house. Pink-chan quickly dampened its volume but not its enthusiasm.

"Hello, Athrun. Lacus, find!"

"Athrun called?" she clarified, blinking away her surprise. Was everything all right? Had something happened? She slipped quickly inside the house and slid behind the communications console, keying in and activating the video phone link for Athrun's private link.

"Lacus?" he answered immediately.

"Yes, I'm sorry I was outside before. Is everything all right?"

"I--hold on a moment. Let me call you back on the home line. There's something I want to ask you."

"Of course," she agreed readily, canceling the connection and then accepting the incoming call a moment later under a secure line. Athrun's face flashed up on the screen and she could see the worry lines creasing around his eyes, accented by the purplish bruises of sleep bags. "What is it?"

"I want to get into some files. Highly secure files," he answered after the briefest of hesitations, the frown around his lips tightening before he forced himself to relax. "Crisner had more of a reason to take Cagalli than just because of Orb. It had to've been more personal than that. I've been thinking it over, trying to piece it together, and the only reason I've been able to come up with is--"

"The baby," Lacus interjected.

Athrun swallowed, looking away a moment before nodding and turning back to face her. "Yes."

"I think so, too," she admitted softly frowning. "Shall we see what it is Dr. Crisner was researching thirty years ago?"

"I have to know, Lacus," he answered seriously. "Kira didn't know anything had been done to him... how can any of us know really, if something was done to us, too? Something out of the ordinary."

"All life is an elaborate experiment?" she asked rhetorically. "Do you really believe Cagalli was kidnapped because of you? Because of your baby?"

"You don't?"

"I don't know," she admitted. "It's possible. More plausible than for any other reason I've been able to formulate, it's true. Why don't we search for the answers together?"

"Thank you."

She smiled back at him, unable to remind him she didn't need his thanks, not when the relief and sincerity in his voice were so thick. In the back of her mind she realized, of course, that she would have been attempting this self same act within a matter of hours anyway, without his request.

He wasn't the only one who needed to know, after all.

*****

Undisclosed Area somewhere in the Pacific

Her legs threatened to give out, and her arms screamed in protest. Choppy salt water slapped her in the face repetitively, stinging her eyes and drying out her mouth. She tried to gauge the distance to the island, her goal, but it still looked as far away as it had from shore. Cagalli couldn't even use the sun to estimate how long she'd been in the water thanks to the thick cloud cover that had rolled in shortly after she'd started out.

She couldn't stop. Not here, not out in the middle of the open water. She had to keep pushing on or give up and turn around. She wasn't swimming to Australia, dammit. Just to the next island. She could do it. She could--

The buzzing of a motor registered too late; the tiny speed boat was pulling up beside her before she could do more than sit up and take note of who was manning the water vehicle.

"Damn you, you crazy psycho!" Amaryllis growled, tossing out a rope harness and hooking the loop around Cagalli's arm and neck before the blonde could prevent it. "You are the craziest person I've ever had the misfortune to meet!"

The mulatto woman continued to curse as she hauled Cagalli up the side and onto the small deck of the boat, blithely ignoring the gasping shouts and curses pouring from the blonde's mouth. Amaryllis had to wrestle her down, doing a good bit of cursing herself as she took two plastic ties to Cagalli's wrists and ankles, earning several bruises from flapping arms and flaying legs in the process.

"Did you even stop to think about what kind of creatures you might be swimming with, you crazy loon? And just where did you think you were going anyways? You sure as hell weren't planning on swimming back to Orb, I hope. Even a crazy chit like you should be able to know how stupid that idea is!"

Cagalli growled, hot frustrated tears mixing with salt water as she glared at the taller, stronger, and currently unrestrained woman. She yanked angrily at her arms and legs, but the muscles were aching and protesting and the ties held, biting into tender skin.

Amaryllis ignored her in favor of whipping the boat around and booking it back to the island, zooming around the shore and up to the simple dock on the house side. Thunder rolled ominously over head, and the boat just made the safety of the wooden structure before the first sliver of rain began to fall. She shut off the motor and quickly tied off the rope. Turning, she pulled the key code, slipping it into her pocket and retrieving something else: a silver bangle.

She held it in front of Cagalli's face a moment before roughly forcing Cagalli around. "This is an electromagnetic tag," Amaryllis explained, closing the bracelet around Cagalli's wrist and snapping it shut. "If you step even one centimeter out of a five kilometer radius of the house, it'll send an electrical jolt up your nervous system. Nothing that'll kill you, but who knows what it'll do to your baby. I wouldn't want to risk it. Would you?"

There was two sharp jerks, and Cagalli's arms and legs were released. She barely managed to swing a punch towards the other woman before she lost her balance and fell over. Amaryllis holstered her knife and climbed out of the boat.

"I suggest you stick closer to home from now on, Ms. Athha," the tall, dark-haired woman concluded before striding up the dock and towards the main house.

The stickiness of the salt water clung to her skin. Her lungs heaved but couldn't seem to draw enough oxygen. Finally, Cagalli gave into the urge and screamed, the loud enraged roar of frustrations tearing from her throat and chest until she felt empty and slumped back against the siding of the small speed boat and allowed her tears to be washed away by the rain water. Overhead, lightning brightened the clouds before everything faded back to a dull, miserable grey.

It was hopeless. She was helpless here. Exhausted, drained, empty. She had nothing left to give.

The next flash of lightning glinted off the silver band encircling her wrist, and she lifted the arm to her face, tugging at the band. It seemed seamless, although she'd seen it only minutes before looking like an open cuff. Now it was smooth and solid, the ring too small to squeeze over her hand.

Collared. She was effectively collared, Cagalli thought. The giggle bubbled up from somewhere inside her, surprising her. She had another band that was supposedly likened to a collar, she mused as a hand lifted to finger the bump beneath her blouse, but she never felt restricted by her commitments to Athrun. Just the opposite. Athrun had always supported her, allowing her the freedom to go and do what she needed to do. But now, here she was, blocked off from doing her job, forced to sit here, waiting for someone else's whim...

Her hands fell to her lap, but somehow stopped at her slowly growing tummy. The tiny flutter of life was strange. Not uncomfortable, but definitely strange. It was almost as if she had swallowed a butterfly, and now it was flittering about her tummy.

Another brightening of lightning glinted off the silver bracelet, pressing against her tummy.

If it had been just herself, she wouldn't have hesitated. She would've taken the boat, and even in this weather she would've tempted it; attempted to overrun the key code and speed away towards freedom. She wondered how far she'd have to go outside of the five kilometer radius before the signal would fade. Or would it fade? Maybe it would just get stronger until she collapsed?

In the end, it didn't really matter. It wasn't just herself. Athrun had said it before---having a child would change things; it couldn't be helped. Their child. Athrun's child, she thought, stroking her belly. He'd been so happy. It was the first and only time she could recall honestly seeing pure, unadulterated joy radiating from him, untainted by fear or doubt or worry. This baby, this tiny little life... was so fragile and delicate, and so completely dependent on her right now.

It was terrifying.

It was then that the enormity of her situation crashed down on Cagalli.

Yes. She was collared. Effectively collared and shackled until the woman master-minding her being here returned to this god-forsaken island and released her. Athrun was safe. Orb was safe, and by gods, Cagalli would keep their child safe, too. Even if it meant she'd have to bid her time, bite her tongue, and take up cross-stitching.

****

~An hour later~

The storm hadn't lessened any by the time Cagalli pulled herself together and dragged herself back up to the main house, but her resolve was reaffirmed and her emotions back in check. She was still annoyed with her predicament, and embarrassed by her lack of control down in the boat, but she felt back in control of herself, at least, if not her situation.

Her skin was raw and bruised around her wrist from where she'd tried to get the bracelet off without success. In the end that too was something she had to accept for the time being. She was out of options save to sit on her ass like a bump on a log. And to make matters worse, it looked like there had been just enough sun to bless her with a bit of a burn.

All in all, Cagalli was not a happy woman. She was tired and sore and frustrated. And not at all ready to deal with the glowering doctor blocking her escape up the stairs.

"And just where do you think you were going?" Crisner demanded, eying Cagalli critically up and down, her frown tightening.

"Apparently no where," Cagalli snapped.

Crisner's hand darted out before Cagalli could brush past her, and the older woman brutally pinched her. "Just as I thought," she proclaimed over Cagalli's protesting cry. "You're dehydrated. And no wonder what with that fool's errand of an idea you tried to pull today. You'll be lucky if you don't get sun poisoning as well. Kindly remember who's responsible for your health for the duration of your stay, hmm? And if that's not sufficient enough to keep you behaving yourself, try sparing a thought for your babies. Everything you do from what you eat to your emotional state effects them as much if not more so than they effect you. You need to stat taking better care of yourself. You're not a child anymore."

Crisner forcibly directed a glowering Cagalli into the dining room, pushing her into a chair and pouring out a tall glass of plain water. "Start with that. Water is the most important necessity to any body. You need to give your body plenty of fresh water."

She swallowed the retort that sprang so readily to tongue, and accepted the glass. Cagalli didn't even realize how thirsty she was until after the first sip had moistened her mouth. The rest of the glass followed quickly, and the doctor poured her another glassful.

"I've no doubt you're plenty exhausted, but you need to eat something before you go to bed," Crisner continued, setting the water pitcher down near Cagalli as she walked around to her normal seat at the table. "Nothing big, that wouldn't be good, but you should try something. If you try for too much you'll just end up making yourself sick."

"Why are you doing this?" she asked, uncomfortably aware of the almost whine-quality her voice took as the older woman uncovered several dishes and scooped spoonfuls of food onto a plate.

"Doing what?"

"Taking care of me like this," Cagalli returned with a wave that was meant to include the water and food.

Crisner practically snorted at her as she passed over the plate before setting out to make one up for herself. "Don't get me wrong, child. I'm interested in those babies you've carrying. The quickest way to ensure healthy babes is to have a healthy momma."

"I--" Cagalli's mind blanked, faulted, crashed, and then restarted with a flurry.

"Babies?" she spurted. "Babies, as in plural? More than one?"

"Of course," the doctor replied, sounding amused as she lifted a fork to her mouth. But the fork never reached its destination, lowering back towards the table as Crisner continued to study her. "Surely you already knew you were carrying twins--"

"Surely I knew nothing of the sort!" the blond young woman exploded hotly staring in a horrified and perplexed fashion at the woman across from her. "What do you mean twins? I can't have twins! That's--absurd! Just... not possible."

"What's absurd is you not knowing!" Crisner returned with equal vigor. "Any doctor worth his or her credits can detect a multiple pregnancy by the second month! Earlier than that if a scan is preformed! By the forth month there's even visual confirmation. How is it your doctor didn't know? What sort of incompetent fools do they have caring for pregnant woman in that country of yours? Hell! I was able to tell just from the preliminary check up I did when you got here!"

"I... I can't have two babies," Cagalli protested weakly. "It's impossible."

"Then you're a damn medical miracle," Crisner snapped before throwing her fork down in frustration. "It was proven over a century ago that these trends run along the maternal line. Why is it so impossible then if you're a twin yourself?"

"That's different," Cagalli protested, frowning as she thought to question, "and how do you know about that any way?"

"The only difference between you and your momma is that your twin was removed from the womb and gestated in an artificial womb," Crisner answered. "If he'd been left alone there would've been two babies growing in your momma's womb instead of just one."

"But... Kira... he was an experiment. He's a coordinator. I'm not."

"So?"

"So, I mean..." Cagalli faltered.

"Sweet Blessed Mother, save me from ignorance and stupidity," Crisner whispered feverently skywards before turning on Cagalli. "You think just because your brother's a coordinator he wasn't made inside your momma's belly, is that it?" she demanded, her accent thickening with her ire. "True it's easiest to fertilize a new coordinator embryo outside its momma's womb, but not all first-gen coordinators are made that way. Some, like your brother, are carefully removed after fertilization inside the body. But unlike your brother, they're usually put back where they belong. After they've been modified."

Cagalli shook her aching head, wishing she'd paid just a little bit more attention in science class. Finally, she decided to focus on something more concrete, something she could wrap her mind around. "How... how do you know all this? About me and my brother? Hell, not even all my councilors know I have a brother. But you--"

"I know because I was there," Crisner informed her. "I was unofficially associated with Hibiki's pet project, as an aside to my own research. I called Mendol home, too. But more than that, Via was a colleague and a friend. When she found out she was pregnant, I was the one who treated her."

"You..."

Crisner fixed Cagalli with an appraising look. "You were an annoying, impatient, demanding thing even then. Put your poor mother through hell. The only enjoyment through that whole ordeal was getting to witness Hibiki's near mental breakdown when you decided you wanted to be born. He even forgot about his pet project when your momma went into labor with you. It wasn't until after Via demanded a status report on her son that he even remembered the other babe."

"Then," Cagalli began wonderingly, "I was born first."

"In a manner of speaking," Crisner shrugged, "I suppose you were."

"Ha!" Cagalli cried exuberantly. "I knew it! I knew I was older!"

Crisner watched the blond curiously. "By about half an hour. You were screaming and wailing something horrible, but I'll never forget how quickly you settled right down when we placed your brother next to you. It was like you two knew each other already. Or maybe you just knew you weren't alone anymore. I don't know. Baby psychology isn't my field," she added with another off-handed gesture.

"Not alone anymore," Cagalli repeated softly.

She remembered how she and Kira had met that first time on Heliopolis. She'd played that meeting over and over again in her mind in the weeks and months after that meeting, regretting the loss of a boy she hadn't even known the name of but believed had died for shoving her into that escape pod. And then they'd met again. Almost guiltily, she thought of the attraction she'd felt for him, the desire to be closer to him, to understand him, that driving need to know him.

Cagalli remembered the madness of Orb's evacuation, and her father's revelation, their last goodbye and feeling so lost, alone and adrift. The photograph he'd pressed onto her was like an anchor then, an assurance that she wasn't alone. Not really. She had a brother.

Even now, the knowledge that she wasn't alone, that she had a brother, a piece of family, warmed and comforted her. She had a brother and a husband and a sister, too, in Lacus. And she knew, right now, even as she lay in her bed, her exhausted body dragging her effortlessly into the world of dreams, that they were out there, somewhere, looking for her. Her and her babies.

They weren't alone.

****

72 EC February, Post-War Orb Union

Cagalli was annoyed at having to take a driven car, but there was no help for it. It wouldn't due for the soon-to-be Orb Union Representative to be caught driving without a license, and she still hadn't had a chance to go down to the vehicle registration and permits office and take the damn required test. It was stupid--she could pilot a mobile suit and mobile armor, but she wasn't allowed to drive a damn car!

She fumed silently in the backseat of the modest sedan she'd selected for this mission, staring out the window at the simple houses with their simple yards--each one looking painfully similar to its neighbor. All the houses in this area were new, some less than a month old. Over on another island, the government had solved the housing problems Heliopolis and the war had created with high-rise condos, but here, housing developments were being crammed into any available space.

Still, it was a peaceful area. There in the play park children and their mothers went about their lives. Down another street was a post man delivering mail. Three streets over, more houses were still in the process of being built. The sedan turned and slowed to a halt in front of an utterly normal looking house.

"This one?" she asked, staring at the structure, almost an exact twin to its neighbor except for the row of tiny flowering plants lining the walk. There hadn't been enough time for them to grow into a miniature hedge yet, and there was a fragile nakedness feeling to the landscape.

"Yes, ma'am. Seventy-eight Mangrove Terrace," the driver responded. "Shall I wait with the car for you here?"

"No, no," she replied a bit hastily, licking nervously dry lips. "I'll call when I'm ready to leave. Thank you."

"Of course, Cagalli-sama. Please take care."

She exited the sedan quickly and strode up the walk to the door before she could loose her nerve. There was a dried flowery wreath hung on the door with the simple word 'welcome' scrawled across it. For a moment she wasn't sure whether she should ring the doorbell or knock first, and she cursed her nervousness.

Would he be home, she wondered? He would probably be mad at her for coming here, but...

Her finger stabbed at the doorbell viciously before she could talk herself into turning around and climbing back into the car. A voice from inside called out in response, and a moment later the door opened to a pretty middle-aged woman Cagalli recognized immediately.

From the expression on the woman's face, Cagalli knew Caridad Yamato recognized her as well.

"Yamato-san."

"Cagalli-sama," the woman answered, a hand fluttering to her throat as she looked quickly past Cagalli and then back into the house. "I--we weren't expecting any company. My son--Kira's not here right now. I'm sorry."

"Wait," Cagalli cried before the woman could step back and close the door to her. "I--I want to talk with you. Please."

The hand at Caridad's throat clenched briefly before relaxing and falling down to her side. "I see," she whispered, stepping back mechanically and holding the door open. "I--won't you please come in, Cagalli-sama."

"Cagalli's just fine," she told them woman with a nod of thanks as she quickly stepped inside. " I--thank you, for agreeing to talk with me."

Caridad looked around, seeming lost for a moment before motioning Cagalli towards the lone sofa in the room. "My husband is at work right now, and my son, Kira is out with friends at the moment."

"I see. I'm sorry to barge in on you like this, without even calling ahead first," Cagalli apologized hesitantly, sitting at the other woman's invitation on the cheap sofa. The room was sparsely furnished with only a bookcase, a coffee table, and a TV stand to fill in the emptiness. Cagalli wondered if the rest of the house was like this--engulfed in a feeling of hollowness. And then she flushed when she realized Kira's mother was watching her, and she turned instead to stare down at her lap, her hands clutching her knees nervously. It was strange to see the blue dress smock there instead of her uniform, but she was suddenly glad she'd taken the time to at least change into civilian gear for this visit.

"I--"

"It's not much to look at right now," Caridad interrupted hastily, fighting to keep her hands from fluttering about in nervous gestures, "but we've been adding a little bit here and there each month. It will be a while before the recovery crews have cleaned up everything, and even then there's no guarantee we'll ever get all our old possessions back," she explained, staring about her at the empty walls and thinking back to the comfortable rooms they'd possessed when Kira was a child. Even the new apartment they'd purchased when Kira had decided to go to school on Heliopolis had been more inviting that this house.

"Heliopolis was a large colony, after all," Kira's mother continued, "with many families living there. It would be impossible to recover everything. But my husband tells me there's a chance that Orb will decide to construct another space colony?"

"We're hoping to be able to reconstruct Heliopolis, yes," Cagalli confirmed some of the rumors that had been making local media attention recently. It was a topic the parliament had carefully breached, but there were still too many other issues that were considered higher priority, and until she was sworn in as Orb's new supreme representative, she had no voting power. "But it is something that will take time before any decisions can be finalized, and then more time before actual reconstruction work can begin."

"That's good news," Caridad murmured. "My husband's an engineer, you see. He enjoys building and maintaining things. And he's simply fascinated with living in space. We actually considered returning to one of the lunar colonies, but, well... My husband actually helped construct Heliopolis, did you know? He's really looking forward to the possibility of a reconstruction."

"I'm glad," Cagalli replied, not knowing what else to say. "I was born on Heliopolis, so I guess I'm rather sentimental about it."

"Yes. Kira, too," Caridad said without thinking, and then her eyes widened as she stared in silent horrification at Cagalli.

"Yamato-san, before my father--" Her throat closed around the word 'died', and so Cagalli just skipped it, determinedly pushing onward. "I, he told me."

"I see." Caridad stared at her hands, but then found she could stay seated any longer and stood. But she had no place to go, nothing to do to escape from this conversation. "I... thought, maybe," she began, but she couldn't finish her sentence and switched thoughts instead, explaining, "Kira, when he finally came home, but then, we didn't know what exactly, and he wouldn't talk to us. For days he wouldn't even leave his room, and then Athrun showed up, and the two would just take off, just like they were kids again."

Cagalli fidgeted, listening to the other woman only succeeded in increasing her own nervousness, and finally she stood, reaching into her pocket, and withdrew the treasured picture her father had given her. "Before he died, my father gave me this."

Caridad hesitated a moment... and then her hand reached out, fingers brushing over the captured image. "You were so tiny..."

"Then it's true?" Cagalli asked. "Kira is my brother?"

"I--" Caridad withdrew her hand hastily and put several paces of distance between them. "Athha-sama believed so."

"But why separate us then?" she demanded, desperately wanting to understand what had happened.

Caridad's watering eyes focused on her, and Cagalli felt her throat tighten realizing that she might never discover what had happened. They might never know for fact that Kira and she were siblings, never know the details of their birth, their separation.

"I was told it was for your protection," Kira's mother finally answered, sinking down onto the sofa where Cagalli had sat moments before. "Athha-sama said he had made a promise, to the birth mother, that he would find a safe family for Kira. It was destiny that he came into my hands."

"Who was she?" Cagalli tried, aching for any little detail that could unlock the mystery. "The woman my father made a promise to, the birth mother, who was she? And why? Did he say why we had to be separated? What did we have to be protected from? It's not fair! I had a brother and I never knew!"

The rush left her feeling emptier than when she'd made the decision to come here today. She had thought, had hoped, that this woman, Kira's mother, would have the answers, but she didn't. She didn't know; and she couldn't tell Cagalli.

"He was so small, so helpless," Caridad whispered. "And he fit so naturally in my arms. There was no doubt that we could give him the things Athha-sama requested: a home, a family. He's my precious baby, my son."

"And he's my brother," Cagalli returned without heat or incrimination. Caridad looked up at her, and Cagalli found herself looking away, her eyes catching on two frames on the bookshelf. One was a family portrait of a younger Yamato family. Kira was only a toddler in the image. The second image showed two boys laughing and hanging off of each other. Cagalli recognized the elementary-versions of Kira and Athrun immediately.

"Kira's my brother," she repeated, "But Uzumi Nara Athha and Yula Athha were my parents. They are the people who loved me and cared for me, and nothing can ever change that. No one could ever replace them in my mind. They are my parents; my father and mother. I'm sure Kira feels the same way, too," she offered. "You are Kira's parents, and nothing can change that fact. You are the mother who loved him and cared for him, who he loves and cares for. But he's the only family I have left in this world."

Cagalli didn't even realize the tears that were slowly sliding down her own cheeks until Caridad stood up to gently wipe them away, unmindful of the own tears sliding down her own cheeks. When the older woman's arms wrapped around her and pulled her in tightly, Cagalli collapsed willingly. How long had it been since she'd had a mother's arms around her? Not since her own mother's sickness had painfully drained the strength from Yula Athha's arms before finally stealing her life away.

She clung to Caridad like a child, and cried herself out. Caridad held her, petting her hair and murmuring soothingly in her ear until Cagalli finally calmed down enough to realize the older woman had maneuvered them both onto the sofa and was practically cradling her.

"I'm sorry," she sniffled, starting to pull away, sit up and wipe at her face. "I--"

A cool hand cupped her hot cheek, and Cagalli looked back up at the woman, surprised, vulnerable.

"I would have taken you into my family then, too," Caridad told her sincerely. "If Athha-sama hadn't already claimed you as his daughter, I would have tried to keep you, too."

"I--thank you," Cagalli finally answered, swallowing thickly.

Caridad nodded. "I don't know why you had to be separated, and maybe I've always felt a tiny bit guilty--I never planned to tell him, you see, that he wasn't ever not mine, but I knew, and my husband knew, and I'm glad you were able to find each other again."

"I'm glad, too," Cagalli whispered hoarsely.

"It's good knowing that you're not alone in this world," Caridad announced. "It's important. Family, friends--they're what makes life so special."

****

82 EC April, Mid-Pacific Ocean near the equator

"What have you got?" Kira demanded, coming onto the bridge of the Archangel.

"It's not much," Ramius answered, standing as he came up along side her and stared up at the port screen, "but it's more promising than we've been finding."

"Three weeks ago I was hopping through these islands on my way to capture another skirmish further North from here," Millie spoke up, highlighting a small chain of islands before zooming in on the real estate. "See this island here? There're several buildings, and at least one is a house. Most of the islands in this area are privately owned and used as vacation homes by people who have too much money and no better way to spend it."

"And?" Kira prompted, but already his senses were tingling, his nerves jumping to act.

"I ran a property check to see if anything clicked," she drawled out.

"I take it something did?"

"Here," Ramius responded, tapping one small island out on the map, indiscernible from the others, and Miriallia continued. "This little piece of sand and sun is owned by one Chastity Evans, aka Dana Chastity Rothwell."

"Rothwell?" Kira frowned, the name striking him as somewhat familiar.

"A Chamberlain in the European government," Ramius confirmed with a quick nod.

"And get this," Milli jumped back in. "I did a family check. Mother, father, three children--an older sister and little brother-- in the immediate family. But if you take it one step back, her mother's maiden name is Crisner, and she has a sister."

"Helena," Kira answered before Miriallia could. "That's it."

"Kira! Wait!" Ramius called after him when he turned on heel. "Where are you going?"

"That's it," he replied over his shoulder, not stopping and forcing the captain to follow him off the bridge. "That's where Cagalli is."

"We can't be sure that that's where she is," Ramius protested. "We can't just go barging in there without some sort of proof. That's trespassing."

"I'll go in," he returned, slapping the lift call button. "Just one person should be able to sneak onto the island without alerting anyone. I'll just snoop around and see what I can find."

"And if she isn't there?" Ramius persisted.

Kira paused a moment before entering the lift tube. "Then I'll return by myself and we continue our search. In fact, you should keep searching while I'm gone."

"How are you going to get there without alerting anyone?" Ramius tried to rationalize with him, following him into the lift tube. "We can't take the Archangel there without being seen. The waters surrounding these islands are too shallow to stay submerged in."

"I'll take a life raft and a travel pack," Kira returned, determined. "That way, if I'm caught by someone I can say I'm just a college student vacationing and exploring this area."

"This is crazy!" Ramius exploded. "It would take you hours to get to shore in a life boat!"

"Not if I add a small motor to it, it won't," he answered, already thinking of what he would need to bring. "How close can the Archangel get without having to surface?"

It wasn't as close as he would have liked, but it was better than nothing, Kira determined as he started the small motor and took off on a course towards the island Miriallia had found. And it was the closest they'd been to finding Cagalli in over two weeks--it was definitely better than nothing, Kira thought dragging the life raft up past the high tide line. It had taken him almost three hours to maneuver the little boat to this island, and he still had to cross the unknown terrain to get to the houses which should be situated on the other side. He'd purposefully come in on the opposite side, not sailing around to the humble dock Milli had said was on the opposite shore, hoping to give himself some cover to observe.

Unfortunately, he was discovered before he could come up on his target.

"This is private property you're trespassing on," a woman growled from behind him before he'd barely penetrated the thick tropical foliage; her voice was punctuated by the sharp gab of a gun pressing into the center of Kira's back below his pack before he could attempt to turn around.

Quite naturally, he froze. "I'm sorry. I was just out exploring these islands, but... I think I'm lost," he began, slowly raising his arms. The bag thrown over his shoulder slipped to the crook of his elbow. "I don't mean to cause anyone any trouble. Really."

"Who are you? An NA scout?" the woman demanded fiercely and the gun dug deeper, making him wince a bit.

"No! I--"

He moved in an instant, body reacting without him having to consciously think about what he was doing. A side step, his arm scooping in and out, his bad swinging up and a hand striking sharply at the wrist before knocking the firearm away.

"I don't want to fight you," he said calmly, stepping away so she couldn't easily strike back at him. "I'm not here to fight you or anyone else," he insisted.

The woman's dark eyes narrowed before widening in recognition. "I know who you are."

He swallowed a sigh--perhaps Murrue had been correct and his plan to hasty, but there was no help for it now. He readjusted his pack onto his shoulder. "Then I would say you have me at an advantage. If you know who I am, then you must also know why I'm here."

The woman rubbed at her wrist a moment before sucking at her teeth. "You're a long way from home, General."

"I hope to be able to change that," Kira replied. "Perhaps you could help me? I was just heading to the main house. I'm sure we'll both get there much faster if you lead the way."

The woman snorted and moved to retrieve her weapon.

"There's no need for that, is there?" Kira asked but didn't try and stop her from picking it up.

She cocked an eye at him before dusting the firearm off and tucking it away in its holster, clipping out, "Follow me," before pushing past him and striding through the bush in an even-paced gait that forced him to either keep up or be left behind.

****

82 CE April, Orb Union, Representative Zala's Office

"Chairman," Athrun greeted the older woman on his view screen cordially, careful to hide his suspicion and unease at this unexpected call. "You're looking well."

"Representative Zala," the hard-faced woman responded with a nod of greeting. "So are you. On behalf of Zaft and all of Plant, allow me to convey our congratulations on your recent good fortune."

"Thank you."

"I must admit," Janlynn continued, "I'd no idea there was any truth to those rumors of your relationship with Representative Athha."

Athrun smiled politely, knowing what potentially dangerous ice he could be playing on with this conversation. "I've learned that most rumors sprout from some kernel of truth, no matter how small or misconstrued that truth may be," he answered and was treated to the older woman's foghorn-like laughter.

"Yes, that's certainly true," Plant's leader conceded.

"I must say that I'm surprised to hear from yourself directly, Chairman," Athrun returned, careful to keep the parle light and friendly as she had started it, but just as anxious to have it over with. "After all, Ambassador Joule left safely from here only this past day, and I am no longer a member of Orb's representation in Plant."

"Our loss, I assure you," Janlynn returned smoothly. "You did have a wonderful way with words, Zala-san, pointing out how utterly ridiculous one was behaving with the utmost respect. A trait no doubt learned from interaction with your father, I suspect. I did so enjoy witnessing it, though."

The easy smile fell from her face as the woman leaned in closer towards her screen. "That's one of the reasons I wanted to make this call personally, Athrun," Janlynn continued, purposefully dropping titles. "I appreciate your style, your sense of ethics, so to speak, and so I didn't want this on official record."

If his gut tightened and his heart rate increased, Athrun thought he still managed to do a good job at keeping his expression neutral. "Chairman?"

"Right now there are many disturbances, unpleasantness," she continued seriously. "The people are restless, nervous. Jumping at every little sound, ready to raise the alarm."

"Yes," he replied coolly. "There are many who could label the beginnings of war as unpleasant."

"It is my hope war can be averted."

"It's something I hope for everyday," he agreed. "I am twenty-six years old, and yet I have fought in two world wars already. My wife, my friends... we've put our lives on the line time and time again to protect this world."

"Then let us both hope that a more peaceful reconciliation can be found to this recent unrest," she returned.

"Surely this isn't the reason for your call, Chairman?"

Janlynn leaned back in her chair now, a controlled woman in control. "No, you're right, but it none-the-less reflects upon my reasoning. Plant and the Orb Union have managed to remain neutral towards one another despite our more combustible history. That is why I wished to approach you directly before word can spread."

"Chairman?" Athrun questioned, careful to keep up his neutral position, careful not to give anything away. If what he suspected was true then he was going to make her breach it first. He wasn't about to go spilling his secrets like a guilty child--not until it became necessary.

"I'm currently looking at a security report that states several of our more secure documents have been tampered with quite recently," Janlynn informed him coolly. "Within the last forty-eight hours. Our e-detectives have followed the trail back to Orb, Athrun. Which leads me to the question: What does Orb want with our classified records?"

It was close, but there was still that window of possibility. They had been careful, but obviously not careful enough.

"As you know, Orb is home to the majority of the Earth Sphere's Coordinator population," he tried. "We've had some cases recently for which our doctors and scientists were unprepared to handle. I can assume that some of our people thought that Plant might have the answers."

"Athrun," she stopped him. "The project files indicated are ones that have been closed for more than twenty years."

"Perhaps if you told me which projects I could set my own people to investigating," he offered, still trying to hold out.

"Athrun, don't play hide and seek with me," Janlynn snapped, finally losing what little patience she had. "Why are you trying to access the Genesis Project?"

"Can't you guess?"

"Good gods, you're not trying to renew that project! The results of the Genesis Project were never--"

"Chairman," he interrupted, his face falling into a careful mask of seriousness he'd learned to use when dealing with politicians who thought they were better than him, knew better than him, because of their supposed age and wisdom. "I can assume you're familiar with the general thesis of the project?"

"I skimmed the synopsis--"

"Apparently my parents were also familiar with the Genesis Project, or in the very least, my mother was," he interjected smoothly. "As you said, the project has been on hiatus for more than twenty years."

"You," she began before faltering, her eyes widening as she glimpsed his meaning.

Athrun nodded, once. "I needed to know, Chairman. It's not just about me, anymore. It's about my children. What was done to me? How will it affect them?"

He leaned back in his chair now and reflected on her.

"Chairman, you're a first generation, so perhaps you'll understand better than others---What the knowledge of knowing something was done to you, something that makes you different, something you weren't given a choice in. Did we ask to be part of an experiment?" he asked. "No, but we are, just the same--fancy lab mice. To many coordinators, we don't even think about it anymore. We look normal. We feel normal. But is it really normal? How can we be sure?

"There's more than just myself now that I must think about. There's my family, and I need to know--what was done to me? How will it affect them? They had even less of a choice than I did."

"So you sliced into Plants' sealed records," she accused narrowly.

"I'm sorry for causing you trouble," he offered unapologetically.

"Athrun... let me ask you---the Genesis Project... *is* it successful?"

"I believe so," he answered honestly, frowning. "Though you would have to talk with the leading researcher in the project, Doctor Crisner. There are questions I would like to ask her myself, but her records are sealed, and I haven't been able to locate her."

"What if we located her in exchange for you to cease slicing into our private files?" Janlynn offered. "I like you, Athrun, but not enough to continue to allow you to violate Plant's security."

"Thank you, Chairman."

"And Athrun?" she spoke before they could disconnect. "Next time you need something from us, try asking?"

"I'll remember that."

The signal went dead, returning the screen to its previous view. Athrun sighed as he leaned back deep into his chair and stared at the screen-- at the case study file of one Lenore Zala, his mother.

****

82 EC April, Undisclosed Island somewhere near the Pacific Equator

The silence stretched between the two women was palatable, and neither tried to force conversation on the other.

Cagalli sat glaring gloomily at her plate, idly stabbing random boiled vegetables but never bringing the food to her mouth. In her head, thoughts chased the tails of other thoughts--front and foremost was the thought of baring two babies at once, the ramifications of having to deal with two babies and her government at the same time. It had been an adjustment coming to terms with the news she was pregnant in the first place and all the changes her pregnancy would involve. Athrun's reaction had gone a long way in soothing most of her worries, but the sudden news of a second baby was enough to send her falling back into the pit of worry and doubts.

Athrun had been happy about the one baby. Would he be as happy about a second? Or would he also worry about how much trouble it would cause? It was his fault anyway, she determined, stabbing a carrot rather violently.

Crisner looked up from the medical journal she was pursuing with her own meal questioningly, but before she could comment, the front door opened and two figures entered the dining room.

Cagalli looked up half-heartedly, not anticipating another encounter with Amaryllis anytime soon--but she was quickly on her feet with a shout when she saw who was accompanying the other woman.

"Kira!"

"Kira?" Crisner repeated, studying the young man with a new interest.

"Cagalli," he huffed as his sister threw herself at him. He held her close, affectionately brushing her bangs away from her face. "You're all right."

"What are you doing here?" Cagalli returned, arching a look over his shoulder to see if he'd come alone.

"Um," Kira hesitated, stepping back a bit. "I came to rescue you?"

"And got caught instead?" she concluded, rolling her eyes. "Really, Kira. Could you be anymore of a wimp? Does anyone even know where you are or did you come here alone?"

"No. Murrue came, too, and unlike a certain someone I know, I'm tagged," he reminded her, waving his wedding band in her face. "Maybe now you'll let me install that tracking chip into your ring, too?"

She glared at him warningly, but before she could add words to that glare, Doctor Crisner repeated, "Kira?"

Cagalli turned, stepping in front of her brother as if to shield him from the doctor's interested gaze.

"So he is," Crisner murmured. "Interesting."

"Um..."

"I wonder if she knew... Probably," the doctor continued to herself. "Ah, well, in any case, I'd like a blood sample before you leave."

"No," Cagalli snapped.

"Who said he was leaving?" Amaryllis replied, crossing her arms in the doorway as if she could bodily stop anyone from even thinking of leaving.

"Be reasonable, Amy. Even if you could manage to keep the one, do you really think you could keep them both here?" Crisner pointed out waving a fork.

"This is crazy," the taller woman muttered angrily.

"It's your own fault for always giving in to her," Crisner told her without any sympathy, "letting her get her own way all the time. I blame my sister and her husband. They spoiled her like crazy."

"She has special needs."

"She does not," Crisner snapped. "Your mother just kept saying that until you all believed it. There are more than half a dozen people living completely normal lives who were created just like her. She's not all that special, and if you really wanna be truthful, you should just call her what she is: a failed experiment."

"Damn you!" Amaryllis hissed, fists balling at her sides as if she was actually contemplating hitting the older woman.

"You wouldn't be the first to try," Crisner replied, unconcerned by the threat.

"They're not going anywhere until Dana gets here," Amaryllis stated firmly, whipping around and stalking out leaving a confused Kira, annoyed Cagalli, and honestly uncaring doctor behind.

"Mellow-dramatic," Crisner muttered before turning a look on the two siblings still standing uncertainly near the door. "Sit," she ordered. "Dana's returning sometime today, so you might as well stick around for a bit. I told you earlier, it's easier just to give in to her. Not that it's always right, mind you, but it's easier for us all. And she usually has a logical reason operating behind her madness, even if she doesn't always chose to share those reasons with the rest of us mere mortals. You two might just be able to pry it out of her, though. Of course, it might be something as simple as she wanted to meet you. After all, my sister never withheld the truth about her parentage, and I know for a fact she's looked up and tracked down just about everyone of the remaining survivors. Not sure why she left Kira here alone; if she knew who you were, it stands to reason she also knew about Kira, so..."

She shrugged and sipped her coffee.

"Excuse me." Kira cleared his throat and hoped his confusion wasn't showing as plainly as it felt. "But what exactly are you talking about?"

"Don't listen to her, Kira," his sister snapped, clutching rather possessively to the tee-shirt he'd elected to sport for this outing. "It's nothing."

"But I want to know," Kira insisted, delicately extracted Cagalli's grip and focusing on the elder woman sitting calmly at the dining table. "You must be Helena Crisner. You worked on the Mendol Colony at the same time as Dr. Hibiki. When you said 'failed experiments', you're--are you referring to--"

"Hibiki's project," Crisner answered with a hint of offense. "There haven't been any failures recorded for my project, and there's only one test subject who hasn't been analyzed yet."

"I see," Kira replied calmly. Too calmly for Cagalli's liking, and she glowered at him. "The GENESIS Project, right? Athrun was rather surprised to find out about that. Lacus, too. I wonder how much more PLANT and ZAFT are hiding from us."

"Every government has its secrets, Kira Yamato," a new voice answered from behind the pair. "Wouldn't you agree, Orb Representative, Cagalli Yula Athha? Or should I say Cagalli Zala?"

"You!" Cagalli declared with a shout, and Kira stepped closer in case she tried to rush the new woman.

"Ah, Dana, you're early."

"Really?" the blonde retorted, slipping past the standing couple and plucking free a few grapes from the fruit dish. "I didn't realize I'd given a set time for my return."

"And in a surly mood, too, I see."

"You're right, of course, Aunty," she answered in a saccharine and overly false voice. "And when we have guests, too. Please do forgive my poor attitude. I'm afraid it's been a rather trying week. But! Now that I've returned, I can finally rest again."

"'A tiring week'?" Cagalli accused, and only Kira's hand hooking her elbow prevented her from tearing at the woman.

"Please, let's not start a pissing contest," Dana returned, the false amenity leaving her voice as quickly as it had come as she dropped into an empty chair. "I assure you, I am most definitely not in the good humor to appreciate it."

"I heard you had a spot of trouble," Crisner deverted.

"You could say that." She snagged some more grapes and sucked on them sourly. "Luckily, we were able to disguise most of the truth, but still. It's done."

"And the verdict?"

"What was already suspected: war," Dana announced melodramatically before pushing herself back up. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I'd appreciate a long bath followed by my wonderfully cozy bed. Cagalli, Kira, please make yourselves comfortable for the evening. We can have that chat tomorrow," she concluded, brushing back out again.

"Wait a minute!" Cagalli shouted after her. "You can't just keep me here! I have a country to run!"

Dana paused at the first step. "Why? Isn't your husband doing a capable job while you're away? Or don't you trust him?"

"Of course I trust him!" Cagalli answered angrily.

"Then another day away will not be the end of the world for Orb," the other blonde predicted. "Enjoy it. This may be the last day you get to see free and relaxed in a long while. Goodnight."

"Wait a minute," Crisner called after her retreating back. "At least eat something!"

"Not really hungry. Maybe later."

The older woman sagged back into her chair, muttering, "Jeesh, that girl's going to starve herself to death. Crazy brat."

Cagalli whirled on her brother, who was still attempting to hold her back from following the mysterious 'Dana'. "Do you see what I've had to put up with here?" she demanded, wrenching her arm free and glaring up at him murderously.

"It looks more enjoyable than those council meetings you like to lock yourself up in," he returned, quite a bit more good naturally now that she was found and safe.

"That's completely different!" she insisted, whirling back into the dining room and glaring at her empty chair. "That's my job!"

"Your job sucks, but that's okay," he responded with a little shrug and smile. "It's still there waiting for you."

A for a moment, she let the mask waver, and he could see the doubt and worry that chased her. The same doubts and worries he'd seen on Athrun's face for the past three weeks. "Athrun...?" she asked.

"Misses you," Kira replied promptly, reaching out to tuck dark blonde strands back behind her ear. "Hopes that you'll hurry up and get back home safely." He smiled and leaned in conspiratorially. "Call it a hunch, but I don't think he likes politics much."

"No," Cagalli agreed with a small huff of laughter. "He doesn't. Hates it, really. Funny though; he's good at it." She took a calmly breath, closing her eyes for a moment before focusing back on his face, searching for any little show-tell sign that something was remiss. "Everything is okay, right? The Euro Fed hasn't tried to push for that treaty alliance again, have they?"

"Of course they have," Kira answered before assuring her, "Athrun rebuked them, though. ZAFT's also trying to avoid any altercations terrestrial-side. Yzak's here as ambassador again."

"Yes. I've been watching the news, but the screen can't give me the whole story." She frowned, chewing thoughtfully on a thumbnail. "Yzak's in Orb now, right? I'd like to talk with him in person if I can. Do you know how long he'll stay?"

"A couple more days at least I'd guess. He wanted to talk with you, too, and was kinda annoyed that you weren't there," he teased.

"Well, it wasn't like I asked to be here, you know."

"Will you two sit down already," Crisner snapped finally, reminding the two that they weren't the only ones in the room. "Eat something," she ordered. "It's no good having all this food if no one's going to eat it."

"Thank you," Kira responded cordially, moving to take the seat Dana had sat in earlier. "I would like to ask you some questions as well."

"Sure you would," Crisner nodded, "but I'm not answering anything if you don't both sit and eat. You look like you could stand to gain a few kilos. Here, try this dish. It's a family recipe. You, too, girlie. After Wednesday's little escapade you need to rebuild your reserves."

"Wednesday? What happened Wednesday?"

"Nothing," Cagalli growled embarrassedly. "Dammit, Kira! Are you really going to sit there and eat at a time like this?"

"Yes." He accepted the plate of food Crisner held out to him with a nod of thanks. "It's not like we can just walk out of here at the moment, and even if you're not, I'm hungry. Now, about Wednesday?"

"Your sister decided it would be a good idea to try and swim back to Orb," Crisner replied flatly.

"What?" Kira turned large questioning eyes on Cagalli, but she refused to look at him. Pointedly looking out the window instead.

"She went swimming with no intention of returning," Crisner continued. "Amy picked her up a couple of kilometers off shore and hauled her back in. Banged herself up pretty good, too, trying to fight her off, but she's fine. Just exhausted herself."

"Why did you do something so foolish, Cagalli?" Kira demanded, and was greeted for his worry with one of Cagalli's annoyed and embarrassed outbursts.

"Well excuse me for being stupid! How come it took you so long to find me?" she returned accusingly.

"Do you know how many islands there are in the Pacific alone?" he pointed out reasonably. "It wasn't like we weren't looking for you. Everyone's been working day and night. It took us days just to track down the information you gave us, and even then, if it hadn't've been for Yzak's security pass code, we wouldn't have been able to get past many of the seals and locks without attracting attention. And then wading through files and file of medical terms and statistics! And on top of it all, Athrun's been covering all your appointments and responsibilities, dealing with Parliament and foreign governments--"

"You think I don't know that?" she snapped as frustrated tears watered her eyes. "I didn't ask to be kidnapped and carted off to unknown island! You think I want to be here? News flash for you: I want to go home!"

"Do you two always fight?" Crisner asked with no little bemusement.

"Fight?" Kira repeated, surprised. "This isn't fighting. This is Cagalli annoyed and upset and tired and cranky. If she was really angry, then you'd see fighting."

The blonde in question crossed her arms and slumped dejectedly into her chair, sulking. "I hate it when you analyze me."

"I know," he replied with a tiny smile, taking away the plate of cold food she'd been playing with earlier and replacing it with his plate. "Have you tried this yet? It's really good. Here, try it.”

“I don't want it,” she groused, ignoring the fork he proffered, and he frowned back at her.

“You look thinner; I didn't think was possible considering your condition. Are you eating enough? Getting enough rest? You've been really tired lately. I can't believe you really tried to swim away."

"Don't mother me, Kira, I'm not one of your kids. And I'm not hungry," she snapped, pushing the plate away again.

"If someone doesn't force you to slow down and take care of yourself you just keep running full stream ahead. That's not good for you, Cagalli. Especially now," he insisted, pushing the plate back in front of her. "Even if you're not really hungry, at least try and eat a little."

"I can take care of myself, thank you very much."

"Tabasco sauce?" he asked calmly, spying the small bottle tucked away between a napkin holder and a salt and peppershaker set.

"Yes, please."

"So," he continued easily, handing her the tiny bottle. "Just how far away was that island you were trying to swim to?"

"Only a couple of kilometers," she replied negligently, plying her plate with the spicy sauce. "I was already more than halfway there."

"Try over ten," Crisner interrupted. "And you were inside the halfway mark and exhausted."

"I was fine,” Cagalli insisted. “I would have made it."

"You're lucky some sea monster didn't come up and swallow you."

"Crutches, Kira! I've lived by the sea all my life. I think I'm capable of a little swim."

"I wouldn't call ten kilometers a 'little swim', Cagalli," he protested. "It could've been dangerous. I don't know why you couldn't've just sat and waited a bit longer. Just one more day would have saved yourself the trouble."

"It's been over eight days already," she exploded. "I didn't want to stay here any longer. I don't want to be here now. You didn't come alone, Kira. Call up the Archangel and tell her I'm found and we're ready to leave."

"Would that really solve anything?" he asked quietly, staring down at his fisted hands on the table.

"Yes! I can go home!” Cagalli burst out. “I don't know why you're just sitting here, Kira. We should be leaving already!"

He turned to look at her curiously. "Don't you want to know why you were brought here. Don't you want to find out?"

"No," she shouted, banging her fists on the table and hating herself for the tears she couldn't seem to stop. "I just want to go home!"

"Is an extra couple of hours really going to make that much of a difference?" Crisner interjected.

"Yes!" Cagalli shouted. "And stay out of it!"

"Impatient. That's what you are," the good doctor announced.

"Why, you..."

"Dr. Crisner," Kira broke in quickly, shooting a warning look towards the older woman before he turned back to his sister. "Cagalli. Here, try this. It's really good."

"I said I don't want anything to eat, dammit!” She slapped his hand away, eyes watering smartly. “Stop putting food on my plate!"

"Cagalli," Kira said again, and the calmness in his voice irritated her even more. "We've found you. That's the most important thing right now, so just calm down and relax, okay? We'll send a message to Athrun so he can stop worrying, too, and we'll take the time to hear why you were brought here, because if we leave without finding out the reason, what's to stop them from trying again and again? And then, tomorrow, we can be on our way home again."

"Kira..."

He laid a hand on hers and squeezed gently. "You're tired and stressed. You haven't been sleeping well," he added, lifting a hand to brush his thumb along the shadowed bags bruising beneath her eyes. "I can see the smudges under your eyes."

"You.... you know," she sighed, sagging back in her seat. "I hate when you try and handle me,” she confessed, but there was little heat in her voice now. And then shooting his a weary but semi-amused look, she added, “There are better ways to say I look like shit."

"I'm sorry we couldn't come sooner," he responded, leaning over and tapping her forehead gently with his.

"I knew you would come, eventually," she admitted, leaning against his supporting frame. "But... I just couldn't stand waiting around doing nothing anymore."

"I know." He ran a hand along her head, smoothing and carding through her tangled blonde hair. "Can you wait now," he asked her. "Just a little bit longer, and then we can leave. I promise."

"What's one more day," she finally responded with a heavy sigh.

He released Cagalli and turned his attention instead on the older woman sitting across the table, calmly observing them. "And while we wait, I have some questions I would like to ask you, Dr. Crisner."

Crisner inclined her head and waited for him to continue.

"You worked on the Mendel Colony during the same time period as Dr. Hibiki was there,” Kira wasted no time in trying to mislead the conversation. “You even stayed there for several years after his death."

"That's correct."

"Could you," Kira began before faltering. "I mean, would you... Is there anything you could tell me--us," he corrected with a quick look to Cagalli, "--about Dr. Hibiki and his wife?"

"About your biological parents," the older woman clarified with a knowing gleam.

He couldn't prevent the moment of tenseness that seized him, but he quickly repressed it, and shooting another nervous glance towards Cagalli, Kira answered, "Yes."

"I did know them," she admitted readily, "both of them, for maybe about a couple of years or so before you were born, before they died." Here she paused, though, frowning with a little shake of her head, "but I'm not sure what you want to know about them."

"How did they die?" Cagalli spit out before Kira could even form his first question. She was frowning herself, still angry with the situation and refusing to look at either Kira or Crisner. Instead, she glared furiously at a spot somewhere over Crisner's shoulder. "We were together, we were born on the Mendel Colony--you said you delivered me yourself, but our birth records both say we were born on Heliopolis. I know," Cagalli insisted, her eyes darting down to hold the doctors, daring the woman to contradict her. "I looked them up. But if we were born on Mendel, how did we wind up on Heliopolis? And why? What happened?"

"An attack," Crisner answered simply. "Doesn't it always begin with an attack?

"Oh, Zaft covered it up well and good," she continued seeing their surprised looks. "Said it was a mechanical malfunction that led to a bacterial infection that broke out, preventing access to and from the colony for a month or so, but the last time I check, bacteria weren't bullets. There was a viral infection, in about 59, that killed off a lot of folks, and that's when they decided to shut down the colony for good."

"But Dr. Hibiki and his wife died in the attack?" Kira asked solemnly.

"Well, Hibiki did for sure," Crisner answered, frowning. "They found Ulen's body in any case. They didn't find you two, though, or Via. I remember because those investigation-type people kept asking if I was sure you had survived the incubation period. Your records had been wiped clean, you see. I'd thought that was funny at the time, but I'd suspected Ulen did it. Figured he'd wiped clean the computers when he realized there was an attack. Via could've done it, but she was still laid up in bed. He must have somehow gotten you all out, but she never contacted me afterwards--always kinda expected her to, but she didn't. Eventually I gave up believing she'd escaped and just allowed myself to believe she was dead. She was a good woman. Pretty, smart. I miss her."

"So you don't know how she died...?" Cagalli ask, a hint of disappointment coloring her voice.

"No," Crisner confessed. "But Via had a girlfriend down in Orb, so I guess that's how you both ended up there."

"I guess," Cagalli agreed.

But Kira was still frowning for another reason. "Why did he wipe the computer's records?"

"Probably to protect you."

"Huh?"

"Well," Crisner tried to explain, "you were the first successful baby born full term in the Sex Bomb, weren't you? The only baby successfully born, in fact. Zaft was really interesting in having a perfect little pet soldier. Before you, the furthest any of the other babes only made it to was as far as the beginning of the third trimester, many more died didn't even make it that far. Those that did survive the incubation period only did so because of trans-implantation halfway through the gestation. Even then, the babes weren't always in perfect health. That kind of trauma affects the fetus, you understand.

"But Ulen, he was determined to get it right. Always running a back-up subject, he was, starting up a new one everyone two or three months. It's possible that the others would have survived then, too. By the time you'd cleared the second trimester without any problems, there were three more test subjects gestating. It's research, you see, to see if the results could be repeated. I was told that those others were killed during the attack, though."

"Why?" Cagalli demanded, visibly shaking with repressed emotions. "Why would you use your own child in an experiment like that?"

Crisner looked almost surprised. "All of the fetus test subjects used in the UCP were Hibiki's offspring," she informed them.

Color drained from Kira's face even as it infused Cagalli's. "What?"

"We're scientists," Crisner told them both coldly. "We aren't millionaires and bodily products like sex cells cost money to acquire. Why shell out the money to somebody else for something your body can supply you?" she pointed out matter-of-factly. "Even the majority of the eggs used were donated by volunteers on the staff. After the project was successful, then Zaft would dictate who would donate what and which sex cells would be used--after all, they didn't want just anyone populating their perfect army. But they ran into a bit of a problem when the replacement scientist they found to take over Hibiki's project couldn't replicate the final results. Most of his subjects didn't even survive past first trimester even if they were removed to a host mother, and without Hibiki's notes to work from, it was considered a lost cause. So Zaft canceled the funding for the project and pushed it under the carpet."

"There are others," Kira whispered, "like me?"

"You mean modified Ultimates?" Crisner clarified, nodding. "Yes. About a handful have survived past both wars, I'd guess. But you were the only one to have successfully made it through the project full term. All the others were either transferred to a surrogate mother mid-pregnancy or born prematurely and raised up in incubators."

"Then," Kira continued, shooting a worried look towards Cagalli, "we have more siblings."

"Well, half-siblings, I'd suppose," Crisner conceded. "But if you're curious about them, I'm not the one to talk to. Ask Dana."

"Dana? Why? What does she have to do with this, us?" Cagalli demanded of the doctor, but it was Kira who answered.

"She's one of them. One of the other babies."

"Yes. The babies were scattered around the globe to random surrogate mothers or families who volunteered to adopt the infants. They're living regular lives as a part of regular families. It just so happens my sister is the one who volunteered to be Dana's surrogate," Crisner expounded. "So, you see, just like I told you your first day here, she's family."

****

55 EC June, Heliopolis

Records can be changed, doctored to reflect a necessary lie. She learned that lesson first hand when a lie was needed to protect her son. The leader of a supposedly neutral nation saw that it was done, not to protect her son so much as to protect the tiny baby he himself had chosen as his child.

Why did a baby need protection? A tiny, innocent, harmless child... Who would want to harm a baby?

Not harm, per say, but use. Yes, there were people out there who would try to use her son if she wasn't careful--use the skills and potential that he had been engineered to possess. He was special, but she knew that already. He was her son, of course he was special. He was the most important person in her life. Her husband felt the same, she was sure.

"There was an attack. Doesn't it always begin with an attack?"

There was an attack. Even in that peaceful colony, terrorists had shouted out profanities and curses before they could be rounded up by the law officers; made their voices heard with a reign of bullets and fire, their scathing opinions of Coordinators and those Naturals who chose to live side by side with them. They were labeled as traitors to the human race, betraying the laws of nature by accepting those persons who possessed bio-engineered bodies. Persons like her son.

Earth was the worse, pushing for a segregation of races--Natural's versus Coordinators. Most coordinators fled their home countries and sought safety in numbers, in the newly built cities of PLANT. Others fled to other colonies like Heliopolis or Nova Aurora. Naturals, branded as coordinator-lovers, also went to continue living with their spouses, lovers, and children.

Leaving Earth, however, didn't prevent the terrorists from following, from attacking. They followed all the way into space, harassing normal people who only wanted to live their lives peacefully.

Yes, there was an attack. There was always an attack. Someone, somewhere.

Caridad Yamato was twenty-seven years old. She was returning from a visit to her doctor's where she had received disheartening news. For over a year now, she and her husband had been trying unsuccessfully to conceive a child. Today, her doctor had told her there was a high possibility that she would never be able to conceive a child. The drugs that had been recommended were having no effect in stimulating either hers or her husband's sex cells. It was one of her worst fears.

Sicknesses and diseases left over from the Reconstruction Wars were still raging through the population, leaving many sterile or disabled. Was it any wonder than that the coordinator process, which thus far has left the members of that race untouched by disease, appealed to so many new parents? Caridad had discussed the possibility with her husband, but the problem remained of money.

Haruma was an engineer, and he did make enough money for him and his wife to live comfortably. There was even enough to allow for a child... but not enough to purchase a biologically-engineered baby. Not yet, anyway. Maybe not ever.

It hurt. The loss filled her with a painful ache that threatened to leave her sobbing uncontrollably.

That was how she found her way into one of the many stores lining the street--a baby store, the aisles filled with adorable and impractical little clothes. Other aisles displayed popular baby equipment and necessities that really weren't all that necessary.

It was fate. It was predestined.

She accidentally-on-purposefully bumped into a middle aged woman as she was reaching for a nappie.

"Oh, pardon me. I wasn't looking. I-- oh! How adorable!" Caridad cooed, her heart melting and the ache rising like jealous bile in her throat as she stared down at the two blissfully sleeping infants.

"They're little lambs, that they are," the woman agreed, smiling benevolently down into the bassinet. "Do you have children of your own?"

"What? Oh, no, I--I can't," she started to say but found the words locked in her throat, her tongue swollen with the taste of bitter truth. She couldn't have children.

"There, there, now. The gods work in mysterious ways, and I'm sure Haumea's blessings will reach you," the other woman proclaimed. "Would you like to hold them?"

"I... would that be all right?"

"Oh, bless me! It's fine!" the woman continued. "They're asleep now, but they'll just be waking up soon enough, hankering after their lunch. A little coddling before hand won't hurt them none. Here," she went on, delicately lifting one babe up and transferring him over to Caridad's arms.

He fit there perfectly, she thought, like he was made for her arms or maybe her arms were made for him... And then the other woman lifted the second babe--a little girl if the pink baby blanket she was swaddled in was anything to judge by.

"There you go," the woman cooed, depositing the second babe into Caridad's arms. "Tiny little mites, aren't they? Not even a month old yet."

"I'm surprised you'd even risk taking them out, they're so small yet."

"Ah, well, it's best for everyone to have a little break. And what with their poor mother being so sick, I thought a little shopping trip for some nice new things was in order."

Caridad had started to reply with condolences for the absent mother when the first screams and gunshots sounded from outside the shop.

Glass imploded inwards and the woman, who was closer to the display window, cried out as sharple sliced through her arms and shoulders. Caridad scrambled backwards, heart racing as more gunshots and screams poured through the now jagged and gaping window frame. In her arms, one of the babes stirred, protesting.

"Hush, little one," Caridad choked out, clutching the babes to her chest. "Hush now. It's all right, you'll be safe. You'll be..."

"Ma'am! Quickly! This way," the shop attendant hissed from where she cowered behind the counter. Caridad scrambled to join her, and together the two crawled into the back room. "The other woman! Is she--?"

"I don't know," Caridad responded, trying desperately to soothe the tiny babes who were starting to cry loudly now. "There, there. Don't cry. It'll be all right. Don't cry, little ones."

There were more screams of gunfire, accompanied by the shouts of the authorities, and then a horrible silence. The young attendant proved to be more adventurous than Caridad, and she crept back up front to survey the situation. Caridad lasted a moment longer, and then her feet had her fleeing the scene, running out the back door and away from that place as quickly as possible.

She didn't stop even when looking over her shoulder. No one was following her, but still she ran. She ran from the business district and into the residential areas, and she didn't stop until she collapsed against her own front door. The ruckus caught her husband's attention, and he came to the door, staring dumbfounded at the sight presented before him.

"Cari!" he exclaimed, reaching down to help her in. "What in the world-- What have you done?"

She tried to tell him, to explain what had happened, but it was all a jumble and in the end she wound up leaning into him, sobbing as fiercely as the babes she was still holding. Grateful to let him take over, to handle everything, she allowed herself to be led into their modest bedroom and laid down her burdens, only then realizing how her arms ached.

"They're hungry," she told him dazedly as the adrenaline rush faded away into a state of shock.

"We don't have anything here to feed them with. I--I'll go to the store," he suggested, staring with a hint of panic at the two squalling infants. "Don't go anywhere, all right?"

She murmured her agreement and then went about fussing with the babes, trying to calm them. She tried soaking a clean hand towel in some milk for them to suck on, but her efforts weren't appreciated, and she was relieved when she heard the front door open and Haruma call out.

"Did you find the," she began, coming to the bedroom doorway, only to discover her husband was not alone.

"Yamato-san, we're here to retrieve the children," the older of the three uniform-clad men filling the doorway announced. "We thank you for seeing to their safety."

"What---what do you want with them?" she demanded, green eyes wavering as she looked from their hard faces to the weapons at their sides.

"The one child is Uzumi Athha's daughter, and we are here to return her to her father and mother," the same officer as before answered. "The other child is the son of a friend of Yula Athha's who recently passed away. Athha-sama has taken over temporary custody of the child until an appropriate family can be found to raise him."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Caridad demanded, and when one of the officers shifted, she clutched the door and frame more tightly, as if she could block their entry with only her slim, frail body.

"We mean the children no harm, ma'am. We only want to take them home," the commander tried to reassure her.

"I--"

"Cari, let the men do their job," Haruma interrupted, and she glared at him fiercely, angry at him for siding with these men, for expecting her to just stand aside and let these strangers take the babies away.

"Enough," a new voice spoke before anyone else could, and a fourth man entered the sanctity of her home. The three men snapped to attention, and even her husband stood a little straighter, but Caridad did not care.

"It seems I'm indebted to you for the safety of my daughter," the man spoke evenly, and with a start, Caridad realized his identity. "And that of her brother. Thank you."

"Athha-sama," one of the guards stepped forward but Uzumi motioned them back. "Wait for me outside, please."

Haruma came over to stand by her as the other three men exited, leaving Uzumi Athha and the young couple alone.

"May I see the children?"

"I..." But she couldn't refuse the man's simple request and ushered him into the bedroom. At some point, the dissatisfied babies had finally succumbed to sleep, but it was fitful. Uzumi studied their tiny faces a moment, reaching out and tracing a finger lovingly down the cheek of the girl child before nodding and returning to the main room.

"What my officers told you was mostly truth," Uzumi Athha announced without further preamble. "Their birth parents have recently died. My wife and I have agreed to take custody of the girl child as our own; however, unlike his sister, Kira is a coordinator and thus will require special needs as he grows. In addition, there are special circumstances surrounding his birth. His mother risked her life to ensure that he would have a chance at a normal life.

"Before her death, my wife and I gave our promise that we would find a safe home for the boy."

Uzumi frowned at his clasped hands. "I think, perhaps, you are the family we have been searching for."

Caridad shared a look with her husband. In it, she tried to convey her fear, her desire, her hope and doubts and everything else.

"Athha-sama," Haruma began hesitantly. "What you are offering us--the chance to raise the boy as our on--is a tempting offer. But it isn't one we would want to make in haste."

"I understand."

"If... if we might have some time, to properly think about what you are suggesting?" Haruma continued sounding calm despite the pressure with which Caridad was squeezing his hand.

"Agreed," the political leader nodded, taking a pocket notebook from inside his coat and scribbling something down on it. "When you have made your decision, please contact this person and the arrangements will be made."

"Wait! You can't be so sure we'll agree!" Haruma protested, fearful of being locked into a deal.

But Uzumi turned and smiled at them both. "You've already decided," he announced. "Kira will stay with my family for the remainder of the week, but then we must return to Orb." He hesitated at the door. "This will be the last time we meet each other. I would... prefer it if the children not be burdened by the truth of their parents' fortune."

And then he left; a moment later the officers from earlier returned, eyeing Caridad hesitantly as they slowly made their way towards the bedroom where the babes had started fussing again.

"We'll leave you now," the same commanding officer from before addressed them. "Thank you again for seeing to the safety of the princess. Good day."

It took little convincing to make Haruma realize what Caridad had known from the moment she'd had that tiny baby in her arms--that Kira belonged there, with her, a part of her family.

****

82 EC April, Mininova Island (privately owned), Pacific Ocean near the Equator

Although she'd been expecting it, Cagalli didn't bother to get up when the knock on her door came. It sounded again after a moment, followed by the door creasing open.

"Mind if I come in?" Kira asked softly, waiting a heartbeat for an answer that didn't come before entering the bedroom anyway. The door closed quietly with a click behind him.

"I've been in contact with the Archangel," he told her, crossing the room towards the bed. "They're going to hold their position for another sixteen hours before coming after us. They'll also contact Orb for us and let Athrun know we've found you. Tomorrow when we get back to the archangel you can talk to him yourself."

Stubbornly she remained quiet, and Kira sighed, sitting down next to her on the bed. After a moment, he reached over and fingered the ends of her hair. "He's been working really hard to keep things running smoothly for you, but it hasn't been exactly easy," he continued. "The Council of Royals has been giving him a lot of trouble."

"He should be grateful he's only had to deal with the Royals and not the full Parliament," Cagalli finally mumbled and Kira relaxed a little, his hand settling on her shoulder.

"I know you want to hurry up and get back, but even when we return to the Archangel we won't be able to return to Orb for at least another week."

"Dammit, Kira!" she cried, rolling over and sitting up to look at him. "I've been away for two weeks!"

"And Athrun has been there covering for you, just like he promised," he responded smoothly taking her hand in his and giving it a little shake. "You can't help not being there, Cagalli, and you can't change what happened."

"I want to go home," she huffed, falling back into her pillows.

"I know. We will," he promised.

She dug her palms against her eyes and fought to control her breathing; he watched her a bit helplessly. "It's all right," he said. "You're safe, Cagalli. We found you."

"Took you long enough," she answered thickly, swallowing, and when she finally lowered her arms, her eyes were bright and pink.

He offered her a smile. "Sorry."

"Dummy."

He laughed, taking her hand back in his and smoothing his thumb along her knuckles. "Are you feeling better now?"

"No," she mumbled. "My head hurts."

"Want me to get you some water?"

She shook her head a tiny bit and tugged on his hand. "No. Just... stay a bit?"

"Sure," he agreed with another ready smile, toeing off his shoes and swinging his feet onto the bed. He stretched out beside her and opened his arms for her when she shifted closer. "It's okay, Cagalli. I'll stay here. You're not alone."

"I know," she whispered back, snuggling up against him. And then, after another moment, she added, "Thank you."

[on to chapter seven]