Disclaimer: I do Not Own Sailor Moon

A/N:

Okay even though I am a super private person (although I write stories online) I think I owe you all in explanation of why I don't update often. I have a husband and a one year old son who take up a lot of my free time. I also work a lot and am going to school so writing gets put on the back burner. I'm sorry to always keep you waiting but this is my life and it is chaotic. Again thank you for supporting me and this story and for all the kind reviews.

A month has gone by since the "dance" and Serena wasn't sure what was going on between her and Darien. They were cordial to one another, but neither of them had dared to speak about what they are. For once they weren't fighting every other second with one another, but they also weren't head over heels in love either. It wasn't like the had a chance to talk about it between school, work, and fighting the Negaverse they didn't have time to themselves anymore. The Scouts had forced her to ask Darien to help them fight against Rubeus, their new enemy.

Rubeus was still a huge threat to Rini's safety and it didn't help how the Scouts were always fighting with each other now. Serena remembered how it all started and it was all over Darien.

"We need him," Rei yelled as her patience had finally ran thin. They were getting their butts kicked without his help, but stupid "Meatball Head" wouldn't admit it or let him come back. "He is supposed to help us fight the Negaverse. It is his birthright and you took it away from him, because you are selfish. You can't accept the fact you lost him. He wanted you back and you blew him off. I don't care that he broke your heart anymore…get over it."

Serena could feel the tears burn against her cheeks, but she knew Rei was right. They needed him in battle, but he was finally happy. He could achieve his dream of becoming a doctor faster now, because he didn't have to worry about fighting the Negaverse. She knew it would be easier to have him on their side, but he seemed so happy now. How could she take it away from him? After everything he went through as a child and the second he was finally happy she was about to ask him to give it all up.

She had expected one of the other girls to stand up on her behalf, but they all remained silent. Apparently the Scouts agreed with Rei on this issue at hand, and Serena had no choice to suck it up and deal with it. She was the one who caused this mess in the first place.

"I am sorry I caused such a mess," Serena broke the awkward silence as she stood up and faced the Scouts. She was about to take leadership and responsibility for her actions. "I didn't know we needed him so much. I will ask him to help, but if he says no then I will not press him any further. I want him to be happy, because he deserves it. Now this meeting is over."

Rei couldn't take it any longer, she was tired of watching them pine over one another. It was making her sick. She wanted them to be together, but it seemed like the ex couple lost their spark. "I meant what I said," Rei said hastily as she pulled on Serena's arm forcing her to come back. "You will get him to help us. This isn't about you. Grow up."

"You obviously don't know what it is like to have your heart broken," Serena's tone cold as ice as she ripped out of Rei's grip. "Because no one could ever love you."

Immediately after she arrived home, she regretted her words but she was too stubborn to apologize. She loved Darien was still in love with him and it hurt her seeing him so happy without her. It seemed like no cared anymore about her pain so she wallowed her own self pity and stayed far away from the Scouts.

She avoided them at school and clung to Molly. Molly didn't seem to mind though and it made her feel guilty about ditching her friend so many times for Scouts business. She did attend meetings, but she didn't talk to them outside of the Temple. It wasn't as if they didn't try, because heaven forbid they tried but Serena was too wounded by Rei's words still to care for what they had to say.

However Rini was determined to reunite the friends again so she dragged Serena to the Arcade on Saturday morning knowing the Scouts would be there. Serena pleaded for Rini to let her stay in bed, but Rini persisted until a grumpy Serena rolled out of bed. Rini ran towards the back booth as soon as they arrived, but Serena spotted an empty seat next to Darien at the counter top and opted for the lesser evil.

She sat down on the barstool and ordered a black coffee from Andrew who was surprised but delighted to make her request. Before she could reach the hot beverage Darien had reached over and pulled it far away from her. She looked up to meet his blue eyes, but before she could say anything he was already explaining himself. "You only order coffee when you are feeling guilty about something. Do you care to share what is bothering you?" He knows her better than she knows herself.

"Um the Scouts and I got into a fight," Serena paused as she looked over her shoulder at them. They had their heads thrown back as if someone had told the best joke they had ever heard in their lives. "I only talk to them about Scouts business now. I don't want to go any further than that."

Darien was now concerned it wasn't like the girls to fight for this long. He knew something big must have had happened between them. "Come on, you can tell me anything?" He said as he gave her a slight nudge.

"I'd rather not talk about it here."

"Then let's go to my place." He said as he stood up and paid for both of their bills.

Her mind was telling her no, but her heart was telling her to go. Before she knew it they were seating on his couch. He looked at her waiting for her to tell the rest of the story but Serena couldn't help but take in the smell of his cologne or how he wasn't wearing that hideous green blazer. Instead he was wearing a plain white v-neck t-shirt and dark blue jeans. Dirty thoughts clouded her mind, but she shook them out knowing they were here strictly to talk.

"We were barely defeating the youmas while you were gone," Serena paused as she gave him a faint smile. She was appreciative of how willing his was to come back and help them defeat Rubeus. "Rei was angry with me and apparently so were the rest of the Scouts. She yelled at me for taking away your birthright of protecting me. She thought I didn't want you to help because I lost you. She didn't care about my broken heart and told me to grow up. But the worst part was when I told her no one could ever love her."

Darien didn't know what to say, because he always hated when people fought especially over him. He understood why Serena did what she did, but he didn't know how the other Scouts felt about it. He was happy living a normal life, but he also worried immensely about her safety. "Why didn't you want me to help?" He asked curious to know the real reason if it wasn't because she lost him.

"You were happy," She said with a sigh. "I didn't want to ruin that. You deserve to be happy."

He smiled at her, because he finally realized how much he meant to her. She loved him so much she would put his own happiness above her survival. If she would have used too much power while he was living her normal life she could have died without his kiss. It seemed like she didn't realize the magnitude of her new confession. "You make me happy," He said as he inched closer to her. "I was happy living a normal life but I was also worried sick about you. I love being able to watch over you while you fight and saving you is like the cherry on top. I love how you care about me so much you would risk your life for my happiness. I love how even after all these months you still haven't realized how much I love you."

Serena couldn't believe the words coming out of his mouth. She was extremely dense not to see how much he still showed his love for her. She was so caught up in the whole Serenity thing she didn't realize all the things he did for her. She was still upset he lied to her about breaking up with her because of a dream, but it wasn't something to dwell on. After all this time he still could leave her speechless.

He leaned in to kiss her, but before his lips touched her's; she had an overwhelming sense of guilt flood her. "Wait," Her voice was shaky because he caught her off guard. "There is something I should tell you. Do you remember the night I fainted at the carnival?"

He nodded his head yes, so she pressed on. "I saw picture of your wallet of your dad and his eyes were red. Rini has red eyes too. When Rini came into her powers she called herself "Sailor Mini Moon" and Luna pointed out how there hasn't ever been two Sailor Scouts from the same planet-"

"She is our daughter," He interrupted her from finishing the rest of her speech. Anger flowed through his veins. How could she keep this from him? He wouldn't have ever kept something like this from her. "Were you ever planning on telling me? Did you think I was supposed to find out on my own?"

She knew he was hurt. His face said it all because behind his icy glare she could see the sadness hidden in his blue eyes. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner," She said softly and prayed she wouldn't cry. "I didn't want you to feel obligated to be with me because of Rini. I wanted you to want me. I wanted you to move Heaven and Earth to be with me. I wanted you to express your deepest fears to me. I wanted you to shout from the roof top saying how much you loved me. I wanted you to have the freedom to choose."

"I think you should go," He turned away from her. "I need time to forgive you, but I am not sure if I can. All I wanted from you was to love me and to stop comparing me to Endymion."

She walked to the door knowing there wasn't anything she could say to make it up to him. She reached for the doorknob but she couldn't leave yet. "I love you Darien, I always have. I'm sorry for causing your life to be a complete mess," She said as the tears burned against her cheeks. "You are free to choose which life you want to live. I won't force you to be with me or to help fight the Negaverse. You can give it all up and have a normal life. I want you to be happy it's all I ever wanted for you."

When he didn't say anything she took it as him asking her to leave. So she left him in his apartment while she cried all the way to the Temple. She needed her friends and she missed them greatly. She wasn't sure if they would even care, but she prayed they would. As she walked into the Temple they were seated on the floor working on homework, but stopped when they saw her.

She tried to say something but only a sob came out of her mouth. The girls immediately stood up and wrapped their arms around her giving her a much needed hug. They stand like that until she finally stopped crying. She was ready to apologize and tell them the truth. "I'm okay," She lied, because she didn't know if she would ever be okay. "I am sorry for what I said. I am sorry for letting my heart get in the way of protecting Rini and Earth. I won't let love get in the way again-"

"We're sorry too. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that,"Rei interrupted her. She didn't want Serena to give up on love. "I want you to be happy and he makes you happy. So please tell me you are back together."

Rei knew it was a far reach because of how her best friend had coming in crying, but she prayed they were happy tears. She regretted her words to Serena as well, because she didn't mean them. Serena proved over the last couple of months how much she didn't need anyone to help her fight. It wasn't Serena's fault for the youmas becoming increasingly harder to kill. They were all tired of fighting night in and night out. They wanted a break but knew it wouldn't happen. So they fought with their leader to bring Tuxedo Mask out of hiding. They needed him but they knew their leader needed him more.

Serena wished she could say yes they were back together, because they were so close to becoming a couple again. If only her stupid mouth would have kept shut then she would be happy and in love. "No, we aren't," Serena stared at the ground ashamed. "We were so close to being together again, but there is something I have kept from all of you. I know who Rini's parents are. When she identified herself as "Sailor Mini Moon" Luna and I determined there has never been two Sailor Scouts from the same planet. And then at the carnival I saw a picture of Darien's dad and he had red eyes-"

"You and Darien are Rini's parents," Ami said as she caught on to the clues Serena gave away. "It all makes sense now. She looks like you but her personality is definitely all Darien's. Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because I wasn't sure at first," Serena told them the truth. "I also didn't want everyone to become attached since Darien and I broke up. I am not sure Rini will still exist. Or she will exist out of pity."

"He loves you," Mina reassured her. She could feel his love for her friend. "He just needs time to take it all in. He will forgive you."

She wasn't so sure he would. She didn't want to talk about it anymore so instead they gossiped about school. It felt great being on good terms with her best friends again. She missed them. She realized as they sat there on the floor talking about bad relationships how much she wasn't like Serenity. Serenity let her friends die and instead of avenging their deaths she killed herself to be with the one she loved. Serena would never do that. If they died for she would make sure it wasn't in vain. They sacrificed a lot for her and she had done the same for them.

Since it was Saturday they planned on having a sleepover, but Rini had other plans for Serena. Rini didn't interrupt them until it was five o'clock and told Serena her parents wanted her home for dinner. Serena hugged each of her friends a goodbye and left with the little girl.

It turned out Rini had lied. Her parents weren't expecting her to come home and they were in fact out for the night. Rini wanted Serena to accompany her to Darien's apartment. The little girl didn't tell her why, because normally Rini never wanted Serena there.

She stood outside of the all too familiar green door and held her breath as Rini knocked. Darien answered the door and merely glanced at her before he let them in. Rini had practically thrown herself into his arms and the pair immediately started talking about school. Serena felt uneasy in their presence as if she was interrupting them. She turned to the door hoping she could sneak away.

"Come back here," Rini pouted. "I want to spend the night with the two of you together. So come and play Sorry with us."

Grudgingly Serena plopped down next to Rini. Rini was red while Darien was blue and Serena was stuck being green; her least favorite color. She secretly hated this game. It was so boring and frustrating. Every time she was near "Home" Darien or Rini would get a "Sorry" and would kick her green pawn back to start. They played for an hour and each game she lost. Darien and Rini would take turns on who would win the rounds.

Finally she told them she was done playing. Rini stuck out her tongue at her calling her a sore sport, but Serena didn't care. She looked at the clock and it was almost eight-thirty. "Rini it's getting late," Serena said finger pointed to the clock. "We should get going."

"I don't want to leave," Rini cried. She was having a good time with both Darien and Serena. She didn't want the night to end. "Can't we just sleepover?"

"If you want to spend the night you can," Serena told her. She could always lie to her parents. "But I am going home."

"I want to stay," Rini stated. "But I also want you to stay with me. Why won't you stay?"

"I don't think I am welcomed to," Serena said as she stared at him. "But you have fun with Darien. I will see you tomorrow morning at the Arcade."

Rini hugged her tightly before she left. Darien didn't try to stop her. Serena knew he still needed time. She just hoped it wouldn't be a long time. As she walked the empty streets home she prayed the Negaverse would give her one night off. She needed a night to cry herself to sleep and the Scouts needed a night off to relax.

However the Negaverse didn't seem to care, because when she was one block away from home she heard cries coming from the nearest park. She took little to no time to transform and alert the Sailor Scouts.

"I am Sailor Moon, champion of Justice," She introduced herself to yomua who was green and had horns coming out its head. "In the name of the Moon, I will punish you."

"It's about time you showed up," Rubeus snarled as he appeared out of thin air. "Sailor Moon this is the last chance I will give you to hand over the little girl. If you hand her over, I will leave your city alone and no one else will get hurt."

The offer wasn't tempting to her and it wasn't because she found out Rini is her future daughter. She would never hand over a little girl to a monster like Rubeus. She would protect Rini and this city from his evilness. "I will never hand her over to you," She said with confidence oozing out of her mouth. "I will protect this city and her. I will destroy you."

"You stupid girl," Rubeus shook his head at her. She was an extremely naive person. "You have made the wrong choice. Now watch as your city suffers."

Serena was about to attack the youma, but before she could she suddenly found herself surrounded by others. Rubeus had disappeared again and the Scouts hadn't arrived yet to help. She was strong enough to take on two youmas at one time, but she wouldn't have the energy to fight off ten.

"Fire soul," Sailor Mars called out aiming the fireball towards the group of monsters surrounding their leader. "It looks like you will need a lot help this time."

"Moon. Tiara. Action." Sailor Moon yelled as she whipped her tiara at three youmas hoping to dust them all in a single shot. She was pleased when it worked but they still had more youmas to kill. "I think this is the most we have ever fought against all at once."

"Thunder crash."

"Crescent beam shower."

"Mercury, ice bubble smash."

Everyone was calling out attacks left and right trying to kill the youmas so Sailor Moon could conserve her energy. They were working as a team and they were destroying the hideous creatures left and right. The number of monsters were dwindling, but the Scouts were becoming exhausted.

It wasn't a surprise the monsters were focused on one Scout in particular; Sailor Moon. The monsters knew they had to take out the other Scouts before targeting Sailor Moon. Mars didn't see the attack coming and no one could help her. Two youmas attacked her using their weapons and Mars was knocked unconscious.

"Mercury any ideas on how to win?" Venus shouted as dodged an attack.

"They seem to be after Moon," Mercury concluded. "We are the only thing that stand in there way. They won't stop until they have her."

"Get Mars out of here," Moon ordered. "I will take care of the rest. Go home and don't come back. I will meet you there, I promise."

"No," Jupiter refused to listen to this order. It was a death sentence. "I made a vow to protect you. I will not let you die. I will fight with you."

"You will do as I say," Moon said firmly. "You will get Sailor Mars to safety and wait for my return. Now go."

Jupiter hesitated to leave, but eventually she bowed her head and followed the order. She helped carry Mars to safety, but she knew once Mars was safe that she would return to fight. She would not let Sailor Moon fight these monsters alone.

Sailor Moon smiled faintly as she watched her friends leave to safety. When they were out of sight she turned back around to the youmas. There were still five left, but she was confident she could win.

"Rubeus wants me dead," She said. "But what he doesn't know is I won't die this easily. I have so much to live for. Now come and get me."

The five youmas began to attack Sailor Moon, but she was well prepared for the attack. She shouted her attack as she whipped off her tiara and sent it flying towards the youmas. The tiara burned through all five youmas before any of them could touch her. She jumped up and down ecstatic with her performance and wished the Scouts were there to join her celebration.

She began to walk to the Temple, but her sight was hazy and before she knew it the darkness had taken over. Her body fell to the ground.

The Scouts arrived to the Temple safely, but everyone regretted living Serena back there to fight off the rest of the youmas. Mina and Lita volunteered to go back and help fight while Ami watched over Rei. Rei still hadn't woken up which was the least of their problems. The blue haired girl knew once Rei would wake up and ask where Serena was then they would all be in trouble. Rei would never want them to leave a fight because of her.

"Hopefully they come back soon." Ami whispered to herself.

Mina and Lita where halfway to the park, but they didn't hear anything unusual yet. Sensing something terrible had happened they ran to the park and were surprised to see no one was there.

"Do you think she killed them?" Mina asked her voice almost a whisper. She feared the worst had happened, but didn't want to say it out loud.

"We would have bumped into her coming back to the Temple," Lita rationalized. "We should check Darien's place in case he was watching over her."

"What if she is not there?"

Lita's heart plummeted to her stomach when Mina asked the question she was avoiding thinking about. She didn't want to think about the possibility of Serena being dead. She also didn't want to think about Rubeus kidnapping her either. "We will find her," She said confident they would find Serena again.

"Ami, she is not here," Mina broke the news to their friend. "We are going to check with Darien, but it's not looking good right now."

"I hope she is there," Ami told them, because she didn't want to think about breaking the news to Rei. "Rei is waking up now…I have to go."

"What if she is not here?" Mina asked as they now sat outside the green apartment door. Neither of them had knocked yet.

"We will tell him the truth," Lita said as she knocked on the door. The door opened up a couple minutes later. Darien with his hair disheveled and only wearing a black t-shirt and black basketball shorts. "Is Serena here by chance?"

"I haven't seen her since this afternoon," He yawned as his body was still waking up. "Why what happened?"

"I think we should sit down first," Mina gestured towards the couch. He nodded and let them in. Her and Lita shared the couch while he sat on the coffee table in front of them. He insisted on sitting there, because he sensed they were about to tell him some very bad news. "There was an attack at the park tonight. Rubeus didn't sick one youma on Serena instead when we arrived there were ten surrounding her. We fought but they were targeting Serena. Two youmas attacked Rei and left her unconscious. Serena…she told us to get Rei to safety and not to come back-"

"Don't tell me you listened to her," Darien said as he stood up from the table. "Why would you listen to her death wish? You are supposed to protect her-"

"We tried but she ordered us to leave," Lita tried to explain. "We have to follow our orders."

"Get out." He seethed.

"Darien, we are so sorry," Mina cried. "We didn't want anything bad to happen. We came back as quickly as we could-"

"You should have never left," His voice was cold as ice. "Now get out of my apartment. I don't want to see any of you."

They walked towards the door and said one more apology before they shut the door behind them. He sat down in the chair and cried until the tears no longer flowed. He should have been there. He wouldn't have ever left her. She died thinking he hated her, but he didn't hate her. Yes, he was upset about her keeping Rini a secret from him but he would have gotten over it and forgiven her. Now he didn't have a chance to.

'How am I supposed to tell Rini' He thought as he pushed himself off the couch and headed back to spare bedroom. Rini was going to be crushed. She would be angry with him and with the Scouts. He held his breath as he walked in to talk to her.

"Rini wake up," He called to her softly. "There is something I have to tell you. It's about Serena…she um she died and it's all my fault. I should have been there to protect her. She died thinking I hated her, but I don't. I could never hate her. Rini, I'm sorry but please talk to me."

"Ugh what happened?" the voice grumbled. Darien knew the voice didn't belong to Rini. "It feels like the worst hangover without any alcohol."

"Sere," He whispered her name as if he had discovered a ghost in his spare bedroom. He moved closer to the bed and saw her beautiful face glowing from the moonlight. "You're alive. How did you get here?"

"I don't know," She said as her mind tried to remember. "The last thing I remembered was blacking out while leaving the park…I have to go the Scouts are probably worried sick about me."

He gently pushed her back on the bed. She wasn't going to go anywhere. He almost lost her and he hated the feeling. "I thought you died," He told her as his hand moved to stroke her face. He needed to feel her skin beneath his finger to know she was real. "Mina and Lita told me about the fight. They told me how you ordered them to leave and when they came back you were gone. I was angry so I told them to get out. I thought you died," He slowly lost control over his emotions and the tears flooded down his cheeks. "I didn't want you to die thinking I hated you. I love you and I'm sorry for making you doubt my love."

She grabbed his chin softly and pulled it closer to her. She kissed him softly as tears fell from her eyes. She forgot how good he tasted. She forgot how his kisses could leave her breathless. She forgot how much he loved her and how much she loved him. She wished they could have realized this much earlier and saved themselves the last couple months of hell. She pulled away from his lips. "If you didn't bring me here then who did?"

"If I knew a death scare was all it would take to get you two back together," Rini's voice crept up from behind them. They looked down at the edge of the bed to see the little girl standing before them. "Then I would have done that months ago."

"You saved me."

"Don't go all mushy on me," Rini pleaded as she rolled her eyes. "I just happened to be in the right place at the right time."

"Why were you out alone?" Darien's voice raised.

"I heard the call come in and I wanted to be there," Rini explained. "So I went to the park and stayed in the shadows in case they would need my help. I have to say though…Serena you impressed me. Until you fainted then I was unimpressed and tired from carrying you back here."

"Thank you for taking care of me," Serena said as she motioned for Rini to join them. "However if you ever do anything like that again…I will kick your butt."

"Okay."

"I should really go though," Serena could almost kick herself for ruining a perfectly good moment. She was happy and with her family, but the Scouts needed to know she was alive. "They need to know I am alive. And I am almost positive Rei will want to kick my butt for making her safety the number one priority."

"Don't go," It wasn't Darien's plea, but instead it was Rini's. "I know this will sound creepy but when I'm with both of you…I feel like I am home again with mommy and daddy. So please stay."

"I'll stay, but I am getting up to use the phone," Serena said, because she couldn't resist Rini's plea. "I have to let them know that I am safe and sound."

When they didn't object she climbed out of the warm bed and quickly dialed Rei's number. It took only three rings for Rei to answer.

"Hello?"

"Rei, it's me, Serena."

"Meatball Head, where are you?" Rei yelled. "Tell me where you are so I can knock some sense into your thick skull. How could you put my safety over the safety of this city? You had us all thinking you were dead or kidnapped-"

"I am sorry," Serena interrupted. "I didn't mean to worry you. I was headed towards the Temple when I fainted and Rini brought me to Darien's. She was at the park. Darien didn't know until three minutes ago that I was here."

"If I wasn't so damn happy you are okay…" Rei trailed off.

"Listen tomorrow we all need to meet at the Temple," Serena changed the subject. "I think it is time we visit the future and end this. I need to stop Rubeus before we leave,but before I kill him I will need to know who he is working for. Rini has been away from home too long…she deserves to be happy."

"We will see you at seven am sharp," Rei stated. "We are really glad you are okay. Sleep well tonight because tomorrow will be super busy."

"Goodnight Rei."

She clicked the hangup button and placed the phone back in its place. Then she walked back to the spare bedroom but only saw Rini sleeping peacefully in there. She walked over and placed a kiss on Rini's forehead before heading towards Darien's room.

"How did the phone call go?" He asked.

He was sitting in the bed back leaned against the headboard. She sat on the side next to him. "Better than I expected." She said honestly. Usually with Rei there was a lot more yelling but Rei seemed grateful of how she had put her first.

"I am proud of you," Darien turned his head towards her. "You have become so incredibly strong. Sometimes it makes me feel as though you don't need me-"

"I don't need you," Serena interjected. "I can take care of myself, but it doesn't mean I want to. I don't need you but I want you. I want you to protect me, because you love me. I can't need you however because Serenity needed Endymion so much it ended up killing her."

"So where do we stand?" He asked clueless. He was always horrible at this kind of stuff. "Are we boyfriend and girlfriend again?"

"Rini is my first priority," Serena told him everything on her mind. "I want her to be able to return home and be happy with her parents. Then we can slowly discuss the whole boyfriend/girlfriend thing…but it doesn't mean we can't kiss every now and then."

He pulled her against him and gave her a sweet kiss. "I have missed kissing you." He said before he kissed again. She smiled against his lips because she had missed kissing him too.

They fell asleep in each other's arms and had the best sleep they had in months. They weren't sure how everything would play out between but they knew Rini was their top priority. Once Rini would be back home they could start testing the waters again, but for now they will wait.

Review? This story is not finished yet. We haven't gone to the future or seen a corrupted Rini yet so I am not ending this story. I hope you all enjoyed this extra long chapter:)