I do not own the characters Haruka Tenoh or Michiru Kaioh as they belong to Naoko Takeuchi. The rest are mine.

Sorry for the delay on this chapter. :( I've been busy with work!

Jay: Thank you :D I'm glad you like and I hope you like the rest. :)

Not While I'm Around

Michiru sat silently confined in a small room, the overwhelming fear of claustrophobia slowly taking over her being as the days went on. She was unsure if she should keep her eyes open or closed. When her eyes are open she can see the body of Haruka in a corner. When her eyes are closed she would constantly relive the tragic accident that impacted her life.

"Michiru." She could hear a voice whisper to her from a corner. She wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and never open them again. "Michiru." The husky voice repeats itself.

"Go away." Mich whispered back and clenched her eyes closed as tight as she could.

"I thought you loved me. Why won't you look at me?" The voice continued to whisper. Mich opened her eyes and saw the deceased body of her lover in the corner. The green eyes of the corpse had a milky tone to them. "I miss you, Mich. Why don't you let go and come with me to the other side?" The lips of the corpse moved slowly as it spoke.

"I want to. They won't let me. A world without you is a world not worth living in." Mich said through a few tear filled sobs.

"I'm waiting for you." The body of Haruka slowly animated and stood. The movements resembled that of a drunkard. It stumbled forward as it approached Michiru. "I'm tired of waiting. I need you now." The corpse had begun to decay slightly. Her eyes seemed to tear right through Michiru's very being when their gazes met. Blood seeped out of the scar on her face and trickled onto the floor. The face was slightly swollen from where the cut was wide open. Her cheek bone was showing from where slabs of skin hung from her cheek.

"I miss you, Haru." Mich whispered to herself. Her hands were bound in a straight jacket, preventing her from being able to wipe her face dry. "The only person I've been able to trust is your father. I know I hated him in the past. He's the only one that has been here for me since you died…"

The corpse scoffed at the mention of its father. "Bastard." The words were slightly slurred.

"He's not so bad now."

Xxxxxxxxx

~Two Years ago~

Michiru opened her eyes and found herself in a hospital. Her head was throbbing and her right arm ached. Upon further inspection she found her right arm bandaged. "Where's Haru?" Were the first words she said when she looked around the hospital room. A familiar man stood at the edge of her bed.

"Mich, I'm sorry. She…" The man's eyes swelled with tears. "She's dead…"

"No! She can't be! I saw them take her out of the car! You're a damn liar."

"Michiru, she was my only child." He continued to sob. "I don't know what I'm going to do without her."

"You disowned her the instant she told you we were married."

"I was just mad I wasn't invited to the wedding." The man lied through his crocodile tears.

"You're full of shit."

"Michiru, I loved her. She's gone… I don't know what I'll do now."

Michiru let her mind slip away from a moment. She felt a flood of emotions began to burst out. Haruka was gone. They had done so much together and never let anything pull them apart, until now. "Haruka…" She covered her face and wailed uncontrollably. Dr. Tenoh pulled her into an embrace to help comfort her. "She's really gone, isn't she…?" She spoke slowly and accepted the gesture from her father-in-law. It felt as though her heart was going to burst from her chest. A horrible burning feeling consumed her insides as she realized the love of her life was dead.

"She really is…" They both cried. One was real tears while the other was completely fake. "The best I can do for you now is offer my help in your recovery…" He attempted his best to calm her. "They said you'll need help and I volunteered myself. I'll do whatever I can to help you." His plan was completely sinister. He would be able to finally take out all of his anger and frustration on this woman.

"I'm sorry for how I was with you in the past." Michiru apologized to the man.

"I understand, it's okay." He grinned from her shoulder. He never imagined it would be this simple to get his hands on this woman.

Xxxxxxxxx

~Present Time~

Michiru continued to gaze at the deceased body of her lover. The two continued to have a conversation as they did each day, and as each day went on, the body decayed more and more. "I'm tired of living without you, Haru. It's been two years."

"It seems longer for me." The decaying corpse replied and ran a hand through its blonde hair. Blood from the open wound on her face trailed into the blonde hair, making it a complete mess. Bits of the hair had fallen out and was now mixed with the red goo.

Michiru shut her eyes. It hurt her to see Haruka in that condition. She finally began to question if what she was seeing was real or not. She had been locked in this room for about two weeks now, if not more. Her mind, still weak, was growing stronger. She was finally beginning to get a firm grasp on reality. Her release from the room was still far away.

The sound of the door opening caught her attention and she looked up. A familiar face entered the room. Haruka's corpse also looked to see who was entering.

"Michiru." The man spoke and adjusted his glasses slightly. He closed the door behind him and approached the woman sitting on the floor.

"Dr. Tenoh." Mich managed a weak smile.

He stood silently and glanced back behind him at the small window on the door. "I can't do this anymore." He pushed part of his coat to the side and withdrew a small handgun. "If I'm going down, you're going down with me."

"Doctor!" She gasped. Bits of her mind questioned what was going on. She looked at the body of her lover.

"Now you can join me." The blonde woman's corpse hissed. "We can be together forever now."

"No. You're not real." Mich closed her eyes and shook her head. "Neither of you are real!" She screamed.

"Who is real and who is not? What is real and what is not?" As the doctor spoke to Michiru, Haruka's body repeated each word. They both had the same sinister look painted on their faces. He pressed the barrel of the gun to Michiru's temple. "Nothing will matter anymore soon. It's your fault, everything is your fault." He pushed his glasses up on his nose with his free hand. "She would have never turned into a lesbian if you had never come into the picture."

Michiru sat quietly, she tried to push both images out of her head. She knew neither Haruka nor her father were real. "No, you aren't real." She felt the cold, dead hand of her lover touch her cheek. "Stop."

"She doesn't think we are real." The husky voice of her wife spoke. The doctor did not reply but only continued to smile wickedly.

"You aren't real. Neither of you are real. No. I've just been poisoned. Haruka wouldn't want me to just give up."

"But I need you." The corpse whispered to her. For a moment she could feel the breath on her cheek.

"Stop it." Michiru shook her head again and opened her eyes. Both Haruka's body and the doctor were still in the room. "Go away, both of you."

"We're not going anywhere." The blonde woman responded.

"Hmm." The doctor mumbled to himself and pressed the barrel of the gun onto her temple harder. "I'm almost tempted to just let you drown in your own misery." He shook his head. "But, I can't let you continue to live. Not while I'm around. I can't keep running, they'll find me. Everything I've worked for will be gone, and if that's so, I'm taking you with me." He chuckled to himself. "But then again, maybe I should sit back and watch the show for a moment." He removed the gun from her head and walked around the room for a moment.

"You should beg him to take your life now. So we can be together again." The corpse whispered to her and brushed its lips on her cheek. The touch was stone cold.

"No!" Mich tried to shove the body away with her shoulder. "I can't just give up on everything I've ever worked for. I'll never love anyone as much as I love you, Haru." Her eyes met the milky green eyes again. "You aren't real… go away."

The body stood up and rocked back and forth for a moment. Its movements resembled a Hollywood zombie. "Very well." The husky voice spoke. "I'll just leave you in your misery. You'll be alone forever now." The decaying corpse fell over backwards and exploded into hundreds of spiders that scattered around the room.

"Sp-spiders!" Mich jerked to her feet quickly and tried to kick the arachnids off of her. "Spiders!" She screamed again and continued her best to remove them from her body.

The doctor continued to stand in the room watching the woman. He was slightly amused at the sight of his daughter-in-law while she suffered from an illusion. After a few minutes she finally took a deep breath and sat down again. She looked up at the man in the room still.

"Why aren't you gone?" Her eyes narrowed at him.

"Am I real, or am I an illusion too?" He tapped the side of the gun onto his head. "Your mind is a complete mess. You can thank me for that."

"You're a monster." She grumbled.

"What was that?" He questioned her and began his approach, holding the gun straight out at her.

"You're a monster." She repeated, louder.

The door of the room burst open and a few of the staff members entered. "Dr. Tenoh!" One screamed at the man with the outstretched gun.

"I'm so sorry!" A woman in the back sobbed. "I didn't know he wasn't allowed in here anymore!"

The doctor pointed the gun at the few people that stood at the door. "Don't move or I'll shoot everyone." He clicked the safety off of the gun and motioned for them to exit.

The three people all gasped at the motion. No one would have ever thought him to snap suddenly. Michiru let out loud scream and caught the doctor's attention. He turned and pointed the gun at her. In the moment he did that, a man lunged forward in an attempt to disarm him. But it was too late, a shot fired and Michiru screamed once more as the bullet hit her.

"Get away." He pushed the man off of him and took a step back. "Or I'll shoot you too."

"Do something!" The woman cried again. "She's bleeding!"

The doctor quickly pointed the gun at his own head and without a second thought, his finger moved to the trigger and began to pull it…

Xxxxxxxxx

Meanwhile…

Haruka sat quietly in her own hospital, completely oblivious to the happenings in the hospital Michiru was staying in. She smiled to herself while she observed the beautiful engagement ring and two wedding bands joined by the key to their home. "Soon…" She whispered to herself from a chair in a large room. She brought the key ring to her lips and kissed the engagement ring. Everything would settle down and someday she would be back with her wife in their home.

A woman burst through the double doors at the entrance to the room Haruka sat in. It was Dr. Todd. Her eyes instantly met Haruka's eyes. "Haruka!" She quickly ran to the blonde woman that had been in her own world. "You really should come with me. There's been an accident…"