A Nightmare So Real part 4
Rating: Pg-13 some stuff gets a little intense (at least I think so)
Author: Rhiannon ^_^
Darien had been at the hospital day and night for the past three weeks. Despite everyone's urgings, he refused to leave Serena alone for more than a few minutes. He hadn't slept more than a few hours each night, he had dark circles under his eyes, in short he was a mess. As for Serena, she had been in and out of consciousness. But with each passing day she woke up less and less. Although her vital signs remained relatively stable, the girls were beginning to lose hope of ever seeing the old Serena again. Even her parents and Sammy had stopped spending the night, for they had become unable to deal with the hopelessness of the situation. But they were also concerned for Darien and often asked him when the last time he slept was, or if he had even eaten. Although Darien didn't realize it, Serena's family had come to accept him as a son and they did indeed care very much for him. The girls took turns staying with Darien and bringing him food and clean clothes, none of them could understand what he was going through. So they just left him alone and let him be alone with her. Luna, on the other hand, often snuck into the room chastising him for staying in such a state of disarray.
"Luna, I don't care what you say, I'm not gonna leave her alone." he always said with a note of finality in his voice, but then:
"Darien this isn't healthy. Do you want Serena to wake up and see you like this? What would she think? She'd feel even worse for all that she's put you through. You need to go home, Darien. We'll call you if there's any changes."
"{SIGH} You don't understand. What if I leave and she wakes up? Or what if she dies when I'm gone? Luna I can't go..."
"{MOAN}"
"Serena?" both Darien and Luna queried gently.
"Darien," came a soft whisper from Serena's bed.
"Yes? I'm here," he whispered back rushing to the side of her bed. Luna took this opportunity to leave the room.
"Darien, how long have I been here?" she asked weakly.
"About three weeks now meatball head," he smiled.
Serena opened her eyes slightly. Then they shot open, "Darien, what on earth has happened to you?!"
"Nothing, I just haven't been home for a while."
"Because of me?" her eyes filled with tears, then hardened with resolve, "You are going to march yourself home right now and get some rest and get cleaned up. Do you hear me Darien Chiba?"
"I hear ya. But I'm not going anywhere," he replied softly.
"Yes you are," she said as she squeezed her eyes shut in pain.
"Serena? What's wrong?" he asked concerned.
"{Sigh} Pain in my back. Darien, go home and rest. Please?" she said turning her eyes toward him. Those big blue eyes that he could never say no to.
"All right Serena I will. But as soon as I'm feeling ok I'm coming back."
"Ok," she said smiling at him.
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About two hours later Raye and Amy stopped at the hospital to check on Serena and Darien. When they opened the door to Serena's room, they were shocked to find that Darien was not with her. They saw Luna on the bed sleeping with Serena. Amy gently woke the sleeping cat.
"Luna wake up," she whispered.
"{meow}" Luna purred softly as she started to awaken, "Amy, Raye so nice to see you."
"It's good to see you too Luna. Where is Darien?" Amy asked.
"Serena woke up long enough to send him home to rest. I was so glad that she finally did. I don't know how much longer he would have lasted before he was put in the hospital with her for exhaustion."
"What did Serena say when she woke up?" asked Raye, "Did she give any reason for the way she'd been behaving?"
"{SIGH} Raye she didn't say, I didn't even bother to ask. I left the room as soon as she called for Darien, I thought that they should have some time alone together. Before I even had a chance to speak with her Darien was gone and she was in a deep sleep."
"I just wish that we could get to the bottom of why she was acting so..." Raye started and was cut off.
"Excuse me ladies," a nurse said, "It's time for her medication, so I'll have to ask you to leave. OH! And before I forget the doctor wants to talk to as many of her friends as possible. She says that maybe you could answer some questions that her family can't."
"Well, what did she want to know exactly?" queried Amy.
"Oh I don't know. But it must be important, she rarely speaks with anyone other than family about her patients. You know confidentiality policy and all."
"Ok thank you Nurse," said Raye as she pulled Amy by the arm and hurried off to find the rest of the scouts and Darien to tell them of this turn of events. Luna had thought it best to stay hidden in the room. The last thing she needed was to be caught in a hospital room where no pets were allowed.
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Dr. Haden sat in her office reviewing the charts of one Tsukino, Serena. The case was very interesting. The girl came in with severe abdominal, back, leg, and head injuries. But what interested Dr. Haden most was that the trauma to the head seemed to have been incurred long before Serena was brought to the hospital. Dr. Haden had asked Serena's parents about this, but they knew nothing at all about why Serena would have head injuries. They didn't even know what Serena was doing in the park prior to being attacked. So that left just a few people, namely Serena's friends who might know what actually happened to the girl.
Hmm, Dr. Haden thought to herself, This girl has sever head trauma and it looks like its been there for a while. Yet nobody knows how she got it. It doesn't seem that she could be the victim of abuse. I really need to speak with her friends.
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"Amy why do you think that Serena's doctor would want to speak to us?" Raye asked as they walked to the Temple.
"I don't know, but we need to talk to everyone about this...You did make sure to call everyone right?"
"Yeah, I sure did. I even told Artemis to go back to the hospital to fill Luna in."
"Good," said Amy, "Raye do you think that the doctor wants to see us because Serena is dying?"
"I don't know Amy, I sure hope that she wants to tell us some good news."
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"The reason we asked all of you to come here is that Serena's doctor wants to see us all." Said Raye to the group of people gathered at the temple.
"Well, what does she want?" queried Mina.
"To be honest, we don't know," replied Amy, "But she must have good reason for wanting to see us. Raye and I have decided it would be best if we all went in to see the doctor together. That way we'll all know exactly what is going on."
"Do you think it's bad that the doctor wants to see us instead of her family?" Darien asked quietly.
"No, I'm sure it's nothing Darien. We shouldn't worry too much until we've heard what the doctor has to say," Raye said trying her best to comfort Darien.
"Well what's the deal? Do we call the doctor to set up an appointment, or do we just go on in to her office and begin asking questions?" Lita wanted to know.
"I've taken the liberty of setting up an appointment with the doctor this afternoon," said Amy, "I though it would be best instead of just bursting on in."
"Good job Amy," Mina complimented.
"Well then ladies, should we be on our way?" asked Darien.
"Sure," the girls replied in unison.
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Dr. Haden was once again in her office going over Serena's charts in preparation for the meeting with the girl's friends. As Dr. Haden looked over the charts there was a soft knock at her door.
"Come in," she called. The door was opened to reveal a young girl with sort blue hair.
"Dr. Haden?" the girl asked uncertainly.
"Yes? How may I help you?" the doctor said looking up from her charts.
"I'm one of Serena's friends. You said that you needed to discuss something with us?"
"Oh yes! Please won't you come in? You didn't come alone did you?" Dr. Haden asked.
"Oh no I didn't. All of Serena's closest friends and boyfriend are here."
"Well, why don't you all come in?"
"Very well," the girl said as she turned away from the doctor and called to her friends.
Dr. Haden watched as the five people settled into her office. They were an interesting group. A blonde, a brunette, a raven-haired beauty, a blue-haired girl, and a dark haired young man.
"Well then, My name is Doctor Jessica Haden,"
"I'm Raye," said the raven-haired one.
"I'm Mina," said the blonde.
"I'm Lita," the brunette, who looked like a tom-boy said.
"I'm Amy," said the blue-haired girl quietly.
"And I'm Darien," said the devilishly handsome young man.
"It is a pleasure to meet everyone of you. I just wish it were under better circumstances," began Dr. Haden, "Now I wanted you all here because I thought that perhaps you could answer some questions for me that Serena's family can't. Is this all right with everyone?"
All Nodded.
"Good, now I was hoping that one of you could tell me what Serena was doing in the park when she was attacked."
"To be honest, we don't exactly know why she was in the park," Mina lied. They all knew that Serena was in the park trying to protect an innocent person, but to tell Dr. Haden that would destroy everything that they worked for.
"Well," Dr. Haden continued, "Do any of you know if she received any severe head trauma before this incident in the park?"
"No, why do you ask?" responded Raye a bit confused. She had seen Serena hit her head dozens of times, but nothing that could be construed as serious...
"Well, we did a CT scan of her head, and found some old fracture lines that had completely healed, as well as some that were in the process of healing. I couldn't find any mention of head trauma in her medical chart, so I thought that maybe you would know if she fell or hit her head and didn't come in to have it checked out."
"We can't be sure," Lita said, "Serena is such a big klutz, that it is entirely possible that she hit her head and fractured it and didn't think anything of it. I mean she could have hit her head and figured it was nothing. Right?"
"Doctor?" Darien spoke from a corner, "Can you tell us how bad it actually is?"
"{SIGH} This head trauma seems to have been gradual. Because of this trauma some very vital veins in her brain have been compromised. What I mean is that blood supply to her brain is not 100%. There is nothing that I can do to stop it anymore. If she would have come in sooner before she was attacked then maybe I could have done something about it. I'm not gonna lie to you, slowly but surely those veins will completely stop carrying blood to her brain, and because of the other injuries she's received, I'm afraid it's only a matter of time."
Darien nodded his head and looked down then said, "Could this thing with her head cause behavior not normal to her?"
"Yes indeed it could. Why do you ask?"
"Well prior to being attacked she had broken up with me for no apparent reason and she wanted to disassociate herself from her friends."
"And you were all probably trying to guess at her motives right?" Dr. Haden asked, "Well you now seem to have the answer. Serena was not completely herself. Don't be upset with her for what she did. It's actually not her fault."
"I think we should be going now, Dr. Haden," said Raye somberly, "Thank you for speaking with us, and telling us the truth about what's going on. Now if you'll excuse us, I think we need to be with Serena now."
"I understand," Dr. Haden said, "Thank you for coming, and take care of yourselves."
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It all made so much sense to everyone now. The previous battles that Serena had been in had caused enough damage to blood vessels in her brain to make her thinking not absolutely clear. That was why there were so many changes in Serena's behavior in such a short period of time. It made sense, but it was still unacceptable that Serena would eventually die. She had started to wake up less and less, so obviously what the doctor had said about trauma to her head had some validity. The doctors words, 'It's only a matter of time' played over and over again in each of their minds. What would life be like with out Serena?
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*A Dream*
"Oh Darien! Do you really mean it?" squealed Serena.
"Of course I mean it, my love. And I'll even ask again. Serena will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"
"Are you kidding? Of course I will, again and again," she said throwing her arms around him and kissing him passionately.
Darien broke their kiss and said, "Oh Serena, I don't think that I could live without you. Thank You!"
"For what muffin?"
"For wanting to be mine for always," he smiled as he held her closer and kissed her sweet lips savoring the moment that she agreed to be his wife forever.
*End Dream*
"Darien?" she whispered. She could hardly move any of her body. Even trying to made her feel woozy, like she would pass out again and not be able to wake up. She noticed that it was hard to focus her eyes and that even breathing had become difficult.
"I'm right here Serena," he said taking her hand.
"I was having the most wonderful dream. You had just asked me to marry you. Of course I said yes and we kissed so passionately. Oh Darien, it was such a wonderful dream, even if it doesn't happen for a long time, I know that eventually it will."
"Of course it will Serena," he said as tears rolled down his face, "Now, you just go on back to sleep and save your strength. OK?"
"{COUGH COUGH}"
"Are you ok Serena?!"
"Yeah. I just had trouble catching my breath there for a minute."
"Well you just sleep," he said. He was very concerned because her voice was barely above a whisper and her breaths came in gasps.
"Darien?"
"I thought I told you to sleep," he mock-chastised.
"I know, I was just wondering if you would kiss me goodnight."
"Gladly," he leaned over her on the bed, and pressed his lips to hers. Although her lips were slightly cold, it was a warm and tender kiss. She weakly put her arms around his neck. They were close like this for quite some time...Then it happened. She dropped her arms from his neck and the pressure from her lips weakened. Darien felt a sigh escape her lips and pulled back to look at her. At first he thought that she had fallen asleep, exhausted from trying to speak with him. But then, to his horror, he noticed that she wasn't breathing.
"Serena?" he asked as he shook her shoulders trying to rouse her, "Oh my God," he said as the machines next to her started to beeping uncontrollably. The nurses began rushing in and out of the room.
The next few minutes passed by like a blur to Darien. He was shoved out of the way and he watched as the nurses and doctors scurried about trying to save Serena. Bits and pieces of their conversations made it into his head. Stuff about a code blue, and getting the on call doctor. They rattled off medical terms that meant absolutely nothing to him. The only thing he could focus on was Serena lying there as all these strangers worked to save her.
Darien stood in a daze as they put a tube down her throat to get her breathing again. Even more traumatic for him was when they shocked her body, trying to get her heart started again. Her body writhed under the electrical stimuli they were giving her, yet she did not respond the way they hoped she would. He watched as they injected her with needle after needle of medication. They tried to save her life. But in the end there was nothing they could do. They turned off the machines and began clearing the room out of the equipment they had used. They fixed her hair and her nightgown in an effort to make her look more presentable. They came over to him and offered their condolences. When it was over Darien just looked at her. She looked so at peace, like she would wake up at any second. He walked over to her and held her hand.
"Serena," he whispered softly as he stroked her hair. Her body was so cold now, and her hands didn't respond to his touch. He looked at her and his heart ached. He kissed her lips one last time and left the hospital.
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The girls found out an hour later. They rushed down to the hospital and found Serena in the room looking as though she was only sleeping. They each took turns holding her hands and saying their good-byes. Luna was in a corner of the room crying, as was Artemis. Serena's parents and brother stood in a corner of the room weeping together, trying to console one another. After a few minutes the girls just began to weep uncontrollably. They cried and cried, for their leader, princess, and friend was gone. After a long silence Mina asked:
"Where's Darien?"
"The young man who was here, right?" asked a nurse who had just come into the room. As the girls nodded she replied, "He stayed with her holding her hand and talking to her. Then he just left, I don't know where he went."
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He ran. He ran as hard and as long as he could. The tears were streaming down his face, his heart was broken, his whole reason for living, gone. When he could finally run no more, he found that he was in the park. It was very late at night, so no one was there to see him in such pain.
"Sereeeena," he sobbed, looking at the ground.
"Serena," he whispered her name as though his lover was there with him.
"Serena," he said a little louder.
"Serena," he sighed as he dropped his head to his hands.
He sat there with his head in his hands for quite some time. He thought about all the good times they had shared and about all the times she made him laugh, and the many times he had kissed her and she had kissed him.
Oh Serena, he thought, Why did you have to go? I need you to be here with me. We were going to be together for always. Now the one memory that'll stand out in my mind is that you died in my arms. You died kissing me. Does that mean I was the last person that you thought about? Serena I know it seems stupid to talk to you especially in my thougts, but where ever you are, I want you to know that my last thoughts will be of you.
"SERENA!!!!!!!!" he screamed out loud as though screaming would bring her back to life.
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"Darien?" someone said gently shaking his shoulders.
"Serena," he mumbled again thrashing about.
"Sshh It's ok Darien," the voice said to him gently.
"NO! Serena don't leave!" he sobbed.
"Darien!" the voice said while shaking him a bit harder than before.
"I need you, you can't go!" he said now, with tears running out of his closed eye lids.
"DARIEN, PLEASE..." that gentle little voice said shaking him once again.
"SERENA!!" he screamed again, and then woke up feeling a bit dazed. His body was covered in a cold sweat and he looked around only to discover that he was in his own apartment, in his bed with...
"Serena?" he said somewhat bewildered. He had some trouble focusing his gaze, but he knew her form so well that it could be no other in the bed with him. He smiled up at her, grateful that he had only had a nightmare.
"Are you all right muffin? I've been trying to wake you up for the last few minutes. I think you were having a dream," she said with a look of concern on her face.
"It was no dream Serena, more like a nightmare," he said rubbing his face with his hands.
"Do you want to talk about it? Sometimes talking about it makes it seem less scary," she said sweetly.
"Oh Serena," he said taking her into his arms and kissing her over and over.
"Hey now mister," she giggled pushing away from him, "There'll be none of that...at least not until you tell me what happened."
"{SIGH} It was horrible Serena. I dreamt that first of all you had broken up with me. Then you didn't want to be Sailor Moon and you wanted nothing to do with the girls. But to top it all off you were attacked by some horrible monster and you...oh Serena you were dead," he said his voice choked with emotion.
"It's ok Darien," she said taking him in her arms, "I'm here with you and I'm not leaving. No matter what, I'm not leaving here without you."
"Serena, I Love You! I should tell you that more often. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you or if you were to leave me," he said as he began to sob softly.
"Oh Darien," Serena said holding him closer, "I would never leave you. That's why I married you, so that I would never ever have to leave you. Don't you worry about a thing. I'm here to stay, because I Love You with all of my heart"
"I Love You so much it hurts sometimes. But I like loving you. I wouldn't change anything about that," he said gently kissing her lips.
With each and every kiss he gave her, and with each one she gave him, his dream seemed to vanish into the night. It was amazing what just holding her and kissing her could do for him. It made him feel complete.
His one and only nightmare would be to lose Serena and never have her with him again. Never to be able to hold her close or make her laugh. To never be able to kiss her sweet lips or tell her how much he loved her. Even one day without his Serena would be and eternity in hell for Darien.
As they broke their kissing, Darien held Serena in his arms and she rested her head on his chest. And so they went back to sleep. Darien feeling more complete knowing that Serena was there with him and that he had only had a nightmare. And as for Serena she went to sleep content to know that the man who held her would love her until his dying day.
Wow, that nightmare was so real. I'm glad it wasn't Darien thought as he held Serena a little closer and fell asleep.
The End!!!!!!!!!
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Authors Notes:
Well there you have it. It's done finally and I must say that I'm really happy with it. I hope you all enjoyed this because I worked really hard on it.
So, because I worked so hard on it REVIEW IT!!!!