Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ The Purrfect Houseguest ❯ Chapter 6 ( Chapter 6 )

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The Purrfect Houseguest

Part 6

"Papa, why didn't Uncle Wufei come with us?"

Treize, looking at his daughter's reflection in the rearview mirror, couldn't help but smile. He could not be happier about the way Mariemaia had embraced Wufei. Treize had not been in a series, long term relationship since his divorce from Leia, and he had been worried that Marie would be upset about somebody else taking her mothers place. But obviously, his worried had been unfounded. He was sure now that Marie would be happy for him and Wufei, even if they decided to take their relationship to the next level.
"I'm sorry, Honey, but Wufei had to work this morning. But he will come and join us later on. So, don't worry, you will have plenty of time to play with him."

"Great," Marie replied, looking up from the video game she had brought along to kill time, just long enough to give her father a smile. "Can we later go and say Hi to Mr. and Mrs. Garner? I haven't seen Rex for such a long time."

Treize nodded. "In fact, we'll have to drive by there right now. I forgot the keys to our cabin, so we will have to pick up the spare."

Mr. Garner was a retired police officer. He and his wife lived year around at Deer Creek. Aside from growing their own fruits and vegetables in their garden and making the best Blueberry wine Treize had ever tasted, the garners watched over their neighbor's houses while they were gone. Most of the people here lived and worked in the city, and used their cabins only as weekend and vacation retreats.

Mariemaia looked up, chuckling. "Weren't you the one who kept telling me over and over to make sure not to forget anything?" she asked. "Well I guess it's alright for you to forget a thing or two," she added with a straight face. "Grandma always says with age comes forgetfulness."

Treize raised one eyebrow. "Excuse me? I'm not that old, you know."

###

Mr. Garner was working in his front yard, tinkering with his lawn tractor, when Treize pulled up at their house. The moment Marie climbed out of the car, a large German Sheppard dog, which had been resting at his owner's side, jumped up and ran toward her.

"Hello, Rex. I'm happy to see you too."

Rex had been Officer Garner's K-9 partner when he was younger. After they retired together he just became a normal, spoiled pet.

The old man put aside his screwdriver and wiped his hands on a piece of cloth, as he rose. "Mr. Khushrenada. How nice to see you again. It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"It sure has," Treize agreed, as he walked over to his neighbor to shake hands.

Garner turned to Mariemaia with a friendly smile. "And look at you, Marie; you are getting bigger and prettier every time I see you. Not long and you will be all grown up."

"Thank you," Marie smiled bashfully.

"So, did you come up here for the long holiday weekend?"

Treize nodded. "Right now, however, we can't even get into the house. I forgot the keys. That's why we came by to get the spare."

"Ah, I see, no problem," the old man nodded understandingly. "Marie, will you do me a favor and go inside and ask my wife to give you the keys," he winked at her and lowered his voice. "She is baking cookies this morning. I'm sure the first batch is out of the oven already."

"Alright," Mariemaia laughed. "I'll be right back. Come on Rex, let's go."

The two men watched as the little girl and the dog raced each other to the front door. "She really is getting big, isn't she," Garner sighed. "I still remember her being barely able to walk and talk. So, how have you been? Any new books published?"

"No actually I'm just about to finish up a new script. I'm hoping to get some writing done while we are up here," Treize told him. "How about yourself? Anything new?"

The old man made a dismissive gesture. "You know, nothing ever happens up here. The most excitement we had was probably the raccoon that tried to get into the storage shed last night."

"A Raccoon?" Treize echoed.

"Well, I assume it was a raccoon, but I didn't actually see it. Rex chased it off before I even got a look. But I have seen them before going through people's garbage cans."

"Interesting. I had no idea there were raccoons up here."

Just then Marie came skipping back, keys in one hand and a bag of freshly baked cookies in the other.

"Well, thanks for taking care of the house while we were gone. We will see you later."

The old man gave his neighbor a nod. "I'll come by tomorrow and bring you some fresh boysenberries."

"That's really not necessary." Treize declined politely.

"But I insist. We have so many berries this year I'll be eating nothing but boysenberry pie from here till Christmas if I can't give some away," Garner smirked.

"Well, in that case, we are happy to take some. And thanks for the cookies."

"Do you mind if I come by later and take Rex for a walk?" Marie asked, before she climbed back into the car.

"Oh, I'm sure he would love that; wouldn't you Rex."

The dog raised his ears and tilted his head at the mentioning of his name.

###

After helping her father to unload the car, Marie carried her backpack, filled with toys and games, up to her room. He would bring the other, heavier bag up later. By the time she came back downstairs her father was in the kitchen, putting away groceries.

"Are you hungry?" he asked. "Do you want me to make you something for lunch?"

Mariemaia shook her head. "Not yet, thank you. Can I go play outside?"

"Sure, but stay near the house, you know I don't want you to go into the woods on your own."

"I know, I know. I'll stay in the backyard," she assured him. "Do you know where my jump rope is?"

"Probably in the storage shed," her father replied. "The key is hanging by the back door."

"Thanks!" Marie grabbed the key on her way out. The storage shed next to the house was more like an extension to the garage, yet it was separated and had its own entrance.  It was the place where they kept outside toys, fishing gear and other things that were barely ever used.
When the little red-head tried to open the door she found that it was already unlocked, but she never even gave it a second thought. Instead she started to rummage through a couple of toy boxes. She couldn't find the jump rope she was looking for, but she came across the self-made rocket launcher that her dad, Wufei and she had built the last time they were up here.

Marie couldn't help but giggle when she remembered that day. Originally the plan had been to build a water rocket, but that ended in disaster, and with all three of them soaking wet. After that the 'rocket scientists' had revised their plans, when Wufei suggested using an old air pump, one of those that are operated by foot, and making an air powered rocket.

The young girl picked up the rocket and opened it. The Captain Cruiser action figure was still sitting inside the small cockpit, glued to his seat, just like they had left him. "Hello there, Captain," Marie laughed. She had to rummage some more before she found the pump. "Let's see if you still can fly."

###

After he had finished putting away all the food they had brought along, Treize decided to take the opportunity to get some writing done before Wufei arrived in the afternoon.

With his laptop and a big glass of lemonade the tawny-haired man went out onto the front patio. The sun was shining, and it was comfortably warm; a perfect day to sit outside and let the creative juices flow.

Before settling down however he decided to check up on his daughter. He walked into the backyard just as she stepped out of the storage shed.

"Papa, look what I have found." She held up a silvery toy rocket. "Do you remember this?"

"I sure do," Treize laughed. How could he not. I spite of their mishaps they has spent a wonderful afternoon together building it. "Does it still fly?"

Marie shrugged. "I'll find out soon enough."

"Well, have fun," he told her. "I'll be on the patio if you need me. Let me know when you get hungry."

"I will," she promised.

###

Mariemaia had no idea that she was being watched as she set up the rocket set in the garden. Her father had long since gone back into the house.

Finally she was done. The rocket was connected to the launcher, pumped up and ready for takeoff.

"5…4…3…2…1…" Marie jumped onto the pump with both feet. "Lift off!"

She watched the little silver missile shoot into the air, higher than the house; higher even than the tallest trees. When he came back down the tip of the rocket opened up, releasing a parachute that helped it glide safely to the ground, just a few feet from where it had been launched.

Marie fired the rocket a second and a third time without problems. It was at the fourth launch when a sudden gust of wind caught the toy, sending it spiraling out of control right into one of the trees at the edge of the backyard.

Oh no, I hope it won't get stuck.

The red-head ran to the tree. Shielding her eyes from the sun, she gazed up, and surely enough the rocket's parachute was tangled in a tree branch.

"Control center we have a problem. We need to take action to rescue Captain Cruiser. - Don't worry, Captain. I'll get you safely down."

Marie tried to shake the tree but it was just too big. She looked up again, pondering. The limb where the toy was stuck wasn't really that high. "I think I can reach it," she murmured lost in thought. "I just need to find something to climb on."

###

Hidden in the shadows of some trees and bushes, Zechs watched the little, red-haired girl in silent fascination.

He had been rather lucky last night. First he had been able to steal a few apples at one place, before being chased off by a dog, and then he found this house. It was empty, and he seemed that nobody had lived here for quite a while. He had managed to pick the lock on a small shed. It wasn't the most comfortable place, but at least he got to spend the night protected from the elements. He had hoped to be able to stay here for a few days, but that hope was shattered when a car arrived around midday. Startled he had left the shed and found himself a hiding spot in the backyard, where he waited for an opportunity to escape unseen.
And then the little girl appeared. She was so enthralled in her game; she never even noticed that she wasn't alone.

Zechs couldn't explain it, but watching her play was, in a strange way, relaxing.
There had been no other nekos, or human children in the facilities where he had grown up. So, he had never had a chance to play with somebody, or watch somebody else play.
Except for once, but…Zechs shook his head, banning the memory from his mind.

 The neko frowned as the girl propped a white garden chair under the tree. What is she trying to do?

###

With the help of a chair Marie managed to pull herself up onto the lowest tree branch. She had always been very athletic, and climbing a tree was really not that hard. She had done it before.

As she got higher the branches became thinner and less sturdy. Cautiously she climbed farther until she could see the rocket right above her. There was only one more branch that separated her from the toy. The only problem was that the limb looked brown, dead and not very strong. Mariemaia hesitated. She was so close. Should she give up now? She held on to the tree with one hand and stretched as far as she could, trying to reach for the rocket with the other hand. But it was no use. She was just a few inches short.

Maybe if I set only one foot onto the dead branch, that would give me the extra height I need?  Carefully she put her right foot up. The limb seemed to support her just fine. She reached out again, and this time her fingertips brushed against the rocket. She got up on the tips of her toes. But just as her hand closed around the toy she could here a cracking sound. Startled Mariemaia tried to find a better balance, but it was already too late. The branch beneath her gave away. She reached out in a futile attempt to hold on to something; then she fell.

Marie was too shocked even to cry out. Instinctively she closed her eyes, as she expected to hit the ground hard. But it never happened. Instead her drop was suddenly cut short, when she fell into a pair of strong arms.

The young girl blinked, surprised. When her eyes focused saw a face above her; a handsome, but concerned looking face, with long, silvery hair, crystal blue eyes, and … a pair of pointed, furry cat ears?

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T.B.C.

Author's Note: I know the chapters are not very long, but I rather write short chapters and update more often. I promise I'll have at least one more update this week.