Disclaimer: Not mine. Blah, blah, blah.

Author's Notes: The people spoke and with only one disenting voice to date, this fic was thought up and written down. A sequel to "Going to the Chapel", which was a sequel to "Two Can Play". I hope it is enjoyable;)

Dedication: To Melissa and Chris. For being the little shag bunnies that they are and for inspiring me to write more 2xH hentai goodness!;)

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And Baby Makes Three
by Kristen Elizabeth

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January 13, AC 202

In the dream, he ruled over a kingdom of tiny people. They bowed to him, made daily sacrifices in his honor. He had a queen in this particular dream. With her ebony hair and cornflower blue eyes, she was truly the fairest in the land. It was she who was draped over his body, her unnaturally long locks spilling over her shoulders, entwining itself with his own. He idly caressed his queen's smooth back.

"Duo," she whispered.

"Hmm?" He was content to stay in the arms of his queen forever.

"Duo...do you know what time it is?"

There was a warm glow on his face. He smiled lazily. "Time?"

"Yes...it's time."

"Time for what?"

Something smacked his arm incredibly hard. His eyes flew open and immediately closed when they were blinded by the all too bright light of the bedside lamp.

Hilde Maxwell hit her husband again. "What do you mean 'time for what'??" She made an obvious gesture to her extremely pronounced belly.

A second passed. Then, suddenly, Duo Maxwell jumped out of bed. "Oh Jesus!!" he cried. "It's time?!?"

His wife nodded. There was pain in the centers of her eyes with just the barest touch of fear. "I think so."

"But...but..." Duo ran a hand through his bangs as he paced back and forth, clad only in a pair of boxer shorts. "It's too early!!"

"Just about..." Hilde breathed deeply and squeezed her eyes shut. "...two weeks early," she managed to finish through the contraction.

"That's too early!!" Duo climbed onto the bed and grabbed her hand. "Are you all right? Does it hurt a lot?"

She gripped his hand. "Don't ask stupid questions, love. Just get dressed."

Her husband touched her cheek before scrambling off in search of clothing. Hilde eased herself off the bed. Once she was standing, she gripped the nightstand for support. Her clothes were so far away. And the task of actually putting them on seemed as difficult as climbing a mountain.

Duo stepped into the first pair of jeans he found and pulled a black shirt over his head. Without even bothering to pull his braid out of the shirt, he grabbed a pair of sneakers. "Babe...hang in there. I'm right here."

Hilde nodded and cupped the underside of her belly. The motion under her hand was soothing as were her husband's words. She found a pair of slippers and stepped into them just as Duo finished pulling his shoes on. He grabbed his wallet and car keys from the dresser. "Can you walk, Hilde?"

She took a step forward. "It appears so." She pointed to the corner of the room where a small overnight bag had been packed for days. "Don't forget..."

Duo grabbed the bag and took his wife gently by the arm. "Come on...I've got you." They started out the door.

****

He drove like Heero all the way to the hospital. Once they were there and settled into a room, he found a communicator and made the proper calls. Relena and Heero Yuy, who would pass the news on to Millardo and Lucrezia Peacecraft. Quatre Winner and Trowa Barton. Chang Wufei and Sally Po. As soon as he hung up on the last call, Duo let himself relax for a moment. His heart thumped wildly. In only a few hours, he would be a father. The thought amazed him.

And scared the shit out of him.

There was a low moaning as he entered the maternity room again. "Hilde?" He ran to her and took her hand.

Her eyes were wet. "It really, really hurts, Duo."

All he could do was kiss her hand. He pressed her palm to his cheek. "I'm so sorry, Hilde-baby," he whispered. "I wish I could take some of it for you."

A nurse entered just then to check the baby monitor. "How are you doing, Mrs. Maxwell?" She glanced at her chart. "Hilde?"

Her smile was tight with pain. "I'm fine. Very much looking forward to the epidural."

"We'll see about getting the anethesiologist in here as soon as possible." She adjusted the bag of fluid hooked above Hilde's head. "Now, I'm going to check to see how dilated you are."

Duo winced as the nurse snapped a plastic glove on and reached to examine his wife. His stomach churned. How was he going to survive God only knew how many hours of this?

The nurse nodded to herself. "Five centimeters. You're doing very well, Hilde. It should be ten centimeters within the next few hours."

He did some calculations in his head. Ten centimeters. He thought back to when he saw Millardo and Noin's baby, Lucas, just after he was born. His head had been huge....far bigger than ten centimeters. Inwardly, he winced again.

Duo cleared his throat and addressed the nurse. "Get the epidural guy in here soon."

****

His braid had always been his prized posession. Before he had his Deathscythe, he had his hair. It had served him well over the years. Been his constant companion. Gotten him girls before he had met Hilde and perhaps had even attracted Hilde herself. It hid hairpins that got him out of more jams than he cared to count. It was a familiar, well loved piece of Duo Maxwell.

But now, it was being used against him. In the final stages of a very long and very exhausting labor, Hilde had her hand firmly planted within the thick braid of hair and was pulling with all of her might. "This...is all....your fault," she hissed.

Duo tried but couldn't hold back a small "ow" as she tugged even harder.

"Ow?" she repeated. "Ow??? Let me tell you about 'ow', Duo dear!"

"Breathe, Hilde." The doctor smiled at his patient. "I can see the head. Just keep breathing and get ready to push again."

She fell back against the damp pillow, loosening her grip on her husband's hair just a bit. Mustering every bit of her strength, she drew in huge breath. Duo felt for her hand, not caring if she wanted him to touch her or not, as she pushed with everything she had. She screamed, her throat cording with effort.

"Very, very good," the doctor commented. "Look....almost the whole top of the head is out."

Every instinct told Duo not to look, but the little boy inside still liked to see messy things. He glanced between his wife's legs and instantly regretted it. His knees buckled. "Oh god..."

It was only Hilde's hand in his braid that kept him from fainting. "Don't you dare, buster. I am not doing this by myself!" Duo nodded and breathed deeply.

"All right, Hilde. Again...push."

She shook her head. "I don't think I can."

"Come on, Hilde. It's almost over."

Nausea gone, Duo leaned towards his wife. His forehead pressed against her temple. "You can do it, Hilde-baby. I'm right here and I'm not going anywhere. Just push and we can have our baby."

His words had their desired effect. With renewed energy fueled by an overwhelming desire to meet the tiny person she and Duo had created, Hilde prepared to push once more. Long seconds of effort passed with Duo's forehead against her cheek being the only bit of comfort in her entire body. Finally, the doctor held up his hand. "The shoulders are clear. Push again, Hilde and it's over."

She was utterly exhausted as she pushed the final time. The pain was intense, but tempered by the fact that it was just about over. Finally, after so many months, they would have their baby. A scream escaped her lips. It was drowned out by the incredible sound of an infant's first cries. Hilde's eyes popped open. Duo raised his head.

The doctor lifted a small, wriggling thing into the air. "It's a girl!"

"It's a girl," Duo breathed. He swallowed heavily as he watched his daughter squirm in the doctor's hands. "Hilde....we have a girl."

She closed her eyes; warm tears slipped down her flushed cheeks. "A girl," she repeated.

Smiling, the doctor took a pair of surgical scissors from a nurse. "Mr. Maxwell, do you want to...?"

He tore his attention away from Hilde for a brief second, just long enough to cut the cord that still attached her to the child. The baby was then passed to another nurse for a quick examination and even quicker cleaning. Duo pressed a kiss onto his wife's forehead. "You did it, Hilde-baby. I love you so much."

"I love you," Hilde whispered. She laughed suddenly. "We have a girl."

The nurse approached them. "She's seven pounds, eight ounces and absolutely healthy. Who does she go to, mommy or daddy?"

Duo's arms automatically lifted; the nurse placed the tiny, pink flannel wrapped bundle into them. After a moment of staring at the perfect little face peeking out of the cloth, he gently touched his daughter's cheek. "This is the most important moment of my life," he said out loud. Bending down, he ever so carefully gave the baby to Hilde. In the process of transferring the little girl, the blanket around her face slipped down, revealing a soft, bald head. "Hilde..." There was an edge of panic in Duo's voice. "Hilde...she doesn't have any hair."

"It's all right..." Hilde ignored the tears streaming down her cheeks as she held her child for the first time. "She's so beautiful."

"Yeah, but...she doesn't have any hair! It'll grow, right?" Duo looked at the nurses, worriedly. "In a couple of days, she'll have hair, won't she?"

Hilde placed a soft kiss on her daughter's bare scalp. "I don't care if she never has any hair. I'm going to love her until the day I die."

Duo's face relaxed. After all, he reasoned, Millardo's kid had been born with no hair and now he had a full head of flaxen locks. "Me too. She's the best thing I've ever made." He knelt next to the bed to kiss his wife. "Thank you for making...." He stopped, realizing that the baby still had no name.

"Lilliane," Hilde said, softly. "Lilliane Helena."

"Lilli," Duo immediately shortened the name. "Thank you for making Lilli with me." He glanced up at the wall clock. 8:45 AM. "It's January 14th." Lilliane opened her little mouth and closed it. "Happy birthday, baby girl."

****

April 5, AC 202

Heero Yuy always woke up before his wife. After years of militaristic discipline, it was not possible for him to sleep in. Thus, his morning began with a stretch, a yawn and a quick peek at his sleeping wife. Her chest rose and fell lightly, still bare from the night before. It was a rare night that she made it until morning with a nightgown on. One of the things he craved was the feeling of her warm skin against his own. He reached for her.

She opened the crystal blue eyes that mesmerized him. "Heero..." she murmured.

"Morning," he replied, burying his face in her tousled hair. His hand ran up her body suggestively.

Relena smiled and stretched her arms over her head like a cheshire cat. "After last night, you're still not satisfied?"

He cupped her breast, coaxing her nipple to hardness with skilled fingers. "You know what that doctor said. If at first you don't succeed, try again."

His lips covered hers. Relena massaged the back of his neck as they kissed. "I have the craziest feeling that it happened last night. Don't ask me to explain it; something just feels different."

"Really?" Heero fit his hand over her lower abdomen. "Can we still try again?"

She laughed. Then, her smile mysteriously started to fade. "Hold that thought." She pushed the covers off and clad only in a pair of panties, ran for the bathroom. Heero sat up in bed, uncomfortably aroused. After a long minute there was a loud, "Damn it!!" Relena appeared after another few minutes, on the verge of tears.

"No?" Heero asked quietly. She shook her head. A dull stab of pain shot through his chest. Another month, another disappointment. He lifted his arm. "Come here."

Relena began crying as soon as she got back into bed and felt his arms around her. He lay back against the pillows, taking her with him. As she vented her frustration and sadness, he gently stroked her hair. They had spent too many moments like this, he decided. Month after month, getting their hopes up, only to find out that once again, they had failed to become pregnant.

"I don't understand," she said after a long time. Her nose was squashed against the hard plane of her husband's chest. "What's wrong with me?"

"Relena..." His tone was one of warning. "Stop."

She ignored him. "All that time when we first started sleeping together, I was so paranoid that I'd become pregnant. I'd hold my breath every month thinking of the possible scandal." Her laughter was bitter. "If I'd known that it would be nearly impossible to get pregnant, I'd have saved you a lot of money on condoms."

Heero took a breath. "Are you giving up, then?"

"I just..." Relena pressed herself closer to him. "I want to have a baby."

"We will," he said quietly, but firmly. "If we have to make love every minute of every day on our heads while drinking orange juice, we will have a baby."

Despite herself, Relena laughed. "Give me three to five days and I'll take you up on that. Except for the orange juice part." She shifted suddenly and felt his familiar hardness against her thigh. He looked apologetic, as though he should not be aroused at that particular time. Lifting an eyebrow, Relena brushed her lips across his mouth, beginning a trail of kisses down his toned chest and stomach.

He bit his lip in anticipation. "Relena...you don't have to...." He was silenced when she took him into her mouth. His head fell back as the pleasure clouded out all other thought. She worked him over with the skill that only comes with practice. When his release came, she extracted her head from his grip and delicately wiped the corner of her mouth. His eyes were still closed as she rested her cheek against his chest once more. "I love you," she said. "And you owe me one."

Heero nodded. His body relaxed; he wrapped his wife up in his arms. "I owe you several."

****

June 10, 202

"I can't believe how big she's gotten." Relena shook her head, marveling at the five month old baby seated on Hilde's lap. "She can hold her head up now!"

Hilde smiled and bounced her knee. Little Lilliane gurgled happily, looking up at her mother. "Pretty soon she'll be rolling over. That's when the real headaches will start. She's already independent as it is. Duo's afraid she's just going to roll away."

Relena swallowed back a lump in her throat. "You're so lucky, Hilde. She's beautiful." Her friend looked down at her baby, unsure of what to say. Relena forced a smile to the surface, to lighten the mood. "Her hair is growing."

"And it's about time." Hilde gently brushed back the patch of chestnut locks on the top of Lilliane's head. "Duo can stop ranting about his bald daughter." The other woman laughed. There was a moment's pause as both women watched the baby flail her little fists in the air. Finally, Hilde spoke. "What did the specialist say?"

"The same thing the last specialist said." Relena never took her eyes from the baby on the communicator screen as she took on a faked masculine voice. "'Keep on trying, Mr. and Mrs. Yuy....there isn't a real good reason why you shouldn't be pregnant by now'." She sighed. "I'm almost getting tired of having sex, Hilde."

If the situation had been so upsetting, Hilde might have laughed. "Bite your tongue," she said instead. "At least you know it's not a physical thing. There's nothing wrong with either of you, so if you do keep on trying...."

"How much more can we do, Hilde?? We've tried everything! We've timed ovulation practically down to the second! We've made love in every single position possible! We've done it under a full moon, in front of a fertility statue." Hilde put a hand to her mouth to smother a giggle. "Yeah...you heard me right," Relena continued. "It was Heero's idea, too, if you can imagine that. Still..." She lifted her shoulders. "It didn't work any better than anything else."

"Relena..." Hilde chose her words carefully. "Maybe you're trying a little too much. You just need to get away for a few days, relax and maybe *not* try so hard. Just....let nature do its thing and you just concentrate on having a good time with Heero."

Relena shook her head. "We've tried that, Hilde. We spent a week at a Japanese hot spring, three days in Tahiti and two nights in a mountain lodge." Hot tears sprung up behind her eyes. "Maybe we just weren't meant to have a baby."

Hilde had no more words of advice. The baby on her lap cooed and reached for a fistful of her mother's hair. "I'm sorry, Relena."

The other woman waved her hand, dismissing the subject. "Please...tell me about you. How are you doing?"

"Honestly?" Hilde took a breath. "I'm exhausted, Relena." The Vice Foriegn Minister's brow crinkled with concern. "I don't want to sound all pitiful and selfish, but I have never been this tired in my life. Having this baby...." She stroked Lilliane's head. "It was life-changing. But...not all for the good."

"What do you mean?"

Hilde reached for a pacifier and gave it to her gurgling daughter. "What they say about babies...everything is true. Every second of every day is spent on Lilli. But Duo...he has the Preventers. Moving back to L2 was hard on him and he's still adjusting to that. So...I try to understand that my daily life is entirely about the baby and he has to divide his time between work and the baby....not leaving either of us with much alone time. We're like...strangers passing in the night. But..." She lowered her voice as though the baby could understand. "We haven't made love since Lilli was born."

Relena blinked. "Hilde....that was five months ago!!"

"I know!" She sighed. "It's hard, Relena. I still don't feel quite ready to resume things in the bedroom. I'm still nursing her and all that....I don't feel like the sexy girl he married anymore."

"Hilde, he didn't marry you for your Barbie doll figure." Relena smiled. "Although you've done a fabulous job getting it back. Almost as good as my sister in law."

Hilde thought for a moment. "Did Lucy tell you how long it was until she and your brother started having sex again after Lucas was born?"

"I think it was as soon as Sally told her it was okay." Relena laughed. "Neither of them has much patience when it comes to that sort of thing."

"Great." Hilde readjusted Lilliane. "So, it's just me."

"I don't think it's just you," Relena assured her. "Has Duo been complaining?"

"Not out right. But I know he feels like something's missing between us." She paused. "Maybe I'm just scared that I'll get pregnant again. Silly fear, I know, but I couldn't handle another child right now. Much as I love Lilliane, if I got pregnant again, which wouldn't be impossible, it would just be..." She stopped upon seeing the look on Relena's face. "Oh sweetie....I'm so sorry. Me and my big mouth. I just..."

Relena held up her hand. "It's all right. I'm okay." She smiled in what she hoped was a comforting way. "I've been reading a lot of books about babies and pregnancies lately and from everything I've seen, what you're feeling is quite common."

"What do your books say I should do?"

"Go for it," Relena said simply. "Pretty soon, you're going to be running after a baby who can crawl and what little energy you have will be zapped just by keeping up with her. Even if you don't feel you're ready yet, set the mood and just try. You might surprise yourself...by how much you've missed it."

Hilde was thoughtful. "I do miss being with Duo...like that. I suppose I could try it. Tonight."

Relena nodded. "Very good." She glanced at her watch. "Oh! I have to go. Listen, call me soon and tell me how it went."

"I will." Hilde lifted Lilliane's little arm, waving it at the communicator. "Say 'bye-bye' to Relena, Lilli." The baby smiled sleepily around her pacifier. Relena blew a little kiss at the baby before shutting down transmission. Hilde lowered the baby's arm and took a deep breath. "Duo!" she called out.

He poked his head into the living room, a piece of cheese in his hand. "What's up, babe?"

Hilde stood up, holding Lilliane protectively in her arms. "How would you feel about maybe fooling around tonight?"

Duo's jaw fell open. He dropped his snack. "Really? Really, really?"

"I'm going to take that as a yes."

"It's a *hell* yes!" Duo declared. He approached his wife and daughter. "You're sure about this, Hilde-baby? I don't want you to think you have to...."

Hilde looked down. Lilliane was falling asleep on her shoulder. "I think it's time things started to get back to normal around here, don't you?" He nodded, too surprised and delighted to say much else. "Let me just put Lilli down and then..."

"I'll do it," Duo volunteered, holding out his arms for their baby. Hilde gave him a grateful smile as he took Lilliane. "It'll just take a minute." He started down the hallway of their new house. "Can you put on that little red thing? You know the one I mean..." Laughing, Hilde headed for their bedroom.

Duo wasted little time in changing his daughter and dressing her in a little pink pajama set. She was half-awake; she didn't reach for his braid as she usually did now that she had discovered her hands could hold things. Or pull on things...sharply. He picked her up from the changing table and held her close for a long minute. "Do Daddy a favor, baby." Lilliane yawned. "Sleep and sleep well. For at least an hour or two. It's been quite awhile since Daddy and Mommy...." He stopped. "Well, let's just say that Daddy would really appreciate it. Okay?"

Lilliane, by this time, was fast asleep. Smiling, he kissed her head and gently laid her on her stomach in the crib. He pulled a soft, flannel blanket over her legs. A minute passed as he watched her little back rise and fall. Finally, he tore himself away, closed the nursery door gently behind him and ran for the bedroom.

There was a trail of clothes down the hallway. Hilde's shirt, jeans, socks....bra. As he saw each discarded piece of clothing, his pulse raced a little faster. The bedroom door was ajar; he could see faint candlelight flicking out into the hall. Taking a breath, Duo stripped off his shirt. "Hilde..." he called out in a low voice. There was no reply. He smiled. Her silence was a familiar invitation to come and investigate.

He entered the room silently. Stealthly. She was lying on the bed in a tiny pair of red lace panties. His heart jumped into his throat. "Hilde," he said again. "Are you ready for..." He stopped. Puzzled, he walked closer to the bed. "Hilde-baby?"

Her only response was to roll over. Fast asleep.

Duo sighed. His not quite all the way erection faded. Looking around, he had to smile at the situation. The candles, the suggestive trail of clothing. She had tried. The best intentions...

After stepping out of his jeans, Duo blew out the thoughtfully lit candles and crawled into bed beside his sleeping wife. Slipping under the covers, he pulled her back against his chest. She barely stirred as his arms wound around her body. He kissed her bare shoulder and closed his eyes.

"Babe....we need a vacation."

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TBC