Chapter Nine: Freaking the American

**Remember, David, Edgar is a secret until the wedding.**

**Good thing it's next week. I don't like keeping secrets.**

**I know. Everything will work out.**

**Since when did you become Setsuna?**

**Bad computer! No biscuit!**

I laughed as I unlocked the front door and stepped into the house to the sound of David's raspberry.

"What was that?" Usagi asked. "It sounded like the noise a certain priestess of my acquaintance makes far too often."

"Probably because a certain blonde I know does such a good job of deserving it," Rei shot back with a grin.

"Waaa! You're so mean to me, Rei!"

"Do you think you might wait until we're all inside before starting in, you two?" Haruka grumbled as she pushed the two of them further into the living room so she could get past them.

Usagi and Rei were so deep in a tongue-war that neither noticed the rest of the family trooping in past them, with Fluorite and Hotaru bringing up the rear as she hung on his every word.

"Good afternoon, everyone. My name is David, and I'll be your house for the day."

I groaned as David introduced himself.

"David?" Usagi squeaked and looked around, noticing the newly-installed intercom panels. "MacManus?"

"That's right," David said cheerfully. "See, Dad? People do read your books."

"Actually, she read the manga translation of my short stories. She's likely to think you're as sneaky, underhanded, and manipulative as Setsuna."

"But...I AM!" David protested with a laugh, as Setsuna smirked in my direction. At that, Usagi let loose with one of her room-clearing laughs, while most of the rest of the Senshi looked around in confusion.

"Would someone mind explaining?" Makoto growled, looking as if she were beginning to be annoyed.

"David's a living computer. I've given him control of the house and my laboratory, despite his sometimes-questionable sense of humor."

"Living computer?" Mamoru cocked an eyebrow. "Don't you mean artificial intelligence?"

"Hey, there's nothing artificial about my intelligence, bunky!" David grumbled. "Just because my body's MacManusite instead of organic...."

"No, he meant living," Ami said. "David is alive. He has a soul."

"Well, he sounds as annoying as some tomcats I know," Luna decreed smugly.

Artemis just opened an eye to look at her, then returned to busily pretending to be asleep.

"Just like being in school again, isn't it?" I murmured softly to Chibi-Usa, who was looking sadly at Hotaru and Fluorite. "But your magic is of life, so I don't know how much he could teach you. If he could teach you at all."

"It's the way she's looking at him," Chibi-Usa sniffed quietly. "I thought she only looked at me that way."

"You won't lose her, you know. Just don't ever let her forget how much you love her. But if I don't miss my guess, he won't even try to take her from you. He's her teacher, and that's all he'll ever be."

"She'll be sad...."

"And it'll be up to you to make her happy again. Think you can do it?"

"Of course I can! I love her! I...Are you sure you're not Puu in disguise?" Chibi-Usa grinned at me with a grateful look in her eyes. Good. I didn't like seeing her sad any more than I liked seeing Usagi sad. They're so much alike...so lovable, so innocent, so pure...they inspired all my protective instincts.

I chuckled and gave her a quick hug before moving on to help my beloved and Makoto in the kitchen. I idly wondered how long it would be before the living room pillows became missiles.

**500 yen says it's less than three minutes.**

**I'm not even going to touch that bet, beloved. I know them far too well.**

Ami and I laughed together, drawing a confused look from Makoto.

"Don't worry, Mako-chan. We were just thinking about how long it would take before the pillow war begins."

"With Rei, Chibi-Usa, and Usagi in the same room? Two minutes, tops."

As if on cue, an outraged shriek echoed through the house.

"Seventy-four seconds," David announced smugly. "I like this bunch, Dad. You should have them over more often."

"So do I, David. They're my true family. And since every one of them has keys to the house, you can expect them to be popping in whenever they want. Assuming they remember this is their home as much as it is ours."

"Well, if they pop in as often as Setsuna does, I'll never be bored."

"How often does she show up here?" Makoto asked, shaking her head at the lack of supplies in the cupboards. "And when are you free for me to take you shopping? You two are unbelievable!"

"She's been stopping by a lot lately," Ami murmured, snuggling under my arm. "It's kind of nice, actually. We get to see enough of her to feel like she's more than just the mysterious Guardian of Time."

"Since I do most of my work here, I'm free any time the two of you are," I said, letting Ami's response to Makoto's first question stand for both of us.

Makoto finally grabbed our popcorn supply and started popping it up, while grumbling under her breath at our total lack of concern for good food. Ami and I looked at each other, and began laughing. If she knew how often we ate out because neither of us had the time or inclination to cook...

"Telephone, Dad."

"Who is it?"

"She says her name is Sarah."

The look on my face must have been amazing, because Ami and Makoto instantly transformed. I took a deep breath and tried to keep my voice steady.

"It's all right. I just...I'll explain on the way to the airport."

"Actually, she's asking for directions to the house, Dad. She doesn't speak Japanese, though."

"Uh...right. Ask her if she...nevermind. Put her through, ok?"

"Hello?"

"Sarah? I didn't expect you in town until the twenty-seventh."

"And what day is today?"

"Umm...let me check." Sailor Mercury and Sailor Jupiter giggled. My time sense was already notorious among the Senshi.

"Oh, good grief, Dad. It's Sunday, March 26."

"Sunday? But...Oh! I miscalculated the date line. Sorry."

"No problem. Just give us some time to get there? We live pretty far from the airport."

"All right. I'll be waiting...there's a bookstore in the terminal. I'll be waiting near it."

"OK. We'll see you soon. Love you."

"She's gone, Dad. Give!"

"Yes, sweetheart, tell us about her," Ami purred dangerously as she took my arm. Makoto had that "I'm about to hear some juicy gossip" look in her eyes.

"There's not much to tell, really. Sarah's the one who rescued me from my wife. I owe her an awful lot. I was in love with her for far too long...but it's hard to do when the one you're in love with persists in loving you the way she'd love a brother."

"That was then...how's she going to react to the new you?"

"I don't know...that's part of why I'm worried. Will she even recognize me?" I saw the look in Ami's eyes and smiled, nuzzled her gently, and added, "You don't have to worry about her poaching, love. Part of the tension between me and Sarah is because she's about as interested in me as Haruka is."

"So...you were...maybe still are...in love with her, but you're far too male for her to have anything but sisterly love for. Is that right?" Ami smiled understandingly and hugged me.

"Pretty close. We tried, and enjoyed what we had, but it just didn't work out." I grinned teasingly at her. "Who knows...she may decide you're more her speed, Angel." At Ami's blush, I added, in a stage whisper, "Or certain Amazon cooks we know..."

Makoto emitted a gasp and stalked toward me with her hands extended. I laughed and ran out of the kitchen, with Makoto in hot pursuit.

"You! Take that back! I'm gonna kill you! I am not an Amazon!" It was hard to take her threats seriously with the way she was laughing between her shouts.

I ducked behind Hotaru, jolting her out of raptly gazing at Fluorite. She looked at me with a startled expression, then at the rapidly-advancing Makoto, and gulped.

"Save me, Hotaru!" I laughed. "Save me from the dreaded Makoto Monster!"

"You're gonna need saving when I get my hands on you, laughing boy." Makoto was laughing as hard as I was; when Hotaru did the smart thing and pushed me at her, she wrapped an arm around my head and gave me a wicked noogie. We collapsed in a heap on the living room floor.

"Any time you're ready, Dad. The cab's just pulled up out front."

Ami took my arm and pulled me to my feet, all three of us still laughing. Makoto waved weakly in our direction and stayed where she was, catching her breath as her laughter subsided. Usagi, Rei, and Minako gathered around her with loud and persistent demands to know what happened. She looked my direction questioningly, so I smiled and nodded to her.

Luckily, the bookstore was on the open side of airport security, so I didn't have to ditch my trench coat when we went to pick Sarah up. With all the stuff I've got stored in or built into it, it would probably make a metal detector blow its fuses. Sarah was sitting in a seat near the bookstore, reading a sheaf of papers I guessed was probably her thesis notes. The way her pen was scratching and scribbling, I decided I was probably right.

"Hello, Sarah." She looked up, surprised. She didn't recognize me at first, then squeaked in surprise at my new appearance.

"Wow. If this is what a Japanese tour does for you, I'm going to have to take one." She put away her work and stood. "We've missed you."

"Sarah, this is my fiancée, Mizuno Ami. Ami, this is Sarah, the woman who saved my life two years ago when I was desperate enough to think death was better than where I was." I smiled at Sarah's attempt to conceal her discomfort. She'd always had more faith in me than I did in myself.

Ami smiled and extended a hand. Sarah took it and smiled at her.

"Hello, Ami. I hope you don't mind my surprise. Bill never told me about you before he sent the ticket and invitation."

"Sure I did," I protested. "Remember amichan?"

"The one you were...?" She looked at Ami and smiled. "OK, so he did tell me about you. Me, and anyone else who would sit still long enough to listen. I'm glad to see you lived up to his expectations."

"He's certainly lived up to mine," Ami purred with a teasing smile. Both of them laughed as I turned pink.

"Uh...where's your luggage?"

"I put it in a locker." Sarah pulled out a key and peered at it, until Ami came to her rescue, heading down the hallway.

"That locker's this way. I memorized the locations of all the key features of the airport for one of Umino's role-playing games."

I knew it was more likely she'd done it for the possibility we'd have to fight something here, but that was something Sarah didn't have to know.

"Of course, Ami's definition of key features includes everything larger than a newspaper box," I stagewhispered to Sarah, smiling lovingly as I saw Ami's ears turn pink.

"At least I can remember what day it is," she shot back.

"He still has trouble with that?" Sarah laughed. "I remember the time I took him to visit my parents. I called him the night before to remind him, and he still hadn't packed by the time I arrived to pick him up!"

"That sounds like Usagi!" Ami laughed. "I've lost count of the number of times I've shown up to walk with her to school and nearly been run over because she'd slept late or forgot I was going to be there. Or both."

"That's an awful lot of times," I murmured, just barely loud enough to carry to Ami's ears. "Ami never loses count. Of anything."

"You!" Ami squealed and spun, saw the laughter in my eyes, and settled for sticking her tongue out at me. Then she remembered she was in public, and did her Incredible Shrinking Woman impersonation.

"Congratulations," Sarah said with a warm smile. "You've managed to break him out of his shell. He's always so earnest, it could drive you crazy."

I blushed. Sarah was right...until I'd met the Senshi, I had been so earnest - about everything I did - that I sometimes drove myself nuts.

"Oh, he's still pretty earnest," Ami laughed. "But I like what he's earnest about now. Here we are."

The lockers were near a door to the arrivals taxi area; when Sarah got her pack, we were able to get a cab in a matter of moments. All the way home, Ami and Sarah compared notes - about me, about their studies, about me some more...

"I wondered when he'd react," Ami laughed as my ears turned red with embarrassment. My ice princess had just asked Sarah what she thought of me as a lover. I kept my eyes firmly on the road ahead, in hopes they couldn't see how much I wanted to crawl into the glove box and hide. I was glad I'd decided to sit in the front seat and leave them together in the back.

"I'm not sure," Sarah replied. "I don't really have all that much to base a comparison on." She chuckled softly and murmured something to Ami, who squeaked and joined her in laughter. They talked and laughed together, quietly enough that I couldn't make out anything they were saying, the rest of the way home.

"Konnichiwa! Tsukino Usagi desu!" Usagi smiled and bowed to Sarah as she came through the door. The living room looked as if Usagi had drafted everyone into throwing together another impromptu party. I chuckled softly at Sarah's confused look. I'd forgotten she didn't know Japanese.

"I'll translate, ok?" I smiled at Usagi. "Thanks, Princess."

"Doesn't hime mean princess?" Sarah asked, looking to me with surprise as I spoke to Usagi. "I didn't know you spoke Japanese."

"I've learned," I said with a smile. "You're right. Hime does mean princess. How did you know that?"

"With the way you've obsessed over seeing Mononoke Hime for the last year? How could I not?" Sarah smiled as I blushed. She definitely had me there. I love Miyazaki's work. All of it.

"Our Princess is Tsukino Usagi. And her Prince is Chiba Mamoru. This is Hino Rei - she's well on her way to being a priestess at the Hikawa Shrine. This is Aino Minako, our resident yenta. Minako speaks English, too. She spent a couple years in England. The woman with her hands full of homemade treats is Kino Makoto. She likes baking even more than you do. The tall couple is Ten'ou Haruka, the race-car driver, and her soulmate, Kaiou Michiru, the violinist. The younger couple is Usagi Small Lady Serenity - but we just call her Chibi-Usa - and her sweetheart, Tomoe Hotaru. And...." I looked around and chuckled softly. Setsuna had chosen that moment to not be available. I wondered why, but decided I could ask her later.

"And?" Sarah asked, glancing in Fluorite's direction.

"Ah, yes. The other mad scientist in the house. That's Fluorite. Yes, like the stone. Trust me, it makes sense." I grinned as Sarah got that 'he's being weird again' look on her face.

"Everyone, this is Sarah. She's the one who gave me the strength to get away from my wife, two years ago. She's a physicist, and is working on her Ph.D. in oceanography. Maybe if you're extra nice to her, she can be convinced to look for a post-grad position here in Japan." I winked at Haruka and Michiru, who looked Sarah over thoughtfully. Haruka whispered something to Michiru, who did her best to look annoyed - and failed miserably.

Sarah elbowed me in the ribs and growled softly, "I didn't come here to have an affair, you goof. I came here for a wedding." The smile in her eyes belied her protest. I suspected that if a pass was made in her direction, she wouldn't drop it. I certainly hoped she wouldn't, at least. She deserved to relax and enjoy herself, especially with the way she'd focussed her entire life on her studies for the last few years. She was a lot like Ami that way.

"Hey, Dad! You forgot me!"

"How could I possibly do that?" I laughed. "Sarah, the voice you hear is David MacManus. My son."

"Your son? But you don't have a son." Sarah looked and sounded confused. I smiled and rested a hand on her shoulder.

"I'll show you." I looked to the others with an apologetic smile. "We'll be right back. I have to introduce Sarah to David."

"Don't be long," Usagi said. "I can hear cake calling me!" We all laughed, and several pillows flew in her direction.

"What was that about?" Sarah asked as I led her toward the laboratory.

"Oh, Usagi just said she could hear cake calling her. She's notorious for her love of sweets." I laughed and opened the lab door, then stood aside so Sarah could see inside.

"Where is he?" Sarah scanned the room, filled with three work benches around the back and side walls, an extruder, an injection molding machine, and my computer equipment.

"I'm back here!" David called. "In the corner with all the other computers."

"All the other computers?" Sarah stepped into the room and looked around as she followed David's voice. When she was standing in front of the monitor, it switched on and David's face appeared in it. He'd chosen an appearance based on Michelangelo's "David".

"Does it help to have a face to talk to?" he asked. "I'm used to the others; they don't care about little things like that."

"Where are you? Is this an internet connection?"

"I have one of those, but you're looking at me right now. My main processing unit is the black box under the work bench."

"This doesn't make sense. There are no Sons of Ether in the real world."

"There are no Senshi in the real world, either?"

"Senshi?" No doubt about it. Sarah had to get out more often. David threw a picture of Sailor V up on the screen.

"Sure. Like Sailor V."

Sarah looked at the picture - it was a photo of Sailor V using her Crescent Beam on the getaway car of some bank robbers.

"You never did read any of my books, did you, Sarah?"

"I...uh...never had time," she stammered, blushing as she tore her gaze away from the photo.

"I understand. You've been working so hard on your degree, I was grateful to learn you were actually going to come. Anyway, David is a pretty important character in all of my books. When I figured out how to create a living computer, David was the first one to awaken."

"How?"

"His hardware is a hyperdimensional neural network. David, show her the design notes, will you?"

"Don't worry. I don't understand it completely, either," David assured her as he displayed my basic design notes. The problem with hyperdimensional physics is that it's more dependent on the mentality of the experimenter than any other science, so I wasn't surprised David didn't understand it. Even quantum physics isn't as sensitive to the experimenter's mind.

"You'd better hurry, Bill," Ami called, in English, from the door, smiling lovingly at me. "Usagi's not going to be able to restrain herself much longer."

As if on cue, the sounds of Usagi and Makoto arguing echoed through the house. It sounded as if Usagi had gone for the cake, and Makoto was arguing that she needed to wait until our guest had had her chance at it. I leaned against the workbench and laughed. Sarah jumped in surprise and blushed. She'd been so intent on trying to decipher my notes that she hadn't noticed Ami's arrival.

"We'd better get back to the living room before things start flying," I laughed.

"Waaaaa! You're so mean to me, Makoto!" Usagi wailed as we returned to the living room. Ami and I looked at each other and broke out laughing. What an initiation into this mob. Sarah must be thinking we're all nuts.

"Oh! Hi!" Usagi looked as if she was thinking hard, and suddenly laughed and threw her arms around Sarah in a welcoming hug.

"I think Usagi just used up every bit of her English," I laughed. Then I repeated it in Japanese, and we all laughed as Usagi treated me to her "You're so mean to me" wail.

"Don't worry, Sarah. She has enough energy to make you as tired as you used to make me. Then again, I might be able to make you that tired now, too. I'm just not as hyper about it."

"Hi! I'm Minako. Don't mind Usagi. She's just being herself. I guess that means she likes you." Minako smiled warmly at Sarah. "Then again, anyone who Bill considers a friend has to be a good person."

**David, would you mind translating for people as long as we have English-speaking guests?**

**No problem.**

"Hi, Minako. Has anyone ever told you how much you look like Sailor V?" There was the sound of things hitting the floor as people all around the room reacted with surprise to Sarah's question.

"Oh, yeah! I've even had Sailor V fans ask me on dates because they thought I was her. Don't I WISH!" Minako laughed. Of course - she'd probably had to put up with comments like that all the time she was playing Sailor V. "So how'd the two of you meet?"

Makoto put a plate in Sarah's hands and invited her to help herself, while Rei held Usagi back. I could see this was going to be an interesting party....

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Disclaimer: Sailor Moon, Sailor Senshi, and all terms, names, etc. associated with the series are copyrighted by Naoko Takeuchi and Kodansha. I make no claim to them and this work of fanfiction should not be seen as making a claim.