Hey all! I'm starting a sequel to Love is Our Resistance! (So if you haven't read that I highly suggest you do)I hope you all enjoy it! I'll do my best to update, but do understand that I have a job, school, and an internship so my time is limited.

With that said, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own any Sailor Moon characters, designer names, or iPhone products. I only own the story concept and any other fictional characters.

Chapter 1

Serena had come a long way from being a well known Upper East Side wife whose picture was plastered over every gossip column known to the world. Her ex-husband James was locked up in the state penitentiary, looking for an appeal that he would never receive on account of everyone was on her side in Manhattan. It was like she was ruling it from afar; a queen from a different country. Her homeland was now in Darien's old childhood town of Fallen Meadows. She resided in the summer home she received from her ex-husband's dead father (just that sentence alone could be a television series).

And speaking of which, Serena's new job was producing a television series she created about being a housewife by day and then part of the glitterati by night. It was very much a take on her own life and what she had to go through on a weekly basis thanks to her famous friends.

Rei was one of the well-known, highly fashionable socialites out in New York who was actually making a label that had some clout; other designers were giving her rave reviews from Oscar de la Renta to Stella McCartney. Even Anna Wintour the editor in chief at Vogue (double check), had given her designs a nod of approval by adding her in the "Hottest 30 designers under 30" section. She was fortunate enough to have a two page spread in that editorial thanks to the scandalous lifestyle she had lived for the past few months via her inner circle.

Lita was creating an even bigger name for herself these days by expanding her restaurant business to Brooklyn and becoming a critical judge on a food television reality show. She was supposed to be the one judge who wouldn't hold back her tongue about the food, but she could always get away with her remarks because she was beautiful. Her sass seemed to scare some of the contestants though and she was titled as "the bitchy boss" in the tabloids.

Amy was happily working behind the scenes, managing clients – such as Mina – and keeping the bad press looking like good press and the good press looking like great press. She wasn't in the business of hearing the word "no" unless it slipped from her own lips in order to get what she wanted. It was so strange to see that this crazed woman could go from screaming at a potential client to sitting at a fireplace, quietly reading a Charlotte Bronte novel. She was an example of night and day.

Mina had finally found her place in the world thanks to the said agent above and her dear friend Serena for creating the fabulous show titled "Home Strife". Considering she had worked so closely with her and was Serena's sister-in-law for a longer-than-life period of time, she knew how to read the lead character that was based on her. The two had a full magazine interview in People about their experience and the pictures accompanying it showed them laughing, playing around with their friends in a field, and Serena cuddling up with Darien and Cali.

Cali was now going into the third grade and dragging some attitude along with her. She was last seen as a cute, smart, witty child who would always say such zen-like things to the adults. She had a clear understanding of the world. But with female celebrity role models taking over her mind and her life-long friend Batty passed on to the other side, she was taking out her temper on Serena. She had slowly started thinking that Serena was trying to take over the "mommy role" when in reality, she just wanted to be there for Cali. But the young girl was going through her long over due tantrum phase; she would learn soon enough.

Darien was trying to cope with this new found personality that had taken over his daughter like a bad virus. Having Serena around really helped… well, when she was around that is. The two still hadn't married after living at Fallen Meadows for those few years and now Darien was slowly starting to grow distant. Serena had noticed the sudden shift in their relationship and was feeling a little bit of the tension start to come between them. He was staying at the local clinic late, making himself completely and one-hundred percent available to his patients in town all while neglecting his child and his fiancée. The household wasn't as peachy keen as Serena had imagined it to be two years ago.

One autumn Tuesday, she drove into the city to meet up with Rei, Ami and Mina at Lita's new Indian restaurant called All the Raj. Serena picked lazily at her curry and sighed. Mina looked up from her eggplant Punjab and tilted her head in curiosity.

"What's the matter?" she asked.

"What do you think?" Serena retorted.

"Darien," Ami answered.

"Yes!" she responded exasperatedly. "Oh my god! We are so not in a good place right now! Cali is a little terror these days and it's only because she wants to get her father's attention. He doesn't care anymore. All he thinks about is that damn clinic of his." Serena stabbed her fork into her brown rice and exhaled again, "I don't know what to do…"

Mina swallowed her spicy food and quickly responded with a reddened face, "How about you get married already?"

"No," she declined, shaking her head. "I would be walking into another dead marriage if I went down that aisle right now. I need to fix this rut we're in …"

"You need to find that spark again," Ami commented. "Maybe getting out of Fallen Meadows for a night would do you some good."

"Why is it always like this?" Rei asked as she pushed her food away from her. "We get away from the city because it destroys our relationships and then we return because our relationships have crumbled elsewhere! Why is the grass always greener on the other side?"

"Because we'll never be satisfied," Ami replied. "How do you possibly expect to have a decent relationship with such high expectations for a person?"

"Says the woman who hasn't been in a relationship for over two years," the raven haired heiress mumbled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"I think Ami's right," Mina nodded. "We're never going to be satisfied in our relationships. We're always going to want something more."

"I just want Darien back," Serena sighed. "Is that too much to ask?"

"For him it might be," shrugged Ami. "I mean he's working so hard; being himself might just be another thing he can't handle."

"But I can provide for us!" she complained.

"It's not about making money with him and you know that," Rei scolded her. After taking a pause to think about the situation, she reached over and clasped her hand over Serena's, "Look, maybe what you need to do is become more involved in their home life. You may have moved out to Fallen Meadows but how much time do you actually spend in the community?" When Serena didn't answer, she clapped her hands in triumph, "Knew it. You have no idea what that community is really like, do you?"

"No … I don't," she said sheepishly. "But how do I do this? How do I get involved?"

"Offer to pick Cali up from school," Mina suggested. "That way you'll get to know the moms there and maybe you could get involved in the PTA or something."

The group finished eating their lunch, paid the bill and then walked out of the restaurant to find a few men slinking around and snapping photos from their long lens cameras. Serena stopped at the valet and handed him her ticket. As the group waited for her SUV to be driven around the corner, they discussed the topic further.

"So you think that by getting more involved in life up there, I'll be able to bring the old Darien back?" she asked.

"There's no sure fire answer," Ami replied, "but it's a start at least. This could be why Cali is acting out so much; the girl isn't getting any attention. And with the dog's death just a few months ago…"

Batty had received a grim diagnosis from the vet earlier that year; he had stomach cancer. They changed his diet, they gave him medicine, but everything just seemed to remove his happy, flighty personality even more. Nothing was working and it all made him miserable. So Darien and Serena came to a joint decision to put him down. Cali had never been the same since then.

As the black monster of a car rolled up to the curb, Serena turned back to her friends, "So I have to confine myself to Fallen Meadows?"

"You're the one who wanted to move there in the first place," Mina scoffed. "Don't act like this is a death sentence."

"It is though! You guys aren't there!" she whined.

"Let's compromise," Rei suggested. "You stay up there a little bit more, get more involved, and we'll visit you."

"Hands in on it?" Serena asked, placing her slender hand out, palm down in the center of their foursome.

The women rolled their eyes and each slapped their hand over hers. Ami put an extra hand in and said, "That's for Lita. She's not getting out of this one just because she's filming a segment on sushi wraps and frying tofu."

They all giggled and then Serena climbed into her car. She waved goodbye to her friends, pushed her large Jackie-O sunglasses onto her face, and then drove back to the compound she called home. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad to nestle into a home life. It certainly would be a change from the constant commute back and forth to New York City. She loved Manhattan a lot; it kept her check with its grittiness and its bite. Fallen Meadows was wispy, quiet, and secretly catty from what she could tell. No one had opened up to her there. Then again, it's not like she ever gave the town a chance to get to know her. She was always running away back to her friends, her comfort zone. It was time to break free of that.

With a determined smile on her face and her confidence levels at an all-time high, Serena dashed off into the world, only to crash into an expensive Mercedes-Benz.

"Shit!" she exclaimed as she hit the brakes and came to a sudden halt.

Luckily, she had only just been pulling out of her parking space and her friends weren't too far away. They all came rushing back except for Rei who had already been whisked off in a yellow cab.

"Are you alright?" Ami exclaimed.

Serena hopped out of the car and slammed the door shut, "Yeah I am. This thing is a tank. I just hope the other person is okay." She walked around to the other side and started to apologize profusely to the woman who was looking awfully disgruntled, "I am so sorry! I really wasn't paying attention! Let me give you my insurance information; I will gladly pay for the damages."

"Jesus fucking Christ! You weren't looking at all, were you?" the woman screamed.

"No, I wasn't ma'am. I-I'm sorry," she said coyly as she pulled out her card. She started to write down her personal cell phone on the back as she said, "Please call me when you get the estimate. I'll call my insurance company immediately."

The woman, who was tall, slender, with silky chestnut hair, looked like she should have been in a beauty commercial with her perfect complexion, wonderful three piece Chanel suit, and a kick ass Hermes bag that stated she was rich, classy, and above all a snob. She snatched the card out of Serena's hand and sighed as she looked it over with her piercing hazel eyes.

"Fallen Meadows?" she asked, arching her eyebrow.

"Yes. That's where I live. In fact that's where I was about to head out to and … um … well, then this happened," she answered.

"Huh … never would have pegged you for a suburban type," the woman replied snidely as she stepped back and examined the damage for herself.

"You either," Serena smiled which quickly faltered when she realized what she had just said. "I mean you don't look suburban. Not to say that you are! I shouldn't assume such a thing. Not that it's a bad thing, I just … oh dear …"

The woman merely kept her perfectly eyebrow raised in amusement and took out her cell phone in order to snap photos of the wrecked car. Once she was finished, she exchanged her own information and said she would be in touch. She wouldn't file a police report, but there would have to be reputable payment. Serena completely agreed. The Chanel suited woman slowly pulled her car out of the wreckage and then drove off cautiously into the city. Serena trotted back over to the other side of her SUV so she could hide from the prying eyes and cameras that were across the street.

"I think I've started off on the wrong foot," she blushed as she handed Ami and Mina the card of information she was handed.

"Heather Lincolnshire. She's the dean at Fallen Meadows private elementary school," Ami read out loud.

"She's the dean at Cali's school!" Serena exclaimed. "Shit! I am so totally fucked!"

"No you're not," Mina argued. "You're just … erm … well … okay so you're a little fucked. But not totally."

Serena growled underneath her breath and climbed back into her car. She was not going to have a good week. She could just feel it. As she pulled back into traffic slowly and carefully, she turned on the radio only to hear that her accident was already major news. Leaning back against the leather seats, she waited for the story to subside and the traffic news to come up.

"And if you're trying to get out of the city to upstate New York, good luck folks. Highway 87 is backed up thicker than my sink at the moment … and that's pretty bad. There was major construction going on and as if matters couldn't get worse, an accident has occurred right on top it. Literally on top of the construction. Some idiot didn't know how to turn off their cruise control and smashed right into site. His car is stuck in hot tar now … so good luck with that."

Serena sighed and popped in her iPhone so she could play her favorite mix for the duration of the traffic jam. The playlist didn't last for as long as her slow departure though; the drive took her close to six hours. It was torture. By the time she had actually entered Fallen Meadows, the sun had sunk below the horizon and she was now stuck with listening to the radio which wasn't all that bad aside from some of the disc jockeys who thought they were funny.

Feeling extremely exhausted from the negativity of the day, she was glad to see that Darien was home; his car was out front. She parked the car in the driveway and slung her large leather satchel over her shoulder. She opened up the back seat door, pulled out a heavy box of possible episode ideas from her writers and then struggled to make it to the front entrance.

"You're kidding me?" a familiar voice exclaimed from the living room.

Serena waddled into the room where the sound of laughter was coming in and there, on her couch, was that woman she had hit earlier that day. Heather Lincolnshire was sitting with Darien, drinking wine and having quite a laugh together. Serena's eyes grew a bit wide and before she knew it, her clammy hands had uncontrollably let the giant box of thick scripts fall on her foot. She screamed and cursed in pain and immediately Darien leapt up from the couch just as Serena was about push the heavy box off her foot.

"Don't touch it!" he ordered loudly, causing her to stop more from shock from his tone rather than actually hearing what he said. Darien lifted the box off of her foot and placed it to the side. He examined her toes and arch, massaging it gently. Serena howled in pain when she felt him press against the top of her foot.

"You've bruised the muscle I think," he said casually as he lifted her up and carried her over to the couch where he had once been so buddy-buddy with Heather. "I'll get you some ice." He went into the kitchen, grabbed a towel, put some ice in it and then placed it on her foot. "We'll go into my office tomorrow morning and take some x-rays just to be sure."

"Aren't you lucky to be married to a doctor?" Heather smiled venomously.

"We're not married," Darien corrected her.

"Oh? But I thought…"

"We're still engaged," Serena said, showing off her light pink diamond ring to her. "It's been difficult to try and schedule a proper wedding with our busy lives."

"Oh I'm sure," she nodded.

There was something about Heather's tone that didn't sound right to Serena. This woman was too fancy to be in a town like this; especially when working with children between the ages of six and eleven. It made her shudder to think what Heather would be like if she got mustard spilled on her Manolo Blahniks or Dolce and Gabanna pencil skirt.

"Well, I should get going," Heather said, looking over at Darien in the kitchen.

"No! Don't!" he drawled as he took another quick swig of his wine. "She's been through worse."

Serena's brow instinctively furrowed at his tone; he reminded her a little bit of James just then and it didn't sit well with her. She sat up a little bit straighter and tried not to cause any attention on herself as she watched their exchange.

"Your girlfriend is injured. You should take care of her," Heather cooed as Darien closed the gap between the two of them. She brushed a strand of his hair out of his face then turned around to look at the invalid on the couch, "I'm sure I'll see you around, Serena. I'll be expecting a call from your insurance agent. Sorry about your foot. Goodbye."

"Yeah … um, bye," she murmured.

Once the door had shut and she knew that the woman had driven away in her beat up Mercedes, Serena turned her focus on to Darien, "How do you know her?"

"We're old friends. We go way back," he beamed. He sat down on the couch, placing Serena's feet in his lap. He started to massage the foot that wasn't showing a purple discoloration, but she moaned as though she was in pain. "This isn't the bruised foot. Why are you making those noises?"

"Because it feels so good," she replied through gritted teeth. "I walk in heels all day remember?"

"Yeah, no heels for a while. I'll get you some orthopedic shoes. You might need a foot brace on this injured one," he instructed her quietly.

She didn't have the energy or time to argue with him about it so she just shrugged and laid back against the couch. Darien looked over at her and grabbed her hand.

"Are you alright? What's the matter?" he asked.

"How do you really know her?"

He didn't answer right away, but when he did, he couldn't look at her, "She's my first love. We were high school sweethearts, college loves, and some how we were a slight lingering flame before I met Cali's mother."

"You ended it when you met her, right?" she prodded, noticing extreme guilt in his eyes. "Right?"

"No. When she was dying, I needed comfort. I went back to Heather … and we were also together for a few months after her death," he answered solemnly.

He had stopped massaging her foot at this point which she was thankful for. Serena kicked off the bag of ice from her foot and hobbled up onto her good leg. She felt like the dearly departed Batty did when he would bounce around the house frantically. She used every bit of leverage she could in order to get to the staircase. She leaned against walls, used a bookshelf as a crutch, and then finally hopped over to the first two steps.

"Don't you want me to carry you?" Darien asked.

"No! Don't help me! I've been through worse, remember? I don't need your help. I'll get checked out in the city tomorrow," she snapped.

She knew that her feelings were irrational to a certain degree, but she could help it; he had cheated on his dying wife. Who's to say he wouldn't cheat on a living one? A living one who didn't have cancer, could easily move on in life – supposedly – was financially stable, and didn't have a child with him. He didn't have to be connected with her if he didn't want to. Serena was wondering if this woman was like a litmus test for every relationship Darien entered; when Heather returned, it would test whether or not he was really in love with that person. With this thought running through her mind like a crazed bunny rabbit, she locked herself in the restroom and ran herself a bath. While the water was running, she called up the one feisty person she knew would join her in her ridiculous ideas.

After explaining the whole situation, she heard from Rei on the other end, "What a bitch!"

"I just don't know what to do?" Serena whispered. "Do I confront him about this? He never once mentioned Heather! We've been together for over two years!"

"Well, maybe it would be a liability," she mused. "You won't marry him because you two are in this rut. Did you ever think of why he wouldn't marry you?"

"No…"

"Maybe this is it."

She nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Serena?"

"I'm nodding," she said as a tear fell from her eye. She wiped it away and realized that steam was filling the room up like a thick fog. "Rei I have to go. My bath cover-up is starting to cloud my focus."

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow? Do you want me to send a car to pick you up?" she asked.

"Um … yeah. That would be great. I'll need help getting around town on crutches."

"Okay. Ciao."

"Bye."

Serena hung up her phone and then slid off of the closed toilet seat in order to stop the bathtub from overflowing. She slipped out of her skinny jeans, blouse, and underwear and then carefully dipped herself into the steaming hot pool of water. Just as she was getting half way in, a knock at the door interrupted her narrowed concentration. She almost slipped and squealed loudly in the process. Serena ended up in the hot tub a lot fast than expected. A small wail escaped from her lips as she felt the scalding water consume her skin and a throbbing pain vibrated through her injured foot. Darien burst in when hearing the scream and was relieved to find her just in the tub.

"Are you alright?" he asked.

"If you ask that again tonight, I'm going to find a way to hurt you," she grumbled as she repositioned herself.

He strolled in and sat down on the toilet seat, leaning over his knees and staring at the opposite wall.

After a few minutes of silence, Serena said, "You never corrected her."

"Excuse me?"

"Heather called me your girlfriend. I'm your fiancée. You never corrected her," she explained plainly.

"Well you are my girlfriend. You're my girlfriend with a ring," he shrugged.

"I'm engaged to marry you," she shot at him. "I'm in the process of getting ready to spend the rest of my life with you! A girlfriend is not a fiancée! A girlfriend has an expiration date. A fiancée has a future!" She splashed the water a little bit and asked him dumbfounded, "Do you even want to get married?"

"I … I don't know now," he whispered as he cupped his face into his hands.

Serena's jaw was held agape as she stared at him in shock. This wasn't the same man she had fallen madly in love with at the hospital when she was going through a tumultuous marriage. What had happened? Did life get in the way too much? Were they only meant to be when something dramatic was happening to them?

She had more questions running through her head, but they all vanished the moment that Darien got up and walked out of the bathroom. That night they didn't sleep in the same bed; Darien stayed in his den and Serena stayed up in the master bedroom surrounded by her mountains of scripts. She sighed as she got through the twentieth one of that night, knowing by now that Darien wasn't coming to bed. She turned the lights out, removed her glasses from her face, and slipped under the covers for a restless slumber.

Please review and let me know what you think of this beginning!