A/N: Special thanks to picavenger14, LoveInTheBattleField, peaches252, sabina21, and Aiyoku Saotome for reviewing the last chapter. Thank you guys for the rave reviews! I am so glad that you are enjoying Ever After.

Hey everyone! I'm back with the next chapter. I wish everyone a safe and happy Labor Day Weekend. Sabina21, here's your answer.

Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon.

Chapter Eighteen

The Fourth of July

Serena lied restless in her bed that night. She glanced through the window at the crescent moon in the starless sky. Katie was happy to learn the truth, but Rini was still in disbelief.

Her bedroom door slowly crept open. She shifted and sat up in bed with the covers to her lap. She smiled happily at her little intruders. Rini and Sarah tiptoed in dressed in their night clothes. They crawled in the bed on opposite sides of their mother, tucking themselves underneath the covers and sat up next to her. She wrapped her arms around both of her little girls as she looked back and forth at them as they asked her question after question. She answered their questions. Rini asked baffled, "How can I exist before I was born?"

Serena turned to Katie. Katie asked, "Mommy, why wasn't I in your memories?"

Serena turned to Rini. Rini asked, "Why haven't we received our transformation powers yet?"

Serena said to Rini, "Rini, the world is a mysterious place. There are alternate realities that changes all the time by the decisions that we make. That Rini travelled back in time from her alternate reality to get the sailor scouts to help her save her mother."

Katie asked confused, "Which is you?"

Serena nodded at Katie. "In another time and another life."

Rini asked, "But not in this time?"

Serena shook our head. "I don't think so." She looked back at Rini to answer her other question. "As far as your powers, we'll teach you how to hone in your Lunarian powers?" She turned to Katie as she squeezed her daughters close to her. "Both of you."

Rini asked, "Is my ability to move things a Lunarian power?"

Serena shook her head. "No, that's one of your father's powers?"

Rini said, "Well, Derrick can do it too."

Katie said upset, "Why don't I have that power yet?"

Serena's heart skipped a beat. She dreaded telling Katie that she was not Darien's daughter. She'll never inherit his powers. She opened her mouth to speak not exactly sure what to say when Rini quickly interrupted her. "You'll get them on your eighth birthday. That's when Derrick and I received ours."

Serena smiled happily at Rini's answer silently thanking her. Katie seemed happy with that answer and said, "Thanks Rini."

Rini smiled at her little sister. "No problem."

Serena said, "Well girls, go to bed. You have school in the morning. You'll do your homework afterwards. Then we are going to Raye's temple tomorrow and start your training."

The girls smiled as they made themselves comfortable in her bed turning away from her as they pulled the cover up to their chins then fell asleep. Serena shook her head in amusement at her daughters. Serena yawned suddenly feeling sleepy as she lied down also making herself comfortable until she joined them falling asleep within seconds.

For the next few weeks, Lita, Serena, and Raye trained the girls for a couple of hours after school. They were all dressed in miko attire. They taught them how to fight, meditate, and hone in their powers. The only one of the girls with an active power was Rini. Luna and Raye attempted to help Rini gain better control of her power. Serena and Artemis helped Rini and Katie with their Lunarian powers, the ability to heal and to read and block thoughts. The girls were having a difficult time learning their powers and Serena easily entered her daughters' mind and read their innocent thoughts. They were mostly worried about disappointing her. She assured them out loud that they never disappointed her. The girls were freaked out when they realized she read their thoughts.

Serena and Lita made their daughters promised not to tell anyone about their powers. This was especially difficult for Sarah who was very honest. She listened as her parents argued nearly every night her father came over about Sarah and her mother's whereabouts. Her mother half-lied about them simply spending time with her friends and her father was upset. He did not feel like he was a priority to her mother anymore.

Sarah hated that Andrew worked at the temple. He did not bother her but his presence irked her. She saw how uncomfortable her mother was around him. He was friendly with her mother, but nothing more. He seemed closer to Raye now than her mother. She could see the hurt in her mother's eyes even when she smiled at them.

Lita taught Sarah how to block attacks. Her mother's strength and fighting skills impressed Sarah. She was not as great of a fighter as her mother, but she worked and trained hard to become like her.

Andrew was cleaning inside of the honden, the main hall of the shrine. Serena dressed in miko attire cleared her throat. Andrew glanced up from scrubbing the floor. He greeted Serena. "Hi Serena."

Serena looked around admiring the beautiful hall as she stepped inside. Serena strolled over to him. "Hi Andrew. " Without asking, she dropped to her knees and began to help Andrew scrubbed the floor.

Serena focused on the floor. "It's okay."

Andrew looked confused at what she was talking about. Was this another lame intervention by the girls trying to pry into his personal life again? He asked, "What are you talking about?"

Serena said, "Lita told me that you know that we are the sailor scouts." Andrew stiffened. He could not believe that she knew that. Serena looked up at him with warm blue eyes. "I told her that it was okay that you figured it out. We trust you."

Andrew said, "S-Serena…" He wanted to tell her that he would never tell anyone. Serena smiled at him as she read his thoughts.

She said, "I know." His eyes widen.

Serena said, "I can read thoughts. I am teaching the girls how to use their powers."

Andrew became frightened inside with a deadpanned expression on his face. Did she read his thoughts? Did she know what was going on with him? She smiled at him revealing nothing.

Serena said happily, "It's good to have you back, Andy." Andrew calmed down. Serena stood up and walked out of the main hall.

She strolled over to Raye outside, who was shouting off fighting positions to the girls. The girls stood in a row with staffs in their little hands. She whispered in Raye's ear. "End practice today." Raye looked at her confused and nodded.

"Girls! That's it for today. Good work." The girls looked relieved.

Raye and Serena walked off to the side. As they strolled along the grounds of the shrine, Serena said, "That isn't Andrew."

Raye stopped. "What!"

"That is not Andrew."

"How could that be possible? I can sense evil." Raye could not believe it. She could sense danger from a mile away and she sensed nothing evil in Andrew.

"He's not evil. He's not human." Serena saw the confused expression on Raye's face. "It's Andrew's soul or spirit like astral projection. His real body is somewhere else. I think that's why he came back because he needs us to help him."

Raye said, "But he feels real. I can touch him."

"I know. An astral projection of one's self can become corporal."

"So what do we do?"

"We have to find the real Andrew. He can't stay out of his body for too long."

"What happened if he does?"

"Then he'll die."

"He's been out here since the Fourth of July. That's almost two months ago."

Serena shook his head. "That is not good."

Raye wondered if he was…Serena read her thoughts and shook her head. "Don't think that. He's not dead. If he was a ghost, we could not touch or see him. He's still corporal. We have to find out where he is."

Raye said, "I tried to find out where Rita was, but the trail went cold in Switzerland. I called her school and it said that she left her job there two years ago. I left a voicemail, a few weeks ago but I did not get a response." Serena knew what Raye was dreading. She dreaded the same thing.

Serena sighed. "Then that's where we'll start." Raye nodded.

Rini and Katie were upstairs in their room playing with Sarah and Diana. Diana loved that the girls knew she could speak now and enjoyed their conversations together. An exhausted Serena took a nap in her bedroom. She was leaving with Raye tonight. They were going to teleport to Zurich, Switzerland where Rita once lived. They hoped it would help them found out where Andrew's body was. They decided not to tell Lita since it was only a hunch.

After her nap, Serena slowly walked down the stairs. She heard voices in the kitchen. She recognized one as her mother. She thought she was imagining the other voice. She slowly walked into the kitchen and was surprised to see her mother sitting at the kitchen table drinking tea with Luna. They were talking about Irene's origami designs of stars and animals. Her designs were quite good.

Serena stood in the doorway. Her jaw dropped. Irene looked up from making a new design along with Luna. Irene then turned back to her designs. Luna turned back to looking at Irene.

Serena was dumbfounded. It did not bothered them that she caught them talking. Serena said, "Mom, you're talking to Luna."

Irene smiled looking up at her daughter. "Yes, of course sweetheart. Your father and I found out that Luna could talk years ago. I enjoyed our talks. Artemis talks mostly with your father."

Serena asked again, "You're talking to Luna? You're not freaking out that my cat can talk."

Irene laughed. "Well, I did become a little unhinged when we first caught Luna speaking. I thought she was possessed. Then, things started to make sense like when I walked passed your room and heard you speaking to someone. She became quite the little helper." Irene petted Luna's head causing Luna to purr.

"So you know that…."

"Yes, I know that you are Sailor Moon." Serena stood still. She could not believe that her mother knew. She glanced at Luna wondering if Luna told her.

Luna interjected, "She assumed that you were when you defeated Queen Beryl and the Negaverse. Then after the constant disappearing and reappearing and you and Sailor Moon never being in the same place at once, she knew."

Serena looked back at her mom who was staring at her. Serena asked softly, "Why didn't you tell me?" All this time her mother knew that she was Sailor Moon. Almost from the beginning she knew Serena's secret, the one secret that Serena always kept from her. Her mother already knew. She felt a sense of sadness and relief wash over her.

Irene smiled. "You would have never told me the truth. A mother always knows. I knew when you received your first kiss. I knew every time you lied saying that you were going to stay at Lita's or Raye's, you were really either going to fight a battle or you were spending time with Darien. I knew when you first started dating Darien. I knew when he broke your heart. I knew when you got back together. I knew when you started becoming intimate with him."

"Mom…"

Irene laughed to herself. "I knew the child was Darien's, but I could never put my finger on how it was possible. How did you get pregnant with his child? You were here and Darien was thousands of miles away."

Serena said, "I have the power to teleport."

Irene pondered on what Serena said, "That strangely makes sense."

"Do Dad and Sammy know?"

Irene nodded. "I told them years after you left. They were very proud to hear that you were a superhero and saved so many lives over and over again. We're very proud of you Serena." Serena smiled.

"Thanks mom."

Irene said holding up an origami paper, "Want to join us?" Serena nodded. She had a little time before Raye came over. She sat down and told her eager mother about some of her adventures as Sailor Moon.

Lita whimpered underneath her husband. He surprised her in the kitchen when he used his key that he made without her permission. He stood in the doorway of the kitchen drunk in a navy business suit. She could smell the whiskey on his breath. They got into a heated argument. He pushed her roughly against the kitchen sink. She winced in pain from the ache in her back. Angrily, she marched over to him and slapped him hard across the cheek. He stared at her angrily and backslapped her hard against the cheek causing her to stagger backwards against one of the counters. He angrily called her derogatory names. They got into a fight destroying furniture in the kitchen and living room. Nick overpowered Lita. He dragged a weak and beaten Lita to the guest bedroom, the room where he caught her in bed with Andrew. He locked the door behind him. He pushed her roughly on the bed and ripped off her clothes until she lied naked before him. She looked hot and turned on. He undid his suit and tie never taking his steel eyes off of her. He stood naked before her. He crawled on top her and buried his flesh inside of her. He covered her mouth with his hand to muffle her scream not wanting to wake up their daughter. He pounded hard into her. He was upset because she officially filed for divorce from him. He was served with divorce papers today at work. Lita tightly wrapped her arms and legs around him. She ran her hands through his white hair that turned blonde. She moaned against his lips as his eyes turned from steel to green. Their lips met again. He pounded harder into her as she kissed Andrew. He buried his head in the crook up her neck. She closed her eyes in ecstasy. Her eyes widen when she looked in the mirror and saw that was Raye actually having sex with Andrew and not her. Raye smirked at Lita through the mirror as Andrew lifted up his head and kissed Raye.

Lita jumped up from her sleep gasping for air. It was night time. In the pitch black room, the moonlight brightly shined through her window. She breathed heavily. She saw she was alone in her bed. She ran her hands through her hair. Why was she dreaming about Raye and Andrew together? She chose her marriage over Andrew. He was her past. Nick was her future. Maybe it was because she had not had sex in three weeks since Nick gave her the ultimatum. He turned into the perfect husband, but she did not want things to go back to the way they were. She liked that they acted like to horny teenagers having sex in inappropriate places. He loved her, but he had grown tired of the rough sex.

Lita slipped on a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. She quickly brushed her long brown hair that hung loosely down her back. Sarah was having a sleepover at Serena's house. Lita walked the empty and quiet streets of Juban alone at night time. Her only light was the starry sky, the moonlight, and the streetlights. Everything else was dark shadows. She raced up the stone stairs of the shrine wanting to speak with Raye. She knocked on the door to the sleeping quarters. She took a step back when she saw Andrew answered the door. He was dressed in a t-shirt and jogging pants. He looked as surprised to see her as she was to see him. He opened the doors and asked, "What's up, Lita?"

Lita asked, "Is Raye here?"

Andrew shook his head. "No, she went out with Serena."

Lita wondered why they did not ask her to tag along with them. She guessed since she turned down Raye so many times in the past that Raye became tired of asking. Yet, she wished they would have invited her. She would have loved a girl nights out right now.

Lita stopped. "Did they say where they were going?"

Andrew shrugged her shoulders. "Raye and I have this system. Since we're both adults, we say we are going out and leave it at that."

Lita sighed. Andrew could tell something was bothering her. He asked, "What's up, Lita? You seemed like something is bothering you?"

Lita gave him a half smile. "I need a charm."

Andrew folded his arms. "I am having impure thoughts and I wanted Raye to remove them."

Andrew smirked. "Lita, you're married. Do it to your husband."

Lita blushed. "That's the problem. It's all I can do to my husband." Andrew looked bemused.

They strolled along the ground of the temple. The night was silence and cool. Andrew prompted Lita to speak to him.

Lita laughed sadly. 'I found out I am a masochist."

"What?"

"I did some research online. I get sexual gratification from physical or emotional abuse. I've always wondered why I steered towards guys that treated me like crap. It's because I feel like I deserve it. Sexually, they got what they wanted from me, but I never got any pleasure from them. I always thought it was because something was wrong with me. Now, I know it was because they were selfish lovers only focused on pleasing themselves."

She looked at Andrew. "It clicked with me tonight. I went to a sex club months ago and ended up having sex with this guy after my husband cheated on me and called me frigid. I enjoyed it because I felt slutty." She looked at Andrew expecting him to judge her but he did not. She saw a hint of surprise when she mentioned going to a sex club but that was about it. "I get off by being treated like a slut or a whore." She became emotional. "My husband is tired of the rough sex. He wants to make love to me again and he wants me to be his wife again. But I get no pleasure out of making love, and he knows when I am faking. He becomes upset."

Andrew added, "And you're afraid that if you reconcile with him, you'll lose yourself again." Lita nodded. If she reconcile with her husband, she was afraid that she would lose herself. If she did not, she was afraid she would lose her husband.

Andrew smirked internally. "There is a third option."

Lita asked anxiously wanting a solution to her problem, "What is it?"

"Ditch your husband and find a better lover." From listening to Lita talk about her love life over the last two months, Andrew believed the problem was not Lita; it was the men she picked to sleep with. They did not know how to satisfy her. She was still learning how to satisfy herself.

"Andrew!"

Andrew said with a sigh, "Nothing is wrong with you, Lita."

Lita cut him off. "I dreamed that my husband physically abused me and raped me and I enjoyed it." She intentionally did not mention the rest of the dream containing him and Raye. "That's not normal. It's sick."

Andrew added, "Would you let him disrespect you in public? Could he come up to you right now and hit you?"

Lita said outraged, "Of course not!"

Andrew said, "There is no such thing as normal, Lita. Everyone has fixations we're not proud of. You'll be surprised to find that there are females like you who get off from demeaning behavior in the bedroom. It's because you're a boss."

"What!"

"You're a boss. You've been on your own since you were thirteen. You went from one family to the next that treated you like crap, physically abused you, and constantly told you that you were worthless and would never amount to anything. You also had to fight off your foster fathers and brothers who tried to rape you." Lita became silent. She forgot she told him all of that a long time ago. He was the only person she ever told.

"You became independent at a young age and took care of yourself. You raised a child on your own and took my small business and built an empire. Every day you have to make important decisions. You are always in charge, and it's been a long time since you were allowed to just be a girl. So in the bedroom, it's the one area of your life where you don't have to be in control. You allow your lover to dominate you and take control." He turned to her. "There's nothing wrong with that."

Lita found herself becoming light in the stomach. He stopped walking and turned to her. Lita blew air. She looked at him. "I don't want to get turn on like that. I want to get an orgasm from my husband making love to me, but I can't."

Andrew said, "You're afraid he would judge you if you tell him."

Lita sighed. "Yeah, I know he will." Lita loved her husband, but he was so judgmental. You either agreed with what he said or you were wrong. They constantly had disagreements about things and the fights did not end until she admitted that she was wrong even though she was right. If she told her husband that she get off by him treating her like crap, he would think she was vile.

Andrew said, "Yeah, telling your lover you're a masochist is a tough pill for some men to swallow." He added mischievously winking at her with a twinkle in his eyes, "But not all." She turned as red as a tomato before she playfully slapped a laughing Andrew.

He smiled at her. "Is this what you were afraid to tell me last month because you thought I would judge you?"

Lita nodded. Andrew said, "I wouldn't have. One thing I learnt about life is that things are greyer than black and white. I'll never judge you." Andrew playfully hit Lita on the chin. It was a light tap.

Andrew said moving his eyebrows up and down, "Ahh…I hit you. Am I going to get lucky tonight?" Lita's eyes widen in shock and amusement.

"Andrew!" She reached for him and he ran off as a laughing Lita chased after him.

It was after two o'clock in the afternoon in Zurich, Switzerland. Raye and Serena teleported in Rita's apartment only a few block away from the university where she once taught at. Raye called Ami to help them out. Within minutes, Ami informed them that the trail for Rita ended in Zurich. There is nothing else about Rita besides volunteering in South America a year ago for a research trip.

Raye and Serena searched through the small apartment that had a nice homely feel to it and was nicely furnished. Raye looked at a cordless phone on an end table. It was beeping red. Raye clicked on the phone and listened to the message she had left Rita weeks ago. Serena stared at the pictures on the wall. It was pictures of their wedding day and children that she assumed were Andrew and Rita. She smiled when she saw a picture of Andrew and Rita on their wedding day sitting on top of an elephant. There was a photograph of Rita smiling for the camera as she took a picture sitting on a horse. There was a photograph of a smiling Andrew looking at down at his newborn baby son wrapped tightly in a blanket. There were photographs of the children through the years. It stopped with the boy around seven or eight and the girl around three or four. There were photographs of the family in different places around the world in front of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. There was even a photograph of Andrew and Rita in winter gear standing on top of Mount Everest.

Serena looked around the three bedroom apartment. Everything looked neat. The beds were made and the electricity and water was still on. It looked like someone was still living there. Serena walked back in the living room.

She looked at Raye. "Did you find anything? Everything looks normal to me. It's like someone still lives here." Serena checked the refrigerator. It was still on. It still had food in it and everything looked fresh.

Raye said, "I'm assuming Rita hasn't been home in weeks. She never listened to the voicemail I left her."

Serena stumped her feet. "Then where could she be?" Raye shrugged her shoulders. They spent a couple of hours searching through old bills, their drawers, and a laptop but found nothing.

When they were about to leave, they panicked as they heard the sound of the front door unlocked with jingling keys from the outside. The door slowly opened. They were stunned to see Rita walk in with the two children from the photograph. She had a bag of groceries in her hand. She gasped when she saw Raye and Serena standing in her apartment. She looked slightly older than they remembered .She wore light makeup. Her hair was in a loose ponytail and she wore a red sweater and blue jeans and sneakers.

She grabbed hold to her children. She asked alarmed, "Who are you? Do I know you?"

Serena nervously waved her hands out in surrender. "It's me Serena Tuskino and Raye Hino. We're friends of Andrew."

Rita became quiet. Her eyes became emotional. She recognized the girls. She said sadly, "You don't know, do you?"

Serena asked quietly afraid of the answer, "Know what?"

Rita said silently, "Andrew is dead. He died a month ago." Serena and Raye gasped. If Andrew was dead, then who was the guy they left in Tokyo?