A/N Yay! Another snow day! I'm getting to where I really like getting out of work because of the weather. I'm not a big fan of the cold, but it gives me an excuse to devote some quality time to my little obsession here. This chapter is very long, probably one of the longest ones I've ever written. I started to split it into two, but then I decided that it would hurt the flow. There's not really any action here, but there is tons of fluff! So if you're not in the mood for sickening sweetness, I would suggest reading this later. This chapter really reads like a collection of drabbles, but it all ties in together. With that being said, I guess I should give out my hugs. BIG HUGS TO:

SailorMoon20114486

R.I.P. Jake AmaraMichelle

ashleigh

Seredhiel05

sabina21

SammyAtHome

MeganLeBlanc

CharmedSerenity3

Atem's Sister Atea

.lyingtonguesareclumsy.

YingYing

GoldenDragon326

Tiny2008

Chibi Kitt

KageNoNeko

SailorMercuryROCKS

anime-lover10

S dot Serenity

rainbabie

ailzzzz

Lilcala

godsgurl9871

Moon's Saviour

Luthien Morgon

Thanks a lot you guys. I write my stories for my own personal gratification, but I love the fact that you seem to enjoy them too! You definitely keep me inspired! Now I'm going to let you get on with it!

ENJOY!

The Galactic Trinity

Chapter 20

Birthday Sweetness

Elysian – The Far Future

The woman lying on the bed blinked her eyes open and sat up slowly as she looked around in confusion. She was in a room that she knew well, but it was also a room that she hadn't seen in fifteen years.

Bright yellow sunlight streamed in through the windows to highlight the room that would be any little girl's paradise. Shelves held enough toys to stock a toy store, a tiny table was set with a miniature tea set, and a massive dollhouse took up one whole corner of the room.

This was the room in the Elysian Golden Palace that had belonged to Princess Melody once upon a time back during the Silver Millennium. It was also the room that Jess, Melody's reincarnation, had passed on to her daughter, two millennia later, for her to stay in during the countless visits the family had there.

Katie slid from the bed, racking her brain as she tried to figure out how in the world she'd gotten there. The last thing she remembered was that she had been in the past trying to save her brother from dying. Then they had shown up.

DJ had tackled her to the ground and held her down while her past self had sprinted toward where the two boys were fighting. She had clawed at her prince, screaming and crying as she fought to escape him, desperate to make sure that Alex survived. She had seen her past self jump between the two boys and the charging sentinel, and then light had exploded all around them.

Things went blank after that. Now suddenly she found herself here. What did it mean? Had her past self been successful in stopping the sentinel? Had she failed? Perhaps they had all died and this was just some crazy afterlife that her mind had created.

Then her stomach growled and she giggled, sounding almost hysterical. If she were dead then certainly she wouldn't feel hungry. She also felt an urgent need to visit a bathroom, so she must be alive.

She left the room and crossed the hall to the bathroom. When she finished there she was going to get some answers. Helios or Dawn had to be around here somewhere. They could tell her what was going on.

She took care of business quickly and then washed her hands in the sink. She splashed some cold water on her face to refresh herself and then looked up into the mirror.

A strangled shriek tore from her throat as she staggered back against the wall. The eyes staring at her from her reflection were not the swirling, tri-colored orbs that she had become accustomed to seeing for the last fifteen years, but clear hazel green instead. They were the eyes that she had lost on that fateful night so long ago.

She clamped a hand to her shoulder and then looked down, expecting to see that hideous mark that Discord had branded her with when she sold herself to him, a triangle crossed through with an X. But instead all she saw was lightly tanned, unblemished skin.

Shaken, and more confused than ever, she reached for a towel and patted her face dry before venturing back into the hall. She stood at the top of the stairway, wondering what she was about to descend into. And then, she heard his voice.

"Kat," he said, barely above a whisper.

She clenched her eyes closed tightly out of habit, scared that if she saw him she would feel the overwhelming urge to rip his throat out. "DJ?" she replied brokenly.

Silence reigned for several eternally long seconds. Then she felt his aura, pure and gold, reach out to wrap around her. She gasped and spun around. Her eyes flew open.

And there he was. Standing in the middle of the hall staring at her. His shiny black hair hung down stubbornly over his eyes as always, his soft, beautiful, sky blue eyes.

And she didn't feel the urge to kill him. His mouth quirked up into that crooked grin that had never failed to melt her heart.

"Tinkerbell," he said sardonically.

"DJ!" she screeched and ran to him. She jumped into his waiting arms, wrapping her arms around his neck as she locked her legs around his waist.

He was caught off balance so he stumbled forward until her back was resting against the wall.

"Does this mean that she did it?" she barely breathed. "Does this mean that my past self changed everything?"

He reached up and cupped her cheek in his hand. He stared into the eyes that he had missed for so long and replied softly, "I don't know. One minute I was with you on that roof, and the next I woke up in my room here. I thought I might be dreaming. But if I am I never want to wake up because I'm never letting you go again."

Then his mouth was on hers, hot and insistent, and she threw herself into the kiss with as much reckless abandon as he did. At least until a door down the hall banged open.

"How the hell is anyone supposed to get any sleep around here with you two causing all that racket?" a male voice yelled.

They both froze, lips still locked, but eyes wide as they stared at each other. There was something familiar about that voice. It was deeper than they remembered, but it was still achingly familiar.

"Of course!" it continued. "I should have known that I'd find you two making out. Sheesh! You guys never change."

Katie tore her mouth from DJ's and turned her head to look at the man that was lounging against a doorframe. He was tall and broad shouldered and looked to be in his mid twenties. He had shaggy, light brown hair and eyes that glittered like sapphires.

The blood drained from her face. "Alex?" she whispered, hardly daring for this to be real.

Tears sparkled in his eyes as he smiled at her. "Hiya, sis! It's been a while."

A sob burst from her as she untangled herself from DJ and flew to her brother. He caught her up effortlessly in his arms and spun her around like he had so many times in the past. Her arms snaked around his neck in a stranglehold of a hug as she cried into his shoulder.

Alex chuckled unsteadily. "Gee, I never thought I'd get such an enthusiastic welcome. Maybe I should die more often."

Katie reared back in his arms and began slapping him on the arm, choking out between hiccups, "Don't you…hic…even joke like that…hic…Alex, or I'll…hic…kill you myself!"

He laughed and folded her into a bear hug. "Okay, okay! Don't blow a gasket, Kat! Damn! I'm only alive for barely twelve hours and I'm already getting death threats."

Then his eyes met those of his best friend over his sister's shoulder and his laughter died. DJ was pale faced and staring at him with a mixture of shock and disbelief burning in his eyes.

He set Katie carefully over to the side and walked slowly toward his friend. When he reached him he stared down at the floor nervously, not sure what to say. The last words they had spoken to each other had been in anger. "DJ…man, I'm…"

His words broke off as he found himself pulled into hug, DJ's hands pounded him on the back in the universal way that men seemed to always use to show affection to one another. He returned the gesture, and when they broke apart they were both grinning goofily.

DJ mock punched him in the shoulder. "I agree with Kat. If you ever do something stupid like die on us again, I'll kill you myself!"

Alex rolled his eyes. "Wow! I feel so loved with all of these death threats flying around."

Katie ran up and threw her arms around both of them. "You two are both so stupid!"

"Look who's talking!" Alex scoffed. "Like I don't know what you've been up to. Were you out of your mind? How could you trade yourself to Discord like that?"

"I was out of my mind!" she snapped back angrily. "I was in pain and I panicked. I was confused by everything that had happened so I acted on instinct. I thought I was doing the right thing."

Alex shook his head, but his eyes shown with happiness. "Well, I guess it all worked out in the end."

"Did it?" DJ asked, looking around. "I'm still trying to figure out what we're doing here. If time has changed, shouldn't we have been sent back to our proper time and place?"

"Oh that!" Alex waved his hand dismissively. "I can explain that. I had a nice long talk with Pluto when she brought me here after my life was returned. To make a long story short, we're under house arrest until everything calms down. The way she put it is that while the past has been changed, the alternate timelines haven't completely disappeared yet. It all depends on how things turn out with our past selves. She would have gone into more detail, but with Discord still parking his ass at the time gate it's difficult for her to see everything. But she was afraid that since you two have had so much fun playing around in the past that it would be safer to keep us all here so that we wouldn't be tempted to interfere."

Katie crossed her arms petulantly. "She would! So what are we supposed to do, just sit around and twiddle our thumbs while we wait to see what happens? That sucks! I was hoping to get my shot at Discord now that I don't have to worry about him killing me with just a thought."

"You're still just as bloodthirsty as ever, aren't you?" Alex laughed. "Yeah, I'm afraid we're stuck here for a while. But hey, we can treat it like a vacation. I'm sure you two could use one after all of these years. That was why Helios put you both to sleep as soon as you got here. He said you were suffering from exhaustion and sleep deprivation and needed the rest."

"And just how long have we been here?" DJ asked him.

"Um," Alex checked his watch. "About twelve hours or so. Of course that's Elysian time. Only a few hours have passed in the outside world."

"I wonder how our past selves are doing now," Katie wondered out loud.

"Pretty good the last time I checked," Alex said. At their wide-eyed looks of shock he hastily continued. "Oh yeah! Did you guys know that Helios has a viewing portal that he can look through to see what's going on in the outside world? He said that we could use it as much as we want since what happens in the past is now our past and it's okay for us to know about it. It's pretty neat, better than watching TV. Our past selves are still in Tokyo for now. They wanted to go running back home after a pretty intense run in with Discord, but everything calmed down for now. You guys should take a peek. It's a riot."

There was a scuffling sound from the doorway behind him, and then a tousled haired blonde woman draped in a men's black button down shirt appeared there. She rubbed her eyes sleepily as she mumbled, "Alex…"

"Emma!" Katie and DJ exclaimed together.

Alex turned and swept her into his arms and pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. "I'm right here, baby."

"Good," she sighed against his chest. "I got scared for a minute that I only dreamed that you came back."

"I'm not going anywhere," he promised her fervently as he held her close.

Then she raised her head to look at their two speechless onlookers with dancing gray eyes. "Well you two certainly look better than I've seen you look in years. It's nice to see you back to normal."

"What in the world are you doing here?" Katie shrieked as she ran over and jerked the woman that was one of her closest friends out of her brother's arms to hug her tightly.

Emma laughed and said mockingly, "Honestly! Love goddess, remember? You didn't really think that my baby could come back to life and I wouldn't feel it, did you? I sensed it the moment his soul sparked. I thought I had finally gone insane when Pluto suddenly appeared and told me to come with her."

Alex chuckled. "Pluto thought I'd might like some company besides you two idiots since we'll be stuck here until time decides which way it wants to go."

A loud grumble had everyone's eyes turning to Katie, who blushed and folded her arms across her stomach. "I guess I'm a little hungry. I don't even remember the last time I ate."

"I believe it," Alex said with a smirk. "You always were skinny, Kat, but now you look like a stick. And I can't believe you cut your hair off!"

"It'll grow back," she grumbled as she fingered the hastily chopped off ends of hair that fell to just below her shoulders. "Thanks for all the compliments, Lex. I don't know how many more I can take. Food hasn't exactly high up on my list of priorities the last fifteen years."

DJ wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against his side as he kissed the top of her head. "I think you're perfect just the way you are."

"Gag! Mush alert!" Alex groaned. "You two really haven't changed in fifteen years, have you?"

Katie looked up at DJ and grinned when she realized that her brother was right. "Nope! We haven't changed at all. But I may be the next one to die if I don't get some food in me soon. All of this excitement on top of hunger is making me light headed."

"I think we can do something about that," DJ said as he lifted her up into his arms, bridal style.

"DJ, you caveman, put me down!" she squealed. "I can walk, you know."

He just smiled at her. "Not right now you can't. I've waited too long to do this again."

"We'll join you in a little bit," Emma told them as she tugged Alex toward the bedroom. "I'm not exactly dressed for socializing at the moment. Oh, by the way, you two be careful downstairs. Rini's here too."

DJ closed his eyes and groaned. "What is she doing here?"

Emma giggled. "Well considering that she and Helios have been married for fourteen years and she lives here part of the time, it's not that surprising." She pulled Alex into the room and closed the door.

"Right," DJ ground out and then looked down at the woman in his arms. "So are you ready to go down and face the music. You know she's going to go off on us."

"Poor baby. I'll protect you," Katie cooed before she pulled his head down to kiss him.

He pulled back a minute later and shook his head. "If you keep that up the only place I'm going to carry you is straight to my bed."

She batted her lashes and smiled innocently at him. "Honey, if you get me fed and reenergized I'll follow you anywhere."

Tokyo – Present Day

'Are there any T's?'

'Yes, one.'

DJ sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. He had spent all of class trying to block out the mental game of hangman that was going on between Katie and Alex, but trying to do that and pay attention to what their Trig teacher was trying to say was becoming nerve racking.

'Would you two knock it off! I can't concentrate!' he mentally growled.

The voices in his head abruptly broke off and looked up to see two pairs of eyes, one hazel and one blue, looking guiltily at him.

'Oops! Sorry!' they chorused together.

"Well now," Miss Haruna said in a bored tone that clearly stated that she would rather be someplace else. "Let's see if any of you have actually retained any of the information I have given you today. I need someone to come up and work the problem that is on the board."

Alex and Katie, along with a few other students in the class, slumped down in their seats, trying to avoid being detected by her.

It had the opposite effect. Her sharp eyes passed over the wary faces, finally settling on the cringing twins sitting in the back row. She grinned evilly. "Mr. Morgan, why don't you come up and show me what you've learned?"

DJ flinched and Katie almost slapped her hands over her ears as loud, expletive curses began ringing in their heads. Alex got up slowly from his seat and shot his best friend a pleading glance.

DJ sat back and crossed his arms with a smug look. Let the guy sweat it out for minute. He watched as Alex approached the board and stared blankly at it.

'DJ,' her voice whimpered in his head. He turned to look at Katie and found her staring at him with a desolate expression. Her lower lip trembled and there were even a few tears in her eyes.

'Oh, for god's sake…' he began, and then broke off as her expression became shattered looking. Inwardly he sighed. 'Fine!' He started mentally walking Alex through the process.

Two minutes later Alex sat the dry erase marker down and turned toward Miss Haruna with a broad grin.

"Correct," she admitted grudgingly. Then she snapped, "I guess it's a good thing that you are such good friends with Mr. Shields. I'm sure he's been tutoring you since I know you rarely ever pay attention to my classes."

Then the bell rang and the classroom exploded with activity as the students began gathering their things to rush from the room.

"Okay, class!" Miss Haruna shouted over the noise. "I know everyone is excited because Spring Break is next week, but we still have one more day of classes to go. So for tonight's homework I want you to do page 348 in the textbook. And it's due tomorrow!"

"Geez, now I see why Serena calls her Dragon Lady," Katie was grumbling to Rini, Skye, and Emma as Alex rejoined them and grabbed his belongings up and stuffed them into his backpack.

Rini nodded jerkily. "Her latest boyfriend must have broken up with her or something. That always sets her off."

Emma eyed the red headed teacher critically as they all filed out of the room. "You may be right, Rini. There is definitely the aura of a broken heart around her, but it isn't too serious. She'll get over it soon."

Alex flung an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders. "I just wish she had gotten over it before she assigned homework for tonight. We already have that stupid write up we have to do for chemistry. Lit and French better not give us anything. We'll probably be up half the night with just those two assignments since Nebula has been insisting on daily practices."

"I say we poison her tuna and get it over with," Katie growled. "I thought she was bossy before, but now she's turning into a major drill sergeant."

Skye winked flirtatiously at a boy that was eying her before commenting, "She has been working you three really hard for the last few days. Maybe she'll let you slide today if you tell her that you have a lot of homework."

"Not freaking likely!" Alex snorted. "I think she secretly takes pleasure from our pain."

"I don't know," DJ mused. "We may be able to get out of it; especially if we can win Luna over to our side. Nebula usually listens to her."

"I can talk to Artemis for you and get him to talk to Luna," Emma piped up. "He absolutely adores me, so I know he'll do it if I ask."

"Everybody adores you. Don't you know that by now?" Alex drawled and leaned forward to kiss her.

Skye quickly shoved a binder between their faces. "Uh uh! No smoochy-smoochy during school hours. What if a teacher sees you? You'll get both of your asses landed in detention if they do."

"Since when did you become a member of the PDA Squad…?" Rini's voice faded away as Katie stopped at her locker to swap out books.

DJ leaned up against the locker next to her. "How are you feeling?"

She let out a small growl of irritation. "You ask me that at least ten times a day. I feel exactly the same as I felt the last time you asked me and every other time before that. I'm fine! It's been six days since we were attacked on the bluff. I've been a good girl and taking my medicine like I'm supposed to. So if I haven't keeled over by now I don't think I'm going to."

He held up his hands in surrender. "Sorry! I just worry about you. A lot has happened since then with the citywide attack and our little run in with Discord. Now Nebula isn't giving you a moment's peace either and working you just as hard as she is Lex and I. I just want to make sure you're recovering okay."

She pulled her French book out and closed the locker before turning to him and giving him a smile. "I know you worry about me, and it's sweet, but really, I'm okay. I'm just glad that you're not mad at me for keeping things from you before."

All of the teens had missed school on Monday following Sunday night's fight, and they had all gathered together to discuss the events of the night before. Katie had begrudgingly told them about the visitors from the future. They had all been dumbfounded at how close their lives had come to changing drastically. They had still wanted to go home and make sure everything was okay, but Pluto had made it safely through the time plane and back, a pretty easy feat right now she said since Discord was curled up and licking his wounds, and she had brought letters back from all of their parents that assured them that all was well and that they were to stay put until the time was right.

DJ shrugged as they began walking to his locker a short distance away. "I guess I was a little mad at first, but I got over it. Once I thought about it I can see why you kept everything to yourself. I just wish I could have helped you."

A tiny giggle escaped her as she thought about his future self. "In a way you did. He wasn't exactly you, but he wasn't a stranger either. Does that make any sense?"

He twirled the lock on his locker. "I guess so. I think I feel a little jealous though; you running around with an older man and all."

She smacked him playfully on the arm. "I was not running around with him! I can count on one hand the number of times that I saw him and still not use all of the fingers. I'm just glad that I didn't have to deal with my future self much. She was a real piece of work!" She shuddered a little.

He chuckled as he swapped out books. "Well she did seem a little mentally unbalanced the couple of times that I saw her, but she still looked pretty good; a little skinny maybe, but still good. Did I age as well as she did?"

Katie's eyes went wide. "Are you asking me if your future self was good looking?"

He grinned as he closed the locker. "Yeah, I guess I am."

She sighed. "Yes. He was extremely hot…except for the eyes. Those weirded me out."

He leaned in close, pinning her against the lockers. "My eyes don't weird you out, do they?"

She swallowed convulsively as she stared into his soft blue gaze. "No. I love your eyes. I don't mind it so much when they turn gold when we're practicing, but I like them better when they are blue. Those are the eyes I fell in love with."

He reached up and cupped her cheek. "I know what you mean. There's something exotic and almost hypnotizing when yours turn silver, but they're not half as beautiful to me as when they are hazel. I feel like I could drown in them every time I look into them."

"Really?" she whispered.

"Really," he answered softly as he began to lower his head.

"Okay, lovebirds, break it up!" Skye's voice shattered the moment as she appeared beside them. "Honestly! I feel like all I'm doing today is keeping you disgustingly happy couples from making spectacles of yourself. It's a good thing that Helios isn't here posing as a high school student. It would take a crowbar to pry him and Rini apart."

"Hey!" Rini cried indignantly. "Helios and I are not that bad! Plus we like to keep private things private."

Skye rolled her slate blue eyes. "Suuurree you do! Why don't you go tell someone who might actually believe you? I saw you two when he was here the other night. You could barely keep your hands off of one another."

They walked off, still bickering at each other, and Alex and Emma took their place.

"What's got her in such a mood?" Alex grumbled.

Emma sniffed delicately. "She's ticked because she found out that some guy she wanted to ask her to the prom already asked someone else."

"So what?" DJ growled. "Prom is still a couple of weeks away. We may not even still be here then. Besides, why would she want to start seeing someone from this time? It would give a whole new meaning to the term 'long distance relationship' when we go back home."

"Boys!" Emma sighed. "They just don't get anything. It's a woman thing. You wouldn't understand."

"And you girls can be scary sometimes," Alex retorted. "Come on, DJ, let's get to class before we're late."

"Just promise me that you and Kat will pay attention in this class instead of playing games," DJ groaned. "Do you know how hard it is to concentrate on what's being taught with you two jabbering away inside my head?"

Alex snorted. "It's not like you don't already know all this stuff anyway."

DJ rolled his eyes. "Contrary to what you think, I don't know all of it. And even if we aren't still here when graduation time comes we'll still have to face Amy and Zoicite's final exams if we hope to start college in the fall."

They walked away while the two girls followed a little bit behind them.

Emma fanned a folder in front of Katie's face. "Girl, if you could see your face right now! You look hot enough to melt."

Katie slapped her hands to her burning cheeks. "Do I?"

Emma sighed. "Good grief! What did he do to get your temperature up so quickly? I'm telling you, you better hurry up and jump that boy soon before you both spontaneously combust."

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind," Katie grumbled sarcastically as they entered the classroom and slid into their seats just as the bell rang. She ignored the questioning looks she got from her brother and boyfriend and breathed a sigh of relief when neither one of them barraged her with mental queries. She opened her textbook and focused on paying attention to the class. It helped take her mind off of her highly hormonal thoughts.

That class and the Literature class they had next passed swiftly, and then it was lunchtime. The group trooped out to the tree in the courtyard where they preferred to eat on nice days, only to pull up short at the sight of the two people already there.

Something had changed between Jayden and Hannah the night of the fight. Emma and Skye had both told the others that there had been a hair-raising moment when a guardian had gotten the drop on Hannah and was about to kill her. Before they could react Jayden had exploded in fury and had roasted the guardian until it was nothing but ashes. They hadn't fought with each other since then.

Now Jayden was sprawled on his back under the tree with his head resting in Hannah's lap. He was reading a manga while she had her head buried in her history book. The slim fingers of her free hand played gently in his golden curls.

"Great!" Skye groaned. "Now even the younger ones are rubbing their relationship in my face. I can't catch a break no matter what."

Emma patted her shoulder reassuringly. "There, there, everybody has a soul mate out there. But you're not going to find him here. He hasn't been born yet."

The auburn haired girl snorted. "So you keep telling me. But in the two years since you said that you figured out who mine was you have yet to tell me who it is."

Emma shook her head. "You know I can't do that. You two have to figure it out on your own."

Skye sighed in defeat. "Well at least tell me that he's strong and good looking. I don't want to get stuck with some slouch."

Emma thought of the young man with the dark flashing eyes and hair the color of dark chocolate that she had sensed had a bond with her friend and grinned. "I don't think you'll be disappointed at all."

"Well, I guess that's something," Skye grumbled as she hefted the bag of food she carried. "My time will come, I suppose. I just wish that it would hurry up and get here. At the rate it's going we're going to get home and find out that Nick and Ryssa are a couple now too."

They had gotten close enough to the couple under the tree that Jayden heard her last words and he sat up in a rush. His eyes flashed furiously. "Did you just say that your brother is chasing after my little sister?"

Everyone dissolved into laughter.

Serena waved at the little girl as she left, holding her mother's hand, and sighed deeply. It was Friday afternoon and the last of her students had gone home for the day. She thought about what she would do with her evening now that she was free as she gathered her purse and told the two teachers that were still at the preschool goodnight.

Darien probably wouldn't be home from the hospital for hours. Fridays always seemed to be tricky for him. He saw his private patients in the morning and then worked in the ER in the afternoon. And it never failed on Fridays that just as he was about to go off duty that the ER would explode with activity and he would be stuck there hours later than he intended. But that was the life of a doctor.

Jess had a late afternoon class on Fridays and usually went to meet up with Andrew afterward at his office so that they could go grab dinner somewhere. She had an open invitation to join them, but she didn't feel like being the third wheel.

She was sure that the kids were all busy. Rini usually had plans with Helios or Hotaru, and Nebula had kept DJ, Katie, and Alex busy all week with training exercises, with the exception being last night when they had begged for a night off to do homework. Since the feline was the only one that had been around when the original Trinity holders had used it, she'd been the obvious choice for the job, much to the teen's dismay. Serena was pretty sure that the cat would keep them busy tonight since they were now officially on Spring Break.

"Looks like it's just me, a pint of triple chocolate chunk ice cream, and the TV tonight," she grumbled as she pushed the door open and stepped out onto the sidewalk.

Then she saw him. He was on the curb, leaning up against the blue motorcycle. His jet black hair glinted softly in the dying rays of the sun and her eyes drank in the sight of his athletically built body dressed in faded jeans and a black t-shirt.

"What are you doing here?" she asked him in surprise.

Darien pushed away from the bike and walked toward her with the grace of a stalking predator. "The hospital was quiet for once. So I figured I'd get while the getting was good and see if perhaps my princess would care to accompany me to get some dinner and perhaps catch a movie."

Her heart leaped in her chest as he came to a stop in front of her and the light breeze blew his unique scent toward her. She inhaled deeply, breathing it in. She smelled the crisp, clean scent of his favorite shampoo and soap. And underlying that, as always, was the lingering hint of roses, chocolate, and fresh brewed coffee.

It was an intoxicating mixture, but she shook it off to smile impishly at him. "And what if I already had plans for the night?"

He took another step toward her, making her have to crane her head back to look at him. At the age of sixteen she had begrudgingly reconciled herself to the fact that she was never going to grow any taller that the 5'4" that she had been stuck at for at least two years. She had been the petite one in the group for so long that she didn't care anymore. But a late growth spurt in high school had pushed her up to 5'7" and she had been thrilled. She was still shorter than Lita and Jess's 5'11" and Raye and Mina's 5'9", but she had surpassed Amy by one inch. In any case, she was still seven inches shorter than her 6'2" fiancé, and she felt dwarfed by him when he stood so close to her.

Midnight blue eyes twinkled down at her teasingly. "Well if you really don't want to break your date with Ben & Jerry tonight, I suppose I could take a rain check. I'll just head out on my own I guess. There's this little Italian place that one of the radiologists was telling me about and he said that they do brick oven pizzas that are to die for."

Serena grimaced as she felt her stomach rumble in response to his words. The smirk that appeared on his face let her know that he heard it. She glowered up at him. "You don't play fair! Some gallant prince you are!"

He chuckled and wrapped his arms around her waist. "All's fair in love and war. I'm just strategic enough to exploit my enemy's weakness. So what do say, my little moon princess? Would you care to join me for a quiet dinner full of sinfully delicious food? I'll let you pick the movie afterward. I don't even care if it's one of those sappy chick flicks. Just spending time with you is enough."

A faint blush colored her cheeks, but her eyes sparkled as she looked up at him. "I guess it has been a while since we've had a date with just the two of us. Very well, your highness, I accept."

He took her hand and led her to the motorcycle where he handed her a helmet. As she was putting it on she told him, "It's been a long time since we've ridden on this thing. It seems like ever since DJ showed up he's been using it. I hope he didn't have plans for tonight."

"I seriously doubt it," Darien snorted. "I passed the kids on the way out of the apartment, and they were not a happy bunch. It seems that they had quite a showdown with Nebula about how much of their vacation is going to be dedicated to training. She wanted a solid twelve hours a day out of them, but they threw back their heads and howled. They told her that they would devote the time that they normally would to school to training, but that was it."

"Good for them!" Serena cheered. "I know their training is important, but they need some free time too. They're only teenagers after all. Even Luna gave the girls and me some time off back in the beginning when we were first learning everything."

"I think they'll get their way," he replied with a chuckle as he got on the bike and pulled her on behind him. "From what I understand the twins threatened to sic Jess on Nebula if she didn't compromise with them."

She giggled as she wrapped her arms around his waist and leaned against his back. "That would do it. I'm sure they're coming along fine with their training anyway. But enough about all of that for now. I believe I was promised a date."

He turned his head to grin at her before he flipped down the face shield of his helmet. "Hold on tight." The bike roared to life and they shot off down the street.

Deep in an isolated corner of the time plane Discord sat, unblinking and unmoving. The handful of guardians and sentinels he had left at his command moved around carefully, scared that if they made a noise or any sudden moves that they would be vaporized the way their brethren had.

The ancient entity was beyond anger, beyond rage. There were no words to describe the way he was feeling. His plan had been perfect; attack several points in Tokyo of the past and force Serenity and Endymion's group to separate and target the moon princess, her prince, Melody, her solarian, and those three brats and take them out. It should have been simple.

But something had gone wrong. Instead of being caught by surprise his enemies had been ready for him, causing him to have to exhaust more of his resources than he had wanted to. And in the end it had spelled disaster for him. His army was severely depleted. Metallia had gotten herself killed. Eclipse was no longer under his control. The Celestial Crystal had literally slipped right through his fingers, and worst of all, those three little bastards were now a bigger threat than ever. He needed to find a way to take out at least one of them before they actually figured out what they were supposed to do with their newfound power.

With a feral snarl that sent his subordinates cowering away, he pushed himself to his feet and stalked back toward the time gate. Another growl ripped from his chest as he approached it and he sensed that Sailor Pluto had passed through recently. He had upped the protection around the gate in hopes of preventing the Trinity holders and their rag tag bunch from returning to Crystal Tokyo, but Sailor Pluto was the guardian of time and knew all of the secret backdoors that she could slip through. The good news was that she could only travel like that with a few people at a time, so it would be impossible for her to transport all of the teens back at once, but he was furious with himself for losing focus long enough to allow her to get by him without him noticing. He needed to pull himself together.

The guardians and sentinels that he had stationed around the gate did not quiver in fear the way the others had as he approached the time gate, but they all bowed respectfully. These were his pride and joy, his elite warriors that he had spent well over a decade carefully cultivating. He had engineered them with only the highest quality genetics and had created them using the strongest energy he had been able to acquire. He had been well pleased with the test run and how easily one of his pets had taken down the earth and moon Trinity bearers. It had been a shame to lose it in the fight.

But he had been smart enough to keep the rest of his little army a secret from Metallia, Beryl, and Eclipse. These beings weren't meant to wreck havoc in the past. They only had one purpose, and that was to conquer Crystal Tokyo. But before they could do that he knew he had to make sure that there was no chance of the Galactic Trinity being used against him.

He looked into the river of time and scowled as a vision of Crystal Tokyo appeared. The tall, shining palace stood at the center while the pristine city spread out around it. He hated everything it stood for, the light, the happiness; but most of all he hated the symbol of power that it was. Earth had been the only planet that he'd ever had trouble destroying. Every other planet that he'd ever set his sights on had fallen easily to his destruction, but not this swirling blue and green world. And now Neo Queen Serenity and King Endymion sat inside their crystal fortress surrounded by their own little army of friends. He wanted them all dead.

The vision twisted and morphed, showing him another scene. His rage flamed higher for a moment as he took in the two people that he could see sitting on a stretch of emerald grass by a lake in Crystal Tokyo's largest part.

Then his anger melted away as a grin unfurled across his face. "Well, well," he mused with a low chuckle. "I guess when one plan fails it's always best to go back and start over from the beginning."

Jess groaned. Something was tickling her neck and dragging her from sleep, and she wasn't ready to wake up yet. Without opening her eyes she reached for the covers and pulled them over her head. She heard a laugh and then felt a whoosh of air as the sheet and blanket were whipped off of her.

Then a warm breath brushed her ear. "Happy Birthday to you," a teasing voice sang lightly.

She moaned and rolled over onto her stomach to bury her face into the pillow. "Nooo! It's not my birthday! I refuse to acknowledge it!"

Arms wrapped around her waist and pulled her against a firm body. "Sorry to disappoint you, sweetheart, but it is most definitely April 14th. It's not so bad being twenty, is it?"

She lifted her face from the pillow to glare at Andrew. "I couldn't give a damn about turning twenty! That doesn't bother me. Serena is my only concern. She always makes such a big deal over stuff like this. I swear if she springs another surprise party on me like she did last year I'll strangle her with her own hair!"

He chuckled and rolled to his back, dragging her with him so that she was draped across his chest. "She does seem to take things like birthdays seriously, doesn't she? But don't worry about it, I had a nice little talk with her and she promised not to go over the top this time. I think her mind ran away with her last year because it was your first birthday with us. She promised that there wouldn't be any dramatics tonight. Raye is closing off the upstairs of the club for us and Lita is making you a cake. That's pretty much the extent of it. Darien helped back me up on this, so there shouldn't be any surprises."

"Good!" she sighed as she laid her head on his chest. "I hate surprises and I get really uncomfortable when people make a fuss over me."

"Hmm…" Andrew mused. "I can think of one surprise that you didn't have a problem with." His fingers toyed with the silver, gold, and sapphire ring on her left hand.

She tilted her head to look up at him. "That was different. A woman expects to be surprised when she's being proposed to. I wouldn't change a single thing about that moment."

"Except for the fact that we were both freezing to death at the time," he replied with a laugh.

"No," Jess insisted. "As much as I hate cold weather, I wouldn't trade your winter wonderland proposal for all the money in the world. It was perfect."

His hazel eyes twinkled at her. "So I did good, huh?"

She scooted up and kissed his lips gently. "You did great."

He put a hand around her neck and pulled her down for a longer, lingering kiss. "I love you," he murmured several seconds later when their lips parted.

"I love you too," she sighed back, sounding a little dazed. Then she grinned impishly. "In fact, I was thinking of maybe turning the tables on dear Serena and popping a surprise of my own tonight."

"Ooo…you're so cute when you're being devious!" Andrew said with a grin. "What did you have in mind?"

She moved her lips to his ear where she whispered softly to him. He pulled back sharply at her words to stare at her with a mixture of shock and disbelief.

"Are you sure?" he asked in a voice that cracked with emotion.

She smiled and nodded. "I'm positive."

Joy spread across his face before he let out a whoop of glee and sat up swiftly. He pulled her into his lap and held her tightly. "Are you really serious?"

She took his face between her palms. "I'm really, really, serious."

"Oh man! My mom is going to freak!" he crowed.

"Just wait until after the party to tell her," Jess cautioned. "If you tell her, she'll tell Serena's mom, and then she'll tell Serena and it will kill the surprise. I know you have a tendency to blurt everything out, but please wait until tonight. Then you can scream it from the rooftops if you want to."

"My lips are sealed," he promised her fervently and then swooped down to kiss her thoroughly.

"Knock, knock!" a duo of voices called from the other side of the closed bedroom door. "Is it safe to come in?"

Jess pulled away from the kiss with a giggle. "Yes, you two. Everybody's decent."

"Thank god," Katie muttered as she pushed the door open. "I never know what to expect with you guys."

Beside her Alex snickered. "Yeah, it's amazing that we grew up to be as well rounded as we are considering we were raised by you."

Jess stuck her tongue out at them before bursting into laughter that the rest of them quickly joined in with.

"Happy Birthday!" Katie squealed and then bounced onto the bed to give her future mother a hug.

Alex followed at a more sedate pace and sat on the edge of the mattress. He handed Jess a small, rectangular, gift wrapped package.

Jess felt tears prick her eyes. "You guys didn't have to get me anything," she protested.

Katie waved her off. "It's nothing big. Just a little something that we wanted you to have."

Jess carefully removed the wrapping paper and then gasped at what she found inside. It was a candid picture that someone must have shot of the four of them at the arcade. In it they were all laughing together and seemed to be having a great time. It was in a beautiful light wood frame that had vines and flowers burned into the wood.

"We just wanted you to have something that you could look back on and remember us once we're gone," Alex said quietly.

"Yeah, you know, until we actually show up when we're supposed to," Katie added with a shaky laugh. "There's more to it. Open up the back of the frame."

Jess flipped it over and undid the tiny clasps with trembling fingers. When it opened she found a second photo. This one was of just the twins in their transformed states. They stood back to back; Alex in his long black coat and sunglasses and Katie in her black skirted, silver bowed fuku. They were both looking at the camera with confident smiles on their bright faces.

Katie cleared her throat. "We knew you couldn't display a picture of us transformed so we hid it in there."

"Emma took the other picture a couple of weeks ago and gave it to me," Alex told her. "We thought you might like it."

"I love it!" Jess squealed and pounced on both of them to give them hugs.

"All right, all right! Enough with the drama fest!" Katie cried a minute later and wrestled herself free. "I have to go finish up breakfast."

"You're cooking?" Jess asked, astounded.

Katie rolled her eyes. "Unlike some people around here I know my way around the kitchen. I am half Furuhata after all."

"And all smartass," Alex muttered, earning himself an elbow in the ribs.

"Just for that, you don't get any!" Katie snapped.

Alex turned puppy dog eyes on her. "But…but…you're making Belgian waffles and…"

"Those are my favorite!" he finished together with Jess and they laughed.

"Sweet!" Andrew crowed. "Are you using my recipe?"

"Duh!" Katie drawled. "Is there any other way to make them? Give me some credit here. I haven't spent my whole life watching you in the kitchen and not picked up on things. Besides, I think it's like genetic or something."

"At least something besides my eyes was passed on. I was seriously beginning to wonder if I contributed anything to the gene pool," Andrew mumbled.

"Oh puh-lease!" Jess snorted. "I know Katie takes a lot after me, bless her heart, but Alex is so much like you that it's not even funny. With the exception of his little temper tantrum last week, he's content to sit back and play peacekeeper just like you."

He chuckled. "I guess you're right. So, Birthday Girl, what do you want to do today? The sky's the limit."

Crystal Tokyo – The 30th Century

The strawberry blonde haired girl sighed and pushed a stray curl behind her ear. She turned an exasperated look on the black haired boy beside her. "Do you have to hum so loudly?"

Jack looked up at Sasha and grinned sheepishly. "Sorry. I was just going over this song. There are some lines that I just can't seem to get to sound right. What are you so high strung about? It's a beautiful day out."

She frowned at the pad in front of her. "I was trying out that new shading technique that Jess showed me, but it's not coming out like I thought it would."

Jack sat up from where he had been lying on his back on the grass and looked over her shoulder at a drawing of the lake in front of them. "It looks good to me. Besides, you can't expect to be perfect at it right away. It takes practice."

A brow arched over one of Sasha's jade green eyes. "Like you don't get frustrated when you're learning a new piece of music. Need I remind you of some of the temper tantrums I've witnessed over the years when you can't untangle your fingers and you key a sharp rather than a flat?"

He tugged a strawberry curl. "Hey! I don't throw temper tantrums! I simply voice my displeasure."

She giggled and then leaned over to kiss his cheek. "I didn't mean to bruise your manly ego."

He smirked at her before attacking her ribs with tickles, sending her falling over backwards as she shrieked with laughter. He followed her down.

The almost two months since they had arrived on the doorstep of the Crystal Palace had passed quickly. It had taken some time to break through the ice with the king, queen, and their friends, but things had finally settled down into a routine. They had spilled everything they knew about Discord and tried to be as much help as they possibly could. In time Michelle had offered to begin instructing Jack on the piano again and Sasha, who had always been fascinated by fashion, had struck up a friendship with Mina. Drawing was also a hobby of hers and that had broken down the final wall between her and Jess.

They were still living in the palace, but were kept under surveillance. They knew that it was to make sure that they weren't there to double cross them, but Neo Queen Serenity also insisted that it was to keep them safe in case Discord decided to take revenge on them for leaving him. Even now while they were enjoying an afternoon in the park, they could sense the eyes of their assigned guards watching them.

Jack finished his assault and rolled onto his back again. "Hey, Sasha, are you still glad that we came here?"

She turned onto her side and propped her head on a hand. "Yes. For the first time, I feel like we are getting a chance to live regular lives."

That was certainly true enough. Their early childhood had been anything but idyllic since they had spent most of the time hiding from their drunk and often high mothers. And after the two women had dumped their kids on the side of the road that led to Crystal Tokyo and Discord had found them their lives had revolved around him. Now they were free to pursue their own interests. They had both been tested by Amy and Zoicite and had qualified for college. Depending on how things turned out with Discord, they were planning on getting an apartment in the city and starting classes at Crystal Tokyo University in the fall.

Wanting to put some closure to their past, they had gone to King Endymion one night and had asked him if there was a way that they could find out what happened to their mothers. Endymion had agreed to help them and had put Kunzite on the case. Barely two days later the head general had reported back that the two women had died in a fire only two months after leaving Japan for the United States. Not surprisingly, they had been in a run down hotel that had been known for prostitution.

Jack had borne the news stoically, but Sasha had broken down. He'd held her through the night as she cried for the mother that she barely remembered and had feared so much as a young child. During those long, dark hours they had come to realize how deep their emotions for each other went and confessed their love to one another.

So here they were at the threshold of a new life, waiting to see how things would play out. Would they get a happily ever after, or would everything blow up in their faces?

"I wonder what they're doing right now?" Sasha whispered.

Jack looked at her in confusion. "Who?"

"DJ, Katie, and Alex," she answered softly. "They are the ones that Discord was always so afraid of. I heard through the grapevine that DJ and Katie made up after my attempt to break them up. I'm glad. They need to be strong to go up against that monster."

"I'm sure they're doing fine," he replied, and then smirked. "So you're glad that your ex-boyfriend is going out with my ex-girlfriend, huh?"

She slapped playfully at him. "It wasn't like that and you know it! Don't get me wrong, DJ is handsome and all, but he is totally not my type. He's into all of that sciencey stuff that I could never begin to comprehend. I like my guys to be a little looser and artistic. What about you? Do you ever miss Katie?"

"Sometimes," he mumbled, and then quickly backtracked as he saw his girlfriend's eyes flare in anger. "But not like that! I meant purely from a musical point of view. Her ear is ten times more attuned than mine. I bet she could work out the lines in that song that I am having trouble with in about two minutes. But other than that I can only think of her as a friend. She was a nice girl before Discord screwed her up. I think DJ is the only one that can put her back together again and I'm happy for them. Besides, you know you're the only girl for me."

She smiled at him. "Now you're just sweet talking me."

He rolled to face her with a grin. "Yeah, and I can tell it's working." Then he leaned in to kiss her.

Their lips had barely touched when a voice interrupted them. "Oh how sweet! My little protégés have fallen in love with each other. That makes my job easier."

A portal flashed open in front of them and Discord stepped out of it. The couple on the ground jumped up and prepared to run. Quick as a wink, Discord teleported behind Sasha and jerked her against him. A blade of pure dark energy appeared in his hand and he pressed it to her throat.

Shouts went up behind them as Sailor Mars and Jadeite began running toward them from where they had been keeping watch from a distance.

"Stop, or she dies!" Discord bellowed. He sensed several other auras fast approaching and knew that he only had a short time to act before the other scouts and generals would be on top of him. Sailor Mars or Jadeite must have been able to sound an alarm. The two heroes ground to a halt, still several yards from him

He fixed his ruby gaze on Jack. "Now, my boy, you have a decision to make. I need your assistance. Either you choose to help me, or I will kill her right here and leave her corpse for you to cry over. What is it going to be?"

"Don't do it, Jack," Sasha pleaded in a broken voice. "Don't let him control you again."

"She's right," Sailor Mars said softly. "Don't give everything up just when you finally started living. There has to be a way around this."

Jack stared at Sasha and saw the fear in her eyes. He saw the way she trembled in Discord's grip. She flinched a little and a tiny whimper escaped her as the blade nicked her skin and a small trickle of blood ran down her throat. That sealed his decision.

He turned a grim face to Mars. "I'm not going to let him take her from me. My life is nothing without her. If you can get a message to Katie, Alex, and DJ, you better tell them to step up their game."

Then he turned to Discord with fury burning in his brown eyes. "I'll go with you. But you better not hurt one hair on her head."

Discord inclined his head to the portal, and Jack stepped through. He followed a second later, dragging Sasha with him.

"Oh great! Now we are in a world of shit!" Jadeite groaned.

Tokyo - Present Day

Mina frowned at the three dresses she had laying across the bed. "Kunzite, which one do you think I ought to wear to Jess's party tonight?"

Across the room the platinum haired man sighed but didn't look up from the papers he was studying. "Wear whichever one you like best, Mina. I know you'll look spectacular just like you always do."

"But I like them all," she grumbled. "The gold one is sophisticated. The orange one is fun. And the black one is sultry. It's too hard to choose."

Kunzite pinched the bridge of his nose and finally turned his attention on her. "Sweetheart, you could wear a potato sack and you would still be the most beautiful woman there. Does it really matter what you're wearing?"

She looked aghast. "Of course it matters! What kind of a silly question is that? This is a momentous occasion."

"Mina," he groaned. "We're just meeting up with friends at the club like we have done a dozen times before. The only difference is that this time a birthday cake will be involved. I don't think Jess or anybody else will care which dress you are wearing. Now I really need to get some work done before we go."

Mina stuck her nose up in the air. "Work, shmork! It's Saturday! You need to loosen up some. I know! I'll try on all three dresses and you can give me your honest opinion." She reached for the belt of her silk robe.

"Mina…" he begged again, but the sound of her name broke off on a groan as the tangerine silk hit the floor. Goddess of love was the wrong name for her. She should be called the goddess of seduction.

"What?" she asked innocently, seeming to be completely oblivious as to what the sight of her in her black lace bra and panty set was doing to him. But the sparkle in her blue eyes said that she knew very much what she was doing.

She pulled the first one on. The slightly metallic gold material shimmered lightly all the way down to her knees. It was form fitting without being tight and had short, capped sleeves.

Kunzite tilted his head slightly. "You look stunning, but I think it might be a little much for a night of dancing."

She wrinkled her nose. "You're right. This is more suited for a business dinner function. I'll just hold onto it. I'm sure you'll have something coming up soon that I can wear it to." She stripped that one off and pulled on the spaghetti strapped dress with a flirty skirt made out of several layers of light chiffon in different shades of orange, ranging from soft melon to the color of the setting sun.

"Better," he conceded. "It definitely suits the occasion more. But before I make my final decision I need to see the last one."

She smiled, clearly enjoying herself as she removed that dress and stepped into the last one. Slowly she walked to him and presented her back. "You'll have to zip me up."

He slid the zipper up and she turned around. He took one look at her in the tight fitting, low cut, short-skirted black dress and pulled her across his lap. "I think we have a winner."

She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck. "You like this one the best."

His gray eyes heated up as he drank in the sight of her. "I definitely like this one the best. That's why I think you should wear the orange one instead."

A tiny frown of confusion crossed her face. "Why?"

He tapped the tip of her nose. "Because Jadeite is a sucker for long legs, and I'd hate to have to kill one of my closest friends tonight for ogling my fiancée. But you can feel free to wear it for me anytime you want to." Then he pulled her into a long, deep kiss.

She moved back several seconds later and scrambled off his lap with a laugh. "Easy there, general! I thought you said that you have work to do."

He was on his feet in a flash. "What was that you said earlier, work, shmork? I'll take care of it later." And he scooped her up into his arms.

"If you stick your finger in that bowl I will zap you so hard that your teeth will still be rattling a week from now," Lita growled menacingly.

Nephrite jerk his hand back guiltily and then grinned. "I was just going to test it and make sure it tastes okay."

Her dark green eyes flared. "Are you doubting my cooking abilities?"

"No," he reassured her hastily. "I just thought a second opinion could sometimes be helpful."

She sighed and eyed the bowl of deep red raspberry cake filling. "Fine! You can have one taste. But for god's sake use a spoon and not your fingers. I'll be serving this cake to all of our friends tonight and I'm sure they don't want to share your germs."

Nephrite laughed and walked around the center island of the penthouse's kitchen to get a spoon out of a drawer. He dipped it into the filling and took a taste. His face scrunched up. "It tastes a little bitter. Are you sure you put enough sugar in it?"

"What?" she shrieked and ran to get a spoon of her own. "It better not be bitter! Dark chocolate raspberry is Jess's favorite. I can't mess her cake up. That would be a disaster."

Her hands were shaking so badly that Nephrite took the spoon from her and scooped up some of the sugary berry mix. He held it to her open mouth, but instead of putting the spoon inside her mouth her smeared the filling across her lips and then leaned down to join their mouths, using his tongue to lap up the mess he'd made before letting it sweep inside her mouth where they shared the raspberry flavor.

He finally pulled back and stared down into her dazed eyes. "Nope. I guess it must have been my imagination before. It tastes nice and sweet now."

"Ooo!" Lita fumed. "I should have known that you were up to something! You have a one track mind!"

He snickered. "But you love this one track mind."

"When I'm not busy with something else!" she retorted and turned away from him. She laid the first layer of devil's food cake on a giant cake plate and began spreading dark chocolate frosting over it.

Nephrite came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. He propped his chin on her shoulder as he watched her add a layer of the now infamous raspberry filling. She ignored him and reached for the second layer of the cake and repeated the process.

When she finally settled the last layer on top he spoke. "Am I forgiven?"

She was quiet for a moment, and then a soft giggle escaped her. "Of course you're forgiven, you big lummox. Now back off a little so I can get this finished."

He reluctantly released her and moved back to the other side of the island where he perched on a stool and watched while she covered the entire triple layer cake in thick, gooey frosting. When she was done with that she picked up a pastry bag and began decorating it with dark blue flowers. This may have been a painstaking process for some people, but her sure hands made quick work of it. She finished off by writing Happy Birthday Jess in swirling letters and declared herself done.

Nephrite clapped his hands. "And another masterpiece is completed. I'm sure Serena will be thrilled. I know it normally would matter what the birthday girl thinks, but chances are that Serena will beat her to the cake by a landslide."

Lita laughed as she untied her apron and hung it on a hook. "I'm sure you're right. That girl is a magnet for sweets. But right now I have a bone to pick with you."

His slate blue eyes were wary as she sauntered over to him. "Oh yeah, what about?" he asked with a gulp as she pressed herself right up to him. He never saw her hand reaching toward the bowl that was still sitting on the counter.

She grinned at him mischievously. "Payback," she said softly and smeared raspberry filling across his lips with her fingers. Then she leaned in to remove it with her mouth.

Zoicite sighed heavily as he pushed open the door to his office. He was already pulling the stethoscope from around his neck and shrugging out of his lab coat as he entered the room. He had been on duty since the night before and could use a hot shower, some food, and a nap, preferably in that order.

He was hanging his coat on a rack when a cold sensation skittered down his spine, alerting him to the fact that he wasn't alone. He turned his head, and sure enough there was someone sitting at his desk.

Sensible black flats were propped on the corner of the desk and led to slender legs that disappeared under a modest beige skirt. His visitor wore a lightweight, short-sleeved summer sweater in light blue and had her face hidden behind a book.

Then the book lowered a few inches to reveal soft blue eyes. "Well, well, doctor, are you finally getting out of here?"

He walked over and propped his hip on the edge of the desk next to her feet. "If I can manage to get out of here before some other catastrophe happens, I may have a chance. I'm at the point where I'm running on energy vapors. How long have you been here?"

"Not long," Amy replied as she closed the book and set it down. She stood up and walked around behind him where she started massaging his stiff neck and shoulders. "I stopped by to talk to mom for a minute and I figured you would be wrapping up soon, so I decided to wait for you."

He groaned as he felt her cool fingers begin to ease away the tension. He reveled in it for a few minutes before he took one of her hands in his and kissed her fingertips. "Let's make our escape while we can."

She nodded in agreement and put on her jacket before picking up her purse and a sack.

Zoicite bit back a moan as a heavenly scent invaded his nostrils. "That smells delicious."

Amy giggled. "I figured you would be hungry, so I stopped by that little café that we like and picked up some soup and sandwiches to take home."

"You are an angel!" he declared fervently.

"I know," she said with an impish smile on her pixie face and snagged the keys that he held in his hand. "I'll drive. I walked here, so I don't have to worry about my car."

Normally he insisted on driving when it was the two of them, but he was too tired to think at the moment. They made it down the hall and into the elevator without incident. A couple of minutes later they were entering the doctor's parking garage.

Zoicite frowned at the sight of the red BMW parked next to his black Mercedes. "I thought Darien was off today."

"Oh, he is," Amy told him as she hit the button to unlock the doors. "I ran into him earlier and he said that he had a patient that he wanted to check on; a little boy that was in a car wreck with his parents. You know how sensitive he is about cases like that."

"Yeah, I do," he sighed as he opened the passenger door and got inside. "Did everything turn out okay?"

Amy set the bag on the backseat and then slid in behind the wheel before answering. "Yes. They were lucky. The father had some minor head injuries, the mother broke her leg in two places, and the little boy was banged up quite a bit, but their prognosis is good."

"That's good," he murmured and let his head rest against the back of the seat as his eyes closed. He heard the car start, and then felt the gentle motion of movement. He must have dozed off because it seemed like only a few minutes later that Amy was nudging him and saying, "We're home."

He blinked and looked around. Sure enough, they were in the private parking garage that they rented under their building. Amy's light blue Honda Accord was parked next to them. He quickly took stock of the vehicles to see what kind of gauntlet he would have to run to reach the sanctuary of his suite.

Kunzite's black Highlander and Mina's orange Miata were there. That wasn't too bad. Nephrite's black Titan and Lita's green Camry were there as well. That could pose a bit of a problem if he couldn't get by them without them seeing him. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that Jadeite's black, flame emblazoned Ferrari was missing. Raye's fire red 280 Z was still there, but she might be out with Jadeite.

He stumbled from the car and to the elevator with Amy at his side. The elevator ride seemed to take forever, but finally Amy was easing open the door to the penthouse. She looked around quickly, and when she didn't see anyone she whispered to him, "You hurry on up. I want to make sure the soup is still hot and I'll join you soon."

He nodded his thanks and headed up the stairs. Luck stayed with him and he encountered no one. Once inside his suite he went straight into the bathroom where he turned on the shower as hot as he could stand it. It would probably still be cool to some people, be it felt like a sauna to him as he stripped down and stepped inside to let the water beat down on him.

After a few minutes he reached for the soap and quickly finished cleaning up. All he needed now was food and sleep and he would be as good as new. He towel dried his now shoulder length, wheat colored hair and pulled on a pair of cotton pajama pants and a t-shirt before leaving the bathroom.

Amy turned with a smile from where she was setting their lunch out on a table. "You already look a little more human. Now eat up and get some sleep. You don't want to be falling over at Jess's birthday party tonight."

"Yes ma'am," he said humorously and then attacked the food with a vengeance that would have made Serena proud. Within minutes he had devoured the chicken noodle soup and club sandwich and felt full and very sleepy.

"Come on," Amy told him and pulled him by his hand to the bed. She turned back the covers and made him lay down before kicking off her shoes and climbing onto the bed beside him. She stroked his damp hair for a few minutes until his breathing indicated that he was asleep.

Feeling well satisfied with herself, she kissed his forehead gently before she scooted slightly away from him and reached for her laptop that was on the bedside table. Now that she had made sure her man was taken care of she could hopefully get some work done on a paper for class.

Raye looked up as Jadeite walked into her office behind the bar. "Did that delivery get here okay?"

He nodded as he closed the door. "Yep! Everything's present and accounted for. Amanda and Logan are out there restocking the bar as we speak."

"Thank goodness," she muttered and rubbed her temples. "I was getting worried about not getting that shipment in time. What kind of club would this be if we ran out of booze on a Saturday night?"

"You would have figured something out," Jadeite told her as he walked around behind her and swept her long black hair aside so that he could knead the tight muscles in her neck with his hot hands.

She let out a loud, long moan and leaned into him. "That feels sooo good."

He chuckled and put his lips to her ear. "Careful, Firefly. You keep making noises like that and your employees will think we're up to something besides inventory in here."

Another moan escaped her as he pressed on a particularly tender spot. "I don't care! Don't stop!"

He couldn't help but nip at her earlobe. "You know, you're giving me some pretty vivid images right now."

She tried to snort, but it came out more like a groan. "Leave it to you to find something perverted about a neck rub. Behave yourself!" Then she flinched as he hit a bunch of knotted up muscles. "Oh yeah, right there!"

He swallowed hard, his throat suddenly as dry as the desert. "Raye, you're really not helping matters any."

"Just shut up and rub me!" she snapped, and then let out the loudest moan yet. "Harder, please…harder!"

His self control snapped like a rubber band. He spun her around with one arm and swept her day planner and inventory book from the desk with the other. He only caught a glimpse of her surprised violet eyes before he lifted her onto the desk and plundered her mouth with a kiss so hot that there was probably steam rising from their joined lips.

There was a quick knock on the door and it opened. "Miss Hino, I…" then a startled gasp. "I'm sorry! I…I…"

Raye whipped her head around just in time to see the door closing again behind her female bartender. Then her glittering eyes swung back to Jadeite.

He stepped back and waited for the tongue lashing that he knew he was about to get. But he was surprised when she began giggling. It soon turned to full blown laughter as she lay back on the desk and wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"Oh my gosh! Did you see the look on her face?" she gasped out, wiping tears from her eyes.

Jadeite shuffled nervously. "You mean you're not going to yell at me about my out of control hormones this time?" he asked hopefully.

She pushed herself up on her elbows and tried to glare at him through her smile. "Normally I would, but I take all the blame this time. I knew I was egging you on and what would happen if I kept it up. You know, you're kinda cute when you go all dominant like that."

A cocky grin appeared on Jadeite's face. "So you goaded me on purpose, huh? Is that your way of saying that you have some fantasies you want to live out in this room?"

She sat all the way up and pushed him lightly away. "Dream on, general!" But a blush crept up her cheeks. "Okay, so you did turn me on a little. But I've also noticed Amanda eying you the last couple of weeks and I wanted to show her that you are completely off limits. She's a good bartender and I'd hate to have to fire her."

Comprehension sparked in his blue eyes. "You were jealous!"

"Maybe just a little," she grumbled as she slid off the desk.

He laughed and pulled her against him. "You don't have to worry, Firefly. I'm all yours and you know it. I'm not saying that I don't like to admire other women from a distance, but what it all boils down to is that you're all the woman I want or need."

Raye smirked up at him. "Slick talk like that just might win you some brownie points with me, general. So what do say? I still need to go home and get ready for tonight's party, and I might need some help getting changed."

He grabbed her by the hand and pulled her behind him, growling under his breath, "Let's get out of here before I have second thoughts and decide to put that desk to good use after all."

Raye just laughed and waved at her open mouthed employees. "I'll be back later! Hold the fort for me."

There was a flash of light in the rose garden of Elysian as Rini appeared. She took a moment to get her bearings and then headed up the path toward the shining golden palace. She reached the large front doors and pushed one open. It swung open easily on silent hinges and she stepped inside. Since she was a regular visitor here and the place practically belonged to her family, she felt no need to knock and announce herself.

She was walking across the grand entry hall when a figure came out of one of the many rooms on the ground floor. The woman pulled up short when she saw the princess.

"Oh, Rini!" Aurora gasped. "You must have been as silent as a church mouse. I didn't hear you arrive."

"Sorry, Dawn. I didn't mean to scare you," she apologized. "I was looking for Helios. Is he upstairs?" That was a stupid thing to ask. She knew he was up in his room because she could sense him. But she was trying to be polite.

"Yes, dear," Aurora told her. "He was going up to get ready for Jessie's party, but that was some time ago now. He should be about ready. You look very nice yourself."

"Do you like it?" Rini squealed as she spun to show off her simple, short sleeved, white cotton dress that buttoned down the front and had different colored wild flowers around the knee length hem. "I brought the dress with me from home, but Mina wanted to try out a new embroidery machine she got so I let her do the stitching."

"It's beautiful," the priestess assured her. "Another one of my babies is growing up. Where does the time go?"

"You're coming to Jess's party tonight too, aren't you?" Rini asked.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world," Aurora said with a smile, although there was a suspicious glimmer in her eyes. "It seems like yesterday she was just a little baby in my arms. And now…twenty!" She waved Rini toward the stairs. "You better go up and get Helios. He can be worse than a woman sometimes when it comes to getting ready for something. He'll be up there all night trying to decide what to wear if you don't watch it."

"Okay!" Rini laughed as she darted up the stairs. She passed the second floor and went straight up to the third where Helios has his own set of rooms. She crossed his sitting room to knock lightly on his bedroom door.

It flew open before she'd even lowered her hand to reveal a bare chested Helios dressed in nothing but a pair of white slacks. Rini giggled at the sight of his mussed silvery hair and panicked amber eyes.

"I know, I know! I'm running late," he said quickly when he saw who his visitor was. "I'm having a wardrobe dilemma."

Rini stifled another giggle as she pushed past him and into the bedroom. She never could understand how a man that wore nothing but white and very light pastels could have a problem trying to figure out what to wear, but somehow he did it. He always claimed that was why he preferred his priest robes. That way he didn't have to coordinate anything. But he needed to wear modern clothing tonight.

She dug through the pile of shirts that was on the bed until she found one that she liked. Then she turned and handed it to him. It was a very pale, icy blue that gave his hair just the slightest blue sheen.

"Leave it untucked," she told him as he pulled it on. She went to his closet and dug through it until she found a pair of jeans that she had bought for him in Crystal Tokyo that were a few shades darker than the shirt. She threw them to him and then began rummaging through his shoes. She selected a pair of comfortable, brown, slip on loafers and then turned around.

Helios stood by the bed, jeans riding low on his hips and his shirt unbuttoned and hanging open. A cross little frown was on his face. "Rini, I'm centuries old. I don't need you to dress me."

She sighed and flitted to his side to kiss his cheek. "Sweetie, I'm not dressing you. I'm just trying to speed you up a little so that we're not hours late. Besides, if I were dressing you I would be doing this…" She started fastening the buttons of his shirt.

He smirked at her. "Well this is a change. Usually you're doing the reverse."

She gave him a sultry smile and lean stood on her tiptoes to brush her lips across his ear. "Maybe later," she breathed.

Then she rolled his sleeves back a few times and then messily finger combed his already tousled hair. "There! You're all ready."

He turned to look at his reflection in a mirror. "Are you sure? I feel a little underdressed."

She grinned at him. "I'm positive. You look like a total college guy. This is a group get together at a nightclub, not a black tie ball. Now get your shoes on and let's go."

He took her hand in his and kissed the back of it. "As you wish, my princess."

"Whoo hoo! Look at you, Miss Hotpants! You're sizzling tonight!" Amara teased as Hotaru walked into the room.

"Is it too much?" the younger girl asked as she looked down at her short, flouncy black skirt that she had pair with a purple tank top. Over the tank she wore a small, short-sleeved jacket of a darker purple that shimmered with silver sparkles under the light.

"Nah! You look perfect," Amara told her. "Sammy-boy better watch himself tonight. You're a regular dude magnet!"

Hotaru's face flushed dark red. "Please don't embarrass me when he gets here. You are so bad about that."

The tall blonde tried to look indignant. "I would never embarrass you, my little munchkin!" Her navy eyes twinkled.

"That's exactly what I'm talking about!" Hotaru groaned and then jumped as the doorbell rang. She hurried into the entry hall to find Michelle opening the door.

"Good evening, Sammy. My, don't you look dashing tonight," Michelle greeted Serena's younger brother.

"Hi, Michelle. You look nice too," his smooth voice replied.

"Oh, this old thing? I've had it forever," she said, smoothing her hand down her aqua blue dress. "But thank you for the compliment. You are such a gentleman. Are you sure you're related to Serena?"

"Please, god, just kill me now!" Hotaru muttered as she grabbed her purse and almost shoved Michelle out of the doorway. "Hey, Sammy! Let's go!" She practically dragged him off the front porch to his car.

"You two be careful!" Michelle called after them in a sickening sweet voice.

"Yeah!" Amara yelled as she joined Michelle at the door. "And don't worry about rushing her home tonight. Keep her all night if you want to. I remember what it was like to be your age."

Hotaru dove into the passenger side of Sammy's Mitsubishi Lancer and slumped down in the seat. Her face felt like it was on fire. "Just get me out of here," she grumbled as he slid in behind the wheel.

Sammy grinned as he started the car and put it in gear. "At least you don't have a curfew tonight."

"Are you kidding," she growled. "With the way they're acting I may not ever come back at all."

Amara and Michelle watched the car drive away before they burst into laughter. Michelle wiped tears from her eyes before saying, "I feel a little bad about doing that to her. But she's so darn cute when she gets embarrassed."

Amara flung an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "I know. But if we keep it up we may wake up one night to find her standing over us with her glaive. It would probably take years for anyone to find our bodies with the way her devious little mind works."

"I guess we should start cutting her some slack," Michelle sighed. "If she ends up marrying Sammy that would make her Serena's sister-in-law. That could put her in the perfect position for revenge if she wanted to take it."

"You're right. I guess our little girl has grown up," Amara agreed. "And I'm happy for her. She could do a lot worse than Sammy Tsukino. He seems to be a fairly intelligent kid. He did get one thing right. You do look beautiful tonight."

The sound of someone clearing their throat interrupted them and they looked up to see Trista standing at the top of the stairs. Her garnet eyes were grave.

Amara groaned. "Don't tell me. Let me guess. Break time's over, right?"

The time guardian shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure. It may end up being something big, but then again it may turn out to be nothing. But we should be watchful just in case. My garnet orb is having trouble tracking all of the events and possible outcomes. I need to return to Mount Olympus and consult Chronos's time mirror. I will meet up with you later."

She transformed and waved her staff. She disappeared in a puff of smoke.

"Well that didn't sound good, did it?" Amara muttered.

"The guest of honor has arrived. I repeat, the guest of honor has arrived," Jayden's voice came clearly through the communicator.

"Stop with the dramatics before I come up there and beat it out of you," Katie growled back. "Can't you just say that my parents are here and leave it at that?"

"Fine!" he grumbled. "Your parents are here. Happy now?"

"That little smartass!" she snarled, curling her fingers around the communicator like she was envisioning it to be the blonde haired boy's head and she was crushing it.

"Easy, Killer!" Alex teased with a laugh as he extracted the communicator from her grip and spoke into it. "Captain Sunburn to Private Campfire, what's the twenty on those targets, over!"

"Oh my god," Katie groaned and buried her face in DJ's shoulder. "I knew all of those video games would fry his brain one of these days."

DJ kissed the top of her head and mumbled, "I guess it would've been easier if we had just gone up on the roof to keep lookout ourselves."

"But that would involve walking, and my screaming muscles prefer to stay still for now," she complained. "Psycho Kitty is going to kill us yet."

DJ pouted just a little. "Does this mean that I don't get to dance with you tonight?"

She gave him a quick peck on the lips. "Oh, I think I may be able to scrounge up enough energy for a dance or two."

The communicator crackled to life in Alex's hand, cutting off Emma and Skye's laughter at his and Jayden's antics. "Captain Sunburn, this is Private Campfire. The targets are still in the car. I repeat the targets are still in the car." Then he laughed. "Dude! I don't know what they're doing, but it must be pretty steamy. The windows are fogging up."

"Ewww!" both Katie and Alex exclaimed and pushed away from the table they were sitting at. They warily eyed the communicator that Alex had dropped on the tabletop like it was a poisonous snake. At the same time they could hear Hannah shrieking, "Jayden! I can't believe you told them that."

"What's going on?" Serena asked as she appeared beside them.

DJ grinned. "Jess and Andrew are here, but they're taking their sweet time about coming in."

Skye snorted. "Tell it like it is, Tux Boy! They decided they wanted to get frisky in the parking lot."

"Oh god, I'm gonna hurl," Katie moaned and laid her head down on her folded arms.

Alex was in a similar state across the table where Emma was whispering to him and patting him on the back.

"They're coming! Get ready!" Hannah announced as she ran in, dragging Jayden by his collar.

A few minutes later Jess and Andrew appeared at the top of the stairs that led to the loft and everyone cried, "Happy Birthday, Jess!"

Jess seemed genuinely pleased since she had known in advance this time that a party was coming and she hadn't been taken by surprise. She milled through the crowd, which was quite substantial considering that there were about thirty people in attendance, and let herself be hugged numerous times.

When things finally calmed down a little, Lita brought forth the humongous cake that she had made, and Jess blew out all twenty candles in one breath. Then she stood up and pulled Andrew up beside her.

"Okay guys!" she called to make sure she had everyone's attention. "Andrew and I have a pretty big announcement to make."

You would have been able to hear a pin drop if it hadn't been for the pounding music from the club below and the snickering coming from the table full of teens.

"Holy Aphrodite! You're pregnant, aren't you?" a slightly tipsy Mina shrieked.

Serena rolled her eyes. "Mina, why is that always the first thing you assume when somebody says they've got something important to say?" She cut a quick look at Jess. "You're not, are you?"

"What? No!" Jess exclaimed. "If someone could manage to keep Miss Love Potion #9 quiet for a minute I could finish what I was going to say. Now I've been thinking about this for a while, and I've really been debating it since Sunday night. I guess being stabbed, strangled, feeling like your chest has been ripped open, and getting tossed off a bridge has a way of putting things into perspective. So…"

She squeezed Andrew's hand and he squeezed hers back. Then she turned toward Serena and Darien. "I hope you two don't think I'm trying to steal your thunder, but I've decided to go back to my original plan. Andrew and I are going to get married this summer."

Silence swelled for a minute, and then the squealing started.

"That is so amazing!" Serena gushed as she threw her arms around both of them.

Jess hugged her back. "You mean you don't mind? I mean us getting married so close to you. If it bothers you…"

"No, no, no!" Serena interrupted. "It doesn't bother me at all! I'm so excited for you both!"

Andrew chuckled. "Besides, it's not that close anyway. Our date is two and a half months before theirs."

"What is the happy date?" Darien asked as he clapped Andrew on the shoulder.

"July 15th," Jess said softly. "That was my parent's wedding day."

"Ooo, that will be fun!" Serena said. "You know, I was a July bride myself once. But I decided to shake things up a bit and go with September this time around."

"July 15th! That's only three months away!" Mina moaned. "I'll have to work double time in order to have all the dresses made by then. And yours…well thank goodness I still have all of your measurements from making your maid…make that matron of honor dress."

"No!" Jess exclaimed, and then took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Mina, but I have my mother's wedding dress, and that's what I want to wear to get married in. I don't want this to be a big flashy occasion. I'd rather keep it small and intimate. You guys are my family now, and that's all I need with me."

That declaration pulled at everyone's heartstrings, and all of the scouts, except for Amara, burst into tears. But even she had a suspicious glimmer in her eyes. All of the men eyed the crying women warily and slowly began backing away from the estrogen fest toward the table of snickering teens.

"Thank goodness she got that situated," Katie was saying. "I couldn't believe it when Jess said something about her and Drew not tying the knot until November. I thought something really messed up had happened with the timeline. But then I remembered one time when my mom told me the story about this party and how she how she changed her mind."

"Yeah, but mom failed to mention that we were here for the momentous occasion," Alex chuckled.

"Well she couldn't exactly tell you at the time that you were going to travel back to this century, could she?" Emma said. "Just like my parents didn't tell me that I would be able to witness my dad acting so uncharacteristic and getting down on one knee in the middle of a crowded restaurant to propose to my mom. I almost had a stroke!"

The eavesdropping men grinned at each other and then burst into laughter when Kunzite leaned down next to Emma's ear without her knowing and said, "Uncharacteristic, was I?"

Emma let out an ear-piercing shriek and jumped about three feet out of her seat. Only Alex's steadying arm kept her from tumbling to the floor. "What the hell, dad! Are you trying to give me a heart attack?"

Kunzite smirked. "First you accuse me of trying to give you a stroke, now a heart attack. Do you have some crazy idea in your head that I'm trying to kill you or something?"

Emma just glared at him with snapping gray eyes. "You are so…weird!"

He looked taken aback. "I am not!"

"Yes you are!" Jadeite and Nephrite chorused together.

"Nobody asked you two!" Kunzite bellowed, which brought Mina flying to his side. The situation was quickly diffused.

People began breaking off into couples and groups, some sitting around talking and some heading downstairs to hit the bar and the dance floor. Jayden and Hannah seethed at being told they had to stay upstairs, but since they weren't at least sixteen the authorities could revoke Raye's license if they were found partying in the club. Jayden moaned over the fact that his fake ID that had allowed him the spend many nights clubbing in Crystal Tokyo was no good in this time.

Serena, Darien, Jess, and Andrew had all gone downstairs along with most of the others. But Amy and Zoicite seemed content to sit around and talk with Lita, Nephrite, Amara, and Michelle. Rini had bailed on the teens a while back, dragging Helios with her, and Skye had taken off as well to go guy hunting.

This left DJ, Katie, Alex, and Emma sitting at their table since Hannah and Jayden had gone to stand by the railing to glower at all of the fun that was going on below. Katie had her head resting on DJ's shoulder while Emma bounced in her seat in time to the music.

Alex finally took pity on her. "Come on, Em! Let's go check out the dance floor."

She shook her head in protest. "No! You're tired. I'm content to just listen to the music."

He stood and took her by the hand to pull her up beside him. "Oh, I think I've got a few song's worth in me."

DJ watched them walk away before glancing down at Katie. "Are you game?"

She smiled up at him. "I am if you are. I'm warning you now; if I fall out I'll have to be carried home. But I did promise you a dance."

He grinned and helped her up. "Don't worry, I'll help keep you upright."

"Not if you feel half as drained as you look," she scoffed. "Aren't you tired from all of this training we've been doing?"

He shrugged. "Honestly, I'm bone dead tired. But this is a party and we should take advantage of it."

He led her downstairs and they stepped onto the dance floor just as the music slowed down. Grateful to be spared the fast songs, Katie stepped into his arms and let him wrap them around her waist while hers snaked around his neck

"This is nice," she sighed and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Yeah it is," he agreed softly and leaned his cheek against the top of her head. "Just think of how many times we could have done this in the past if both hadn't been so hard headed and fought with each other."

"I don't want to think about that," she told him. "All that matters is that we're together now."

"You're right, we're together now," he breathed against her hair as they swayed to the music.

One slow song melted into another, and they continued to dance. Since they had both grown up in the royal court they were very accomplished dancers, but tonight they didn't do anything fancy. They were just content to hold each other.

The song was coming to an end when she tilted her head up to look at him. He was so captivated by her clear hazel eyes that he dipped his head down and kissed her. She sighed softly into the kiss and allowed her lips to part so that his tongue could tangle with hers. They barely realized when the song ended and the pace picked back up.

"Geez, you two, get a room," Emma's voice broke in on them. "DJ, I would have figured you to be smart enough to not kiss a girl like that when her father is only ten yards away. You're lucky Andrew didn't see you or you would be running for your life right about now."

They broke apart guiltily and looked up to find Emma looking at them in amusement and Alex smirking.

"I…I…I…" Katie stammered.

"I think it's time for us girls to go freshen up." Emma declared and grabbed Katie away from DJ to haul her toward the women's restroom.

"Girls!" Alex snorted. "I don't know why they always have to take someone with them when they go to the restroom."

DJ shrugged. "Beats me! Now they'll probably be in there for at least fifteen minutes."

Alex clapped him on the back. "Well let's head back upstairs and get something to drink. I'm dying of thirst."

"What were you thinking?" Emma demanded. "I know I told you to jump the boy, but I was thinking something a little less private than a crowded dance floor."

"Shhh!" Katie shushed her and looked around at the handful of women that were milling around and primping in front of the mirrors.

"Please!" Emma exclaimed as she produced a tube of lip-gloss from a hidden pocket and leaned toward the mirror. "I'm sure they all know what sex is."

Katie felt mortified and slid own the wall to sit on the tile floor. She buried her burning face in her hands.

"Don't do that! You'll smudge your make up," Emma chastised as she knelt down next to her friend and pulled her hands away.

"Just stop, Em," Katie groaned. "Don't make such a big deal about. Yes, DJ and I are attracted to each other, but that doesn't mean that anything is going to happen. He is a freaking prince, remember!"

"And your mother is a reincarnated princess!" Emma hissed softly so no one would hear. "Not to mention in his former life your father was technically a minor prince in the royal solar family! So don't start bringing pedigrees into this. I didn't want to tell you this before to keep from complicating things, but you are DJ's soul mate. You two are connected on a very deep level. Maybe even more than your twin bond with Alex."

Katie's head snapped up. "You're shitting me! I'm DJ's soul mate? But we couldn't even stand each other until a few months ago!"

Emma shook her head. "I would never joke with you about this. I can see the bond you share with him as clearly as I can see any other. You guys are meant to be together. Just because you two were too stupid to see it before and fought against it doesn't change that fact!"

"So we have a chance," Katie whispered. "I mean, really have a chance. I thought the connection we shared was only because of the damn Trinity. But we could actually have a shot at our own happily ever after."

Emma smiled. "That's what I've been trying to tell you. Now get up off that floor and touch up your lip-gloss. We have a party to get back to."

Katie got up and took the tube from Emma. She studied her reflection closely in the mirror. Her cheeks were flushed and her eyes sparkled. Hope welled up inside of her. She was going to grab up her prince and hold onto him tightly and never let him go.

"Let's go," she told Emma, and they left the restroom.

The hallway was fairly crowded and they had to walk single file. Emma had pulled ahead of Katie, so she pushed her way through the people to catch up.

Just as she was about to step back into the main part of the club, Katie felt an arm wrap around her waist and she was pulled back into the darkness. A hand clamped over her mouth to stifle her scream and she was pushed against a wall.

A mouth was near her ear and a hot breath whooshed past it as a voice whispered, "I need your help, Katie. I didn't know where else to turn."

A/N Ooo…it looks like things are about to get crazy again. Like I said before, I know there wasn't really any action in this chapter, but I hope you guys enjoyed some of the fluff that went on be between the couples. I wanted to take a break from all the angst and give all my little characters some screen time. But now the angst monster is rearing its ugly head again, so who knows what will happen. I know I usually update Bad Boys after this, but I was looking through my rough drafts and the next chapter of Rekindled is in much better shape, so I may do that one next. I'll just have to wait and see which way it goes. Don't be shy, drop me a review and tell me what you thought. Now I'm off to do some more work. Lots of love and hugs!

~Sere~