Disclaimer: I don't Gundam Wing, or the characters from Gundam Wing. The day I own GW is the day I will win an award for director of the year for animating this series. *sweat drop*

Warnings: Some violence, some cursing, and possible gore, so it's a smorgasbord of who-knows what. Pairings: Definitely non-yaoi, 100%! (inside joke with the percentage) Surprises: Hopefully enough twists to make you crazy. :P Genre/Categories: Sci-fi (most definitely), drama, some amount of action, and occasional humor.

Gundam Wing: Phases of Memory Phase 06-Degrees of Happiness By Sailor Celaeno

Quatre was waiting at the airport with Dorothy. The flight from the moon was due to arrive in a few minutes. Quatre was nervous, and Dorothy had a small bag with some gifts to make their guest feel welcome. "I hope it won't be late." Dorothy smiled. She found it endearing that Quatre was so worried about Liam. "Just like a dad." she mused inwardly. Quatre naturally had no experience being a mentor, much less a guardian to a child young enough to be his baby brother. But he owed a great deal to Esmeralda and it would be unthinkable and not do everything in his power to fulfill her last request. Just as he about to express his worry again, he saw him. The boy was just as Esmeralda had described. The boy had such lovely eyes, eyes that emanated the kindness and truth that Esmeralda's had when she was young and happy. He had reddish hair, no doubt inherited from his father, Andrew Pryde. Andrew Pryde was a womanizing playboy who broke hearts everywhere. The Pryde family would never consent to sending Liam more money than was legally required by the courts. Eddie was married with two children of his own. They would inherit the Pryde family fortune, while Liam would be the unacknowledged son. Quatre had his suspicions Eddie had more children like Liam, but it was certainly a fact that Liam deserved a better father than Andrew. Liam was with a nanny that Esmeralda's cousin, Delilah Winthrop had hired. Mrs. Baines was very qualified, and Quatre had no objection to having her stay with Liam. The young five-year-old was wearing an amazingly neat set of clothes. It was as though Liam was dressed like a young version of Quatre. He wore a buttoned down shirt, and a pair of khaki dress slacks. Dorothy had an amused smile on her face. She giggled inwardly with mirth at such an adorable sight. It was as though Mrs. Baines had dressed the young boy to emulate Quatre. Liam held onto Mrs. Baines' hand as he was accustomed to. He stared at his young guardian, and the lady next to him. "Hello, Mr. Winner," Mrs. Baines shook hands with her new employer. "It's wonderful to see that you and Liam arrived safely," replied Quatre. "Hello sir," Liam quietly said. Quatre squatted down to Liam's eye-level. "You can call me Quatre." "Okay, Quatre sir." Quatre, Mrs. Baines, and even Dorothy started to laugh. Liam stared at the taller people uncertain of what to do. Dorothy walked over and politely bent towards Liam. "Do you like lollipops?" "Uh-huuuuh." Liam said quietly. Dorothy smiled, "What kind do you like?" "Cherry, Miss." Dorothy smiled, "Well, it just happens that I have a cherry lollipop." She pulled a bright, red lollipop from her bag and handed it to Liam. The young boy's eyes sparkled. The beautiful, red candy was very wonderful for the orphan. He unwrapped the treat and soon enjoyed the cherry flavor. Mrs. Baines let go of Liam's hand and Quatre lifted the boy into his arms. Liam was eye level with Quatre. Liam looked hard at his guardian for some moments, as if deciding what impact this stranger had on his future. Quatre felt almost breathless anticipating the child's judgment and a happy warmth such as he had never felt lightened his heart as Liam smiled at him suddenly and both of them felt the special bond between them because of Esmeralda. He was satisfied with the man. Quatre took the boy and place him in the back seat. Mrs. Baines followed with two carry-on bags. Quatre and Dorothy helped put a few more into the car before drove towards Quatre's apartment. Liam was soon relaxed in his seat. He stared at the buildings and quietly thought how nice it was to be on Earth. When Auntie Debbie took him to the planetarium, she'd always take him to the giant Earth model that he loved so much. The young boy had been sent to the Moon with Auntie Debbie since he was an infant. He was fascinated with his home world. It was large with blue and green. The top and the bottom was covered with white. Liam had never seen so much ice before. The idea of so much ice being there was amazing. He wanted to be on that blue-green ball and really see that planet. He didn't pay much attention to the conversation the grown-ups were having. He was pleased with what he saw on this planet. He was also very pleased with the wonderful lollipop slowly melting in his mouth. Finally being back on Earth and sucking on his delicious lollipop, Liam felt that all was right in his small world.

*****

Trowa walked around the hallways of the lab. He had men posted all over the building making sure everything was in order. With the occasional threat that popped up, there was nothing that suggested anything credible with the occasional threats that popped up from time to time there was certainly nothing suspicious about his covert operation. With his people keeping an eye on things elsewhere Trowa had the leisure to study Dr. Linner's habits and routine. There was one distraction however, but he told himself that she merited study as much as her mentor did. At times he even found himself paying more attention to the intriguing young woman working in the laboratory than he did to the "good doctor" himself. Her name was Mira Narkoff. She was a medical student from L3 who had the honor of working with accredited doctors. Trowa frowned. He heard the research done in regard to Linner. If everything was as true it appeared to be, then Linner was an immoral monster exploiting innocent people and their children to his own gain. Not to mention it made splinter groups within the former UESA just as monstrous. Trowa almost wanted to keep the girl away from Linner. He didn't want another Linner in the future. Mira was taking notes at her microscope like she usually did. She was checking her bacteria cultures. She had red hair and it was in long braid like Duo's. When she wasn't working, she untied her hair and the room was filled a floral scent. Trowa knew that there wasn't much reason to note that, but he couldn't help knowing her routine by heart as he did with Linner. There was something strange about her that he couldn't quite figure out. He had the strangest feeling that he knew her somehow. Mira looked up and turned around. Her eyes were boring straight into his as he stared at her. "Is something the matter Preventer Barton?" Hesitating barely a second in indecision, Trowa walked into the lab. "You just remind me of someone." A wry smile appeared on her face. "Guys tell me that more times than I can tell you." Trowa shook his head and was about to leave. "Sorry to bother you." "No. wait," she got up to stop him. "Hm?" he replied, noticing a strange urgency in the girl's voice although he could tell she was trying to conceal it. "Who is it that I seem remind you of?" Trowa kept his face expressionless as he observed her. "It was this girl I knew when I was 10." "Oh?" she returned with a tone of curiosity. "Her name was Midii." Mira had a strange feeling about that name. However she couldn't show Barton that she was bothered by that mysterious name. She had something important to do. "Weird name. Old girlfriend, I suppose?" It was Trowa's turn to smile wryly back at her. "We had a real love- hate relationship." Mira just stood there dumbfounded. She stared after Trowa. "What kind of guy is he?" She felt flustered and put away the sample. Nichola was getting more and more troubled with these weird sensations that the odd encounter with Preventer Barton were causing inside her. There was definitely something about Trowa Barton that got under her skin. She wasn't quite so sure about herself now. Could her mission get compromised because of Barton? She couldn't let that happen. Even if she was a Preventer like he was she needed self-control or else her work would be for nothing. She studied Linner and Barton. She had to know as much as she could so she could spy on the "good doctor." She had to risk it and make her move. Very soon.

*****

Liam inspected the room that Quatre had set aside for him. Quatre had talked to Mrs. Baines and had the room designed and decorated the way his room back on the Moon looked. Liam was very happy and was quite settled in. He walked over to the window and stared at the city before him. Quatre's penthouse was across the street from a great big park. Liam was amazed and had never seen such a huge place with so much greenery before. The Moon didn't have as much to see. Liam turned around and ran to Quatre. "Oh, can we go to the park?" Quatre turned to Mrs. Baines. "I'm afraid young Master Liam isn't accustomed to such large park."

Quatre turned to Liam. "I never saw such a big park before when I was little either. How about we go after lunch?" The little boy's face fell with disappointment and Quarter smiled indulgently. "I know," the blonde man said, gently tousling the boy's soft red hair. "We could take our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with us and go over right now. There's nothing better than a picnic in the park." Liam's eager smile and the exuberant squeeze he gave his guardian's hand told Quatre that his plan was definitely kid-approved.

Liam could hardly wait for the food preparation to be complete since he was getting famished now. They made their way into the park. Quatre held Liam's little hand and they walked along the paths. They saw many horse carriages trotting along. "What's this park called?"

"Central Park." They walked across the busy Central Park South. Thousands of people were in the park that day because it was the most beautiful Friday afternoon of summer. Some were businesspeople in their dress shirts. They took off early to enjoy a gloriously beautiful day. Liam was wearing shorts and a tee-shirt since it was so warm. His eyes were amazed at the sights and sounds all around him. He saw kids running into the park laughing and shouting about school being over. He saw many people with sunglasses sitting everywhere. Some were soaking up some sun. Others were sitting at tables drinking their iced coffees and reading a book. As they entered, Liam could see four men playing jazz to a crowd of listeners. Everyone clapped and even gave them money for the jam session. The trees were tall and shady. A small breeze rustled through the leaves and birds sang a summer song. Squirrels scampered all over gathering food to eat. People walked their dogs and they were happy to be outside. "When did people make this park?" Quatre thought for a moment. "About 600 years ago," he finally said. "Wow! I never something so old!" Liam was amazed that such an old park could still exist. Quatre was amazed too. He stared at the trees too. These trees have survived a great deal. Even the great battles of the Eve Wars and the Barton Rebellion. It was a testament to Nature's power. People may come and go, but Nature would always find a way to survive whenever humans disappear. Quatre meandered with Liam along a path until they heard the sound of music and children laughing. "Hey Liam, you know what those sounds mean?" Liam furrowed his brow. He knew in his heart what it meant, but couldn't remember very well. "I think it's fun." Quatre nodded and they could see some adults watching children shout for joy as they rode on horses, lions, swans, and all sorts of lovely creatures on the carousel. Liam's face lit up with joy as he saw the children having so much fun. "Can I ride? Please?" Quatre squeezed the boy's hand. "Sure. When their turn is over." Liam nodded and eagerly waited for his turn. Quatre watched the spinning carousel. The laughter of the children started to have a muted sound to it as the seconds passed. Quatre had a strange feeling. "What's going on?" There was a strange sensation washing over him as a wave of energy surged through his being. The impression was very strong. As the wave of psychic energy passed, he was turning to check on Liam. However, his heart sank and grew cold. Liam was no longer at his side!

To be continued.

AN: The preceding energy-wave episode that Quatre experienced was loosely based on John Smith from the sci-fi series "The Dead Zone." The series itself is based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. I should try reading the book someday. ^_^;;;

And another shout-out to Midii. Your participation has been invaluable. In my insane fantasies, I'll animate this, you'll be a special advisor. ^_^ BWHAHAHAHAHAHA*cough*

Next time: What just happened to Quatre? Where's Liam? Why is this happening? This and more on the other characters of our story in the next chapter. Phase 07-Dreamscape.