Title: Shipwrecked

Author: Lisa

Chapter: 7

Rating: PG

Author's Notes:

Here's Chapter 7! I'm happy to finally get closer to finishing this one…thanks for bearing with me, and please enjoy. :)

Disclaimer: Sailor Moon and the others don't belong to me, but this story does.


Usagi had forgotten how good it felt to have fresh sheets and a soft mattress under her worn frame. Everything just felt so…well, clean. Funny how someone could take such simple comforts for granted and never realize their importance until they were gone. She breathed in deeply and reveled in the crisp smell of starch that tickled her nostrils, an all-too-welcome reminder that the nightmare of the past couple weeks was finally reaching its conclusion.

Soft knocks at the door drew the blond out of her reverie. Usagi instinctively hugged the blankets tighter to her chest before clearing her throat to speak. "Come in."

"Good, you're awake." The man smiled kindly, and she tried to return the gesture as best as she could while sitting up straighter in the narrow bed. "You've been asleep for quite a while. Not surprising though, given…how are you feeling?"

"Much better, Doctor," Usagi replied truthfully. "Arigato." She studied the doctor silently as he fully entered the room and walked to her bed in two easy strides, remaining as still as possible and hardly daring to breathe as he assessed her injured hand. The man was probably in his mid-forties, Usagi thought, with noticeable hints of gray in his hair that gleamed in the late afternoon sunlight streaming from the small circular window in the room and wrinkles on his forehead that spoke to his experience. She wondered how many patients he had treated so far in his career, and how many of those he could still remember distinctly. Would she be just another number to add to his charts?

"Your hand is not giving you too much trouble, I hope?"

"No, I hardly feel any pain now." Perhaps not the entire truth, but close enough. Usagi didn't want him to focus too much energy on her when there was another patient in much worse shape... Her eyes widened as her scattered thoughts re-focused on Mamoru. Without thinking, she grasped onto the doctor's hand with such anxiety that he grimaced from the unexpected force.

"Mamo-ch—I mean, Mamoru, is he alright? May I see him?"

"Mamoru's doing fine," he reassured her with another smile. "If you're feeling well enough, we can go check on him together."

This time Usagi's smile was genuine. "I'd like that very much."


Mamoru was sitting in bed reading the newspaper, a characteristic frown sharpening his features as he digested its contents with grim eagerness. Usagi watched him by the doorway, her heart pounding as she studied him with more concentration than she had ever applied to her subjects at school (to the constant dismay of her parents). His lips formed a tight line, and his eyes were narrowed.

"Is now a good time for your check-up, Mamoru?" The doctor asked gently. "You have a visitor as well." Mamoru looked up at the voice, and Usagi was thrilled to see the small, sad smile that softened his features when their eyes met.

"Hai, please come in." He folded the paper neatly and placed it on his bedside table. "I was just reading about…" He couldn't continue, only cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably in his bed as Usagi and the doctor approached him.

"Usagi, if you'd feel more comfortable stepping outside while I change his bandages…"

"Oh no, don't worry, it's nothing I haven't seen before," Usagi blurted out immediately, then clasped her good hand over her mouth at her sudden (and admittedly scandalous sounding) outburst. The doctor, for his part, was understandably shocked. His mouth fell open slightly, as if he were mulling over the appropriate response. "What I meant say is," she continued, flustered and feeling the heat spread across her cheeks like wildfire, "I had to help Mamoru while we were on the island, so…" She trailed off, suddenly unable to meet the eyes of either man.

"And you were incredibly brave to do so, for someone with no medical training." Having recovered from his initial shock, he placed a warm, encouraging hand on her shoulder. "What you did likely saved Mamoru's life."

"That's what I've been telling her, but she won't believe me, Doctor," Mamoru chuckled as Usagi flushed even harder. "See, Usako? Now you have to believe me."

"I only did what I could," she muttered, unused to the praise and attention. "Anyone else would've done the same, and would've done a better job at that."

"I wouldn't be so sure," the doctor said quietly. Usagi felt the beginnings of tears prick the corners of her eyes, to her annoyance. She had always been a sensitive person, and the past weeks had only made her emotions all the more volatile. She hated it. She hated being weak in front of him.

"All done." The doctor smiled at the pair and gave Mamoru a pat on the arm. "Mamoru, you seem to be healing nicely now. I'll give you two some privacy, but if you need me for anything at all, I'm just right down the hall.

"Arigato," Usagi and Mamoru whispered in unison. As soon as the door clicked closed, Usagi found herself pulled onto the bed in one swift motion, with Mamoru's strong arms wrapped decisively around her shaking frame.

"Usako…"

The tears came now, like a cleansing rain that washed away all of the…heaviness of their ordeal. She buried her face in his shirt as powerful sobs racked her body. Mamoru rubbed her back soothingly, up and down, providing quiet support as Usagi purged herself of all the negative energy that had built up within her. "Usako…Usako…"

Usagi cried until she felt her body had been drained of all its tears, until her lungs hurt with each breath she took. Yet it was a good kind of pain. She had held onto all of her fears and suffering in an effort to be brave, and to have such cathartic release…she felt lighter somehow, as if the burden that had weighed so much on her soul was now finally lifted.

"Mamo-chan…we're going to be okay…we're going to be okay…" She chanted like a mantra, over and over until her voice grew raspy.

"Hai, we are," he replied simply.

Their lips and hands found each other in a desperate frenzy and collided in a blur of sighs and gasps, each aching for more contact until their closeness because almost too much to bear. Usagi drank him in, delighting in the frantic racing of his heart that matched the tempo of her own. She wanted him in her life, today, tomorrow, every day until her last. She only hoped that he felt the same.

They laid there in the darkness, quietly recounting their unbelievable change in luck over the course of the last forty-eight hours. Usagi was sure that she would never forget the sight of the ship as it slowed pulled toward them while they frantically waved their hands toward the sky, begging for salvation. She remembered the immediate drop in her stomach when she realized that the ship had stopped in its trek toward them, and the taste of bile, bitter and sour in her mouth, as hope shriveled before her once more. She could still feel Mamoru's clammy hand in hers as they held their breaths, could still hear his shout of joy when they saw the small lifeboat drop from the ship and make its way toward shore. She could still taste the salty mixture of sand and tears as she watched the sailors draw nearer and nearer. Then their hands were on her everywhere checking for injuries, their faces near her face, excitement and agitation clear in their voices as they showered questions on her.

"Please...help us…" That was all Usagi could manage to say before the world went dark.

She had drifted in and out of consciousness for the next two days, barely registering the various people that went in and out of her room and fussed over her. "It's a miracle," she had recalled more than one person saying as they surveyed her broken body like a zoo exhibit. It certainly didn't feel like a miracle, but who was she to judge? It did make for a truly improbable survival story, one that would undoubtedly make headlines for weeks to come. But through all the poking and prodding, one clear thought reined in her sanity: Mamoru had proper medical attention now. He would live. No matter what happened to her, he would live.

"Usako…are you awake?"

Usagi smiled and squeezed his arm in response. No words were needed for awhile as each drew comfort from listening to the breaths of the other.

"My father…the papers say he's in a coma…they say there are still dozens of people unaccounted for who were registered as passengers on the ship."

Usagi shivered, feeling the ice-cold grip of fear and dizzying clutch of nausea sweep through her. All those lives…how could she still be here and they…and their families… She shook her head forcefully and buried her face in Mamoru's shoulder, trying to erase the grisly images of lifeless passengers and mourning families from her mind.

"Please Mamo-chan…just for this night...let's just pretend…" Usagi couldn't finish her thought, but he understood immediately. She wasn't ready to face reality yet, a reality filled with death and its brutal aftermath. He was all too happy to oblige in her final night of willful ignorance.

"Alright Usako, alright." Mamoru placed a kiss on her forehead and settled back into the pillows. Before long, he could hear her soft, steady breathing, and with one final kiss to her cheek, he too succumbed to unconsciousness.


Usagi woke to the slight rocking of the ship as it cruised through the ocean. For a brief moment, she had thought she was back in that cave, dreading the new day in their fight for survival. She rubbed the last remnants of sleep from her eyes before her gaze fell on her companion. His left arm was still wrapped around her waist, his hair in an infuriatingly attractive state of disarray, and his lips slightly parted as he slept. Usagi had lost count by now of all the times he moved her simply by the sight of him.

"Has anyone ever told you that it's impolite to stare?" She jumped a little at the unexpected sound, turning bright red almost instantly in being caught. His eyes were still closed, but the smirk on his face betrayed him.

"I should say the same to you, Mamo-chan," she huffed in mock irritation, turning her back to him dramatically to prove her point. Her heart cheered at his deep laugh then continued into overdrive as his lips left small moist trails down her the curve of her neck and shoulder.

"Mamo-chan…" Her mind was fuzzy from his perfectly executed attentions, and her entire body hummed with energy. Before her brain had time to register her actions, she had flipped over to face him and her hands were on his back, molding her to him as she gave him a proper good morning greeting with frenzied swollen lips.

Only the swift knock at the door separated the couple from their rather compromising situation. A young sailor, red-faced and visibly anxious, came in with a large tray of food.

"From the captain," he mumbled without making eye contact as he placed the tray on the table. He shifted his feet for a brief second before delivering the second part of his message. "We make land tomorrow," he said, then exited as quickly as he had entered.

Usagi giggled, finding the sailor's awkwardness endearing. "Mamo-chan, you scared him away!"

"Me?" Mamoru pretended to take offense. "He probably took one look at you and ran off. Because Usako, your hair…"

She had already started helping herself to the generous provisions and hit him lightly in the arm with her half-eaten toast. "Is that any way to talk to a lady?"

Mamoru laughed before reaching for the coffee; it had been too long since he had indulged in his caffeine fix. He took a large sip and closed his eyes, letting the caffeine rush through his veins. He felt calmer somehow as he took another sizeable gulp of the dark liquid, feeling it settle the growing dread in the pit of his stomach when he thought about the inevitable chaos awaiting them once they returned home. He planned to see his father at the hospital immediately, of course…the papers had said he was in a coma, but it was from days ago…was he still… He shook his head to clear it and refocused his attention on the blond before him, who was chewing slowly on her toast. No doubt she was thinking ahead to tomorrow as well.

"Usako…" He gripped her uninjured hand with as much strength as he dared, and blue met blue in an unspoken recognition of what was to come.

"Mamo-chan…I'm scared," she whispered, and in that moment sounded like a small child who spoke fearfully about the monsters under her bed that kept her tossing and turning at night. "It was easier almost, back on the island…when all we had was each other, and the only thought was how we'd make it to the next day. Now, there are so many people we have to see and worry about and…I just…"

"I know, Usako." Mamoru kissed her palm almost reverently, and Usagi closed her eyes at the sensation. "But you'll get to see your family again. Your parents, your brother, your aunt…they must all be worried sick about you."

Usagi sniffled. "My family...it feels like it's been forever since I've last seen them…" She sighed as she traced patterns absentmindedly on Mamoru's arm. "I'm afraid the Usagi they remember is gone forever. Who knows if this new me…if they'll…" She stopped, suddenly unable to finish her thought.

"Usako." He reached over to cup her face into his hands, forcing her eyes to make contact with his. "No matter what, you have me. Always. We'll get through this. Believe in this…in us."

"Always." The words next exploded out of Usagi like a bottle of champagne that had been shaken one time too many, pushed to the brim by a powerful pressure that refused to be contained any longer.

"Aishiteru, Mamo-chan."


Whew, well, things got a bit angsty there, but you know I love my angst! So I think one more chapter and a short epilogue to go. Please let me know what you think, and take care!

This story was written and posted July 2016.