-Delivery Blues-

Disclaimer: I don't own any of it.

Author's Note: First off, thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed. I apologize that this chapter is a bit late in coming out (here it is Sunday and I was hoping to have the thing up last Monday), but hopefully it'll be worth the wait. Enjoy

------

-4-

"Rei, do you hear me? Rei?"

Rei closed her eyes as she took the phone away from her ear. She felt like the room was closing in on her, and her lightheadedness and nausea was slowly becoming more than she could handle. She was a Senshi, and one of Usagi's guardians, but this…

"Rei, I can't hear you," Ami said on the other end, "What's going on?"

"Rei?" Usagi asked weakly, "Are you alright?"

Rei covered her mouth with her hand, a sob escaping from her throat as her eyes watered up. Looking from her princess to the phone, she brought it back up to her ear.

"Rei!" Ami said, "Rei, what…"

"I can't do this," Rei said as a tear slid down her cheek, "I… I'm sorry… I… I though I could, that I was strong enough, but… But this…"

As Mamoru came over to Ami, the young woman gave him an anxious look as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Rei," she said, her voice sympathetic as she turned away from Mamoru's worried gaze to better concentrate. "Rei, I'm sorry. I know you've been in there with Usagi far longer than anyone wanted, least of all you. But do you remember what I promised you earlier?"

"You promised to get us through this," Rei said as she wiped her tears with her shirt sleeve, "But…"

"I know you're not a trained doctor," Ami continued, "We're all asking a lot of you, and I know it's hard on you. But it's almost over Rei. Just a little longer and Chibi Usa will be with us. At that point you can pass out or be sick as much as you want, but I need you to hold on until then. More importantly, Usagi needs you. Please," she pleaded, "We need you, Usagi needs you, to stay strong just a bit longer."

Rei once more wiped her eyes on her sleeve. She looked back over to Usagi, at her princess' big blue eyes gazing at her with an almost puppy dog look of trust. She listened to the blonde's breathing, and to her own as well. She'd seen Usagi hurt in battle before, seen her in pain back when Mamoru left her because of a series of nightmares, seen her face her fears and keep going, even when things seemed their bleakest. But, she'd never seen her like this. So much in pain, so vulnerable…

So in need.

"Alright," she finally said, "Hold on. Usagi, I'm going to take your shoes and socks off." She put the phone down and reached over to untie the blonde's left shoe. As she got both the shoe and the wet sock off, she went to untie the other shoe.

Usagi put her hand over Rei's, "I knew you'd come through," she said, managing a smile as she added, "I believe in you."

Rei gripped onto Usagi's hand, both young women silently looking at one another for a few seconds before they let go so Rei could quickly removed Usagi's other shoe and sock. "Put your ankles up here," the miko said as she helped her friend get her legs up on her shoulders, "And when the next contraction hits, you're going to push, okay? Ami says you're almost there." Usagi nodded her head as Rei picked the phone back up, "Ami?"

"I'm here," the med student said, "Here's what you're going to do. When her contraction hits, have her push. When the contraction ends, have her stop pushing and try to help her return her breathing to normal."

No sooner had Ami finished than a contraction hit. "Push, Usagi!" Rei said, "Push!"

The blonde grit her teeth, bore down and pushed.

That was when the floor started to shake.

------

"What's happening?" Shingo asked as the entire building shook.

"It feels like an earthquake," Kenji said. "Damn it, of all the times to hit, why does it have to hit while my daughter's in labor on an elevator?"

As the earthquake continued, the windows of the hospital cracked. Makoto and Minako turned their attention away from the small television in the lobby as they went to protect Usagi's parents and younger brother. Hotaru and Michiru meanwhile reached into their purses for their Henshin Wands in case Sailors Neptune or Saturn would be needed. On the other side of the lobby Ami's mother grabbed the blue-haired Senshi and pulled her to the relative safety of a nearby doorframe. Mamoru and Dr. Ohmori likewise found shelter under a corridor entrance.

Then, just as quick as the earthquake had started, it was over.

Mamoru left Dr. Ohmori's side as he hurried over to the Ice Senshi, hoping for answers. "Ami…"

"I don't know, Mamoru-kun," Ami interrupted, "It started right around the time Rei told Usagi to push, and… Mamoru?" she asked as the future king suddenly looked quite perturbed, "Mamoru, what is it?" Mamoru quickly told her about the crystal points, at which point she too became worried. Running over to the reception desk, she saw the young receptionist crawling out from underneath it.

"Is… Is it over?" the receptionist asked nervously.

"We think so," Ami said. "Miss, do you have a map of Tokyo behind that desk of yours?"

-----

Usagi gasped for air as she wept, pain shooting throughout her body.

Rei looked up at her, "I think the quake's over Usagi." Looking around, she found the cell phone and brought it back to her ear. "Ami? What's happening out there?"

"Some sort of seismic activity that's synchronically tied in with Usagi's labor."

"Huh?"

"I'll explain later," Ami said, "How's Usagi?"

"Don't ask," the Raven haired woman answered.

"Try to get her breathing back to normal."

"Already on it," Rei answered as she began to work on getting Usagi's breathing back down to normal.

Back on the first floor, Mamoru came over to see Ami holding her phone with one hand and the map of Tokyo with the other. "Ami-chan, how is she?"

"About as well as can be expected given the circumstances," Ami admitted. "Because Chibi Usa is a few days late, she's had an extra few days to grow in Usagi's womb, which is probably making delivery more difficult."

Mamoru frowned. He stuck his hands in his pockets and walked off while Ami quickly scanned the map. Makoto, noticing the dark look in Mamoru's face, followed him.

Back on the elevator, Usagi cried out as another contraction hit.

"Push Usagi, push!" Rei yelled, "Push!" Usagi did so, bearing her muscles down and pushing for all she was worth. The earthquake was more severe this time, with dust raining down on the two young women from the ceiling. The princess pushed for a full minute until the contraction ended and Usagi started to cry once more from pain and exhaustion. Rei now understood what Ami was trying to tell her, that the earthquakes were somehow connected with her labor. If she had access to her flame back at the temple, she might be able to better figure out how.

Of course then she'd be at the temple, instead of here trying to help Usagi deliver a baby on this damned elevator.

The earthquake shattered the remaining glass in the hospital windows. It was a fluke of dumb luck that nobody was outside the building at just that moment, so that there were no injuries from the debris. Outside the building, the parking lot had cracked open in several places, with Minako's car stuck rear first in one of the fissures. More than that though; the parking lot was bulging upwards.

The pedestrians out on the streets and sidewalks outside of the hospital began to panic, causing some to run out into traffic as they rushed across intersections seeking protective shelter. While Minako continued to stay with the Tsukino family, Michiru and Hotaru excused themselves and quickly left the lobby. A few seconds later, Sailor Neptune and Sailor Saturn appeared seemingly out of nowhere to help out the civilians outside. While Neptune helped a small girl who'd become separated from her mother, Saturn used her Silence Glaive to slice through the metal post of a stop sign. She proceeded to pick up the road sign and walked out into the intersection, using it to direct traffic until police could arrive on the scene.

Meanwhile, down in the subbasement of the hospital…

"Um… Haruka, is it?" Eiji asked nervously as he brushed off some of the plaster that had fallen from the ceiling onto him, "Haruka, do you have any idea how many tons of steel is resting directly above you?"

Haruka's legs stuck out from the narrow passage she was working in. "You have a large monkey wrench?" she called out.

"Yeah, right here," the handyman answered. "Look, I know they're your friends and all, but there have been two earthquakes within the last ten minutes…"

"Which is why we have to get them out as soon as possible," she answered as she came out of the panel wet with sweat and grease. After the accident with the hydraulic fluid, she'd removed her dress shirt and was wearing a simple muscle shirt over her sports bra. She's also wrapped her tie around her forehead to act as a makeshift sweatband to try to keep the sweat and hydraulic fluid out of her eyes. "Look, if you want to leave, I'll understand. Just leave your tool belt and the parts here."

"Now look, there's no reason to be that way. I understand the girl's giving birth up there, but if we get stuck in here…"

"Trust me," Haruka said with a smirk, "If we get stuck in here, I can get us out." With that she took the monkey wrench and crawled back into the space.

------

Mamoru stood alone in the stairwell. He leaned his forehead against the wall and grimaced. Growing up in the orphanage, he'd learned early on to keep his emotions in check and hidden. The older kids would look for any sign of weakness, any opening, to humiliate and dominate others. He'd been forced early on to grow up quickly, to rely on himself, and to never, ever cry.

He closed his eyes as he tried to compose himself. His love, his life, was giving birth to his daughter Chibi Usa on an elevator, and he couldn't help her. A love stronger than even death itself united them and had brought them together again in this lifetime. And now, in her moment of greatest need, he'd failed her.

Just as he'd failed her before, in the Silver Millennium, when he couldn't protect her from Beryl…

He could feel his eyes watering up, and gritted his teeth. He was a man. He couldn't cry, couldn't show weakness, but his beloved was in pain, scared and alone with Rei. She needed him. Even in his darkest moments, when he was forced to tell Usagi he didn't love her anymore in order to protect her from his nightmares, the separation was nowhere near this agonizing. He bit his lip as images of his wife appeared in his head, calling out to him…

Mamoru let out a near animalistic howl of anger and frustration as he slammed his fist into the wall, sinking to his knees as the tears came. His left fist throbbed with pain, the knuckles bloody and bruised after their encounter with the wall.

"Mamoru?" a soft voice asked.

Mamoru closed his eyes, unable to bring himself to face anyone at the moment. His head hung in shame, both for letting Usagi and his daughter down and for crying.

Makoto looked down at her future king silently, trying to find the right words to offer and coming up empty. They were both orphans, Mamoru after a car accident and Makoto because of a plane crash. Both had to grow up alone, both had to put up a tough front to survive. She knew what it was like to cry in stairwells, in a bathroom stall, or underneath bedsheets when the lights were turned off and no one was there to tuck you in.

She also knew how many times, during the worst days, she wished someone would've reached out to her.

She knelt down next to Mamoru and put her arm around his shoulders. "It's okay," she finally whispered, "It's just the two of us. Let it out."

Mamoru turned to Makoto, allowing the tall young women to pull him into a hug as he wept.

------

"Wow!" Shingo exclaimed as he continued to watch out the blown-out window, "It's really them! Two of the Sailor Senshi."

"No one's seen or heard from any of them for the last four years," his mom said as she looked over his shoulder, "Not since that Gala-somebody disappeared along with that boy band you were interested in."

"Mom," Shingo said indignantly, "I was not interested in the Three Lights."

"That's funny," his father said, "I seem to remember you playing them on your stereo quite a bit back then." Turning to Minako who was standing next to him, Kenji winked as he added, "He even had a poster of them on his wall."

Minako was about to comment when another earthquake hit, this one knocking her and several others to the floor. Pushing herself up to all fours, Minako looked outside to see water and steam shoot forth from the widening cracks in the parking lot as the bulge grew into a small hill, causing cars and trucks to topple over into one another as the sounds of police and emergency squad sirens could be heard coming towards the hospital. As the small television that had been following the story of the now sixteen foot tall crystals at the Crystal Points fell and smashed to the floor, the blonde quickly motioned for Luna and Artemis to take shelter under her.

The earthquake finally stopped. In the elevator, Usagi was sobbing as she tried to catch her breath, while Rei yelled into the cell phone, "Ami, just what the hell is going on out there?"

"Crystal Tokyo," Ami answered as she picked herself up, "The Crystal Points have been activated."

Rei's eyes widened, "I… I thought that Crystal Tokyo was supposed to begin around the same time as Chibi Usa's birth, but…"

"It gets better," Ami said as she double checked the map in front of her. "Take a wild guess as to where the exact center of the pentagram formed by the Crystal Points is."

Rei understood in an instant, "The hospital." Just then a foul odor reached her nostrils.

"Rei," Ami said, "What's her condition? Do you see anything?"

"Yeah, I see something all right," Rei answered, her face turning green, "Something came out while she was pushing, but it sure as hell wasn't Chibi Usa. Yuck…"

Ami sighed, "It happens sometimes during labor. If you or Usagi have any wet naps in your purses…"

"Hold on…" a few seconds went by, during which Ami could hear Usagi's labored breathing and Rei grumbling to herself about being owed big time. "Done. It took two packets of wet naps and a full packet of facial tissues though."

As Ami stayed on the phone, Usagi's mother Ikuko noticed her daughter's friend Makoto leading a visibly distraught Mamoru back over to her and the others. She let out a gasp as she caught sight of his injured hand. "Mamoru-kun, what happened?"

"It… It's nothing," he muttered.

"I'll be the judge of that," Ami's mother said as she came over, "Here, let me take a look." She began to lead Mamoru over to a nearby aide station when the phone at the reception desk rang. The receptionist took the call, and shortly thereafter stood up to get everybody's attention.

"People," she said, "I'm afraid we've just received orders to evacuate the hospital."

------

Rei looked over in the corner of the elevator at the pile of now soiled tissues and napkins. "Glad I don't have to clean this when we get out of here," she said.

"Rei-chan."

Rei looked over to Usagi, "Hai?"

"Rei-chan, I'm sorry," she whimpered, "I'm so sorry to put you through this."

Rei shook her head. "Don't be," she said. "If our roles were reversed, you'd do the same for me. I mean, you… You were my first friend," she said, her voice breaking as her amethyst eyes welled up with tears, "After my mother died and my father shipped me off to my grandfather's shrine, I… I didn't want to have anything to do with anybody. I didn't want to be hurt again. Without you, I would still be the bitter unfriendly girl you first met. I owe you everything Usagi. I'm sorry I almost lost it earlier Usagi, but… But I'm here for you now, and I will be till the end."

Usagi and Rei both smiled at one another through their tears. The tender moment was short-lived though, as Usagi once more sobbed out a cry when another contraction took hold of her.

"Push, Usagi, push!" Rei screamed as the earthquakes began again, "Come on, you can do this! Push, push, pu…" her voice died off as she stared in amazement. "Ami!" she shrieked into the phone, "Ami!"

Ami didn't answer; in the confusion of people rushing about she couldn't hear the miko's voice. Besides, at the moment her attention was on the gigantic deep-blue crystalline dome that had just forced itself up through the hospital parking lot. Concrete and cars lay scattered around it as water continued to shoot forth from the ruptured water manes. As police and emergency rescue units moved in to take control of the area, Sailors Neptune and Saturn left the scene, leaping up and towards the roof of the hospital.

Makoto stood by Ami as doctors and nurses rushed patients out of the building through the remaining working elevators of the West and South wings of the hospital. At the present, evacuation was still voluntary, so Ami was staying along with Makoto and Mamoru (who followed Dr. Mizuno out of the aide station with his left hand bandaged up). Nearby Minako stayed with Usagi's parents and brother, secretly keeping an eye on the three in case Sailor Venus was needed. Dr. Ohmori had likewise opted to stay, saying that it was her duty to stay until her patient was safely off the elevator. And of course Ami's mother was staying, both to help if she could and to keep a protective eye on her daughter.

As Michiru and Hotaru tried to silently come back into the lobby through the stairway, they were both nearly run over by an orderly and two nurses pushing an elderly man on a gurney. It was then that Ami finally heard Rei's frantic voice on the other end of the receiver, "Rei?"

"Ami, where the hell have you been? I can see the top of Chibi Usa's head!"

Ami nodded her head. "She's crowning," she muttered, "I should've guessed."

------

"Are you almost done?" Eiji asked, "It feels like this whole building's going to collapse any second."

"Just need another five minutes," Haruka called out from the panel.

"Good," the elderly handyman replied anxiously, "Once you get it up and running, I'll use the master switch on the wall there to override the elevator's previous instructions and return it to the lobby."

"Fine," Haruka called out. Narrowing her eyes as she tightened a nut, she thought of what must be going on in the elevator up above her. "Hold on kitten," she whispered, "Just a little longer."

------

"Usagi, just a little longer," Rei said, "You're almost there."

Usagi looked warily over to Rei. She was physically spent. "I don't… Think I have the energy left to push anymore," she wept, her lower lip trembling.

"Yes you do Usagi," Rei said firmly, "You can do this."

"No, no I can't… I…"

Rei could tell her princess was exhausted. Even so, she instinctively knew that Usagi couldn't give up now, not with Chibi Usa this close. She needed to get Usagi to push again. She needed at least one more good push.

She needed motivation.

She put the cell phone down on the floor, ignoring Ami's voice on the other end as she focused on the expectant mother before her. "Come on, Usagi," she said angrily, "Now's not the time to whine!"

Usagi looked stunned, "W… What?"

"You heard me, meatball head! Maybe if you weren't such a clumsy crybaby…"

"Who's a clumsy crybaby?" Usagi yelled back.

"You're a clumsy crybaby, meatball head! I'm willing to bet any other mother would've already delivered their kid by now! But no, just because you're a bit tired, all of a sudden you can't push anymore…"

"Who says I can't push!" Usagi shot back, "You just wait until my next contraction and I'll show you some real pushing! I… Aaaaaa!"

"Now, Usagi!" Rei said as the blonde's face contorted in pain, "NOW!"

Usagi took a deep breath as the contraction hit, pushing with all her remaining strength. As the building shook violently she closed her eyes and screamed, her face turned red and the muscles and blood vessels of her neck strained as her scream filled the small elevator. She fell back, exhausted as she experienced a monumental release.

Then, a tiny little voice joined her cry.

Rei gazed down in stunned amazement at the precious little girl she was now holding. When the baby came out, the Miko had supported her head with one hand as she caught the rest of her with the other. The girl's small hands were balled up into fists, and the pink and blue umbilical cord still connected her to her mother. Her tiny legs moved about as she cried, the girl not yet sure what to make of her new surroundings.

She definitely had Usagi's mouth. The thought caused Rei to laugh even as new tears ran down her cheeks. "You did it Usagi," she said as she carefully passed the newborn over, "You did it."

Usagi took the girl from Rei and cradled her in her arms. She was so tiny, so fragile. Usagi was mesmerized; the newborn was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen. She'd never known it was possible to feel this much love for another person before, and the feelings flowing through her were almost overwhelming. She tenderly stroked the girl's cheek, smiling affectionately as the newborn's small fingers wrapped themselves around her index finger. "Hello, Chibi Usa," she whispered, her voice hoarse from crying. "I'm your mommy."

On the other end of the phone, Ami used her hand to wipe the tears from her own eyes. Overcome with emotion, she handed the cell phone to Mamoru, who hit the speaker option. All those within the lobby gathered around to hear the newborn crying.

------

"There!" Haruka announced cheerfully, "It's done!"

"About time," Eiji said as he punched a code into a nearby terminal and turned a key in the console. "Okay, the elevator's up and running, and they should be on their way back to the lobby soon, so let's…" his voice died off as he found the door to the elevator engine room wouldn't open. "Oh no."

"What is it?"

"The door's jammed," the handyman explained, "Something must've become lodged behind it in the last quake. I knew it!" he groaned. "Now it could be hours or days before we're rescued."

"Not quite," Haruka said calmly as she walked over to where she'd left her jacket. "Eiji," she began as she reached into her pocket and pulled out her Henshin wand, "How good are you at keeping a secret?"

------

"That's my granddaughter," Ikuko said proudly as her husband Kenji held her close, "We're grandparents now."

"And that means you're an uncle," Minako said as she playfully ruffled Shingo's hair.

As the sounds of crying continued to come out of the phone's speaker, the lights above the elevator suddenly came back on.

On the elevator itself, the sound of humming could be heard, followed by a sensation of descent.

"Rei," Usagi said fearfully as she held her daughter close, "Did you feel that? Is it another earthquake?"

Rei's eyes lit up as she slowly turned to face the elevator doors, "No, it's the elevator," she said joyfully as she looked over and smiled at Usagi. "We're finally getting out."

DING

The doors to the elevator opened at last. Mamoru rushed into the elevator and to his wife. "Usako!"

"Mamo-chan!" Usagi sobbed as he cradled her and their newborn in his arms. Dr. Mizuno was next into the elevator, followed by Dr. Ohmori who'd brought a collapsible stretcher with her and who'd thought to push the elevator button to keep the doors open. As the three swarmed around Usagi and Chibi Usa, Rei pulled herself warily up by the elevator railing. Her hair was disheveled, her pants and blouse were ruined, and she felt ready to collapse. As she turned from the group now in the elevator tending her princess in order to leave, she saw a sea of warm, smiling faces awaiting her.

"Hey guys," the miko offered weakly as she stepped out into the lobby. Ami ran up to her. "Ami, wait, I'm a mess…" her protests fell on deaf ears as the med student pulled her into an embrace, ruining her own clothes in the process.

"It's over," Ami said, "You did great."

Hotaru came over as well to hug the Fire Senshi. "You helped to bring my best friend into the world," she said, "Arigato."

Rei wrapped her own arms around both of them as she wept with relief. The others were about to come over to join in a great big group hug, when an explosion was suddenly heard coming from the subbasement, followed by billowing smoke coming forth from the stairwell. Before anyone had time to panic, a greasy and sweat-soaked Haruka emerged from the smoke, followed by a very befuddled Eiji.

Rei looked over at Haruka with her arms around Ami and Hotaru and smiled weakly. "You look like I feel," she quipped.

Haruka smirked. "Same here," she replied. Her smile faded though as she caught sight of what was outside in the hospital parking lot. Rei noticed the strange look on the sandy blonde's face and turned her head to look outside as well.

"Kami-sama…" she gasped. Jutting out from the parking lot was a gigantic domed tower, formed of crystal and standing a good two stories above the hospital. It partially blocked out the sun as it cast the lobby in its shadow.

Back in the elevator, Chibi Usa was quickly wrapped in a soft warm blanket, and as she was placed back in her mother's arms both Dr. Mizuno and Dr. Ohmori lifted the stretcher that Usagi was now laying on. "We're going to get you to the ER," Dr. Ohmori said as Mamoru continued to hold onto his wife's hand. "There we'll check you and your daughter out, as well as get you hooked up to some i.v.s and get some fluids back into you. We'll also want to help you along with the afterbirth before we join the evacuation, provided the quakes have stopped."

"I'm pretty sure they have," Usagi replied softly. As her daughter settled down into sleep, the blonde smiled up at her husband. It was then she noticed the bandage on his hand. "Mamo-chan? What happened to your hand?"

Before Mamoru could answer, he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned to see Dr. Mizuno using a surgical clamp to secure the umbilical cord as Dr. Ohmori held out a pair of latex gloves and surgical scissors to him, "Chiba-san," she began, "As the father, would you like to be the one to cut the umbilical cord?"

------

"Here, let me through," Kenji said as he and Usagi's mother came over to the women surrounding Rei. "Rei-chan, domo arigato. Our daughter could never have gotten through this ordeal without you."

"You mean without them," Ikuko corrected, "If it wasn't for Ami on this end telling Rei how to help our daughter…"

"And don't forget Haruka-papa," Hotaru pointed out, "It was her and that nice handyman who managed to get the elevator up and running again."

"Speaking of which," Michiru said as she looked around, "Where is the handyman?"

"He left," Haruka answered, "Said something about getting out while the getting was good."

------

Mamoru handed the scissors back to Dr. Mizuno. He bent low to look closer at Chibi Usa, Usagi watching in stunned silence as a tear traveled down his cheek. "Mamo-chan," she whispered as she brought up her hand and gently wiped the tear away, "You're crying."

Mamoru took Usagi's hand in his and kissed it. He looked lovingly at his princess, noting the look of surprise in her eyes. She'd never seen him cry before, and obviously wasn't exactly sure what to make of it. He swallowed hard as he rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. "Aishiteru, Usako."

"Ashiteru, Mamo-chan," Usagi said, giving her love's hand a slight squeeze. Looking down, both parents smiled as the newborn yawned. "It was a good thing Rei was here for me, wasn't it?"

Mamoru allowed a sigh to escape, "It should've been me," he said, "I… I'm sorry…"

Usagi shook her head. "Mamo-chan, don't, please. None of us could've known any of this would've happened. Besides, you were the one who made sure Rei was with me in the elevator so I wouldn't be alone. And I don't think I could've made it without her."

Mamoru looked from Usagi to the scene outside the elevator. Usagi's mother hugged the raven-hared miko tightly as both women wept joyfully. "You know," he said, struggling to steady his voice, "Chibi-Usa's name has already been decided, as has her fate and ours. But…" he said with a smile as he turned back to his princess, "The choice of who should be named her godmother should anything happen to us hasn't been."

Usagi returned her love's smile before both parents looked back out of the elevator at Rei.

------

"Okay, folks," Dr. Mizuno called out, "Could I please have everyone step back a bit so we can get the mother off the elevator?"

As Usagi was wheeled out of the elevator, the Senshi and her parents crowded around to see. "She's so tiny," Minako marveled as she held Artemis up to get a better look, "Look at the tiny pink hairs on her head."

Makoto bent down to pick up Luna for a look, the cat purring softly as she saw Chibi Usa. Usagi smiled as she weakly reached over to pet her guardian cat.

"Everyone," Mamoru said as he held his hands up to get the friends and family's attention, "Usagi and I have just discussed it in the elevator, and we now want to make a formal announcement. Rei," he said as he turned to the Miko who still had her arms around Hotaru and Ami, "We'd be honored if you'd be our daughter's godmother."

Rei looked surprised. "Me?"

"I agree," Kenji said happily, "You'll make a wonderful godmother."

Rei looked down at Usagi and Chibi Usa, and smiled. "Hai," she said as her princess returned her smile, "Arigato."

"Good," Ikuko said as she pulled a camera out of her purse, "Now before you rush my daughter and granddaughter off to get looked after, let's get one photo of them with the three who helped the most, Rei, Haruka and Ami."

"I don't want to get too close," Haruka said, "I…"

"It's okay," Ami said as she pulled the sandy blonde over, "My clothes are already ruined anyways."

So Usagi held Chibi Usa so that her face would be towards the camera, while behind her stretcher Rei stood in the middle between Haruka on her left and Ami on her right. "Smile everyone," Usagi's mom called out.

-Click!-

------

"You know the rest of the story," Pluto said as Chibi Usa and Diana remained attentive, "Shortly after your birth, a new threat emerged from deep space that plunged the entire world into a new ice age. Your mother, with the Senshi's help, used the Silver Crystal to place you and everyone else into suspended animation until the thirtieth century, during which time she, your father and the Inners completed Crystal Tokyo while I and my fellow Outers returned to our posts in deep space."

"Puu," Chibi Usa asked, "The tower that formed that day, what part of Crystal Tokyo was it?"

"Can't you guess Small Lady?" the Guardian of the Gates of Time asked, "It was the central tower where your parents lived and placed your nursery."

"Small Lady," a familiar voice called. Chibi Usa and Sailor Pluto turned to see Sailor Mars walking towards them from the palace. "Small Lady, there you are. I've been looking everywhere for you."

Chibi Usa rose from the bench and ran up to Mars, surprising her by warmly wrapping her arms around her waist. "Well," she said with a smile as she returned the embrace, "You're certainly affectionate today Small Lady."

"Puu was telling me a story," Chibi Usa said, "Did you really help mommy deliver me in a hospital elevator?"

Mars laughed, "That was quite a while ago, but yes," she said as she picked the rambunctious girl up and held her in her arms, "I helped to deliver you. I think I still have a very old photo from the event your grandmother took, if you'd like to see it."

"Oh, can I?" Chibi Usa asked excitedly.

"Of course," Mars said as she began to head back with Chibi Usa, the Luna-P following close behind.

"Mars-sama," Diana called as she ran over, "Can I see too?"

"Sure," Mars replied, "I think it's in the palace shrine. I was going to have to go there anyways. I'm sorry Small Lady," she said regretfully, "I know how boring it can sometimes get for you, but…"

"I don't mind," Chibi Usa responded cheerfully, adding "I'm glad you're my godmother."

Mars blushed as she hugged Chibi Usa closer.

Pluto watched Mars carrying Chibi Usa back to the palace with a smile gracing her lips. Getting up from the bench, she followed the merry little group back to Crystal Tokyo.

-End-

End Notes: Once more, thank you for all the kind reviews. They all meant a lot, and helped to serve as motivation to finish the story. Arigato