Serenity studied her daughter and the pilot of Zero Two while she healed a Neptune who was suffering from a concussion caused by a falling piece of Taurus. Usagi was brushing his waist-length dark brown hair, and was trying to carefully work out all of the tangles. While the queen didn't like the little prick, she had to admit that while he hadn't saved Usagi from death, he'd definitely saved her from grievous injury by taking nearly all of the recoil when the explosion had broken their shield. He'd been banged up pretty badly, but her daughter had made healing him her first priority above anything else.

She rolled her eyes when she saw that Duo was obviously enjoying Usagi's ministrations. His eyes fluttered closed and he said something she couldn't hear when the princess ran her fingers through his hair to make sure all the tangles were out.

Usagi smiled and massaged his scalp a little when he let out a little moan of pleasure. "I take it no one ever messes with your hair," she said bluntly.

"Nope, never. Besides Rei, you'd be the first, moonrabbit. We used to comb out each other's hair in the mornings and braid it; it was a lot more efficient than doing it ourselves." His eyes fluttered shut again when she started stroking the brush through his thick hair to bunch it all smoothly into one hand.

"I've seen Rei-chan with that braid, she looks just like you." Her fingers easily plaited his long hair down his back, and she tied it off when she was done.

Duo popped up out of his seat, and motioned for her to take it. "Your turn. Those odangos are all messed up."

It was Usagi's turn to gurgle with pleasure when he unbound her ankle-length hair and let it drop to the floor.

He grinned and enjoyed the simple act of running his fingers through her hair; he'd wanted to do that for days. He lifted the heavy mass of golden waves and suddenly frowned. "Why didn't you tell me you were injured?" When she tried to protest and tell him it was nothing, he bit down on his lip to keep from shouting at her. "No, it's not nothing, moonrabbit. Hold still." He moved her hair to the side and covered the angry-looking scrapes on her neck and shoulders with his hands. He felt the dark light flood into him, and he directed his own energy into healing his princess.

"Taru taught you that already?" Usagi asked. Her eyes slipped shut as she felt his light fill her, and her thoughts were swamped with his. He cared for her… a lot. He had been completely at peace with sacrificing himself for her when he'd thrown himself on top of her during the battle.

She blinked when the light faded and turned her head to look at him. "Th—thank you," she managed. She wasn't thanking him for just the healing, but better for him not to know that she knew… especially in front of her mother.

"My pleasure, moonrabbit." The color rising in her face was thanks enough, and he let his fingertips brush over her pulse when he pulled his hands away and picked up the brush.

###################

"Michiru? Michiru! Wake up!" Haruka shook her girlfriend a little, and cradled the aqua-haired guard in her arms. She detected a slow pulse, but there was no sign that she was breathing. Haruka quickly laid her flat and began to give her mouth-to-mouth.

Her eyes were thick with tears, and she was about to give up after several minutes, but Michiru finally started coughing. A relieved Haruka rolled her onto her side as the woman began to vomit up seawater, and she stroked a comforting hand through her blue locks. "That's right, honey. Breathe. You're going to be ok."

"Ruka?" She choked.

The Princess of Uranus scooped her back up into her arms and stood. "Yeah, honey, it's me. Come on, we'll go find Taru and get you healed up." She kissed her forehead and cradled her tightly against her chest.

"Did it work?" Michiru gasped.

"Yeah, the little pyro did it," she replied, a hint of fondness for the Princess of Mars in her voice. "When all else failed, it seems she poured her power into that pillar while the storm took care of the other mobile suits. They'll probably try and attack again, but it'll be a few days before they can regroup." She adjusted her girlfriend when Michiru wrapped her arms around her neck.

"That's good; we can start planning a battle strategy as soon as everyone's been healed."

"Michiru, you nearly died, and you're already planning the defenses?" Haruka snorted. She kissed her soundly. "I love you, but shut up."

"You'd be doing the same," she replied smartly.

"I'm a little more worried about you at the moment, honey. I'll worry about the city once we get you healed."

Michiru smiled, and felt her love for Haruka warm her from head to toe. On any normal day, Haruka would already be at the palace, planning a strategic defense plan with Serenity and the Muse. Instead, she'd spent her time on the beach frantically searching for her lover. "I love you, too, Ruka."

##############

Mina and Quatre ran together through the debris littering the square, and the Princess of Venus pointed to the palace when they found only spots of blood on the marble tile. They both skidded to a halt in the throne room, which was packed full of healers, injured, and Venusians who were trying to serve food to people who had severely drained their powers. They were to be used if the battle became a fight on the ground, due to their power over earth, but were now practically the only people in the city not suffering from some level of exhaustion. Mercury, Neptune, and Uranus had created and held the storm, then broken it apart when it was no longer needed; Jupiter had created the first barrier; Saturn and the Moon had created the second and were now healing; Mars had won the battle.

Dread swamped both of them at once, and they looked at each other. "Oh Goddess," Minako gasped, "Rei."

The feelings of pain and fear and exhaustion were simply too thick for either of them to send out their powers of empathy to search for the raven-haired woman, so she searched the room for a familiar face, any face that might be able to give her some good news. Her eyes lit up when she spied Trowa. "Thank the Goddess he's ok." She ran across the room and threw herself into his arms. "I was so worried about you," she sobbed. She looked up at him and saw the blood trickling down from behind his ear. "You need a healer, Trowa!"

"I'll be fine." He'd returned her embrace, but he couldn't help but be a little cool towards her after what Quatre had told him. Despite it all, he had thought of her, too; had wondered if she'd made it through the battle without injury, had worried about her well-being. "I'm glad you're alright." He looked to his sister, who was kissing his best friend like it was going out of style, and cleared his throat.

Quatre gave them grin that Shinigami would have been immensely proud of. "Sorry, got caught up in the moment." He gave Makoto a searing glance before kissing her once more, chastely, and pulling away. "Where's Heero and Rei?"

"Rei's pilot light went out," Makoto explained, and she patted Minako when the Venusian gave her a look of horror. "It's ok, Hino-san relit it while Wufei warmed her up. Heero's snuggled up with her right now."

"Thank the Goddess," Minako sighed. "What was that light, anyway? The one that broke the shield? I've never seen anything break through a Jupiter barrier before."

"It was a buster rifle, like Heero's," Trowa answered. "We're extremely lucky; if Rei and Wufei hadn't been there, this island would be only a memory."

################

Wufei was reeling with exhaustion, but didn't let it deter him from his task. He ran down the beach, searching through the injured; he'd found several blue-haired Mercuries and Neptunes already, but none of them were his stubborn little princess. It was getting harder and harder to find her as it started to get dark. He grunted and his fist clenched. If she was hurt, and out here playing doctor, he was going to beat the shit out of her. God, what if she was dead—no, he would not let himself think like that! "Not again," he huffed. "I refuse to go through it again. She's going to live whether she likes it or not."

He spotted several Neptunes hovering around a body on the beach, and stopped to investigate when he overheard one of them say "hime." He caught a glimpse of her glasses, and shoved people out of his way as he slid to his knees at her side. "Ami," he gasped, "are you alright?"

The princess smiled at him weakly. "Hey. I'll be fine, Wufei. We're just waiting on a healer."

He noted her pallor, and moved the damp blanket covering her legs. "Why wasn't she a priority?" He snapped at the onlookers. He looked back at her leg and let the blanket fall; there was nothing he could do to help her until a healer arrived. Pieces of shrapnel were lodged in her thigh and calf, and removing them would only make her bleed out.

"She's already directed four healers to move on to someone else," a Mercury grumbled, obviously both worried and annoyed with his princess.

"Haven't you ever heard of pulling rank?" Wufei growled. "What's she going to do to you? It's not like she can fight back." He directed his glare at Ami, and hid his grim pleasure when she shrank from him just a little. "If you refuse the next healer, you're going to be sorry," he promised.

"Wufei, I'm a doctor, I'll be fine," she insisted.

"Being a doctor doesn't make you bleed any slower," he mumbled. He unbuttoned and shrugged out of his shirt- ignoring the appreciative stares from the Neptunes around him- and balled it up before sliding it gently under her head. "Damn doctors, you make the worst fucking patients."

"Sorry," Ami apologized softly. Her eyes fleetingly scanned his defined muscular chest and arms, but other than that, she gave no indication that she'd noticed.

"You are arguably the most stubborn woman I've ever met." He couldn't keep the animosity out of his voice as he scanned the beach for a healer, and finally spotted a Saturn with heavy bags under her eyes. "You there!" He shouted. "My woman needs a healer; get your ass over here!"

His woman? Ami blushed and closed her eyes to keep from having to look at her subjects and the Neptunes that were studying the two of them with renewed interest. Great… just great. Thanks, Wufei.

Wufei's sign blazed red-hot on his forehead when the Saturn hesitated. "Now!" He yelled, and the healer finally hurried over.

"Gomen ne, Ouji-san. My powers are too drained; I can do nothing for anyone right now."

"Then get another healer over here right now!" He shouted. He ground his teeth together as he fought down the heat that was rising in him; setting this stupid woman on fire wasn't going to help matters.

"All of the healers have fallen back to the palace, Ouji-san."

"I'm not a prince," he finally answered, once he had himself under control. He looked to Ami and tucked a stray hair behind her ear. "Can you be moved?"

She sat up on her elbows and shot Wufei a look when he tried to make her lie flat again. "I can't very well give you an answer if you won't let me look at the wound." She let him help her rise up a little when he nodded, and pulled back the damp blanket. Ami moved her leg just a little for a better look, and grunted softly in pain. "Yes, I can be moved, as long as the leg isn't jarred around too much."

"Alright then, hold still, woman." Wufei removed the blanket and slid his arms under her, carefully hefting her against his chest before rising. God, she's brave. The only sign that she was in pain was a constant grimace and an occasional squinting of her blue eyes. "Move," he grunted at the crowd around them.

His stride was smooth as he took care not to move her wounded leg. "Thank you, Wufei." Ami rested her head against his bare chest. "You're not hurt, are you?"

He couldn't ignore the way her warm breath was ghosting against his skin when she spoke, and looked down at her. He smiled a little at the sight of her eyes closed in perfect trust, and ached to kiss that frown right off of her lips. "Just a few scrapes and bruises," he assured her.

Ami let her mind float through the haze of the pain as she thought of anything but how much it hurt. She concentrated on the feel of his arms wrapped around her, how she could hear and feel his heartbeat… she found a little smile playing at her lips when her arms wrapped around his neck to help him bear her weight, and she heard that heartbeat speed up just a little bit. If she'd been any other woman, she might have stroked the back of his neck just to make it beat even faster. She entertained the idea, but that just wasn't her style.

Wufei saw that little smile, and suppressed one of his own. "Something funny, onna?"

"Yes, if you must know," she replied, surprising herself. Her blue eyes cracked open, and held as much mirth as her lips. "The fact that you're carrying an onna… as you've so tactfully put it. I thought you despised women." She was going to ignore for the moment that he'd kissed her earlier; it had probably just been a heat of the moment thing.

"I don't despise women," he grunted. "Just weakness." He regarded her seriously as he carried her into the palace. "You're not weak," he said firmly, ending that particular subject of conversation. He took her to the first Saturn he could find, who was so tired that she could barely even eat the sandwich in her hand. "Hime no Mercury needs a healer."

The Saturn gave Ami a weak smile. "Gomen ne, hime. I can't heal anymore until I get something to eat and some rest." She nodded towards the throne room. "Lady Serenity's nearly tapped out, too, there were a lot of injuries at the docks, and even more from the falling debris."

"Daijoubu," Ami replied, trying not to wince when Wufei shifted her slightly. She nodded at his grunted apology. "I felt a piece move a little, Wufei. Get me to the throne room."

Wufei felt a twinge of fear at the way she'd quickly paled, and rushed as quickly as he dared, taking care not to jar her thigh. "Lady Serenity!" He bellowed, unable to contain the sudden urgency he felt to get Ami to a healer now. Maybe it was his gift from Mars, maybe it was just intuition, but something other than her gray complexion told him that something was seriously wrong with his princess.

Serenity looked over at him in sheer exhaustion as he approached. "Lay her down," she instructed. She grimaced at the wound when Wufei flipped Ami's skirt up to reveal the entire injury. "I don't know if I have enough power left to heal this, but I'll try."

Ami's eyes fluttered open to stare at Serenity… at both of them. God, she was seeing double, this wasn't good. And if Serenity didn't have a lot of strength left… "Heal what you can," she whispered. "The femoral artery… I think it's been hit."

Serenity nodded, and laid her hands over the ugliest piece of shrapnel. She drew it out little by little as she healed the damage behind it. She moved to the next piece, and the next… and the next. She gasped when she touched the fourth one. "Ami, my dear, I'm so sorry. I just can't heal anymore; I'm tapped until I get some rest." She looked at her with regret and stroked back the sweaty blue hair from her forehead.

Wufei was back at her side, his expression grim. "There are no other healers." He looked to Serenity, and the pain in his eyes was raw. "You're finished, aren't you?"

She nodded. "I'm so sorry, I don't think I could even heal a bruise right now, Wufei."

Ami's eyes fluttered shut for a moment and she fought against the wave of dizziness that swamped her. "The worst of it is healed, I think." God, she was so woozy from the blood loss that she couldn't even assess the damage with 100% surety. "Wufei, pull out the rest and cauterize the wounds."

He just gaped at her. "You're fucking crazy, Ami."

She glared at him, her mouth set in that stubborn line that he'd come to know well over the last few days. It told him that there was no amount of arguing in the world that was going to change her mind. "Do it, Wufei."

He matched her glare, but was the first to look away. He focused on her leg; there were only two pieces left near her knee, and four in her calf. "How deep are these two in?" He asked without emotion.

"About half an inch." She took his hand in hers and squeezed it. "It's going to be alright, Wufei."

Shouldn't he be the one assuring her? Shit, this woman was tough as nails. "Ami, you owe me for this." He waited for her acknowledgement… good, she understood.

"Thank you, Wufei." Whatever she was agreeing to owe him, she had no idea, but she'd pay the price for making him hurt her when it was obvious that it was the last thing he ever wanted to do. She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. "Do it, I'm ready," she said steadily.

Wufei nodded, and pushed all emotion to the back of his mind as he studied the wound. He started with the piece that Serenity had tried to remove but couldn't, and slowly eased it from her flesh. Blood poured out immediately until he placed his hand over the wound and fire flashed from his palm. He instantly regretted it when a scream tore from Ami's mouth, and jerked his hand away. "I'm sorry!" He clutched her to his chest tightly. "We'll find another healer," he insisted, and placed a kiss on her cold forehead. God, she was like ice.

"No," she rasped. "Don't stop. Give me something to bite down on; I won't scream again, I promise." She punched his shoulder weakly when he shook his head. "Do it, Wufei, I won't survive much more blood loss."

"What's your blood type?"

"A positive. Someone needs to hook me up as soon as possible." She let him yell and holler for blood, knowing that it was not only necessary, but it would make him feel like he had some measure of control over the situation. When someone brought over an IV kit and two pints of blood, she nodded. "Do it, Wufei."

God, out of all the shit he'd done in his life, this was arguably one of the most detestable things he'd ever been faced with. He took off his belt, folded it, and stuck it in her mouth. "Bite down," he said gently, tucking a stray hair behind her ear.

Her eyes hardened and she grunted for him to begin.

Wufei worked fast, ignoring her muffled screams, blocking them out to the best of his ability. This was another type of battlefield, but it was a battlefield all the same, and he would succeed in his mission… even if that mission involved scarring Ami's once-flawless leg and inflicting her with excruciating pain. He was drenched in sweat from the effort not to stop when he finally pulled the last piece out of her calf and cauterized the wound.

He regarded her heavily, noting every tear streaming down her face, the agony and relief mixed in her eyes. She was ghostly white, but another Mercury was already hooking her up to the blood and telling her she was going to be just fine.

Ami spat out the belt and tried to regain some control over her breathing. "Thank you." Her voice was hoarse from the screaming, but she felt compelled to thank him again. There was no ignoring the emotion in his eyes as he waited for her to condemn him. "You did well, I'm proud of you."

Wufei toweled off her face, and kissed her before resting his forehead against hers. At this point he didn't give a flying fuck who saw it, either. "Don't ever ask me to do anything like that again, woman." He would have looked up at Serenity, but he just didn't have the strength at the moment. "Can you heal the burns in the morning?" He asked the queen.

"Yes, I can. She'll be my first patient, Wufei." She patted his shoulder, and slowly rose, accepting the help that a Venus offered her. "You two get some rest."

Wufei scooped her up the moment she was done receiving blood and carried her to her quarters. At odds with her room in the Temple of Mercury, this room seemed like it was hardly used. It was spacious and neat, and while he wryly noted the stacks of books, they were confined to a single corner and her desk. Obviously she rarely stayed here, preferring her other room due to its short distance from the library.

He stripped her damp and bloody clothing as quickly and modestly as possible, despite the urge to gaze at her perfection, then went into her bathroom to wash the blood from his hands and arms. Once he was clean, he returned and dressed her in the first thing he could find that looked comfortable, and tucked her safely under the covers. Thank God she'd been out cold since they'd hooked her up to that second pint of blood; he didn't think he could stand her being awake while he'd exposed her.

He disrobed as well, and found a baggy pair of shorts that fit him before sliding under the blankets with her and pulling her tightly against him. If she had a problem with waking like this in the morning, she was going to have to get the hell over it; he wasn't leaving her side.

##############

"Casualties?"

"All but you, sir," the Colonel said sadly. "A three hundred men and mobile suits were lost. Your Gundam is in severe need of repair as well, it won't be up and running for a few weeks."

Hyler nodded a little, despite the ache in his neck. It didn't hurt as much as everywhere else, but it hurt, all the same. God, he'd just sent an entire battalion to their deaths, and there likely wasn't a single casualty among the enemy. Those shields… he'd never seen anything like them, and what in the hell was that beam of fire that he'd fought against? His radar had suggested that it had come from a human, but that was downright impossible. "Have my shields upgraded during the repairs," he ordered.

The leader of Neo OZ flexed his hand and arm and winced in pain. Second degree burns covered his entire body, and if it hadn't been for the Gundanium alloy his suit was made of, he would have been roasted to death in it. God, he had been the only one to survive out of three hundred. "I'll make it up to you," he swore to the souls of his men. "I'll take this planet for you."

##################

"He looks like you," she giggled. "Whines just as much, too," she teased.

"I don't whine," he snorted, but a smirk played at the corner of his mouth while he watched her bare her breast and offer it to his son. Damn it, he was going to have to share those for the next year or so, wasn't he? Only for you, kid, he thought.

She kissed the newborn's forehead and ran her fingers through the unruly shock of dark hair on his head. "He's even going at it with the same single-mindedness as his father," she said with a grin.

"He'd just better know that those aren't his. They're being leased out to him until he's a year old."

She snorted and rolled her eyes. "They're not yours, Heero, they're mine. You didn't have to deal with the soreness all day long for the last three months, so they're mine."

"Yes, Rei, they are." He gave her a seductive smile before he kissed her. "But I'll let you borrow them daily when you're not in bed with me."

…..

"DUO!"

Usagi ran to his body as he crumpled to the ground, and catching a movement out of the corner of her eye, she grabbed Duo's gun out of his back pocket, spun, and shot the man aiming his pistol at her. She returned to shaking Rei's brother furiously, pushing her light into him, but the effort was futile. "Don't be dead, Duo, I'm sorry, I'm SORRY!"

….

Minako's fists shook and she finally looked up to gaze at Trowa with tears in her eyes. "I hate you," she whispered.

…..

"Oh, of course she won't mind, I'm her dear old dad, remember?"

"Fine, G, it's your call, but you're taking the heat when Rei decides to start screaming at you for gutting out one of her barns."

"Shut up, S, she's not even using this one. And be quiet, we don't want to wake the people in the house."

…..

"Seduce her, Quatre." Duo stepped up and gave him a friendly punch to the shoulder. "Dude, you're one of the ballsiest motherfuckers I've ever known. You may seem all soft and sweet on the outside, but on the inside, you're fucking hardcore. Show her that, and she won't run. I guarantee it."

#####################

Rei slowly opened her eyes, and shut them again against the glaring light. She focused on the heartbeat beneath her ear, the solid arms wrapped tightly around her… something hard poking against the thigh that was draped over a slim waist.

"Good morning," a low voice said dryly.

Rei squinted against the brightness coming in through the window to gaze up at Heero's concerned face. "Morning." Her voice was weak and hoarse, but after the day before, that was to be expected. Her hand drifted down between them, and she smiled when his eyes half-closed for a moment and he grunted. "I don't know if it's good yet, but I'm sure we can fix that."

"Don't start something you can't finish, woman." Heero kissed her forehead and moved her hand away for her own safety. Much more of that, and he'd have her pinned to the mattress whether or not she was ill. "How do you feel?"

"Like shit," she said honestly. "I think I'll be fine if I eat something, though."

Heero slid out of the bed and put on some boxers, and winked at her when she gave him an appreciative stare. "Maybe later," he promised.

"Maybe, my ass."

"Hn. I didn't know you were into anal." He grinned when she hit him in the face with a pillow. "Behave yourself, Rei, and I just might be into oral after breakfast."

Her eyes widened a little at the proposition, but her expression settled into a sexy smile. "Mission accepted."

God, that sounds so much better than when I say it. Heero slipped on a pair of jeans and went straight downstairs to find a smorgasbord layout. God bless the Venusians, they knew how badly everyone was going to need to fuel up after the battle. He piled two plates up and took one straight to Rei, who was trying to get out of bed. "I guess someone's not getting any oral." He put the plates on the nightstand and rushed to her side to support her.

"Sorry," she said weakly. "I have to pee so bad it hurts, Heero."

"Oh, sorry. I should've taken you before I left."

"Heero, I don't think I can walk." She looked away from him quickly, embarrassed.

God, if she was actually admitting it, she was way worse off than he thought. He scooped her up bridal style and carried her to the bathroom so she could do her business. Once he had her back in the bed, he helped her sit up and served her the loaded plate he'd brought. "And you wanted sex," he snorted.

She shrugged, a little self-conscious about her feebleness, and was glad that she could avoid talking by shoveling food into her mouth. Her plate was clean in no time, and she could feel her eyes getting heavy.

"You were talking in your sleep again," Heero said, keeping his worry for her out of his voice.

Rei nodded wearily. "I think the Prof is building something in my barn. I dreamt about him and S."

"Anything else?"

"Duo and Usagi again… exact same dream. Trowa and Mina fighting… Duo, of all people, giving Quatre advice about women."

"That's it?"

Rei nodded, set her plate on her bedside table, and laid down. God, she'd never been so tired. She was so tired that she could hardly even lie to Heero… but there was no way she was telling him about that first dream. If she'd been facing him, she would have seen his jaw tighten; Heero of all people knew when someone was lying to him, even if it was a small one.

If yall liked it, show me some love by way of reviewing, please! And I'm sorry it took a hot minute to get this chapter out yall, we had a death in the family, and there was just no way I could bust out my normal daily chapter with all the craziness that's going on. It'll probably be a week before I get the next one up, too. Love yall!