Title : More Than Infatuation

Author : FirstMovement

Beta-Reader : JadePhoenixBurning

Pairing : Serena x Darien

Type : AU, modern day

Disclaimer : The characters of this story is not mine…


AN : First of all, thank you so much for JadePhoenixBurning for beta-ing this story, can't do all this without you… Second, this story was originally a one shot, and I ended up writing this for 12+ words, so I break it to three parts. I was on the middle of editing part two and three right now, so don't worry for reading an unfinished story.

Summary : She awoke from the car crash, just to discover she suffered some memory loss. As she struggled to continue her life, she found there was something amiss with her life.


Part I


She opened her eyes to the blinding white light. It stung her eyes unpleasantly, making them moisturize in an instant. She blinked a few times to lessen the pain, and it did, much to her relief.

She allowed her eyes to wander around to examine her surroundings. She was not in her comfy and fluffy bed; in fact it was hard and stiff. The wall was not baby blue like she had in home; instead it was a spotless white. On her bedside table, her despicable alarm that had always occupied it was changed to some unknown machine that emitted constant beeping sounds. All in all, she did not recognize the place she was in right now.

Where was she?

She turned to her left, which she realized was a hurtful thing to do. Her muscles were aching with a small movement, as if she never used it for a long time and it got stiff. She called someone, anyone, but her voice came out raspy.

What happened?

Her struggling spurred movements from the corner of the unknown room. She could see from her peripheral view that the movements were indeed a person. This person stood from his corner and hurriedly came to her bed. She could see that it was a man, a man who brought her brows knitted in confusion; a contrast to the shocked expression on the man's face.

For the next several moments they stared at one another, her identifying the person who was seeing her as if mesmerized, him staring at her dumbfounded as if waiting for something to happen. She knew him;she would know those blue eyes and black hair everywhere.

"Dar-" her chocked voice was dying half way, but it was enough to send the man to snap from his catatonic state with a gasp.

"Oh my God! Serena, you're back! How are you feeling, dear? Do you want something? Oh God, you don't know how much you scared me! Please, please, never, ever, do that again!" Darien said almost burst in tears.

She wanted to say something, anything, to respond to his ranting. Or just to simplyget an explanation for her questions regarding her whereabouts and what happened, but her shore throat made it seem impossible to form a word, much less a sentence.

"I-"

Darien looked at her in concern, and then realized what she need.

"Oh, sorry Baby. Here, drink some water," he held her to a sitting position with gentle care and took the glass of water from the bedside table. He guided her to drink it slowly, delicately. Then he laid her back to the uncomfortable mattress, scowling when noticing that it was too hard for his Serena.

"Wait here okay? I'll call someone," he kissed her forehead softly then rushed out.

Serena then watched his departing figure disappeared through the door. What the hell happened?! She woke up in the hospital (at least she guessed that she was in there since there was no other place that was so white except for hospital's room) with sore muscles and dry throat. She sorted through her memories to the last thing she remembered before waking up.

A blur of something flashed into her mind. What was that? It was too fast to be recognized. She was moving too fast that it was become a blur. Black… She was surrounded by black, but it's not night time. She could remember the sun illuminated her surroundings through the window…yes, a window… A car! She was driving a car!

She winced when a sharp pain shot her head.

Ugh, thinking made her head hurt. No, wait. Her head was already aching from the first moment she opened her eyes. What happened?

She frowned, she started to hate those unanswered question.

The door opened with a creak,her attention was snapped to the figure wearing a white coat on the door way, making her guess was true that she was indeed in a hospital. The doctor, her doctor, walked swiftly to her bed followed by Darien. The wrinkle around his eyes told that his age was more than 50 years old, some white strands of his hair confirmed that.

"Hello there, I'm Dr. Collins, the primary doctor on your case. How do you feel?" he asked her with a soothing tone.

Serena's eyes darted to the person behind Dr. was looking intently at her; the frown digging into his forehead a clear indication that he was deep in thought.

"Tired," and before she could help, she voiced the nagging question on her mind, "What happened?"

The expressions that the men gave her were not what she had been expecting. Dr. Collins raised his brows while Darien gasped in shock.

Serena knew that there really was something wrong. Her heart beats started to increase, what happened?

Damn! She now officially hated that question!

Dr. Collins started to talk slowly, as if talking to a small child, trying to make surehis words were understood.

"You were in an accident. You have been in a coma for a week," then he added, "What do you remembered?"

Her eyes widened at his statement. She had an accident? That explained a lot! The aching on her body, the pounding in her head, was actually from an accident! And he said she was in a coma! That's probably where her dried throat came from. She was still processing the information when she noticed Dr. Collins was waiting her answer patiently.

Serena closed her eyes, trying to recall the image that not 5 minutes ago played in her head. The flash of a blurring view through the window came to her again. She winced when she tried to probe her memories, it hurts.

"I remember driving a car," she said opening her eyes, frustrated from not able to tell what really happened.

Dr. Collins nodded his head unconsciously while thinking about her answer. "Anything else?"

Darien, who only observed silently the questioningall along, knitted his brows to the aging man when he asked her that last question. Dislike was clearly shown on his face.

"Errrm…. I was talking with my friends… about a dress… a dress we saw on the display window," Serena's hoarse words snapped Darien's gaze back to her.

The furrows in his forehead deepened more; a strange look adorned his face.

"I see. I'll do some tests to see how you're doing, okay?" Dr. Collins said while putting his stethoscope on. It took 10 minutes to finish, and in all that timeSerena couldn't ignore the intense way Darien looked at her.

"Get some rest for now, I'll get back to run some test again in half an hour," Dr. Collins nodded then processed to leave the room while indicating to Darien to follow him.

Darien stared at Serena as he walked out to the door, only diverting his gaze when the door closed behind him.

Serena's let out a breath she did not even realize that she was holding. There was something in Darien's gaze that made chill run through her skin;it was piercing, like a hawk watched its prey intensely. What was wrong with him?

You werejust in a car crash Serena.Of course heisworried for you. He was just acting like a good boyfriend.

Serena stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

Yes, Darien was her boyfriend for a year and half now, well, at least that long if her memories serve her right. Apparently, seeing from her doctor's reactions, she suffered some kind of memories loss from that car accident.

She sighed tiredly; she just hoped that she hadn't forgotten much.


Darien came the next morning just as soon as he had woken up. He told Serena everything that he knew about what had happened to her. It looked as if she was missing six months worth of her memories. That included the memories of her wedding day two months ago and all of the time that she had spent married to Darien since then.

"I can't believe I couldn't remember our wedding. It was a special moment, and not one single memory of it stuck in my mind," she sighed dejectedly.

To say she was heartbroken was an understatement, she had been dreaming of that big day from the time that she was a kid. Wearing her dream wedding gown, walking down the aisle, saying those holyvows in front of the priest, telling to the world that he was her man, her partner, her husband in an undeniable way. She had waited all of her life for those precious moments and she forgot it in a 'whosh' of a second.

Darien took her hand and smiled an encouraging smile to her when sensing her sadness.

"It's okay; it's not your fault. No one wanted that accident to happen anyway. You're here, safe and sound, that's all that matters," he kissed her hand and placed her palm on his cheek, he looked at her, pouring all his love in that simple contact.

How could she havea partner this compassionate, so understanding. His eyes shone with so much untold love for her. What had she done to deserve him? He was just too good to be true. She couldn't help it but trust him instantly that it was going to be okay. She felt guilt somehow for forgetting their wedding, and no matter how hard she tried to remember it, she couldn't.

"It's my fault after all," he diverted his eyes from her, "I should have just taken the day off from work, we could have spent aday together weeks ago and none of this would have happened. I'm so sorry."

Ah, yes, the honey moon, he had told her about it earlier. Being the vice president of a worldwide company, he couldn't take many days off from work and ended up postponing their honey moon. They had been fighting that day one week ago about moving away and when she couldn't take it anymore she had vented her frustration by driving away from him. That's how she had ended up in an God he chased her from behind and was able to bring her to the hospital fast.

Thinking about it over again (from what he told her) it was actually her fault. She shouldn't run away like that from him, they could talk about it with a cool head. And looking from his behavior towards her, she was sure that he would be able to takesome days off from work for their honey moon in the end.

She caressed his cheek to gain his attention; he shifted his eyes to look at her again.

"It's my fault, too, Dare, and I could only be grateful that you are still here with me. I just couldn't imagine going through all of this without you," she smiled softly at him. She still felt disoriented and confused from the memory loss. And to think, if she had to undergo this incident alone with no support, she was sure she would lost. She couldn't thank Darien enough for being with her.

"I love you Dare, forever and ever"

Somehow, those words did not bring the warm feeling it usually brought to her. She blamed it to her lost memories. She had to fix that; for both of them.

His lips crept up slowly in a happy grin. He took her in his arms without making her IV tub twisted and kissed her passionately, pouring all his love to her.

"I love you Sere. Oh god, I love you so much, forever and eternity," he said truthfully after the kiss that leave them both breathless, cuddling her close to him.

She hugged him closer, she remembered every curve his body made when hugging was her favorite thing to do, snuggling with him on a rainy day, seeking warmth from his body.

She furledher eyebrows. Why couldn't sherecall the feeling of safety when he hold her?What was wrong with her? Had the amnesia really changed her that much? Maybe a disoriented brain made everything feel strange…

Her thought was cut when Darien pulled away from her.

"I want to give something to you." Darien took out a small velvet box and opened it, revealing a ring in it with four diamonds surrounded an emerald in the center, her birth stone. It was a beautiful yet touching ring, which leaved Serena speechless. "Well, it's actually yours; they took it when you got to the emergency room. It's our wedding band," he said with a smile on his face.

Serena widened her eyes. Of course, they were married; it's not strange having a token to show that you're already someone else's. But it still felt odd for her, to forget that big moment in her life. It was like skipping the wedding part and going straight to married life.

Oh well, they had been in a serious relationship for over a year anyway, so it's not weird that they had gotten married. A small smile crept to her lips when she noticed that he was sitting on the chair beside her, hand stretched out holding the ring, it was like a proposal. She wondered what it was like to be proposed to since she had forgotten hers. As if he read her mind, he did just that.

"Oh, let me do it properly," he drop on one of his knee from the chair he was sitting on to the tile floor. He fixed his gaze to her, pouring all the love he felt towards her to the silent contact.

"Serena, you know that I've loved you from the first time we first met on that fateful day, and ever since then I can't stop loving you. Nor do I want to. It's been torture for me this past 7 days, seeing you lying there, not knowing if I would ever be able to see your smile again; gazing at your beautiful eyes, hearing your refreshing laugher, or kissing you good night. Sure we had our issues and I know this ring is already yours and that this is not the best place to propose… I know that it might sound che-"

She put her fingers on his lips, silencing him effectively. She looked at him with teary eyes and gave him her second answer of, "Yes."


"It's good to be home," Serena stretched her arms out when entering their penthouse. It was the day she was released after two weeks of staying at the hospital. It didn't need to be that long actually, but Darien insisted to be sure about her completely regaining her health back.

Serena felt a pressure on her outstretched hand and notice that it was Darien's hands.

"Don't move too much baby, it could open your stitches," Darien hold her hand in his and kissed it.

He sneaked his other hand around her middle from behind and guided her to their room.

"You need your rest, I'll finish packing our things and then we can order some food," he lowered her in the huge bed and kissed her forehead, "do you need anything else?"

She shook her head in which Darien nodded in knowledge and then left her. She let out a sigh upon his departure. Everything was moving so fast. Yesterday she had just gottenmarried, again, and today he wanted them to move from the city. It was due to his work actually, and it had been planned for weeks. He also said he didn't want to stay where it reminded him about her coma and the accident she was in. She couldn't be selfish and wail about it, so she said okay; after all, a wife should support her husband in whatever he did, right?

It was at least something she could do for him after all he had done. And it was only moving to another city; she'll still be able to visit her parents and her friends with an airplane. That brought up another thought. Where were they when she was atthe hospital? Sure her parents' absence was acceptable since they lived far and their health was not so good to be taken to a six hours trip, but her friends?

Deciding to contact them, she picked up the cordless phone on the bedside table and dialed her parents' number to inform them of her well being. To her surprise the line was dead. She repeated it and again the line was still dead. She looked at the phone in her hand confused, and finally got up from the bed.

"Darien, is the phone broken?" she asked him from the door way.

He spun around so fast she feared his neck would break from the action upon hearing her voice.

"Darling, what are you doing? You shouldn't walk around," he chided in a gentle voice, a scowl on his face.

"Oh Darien, I'm fine. I don't feel any pain anymore, even the doctor said I'm fine," it was sweet for him to worry for her, but to not let her walk even when she was perfectly fine was just too much.

He sneered at her last statement. "The doctor didn't know what is best for you. Meanwhile…" he put back a book he was about to pack and walked to her, "I know what you need the most."

He leaded her back to the room and laid her again on the slightly ruffled bed.

"Now rest my love, tomorrow we have a long way to go," he kissed her hair and started to walk away when she grab his hand, stopping him.

"Wait! Can I call my parents?" she noticed her question made his shoulder tense. He turned around to face her.

"Sorry Hun, I've already turned off the phone. I thought when I told you that we're moving that you'd be happy about it so I went ahead and started making preparationsbut instead you ran away and got an accident," his tone was sad from remembering.

She felt guilty somehow at hearing the reason she had run away and decided she would call when they arrived at their destination tomorrow.

"And don't worry, I've called your parents already. They were sorry they couldn't see you when you're on the hospital. And I've called them yesterday from my office."

Well, that was a bit of relief then; at least they knew that she was okay now.

"Don't stress too much. You're just on an , okay?" he smiled at her and leave the room.

She let out a big sigh through her mouth. She didn't have anything to do, not even a book to looked around the room. Everything was so new to her. She never remembered ever been sleeping in his room even when they were still dating. Sure they had sex sometimes, but she never stayed long enough to fall asleep in his penthouse. She turned side way and closed her eyes to make sleep come to her. It wouldn't work. She felt so foreign, everything was so new to her, the bed, the pillow, the wall, and it was as if she never slept in here!

Stupid Serena, of course you had. You're married to him, where else would you sleep?

She blanked her mind and tried to engulf the darkness within.


To be continued…