Hey all!

Sorry about the lengthy time between updates. My yr 12 exam period was really hectic and then I came down with very severe writer's block. I'm still drawing a blank of what to do with 'Smile' so, if you have any ideas, please post them in your reviews!!

Thankyou so much to my wonderfully talented beta-readers Kiweee and Hidden Firecracker for supporting me through this and for being my best friends:hugs: And thankyou to all my reviewers for being so patient with the lengthy time between updates!! I love you all:hugs:

Now for the legal necessities:

Disclaimer: I don't own Sailor Moon... Naoko Takeuchi holds that honour!

And now, here we go! The newest installment! Enjoy!

3 months passed. Usagi's condition stayed the same and everyone poured in and out of the hospital day after day. Ikuko continued to care for her comatose daughter and still managed to make time for her family. Mamoru seemed to get older every passing day. More frown lines than smile lines overcame his face and he started to let his emotions run free. He grew more and more depressed whenever he saw Usagi's pale face and cast-covered body lying still on the small hospital bed. Doctors streamed in and out, checking her pulse and other vital signs.

One morning, Mamoru sat in the waiting room. Nothing was different about it- unless you counted the day's newest flower arrangement from the ikebana club. His black hair was no longer glossy or shiny from perfection; it was greasy and un-brushed. His shirt needed a good ironing and his pants were covered in stains from yesterday's microwaveable teriyaki chicken dinner. He wore mismatched socks and his shoes were covered in dirty rainwater due to puddles on the pathways from his apartment building to the hospital.

Rei watched him from afar. Her usual smirk was gone and her demeanour was one of silence, just like everyone else- and Rei hardly ever conformed to anything.

She walked quietly over to Mamoru and sat beside him, wondering if his bleak, sleepless eyes would notice her or the drink she held in her right hand.

Mamoru did not disappoint. He looked up and nodded- but then his head dropped back down again.

"Mamoru?" Rei asked quietly, only to be answered with a grunt of acknowledgement, "Mamoru, you must come out of this. No more lying around like a lazy bum. Get up, go outside, and don't come back until you have cleaned up. When Usagi awakens, she won't want to see a dirty Mamoru, she'll want to see a nice, clean one!" she rebuke.

Mamoru shook his head.

"She won't want to see any type of Mamoru at all, after what I did." He muttered.

Rei rolled her eyes.

"You've been berating yourself for months over this. It was not your fault! You didn't drive the car! You tried to help Usagi! You couldn't have done anything else! Don't keep bashing yourself over this!" she practically yelled.

"But I didn't get to her until after she'd been hit!" Mamoru roared.

Everyone turned around to stare at them. Rei sat on the couch, limbs akimbo and eyes wider than saucers. Mamoru turned slightly and looked in a nearby mirror. His stance made him look like a monster- his fists clenched, his teeth bared, his hair mussed, his muscles bulging and his eyes wider than Rei's. It looked like he was about to become the Incredible Hulk.

"What?" Rei whispered, "You what?"

Mamoru stood down slowly and sat on the couch.

"I didn't get to her until after the car smashed into her!" He whispered furiously.

Rei's jaw dropped open. Motoki had told them that Mamoru had been like a hero to Usagi- and Mamoru himself had not denied it. She turned her head to one side and looked out the window behind them. Rain streamed down outside, cars honked theirs horns and children laughed and played in the puddles.

"Why didn't you tell me? Or anyone else for that matter?" Rei asked

Mamoru shook his head and stared into space.

"I…I didn't want anyone to hate me. Usagi already hates me and she is the closest thing to a friend that I had besides Motoki."

Rei nodded dumbly, her thoughts spinning like a never-ending Ferris Wheel. Mamoru's blank expression did not change until a doctor came in.

"Chiba-san? A word with you please." He asked with a grave expression dominating his face.

Meanwhile, in Usagi's room, the monitor's beeped and curtains rustled from the wind outside. Other than that, everything else was deathly quiet. Usagi's serene expression betrayed the painful thoughts rushing through her head at that particular moment…

"Why can't I be good enough?"

"What did I ever do to him?"

"How fast was that car going?"

"Will I ever see my family again?"

"What is going on outside?"

Suddenly, the door to Usagi's room opened. Ikuko walked inside quietly- the familiar 'slap, slap' of her special hospital slippers sounding on the sterilised floor. It was a homey sound to Usagi's ears and she wanted to suddenly wake up and pretend that it had been a bad dream- but she just could not find the door which opened to the outside world.

"Oh, Usagi…baby…" Ikuko whispered with tears dripping down her sunken cheeks.

Usagi smiled and, in her mind, put her hand out to brush away her mother's tears… that is… until she heard Ikuko scream.

"Maybe she saw something…a rodent, perhaps?" Usagi pondered

"KENJI!!" Ikuko screamed, "USAGI MOVED!!"

ikebana- flower arranging

So... Usagi moved... ooooooh... : )

Please let me know if you enjoyed it! (e.g. REVIEW!!) And if any ideas for my other story 'Smile' enter your head, then please let me know those as well!