Anyone who has ever been pregnant can see a little bit of themselves in Usagi in this story. While it's true that children are a blessing, it's also darn uncomfortable to have someone else occupying your body for nine months. I remember that at the end of my pregnancy, as much I was loved my unborn daughter, I wanted my body back – for me alone! Sincere thanks to everyone who has taken the time to write me. With the kind of days I've been having lately, I can use all the good news I can get! You can be nice too, just drop me a line at Mearari@aol.com and I promise to get back to you. Standard Disclaimer – Unless you have been living in a cave in Patagonia, you have got to be aware of the fact that I don't own Sailor Moon or any of the attendant characters to which valid copyright laws apply. The S'Eyre, however, are mine, lock, stock and gates. If you'd like to use them in a story please ask first. "Blessed Event" By Meara Chapter Two – "Fits and Starts" Mamoru crept quietly out of the large bed he and Usagi shared. He took a moment and looked at the love of his life as she slept. Her spun gold hair was long and loose. It spread out around her like a silken river. She was on her side in deep sleep. It was so rare for Usagi to be able to rest completely these days that Mamoru was not about to wake her. He leaned over her sleeping form and placed a gentle, feather light kiss on the top of her head. Even in the midst of her dream, Usagi responded to him, and sighed as she murmured his name. After dressing as quietly as possible, he moved out of the bedroom and into the sitting room. A patch of black caught the corner of his vision and he turned to see Luna sitting primly on one of the overstuffed chairs. "Good morning Mamoru-san!" she said brightly. "I was hoping to speak with Usagi." "Luna!" he replied, "Just the person I'm looking for." "Is there a problem?" asked the lunar cat. It was amazing, but Mamoru could have sworn that the tiny feline actually raised her eyebrows at him. She could put more meaning into four words than just about anyone else he knew. Mamoru fumbled with the buttons on his shirt. "No, Usagi is still sleeping. I have a job for you, if you wouldn't mind. I really don't want to leave her alone. Could you an eye on her until I get back?" Luna hopped down off the chair and made her way to the bedroom. "That should be easy, Mamoru-san. I've years of experience at watching Usagi sleep." Luna gave a long-suffering sigh as she walked toward the bedroom. " And your bed is at least large enough that I just may avoid her squashing me." ******************** It was strange that there was so little pain associated with her labor, Usagi thought. The breathing Ami and Mamoru had taught her must really work! She'd thought it a silly thing at the time, but if it worked who was she to argue? "Come on Usagi-chan," Ami said to her, "you need to push!" "Yeah" came Mako's voice, "Push!" That was odd. Usagi didn't remember Makoto being asked to help with labor. Before she could wonder too much about it, Rei was suddenly there also. "The sacred fire says that this is a good time to give birth." Rei intoned solemnly. "But only for the next five minutes, so you'd better push fast!" "And I have a press release coming out in ten minutes so you really need to hurry Usagi-chan!" When had Mina come into the room? Mamoru was in back of her, supporting her both physically and emotionally. "Come on Usako, we have a meeting with the Ministers of Agriculture and Finance. We need to get going, so hurry up and push!" In a flash Rei, Mako, Ami and Mina were standing around her. They waved pom-poms as they jumped up and down shouting in unison, "Push Usagi push! Push Usagi push! Push Usagi push!" Ami was suddenly back where she belonged. She peeked out from behind the sheets that draped Usagi's lower legs. "It's a girl!" Usagi began to cry with joy, when Ami struck her head out once again. "…And a boy!" "We have twins!" Mamoru shouted joyfully. Once again Ami's head appeared, "…and a half ton pick up truck!" Usagi was speechless but Mamoru looked down at Ami as she held up the full sized, bright red truck wrapped in a blanket. "Oh Usako!" he called, "It's a Chevy! I've always wanted a Chevrolet!" Usagi jolted awake in her bed. She quickly brought her hands to her still rounded belly with a sigh of relief. "Oh thank you God," she murmured, "I'm still pregnant!" "You were dreaming. Try to go back to sleep." said Luna in a soothing voice. The ebony cat was on the bed with her. She had her feet and tail tucked neatly underneath her furry body in a manner that Usagi called "kitty meatloaf". The vision of that red pickup truck burned brightly in her mind's eye. "Oh, I'm awake now." Said Usagi. "I'm very happy to see your cheerful face, Luna, but why are you in my bed?" "His Majesty asked me to keep an eye on you while he was away." Said Luna. "And how are we feeling this morning – hungry perhaps?" "Oddly enough, no." replied Usagi. She paused a moment and gave a low moan. "Ohhh, I don't feel right Luna." The guardian cat unfurled her appendages and gave a long stretch. She moved to the still prostrate Queen and placed a single paw on Usagi's large belly. She gave a feline smile as she felt the muscles tighten. "I think you may be in early labor! Come on – get up. You should be walking around at this point. It will help to get things progressing nicely." "Don't get excited, Luna. It probably false labor like last night. But getting up and moving sounds like an excellent idea." Usagi huffed and rolled around onto her side. "Shimatta." she mumbled as she pushed herself to across the sheets. Usagi flopped onto her back and managed to get her feet over the side of the very large bed. They hung a goodly distance above the floor. "This used to be so easy. I'm going to need some help…" The cat pinned her ears back against her head in horror. "Not from me! I can't heft you upright by myself." The gravid champion of love and justice gave her old friend a withering look. "I'm going to need some help…" she repeated, "…getting dressed. Did 'His Majesty' say when he'd be back?" Usagi could have sworn she saw Luna blush. "Why don't I see if I can find him for you?" She said as she leapt off the bed. With her tail flagged almost straight above her back, Luna scooted out of sight. Mamoru came into the room seconds later, laughing softly. He carried a small tray of fruit, juice and fresh bread, which he placed on Usagi's dressing table. "Need a hand?" he smiled as he moved to assist his wife out of the bed. He took both of her hands and helped her to her feet. Mamoru placed a genteel kiss on Usagi right hand before releasing it. "How is the most beautiful woman in the world this morning?" Usagi smiled at him. Even after all these years, Mamoru always knew the right words to cheer her up. "Still very pregnant, I'm afraid. You're in good mood this morning, Mamo-chan." "And why wouldn't I be?" he replied as he followed his beloved to the dressing table. "My enchanting wife carries our first child. Our Kingdom is at peace and Mako put some red seedless grapes on your breakfast tray. I have everything a man could want." He reached for one of the grapes and popped it onto his mouth. "Hot damn, but it's good to be the King." "You seemed a little upset last night after our visit with Setsuna." Usagi looked at the tray of food with a deep sigh. For once in her life, it lacked any kind of appeal for her. She placed both hands on her rounded belly and rubbed it gently. With effort she picked up an apple and began to munch on it. "Me? Upset? Never!" he gave a short and unconvincing laugh. Getting Mamoru to talk about his fears was only marginally easier than milking a chicken. And about as productive. "I sent out the word for a meeting in about two hours about that very subject. Mind you I didn't say what the meeting was about, just that it was vitally important." Usagi sat down on the chair that matched the Victorian dressing table. It gave a creak and she grimaced. "I'd better have this baby soon," she said around a mouthful of sweet apple, "or we'll have to order sturdier furniture. Boy I hope Mina gets here early. I could use a hand getting dressed." Mamoru smiled and kissed the top of her head. "If she's not, I'd be more than happy to assist you, my Lady." "That's okay, Mamo-chan. I'm sure I can handle it by myself if need be." Usagi was reluctant to let Mamoru see her naked these days. She felt fat, ugly and ungainly. She may have been Queen of Earth, but in her heart she was still the same, insecure girl who'd hit him with a rolled up math test all those years ago. A failed math test at that, she remembered unhappily. "But Mina always arrives early these days. She only lives half a palace away after all. What could hold her up?" ******************** Mina cracked the door to her private apartment open slowly. With caution worthy of a bomb squad captain, she poked her head into the hall. She looked left, and then right to make sure it was empty before venturing out the door. She nearly broke into a run in her haste to get away from her door - but in the end she wasn't fast enough. "Good day Princess!" came the unmistakable voice of the current Ambassador from the S'Eyre Imperium, Prince Jameth. "May I please have a moment of your time?" "Make it quick Jameth," said Mina as she continued to walk. "I'm on my way to meet with the Queen." The wonderful excuse of official business had saved her more often than her "Love and Beauty Shock." Jameth matched her power-walk pace and gave her a smile of utter devotion, which she ignored. "In speaking with Venerable Setsuna, Keeper of the Timegate, it was brought to my attention that Terran women don't like to be pregnant. Is this true?" The question was so bizarre that Mina actually stopped in her tracks. "No! What ever gave you that impression?!" Jameth seemed honestly surprised by her reaction. "Venerable Setsuna said that some Terran males consider women to be the weaker gender because they can bear children. And that your women are afraid that they may appear to be, ummm…" he paused for a moment trying to remember the correct word, "...fat?" "Well," Mina admitted slowly, "there is a part of our culture that seems to want women to be thin and young." Jameth shook his head and sighed. "Truly? How sad that is for your people." The tone of Jameth voice was so honest that Mina found herself listening to him instead of plotting a way to escape his notice. "The S'Eyre hold that The Master of Life gave the sacred duty of life bearing to women as a mark of their strength. Indeed, the sight of a women who carries new life within her, the beauty of it, is unmatched by anything else I have ever seen." For a moment Mina was moved by the elegance of Jameth's words. She wondered for a split second if she had, perhaps, misjudged him. The Ambassador's princely ways disabused her of that notion in record time. "I long for the day, Princess Venus, when I may see you "fat" with the seed of our love!" Mina gave Jameth a four-word reply that puzzled him. As he watched the object of his desire move off into the section of the palace that contained the private Royal apartments, he sighed. Today would be a busy day, but Jameth would have to make time to see Setsuna again. No doubt Venerable Setsuna could explain the meaning of that four- word reply to him. The phrase the beautiful Princess Venus had used gave him hope of eventually marrying her. He would, however, have to find out the exact date "when hell freezes over." He hoped it would be soon. ******************** In the timeless hall of the Corridor of Eternity four young women and two lunar cats watched with rapt attention as the impossible played out before them. The meeting called by Mamoru was held in the only place where he was certain that not even the most clever spy could overhear them. What was being shown was too important, too sensitive, and too potentially politically explosive to risk it becoming public knowledge. They were taking it a lot better than Usagi and Mamoru could have hoped for. In deference to what it took out of Setsuna to use the Timegate like this, only three of the possible future scenarios were shown to the assembled group. Happily, the last one featured the little girl with the pink hair and soft, red eyes. As the great silver doors closed, then dissolved into mist you could have heard a pin drop. Usagi was slowly walking back and forth, trying to ease the knot in her lower back. "Well?" she finally asked. "We can change the future?" Asked Rei. "We can change the future instead of it happening to us like a train wreck?" Ami rested her chin on steepled fingers. "This makes sense. Before the great sleep, there was theory being debated in the Quantum Temporal Physics community about something like this." "Oh geez," replied Mina lightly, "how did I ever miss that?" Ami reached out without looking and slapped Mina on the head. "As I was saying, there was a theory being debated about something similar to this. The main idea is that there are limitless possible futures. Each time we make a decision – be it as serious as a war, or as simple as which flower to pick – we set a future into motion. The decisions we make are not necessarily the same ones made by the rulers of the Crystal Tokyo we saw so many years ago." "Which means in simple language?" asked Mako. Which means," replied Ami with a smile. "Their future doesn't have to be our future." Luna gave a feline smile, which Artemis shared. "We can prevent the devastation of Earth in that awful war!" "Even better" said Artemis. "We can prevent the war in the first place! Now if only we could remember the people we are supposed to go to war with…" "Mina-chan could marry Prince Jameth." Suggested Mako with an evil smile. "Godzilla could rise out of the ocean and stomp Crystal Tokyo. Which I may add, is more likely than Mako-chan's idea." Said Mina. It took a moment, even as Usagi paraded her very pregnant self in front of her friends, for the obvious to hit them. It seemed to happen simultaneously, though. They looked at each other and called out in unison, "The baby!" "You could be having boy!" Shouted Mako. "Or a girl other than Small Lady!" added Rei. "Or even twins!" said Ami. Luna fell onto her side with dramatic flair. "Oh Lord, have mercy! Two little Usagi's running around the palace! I'll never survive that!" The elder Usagi stopped short and looked down at her belly. "Uh, guys…" Mamoru slowly shook his head. "Twins seems unlikely, but perhaps you'd better do an ultrasound, Ami. Just to be sure, mind you." "Un guys.." said Usagi, a little louder. Ami thought as she spoke. "Well, I could get the equipment here for this afternoon, I suppose." "Un, guys!" shouted Usagi. A complete silence fell over the corridor as she took center stage. "That may be unnecessary. I think I'm in labor – now!" Ami and Mamoru nearly collided in their haste to get to the gravid Queen of Earth and the Moon. Mamoru put his hand in the small of her back, propelling her forward. Ami reached out and put her hand on Usagi's abdomen. "Setsuna," called Mamoru in a forceful voice that had panic around the edges, "please get us back to our bedroom." The silent Senshi of Pluto did as she was asked and the group hustled through the portal like frenzied commuters off a train at rush hour. "Usagi-chan, I need to check your cervix," said Ami's voice as the portal began to close. "Take off all you clothes below the waist!" Setsuna sighed heavily as the scene closed off before her eyes. She turned to look at her sister who, after assisting her twin earlier, had stepped back quietly into the shadows. "Lori, if I even complain again that my life is too quiet, I want you to take this…" she thrust her staff at Lorilei, "And hit me with it." Lorilei took it with a smile and a wink. "For you, Suna, anything." ******************** There was the snap of latex gloves being removed as Ami said, "False labor." "But, but…" began Usagi as another contraction gripped her, "…I'm having real contractions, Ami-chan and it hurts!" "I'm sorry Usagi-chan, but your cervix is dilated only two and half centimeters." Replied Ami as she moved to wash her hands. "Look, why don't I stay with you until after the ultrasound this afternoon. That way I'm here just in case I'm wrong about the false labor. You rest and I'll ask Mako to have some lunch sent up here." Mamoru gave his beloved's hand a squeeze of reassurance. "That sounds like an excellent idea, thank you. Well no baby today, Usako, but at least we should be able to find out if our little one is a boy or a girl." "Or twins…" ventured Usagi with a smile. "You know, I like the idea of twins." Ami stifled a laugh at the look on Mamoru's face as she went to arrange for both lunch and the ultrasound equipment. Part of her hoped that Usagi was having the longed-for twins, but knew it was unlikely. With the Queen so close to delivery, Ami didn't want to also have to tell her that, in some cases, ultrasound was inconclusive about a baby's sex. Next: Chapter three – "Bundle of Joy"