Title: He's A Keeper

Rating: PG

Chapter 4

"Where are you going?" Serena asked, knowing that the check had not come yet. He stopped right in front of her, bending down and kneeling on one knee. At that movement she gasped.

"I'm not going anywhere and I don't ever want to go anywhere away from you." He smiled as he saw her hand fly up to her mouth, starting to cry as he reached into his pocket, pulling out a small velvet box. "You can't cry you will mess up your makeup." He teased, handing her a handkerchief.

"This is no time to be funny Darien." She cried out, Darien tried not to laugh at her.

"Can I finish yet?" She nodded, still trying not to mess up her makeup. "Well now I lost my train of thought, I could just do this next week."

"Don't you think about it, we will not leave until you say it." She told him, almost as an order. Darien chuckled and grabbed her hand, trying to get serious again.

"Ok." He took a breath. "I love you, and nothing is going to change that.I want to wake up and see you beside me each and every morning. I want to make moves on you without your father trying to kill me."

"You already do that." She teased.

"Are you going to let me finish or what?" She laughed, and nodded. "Ok, now where was I?" He thought for a second. "Shoot, you made me loose my rhythm.Serena, be my wife, will you marry me?" He opened the black box and held it out to her. Inside was a small gold band with a large diamond on the top. He slipped it onto her finger, awaiting her answer. "Are you going to say yes?" He said shakily.

"Are you nervous Darien?" He nodded his head rapidly, running his hand through his hair, messing up the perfect part that he had earlier. "Of coarse I will marry you Darien, you didn't even have to ask." She pulled him off the floor and into her arms, kissing him with the utmost passion that she could muster. Thunderous applause surrounded them, along with many whistles and halers.

"Now, to top off the evening, we have a ball to attend milady." He grabbed her hand and pulled her to the front entrance where he paid the bill. The valet brought his car around and Darien opened the door for Serena to get in, then moving on to his side.



The two walked into the ballroom together. Darien stood on her left side, holding her hand, rubbing his fingers over the large ring on her hand while smiling. The turned looks of many of the men there did not go unnoticed by Darien, and he pulled his fiancée closer to his side. They walked down the stairs together and onto the main floor.

The ballroom was decorated in mostly Christmas Decorations and a mixture of designs was on the walls. There were about two hundred people there, filling the room nicely. Many people were dancing and others were talking among themselves at their table.

"Dr. Chiba, how nice of you to show up." Mr. Banks, the main guy who put on the ball had said sarcastically.

"I'm sorry, that was my fault; I kept interrupting his speech." Serena announced to the unfamiliar man. Mr. Banks turned and smiled at Serena, admiring her beauty.

"My name is Gregory Banks, and you are?" He asked, taking her hand, kissing it lightly.

"This is Serena Stevens, my fiancée." Darien announced wrapping his arm around Serena's waist protectively. Mr. Banks bowed slightly to show his respect and an apology to Darien for hitting on his soon to be wife.

"It is a pleasure to meet you Miss Stevens." She smiled and nodded. "If you don't mind, I have some business to attend to." Darien gladly got out of his way and almost jumped for joy when he left.

"Care to dance Sere?" Darien asked, holding his hand out to her. She smiled and took his hand.

"Sure, but if I step on your feet you better not blame me, I'm no good at this dancing stuff." Darien just laughed and nodded his head. They made their way to the center of the room and started to dance. 1-2-3-4 1-2-3-4. Serena went with her rhythm and managed not to step on Darien. She did not notice the circle that formed around them and kept dancing. Serena felt like she was dancing in the sky, so free and alive. After the song there was a loud applause, something that had become very frequent in the last 12 hours.

After almost a half hour of dancing Darien pulled her off the dance floor to give her a break. He took her to their assigned table at the front, next to the small stage that was set up. After Serena sat down, Darien walked over to the punch bowl and filled two cups. On his way back he saw three guys standing near Serena, trying to get her to dance with them, which she politely declined.

"That girl is too irresistible." He said softly, walking back, handing her the glass. "Thank you guys for watching my fiancée, but I can handle it now." He announced to the three men.

"Oh, sorry Darien, we didn't know this was your girl." They stammered out as the practically ran away.

"I can't leave you for a moment without other guys hitting on you can I?" She laughed.

"Of coarse not, that's why you're not suppose to leave me." She smiled, grabbing her cup from his hands, taking a sip before setting it down on the table. "Why were they so afraid of you anyway?"

"Oh, that, its only that I have warned them about you, but I guess they didn't know what you looked like, and on top of that, I'm their boss." He sat down next to her, grabbing her hand, kissing it softly.

"Can I have everyone's attention please?" Serena and Darien looked up on the stage and saw Mr. Banks standing with a microphone in his hands. Everyone became quiet so the guy could speak. "Ok, first off I would like to think you all for coming here tonight." He paused for a second then continued to talk. "As you all know, this is the time to announce the Citizen of the year. As you also know, the citizen of the year receives a black 2001 sports car convertible, along with a $2,000 bonus. This years Citizen has shown great promise to Tokyo and has helped to raise over millions of dollars for research and shelters all over. This years citizen of the year is one of our youngest doctors at Tokyo Hospital.please give a round of applause to Dr. Darien Chiba!"

Darien gracefully stood up, kissed Serena softly, and walked up the stairs. He took the small plaque from Mr. Banks' hands and walked over to the microphone. He waited for everyone to become quiet again so he could speak.

"I would like to thank you all for this great honor. It is a great night tonight, let me tell you, not only do I get to be the first guy to become Citizen of the Year at only 22, but I get to take home the most beautiful woman." He smiled over at Serena, and laughed as all the women in the room swooned. "Thank you again, and have a very good night." He shook Mr. Banks' hand once more and walked down the steps back to Serena, who he took into his arms and kissed her.



Darien pulled up into Serena's drive way and helped her out of the car. She had been dancing all night, and the excitement of the engagement had caused her tiredness. Darien all but carried her to the front door, wrapping his arms around her softly and bringing her close to him. Serena wrapped her right arm around Darien's neck and rested her left on his cheek, bringing him down, kissing him.



Inside the house Kenji was about to open the door and warn Darien but he saw a glimpse of light coming from Serena's finger. Smiling to himself he called his wife over and pointed to Serena's finger. As expected, she started to cry from joy. For many years she knew they were going to end up marrying.

"Come on, let's leave them alone." Kenji said, shocking his wife, Ilene, who just kissed him, pulling him upstairs.



"Darien, I better get inside before I wont be able to." Serena said in between breaths. She was about to pull out of his arms when he held her tighter.

"Do you have to go? I could always help you inside." He offered seductively, kissing her neck. "Or I could take you to my place." He said softly in her hair, causing her to giggle and pull him closer. "Is that a yes?"

"That is a daddy-don't-like-you-that-much." Giggling, she kissed him again and again. "I have to go inside, before you will be too distracted to drive home." She moved her hand downward and felt a protrusion of his pants.

"Ok, ok, I'll let you go inside, but I'm coming back tomorrow." Smiling, Serena nodded.

"You better." She kissed him one last time before walking inside. After she closed the door she leaned back on it, sighing, looking down at her ring. After a few seconds she ran upstairs to her room and got dressed for bed, falling asleep with no problem.