Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Precious Moments ❯ The Ultrasound ( Chapter 13 )

Precious Moments

Chapter 13 - The Ultrasound

By Angel Love

Author's notes: This is based a few months after the wedding, and the wedding night. Relena has already outlived the original date set out for how long she had left and is still doing remarkably well health-wise. She is still slowly declining in her health but at a much slower pace than anticipated, much to the happiness of those involved.

Standard disclaimers apply. I don't own Gundam Wing; please don't remind me of that fact anymore!

Heero and Relena were almost like a normal married couple. They fought about the usual things and had the usual make up sessions, except things were usually much more intense due to the fact that they were both very determined people. If it weren't for the way his eyes were always watching her worriedly, no one would have even known that there was anything wrong with her when they were out places. She seemed perfectly healthy, however she was becoming tired faster and her headaches were coming every few days, incapacitating her for most of the day.

Heero was still worried that she would not be able to handle the stress of having the baby, but as he watched her belly begin to grow he had given up fighting with her on it. His heart was already softening for the life that he knew was kept inside her, even if he couldn't see it. He had even begun to read books on parenting, although he had been taking many jibs from Duo about it. He knew he was probably going to raise his daughter alone and he wanted Relena to know that he was going to do the best job possible for their daughter, even if the thought scared him. He was a soldier, he wasn't sure if he was cut out to be a father.

He was working on his laptop at the moment, watching the time because Relena had an ultrasound that morning. He glanced towards the sliding doors to see Relena basking in the sun with Wufei sitting quietly next to her reading. Wufei had been a constant in their lives, being the only one that didn't leave at all, since the others had to go back to work but often came back to spend several weeks with them at a time. He had noticed that they had developed a very strong friendship. She was much closer to him than she was any of the other guys.

He smiled a little to himself as he watched his wife bounce a piece of popcorn off the dragon's nose and heard the responding chuckle. It was almost amazing that just years before Wufei was completely against Relena and all of her ideals. Now he would do anything for her, including indulging her by trying whatever her strange cravings were without looking at her as if she had lost her mind, something Heero himself had not quite managed.

Just the thought of the way she had dipped her broccoli into hot fudge still made his stomach churn a little. He glanced at the clock again and decided that it was about time for them to go. He rose silently after turning off his laptop and crossed the room, sliding open the door. He nodded to Wufei and smiled at Relena when she turned to look up at him. "It is time, Relena."

She smiled and took his offered hand and rose carefully, not quite having the balance that she used to any more, most of the problem coming from the increasingly growing bulge of her stomach. She was in her sixth month now and they were doing the third ultrasound to check on the progress of the baby to be sure that everything was going normal with her pregnancy and it was going well.

Relena smiled down at Wufei. "I will see you for dinner, Wufei, hopefully with good news."

Wufei nodded back at Relena and Heero and stood so that he could clean up the mess that he and Relena had made, watching her with his own worried eyes as Heero walked her back into the house to get her shoes and her purse.

Heero had Relena ready and out of the mansion in a matter of moments. He drove the route to the hospital without really thinking about it. He nodded at the nurse behind the desk who recognized him but did not smile back at her as she attempted to flirt with him, finding her rather annoying although for some reason it seemed to amuse Relena and he sent her a `be quiet, woman' look.

Relena giggled more as they were escorted back. She got ready and lay down on the bed. It was the first time Heero would be with her for an ultrasound and she was anxious to see how he would react to this.

Heero stood, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed over his chest, refusing to look as if he were nervous. He looked at each of the machines in the room with a frown. He didn't see how these ancient looking things were actually going to be able to show if his baby and his wife were doing well despite the circumstances. By the time Relena was finally relaxed on the bed, waiting for the doctor he had a full scowl on his face.

She looked up at Heero and started to giggle, making him look over at her, lifting one eyebrow at her. She giggled some more. "Relax, Heero, if you keep looking like that you are going to scare anyone that comes in here?"

His eyebrow went up further as he looked back at his wife. "There is something wrong with that…?"

Relena giggled more and shook her head to herself, wondering if Heero would ever give up his protective act over her. She began giggling more because she knew that wasn't bloody likely. His protective nature may not have been his first instinct with her but it was very well instilled into him now. "Please try to refrain from glaring at anyone then, Heero," she requested softly.

He looked at her for a moment before he smiled slightly and nodded, still keeping his arms crossed. "I will try."

Before she could say thank you, there was a soft knock on the door and Dr. Phillip poked her head into the room. She smiled softly at Relena and Heero, coming into the room with a male nurse behind her. "Good afternoon, both of you. Relena, I trust that you are feeling well since I saw you last week?"

She smiled softly although she could see Heero tensing up a little, his eyes narrowing at the nurse accompanying her doctor. "I had a headache yesterday but Heero took very good care of me. I rested the whole day so I am feeling pretty good today, just a small trace of the headache."

The doctor nodded, watching Heero push himself off the wall and stand protectively close to his wife as the nurse went about getting things set up for her. She exchanged looks with Relena, trying to hold in the look of amusement. "This is Peter; he is going to assist me today."

Peter looked up at them and smiled, shaking hands with Relena. "Hello Mrs. Yuy." He moved to shake hands with Heero but gulped a little at the look of pure danger flashing in the usually cool prussian eyes. "Mr. Yuy..." He quickly turned back to what he was supposed to be doing, ignoring the way the two women had covered their mouths to hold in the giggles.

Dr. Phillip cleared her throat and turned back to her business, taking Relena's blood pressure and other usual tests. "Alright, Relena, you know the drill, push up your shirt and lower your pants a little." She glanced up at Heero; sure she heard a slight growl, smiling calmly at him. "I need a clear view of her stomach, Mr. Yuy, so that I can do the ultrasound."

He crossed his arms and nodded, watching everything with narrowed eyes, just daring Peter to look the wrong way at Relena, he hadn't had any target practice in three days. His eyes softening just a little as she uncovered her stomach, feeling a pride within him at the sight of something so pure and lovely to him, something he helped create. Then his eyes narrowed again as Peter turned back towards them announcing that the machine was ready.

The doctor took the wand and the gel that had been heated up a little for Relena's comfort and sat down in the stool next to Relena. "Are you ready?"

Relena nodded her head and wrinkled her nose as the gel squirted over her stomach, making a small uncomfortable `ew' sound. She gently reached up and pulled one of Heero's arms free to link her fingers through his fingers, wanting him to settle a little, but also wanting to share this experience with him.

Dr. Phillip smiled a little and then took the wand over her stomach. The screen that had been blank before suddenly flared to life as she searched for the small baby within Relena, finding her almost in the middle of her enlarged tummy. She began clicking and taking measurements as she watched for any signs that things were not normal with the tiny fetus.

Relena watched the screen with a soft smile, feeling love within her for the baby that was shown there. It was an amazing sight. She looked up at Heero and smiled even softer. His entire face showed awe as his eyes remained glued to the screen as if he had never seen anything like it. He probably had not; she had to admit to herself. She squeezed his hand and whispered his name softly to get his attention.

Heero tore his eyes very slowly away from the screen to look down at Relena, his face still showing awe. "Is that... is that...?"

Relena smiled softly and nodded her head, squeezing his hand. "Yes, Heero, that is our daughter."

He looked back at the screen. The image was very grainy but he could make out the little hands, the head and the two little feet as she curled up in a ball and then stretched out again. It was amazing. How could he create something like this? He looked down at Relena again, finding her smiling up at him. He knew he was able to do it because he had done it with her. With Relena he had always been able to do things he never thought were possible.

Doctor Phillip smiled softly as she glanced from Relena to Heero. She began to gently clean Relena up as she left the image of the baby on the screen, printing a few out for the young couple to be able to keep this time around. "Everything looks like it is going very well, Relena. She is even running in the top ninety percentile of fetuses her size. All of the other tests so far say that she will be born a healthy little girl." She eyed her patient for a moment. "However you are looking rather tired. I want you to go home and take it easy for the rest of the day."

She nodded and began to fix her clothes in the right place. "Yes, ma'am, is there anything else I need to be doing?"

She smiled and nodded. "Yes, you need to drink more fluids. It is very easy to get dehydrated while you are pregnant. You also need to try to keep as relaxed as possible. Too much stress will cause your blood pressure to go up, putting both you and the baby at risk."

Heero spoke before Relena had a chance to. "I will see to both of those. I want my wife to remain as healthy as she can."

Dr. Phillip smiled and nodded in approval at Heero as she watched the young man place a hand on his wife's shoulder. She could see the fear in his eyes but also the determination to do everything possible for her. "That is all I can ask. I will see you in two weeks, Relena. Have a restful afternoon both of you." She nodded to them and handed over the printed pictured and took a much relieved Peter with her as she left the room.

Relena looked down at the printed pictures in her hand, feeling Heero slowly wrap his arms around her as he looked at them over her shoulder. Finally she giggled softly. "I hope the rest of her baby pictures come out looking better than this."

Heero chuckled softly and nodded. "At least a little clearer." His eyes softened and he traced the little image with his finger. "I still think she is beautiful, just like you."

Relena blushed brightly and turned her head to kiss Heero's cheek softly, feeling very tired and wanting to curl up in their bed with him. "Thank you. Can we go home now? I can feel another headache coming on."

His eyes filled with worry and concern as he nodded once. He gently helped Relena off the bed and guided her out of the hospital, keeping one eye on her the entire time. He noted that she was becoming increasingly pale and he could see the pain in her eyes increasing. He had hoped they would have a few days peace between her headaches but he knew the signs very well.

Heero had managed to get them home and Relena out of the car before she grasped her head, tears slipping down her cheeks. He gently lifted her up in his arms and carried her up to the mansion, shouting for Wufei when he got into the door. The other man had shown up quickly, took one look at Relena before he disappeared to get Relena some water and Heero a washcloth. He sat down in a chair as he watched Heero tenderly take the wash cloth along her face, wincing a little inside as Relena whimpered a little.

He spoke softly to her as he continued to gently sponge her forehead, surveying the way she had covered with sweat. His heart beat painfully in his chest with each second that went by. Fifteen minutes went by before she finally slipped off to sleep, her body finally relaxing as it began to slowly regain her energy. It had been the longest fifteen minutes of his life.

He leaned forward and kissed her forehead softly before he sat up and gently brushed a damp tendril of her hair off of her face. He didn't need to look up at Wufei to know that he was watching him. "Am I doing the right thing, Wufei? This baby is taking a lot of energy away from her. She could be slowly killing Relena faster."

He shook his head, his black eyes watching the way Heero's hand had unconsciously covered Relena's stomach. "It is not for me to decide if she should be doing this. However I have not seen her glow the way she does when she talks about that baby. Perhaps her happiness is the only reason you should allow her to do this."

He nodded slightly, absently stroking her stomach now, looking down at her face. "Does it make me a bad person for wishing that it were anyone besides Relena that had the brain tumor?"

He rose from his seat and slowly moved over to Heero. He placed his hand on his shoulder and waited for Heero to look up at him before he spoke. "No, it makes you human, Heero. Relena makes you human." He looked down at Relena, his black eyes softening but filling with pain at the same time. "If it should make you feel better, I feel the same way that you do."

Heero smiled faintly and nodded. "Hai, it does." He tenderly caressed Relena's face again and wished once more that he could take away her pain.

To be continued...

*Angel, Duo and Wufei come out*

Duo: *whining* Why am I out here, I wasn't even IN this chapter? *sniff*

Wufei: *rolling his eyes* Baka, you are here because Yuy is threatening to kill Angel so she can't finish this story.

Duo: *grinning sheepishly and scratching the top of his head* Oh yeah!

Angel: *sighing and sweatdropping* I feel so safe now...

Duo: *wrapping an arm around Angel and waggling his eyebrows* Aww, I'll protect you, babe!

Wufei: *lifting an eyebrow* She doesn't need that type of protecting.

Duo: I know! *grinning broadly*

Angel: *sighing* Before I just paint a target on my behind will the two of you do your jobs, please?

Duo: *grinning even more* Angel would like to say thank you for those who supported her this long with this fic.

Wufei: *nodding* She hurried and wrote this chapter before everyone began to wonder if they would have to wait several more months for it.

Angel: Hey!

Wufei: *ignoring Angel* She wishes for you to tell her what you think of this while she gets busy with the next chapter.

Duo: I'll be keeping her company while she does so I'll make sure she gets each of those reviews *winking*

Angel: Maybe I can get Heero to make it quick and painless…

*Wufei shaking his head and pulling Angel out of view while Duo hurries along behind them*