Michiru slept peacefully for the first time in a week since Setsuna was finally awake. Very few people realized the close relationship between the Outers affected their mental state when one was sick or injured. Michiru had been so sick with worry over the woman who had been like an older sister or a mother to her in the past years that Haruka wondered if Michiru would end up in bed, too. Haruka leaned against the doorway and just watched her, amazed that such perfection was hers. She was grateful to whatever miracle brought them together, and she never wanted this period of peace to end. "You're very lucky." Haruka looked up as Setsuna spoke from the doorway beside her. The green haired woman was still weak from her long sleep, but she stood under her own power and refused to show any sign that the last weak even happened. "I know, Setsuna-san. What about Ailan-san?" A smile of purest joy lit Setsuna's face, a smile Haruka had never seen before. "She's decided to stay, Haruka-san, for as long as she lives. I can't tell you how happy that makes me. She asked me to become a partner in Moonlight Fashions, and I've agreed. It's always been my dream to design clothes, though the little I do for you two and Hotaru-chan is all I've been able to amange so far. It looks like we'll get to have the life here that we were never allowed in the Silver Millennium. She promised to be with me forever." "I hope you're happy." Setsuna smiled as she left, closing the door behind her. "Because I am," Haruka added, slipping out of her robe and sliding into bed beside her lover and wife. Michiru automatically rolled over and nestled into Haruka's arms. "I never want to lose you," Haruka whispered to the aqua-haired woman in her arms. "Never." *~*~*~*~*~*~* "Just tell me what's wrong!" "Calm down, Michiru-san!" Ami laughed as she scribbled notes on her pad, glancing over her shoulder to see of her friends were finished with the lab work. Since the genius had been able to advance very quickly through med school, she was already poised to become a real doctor and was interning under one of the more successful gynecologists in Tokyo. She was also learning to deliver and care for babies, her passion. However, when Michiru visited her gynecologist to see why her body was acting up, the woman had been unavoidably detained delivery triplets, and Ami was allowed to do the tests on her friend. She never lost her professional manner, even amid the excitement, and Michiru knew she'd make a great doctor someday. "Michiru-san, has this ever happened before?" The aqua-haired woman thought a moment, glancing at her wife as Ami adjusted her reading glasses. "Well, once. When I was younger, I had one year where my hormone levels were really bad and I missed three or four periods, I think. The doctor said that it was just a phase that I would grow out of, but it might come back. Do you think it could be that?" "We're checking." "You don't think it could be something else . . . something worse?" Ami patted Michiru's arm, smiling kindly. "Don't get worried. These things happen. Everyone misses a period now and then. I really don't know why you came in the first place." Michiru glared at her wife, and Haruka raised her hands defensively. "Hey! I was worried! You've always been perfectly regular, and my body readjusted to your clock, so when you're off, my hormones go crazy. Besides, Ami-chan, she wouldn't let me sleep with her last night." The blue-eyed genius blushed, sticking her head out the door to get the test results as Michiru lightly punched her wife. Haruka feigned pain as Ami returned, studying the results. Makoto, who had stayed silent at Ami's reaction to Haruka's comment, glanced up from her book for a moment. She was stretched out on the couch in the corner that was supposed to be reserved for the patients but belonged to the senshi of Jupiter while she waited for Ami to finish. Sometimes she studied, but often she just read for fun, mostly ignoring the events around her. "Don't worry; Ami knows what you're talking about." And then everything started to go wrong. Ami gasped, the papers fluttering to the floor as she collapsed against the counter, staring at Michiru. Her sapphire eyes were wide, one hand covering her mouth. Makoto dropped her book and dashed to Ami's side, gathering the papers the water senshi had dropped. "What is all of this saying, Ami?" "It's impossible! There's no explanation . . . this can't have happened!" "What, Ami? What couldn't have happened?" Ami turned to look at Michiru. "She's . . . pregnant." Michiru fainted. Haruka caught the Sea Senshi before she hit the ground, easily lifting her and laying her on the couch Makoto had recently vacated. She touched Michiru's cheek, knowing that she would not have normally fainted, reaching for her wife with her mind. She placed a hand on Michiru's belly and gasped as a power answered hers, a faint spark of consciousness responding to her light probe. Haruka looked up at the genius, green eyes no longer distant. "Ami-chan, how can that be? How is this possible? When could it have happened?" Haruka's mind flew back to the night of her wedding, and she blushed beet-red as she suddenly recognized the burst of power that filled the room that night. "Oh," she whispered. She glared at Makoto as the brunette burst out laughing, the look of pure guilt on Haruka's face so strange that she couldn't help it. "I'm sorry, Haruka-san! When . . . when did this happen?" "Our wedding night," she whispered. "That's why Setsuna returned our memories so suddenly. She didn't want this to happen again." "Again?" Makoto's mind automatically flew to the Silver Millennium, and she swallowed. "I remember the huge burst of power from the outer planets that made our Keystones join the crystals of our planets in the Silver Millennium. Did that have anything to do with you?" Haruka smiled. "Yes. That was the night we conceived Helios." "Helios?! He's your child?" Before Haruka could answer the two Inners, Michiru groaned and opened her eyes, closing them instantly at the worry evident in her lover's stance. "I wasn't dreaming. Oh no. She's going to kill us." "She'll kill me. It was my fault, in any case." Michiru opened her eyes and took Haruka's hand, placing in on her flat belly. "I almost can't believe it. We never got a chance with Helios, and I wanted to raise him with you. This child is our second chance, a baby we can raise together." "I know how much you've wanted a child of your own." Michiru grinned. "Actually, I always wanted to have a child of yours. I'm very greedy, you see. Maybe some part of me remembered Helios and wanted to give him a . . . a what? A brother? A sister?" "Genetically speaking," Ami interrupted gently, "it would only be possible for you to have a girl. You don't have the chromosomes for a son." "What about Helios?" Ami shrugged. "Not having been there, I really can't say. But there was a lot more power in this Solar System during the Silver Millennium, and maybe the planets, newly freed from their sleep, had the strength to make a male whose destiny it was to guard the Golden Crystal. It had to be a boy, since the Golden Crystal—unlike the crystals of the other planets—only recognizes male guardians and rulers. If the Universe needs something, it will find a way to create it." Michiru rolled her eyes at the long explanation, sitting up. "Ami-chan, are you sure about this?" Glancing over her shoulder to make sure none of her friends or colleagues were coming, Ami pulled out her computer and scanned the senshi. "Your energy readings indicate a second, very small and very weak pulse inside you. You are most definitely pregnant, and there doesn't seem to be any problems that would keep you from coming to term. Though, I have no basis for comparison. With the exception of Usagi, we have no idea if any of the senshi ever have or will have children. Our memories of the visit with our future selves are sketchy, but I remember no daughters. And there is the added danger of this Guardian of the Balance that has Setsuna-san so worked up." Haruka wrapped her free arm around Michiru's waist. "I won't let any of Her servants hurt you, Michiru." Michiru sighed, knowing better than to respond. "Setsuna is going to kill us." *~*~*~*~*~*~* Ailan smiled at Setsuna as they glanced at their newest sketches. "I don't know, Setsu-chan. This one looks suspiciously like the dress you wore to the last dance." "Well, maybe." Setsuna pulled out another pile, watching as shock spread across her partner's face. "I drew all of the dresses from the last ball. I thought they might be interesting." "We'll see what we can do." Both women looked up as Haruka and Michiru returned home, four younger senshi following in their wake. Setsuna stood up as the senshi sat on the couches in pairs, all avoiding her eyes. Rei looked at Minako, Makoto looked at Ami, and Ami looked up at the married couple. Unlike the other five, Minako didn't seem uncomfortable or worried; her eyes reflected utter joy, though she kept them pointed at the ground. "What happened?" Michiru reached for Haruka, who clasped her hand in both of hers. The aqua-haired senshi swallowed convulsively, her free hand on her flat belly. Setsuna's garnet eyes widened as the Neptunian Princess looked at her, sapphire eyes incredibly worried. Her voice, when she spoke, could not have drowned out a little kitten's first cry. "Setsuna," she whispered, pausing for a moment to wet her lips. "I'm pregnant." Setsuna's legs gave out, some small part of her brain registering the jolt of pain that shot through her as her body hit her chair. Incredulous, she summoned her Time Staff, pulling the Garnet Orb into her hands and staring into it. A golden-haired girl stared back. "It's a girl," Haruka added, knowing it was unnecessary. "I'm sorry." Setsuna looked up sharply, the Garnet Orb vanishing. "Sorry? For her? Why?" "It was my fault. It just . . . happened, right before you returned our memories. I know that you wanted to prevent this, and I guess this is probably one of the reasons you're in trouble with the Guardian of the Balance. I'm sorry that we got you in trouble." Setsuna looked at Ailan, smiling as she looked back up at the married couple. "I'm not upset," the Senshi of Time smiled. "I'm happy for both of you. I don't care anymore what the Guardian of Balance wants. Your daughter is the reason the old queens were afraid to let the powers of Uranus and Neptune combine; the possibilities are endless for the daughter of two senshi. After all, Usagi is the first Sailor Moon ever to power up to Eternal, and she's going to be the Queen of the Earth and the Moon. Your daughter could be anything. And I'm proud of you." Michiru's eyes filled with tears. "Really? You're not angry?" "No," Setsuna whispered. "No." She jumped up and took two steps, pulling the two women into her arms. "I wasn't angry then and I'm not angry now. I am so happy." Minako cleared her throat. "So, if Setsuna-san isn't going to kill you, can we celebrate?" Michiru smiled, raising one eyebrow as her stomach growled. "Oh, can that celebration involve food? I'm hungry." "What do you mean, you're hungry?" Haruka glared at her wife as Setsuna stepped back, and the smaller woman crossed her arms over her chest. "Well, I am eating for two now. Though I still bet you could out-do me any day of the week." "Hey!" Setsuna felt Ailan wrap her slender arms around her waist, the silver-haired woman resting her chin on Setsuna's shoulder. "There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Setsuna smiled. "I really am happy, Ailan. When I learned about Helios not long before his parents died, I was so upset, and it took me a long time to learn that I was only upset because Michiru and Haruka died, not because they conceived a child. And Michiru has always wanted to be a mother." "I think maybe this is why Balance was so angry at you." "I don't care. She can't have this child. We'll protect their daughter, Ailan. No matter what."
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