Thanks everyone for reviewing! In response to some comments about a villain, there will be some deeper stuff going on in the next few chapters; more action and more adventure. Just be a bit patient. Gotta build it all up!! ^_~

Disclaimer: I don't own any Sailor Moon characters

Chapter 7: Sympathy

Darien looked up from the press release statement that Ami had drafted over. Serena still was god-awful at grammar so she had Ami write all of her speeches and statements. It was equally balanced with eloquence and power, describing that Stella was not fit to complete her term as Prime Minister. It briefly explained that she had been guilty of having an affair with King Endymion and that currently the royal couple was dealing with their marital issues quietly. It begged that the press leave their personal matters alone and respect their privacy.

"It's good," he said looking across the room at Ami who was reading a book quietly in front of the fire while waiting for him to finish going over it. She smiled in response, glad that he thought so. She stood up from the couch she was sitting on and walked across the room to retrieve the piece of paper from him. "I'm very pleased with how you handled everything. Thank you for not making me out to be a horrible villain."

"It was easy because you're not a 'horrible villain'," she replied. "I understand that what you're going through is very difficult, but if I have to choose sides, it will be Serena's."

"I know," he answered, leaning back in his chair. "She's lucky to have all of you."

"How do you do it? Serena has all of us around her, but you …"

"Have no one?" he finished for her. "I think that's why I strayed away toward Stella. She was the only other person besides Serena that I had developed a connection with. It was easy to slip into the affair when I don't have anyone other than Serena to rely on." His eyes hardened a little bit, "If I didn't have her, I would be leading a very lonely life."

Amy began to feel sympathy for him. Before Serena stumbled into her life, she had nothing but her studies and reading. Then they had their exciting lives and adventures and dangerous battles as Sailor Scouts. Each and every one of them were blessed to have met her.

A knock at the door interrupted the intimate moment between the two of them and Serena stuck her head in the door. Darien grinned, "Speak of the devil."

She walked completely inside the room and looked at Ami, "Is the statement ready to be delivered to the press? They sent a messenger."

"Yes it is. I was having King Endymion look over it," she answered.

"Good. Would you mind leaving me and the king alone? I have some business to discuss with him."

Ami bowed to her queen and quickly exited the room. Serena shut the door and walked over to the fire. She had changed out of that stupid cocktail dress Mina had practically trapped her with at the hospital and donned on a white organza dress with a matching white pashmina draped over her shoulders. She lowered herself down to the floor and eventually laid down completely on the ground. Her hands drifted down to her stomach and she suddenly started to cry.

"I can't do it Darien," she said, her glassy eyes staring at the fire in front of her. "I can't do it. I can't bring a child into this world right now."

He got up from his chair and walked over to where she was. He laid down behind her and wrapped his arm around her stomach, pulling her toward his body.

"I had you lay with me today in the hospital because Rini was with us," she said, closing her eyes, "but I still don't want you touching me without my permission. Please let go of me."

He pulled away and sat up from the floor, "What do you want from me? Seriously Serena, this is getting ridiculous."

"What is?!" she shouted as she up and glared at him. "I am still so angry at you! I won't get over it in two days! I won't get over it in two months! I won't get over it when this child comes!"

"So what am I supposed to do?!" he yelled back. "I can't correct what I did! I can't fix it! What more do you want?!"

She got up and walked passed him, "If you have to ask, you'll never know."

Serena left the room and quietly walked around the palace halls by herself. She was thankful for all of the open space and hiding places in this Earth home; otherwise she would never have peace and quiet. The cold marble floor beneath her bare feet made shivers shoot up her spine. She wondered if it was the feeling of the ground beneath her or something else that caused that sudden chill. She stopped in her tracks and turned around to find Hotaru following her. The Scout of Silence certainly had a way of sneaking up people.

"You know this argument doesn't just affect you," she said. "Rini will be scarred if you guys don't keep your voices down."

"I don't know how to solve this problem," Serena responded. "I can't just forgive him for months of deception."

"But you can't go on fighting for years."

"Michiru thinks I need to express myself and just let all of my emotions out."

"That was her way of letting things go; she doesn't have a child to worry about."

"You're right."

"Think of what's best for your current child and your future one."

For being such a young woman, she certainly had plenty of words of wisdom to bestow upon Serena. She watched as the scout walked away in the other direction, her footsteps not making a single sound. She wished she could talk to someone who had children and help her figure out what the best route was. All of her scouts had basically stayed single or barren because of the idea of protecting the whole universe and second universe (being the child) was too much to handle. She couldn't go and ask the scouts for help; all of them would think about it in single terms and she wasn't single.

"Maybe it's time to give mother a visit," she whispered to herself.

The next day Serena and the four inner scouts traveled to her old neighborhood just on the outskirts of the Golden Kingdom, finding it much different. The buildings were taller, the houses were remolded, and the roads were better. All of the houses looked different, so when she rolled up to the address her mother gave her a while back, she was surprised that it still somewhat looked the same. The only difference was that there was another floor built on top, a new tree in the front yard, and they had remodeled the wrap around deck.

She smiled at the sight of it and got out of the limo with her friends flanking her. Skipping up the pavement toward the porch she was washed over with memories of tripping on her way out, being late for school every single morning and even dreading the porch steps when she had a bad test grade. Serena turned around and looked at her scouts who were in civilian clothing so's not to attract attention, but it was a little late for that; photographers were already taking pictures and a small crowd was gathering to get a glimpse of the Queen.

"Do I look okay?" she asked them. "I won't scare her will I?"

They all shook their heads no at her. She was wearing a simple white cap sleeve t-shirt with a black high waist skirt with silver buttons on either side at the top. She smoothed her skirt out and then ventured up the steps to the porch. She rang the doorbell and heard shuffling in kitchen.

"Coming! Coming!"

Her heart beat quickened as the door was opened up swiftly. Serena took a deep breath and smiled widely at her mother who still hadn't changed a bit since she moved to the moon palace in Crystal Tokyo.

"Hi Mom," she beamed.

"Serena?!" she gasped.

Her mother opened the screen door and embraced her daughter excitedly. She hadn't been able to see her baby girl in years. Serena had instructed her to stay on Earth and that she would visit her when she had time, but being busy was one of her greatest traits these days.

"Come in! Come in!" she ushered with teary eyes. Serena's friends stood on the porch and looked at her with smiling eyes. She knitted her eyebrows together with confusion and asked, "These are your scouts, right?"

"Yes," Serena answered over her shoulder as she took her shoes off at the door.

"Well you are all welcome inside as well!"

They entered cautiously, took their shoes off and followed the two women into the living room. The scouts sat down on the large, worn in blue couch while Serena and her mother took the two single chairs in the room.

"Now do I call you Serena or Serenity? Or Queen Serenity?"

"You can always call me Serena. Queen Serenity was my mother," she replied. She shook her head at the look of confusion on her mortal mother's face, "I mean my past mother. It's a long story. Just know that I'm technically known as Neo-Queen Serenity, but please stick with Serena."

"Well, Serena, what brings you here? And unannounced I might add…"

"I know, I'm sorry for not calling or sending a messenger, but I've been having difficulty with something lately and I don't know what to do about it," she explained.

"I heard about the Prime Minister being replaced. Is it true that Dar – er I mean King Endymion had an affair with her?"

"Yes and that's what I'm struggling with. Mom," she said, trying to choke back the tears, "what am I supposed to do? I feel like if this were anyone else I would tell them to break up with him—"

"Or break something off of him," Lita quipped angrily.

"But I love him too much to do that. We've been through multiple lifetimes of hardships together, never faltering and we have a daughter together!"

"And you're about to have another one, aren't you?" her mom asked.

Serena tilted her head in amazement, "How did you know? It's only been a day since I found out."

"Mother's intuition," she answered.

"Well do you have any intuition as to what to do in my situation? As much as I love my scouts," she tossed them a meaningful glance, "they don't understand what it's like being a parent. If I hurt him, I'm hurting my daughter as well. But I want him to suffer like I have! I want him to understand the pain I've been through lately sleeping alone, but wanting to kick him out of bed if he sleeps next to me. I miss his touch, but don't want him to be near me because the thought of that woman makes my stomach churn."

Clasping her hand over her daughter's, she said, "In the end, you have to do what is best for you. Your child is a teenager, right?" Serena nodded. "She is going through her independent phase right now. She will be trying to find every excuse possible to not be around you in the years to come. You will be alone soon and then it won't matter what happens. Do you ever remember your father and me arguing?" She shook her head. "That's because you were out at school, at the arcade, or …"

"Saving the world," Serena smiled as she sniffed a little, letting the tears fall down her face.

"My poor baby," her mother cooed as she grabbed for a box of tissues. "Being queen isn't all it's cracked up to be, huh? I told you so." Serena laughed at the irony of it.

"I thought that once I became Neo-Queen Serenity I would have all the answers right in front of me."

"But there's a dilemma when you have all sorts of people in your life; they make the world so much more complicated."

"So what do you suggest I do?"

"You love him." She nodded furiously. "And you can't imagine a life without him?" She nodded again. "Take a break. Be apart for a while and see what happens. Distance makes the heart grow fonder. Don't contact each other unless absolutely necessary. If he tries to write to you, make sure the scouts receive the letters so that you aren't tempted to write back. I think you'll discover the feeling of what it means to have him out of your life if you do this. Bring him back when you truly can't bare it anymore, whenever that moment is. It could be days, weeks, years, even decades before he returns, but you'll know when the time is right." She cupped Serena's damp face, "And always know that you can come here for refuge, alright?" Her daughter nodded and she pulled her into a hug, rocking her back and forth like a baby. "Now are you ladies hungry? I was just about to make lunch."

"Oh yes please!" Serena exclaimed, practically jumping out of her mother's arms.

"I see that some things haven't changed."

The scouts laughed at the comment and nodded in agreement.

Next up: Serenity preps for a ball at the palace.