Michiru began to play, letting her soul soar free with her music, releasing her doubts and her worry and her pain as Haruka joined her. Their spirits twined, the combined chords of their song lifting them on wings they never knew they had. At that instant, her violin's sparkling voice joining her partner's piano, Michiru could see into her beloved Haruka's very soul, and she cried at the intensity and wonder she found there. They connected, their music bringing them as close mentally as their lovemaking brought them physically, and both women finally understood why they were fighting over their daughter's fate. And both surrendered. Michiru opened her eyes as their song ended, lowering her violin to the stool by her side, eyes never leaving her wife. Haruka, wearing the navy tuxedo Michiru liked so much, stood from her piano, emerald eyes full of the love Michiru had missed so much. "God, Haruka," Michiru whispered in her mind, "why didn't we do this sooner? I miss you so much." "I'm sorry," Haruka purred, wrapping her arms around her pregnant wife. "I never meant . . . I never wanted to hurt you. I'm sorry I'm so damn stubborn." "A week of sleeping alone I can deal with. Living without you I would never survive. I love you too much for that, Ruka." "Kami-sama, Michi. I love you, too. Both of you." As their lips met, the crowd of the small diner cheered, having absolutely no idea why the pair suddenly embraced, only knowing that they had not been the same harmonious couple when they walked onto the stage earlier that afternoon. Haruka pulled away, tears in her eyes, resting one hand on Michiru's swollen belly. "You know, I bet she'll be a fantastic musician." Michiru laughed, wiping the tears from her own eyes. "I hope she's just like you, Ruka," she whispered. "From what I heard from my mother, you and she could be twins." Haruka raised an eyebrow at Michiru's mental comment, shaking her head as the pair turned back to the crowd. "Thank you all for coming tonight," the blonde smiled. "This will be our last concert for some time, since our daughter is expected to make an appearance within the week. One year ago today, Michiru and I stood on this stage, playing the exact same song, and I stood here and asked her to be my bride. It doesn't seem like an entire year has passed, but . . . this has been the best year of my life, and it started right here. There is no better place for Michiru and I to say goodbye to the music world for a while." One of the patrons, an elderly woman who sat with her husband, three daughters, three sons-in-law, and seven grandchildren, stood up, smiling at the musicians. "Ten'ou-san, Kaiou-san, I know I speak for everyone here when I say, good luck with your daughter." The musicians exited the diner, Haruka carrying Michiru's violin, among cheers from the people who had listened to the duo for so long. Michiru was crying when Haruka helped her into the car, and Haruka wiped the tears off her wife's cheek. "What?" "I'm just . . . I missed this, Ruka." "What?" Michiru reached over and laid her hand over Haruka's heart, sapphire eyes shining. "This," she whispered. The link. Haruka closed her eyes for a moment, smiling as she realized that the bond she had shared with her partner from the day she accepted her henshin stick was back, and she hadn't really been sure that it was ever gone. "Me, too." Without another word needed, Haruka started the convertible and headed home. The Sea Senshi leaned back in the seat, wind whipping through her hair, letting her mind drift back over the years. Haruka had been so much a part of her life that she couldn't imagine being without her. Smiling, she placed a hand on her belly, feeling her daughter's restless kicking. She had been kicking every time Haruka was around recently, and Michiru wondered if she was trying to get her mothers to get back together. Groaning, Michiru sat up and rubbed her aching back. "Michi?" "It's just my back. It has been hurting nonstop all day and no amount of medication has helped." "Michiru! You know you're not supposed to take too many pills!" "I didn't know what else to try," she whispered. "I can't exactly reach it very well." By myself. Haruka closed her mouth, turning off the main road and heading to the park. They stopped near a grove of some of the oldest trees in the park, and Haruka carefully lifted her wife out of the car. "Come on." The two wandered down the dirt paths, Michiru nestled safely in Haruka's arms, and the blonde stopped underneath one of the cherry trees. Smiling, she helped Michiru sit under the pink branches, joining her on the soft grass. Closing her eyes, Haruka laid one hand on her wife's belly and one on the base of her spine, right above the painful spot. The Sea Senshi gasped as a gold glow enveloped Haruka's hands, and the pain faded as it did. "Haruka!" "Feel better?" Michiru nodded, eyes wide. "I thought Hotaru was the one with healing powers." "There was nothing wrong with you, Michi. Our daughter was just trying to get my attention. As soon as she sensed that you and I were together again, she let go." "She has that much power? Haruka, what are we going to do?" Haruka leaned against the tree and pulled Michiru into her arms. "I don't know," she admitted, running her fingers through her wife's aqua tresses. "We don't know who she'll become, but it really doesn't matter yet. We could start discussing names." "Ruka, we already did." "Yes, but not since you informed me that our daughter was my mother. We haven't really . . . talked recently. Do you have any ideas?" "I like Masako. Or Megumi." "How about Noriko? Or Chiyoko?" Michiru laughed, her light voice music to Haruka's ears. "I definitely like –ko ending names." Haruka grinned. "Akiko? Keiko? Yuriko?" "Shioko? Mameko?" "Kazeko?" Michiru turned around, blue eyes serious. "It's up to you, love," she whispered, the playful banter from a moment ago gone. "I named Helios, you can name her." Haruka lapsed into silence, the thought of her mother darkening her spirits. Memories of the end of the Silver Millennium filled her mind, and she closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. "Michiru, maybe we should . . ." She trailed off, straightening and pulling her wife closer protectively as a very familiar and unappreciated tingle vibrated along her spine. "Shimatta," she growled, pulling Michiru behind the tree. A very familiar black wraith floated into the small clearing, red eyes searching for the power it sensed a moment earlier. "Oh no," Michiru whispered, face completely white. "How did it find us?" "I don't know." Haruka quickly summoned the other senshi, glancing down the dirt path. "Can you make it back to the car, Michiru?" "Not a chance. And I can't drive the damn thing this pregnant." "I'll go with you, then." "No! Haruka, you have to go fight it, stall for time." Michiru placed a finger over Haruka's mouth, shaking her head. "I promised myself months ago that I wouldn't let my pregnancy endanger the world or our princess. You can't protect me and let the world suffer." Haruka sighed, her henshin stick appearing in her hand. "I hate it when you're right. Okay. Stay here and stay out of sight. If you try to make it to the car, those damn wraiths will most likely find you. I'll take care of these shadows and then I'll take you back home." She grinned, the mischievous glint back in her eye. "We still have to think of a name for the next generation." Moments later, Sailor Uranus jumped into the clearing, emerald eyes challenging the single shadow wraith. It grinned as a dozen of its friends joined the fight, and Uranus found herself suddenly very outnumbered. Sailor Jupiter and Mercury appeared a moment later, followed by Mars, Venus, Moon, and Tuxedo Kamen. Pluto was late, Saturn by her side, and Michiru found herself searching for Sailor Moonlight. Where did the newest senshi get herself to, and why wasn't she with Pluto? Uranus dodged one of the wraith's energy balls, grinning as she sent her own back, eliminating a pair of the creatures. "Where's Neptune?" Jupiter asked, falling back beside the leader of the Outer Senshi as Saturn raised a quick shield. The Senshi gathered around the tree, turning to Uranus for the answer as the wraiths tripled in number. Uranus glanced over her shoulder, and the others nodded, knowing that their pregnant member was safer away from the battle. A dark laugh interrupted their thoughts as a very familiar and very unwanted Shadow Queen appeared in the air above her minions. "Well, there you are, Sailor Uranus. Where have you been these past four months? I thought my constant attacks would draw out the expecting mothers, but I only get you. Where's the pregnant brat?" "Far away from you," Uranus spat. "You'll never lay a finger on her." "I always get what I want. Shadows, attack!" As the wraiths swarmed forward, Saturn dropped her shield and the senshi returned to battle. Michiru watched from her hiding place, tears in her eyes as her wife and friends faced the danger alone. Every time one of the senshi eliminated a wraith, the Dark Queen waved her hand and easily created another. Even Eternal Sailor Moon's attack was useless. Michiru pulled the Aqua Mirror into her hand as she desperately searched for the newest senshi, but all her talisman showed was a brilliant silver light. "Where are you? They need you, Ailan," she whispered. She returned her attention to the battle, her brilliant sapphire eyes following her beloved as more and more wraiths appeared. Uranus was holding her own, but unlike her wife, she had never really fought alone before. She kept glancing to one side, expecting her partner to be there, but Neptune was no where to be found. Michiru found her henshin stick in her hand at one point, and she clenched her fists, refusing the transformation. Haruka was only trying to protect her. "Where is she?!" the Dark Queen roared. "You blasted senshi always travel in packs! Where is the one who broke my laws?" "She is safe," Uranus hissed. "You will never hurt her." And then the dark queen laughed, raising her hands above her head, black energy sparkling from her fingers. "Foolish child! I don't have to kill her to eliminate your child." She threw the gathered lightning at Uranus, and the tall Outer, alone at the edge of the battling wraiths and senshi, countered with a golden ball of her own power, raising her arms as the energy breezed past her attack and headed for her. "Deep Submerge!!" All eyes turned to the tree as Neptune joined her wife, her blue attack reflecting the lightning toward the wraiths clustered under the Dark Queen, her pregnancy painfully obvious. The Dark Queen smiled as the senshi gathered around their expecting member, instinctively trying to protect her and her child. "Are you okay, Ruka?" Uranus sighed. "I told you to stay hidden. She's after you." "At the moment it looked like she was after you. I will not let our daughter grow up without you, my love." Neptune suddenly clenched her fists, pain crossing her face. "Oh, no." Uranus's eyes widened. "Not now," she hissed. "Anytime but now!" "I don't have a say in this," the Sea Senshi pointed out. "She's ready and she couldn't care less what's going on out here." The Dark Queen threw her next attack and her next wave of minions at the group, and Uranus pulled her wife back as their fellow senshi counterattacked. "Mars Flame Sniper!" "Jupiter Oak Evolution!" "Venus Love and Beauty Shock!" "Mercury Aqua Rhapsody!" "Dead Scream!" Uranus pointed Neptune toward the trees and the pair began to make their escape, praying that their enemy would ignore them. The Dark Queen was not so easily fooled. Shifting her gaze, she threw one of her strongest lightning attacks at Neptune, determined to end that threat once and for all. Neptune and Uranus turned at the last instant, both sensing the attack but both knowing that they could never counter. Uranus did the only thing she could; she jumped in front of her wife. "HARUKA!!!" "Silence of the New Moon!!"
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