Act 12 - Birthday Surprise
Setsuna was awakened by an unmistakable wave of nausea. She groaned, grabbing her churning stomach. She felt horrible! The time guardian took in a few deep breaths, trying to fight the overwhelming urge to hurl the lasagna Michiru made for dinner last night, but her stomach just would not settle down. Throwing on a robe, she quickly ran to the bathroom across the hall and rode the porcelain bus.
After what seemed like forever, she finally flushed the toilet and rested her forehead on the coolness of the vinyl seat. "I hate being sick," she mumbled under her breath.
Feeling a little better, she stood back up and dragged herself over to the sink, from which she took a long drink of delicious water to get rid of the awful taste in her mouth. The lasagna may have been delicious when she ate it last night, but it sure didn't taste very good coming back up. She then opened the medicine cabinet, looking for something to get rid of her nausea, but found only perfume and a half-empty bottle of aspirin. Setsuna cursed and slammed the cabinet shut, almost breaking the mirror on the door. "You would think with Hotaru-chan working at the hospital, she would at least have some Pepto-Bismol laying around," she muttered, looking at herself in the mirror.
Not liking what she saw, the time guardian stuck out her tongue at her tired reflection in the mirror. She looked as terrible as she felt. Setsuna grabbed a brush and began angrily running it through her long, hunter green hair, doing more damage than good. It's such a pain to have such long hair. One day, I'm going to cut it all off so I don't have to mess with these stupid tangles every morning, she thought bitterly as someone knocked on the bathroom door.
"Who the hell is it?" she called out, yanking the brush through a particularly tangled section of her hair. She yelped in pain.
There was a familiar laugh from outside the door. "Somebody definitely got up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," Haruka teased. "How long do you plan to be in there, Setsuna? I need to take a shower."
Deciding that she wasn't in the mood to fix her hair in her normal hairstyle, Setsuna grabbed one of Hotaru's rubber bands and pulled her tresses into a low ponytail at the nape of her neck. "I don't know, Haruka," she said, washing her face. "Beauty takes time, you know."
The tomboy rolled her eyes. What was it about girls and their appearance? All she needed was a hot shower and some clean clothes, and she was ready to face the world. Setsuna, Hotaru, and Michiru, on the other hand, could take hours in the bathroom, putting on make-up, doing their hair, and doing whatever else they did in there. No matter how long she lived with them, Haruka would never understand why it took the women in her life so long to get ready in the morning.
"Well, can you try to hurry it up in there? I'm due at the track in an hour."
"Why don't you use your own bathroom? This one's mine and Hotaru-chan's."
"Michiru's using ours."
Setsuna spit out her toothpaste. "That never stopped you before, Haruka," she said in a mildly sarcastic voice.
"Yeah, well, we're kinda not talking to each other right now," she admitted, running a hand through her short blond hair.
"What did you do this time?"
"Nothing."
"Haruka…"
"Okay, so maybe I was flirting with the pretty waitress at the restaurant last night, but it was just a little harmless fun."
The garnet-eyed woman shook her head in mild amusement. Haruka had a lot of "harmless fun" with other girls when she thought her lover wasn't looking. Honestly, Setsuna didn't know why Michiru continued to put up with it, but she supposed that true love was blind.
She blinked back tears as she felt her stomach do another somersault. Running back over to the toilet, she made it just in time.
Outside, Haruka raised an eyebrow. "Setsuna, are you okay in there?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," she said, wiping her mouth with a towel. "I just have a little stomach virus or something. That's all."
"Man, that sucks. I would hate to be sick on my birthday."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Haruka's blond eyebrows knit together in confusion and worry. "Don't tell me that you, the so-called guardian of time, forgot today is your birthday?"
Ruby red eyes searched the large bathroom until they rested on the small calendar hanging over the toilet. Still feeling a little queasy, Setsuna carefully stood up and studied the calendar. Sure enough, it was October 29th, her birthday. Setsuna stared at the circled date, disbelief written all over her face. How could she have forgotten her own birthday?
Besides being circled, there was also something written in the small box in her familiar flowing handwriting. She squinted, believing that her eyes were playing some cruel joke on her as she read the private message: Period Ends! Yippie! Her eyes widened. She was supposed to have gotten her period four days ago.
For a normal woman, this probably wouldn't have been cause for alarm. It was perfectly natural for the menstruation period to come a few days late or a few days earlier than expected. However, Setsuna wasn't a normal woman; she was the guardian of time. Therefore, she always knew exactly when she would get her period and how long it would last. For as long as she could remember, it always came right on time, just like clockwork, and lasted exactly four days. Setsuna felt herself become sick again, but not because of nausea. Because of dread.
She slid back down on the floor, clutching her stomach. She couldn't be… There had to be some kind of mistake. Maybe she just miscalculated her cycle this time or maybe there was some other reason why she skipped her period, like stress. She had been under a lot of stress lately. There was no denying that.
Haruka knocked on the door again, causing Setsuna to jump back up in surprise. She'd forgotten Haruka was standing outside, waiting to take a shower.
"Setsuna, are you sure you are okay?" her friend asked. "Do you want me to call Ami-chan and have her come over?"
Taking a few deep breaths to calm her racing heartbeat, Setsuna quickly took another drink of water, then opened the door to let the tall tomboy in. The concern was evident in Haruka's blue eyes as she took a look at her friend. "You don't look so good, Setsuna," she said, pushing a loose strand of green hair back behind the garnet-eyed woman's ear. Though it was killing her, she refrained from making a crack about how Setsuna needed some more time to make herself beautiful, thinking the time guardian probably wouldn't appreciate it.
"I'll be okay, Haruka," Setsuna assured her before exiting the bathroom and entering her bedroom. She flopped down on her unmade bed, tears clouding her eyes. It couldn't be true. There had to be some other explanation.
But in her heart, she already knew. She was pregnant with Mamoru's love child.
After neatly wiping the sandwich crumbs off her desk, Dr. Mizuno Ami sighed, her dark blue eyes falling on her and Ryo's wedding portrait. It had been nearly two years since they were married, and yet she still hadn't managed to get pregnant. She was beginning to think that it was never going to happen. Maybe there was something about being a Sailor Soldier that prevented her from having a child. After all, Chibi-Usa never did mention any of the others having children.
"Oh, Ryo…" she whispered, trying to hold back her tears. "Will you still love me even if I can't give birth to the child you so desperately want?"
A knock on her office door caused the blue-haired woman to jerk her head up in surprise. She wiped her watery eyes with a tissue and told the visitor to come in. A young nurse popped her head inside the office.
"I hope I didn't interrupt anything, Mizuno-sensei," the nurse said.
"No, that's okay, Tanaka-san," Ami replied, putting on her glasses and smiling at the blonde. "I was just finishing my lunch. What is it?"
The nurse looked down at the clipboard in her hands. "Your next patient is Meioh Setsuna. She's waiting in the examination room."
Her blue eyebrows knit together in worry. Ami hoped that there was nothing wrong with the guardian of time. "Thank you. I will be there in a few minutes."
Opening her filing cabinet, she pulled out Setsuna's thin file. Although she was primarily a gynecologist/obstetrician, Ami also served as the Sailor Soldier's primary physician, being as she was the only doctor in Tokyo with any knowledge of how a Sailor Soldiers's body worked. She then went across the hallway to the examination room where she found Setsuna waiting nervously, already dressed in a paper gown. Ami smiled as she took a seat in a nearby chair.
"Hello, Setsuna-san," Ami greeted her friend warmly. "You're the last person I expected to see here. Shouldn't you be at a birthday party or something?"
Setsuna looked down at her hands, purposely averting the kind doctor's eyes. Maybe she should have gone to another doctor. She wasn't sure if she was ready for any of the other girls to know about the pregnancy, although she knew that if she did happen to be pregnant, Ami could be trusted to keep her secret until she was ready to admit it.
Ami looked at her in concern. "Setsuna-san, is something wrong?" she asked, pushing her thin blue glasses back up her nose. Setsuna mumbled something under her breath, but Ami couldn't understand what she said. "What?"
"I missed my period," she finally admitted in a low voice. Ami's mouth rounded into an understanding "O" as she marked something down on her chart.
"Well, this is certainly unexpected," Ami replied, regaining her composure. "How late are you?"
"Four days."
Smiling just a little, Ami looked up at her patient. "Four days? Is that all? I'm sure it's nothing to be worried ab-"
"But it is, Ami-san. I'm never late. And this morning, I vomited twice."
Setsuna's normally olive complexion looked positively white, alarming the usually calm doctor. The patient looked absolutely terrified. Ami took off her glasses and started rubbing her temples. "Is it possible?" she finally asked. "I mean, I know you went to the engagement party with Haruka-san's friend, but Hotaru-chan told me that you two didn't exactly hit it off."
"We didn't."
"But you did have unprotected sex? I'm not trying to intrude or anything, Setsuna-san, but…"
Setsuna slowly nodded her head, a blush crawling up to her face. She was careful not to meet Ami's questioning gaze, still uncomfortable about talking about such a sensitive subject with the younger woman. "Yes, it's possible," she said softly.
The doctor sighed, checking a couple more boxes on Setsuna's chart. Meioh Setsuna was the last person on Earth she expected to be pregnant. She couldn't believe it, but a few minutes later, Nurse Tanaka delivered the results of the pregnancy test, confirming the time guardian's suspicions.
"Happy Birthday, Setsuna-san," Ami said, a slight smile on her face. "You're having a baby."
Though she already knew, Setsuna felt her heart skip a beat at Ami's announcement and that same feeling of dread washed over her again. It was one thing to suspect that she was pregnant, but hearing the blue-haired doctor confirm the pregnancy made the awful truth seem suddenly, and frighteningly, real. Sensing her friend's fear, Ami walked over and took Setsuna's shaking hand in her own.
"You don't want the baby, do you?" she asked, squeezing Setsuna's hand in comfort. "You know you do have options. I can recommend someone-"
Setsuna shook her head, knowing in her heart that she could never bring herself to abort the baby, Mamoru's child. She pulled her hand away from Ami's grasp and rested it on her flat stomach, still amazed that there was an actual life within her. "Ami-chan, promise me you won't tell the others, not even Hotaru-chan," she whispered as if she expected her violet-eyed adopted daughter to come bursting through the room at any second. "I have to tell them myself."
"Of course I won't, Setsuna-san. Your secret is safe with me. Just be careful, okay? You are the first Sailor Soldier to become pregnant, so I have no data on how fighting could affect the developing fetus."
Setsuna gave the doctor a confused look. "Fighting? But we haven't fought an enemy in over six years, ever since the battle with Sailor Galaxia. Is there something you and the other Inners know and haven't told us Outers?"
A faint blush rose to Ami's face, realizing her mistake. She shouldn't have said anything. The day Luna told them about the ring, she and the other girls decided it would be best if they didn't involve the Outers unless it was absolutely necessary. After all, Pluto, Uranus, Neptune, and Saturn, with all their powerful attacks and talismans, didn't have the experience fighting the Dark Kingdom that the Inners did. It was also perhaps wounded pride that stopped the Inners from revealing all they knew to the others, feeling that they could take care of the possible new threat by themselves without the sometimes sometimes condescending Outers' help. They wanted to prove that they were strong enough to protect the princess by themselves.
"No, of course not," Ami lied quickly, wishing she could tell Setsuna the truth. Out of the group, she had been the lone Inner who wanted to inform the Outers about what was going on, but she was outvoted five-to-one. "I was just saying that if the opportunity to fight should arise, I want you to be careful. Okay?"
"Sure," the time guardian replied, hopping off the examination table. "Is that all?"
Ami nodded. "I'll see you in about a month for your next appointment."
Setsuna grabbed her clothes from off the counter and headed toward the private dressing room, pausing before opening the door. "Ami-chan, thank you for everything. I really appreciate it."
The corners of the doctor's mouth curled up into a small smile. "Everything will turn out fine, Setsuna-san," she assured her as the green-haired woman entered the dressing room. "Congratulations, and happy birthday!"
A baby? Setsuna walked down the halls of the maternity wing, still trying to convince herself that this wasn't a part of some horrible dream. Water filled her eyes as she painfully pinched her left arm. It wasn't a dream, though. She really was pregnant with Mamoru's child.
How could this have happened? There was never any mention of her child in any of her dreams about Crystal Tokyo. Did this mean that the future really had been changed when she and Mamoru decided to sleep together? She never felt so scared or confused in her entire life. In one single night, everybody's destiny had changed, and it was all her fault. Setsuna never knew she had so much power.
Passing by the nursery, the guardian of time felt herself drawn to the glass window separating the newborn babies from the outside world. A small smile danced across her lips as she looked down at the nine tiny little miracles, each cuter than the last. There were five boys and four girls, each wrapped in either a blue or pink blanket corresponding to their sex. One of the babies, a little girl with dark brown hair and clear blue eyes, looked over at Setsuna, and she could have sworn that the infant smiled at her, though it was most likely just gas.
Setsuna cooed and waved at her new friend, a warm feeling burning in her heart. She was so adorable and innocent. Beside the garnet-eyed woman, a tall man grinned. "Is that little angel yours?" he asked, startling Setsuna from her reverie.
The soldier of time shook her head. "Actually, I found out today that I'm pregnant."
"Congratulations. My wife just gave birth to a healthy boy about five hours ago," he informed her, the pride obvious in his voice as he pointed out his new son to the stranger. "His name is Ringo, after Ishiyo's favorite member of the Beatles."
The man rolled his eyes, but Setsuna could tell that the name didn't really matter to the proud papa. The baby's name could have been Dog and the man would be as pleased as punch. Setsuna placed her palm against the window pane, sighing softly. "Happy birthday to you, too, little Ringo-chan," she whispered.
"Too?"
She turned toward the man, smiling. "Yes. It just so happens that today is my birthday as well."
"Wow! Happy birthday, Miss…"
"Meioh. Meioh Setsuna."
They shook hands, the man introducing himself as Shinohara Hiromasa. "That's one heck of a birthday present, Meioh-san," Mr. Shinohara declared with a chuckle. "I don't know how your husband's going to be able to top a baby."
For a moment, her blood red eyes darkened with sadness at Mr. Shinohara's perfectly innocent comment. Setsuna gave herself a comforting hug as she turned away from the kind stranger's gaze, not wanting him to see the tears in her eyes. "I'm not married," she replied softly. "I have no one."
Mr. Shinohara blushed lightly. "I'm sorry, Meioh-san. I didn't know."
Wiping away her tears, Setsuna turned back around and gave the man a forgiving smile. "That's okay, Shinohara-san. You couldn't have known about my situation. It was an honest mistake."
A not uncomfortable silence fell over the two strangers as they turned their attention back to the babies. The tiny girl who had smiled at Setsuna was fast asleep, but Ringo was still wide awake, screaming his cute little head off as his father made funny faces against the glass. Setsuna hid a smile as she watched the exchange between father and son, sensing that little rugrat was going to be a troublemaker. His barely opened blue eyes were already filled with mischief.
A sudden feeling of maternal instinct coming over her, Setsuna brought her hand to her stomach, rubbing it gently. Maybe this baby was really a blessing in disguise. Silently, she allowed herself to wonder what her child might be like, once it was born. Would it be like Ringo, mischievous and loud? Or would it be more like the little angel, whose name, according to the sign on the outside of the crib, was appropriately Tenshi? Or maybe it would be more like Hotaru when she was reborn as a baby, full of love, joy, and happiness that charmed every single person she met, even a reluctant mother Haruka.
"It changes your life," Mr. Shinohara said, interrupting her thoughts. His voice was filled with awe. "I never truly felt alive until the moment I held my son, so innocent and helpless, in my arms for the first time this morning. It was as if I finally found my purpose in life, to be the best father I can be to this sweet little boy. This is my destiny, and I embrace it with open arms."
Setsuna's garnet eyes widened at the young father's impassioned words, his impromptu speech touching a hidden spot in her heart. Noticing the look on her face, Mr. Shinohara cleared his throat, an embarrassed grin on his face. "I'm sorry about that," he apologized, rubbing the back of his neck. "I kinda got carried away there for a second, didn't I? You probably think I'm crazy or something…"
"No, I don't think your crazy at all, Shinohara-san."
The man blushed, looking down at his watch. His wife was probably waiting for him to bring up the Chinese food he stepped out to get an hour ago. So, he said goodbye to the pretty stranger, wishing her a happy birthday once again, and headed to Ishiyo's room, humming a sweet lullaby to himself.
Setsuna watched Mr. Shinohara walk away, a thoughtful look on her face. This is my destiny, and I embrace it with open arms. Mr. Shinohara's words echoed inside her head. Was it possible that this baby was her destiny as well? Her new destiny?
Setsuna was so intent on her thoughts that she didn't notice when Hotaru walked up behind her, dressed in her candy striper's uniform. The raven-haired beauty gently tapped her adopted mother on the shoulder, surprised when Setsuna involuntarily jumped as if she had been in the middle of a daydream.
"Setsuna-mama?" Hotaru asked. "What are you doing here at the hospital?"
The time guardian turned around to face her daughter, hoping she didn't look too suspicious. It wasn't time to tell her family about the pregnancy, not yet. Setsuna smiled, giving Hotaru a hug.
"I came to see you, silly!" she lied. "Are you on your lunch break? I was hoping that we maybe could go out for lunch together. Michiru was just talking about this great new tearoom just down the block from the hospital. It'll be my treat!"
The candy striper gave her mother a weird look. Since when did Setsuna start visiting her at work and offering to take her out for lunch?
"That sounds great, Setsuna-mama," she finally said. "But shouldn't I be the one treating you to lunch? It is your birthday, after all."
"Nonsense! If I want to take my favorite daughter out to lunch on my birthday, then I will. Besides, you know how I am about birthdays. It's just another day. Now, come on."
Hotaru glanced up at the clock on the wall, sighing. "Okay, I guess I can go. My lunch break starts in about ten minutes, but I'm sure Ami won't mind if I leave a little early, since it is your birthday. Let me just go tell her we're going."
After she got permission to leave, Hotaru and Setsuna headed over to the tearoom where they had a very nice lunch together, but the younger woman still couldn't shake the feeling that her mother was keeping something from her. Something important. Every time Hotaru attempted to steer the conversation in her direction, Setsuna would immediately ask her something about school, or Kimi, or Shingo. By the time the check was delivered to their table, the violet-eyed teen was convinced there was something wrong.
"Setsuna-mama, what is going on?" she asked as they stood up to leave. "Are you sick? Is that why you were at the hospital?"
Setsuna shook her head, wishing she could tell her worried daughter the truth, but it just wasn't the right time. She tenderly pushed back a strand of Hotaru's black hair behind her ear, a sad smile on her face. "It's nothing, my little Hotaru-chan," she lied. "Don't worry about me, okay? I'll be fine."
"But, Setsuna-mama…"
They walked out of the tearoom, Setsuna hailing a passing cab. Hotaru had a surprised look on her face as her mother got into the backseat of the taxi. Their house wasn't too far from the hospital, only about five blocks away. Why would she need a cab?
"Where are you going?"
The green-haired woman sighed as she closed the door. "Somewhere I have to go," she answered cryptically through the open window. "I'll be home soon. Don't worry. You better get back to the hospital before Ami-chan decides to fire you. I'll see you later."
"But…"
The cab pulled away before Hotaru could finish stating her question. All she could do is watch as the yellow car merged with the Tokyo traffic and wave goodbye, biting her lip in worry. What was going on with Setsuna?
Mamoru took off his glasses and rubbed his tired eyes, feeling the beginnings of a major headache coming on after spending about five hours going over contracts. Someday he was going to go completely blind from reading all the fine print contractors were so fond of using these days. He blinked a couple of times, trying to bring his vision back into focus.
Ever since the day he chased Usagi through the streets of Tokyo and she more or less told him that there was no chance of them ever getting back together, he'd thrown himself into his work, trying to distract himself from the pain he felt in his heart. So far, though, it hadn't worked.
The apartment seemed so empty and impersonal now without her endless chatter and beautiful smile to greet him when he came home from a rough day at the office. Mamoru even found himself missing the most trivial things, like the sight of her pink toothbrush sitting next to his in the bathroom or her ratty old bunny slippers beside the front door. It was silly, but those tiny touches made the place feel more like home. Now, it was like he was living in a hotel.
Mamoru sighed, picking up the framed photograph of the two of them at the amusement park from his desk. Most of all, he missed Usagi. He missed her cute giggle whenever she read a funny manga, her off-pitched singing in the shower every morning, the way she pouted whenever she didn't get her way… He missed everything about her.
Someone knocked on the front door, causing his heart to pound rapidly against his chest in hope that the visitor was Usagi, ready to forgive him for what he did. Mamoru quickly jumped up from his desk and ran to the front door, almost tripping over a pillow laying carelessly in the middle of the room.
"Usako, I missed you…"
The door opened as his words trailed off, revealing the tall figure of the mysterious guardian of time standing outside his apartment. A momentary smile vanished from his face once he realized it was Setsuna, not Usagi at the door. Sensing his disappointment, Setsuna turned to leave.
"I-I shouldn't have come," she said. "I'm probably the last person you want to see right now. Goodbye."
Mamoru reached for her arm, gently pulling her inside the apartment. "No, that's okay, Setsuna-san," he said. "I'm sorry I didn't exactly make you feel welcome. I was just hoping…"
"…I was Usagi."
He nodded, and Setsuna gave him an understanding smile. Mamoru really did love Usagi with all his heart. After a few moments of silence, the two of them took a seat on the couch.
"By the way, happy birthday, Setsuna-san," he said, suddenly remembering it was the twenty-ninth. "I'm sorry I didn't get you anything…"
The guardian of time blushed, turning away from her former lover's gaze. "Actually, you kind of did, Mamoru-san," she said softly, twirling a strand of her long green hair around her finger. "That's why I'm here."
Mamoru gave Setsuna a strange look. He had no idea what she was talking about. "What is it?"
Not sure how to break the news, Setsuna bit down on her bottom lip. How did one tell a man that she was carrying his child? She finally decided just to tell him the truth right out. There was no use in sugarcoating the news.
"I'm pregnant, Mamoru-san."
She closed her eyes, afraid to see Mamoru's reaction to the news. He probably hated her for allowing herself to get pregnant. However, she was surprised when he reached over and gently took her hand in his.
"Setsuna-san, look at me," he said, lifting up her chin so that he could look directly into her blood red eyes, which were currently filled with tears.
"I'm sorry…"
He smiled softly, wiping away a tear that rolled down her cheek. "There's nothing to be sorry about. I'm as much to blame as you are."
"But aren't you upset?"
Mamoru shook his head. "Shocked? Beyond words. Confused? Definitely. But upset? No, not at all."
Feeling a little fidgety, Setsuna jumped up and began pacing around the room, wringing her wrists nervously. "You know this changes everything, don't you?" she declared. "I don't remember any mention of our child in my visions of the future. That can only mean one thing. Destiny has been changed, and I don't know what to think anymore. What are we going to do?"
Mamoru walked over and took her in a comforting hug, allowing her to cry on his shoulder. "It'll be okay, Setsuna-san," he promised, kissing the top of her head.
"I hope you're right."
Oh, how she desperately hoped he was right...