Turn in Events: Chapter 5

"And yet again the world was returned to a peace that has not been disturbed since," Luna finished.

"Wow. What a history. How did you keep this hidden from us? I mean all that time you were fighting evil... Not that you could answer anyway. Who would have thought such a story could put you to sleep?" Shingo laughed, looking at his sister and her fiancé asleep in each other's arms.

Luna sighed. She was not about to do any more explaining that night. She already had a sore throat from the story she had told with Artemis. Walking over to the sleeping couple, she jumped up into Mamoru's lap and cleared her throat.

Waking up with a start, Mamoru felt the weight of his fiancée’s head on his shoulder, and her cat on his lap. "I take it you're done. Thank you for everything, Luna, Artemis," he said. "Usako? Usako, wake up," Mamoru tried to rouse her, but was far from successful. Deciding to try a new tactic he had discovered thanks to Endymion, he gently kissing her on the forehead and whispered, "Usako, we have some explaining to do. Love, we'll be late for court if you don't get up."

"Huh? Mamo-chan? Oo, you're mean! No fair bring back the past," Usagi whined at the words that would always wake her up. Seeing Luna sitting on Mamoru's lap, she smiled. "Oh, I guess you're finished, huh? Our turn?" At Luna's nod, Usagi smiled and turned to her parents and brother. "Any questions on today's lesson class? I hope you didn't sleep through it, there will be a quiz sometime in the next century."

"Next century?" Shingo asked.

Usagi was surprised. Turning to her cat, she questioned, "Luna, didn't you tell them about our time with Chibi Usa, and the trip to the future?"

"I didn't see the relevance. You aren't even supposed to know about it, why should we spread the knowledge around?" Luna answered.

"Because that is the best part about everything that has happened," Usagi replied, and then began to explain her earlier statements. "Mom, Dad, Shingo, do you remember Chibi Usa?"

"Your cousin," Ikuko answered with a nod.

"Not quite," Usagi started. "She first visited us when the Dark Moon Kingdom attacked. They were after her because they believed she had the ginzoushou."

"But that belongs to you, doesn't it?" Shingo interrupted.

"To me and my family," Usagi answered. "Chibi Usa is from the future. The first time she visited here, her Time was in the middle of a war. The capital city was under attack and the King had been seriously injured. The power of the ginzoushou was protecting the city, but one day it mysteriously disappeared. The senshi were able to establish a shield around the palace, but not before the Queen was injured and trapped in a crystal. Some time after this, Sailor Pluto sent Chibi Usa back to us in order to get the help required to defeat the Dark Moon Kingdom. Several weeks later, we all returned to the future with her to find conditions much worse than when she left. We were able to defeat the enemy in both times, but also discovered some surprises about the future. Chibi Usa, daughter of the future rulers, will be our daughter, holder of the powers of the Moon."

A silence filled the room while Usagi sunk into Mamoru's embrace, welcoming the comfortable feel of it. All of this was so different. She had spent so long working to keep everything a secret, it felt almost like a violation of her privacy, even though she willingly gave up what she knew.

Usagi's thoughts were soon invaded, however, as words found their way to the lips of her family.

"So You my I'm cousin two going is to are actually be a my parents/ niece/grandma?" was the jumble of words Usagi and Mamoru heard.

"Um," Mamoru smiled. "One at a time?"

Glancing around at her family, Usagi smiled as well. "Let me try first. Yes, you will be a grandmother, Mom. Shingo, she never really was your cousin, and Dad, um, well, I didn't catch what you said," Usagi lied, his voice had been the loudest of them all, but she figured that he didn't really mean it that way.

Kenji, who, besides his outburst at the news Usagi just revealed, had been silent since vowing to keep what he learnt this evening a secret, looked at his daughter with the all the amazement and pride he was feeling clearly written across his face. "If that child is yours then you certainly have done a good job, or will do a good job... This time stuff is confusing."

Mamoru and Usagi laughed. "We've given up on keeping our tenses strait with that," Usagi said. "Thank you, Dad. Any questions?"

"Just one," Shingo said. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"We couldn't," Usagi answered bluntly.

Mamoru smiled. "What she means is that for the first few years we were fighting, and telling anyone would be too dangerous to us and them. For the next few years, we still had the threat of another attack, so it was still dangerous for it to get out. Habit has won out over the last few."

"And I'm guessing the wedding has something to do with it coming out now," Ikuko suggested.

"Actually, I brought up the idea before we were engaged, but I think this may come up at the wedding. We are hoping to have a Lunarian ceremony, just like we would have had on the Moon," Usagi said as she looked up into Mamoru's eyes and smiled.

"Who are the other senshi?" Ikuko asked, wanting to know who had joined her daughter through the hard teenage life of the senshi. "Do we know them?"

"Most of them at least," Usagi started. "The inners are Ami, Rei, Makoto, and Minako. Chibi Usa is Chibi-Moon, and Haruka, Michiru, Setsuna, and Hotaru are the outers. Oh, Taiki, Yaten, and Seiya are the Stars."

When Usagi added the Stars at the end, Mamoru unconsciously held her a little closer.

"Weren't they the Starlights?" Shingo asked. At Usagi's nod he continued, "What happened to them? They just suddenly disappeared."

"They went home. They are from another planetary system. They came here to rescue their princess and then returned home to re-build their planet. I wonder how things are going?" Usagi wondered aloud.

"I wouldn't be surprised if we find out soon enough. I'm sure they'll want to come to the wedding. They will be invited, won't they?" Ikuko said.

Mamoru, knowing Usagi wanted to know his answer as well, replied, "As long as we can get a message to them, they will be invited, though I don't know if they will make it. It's a long trip, and they may still be busy restoring their home."

In his ear, Usagi whispered, "Thank you."

"What were you saying about a Lunarian wedding?" Kenji asked, wondering how much this will cost him.

"Well, when we were planning our wedding on the Moon, we agreed to have a Lunarian wedding. Basically, all the planets have their own traditions, and normally a couple will use what is customary to their planet, but we had a problem. Inter-planetary marriages were rare, and ours was going to be extremely public. It didn't take us long to decide on the style and location of it though. Endymion had been to so many Terrain weddings he was more than willing to have a Lunarian wedding. We also agreed to hold it on the Moon as we were going to spend the next several years on Earth.

"Now we are planning on actually having the wedding, and possibly even on the Moon."

"What do you mean, having it on the Moon?" Ikuko asked.

"If we can, we'd like to have the ceremony on the Moon, but that all depends on Pluto and a few other things. Rei will perform the service as a Martian priestess, as long as we can find a copy of it. Unfortunately, most of the documents were lost when the palace fell..."

While Usagi was talking, the far corner of the room began to shimmer. When she noticed this, she stopped talking and rose to her feet, Mamoru following suit. As the shimmering form took shape, Usagi's family also stood up. Once the shimmering stopped, a transparent figure stood before them and all fell to their knees; Usagi and Mamoru out of habit, her family out of an unknown respect.

The translucent body smiled and quietly said, "Rise."

At this, Usagi jumped to her feet and rushed forward. As she moved, she transformed again into Princess Selenity and knelt again in front of the shadow. "Mother. Oh, Mother, it's so good to see you again," she cried.

"Sh, Selenity. Come now, I certainly hope you won't make such a display at your wedding. Your father hopes to attend, and this just wouldn't do. Now, where did all that work Luna put in go? I believe introductions are necessary," the glistening silver form of Queen Serenity said gently to her daughter.

"Of course," she said. Mamoru, now Endymion, had moved across the floor and helped Selenity up. "Mother, I would like you to meet my family in this lifetime. Ikuko, my mother, Kenji, my father, and Shingo, my brother. Mom, Dad, Shingo, this is my mother from on the Moon, Queen Serenity, ruler of the Moon Kingdom."

The Tsukinos then proceeded to bow and whisper a "your majesty".

Serenity laughed kindly. "Please, you don't need to do anything like that. We are like family, are we not? We both have relations to Selenity."

"I suppose we do," Ikuko answered. "But even so, being in the presence of royalty..."

"It leaves one with a need to show respect," Serenity finished. "I know the feeling. I have spent years greeting the elite class of the universe and even at the end of my reign I still found it hard to not want to bow before other rulers when they came to the Moon."

"Queen Serenity, you said something about the wedding earlier. What did you mean?" Endymion asked.

"Endymion, you know you only have to call me Serenity, the same goes to all of you. As for the wedding, Selenity's father hopes to make it to the wedding, as do your parents, Endymion. Now, my time here grows short. I must convey the message I came here with. Six years ago, your sister was re-born in this time, Endymion. Recently her memories have been resurfacing, but her future is clouded. You must face your greatest demons tomorrow, Endymion, if she is to have the future she is promised, or history will repeat itself."

"I don't understand, what do you mean?" Endymion questioned.

"I think I do," Selenity answered, sharing a knowing look with her mother. At Serenity's nod, Selenity said, "Thank you, mother. You have given us another miracle. We will do everything we can."

"I will see you in a few months then, dear. And remind Setsuna about your seventh birthday if she gives you any trouble. Goodbye, my moon bunny," Serenity said as she faded out.

"Goodbye mother," Selenity said as she and Endymion returned to their twentieth century forms.

"Usako? What did she mean?" Mamoru asked, concerned that he may not be able to help his sister.

"We get to have our wedding on the Moon! And father will be there, and everything. It is all going to be perfect."

"Usagi, what do you mean, you are going to have your wedding on the Moon?" Kenji asked.

"A few weeks after Selenity's seventh birthday we had a large number of guests at the palace, but no one could see them. Only the Plutonian staff served in that wing, and we were never told much about it, except that the visitors were very special. I think that was us. Plutonians are the only people trusted to deal with Time, and at that time all of our parents were still alive, so they would be able to come to the wedding."

As Usagi chatted excitedly, Mamoru looked around him and the warmth and love he was feeling increased. Kenji, Ikuko, and Usagi had told him before, but, only now, he knew. These smiling, laughing people were his family. He was no longer alone. Hell, with the news Usagi had told him the night before his family would be increasing in the next year. Wouldn't Motoki be surprised? Suddenly a new thought dawned on him. Serenity had said in so many words that his sister was alive right now, but her life was hanging by a thread, and it was up to him whether she would make it or not. Usagi had said that she understood what had to be done; he would have to ask her later. Glancing at the clock Mamoru was surprised by what it read. Glancing at his watch to confirm it was already ten thirty, he began to excuse himself.

"Usako, I should get going," he whispered to her, smiling at the pout she gave him. More quietly, he added, "I'll be back soon," then louder, "Kenji, Ikuko, Shingo, I'm afraid I've lost track of the time. I should get going; I have to work in the morning."

Looking at the clock himself, Kenji nodded. "Time certainly has disappeared. And I think I speak for all of us when I say this night has been more than a little tiring."

Usagi yawned and nodded in agreement. "I'm exhausted. I'll show you out Mamo-chan, and then take another question or two, but I'm ready for some sleep."

"You're always ready for sleep, Usagi!" Shingo joked.

Everyone laughed as Usagi stuck out her tongue at her brother. "I'll dust you yet," she joked as Mamoru lead her to the door.

As the two lovers stood at the door, Mamoru pulled Usagi close to him. Gazing down at her he smiled, "That didn't go too bad. Your family took it rather well."

Leaning into his embrace, Usagi nodded. "I'm so glad. It could have been awful. I was certainly surprised when Serenity appeared."

"What was she saying about me having to face my greatest demons? You said you understood," Mamoru questioned.

"The cliff. I think there may be another accident there tomorrow, and you will have to be there if Terra is going to make it out alive," Usagi paused and looked up into his eyes, taking his face in her hands.

"Mamo-chan, I know you haven't been there since the accident. You have found every possible way of avoiding it. Can you do this?"

Mamoru's eyes had fogged over. Usagi was right. In the near twenty years since the accident, he hadn't returned to the cliff that cost him everything in his little six year old world. While he had no actual memories of the event, the thought of returning there had always frightened him. However, the thoughts of his sister going through what he had, was all he needed to make up his mind.

"I have no choice. The alternative is unthinkable," he answered Usagi's question.

"Do you want me to go with you?" she asked gently.

Nodding, Mamoru whispered, "Thank you. The strength you give me will certainly help."

"I thought it was the other way around?" Usagi said with laughing eyes.

Mamoru's own eyes softened, the love he felt towards the woman in his arms shining through. "You have always been my inspiration, Usako. You and your nearly eternal optimism always give me the hope and the strength I need to continue," Mamoru whispered, resting his head against hers.

"Oh, Mamo-chan," Usagi sighed, tilting her head up, their lips meeting in a gentle kiss.

"Happy birthday, Usako. I'll see you soon," Mamoru said as he opened the door.

"I'll leave a window open," Usagi gave Mamoru a final kiss for the evening as he left. Returning to the living room, Usagi smiled. She felt as though a burden had been lifted, though she hadn't felt guilt in a long, long time. The relief she felt caused her smile to grow as she sat down again. No longer would she have to hide anything from her family. Well, at least nothing she would tell the girls. The baby was another matter.

Ikuko watched her daughter as she returned to the room and sat down. She seemed so happy, glad to have shared her precious secret. At a closer look, though, Ikuko could swear she saw a hint of guilt, but it disappeared as soon as it was noticed, or were her eyes just playing tricks on her? "Thank you for telling us, Usagi," she said, breaking the silence.

"No, I'm the one who should be thanking you guys. You have had so much new information tonight, and have been so accepting. I'm so happy that you didn't loose it. Thank you for not being mad at me for keeping this from you," Usagi said gratefully.

"You did what you had to do," Kenji said. "Besides, I don't know if I would have wanted to know back when you were still fighting. How did you handle having Chibi Usa fighting?"

Usagi smiled, a look of sadness in her eyes. "While I knew she was my future daughter she felt more like a sister at the time. During the regular fights I got used to her being there, though everyone kept an eye out for her, especially Mamoru and I. In the major battles, however, if it weren't for the help she gave us, I don't think we would have let her come. Both Mamoru and I have been severely hurt in them, and neither of us wanted that to happen to her. That was all that gave me the strength to fight at times. The need to protect her was strong, even before we knew she was our daughter. Honestly, I'm glad we knew she was ours, and that she was fighting with us," Usagi explained. "I don't know how I'd deal if she were fighting with someone else. I trust the girls with my life, I feel much safer trusting them with my daughter's life than someone I haven't fought with at my side."

Ikuko looked at her daughter in a new light. She was a warrior. The child that she had always tried to shelter from the harshness of the world, and thought was so naive to how horrible the world could be, was a strong warrior with powers beyond her reckoning. Her daughter, her Usagi, was the leader of the great senshi who protected their city. And she was a mother, too. Or will be. And a mother of another warrior child. Ikuko wondered how she ever could have dealt with knowing her daughter was fighting at the time and knew she couldn't. Unlike Usagi, she didn't trust the girls with her life. She would not have been able to let her daughter go into a fight. Usagi was only a little girl when this life had started. She was just a child. Ikuko reminded herself that while she may have been a child, she grew up quickly when it came to her duties. Usagi had been forced into a responsibility very few people ever experienced before she was even into senior high. And she did a good job. That thought sent a wave of pride through Ikuko as she looked at her daughter. Her daughter did a wonderful job at growing into her role, and she was proud of her. Her thoughts of how unbelievable it all was were interrupted by her son.

"Hey, Usagi, do you know if she's an only child?" Shingo asked.

"I honestly couldn't tell you. Pluto does the best she can to keep the future a secret. And what we know of it can always change," Usagi explained with a yawn. "Any more questions or can I go to bed?"

"Go get some sleep, honey. We can always ask you tomorrow. Sweet dreams and happy birthday," Ikuko said, her pride shining through.

"Thanks, Mom," Usagi got up and gave her parents a hug.

"Happy birthday, Usagi," Kenji said as his daughter went up to her room. She was truly a blessing, he mused. She had watched her own daughter fight, encountered aliens, both good and bad, defended the city, and kept it all a secret for years. She had grown into a wonderful woman who knew what was going on, possibly better than anyone he knew. But she still maintained who she was before it all began. She had never let go of who she really was, and that was what was truly amazing about his little girl. Though all the hellish experiences he couldn't even imagine she had been though, she remained true to the cheerful, loving person she held the promise to be as his little girl.

Closing the door behind her as she entered her room, Usagi looked at the clock, realizing it was only eleven; she still had two and a half hours until it was time for the change. Wondering how long Mamoru would take to show up she turned down her full sized bed and got her night clothes together.

"I guess tonight wouldn't be good to wear Minako's present," she thought aloud as she pulled a pink bunny boy-shorts and tank top set out of her drawer. "It is warm tonight," she rationalized, grabbing her housecoat off the door as she went into the bathroom to change and remove her make-up, throwing a quick glance over her shoulder making certain the window was still open. She smiled as sounds of her family discussing the earlier news drifted up the stairs.

 

Later that night Usagi became aware of a body slipping into the bed beside her and moved towards it. Sighing quietly, she drifted into a peaceful sleep, not to wake until the morning, her first peaceful sleep in three years.

 

Ikuko glanced at her watch and sighed. Usagi still wasn't up and she had to leave soon. As she made her way up the stairs the events of the night before ran though Ikuko's head. To think that after everything that girl had taken on, that she still couldn't get out of bed on time. Opening Usagi's door slightly to allow more sound in, Ikuko called, "Usagi, it's time to get up. You're going to be late for work!"

When she heard nothing she opened the door more and was shocked to see some short black hair sticking our from above the blankets beside the blonde streams. Gasping, she turned around and quickly closed the door behind her, taking a moment to get composed, and remind herself that Usagi was twenty one and getting married soon. It was up to her what she was going to spend her nights doing. Opening the door again, she noticed that she couldn't see Mamoru's head any more, but the added dimension to the blanket told her she wasn't imagining things.

"Usagi! Get up! Now, young lady! You have to be at work in half an hour, move it!" Ikuko yelled. When she saw Usagi begin to move, she left the doorway, leaving the door open, and went into her room.

Usagi moaned quietly when Mamoru began to tickle her side. As she slowly woke up, she had to fight the laughter while she squirmed in his arms.

"Mamo-chan, stop!" she whispered. "Mom will hear us."

"And what if she does? I'm pretty sure she already knows I'm here. She had already come in once before you woke up," Mamoru explained as he crawled out from his hiding spot under the covers and began to get dressed. "Did you sleep well, Usako?"

"Wonderfully. I slept the whole night through for the first time in years," she answered as she got out of bed. "Thank you, Mamo-chan. Having you with me now means so much."

Mamoru stopped in the middle of buttoning his shirt when Usagi spoke. The emotion changed from confusion to understanding, to adoration, but his love always shone through. Wrapping his arms around her, Mamoru smiled down at his fiancée. "No, Usako, I'm the one who should be thanking you. You have made so many sacrifices for the baby, and being here with you is a chance I'm grateful for. I only wish I could have been here for more of this."

"Mamo-chan," Usagi sighed, leaning against his half covered chest, hugging him closely.

A few moments later Usagi raised herself to her toes and gave Mamoru a gentle kiss on the cheek. "You're bristly," she stated.

Mamoru smiled. "That happens," he laughed, then turning her around, he tapped her on the butt saying, "You'd better get ready."

Usagi called a soft "Hey!" as she buried her head in the closet, then kissed the unshaven Mamoru once again as she went into the washroom.

Mamoru stared at the door that the beautiful woman who would be his wife left through for a few moments before he finished getting dressed himself. Dissolving the sweatpants he had worn overnight, he glanced around the room, smiling at the bunny motif Usagi still kept. Moving to the window, he paused for a second to place a rose on the bed after transforming into Tuxedo Kamen. As he was climbing out the window, however, a sharp voice stopped him, one foot on the ledge, the other half way there.

"Hold it right there, young man. You aren't going anywhere until I get an explanation, and it had better be good," Ikuko said just as she would have to Shingo, and likely had on a few occasions, Kamen mused. Smiling at the thought, Tuxedo Kamen climbed down from the window, removing the mask and returning to Mamoru. Taking a seat on the bed, he gestured for Ikuko to take the desk chair. As the older woman sat down, Usagi returned to her room.

"Mom! What are you doing here?" she gasped.

"Looking for an explanation," Ikuko answered. "I want the truth."

Usagi went white as she looked from Mamoru to her mother and back. Sighing, she went and sat down next to Mamoru on the bed. Looking up at him, her eyes were easy to read, how do we get out of this?

Wrapping an arm around Usagi, Mamoru sighed as well. He was obviously going to be the one doing the most explaining.

"Ikuko-san, before we say anything else, I have to say that this is not what it looks like. All we did was sleep," he tried to explain. Even with all his experience as a doctor, getting caught in his fiancée’s room by her mother was embarrassing.

Seeing the look in her mother's eyes, Usagi pleaded, "Please, believe us, Mom. We are telling the truth."

Ikuko's eyes softened. "If you say nothing happened, I'll believe you. But if you didn't spend the night because of that, then why?"

"Because Selenity is pregnant," Usagi said quietly. "Setsuna is going to kill me," she added mentally.

"What?!" Ikuko shouted, looking accusingly at Mamoru. "When? How!? I thought you said you'd never-"

"Mom, wait!" Usagi interrupted desperately, not liking the glare her mother was giving Mamoru. "Let us explain, please."

Not particularly liking the look himself, but knowing Usagi had to get to work, Mamoru placed a comforting hand on Usagi's shoulder. "No, Usako. Let me explain. You have to get to work. I'll pick you up once I'm done my shift," he offered. Turning to Ikuko he suggested, "Shall we go downstairs? It would probably be more comfortable." In other words, he was hoping to get out of Usagi's room, and a chance to collect his thoughts.

A smile graced Ikuko's lips as she saw the love pass between the two. No matter what, she knew that Mamoru wanted to do right by her daughter. If he was willing to face the angry mother-in-law alone, she knew nothing could disrupt this couple. Nodding, she followed Mamoru downstairs to the living room.

"I want that explanation now, Mamoru," she demanded once they were seated. She still wasn't impressed with the situation.

"Usagi and I didn't explain everything to you last night exactly as it happened. The attack on the Moon Kingdom happened a year later than we said," Mamoru paused, trying to figure out how best to explain. "Selenity and Endymion had been married for six months and Selenity was pregnant. They were at each others' side when Beryl destroyed them." Mamoru paused for a second when Ikuko gasped. "Just like we were all reincarnated in this life, the baby was brought back to us. However, events were not as they had been on the Moon. At the age of sixteen Usagi was still fighting, so Sailor Pluto found a way to keep the child from needing to mature. When Usagi turned eighteen, Pluto told her about the baby and for the last three years she has spent three hours a night as Selenity."

Ikuko was confused, but her first instinct as a mother was for the health of the child. "Is the baby alright?" she asked.

"For now. Selenity is four and a half months along," Mamoru answered.

Panic filled her voice as Ikuko asked, "For now?"

"We don't know how long Selenity can continue with this pattern. Usagi and I are expecting to become parents before we see our first anniversary," Mamoru said, the first time he confirmed these thoughts aloud.

Ikuko nodded, feeling more overwhelmed by everything. Between the news last night and this new revelation, it was nearly too much. "Why didn't you tell us?"

"We didn't want anyone to know about it," Mamoru tried to explain, the weight of sharing all this straining him. "Time is a complicated thing. I only found out Sunday."

Even more confused, she questioned, "What do you mean, you only found out Sunday?"

"Until two days ago, only Setsuna and Usagi knew about the baby in this time. Usagi has been on her own with this for the last three years," Mamoru told his soon to be mother-in-law, sorrow and regret filling his voice.

Ikuko looked at the young man before her with a new understanding. The depth of feeling he was showing at not having been able to help her daughter though this bizarre pregnancy filled her heart with both joy and sorrow. How unfair it was that the two would be forced to be apart though something as mysterious as a first pregnancy. She may not understand it, but she knew that this was meant to be. She would try to support them in any way she could.

"Do you have memories of it from on the Moon?" Ikuko asked carefully, hoping that Mamoru wouldn't completely miss out.

Mamoru smiled, thinking of what he did remember. "A few. When we get memories, they come back slowly, so we aren't overwhelmed. When I am Endymion I remember more, but it is still sketchy. In time, my knowledge will increase. I wish I could explain this to you better, but the news is still new to me. I'm still figuring it all out."

Ikuko nodded. One thing was bothering her about all this. "How is it that Usagi has been carrying the child for three years?"

Mamoru shook his head in wonderment. Ikuko was being remarkably accepting of all this. To find out that her daughter, sort of, was pregnant out of marriage, sort of, is hard to take. He'd seen more than one parent go ballistic when they found out their single daughter was going to have a child. But things were always different with them.

"She has been carrying the baby for five years, since she was sixteen, the same time he was conceived. She didn't know about it until she was eighteen, when she needed to start spending time as Selenity to sustain the baby."

"Wait," Ikuko interrupted. "You two got married when she was sixteen?"

Mamoru smiled. "Things were different during the Silver Millennium. If Serenity weren't so assertive that Selenity marry for love, she probably would have been stuck in an arranged marriage from her childhood. At sixteen, Selenity was at more than an acceptable age to marry, so with her mother's consent, the children of Moon and Earth were married, and miraculously conceived a child. There are subtle differences between each planets' inhabitants that often makes it difficult for mixed couples to have children. It is believed it was their first time together Selenity and Endymion created the baby, sealing the fact that they were meant to be together."

"Mamo-chan!" Usagi chastised her fiancé as she walked into the living room. "Don't tell Mom everything," she giggled. "I'm off to work. I'll see when you're done your shift?"

Mamoru gratefully took in the sight of Usagi in her youthful pants suit, and stood to kiss her. "Of course. Don't worry, I will keep a few things to myself," he added very quietly as he ran his finger over the flesh at the edge of her hairline. Usagi tried, unsuccessfully, to keep from shivering at the action that Endymion had used to show his affection when they were in public. Selenity could never resist the allure of that simple motion.

"Don't forget what normally followed that," Usagi whispered back. The thoughts caused Mamoru's eyes to darken possessively at the same time as his cheeks flushed slightly. "I love you," Usagi said, kissing him lightly. "I'm off to work. Bye, Mom!" she called as she ran out the door.

"Will that girl ever change?" Ikuko wondered aloud.

"She hasn't for a thousand years, and from what I know, another thousand doesn't help much," Mamoru smiled.

Ikuko looked at him, and was surprised at how easy the idea of such a long existence came to him.

Noticing the look his fiancée’s mother was giving him, Mamoru added, "It's weird to think about, isn't it? I've had years to get used to the idea and memories from all three millennia to use for support, but it still amazes me at times."

"I don't really know what to think of all this," Ikuko confessed, looking out the window to see the ends of Usagi's hair whip around the corner. "She's my little girl. And in less than a day I have found out that she was someone else's little girl first, that she is Sailor Moon and will one day rule the planet, and that she's a mother."

Mamoru kept his silence as Ikuko continued to muse silently. Her sudden turning to him shocked him. "Was it wrong that I never even suspected?"

"No," Mamoru answered immediately, wanting to calm all worries Ikuko may have about being a bad mother. "There is a magic protecting us from detection. Unless you witness us transform it is almost impossible to make the connection, even if we tell you who we are." Noticing the look of disbelief on her face, Mamoru pointed out, "Can you see the girls as being the senshi? Even with us telling you they are, and after seeing us transform, you still can't make the connection, can you?"

"No," Ikuko admitted reluctantly. "But she is my daughter!"

"I know," Mamoru agreed, sorrow in his voice. "I had fallen in love with Sailor Moon when we first started to fight, and because of that, I passionately denied any feelings I had for Usagi, going so far as to make myself believe she was nothing more than what I teased her about. Daily. I couldn't even see through the magic to see the woman I loved until she had no choice but to transform in front of me." Mamoru smiled at the memories of the first time he saw her transform. He was so shocked and confused, but so relieved. He could love both women as he wanted to, and, soon after, discovered his princess was part of the same woman as well.

Ikuko looked at Mamoru in surprise. She had suspected that the reason Usagi was always so upset because of him teasing her when they first met was because he was attracted to her, but she had no idea the teasing was because he was in denial of his attraction. Much less because he was in love with another, even if it was her alter-ego. Shaking her head in confusion again, Ikuko returned her gaze to the window.

"It's alright, Ikuko," Mamoru comforted. "Usagi has lead a very different life, but you have helped keep a level of normalcy to it. We are both very grateful at how accepting you, Kenji and Shingo have been of all this. With the news of the baby, you especially. Usagi didn't want to worry you about him last night. She felt Chibi Usa would be enough."

Ikuko continued to look out the window, thinking. Though she heard Mamoru's words, they barely grazed the surface of her thoughts. Recalling what she has seen and heard last night, things began to settle in place. It would take her time to understand it all, but she needed to get some things clear.

"Why did Selenity faint last night?"

Mamoru smiled. "What I said last night was true. Lunarian women, particularly the royals for some reason, are quite literally in a 'delicate' condition when pregnant, especially during the second trimester. They suffer from fainting spells for about two months of the pregnancy. Currently, Selenity is only about a quarter of the way through them. I have yet to see her pregnant without her fainting," Mamoru added with a smile. "It is perfectly normal."

Ikuko shook her head. "I am so glad I didn't have to deal with that when I had the children."

Mamoru grinned. "You should have seen Endymion's reaction when he had to start catching her on a regular basis. There is a reason Selenity didn't fall far when she fainted last night."

Ikuko laughed at the idea of the man before her, decked out in the armor he was in last night, catching the fair pregnant princess on a daily basis. While she laughed, something Mamoru has said earlier hit her.

"Did you say 'he'?" she asked suddenly.

Mamoru smiled and nodded. "Yes. Usagi tells me that Selenity is expecting a boy."

Ikuko just shook her head. This was quickly becoming too real for her to deal with. She had thought that she could get used to the idea, but knowing the sex of the baby was pushed that edge.

Noticing how unsteady Ikuko was looking, Mamoru moved to her side and helped her into a chair. "I think you've heard enough for today," Mamoru suggested.

"I think you're right," Ikuko agreed. "There is so much about you two that I never knew. It's overwhelming," she laughed. "Literally!"

"You are handling it very well, Ikuko," Mamoru swore. He didn't know how he could handle learning everything Ikuko had in such a short time. Just learning about the baby had nearly done him in two nights before, and that was with the idea already planted in his mind. He hoped that this new information would not put Ikuko on a meltdown. He would have to remember to call Usagi from work later and get her to check on her mother instead of going out anywhere after she was finished for the day. Speaking of work, glancing at his watch Mamoru blanched. He was supposed to relieve Motoki in half an hour, and it was a twenty minute trip by car from here. Looking at the state Ikuko was in; he prayed that Motoki would forgive him if he was a little late.

Twenty minutes later, Mamoru said good bye to Ikuko and raced across the rooftops in his top hat and cape, hoping to not be too late.