A/N: Another chapter, as promised! And no need to worry, everyone, this story will still have a happy ending! I just changed my mind about how I'll go about getting there. Just a few more chapters.

Enjoy!
-picimadar

Broken
Chapter 33

"Here," Sally said, and Heero looked at her, dazed. "Take him, Heero. He's your son."

"I don't-"

"Here," Sally said, holding the baby in one arm and taking hold of his shoulder. "Bend one arm like this, so you support his neck. He's too little to do it on his own yet. Perfect. Here," she breathed, smiling as she placed the baby into the crook of his father's arm.

"He's beautiful, Heero," Quatre said, looking at him. The baby opened his mouth wide and yawned, his underdeveloped voice a whisper. His hands had worked their way out of the blanket, and the group of friends watched as Heero reached a hand toward his son, stroking his hand over the thin covering of dark hair on the baby's head, down his smooth cheek and watching as the baby took a tight hold of his finger.

Hilde walked in, panting as though she had run a great distance. "Oh, look at him!" she gasped, covering her mouth with her hands as tears came to her eyes.

"Isn't he handsome?" Duo said, putting his arm around his girlfriend. "God, I'm glad you're okay."

"What about Relena?"

"We don't know. We're just trying to give Heero a minute here, with the baby."

"Heero, I don't know if you two had a name picked out or anything, or if you wanted to wait," Sally said quietly.

"She's going to be okay?" Heero asked, looking up from the baby's face.

"I think so. She lost a lot of blood, it was hard on her heart, but Relena's a fighter… just like your son." Sally smiled at the group of friends and back to Heero. "Did you know what you wanted to call him?"

"Ken'ichi," Heero whispered, wrapping his fingers around his son's small hand. "It was Relena's idea."

"It's a beautiful name," Sally said. "I'll be right back, I'm going to check and see if Relena's come around yet. You should take the baby just through there and to the right to get him something to eat and start processing his birth certificate! Congratulations, Heero," Sally said, pulling him into a hug. "I'll be right back, I promise."

"Thank you," Heero said quietly, and she turned and walked quickly back through the doors.

"Come over here now, man, let's see him!" Duo said, beckoning Heero toward the rest of them. They leaned in over the baby's face, smiling as he cooed and yawned, his new eyes still tightly closed, his fingers still wrapped around his father's tightly.

"Congrats, Heero," Quatre said. "Relena's going to be so happy he's got your hair colour."

The rest of them laughed. "She has always complained about that, hasn't she?"

"Yup. If there were a witch doctor that could have guaranteed brunette genes, she would have hired him. Gosh, he's just so cute!" Hilde said.

"Come on, we should get him fed," Wufei said, nodding toward the corridor. Several of them stayed behind, waiting for Sally's news in the quiet waiting room while they walked away.

"So what happened after we left?"

"Well, after you jumped out the window," Wufei said dryly, watching him out of the corner of his eye, "I commandeered our ambulance and took out the gunmen behind us. Thankfully the rest of our teams followed closely enough that we were able to make some arrests. A few of them died, but such is the game."

"Anyone else on our end?"

"Nope, but with the President dead, we're going to have our work cut out for us for a while." He sighed, pulling off his glasses and cleaning them on the edge of his shirt as they waited for a nurse. "Relena's not going back, is she?"

Heero sighed, looking down at the baby. "I don't think so. After all this…"

"I think that's expected. She's done everything she can."

"She's become a liability," Heero said, meeting his friend's eyes.

"That's not what I was saying. Is that how she feels?"

"If tonight is any indication, it'll be what she believes."

Both men went quiet as the nurse approached. "Hi there! Oh, gosh, what a cute little guy. Have you picked a name?"

"Ken'ichi," Heero answered.

"Oh, that's handsome. Well, come over here and I'll help get you set up to feed him!" They entered a room, Wufei closing the door behind them and standing by the door as Heero took a seat. "Now, I've got this bottle warmed up already, but we'll make sure that you-"

"We have what we need for that, I think," Heero said. "The nesting phase was… long."

The nurse laughed. "Well, that's fantastic. So, you just test it either by tasting or on a place of sensitive skin, like your wrist. This one's just right for this little guy. I can't believe he's not crying by now!" She handed Heero the bottle. "Now, you just tilt it like this, and he should latch on right away."

Heero held the nipple against Ken'ichi's cheek, watching as the baby searched for it and latched on, drinking the formula greedily. "Now, what's the little guy's last name?"

"Yuy," Heero said, and Wufei cocked his head slightly. "My name is Heero Yuy."

"Oh, wow. Named after the original, hmm? Same spelling?" Heero nodded. "Perfect. And the mother's name?"

"Relena Peacecraft-Darlian," Heero answered, tilting the bottle further for the baby.

"I'm sorry, what?" The nurse asked, her demeanor falling as she realized whose name she had begun writing.

"Her name is Relena Darlian," Heero said again, deliberately enunciating. Wufei smirked, leaning back against the door.

"Oh, wow. Oh, man! I heard about what happened tonight, but I didn't… Oh man!" The nurse caught herself after a few moments, pressing a hand to her chest. "I'm sorry about that Mr. Yuy. Forgive the intrusion." She turned back to the paperwork, writing furiously.

"It's fine," Heero said tiredly. "It's not like this is a normal circumstance." The baby started to reject the bottle, groaning and fussing.

"You need to burp him now, so put this over your suit there," the nurse said, smiling as she threw a towel over his shoulder. "Now put his head over your shoulder and gently rub his back. It'll help him digest a little easier."

Heero did as she said, and Wufei watched as he burped the baby.

"What?" Heero asked, taking in the look on the other man's face.

"Nothing," Wufei said. "This is just… a bit surreal."

"You're telling me," Heero murmured.

"Now, keep that up for a few minutes and I'll be right back," the nurse said, smiling as she closed the door. "Oh!" she yelped, "Dr. Chang, I didn't see you there!"

"Oh, I was just waiting, I didn't want to disturb them."

The nurse nodded. "Dr. Chang, is it true? Is Relena Darlian really the mother of that baby?"

"Yes," Sally answered warily, "Why?"

The older woman smiled, looking back through the small window in the door. "No reason, it's just that he's a natural. She landed a good one, just like we knew she would. Have a good night, Dr. Chang."

Sally smiled. "You too, Nell. Thanks for helping us out." She opened the door slowly, her smile holding as she looked at her husband and Heero. "I have great news," Sally said quietly. "Relena's conscious at the moment. She's pretty weak, but it's important for bonding that she see the baby, so let's head over there, hmm?"

Heero nodded, pulling the towel off his shoulder and continuing to hold the baby against his chest. He followed as Sally let him past the waiting room, the others waving and smiling anxiously as he followed Sally to Relena's room.

"We moved her, so we could get her cleaned up a bit. She's… more than a little traumatized. Relena might be acting off, compared to normal."

"She just nearly died giving birth in the back of an ambulance after watching her boss and friend get killed. If she was acting normally, we'd be committing her."

Sally smiled, rolling her eyes at Heero's honesty. "Yes, that's true. She's just in here. Take this," she said, passing him a small pager, "and just ask if you two need anything at all."

Heero turned the doorknob and stepped inside the room, closing the door quietly behind him. Relena lay inclined in a hospital bed, monitors beeping calmly around her. Her eyes were closed, but Heero could tell from her breathing that she was conscious.

"I don't need anything," Relena said quietly, her voice betraying her pain. "Please leave."

"Relena, it's me," Heero said, stepping inside. Her eyes snapped open and she met Heero's eyes, then looked down at his shoulder. "Oh, my god," she whispered, bringing her hands up to her face and sobbing uncontrollably. "Oh, please, bring him to me, please!"

"Here, but he's just sleeping now. Careful, so you don't wake him up." He took hold of the baby's head and carefully lowered Ken into his mother's arms, tears still flowing down her face.

"Listen to you. Clearly someone's been sneaking readings from Dr. Spock." She smiled as Heero leaned in for a kiss. "God, Heero, he's perfect," she whispered, trailing a finger down the baby's cheek. She felt herself start to cry again.

"Relena…" Heero whispered, "are you okay?" He sat down on the edge of the bed, wiping the tears off her face.

"It's just… When I was in that room, with Dorothy, that was one of the first times that I thought I loved this baby."

Heero felt himself go cold. "What do you mean?"

Relena sniffed. "When I found out I was pregnant, everything was so… unbearable. I had to change my whole life, and I hated it. I hated that I had to leave my job, my friends, my country. I thought that I would lose you… but I couldn't give up the baby. I guess I… resented him, for a long time." She looked up at Heero sadly.

"Why didn't you ever tell me?" He asked, pulling her closer. "I thought that you wanted this baby."

"I didn't want to be responsible for killing him, but with the circumstances involved… I'm such a horrible person," she whispered, covering her mouth with one hand, tears flowing over her fingers as she looked down at the sleeping infant.

"That's not horrible. You saved him. You carried him all this time. You made those sacrifices, and now he's here."

The two looked down at their son, watching as he shifted in his mother's arm.

"Yes, he is," Relena breathed. "And I love him so much now. When I came to, after I had fainted, no one would tell me what had happened to the baby, or if he'd lived… They were ignoring me."

"They'll be short staffed after what happened tonight. We caused a lot of… traffic issues."

"Oh, god," Relena muttered, rolling her eyes. "I can only imagine."

There was a quiet knock at the door and Hilde poked her head inside the room. "Mind if we come in?"

The couple both shook their heads, Heero shifting out of the way so their friends could properly welcome their new addition.

"I can't get over it. We're so glad you're both okay!" Hilde said, holding her friend in her arms.

"Where did find time to get balloons?" Relena asked, looking over Hilde's shoulder.

"Dammit Duo!"

"Alright, so I paid off some grandma in the lobby. The baby was a girl, not a boy! What the hell did they need them for?"

Relena laughed quietly, leaning back onto her pillows. "I really appreciate the gesture, everyone. Thank you so much for being here." They watched as her countenance went from relaxed to concerned to panic. "Oh, god. Oh my god! Did everyone escape? What happened? Did I-"

The baby woke and started crying, startling Relena further. "Oh, Ken, honey, I'm so sorry. Shhh, baby, it's okay." She pulled him against her chest and continued to soothe him until he quieted back to sleep.

"Relena, I don't think it's a good idea to get… worked up over this right now. We're handling everything on the outside." Trowa said quietly.

"But what about the President? I mean everything is just going to-"

"Relena, you need to think about what's best for the baby and for yourself," Trowa reiterated, approaching her. "That job isn't your responsibility anymore. We will make sure that everything ends up okay, so you just… rest."

Relena smiled at him, relief evident in her face. "Thank you so much," she whispered. "Thank you."

"Thank you," several of them said at once, laughing at each other.

"We'll leave you three alone for a while. Get some rest," Quatre said.

"And no disappearing on us all. We've worked our asses off keeping you alive, so you owe it to us to stick around."

Relena sighed. "We're not going anywhere, Duo, at least not for a little while."

Duo smiled, nodding to Heero as he stepped out into the hall and closed them in.

"So, they'll be gone by morning?" Wufei posited, crossing his arms.

Duo chuckled. "I give it four days, myself."