No One's Fault Chapter 7
Author: Patch
E-mail: patchkhan1@hotmail.com
Rating: PG-13

Usagi awoke the next morning with the pleasant feeling of a wet cloth on her forehead. She saw Mamoru sitting next to her, already dressed for the day and placing the cloths on her forehead.
"What happened?" she croaked.
"You had a twenty-four hour fever. Your temperature's gone done now, a positive sign."
"Oh." She fell silent not knowing what else to say. She felt uneasy around him after what had happened yesterday. Usagi knew of his true feelings and there was nothing she could do to change them. There was nothing she could do to get rid of the hurt.
Oddly enough she didn't feel the onset of any tears. Had her 'well of tears' run dry finally? There was nothing left to cry about she realized. She had cried over her losses and nothing had come out of them, so what was the use of crying?
"I'm hungry Mam- Mamoru."
He sat back, more than shocked. To say he had messed up royally was an understatement. Mamoru? He hadn't... he didn't want it like this! He wanted her love, her warmth, he had never meant to kill any of that!
"Usa, it's not... I-"
At that moment her stomach growled loudly and he cursed himself for the thousandth time. He wanted to make things right... he wanted her happiness... but she was hungry and that came first.
"I'll be right back," was all he said and then he was gone.
Usagi pulled herself up to a sitting position and turned her head to look out towards the balcony doors. Gray clouds obscured the sun's brightness and the day could be compared more to a late afternoon than mid-morning.
Just like it for the day to match my mood, she thought dismally. He hadn't said anything when she hadn't called Mamoru, 'Mamo-chan.' That had hurt... quite a bit. If he had ever called her 'Usagi' instead of 'Usako' she would have shown some outward reaction but he hadn't even said a word.
Did this all mean that they were now estranged? Kami, how horrible that word sounded. It was an ugly word and it wasn't meant for them! They had a love that even the Fates were jealous of. Had... a love...
"Usagi-chan!"
She looked towards the door to see Ami standing there, looking disheveled and very tired.
"Ami-chan, what's wrong? You look horrible, what's happened?" she was about to get out of the bed but Ami stopped her.
"You have to be sitting down for what I have to tell you. This might be hard to believe but I've run numerous tests all confirming what I think I've known along. Kami," she said, running a hand through her hair, laughing shakily, "it all makes sense and I can't believe I've been so dumb to never realize it."
"What is it Ami-chan? Tell me!"
"Where's Mamoru-san?"
"He went to get breakfast."
"Oh, okay. Well, I'll find him after I talk to you. Let me start from the beginning..."

"How is Usagi-chan doing?"
"She's doing as fine as can be expected, Makoto."
The brunette Senshi glanced sideways at her King as he leaned against the tall kitchen windows. "You don't sound like you mean it."
Mamoru sighed heavily, unconsciously producing a rose. He began twirling it as he spoke. "What am I supposed to say Makoto? That she's happy and without a care in the world?"
"Gomen Mamoru-san, it's just that I'm worried about her... and especially after the other day when you spoke to her like that," she said hesitantly.
"God, don't I know it! And I want to tell her that I wasn't thinking clearly that day, that I was just so worried about her that my anger got the better of me. I just couldn't believe she had come down to Tiros' trial, even after I had told her that it was safer for her to stay behind. Seeing her walk up to the thrones, my heart was in my throat the whole time... I was so afraid Tiros would pull something... and he did!"
"I understand Mamoru-san, we were all scared. I think, if you just share this with Usagi-chan and talk to her she'll know that you hadn't meant anything you said. She has faith in you; she loves you! I know Usagi-chan would never give up on you or your love for each other."
Mamoru sighed again and poured a glass of milk and was about to set it on the tray that he would take upstairs when Ami came running in.
"Mamoru-san! Thank God I've found you!"
"What is it, is it Usako?" Mamoru asked fearfully.
"Not really," she said. She hesitated for a moment, took a deep breath and spoke. "The child in Usagi-chan's womb was *not* Chibi-Usa. I have evidence to prove it."
The glass of milk slipped from Mamoru's hand and crashed to the floor. He vaguely heard Makoto inhale sharply... all he really did hear were two words... not Chibi-Usa... not Chibi-Usa. He blinked and grabbed Ami by the shoulders.
"How is that possible? How did you find out?"
"I was conducting DNA tests on the fetus when something on a particular strand caught my eye. I quickly pulled up old records from Tokyo General Hospital. I don't know if you remember, but when Chibi-Usa came to us for the first time, she fell sick once and she went to the hospital for blood tests and such. I pulled up the results for those which included DNA scans and I compared Chibi-Usa's DNA to that of the fetus' and they didn't match! I ran some more tests, which are more complicated to explain but the results always came out the same. Chibi-Usa was not that baby!
"Kami, I felt like such a fool when I realized this. All this time, the baby... it was a girl, but it wasn't Chibi-Usa! I guess I had taken for granted the idea that we all knew Chibi-Usa had to be born and I never really conducted any proper tests on the baby inside of Usagi-chan. If I had, we might have known from the beginning that the baby wasn't Chibi-Usa. Gomen ne, Mamoru, gomen!"
Mamoru staggered back against a counter as Makoto stood in shocked silence. He pushed away just as quickly. "Does Usako know?"
"Hai, she does."
"Oh God," he whispered, "oh God, I've got to go to her." He jumped over the glass and ran out of the kitchen.
"Ami-chan," Makoto said quietly, "do you know what this means?"
"Hai, I do," Ami replied, "Chibi-Usa still has a chance."

Mamoru burst into the bedroom, his eyes searching out his wife. She sat up against the headboard of the bed, her legs curled under her, her face turned towards the outside. She didn't acknowledge his presence.
"Usako..."
She remained quiet and he felt his heart twist painfully. Why wouldn't she say anything? And then she surprised him.
"You've heard, haven't you?" she asked, still gazing out.
"Hai, I have... I know everything."
"You know that the baby... it wasn't Chibi-Usa. It was our daughter... but it wasn't Chibi-usa."
"I also know that Chibi-Usa still has a chance."
She stiffened slightly but did not turn to face him. The silence between them filled the room and Mamoru was s ure they could both hear his heart pound.
"Does she?" she asked quietly.
He felt his world begin to crash at her two words... at her simple question that implied so much. He couldn't let her go on thinking like this... he wouldn't! She had to know... she had to know he loved her fully and completely, contrary to what she thought. He needed another chance.
"Yes, yes she does have a chance," he said firmly, slowly walking to the bed.
He saw her hands clench but when she spoke, her voice was calm and subdued.
"Really? You have surprised me by saying so... I would think that you don't trust me very much in rearing a child."
Her monotone voice did not fool him. He heard her anguish behind each word... and it killed him to know that he had hurt her so much.
He had reached the bed and leaned one knee upon it, leaning his body towards her. He took hold of her cold, clenched hands and clasped them within his own warm ones. She still did not turn her face to him.
"Usako... I trust you with everything I hold dear... with my life," he began. He swallowed and continued. "I know you think that I hold you responsible for all that has happened but how can I show you that that is no where near how I feel and have felt these past few days?"
She didn't answer him so he went on. "I really can't can I? I have to tell you that what I felt had nothing to do with putting blame on you... I had put the blame on myself."
He saw that he had caught her attention and a spark of hope rose within him.
"Yes, I felt I was responsible for your miscarriage... I still feel that I should be held accountable. I had not done my duty by protecting you from that blast. Even before that, I should have been more adamant in keeping you up here, instead of letting you come down with me on that night. But... I wasn't strong enough and you came down... and then we were hit..." His eyes closed and his throat tightened painfully as he relived that night. He had seen her fly up and hit the ground and then he had heard her scream. He had heard her scream his name...
"I was so angry at myself. I could have protected you better, I could have seen that youma aim for the door and divert his attack but I didn't. I was so intent on getting you out of there that I didn't even realize what a danger I was becoming to you.
"These past few days, Usako, I have not even thought of you as being the 'guilty one'. That title rests on me, for not living up to my potential when you needed me the most.
"I love you Usako, you cannot doubt that, I know you do not doubt it. Please forgive me, for hurting you so... I never intended for us to be like this, so distant from each other. I swear if I could turn back the clocks, I would do everything differently, but I can't and all I have left is what I can hold onto; what I can be sure of... and that is my love for you."
He lifted his gaze to see that a tear had slipped from her eye and had now made a trail down the curve of her cheek. He let his thumb catch it and pushed it back. Yet she did not say anything, nor did she turn towards him.
He became desperate and he felt as though he were hanging off the edge of a cliff, wondering if she would come to help him... to save him. A tear slipped out of his own eye and with a voice filled with so much emotion, he spoke.
"Usako," he begged quietly, "please come back to me..."
Silence filled the air as he trailed off and he thought it bitterly ironic when the clouds covered the sun, turning the room slightly dark.
And then she spoke.
"Mamo-chan... just hold me please... that's all I want right now... onegai, hold me," she said, her voice breaking. She turned to face him and he gladly complied.
He came onto the bed fully and gathered her into his arms as she slipped her arms around his back from underneath his. He began to feel her shake slightly and heard her soft crying. He stroked the back of her head in an effort to soothe her.
"You aren't to blame. I thought... I thought that you hated me for losing our baby," she cried. "I thought you could never trust me in the same way again... I thought I had lost a part of you... the part that I needed."
"Shh, you never lost me, love. As Setsuna said, it was no one's fault. The Fates had a hand in this and maybe it was for the best, no matter how much we might think otherwise."
"I love you so much, Mamo-chan. I thought I would lose you just like I had lost our child. I thought you would be taken away from me too... just as easily. I'm still so afraid."
"But I'm still here, and I'll always be here doing my best to make our lives happy and content. Never doubt it." His fingers tightened in her hair and he lifted her face, slowly letting his lips descend towards hers.
Just before their lips met, she looked into his eyes, searching them. "I'll be here too," she said confidently.
"You better," he replied and smiling, closed the gap between them.
The kiss was like none other. In that moment, all their troubles and worries slipped off their shoulders, freeing their burdened spirits. As Mamoru increased the pressure and Usagi clutched him closer, both knew that they would let the past lie in the past, that they would move on, creating new life and living their own lives to the fullest.
As if in answer to their new start, the sun broke free from its bondage behind the clouds and let its rays shine down on the couple, a witness to their everlasting love.

"You look happy child," said the oldest.
"I am," the youngest replied. "Their trial is over," said the middle one.
"Shall we start the next?" asked the oldest.
"No, we shall not," said the youngest, pulling the string in her hand to a taut length. "They deserve no more disturbances."

End.

Woowie, someone just go ahead and hit me with cheeseballs cause that has got to be the cheesiest ending I have ever put in. LoL, alrightys everyone, stay tuned for the epilogue!