Poker Face
Disclaimer: Don't own anything.
Chapter Seven: Drawing a Blank
Darien looked at Serena as the elevator stopped on the third floor and the doors opened.
"This is my floor." Serena murmured as she walked of the elevator, forcing Darien to follow, "My car's over there."
"Right." Darien said like an idiot, "None of my patients are ever as clear about their illness as you are. You've obviously accepted it."
"It's no one's fault and everyone is doing all they can to help me fight it." Serena pointed out as Darien unlocked her car and opened her door for her.
"Thank you." Serena smiled at him as she carefully sat down in the passenger seat and Darien closed the door for her.
"It now makes sense why your friends were worried about you. And why Andrew warned me that you were special." Darien smiled as he pushed the driver's side seat back and began adjusting the mirrors.
"They're all meddlesome mother hens. Wait, Andrew said something?" Serena asked, obviously touched that Andrew had wanted to protect her.
"Yes, he just said that you were special. And I'm pretty sure he'd kill me if I hurt you." Darien answered, "He was really worried that something would happen that would hurt you."
"He can be so sweet sometimes." Serena sighed, "But you still haven't answered my question; what are you thinking about all of this?"
"I'm thinking you're a carefree woman who has had a bad hand in life. You're strong and courageous even though you're going up against something much larger than you. And I would like to spend more time with you and help as much as I can in any way I can." Darien answered as he put the key in the ignition.
"You're too good to be true." Serena whispered as she looked at him, "I should be as good as new by tomorrow. Are we still on for Monday?" Serena asked as she buckled her seatbelt.
"Yes." Darien answered simply as he pulled out of the parking spot and began their journey to the bottom of the parking garage.
"Will you bring your motorcycle?" Serena asked after a brief pause.
"I don't know." Darien commented dryly as he glanced at her hand covered hip.
"If it's still tender we can take my car. I just want to have the option." Serena explained softly, feeling like she had gotten caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
"That's a fair deal." Darien conceded, hating the look on Serena's face, "You've really never been on one?" Darien asked, changing the topic.
"No, my dad always said I'd kill myself on one." Serena smiled at the protectiveness of her father.
"I can see dads doing that." Darien thought, thinking he'd probably say the same thing to his daughter if he ever had one.
"I have to agree with him though." Serena commented as they pulled on to the main street, taking in Dariens frown Serena continued, "I'm clumsy enough on my feet, I don't need to try and balance on two wheels going faster than fifteen miles per an hour." Serena laughed.
"I guess it's a good thing I'll be driving and keeping us balanced then." Darien chuckled.
"It is. So, you're interning at the hospital. I remember you said something about it before." Serena continued their conversation, "How do you like it?"
"It's nice, reminds me why I want to keep going in this profession; though sometimes I wonder if I should just go to Vegas and win millions playing poker." Darien joked.
"Yeah, I can see how some days could be hard." Serena mumbled, remembering why they were in their current position.
"I love it though." Darien added on, trying to draw her attention away from the days events, "With this internship I move around the hospital, I started in the psychiatric ward then moved to pediatrics and am now transferring to the ER." Darien explained.
"Oh, pediatrics and the psychiatric ward, the two areas you're interested in; how did you like them?" Serena asked, excited to hear about it.
"I didn't like them as much as I had hoped. I mean, they were just different then what I expected. I love kids, but to see them in a hospital bed, it kills me. And the psychiatric ward was more caretaker than doctor or even nurse it seemed. I'm hoping ER is more to my liking or one of the other areas of the hospital I'm going to be assigned to. I just don't want to end up going through med school to find out I don't really like where I'm going to work." Darien sighed at his current predicament.
"I'm sure you'll find your place." Serena smiled.
"Have you done any student teaching or anything of the like?" Darien asked, wanting to keep conversation light.
"Nothing more than volunteer work at the children's center on campus. They've offered me a job or internship for next semester; though I don't want to take them up on their offer quite yet." Serena told him, excitement in her voice over being offered a job.
"They'll be lucky to have you. I think you'll do well with children." Darien complemented her as they pulled onto Serena's street.
"You can park in the driveway." Serena informed him. "I think Mina's home so we can take you back to the hospital."
"Cool, though, if you want, I can hang out. I mean, if it wouldn't be an inconvenience." Darien offered as he parked in the driveway and shut off the car.
"Um, you wouldn't be an inconvenience. If anything I've been an inconvenience." Serena began.
"No, you really haven't. Anyways, all you did was put off my television watching marathon. And trust me, it's not an important thing for me to be on time for." Darien smiled.
"Well, we could start that marathon here if you'd like." Serena offered as she opened her door and got out of the car gingerly, "Since I can't do much but sit around for the next hour or so."
"Then tv we shall watch." Darien confirmed as he locked Serena's car and walked with her to the front door.
"Oh, actually, maybe we should take you back to the hospital, you have to want to get home and shower and change out of your work clothes." Serena said suddenly as she unlocked the front door.
"Actually, I'm fine. It wasn't too busy today and no one bled, vomited, or expelled any other bodily fluid on me." Darien chuckled, "And I work in scrubs; they're one step above pajamas. So I'm fine." He assured.
"Ok. But if you do want to go, just let me know." Serena told him seriously.
"Scouts honor." Darien said with a smile as Serena dropped her purse near the front door and walked into the living room.
"Ok, well, make yourself at home. I'm going to change into some sweats real quick. Bathroom is the first door on the right and the kitchens right through there. Help yourself." Serena said with a smile.
Darien nodded as Serena walked down the hall to her bedroom and closed the door softly. Taking Serena's suggestion Darien removed his leather jacket and tossed it over the back of the couch. Locating the remote on the coffee table, Darien grabbed the remote and flopped down onto the couch.
"Nothing from the kitchen?" Serena asked with a smile as she tied a knot in her sweatpants from behind Darien's head.
"Right, yeah, missed that room." Darien said as he ran a hand through his hair.
"Well, I'm heading that way now; want anything? We've got almost everything, Lita works/owns a restaurant." Serena tempted with a smile.
"Um. Whatever, I'm not picky." Darien answered with a smile.
"Ok, random plate coming up; drink?" Serena asked with a smile over her shoulder as she walked into the kitchen.
"How do you feel about beer?" Serena asked from the kitchen, plates clinking.
"Beer sounds fantastic. Wow, a girl who drinks beer." Darien commented the second part softly with a smile.
"And excellent hearing." Serena smiled from the kitchen door, "Lita obviously brought home leftovers from the restaurant, these were already conveniently packed in a sample selection." Serena said as she put two beers and a plate containing a variety of finger foods.
"Quite a spread here." Darien smiled.
"Yeah, Lita must be pushing for a new catering contract. I'm not arguing." Serena sighed as she grabbed a potsticker and opened her beer.
"Anything in particular you want to watch?" Darien asked as he continued to flip through the channels.
"Not really, something funny." Serena mumbled around the top of her beer as she sat back on the couch, the plate of food between them.
Settling on a mini-marathon of a sitcom, Darien also grabbed his beer and sat back on the couch. They sat in companionable silence, laughing with the show and munching from the plate between them. Before they knew it, the plate and their beers were empty and placed on the coffee table in front of them and Serena's head ended up on Darien's shoulder.
"Sere?" Darien asked quietly, looking down at the top of her head.
"Hmm" Serena responded quietly.
"Just making sure you were awake." Darien chuckled.
"Is your arm ok? I can move." Serena offered though she was already sitting up.
"My arm's fine. Come here." Darien answered before she was fully upright, pulling her back to him. Only this time his arm was around her and her head rested on his chest.
Settling into him, Serena threw her arm over his stomach and curled up next to him; content to stay in that position forever.
"Serena." A voice said from above her, making her want to burrow into her pillow.
"Serena." The voice tried again, "Sere…."
"No, it's ok. I'm fine." Her pillow responded, gently vibrating beneath her cheek.
"Huh?" Serena asked as she looked up to find that she was in the living room, on the couch. And wasn't alone.
Looking down she saw Darien's chest and figured out his arm was still around her.
"You fell asleep." Darien informed her with a smile.
"Oh. Oh. You probably want to go home. Shoot. We still have to pick up your bike. I'm so sorry." Serena began to say as she extracted herself from his arms and stood up quickly, her hand automatically gripping her hip once straight.
"Does it still hurt? Is it bleeding?" Darien asked immediately, his hands coming up to hers.
"It's a little sore. Not out of the ordinary. I don't think it's bleeding." Serena answered him with a smile, "Uh. Yeah." Serena blushed as she realized that his hands were completely covering hers and stroking her hip a little.
"Sorry." Darien murmured as he quickly withdrew his hands.
"Anyway, we should take you to your bike." Serena continued to blush as she turned to find a jacket to wear out.
"Actually, I was just coming to ask what you wanted for dinner. Lita's going to being stuff home. She also wanted to know if she should bring extra." Mina slyly added.
"Lita knows I'll eat whatever." Serena sighed, "Do you want anything?" She then asked Darien.
"No, I'm not picky." Darien smiled as he sat back down on the couch and gestured for her to follow.
"Ok, I'll let her know. Let me know if you need anything." Mina said as she turned and returned to her bedroom, knowing that at least Darien appreciated the extra private time.
Serena watched Mina retreat into her bedroom and continued to stand next to the couch and the now reclining Darien, unsure what she should do.
"You just going to stand there?" Darien asked with a smirk.
"Uh, no. No." Serena smiled shakily as she sat down next to him, though not touching him this time.
"So I have to ask, was I good pillow?" Darien asked as Serena sat stiffly next to him.
"Er…. Yeah. I didn't mean to fall asleep." Serena mumbled, "I was just comfy and I think the local and pain killers made me a little drowsy."
"Serena, it's fine. Don't be embarrassed. I'll be your pillow anytime." Darien smiled at her as he reached out and grasped one of her hands.
Serena relaxed a little and smiled at him.
"Come on, the marathons almost over." Darien smiled as he pulled on her hand so she was back cuddled on his chest and watching tv.
Serena smiled against his chest as they watched tv and waited for Lita to show up with dinner. It seemed that Lita had timed it perfectly as the last episode ended and she walked in with bags full of prepared meals.
"Ok, I have two different pastas, chicken, steak, salmon, a burger, garlic bread, baked potatos, mashed potatoes, rice, broccoli, carrots, baked tomatoes, and zucchini. Take what you want. I have to go back to the car for the cake." Lita called out as she set the bags down on the counter and turned right back around.
"She sure likes to cover her bases." Darien said, amazed at the food sitting on the counter.
"Yeah. But we're not picky so this would normally last us a day or two." Serena smiled as she continued to lay on him, noticing he wasn't in a hurry to move either.
"A day? Where do you all keep it?" Darien asked, skeptical that these fit girls could eat all this food.
"Well, there is five of us here… and we have it for more than one meal… and, well, we just eat a lot." Serena defended, though she blushed.
"It's just surprising." Darien smiled, "Maybe we should get some food." He then suggested as he felt something tickle his side.
"Did you hear my stomach rumble?" Serena asked shocked.
"Nope; felt it." Darien smiled as he sat up and unwrapped her from his arms.
"That's embarrassing." Serena whispered as she stood up and headed toward the food.
Darien just continued to smile as he followed her to the kitchen. Serena opened all the various containers and laid them out, finding serving utensils for each dish. Once everything was laid out, Serena turned to go back into the kitchen to grab plates. Opening the cabinet where the plates and bowls were, Serena was about to go to her toes to grab a stack of plates when Lita shouted from the doorway.
"Serena!" Lita yelled, walking quickly through the living room toward the kitchen.
"What? I'm getting plates!" Serena countered, going back to her normal height.
"You're reaching above your head to grab a heavy stack of plates." Lita clarified.
"I'm fine! It's fine!" Serena said, exasperation coming through her voice.
"I'll get them." Darien offered as he brushed past Serena and easily grabbed six plates.
"Thank you." Serena said on a sigh as she walked to where the food was, glaring at Lita.
"I just don't want you to re-open your wound; like last time." Lita said quietly.
"That was the complication. My wound re-opened and I lost a bit of blood." Serena mumbled to Darien as he brought the plates over.
"Well, I think its fine now. It's been almost four hours since the procedure and three hours since it's been bandaged." Darien explained as he handed Serena a plate before grabbing his own.
"Thank you." Serena genuinely smiled at him, appreciating how he stood up for her even though he didn't have to.
"Ok. Ok. I'm being overbearing, I know. But I still can't get over that day." Lita said with a sigh, "And since you are in good hands, I'm going to shower. It was a million degrees in the kitchen today." Lita laughed as she headed off to her room.
Serena smiled at her friends retreating back, happy that she cares, but frustrated that they all care so much.
"What's going through your mind?" Darien asked, seeing her smile and faraway look.
"I'm just worried about them. If the worst should happen; I don't want them to be ruined." Serena said quietly, almost too quietly for Darien to hear as she began to fill her plate with a sampling of everything Lita had brought.
"Hey, you can't think like that." Darien said, coming up next to her though she was actively ignoring him and focusing on putting food on her plate, "Hey, look at me." Darien tried again, this time taking her plate from her and putting it down on the counter.
Serena looked up at him, tears shining in her eyes, "I'm so scared, Darien. What it I can't fight it off again? What if it's too strong? I can't leave them, I can't leave my family." Serena whispered, her fears coming out.
"It'll be ok. You've done this before and you have a wonderful support system; that, if the worst should happen, will support each other through it all." Darien told her softly as he wrapped her in his arms, not caring that her tears were being absorbed by his shirt, "And who knows, this could just be a scare."
"I know it's back." Serena said, her response muffled by his chest and her tears.
"Ok, then we'll face this together." Darien whispered into her hair, holding her a little tighter.
They stood like that for a long time, long past when Serena's tears subsided.
"We should eat." Serena said softly, her stomach beginning to remind her of its empty state.
"Yeah." Darien replied, for lack of a better response.
They began serving themselves food again, but this time in silence and made their way back to the living room where the tv was still on.
"I'm sorry about breaking down like that." Serena said once they were seated.
"It's fine. This isn't exactly the easiest thing to go through." Darien reminded her, "And I'm glad I was around. I don't even want to think about you going through that alone."
"I'm glad you were there too." Serena smiled at him as she stabbed a slice of zucchini.
They continued to eat in silence, though this time it was companionable silence. Once their plates were empty Serena stood up and held out her hand for Darien's plate.
"I got it." Darien smiled as he stood up beside her, "Here, I'll put these in the sink and grab smaller plates while you cut the cake." Darien suggested as he took her plate from her.
"I'm not helpless." Serena smiled, not really upset that he wanted to take care of her.
Darien continued to smile at her as he turned and walked into the kitchen, placing their plates in the sink and returning with 2 smaller plates and a knife
"You need to keep your part of this deal." Darien said as he stood next to the cake Lita had brought home, gesturing toward Serena to join him.
"How big of a slice do you want?" Serena asked as she took the knife and began to slice the cake.
"Uh, not huge, but not tiny." Darien described vaguely, wanting to see how she slices it.
"Ok." Serena smiled as she heaped a slice, almost an eighth of the cake, on a plate.
"Not that big!" Darien laughed.
"Oh, no, that's for me. It's chocolate, my favorite." Serena smiled as she cut another slice about half the size of hers.
"Thank you." Darien laughed as she held out the smaller slice to him.
Serena returned his smile as they headed back to the couch, eating their cake while watching the news.
"I think I better get going; especially since I'm going to be back here in about 24 hours." Darien said once they had finished their cake.
"Right, I'll go get Mina." Serena sighed as she got up from the couch, placing her empty plate on the coffee table, and headed down the hallway.
Watching her go for a moment, Darien shook his head and rose from the couch. Grabbing Serena's discarded plate, Darien walked into the kitchen and placed their cake plates in the sink and returned to the living room to grab his jacket.
"Mina'll be right out; she's putting on her shoes." Serena smiled as she came out of the room and back to the living room, a pair of flats on her feet and a jacket in her hands.
"Ok. And, Serena, nothing's changed for me. I'm still attracted to you and want to spend time with you. Whatever happens in the future, happens and we'll deal with it when it happens." Darien told her seriously, knowing this was the last time they would be alone until their date.
"That's good. I…. I wouldn't want you to keep seeing me because you felt you had to or were doing it out of pity. And I'm grateful you understand." Serena said after a breath, walking toward him, "And I'm ecstatic that you're attracted to me, I'll be blushing until tomorrow." Serena added with a smile as blood rushed to her cheeks.
"You're beautiful." Darien smiled at her as he wrapped his arms around her since she was close enough.
"Should I come back later?" Mina asked from the hallway.
"No, we should go." Serena said after a sigh that only Darien heard as he released her.
"Ok then, let's get this show on the road. I hope you guys didn't eat everything." Mina muttered as they exited through the front door.
"No, there's plenty left for everyone else." Serena scoffed.
"Well, maybe not cake." Darien teased as he closed the door behind them.
AN: By 'Drawing a Blank' I mean drawing a blank card – it doesn't change the board or your hand in poker. Hope you like it. Sorry it's taken me so long to update. I'd like to say I'm going to be on a roll now, by that's unlikely :/ sorry. But I will complete this story! I promise!
