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"Family Ties"Written By: ShenLong 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 Betaed by the lovely Sakura - aka Eternity *snugs* 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 129 Quiet. It was quiet and peaceful. The fetus moved slightly, stretching its limbs but unable to move much in the confined space of the uterus. Frustrated, it gave a small kick; and came up against another barrier. It rolled slightly and discovered it had a little more space to play with if it maintained this position. Happy with that, the fetus began to work its arms and legs, randomly pushing out at different angles and connecting with the ever present obstacle of the uterine wall. At least it had a bit more space and could stretch a touch further. The fetus tested its appendages for a little while, seeing just how far it could stretch and push before the solid barrier refused to give any further. It was fun and the fetus continued its game for several minutes before beginning to tire. Eventually its energy ran out and the fetus curled back up into a ball, a tiny thumb finding the mouth and sucking on it. * * * “Active little devil, ain’t ‘cha?” Duo muttered and ran a hand over his moving belly. “Ouch!” “You okay, Duo?” Heero questioned from where he was sitting on the floor playing with Keitaro. “Yeah, I’m okay,” Duo sighed. Looking up, Heero gave a soft smile as he watched Duo’s hand rubbing lightly over the swollen abdomen, the belly moving from time to time. “Baby giving you grief?” he asked softly. “In a manner of speaking,” Duo replied. “I’d forgotten just how uncomfortable it can be when they decide to play soccer with your insides. Ow! Take it easy, munchkin.” Scooping Keitaro into his arms, Heero picked himself and his son up from the floor and joined his husband on the couch. Keitaro immediately did his best to crawl into Duo’s lap. “Sorry, Keitaro, there isn’t any room for you there,” Duo chuckled and eased the child to his side where he could cuddle the boy. Duo’s belly moved again and Keitaro’s eyes lit up. Small hands reached for his father’s stomach, Heero grabbing hold of the young one’s wrists and guiding them gently. “Gentle, Keitaro,” Heero warned. The child’s hands landed softly on Duo’s stomach and Duo gave a smile. “Down here,” he said and guided both Heero and Keitaro’s hand to a spot on the right of his belly. The fetus gave another kick and then pushed its foot out against the internal barrier. Duo’s belly jerked and then a lump appeared to the side, moving slowly across the taut skin of the abdomen. Keitaro’s eyes widened as he felt the movement under his hands and he tried to see where it was coming from. Heero also felt the fetus move and watched in awe as the raised bump under Duo’s skin began to move. Reaching forward, Heero placed his hand over the moving ‘bump’ and chuckled as it shifted. He followed it across Duo’s abdomen and back again, his heart swelling with love for the unborn baby. Both father and son continued to ‘play’ with the unborn child, eyes wide as they followed the movements of both Duo’s belly and the child within. “If you’ve both quite finished?” Duo said, the amusement clear in his tone and twinkling in his eyes. Heero looked sheepishly at his partner. “Sorry, didn’t mean to make you uncomfortable but it’s just so unbelievable,” Heero replied. “I know,” Duo said softly, “you don’t have to remind me; and I don’t mind, really. It’s just that I need to go pee.” The soft sound of laughter came from Heero. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, buddy,” Duo groused and began to maneuver himself from the couch. “Let me help,” said Heero and stood up to give his husband a hand up from the couch. “Baba,” Keitaro said, eyes still fixed on Duo’s stomach. “Yes, Keitaro. Baby,” Duo responded with a smile and another sweep of his hand over his belly. “Now I really need to pee.” With his feet under him, Duo waddled off in the direction of the bathroom. He would be really thankful once this pregnancy was over. * * * “How are you feeling, Duo?” Sally asked as she entered the small examination room in the mansion they used for Duo’s check ups. “Not too bad. I’m getting a bit short of breath and my back aches, but other than that, I’m fine,” Duo replied honestly. He’d learnt during his pregnancy with Keitaro that it didn't pay to omit anything from the doctor, Sally would find out anyway. “That’s all to be expected,” Sally replied with a grin. “How do you feel internally?” “Squashed.” “I’m not surprised.” Sally turned as Heero entered the room. “What the hell happened to you?” she asked when she spotted the bruising around Heero’s eye and cheek. Heero huffed. Duo snickered. “If you don’t tell her, I will.” Scowling, Heero faced the doctor who was waiting expectantly. “I happened to mention that the skin across Duo’s abdomen looks as tight as a drum,” he began. “He agreed with me. I also said I could probably play a tune on it as it was so tight and went to see if I could. He didn't appreciate it.” “I’m not a musical instrument,” Duo snapped. Sally laughed. She could easily picture the scene, Heero going to play a beat out on Duo’s belly, the braided man clocking his partner for being so forward. “You didn’t have to hit quite so hard,” Heero retorted. “At least you will think twice next time.” “There won’t be a next time.” “Good.” “Errr... Guys, do you think we can call a truce for the moment? I really need to examine you, Duo.” Two faces looked at the doctor, sheepish expressions on them. “Sorry.” “No problem, you can continue with the domestic after I’m gone,” Sally teased. Heero chose to ignore the teasing and took up residence in his usual spot beside the bed Duo was currently sitting on. “I’ll need you to remove the shirt and lie down for me Duo,” said Sally as she brought the ultra sound machine across. With a grunt, Duo managed to pull off the shirt then turned himself and with Heero’s assistance, swung his legs up onto the bed and lay himself down. His swollen abdomen rose up before his eyes and he swallowed as he realized just how big he was getting. “I hope those internal organs of yours are coping okay,” Sally said as she spread the gel across Duo’s abdomen. “I hope so too,” came Duo’s reply. “Have you been suffering with any heartburn at all?” asked Sally as she brought the sound head into play. “A little,” replied Duo. Scanning over the skin, Sally located Duo’s internal organs one by one and took a good look at them. She frowned as she worked but declined to say anything for the moment. A further scan of Duo’s insides told Sally all she needed to know in relation to the amount of space, or rather, lack of, there was inside. She decided to address this part before moving on and checking the baby. “What’s up, Sally?” Duo asked when he noted the look on the doctor’s face, plus she’d not continued on with the check. “There’s nothing wrong as such,” Sally began, choosing her words carefully, “Everything is okay inside with your internal organs...” “But?” “As you can see, there isn’t a lot of room inside-” “I know that, there wasn’t much room when I was carrying Keitaro either, but I seemed to cope okay,” Duo interrupted. “Yes, that’s true, but in this case there seems to be even less room. This baby is slightly bigger than Keitaro was at the same stage and I’m a little concerned that if it grows too much more then your internal organs could well suffer some damage from being too squashed.” “I see,” Duo whispered. “Is there anything you can do to alleviate the situation?” Heero asked, taking hold of Duo’s hand and squeezing it reassuringly. “Short of removing some internal organs which wouldn’t be in Duo’s best interests, no, I’m afraid there isn’t,” Sally replied, trying to make light with her tone. Duo gave a soft sigh. “I don’t think I like the idea of having anything removed either, I’m kinda attached to my insides, thanks.” “What about the baby?” questioned Heero. “What about it?” Duo asked his husband, clearly confused. “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m pregnant and the baby is growing inside me, Heero.” “Baka! What I meant was, is there any chance that Sally could deliver the baby early to alleviate the pressure on your internal organs?” “It’s a possibility,” Sally stated, “but it will all depend on how developed the baby is. This is the problem we have with premature babies, quite often their lungs are not developed enough when they are born and they have major complications with breathing which leads to problems in other areas too. Duo is currently at roughly 30 weeks and that means the baby’s lungs are almost fully developed. If we have to bring the birth on sooner, I’d rather wait until he’s at 35 weeks or more as the baby’s lungs will be developed enough by that stage to support it.” “I’m not putting this child at risk,” Duo stated firmly. “What I think would be the best thing to do would be to keep an eye on both Duo’s insides and the baby’s development. Once the child gets to a safe delivery stage we will monitor the amount of room inside your abdomen and how it is coping with the child. If it looks like there could be problems then we will deliver the child early.” Sally looked to both men for confirmation. “Sounds good to me,” Heero agreed. “I’ll only go through with something like that if there is no risk to the baby,” Duo said. “I wouldn’t perform it if there was going to be any risk to the child,” Sally replied. “I promise, it will only be used as a last resort. Now, shall we take a look at the child?” “Yes please.” Duo’s tone was eager, he couldn’t get enough of seeing the tiny being on the scans, to know it was a part of him, growing inside his body only made it that much more special. The sound head was deployed once more, sliding across Duo’s belly until the pictures began to show the baby inside. “I think it’s sleeping,” Sally murmured. “It’s curled up, See, here are the legs and that’s the spine...” Sally pointed out the various areas on the screen, Heero and Duo following intently. Since Keitaro and now this child, as the pregnancies progressed both men were getting better at ‘seeing’ what Sally was pointing out on the ultra sound screen. “The length is... ah, forty centimeters from crown to toe; that’s good,” Sally informed the pair. “The baby should also be able to open and shut its eyes now.” “Then I wish it would keep an eye out for my bladder and stop using it as a punching bag,” Duo muttered. “Don’t worry, Duo, the movement should start to slow down soon as there’s not much room for the child to move around. You will probably find over the next few weeks that your breathing may get a little harder, that will be because the child should start to turn around and drop the head down towards your pelvis, getting into the birth position. As it does that so the uterus will push up a little bit and could cause you to become short of breath at times. Don’t worry too much about it but if it does become really uncomfortable, try hopping onto your fours for a bit, that usually helps to ease the pressure.” “Okay, I’ll try to remember that,” Duo responded. “Right, that’s it for today’s session. Any questions?” Sally wiped the gel from Duo’s abdomen and began to pack up the machine. “Nope, I’ve not got any,” Duo said and looked to Heero. “I don’t have any either.” “Good. I’ll stop by in another three days to check you again, Duo. Meanwhile, any problems just call me. Nurse Brown will keep an eye on you and check you out daily for me as well. If that’s it, I’m out of here.” “Thanks, Sally. Have a good evening,” Duo said as he sat up and reached for his shirt. “I’ll come see you out,” Heero stated. “I’ll be back to help you to our room or the lounge in a minute, Duo,” he told his partner before stepping out of the room with Sally. Whilst Heero was seeing the doctor out, Duo finished getting dressed and waited for Heero to return. He didn’t dare try to walk out of the room and down the stairs by himself, Heero would seriously kill him if he did. Heero wasn’t long and soon assisted Duo down the stairs and into the lounge room where he made his husband comfortable on the couch. Nurse Brown was playing with Keitaro, the pair building a castle out of the child’s blocks. “How is everything?” Margaret asked. “All is well with the child although my insides are getting a little cramped,” Duo replied as he eased himself into a slightly more comfortable position. “That’s to be expected,” replied the nurse. “Yeah, don’t remind me,” Duo sighed. “I’ll be glad when this baby is born and I can have my body back.” Nurse Brown chuckled. “Most pregnant women I’ve dealt with over the years would agree with you there.” “I tell you, my respect for the female of the species has gone way up,” Duo said. “And to think, some women actually carry and deliver twins. It’s uncomfortable enough with only one in there, I can’t imagine how it must be having two inside!” “Having two inside what?” Heero questioned as he returned to the lounge room from the kitchen where he’d put the kettle on to make them all a cup of tea. “Two babies, you know, twins?” Duo said with a grin. “You’re not having twins... are you?” Heero visibly paled and the last part came out in a whisper. Duo couldn’t help it, he laughed, loud and long until the tears were running down his cheeks. “No, I’m not having twins.” “I don’t see what’s so funny,” Heero huffed. Even Nurse Brown was chuckling away. “Oh, Heero. You’re what’s funny; if you could have seen your face,” Duo snickered. Heero did his best to draw his tattered dignity back around him. “I’ll go fetch the tea,” he said a little stiffly and went back to the kitchen. “You really shouldn’t tease him like that, Duo,” the nurse scolded. “I know, but I didn’t know he would take it that way; it was just so funny.” Heero returned with a tray bearing a teapot, cups, milk and sugar which he set down on the coffee table. Picking up Keitaro, Heero set the child in his playpen with a bottle of fruit juice, Keitaro grabbing for it and drinking the juice down. With cups of tea in hand, the conversation returned to Duo’s pregnancy. “What does Doctor Po think?” Nurse Brown asked. Duo related what Sally had said in regards to his lack of space inside and should things start to get too cramped she was thinking about delivering the child early. Duo voiced his concerns as he’d done with Sally, Nurse Brown reassuring the man that Sally wouldn’t put either the child or himself at risk. At least with Duo already having one pregnancy and safe delivery under his belt so to speak, they all had a better insight into what to expect. “Have you given any thought to names yet?” asked Nurse Brown as she sipped on her tea. “Actually, no, we haven’t,” Duo replied. “I guess we really should,” Heero said. “It might be an idea to start thinking about what you would like to call he or she,” the nurse advised. “How did you come up with Keitaro’s name?” “I went looking on-line,” Duo said with a grin. “We wanted something really special as Keitaro’s conception and birth are nothing short of a miracle. Sorry, I wasn’t calling you, Miracle,” Duo apologized to the dog who upon hearing her name, had risen from the rug she was lying on and wagging her tail had approached her master. “There’s several good baby name sites out there that have the meanings behind the names so I just went searching and found the name Keitaro,” Duo explained as he patted the dog’s head. “Are you going to give this one a Japanese name, or stick with something American or European?” “You know, I hadn’t really given that any thought,” Duo said honestly. “What do you think, Heero?” “I don’t mind either way,” Heero replied. “I suppose it doesn’t really matter what language the name comes from as long as it’s suitable and we both like it. I guess we should go on line again and have a look around, see what we can find unless you have anything in particular in mind you’d like this child to be called, Heero?” Heero shook his head. “I hadn’t given it any thought, but whatever we come up with it will be special, just as this child is also special.” “Better find something for either sex as we won’t know if it’s a boy or girl until Sally delivers me,” Duo mused. “I kind of figured that,” snorted Heero. Poking his tongue out at Heero, Duo changed the topic. “I’ll worry about names later, right now I’m hungry. What’s for dinner?” * * * It was later that evening when both men were sitting comfortably in bed, laptop perched between them that they went looking for names. “I’ll find us a few good sites to start searching through,” Heero announced and took control of the keyboard. “Putting that superior computer knowledge of yours to work, hey Heero?” Duo teased as he watched his husband’s fingers fly over the keyboard. “Actually, it’s called Google,” Heero replied with a grin. Duo thwaped him upside the head. “Ah, here we are. There could be a few interesting sites in this lot to look through,” Heero said and selected a couple. Duo’s eyes were riveted to the screen along with Heero’s as they investigated the various sites. After a couple of hours, Duo’s eyes were beginning to ache from all the reading on the screen. Heero’s eyes weren’t too much better and the pair decided to call it quits for the evening. Heero shut down the laptop and turned to his partner. “Was there anything in particular you liked out of all of those?” Heero asked. Duo reached for the notebook he had beside him that he’d scribbled a few names down on that they had both quite liked the sound and meaning of. “There’s a few I’ve listed here. A couple of them you mentioned you liked and there’s one or two that I quite like,” Duo replied. “Let’s hear them then.” Heero settled back comfortably against the pillow and waited for his lover to speak. “Okay. boy or girl first?” “Doesn’t matter.” “Then we will stick with tradition; ladies first,” Duo snickered. “I’ve got three down here if it’s a girl. There’s Tamako, which means precious child. Then there’s Nadira, which means rare or precious and lastly, Nasya which means miracle of God.” Duo looked to Heero. “Are there any of those that you particularly like?” Heero tossed the names around in his head for a moment before replying. “I still like Nadira the best out of them all,” he said honestly. Duo gave him a beaming smile and Heero knew he’d said the right name – even if it was his personal favorite. “I like that for a girl too, Heero.” “Then Nadira it is if the baby should be a girl.” Heero smiled at his husband and reached over to caress the swell of the child beneath the bed covers. “What about a boy? I’ve got Ayden, which means little fire, or there’s Nathaniel which means gift of God,” Duo said, reading what he’d written down. “To be honest, I don’t mind either of them,” Heero stated. Duo sucked on the end of his pen for a moment and then locked gazes with Heero. “I think I prefer Ayden,” he said softly. “Then if the child is a boy we will call him Ayden,” Heero replied and reached forward to steal his lover’s lips in a warm kiss. Melting into the kiss, the notebook and pen dropped from Duo’s fingers as he reached to wrap his arms around Heero’s shoulders. “Mmmm, I like,” Duo whispered when they broke for air. “You sure you’re happy with those names, Heero?” “More than happy,” Heero murmured and snuggled closer to his husband. * * * As Duo’s due date drew closer Sally monitored him very carefully. So far he was coping okay with the growing baby and Sally didn’t want to deliver him any earlier than absolutely necessary. As the baby grew, so did Duo’s abdomen. As Sally had told him, his internal organs were shoved to the side to give the growing child more room and Duo found himself reunited with the joys of heartburn, indigestion, constipation and a permanently flowing bladder. With the increase in his physical discomfort Duo’s normally soft and gentle nature also began to disappear and he found himself becoming short tempered and snapping at Heero over trivial things. Although Duo apologized repeatedly for his words and Heero completely understood that it was simply the ‘hormones’ talking, both men admitted they would be more than happy when this child was born and their lives could get back to what passed as normal for them both. Quatre and Trowa returned to Earth two weeks before Duo’s due date, Quatre determined he wasn’t going to miss out on the birth of this niece or nephew. Trowa had been there with Duo for Keitaro and quite honestly he could well do without the dramas this time around; last time had been more than enough to convince him that child birth was best left to the female of the species. Sally had finished another of her checks on Duo and was quite satisfied that he was doing as well as could be expected. Whilst she was at the mansion, she requested a meeting between all the guys and Nurse Brown as well. Curious as to what Sally wanted, all five men and one nurse fronted up to hear what Sally had to say. “I’m sure you must all be curious as to why I wanted to meet with you all,” Sally began and smiled at the nods she received. “It’s really quite simple, I think we need to discuss everyone's role in the upcoming birth.” “I don’t think I follow you, Sally,” Quatre said with a frown. “I know what role I’m playing,” Duo snickered. Sally rolled her eyes, as did Wufei and Heero, Trowa shook his head and Quatre still looked confused. “When Duo is ready for this baby to be delivered all of you are going to have a job to do,” Sally tried again. Seeing the questions about to be fired her way, the doctor was quick to continue. “Naturally I expect Heero to come to the hospital with Duo and be there for the entire delivery.” Heero nodded in reply. “Nurse Brown will also come to the hospital to assist me with performing the caesarian section. With Margaret at the hospital that means we’re going to need someone to remain here and be responsible for looking after Keitaro.” “I will be happy to remain here and look after the child,” Wufei volunteered. The Chinese man figured it would be much easier for him to babysit the child than suffer through things along the lines of the last time. “I don’t mind staying here and looking after Keitaro with Wufei,” Trowa offered. “Thanks, guys,” Duo said softly with a smile of appreciation. “That means I can drive you all to the hospital when the time comes,” Quatre beamed. The silence could be cut with a knife. “Just so you know, we are planning on taking the sedan. No lights or sirens,” Heero stated. “Of course,” replied the blonde, completely oblivious to the underlying sarcasm. “I do know how to drive the sedan.” “I’m glad that’s all settled,” Sally continued on doing her best to avoid any confrontations when she spotted Heero about to reply. Turning to Duo, she addressed the pregnant man. “I assume you have your bag all packed?” “Yup. It’s been packed and ready to go for a week now,” Duo replied smugly. “Good. Don’t forget to bring it to the hospital when you come in. Anyone have any questions? No? Then I will take my leave.” With Nurse brown seeing Sally out, the remaining five men began to discuss the various roles they would play in the upcoming birth of Duo’s child. ~ * ~ tbc.
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