Switch (Part 1)

"No."

Relena had not seen that coming over the course of the day. She was standing beside Zeches, in the middle of Quatre's living room, with Heero not letting Zeches take her. After finding out about the possibly fake test, she and Dorothy were prepared to take tests. However?

Space was different. Earth was different. They could take the test but it said right on the packaging, it could not guarantee results to anyone that had lived less than three years in space.

Quatre had then made the brief recommendation, more to be polite than accepted, that he could have his doctor examine them. Heero didn't even need to say a thing.

RTL could have threatened someone his doctor loved. They could easily do it, they had the resources to move on any threat. Deciding there was no choice but Earth pregnancy tests, Heero gave control of a secure line to her.

Zeches came with cheap tests, but also with the will to have his own personal doctor examine her, and Heero was fighting him on the point. "My doctor's go through rigorous training and trusted trials. He has taken care of me for years, and I trust his judgment. She needs to be looked at and confirmed by a trustworthy doctor."

"No one is trustworthy if RTL gets to them." Heero wouldn't hear of it. "No."

"Relena," Zeches looked toward her. "I did locate imported pregnancy tests, but it will do little good. They are emergency tests and only for evaluation purposes. It says right on the boxes that an Earth test taken to outer space will not give accurate results either."

That way too? To take an accurate Earth pregnancy test, the test had to stay on Earth. "No wonder we couldn't find any imported." She looked back toward Heero. Was there any other choice? Short of going back to the Earth. With quarantine happening, that would take time, unless Zeches knew of an isolated and safe path. "We have to trust somewhere, Heero."

"Not there." Simple, secure words. Heero wasn't backing down. "Any doctor by you means he also used to work for the alliance, for Oz, and anything else you ever worked for."

"One exam, and this could all be cleared up. Relena could be out of this mess," Zeches insisted.

"One exam, and a negative could become positive," Heero came right back with.

"No, it can't. You would need the best luck there is without whatever technology RTL had been using, and you've already proved that it is flawed," Zeches pointed out.

"It's still a chance."

"She can't be out like this with a previous gundam pilot, it's going to get her killed!"

"I am watching out for her. She isn't going to get killed. Going to a doctor is not happening."

"Fine then, then I will take her and do my best to get through the quarantine sections," Zeches insisted. "It will take at least five days to crawl through it safely."

"No."

"Then what do you want to do?" Zeches demanded. "She needs a doctor. She needs to be accurately tested. You can't get any of that here."

"Zeches is right, Heero," Quatre sided with him. "We need to trust someone or wait until they are undeniably pregnant. We have to make it back down to Earth."

"Where on Earth? Places I know aren't safe anymore."

Relena watched Quatre's movements. He didn't seem comfortable with the question Heero threw at him. He'd rather we all go back to Earth than with Zeches' doctor. 

"This is utterly ridiculous," Zeches spoke up. "Quatre Raberba Winner, you have your own doctor, do you not?"

"We just need a blood test," Quatre pointed out to them. "That's it. If we watch the doctors draw blood and perform the blood test, it should be good enough. My doctors have their own lab, it won't take long." He looked toward Dorothy. "Would that be fine, Miss Dorothy?"

Dorothy nodded. "That sounds fine, Mister Winner. As long as it stays that simple."

Okay. "I agree then," Relena said.

"At first," Zeches added. "If it's negative, then you need to be examined physically to get the press and media off of your reputation and good name."

"With an eyewitness." Heero just had to drop that into the conversation.

"If she's negative, I can handle it from there," Zeches insisted firmly to Heero. Heero's eyes didn't back down from his.

"If she's negative, then I won't risk her becoming positive during an exam. Full hospitals on Earth, the colonies, her personal physician with suspicions of nearby pharmacies and stores have all been involved with Revenge of the Lost. Revenge of the Lost has Support of the Loss' budget and loyalty of members." Heero made the point clear. "They can be anywhere."

"I can be in the room with you, Miss Relena," Dorothy volunteered. "Would that be suitable for everyone?"

"That should work," Quatre agreed, but Heero looked skeptical. "Heero. She's pregnant too."

"She hadn't always been on the right side." Heero glanced at her.

"Are you kidding?" Oh, Dorothy was certainly offended. "I would not falsify watching someone hurt Miss Relena! I never would do such a thing, even during the wars." She turned her back on Heero. "We are all in this terrible predicament together, and I only want to help her. After all, who will watch her, Heero Yuy? Will it be her own brother in that room, you, or both of you?"

"Me," Heero answered.

"You are not needed in that room, I can handle it," Zeches told Heero. "A personal matter does not involve an amateur."

"If something goes wrong, Relena and I are the ones that pay," Heero came right back on him.

"Okay, enough," Quatre interrupted. "First things first. Everyone can be present with a blood exam. If it's positive, then there's no reason to argue the second point. If it's negative, then the argument between the three of you can continue privately."

Agreed.

------------------------------

Not long after talking to Quatre's doctor, they got the next set of bad news.

A blood test would also be different in space.

"This is beginning to border on ridiculous," Dorothy said, confronting Quatre's doctor. "Fine then, don't do Relena. Do mine, I've lived here three years."

"Uh?" Quatre stayed quiet and watched the doctor. They all did.

"I qualify, so please test me." She curtsied. "Tell me if I'm bearing the next Winner please."

The doctor didn't look any better. At all. He looked even worse and started to sweat. "It's not my specialty field? I'd rather not do it."

"I knew it," Heero spoke up. "You've been threatened by RTL."

"Only if something medically comes through about pregnancy," he said. "I have an ex-wife on Earth." He looked toward the ground. "Mister Winner, it's usually more of a political jargon about the difference in the tests. There's more room for error, but not a high degree."

"Political. Hmph, of course." Zeches nodded. "If someone from Earth gets a wrong readout in the colonies, it goes against them if something happens because she thought she wasn't pregnant. Is that closer to the truth?" A nod. "How accurate. Over 90%?"

"Between . . . 80-90 roughly. That is a guess and it's not legal." He looked toward Quatre. "Am I fired?"

"No," Quatre said. "You are protecting the people you love, but you didn't falsify evidence. Thank you. You're dismissed." Quatre looked back at the others as the doctor left. "80-90. It isn't perfect."

 "Fine then. Relena, we are going back down to Earth," Zeches insisted.

"Forget it, traveling with more people creates too many eyes," Heero said.

"I will bring her back if it's positive."

"Through a quarantine, you wouldn't be briskly doing that."

Oh no. Relena watched Heero's expression. That would not work. Between Zeches and Heero, I feel so blocked. Positive. Negative. Unable to go back.

"Just give us one of the tests here," Dorothy insisted, holding her hand out toward Quatre. "If Relena is negative, Zeches can take her to Earth to make sure it's negative. If Relena is positive, she stays here and waits for Earth until it's safe. I'll take one to have a better idea at least."

"Fine, I can agree with that," Zeches settled on. "However, she will still go down to Earth and take another test when it's safer."

"It sounds like the best plan, Heero," Quatre mentioned to him.

"Except for Dorothy. You're not going to let her go to Earth easily. You did hear from Trowa about that," Heero remarked.

Trowa? What about Trowa?

"Yeah." That's all Quatre said as he looked at Dorothy "I'll trust in the results, Dorothy. If it's positive, we'll assume positive. If it's negative? I think it would be best if you still stay, as my personal guest, until we know without a doubt."

Dorothy seemed a tad concerned about that conversation too. "I would be pleased to stay as a guest to the luxurious Winner estates until it was safe to travel back to Earth."

Good going, Dorothy. She had managed to get Quatre to crack his secret seal a tad bit more.

"You don't have to worry about that," Quatre said. "You are a target of RTL, and it would be best if you just stay safe until your name is cleared."

"You would defend me even if you thought I had no Winner connection to you anymore?" She questioned. "My, that's almost too graceful Mister Quatre Raberba Winner."

They were hiding something, but they were always hiding something. At least Dorothy got a little more confirmation, but it didn't look like anyone was spilling. Heero held out a test box to her. Relena took it, knowing there was no more putting it off. "I better get this done then."

"Feel free to use any restroom," Quatre said politely as he handed Dorothy her own package too.

A few minutes later . . .

Relena came from the bathroom she had gone too. It looked like Dorothy was coming back too.

"80-90% accuracy," Zeches repeated to her. "The test, Relena."

"It's still a high accuracy," Quatre said as he looked at Dorothy. "Well?"

"The lottery of life has not always been kind to me." Dorothy held up her test. It had two lines.

"Is that negative or positive?" Quatre asked. "Miss Dorothy?"

"Well?" Dorothy glanced at Relena. "One or two lines, Miss Relena? Are we twins?"

"Twins?" Quatre's voice rose. "The test can't detect that, can it?"

"No," Zeches answered. "She is rattling you."

Relena held her test up with one line.

"That means." Quatre stared at Dorothy. "Yours was successful."

"A proud father you still seem to be. Heero Yuy must be absolutely jealous." Dorothy didn't smirk. "Congratulations, Miss Relena. It seems you will be getting your life back."

"The sooner we get going, the better," Zeches said. "Come, Relena."

Relena looked toward Heero. "Thank you for your help, Heero."

"One week and one week only," Heero instructed her. "We meet back at Saint Gabriel's Institute. Don't forget it's not completely accurate, so do not take any risks."

Relena nodded. "I promise."