Shady Business by Silver MoonAngel @ AI and ASMR
Carley MoonAngel @ FF.Net
--------------------------------------------------------------------
STANDARD DISCLAIMER APPLIES
--------------------------------------------------------------------
AN: This is the second, EDITED, version of Shady Business. I'm
still going to be writing the first version we all know and love
(well, at least I do) and taking suggestions to revise it and create
this one!
Also, some new elements are going to be introduced, but it will only
prove to enhance it (I hope).
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter Thirteen - Finally Home
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Serena woke up a few hours later, Diamond still smiling smugly
at her and sitting in the chair, she was tied to earlier. She
smiled at him and politely asked, "Will you let me go to the
bathroom?"
He smiled at her and said, "I may just make you hold it."
She glared at him, then asked, "Could you get me a breast pump
then? I'm nursing two babies and my breasts are hurting like hell."
Satisfied to see him visibly gulp, she laid her head back and
started to think of a way to get the hell out of there. She looked
toward a window high in the wall and thought, 'Come and save me,
Darien.'
Diamond watched her as she plotted and planned. She had grown
after she had left him, in many ways. He had watched her from afar
and had to hold himself back from going to her several times. He
smiled inside, thought of one of the ways she had grown, and it
pleased him. He looked down and smiled; she pleased him very much.
* * *
"Raye, can you sense her at all," Darien asked, holding his
son in the crook of his arms. Carlin had called Galen up and had
him fly in with the twins and Leala. Darien was in awe at the sight
of his children, the children he and Serena had created together.
Darien nuzzled Doran's hair and sighed. He grabbed a bottle and
placed it in his son's mouth as he waited for Raye's answer.
Raye shook her head as gently as she could without waking up
Renata--who was nestled in her arms--and looked at Darien. "She's
just out of reach. You should ask Carlin where she is. She saw the
most detail out of all of us."
Darien reached out and took Carlin's hand. The poor girl had
been in shock since Serena had disappeared, but she seemed to be
coming out of it, now that Galen and Leala were here. She said,
barely above a whisper, "She's in a basement of a house somewhere
nearby. He couldn't have gone too far." She turned to look back at
Doran and said, "Oh my."
Darien looked down and saw Doran's bottle floating in the air.
'He's telekinetic...' He looked at Sam and Carlin and asked,
"Serena's telekinetic, isn't she?"
Carlin nodded her head and said, "Only slightly. Her mother
scared her out of most of it when she was six. It only shows up
when she needs it now."
"Scared her out of it? What did she do to Serena," Darien
asked watching Doran hold his bottle.
Carlin shifted Leala and said, "I heard this from Mike and
Nerys so it may be slightly skewed from the actual events." Seeing
Darien understand, she continued, "Her mother saw her playing catch
with Mike and Nerys, but Serena wasn't using her hands. Her mom
flipped and threw her into a closet, saying, 'You can't come out
until you have learned to be a normal girl.' Since then, Serena has
'lost' her abilities."
Darien's gaze flickered between his children. He thought
aloud, "I wonder what abilities they have?"
Sam smiled, "Well, we all know Dory's. Rene probably is
precognitive. Carlin and I are precognitive, Serena's a
telekinetic, Kieta's an empath, and Nerys is a closet medium. The
abilities run through the women, so it's a surprise that Dory has
anything."
"We're losing track here," Galen spoke up, "Serena's still in
a boatload of trouble. Everyone, concentrate. I might be able to
find her."
Everyone concentrated and Raye and Galen exclaimed, "Found
her!"
* * *
Serena watched as Diamond advanced upon her. He had been
watching her for nearly an hour now. Every now and then, he would
pull out a knife and play with it, running his finger up and down
the blade. 'Concentrate on the knife. It's your only hope,' Serena
thought as she turned her gaze to the pocket he had put it in. She
could feel a small place in the back of her mind begin to open and
she knew what to do.
"Serena, you're going to enjoy yourself tonight," Diamond
tried to say as gently as he could. He didn't want to be forced to
hurt her. If she moved, however, he had a nice little knife to
remedy that.
'Look at me,' Serena thought, 'tied up at the mercy of a
madman. It's about time I did something about it.' Serena waited
with a baited breath for Diamond to show the knife again. When he
did, she would make her move then.
* * *
Darien looked up at the moonless sky, clenching a lock picking
kit in his hand. He didn't ask Galen--when he was shown an hour
ago--how he knew how to pick locks, but Galen smiled at him and
said, "It's a good thing I did, or Leala wouldn't be here." Carlin
jabbed him in the ribs and said, "Don't mind him. He' s letting
fatherhood go to his head."
Darien shook his head and chuckled at the memory. Carlin
could be a handful sometimes, but she always knew everything would
eventually work out right. Especially when she told him when he
left, "Don't hurry back on our account. We'll watch the babies." His jovial mood vanished the moment he saw the place Serena
was being held. She had been gone nearly an entire day by now, but
there was nothing he could do about it. Besides, Carlin told him
not to go in until he heard Diamond screaming bloody murder. He
narrowed his eyes to slits and slipped into the decaying Lathrop
mansion, carefully making his way to the basement, listening for
cries of distress. He nearly dropped to the ground when he almost
immediately heard Diamond scream, "No more! No more! Grab the
knife you witch!"
Darien busted down the door and saw Serena lying on the bed,
smiling menacingly at Diamond. She narrowed her eyes to slits and
said, "It's time someone taught you a lesson in how to treat women."
She swung her gaze around the room and her eyes lit up when she
caught sight of Darien. She looked back at Diamond and smiled the
smile of a benevolent saint and said, "He's here."
Darien grabbed the knife that was floating in the air and
looked at Diamond. He pointed it at him and said, "Be glad she
didn't manage to get herself untied. If she did, you'd be dead by
now." Darien turned his gaze to Serena and softened his look.
Going to her, he leaned down and kissed her forehead, and asked,
"Are you alright, love?"
Serena smiled up at him and answered, "I will be once you
untie me." She shifted her gaze for a moment and pinned Diamond to
a wall. The moment one of her hands were free, she pointed it at
him and said in a dark tone, "Think of moving, I'll drop the 'little
one' off the face of the earth, got it?"
Diamond just nodded and stood as still as he could. He didn't
want any permanent damage done to him.
Just then an uniformed police officer swung into the room and
didn't know what to do. He saw a man 'pinned' to a wall, a petite
blonde pointing at the said man, and another man saying soothing
words to the blonde. He tapped his mouthpiece and said, "Request
for backup," before stepping out of the room to collect himself.
* * *
It took Serena a few days before she could sit down and tell
everyone what had happened. Darien had been wonderful in giving her
space, as well as holding her close when she needed it. The twins
were a great help. Seeing their smiling faces every morning proved
that she had made it and that Diamond was truly gone.
It took Carlin a few days--and nights according to Galen--to
finally be pulled from her reverie. Whenever Carlin was around he
said, "You're lucky I have her under my thumb. She's a tyrant when
we're alone." Of course, he said this with a truly sated smile on
his face.
One evening about a week after the incident, Serena called
everyone together in the study. She stood in front of the fireplace
and watched the flames before she began. Turning, she could see
concern written on everyone's faces. Sighing, she started. She
told of how she woke up tied to the chair and what happened when she
woke up. "The knife was what set me off I think. He used to have
this little game where he would play with a knife. He would skim it
across my skin before he...well, it doesn't matter now. I
concentrated on the knife and the last time he pulled it out, I
jerked it from his hand.
"The look on his face was worth it. I'll never forget the
moment he lost control. He started shaking and was starting to
scream at me. I smiled at him and said, 'I would stop if I were
you.' He kept screaming, so I nudged it toward him. That's when he
went nuts and Darien came in through the door. I never felt safe
until he had untied one of my hands and I could hold Diamond against
the wall." Serena gazed at Darien and said, "You're the reason I
didn't kill him."
Darien smiled and said, "I knew I should have been a few
minutes later."
The group gave a collective chuckle and went on their separate
ways. Darien pulled Serena aside and asked, "My room or yours?"
Serena smiled up at him and answered, "Whichever is closest."
Darien grabbed her hand and she laughed as he pulled her up
the stairs.
* * *
Darien looked down and watched Serena as she slept. Last
night had taken a lot out of her and she was finally resting.
Darien heard some gentle coos over the baby monitor and chuckled to
himself. Sliding from the bed, he went into the next room and saw
Dory sitting up, staring at him. Picking him up, Darien asked,
"Ready to start the day, big guy?" Seeing Dory clap his hands
together, he said, "Let's go wake up Mommy."
Darien walked back into the room and smiled to see a very
rumpled Serena sitting up in bed with a sheet wrapped around her.
He handed her Dory and kissed her on the lips, saying, "Good
morning, beautiful."
Serena smiled at him sleepily as she guided Dory to her
breast, "Good morning to you, too." She smiled and looked at her
son. He was perfect... "I named him after you, you know."
Darien watched in awe and said, "No, I didn't. How is he?"
Serena looked into Darien's eyes and explained, "Doran is
close to Darren. Darien comes from Darren. It's that simple."
"Where does Renata come from?"
Serena smiled and said, "Carlin used to call me 'Rene'. The
original form of Rene is Renata." Serena adjusted Dory and
shrugged, "My way of honoring her, I guess."
Darien leaned over to kiss her. Their life could be
wonderful, if he ever took that final step...
Happy gurgling erupted from the baby monitor next to Serena.
Serena giggled and looked at Darien. "She's calling you
sweetheart."
Darien kissed her before he went and grabbed his daughter.
Little Rene was going to break many hearts one day, but for now, she
could handle conquering his. He nuzzled her fine golden curls and
said, "I love you and Dory nearly as much as I love your Mommy, if
not a tad more." He tossed her up and carried her into the
adjoining room.
Tears streamed down Serena's face as she took Rene from
Darien. She let Rene latch to her breast before she said, "I love
them a touch more than I love you."
A heavy silence filled the room, filled only by Rene's sucking
and Dory's happy laughs. Paying closer attention to Dory's laughs,
she followed his line of vision until she saw a ball floating in the
air. She glanced between Dory, Darien, and the ball, and finally
turned to Darien, saying, "I take it, that's how you knew I was
telekinetic."
Darien chuckled, "You should see his bottle trick."
Dory just clapped his hands.
* * *
Later that day, Sam's entire household sat down to eat a meal.
Darien was nestled between Serena and Carlin and got the duty of
holding Dory while Serena held Rene and Carlin held Leala. He
watched intently as Serena spoon-fed Rene while trying to eat
herself. It was quite comical, especially since Dory fed himself.
Serena glared at him, then smiled as she caused her spoon to
levitate to feed herself. She let the spoon drop then kissed
Darien's mouth. Smiling, she said against his lips, "It's not so
amusing once you realize where he got it."
Carlin snorted behind her napkin. She looked down at Leala
and said, "Good thing your daddy wasn't telekinetic."
Galen raised an eyebrow at her and said, "I wouldn't be to
sure about that."
Now it was Serena's turn to snort. Galen didn't have to type
of aura to be telekinetic. "Get off your high horse, McHail."
Darien shook his head and listened as Serena and Galen
bantered back and forth. Looking at Dory and Rene, he thought
aloud, "I wish you could stay with me."
Serena stopped in mid-argument. She looked at him and asked,
"Do you really mean that?"
Darien visibly gulped as fourteen pairs of eyes gazed at him.
He slowly nodded and said, "Yes, I do." He turned so he could look
into Serena's eyes. Lying hidden in their depths was hope and a
touch of fear. He lowered his voice to a low rumble and said, "I
want to wake up next to you every morning and hear the twins over
their monitor. I want to be able to love you in the way you should
be loved, constantly. Stay with me, Serena."
Serena hiccuped and nodded as she blinked away the tears. "I
have more relatives here."
"All the more baby-sitters," Darien said with a wink.
Serena let out a small giggle and said, "I'll go home with
you."
Darien put the twins on the table and crushed Serena to his
chest. Kissing her soundly, he held her close, and said, "You can't
run ever again."
Serena smiled and said, "I don't want to."
--------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the last chapter before the epilogue. Stay tuned for the
next few weeks to see the epilogue.
Oh, and HUGE thanks to every one who read.
Send Q's or C's to: silver_moonangel@yahoo.com
Carley MoonAngel @ FF.Net
--------------------------------------------------------------------
STANDARD DISCLAIMER APPLIES
--------------------------------------------------------------------
AN: This is the second, EDITED, version of Shady Business. I'm
still going to be writing the first version we all know and love
(well, at least I do) and taking suggestions to revise it and create
this one!
Also, some new elements are going to be introduced, but it will only
prove to enhance it (I hope).
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Chapter Thirteen - Finally Home
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Serena woke up a few hours later, Diamond still smiling smugly
at her and sitting in the chair, she was tied to earlier. She
smiled at him and politely asked, "Will you let me go to the
bathroom?"
He smiled at her and said, "I may just make you hold it."
She glared at him, then asked, "Could you get me a breast pump
then? I'm nursing two babies and my breasts are hurting like hell."
Satisfied to see him visibly gulp, she laid her head back and
started to think of a way to get the hell out of there. She looked
toward a window high in the wall and thought, 'Come and save me,
Darien.'
Diamond watched her as she plotted and planned. She had grown
after she had left him, in many ways. He had watched her from afar
and had to hold himself back from going to her several times. He
smiled inside, thought of one of the ways she had grown, and it
pleased him. He looked down and smiled; she pleased him very much.
* * *
"Raye, can you sense her at all," Darien asked, holding his
son in the crook of his arms. Carlin had called Galen up and had
him fly in with the twins and Leala. Darien was in awe at the sight
of his children, the children he and Serena had created together.
Darien nuzzled Doran's hair and sighed. He grabbed a bottle and
placed it in his son's mouth as he waited for Raye's answer.
Raye shook her head as gently as she could without waking up
Renata--who was nestled in her arms--and looked at Darien. "She's
just out of reach. You should ask Carlin where she is. She saw the
most detail out of all of us."
Darien reached out and took Carlin's hand. The poor girl had
been in shock since Serena had disappeared, but she seemed to be
coming out of it, now that Galen and Leala were here. She said,
barely above a whisper, "She's in a basement of a house somewhere
nearby. He couldn't have gone too far." She turned to look back at
Doran and said, "Oh my."
Darien looked down and saw Doran's bottle floating in the air.
'He's telekinetic...' He looked at Sam and Carlin and asked,
"Serena's telekinetic, isn't she?"
Carlin nodded her head and said, "Only slightly. Her mother
scared her out of most of it when she was six. It only shows up
when she needs it now."
"Scared her out of it? What did she do to Serena," Darien
asked watching Doran hold his bottle.
Carlin shifted Leala and said, "I heard this from Mike and
Nerys so it may be slightly skewed from the actual events." Seeing
Darien understand, she continued, "Her mother saw her playing catch
with Mike and Nerys, but Serena wasn't using her hands. Her mom
flipped and threw her into a closet, saying, 'You can't come out
until you have learned to be a normal girl.' Since then, Serena has
'lost' her abilities."
Darien's gaze flickered between his children. He thought
aloud, "I wonder what abilities they have?"
Sam smiled, "Well, we all know Dory's. Rene probably is
precognitive. Carlin and I are precognitive, Serena's a
telekinetic, Kieta's an empath, and Nerys is a closet medium. The
abilities run through the women, so it's a surprise that Dory has
anything."
"We're losing track here," Galen spoke up, "Serena's still in
a boatload of trouble. Everyone, concentrate. I might be able to
find her."
Everyone concentrated and Raye and Galen exclaimed, "Found
her!"
* * *
Serena watched as Diamond advanced upon her. He had been
watching her for nearly an hour now. Every now and then, he would
pull out a knife and play with it, running his finger up and down
the blade. 'Concentrate on the knife. It's your only hope,' Serena
thought as she turned her gaze to the pocket he had put it in. She
could feel a small place in the back of her mind begin to open and
she knew what to do.
"Serena, you're going to enjoy yourself tonight," Diamond
tried to say as gently as he could. He didn't want to be forced to
hurt her. If she moved, however, he had a nice little knife to
remedy that.
'Look at me,' Serena thought, 'tied up at the mercy of a
madman. It's about time I did something about it.' Serena waited
with a baited breath for Diamond to show the knife again. When he
did, she would make her move then.
* * *
Darien looked up at the moonless sky, clenching a lock picking
kit in his hand. He didn't ask Galen--when he was shown an hour
ago--how he knew how to pick locks, but Galen smiled at him and
said, "It's a good thing I did, or Leala wouldn't be here." Carlin
jabbed him in the ribs and said, "Don't mind him. He' s letting
fatherhood go to his head."
Darien shook his head and chuckled at the memory. Carlin
could be a handful sometimes, but she always knew everything would
eventually work out right. Especially when she told him when he
left, "Don't hurry back on our account. We'll watch the babies." His jovial mood vanished the moment he saw the place Serena
was being held. She had been gone nearly an entire day by now, but
there was nothing he could do about it. Besides, Carlin told him
not to go in until he heard Diamond screaming bloody murder. He
narrowed his eyes to slits and slipped into the decaying Lathrop
mansion, carefully making his way to the basement, listening for
cries of distress. He nearly dropped to the ground when he almost
immediately heard Diamond scream, "No more! No more! Grab the
knife you witch!"
Darien busted down the door and saw Serena lying on the bed,
smiling menacingly at Diamond. She narrowed her eyes to slits and
said, "It's time someone taught you a lesson in how to treat women."
She swung her gaze around the room and her eyes lit up when she
caught sight of Darien. She looked back at Diamond and smiled the
smile of a benevolent saint and said, "He's here."
Darien grabbed the knife that was floating in the air and
looked at Diamond. He pointed it at him and said, "Be glad she
didn't manage to get herself untied. If she did, you'd be dead by
now." Darien turned his gaze to Serena and softened his look.
Going to her, he leaned down and kissed her forehead, and asked,
"Are you alright, love?"
Serena smiled up at him and answered, "I will be once you
untie me." She shifted her gaze for a moment and pinned Diamond to
a wall. The moment one of her hands were free, she pointed it at
him and said in a dark tone, "Think of moving, I'll drop the 'little
one' off the face of the earth, got it?"
Diamond just nodded and stood as still as he could. He didn't
want any permanent damage done to him.
Just then an uniformed police officer swung into the room and
didn't know what to do. He saw a man 'pinned' to a wall, a petite
blonde pointing at the said man, and another man saying soothing
words to the blonde. He tapped his mouthpiece and said, "Request
for backup," before stepping out of the room to collect himself.
* * *
It took Serena a few days before she could sit down and tell
everyone what had happened. Darien had been wonderful in giving her
space, as well as holding her close when she needed it. The twins
were a great help. Seeing their smiling faces every morning proved
that she had made it and that Diamond was truly gone.
It took Carlin a few days--and nights according to Galen--to
finally be pulled from her reverie. Whenever Carlin was around he
said, "You're lucky I have her under my thumb. She's a tyrant when
we're alone." Of course, he said this with a truly sated smile on
his face.
One evening about a week after the incident, Serena called
everyone together in the study. She stood in front of the fireplace
and watched the flames before she began. Turning, she could see
concern written on everyone's faces. Sighing, she started. She
told of how she woke up tied to the chair and what happened when she
woke up. "The knife was what set me off I think. He used to have
this little game where he would play with a knife. He would skim it
across my skin before he...well, it doesn't matter now. I
concentrated on the knife and the last time he pulled it out, I
jerked it from his hand.
"The look on his face was worth it. I'll never forget the
moment he lost control. He started shaking and was starting to
scream at me. I smiled at him and said, 'I would stop if I were
you.' He kept screaming, so I nudged it toward him. That's when he
went nuts and Darien came in through the door. I never felt safe
until he had untied one of my hands and I could hold Diamond against
the wall." Serena gazed at Darien and said, "You're the reason I
didn't kill him."
Darien smiled and said, "I knew I should have been a few
minutes later."
The group gave a collective chuckle and went on their separate
ways. Darien pulled Serena aside and asked, "My room or yours?"
Serena smiled up at him and answered, "Whichever is closest."
Darien grabbed her hand and she laughed as he pulled her up
the stairs.
* * *
Darien looked down and watched Serena as she slept. Last
night had taken a lot out of her and she was finally resting.
Darien heard some gentle coos over the baby monitor and chuckled to
himself. Sliding from the bed, he went into the next room and saw
Dory sitting up, staring at him. Picking him up, Darien asked,
"Ready to start the day, big guy?" Seeing Dory clap his hands
together, he said, "Let's go wake up Mommy."
Darien walked back into the room and smiled to see a very
rumpled Serena sitting up in bed with a sheet wrapped around her.
He handed her Dory and kissed her on the lips, saying, "Good
morning, beautiful."
Serena smiled at him sleepily as she guided Dory to her
breast, "Good morning to you, too." She smiled and looked at her
son. He was perfect... "I named him after you, you know."
Darien watched in awe and said, "No, I didn't. How is he?"
Serena looked into Darien's eyes and explained, "Doran is
close to Darren. Darien comes from Darren. It's that simple."
"Where does Renata come from?"
Serena smiled and said, "Carlin used to call me 'Rene'. The
original form of Rene is Renata." Serena adjusted Dory and
shrugged, "My way of honoring her, I guess."
Darien leaned over to kiss her. Their life could be
wonderful, if he ever took that final step...
Happy gurgling erupted from the baby monitor next to Serena.
Serena giggled and looked at Darien. "She's calling you
sweetheart."
Darien kissed her before he went and grabbed his daughter.
Little Rene was going to break many hearts one day, but for now, she
could handle conquering his. He nuzzled her fine golden curls and
said, "I love you and Dory nearly as much as I love your Mommy, if
not a tad more." He tossed her up and carried her into the
adjoining room.
Tears streamed down Serena's face as she took Rene from
Darien. She let Rene latch to her breast before she said, "I love
them a touch more than I love you."
A heavy silence filled the room, filled only by Rene's sucking
and Dory's happy laughs. Paying closer attention to Dory's laughs,
she followed his line of vision until she saw a ball floating in the
air. She glanced between Dory, Darien, and the ball, and finally
turned to Darien, saying, "I take it, that's how you knew I was
telekinetic."
Darien chuckled, "You should see his bottle trick."
Dory just clapped his hands.
* * *
Later that day, Sam's entire household sat down to eat a meal.
Darien was nestled between Serena and Carlin and got the duty of
holding Dory while Serena held Rene and Carlin held Leala. He
watched intently as Serena spoon-fed Rene while trying to eat
herself. It was quite comical, especially since Dory fed himself.
Serena glared at him, then smiled as she caused her spoon to
levitate to feed herself. She let the spoon drop then kissed
Darien's mouth. Smiling, she said against his lips, "It's not so
amusing once you realize where he got it."
Carlin snorted behind her napkin. She looked down at Leala
and said, "Good thing your daddy wasn't telekinetic."
Galen raised an eyebrow at her and said, "I wouldn't be to
sure about that."
Now it was Serena's turn to snort. Galen didn't have to type
of aura to be telekinetic. "Get off your high horse, McHail."
Darien shook his head and listened as Serena and Galen
bantered back and forth. Looking at Dory and Rene, he thought
aloud, "I wish you could stay with me."
Serena stopped in mid-argument. She looked at him and asked,
"Do you really mean that?"
Darien visibly gulped as fourteen pairs of eyes gazed at him.
He slowly nodded and said, "Yes, I do." He turned so he could look
into Serena's eyes. Lying hidden in their depths was hope and a
touch of fear. He lowered his voice to a low rumble and said, "I
want to wake up next to you every morning and hear the twins over
their monitor. I want to be able to love you in the way you should
be loved, constantly. Stay with me, Serena."
Serena hiccuped and nodded as she blinked away the tears. "I
have more relatives here."
"All the more baby-sitters," Darien said with a wink.
Serena let out a small giggle and said, "I'll go home with
you."
Darien put the twins on the table and crushed Serena to his
chest. Kissing her soundly, he held her close, and said, "You can't
run ever again."
Serena smiled and said, "I don't want to."
--------------------------------------------------------------------
This is the last chapter before the epilogue. Stay tuned for the
next few weeks to see the epilogue.
Oh, and HUGE thanks to every one who read.
Send Q's or C's to: silver_moonangel@yahoo.com