Gundam Wing does NOT belong to lil 'ol me, and I make no credits from it!

Father Cole IS A REAL PERSON! I should know...... he christened me, and, according to Mom, He was cracking jokes the entire time.

a/n - to the person who asked why Relena hasn't given birth...... she has. Chapter ten happened like 3-4 years before this last chapter. The entire series starts when Duo and Hilde first get together, and will end after the epilogue of this section, when their first born has her own. None of the pilots have brought their children.

Leeko

Follow My Heart, Chapter four
By Caliko

Duo Maxwell stretched awake, then patted the other side of the bed. No Hilde. That was bad. It meant that instead of bullying the groom into his shower and suit, he had slept until his body was sleep sated and happy. Idly, he wondered if he could fake his normal antagonism to his future in-law, then shrugged.

It didn't matter, really. Sure, Rob was an irritation right now, but by tonight, he would be family. Family were allowed to be irritating. From what he understood, like him, the boy's parents had died when he was too young to remember them. Cross didn't do too bad, considering he never had anyone to teach him not to touch someone else's daughter.

:::At least he didn't fall in with a crazy mad scientist.::: He snorted.

Duo stretched his arms high over his head, wincing at the pain that shot down his back.

"Getting old, son." He grimaced, regretting all the mobile suit battles that slowly took their toll on his body, the jars and crunches that made him feel much more ancient that his thirty-eight years.

"DUO! Are you awake?" Hilde's voice carried through the walls as she ushered Jeremy into the shower.

"I am now!" He grouched, cringing as he stood up and his hips creaked. "Oh, geez...... Need Tylenol........."

Stumbling into his and Hilde's bathroom, he leaned over the sink and stared into the mirror. Gently, he smoothed a non-existent wrinkle, then searched for equally non-existent gray in his thick mass of chestnut hair.

"Grandpa." He muttered, "This has to be a nightmare."

"Duo?" She came in, smiling that little smile. "Are you talking to yourself?"

"Hnnnnn." He looked at her, then shook his head. "It's a sign of old age, Grandma."

"You can't be thinking that your getting old."

"Yeah, Babe. I am. And, it's all Esme's fault. This wedding is kinda driving it home with a sledgehammer. My baby is getting married and having a baby of her own!"

"She'll always be your little girl, Duo. Aren't you taking this a bit hard?" Hilde wrapped her arms around his waist, and squeezed. "Besides, you still have Jeremy."

"I know." He lay his cheek down on the top of her head and rocked back a bit. "But he's more yours than mine. Admit it, Hilde."

"Your imagining things." She smiled innocently, then backed out of the bathroom. "Now, hurry up and get dressed. You still have to go drag Rob out of bed."

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He pulled the truck over to the curb and stared long and hard at the three story apartment building, checking for escape routes. Seeing a few, he cursed, wondering why he didn't drag Heero or Wufei with him this morning.

:::Oh right.::: He remembered, :::They want to hurt him too much.:::

After the other day, he would be shocked if Cross wouldn't try to run. His initiation into the family was mild, considering that his tormentors actually wanted him near death.

:::Have to remember to thank Trowa again.:::

Duo laughed low, then smirked as he remembered Cathy's blade digging into Rob's pants.

:::She couldn't have aimed just a bit higher.:::

He could admit that he didn't want anyone to touch Esme again, even her husband. The thought of his daughter having sex with anyone made him feel old.

"Grandpa." Growling, he spun around, coming face to face with an impeccably groomed Rob.

"Talking to yourself, Duo? Should I add mental health issues to the con's of marrying Esme?"

02 didn't take Rob too seriously, as the boy was laughing in his face. Leaning back, he inspected the groom's dress, then finally nodded his approval. The gray suit fit smoothly over lean shoulders, the slacks were the perfect length, and he could see himself in Robby's shoes. There was no reason to put the wedding off any longer.

:::I'm getting old.::: He closed his eyes, then opened the truck door. Pushing his soon to be son behind the wheel, he closed it, then went to the other side.

"Drive. I forgot my bifocals."

Pretending to miss the tear in Duo's eye, Rob nodded, and silently drove to the church.

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:::My baby girl.::: He stared ahead, knowing that he would lose it if he looked at her. Beside him, her tiny hand wrapped around his arm in a vice-grip, Esme walked, breathing steadily with each step.

Inhale, exhale, nervous hiccup. Inhale, Exhale...... almost there.

"You don't have to do this." There, it was said.

She looked up at the platform, meeting Rob's eyes as he watched, spellbound by the vision that came ever closer.

"I want to, Daddy." She finally said, her body relaxing. "I ......... want to."

They had reached the end of the aisle, and he faced her, lifting the veil from her face. "You sure?"

Wordlessly, she nodded, glancing away as Robby came to stand beside her.

Satisfied, Duo leaned over and whispered something to the groom, waiting until he was sure that Rob understood. Then, he backed up to stand just behind them, a slightly evil smirk on his mouth.

Biting his tounge to stay silent, Cross took Esme's hand in his and listened as Father Cole began to speak.

After a while, he had to laugh, realizing that the priest had a rather...... irreverent sense of humor. Instead of the normal marriage ceremony that inspired solemn thoughts and frightening worries, he was treated to tales of Esme's childhood. Emphasis was placed on how much the priest enjoyed watching her, as well as all the parish's children grow, and how happy he was that now, she would be taking her place as an adult in their community.

"May she have children just as ...... joyous...... as she was." He smirked, laughter crackling in his light blue eyes.

Rob glanced over at his bride, smiling when he noticed her face was flushed.

"You put a goldfish in his water during mass?" He whispered, almost choking as Father Cole went on.

"Shhh! You're supposed to be serious!" She blushed, rolling her eyes as another childhood antic was brushed out of the good priests mind.

"He's not."

She chuckled, pinching his wrist. "He never is."

Finally, after the laughter wore down, Father Cole asked who gave the bride away.

"Her mother and I do." Duo stepped up, kissed Esme's cheek, then sat down next to his wife.

"Someone else can yell at her now, eh, Duo?" Father Cole joked, laughing when Esme hid her face in Rob's chest.

Rob, on the other hand, was biting his lip, trying to stay serious. Never in his life had he been treated to a mass like this one!

"Get on with it, Mike!" Duo growled, sinking into his chair.

"They're friends?" Rob asked, whispering.

"Poker buddies. Dad's losses are funding the new heating system."

"Alright, alright." Mike laughed, then faced the couple trying to get married. "Do you, Robert James Cross take this woman............."

The rest of the ceremony was a blur of emotion as everything hit home. No matter what happened down the road, kids, old age, death......... at this moment, she was his wife.

Lost in wonder, the only thing Rob remembered was the look in her eyes as he said his vows, and the tidal wave of emotion that threatened to choke his words off in his throat. Then, there was the kiss.........

So soft he wondered if it was real, so real he wondered what he did to deserve her.

Shouts and cheers rang in their ears, and, laughing, they broke apart. Rob took her hand and ran, ducking under the shower of birdseed and straight to the waiting limo.

They sat back, and the car took off, driving off in the opposite direction from everyone else. Robby noticed immediately, then finally asked his glowing wife what was going on.

"Uncle Quatre loaned me his summer house on Earth." She sang. "He also loaned me his private shuttle, and swore that he would keep everyone here until we were long gone."

"Total privacy?" Her husband smiled, "Without the God of Death breathing down my neck?"

"Hmmm......... they won't even know where we are."

"I finally found a member of your family I like."

"Just one?"

"Well, your mother is cool." He teased, enjoying her pout. "You, on the other hand, are a brat. Imagine terrorizing a poor defenseless priest!"

"Defenseless? The man used to pilot a suit for Oz! How do you think my father met him?"

At his shocked look, Esme laughed, falling into his arms. "Enough of this, Robbie-boy. Why don't you remind me why I married you?"

He held her close, his fingers pressing down on the button to raise the privacy screen.

"I thought you would never ask."

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Duo watched from the porch as his two sons wrestled with the motor from his old truck. Both were streaked with black engine grease, both were cursing up a storm as the block kept getting hitched up on the hood.

His arms tightened over his three year old granddaughter's ears, muffling the cusses that swam in the air.

Hillary looked up at him, giggling as 'Grumpaw' rolled his eyes and moved to stand up.

"No." She shouted, locking her skinny arms around his neck. "Grumpaw sit."

"Hillary, I'm going to help Daddy and Uncle Jer-jer." Duo tried to explain, melting as her deep blue eyes gave him his very own puppy dog look.

Giving in, he sat down, smiling at how much she looked like Hilde. "Alright, Brat. I'll sit."

"Dad, are you going to sit there all day, or are you going to give us a hand?" Jeremy asked, throwing his work gloves against the garage door.

"Hey, You two are the youngsters. I have better things to do that rebuild a motor that I would have just trashed."

Laughing, he put his feet up on the porch railing, and tugged on Hillary's black curls. "Besides, I'm spending time with my little girl."

Hilde, watching out the kitchen window, heard him and smiled. Motioning for Esme to come over, they watched, as life went on.

A/N - This is really the end of this AU. I'm almost sorry to see it go......... A part of me just wants to go back to the beginning and start over.

Yet...... I've been writing this story for over a year...... and it's taken a lot out of me. They've almost become real, and I can hear them chattering in my ear, like, "I would NOT do that." or, "INJUSTICE! I will NOT wear a dress, you evil onna!"

But......... there comes a point, that adding to a story will actually take away from it. I firmly believe, that with this last part, that I've reached that point.

So......... to everyone that has read this story from the beginning, and reviewed, telling me how much it's made them laugh............

Thank You.