Title: Only 16 Part: 2C(Didn't I tell you?) Rating: PG-13! (Maybe PG in this chapter...^_^;) By: Azurite/Andromida Email: sailor_andromida@yahoo.com Sites: www.geocities.com/sailor_andromida/ members.xoom.com/sailor_azure www.delphi.com/sailorstuff/ members.delphi.com/andromida/ Disclaimer: Has anyone else noticed that I've just been cutting and pasting things from my last chapter? If you haven't, shame on you! That means you aren't reading things that we authors slave over! However, if you are reading this, then there is no shame on you at all, as you are being a good fan. After all, people like you recognize that authors like us waste our time HANDWRITING the parts to the stories you email us to finish (and though we usually forget your name, albeit the fact we reply) in our journals, notebooks and Moonie Binders, we get it done, at all hours of night. All while saying this simple phrase: SAILOR MOON ISN'T MINE/OURS. Greets: To my Onee-chan's, Sailor Peace and JLaLa, who, even though I haven't talked to them in the longest time (this is what I get for getting a job to become an offical webmistress...), are still out there, hopefully wondering when the heck the next part of this story will come out. And here it is, just like I promised! Oh and of course, to my somewhat annoying imouto, Skylight. (Same old, same old) Other: Teen Parenting is not impossible nor rare. If you or someone you know is or will be a teen parent, tell them to tell someone else, be it friend, family, doctor or prenatal care specialist. I'm only adding this note for two reasons: 1)my health ed class just learned about this and from what I've heard, it's not fun, easy or worth the... pleasure. 2)I like stories with some kind of moral, Sailormoon or not. ****************************************************************** BEEPBEEPBEEP Serena bolted upright in bed at the sound of the annoying clock. That last dream... it had been so intense and real... there were so many details! "Wha?" Amy stumbled into Serena's room sleepily, apparently have been woken up from a sleep herself. Resolutely, Serena slammed her palm down on the clock, making the noisy beeping stop, and the plug to the clock come out. "Guess it's 4:40." Serena mumbled sleepily. "Yuh-huh." Amy agreed, rubbing her eyes. The two girls had two cans of Cola to wake them up, and after they had discussed Serena's latest dream, the phone rang. "That'd be Dr. Cunningham." Serena said nervously, edging towards the phone. "Hello?" "Serena? This is Dr. Cunningham." "Hi. Um..." "We have the results. Now I know this is rather impersonal, over the phone, but you asked for the results to be given this way, and we have a policy..." 'TELL ME!!' "...Finding the father was rather easy. He is a part-time med student here at Juuban. Darien Shields." Serena's breath caught in her throat as she managed a smile. "Thank you, Dr. Cunningham." "Don't forget to make an appoinment every month or so so that I can check on your progress. Congratuations again, Serena." "Thanks." Serena placed the reciever back on the cradle and smiled weakly at Amy. "It's him?" Amy asked, sipping her soda. Serena only nodded. 'I knew it.' Amy thought to herself. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Weren't you going to tell everyone anyways?" "Yes... just before the attack, I had planned to tell everyone, but now..." "Now?" Amy prodded. "Now, I know why I wanted to keep it a secret for as long as I had... about two hours, maybe." Serena smiled. "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." "We never thought you were a burden!" Amy 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. Although Serena suspected they all knew WHY she was calling them over, and they'd be there sooner. And she was right. Ten minutes passed before the first bell from downstairs rang, and it turned out all three girls were downstairs. "Explanation." Mina stated. "Now." Lita added. "Long, Good, Complete." Raye ordered. "From the beginning?" Serena asked. "The very beginning." Lita nodded. "Welll..." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "About three months back, I had this dream. It was rather hazy, and kind of short, but it had a big message. In the dream, Endymion and I... or rather, Endymion and Serenity... they made love to each other. It was a few days later when I started feeling sick, as you guys must all remember from that day at the temple. I went to the doctor's three days later, and my physician recommended I see another doctor, because I was 'of that age'. Dr. Cunningham was the doctor I saw, and she confirmed that I was pregnant. I was only a few weeks to a month in, though, so no one would notice for a while. I kept on going back for more tests and brochures and stuff, but the main thing was that in order to support my baby, I'd need money. Money that I didn't have. So, I checked the Want Ads, but no one had a job for a 16 year-old pregnant girl. Andrew was the only one who didn't care. Of course, he didn't -and still doesn't- know I'm pregnant, but he still gave me the job. I worked there for a month without anyone noticing. I did know that my parents would mutilate me if I relied on them entirely for this baby, so when I had enough money, I paid the down payment on this place. Andrew gave me an advance paycheck for the first month's rent, and I moved out of my old house. The explanation I gave was truthful, and hard, but I eventually told my parents why I wanted -needed- to move out. That I was pregnant, had a great paying job at a respectable place, and that was that. I was moving out. I thought for sure that my dad would blow his top, trying to find out who father was when I didn't -couldn't- even know. But he didn't. Sometimes I wonder if they know about my whole alter-egos situation, but... nah. In any case, I keep in touch with them, because they're my family, and to check on Luna, who, as you know, decided to stay there with Rini. (*Remember her?!*) So that's how I got this place. Last night was the first attack since Grim Man, since I found out I was pregnant. Luckily, Rini didn't find out, and thanks to Luna, she got home safe on her own, while all you worrywarts and Darien took me home. Of course, because I had told you I had moved out as one month into my pregnancy, or two months ago, you all knew where my place was. And strangely, enough, none of you ever asked how I had gotten the money to live here. Maybe you all thought my parents wanted to get rid of me, but in any case, you all knew I lived here, and you had stayed over a couple of times... but that was it. When Amy found out the other night, I was kind of in denial. I wanted her to tell me I was pregnant, because I didn't want to admit it myself. And just like I knew, hearing from Amy, it wouldn't be a lie, or something that I was just dreaming about. Which is why you all believed it the first time you heard about it... or rather, the first time Raye heard it and told it to you. Thankfully, you all knew better than to pester Amy when Darien was in the room, so he still doesn't know. And that's that." "Wow." Lita murmured. "I'll say." Mina added, her eyes wide. "..." Raye was silent. "WOW!" Raye finally blurted, hugging Serena. "Um, Ow!" "Sorry, Sorry, are you okay?" Raye fretted suddenly. "Raye, it's okay, I'm fine." "Serena, you mentioned you had had a dream at the beginning that kind of clued you in to what was happening with you." "Yeah, I did. The first was so short, I barely remembered it until the second dream, just after I found out I was pregnant, happened. And then the third dream, last night, was more intense, more detailed. I was beginning to suspect that Darien was really involved, and that I hadn't been... assaulted or anything. Then, just this afternoon, before the DNA test I got earlier results came back, I had another dream that kind of confirmed my suspicions." "How so?" "It showed all the details of when Endymion and Serenity first met, first kissed, first... made love to each other. And I know *I'M* a virgin, so that was the only explanation." "And the test results?" "Darien... Darien is the father of the child I'm carrying." "Wow." "How?! How?!" Raye stuttered. "I think I can answer that." Amy said. "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." 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." Amy blushed. In return for her response, she 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." Amy pointed out. "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. 'He was so pale, and tired-looking. Is it possible he broke up with me because he thought he'd be the cause of my death again?' It was more than likely, as a matter of fact, considering how Darien dealt with emotions. He had probably had the dream too... "Yeah, maybe you guys are right." Serena found herself saying, despite what she really thought and felt. 'Maybe they are...' ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Over the next few months, Serena and the girls did everything in their power to prevent Darien from seeing Serena. It even involved Andrew, who Serena had told the following day from the girls. "You're what?" "I'm... I'm... you heard me the first time, didn't you? You're not making me repeat this for effect, are you?" "Meh-muh..." Andrew stuttered. Serena couldn't help but smile. Andrew had been her friend for a long time, and Darien's for longer. He would understand best why she was telling him, and NOT Darien. "I'm pregnant. I've been working here to pay for my child's needs. I got my own apartment two months back to avoid hassling my parents, for the space, and for my child, above all. And it's all thanks to you, and your generous heart." "Zuh-Zuh..." "You gave me a job, and my baby hope. I hope you'll keep on letting me work here, because I need all the support money I can get without asking my parents and feeling guilty. And do not respond to this with 'Meh-muh' or 'Zuh-Zuh' or any other combination of syllables that don't form a word." "Wow." Andrew finally mumbled. "So you actually HEARD my story?" "Yeah, and Wow. Serena..." "If you are curious, Darien's the father." "HE IS?!" "Please don't tell him. He doesn't... I don't want him to know." Andrew's voice softened. "Why not?" "It's...It's just been too tough on us the past 6 months or so, maybe even longer, and telling him would just put more strain on him, and our lack of a relationship. I'm managing fine, anyways, so he doesn't NEED to know." "I understand." "Thank you." And that was the way it happened. Andrew and the girls prevented Darien from seeing Serena, and although it was 'for the best', Serena longed for him, just as much as he yearned for her. It was the link being reborn, along with the child inside her, the child that had never had the chance to grow. Time passed. The link was there, but it was weak. Serena hadn't transformed in over half a year, and had left all, if any, scout leader duties to Mina. Mina officially claimed herself as Serena's cousin, in this life (and the last), and this tidbit of news was spread around the Tsukino, Aino and friends families. "I'm gonna be an auntie!" Mina had cried enthusiastically when she finally found the family tree proclaiming her relativity to Serena and her as yet unborn child. She must have been the most excited out of the scouts. Attacks only came once a month, if that, and so the scouts got to live a somewhat peaceful life. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serena was officially at the end of her second trimester, or six months pregnant. She was well rounded, and had to wear "official" maternity wear now. She was only allowed to work at the arcade for half the time she used to, but made up for the lack of hours by working at home, testing out new receipes to be added to the Parlor menu and fixing (or as Mina had slyly put it, rigging) broken games. Her house looked like a strange mix between a nursery (with what had been Amy's room being converted into the nursery), a mod young adult's house, and an arcade, with games set in corners and along walls. Serena was never dependent on any of the girls, who were still in school. Serena didn't "drop out", per se, she simply didn't attend. She still did all the work, read her text... having a baby meant needing knowledge, and Serena didn't want to be an uneducated mother... In fact, her role model was Dr. Cunningham, who had told Serena on her appointment earlier that she herself had been a teen mother, and attended night school during her pregnancy in order to pass high school. And she had two part-time jobs that allowed her to pay for her own place, as well as get everything she needed for the baby. When she finally had her child, it was summertime, so she didn't have to worry about school. By the end of the summer, the father found out, and asked to marry Dr. Cunningham, who had been, back then, Laura Detweiler. The father took care of the child during the day while Laura attended Med School and college, and within half the time expected for a teen mother, Laura had her degree and PHd in Gynecology. "I wanted to help other girls who were teen mothers too." Dr. Cunningham had told Serena when she asked why she chose Gynecology. "I have the same idea... in a way. I want to be a nurse, and help cheer people up when they're sick. My friends all say that it's my best trait." "Well, then, you'll be an excellent mother, because, more often than not, your baby will run to you whenever it's upset." "Yeah..." ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ "Drat." Serena was out of milk, and this was that time of year when going out and getting something was foolish, especially when you didn't have a car. Probably because there was an 85% of getting caught in a thunderstorm. 'I need milk, though!' Serena had the weirdest cravings at the weirdest times, and currently, macaroni, which required milk to be made, was the latest one. "Well... I'll do it. No one ever said I didn't have guts." Serena grabbed an umbrella, slipped on her heavy white sweatjacket over her maternity jumper-dress with long sleeves, and left. She never even thought to call the other girls, or even Andrew... ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Serena wore her mini-backpack, in order to carry the quart of milk she intended to get. She couldn't carry anything with her arms; they'd get too tired too fast, and Serena didn't want that. It turned out that it was only overcast when Serena went outside, and somewhat bright. Serena thought this was the perfect time to read. She had a small paperback book on parenting stuffed away in her sweatjacket pocket, and she started reading it as she walked down the street. She needed both hands free, so she had stuffed her umbrella into the too-small-for-that backpack. Halfway to the market, Serena bumped into someone. "Umph!" 'Great, I'm *still* a clutz. What kind of a mom will I be, dropping my baby's bottle before I can even bring it?' "Let me help you." The voice registered in Serena's mind as familar... and she suddenly realized why. Her heart jumped wildly to her throat, which was burning with the longing to say his name... "Darien..." Serena whispered, barely audible. But Darien DID hear her, for she had whispered it as he was on his way down to pick up the fallen book. His eyes glanced up, and before the pieces slipped into place, his mind registered two things. 1) a pregnant woman 2) with six feet of long blonde hair And then he saw the book, labeled 'Parenting' on the cover. And then... somewhere kind of far away, he heard his name being whispered. How did this woman know his name? How was it she had the same crystalline eyes as his beloved Serena, who he ached to see? 'S-Serena?!' A crack of lightning and a rumble of thunder interruped his thought processing. A light rain began to fall, and Darien found himself rising, and speaking from instinct, like he was operating on auto-pilot. "Come on, you'll get sick." Darien wrapped his arm around her shoulders, and holding her tight, led Serena to his car parked around the block. He had had the full intention of going to the aracde, in some far hope that his beloved Serena would be there, even if he could only look at her, and not even speak with the goddess that ruled his heart. Another clap of thunder, and Serena pushed herself harder against him, terrified. Her old self was screaming Self-Preservation and insisted that no matter what she was going to have to tell him, she should go with him. In moments, she was in his car, strapped in safely. Darien made sure 'everything was all right' before stepping back into the rain and walking to the driver's side of the car. When he got in, Serena stole a glance at him. Albeit she felt nauseous, and VERY nervous, she was glad to be with him again, even if it meant sitting through a thunderstorm. The rainwater had fallen on him in such a way that his midnight eyes looked even easier to drown in, that his slick hair looked slicker, and each one of his well-cut muscles was outlined underneath his wet polo shirt. Serena turned away from him, depsite how... well, he looked like a god to her, and he was her savior from the rain no less! He looked back at her at that moment, and more directly than the stolen glimpses of her staring at him appreciatively from the side and rear view mirror. She was wet herself, but it didn't matter. She was with child. That must have been why, in the few attacks that he saw, whether as a first-hand witness or on the news, Sailor Moon was never present. And why Andrew and the girls gave him strange looks whenever he was around. He looked back at the road just as the turn he needed to make came up. Carefully, he signaled and turned, pulling into the garage of his apartment complex. He had no idea why he brought her here, but at this point, that didn't matter either. The whole idea was to keep her warm, safe and happy. And getting some questions answered in the process wouldn't hurt... The unlocking of the doors snapped Serena out of her reverie, and when she looked to her left, Darien was nowhere to be seen. The door on her right opened, the seatbelt slid past her shoulder, and a warm hand brought her out of the car. "Uh... Thank you..." Serena stuttered. He only smiled that melt-your-knees smile. Still holding her hand, he led her to the elevators, while avoiding the breaks in the ceiling where heavy amounts of rainwater poured down. 'With child... is she married as well?' Darien stole a glance at the left hand of his beloved in his hand. It was bare. A powerful thought rose in his head, and he found himself subconsciously gulping. 'Wedlock?' The elevator *dinged*, and Darien led Serena to his apartment. He fumbled for the key in his pocket, and when he finally found it, and unlocked the door, they stumbled in. Each removed their shoes, but after that, the heavy silence lapsed again. In an attempt to compensate, Darien wandered off to the kitchen to make cocoa. It was done in a few minutes, so Darien offered a mug to Serena, who was sitting silently on the couch, rubbing her stomach. "Would you like some?" "Yes please, Darien." It stung, calling him by his entire name. He had always liked it when she called him Dare, and he called her Sere. It was like they lived in a private world together, and no one could change that. No one but himself. 'It sounds like what she'd call someone she respected, not someone she loves.' Darien wanted to punch himself. He gave her the cocoa and then went into his bedroom to change. Serena removed her wet sweatjacket and placed it over the heater vent, making sure it was not too close, or it'd catch on fire. She sipped the rich cocoa slowly, savoring its warmth, its taste. 'It tastes like Darien.' 'DON'T THINK ABOUT THAT!!' She reprimanded herself. 'Why not?' The naughty part of her mind asked. Before she could 'respond' to herself, Serena had doubled to the carpeted floor in pain. Darien had just emerged from the bedroom, where he had been changing out of his wet clothes. "Sere?" He asked, truly concerned. Serena's expression of pain melted into a smile, and then back again as the sharp jabs in her stomach increased. "Dare... Darien.... it kicked... our baby kicked!" Serena whispered, tears filling her eyes. Serena had grabbed Darien's hand as he kneeled beside her in concern, and placed it on her stomach, where the baby was kicking happily. If it was possible for Darien to go porcelain-white and granite-hard, he did just that, all in a matter of seconds. He was much too pale for a healthy 19 year old. "Our...Our baby?" Darien croaked. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End of Part 2C, and all the 2's. YAY! After this, it'll be part 3! Aren't you excited!? EMAIL ME!!