Disclaimer:  I own nothing.  The song is God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood.  I heard it for the first time just two days ago, and I knew right away what had to be done with it.

Dedication:  I rarely do dedications, and, when I do, they're usually for friends of mine who gave me the idea or who edited the story or something.  This time, however, I'd like to dedicate this story to all the victims of the attacks on September 11, 2001; especially those, dead and alive, missing or found, whose lives were changed in just an instant.  It is a whole different world now, and we have to discover exactly what it has in store for us.

~*If tomorrow all the things were gone*~

                Duo groaned as an anxious, worried hand shook him awake.  He had been having a wonderful dream about Hilde and moonlit oceans and a single day without being bothered with Preventer work, and he was quite annoyed that he had been interrupted.  He opened his eyes groggily and then quickly shut them again as sunlight invaded his visual zones.

                “Wake up, Duo!”  A familiar voice was attempting to coax him into submission, but he refused to be moved.  Duo continued to try blocking out all the light filtering through his tightly shut eyelids and the panicked sounds of about six people running around the room at break neck speed.

~*I’d worked for all my life*~

                “I am awake!  Jeez, Hilde, can’t a guy get some sleep around here?”  Duo rolled over onto his back, utterly exhausted and ready to go back to sleep.  He had spent a late night working at the Headquarters on some case having to do with a proposed attack on someplace he couldn't quite recall.  He had only gotten home around one that morning to be greeted by a sleeping, pregnant wife and a cold dinner waiting on the table.  He had the feeling Hilde had gotten tired of waiting up for him.

                He’d gone up in the world since the end of the war.  He had his own salvage shop in New York City, which Hilde fondly referred to as the mobile suit graveyard, which the two of them lived atop of, and worked part time as a Preventer.  He’d worked very hard to get up that far, but lately everything seemed to be going to ruin.

~*And I had to start again with just my children and my wife*~

                “Duo!  We need to get out of here!” Hilde pleaded, pulling on his arm.  “Come on, get up!”

                Duo, still heavy with exhaustion and sleep, reacted purely on instinct.  He threw Hilde’s large, very pregnant form to the floor with just a heave of his arm.  Her startled cry made him realize exactly what he had just done and he snapped to his feet, running to Hilde and crouching by her side.

                “Dammit, Hilde, babe, I’m sorry!  I didn’t mean to hurt you!”

                Hilde winced, then reached up to touch his cheek.  “I know, sweet heart.”  The expression on her face suddenly grew worried again.  “But there’s no time.  Get dressed, we need to get out of here!”

                Duo shot his wife a skeptical look.  “Why?”

                “The tower!  The Trade Tower was attacked today,” she babbled, on the verge of weeping.  “It was on the news, and they say it isn’t good and we need to get out of here, Duo, we need to get out!”

~*I’d thank my lucky stars to be living here today*~

                “The Trade Tower?  What Trade Tower?  What are you talking about, Babe?” Duo asked, starting to get a little bit afraid himself.  Unable to speak through her sobs, Hilde flicked the radio on and let the sounds of the news reporters speak for her.

                “At eight o'clock this morning, the World Trade Tower, rebuilt after it was attacked by terrorists in September of the year 2001, witnessed a repeat attack, this time by a commercial jet liner, rumored to be that Vice-Foreign Minister Relena Dorlian-Yuy and her husband, Heero Yuy, were traveling in to get to the Colony X178 from Earth.  It is suggested that all residents of New York City within two blocks of the tower evacuate the area as soon as possible.  I repeat, please evacuate the area and-.”

                Hilde flicked the radio off.  “Do you understand now, Duo?”

                Duo exhaled a shaky breath.  Their shop, and home, was only a block away from the tower.  “God dammit.  Hilde, we've got to get out of here.  Now.”  He sprang to a standing position and flew over to his closet, where he managed to pull on a pair of jeans and a black shirt in record time and bounce out again to find that Hilde had his boots ready for him, as well as two black canvas bags, which Duo assumed had their few belongings in it.

~*’Cause the flag still stands for freedom*~

                It wasn’t long before Duo and Hilde were out the door and trying their hardest to get through the crowded mass of people on the street trying to either get to the scene of the crisis or get away from the chaos.  It made Duo a bit angry to realize that the crowd going away from the whole mess was the minority group.  It didn’t seem to matter if it was a car accident, someone being pulled over by the police, or an attack on a major landmark, rubber neckers were always ready to say ‘I was there’ and watch all the action, not even bothering to consider if they were in the way or not.  Duo could remember a time, when the Gundams had still been around, that people had kept away just because they were afraid for their safety.  Times had changed over the past four years.

                Duo looked back at the home he and Hilde were abandoning and cursed.  Hilde looked up at him, worry spreading over her face.  It was obvious that she wasn’t in much of a state for running, and any crisis could mean disaster for her.  Duo was more than aware that her baby was due any day now, and here she was, in the middle of the biggest crisis that they had ever witnessed on Earth.  He patted her shoulder.

                “Don’t worry, Babe.  I need to get something real quick.”  With those words, he ran back to the house and yanked the tiny red, white, and blue flag off its place on their door.  It was only a little thing, but Duo always kept it around to remind him that he had a home now, and that he, and every one else, was free.

~*And they can’t take that away.*~

                When he reached Hilde again, who had stopped dead on the sidewalk where he had left her, she gave him a reproachful look.  “Duo, that flag isn't worth dying for!  It's the idea that counts, not that little thing!”  She pulled on his shirtsleeve.  “None of the taxi drivers are willing to stop.  Seems that they’re all heading away from here as quickly as they can.  And someone told me that the subways are down.  The only way to get out of the disaster area is on foot.  And the Tower could fall at any second!”

                Duo looked at her, biting his lip.  He didn’t like the idea of his wife walking out of the city in the state she was in, but what was he going to do?  “Why is everyone going to the Tower?” he asked in more of an agitated tone than anything else.  Hilde looked concerned.

                “The Vice-Foreign Minister and her husband were supposed to be on one of those planes.  You heard that on the radio, Duo.  The terrorists are against the peace action, and they came after the two of them.”

                “Heero and Relena?”  Duo felt his breath catch in his throat.  No, not them!  Heero was the best friend Duo had ever had, and Relena... well, Duo wouldn’t care much about that, except she was still needed in the world.  She, like his little flag, was a symbol that stood for everything Duo held dear.  Freedom, security, peace...  He blinked back a tear.  It didn’t matter.  Whatever happened to them, Heero and Relena would only become a greater symbol that no one could ever take away from them, the common, fearful people.  He and Hilde went on.

~*I’m proud to be an American*~

                It was an hour later before Duo and Hilde found their way to the New York subway.  Contrary to the information given to Hilde earlier, the railway was still operational and lead out of the city.  It was times like these when Duo was really glad he could trust his instincts.

                Getting on the almost empty train, he made sure Hilde was sitting down and comfortable before he found himself a seat right by her.  He set the two bags that he had been carrying since they left the house at his feet and sighed.  Those things had gotten real heavy real quick, but he sure was glad they had them.  If the Tower fell, the contents of those bags would be the only things they had left, besides each other.

                Not, of course, that they hadn’t been faced with similar circumstances before.  They had started at the bottom, after all.  From there, the only place to go had been up.  And now look where that had led them.  When you were halfway up the ladder, there were two ways you could go.

                Duo leaned back against the wall of the train.  This had been one hell of a day, and it wasn’t over yet.  The radio broadcast was sounding through the loud speakers on the roof of the train, telling the few people riding the train exactly what was going on.  As of yet, the Tower was still standing, and the identical tower hadn’t been attacked.  Perhaps this wasn't going to be a repeat performance of the Peace Day attacks after all. (1)  Duo could only hope it wasn’t.

~*Where at least I know I’m free*~

                The broadcast that interrupted the soft strains of a commercial dissipated that one comfort.

                “Ladies and gentleman, I come to you live from the World Trade Center, where the Trade Tower crisis is taking place.  I’m afraid I have to inform you all that a second plane has crashed into the other tower in just these past two minutes.  The extent of the damage is not known to us at this time, but many fear this is indeed another example of history repeating itself.  I believe it is safe to say that countless many have already perished in these attacks.  There has been no word from the Vice-Foreign Minister or her esteemed husband as of yet, and it is assumed, until we have received word from them, that they are among those many whose lives were sacrificed.”

                Duo didn’t bother listening to the rest of the broadcast, too high-strung and tense to make out any more of the words from a faceless person and a strangers voice.  He pulled his bag up to his lap and started rooting through it.  Right about now, he could care less about the Preventer security protocol, or the rules on letting people know that he was part of the organization.  He had to know first hand what was going on.

~*And I won’t forget the men who died*~

                It took a minute, but he found what he was looking for, as well as a few other things.  Trust Hilde to get all the essentials together and ready in under five minutes.  Good, reliable Hilde.  Glancing her way, he smiled.  She was asleep.  Good.  She didn’t have to hear any of this.

                Ignoring the glances he was getting from the three or four other people on the train, he pulled his radio receiver out of his bag and flicked it on.  Static.  Good.  That meant the other one was on too.

                “Heero, you there?  Heero, this is Duo, do you read me?”  He let go of the button and static came again.  Damn.  “Heero, answer me.”  More static.  “Heero, this is no time to play games!  Respond, you bastard and tell me what your position is and if Relena’s with you!”

                The other passengers edged closer, having heard the name of the Vice-Foreign Minister, and that of her husband.  Their interest was sparked; it seemed a Preventer had wandered into their midsts, and one who was closely connected to the two people who were admired above all, both socially and politically.  This was something for the scrapbooks.

                “Heero!”                                                                          

                The answer was very faint, but it was there.  “These things don’t work well over long distances, Duo.  Talk fast.”

~*Who gave that right to me*~

                “Heero!  Thank God, Heero, you’re okay.  Is Relena with you?”  Duo's words all came out in a tangled string of relief and confusion.  If Heero’s plane had gone down, where in the world was Heero?

                “Of course she’s with me, baka.  What did you expect?”  Heero’s gruff voice sounded as monotonous as always, as though nothing at all important was going on, but it was a welcome sound, for a change.  A very welcome sound.

                “Heero?  Who is that?  The senator again?”  A familiar, more feminine voice, although a bit shaky and rattled, sounded over the radio, and at the sound of it, all of the other passengers went into a swoon.  To think, they were hearing the voice of the Vice-Foreign Minister first hand!  Duo watched them out of the corner of his eye, half sure that they were all going to start bowing at his feet.

                “Relena, Heero, have you two been listening to the news?”

                “Yes.  The plane that went down at the Tower wasn’t ours.  Do you really think I would have the plane Relena and I were on broadcasted all over the world?”  Heero sounded a bit annoyed.

                “No.  I guess not,” Duo said hesitantly.  “But who was on the two crashed planes?”

                There was a long silence.  Finally, Heero spoke up.  “Trowa.  Quatre.  And ninety-three innocent civilians, over fifty on each plane.”  Duo could hear Relena start to sob in the background.  Heero released the communication button for a moment, probably, Duo guessed, to comfort his wife without showing Duo that the Perfect Soldier actually had human emotions.  Static came on again, but this time Duo found if fitting.  Trowa and Quatre were gone.

~*And I gladly stand up next to you*~

                Duo pressed a hand to his forehead, trying to relieve the headache that had just popped into existence with that single thought.  Trowa and Quatre.  Two of his greatest friends.  “Damn them,” he cursed under his breath.  “Whoever they are.”

                The passengers on the train were all on the edge of their seats.  They all knew about Quatre Rebarba Winner, the world-renowned trillionare.  He had been, quite possibly, the richest man alive.  The fact that he was no longer alive didn’t seem to come to any of them immediately, but they were all seemingly amazed that the mild looking man with the long braid knew so many important people.

                Heero came on again.  “Where are you and Hilde?  The two of you live close to the Towers, do you not?”

                Duo smiled sadly.  “We’re fine.  On our way out of the city, ala subway.  Hungry and disheveled, but alive.  And not in a lot of danger anymore.”  He glanced back over at Hilde.  “Thank the Lord for that.  I don’t think Hilde could take another ounce of chaos.  Not in the state she’s in.”

                There was a pause.  “When is she due?”  It was Heero who asked this, much to Duo’s surprise.  It didn’t seem like something the Perfect Soldier would really care about.

                “Soon.”  He let his gaze slide back to Hilde.  “Real soon.”

~*And defend her still today*~

                “You two be careful.  Relena and I are going to contact a local news station as soon as we can, to try to relieve the situation a bit.  We don’t exactly have any means of communication right about now.”

                “Where are you?”

                “Heading East to the old safe house.  You remember where that is?”

                “Would be hard to forget,” Duo said, letting his eyelids fall in remembrance.  The safe house.  The five Gundam pilots had all spent a year after the war there, letting things tide over after the Marimaia incident, more to avoid the cameras that were always clambering after them than for their safety.  It was a little place in the middle of nowhere, perfect for hiding out in times of trouble.  Duo had spent some of the best times of his life there, after Hilde had moved in with them.  That had been where Duo had proposed, as a matter of fact.  “I don’t think I could ever forget that place.”

                “Good.  I expect to see you there by nightfall.  Hilde too, and Wufei, if he can be contacted.”

                “What for?”

~*’Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land*~

                There was another long pause.  “You know what for.”  Thinking over it, Duo found that he did.  For Relena.  Even during an international crisis- or perhaps more so because it was an international crisis- Heero was still determined to protect Relena from any type of dangers.  Terrorists set on destroying the peace were probably going to try to assassinate the symbol of peace were probably a danger on the top of Heero’s list.

                “Yeah.  I know.”  Duo hesitated.  “I’ll find Wufei.  Hey, how are you guys getting to the safe house?”

                “Flight 423 from the Sonia Airport,” Heero told him in a bored tone.  “Left two hours ago and will land in a corresponding airport in the relative area of the house within the hour.  Relena and I will meet a car there and we’ll be driven to a spot within walking distance of the house.”

                The idea that they were on an airplane made Duo’s blood run cold, but he ignored the ridiculous thoughts popping into his head.  “Walking distance for you or for her?”

                “Both.”

                Duo smiled.  “She isn’t wearing heels, is she?”

                “Shut up, Maxwell.  I'll see you by nightfall.  Yuy, over and out.  And God bless.”

~*God bless the USA*~

                “Amen to that,” Duo said softly.  “Even if it didn’t mean a damn thing to you,” he said, mainly to himself.  Heero had only said that for Duo’s benefit, and they both knew it.  “Maxwell, out.”  He turned his receiver off the frequency and set it in his lap for a moment, reaching over to stroke Hilde’s hair.  He hated to be doing this to her, he really did.  Taking his pregnant wife to a house in the middle of nowhere probably wasn’t a good idea, but it had to be done...  As a Preventer, and as a friend, he had to be there for Heero and Relena.  It was his job, and his moral duty.

                Hilde would understand.  In fact, she’d probably insist that they go.  She was just as much as friend to Relena as he was to Heero, and she would force him to take her to the safe house and leave Duo to pray that Wufei had the sense to bring Sally Po along with him.  It never hurt to have a doctor around.

                Sighing, Duo picked his receiver up again and changed the frequency to the one Wufei was supposed to be on.  Duo realized with a pain that it was also the one that Quatre and Trowa were supposed to be on as well.  Never again.  Tears came to Duo's eyes as he hit the communication button again.

                “Wufei.  Duo Maxwell to Wufei Chang.  Answer, Wufei Chang.”  A small pause with a little of the welcome static.  “Wufei?”

~*From the lakes of Minnesota*~

                “I’m here.  What is it, Maxwell?”  Wufei’s familiar voice sounded strained and a bit anxious.  “Have you heard from Yuy and the onna?  Their frequency is not coming in from here.”

                “Yeah, I’ve talked to them.  Heero says that they weren’t on the plane that crashed, that was just the one that they were using as a decoy.  You know how Heero is.  Anyway, we’re supposed to meet them at the safe house by nightfall.  Can you make it?”

                “What about Barton and Winner?  Have you spoken with them?”  Wufei was sounding a bit angry.  “For two people on the same frequency as I, it is hard to keep in contact with the two of them.”

                Duo swallowed the lump in his throat.  So Wufei didn’t know.  “They were on the plane.”

                Wufei was silent a moment.  “Curse it.”

~*To the hills of Tennessee*~

                Duo almost smiled at that.  Maybe Wufei had a heart after all.  “My thoughts exactly.  Can you and Sally make it to the safe house by tonight?”

                “We’re a bit busy, Maxwell.  We’re trying to clear the area and get people out of there.  The onna is still trying to play doctor inside the building.”

                “She is a doctor, Wufei.”  Duo thought a moment.  “Wait, you're inside the place?”

                “Yes, Maxwell.  Do you have any other stupid comments to make before we sign off?”

                “Get the hell out of there.”

                Wufei sounded confused.  “What?”

                Duo cursed.  “Don’t you read your history books?  When the towers were hit by planes in 2001, they collapsed.  Death toll was around six or seven thousand; quite a few of them rescue workers who were trying to get people out and-”

~*Across the plains of Texas*~

                Duo was interrupted by the sound of creaking metal and a scream.  “Wufei!  Get out of here!”  The voice sounded very much like Sally’s, and Duo suddenly realized what was going on as Wufei let go of the communication button and static filled the frequency lines.  Duo stared at his receiver just as the announcement came on the speakers above him that the twin towers had fallen.

                “No...”  Duo blinked back more tears.  “Wufei...”  Duo’s head fell to his chest and he clenched his hands together tightly, letting the receiver fall to the floor.  “God dammit, that makes three.  Trowa, Quatre, and now Wufei...”  He let out his breath in that one ragged statement.  “Heero.  I need to tell Heero.”

                He fumbled around on the floor for his receiver, and was surprised when a stranger’s hand reached towards him, picking up the fallen radio and handing it back to him.  Duo’s head snapped up in order to look at the stranger.

~*From sea to shining sea*~

                Duo couldn’t remember ever seeing this woman before in his life, but she looked oddly familiar.  Her hair was long and starting to transform from the stunning blonde color it once was to a bright silver one.  Her eyes and the top half of her face were hidden by her long bangs and the way she was tilting her head towards the floor, as though she was ashamed of letting Duo see her face.  Duo blinked.  Odd.

“Thanks.”

                The woman shook her head.  “No.  You have our thanks.”  She lifted her head up here, and Duo suddenly recognized her, although her tear filled eyes were a strange sight to him indeed.

                “Dorothy.  It’s been awhile.”  Duo blinked.  “Quatre told us you had gone out to California.  You’re a long ways away from home.”

                Dorothy nodded.  “I know.”  There was a long pause.  “You need to talk to Heero.”  She thrust the receiver into his hand.  “Talk to him before I contact him myself.”

~*From Detroit down to Houston*~

                Duo smiled.  “I think I can take of it from here.”  Dorothy nodded at him and returned to her seat on the opposite side of the car.  Perhaps if Duo had known that she would get off at the next stop, and Duo would never hear from her again, he would have spent a little more time talking with another aging war vet.  As it was, Duo simply tuned his receiver back onto the frequency of the Perfect Soldier and pushed the communication button.

                “Heero, it’s Duo again.”  A long pause, filled only by static.  “If you’re there, pick up.  Come on, Heero, it’s about Wufei.”

                “I’m here.  What about Wufei?”

                Duo swallowed a lump that as slowly building up in his throat.  “He and Sally Po are trapped under the towers, I think.  Maybe dead.”

                Heero was silent for a long while.  “This isn’t good.”  There was static as Heero let go of the communication button, probably to speak with Relena.  Duo bit his lip.  Something was wrong here, and apparently Heero was trying to leave him in the dark.

~*And New York to L.A.*~

                Duo frowned, pressing the communication button.  “Heero, what aren’t you telling me?”  Silence.  Duo bit his lip.  “Heero, come in.  What aren’t you telling me?”

                The static stopped, indicating that Heero had pressed the communication button, but there was no answer from the Perfect Soldier for a long while.  Finally, after what seemed to Duo to be forever, Heero spoke again.

                “I don’t know, Duo.  That’s what I’m not telling you.”  Heero was silent for a moment.  “I just don’t know.  Whenever the Earth Sphere Unified Nations were attacked before, we always knew who it was doing the attacking and for what reasons.  This time no one is sure exactly what is going on or what’s going to happen.  But the only thing we do know is that we five Gundam pilots are being picked off one by one, for some reason or another.  All other notable authority figures will probably be next in line.  First they killed Quatre who, due to his celebrity status, were easiest to locate, then Trowa, who was only a little bit harder.  It’s well known that he was one of the few Preventers who goes on every plane in which a government official is supposed to be flying.  Then Wufei who would be just as simple to find, as he is a Preventer and the Preventers respond in cases of emergency.”

                “And the Trade Tower attacks is probably as emergency as you can get.”

                “Exactly.”

~*There’s pride in every American heart*~

                “That’s not good,” Duo said in a voice barely above a whisper.  “So who’s next, you or me?”

                “Well, which one us will be easiest to find?”

                Duo was quiet, thinking for a moment, and then looked around him on the almost deserted subway.  So many strangers were there, but how many of them could hold information for an enemy?  Were any of them capable of such an action as to kill more innocent people in order to get rid of one ex-Gundam pilot?  A thought suddenly occurred to Duo.  Heero was on a plane.  And Relena was with him.  Kill two birds with one stone, knock one plane out of the sky and aim for something important.  And do it in a way no one would expect.  Unfortunately, Duo was the master of the unexpected.  “Oh damn.”

                “What?”

                “I don’t care how you do it, Heero ol’ buddy, but you need to get off that plane.  Every attack so far has had to do with a plane, and you don’t want to become a statistic.”

                “I think I can handle any possible hijacker, Duo.”

~*And it’s time we stand and say:*~

                “That’s my point, Heero.  These guys, whoever they are going to want to hit hard and hit fast, before anyone realizes that they aren’t going by the pattern.  Every death so far has gone to pattern, more or less, with a few alterations to make up for anything that’s changed over the past thousand some years.  Like counting in the Preventers and making it so that the architectural changes in the tower wouldn’t matter so much and it would still fall.  What do you think is going to happen next?”

                Heero was silent for a moment.  “Another plane will be hijacked and will crash into the United States Pentagon.  Am I right?”

                “That’s where you’re wrong.  That’s what happened in the Peace Day Attacks, yes, but if you were going to attack the place, would you do something that everyone is expecting?  The Preventers probably already have all their best security around the Pentagon and the White House.  Do you want to attack something that’s being so closely guarded?”

                There was a long silence over the radio receiver.  “So what is going to happen next?”

~*I’m proud to be an American*~

                “I don’t know for sure, but I think that the attacker is going to be already on your plane.  So watch out, and try not to get killed.  Okay, buddy?”

                Heero was quiet for a moment.  “Alright.  I’ll do my best.”

                “Heero!” Relena’s voice sounded in the background.  “There’s something wrong!”

                Heero cursed.  “I’ll be right there, Relena.  Duo, I’ll be back in a minute.”  The connection ended and all Duo heard was static.  He waited for what seemed like forever before the announcement came over the speakers.

                “This just in- another aircraft has crashed, this time into the Earth Sphere Alliance Headquarters on this planet.  It has been confirmed that the Vice-Foreign Minister and her husband were on this place and have most likely died in the crash.  Please stay tuned to WBT for further updates.”

~*Where at least I know I’m free*~

                Duo’s breath caught in his throat.  Heero and Relena were down.  So now what happened?  Was he really worth going after?  Did anyone know where he was; he’d done his best to keep his existence a secret, as well as Hilde’s connections to him.  Especially Hilde’s connections to him.  If she got hurt, he didn’t know what we would do.  His gaze journeyed back to his sleeping wife.  What would he do without her?

                Duo reached out with his hand and stroked his wife’s hair with a light touch.  The completion of the war had meant so much to them both.  They had been free to be something besides soldiers and warriors, and they had been able to be together without fear.  They had decided to live in New York City because of how hard it was to trace people there, as there were so many, so that they could hide from any enemies who threatened them or the others.  So they could be together without fear.  So that they could raise a family in peace.

                Duo wished life was as easy as he wanted it to be.

~*And I won’t forget the men who died*~

                If only…  Duo swallowed the large lump that was building up in his throat.  Quatre.  Trowa.  Wufei.   Heero and Relena.  And who knew how many others.  His voice tightened in his throat and he let out a dry, rasping sob.  “This isn’t fair.”  He covered his face with his hands.  It just wasn’t fair.

                A hand touched the back of his neck, under the braid, warm and comforting.  “Duo…”

                Duo reached back and took Hilde’s hand in her own.  “I’m the only Gundam pilot still alive, Hil.  One left out of five.  The others all are dead or dying.  I’m the only one left, and I don’t know if they’re going to come after us or not, or if we’re safe where we are…”

                The subway stopped at a station just a few miles outside of the city while Duo was still speaking, and Hilde stood up, taking in her hands one of the two bags.  “Come on, Duo.  We better get off before people start to think we’re real wackos.”

                Duo nodded dumbly, grabbing the other bag and rushing into the empty subway station.  “This entire nation was built on sacrifice, Hilde.  Did you know that?  Men died so that this place could be free from Britain, men died to free the slaves in the Civil War, men died so America could gain land, protect its rights, and just live peacefully.  What good are we getting from this, Hilde?  What lesson do we have to learn this time?”

                Hilde was quiet.  “I don’t know, Duo.”

~*Who gave that right to me*~

                She suddenly doubled over, clutching at her swelled abdomen.  “Damn… Duo, I think it’s time!”

                Duo blinked.  “Time for what?” he asked, blinded by his thoughts of sacrifice and lessons.

                “What do you mean, time for what?  What do you think it’s time for?”  She winced.  “I want a hospital, Duo, and I want it now!”

                “Okay, Hilde, okay!  Just wait a second!”  All thoughts of his friend’s deaths left his mind as Duo’s head was suddenly filled with the terrible realization that he might be a father before the day was out.  The thought scared him, but it also excited him.  Duo led his wife up the stairs to the area outside, where the streets were blocked up with so much traffic that he could hardly see the other side of the street.  Duo swore.  This was just not his day.

~*And I gladly stand up next to you*~

                Duo bit his lip, looking around the crowded street.  What was he supposed to do now?  With everyone rushing to get either away or to the World Trade Centers and the Earth Sphere Alliance Headquarters, there wasn’t much of a chance that he could call a taxi, and Duo had no clue where the nearest hospital was here.  In fact, Duo didn’t even know if Hilde was allowed to be entered in any hospital but the one in the city; would the hospital staff kick her out, not caring if she was in labor or no?  Duo didn’t think anyone was that heartless.

                Duo sighed.  She had to do into labor on the one day when all the hospitals were already concerned with the victims of the attacks and such.  Hilde doubled over in another burst of pain, and Duo quickly took back his selfish thought, grabbing her arms and trying his best to keep her standing.

                “Easy, Hilde.  Just take it easy.  I’m doing what I can.”

                A strange hand took Hilde’s arm, helping her keep on her feet.  Duo smiled cautiously over at the man, then recoiled.  The man’s long blonde hair went down to almost his waist, and his eyes were a light blue, filled with the same tears that Duo was trying his best to keep hidden.  The man’s face was familiar to him, even though Duo had only seen it once or twice in all his life.

                Zechs.

~*And defend her still today*~

                “If it isn’t the one and only Duo Maxwell.”

                Duo frowned.  “Hello, Zechs.  It’s been awhile.  I take it you’ve heard about your sister and Heero?”

                “Of course.  That’s why I wanted to find you.  You’re the only pilot still alive, and I want to help you.  To keep the people safe.”  Zechs, still hanging onto Hilde’s arm, was looking at Duo quite sincerely, and Duo knew he meant every word.

                “Why?”

                “If we go to war again, then we’re going to need some experienced, talented fighters and pilots.  The other four are dead, and Noin doesn’t fly anymore.  That leaves you, me, and any other people we can pull together.”

                Hilde winced.  “I’ll help,” she grunted, clutching painfully at her swelling belly.  “If you’ll get me to a damn hospital, that is.”

                Zechs smiled.  “This way,” he said softly, leading Duo and Hilde through the traffic into the swarm of the strange city.

~*’Cause there ain’t no doubt I love this land*~

                Three hours later, Duo was sitting by a hospital window, staring into the bleak new world that had lain itself out before him.  Hilde’s birth had been a difficult one, and it had finally finished up only an hour or so before, leaving Hilde asleep and Duo standing stupidly nearby as the nurse did whatever it was she was supposed to do with newborn babies.  After ten minutes, one of the other hospital personal told him that he could go back downstairs to the waiting room and take a seat there until Hilde was awake and ready to see him.  Duo hoped that by that time she would have forgotten all the threats she had spat at him while she was… busy.   And that the morphine the drugs had given her had worn off.  The last thing he needed right about now was a giddy, violent wife and two twin infants yanking on his hair.

                The thought had barely left Duo’s brain when Zechs lay a hand on his shoulder and began to speak.  “So you’ll fight.”  It was a statement, not a question, and the fact that Zechs had already made that assumption annoyed him.  The fact that Zechs was right pissed him off even more.

                “Yeah.  But only because it’s my duty, and because of Hide and the twins.”

                “And because you love your country.”

                “Shut up, Zechs.”  Duo bent his head.  Zechs was right, of course.  He always was.

                A woman dressed in the hospital uniform popped her head out into the room.  “Mr. Maxwell, your wife is ready to see you.”     Duo got up slowly.  Time to visit his wife and kids one last time before he left with Zechs.  It was probably best not to tell Hilde the news quite yet.

~*God Bless the U.S.A.*~

                The hospital room was sterile and white and smelled like Mr. Clean.  Duo wrinkled his nose at the smell but continued inside, looking around.  Hilde lay on the white bed, face pale with the remainder of her exhaustion but her eyes bright and happy, as well as satisfied with a job well done.  In her arms lay the two newborn infants, both with their eyes tightly shut and wrapped in fuzzy blankets that were almost identical, except one was blue and the other pink.  Duo smiled.

                Duo bent at the knees so that he was almost as eye level with Hilde and kissed her softly on the cheek.  “I love you, babe.”

                Hilde smiled back.  “I know.  Now hold your kids, okay?”

                Duo smirked, taking the two children in his arms, one in each, and tried his best to tell the difference between the two.  Try as he may, he could not, but he smiled anyway.  They would grow up to be as unique as could be.  He was pretty sure he’d have it figured out by the time they turned fifteen.  Still with his children in his arms, Duo crossed over to the window, where he looked out on what he could see of New York.  Smoke pillowed up from the ruins, blanketing the sky in a dark, somber hue.  Duo swallowed, looking back down at his children and then up again.  Life and death, both illustrated in the same instant, on the same day.

                What sort of world would these two be living in now?  Zechs seemed sure that war was going to break out and that Duo would have to be a part of it.  They would begin their lives without a father.  Would these two grow up in the same sort of world Duo had, always fearing for their lives and worrying about their friends and loved ones?  Duo swallowed.  He didn’t want that for them.  He would protect them if he had to put his very life at stake.  And yet the thought still haunted him.  What sort of life would these children live, in this strange new world full of remorse and sadness and guilt?

                For the first time in years, Duo began to cry.

 

(1) for those of you who didn’t know, September 11, 2001, the day that the United States was attacked, was International Peace Day.  Ironic that it would spark this great of a controversy, eh?