Catherine Barton stared out at the darkening night sky straining to see if her husband's car was coming down the road. But after staring for a good ten minutes there was still no sign of him.

Cathy knew she shouldn't be surprised that Trowa was not home yet, he had been coming home from the circus later and later these past few weeks. And considering that he was in the middle of expanding the troupe in to two troupes, it was understandable that he would have to work long hours.

But he could have at least had the decency to come home early on the night of their tenth anniversary! Cathy thought angrily, jerking away from the window and going into the kitchen where the meal she had so carefully planned and made was getting stone cold and ruined. She knew she should just put it all away in the fridge, and yet if she did it would cement the thought that Trowa really had forgotten their anniversary, which was something she just didn't want to face. Sinking down into a chair at the table she had so carefully and lovingly decorated Catherine stared sightlessly at the clock on the wall in front of her. As she stared it was as if the years were slowly going back in time as she remembered how it was when they were first married.

She had still been the knife throwing star of the circus and Trowa had still been her target and partner in every act she had. They had only one trailer and it was not what most would consider roomy. But they had never minded. A smile curved her lips as she remembered how Trowa had often used the cramped space as an excuse to grab her around the waist and embrace her; always saying that he was just trying to get by for some little thing or another on the other side of wherever she was cleaning.

A small chuckle rippled from her mouth throat when she recalled how little sleep either of them got during those first years. Of course when anyone had asked why they looked tired they had always just replied that they had been up working on the bills from the small home they were planning on buying for when they had children. Which was sometimes the case, but most of the time it was because they were at working on having the children! ^__^;;

Then when they were blessed with Robert they became even more busier with Trowa having taken the manager's place after his heart attack. But even with their busy schedules Trowa had always found a way to show her how much he loved her. And that hadn't changed even after the birth of their second child, Esther.

So what had she done in the last few months to make Trowa stop wanting to be with her? Cathy got up from the table and wandered to their bedroom. Opening the door she reflected on how quiet the house was with out the children in it. She had sent them to their “Uncle" Quatre's and “Aunt" Dorothy's for the weekend because she’d thought it would be a nice for she and Trowa to have a weekend alone together. It seemed that she shouldn’t have bothered, though; if he didn't even care about coming home tonight of all nights he probably didn't want to spend any time alone with her at all!

As she looked at her reflection in the mirror Cathy took a long, close look to see if a change in her looks over the years could be the problem. Maybe he wasn’t still attracted to her? But no matter how critical of herself she was, she saw that she was still the same beautiful woman Trowa had married. Her hair was still the deep, rich auburn it had always been and while she had a few crinkles around her eyes the rest of her skin was flawless. Her waist was still thin and her body still fit. Flopping down on the bed, Cathy went through all the things she had done in the last few months but she still couldn't think of anything she could have done to make her beloved Trowa stop loving her. Which it seemed he had. The very thought was just to much for Cathy after all the stress of the past week of planning this celebration of their lives together. She buried her face in her pillow and started to cry. She was sobbing so hard that she didn't hear the sound of the bedroom door opening.

"Cathy?" Seeing his beloved wife crying so hard made Trowa hesitate for a moment on their door’s threshold and then he rushed to her side, lifting her off the bed and pulling her onto his lap. She buried her face into his neck and continued to sob as if her heart was breaking. Trowa stroked her hair, nervously whispering to her, "What's wrong, darling? What has happened?"

With a soft heart-wrenching wail Catherine cried out, "You don't love me anymore!" A look of great confusion crossed Trowa's handsome face and he pulled back from Cathy to look into to her deep violet eyes. "Who told you a silly lie like that?!"

"It's not a lie! If you still loved me you wouldn't have been avoiding me for the past month!" Cathy cried.

"Avoiding you?" Trowa still looked confused and that confusion mirrored in his voice.

"Well what else would you call it? You have been coming home until late and you didn't even remember our anniversary!" What other reason could there be for you not wanting to come home? And don't give me that nonsense about the second troupe! You could have gotten some of your workers to help you with that just by asking! So why haven't you been coming home if you still love me as you claim you do?"

Trowa had started to smile as his wife's tirade went on. Not that he hadn't taken her seriously; it was just the simple problem that he had always found her to be so darn cute when she was angry. He shook her lightly and when she had met his eyes he smiled at her his sweet, slow smile and said," The reason I have been so late is because I've been trying to find you the perfect anniversary present. And it was only tonight that I did. So please, please forgive me for worrying you." Here Trowa pulled Cathy close and kissed her softly on the forehead. "But maybe my gift will help you to remember that no matter what, my love for you is constant.”

Cathy looked into his emerald green eyes, seeing his love for her shining so deeply and completely in them, and smile came to her face. “Well, my dear husband, what is this marvelous gift?"

Trowa smiled, and, shifting her on his lap, reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box. Handing it to her, he said, "Open it."

Cathy looked at Trowa's smiling face in curiosity then opened the black box. Inside was the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. It was in the shape of a heart and made of pure gold. On the heart was written the word ' love' the o in the love was made with two circles intertwining that looked like wedding bands a full-born smile bloomed on Cathy's face, she threw her arms around Trowa's neck and preceded to kiss him until they were both breathless. When they finally came up for air Trowa smiled at her and said, "So I take this to mean that you like it?"

"I love it, you silly man! Just like I love you." She smiled at him, her heart filled to bursting with the joy of knowing that her beloved Trowa still loved her. As she stood there gazing at his loving face she suddenly remember her gift for him. Running to the wardrobe, she pulled out a bulky package and handed it to him. "It's not a nice as yours is but I hope you like it anyway." She stood before him, shyly watching as he pulled off the wrapping paper and pulled out a handmade sweater. It was knitted in the same shade of blue gray he had always worn as a Gundam pilot. He laughed softly, grabbed Cathy around the waist and swung her in the air. Catching her lips on the way down, he whispered in her ear, "I love you, Cathy!"

Cathy smiled down at him and said, " I love you too, my little doll!"

Trowa set her down on her feet and asked, " How about Chinese takeout for dinner?"

Cathy, remembering the now-spoiled food in the kitchen, smiled and replied, "That sounds wonderful, Trowa." Her smile lit up her face and, tucking her hand in Trowa's, they went down to the living room, ordered their meal and talked and ate until morning. Every anniversary after their tenth was wonderful and special but none of them ever compared in Cathy's mind to the one on which she thought she had almost lost her beloved Trowa's heart, only to find out that it always had and always would be hers to cherish.