Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Family Ties ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

Disclaimer: I don't own the G Boys, I just borrow them from time to time and return them a whole lot happier. I do own the plot line and any other characters that appear here that are not in the Gundam Wing Universe; please do not take them without permission. Written for pleasure not profit.

 

Warnings: Angst, sap, fluff, violence, Mpreg.

 

Rating: NC 17

 

Pairings: 1x2x1, 3x4x3, 5xS, HxOC

 

Summary: Sequel to Chimaera. Life in the Maxwell -Yuy household has undergone some big changes when Duo brings Keitaro home from the hospital. Hilde's wedding is approaching and the guys find there's more to this baby business than they thought. Struggling to raise a child, work at Preventer and keep the home happy is certainly a trial for both guys. Add an assassin's threats to prominent government officials' lives and both men find their lives are suddenly changed. Just how far will one go to protect the ones he loves?

 

Dedication: to all my lovely readers out there who enjoyed Chimaera and have since begged, threatened, pleaded, bribed and blackmailed me for a sequel. ^_^

 

 

"Family Ties"

 

January. 2007 ShenLong

 

Chapter 4

 

The next couple of days saw Hilde finalize all she needed to for the wedding. Her dress was finished and all she had to do was pick it up. The flowers would be sent to L2 in a specially pressurized container specifically designed to prevent the flowers from wilting in space. With nothing left to organize, Hilde took advantage of her last couple of days earth side to get to know her nephew better.

 

Keitaro was a source of joy and wonderment to Hilde. She loved kids and hoped to have her own one day. The child was a delight to be with, his innocent expression, playful nature and soft gurgles never ceased to amaze and delight Hilde. All too soon though, Hilde's time on earth was at an end and she had to return to L2. Both Heero and Duo insisted on accompanying the woman to the shuttle port, Keitaro also coming along for the ride.

 

“You two will keep in touch and let me know when you get a nanny for Keitaro, won't you?”

 

“Of course,” Duo snorted.

 

“I'll need her name to put on the place card for the wedding.”

 

“Once we have selected the appropriate person you will be the first to know, Hilde,” Heero said as he shifted slightly, redistributing Keitaro's weight in his arms.

 

“Good. You're still coming to L2 a couple of days before the wedding, right?”

 

“Yes, Hilde. We have already looked up hotels on the Internet and once we book one we will let you know that too," Duo replied in an amused tone. Hilde could be quite the fuss pot when she wanted to be. But then again, she had every right to be in this case, it was her wedding after all and all should be perfect for it.

 

“Last call for all passengers on shuttle flight 379 for La Grange 2, Colony 276X. All passengers should now be boarding through gate 42. Last call...” The announcer's voice droned on in its mechanical fashion.

 

“Guess I'd better get going,” Hilde said quietly.

 

Duo stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the woman, drawing her to his chest and hugging tightly. "Everything's going to be just fine, Hilde. Heero and I will be there for your wedding and once we know the hotel and flight details we'll be sure to let you know. I'm gonna miss you, sis."

 

Hilde pulled back a little and raised her head to give Duo a watery smile. "Thanks for all your help with the last of the wedding arrangements. I know you'll be there. I'm gonna miss you too, Duo." Hilde dropped her head to Duo's shoulder once more and hugged tight. With a wipe of her eyes, she released the tall man and turned her attention to Heero.

 

Handing Keitaro over to Duo, Heero took Hilde in his warm embrace and patted her back reassuringly. "We will both be there for your wedding, Hilde. We wouldn't miss it for the world."

 

"Thanks, Heero. Not just for all your help and understanding, but for the contribution towards the watch too. Mark's going to love it."

 

"It was my pleasure, Hilde. You'd better get going now or you'll miss your flight." As much as Heero would have enjoyed having Hilde stay with them permanently, he didn't think Mark would be too happy waiting at the other end of the shuttle's run only to find his future wife wasn't on it.

 

Pulling away, Hilde nodded and dabbed at her eyes. She held her arms out and Duo placed Keitaro in them. Gently cradling the infant, Hilde cooed to the baby, telling him to be a good boy for his parents and that she would see him very soon. Reluctantly handing the child back to Duo, Hilde placed a quick kiss to both men's cheeks, grabbed her hand luggage and walked away towards the boarding gate. If she didn't go now, she never would.

 

Heero and Duo watched her until she disappeared from view, Duo managing to swallow the lump in his throat and suppress any tears with the thought that he would be seeing Hilde again soon.

 

"Feel like a coffee before we head back home?"

 

Duo found his husband smiling warmly at him. A hand crept out and rubbed along Duo's arm, Keitaro shifted slightly, yawned and went back to sleep. "A coffee sounds nice, Heero," he replied.

 

"I remember seeing a cafe back this way." Heero gently guided his lover through the crowded shuttle port and to the cafe he'd spotted on their way in.

 

* * *

 

"What about this one?' Heero asked as he waved a letter under Duo's nose. Duo took the letter, scanned it over and then handed it back.

 

"Not enough experience."

 

"Hn." Heero continued on his pile.

 

They had advertised for a full time nanny in the local paper. Nurse Brown had suggested they try an agency or an advert in the 'situations vacant' section of the paper. The guys decided to run the ad first, neither one seemed comfortable with the thought of sitting in one of the agencies and discussing their child, lifestyle and other things with complete strangers; not that they had any intention of hiding their relationship, hell, they were married for heavens sake! They would need to concoct a story though regarding Keitaro's 'mother' as Duo's condition couldn't be revealed for obvious reasons. Currently they were sitting in the lounge room sifting through the many replies they'd had to their ad.

 

The pile of rejects was growing larger by the minute, the 'possibles' a good deal smaller. They had mutually agreed to go through the applications and weed them out into those they thought might be suitable and those that wouldn't. Once they'd done that it would be a case of going through the possibles with Nurse Brown and scaling them down to a few who would make it to the final interview. Sally had suggested they ask Nurse Brown for her input as she had a better idea of what was required in a nanny and both Heero and Duo trusted her judgment.

 

The pair agreed but as yet had to approach the nurse with their request.

 

Finally the end of the pile came and Heero gave a long sigh of relief. “I'll go dump all these in the trash, shall I?” he asked as he scooped up the 'reject' pile.

 

“Heero! You can't do that.”

 

“Eh?”

 

“We have to reply to them, let them know they weren't successful in their application.”

 

Heero rolled his eyes, just what he didn't need - a pile of letters to reply to. “Why? It will become obvious they haven't been successful when they don't hear from us.”

 

“It's good manners, Heero,” Duo huffed and gave his partner a 'look'. “They have taken the time to apply for the position so the least we can do is write them back and let them know they didn't get the job.”

 

Heero had visions of being chained to the desk writing out replies for days on end, the number of rejects was quite a few. Then he had an idea. “Hn. I'll type up a generic thank you letter and print off enough copies to send to each of them.”

 

“That's fine, at least then they know and can start to look for something else.” Duo turned his attention back to the pile in front of him and began to sort through them again.

 

Seeing as he wasn't going to get any further response from his partner, Heero scooped up the last of the rejections and took them through to the office where he dumped them on the desk to be replied to later. He turned and went back to the lounge room and Duo.

 

Having gone back through the pile of 'possibles', both guys had put the applications in the order of their own preference. When Nurse Brown arrived back from her shift at the hospital, she found herself greeted with a cup of tea and a pair of warm smiles.

 

Immediately she was on her guard. “What have you two been up to?” she asked as she was relieved of her bag and ushered into the lounge room.

 

“Nothing,” replied Duo with a grin as he more or less pushed the nurse into the armchair.

 

“That dog of yours hasn't chewed my slippers again?”

 

“Of course not! Miracle is better trained than that,” Duo stated, a little offended.

 

“More like she didn't enjoy the vet treatment for her upset stomach caused by eating the fluffy lining,” Nurse Brown teased.

 

“Miracle is not allowed up the stairs any more,” Heero said as he handed the nurse a cup of tea.

 

“Good to hear,” replied the nurse and took the tea. “Better off keeping her away from the bedrooms until the baby is a bit older. And no, I'm not insinuating that Miracle would do anything to harm the baby, but the last thing Keitaro needs is a tongue bath from that canine.”

 

“Miracle wouldn't do that!” Duo replied, a little affronted that anyone would suggest such a thing.

 

Hearing her name, Miracle got up from where she was lying on the floor and wandered over to her master where she proceeded to lick him thoroughly.

 

“I rest my case,” the nurse said smugly. “Now, what is it you two are buttering me up for?”

 

“Well, we did as you advised and placed an advert in the paper for a nanny for Keitaro,” Heero began. “We've had quite a few applications over the past few days and we've gone through them, sorting them into rejects and those we think might be suitable.”

 

“And you want me to take a look over the ones you think might be okay?”

 

“If you don't mind,” Heero said. “I know you've just come in from work and are probably tired, so we will quite understand if you don't want to do it now.”

 

“We just want to try and get a nanny sorted out as soon as possible,” Duo added.

 

“If we get one now we can make sure she will be suitable to look after Keitaro before you return to work full time.”

 

“Also, we can see if Keitaro likes her.”

 

“It's not fair to keep expecting you to look after Keitaro and work at Preventer,” Heero finished lamely.

 

“If I may be allowed to speak?” the nurse finally managed to get out. The pair had been carrying on so much she hadn't been able to get a word in edgewise.

 

“Sorry.”

 

“I'd be happy to take a look over the applicants you've narrowed it down to. I want to be just as sure as you two that the nanny you hire is the right one.”

 

“Great!” Duo was about to give the woman a big hug, but changed his mind when he saw the look he was getting. “Ah. Miracle slobber. Gotcha.” Duo promptly sat down again.

 

“Do you have the applications?”

 

“Right here,” Heero replied and picked up the small pile of letters.

 

“Thank you,” Nurse Brown said as she took the letters and began to scan over the first one.

 

“I'll go start on dinner, shall I?” Heero said, it was obvious they weren't needed.

 

“Good idea,” the nurse replied absently and continued to read.

 

The pair left the nurse to it and retreated to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

 

* * *

 

Duo gave a loud sigh and ran his fingers through his bangs. “We're never going to get a nanny at this rate,” he huffed.

 

Heero frowned. “There's still another four to go.”

 

“And they will all want to hightail it outta here if you continue to glare at them.”

 

“I'm not glaring.”

 

“Yes, you are.”

 

“No, I'm not.”

 

“Then what would you call it?”

 

“I'm merely appraising their physical capabilities and weighing up their mental capacities. I don't want just anyone looking after my son.” Heero folded his arms across his chest, daring Duo to argue with him. Duo rolled his eyes.

 

“And that's just it, we won't have anyone looking after him 'cause you keep scaring them off!”

 

“You were the one that didn't like the first applicant.”

 

“Heero, she had that much metal in and on her that Keitaro would develop lead poisoning! Not to mention it would take ages to get through security at the shuttle port.”

 

“Point.”

 

“The second one was a bit too sharp in her tone and mannerisms for me.”

 

“Hn. The fifth one had plenty of experience.”

 

“Yeah, she did, but I'd be frightened she would have a coronary just lifting Keitaro out of the cot. She must have been in her sixties at least.”

 

“That last one looked like she'd only just come out of diapers herself!” Heero snorted. The pair ceased their conversation as Nurse Brown stepped back into the room with the next applicant and the process began all over again.

 

* * *

 

Thank you, Miss...” Duo quickly scanned his paperwork. “Miss Leadbetter. We will let you know in due course.” He gave a soft groan as Nurse Brown escorted the last applicant from the room and out of the mansion. When she returned she found Heero gently massaging Duo's shoulders.

 

“Why don't I make us all a nice cup of tea while you two collect up all your notes and things and take them through to the lounge room. It will be less cramped than in this office and we can discuss the applicants a bit further.”

 

“Now that's a really good idea,” Duo moaned. “Oh, right there, Heero.”

 

“I'll meet you in the lounge then,” Nurse Brown chuckled and left the pair to gather up all the information on the applicants.

 

“What did you think of the applicants?” Heero asked the nurse as they reclined in the lounge with a mug of hot tea and plate of biscuits. Keitaro lay in his baby bouncer, looking around with interest and gurgling softly. Duo kept one eye on the baby and the rest of his concentration on the conversation.

 

“I'll be honest with you. I wasn't all that impressed with them. Yes, some of them had excellent credentials, but they didn't feel right.”

 

“Feel right?” Heero questioned.

 

“Yes, feel right. I've been around babies and toddlers for so long now and interacted with many parents, nurses and nannies that I can usually tell how they are going to react around children. I guess it's in the body language or something, but I trust my judgment.”

 

“Kinda like when I get those gut feelings and trust my instincts, is what it sounds like,” Duo mused.

 

Nurse Brown laughed. “I guess you could say that it's a similar thing. Don't get me wrong though, none of those applicants would deliberately harm a child, but none of them seemed to have that natural rapport with the baby either.”

 

Keitaro had been present during the interviews and each of the applicants had been given the chance to interact with him for a few minutes. Heero wanted to see how Keitaro would react to a nanny and had watched the babe carefully. Duo had told him that Keitaro's screwing up of his face didn't mean he didn't like the person holding him, it simply meant he was filling his diaper.

 

“Then we are all in agreement that none of the applicants we interviewed today are suitable?” Heero asked the other two.

 

Duo nodded, Nurse Brown replied in the affirmative.

 

“I suppose we will need to advertise again then, either that or try an agency,” Heero sighed.

 

“If you want to tell me exactly what it is you're looking for in a nanny, I'll pop into one of the agencies, give them the information and see what they come up with,” Nurse Brown said.

 

“Would you?” Duo asked. “That would be a big help.”

 

“No problem. Right, let's get started.” Nurse Brown positioned her notebook on one knee, pen poised. “Obviously they have to like children.”

 

“I'd prefer someone who is soft spoken, but firm,” Duo said.

 

“Someone who has confidence in their handling of a baby,” added Heero.

 

“A bit of first aid knowledge wouldn't go astray either.”

 

“Reasonably fit,” Heero offered.

 

“Preferably with no outside ties as they would need to live in,” Duo mused.

 

“Not too young either. I don't want some bit of a girl trying to flirt with my husband,” Heero growled.

 

“Ohhh, Heero, I didn't think you were the jealous type.”

 

“You'd better believe it.” Heero leaned over and stole a kiss. “Mine.”

 

The sounds of chuckling broke into their thoughts and both men turned to see the nurse smiling at them. “I'll pass all this information on to an agency tomorrow and see what they can come up with; but, guys?”

 

Heero and Duo looked at the nurse.

 

“Have a read over what you've decided you want in a nanny.” Nurse Brown dropped the notebook to the table and exited the room, leaving the pair to figure out what she meant.

 

Reading over the notes it slowly began to dawn on Duo exactly what the nurse was saying and he began to laugh.

 

“What's so funny?” Heero wanted to know, his brows knitted together as he tried to puzzle out what the nurse meant.

 

“Think about it, Heero. Take a look at each of the attributes we have stated we want in a nanny for Keitaro.”

 

“Hai, I can see that, I've been going over them for the last ten minutes.”

 

“Who do you know that has all of those things?”

 

“Umm. Aw crap.”

 

Duo snickered again, knowing his lover had worked it out.

 

“We're looking for someone exactly like Nurse Brown.”

 

“Got it in one, buddy.”

 

“Well, shit.”

 

“I wonder if we could clone her?”

 

~ * ~

 

tbc...