Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon and I am not making any money off this story. It's just something to entertain myself with.

Well, it's not my first story but it is my first one-shot! It's odd writing something small when my other work has been monstrous. Well, I hope you enjoy it! If you're still confused (and even if you're not) by the time you're done with this, please read the A/N at the end. :)

On to the story~!


He sat in the rocking chair beside his daughter's crib, waiting as he had every night since the girl was born three months ago. He never had to wait to long and this night only proved it because all too soon he could feel a cold chill seep into his bones. Less than a second later an ethereal, wispy figure appeared before him.

The figure walked straight over to the crib, bypassing his still form, and gazed down at the child. "She really is beautiful."

The words were never audible but that did not mean they were not spoken. He always heard them as clearly and loudly as if she had shouted them in his ears. "She is you." He uttered simply, like he had every other night. A mirror image, the two of them were.

"I was never so beautiful." A soundless giggle, a flash of a smile.

His hands clenched against the arms of the chair. "Why do you continue to torment me in this way?"

A soulful gaze, a deep encompassing sadness in her eyes. "Because I love you."

That wasn't the answer he was looking for, it never was. He squeezed his eyes shut as his love for this ethereal figure consumed him in return, yet he did not say it. "You know what I mean. If you loved me, you would not do this."

"I am doing nothing except what is fated."

"This was not the fate that we were meant to have. We saw our future with our own eyes." Blue eyes snapped open as he felt a cold breath fanning over his face.

A sad smile, a hand hovering over his cheek. "Fate is not absolute."

"It should be." He choked out roughly, "It should be."

"Endy…" He squeezed his eyes shut once more, feeling a tear trail down his cheek. "Endy, I love you…"

"Stop calling me that. I am not Endymion. He is long dead and will never live again." He retorted harshly, his fingers digging deeper into the white-painted wood under his hands. "The present I am living in only confirms it."

A moment of silence before the cold breath moved closer, chilling his lips. "You cannot continue with these thoughts. Endymion is as alive as you are, Mamoru." He stayed stone silent even as his breaths become more labored. "What will you say when Crystal Tokyo rises, looking for its King?"

"That he is dead." He answered, his voice barely above a whisper, "As dead as his Queen."

"You must move on, Mamoru. A King needs any Queen."

His eyes opened sharply, blazing with emotion. "No. There is only one Queen and one alone."

That fierce emotion charged the sudden silence, before she whisperingly admitted "I cannot move on until you do, Endymion. Your torment cannot end until I am gone."

"But you are never gone." Another tear made a salty path down his cheek. "You are lying in that crib right this second."

A pause. "She is not me and I am not her."

"Liar." He nearly hissed, "She is a duplicate of the mother she will never know but will always hear about."

"I have cursed her with a name and the image to go along with it." The chill moved away to his lips to dance across his forehead, a phantom's kiss. "I am sorry. I never meant to."

"I know." He uttered, knowing the truth. She hadn't wished for this fate, no one had, but it didn't matter because they were all cursed with it and always would be.

"I… never told you this when I was pregnant but I had wished I would give you a son. A duplicate of yourself." He looked at her in surprise, inciting a giggle. "A brilliant boy with untidy hair and fathomless eyes. That is what I wished to give you."

He open and closed his mouth a few times, stunned. "What… of Chibiusa?"

A wistful smile. "Her as well. I… wanted to give you as many children as you had wanted. To create the family you never had."

"I was going to have all the family I need." He insisted, "You and our daughter."

"But I ruined that by dying." Another tear escaped his eye. "What do you want me to do, Mamoru? I cannot crossover until you accept my fate and move on with your life."

"I can't." He whispered hoarsely, "I just can't. You should be here in the flesh, able to hold your daughter."

Ghostly fingers flexed, a longing gaze. "I want that as well but it is not possible. Never will be. I have accepted it, now you must."

He shook his head frantically. "No. No, there has to be a way --any way-- to bring you back."

"You cannot cross the barriers between life and death. You would only give our daughter the fate you received the second your parents died. Orphanhood." A pause. "I have cursed our daughter with my wish to give you a son. Do not make a similar mistake and wish for what you cannot have. Do not involve either Hotaru or Sestuna with this, Endymion. Do not try to resurrect me by any means."

"It's the only way." He cried out desperately, "It's the only way. I'm too selfish, I can't accept a life without you and let you crossover. I'll damning your soul to exist as you are right this instant and I hate myself for it all the more. But I just can't, Usako, you have to understand."

"You're damning yourself as well." A whisper, floating across his ears. "By not accepting my fate, I will continue to appear. I do not want to see you go crazy when your mortal body can't endure my unnatural presence any longer. I do not want our daughter to see."

He laughed harshly. "I won't matter. I'm already going crazy by seeing your ghost. Our daughter will grow up with an insane father than cannot bare to look at her because she's the mirror image of her mother. And, as much as I fight not to, I hate it. Hate that when I look at her, all I can see and remember is you."

An understanding smile, a brush of a ghostly hand across his cheek. "Then stop wanting to see me, silly. Look at her and want to see a beautiful child that will grow up with your intelligence and knack for dry humor. A child who will have those moments of serious thoughtfulness that make others wonder what is under that beautiful heads of hers."

He smiled weakly. "A daughter who will grow up knowing when to just stop and lay out in the sun, daydreaming about her future. Her heart will be the largest in Tokyo and she'll always stand up for what she believes in no matter what it costs her. And even with all her determination and cheerfulness, she'll easily make room in her heart for all the friends she'll make in life."

"That's it, Mamoru. She'll be the perfect combination of both of us." The sadness returned, a smile on her transparent face that didn't reach her lips. "I love you, Mamo-chan. You know I would do anything for you to make this stop."

He watched her fade away through blurry eyes as the tears flowed down his cheeks faster. "I love you too, Usako. I always will."

Two months later, the tuft of golden-blonde hair on Usagi Serenity Chiba's hair began to bleed a familiar rose color and he saw a shadow of the mischievous Chibiusa staring back at him through her sparkly cerulean eyes. It was the closest thing to the miracle he'd hoped for because now all he saw were the things she would be later in life every time he looked at her.

But, there were times when he retreated into that dark place in his mind and had to wonder if the hair color was the blood of the mother she'd killed by her birth. The mother that loved the both of them enough to find a way, even in death, to change the color of their daughter's hair in hopes of enabling him to move on.

He never did see Usagi's ghost again no matter how many times he waited in that nursery. He never could accept her death, either.


Done: 11:50, April 29, 2009

Posted: 12:10 April 29, 2009

So… yeah. I'd been toying with some ideas for the continuation to my story Emerge to Reveal (shameless plug: go give it a try if you haven't read it, lol). One of those ideas was for Serena to almost die while in labor. She, being the selfless and loving person she is, would have told Darien to do anything to save their child --even at the cost of her life. But, I figured that story has enough twists and turns as it will be and, besides, I don't want to end the story that far into the future. So, this one-shot was born out of the idea.

It's angst-ridden and sad, but I hope you enjoyed it all the same. Let me know if you'd be interested in me continuing this, I already have some ideas. :)

Background story:

A year or two after Mamoru and Usagi are married, she's pregnant with who everyone thinks is the prophesized Chibiusa. When she goes into labor one night, however, things don't go as expected. Serious complications arise and Mamoru is told that only one life can be saved, either his wife's or his daughter's. There's absolutely no way to save both. At Usagi's urging, he chooses to save their daughter and she's promptly named Usagi Serenity Chiba while he's with his wife as she dies.

However, when Mamoru finally does go to see his daughter he realizes she isn't Chibiusa --she's the carbon copy of her mother. No cinnamon-colored eyes or pink/rose hair in sight. You can take this however you want (Usagi's death caused a shift in the time stream, they're is in an alternative universe, etc) but the fact of the matter is that Chibiusa doesn't exist and everyone automatically assumes that because of that, and Usagi's death, Crystal Tokyo will never exist either.

Mamoru's not completely sure that's the case though and manages to convince himself that no one had been allowed to know the whole future, so what's to say his future self hadn't endured the same thing but had found a way to bring his wife back? Meanwhile, Usagi's ghost visits every night and for him, it's torture. He can see her but never touch her and is forced to watch the longing gazes she sends both him and their daughter, but how she can smile and giggle like she's still alive. Worse yet, he looks at his daughter and sees her mother staring back at him. The same eyes, the same hair, the same giggles, she is her mother. And he hates it more every time Usagi leaves for the night and he's reminded of what he can't have anymore.

The above conversation was his breaking point where he realizes he'll never be the father he needs to be because every time he looks at his daughter, she conjures up memories of her mother that hurt and make him grieve all over again. He finally admits that he can't accept life without Usagi but it's not practical because it'll tear everyone up if he can't. So he brings up his idea to bring her back only for her to forbid him to either go back in time (Pluto) or find a way to resurrect her or have her reborn, etc. (Saturn).

The ending was meant to be ambiguous. It's Darien belief that Usagi managed to sacrifice her afterlife to change their daughter's hair so he could see their daughter and stop being hung up his memories of them together. That way, he'd be able to grieve for the last time before moving on, and hopefully remarry. But because his love for his wife was so great, he never could. Yet, because of her sacrifice, he can't even see and talk to her ghost anymore to give him that solace.

See, told you it was sad. Please R/R, always appreciated! Oh, and if you are interested in a continuation and a site member, please add this story or me (how about both? XD) to your alerts so you can know the second I do. Thanks for reading!

Tiger Celeste.