Author's Note: So. This is technically the last chapter. There's an epilogue, yes, but this ends the main story. Keep in mind the definition of the style of 'toccata' - this story was meant to reflect it in its own way. I hope I've succeeded. Anyway - last plot twist ahead, and hopefully an ending that will satisfy you as much as it did me. Thank you, grazie, arigato, gracias, danke, dzięki, obrigado, and merci dear readers for giving me this time (yes, I know I forgot a few languages in there, but I think you'd all prefer me to stick to fiction, yes? ;-) ).

~*Chapter Six*~

"Can you hear me?" Michiru thought she did hear a voice, but when she tried to open her eyes, nothing happened. She even tried to move her hands, but it seemed no part of her wanted to obey her commands.

"You just have to trust that she can. Here – press the call button when you want to come back out. I'll come and fetch you," she heard another voice say, so far away. There were footsteps, but they were faint – like the person was walking on a thin sheet of fabric over the floor, instead of the hard tile Michiru knew to be the hospital floor.

She could feel fingers twine through her own despite not being able to move those digits herself - warm and soft with just a few rough spots – calluses. She knew those fingers as well as her own. Was she dead too? Because that hand belonged to Haruka.

Haruka was holding her hand.

"Michi…. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to worry you like that. I didn't want any of this to happen…"

There was a sniffle – was that Haruka? What happened?

The fingers through her own tightened for a moment, and then she felt lips brush across her knuckles. "I love you. So much. They said you were there by my side every day. They could hardly get you away from me. My Michi…" She heard a shuddering breath get sucked in, and she could picture her beloved blonde's face, struggling to keep composure with emotion readable in those expressive green eyes. It was almost as clear as if she'd managed to open her eyes - almost. A few seconds ticked by in silence, and she could feel the warmth of her love's thumb rubbing over the back of her hand. Another motion she knew - the racer often did that at dinner parties when she was at a loss for what to say, and she'd confessed to Michiru once that the motion helped her gather her thoughts. After a few minutes of this, though, it seemed that her blonde had settled on a topic. One the aqua-haired artist was actually glad to hear about.

"You collapsed. After they wheeled me into ICU, before I could wake up. They said you didn't even make it to the room, let alone the chair they'd set out for you – you just crumpled, and you hit your head on the counter of the nurse's station. There was so much blood…" Haruka's hand tightened again for a moment. Had that really happened? It must have. She could hear the worry in that husky voice.

"They were still cleaning it when I woke up. Still, working on you. You stubborn, beautiful ..." There was a shaking breath, the hand around her own squeezed again. "I worried… I knew I wouldn't be waking up alone if you could help it – and they were so reluctant to tell me."

There was a warm laugh – the sound of Haruka's laughter was something Michiru would forever treasure. It rolled softly from her throat, low and rumbling. Welcoming. She loved it, and wanted to open her eyes so she could see if that laugh had managed to chase away some of the worry she knew was lining her partner's face. "You're going to have a hell of a headache when you wake up, unless they've got you on pain meds. Maybe they do… I really wasn't listening to the nurse at that point. They'd just told me they were hopeful you'd wake up. I honestly couldn't focus on anything else after that." Fingertips traced something along her forehead – she knew Haruka had likely just touched the stitches that were probably required to put her back together, if that story was true. That, combined with the slight burning feeling that followed that touch confirmed it - it had to have been the cut she'd gotten from her fall.

"But you're still not awake. It's been three days since then. Three days! God, I miss you. I miss your smile. I miss the way you'd yell at me for leaving the towels on the floor in the bathroom. I miss your cooking – you know I can't cook to save my life. So you have to wake up before they release me, love. I'll die if I have to cook for myself." Michiru almost laughed. She could feel the sensation rumbling in her gut, but her muscles wouldn't work. Why wouldn't they work?

"I miss you. I love you. I want you back in my arms where you belong. I want to be in your arms, where I belong. God, Michi. I …"

And then she felt the weight of her lover against her chest, and whatever she was wearing was getting wet, and Haruka was shaking…

No…

Haruka was crying. Haruka never cried.

She struggled, strained against the strange feeling of being trapped, of not being able to so much as twitch a finger. Railed against it. Haruka was crying, and she couldn't help her. She had to help! Each muffled sob was like a dagger in her - not being able to soothe her, to tell her everything would be okay. Because it would be. She was alive, after all. She could hear and feel. She just... needed... to...

"… R… Ruka…."

There! She'd said something. Her lips had moved. Her throat had scratched out a single word. Just one. But it was enough.

"M… Michiru!" The tears stopped, only to start up all over again, mixed with laughter as lips crashed into her own. Kisses – a hundred kisses, it seemed – rained on her lips, her cheeks… she could feel them! And she tried to force her body to respond. For a few moments, there was nothing – she was simply being kissed. But finally… FINALLY… she was kissing Haruka back. And her fingers were moving, little by little, tightening their hold on Haruka's hand.

"Ruka…." She breathed as she was held and kissed soundly again and again.

"I was so scared. I thought you'd be in your world forever. I couldn't follow you there, you know. And it's not the same as that seashell of yours. This… This was that edge-of-night, forever kind of thing, and … you're awake." Another kiss burned against her lips and she relished it.

"I'm awake…" Michiru murmured once the sweet exchange ended. Awake. Which meant that, if she hadn't even made it to sitting down by Haruka's side, that entire episode with the nurse… with Haruka's death… it'd all been a dream.

Just a dream.

No, a Kami-cursed NIGHTMARE.

"Oh, Haruka…!" she sniffled, and was rewarded with Haruka lifting out of the wheel chair they'd stuck her in to get her into Michiru's room, and shifting to sit on the bed beside her, pulling her up and into her arms. Strong arms – they must have put her through some physical therapy by this point. It still must have hurt her to do it, but Michiru didn't care if Haruka didn't – she was where she belonged. "I dreamed you died… I dreamed you left me… and I couldn't…"

"Shhhh…. I'm here now. I'm not going anywhere," the blonde promised, and Michiru settled, crying quietly in her arms.

A moment later, the nurse came in to see what the commotion was about, and dropped her clipboard on the ground with a startling clatter. "Doctor!" she squeaked, picking the plastic board back up then hurrying out. "She's awake!"

The next few hours were a blur of doctors checking in on her, friends visiting to make sure she was all right, food being eaten (under Haruka's watchful eye), forms being filled out… Haruka insisted on moving into a bed next to Michiru, despite the fact the rooms were supposed to be singles – it was just easier not to argue with the fuss she was making, rules or not! They slept only a couple of feet away from each other, holding hands till sleep loosened their grip on one another.

~*Two Days Later*~

The sun and some incredibly cheerful Inner Senshi and guests whispering just a little too loudly woke them up. The five girls, Mamoru, Hotaru, and Setsuna all stood around their beds – which now were covered in presents and flowers. "We…" Ami began, blushing just a little. "You've both been through so much the last couple of weeks. We just wanted to make your recovery a little happier."

The couple shared an amused, loving glance. Even Haruka, who hated being woken up early, didn't seem to mind this particular rousing in the least. There were sweets, a few plushies, some massage bars (from Setsuna, and she'd explained that with the physical therapy, Haruka was going to be very thankful for them later), and some movies to watch once they were home and recovering. All amid what had to be a small jungle's worth of flowers and plants. Their friends were amazing, wonderful people, Michiru realized once they'd all left, and the two women were once again allowed to recover in peace.

"The doctor told me that they'd likely have released me already, so long as I kept up the physical therapy. But since they're going to release you soon, I'm thinking they're holding off so we can go home together," her lover uttered from a few feet to her left, blonde head sunk contently into the small pillow the hospital provided, fingers curled into one of the new plushies – a little pink elephant she'd taken a shine to.

"That'd be nice. I want to go home," Michiru responded in a quiet voice. "It feels like ages since we've had a chance to really be alone together." Which brought a flush of red across the racer's cheeks, followed by a little nod. Haruka always had been easy to fluster, the swimmer noted. Which tickled Michiru to no end when one considered just how much Haruka liked to flirt with people. She simply couldn't take what she dished out!

"I think the first thing we're doing is taking a shower. Then eating something besides hospital food. Then I intend on sleeping for a few hours, with my favorite person in the world wrapped up next to me," she added with a grin. "Perhaps after that we can work on catching up on an incredible amount of lost time." This time it was Michiru's turn to blush, but she did smile over to her lover.

"Sounds like the perfect date to me. Hopefully, our current keepers will let us enjoy it tomorrow. I think a little time in the hot tub is warranted, too, if the doctors okay it." That earned a happy little groan from her lover.

"Mmm… that sounds like magic. Brilliant idea, love." Michiru giggled at the response, then curled up on her side, an arm wrapped around a little Dalmatian plush while the other extended to silently ask for Haruka's hand. Without a word, fingers were twined together, uniting where they couldn't, themselves.

"Hm… I don't know how much more of this hospital food I can take, either… Michi, think you could make that crab marinara of yours when we get… home… oh."

It'd happened in seconds flat, and Haruka's expression softened to see it. The hand in her own slackened – eyes closed – Michiru Kaioh was sound asleep again. "Sweet dreams of the sea, love."