A black form slid silently through an unlocked window and sealed it shut behind him.  With silent ease
he was at the light switch and reached out a black, gloved hand and flipped it.  Lights sprung to life
throughout the room revealing the room within.

The figure collapsed on the bed, his black body suit and cape shimmering away, leaving a typical high
school uniform in its place.  Jeremy Satterlee stared up at his ceiling as he rolled over in his bed and
reached for the remote to his stereo.  With the press of a button American music filtered through the
speakers that he had installed throughout his home and he breathed deeply.

The cut across his left cheek had already stopped bleeding and he simply closed his single eye.  His
breath was even as the music danced through the air.  A sigh finally escaped his lips, another battle
fought, another battle won.  It was one more stepping stone in the war against the Dark Kingdom.

It was becoming a long war though, one that Jeremy had fought for over a thousand years now.  It
seemed that over the past year and a half every other day he was battling a new youma or one of the
Dark Kingdom’s Generals.  His life was one of conflict and blood had stained his hands more times
than he could remember.

He made his way to the window.

Recently though help had arrived, the Senshi were being awakened, but the means by which it was
happening though disturbed him.  Some mysterious being calling himself the Benefactor had appeared
and was giving the Senshi crystals to unlock their powers.  Something about the force behind it and the
very process disturbed Guardian a great deal.  First off a few of the Senshi he recognized from their
past lives, yet they had gained powers different then the ones he knew they
possessed.

The death of the Moon Princess those years ago shouldn’t have resulted in what it had.  The other
Senshi should have retained their powers and been able to awaken them, yet they hadn’t.  Jeremy still
wasn’t sure why but what he did know was that regardless the Senshi’s power came from within, not
some crystal like they had been led to believe.

His single eye watched as the snow fell around the colored lights in the streets below.  It blanketed the
streets below in its cool warmth.  His eye caught sight of his own reflection and the intricate pattern of
scars.  He resisted the urge to flip off his CD player and listen to the radio but the Christmas carols
playing would drive him nuts.

He pivoted on his feet and made his way out of his bedroom and into the rest of the two-story house.
It was huge for just him alone to live in and was made more for a family to inhabit, but for him it was
home.  Part of the second floor had been converted into a library of various books and the what not on
the occult and other strange happenings and also served as what Jeremy called his office.

The attic was storage for the things of the past, his uniforms from the various wars he had served
during and other similar items.  The first floor was normal and then the basement had been converted
into a mini gymnasium or what Jeremy had named the Dungeon.

Where he headed though was a small broom closet on the second floor.  He opened the door and
glanced at the contents within, Christmas decorations.  He was the only one on the entire block that
didn’t decorate his home and it looked rather dark and dreary compared to the well-lit homes of
everyone else.  He pushed past the decorations though and pulled out another box.

He tucked it under his arm and made his way back to his bed where he sat.  Taking a deep breath he
lifted the lid and peered at the contents within.  They were memories of the some of the happiest days
of his lives, when he had been in love.

Her name was Elizabeth and he had met her back in the United States while he was pursuing the fiend
known as Ithil.  The two fell in love and Jeremy could still remember their first kiss though.  Like
lightning it had coursed through his body.  It was also what made Christmas so painful at times
for it had been Christmas Eve when they had shared one of their greatest nights together.

It had been Christmas Even when they first made love.

It would later be a curse though when a few months later Liz found out she was pregnant.  At the time
she discovered the fact though Jeremy had been in Ithil’s clutches.  When he returned he faced an even
greater challenger, her family was pressing charges for statratory rape.

That had all but ended their relationship when Jeremy had to leave to avoid being imprisoned.  He kept
tabs on his former lover and daughter and made sure they always had enough money to live off of
comfortably.  He lifted one of his pictures.

It was Jennifer with her hair all done up nicely for her fifth birthday.  That had been when he had last
seen her.  He hid in the shadows and smiled as she played with her friends.  At least that had been
when he last saw her until a few months ago.

He wasn’t sure how or why it had happened, but she had showed up Juuban High School. Jeremy
knew that also meant that her mother was in town as well and since then he had been extra cautious to
try and avoid her.  Over all else though it had been the discovery that his daughter was one of the new
Senshi that had shocked Jeremy the most.

He set the picture down and sighed.  He knew what he needed to do.

Elizabeth Vermont stared out the window as the soft music played behind her.  Her blue eyes watched
as snow blanketed the ground in its white splendor.  Her breath steamed the window as she felt
someone approach behind her.

A soft voice filled the air between them, “What’s the matter, Mom?”

With ease she turned towards the source and saw her young seventeen-year old daughter standing at
the foot of the stairs.  She smiled weakly at her flesh and blood, “Nothing, Hun.  I’m just thinking
about the past.”

Jennifer nodded and came up beside her mother, “Dad?”

Shock filled Elizabeth’s face at the words as she stammered, “How…how did you know?”

Her daughter chuckled softly, “Call it a lucky guess.  Considering it was only a few months ago when
you bit my head off for slightly insulting him I figured that maybe you were thinking about him, being the
holidays and all.”

Elizabeth nodded, “You’re definitely observant for your age.  You remind me a lot of him at times.”

“Really?”

“Yes.  It doesn’t take a genius to recognize that your hair is obviously from him, but more so the deep
blue in your eyes.”

“So I inherited some of Dad’s more visual traits.”

“Oh far more than that, Jen.  You also seem to be inheriting some of his personality traits.”

“What do you mean?  I mean no offense, Mom, but you really haven’t told me much about him.”

“That’s because I don’t like to talk about him all that much.”

“You still love him?”

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“It’s hard to explain.”

“He abandoned you.”

“I know.  The reason he did it though wasn’t bad itself; he had to make a choice between us or
something just as important.”

“What?”

“I can’t say.  I swore I’d never tell anyone.”

“Grandma said he was a fugitive and he broke out of jail.”

“He did but then he shouldn’t have been there either.  My parents pressed rape charges on him when I
got pregnant and since I was under the age of legal consent I didn’t have much choice but to watch as
he was sentenced to ten years.”

“So he was innocent?”

“Indeed.  Your father is the kind of man who wouldn’t harm a hair on my head or on the heads of any
of his friends.  He would never force himself on a woman and if he found someone trying to do so they
would regret it.”

“Kinda sounds like the little gang-fighter at the school.  The one who’s got the same last name.”

“Maybe they have something in common.”

“Yeah.  So tell me, Mom, what personality traits have I seemed to inherit?”

Elizabeth sighed, “His sense of purpose and his stubbornness for finding what you know.  He was the
same way, when he wanted to do something he never gave up.  At times he’d get side-tracked but
he’d always go back to what he was after.”

“You’ve got his keen eye too.  He was the kind of man who can measure a mood someone was in by
his or her body language alone.  He also had a heart of gold even if he did hide it most of the time.”

Jen nodded, “I really wish I could have known him.”

“So do I, Jen.  He would have been a good father and could have done a better job at teaching you
than I ever could.”

Her daughter said nothing and simply gave her mother a quick hug, “I’m going to bed.  Don’t stay up
too late, Mom.”

Elizabeth laughed quietly, “That’s my line there, Kiddo.”

Jennifer just shrugged and jogged up the stairs.  Elizabeth wanted to so much tell her daughter how
much like her father she had become.  The one thing she didn’t want to admit though was that she was
afraid.  Afraid her daughter might have inherited another trait of her father’s, the trait that kept him from
being with his family.

Finally she made her way to the living room and glanced at the tree they had put up.  She settled into
an old chair, the one thing she had brought with them from the states in the way of furniture.  She
closed her eyes and leaned back, reclining the seat as she thought back to a night so long ago over
seventeen years ago.

She smiled at the house as the car pulled into the driveway, Jeremy’s home.  It was a small, relatively
simple home that was nice and comfortable.  Slowly she walked in and glanced around, it had only
been about six months since they had started dating yet she felt at home in his house.

Of course she knew his story, the story of his past, his little secret.  Finally she noticed the small sheet
of paper lying on the table.  Tentatively she lifted the sheet and opened it.

                                  Turn around.

Liz gripped the paper and turned as she did so, her eyes locking on the now lit dining room. There she
saw a table, candles lit and burning around a table of food.  Sitting at the one end of the table was a
single red rose, sitting on her plate.

She smiled softly and walked over to the flower and sat down in the seat.  Only then did she feel soft,
strong hands rest on her shoulders, “Surprised?”

She nodded and leaned back, her head resting against the man behind her, “It’s lovely.”

“I’m glad.”

After dinner they had found themselves in the living room sitting in Jeremy’s green recliner.  They were
reclined back and Liz was snuggled firmly in Jeremy’s arms, still holding the rose.  Before them the fire
in the fireplace crackled, the flames dancing about the logs in an endless waltz.  Long, elegant fingers of
warmth reached from the dancing shades of red and orange to wrap around the two lovers.

For Liz though the best warmth of all came from the feelings of closeness between Jeremy and her.
Her hand fell on the black glove that covered his left hand, the one secret he did have from her.  Her
hand gently rubbed the soft leather.

Her head tilted back, her eyes meeting with his single one, “Why don’t you just take off the glove?”

He leaned down and kissed her forehead, “Because it’s not a pretty sight underneath.”

“I can promise it doesn’t matter.”

Jeremy sighed and gripped the glove with his right hand and pulled.  Slowly leather that hadn’t been
removed in years peeled away from skin and lowered itself.  Finally the glove came clear off.

Beneath was a sight that Liz had to admit were far from good looking.  From the elbow to the hand the
flesh was a milky white with the exception a small band of flesh on his wrist where the flesh was just a
pale comparison of the rest of his skin.  Even from her seat she could see that the fingernails were
missing from his hands and that the band of normal flesh was evidently raised higher than the rest; the
same was true where the milky flesh met the rest of his arm.

Tentatively she reached out with her hand and intertwined her fingers with his.  She made it a point to
not to pull back at the contact, the hand felt soft, damp, and slick against her own.  She squeezed it
tightly somehow it didn’t feel sickening for her to touch it although many would most likely throw their
lunch at the sensation.

She turned her eyes up towards Jeremy and lifted her other hand to caress the scarred side of his
face.  She could see water foaming at his eye and she moved her hand to wipe away the tear.

She smiled at him, “No one should have had to go through what you’ve been through. You’ve watch
thousands of friends die while you lived on.  You’ve watched thousands grow old while you remained
young and vigor.  You’ve saved thousands upon thousands of lives.”

“You of all people don’t deserve to have been tortured so.  You shouldn’t have been put through the
hell you’ve been though.  Just the same though you have and you’ve survived it all. That’s what I love
the most about you is that inner strength.”

Her own eyes had watered as she spoke and she found his hand squeezing hers and their heads moved
slowly towards one another.  Their lips met and their minds exploded with passion and
feeling at being with one another.

With ease she twisted until she was lying face to face with Jeremy and their mouths met again.  Ever
slowly their bodies molded together and as the fire crackled in front of them, it was to be a night they
would both remember for eternity.

Tears flowed from Elizabeth’s eyes as she stared at the artificial fireplace before her.  It only gave the
illusion of a burning fire but was nothing like the true feeling of a roaring fire.  She snuggled deep into
the green chair; it was the same chair that they had shared on that night, her one memento of their
relationship.

This was the time of year she missed him the most, the holidays.  It was also the time she remembered
the night the most vividly.  She knew she still loved him more than anything else in the
world.

That was when she realized something was wrong; somehow she knew that she was not alone in the
room.  Carefully she started to turn when a soft voice filled the air, “It’s ok, Liz.”

Her heart nearly leapt from her chest at the voice, it was familiar as her own.  In an instant Liz was on
her feet and turning towards the direction of the voice.  She fought the urge to scream at the sight.
There he was in dark black pants and a long-sleeved black shirt.  His face was the same-scarred mess
it had always been, but to her it didn’t matter.

She finally got her emotions under control seeing not a single impression fall across his face, “I can’t
believe it’s you.”

“It is.”

She nodded and finally stepped towards the familiar stranger until they were face to face, “So what are
you doing here?”

“I came by to say good-bye.”

“Say good-bye?”  Liz’s voice caught in her throat.

What was he saying?  After nearly two decades they had been reunited and had a chance to start their
lives all over again.  She had no doubt that she still loved him like plants love the sun but had his
feelings changed?

Finally she found her voice, “Why?”

“Because I’ve changed, I’m not the same man you fell in love with.”

She simply shook her head barely noticing his voice had slipped into an even monotone, “You couldn’t
have changed that much.  What about our daughter?”

His voice remained even, “Yes I have.  I don’t have the luxury of feelings or anything that can distract
me.  I’m involved in a war against the greatest of evils there are and I need everything I’ve got to make
sure that the Sailor Senshi and their Knights make it through alive.”

Liz breathed deep, she wasn’t sure if she wanted to scream at him in rage or cry in despair, “So the
Senshi are more important than your daughter or me, Jeremy?”

He sighed and she could tell he wanted to melt but was standing fast, “Yes.  If the Sailor Senshi and
the Knights fall it is only a matter of time before the Dark Kingdom conquerors the Earth.  Then it
won’t matter if I have a family because we’ll find everything we love stripped from us.”

Finally she had reached her breaking point, “So you just are going to abandon us!  I can’t believe you;
all you care about is your precious Senshi and war, nothing else!  Not your child or me!”

“You damn well know you could very easily still fight your war and spend time with me and Jennifer
but nooo, the mighty Imperium Knight can’t afford to be burdened by his family!  Well you know
what, Jeremy, you weren’t saying that back in South Dakota when we were going out and that
Christmas Eve when you knocked me up.”

She caught the look of anger that appeared for a microsecond on his face before he regained his
composure; he always had been good at controlling himself.  When he spoke his voice had an
underlying tone of grief in it, “I love you and I love Jennifer but I can not get involved in your lives.
To do my job I have to remain unknown to the Senshi and all of the sudden to become Jennifer’s long
lost father would blow my cover and threaten you and our daughter.”

“So she did inherit your destiny, she is a Senshi.”

He nodded, “Yes she is.”

Liz was starting to calm down a bit and finally weakly she spoke, “I love you.”

Jeremy’s heart screamed as he fought to keep his emotions buried.  The words pierced the ironclad
hand that kept him from his emotions around other human beings and he had to strive to regain
control.  He still loved her as well, but he had a job to do, a war to fight.

His single blue eye met her own eyes as she whispered, “I’ll understand though.  You have to do what
is right.  You have to fight to save the world.  I knew that when we were first together and I always
knew that someday you’d leave me for that life.”

To hell with all of my training, was all Jeremy could think.  I can’t live my life only fighting and hiding, it
isn’t healthy.  What would I tell any Senshi who did the same thing?

He knew what he’d tell them, enjoy their lives and don’t let a war hinder their lives for life without love
was meaningless.  It was amazing how one could believe so firmly in his own advice yet ignore it when
he came to his own life.

Finally he let out a deep breathe and let his face soften, “I know you do.”

His ungloved hand reached up and caressed her face, “But just the same I can’t be here for you.  The
fact is that right now there’s too much at risk, especially if the Dark Kingdom was to discover how you
and Jennifer are related to me.  You’d be in greater danger than ever before.”

“That doesn’t matter to me, Jeremy.  In sickness or in health.  Your problems are my problems.”

“But not our daughter’s, Liz.  We have to remember that we have a teenage daughter to worry about.”

“One that needs her father’s love no matter what because she’s a growing teenager.”

“You’ve had boyfriends since I left.”

“Spying on us?”

Jeremy merely shrugged.  No need to let her know he snuck back to the states every year to visit them
on Jennifer’s birthday.  Of course he never showed himself, but he always made the appearance.

“Well you’re right, Jer.  Still despite all of that you have to remember that none of them can or ever will
replace you.”

He nodded, “I know.  You realize though that after all of these years we have very little time together.
I live without aging.”

“Haven’t you watch wives age and die before?”

“We are not married, Liz.  I never have married and you know that.  Have I watched lovers age and
die?  Yes.  But I have never stayed with them until the end, always do I vanish from their lives to let
them live them by their choice without me.”

“Just the same the guys I have dated none of them have the quality to replace the fact that she needs
her biological father, a real father.  She doesn’t need some fatherly figure in her life.”

He shook his head, “I don’t have much choice, Liz.”

“I know.  I wish there was some other way though,” she said as she finally gave into the urge to just
lean her body against his.  Much to his surprise she found Jeremy arms wrapping around her.

He hugged the young woman closer to his body and sighed, how could he have ever thought about just
ignoring her.  His nose found the same familiar sent of her shampoo and he just held her tighter as he
closed his eye, “I do to.”

Liz had melted into his grasp and her head rested on his chest as he breathed, “So this is the end for
us?”

Jeremy pulled back slightly and lifted her chin with his gloved hand, “Not an end, just a new
beginning.”

She smiled and took the gloved hand in her own and pulled at the soft leather.  It came off smoothly
and she was surprised slightly to see it was a small, normal glove instead of his typical elbow length
one.  She let the glove fall to the ground and took the hand in hers.

The same sickening warm, damp feeling remained as she squeezed it gently.  He squeezed back and
for the first time in years let a slight smile creep to his face.  Liz smiled back and he leaned down and
their lips met.

Fire exploded in both of their minds as their lips parted, their tongues gliding among another’s mouths.
Even after all the years the two still remembered the lines and confines of their bodies.  Despite the
time the passion was still just as fierce.

As they emerged from their embrace she turned and still keeping a grip on pale left hand led him over
to the window.  She peered out at the falling snow and felt Jeremy’s arm wrap around her.

She leaned back into him, her head resting on his chest, “The snow’s kind of like what our relationship
is isn’t it?  I mean it comes and goes as it pleases.”

She felt a set of lips gently kiss the top of her head, “I guess it is.  I came here not planning on this
happening.”

“I know.”

She turned and glanced at the fake fireplace, “This brings back memories.”

Jeremy nodded and let his arms tighten around her waist.  She turned her face to him and kissed his
chin.  Then one arm reached up to pull his lips to hers and they embraced again.  Slowly she turned
and led him to the couch.

Jeremy broke away but as he started to speak he found himself cut off by Liz bringing her mouth back
to his.  Jeremy just breathed deeply and went with the flow as the two fell back onto the couch.

Jeremy and Elizabeth were snuggled warmly underneath a thin blanket yet to them they were as warm
as day.  Liz’s head rested against Jeremy’s chest as they slept quietly.  That’s when movement from
the stairs snapped Jeremy awake, centuries of battle had given him the instinct to sleep lightly.

Someone walked down the stairs at a casual pace and Jeremy knew he had to move.

Jennifer walked into the living room and glance at her mother sleeping on the couch.  It came across
odd to the young teenager to find her mother asleep on the couch and undressed, very weird.  She
shook her head though and walked over to the frost-covered window, it was morning already.

She was glad that Christmas break had started for school and she didn’t have to go for the day.  She
turned away and glanced at her mother, normally she was awake at six every morning and rarely slept
till seven, let alone nine.  She earned it though.

As she turned to head for the kitchen for breakfast when she stepped on something and glanced
down.  It was a single black leather glove.  Jennifer lifted it off the ground and looked at it, for the left
hand and larger than either her or her mothers’ hands.  Her gaze fell on her mother’s sleeping form and
the peaceful statement on her face and shook her head.  She couldn’t have. Could she?

Even if she had it was none of her business.  She simply turned and headed for the kitchen, her mother
could rest for now.

Jeremy Satterlee stepped into his house finally keeping his left hand in his pants pocket and
shut the door.  With ease he finally slid the white monstrosity from his pocket and immediately
moved to his bedroom upstairs to get a new glove.  As he walked in he glanced at one of the
pictures on his bed and smiled.

He turned with a glove and headed back to the closet and pulled out the box of decorations.  His face
was back to its obvious emotionless tone but inside he was beaming in joy. He lifted the box and
headed downstairs and set it down, perhaps it was time for him to at least enjoy life a little bit.

Elizabeth awoke to find a tray of pancakes, eggs, and bacon sitting on the table in front of her.  She
glanced at her daughter and smiled, “Thank you.”

Jennifer smiled, “Anytime, Mom, anytime.  Nice night?”

Elizabeth nodded, “Yeah, I felt like being a little rebellious.”

Her daughter nodded and held out a small envelope, “By the way I found this on the table here.”

Elizabeth took the letter and glanced at it, it was addressed to her.  Finally she opened it and read the
message within.

                      Elizabeth,

            Sorry for leaving before you awoke but I knew better than to allow
            Jennifer to find us.  I will always love you and perhaps we’ll see one
                            another again at sometime.

                                                                                                                --Jeremy

Elizabeth smiled and her daughter looked at her, “What?”

“It’s nothing, Jen.”

“Bullshit.”

“I’ll tell you about it someday, but for now I can’t”

The look in her mother’s eyes was all Jennifer needed, “Ok.”

Elizabeth smiled at her daughter, “The one thing I will tell you though is that your father does love you
and I know he wishes he could be here right now.”

Her daughter smiled, “I know.  Don’t ask me how but somehow, Mom, I know.  It’s as if he was here
and was watching over me at times.  You know what I’m saying.”

Liz nodded, “Yes, Baby, I do.”

She turned to the artificial fireplace and smiled, Always the unseen guardian aren’t you Jeremy.

She turned back to her breakfast and her daughter, the part of her family that would always be there
for her.