Trowa stared at his husband, taking note of how Quatre's eyes crinkled at the corners. The blond man's gaze was focused on the file in front of him. Trowa's stomach twisted as he waited for Quatre's verdict. At last his mate closed the folder and placed it with the others, lifting his gaze to Trowa. The auburn haired man straightened and reached for his coffee cup. "What do you think?"

"I think…" Quatre paused thoughtfully. "You're sure that consolidation is the best thing? With a portfolio this size, you should probably consider diversifying instead."

"I don't understand." Trowa frowned.

Quatre signaled to the waitress for a refill on his coffee. As he doctored the steaming brew he pressed his lips together in a thin line. "You took some business classes when you went to University, so you know a little about the importance of not putting all your eggs in one basket. But Trowa… this is a lot of eggs so to speak. If the markets take a dive in any of the areas that you picked, you risk losing a good amount of money."

Trowa's frown did not ease. Quatre sighed and continued. "These stocks that you've chosen are high-yield, that also means they're high-risk. Volatile stocks are fine for a small percentage of your investments, but for the long term I'd advise you not to choose something so unstable."

"So what should I do?" Trowa resisted the urge to throw his hands up in the air.

Quatre's teeth worried at his lower lip for a few minutes. "Unless you want to take the reins of Hanahan Financial Group, I'd look into hiring a new CEO until Megan comes of age."

"Quatre… I don't want her to feel the same kind of pressure you did growing up. I want it to be her choice, not her reason for living." Trowa sighed heavily.

His spouse nodded. "I can see where you're coming from on that front, but you asked for my opinion. Otherwise, there's always the option of merging with WEI."

"But that's so permanent." Trowa frowned.

Quatre shook his head and took a sip of his coffee before speaking. "Not necessarily. There can be a stipulation in the contract that the merger will last for a certain term of time until Megan's ready to take over."

"You can do that?"

"Of course. WEI owns several other smaller entities as simply a parent company. More like an investor than an actual governing body within the smaller corporations. Hanahan Financial group would be no different. I'll bring the notion up to my board if you'd like." Quatre's calming voice soothed the roiling emotions within Trowa.

Trowa nodded gratefully. "That might be for the best."

"Good. I'll put something together for you to look at by the end of next week."

"Thank you, Quatre."

The other man smiled gently. "I love you, Trowa."

They fell silent for a few minutes before Trowa frowned. "She's going to be starting kindergarten in the fall. I suppose I should look into schools, shouldn't I?"

"You want her in school? You don't want tutors?" Quatre arched a brow, not commenting on the implication in those words.

Trowa shrugged lightly. "I really hadn't thought that far. I want her to be socially skilled, not like I was at her age…and I also don't want her to be a snob. But it would be easier to keep up with her progress if she were home schooled."

"Amala will be going to the Montessori program. Maybe we should consider that?" Quatre suggested carefully. "If she stays." He pushed gently.

Emerald eyes widened in surprise. "Oh. I guess I am getting ahead of myself, aren't I?"

Quatre's heart sank. He rubbed his chest absently as he fought back the feeling of imminent loss. He'd promised himself he wouldn't do it, but he'd already grown attached to Megan. He searched for words to broach the subject. "Trowa, we need to talk about that."

Trowa's beautiful eyes sought his, calmly waiting for him to continue. "Rashid told me that Amala and Megan overheard your conversation with Lady Une yesterday. They were both quite upset by the idea that Megan might not stay. I don't want to rush you, my heart… but Megan is growing more attached to both of us. A decision needs to be made very soon."

"Should I keep her?" Trowa's question came on the heels of Quatre's last word.

Quatre's eyes widened in shock. He hadn't expected such a blatant inquiry. "I… it's your decision, Trowa. I've already told you I won't make it for you."

"But you do have an opinion, Quatre." Trowa's voice held a sharp edge. "This isn't one of those issues where we can not interfere in each other's business and decisions…" He tensed visibly. "You need to tell me how you feel or I'll forever be afraid of you resenting me for making a choice you don't agree with. This isn't just my life, it's our life together."

"I hadn't thought of it like that." Quatre bit his lower lips for a moment. It was fast becoming a habit. He laced his hands together in his lap, out of view of Trowa's questioning gaze. He drew in a deep breath. "If I tell you what I think, you have to swear to me you won't try to use it as an excuse to sway your feelings."

"Of course." His husband responded promptly.

Quatre's nails broke the skin of his hands as he spoke haltingly, "I think… I'm attached to Megan, Trowa. And it doesn't matter to me who her mother was. What matters to me is that she's a part of you. When she's around, you light up in a way you never have before. You're gentle and kind and patient. And you're also so adorably at a loss I can't help but love you all the more for it. Megan makes you happy. I know we were happy before she came, but I can't imagine going back to that quiet existence again. Our home practically vibrates with laughter and curiosity with her in it. And her being thrums with happiness when she's near either of us. The sadness she feels at losing her mother recedes for a few precious minutes when you hold her. And I could really get used to muddy kisses."

He took a deep breath. "Trowa, I love you and I love Megan. I want her to stay. But if you decide you're not ready for it… I'll understand and deal with the loss of these things in time. And if we don't keep her, we'll still be able to see her and I'll content myself with that."

He finished with a heavy sigh, his fingers unclenching a little. Trowa's cheek poked out where he pushed his tongue into it, just one of his habits when he was in deep thought. Quatre reached for his coffee cup and drained the quickly cooling liquid to hide his unease.

Trowa remained quiet as he mulled over Quatre's words. There was truth to it, he knew that much. Megan did feel… right. His doubts about parenthood weren't gone. The idea that he'd inadvertently hurt her sent a torrent of pain through his chest. He lowered his eyes to his mug of coffee, chewing his tongue thoughtfully. It was an amazing feeling to see someone that had his nose. Someone had his something… it was a feeling he'd never had before. A connection he hadn't felt with even Catherine when they'd found out they were indeed related.

It tore his heart out to think of causing Megan more pain if he forced her out of their home, their lives. He and Quatre had discussed children, but never as anything more than a vague idea for the future. Then Megan had been dropped into their lives, however disrupting it had been… it had triggered some latent instinct in him. His heart swelled within his chest. What was that thing, that caused the fear in his stomach? Why did the idea of Megan leaving cause so much anxiety? He swallowed hard, mentally categorizing the sensations associated with it. Warmth, a tightening in his chest, he'd felt it before. "Catherine." He whispered the word in confusion.

Across from him, Quatre arched a brow. "What does Catherine have to do with this?"

Trowa shook his head. "I felt this emotion when I had amnesia and I saw her that first time in the rain. This apprehension and relief all at the same time…"

"What is it?" His husband asked patiently.

Trowa's frown deepened as he wrapped his arms together across his waist. "It's… " He trailed off and retreated inward once more, picking up his analyzation where he'd left off. Warmth, the pounding of his heart.

"I love her." He whispered softly to his coffee cup.

Something burst inside his chest and his eyes rocketed to Quatre's face. Precious, patient Quatre who'd gone through hell with him these last few weeks. The burst of relief was Quatre's. He stared at his husband as he realized in that split second that his spouse, whom he cherished more than his own life had been hurt inadvertently by his hesitation to do what any moron would know to do within a few moments of meeting their own flesh and blood. He leaned across the table and rested his hand on Quatre's cheek, wiping away a tear that tracked it's way down porcelain skin. "I'm so sorry, Quatre. I didn't realize I was hurting all three of us. Please forgive me."

Quatre covered his hand with his own. "There's nothing to forgive, Trowa. What's important is that you realized the truth in the end. We'll be fine, I promise. We're a family."

Family… somehow the word which had never held very much meaning for him suddenly meant everything. Trowa's smile was shaky, but genuine. "Yeah, we are a family… aren't we?" He pulled his hand back and scooted out of the booth, grasping Quatre's hand in his. "Come on… lets go get our daughter and give her the good news."

Quatre froze mid scoot, losing his balance and crashing to the floor. He stared up at Trowa in shock, his hand drifting to his rear end and rubbing it absently. "You said our daughter…"

"Yeah… what's mine is yours, isn't that what we promised?" Trowa's smile did not waver. He extended his good arm to assist his husband in rising from his rather undignified position on the floor. "I think we should make it official."

The blond man dusted himself off and stared owlishly. "Really?"

"Yes." Trowa's heart thudded in reaction to Quatre's happiness. "Megan Hanahan-Barton-Winner."

"Big name for a little girl, maybe we should get her opinion on it." Quatre grinned beatifically.

Trowa chuckled and pulled his husband in for a long, sweet kiss disregarding the stares they were receiving. Catherine had been right… Quatre was his bliss. And Megan would make it heaven.

Wufei patiently fastened the buckle on the restraint Megan wore. As soon as he turned her loose, she grinned at him and took off across the food court. He'd been more than a little stunned that the soda could kick in so fast. She'd given him that smile again and he'd melted. He watched as the tiny child bolted towards the soda machine again, her cup in hand. He then had to wince when she inadvertently found the end of the stretchy cord that bound her to his wrist. He silently blessed the makers of the harness restraint system for the insight in creating a humane way to keep a child on what basically amounted to a leash.

He glanced at his watch, 5:00. Quatre and Trowa would be home in less than an hour. He hoped the caffeine high would wear off by then or else he would face his friend's wrath for letting her drink something they'd specifically forbidden. He gripped the bright purple cord in one hand and began winding it towards him, wishing that they'd at least made the leash retractable. But he supposed he should simply be grateful for the contraption in the first place. It was rude to look a gift horse in the mouth. When Megan found herself by his side once more, he was once again gifted with that brilliant smile. She held the brightly colored plastic cup out to him. "Will you please carry this for me, Mr. Wufei?"

He took the cup from her and took her by the hand. "Where to next. We have time to go to one more shop."

Wufei did not feel the need to point out to a five year old that he'd already made a major dent in his Visa card with the number of bags that dangled from the hand which held the dinosaur cup. Megan grinned at him. "The wedding store."

He groaned inwardly. He'd hoped she'd forgotten. "The wedding store?" He glanced around them at the mostly dead mall, thanking his lucky stares it was a weekday. "You're really serious about the ring thing, aren't you?" He stared at her incredulously.

Megan regarded him just as seriously as she had earlier in the day. "Yes. You promised you'd buy a ring and wear it."

Wufei's groan was audible this time. "How about we get you one?"

"Me too?" She perked up visibly. "Yeah! We can both have one!"

Wufei glanced around, there had to be a convenient brick wall he could bash his head against, there just had to be. "I didn't mean it like that."

"But… you did promise."

"I…uh…" He stared at her. Those impossibly large grey eyes filled with tears. He sighed heavily. "Fine. We'll go to the wedding store."

Instantly she grinned, her world set straight again. She tugged him impatiently towards one of the myriad of jewelry shops tucked into the main concourse of the shopping center. He gritted his teeth. Once inside, she made a beeline for the case with the shiniest rings. The diamonds… no… scratch that… he realized belatedly. The uber-special high-priced diamonds that had their own special name to go with the jacked up prices. Wufei sighed and hooked a hand in the harness and lifted her easily, settling her on one hip. He stared at her patiently. "Megan, a simple band will do… we don't need diamonds yet."

"Why not?" She inquired just as seriously.

He stared at her, perturbed by the straightforward question. He scrambled for an answer. This was ridiculous to argue about with a child. Yet, there he was in a jewelry store with her, a ridiculous situation in and of itself. He had promised though, and he was a man of his word. "Because I want to give you a diamond when you and I are officially engaged. After I've asked your fathers' permission to marry you."

"Ooooh. Good idea." Megan grinned and threw her arms around his neck, pressing a sticky kiss to his cheek.

"How may I help you, Sir?" A fair-haired young lady greeted them. She gave a toothy grin. Wufei could see the dollar signs flashing in her eyes. He sighed inwardly, damning his sense of honor for the hundredth time that afternoon.

"Yes, I need two thin gold bands."

"Yellow or white gold?"

"White!" Megan interrupted promptly. Wufei stared at her for a moment in surprise. She grinned. "Mama says that yellow gold looks cheap."

Wufei's head was spinning. He weakly echoed Megan. "White…"

"Very good choice young lady. And do you know why diamonds look better in white gold, too?" The clerk smiled indulgently.

He was tempted to wring her neck. Megan however had other ideas. "Cause yellow gold makes them look yellow and that's bad."

The clerk tittered gleefully. "A very educated daughter you have there, Sir."

Wufei frowned. "She's not my daughter… she's my…" He paused. "Niece." That was close enough he figured.

Megan grinned happily as the woman directed them to the case holding the wedding bands. Megan leaned closer and stared, enraptured by the sparkling surfaces. She clapped her hands together happily and pointed to two with braided surfaces. "I like those ones!"

"These." Wufei corrected gently and carefully set his packages and the plastic cup aside to free his hand to lift one of the bands free from the tray. The bands were thin, not really even resembling a wedding band. He carefully shifted Megan and slid it onto his right ring finger. It fit perfectly. Megan clung to his neck and craned to see the ring. She grinned happily. "I like that one."

Wufei sighed heavily and slipped the band off, glancing at the price. To his surprise it wasn't as bad as he'd expected. The clerk beckoned to him and leaned in as though to tell him a secret. She winked at him. "We're having a clearance sale. These are 75 off the marked price."

Wufei did a quick calculation and arched brow skeptically. "Really?"

"Yes, Sir. We also have a lifetime warranty that covers repairs and replacement if it's ever lost or stolen."

Wufei considered for a moment, then glanced at Megan. "You like this one?"

She nodded emphatically. "It's pretty. And I can have the one to match!" Her grin erased any thought of rejecting her now.

He sighed heavily. "But the other band is too big for you. Wouldn't you rather have a ring that fits?"

"No." She grinned, evidently proud of herself. "Cause then it won't fit when I get growed up."

"Grown up." He corrected reflexively. "How do you intend to wear it then?"

"On a necklace. Like Mama wore Grandpa and Grandma's ring after they went to heaven. Cause they didn't fit her either."

"Right. Of course." He sighed and gingerly set Megan on the ground as he reached for his wallet. "I'll take both rings and a chain."

"Very good, Sir. Will you be needing a box?"

He glanced to Megan who was bouncing on the balls of her feet excitedly. "No, I think we'll just take them as they are. Could you please put the women's ring on the chain so she can wear it out of the store?"

"Yes, Sir." She named the total and Wufei mentally calculated how much he'd spent on this child who wasn't his in just a few hours. He signed off on the receipt and suppressed a groan of pain at the damage done to his bank account. Quatre and Trowa would be reimbursing him anyway. He'd come to that decision with the first Barbie he'd put on the credit card.

He accepted the ticket and shoved it and his wallet back into the pocket of his jeans. He knelt in front of Megan and slipped the chain with the ring on it over her head. She giggled happily as he pushed the men's ring unceremoniously onto the ring finger of his right hand once more. A place, he resigned himself to, it would occupy for a long time to come. "There, does that please you?"

"Yes, very much." She hugged him tightly.

"Are you ready to go home now? Your fathers will be home soon."

"Yes!" She bounced again. "Will you carry my bags?"

"Of course, that's a husband's job, isn't it?" He snorted dryly. "You're wish is my command." Wufei rose to his feet and arranged the bags onto his aching arm again, carefully grasping the cup of mountain dew in one hand and Megan's hand in the other. Yes indeed, an interesting day after all.

"And we went to the wedding store and Mr. Wufei bought us matching rings and I drank THREE mountain dews and I got two new Barbies and a girl lion to keep Leo company so he won't get lonely while I play with Amala." Megan chattered happily as Trowa tucked her into bed.

Quatre glanced across the bed at his husband as Trowa listened with half an ear. As Megan's words suddenly made sense, Trowa's eyes widened. He interrupted her. "Matching bands?"

Quatre chuckled softly. Megan fished something attached to a white gold chain out from under her night shirt and held it up for Trowa's inspection. "Yes. Cause we're gonna get married when I'm all growed up. Isn't it pretty Papa?"

Trowa blinked. "Aren't you a little young to think about marriage?"

"It's never too soon to plan for the future." She parroted the words she'd obviously heard an adult say at some point in her short life. "And I decided that if you don't want me to stay here, I can stay with Mr. Wufei so I'll still get to see you."

Quatre blinked in surprise. Trowa fell silent as he watched his child toy with the ring. He reached out and gently extracted it from her grasp. "Why don't you keep this under your shirt so you don't lose it, baby. And no, you won't be going to live with Wufei or anyone else. Babu and I decided that we want you to stay here with us." Trowa hesitated, obviously unsure of himself. "That is if you want to."

Megan's worried frown smoothed out into a grin. "Really?"

"Yes." Trowa's fear of rejection knotted in Quatre's chest. "Do you want to stay with us?"

She nodded. "Yes, Papa."

"Why?" The question slipped from Trowa's lips. Quatre knew instinctively he hadn't meant for it to be said out loud.

Megan giggled. "Papa, you're silly. Cause I love you and I love Babu. I'm glad Amala's Daddy used the power of perversion to change your mind!"

"Excuse me… the power of perver…" Trowa trailed off into silence, shifting his gaze to Quatre who was by now convulsing with the effort it took to contain his laughter. Understanding dawned in Trowa's eyes. "Oh! Persuasion… the power of persuasion?"

"That's what I said." Megan glanced to Quatre. "Papa, is Baby okay?"

Trowa chuckled and pulled Megan into a tight hug. "Yes, baby… Babu is fine. He's just happy because we love you very much too."

"Oh." Megan returned the hug and kissed each of them on the cheek in turn. "Good night, Papa. Night Babu."

Quatre rose from his spot on the bed and crossed to the door, flipping off the light as they retreated from the room. He slipped his hand into Trowa's as they made their way across the hall to their own room. Once inside the room, his eyes lifted to his husband's. Trowa's heart was completely relaxed for the first time in months. He reached out with his free hand and traced the outline of his lover's lips. "I'm happy, Trowa."

"Me too, but…" Trowa paused, his words trailing off for a moment as he glanced at their closed door. "I'm worried, for all of us."

Quatre laughed softly. "That, my heart, is the nature of love. It will never completely go away. Embrace it as you do all the positive things and I promise you, everything will be fine."

"Everything will be fine." Trowa echoed, reassured for the moment. He pressed a butterfly kiss to Quatre's fingertips. "Yeah, we will be fine… won't we?"

Fin