Sunset at Paradise Cove

Chapter 44

Author's Note: Hi everyone and thanks for all the support I received so far with this story, sorry about the delay with getting this chapter out but unfortunately, I ended up feeling pretty sick and was not up to doing much for a while and then the craziness of just trying to catch up with work and personal life was hectic, but I am back now and ready to get this chapter out and I hope you enjoy it. Their will be one more chapter after this one and I have not decided yet whether I will add in an epilogue also, but will let you know by the next chapter if their will be one. I hope everyone has enjoyed reading this story and thanks for all the supportive feedback I have received. Please continue to send all your thoughts and reviews. Thanks Mars Light

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Sailor Moon never did, never will thank you!

Serena stood by the small round table where a small group of girls had gathered around, Candace and Eva were both there, so it wasn't as though she didn't know anyone, but she was still left as the outsider as they all smiled and laughed while they spoke of stories which they all knew well and laughed together at the memories they shared.

She listened as Candace told of a story with people's names, she was unfamiliar with, who went to a place she had never heard of before, while they did something that was just so them as the others began to laugh at the story obviously understanding more then what was being told, she let out a small nervous chuckle seeing everyone else was gigging loudly, while being unsure what she was even laughing about, but was trying to join in.

She watched as another girl from the group with whom she had not even caught a name with yet, but from what she had overheard so far was always up to doing that thing, whatever that thing meant as she continued on with another story.

Serena turned away from the small group and let out a deep breath missing the days where she would be able to sit and talk with her own friends like these girls did about the experiences and memories they had shared together, even though she did not miss living with her parents, she was left feeling home sick or at least missing what had been spending time with friends and sharing stories with those she had cared about.

She took a step away from the table seeing that no one seemed to pay any attention to her leaving as she looked up on the stage to where Darien took the lead and was playing to the large crowd, she was proud of him for doing what he loved, but was left misplaced on what to do next.

She turned back to the table where all the girls continued laughing along and had not even realized or cared that she had stepped away, as she let out a small sigh, deciding what would be best now was just to spend some time alone and turned to head back towards the cottage where she would spend the rest of the evening just sitting with an open book, with her mind made up she made her way through the large crowd that had gathered around when she felt a push at her shoulder.

She felt pushed around from all corners feeling like she was the small ball in a large pinball machine as she was bounced around from person to person, when she felt a hand placed on her shoulder and turned to see a tall man wearing a tailored business suit who turned around to face her while being the first to apologize for shoving into her while stating pleasantly "my apologies miss" and then his pleasant grin turned to a demure smile as he looked to her with new recognition stating "well, hello again"

Serena looked to the tall man, she couldn't place where she knew him from, but he did seem vaguely familiar and did not wish to appear rude or impolite as she smiled back telling him "hello it is nice to see you again"

The gentleman let out a small nervous laugh as he brushed a hand through his hair while he spoke up anxiously telling her "I am sorry to have bumped into you this way, but I am glad that I did because it has given me a chance to speak with you further. I had not realized when you came to my office earlier looking for employment, that you were his girl"

Serena looked to the man in front of her with clear recognition now remembering where she knew him from, he was one of the men she had spoken with earlier about getting a job, he had been overly smug on their first meeting and turned her down flat without taking the time to hear her out to explain of why she would be a good fit for his company. Instead, he had stated rather factually that she was not the right fit for this particular position, that she would not be able to handle the high demands that came with the job even though she knew she could handle the entry level position with no problem.

She lifted her head up high and put on her savvy business face that she had seen her father do many times when speaking with those who tried to bluff when they had nothing to offer at the table as she smiled a warm greeting back telling him "yes I remember, you had turned me away rather quickly deciding that I was not a good fit for your company, so what else would there be to discuss?"

The gentleman let out a nervous laugh hearing her challenge back as he spoke up telling her assuredly "I may have spoken a bit too hastily earlier you obviously have many assets that could prove valuable, please may I buy you a drink? And we can perhaps speak of a different opening that I have in the company that just opened up which I think you would fit into perfectly"

Serena looked to him cautiously expecting that he did have his own agenda on why he was looking to hire her for anything after he made his first impression very clear as she shook her head stating back "I don't think now is a very good time you see I was just on my way out actually"

The man looked to her with a shake of his head not willing to take no for an answer while stating back intently "please just a moment of your time I won't hold you for very long" as he let out a small chuckle telling her in a friendly tone "and you can call me Nicholas"

Serena looked to him knowing she should just turn and walk away from this man, but was left vaguely curious about what he could possibly be willing to offer and why as she nodded her head in acceptance questioning him "very well Nicholas, I must say that I am surprised that you would be willing to reconsider me for an offer so quickly after our last meeting and I am curious as to why?"

Nicholas led her towards the back of the room where it wasn't nearly as loud or crowded as he placed his hand down onto her arm and let out a strong laugh telling her "well let's just say that I have realized the error of my ways and see openly how you could become a very valuable asset to me, you see I am in the business of making money Serena"

Serena looked down to where he had his hand on her arm and felt her earlier intuition was right and this man was not someone, she would want to be doing any kind of business with as she removed his hand from her arm and held her head up high as she crossed her arms over her chest while stating fully aware "I see, so you have come to this sudden realization have you, and what exactly is it do you expect I would be doing for you?"

He let out a strong laugh not taking her question to any serious notion as he called to a passing by waitress and ordered out "two margaritas for me and my friend here"

Serena looked to him with a shake of her head having no interest in being this man's employee or his friend as she shook her head stating back "no, that is alright, I think I have actually heard enough and should be going"

Nicholas shook his head having no intention letting this conversation end here as he spoke up telling her "you do get right to the point I do appreciate that and it would be foolish of you to leave now without hearing first what I can offer to you, so let me put it this way for you to understand, I have a lot riding on the competition tomorrow and if your boy does good, then I will make a tightly profit off of it, you do understand don't you, and with your help and some insider information when I make a profit, well let's just say I am sure we can find a way that you would profit by this yourself"

Serena let out a small chuckle as she looked to this jerk in front of her as she shook her head asking "so what you're really saying is that you are not looking for me as an employee, but more as an informant to give you inside details about the surfing competition, so you can make expensive wagers. I think I'll pass no I actually know it is a hard pass, good night sir."

Nicholas let out a loud laugh not taking her refusal seriously telling her firmly "you really are not from around here, are you? Let me guess you had a difficult time finding employment today didn't you and I am certain it will go no better for you tomorrow or the day after that, you don't see what I am offering to you? I can make you a very rich woman all you have to do is simply provide me with a little information" as he placed his hand up to her cheek telling her with a grin "I am sure that you could handle a job such as that"

Serena took a deep breath in having him standing far too close then she was comfortable with as she quickly pushed his hand away and took a step back stating strongly "keep your hands to yourself, I can see clear and straight through you, you are a pig, you are only willing to offer me this job so I can give you insider information and Darien wins the surfing competitions and whatever bets you have riding on him come through, well let me make this clear for you, today, tomorrow, and whatever days lie ahead, not on your life"

Nicholas looked to her with a shake of his head as he placed his hands up against the fence behind her blocking her in with a tender smile stating back "you obviously are not thinking this all the way through, this could be a very beneficial deal for us both, after all you do want to fit in here do you not, and I can be the key to make sure that happens for you, you help me and I will help you find a place and make a name for yourself here"

Serena took a deep breath in not comfortable with how she got herself caught within his trap as she nodded her head telling him assertively "yes, I do wish to make a name for myself the right way, and I will do so without your kind of help" as she looked over seeing the waitress come walking over with the two margaritas on a tray and grabbed one of the drinks from the passing tray and through it into his face as she pushed him back stating forcefully "now don't come near me again" as she began to walk away.

Nicholas reached out to grab onto her arm stating with a warning "you will pay for that you little whore. I will make sure that everyone knows what you are. You passed up on an amazing opportunity and I will be sure you will never find a job around here, you will never fit in, you will always remain as you are an outsider looking in for as long as you stay here"

Serena looked to him as she took in a deep breath feeling a bit jilted being near this man while stating back "I may be an outsider, but at least I will keep my dignity and respect by not partaking in your games, say what you will about me. I may have a struggle well then it will make me stronger for doing so, but at the end of the day I will have no regrets, although I cannot say the same for you" as she turned to walk away from him at a steady pace.

She quickly put as much distance as she could between them and then stopped to turn around to make sure he had not followed, she let out a deep breath not seeing that horrible man in her sights any longer and looked up onto the stage seeing Darien was still their playing his guitar having no idea of anything that had just happened, and if the events of this day had shown her anything, it was when to walk away as she turned around and continued to walk further down towards the beach house.

2 Hours later

Darien placed his guitar back into his case as he began to zip it up and looked out on the dying crowd that was left of the evening, but had not seen a familiar blonde for a while as he let out a small sigh expecting she had already headed off towards home

Lucy came walking by the stage with a rag to clean off some of the small tables as she looked to Darien seeing he seemed lost in thought stating "some night huh? Well, you do have some girl their Darien, I have to admit I was impressed with how she handled herself tonight. Not that he didn't have it coming or anything"

Darien turned to look to her surprised as he picked up more on the last part of her comment not liking what he was hearing as he jumped down off the stage questioning back seriously "he? what are you talking about? Did something happen with Serena? Do you know where she is?"

Lucy let out a small chuckle never seeing Darien become so unnerved over any girl before as she shook her head telling him plainly "no I haven't seen her since all of the drama that happened earlier, although that guy really did have it coming to him with the way he treated her, well I wish I had done it myself"

Darien looked to her as he dropped his guitar case down to the ground not liking the sound of whatever had gone down asking worriedly "Drama? What guy? What happened? what are you talking about Lucy?"

Lucy shook her head as she let out a small chuckle, amazed this was the first he was hearing of this while telling him calmly "wow you guys really do miss a lot while you are up there on that stage playing, don't you?"

Darien looked to her annoyed wanting answers desperately as he asked back more intently "Lucy? Serena what happened? What is this about some guy and how he treated her? Do you know what happened tonight? Is Serena, okay?"

Lucy looked to him with a small shrug of her shoulder seeing he was obviously upset and worried stating back coolly as she continued to wipe down the table "I don't really know all that much, I missed most of the conversation they had, but I do know that guy she had been speaking with Nicholas has been here before. He is a real jerk with women and well when I went over with a couple of drink's he had ordered, he had his hands placed around her, but she quickly got away from him and threw one of the drinks right into his face, just before she left, but I did overhear him making some threats against her, but she did not seem to take them to mind"

Darien looked to her with his eyes open wide to hear this had all happened right under his nose and he hadn't caught attention to any of it, he knew of the man Nicholas he was one of his father's most vicious competitors for years now, but more so that he was a man not to be trusted as he looked to Lucy asking with a smirk "she really through a drink into the man's face?"

Lucy let out a small chuckle thinking of the look on Nicholas's face as he wiped the liquid pouring off his face telling him pleased "yes she took him by surprise too, but she did seem kind of upset when she left here, not sure exactly what the conversation they shared had been all about, but it had certainly gotten her worked up enough"

Darien nodded his head as he made a silent note for himself to have a private conversation with Nicholas O'Brien, but right now he just wanted to get back home to where Serena was hopefully waiting inside as he reached over and gave Lucy a quick peck on the cheek telling her in a friendly tone "thanks for the info Lucy, I better be going I want to be sure Serena is doing okay"

Lucy nodded her head as she looked to him seeing the quick pace he took with a warm smile as she waved good bye telling him "of course and good luck tomorrow" but saw he did not seem to worry or care as he quickly carried his guitar case and made his way back down the beach towards the small cottage.

Darien walked at a steady pace all the way back until he reached the front door and opened it quickly to find the house was dark inside, he turned on the light switch, hoping to find Serena nearby as he heard a loud groggy noise.

He let out a deep breath glad to know she was at least back here and safe with him, then walked over by the couch seeing her lying there with a pillow covering over her head, but what had him more concerned was the empty bottle of rum he found on the table beside her as he picked it up feeling how empty it was inside questioning "did you drink all of this?"

Serena pulled the pillow off her head as she began to sit up on the couch and slurred out her words asking him roughly "are you going to start telling me what I should or should not be doing now too? Well, I can handle myself" as she went to stand up from the couch to put some distance between herself and everyone else and ended up tripping over her own feet and falling back down onto the couch.

Darien let out a deep breath unsure what exactly happened tonight that had brought her to this state, but his impulse was to go track down Nicholas and put his fist into his face, but knew that would have to wait as he walked over and put his arm around Serena's shoulder telling her gently "here let me help you up"

She pulled her arm away from his hand having enough with having everyone feeling like they can control her telling him back sharply "no, I don't need your help, or anyone else's, I can do it fine on my own, I don't need anybody's help, no one you got that. I am smart and strong and, and I don't need anyone telling me what I" as she took two steps further and ended up walking into one of the kitchen chairs and falling down to the floor.

Darien shook his head seeing the way she was stumbling around the room as he walked over and kneeled down in front of where she sat on the floor telling her softly "I can see that you seem to have it all well and good, but why don't you go get some sleep, it will help you feel better, come on I can help you towards the bedroom"

Serena looked to him with a shake of her head not wanting help from anyone as she grabbed onto the chair beside her for balance while telling him sharply "no, I think you have done enough with helping me to bed and I am no whore"

Darien let out a deep breath seeing even when she was drunk, she could still get a few digs in there for his past behavior as he nodded his head telling her "alright, although I was just trying to help, nothing more" as he watched her carefully get up to her own feet while she stood unsteadily as he crossed his arms in a challenge asking "so how much did you have to drink tonight, besides the empty bottle left on the table there"

Serena pointed a finger to his chest as she exaggerated all her words telling him "always trying to help aren't you. Darien the boy wonder, you know what you may be a very good singer and can make everyone think you are so perfect, but I know the real truth, you're not perfect, you're not the guy everyone thinks you are"

Darien nodded his head knowing that much for himself is true, that the outward appearance he puts on for everyone else is not who he really is and even drunk she knew it too as he watched her stumbling around for balance and placed his arm around her waist to support her full weight as he nodded his head telling her grin "yeah, I know that you have reminded me once or twice before about how much I screwed up, so now how about you tell me a different story like what happened at the party tonight? I understand you had a run in with Nicholas Obrien earlier?"

Serena looked to him with a shake of her head thinking of the man from earlier while telling him sharply "that man is a big jerk and he can go" then stopped as she closed her mouth feeling like the room was starting to spin around her again as she reached out for the first thing to hold onto and grabbed onto Darien's shirt telling him "and I…I think I am going to be sick again"

Darien looked to her startled by her sudden announcement as he quickly tightened his arm around her waist and walked half carried her towards the bathroom, where she fell down to her knees on the cold tiles and started to throw up whatever she had left in her stomach into the toilet while he held her hair back and gently rubbed her back

Serena sat they're on the floor for a moment longer after spilling out whatever remnants she had that had remained in her stomach as she kept her arms up on the toilet seat and leaned down against the bowl telling him sadly "I'm sorry I didn't mean to take it out on you I…I guess I just had a wake-up call tonight and" but stopped before finishing her thought feeling the bile build up once more in her stomach and put her head back down in the porcelain bowl.

Darien stood by her side as he watched her empty out the contents of her stomach for the next thirty minutes, until she was left exhausted and half asleep on the bathroom floor as he shook his head questioning "how much did you have to drink tonight?"

She shook her head feeling a huge migraine coming on as she tried to shield the light from her eyes replying back "too much I feel horrible"

Darien nodded his head knowing of the hangover and headache she would sure have come tomorrow, after spending many nights himself at the bottom of a bottle when trying to drink his troubles away after she had left him, and knew how for a short time. The drink could drown out his problems, but it never took away the real problem that plagued him, just masked it for a while which was how much he had missed her not being there as he put his arm around her stating gently "come on let's get you to bed, I am sure whatever this is about, we will work it out tomorrow together in the morning or rather the afternoon whatever time you decide to wake up"

Serena nodded her head liking the idea of finding a bed to lay down in and allowed him to put his arm around her as he helped her back up to her feet and they walked together slowly over to the bedroom as she looked to him seeing how attentive he was questioning "why are you being so nice to me?"

He let out a small laugh as he helped her to sit down at the side of the bed questioning "how should I be acting?" she looked to him with a small shake of her head as she watched him grab a light blanket from nearby replying back "like you don't care, no one does around here, if you're not from here you don't matter, it's just me now on my own"

Darien looked to her not liking the sound of where this was all coming from, but expected she wasn't in her right mind at the moment either as he walked over to grab one of his old t-shirts from the dresser draw then walked over to the bed where she sat as he helped her take off the blouse that she wore that had bits of vomit stain left on it as she shook her head and tried to cover herself with her arms feeling exposed telling him "you shouldn't see me like this"

He removed his hands away and tossed the shirt lightly on the bed and let out a small laugh and turned around to face the wall telling her "it's nothing I haven't seen already, and don't worry I don't go around take advantage of someone who is highly inebriated as you are right now, I am just trying to help you get some rest"

Serena looked down to the shirt he had left on the bed for her to wear as she removed the stained shirt she wore and shook her head telling him "no fair using big words when I'm drunk"

He laughed as he turned around to see she had dropped the tenseness from before and now sat there while trying to unbuckle the bra that she wore unsuccessfully as he walked over beside the bed and sat down beside her telling her softly "come on, let's just get you to bed so you can sleep this off" as he quickly reached up and undid the bra clasp.

Serena sat there with her chest open fully exposed to him, but to his comment he did not try to take advantage of the state she was in as she nodded her head, while he helped her to change into the clean shirt and then lie down on the bed with her head resting against the pillows as he sat next to her and pulled up the blanket on the bed as she looked up to him asking softly "do you still want to marry me?"

He looked to her smiling thinking of the moment they had shared earlier and the incredible way he had kissed her and she let him as he reached over and placed a small kiss on her forehead telling her pleased "we are already married, now get some sleep" as he stood up from the bed and walked over to turn off the bedroom light, and left the room closing the door behind him.

Serena nodded her head as she placed her head down against the pillow as she breathed in what was his scent when she heard the same words that were told to her time and again, by so many others, that she went looking for some release at the bottom of a bottle. From the voices telling her that she did not belong here or fit into this life that he had, that she was only fooling herself to believe that she could ever find a way to make it on her own and started to feel sick to her stomach once more.