Saturday 7AM

Ikuko and Kenji were rushing Shingo out the door with all his equipment as Mamoru walked up. "Oh good morning, Mamoru! How are you?"

"I'm great, Ikuko. Did you want some help?"

Kenji shook his head. "No. The boy has to learn how to juggle all his belongings if he's going to take this seriously."

Mamoru put up his hands in front of his chest. "All yours then. Is Usagi up?"

Ikuko chuckled. "No I'm afraid not. They were up pretty late last night. I've tried waking them up a few times, but we have to go. Go on inside and see if you can get them out of bed. I'm sure she'll listen to you! Bye Mamoru! Have fun today and thank you for taking the girls!"

Mamoru stood outside the front door and waved while the Tsukino clan drove off.

He turned and walked into the quiet home. This is going to be interesting. He had never seen Usagi first thing in the morning. Every time he saw her she was running out the door to him with her hair done beautifully and her clothes matching. He was always in awe of her.

Mamoru started up the stairs. Now which one would be her room I wonder? He made it to the landing and looked at the doors. The master bedroom was cracked open as was the bathroom door in the hall. Shingo's door was obvious because it had a 'do not disturb, genius at work' sign that looked like it had been written by a child his age.

The last was a pale pink door with bunnies painted on the front. He smiled warmly at the sight. He turned the knob and slowly opened the door. There was no creaking noise, which was something he was afraid of. It had opened smoothly and quietly and revealed a very interesting sight. The girls were asleep, alright. Both were squeezed into Usagi's twin bed that laid against her left bedroom wall. Books were laid open and stacked into piles. He could barely read the titles, but they all looked to be related to the medical field. Posters on the wall of anatomy and weightlifters she looked up to as well as her powerlifting medals were displayed. Makeup was laid out on the vanity table and her small library was in the corner. There were about 50 books in total – most of which were all medically related as well. All completely what he would expect for Usagi's room – except for the fact that it looked like someone had murdered 15 chickens in there. There were feathers all over the place.

Mamoru held his lips together but let out a bit of a chuckle which startled Ami awake. "Oh. Mamoru." She laid across a sleeping Usagi to reach her phone that was on the night stand. "What time is it?" Feathers that had settled into her hair were falling into her face and she kept blowing them away. 7:08 "I'm so sorry that we weren't ready for you." She laid back to where she was and nudge Usagi. "Usagi-chan. Wake up!" Usagi groaned and rolled over.

Mamoru couldn't believe it. She had surpassed all her breathtaking looks in that moment. She had feathers intertwined in her hair. The golden strands were manipulated into two very messy buns on either side of her head. She didn't have a stitch of makeup on and looked even more angelic than he'd ever seen her.

Ami nudged her again. "Usagi-chan!" Usagi groaned without opening her eyes, "Whaaaattt, what, Ami-chan?"

Ami leaned over to Usagi so that she'd be sure to hear her. "Mamoru is here."

Usagi opened one eye to her friend. "Hmm?"

"Mamoru" Ami looked at her, then at Mamoru, and back to her. "Is here."

Usagi moved her head slowly over to see Mamoru standing there with his hands in his pockets and leaning against the door frame. He smiled. "Good morning, Usa."

It took Usagi a few moments to process that this was real. She squinted and smacked her lips. Why is it so bright in here? After blinking a few times and adjusting to the light, her eyes darted around the mess of a room and only assumed the state of her bed-head.

Horrified, Usagi's face scrunched up in embarrassment and she threw herself into the pillow. "Agghhh! *muffled* Good morning Mamoru, uhm can you give us a few minutes to get ready?"

Mamoru raised his eyebrows to Ami for a translation. "She wants you to give us a few minutes to get dressed."

Mamoru nodded. "Of course. I'll be downstairs."

Usagi heard the door close and the descending footsteps go down the stairs. She sat up. "Ami-chan, please tell me this is a dream and Mamoru did not come into my bedroom when it was covered in feathers from last night's pillow fight."

Ami smushed her lips together and looked at Usagi regretfully. "Sorry Usagi-chan, but you are not dreaming."

"Ughhh, I thought about the first time of him coming into my room so many times – to my surprise, it never involved having feathers everywhere!" Usagi jumped out of bed and frantically started cleaning up her room. Ami started to help by picking the feathers out of her hair and out of Usagi's.

Mamoru had helped himself to a cup of coffee while he listened to the stomping and chatter from upstairs. He heard a bam, Usagi cry out, and then a muffled Ami ask if she was ok. He couldn't help but smile as he took another sip of his coffee. I love her.

20 minutes later the girls came running down the stairs ready to go. They rushed straight to the door and Usagi called out behind her, "C'mon Mamoru! We're late!"

A few minutes before 845A they pulled into the parking lot in front of the main building at Juuban University. Usagi was beside herself in panic since the scheduled tour was for 9. She tried to hide her feelings, but both Ami and Mamoru could tell she was anxious. Mamoru parked quickly and luckily, since he had attended this university, he knew exactly where to go.

They met their guide and proceeded with the tour.

After the girls saw the campus and spoke to a dean from their department, Usagi and Ami couldn't wait to go home and complete their applications. The deadline was the end of the month and all the necessary testing they had to do was completed. "If we both go, we could be roommates."

Usagi nodded at Ami's realization. "Definitely. Never underestimate the time of living with a girl during your 20s." Mamoru chuckled as he drove them to a restaurant. The tour had taken 3 hours and they were all starving. "What are you laughing at?"

Mamoru shook his head. "Nothing, I just love hearing all of your plans. It makes me miss my college days."

"Did you have a roommate, Mamoru?" He looked in the rearview mirror at the bluenette who asked the question. "I did. Actually, we're still friends. His name is Motoki."

They seated themselves at a diner and started to look at the menu. Usagi was biting the inside of her cheek as she perused the options. "OOooo they have fried macaroni and cheese." Usagi looked up at Mamoru. "Some for the table?" And then looked over at Ami who shyly confessed, "I've never had it before."

Usagi looked shocked. "Whattt? Ami-chan?! Nope that's settled, that's our appetizer."

They all ordered their respective meals and the fried mac and cheese came out first for the table with three additional personal plates. Usagi dove right in. She placed a few on her plate and the sauce that came with it. She took her first bite of them and groaned in happiness. With her mouth full, she exclaimed, "oh my goodness these are amazing!"

Ami let out a laugh. "I cannot understand how you eat like that and stay so fit." Ami looked over to Mamoru. "I saw her ABS last night. This bitch has abs!" Usagi chuckled with her mouth still full.

Mamoru nodded as he bit into his own mac and cheese bite. "Oh I know, she kicks my butt in the gym every day." Ami nodded. "Oh that's right! I forgot you two had started that. How's it going?"

Usagi swallowed the food she had been chewing. "He's actually better than he thinks he is. Already up to benching 175." Ami looked at Mamoru with a surprised look. "Wow, Mamoru! That's awesome!"

"I wouldn't have ever done it if it wasn't for her." Mamoru smiled lovingly at Usagi while she looked down at her plate to fork another mac and cheese bite. Ami looked at him, at Usagi, and back to him again. There was no mistaking it. He liked her.

Usagi's eyes popped open, "Ami-chan, you should join us!"

Ami looked at Usagi mildly embarrassed. "I? Uh-I don't..."

Usagi bounced in her seat at the thought of her idea. "Yesss! Oh my gosh, do you know how awesome it would be if you were my gym partner, roomie in college, and future coworker? We're going to be best friends for life!"

Mamoru laughed as he took another bite of the fried mac and cheese. The bluenette tried to push down her blush. "It does sound interesting..." She looked up at Mamoru and continued, "but I wouldn't want to intrude."

Mamoru's eyebrows knitted together as he shook his head. "Not at all, Ami-chan. You're more than welcome to join us!"

Ami read Mamoru's sincerity and looked back and Usagi's excitement. She had never felt so accepted. And it happened so quickly she could hardly believe it was real. Ami's small smile grew into one just as big as Usagi's. "Ok, I'll do it!"

Mamoru watched the exchange between the two girls and smiled happily. Usagi had the ability to make anyone happy. She was unapologetically herself and welcomed others to be the same, never criticizing or questioning. She was incredible.

Their used plates were cleared and their entrees arrived. Usagi got grilled chicken salad, Ami got the club sandwich and Mamoru got a burger with fries. Usagi was a third of the way through her salad when she took her fork and grabbed a few of Mamoru's fries. Mamoru's face was filled with playful shock. "Hey! You promised!"

Usagi bit into the fries off the fork. "I promised not to steal protein from your plate." She moved the fork in front of him. "These are carbs." She smiled and ate the remaining fries. Mamoru laughed and shook his head.

Ami smiled at how they both acted with one another. Why weren't they together?

After eating some of his own fries, Mamoru decided to get to know Ami a little more. "So, I know you're Dr. Mizuno's daughter and that you've been around medicine your whole life, but what made you specifically choose to become a doctor?"

Ami blushed lightly. She hadn't been asked that question before… "Oh, uhm." She cleared her throat. "I think my mother had the biggest influence." Usagi smiled at Ami as she chewed more of her salad.

"When I was younger," Ami continued, "I would tag along with my mother on her long shifts. You know, the ones that last 14 hours or more." Mamoru nodded knowingly and rolled his eyes at the horrible thought.

"Well," she kept on, "I guess I could say I got the upfront internship early from the observational side. I didn't just see my mother treating people, I saw her helping people. She showed her patients that someone cared enough to ask the detailed questions of their daily life to determine their diagnosis correctly. After years of this, her regular patients, in a way, became my regular patients. I would start to ask questions and get involved and the patients always responded to it positively. I realized that these people were my family. I knew about their hobbies, their frustrations, and their pleasures. Their health started to matter to me more than my own." Ami smiled while reminiscing and finished, "I just can't see how I could spend my life any other way."

Usagi put her hand on Ami's arm. "Ami-chan, that was so beautiful."

Mamoru nodded. "It really was. Your passion is definitely going to be clear in your career."

Ami blushed and smiled, "Thank you, Mamoru!" Ami paused for a few moments while looking at the table shyly and then looked up at Mamoru. "What about you?"

Mamoru's eyes widened, slightly surprised, he brought a nervous hand to his head. "Me?"

Usagi looked over at him and her eyebrows knitted regretfully. "I've never asked you that, Mamoru."

"Uhh…well, it's kind of a long story."

Usagi smiled, "That's ok. I was thinking about checking out their dessert menu." She brought over the small 3 paneled menu that was stationed on the end of their table next to the sugars and other condiments. Mamoru chuckled. "Alright then. Well, when I was 6, I woke up in a hospital."

Usagi immediately dropped the menu. "What?" Ami gasped, "Oh my goodness!"

Mamoru cleared his throat, slightly uncomfortable. This has been his second time telling this story – the first was to Motoki. He continued, "Apparently, I had been in a car accident, but I had no memory of it. My parents died upon impact and I had severely hit my head. When I awoke, I had no recollection of who I was or where I came from. Doctors had to tell me what my name was and how I was suddenly an orphan."

Usagi and Ami's eyes filled with sympathy and tears.

"How –" her throat caught and she had to clear it. "How did that make you want to become a doctor?"

Mamoru looked at the bluenette and sighed while running his hand through his hair insecurely. "The doctor that told me all of this took really good care of me. Whether it was his sympathy or his love of helping people, I don't know, but he took extra time with me in my recovery and even helped me find a good orphanage where I was able to be on my own by the time I was 16." He paused and drank some water before he continued. "You see…my parents had left behind a small fortune. Not a crazy amount, but it was enough for me to pay my own way through college and get my first apartment. I got my current house from what I've made on a doctor's salary, but before that…" he smiled lightly, "I have them to thank for."

Their waitress came by to see if they needed anything else before their check while clearing their plates. Mamoru looked at Usagi expectantly – waiting for her to order a lavish dessert. Usagi gave a small smile and said, "uh, no I'm fine, thank you." Mamoru made a raspberry with his lips and scoffed. "Nonsense. You were going to get a dessert."

Usagi looked at him, trying not to show the sadness that story had brought her. "I'm not that hungry for it anymore."

Mamoru's eyes became serious as he leaned on the table towards Usagi. "Usa. I don't need you or your stomach to suffer on my account. I'm fine." He sat back into his seat and looked up at the confused waitress standing there waiting on a confirmed response from her table.

Mamoru crossed his arms and nodded his head to Usagi to continue her order while saying, "She's going to be ordering a dessert for all of us to try."

Usagi sat up, trying to push down her feelings of pain for Mamoru and looked hesitantly at the dessert menu. "Uhh, I was thinking we'd try the "Brulee Tray". The waitress nodded and walked off with their empty plates to go put the order in.

Ami leaned over to look at the menu. "Brulee Tray?"

Usagi nodded. "Yeah it's 3 different types of Crème Brulees. One vanilla, one chocolate, and one coffee."

"Wow, that sounds delicious." Ami sat back and looked at Usagi in a type of wonder. "Usagi-chan, how is it you know so many different foods?"

Usagi tilted her head and looked at Ami quizzically. "You mean you've never had a crème brulee before, Ami-chan?"

Ami shook her head no. She shrugged and tried to explain, "I mean, I've heard of them, but I've never ordered one."

Mamoru nodded as he raised his water glass for another drink. "Same." Mamoru took a few gulps and set the glass down. "I have noticed, Usa, that you do have a certain love for food."

Usagi giggled. "Oh yes, I love food. Why do you think I go to the gym so often?" Ami & Mamoru started to laugh as the waitress brought the 3 crème brulees to the table along with three spoons. "Enjoy, guys!"

The crust on the crème brulees wasn't cracked and Usagi squeaked. "Oh my gosh, ok this is the best part! Everyone, grab a spoon!"

Ami and Mamoru picked up their spoons with questioning faces.

Usagi dictated, "Ok Ami-chan, you take the vanilla one, Mamo-chan, you take the coffee one and I'll take the chocolate one."

Ami's eyebrow raised and she met eyes with Mamoru who also looked confused. "What exactly are we doing with it, Usagi-chan?"

Usagi smiled widely. "This!" She brought the back of her spoon down on the crust of the chocolate crème brulee and they heard a small crack. She dipped her spoon in and took a taste with a very satisfied smile. "The top is the best part!"

Mamoru and Ami exchanged looks again and each cracked their respective brulees. They took a bite and it wasn't long before they were both smiling like Usagi.

The desserts only lasted a few minutes. Spoons overlapped each other as the three tasted each flavor with fervor.

The waitress came back with the check a few moments after the bowls had been scraped clean and Mamoru acted quickly to steal it before Usagi had the chance. Usagi stuck out her tongue and Mamoru smiled back at her while he handed the waitress his credit card.

After dropping off Ami at her house, Mamoru and Usagi pulled into the driveway. As he put the car into park, Usagi leaned back and smiled at Mamoru. "Thank you so much for today. I couldn't have done it without you."

"Of course, Usa." I'd do anything for you. "That's what friends are for." Usagi smiled again.

Usagi felt a tightness in her chest as she held tentatively onto the car door handle. She kept trying to think of things to say to prevent her from leaving, but her head was annoyingly vacant. It was barely 3 in the afternoon. She knew her parents hadn't come back yet and there was still another day to go before Sunday. "So..uhm, I'll see you Monday?"

Mamoru was shocked by how quickly his heart dropped. That's right. Tomorrow is Sunday. He didn't have an excuse to see her other than when they worked together. His mind was racing. He spoke up before he had the words. "Uhhh…the uhm…"

Usagi looked at him expectantly. "…Yes?"

College. The college tour. He was scrambling to build off of it. "Do you think you may need help with your college application?" Good! Good, Chiba – college. Make yourself relevant.

Realization washed over her face – "Yes, actually, that would be amazing." She looked at him cautiously. "Y-you sure you wouldn't mind?"

Mamoru shook his head almost excitedly. "No not at all! I would love to help!"

Usagi was almost beaming. "Ok, so tomorrow?" Mamoru nodded eagerly.

Usagi opened the car door and stepped out. She shut it and he rolled down the window as she turned around as if to say something. "Is it ok if I come over to your house? Sometimes Shingo makes it so difficult to concentrate when he plays those video games."

Mamoru nodded with a smile. "Of course it's ok, Usa. You're always welcome over."

Monday 9AM

Anne walked in off the elevator and knew that the change had happened for the better. Everyone was looking her up and down. Demande's friend did a highlight job on her hair, added a few extensions to add body and length, redid her makeup, and gave her some new clothes that were more fitting to her body shape. She still looked like Anne, but if she was about to pose for the cover of a magazine. Her hips moved with new confidence and she was showing off her waist that the older scrubs would have hidden away.

She walked right up beside Mamoru as he was heading to his next patient. "Good morning, Dr. Chiba."

Mamoru glanced over at her and back to the chart he was reading. "Hi Anne."

Anne rubbed her lips together, feeling the stickiness of the lip gloss that was making her lips shine. "I wanted to see if you needed any help with your patients today. I heard your usual nurse is out sick." Thanks to Dr. Demande…

"Sure, Anne you can help. Can you go in and take this patient's blood pressure for me?"

"Of course." Anne walked in and kept her eyes on Mamoru but he hadn't even looked up. He has to look at me if this is going to work! She huffed inwardly while smiling at the patient. He'll look at me when he comes in. And I'll be ready.

Mamoru walked in for his patient and what he saw, he can honestly say he did not expect. Anne was sitting down next to the patient writing down the answers to his questions and she looked like she was ready for the runway. The patient couldn't take his eyes off her and frankly, neither could he.

Mamoru closed his eyes and briefly shook his head to focus. He cleared his throat and continued the examination as he would any other patient all the while trying to ignore Anne's suggestive movements and comments. Hm. I may have to speak with her about keeping her behavior professional around patients.

After that examination was over and they both walked out, Mamoru spoke up, but decided to start the conversation gently. "Anne did you do something over the weekend? You look different."

Anne almost squealed from excitement. "Good different or bad different?"

Mamoru nodded and almost laughed. "Oh it's a good different. You look very nice." He looked back down at his next patient's chart and examined what may be the issue with the person's complaints.

He was about to continue when Anne spoke before him, "Thank you." She fussed her hair out of her face and looked at him, trying to catch his eyes. "To tell you the truth, I wasn't going for nice."

Mamoru was still reading over the chart and was partly listening. Feeling that he should respond, he simply said, "oh..?"
She leaned in close to his ear and whispered, "I was going for naughty." Anne touched his chest with her palm and eyed him suggestively.

Mamoru felt the heat under Anne's palm as she invaded his personal space and looked at her with a flushed face. Uhhhh…what do I do?

Mamoru cleared his throat and took a step back away from Anne. "Uh, Anne...this isn't really..." He looked around uncomfortably as if trying to find the appropriate words to say and to his unfortunate surprise, saw Usagi down the hall looking directly at them. Oh god.

Her face was white and hurt. Before he could react, Usagi turned and disappeared around the corner.

~-~ A/N: I wanted to create a close friendship between Usagi and Ami. Apologies for the delay in updates, but I am always thinking about my stories and getting back to them. Don't give up on me! :) 3