This Sailor Moon story is set in an alternate universe with some of my own original characters. Sailor Moon and the cast belong to the magnificent Naoko Takeuchi.


A/N:

Again, thank you so much for the fantastic reviews and all those who read the last chapter.

To answer the questions about Darien: Consider his background and what he's dealt with regarding his family. There's definitely more to his reasoning and that will be expanded on in the next chapter.


Serena Kelly:

I was wearing heels. Heels.

This is what dating Darien has reduced me to, I thought as I peered around the corner again. They were only an inch and a half tall, but I felt flirty and fun wearing them with my jeans.

It was nine in the morning and my father had yet to postpone Darien's meeting, which was a good sign. When I peered around the corner again I saw him. I knew my face lit up because the apples of my cheeks were in my line of sight. I rushed over to him, but midway I got a weird vibe from him. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"We need to talk, Sere." Darien grabbed my arm and pulled me further down the hall away from too many open doors. "I'm sorry that I have to do it like this, but… we need to break up."

"Br—break up?" I blinked several times trying to come up with more words than the obvious. "Why?" I asked, unsuccessful in my attempt.

"This isn't working out. With you being part of my former job, it's just—we were foolish to think we could make this work."

The air tasted stale and my ankles started to hurt. He's breaking up with me? Tears welled up in my eyes and I tried to suavely wipe them away, but it was not lost on him. Before I could question him further, a voice interrupted us.

"Serena? Officer Shields?" my father asked.

Darien Shields:

"Good morning, Mr. President," I greeted as he reached his hand for mine. When I shook his hand, he brought his left one over and grasped both tightly.

"My apologies that it's taken this long to get your meeting scheduled," President Kelly said. "I have some time now, if you wouldn't mine moving it up a bit?"

I looked to Serena who seemed to have composed herself rather quickly. Although I had suspected this reaction from her, there was no preparation that would have made it easier. I gave her a small smile and left her there.

As President Kelly gestured for me to walk down the hall towards the Oval Office, we ran into Damon Silver, his Chief of Staff. I remembered Serena complaining about him when the president finalized his cabinet. At least she didn't have to see him much.

"Good morning, Sir," he said. "You're not supposed to meet with Darien Shields for another half hour."

"Yes, but since I finished my last meeting early I thought I'd insure that Agent Shields here didn't get postponed again," President Kelly said.

"Uh, officer, Sir," I corrected.

The president gave me a sideways glance, "We'll see."

Damon walked with us to the Oval Office and went inside as well. Why is he here? How am I supposed to talk to him about dat—well, I guess I don't have to worry about that. I had been trying to figure out how to get out of this mess, thinking of any other reason I might have wanted to meet with the president other than dating his daughter. He gestured for me to sit on the couch across from him and Damon sat next to him.

I cleared my throat as the two men before me seemed to await my start; one more eager than the other who looked a little pissed to be bothered with this meeting.

"I think I know why you've been trying to get this meeting, Mr. Shields," President Kelly said.

"Sir?" I sat up straighter, hoping that his inference wasn't my original topic.

"At the heroes' dinner, I suspected as much."

Shit, he does know. First I was going to explain that I was dating his daughter, and now I have to explain that I'm not dating his daughter. I sighed and then remembered where I was. Damon gave me a strange look. This is stupid. If I could get Damon to leave then perhaps I could try to explain this situation? And maybe explain what Seiya is attempting? I felt hopeful suddenly and was about to jump the gun when President Kelly continued.

"You're interested in joining the Service again."

My eyebrows furrowed, my throat became dry, and my head was swarming. What? Damon Silver looked just as surprised as I felt.

"And given how abruptly you left before I can see why you wouldn't talk with Alan Chiba first. You want a recommendation from me."

I cocked my head to the side, and held up an index finger, "I—uh—I don't know what to say."

"Well," he leaned back and rested the back of his fingers under his lip, "I can say that I'm very interested in having you back on the team. I do not know your reasoning for leaving before, but I know that you can definitely be trusted to protect those that mean the most to me."

"Sir, if you mean being an agent for Serena...," I trailed off.

"Of course, I do." He stood up and walked to the fireplace and looked over his shoulder. "I suggested that she dial back her detail, but I'm an overprotective father who made her a target. I know that she doesn't use Agent Meioh nearly as much as I'd like her to, and perhaps its wishful thinking, but she never pulled that stuff with you."

Seeing as he was now standing, I got up from my seat. "Serena was younger then and a lot has changed since I was her agent." A lot. "What makes you think I'll be any better of an agent for her than Tri—I mean—Agent Meioh?"

I couldn't see his expression as he gestured to Damon who, in turn, stood up and left the room.

"We received intel last week that indicated someone might be watching my daughter. It could be nothing, but it makes me concerned. On top of that, Mr. Chiba was just informed that my daughter is planning a few days away in a cabin at the end of next month and I want you to accompany her."

"Well, I don't know if Mr. Chiba would want me to fill that role again, but I'm not scheduled to return to work for another few weeks as I'm still healing," I explained.

President Kelly nodded, "So long as you start as soon as you are able, I will be able to stop stressing over my—," he muttered something before clearing his throat, "baby girl. And Mr. Chiba will take my recommendation; you needn't worry about that."

Serena Kelly:

"Mina, how much did you pack?" I shouted as I waited for her to walk out of her house again. Looking at the state of my trunk, I was glad that I only offered to give her a lift to the cabin as I wouldn't have had enough room for anyone else's stuff. "We're only going away for a few days."

Mina stepped on the porch again with another suitcase and a pillow. After locking her door she turned and smiled, "I think it's important to be prepared! You know, they're forecasting a snowstorm this weekend?"

"So long as it waits until I'm off the road, I couldn't care less," I grumbled. I glanced down the street to see Darien leaning against his black Escalade. Why does he have to look at me like that?

It had been six weeks since Darien simultaneously broke up with me and replaced Trista as my agent. Aside from clarifying that we were no longer dating, we kept the personal conversations to a minimum; something that I had become a little used to with Trista. The newsstands went crazy for a week about the 'agent turned officer turned agent again' topic that Darien had conjured.

It was torture. I didn't know why he didn't want to be with me anymore and I didn't know why he agreed to be my agent again. And if he kept staring at me like that… I groaned as Mina shut the trunk.

"What's wrong?" she asked.

I looked over at Darien once more, giving him the most angered glare a person can give from 50 yards.

"Nothing," I said as I walked around and got in the car. When I looked in my rearview mirror, I saw Darien get into his car and start in our direction. Bastard.

I allowed Mina to deejay our ride up the Blue Ridge Mountains so that I could avoid the conversation that I knew was coming, but halfway into our journey it started anyways.

"Soo, what's going on with you and your agent?"

I scoffed, "There's nothing going on with me and that asshole. I can't believe I ever liked him." I hoped that she would assume as crush from when he first was my agent.

"You know," she stretched her arms forward, "I thought that he might be the guy you were dating before—you know—when you told us you were dating someone. How's that going?"

"We broke up."

"Oh?" Mina asked bemusedly. "So can you tell me now?"

I looked over to her and then back to the road, "I can't. I'm sorry, but for the same reason I couldn't tell you then, I can't tell you now." Mina slid her boots off and put them up on the dashboard.

"That's… alright, I guess."

We moved to talking about Kevin, Mina's current crush, and then to the horseback riding we would get to do on our trip, and all the treats Lita was planning for us. Although I got an earful from my mother for missing Thanksgiving, I knew that I would enjoy the holiday more with my friends than seeing my father pardon a turkey. My only regret was that Sammy wouldn't be able to find a more personable way to spend the holiday as my parents would be too busy to share in any real traditions with him.

The road started to become twisty with the natural curves of the mountains. I cut my speed since I wasn't used to the area and was worried that the roads could be slicker than they looked. I noticed that Darien followed suit and suddenly wished I had gunned the last yellow light, but alas, he still had his GPS which would have directed him to Lita's family's cabin.

When we finally pulled into the long driveway of the cabin, I saw that Raye's beetle and Lita's truck were already there. I hollered for the girls to come help us with Mina's kitchen sink while Mina howled like a wolf.

Lita rushed out and handed Darien a map and key that she had taken the liberty of picking up from the office. Although her family owned their cabin, there were plenty of cabins in the campground that were available to rent. Darien had arranged for the small cabin closest to us and had already walked down the narrow path that connected to the two, duffle bag in hand.

There was a time when he would have helped with the bags, although not in his job description, but that time was gone. Even though he was around a lot more than Trista had been, his interaction was far less. He watched from a distance and he didn't speak. It was like he was a ghost.

"Hey," Raye said, breaking me out of my stupor, "how was the trip?"

I grabbed my two bags, "It was okay. What are the plans for tonight?"

After we got settled in our rooms, we went outside to collect some wood to build a bonfire. Lita was grilling out and Ami had suggested making s'mores while we were here. I looked to the front porch and saw Darien doing something with the door, but snapped my head away before he could see me looking at him.

As night fell, the glow of the fire made it harder to see anything far beyond us. Though I couldn't see him, I could feel Darien's eyes on me. I shivered when a cool breeze came by and felt the weight of a blanket laid on my shoulders.

I expected, or perhaps hoped, that it would be Darien who had noticed I was lacking warmth, but looking up I saw Ami smiling at me. "I told you the fire wouldn't be enough," she said.

The next morning Lita let me help her make breakfast: cheese and ham omelettes with toast and juice. And yes, I helped with more than the toast.

We loaded up the two others cars and drove further up the mountain to the stables that Lita had recommended for our main activity. With some instruction, we were led up and down mountain trails, each with our own horse. As we were riding, I wondered where Darien could be, but when I saw him trailing far behind us with another instructor... that's when I got upset instead of mad.

I hated that he broke off our relationship; I hated that he wouldn't talk to me more about what had happened, so it was fair to say I was pissed. That being my gut reaction kept me from really crying much as I knew how many hours he had to put in being my agent; there would be no time for him to socialize and meet other women.

However, he now seemed to be flirting with the other instructor in the back of our group and I was—what?—was I really crying? We had stopped at a small clearing and I knew that it wouldn't take long for him to catch up and see me. On instinct, I snapped the reigns and caused my horse to go into a frenzy.

I suppose my goal was to get away from the situation, but the exact opposite happened.

I couldn't remember much of what happened, as it went by so fast, but I was suddenly staring up at the sky.

"Serena!" the girls yelled. Right after them I heard Darien call my name as well. The wind was knocked out of me so there was no way to get up fast enough before Darien's black bangs blocked out the looming sun.

"Serena, are you alright?" he asked. I nodded slightly as I tried to get up. "No, give yourself a moment; don't rush." He asked the instructor something, but I was too focused on my embarrassment. "Alright," Darien began, "you ladies can stay here and finish your activities for the day. I'll make sure that Serena gets to the cabin."

No one argued with him, as I suspected his authority over me gave him that right to tell everyone what the plan would be. Darien helped me up and then onto his horse. He saddled up right behind me, wrapped a free arm around my waist, and headed back down the trail.

Having him so close to me like that was making me feel dizzy and I realized that this was by far the closest we had been in several weeks. Unfortunately, the female instructor had accompanied us back down to insure we didn't get lost or hurt so there was no way I could address him.

They talked a bit, and I listened silently as the weight of their obvious attraction crumpled my heart.

My opportunity to say something came when I was seated in the back of Darien's vehicle, but the moment was gone and I had lost the courage to say anything. Darien looked at me a few times in the rearview mirror before he said anything.

"How are you feeling?"

Sick. I hate looking at you and I hate it when you look at me.

"I'm fine," I said.

"Are you sure?"

AM I SURE? Let's see, you did this to me and I'm trying to make the best of the situation, but you can just shov—

"Yeah," I replied.

The silence resumed until he parked at the cabin I was staying in. I thanked him for the ride and headed up to the porch with Lita's key in my hand when I heard footsteps behind me.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"I'm not going to leave you alone while your friends are out," he smiled.

I turned the knob, "Well, thanks, but I'm fine." I shut the door behind me and moved to the side so he couldn't see me. Seeing his reflection from the hall mirror, I watched him stand there for another minute before turning away.

I kept myself busy with a complicated puzzle until the girls got back. Ami helped me complete it while the others worked on dinner. Later that night I finally cried myself to sleep for the first time.

Darien Shields:

I went back to my cabin and tossed a frozen meal into the microwave, but I didn't have much of an appetite.

"Why does this have to be so hard?" I asked the empty room. "Why can't I get over her?"

I shoveled some of the stroganoff into my mouth and swallowed. "If she would just stop looking at me like that," I groaned. "She deserves better than I can give her. Why can't she see that?"

If I could, I would have taken an early night, but as planned, I waited until the last light went out at her cabin before I turned in. My alarm system was turned up so it could wake me in case of an emergency.

The next day went about the same, aside from Serena injuring herself, and I got an alert on my phone about a snowstorm coming in. Just as the ladies were heading back to their cabin, half an inch had fallen with more on the way.

I pulled a blanket over me as I watched the local television and sipped my dark roast. There was a knock on the door and when I looked over I saw Lita through the window.

"Yes?" I asked after opening the front door.

"I suspect you've been eating junk for the last few days, so I brought you this," Lita handed me a plate of food wrapped in clear saran.

I smiled at the gesture, "Well, they're TV dinners, but from the healthy section of the grocery store."

Lita scoffed, "Like I said, junk. Happy Thanksgiving."

She waved and retreated back to her friends. The plate was overfilled with a turkey leg, a baked sweet potato, fried zucchini, and a zesty couscous. Serena sure has some talented friends.

The next morning we were all scheduled to leave, but the snow had piled up too much making the trip dangerous. I bundled up warmly and trudged through heaps of the new wonderland to check on them. It was only Friday so they all agreed to stay out one more day since the snow seemed to be slowing down.

Serena seemed annoyed to see me there and I was determined to leave her be when Raye offered me a cup of hot cocoa. "It's awfully cold out there. We can't just let you sit alone in that cabin," she reasoned.

Serena was going to interject when Lita piped in. "I'm making turkey and dumplings all day and Serena's going to help me make some dessert."

"Uh, test the dessert," she corrected.

Lita shook her head, laughing, "Anyways, we'd love to have you, but don't wish to be a distraction."

"Oh, well I don't function in the same capacity as I did last year, but I really shouldn't impose—."

"Nonsense!" Mina shouted. "Just stay for a bit?"

I relented and was immediately bombarded with questions and food while dark cloud loomed in the corner. I shied away from the more personal questions, but delighted in the food. Serena stayed silent in her corner arm chair as she scrolled through her phone.

"Why not?" Mina whined when I wouldn't disclose my relationship status. "You and Serena are the exact same." My eyes flitted over to Serena's now rigid form. "She was dating some guy before, but refused to tell us who."

"You guys broke up?" Ami asked.

Serena's eyes darted to me and left just as quickly. "Yeah, he was an ass."

I had to fight the urge to—well—fight with her over that statement. Everything in me screamed to argue with her, but I remained calm.

"You seemed like you were falling in love with that guy," Ami replied.

"Yeah, I've never seen you so happy," Raye added.

Serena's face turned red and she buried herself in her phone again. "Yeah, well," was all she said.

Her friends decided to drop the topic and moved to other discussions. When I stole another glance at Serena she seemed to be—what?—crying? That can't be right. She should be over me.

The snow had stopped and I needed to find a way to expel some pent up energy; from anger or desire, I wasn't sure. I excused myself and went outside to shovel the cars out. I noticed the light in Serena's room had turned on and had to look away quickly when I saw that she was changing.

Aside from the photo she had sent me, I had never seen her like that. Well, that's not true. I did see her in a bikini once, but things were different then. I went back to my shoveling until I was called to go back in.

"Agent Shields! You're all frozen," Raye exclaimed. "Here, I'll warm you up." She attempted to help me out of my winter gear, but I assured her I was fine. Still, she retrieved a blanket and suggested that I get the seat closest to the fireplace.

Serena sat at the other end of the table and was engrossed in a conversation with Ami and Mina while Raye talked my ear off.

"Wow, you're dedicated to your job," Raye said suddenly.

"Huh?"

Raye nodded over to Serena. "You haven't moved your eyes from her."

Though she didn't hear our exchange, Serena's eyes moved up and met mine. I tried to give her a smile, but she moved back to her conversation.

I departed not long after that, and went to bed when I saw the last light go out. The alarm I had reset before turning in went off at 1 a.m. and I rushed to get my shoes and coat back on. When I reached the porch, I saw Serena looking over the frozen lake.

"Are you okay?" I asked out of breath. "What happened?"

Serena looked confused. "What are you talking about?"

"I set up an alarm to engage every night. It went off when you opened the front door," I explained.

She huffed and looked back to the lake. "I'm fine." I walked over to a nearby post and leaned against it. After a few minutes, she stood up, "Why are you still out here? I'm fine."

"I am sworn to protect you, Serena, so there's no way I'm leaving you out here in the cold in the middle of the night." I walked up to her, "And it's really cold out here. Why don't I escort you back inside?"

Serena closed the distance between us and got her face up in mine, her index finger practically touching my nose, "STOP telling me what TO DO, Darien. And protect me? You're doing a bang-up job." She spun around and her shoulders started moving erratically. Is she crying again?

"Serena?" I asked, placing my hands on her shoulders. "Why do you have to make this so hard," I asked through clenched teeth.

She turned slightly, "What?"

"Forget it. I'll wait out here as long as you want," I said walking back to the post.

Serena followed me and just when I thought she was going to say something, she pulled me down for a kiss. The shock wore off quick and I responded eagerly, opening my mouth in invitation. Serena pressed her body to me, encasing warmth between us. When she pulled away, I was surprised when a whimper left my lips.

"I knew it," she said. "You've been lying to me all along."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

She smiled and shook her head, "You kissed me back, but you said you didn't care about me."

I sighed and fought running my hand through my hair, "I never said I didn't care about you, Serena. Why would I say that when I lo—." I stopped short, "Uh, lost?—um, lost the…" I trailed off and saw that she was smirking.

"So, you're trying to tell me that if I kissed you again, you would stop me?"

"I'm not saying I would stop you, but—," I was cut off by Serena's lips capturing mine again. So many sensations washed over me and the small thought that I should, indeed, stop this was shoved to the back of my mind. However, I could feel things getting out of hand and held her away from me at arm's length. "We—we have to stop now. I can't—I can't," I tried to find a way to describe what I was feeling when Serena pressed her hip up between my legs.

"I know."

I gulped and nervously looked to my watch. "Listen, we can talk about this tomorrow, but you should go back to your room."

Serena tilted her head to the side with a flirtatious grin and gently shook her head. "I think I should go to your room."

"But my room is—," I stopped when Serena rose her eyebrows at me. "We can't do that."

"Oh, I'm not demanding anything," she reasoned. "Com'on, let's go."