All too fleeting...

[Hal]

"Natalya..." Hal could gently say as he voiced cracked with emotion through his exhausted breathing.

Hal was reveling in presence of his love, trying to contain himself after all those grueling months. As trifling as they were, it was nothing compared to being away from. Not being able to comfort her as clinged on to hope of his survival. In his mind, he was pushing away the weird sensation of her belly in the way of their embrace. Being so long, he was unaccustomed to it. Still, he tried to savor the moment, fleeting just as soon as it began.

His gaze came into one of concerned, watching as she pulled away from him. Soon, he just as soon became as pale as her. A deep concern washed over him as his heart sank to his stomach. Many scenarios were rushing through his head, but the information was still incomplete to comprehend. As tired as he was, a second wind was creeping into him because of this situation. Ready Hal was for anything to happen...
"Natalya?" Hal said in a confused tone of concern.


"Natalya, did you see the New.....Hal?!" A voice came out from the other side of the room. It was Emma, in a relaxed attire and wearing a gaming headset. She gawked at the situation for a moment until Hal's stern voice broke her out of the stupor.

"E! Get the Doctors! Something is wrong!" Was all he muster as tried to control his surging emotions. Though there was some resistance, Hal instinctually kept by her side until any kind of help arrived. So much he wanted to say, but was piling into a lump in his throat as the tried to find the words in this situation.

[Gundam Revival GM]

Natalya rhythmically breathed, the way she was instructed to. The doctor was on her left checking her vitals, Hal was on her right, looking panicked. Natalya tried to make him feel better, but was interrupted by yet another contraction.
"OK," the doctor started, "contractions are almost on top of each other, I want you to start pushing now."

Natalya squeezed Hal's hand hard as she pushed, yelling in pain.
"Good, relax," the doctor said, his hands holding the back of the baby's head, "one more push should do it."

Natalya continued breathing hard, and with one more push, it was over. Seconds later, the doctor cut the umbilical cord and handed the baby over to a nurse, who took it in the next room.

She finally looked at Hal and smiled weakly, squeezing his hand. Seconds passed like a lifetime as she waited to hear her baby's first cry...

[Hal]

Hal tried hard to curb the pain and tension of Natayla as she was giving birth, but he was unaccustomed to such shouts of anguish. He respond her own vice grip grasp with his own, to make sure he was there for her. Slowly, as the process of birth continue, Hal was inspired to give words of encouragement as the moment was begining to sink in.
"Come on, Natalya. You can do it!"

Meanwhile, Emma watch from behind Hal. A small handheld recorder in her hand. Since she was one of the only people there for her, she played the part of preparing the capture this moment. Though the timing did put a damper on a scheduled baby shower, she was happy to help as best she could when her brother could lose his brain in the moment.

In the back of her mind, she almost pictured herself in Natalya's place. To be in love and having your own bundle of joy. Though she isn't in a hurry for such a time, Emma is definately going to spoil the baby. An impish smile crept on her face as she continued to record.

When the ordeal was over, Hal gently hugged Natalya, kissing her on forehead.
"Congratulations, Natalya. We're a family."
Then, he watched attentively with the Doctor's procedure. Slowly, his logical mind started coming back to him. What puzzled him was that most baby's cry when brought into the world, unless that was just a stereotype of TV shows. Looking at them, he spoke with a soft concern as he maintained a soft embrace of Natalya.
"How is the baby, Doctor?"

Emma swiveled to continue to capturing video.

[Gundam Revival GM]

Natalya listened closely as Hal asked the doctor how their baby was. She noted the use of 'the' instead of 'our', the possibility it wasn't theirs was creeping back into her mind.
Oh, Hal... I'm so sorry

She blocked out the thought as much as possible as the doctor answered Hal.
"This can be expected with any premature birth, especially since he was born two months prior due date." The doctor paused, as if he had said something he shouldn't, but then continued, "He's breathing steadily and his heartbeat is strong, but he is fragile otherwise and needs time." He smiled then, "from everything I can see, he'll make it through just fine."

Natalya's eyes began to water, looking up at Hal, she smiled as she began to cry a happy cry, saying, "did you hear that, Hal, it's a boy."

[Hal]

As the doctor begin his statements, Hal was focused while other thoughts played in his mind. A feeling of a willingness to protect this child was now an assertion. His own mind was making resolutions absolute.
"No matter the consequences that resulted in his birth, it was never his fault for anything. I would protect him, like all those that I love."


Hal's attention quickly switched to Natalya, his mood softening as he got lost in her emerald eyes. As they welled up with emotion, he couldn't stop himself from doing the same. Tears started to creep down his cheeks and sniffled, resulting in him pushing his glasses back up.

Emma tried to hold back hers' as best she could, sniffling them up and a quick swipe from her sleeve.

Overcome with emotion again, he gently embraced her exhausted form. Trying the find the words, he spoke with a fragile continence.
"That I did, Natalya. A beautiful son for us..."
After a quick squeeze, he pulled away slightly to lock eyes with her once more. Composing himself, he spoke with tone that tried to bring it out of the stupor of the moment.
"Have you decided on a name for him, Natalya? You've caught me unprepared, considering the things I've been through for these past months. I thought I would have enough time to discuss it with you, heh."
A slight awkward chuckle escaped him as he blushed from embarrassment in the situation. Hal wasn't sure if they had to name the child right away or be given some time before release.

It's true, while the father of child was a concern for him, he had not thought of a name for them. As guilty as he felt, it was low priority giving the situation he was in.

"You idiot..." Emma muttered under breath as she continued recording, though not heard from the couple, it was definitely captured on video.

[Gundam Revival GM]

Natalya thought for a moment, just as unprepared as Hal when it came to naming the new born baby boy. Her mind raced as names she'd heard all her life passed by, filling her mind with faces from her past. As her friends and family filled her mind, she saw one person that was as important to her as Hal was to her now...

"Lucien," she said with a smile to Hal, "Lucien Elmmerich"
She watched for Hal's reaction, before he got a change instead saying, "it was my father's name."

She smiled awkwardly at Hal, hoping he would approve.

[Hal]

Hal pondered many notions during that short moment of contemplation. Names for the child as well as other elements were creeping into his mind. Also, the growing threat of those 'aliens' he had experienced all too recently were beginning to cause him some concern. Much was to be done to ensure the protection of those he loved.

His attention snapped back to Natalya at the mention of the name. Silently he nodded in approval to the name, but then his eyes went wide for a moment. Slight crimson of embarassment rushed over his cheeks only to be washed over by a tearing joy. It even caught Emma by surprise, as she lost her grip on the recorder for a moment.

"A great name for him..." Hal said, choking a little. A stray tear was escaped the corner of his eye. "...and it looks like you've beaten me to the punch. Things are moving much faster then I had anticipated, but for traditional sake."

Emma quickly realized something and quickly began to rummage in her nearby pack.

Quickly, he stood up and composed himself as he pushed his glasses up. He slid down to one knee and grasp her hands with his own. "Natalya, will you..."

"Hal!" Emma said as she tossed a small box to him. He caught it in one hand and deftly opened it with that hand. Inside was a platinum ring with a large emerald inset.

"E? This is..." Hal said in surprised.

"She's worth it..." Emma said with a wink. "....as you were. We'll talk later." She quickly said before she hid behind the recorder.

Hal realized it and cleared his throat before turning back to Natalya, his one hand stretching out to offer the ring while his other grasp her own tenderly. "Natalya, will you marry me?"

[Gundam Revival GM]

Natlya's green eyes lit up as she saw Hal blush. As his blood flowed to his cheeks, so did hers. She began to feel light-headed, tired from giving birth and overcome with emotion.
"A great name for him..." he said to her.

She went to speak, but felt weak. Her lips part, but no words come out. She watched as Hal stood and pushed his glasses up. Her eyes closed for only a moment and when they open again, she stared at a ring with and emerald the same color as her eyes.

You dummy... she thought as her eyes began to close again.
"...ask me again when I'm not so ti..." is all she could get out before falling completely asleep. It was only moments later when she began to snore, the whole time still holding Hal's hand.

[Hal]

Hal was shocked for a moment, but it took but a moment for his rational brain to kick in. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly and calmly. Gently he placed her hand back on her chest. He brushed a few stray hairs from her face before tapping the sweat off her with a cloth from the linen drawer of the room. In an aloof mood, he stared at her sleeping form, unphased by the buzzing snore she had that cut through the silence.

Emma packed his recorder away and approached Hal from behind, placing a hand on his shoulder. "She's been through a lot. Let's let her rest. Come...." She said in a inkling of command in it, guiding his person an attention away from Natalya. They left the room to the slight bustle of the hospital. Once they were far enough away from the door, they stopped.

The man said as he was turning to Emma. "E, I need you to....*SLAP!*" Hal was cut off by the quick loud sting to his cheek that raised some attention in the area. His gazed looked to Emma as she returned the gaze with that of anger slowly being quenched with a torrential of tears from her face.

"How could you do this?!" She quietly screamed at him. "For five months, you had us worried like crazy! I did what I could to keep her spirits going, we had nothing short of hope to keep going. From the Pirates to that Guyver Relic-thingy to that crazy Black Hole Fog, I've watched you go into danger and it not never got anymore difficult then it did, until now..."

"E...." Hal said in a concerned tenderness. His attempted to embraced was met with some resistance, as Emma softly beat on his chest which was abandoned into quiet sobbing. "...I was fine. Though our escape plan was compromised, I had Razel with me. I am sorry to make you and Natalya worry so much. It is because I can fight and make a difference to this world. I...want to change the name in our family line into something more...positive."

After a good few moments of a quiet embrace, Emma calmed down as Hal released his embrace for her. His focus return into a seriousness, though trying to be comforting to her. "Emma...." Hal said as he tried to look directly into her watered eyes. "...I need you to be strong for me and Natalya. There is much I have to do for this conflict in space. When you, Natalya, and the baby are able, request an escort to England. Speak to the Queen if you have to. I want all of you as close as possible to protect you. I don't want to be any farther then I have to."

"Promise?" Emma cracked out with a hint of joyful optimism.

"I promise..." Hal said with a enthusiastic nod.

"Then get going, you dummy..." Emma said with a gentle pushed. "...Go and save the world for us..."

Hal needed no words to respond as shot her a serious look of acknowledgement and then rushed back to his refuel and repaired Mobile Suit to get back to the Earth.