All My Brothers - Part 12
By: Reba Jean, Mar. 25, 2002
E-mail: rjean@ghg.net
Rating: PG13/R
Genre: Romance/comedy
Disclaimer: Characters are based on Sailor Moon copyright 1992
by Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha, TOEI Animation, English language
adaptation copyright 1995 by DIC Entertainment. This story is
not intended for monetary gain or tangible profit, but purely
for entertainment of the readers.
Notes: This is an alternate storyline. Names are a mix of English and
Japanese versions.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Beep. Beep. Beep. "Serena, answer your communicator!" complained
the exhausted Darien. He had just gotten to sleep after staying up late
studying.
"Ungh," moaned the large, blanket covered lump.
"Ow! Damn it! Where did you put that thing?" yelled Darien as his feet
tangled in Serena's robe on the floor and his face met the carpet.
Pinpointing the annoying beeping to a pile of junk on her vanity, he began
digging for it. "What do you do with all this crap?" he asked
rhetorically. "Got it! What is it, Rei? This had better be important;
it's 4 A. M.," Darien growled at the girl's image silhouetted by the fire
behind her.
"Can't drag her highness' lazy butt out of bed, huh?" smirked Rei.
"Serena's not being lazy. She's tired all the time these days; the heat's
hard on her. Her back's been bothering her too. And as soon as we get to
sleep, I swear the two inside start playing and kicking. If she's against
me, they wake ME up!" Darien vented.
"Whatever. I just picked up a large amount of negative energy while I was
reading the great fire. It looks like something materialized in an old
warehouse down near the docks. There were several bodies in black robes
scattered around the floor," Rei informed him.
"Oh, yeah. Senshi business. You and me are it unless the outers are back
in town. Everyone else is still off on vacation," he mused distractedly.
"I'm way ahead of you, Cape Boy. Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru are already
on the way there. Pluto's off somewhere in or out of time, out of reach.
Wake up Serena and get her to monitor with the Imperium Silver Crystal for
us. Boy, you're slow today!"
"Okay, okay. I'll be there in a few minutes. Leave on the locator beacon
so I can find you," Darien answered.
"Honey, wake up! We need you, princess," Darien said, shaking Serena
gently. He saw that her eyes were open as she sat up slowly. He
transformed to Tuxedo Mask while she watched bemusedly.
"What's going on?" Serena finally asked.
"Rei called. There's been some kind of negative energy attack. She and
the outers are on the way there. We need you to monitor in case we need
help from the 'Princess'. I've got to go now," Darien summarized.
Serena grabbed his cape and pulled him back into her embrace. She kissed
him briefly. "Be careful. I love you. I want you back alive and whole,"
she ordered.
"I love you too. Watch out for us," Tuxedo Mask answered as he leaped off
the balcony and headed off toward the east side of town.
Rei ran toward the group circling the large glowing green amorphous shape
at the back of the warehouse. In concert the Outers attacked:
World Shaking
Deep Submerge
Silence Glaive Surprise.
As the simultaneous attacks hit the youma, the green light flared
blindingly and there was a tremendous explosion. Green dust floated
gently toward the floor. Green ectoplasm splattered in all directions.
Rei arrived just in time to be plastered along with Haruka, Michiru, and
Hotaru.
Tuxedo Mask watched from his second story perch on the fire escape exit
out of reach. His garments remained unsoiled to his fastidious
satisfaction. He laughed at the girls' disgusted exclamations.
"Wonderful job ladies," he extended his customary kudos.
"I didn't see you hurrying to help," yelled back Haruka. "Just like a man
to sit back and leave all the dirty work to the women."
"Where's Serena?" asked Hotaru.
"She's back at home monitoring through the Crystal," answered Tuxedo Mask.
Tuxedo Mask hastily climbed back out the window through which he had
entered. "I'll be leaving now," he yelled as he retreated, before the two
senshi with the villainous expressions could corner him. Rei and Haruka
stopped midway in their climb toward the second floor, dropping their
globs of the disgusting goo. Unlike the youma, he had escaped their wrath
once more unscathed.
Rei turned her attention to the scene in the warehouse. Seven black robed
bodies were scattered around the room in a rough circle around a pentagram
drawn in blood on the floor. Black candles burned low at the star's
points and what looked like a small bloody fur lay in the center. Various
mystical symbols were inscribed on the floor near each body. "What a
bunch of idiots. They were trying some western black magic ritual.
They're lucky they only got a left over youma and not what they were
trying to summon."
The girls pulled back the hoods from each victim's face. "Hey this guy
looks familiar," said Michiru. "I think he used to go to our school."
"And this girl here sure isn't the good little C-school girl she pretends
to be," announced Rei as she peered closely at one of the girls, who went
to her school. "I think we should 'clean up' after them. I don't want to
leave any doors open to the evil they were trying to bring here," she
added.
Together they joined forces and recited, "Fire, wind, and water cleanse.
Evil depart."
"Silence return," finished Hotaru.
As the would be sorcerers awoke, they were greeted by four stern senshi.
Haruka solemnly intoned, "Depart and never repeat this foolishness."
Her attempt to scare some sense into the teenagers was blunted by
Michiru's giggling exclamation, "If it wasn't for us, that youma would
have drained your energy and then had your sorry butts for breakfast."
Rei added, "Get the 'hell' out of here and if we ever hear about you doing
this stuff again, I'll come and roast you myself."
As the seven frightened 'victims' scurried out of the warehouse, the
senshi gave in and broke out laughing. "Civilians!" exclaimed Rei. "Like
magical powers are some kind of kid's toy. There are too many stupid TV
shows with magic these days."
Hotaru gave a rare smile, "Don't forget all the movies and cartoons too!"
The voice of the monitoring "Princess" came from above them, "I'll second
that. All the evil aura is gone. You 'guys' should go on home and try
and get some more sleep. Oh, never mind, my 'guy' just made it home.
Bye!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Awe come on, you know you want to go. It's a beautiful clear day and
should be all weekend too," Darien wheedled. "I'm off work for once. It
might be the last chance to get away by ourselves for a long time," he
tried playing his trump card.
Serena stood regarding herself in the full-length mirror. "But I look
like a blimp."
"So what. Nobody there will know you but me and I like how you look,"
Darien said as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
"See I can still reach all the way around," he teased.
"Oh you're just awful!" she complained as she shoved him backwards and he
collapsed on the bed. His carefully sorted piles for the trip fell in a
jumbled mess on the floor. He looked up at her expectantly. "What?" she
snapped in response to his silent, questioning look.
Darien grinned and asked hopefully, "Aren't you going to have your way
with me?"
Surprised, Serena answered, "Whatever gave you that idea?"
"Well the last time you threw me on the bed, that's what you wanted," he
explained.
"You remember that? That was at least three months ago," she exclaimed.
"Well you obviously remembered it, as you just pointed out. Why shouldn't
I?" he countered.
"Don't get your hopes up. What were we talking about anyway?" she asked.
"We were getting ready to go to the beach house I rented for the weekend,"
he reminded her.
"I don't have anything to wear," she protested, trying a different tactic.
"Wrong again," Darien announced. Digging under the bed, he pulled out a
large box. "You forgot the clothes the magazine gave you when you did the
resort holiday spread. They should just about fit now. They were too big
before." He held up a couple of swimsuits, a tennis dress, some shorts
outfits, and an after-five dress. "See, plenty of clothes to wear."
"But I never liked that stuff anyway. Those swimsuits look like something
my grandma would wear," Serena whined.
"Promise me you won't beat me up if I say it," Darien smirked.
"Oh go ahead. I can tell you're dying to try whatever new insult you've
dreamed up," she answered resignedly.
"Actually I don't have to say anything. You judge for yourself," he threw
over his shoulder as he rummaged through her underwear drawer. Fishing
out her string bikini from their honeymoon, he dangled both the bikini and
the matronly swim dress in front of her mirror. "Which one do you want to
be seen in this weekend at the beach?"
"I never said I was going," she countered.
"Oh well, maybe Rei and Chad would like to go with me instead. You can
stay home and buy all the supplies you need to start school on Monday.
I'll just lie around on the beach and watch all the girls, uh, scenery,"
Darien needled.
"Ugh, how can you mention school. I don't want to think about it. And
you're not watching anything without me there to make sure you behave. I
give up. I'll go. I hope you're happy," she pouted.
"You bet," Darien agreed happily.
Later that evening, the unpacking done and the remains of their fast food
dinner put away, Serena collapsed wearily on the couch. "What do you want
to do now? I vote for sleeping."
"We can't just go right to sleep after all that greasy food. In about
thirty minutes you'll be complaining about heartburn," Darien practically
pointed out. "You need to stay up for a while. It's too soon to go
swimming. How about we go for a stroll on the beach?"
"But I'm too tired," Serena complained.
"You were sitting for hours in the car. You can use the fresh air and
need to move around some. Come on, you'll feel better. You know the
doctor said you should walk some every day if you could," he countered.
Serena smiled, "Meow. Luna, did you use the disguise pen and turn
yourself into Darien? You sound just like her."
"Nah. She's staying at Mina's house with Artemis. Even I like a break
from the nagging sometimes," he admitted. "So go change into your
swimsuit, Grandma. If you don't want to walk on the beach, we can go the
other way and look at the shops on the boardwalk. They're all closed
though."
"We can go down the beach tonight. We can go look at the shops tomorrow
after we go to a restaurant for lunch. You didn't think I was planning on
doing a lot of cooking did you? We are supposed to be on vacation,"
Serena teased back.
They strolled along hand in hand not heading any particular place. The
sun had just set and the sky was darkening. The cooling breeze blew
inland from the sea. "Do you want to head back? It's getting cooler."
Darien asked.
"No it's nice. I like the quiet, the sound of the waves, the gull cries
and all. I can stop thinking and worrying," Serena let slip.
"That's partly why I wanted you to come this weekend. You've seemed kind
of upset and tense lately and you wouldn't tell me what was bothering you.
Even when you've shut off the link some of it still leaks through. I may
not be as good at reading you as you are at reading me, but even I can
tell something's wrong. What is it darling? Tell me," he said turning
toward her, concern visible in his expression.
Serena hesitated and her eyes filled with tears. "It's silly, I don't
have anything to be upset about."
"Just tell me, I promise I won't laugh at you," he said and stroked the
side of her face.
"I've been lonely and scared and there hasn't been anyone to talk to about
it. All my friends have been gone all month. You've been working all the
time. I really try to act mature and grown up but I'm not!" and she broke
down and burst into tears.
Darien dragged her in closer and eased them both down to sit on the sand.
This looked to be a long session, he could tell she needed to cry herself
out. Until she was through and calmer what she really needed from him was
just to be held.
"All my friends got to go somewhere and have fun. I was stuck at home by
myself getting bigger and bigger. They're going to laugh at me at school.
I look like a cow. All these women keep telling me all these horrible
stories about how hard and awful it was when they had babies," she cried.
"It's okay. It will be all right," he soothed, stroking her back.
"No, it won't! I never even got to be a normal teenager at all with
Sailor Moon and all and now I have to be the Mom! I can't do it. I'm
scared of having babies. I'm afraid I'll screw up and ruin their lives
like I do so many things. It won't be like Rini, she was a pain but she
was older and could talk and understand me. There will be two little
bitty helpless babies. I don't know what to do," Serena sobbed.
Darien rocked her; he could do nothing else. He had no idea at all how to
'fix' this. "Haven't you talked to any friends with kids?" he asked.
"You know all my friends. None of them know any of this stuff," she
answered.
"Could you talk to your Mom?" he asked desperately. Serena looked like
she was going to start the wailing again.
"She wouldn't understand. She's old. How can she remember what any of it
was like?" she sniffled.
"What about one of Andrew's sisters? Maybe one of them could tell you
what it's really like without trying to scare you. Who are these women
who tell you all this stuff anyway?" he asked.
"It could be anybody. The women in the doctor's waiting room, in line at
the supermarket, at the mall, they all just come up to me and start asking
me questions and telling me their horrible stories," she explained.
Darien sighed. "I'll be with you. I know most of this falls on you right
now, and it will when they're little too. I don't know much about little
kids either, except what I've read in books. You know I never got to be a
kid much myself. I'm scared sometimes too." He was getting depressed
himself.
Serena said, "I'm sorry I'm being such a baby."
"Hey, it's okay. You needed to cry. You can talk to me you know. If you
tell me you just want me to listen, I'll try not to jump right in and try
to 'fix' it," he offered.
Serena giggled, "You do that! I didn't think you realized it." Sobering,
"I've never even seen a baby born except those awful films in health
class. You have though."
Darien squirmed a little, "Well yeah, we had to observe several deliveries
in school. I assisted with a few more in the paramedic training I took
over the last two summers for work. I even had to deliver a couple when
it was too late for the ambulance to make it to the hospital. You never
really seemed to want to talk about this before. You always changed the
subject and would wander off when I tried to ask you about it or what you
wanted to do for the delivery."
"It made me nervous even to think about it. I was embarrassed I don't
know anything. I never even read the books you and the doctor gave me,"
she finally admitted and started crying again.
While Serena continued to cry, Darien tried to think of something to say
without making her more upset, even though his first response was to want
to yell at her. He was getting a little better at controlling his urge
toward sarcasm and cutting remarks. "It's really not horrible or awful
like those women said. But I won't lie, parts of it do seem pretty
painful and some stuff just looks gross. But it's really cool when
they're done; everybody is so happy and excited. And cesarean babies even
change color from kind of bluish to pinkish." He enthusiastically began
to describe that procedure.
"Okay that's enough, I don't think I want to know any more about that,"
Serena protested looking slightly nauseous.
Noticing Serena shiver, Darien said, "Why don't we go back? It's getting
a little chilly. I'll help you up." He offered her his hand.
Not seeing Serena's evil look, he started to pull her up, when she let go.
He tumbled backwards, landing awkwardly on his rear. Her peals of
laughter rang out, "Oh you looked so surprised. That was so funny."
"Funny is it?" he mock growled and lunged toward her, all fingers
extended. He tickled her until she squealed and begged for mercy. Serena
tried retaliating but he refused to laugh or even smile. "Oh why can't
you be as ticklish as I am. You're no fun. Now I'm all sandy and my hair
is all dirty too," she complained.
"I could carry you out into the surf and dunk you so you could wash off.
It is kind of cold though," Darien offered 'helpfully'.
"I'll pass. I get the first shower though," she called.
Darien grinned, "Don't you want to share?"
"No!" Serena answered resolutely as she stomped back toward their beach
house.
She stifled giggles as she heard him call plaintively after her, "Don't
you want me? You don't love me any more." A sound like a whimpering
puppy followed her all the way back to the beach house.
Serena was wrapped in a warm terry robe and toweling her hair dry in front
of the small fireplace in the lounge area. "Where are all the towels?"
yelled Darien from the bathroom.
"There was a pile on the counter," she called back to him. "Oops, I think
I have them all."
"I think you did that on purpose," he said as came over to retrieve one
for himself, stopping to flick water on Serena in retaliation for stealing
all the towels. "Do you want me to brush your hair?" Darien asked as he
finished drying his own.
"Sure. Um, don't you want a robe or some shorts or something?" she asked,
turning to look at him curiously and continuing to regard him with
interest.
"Naw, I like that look in your eyes. Besides you haven't been paying much
attention to me that way lately. Did your doctor say anything about
having to stop, ah you know . . .? Or maybe you just don't feel like it,
I mean that's okay, if that's what you want," Darien continued awkwardly.
"She said there's no reason I can't do what I feel like, just not to put
any weight on my stomach, or get too wild," Serena answered. She blushed
as she said uncertainly, "I thought maybe with the way I look now you
wouldn't anything to do with me."
Darien laughed, "Darling, you should know me better than that by now.
I'll love you through thick or thin." He took away her hairbrush and
tossed it aside, pulled the robe back off her shoulders and dropped it on
the floor, no longer needed.
By: Reba Jean, Mar. 25, 2002
E-mail: rjean@ghg.net
Rating: PG13/R
Genre: Romance/comedy
Disclaimer: Characters are based on Sailor Moon copyright 1992
by Naoko Takeuchi/Kodansha, TOEI Animation, English language
adaptation copyright 1995 by DIC Entertainment. This story is
not intended for monetary gain or tangible profit, but purely
for entertainment of the readers.
Notes: This is an alternate storyline. Names are a mix of English and
Japanese versions.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Beep. Beep. Beep. "Serena, answer your communicator!" complained
the exhausted Darien. He had just gotten to sleep after staying up late
studying.
"Ungh," moaned the large, blanket covered lump.
"Ow! Damn it! Where did you put that thing?" yelled Darien as his feet
tangled in Serena's robe on the floor and his face met the carpet.
Pinpointing the annoying beeping to a pile of junk on her vanity, he began
digging for it. "What do you do with all this crap?" he asked
rhetorically. "Got it! What is it, Rei? This had better be important;
it's 4 A. M.," Darien growled at the girl's image silhouetted by the fire
behind her.
"Can't drag her highness' lazy butt out of bed, huh?" smirked Rei.
"Serena's not being lazy. She's tired all the time these days; the heat's
hard on her. Her back's been bothering her too. And as soon as we get to
sleep, I swear the two inside start playing and kicking. If she's against
me, they wake ME up!" Darien vented.
"Whatever. I just picked up a large amount of negative energy while I was
reading the great fire. It looks like something materialized in an old
warehouse down near the docks. There were several bodies in black robes
scattered around the floor," Rei informed him.
"Oh, yeah. Senshi business. You and me are it unless the outers are back
in town. Everyone else is still off on vacation," he mused distractedly.
"I'm way ahead of you, Cape Boy. Haruka, Michiru, and Hotaru are already
on the way there. Pluto's off somewhere in or out of time, out of reach.
Wake up Serena and get her to monitor with the Imperium Silver Crystal for
us. Boy, you're slow today!"
"Okay, okay. I'll be there in a few minutes. Leave on the locator beacon
so I can find you," Darien answered.
"Honey, wake up! We need you, princess," Darien said, shaking Serena
gently. He saw that her eyes were open as she sat up slowly. He
transformed to Tuxedo Mask while she watched bemusedly.
"What's going on?" Serena finally asked.
"Rei called. There's been some kind of negative energy attack. She and
the outers are on the way there. We need you to monitor in case we need
help from the 'Princess'. I've got to go now," Darien summarized.
Serena grabbed his cape and pulled him back into her embrace. She kissed
him briefly. "Be careful. I love you. I want you back alive and whole,"
she ordered.
"I love you too. Watch out for us," Tuxedo Mask answered as he leaped off
the balcony and headed off toward the east side of town.
Rei ran toward the group circling the large glowing green amorphous shape
at the back of the warehouse. In concert the Outers attacked:
World Shaking
Deep Submerge
Silence Glaive Surprise.
As the simultaneous attacks hit the youma, the green light flared
blindingly and there was a tremendous explosion. Green dust floated
gently toward the floor. Green ectoplasm splattered in all directions.
Rei arrived just in time to be plastered along with Haruka, Michiru, and
Hotaru.
Tuxedo Mask watched from his second story perch on the fire escape exit
out of reach. His garments remained unsoiled to his fastidious
satisfaction. He laughed at the girls' disgusted exclamations.
"Wonderful job ladies," he extended his customary kudos.
"I didn't see you hurrying to help," yelled back Haruka. "Just like a man
to sit back and leave all the dirty work to the women."
"Where's Serena?" asked Hotaru.
"She's back at home monitoring through the Crystal," answered Tuxedo Mask.
Tuxedo Mask hastily climbed back out the window through which he had
entered. "I'll be leaving now," he yelled as he retreated, before the two
senshi with the villainous expressions could corner him. Rei and Haruka
stopped midway in their climb toward the second floor, dropping their
globs of the disgusting goo. Unlike the youma, he had escaped their wrath
once more unscathed.
Rei turned her attention to the scene in the warehouse. Seven black robed
bodies were scattered around the room in a rough circle around a pentagram
drawn in blood on the floor. Black candles burned low at the star's
points and what looked like a small bloody fur lay in the center. Various
mystical symbols were inscribed on the floor near each body. "What a
bunch of idiots. They were trying some western black magic ritual.
They're lucky they only got a left over youma and not what they were
trying to summon."
The girls pulled back the hoods from each victim's face. "Hey this guy
looks familiar," said Michiru. "I think he used to go to our school."
"And this girl here sure isn't the good little C-school girl she pretends
to be," announced Rei as she peered closely at one of the girls, who went
to her school. "I think we should 'clean up' after them. I don't want to
leave any doors open to the evil they were trying to bring here," she
added.
Together they joined forces and recited, "Fire, wind, and water cleanse.
Evil depart."
"Silence return," finished Hotaru.
As the would be sorcerers awoke, they were greeted by four stern senshi.
Haruka solemnly intoned, "Depart and never repeat this foolishness."
Her attempt to scare some sense into the teenagers was blunted by
Michiru's giggling exclamation, "If it wasn't for us, that youma would
have drained your energy and then had your sorry butts for breakfast."
Rei added, "Get the 'hell' out of here and if we ever hear about you doing
this stuff again, I'll come and roast you myself."
As the seven frightened 'victims' scurried out of the warehouse, the
senshi gave in and broke out laughing. "Civilians!" exclaimed Rei. "Like
magical powers are some kind of kid's toy. There are too many stupid TV
shows with magic these days."
Hotaru gave a rare smile, "Don't forget all the movies and cartoons too!"
The voice of the monitoring "Princess" came from above them, "I'll second
that. All the evil aura is gone. You 'guys' should go on home and try
and get some more sleep. Oh, never mind, my 'guy' just made it home.
Bye!"
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Awe come on, you know you want to go. It's a beautiful clear day and
should be all weekend too," Darien wheedled. "I'm off work for once. It
might be the last chance to get away by ourselves for a long time," he
tried playing his trump card.
Serena stood regarding herself in the full-length mirror. "But I look
like a blimp."
"So what. Nobody there will know you but me and I like how you look,"
Darien said as he came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.
"See I can still reach all the way around," he teased.
"Oh you're just awful!" she complained as she shoved him backwards and he
collapsed on the bed. His carefully sorted piles for the trip fell in a
jumbled mess on the floor. He looked up at her expectantly. "What?" she
snapped in response to his silent, questioning look.
Darien grinned and asked hopefully, "Aren't you going to have your way
with me?"
Surprised, Serena answered, "Whatever gave you that idea?"
"Well the last time you threw me on the bed, that's what you wanted," he
explained.
"You remember that? That was at least three months ago," she exclaimed.
"Well you obviously remembered it, as you just pointed out. Why shouldn't
I?" he countered.
"Don't get your hopes up. What were we talking about anyway?" she asked.
"We were getting ready to go to the beach house I rented for the weekend,"
he reminded her.
"I don't have anything to wear," she protested, trying a different tactic.
"Wrong again," Darien announced. Digging under the bed, he pulled out a
large box. "You forgot the clothes the magazine gave you when you did the
resort holiday spread. They should just about fit now. They were too big
before." He held up a couple of swimsuits, a tennis dress, some shorts
outfits, and an after-five dress. "See, plenty of clothes to wear."
"But I never liked that stuff anyway. Those swimsuits look like something
my grandma would wear," Serena whined.
"Promise me you won't beat me up if I say it," Darien smirked.
"Oh go ahead. I can tell you're dying to try whatever new insult you've
dreamed up," she answered resignedly.
"Actually I don't have to say anything. You judge for yourself," he threw
over his shoulder as he rummaged through her underwear drawer. Fishing
out her string bikini from their honeymoon, he dangled both the bikini and
the matronly swim dress in front of her mirror. "Which one do you want to
be seen in this weekend at the beach?"
"I never said I was going," she countered.
"Oh well, maybe Rei and Chad would like to go with me instead. You can
stay home and buy all the supplies you need to start school on Monday.
I'll just lie around on the beach and watch all the girls, uh, scenery,"
Darien needled.
"Ugh, how can you mention school. I don't want to think about it. And
you're not watching anything without me there to make sure you behave. I
give up. I'll go. I hope you're happy," she pouted.
"You bet," Darien agreed happily.
Later that evening, the unpacking done and the remains of their fast food
dinner put away, Serena collapsed wearily on the couch. "What do you want
to do now? I vote for sleeping."
"We can't just go right to sleep after all that greasy food. In about
thirty minutes you'll be complaining about heartburn," Darien practically
pointed out. "You need to stay up for a while. It's too soon to go
swimming. How about we go for a stroll on the beach?"
"But I'm too tired," Serena complained.
"You were sitting for hours in the car. You can use the fresh air and
need to move around some. Come on, you'll feel better. You know the
doctor said you should walk some every day if you could," he countered.
Serena smiled, "Meow. Luna, did you use the disguise pen and turn
yourself into Darien? You sound just like her."
"Nah. She's staying at Mina's house with Artemis. Even I like a break
from the nagging sometimes," he admitted. "So go change into your
swimsuit, Grandma. If you don't want to walk on the beach, we can go the
other way and look at the shops on the boardwalk. They're all closed
though."
"We can go down the beach tonight. We can go look at the shops tomorrow
after we go to a restaurant for lunch. You didn't think I was planning on
doing a lot of cooking did you? We are supposed to be on vacation,"
Serena teased back.
They strolled along hand in hand not heading any particular place. The
sun had just set and the sky was darkening. The cooling breeze blew
inland from the sea. "Do you want to head back? It's getting cooler."
Darien asked.
"No it's nice. I like the quiet, the sound of the waves, the gull cries
and all. I can stop thinking and worrying," Serena let slip.
"That's partly why I wanted you to come this weekend. You've seemed kind
of upset and tense lately and you wouldn't tell me what was bothering you.
Even when you've shut off the link some of it still leaks through. I may
not be as good at reading you as you are at reading me, but even I can
tell something's wrong. What is it darling? Tell me," he said turning
toward her, concern visible in his expression.
Serena hesitated and her eyes filled with tears. "It's silly, I don't
have anything to be upset about."
"Just tell me, I promise I won't laugh at you," he said and stroked the
side of her face.
"I've been lonely and scared and there hasn't been anyone to talk to about
it. All my friends have been gone all month. You've been working all the
time. I really try to act mature and grown up but I'm not!" and she broke
down and burst into tears.
Darien dragged her in closer and eased them both down to sit on the sand.
This looked to be a long session, he could tell she needed to cry herself
out. Until she was through and calmer what she really needed from him was
just to be held.
"All my friends got to go somewhere and have fun. I was stuck at home by
myself getting bigger and bigger. They're going to laugh at me at school.
I look like a cow. All these women keep telling me all these horrible
stories about how hard and awful it was when they had babies," she cried.
"It's okay. It will be all right," he soothed, stroking her back.
"No, it won't! I never even got to be a normal teenager at all with
Sailor Moon and all and now I have to be the Mom! I can't do it. I'm
scared of having babies. I'm afraid I'll screw up and ruin their lives
like I do so many things. It won't be like Rini, she was a pain but she
was older and could talk and understand me. There will be two little
bitty helpless babies. I don't know what to do," Serena sobbed.
Darien rocked her; he could do nothing else. He had no idea at all how to
'fix' this. "Haven't you talked to any friends with kids?" he asked.
"You know all my friends. None of them know any of this stuff," she
answered.
"Could you talk to your Mom?" he asked desperately. Serena looked like
she was going to start the wailing again.
"She wouldn't understand. She's old. How can she remember what any of it
was like?" she sniffled.
"What about one of Andrew's sisters? Maybe one of them could tell you
what it's really like without trying to scare you. Who are these women
who tell you all this stuff anyway?" he asked.
"It could be anybody. The women in the doctor's waiting room, in line at
the supermarket, at the mall, they all just come up to me and start asking
me questions and telling me their horrible stories," she explained.
Darien sighed. "I'll be with you. I know most of this falls on you right
now, and it will when they're little too. I don't know much about little
kids either, except what I've read in books. You know I never got to be a
kid much myself. I'm scared sometimes too." He was getting depressed
himself.
Serena said, "I'm sorry I'm being such a baby."
"Hey, it's okay. You needed to cry. You can talk to me you know. If you
tell me you just want me to listen, I'll try not to jump right in and try
to 'fix' it," he offered.
Serena giggled, "You do that! I didn't think you realized it." Sobering,
"I've never even seen a baby born except those awful films in health
class. You have though."
Darien squirmed a little, "Well yeah, we had to observe several deliveries
in school. I assisted with a few more in the paramedic training I took
over the last two summers for work. I even had to deliver a couple when
it was too late for the ambulance to make it to the hospital. You never
really seemed to want to talk about this before. You always changed the
subject and would wander off when I tried to ask you about it or what you
wanted to do for the delivery."
"It made me nervous even to think about it. I was embarrassed I don't
know anything. I never even read the books you and the doctor gave me,"
she finally admitted and started crying again.
While Serena continued to cry, Darien tried to think of something to say
without making her more upset, even though his first response was to want
to yell at her. He was getting a little better at controlling his urge
toward sarcasm and cutting remarks. "It's really not horrible or awful
like those women said. But I won't lie, parts of it do seem pretty
painful and some stuff just looks gross. But it's really cool when
they're done; everybody is so happy and excited. And cesarean babies even
change color from kind of bluish to pinkish." He enthusiastically began
to describe that procedure.
"Okay that's enough, I don't think I want to know any more about that,"
Serena protested looking slightly nauseous.
Noticing Serena shiver, Darien said, "Why don't we go back? It's getting
a little chilly. I'll help you up." He offered her his hand.
Not seeing Serena's evil look, he started to pull her up, when she let go.
He tumbled backwards, landing awkwardly on his rear. Her peals of
laughter rang out, "Oh you looked so surprised. That was so funny."
"Funny is it?" he mock growled and lunged toward her, all fingers
extended. He tickled her until she squealed and begged for mercy. Serena
tried retaliating but he refused to laugh or even smile. "Oh why can't
you be as ticklish as I am. You're no fun. Now I'm all sandy and my hair
is all dirty too," she complained.
"I could carry you out into the surf and dunk you so you could wash off.
It is kind of cold though," Darien offered 'helpfully'.
"I'll pass. I get the first shower though," she called.
Darien grinned, "Don't you want to share?"
"No!" Serena answered resolutely as she stomped back toward their beach
house.
She stifled giggles as she heard him call plaintively after her, "Don't
you want me? You don't love me any more." A sound like a whimpering
puppy followed her all the way back to the beach house.
Serena was wrapped in a warm terry robe and toweling her hair dry in front
of the small fireplace in the lounge area. "Where are all the towels?"
yelled Darien from the bathroom.
"There was a pile on the counter," she called back to him. "Oops, I think
I have them all."
"I think you did that on purpose," he said as came over to retrieve one
for himself, stopping to flick water on Serena in retaliation for stealing
all the towels. "Do you want me to brush your hair?" Darien asked as he
finished drying his own.
"Sure. Um, don't you want a robe or some shorts or something?" she asked,
turning to look at him curiously and continuing to regard him with
interest.
"Naw, I like that look in your eyes. Besides you haven't been paying much
attention to me that way lately. Did your doctor say anything about
having to stop, ah you know . . .? Or maybe you just don't feel like it,
I mean that's okay, if that's what you want," Darien continued awkwardly.
"She said there's no reason I can't do what I feel like, just not to put
any weight on my stomach, or get too wild," Serena answered. She blushed
as she said uncertainly, "I thought maybe with the way I look now you
wouldn't anything to do with me."
Darien laughed, "Darling, you should know me better than that by now.
I'll love you through thick or thin." He took away her hairbrush and
tossed it aside, pulled the robe back off her shoulders and dropped it on
the floor, no longer needed.