Detrimental Diversions

by Rakusa

Serena was on her way to do a very big favor when she met someone who could undo it all.

21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Darien's knock was heavy on the door and it roused Serena sleepily from her bed. She hadn't even bothered to change and Darien's eyes surveyed her critically the moment he saw her. "Go away." She grumbled, if he was going to be like that, it could wait. Her brain wasn't awake enough yet as to why he was knocking on her door looking like a grumpy pants.

He pushed it open when he saw she was going to slam the door. "Have you packed?"

"No." She followed him first into the main room and then into Andrew's bedroom, alarm bells started shooting off in her head but she wasn't awake enough yet to catch up to the cause. She practically ran into his back as he looked into the closet behind the door he ripped open.

"Where are all your clothes? You know what, never mind, don't answer that." He turned and picked her up, bringing her into the main room again and dumping her onto a chair by the kitchen. He was going to go through the motions of making her a coffee when he realized that Andrew had left it with almost a full pot and still bubbling. He poured her a cup, mixed it with the right amounts of cream and sugar since they were out of half and half and pushed it into her hand. "Drink." He turned and went through another doorway.

Serena took a few sips of the hot drink when things finally registered and she jumped to her feet. "Oh no!" She rushed in after him and found him at her closet pulling clothing down to throw into a bag. She was only going to be gone a few days and yet he was packing like a female, putting things in there she didn't think she would need. "Hey, wait!" She tried to stop him but he gently pushed her down into a seat.

"Either sit here and watch while drinking your coffee or get a toilet bag ready." Then he turned back to his task, making sure to fold things nicely if he folded them at all. A few got rolled.

Serena jumped back up to her feet and put the coffee on the side table and got a few things out and ready that she didn't want him to deal with. "Why are you packing for me?"

"Because you haven't and I know what you'll need." The bag was almost finished when Serena dumped her stuff in there and he caught her hand. "Answer a few burning questions, please?" She felt like this was a trap but she nodded anyways. "Why are your clothes in this closet?"

That was at least an easy one to fudge about. "Well I have a lot of clothes and they seem to keep multiplying. I thought it best if we occupied separate closets, that way we could have as many clothes as we pleased. This entire room has sort of become my massive walk in."

The next question was the one she was hoping to avoid and knew was coming anyway. "Why is the bed crumpled like you've slept in it?"

"That's because I have. Over the last month Zolton has told us it was better not to put too much stress on my heart. To ensure that, we've slept in separate rooms. I kind of went on autopilot last night and came in here, forgetting what Zolton said in my sleep-fogged mind and really wouldn't have been up to anything anyway." Not with Andrew at any rate, he didn't get her blood zinging just by being near like Darien did. No matter how tired she was, she couldn't imagine saying no to him, if she wasn't consciously trying to say no as much as she was right now.

Darien was looking at her with questions forming in the back of his mind, but he spoke slowly. "I suppose I can understand that, if you were sharing my bed for the last week I might have had a hard time remembering what Zolton said too and wouldn't be able to keep my hands off of you without great restraint."

"Darien-" She hedged, this was not the kind of talking that they should be dabbling in before going away for a few days together.

"Right, right, sorry." He nicked the bag out of her hands and threw it over his shoulder, he picked up the coffee and handed it to her again. "Drink up, you get to be my chatter buddy for the trip up."

"Up?" But she drank like he ordered.

"Didn't anyone tell you we were going not only North but higher in altitude?"

"No. How much further North?" She was a little weary of this plan, how far could they really go?

"Just south of the border to Canada. In fact there are parts where you can legally cross into it without your passport but that's probably because you get checked further on down the road where its flatter."

"Jeez, trying to hand me off to Canadian authorities, are we?" But Serena was excited, she'd never been to Canada, and this was the only time she'd admit to being excited about going to a cold weather place. Canada wasn't high on her list if she could choose, but there were nice things she'd heard about it. The main draw was that she was going with Darien and this was her first time out of the country going Northbound.

He winked at her and steered her out of the room and towards the parking lot. He helped load her in and double checked that they had all the gear they needed. Then they were setting out along the road. Serena couldn't help but feel that this was a bit of deja vu but instead of the first time, they were now sharing a vehicle and she could close her eyes. "Na-uh-uh, I told you, you need to jabber away because I need someone to help me stay awake."

She felt like this was either a gross over-exaggeration or a lie, and she was right but she played into his hands as he'd asked. She chatted to him the whole way up to the area they were going and was surprised when they pulled into a parking lot of a bed and breakfast.

"Tonight I thought it best if we stayed here. Tomorrow during the day and tomorrow night not to mention Thursday morning we will be with the huskies, but I thought since we were coming all this way we could go somewhere else as well. Besides, they don't really like people hanging out for too long on their property while they're in training mode. It gives the dogs too much bonding time with the wrong people."

She was eying him critically as he unloaded some of the stuff in the back and checked in, but she had no say in the matter. Not that she could ever prove him wrong without causing another argument. But she knew bed and breakfast places, they usually had cozy rooms with one bed. She was right as she followed him in and there was just the one bed and the one room. "Didn't you book two rooms?"

"Nope." He grinned cheekily at her. "It'll give you practice for tomorrow."

"What are you talking about?"

"Well we'll have to sleep in the same tent tomorrow and since its so cold, we'll even have to share the same sleeping bag. I figured this way you could practice sleeping so close to me and then you'll be more comfortable tomorrow night so at least you'll get some good sleep if the cold doesn't bother you throughout the night."

"I don't get it."

"Well I figured it was best not to have two nights where you're sleeping in the cold back to back. At least tonight you'll still be warm." He dropped her bag on a chair and then pulled a few items of clothing out of it. "All right, suit up." He tossed her the layers that would keep her warmer in any type of cold weather and she cast him a look.

"Where are we going?" She couldn't help it, she was amused and he only tossed her back a saucy grin. She did as he said, and out of the corner of her eye saw that he was dressing like it too. Then he opened the door for her and they headed back to the car.

They drove for not much longer and he parked near a shed-looking building but it was a bit larger. She hopped out of the car and followed him in. There a few people were putting boots on and she peered closer, metal cleats?

"Serena." His voice was like free-flowing chocolate and she turned to look up at him, he was within touching distance. "Here's your set." She reached out without looking and he closed her hand over the connector. "I'll be there to help you in a minute, if you have trouble." He nodded towards the benches and she walked in a daze over to them and started working her feet into the boots and then the cleats. There were plastic mats under her feet with holes in them to absorb the teeth under her feet and Darien made quick work of his and helped her to a standing position.

As a group they went to the back of the building and one of the employees opened the door. She blinked several times, there in front of her was a wall of ice. She followed the others out and now that the view was uninhibited, she realized it wasn't quite a wall, but more like several layers jaunting off in different directions.

"Listen up, if you take a step, step straight down, the crampons are made to be worn that way, do not take a step as you would while you're walking. The crampons on your feet are sharp so do not get your hand in the way. If you are going up or down a hill, be very careful to get as many points into the ice as you can. This is not a race, it is only for fun, so be safe out there. If there are any beginners with questions, please go on a tour." He joked but nobody laughed. "Any help, come find me and I will straighten things out for you."

His bow had a little flourish to it as he beckoned them to the icy wonderland behind him. Darien wrapped an arm around her waist and tugged her forward. "A little ice trekking to start out." He guided her to a small hill. "I was thinking about going all the way up, just cutting back and forth."

She watched him take a few steps and then charged right in to do it as well. She wasn't afraid of a little challenge. She was doing pretty well for herself and was keeping up with him when they got to a steeper slope. She couldn't walk flat footed here. "Hey, Darien?" She called to him and he instantly figured out the dilemma and he showed her how to use the front end of her crampon first.

She enjoyed this a lot and could see herself taking this up as a hobby or sport in the near future. They were very near the top of the waterfall, probably another fifty feet when the guide from down below shouted out to all of them. "It's getting dark, time to pack it in."

"Best to be going, I thought we had more time." Darien said regrettably and Serena frowned. "We just didn't get here early enough."

"Let's just go straight up and then head down." Serena suggested but Darien caught her wrist before she could try it.

"No." He pointed back towards the several hundreds of feet they had to go. "He wouldn't have called us back if he thought we could do it in time. He's usually watching the clock for the furthest away. That means us. If you tried to go straight up, you'll waste precious time. Come on, let's go."

Serena gave in, this wasn't her sport and doing things like this could be dangerous. So she had to follow the expert opinion and followed him down. She finally got to use the pick-ax that she'd been handed when they took a slightly different route and she used it for balance.

The process for leaving was similar to coming and before getting into the car, Darien pulled her around and kissed her. "Sorry, I've been wanting to do that since the moment I saw you in that get-up. You were so cute. Hell, I've been wanting to do that since I saw you this morning but couldn't be sure if Andrew would walk in on us." She didn't say anything, unsure partly what to say, and partly because she'd wanted him to kiss her all day too.

–

"That was a lot of fun Darien. Thank you for taking me, I would have never thought to do so myself, or would have found out about it far too late to try." Serena told him as they entered the bed and breakfast again and all too soon the truth of what was being kept quiet flared up once more. She didn't know why he only booked one room, this was too greasy for him. She could pretend to ignore it and it was made easier because she enjoyed spending time with him but now she couldn't anymore.

They were both stripping off the heaviest layers so jeans and a sweater were all they needed. Dairen was pulling even that up over his head as he spoke. "So I was thinking a shower and then we'll go out to eat for dinner."

"Darien stop, please tell me the real reason you've brought me here."

"I brought you here for exactly the reason I told you."

"I don't believe you. There's another reason to do this, especially now of all times. It didn't even have to be an overnight trip, maybe an overnight trip, but definitely not two."

"Please, can we do this after the showers?" Darien's tone was enticing and if she didn't know him better, she'd imagine that he was pleading with her but she shook her head.

"No, I want to know now. I don't like this mystery and I won't stand for it for a moment longer."

Darien ran a frustrated hand through his heavy locks. "Now you know how I feel every day since meeting you. I hate this mystery that surrounds you and everything you do but I'm willing to look beyond that. Sit down and we'll talk." He gestured to the small table and the two chairs and she sat. "I angled it this way so we'd have the time to really get through this without a lot of interruptions. So I could tell you my plight on my terms and not have to worry about anyone barging in on us."

"Darien-"

"No, you demanded I tell you, and I'm going to." He held her hand on top of the table. "I needed uninterrupted time with you to lay out my case and hope that you go along with it. I can't do this anymore, I can't live with this secret."

"You brought me all the way up here to tell me that you're having us fired?" Serena felt betrayed, as if she had any room to begin with. But he'd already kept quiet for so long.

"No. I can't handle sitting across the room from you and being unable to touch, afraid that you'll back off or you'll respond and I have to. I want us to be together."

"That's not possible- I'm-"

"Married, I know, believe me, I know. But I'm willing to overlook that, I want you, all of you whenever I can."

She was frowning at him and this was not the reaction he was going for, she could tell. But she couldn't help it, it wasn't exactly the smoothest he'd been, and it wasn't exactly a romantic seduction either. She felt cheap all of a sudden. "You can't have me. I'm not a commodity to be bought and paid for. I thought you finally understood that after the last fiasco."

"I know that, you don't think I know that? God damn it Serena!" He snapped at her and she flinched back. "Can't you see what I'm trying to say to you? I can't believe you're going to make me come out and say it!"

Serena rose to her feet and Darien joined her. "Whatever you're going to say can die an early death. I want you to take me home. God, thinking you could get me to a hotel room and repeat what happened months ago! Starting tomorrow I will not be working in the office anymore. Mina said it best when she said I could work anywhere. I've just been too lazy and if you're too horny to want me in the office, well I'll take away the problem. Wouldn't want you to jump me the moment I walked in or cause you undue sufferance."

"You are the most idiotic person I know sometimes. Leaving me isn't going to solve the problem and you know damn well that it won't. If it was just on my side I'd be content to let these matters lie, but I know you feel it too. You're the one whose caused all this mess to begin with. You did it in the hotel, you did it in my office on the ranch. Hell there's been many moments in between that have been your goddamn fault too, but I'm going to forgive you for those, because I wanted it too."

"I'm weak when it comes to you, I know that, you know that, so why stroke the fire? Why bring me out here, for what did you have in mind? An unbridled weekend and then return to work like nothing happened? I'm telling you buster, never in a million years that's going to happen!"

They were on opposite sides of the table. Serena stood wearily back from him, not wanting to get too close. He was furious with her again. Probably rightly so, but she wrapped her arms around her to ward off his blistering anger. To protect her from his scorn and outlandish thoughts. "You're a stubborn fool, and I can't believe I love that about you too!"

Serena opened her mouth to retort but found the words lacking as she didn't know what to do in response to that statement. She swallowed and he wasn't helping by glowering at her, waiting for a reaction. "You... what?" Smooth, real smooth.

"I love you. That's what I have been trying to say since the beginning of this stupid fight. Hell I've been trying to tell you that for the last month it seems but we always get interrupted or its not the right time."

But when he reached across the distance and ran gentle fingers along the edge of her hairline and then plunging them into the silky depths, she was taken unawares by his opposing actions. He drew her closer, and she followed blindly to his siren song. She barely noticed when her legs hit the edge of the table and then putting first one knee and then the other on top. "So now is the right time?" She asked feeling breathless and all the fight went out of her.

"I had to manufacture this outing, drawing on the memory of you wanting to go and me not following through right away, but things came up between us. It didn't come out the way I wanted to, but its out now." His mouth was at her temple, she could feel the heat from it as it pressed kisses down the side of her face.

His lips caressed her and her hands went to his shoulders. His went to her shoulder blades and he dragged her along the smooth shiny surface towards him. If they were being watched it was graceful, almost production like. Her legs came forward and she found herself sitting on his side of the table with a knee on either side of his hips. It didn't last long for he was soon pulling her closer still and she had only one option and that was to wrap her legs around his waist.

She arched towards him, her fingers dragging the material of his shirt upwards unconsciously. She could feel his hands slipping lower down her back before his thumbs brushed the silky smooth expanse of her lower back where her shirt gaped.

Their kiss was fierce yet tender and it took every ounce of willpower she possessed not to cry at its potency. Never in her life had she been so connected with someone. That even when she was having a bloody row with them she wanted to laugh and strip them bare and have her wicked way. Never did she want to cry at how sweet someone could be after hurtling barbs that shredded her heart to say, to hear, to be responded to in kind.

They both seemed to realize at the same time, that she hadn't said anything in response and he slowly pried himself backwards, but she tightened her legs, refusing to allow him to leave her anymore. If she didn't say something now and lay all bare, he'd back out of her life and do as she'd hurled at him earlier that she'd do. He'd leave her and would never see her again, thinking she didn't return his feelings and once all was laid out, he couldn't offer her anything further. She couldn't handle any more distance between them after that revelation, it would tear her heart to shreds. To know what he felt about her and then to be left, and have a void in her life that no man could hope to fill. She feared she'd say the wrong thing, that what she tried to say would come off badly, and she'd lose him anyways. It was best to keep it simple if she could. "I love you too. I have been fighting it since the beginning. I knew it was forming the moment I set eyes on you, I had no control anymore after that." Her lower lip quivered and his thumb smoothed across it.

He was looking at her with those dark eyes, they were vulnerable and couldn't believe what she was saying was true, that she could possibly return his feelings. That his words hadn't just been a bluff that she'd call him on, thankful that she wasn't so callous as to stomp on his feelings at the same time as telling him hers weren't so pure. "I love you." She repeated and his head swooped down and kissed her so well that it sent her head spinning and she was seeing stars from just a kiss.

"Thank god, thank god, thank god." His words weren't heard at first as he started pressing his lips at all sorts of exposed locations, anywhere he could find without trying and she finally heard it as his mouth pressed against the shell of her ear and then lower, beneath it where she was both sensitive and vulnerable.

Her voice was husky as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled back to look at him. "How about we make use of that shower now?" She got her comment fulfilled as he swooped her up into his arms and carried her into the bathroom, kicking the door shut behind him and groaning in pleasure as he kissed her again.

–

That evening they went out to eat and she had a feeling looking at the dress he had packed that the place wasn't going to be cheap. She was proven correct when they walked into what constituted a nice restaurant in these parts. And truth be told, it was pretty simple, but it was pretty effective and it was really rather nice. There were white table clothes over the square tables and twisted the other way were smaller red square clothes with tassels on the ends. In the center of each table was a single white candle.

The lights were turned down low, but it was still bright enough that they could see their way to their table but maintain a sense of privacy in a public setting. They were seated by a woman in black pants and a white shirt, everything expertly crisp and tucked. A bottle of wine was already chilling beside it. "Compliments of the house." The woman was saying to them as she filled the glasses she'd just produced. Water followed and Serena had to admit this place was rather fancy despite Eastern prejudices and she couldn't help but admit that some still lingered in the back of her mind whenever she thought about the 'West'.

"This is too much." She said once they were alone, she shifted uncomfortably, she felt a little under-dressed, even though she would have thought it was a bit fancy for other times. It was simple enough with a scoop neckline and sleeves, a wide belt and then three almost tulip style, wide layers going down her hips and thighs. A pair of dark mauve tights were underneath with a matching brown pair of booties.

"This is just right." Darien covered her hand. "We're together, nothing could make the moment better." Everything else was just white noise.

She flipped her hand over and entwined her fingers with his. "That was very well said."

They ordered and food came quickly, or at least it seemed that way as she and Darien just talked. There was so much more they had to say to one another that they hadn't said before and couldn't say while they were so at odds with one another. She had been in love with Darien this entire time, and she knew it, but she refused to accept it until he broke through the barriers they were both creating.

"A bottle of red, sir?" The waitress asked when she finished filling Darien's glass up and noticed it was mostly empty.

"That would be lovely, thank you." Serena drew a finger along the edge of Darien's hand, along his pointer from thumb juncture to tip and he jerked a little as the waitress left. "Careful." He warned. "We want to get through the meal, don't we?"

She smiled back at him but his words were true and she cleared her throat, trying to center herself, but she was too happy and her thoughts and feelings kept floating off together so she only acted. "I suppose I can wait." She pouted but he knew her too well by now, and knew she was mostly teasing him.

"Speaking of waiting." He reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a box. "I was intending to give this to you at some point during the evening, but now seems just as appropriate."

"Why have you bought me something?" Serena took it, but she didn't open it, this was odd and she didn't deserve anything.

"Honestly, because I wanted to."

"I can't accept anything expensive. I wouldn't feel right about it and secondly, wouldn't you think someone would notice?"

"It's not that expensive, its just something simple. Go on, open it and afterwards we can discuss your doubts and feelings about it."

She did as he asked and flipped the lid up. "Oh my." It was simple, but it was gorgeous. "It's beautiful." Her finger traced the delicate detailing, it spiraled in on itself so it looked like there was no ending and no beginning. It was in gold and silver with tiny etchings of blue. The pendant was no larger than her thumb's nail-bed.

"I saw it and I thought of you instantly. I was looking for my sisters' Christmas gifts and when I saw this I couldn't pass up the opportunity to buy it."

"Isn't the tradition to buy a Christmas gift, not a New Years one?" She lifted her eyes to him. "You've already bought me Christmas gifts, we're currently unwrapping one."

"I know, but I wanted you to have this. Besides, this trip is Raye's apology to you, not a gift from me."

"Did you plan it? Giving me the gift when we were up here and away from everyone else? Obviously you couldn't have given this to me with anyone else watching." She felt the fire stroking under her skin. "Is this some sort of payoff? That you knew I would fall into your bed and this is my compensation?"

"There is absolutely no way I would have known that would have happened earlier tonight." Darien defended himself, but unlike any time in their history together, besides that first night, he remained perfectly calm and she was the one that was angry.

"Then you planned to give it to me in an attempt to buy my affections?" She wasn't used to him so relaxed, and she was starting to get agitated.

"Serena, love, that's not what happened at all. I'm telling you the truth, I saw it and I wanted you to have it, end of story. This trip wasn't planned, but I felt the need to get you out after that scene with Raye, I couldn't risk losing you because of what happened between the two of you. I figured this way you'd both cool your heels without stumbling upon each other all the time."

It was like he punctured her with a needle and she whizzed out to normal Serena size and temperament. "Oh." She might have been a little too deflated. "Well that's all right then, thank you for being so considerate."

His laughter sounded a little self-mockery. "There's no way I could have planned any of this. Maybe the events, like trekking and tomorrow, but you and your reactions always catch me in the solar plexus. It always takes me a long time to catch up to where you are, I'm just always dazed by you."

"You are such a flatterer." Serena blushed and tried to look away.

"Please don't do that, I want to see your eyes. For too long I have told you to keep them away from me, afraid of what I'd do if I read in them what I was feeling myself."

"It was there from day one. You wouldn't have had to look very hard. I had trouble keeping my hands to myself too." Neither one of them wanted to talk about the elephant in the room and so they avoided it altogether. Even the part where his anger hadn't damped her feelings one bit, though it had brought up other ones.

"I had been planning on getting you to a nice public location such as this and telling you about how I loved you. I didn't think you would believe me so easily. But I wanted to make sure we'd talk, really talk about things." There was a wry smile on his lips and she groped for his hand and squeezed, perhaps a bit too hard.

"If anyone needed to prove their feelings, I think that would rest on my shoulders."

He reached out and stroked her bottom lip. "I was the one that had to overcome a lot of jealousy and righteous anger to realize you weren't what I had built you up to be. But everything you did and said kept proving to me over and over again that you were the girl I met driving down and there was just an unfortunate lie that prodded us along and that was the cause for it all. Then there were all those times I almost lost you without being able to tell you how I feel, many of those times because of me."

"Only one time was because of you." Serena countered instantly. "The others..." She shrugged. "They were because of other people or myself."

"Still, you put yourself at grave risk far too often and the first few times I was so angry with you to see how good you were, or angry because of what you'd done. But fear drove me on and I'm not terribly proud of the way I reacted a few of those times."

Serena took his hand and placed it over her heart. "I could feel you in here, I knew that you cared and it helped." Her fingers wrapped around the back of his hand. "If it helps, I feared myself, not for my own safety but because I regretted things were so dire between us. That I hadn't been able to tell you honestly how I felt about you too."

He had to pull away from her because their food arrived along with the second bottle of wine. He waited until the server and waitress left before looking back at Serena and lifted his glass. "To finally coming clean."

Serena lifted her glass and knocked it gently against his, feeling a stone turn over in her gut, but she managed to smile. "To coming clean." She took a sip from her glass and could feel it hitting the bottom of her stomach and tried to calm it by taking measured breaths. Things were going well now, she wouldn't look under stones for things that would harm if startled.

Darien pulled her into an amusing story about one of his students when he was charged with covering for one of the part timers again. He wasn't upset, they had hired a high school student from town and the boy was in all sorts of advanced classes, even attending the closest community college and his schedule was pretty hectic for a student. By the end of the night, it was like nothing had happened to put a scratch in their record and it was like picking up from their kiss at Darien's ranch.

It was only as she thought happily about that on the walk back did she come to a screeching halt. "Fred!"

Darien turned to her amused and wrapped his arms around her waist. "No, Darien." He pointed to himself. "Say it with me, Dar-i-en."

"I know your name silly."

"Just wanted to make sure you knew who you were with."

If she wasn't so preoccupied with her current path of thoughts she'd have socked him in the stomach for that lippiness. "No, Fred, I was just thinking, what if he saw us that day I drove down to Pony from Billings? Could that be the reason he gave Raye that magazine? I know he didn't like me from introductions on."

Darien gave her a twisted look. "It's possible. Fred doesn't like dishonesty and he certainly hasn't liked any of my lady friends."

"You've brought lady friends to the ranch? Raye said you hadn't."

"No, not to the ranch. Fred's come out to D.C. on occasion when I haven't been able to get back to the ranch to work on paperwork. He's always found something wrong with the women I've been seeing and since I wasn't ever really committed to them before, the relationships never lasted long." Darien shrugged. "To tell you the truth, I think he might be gay."

Serena lifted an eyebrow at that, she'd had a feeling about that too. "Any thoughts to who he has a crush on?"

Darien laughed and shook his head, pulling Serena along with him, trying to get out of the cold. "I've been friends with him since we could walk, there's nothing like that there."

"Then who does he have a chance with in this town?" It wasn't like they were in Miami.

"He never had a chance with me, if that's what you're implying missy. I like women far too much, and one in particular, to even give off hints like that."

"Perhaps you don't even realize you're doing it." She drew a finger on his chest. "I for one thought maybe you leaned that way."

"Oh yeah?" His eyes sparked dangerous signals and she nodded before bolting down the street, Darien followed quickly on her heel and managed to catch her before they reached the outer gate for the bed and breakfast. He spun her around and gathered her in close for a kiss that stole her breath away. "How about now? Still think I'm batting for the other team?"

"No way, you're all mine." She pulled his head back down for another one and he complied, letting her lead this kiss but all too soon it became too much and he lifted her off her feet and swung her over his shoulder.

"Just for that, this is your punishment." He gave her behind a little whack and chuckled as she squealed. They tried to keep down their merriment as they entered the hallway, conscious of other guests and he let her back down to her feet only when they were inside with the door firmly closed.

Serena held up a hand between their mouths before he could kiss her again and instead he intentionally kissed her palm. "I'm serious though, what are we going to do about Fred?"

"He won't cause anymore mischief. He already tried his luck with the proof he could get a hold of, he'd never hurt me and doing anything more against you would hurt me. But if it really worries you, I'll have a talk with him when we get back, make sure he knows that I won't accept any foul play when it comes to you."

"Thank you for that. I know the two of you are friends, I wouldn't want to step on any toes."

"Don't worry about it, Serena. I have it covered. Nothing will be harmed." He tilted her head up. "Now are we going to talk about other people or are we going to focus on us?"

"Us, definitely us." Serena pulled him closer and they waddled backwards to the bed. Serena tipped backwards onto it and Darien followed her down, but smoother and she slid backwards up the bed, so they could be more comfortable. He took off her belt and shoes. She reached for the hem of her dress but his hands beat her to it, running it up her thighs, over her head and then onto the floor. His mouth followed the same path his right hand did, veering off course at her chest, causing her to moan out in pleasure and arch into him.

Her hands sought for his shirt and ripped it out of his pants and didn't pay any attention to the fact she might have ripped off a button or two in her haste. She pushed it off his shoulders and he was tangled up in it for all of a second before his hands were on her waist again, pulling her down and towards him. In that second it was all it took for her eyes to latch onto the ring on her finger as she splayed her hands against his chest.

"I- I can't do it." She whispered and he froze above her, looking down at her in surprise. She bet he was, considering she had done it with him, more than once and so she sought to clarify. "I can't do it with this ring upon my finger. It just reminds me-"

"Here, I've got the perfect solution." He reached for her hand and caught it before she could pull away. He tried to pull the ring off but it got stuck on her knuckle. Instead of being delayed at all by it, he found another simple solution and stuck her finger in his mouth, slipping it off easily.

"Wait- Darien-" She was afraid that he would look at it, but he just set it down on the table next to them.

"See, problem solved." He didn't seem caught up at all by the reminder, and she swallowed hard as he turned his attention back to her. There was one snide comment he couldn't help though. "You can put it back on in the morning, if it bothers you that much."

Serena pushed against his chest and sat up. "I know this is a mood killer, but... what happened to you? You're the poster-boy of morality."

"When it comes to you, I've given up. I've told you, I love you and I can't stand us being apart in any fashion anymore. This way is only a small part of it. Mentally, emotionally, physically near, these are the things that matter most to me. This, your marriage, it can all be dealt with later, but I have to be with you, you're all that matters to me now. My morals were shot anyways when it came to you, we've done the deed on three separate occasions now and almost a few more times. I think if it comes to affairs, we've already started it."

"Darien, this is not like you." Serena was feeling guilty for pulling Darien so far off his moral compass. "I don't want to be the cause of your hating yourself down the road and I definitely don't want you to hate me."

Darien groaned and rolled over. "You speak of not being myself, but that same charge can be put at your feet. You had no problems earlier today and you were still wearing your ring."

"I know, but that was different, I lost my head completely. I was so overjoyed. But now that I have thought about it, I wonder if its the right thing to do. Not for my sake, but for yours."

"You're not listening. It's already too late for my sake. I've already dove off the deep end. I just want to be with you. Will you be with me?"

Serena curled up to his naked chest and he was holding himself so rigidly, waiting for her answer. "I want to be with you too. Of course I will." She leaned over him and kissed a path up his chest, he was wound so tightly. "I just needed to make sure that you were going into this with your eyes open."

"As long as yours are too. No more talk about losing your head, unless its when we're doing this." Darien grinned and kissed her back, pulling her on top of him and sliding his hands to her hips. "If you don't, then I'll think I'm doing something wrong, because I can never see straight when you're half naked."

Serena's laughter was pure and beautiful, but it didn't last long, oh no, other sounds soon replaced it.

–

Dawn wasn't even started when Darien roused her from bed. Literally from bed. He threw at her long-john pants and a long sleeved shirt. She barely managed to remember pulling on her ring before she struggled sleepily into them. This was not her idea of fun. Her idea of fun on a day off was sleeping until noon, whereas here, that meant sleeping until the sun reset. Then he was handing her more clothes that she barely noted she was putting on and he gathered up the other belongings in the room and shoving it all into the same bag.

He kissed her good-morning. "You'll get it back when we return to the lodge." He promised and ushered her out the door. He had a coffee cup in his hand when he returned to the warming vehicle, which he'd deposited her into and handed it to her. "Unless you'd rather sleep for the next hour, but I recommend the sunrise. It's beautiful."

"Sunrise, ick." Serena grumbled and turned her back onto him, trying to sleep some more, her coffee cooling in the cup-holder. He chuckled and ran his fingers down her back.

"Right, sleep well then."

"Thanks." She managed to sound reasonably nice in her bedrangled state. She hated being up so early and she especially hated it when someone woke her up. Or maybe that was the other way around. In any case, he didn't get an exception because he woke her up earlier than most people.

When Serena woke again, it was because they slowed down and eventually stopped. The sun was higher in the sky and she peered out at it wondering how it was so different from the last few overcast, cloudy days in Pony. Here it was clear, blue and too bright, especially when it reflected off the snow. She was feeling a little hot in the car and she reached out to turn the temperature down.

"It won't matter in a few minutes." Darien told her as she sat up, he leaned over to give her a quick peck. She looked nervously out at the surroundings. "Anybody that sees won't know who you are. Don't worry about it. There's no chance it will get back." She thought she imagined the slight testiness to his voice, when the rest of him was so relaxed and at ease. Maybe it was just the way she was used to him reacting and so she still colored her senses to fit that former mold and was imagining it. "One of the perks of having a different last name."

Oh she definitely heard a barb that time and she turned to give him hell, but he was grinning stupidly at her and she knew that the barb had no malice. For some reason he just seemed to give it up and for the life of her she couldn't figure out why. Serena supposed that in time it would come out and she'd know. She just hoped that it didn't come out at the wrong time as it always inevitably did.

Then again, she'd been pretty lucky in timing of outbursts, Darien was remarkable at putting on a stolid face when underneath he was festering for a fight. Nobody had the slightest clue. Or rather a clue about Serena, Amy knew that her brother was attracted to Serena, but that was the extent of anything. Andrew definitely didn't suspect, he was too worried about Michelangelo, if he was still worried about that. Andrew and Michelangelo seemed to have gained a cool, but workable arrangement.

Darien got out of the vehicle, it was still running but up here she didn't think anything would happen. Serena grabbed her jacket and followed him across the plain of snow to shake hands with one of the men that were sitting around a fire. "Rab."

"Nice to see you again Darien, didn't think you'd get up here this year, it's been awhile." He lifted his bushy red eyebrows as he looked over at Serena. "I see you brought company this time."

"I have." Darien looped an arm around Serena's hips and brought her closer. "This is Serena, Serena, this is Rab, the head trainer in Montana."

"Just this part of it." Rab spoke with a burly Scottish accent and she instantly liked him.

"You're just too modest. I'm well aware that everybody in the region comes to you for advice on the most difficult of issues."

Rab laughed. "It's nice to meet you Serena. Unfortunately we don't have a tent for you, you didn't tell us you were coming and we already have guests staying with us. Some journalist who's interested in what we do up here. She brought along her photographer and has taken so many pictures that I'm not sure they could ever get through them all. Photographs of the most random things too, the tent, the group eating, amongst all the dog ones too."

"Oh." Serena was about to turn and ask Darien where they were going to stay then, when he was already answering her.

"That's all right, the usual spot for extras ok?"

Serena looked curiously between the two men. "Where's that?"

"In the dog pit." Rab explained to her. Then he pointed and she followed his figure, having to turn slightly to do so to the large circle with a fence that had a lot of the dogs in it, the fence wasn't very high and made out of wood, and on one side of it was a small hut that probably had kennels for the ones that were misbehaving and didn't get along with the rest.

Serena didn't actually mind that idea, she liked dogs and used to have one when she was younger that slept nose to nose with her every night. She only had a cat now because she knew she couldn't handle a dog on her own and especially not in her apartment. The only part she worried about was the cold once it got dark. She turned to tell him so, when they both started laughing. "What?"

"She's a keeper. Anybody who doesn't instantly object to getting their hands dirty is a definite plus."

"I know." Darien said pleased, pulling her closer still. "I plan to."

Rab turned to explain to Serena. "I thought for sure you'd have a fit. You're a little too..." His nose wrinkled as he tried to find a word that wasn't so insulting. "Posh." Then he racked his brain for an Americanism and failed. "East coast."

"And here I didn't even bring my flatiron." Serena shook her head, playing into this. Just because she was put together with sleek lines didn't make her too East. But then again, hadn't she just last night been working through her preconceived notions about what the West entailed?

Rab just roared louder, sparking the interest of the dogs and humans nearby. "Definitely." He slapped a hand onto Darien's shoulder. "Keep her, I want to see more of her around." Then he sauntered off and left them on their own.

"So where are we staying?" Serena looked up at Darien who was still grinning. She hadn't seen him so happy in months.

"I brought a tent along, I figured that would be the case. I always bring it."

Serena nodded, but she was already thinking ahead. "Isn't he going to show us the dogs?"

"He'll set up whatever we want to do, but he knows I know this stuff too well to be bothered. Perks of living here most of my life, people know me and I know how to do just about anything winter related. I should clarify that, anything mountain related."

"You just got more vague." Serena teased but she walked back with him to the truck and they drove it over to the spot that they were going to pitch the tent, it was best to get that up before they did anything else.

Darien threw into the tent the sleeping bags and other gear that she had no idea about and knew that he must or he wouldn't have packed it. In practically no time at all they were finished and he tugged her closer for a kiss. "You're a lot of help. Thank you."

Serena wasn't sure about that but she kissed him back and looped her arms around his neck, playing with the hair at the back of his skull just where it smoothed out to bare skin.

"Hey, you two need any help?" Rab's voice carried over to them and Darien looked over her head at him in exasperation.

"Sure, just when its over."

"Just keeping up with tradition." Rab came to a stop at Serena's elbow. "Did Darien ever tell you about the time we went camping and made me sleep in the woods without a tent? I swear I still have bug bites in places I didn't know they could reach."

"Quit your complaining." Darien punched him lightly in the shoulder. "You're exaggerating."

Serena couldn't help but giggle, but she tried to keep it as quiet as she could. Rab rolled his eyes at her. "You haven't heard the worst of it, Darien's fine because he slept in the tent, he locked me out."

"After that first night, I learned my lesson. You kick in your sleep and I had bruises all up and down my leg."

"Now whose complaining?" Rab asked with a raised red brow.

Serena slipped her hand into Darien's and decided to play mediator. "How about showing me some cute husky puppies!"

"Follow me." Rab led the way over to the dogs still in the carrel. "The pups are in the house back there, we let them out when the rest of them are doing their training. They're usually well behaved but we try to keep the smaller ones away from the bigger ones, just in case."

Darien lifted her up and over the fence when she probably could have climbed it, but it kept Rab from having to go round and open the gate. Darien followed after and they went to go see the huskies. "They're so cute." Serena rubbed the ears of the first puppy she saw and more came up to her, wanting her attention. Then a frown came over her forehead as she realized what she was looking at, she hadn't come to see just puppies, but she liked them all non-the-less. "Some of these are labs and dobermans."

"Aye, that's right, but they're mixed with huskies. These are some of the best trained pups, genetically bred to be fast, strong, warm and can go great distances in snow."

Serena rubbed more heads and tickled under their chins and ran her hand down their backs, with an introverted thoughtfulness. Darien hunched down next to her and ran his fingers over another puppy's head. "What are you thinking about so intensely?"

The lines cleared and she looked into his eyes. "Well, I get it, that's how races are won, but I also have to keep fighting the image I have in my head of dog-sled races being pure husky. They're adorable, I'm just struggling to keep in my mind that the one that looks like a lab is actually a husky-cross-breed."

Darien nodded, he could understand that and moved his hand away just in time for one of the puppies to nip at him because he wasn't paying sole attention to it. He wagged his finger in front of its face. "No." The puppy took another try at it and he tapped it lightly on the puppy's head. "No."

The puppy squeaked and then laid down, trying to give him the sad look they were known so well for. Serena laughed and reached out to pet that puppy. The little tail wagged. "You're going to undo all our training." Rab warned and Serena pulled her hand back quickly with a sorry on her lips. "Just kidding. These are too young to do any real training and they know who their masters are and who they can get away with more stuff with."

Darien held out his hand to help Serena up. "Want to see the bigger dogs?"

Serena grinned. "Sure do!" She reached down and gave every puppy one last pet before beating Darien to the fence and climbing over it. He reached out to help, but she was already swinging her leg over and to the ground to join the other one. Darien hopped over the fence and ruffled Serena's hair.

Rab made some gagging sounds. "God its like the two of you are newly-weds or something."

"Feels like it too." Darien tossed at Rab, not feeling bad at all for his behavior and Serena had to agree with him, it did feel that way, it also felt like a reunion after such a long time apart.

"You-you're not, are you?" Rab asked on a semi-strangled voice. Serena had taken off the rings and put them in a safe pocket in her jacket inside a draw-string bag. She had also a light pair of gloves on, even when she was petting the puppies because it was too cold here without something protecting her skin, even if she was currently warm. It was too risky to expose it to the elements for too long. Well except her face it seemed.

Darien laughed it off but he sent her a quick glance to remain quiet on the matter. "Of course not, Rab. We haven't known each other that long."

"Only a few months." Serena piped in, thinking it would help.

"Hell, no wonder, that's got to be the shortest relationship Darien's been in so far. He's a serial monogamist. The usual relationship tends to hang on for at least six months before he calls it quits. A few of the earlier ones managed a year, two if he really liked the girl. Then there was-"

"Rab, buddy..." Darien hooked an arm around the other man's shoulders. "Shut up."

"Oooh, I see, you really really like this one. Got it, shutting up." He winked at Serena. "Afraid of commitment?"

"Something like that." She found this man entertaining.

"He's promised you that he's not looking ahead, just taking things a day at a time so as not to scare you?"

"Maybe." Serena wanted to see where this was going, so she didn't correct him, besides what could she really say?

"Well he'll kill me for telling you this, but he's already mapped out your future for the next three years. If he doesn't get a ring on that finger in two, then the two of you are doomed and will wreck all of his plans." Rab elbowed Darien in the ribs, trying to get him off of him, the arm around his shoulders crept up towards his neck, readying to strangle him. "He's a planner this one, had his whole life organized when he was eighteen. Bet he's already got the kids' names picked out."

Serena couldn't help the squeak in her voice, she really couldn't. "Kids?"

"Of course, he'll probably want a whole herd of them, he never thought three was enough growing up, he wanted his parents to keep going until he could have a brother in addition to those gorgeously hot crazy sisters."

"Would you please, just, shut up!" Darien was no longer quite as entertained and Rab's mouth instantly snapped shut, knowing he had pushed too far this time. He looked frantically over to Serena, but she was having a hard time breathing. Kids! "I don't think that way, honest. Meeting you has thrown my whole life out of whack, there's no way I could plan anything. As for the kids bit, I'm slowly thinking three is too many, one would have been best, my sisters are a headache and a half and I wouldn't want to put that on any child of mine. Nor having them for an aunt, so probably no kids?"

She tried to wave his concern off, she could see that he was trying to find a ground that would make Serena happy once more. She didn't want to concern him but kids was pretty low on her agenda right now.

He came up to her and took her face in his hands. "No pressure, I'm not even there, we're too new to think anything of the sort."

But she knew, just from the way he'd tried to back out of what Rab was saying, she knew that he was already forming this perfect world where the two of them were together for life. It was a beautiful picture, but she couldn't think of that, she could barely get through every day.

"Just... concentrate on the here and now. Puppies, very cute. Dogs, not so cute but pretty cool. Come on." He took her hand and practically dragged her to the dogs that were hooked up to a sled. As they walked she slowly managed to calm down and rationalize everything. He was right, one thing at a time. If he was planning, well that's what he did, wasn't it? If his plan was different than reality, he'd just have to adjust. Right now she was just going to enjoy their little break from the, currently, real world. This was a complete step out of it, where they could just be themselves again and she would go along with the ride.

She learned all of their names and gave each special attention where she praised them with kind words and strokes until they got to the end. "Want to go for a ride?" Rab asked and Serena perked up.

"Really? Can I drive it?"

"Yes you can, you'll be the only one on there. Here let me teach you the commands." Rab showed her the foot pedals and how to use them in connection to the verbal orders. "But they're pretty smart and can usually figure out the way without you. But in the end they'll listen to you and what you think is best."

"That's pretty amazing." Serena commented and took her spot at the helm. "What happens if it gets too fast?"

"Slow it down verbally and physically and if it tips over, get out of the way. Don't worry, I'll be on the grounds and so will other trainers, they'll help out if something goes wrong." Rab tried to reassure and Darien was already slipping away to get on the other sled hooked up so they could race. "I'll let the two of you do the long race, it's got some turns and slopes, should be fun." Rab double checked everything as he answered Serena's questions and then looked behind him towards Darien before turning to her again. "And what I said earlier-"

"It's ok." Serena smiled kindly. "I'm pretty tough and I know how to handle things."

"Just forget it, Darien's pretty serious about you, I can tell, I hadn't realized the relationship was so new, if I had, I might have held back a bit. I thought you were together long enough to talk about those things. Just don't hurt him."

"As if I ever could." Serena knew he meant emotionally because there was no way she could physically but they'd been through the worst and survived, she wouldn't do anything if she could control it to harm him more. Despite all appearances and minor freak outs, she was pretty serious about him too.

"Good. Just stomp that out and shout out to the dogs, and you'll be off." Rab squeezed her arm and then backed off. "Good luck, hope you beat him." He said it loud enough for Darien to hear and Serena followed his instructions.

She got the jump start on it and heard Darien muttered an oath behind her as he realized she now had a head start. And while he was skillful, she had the better team and she was a lot lighter than him in addition to her lead so she won, but barely just.

Serena pressed down on the break calling for the dogs to stop and they did and it took another, professional person to apply the stay break and then she was able to get off. She wanted to rub it in Darien's face that she won, but she was well aware that it could be considered cheating though she hadn't agreed to a race in the first part.

Darien lifted her off her feet in a circle and she could feel the happiness radiating off of him. "You did a great job. Did you like it?"

"Are you kidding me? That was amazing!" Serena looked down at him so seriously that for a beat he wondered what was wrong. "Can we do it again?"

He found her so amusing as he set her back down onto her feet. "We can do an entire trek in an hour, but first I wanted to introduce you to the rest of the staff and have them go through a day by day with you."

"I thought that's why we were here."

"You'll experience it, don't you worry, but I wanted you to know what was coming up so you could follow it mentally as we did so, people won't always be around to ask why."

Serena could accept that reasoning and she practically skipped over to meet those he wanted to introduce her to. It was a pretty varied group, there were men and women and they came from all sorts of different backgrounds, one of them had been a lawyer who was just tired of the dredge. Another because they had gone the traditional route and had decided to follow their love of animals without going back to school. Another to get away from everything back home, she was kind of hiding out from some of the people in her home town, and loved animals. Then there were others, most knew this was their intended target when they set out on the road towards Montana. Only a couple like Rab and one or two others had lived here for considerable time before hooking up with this team. A couple had even lived and worked in Alaska but preferred the ease and closeness to rational society in Montana.

Serena might have argued that point, but she found them all entertaining and laughed in all the appropriate places and made the appropriate sounds when they were trying to impress her. A few times they really did, maybe more than a few times. They had interesting work and it was easy to see all of them enjoyed it.

She was intrigued to learn that not all of their jobs had direct relationship to training the dogs or even working with them at all. There were accountants and correspondents, ones that took care of the sleds and made sure all the food was in order and other opportunities with them. All of them took turns cooking and most of the time it was the same kind of meal, but every once in awhile someone would whip up something interesting.

Since they were only here for a day, they were allowed a reprieve from the cycle, it was hard too cook for such a large number and quickly. Especially if you weren't used to it. Serena held Darien's hand for most of their time talking with the others, unless she was needed to help out with something. Or if Darien got called away for something. It wasn't very often but then during the day it started happening more as they really were immersed in the way of life these guys had for the whole winter long.

"We've got it." A voice said behind her and she jumped slightly to turn and look at who spoke.

"Got what?" She asked the woman grinning.

"The best shot of the day, you were adorable with the puppies in your lap earlier. City Girl Gets Lost. It's a perfect title for the piece."

"Piece on what exactly?" Serena asked slowly.

"The adventures of Huskies and those who melt at sight of them." The woman held out her hand. "Reporter Emsee Darkblood."

"Emsee Darkblood?" Serena questioned skeptically. "Are you partly Native American?"

"Nah, that's just my writing name. I host a blog at the paper in Billings. I got sent out here for a fluff piece but I wonder if I can't find some kind of gossip or dirt to make some kind of scandal and get more recognition than my local followers. You don't have some dark and dirty secret, do you?"

Serena laughed. "Me? No. I'm as boring as they come. Too bad, perhaps you'll find it elsewhere."

Emsee hummed in agreement, but her eyes were scanning the grounds. "You wouldn't happen to know anything on that tall drink of water you came with, would you?"

"Nope."

"Too bad, he looks like he's got stories to tell or be told about."

"Sorry I can't help you." Serena turned, she never liked reporters to begin with, they were always trying to put a spin on things. They hated when someone wouldn't talk to them and tried to make the slant against the person that had snuffed them. She learned quickly how true that was when it came to her own family. Since then she avoided them at all costs, having no comment was better than fueling their stories and giving them ideas. She was so thankful to her friends and everyone else that was there to support her with they wouldn't leave her lawn for almost a week. Thankful that she had some place else that she could stay.

It took her no time to cut quickly across the snow covered ground and she realized if you did it well, it really was no hassle at all. She stopped near Darien and he leaned over to kiss her cheek quickly before he hummed and nodded along with whatever Rab had been explaining. "Good, looks like it's time to make a run."

Serena's eyes perked up. "A run? Where?"

"There are two townships that are pretty high up here, but with the amount of snow they've gotten recently they haven't been able to drive out. We're going to go gather their mail and then go to the nearest post office that can be reached and collect the mail and deliver it again."

She nodded, that sounded pretty good. "Why don't we just split up and gather the mail from the townships and then meet up at the post office and then head out again?"

"Because he's trained and you're not. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you under my watch. Besides the townships are back to back and wouldn't make any sense to split into and the post office is actually the furthest away if you were thinking of any more amendments to the plan."

"Nope, sounds great to me." She was excited to get back behind the... rail... of the sled. It was her favorite part of the sledding experience, however nothing beat the dogs themselves. She gave them all a pet before she went to the back where Darien was.

"Where do you think you're going?" Rab asked as he finished tightening the straps to the sled, it had some provisions in it, just in case something happened and they were stranded for awhile.

"To drive it." Serena announced fairly confidently.

"No way, you're going to sit on the sled like all second passengers." Rab turned to show her but Serena stood her ground.

"I want to drive."

Rab was going to argue when Darien cut in over him. "We'll just do a two person on the handles. She can do all the work while I stand behind her, just in case." Darien grinned wrapping an arm around Serena's waist and bringing her in front of him. "Besides, I like being this close to her."

"All right, but you know what to do if she changes her mind." Rab turned his gaze to Serena and she liked that he didn't talk about her as if she wasn't there. "Let me show you anyway." Rab managed to coax Serena onto the sled, she didn't want to be stubborn or anything like that but she felt unsafe balanced on top of supplies. But the way Rab explained it and how she sat down in to it, she actually felt pretty secure. "I don't mind you driving but the dogs get going pretty fast, faster than what you experienced there, and if they don't hear you or don't listen, it takes a lot of strength to dig the breaks in and to get them to stop."

"You're just looking out for my safety." Serena got it and she let him know it too. "Thanks."

Rab nodded and saluted Darien in no salute that Serena had ever seen before, except maybe on a comedy and walked off. Serena returned to Darien and he let her settle on the skis before he came behind her, though this time he left some distance between them and she turned in the small space she still had and grabbed his coat and pulled him forward so they were pressing in on one another. "This is how close you should be."

Her face was so serious that he gave a small laugh as he bent his head forward to capture her lips. "Yes my commander." He kissed her nose then her forehead and then let her return to facing forward. "Are you ready to go?"

"Whenever you are."

"Then we're off." His hands were on the inside because he'd put his arms between hers and her body and after they started moving, she placed one of her hands on top of his and her fingers slid neatly between his. She couldn't keep the small smile from tugging at the corner of her lips. She had never felt happier in her life. Things were looking up and her feelings were like the day, bright, blue and cloud free and this was just the beginning.

–

It was interesting to learn, for Serena that is, that not every town in Montana less than a certain population looked like the ones near Pony. For instance, here, up north and in the mountains, it was even more of a throw back to days gone by. If she thought Pony had spotty electricity and was tiny then this was even worse. They couldn't even guarantee running water most days. Everyone lived in small houses with the bare essentials and had to go outside to use the toilet. They were made in an older style too with thick walls. Between the two outer layers was filling to help block the cold and keep the heat in. She imagined it was cool all year long up so high.

And it wasn't so much a town, more like a house and then several hundred feet another one and not in an "I'm a celebrity and I'm rich" sort of way, but because there was no where to build in between, the house-huts were built wherever they could be and in the shape befitting the location. "Who lives here?" Serena couldn't help but ask as they passed several of these homes until they stopped, where she was guessing was the center. Here there was a wall with several mail slots and a box of outgoing. Darien unlocked it and pulled out the center piece and replaced it with an empty one.

"People who have lived on these lands for a very long time." He finally answered her after making sure everything was secure and they were off again. The trip was fun and in a way that she hadn't realized it would be. It went up and down hills, at times she was afraid to look as they skirted treacherous rock cliffs while others they were on flat ground, in the mountains. It was really beautiful, they went through passes and the mountains just stretched straight up for miles. They moved quickly but still slower than if she was driving through and really got the time to appreciate the beauty of it.

The sun was shifting in the sky as they went and finally got to the next town. Here they had to go door to door, but there weren't too many houses, maybe twenty and the people were very nice. Darien put all their outgoing mail into an oversized envelope and when they finished, put that with the other box. The path to the post office was more of the same and also very narrow passes that even on sled it was difficult to get through.

When they finally got there, Serena was kind of surprised to civilization, there was even a Starbucks next door to it. "Which would you like to do?" He asked casually and Serena's attention was slow to turning to him. "Bring in the mail or attend to the dogs?"

He knew what she'd say before she said it and she didn't disappoint. "The dogs."

"All right, they all need to be fed and given water. This is their time to relax and we'll get lunch when I come back." Darien unbuckled the sled and paused while taking out the mail. "Make sure you feed them front to back, the front ones are alpha and won't appreciate you feeding the other way, they might try to cause a fight."

"Ok, front to back. Got it." Serena dug around for the food and bowls they'd put on the sled. She was tempted to use the water, but figured it was for emergency purposes only. Besides they taught Serena how to melt the snow fairly quickly. She went up to the front and put the food down for them and slowly made her way between them and back. She didn't touch any of them while they were eating, no telling what they'd think she was intending or how they'd react, especially as how she was a new person in their lives. Meanwhile she was using the method she'd learned and went back with bowls of water when it was finished. She had just gotten to the last dog when Darien came across the field from the post office with a huge grin on his face and a bundle under his arm and the metal container.

She smiled back, thinking that he had a good visit with the post master. She asked him about it after he gave her lips a quick hello and then went to work on putting everything away. "No, the smiles are all for you. I can't help it, I can't keep them off my face whenever I look at you or think of you."

He was surprised to see a frown faintly cross her features. "Sorry, it's just if you keep saying things like that, I won't be able to think straight. I'll just be a gooey puddle at your feet."

He chuckled as he wrapped his arms around her. "I'll always be there to catch you if you ever do turn into that puddle. I don't mind."

"I do. That's not who I am." Serena looked up through her eyelashes and he knew she was only half serious. He didn't know why he knew it but he had a feeling that she would have been, had she allowed herself to be. He was determined to uncover what had caused her to close that part of herself off, at least more than surface deep.

"With me you can be whatever you want. I'm not going to judge and there's no getting rid of me now."

"I feel like I am going to be mushy now." Her hands gripped his waist as if she might melt right there and then.

He bent and kissed her and she felt her knees give out and he caught her. She couldn't help but laugh at the whole production of this. She had never felt this way in her entire life and to find it here and now with this man... she couldn't control her actions as she once had. Life had taken the reigns from her. But she couldn't have picked someone better. She had always let her heart decide her path, when her mind chose for her it ruined everything in its path.

Her heart would continue to lead her and she'd try and let it have its freedom to do so. As much as she could. Sometimes not even her heart would get what it wanted. For once her heart and mind were in agreement, she wanted Darien Shields and right now she had him and she wouldn't let him slip away either.

If he was surprised by the passion she displayed as she returned that kiss, he didn't mention it, just adjusting to the assault and matching her stroke for stroke. The fire between them could have lit the dry trees hibernating for the winter but they were in a public place and they needed to cool down.

Luckily one of the dogs took care of that for them as it knocked into Darien, hitting him at the back of his knees and it took them both down. The cold snow was a very cold reminder that their passion for one another had to be taken somewhere indoors before it got out of hand.

They looked at one another and started laughing. Serena ran her fingers behind the dog's ears and he stood up, holding out a hand to help her up. Desire was still reflected in Serena's eyes as she looked at him, but it was mixed with humor and a huge grin crossed Darien's features.

"Perhaps he's telling us that it's time to move on and work our way back."

Darien's words were true enough but Serena's stomach rumbled in return. "You've forgotten to feed me and I can reassure you my stomach does not forget such an oversight easily."

"That's right, how could I forget about food!" Darien's gloved palm slid along her mittened hand and he wrapped his fingers around hers. "Come on, we'll eat at the local canteen."

"Sounds good."

Or it had, before Serena learned that they were going to eat outside. Even that though wasn't so bad, they had individual tables and space heaters and a fire burning not to far away. What she was prepared for was that there was no menu, they just brought out what they had in stock. "Yum, we came at a good time."

Serena couldn't think that Darien was serious. She looked down at the meal in front of her, it was a leg of some poor animal. It was too small to be a deer or elk or whatever they had up here in Montana. "Should I even ask what it is?" There was still skin but luckily no fur or feathers. She poked at it with her fork, not sure that it was even fully cooked. She'd never seen anything like this before.

"Nope, eat it first and then I might tell you." He pulled off his gloves and exposed his hands to the cold air. He picked it up and bit right into it. Serena made a face and he laughed. "What happened to your adventurous spirit?"

"It left and took my appetite as hostage."

"If this bothers you, then you're not cut out for my kind of camping. You'd never believe the kinds of things we ate then."

Serena sighed and put her fork down, at least they had forks. She didn't want to seem like a complainer, usually she was up for anything. But her stomach rolled and created a line when it came to seeing the animal her meat came from, especially so much of it and not much else on her plate. She slipped off her mittens and picked up the leg and copied Darien's example and bit into the flesh. It was moist and fell off the bone into her mouth. She moaned in pleasure and took another bite. "I'm sorry, you were right." Her appetite came back and she was finished with it before she knew. Her plate was taken away and she was served a bowl of rice with different looking flecks in it. She picked up her fork and dug in with gusto. This was great too, it was filled with seasonings that she didn't usually use but were local here.

Darien reached out and stilled her hand before she could finish. "Slow down, you'll need the energy and they only have once more course."

She realized he was teasing her and she laughed somewhat embarrassed by her ravenous hunger. She could eat and put away a lot of food and not appear any different, she gave props to her dancing for that. "This isn't the first time you've seen how much I can eat. Why do you think I complained so much when Lita cut me off?"

"I thought it was because you couldn't eat. But that's just a perk, I love you and all of your quirks. Don't change." His thumb kept brushing against her pulse and it was distracting. He loved seeing her eyes soft like that, and he never saw anyone else able to create that look, not even Andrew. He smirked internally at that, he had something Andrew could never have and it had nothing to do with money and everything to do with what really mattered, Serena.

Serena swallowed hard, he was just pouring out the compliments and she hadn't said much in return, it was harder for her to say things like that. They had to come out naturally and she wasn't the best with words. He was the one who could say what he wanted whenever he wanted and it sounded brilliant. She could only show it in other ways, how much he mattered to her, how much she loved everything about him. Except maybe his quick temper, but even that was endearing, knowing that she could create so much emotion in him. That it was all because of her. "Darien..." She was unsure where to begin.

"Go ahead. Say what you want to ask me. I never have qualms about asking you hard questions."

"It isn't so much a question." Serena took a deep breath. "I just want you to know how much I love you, that I might not be able to-"

"You don't have to. I like telling you things like that because it makes me happy to see you blush and gain confidence in this thing that has come up between us. I can read you fairly easily, and I know that you'd say things too if you could. You being here with me is enough. We're both finding our feet now. I wasn't the easiest to understand, flash tempers and being so angry with you. I have a lot of ground to make up for in splitting us apart. But..."

She had never seen Darien die off like that, as if unsure what he wanted to say. But she had a feeling she knew where he was going, where her thoughts had been since she learned that he was her bosses' brother. "I have a lot to make up for as well. This whole thing is my fault and I might have made you feel guilty and it was never my intention. I have felt horrible about putting you in that position and then for you taking the blame onto yourself even though you know the truth. It should be all on my shoulders. I'm strong enough to take it."

"I'm glad you think so, because I would never be strong enough for all of this on my own. I don't envy your position."

"I should have told you everything from the start."

"Yes you should have." Darien didn't disagree with her and she was glad he hadn't argued or qualified it. This was the kind of thing she needed.

"I should never have tried to make it all work out, I should have known that there would have been no way that I would have gotten away with it. I accept the blame fully, as I have since the beginning. But there was something there, something that drew me to you the moment I saw you that wouldn't be ignored."

"It was there for the both of us." Darien understood that at least, and she knew that he still wasn't over the extent of her deception, that he still didn't agree fully with what they were doing but had come to terms with it. That he had somehow had managed to make it work out in his mind and she wondered how he managed that when he was so opposed to affairs.

But she wouldn't ask.

It was better not to pry into that and to leave this weekend the way it was, a temporary relief from the hectic of their life outside of it. That they could have a few days in bliss. She was given a chance to be with him like they would be if this entire mess hadn't happened, as if they were just starting out with clean histories. Well, almost clean.

"I'm just going to say this. I'm sorry. I really really am sorry. I never intended for you to be dragged into all of this. I'm not sorry about sharing part of myself with you though. It led to love. For that I shall never apologize but the rest of it, I do." Serena slid her finger around the chain at her neck, pulling the necklace out of its hiding place and slid the pendant back and forth along the metal links.

A native woman came with their last course, it was just a simple soup, but she was chuckling as she came. "Much too serious." She chided. "You are lovers and lovers are not serious."

"Why do you say that?" Serena asked.

"If it weren't so obvious, that necklace tells a lot more my dear. It's such a nice looking one too."

When the woman left Serena turned her eyes back onto Darien, questioning, and just in time to see him wince. "What did she mean by the necklace?"

"It's a lover's knot."

"Darien-" She warned, and inside she was freaking out, how was she going to explain that?

"You didn't know what it was, and if anyone does they'll just assume things with you being married that your husband got it for you. If anyone asks you can plain dumb and say you just liked it or something. It's not a big deal."

"But you bought it for me before we- I mean- this time, um..."

"Look, I bought it because I wanted it to speak for me if I couldn't find the nerve to say it. That wasn't necessary but I still wanted to give it to you."

"Thank you. I love it, truly. I wish I had something to give you in return."

"You will."

She didn't ask what he meant by that, she just finished her soup, but she had a feeling that it meant a lot more than what he was saying. It was a dark shadow on the edge of her clear sunny day.

Later, once they got through the second town again, she looked up to him with questioning eyes. "What exactly did we eat for lunch?"

"Rabbit." He answered simply. Serena felt sick at the idea, she had never ate rabbit before, for some reason the thought did not appeal. "But it was good, right?"

She had to admit that it was, but she'd make sure not to eat it again. They could have fed her anything and she wouldn't have known what it was. She could have been eating a family member if she hadn't known better. But she let the matter pass, she had other things to worry about and at the moment she didn't want to about any of them. She was happy enough concentrating on the warmth his body radiated off and how it reached her and wasn't just physically warm, but sneaked into her heart too. No, that wasn't true, she let it in. She let it permeate her entire being and she sagged against him, happy with the here and now and that brightly shinning future.

–

EAN: We're going to leave them temporarily for a short break between chapters. :) We'll meet up with them again in the next chapter. Hope you stick around for the next one!

EAN2: I'd just like to point out to anybody that asks. Three separate occasions. 1. On the drive down. 2. Thanksgiving. (Yes, this happened, it was intentionally buried but not very deep, just didn't come right out and say so... more poetic.) 2.5. Many, many times... er... rather sort of and almost on Christmas. 3. The shower scene. The times after any of these are included in that time, or are after the talk so then they're not included in that count.