Just want to say thanks to Saba and Liz and Kat*chan and Shattered! Thanks for the encouragement!

I don't own GW.. though I really would love to rent Duo!

Quiet Desperation - Chapter two
By Caliko

Heero slowly prowled the corners of my living room, waiting for me to speak. I sat back against the leather cushions and closed my eyes as I tried to gather my thoughts. They were zipping everywhere, bouncing against the knowledge of my daughters, of finding Hilde again.. to meeting the bitch that she called a sister.

Finally, I bounced up, unable to control the hyperactive demon inside. Grabbing a frying pan and a couple of eggs, I started making myself some dinner. With my hands occupied, I settled down enough to get the details in order. The main problem, was where to start?

"The electricity in our sector blew out, and we had no lights. Hilde didn't mind, though! She just grabbed a couple of candles and some leftover baked ziti from the fridge. We sat down on the floor of the kitchen, against the stove, and ate out of the Tupperware bowl." He smiled at the picture I painted, having no trouble imagining it. "We were just.. comfortable, Ya know? It was a kind of picnic."

I spilled the eggs onto my plate and popped the bread into the toaster. I could feel my eyes go funny, as I relived that night.

"She sat next to me, her thighs touching mine, and looked at me with those deep blue eyes. For the first time, I realized how beautiful she was, buddy. Oh, I know she's not a beauty queen, but she's REAL. She's hot, and sexy.. and she listens! I mean, REALLY listens. She never once told me something just because she thought that was what I wanted to hear. God, that used to piss me off. "

I snorted, laughing as I buttered the toast. "Anyway, here I was, sitting on the kitchen floor, with Hilde cuddled up next to me. Her eyes were looking at me in the candlelight, and they looked so HUGE.. so .. innocent. She forked the last piece of mozzarella, and I just had to fight for it. I grabbed her fork before she could put it in her mouth, and leaned over to take it for myself." I could feel the grin spreading on my face. It WAS funny. "Hilde was determined to get it, though, and she leaned in close to the fork, too. Then, suddenly.. we were so close! She pushed me down trying to get the last piece, and straddled my hips, and the next thing I know, she was kissing me! Heero, have you ever kissed your best friend?"

"Considering that you're my best friend, I am relieved to say, no. I don't." He smirked, laughing at me, caught up in my description.

"Shuddup!" I mock-pushed him, then sat down to eat. "It's scary, Heero. I was halfway through the kiss, with my tounge buried down her throat, when I stopped long enough to ask myself if I knew what I was doing. I ignored it, though, and listened to the brain in control when it told me to be quiet and just enjoy."

"Idiot." Heero chided, shaking his head.

"Wait. You haven't heard the best part. Somehow, and I still don't remember how, we made it to my bed and had sex." I groaned, pushing my dinner away. "Afterward, I could only think about how DIFFERENT everything was going to be. Would I still be able to tell her everything? Would she expect me to be monogamous? What if I sucked in bed, and she didn't want to hurt my feelings? If we broke up.. would we STILL be friends?

I panicked, Heero. With all this going through my mind, even though more than half didn't make sense.. I panicked. I looked her straight in the eye, and said the most stupidest thing in my life. We had just made love, and I told her it was a mistake."

"Dammit, Duo! Even Wufei isn't that stupid." Heero grabbed the last piece of my toast, then shrugged and made his own. "What did she do?"

"She slapped me.. hard. Told me she was leaving in the morning, and went to her own room. I didn't believe her. I figured that she would calm down and talk to me over breakfast. The funny thing is, Heero, that I never intended to back out of it. I think I only wanted her to tell me that everything was alright, that we would work it out. She was gone when I woke up, and you know the rest."

"Yeah, a hospital stay that lasted four days. I still can't believe that you never told anyone about that! Are you really going to take her to court?"

"How stupid do I look? Wait. Don't say it." He smirked as I continued, "I don't plan on following through with that threat. I only wanted her to call me so that we could talk."

"Duo, why do I have the feeling that this is going to backfire?"

"'Cause you're a pessimist."

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"I can't believe he said that!" I yelled, watching Duo and Heero pull away from the curb. I heard everything from the back bedroom after I put the girls to bed.

"Hey, Hilde.. relax! I don't think he would have you arrested! He doesn't seem the type to WAIT for the law."

"He's not." I told her, chewing my nails. :::Could Duo have changed that much? Could he have somehow turned into a law-abiding citizen? Naaaa!::: Relieved I turned back to her so that we could figure out what to do.

"I think you have to talk to him, Hilde. Regardless of what happened before, you owe him that much."

"If you felt that way, why didn't you tell him that I was in the bedroom when he was here before?"

"I'm not a traitor. Besides, the next move is yours."

I sighed, knowing that she was right. Walking over to the phone, I dialed the number for Preventer Headquarters.

"Hello. Can you please patch me into Preventer Chang's office?" I asked. Seconds later, I was talking to the answering machine.

"Wufei! Pick up the phone! I know you're there!" I sighed, picturing him ignoring me. The man never liked me, and I don't think leaving Duo like that made it any better. "Wufei, it's Hilde. I need to get a hold of Duo! C'mon.. just pick up the phone and give me the number, and you'll never have to hear from me again."

"As tempting at that sounds, why should I give you his phone number?"

His voice was as grouchy as ever, and he still questioned everything.

"Maybe because he's been trying to reach me." I asked.

"He's been trying for six years. What's so special about now?"

:::/sigh/.. why does he have to be so difficult?:::

"Look, If you don't trust me, then fine. Call him up and give him MY phone number."

I heard the rustling of paper over the line, and waited.

"Ok. Give it to me." He said, copying down the phone number as I answered.

"Thanks. Tell him I'm going to be here for the rest of the night."

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"Thanks, Wufei!" I hit the power button on the phone and turned back to Heero. "Well, that was quick."

"Hmm?" Heero was flipping through the channels, looking for something decent on TV.

"Hilde left a message for me with Chang."

He looked up at me, and I showed him the phone number.

"Then call her." He got up and grabbed his jacket. "I'll see you tomorrow, ok? I told Relena that I would be home early."

"Yeah, yeah. Go."

He left me staring at the phone number. For some reason, I was afraid. More than that... I didn't want to talk to her over the phone.

:::The doctor wants me to stay home tonight.::: I reminded myself, knowing that I should listen to him. :::Still... It's not like I'll be relaxing here. I would probably be up all night, wondering if she would still be there in the morning.:::

I picked up the phone, and called Wufei back.

"Hey, Wu? Do me a favor? Hack into the database, and let me know the address on Hilde's phone number."

"Maxwell, that's an invasion of privacy."

"Chang, I don't want her running off with my daughters again."

"Daughters?"

/sigh/ "Don't ask. I'll explain later. Can you PLEASE get me that address?"

"Hold on. This IS against my better judgment, you know."

"Thanks, Wu. I won't ask you for another thing."

An hour later, my suspicions were confirmed. She was STILL at her sisters house. I hung up the phone and grabbed the keys to my car.

I waited outside for a while, just to make sure that the lights weren't going to come back on. When I was satisfied, I grabbed my lock picks and silently climbed the steps to her apartment. Minutes later, I was inside.

Her sister lay on the couch where she was watching TV. Her mouth hung open, and drool was pooling under her chin on the pillow. I bit my tounge to keep from laughing, knowing that it wasn't a good way to endear myself to the woman.

I tiptoed to the back bedrooms, coming across the girls room. There were ballerina prints on the wall, and two nameplates on the door. One said 'Rebecca Maxwell', and the other said 'Mercedes Maxwell'. I was gratified that she gave them my name, at least.

The next door was empty, so I assumed that it belonged to sleeping beauty and went to the last door.

:::Bingo.:::

I straddled her waist, held my hand over her mouth, and waited.

Almost immediately, Hilde opened her eyes, saw who it was, and bit my hand.. hard.

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A/N : Ok.. so I'm a tease.. <G> SUE ME!!!! LOL.....