Gundam Wing Fan Fiction ❯ Chimaera ❯ Chapter 44 ( Chapter 44 )

Disclaimer: I don't own the G'boys, I just borrow them from time to time to play with and return them a whole lot happier, ne?

Rating: NC 17

Warnings: Yaoi, Lemon, sap, angst, Male Pregnancy, medical themes

Pairings: 1x2x1

Archive: http://gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com

http://sweetlysour.net.

http://adultfanfiction.net

http://www.theforsakenwk.com

Many thanks to DBZVelena, Ryouga and Yami_Tai for the beta. Also thanks to Yami_Tai for the title of this fic.

Notes: Set partially during the series but main bulk after the war. EW didn't take place. The Eve wars are finished and the peace retained. The pilots have all gone their own ways, Heero and Duo have made a life together both working for Preventer when Duo's world is turned upside down as his unknown past comes back to haunt him.

Dedication: To Velena who gave me the plot bunny for this little gem.

Status: In progress.

~ Indicates flashbacks ~

/ thoughts /

"Chimaera"

October. 2003 ShenLong

Chapter 44

"Quatre and Trowa are here," Heero announced.

"Already?" Duo said, a touch of annoyance in his voice. "Sheesh, Heero. What did you tell them?"

"I haven't told them anything. When I contacted Quatre to see if we could use the mansion as a home for a while, he wanted to know what was going on. I told him that everything was fine and not to worry; that I would explain all that was happening later, once we were settled in. But you know Quatre..." Heero really didn't have to say anymore.

Duo was only too aware of what the blonde could be like at times, especially when there was something going on. If Quatre wasn't in on the current 'crisis' he was highly offended; and an offended Quatre wasn't something particularly nice. No, the blonde didn't get annoyed or vindictive, in fact he was the opposite. He would send you on a guilt trip that would have you begging forgiveness for something you weren't even aware of doing and all with the glance of those sweet aqua eyes and look of betrayal he could conjure up on his angelic face.

No wonder he was such a successful businessman. He had that knack of getting people to do things his way and give in to his demands without them knowing they'd been manipulated. Duo had to admire him for that. Not many people could convince others so easily that they were right, even if they were wrong, but Quatre had perfected the technique, turning it almost into an art form. Hence the reason why he'd been their strategist during the war. While Duo may have had the street smarts, Quatre had the manipulative skills.

Duo turned his gaze back to Heero, and placing his mug on a convenient side table, walked forwards to envelope Heero in a gentle hug. "Don't worry about it, Heero. Once Quatre and Trowa know what's going on and that I'm okay they will hopefully leave us alone for a bit," he whispered as he nuzzled Heero's neck.

"I know," sighed Heero. "I just wish they could have left it for a few more days before coming down to visit. I really wanted to spend some time alone, just the two of us."

If Duo didn't know any better he would have said that Heero was whining. He cocked his head to the side and gave a cheeky grin. "You trying to seduce me here, lover?"

Heero's eyes went wide with shock. "N... no. I wasn't thinking about that, I just wanted to spend some time together, after everything that's happened this past couple of weeks I wanted us to be alone..." Heero trailed off, unable to say anymore.

"I know what you mean, Heero. I'm only teasing you. I'd also like some time alone, especially after this last week in the hospital and all and then we still have so many things to discuss in regards to this baby as well as our future together as a family."

'Family'... Heero liked the sound of that word. He particularly liked the way it rolled off Duo's tongue.

The doorbell rang.

"Fuck!" Duo swore.

"Guess I'd better go answer it," said Heero with another sigh.

"Yeah, best to let them in and get this over and done with. The sooner they know the sooner we can get some of that *alone* time. I'll go into the lounge room and wait for you there; please don't do anything physically detrimental to Quatre, he only means well." Duo gave his partner a wink as he picked up his coffee cup and headed to the lounge room.

Heero shook his head and taking a leaf out of Duo's book, he plastered a neutral look on his face and went to greet their guests. He would have put on a smile but one; he didn't really feel like smiling, but a glare might frighten the little blonde. And two; a smile on his face just might scare the blonde even more than a glare.

Better to keep his face neutral.

Reaching the door he could see the shadows of the pair on the other side. Taking a deep breath he reached for the handle and mentally prepared himself for the onslaught.

"Heero! So good to see you again." Quatre extended his slender hand and grasped Heero's in a warm handshake. "Hope you don't mind us dropping in on you like this but we had to come and see you both, it's been way too long since we all caught up. So, where is Duo?" The Arab rattled all this off without pausing to take a breath, doing his best to look over Heero's shoulder and peer inside to see if he could spot Duo.

Trowa stood behind his partner and gave Heero a look from his one visible eye that clearly said it was all Quatre's idea and that he had just been dragged along for the ride.

"Hello, Quatre," Heero replied in his usual monotone, suffering the exuberant handshake with dignity. "Trowa." He nodded to the Latin. "It has been a while."

Trowa stepped alongside his partner and took Heero's hand, returning the handshake. "Good to see you again, Heero."

"Well, are you going to leave us standing out here or do we get to come inside?" Quatre asked, a smile on his lips.

"My apologies, please, come in. Duo is in the lounge room." Heero stepped aside so the pair could enter and shutting the door behind them he took their coats and hung them up. "This way, please." Heero began to walk towards the lounge room and while doing so turned to address the blonde beside him. "Please be careful with Duo, Quatre. He's just come out of hospital and his abdomen is very tender."

Quatre's hand flew to his mouth. "Oh Allah. What happened, Heero? He's all right isn't he? I mean, he isn't seriously hurt or anything?"

"No, he's fine now, but the wounds are still healing so please don't hug him too hard. I will explain all to you once we are comfortable."

That had to satisfy Quatre's concerns for the moment but Trowa could see the tension in his lover's body and knew that despite Heero's assurances that all was well with Duo, Quatre wouldn't be satisfied until he'd seen his friend and checked out that he was indeed all right.

As they entered the lounge room, so Duo stood up from his position in the large armchair and placed his cup on the coffee table. "Hey Q-man," he said with a grin on his face.

"Duo!" Quatre immediately passed Heero and strode across the room to envelop his friend in a hug, remembering at the last minute what Heero had said about the American's wounds. Duo winced slightly and Quatre immediately let go. "Duo, are you all right? Sorry I didn't mean to hug so hard, Heero said you'd been injured but, you're okay now?"

Duo laughed. "Yeah, I'm fine, Quatre. A little tender still, but it's okay."

"Good. Now tell us all about it. What happened? How the heck did you manage to get yourself injured?"

"How about you slow down a minute, Quatre and give poor Duo and Heero a break. I'm sure they will be happy to let you know all the details shortly," Trowa admonished his lover. Then he turned to Duo and placed an arm around the long haired man's shoulders, giving him a gentle squeeze. "Good to see you again, Duo. Sorry about the invasion."

Duo turned to face Trowa. "Good to see you too, Tro and don't worry about it, it's lovely to see you both again."

Heero stepped into the conversation at that point. He could feel his nerves becoming frayed with the need to protect his partner from the over enthusiastic blonde and having to hold back. "Would you all like some refreshment?"

"I'd love some tea please Heero, if it's not any trouble," replied Quatre.

"Tea would be nice. Thank you, Heero." Trowa added and then turned to Quatre. He took the blonde firmly by the elbow and propelled him to the couch. "Let's sit down and once Heero returns with the tea I'm sure he will tell us everything that has been happening."

"Would you like anything, Duo?"

"I'm fine thanks Heero. I still have some coffee." Duo picked his cup up again and then returned to sitting in the armchair. He crossed his legs at the ankle and turned to face his guests while Heero left the room and went to make the tea. "So, what have you been up to since we were last in touch, Quatre?"

Quatre proceeded to rattle off his latest business ventures, taking his time to explain about a recent takeover he'd staged of a large construction company. And how that same company was now going from strength to strength and providing employment for several of the colonists, as it's main purpose was to re build a lot of the destroyed housing estates, as well as business buildings in the still recovering colonies.

Duo listened politely, nodding at the appropriate time and wishing that Heero would hurry the hell up with the tea. When Quatre paused for a breath he focused on Trowa. "You still with the circus Trowa?"

The quiet man turned to face Duo. "Yes. I spend part of the year with them, touring around and during the rest breaks or off season I generally return to WEI and assist Quatre."

"How's Cathy?"

"She's well."

"Still doing the knife act with her?"

Trowa shook his head. "No. One of the other performers does the act with her now. She's been dating him for a while so I stepped aside and let him take over. I only do the lions now."

"Ahhh. Wise move. I always said you had a lot of guts to stand there and let a woman throw knives at you." Duo teased. "I've had a few knives tossed my way over the years but they were usually from a pissed off enemy and totally unavoidable, but you, to volunteer for it, well..."

Trowa gave a soft laugh. "Yeah. I can see your point."

Heero returned and placed the tray upon the coffee table. He picked up a cup and offered it to Quatre, then another to Trowa before taking his own. "Milk and sugar are on the tray," he stated in his monotone. "Help yourself." Heero sat down in the other armchair and regarded their company over the rim of his cup. He flashed Duo a look and seemed satisfied that his partner was coping okay thus far.

Duo waited until Quatre and Trowa had sorted out their respective drinks, letting them swallow a few mouthfuls before daring to approach the topic of his current injuries. "I'd like to thank you, Quatre for allowing us to use this place while I recover," he began; and didn't get any further.

"That's quite all right, Duo. This house isn't being used much at all so it's nice to have someone in residence. Besides, I like to be able to help out where I can if the assistance is required." He paused for a moment and then continued. "Now, are you going to tell me what happened?"

Heero placed his now empty cup on the tray and fixed the pair on the couch with his cobalt gaze. "We were on a mission for Preventer and Duo was undercover..."

It took Heero around thirty minutes to explain what had happened. With the case now pending a court trial date there was only so much information he was allowed to divulge, but it was enough for Trowa and Quatre to get the basic idea of what had happened. Naturally the Arab was concerned for Duo's health and quizzed the man on the treatment that he'd received at the Preventer hospital, insisting he would bring in expert doctors if Duo needed them.

Duo managed to convince his friend that he was fine and no further intervention would be necessary. "Sally is a good doctor, Quatre. She took excellent care of me and I even have my own nurse dropping by every couple of days to check on me and make sure I'm behaving myself and healing properly."

"Well I hope you're not planning on heading back to work for a while, Duo. You need to rest and regain your strength. I'll make sure the Maguanac's arrive tomorrow to keep the place running okay although why you insisted on them and not the staff that was already here I don't get," muttered Quatre. "They would have been able to look after you perfectly well." Quatre continued on his little rant to himself, oblivious to the looks he was getting.

Trowa sensed there was something else and looked at Heero. Heero swallowed and took the silent challenge.

"That's not the only reason we need somewhere safe to stay." He looked at the pair on the couch and then to Duo who encouraged him to continue with a soft smile. He swallowed, lowered his eyes and continued, "We're going to be parents."

There was a moment of silence, then Quatre spoke up. "You're what?"

"We're having a baby." Duo stated and waited for the news to sink in.

Quatre sat for a second and then his face lit up. "That's wonderful news!" He turned to face his Latin partner. "See, Trowa. I told you that today's society doesn't discriminate against gay couples anymore so why don't you reconsider what I've said about adopting a child. If Heero and Duo can do it I'm pretty sure we can. I mean, they would have had to have undergone a thorough check by the adoption agency to make sure they are going to be fit parents and all so I'm pretty sure that they would allow us to adopt given what we can offer a child. I can't see any reason why..."

Heero interrupted. "We're not adopting."

A look of relief spread over Trowa's face and he turned to his excited lover. "See. They got knocked back."

"Actually knocked up would be more precise in this case." Heero deadpanned. Duo nearly exploded into laughter.

"Huh?" Quatre responded, not too sure what he'd just heard. Then his brain switched gears again. "Oh, I see. You got a girl pregnant, a sort of surrogate mother for your child?"

Heero shook his head.

"Well I think it's extremely noble of you to want to care for and provide for a child of yours, considering you got an innocent girl pregnant. Or was it a surrogate mother? Never mind, not many men would do the same, especially since you're gay and all but that just goes to show that even a gay couple can have kids. All we need to do, Trowa, is find a surrogate mother, someone to carry the child for us, but she would have to be artificially inseminated as I couldn't see myself impregnating a woman and I certainly wouldn't expect you to, Trowa..." The blonde continued on his little rant.

By this stage Trowa was looking positively horrified by Quatre's words, Heero was becoming more and more frustrated at the blonde's obvious ignorance and Duo thought he was going to give himself a hernia if he had to hang on to his laughter for much longer. He decided to intervene.

"Hang on a minute, Quatre. What Heero meant was that I got knocked up."

Quatre turned his gaze to Duo. "You got Hilde pregnant? When did that happen? I thought you hadn't seen Hilde for a while. Oh well, it really doesn't matter I gu.."

"NO!" yelled Heero. That got everyone's attention. He rolled his eyes in exasperation. "Quatre, you're not listening."

"Yes I am, Heero. You said you're going to be parents, that you're adopting or surrogate mother or something along those lines," the blonde beamed.

"We are not adopting, we do not have a surrogate mother and Duo certainly didn't get Hilde pregnant."

"Then..." Quatre frowned. "How are you?"

"Duo is pregnant." Heero sat back and waited. There was a pregnant pause in the air, most appropriate given the circumstances thought Heero.

Quatre sat in silence, his mind running a mile a minute. Duo watched the reactions of his two friends with baited breath. Trowa blinked a couple of times. Suddenly Quatre burst out into giggles. "You know, Heero, I could have sworn you just said that Duo is pregnant. But that can't be possible, I mean, Duo's a man, just like the rest of us, even I know that a man can't get pregnant."

Duo sighed and turned to the blonde, standing up at the same time. "It's true, Quatre. I'm pregnant. Sally has confirmed it and I have the ultra sound pictures to prove it."

"That's impossible," Quatre snorted. "Come on guys, I know I'm blonde but even I'm not that stupid!"

"I know it's hard to believe, Quatre, but Duo is actually a hermaphrodite." Heero said softly.

"A what?" Quatre asked.

"A hermaphrodite. He has female organs as well as male and didn't know anything about his condition until a few days ago when we discovered he is expecting a baby." Heero let the weight of his words sink in.

Trowa turned to face Duo. "You are?"

"Yes." Duo replied.

"You're not kidding about this? You're deadly serious?" Trowa stated.

"No. It's the truth." Duo said softly.

Trowa pointed at Duo's belly. "You have a baby in there?"

Duo nodded. "That's where you usually carry them."

Trowa suddenly lurched forwards off the couch in a dead faint and hit the floor with a thud. Duo and Heero watched the tall man collapse, not really all that surprised at the reaction. They were becoming quite used to it by now. Quatre meanwhile, stood up, stepped over his prone partner and without so much as a glance at the unconscious man he was quick to cross the floor and embrace Duo.

"That's wonderful news, Duo. Oh I'm so happy for you, so happy for you both. This is great! You're actually pregnant, you're going to be a mother... or is it a father? Oh well, doesn't matter. This is wonderful..." Quatre was so excited that his words were coming out in a rush.

Duo exchanged blank looks with Heero over the blonde's shoulder, both casting their eyes to the prone form of Trowa upon the floor and then back at each other. Finally Duo managed to break the stranglehold the Arab had on him and stepped back a bit. "Um, Quatre?"

"Yes, Duo?" The blonde looked eagerly at Duo, his eyes shining with excitement.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" Duo looked pointedly at Trowa who was still in a crumpled heap on the floor.

Quatre followed Duo's line of vision, noting his boyfriend still lying unconscious on the floor and then turned his smiling face back. "Oh, don't worry about him, he'll be fine. He should come around in a minute or two anyway." Quatre's eyes positively gleamed. "A baby. That's such wonderful news. I still can't believe it." The businessman continued in his flood of words, completely ignoring poor Trowa.

Heero got up from his chair and knelt next to the tall Latin, heaving him over so his face was no longer buried in the carpet.

Duo was still concerned about Trowa and faced Quatre once more, interrupting the blonde. "Shouldn't we? Well, pick him up? Maybe try to wake him up or something?"

Quatre sighed and looked again at his boyfriend. "I suppose we had better."

Seeing as how the Arab wasn't moving, Duo stepped across to assist Heero in levering Trowa up and back to the couch.

Heero managed to get his hands under Trowa's shoulders when he spotted Duo about to bend down and grab Trowa's calves. "Duo! Don't you dare try to lift him up!" he growled rather loudly.

That spurned Quatre into action. "No, Duo. Not in your condition. You have a baby to think about now, you can't go lifting heavy things while pregnant. Besides you still have bullet wounds that are healing. You have to take care of yourself, no overdoing things, no lifting and you must be careful what you eat as we..."

"Quatre!" Heero yelled.

"Yes Heero?" the blonde replied as he spun around to face a rather irritated Japanese man.

"Give me a hand will you?" Heero was doing his level best to keep his anger in check, really he was. But if Quatre didn't shut up soon and help him out then Quatre could also find himself needing medical assistance.

"Oops. Sorry Heero," Quatre chuckled and quickly bent to assist Heero in heaving Trowa back to the couch.

Duo rolled his eyes as he watched the pair. / This is all I need. / He thought to himself. / First Heero and now Q-man on my case. Fuck! A guy's never gonna get any peace! /

Finally Heero and Quatre had Trowa back on the couch, cushions under his lower legs to assist in the blood flow back to the Latin's brain. Heero went to fetch a cool cloth and see if they had any smelling salts while Quatre returned his attention to Duo.

Duo was beginning to get a little pissed off with the attention and ranting of Quatre and was relieved to see Heero return with the items in hand. Nodding his head in the appropriate places of Quatre's non stop rambling he assisted Heero to bring the Latin around, careful to keep well out of the way of those obnoxious smelling salts. He'd enjoyed his coffee so far and had every intention of keeping it in his stomach.

Groggily, Trowa returned to consciousness and as his eyes focused, so the truth of the matter came back to him. He looked up at Duo, his voice coming out a little raspy. "You did say you were pregnant didn't you?"

Duo nodded, a wide grin on his face.

"I passed out didn't I?"

Duo nodded again.

"Well shit!" Trowa's brow furrowed.

"Don't worry about it Trowa, Wufei and Heero both fainted as well," Duo snickered.

"They did?"

"So did you, Duo." Heero stated flatly as he removed the washcloth from Trowa's forehead.

Duo simply shrugged his shoulders. "What else was I supposed to do? It isn't every day you find out you're going to be a parent, and carry the child as well."

Trowa snickered. "Quatre?"

"Nope, he didn't bat an eyelid."

"Bugger. You know he's not going to let me forget this don't you?" Trowa's voice held a certain resignation to it.

"Oh, I think he's already forgotten." Duo turned back to the blonde who was still rabbiting on about how Duo mustn't over exert himself.

"I think I should send a few more of the Maguanacs to take care of the place for you, then Heero can look after you properly, Duo." Quatre hadn't quite clicked yet that the attention wasn't all fixed on him. He was too busy thinking about Duo's pregnancy and ways in which he could help out. "I know, Even better, I can set up an office upstairs and do all my business dealings and other related things from here, that way, Trowa and I can both be here to help you out, Heero, make sure that Duo gets his rest and doesn't do anything he shouldn't. Trowa still has a few weeks leave from the circus before they go back on the road so I'm sure he can spend it here with me and you guys. I know he wouldn't mind."

Duo looked at Heero, pure terror written on his face. Heero's look of horror mirrored that of Duo's and even Trowa's face took on a pale tone.

"No way!" hissed Duo.

"Over my dead body!" Heero growled.

"If he does that then I'm getting a divorce!" muttered Trowa.

Both Heero and Duo slowly turned to look at the Latin. "What?" they both said in unison.

"Never mind."

The blonde was still completely oblivious to the reactions of the three others in the room and continued with his plans.

"Yes, I think an office on the upper floor would be just the ticket. I've worked from home before, quite successfully, so there's no reason why I can't do it again. Then I'm right at hand to help out with Duo's pregnancy as it advances..."

"Quatre..."

"Besides, I can also engage expert medical attention for him as well..."

"Quatre!..."

"And then there is a nursery to be furnished..."

"QUATRE!!!"

"Yes?" Quatre turned his attention back to the rest of the group. "What is it, Trowa?"

Trowa had pushed himself to a sitting position by this stage and was barely managing to control his annoyance. "We are not moving in here, Heero and Duo have everything under control. They do not need our assistance or interference, no matter how well intended."

"But..."

"Duo is already under the care of Sally Po and you would be insulting the woman by bringing in outside specialists, no matter how good. Also, if you stop and think for a moment you will see that this pregnancy is not your normal one and if you were to bring in outside specialists can you imagine what they will want to do? They're not going to be content to sit back and watch this pregnancy progress. They're going to want to analyze and study it. Do you really want Duo to become some sort of experiment?"

"But..."

"No, Quatre. No matter how well intended your actions and thoughts are, it is Duo and Heero's lives here, their child and you must accept and abide by their wishes." Trowa kept his voice steady but firm as he tried to make the blonde see sense.

Quatre frowned and thought for a moment, then he turned to face Duo and Heero. "I apologize. I have no right to meddle in this way. Trowa is right, it's your child and your lives and you must do what you feel is the best for the three of you. I just want to help out in any way I can..." Quatre trailed off.

Duo got to his feet and crossed the room to hug the blonde. He felt as guilty as sin now, Quatre looked totally flattened by Trowa's words. "It's okay, Quatre. I appreciate what you want to do for us but we have everything we need. Sally is an excellent doctor and will take good care of me. The nurse will be visiting every second day until I reach my second trimester and then she will be moving in permanently. Heero has a couple of weeks leave to spend with me and he's not about to let me do anything I shouldn't and I will still be working for Preventer but mostly paper work, mission research and coordination. I promise to behave myself and trust me when I say there is no way I would put the life of mine and Heero's child in danger if I can avoid it. Besides, you have already done so much for us both by letting us use this house to live in and supplying us with the Maguanacs. I'm sure you can understand my reasons when I ask you not to speak of this to anyone. I know I can trust the Maguanacs not to breathe a word about my condition, for if the media or the like were to find out I dread to think what they would do to me."

Quatre sighed and gave Duo a light squeeze. "I'm sorry, Duo. I do understand and I will try to back off and leave you guys alone. I guess I'm just so excited and happy for you both that I get carried away. But you will let me know if there is anything, anything at all that I can do for you, either of you, won't you?"

"Yes, Quatre. If there is anything we need I will be sure to let you know. Now, come and sit down and have some more tea. My coffee is nearly cold and I'd like to finish it."

"Coffee? You shouldn't be drinking coffee, Duo. The caffeine isn't good for the baby. I'm sure that Sally would have told you that and barred you from drinking coffee. You should be drinking herbal teas, orange juice and fresh water. I bet you haven't even thought of a dietary plan either. I'm afraid all this junk food such as chips and pizza will have to go. You need to eat fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and cereals. You're eating for two now so you need to be sure to eat the correct things so the baby gets its nourishment..."

Quatre went off once more in his own little world, Duo gave a sigh and looked at Heero who simply smirked and patted the seat next to him, which Duo gratefully sank into. Heero's arm wound around his shoulder and Duo leant into the embrace.

Heero looked across at Trowa who was sitting at the other end of the couch, his face unreadable. "How long did you say you were staying?" Heero asked.

Against his chest, Duo snickered.

~ * ~

tbc........