35 Millimeters
by Lady Aishiteru 
Epilogue - What Words Cannot Say

Lady A: Instead of my usual goofy "disclaimer," (I figure you all know
I don't own Sailor Moon anyways.), I thought I would write a brief 
author's note. Okay, stop groaning. This will be painless, I swear 
it. ^_^

I've gotten mostly positive responses to "35 Millimeters," which I am 
very pleased with. I'm mainly happy that people responded at all, and 
that nobody said it stank. It's very hard to write Ami's personality, 
since I am used to writing Usagi/Mamoru fics. I hope I didn't turn 
her into Usagi...I think that Ami has a charm that few people take 
notice of.

After reading through the whole story, I realized I left a few loose 
ends. What better way to tie them up than with an epilogue? Well, I 
guess that's about all I have to say here. On with the fic!


The wedding rehearsal dinner was going very smoothly. Even Rei was 
on her best behavior; I hadn't heard her insult anyone for the past 
five minutes. That could have had something to with the fact that 
Jaedite was with her, and they had finally gotten to the hand-holding 
stage. Not that Rei was turning into a romantic, I don't think that 
even her admitting that she is in love with the man had changed that. 
'However,' I thought as I noticed her staring into his eyes, 'Maybe 
even Rei can change.'

"What are you thinking about, Ami?" Zoisite whispered. He had been 
sitting next to me the whole time with a bored look on his face, 
twirling a strand of hair with one hand and holding my hand with his 
other. Occasionally, his hand would graze up my leg, but I never let 
him get past my knee before I would pinch the space between his thumb 
and forefinger sharply. At this, he would grimace, and people would 
stare, but then he'd flash his pearly whites and things would proceed 
smoothly once again.

"I was just thinking about how happy Rei looks with Jaedite," I said, 
squeezing his hand.

"Love can do that to a person," he whispered softly.

I looked at him, a bit shocked. "Why, Zoisite, am I turning you into 
a sentimentalist?"

"I just think about those things more when you're around," he said, 
squeezing my hand back.

I giggled at him and the "ceremony" continued. Well, until I heard a 
shrill yell from across the long banquet table in Mamoru's mansion.

"My...water just broke!" wailed Usagi.

Everyone bustled around her, but Mamoru shooed them away. "Calm down, 
everyone," he said, but I could tell he was panicking, "We just need 
to get her to a hospital."

"Is there anything we can do for her?" asked Makoto, on the arm of 
Nephrite.

"Yes. GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

The crowd moved back further at the normally placid Mamoru's frantic 
tone of voice. "Sorry. Well, I have to be going now. Um...just 
pretend like we're still here," he said, taking his panting wife in 
his arms and rushing out the door.

"Nonsense," said Kunzite, who was normally somewhat reserved, but had 
chosen this moment to put his foot down. "I'm going with him.

"I second that," said Jaedite.

Everyone looked at Zoisite, as if his response would dictate the 
outcome of the blessed event. "Ami, they might need you there too," 
he said gently, but not so soft that the others couldn't hear him.

"Are you sure? I'm not an obstetrician..." I said, wanting to be with 
my friends, but not wanting to upset my groom-to-be either.

"Positive," he said. "She needs you as a friend, not as a doctor. 
I'll bring the car around." And with that, it seemed as if the frozen 
room had come back into motion, as those who were driving scrambled 
for their car keys, except me, who was surprised once again by 
Zoisite.

********


As soon as I got into the delivery room, I rushed to the bed to hold 
my friend's hand. "How are you holding up?"

"I've been better," she said, sending me a wobbly grin.

"Maybe you should get an epidural."

"Actually, that's a good idea," she said. "Thanks, Ames."

I smiled. "No problem."

"Are you sure you're not...upset with me?" she asked hestantly.

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"Well, I did upstage your wedding rehearsal."

"Pfft. Zoisite was getting bored anyways."

"I know," she said, grinning knowingly.

"I heard that," said a voice from the waiting room.

I stayed with Usagi during the whole labor, me holding one hand and 
Mamoru holding the other. I felt like a fifth wheel at first, but 
after a while, I saw that Zoisite was right. Usagi and I had a bond 
that was unique, even among the rest of the girls. I felt so lucky 
to be her friend; she was the first person to see more than a brain 
in me. Although she relied on my intellect all throughout the years 
in middle and high school, our friendship was more than that. We 
brought out the best in each other; I helped her to discover her own 
intellect and she helped me to come out of my shell.

After what seemed like days, I heard Usagi breating heavily, and 
myself and Mamoru urging her to push. After several rounds, her 
efforts were rewarded, and the doctor handed the baby over to an 
exhausted Usagi.

"Congratulations, it's a girl," said the doctor. She looked at Mamoru 
and said, "Would you like to cut the umbilical cord?"

He nodded, and after the girl was all cleaned up, she was handed back 
to her mother.

"She looks just like a little version of you," said Mamoru. "She even 
has your eyes."

Usagi looked down at her daughter, whose gaze instinctively seeked 
love and nourishment. "She does. I think I'll call her Chibi-Usa."

Mamoru looked at his wife, now the mother of his baby, adoringly. 
"How about we try for twins next time?"

She glared at him. "Ohhhh no, you're NOT getting me to do THIS 
again."


"Wanna bet?"

Having nothing to throw at her husband, she simply glared at him.

********
The sunlight crept up on my face, and I groaned. "Morning already?"

"I'm afraid so," said Zoisite, sighing. He made a move to get up, but 
was pinned down by my arm.

"And where do you think YOU'RE going, mister?"

"I'm running a bath," he said, pretending to look upset as I released 
him. "I'm all sweaty."

I must have looked equally damp. It was the morning after our 
wedding, and we were both thoroughly exhausted. The details of last 
night were somewhat hazy, but I did remember that it had been truly 
wonderful, and well worth the wait.

"Oh," I said, pouting. I sat up and let the sheet slide a bit from 
my shoulders.

"Of course, if you want to come with me...." he trailed off, grinning 
fiendishly.

"Gee, I thought you had seen enough of me," I said, standing up and 
allowing the sheet to fall to the floor.

He gulped a bit. "Never." He grabbed a towel and snapped it, causing 
me to yelp.

"You'll pay for that," I said.

"Is that a promise?"

"Ooooh!" And the chase was on. It ended with him picking me up, 
carrying me off and plopping me into the bathtub.

"I think you need to cool off," he said, grinning. "Off to the 
showers with you, young lady."

As he slid in behind me, I said, "That's not helping."

"I know," he said, and proceeded to gently scrub my back. I relaxed 
into his arms and looked into his eyes, as the bubbles faded and the 
water ran cold, happy that I didn't have anything to hide from him, 
or him from me.

********

After our honeymoon, I sold the photo shop to Michiru and Hakura, who 
promised me that they would take good care of it. When I opened the 
photo shop, I think that I was looking for something, deep down, 
something I couldn't even name. Maybe I was seeking closure after 
Grandma's death, or I was looking for something else. I felt I had 
found that something, and now I felt free to pursue my other dreams, 
those of pediatric medicine.

The residency has been tough, and at times, nearly downright inhumane.
 It's easier with Zoisite guiding me through it, rubbing my stiff 
shoulders when I would come home from another thirty-six hour shift. 
I know I'm being corny, but I really am thankful to have him.

Makoto and Nephrite got married, on a spur-of-the-moment thing. One 
day, I heard that they had up and taken a plane to Las Vegas, and 
that was that. As if brought on by the impetuous actions of his 
friend, Jaedite asked Rei to marry him, and she shocked everyone by 
saying yes. Even the lovelorn Minako has Kunzite to keep her company 
on Saturday nights, their date night.

"What is it Ami?" asked Zoisite, his hands pausing over my shoulder 
blades.

"What, did I say something just now?"

"I heard you sigh. Is something wrong?"

"No, everything's right. I guess what I feel is...happy."

"That's good to hear," he said, continuing the backrub until I fell 
asleep. I dreamt of blue skies, calm waters, and Zoisite, holding my 
hand as we walked alongside the coastline, our footprints vanishing 
with the tide. In my dream, children came, grew and went, but what 
remained constant was us, holding hands, continuing on the beach, 
side by side, for the rest of our lives.

~*~End of Epilogue~*~