A.N. Here is a one-parter to tide everyone over until I can write more on my other fics.There may a sequel to this one eventually, but not anytime soon. I hope you enjoy this,other people loved it. Icess

Title: A Rose for Serena

Author: Icess

"Serena when are you gonna learn to move on? Sure, Andrew was a good man. But you need someone new. Andy died a long time ago." Raye Sneed said to her best friend, Serena Hanley. Andrew Hanley, Serena's late husband had died in a car accident eight years ago and Serena was still mourning his death. She was 28 years old… she needed a family. And Raye was going to make sure that she got one.

"It's not as easy as you think, Raye. Andrew was my world. After he died, I was nothing. I couldn't live without him. Thank God you were there to keep me afloat." Serena said, trying not to cry, even after all these years the thought of Andrew brought tears to her eyes. No one could match what Andrew was. She missed his shiny blonde hair and his emerald green eyes, and his calm demeanor; they were so comforting. Serena sighed, 'Maybe I should move on. I really do get lonely. Everyone else is married now, except for me. I want kids too.' She smiled gently and knew what she had to do. She had to move on.

The phone on Darien's bedside table was ringing and he was trying to sleep. He moaned pitifully and tried to ignore the ringing. 'I am not going to answer the phone, I am not going to answer the phone…' He chanted in his mind. Finally, after five more rings, he did pick up. "Hello?" He grumbled, 'Who in their right mind would call a man with a hangover? Especially after he got dumped?'

"Darien! Hi! It's Raye! Remember me? Your little sister? The one you haven't talked to in about, let's say… three months?" Raye said cheerfully. She loved waking him up early in the morning.

"Oh… uh, yeah. What're you up to, Raye? How have you been?" Darien asked, trying to sound like he cared. It didn't work. Raye caught on right away.

"Don't try and play innocent with me, Dare. I know better."

"Fine. Then why'd you call?" He asked bluntly, not bothering to apologize.

"Well," she dragged out. "I was wondering if you were seeing anyone right now…" She sounded hesitant to continue.

"Actually, Ruby broke up with me last night. So... no, I'm not seeing anyone. Why?" He asked, perking up at the thought of another woman.

"I was just thinking… maybe you could go with Chad and I to a friends house. She'd really like the company." She said, hoping that he'd say yes.

"Hmm, let's see. Should I go to work – or – not go to work and spend time with my sister, brother – in – law, and their friend? Is this friend attractive? Do I know her?"

"Yes, she's very attractive. Yes again, you know her. It's Serena." She heard his intake of breath and knew that he wouldn't go.

"You know that I don't want anything to do with her, Raye. Drew got to her first, she doesn't mean anything to me anymore." He told her, not wanting to think about Serena at all. He hadn't seen her since Andrew's funeral eight years ago. She'd been heartbroken and his heart had been broken also. For he knew that he'd never get the chance to be with her.

"Please Dare! Just go over and say hi. That's all I ask. If you feel uncomfortable when we get there, then you can leave."

Well, he did want to see what she looked like now. See if she had changed at all. "Okay, I guess so. But I'm only doing this for you."

"Great! We'll meet you at your place in about forty-five minutes. Be ready." She called and hung the phone up. Darien sighed and then realized that he still had to shower and shave. He swore and then jumped up from bed, realizing right then and there that he wanted to see Serena, and he wanted her to give him a chance.

The doorbell rang and Serena gulped. She was going to see Darien for the first time in eight years. 'I wonder if he still wears his hair the same way. A little shaggy with a bit of bang covering his midnight blue eyes and forehead. His dark as night hair.' She giggled like a schoolgirl and then caught herself. 'Get a hold of yourself, Sere! He's just Raye's brother.' She straightened up and opened the heavy oak door. "Hello!" She smiled warmly and kept her crystalline eyes locked on Darien's.

"Hello, Sere. You haven't changed a bit." Darien said, not showing any emotion in his voice but smiling gently. Her blue eyes widened and she moved aside to let the trio in. Thankfully, Raye broke the uncomfortable silence.

"Serena baby! How are ya?" Raye was scared to death, she didn't know if this little reunion was such a good idea or not. Chad had been supportive though. 'Gosh, I love that man!' She smiled at Chad, who was right next to her.

"Raye, Chad. I'm great, and how are you guys?" Serena asked as she finally averted her eyes from Darien's. She led the way into the living room and offered everyone a drink.

"Sure, whatcha got?" Chad asked, his brown eyes smiling.

"Hmm… I've got Coke, water, juice, and iced tea. I could make coffee." She suggested; she needed to keep herself busy so she wouldn't think about Darien and how much more attractive he seemed to be than the last time she saw him.

"I'll take some coffee, I need the energy boost." Raye requested.

"I'll have some Coke, Sere." That was Chad.

"I'll just come into the kitchen with you and help you carry everything out. You don't mind, do you?" Darien asked.

"No, not at all." Serena lied, leading the way out into the kitchen. Darien admired the decorations in the house as they passed them. A couple copies of Monet artwork. Some Renoir. 'She's got good taste.' He stopped for a moment to gaze at a picture of Andrew and Serena together. They looked so happy, and it's true… they were. He'd never seen any two people happier. Besides his parents, that is. 'I wonder what their kids would've looked like if they'd had any. Blonde hair - obviously, since Drew and Serena both had a full head of it.' He guessed.

"Darien, you coming?" Serena asked gently, noticing that he wasn't right behind her.

"Yep, on my way." He said and then made his way into the kitchen. It was bright with flowers and yellows and greens and blues all over the place. He stopped and looked at her as she got some glasses down from one of the lazy Susan cupboards. "So, how have you really been, Sere?" He prodded.

"I've really been fine. There's not much else to say. I've been working a lot since Andy… uh, since Andy left." She said, disliking the word 'died'. "My brother comes to visit a lot. He's got two kids now. Girls. Emma and Carla. The cutest little girls in the world. How about you, Darien? What's been going on with you?" She really was curious as to what he had been up to.

"Oh, I've been working a lot too. Remember that job I applied for after high school? The architects position?" Serena nodded. "Well, I got it. It's great. And the people are fun to work with." He stopped there. He didn't want to tell about his relationships with women or anything. It's not like he was a "playa"; he just couldn't seem to find the right woman for him. Of course, he already knew who the one for him was… and she was standing right there in front of him. He wasn't going to reveal that either, or the fact that he thought Andrew had died for a reason. He loved Drew dearly, but he just didn't think that Serena was supposed to be with him.

"Well, that's good Darien. I'm happy for you." She said quickly and occupied herself with making the coffee. "What're you going to drink? If you don't know, feel free to look in the fridge."

He ignored her suggestion and asked, "Hey, Serena? Whatever happened? To us, I mean. It's just a question, don't take it the wrong way."

"I don't know Darien. I loved Andrew. I don't know why you couldn't accept that. Only you know." She had a feeling that she knew the truth. She figured that Darien had had a 'thing' for her, but would never admit it. And, she had to be honest with herself… she had a thing for him too before Andrew came along.

For some odd reason, her answer had angered Darien. He couldn't stand to be around her at the moment. "Well, I don't know either. I wish that I hadn't of come to this stupid thing and seen you again. It brings too many memories back that I hadn't wanted to think about again! I'm outta here!" He yelled and stormed out the back door. Serena stood shocked-still for a moment and then closed her mouth; it was wide open. 'What's he so mad about?' She asked herself, hoping to find the answer.

"What happened?" Chad asked as he came into the room. "Where'd Darien go?"

"He left… I have no idea what happened. He asked what had happened between us and then he just… got mad and left. Stormed out the back door." Serena was really confused.

"Well, Raye just went running after him. I gotta go find her. You gonna be okay?"

"Yeah, I'll be fine. Go ahead." Serena said and left Chad to stare after her with worry.

"Darien, what the heck is your problem? You didn't have to yell at her, you know. You could've just said that you wanted to leave instead of slamming her back door." Raye scolded.

"Raye, just stay out of my life, okay?" He told her. Her violet eyes widened with hurt and she turned around and walked away. 'I hate it when people butt into my life, especially when I'm happy with the one I lead right now.' He growled. It would be two weeks later before he spoke to his sister or Serena.

On Tuesday afternoon, two weeks after Darien had stormed out of her house; Serena came into her house after work and found that she had a message on her answering machine. "Hey Serena baby. Raye here. Give me a call back as soon as you get this. Love ya!" Serena smiled and picked up the phone to dial Raye's phone number.

Someone picked up after two rings. "Hi Chad. Is Raye there? I'm just returning her call."

"Sure, no problem. Hang on a moment." He said. While waiting for Raye to pick up, Serena thought of how much Chad and Raye meant to each other. She wished that she could find someone like that. Her two best friends were meant to be together. Chad had his rugged good looks; dark brown eyes that were almost black his even darker hair, his facial features were chiseled which gave him his ruggedness. Raye was a tomboy and had been one all her life. She loved to wear her cowboy boots and her Stetson cowboy hat. Her black hair was cut close to her shoulders and her violet eyes were soft when she was talking to someone she loved. At other times her eyes could be as hard as stone. No one messed with Raye. Raye and Chad were perfect for each other because… they just were. No one could explain it.

"Hell-oo!" Raye called when she picked up the phone.

"Hey you. Took you long enough to get to the phone, don't you think?" Serena said in a teasing manner.

Raye gave a very unladylike snort. "Not nearly long enough, I guess." The women laughed and then their conversation headed towards a more serious matter. Darien.

"Have you talked to him Raye? I don't know what I did to make him get mad like that. Then when he flipped out on you… I have no idea what's going through his head. I kinda wanted to start things over between the two of us, ya know?" Serena said with emotion.

"Yeah, I know. He hasn't bothered to call me at all. And I'm not gonna call him until he realizes that he did the wrong thing by yelling at you and I. We didn't do a thing wrong. He just has to come to his senses." Raye had wanted to pick the phone up the other day and call him, but Chad had told her to leave him be. 'Let him call when he feels like apologizing. No one can push him to say sorry. He has to want to do it himself.' Chad had told her. She knew he was right, but she hated not knowing what Darien was up to and if he was okay.

Serena's doorbell rang and she jumped. 'I need to get that thing taken care of. It's too loud.' "Hey, Raye. Someone's here. I'm gonna have to go and I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Sure, no problem." The two said goodbye and then hung their phones up on the hook. 'Now, I wonder who could be at the door.' Serena wondered. She made her way down the hallway and stopped in front of the door, then looked through the peephole. The person she saw on the other side had her smiling.

"Hi Darien." She said after opening the door. "What's brings you to this neck of the woods?" He smiled sheepishly and she stepped aside to let him in. He had one hand behind his back.

"Hey, Serena. How are you?"

"Oh, I'm pretty good. How are you?" She asked; his hand still being behind his back was bothering her. Curiosity got the best of her and she asked, "What are you hiding, Darien?" He seemed to be preoccupied and hadn't heard her question. "Darien?"

"What? Oh, um, what did you ask?"

"I wanted to know what you were hiding behind your back." She said again.

"Nothing. Listen, Serena… I just wanted to apologize for my behavior and I thought… you know, maybe we could start over." Darien said, all in one breath.

Serena laughed a little bit and Darien looked confused. "Sorry for laughing, it's not that what you said is funny. But, that's what I had had in mind when you came over with Chad and Raye. I'm ready to get over Andrew's death. I'll always love him in my own way. But it's time for me to move on. I want to start my new life. With you." She smiled with tears in her eyes as Darien gave her a heart-stopping smile.

"Well, that relieves a bunch of stress." He said. "I was scared that you wouldn't want to talk to me." Finally, he pulled his hand from behind his back and produced a pure white rose. "This is for the good times that we'll have in the future." And he handed her the rose.

Serena was smiling through her tears as she took the delicate flower from him. "Thank-you, Darien." She gave him a hug and kiss on the cheek that he hadn't expected. When she drew back, she said, "Now, you have to talk to Raye. She's not too happy with you, you know."

"Yeah, I know. But I figure that she'll get over it when she catches the two of us together." Serena nodded and they both laughed. Sure enough, when they pulled up to Raye's house an hour later, holding hands… Raye forgave her brother and knew that Serena and Darien had finally found true happiness.

Well? How'd that one go? Questions, comments, and flames can be sent to me.

Written On: May 1, 2003

Revised On: January 6, 2005