Genesis, Chapter 5
By Distant Sky King
Rated PG-13

All standard disclaimers apply.

Author's Note:
This fanfiction is an attempt to tell the story of how Haruka and
Michiru initially met during the Silver Millennium.  Parts of this
story may be too mature for younger audiences, so if you're under 18
or don't think you can handle adult situations, turn back now.

Chapter 5

	Prince Orion ran through the marble hallways as fast as he could.  The
news of his sister's accident had reached him during breakfast via a very
frantic Madam Delta.  The large woman was almost beside herself with worry 
and
was barely able to speak, but she somehow managed to tell him that his 
sister
was injured.  He didn't know the extent of her injuries but didn't like the 
look
on Madam Delta's face, either.  He decided to skip breakfast and left for
Uranus's room.
	Orion slowed his pace as he neared his sister's chamber, but halted when
he noticed the hunched-over form of the Princess of Neptune sitting by the 
door.
Her knees were drawn up to her chest and her aqua head was buried deep in 
her
arms.  Her shoulders shook a little, and it was at that moment that he 
realized
she was crying.  It couldn't be that bad, could it?  The Palace was the 
safest
place on the moon.  What the hell happened?
	He approached the Princess apprehensively, afraid to ask the inevitable,
but aware he'd find out sooner or later.
	"Princess," he greeted somberly.
	Neptune's head shot up and she fixed her addresser with watery red eyes.
"Prince," she croaked in return.
	Orion swallowed the lump that rose in his throat at the sight of the
distressed girl.  It must be bad.  "How bad is it?" he asked slowly.
	"I don't know," she sniffed, dropping her head back into her arms.  "The
doctor's with her now.  He won't let anyone in."  Her voice was muffled by 
her
arms but the Prince could hear her perfectly.
	"I see," he said darkly.
	Neptune's little frame shook as another bout of quiet sobs racked her
body.  God, what had she done?  Why had she asked that gardener to move the
pillar into the path?  She could have had it moved anywhere in the entire
garden, but for some reason she chose the direct path Uranus was running.  
Her
irrepressible artistic intuition told her it would be a wonderful model as a
still-life painting, and the light was much better on the path.  She was a 
fool;
she should have known what her selfish action could mean.  She was a damned,
damned fool and she seriously hurt the only friend for whom she dared to 
care so
much.
	Orion's heart sank watching the young girl cry so bitterly over his
sister's misfortune.  Why?  Did she actually care that much so soon?  They'd
known each other less than a week, and while Orion himself was quite 
distressed
over the news, Princess Neptune was taking it much harder than she should.
Indignant jealousy flared up inside but he smothered it with the sober 
thought
that his sister could be mortally wounded.  No need for petty claims of
ownership now.
	Just then the heavy wooden door opened and the lovely Queen Serenity
herself emerged from the room.  Her usually flawless face was drawn in worry 
but
she tried to hide it unsuccessfully with an insincere smile when she spied 
Orion
standing by the door.
	Neptune looked up when she heard the door open but dropped her gaze again
when she found who it was.  She was too ashamed to even make eye contact.
	The Queen cast her luminous eyes to the princess seated on the floor and
slowly bent down to her.  She placed a graceful hand on the girl's shoulder 
and
sought her eyes with her own.  "She asked about you," the Queen said 
soothingly.
	Neptune's head snapped around to finally meet the Queen's warm gaze.  The
velvety eyes and light smile told her that the monarch was very sincere, and
that shamed her even more.  "How is she?" she choked, dropping her head back
into her arms.
	"The doctor said she only has broken ribs and bruising," the Queen told
her gently.  "No permanent damage, but she'll be bedridden for a while."
	Relief flooded through Neptune's body like a tidal wave.  Another sob
ripped through her and fresh tears sprang to her eyes.  "Oh, your Majesty," 
she
cried, "it was all my fault.  If I--if I--"
	"It's all right, child," Serenity soothed, gathering the shivering girl in
her arms.  "What's done is done.  You didn't know it would happen and 
there's no
real harm done.  A few broken ribs won't keep Princess Uranus off her feet 
for
long.  Hush."  She stroked Neptune's wavy hair and rocked her slowly, doing 
her
motherly best to calm her down.
	Orion looked on with mixed emotions.  Here he stood, the only person
Uranus could call family and the Queen was comforting the Princess of 
Neptune.
Something was definitely amiss.  Sure, he wasn't displaying such raw emotion 
as
the princess, but that didn't mean he wasn't upset inside.  He was greatly
relieved to hear that his sister was going to be fine, but that didn't 
diminish
his erroneous jealousy.  Had these two girls grown this close?  Had Uranus
finally made a friend other than himself?  He shook his head in puzzlement.  
The
whole concept of girls and their strange relationships to one another would
forever elude him.
	"Orion," the Queen said, looking up.  "You may see her now."
	The young man nodded gravely and reached for the doorknob, but stopped.
He suddenly didn't feel right about being the first to see his sister after
witnessing this scene.  "Princess," he started tentatively.  "I--I think you
should go first."
	Neptune scrubbed her blue eyes with the back of her hand and looked up at
the blonde prince.  "What?" she sniffed.
	"I said I--I think you should see her first."  He cast her a shy look and
turned away from the door.  "I'll come back later."  And with that, he 
jammed
his fists into his pockets and made his way down the marble hallway to his 
room
in the other wing.
	Neptune watched him go, a small seed of admiration germinating within her.
She thought the Prince to be a rude boy when she first met him, but now 
began to
think otherwise.  He could be a gentleman.
	"Are you going in?" Queen Serenity suddenly asked.
	Neptune's heart fell.  "I don't think she'd want to see me.  Not after
what I did."
	"Nonsense," the beautiful queen chuckled.  "She asked about you before I
came out here.  She knows what happened."
	The Princess's blue eyes went wide.  "She can't!  My foolish actions could
have killed her!  Did that pillar fall on her head, too?"
	Queen Serenity laughed musically at her young ward's joke, but a quizzical
look from the girl told her that she was absolutely serious.  The Queen 
cleared
her throat uncomfortably and the smile returned instantly to her lips.  "Her
head's fine, Princess," she said softly.  "Now go in."
	The Queen's smooth commanding tone and reassuring eyes gave Neptune the
steel she needed to enter the room and apologize fiercely to her stricken
friend.  She nodded slowly and rose to her feet.
	"Here," the Queen said, handing her a small white handkerchief.  "Dry
those beautiful eyes, Princess.  There are worse things in this universe 
then a
few cracked ribs and wounded pride."
	Neptune smiled gratefully at the loving woman and reached for the
doorknob.  She slowly pushed open the door and entered.
	Shades were drawn over the big bay window, successfully denying the room
of the lovely natural light from outside.  Neptune's eyes took a moment to
adjust to the darkness.  To her right, the aging Doctor Theta was packing 
his
various instruments and supplies into his small black bag.  He looked up 
when he
heard her enter.
	"You mustn't stay long, my Lady," he told her quietly.  "She has a bit of
a fever.  I just gave her some medication for the pain, and something to 
make
her sleep."
	Neptune nodded silently and finally allowed herself to look at the
prostrate form on the bed.  She approached slowly, apprehensively, fearing 
the
worst.
	The doctor smiled reassuringly at her and closed his bag.  "If she wasn't
as strong as she was, she'd be much worse, Lady.  Remember, only a few 
minutes,"
he reminded, then left, closing the door quietly behind him.
	Alone and afraid, Neptune crept up to the side of Uranus's bed.  Her heart
sank at the sight of her friend.  She was propped up on quite a few pillows, 
her
arms straight at her sides.  A light blanket was draped over her slim frame,
somehow making her look smaller than she actually was.  Tightly wrapped 
bandages
peeked out from under the blanket.  The girl's breathing was shallow and 
ragged,
and her eyes were closed.  Her usually fair face was even paler than usual 
and
Neptune could see small droplets of sweat standing on her forehead.  A giant
knot began to form in her stomach as she watched her friend suffer.
	She wanted to leave.  She wanted to run away.  There was absolutely
nothing she could ever say or do to make up for her grievous mistake.  Yet, 
she
couldn't bring herself to go.  Although her mind screamed at her to run and
hide, her body simply would not comply.  So there she stood, watching 
Uranus's
shallowly heaving chest and listening to her raspy breath.  She was glad the
girl was asleep.
	"I'm not asleep," a breathy voice said quietly.  Uranus slowly opened her
green eyes and she turned he head slightly, letting her tired gaze fall on 
her
friend.
	Neptune started.  She didn't know what to say.  "Haruka, I--"
	"It's okay," she rasped.  "It only hurts a little."
	Neptune suddenly burst into tears.  "That's a lie, Haruka!" she cried,
burying her face in her hands.  "I could have killed you!"
	Uranus swallowed painfully as she regarded her weeping friend.  The drug
the doctor gave her was quickly taking effect and clouding her mind with 
sleep.
She was puzzled.  "Why are you crying?" she asked slowly.
	Neptune pulled her hands from her face and looked at the blonde angrily.
"I could have killed you!" she sobbed, letting the tears run openly down her
face.
	Uranus closed her eyes.  "I'm not dead," she murmured.  She was falling
quickly into darkness.  The last thing she heard was Neptune's sobbing 
apology.

End Part 5


End Note:

I know this chapter is short but it was too much to add at the end of 
Chapter 4,
and I wanted a cliff-hanger in 4.  Yes, Haruka's accident is out of the
ordinary, but so's the entire Sailor Moon universe.  Thanks to everyone who
reads this, especially the supportive crew at sailormoon.org!  Send any
questions and comments to distantskyking@moonkingdom.com, and all flames to
someone else.  Just kidding.  Flames aren't nice, but just as welcome.