Disclaimers: enter standard disclaimer here.

Cure for a Broken heart 4/5
By Elysia [ely_chan@yahoo.com]
PG

Serena awoke to the sounds of Christmas music filtering throughout the house. She stretched lazily and glanced at her alarm clock, shocked to see how late it was.

She sauntered down the stairs and into the kitchen, where her father was reading his paper, her mother at the stove as usual, and Sammy was digging into a large stack of pancakes.

He looked up at his sleepy-eyed sister. "'Bout time you showed up, Serena. I thought I was going to have to open your gifts for you," he grinned. Serena mussed his hair as she sat down, winning a cry a protest from him. "Just because you're seventeen and you think you know everything, doesn't mean you do, you little imp."

"Yeah, but I come pretty close," he shot back, stuffing a forkful of pancake into his mouth.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Ikuko replied, quickly stopping the rivalry by setting a plate and a tall glass of juice in front of Serena. She sniffed the heavenly aroma of the pancakes. "Yum, Mom, these smell wonderful! Much better than the cold cereal I've been living on for the last few months."

Her mother smiled. "Well, it's good to know that my pancakes can't compare to your cereal." Serena groaned. "Mom, you know what I meant. It's been so long since I had a real breakfast. I never have the time to enjoy what I eat anymore."

"How could you enjoy what you eat anyway? You never take the time to notice, you inhale it so fast," Sammy quipped. She pointed her fork at her brother. "Not another word out of you, twerp, or I'll see to it personally that you won't have anything under that tree," she threatened playfully.

Their father laid the paper down on the table. "Are you two finished, or do we need to continue this in the living room?" Serena and Sammy glanced at each other, simultaneously bolting from the table and ran into the other room, racing each other to the doorway.

For once, Serena stopped as she got to the arched doorway, and gazed slowly around the beautifully decorated room. Around the holidays, decorating the living room was her mother's pride and joy. The tree Sammy and her father picked out this year was a full noble pine, peeking out from its corner into the large bay window.

All the ornaments from her childhood--and some new ones this year--hung from the delicate branches of the tree. The tiny lights swarmed around the tree, and made each ornament sparkle and shine like crystal.

Serena's eyes shined as she took everything in. As her parents entered the room, she realized once again what a blessing it was to have such a caring family—even Sammy, the little nuisance he was. But she wouldn't trade them for all the presents in the world.

She joined her parents on the sofa, watching as her brother stared at the neatly wrapped presents placed beneath the tree. He began to sort out the gifts one by one to everyone until they all had a small pile of their own. This was a tradition her family started when she was very young, continuing as she and Sammy grew older.

They unceremoniously unwrapped their presents, Serena's pile consisting more of clothes and basic things she needed around her apartment, compared to Sammy's hi-tech gear, like his new pair of rollerblades.

"All right!" Sammy exclaimed as he unwrapped his last gift. "TombRaider III! I've been wanting this forever! Thanks Mom!"

Serena grinned at his enthusiasm. She helped her mother pick that present out while they had gone shopping for her dress two weeks ago. That trip brought memories back to the surface, especially what transpired between her and Darien. Why did she feel so different around him? She thought she could never think of anyone the same way after Ben, and yet... it didn't seem that way at all. But there was nothing she do about it, since she was returning to school. It was just better to put it behind her.

"Serena?" Ikuko's voice snapped her out of her thoughts. "It's your turn, sweetie."

"Oh," she replied, reaching for the small plain package that was the last of her pile. She turned it over, looking for a tag, but found none. "Mom? Who's this from?"

Ikuko's eyes brightened. "That was delivered to the house two days ago, I think. There was no return address, so I just put in under the tree for you."

Puzzled over the present's origin, Serena tore off the wrapping to reveal a small box. She brushed the protective wrapping aside to find a small crystal rose encased beneath a glass dome.

A small piece of paper was tucked inside the box, and Serena eagerly grabbed it, opening it to find a short message scrawled in a not-so-neat handwriting:

"To Serena,

Just a small something to let you know I'm thinking of you. Have a wonderful Christmas.

Your secret admirer."

She looked up from the note, glancing at the gift in her hand again, biting her lip to hold back the tears. She knew very well who her admirer was, which just complicated things for her even more.

******

"Serena, sweetheart, I thought you were going to stay until after New Year's. Why the sudden change of plans?"

Serena looked up from her suitcase to her mother in the bedroom doorway. Her shoulders slumped, and she sat down on the bed. "I--I don't know, Mom. There are a few things I need to get away from right now. It's almost like I don't belong here anymore."

Ikuko walked further into the room and sat next to her daughter. "Of course you belong here. This is your home, and it always will be." She paused momentarily. "Serena, is there something troubling you? Ever since you stopped seeing that nice young man and then with the little gift you received for Christmas, you haven't seemed the same. I haven't seen you smile as much as you used to."

She leaned her head on her mother's shoulder, trying to hold back the flood of tears again. "Mom... what was it like when you and Dad first fell in love?"

Ikuko was taken aback by the question, but said nothing. "Well... when I first met your father, we were just good friends. But as time went by, I knew I didn't want to live without him. The first time he took my hand, there was a certain magic between us, and I knew I'd never find it with anyone else. I didn't want to."

Serena nodded and sat up again, the tears silently running down her cheeks. "Thanks, Mom. That helped me a little, I think."

"Serena, are you in love with this young man?"

"I don't know, really. Darien's different. I feel comfortable with myself around him and there have been a few times when I didn't want to leave. I never felt that way with Ben."

"So what's the trouble?"

Serena sighed deeply. "I guess I'm scared to admit I have feelings for him. He's the one who sent that gift. It was totally unexpected, and it's confused me. I've had my heart broken before, and I don't know if I could put myself in that position again." She stood up again, and closed the cover of her suitcase.

Ikuko stood up now, taking her daughter into a warm embrace. "I love you, Serena. I'll miss you while you're gone, but I want you to be happy." Serena clung to her mother, sobbing openly now, knowing it would be a long time before she would come home again.

******

Darien glanced up at the two-story home, hoping this was the right place, after he had practically begged Ami to tell him where she lived. Hopefully Serena would talk to him after his spur-of-the-moment gift he had sent her. He knocked lightly on the front door.

Ikuko opened the door slowly, and looked at the young man standing on the porch scrupulously. "Can I help you?"

"Yes, I was wondering if this is where Serena Tsukino lives," Darien answered with a slight smile, hoping against all hope that she would be home. "Yes, she does, but she's gone back to school in Hawaii already. She left yesterday."

His head dropped down and his shoulders sagged visibly. She was gone. He had missed her. By one day. One lousy day, and she was half-way across the ocean.

Ikuko studied him for a moment. "You wouldn't happen to be... Darien, by any chance, would you?"

His head shot up. "Yes, I am, but how... ?"

"Serena told me about you. And I saw the gift you gave her. You care for her a great deal, don't you?"

He nodded meekly, somewhat embarrassed to be discussing this with Serena's mother. "I wish I had known you were going to stop by, I could have had her leave you a note or something."

He shook his head, knowing that his chance was long gone. "It's quite all right. If you talk to her in the next couple of days, could you tell her I said hello?"

"I can do better than that. You can contact her yourself."

******

Serena lugged her suitcase up the flight of stairs in her apartment complex, setting them down outside the door. This was not a good day. First, her flight had been late, the food was bad, and a bunch of annoying and rowdy kids yelled and screamed the whole flight. Then, to make things worse, the airport almost lost her luggage and she waited more than an hour to get it back.

She unlocked the door and pushed it open to be greeted by a dark apartment. She looked to her left, and noticed the dim light of the television was the only light on. Two figures with their heads close together were silhouetted by the movie. Right away, Serena knew it was her roommate Jill and her boyfriend, Michael. The two had been inseparable the last few months.

Nothing around here had really changed, except for her. She sighed loudly, and shut the door behind her. "Jill? Michael? I'm back." she called softly.

"Serena? That was a short break," Jill answered, jumping off the couch to hug her roommate.

"Yeah, well, I guess I can never get enough of this place." She craned her neck to glance at Michael, still on the couch, and she gave him a smile and a quick wave. "So how are you two?" Jill held out her right hand excitedly to show off a ring. "We decided on some time in late April, after the semester's over. And I want you to be my maid of honor."

Serena was taken aback by the sudden announcement, although she had been expecting something like it for a long time. And maid of honor! She certainly hadn't expected that. "I don't know what to say, Jill," she responded and hugged her tightly. "I'd be honored to be in your wedding."

Jill grinned. "So, tell me everything about your trip." Serena yawned. "I'd tell you now, but you've still got Michael to entertain and I am absolutely exhausted. I'm just lucky that classes don't start for a couple more days. I'll tell you everything tomorrow."

******

Serena stumbled into the kitchen around ten-thirty, her vision blurred and her blonde hair tousled. Getting used to the time difference again was really hard on her internal clock, and she only got a few good hours of sleep in the night before.

She unconsciously made a bowl of cold cereal and plopped down at the table. Running her fingers through her tangled hair and resting her head on her hand, she sighed loudly. She didn't want to think about the past few weeks, though Christmas was absolutely wonderful.

She looked out the window, her gaze falling upon the rose in the glass dome she had placed in the windowsill after she unpacked. She admitted to herself now that she did indeed care for Darien a great deal, maybe actually love him, even though their time together was so short. All thoughts of Ben finally disappearing. But the chances of ever seeing Darien again were practically impossible. She wouldn't be going home for a while. What could happen in that amount of time?

While she finished her cereal, Jill breezed through the door from her breakfast with Michael, and threw her purse on the couch. She took one look at Serena, and her eyes widened. "Whoa, girl, you like a two-ton truck just ran you over."

Serena pulled her gaze away from the window, and cracked a smile at her roommate. "I feel like it. I have to readjust myself to the time change, I guess."

Jill straddled the other kitchen chair and watched Serena for a moment. "So, are you going to tell me all about your adventures back in Tokyo, or should I call back that truck and drag them out of you?" she threatened playfully.

"All right, all right, you convinced me," she laughed.

"Was your Christmas good?"

Serena nodded. "It was wonderful to see my family."

Jill grinned devilishly. "Did you meet anyone?"

Serena sobered immediately and looked away. What else was there for her to talk about? "Yes," she replied, planning to leave it at that. But Jill wouldn't be dissuaded so easily. "Well? Don't hold back on me, girl! Tell me everything! Is he good-looking? Do you like him?"

She sighed deeply. "I don't know where to start. I'm still having problems determining how I feel. It's taken me a long time to realize I don't need Ben any more, and now it doesn't help knowing I had to leave Darien behind." She proceeded to tell her the rest of the story of what had happened between them.

Jill leaned forward, placing a hand on Serena's arm. "You've got a tough situation, but I do know how you feel. It took me months before I realized how much I actually loved Michael, and knew I my life wouldn't be the same without him."

Serena's head shot up. Those were like the words her mother had told her before she had left. Maybe... there was hope for her after all. But would she ever see Darien again?