Eternal Flame

Disclaimer: I don\'t own the G Boys, I just borrow them from time to time and return them a whole lot happier ne? :) I do however own Shane, Paul, Colin, Mickey, Benny, Toby, Fayah and any other unfamiliar characters that crop up. I also own the plot if you can call it that.

Rating: NC 17

Warnings: Sap, angst, OC, Lemon, Lime, abuse, violence, language.

Pairings: 1x2x1, 3x4x3, 5xS, OC x OC and maybe some more... check each part to be sure ;)

Archive: http://gundam-wing-diaries.150m.com
http://sweetlysour.net
http://www.adult-fanfiction.org
http://www.theforsakenwk.com/

Status: Work in progress.

Beta: DBZVelena, Yami_Tai and Ryouga... *huggles*

Author: ShenLong

Authors notes: *sigh* Well here I am again caving into pressure. I know it has taken a while to get to this and for that I apologize but I could not come up with a plot I deemed worthy enough.... until now. This is yet another sequel... this time to United Hearts. I did promise I would write the wedding for you all and I intend to do that. For those that haven\'t read United or Lost Souls I recommend that you do, otherwise this sequel will not make much sense. All of your favorite characters are back and up to as much mischief as possible.
This is set fourteen months after the end of United and all the children are older now. The Gundam Pilots are all 20yrs, Shane and Fayah are 16, Paul is 15, Colin is 14, Mickey is 12, Benny is 10 1/2 and not forgetting that little rascal Toby who is 10.
Thank you to all those who supported me through the writing of United, I hope you enjoy this just as much.

\"Eternal Flame\"

April 2003 ShenLong


Chapter 37

Heero and Duo made their way back through the corridors of the Zodiac to the control room where Quatre, Trowa, Wufei and Howard waited. On the large view screen they could see the two other ships, waiting patiently out in space.

\"So what\'s the deal, Quat?\" asked Duo as he plonked down into a chair, Heero sitting in the one immediately to his right.

\"I just need to make sure I have everyone\'s input and then we can contact Une and let her know of the mission status.\" Quatre turned back to the console and picked up his notepad. \"I have the basics outlined here.\"

\"It seems ta be pretty simple ta me, Quat, the dolls are deyed,yed, the Earth and Colonies safe and the bad guy\'s are under arrest with minimal loss ta life fer all concerned. Some injuries sustained but none life threatenin\'.\"

Heero gave his partner a glare. \"I don\'t think Une would think much of that as a status report.\"

\"Well, it is everythin\' that\'s happened in a nutshell. I\'m sure she can wait until we gets back ta Earth fer the full individual reports,\" Duo quipped.

\"Thank Nataku that Winner has a much better way with the spoken word than you do, Maxwell. At least he will be able to give a clear and concise report.\" Wufei reclined back in one of the seats.

\"If no one has anything to add then I\'ll contact Une,\" said Quatre as he looked around at the group ignoring the bantering. All heads shook in the negative so Quatre turned to Thomas and requested a secure line to be patched through to the console he was sitting at. Thomas did as requested and Quatre keyed in the code that would allow him direct to access to the Preventer Commander.

The line crackled and fuzzed, the screen remaining blank as the Zodiac\'s communication systems scrambled to make the connection. \"Looks like the vid system got knocked out or damaged when we had that shock wave, Howard,\" said Thomas as he scanned his console.

\"Doesn\'t matter. As long as we have audio I\'m sure we can survive without the visual until we get back to Earth. The ship can have a full systems overhaul once we drop off our guests,\" replied Howard.

\"I\'m sure Preventer will be more than happy to assist in the repairs to Zodiac and the other equipment that was damaged during this mission,\" said Wufei. Conversation was cut then as the audio crackled to life.

\"Une here, is that you, Agent Earth?\"

\"Agent Earth here, Commander.\"

\"What\'s wrong with the visual? I\'m only getting audio here.\"

\"Zodiac suffered damage during the mission, not severe but some systems are off line,\" replied Quatre.

\"Mission status?\"

\"Mission complete. Grant is under arrest and aboard Zodiac. All of Grant\'s people are also under arrest and secured aboard Zodiac. The dolls have all been destroyed and the two enemy ships are now under Preventer control. Bob Martins has been rescued and is currently recovering from successful surgery. Grant is injured but has been taken care of and the overall loss of life comes to eight, all Grant\'s people.\"

\"Agent status report!?\"

\"All agents are functional, although the injuries sustained vary from agent to agent....\" Quatre continued on with his report, bringing Une up to date with all that had transpired while the rest of the group sat in their chairs, trying not to nod off; it had been a long day and the adrenaline was wearing off, leaving them all tired and weary. Finally Quatre was finished and asked Une for their next orders. \"Ar\"Are all ships functional?\" Une asked.

\"Yes. A couple of sweeper mechanics are working on the enemy mother ship\'s engines but we expect the ship to be able to travel under its own power in a few hours.\"

\"Good. All ships are to return to Earth. I\'d like Agents Light and Dark to pilot the mother ship; Agents Fire and Earth to pilot the carrier ship. Once you reach the planet remain in orbit until I can engage a secure docking station for the ships. Howard?\"

\"Yes, Ma\'am?\"

I hope you will allow Preventer to offer you a docking station for the Zodiac.\"

Howard scratched his head. \"Not that I don\'t appreciate the offer and all but the Zodiac is a large ship, Lady. I don\'t think you would be able to find a docking station big enough for her.\"

\"Rest assured, Howard, I will be able to secure a docking station large enough for the Zodiac. After all, it\'s the least Preventer can do to thank you for all your assistance in this mission. Without your help, I doubt this mission would have been half as successful as it has been. I will let you know the exact coordinates once you all make it back to Earth\'s orbit.\"

\"Thank you, Lady. It would be much easier to repair this bucket of bolts planet-side rather than in space,\" replied Howard.

\"No problem, Howard. I will need to speak with you though whilst you\'re planet-side. A small matter about mobile suits...\"

Howard\'s sunglasses flashed and he gave a lopsided grin. \"Oh, yes. About those gundams...\"

\"Howard.\"

\"Yes?\"

\"Save it. I\'m sure that something can be worked out.\"

In all the excitement and stress of the threat, Howard had completely forgotten about the gundams and the fact that they were technically speaking; illegal. He was sure of one thing though; had he not had the foresight to build the suits then the battle today would have no doubt had a completely different ending. The suits were the least of his problems at the moment though; he had more important matters to take care of, such as getting the Zodiac, its cargo and the other two ships back to Earth.

\"You have my orders, Agent Earth?\"

\"Yes, Commander. Once the mother ship is ready to move, we will begin our return to earth. I will contact you again once we reach Earth\'s orbit.\"

\"Roger that, Agent Earth. Before I go I\'d like to say one thing. Congratulations, gentlemen. The Earth and the Colonies once again owe you all a debt of gratitude.\"

\"Think nothin\' of it, boss, although I guess a coupla weeks vacation is gonna be out of the question?\" Duo managed to get in before Quatre disengaged the call.

\"I will pretend I didn\'t hear that, Agent Dark. I will, however, inform all of your respective families of the current situation and approximate time of arrival back in orbit. Une out.\"

\"Thank you, Commander. Zodiac out.\" Quatre cut the communication link and sat back in his chair, rubbing a tired hand through his damp locks and wincing as he brushed against the cut. A strong hand began to massage his shoulder and he sighed as he let himself relax into his lover\'s touch.

\"How long before the mother ship is ready for flight?\" Heero asked.

\"I\'ll contact the guys and see how they\'re doing. Depending on the damage, which I believe isn\'t too bad, so it shouldn\'t be much more than a few hours,\" replied Howard and then made contact with the sweepers who were currently working on the ship. Once finished he turned back to Heero. \"All being well she should be okay to go in four hours, give or take a half hour.\"

\"Arigato.\"

Duo stretched his good arm and yawned widely. \"I think I\'ll go grab an hour or so of shut eye. Dunno about the rest of yer but I\'m pretty beat.\"

\"That\'s about the best suggestion you\'ve had all day, Maxwell,\" stated Wufei. \"I think I will also retire for a while.\" Wufei stood and gave a polite bow to all in the control room before taking his leave.

\"Come on, Trowa. You need to rest too,\" said Quatre as he stood up and took his lover by the hand.

Trowa sighed and rolled his eyes. \"I\'m fine, Quatre, really.\"

\"You might think you are but the medic said you needed to rest and I\'m rather tired myself. If I\'m going to be piloting the carrier back with Wufei I would like to get some rest before we leave.\" Quatre\'s mouth set itself into a stubborn pout, Trowa knew that pout well; it meant Quatre wouldn\'t take no for an answer. Sighing again, he conceded and let the blonde lead him away.

\"Just remember, guys. Rest only, no foolin\'\' around,\" Duo snickered and gave the pair a wink.

\"You too, Duo!\" shot back Quatre as he disappeared from the room, Trowa on his heels.

\"I\'m gonna turn in too, yer comin\', Heero?\"

\"I\'ll be along shortly.\"

Duo\'s eyebrows raised themselves in question. \"What yer gonna do, buddy?\'

\"I have a couple of things I want to finish off on the lap top first.\"

Duo\'s face darkened a little. \"Heero, the mission report can wait \'till we gets back ta headquarters, yer don\'t hafta write it up now, yanno.\"

\"You go on ahead; this will only take a few minutes o. Io. I promise not to be long.\" Heero looked at his partner, his eyes confirming his words.

Shaking his head, Duo scowled and went to leave the room, muttering under his breath about how one of these days he was going to take a certain lap top and either disembowel it or shove it where the sun don\'t shine.

Heero looked across to where Howard was giving him an amused look and sighed. He hooked his lap top into the control panel and proceeded to do what had been in the back of his mind for a while now. Howard watched for a moment and then turned back to matters of his own, namely plotting their course back to Earth and getting a full damage report on the Zodiac. It didn\'t take Heero long to complete his task; fifteen minutes later, he was making his way through the Zodiac\'s corridors to find his lover and grab a few z\'s himself.

~ * ~

Une immediately set about notifying the agent\'s respective families of the current status, calling Sally first. Although it was early in the morning Une knew that Sally would want to be notified immediately there was any news. She punched in the familiar numbers to the vid phone and waited. The \'phone only rang twice before Sally\'s tired voice and hollow-eyed face came on the screen.

\"Sally Po-Chang.\"

\"Sally? It\'s Une here. God, you look awful.\"

\"Thanks a bunch, if it\'s any consolation I feel awful too. Oh, and you don\'t look so crash hot yourself,\" Sally grinned.

Une ran a tired hand through her usually immaculate hair, hair that now hung limp and messy around her face. \"I\'ve just been in contact with Agent Earth..…\"

\"How are they? What\'s happened? Did they stop Grant? Are they all all right? Is Wufei...?\"

\"If you will allow me to get a word in edgeways, I will let you know the status.\" Une couldn\'t help the smile. Despite how Sally and Wufei teased and fought with each other, it was as clear as day that they both cared very deeply for their partner.

\"Sorry, Une. Can\'t help it.\" Sally gave the other woman a sheepish smile.

\"Agent Earth has confirmed that the mission has been a success. Grant is in custody along with the majority of his followers. Preventer Agents are all okay although each has sustained some minor injuries.\"

\"How minor?\" Sally growled as her brow furrowed. \"I know these guys, Une, especially Wufei and Heero. They could have their legs cut off at the knees and still say it was a flesh wound and that they\'re operational.\"

\"I don\'t have the finer details of the injury report, but I trust Quatre to have relayed enough of the truth in regards to their physical status.\"

\"Not much we can do, I guess. So what is the plan now?\"

\"The two enemy ships will be piloted back to Earth by Agents Light, Dark, Fire and Earth. Howard will bring the Zodiac in himself. All suspects are currently aboard the Zodiac and contained. I\'m arranging for docking stations to be prepared for the crafts at the Phoenix Preventer Port. The ships will contact me once they reach Earth\'s orbit to obtain final instructions and coordinates. Apparently there is some minor engine damage to one of the enemy ships which is currently being repaired, once operational the ships will get underway. I\'m guessing it will be approximately twenty four hours at least before they arrive and dock.\"

\"Right.\"

\"Sally...?\"

\"Yes, Une?\"

\"You still have Bob Martins\' son staying with you?\"

Sally nodded. \"They...\"

\"They have found him. He\'s alive, Sally; but apparently he suffered a lot of injuries. The sweeper medic has performed surgery on him and as far as we know he\'s going to be okay. Please let the young man know of his father\'s rescue. Also Martins was kidnapped but I don\'t have any more details as yet, that is something we will be investigating once the agents return.\"

\"Thank god for that,\" whispered Sally. She felt as though a great weight had been lifted from her shoulders. \"I\'ll let Leith know right away.\"

\"Thank you.\"

\"I\'ll go and freshen up then I\'m coming in, Une. I want to be there when the ships dock and supervise the medical side of things.\"

Une translated that to \'I want to be there to make sure that Wufei is in one piece\', despite Quatre\'s assurances that all the agents were still functional. \"Okay, I guess I can\'t stop you. Come to headquarters first, by the time you get here I should have the arrangements made for the docking bays, then we can travel to the Phoenix station together and meet the ships.\"

\"Thank you, Une. I\'ll be there soon.\"

\"Right. I\'m going to contact Quatre and Heero\'s families now and fill them in on the status. I will talk to you when you arrive. Bye for now.\"

\"See you soon, bye.\" Sally disconnected the call and sat back in the chair. A moment later she cradled her head in her hands as tears of relief flooded her eyes. She hadn\'t been aware of just how stressed she\'d been, it was only now, knowing her husband was safe that she could finally let the emotion wash over her. She only gave into it for a few minutes though, she had to inform Leith of his father\'s rescue.

~ * ~

Une made her second call, this time to Quatre\'s home where she knew Rashid was watching over Toby and Benny and that Shane and Fayah were also staying there. The \'phone didn\'t ring for long before Rashid\'s deep voice came down the line.

\"Winner residence
\
\"Rashid? It\'s Commander Une here.\"

\"Ahh, Commander, I take it you have news for us?\"

\"Yes, Rashid. Quatre has contacted me and the mission was a success.\"

\"Thank Allah for that.\"

\"The perpetrators are all in custody aboard Howard\'s ship and will be returning to Earth soon. The enemy ships are under Preventer control and will accompany Howard back. We expect them to reach Earth orbit somewhere in the next twenty four to forty eight hours, depending on the damage to one of the enemy ships.\"

\"Is there anything I can do to assist Preventer, Commander?\"

\"No, thank you. I\'m arranging for the ships to dock at the Preventer Phoenix Port. Once there the prisoners will be taken to Preventer headquarters and formally charged. The agents will be required to undergo debriefing before being allowed to return home. I will have Quatre contact you once they arrive back and let you know when to expect them home. I know you must all be worried about them so if you could please let Quatre and Trowa\'s children know they\'re okay, I\'d appreciate it.\"

\"I will most certainly do that, Commander.\"

\"I understand that Heero and Duo\'s two are staying with you as well; could you inform them also of the current situation?\"

\"I will go and tell them all now, I\'m sure they will all be overjoyed to hear that their parents are all right.\"

\"Thank you, Rashid. I will contact you again once I know exactly when the ships are due to dock.\"

\"I would appreciate it, Commander.\"

\"Good bye for now.\"

\"Good bye, Commander.\"

Rashid closed the call and stared at the blank screen for a moment. He knew that both Master Quatre and Master Trowa were more than capable of looking after themselves, but he couldn\'t help worrying about them. He\'d looked after Master Quatre for all his young life and that was a habit hard to break,; one, Rashid knew deep down inside that he couldn\'t. With a smile on his lips he went upstairs to wake Toby, Benny, Shane and Fayah and give them the good news.

~ * ~

Sally raised herself from the chair and made a detour to the bathroom before going to wake Leith and Paul to tell them the news. She splashed cold water on her face and ran the toothbrush over her teeth, removing the sour taste and furry feelirom rom her mouth. Running the brush through her hair, she quickly tamed it back into two braids and then exited the room, going to wake Paul first.

The dark haired boy was sound asleep and Sally took a moment to study him. In many ways he was like Wufei, strong, quiet and with a stubborn streak. Yet he was fiercely loyal and would protect those he loved with everything he had. Sallew wew what sort of a past the boy had suffered through and while she couldn\'t change that she could do her best to provide him with a stable life and hope for the future. So far Paul had not disappointed them, embracing his new life with vigor and determined to prove he was worth the faith that Wufei and Sally had put in him. Sally knew it was important to Paul to have Wufei\'s approval, the boy idolized the Chinese man, even if he wouldn\'t openly admit to it and she knew Wufei also cared deeply for his *son*. With a soft smile on her lips she walked across the carpet to the bed and gently shook Paul\'s shoulder.

The teen\'s eyes fluttered a bit and he tried to bury his face deeper into the pillow, shrugging the hand away from his shoulder. \"Don\'t wanna get up yet, too early,\" he mumbled.

\"Paul, Paul. Wake up, honey. I have some news on Wufei and the others.\"

Paul\'s eyes opened wide and he immediately rolled over, rubbing the sleep from his face as he went to sit up. \"Yer does? Where is he? Is he okay? Did he kick the bad guy\'s as..… I mean di get get the bad guy?\"

Sally gave him an amused smile at the near slip up. \"Yes, he\'s okay and they did kick the bad guy\'s ass,\" she said softly. \"There\'s also some more news about Leith\'s father. I\'m going to wake him up next but I thought you might want to be there with him when I tell him.\"

Paul shot out of the bed, his face pale. \"It\'s... He\'s not...\"

Placing a reassuring hand on Paul\'s shoulder, Sally continued. \"No, Paul. It\'s good news; now, come on, I want to tell Leith as soon as possible.\"

Paul grabbed his dressing gown off the end of the bed and pulled it on, tying off the cord around his waist he was ready. \"Let\'s go.\" He followed Sally out of the room and down the hall to his room, the one Leith was occupying during his stay and recovery. Sally eased the door open and walked inside, Paul immediately moving to the side of the bed and waiting for Sally to wake Leith.

\"Leith, Leith,\" Sally called softly as she gently shook the youth\'s arm. \"Wake up, Leith. I have some news for you.\"

Leith\'s eyes began to flicker under the closed lids, a sign he was beginning to wake. He gave a grunt, drew in a breath and then opened his eyes. He blinked sleepily at the pair hovering over his bed. \"Huh? Was I snoring or something?\" he asked in confusion. He glanced at the clock; it was earlier than they normally woke so obviously something was wrong. \"What\'s wrong?\" He felt a slow coil of fear in his gut and tried to drag himself up with his one good arm to face the pair a little better.

Paul assisted him in getting to a sitting position, fluffing the pillows behind him. \"It\'s nothin\' bad, Leith, so Sally say\'s, but I dunno what exactly the news is, she ain\'t told me nothin\' yet.\"

Sally remained standing as she faced the pair. \"I\'ve just had a call from Commander Une at Preventer. The mission was a success and the suspects are all in custody. Wufei and the others are preparing to head back to Earth and should arrive in the next day or so. Leith...\"

Leith looked carefully into the eyes of the woman who had taken him in and cared for him. \"My dad?\"

\"They found your father, Leith. It seems he was taken against his will, although we don\'t know the full story yet. I\'m sorry to say that he was injured though...\"

\"He\'s not...\" Leith interrupted Sally but couldn\'t continue with his words, afraid that if he spoke them he wouldn\'t be able to handle the truth.

\"No, Leith. He\'s very much alive and should be okay.\"

Leith gave a sort of hiccup followed by a soft cry and buried his face in his hands, his shoulders shaking as he finally gave in to his feelings. Everything that had happened over the past few days and weeks suddenly crashing down around him and he couldn\'t be strong anymore.

Paul carefully wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and brought Leith\'s head to his shoulder where Leith gratefully collapsed and sobbed his relief, anger and stress into the crook of Paul\'s neck. Paul gently rubbed Leith\'s back and let the teen get it all out of his system.

Sally watched, not interfering in any way. She understood that Paul needed to comfort Leith in his own way just as much as Leith needed the comfort. She gave them a few moments before continuing. \"I don\'t have a lot of information as yet on the overall status, what I can tell you though is that your father sustained injuries not only during his incarceration with the suspects but also in assisting the agents to make their arrests. He\'s on board Howard\'s ship where Howard\'s medic has taken care of him. Apparently he\'s undergone surgery and is recovering. What the injuries are or the extent of them, I do not know. Likewise Commander Une informed me that the five agents also sustained injuries but I don\'t know what or how severe.\"

\"Wufei\'s hurt?\" Paul raised his head a little from where it was resting upon Leith\'s reddish brown locks. \"He\'s gonna be okay though?\"

Sally nodded. \"Yes, Wufei will be fine, or so I\'ve been told, although with that stubborn, arrogant pride of his, it wouldn\'t surprise me if he was sporting two broken legs and a severed arm and still claim he was fit for duty,\" she growled softly.

Paul smiled. \"I take it yer gonna give him what for fer makin yer worry \'bout \'im so much when he gets back.\"

\"You had better believe it.\"

Leith raised his tear stained face from Paul\'s shoulder, accepting a tissue from the box Sally held out to him and wiping his face. \"Sorry about that,\" he said sheepishly.

\"No need to apologize, Leith. You\'ve had a rather tough time of it lately; I\'m surprised you didn\'t break down sooner.\" Sally gave the young man a warm smile. \"I\'m going to take a quick shower and then head into Headquarters. Une is making arrangements for the ships to dock at the Phoenix Port of Preventer. I want to be there when they arrive to take over the medical side. I will be able to assess your father\'s condition much better and be able to give you a clearer idea of what his status is then, Leith.\"

\"Thank you.\"

\"I trust I can leave you two to look after yourselves while I\'m gone? I don\'t know how long I will be away, should only be a day or two at the most. I will call you regularly and keep you informed on what\'s happening and as soon as I have news on your father, Leith, I will let you know. Once the ships are back there will be a debriefing and then Wufei should be free to come home.\"

\"We\'ll be fine, Sally. Yer goes and does whatever it is yer gotta do. I can look afta Leith and myself.\" Paul smiled.

\"Okay then. No need to remind you about behaving, not leaving the stove on...\"

\"Go... Shooo... Yer needed at Preventer. I\'m not a kid anymore, I can takes care of myself and Leith, I was looking afta myself fer ages before you guys took me in,\" Paul grinned at his foster mother.

\"I know,\" Sally sighed. \"There\'s plenty of food in the \'fridge and freezer. I have my cell \'phone with me should you need to contact me and if you can\'t get me, Quatre\'s number is in the \'phone telex. [1] Rashid is looking after Toby and the others so he will be available should you need assistance.\"

Paul rolled his eyes. \"If yer don\'t get goin\' they\'s gonna be back, debriefed and yer\'ll miss all the excitement.\"

Sally gave them both a warm smile and shot out of the bedroom. The bathroom door closed and the sounds of running water could be heard. Paul turned back to Leith who still lay in his arms, head resting against the strong shoulder obviously lost in his thoughts. Paul ran his thumb over the soft cheek then tilted L\'s \'s face so he could see those vibrant green eyes.

\"I\'m glad yer dad\'s gonna be okay, Leith. I told yer Wufei would find him and bring him back safe.\"

Leith gazed deep into Paul\'s blue eyes and nodded. \"I know you did,\" he sighed, then a wide smile broke over his face. \"My dad\'s alive, Paul and he\'s coming home.\"

tbc.......

[1] Phone Telex. For those who aren\'t sure it\'s a small contraption with an a to z listing for you to record all your \'phone numbers in.

AN: Thanks to Ryouga for suggesting the name Phoenix for the Preventer Space Port on Earth.