Sailor Moon was kneeling on the ground with one hand wrapped around her abdomen while the other reached out to him. He couldn't touch her. She was in what looked like a glass box. The curious thing was that he was dressed as Tuxedo Mask. She looked so familiar, her haunting blue eyes, pale features, golden hair…

"How do you know my name?"

"Help me…" Her voice grew weaker but he couldn't move.

A menacing laugh echoed through the air. "You're no good to her like that, Tuxedo Mask. What are you going to do? Throw roses until you start a garden?" The laughter sounded closer and closer…

BANG

Darien looked around. Green numbers shone at him. 3:30 am. He was sitting on his bed, no tuxedo. Just sweat pants. He heard the banging again but softer this time. It was coming from the balcony door. A rose appeared in the hand at his waist as he crept closer to the curtained doorway. He could hear moaning coming from the other side.

One finger pushed just enough of the curtain aside to let him see who was out there. Darien dropped the rose and opened the door, catching a beaten and bloody Sailor Moon before she hit the floor.

"What are you doing here?"

"Darien." She coughed. "Hel…m."

"Oh no," he whispered as he flipped the light on and carried her to his bed. "What happened to you?" Darien's heart pounded against his ribs. How could he have not sensed the danger she was in? What had happened to the tie that bound them together as superheroes?

"Monster…my house…you're…"

"I'm what?"

"Close."

She was bleeding and it was all over him now. Darien panicked. He adjusted the lamp to shine on her, not realizing or caring that it had burned his fingers.

'Keep her conscious, Shields.' He didn't know what to say. Sure, he knew everything as his alter ego but as Darien? What could he say without saying too much?

"How do you know me?"

Sailor Moon answered with a cough. Dark red stained the front of her outfit. Darien immediately tore the fabric away to reveal a large gash across her stomach. He was going to be sick. Working with cadavers was nothing compared to this live person bleeding all over his bed. And worse. He was emotionally attached to this one.

"Don't move. I'll be right back." Darien ran to the kitchen where he left his first aid kit. Training to be a surgeon really helped to fill his kit up with things that not many other standard first aid kits would have. Like sutures.

With only a few groans from Sailor Moon, Darien went to work on the large open wounds. His hands were shaking. Normally any other surgeon would have his whole team to help with stats and with instruments. There was no blood supply here, no IV's, no machines.

"I really should get you to the hospital."

Sailor Moon's eyes shot open. "No." Her face scrunched in pain. "They'll just let me…die…so they can play with me."

"They wouldn't do that. Doctors make an oath to help…"

"They lie. Just stop the," she held her breath and groaned when the pain was too much. "Just stop the bleeding. I'll do the rest."

Darien didn't know whether to be offended or to empathize with her. Scientists would probably love to get their hands on her and "play" with her as she had said. But the Doctor's oath, he would be making that oath, swearing by it in a few year's time and he would take it very seriously.

That wasn't important now. What was important was to close up the open wounds. He could help her heal afterwards if she didn't have enough energy. But he would be cutting it close. The body only held so much blood and Sailor Moon had lost quite a lot. He kept looking at her eyes but she was squeezing them shut.

"I'm almost done."

Sailor Moon relaxed at hearing the soft tone in his voice. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to offend you. Hospitals and doctors just scare me. Always have since I was little."

Darien found himself saying, "But you trust me?"

She looked him straight in the eyes. "Yes."

"How do you know me?"

"A friend of a friend." Having worked with her on several occasions as Tuxedo Mask, Darien was a little shocked to see the serious side of her.

"You're awfully brave."

"Just in front of you."

"Why?"

Sailor Moon's lips tugged upward. "Are you trying to keep me conscious or do you really want to know?" She started to laugh but ended up coughing instead.

"I'm just wondering how many regular, non-super heroes get to see you like this."

"I think you're my first."

Darien paused. "I'm honored."

She smiled. "Ditto." Silence had fallen over the room; Sailor Moon did her best to keep her eyes clothes so she wouldn't be able to see what he was doing. Her body was numb and she was so tired.

"Don't fall asleep yet."

Sailor Moon opened her eyes to see black mussed hair, a tanned and muscular chest and similar arms leaning over her. She knew it wasn't the most appropriate time but she couldn't help saying, "If I promise to dream of you, will you let me?"

She wasn't prepared for the dark, piercing blue eyes that held hers. Something passed but too quickly to make anything of it. They were closed off just as quickly as they had opened.

A part of her was hurt that he didn't say anything, another part relieved. But she didn't mistake the detachment in his voice. "I'm finished."

"Thank you."

"I should really call the hospital now so they can monitor you."

"No!" Moon struggled to sit up but two strong hands pushed her back down. "Promise me you won't. Please, promise me!"

Darien was surprised at her insistence. His heart softened again but he was still firm.

"You might die."

"I swear to you I won't. I've had worse. I usually have Sailor Mercury sew me up, she's a medical student as well, but she lives on the other side of town. It should only take me a couple of days and then I'll be out of your way. If you don't mind that is. I wouldn't mind sleeping on the floor or on the couch."

"These injuries that you have are very serious. How could you have hand worse injuries and still be alive?" Now she was being ridiculous.

Sailor Moon closed her eyes again. Her body was beginning to shut down. She struggled to open her eyes but managed it to tell him, "I've died twice already. What's a small cut got against death?"

Darien's heart stopped. He was at her side for every battle she'd had since she first started her evening career as the Protector of Life. And none of those times did he not see her walk or limp away from the battle scene.

"I don't remember…reading about it." That was too close for comfort. Sailor Moon hadn't noticed his near confession.

"I didn't die here. And if I did, you wouldn't know. Life would start over. One big eternal loop." Darien hadn't missed the sarcasm. There was silence again.

"What about your family? Aren't they going to be worried about you?"

Something in the air changed.

"Not anymore. They're dead," she said without emotion. She was silent. Her breathing slowly became labored until he saw the tears running down her face.

"They're dead," she whispered. She couldn't stop.

Darien didn't think. He just crawled into bed next to her and pulled her against him. He held her tight, his heart cried for her. As Tuxedo Mask he had fallen for her but as Darien, he didn't know her. He couldn't love her the way he could as Tux.

"It's alright, you're going to be alright."

"How can you say that?" She cried into his chest. "I let them die."

"How could you have let them die? It wasn't your fault."

"What kind of a person saves the world but can't save their own family? What kind of a hero am I?"

Darien didn't know how to answer that in the way she needed to hear it. He knew what kind of a person she was, pure, unselfish, always willing to put her life on the line. But what had happened?

"I couldn't even hear what was going on until it was too late. My parents were downstairs; I woke up when I heard them screaming." She cried harder. Her body shook and Darien's arms tightened around her.

"They were going to surprise me and decorate the house for my birthday so I'd see it when I woke up. The enemy knows who I am, Darien."

"I'll protect you. Stay with me and I'll keep you safe forever."

"I'm not safe anywhere now."

Anger coursed through Darien's veins. He was supposed to protect this woman but he couldn't sense her in her human form. He couldn't keep an eye on her every minute of the day, no matter how much he wanted to.

"What happened to the monster?"

Sailor Moon had calmed down again by this point. "Somehow I had destroyed him in my human form. I don't know how. There was a bright light, the monster was destroyed and suddenly I was on your balcony as Sailor Moon."

That would explain why he hadn't picked her up through their link. She hadn't transformed until she was at his door.

Sailor Moon's breathing had evened out now with only a hiccup every now and again. Darien had a lot to think about. He made a move to get out of the bed but she leaned into him and whispered, "Don't leave me, please."

Darien had to think. "Let me go get the futon from the living room. I don't want you to sleep on this filthy mattress. I'm just going to wash up really quick. I'll be right back."

Moon nodded and watched him as he left the bed and walked to the bathroom. She could hear the water running. He was probably washing her blood off of his hands. A couple minutes later he emerged, walked to the living room, pulled the futon mattress into the bedroom and got it ready for sleeping on. When he came back to her side, he ran his fingers through his hair and murmured, "How are we going to do this?"

"Do what?"

"Get you cleaned up."

"Oh." Sailor Moon could feel herself turning red all over. "I can take care of the outfit if you can do me a favor, two actually."

"Okay."

"One, get a blanket to cover my lower half and two…can you let out my hair please?" Darien walked over to the futon and grabbed an extra sheet to lay over her lower half. As soon as he made sure the blanket wouldn't go anywhere, he reached up to her meatballs and paused.

"How do you take these things out?"

If Sailor Moon would have forgotten how painful it was to laugh, she would have been laughing very hard.

"You just have to barely tug at it and it will come right out."

Sure enough, Darien had to merely pull at it and golden strands of hair spilled over his hands and arms.

"You sure do have a lot of hair."

"Yeah."

"So what do we do now?"

"Now you promise me that you won't kick me out when I de-transform."

"Kick you…why would I kick you out?"

Sailor Moon's gaze dropped. "You're about to find out how I know you. Please promise me you won't say anything to anyone when you find out who I am. Please?"

"I promise," he said without a second thought.

"Even if you kick me out, you have got to promise," she said urgently.

"I promise. And I'm not kicking you out."

Sailor Moon kept her eyes on him as she lifted one arm to her broach. With a squeeze, a bright light filled the room, nearly blinding Darien. He shielded his eyes against it. As soon as the light died away, he dared to open his eyes again.

There was Sailor Moon, lying half naked on his bed. Her uniform was completely gone and now he could see in full the wound he had closed up along with several old ones as well as newer ones. Light pink and white scars ran across her body, scars ranging from one inch to about eight inches long. She looked like a cutting board and that was only what wasn't covered in blood. There were probably more on her back as well.

He broke out of his stupor when heard her swear. Her body was tense and her eyes clamped shut. Tears streamed down her face.

"What's the matter?"

"I forgot how much it hurts when I'm in this form."

"Damn. I'll only be a few seconds." Darien ran to the bathroom, grabbing anything that could resemble or act like a towel on his way. In seconds he was back with wet things and dabbing carefully at her torso and wherever else was covered in dried blood. He had another blanket to cover her top half that didn't need cleaning and continued to wipe her arms down, her hands, her neck and her face from sweat.

"I'm going to move you a little to get you away from here so I can finish. I'm really sorry if it hurts."

"It's fine. Just go."

Sailor Moon groaned and fell limp in his arms as he lifted her and moved her to the side of the mess.

"Sailor Moon. You can transform back, we're done." He watched her face scrunch up again. So far, she didn't look any different, but she had kept her eyes closed the whole time. And he had a feeling that he would know who she was if he could see her eyes.

Sailor Moon nodded and whispered, "Moon Crystal Power." Ribbons of light circled her body, lifted her into the air and in seconds she was back on the bed in her uniform.

Sailor Moon sighed. "Much better."

"We should cut the outfit where the wound is so I can dress it and keep it in good condition."

"Do whatever you like Dr. Shields."

Darien was still a little put off that he didn't know who she was and yet she seemed to know so much about him.

"Who are you?"

"You couldn't tell?"

Darien blushed with embarrassment. "Your eyes were closed. I couldn't."

"Oh." Sailor Moon opened her mouth to tell him what her name was but stopped. "I…I can't remember what my name is."

"Can't remember?"

"No." She tried harder to think. "I know sometimes my scouts call me by my name but I can't think of it to tell you. I could recognize it if you said it. I'm really sorry."

Darien was too. "It's okay. I'm sure I'll get another shot at it."

"Yeah."

"Well, let's move you to the futon where it's clean and comfy." Darien picked her up with ease and moved her to the other corner of the room, close to the bathroom.

As soon as she was on the bed, Darien tucked the blankets around her and got up to leave.

"Goodnight."

Sailor Moon panicked. "Wait!"

"What is it?"

How was she going to ask…

"I know this might be really weird for you but can you stay with me, please? I'm scared to be alone."

Darien couldn't leave now. Not that he wanted to, or could leave. The tie that bound Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask was pulling at him. As he neared her, the pull to transform lessened. As long as he stayed close while she was transformed, they would be fine.

"I'll stay." Sailor Moon inched over and lifted the blanket for him to crawl under. Darien stiffened as she inched back towards him. She took hold of his hand and held it at her chest with both hands. A need to be close; Darien could understand that.

Out of what could have only been human instinct, Darien flipped onto his side and pulled her body closer, wrapping both arms around her; one over her waist, the other under her head. He could feel her relaxing in his arms and then, he could only feel sleep.

- I hope you guys like that. Just a spur of the moment thing. Also a partial celebration that school's over...for the rest of 2004 anyway. The monotony will start up again next year. Any questions, comments, or complaints, please feel free to send in the form of a review. Inconsitencies, please tell me so I can fix them. Otherwise, have a great holiday season!

Echo