The Greatest of These

All previous disclaimers apply.

“So,” Duo smiled as he surveyed the new office turned nursery. He had never really used the office anyway, even when he was working on an important account. He had always cared more for the kitchen table and his laptop than the small table and P.C. in the good sized room. So, it hadn’t been that much of a sacrifice to move the computer into the closet and fold up the table to be stored in the same closet. The former owners of the small house had had the room painted a pleasant pale yellow that he had always liked. The office had never seemed suited for the room, but the nursery seemed to fill it beautifully. The new oak crib, the rocking chair Cammi had insisted he buy, the changing table, the matching dresser topped with baby supplies, even the new shelves he had had a wonderful time filling with toys, they all seemed to just fit. Duo surveyed the room with an air of contentment that surprised him. Even the female flourishes Cammi had added seemed to fit. The large rug with the pattern of fanciful dragons and fairies in the center of the wooden floor, the curtains. It all spoke to him in a pleasing way, “What do you think?”

“I think it’s beautiful,” Cammi answered, her arms crossed as she looked in at the room with satisfaction, “Especially for something we just put together today. What are you, Duo? Some kind of pinch penny? I saw those balances when you checked. Have you been saving since you started working for me?”

“Something like that,” Duo admitted, “In the war, the only thing we indulged in was our Gundams. We were taught to go without and if there was a choice to make between a repair and eating, then . . . well hunger isn’t always a bad thing.”

“Duo,” Cammi frowned. She had heard all of the tales of his life as a Gundam pilot, but they never ceased to shock her. Every citizen had had to deal and learn to live without most of life\'s little indulgences, but hearing what he had had to sacrifice just so ordinary people like her could entertain dreams and live like they did now always made her heart ache for his lost childhood, “You were only fifteen.”

“Yeah,” he shrugged it off as he always did, “It was war. We all did what we had to in our allotted roles. It could have been much worse. I’ve told you what happened to my friend Trowa, haven’t I?”

“I don’t remember,” Cammi answered honestly.

“Well, Trowa basically allowed himself to get blown up to save the sanity of the man he had fallen in love with. Then, if that wasn’t bad enough, he dealt with amnesia after that. And he still can’t remember most anything before he was ten years old. But, he says he thinks that’s from the beatings the mercenary band he was part of treated him to when he was young. Honestly, Cams, any of the other Gundam pilots had it a lot worse than me in the war. Wu Fei lost his wife and was forced to give up schooling. Quatre lost his father, three of his sisters, and almost his love. Heero was brain washed and beaten into the Perfect Soldier. You already heard about Trowa. Compared to any of them I had it real easy.”

Not really, Cammi thought inwardly, knowing better than to argue with him about his pilot friends. Do any of them still have nightmares that seize them so hard that they can’t breathe? Or stress-induced panic attacks that lead to flashbacks and worse? Do any of them carry the guilt of the deaths of a dozen children, a priest, and a nun? She knew that she was somewhat biased because of the way she cared for Duo, but it seemed to her, that while the others had been able to move past the war he never fully had, despite the smile he kept on his face.

“So,” she turned to smile at him, holding the exhausted baby against his shoulder, “I am completely satisfied that you will have everything you need now to take care of a baby and a severely ill man. Just don’t overexert yourself, Duo. And make sure to call for help if you need it. I’m not saying it’ll happen, but if the bastard takes a turn for the worse and you end up needing to go to the hospital Fritz and I can baby-sit. Sheira’s a joy and the boys would love her. Oh, I hope the twins are girls. There’s only so much testosterone a woman can handle in one house.”

Duo had been caught by just one phrase she had used. “You shouldn’t call him a bastard, Cams. You don’t even know him,” he reasoned quietly, his tone soft with something she didn’t understand.

“He hurts your heart. Therefore, I call him bastard,” Cammi explained with a dismissive wave of her hand.

“I kinda put it out there to be trampled on myself, Cammi,” Duo sighed, “It’s my own fault it hurts. And just look at how well he took care of Sheira. That can’t be all bastard, can it?”

“Those are the only reasons I call him bastard instead of fuckin’ rat bastard,” she replied pleasantly. Even Duo had to laugh.

“Thanks for all your help, Cams,” Duo moved toward the rocking chair, as exhausted as the young charge in his arms. He laid her in the crib and sat, “Now go jump Fritz and tell him the good news.”

“No problem, Duo, and I think I’ll do just that,” she smiled when she turned to see that he was already sleeping, slouched in the rocking chair, his chin on his chest, “I’ll just show myself out.”