Author: Thanks for the reviews!

As The Moon Howls I

~3 Months Ago~

Serena stared up at the ceiling, eyes glazed over. She rubbed her now flat belly and she tuned out the beeping noises the machines she was hooked up to made, concentrating on the steady breathing her new born baby made. The room was dark, and the window was slightly crack, a cool breeze occasionally entering the room.

She felt tears burning in the corner of her eyes. "Damn it Darien, why couldn't you put this behind you." She whispered harshly. She chewed on her bottom lip. "You were always so hot tempered."

She rolled onto her side, drawing her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them tightly. She stared blankly at the white and black tiled floors. "How am I suppose to do this without you…I'm not strong enough." She clenched her eyes closed tightly, several tears rolling down her cheeks. "I can't do this alone."

"Be Strong…"

Serena froze deathly still. "Oh my God! What the hell was that!?!" Her mind screamed.

A ghostly white hand caressed Serena's face. "Be strong my child."

Serena eyes shot open and she looked up onto the face of her mother. "M-m-mom…"

Serena watched as her mother smiled, and then she frowned slightly at her attire. She wore an elegant white gown and she had a crescent moon on her forehead. "Mom…why are you dressed like that..." She reached up and ran her finger across the crescent moon insignia "and the moon…"she whispered.

"Child…" She paused and took her daughter by the chin. She kissed her softly on the forehead, where her crescent would be. "You have so much to learn…" She smiled, staring her daughter in the eyes. "You've grown to be so beautiful."

Serena smiled, tears welling up in her eyes. "I miss you so much…daddy too."

Serenity smiled sadly, "We miss you too my little rabbit." She let a few tears roll down her ghostly white cheeks.

"I don't have much time…I've come to tell you this. Be strong my child... for you…your brother…"she paused looking towards the bassinet. "Be strong for Small Lady."

She placed her hands on either side of her daughter's face. "You will face some hardships my child, but I have faith that you can over come them."

She stood up straight and looked down upon her daughter. "Follow your heart and never doubt yourself."

She began to fade. "I'm so proud of you…" She looked towards the bassinet. "Tell Samuel that I love him, Small Lady as well." She looked back towards her daughter. "And tell Setsuna 'hey' for me." She smiled and disappeared.

"I love you…"

"I love you too mom…"whispered Serena. She then furrowed her brows. "Who's Setsuna?"

Shifting her eyes over to the bassinet, she saw a patch of pink hair poking out of a light pink blanket. She seen her daughter shift around, and give off a soft cry. Sitting up, she leaned over and grabbed her little bundle of joy.

She removed the blankets from Small Lady's face, and the baby stopped crying. She looked up at her mother with large red eyes and a patch of soft pink hair sticking up all over her head. Serena smiled down at her, softly wiping away the tears from her daughter's face.

She brought Small Lady to her chest and rubbed her back soothingly. "You're grandmother loves you so much sweetie." She kissed her on the forehead, "and so do I."

She leaned over and grabbed the bottle the nurse had set into the room not too long ago. She cradled Small Lady in her arms and settled the bottle in her baby's awaiting mouth.

Small Lady hungrily drank, small hands grabbing at the bottle. Serena suddenly looked up, hearing someone twist the door knob. Within seconds, Sammy walked in through the door, with something to eat and drink. He looked up and spotted his sister feeding his niece and smiled at them both.

"You're both finally awake," he whispered, taking a seat in a chair beside the hospital bed.

"Yeah, finally." She whispered back and watched as her brother fished through a bag and pulled out a sub sandwich. He put it in his lap and looked up at his sister.

"Let me feed her, you need to eat yourself."

Serena nodded, doing a swap around, and soon Sammy had his niece pressed to his chest, and was feeding her, as his sister started to wolf down on her sandwich. Sammy stared closely at his niece. "I don't doubt that she's yours and Darien's but…what's up with the red eyes and pink hair?"

Serena tore off another bite from her sandwich and munched on it happily before she replied. "It's in our bloodline…I was born with pink hair and red eyes too. By the time I was 2, my hair was blond and my eyes were blue. When I turned 18 my hair was silver and had the silver specks in my eyes. So, she'll more than likely do the same."

She shifted her eyes to her brother. "You too were born with pink hair and red eyes; although, it only lasted a couple of days. Your hair turned brown and your eyes turned blue…and then when you hit 14, you had the silver streaks and the silver in your eyes."

Sammy nodded in understanding and watched his niece slowly drift to sleep. "So what did you name her?"

Serena smiled. "Serenity Usagi Chiba. Rini for short" she looked at her daughter. "But she's still my Small Lady."

Sammy smiled, pulling the empty bottle out of Rini's mouth. He held the small bundle up to his face. "Rini, hmm? The name fits her well." He chuckled and proceeded to burp her. His eyes suddenly turned serious and he stared off a bit.

"Serena…what are we going to do now?" He looked to his sister whom was now staring down at her hands. "Where are we going to go…we can't go back…"

"I already have that worked out." She whispered.

Sammy cocked a brow. "Really…what's planned?"

"We're going to Tokyo, Japan."

Sammy narrowed his eyes. "Japan…are you fucking serious?! What the hell are we suppose to do there?"

Serena shifted her eyes onto him and with a sad smile she replied. "We are going to start over…live life like normal people."

Sammy glowered at her. "We aren't normal people."

Serena gritted her teeth. "Well what else can we fucking do…if we stay here we're dead. I rather take my chances." She paused and looked at her brother whom was chewing on his bottom lip, deep in thought. She furrowed her brows and sighed deeply. "We were born in Japan…I've found family…we have an aunt and uncle there. Uncle Ken is dad's best friend, and Aunt Elaine is mom's sister."

He looked up at her, running his fingers shakily through his bangs. "When are we leaving?"

"Now." She stated simply.

Sammy stared upon her, shock apparent on his face. "Now...how the f…"

Serena cut him off. "Did you bring that bag?"

Sammy nodded his head. "Yeah, it's under your bed."

Serena slowly slipped out of the bed and crouched down and snagged the book bag. She made her way to the bathroom and after 10 minutes she was ready. Instead of a hospital gown, she now sported a black hoodie, jeans, and some tennis shoes. Her hair was done up in 2 odangos on either side of her head. She walked back to the bed and placed the book bag there.

She reached into the bag and pulled out a small silver chain, and her husband's wedding band. She slipped the ring on the chain and walked over to her brother and daughter. She knelt down and clasped the necklace around Rini's neck. Quickly standing she made her way back to the bag.

She pulled out a manila folder that had plane tickets, birth certificates, and passports. She looked over the names…Serenity Usagi Tuskino Chiba, and Samuel Kenjiro Tuskino. She slipped Rini's birth certificated in the folder and placed it back in the bag. She pulled out a card from her back pocket and handed it to Sammy.

"That's you're new I.D. keep that with you at all times."

Sammy looked the I.D over and noted that change in his last name, but kept all comments to himself. He watched as his sister slipped the back pack on and then lean over to a table and snatched up her wedding band and placing it back on its rightful place.

She made her way to her brother, and scooping up her sleeping baby in her arms. She turned and headed to the door, when she felt a hand grab her arm. She turned and stared into her brother's worried eyes.

"What's wrong, Sammy?"

"What about, Firefly?"

"…We can't go back."

Sammy growled, eyes flickering gold, causing Serena to take a startled step back. "We are not leaving her with HIM." He lowered his voice into a broken whisper. "I can't protect her from HIM if we leave, Sere."

Serena clenched her jaws tight and stared into her brother's eyes. She suddenly took a hold of his chin, staring deeply into his eyes, reading every emotion held within them.

"You're in love with her," she whispered.

She furrowed her brows and tightened her jaw all the more. With hard eyes she made a vow. "We will come back for her."

She closed her eyes, knowing Sammy wanted to protest. She held a finger up to his lips to silence him. "Don't think of me as being cruel, brother. I love Firefly too, but things are way too crazy right now. We won't be able to get her out of there alive and you know it. When things settle down we will come for her, I swear it."

Sammy slowly nodded his head. His sister NEVER has gone back on her word. He watched as his sister made her way back to the door. He ran both hands through his hair and sighed heavily. "Be strong Firefly, I'll be back for you."

Sammy once again nibbled on his bottom lip. "Sere…wait."

Serena paused and turned towards her brother. "Yes?"

"There's more to why we're going back to Tokyo, isn't there?"

Serena frowned deeply. "What do you mean?"

Sammy shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked on the balls of his feet. "Well, besides the fact that we need to leave the country and the fact that you located family, you picked Tokyo for a reason."

Serena smirked. He's so damn smart…little shit. "And what is that reason, brother?"

He looked up at her, staring intently into her eyes. "You're going back to them…to her."

Serena stiffened, and a small smile graced her face. "Sharp as always."

He then cocked his head to the side. "What makes you think they're still there…if she's there?"

Serena closed her eyes, a calm peaceful look over came her features. "Because I can feel them…they're apart of me Sammy." She opened her eyes and stared at him intently. I will always know where they're at. Just like you and Rini."

She smiled at him warmly. "Enough talk, we have a plane to catch."

Sammy grinned, "Tokyo, here we come!"

Before walking out the door she paused. "Mom says she loves you." She turned and walked out the door.

Sammy froze, tears welling up, a small smile appearing. "Mom…"

TBC……

Author: Hoped you enjoyed and please review!