Mercury's Daughter
Chapter Three: Alert The Media
A/n: Another long wait; I'm terrible, I know! I have a new beta now, Fireblade, and she's fantastic and makes my life so much easier. Things are up and running now! No worries!
Dedication: To my beta, Fireblade; to Kat, welcome home! And to Jeni, thanks for all your help, Jeni.
"Come on, Amy. One more good push." Mercury gripped Greg's hand even tighter. He faked a smiled through the lack of blood he now had in his arm as he brushed sweat soaked bangs out of his wives eyes.
"You're doing great, Ames." The girl glared at him, struggling to catch her breath. The room bustled around her with her friends crowded in the already cramped room. Doctors were on hand for the new baby and a million nurses doing a million different things.
Amy screamed in pain for the umpteenth time. A fleeting rational thought hit her as Serenity grabbed her other hand; the birthing process was so much easier from the doctor's end that she was used to.
"What were… we thinking?" she squeaked weakly.
"Come on, Amy. Ready?" The doctor fought for her attention again. "One more push." Amy pushed, nails digging into Serenity and Greg until she was sure they would bleed at any second. Finally, for a moment, the room went silent. A second later a child's cry filled the room.
"Congratulations, it's a girl!"
Amy laughed at herself, wiping away a stray tear.
"Oh, you guys. I promised I was not going to be one of those mothers." She handed the cooing infant in her arms to her husband, whose face was plastered with an ear to ear smile. Stepping into the nursery, the girl lost her breath. "It's beautiful! You didn't have to do this at all." The walls were a soft pink with baby blue trim, the furniture was solid white and so were the flowing white drapes that had been tied back with baby blue satin ribbons.
"Of course we did," Raye smiled. "How else do you think we managed to keep Mina away from the baby shower planning?" Mina stuck her tongue out at the Mars scout before sitting in the bay window that overlooked the palace entrance. As she sunk into the white pillow, Artimis joined her. Amy stood at the center of a circular blue rug in the middle of the room as she took in every last detail, eyes drinking in the large nursery that had been put together in secret while she was living at the apartment.
"Girls…" More tears threatened to fall. Serenity wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Do you know how many gifts came in after the shower? Hundreds, Amy, hundreds! They're still coming in." She motioned to the wall where shelves were filled with stuffed animals and then to the closet that was packed full of little pink dresses and baby clothes.
"Hundreds? Serenity, she's only one baby. She couldn't possibly need--"
"Exactly why we took the liberty of taking half of it and donating it. We figured you probably wouldn't object. I mean, do you really need eleven blenders?" Lita smiled from the doorway, regaining her composure after fawning over the baby in Greg's arms. "Or six hundred onesies for that matter? Oh, the lifetime supply of diapers is nice though. A lot of the clothing went to the maternity ward. Especially the boys clothing, considering you have enough dresses for an army of babies."
"Oh! Wonderful, wonderful." Amy nodded to herself, happiness bubbling over inside her. "That's a perfect Idea." She took a deep breath trying to take it all in. Her eyes wandered to a small clock hanging above the crib. She sighed and reached into her astro-space. Her henshin stick appeared in her palm. "We probably should get ready for the press conference. We're already running behind and the reporters are spilling into the street." The scouts groaned. Amy took one last glace at the nursery before retreating into the hall with Greg, squeezing his arm excitedly. She pressed a soft kiss to the gurgling infant's cheek.
"Nothing's changed since before the darkness; everyone's still looking for a story whenever, wherever they can get it." Raye echoed her sighed, retrieving her own henshin. The others followed suit. Serenity bounded out of the room and into the hallway, peaceful smile replaced with an overly excited one.
"I'll meet you all in the conference room. I have to go locate my husband and my daughter. Oh, Amy! I'm so excited for you." She squealed, hugging her friend quickly before taking off as gracefully as possible down the hall. The girls giggled, waiting for her to trip. They were nearly surprised to find she actually made it down the entire corridor without one misplaced step.
"Well, are we ready?" Mina spun her henshin stick in her palm.
MDMDMDMDMD
"Miss Mercury! Miss Mercury!"
"Miss Mercury, over here!" Camera flashes filled the over crowded room, making Sailor Mercury, finally back in uniform, dizzy behind the table she sat at. She was joined by Serenity, Endymion, the rest of the scouts, and Tabitha, in her father's arms.
"Miss Mercury! What's her name?"
"Miss Mercury! Miss Mercury! Will you be having any more children?"
"Whose last name will she take?" Sailor Mercury smiled leaning into the microphone.
"We'd love to answer all your questions, but I believe a little order would make things run much smoother." The room quieted, but the cameras did not. Greg smiled, baby still in his arms.
"We'd like to present Tabitha Grace Ryo. Obviously, she will be taking my last name."
"She was born at seven in the morning on July twenty-eighth," Amy added. There was another uproar as everyone fought for the first question, but one glare from Sailor Mars had them back in order.
"You. Yes?"
"Will Baby Tabitha be living in the Crystal Palace?" Pen in hand, a young reporter looked on eagerly to Sailor Mercury.
"Yes, Tabitha has a nursery here along with a room at our city apartment. We have every intention of raising her here."
"With Serenity and Endymion's daughter?"
"Yes. Next question?" Amy felt her confidence about the press conference rise a bit with the first easy question.
"Do you plan on continuing your work as a Sailor Scout or will you be taking a break to raise your daughter?" Mercury blinked. The idea hadn't even struck her. She shifted uncomfortably in her seat, glancing down the table at Serenity, who offered a small smile as reassurance.
"M-My first loyalty is to the royal family and my post. I'll continue my work while raising Tabitha." Greg noticed her stumbling and moved in for the save.
"I, on the other hand, will be playing Mr. Mom. Mercury's duties are very demanding." The comment earned a few laughs. "Next question?"
"What schools are you looking into for Tabitha?" Mercury laughed.
"I think it's a little soon, but probably just the local public schools." There was a hum in the room.
"Don't you worry about the popularity from living at the palace and being the daughter of a Sailor Scout and a highly regarded political figure on the advisory board being a distraction to her schooling?" The girl was flustered; Mars rolled her eyes, despising press conferences with every fiber of her being.
"Education is extremely important. We won't allow anything to take away from that, but she does deserve the chance to interact with other children her own age in a school setting. We've already decided against the idea of private tutors, as well." Mercury tried her best to smile positively at her own answer. Next to her, Tabitha was getting fussy.
"Here," she whispered, taking the baby and cradling against her shoulder. "It's my turn to hold her, anyway." The next question caught the scouts off guard as a report from the back raised his voice.
"Don't you worry that she'll be a target of an attack?" Indignant, Sailor Jupiter's jaw fell open. Aware of her expression, she quickly corrected herself, clutching her fists in her lap. Her and Venus shared a look of disgust. The question set off the press, questions continuing off of that one like wildfire.
"Well, of course we worry--"
"What is the palace doing to secure the safety of Princess Serenity and Tabitha?" Serenity stood up this time, mouth agape, only to be pulled back down by Endymion before anyone took notice.
"The palace is absol--"
"Don't you think it's irresponsible to expose innocent children to this kind of danger?"
"I--"
"What if Tabitha chooses to follow in your footsteps as a Sailor Scout, Mercury? Or do you worry she'll rebel?"
"Will the children be brought up with constant security? Where's their freedom to be individuals?"
"Miss Mercury! Is it true Tabitha will be a scout? Is that a lifestyle you're willing to let her experience after the danger you've faced yourself?" By this time, Tabitha was crying from the noise, Sailor Mercury was looking from reporter to reporter frantically, and Serenity and Endymion looked annoyed with the accusations. Mars took to her feet, slamming her hands onto the table.
"Silence! I will have absolute silence!" The reporters and camera flashes stopped for an instant. "This is not a zoo, it's a press conference. The next to speak out of turn will be thrown out, and I do mean thrown out." She stayed on her feet for a moment. "Next question."
"Miss Mercury, do you really think it wise to have Tabitha in front of the press in such an open hall type of meeting?" The question sent the press buzzing again.
"That's enough! Everyone here was thoroughly screened and hand selected by our security team to sit in on the press conference. We are perfectly capable of protecting our daughter. No more questions, thank you." Greg stood, eyes narrowed at the reporters, leading his wife down from the small platform and immediately out the door in the company of Sailor Venus. The others followed close behind, visibly caught off guard by the onslaught of questions.
MDMDMDMDMD
Serenity slammed her office door. It made her feel slightly better, so she opened it casually before slamming it once more.
"Better now, dear?" Endymion asked from her desk. She spun and faced the room. Mercury had put Tabitha in the playpen Serenity had for Rini and was sitting on one of the couches, face in her hands. Greg sat stiffly besides her. Jupiter and Mars sat in the chairs in front of Serenity's desk where Endymion was sitting, and Venus was perched on the edge of the desk. Pluto had joined the group and was standing quietly against the wall.
"Excuse my language, but what the hell was that?! Pluto, wasn't there a list of approved questions or something? That was possibly the worst press conference of all time; that includes the first time the outer wall failed and we were accused of sabotage. Bad press, no terrible press, over an infant? What happened?" The usually good humored queen was red faced with anger.
"No, Serenity. After your press conference we thought it was safe to--" Pluto started. Serenity cut her off.
"Safe? Safe! That was a disaster!" Tabitha fussed a bit at the noise. The blonde queen sighed. "I'm sorry… Amy are you alright?" The Mercury scout looked up, eyes puffy with tears, but with a dry look on her face.
"Maybe if you let me slam the door this time," she croaked. Greg wrapped an arm around her shoulders.
"Have at!" Serenity motioned towards the doors. Mars huffed, pushing her bangs out of her eyes.
"Why don't you let me take care of those reporters?"
"Raye!" Endymion nearly screeched.
"I agree with Mars," Jupiter added. Venus nodded.
"Third."
"Not you, too," Serenity sighed. Tabitha let out a loud wail. Greg shrugged from the couch.
"I guess Tabby agrees." The infant cried louder until all eyes were on her. Mercury stood up and moved to the side of the playpen.
"Uh….oh…" She stopped dead mid-step. "Uhm, Pluto? Is this suppose to happen?" Tabitha was now screeching from being ignored by her mother, birth sign shining a deep aqua blue on her forehead. The eldest scout nodded.
"It seems to be common in Small Lady, also. As was it with Queen Serenity when she was growing up on the moon." Mercury stared at her like she had sprouted another head.
"Really," she said dryly. Pluto nodded. "Well, I guess that--" Tabitha let out a final wail, cutting her mother's statement off. Her birth sign lit up brighter and, in less than an instant, the playpen and the surrounding carpet was soaked in cold water. Tabitha giggled. Mercury looked down at her wet shoes and then to the shocked faces of her friends. "I suppose this is normal also?" Serenity turned back to the door, opening it quietly and letting herself out. The group winced as she turned into the hallway, slamming the door behind her. There was a brief silence before Endymion spoke.
"It could have been worse," he assured the group. "She could have--" Before he could finished his statement, Serenity screamed in frustration from the hallway. Endymion sighed.
"Never mind." Tabitha gurgled happily as the last bit of water dripped from the playpen.