AN: I can't wait until the last three chapters, guys - the best cliffhangers yet to come! I hope you're enjoying the story so far XD Still a few chapters to go. Don't forget to review!
Disclaimer: I own Moira, Sarah and Aria. No Sailor Moon. Many thanks go to Kaitlyn Fall for betaing!
Darien paced outside the entrance of the room Serena was in. The heavy doors stood there, mocking him, taunting him to go in and see her. But he remembered Queen Selene's warning, and didn't dare to. She must have had a good reason to ask him to stay outside the medical wing – maybe, maybe there wasn't anything they could do, and she didn't want him to see her deteriorating? Or maybe they didn't have disinfectants here, and only a few people could go in, or it was like some royal morgue, or….
It was dark, probably very late into the night, but he didn't care. He continued to pace in the shadows, waiting until he could go in. There was no moonlight filtering through the glassless windows, since he was on the moon, but there were hundreds of thousands of stars shining their fragments of light down on him, which was a small comfort.
He couldn't believe how bad Serena had looked. The image kept playing over and over in his mind, torturing him, killing his sanity. Flashes of her bloodied corpse, her dress, ripped in shreds, her pale skin, passed his eyes. He was going insane, waiting for her to be okay. Why, he could even swear he'd seen a flash of dark curls, which was impossible. The whole palace was asleep.
He'd had practically no sleep in the last week. He couldn't believe that she was finally back, and so close; and yet he could not get to her.
He growled at the doors, which continued to taunt him, simply by being there. He didn't know how much longer he could wait. He had to see her. Who cared what the Queen's reason was. To hell with her!
Spinning in determination, he grabbed one of the golden handles. Before he could twist it open, however, he heard something.
A small, quiet sound. So soft that in daytime, it would have been missed completely. But in the dark of the night, with no other sounds to interfere, Darien's ears could pick it up easily.
His eyes searched through the shadows, trying to find the culprit; the owner of the footsteps. He was edgy; his lack of sleep had made him that way. Darien was just about to call out angrily to the intruder when a whisper stopped him in his tracks.
"Darien?"
He struggled in vain to glimpse the speaker in the gloom. But he already had an inkling of who it was.
"Darien," the voice whispered again, much closer now. Serenity stepped out of the shadows and tiptoed up to Darien, wrapping her arms around him and hugging him tightly.
"Wha-?"
"Shh," she soothed. "She'll be okay. I promise."
"She's not waking up," Darien said, voice cracking.
"I know. She's lost a lot of blood, that's to be expected."
"I'm going to kill whoever did this to her!" Darien declared fiercely. Serenity shushed him again and he fell silent.
"What are you doing here?" he asked, lowering his voice to an acceptable level.
"Don't even think about it, Serenity," a voice warned. Serenity gasped and looked up at Darien with wide eyes when she realised she'd been caught.
She spun to Endymion.
"But I have to! What if she doesn't wake up? What if she dies?"
"Then that will be our loss, but you are not to use the crystal to heal her."
"Why not?!" Serenity hissed, her hands flying to her hips. "I am a wielder of the crystal, and so is Serena. As owners of the Silver Im-"
"You are not to use it!" Endymion growled. "That is not what it is for."
"What the hell is going on!?" Darien demanded as loudly as he dared.
"I'm trying to save myself and my fiancé won't let me," Serena snapped.
Endymion took a step forward. "Give it to me, Serenity. Give it to me and go back to bed, or I'll tell Selene and you'll have to answer to her. You are not putting your life in danger by using that amount of power, in order to save hers."
Darien turned hard eyes to Endymion. "How can you be so uncaring? Serena is DYING in there and all you can care about is a stupid crystal?" He held out his hand to Serenity. "Here, give it to me and I'll do it. I don't care what the consequences are." He glared at Endymion.
Serenity shook her head and Darien growled at her. "Why not?"
"Only members of the Lunarian Royal Family may be able to wield the crystal. At least, in what I intend to do."
She turned teary eyes to Endymion. "Endymion, Endymion listen."
"No! Give me the crystal; I swear to Selene you're not using it! You'll only accomplish putting yourself in danger"
"Endy." Serenity began to cry. "Imagine if it was me lying in there. Imagine if it was me dying."
Darien was about to point out that it was Serenity in there dying, but one look at Endymion had him keep his mouth closed. He was listening.
"If Serena tried to heal me with the Silver Crystal, and you were in Darien's position, would you really want to stop her from saving me? Would you be comfortable living the rest of your life knowing that you killed your soulmate, even if she wasn't yours at that time?"
Serenity drew in a shaky breath and Endymion's eyes softened, his jaw unclenching just slightly.
"If it were me in there Endy, you would try to find a way to save me. I know you would. So this is you saving me now. Will you or will you not stand by and watch as I die, even if it's not me right now?"
Endymion looked like he was about to cave, so Serenity pushed him that little bit more. "I promise not to use the full power of the crystal. I know my limits; I know how much I can handle before it gets dangerous."
Darien was only just following the logic, but his past self's shoulders sagged.
"All right," Endymion whispered, reaching forward and embracing Serenity. She cried silently into his chest for a few moments, getting herself together. When she drew away, she reached up and kissed him on the mouth. "Thank you," she whispered shakily. "You will one day realise what this means to you." She looked over at Darien.
Endymion nodded and turned her to face the doors. "Go," he instructed quietly. "We'll keep watch."
Serenity disappeared into the room and Darien and Endymion both straightened, eyes sweeping the hall. Darien thought he could hear quiet talking coming from inside, but figured it was just his imagination.
He glanced tensely at his double. Endymion was already looking at him. Darien didn't know what to say, but was saved when Endymion spoke first.
"I'm sorry about that," he said. "But the crystal is very important, and if it was used for the wrong things..." He inhaled deeply and shook his head, a small wry smile playing on his face. "Well, it wouldn't end good for any of us if Serenity or Selene were out of the picture."
Darien nodded once, accepting his apology. He was too busy worrying about Serena. Would she be okay? Would she suffer from trauma or shock? These things could never be told until the person woke up. If this had happened to her back in their time, they would have had doctors on hand at a moment's notice. It only fuelled his desire to go home more.
It was at that moment that Darien decided, should they ever get home, that he would go into medicine. He would be a doctor. He would save lives and treat people from all kinds of injuries. And then he could know what to do if the situation ever arose again.
A bright flash of white light shone under the doors and the two princes of Earth glanced down. The light disappeared as quickly as it had appeared, and seconds later, a hushed, relieved laugh could be heard from inside.
"Better wait until Serenity comes out," Endymion warned, already knowing what Darien was thinking. "Serena might want a moment to wake up." Darien nodded, but the door was already opening. Serenity tiptoed out with a huge grin on her face. Her bangs were slightly damp and a light sheen covered her skin, so Darien assumed it must have been quite an effort.
She turned to him. "She's okay," she breathed, still smiling. "She's okay and she's...Thank the heavens, she's okay!"
She pushed him through the doors and closed them behind him, and Darien could hear the two talking quietly.
"Darien?" Serena's voice whispered in the dark. Relief surged through Darien like electricity coursing through his veins, and he strode quickly to her bed, just slightly illuminated by the pale light of the window.
She opened her mouth but she had no chance to say anything as warm hands cupped her cold face, his mouth suddenly crushing onto hers. Darien slammed his eyes shut as he poured all of his relief, frustration and longing into the kiss. Serena's brain took several seconds of shocked silence before it kick started again and she began returning the kiss, just as eagerly.
She could feel his desperation pouring into her, and she longed to release him from his pain. A low moan escaped her and he broke away, ending the kiss as abruptly as it had begun. He gazed at her eyes, glowing in the dark as he drew in ragged breaths. Serena was just as out of breath.
"My god," he managed to croak once his lungs had refilled on oxygen. "My Meatball Head, you're okay!"
Serena nodded mutely.
Darien reached forward with shaky hands to feel her face, her neck, her arms, her hands. Not a scratch on them.
"But how...?" He suddenly remembered Serenity's crystal and Endymion's reluctance to use it. "Oh," he breathed in realisation. Serenity had used magic. A magic crystal.
"Darien," Serena whispered. "What's wrong? Are you al-"
He crushed her in a fierce embrace and kissed her neck. "I'm so glad you're all right. When I saw you last week..." He trailed off, flinching at the memory of her blood-drenched state. "I didn't know if you would even be alive!"
"What happened?" Serena murmured, stroking his hair. Darien let out a relieved laugh, his breath tickling the back of her neck.
"Who cares about that right now? You're safe and sound, and that's all that matters!" He drew back, looking into her eyes. "Wait, are you in any pain?"
Serena shook her head. "Um, I hate to be a kill joy, but... What's going on? Why are you being so... Anti-Darien? So nice to me?"
If Darien had been a cartoon character, he was sure his jaw would have dropped to the floor in disbelief. "Serena, you almost died! Do you understand that? After all I went through, not knowing if you'd wake up..." He shut his eyes. "It made me realise how much you mean to me."
Serena inhaled sharply. Darien cared for her? Had she heard right? "Wha- what are you saying?"
"You know when they say that you can see your whole life flash before your eyes when you die?" Darien asked. "Well, my life flashed before my eyes, and I realised how important you've become to me. Who would I fight with at the arcade? Who would I make fun of in the street? Who would I talk to more than my own best friend? You're my Meatball Head. I don't know what I'd do without you."
Serena mouth made a perfect 'o' shape. Was he confessing his feelings for her?
"Darien," Serena began, watching as his eyes opened slowly.
"Whatever you were about to say, please don't," he said. "Just, just let me enjoy your company tonight, let me know that you're the same old you. I thought I'd almost lost you back then."
"Darien, I - "
But what could she say?
"What exactly are you saying?"
Darien reached for Serena's hand, lying limply on the bed, and squeezed it lightly. "Serena, I think I realised how much I like you."
"Like like me?"
"I think Serenity was pretty spot on about the whole 'soulmates' thing," Darien grinned nervously.
"Soulmates?" Serena frowned. When had Serenity ever said that? Certainly not around her. "Wait, are you talking about love here?"
"Love, like; I can't tell. I just know that whatever I'm feeling for you right now, it's pretty damn strong."
Serena pulled her hand out of Darien's and he felt like he'd been kicked in the stomach. She wiggled on the bed, inching away from him. He couldn't believe it. He'd just confessed his feelings and she wanted to get away from him. He looked to the floor, swallowing hard and hoping his rejection wasn't too obvious on his face.
"All right then, I'll go. I'll come back in the morning with the others."
He took a few steps forward when Serena cried out. "Wait, why are you leaving?"
"Weren't you just trying to get away from me?" Darien frowned, although she couldn't see it in the dark.
"I was making room for you," Serena said softly. "Stay by my side tonight?"
He glanced back at the bed, where Serena lay on the edge of one side, leaving a large gap on the other. He looked at her face, she was watching him; waiting.
"You want me to stay the night with you?" he asked for clarification.
Serena patted the empty bed beside her. "Of course I do… if that's all right with you," she added, biting her lip.
Darien made his way around the side of the bed and sat beside her, leaning back on the piled up pillows behind them. Serena shifted closer to him and snuggled against him, and Darien felt bold enough to lift an arm and put it around her shoulders.
For the rest of the night, the pair talked quietly in hushed whispers and quiet giggles until at last, in the early breaking of dawn, they fell asleep.
A few short hours later, this is how Serenity and Endymion found them, fast asleep in each other's arms.