After getting her ice cream, Chibiusa went and sat down at the table she always picked when they went out for ice cream. She was eating happily when she heard Kousagi squealing from not too far away. Turning her head, the pink-haired girl slapped her forehead, feeling embarrassed by her younger sister's clumsiness. Gosh, she was just like her mother!

Seeing her father had the kid under control, Chibiusa went back to finishing her ice cream, leaving the cherry for last. Hopefully no one in this place would think she was actually related to the crybaby Kousagi. Sure, she loved her little sister, but her uncanny likeness to Usagi was sometimes too much for poor Chibiusa to take. Thankfully, she was gifted with her father's patience. 

When the two of them returned, Kousagi was squealing about getting a puppy. Eyes wide, Chibiusa glanced up at her father inquisitively. Were they really going to get...a puppy? 

For some reason, though, Chibiusa didn't believe it. She had been asking for a puppy for years, and now suddenly they were getting one? Nah, it seemed like a joke or something. Kousagi was probably taking things to seriously. The kid was so gullible. 

"Keep it down, will ya?" Chibiusa mumbled, popping her cherry into her mouth. "Daddy, are we really getting a puppy?"

Mamoru smiled at his daughters, he just admired how much energy they had right now and he was lucky to have such great girls. He loved them to death and could no longer contain himself. He smiled as he spoke, “Yes my little loves, we are going as soon as we finish here, but we are just going to look first, I want to find a puppy that you like and that likes you, but of course there will be rules. You will have to help take care of the puppy and make sure they have food and water, we can talk about this with mommy when we get the puppy, but we just thought it would be a great time for you girls to get a puppy.”

Mamoru waited until the girls were ready to go. He helped Kousagi off her chair and held both of his girls hands as they walked out of the ice cream shop and back to the car. On the way he stopped and squatted down. He effortlessly scooped both of his daughters up, one under each arm and quickly ran back to the car, he was trying to play around with them, “hurry the puppy police is going to catch us, if they do then we can’t get a puppy!” He said as he ran carrying both his girls.


Soon enough he got to the car and placed them down gently, “phew, we made it, now how about we go look at some puppies?” He asked as he opened the door and strapped both of his girls in.

Kousagi was bouncing and grinning the entire car ride. When they pulled up, she looked at her sister eargerly. She noticed her older sister wasn't as excited in the ice cream shop (Did she get a stinky adult flavor?) so she hugged her sisters arm as they drove. 

"Puppy, Chibi! Puppy!" She persisted. Why wasn't her older sister excited? They were getting a puppy! Unless...

Kousagi gasped. How could she? How could the best big sister in the world betray her in such a way! Her eyes filling with tears, she quietly muttered the question, her little toddler brain wracked with grief:

"Chibi no like puppies?" That couldn't be true! Everybody loved puppies, even uncle Shingo! Her big sister wasn't a puppy hater, was she? Nobody likes a puppy hater! 

OOC:

"Right, right. Surprise for the husband. Gotcha." Shingo got up from his chair. Usagi and Mamoru's relationship was sweet and all, but he always considered it a bit odd. They worked too well together, if that made sense. It was like there was a deeper connection between the two. When they first started dating when Shingo was twelve, he first thought it was his imagination. He always saw other couples go through fights on a daily basis, act fickle to one and other, and gain new relationships just as quick as they broke off the old ones. 

As high school came and gone, the two of them stayed together-and even through Shingo's college years. Shingo and his own friends had had their own ups and downs with relationships as well-but he never saw that with Mamoru and Usagi. As the years passed and they got married, his original intuition of some strange unknown force binding this perfect couple together got stronger-almost to the point where he could claim it as fact and actually believe it. There was no reasoning behind this feeling he had about the two of them, nor was it logical. Shingo knew this, but he couldn't help wondering. 

Even now, most couples would want to talk it out together with having a possibility of another child. Keeping it a secret from the other would normally bring additional conflict. With these two, however, it wouldn't. They knew each other well enough-almost as if they were the living definition of soul mates. 

"Okay. I'll go get the test. I'll make sure to grab a good one, too. Pretty sure Mamoru wouldn't be too keen on you using a cheap one. You're the Doctor's wife, which one do you want?" 

With those thoughts of their invisible ties spinning in his head-Shingo momentarily forgot about his injured hand. He removed it from his pocket went to scratch the back of his neck-making the makeshift bandage fall to the ground and pain shoot through his fingertips instantly upon contact. He cringed and cursed at his folly, clutching his injured hand-his small yet deep wounds now completely exposed in front of his possibly-pregnant sister.

 Damn it all! And he was so close, too! Shingo had it all planned out; He was going to grab some antiseptic and painkillers and bandages from the corner store and treat his injury before grabbing the pregnancy test from wherever Usagi sent him, then make up some story about getting cut on some sharp corner of a shelf or something, or that it was a papercut. He would have had it all bandaged up, nobody would have noticed it was even an intense burn. 

But his plan was all shot now. All Singo could do was silently hope Usagi wouldn't ask too many questions about his injury. He wouldn't know what to say.

"Oh, the kind doesn't matter, just get me on with a good reputation or someth-" Usagi paused, noticing the grimace of pain on her brother's face. "Shingo, are you alright...?" she asked, noticing the bandage that was now floating to the floor. She focused her attention on Shingo's wounded hand, which he was now clutching as if trying to hide it from her. But she could easily see the burned, misshapen flesh. Gasping, Usagi stood and grabbed his wrist, bringing his hand closer for inspection. 

"Shingo, what did you do?!" she exclaimed, her mouth falling open at the sight of his wound. How could he have possibly burned himself like this? As far as she was concerned, he hadn't had this when he arrived at her home, and he hadn't used the stove, and they didn't even own a fireplace, so how...?

"You aren't going anywhere with an injury like this! Sit down, I'll call Mamo-chan and tell him to come home and fix this. Naru-chan can get me the test or something," Usagi said, pulling her brother onto the bed.

Instantly, Chibiusa's mood was improved. They were really getting a puppy! She had always wanted a puppy that she could cuddle with and sleep with at night. There were hundreds of TV shows about families that had puppies, and it was one of Chibiusa's biggest desires. Would they get a big one, or a little one? A fluffy one, or a smooth one? A loud one, or a quiet one? The possibilities were endless. 

Looking at her sister, Chibiusa rolled her eyes. "Of course I like puppies, dummy!" 

As soon as they arrived at the pet store, Chibiusa quickly unbuckled herself and Kousagi and ran out of the car, bursting into the pet shop with more enthusiasm than she had ever had for ice cream.

"OUCH! Quit it! Don't touch it! LET GO OF ME!" Shingo imminently whipped his injured hand away from his sister-narrowly missing her face. A pang of guilt and anxiety gripped at his heart. What was he thinking? He almost hit his sister! His pregnant sister!

"I-I-" Shingo fumbled for an apology, but couldn't get the words out. It felt as though his tongue was made of lead, resting heavily on his teeth, unwilling to move to his will. He could see his sisters concern growing quicker by the second. He shoved himself off the mattress with one hefty push, verbally grimacing as he used his dominant and injured hand-again. 

"It-it's not that bad. Really. You need to stay in bed, I was just gonna grab some bandages on the way, ya know?"

His feet dragged against the floor with each step as he unconsciously moved toward the door. Shingo's heart broke the longer he looked into his sisters eyes. 

"Look, I-I wasn't the one sick all day. I'll just go and grab the pregnancy test and be done with it. It's only my two fingers anyways. Unless you have bandages here, then I can just wrap 'em up on the go."

"Wooow!"

Kousagi peered through the glass at the front of the shop. She'd never seen so many puppies in one place before! They seemed eager to see her too, many of them licking the glass where her appearance was present; some showing their bellies and others arched back playfully-wagging tails were everywhere. Mommy always said dogs wagged their tails when they were happy, so these puppies were very very happy to see her!

Kousagi inhaled deeply and with one big puff: "HI PUPPIES!" All the little dogs started barking, some in play, and others out of being startled by the sudden shout emitted by the small child before them. Kousagi grinned and poked the glass as some puppies went to lick her finger.

She turned her head to her father-eyes beaming brightly."They're talking!" She exclaimed happily.

Mamoru smiled as his girls looked at the puppies. He noticed how excited they were at seeing new people. When Kousagi turned around and spoke joyfully saying the puppies were talking, he smiled and squatted down so he was next to her. 

"Yes they are sweetheart," he said as he looked at all the different puppies. He was sad to see so many animals in the shelter already and wished all the animals could have homes, but they would only be able to get one puppy.

"Do you see any puppies you want to meet girls?" he asked, knowing they would probably want to meet them all, but he hoped they would find a puppy they liked, if not then they could come back another time.

Mamoru pulled out his phone and sent a message to Shingo, he wanted to check up on Usagi but he didn't want to wake her if she was resting, so he sent a quick text to Shingo.

"Hey Shingo,

Can you give me an update on Usako please? I should be back with the girls soon, but I am taking care of one more surprise with them right now and I am not sure how long it will take, but if she is not resting please tell her to do so, she can't get well unless she rests."

Mamoru closed his phone and directed his attention back to his daugthers, feeling like the luckiest man in the world, he just wished he could share this moment with Usako.

Shingo yelped when his phone went off. Making sure to use his left hand this time, he reached into his pocket and picked it up. Great. A text from Mamoru. They guy sure had a knack for timing. He was about to text back when uncertainty made him hesitate.

What was he supposed to say? Usagi may be pregnant, and she sure as hell isn't resting because I was an oaf and now she's worried about me? Really, what was Mamoru thinking? Wait, scratch that, he was thinking of his sick wife-that's to be expected. 

It took longer to do with one hand, but Shingo decided to respond with a lie-Usagi was sleeping and he was just watching television bored out of his skull. Besides, Usagi didn't want Mamoru to know about the possible pregnancy anyways.

"PUPPY! PUPPY! C'MON, CHIBI! PUPPY!" Kousagi was skipping as she bounded through the automatic double doors. She skipped right up to the cashier, who bent down face to face with the small child. 

"Why hello there, little one! What can I do for you today?" 

"Daddy's getting sis and me a puppy!" Kousagi responded proudly. 

"Really, now? Well, isn't that something special! We have a whole bunch of puppies just waiting for their homes."

"Really?" Kousagi questioned. This wasn't their home? Kousagi was confused. 

The employee didn't notice the confusion in Kousagi's voice and continued. 

"Yes, that's right! Each and every one of these puppies are looking for homes. Aren't they lucky that one of them is going home with you!"

Kousagi shook her head quickly, her pigtails hitting her in the face. "Nuh-uh!"

The man paused, confused by her change in attitude. He looked toward Mamoru, then back at her. "They're...not lucky?"

"Noooooo" Kousagi whined. Why were grown ups always having a hard time listening to her? They can be so weird sometimes. "You said one puppy. We're taking ALL the puppies!" She spread her arms wide, as though she were able to hug the whole store. 

Since these puppies didn't live here and were looking for homes, the obvious solution was to take them all home with her. There were to be no homeless puppies on Kousagi's watch.

Mamoru sucked in a breath, this wasn't going to make her happy and now he wished Usako was with him, she was always much better at explaining these things than he was, but he would do his best, knowing that tears were likely to come. He gave the shelter worker a small smile in response to Kousagi's words.

Mamoru bent down and spoke in Kousagi's ear, "sweetie, I know you want to give them all a home and that is very sweet of you, but mommy said we could only get one puppy, plus what happens if another little boy or girl comes and they can't get a puppy because they are all gone, don't you think they would be sad?" He asked as he scooped her up and went to go find Chibiusa, no doubt she was looking at other animals and trying to come up with a way to get another animal besides a puppy, she was skilled like her mother that way.

"Tell you what he said while he looked into her big eyes, if everything works out with this puppy, maybe we talk with mommy and see if she would want another pet, maybe we could get a cat too, or a bird, or a fish? What do you think about that?" He asked hoping Kousagi could understand what he was asking and that she would not be too sad about not being able to take all the puppies home.

Usagi jumped back, startled and slightly hurt by her brother's outburst. "I...I'm sorry...I was just trying to help..." 

Biting her lip, Usagi turned her head away from Shingo as she struggled to hold back tears. Why did she have to be so stupid? As her brother made for the door, Usagi searched for the right words. Seeing that Shingo was almost gone, she looked at him with her most-pleading eyes. 

"Shingo...please. Just let Mamo-chan look at it, okay? It's not good for me to worry, it can stress out the baby. Promise you'll let him take care of it when he gets home?"

Chibiusa was running all around the pet shop, placing her fingers inside of cages and letting the dogs lick them. The feeling tickled and made her giggle. She found a lot of dogs that were in different sizes and colors, and it was hard to pick one that was her favorite. She did spot one adorable dog that had one floppy ear, and the cuteness of the animal was almost too much for Chibiusa to walk away from. 

But then she noticed the rabbits.

A shriek escaped her lips, and Chibiusa rushed to pick them up and cuddle with them all. They were all so soft and so cuddly! "Daddy! Can we get a rabbit instead? Pleeeeeeeease?!"

"Nooooooooooooo" Kousagi began to whine and stamp her foot. She yanked at Chibiusa's sleeve-hard-in an attempt to drag her older sister away from the many fluffles and wiggling noses. Why would her sister choose one of those over a wonderful, cute, happy puppy? She leaned as far back as she could, putting all her itty bitty body weight into it, in an attempt to break the spell the bunnies had on her older sister.

"Chibi! No buh-knees!" She squeaked, planting her feet firmly on the ground once she noticed her struggles were doing little to move her sister from her spot. "Puppy, chibiusa! Puppy!"

Kousagi's eyes began to get wet. What if this was part of their plan? Daddy already said that they couldn't give all the doggies homes. What if daddy gave thought to the bunny instead? Big teardrops began to roll down her cheeks. Her older sister was ruining everything! Now they wouldn't get a puppy at all! 

No! Kousagi wasn't about to give up yet! With these puppies as her witnesses, she would overcome her sisters big meanie plot of getting a rabbit instead. Her eyes still wet with tears, Kousagi braced herself and shoved herself against her sister with all the strength a three year old could muster.

"We're getting a PUPPY!" She screeched as she and her sister toppled onto the floor.

Chibiusa rapidly grew agitated with her whiny younger sister as she yanked on her sleeve, complaining about how she had to have a puppy. "Stop, dummy! You're going to make me drop the rabbit!" she yelled trying to pull out of her younger sister's grip. 

"You can get your dumb puppy, and I'll get a rabbit! Now go awa-"

The pink-haired girl was interrupted when her sister plowed into her, sending her falling to the ground. With a shriek, Chibiusa protectively wrapped her arms around the rabbit in her arms, making sure to fall on her back so that the animal would be protected. She hit the tile floor hard, feeling the aching pain instantly. Tears filled her eyes as she sat up, searching desperately for her father.

"Daaaaaaad!" Chibiusa cried, trying her hardest not to cry. Sniffling, she pulled herself off of the ground and glared at Kousagi, hugging the rabbit in her arms.

Kousagi had no idea that there was a rabbit in her sisters arms. Only after the two hit the floor, did she notice the little ball of fluff, shaking and quivering in Chibiusa's arms. Oh no! This isn't what Kousagi meant to have happen! Her sister had cushioned her fall, so she wasn't hurt in any way, but seeing the scared baby bunny in her sisters arms, staring at her with unblinking and terrified eyes broke Kousagi's heart. Kousagi got up off of her sister immediately, tears beginning to spill down her face. 

"I didn' know..." Kousagi sniffled, sitting on the ground and bringing her hands to her face as she began to wail. "I HURT THE BABY BUNNY! I HURT THE BABY BUNNY!" 

That's it-Kousagi ruined it. There is no way they would get a pet now-Kousagi took that away. Daddy had already said no to adopting a lot of puppies, she shoved her sister and almost hurt a bunny-it was over. There was no way daddy would let them have a pet now. Kousagi began to cry harder as her realization hit her. 

"I'M SORREEEE" She scremed, over and over again. "DADDY, CHIBIUSA, PUPPY, BUNNY I'M SOREEEE."

Mamoru suddenly wished he had waited to come to the shelter another day. Now both of his girls were crying and everyone was giving him that look, the look that said you had better do something about your children.

He walked over to his girls and placed an arm around both of them, he spoke softly to Kousagi, "it's okay sweetheart, everyone is okay, see." He said as he turned towards Chibiusa, "You did a great job protecting the bunny, see the bunny is safe because you were able to protect her."

 He sat down next to his girls trying to figure out what to do to avoid more tears, he was really out of his league sometimes without his wife, she could keep the kids in place, and he loved her for that. 

He spoke keeping his voice sincere, "Chibiusa, sweetie, we'd have to talk to mama about getting a rabbit, she was only okay with getting a puppy for right now, but what if we talk to her, I am sure she will consider it. We also want to see how you and your sister can handle taking care of the puppy, but I think we may need to come back another day, when mama is feeling better so she can help pick a puppy. We want to pick a puppy that will like everyone, how does that sound?" He asked mentally kicking himself, this was not going to please anyone, but Mamoru was at a loss of what to do at this point, it wasn't his best moment as a dad.

He was just ready to go home and give the girls their baths and get them to bed. He hoped Usako was getting the rest she needed to feel better.

Shingo was trembling. Let Mamoru see the wound? Was she crazy? He's seen a bunch of burns throughout his days at work. Surely, he'd be able to determine how he got the burn-and maybe even find the cigarette butt in their front garden! Shingo hadn't had the chance to retrieve it yet! They didn't know he smoked-and once he would find out Usagi was pregnant-he'd get poked and prodded something awful. Usagi was a good sister, but she'd end up asking too much as well-out of concern for her little brother. His breath was caught in his throat, and Shingo's legs began to tremble a bit. 

This family, this perfect family. His sister, her husband, their two children-his two beloved nieces-and a possible third niece or nephew along the way. Shingo couldn't let them get involved in his...problems. They would be far better off if they never found out he smoked-let alone the reason why. 

"Sorry, Usagi." Shingo shook his head in defiance-almost like a child stamping his foot for not getting any extra desert. "I'll have it looked at somewhere else. I'll leave right now to get the test."

He couldn't bare to look her in the eyes, he turned quick on his heels and sped down the stairs and out the door. Panting, he looked at his hands. How long were they shaking? Had she noticed his trembling? God, he hoped not. 

Looking at his finger now, it did look pretty bad. Bending down, he shifted through the mulch and found the old butt. He grabbed his lighter from his pocket and lit a fresh one while sticking the butt in his pocket to throw out in a safer place. He began to breathe a bit more normal as the tobacco worked it's way into his system. Shingo knew Usagi would yell, but not if he got it bandaged with the stuff at the corner store. Maybe if he cleaned it up enough, Mamoru wouldn't be able to tell it was from a cigarette? Or somehow he could persuade him that he had it under control? With this in mind, he began walking to the store to pick up what he originally intended-along with the bandages. 

No matter how he focused on walking, however, the anxiety that the perfect and happy family would find out his secret kept buzzing in his mind like an angry wasp.

Chibiusa sniffled, wiping the tears from her eyes as she nodded and stood up. Still cradling the bunny, she placed it gently back in its pen and turning to Kousagi. "You're really obnoxious, you know that?" she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Let's just get the dumb puppy and go. I want to go see Mama."

Kousagi rubbed her eyes and blinked at her sister. She called the puppy dumb! Kousagi knew that Chibiusa was mad at her, so why not call her dumb instead?

"Puppy's not dumb..." She hiccuped. "Kousagi's dumb. Don't be mean to the puppy, Chibi." She could feel her little heart breaking. 

Standing up on wobbly and slightly bruised knees, she waddled her way to the pen where the bunnies were kept and stared sadly through the bars. Her focus was specifically on the one that she knew Chibiusa had held when she pounced on her. Her hand shaking like a brittle twig, she slowly put her finger through the bars and began stroking its head. 

"I'm sorry, bunny." Her eyes began to wetten; and her little shoulders trembled. "I'm sorry, bunny." It stared straight at her. When it did, Kousagi began to cry once again. She leaned her forehead against the bars and continued to cry and apologize over and over to the little bundle of fluff.

Usagi had never been so angry with her brother. He was so stubborn! And she could tell he was hiding something for her - she hadn't lived with him for her entire life to be fooled by him. She sat on her bed, wondering what she could do, but drawing a blank. Well, he could be rest assured that she wouldn't let him escape so easily when he came back with the test. If she had to threaten to call Ikuko, she would.

The trip to the store was easy enough. He bought the most expensive pregnancy test he could find, along with some gauze and some hydrogen peroxide. Once he was done at the register, he went to the bathroom to examine his would. He winced as he pulled the now crumpled wad of paper towel-or tissue, he couldn't remember what he used as the makeshift bandage, exactly- and cringed at the sight. It was defiantly a fairly serious burn-the skin was a bit blackened, and the parts around it were swollen and red. He tenderly ran it under some water and was relieved that it still had feeling-though the reminder was painful as hell. They hydrogen peroxide burned even more, the amount of bubbles clearly showing just how bad the injury was. Shingo cursed his luck, he really should have just let the cigarette fall to the ground. What kind of idiot would go grabbing for one as it fell, anyways?

After wrapping the fingers in the gause, he left the bathroom-making sure he had the bag with the pregnacy test and the remaining hydrogen peroxide with him. It would suck if he left it behind, especially after paying so much money. 

As he walked back to the Chiba household, he checked his cellphone for any text messages or missed calls-from Usagi or otherwise. He was relieved but a bit saddened with the lack of any red numbers, alerting him from missed contact. When was the last time he heard from his friends, anyways? 

He approached the front door and noticed the driveway was still empty. Wherever Mamoru and the girls were, they were taking their dear old sweet time. I guess that worked out for him, though. Usagi did want the test to be done in secret, after all. 

"Usagi, I'm back!" Shingo announced as he opened the door and began making his way up the staircase. "Where do you want this?" He shook the bag, emphasizing that his task has been accomplished.

Mamoru knew that his girls would not be happy, but they would be able to get their puppy, next time he would bring Usako with him. He wasn't sure why they behaved like such angels for her and got a bit crazy for him, but he still loved his daughters none the less and wouldn't give them up for anything.

He bent down to his girls and spoke in a soft tone, but he was still stern. "I think its time we go back home, we can come back another day and next time mommy can come with us, we want to pick out a puppy that likes mommy right?" He asked as he informed his girls it was time to go home.

He took their hands and walked out of the pet shop and walked to the car. He buckled the girls in, checking their car seats about five times. He still hadn't had a chance to tell Usako how his day had really gone, it was these days, when something went bad in the OR that he didn't like his job. He thought about the boy who had had surgery and hoped he was still stable and making a recovery.

Soon enough Mamoru and the girls were home. He walked with them into the house, he locked the door behind him and told his daughters to get ready for their bath and he would be up to help them in a minute. He wanted to check on Usagi before giving the girls their bath and putting them down for the night.

Kousagi nodded sadly and took her father's hand as he led her to the car. As they drove, she pressed her face against the car window. She saw the pet shop grow farther and further away; and the puppies barking grew more and more distant. Tears welled up in her eyes as she sunk her head into her shoulders. 

She really did ruin this trip. 

Mama was not going to be happy.

Usagi's arms were crossed over her chest when she went to meet Shingo by the stairs. One of her eyebrows was raised as she took the bag from her brother, standing there with a cross look on her face. "What took you so long?" she asked, glancing at his bandaged hand. "Tell me you did not try to take care of that yourself."

Groaning at her brother's stupidity, she trudged to the bathroom and began to open the box of pregnancy tests. Seeing the brand name, Usagi couldn't help but be impressed at how much her brother had spent.

It was nice to know he cared.

Pulling out a test, Usagi prepared herself to take it when she heard the front door open. "Oh no!" she hissed, running back out and grabbing Shingo. "Quick! In here!" Without taking a moment to think, Usagi dragged her brother into the bathroom and shut the door, locking it.

"Ohcrapohcrapohcrap" Shingo was shaking. Talk about murphys law! Just as he was thanking his blessings that Mamoru was still out, he saw the headlights shine through the front windows. His sister dragged him in, fumbling the whole way. 

"Here! I hope I got a good one!" Shingo hissed through clenched teeth. It took no less then a second for Shingo to realize the predicament he was in. His sister needed to pee on that. Thinking quickly, and hearing the girls downstairs, he jumped into the bathtub and pulled the shower curtain shut. 

"Go ahead, Usagi! Do your thing! Pretend I'm not here!"

"Mama!" Kousagi wailed slightly. Part of her wanted to see her mother, to be held and comforted as she told her about the disaster at the pet shop. After hearing nothing, Kousagi folded her arms and pouted. That's right, mama was sick. 

She sat on the floor and attempted to untie her shoelaces herself. It proved to be a daunting task for her little hands, and she gave up partway-leaving the laces dangling at the sides of the sneakers. 
At least mama being sick meant Kousagi wasn't going to get in trouble for ruining them getting the puppy. She toddled to the couch and jumped, her butt bouncing on the cushion as she stared expectantly at the tv. 

"Papa, can I watch cartoons?" She asked.

Mamoru couldn't help but smile at his youngest daughter as she struggled with her shoes. He watched as she sat on the couch. He pulled her into his lap and began to smother her with tickles, working his way to her feet where he undid her laces and set her shoes down. He set her back down next to him.

"You can watch one episode after you have your bath, go get your sister and let her know it is time for bath." He said as he got up and took off his jacket, draping it across a dining room chair. He rolled up his sleeves so he wouldn't get his shirt wet when helping his daughters with their bath.

Ignoring the fact that her brother was standing just a few feet away in the shower, Usagi quickly took the pregnancy test and waited to see the results. She knew she would take a while, so she could only hope that Mamoru wouldn't come looking for her.

Finally, the symbol began to show on the pregnancy test. Tears filled her eyes as she stared at the little device, unable to really process it.

She was pregnant. With her third child.

Her hands fumbled with the shower curtain as she tore it open and showed Shingo the test. "I'm pregnant, Shingo," she whispered. She wanted to squeal and scream and jump and dance, but she was too shocked to really do any of that.