Sorry it has taken me so long to write. It has been the craziest months of my life.
Chapter 16: The Final Chapter.
The said plan had been harder to keep than anyone could have ever anticipated. The giant red ribbon on the nursery door had been driving members of the house crazy, and the slight twitch in Mamoru's eye every time he looked at him was becoming noticeable. Usagi had promised she would tell him after the wedding, but it was obvious he was going to have to come up with his own plan to get her to tell him sooner. It didn't seem right that she should no only keep the nursery a secret, but also keep the gender of their baby as well. Artemis found him staring at the door again.
"Sir, if I may be so bold, staring at the door isn't going to get it to reveal hidden secrets to you. I think you should talk to Miss. Serenity and explain to her how you feel." Mamoru, gave the door a killer's glare, then sighed.
"The wedding is in two days, and I feel like I should be able to hold on, but seriously man!" He threw his arms in the arm, exaggerating his distress. "I mean she is at her final dress fitting, I could just sneak a look and no one would be any wiser." Artemis gave Mamoru a slap on the back with just enough force to bring Mamoru back down to Earth. "What was that for?" Mamoru tried to keep his voice down to not alert the rest of the lingering ears.
"Mamoru Chiba, I am saving you from making what could be the worse mistake in your life. Do you honestly think that you would be able to keep it a secret that you knew the secret. As soon as you saw her, you would put on that stupid lop sided grin you have, and she immediately know what you did. You would never be able to hold in your excitement. So as soon as she gets home, which is going to be any minute, sit that woman down and talk to her."
When Usagi came home, she couldn't believe how exhausted she was. Her feet hurt so badly she ended up taking off her shoes in the limo. Too embarrassed to say she couldn't put them back on again, she secretly left them there. When she had finally crossed the threshold, Mamoru was pacing back and forth inside the entry way.
"Serenity!" His excitement had startled her when he quickly grabbed her by the shoulders and all but carried her inside. "We need to talk." She could feel all of the blood drain from her face. The only situation she could think of that required a serious conversation was about their wedding. If he was backing out now, she didn't know what she was going to go. Her mind started to race on the hundreds, no millions of things that she was going to have to do, including where she was going to live and how she would support her baby. Mamoru didn't notice the emotions she was exhibiting as he lead her up the stairs and finally stopped in front of their nursery door. "I am going crazy. I know you wanted to wait and make it a wedding present, but damn it Serenity, either you let me in willing or I will go in myself. I have a right to know, and I seriously can not wait another minute. I am going crazy."
She stared up at him, first confused and then angry. How dare he. How dare he scare her so. He watched her eyes grow wide with realization.
"Please Sere, I can't wait any longer. I can't focus on anything else but this secret."
"Close your eyes." He barely heard her. Her soft voice gave such a demanding request. The only sound after was the sound of the ribbon falling to the floor and the latch of the lock releasing. He didn't realize until the door was open that he was holding his breath. Suddenly he felt the softness of her hand in his, and with out a word she led him into the room.
"Please don't be mad with me for keeping this from you." He took that as a sign that he could open his eyes. He stumbled a little, all feeling, from head to toe, was completely gone, and the only thing he could do was gawk. There was two of everything. Soft colors of pinks and blues danced across the room decorating the walls, carpet and toys.
"I don't understand." He collapsed into the nearest rocking chair. "This." That was the last word he was able to force out, and soon she felt all hope leave the room.
"Mamoru, please say something." She didn't recognize the sound of her own voice. Mamoru looked up and found her shaking, pale, but it didn't shock him nearly as much as his own demeanor. He had silent tears running down her face, and his trade mark grin spread across his face.
"I am so happy I don't know what I could possibly say." He got up and walked over. He wrapped his arms around her from behind, and pulled her in close. "I didn't think I could be any happier, I mean I thought one baby was the best thing in the world, but now I see that I was clearly mistaken." Before long they were laughing as she gave the grand tour of the room, and before too long the sky had turned dark. Mamoru suggested that they finally let the rest of the family in, and soon a pre-celebration had begun.
"Serenity." Hearing her name, she turned around and found her father standing there. "You look so beautiful." She gave a nervous smile. "The pastor has given us the nod that it's time to begin. Everyone is already lined up, we are just waiting for you." He held his hand out for her. They walked the rest of the way in silence, but before her double door entrance, he pulled her aside.
"Daddy?" She was confused. "What are you doing?"
"You know you are my favorite daughter. I know that parents aren't supposed to say which one is their favorite, let alone really have one at all. I am not saying you are really better than any of your sisters, but you are the one I could see myself in the most. I could never have parted with you my dear Serenity to anyone less worthy." Slowly from his pocket he pulled out a silver necklace. A small moon pendent dangled with a bright blue gem in the middle.
"Oh daddy, is so beautiful." He walked around to place it around her neck.
"This was your great grandmothers. If she was here today I know that she would want you too have it. Consider this your something old and something blue." After a hug, the doors were open and she made her walk down the isle.
The entire world disappeared. It was just her staring at Mamoru, and his gaze right back at her. Her father finally patted her arm, and dragged her back to reality. The rest of the ceremony was like a blur. She could barely pay attention to anything but the man of her dreams, standing right in front of her. Finally it was her turn to say her vows.
"You're more to me than just my soul mate, my lover; you're my best friend. The one person in the world who I can share my thoughts, my opinions and my secrets. The idea that I get to spend the rest of my life with you, my best friend, is the most amazing gift, and as I stand here, in front of our friends, family and God I have a couple things I want to say.
I promise that I was always encourage your dreams, and hold you through your nightmares. I will always hold your hand, and help to guide you when you've lost your way. You'll never be in anything by yourself because your problems are my problems and I'll always be there to help you fight. I love you. But I also need you to know a couple things. My obsession with period drama isn't going to be going away any time soon. I'll always be a little neurotic and a bit of a control freak. I can't promise I will be able to stop being anxious, and I know that I won't always be able to ask for help when I need it. I don't know what the future holds, but I know we're going to face moments where one or both of us is going to be mad, I know that I can always count on you to listen to my opinions even if you don't agree. But most importantly I stand before you knowing that our future is going to be the epic adventure that only we geeks can dream of."
She could hear soft sniffles from the guests. When Mamoru spoke she couldn't stop herself from crying. The whole day was completely over whelming that she didn't even realize that she was standing up with Mamoru for their first dance. The dj, after making a few small announcements had clicked the button and the music played.
"Serenity?" She looked up at him.
"I want to dance, but I suddenly feel really very tried." He looked concerned, but tried to hide it. Before he could lead her off the dance floor, she let out a small gasp and froze.
"Oh my god!" Her mother rushed to her side. Mamoru, confused move out of the way. It wasn't until he heard small splashes at his feet that it dawned on him what was going on.
"Let's get her to the car."
Her water had broke.
Two hours of labor, and a c-section later she was tired, and alone. Her family had left her for the night, and Mamoru had gone to get some coffee. The nurse was due any second to check on her, but she could barely stay awake. Looking at the clock, the dim light had allowed her to read 2 in the morning. Her reception started 12 hours ago. Taking a deep breath, she tried to push her self up a little, but only made it a few inches before the pain became to much.
"Serenity?" Mamoru knocked a little before finally entering all the way.
"Oh know, since we are officially husband and wife I am sure it's okay for you to come in without asking my permission." He winched a little at the tone of her voice. He tried to not take it personally since the last 12 hours of her life had been a whirlwind of emotions.
"Serenity I need you to stay calm okay, everything is going to be okay." She could barely stay awake to even hear the nurse talking to her. Mamoru was left in the dust as they rushed her into the O.R. He was crying, praying aloud. She tried to focus on what was going on. She had no idea how long everything had been going on, but before she could even try to figure it out the room was filled with crying babies. She could hear someone say something about her bleeding, another was saying something about the babies having strong lungs. And that was that. Blackness was all she could focus on.
Meanwhile Mamoru was screaming at a nurse demanding that he be allowed to see his wife and children. The poor woman tried to explain what was going on, but Mamoru found himself so frantic that his wife could be dying, the kind words of the nurse couldn't be heard. All he knew was that she had to be rushed into a c-section because her blood pressure had dropped and now they had trouble getting her bleeding under control. Nothing terrified Mamoru before, but now that he was going to loose his wife the same day they married would change him forever.
Mamoru had never prayed so hard in his life, and now he was looking at his wife, alive and well.
"I know honey, but I also know you need your rest." He settled into the lounge chair next to her, and poured her a glass of water. She smiled and took it from him.
"Some story we'll have to tell our grandchildren." He smirked.
"Baby, they could make a movie about this." Serenity laughed.
It didn't taken long for Mamoru to fall asleep in his chair, and Serenity in her bed. When she had finally woke up, hours later, the sun was brightly shinning. After breakfast Mamoru helped Serenity into a robe, and together they slowly walked down the hall into the NICU. This would be the first time that she would be able to see her children. The nurses were able to report that all was well, and they were doing fine, but it was different from being able to see it with her own eyes.
"Oh Mamoru, look at how perfect they are." He wrapped his arms around his wife as they stood over their sleep children.
"Oh good, you're both here. Yesterday we didn't find out what their names are, and there is just a little bit of paper work to fill out." The nurse handed Mamoru a folder and a pen.
"Their names are Mamoru Chiba Jr. and Usagi Serenity Chiba." The nurse smiled and nodded, then left the couples to rejoice in their family.
After almost a month in the NICU their family was finally completely at home. Family and friends had promised to give the family time to be alone, but they found it harder to say than do, and before too long the celebration of their first birthday and wedding anniversary had come.
"We like to thank everyone for coming today. Serenity and I have something wonderful to share with you." He wrapped his arm around her used his other hand to rub her stomach, his trade mark grin spilled across his face.