Disclaimer: I do not own any part of Sailor Moon.

Ami lingered on her communicator before ending the call with her parents. She raised a hand to her ear and pressed the earring that was part of Mercury's state-of-the art technology. Her holo-visor faded from before her eyes, but the look on her parents' faces as they bid her farewell stayed imprinted on her mind's eye.

She sighed and looked about her rooms, here on the Moon. Was she truly becoming complacent? Queen Selenity knew where Mercury's loyalties lay as well as where their interests lay. While, she performed her duties as one of the Princess'' guardswomen, she was required to oversee the development and growth of the newest Mercurian laboratory. This laboratory, built with the finest and for the finest, was housed within the palace and as the Director, the burden was heavy on her shoulders.

Speaking of, she rolled her shoulders and stood to stretch. Ami hadn't thought that her conversation with her parents had actually been that long. She'd updated them on the latest developments that would be worth their attention but left the details in the paperwork that she'd sent just that morning to one of their Ministers. Perhaps, she'd spoken a tad bit too much of her fellow guardswomen and the Princess. She may have shared a funny story or two, though she hadn't drawn any laughs, nor had she expected to.

They were disappointed with her performance thus far. They'd acknowledged her service on the Moon and even her rise to the title of Director at the laboratory. Ami had always known what they expected of her and saw nothing against fulfilling those expectations. That was, until she'd been exposed to the vastly different views of the rest of the galaxy.

Suddenly, her words had power, her choices had larger consequences and she could no longer be the dutiful, obedient daughter she'd been raised to be. To fulfill her obligations to some loyalties, she'd simply had to let go of some of her other obligations. To better guard the Princess, the women she'd come to tentatively call her friends had to come together as a cohesive unit. A unit that could act seamlessly as one, in and out of danger. Becoming that cohesive unit had required more time and attention...and more of her heart than she'd first calculated.

Ami raised a hand to her temple. Her thoughts were beginning to melt into an emotional mess. She made her way over to her desk and the paperwork she had yet to finish before her next deadline.

Sometimes, it all seemed to never stop.

AN: So, I wanted to continue doing vignettes with the girls and I actually dipped into the SilMil universe! I'm surprised because I'm generally hesitant to do so. It won't happen often. Eventually, I will get to doing vignettes with the guys...eeeeeventually.

I made up the term "holo-visor" because I can't remember what Ami calls it. Now it just sounds lame. Oh, well. (Star Trek TNG...bahahaha, such a fangirl.)

Please enjoy and tell me what you think!