Jason groaned and rubbed his head as Brittney screamed at him. He had such a headache and all he wanted to do was take a nice long nap…
"Jason! Are you listening to me?"
"Huh?" Jason was brought abruptly out of his musings.
"Jason!" Brittney tapped her foot angrily and glared at him.
"Listen, Brit, whatever the hell you’re mad about, I don’t really care. Go…I dunno, get yourself some coffee or something." He yawned as he walked past the shocked teen and stumbled towards the dorms.
Brittney growled with frustration and threw her hands in the air. "I can’t believe him!"
~~~
"Carol…Carol, where are you?" Helen called softly as she walked through the halls. Her footsteps echoed through the empty corridors, but there were no other sounds.
Helen sighed and leaned against the wall. She’d been wandering the halls for nearly two hours, and there was still no sign of her. She hopes she hadn’t found her way out into the city.
Just as she was about to give up and use the PA system, she heard another set of footsteps emanating from behind her.
She spun around quickly, hoping that it was Carol.
But she was disappointed when not Carol, but Saber came around the corner.
"Oh, it’s just you," Helen sighed.
"Who were you expecting?" Saber wondered.
"Carol, have you seen her around?"
Saber nodded, "Down by the boys’ dorms."
"Thanks." She dashed off the other way, hoping that Carol was still there.
She searched the entire area, but there was no sign of her. Helen groaned. She was getting nowhere.
On a final hunch, she found her way towards the officer’s quarters. Maybe she’d somehow figured out where she could find Duo and Hilde.
~~~
"Don’t think I’m going to let you off that easily, Duo Maxwell." Hilde said sternly as she fished around the floor for her shirt.
"Whatever you say babe," Duo yawned from the bathroom. "You know you can’t resist me."
"No one can, that’s your problem!"
Duo frowned, "Come on Hilde, how many times do I have to say it? It was a mistake and I’m sorry! Now can we put it behind us, please?"
"I don’t think we can, Duo. We need to have a talk. After all, your mistake did result in a child."
Duo sighed, "You have a point…" He emerged from the bathroom, still tying his freshly braided hair back with an elastic. He grinned when he saw his wife, still flushed red and a little upset, prancing around the room, trying to cover up any evidence of their excursions.
"We can get through this, right?" Hilde asked as she spun around to face him.
"Of course we can…" Duo smirked and pulled her in for a kiss. They both got so caught up in themselves that neither noticed the door open until it was too late.
"Oh gosh! I’m sorry!"
The couple broke apart in time to see Carol slapping her hands over her face. "I didn’t mean to just walk in, but…I didn’t think anyone was in here."
Duo and Hilde blinked at the girl, but said nothing.
"I knocked and nobody answered, and…"
Still Duo and Hilde allowed her to continue, until…
"Did I interrupt something?" Carol blurted. "Oh wait! That was kind of rude…" Duo threw his head back and laughed loudly, causing Carol to jump.
"No, no, Hilde and I were just…making up." He winked at his petite wife, causing her to blush.
"Oh, um…"
"Well come on in kid, don’t lurk out there in the hallway!" Duo grinned. "I should apologize for the way I reacted anyway. I was…a little shocked."
"I understand," Carol sighed, "I mean, I know that I’m not really supposed to exist, and I’m sorry for getting upset. You had very right to do what you did, and I’m very sorry if I’ve totally complicated your life…" If no one stopped her, the poor girl probably could have continued for hours.
"Whoa, hold on a second!" Duo cried. "What do you mean, ‘you’re not supposed to exist’?"
"Well…I was a mistake, right?"
"A mistake! Well…your existence wasn’t exactly planned but…"
"So I am a mistake."
"Of course not! You’re just uh…" He looked over at Hilde desperately. "Help me out here babe,"
Hilde shook her head and smirked. "Oh no Duo, you’re doing just fine."
Duo groaned. "OK, here’s the deal, I don’t hate you, you’re not a mistake, and nobody is going to question your existence or send you away. So stop asking me things that I can’t answer!"
"You mean it?" Carol asked hopefully, "So I can…I can stay?"
"Of course," This time Hilde spoke. "Family is always welcome."
"Well," Carol said, turning to Duo, "I’m not really looking for a father, so if you don’t want to…"
Duo snorted, "Too bad kid, you have a father now, and I’m him. Welcome to the family."
Carol grinned broadly, "Thanks, Duo."
"Call me ‘Dad’."
"Dad! There you are!"
"Huh?" Duo blinked and tried to figure out where the new voice was coming from. It certainly wasn’t Carol. Behind Carol he could see Helen running down the hallway.
"I was looking for you everywhere!" She scolded. "Where’s…oh, there’s mom, never mind." She sighed. "You two made up pretty quickly." She smirked.
"Mind your own business." Hilde snorted.
"Yeah, no one can stay mad at me. See, you’re not mad at me either."
"I was never mad at you dad…" Helen said, "Just slightly confused, but I’ll get over it."
Duo laughed and gave both his girls a hug. "I’m glad all this is cleared up. But now I think I may have to go explain everything to Noin."
"Don’t bother, Jasmine finished editing the tape an hour ago. Noin, without a doubt, already knows."
"Jazz was taping it?!?" Duo cried furiously.
"When isn’t she?" Helen chuckled. Duo’s eye’s narrowed and he stormed off. Hilde stood behind him for a moment before she sighed and followed him.
The two girls watched them go before looking at each other.
"So…" Helen started,
"Yeah, so…" Carol agreed.
"Well, this is a little awkward," Helen laughed nervously.
"Yeah,"
"My other sister died, you know."
"Duo has another girl?"
"No, she was my adoptive sister."
"They adopted,"
"No, I was adopted,"
"Huh?"
"It’s a long story. Noin’s been sorting out our rooms now that some of the extra Preventors are being moved out. We don’t have to stay in the dorms anymore; we just have roommates. I’ll talk to Noin about letting you bunk with me and kicking Jasmine out."
"Really?!"
"Of course, after all, don’t you think we sister’s should stick together?" Carol smiled gratefully at the older girl. "Yeah, thanks a lot, Helen."
"No problem,"
~~~
Noin sighed as she looked at the faces of her Gundam Pilots.
"You mean to tell me that that girl we picked up in New York is actually Duo’s illegitimate daughter?" Jason gawked.
"Yes," Noin said, "And I expect you all to make her feel welcome here. I just thought it was best for all of you to know."
"Who would have thought, of all people, Duo had an affair." Wufei said sarcastically.
Helen and Duo both glared at him. "It was not an affair! Hilde and I were divorced!" Duo argued.
Wufei muttered something under his breath and crossed his arms in front of him.
"Well…now that all that is taken care of, we can get down to business. First off, I am proud to say that we recovered Helen all in one piece, with limited setbacks."
Helen snorted, she knew that Noin didn’t know the whole story. Noin didn’t seem to notice, though. Jason looked at her with concern, but Helen paid no attention to him.
"I have something to say," Wufei said suddenly.
All eyes turned to him, and Helen glared at him, expecting him to make some chauvinistic remark about how she fell for Jeff’s ploys. So it was very surprising to her when he didn’t even say Jeff’s name. Instead he brought up Cassius.
"After the attack on Paris, Cassius mentioned that she’d done what she had to Jasmine because of me…"
"Oh yeah," Duo remarked, "I’d almost forgotten about that.
"What are you saying Wufei? Are you suggesting she may actually have some sort of sick crush on you?" Sally hissed.
"Maybe…"
"Well…" Noin urged.
"I want to accompany the new Gundam pilots on their next mission."
"Wait a second!" Sally cried, "Are you saying you want to use yourself as bait?"
"Yes,"
"But Wufei…!"
"Do not argue with me woman!" Wufei snapped. "I have made my decision. If it will help defeat the Matatara Foundation, I will do it."
Noin frowned and thought for a moment, "Alright Wufei, we’ll try and work something out."
"Then include me too!" Sally stood up from her seat.
"Woman…" Wufei warned,
"WUFEI! For the last time! My name is SALLY! Sally! Stop calling me ‘woman’!"
Wufei didn’t respond so Sally took it as an invitation to continue.
"Like it or not Wufei, I’m going with you. There’s no way I’m leaving my husband in the hands of that psycho! You married me Wufei, now you’re gonna have to deal with me!"
Despite everything, Wufei smirked, "You are a good wife, Sally Chang."
Sally nodded and promptly sat back down in her seat. "Now that that’s settled, let’s get on with the meeting."
~~~
Although the meeting was rather heated, nothing really got done. Jason couldn’t help but complain to himself about the waste of time. The only thing that had actually been established was that Wufei and Sally were coming with them on their mission.
Jason’s thoughts still dwelled on Helen. She’d left immediately for her room once the meeting was over. Everything with Jeff and now discovering that Carol was her sister had taken its toll on her. He decided to leave her alone so she could get some sleep.
Jason discovered that he too was tired, so he walked towards the boys’ dorms where his room was. Hopefully, David, who’d been assigned as his roommate, wouldn’t bother him. He probably wouldn’t though; last time he checked David had left for town with Alexis.
Jason sank down onto his bed and ran his hands through his hair. He recalled his conversation with Brittney earlier. He knew she was upset with him, but for some reason he really didn’t care. All he could think about was Helen and he didn’t understand why. Could it be that he really did still care about Helen? He would have to do a lot of thinking. He lay down on his bed and stared up at the ceiling. He needed to figure out how he felt about both girls.
~~
"I’m glad we finally have a change to hang out." Alexis sighed as she latched on David’s arm and looked around the town. "This place is pretty cool, don’t you think, Dave?"
"Yeah," David agreed with a smile.
"I’ve never even been to Earth before this." She commented. Africa is an interesting choice for a first visit."
"I agree; Earth has some very beautiful places and interesting cultures." Alexis smiled and looked back out at the street ahead of her.
"Let’s go in here!" She suggested suddenly. She pointed at a coffee shop called ‘Tim Horton's’. "OK…" David and Alexis walked inside, ordered some coffee and sat down.
David took a slow sip of his coffee and noticed that Alexis was staring at him.
"This is pretty good," He commented, staring at his coffee and trying to avoid meeting her gaze.
"I’m so in love with you, David Winner." She said.
David quickly choked on his coffee and looked at her. They’d said ‘I love you’ many times before, but now Alexis actually seemed serious. He looked up at her curiously.
"I want to marry you, David." Alexis told him. She giggled when he blushed.
"L-Lex…w-what are you saying? A-are you…?"
"Will you marry me, Davie?" She rested her chin on top her hands on the table and blinked at him.
It took a long time for David to realize that she really meant it.
"Wait a second, you’re proposing?!"
"Yeah…"
"No, no, Lex! His is all wrong! I’m supposed to do that!"
"I’m sorry Dave, but I don’t want to wait any longer. I want you to be mine."
"Ok," David smiled, "But ‘m going to get you a ring!"
"No…you don’t have to do that…"
"But I want to! We’ll get it right now!" He grabbed Alexis’ arm and dragged her out of the Tim Horton’s in search of a jewelry store.
~~~
Brittney sat inn the cafeteria for over an hour after the meeting, sipping on an endless supply of coffee. Finally, she got up and left for the lounge. She’d been sitting there thinking about Jason, but it was too noisy for her. She was afraid that Jason loved Helen more than he did her. She couldn’t let that happen. She needed to…
"Brit?"
Brittney snapped her face up and found herself face to face with the very person she’d been thinking of.
"Jason! I was hoping you’d stop by." She smiled.
"Yeah…"He didn’t look quite as happy to see her. "Listen Brit, I need to talk to you."
"If it’s about Helen, I guess I understand. I mean, you have every right to be worried about her and…"
"It’s a bit more than that." Jason cut her off.
"Oh…well uh, come sit down," She patted the place on the couch next to her. Jason shook his head and instead sat down on a chair across from her.
He took a long, deep breath and looked her straight in the eye. Brittney was starting to get concerned.
"Brittney listen, I’m really sorry I have to tell you this but…"
"But…" Brittney urged nervously.
"I think I’m in love with Helen."
Brittney had nothing to say Her mouth fell open and her eyes widened, but her throat was dry. "Y-you what?" She finally managed to choke out.
"I’m in love with Helen." He repeated. "I’m sorry," He got up to leave. Brittney said nothing to him until he was in the doorway.
"Hold it! You’re dumping me for a girl that hates your guts!" She screamed. "How could you?!"
Jason stopped and glared at her. "How could I what?" He hissed, "I can’t help it if I don’t love you! How could anybody? You’re an over-possessive bitch! And as for Helen, she may not like me all that much now, but when she does, I’m gonna be there."
Brittney glared murderously at him as he stormed off. As soon as he was a good distance away she let herself break down into tears. She dashed off from the lounge and ran to her room. There she threw herself on her bed and sobbed.
After she had exhausted herself with her tears, all that was left inside was rage. Her eyebrows knit together tightly and she clutched her sheets in her fists. She growled in rage as she shot up from the bed again and began wildly throwing things into the suitcase. If they were going to treat her like shit, they would pay for it.
