Disclaimers:  I don't own Gundam Wing or any of its characters (phooey... tho I DO own my original characters... like Kevin!!  ::hugs Kevin::  Isn't he sooooo cute?? ^_^), I'm just writing this story purely for entertainment and to escape the wraith of my best friend who has been giving me not too subtle hints about completing this for over a year... ^_~

 

Authors Notes:  I have returned... to most likely be killed by all of you who have waited patiently ::coughs:: for this chapter to come out. ^_~ Actually, I'm really REALLY sorry for the delay.  For the last year, I've found that while my ideas for stories have been coming in with just as much frequency as they have before, anything I have written inevitably always sounds horrible to me.  Lately I have been finding myself writing them in my head *late* at night, only to forget what how I worded everything the next morning.  And of course if it doesn't sound as good as it did written down... it, um, doesn't stay

written.  So... those is my reasons.  ::blushes::  I really do apologize for the VERY long delay in this chapter, hope it was worth it to those that have kept an eye out for it, and hope that any new readers will not be disappointed for taking the time to read this.  I am not going to promise the next chapter will be out soon since that seems to jinx me into long periods of writer's block, so I'll just say I AM going to finish this story and FTE if it kills me!  Now, onto the story!

 

PS:  A little warning, this first part has a quite a bit of cussing.  Gomen, but Oscar's character demands it!  Gomen!!  

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~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Never Let Go: Chapter 7

By Jadet

Copyright 02'

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

Last time:

 

Heero ran forward just as the little boy got loose from his captor and began to run towards his fallen mother.  He grabbed the boy just as the gun fired.  Glass shattered and screams erupted as both man and boy tumbled across the room to slam against the wall.

 

For one person the world ceased to exist and they fell into darkness.

 

*************

 

It was snowing again.  Not that that was anything new, but he hated the snow for two reasons.  One, it was cold.  You couldn't go outside while there was snow and expect to come back inside as anything but a frozen popsicle.  The second, and most important, reason: if you had to run like hell, you might as well kiss your ass goodbye.  Between the snow dragging your feet down, and the fact any step you take is automatically imprinted for any frickin' Joe to follow, you are pretty much screwed.

 

Oscar _hated_ it when he was in a position to be screwed.

 

Running was all he could do at the moment though.  This whole day had been really shitty from the start. First, when he thought it couldn't be any worse (and you know how that attitude attracts unpleasantness) returning from three full days of 

searching, his boss had come up with one last spot for him to look for the kid.  Of course it had to be out in the middle of nowhere, snowing, and have a tendency to get dark about 4:30 in the afternoon, but Oscar was a professional, he wouldn't complain.  Well, not until he was out of hearing range anyway, but hell, that wasn't the point.  Then after he was sent off to this god-forsaken little part of this stupid country full of little yellow people, his frickin car had a flat tire about three miles from anything.  So he had to wait almost two hours for the dumb asses at the local garage to get their lazy, fat donut asses to where he was to haul him in.  What fun.  On top of that, when he finally got his damn car back, what do you know, he finds out from a _very_ helpful individual that that stupid cabin he is looking for has _one_ road up to it, and it's a four mile road. That meant he could maybe go up a mile, two at the most, up the dumb road, then hike the damn rest of the way to avoid revealing his presence.  At 20 degrees outside and snowing like a frickin blizzard, the two mile hike was _anything_ but fun.  Then, to make things worse and better, he _had_ found the kid, and the bitch mother too.  But guess what?  He also found almost ten other people, five of which he could recognize as the famed Gundam pilots, and which he knew the most dangerous of them was the kid's father.  Perfect, just frickin perfect.  They had run to _the_ worst possible place for him to "recover" them back.  So he had had two choices: try to leave again and call in help, further compensating his and the lab's position, or he could try and shoot the dumb little shit and his mommy and say that they were caught in the cross fire.  Guess which one he picked.

 

So now here he was, running for his life because that dumb Yuy character had the stupid uncanny sense to get the kid out of the way just in time. He had missed.  He HATED it when he missed.  This had just been the shitty-ist day in the history of shitty days.

 

Oscar shook his head forcefully.  Concentrate, this wasn't the time to be thinking about that. He had to run like hell (remember reason number two?) and his car wasn't going to come to him while he sat there and bitched about the injustices of life.  Breath steamed out from his mouth in ragged clouds as he struggled through the knee thick snow, hurrying because he 

knew that his latest luck almost guaranteed them finding him. Pushing aside a large branch, Oscar had just enough time to mutter a foul curse before a mound of snow fell on him, jarred by the movement.  It took him longer than he could afford to struggle his way out of the now waist deep snow, and continue to run.

 

Just like he thought, it was almost ten minutes later, and a whopping twenty feet from that stupid branch, that he found himself face to face with three Gundam pilots.  Just as he was reaching for his gun, now very wet from its recent dousing in cold snow, he couldn't but think: God, could he get any more screwed?

 

The spiky haired one, Trowa Barton if he remembered correctly, proved him wrong when brought up his own gun just as Oscar tried to pull his out.  "Don't bother, there isn't anywhere you can go at the moment and we outnumber you."

 

Oscar scowled but lowered his hand from his waistband, critically eying the three men in front of him.  Aside from Trowa, he was facing a braided haired man which he identified as Duo Maxwell, and a very peeved looking Chinese man, which had to be Wufei Chang.  The three of them were all panting a little, but Oscar sourly noted, not as hard as he was.  He deepened his scowl.  Assholes.

 

"Now that it looks like we have your cooperation, can I ask you something?" Duo called out, fingering his own gun that was resting lightly in his right hand.  When all Oscar did was raise an eyebrow, Duo shrugged like it wasn't a big deal, but Oscar noted with apprehension that his eyes went almost frigid.  "Well, I'm gonna ask anyway.  What the hell were you trying to do back there?  Wait, scratch that, I know what you were trying to do, but why?" 

 

Oscar also shrugged but couldn't match the look he was receiving.  "It's my job, and that's all I have to say to you assholes."

 

"Well, well, well, are you sure that's all you have to say?"  Duo grinned and turned to look at his companions.  "Guess then we'll have to use a little 'friendly' persuasion, won't we guys?" 

 

Both Wufei and Trowa nodded, though Wufei also acquired a slightly eager smirk. 

 

Oscar felt himself go stiff and became instantly furious with himself.  What the hell was he getting scared about?  This wouldn't be any worse than what the Boss would do to him if he came back a failure.  In fact, the Boss would probably do even worse to him... and his type of torture was not a pleasant alternative.  That thought should have eased some of his fear, but damn if his knees didn't stop trembling a bit.  With desperation, Oscar backed up away from them, knowing without looking there was a pit fall right behind him that he had seen right before he had been confronted.  All three of his pursuers narrowed their eyes and took a few steps toward him, and Oscar noted that the two that hadn't had their guns trained on him now raised them.  With a quick look behind him, Oscar found the pit fall only two steps away.  God oh god, please let me make it there before they catch me... I don't want to die, but please don't let them catch me! he chanted in his head, taking one more step back. 

 

"Don't try anything foolish," Wufei called, an annoyed frown decorating his face.  As Oscar watched, Wufei narrowed his eyes and surveyed the ground behind him, trying to guess why he was going backwards in a diagonal line.  When his eyes widened abruptly, Oscar knew it was time and spoke before Wufei could warn his companions.

 

"He wants the kid.  When I don't report in, the Boss is gonna know he's here.  You won't be able to hide for long, and then all of you are going to pay for hiding him."

 

He took the last step backwards and stifled a shriek when he felt nothing but air.  With morbid curiosity, Oscar found himself watching the ground that he had just been standing on fall away in a white blur.  It seemed like forever, but in reality he had only been falling for five seconds before his back hit a tree that had been broken in half by the weight of 

the snow a few days before.  His back broke and the world turn black even before his body stopped rolling down the incline and came to rest between two rocks.   

 

From their position at the top of the pit fall, Duo, Trowa and Wufei frowned at Oscar's unmoving body.  With a sigh, Duo squatted in the snow and leaned an elbow on one of his knees, propping his chin on his hand. Without looking at the others, he muttered a soft "Damn."  Wufei nodded at the sentiment before Trowa shook his head.

 

"Well, we better go down there and get him.  Maybe the kid will know who he is," Trowa said.  With a resigned sigh, Duo stood up and followed his friends carefully down the steep slope.

 

"Yeah, lucky us."

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

"His name was Oscar Whitman," Kevin announced from his position beside the couch his mommy lay on, pulling the blanket he was given a little more securely around him as he looked down at the broken body of the man in front of him. 

 

They were in the family room now, none of the cabin's inhabitants wishing to be in a room with a broken window and a storm happily coming in the new hole.  Right after the attempted shooting it had been chaos for a full minute with children and women screaming to know what had happened, and the men running around trying to figure out the answer to that question.  It hadn't been until Heero dragged himself and the little boy up, and told them someone had shot at them, that three of the men grabbed their coats and guns and ran out the door.  Heero and Quatre had then moved all the women and children into the next room, boarding up the doors to the receiving room, before coming back to check on everyone.

 

It had been during that time Kevin had returned to his senses.  Between finding his mother in his target's house, being shot at by someone unexpectedly, and then being saved by the man he had been sent to kill, his little four year old mind turned itself off for awhile so he could take it all in.  He knew that his condition could have been called shock, but after six months of the intense training the master had put him through, it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.  What he could not understand, though, was why.  Why did his target, the mean man he had been sent to kill so that he could save his mommy, protect him and his mommy?  It didn't make any sense.  At first, his initial thought was that his target had set this entire thing up to confuse him into not killing him.  But that didn't last long when he found himself watching the blond man, who he found out was actually Quatre Rababa Winner, and the wife of the grumpy Chinese man, Sally, work on getting the bullet out of

Heero's arm.  If he had been sqeamish, the blood, and plopping sound as the bullet was finally pulled loose, would have made him sick.  As it was, it convinced him beyond a doubt that this wasn't some elaborate plan to make him lose his objective.  So what did that mean?  And the more pressing question, why was his mommy here?  And why wouldn't she wake up?

 

Everything had started to make a little sense, though, when the other three men had come back toting the body of the shooter.   Almost instantly Kevin had recognized him as Oscar, one of the master's henchmen that had always made fun of him and his mommy.  Then the men had all looked at him expectantly, and the little boy put two and two together.  The master wanted him and his mommy dead, and his target and his friends didn't.  While he didn't understand the reasoning, even though he did disobey orders and run away, that changed everything.  If the master wanted him dead, and he no longer had his mommy, then the little boy didn't have to listen to him anymore.  He could leave here if he wanted and find his daddy, and his daddy could kick the master's butt.  All the had to do was help these people and his former target for awhile, then he and his mommy would be free.  With that very important thought in his mind, the little boy had agreed to help them, and he would.  At least until his mommy was better and he could take her away from them, anyway.  Oh mommy, please wake up....

 

"So his name's Oscar huh?" Duo said, and Kevin brought back his attention to the conversation at hand.  Four of the men were sitting around him at the moment, three of them wearing blankets around their shoulders because of their shivering, the women and children upstairs in bed.  His target, no Heero, Kevin amended with a scowl, was sitting behind him on the couch next to his mommy, brushing back the hair from her face as her head rested on his lap.  The little boy would have protested if that scene hadn't looked so... right.  His mommy was always telling him about his daddy and how nice he was to her, and the way Heero was treating his mommy was like his daddy would.  While he didn't appreciate that, his daddy was the only one who had the right to do that, it somehow was just too right to make a big deal about it.  So Kevin settled on a glare, unaware that it was the exact copy of the one Heero so frequently used, and turned to look at Duo.

 

"Yes, he was one of my master's men."

 

Four pairs of eyebrows shot up at that statement, while another pair lowered over infuriated Prussian eyes.

 

"Your 'master'?" Duo echoed.  Kevin flushed slightly at the slip up and tried to think of another way to say it.  After a minute, he shook his head.

 

"I don't know his name, just that he always told me to call him master."

 

The spiky haired man, now known as Trowa, frowned and stared intently at Kevin with his one visible eye.  "Do you know what this man wants with you or you mom?"

 

The boy started to shake his head no, but paused for a moment to think.  When he finally did nod, the men around him were staring at him with mixed expressions of frustration and anger, though he could tell it wasn't directed totally at him.  Kevin turned his head so that he could look at Heero, an inscrutable expression on his face.

 

"He wants you."

 

Heero frowned.  "What do you mean, he wants me?"

 

Kevin shrugged his shoulders.  "I'm not sure.  I thought he wanted you dead for a long time, since he kept telling me bad stories about you, but I remember him saying something about you being mad at him for mommy and me."  Kevin suddenly frowned fiercely, and an sound almost like a growl escaped his lips.  "But what do me and my mommy have to do with you?  Why does he keep hurting her because of you?"  The boy suddenly jumped up, dumping his blanket and breathing furiously.  "It's all your fault!  Mommy's hurt 'cause of you, and now the master wants to kill me too!  It's all your fault!"  

 

Kevin ran from the room abruptly, leaving behind five very confused men.  With effort, the other four Gundam pilots tore their eyes away from the doorway the four year old had just run through, and turned to look at Heero.  A blank expression adorned Heero's face, and Duo let out a soft curse, thinking that he was going to have to be the one to find the kid.  As 

soon as he started to get up however, Heero waved him back down and carefully lowered Relena's head from his lap to the couch. 

 

Quatre watched his friend with a worried expression on his face.  Heero had to be really upset, Quatre thought to himself, because he always used those masks whenever he didn't want to deal with his emotions.  That being the case, Quatre had to make sure he was all right before he went to confront the son he didn't know he had had until an hour ago.

 

"Are you okay, Heero?"

 

Heero turned to glare at his friend, but the heat wasn't behind the infamous 'glare of death', so he settled on a frown instead.  "Yeah, watch Relena while I'm gone."  Then with a few silent steps, Heero exited after the kid. 

 

The four remaining Gundam pilots looked at each other silently, before Duo broke the gaze to look on the sleeping Relena.  Deciding that the situation needed to be lightened up, he looked back at his friends and cracked a grin.

 

"Hey, where do you think Heero thought she'd go to anyway?"  The dirty glares that suddenly replaced the worried ones made Duo grinned wider.  "I was just asking...."

 

Wufei scowled.  "Maxwell, you're an idiot." 

 

"Ah, stuff it Wu-man."

 

Wufei stiffened and his scowl deepened.  "In-"

 

"-Justice," the three other men finished, deadpanned.  While Wufei turned various shades of red, Quatre and Trowa shared a smile, and Duo laughed.  In the back of their minds they knew that their good humor wouldn't last long, so they enjoyed this brief interlude for as long as they could. 

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The bedroom was the best place he could think of to hide.  Well, it wasn't really hiding since he could have crawled in a closet or something like that, or even climbed back into the air ducts, but it was the closet thing to that sort of privacy.  It was also the farthest room from the stairs and the only empty one, considering the number of women and children in the household.  In fact it had been that grumpy man's daughter, the one with the pretty blue eyes, that had pointed out which room he should hide in.  He hadn't thanked her before he ran down the hallway, but he hoped she saw the gratefulness in his eyes before she was pulled back into one of the rooms by that Sally lady. So now here he was, sitting in the corner, arms wrapped tight around his bent knees, and his head buried in the space left in his arms. 

 

Why was all of this happening to him?  All he wanted to do was to be held by his mommy, feel like the little boy he should be, and be feel _safe_ in her arms.  He didn't want to be deadly like he knew he was, or constantly worrying about the next test that the master would put him through, and he certainly didn't want his mommy to be hurt because of that _man_.  He just wanted... he wanted his daddy, and his mommy, and... and to have a home that he could come back to, and toys, and a warm bed that was all his....  Was all of that too much to ask?

 

The boy lifted his head up suddenly when the door to the room opened, spilling light in front of him.  Turning his head, he spotted the man that was the cause of all of this, and glared at him with all of his might. 

 

"What do _you_ want?" he growled. 

 

Heero just stood in the doorway, his blank expression stretched tightly across his face.  It was amazing, really, how much his son looked like him.  And it had to be his son, because besides seeing himself and Relena stamped on the child's features, he could see bits and pieces of his mother, the one that had died so many years ago.  He didn't really remember her, he must have been three or four when she died, but he did remember her face.  The boy had her cheekbones and chin, and shared her Prussian eyes with him.  No, there was no doubt, but it was a little much to take in right now.  He had just gotten back Relena four days ago, which was a shock enough, but now he also had a four year old son.  Anger tightened the corners of his mouth involuntarily at what both Kevin and Relena had to go through, and because he had missed something that had been his, his right to witness.  He had missed the birth of his own son.  Heero's eyes narrowed dangerously.  The people that did this were going to pay.

 

Kevin didn't know what Heero was thinking about, but saw the way that he slowly became taunt with anger.  He should have been scared, or even annoyed that the man was getting angry at him when it was _his_ fault, but instead all Kevin felt was... safety.  He felt safe in that anger, and that didn't make a lick of sense!

 

His thoughts were drawn back to the present when Heero started striding across the room.  Now a little fearful, Kevin involuntarily shrunk back, but for nothing.  Heero stopped by the closet that was directly in front of Kevin and opened it up, quickly going through its contents in a methodical way.  After a minute, he found what he was looking for, and turned 

back around to Kevin, holding something gently in his hands.  What he had in his hands, Kevin couldn't tell.  It looked like a long and wide, but thin box shape, almost like a very large book. 

 

Without turning around, Heero flipped the light switch on and barely blinked when the lights flared to life.  Kevin blinked rapidly at the dots in his eyes, still trying to glare at Heero with all his worth, but failing as he appeared owlish.  Heero had to tamper down a small smirk that wanted to make its way onto his lips, and instead looked down at the object in his hands.  He ran a fond hand over the object, stopping briefly to trace something on its cover, before looking back up at the boy.  Heero closed the distance between them in two steps, and offered the object to Kevin.

 

"This might help you understand some things," Heero murmured, waiting patiently for Kevin to reach up and grab it.  Kevin took his time, magnified by his mistrust, but finally took hold and pulled it from Heero's hands.  Heero quickly retracted his hand and turned away, heading towards the door.  He stopped in the doorway, and spoke with his back to Kevin.  "We'll be 

downstairs in the family room when you're done."  Then without another word, Heero closed the door behind him with a soft click. 

 

Kevin stared hard and long at the door, before lowering his eyes to the object resting on his lap.  It was heavier than he had thought it would be, and its length and width covered his whole lap so that it rested uncomfortably on both legs.  Frowning, he found what Heero had been tracing before, and traced it himself.  It was a heart, with an H and an R in its 

center, obvious by the way the heart's bobs were uneven that it was carved by hand.  His curiosity now piqued, Kevin glanced at the door one more time, before opening the cover.  And, just like Heero had said, all of his answers stared right back at him.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

The room was dark, the only light coming from the many candles placed on every available surface.  Their flickering light did nothing but cast the room in waving shadows, enhancing the dark spots in the room.  Because the occupant didn't enjoy the light, or visitors, the air inside the room was musty with dust, medicine, and approaching death.  A machine clicked almost inaudible in the background near the four poster bed that stood in the middle of the room.  The bed, which might have been called beautiful once, was now covered in black drapes, its magnificent carvings hidden by the hanging curtains, and aptly hiding the body that lie in it from view.  A hoarse cough could be heard once in awhile, but the main sound that permeated the room was the ragged breathing.

 

Edward hated this room.  He hated what it represented.  Most of all, he hated who was in here.

 

His father needed to stop clinging to life and die already.   

 

Until he did, however, Edward had to play the loving, dutiful son.  Hah, what a laugh that was.  He couldn't wait for the old goat to die and leave him the lab and the reins to control it.  It had been his dream ever since he was eight years old, watching his first experiment on a live test subject.  God, the way that woman screamed!  He had been trying for that effect ever since, a scream that could make him react like no woman, or man for that matter, could.  He hadn't found that perfect scream yet, a mixture between agony, fierce wanting to die and end the torment, and anger that the screamer had to be put 

through that living torture.  That scream still haunted his dreams, and year after year, the need to hear it again grew stronger.  Maybe if he found someone who could tolerate more pain than the average person, it would acquire the same effect. He even had someone in mind, someone who he could test his theory out on, yet he couldn't try his idea until his father was out of the picture.  It was no wonder he wanted the old goat to die.  The sooner he did, the sooner Edward could really focus on finding that scream.

 

His father didn't understand his need for that scream.  Sure his father loved inflicting pain, and loved the power surge that came with the act, but he was not obsessed with it.  No, he was obsessed with his work and finding the cure for his illness.  The illness that would hopefully kill him within the week.  Well, a son could always hope anyways.

 

Edward entered that hated room for what seemed the hundredth time, and he had to fight the claustrophobic feeling that went with it.  It took him longer and longer each time he entered the room to put away that fear, to dismiss it, which was why he avoided coming here at all costs.  One of these days it wouldn't go away, and then the room would get him, just as it had been trying to do for over five years now.  Edward shuddered.  He hated this room, and the sooner the old goat died, the sooner he could close it up forever!  Then everything would be all right.

 

Finally the fear subsided, and Edward silently padded his way over to the bed, his eyes adjusting to the almost inexistent light from the candles.  His father was propped up against at least a dozen black pillows, his sunken face ghostly white in the darkness.  Edward shuddered again, but sat gingerly on the side of the bed and took one of his father's skeletal hands in his own.  The cold, dry skin made him want to gag, but he pushed it down and cleared his throat, prepared once again to play the dutiful child.

 

At the noise, the sunken face turned towards him, and two pairs of bright green eyes clashed, one slightly mocking and scared, the other knowing and delighted at the fear.  Flimsy white hair fell over the man's eyes for a second, but then moved when an air current from a fan hit them.  Still the two pairs of eyes stared at each other, seeking the others weakness and defending at the same time.  At a hidden signal, Edward smiled sweetly and squeezed his father's hand.

 

"Hello Father, you look much better today.  How do you feel?"

 

The old man also grinned, though his was not as sweet.  "I will feel fine once you hurry up and find me that cure."

 

"Of course Father," Edward soothed, fighting down the urge to shove the old man on the bed and smother him with one of the many pillows.  Gods, he was disgusting.  "We are even now getting closer to the cure as we speak."

 

"I'm sure," the old man agreed, not agreeing at all but continuing to keep up the pretense.  "And how is my star experiment doing?  We should be seeing the results we crave from him very soon, should we not?"

 

Edward nodded.  "Yes Father, the cure for you is practically in our reach now."

 

"I'm glad.  I would like to get back to my experiments," the old man said, then coughed like a dying man hoping for air.  Edward waited patiently for it to end, and when it did, he smiled and gently laid the hand back on the bed. 

 

"Of course Father.  Once you get better, your lab will be waiting for you.  Now I'll leave you to rest, and I will see you tomorrow."

 

Edward couldn't stand quickly enough, and turned away from his slowly withering father without waiting to hear a reply.  He was at the door before the gravelly old voice caught up to him.

 

"Oh and Edward?"

 

Edward partially turned, fighting back the urge to surge through the doors and into freedom. 

"Yes Father?"

 

"I want to see my star experiment.  Bring him to me."

 

Edward slightly bowed at the waist, his face hidden in the shadows and therefore the panicked looked also hidden.

 

"Yes father."

 

He got out the room none too soon in his opinion, and stood by the now closed door gulping air.  The panic was eating at him, but the room was doing even more.  It was slowly killing him.  He had to get away from it.

 

Edward turned and walked quickly from his father's chambers, slowly calming down as the distance between he and it grew.  When he finally reached his own chambers, on the opposite side of the complex, he was in control of himself again.  Therefore, when he spotted one of his lab attendants standing apprehensively in front of his doors, he only frowned in irritation.

 

"What is it?" He asked in an annoyed voice, stopping in front of the sweating woman.

 

The attendant swallowed, and shuffled her feet nervously.  "Well doctor, Oscar hasn't checked in yet.  In fact, we haven't heard any word from him since he left yesterday."

 

Edward narrowed his green eyes, and impatiently pushed back his shoulder length white blond hair.  "Where was he sent again?"

 

"Ummm..." the attendant looked at the clip board in her hands, trying to read the writing even though her hands were shaking in terror.  "You sent him to look for Kevin at his mother's old place of residence."

 

Edward quickly weighed that information in his mind, then smiled triumphantly.  "That was the cabin in the northern part of Japan correct?  Where we took her from?"

 

The attendant bobbed her head.  "Yes sir.  It's the cabin she and Kevin's father lived in before you... uh... acquired her."

 

Edward was no longer listening to her, a twisted smile alighting his face.  So he ran to Yuy huh?  That was perfect!  Now he could kill three birds with one stone, a lot of chains, and his tools.  The evil smile widened and Edward threw back his head and laughed in pure delight.  Oh Yuy, it was time!

 

Two doors down, another blond haired lab worker hid behind a door, a hand over her mouth to keep herself from shrieking with terror.  Oh no, Miss Relena and Kevin were in trouble.  She had to warn them somehow!  The young woman gathered up her things and slipped out of the door, unnoticed.  She had to warn them, and she had to do it quickly.

 

Edward's laughter followed her all the way down the hall.

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

 

It was two o'clock in the morning, and the five former Gundam pilots were still up and discussing the current problem.  They could no longer stay at the cabin, that much was certain, since what Oscar's last words implied had to be true.  When he didn't check in, and lord knew they had searched him thoroughly for a way to communicate before burying him outside, whoever had hired him would know something had happened.  And that would lead them straight here to Relena and Kevin.  So they now had to find another safe house for the two of them, and still find a way to lure the bad guys here.  Duo, Trowa and Wufei were all for Kevin or Relena to play bait, safely of course.  Heero and Quatre on the other hand were against it.  In fact, Heero was adamant about it.  There was no way that he was putting either his wife or son in danger again.  They would just have to find another way to lure them here.

 

It was during these discussions that Kevin made an appearance.  Quatre was the first one to spot him coming in, the object of his interest for the last few hours tucked beneath one of his arms.  When Quatre's attention shifted, the rest of the Gundam pilots followed his line of sight and also spotted the little boy standing in the doorway.  Heero's expression was inscrutable as he searched the boys face.

 

Kevin ignored the rest of the pilots and headed directly for Heero, an unreadable expression on his face.  Had either one of them realized they looked identical just then, both frowning in concentration, messy chocolate hair lying over stern Prussian eyes, they might have tried to change their expressions.  As it was, however, only the other four Gundam pilots noticed, and three of the four grinned.  The other just deepened his frown, though his interest was piqued.

 

Kevin stopped right in front of Heero, and looked up at him, a confused frown on his face.  With great reluctance, Kevin opened up the object to a certain page, and thrust it into Heero's face.

 

"Is that you?"

 

Heero didn't bother examining the wedding picture in the album, but kept his gaze directed on the boy in front of him.  He nodded.

 

Kevin withdrew the book slightly, his face still unreadable.  "You're my daddy then, aren't you?"

 

Again Heero nodded, though this time there was a hint of desperation in his normally blank eyes.  Kevin's lip trembled slightly, and he set the photo album gently down before climbing on the chair Heero was seated on and staring intently into his eyes.  His own eyes stared back at him, though older and wiser, but still his.  That clinched it.  Kevin frowned and 

leaned back a little to stare reproachfully into his father's eyes.       

 

"You're late coming to get me and mommy, daddy."

 

Heero only had time to blink before Kevin threw himself at him, wrapping his tiny arms around his neck and crying.  Hesitantly, Heero encircled his son in his arms for the first time, then tightened them as the boy's sobbing grew louder.  Mixed emotions passed over Heero's face before they settled on a mixture of pain and joy, and Heero gently buried his face in his son's hair.  With his long-lost daddy's arms around him, and his daddy's heart beating underneath his hand to prove this was real, Kevin finally felt safe.  He had finally found his daddy.

 

It was two minutes before Kevin's sobs quieted down to the occasional hiccup, and he leaned back to look at his father again.  Heero stared back, but this time a slight smile twitched at his lips, softening his face.  Kevin smiled back and then dropped his bomb.

 

"I'll be the bait."

 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~

End of Chapter Seven

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Well, once again, hope it was worth the wait.  Jya! ^.~