Disclaimers: yes. no. no. yes. mine. no. (make of that what you will.)
Cure for a Broken heart 2/5
By Elysia [ely_chan@yahoo.com]
PG
Serena and Ami stood in the middle of the hospital wing, one clad in a white lab coat and the other in everyday street clothes. "So where would you like to go first?" Ami questioned, ready to lead the way. Serena thought about for a moment, then knew her answer. "The nursery. I love looking in at all the newborn babies."
Ami grinned broadly. "All right, the nursery it is."
******
"Ohh," Serena breathed softly, pressing her fingers to the glass window of the nursery. "They're so tiny," she sighed.
Ami leaned against the wall. "Aren't they adorable? I come here a lot, mostly when I'm aggravated or just need time to myself. When I look in at these little ones without a care in the world, it's impossible for me not to smile."
"I wonder what they could say if they could talk," Serena replied quietly, tracing the glass pattern on the window. Ami was thoughtful. "I'm sure they'd have plenty to tell us if--" The shrill sound of her beeper suddenly going off interrupted her. "Oh dear," she sighed, "I knew this would go off sooner or later."
Serena glanced at her friend. "What's the matter, Ami?"
"Right now, I'm on call in the pediatrics ward and some of the regulars haven't come in yet, or they're on vacation. So it's up to me to check on a few patients." She shook her head in exasperation. "C'mon, Serena," she said, pulling her friend away from the nursery window, "Let's go see what the big fuss is all about."
******
Ami entered one of the first rooms in the pediatric ward, Serena following close behind. She tapped a nurse on the shoulder. "What seems to be the problem?" The nurse turned to Ami, a look of joy on her face. "Oh, Ami, thank goodness you're here. It seems that one of the patients has to have a shot or two and she's terrified of them. No one can calm her down."
"Who's her regular pediatrician?"
The nurse checked her chart. "Dr. Chiba, but he's not scheduled to be in for another half hour. We paged him, then you, since you were on call." Ami took the clipboard from the nurse. "Well, maybe I can do something until he gets here." Before she could make her way over to the patient, Serena whispered in her ear. "Ami, what's going on?"
"The little girl crying over there has a severe case of strep throat and she has to have regular shots of penicillin to keep it under control. Problem is, she can't stand them, so she throws a mean tantrum when she has to have them. Her doctor, Dr. Chiba, is one of the few that can get her to sit still during the shot, but he won't be here for a while."
Serena glanced over at the little girl, then back at Ami. "Get the shot ready. I want to try something my mother used on me when I used to go to the doctor's office."
Leaving a puzzled Ami behind, she walked over to the bedside of the girl, and sat down on the edge of it. "Hi," she said brightly, "my name's Serena. What's yours?"
"S-Sara," she replied between sobs, big crocodile tears streaming down her face.
Serena picked up a stuffed cat at the foot of the bed, and placed it on the girl's knees. "Well, Sara," she said, talking for the cat, "you know that the doctor has to give you a shot so you'll get better, right?"
"Uh-huh, but it hurts! " the little girl whimpered loudly.
From behind her back, she motioned with a hand to Ami to get the shot ready. Pretending like nothing was going on, she continued her role-play with the toy. "Yeah, I know, so how 'bout we sing a song?"
Sara scrunched up her face with a smile. "Okay." Serena started into "Jingle Bells," making the cat sing along as well. As Sara joined in, Ami gave her the shot without her noticing one bit. Stepping away from the bed, Ami glanced over her shoulder and noticed a new person standing in the doorway observing the commotion. She just smiled at him, saying nothing.
When they came to the end of the song, Serena gave the little girl a knowing smile. "Guess what, Sara?"
"What?"
"The doctor just gave you your shot."
Sara's eyes widened in shock and surprise. "But... but I didn't feel it!"
Serena stood up from the bed, and smiled warmly at the little girl. "It wasn't that bad, now was it?" she replied, giving Sara a quick hug.
She walked back over to Ami standing in the doorway. She just grinned and crossed her arms in front of her. "My mother always used that on me and my brother, from taking nasty medicine to trips to the doctor's office. And it always worked."
"I'm amazed. Not many people can calm Sara down when it's time for her to get her shots," Ami replied. She turned to the man standing next to her. "Speaking of which, Serena, I'd like to introduce you to Dr. Darien Chiba, head of the pediatrics ward and Sara's doctor. Darien, this is Serena Tsukino, one of my very good friends."
Serena stuck out her hand, and gave him a friendly smile. "I'm pleased to meet you, Dr. Chiba." He grasped her hand firmly. "My pleasure. Sara doesn't take to strangers too easily. I'm very impressed. Do you work with kids often?"
She blushed, shaking her head. "I taught preschool during my first year of college, but that was it."
Darien nodded his head thoughtfully. "So, what do you do now?" Serena grinned bashfully. "Still in college, I'm afraid. But I'll be receiving my degree in April. I can't wait."
He chuckled lightly. "I remember that same feeling. I--" His beeper went off suddenly. "Well, I better go make the rounds and see who needs what. It was very nice to meet you, Serena."
"You too, Dr. Chiba."
He held up his hand. "Please, just Darien. Only my patients have to be formal," he replied with a smile, as he went down the hallway towards the rest of the ward, his tennis shoes faintly squeaking on the tile floor. Serena grinned. "Well, Ami, it looks like you get to work with some interesting people around here. Squeaky shoes and all."
Ami laughed merrily. "Yes, it certainly has its high and low points." Her eyes suddenly lit up. "Hey, Serena, I just had a wonderful idea. Why don't you double with me and Greg some night? I think you and Darien would really hit it off." Serena's eyes widened, and she hesitated answering. "I-I don't know, Ami. I've just come out of a relationship, and this seems sudden to me. I don't think I'm quite ready to start dating again."
Ami placed a hand on Serena's arm, looking at her imploringly. "This is just what you need to get your mind off of your breakup. It'll just be dinner or something simple. Besides, you'll be with Greg and me, so it won't be too awkward."
Serena shuffled her feet. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad, since they wouldn't be by themselves or anything. "Well... I guess so. Just something simple, though."
"Great!" Ami exclaimed. "I'll talk to Darien later and then I'll give you a call to let you know the details."
"What in the world have I gotten myself into?" Serena thought to herself.
******
She stared blankly into her closet, having no idea what to wear tonight. After Ami's phone call last night Serena was somewhat nervous for tonight, but at the same time a small part of her was filled with excitement.
The plan Ami relayed to her over the phone was simple: the four of them were to attend the hospital's annual Christmas ball. As she glanced further into her closet, she sighed as she realized the last time she had last gone to a fancy dance was when... well, she knew exactly when and who she had been with, but that was a memory she longed to put behind her.
Her eye caught a piece of clothing at the very back of her closet. One of her old holiday dresses she didn't bother taking to college, she guessed. Serena pulled it out, held the dress up to her and glanced in the full-length mirror, a smile crossing her lips. Yes, this was the perfect dress for tonight.
******
Serena stood against in the hallway of the banquet room, the designated place where to she agreed to meet Ami, Greg, and Dr. Chiba--no, Darien, her date. She smiled inwardly. This was certainly the last place she expected to find herself during vacation and with a date, no less. As hard as it was for her to forget Ben, being in this place seemed to help.
She was extremely nervous since there were so many new people around her that she didn't know. More than anything she wanted to create a good impression of herself, especially for her date. At first glance, Darien was pleasant and definitely nice looking, but that was only on the outside. Serena had absolutely no idea what kind of a person he was on the inside.
"Serena, there you are! Have you been waiting long?" Ami, with her arm linked with her husband's, approached her with an unusually quiet Darien following closely behind. Serena put on her best smile, shoving down all her negative thoughts. "Not really," she smiled.
Ami removed her hand from Greg's, pulling Darien forward to face Serena. "You remember Darien, don't you?"
"Of course." A small smile formed on his lips, signifying to both of them that everything would be fine tonight. "Serena, I must say, you look absolutely beautiful this evening." He took her delicate hand in his, brought it to his lips and gently kissed it. Serena blushed lightly. She glanced into his eyes, her fingers slowly falling away from his palm.
Ami glanced at both of her friends, a sly grin flickering on her face. She tugged on her husband's arm. "C'mon, Greg," she whispered, "let's leave them alone." The two of them walked off, leaving Darien and a very dazed Serena still standing in the corner.
Darien watched them walk away, then leaned over to her again. "So... would you like to dance?" he said in a low whisper. She looked down at her feet. "Well... to be honest, I don't dance very well," she admitted.
He grinned again, sheepishly this time. "Truthfully, neither can I. So what do you say we just do what we can and fake the rest?"
Serena was caught off guard by his candid reply. She grinned, holding out her hand. "Well then, I'd love to dance."
He took her hand eagerly and led her out onto the floor just as a slow song was beginning. Serena placed her hand on his shoulder, marveling at his warm touch around her waist. Never had she ever felt this comfortable around anyone. Not even Ben.
Serena started to giggle. Darien leaned down to look at her. "What's so funny?"
"The song. Have you been listening to it?"
"No, not really. What song is it?"
"'Lady in Red,'" she giggled again.
Darien stared her for a moment, then finally realized why she was laughing so much. "Oh, now I see," referring to her dress. "So you want to be the lady in red, do you?" He twirled her around suddenly, pulling her slightly closer to him. Serena tensed but relaxed as Darien hummed along with the tune, then started to whisper the words to her as they slowly danced around the room. For once, she didn't want to escape. What was she feeling?
******
"So, Serena..." Ami trailed off, implying more than she was saying. She didn't want to dig into her friend's personal life, but she couldn't help being curious.
Serena glanced at Ami across the refreshment table. "What?" Ami didn't reply, only raised her eyebrow. "What?!?" she asked again.
"Don't give me that, Serena. I was watching you with Darien. So, do you like him?"
Serena blushed momentarily. "He's... very nice."
"Is that all?"
She set her cup down on the edge of the table. "Give me a break, Ami. I barely know him, so you can't really expect me to know already."
Ami smiled easily. "You're right, Serena. I guess I just want to see two of my good friends happy." Her smile suddenly grew larger. Serena was about to ask her why, when she felt a soft hand on her waist. She whirled around, finding herself staring into a pair of deep sapphire eyes.
"I didn't mean to startle you so, Serena. I was just wondering if you'd like to dance again," Darien asked hopefully. Serena's face softened, knowing she couldn't turn him down. He was really a good dancer, no matter how much he claimed he couldn't. She slipped her hand in his and let him lead her out onto the floor once again.
******
"Serena, I had such a fun time with you tonight," Darien replied softly, taking her hand in his. She smiled, blushing at the same time. She had enjoyed tonight as much as he had, if not more. "I was hoping..." he trailed off, "... if you'd like to do something with me again sometime. Just the two of us."
Her eyes widened. Another date? Alone? With him? Something like that was completely ridiculous. There was no way she'd do this to herself again. Too many memories pained her; it was so out of the question...
"I'd like that, Darien."
What was she thinking? Did she just agree to go out with him a second time?
His grin widened and he squeezed her hand. "Wonderful. I'll give you a call tomorrow night, is that all right?"
"Um-hmm," Serena mumbled, still dumbfounded at the words that had slipped from her mouth. What had she gotten herself into this time?
