AN and Disclaimer: They are
not mine! I’m borrowing them! Warnings: Hmm... let me see? AU, OOC, angst,
drama, what else? Oh yeah and the angst of teen pregnancy! Remember to use
protection, people! I’ve seen it happen to soooo many of my friends it’s not nice
to see! Also, sorry about the title, I couldn’t think of anything else.
Oh Baby!
by Oyuki
(Aug. AC 198)
Hilde fidgeted with the hem
of her shirt while paced the living room of Duo’s house. She had news, big news
and she didn’t know how she was going to tell Duo. It was life changing news! It
was the type of news that you wanted to hear in certain situations only. And
this, well this wasn’t the situation in which one wanted to hear these news.
“Would you sit down and
tell me what’s got you so upset. You’ve been pacing since you got here!” Duo
whined from the couch.
She took a deep breath.
“Duo...I’m pregnant,” said
Hilde quietly to her boyfriend of eight months. Her face was pale, her lips
trembled a little. Despite all her courage she was scared. Scared out of her
mind. She looked at him. It was a long time before he actually managed to say
something intelligible.
“You’re what?” he asked
incredulously. No! No, no, no, no, no! This could not be happening to him. No!
“Pregnant,” she stated
again. “Duo--”
“Shit! Are you sure?” His
girlfriend couldn’t be pregnant. They’d used protection. Every time! He put his
face in his hands. “How?” he asked very quietly.
“Yes. Duo, don’t look at me
like that. It’s not like I wanted to get pregnant! For God’s sake, I’m two
weeks from turning eighteen! And you had a lot to do with it. So don’t go
blaming it all on me!”
Duo just sat there looking
at her. His eyes went from her face to her still flat stomach. He closed his
eyes and groaned. “What are you going to do?”
“ME? What am I going to do?
What are we going to do, Duo. It’s not just my problem!” she yelled. Typical
guy! They all think it’s the woman’s fault.
“I can’t be a father,
Hilde. I’m only eighteen! I just graduated from high school. Think of what’s
going to happen. I won’t be able to go to college, I won’t be able to play
football--”
“What about me? I’m going
to have a baby in March! I won’t be able to go to UC Berkeley like I’d planned.
You think this baby will only ruin your plans, Duo?” she interrupted. She couldn’t
believe how extremely selfish he was being. “I thought I was finally going to
make a life for myself, that I wouldn’t have to rely on foster homes, or
orphanages to give what I needed! I thought I was going to be happy for once in
my life!”
He sighed. No, he couldn’t
let anything ruin his plans to play football. He couldn’t be tied down with a
baby. “Then we’ll have an abortion because there is NO way that I’m going to
have a baby!” he said, disregarding her comment.
She stared at him. She
opened her mouth to say something but the words wouldn’t come. She closed her
eyes, took a deep breath, and finally said, “No, Duo. We are not going to get
an abortion... and no!” she said before he could say his next solution. “We are
not going to give it up for adoption. I, more than anyone, know what it’s like
to grow up without parents. Didn’t you hear what I just said?”
He shook his head at her. “No,
Hilde. I will not be--”
“Oh my God, Duo! You really
do think I did this on purpose! You really think I would do that? You really
think I would ruin my plans to go to one of the best schools in the United
States just so I could keep you with me? I worked my ass off to get in and you
think I’d do this? I worked my ass off to get out the kind of life I’ve lead
for as long as I can remember!”
“That’s not the point. The
point is that I will not have a baby! I’m not ready and I don’t want the
responsibility! I’m leaving in two days for college and you come, out of the
blue, and tell me you’re pregnant. No, Hilde. You’re just going to have to
either get rid of it or have it by yourself. That’s it!” He would not take
responsibility for this. Hell no! Hilde got herself into this mess by not going
on the pill!
“I can’t believe how
selfish you’re being, Duo,” she whispered. “It’s the most life changing
experience of our lives and you want me to take sole responsibility?”
“If being selfish means
looking out for my future, then yes, I’m being a selfish bastard.” Deep down he
knew he was being extremely selfish, but would anybody blame him? He was just
looking out for his future. He didn’t want to work minimum wage at a fast food
restaurant for the rest of his life. He didn’t want to resent his child for
taking away his dreams. He didn’t want a baby! He was scared out of his wits by
this!
“Fine, Duo. Leave! Be a
bastard and not be there for your own child! I don’t care. Take the easiest
fucking way out of this! I won’t argue with you over this. I’d rather my baby
not have a father, than have an immature ass hole like you for one!”
“Hilde-- I wouldn’t be a
good father anyway. You’re right, I’m too immature, I don’t even have a job, my
parents are going to pay for college!”
“Stop, Duo. I don’t need
any more excuses. You’re taking the easy way out, you’re not man enough to face
up to responsibilities. But think of this: you are looking out for your future
and not even thinking about this child’s future! You’re only thinking about
yourself and not this baby. I didn’t ask you to think of me, I can take care of
myself! You’re not even giving this baby a chance. It didn’t ask to be brought
into this world!” Hilde grabbed her jacket and purse from Duo’s sofa and left. She
slammed the door and Duo winced.
“I’m sorry, Hilde. I can’t
let this ruin my plans,” he said to the empty room. He walked upstairs to
finish packing.
“You’re thinking about
yourself and not this baby,” she’d said. She was right. “It didn’t ask to be
brought into this world!” She was right about that too, but he’d never asked to
be a father at 18 either, so they were even. He shook his head.
“Sorry, Hilde, but I won’t
let you ruin my plans. I can’t,” he whispered. He didn’t even want to think
about what his parents would say if they ever found out about this. He hoped
Hilde wouldn’t tell them.
*~*~*~*
Outside, Hilde got into her
car and drove home. She’d thought Duo would be supportive. Now that she knew he
wasn’t going to help, it made telling Mr. and Mrs. Andrews, her foster parents,
that she was pregnant harder. She imagined having Duo with her when she told
them. She knew they would kick her out of the house, but having Duo would have
helped. Why was Duo acting like that? She’d never thought he was that selfish,
but she guessed it was from growing up rich. Yes, Duo was rich and she wasn’t,
she was just the little orphan girl he’d been dating. “Screw you, Duo,” she
muttered. She parked in the driveway and thought of ways to tell her ‘parents’
the news.
She got out of the car and
walked to the door. She turned the knob and stepped inside. Mrs. Andrews walked
out of the kitchen and smiled at her. Hilde’s heart broke for the second time
that day. The Andrews had been extremely nice to her for the past three years. They’d
kept her longer than any of her other foster parents. But they were extremely
old fashioned and religious. She knew they disapproved of her having a
boyfriend, and who knows what they were going to do when she gave them the
‘surprise’ of their lives.
“What’s wrong, Hilde. Are
you sick?” asked Mrs. Andrews.
“No, listen Clara, can I
talk to you and Bill? After dinner?”
“Oh of course! We have a
surprise for you! Your brother, Patrick, is here from college for a couple of
weeks. He’s been asking about you the whole day.”
“That’s great. I’m going to
my room to wash up for dinner. Thank you, Clara.” Great, now Patrick was here. He
was three years older than Hilde and they’d never gotten along. He liked to
annoy her, and she liked to annoy him back. ‘Well, the whole family is going to
witness my disgrace,’ she thought.
“Alright, dear. Dinner will
be ready in half an hour,” she said to Hilde’s retreating figure.
When she got to her room,
Hilde flung herself on her bed. She didn’t cry, though. She was damned if she’d
feel sorry for herself. She would just have to make the best of this situation.
If Duo didn’t want to at least help her, then she’ll do it for herself. She
wouldn’t be the first woman to have a baby by herself. Maybe her mother had
been in this situation, and if that was the case she wouldn’t do the same thing
she had. She would not abandon her baby because she was weak. She would be
strong and face the world with her chin up. She would it, she would not leave
her baby at the hospital where she was born. She would not be like her mother! She
got up to take a shower.
She would do anything for
this baby. It would be the only family she would ever have.
Dinner was quiet, with only
a few annoying remarks from Patrick. When they’d all finished Hilde helped
Clara with the dishes in the kitchen. When all the dishes were washed and dried
Hilde asked Clara to get Bill and Patrick to the living room.
*~*~*~*
As she had with Duo, she
fidgeted with the hem of her shirt but she didn’t pace. She was sitting on the
couch.
“What was it the you wanted
to tell us, Hilde?” asked Clara.
“I don’t know how to tell
you guys. First I want to tell you that I care a lot about you and that I’m
glad that I had the opportunity to live with you guys. You guys have given me a
taste of what a real family would have been like. And what I wanted to tell you
guys is that... I’m pregnant.”
“You’re what?” bellowed Mr.
Andrews.
“I’m sorry,” said Hilde. She
was crying now. She would never forget the look on Mrs. Andrews’ face when
she’d told them.
“I knew you were up to no
good with the Maxwell boy! I just knew it! How could you do this to us, Hilde? After
all we’ve given you. After all we’ve done for you! And where is your so called
boyfriend? Have you told him yet? Does he plan on marrying you?” asked Bill.
“He’s not going marry me,
Bill.” she said quietly. She was sitting on the corner of the sofa, trying to
make herself as small as possible. Patrick was sitting on the sofa across from
her, staring. Mrs. Andrews was crying next to Patrick, and Mr. Andrews was
standing up, passing judgment on her. “He doesn’t want me to have the baby, but
I’m not going to have an abortion or give my baby up.”
“I’m sorry Hilde, but this
is not acceptable. We can not have you in our house as an unwed mother. We are
very fond of you, but we will not bring shame upon our family. You have to
leave this house as soon as possible, you may take all your things,” Bill said.
“I understand, and I’m
sorry. I really didn’t mean for this to happen. Thank you for all you’ve done
for me. I’ll leave tonight.” On shaky legs she got up and walked upstairs. She
grabbed a duffel bag and began stuffing all her clothes into it. When she was
done she took only a few mementos. Giving the room one last look she turned the
knob on the door and stepped into the hall. Bill and Clara were still
downstairs. Hilde walked down the stairs. She put her hand in her pocket and
took her car keys out. She stretched out her hand and handed them to Mr.
Andrews.
He took the house keys from
the ring and handed her the car keys. “Keep it,” was all he said.
Patrick was outside waiting
for her. He walked up to her and took her bag. “Where are you going?” he asked
the girl he’d considered his sister for the last three years.
“To Relena’s. She just got
her own condo and I’m going to pay half the expenses,” she asked opening the
trunk of the car and stepping aside so he could put the bag inside.
“You were expecting them to
ask you to leave?” he asked her. He was concerned for her, she had always
looked so small, so fragile to him. Just like a little sister should like to
her big brother.
“Yes and no. I was going to
move out. I didn’t want to be a burden to them. They’re not my parents,
Patrick. God knows what kind of man my father was, and you know my mom didn’t
take me home with her after they released her from the hospital. She just left
me there. Your parents don’t have to feel responsible for the mistakes I make.”
Hilde sniffed and wiped the tears from her cheeks.
“They see you as their
daughter.”
“Not really. But it’s okay.
I’m going to... to... I’m going to do something to raise this baby. Even if I
have to do it alone. I guess this is goodbye then.” More tears fell from her
eyes.
“Yeah, take care. I don’t
think I’ll see you... often,” he whispered. Patrick had never been a guy to
show emotion to anyone. He surely never showed any to Hilde, but that night he
did something that surprised them both. He hugged her. She hugged him back. “Do
you need any money?” he asked when she turned on the engine of the car.
Hilde shook her head and
drove off to Relena’s condo. The drive to Relena’s house from the Andrews’
house was of about twenty minutes. When Hilde got there the lights were still
on and she saw Relena’s boyfriend’s car parked outside. Hilde sighed and hoped
they were not ‘busy’. Heero, the boyfriend, was Duo’s best friend. Hilde
supposed that he would find out about the baby from either Relena or Duo. “Oh
well,” she muttered. “Somehow I don’t think Duo wants anybody to know.”
She used the keys her
friend gave her and entered the condo. Relena and Heero were on the sofa watching
a movie when she came in with her duffel bag.
“Oh, hey!” Relena said,
then noticed the bag in her hand. “I guess you told them. I fixed your room,
Heero helped me bring in the bed!”
“Thank you. You guys didn’t
have to.”
“Nonsense! You’re pregnant,
you can’t be carrying stuff around!” cried Relena getting up from her place
next to Heero. “How did it go?”
Hilde was quiet for a long
moment. Tears stung the backs of her eyes again. Tears started to fall and her
friend hugged her.
Heero turned away from the
television and looked up to see Hilde crying. He got up and hugged her too. “You
want me to talk to him?” he asked as he released her. “He has to support you
with this, Hilde. It’s his child too!”
“No,” she sighed. “He
doesn’t care. And if he’d stayed he would have ended up hating me and the baby.
I don’t want to do that to him. If he wants to be selfish, then so be it. At
least this way only one of us will be stuck with an unwanted child and no
future,” she told him.
“There’s always
abortion...” suggested Heero quietly.
“No! It’s not the child’s
fault. He or she didn’t asked to be conceived. And I know both of you are
thinking about adoption, but that’s out of the question. Neither of you know
what it’s like to grow up from orphanage to orphanage and foster home to foster
home. I went through from birth and I don’t want him or her to grow up like
that. It hurt me so much and I don’t wish it upon anybody.” She knew some kids
did find good, permanent homes, but she didn’t want to take that chance. She had
never found a permanent home.
“Oh Hilde! I’ll help you! I’ll
be like a second mother to your baby! We’ll both work hard and we’ll save money
for when you can’t work when the baby is born! Don’t worry, you’ll see! Everything
is going to be okay!”
“Thank you,” said Hilde. She
didn’t know what she was going to do. She’d been so scared for the last few
weeks, wishing that what she suspected wasn’t true. She wished this had never
happened. It wasn’t the baby’s fault, but how she wished she wasn’t pregnant. ‘What’s
done is done,’ she thought.
“I’ll help you too, Hilde,
when I can. I’ll be in college but I’ll help you as much as I can when I’m
here.”
Hilde cried harder. Her
life would never be the same... “Thank you, both of you.”
*~*~*~*
(Jan. AC 199)
Hilde massaged her back. She’d
had a back ache all morning and it would not leave her. She was about seven
months along with her baby girl, but the small child weighed heavily on her
small frame. She looked like she was about to have twins at full term instead of
expecting one and two months still left.
Hilde has stopped working
three weeks before due to minor complications in her pregnancy. There was
nothing wrong with her baby or the pregnancy itself, it was just that pregnancy
didn’t sit well with Hilde. She was sick all the time and she couldn’t keep
some foods down even in her seventh month of pregnancy.
“Ugh!” muttered Hilde. She
looked like a beached whale! Her back hurt like hell, her feet had swelled to
the size of a watermelon and she couldn’t even lie down comfortably. But even
with all of these little things that annoyed her, Hilde loved being pregnant. Every
time she felt her baby girl kick, she would smile. She would finally have
someone who would love her unconditionally. A family, someone who wouldn’t
leave her. It amazed her how much she loved this child that wasn’t even born
yet.
At night she would imagine
a beautiful little girl who had her hair and her eyes. She hoped her baby
looked nothing like Duo. It would be too painful to look at her baby and see
Duo. A reminder, for Hilde, that he had not wanted to have anything to do with
this baby. This little piece of both of them. His loss, though. This child
would be good and beautiful and if Duo ever saw her, he would regret not
wanting to see her grow up.
She sighed at the pain in
her back. It seemed to be getting a little bit worse with every passing hour. Hilde
struggled to get up from the couch she had been sitting on and waddled to the
bathroom.
Hilde’s heart beat sped up,
there was blood on her underwear. “I don’t think this is supposed to happen,”
she whispered. She slowly walked to the phone and dialed Relena’s work phone
number. She started to cry quietly. She didn’t want anything to happen to her
baby.
“This is Relena speaking,
how may I--”
“It’s me,” she said.
“Hilde, what’s wrong?” Relena
asked her.
“I’m bleeding, Relena. I--”
“Call 911, Hilde! I’ll be
home in five minutes!” she said and hung up.
Hilde pushed the off button
on the phone and dialed 911 with shaking fingers.
*~*~*~*
Relena broke all the speed
limits and ran every red light in her drive home. She got her cell phone and
dialed a familiar phone number.
“Hello?” said a male voice.
“Duo? It’s Relena, can I
talk to Heero, please,” she asked in a panicked voice.
“What’s wrong?” he asked
her.
“Just put him on the phone
will ya!” she shouted.
“Jeez, okay! Heero, it’s
your girlfriend.”
“Hello?” said Heero.
“I think she’s about to
give birth,” she told him rounding the corner that would lead her to her
street.
“But--” he exclaimed.
“Yes, I know, but she said
she was bleeding and she complained about a pain in her back this morning. Look
I’m pulling into my driveway now, the ambulance will be here any minute. You
know what hospital, right?”
*~*~*~*
“A natural birth? Are you
sure, honey? We could give you anesthesia,” the nurse told Hilde.
“No, if there’s no need for
me to have any surgery or anything then I would like to have a natural birth,”
Hilde said adamantly.
The nurse smiled at the
young woman in front of her. “All right, honey. Whatever you want. The bleeding
has been stopped and this will proceed as a normal birth. I have to warn you
about something though,” said the nurse.
“What?” asked Hilde.
“This may be like a normal
birth, but the baby may have to stay a the hospital because she didn’t go to
full term, is that understood?” she asked with a gently smile.
Hilde nodded at the nurse. Everything
had to be okay. “Can my friend come in now?”
“Sure.”
Relena entered the room
with a broad smile on her lips. “Oh my God! It’s early still but I’m so glad
you’re finally having this baby! I can’t wait to see her!”
“She had me a little
worried there, but I’m glad I don’t have to wait two more months to see her,”
Hilde confessed.
“Heero’s on his way, he’s
been calling every five minutes wanting to talk to you but I told him the
doctors and nurses were working on you. He’s excited too,” Relena said hugging
her friend.
Another contraction hit
Hilde like a ton of bricks. “I think they’re coming every eight minutes now,”
she said to Relena.
“It’s your first pregnancy.
Normally those take a long time. Oh, I’ll call Heero for you!” Relena dialed
Heero’s cell phone and waited till he picked up.
“Hello?” he answered
gruffly.
“Heero?” asked Hilde who
now had Relena’s phone.
“Hey! How are you? Relena
said--”
“Yeah, but the bleeding
stopped and this will be almost like a natural birth,” she said. He could
almost see her smiling at him on the other side of the phone.
“That’s good. I’ll be there
really soon. Hopefully before the baby’s born, so try to wait to give birth
okay?”
She laughed at that. “Okay,
I’ll try to hold on. I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”
Three hours later, Hilde,
with Relena and Heero in tow, was wheeled into the delivery room.
*~*~*~*
(Dec. AC 200)
“No, Alyza, don’t--” there
was a loud crash and a pause before Hilde finished, “touch that. You shouldn’t
touch aunt Relena’s stuff because she’ll get really mad. Alyza, come on, baby!’
Hilde took a deep breath and picked up the one year old. It was a couple of
days before Christmas and both Relena and Hilde were having a hard time keeping
Alyza, Hilde’s daughter, from tearing the paper on the presents or from
breaking the ornaments. Hilde felt really bad because Alyza had broken so many
things and she couldn’t pay her friend back. Relena had said it was okay, but
she knew it wasn’t. Relena shouldn’t have to put up with Alyza.
“I’m home!” cried Relena
from the hall way. She walked into the living room and looked for Alyza. “And
how is my baby today?” she asked and took her from Hilde’s arms. She tickled
her under her chin and said, “She’s as cute as a button! Oh yes she is!” Alyza
squirmed in her arms and laughed. She looked more like Duo everyday. She had
the same chestnut brown hair and the laughing violet eyes. She had his mouth,
and the shape of her eyes was exactly like his. She looked nothing like her
mother. “Oh Hilde, she makes me want to have a baby of my own,” said Relena.
Hilde laughed and said,
“Believe me, you do not want one. Alyza gives you enough trouble and she’s not
even yours!”
“Oh come on, Hilde! I love
her as if she was my own. Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you that Heero will be
coming for Christmas! He said he wants to see you and Alyza very much. He’s so
in love with her!”
“Better watch out, I think
you have a rival, Relena!”
“I’d be happy to lose Heero
to a cutie like this one!”
*~*~*~*
(in Heero’s and Duo’s dorm
room)
“So, Heero, where ya goin’
for Christmas?” asked Duo, who was lying on his bed throwing and catching a
football.
“To Relena’s,” was all he
said. In the two years they’d lived together, Heero had ‘neglected’ to tell him
who Relena’s roommates were.
“Ooh, you gonna spend some
time alone with her, man?” He wanted to ask if he’d seen Hilde the last two
years, but he thought better of it.
“She has... er... two
roommates.”
“Two? Are they hot?”
“Oh yeah, you’d love ‘em,
Duo. They’re both nice... er... girls,” Heero said rather sarcastically.
“See, I don’t get you man. You
never want to talk about Relena’s roommate, or roommates, whatever. Every time
I bring them up you start being all sarcastic and shit.” He really wanted to
ask him if he’d see Hilde. In the two years since their break up he hadn’t
stopped thinking about her. She’d pop up at the most inopportune moments.
“Then maybe you should meet
them, Duo. Then you can judge for yourself how hot they are.”
“You mean that? I can come
home with you, instead of staying here for Christmas like I’ve done the last
two years?” He hadn’t wanted to encounter Hilde and... and the baby. He hadn’t
been home in a while. He’d had more reason to not go home when he’d seen a
picture of a very obviously pregnant Hilde with Relena. He’d found it on
Heero’s desk.
“Sure, just let me warn
you. Her roommates might give you quite a shock!”
“I can’t wait.” He wanted
to see her-- them. He’d never seen a picture of the baby, but he knew it was a
girl. He didn’t know her name, though. He’d received a letter a few days after
Heero had received that call from Relena. She’d told him that he should
reconsider. That Hilde had given birth to a baby girl, that he should go see
them. He didn’t of course. Thinking that Hilde would want him to stay and ‘be a
man’. He had always been curious about his daughter.
“Pack your bags then, we’re
leaving tonight.”
“All right!” He was finally
going to see them. He wasn’t going to stay. All he needed was to see them. He
was finally ready to see them.
*~*~*~*
“Is everything ready,
Hilde?” asked Relena who was finishing getting ready for the arrival of her
boyfriend.
“Yes! Don’t worry about a
thing, Alyza and I have everything ready for ‘Uncle Heero’. Don’t we, baby?” Hilde
had Alyza on her hip while she was stirring the contents of a pot on the stove.
They heard a car park in the driveway and hurried up with dinner. “He’s here,
Relena! Hurry up, Alyza and I will be in the kitchen!”
Hilde stirred the other
contents of various pots and waited for Relena to come. She heard the door
open, courtesy of Heero’s key, and turned around to see if Relena had come out
of her room yet.
(on the other side of the
door)
“Why so many presents,
Heero?” asked Duo eyeing the two bags of presents. They’re were mostly big
boxes and he’d wondered about them the whole way up there.
“They’re for Relena and her
roommates. They’ve been really nice to me.”
“Oh.”
Heero finally opened the
door and stepped inside. He walked into the living room and put the presents on
one of the sofas. “Anybody home?” he yelled.
“Oh Heero!” yelled an
excited Relena as she threw herself into his arms. They both laughed and
kissed. When they parted she hugged him again she noticed the other person with
him. “Heero, you didn’t!” she whispered in his ear.
“I did. I thought it was
time for him to see them,” he whispered back.
“Heero!” greeted Hilde as
she came out of the kitchen. She failed to notice the young man behind her
friend. Alyza gurgled and stretched her arms out to her ‘unca Hee-o’.
“Hi! Oh come here, baby! You’re
much bigger than the last time I saw you,” he said as he picked up Alyza from
her mother’s arms.
The moment Heero moved was
when Hilde noticed the stunned Duo. They looked at each other and asked at the
same time, “What are you doing here?”
“Oh, I forgot to mention
that I’d be bringing company,” said Heero with not a bit of apology in his
voice.
Hilde looked at him. “Yeah,
right. You did this on purpose!”
“Hilde, I thought it was
time for him to see Alyza--”
“Let’s talk about this
later, please. Let’s just have dinner right now. It’s Christmas Eve,” said
Relena taking her boyfriend’s hand and leading him to the kitchen. She stopped
walking and turned. “Please, Hilde? For me?”
“Fine,” she said quietly. Hilde
picked her daughter up and headed to the kitchen. Duo stood there, stunned. He’d
never thought he’d see Hilde again. Hilde... and his daughter... their
daughter. ‘This is going to suck,’ he thought. He shook his head and forced his
feet to move and take him to the kitchen. He didn’t know what to feel at that
moment. He had wanted to see them, but not this soon.
The table was small, only
for four people, Relena and Heero were sitting next to each other, so that left
the only chair next to Hilde, who was busy putting a bib on the baby in the
highchair. He couldn’t stop looking at the baby-- his baby. She was so
beautiful.
They ate in silence for
about twenty minutes. Heero was tired of this. He wanted his friends to talk,
to try and patch things up. He really doubted that either one of them wanted to
talk. Especially Hilde, the most harm had been done to her. He decided that he
would start the conversation by talking about Hilde. “So, Hilde, still going
out with what’s-his-face?” He felt Relena kick him under the table and tried
hard not to smile.
“No, Shawn and I decided to
be friends,” said Hilde gritting her teeth.
“Why?” asked Heero
innocently. Relena kicked him again.
“I’d rather not discuss
that, Heero,” she said warningly.
“Oh, right, still a touchy
subject.” Heero turned his attention to Duo. “Duo, still going out with...
um... Tanya?” Relena’s feet were going to be sore by the end of the night.
“No, Heero, but you already
knew that!” said his friend with tight lips. Heero was trying to piss him off,
and he was succeeding. What was he trying to do? This wasn’t the best thing for
him or Hilde right now.
“Oh so you guys are both
single?” Heero said slyly.
“Heero, sweetheart, can I
talk to you alone, for just a minute?” asked Relena sweetly, too sweetly. She
was beyond pissed. She was seething with anger. Her boyfriend had just ruined
their Christmas dinner! ‘You are going to pay for this, Yuy,’ she thought.
“Sure,” he said with a
bright smile. They both got up and headed for her bedroom where she proceeded
to give him an earful about meddling in other people’s lives.
Hilde and Duo were left
alone with Alyza between them. Duo took the opportunity to study his and
Hilde’s daughter. Her hair was two pony tails high on her head and she was
wearing a pink one-piece suit with a sailor collar. She had his hair, his eyes,
and she even had his smile. She looked nothing like Hilde. Just looking at her
pulled at his heart strings. She was a beautiful child. She was so beautiful
and so small. How could he have been so stupid? How was it possible that he
hadn’t wanted to ever see this beautiful angel? He felt bad about not wanting
to get to know her even before she was born. Hilde was right, it wasn’t her
fault that she’d been conceived. She hadn’t asked to be born. “She looks like
me,” he said, quietly, cautiously.
“Yes, she does.” Hilde did
not want to be alone with him. She didn’t look at Duo. She finished feeding
Alyza and wiped her mouth. The baby had a habit of getting her food all over
her and Hilde was surprised she hadn’t done it this time. ‘Probably knows
something’s up,’ Hilde thought. “Excuse us,” she said aloud and unstrapped
Alyza from the chair. She lifted her up and walked to her bedroom. She didn’t
notice Duo get up and follow her.
“What’s her name?” he asked
from the doorway. Damn it Maxwell! She’s almost two years old and you’re just
now getting around to asking her name?
“Alyza,” she responded
curtly. Why was he here? Why was he in her bedroom? ‘Ugh! Why is he asking
questions now? He didn’t care when she wasn’t even born yet, and now suddenly
he wants to know more?’
“That’s a nice name. Why
did you name her that?”
“I just liked it, Duo; it
has no meaning behind it! Now if you would please get out of our room, we’d
like to get ready for bed.”
“Hilde--”
“Please Duo! You don’t have
to pretend you care, I know you don’t!” she exclaimed. “You didn’t care two
years ago, before she was born, and you don’t care now! I’m sorry that Heero
brought you here like this, but don’t worry about it! We’ll pretend that we
didn’t see you, and as for Alyza, she won’t even remember you were here,” she
said angrily. He wouldn’t have the guts to come in here and be all
hypocritical, would he?
“Listen to me, Hilde. I’m
sorry that I didn’t want to get to know her. I thought about you guys so damn
much in the past two years! You wouldn’t leave me alone! I’m sorry that I
wasn’t there for either of you when she was born, but I’d like to change that. Now
that I’ve met her--”
“You think you can just
come back one day, when she’s almost two years old, and suddenly decide that
you want to get to know your daughter? No, Duo, it doesn’t work like that. You
were the one that didn’t want her, Duo! You’re the one who wanted to get rid of
us? Well, congratulations! You got rid of us, and we don’t need anything from
you!”
“Better late than never,
Hilde! It’s not like I never thought about her, about you! I did, constantly,
but I was a coward. How could I just come back one day and say, ‘Hilde, I want
to be the baby’s father now. I’m ready.’ You said it to me before, you said I
wasn’t man enough to be responsible but I’d like to try. Please Hilde. I’m
sorry.”
“You don’t owe me apologies,
Duo. You don’t owe ME anything. It’s Alyza that deserves that apology because
you weren’t here when she was born. You weren’t here when I felt her kick for
the first time, you weren’t here when she was born prematurely, when she had to
stay in the hospital for a month. Or when I didn’t have the money to pay for
her medical bill or her medicines! You weren’t man enough to accept all the
things that come with having a baby. You think it was easy for me? All the
things you didn’t want I had to go through twice because I was alone. Because
you weren’t here with me!” Hilde didn’t want to shout, it would scare Alyza,
but all the resentments that had built up were now coming out.
“I’m sorry, Hilde. I know
that I was selfish, and I know that Alyza deserved to have me there by her
side. But I want to change that! Let me be a part of both your lives. I’ll
change; I’ll go to the local college, I’ll get a job. I want to be her father,
to make up for my absence,” he pleaded with her.
“Fine, Duo. I don’t want to
deny her the chance to know her father. I don’t want her to resent me when
she’s older because I wouldn’t let her father see her. You can see her whenever
you want, she can stay with you, but I won’t be a part of it. I have my own
life now. You can be her father and I’ll be her mother, but we’ll each do it
separately.”
“I understand, Hilde, but
you are going to have to show me how to do things around her. I’ve never been
with a baby.” He wanted to be in Hilde’s life too. He needed her to be with
him. “I’m extremely sorry, that I wasn’t with you! I am! I don’t know what I
can do to make it up to you, but I swear that I’ll try.” He swore to himself
that one day they would be a real family; that one day Hilde would marry him
and they that would live together. He would try his hardest to make her see
that she still loved him, like he love her.
“Fine, but it’s not going
to be easy. And you will never know how hard having her was for me. It was the
hardest thing I ever did. She’s here now, and that’s hard, but you know what I
went through.”
*~*~*~*
The next few weeks were
difficult for Duo. He moved out of his dorm, told his coach that he wouldn’t be
playing anymore, and found a job. The hardest thing had been telling his
parents about Alyza. Hilde had allowed him to take Alyza to his parents’ house
by himself, he’d asked her to come with him and she’d said that since she’d had
to tell her ‘parents’ about Alyza alone so would he. He had been surprised that
Hilde hadn’t told his parents.
~He’d given them the
surprise of their lives when he’d come in the door with a baby. As soon as his
parents saw her they knew it was their only child’s daughter. There was no
mistaking the resemblance.
“Mom, dad, this is Alyza...
my daughter,” he had said. He hoped they wouldn’t be too mad about his lack of
responsibility. If there was one thing his father had taught him, it was that
he had to take responsibility for his actions.
“Oh my God, Duo! What did
you do?” asked his mother taking Alyza from him.
“Why the hell didn’t you
tell us, son? She’s practically all grown up?” yelled his father.
“Well, you see...”~
Duo shook his head at the
memory. It hadn’t been pleasant. Both his parents had yelled and ranted, but
they had fallen in love with his daughter instantly, like he had. Now it was
Hilde’s turn to meet them. Yes, they’d met before but this time it would be
with their daughter.
Duo parked in the driveway
of the ground-floor condo Hilde and Relena shared. He knocked on the door and
waited for one of them to open the door. Relena did.
“Oh, hi Duo! Um... Hilde’s
not ready yet, but Alyza is waiting for her ‘dada’ in the living room. Come
in,” she said and stepped aside so he could enter. Duo went to the living room
and looked for Alyza. Today was her second birthday and they would be spending
the day with his parents.
Relena went to Hilde’s room
and knocked. When Hilde told her to come in she saw her friend sitting on the
bed biting her nails. “Hilde, Duo’s here. Are you nervous?”
“Hell yes! I’ve only met
his parents twice before and I don’t think they liked me. I just feel like they
think that I got pregnant to trap Duo. They didn’t approve of him dating ‘a
girl with no family’. They’re snotty upper-class people,” Hilde said looking at
her friend. “But if they say something cruel about Alyza, I won’t stand for
it...”
“They’ll love you, Hilde. You
gave them a beautiful granddaughter, they can’t hate you,” she said and stroked
Hilde’s hair. “Now, put your head up and go out there.”
Hilde walked outside and
saw Duo with Alyza on the sofa. When he heard her footsteps he turned his head
and his breath caught in his throat. She looked beautiful in a tight black
dress that came to above her knees. Her long hair was left loose around her shoulders
and back.
“I knew it was too much! I’ll
go change,” she said and turned around to go back to her room.
“No, you look great...
beautiful. It’s fine.”
“Thanks. Let’s go.”
The three of them went
outside. Hilde was about to go to her car to get Alyza’s car seat when Duo told
her that his parents had gotten him one. “Oh, they did? That was nice of them,”
she said sarcastically. She knew that if Duo gave her daughter anything, it
would most likely come from his parents. After all, it was their money.
“Yes, it was. Come on,
they’re expecting us in fifteen minutes.”
They only sound that could
be heard in the ten minute drive was Alyza’s squealing and baby talk.
“Did you bring the pictures
I asked for?” asked Duo glancing at her.
“Yes, the ones of her
birth, her first Christmas, her birthday.”
“Are you nervous?”
“A little. Your parents
never did like me, Duo. What makes you think they’re going to like me now? Especially
when they think I got pregnant to trick you into marrying me or some nonsense.”
He ignored her question
and, instead, said, “We’re here.”
He opened her door for her
and un-strapped Alyza. He handed her to Hilde and they walked up the steps to
the front door.
“Mom dad, we’re here,” he
said as they stepped inside.
“Oh good!”
“Hello Mrs.--” started
Hilde, but was cut off by Mrs. Maxwell.
“Oh there’s my precious! Come
to grandma, Alyza!” she said ignoring Hilde’s greeting.
Hilde narrowed her eyes and
looked up at Duo. He smiled slightly at her and shrugged his shoulders.
“I told you!” whispered
Hilde as they followed his mother inside.
“She’s just excited about
seeing Alyza. Don’t worry. If she does it again I’ll talk to her about it.”
“As long as she doesn’t
start criticizing the way I clothe, feed, and raise my daughter everything will
be fine,” she muttered to Duo.
His father was in the large
living room sitting in a chair reading the newspaper. When he saw them he stood
up said hello to Hilde and nodded to Duo, then he turned his attention to
Alyza.
“How’s grandpa’s little
girl today?” he said making cooing noises at her.
Duo led Hilde to the
dinning room and pulled her chair out for her. She was amazed at the grandeur
of the place. The same feeling she’d had almost three years ago when she’d
first been in the house. They sat down, with Alyza on a highchair next to
Hilde. The maid brought them the food and they began eating. Hilde watched
Alyza, hoping that she wouldn’t make one of her messes.
“So, uh Hilde, what do you
do now? Do you go to school, like Duo?” asked his mother. Hilde noticed the
hint of hostility in the older woman’s voice.
‘Here we go,’ thought Duo.
“No, Mrs. Maxwell, I don’t
go to school. I’m putting it off until Alyza is older.” Hilde wanted to be nice
to Mrs. Maxwell, for Alyza’s sake.
“Oh, so you graduated from
high school and then got a job? What do you do now?”
“I took some secretarial
classes before Alyza was born. I’m a secretary in a law firm.”
“Oh well, that’s nice. At
least you have a steady job. And where do you live? With the Andrews?” she
asked with a fake smile.
“No, I live with my friend,
Relena in her condo. I moved there when I was two months along with Alyza.”
“Hmm,” said Mrs. Maxwell
and rolled her eyes. This little... woman, wasn’t a good influence on her
granddaughter, and she hadn’t been on Duo either.
Mrs. Maxwell was making
Hilde seem like a failure compared to them. It wasn’t her fault that her son--
‘Don’t go there, Hilde. Just stop while you’re ahead.’
“What are you guys going to
do? Duo is not going to drop out of college, and he can only get a part time
job. It won’t be enough for the three of you,” added Mr. Maxwell.
“Well, Mr. Maxwell, it’s
not as if Duo and I plan to get married. Far from it, in fact, we’re not even
moving in together. Alyza and I will still live with Relena. She’s getting
married in a few days and she will be moving out so Alyza and I will have the
condo to ourselves,” Hilde explained. She didn’t like where this conversation
was going. Not at all. She looked at Duo for support but he didn’t say
anything.
“Still though, I would much
rather like it if Alyza lived closer to us all. Duo will still live here and...
Well, I don’t mean to sound rude or imply that you are a bad parent Hilde, it’s
just that well, maybe if would be best if you let Alyza live here with us,”
said Mrs. Maxwell adamantly.
“Mom!” said Duo
indignantly.
“Your father and I think it
would be best for all of us if Alyza lived here. I mean, Hilde can’t possibly
give her everything you can, Duo.”
“I’m sorry Mr. and Mrs.
Maxwell, but I’m not letting my daughter live with anyone other than me! I
think this dinner has gone on long enough. If this is the only reason why you
asked Duo to bring me here, then thanks but no thanks! I can take care of my
daughter without your help! I don’t need you or Duo to give my daughter
anything. She’s never lacked for anything the last two years. She doesn’t need
people like you around her. So, if you’ll excuse us now, we’ll be leaving!”
said Hilde as she stood up. She took Alyza from the chair and looked at Duo,
who had also stood up.
“Can you drive us home?”
she asked angrily.
“Yeah, here are the keys to
the car. I just need to speak to my parents for a minute. Turn on the engine
and the heater and wait for me there.”
“Okay.” Hilde went outside
while Duo glared at his parents.
“Mom, I can’t believe you
did that! Dad, you either! How could you ask Hilde to give up Alyza? If anyone
should ask her that it should be me, and even then I don’t think I have the
right because I left her when she told me she was pregnant! I don’t even know
how I’m going to apologize to her. God!” Duo yelled, running his hand through
his bangs.
“Stop being so
melodramatic, Duo! Girls like Hilde are glad to get rid of their children so
they can have more time with their ‘friends’. Besides, it’s true, you can give
Alyza more than Hilde ever could. She’s a little nobody that will never amount
to anything, just ask her now much money she wants to give us Alyza! ” said his
mother.
“Are you listening to
yourselves? You want to BUY my daughter!” Duo said. He was appalled at what his
parents were suggesting. “And I can’t give Alyza more than Hilde can! I’m still
in school, I have a part-time job. If anyone would be giving Alyza things it
would be you! It’s your money!” yelled Duo. His parents were being irrational. They
wanted to take Alyza from Hilde, not because she couldn’t take care of her, but
because then they could boast and tell people that they did a nice thing by
taking their granddaughter from her mother to raise her with money. He knew
they wouldn’t be the ones to raise her. She would have a million nannies and
tutors... just like he’d had.
“Duo, we just want what’s
best for you and Alyza--”
“What about what’s best for
Hilde? She’s worked hard to give Alyza everything for the last two years
because I was a stupid, selfish bastard! And mom, don’t you think if Hilde had
wanted to get rid of Alyza then she would have done so by terminating her
pregnancy, like I told her to do! I was the one who wanted to get rid of her! Me,
not Hilde! ”
“If you’re so worried Duo,
why don’t you marry the girl?” asked his father.
“I’d ask her, dad, if I
wasn’t so damn sure she’d say no! I love her, but she hates my guts! And she
was every right to hate me for the way I acted. I wanted her to kill Alyza, for
God’s sake!” he shouted.
“Duo, if you don’t marry
her, or, at least move in with her, then your mother and I will file a suit to
gain custody of Alyza. It probably won’t prove that Hilde is an unfit mother
but it will drain her resources and she won’t have the money to pay for a
lawyer. There, you have your choice!” said his father. “It’s enough of a
disgrace that you had a child with a girl like that AND that it was out of
wedlock!”
“Ugh! I’m leaving!” yelled
Duo as he turned to leave he saw Hilde still in the doorway. She’d heard
everything they’d said. He closed his eyes and ignored the way she was looking
at him. He took her arm and led her to the door.
“I’m sorry I overheard your
conversation with your parents. I couldn’t find the baby’s jacket...” she
trailed off.
“It’s okay, it doesn’t
matter. Let’s hurry, I’ll drive you guys home.” They drove in complete silence.
Even Alyza was sleeping quietly in the back seat. When they arrived home Duo
opened the car door for Hilde and helped her out. He opened the back door so he
could take Alyza inside. He cradled her in his arms and Hilde put a blanket
over them. Hilde opened the door to the condo and instructed Duo to take the
baby to her room and put her in her crib. Hilde took her shoes off and cover
her in her blankets. She turned to Duo and asked if he wanted coffee or
something.
“Coffee, please,” he said.
Hilde motioned for him to
follow her. When they were in the kitchen Hilde said, “Heero’s here.”
“How do you know?” he
asked. His head was starting to hurt. His parents were snotty, crazy people.
“He’s Japanese, he leaves
his shoes at the door before he goes into Relena’s room. I saw them.”
“I never noticed.”
“I’ve been living with
Relena for two years. You tend to notice stuff like that when the guy
practically lives here too.”
She put the steaming coffee
cup in front of him and prepared one for herself. “Hilde, what my parents
said... they were serious.”
“I know. But that doesn’t
mean that we have to do what they say. We’re twenty years old, Duo, we can do
what we want. And she’s my-- our daughter, not theirs. They have no say over
her.”
“Yeah, but Hilde they’re
right. You don’t have enough money to pay for a lawyer and that’s the way they
would win. They would drag out the law suit until you lost all your money. They
also have a lot of connections. We don’t have any choice...”
“This complicates things.”
“I know, we don’t have to
get married. All we have to do is live together until we can prove to my
parents that we can’t live together.”
They were quiet for a long
time. “Duo, is it true?” she asked quietly.
“What?”
“Do you still love me?”
“Let’s not talk about that
right now, Hilde. I--”
“Yes or no, Duo? I already
heard your answer, I just want to hear you say it to me? Do you love me?”
“I do... I never told you
when we were together because I was scared that you didn’t love me back. You
were so independent, always doing your own thing. I never knew how we got
together since you seem not to be interested in me when we first met. I asked
you out a few times and you always said not. I remember the first time I saw
you, I was thinking how great it would be to have sex with you, but after I got
to know you... when we started going out, I realized how special you were. I
don’t know when I found out I loved you, but when you told me you were going to
have a baby I got scared. I didn’t know what to do. You were so calm, so... you
weren’t confused. You told me that you were going to have the baby and that you
were going to keep it. You scared me. A few months after I got to school I
called your house, but Mr. Andrews said that you had moved out and he didn’t
know where you were. Please believe me when I say that I thought about you all
the time. When I went out with other girls I always broke it off because you
were always on my mind. And it wasn’t just you, it was Alyza too. Relena wrote
me a letter, telling me that she was born and that she was beautiful and I
should come see her. The baby never seemed more real than she did at that
moment. I’d never seen a picture, but a newborn baby girl was always on my
mind.” Duo had said all that while looking at the table top. When he finished
his speech he looked at her eyes. They had tears in them.
“God, I love you too, Duo. You
don’t know how hard it was for me to have to deal with being pregnant and
giving birth to a baby by myself. I was so scared and so heart broken because I
thought you didn’t care about me. I was tempted to ask Heero to tell you about
Alyza so many times. I was so tempted to just call you and put her on the
phone, or send you a picture to get you to come back. To at least see her just
once. I was ready to tell you how much I loved you when I told you I was going
to have a baby, but then you looked at me like I was going to eat you alive and
I lost my nerve. I couldn’t put this weight on you knowing that you didn’t’t
love me. That’s why I didn’t put up any arguments when you told me that you
didn’t want the baby. But I do love you, Duo.”
They stood up from the
table and they hugged each other. “I’ve wanted to hug you since the second I
saw you behind Heero,” she said breathlessly, tears falling from her eyes.
“And I’ve wanted to kiss
you ever since I saw you walk in from the kitchen,” he said before he did just
that. He kissed her for all he was worth. “I love you, babe. Will you marry
me?” he asked as he stopped kissing her.
She took a step away from
him. “Duo, will be a real man this time, though? Will you be there for us? You
don’t know how much we’ve needed you.”
“I promise you that I’ll
give you everything you need. Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” she said before she
threw her arms around him. “But what are we going to do about your parents?
“Let’s not worry about that
now. Let’s just make up for lost time. Do you mind if I spend the nigh here?”
“No, of course not.”
The End
AN: Sappy ending but I
wanted them to be happy. Okay so I had to back tracking all over the place. In
the beginning Hilde’s about two months pregnant and Alyza was born,
prematurely, in January. So that makes her about 1 year and 11 months old when
Duo meets her. I love 2xH stories, that’s why I write so many of them! R&R,
please! Remember its OyukiMaxwell@aol.com .