“Wah!!!”

The sound became louder and louder until Relena ran into the room and threw herself into Melody’s lap. Melody picked her up and put her arms around the hysterical little girl. Relena cried on her shoulder while she gently rocked her in the way that all mothers do.

“What’s wrong this time?” Melody asked.

Relena rubbed her eye with her fist and tried to become calm enough to speak intelligibly. She sat up, gulped, and poured out her heart to her webmommie.

“Duo says that if you ‘dopt us that Heero will be my brother an’ then we can’t get married when we’re growed up,” Relena sobbed. ”Is that true?” She looked up so that she could see Melody’s face, put her thumb in her mouth and hiccupped at regular intervals as she awaited Melody’s answer.

“Well, that would be true if we were able to adopt all of you,” she began; Relena started a fresh flood of tears. ”Hold on, now,” she continued. ”But according to the way the laws are now we can’t adopt any of you.” She looked down at Relena, watching her absorb this bit of news. ”We’ve tried everything but it just can’t be done.”

The tears stopped and the wet thumb was dislodged.

“Truly?”

“Truly.”

“But can we be your chibis for always anyways?” Relena asked, her eyebrows puckered with concern. ”Nobody else will ‘dopt us, will they?”

“No,” Melody answered with a smile. She knew that very few people in their right minds would take in this bunch of kids! “The way things are arranged right now, you’ll always be our chibis.”

“Do we hafta keep Duo?” Relena asked seriously.

“Yes, we do.” Melody laughed as she squeezed Relena tightly. ”Even if he is annoying sometimes.”

Relena looked disappointed but then brightened at a new thought. “Then Heero ‘n me can still get married when we’re growed up?” she asked with hopeful big blue eyes.

“If you both want to.”

Relena stood up, smiling triumphantly. “I’ll just MAKE him want to,” she said decidedly and she ran off in the direction of the Nursery, eager to tell Duo that Heero “won’t never” be her brother.