Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon. I want Mamo-chan! *wwwwwaaaaaaaaaaaaa*

Emil addy: SailrPhnx@aol.com or UtenaStar@aol.com

Rated: Between PG and R
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

by Sailor Phoenix

Part Four

    Reaching the entrance of Serenity's chamber, which had once been a dressing room, he opened the door and crossed the threshold.

    Luna, who had been minding the sleeping baby, rose from her chair and left.

    Serenity yawned and stretched, lush and kittenlike, when he laid her gently on the bed. Endymion's lions tightened in response. He couldn't have made love to her, of course; only a brute would have expected such accommodation so soon after birth. But the knowledge didn't stop him from wanting her, the Gods help him, and neither did the mental image of her lying naked in Seiya Lights' arms that day so many months ago.

    Endymion closed his eyes, remembering. Regretting.

    He'd gotten drunk, for the first time in his life, after finding his wife and her lover in the guesthouse. And while he hadn't actually raped Sere in their bedroom that night, he had used her roughly. The fact that his wife had mistaken his rage for passion and responded wholeheartedly did not absolve him.

    Now, stretched out onto the bed to which he had banished her, Serenity looked too angelic, too innocent to betray a husband's love. She favored him with a distracted little smile, her eyes fluttered closed, and then she was asleep.

    Endy was unable to maintain his stern expression, now that she wasn't looking. He smiled gently as he removed her satin slippers and covered her tenderly with a lightweight wool blanket.

    She stirred underneath the blanket and Endymion felt his heart twist painfully. Some ancient instinct whispered that she was not the same woman he'd known, but somehow drastically changed. He was a physican, however, a man of science, and he couldn't believe something as such could exist.

    He trusted fact, not feelings. It was a lesson he had learned the hard way.

    He resisted the urge to brush away a tendril of silvery hair back from Serenity's forehead and turned to leave the room. Then, unable to help himself, he paused beside the baby's cradle, gazing down at the little girl he'd named Selenity that day.

    Endymion could no longer deny, even to himself, that this child was his own; the striking resemblance she bore to him could not be denied.

    After glancing in Serenity's direction to make certain that she was truly asleep, he bent down beside the cradle and gently touched Selenity's tiny ear.

    "My daughter," he whispered, his voice hoarse and full of emotion. Then he rose and walked out from the room, closing the door behind him.

    In the face of emotional confusion, Endymion generally took refuge in his work. He would change clothes... get his medical bag... call for his carriage... and make his rounds.

    His work at the hospital would take care of the rest of the night, and tomorrow could look after itself.

    The next morning Serenity awakened to a room flooded with sunlight. By the time Luna arrived with a pitcher of hot water, she had already changed Selenity and fed her, and mother and child were sitting in a rocker by the windows, admiring the view of the garden.

    "You shouldn't be out of bed, Mrs. Alessandros," Luna said, with her usual lack of inflection.

    "Nonsense," Serenity replied. "it’s not as though I have gone through major surgery." She raised Selenity and kissed her forehead. "Giving birth is a natural thing, and the sooner I'm up and around, the better."

    Luna set the pitcher down on the washstand and laid out a damask washcloth, a fluffy towel, and a bar of soap so fragrant that Serenity could smell its perfume from where she sat. "Whatever you say, Mrs. Alessandros," she parroted. "I'll bring up some tea while you're washing, and Miss Raye really thinks you should have breakfast. Shall I take the baby?"

    Reluctantly, Serenity surrendered her daughter and Luna placed her in the cradle. "Tea would be wonderful, but I'll have breakfast anywhere but this place. I'm sick to death of being locked in this place." She poured some water that Luna had brought into a waiting crockery basin and reached for the soap and cloth.

    "I'll bring you some tea," Luna replied, closing the door.

    Serenity dried her face and began to pace the hearth, feeling wildly restless. She could still remember only a few details of her former life and knew that she had been very active, energetic person.

    "This Victorian bird-in-a-glided-cage scenario is not my thing," she confided to her daughter, who gave her a tiny sigh in response.

    She stopped and looked at the image in the elegant mirror above the small brick fireplace. Although she'd had some time to accept her situation, it still astonished her to see the stranger's face reflected back from the glass.

    Deciding she needed to take some action, Serenity eyed the inner door that led to Endymion's room. If she was going to go out exploring, she needed to get dressed and they were stored in the closet that Raye had entered the day before.

    Serenity tried to open the door cautiously expecting to hear an angry warning from Endymion. The door was locked, as it had been before.

    A glance at the clock on the mantel revealed that it was well past nine am. Surely, a dedicated doctor as Endy was would be long gone for the hospital or an office somewhere.

    Securing the belt of her robe, Serenity squared her shoulders, marched into the hall, and boldly turned the brass handle on one of the towering oak doors leading into the master suite.

    She was not breaking in, she insisted to herself as she zeroed in on the closet without a glance at the large four-postered bed. Ever since she had seen that bed the other day, her thoughts had been entertaining her with visions of herself and Endy making love.

    She entered the rather large closet and found an array of gowns she would never imagine seeing. There were silks... taffetas... velvets... cottons... laces... and organdies. The beauty of the gowns made her catch her breath and in her mind's eye she could picture a little girl from another time and place playing dress-up.

    Carefully, she took down a hunter-green dress with a short jacket. The fabric was a very lightweight wool, and both garments were trimmed in black velvet.

    She was so caught up in the treasure she was carrying that she had not seen that she was being watched and ran right smack into a rock-hard chest.

    Endymion was standing in the doorway wearing his riding breeches and no shirt. Even with his hair in disarray, he still managed to take her breath away.

    "Good morning," he drawled taking delight in Serenity's disconcertion.

    Color surged in her face. Deciding that the best defense was an offense, she challenged, "What kind of doctor still lays in bed at this hour?"

    He chuckled, and while exactly it wasn't mean, it still made Serenity nerves jumble. " The kind that doesn't get home until five-thirty in the morning."

    Serenity swallowed, wishing he would let her go. "If you will excuse me..."

    Endymion caught her chin in one hand and lifted, his eyes were somber as he studied her. "Where are you planning on going?"

    "Out," she answered. "If you don't mind, I wish to get out of that room before I go mad."

    His dark brows drew together. "Since when do you enjoy the outdoors, Sere?" he asked. Skepticism stole into his features. "Ah. Yes. You're meeting Seiya somewhere."

    The insult was like a stab to Serenity's spirits. "No."

    His thumb caressed her cheek, and the light in his stormy blue eyes warned her of the danger. He touched her mouth as if he was prepared to conquer it. With a raw sound in his throat, he kissed her. The action sent a wave of sensations tumbling through her, and he pulled her closer as if she had struck a wall at high speed.

    She could not imagine more powerful feelings than this. When Endymion thrusted his tongue into her mouth, she found herself confronted with a whole new level of excitment. Her knees weakened... her heart pounded wildly... and there was an achy, melting feeling stirring in the center of her womanhood. Endymion lifted a hand to her breast and caressed her, she was stuck with a sweet, cataclysmic fever she had never experienced before.

    She whimpered, her body convulsing against his, and when Endymion ended the kiss, she simply stared up at him.

    "Never again, Sere," his said coldly. "Never again."

    Serenity bent down and collected the dress that had been dropped between them. She did not want him to see the hurt and embarrassment upon her face. She did not exactly understand what he was talking about, but she knew what rejection was.

    She fled from the room with her head held high. Endymion didn't know that it took all her pride from defending herself from him and the ounce of courage she had to take the dress with her when she left.

    One thing was sure. She could do nothing to change what had happened and she had a feeling that there was no going back to the crystal bridge. That left only one thing and now she had to work with it. She was going to push up her sleeves and shape this life as hers.

    With or without Endymion.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sorry this one was short. I normally would of made it longer but this chapter was a pain.
Part 5