Hi!!! Here's the epilogue I promised to do *dances around* It's finally finished - yay! It took me forever to find a song (since this is a songfic series). I obsessed over it for a while, but Sarah came through for me again. Oh, and I have to say a thank you to Luvspook who inspired me to just get this done already. No tissue warnings this time. Enjoy!


Formalities: I don't own Gundam Wing or the song "No One Like You." Oh, and a bit of an author's note: The verse that starts this chapter off is from a poem entitled "October" by William Morris (I know, poetry - don't go running off screaming, it's just one verse). Anyway, those few lines are read at the beginning of the song. They kinda fit with the story. Oh, I don't own that poem either (like you didn't know). Ok, that's all for the rambling, you can read the story now.


No One Like You - The All Day Long Epilogue

"And we too, will it not be soft and kind
At rest from life, from patience and from pain
At rest from bliss, we know not when we find
How can I have enough of life and love"

Quatre glanced up from the volume of poetry in his hands when he heard the shuffling footsteps in the corridor. Setting the book on a table, he walked briskly across the expansive, richly furnished library of Relena's estate and was met at the doorway by a determined-looking Heero. It had been a week since they had all returned to earth, and nearly a month since Duo and Hilde had recognized their long lost (seemingly long dead) friend in an L2 hospital room. The speed at which Heero recovered amazed only his doctors, but surprised none who had known him well. The physicians estimated that he would walk on his own in about four months - he had accomplished this feat, though he was still a bit slow and unsteady, in less than one.

"Out for a stroll, Heero?" Quatre asked, smiling kindly as he always did. Heero smirked good naturedly in reply and followed his friend back into the plush library. Using the backs of the red velvet chairs for support as he moved along, he finally settled himself in one of the ornate seats across from Quatre. They sat in silence for a few minutes, until Heero finally began to speak.

He still had to talk slowly, each word was very deliberate. They all knew that this condition would repair itself in time as Heero's neural pathways continued to reform, but it frustrated him nonetheless. "It's about time I thank you," he blurted out, rather unceremoniously, to the blond man in front of him. Quatre looked puzzled for an instant, but then his features once again moved into a smile of understanding.

"I made a promise to a friend," he replied softly, referring to the vow he had made when Heero had asked him to watch over Relena and their son. "You don't have to thank me. We all just did the best we could. And Relena, she had the hardest time of all of us. I think a small part of her never stopped hoping - she always believed in you. You know that."

Heero nodded slowly and, with a distant look in his eyes, reached up to toy with something that hung on a string around his neck. Quatre was intrigued by the gesture, but felt it was impolite to ask. Instead, he spoke up again.

"So, have you spent some time with Orion?"

Heero nodded again. "Walked on the beach and he ran circles around me." He didn't smile, but Quatre could see a trace of amusement in his friend's stoic features. "He looks like me, too," Heero stated matter-of-factly.

Quatre laughed, knowing that looks weren't the only way that young Orion resembled his father. He also had inherited many of Heero's personality traits, much to Relena's dismay.
Heero raised an inquisitive eyebrow at his fellow pilot's reaction, but his attention was quickly redirected to the doorway as an extremely exhausted Relena dragged herself across the room and plopped down in a chair. She didn't seem to notice either of them at first, but when she realized that the two of them were sitting there, she jumped back up in surprise. "Heero!" She exclaimed, freezing in her tracks as she had started to walk towards them. "I didn't expect you to be here until tomorrow."

Heero said nothing, so Quatre took it upon himself to offer an explanation. "Dr. Langley said he could leave a few days early, so we caught a shuttle back on Tuesday. Didn't you get the message?"

Relena just shook her head, staring at Heero all the while. "No, I..." She trailed off, loosing herself momentarily in his intent blue eyes, "I was in meetings the whole time I was away; I didn't even get to talk to Orion while I was gone." Relena wasn't quite sure how long it would take her to get used to the fact that the man she loved and had thought was dead for three years was now here, sitting across from her. She couldn't tear herself away from his face, his strong, perfect...

"Oh, well *yawn* it's been a long day," Quatre said, trying to sound sleepy as he rose from the chair, stretching. Sensing that perhaps Relena and Heero needed some time alone, which they had never managed to get while Heero was in the hospital due to the doctors and the reporters, he decided to retreat to his bedroom. "Good night, you two," Quatre smiled over his shoulder, grabbing the book he had been reading and grinning all the way out the door and down the hall.

Relena was still standing, facing Heero. Over the three long years that he had been gone, she had been kept awake at night with thoughts of a thousand things that she would have liked to say to him. Now that he was here, as she had so longed for him to be, she could not breathe a word. Instead, she moved slowly towards him and kneeled beside the chair he was sitting in. With a sigh, Relena wearily rested her head against his leg and closed her eyes, content to just be near him. Heero seemed puzzled by what she had done, and ever so gently swept his hand along her jawline, tilting her face upwards so that when she opened her eyes, she was staring right into his.

In your eyes are my secrets
That I've never shown you
In my heart I feel
I've always known you
In your arms there's a comfort
That I never knew
You're what I've been waiting for,
There's no one like you

"Relena?" Heero asked quietly, curious about the far-off look in her eyes. She continued to look up at him, as though she still didn't believe what she was seeing. "Relena, tell me," he said, in the same quiet tone.

"What do you want to know, Heero?" she asked, still rigidly transfixed on his face.

"Everything," was his simple reply.

Sure as the sunrise,
Pure as a prayer
You fashioned hope
Right out of thin air

She started slowly, talking mostly about Orion; his first words, first steps, how wonderful Trowa, Duo and Wufei had been about visiting, and most certainly how Quatre had always been there for her whenever she had needed anything. She told him about the media circus surrounding her pregnancy, and how the press had hounded her relentlessly for the identity of the father. Some of the other representatives had even called for her resignation, but somehow it eventually came out that the father was the 'courageous former gundam pilot who died ending the final uprising.' After that, the controversy ebbed away.

As the minutes turned into hours and the daylight disappeared through the massive library windows, Relena poured out three years worth of hurt and joy - Orion's little triumphs, her crushing sadness and guilt. "I could never let you go," she added, looking up at him sorrowfully. He didn't look the least bit surprised by that statement. He knew her better than she had ever imagined. Without a word, Heero stood up as quickly as his body would allow and lowered a hand to Relena, helping her to her feet. She didn't bother to ask where they were going as he led her down the corridor. They stopped in front of Orion's bedroom. Relena put her hand on the doorknob, but before she could turn it, the door swung open and Orion's nanny looked up in surprise.

"Oh," she whispered, wide-eyed. "Excuse me, Miss Relena" she gasped, recovering from being startled. "He's just fallen asleep," she said, looking over her shoulder into the room, "But I know you want to see him."

"Thanks, Sadie," Relena whispered back as the nanny moved past them, casting a sideways glance at Heero.

They crept silently into the darkened nursery and looked down at the small sleeping figure as moonlight swept across his small, peaceful face. Relena bent down and planted a kiss on the little boy's forehead, tenderly sweeping away his unruly brown hair. She stepped back and watched as Heero did the same. Taking a deep breath, Relena knew that she was witnessing a scene that she never thought would be possible. Heero kissing his son good night.

Every dream I abandoned,
Seems it could come true
I believe in miracles,
There's no one like you

"What's this?" Heero whispered, pointing to a monitor and tape lying beside it. Relena smiled wistfully and began to answer.

"Our nightly ritual," she said, taking the machine and the tape in her arms after giving her son one last kiss.

Innocent as a newborn
In a world so frightening
It's as if my world's
Been struck by lightning

They returned to the library, and Relena set the screen down on a table and pressed a button. Duo's voice echoed in the empty room, then Trowa's. "Happy birthday, Relena." Heero seemed confused, but his expression changed as he was momentarily taken aback when his own face appeared before him.

"I remember this," he said, staring at Relena while the on-screen Heero wished her a happy birthday. "That night..." he trailed off. She began to blush, knowing that the outcome of time they had spent together after the party was sleeping just down the hall. Relena smiled slightly, so lost in her thoughts, she barely noticed that Heero was watching her. She looked on curiously as he removed something from around his neck, though he did so without his eyes ever leaving hers.

"I meant to give this to you, that night," he said, taking her hand and placing what seemed to be just a pile of string into her palm. She picked it up, only to find a diamond ring dangling at the end.

Every dream I abandoned,
Seems it could come true
I believe in miracles,
There's no one like you

"I kept it with me through the fighting. I figured that I would just have to give it to you when I came back." Relena finally managed to take her eyes off the ring and just stared at him. Heero reached out for her and pulled her close to him, knowing that she was smiling through her tears. "Well, I'm back."

The End

Well, I hope you're all not stuck to your chairs from the sap (ahhh! I can't move!). But seriously - I thought they deserved a happy little ending since I tortured them pretty badly in the first three parts. Thank you all so much for reading and I truly hope you enjoyed this series. Let me know how you liked it. Love to all, Stella