Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Claudine ❯ Claudine ( Chapter 1 )

DISCLAIMER: I think it is too obvious for me to bother and say it, but still: don't own them. But, and that's a BIG but, I claim right of owning Claudine. She's mine. Not yours.

WARNING: This story is told from the POV of a little girl! What kind of warnings do you expect?! Just a little OOCness, original charecter, yaoi... you get the picture, right?

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Don't ask... don't even BOTHER to ask... I have no idea how I came up with this. It was in the middle of my directing class, while the lecturer was making this big thing out of Francois Truffaut, that I got this idea... It has NOTHING to do with directing actually. I think it's my psychology studies of children that has given me the idea... I dunno. And you probably don't care that much, so just read the result and stop wondering where it came from.

Enjoy!

Naomi

CLAUDINE

* * *

AC 202.

The bell rang throughout the halls of Memorial Heights Elementary School and the large yard was soon filled with dozens of little running feet, as the young students hurried to make their way home, clutching to their large, colorful, school bags.

Among the large crowd of young children, walked three small girls, about six or so, wearing their little skirts, which were part of the issued uniforms. Although all three girls were wearing the same outfit, one of them still looked different. Her cloths were shabbier, warn-looking. Her bag, unlike the other two girls, was older and much less colorful. It was standard-issue, not one of the tag-name products the two others were carrying. But nevertheless, the young girl was radiant, her large indigo eyes were sparkling in the late noon sun, her hair, golden brown, gathered in two long pig-tails, was swinging from side to side as she walked, chatting along.

"That's not true! Tracy was lying. Her mommy didn't buy her anything because her birthday is only next week!" The little girl spoke up in determination, positive that her argument was true.

"No she didn't!" Another girl, one with shinning golden hair and pretty green eyes, contradicted. "Tracy's mom bought her Emily because her birthday is TODAY!"

Large indigo eyes widened in pain, and the little pig-tailed girl stopped in her tracks, stunned. "I thought that... I thought that it was next week..."

The second girl, who walked beside the blonde one, rolled her eyes. "Ch! Don't be stupid, Claudine. Tracy's birthday is today! Didn't you buy her a present?!"

Claudine's eyes dropped down in shame. "Um... I can still buy one... I'll just tell my daddy." Her head jerked up, face covered with resolve. "I'm gonna come. Just after I'll tell my daddy."

The blonde girl chuckled and continued walking. "I heard that Tracy didn't want you to come." She let out in a snobbish voice. "That's why she told you it's next week instead of today."

Small tears threatened to come, and the girl clutched her fists. "That's not true! Tracy's my friend!"

"Angela didn't mean to say that..." The other girl let out apologetically, looking angrily at her blonde friend.

"Yes I did. My mom said that Tracy's mom doesn't want you to come. She says that she hates your daddy."

"No she doesn't!"

"My mom says that EVERYBODY hate your daddy."

"Stop that! My daddy is the best!"

"Oh yeah, then how come he didn't buy you an Emily too? Everybody has them."

"He'll buy me..." Claudine muttered silently, letting her gaze down. "All I have to do is ask! I just didn't ask. That's all..."

Again Angela chuckled. "You didn't ask because you knew he won't buy you anything. Your daddy is a meany."

"He is not!" Claudine shouted, jumping up at the blonde girl and pulling her backpack down, nearly causing the other to fall back. "My daddy is not a meany!"

"Hey! Stop it!" Angela yelled as Claudine kept pulling her down forcefully. "Stop it! Stop it! I'm gonna tell my brother and he'll come and hit you!"

"Take it back! Take it back! My daddy is not mean!" Flaring indigo eyes burned with anger and tears as she kept punching the other girl's schoolbag.

A car's horn was heard from nearby and all three girls looked up in the gate's direction.

"Mommy!!!" Angela called as she recognized the car. She jerked herself out of the pig-tailed girl's grasp and hurried to run towards her mother. "Mommy!"

Claudine watched with tearful eyes as her so-called friend walked into the car, sobbing and pointing at her as she explained what had happened. She let her gaze down, sighing sadly.

"She didn't really mean it." A weak and yielding voice spoke from behind.

Claudine didn't bother to turn and accept the small apology. "I'm not gonna be her friend any more."

The girl from behind sighed sadly and shook her head. "I'll see you tomorrow Claudine." She mumbled and hurried towards another car, parked not so far away.

Claudine watched her sadly, eyes longing as she watched her speak with her mother in the car, and then drive away.

She continued to stand at the gate, as the yard gradually emptied. She was left alone in the school, standing by the gate, waiting. Her deep purple-blue eyes studied the empty parking lot as the sun slowly set behind the nearby buildings.

It was late in the afternoon when a lone figure slowly walked up towards the school.

Claudine's eyes winded in joy and a wide smile spread on her small features. She bounced up in the air and then opened in a run towards the slowly approaching figure.

"Daddy!" She called happily, jumping up at the figure, hugging her father tightly.

The man, a young man in his twenties, smiled faintly and wrapped his long and slender arms around the small child. "Hey Claudy. Sorry I'm late..." He spoke sadly, his voice quiet and weak.

Claudine wrapped her small arms around his slim neck and withdrew a little, just enough to look into her father's eyes. Her eyes shone with complete love and admiration, as she looked into a pair of deep-blue eyes. She loved her father's eyes. They held such depth in them, and a gleam of something that was unfamiliar but yet fascinating to her. And they were always so sad, her father's eyes. They were always sad and tired, and every time she looked into them, she wanted nothing but to comfort her beloved father.

She reached up a small hand; brushing away the thick chocolate-brown bangs of hair that fell over her father's face. Her small fingers trailed over his face, sliding down his nose and to his lips, as if memorizing the feeling and sight of his pale features.

"It's okay that you're late, daddy. I don't mind." She assured him with a smile, her lively eyes looking down at his pale pink lips as she ran a careful finger over them. She looked up, smiling, as she saw him give her a little smile in return. She loved his smiles too. To her, they were the most precious thing in the world. Being as rare and beautiful as pearls, she would give anything in the world to see them as often as she could.

They didn't say much more as he slowly put her down, taking her heavy backpack, and loading it over his delicate shoulder. He took her hand in his and they began their daily walk home. On the way, Claudine told him all about her day, about the assignments they were handed, her homework, what she did in recess, everything but what had happened after school. She didn't tell him about Tracy's birthday or about the doll Emily she so wanted. That would make her father sad, and that was the LAST thing she wanted him to be. She didn't want him to feel bad because he didn't buy her the doll.

She kept chatting along happily about anything but problems, trying to keep the atmosphere as light as possible. Her father didn't speak much, he rarely did. He was quiet most of the time. Her father was always quiet. Sometimes she found herself yearning to hear his soft voice, even if it was only a word or two. He did speak back from time to time, asking her questions and encouraging her to go on, but other than that, he remained quiet.

Claudine could tell that he was tired. He was always tired. He seemed so fragile to her at times, she was afraid that he will fall if the wind will blow a little too hard. She squeezed his hand tightly as the thought of her daddy falling struck her. She didn't EVER want him to fall.

She didn't ever want him to leave her. He was everything in her world. He was there when she woke up in the morning, when she came back from school and when she had to go to sleep at night. He's the one who was always there when she needs him. The one who never failed her, who always gave her his outmost love and devotion. She knew he was doing his very best for her. She could feel it. She could feel it in his touch, his voice, the way he looked at her, the way he sometimes smiled at her. She never questioned his love to her, she never thought of him as anything else but the best daddy in the world. She loved him so much it hurt physically to see him sad and tired.

Angela and Tracy can get lost! Her daddy loved her and he was the best daddy ever! It didn't matter that he doesn't have a car to pick her up with from school. He walked all the way from work just to pick her up and bring her home! It didn't matter he didn't buy her the stupid Emily doll. She had plenty of other dolls and that was enough. She didn't know any other daddies who would take their time to play with their daughters like her father did. Angela and the others were WAY wrong. Her daddy was not mean. He was the best.

The only thing that bothered her still, was why everybody hated her daddy. Why did Tracy's mom hate him? Why did Angela's mom fidget every time he brought her over to play with Angela? Why were all the mommies afraid of her daddy? He was a good man. Why were they afraid?

* * *

Instead of going straight home, they stopped by at the supermarket to do their weekly shopping. It was Friday, the only day of the week that her daddy didn't have to go back to work after he took Claudy from school. This was her favorite day of the week. That and Saturday. That's when she had her daddy ALL to herself. That's when they had the real fun.

And she also liked shopping with her dad. She loved the thought of being able to help him. She ran up and down the aisles, bouncing up and down in the air, trying to reach the top shelves and grab all the products she knew they needed. It was always the same products. They only bought the most essential things: milk, bread, sugar, vegetables and such. Never all the brand-name products she saw other people take. It didn't matter, she never complained about the food at home. There was always enough and it was always good. She smiled to herself as she picked up a bag of white rice. Her daddy was a good cook too. Better than ALL the mommies, that's for sure.

"No, honey, take only one, we don't need two." Her daddy's soft voice informed her gently as she reached for a second bag. "One is enough." He said with a sigh, running a hand through his messy brown bangs, smiling weakly at her.

"Oh. Okay daddy." She let out, a little confused, putting the package back into place. They always bought two, so it was weird that now they didn't.

They continued doing their shopping. Her daddy was awfully quiet, even more than usual, and Claudy did her best to fill the suffocating silence with her chatter. Her chirping voice chatted on and on about anything, not really saying anything, but being a constant noise that filled the void.

They stopped in the aisle where all the soaps and shampoo bottles were. Her daddy picked a few things and put them in the shopping cart. Claudy smiled as she saw him pick her favorite 'Gummy Bears' shampoo and her favorite toothpaste and soap. She frowned a little as she saw him pick the simplest shampoo and soap, for himself. Next, they moved on to the other part of the aisle, and after picking two more items, her daddy turned to her with a light smile, showing her what he had taken.

"This one," He handed her one of the products. "Or this one?" He handed her the second.

Claudine frowned in thought, examining the two bottles. She opened each one of them, sniffing their scent. After careful consideration, she handed her daddy one of the bottles, grinning, eyes sparkling with admiration.

"This one."

"You sure?" Her father asked, taking the bottle of aftershave from her small hand.

Claudine nodded her head. "Yeah, it smells sweeter than the other one. It reminds me of you."

Her daddy chuckled lightly, slightly blushing as he placed the unwanted bottle back on the shelf. Claudy just smiled secretly, eyes still shining as she watched his white and long fingers place the bottle carefully on the shelf. She had made him smile! She made her daddy smile!

After he had picked up another bottle of shaving cream, they made their way to the cash register. While standing in line, holding her father's hand, Claudy took her time to look around her, at all the other people. She noticed that not many kids came here with their daddies. The few she did see were there with their mommies. She shrugged it off though, squeezing her daddy's hand, and smiling when he squeezed back.

Her eyes trailed over the small counter next to her, right by the cash register. Her eyes drank in the sight of many candies, chocolates and lollipops, some gum and other things like batteries and toothbrushes. Her eyes widened and she gasped lightly as her eyes landed on another product. It was rather big; the size of her notebook, and it was designed in beautiful bright colors. It didn't take her long to realize that it was a makeup kit, for children.

Whirling her head back in her father's direction, she looked up at him, excitement in her eyes. She pulled his hand a little, trying to get his attention. "Daddy! Daddy! Look!"

When her daddy looked down at her, puzzled, she pointed at the colorful makeup kit. She missed the painful look that flashed over her father's features as he too spotted the large kit.

"Oh daddy! Daddy! Can I have it? Please? I'll be a good girl! I'll never ask for anything again! Pleeeeease daddy? Pleeeeeeease?"

She looked up at him, her little face pleading. She held onto his hand with both her hands, looking up at him with hope in her eyes. She pouted her lips a little as he looked down at her lengthily, seeming deep in thought.

"Please daddy? Just this once?" She begged, looking over her shoulder at the kit. She turned back to her daddy, still pouting. "I promise I'll never ask again..."

At that, a dark shadow flashed through her father's cobalt eyes and he let go of her hand. She watched him carefully, a little confused, as he looked down at their shopping cart. He then dug his hand deep into his jeans pocket and pulled out a few ragged dollars. Claudine watched him from below as he slowly counted the bills, twice, sighing deeply when he was done. He looked down into the cart again, then at the direction of the kit, and finally back at the money. His eyes slowly slid shut and he took a deep breath. Claudine reached for his hand again, wanting to tell him that he didn't have to if he couldn't afford it. But before she could let out a word, he opened his eyes and looked down at her, smiling sadly.

Claudine somehow managed to smile back at him, but just a little. Her face was too numb as she looked up into her father's deep blue eyes. They seemed to betray his weak smile. She watched him as he reached into the cart again, his hand going over to a bottle of coke, that she insisted having. Once he reached it, his hand stopped and he sighed, shaking his head a little. He then turned and reached for another product, pulling it out instead. Claudy's eyes widened as she realized it was his shaving cream.

Eyes still wide with shock, she watched as he put the bottle aside, and then turn to her. Again he smiled sadly, and nodded his head in approval, gesturing at the kit.

Forgetting about everything she had just seen, Claudy jumped towards the kit, snatched it off the shelf and hugged it tightly to her chest, grinning. She felt her daddy ruffle the top of her head in affection and she smiled at him, hugging the kit closer to her chest.

* * *

Claudine frowned, looking down at her makeup kit, lost in her thoughts. She waited for her daddy to unlock their apartment's door, but she didn't even notice when it was fully open, and he was waiting for her to come in.

"Claudine, are you all right?" His soft voice surprised her, and she jerked her head up, gasping. She berated herself as she saw the pain and concern in her father's eyes.

"Are you feeling all right?" He asked in concern, eyes suddenly fearful. "Do you feel sick?"

"No." She hurried to say, assuring him with a wide smile. "I was just thinking."

He frowned a little, his eyes running over her small form, checking for any bad sign. "Are you sure? Did you take your pills at lunch?"

Claudine sighed and nodded. "Yes daddy, I took them." She mumbled and walked into the apartment. She hated when he mentioned The Pills. She hated The Pills. She hated taking them, she hated the way they tasted and she hated how they made her father worry all the time. But more than that, she hated how she felt without The Pills.

Ever since she was a baby, she was very sick. She had to go to a lot of doctors and take a lot of pills, otherwise, she felt really bad. Her daddy always made sure she took her pills in the morning and evening, but he wasn't there during lunch, so he was always worried she'd forget to take them. But she would never do that. No matter how much fun kids made of her for taking the pills. She told them they were vitamins, so she'll grow up to be strong and beautiful and can kick their butt in school. They hardly believed her, and kept making fun of her, but she didn't care. She took the pills anyway, because she knew that if she didn't, she'll get sick and her daddy will get sad.

Her daddy worked very hard to get the pills. She knew they cost a lot of money. She heard it from one of the nurses in the clinic, where her father takes her once a month. She hated doctors too, but she knew she had to go if she wanted to get well. But she didn't like the feeling of knowing how hard her daddy has to work to pay the doctors and buy the pills. She knew it was her fault, how he was always tired and sad. It was because of her. If she weren't sick, her daddy would be much happier. And today... she was a VERY bad girl today. She insisted on getting the makeup kit and now her daddy doesn't have what he needed! She's a bad girl!

A tear trickled down her cheeks and she sniffled, terrified by the thought that she had caused her beloved daddy pain.

"Claudy..." Her daddy's quiet voice spoke in concern and he kneeled by her side, wiping away her small tears. "Claudy... what's wrong?" He asked, looking into her violet-blue eyes, his own eyes shimmering with worry.

Again Claudine sniffled and she reached up a hand to wipe her tears away with her sleeve.

"Claudy?" He asked again, his hand stroking her tender cheeks. "Don't cry, Claudy..."

"Oh daddy!" She called, throwing herself at him, her small arms wrapped around his long and slender neck. "I'm so sorry daddy! I'm sorry!"

Baffled, he slowly wrapped his arms around her trembling form, nuzzling his face in her soft and sweet hair. "Shhhh... Claudy, don't cry..." He soothed gently, rocking her from side to side. "Shhh... don't cry. You have nothing to be sorry about."

"Yes I do!" The girl cried, tightening her grip around him, her face buried in his chest. "I always make you worry! And you work so hard just for me... and all the kids say that you're a meany because you don't buy me things! And... and Tracy didn't want me to come to her party because her mommy won't let her... because she doesn't like you... Everybody hates me now! And Angela said you'd never buy me an Emily because she thinks you're mean! You're not mean daddy! I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! I don't want them to say bad things about you! I'm sorry..."

"Shhh..." He soothed her, still rocking her trembling figure. "You shouldn't be sorry, Claudine. You didn't say all these things..."

"Yeah, but I was just thinking them! I was thinking that you didn't buy me an Emily because you have to work too hard to buy the stupid pills! And now you can't shave because you bought me the makeup!"

He chuckled, and Claudine blinked, stunned. Slowly, she raised her head up, and looked at her daddy in puzzlement.

He just smiled at her, and reached up a hand to caress her small features. "Oh Claudy..." He began, voice slightly amused. "It's okay to want something. And don't worry; I'll do just fine without it. Otherwise, I wouldn't put it aside, right?"

"But... but we can do without coke too..." She mumbled, wiping her tears away.

Her father snorted, getting up. "Hn! No way! I love coke!"

Claudine smiled, following him with her gaze as he walked to the kitchen and unpacked the groceries. She watched him lovingly as he put the various products in place, her eyes following each of his slow and graceful movements, the sight of his gentle white hands as he arranged the eggs in their place in the fridge. She smiled slightly, wiping the last of her tears away. She ran to the kitchen and, while standing on her tiptoes, reached up for the paper bags lying on the kitchen table, and began to unpack as well.

* * *

Later that evening, Claudine was sitting on the sofa in the living room, wearing her pink pajamas and the makeup kit in her lap. She was sitting with her back facing her father, who was right next to her. Her long, golden-brown, hair was down; still wet from the shower she had just taken.

"What will it be tonight?" Her father asked with a smile, while tenderly brushing her long wet hair.

Claudine shrugged, opening the kit, looking over the different colors. "I don't care. Do what you want." She answered as she took one brush up and mixed a few colors.

He didn't answer, and kept brushing her hair with long and careful strokes. After a while of pleasant silence, she could feel his long, thin, fingers grab hold of her hair, and gently separate it to three parts. She smiled to herself as she felt him braid her hair. She was sort of expecting it. That's what he always did when she told him to do whatever he wanted. She knew it was his favorite, though he could make many other different hairstyles. This was the simplest though, and she liked it too. Moreover, she loved the feeling of his slender fingers tug gently at her hair as he tended it lovingly.

"What are you doing?" He suddenly spoke, and thus managed to surprise Claudine. She never knew when he'd speak up. Some nights he didn't utter a single words, and some, he was in a playful mood and would fool around with her. Tonight, she supposed, he was trying to cheer her up.

"Nothing." She answered with a sigh.

"Nothing?" He asked, surprised, adding another fold to her forming braid.

"I don't have anyone to put it on." She sighed sadly, closing the kit. "I guess I was stupid for wanting it."

This time, her daddy didn't answer, and just kept on tending her hair silently. It was a while longer before he was done, and when he was, he placed two hands on each of her shoulders, and turned her gently around to face him.

Claudine's eyes widened a little as she saw him smiling down at her, without a hint of saddens in his ocean blue eyes. She looked down in puzzlement as he reached down a hand to the makeup kit, taking hold of a small brush and putting some blue eyes shadow on it.

"Close your eyes." He whispered softly, and Claudine did just that. She smiled a little as she felt him gently smear the powder on. She kept her eyes closed while he did her makeup, adding some blush, lipstick and such. From time to time, when he didn't focus on her eyes, she would open them and look down at him as he worked. She smiled as she saw the concentrated expression on his face. She chuckled when she saw him frown a little, biting his lower lip in thought, trying to think about what to do next.

"Let me see." She said, reaching for the kit, wanting to take a look in the mirror attached to it. Her daddy handed her the kit, holding the mirror up so she could take a look at herself.

She smiled at her reflection. "Cool!" She called happily, still studying her features. "I'm a princess!"

Her father chuckled and petted her cheek. "You don't need makeup to be a princess." He whispered to her.

Claudy shrugged, taking the kit out of his hand. "I know. But I have to look like one, no?"

"Who said you don't?"

"Daaaddy..." She warned, rolling her eyes. She sat up on her knees, so she will be in eye level of her daddy. "Don't start."

He chuckled and caressed he cheek once more.

Claudy shook her head with a sigh, mixing different eye shadow colors with a brush.

"What are you doing?"

"It's your turn." She informed him casually, looking up, brush ready. She smiled at his stunned expression. "Close your eyes."

Without any protest, he did just that, and Claudine set out to work. She smeared some dark gray and bright blue eye shadow, and carefully added an eyeliner and mascara to her father's already thick long eyelashes. She then powdered him up a bit, giving his skin a feyish look. She put some lip-gloss on his ever-pouting lips and laughed as he tried to bite her while she worked.

"Daddy! Cut it out! Lemme finish!"

"Um!" Again he tried to grab her fingers, but she pulled back just in time. "Daddy! I didn't fight when you did my makeup!"

At that, he stopped his silly game and let her work.

"Can I look now?" He asked after a while.

"No, not yet." She answered, taking a brush and a few little red ribbons from her kit. "I have to do your hair first."

"My hair!? What's wrong with my hair?" He questioned in mock-hurt.

Claudy didn't even bother to answer and rose up a little higher, brush in hand. She combed his messy dark brown hair, but whatever she did, it always returned to look messy. Fed up with that, she grabbed a handful of thick brown locks and clipped them up with her red ribbons. Her daddy made a sour face as he felt her do unspeakable things to his hair.

Once done with that, Claudine took a step back to examine her work with pride. "Okay, now you can look." She informed him after taking a good look at her fine work, a wide grin plastered on her features.

She watched with growing anticipation as her father opened his eyes. Her smile grew as those pools of dark blue mystery revealed themselves to her. Combined with the eye shadow she had administrated, her father's eyes seemed to be brighter than usual. It was like watching two shining sapphire jewels.

"Well?" She asked impatiently as her father reached for the small mirror, and just stared at his reflection. She sat by his side once again, looking at his reflection as well.

And she decided he was beautiful. The eyeliner she had sloppily put on gave him such an exotic look, and combined with the powder on his face and his glossed lips, he looked like an angel. Her beautiful father was an angel.

"I look like a girl." Her father finally stated, reaching up for the ribbons in his hair.

"Hey! Don't take them off!" She protested as he began to unclip the ribbons. While she must admit that he looked far better without them, it still annoyed her that he took them off. She worked hard to put them there! Does he think it's easy to tame that hair of his?!

"Not fair!" She called, pouting, folding two arms over her chest. "It was hard to put them there!"

She smiled as he heard him chuckle at her remark. "Yeah, well, sorry Claudy, I don't do little red ribbons."

She stuck her tongue out at him, still pouting.

Again he chuckled and ruffled her head. She took the opportunity to catch him off guard and grab the ribbons, jump up and put them in his hair.

"Hey!" He called, trying to gently push her off.

Claudine ignored him and continued her work.

"You're not getting away with it..." He warned in amusement, wrapping his arms around her small waist and then lifting her up in the air, head down, leg pointing at the ceiling.

"Daddy!" She whined, her hands still fiddling with his hair. "Put me down!"

He ignored her, and proceeded in getting up, spinning around.

"Daaaaaaaddyyyyyyyyy!!!!" She called, laughing hard as he pasted his lips to her exposed tummy, blowing air into it and thus tickling her. "Daddy! Ha ha ha! Daddy! Cut it out! Hahahahahaha! Daddy!!"

Their little game was interrupted by a knock on the door. Claudy was finally able to breathe when her daddy put her gently down on the floor and went to answer the door. She whined in protest as she saw him take the ribbons out again, putting them in his pocket just as he unlocked the door.

She watched from the living room as her daddy opened the door, and her eyes widened in pain as she saw a woman standing there. It was a rather young woman, but still, she looked much older than her daddy. She was wearing this bright blue office suit, holding a small handbag, which totally didn't match the suit. She was clutching the handbag tightly, holding it close to her as if nervous or something. She had short black hair, which gave her a nerdy look in Claudy's opinion. She looked very edgy and her pale and small face gave her such a pathetic look, Claudy decided that she didn't like her.

"May I help you?" Her father asked politely, his voice faltering and he reached one hand into his pocket, playing with the small ribbons inside.

The woman just kept gaping at him, her eyes wide and her mouth slightly open. She ran her eyes up and down his form, examining everything- from his bare feet, the dark sweatpants and white tank top he was wearing, to the exotic makeup on his features. All in all, she seemed to be breath taken by his tempting looks.

"Um... ye-yes." She finally answered, swallowing and looking around nervously. "I was, I mean I am, I am looking for, um, Heero Yuy?" She glanced over his shoulder, seeing the little girl standing in the back, glaring at her. She hurried to look back at the young man in front of her, her eyes never really meeting his. "Um, I'm a friend of-- I mean, um," She took a deep breath, her sweaty hands clenched around her handbag. Another deep breath, and she was able to look him up in the eye. "Christa sent me."

Heero's eyes widened painfully and he looked down at the floor, eyes suddenly sad. "Come in, please..." He mumbled, opening the door wider and stepping aside so she could enter.

The woman took another deep breath, held her head up high and walked in, trying to ignore the little girl who kept glaring at her. She turned to look at the young man, watching him as he closed the door. Her eyes drank his sight hungrily, and suddenly her small and shriveled face flushed and she looked down at her feet. "I'm sorry if it's a bad time... Christa didn't say... I mean, um..." Heero turned to look at her and the small woman flinched at the sight if his piercing eyes. "I had na---no idea you had a child at home."

"It's all right." He let out quietly, walking up to her, scratching the back of his head as if sheepish or something. "I apologize about the mess. Christa didn't inform me you were coming." He pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and wiped the eye shadow off. "If you don't mind waiting a minute, I can go change."

"No! It's okay. We can get, I mean... we can get right to it!" The woman hurried to blurt out, blushing furiously.

Heero nodded. "All right. It will be just a sec." He walked past her and towards Claudy, still standing in the middle of the room, watching them with angry eyes. He knelt down in front of her and took her hand, looking up into her flaring violet eyes. "Claudy, why won't you go and play outside for a while? We can play later, okay?"

Claudine shook her head stubbornly.

Heero sighed, cupping her small hand in both his palms. "Claudy, please. Do you want me to take you to Mrs Winslow?"

Again the girl shook her head, yanking her hand out of his grasp. "No! I want to be with you!"

In the back, the small woman flinched. She looked down at her handbag, trying to avoid the burning rage in the little girl's eyes. She took her time to look around the apartment, while the father tried to convince the child to step outside. She noted the furniture was old, and so was the TV set with an antenna on it. The kitchen was joined to the living room, separated by a long counter, two chairs by it. Even the refrigerator was old and she caught the glimpse of a small laundry room, which had no drier but a rope with cloths drying on it. As she took in the poor but yet warm look of the small apartment, and her features softened in sympathy. She took another deep breath and turned to look at the living room again.

"Claudy... please. It will only be a short while. I promise I'll make it up to you, okay?"

Claudy looked down into her father's eyes, and her heart clenched at the utter pain and plea she saw in there. His desperate voice, faltering as if tears were threatening to come to him, was more than enough to break her heart. She sighed sadly, looking down.

"Okay." She let out miserably. She smiled weakly as he caressed her cheek tenderly and got up.

"I'll call you, okay?"

"Yeah, okay." She mumbled, getting off the couch. She stalked over to the door and sent her best death-glare at the lady, causing the old broad to flinch and look away.

The door slammed shut after the little girl, and Heero looked up at the lady across the room, smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry about that." He mumbled, and gestured at the hallway. "This way, please." He invited and waited for the lady to walk first, escorting her from behind.

* * *

One small rock after another were thrown in the air, some hitting the metallic garbage can, some missing it and some getting dumped inside. On a tall stone fence, about four meters from the said trash container, sat Claudy, her feet dangling down the tall fence, swinging lazily from side to side as she threw the rocks. By her side lay a large pile of small stones, and on the other side was a small brown paper bag.

It was late evening, and the skies were dark. Not many people were around, most of them out on this Friday night. The street lamp was the only light to accompany her, beside the lights coming out of the tall apartment complex they lived in. It wasn't a good-looking building, it looked old and neglected. But still, it had a large yard surrounding it, surrounded by the other buildings around. She could see their apartment from where she was, the light in the living room still on, but the rest was dark. Even her father's bedroom window was dark. There was light in it at first, but then it was turned off.

Claudy continued throwing the rocks for another half an hour, after already being outside for half an hour more. At least it gave her time to go to Old Pete's store around the block. He was nice enough to let her buy and putting it on her tab. Now, after an hour of waiting, she could see the light in the stairway and a few seconds later, that lady came running down the stairs and out of the building. Her suit was all wrinkled and messy, like it was put on with a hurry. Her short short hair was messy as well. She was clutching her handbag tightly, looking around nervously as she ran, looking as if someone was chasing her. Guilt was all over her shriveled features and she looked like she thought someone was watching her, for she kept looking around guiltily.

Claudy jumped off the fence, a few rocks still in hand. She threw the rocks at the lady, one by one, causing the woman to shriek and cry out, startled.

"This is for my daddy!" She yelled at the lady.

The woman, shaking with shock and fear, just ducked her head between her shoulders and ran away, hurrying to get into her expensive car and drive off.

Claudy threw a few more rocks at her retreating car. "Don't you make my daddy cry!"

* * *

When she got back home, her daddy was in the shower. She closed the door behind her, holding her small paper bag, and slowly walked into the hallway. She stopped by the shower's door, just staring at it, eyes filling with tears she hurried to wipe away.

She walked further down the hall, passing by her own bedroom, but entering her father's bedroom instead. She saw that the white sheets on the small double bed were all messy and tangled. She walked over to the bedside, where her father's nightstand stood, and looked sadly down at the bed. She reached down and ran her fingers over the sheets, which were still warm. She sniffled, smelling her father's sweet scent, which still lingered to the sheets.

Claudine then turned to look down at his nightstand. She saw a large stack of money lying there, by the night lamp. But it was not unusual. She was used to seeing money there.

Lifting up her paper bag, she pulled out a small bottle and placed it gently by the money. It was a bottle of shaving cream.

Once done with it, Claudy squashed the bag in her hand and ran out of the room. She slammed her bedroom's door behind her and threw herself at the bed, crying herself to sleep.

* * *

The next day, Claudy was sitting in the living room, placing makeup on her different dolls. Her daddy was in the kitchen, sitting by the kitchen table, working on his laptop. In the background, on the stove, some soup was boiling. The table was also packed with books. Heero had tons of books all around him. Thick books, which looked old and shabby, like they've been read a lot of times. Some of them were open in front of him, and some still lay on top of each other in large piles.

Claudy knew that they were not ordinary books. They were computer books. Her daddy worked for a large computer company. He was a technician and also a programmer. When he had to do technician stuff, he had to go to work, but when he was programming, he did it at home on his computer. That way, he could be with her and take care of her. The problem was, that he had to do A LOT of work, and he would sit around with his books and computer for hours on end.

Claudy shifted her gaze away from her working father and back to her game. She continued to play silently, not wanting to bother him while he worked.

"Claudine, pills." Heero suddenly spoke, turning a page in one of the really thick books.

Claudine sighed and put her dolls aside. She looked up at the clock in the kitchen and sighed again. Lunchtime. Pill-time.

Reluctantly getting up, Claudine made her way into the kitchen. She inhaled deeply, taking in the delicious smell of the soup her daddy was making. Her mouth began to water and she just now realized that she was hungry.

"They're on the right shelf." Heero informed her when he saw her stop and hesitate, his nose still inside the book.

"I know." She answered with a sigh. She went over to a set of three small shelves her daddy had once build, and took her bottle of pills. She opened it with ease, glaring down at the hateful blue and orange pills. She gasped as she saw that there were little pills left. Maybe enough for three days or so.

Heart clenching painfully, she looked over her shoulder, her eyes resting on her father's figure. His back was facing her, and so he could not see the worried look on her small face. He continued to work, talking silently to himself as he read and reread a paragraph, and then scribbled something down on paper.

Claudine looked away, unable to face her hard working father. She looked down at the nearly empty container in her hand, and sighed sadly. Her daddy didn't have enough money to buy her more pills. The fact that he was working so hard on a Saturday was enough to prove it. If she'll tell him that she's about to run out of pills, he will only be upset. He'll also have to work harder to get the money quickly.

Deciding that she will be able to hold on until the end of the month, merely a week away, Claudy took her pill like a good girl and kept quiet about them being on short supply. She placed her cup of water in the sink, and was about to wash it, just as the bell rang.

"I'll get it!" She called happily, skipping her way towards the front door. She unlocked the door and opened it widely, grinning. She was now looking at a tall blonde woman, about her father's age. She was very beautiful and looking very sophisticated. She was wearing an elegant, dark red, office suit, her hair was held up high with a twist, and she also had a pair of fashionable glasses.

The woman smiled down at the six-year-old girl, her smile kind and sweet. "Hello Claudine. How are you?"

"I'm okay." Claudine answered casually, still smiling.

"Is your daddy home?" The woman asked sweetly, looking up into the apartment.

Claudy nodded, stepping aside so the woman can enter. "Dad! Christa's here!" She announced as the woman walked past her and towards the kitchen. She closed the door, locking it like her father taught her, and went back to her play station. She heard her daddy greet Christa and she heard her pull out a chair and sit by him. As she played with the dolls, giving them different hairstyles, she listened with half an ear as her daddy and Christa discussed work.

They were talking about this program her father was working on and they consulted each other about various things. After some minutes Claudy tuned off the computer-talk and concentrated on her game. That was until, she heard her father raise his voice at Christa.

"No. No way. I'm not doing it."

Curious, Claudine ceases her play and turned around, looking up in the direction of the kitchen table.

Christa leaned forward, towards Heero and laced her hands in front of her face. "Heero, the guy is preparing to pay A LOT of money. I know you need it."

"I don't need it THAT much." He answered, getting up, collecting two coffee cups form the table and walking over to the sink.

Claudy watched as Christa rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair, two arms over her chest. "Don't bullshit me, buddy. We work together and I know EXACTLY how much you make."

Heero dumped the dishes into the sink and whirled around, glaring at his partner. "There are lines that even I won't cross, Christa. Not for all the money in this God damned world."

Now Claudine was confused. She knew that this fight had to do with work, and that her daddy worked very hard to get money, so why won't he do it? Her daddy never EVER refused ANYTHING Christa offered him.

"We'll split differently. Seventy-thirty, instead of our usual arrangement."

"No."

Christa sighed. "Okay, eighty-twenty, but that's as low as I get for fixing this up for you."

"You might be willing to step this low, but I'm not." He spat, sitting down again.

Christa frowned. "Ouch. That hurt." She sighed, looking at him lengthily. "You sure about this?"

"Positive."

She sighed again, running a hand through her hair, pushing up a few stray hairs. "Fine. I'll tell the guy. But I think you're making a big mistake here."

"Let me be the judge of that." Heero spat back, glancing in the direction of the living room.

Claudy smiled at him and waved her hand as their eyes met. But her daddy hurried to look away, again glaring at Christa.

"Well, I better go." The blonde woman announced with a sigh, collecting a things. "Let me know if you change your mind." She added while Heero walked her to the door.

"I will not."

"Fine, fine... I get the picture." She muttered, standing at the door. She turned and looked over Heero's shoulder, sending another sweet smile at the little girl sitting on the floor, watching them. "Bye sweetie."

"Bye Christa." Claudy returned with a smile, noting how her father suddenly tensed. She watched as he muttered a cold and polite goodbye, and then closed the door, locking it.

"C'mon Claudy, time to eat."

* * *

"My mom is taking me shopping today. We're gonna buy the dress for the recital." Tracy informed her friends in a sweet voice, while they were playing on the swing sets at school.

"Are you gonna buy the pink one with the blue ribbon?" Angela asked, her feet playing in the sand as her swing stood still, her white polished shoes shinning in the mid noon sun.

"No, I'm gonna buy the other one, the white one with the silver stars." The little girl answered with a shrug. She turned to the girl standing behind her, pushing her swing to give her more momentum. "What about you, Claudine, which one did you buy?"

The little violet-eyed girl shrugged, pushing the swing again. "I'm gonna buy one tomorrow."

"But the recital is in two days!" Another girl called, worried. "What if you won't find one?"

"I'll find it." Claudine answered quietly, her hands pushing Tracy on the swing once more.

"Oh really? What color?" Angela asked, while another girl pushed her swing.

"Purple. And it's gonna have shining blue stars on it."

Tracy laughed. "I didn't see any purple dress with blue stars and me and my mommy were in EVERY store in town!"

"I'll find one!" Claudy called, angry, pushing the swing so hard, she nearly made the other girl fall. "Get off! It's my turn on the swing!"

"No it's not. I said I'm on it!" Tracy spat.

"Buzz off! It's my turn!" Claudine protested, grabbing hold of the swing and stopping it in mid movement. Tracy nearly fell.

"Hey! Watch it! You nearly dropped her!" Angela called angrily.

"Yeah? So what! I said it's my turn! You never let us be on the swings! We always push YOU guys!"

"Yeah!" Two more girls called. "It's our turn now!"

Seeing that they are outnumbered, the snobbish girls relieved their places. Claudine took her place on the swing, swinging as high as the sky. She closed her eyes, leaning backwards, feeling the world turn upside down. She let the wind caress her, wondering if this is how it felt like to be flying. She kept rocking higher and higher, trying her best to escape her problems. The truth was, that she didn't even tell her daddy about the dress. He knew about her ballet recital, but she didn't tell him about the dress. She knew he was still short on money, and she didn't want to be a bother.

But everybody else is going to have a brand new dress! And if she will come with her old dress, the one from last year... they'll make fun of her. It was hard enough to be in Angela's and Tracy's gang, and if she'll show up wearing a dress that looked old and too small... Just thinking of it brought tears to her eyes.

Claudine continued to rock higher and faster, nearly touching the skies, her long braid dangling down as she leaned her head back, looking up at the blue skies, her eyes tearful.

* * *

"Daddy?"

"Hmm?" Heero looked up from his meal and at the little girl sitting across the table. "What is it?" He tried again as the small child kept silent, looking down at her untouched meal.

"Do you remember about the recital?"

"Hmm hmm." He nodded, wiping his mouth with a napkin. He then smiled at her. "Don't worry, honey, I'll be there."

"Oh, I know. I know..." She mumbled, picking on her food with her fork.

Heero watched her, confused about her sullen behavior. "Claudy?"

The little girl looked up, indigo eyes filled with crystal tears. "Ye... yes daddy?" Her voice faltered on her trembling lips.

"Is there something you didn't tell me? Is something wrong?"

"Oh? Uh, no. Nothing is wrong." She hurried to reply, wiping away her tears. "It's not that important." She added quickly, digging her fork into her meal.

"So something is wrong, am I correct?"

"It's not important, daddy."

"It's the dress, isn't it?"

Claudine closed her eyes in shame, putting the fork down. She bowed her head and nodded ever so slightly.

Heero sighed quietly, putting his own fork down. "You said it's okay if you go with the old dress. Did you change your mind?"

It was a while before she was able to speak without knowing she will burst into tears. She opened her eyes, but wasn't able to look up at her father. "No... I'm sorry. I said it's not that important, but..."

"But?"

"But everybody else is gonna have a new one and I---"

"Claudy, you should have just said you wanted a new one."

"But you don't have enough money!" She burst; tears running freely down her cheeks. She looked up at her daddy, and immediately regretted bursting out like that when he visibly flinched. "I'm sorry, daddy. I didn't mean to yell."

He didn't answer, his face more or less stony. He looked at her lengthily, thinking, before he finally spoke. "Will it be okay if I'll fix the old dress?"

Claudy's eyes grew wide and a smile tugged at her lips. "Fix it? You can really do that?"

He nodded, shifting a little in his seat, as if uncomfortable or something. "Sure. Will that be okay? We can make it look like a new one."

"Really?!"

He smiled at her. "Really really."

Claudy grinned and jumped out of her seat, hugging her father tightly. "That'll be great daddy! Can we make it purple? And with blue stars? Can they shine?"

He chuckled weakly at her burst of enthusiasm, and slowly placed her back down on the floor. "Well, I'm not sure about the purple part, but I can add stars."

"Will they sparkle?" She asked, voice hopeful.

"How about we go to the store tomorrow and see what they got there, okay?" He offered instead, ruffling her golden-brown hair.

"Maybe we can add a purple ribbon instead, huh?" She asked, settling back in her seat.

"We'll see, Claudy. We'll see. Now eat up, okay?"

Claudine smiled and picked up her fork, picturing her brand new dress as she ate.

* * *

The next day they went to the mall and Claudine got to pick out all the accessories she wanted on her dress. They bought a bag full of shinning blue buttons in the shape of stars, and a large red fabric, which will be tied up as a ribbon. She also picked up a purple lace-work skirt, which was mostly see-through. Her daddy promised to sew it up instead of the old white skirt.

After dinner, instead of going to work on his computer, Heero sat down by the kitchen table and began working on the dress. He first sewed the stars on the purple skirt, and Claudy helped him. She was sitting next to him, handing him the buttons, her admiring eyes never leaving his fingers as he ran the needle in and out of the fabric.

When it was her bedtime, Heero told her to go to bed and promised he will be done by morning and she'll have it ready for the show. Claudy kissed him goodnight and bounced happily to her room. She crawled into her bed and kept watching the light coming from the kitchen, until she fell asleep, a smile on her lips.

She woke up sometime later, knowing that it is very late at night. Glancing at her cow-clock by the bed, she could see it was two AM. The light from the kitchen was still on, and she wondered how come her father wasn't done yet. She carefully crawled out of bed, and silently made her way to the kitchen.

Her heart clenched as she saw her daddy, still sitting by the kitchen table, still working on the dress. His eyes, they looked so tired, his eyelids heavy and threatening to close at any minute. He looked so small all of a sudden, insignificant, under the cold and strong kitchen light. His hands were shaking a little as he kept sewing, forcing himself to keep awake. Claudy could tell that he was fighting a loosing battle.

After a few more moments, his head dropped down, eyes closed. He jerked awake right away and sighed heavily, rubbing his eyes. Claudine felt like crying. She put a hand over her mouth to keep from whimpering out loud, so he won't know she was out of bed when it was WAY past her bedtime.

Suddenly, she heard the sound of ripping fabric, and looked up, eyes wide. She saw that her father had dozed off for a second, while working, and accidentally tore the dress.

Time seemed to stop from moving as both Heero and Claudine stared at the torn dress in horror. Tears filled the girl's eyes as she saw the pain and desperation cover her daddy's beautiful face. Her feet began to tremble as she noticed the hot stream of tears running down his cheeks, sparkling in the kitchen light.

Her daddy was crying. He was looking down at the torn dress, nearly finished, but now torn, and he was crying. His hand was trembling as he clutched it tightly, his pearl-like tears falling down on the white fabric, staining it with his misery. She had never seen her daddy cry. The thought that he was capable to cry, REALLY cry, was beyond her. And now, faced with this awful truth, Claudy found herself running to her room and burying herself under the covers.

She covered her ears with her palms, trying to shut out the quiet sounds of utter despair coming from the kitchen. She could hear him sob silently, and tears began to run freely down her own cheeks. She buried her face in the pillow, hands still over her ears, crying and apologizing silently to the darkness.

* * *

The next day, the day of the recital, Heero surprised Claudine with a gift. He picked her up from school as usual, and when they got home, he presented her with a large and colorful box, encouraging her to open it.

The little girl was very depressed after the night before. She was gloomy all morning, and Heero had reasoned that it was because of the dress. She said she won't go to the recital and he would have none of that. So he had used the last of his money to buy her a new one, just like she had wanted. He told himself that it would be all right as long as they can last till the beginning of the next month, when he will get his paycheck. If not, he may have to take a few more 'side jobs'.

"What is it?" Claudy asked, her voice bitter.

"Open it and find out." Heero answered, kneeling down in front of her. He watched with anticipation as she pulled the new dress out of the box. Her eyes grew wide with joy and surprise, and she looked up at the dress in awe. It was purple, with sparkling blue dots on it.

"Daddy!" She called in joy and glomped him with a huge hug, still holding the dress. "Oh daddy! It's wonderful!"

Heero smiled, holding her close. He looked down at her little radiant face, her lively eyes looking up at him lovingly. His smile broadened and he flickered her nose with the tip of his finger. "C'mon, princess, lets get you ready, huh?"

"You gonna do my makeup?"

"Aa." He answered, getting up.

Claudine walked after him into her room. "Can I wear my hair in a braid?"

She could catch a faint smile playing on his lips. "Aa."

* * *

Four hours later, and they were twenty minutes into the recital. Claudy was backstage with her friends, getting ready for her number. She checked herself in the mirror, smiling at her reflection, however not because of how she looked like, but because of the warm feeling it gave her when she was reminded of how much her daddy loved her, and how much he was willing to give her.

"Girls! Get ready!" The dancing instructor called, signaling all to come on stage.

"Cool dress, Claudine." Angela and a few girls commented as they took their places, but Claudy paid them little mind. Pleasing them did not matter. She was going to go on stage and give her very best performance, for the very best person in the crowd.

After the small number, the little dancers stood in line on the stage, waiting for the compere to finish giving his little speech that will be followed by another dance number. Claudine was right about in the center of the stage, still panting a little form the physical effort. She was beginning to feel a little ill lately, ever since she had started to take two pills a day instead of three. She didn't take the Lunchtime Pill, trying to stall time until she will run out of her medicine. Her father knew nothing of it of course, she still took the pills at home.

Her eyes scanned the crowd for her beloved father. She finally spotted him standing in the far back, leaning against the wall, hands over his chest, nearly all of him concealed in shadows. None of the mothers approached her daddy. They were all sitting or standing in groups before the recital began, but none of them came near her daddy. She smiled at him and he smiled back, making her feel a little better.

She was upset because he was always alone on such events. It hurt her probably more then it hurt him. And he looked so tired, like he's barely able to keep himself standing, that she just had to smile at him, to make him feel better.

Claudy raised a curious eyebrow when she saw a woman approach her daddy. She frowned as she thought she recognized her as Tracy's mom.

She continued to watch as the woman came to stand by her daddy and handed something to him. Claudy thought it was a small piece of paper. Green paper. But she wasn't sure. It was too far away.

Once the paper was in her daddy's hand, he looked at it, startled. The woman, Tracy's mom, gestured towards a nearby door. When Heero looked up in its direction, Claudy did the same and saw it was the restroom's door. Both she and Heero whirled their heads back to the woman and Heero shoved the paper back into her hand, shaking his head while saying something, gesturing at the stage, at Claudine. But the woman only seemed to get angry and pulled out more pieces of paper from her purse, shoving them into Heero's hands.

Claudy realized that she was giving him money. Why would she do that? Does she know he needs to buy her things? Does she feel sorry for him too? Does she care too? And why won't he accept it if he needed it?

Again her daddy refused the money and pushed the woman's hand back, now looking angry as he spoke, again gesturing at the stage. He shook his head stubbornly as the woman said something that looked nasty by the way she moved when she spoke.

Claudy smiled to herself, happy to see that her daddy is staying. But then she saw the woman open up a checkbook and scribble something on it, showing it to her dad. Heero's eyes widened and he looked down at the check and then at the woman, shocked. He slowly raised his head up, looking at Claudy, his eyes sorrowful. The woman suddenly came to stand between him and the stage, blocking his view of Claudine. All Claudine could see is that the woman shoved the check into her daddy's hands and then the music began and she had to dance.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, a break was announced. Claudine raced down the stage and towards the crowd, where a bunch of her friends were standing with their parents. Her daddy was nowhere in sight.

"Did you see my daddy?" She asked one of the girls.

"I think I saw him go to the bathroom before we started to dance." The girl answered, pointing at the same door Tracy's mom was pointing at before.

Claudine ran as fast as she could and opened the door while in mid-run. She was in a corridor; on one side there was the men's room, on the other the girl's room. She looked around, a little afraid to peek into the men's room and call her daddy. It wasn't a very nice thing to do.

But before she could ponder this further, the door to the men's room opened and there came Tracy's mom, wiping her smirking lips as she walked down the corridor, straightening her dress. She smiled down slyly at the stunned little girl who kept gawking at her as she walked. She tapped the top of her head as she walked past her, long fingers with sharp, bright red, fingernails touching the little girl's scalp.

"Good act." She mumbled, still smirking. "Good act..." She repeated as she went back out to the concert hall, leaving one confused little girl behind.

Claudine just stood there; gaping at the door the woman had just closed. She barely noticed when the men's room door opened once again, and her daddy came out, buttoning up the last top buttons of his white shirt, and running a trembling hand through his slightly wet bangs.

Claudy turned around slowly, body numb, her eyes looking up at him in a frozen gaze.

The dull look in his little girl's eyes, made Heero stop in his tracks. He stood, looking down at her, face sad.

Claudy followed him with her gaze as he came to kneel down by her, taking her limp hand in his. "Claudy," He began quietly, and Claudine found that she could not shift her gaze from his pale lips as they moved. "Claudy," He tried again, and this time she looked up. He smiled faintly at her. "I'm sorry I missed your number. I just..." He sighed, and looked down, taking a deep breath before looking back at her. "I just really had to go to the bathroom. Do you understand?"

An image of Tracy's mom smirking and flushed face flashed in her mind, and Claudy looked away, trying to pull away from her father's grasp.

"Claudy?" He asked, voice desperate. "Forgive me? I'm really sorry."

"I know." She sighed, closing her eyes sadly. She turned her head up, looking at him with a weak smile. "I'm just happy that you're not at work. And besides, the next number is better than this one..."

Heero smiled weakly, his eyes thanking her. He tapped her head lightly and got up, her hand still in his. "C'mon, lets get you a drink before the break ends..."

* * *

The next week was hell for Claudy. She had gone down to taking one pill a day, which made her feel sick all the time. She tried to hide it though, not wanting to alarm her daddy. She knew things were getting worse. He had begun working extra hours, so she had to stay at Mrs. Winslow after he brought her back from school. When they ate, she would get her regular meal, with all the foods she needed, but when she looked across the table, she saw her father's plate was always half empty, and containing nothing more but canned beans or something. He said that he was on a diet, but she knew it had to be a lie. Her daddy was as thin as can be; if he'll go on a diet he'll end up looking like a straw that will crumble if the wind will blow over. It was all sorts of little things she suddenly saw they were missing. Well, more like he was missing. She lacked nothing, really. It was he who cut himself shaving every morning because he had stopped buying his cream. It was he who began walking to work instead of taking the bus. He would leave an hour earlier just to get to work on time, and that meant that she had to wake up earlier too (something he had apologized for a billion times) and be in school much too early than necessary.

And then, one day, the pills ran out.

It was dinnertime, and Heero had just reminded Claudine that she had to take her pills. She pretended to take one this morning, and didn't take on at lunch, and now, as she walked into the kitchen to take her pill, she was horrified to see that there were none left. Shocked, she nearly dropped the bottle, but caught it just in time. There was no use to scare her father. She looked over at where he was sitting, at the table, surrounded by his papers and books, the laptop in front of him. His back was facing her and he looked too deep into his work to notice that she hadn't taken the pill yet. Just to play it safe, she filled up a glass of water, did as if she was swallowing and then put the glass in the sink.

"Don't forget to brush your teeth." He reminded her quietly, turning to type on his computer.

"I won't." She let out, stumbling tiredly out of the kitchen.

"Goodnight." Heero remembered to call after her, right before she disappeared into the hallway.

"Night..." Claudy replied tiredly, stumbling straight to bed, collapsing on it with a sigh. She didn't think she had the strength to get up and brush her teeth. She just wanted to sleep this terrible feeling off.

* * *

It was very hard to hold on through Mrs. Truffaut's class. She was too dizzy and too nauseous to really concentrate on anything. The room was very hot and it began spinning. Everything was in blurry slow motion and getting dimmer and dimmer. By the time Mrs. Truffaut handed out the class assignments, Claudy was too far-gone to get up and walk over to the teacher's desk and take them. She collapsed halfway there.

When she woke up, she felt very hot. It was hard to breathe and she thought that she was suffocating. She coughed, forcing air into her lungs, trying to fight the hot mist that was in her head and open her eyes.

She felt long cool fingers touch her forehead gently, and she moaned at the cool touch.

"Claudy?"

Her daddy sounded so worried. She could tell that he had been crying. Gathering all the strength she could muster, Claudy slowly opened her eyes, and found herself drowning in pools of deep blue worry.

"H-hi... daddy..." She whispered feebly, trying to smile at him.

"Hey Claudy." He returned with a weak smile.

"I ran out of pills." She let out sorrowfully, closing her eyes and looking away.

"I know." He whispered sadly, his cool fingers brushing her sweaty bangs out of her eyes.

"I'm sorry." She whispered weakly, tears trickling in the corner of her eyes. "I didn't want you to be sad..."

"Shhhh..." He soothed, caressing her pale features. "It's all right. I'm not angry with you."

"I'm sorry it's so hard, daddy. . ." The girl let out, before falling back into her slumber. She didn't have the strength to keep talking, or to even keep her eyes open, but she didn't want to leave her worried father either. She forced herself to stay awake, holding his hand weakly, letting him know she's still there.

She listened to his soft voice as he kept speaking to her. She wasn't sure what he was saying, she assumed it was a story or something, but it didn't really matter. As long as she could keep hearing his voice.

At some point, a doctor entered. Her daddy probably thought that she was asleep, so he turned to speak with the doctor. She listened with half an ear as the man explained to him about her condition. She didn't understand a lot of it, but she did understand that she was on the verge of something dangerous, and she was lucky they found out about the pills running out.

When the doctor said her daddy had to buy more pills, she could hear him whimper silently. She tried to move her head, her hand, anything, even just her eyes, so she could comfort him, but she couldn't. She heard him explain to the doctor, while sobbing silently, that he cannot afford the pills right now. His paycheck is due in ten days.

The doctor sighed and offered a replacement pills. "They're cheaper and will be able to keep her stable for about a ten days period." He explained, sympathy in his voice. "But I do suggest that you keep an eye on her. Keep her inside at all time, to minimize the chance of infection."

She heard her father sniffle and murmur his thanks to the kind doctor.

"Um, excuse me, is there a phone I can use?" She heard him ask, voice thick with tears.

"Sure, I'll arrange one to be brought to you." The doctor promised and exited the room.

Claudy wondered whom will her father be calling at a time like this. She felt her father's hand holding hers again, and it was shaking a little. She felt tears drop down on her palm, but didn't hear him cry. When the nurse brought the phone, she heard her daddy speak to Christa about something. She was too tired to listen to the conversation, and just dozed off.

* * *

Two evenings later, Claudy was lying on the couch, watching TV. The antenna was a little out of tune, so the picture wasn't that great. Not like in Amy's house where they have cable, but still, it was good enough for her. She wasn't really watching it anyway. She was feeling a little ill to be watching television, but her daddy was in the shower and she was bored.

She nearly fell asleep, until she heard a strong knock on the door. Sighing, she threw her blanket away and got up, groaning at the effort. She stumbled over to the door; her movements slow as she unlocked it.

Behind the door stood some sly guy, wearing tight black clothing and piercing in his ears, eyebrow and nose. He was smiling in this very frightening way, and once he saw little Claudy open the door, he winked at her, still chewing his gum, one leg tapping on the floor.

"Hey there, sugar." He spoke with a heavy Australian accent. "Is yer daddy home?"

Claudine managed to somehow nod, still gawking at the weird looking guy. She was sure he had makeup in his eyes...

"You're early." Heero's voice came from behind and Claudine could see the guy's smile broaden as he looked up at her daddy. She turned around, already able to smell her father's sweet scent after he had stepped out of the shower. He was wearing some of his best cloths, an ocean blue flannel shirt, the first three buttons open, exposing his golden and smooth chest. He was also wearing his tight leather trousers, ones she had RARELY seen him wear. His hair, still wet from the shower, was brushed back, and for once looked tidy, something Claudy knew that wouldn't last. Once the chocolate hair will dry, it will be as messy as ever. The teasing smell of his aftershave also hung in the air as he approached the door, buttoning the buttons of his sleeves. Only when he came close, Claudy could detect that he was also wearing makeup, in about the same combination she had once put on him, but only more subtle, barely noticeable.

"You were supposed to be here at eight." Heero continued, glaring at the guy. "It's now..." He looked down at his silver wristwatch and then back at the guy. "Seven thirty."

"Sorry toots, couldn't wait." The guy answered with a wink, chewing his gum in exaggeration.

Claudine winced at the sly sound of his voice and pulled away, inching closer to her daddy. Her daddy smelled much better than the other guy. Her daddy smelled sweet, while the other smelled like cigarettes and reeked of some strong smelling aftershave that made her want to puke.

"C'mon, honey, lets go get your bag." Heero told her softly, walking over to the couch and picking up the bag he had packed for her earlier.

"But I dunwanna stay with Mrs. Winslow!" She whined, eyeing the guy at the door in suspicion.

"Now, now, Claudy, it's only for one night." Her daddy promised for the tenth time that day, picking her off the floor.

"But the bed is all lumpy in her house! It squeaks too!"

The man in the door chuckled to himself, and continued chewing his gum.

Heero sent him a quick glare and turned back to Claudine. "No arguments. We've been over this twice already."

He walked over to the door, still carrying her, her arms around his neck. She looked up angrily at the guy as they passed by him and then leaned closer to whisper in her daddy's ear. "But I don't trust him..."

Heero hugged her tightly, a faint smile playing on his lips. "It'll be fine. I promise." He looked over at the guy in disgust. "I'll be right there." Without waiting for an answer, he exited the apartment and went over to the apartment next door, in front of theirs. He knocked on the door.

A few moments later, an elderly black woman, about sixty or so, opened the door, wearing her apron and oven mitts. She seemed a little surprised to see them, but soon her startled expression turned into a warm smile, her sharp eyes not missing the sight of a little pouting girl held up by her father.

"Hello, Heero. You're early."

"Yeah, sorry about that Janet." Heero apologized, shifting Claudy in his hands.

"It's okay." The woman assured him with a kind smile, exposing a set of fake teeth. She turned to smile at Claudine. "Why hello there, little one. Is it too hard to say hello nowadays?"

Claudine looked away stubbornly.

"She's just playing stubborn, Janet. Don't worry." Heero explained as he put the girl down and handed Janet her bag. "I'll come to take her in the morning."

"No problem." Janet replied, pulling the child closer to her. "Claudy and I will have plenty of cookies ready for you when you'll come. Isn't that true, sweetheart?"

Claudine just snorted and looked away, crossing her arms over her chest.

Heero hurried to say his goodbye and kiss her goodnight, and then reluctantly left.

* * *

The next morning Claudy woke up bright and early, anxious to get home. But Mrs. Winslow told her she has to wait for her daddy to pick her up. She was running a little fever, and so Janet told her to stay in bed and wait for her father to come for her. Defeated, Claudy stomped back into the guest room, and sulked.

Hours past and it was already late noon. Her daddy still didn't come, and Claudy was worried. She sneaked out of her room and into the living room. After lunch, Mrs. Winslow went to watch TV, and fell asleep in front of it. Using this opportunity, Claudine took her spare keys out of her bag and sneaked out of the quiet house.

She ran over to their apartment's door and was surprised to find it unlocked. It was odd, because her daddy ALWAYS told her to lock the doors, and did the same himself. She entered the silent apartment, and looked around. Everything seemed to be more still than usual.

"Daddy?" She whispered, afraid to raise her voice, fearing something might break. "Daddy?"

When no answer came, she walked into the hall and down to her father's bedroom. The door was wide open and she could immediately see him, lying on the white bed, deep asleep, the white sheets tangled around his slender form. He seemed to be naked, his naked torso and one long white leg peering out of the thin sheets. The room smelled funny, like sweat, but something else, something bitter sweet and exotic. Claudy wrinkled her nose at the unfamiliar smell and walked towards the bed, trying not to make any noise. She knew how tired her father was lately, and he deserved his sleep.

She saw her father's cloths lying scattered at the foot of the bed and now she was sure he was naked. It was weird, because it was too cold outside to sleep in nude. Not wanting her father to be cold, she reached down and lifted the thin sheets as high as his neck, covering him tightly.

She then looked down at him adoringly, hungrily drinking the sight of his peaceful features as he slept. She reached down a hand and brushed a few messy bangs of hair out of his closed eyelids. She then caresses his cheeks, smiling down at him. She noticed he had a small bruise on his neck, and wondered what could have hit him there. She reached down to touch it, but then he turned away in his sleep, moaning silently.

Claudine sighed as she saw the movement had pulled the sheets down, exposing his naked chest. Shaking her head, she reached back for the covers and pulled them back up. That's when she saw it. Blood. There was blood on her father's clean white sheets.

The sight made her feel faint, and suddenly the heat and nausea were back. The room began to spin and she took deep shallow breaths, staggering back. Someone hurt her daddy. There was blood on the sheets. Blood on the sheets. . .

She collapsed down to the floor, crying out weakly as she did. On her way down, just before the world turned dark, she caught a glimpse of a HUGE stack of money in an open drawer of the nightstand.

* * *

She woke up in the hospital again, her daddy's worried features hovering above her. She smiled weakly at him, happy to see that he was okay. He smiled back, his eyes haunted and sad. He brushed her hair aside, and petted her cheek tenderly, hushing her back to sleep.

"There was blood on the bed..." She mumbled, voice heavy with sleep. "Blood on the bed..."

"Shhh... go back to sleep, Claudy. Go back to sleep..."

She was standing in the middle of an infinite dark red void, black clouds hovering around like thick mist. She knew it had to be a dream, for she cannot be floating in a place like this in real life.

Looking forward, straining her eyes to see in the strange red light, she saw her father. He was lying on a large, white, canopy bed. He was also dressed in white, looking like an angel, she mused. But her angelic father was lying chained to he headboard.

The thick black mist swirled around and then there was a woman. She was dressed in a black and nightdress, and she was faceless, much like all the other women that came to visit her daddy. She was just sitting on the bed, on top of her father, legs straddled in each side of his body. She was towering above her poor daddy, just looking down at him, completely still. Although she couldn't see the woman's eyes, she knew that they were evil. And empty. Her eyes were empty. She wasn't really seeing her father.

All the while, her father's tearful blue eyes were watching her, not the woman. He watched her standing there silently, his eyes pleading. In her dreams, he was always tearful. And she was just there, but she was unable to help. She just stood there, watching, completely detached.

All of a sudden, a hand rested on her shoulder and she looked back, startled. It was Mrs. Winslow. The lady smiled down at her kindly, but then she began to pull her away from the bed.

But she didn't want to go! She wanted to say with her daddy!

She tried to fight, to protest, but the lady wouldn't budge. She kept pulling her away.

Claudine looked back over her shoulder, seeing that man, that awful man who winked at her, stand by her daddy's bed. The woman didn't notice him, and continued to look down hollowly at her father. The man smiled as he looked over her father's limp body. He then looked up in Claudine's direction, smiling slyly. He winked at her, still smirking.

Mrs. Winslow pulled Claudy away, far FAR away, and the man was still smirking. He was going to hurt her daddy!

"No! No! Let him go! Let me go!"

The woman, Mrs. Winslow and the man laughed at her mockingly.

"Daddy! Daddy! Run away - fast!"

But they were still laughing, standing at her father's bedside, their laughter overpowering her. Smothering her soul.

The black mist covers the canopy bed, blocking her view.

"DAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAADDYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

* * *

Days past. Claudy was released from the hospital after a three day treatment, and after her daddy bought her the pills. He bought a large stack of them this time, and also other pills, different ones, the doctor advised him to buy. When she had woken up the second time, her father was waiting for her with a present. It was a large rectangular box, about three quarters of her size. When she opened it, she was looking down into large green glass eyes, and thick locks of blood-red hair. Emily. Her daddy bought her an Emily!

She thanked him again and again, hugging him and kissing his face over and over. She didn't let go of the doll ever since. She played with her all the time, slept with her at night and brushed her hair in the morning. She couldn't wait to go back to school and tell EVERYONE that she had an Emily. Even Angela didn't have one yet, because her mommy didn't want to spend so much money on a mere doll.

Now, after her first day back in school ended, Claudine was walking towards the gate with her friends.

"Did you hear that Ricky's mom was a Beauty Queen?" One of the girls asked.

Angela snorted and pushed her long golden hair aside in a snobbish motion. "Humph! Who cares! My mom is better looking than her mom."

"I think Tracy's mom is pretty." Another girl commented.

Angela snorted again. "Then you're stupid. My mom is better."

Claudine tried to ignore the pointless conversation, as the girls argued over whose mom is the most beautiful. She never had a mother, not that she could remember, and it bothered her when such conversations were raised. Not wanting to feel an outcast and different from the group, Claudy silently spoke up: "My daddy is beautiful too."

The girls stopped in their tracks, just gawking at her, completely stunned.

Tracy was the first one to react. "Humph! Don't be stupid, Claudine, daddies can't be beautiful."

"Yeah." A few other girls agreed.

"How should you know!?" Claudine burst angrily, glaring at Tracy. "You don't even HAVE a daddy!"

The group gasped at the cruel remark.

Tracy's pretty little face went red and she clutched her fists. "Well... well... well you don't have a mommy!" She shouted back.

"I don't care! My daddy is better than ALL your stupid mommies! And he's more beautiful than them too!" Claudine rage, nearly crying.

"That's not true!" Another girl whined, clearly hurt by what Claudy had said.

Seeing that this was going to get into a serious fight, Claudine immediately regretted starting it. She didn't want to loose her friends over something she knew was true. As long as she knows the truth, it's okay. That's all that matters. She knew how disappointed her daddy will be if she'll start a fight. She had learned from him that it is best to do whatever one can to stop a fight from happening, so she changed the subject.

"Hey, I got an Emily."

Immediately the small fight was forgotten.

"You do?!"

"A real one?"

"Is she pretty like on TV?"

"Can we see her?!"

"Why won't we go and play with her now?"

Claudy grinned at the excited voices. She was about to ask them over to her place, when Angela opened her mouth and, head held high, said that:

"My mom will NEVER let me go over to her place. Why won't we all go to my house and play there? You can bring your doll, Claudy."

Feeling kind of disappointed, Claudy lowered her head and nodded. "I guess we can do that."

"Yeah! That'll be great!" A girl called. "Angela has satellite TV too!"

Claudine sighed sadly, closing her eyes to try and stop her tears from coming. Isn't there ANYTHING she could do to please her friends? Or maybe they weren't friends at all?

* * *

While waiting for her daddy to come and pick her up, Claudy decided to climb up on the low brick wall by the gate, and tried to walk on top of it, her arms spread out for balance. She played a little, walking back and forth, humming to herself a little song she had made up.

"Hello, sweetie." A voice came from behind her, a woman's voice. She turned and looked down at a woman, thirty or so, wearing a black suit and holding a thick folder. The woman looked down at her folder, at a picture attached to it, and then turned to smile up at the girl. "Are you Claudine?" She asked, smiling sweetly.

Claudine managed to sort of nod. She wasn't really supposed to talk to strangers.

"Hello, Claudine. My name is Patricia Clark. I work for city hall. I'm here to speak with you."

"I'm not allowed to talk to strangers." Claudy informed her, preparing to continue her game.

The woman smiled in amusement. "That's good, sweetie, but I'm not a stranger. You can talk to me, it's okay. I work for the social services. Do you know what that is?"

Claudy shook her head, still playing.

"Well, our job is to make sure that children have a good home."

"My home is good." Claudy informed her casually.

"Well, that is what I want to talk to you about. Can you answer a few questions?"

"I'm waiting for my daddy. He's supposed to pick me up now."

"Does he always pick you up from school?"

Claudy nodded. She saw the woman look down at her watch and then around at the empty schoolyard. She frowned, looking back up at the girl. "And is he always this late?"

Claudy shrugged, continuing to walk back and forth on the brick wall. "Sometimes he's tired, so it takes him a while longer to walk all the way from work. But he always comes."

"Is he always tired?"

"He works really hard."

The woman nodded, writing something in her folder. "And when he picks you up from school, what do you do then?"

Claudy sighed, a little annoyed from all the questions. But she didn't have anything better to do, so... "Well, if it's Friday, then we go shopping and sometimes we get pizza and bring it home. If it's a normal day then we go home and then I do my homework and play and have dinner."

"Does your daddy help you with your homework?"

Claudy nodded, biting her lower lip, nearly loosing balance as she continued to play. "Well, sometimes he goes to sleep until it's time to make dinner, then I have to wait with my questions. Or sometimes he's too busy working on the computer, so I don't want to bug him."

"Uh hu." The woman let out thoughtfully, writing again. "And does he always cook, or do you eat pizza a lot?"

"Nah, my daddy cooks. He's a really good cook; you should come and taste his food! We only have pizza when he's really REALLY tired. But it doesn't matter HOW tired he is, he ALWAYS reminds me to take my pills. He thinks I will forget, but I don't."

Again the woman smiled. "Did he remind you to take your pills last week, Claudine?" She asked, face now grim.

Claudy stopped in her tracks, and looked down at the lady, gaze piercing. "It's not his fault I got sick again. He told me to take the pills, but I didn't because... because there weren't any. It's not his fault!"

"Why weren't there any pills? Did he forget to buy them?"

"No! NO!" The girl called angrily, stomping her foot on the brick wall. "He didn't know they were out... I didn't tell him. It's not his fault!" She jumped off the fence, landing right in front of the lady, glaring up at her. "He's a good daddy! Why does everybody think he's bad?! He's good! He really is!" She cried, wiping her tears away quickly.

The woman looked down at her in sympathy, placing her hand on the small shoulder. "No body's saying that he isn't. But you got really sick, Claudine, and we need to know why."

"It's not his fault!" Claudy continued crying, looking up at he lady with tearful eyes. "He works very hard to get the money... and... and he doesn't have enough to eat and... and he didn't buy shaving cream and his toothbrush is broken, but he won't buy a new one!" She wept, wiping her tears furiously, but they just kept on coming. "And he's always so sad... I didn't want to tell him so he won't be any sadder! And the ladies, they come but they don't help! They just come and leave, all the time, and he's so tired!"

By now, the lady's face turned into a mask of stone. She brought the girl closer to her, hugging her with one hand, while the other stroked her hair. "Claudy, would you say that your daddy needs help?"

Sniffling and wiping her last tears away, Claudy nodded. She looked up at the lady, indigo eyes shimmering with tears. "Can you help my daddy?"

The woman just tapped on her head lightly, and wiped her small tears away with a white handkerchief. "I'm gonna try, okay?"

Claudine smiled weakly in response.

"Are you going to be all right? Do you want me to wait for you until your daddy comes?"

"No, it's okay." Claudine answered with a light smile.

"All right then, I have to go." The woman informed her, looking down at her wristwatch. Claudine watched her leave in her car and then returned to wait for her father, hoping the tears will dry until he'll get there, so he won't know that she cried.

* * *

"Angela invited me to her place." Claudine stated quietly over dinner.

"That's nice." Her father commented, bringing his fork up to his mouth. "Do you want to go?"

"Hmm hmm." She answered, nodding.

"But I thought you didn't like Angela."

"She's all right most of the time. It's just that she thinks she deserves everything."

Heero chuckled lightly at the insight.

"It's not right for people to want EVERYTHING. They should be happy with what they have, right?"

Her father smiled at her, eyes shinning with pride. "But it's okay to want something, remember that."

"I know." She answered casually, digging into her salad. "So are you gonna take me?"

"Uh, it depends when, Claudy. I got a lot of work to do."

"Is tomorrow okay?" She looked up at him hopefully. "It's Friday, so I can go to her straight after school."

"You don't want to go shopping with me?"

"Just this once, I promise." She let out, looking away, suddenly feeling as if she had hurt him.

But he just nodded and smiled. "All right. Tomorrow is good. How about you ask her to-"

The phone rang, and Heero looked up, sighing.

"I'll get it!" She hurried to say and before he could protest, she jumped out of her chair and ran to the living room, answering the phone.

It was a woman, and she recognized her voice. It was that Patricia lady from before. She was asking for her daddy. "It's for you." She said, as if it wasn't obvious, and handed the phone to her father, who was just coming from the kitchen.

"Go finish your meal, Claudy." He said when he took the phone from her.

Claudy walked back to her seat.

"Hello?"

She watched as her father's features slowly paled, as the woman probably introduced herself.

"Yes, that's right." He answered quietly, glancing up at Claudy. He listened to the lady once more, and then spoke with a sigh. "What about?"

Claudy pretended to be looking at her plate as her father's eyelids slowly closed, and he turned so his back was facing her. He brought he receiver closer to his mouth, speaking more silently, but she could still hear his faltering voice.

"No, no. I can explain. There's no need for you to-" Again he listened to the lady, his shoulders tensing. "Yes." He finally answered sadly. "But it's---" Again he was interrupted, and he sent a quick, sad, glance up at Claudine, before turning again. "Yes. Tomorrow will be fine." He answered with a sigh. "Yes, the address is correct."

Was the lady coming over? Claudy wondered, looking puzzled. But she told the lady everything was fine! Why does she have to come and make her daddy sad too?

"You too, miss. Goodbye." Heero finished the call, and put the receiver down. He kept looking down at the phone, eyes dull, body numb. She heard him take a deep breath, probably trying to calm down before he turned to face her. She followed his slow movements with her gaze, watching him as he walked back to the table, and sat down. He just kept sitting there, unmoving, his eyes sad and haunted.

"Finish your meal." He mumbled when the little girl didn't stop looking up at him.

Claudy sighed and did as told, not daring to look up from her plate. They continued to eat under heavy and suffocating silence.

* * *

Friday afternoon, and Claudy was holding her father's hand, standing in the bus station in front of their building. Angela's house was pretty far away, and her daddy didn't want her to walk that far, so he offered they take the bus. While she loved the idea of riding the bus, she knew that he will probably walk all the way back home, to save money, and it spoiled her fun.

She felt her daddy let go of her hand as he checked his wristwatch for the billionth time, taking a deep breath as if to calm his nervousness. She looked down at the footpath as she heard him tap his foot on the stone pavement. Sighing, she looked at Emily, held secured in her arms, her long, curly, red hair teased by the wind. She petted her doll's head, trying to ignore her father's growing tension.

A few minutes later and the bus arrived. They waited for a few passengers to come off, and while Claudine walked up to the bus, climbing right after her father who was currently paying the driver, she bumped into someone and dropped Emily.

"Sorry!" She apologized, looking at the woman who she had bumped into. She was bending down to pick up Emil from the floor.

"No worries, it was my fault." At the sound of her voice, Claudine realized that it was not a 'her' at all. It was a man. Smiling sheepishly at her mistake, she smiled at the longhaired Mister who was handing her the doll.

He smiled back at her, and then proceeded in getting off the bus.

"C'mon, Claudy." Her father called, reaching for her hand. She took it, mind numb as she they walked to the back of the bus, her eyes glued to the young man she had just bumped into. He was standing in the bus station, looking down at a piece of paper in his hand, and then up at their building. As the bus drove away, she saw him walk up to their building. It was so funny. She thought he was a girl. That long braid of his sure confused her. She wondered why a boy would have such long hair. It was even longer than hers!

"Daddy, can boys have long hair?" She asked, turning away from the window and looking at her father.

Heero nearly flinched at the question. "If they want to."

"Oh." She let out thoughtfully, realizing that he will not elaborate on the subject. He just kept looking down at his watch, his foot still tapping nervously on the floor.

* * *

They walked the short distance from the bus station and to Angela's house. As they got nearer, Claudy was beginning to have second thoughts. What if Angela's mom won't let her in, because she was here with her daddy? What if she'll yell at her daddy and say mean things to him? What if this was a bad idea, and her daddy will only get sadder?

She hugged Emily close, squeezing her father's hand, wishing to God that everything would be okay.

They arrived to a large, three story, house, which was surrounded by a beautiful garden and a two-car driveway. There was a large, red, jeep parked there, along with a shiny Mercedes. They walked up to the large wooden door, and Claudy stayed close to her daddy, holding his hand tightly, afraid of what will come.

Heero knocked on the door quietly, taking a deep breath as he heard the lock turn.

A woman opened the door, smiling. She was obviously Angela's mother. She was also blonde and had the appearance of a Barbie doll. She was wearing an apron over her colorful flowered dress, and was holding a kitchen towel in her hands. Once she saw who was standing at her door, her smile quickly faded.

"Hello." She greeted coldly, her piercing green eyes looking Heero up and down.

"Hi." He replied weakly, pushing Claudy forward a bit. "Will it be all right if I pick her up at eight?"

The woman examined the little girl, who was looking up at her with a pair of intense violet-blue eyes. She forced on a smile and looked back up at Heero. "Sure. The other girls are already here."

Claudine noticed that she was speaking very quickly, as if out of breath, and she kept wiping her sweaty hands with the kitchen towel. Her face was also a little flushed, her shoulders tense.

Looking over at her father, she thought he looked a little tense as well. Maybe even a little... shy? Is that it? Was he embarrassed? From Angela's mommy?! But why? Once they were such good friends... She came to visit her daddy EVERY week.

"Go on, Claudy. Have fun." Her father encouraged her, nudging her gently into the house. "I'll be here at eight, okay?"

She merely nodded, still eyeing the lady suspiciously, an image of Tracy's mom suddenly flashing in her head, but she had no idea why. They didn't even look alike. She shrugged it off and stepped into the house.

"Victoria!" A male voice called from within the house and Angela's mom flinched, clutching her fists around towel.

"Well, good day to you." She hurried to say her goodbye, unable to look into the young man's eyes.

"You too." He mumbled, already backing away.

She hurried to close the door behind him, and ran back to the kitchen.

"I think the cake is burning." The voice called again and Claudy saw Victoria run into the kitchen, where Angela's dad was, sitting in his wheelchair. She walked past the kitchen and up to Angela's room, where sounds of laughter greeted her.

"Hey Claudy!"

"Cool doll!"

* * *

"Good afternoon." Patricia greeted as Heero opened the door for her.

"Um, yeah, hi." He managed to somehow reply, opening the door wide enough for her to enter. He took a deep breath, trying to calm down as he saw her standing there, a briefcase in one hand and a folder in the other, just looking around at the apartment.

"Sorry about the mess. I just came back from work." He explained apologetically, picking some toys off the couch.

"It's all right." She assured him, smiling, sitting down in an armchair Heero had just cleared up for her. "I usually clean up my place on Fridays too. You should see it in weekdays, it's a horrid mess!"

Heero forced himself to chuckle at the small joke, but he was too nervous to really do so. He sat down on the sofa, rubbing his sweaty palms against his knees, trying to dry them off.

"Well," The woman began, adjusting her glasses, crossing her legs one other, folder and pen in hand. "Like I told you earlier on the phone, we have been keeping an eye on you two ever since Claudy ended up in the hospital. Twice."

Heero winced, looking away in shame.

Clark sighed, looking at him intensely, tapping her pen on her folder. "I've spoken to Claudine the other day, about how things are at home."

Heero's head jerked up and he looked at her, eyes wide.

"By what I heard from her, I feel that there's is a need for further investigation."

"I don't hurt her." He hurried to say.

"No one is accusing you of hurting her, Mr. Yuy."

"And she's well fed and clothed... I give her everything she needs! I... I take care of her. I really do..." He continued to mumble, eyes filling with unshed tears, voice weak and faltering. "I did everything I said I will... just like I promised. You can't take her away from me!"

Patricia swallowed, looking sorrowfully at the weeping man. "I'm not saying that we'll take her away."

"I'm good to her. I really am... I give her everything she needs..."

The woman sighed heavily, leaning back in the chair. She placed her pen thoughtfully on her lips, looking at Heero in calculated look. "What about what you need, Heero?"

At that, he fell silent, his gaze dropping down, looking at his fidgeting hands. He sniffled, and wiped the tears away, taking a deep breath in order to calm down.

"I don't need to ask Claudy to know that you are not doing so well, Heero. It's clearly showing."

"It doesn't matter. I'm used to it." He muttered, still not looking up at her.

Patricia sighed again. She looked down at her folder, flipping through some pages, reading some lines here and there. "When we started this, you agreed to all of our terms. The doctors, the pills, the schools, everything. We had no doubt that you will take care of her every need, but you seemed to have forgotten a part of our deal."

Heero closed his eyes sadly.

"The part that says you have to take care of yourself as well. What good will it do if Claudy will lose another father?" She felt her heart clench as the man across the room flinched. She sighed, leaning forward, elbows resting on her knees, supporting her chin. "You need to start taking care of yourself, Heero. In the rate you're going, you're soon to collapse. It's not the war anymore. You don't live for yourself anymore. You have Claudine to think about too."

"I know that..." He whispered and looked up at her with tearful eyes. "I'm doing the best I can."

"But it's not good enough."

Heero whimpered, his head dropping down in defeat. He buried his face in his hands, trying to regain his composure. "What else can I do?"

At that broken question, Patricia leaned back in the chair, her back upright, two arms on the arm sets, her fingers digging into them. She switched her legs, uncrossing and them crossing them again, looking down at the broken man with a weird gleam in her eyes.

"One weekend."

Heero looked up at her, confused.

"One weekend with me, and I'll make them forget the whole thing."

Heero just gaped at her, eyes wide with shock.

Patricia smirked. "You have quite a reputation in this town, Mr. Yuy. I think you know what I'm talking about."

At her cold expression, he let his gaze down in shame. "How can you... how can you possibly ask this of me? Is this what this is all about? What about Claudy? Isn't she more important?"

The woman's stony face remained, and her eyes kept bearing holes into him. Her leg tilted up and down, over and over, in an impatient motion.

Heero sighed heavily, looking down at the floor again. "What guarantee do I have that you will keep your part of the deal?"

The woman smirked. "I guess you don't. But you will have the power to ruin my reputation if you'll speak about it."

Heero chuckled bitterly. "Hn. Very funny. I may ruin your reputation, but then my crimes will be exposed and I'll loose Claudy anyway."

Again the woman smirked. "Guess you're right. Is that why you haven't told on any of the other women?"

Heero shook his head and looked up at her, eyes firing. "I don't want to be responsible for the breaking of more families. Those women come to me, and it's their business. I'm not going to be the one who will take responsibility for their actions."

"Hmm." Clark let out, smiling again. Her features soften and she bent down, putting her folder into her briefcase.

Heero watched her, shocked.

"You're a good man, Heero." She spoke, getting up, tucking her small briefcase under her armpit. "And I know that you're a good father. Consider the case closed." She sent him a last smile, before she let herself out.

Heero just kept sitting there, frozen, staring numbly at the door.

* * *

"Did your daddy bring you here?" Angela asked matter-a-factly as she brushed Emily's hair.

Claudine nodded, sitting on Angela's large pink bed, watching the blonde girl as she played with her doll.

"I hope my dad yelled at him."

"No he didn't!" Claudy burst, jumping off the bed.

The other girls in the room looked up from their games, watching the two rivals glaring at each other.

Angela snorted and shrugged, turning back to the doll. "Well, he should. He doesn't like your daddy either."

"That's because my daddy was a good friend of your mommy and your daddy wasn't!" Claudine spat back, anger flaring in her deep purple eyes.

Angela gasped painfully and whirled around to glare at her, face pale. "Well... well... well I should hate you too, because... because you made my parents fight all the time!"

"No I didn't! I didn't do anything!" Claudy cried back, fighting back the tears.

"Yes you did! It's because your daddy is a slut!"

Shocked gasps were heard in the room as the little girls gaped at Angela, shocked at her language.

"Angela, you're not allowed to say that about anyone..." One of the girls mumbled, face pale.

"Why not? That's what my daddy called her daddy." The girl answered snobbishly, still brushing the doll's red hair.

"You can't call him a slut! Don't call him that!" Claudy screamed in anger, yanking Emily out of the girl's grasp.

"What's a slut?" Another girl asked, confused.

"It's something bad that you're not allowed to call people." A different girl answered, glaring at Angela for swearing.

"Not it isn't," Angela protested. "You can call Claudine's dad a slut."

"SHUT UP BONEHEAD!!!" Claudine threatened, hitting the blonde's head with her doll. "Shut up! You're mommy is a slut! You're a slut! Everyone here is a slut and I'm not going to be your friend anymore!!" She yelled, sobbing. "I'm not gonna play with you anymore! I hate you! I hate you!!!" She grabbed her doll and ran out of the room, nearly tripping as she ran down the stairs.

"Claudine? What's wrong?" Victoria asked as she ran past the kitchen.

Claudine didn't answer and just ran out of the house, crying. She didn't need them anymore. She didn't need people who called her daddy bad names! She didn't need them at ALL. All she really needed was her daddy. That's all. She knew he was not the bad man everyone said he was. She knew that. And she won't be hanging around with people who called him bad names. Not anymore. She had thought that Angela was somehow okay, deep inside, but she was wrong. She could see how much the girl hated her. How she used her and pushed her around. She will have none of that anymore. None of that!!!

"Claudine?" A small voice called from behind.

Claudine, who was sitting on the edge of the footpath, crying, didn't even bother to look up. "Go back and play Sarah. You don't have to come..."

"But I want to." The small raven-haired girl said, coming to sit by Claudine, hugging her knees. "I don't want to be with Angela. She says bad words."

Claudine chuckled bitterly. "And she doesn't even know what they mean..."

"Do you?" Sarah asked hesitantly.

Claudy shook her head. "But I don't care WHAT they mean! She was cruel for saying it in the first place!" She sighed and looked down, hugging her knees and leaning her chin on them. "I'm not gonna be her friend anymore."

"Me too." Sarah agreed, smiling slightly and putting a hand over Claudy's shoulder. "I never liked the way I had to push her swing all the time..."

"Hey..." Another voice called from behind, and both girls turned. Their eyes widened as they saw Tracy standing there, looking apologetically at them.

"What do you want?" Claudy snarled, glaring at her.

"I'm sorry, Claudine. I didn't like it when she said bad things about your daddy." The girl sighed and took a step closer, her head bowed. "She used to make fun of me, because I don't have a daddy anymore." She looked up at them, anger in her pretty green eyes. "And I don't like it when she says bad things about other people's daddies!"

Claudy smiled softly, offering her a seat next to them.

"I'm really sorry." Tracy said one more time, sitting next to Claudy, looking at her hopefully. "Friends?"

Claudy smiled. "Friends."

The two girls hugged and then Sarah whines: "What about me? I want to be your best friend too..."

Claudine chuckled and turned to hug her as well. "Thanks, Sarah." She whispered, closing her eyes and sniffling.

* * *

"Daddy?" Claudine whispered silently as she walked up to the couch, dressed in her jammies after taking a shower. Her daddy was lying on the couch, covered in a blanket, reading a book.

He looked up at her, putting the book down, focusing all of his attention on her. "What is it?"

Claudy hesitated, taking another small step towards the couch. "Can I... can I ask you a question?"

"Sure." He smiled, sitting up. "Anything."

She smiled weakly in return and climbed on the large sofa, sitting by her father, who was still awaiting her question. She took a deep breath, unable to look up from the floor as she spoke. "Why are you so sad?"

There was an awkward silence after that. Claudine dared to look up at her father, and saw that he was a little taken aback by her question. Like he didn't know how to answer. Eventually, he sighed, and put the book aside, on the coffee table. He sat down next to her, putting his hand on her shoulder, looking down at her with those intense blue eyes of his.

"Is it because I talked to miss Clark?" She asked carefully, voice thick with tears, her eyes shimmering as she looked up at her father.

"No." He assured her softly, stroking her hair gently. "It's not that. You did nothing wrong, Claudy."

"So what is it then? Is it because I don't have a mother?"

Heero gasped a little, shocked at her remark, and Claudy saw that. "I'm sometimes sad because I don't have a mother." She explained, looking down at her hands, which were held by his. "Tracy says that her mommy is sad because she doesn't have her daddy anymore."

She felt his hand caress her gently. Two white fingers came under her chin and carefully pulled her head up, so she was facing him again.

Heero bent down and kissed her little forehead. "It's nothing like that." He whispered, caressing her again.

"You never told me about my mommy. I did have one, right?"

He chuckled at the remark. "Of course you did."

"She died, didn't she?"

Something dark and painful flashed in his eyes and he looked away, at the window. "Yeah."

"I don't even remember her. I never got to know her." She whispered sadly. "Tracy got to know her daddy before he died. But it only made her sadder when he passed away."

"You're mommy died in a car accident, Claudy." Heero whispered, looking out the window and not at her. "It was during the war."

"Was she nice?"

Heero still wouldn't look at her. "I don't know." He whispered, his voice barely heard.

Claudy's eyebrows drew near as she frowned, not understanding what he meant by that. Did he mean she wasn't nice?

She was about to open her mouth and ask him about it, when an angry knock was heard from the door. She reluctantly pulled away as her father got up, walking heavily to the door. When he finally unlocked all the locks and opened it, she could see Mr. Tataki, the landlord, standing there, looking as mad and furious as ever.

"I had had it up to HERE with you, Yuy!" The short and red-faced man barked as soon as the door was opened. "Mrs. Schwartz had complained TWICE already about the heating in her apartment! The leek at the Wilson's is going on for nearly two weeks now! Tell me, boy, who is supposed to take care of all that, huh?!"

Heero looked down at his feet. "I'm supposed to, sir. I'm sorry." He jerked his head up, eyes pleading. "It's just that I have been working really hard the last few weeks, and Claudy got sick... and we're working on a new software and... and I had no time to-"

"I'm warning you, Yuy! This is the LAST time I'm going to take this from you! If you're not gonna get that pretty little ass of yours moving, you're gonna find it back in that shabby one-room apartment, paying TONS of rent, and I'll get me a NEW and EFFICIENT handyman!"

Heero winced as the man punched the doorframe. "I'm sorry sir, I'll get right to it." He mumbled, trying to keep his frustration and despair from turning into tears.

"You better! I want it ALL done by the end of the week, or you're out! You hear that, teme?! Out!"

"Ye-yes sir."

"Well goodnight!" The man barked and slammed the door shut, pulling it right out of Heero's hand.

After the door was slammed shut, Claudine watched as her father just kept standing there, his back facing her, but his shoulders were trembling a bit. After a long while he took a deep breath and walked over to the kitchen, washing the dishes with shaking hands.

"Go to sleep, Claudy." He ordered with a wavering voice, scrubbing the dishes hard. Claudine murmured a goodnight and ran to her room, wiping the tears away.

Heero finished the dishes and threw himself tiredly into one of the kitchen chairs. He looked down at his books, notes and computer, taking in shaky breaths, trying to keep the sobs from coming. He ran a trembling hand through his hair and then picked up a pen, blinking the tears away.

Claudy lay in her bed for hours before she fell asleep, hugging her Emily tightly. She could hear her father's quiet sobs coming from the kitchen as he worked deep into the night.

* * *

By the end of the week, Heero had gotten all of the work done. He had nearly NO time for Claudy and she had to stay with Mrs. Winslow after school. She didn't mind it that much, but she missed her daddy. She missed their quiet evenings together, the way he would tuck her into bed and kiss her goodnight, the food he cooked for dinner... she missed everything. Not that Mrs. Winslow's food was bad, but it wasn't like her daddy's.

That Friday, Claudine was finally able to go home at about eight PM. She had eaten dinner at Mrs. Winslow's house, and she wondered if her daddy had eaten as well. She also wondered if he had gone shopping without her. She didn't dare to ask him when he came to pick her up. He looked so tired, she knew he was going to go straight to bed, and that there will be no fun tonight. She could hardly remember the last time they have spoken to each other. She barely heard his voice all week.

When they got home, Heero sent her straight to shower. She decided to go to bed early tonight, because there was nothing on TV and she had nothing to do anyway. She just hoped that when she'll wake up, her daddy will be feeling better and they can enjoy their Saturday.

Her father didn't even come to tuck her in and kiss her goodnight. He was too tired. When she got out of the shower, the apartment was dark, except her room, and he was already sleeping in his room. He didn't even bother to change or close his door. It looked like he had collapsed on the bed, still wearing his shoes on, not even covered by his blanket. He was dressed in the blue flannel shirt again.

Claudy tiptoes silently into the room, and gently took his shoes off. She was afraid that he'll wake up, but he didn't. She covered him tightly and kissed his forehead softly, wishing him sweet dreams. She then walked to her room and fell asleep, hugging her Emily tightly.

She woke up later that night, hearing strange noises coming from her father's bedroom. She could tell that it was late at night, and wondered what her father was doing in such a late hour, when he was obviously drained.

She turned in her bed, facing the wall that connected with her father's bedroom. She hugged her dolly and looked up at the wall silently.

She could hear a woman. She was there too, with him. She was screaming and shouting and yelling so many strange things, Claudy thought that she was angry. Her daddy, he was making noise too. He was more silent than the lady, but still, from time to time she could hear him moan and gasp loudly.

Her eyes widened and she ducked her head into Emily's thick red hair, trying to block out the sounds. The lady was hurting her daddy! She was sure of it! All the ladies were hurting her daddy. It sounded like he was in so much pain. Why would they do that to her daddy? Why!? What did he ever do to them!? Nothing! He didn't do anything!

Tears began to run down her little cheeks as she listened to the sound of their harsh and quick breathing, and then the noises picked up again and the woman was yelling at her daddy again.

Why was she so mad!? Claudy cried as she heard her daddy groan silently, his breaths so quick and it sounded like it was hard for him to breathe, like he's in pain again, choking out small cries.

She hugged her Emily tightly, curling up into a fetal position, face buried in the covers. "Stop hurting my daddy..." She sobbed into her bed, trying to block out the terrible sounds. "I want you to stop hurting my daddy..." She cried over and over, her tearful eyes looking up at the wall pleadingly, begging the lady to stop. "I want everybody to stop hurting my daddy! Stop hurting him! Stop it... I don't want him to cry anymore... don't make him cry anymore... please... please..."

* * *

It was noon when she finally woke up. Her eyes were all puffy from crying, and her pillow was still wet. She had cried for hours last night, blocking her ears with her palms, trying to shut out her daddy's crying. But she could still hear it. She could still hear it if she thought about it.

She jumped out of her bed quickly, throwing her blanket to the floor. She ran into her father's room. The door was open again and there was money on the desk again. But there was no woman.

Her father was lying on the white bed, sheets tangled around him as he lay on his side, facing the nightstand and the window. The light that managed to filter through the clouds washed him with a soft glow, making his features look angelic as he slept. But when she approached the bed, she could see that his features were not as beautiful as they usually were. He was paler than the white sheets on the bed, black marks around his eyes, and they looked like they were sunk deeply into his skull. His breath was slow and shallow. He looked sick, just like when Claudy did when she didn't take her pills.

"Daddy?" She whispered, afraid to really wake him. "Daddy?"

He didn't even stir.

She reached a hand down and placed gently on his shoulder, shaking him lightly. "Daddy? Daddy, wake up. It's almost lunchtime, daddy. Wake up..."

But no matter how hard she shook him, he wouldn't wake.

"Wake up daddy! WAKE UP!!! DADDY! DADDY! WAKE UP!!!" She shouted, shaking him as hard as she could, holding him with both her hands, tears running down her cheeks. "Please wake up daddy! Please wake up! You don't have to make lunch... Just wake up, okay? Wake up, daddy, please... PLEEEEASE!!!!"

She began to sob brokenly, still shaking him, her vision blurry with tears. "C'mon daddy... please... Don't leave me all alone daddy... daddy..."

* * *

It was late in the afternoon, and her daddy still didn't wake up. She was lying in his bed, hugging him tightly as he slept, her head resting on his naked chest. She listened to the steady beating of his heart, the slow rise and fall of his chest, closing her eyes and letting herself be surrounded by his presence.

She could see that it was getting dark outside, and she knew that soon she would have to take her pills. But she didn't want to leave his side. She didn't take the pills at lunch, and she didn't want to take them now. Not if it meant being away from her daddy. She was waiting for him to wake up. But he was sleeping so deeply, he didn't even move in his sleep. He lay still as a rock for HOURS, deep asleep and refusing to wake up.

At some point, Claudy had dozed off. She woke up to a sound of a knock on the door. Jumping off the bed, she ran towards the door, hoping it's Mrs. Winslow coming to give them the usual cake she brought on Saturday. Mrs. Winslow will surely know what to do.

Before unlocking the door, Claudy pulled the small wooden stool that stood by the door, and, just like her father had taught her, she first checked whom it is. When she peeked through the peephole, she was disappointed to see some guy standing there, dressed fully in black, apparently humming to himself as he waited. He looked about her father's age, and really quite nice, but he was a stranger and daddy had taught her NEVER to open the door to strangers if he wasn't there.

The guy must have noticed she was watching him through the small peephole and turned to face the door. A second movement followed his, and for a second there Claudy thought he had a tail. But then she caught a glimpse of a long, chestnut, braid. Just like the guy from the bus.

The man smiled at the small hole and waved his hand.

Claudy winced, gasped, and jumped back, off the stool. "Go away! Stop hurting my daddy!" She called at him.

There was silence for a little while, until he spoke. "Um, I'm sorry. I must have the wrong address. I'm looking for, um, Heero Yuy?"

"Go away! Leave my daddy alone!" She yelled back at him.

"Um, can you at least call your daddy so I can speak with him? It's really important." The man asked, his voice sincere.

"My daddy can't come! He's asleep and... and... and he wouldn't wake up!" She now cried, sobbing hard. She rubbed her eyes hard, trying to stop her tears.

Now sounding really worried, the guy spoke again from behind the door. "Is your daddy hurt? Does he need help? Please open the door, maybe I can help."

"No! No! Go away!" She cried. "Daddy says not to talk to strangers!"

She could hear him chuckle from behind the door. "That's very true, sweetie, but I'm not a stranger. My name is Duo and I'm an old friend of your dad, I think..."

Claudy frowned, sniffling. She looked up at the door in wonder. "What do you mean you think? Do you know my daddy?"

The man sighed and she could hear him lean his hand against the door. "I dunno. I'm not even sure I'm in the right place." He took a deep breath and sighed again. "But I do know that your daddy needs help. Please little girl, open the door so I can help." He begged, and Claudine could hear the honesty and genuine concern in his voice.

She unlocked the door, but not the chain, and peeked out at the man.

"Hey." The man said softly, looking down at her, noticing her puffy red eyes and her wet cheeks.

"My name is Claudine." She informed him silently, looking down at the floor. She sighed and looked up at him again. "And my daddy is Heero Yuy."

At that, the man's eyes widened in brief surprised, and then he smiled again. "I'm Duo Maxwell."

Claudy couldn't help but smile back. "Can you help my daddy wake up, Duo?"

* * *

Claudy showed the man, Duo, to her father's bedroom. She saw his eyes widen again in surprise as he entered the bedroom and saw her father lying on the bed. But the surprise soon turned into worry and he rushed over to her daddy's bedside.

"He wouldn't wake up, even when I tried to wake him." She informed him sadly, coming to stand by him as he knelt at the foot of the bed. She watched him carefully, following his every movement as he checked her father's pulse and other stuff she didn't know about, like holding her father's wrist and looking down at his wristwatch at the same time, counting.

"Is he going to be okay?" She asked worriedly, tears in her eyes. "Is he really sick?"

Duo didn't answer, and just got up, looking down at her. "Can you bring me a glass of water?"

Claudy didn't question him and ran to the kitchen. When she came back, carrying a jug of water and a glass, she saw Duo hunched over the bed, covering her dad with the sheets, though he was well covered when she had left the room.

"Here." She handed him the two items and watched as he poured some water into the glass. He then sat down on the bed, and she tensed as she watched him push her father's head up. She relaxed when she saw him serve the water to his lips.

"Do you know my daddy?" She asked after a while of silence, as Duo kept pouring water into her father's mouth.

"We were friends once, during the war."

"Oh. That was a LONG time ago..." She commented.

Duo chuckled, serving another sip to Heero's lips. "Yeah, it was. I didn't see your father since. I was looking for him for a long time." He chuckled again and shook his head. "I had no idea he has a daughter..." He muttered, and then smiled up at her. "Do you mind if I ask who's your mother?"

Claudy shrugged. "I don't have one."

Duo frowned, looking at her thoughtfully. He then turned to look down at Heero and his eyebrows drew near, confused.

After he had finished giving her father about two glasses of water, he offered they go out of the room. He closed the door behind them, promising Claudine that her daddy will be all right. "He'll wake up soon." He assured her as they walked into the dark living room. Duo stopped to look around, his eyes examining the mess.

"We were suppose to clean up yesterday, but my daddy was too tired." Claudy hurried to explain. "It's not always this messy."

Duo chuckled and smiled down at her. "It's okay, Claudine. You don't have to apologize."

Claudy grinned. It sounded just like something her daddy would say.

"Say, are you hungry?" Duo suddenly asked.

Her stomach rumbled in response and both laughed.

"Did you eat anything today?"

She shook her head, looking down in shame. "No. And I forgot to take my pills too..."

Duo frowned again, but the smile was soon there again. "Well, I'll see what I can make you." He stated, walking to the kitchen. Claudine saw him frown as he opened the fridge and found it half empty.

"We didn't have time to go shopping either..." She mumbled. "Daddy was working REALLY hard..."

"No worries. I'm sure I can come up with something, um, original."

Claudy smiled at his naughty expression and sat down at the kitchen table, watching Duo as he cut some vegetables for a soup.

"Why do you need to take pills?" Duo suddenly asked, throwing the veggies into boiling water.

Claudy shrugged. "I always had to take them. Ever since I was a baby." She sighed. "There's something wrong with my immuny system."

Duo chuckled and shook his head, stirring the soup. "I think you mean immunity system."

Claudy blushed sheepishly. "Uh, yeah, that's it." She felt better once Duo turned and smiled at her, assuring her that it was all in good spirits. She really liked Duo. He was nice.

* * *

Heero slowly woke up, moaning at his pounding headache. His whole body felt weak and numb, still sore from his last night's 'job'. That woman had been REALLY wild. And painful. But she was willing to pay A LOT of money if he'll only allow her to go through with her sick BDSM fantasies. He just hoped that she fulfilled her promise after he had passed out.

He forced his eyes to open, and looked up at his nightstand. Though it was dark, he could see that the money wasn't there.

Tears crept into his eyes and the despair was almost overwhelming. He had worked so hard last night, humiliating himself while his little girl slept in the next room, and then there she goes and leaves without paying, just because he had finally fainted? How could she do this to him! How could she!?

Whimpering, he rolled over to lie on his side, wincing as his spanked muscles protested. He ignored the ache and curled up into a ball, burying his face in his hands, crying and sobbing brokenly.

"Daddy?"

At the sound of her worried little voice, his crying had only increased. He wept silently into the pillow, trying to hide his crying from his little princess.

"Daddy, please don't cry..." She pleaded, walking into the room, turning on the light.

He chuckled bitterly at her request. How can he keep from crying when he had no more money to live? To keep her alive!

"Daddy?" She tried again, climbing up on the bed, hugging him and stroking him soothingly, like he did when comforting her. "Don't worry daddy... don't worry about the money. The Mister took it to buy food, don't worry..."

Heero's tearful blue eyes opened and he turned around, blinking in confusion. "Mister? Wh-what Mister? Claudy, who did you let into the house?"

Claudy shrugged. "He said he was your friend."

Heero's eyes widened in fear and he covered his mouth with his hand. "Who said he was my friend?" He asked, now really worried.

"He looked alright. He helped you when you didn't wake up."

"Who? Who was it? God, Claudy! You shouldn't let strangers in!" He called, pushing himself up, ready to jump out of bed.

"But Mister Duo is NOT a stranger!"

At that, Heero gasped, speechless. He slowly turned to her, body numb from shock. "Mi-Mister D-Duo?"

Just then, the front door could be heard opening and a voice called: "Claudy? I'm back."

Duo's voice.

Duo's. Voice.

Heero's eyes rolled back in his head and he collapsed back on the bed.

"ARHHHHHH!!!!!!! DADDYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!"

* * *

When Heero woke up the second time, it was to a delicious smell of soup. He opened his eyes slowly, moaning silently and stretching a little in his bed. Once he opened his eyes, head facing the nightstand, he was faced with the sight of Duo leaning over his small desk, placing a tray with steaming hot soup on it, his long braid dangling down as he did. Heero blinked a few times, and Duo turned, smiling at him.

They just stared at each other for a while, Heero looking dumbly up at Duo, unable to register that a twenty-two-year-old Duo Maxwell was standing in his bedroom.

"Hey." Duo finally broke the magic of the moment, smiling down at the still sleepy Heero. "Brought you soup. I think it's a good idea you eat a little. You gave us quite a scare."

Us? The pilots? What year was it again? Where was Claudy?

"Don't worry, she's sleeping." Duo answered and Heero wondered if had asked it out loud. He wasn't sure. He was too tired to think. What time was it anyway?

He turned to look at the clock on his nightstand and frowned. He had slept for sixteen hours!

When he felt the bed shift, he looked up again, his body tensing. He relaxed as he saw it was only Duo, now sitting on the edge of his bed. He had nearly forgotten he was here.

"Are you gonna eat?" Duo asked, gesturing at the soup. "Don't worry, Claudy supervised my cooking. I assure you it is edible." He chuckled at his own joke.

Heero just rolled his eyes, pushing himself up with effort, and leaned against the headboard, sighing deeply and closing his eyes. He was REALLY sore.

Silence covered the small room, seeming to last an eternity. Heero finally opened his eyes and looked down again, seeing Duo was sitting quietly, hands in his lap and he is staring at them.

"What are you doing here, Duo?"

The braided man flinched at the sound of his voice. He looked up at him, smiling weakly, but there was deep sadness reflecting from his violet eyes. "Isn't it funny, how things change?" He sighed, looking back down at his hands. "Five years... five years and so much has changed..."

Heero looked down as well, closing his eyes, trying to picture them both young again, merely fifteen, living like there was no tomorrow, because for them, there never was. Not until the war ended.

"I heard Fei is married, has a kid. Trowa and Quatre ended up together... he still runs the world and Tro is making sure no one lays a finger on him... And you," He chuckled, clenching his hands into fists. "You have a beautiful daughter that loves you like fish love water." He sighed. "And me..."

Heero looked up as he heard Duo sigh heavily.

"Me... I'm just there."

Heero arched an eyebrow, confused. "Hilde?" He asked, voice shaking a little as he spoke her name.

Duo shrugged and then chuckled bitterly again. "Married. Two kids. It didn't last more than a year."

Heero looked down again. "I'm sorry."

Again Duo chuckled. "Don't be. It was a mistake in the first place. I should have seen it coming." He sighed, flopping down on the bed, lying on his back, hands behind his head. "God, I had wasted a year out of my life... Ch! Five years if you think about it." He turned to Heero, smiling at him. "But you... you did okay. Better than any of us thought you would, I must say."

Heero felt himself blush and looked away, gazing at his bowl of soup.

"I'm sorry about your wife." Duo suddenly said, sounding genuinely sorry.

"Don't be. I never had one." Heero answered, turning back to look at him, gaze intense.

Duo seemed more than a little shocked. "Oh. So... um, how, I mean..."

"Adopted." Heero answered, again turning away. "I killed her parents."

Heavy silence hung in the room, until Duo dared to ask:

"How?"

Heero sighed heavily, his fingers playing with the sheets. "They were driving by when Zero crashed down by the palace in Brussels. They died on impact."

"Oh." Duo let out painfully, sitting up. He looked over at Heero. "So you adopted their baby?"

Heero nodded, biting down his lower lip. "Yeah."

"Why? Was it to 'do the right thing'?"

Heero shook his head and sniffled, tears filling his eyes once again. "No. It was..." He took a deep breath, trying to keep himself from sobbing. "It was to... to have someone to love. Someone who could... someone who could love me back."

Duo winced at that broken remark.

"I guess I was being selfish..." He sighed, wiping his tears away. "I could barely take care of myself, not to mention a small baby..."

Duo listened in carefully as Heero quietly explained to him what had been going on for the last few years. He could tell that Heero had kept it deep inside, and that he needed to let it out.

"I love Claudy. I love her like I never loved anyone before... I'm good to her, I really am. I give her everything she needs, I take care of her. I do my best to try and keep her well and healthy... but it's so hard sometimes... I'm not doing a good enough job! I'm not good at anything really... I can barely buy food and medicine, not to mention all the things she wants like toys and stuff. I wants so bad to give her EVERYTHING, but I just don't have the money!" He was now crying, struggling to control his sobs, but being very unsuccessful. "I'm such a crappy father! I can't give her all she wants... I want her to have all the things I didn't have when I was her age... I want it so badly... I don't want her to experience ANY of what I did, when I was growing up... I want her to have a good life... better than mine... and I try, oh Lord I try... but it's not good enough! Nothing is good enough! And now the social services are threatening to take her away from me, because I can't afford to have her. I don't know what to do, Duo! What am I gonna do without her?! Without my Claudy? I don't want them to take her away from me... I don't want them... she's the only one who loves me..."

Duo swallowed, hard, looking down in shame, tears running down his own cheeks. "Oh, Heero..." He cried, looking at him painfully. "Why didn't you call? Why didn't you say anything? Surely the other pilots would have... I mea, Quatre could..."

"No." Heero said coldly, shaking his head. "I don't want to be a bother. I don't want to burden you guys with my problems."

"Gods! It's no bother! You're our friend, Heero! Our friend! Friends help each other."

Heero looked away, sniffling.

Duo sighed, trying to calm down. "What about old OZ accounts? Don't they have-"

"I don't want to do any more hacking. I'm through with that. I don't want to do anything ille-" He stopped himself, realizing what he was about to say. He sighed and looked down in shame. "Besides, they were all wiped out."

"Then how about me? Why didn't you contact me?"

"I thought... I thought that you and... that you and Hilde... you were so happy together, I didn't want to ruin that."

"Heero, I left you for her!"

"I know." Heero whispered sadly. "But you couldn't expect me to stay angry now can you? For five whole years? I just wanted you to be happy, that's all."

"But I wasn't happy, Heero." Duo whispered softly, coming closer to him. He took his hands in his, and Heero looked up, startled. Duo smiled kindly at him. "I wasn't happy at all. We broke up four years ago. We broke up because I realized I can only be happy with one person, and it's not Hilde." He kissed Heero's hand gently, looking into his stunned blue eyes. "It's you, Heero. That person is you." He kissed his hand again, eyes begging for forgiveness. "And I was a fool for being afraid to admit it. I don't care if you're a boy, a girl or even a horse! I love you, Heero Yuy. I really do."

There was this little sound, like a beginning of laughter, and then Heero smiled, tears of joy running down his already wet cheeks. "Honto?" He whispered, voice shaking. "Honto ni?"

"Yes, really Heero. Really really really. Will you ever forgive me for being the baka that I am?"

Again Heero chuckled and then began to cry again, mostly out of joy. He threw himself at Duo, and hugged him tightly, burying his head in his chest, sobbing. Duo hugged him back, inhaling his sweet scent deeply, stroking his hair and back, whispering soothing words to him. He promised that he would never leave him again, if only he will let him, and that he will help him and Claudy with the money and treatments. He promised Heero that he would NEVER have to 'work' nights again.

All the while, in her bed, hugging her Emily, was Claudy. Her eyes were wide open, staring blankly into the darkness, wide and dull with shock.

* * *

"Claudy? Why aren't you eating? Are you not hungry?" Heero asked worriedly, looking at the little girl sitting across the table, her doll right next to her. She was just looking down at her plate, not even holding the fork. Her eyes stared dully down at the untouched food.

"Claudy?" He tried again.

"I don't like it." She spat and got up, taking Emily with her.

Heero watched her, shocked and confused, as she stomped towards the living room. "But... but you always eat my rice balls..."

"I don't like them anymore!" She called, throwing herself on the couch and opening the television.

"Oh." He managed to choke, looking down sadly. He took a deep breath and looked up at her again. "Would you like me to make you something else then?"

Claudine ignored the man, channel surfing so quickly; she could barely catch one frame of the station.

"Claudy?"

"My name is Claudine." She informed The Man, throwing the remote aside, not even turning off the television.

Heero blinked, baffled. Claudine was acting very strange lately. For the last three weeks she had been ignoring him, snapping at him and sometimes she was very cruel and indifferent. At first, he feared that something was wrong, maybe the new pills were affecting her somehow, but the doctors assured him that she was fine. But she was still acting so different than the sweet little girl he knew. There had to be a reason, and he needed to find it out- now.

"Claudine?" He called, getting up and following her to her room. He stopped in the doorway, looking down at the bed, where Claudy was sitting, brushing Emily's hair. "Claudine, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. Go away. I'm playing."

Heero sighed heavily. "Well can you stop for a minute so we can talk?"

"No."

"Claudy..."

"Stop it! My name is Claudine!" She burst, throwing Emily down to the floor. She whirled around, panting, tears in her eyes as she glared up at him. "My name is CLAUDINE and you can't call me Claudy anymore!"

Heero flinched back at the sight of her flaring and angry violet eyes. "Wha---why? Is it because of Duo? Are you angry at me because of Duo?"

"I don't care what you do with Mister Duo! I don't care! Just leave me alone!" She yelled, slumping back on the bed, folding two arms across her chest. "Just go away..." She whispered, trying to stop her tears from spilling.

For a long while, Heero just stood there, watching her painfully. After some time, he took and deep breath, bowed his head, and sighed. "All right, Claudine. I'll go." He mumbled, voice hurt.

Claudy forced herself to keep looking away from The Man as he slowly walked away, shoulders slumped, his face downcast.

* * *

Duo stopped his car in front of Memorial Heights Elementary School, and looked at the person sitting next to him. Heero was looking very grim and worried. He reached a hand towards him, placing it gently on his lap. "Heero? You all right?"

Heero took a deep breath and then looked up, smiling sadly. "Yeah. Fine."

"You want me to come in with you?"

"I don't think it's a good idea, Duo." He whispered sorrowfully, tapping lightly on Duo's hand. "Thanks for picking me up so quickly."

"Anytime." The braided man replied with a smile. "Should I wait for you?"

"No, it's okay. I'll see you tonight." Heero replied while stepping out of the car.

Duo smiled at him, trying to offer some small comfort. "All right. Let me know if you need anything." He said just before Heero closed the door behind him. He watched through the windshield as Heero walked up to the school, his shoulders slump, looking dejected.

* * *

Claudy was sitting outside the principle's office, her legs swinging back and forth as she waited. Her uniforms were a little messy, and so was her hair, which was down, but still looking messy. She had a little mud on her face too, and her palms were also dirty.

She didn't bother to look up from her swinging feet as she heard steps echo throughout the hallway.

"Claudy?" The Man's voice called, sounding like he was worried, but she didn't buy it. "Claudy? What happened?" He asked, coming to kneel down in front of her, reaching for her hand.

She pulled away, turning her head away as well, not wanting to look at The Man.

"Claudy?" His weak voice faltered as if he was crying. "Claudy, honey, please look at me..." He begged, reaching a trembling hand to caress her cheek. When he touched her, she whirled her head back, glaring down at him with hate, lips pouting stubbornly. She saw The Man's blue eyes widen in pain, and then the door opened.

"Mister Yuy? This way please." A lady asked politely and Claudy watched The Man as he slowly got up, sighing. He turned to look at her sadly, before he finally entered the office. Claudy snorted in disgust and looked away. She crossed her arms over her chest and glared at the wall in front of her, trying to look uncaring.

* * *

Claudine lay in her bed, Emily lying on the floor beneath her. All of her dolls were thrown aside, off the shelves and into a distant corner of the room. She threw her color books to the garbage, and broke all her crayons and threw them away too. She tore her drawings off the walls and threw them out the window, tearing a few pictures of her and The Man.

She now lay in the dark, watching the lights of passing cars coming from her bedroom's window. She had opened the window wide, letting the sounds of the city in, in hope that they will overcome the sounds coming from the bedroom next to her. The Man was there, and so was Mister Duo.

He had come about an hour after dinner, while she was in the shower. She didn't bother to say hello, and just stalked over to her room, closing the door behind her. She could hear The Man sigh as she did. But she didn't care if he was sad anymore. He was just a man. She didn't have to care.

She put her palms over her ears, curling under her blanket, trying not to listen to what was being said in the next room.

"Well, was she okay then?" Mister Duo asked, sounding actually interested and worried.

The Man sighed. "Yeah, she was fine. She just got into a fight."

Mister Duo chuckled. "Ha, that will definitely be your girl, Heero. Definitely."

"Duo! Stop that! Claudy is not like that! She's not like me..." He sighed and Claudy closed her eyes sadly. He couldn't be truer.

"She never gets into fights..." The Man continued quietly. "She knows better than that... she's a good girl..."

"I didn't say that she wasn't." Mister Duo said and Claudy rolled her eyes, snorting softly.

"She's acting so strange lately, Duo... I don't know what's wrong with her. She won't even speak to me... And when I try to talk, she snaps at me."

Claudy closed her eyes, feeling a little guilty at the sound of absolute despair in her daddy's---The Man's voice.

"I think you spoiled her too much, Hee-chan. Kids get like that sometimes. It's important to set boundaries, to keep them under control."

The Man snorted. "Hn, baka. I think I read that one."

Mister Duo chuckled. "Very funny, Hee-chan. But still, it's gotta be a phase or something. This is when you have to toughen up and set some boundaries."

"I had more than enough boundaries when I was growing up, and I don't want the same to be true for Claudy. If I can find a way to give her what she wants, then I will. It's not spoiling. She deserves it."

Again Claudy closed her eyes, the guilt tugging at her heart again.

She could hear sheets rustled, and something that sounded like a kiss, and then Mister Duo spoke up again, sounding as if he was smiling. "I understand, but it's still not healthy for a child to grow up without some boundaries."

The Ma-Heero, sighed. "Yeah, I know. I read it all." He chuckled sadly. "I read about a million of these books. I read anything I could find about parenthood, trying to do the right things. But most of the time I did what I felt was right." He sighed again, and then took a deep breath. "I tried to think about what I knew I lacked as a child, and by that I knew what to give her."

Claudy hugged her pillow, feeling tears threaten. Heero must have had really bad parents. Did they hurt Heero? Why would they hurt her daddy, he was so nice...

"I'm proud of you, Heero. I really am." Mister Duo's voice whispered and again she could hear sheets rustle. "I'm very proud of you, Hee-chan. You have managed to raise a beautiful, intelligent, kind and wonderful young girl." Again there was a kiss. "I'm really proud of you." She could tell that he was smiling, by the sound of his voice. It sounded so loving, so full of pride.

"I'm proud of you too, daddy..." She whispered, turning in her bed, hugging her pillow. She buried her tearful face in the cushion and took a deep breath, crying. "I'm sorry daddy... I'm proud of you too..."

* * *

The next evening, Heero was sitting in the kitchen, working on his laptop. The only sound in the house was his typing on the keys. Claudine went straight to her room after he had brought her from school. She closed the door behind her and didn't come out since. Heero decided to use the time to get some work done; for it was obvious that Claudy will not speak to him. He guessed she needed a little time.

"Are you sorry you killed my parents?"

Heero flinched at the question, jumping up in his chair and looking up from his laptop. He looked over to the little girl standing in the kitchen's door, looking up at him with intense indigo eyes.

He swallowed, hands shaking a little as he turned in his chair, facing her.

"Do you feel bad for killing them?" She asked again, not taking a step closer when she saw his eyes fill with tears, his lower lip trembling as he bowed his head and nodded, ever so slightly.

"And is that why you took me?"

Heero's head jerked up and he looked at her, eyes wide and tearful.

"Or was is it because you just wanted to, so you won't have to be alone anymore?" She continued even before he had time to answer. Her eyes narrowed and she kept glaring at him coldly. "Why are you my daddy?"

He whimpered silently, looking down again. He closed his eyes tightly, squeezing the tears out.

"Why you and not someone else?"

"Because I wanted you, Claudy." His trembling voice answered weakly, and he slowly raised his head up, looking at her while tears ran down his pale cheeks. "Because I wanted you and nobody else..."

"Because you killed my parents and you felt sorry." She concluded, folding her arms over her chest.

"No! No... Claudy... don't say that..." He shook his head from side to side, eyes sliding shut, trying to stop the tears.

"Why then?" She questioned, still not approaching him.

Heero took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. "Because..." He let out, looking down at his palms, watching the tears as they fell on his hands and slid further down. "Because I wanted to love you, Claudy... I wanted you to be mine to love." He looked up, his cobalt eyes begging her to understand.

"Why me? Why not someone else?"

Again he whimpered, head dropping down. "Because I wanted you, Claudy. Not anyone else... just you."

"Do you still want me?"

"Of course!" He called, head jerking up. "Why wouldn't I? Claudy, I love you!"

"Even if you're not my real daddy?" She tested, taking a small step towards him.

"I don't care about that... for me you were always my daughter..." He explained softly, wiping his tears away and sniffling. "I just wanted to be your daddy... that's all. That's all I wanted..."

She took another step forward, her features softening. "Were you a soldier?"

Heero nodded, bowing his head down again.

Claudy's heart clenched.

"Were your parents really bad?" She asked softly, taking another hesitant step forward.

Her heart clenched even more painfully as he whimpered again, nodding his head slightly.

"Something like that..." He whispered, still looking down at his wet palms.

She took another step forward, her eyes flooded with tears of compassion. "Are you mad at them for being bad?"

Letting out something that sounded a little like a chuckle and more like a sob, he shook his head, still looking down.

She took another step, now standing right in front of him. She looked down at his bowed head.

"Are you mad at me?"

Heero lifted his head up, smiling slightly, tears still running freely down his cheeks. "No." He whispered with a weak smile, shaking his head. "I'm not mad at you."

"Even if I was bad?"

His smile broadened by a little. "Even if you were bad."

"I love you daddy." She whispered and threw herself at him, hugging him tightly. "I love you so much, daddy..." She cried into his chest, her arms tightening around him as her sobs increased.

"I love you too, Claudy." He whispered back, kissing the top of her head. He hugged her tightly, resting his head on top of hers, closing his eyes in content. He rocked her from side to side, rubbing her back tenderly, trying to sooth her sobs.

"I'm sorry I made you cry, daddy..." She apologized, sniffling.

"It's all right." He assured her, his hand stroking her hair gently.

Claudy backed away a little bit, but didn't let go of him, looking down into her father's beautiful blue eyes. They were sparkling under the kitchen light, the light reflecting on his tears and his eyes looked like they were shining. She smiled a little, reaching up a small hand to wipe away his tears.

Heero smiled back at her, and leaned down to kiss her forehead. Claudine smiled as he kissed away her tears, and hugged him tightly once more.

* * *

EPILOGUE

"WOW!" A few surprised and amused voices exclaimed, followed by the sound of applause.

Claudy looked up from the booth she was watching and looked at the people standing around it, applauding the young man who was trying to throw rings at a pole. They were standing in the annual carnival that stopped in town every summer. It was right before sunset, and they were currently at the game area, where a small crowd had gathered to watch the young man who was successfully hitting every pole and soon will win the grand prize- a GIANT and FLUFFY teddy bear.

Claudy turned to look back at the young man as he leaned forwards a bit, his expression determined as he looked at the last pole, aiming the ring, biting his lower lip in concentration. She watched as his long chestnut braid swung up and down as he threw the ring, the sun catching to his golden-brown locks and making his hair shine.

She felt her father, who was standing right next to her, take her hand in his. She looked up and saw that he was also looking at Duo, anticipation in his eyes.

The ring flew up in the air and hit the pole, turning round and round until it settled down.

Score.

A loud set of applause was heard and Claudy grinned. She let out a small laugh as Duo took his bows, grinning like a kid on Christmas morning. She turned her head up and looked at her daddy, grinning at him.

Heero turned to smile back at her, squeezing her hand tightly. Claudy squeezed back, now grinning. Her daddy was smiling and laughing a lot lately. She was so happy to see him smile and hear him laugh.

"Tada!" Duo called as he bounced over to the two, holding a HUGE white teddy bear in his arms. "There ya go!" He said, handing the bear to Claudy and ruffling the top of her head.

"Thanks daddy Duo!" She called and hugged him tightly, still holding the bear, which had made it quite difficult.

"How about we try the roller costar next?" Duo offered as he loaded little Claudy over his shoulders, and Heero took the bear.

"Oh no, she just ate. She is NOT going on the roller coaster." Heero remarked, shaking his head.

"Oh! Why not?!" Both Claudy and Duo whined.

Heero rolled his eyes. "Maybe later." He promised, not wanting to look like 'the bad guy'.

"Can we try the bumping cars then, daddy?" Claudy asked, looking down at her daddy, eyes pleading.

Heero nodded.

"Alright!" She called and Duo let her down quickly, before she'll jump off of him. He watched her run towards the bumping cars section, and chuckled.

"Where on L2 did she get all that energy from, eh?" He muttered, shaking his head.

"From her father." Heero snarled with half a smile, walking beside Duo.

"Oh? Really? Which one?" Duo asked slyly, taking Heero's hand in his as they walked. He looked down at the two sparkling objects in their laced fingers, watching as the golden rays of the setting sun shone on the two golden rings. He smiled.

"Hn. Baka." Heero snorted and rolled his eyes, squeezing Duo's hand tightly.

"Ah, well, guess it runs in the family..." Duo replied smoothly, leaving Heero's hand and putting it over his husband's shoulder. He leaned his head towards Heero's and whispered in his ear. "Hey... Hee-chan..?" He nibbled softly at Heero's earlobe.

"Hmmm?" Heero purred, closing his eyes, tilting his head back a little.

Duo smiled slyly, exhaling into Heero's ear. "Race you to the cars..." He whispered so seductively, that it took Heero a few seconds to comprehend what he had just said.

"HEY!" He called as Duo opened in a run, disappearing in the same direction Claudy had just did. "Chk! Baka!" He grunted, but ran after him anyway, following the sound of Claudy's laughter, where Duo probably was.

"Ha ha ha! Daddy! Hahahaha... Daddy! Tell daddy Duo to stop tickling me! Hahahahaha!"

Heero smiled and shook his head, approaching the two. Duo was holding Claudine up in the air, tickling the poor thing until she was out of breath.

"Hahahahahahaha! Hey! Stop it! Hahahahahaha!"

"Duo, that's enough." Heero reproached, trying to get Claudy out of him grasp.

"Ooh... trying to mess with me, are you, Hee-chan?" He asked, eyes sparkling in amusement. He looked down at Claudy and winked. "Why won't we teach daddy a lesson, ehy?"

Claudy grinned as he put her down. Both winked at each other in silent agreement, and Heero knew that they were up to no good.

"Oh no you don't..." He warned, staggering back when they looked up at him, mischief in their eyes. "Stay away..." He threatened, but smiled nevertheless.

"Charge!" Duo called and the two leaped forward, running at Heero. The poor man tried to run away and avoid their tickling fingers, but Duo jumped up at him, tackling him to the ground.

"Tickle attack!" Claudy called as she too jumped at him, tickling him everywhere.

"Hahahahahaha! Get off! Hahaha! Get off! Duo! Omea o korusu! Hahahaha! Stop it... Claudy... Hahahahaha..."

Claudine just grinned and continued to tickle her daddy as he struggled to break free. His rich and bubbly laughter was like music to her ears. She could never get enough of him laughing.

"Hahahahaha! Duo! I'm going to kill you!"

* * *

Claudy held onto her daddy's hand, looking around in pride. They were standing in the entrance of the concert hall, where Claudy's annual recital was taking place. She looked down at the many families around, eyes glistering with joy.

"Found our seats!" She heard a voice call at her and her daddy, and turned around to look at the speaker. She smiled as she saw him hold their tickets and a program, and in his second hand, a bag of popcorn.

"Chk! Baka, this isn't a movie, it's a ballet recital..." Heero snorted, squeezing Claudy's hand.

Duo pouted. "But they were selling it right outside..."

Claudy giggled at his whining voice. She looked up at her daddy and grinned as she saw him trying to stifle a smile. He then turned to her, kneeling down, her hand still in his. "Go on now, Claudy. I'll see you at the break, okay?"

"Ah shit! How do you turn this thing on?!" Duo's voice called, while he fumbling with his digital camcorder, inspecting it from everywhere, scratching his head and frowning. "Ah... heck!"

Claudy chuckled and shook her head. "Take the cover off the lens, daddy Duo!" She called, and Heero chuckled.

"Oh!" Duo let out as he did just that. "Fancy that..."

Again Heero shook his head in amusement and turned back to face the little girl. "Try to give him a good show, eh? So he won't rant about wasting money on the camera..." He spoke in amusement. "We'll be hearing about it for days...

Claudy smiled. "Don't worry, daddy, I practiced hard, just for you two."

Heero smiled and tapped on her head lovingly.

Claudy gave him a quick kiss and a hug and hurried to run backstage. Once there, waiting for her turn to come on stage, she peeked through the curtains, her eyes searching for her two daddies. She smiled as she spotted them, in the third row, right in the middle. Daddy Duo was still struggling with the camera, and her daddy was trying to help him, but stubborn Duo wouldn't let him. She chuckled and shook her head. They were so funny sometimes, her two daddies. They were always having these silly little fights that made her daddy laugh in the end.

She watched them as Heero finally managed to show Duo how to handle the camera, and she saw Duo look at him lovingly as he did. He then gave him a quick kiss on the cheek and her daddy whirled around to look at him, startled. His features soon softened and he returned the small kiss. She smiled as she saw them hold hands, and look back at the stage.

People thought that having two daddies was weird and not right. But she never understood what was so wrong about it. She knew how much they loved each other, and they loved her too. They were a happy little family of three, and it didn't matter, not to her anyway, that daddy Duo was not a mommy. She knew that as long as there was love and happiness at home, she didn't need him to be a mommy. He made her daddy happy, and that's all that really mattered.

OWARI.

I know I usually don't ask for this, but- fanart will REALLY be appreciated...

Check out the scene that got "cut out" in the editing room...

Naomi

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