The Finding

By Bashfulglowfly

Chapter One: Thaw

Zander Findlay was born in Edinburgh, Scotland to Dr. Alexander Findlay, the best Neurosurgeon in Edinburgh…if not in all of Britain…and his wife. Within hours of his birth, the Doctor had his son's path in life mapped out. But there was one thing that the Doctor hadn't counted on.

That Zander wouldn't go along with the program.

Zander wasn't precisely a dreamer but he certainly didn't bother to focus only on his schoolwork like the Doctor desired. Zander's schoolwork could be defined as being "half-assed" as the Doctor frequently shouted after parent/teacher conferences. Not to say that Zander was in danger of failing, if he actually made some effort, he would have had the highest marks of any student in school. But he saved most of that effort for music.

The Doctor didn't despise music, after all the opera and symphony were useful in networking. But it wasn't something that he wanted his son doing. His son should be out saving and improving lives just like the Doctor.

But Zander chose his own path.

Zander knew that something was missing from his life but he didn't know what it was. He knew in his heart that the path to find what was missing would not be the path that the Doctor ordained but his own path. He admitted that he did "half-ass" his way through school but he had his music and discovered he had a talent for tracking during his time as a Boy Scout. It was through the Scouts that he discovered Search and Rescue. He began volunteering for a local group when he was 14.

In his mind, someone important to him smiled. While he couldn't see that person's face, he loved having that person's approval so he worked even harder to learn all he could about Search and Rescue…to the fury of the Doctor. When Zander turned 18, the Doctor delivered an ultimatum, either Zander go to University and become a doctor or he would be cut off and never again receive one red cent from the Doctor. He would no longer be the Doctor's son.

Zander looked at the Doctor for a moment then walked upstairs and packed his things. What the Doctor didn't know, and hadn't bothered to ask, was the fact that Zander had just been made a paid member of his Search and Rescue team.

As he came downstairs carrying his bags, the Doctor began raging. He didn't pay attention to the shouting and barely noticed his mother sitting in her chair staring at nothing while she took another drink from the glass in her hand. He felt a bit of sadness that he wouldn't ever be able to help his mother. She had chosen her path.

He could clearly see his own path and he hoped that one day it would lead him to whatever it was he was searching for.

He walked out the door of the Doctor's house and never looked back. He went to a friend's flat and was welcomed with open arms.

To supplement his income from Search and Rescue, he played piano with a band on the weekends. Something he knew would irritate the Doctor no end if the Doctor ever found out.

Time passed and he became well known in the Search and Rescue community and he began training others.

He began studying to move to the next level of Search and Rescue…he wanted to lead his own group. But to do that he need some more education, so he went to a local college and buckled down to his studies. One of the things he studied was Japanese since he had rescued several Japanese tourists who overestimated their strength and underestimated the mountains of Scotland, so he figured knowing the language would help.

But one week he decided that he'd had enough of studying and wanted to go skiing. There had been a huge storm in Switzerland and he read that the skiing was the best it had been in years, so he threw a few clothes into a backpack, grabbed his skis and caught the first flight to Switzerland he could.

As he stood waiting for the bus that would take him to his chosen destination, he saw a girl wearing a hat in various shades of blue with a white pompom that bobbed cheerfully as she turned her head. Her gaze drifted over him without seeing but his breath caught in his throat.

He wanted to get to know her. He HAD to get to know her.

He got on the bus and took the last seat on the right side. The girl who fascinated him took the second to last seat on the left. He tried not to stare but she didn't notice as she read a thick book she pulled from her backpack. Eventually he fell asleep.

But he woke when suddenly the bus jerked violently then swerved. Zander covered his head as it began to roll over and over.

Memories of being a king but bowing his head to a prince. Memories of teaching, guiding, fighting with and defending the same prince. Three other men whom he called brother who were also kings but who also chose to bow to the prince. Laughing, wenching, fighting, teaching and learning. Then a silver princess who captured the heart of his prince. A nymph who was a ferocious defender of the princess but who blushed scarlet at the slightest hint of public affection. He remembered swimming with the nymph in the water and long nights of loving under the moon.

The knowledge of a cruel witch with insane delusions about his prince. Meeting with his nymph and promising that he would return to her.

Remembering that he wasn't able to keep his promise to her. Remembering the hell the witch put him through, forcing her will upon his soul. Making him attack his nymph, the princess and her other defenders time and time again both in the past and the present. Dying at the hands of the witch.

Zander came back to himself with a shudder. Taking deep breaths, he prayed that Endymion would forgive him and allow him to become Zoicite once again and do all that he could to repay his blood debt to Endymion, Serenity, the people of Earth and to Mercury.

MERCURY!

He looked around and spotted her. She was lying limply in her seat, covered by debris but through the gloom, he could see her breasts rise and fall. He began calling out to her. "Miss! Miss! Can you hear me?! Move your hand if you understand me!"

Finally she moaned and responded. "Leave me alone. My head hurts."

He raised an eyebrow. He didn't expect this turn of events. "Oh, you're Japanese." He shook his head and concentrated for a moment, getting his thoughts in order and responded in Japanese. "Do you understand me now?"

"Yes." She tried to move but whimpered from the pain. After a few moments her head turned towards him. He could see immense blue eyes staring at him.

"Hello." He said to her.

Her soft reply washed over him like a gentle wave. He had to get closer to her. She yelped in pain as she tried to sit up. "DON'T MOVE! You're pinned. Can you feel your arms and legs? Do you feel like anything is terribly wrong?" he asked.

She told him that she could move her hands and feet even though her legs and right arm were pinned. She also let him know that her left arm was broken. Zander knew that he had to get himself free so that he could help her and the other passengers. But he knew that it wasn't going to be good because he wasn't hearing any noise from anyone else.

He introduced himself to her and she told him that her name was Mizuno Ami. The very sound of it sent warmth throughout him. He heard her gasp in pain and began freeing himself from the wreckage. It took him a bit and he had to stop for a moment when Ami warned him that the bus was moving. But after a minute or two he resumed his efforts. He had to yell at her when she began to fall asleep. With a final toss of a large piece of debris he was able to crawl over to her side. Her eyes widened at the sight of him. He knew that she recognized him. But she didn't say anything. He couldn't resist and ran his fingers gently across her cheek. Her cute little hat was missing but he was able to find a blood stained pink hat and, with her permission, put it on her.

He looked at her and said "It's going to take a bit to free you. But I'm going check on the other passengers first." She nodded and he brushed his fingers once again across her cheek. He turned and made his way, gingerly, across the debris. One by one he came across their fellow passengers. Not another soul was alive. Not even the driver. He made his way back to Ami.

He didn't want to tell her but he was never going to lie to her. He knew his voice was dark and grim. "We're the only survivors." A tear ran down her cheek and he brushed it away. "I didn't mean to make you cry, love." She didn't seem to notice the endearment but he continued to talk to her, asking what let her to come to Switzerland, he smiled at her bewilderment of wanting to take a vacation. His nymph still wasn't given to whims.

He freed her left arm. It was badly broken, but, by the grace of Selene, it wasn't bleeding. He made a splint for it and gently kissed her for being so brave. Then he began to free the rest of her. But before he could free her completely, he heard sirens.

"What is it?" Ami asked.

Zander smiled at her. "Sirens. I hear sirens."

"Do you think you can get out? I'll wait."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Zander leaned down and kissed her again. "I'll be back and we'll get you out of here." He made his way through the wreckage and out a hole he found earlier. Once outside the bus, he waved his arms and got the attention of rescuers who slid their way to him. He explained who he was and what he did for a living. He told them that only he and one other had survived. His Swiss counterparts listened then began to free Ami from the wreckage by going through the side of the bus. Zander had gone back in and nearly lost his mind when he saw that she had closed her eyes but he found her pulse and it was steady.

He watched as they carefully loaded Ami onto a gurney and into an ambulance. Then the paramedics forced him onto a gurney as well. He tried to protest but they told him to shut up, he was limping and he was not the one in charge. He gave way semi-gracefully and was shocked to find out at the hospital that he had a hairline fracture on his right leg.

He submitted to the boot but refused to leave Ami's side. He wanted to be there when she woke up. It was bad enough she'd been in an accident but she was in one in a foreign country as well. He watched as her eyes fluttered open and he saw when the haze of sleep and drugs fled her beautiful blue eyes.

She looked at the cast on her arm and Zander spoke. "I thought that you would like the blue color the best."

Ami looked over at him. Her eyes searched his face. "Thank you." And he knew when she saw the boot on his leg. "What happened?" Her voice showed anxiety.

Zander glanced down at the black boot covering his leg to his knee. "I told the doctors that I was okay. They told me to shut up. They took x-rays and discovered a hairline fracture. So, I'll have to wear this for a few weeks." He leaned over until their faces were just a few inches apart. "Don't you scare me like that again, my water nymph."

"It is you."

"Yeah. I didn't know about either of us until after the crash but I remembered. I'm sorry I didn't come back to you like I promised."

Tears ran down Ami's cheeks hurting Zander's heart but he reached out and wiped them away. "I'll never, ever leave you again."

"How can I trust you? You're one of Beryl's Generals." The tears began to roll faster and larger down her cheeks. Suddenly there was a blue flash and a blue heart-shaped crystal appeared in Ami's hand and it absorbed all of her attention.

"Ami? Ami?"

He could see Ami return to herself. She brushed his cheek with the hand holding the crystal. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I wasn't going to believe you or trust you." She smiled "I love you, Zoicite. And I will never leave you either!"

A week later, after frantic phone calls between Ami and her mother and her friend Usagi and her fiancé Mamoru, Zander decided that Ami was healthy enough to travel back to Japan. And he was going with her. He had called his superior back in Edinburgh and let him know that he was resigning. And that, yes, it was because of a girl. But she was his future and her future needed her in Japan so he was going to follow her.

He had a feeling that Ami knew Serenity. She had to, being one of the Senshi and all. And where Serenity was…Endymion just had to be there. He just hoped that Endymion would forgive him and allow him to become part of that future.