Disclaimer: Do not own. Mhm. Yeah.
AN: Earlier than expected…but here's the next chapter! Second one will most likely be up tomorrow, or later today, depending on how you look at the time of day.
courtjsonluvr87 returns: You don't have to stop guessing. Maybe one of your guesses will give me ideas for future chapters? You never know! Haha. I need more ideas anyway.
Hannah42992: Oooh! A new reviewer! Thanks for thinking so! I guess you didn't get your wish for an early chapter…
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Legend:
'Thoughts'
"Normal"
-Dream Sequences/Flashbacks-
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Chapter 15 to Dreams and Wishes
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Two weeks…has it really been that long? She stopped reading whatever she was reading and looked out towards the balcony windows. The curtains were drawn back as the sun shone through. It was now midday. It would be another few hours before the teen would come by to pick them up. She yawned and stretched her arms over her head. "Better check up on them." She slid the chair back against the floor after putting her laptop on stand by.
Things were peaceful since the last attack. Everyone had found new jobs during that time. Darien and Amy started working at the same hospital where the attack was. Darien continuing his studies, Amy in her training to become a Doctor like her Mother. Mina, surprisingly, had applied at a High School as a school nurse, she had become a lot better over the years. Jason worked at a club as a bartender along with Ken and Greg. Raye was following up on her career as a singer, Jadeite, of course, as her manager in a weird sense. Lita was continuing her classes at the Tag Dojo, brushing up on her fighting skills as a Scout. Malachite and Zoicite are just enjoying the time together as a family. News is that they were expecting in a few months time.
And Serena? She was studying and looking after three people at the same time. "Hm? Did you say something, Luna?" She turned her head, realizing she was standing in front the door she was about to go through.
"Never mind." Luna shook her head. "I'll discuss it with you another time."
She watched as the cat walked away. Shrugging it off, she knocked on the door and opened it. "Hey! What trouble are you causing in here?"
Giggles erupted from the younger ones around the table in the room, Rini's room. "Aunty Renaaaaa." Terri whined, causing a smile to appear on Serena's face. "We're playing a game Mama gave us! She says she played it when she was little."
Serena sat down on the floor as the table was too low for her to fit her legs under. "Oh, really?"
Abby nodded. "Yes! You just pull a stick and make sure nothing falls!"
She laughed at the enthusiasm and looked to Rini for an answer. "Finding it any fun?"
"Kerplunk."
"Huh?"
Rini was amused at Serena's perplexed confusion. "Kerplunk."
Laughter erupted from the twins as one yelled out, "KERPLUNK!" Marbles were rolling down the little slides as the stick Terri pulled out made them all tumble down. Serena stared for a brief moment, processing what had just happened when she spotted the box that had contained the game.
"Oh." She shook her head. "I should've known."
Rini stood up and stretched her legs. "They've been at it for hours." She moved over to sit down on her bed, picking up a sketch book and a pencil along the way.
Serena watched the girls place back the sticks and then the marbles as they commenced another game. Taking note that this would take awhile, she joined Rini on the bed. To her surprise, the girl snapped her sketchbook shut and out of prying eyes way. "Something you don't want others to see?" She poked the girls arm.
"Quit it!" And lightly smacked the finger, earning her a pouting look. She wanted to change the subject. "So you've been watching over Stephanie?"
Serena blinked. "Yes. Nothing's happened though." She paused. "But we're still careful. Mother said that Orb may attack those dearest to us outside of our group."
"Meaning…?"
"We have to look after the person the twins see as their Mom."
"But how can you be certain that she won't do anything to them?" The young teen sat up, clutching a pillow in her arms.
How was she to explain it? It wasn't easy. "We just have this feeling that she won't, you've got to trust us on this." Serena squeezed Rini's shoulder in assurance. "If not them, believe me."
A sigh. "Not until I know for myself." Rini leaned back into her bed, her eyes on her cousins. "I wouldn't want them to have their hearts crushed by having the image of their Mother-figure destroyed."
Serena could only nod. She was only thinking about the well-being of her cousins. "We'll get to know her better as time goes by. Besides," She prodded Rini's foot. "she hasn't showed any intentions of doing such things in the three weeks we've known her."
But the future princess didn't give up. "People change over time." It was silent until one of the girls yelled out again and erupted in laughter. "Don't you want to play a different game?"
"NO!" Abby looked at Terri and vice versa, before the went into a fit of laughter once again as they put the game back together for another round.
She stared at Rini for a few seconds. Something was definitely bothering the girl. Something other than Stephanie being accepted as the children's Mama. She'd have to ask the other girls about this. Maybe she'll ask Darien too. I wonder what he's doing now…
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He sneezed. That's odd. Shrugging, he flipped through the charts with her, agreeing and pointing out different things the other didn't see. Though it wasn't very much. "You're right there, but you see this here?" His companion shifted over to see what he was pointing at. "It doesn't match what it says on the previous chart."
"So does that mean something was slightly off when they did the test?"
He smiled and nodded. "You catch on quick, Amy. Too bad I won't be your tutor."
"I heard this Doctor will be just as good as you." She dismissed the compliment as if it was nothing. "Maybe even better."
"Ouch. A blow to the pride." He feigned hurt. "Have you been getting pointers from Raye?"
Amy blushed softly. "Ah, no. I-"
Chuckling at her embarrassed state, he placed the chart back where it was. "I'm just pulling your strings, Amy, it's great that you're not that shy anymore."
A man walked into the office wearing a long white coat, very much like the ones the two previous to him were wearing. "Ah! Has Darien been giving you helpful tricks in how the tutoring is going to be, Amy?" She nodded. "Hopefully not too much."
"Just enough to get me through everything, Dr. Daniels." He winced as she spoke. "Is something wrong?"
"Please, just call me Raymond or Ray." He motioned for them to sit down in the chairs of his office. "Dr. Daniels makes me feel like the old man I really am." He was nearing his late 50's to early 60's, but was still in good health for a man his age. "That is, unless you're fine with me calling you Dr. Anderson." He gave her a slight, mischievous, wink.
She smiled. "Actually that does have a nice ring to it now that you mention it…" Amy tilted her head to look at the ceiling as if she was actually thinking about it.
Darien chuckled along with Raymond. "So who is going to be her teacher?" Darien relaxed into the chair as he had been sitting up straight for so long.
Raymond stared. "Straight to the point, I see." He only received a wary smile. "It will be my partner in crime…" He paused for dramatic effect and spoke to the door as he continued. "…Dr. Elizabeth Taylor." A few moments passed as they stared at the door. He coughed. "Liz?"
"Excuse me, Doctor." They hadn't heard her light knock, it was Nurse Claire. "Dr. Taylor is setting up an examination for Miss Anderson to watch."
"What? I told her to come straight here and not to go off and do her own thing."
The nurse sighed. "She told you before you left that she was going to set up. I heard her myself."
He laughed in embarrassment as he finally remembered, though barely. "Ah. Would you please escort Amy to where she is?" He turned to look at her. "Sorry about that. Claire will lead you there."
"No, it's fine, really. It will be an experience that I'm looking forward to." With a silent bye she followed the nurse to the required room.
The experienced Doctor decided to poke a little fun. "So is she your girlfriend?"
Darien was baffled by the direct question. "No, si-…Ray. She's a really good friend of mine." Seeing that he wasn't convinced, he continued. "She's best friends with my girlfriend. I've been dating her for four years now. Besides," He sat forward again. "Amy has her own boyfriend."
The old man didn't give up. "It could be a love…" He wriggled his eyebrows. "…square."
He chuckled. "I never thought I'd see the day that another Jadeite would be walking the Earth."
"Who?" The elder Doctor leaned backwards into his office chair.
"Oh, that's my friend." Darien shook his head. "You think exactly like him."
"I see…" Raymond stood up and closed the door, pulling the blinds down so no one could see what they were doing. He was debating on whether or not to follow through with his plan. Hopefully things would go well. He just hoped he wouldn't be in too much trouble by handing it over to Darien.
He noticed the troubling look that flashed across the Doctor's face. "Is something wrong, Ray?" No response. His eyes, however, strayed over to a folder that he pulled out of the desk.
"I'm giving you a very confidential patient." Raymond scratched the scruff of a beard on his chin. It wasn't noticeable, but it grew out a bit since he had little time to shave it off.
"Don't you mean confidential profile?"
He sighed. This was going to be tough to explain, but he knew Darien would understand everything, though he'd leave a few things out here and there. "No, I did mean patient. It's a very special case." He slid the folder across from him, it was a thick folder. "Before you open it, you must keep it to yourself and not mention anything that has to do with this patient to anyone outside of this hospital."
"I understand that, but why is this patient different from all the rest? Surely every patient is a special case."
He smiled appreciatively. "Spoken like a true Doctor." Darien scratched his head from the comment. "You'll understand everything as soon as you open the folder. Do you accept?"
Darien was flattered, yes, but he still had one more question. "Shouldn't you be more suitable for this patient as you are more experienced in the field? I, myself, have not even begun to scratch the surface even with all stuff I have learned."
"I have done everything I could all these years, but I thought a fresh, new, Doctor would be able to further make it a success." Raymond caught that he was going to ask one other thing. "All I'm going to say is that this patient has been a patient since birth."
Since birth? This must be really…special, in his words. He shook his head. "I can tell you're not going to say more. So…" Darien gripped the folder, but did not open it. "…I accept." Raymond's face seemed to brighten at this.
"Jolly good!" Raymond coughed after that. "Ahem. It's best you stay in my office while you read the contents. I'll lock the door while I go tend to a patient of mine." He swiftly got up from his desk, past Darien, and out the door. He didn't even know what happened until he heard the click of the lock.
He was still gripping the flap of the folder, wondering about all the possibilities of whom it may be. "Must be one tough person to last this long. I wonder how old…" He gathered up the courage to open it.
The first thing he noticed was the there was a photograph, face down, as well as a lot of different colored sheets of paper with information. He skimmed over the first page, his eyes catching the year. "1988?" He read a bit more and his eyes caught one other thing. Weak heart. "Why didn't they just do a heart transplant then? That would've solved their problem." Darien rubbed his face, he wasn't getting anywhere. There were so many other pages he needed to read and Raymond locked out anyone that dared to interrupt him from reading all of it. He stared at the back of the photo, wondering why it was not face up.
He slipped it out from under the paper clip that was holding it in place and slowly turned it around. It was a recent picture of what the person currently looked like judging from the date that was written on it. Darien made no facial expression as he stared hard at the picture. What? Was the one thought that rang over and over in his mind. He placed the photo down to the side, glancing at it one more time, before heading onto the second page of the profile, hoping to make sense of his new patient.
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She heaved a sigh as she stood up to answer the door. She left the trio and went back to working on her laptop. As soon as she sat down, however, the doorbell went off. She would've told them to come in, but it was locked. "I'll be right there!" Serena stretched her limbs before unlocking the door.
"Hi."
"Hey." She glanced at the watch. "Aren't you a bit early?"
"Yes, I am." She was holding a folder in her arms. "May I come in?"
Serena laughed in embarrassment. "Oh, right, sorry." She moved aside to let the girl in and closed the door afterwards. "So what brings you here three hours early?" She followed the girl to the table she was using for her laptop and sat down, her friend following suit.
"I don't mean to drop this on you all of a sudden. But…"
What could she have on her mind? "Hm?"
"I would like to become the twins legal guardian."
She stopped typing, her fingers dangling over the keys. "What did you say?" She must've heard wrong.
"I would like to becom-.."
Nope, she wasn't hearing things.. "I heard, I heard." Serena moved the things on the table off to the side, now staring at the folder that Stephanie placed on the table. She figured it contained the documents to become her guardian. "Not to sound mean or anything, but what makes you think we'll give you authorization over them?"
"I knew you'd ask that." Serena couldn't see, but she could tell the teen clasped her hands on her lap under the table. Stephanie stared at the folder in front of her as if it was the most interesting thing in the world as she talked. "They're going to be living with me and I'll be basically be taking care of them by the end of this week."
"But you have a job."
She shook her head. "They're letting me take time off with pay since I'm still a student."
"With pay?"
"Basically I can work at home, but a very light load than what I'm used to." Stephanie didn't want to say anymore than what was needed. "School will not interfere with taking care of them. I'll have more than enough time to feed, bathe, clothe, and all the necessities children need."
"Are you really seventeen? You don't sound like it." Serena bit the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing, but a smile managed to escape. Though it was a serious matter, she couldn't help but feel lighthearted around the girl.
Stephanie laughed. "I guess I get that a lot. Probably with the way I choose what words to speak with…" She sighed. "When I'm serious I get all adult-like."
Serena sighed. "I'd have to talk to the others about this first."
"I see." She left the folder on the table for Serena to read. "If I were their legal guardian, it'd be easier for me to make decisions, such as schooling. Unless you're ready to tell me the whereabouts of their parents?" Silence. "I thought so, but I won't pry. Two weeks before school is to start, I need to know before then so I can still enroll them."
"Is it really beneficial for all of us?" Serena stood up as well as she walked over to Rini's room.
From the other side of the door, theirs, they could hear a shout of something ending in plunk. "If you're thinking that I will take advantage of that privilege, you're wrong." She placed a hand on the doorknob, but stopped when Serena spoke.
"I wasn't thinking that at all." She placed a hand on the shorter girl's shoulder. "And your parents? I would like to talk to them about this." Serena grew slightly suspicious when there was no response. "Steph?"
"It's not going to work." She turned to look at Serena, but in the eyes, rather than straight at her chin since she was two inches shorter than Serena.
"What?"
Stephanie stepped away from the door, but kept her hand on the door knob. "My parents appointed me legal guardians."
Maybe she did something that made her parents do something like that. "Why? Couldn't they take care of you themselves?" Something flashed in the girl's eyes, but Serena missed it as she was looking at the floor.
"They were very capable of taking care of me. You remember how I said that they're on business trips a lot?" Serena nodded. "There's really no way of contacting them when they go on the trips. So they figured it'd be easier if some people were to handle the stuff they were not able to."
"Oh." Serena felt a bit sad since she couldn't say anything else. Something seems odd about that though… "I've already made my decision, but Darien and the others would have to agree."
Looking up, Stephanie gave her a heartwarming smile. It was so contagious, she couldn't help but smile back in return. "Thank you."
"For what? I haven't told you my decision."
She shook her head. "Just…thank you." Puzzled, she was left alone as Stephanie finally opened the door to the bedroom.
"She's one strange girl…" The smile was still on Serena's face as she shook her head. I can't help but think that she's really Abby. She sighed as she thought more. But then again, her eyes are still a different color.
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She was waiting impatiently in his living room. "I'm fine, Auntie!" She heard the shuffling around the kitchen and resumed the mighty activity of flipping through channels. Tina looked at the clock displayed over the television. A light knock of the door caught her attention. "About time you got here."
He looked confused. "Tina? What are you doing here?"
She grabbed a cookie from the plate on the table out of annoyance. "What? Can't I visit my cousins?" She watched him look left and right before looking back at her.
"Where's Sara?"
"Her and Leo are in the backyard. But that's besides the point."
He caught on to what she was implying. "Let's go to my room, less ears." He led her into the basement and through a door that led to his bedroom. It was the typical boys room. Blue wall, computer desk, posters, bed, a television with dvd player, and video games. And whatever else a boy needs in his room.
"You're lucky you have the whole basement to yourself. Too bad 'Bro has it at my place." Tina was referring to her older brother, whom she hadn't seen much. He was in university, after all, with a part-time job. His room seemed oddly clean to her. Shrugging, she sat down on his bed as he sat down on the carpet, leaning against the bed frame.
"I guess so. So speak."
She stared at him for a few seconds. "We never finished that talk about your dreams."
"Oh. That." He stared at the items in both of his hands. "What did you want to know?"
"First off, what does she say?"
He leaned his head back so it rested atop the bed and stared straight back at her cross legged form. "She tells me to remember. I don't know what, though."
"Anything else?"
"I can never see her face, all I know is that her eyes are…some sort of blue." He scrunched up his face in thought. "It's a really nice blue color. Not too light and not too dark, with a slight hint of purple."
Tina nodded in confirmation. "Does she…call you anything?"
"How'd you know that?" He snapped his head up and turned his body slightly towards her.
"I'll tell you a little more if you answer my question." Jan knew he wouldn't get anything else out of her at this point.
"Hans. That's what she calls me." He lifted his hand to run it through his hair, but placed it back down. Tina caught sight of what was in his grasp.
"Is that a rose?" She grabbed the hand that held it and admired it. "Did you get it from her?"
Shaking his head a no, he gave it to her to look over. "I actually don't know where I got it from. It was just on my bed after the accident."
"Wait…you mean this is the same rose after all these years?"
"Yeah." He took it back and just held it, feeling more at ease. "It never wilts, it just stays as alive as ever, even without water. And-…" He hesitated.
Tina lightly nudged him. "Why'd you stop?"
"I was at the hospital visiting my old Doctor and there was an attack."
"You were there?!"
"Yeah. But someone saved the Doctor and I, but I didn't see who." He twirled the white rose in his hand. "When the Old Man left me to check on the other people, I heard the dream girl's voice calling out Hans again."
The bed shifted as Tina got off the bed and sat in front of her cousin. "Jan."
"Tina." He mocked and chuckled.
She slapped his arm playfully. "What I'm about to tell you is not to be told to anyone. I'm only telling you because you're involved in one way or another."
He smiled in a playful manner. "It's not like you're going to tell me you're one of those Sailor Scouts that I've been hearing about lately." He shook his head and swiftly pocketed the item in his right hand which didn't go unnoticed by Tina, though she didn't see what it was. "Tina?" He heard her sigh. She can't mean that…can she?
"Unfortunately for you, I am."
Jan blinked. "Haha. Right."
"Don't believe me?" A quirked eyebrow was her response. "Recognize this?"
"It's a replica of…Xantara's transform thing." He received a surprised look. "Sarah." And then she understood. His younger sister was way into Sailor Scout stuff, even if she was only seven.
"It's the real deal." And before he could say anymore, she now stood before him as Xantara, the Protector of Earth. Then he fainted. "Maybe it was a bit too much for him to handle." She changed back and placed him on the bed. "I'm sure that you have more information on this Daughter of Three Queens than any of us."
A twinkle appeared in her eye and took a quick photo of him in his unconscious state on her phone. "Out of all the people I know, my cousin had to be the one that faints." She laughed. "Boy, will he ever regret fainting in front of me."
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AN: Couldn't really think much? Soooo tired lately.
Me gone.
B-chanz