A Matter of Heart: Heirs to the Legacy
By: Andrea Readwolf
Email: andrea_readwolf @hotmail.com
Rating: YA/Mature
Families: YMC Fam (Yuy-Maxwell-Chang Family: Trinity, Mara Jade,
and Dylan);
Winner Fam (Quatre + Trowa, Triton&Tristan, and little sis
Calista)
Peacecraft Family (Zechs Marquise/Milliard + Lucrezia/Noin
Peacecraft,Kit/Katarynna, Adrian, and Nicolette/Nicole)
Mazzolla Family (Mariemeia + Jake Mazzolla {OC}, Julian)
Catalonia-Dorian Family (Dorothy Catalonia + Relena Dorian,
Regina)
Une-Po Family (Lady Une + Sally Po, Marie Une*, Michael Braddocks,
Mark Braddocks, Matthew Braddocks)
Pairings: Trinity + Adrian, Mara Jade + Tristan, Kit + Triton (hoped
for), Calista + Dylan (hinted at)
plus: 1+2+3+4+5
Archive: Yes-- www.gwaddiction.com
Warnings: The following story contains scenes that are humorous,
sappy,fluff, with Incoherence, random PoV switching, and
Sexual innuendos abound.
Original Characters are presented; all characters are IC according to
the author's interpretation of them. Mainly heterosexual
situations, with hints of YAOI and YURI.
Spoilers: Previous Matter of Heart Series Arc stories: "Dance of the
Heart" Arc and "Oh Baby, Baby" Arc. Built off of "Traditions".
Feedback: C&C is always welcomed and adored.
Acknowledgements: There have been some wonderful people who have
made my sojourn in GW-fanfiction more than just enjoyable and have
inspired me to write, write, and write some more. Thank you.
Disclaimer: Gundam Wing and its characters belong to Bandai, Sunrise
and Sotsu Agency and are only being used for non-profit entertainment
purposes. References to printed texts, films, sitcoms, musical
pieces, and/or other fanfictions don't belong to the author either.
Original Characters, including but not limited too, the Berh
Siblings, Jake Mazzolla and "the chibis", are original and hence, the
author's own creation.
Notes: This is the story of the children, the nine children of the 6
gundam pilots (Heero--Zechs) plus the grandchild of Treize
Khushrenada. This story will not focus primarily on the characters
from the series, but rather, the generation after them. This story is
not for all die-hard fans, but runs along the lines of a more
original piece.
Additional Note: 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5 often times refer to each other as
"husband"; please refer back to "Promise of the Rings" Part 15 if this
causes confusion.
Additional Note 2: The chibis often times refer to their parents'
friends and partners as "Uncle" or "Aunt"--in this case, the
term is used simply as one of respect since, with the exception
of Kit & Adrian's relation to Relena and all of Quatre's sisters,
none of the parents have siblings.
***These stories and the ideas contained within are copyright of the author. No reprinting or posting without permission of said author. ***
~ April 228AC~
"What are you planning?" Triton asked, staring accusingly at his twin.
"Nani?"
"You have a look in your eyes," the older brother explained. "What is it you're thinking about doing?"
"I... I promised her she wouldn't be alone," Tristan answered, taking Mara Jade's hand in both of his and closing his eyes. "And... I won't. Remember your promise, brother."
"Tristan... Tristan, no! Tristan!"
Triton's shouting drew their fathers' attention in time to witness Tristan Winner slumping over Mara Jade's bed.
"What's wrong?" Quatre immediately asked, concern frowning his face and his voice. Behind him, Trowa moved to Tristan's side, readying to pick his son up and move him to another bed, but Triton stopped him, pushing Trowa away and shouting, "No! Don't... Don't break their contact or... or we could lose them both."
"Lose them both?" Heero scowled, stalking across the room, the baby in his arms crying. "What do you mean 'lose them both'?"
"Can't you see it?" Triton asked dejectedly.
"See what?" Wufei demanded, plucking the squalling babe away from his husband.
"He's linked his life force to hers," Triton answered, swallowing back tears. "He's tying her here, preventing her from passing over. If you break their contact, you'd kill them both."
"How--how is that even possible?" Quatre stared at his sons disbelievingly.
Triton laughed, his shoulders slumping. "He's--borrowing power... from the Crystal."
"The Crystal?"
"What crystal?"
"What are you talking about?"
"How--how is that possible?" Quatre repeated, his throat dry.
Triton turned on his father, his eyes tormented and damning. "Don't ask 'how' when you never even bothered to bond with it!" the blond boy cried, frustrated with himself, angry with his brother. "Dammit! If Callie were here..." He growled, pressing his hands to his forehead and squeezing, as if the pressure could squeeze the damning thoughts from his mind.
"I don't understand," Duo complained. "What just happened here, and what does your sister have to do with any of it?"
"She has better mind control than either Tris or myself," Triton sighed. "She would've *known* what he was planning in time to stop him. She could slip in there now and make sure he's all right. She could--"
Trowa touched his son's shoulder. "He's bought us time to help Mara Jade, right?" Triton frowned but nodded. "When she recovers, he will too?"
Again, Triton nodded. "But if she dies--"
"She. Won't. Die."
Triton looked at Heero. Heero looked at Duo. "With me," the Japanese man grounded out. "The rest of you stay here, watch over them and make sure nothing else happens."
Heero turned to leave, Duo with him, when Wufei called out, rushing forward to grab his husband's arm. "Heero! Wait! Where are you going?"
"To get my mother," the words forced past frowning lips.
Wufei nodded and released Heero's arm. "I'll call Preventers and have a Priority-classed shuttle pass waiting for you at the port," the Chinese man offered, following the pair out of the room.
"I'll call Hiroshima," Quatre added, "And let her know to be expecting you!"
"*I'll* call Hiroshima," Trowa interjected, snatching his blond husband back into the room. "You stay here. I think you two have some things to talk about," he added, shooting a directed look at his son and husband before heading out to make that phone call.
Quatre turned to his oldest son and composed himself. "Is there something you need to tell me?" he asked with false calm.
Hiroshima Jackson and her partner, Fatima Winner, were waiting at the dock the minute the incoming ship registered on their research satellite's sensors. Each woman carried a bag slung over their shoulders and a heavy looking file case. They wasted no time crawling up inside the ship's belly the soonest second possible. Already the ship was pulling away from the docking bay.
"Report," the salt-and-pepper-haired woman barked towards the longhaired man holding the hatch open for them.
"Mara Jade gave birth to a beautiful, 7-pound baby girl at 0942 hours. 0943 her respiratory system and heart stopped functioning. 0946 heart resumed pumping and the docs at New Hope hooked her up to life-support."
As he relayed the facts surrounding his daughter's situation, Duo made his way back up to the cockpit, assured that his 'mother-in-law' and 'sister-in-law' would follow. They did. "She's breathing and her heart's a-going, but she ain't wakin' up. And then... Tristan. He did something."
"Something? Something what?" Hiroshima demanded trying to pull Duo back to face her but the other man would have none of it.
"Don't know," he replied, palming the entrance hatch to the cockpit. "But he's not wakin' up now, neither."
"What happened?" Heero demanded as Duo slid into the pilot's seat and Hiroshima and Fatima took the only other two available chairs and strapped in.
"Buckle-up," Duo warned, taking over the controls.
"I don't know," Hiroshima answered. "It may not have anything to do with--"
"You said the women all died," Heero reminded her carefully. "Our mothers died because of the serum you gave them."
"That was a first generation side-effect that has been contained!" the blond scientist snapped. "Mara Jade is a 3rd generation carrier. She should be experiencing only benefits from the serums we created!"
Heero and Duo didn't reply, didn't even look away from the control screens in front of them. The aging genetics doctor placed a hand on Fatima's knee, quieting and reassuring her.
"It's possible..." Hiroshima began delicately, "That this *is* because of the serums, but I won't know for sure until I can get there and run some tests."
"Che," was Duo's only reply as he added more acceleration to the shuttle's course.
For the first time in his life Triton Raberba Winner gave it to his father straight, completely straight, laying everything out for his father to see, not hiding a thing. It was a little weird and when two hours later his baby sister showed up, gave one look at her brother, one look at her father, frowned, she let loose a streak of curses that surprised even Triton (and definitely Quatre).
"Did you have to tell him everything for crying out loud!" the blonde WEI heiress finally ended up saying.
"He deserved the right to know," Triton replied softly.
Quatre stared at his children, and then groaned, "It's true."
Calista Winner ignored her shell-shocked father and stalked up to the bed where her other brother and Mara Jade were laying, looking lovingly peaceful, side-by-side.
"What a careless thing to do, Tristan," she murmured. A moment later she felt Triton's presence at her side, pressing against her arms and she rubbed the trace of tears away from her eyes before they could fall.
"Quite the contrary," Triton sighed. "He cared too much. So much he's willing to risk losing his own life just to stay with her."
"Dammit, Try! Why didn't you stop him?" the girl shouted, hitting her brother.
"I--I didn't realize..." he sighed, bowing his head.
For a minute more, neither sibling said anything, staring at the couple on the hospital bed and feeling little less than useless.
"He's happy," Calista said suddenly, sniffling and clearing her throat. "They're both happy right now."
And then she passed out.
Trowa set a cup of coffee down before Wufei and then slid into the seat across from the other man.
"No thanks," the Chinese man replied, burying his face farther in his palms. Trowa didn't reply. For what seemed like ages, the two men sat in companionable silence. Trowa was the first to break it.
"Did you know they planned to name the baby 'Meiran'?" he asked.
Wufei shook his head mutely.
"It's a nice name. Has a nice ring to it," the cinnamon hair man commented. "Meiran Raberba Winner."
"Stop. Please," Wufei asked, looking up at his long-time friend and husband with red eyes. "I know you mean well, but really, it would be better if you just cursed or shouted or threw something."
Trowa crossed his arms, hugging himself tightly. "I hate feeling helpless," he said quietly, not looking at Wufei. He couldn't. Still, one of Wufei's arms plopped down onto the table, palm open towards Trowa... The younger man stared at it for only a minute before slipping his hand into Wufei's. "I have to believe our children will be all right," Trowa added, squeezing Wufei's hand. "I don't want Meiran to grow up without a mother or father."
"She won't have to," Wufei said. "Heero and Duo will be back soon."
Trinity arrived that night with Dylan as escort and her own entourage of bodyguards (whom she was constantly waving away). Her brother managed to snag Calista and drag her out of the hospital for some time, leaving Trinity alone (with her bodyguards) to sit with Tristan and her sister. Trinity had tried to convince Triton to go with her brother and his sister, but the boy refused to leave until Kit showed up a couple hours later to whisk him away. Surprisingly, he didn't argue with the Peacecraft girl, and no one asked her how she knew where everyone was (or even why she was back on Earth). Trinity didn't even suggest that their fathers leave, instead ordering them to rest in the room the staff graciously provided for them. She was making time with her niece, feeding the infant, when the door to the room burst open.
"Status?" Heero barked, looking first at her and then at Mara Jade and Tristan on the bed behind her.
"Unchanged," Trinity replied as her grandmother pushed passed her father and strode purposefully towards the bed. Hiroshima was already pulling several syringes from her bag when the door burst open a second time--nurses and bodyguards pouring in.
"Visiting hours are *over*," one of the nurses was shouting, looking very displeased. Pushing past her were all the queen's men, asking, "Your majesty, are you all right?"
Trinity sighed with heavy annoyance; walking up to the new group in an effort to give her grandmother more time to do whatever it was she needed to do. "I'm *fine*," the young monarch replied, waving at her guards to put their weapons away. "I'm *sure* I have nothing to fear from my own fathers and grandmother."
Her guards had the decency to look embarrassed as they rehostlered their weapons; the nurse however...
"I must insist that you all leave," the woman said, lifting her chin in an authoritarian position. "I was willing to make an exception for your Majesty, but I must insist you all leave now. This kind of commotion will not be tolerated in my hospital. I must look after the well-being of my patient."
"Actually," Hiroshima spoke up, capping the last syringe and walking towards the other woman. "She's *my* patient. I need to use your labs... *now*," she added when the nurse just stared at her.
"That's quite impossible--" the woman began to sputter.
Trinity growled, her men shifted uneasily. "So help me," the dark-haired young queen hissed, stalking up to the woman clad all in scrubs, "If my sister dies because of your inadequacy and refusal to do everything possible to help her, I will have your license revoked so thoroughly you'll never be allowed to practice again."
The woman was leading Hiroshima to the labs so quickly Duo let out a small, nervous laugh. With one arm, he hugged his daughter and kissed Trinity's cheek. "Remind me not to get on your bad side, honey."
Trinity sent her father a small, tired smile before realizing her arms were empty and whirling around to look for the baby.
Fatima Winner juggled the infant from arm to arm. "Now, don't you fret none," she told the baby. "You have the best person in the entire universe working to get your mommy and daddy back to you quickly."
It was nice and warm, and as she snuggled closer she could hear him chuckle. "Don't laugh at me," she mewed, burying her face deeper against his chest.
"I wouldn't dream of it," his warm, rich voice answered over her head.
"Yes, you would," she replied, running her hands over his back and side, relishing the way their bodies seemed to mesh together so perfectly.... And then she started. "Tristan!"
"Shh," he soothed, holding her closer. "It's okay. She's safe with our family."
Mara Jade blinked, her eyes opening and looking around them. She realized she was staring at nothing. "Where are we?" she asked, curling up closer to his body.
Tristan tilted to look down into her face. "Officially, we're in the hospital."
"This doesn't look like any hospital I've seen," she said aloud to herself before asking, "Unofficially?"
Tristan sighed. "Good question." He moved to stand up--at least she thought they were laying down--and she followed as he looked around at the nothingness surrounding them. "I don't really know. Never done something like this before, don't cha know?" he tried to make light, rubbing the back of her head, but still not letting go of her fingers.
Mara Jade, however, was in no mood to make fun of their circumstances. In fact, she was very much in the mood to attempt a hysterical outburst.
" 'Something like this,'" she repeated. "Just what exactly is *This*?"
He ignored her question in favor of one of his own. "Is there anywhere in the world you would like to go?"
"What? What does that have to do with this?"
"Just humor me."
Mara Jade thought for a moment and then answered, "Sometime in my life I'd like to visit Mars."
Immediately the nothingness around them melted away.
"I've only been there a couple of times," Tristan apologized as the world around them began to take shape. "It was interesting, but Earth has her beat."
Mara Jade stared.
It was Mars--just like all the pictures. The giant bubble cities. The speeder transports. The red dirt...
"How--how is this possible?" she asked, looking around her. "Am I dreaming?" And then she turned back to look at Tristan. "Or am I dead?"
"You're dreaming," he answered immediately.
"Then what are you doing in my dream?"
Tristan grinned at her. "I was lonely without you," he teased honestly. "You know," he wrapped his arms around her waist and swayed as if they were dancing, "When you wake up, I'll take you here for real. I'll show you the Winner House built over that ridge over there, in the next crater, and I'll take you to this neat little Vegan restaurant in the Hub... I'll take you wherever you want to go."
"Tristan... Why am I scared?" Mara Jade asked, her voice quivering.
"MaJ...." He whispered, pulling her tighter against him. "There's nothing to be frightened of. I promise you, I won't leave you alone. Nothing bad will happen."
Around them, Mars melted away, replaced by a plain room with a faint pulsating glow. "MaJ, look," Tristan encouraged.
Her eyes fell immediately on the source of the glow---a crystal positioned in the center of the room.
"I don't want to live without you, ever," Tristan's voice seemed to resonate from the light. "I want to grow old with you."
"Tristan, where are we?"
"Do you want to grow old with me, too?" he asked seriously, and Mara Jade found herself studying his familiar face. Gone was the boyish-amusement, the grinning lips and sparkling eyes that seemed to laugh at everything. In its place was a strong determination, a seriousness that spoke to her.
"Mara Jade Yuy-Maxwell Chang--" Her full name-- "Will you stay with me always? Grow old with me?"
"I..."
"Will you be the mother of all my children, and stand by my side as they mature?"
"Tristan..."
"Will you love me as I love you and cherish me as I cherish you?"
"Tristan, I..."
"Will you bond your soul to mine willingly, as I so willingly gave mine to you long ago?"
She was crying, silent and hot tears slipping down her cheeks and she fiercefully scrubbed them away with the heel of her palms.
"Damn you," she whispered. "Damn you. I had no choice. I had no choice, but to love you. I think I've loved you before I met you... and I didn't want to. I so didn't want to love you."
She fell against him, trying to hide her face, hide the tears she couldn't seem to stop.
"Will you marry me?" Tristan asked softly against her dark hair.
"I think... I think I might just have to do that," she replied--and he smiled.
"A simple 'yes' would have sufficed," Tristan teased, nudging her chin up to look at him.
"Yes," Mara Jade answered, smiling widely. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. Yes to everything!"
One or the other started laughing, but the both found themselves holding on to the other tight, pressing their smiles together and laughing with tears.
"So what kind of wedding would you like?" Tristan asked after an eternity.
Mara Jade smiled. "Wanna see?" she asked before a flare of light melted the room and them away.
Trinity stirred in the uncomfortable chair, eyes blinking sleep away rapidly when she registered someone else's presence in the room with her.
She started to ask, "Who's there" only to see her grandmother hovering near the couple on the bed.
"Who's there?" quickly turned into "What's wrong?" when she saw the syringe the older woman withdrew from Mara Jade's arm. "What's that?"
Hiroshima Jackson looked up and smiled at her granddaughter. "Consider this a booster shot," she replied, tossing the used needle away. "I have one here with yours and that Winner girl's names on it, too."
"Will that cure her?" Trinity asked, joining her grandmother at her sister's side. "Why do Callie and I need a shot? Is there something wrong with us, too? Will the same thing happen when we have children?"
"You could have been a scientist with such an inquisitive mind," Hiroshima replied, sticking Trinity with a fresh syringe. "I'm not taking chances, that's why you and Calista are getting one of these, too. It seems the different serum strands I created have been running around your blood streams mutating without permission. In your sister's case, it was a double whammy. I never expected the original serums to combine as they have. I ran some tests on that little baby of hers and found traces of all ten original serums. It's amazing Mara Jade survived at all considering all that."
"So what will these shots do?" Trinity asked as she added pressure to the inside of her elbow and closed her arm.
"It's an update of the neutralizers I gave you all when you were babies," Hiroshima explained, tossing the second used needle away. "Originally, those would have been enough to protect you from any backlashes. I didn't think any of you would be attaching yourselves to other carriers, however." The woman sighed. "As for helping your sister, it should. At any rate, I've done everything I can for her. Whether she wakes up now or not is really in her hands."
It was a tense wait. Late in the morning, Calista showed up and had her chance to be stuck with a needle. Dylan was with her and asked if he should receive the Booster shot, too. Hiroshima had originally laughed the idea off, but when the pair returned that evening, he had his own chance to be stuck. Triton and Tristan, too. Hiroshima would only say that, with their fathers' record, it was better to be safe than sorry.
Other people stopped by or called in, reminding the five men who diligently held watch over the sleeping couple to "go home, take a shower, get some rest on a real bed, and eat something." They didn't listen.
Trinity was returned home to Whispering Pines for the second night after sharing dinner with Triton, Calista, Dylan, Kit, and Julian. They dropped her off before heading back out in separate directions.
"Are you sure you want to be seeing a movie right now?" Kit asked, nervously watching her companion purchase the tickets and concession stand coupons.
"It's better than just sitting around worrying," Triton replied, pulling up a smile from reserve to present to her. "Besides, didn't you say you wanted to see this one before it came out?" As he handed her drink to her, he added, "Thank you... for staying with me."
"My pleasure," the dark-haired Peacecraft girl replied smiling back at him. "I don't leave again until next week anyway."
"So you've decided to take that other job then."
"Yep. I like space well enough. I'll work in the L2 offices for a while before transferring over to L1. It should be a lot of fun."
"Won't you miss Earth?"
"Maybe a little," Kit admitted. "But space is wonderful--I love space--and I'm really looking forward to this job."
Neither one could really say the movie was any good, but at least it served to kill 2 hours. Sitting over flavored coffee and buschetti, chatting on about different things, Triton's communicator sang.
Tristan had woken up.
The blond young man muffled a yawn and tried to stay awake. If it was true what the others said and he'd been unconscious for the last three days, then he certainly hadn't gotten any rest in that time.
"And Mara Jade's okay?" Heero asked--for about the fourth time. Duo, Tristan noted, was deathly silent, staring at the bed, waiting for his daughter to wake up. Tristan's fathers and Wufei had actually gone home--finally--to get some much needed rest, but were now on their way back to the hospital.
"We were tired," Tristan repeated for about the fourth time. "So we went to sleep--only, I woke up here." The blond yawned again, more than willing to drift back off to the sleep his body was telling him he needed.
"What about Mara Jade?" Heero asked.
"She's sleeping," Tristan murmured, blue eyes drifting shut.
"No, wait! Tristan? Tristan! Stay with us here!"
But it was already too late. By the time Quatre, Trowa, Wufei, and Triton returned to the hospital room, Tristan was deeply asleep. The three men were disappointed with this, although they were greatly relieved that Tristan *had* at least woken up briefly--but Triton walked right up to his brother's side, touched Tristan's arm, and, after a moment, a huge smile bloomed on his face.
"It's all right," he announced, looking back at his fathers. "It's all right; he's just sleeping. They're *both* just sleeping," he added with a little yawn of his own.
"Are you sure?"
"How can you tell?"
"When will they wake up?"
"If they're just sleeping why can't we wake them up?"
"If you want to wake them up," Triton replied walking away calmly, smiling, "Go ahead. It won't hurt anything; but just the same, I'd let them sleep till morning, like we all should be doing. See you tomorrow," he added, exiting the room.
The five men looked at one another, considered following Triton's suggested, and then as one unit moved to the bed to shake the sleeping pair awake.
End Part 43
Andrea Readwolf
Please send comments to: andrea_readwolf@hotmail.com