Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon. That credit goes to Naoko Takeuchi, Kodansha, Bandai, DIC, and all the other companies (which I truly don't know). Btw, I said this in the character list, but in case you've forgotten, I also borrowed characters from Kaylienne and lady. The rest are mine, as is this story line. Oh, look. I rhymed.

AN: Please r/r. are thoughts. ~~~~~ mean a time and/or place changes. Thanx to Meghanna Starsong, elektra, Mariel of Redwall, Marni, and Cyberpeachie for reviewing. Happy reading.



Chapter 5: What?!

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The next few weeks flew by relatively quickly. Each day, the newlyweds went about their daily routines, acting as all newlyweds should. Serena's dreams continued, intensifying every night. It was now May 2nd.

~~~~~ The Royal Throne Room – The Moon, the past ~~~~~

Queen Serenity looked up as her daughter and the inner princesses walked in. "You wanted to see us, Mother." Serena said while her friends bowed respectfully. Serenity smiled at the 5 girls and replied, "Yes. We will be departing for Earth tomorrow morning." Princess Ami asked, "What for, Your Highness?" "King Terrius' brother's wedding is in 4 days. Queen Celeste invited us all to attend the ceremony. She asked if we could arrive a few days earlier than the other guests so that she and I are able to visit." the queen answered.

Princess Serena looked ecstatic, but the other girls had confused expressions on their faces. Princess Mina questioned, "Who are King Terrius and Queen Celeste, Your Highness?" Serenity, curious about her daughter's reaction to the news, said, "Serena, why don't you answer Mina's question." Serena, startled by her mother's voice, unthinkingly replied, "King Terrius and Queen Celeste are good friends of Mother's. They are also Prince Dar…I mean, Prince Endymion's parents. Mother, who all is going to Earth?"

"You and I, all eight princesses, the 4 generals, your uncles, your aunt, Ashley, and Baba. Prince Endymion and his generals will escort the five of you around the palace grounds for the duration of our stay." Selenity told the girls. Before anything else could be said, the doors opened to reveal the outer princesses, the 4 generals, Rhys, and Ashley. "Sorry we're late, Your Majesty. The outer princesses were hard to find." Galen explained while bowing, as the others did. Serenity smiled and replied, "It is quite alright, Galen. I was merely explicating our trip to the Earth to the girls."

After quickly looking at her friends, Princess Amara queried, "The generals told us a little about the trip, Your Highness, but I have one question regarding it. Is there any other reason we are all going to Earth, besides attending the wedding?" "The only other reason I can think of is so Celeste and I are able to visit with each other," the queen said. Princess Hotaru spoke up, "Are there any places we are not permitted to go into on Earth?" Queen Serenity looked at all of them in turn before saying, "There is only one place I can think of, Hotaru. It is a garden containing red flowers. Supposedly, it is the prince's personal garden. No one is allowed to enter it without his permission and company." Princess Rei asked, "How can a garden be closed off to almost everyone?" Before anybody could answer her, Princess Lita queried, "Have you been in this garden? What are the flowers called, Your Majesty?" With a sardonic smile, Serenity replied, "No, I have not. I have seen one of the flowers though. Celeste showed it to me long ago, but I do not remember what she called them."

Silence enveloped the throne room while everyone thought of what the flowers could be called. Determined to figure out the name, Princess Michelle asked everybody, "Whom here, besides the queen, has been to Earth?" Two hands slowly went into the air, belonging to Logan and Princess Trista. "Have you ever been inside this garden?" Drake questioned his friends. When they both shook their heads, Ashe commented, "I cannot believe that neither of you heard about the garden when you went to Earth." Rhys, knowing the questioning would never end, suggested, "Why don't we wait until to tomorrow when can ask the prince himself."

Ashley looked at him and said, "Uncle Rhys, they will go out of their minds with wonder before tomorrow." Serena laughed at her 'cousin's' remark. Ha. The 14 year old has a point. Should I tell them or not? Everyone turned to look at Serena. Ami asked her friend, "What is funny about this, Serena? What made you laugh?" After reaching a decision in her mind to tell her friends the truth, Serena addressed the whole group, "The flowers are beautiful." "Wait a minute. You have seen the flowers?" Trista questioned. Logan added, "When? Where?" "Was that what you were holding when we had our discussion?" Rhys asked.

Looking at Rhys with guilt written all over her face, Serena said, "If you are referring to our talk in the gardens, then yes." Rei looked at her friend and questioned, "How did you get a flower? And when did you get it?" When Mina opened her mouth to add something, Queen Serenity stopped her by saying, "No more questions. Serena cannot answer you if you do not give her the time to answer you. Now, sweet heart, tell your story. Do not lie. Tell us everything." Serena gave an annoyed look to her mother, but began to explain anyway.

"Prince Endymion told me about Earth while I escorted him around the Moon while he was staying here. On the day he was to leave, there was one place I had yet to show him. After breakfast that day, I led him to the gardens. He told me the flowers were beautiful, but one flower surpassed even our Moon Lilies. When he saw my questioning look, he flicked his wrist, and there was a beautiful red flower in his hand. He gave it to me and told me it was a rose. The prince also told me he had his own garden full of red roses. Have you told us everything about the trip, Mother?"

"Yes. Serena, is that the entire story about the rose?" Serenity prodded. Serena looked at her mother and said, "That is the whole story regarding the rose. I am exhausted. Since you are finished with your explanation about the trip to Earth, I will leave and go take a nap. Excuse me. Mother, girls, generals, Ash, Uncle Rhys, I will see you later. With that said, Serena walked briskly out of the throne room, leaving the others to wonder why she had departed so quickly.

Shortly after Serena left, the inner princesses excused themselves and went to find Luna and Artemis. Then, Ashley withdrew to spend time with her parents, Asa and Kale. After Rhys made it clear that he wanted to speak to the queen alone, the generals and outer princesses left.

"You wanted to talk to me, Rhys. What about?" Serenity asked her old friend. Rhys looked the queen in her eyes and said; "Serena did not tell us the whole story about how she received that rose." "I am well aware of that, Rhys. I can tell when my daughter is lying. Unfortunately, we have no way of determining the truth." Serenity replied. Rhys sighed and commented; "Tao and I saw what truly happened that day in the gardens. Tao saw much more than I did, though. You could ask him." "No, I think I will wait until Serena feels it is the right time to trust me," the queen said. "Very well, Serenity. I hope you know what you are doing." Rhys quipped before taking his leave. Alone, Serenity thought I hope I do know what I am doing.

~~~~~ Earth – the past, the Traveling Room ~~~~~

King Terrius, Queen Celeste, Prince Endymion, and the Royal Guard generals were waiting for Queen Serenity of the Moon Kingdom to arrive with her daughter, Serena, and her daughter's court. A sudden bright light, which was so bright they all had to cover their eyes, announced their arrival. When the light dissipated, the group from the Moon was standing in the middle of the room, most of them looking around them since they had not been on Earth before.

Celeste smiled and walked toward Serenity, while saying, "Serenity, I has been too long. And who is this? Surely it is not Serena. Why, she was only six when I last saw her." Serenity smiled back her friend and replied, "Celeste it is good to see you. Yes, this is Serena. She is 17 now. And these are the princesses of Mercury, Mars, Jupiter, Venus, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto. This is Rhys, Asa and Kale with their daughter Ashley, Tao, and the four generals of the Knights of Selene, Galen, Ashe, Logan, and Drake." As she introduced everybody, Serenity indicated to each individual with her hand.

Just then a palace guard came up to King Terrius and said, "Sire, your brother wants to speak with you. He ordered me to find you and bring you back to him immediately." "Very well. One minute. Darien, you and the generals will escort Princess Serena and the inner princesses. Begin now!" The four Earth generals replied, "Yes, sir," while Darien said, "Yes, Father." Then, Terrius left with the guard following close behind.

Celeste asked Serenity, "Do you want to go to the palace to catch up?" "That would be great, Celeste." Serenity said. Then, they, too, left. Asa and Kale decided to take a walk around the palace grounds. Rhys agreed to go exploring with Ashley. After giving Tao an imperceptible nod, the two 'explorers' set off.

The Moon generals and outer princesses went to train together. The inner princesses and Earth generals began to couple up and leave the larger group. First, Ami and Zachary left for the Lake Gardens. Then, Justin led Rei to the Temple Gardens. A few minutes later, Lita and Nathan went off to the Oak Gardens. Realizing they would be left with an adult, Darien walked over to Serena and asked, "Would you care to take a stroll through some of the gardens, Princess Serenity?" "I would love to, Prince Endymion." Serena replied; aware Tao was watching them carefully. Then, they walked off. In the background, they could hear Mina and Kenjo begin arguing about insignificant things. Sighing, Tao retired to his quarters.

As soon as they were out of Tao's watchful gaze, Serena breathed a sigh of relief. "Darien, why do we keep lying to our friends and families about this?" "I honestly do not know. It just has not come up in my family. What about in yours?" Darin asked. Serena nodded, "Yes. They asked me about roses yesterday. I think Uncle Rhys and Baba know more than they will admit to me." "Why don't we continue this conversation in the Rose Garden." Darien suggested. Nodding her agreement, Serena allowed Darien to lead her to a bench in his private garden.

"Wow. This is absolutely beautiful." Serena said admiringly. "You are more beautiful than all of these flowers combined. What did you tell them yesterday?" Darien asked, looking at the young princess. Serena quickly told him what had transpired on the Moon the day before. "Interesting. I liked the part when you walked out the best though." Darien quipped. "Hey. Don't laugh at me." Serena protested. "Why did you walk out instead of telling them something else?" Darien asked.

"What could I have said? I could not stand lying to Mother any more. But, I do not want to tell anybody until I have told my mother when we are alone. Besides, my ex-fiancée was in the room. And my younger 'cousin' Ashley." Serena explained. Standing up, Serena bent over a little to fix her dress. When she did this, her star locket fell out of her skirt pocket. Reaching down, Darien picked up the locket for her. All of a sudden, it began to play a romantic melody and the locket opened to reveal a revolving crescent moon in the middle of an enclosed glass circle.

"What is this?" Darien asked. "Oh, it is just my star locket. Mother gave it to me for my birthday. Strange. I do not remember ever hearing it play music before for anybody except me." Serena replied. "Perhaps we should ask your mother about this." Darien suggested. "I agree. Lets go now." Serena said. Walking quickly, the couple hurried to the palace to find Serenity.

Before they reached the palace, however, they ran into Ashley. "Ash, where is Mother?" Serena asked her little 'cousin'. "I don't know, Serena. Why?" Ashley replied, curious. "I'll tell you later." Serena said to Ashley as she and Darien left. "How rude." Ashley called after them. Then, she went towards her parent's room to talk to her dad.

They found everybody, except Tao, Asa, Kale, and Ashley, in the library. Serena could not talk to her mother, for she was in a deep conversation with Celeste. While they waited, she and Darien went over and began talking with their friends. Suddenly, a loud shot rang out. Darien instinctively covered Serena with his body. When the echoes had finished, he got up and saw the Moon generals getting up from protecting the outer princesses, the Earth generals getting up from protecting the inner princesses, his father getting up from protecting his mother, and Rhys getting up from protecting Serenity.

Helping Serena up, Darien noticed a cut on her arm. "Let me take care of that," he said. Placing his hand over the wound, Darien focused his energy on healing her. Seconds later, the cut was gone. Nobody had seen this event transpire. Serenity looked at her daughter to make sure she was alright. She was about to turn away, when she saw Serena's arm glowing a little. "Sweet heart, what is wrong with your arm?" she asked. "Nothing, Mother. Why?" her daughter replied. Ami, who was standing next to Serena, said, "Your arm is glowing." "Oh. I do not know. Your guess is as good as mine." Serena commented.

"What was that, Terrius?" Celeste asked her husband. "An energy blast, dear," he replied. "Who was the target?" Rhys wondered aloud. Then he added, "We need Asa." "I will go find Uncle Asa," Serena said to Rhys. "Darien, go with her," Terrius ordered. Rhys stopped Serena's protest by saying, "It is for your protection, Serena." Together, Serena and Darien left the library to find Asa.

They held hands as they walked, Serena's trembling despite her calm demeanor. Darien looked at her and said in a soothing voice, "It's okay. No one got hurt. You are safe." Serena could only smile at him, afraid she would begin to panic if she voiced her worries. Then, they heard a short, soft gasp from Asa's quarters. Looking at each other, their pace quickened.

When they got to the door of the quarters, Serena saw Ashley trying to wake up Asa. "Ash. What happened?" Serena asked gently. "I came in here to wake Daddy up. But he won't wake up." Ashley said before bursting into tears. "I'll go get your mother, Serena," Darien commented. Serena stayed him. "No, Darien. We haven't the time. I will try to contact Mother psychically." Closing her eyes and concentrating on her mother's energy, a frantic Serena thought, Mother! Can you hear me?!

Serena? What is wrong? Serenity thought. Her daughter cogitated her answer, Uncle Asa will not wake up! Come here quickly. Ash found him. We will be there soon. Serenity replied in her mind. Just then, Luna ran into the room. "Serena, what is wrong?" she asked breathlessly. "Luna, Mother and the others are their way here. Take Ashley and go outside to wait for them." Serena said. Ashley looked at her 'cousin' through her tears. "I will not leave Daddy," she stated. "That was not a suggestion. It was an order and you have to listen to me. Now go outside and wait for Mother and the others." Serena ordered in a stern voice.

After Luna and Ashley had left, Darien said, "You were pretty hard on her." Serena shook her head and replied, "I know, but she doesn't need to watch her father die. Please try and heal him." Nodding, Darien bent Asa and channeled his energy. One minute later, Asa's eyes popped open. He looked at Serena and said, "No, Cara. Nothing can heal me. Tell Serenity it was Beryl. She wants to kill off your family. She has a spy. Protect Serena, my prince. Take care of Ashley for me, Cara. Tell her I love her." Then, his head rolled down.

Darien stood up and looked at Serena. "I'm sorry. I couldn't heal him. He's dead." The princess covered her mouth to keep from screaming, her eyes growing wide. At that time, Serenity entered the room, followed by all 8 generals, all of the princesses, Luna, and Terrius and Celeste. Looking back and forth between Serena and Darien, Galen asked, "What happened?" Realizing Serena couldn't talk, Darien said with sympathy in his voice, "Asa is dead." Calming herself, Serena spoke up, "Mother, he told us to tell you 'it was Beryl'."

"Who is Beryl? Look! He's glowing just like your arm was, Serena." Rei commented. Celeste saw this and looked at her son quizzically, "Darien?" "Yes, Mother. I tried to heal him. He woke up for a few minutes, but then he died." Darien answered. "Why did you heal Serena in the library?" Serenity asked. Serena looked at her mother and said, "My arm got cut during the incident." Serenity noticed how her daughter was struggling not to cry and suggested, "Why don't you go outside. All of you. Leave this matter to the three of us." All, except Serena and Darien, bowing, the 18 teenagers went outside with Luna.

Forming a circle, the young people tried to cheer each other up. Looking at Luna, Serena asked, "Where are Ashley and Uncle Rhys?" "Rhys took Ashley with him when he left to get Tao." Luna replied. Then she added, "Princess, are you alright?" "I'm fine, Luna." Serena answered, bending down slightly to smooth a wrinkle out of her dress. This sudden movement caused her locket to fall out of her pocket again. It landed near Darien's feet and began playing. "I'd pick it up for you, Serena, but the last time I tried, it shocked me." Galen said. Lita, knowing that the locket didn't play for just everybody, asked, "Why is it playing, Serena?"

Not wanting a confrontation right now, the Moon princess cast a pleading glance to Darien before replying, "I don't know. Excuse me." Then, she walked off. Justin, knowing what was in the direction she was walking in, exclaimed, "Hey! You can't go that way! Prince Darien's rose garden is there. You're not allowed in the garden." He would have said more, but Darien stopped him. "It's okay, Justin." Kenjo looked at his prince strangely and said, "But…" "Enough!" Darien ordered in his prince voice. Bending down, he retrieved the locket and hurried after Serena.

"That's strange." Galen said. "What is strange?" Serenity asked as she walked outside. After bowing, Ashe questioned, "Why are you out here, Your Highness?" "I am looking for Serena and Darien. Where did they go?" the queen replied. Nathan answered for everybody, "Princess Serena dropped her necklace and then walked off. Justin tried to stop her, but Prince Darien bellowed out, 'Enough', picked up the necklace, and ran after her." "What necklace?" Serenity asked. "It was the Star Locket, Majesty. That is what was strange. When I touched it a few months ago, I got shocked, but Prince Darien was able to pick it up and carry it." Galen said.

"It also began playing, Queen Serenity. Serena wouldn't tell us why it started, though." Mina added. "Where was the locket when it began playing?" Serenity asked. "It was near Prince Darien's feet," Trista replied. "In what direction did they go?" the queen asked with a slight smile on her face. Kenjo pointed to a path on their right. The Moon queen thanked them and walked off in that direction. A sudden abdominal pain woke Serena up. Sighing, she sat up in bed and looked at the alarm clock. It read 7:30A.M. In their little kitchen, she could hear coffee being made. Standing up, Serena went into the kitchen.

Darien looked up as she sat down at the table. "Good morning, Serena." "I wouldn't call it a 'good' morning." Serena grumbled. "Did you have another dream last night?" he asked. "Yeah," she said. "What happened in it?" Darien questioned. "Nothing much. Uncle Asa died, some one tried to assassinate Mother, and we lied to our parents and friends." Serena replied. Before Darien could ask her anything else about the dream, there was a knock on the door. When he opened the door, Darien was surprised to see Galen and Ashe in front of him. After inviting them in, he asked, "Why are you two here?"

"We just wanted to make sure Serena was feeling okay." Ashe said. "Why wouldn't she be?" Darien quipped. Galen looked at Serena, "You didn't tell him?" Serena looked down guiltily. Seeing her reaction, Darien asked, "Tell me what?" Ashe exchanged a glance with Galen before answering, "Yesterday, Serena fainted. You were at a business lunch so we took her out to eat. Or at least we were going to. She fainted while we were waiting for the elevator. Why didn't you tell him?" Serena looked up and said, "I didn't want him to worry about me." "Why would he worry? It's not like you faint everyday." Galen commented.

"Wait a second. You fainted and you didn't tell me?" Darien queried. "I'm sorry. I was just sooo weak and tired. Don't worry. I figured I would wait for my doctor's appointment today. You remember I made one with Andrew because of my queasiness." Serena explained. "Why didn't you let us take you to the emergency room yesterday? Then you wouldn't be wondering what was wrong now." Galen quipped. Serena looked at Galen and replied, "Andrew knows about my fainting spells. I'd feel better talking to him about it." "Your fainting spells? You've fainted more than once?" Ashe asked.

"Before I left for Canada, I used to faint all the time. It was because I was using the Silver Crystal and Purity Chalice incorrectly. They used to drain all my power." Serena said. "She came close to dying a couple of times. She wouldn't listen to us when we told her not to use the crystal." Darien added. "But, you've never fainted because of natural causes before, right?" Galen questioned. Serena thought for a moment before saying, "Yes, once. I was in junior high and thought I was fat. I stopped eating completely because I had gained an ounce. I fainted outside the arcade. Luckily, Andrew saw me and helped me regain my strength."

Darien looked at her, "I never knew that." Serena smiled at him and said, "It was before we were dating. The Sailor Scouts were only Ami and myself, although we recruited Rei a few days later." Looking at his watch, Galen commented, "Oh, we've gotta go. That 8 o'clock meeting is in 20 minutes. Bye guys." And then Galen and Ashe let themselves out of the suite. "What time is your appointment, Serena?" Darien asked. Serena stood up and poured herself a cup of coffee while saying, "It's at 11. Why?" "I'll meet you here at 10:30, okay. I want to come with you. Please don't argue with me." Darien told her with concern in his voice.

"Okay, okay. You win. You can come to the doctor with me. But I'll do all the talking. Agreed?" Serena replied sounding defeated. "Great. Now, I have to go. I'm meeting with a client at 8:30. The meeting shouldn't last more than an hour. After that, I'm free for the rest of the day. Don't overexert yourself. Bye. Love you." Darien said, kissing her when he was done. Then, he went out of the suite, leaving Serena by herself.

~~~~~ Tokyo General Hospital – 10:50A.M. ~~~~~

Darien walked up to Serena, who was sitting in the waiting room, and said, "So, you're feeling okay?" Serena smiled at him and replied, "I'm fine. You didn't have to come with me, you know. I'm already under Luna and Galen's watchful gaze. I don't want to add you to the list, unless it's for a good reason." Darien opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by the nurse. "Serena Chiba," she called into the waiting room. "That's us," Serena told Darien, standing up. Following her, they walked over to the nurse. "Follow me please," she said. Obeying her, they went through the door, down a hall, and into a small room. "Wait here, please. Dr. Cook should be with you shortly," the nurse said before leaving them and closing the door.

Five minutes went by slowly before Andrew came into the room. "Serena, Darien. Hello. How have you two been? I was surprised to find out Serena was one of my patients. Why are you here?" he asked after closing the door. Darien shook his old friend's outstretched hand while saying, "Hey, Andrew. Or do I call you 'Dr. Cook'? Anyway, I've been fine, but Serena hasn't been feeling well." Serena, who was sitting on the examination table, shook her head and quipped, "What happened to me doing the talking, Darien?"

"I don't care who does the explaining. One of you care to tell me what's been hurting." Andrew questioned. Serena gave Darien, who had started to speak, a look that shut him up. Andrew laughed when he saw this. Then, Serena began, "Well, I've been having stomach aches and yesterday I fainted." Andrew switched into 'doctor' mode, began checking her vitals, and asked, "Have you been weak and tired?" Serena nodded, "Mostly weak. I can't seem to keep anything down." Andrew thought about this for a minute before saying, "I'm going take some blood and run tests over it. I'll call you when I find out what is making you sick."

"Is that it? Is that all can you do?" Serena asked. "For now, yes. I'll call you personally to give you the news. Let me call in a nurse so she can draw your blood. I'll talk to you as soon as the lab results are in." Andrew replied. With that, he left, closing the door behind him. A few minutes a nurse came in, drew Serena's blood, and then, after telling them they were free to go, walked out of the room. The Chiba's left room after Serena picked up her purse. After stopping at the front desk to pay, they walked out to Darien's car.

Once inside the car, Darien looked at an awfully quiet Serena. "Want to go home or somewhere else?" he asked. Serena jumped at the sound of voice because he startled her out of her thoughts. She turned to face him and said, "Can you take me home? I think I'll take a short nap to clear my head. You can go back to work. I don't want you to watch me all afternoon. It makes me nervous." Seeing that he was about to object, Serena added, "Please, Darien?" Not wanting to upset her, Darien agreed.

They drove to the Silver Millennium silently. Serena was grateful for the quiet. Holding Darien's right hand was comfort enough. When they reached the skyscraper, Darien walked Serena up to their suite and opened the door for her. Before he could do anything else for her, Serena quipped, "Darien, don't start hovering over me. Please go back to the office. It will make me feel better." Realizing he wasn't going leave, she gave her best puppy dog eyes and whined, "PLEASE!" Unable to say no to this form of persuasion, Darien gave in. After kissing Serena good-bye, he left their suite and drove to his office, grabbing a sandwich at Ashley's (a café near his office) to eat in his office.

As soon as Darien had left, Serena grabbed her communicator and contacted Luna, asking her to come to the suite to talk. About an hour later, there was a knock on the door. Frowning, Serena got up and answered it. She was surprised to find Kenjo standing in front of her holding Luna. "Kenjo! Come in." Serena said. Leading them into the living room, Serena took Luna from him. "What are you doing here?" she asked him. He smiled at her and answered, "There was a security alert. I was in the hall, walking past the guards' desk, when I saw Luna running away from a couple of guards on the TV screen. I found out what floor she on, caught her, and brought her here. I figured she was coming to talk to you or something."

Serena smiled back and said, "Thank you, Kenjo. You were right. I called Luna almost an hour ago and asked her to come here and talk. I'm glad you were there to save her from being thrown outside. Thank you again." "Don't mention it. Really. But now I have to go. I have to make a procession route for the U.S. Ambassador to take. Bye," he replied, walking to the door. Opening the door, Kenjo nodded to them and then went out to the hall, closing the door behind him.

When the door had closed, Luna jumped out of Serena's arms. Turning to face her princess, she said, "So, Serena, what did you want to talk about?" Serena sat down on the couch and was about to answer the cat guardian when the phone rang. "Hold that thought, Luna," she said as she got and went to pick up the phone. "Hello?" she said into the receiver. After a short pause, Serena added, "Oh, hi Andrew." Serena's face suddenly grew serious. She merely said, "The test results are in?" Luna, watching Serena's reactions, saw her face grow several shades paler. What is wrong? she thought. The speechless Serena finally said, "WHAT?!" Shaking herself, she adds, "I'm sorry. It's a big…shock. Thanks for getting back to me with the news so fast. Um…bye, Andrew. Thanks again." Then, Serena hung up the phone.

"What did Andrew want, Serena?" Luna asked with a worried look on her face. Serena slowly turned to face the cat, hesitating as though carefully choosing her words. Finally she said, "Um…Andrew just wanted to tell me something he forgot to today." Seeing Luna's quizzical look, she added, "You know how I've been sick to my stomach? Well, I had an appointment with Andrew today. He forgot to tell me something about the medicine he gave me so he called me." Luna didn't believe Serena but she kept quiet. "Anyway, I asked you to come here so I could tell you about my dream last night. It was intense. Do you remember Uncle Asa?" Serena added when she saw this. Luna looked at her and said, "No, I don't. Why?" "Um…he died in my dream last night. He was married to a woman named Kale and had a daughter named Ashley. I never remembered them until my dreams started. Oh, I know this is off the topic, but have you been sensing Rini's energy lately? Or have you been in touch with my Earth parents?" Serena answered.

"No, I haven't sensed Rini. I do see Sammy every once in a while, though." Luna replied. "He's okay, right?" Serena asked, concerned for her Earth brother. "Yes, he's fine. Don't worry about him. You have enough to do around here. You aren't going to tell me the real reason Andrew called, are you?" Luna said. Serena looked at Luna lovingly and quipped, "Later, okay?" "Very well, Serena. If that's all, I'll be going now. Bye." Luna commented when she reached the door after Serena, who opened it for her, did. After making sure her cat guardian was safely on the elevator, Serena shut the door. She had just made it to the couch when the door opened. She jumped.

"Sorry, honey," Darien said as he closed the door. "I finished work early and didn't want you to be home all alone. Was that Luna I saw waiting for the elevator?" he added. "Yyyes." Serena stuttered. "Are you okay?" he asked, concerned. Serena grew pale as she answered, "Andrew called about 20 minutes ago. The blood test results are in." Darien sat down next to Serena and queried, "What did he say?" Serena turned to look at him and said with a slight smile, "He told me that…" she stopped and began to look around while biting her lip. "Told you what?" Darien prodded gently.

"Um…Darien, I'm pregnant." Serena said cringing. "With Rini?" Darien asked. "Probably." Serena answered. "Wow. That's great," he replied. "Andrew said I was about one month along." Serena quipped. "Oh. Can we wait a while before telling the others? I need to figure out how to tell them first," she added. "That's fine by me." Darien commented. "Okay. I think I'm going to go take a nap now. I'm a little tired." Serena said. Standing up, she walked into the bedroom and closed the door. When she was gone, Darien said to himself, "Rini is coming now?! I'm not ready to be a father. What will I do?!"



AN: Yeah, I know. CORNY, with a capital "C"!!! I'll update (if ya'll want me to, that is) after I get at least 5 more reviews. Ja ne.

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