I made an appointment for you, Relena’s message read. Please keep it.

"You’d damn well better appreiciate this, Relena," Zechs muttered to himself as he sat in the psychiatrist’s office. "Because I wouldn’t do this for another living soul." Well, that wasn’t quite true…

"Mr. Peacecraft?" the receptionist called.

Zech’s jaw clenched, and rest of the jaws of the people in the waiting room dropped. If Relena was allowed to be Darlian, why did she have such a problem with him using Merquise?

Zechs stood, followed the receptionist into the corridor, and entered the room she indicated to him.

"Please make yourself comfortable, Mr. Peacecraft," (flinch) "and the doctor will be with you in a moment."

"Thank you."

Seating himself on the edge of the couch, Zechs expected at least a ten-minute "moment." The waiting room had been fairly full…

Seconds later, a slight woman in her mid-twenties hurried through the door. She smiled winningly at him.

"Hello Mr. Peacecraft. The associates were fighting over your appointment, and I won," she smirked.

Zechs blinked. "I’d like to ask that you don’t use that name, please. I go by Zechs Merquise."

"Really… well, I’m very eager to discuss you plethora of names, and your…mask. But I understand you’ve been suffering from some troubling dreams." Her eyes were gleaming strangely, and Zechs was starting to sweat. "Before we get into that, do you mind if I ask what made you finally decide to seek help?"

"My sister. Miss Relena Darlian made this appointment, you’ll find… and I told her I’d come. If it were strictly up to me…"

"I see," the psychiatrist replied coldly. "Well then… please make yourself comfortable, and we’ll talk about these dreams of yours."

"I’m perfectly comfortable, thank you," Zechs replied stubbornly, crossing his arms.

She snorted. "Fine, fine…" She seated herself in her chair and crossed her legs. "How often do you have these dreams?"

"As often as I sleep," Zechs muttered.

"Please speak up," she said shortly.

"Every time I sleep," he repeated irritably.

"And what emotions do they evoke?"

A kind of deep self-loathing… and fear… They frightened him as nothing had since a six-year old Milliardo watched his home burn…

"They’re extremely unsettling," Zechs said aloud.

A muscle in the therapist’s cheek twitched. She obviously didn’t deal well with unresponsive patients. "Why don’t you describe one of these dreams to me?"

"They’re confused images. Fairly incoherent." The Epyon was much more frightening as a dream than as a reality…Himself as a little boy, seated in the command-chair of Libra, wondering why everyone was calling him "commander,"… the flash of a descending beam-saber and the twisted slag of a White Taurus suit,…Noin in a white dress, covered in blood… and the mask he couldn’t take off…

"Dreams are made up of symbols," the psychiatrist was saying, "if we examine them, we can puzzle out their meaning."

"I see."

The silence hung thickly in the air.

"Very well then, if you’re not willing to talk about that Mr. Peac – Merquise," she amended indulgently, "We’ll move on to something else…"

Zechs raised an eyebrow at her.

"What is the difference between Zechs Merquise and Milliardo Peacecraft?" (flinch) she asked, leaning forward eagerly.

"I don’t have more than one personality, if that’s what you’re suggesting," Zechs informed her coldly.

"Of course," she said, not sounding in the least convinced. "Why is it that you wince everytime I say your name?"

"I don’t know what you’re talking about," Zechs lied.

"Don’t you? Milliardo Peacecraft."

(flinch)

"Milliardo Peacecraft."

(flinch)

"Milliardo Peacecraft."

(flinch)

"Milliardo Peacecraft."

(flinch)

"What exactly are you trying to accomplish?" Zechs inquired wearily, rubbing his temples.

The therapist smiled triumphantly. "You need to admit that you have a problem. Any…number of problems."

"I’ll do so readily. That fact, however, in no way encourages me to discuss them with you. Excuse me." Standing quickly, Zechs stalked from the room in a trail of long silver-blonde hair.

"Duo…next time, I drive," Quatre said faintly as Duo stared in disbelief at the slip of paper in his hand. For once, Duo was at a loss for words. Noin was having a very difficult time restraining her laughter.

"Duo, there is a speed limit for a very good reason…" Hildie said, doing a much better job of concealing her amusement.

"That bastard cut me off… I was ticked…" Duo muttered.

"Well, things happen, but it isn’t safe to take your frustration out on – "

"Shut up Quatre!"

"Take it easy Duo. If it makes you feel better, I’ll pay for the speeding ticket…"

"The hell you will!" Duo snapped. "It’s my goddamn speeding ticket and I’m gonna pay it!"

Noin gave up all pretense of not laughing.

"He’s just trying to be nice, Duo," Hildie admonished.

"Yeah, whatever," Duo said darkly under his breath.

Noin took one look at Quatre’s injured expression and Duo’s scowling-pout and laughed harder.

"I’m glad someone’s getting some entertainment out of this," Duo remarked sourly.

"Duo…" Noin began.

"Yeah. Some kind of dramatic irony – Gundam pilots getting speeding tickets. If I were someone else, I’d never let me live it down," he remarked with a half-grin. "Speaking of which," Duo continued, rubbing the back of his neck, "you guys don’t really have to tell Heero about this…"

Quatre smiled and nodded understandingly, Noin laughed, and Hildie’s eyes narrowed. "How much is it worth to you?"

"You too, Hildie?" Duo asked, sounding tragic.

"Aw, don’t worry Duo. I’ll save it for some time when I really need to blackmail you."

"And that’s supposed to make me not worry?" Duo wanted to know.

"Here – Noin, I can get that…" Quatre interupted as Noin started to unload her luggage from the car they were all standing beside.

"No, it’s fine Quatre. You could grab the duffel bag if you want…"

Duo, putting the speeding ticket in his pocket and picking up Noin’s carry-on, shook his head. "Relena’s gonna be wondering where we are."

"Do you think Relena will mind if I use the comm system to let Zechs know I’ve arrived?" Noin wanted to know, hefting the suitcase over the curb.

"Nah, she won’t mind. She calls Zechs all the time…"

"You walked out of the office?!?!" Relena asked incredulously.

"I’m sorry Relena," Zechs repeated for the umpteenth time. "The woman offended me." He didn’t see why they had to discuss this with the two Gundam Pilots in the room…

Trowa, silent as usual, sat unobtrusively drinking his coffee while Heero watched Relena as she stood in front of the screen.

"Milliardo, (flinch) how can you expect to – "

"Please, Relena," Zechs interupted, rubbing his temples.

"Are you certain you don’t want me to tell Noin about this?" she asked anxiously.

"Tell me about what?" Noin asked, smile disappearing as she pushed the door open and pulled her suitcase through.

"Hi Noin," Relena greeted, biting her lip.

"Hello Miss Relena. Hi Heero, Trowa…"

"You’re late," Heero remarked as Duo entered the room. "Which surprises me, the way you drive."

Duo silenced Quatre’s quiet chuckle with a glare as Hildie grinned. "How can you say that, Heero? Duo’s such a good driver."

"It’s never healthy to lie to yourself Hildie," Heero told her, almost smiling.

Duo growled something unintelligible as Noin deposited her suitcase and went to join Relena at the comm screen.

"I’m glad to see you’re safe Noin," Zechs told her warmly, seizing the oppurtunity to change the subject.

"A shuttle trip isn’t all that perilous," Noin retorted. "Now, what isn’t Relena telling me?"

"It’s nothing to worry about," Zechs said, not making eye contact.

"That just isn’t true," Relena denied, shaking her head.

"Well, why don’t you tell me what it is, then I can decide whether or not I need to worry about it?" Noin suggested, crossing her arms.

Zechs’ glance flickered to the room full of unnaturally quiet Gundam pilots (and Hildie). "Not now Noin. We can discuss it later. And in the meantime, promise me you won’t badger Relena until she tells you."

"Have it your way," Noin sighed in exasperation.

"Thank you, I intend to. Out…"

I miss you. I’m sorry I left you… Her unspoken words lay in her throat as Zechs’ face faded and she reminded herself of how annoyed she was with that man…

Relena walked over to the couch and sat down next to Heero, who laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Heero…"

"Relena."

"Cut it out, you two," Trowa murmured under his breath as he edged away from them on the couch.

"I’m so worried about him," Relena said softly.

"Looks like he pulled the promise out of the wrong one of us," Noin remarked, trying to smile.

"Don’t worry too much Relena," Heero comforted. "Zechs is a pretty strong guy," he added, the corner of his mouth quirking into a smile.

"I wish he would talk to me," she murmured.

"Zechs is a very private person, Relena," Noin told her, still looking at the screen. "It’s hard for him to open up like this. Just give him time."

Relena smiled at her. If anyone had a right to lecture about patience, Noin did.

"Thanks for coming, Noin," she said, getting to her feet and catching Heero’s hand in her own as it slid off her shoulder.

Duo gave Heero a very pointed look and began to laugh.

Heero turned red, let go of Relena’s hand, and leaned back against the couch.

"You’re welcome Relena," Noin answered, grinning at the boys. "Anytime."

"Isn’t Wufei coming?" Quatre wanted to know.

"I think so… Sally was trying to talk him into it, but if all else fails, Lady Une can order him to come."

"Wufei taking orders… somehow I don’t see it," Trowa commented with half a smile, putting his empty coffee cup on its saucer.

"Neither does Lady Une, very often," Relena laughed.

"Doesn’t disobedience in a subordiate lack integrity?" Duo inquired innocently.

"That’s not fair, Duo," Quatre said, trying very hard not to laugh. "You wouldn’t say that to his face."

"Damn straight," Duo retorted.

"So when do you think he’ll decide to grace us with his presence?" Heero asked idly.

"I don’t know," Relena shrugged. "Soon, I hope."

"I can only stay these few days," Trowa interjected. "I’m missing enough of my classes as it is."

"What are you studying, Trowa?" Noin asked, blinking.

"Biology."

"Are you still planning to go to veterinary school?" Quatre prompted.

"That’s right," Trowa nodded. That way, if he and his sister decided to stay with the circus, he’d be useful. And if Catherine wanted to move on, he’d have a profession that didn’t involve having knives thrown at him. Besides, he understood animals… and they understood him.

"One of my sisters is a veterinarian," Quatre contributed thoughtfully. "Two of them, actually…"

"Quatre, I think you have at least one sister in every profession," Duo stated (with a troubling degree of accuracy).

"No, none of them are –"

"Nevermind," Duo interupted, sounding tired.