Hi Everybody! It took a little while, but here is the sequel to "All Day Long." The tissue warning still applies, I think, but in the end there will be hope. Please enjoy! Love, Stella

Disclaimer: I'm not entirely sure of who wrote the song "Dust in the Wind." I think the band's name was Kansas, but don't quote me. Just suffice it to say that I don't own it - or Gundam Wing, but we all know that.

**Two and a half years later***

His fists were clenched in anger, and his usually mild and calm voice was little more than low growl. It wasn't often that Quatre Winner was angry, but at the moment, he was absolutely furious. His hostility was directed at the two men in black uniforms across the office. He flew through the doorway, practically bowling them over. "How did Miss Relena get that tape?" He fumed, looking from one young Preventer to the other, and they just stared back, unable to speak from the shock of seeing him this way. In order to compel at least one of them to answer, Quatre took a step closer and glared at them even more intensely. It worked.

"Sh-she asked for it, sir," one of the new recruits stammered. Quatre didn't seem satisfied with that explanation, so he waited for further elaboration. It came as the other young man nodded in affirmation and added,

"The Vice-Foreign Minister came into Headquarters yesterday and asked if we had records of Preventer transmissions. She told us a certain day and time, so I found the tape and gave it to her. We weren't informed of your standing order that she not see it, sir. We were just transferred here last week!"

Quatre's expression softened, changing from one of anger to sadness. He really hadn't wanted her to see that recording, to see Heero like that. Without another word, he backed off and walked towards the door, knowing that those two were not to blame. While he was still within earshot, one of the officers asked the other, "What do you suppose is on that tape?"

Quatre stopped in his tracks and turned to face them. His voice was filled with emotion. "It was Heero Yuy's last transmission." With that, he left.

Relena glanced out the window, watching her son as he walked between Trowa and Wufei along the seashore. All of the pilots were his "uncles" and they doted on him shamelessly. At least one of them was at the estate each weekend taking the little boy on trips and spending time with him. Quatre was there the most, ever keeping the promise he made. A smile crossed Relena's face as she watched the smallest member of the trio on the beach. His wavy brown hair flew in all directions as he skipped in the sand, stopping frequently to look for seashells or watch for fish. 'He looks so much like Heero,' Relena thought with a sigh, looking at the calendar on her desk. Today was the third anniversary of Heero's death, and she observed it like some morbid holiday. She refused to leave the house, preferring to stay in her room and just remember him. On this day she let her mind wander to things that she usually tried to not think about. 'What if he were alive? We would wake up next to each other everyday, and our son would come bounding into the room wanting to play. Heero would have been a good father...'

I close my eyes
Only for a moment, then the moment's gone
All my dreams
Pass before my eyes, a curiosity

Her child picked up a handful of sand and watched with delight as a soft breeze picked up the tiny grains and sent them spiraling through the air, his Prussian blue eyes sparkling with happiness.

Relena continued to daydream. "Oh, Heero..."

Dust in the wind
All they are is dust in the wind

She was pulled out of her musings when she noticed Quatre making his way towards the three figures by the sea. Even from a distance Relena could see his sullen expression, and she watched Trowa's face take on the same look as he nodded silently to what Quatre was telling him. Relena knew that she has been the cause of it, asking the Preventers for the tape, but after all this time, she knew she wanted to see it. Moving away from the window she sat at her desk, staring at the darkened monitor. After quite some time, she raised a trembling hand to push the "Play" button. Before she was able to reach it, one of her aides was banging on her door.

"Vice-Foreign Minister! Miss Relena!" The young secretary swung the door open with so much force that she nearly lost her footing. She had not expected to be greeted with the image of the Vice-Foreign Minister in her pajamas at two o'clock in the afternoon, but she shook off the momentary awkwardness of the situation, and caught her breath before she spoke. "Miss Relena, you'll have to come quickly! There's been a shuttle explosion. Some members of the delegation are afraid that it was a bombing!"

It took a moment for the words to sink in, and another moment for Relena to move from her spot in the middle of the room and get dressed. "No, not again," she said to herself as she pulled on her suit jacket. She would not lose the peace that Heero had given his life for. "Will it ever end?" she whispered, making her way to the podium in order to address the representatives that had hastily gathered in the conference room.

Same old song
Just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do
Crumbles to the ground, though we refuse to see

One of the representatives queued up news footage on the large screen at the front of the room. Pieces of a shuttle floated through the silent space near colony L2. Relena stared wide-eyed at the charred debris.

Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind

"Is there a group claiming responsibility?" she asked the council seated around her.

"No, not yet," was the answer from several of the delegates.

"Then is it possible that this was just an accident?" she pressed. "Have the shuttle transmissions been reviewed."

"They're on their way, Miss Relena; we should have them in about an hour," her secretary chimed in. Relena sat at the long table, listening to the others theorize about terrorists and wars, and plans of action. After what seemed an eternity, her monitor beeped and she began reading the document that was appearing on the smaller screen before her. "It says that the pilots reported engine trouble, and were turning around to re-dock at the colony when the explosion occurred. Several passengers were rescued because it was so near to L2 and some of the shuttle stayed in tact." She looked up from the report, waiting for the delegates to respond. Just then, the monitor beeped again. The secretary leaned down to read the information.

"The faulty engine has been confirmed." The young woman looked up, smiling in relief.

"Thank you, Mary," Relena said, feeling her body relax. She glared around the room, intent on addressing the now sheepish-looking representatives. "If one of you had even mentioned the word 'bomb' to the media, we would have had a frenzy on our hands. I'm sure I don't need to remind you of that." Silence was the only response she received, and Relena knew that most of the people in the room had been taken aback by her curtness. "Next time, gentlemen, I'll ask you not to jump to conclusions about bombings." Seeing no need to linger, she turned abruptly and left the conference room, letting the door slam behind her. "Especially not today," she added, walking back to her room.

Throwing her jacket on the bed, Relena returned to her place in front of the monitor. Staring at the blank screen, she took a deep breath and pressed the button; watching for the first time, Heero's last moments. She let out an audible gasp at the site of him. His skin was grey and a stream of blood coursed over his colorless lips, dripping off of his chin onto the padding of the helmet he wore. He put the visor up as his voice crackled over the speakers, talking to Quatre. She half listened, more intent on the man before her, on the pain that was evident on his face. He was dying and he knew it. She reached out for the image, her fingers brushing against the screen, over his forehead and down his cheek. "For Relena, and the baby..." she heard him gasp, watching him strain to take in a breath, coughing as more blood ran over his lips. "Quatre, tell them why..." her eyes welled up with tears while she watched him battle to hold his head up. His voice was barely audible and she caught only snippets of what he said as he fought to stay conscious, "My son... Never have to fight..." Blinking back the tears, Relena studied his face intently. The last few seconds of the tape seemed to go in slow motion as she saw a tear roll down Heero's cheek before he replaced the visor of his helmet. She was no longer able to suppress the sobs rising in her throat, because she knew what was coming next. "Tell Relena that I lov..."

"You loved me," she choked out to the fading picture on the screen, as if she were willing it to reappear. "And I loved you, too." She swept her arm across the surface of the desk, sending the monitor crashing to the floor. Quatre had told her Heero's last words, but she had never heard them herself. Relena put her head down on the desk and cried until she fell asleep.

She awoke in the darkness, to the sound of little feet padding across the room. It wasn't long before a small hand was tugging at her sleeve. She lifted her head and sat up, her sore, red eyes meeting a happy set of blue ones. "Night-night, Mama - missed you today," he chirped, wrapping his arms around her neck.

"Night-night, sweetheart," she said quietly, "Mama loves you - we'll spend lots of time together tomorrow." She promised, kissing his forehead before he ran back to the doorway where Trowa and Quatre stood waiting. Trowa took her son's little hand and Relena heard him say something about a bedtime story. Quatre was left alone, framed in the light of the hall, looking at her. He said nothing and walked towards her in silence. His eyes fell to the monitor lying on the floor, and he looked back to her piteously. "I know," she said to him, trying to convey that she understood why he hadn't wanted her to see it. Relena put her head in her hands for a few seconds, but then met his gaze. "It's just that... I'd give anything in the world for just one last chance to see him - to tell him... to tell him that I loved him, too."

Now, don't hang on
Nothing lasts forever but the earth and sky
It slips away
And all your money won't another minute buy

Quatre watched while the tears rolled down her cheeks, but to his surprise, she stood up suddenly and wiped her eyes. "Look at me," she implored, straightening herself and smoothing her rumpled clothes. "He wouldn't want me to be this way - not after three years," she said firmly. "Heero was strong, and I must be, too."

"I'm sure he'd want that," was all Quatre could think to say. After bidding Relena good night, he went back down to the beach. After walking along the shore for a while, he looked up to the cobalt blue of the night sky.

"She's doing the best she can, Heero," he said quietly.

Dust in the wind
All we are is dust in the wind

He stood at the water's edge, letting the waves lap at his bare feet. Quatre watched the light in Relena's bedroom window go out, and slowly made his way back to the house as a light breeze picked up in the night air, swirling the sand into small dunes on the beach.

"Good night, Heero, wherever you are."

Dust in the wind
Everything is dust in the wind...

***A Hospital on L2, Later that Day***

"Excuse me, Mr. Maxwell?" Duo sat up in bed, blinking sleepily as a young intern wearing a white lab coat addressed him. "Do you mind if we give you a roommate? There's been a shuttle accident and we have to clear the ICU because there are several severely critical patients coming in - this fella's been here for a long time, and he's stable."

"Sure, no problem," Duo replied groggily. "I'll be checking out in a few hours anyway." He plopped down onto the pillows, falling back to sleep. He didn't notice the man who was wheeled past him and placed in a bed across the room. As he was about to doze off, he heard the doctor giving the intern instructions.

"I want you to check on this patient at least every twenty minutes; I expect him to regain consciousness today - the synapse repair should be almost complete. I'm anxious to see the results of this new procedure. We'll be in the medical journals for sure."

"Will he be paralyzed, sir," the intern questioned.

"At first," was the reply. "It will take more time for his body to regenerate and mend all the broken nerves and neural pathways, but I'll be curious to see how long it takes him to regain his ability to speak. His brain has already started functioning highly, which is a good sign because the chart shows that due to blood loss and internal injuries, he had been deprived of oxygen for quite a long time. Only time will tell, but I'm hoping that he hasn't suffered any memory loss. He's been in a coma here for almost three years, I'd like to know who he is."

"Very good, doctor." Both men left the room, leaving Duo to be lulled to sleep by the beeping monitors attached to their patient.

Duo's nap didn't last too long because Hilde soon came charging in. "Ready to come home?" she asked cheerily. He nodded and she began to unpack a bag with fresh clothes for him. "Honestly, Duo, all the things you've been through and food poisoning lands you in the hospital." He didn't respond because he had started plowing through the breakfast that a nurse had brought him a short time ago. Hilde only smirked. "Obviously you're feeling better. Hey, where did these come from?" she asked, eyeing three huge flower arrangements.

Swallowing a mouthful of toast, Duo answered. "The Preventers Office, Quatre and Relena."

"Oh, they're beautiful - we'll have to make two trips!" Just then, a hint of sadness crossed her face as she stared at the flowers from Relena. "We should call her, you know what today is." Duo cast his eyes downward as he chewed his eggs. He knew all too well what today was. A moment of silence passed between them before Hilde looked up, the figure across the room and the empty table beside him catching her attention. "Hey," she said, looking back to Duo, "Why don't we leave some flowers for him? I think it's the saddest thing in the world when someone's in the hospital and no one brings them flowers." Duo nodded in agreement between bites of bacon, and Hilde carefully lifted one of the very full vases off of the table and walked over to the other bed. She was about to set them down when she caught sight of the sleeping man's familiar features. The vase slipped out of her hands, crashing to the floor as shards of glass and flower stems skittered in all directions.

Duo jumped up in surprise, and looked over to where Hilde stood as if she were frozen; she was staring at the man in the bed and paying little attention to the tremendous mess at her feet. "You all right, babe?" he asked, rushing to her side. She didn't answer, she only pointed.

He looked down and felt his whole body go limp. Leaning on Hilde, it took Duo a full five minutes before he was able to utter the words, "It can't be."

To Be Continued

Please don't hate me for the cliffhanger! The final part to this story will make it worthwhile, I promise. Please let me know how you liked it, it'll inspire me to write faster - all questions will be answered!

Love to all,
Stella