Big kisses to Astraearose-silvermoon, kera69love, Karseneau, Rufael, Nebelflecke, usakobunnymoon, xSmallLadySerenity13, Guest, chica-flick, Celestial Cat, CassieRaven, eskalations and Adrianna Sharp. You make me the happiest author around! I so appreciate the support!

Wow. I'm thoroughly impressed at how long I managed to make this chapter! It was my goal to put you all through the wringer... I hope I succeeded in managing to make this a funny, angsty, romantic, and touching culmination of all that we've been working toward, with satisfying send-offs for all our characters. This story has truly been one of my favorites to date and I am going to miss it so much. Thank you all for taking this ride with me and don't forget to review! Also, if you wish to continue following my many other Sailor Moon WIPs, I will be forever grateful! You can find them by clicking my username. Happy reading!

The Bun-Head in the Oven

Prompt: "Family"

Turned out, the culprit of Usagi's painful contraction was not impending delivery, but a simple case of Braxton-Hicks.

So was the time after that.

And the time after that.

And the time after that.

Mamoru was starting to get sick of feeling like The Boy Who Cried Wolf. Leading his frustrated wife back out of Azabu General for the fourth time in less than two weeks was rather like making the walk of shame. He was a doctor here, for God's sake. You'd think after all this time he would have learnt a thing or two about keeping his head during stressful situations!

Everyone had been so friendly and understanding, assuring him that he was not all-knowing and it was better to be safe than sorry. Still, Mamoru was downright embarrassed with himself. He hated to admit it, but he might have even yelled at the nurse when she told them Usagi wasn't showing enough dilation. Something about how he knew where she could go get dilated...

Usagi didn't talk to him the whole car ride back. She just grumbled grumpily under her breath, sometimes with what Mamoru was pretty sure were obscenities interspersed throughout. He couldn't tell if she was mad at him for absolutely, totally, and utterly losing his cool the moment she announced another bout of contractions, or if she was miffed with her body for not having evicted the nine-month squatter already. Either way, he figured silence was the best route. No need to have his viscera ripped out just before the big day.

As Mamoru stared ahead at the road, fingers clenched white around the steering wheel, he suddenly had a burst of clarity. What was he doing? Mamoru looked at his arms; the way the tendons were all popping and how his hair was standing on end. This was ridiculous. How could he be Usagi's rock during her labor and delivery, if he was too busy running around like a scared decapitated chicken? Mamoru started to relax, grip loosening and tense posture deflating, as resolve began to fill his system. Next time he would be calm, he promised himself. Next time he was going to be strong - for her.

It would only be two more days before his commitment to composure was tested.

"Mamo-chaaan!" came the high-pitched call from the other room. Mamoru, who was in the process of putting away his lunch dishes, jerked at her cry. He had a feeling then, a preternatural sense of something big, and as he raced into the bedroom he saw that his intuition was correct.

Usagi was gazing down at her slippered feet with an expression akin to shock on her features. There was a puddle on the floor, slowly forming and pale in color, that seemed to be stemming from the pocket between her legs. Usagi looked up at Mamoru.

"My water just broke," she whispered.

Mamoru's mind sped through a bewildering array of emotions before he finally had a visible reaction, and that was to swallow thickly a number of times.

Don't freak out. Don't freak out. Don't freak out.

He took a deep, steadying breath.

She needs you.

"Okay..." Mamoru said, raking a hand through his raven hair. "Okay."

He moved forward with measured steps, until he was in front of Usagi. She stared up at him with a stricken countenance, and he forced a smile that he hoped was soothing onto his own. His hands snaked out to wrap around her upper arms. He hoped she couldn't hear how loudly his heart was pounding. It felt like his whole body was thrumming with electricity; a live wire about to burst.

But he had to stay calm.

"Here's what we're gonna do, Usako, okay? We're gonna get you changed. We're gonna grab your overnight bag. And then I'm gonna drive us to the hospital."

Usagi nodded, hanging on to every word, yet still seeming a bit dazed.

"It's really happening," she gasped out, eyes wide.

"It is," Mamoru affirmed. He gave her a comforting squeeze. "But it'll be fine. You'll see. Everything's going to be alright. I'll be with you the whole time. Now... let's go have our baby!"

oOo

Everything was most certainly not 'alright'.

Usagi swore vociferously as she felt another contraction creeping its way from her back to the front of her abdomen, the muscles tightening most unpleasantly. She leaned forward into the chair, clinging to the top of its wooden arc with all her might. Vaguely, she could sense Mamoru's hand rubbing gentle circles between her hunched shoulder-blades.

"Why, kitten... I never would have thought you knew such cuss words!"

Usagi's head shot up, and her contorted face melted into a strained smile.

"Everyone!"

A parade of women jammed into the tiny hospital room, the sight most amusing to behold. They were such a strange coterie - a starlet and a priestess; an artist and a racer; a baker and a goth. They all clamored in with manic grins stretched taut across their shining visages, each hoping for a report from their dearly beloved princess and her heir-to-be.

Haruka clutched her heart, continuing on in the same vein - "Makes me so proud!"

From beside Usagi, Mamoru gave a jovial, belly-aching sort of laugh. "And she's only getting more colorful as we go along!"

Usagi elbowed him in the ribs.

"Didn't I warn you - 'famous last words'?" Rei snickered to Usagi, referencing their earlier conversation on the beach. Usagi just rolled her eyes, showing off her tongue to the temple miko. Then she twisted to greet each of her visitors in turn.

"I'm so glad you all could make it!"

"We wouldn't miss this for the world," Hotaru said, looking emotional. Usagi regarded the teen warmly, aware of how much having Chibi-Usa back would mean to the soft-spoken warrior of Saturn.

"Though some of us did certainly take their sweet time," Makoto coughed from behind her hand, as she sent a damning glance Minako's way. The blonde bombshell scoffed.

"I'm sorry! But I couldn't find the outfit I picked out for the occasion!"

"What does it matter what you're wearing?" Rei interjected, exasperatedly rolling her obsidian eyes heavenward.

"First impressions are everything," Minako said, sternly matter-of-fact. Usagi sniggered at their banter; a welcome relief after what had now been three hours of constant tension and release, tension and release.

At that moment, Ami slipped into the room, bedizened in light blue scrubs with a white lab-coat worn over top. In her hand, she clutched a large clipboard. It was at Usagi's behest that the shy erudite was assisting Dr. Shurui with Chibi-Usa's delivery. The mousy young woman was surprised to see so many people gathered into the room, but she waved at her friends happily as she weaved through the throng, up to where Usagi was waiting anxiously.

"So? Is it time?" the bun-headed mother-to-be asked, in near-begging quality. Ami bestowed a sympathetic look upon her laboring leader, then flipped to the appropriate paperwork.

"Not yet, I'm afraid. You're doing great, Usagi-chan, and getting close, but you're stalled at 6 centimeters. It's not until 10 centimeters of dilation that we'll be able to prep you for pushing. For now, just keep moving around; let your body do what it needs to. I'll contact Shurui-sensei once you've reached the transition phase."

Usagi groaned, but Minako seemed stuck on other matters.

"10 centimeters... you mean I could fit my whole fist up there!?" the woman snickered, eliciting a collective cringe from everyone present.

"Minako-chan!"

"Whaaaat?"

Rei grabbed Minako around the arm. "Aaaalright, Blondie. You've had your fun. Now I think it's time we all went back outside to the waiting room so Usagi can labor in peace!"

There was some scattered laughter and general well-wishing before Usagi and Mamoru found themselves alone once more. Then the pain flickered to life, burgeoning again from her back to her midsection, and Usagi moaned, settling herself in for the long haul.

oOo

It was going to be a long night.

That was what Mamoru told Motoki and Shingo for the umpteenth time as he gulped down his umpteenth coffee, glaring sullenly at the clock on the wall as it counted down the umpteenth hour.

Okay, okay. It was nearing the end of the ninth hour to be exact, but Mamoru sure felt like he'd been here since the dawn of Chibi-Usa's creation. Maybe he had. Maybe there was no forty weeks of prenatal bliss, and it was always just him, Usako, and these four white walls. Is this what being chucked into the loony bin felt like?

A hand was thumping Mamoru's shoulder and he had to forcibly drag himself back to reality, before he lost his drink to the violent reverberations.

"Aw c'mon man, it can't have been that bad."

"It was bad," Mamoru mumbled into his next swig, darkly.

Shingo seconded him with a vigorous nod. "This is my sister we're talking about. It is that bad."

Motoki grimaced, trying to muster up further defense for his favorite Crown customer, but even he had to concede -

"She always did have a bit of a temper."

"A bit?" Mamoru repeated, anguished. He rounded on Motoki and gestured wildly, hot coffee sloshing everywhere. His two companions stepped back nervously. "She yelled at me. Yelled at me! Told me I was being overbearing and I should go get a coffee. Can you... can you believe that!? She's having our baby and I'm having God. Damn. Coffee!"

Mamoru finished his tirade by flinging the offending beverage into the trash can. Brown liquid sprayed all over the bag, the floor, the wall, but the overwrought doctor could care less. He was just glad he didn't have an audience besides his two close friends as he collapsed back into the break-room chair, burying his head in his palms. Motoki and Shingo had kept their distance as Mamoru raged fire and brimstone, but now they rushed to his side.

"I can't believe she kicked me out," he said, utterly defeated.

"Well - she didn't really kick you out, did she? She just told you to go get a coffee. Er... at the top of her lungs," Shingo supplied, rather unhelpfully.

"Besides," Motoki added. "You gotta cut her some slack, Mamoru-kun. Reika's got three sisters and was there for the births of every one of their children. She knows a thing or two about these kinds of things, and from what I've heard, it's sort of like getting your insides put through a woodchipper."

Mamoru looked up at Motoki, who was miming a grotesque death by disembowelment. He frowned.

"I really thought I was doing well. Then she just sort of... snapped." He groaned loudly. "I'm a useless doctor and an even more useless husband. I should just check myself into the psych ward and call it a day!"

Motoki's hand smacking into his shoulder was really starting to smart. "Mamoru-kun, buddy, I'm gonna give you a bit of tough love here, okay? I know you're exhausted. I know you're frustrated. I know you've just been hollered at by the love of your life during one of the biggest moments you'll ever share as a couple. But would you quit it with the pity party and take a second to think about how she feels? She's hurting, real bad. And sometimes when we're in that much pain, we can hardly bear to be touched. It's like sensation overload. We say things we don't mean, we hit where we can cause the most damage, and then we immediately regret it afterwards. Trust me - if I know Usagi-chan, she's about as remorseful as remorse can be. She needs you."

"But she kicked me out," he whispered, uncertainly.

"She told you to get a coffee," Shingo reminded, in a sardonic manner disconcertingly similar to Haruka's. With the shaggy blonde hair, the resemblance was almost uncanny. "Not leave forever."

Mamoru jerked his head, standing up and exhaling at length.

"You're right. You're absolutely right. I'm being stupid." Mamoru clapped each of the men on the back. "Thank you, for that. Now - I guess I have somewhere I need to be, eh?"

"Better you than us!" Shingo chirped, toothy grin in place.

"Hey, you're next, kid!" Mamoru warned. "The way you and Mika-san go at it..."

Shingo scoffed, waving him on. "I wouldn't keep my sister waiting, Mamoru-san."

Mamoru couldn't argue with that. He felt bad enough as it was. He hoped she wasn't enduring unimaginable agony alone in her room, her only comfort the nurses and Ami as they filtered in and out checking vitals. He couldn't believe he let her get to him like that, but he supposed, they were all a tad emotionally fraught right now. Maybe the break away - from that stifling little room and her awful cries of pain - had been good. He could come back alert and refreshed; ready to guide his wife toward that big final push... literally!

Purpose renewed, Mamoru exited the break-room only to find himself yanked by the collar and dragged into an alcove off to the side. He yelped as a pair of bright emerald eyes came nearly level with his own, his accoster clearly unbothered by common decencies like personal space.

"She's having a hard time... isn't she?" a voice - Mamoru recognized it as Makoto's - demanded from entirely too close. He squinted at her brawny female shape through the semi-darkness.

"You could say that," Mamoru hedged, wondering with embarrassment if the Thunder Senshi had overheard his mini temper tantrum. He wouldn't put it past any of those nosy girls to be sneaking around, in their boredom collecting all the dirt they could for future blackmailing use. But the fact that he was still upright, sans broken nose, was probably a good sign.

"Would you give her this?"

Mamoru was adjusting now to the lack of light, and he quickly discerned that the object being shoved into his hands was a picnic basket.

"It's just the thing to make her feel better," Makoto said with a twinkling smile, and then she was gone, leaving Mamoru staring down at his new acquisition in obfuscation.

Homemade goodies? he thought, knowing that would surely cheer his wife up, only... it wasn't really the best time to be guzzling sweets, was it? Still confused, Mamoru peeked beneath the lid. Then he too was overcome by a wide smile.

"Ahhhhh."

oOo

Usagi sniffled and hiccuped through her latest barrage of tears, clutching the hand in hers for dear life as she rode out her umpteenth wave. The contractions were definitely and steadily gaining strength, and it was getting hard to talk through them. Nevertheless, she persisted.

"H-he p-probably h-h-hates me!"

"He doesn't hate you, dummy."

Usagi clenched her eyes shut and grit her teeth, trying not to think about how much she ached - even in places she didn't think possible! Fingers carded gently through the hair by her temple, working out the many tangles.

"You're tired. He's tired. It stands to reason there's going to be tifts here and there!"

Usagi opened her eyes, pouting at the onyx-haired woman before her, who had only stopped in for a quick status report and was now stuck playing tissue to her very inconsolable best friend.

"You weren't here, Rei-chan! I was so mean! How can he ever forgive me?"

Rei glanced to the side, the corner of her mouth twitching. "Why don't you ask him yourself?"

Usagi blinked, watching as Rei stood up from her bedside chair, even though she kept her hand enclosed within Usagi's - probably, in case the blonde needed something to manhandle. Then Usagi refocused her attention to the entryway, where framed beneath its wood panels was her rather sheepish looking husband who was carrying, oddly, a picnic basket. But he barely had a chance to get two words out before Usagi was sobbing once more.

"M-M-Mamo-chan, I'm s-s-soooo sorry!"

Her wails increased as Mamoru approached the bed. She caught him sneaking a half-appreciative, half-apologetic look Rei's way. "Thank you very much, Rei-san. I'll take it from here."

Rei nodded, carefully disentangling her fingers from Usagi's. As she passed the twenty-five year old, she apparently couldn't resist one last jab.

"Hope you enjoyed your coffee, Mamoru-san," the virago muttered. Mamoru made a strangled noise, but otherwise ignored the comment. Probably for the best - Usagi felt terrible enough as it was.

Rei disappeared and Mamoru perched himself upon the mattress, next to Usagi's curled and trembling figure. She latched onto his free arm like a starving Israelite to manna.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. Despite what I said, I didn't actually want you to leave," Usagi keened, and Mamoru's face went soft as he ran his fingers over her weeping eyes and cherry-colored cheeks, tenderly trying to wipe away her sorrows.

"I know that. Or, well it might've taken me a moment - and a few verbal slaps upside the head - but I figured it out. I'm sorry too that I left. I just thought you wanted space."

Usagi shook her head vehemently.

"I can't do this without you, Mamo-chan," she whispered. Then her face crumpled - not out of grief, but physical discomfort. This was the worst contraction yet. Usagi began to pant harshly. Her nails dug trenches into the skin of Mamoru's arm, but he didn't protest; just let her ride out the pain in any way she needed.

The basket in Mamoru's lap gave a rattle. It shocked Usagi into momentary distraction - she watched as the lid flipped open and a shock of black lunged out. The bun-headed woman screamed.

"That's a nice way to greet your beloved adviser."

"Luna!" Usagi laughed through her surprise, and she pulled her guardian feline in for a hug. "How'd you get in here?"

"Makoto-san smuggled her in. Don't ask me how she got past security..." Mamoru chuckled, reaching over to tickle the cat beneath her chin. Luna purred contentedly. "She's been dying to see you."

Usagi nuzzled the small cat tearfully. "Thank you for coming, Luna."

"I had to make sure you were okay," Luna said, sniffling herself. "Is it quite painful?"

"Like nothing I've endured before," Usagi answered. "Even as Sailor Moon. At least when I was having my energy zapped, I knew the hurt would only be brief before I was rescued or passed out. This feels endless!"

"Pain with a goal, Usagi-chan," Luna reminded. "It may seem endless now. But in a few hours you're going to look back and know the reward was worth it."

Usagi nodded, expressive blue eyes welling as she gazed upon her ancient guardian with the most ancient emotion of all. "You know, this whole night I've been wishing my mom was here to offer me advice and encouragement. I may not have her anymore... but I have the next best thing."

Luna blinked up at the twenty-one year old, seeming caught off guard.

"Ever since you came into my life, I've considered you not just a dear friend and my closest confidante... but like a second mother." Usagi smiled, her shimmering eyes crinkling with great affection. "I love you, Luna. Thank you for always being there."

Luna bowed her head, unspeakably touched by the sentiment.

"I love you too, Usagi-chan," she murmured thickly. At that moment, a pair of voices sounded from just outside the door. Luna looked alarmed about the impending intrusion, but she acted quickly.

"I have to go now, Usagi-chan. I'd like to stay here with the Senshi, but if the staff catches me, I'll get tossed." She licked Usagi's hand. "Be brave, sweet girl. You can do this!"

Luna hopped back into the picnic basket just as a couple orderlies entered, giggling about a humorous interaction with a former patient. They bustled cheerily about the room as Mamoru made a spectacle explaining how thoughtful it was for their friends to make him lunch. Usagi crossed her arms, rolling her eyes and grinning, as he winked conspiratorially at her.

"Well, better bring this back. Too much for me to finish in one sitting! See you in a minute, honey?"

"Unless you need a coffee," Usagi sassed, cerulean eyes twinkling.

"Not funny," Mamoru grumbled.

oOo

The thrill of adrenaline was high as Mamoru ran, sprinting headlong down halls and banging into doors like he hardly noticed their existence. He was fairly certain the only reason he had yet to be ejected from the premises was because on most days he was a respected doctor here.

Except today.

Mamoru stumbled into the waiting room, practically tripping over himself in his excitement. He barely got the words out before he was turning tail once more -

"It's time!"

Today, he was going to be a father.

oOo

"Push, Usagi-chan! Push!"

Usagi bore down with all her strength. Somewhere, she could hear Mamoru chanting, his voice rising alongside Ami's, "Push! Push! Keep going!", but everything was falling away into the blinding haze of pain, sweat, tears, and did she mention pain?

The contraction eventually subsided, but Usagi knew the next was not far in coming. She sucked down ragged breaths, relishing in the blessed reprieve. Mamoru swept a cool compress over her forehead, squeezing her clammy hand.

"You're doing so great, Usako, so wonderful!"

Usagi smiled weakly at him. She hoped she was close - she felt utterly drained. She had been pushing for near on an hour now, and after the toll of the active labor stage, her body was beginning to resist her demands upon it. The energy expenditure, just to keep herself propped up and cogent, was immense.

"I wish I could take a nap," the reincarnated royal moaned. Ami chuckled from below, her laugh like tinkling bells muffled by the surgical face mask. She patted Usagi's foot.

"I'm sure you do," Ami replied sympathetically. Her voice became teasing. "I could get cheerleader Minako-chan in here if you want... last I saw, she was running around the waiting room singing 'Baby Time' to the tune of MC Hammer."

"I think I'd rather they knock me out!" Usagi declared, which was soon followed by a self-pitying wince. "Oh God... Why oh why did I choose a natural birth... here we go again!"

The urge to push was all-consuming. Usagi threw herself into the act, trying to follow her body's cues. That's when she felt it - burning, tearing, ripping pain at her core, like a thousand knives were being stabbed into the skin down there. She'd done well up until this point, but the bunned blonde couldn't hold it back any longer. She screamed in agony.

There was a helpless quality to Mamoru's voice as he pleaded with the attendants,

"What's going on?"

Ami's response was an excited one. "She's crowning - Chibi-Usa-chan is on her way!"

Dr. Kotono Shurui put her hand on Ami's shoulder; teacher to pupil. "Do you feel comfortable delivering our patient yourself?"

The Senshi of Water looked indubitably proud of herself as she proclaimed, "I do."

Kotono nodded, standing up to give Ami her spot, front and center. Her tone was a mixture of impressed and pleased; few interns flew solo during their first delivery, but Ami Mizuno always was a quick study. "Then take the lead, Mizuno-san."

Ami seemed to be fighting numerous emotions at once as she placed her hands at the ready. Confidence fairly oozed from her voice as she said, "Alright, Usagi-chan. This is it - the grand finale! Mamoru-san... would you like to assist me?"

Mamoru's face was petrified.

"You can help me catch the baby!"

"S-sure."

Mamoru rounded the bed, and his eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets when he observed what birth was like from the other side.

"Wow," he breathed. "Oh, wow. That's... that's her? Right there? That little bit of pink?"

"That's our Chibi-Usa-chan!" Ami sniffed happily.

"Usako...!" Mamoru laughed in awe, looking up at her. But Usagi was on a whole other plane entirely, the fire cresting again inside her. She felt the siren calling, and powerless to her body's whims, leaned forward... straining... aching for the sweet release she knew was within reach...

"Oh, oh, oh... she's coming... Usako, she's coming!"

"Hold here, Mamoru-san, support the head... that's it... Usagi-chan, keep going!"

Usagi howled. Suddenly, moonlight escaped from the thick cloud covering and poured in past the hospital's lofty stationary windows, drenching everyone in the room, but none more so than the woman laboring upon the bed. Its holy light swathed Usagi with an unearthly glow, and she felt it, felt the power of her mother kingdom filling her... feeding her strength.

The pain changed. It was dulling; becoming more easily surmountable. A weakened foe. Usagi's awareness of the situation was rushing back, and with a thrill, she could see Mamoru and Ami crouching in front of her. In their hands, they were guiding a tiny, slimy newborn's entrance out into the world. There was no mistaking that messy coif of brightest strawberry:

"Chibi-Usa," Usagi choked.

Mamoru gazed up at her with the most intense expression of love and awe amalgamated into one.

"Chibi-Usa," he agreed.

The baby slipped free, squalling and red, into the waiting arms of her father and mother's best friend. Mamoru looked stunned speechless as he scooped her up, but he didn't have the heart to steal this moment from the real MVP of the night - he quickly and gently deposited the child to her rightful place at Usagi's breast. Usagi's own heart was a resounding Taiko drum as she accepted her progeny with trembling yet certain hands.

"Your mama, precious one," Mamoru murmured. His dark indigo eyes sparkled with joyful tears as he announced - with no lack of irony, for those in the know - "Looks like you were right, honey. It's a little Usagi!" He immediately situated himself next to the pair, close as he could without being too intrusive upon this special moment between Usagi and their new, yet unduly familiar, daughter. Ami was doing the same as she severed the umbilical cord, draped a blanket over the infant, then bustled over to prepare with Kotono for the placenta.

Usagi was in disbelief. She traced her fingers over Chibi-Usa's baby-soft skin; counted out her ten teeny digits and ten tiny toes; reveled in the powerful set of lungs the babe demonstrated.

"Oh Mamo-chan. She's perfect... so beautiful... Did we really make this?"

Mamoru stroked the downy tufts of pink with similar amazement. His fingers paused at the small girl's forehead.

"Usako - see that faint mark?"

Usagi craned for a closer look. Then she spied it, half-hidden under the caked blood and cheesy vernix - a crescent sigil, incontrovertible proof of their child's lunar lineage.

"She's ours alright," the man chuckled. "In case you weren't convinced by her banshee shrieking!"

Usagi and Mamoru shared a private smile at that, but the amusement soon morphed into something much deeper. A new bond had been forged between them, two souls twined into one, the physical manifestation of their love now suckling lightly at Usagi's bosom. The whole thing was nothing short of a miracle, and Usagi knew - could read in his eyes as surely as she felt it thrumming along the tethers of their soul bond - that Mamoru and her had never loved each other so much as they did in this moment.

Mamoru moved first, his enthralled countenance swooping in to steal the lips of his bun-headed wife. Usagi fairly melted at how intense the kiss was. When at last they separated, reluctantly resurfacing to reality, the handsome new father was sporting a cheshire grin.

"Oh yeah - and happy birthday, my darling."

Usagi's eyes widened into saucers.

"Oh my god! Is it really?" Usagi twisted, seeking out the clock on the wall. There was no mistake - 12:37am on the dot, on June the 30th. Usagi laughed with delighted surprise. "With all the excitement of the last couple days, I guess I forgot!"

"Usagi Chiba, née Tsukino... forgot her own birthday?" Mamoru teased, tone playfully aghast.

"Well what do you know? I guess I just received my first - and best - present of the day!" Usagi touted Chibi-Usa with a proud little giggle.

Mamoru leaned in close. His eyes still held a mischievous glint. "Hey, I have a question."

"Yeah?"

"Why is it okay for you to forget your birthday... but if I forget, I get slapped in the face!"

"Errr..."

oOo

He hadn't slept in approximately twenty-two hours.

He smelled like sweat, was splattered with Usagi's blood and his hand was almost certainly fractured, in at least three different places.

But Mamoru couldn't remember a time he had ever been happier. He settled back, reclining in his chair, content to just watch as Usagi was engulfed by the squeals and coos of her many friends and family. In the midst of it all, the center of attention, his daughter (not future daughter - his daughter daughter, Mamoru thought with a thrill) slumbered, truly a product of Usagi Chiba because she seemed utterly oblivious to the din surrounding her. The similarities between the two, even this soon, brought Mamoru to mirth. He chuckled in wonder.

This is family, the once lonely orphan reflected. The true meaning of family. A room full of people who may not be related by blood, but who love each other without condition.

It nearly brought him to tears for the umpteenth time that night, to know he was a part of this family, as much as he was the one he and Usagi had just created only hours before. He spent so long without anybody, and now there was more love in his life than he knew what to do with. Mamoru felt like a homeless man who won the lottery.

A touch on his shoulder startled Mamoru out of his musings.

"We're not late, are we?"

Mamoru jumped up to vivaciously pump the hand offered him. He was all smiles as he demurred to the three latest visitors,

"Well... it is only three-thirty in the morning. I'd say you're more than early!"

Umino Gurio shrugged, adjusting the massive bifocals seated upon his nose as he inclined his head toward the red-head beside him.

"Naru barely slept after hearing Usagi-chan had gone into labor. If you can't tell, we were eagerly awaiting your phone call!"

Naru beamed. "I knew it was going to be a girl! Oh, this is so exciting - Nefura will finally have a playmate!"

Mamoru bent down to say hello to the aforementioned child, an adorable three-year-old with glasses like her father and pigtails of auburn like her mother. She was sporting cartoon-emblazoned pajamas and bundled loosely in a blanket as she clung to her mother's neck, trying to hide her face from the world.

"Do you want to meet Chibi-Usa, Nefu-chan?"

The girl peeked out. She nodded mutely, still playing bashful.

"C'mon, sweetpea. Let's go see a brand new baby!" Naru enthused to her daughter, and she glided off to go join the melee. Mamoru watched his wife's childhood friend for a moment before turning back to Umino.

"How did we get so lucky, huh?"

"Not through any talent of mine, that's for sure," Umino replied, shaking his head. "Hey - thanks again for letting us have first dibs of the house, Mamoru-san. Seriously, it was a godsend. With Nefura starting preschool next year and Naru begging me for a second one, I wasn't sure how we could afford everything. The price you and Usagi-chan offered... it was more than reasonable."

"It was the least we could do," Mamoru said gently. "You're like family to us. Usako couldn't have picked better candidates for her parents' old home. She's so happy she could do that for you - presuming you give her free reign of the place once in a while!"

Umino laughed heartily.

"Well, you two - three - are always welcome, Mamoru-san." He glanced over to where Chibi-Usa was making the rounds, Usagi having relinquished her to the hounds at last, and observed his little daughter petting the baby's head. "And something tells me we'll be seeing a lot more of each other in the years to come!"

"Yeah - hope you like frills, bows, and the color pink!"

oOo

It was still dark outside when they materialized into the room, but the very first rays of sunlight were beginning to rise over the hills of the horizon, painting the sky an eerily incandescent purple.

She did not let her eyes drift over the room just yet, even though she sorely wanted to, but age had granted her patience. Instead, the woman turned to her two companions, who were clutching each other in a potent mixture of fear and awe.

"Incredible," the one with blue hair - a female - murmured.

"There she is," the one with spectacles and jet black hair - a male - gasped.

"We don't have much time," the mysterious woman said, and the two frightened individuals accompanying her turned to stare. She could tell they did not understand what was happening - one minute they were spinning out of control, about to embark on a deathly downward trajectory, the next they were being ripped through the layers of space-time - but that was alright. They just had to understand this gift came with caveats.

"Two minutes only," a disembodied voice spoke into her mind, and she relayed the information accordingly.

"I'm sorry it isn't longer. But we're already bending the laws of time travel; of nature itself. Any more and the consequences to the timeline, to our world... to them... would be catastrophic."

The pair nodded, but their faces were poleaxed.

She succumbed then to her initial desire, and allowed her gaze to fall upon the hospital bed, with its tiny bassinet set alongside. Her expression warmed to demonstrative degrees.

"Kenji Tsukino. Ikuko Tsukino. Go - See your daughter. But whatever you do - you must not wake her. That is very important."

Like a shot, they were off, no further prompting necessary. She watched as they approached twenty-two year old Usagi Chiba and her mere hours old progeny with all the adulation of priests to their deity, and it brought a lump to her throat. So much love, so much pain. She wished...

"You cannot intervene."

"I know," she sighed, to the specter in her mind.

"Even if you did have that kind of power... it is not wise to meddle with fate, my Lady."

"Trust me. I know. You taught me only too well," she replied, in hushed tones that barely concealed her exasperation, shadows of the puerility she once long ago possessed. She could practically feel the smirk being leveled her way. But grief crept stealthily in as she noticed the interaction between Kenji, Ikuko, and Usagi once more - the gentle cradling and whispered affections; the muted bereavement and silent tears. Perhaps they did understand, more than they let on... She squeezed her eyes shut and pivoted away, no longer able to endure the dual blessing and curse of bearing witness to Kenji and Ikuko's last unrequited goodbye to their family.

"Kenji... look at this!" The shock in Ikuko's exclamation was almost palpable. Curiosity got the better of the woman and she turned back to face the Tsukinos, only to discover with a jolt of surprise that they were staring at her.

"It's the same," Kenji observed, pointing from the baby in the bassinet to the stranger. "The same mark on their foreheads!"

Ikuko's eyes widened. She drew in a sharp breath. The dots were connecting...

"It's you. It's you, isn't it?" Ikuko's voice was quivering with raw emotion as she took unsteady steps toward the woman before her. "I... I thought you were an angel. The way you whisked us out of the car. Your - your white dress and wings like a Pegasus... Too beautiful for this earth. I never thought..."

Ikuko stopped in front of her, and reached out to cup her cheeks. She had gotten talented over the years, in maintaining her regal composure, but this was one battle she could not win. The woman released a muffled sob as the elder continued,

"But I see now, I see my Usagi in you. So much of my sweet girl. You're hers, aren't you? You're my granddaughter, the one in the cradle?"

The grown-up Chibi-Usa nodded, or as she went by these days, Lady Usagi Serenity. Her voice was gruff and burdened with unspoken regret as she concurred, "I am. Grandma."

Ikuko's breath hitched and before Chibi-Usa knew it, she was ensconced in not only her grandmother's arms, but her grandfather's as well, as he came to join the bittersweet reunion.

"Oh. Oh. You truly are so beautiful. The very picture of both of your parents. I'm so glad I could meet you... so glad!"

"Me too," Chibi-Usa choked out, knowing it would be useless to attempt to rehash their history with so little sand in the hourglass remaining. And speaking of...

"It's time, my Lady."

"No... please... not yet!" she cried. "Please... just a little longer, Puu!"

"We did what we could for them. You know the rules."

Ikuko seemed to understand, and she brushed the moisture from Chibi-Usa's anguished visage even as she began to pull away. "Thank you for doing this for us. For this glimpse of a happy future. Your powers are... magnificent. I have so many questions that I may never get the answer to, and that's okay. Just please... take care of her for me. We mothers desire nothing more than to love and watch over our children, but if... if I should no longer be there..."

Kenji laid his palm on Ikuko's arm. His tender brown eyes seemed to reach into the very depths of Chibi-Usa's soul.

"You never stop being a family," he said, with simplistic aplomb. "People grow old and then they leave us. That's life. But so long as there is love, I believe we never truly lose each other. Family is forever."

"Family is forever," Chibi-Usa repeated, softly. Kenji nodded and smiled at her. Then he gathered his wife under his wing, and held her close.

"Are you afraid?" he asked Ikuko, gently. They were beginning to dimmer and blur, like a transmission losing range. Stars, fading out of existence...

"No," Ikuko whispered, matching his fierce embrace with her own white-knuckled grip upon the folds of his overcoat. "The kids are alright - will be alright. And... I'm with you. What is there to fear?"

Kenji closed his eyes, kissing her forehead.

"Nothing."

oOo

Usagi woke with a start, panting heavily. She burst out from her covers and her hand reached up for her heart, but it was intercepted by another.

"Hey, hey, hey. Calm down. It's just me, Usako. I'm sorry I woke you," Mamoru assuaged, bringing her hand to his chest and rubbing it comfortingly. Usagi swallowed in cool breaths of the early morning air, her eyes darting about the poorly lit hospital room, muddled and sleep-deprived mind still struggling to marry consciousness with reality.

"I - I had a dream. I can't - I can't remember but I think... I think my parents were in it..."

Usagi furrowed her brow and attempted to dredge up the foggy details, but it was a futile endeavor - like footprints on a beach, the waves of awareness flooding her body were erasing any impressions her subconscious might have left behind. The more she tried to recall, the less success she had. The blonde sighed cantankerously.

"It sounds like a nice dream," Mamoru offered, with a half-quirk of the lips.

"Well, it's gone now," Usagi lamented, ruefully shaking her head.

"It'll come back to you."

Mamoru leaned over, reaching into the bassinet. His whole demeanor went soft as a marshmallow as he carefully eased the small bundle into his arms, and Usagi watched him like he was the most precious thing in the world, second only to the child nestled in his superhero-protective grasp. He parted the blankets and tickled at the tiny infant's cheek.

"Hi, Chibi-Usa. Hi, Chibi-Chibi-Chibi-Usa!"

The baby's face scrunched up, and she let out a cranky sort of mew.

"Uh-oh... Mama, I think she's hungry again!"

"When isn't she?" Usagi rolled her eyes, and she held out her arms for Mamoru to make the transfer. When Chibi-Usa was settled, Mamoru went back to hovering, his expression excited as a little boy's at Christmas. Usagi found it utterly endearing.

"You know, Usako... I think she's got Kenji's nose."

Usagi blinked. "My Papa's? You think?"

"Oh yeah. And that dimple on her right side? Totally from Ikuko."

"I guess I can see that," Usagi smiled, tilting her head as she inspected said inheritance. Mamoru stroked his wife's fingers as they touched the nursing baby's cheek.

"They're always with you," he murmured, and Usagi closed her eyes, welcoming the usual pang that accompanied thoughts of her loss. It didn't hurt so much anymore, to muse upon their absence. She saw now, what others did - the signs of love her parents left behind. Her daughter was full of them.

"Did you go home for a bit?" Usagi asked her husband, purposefully changing the subject as she noticed his leather jacket slung over the back of the chair. Mamoru glanced at it too and a strange look came over his features as she inquired, "That cold out tonight?"

"I did, yeah. I wanted to clean up real quick and prep the nursery in case you two were discharged today," Mamoru responded, and his eyes grew even more shadowed as he addressed her second question. "The temperature's dropped almost twenty-five degrees since midnight. The weathermen are baffled. It looks like an unexpected cold front has suddenly popped up on their radar. They're jokingly hailing this as the 'beginning of the next ice age'. Winter in June... it's almost unheard of."

Usagi blanched, and her voice was weak as she voiced the possibility she knew was at the forefront of both of their minds. "An ecological disaster... Crystal Tokyo?"

Mamoru attempted to mollify her with an equally as uncertain, "King Endymion was never clear when the freeze would happen. For all we know it could be years away. Let's worry about the future one step at a time, okay?"

Usagi gulped and nodded, cuddling her new baby daughter close. She gazed down at Chibi-Usa, the way the infant molded to her figure like one halve of a whole, and slowly, she began to relax. Mamoru was right - they could not predict when their happy, blissful little bubble of domestic normalcy would implode. And even when it did, things would all work out, eventually. Come what may, they would always have each other.

Family was forever, and nothing - not ice, nor phantoms, nor even the inevitability of death - would ever be able to take that from them.

oOo

"We've lingered long enough, my Lady."

"Just five more minutes, Puu?"

Sailor Pluto shot the woman beside her a cocked brow at the diminutive name. For years now, she had become accustomed to hearing the prim and proper "Sailor Pluto" when being addressed by her current companion... unless of course, said companion was in want of something. Then she had a tendency to revert. It was both charming, and a little disconcerting, coming from the lips of a fully grown queen. It made her yearn for days long past. Of course, she could hardly fault Lady Usagi Serenity for the slip, when the pink-headed royal was only craving for a taste of the same.

"They look so young. I almost forgot when Mama had blonde hair!"

"I daresay it has been a while, hasn't it?"

Lady Usagi chuckled, but there was a doleful undertone lurking in the shallows of her mirth. "I miss those days. They were simpler times."

Pluto didn't answer to that, feeling it her duty as the sentinel of time to remain impartial, but every cell in her body let out a resounding "Me too" as she parried a maudlin sigh. She noticed her longtime friend was still chewing on a thought.

"Thinking about your grandparents?"

"A bit," Lady Usagi murmured, eyes never leaving the image of her Mama and Papa as they crooned over her significantly more youthful counterpart.

"It was commendable what you did for them, even if I loathe that you put yourself at risk, stretching the limits of your powers like that."

Lady Usagi shrugged, channeling her mother in that regard.

"It always bothered me, that they never got to see the culmination of their lives' works. They deserved closure, or, at least as much closure as I could reasonably give. I figured this moment would've granted them the most peace, in... in the end." The new queen of Crystal Tokyo swallowed thickly, revealing a diffident side she rarely showed in the presence of others anymore. "Puu... do... do you think I succeeded? In bringing them peace? In honoring their last wishes?"

Sailor Pluto's stoic exterior crumbled, and she gathered in the woman she had come to love more than any other; who she cared for like her own. As she petted down Lady Usagi Serenity's strawberry-pink odango, she promised,

"My dear Small Lady, you have brought your family more love than you can possibly know."

The End