Title: Only 16 Substory 1: Amy By: Azurite Email: azurite_moon@yahoo.com Site: www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida Mailing List: www.onelist.com/sailorfic_review News: I'm working on revamping my page for real this time. I want everyone's feedback on what should be added/removed/changed to my page. Also working on a collaboration story with Usagi Chiba and Jlala. READ THEIR FICS... they ARE GOOD! Notes: Anyone in need of an editor? I'm offering my services, especially now, during winter break, when I have tons of free time. Congrats to Moondreams16 for winning Story of the Year at First Love, and all the runner-ups, they were great stories! (I read them all). And will SOMEONE tell Lilac Summers to finish "First Truths"? Disclaimer: I'm too preoccupied with getting all my anime pics onto floppies for Y2K to worry about whether Sailor Moon is mine or not. I mean, at the bottom of all the ASMR fic pages, it says (C) Naoko Takeuchi, yadda yadda. So you KNOW it's not mine, right? RIGHT. Survey: What, in your mind, is a clich餠story idea? And what is touch鿠Feedback please! ****************************************************** ~*AMY*~ I suppose I could say it all started that night at Raye's temple. See, Serena was acting kind of strange. Though if Raye were telling this story, she'd say Serena is ALWAYS acting strange. But that's besides the point. *I'M* the one telling this story. That night, Serena acted like her normal self... for a while. *FLASHBACK* "Raye... I don't feel so good..." Serena rose from the table where we were all sitting, just QUIETLY munching on some cookies Lita had made when she stumbled off to the bathroom. Everyone was immediately on the alert. Raye and Mina, more importantly, because they are cloest to Serena, Lita because she was afraid Serena was sick because of HER cookies (Impossible, I might add; her cookies are flawless) and me, well, because I'm Serena's friend too, and if she was sick, I was the best one to find out WHY, right? I am, after all, going to be a doctor! But Serena was in the bathroom, throwing up (like we COULDN'T hear) for almost a half-hour. When she was finished, she had made up her face and looked fine. She told us she was fine, but something... glassy about her eyes made me doubt her. She realized the time and ran from the temple, a little wobbly for someone who had just been standing as still as a stalk of corn a minute ago. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I spent the whole night worrying. For once, I didn't spend my evening getting ten chapters ahead in science, reading Shakespeare for fun, or something like that. I tried to go to sleep early for once... but I couldn't. My mind kept wandering back to Serena and why she was acting so strangely. There was that *something* in my head that told me I knew what it was... but I couldn't place it. 'Is she anorexic? No... that's starving oneself... bulemic? No... Serena might binge, but she'd NEVER purge a good meal... or risk ruining the enamel on those pearly whites of hers... not that she knows about that...' I tossed and turned for hours, contemplating Serena and her mysterious bout of sickness. I finally got to sleep after reassuring myself... it was only the flu. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Amazingly enough, I didn't see Serena at all over the weekend. We always got together with the other girls for something, or Luna always insisted upon some kind of meeting. But this weekend, Luna didn't. She DID come over to my apartment and explain that Serena had doctor's appointments, and I supposed it was due to her illness. "Yes... Serena has been acting very strangely these past few days. She talks in her sleep, and then says she couldn't remember her dreams, or talking at all! She has strange cravings... not eating, or eating like a pig and then throwing it all up! I'm very worried..." I knew Luna was more of a motherly figure to Serena, and it wasn't just because she was the Princess. No, Luna had known Serena and I longer than the other girls, and we had both watched her grow up... from a whiny, ditzy teenager, to a young adolescent, to... a young lady. And now... She had been through so much, and now, there were the hardships of becoming a woman... and Serena was most certainly experiencing those. As a teen to a woman... Serena would have it the roughest, because she has 1000 years of experience to catch up on. When I saw Serena a few days later, she looked incredibly pale, glassy-eyed as before. In other words, still sick. "Serena, girl, you okay?" That was Mina... we were at a meeting, and Serena had just walked in. "Where in the name of Mars have you been?" Raye yelled, mad as usual. Sometimes, just SOMETIMES, I am tempted to freeze her, make her a little cooler with that fire-hot attitude of hers. But no... "I...I..." I couldn't believe that talkative Serena was stuttering for words now! Luna hadn't seen her in days either; she had been snuck into my place to help me design a time-space warp theory program, so I'm sure she was surprised too. "Um, Serena, what's wrong?" Mina asked again, sounding a little uncertain. "I...I..." Serena seemed to only have a one-letter vocabulary today. "Maybe we should let her be guys, she looks kinda sick." I said. 'Kinda' hardly described it. Her skin was pasty and pale, her sparkling eyes... were not, and she looked ready to throw up... again. I saw Mina and Raye still cast worried glances at Serena, and then to each other. It was like they were having a private conversation with their eyes. Serena was ILL, that much was obvious, but hadn't she had a doctor's appointment the other day to find out what was wrong? Wasn't she taking some kind of medicine? I mean, not even the depression Serena suffered from after the breakup between her and Darien would be enough to make her NOT want to get healthy again... right? Before I could think again, Serena was standing up. The girls were all astonished to see her looking so ready to take off so soon. "Serena?" Lita asked. "Hmm? Oh, I'm so sorry guys... I just spaced out, you know, girl problems... um, oh gee, look at the time, I better go! BYE!" Serena grabbed her bag and shot out the temple. I didn't think 'girl problems' were to blame... if Serena had to come and go in five minutes... something definitely was wrong. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I tried calling her the next day, but her mother said she was out, and she didn't know where. If Serena hadn't had several HUNDRED possible hangouts, I would have attempted to look for her, but then again, even if I DID find her, what good would it do me? What would I say? ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ For the next two months, I saw less and less of Serena afterschool. She DID however, get better, and I dismissed that unusual sickness Serena had had as the flu. It was more than likely, and all the symptoms matched. Besides, it was all said and done with, why linger on the past? What surprised me though, was that Serena got her own apartment! I mean... Serena... in her own apartment! How... how could she afford a place? Her parents weren't going anywhere, they hadn't won the lottery, and to my knowledge, no one had left Serena a hefty inheritance. So why were they kicking her out, and into, what I later found out was a co-op condo apartment? She had her own furniture, very mod-looking, and it wasn't too cheap either. Then again, the house couldn't have been either. Two guest bedroom, one master bedroom. Full-size kitchen, bathroom, toilet room, carpeting, balcony and fireplace?! This girl had it all, and then some! And I thought I lived in a nice place because my mom was a doctor and got the salary the size of a Blue Whale! It only made me more suspicious. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The first attack in two months happened when I was walking through the park with Rini. Since Rini couldn't seem to get together with Serena, she settled for the other girls and I, and today just happened to be my babysitting turn. Not that I minded. Rini was very intelligent, and seeing as she already knew that we were Scouts, there was no harm in finding more about the enemy from her. "Hey Rini!" I smiled as I picked her up from the Tsukino's house. Rini, lately, was not as cheerful as she had been after she first arrived. Perhaps it was because she missed her family in the future, or perhaps, by some small chance, she really did miss Serena. I knew for a fact that her apartment in Azabu Juuban was NOT close to Serena's old hoouse, so she wouldn't visit often. Serena always had 'something to do', and she never told anyone what. Maybe she had a job, or something. I didn't really know for sure. Serena still came to school and everything, but it... it was just too hard to ask her what was going on. I never thought talking to one of my best friends would be hard. In any case, I was talking about the attack. It was my day babysitting, and Rini and I were walking through the park just after we'd had our Mint Chip ice cream. Suddenly, a familiar laugh echoed the parks, and Rini and I knew it was Emerald, most likely summoning a new droid. Indeed it was, but Emerald was already gone by the time we got on the scene. Instead, there was an ugly, horned droid wreaking havoc on the peaceful, formerly scenic park. I told Rini to stay hidden, and I transformed behind a cluster of bushes, just to be safe. I readied myself to give the "standard speech", as Serena called it. I took my place from behind the shrubs and then behind a tree, where I could surprise the droid and attack. But the droid turned and stared me straight in the eye, though I knew I was hidden. And Lita thinks the SHORT sailors have it easy. Well, SHE doesn't have to wear a BRIGHT BLUE miniskirt! "Hey you! Parks are meant to be peaceful, and for trying to destroy that peace, I will punish you in the name of Mercury! I am the intelligent soldier of ice, Sailor Mercury!" For the first time in my life, I gulped, loudly and visibly. That *thing* had teeth the size of my arm, horns the length of my legs... I was about to launch my "Shine Aqua Illusion" attack when the monster laughed. It took a few seconds before I realized that something was wrong with the picture... droids don't laugh. I punched the all call on my communicator and whispered a hoarse explanation before signing off, taking out my mini-computer, and scanning the thing. There was a complex system... and a camera? Indeed, I had found a camera embedded in its head... but the shape of the monster shifted before my eyes, and the fast change and negative energy had caused my computer to short circuit. I looked up from my mini-computer, and saw a hideous creature, unlike any youma, cardian or droid I had EVER seen before. No eyes, fangs, glistening, horns, long and white, and a blackish-red body covered in oily slime. The text thing I knew, a tentacle had shot out, squezed my chest to the point I thought I would die of asphyxiation, and then it all went black. When I came to, everything was white. All around me. No shrubs, no monster, and worst of all, no Rini. Oh god... I had barely had time to call the others, what if they didn't get the communique... or something went wrong with the transmission... so many possibilties that could result in Rini's injry, kidnapping or worse... "Oh god no." I whispered aloud. I sent a silent prayer up that the scouts HAD gotten my communique... and everything was all right. And as if in answer to my prayer, I heard a faint echo. "SERENA!" Though no one else was here with me in this whiteness, I thought *maybe*, just maybe, I could get out of wherever "here" was. If someone heard me. I could only hope. The white started to fade and swallow up the small shadows and space around me. I feared for my life, thinking this was the end, and I would be responsible for whatever happened to Rini. How could I have been so careless? But then I saw a flash of gold, and I collapsed on the ground. Smooth, wet grass... and the immense pain spread throughout my body. What had happened to me? I tried to right myself, and through blurry eyes, I cold make out the old form of the droid, and Sailor Moon. I activated my visor to clear my vision. It always worked. The enhanced vision I got when wearing the visor was like that of Supergirl's, and I could see everything. I saw two living forms fighting... the uglier, NON-HUMAN one being the strange camera-shifting droid, who, for some reason, hadn't yet used that attack on Sailor Moon yet, and the shorter, HUMAN one being Sailor Moon, pinned to a tree. I blinked to clear something from my eye, and nearly choked on my silent breath. My scanner beeped quietly in my ear, and showed TWO life forms... two HUMAN lifeforms, and one ugly droid. 'Dear god...' I thought to myself. How... how was it humanly possible?! 'Stupid!' I chided myself. Of COURSE it was humanly possible... but Serena? 'She's... She's...' My mind continued to stutter illogically. 'Who...?' But truth be told, there was no time to speculate. Rini was behind some shrubs too close to the droid for comfort, and Sailor Moon... and the child she carried... were in grave danger. "Three lifeforms..." I couldn't help but whisper. And one of those three was a droid. The other was Sailor Moon. And I hadn't scanned Rini... the scanning area I had focused on was the four by five by six foot box containing Sailor Moon, the droid, and the tree. And the tree didn't radiate heat! I let that irrational part of my mind take the controls, and I heard a loud scream. My own. "SAILOR MOON!" I was terrified that something would happen to my best friend, the leader of our team... and the child she carried... somehow. In the deepest, darkest parts of my mind, the part that was still focused on this hunk of information, I wondered if Serena knew. And if she did, did she know who the father was? I knew who the most LOGICAL candidate was... 'SHUT UP AND FIGHT!' The other part of me yelled. The droid turned and faced me, and wore that expression it had showed just before it had transformed into the hideous demon-creature. Sailor Moon struggled and kneed the creature. It keeled over, for Sailor Moon had obviously weakened it before this, and once I had been released from whatever prison it had put me in, it had weakened even more, and hadn't had the chance to drain Sailor Moon, thankfully. "SHINE...AQUA ILLUSION!" I called, forming the sheets of ice in my hand. I shot it towards the droid, crumpled on the ground. Sailor Moon gave me an affirmative nod and dusted the droid with her scepter. The hideous demon vanished with a burst of sparkles. I stared from where the droid had been to Sailor Moon, just in time to see her eyes roll back in her head, and see her collapse to the ground in a dead faint. My eyes went blank as I registered everything at a painfully slow speed. The amount of energy she spent had tripled... to sustain her transformation and attacks, to keep her conscious and alive, and to protect and keep alive her child. "Mercury, what happened? Are you all right?" Jupiter yelled, just arriving. I turned to Jupiter, and saw with surprise that she was in worse shape than either of us. With the exception that she was conscious, and Sailor Moon was not. "Yeah, everything's fine." I found myself saying. "Is she okay?" Venus asked. I didn't tell them how Sailor Moon had been so completely drained, that because she was supporting another life inside of her, every time she transformed, attacked and was attacked, it drained her immensely. "She'll be soon. Let's get her to some place warm." I said, noting the cool breeze blowing through the park. "Ungh..." Mars limped onto the scene, prompting me to ask what, exactly, had happened. "We got attacked by another droid on the way here; that's why we're late. Both mine and Venus' arms got beaten, and Mars here is on a sprained ankle." Jupiter informed me. "Oh dear, how are we supposed to get her anywhere?" I asked, motioning to our leader. The other girls shook their heads in response, not knowing what to do. "I'll help." A distinctly male voice announced. We all turned in surprise, and were faced with Tuxedo Mask. He immediately went over to Sailor Moon, and picked her up. 'He wouldn't know... if it even is HIS child... Don't let him notice...' I prayed. Jupiter and Venus tried to help, but their arms were too sore to keep lifting. As Mars couldn't walk very well in the first place, I had to help her as I led the way to Serena's apartment. We all detransformed, leaving only Tuxedo Mask and Sailor Moon transformed. We hurriedly rushed the tall man holding his beloved into the lobby of the apartment complex that was Serena's home, hoping we would go unseen. When they finally reached the elevator at the end of the hall, Tuxedo Mask broke the silence. "Why are we here?" "We're bringing Serena home, of course." Raye responded simply. 'Raye just doesn't get it. I swear, sometimes she can be as stubborn and thick headed as the Ram that is her astrological guardian.' But of course, I kept these thoughts to myself. Though I had known Raye for a long time, and she was one of my best friends, she had her share of vices... bad characteristics, if you will. And sometimes... well, that's another story. Then she flushed scarlet, remembering that Darien didn't know she had moved. So she DOES know... it took her all of thirty seconds to realize, while the rest of us sweatdropped. But Darien didn't say anything, he only looked puzzled. And for someone who was so stoic, it was a sight to see. Off topic again, the only expressions you usually see on him are 1) Anger (if looks could kill) 2) sappiness (before the break-up) and 3) Blank. Or stoicness. The guy has no expression whatsoever and looks like a blank chalkboard. And to see him actually LOOK puzzled... well, it was funny. But like Darien, I know how to control my emotions... I didn't giggle a peep. When the elevator chimed to say it had reached the floor Serena lived on, we rushed out. We reached a door marked 'Serena Tsukino-630' and stopped. Raye reached under a carpet that said 'Welcome' and pulled out a key. After manipulating the lock for a few minutes, she got it to open, and stumbled onto the white leather recliner Serena had in the main room. The other girls followed suit, with Mina and Lita going to the bathroom to tend to their arm wounds. Tuxedo Mask took off his mask and hat, and lay Sailor Moon on the black leather couch beside the recliner. I started to scan her, hoping Darien didn't notice anything... I looked up midway through my scan, noting an almost bemused look on Darien's face as he observed his surroundings. He seemed surprised that Serena had her own place... though, all of us girls had felt the same way when Serena had told us, so I don't blame him in the slightest. "Serena lets us stay here sometimes, because she's got two guest bedrooms, and the recliner and the couch fold out." I explained, seeing his inquiring glance. However, how in the name of Mercury she afforded this condo-like residence was beyond me. "I think we better stay here tonight." Raye said from the recliner. I agreed wordlessly, and the other two girls emerging from the bathroom voiced their opinions. "Yeah, she might get drained again or something, so we should keep watch." "Everyone's room?" Mina asked. Mina and I each had our own room, while Rei preferred to sleep on the folding recliner by the fireplace and Lita on the long couch-bed. "Yeah." I wanted to stay out in the living room, make sure that no one disturbed or found out about Serena's obviously private secret. ESPECIALLY DARIEN. But it would be more private in her bedroom... and it would free up Lita's sleeping space... "Uh, Darien, why don't you help carry Serena into her bedroom, and I'll stay in there, make sure she's okay. You can have my room." "All right." Darien gently hoisted Serena into his arms, the girl sleeping so softly and peacefully, one might think she was having a pleasant dream... or at least I did. Darien placed Serena gently on the bed, and remained holding her. As observant as I am, the only thing I truly knew was that he still held emotions back, meant only for her. He shook his head, as if to clear such emotions, turned on his heel and left. 'He *does* still love her...' I thought, unfolding the spare futon Serena kept in her closet. I picked up one of Serena's books on parenting, and settled down into the futon-chair to read. ********************************************************************* "NNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" Serena awoke with a start, screaming. I was immediately jolted out of my sleep, and the book I had read and placed on my lap tumbled to the floor under the bed. "What? What? Serena, are you all right?" Serena's face was ashen, her eyes dark and hazy. She was still panting heavily, and was covered in a light sheen of sweat. She had obviously had had a bad dream about something. "Amy? Serena? We heard screaming, what...?" Lita and Mina asked, pushing the door open. I glanced over to them, trying to keep myface from looking too haggard. I had been disturbed from my already light sleep... "SERENA!" Raye yelled, pouncing over them into the room and to the bedside. Raye is the most overprotective of all us scouts. When something's wrong with Serena, she is the first one on the scene, and if anyone hurts her, ANYTHING is possible. She could probably wrestle a polar bear if it came to that. But back to what had happened... "Serena?" Darien was there as well, looking rather pale himself, but not as haggard as everyone else. I personally wondered if he too, had had a bad dream, and been staying awake. He looked somewhat frightened though, so if he had been thinking, it had been very seriously. About what though? Panting, Serena glanced towards the door, and that was when he saw how frightened she looked. Raye, Mina and Lita, in the corner of the room closest to the door, turned abruptly when a *CRACK* sounded. I also turned, half thinking that a droid had followed us back... Serena also turned, as she was wiping the sheen of liquid from her brow. She looked so upset... and if she did KNOW, then whatever had been in her dream must have increased her fear tenfold. It was only right to help, her, to support her, as her friend. Her face went ashen again, when she saw *their* picture... cracked. What in the world could have cracked the frame like that? "Darien..." Serena breathed. Darien heard this, and followed her glance to the picture. I wondered about the glance he gave her, and the broken frame, as if there were some secret they shared. "Oh Darien!" Serena cried, tossing the picture onto the table and reaching for him. He hugged her delicately, not knowing her swollen stomach was pressed against him. I, however, did notice, and lightly tapped on her back. "Ssh, Serena, it's okay..." Darien was whispering, holding and rocking her like a small child. That overprotectiveness I always noticed in his eyes during a battle. That same look I had seen the first time I had met him -as Tuxedo Mask. Yes, even then, I knew that *somehow* they were connected, in ways I could never comprehend. "Serena." I stated quietly, my eyes shifting to the books on the endtable, which went unnoticed by everyone else, and Serena's own stomach. "Let's go back to sleep guys, we all have a meeting to attend tomorrow." I covered. The other three girls nodded in agreement, and, yawning, retired to their beds. Only Darien remained. "Darien, if you don't mind, I think we'd both like to get some sleep." I stated, trying to add some atittude to my voice. I wasn't too sure of anything, but if Serena was pregnant, as my computer had said, then he was the only logical... and possible... father. My thoughts from earlier resurfaced. If Serena had truly given herself to him in such a manner, why had he broken up with her, and now, been the same overprotective lover I had always known him to be? Clearly, he did not fit the stereotype of "the guy who runs away after". "Serena, what happened?" Darien asked, completely ignoring me. Though I was rather miffed that he had ignored me, I knew he couldn't help it; he wanted to know what she saw that made her so frightened and then cause her to push away. Looking at him briefly, Serena gave him a shifted glance and then flopped back into her bed completely. "Nothing, just... just go to sleep." Serena turned on her side and feigned sleep until he left. *********************************************************************** "Serena." I stated quietly when a good fifteen minutes had passed. Serena made no move, but did speak. "How did you know?" "I...I scanned you with my computer when I 'woke up'. I...I read three lifeforms, and scanned my way from there." "And?" "Serena." I understood that Serena didn't want to say it, didn't want to admit it... so I would have to. I coughed to clear my throat, cast a glance towards the closed door, and spoke clearly. "And you are three months pregnant with a heathy baby." I stated, careful that my words were quiet. But unfortunately, not quiet enough. *********************************************************************** I heard a loud crash, the breaking of glass, I assumed. Immediately suspicious, I opened the door and stood there, watching the scene and explanation unfold. Shards of a shattered glass were on the floor, and Raye was lying amongst it. My worst fears surged forth, and I wondered if Raye had, indeed heard. Lita woke up, as she had been in the living room, and was thusly closer to Raye, and ran over to the fallen girl, who began to stir. Though I felt horribly guilty for not being the one to run to her; I'm her friend too, you know, I watched with conviction. What did Raye know, if anything? "Umnngh..." Raye stirred as Lita hoisted her off the dangerous ground. Mina, along with Darien, had also woken up and come outside, and was now helping sweep up the broken shards. "Raye, are you okay?" Mina asked, concerned. Raye sat up, and managed a weak smile. "Yeah... um, butterfingers?" For some reason, that didn't strike me as truth. But what reason had I to doubt Raye? As a friend of Serena, didn't she have just as much right to know? But then again, Darien, of all people, the most and only logical canidate for the role of the father in my mind, deserved the right to know just as much, and I felt no reason to tell him. Why was it that I wanted to honor Serena's wish for Darien not to know, but not the other girls? "You-You fainted!" Lita persisted. Raye paled significantly, especially when she saw me looking at her suspiciously. I had never been *suspicious* of anyone in my life, but right now, the idea of betraying my best friend for another best friend confused me, and the only thing was, I had known Serena for longer. That was what kept me, stilled in the doorway. "Yeah um... I was feeling dizzy, and wanted a drink of water, but I fainted before I could get it. Butterfingers." Raye managed yet again. I only nodded and went back into the bedroom, heedless of what the others thought. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I closed my eyes and pressed my hands and back against the wall, sighing. When I opened my eyes, tiredly, wishing to get rid of all this confusion racking my brain, Serena was staring at me with those sad, puppy-like eyes of hers. "What if they know?" Serena whispered, trying to stay quiet. Though if Raye truly had heard, and I was usually the quiet, meek one, I doubted Serena would have any more luck staying quiet than I would. I averted her eyes from Serena and spoke quietly. It was my fault, that Raye had heard... I mustn't think like that... IF she heard. "Then there is nothing we can do. Serena, you're at the end of your first trimester. You're lucky no one noticed when they saw you, at school, or at the attack. You're obviously pregnant, and you're only going to... to get... well, no offense, but fatter. And if the others DO know, you'll have to give them a more decent explanation than you gave me." I knew the other girls wouldn't believe the story Serena had told me. But ever since I had become a scout, all those ideals of mine about everything having a scientific, logical cause and effect flew out the window. Serena was three months pregnant, about, and her stomach was a slight bulge. For maybe the next four or five weeks, she could get away with wearing her uniform at school, and having no one notice. But as for other things... her usually skin-tight, rather, um... showy clothes, leggings... no way. Serena would have to get maternity wear and fast. Not that it would be a problem... I mean, considering she had an apartment, and supposedly a job to pay for it too... "How can I be more 'decent'? Amy, I don't even know whose child I am carrying!" Serena hissed. I rolled my eyes, and found them wanting to remain shut. I just wanted to sleep... "Whose do you think?" I asked in response, somewhat sarcastically. Truth be told, there was only ONE possibilty... She turned her eyes away. "That's what I thought. He IS the only logical possibility, but from what you told me last night, you and Darien never..." "We never made love to each other. I don't know... Amy, what if I was raped or something?" I had thought of that possibility before, but I hardly thought Serena would have been the same if such an incident had occured. I had met several rape victims before and after, and they had changed completely, There was no doubt Serena would have as well. "Serena, you don't think..." I couldn't help asking. Did she seriously think that DARIEN raped her? But then, why wouldn't she remember? "No, I'm not saying HE did it... I'm saying..." So she thought someone ELSE raped her. But it made no sense in my mind. Amy's calculations say... 'Tell her to see a doctor. She calls in the morning, you all get some sleep.' DING! I think I'll tell her that. "There's only one way to find out, you know. Take a test at the doctor's." "Fine. THEN, and only then, will I tell the girls. Otherwise, we have to cover it up from them as best we can. Promise, Amy." "I promise." I had no idea why I was doing this. Or why *I* had to be the one to not say anything. It's not like I'm a gossip, but I have a feeling that the girls won't be too happy with the fact that I kept secret something having to do with their best friend's health and welfare. "Thank you. You know, this means HIM, too. ESPECIALLY HIM." "I understand. But if something happens, and they FIND OUT, on their own, you're going to have to explain it." Which meant, in other words, if Raye truly did know, I would not be to blame. "I want to explain it before then." Saying so, Serena picked up the phone off the cradle and dialed a number. A receptionist at Dr. Cunningham's office picked up. "I'd like to make an appointment, please." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ It was about seven hours later, and I felt incredibly well-rested (I usually get five hours after rigorous studying! And you wonder why I still ace exams? Thank Nestea Iced Tea!) considering all the events that had occured yesterday. Demon-droid, Rini (who, by the way, had gone home on her own yesterday) and the shocking news. Not to mention that Raye might know, and would no doubt tell the others. That was what I was worried about, too worried to even tell Serena. Would Raye have told Darien? I prayed to whatever Almighty had already saved us from death countless times, be it Buddha, Christ, God, a Kami-sama, or Serene herself. I prayed that Raye would NOT tell Darien. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serena had made her appointment for noon, on the button, and it was my job to make sure that everyone else was gone (and didn't ask questions) or wouldn't notice Serena gone for the time inbetween. Serena was getting ready at around 10:30, and wore baggy jeans and a sweater, typical clothes of what I thought teen mothers would be. Always trying to hide it, that is. In any case, she was drinking some cherry tea to wake her up, and that was when the parade of girls came out from Mina's room. It was then I pieced together that they must have been talking together. Which meant Raye KNEW. I was in for one heck of a day, keeping them away from Serena until she left, making her they didn't notice or care when and why she left, and forcing them to leave before she came back. Oh yes, I would have a field day with them. Serena didn't say anything to the girls as she finished the tea, cleaned the cup, and prompty walked out of the kitchen. I watched amused, as they followed her every movement with their eyes and heads, never moving from the huddled, big-t-shirt clad group they were. They watched as she grabbed a health bar from a hanging basket, put on her denim jacket and keys and left without so much as a word or glance to any of us. "So Amy... where's she going?" Lita finally asked. I turned around and crossed my fingers, praying that I wouldn't make the biggest mistake of my life. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The morning passed relatively quickly, as Darien had come out of his room early, but still too late to see Serena. I'm sure he was wondering about her and her behavior from the night before, as he looked around the room and seemed somewhat sad and rather pale. Truly, I wondered how much sleep he had gotten, and if not as much as he should, why? But for the moment, I thanked him for his presence, as it was the only thing keeping the other girls from bombarding me with questions. Apparently, we all thought along the same wavelength: Darien was the only logical canidate for the role of the father, and he didn't seem to know anything about it: better to keep their mouths shut. Good. All for the better. When he first came out ofthe room he had stayed in, he was looking about tiredly. Then, we all watched as he glanced about sadly, looking for the girl who was not there. And then, the girls followed his movements with eyes of suspicion. I must admit, it was very funny... watching them rotate like a clock together. That is, until Mina's arm hit someone else's elbow, interlocked, caused the two joined girls to turn in opposite directions and fall helplessly to the ground. I stifled laughter at the site and willed myself to get through the rest of the morning. 'And don't HINT at anything!' I remembered Serena hissing to me in the early morning when she woke up and had a breakfast made for two. Obviously. I would never lie to the girls, but if they asked, and I didn't say anything, or gesture, then all would be well. Thankfully, Darien's presence made sure the girls didn't peep a word. Which meant, in order for things to keep on going as they were, the girls would have to be gone before him. And then the only obstacle would be preventing HIM from asking questions. By 11:00 everyone was all ready to leave. Serena wouldn't be back till around 1:30, as her appointment was at noon and expected to be around an hour. I was amazed Serena had left as earlier as she had, when she had originally planned on leaving at 11:00. Perhaps she just wanted to avoid anything that the girls might ask. The girls or Darien. Lately, Serena had a lot of self-control, but Darien is -and always has been- the one who breaks that self-control. She completely loses herself around him. And for the longest time, I was sure I was the only one who noticed. The girls were down the hall and walking slowly to the elevator. Darien was the last one out the door, and just before he closed it, he turned to me. I would have gasped, but air would not find its way down my throat. He truly had not slept for a long time. Bags and redness under and in his eyes was clearly visible. He was haggard and pale, and almost unkempt. His hair wasn't slick, but oily, and his eyes were a dulled shade of midnight that Serena so fondly waxed about... in the old days. And if you looked close enough, you could see the faint signs of facial hair growing. "Give my regards to Sere-Serena, would you, Amy?" He asked me. I doubted that he wanted me to give her REGARDS. He wanted to be there when she got home, he wanted to say something very important to her, and the pain and pleading in his eyes told me it wouldn't hurt her. The girls, I noticed, leaning out of the door, were already out of earshot, down the halls a ways and waiting for the elevator to come up. They were talking quietly amongst themselves, and again, that fear in me awoke, that they might KNOW. I looked to Darien, who was desperately awaiting an answer. "I'll do that." I smiled truthfully. Just as I closed the door, I breathed a silent 'Congratulations' to the father-to-be. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serena came home exactly when I suspected she would: around 1:30. She seemed to be surprised that I was the only one in the house, and let me tell you, it took a lot of work to convince the girls that Serena would want peace and quiet when she got back from where she was (which I never named), and I had to stay because Serena needed to be safe... you know, *someone* had to make sure she didn't pass out again. Thankfully no one brought up the topic of why no one had escorted her to wherever she was going, if someone needed to make sure she didn't pass out again. As that thought entered my head, I wondered why I didn't go. If both Serena and I were gone, the girls wouldn't have any answers, unless... Darien. No, having Darien and the curious three alone in a big apartment was not a good thing. Walking home with Serena and then seeing the apartment turned into a police interrogation lab was not something I would have wanted to see. In any case, Serena looked downright tired, and she mumbled a sleepy 'hello' to me before stumbling out of her jacket and shoes and collapsing on the bed. She set the alarm for 4:40 and fell sound asleep. As I had spent my morning without espresso (my usual) or any breakfast, and trying to keep the girls from interrogating Darien or me, well... I was tired too. I settled into the couch in the living room and slipped into a comfortable sleep. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I heard a loud beeping, you know, the annoying one that REALLY gets you awake. I stumbled sleepily to Serena's room, and found her awake. Unlike most days I remember, she was alert, not yawning much, or whining about "five more minutes". But then again, she had changed greatly. We rubbed our eyes and walked slowly to the kitchen. Serena brought out two cans of Cola and we sipped at them slowly. "I had another dream." Serena said, not even looking at me. I personally wondered how she felt, carrying a child within her. I'm sure she knew that Darien was the only possible canidate for the father; not even I would accept the possibility that Serena could have been raped. Did she want this child? The idea of Serena as a mother seemed too perfect; she was so friendly, caring, and from the experience I had seen her with Rini... well, I had known for a long while that Serena would make a good mother. Take the time she babysat Jordan! Darien and her made the perfect couple, and the perfect parents! And thanks to them, Jordan learned to WALK and TALK! This raised another question. Even if Serena did want the child, how would she take care of it? Did she have a job? Did her parents know? And would she care whether Darien knew? Whether he was the father or not, didn't he *deserve* to know? If he was the father... would he support her? "About what?" I asked just as quietly, trying to calm the raging storm of questions in my head. "Endymion. Serenity. Them, Us. Whoever they are, were or have been. They did..." She trailed off, and I caught wind of what she was saying. "They?" I trailed off. Serena looked up, tears sparkling in her eyes for an inexplicable reason. She nodded, and I started to think. Why would Serena have dreams, why now? And how was Serena pregnant, if she and Darien had never made love, and it was almost an impossibility that she had been raped? The only thing that came to mind was the crystal. Only something so mysterious and linked so deeply to Serena would be behind this. And the crystal made me think... it had saved us countless times from complete destruction... but used at its full power, it always killed its user. Was it possible... that Serenity, the *princess* had known about this pregnancy, hundreds of years ago, and, having a small portion of power linked to the crystal... was it possible that a child from THAT era was reborn? In Serena? NOW? I didn't know enough about Serenity, the Silver Millenium, or even Serena to possibly speculate on such a thing, so I pushed the thought back from whence it came. The phone rang. Serena looked at it for a brief second, as if it might bite her. "That'd be Dr. Cunningham..." Then she picked it up. "Hello?" I was sure that was trepidation falling from her voice. A pause. "Hi... um..." Serena looked strained for a second. The doctor must be blabbing. I guess they have a tendency to do that. Serena's face shattered into a happy, relieved smile, and my heart rate slowed down to a healthy speed. All was well, and I knew it even before Serena said so. "Thank you, Dr. Cunningham." Another pause. "Thanks." Serena looked at the phone for a minute before setting it back on its cradle. She stared at me as if she hadn't a soul, like a fallen angel would when it was told it could have its wings back, after an eternity. You see how poetic I get when tension is in the air, when we girls go through yet ANOTHER weird situation? "It's him?" I asked calmly. Serena looked at me, and saw how I was nonchalant. She nodded and then let the tears fall. 'I knew it.' I thought to myself. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Weren't you going to tell everyone anyways?" I asked after Serena had had a long, happy cry on my shoulders. It seemed reasonable to assume that she would tell everyone else, now that I had found out. Otherwise, there would be heavy tension, and a sure fight between her and Raye. "Yes... just before the attack, I had planned to tell everyone, but now..." Why would she change her mind? "Now?" I prodded. "Now, I know why I wanted to keep it a secret for as long as I had... about two hours, maybe." Serena smiled. An exaggeration, to say the least, seeing as it had been afternoon YESTERDAY when I found out. And Serena HAD known for at least a month... she had apparently told her parents, gotten an apartment and maybe even a job on her own... "I didn't want everyone thinking I had to be taken care of. It was bad enough when you all found out I was the princess. Everyone risked themselves for me, or treated me as less than a scout, and more like a burden." I could hardly believe the words forming and coming out of her mouth. Never had I thought she was a burden! "We never thought you were a burden!" I cried, shocked. "I know that now... it's just like you were all my friends BEFORE we became scouts, and then becoming scouts was just another thing we had in common, linking us to each other. But still... I never wanted you guys to put your dreams on hold for me, to feel you had an obligation to me." "I know we don't. But the point is, without you, we'd all be alone. So the most natural thing for us to do is to stick by you, as your friends, your guardians, and your sisters." "Thank you." Serena whispered quietly. "Not just me you know. If they really do know, you better tell them everything, before they end up asking DARIEN questions." "EEP. Good point. I'll call them over." In moments, Serena had called the whole gang over, and they were due to arrive back at her house in twenty minutes. But she knew just as well as I did, that if they even had a SMALL inkling of what was going on... they'd be here sooner. And we were right. We exchanged a familiar, knowing glance when the first bell rang in less than ten minutes. "Explanation." Mina stated. "Now." Lita added. "Long, Good, Complete." Raye ordered. "From the beginning?" Serena asked. "The very beginning." Lita nodded. "Welll..." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ And so the story began. I must say, it was long, and interesting. But, I shall not retell it (A.N: She shouldn't have to! That was all in Part 2c!!). But the thing is, at the end of it all, Serena had to explain the test results: that Darien was the father of the child she was carrying. For the first time, I saw Raye look utterly flabbergasted. "How?! How?!" Raye stuttered. "I think I can answer that." I said quietly. It was time for my theory to surface. "You can?!" Serena asked, astonished. "The Silver Imperium Crystal allowed us all to be reborn when we all died by the hand of Beryl over a thousand years ago, here, on present day Earth. And then again, when we all died in the attack against the Doom and Gloom Girls and Beryl in the present time. It's reasonable to assume that the power to rebirth us is in the Silver Crystal, and that power stems not from the crystal itself, but its user's heart." It was just a theory, but... Four pairs of eyes turned to Serena questioningly. "Every time you wished we could be reborn, to live again, your heart, the most powerful souce of energy, granted the wish. The Crystal only healed our bodies and minds so the wish would be complete." "And this connects to Serena... how?" Raye asked, motioning to Serena's swollen belly. "Serenity DID know about the child back in the Silver Millenium. According to the story Serena told me, Serenity told Endymion the very day everyone died. Serenity knew it was pointless to live without Endymion, and that was why she threw herself into the blast Beryl sent at them. But deep inside, she DID want the child to be reborn. That wish, the wish to bring a hardly formed life back into being, could only be granted with a tremendous amount of power, not just in Serena's heart, either. So when her power level was the same as back then, the child was 'reborn' INSIDE Serena." "Ooooohhhh..." Everyone chorused in understanding. "Do you really think that's the case?" "It's possible, logical... and... well, I can't think of any other way, scientifically." I blushed. In return for my response, I got two pairs of rolled eyes and two lopsided smirks. "I don't know." Serena whispered. "Serena?" Mina asked. "I'm just not sure of anything. Should I tell him... I mean, he has a right to know..." "He'll probably feel obligated to take care of you, just like you DON'T want." I pointed out. I knew that was what Serena was feeling, and at the point in time when no one was REALLY sure of what was going on with Darien, no one wanted to take a chance. "Yeah, and remember, what kind of a father would he be, leaving his unborn child and girlfriend before he even knows about the kid?" Lita reminded her. At this, Serena was reminded of the dream she had had the other night... the way he had held her and looked at her. Serena seemed to have made up her mind. She nodded, and I noted that small twinkling in her eye again. She doubted herself, and I knew deep inside, that she still loved him. She would be drawn to him, and nothing could keep them apart for long. They WOULD find a way back to each other... somehow. She nodded firmly anyways, and that was the end of that. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In the months that followed, we had one hell of a time preventing Darien from seeing Serena. To begin with, Serena told us about her job at the arcade, and told Andrew the next day. When she came back to her place, we were all done doing our work for the day- which I will explain in a second. She seemed kind of upset. When we all asked her why, she said that she had told Andrew, and she had told him -without any of us there- she didn't want Darien to know. And it hurt her. We asked if she washaving second thoughts, did she want him to know? We shouldn't get in the way of doing something she wants to do. But no, Serena told us quietly. She would keep it a secret from him, and so would Andrew. As Lita and I went to the same school as Serena, we would undoubtedly see Darien more. And we did. Not just on our way to and from school, but at the arcade, the mall... it was amazing how Darien never seemed to be in the arcade when Serena was working. Perhaps it was something she had arranged with Andrew. In any case. I forgot to explain the jobs that we had been doing that day Serena came back from telling Andrew. It was my job to get Serena hooked up at the hospital. I talked to her OB/GYN, a very nice woman named Dr. Laura Cunningham, who had been a teen mother herself. She cared deeply for Serena, as her case was rather close to what had happened to her. The only exception being that she hadn't had a child because of some crystal... Raye and Mina went shopping for the basics. Serena had given them all the cash from her last two paychecks, and they went out to buy everything Serena would need. They got home before anyone else, and decided to start converting my bedroom into a nursery. I didn't mind in the slightest; Serena's recliner was like a bed to me already, seeing as at my own house, I often fell asleep in the chairs. Lita dealt with Serena's schooling. Her parents had already ben told about her pregnancy, and dealt with release forms. Serena was still their daughter, but her address had been changed to her own, and she was her own legal guardian. Serena attended night school and nursing school for a short time, but as both Dr. Cunningham and I pointed out, she wouldn't be able to risk in during her second trimester. Which meant after she was six months pregnant, she would not be able to attend school, only do the work. Lita agreed to pick up the work every day, I agreed to tutor her, as well as make routine checks on her. I wanted to make sure she was healthy and mentally stable. And that was that. Months passed, and Darien, try as he might, would get no closer to Serena. It was strange, though. He knew where she lived, and he never tried to see her himself. It was not as if any of the other girls or I stayed there overnight to "fend" him off. Perhaps he too, had some inkling. It was more than possible. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The rainy season was coming, and Lita and I had arranged it with the teachers so that she only had to turn in work at the end of the week. This way, Serena had a whole week to do any work, and the rest of the days to work (as she could no longer work at the arcade, she tested new recipies and fixed some old gaming machines. She was a wonder with those old games, and I saw a side to her I had never thought was there before- the mechanical side.) at home. I only stopped by her house at the end of the week, to save us both hassle and time. So when the event that changed the course of the baby's life ocurred, I was out of the loop, not present... unawares. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End of Substory 1, Amy "Stop reading fanfics and STUDY!" -Just a little sidenote from Amy. Many thanks to everyone who mailed me about this. Hope it keeps meeting your standards, and I hope to keep hearing from you. *Azurite*