Shady Business by Silver MoonAngel
Rated R
--------------------------------------------------------------------
STANDARD DISCLAIMER APPLIES
AN: This is it. The end. This epilogue is dedicated to everyone
who reviewed and everyone who read.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Serena cuddled the blanket closer to her. She looked around
her and smiled. "Carlin, is it late again?"
The little redhead nodded her head. She walked to where her
sister was standing and said, "Next time, I'm going to pick them
up."
Serena's ears perked up as she heard the distant rumbling of
the ancient school bus. The yellow paint didn't look so cheery and
she was sure more than one kid had thrown up on the way home. She
smiled as she heard her daughter yell, "Elios Rogers, if you ever
want to have babies, you'll leave me alone."
She then heard Doran say, "Rene, he was just teasing. He
didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
The bus door squeaked open and Rene bolted out of the bus as
if some demon was chasing her. She dropped her bags and ran into
her mother's arms crying, "Why are boys so mean?"
Serena looked up and saw her eldest smiling sheepishly. He
looked down at his toes and blushed.
Serena sighed and tugged her twins inside. The last twelve
years had been something else. Rene and Dory, her precious twins,
were thirteen now and growing bigger every day. Not long after
Serena moved in with Darien, Carlin and Galen had decided to move to
California. Leala had grown into a strong young lady. She had the
smarts and the beauty that made her a lethal combination, but Carlin
and Galen kept her in check. Rene and Leala could often be found
snickering at something in the gardens. Usually they were giggling
at the latest antics of their best friend, Elios Rogers.
Serena walked into the kitchen and smiled at the sight of
Darien and their fourth child, Chandra, making pancakes.
"No, sweetheart, you're supposed to mix it. Not eat it."
Darien heaved a sigh and grabbed a rag from the sink. He gently
wiped her hands clean and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Go find
Momma."
Chandra toddled off and clasped Serena's knees. She breathed
in and out really fast going, "Momma, Momma!"
Serena grabbed up her daughter and gave her a sound kiss on
the cheek. She looked at Chandra and said, "Rene and Dory are
home."
Chandra clamored down and ran running down the hall calling,
"Rene! Dory!"
Serena walked up to Darien and dropped her head onto his
shoulder. Leaning up, she kissed his cheek and asked, "Where's
Gareth?"
"He's busy with Indira. Raye dropped her off a few hours
ago." Darien nuzzled her neck and kissed her softly.
Serena sighed and thought of all of her children. There were
Rene and Dory, her thirteen-year-old twins, Gareth, her eight-year-
old, and little Chandra, her three-year-old. Gareth was the
quietest of all her children. He had a tendency to keep to himself,
but he was loved by all. Little Chandra was a handful. Although
she was a mirror image of her father, she had her mother's
disposition.
"Momma! Dory's levitating Chandra again!"
Serena pulled away from Darien. "I better go check on what's
going on."
Darien kissed her forehead and said, "He only does it because
Chandra likes it."
Serena chuckled and headed up the stairs. Dory was still able
to use his telekinesis. Serena's had almost totally disappeared
since the incident with Diamond, but she didn't mind. Rene had
turned into a wonderful little precognitive and was slightly
telepathic due to her interaction with Leala. Serena felt sorry for
Gareth; he was a medium and constantly plagued by uneasy spirits.
Serena did her best and had Nerys fly over and help Gareth through
it. He was already doing better. Chandra was an oddity; she had
more than one ability. She could heal small wounds and was slightly
telekinetic.
"Dory, put her down!" Rene circled a floating Chandra and
started crying. Rene had never gotten used to her twin's abilities;
he still was able to scare her to death.
Serena stood in the doorway, observing to scene. To think, it
all started eleven years ago...
* * *
Serena stood in the doorway of Darien's study and smiled at
the memory of how she came to move back to California. It had taken
a few weeks to finally have all of her things shipped to Darien's
mansion, but when it was all said and done, she finally felt home.
Darien approached her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
Breathing in her scent, he murmured, "I'm glad you're home."
Serena turned in his arms and softly kissed his lips. It was
hard--and amazing--to believe that everything that had been set in
motion eleven years ago had finally come full circle. "We have to
get the twins ready. Their party starts in a few hours." Tonight
was the twins' first birthday--as well as Leala's--and it was
Serena's twenty-seventh.
Darien caught her up and swung her around in a circle. It
boggled his mind that they were finally together and would be after
tonight... "Well," he said, with a grin, "You need to get ready
before them, Mommy. We're going somewhere special after the little
party planned today."
"Who's going to watch Rene and Dory?" Serena executed a twirl
before coming to a stop under his nose. She leaned up against him
and kissed his neck as she waited for his answer. When she got
none, she undid the top three buttons of his shirt and kissed his
chest.
"Keep going and we'll give Byrne a show," Darien said.
Watching her pause, he added, "I thought you didn't give a damn who
sees us?"
Serena heaved a sigh and buttoned his shirt back up. "I
don't, but I don't want to give the poor man a heart attack." Last
week, Serena and Darien had been having "private time" in the
library, when Byrne walked in and almost died on the spot. While
Darien had chuckled from his spot on the floor, Serena had blushed
bright red and moved off Darien into a corner until Byrne left.
"And you're avoiding the question, " Serena said, taking a step
back.
Darien sighed and plowed his hand through his hair. "Raye
said she would." Darien grabbed Serena and pulled her into his
arms. He nuzzled her neck and said, "She needs the practice, after
all." He kissed her neck and left the room, leaving him staring
after him.
* * *
The rest of that night was a coordinated effort of several
people. Raye and Carlin tried to their best to distract her with
the babies. They shouldn't have bothered; Serena was so overjoyed
with the fact her babies were a year old, she missed what was going
on.
* * *
"Keep your eyes closed."
Serena kept them shut, but her nose twitched in annoyance.
Darien had been leading her around for half an hour--with her eyes
closed nonetheless--and they didn't seem to have gone anywhere. She
muttered, "Damn it, Darien, if we don't get there soon, I'll find an
object to hurl at you."
Darien chuckled a little distance ahead of her. He stopped
and said, "Okay, now you can stop and open your eyes."
Serena slowly opened her eyes and gasped at the sight in front
of her. She was standing in the center of a ring of roses. She
turned in a circle and stopped when she saw Darien kneeling on one
knee. A hand flew to her mouth and tears formed in her eyes.
Darien smiled from where he was on the ground. He cleared his
throat and began. "Serena, a lot of things have happened in the
last two years. We've been through some of the roughest things
anyone can face and we came out unscathed. You're the mother of my
children and I would be pleased if you would become my wife."
Serena felt two tears drip down her chin. She had never been
happier in her life. She nodded her head and said, "I will." She
found herself squished as Darien leapt up and clasped her in a hug.
* * *
Mere hours after Darien proposed to Serena, Chad did the same
to Raye. True, she was pregnant, but that wasn't the reason he
proposed. Raye had been a wet sobbing mess, but so was Serena.
Raye was married a total of two hours before her child decided
to make its appearance. Keegan Sebastian Jacobson was blessed with
a full set of lungs and unbelievable telepathic abilities. Raye
never needed to guess what her son wanted or needed.
Around the same time Serena had Gareth, Raye had Indira
Seraphine Jacobson. Indira would become Gareth's savior, for she
had been born a medium, too. By the time they were five, they had
correctly identified and "sent on" forty-seven spirits.
* * *
Carlin came out well--much better than even she had
anticipated. She is now the mother of a few more children, but it's
really up to Carlin to tell her story.
* * *
When Serena and Darien celebrated their third wedding
anniversary, neither had imagined it would end them in the hospital.
The night had been going smoothly, especially since Serena was due
any minute. They had just finished their meal when Serena bent over
in pain. She mouthed, "Hospital, now," and Darien had them there in
record time. Nearly ten minutes later, Serena was in the delivery
room ready to deliver a baby. Since they didn't learn the sex
beforehand, they were only slightly surprised when the doctor laid
the boy on her chest.
Serena rubbed her son's head and said, "I win." She put her
nose to his hair and said, "Welcome, Gareth Riordan."
* * *
Chandra was a total surprise to both of them. Serena had her
tubes tied after Gareth was born--finding out she was pregnant was
the frosting on the cake of a very bad week. She had fallen asleep
at work several times (even though she was a figurehead, she still
liked to sit in on meetings) and Gareth had started preschool.
Chandra's birth was a painful one for Serena. She had been
breech, when she finally began to turn, Serena had been in labor for
nearly twenty hours, and it was beginning to put undue stress on the
baby. They wheeled her into the operating room and fifteen minutes
later, Chandra Lena was born.
Serena was able to see Chandra a total of thirty seconds
before they whisked the baby to the NICU because she wasn't
breathing very well on her own. For the few hours the doctors
observed Chandra, Darien and the rest of the children had a hell of
a time calming Serena down. It seemed as if she demanded to see
Chandra every five seconds. When they were able to see her, they
all were happy and pleased that she was okay.
* * *
Serena walked to the center of the room and gave Dory "the
look". He gulped and set Chandra down. Her little handful came
over and patted her stomach. She giggled and said, "Hi baby."
Rene and Dory's eyes widened in shock. Then Rene--little
pistol she is--said, "I guess I own Aunt Car ten dollars."
Serena arched her eyebrow and planted her hands on her hips.
She looked Rene up and down before asking, "Why do you owe Carlin
ten dollars?"
Rene smiled and said, "We placed a small wager on when you
would get pregnant again. She said when Chan was three and I said
four..." She trailed off before saying, "Then again, Chan will be
four when this one is born, so it's technically a draw."
Serena shook her head and left the room. Leave it to Carlin
to predict when she'd have babies. Maybe not so surprising when she
said when Rene and Dory would be born. She tracked down Darien and
drew him into her bedroom.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she said. "Unless you think we should sue the
surgeon who operated on me."
"Why would we do that..." Darien's gaze dropped to her belly
and he let out a whoop of joy. He shut the door and locked it. He
kissed her passionately and laid her on the bed. After they were
sated--and the kids had given up on their parents surfacing for air
anytime soon--Serena nuzzled into Darien's arms and said, "Happy
Anniversary."
Darien watched her fall asleep and smiled. It had been
thirteen years ago today that Serena had first come to his mansion.
They had weathered whatever had come to them, and would continue to
do so for the rest of their lives.
The End?
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I've decided to do a sequel to "Shady Business". I plan for it to
be centered around Carlin, but Darien, Serena, and everyone else
will be in it. I know right now that some chapters will be a recap,
but from Carlin's perspective. Tell me what you want to know.
TTTTT H H A N N K K Y Y OOO U U !
T H H A A NN N K K Y Y O O U U !!!
T HHHHH A A N N N KKK Y O O U U !
T H H AAAAA N NN K K Y O O U U
T H H A A N N K K Y OOO UUU !!!
Send Q's or C's to: silver_moonangel@yahoo.com
Rated R
--------------------------------------------------------------------
STANDARD DISCLAIMER APPLIES
AN: This is it. The end. This epilogue is dedicated to everyone
who reviewed and everyone who read.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Serena cuddled the blanket closer to her. She looked around
her and smiled. "Carlin, is it late again?"
The little redhead nodded her head. She walked to where her
sister was standing and said, "Next time, I'm going to pick them
up."
Serena's ears perked up as she heard the distant rumbling of
the ancient school bus. The yellow paint didn't look so cheery and
she was sure more than one kid had thrown up on the way home. She
smiled as she heard her daughter yell, "Elios Rogers, if you ever
want to have babies, you'll leave me alone."
She then heard Doran say, "Rene, he was just teasing. He
didn't mean to hurt your feelings."
The bus door squeaked open and Rene bolted out of the bus as
if some demon was chasing her. She dropped her bags and ran into
her mother's arms crying, "Why are boys so mean?"
Serena looked up and saw her eldest smiling sheepishly. He
looked down at his toes and blushed.
Serena sighed and tugged her twins inside. The last twelve
years had been something else. Rene and Dory, her precious twins,
were thirteen now and growing bigger every day. Not long after
Serena moved in with Darien, Carlin and Galen had decided to move to
California. Leala had grown into a strong young lady. She had the
smarts and the beauty that made her a lethal combination, but Carlin
and Galen kept her in check. Rene and Leala could often be found
snickering at something in the gardens. Usually they were giggling
at the latest antics of their best friend, Elios Rogers.
Serena walked into the kitchen and smiled at the sight of
Darien and their fourth child, Chandra, making pancakes.
"No, sweetheart, you're supposed to mix it. Not eat it."
Darien heaved a sigh and grabbed a rag from the sink. He gently
wiped her hands clean and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Go find
Momma."
Chandra toddled off and clasped Serena's knees. She breathed
in and out really fast going, "Momma, Momma!"
Serena grabbed up her daughter and gave her a sound kiss on
the cheek. She looked at Chandra and said, "Rene and Dory are
home."
Chandra clamored down and ran running down the hall calling,
"Rene! Dory!"
Serena walked up to Darien and dropped her head onto his
shoulder. Leaning up, she kissed his cheek and asked, "Where's
Gareth?"
"He's busy with Indira. Raye dropped her off a few hours
ago." Darien nuzzled her neck and kissed her softly.
Serena sighed and thought of all of her children. There were
Rene and Dory, her thirteen-year-old twins, Gareth, her eight-year-
old, and little Chandra, her three-year-old. Gareth was the
quietest of all her children. He had a tendency to keep to himself,
but he was loved by all. Little Chandra was a handful. Although
she was a mirror image of her father, she had her mother's
disposition.
"Momma! Dory's levitating Chandra again!"
Serena pulled away from Darien. "I better go check on what's
going on."
Darien kissed her forehead and said, "He only does it because
Chandra likes it."
Serena chuckled and headed up the stairs. Dory was still able
to use his telekinesis. Serena's had almost totally disappeared
since the incident with Diamond, but she didn't mind. Rene had
turned into a wonderful little precognitive and was slightly
telepathic due to her interaction with Leala. Serena felt sorry for
Gareth; he was a medium and constantly plagued by uneasy spirits.
Serena did her best and had Nerys fly over and help Gareth through
it. He was already doing better. Chandra was an oddity; she had
more than one ability. She could heal small wounds and was slightly
telekinetic.
"Dory, put her down!" Rene circled a floating Chandra and
started crying. Rene had never gotten used to her twin's abilities;
he still was able to scare her to death.
Serena stood in the doorway, observing to scene. To think, it
all started eleven years ago...
* * *
Serena stood in the doorway of Darien's study and smiled at
the memory of how she came to move back to California. It had taken
a few weeks to finally have all of her things shipped to Darien's
mansion, but when it was all said and done, she finally felt home.
Darien approached her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
Breathing in her scent, he murmured, "I'm glad you're home."
Serena turned in his arms and softly kissed his lips. It was
hard--and amazing--to believe that everything that had been set in
motion eleven years ago had finally come full circle. "We have to
get the twins ready. Their party starts in a few hours." Tonight
was the twins' first birthday--as well as Leala's--and it was
Serena's twenty-seventh.
Darien caught her up and swung her around in a circle. It
boggled his mind that they were finally together and would be after
tonight... "Well," he said, with a grin, "You need to get ready
before them, Mommy. We're going somewhere special after the little
party planned today."
"Who's going to watch Rene and Dory?" Serena executed a twirl
before coming to a stop under his nose. She leaned up against him
and kissed his neck as she waited for his answer. When she got
none, she undid the top three buttons of his shirt and kissed his
chest.
"Keep going and we'll give Byrne a show," Darien said.
Watching her pause, he added, "I thought you didn't give a damn who
sees us?"
Serena heaved a sigh and buttoned his shirt back up. "I
don't, but I don't want to give the poor man a heart attack." Last
week, Serena and Darien had been having "private time" in the
library, when Byrne walked in and almost died on the spot. While
Darien had chuckled from his spot on the floor, Serena had blushed
bright red and moved off Darien into a corner until Byrne left.
"And you're avoiding the question, " Serena said, taking a step
back.
Darien sighed and plowed his hand through his hair. "Raye
said she would." Darien grabbed Serena and pulled her into his
arms. He nuzzled her neck and said, "She needs the practice, after
all." He kissed her neck and left the room, leaving him staring
after him.
* * *
The rest of that night was a coordinated effort of several
people. Raye and Carlin tried to their best to distract her with
the babies. They shouldn't have bothered; Serena was so overjoyed
with the fact her babies were a year old, she missed what was going
on.
* * *
"Keep your eyes closed."
Serena kept them shut, but her nose twitched in annoyance.
Darien had been leading her around for half an hour--with her eyes
closed nonetheless--and they didn't seem to have gone anywhere. She
muttered, "Damn it, Darien, if we don't get there soon, I'll find an
object to hurl at you."
Darien chuckled a little distance ahead of her. He stopped
and said, "Okay, now you can stop and open your eyes."
Serena slowly opened her eyes and gasped at the sight in front
of her. She was standing in the center of a ring of roses. She
turned in a circle and stopped when she saw Darien kneeling on one
knee. A hand flew to her mouth and tears formed in her eyes.
Darien smiled from where he was on the ground. He cleared his
throat and began. "Serena, a lot of things have happened in the
last two years. We've been through some of the roughest things
anyone can face and we came out unscathed. You're the mother of my
children and I would be pleased if you would become my wife."
Serena felt two tears drip down her chin. She had never been
happier in her life. She nodded her head and said, "I will." She
found herself squished as Darien leapt up and clasped her in a hug.
* * *
Mere hours after Darien proposed to Serena, Chad did the same
to Raye. True, she was pregnant, but that wasn't the reason he
proposed. Raye had been a wet sobbing mess, but so was Serena.
Raye was married a total of two hours before her child decided
to make its appearance. Keegan Sebastian Jacobson was blessed with
a full set of lungs and unbelievable telepathic abilities. Raye
never needed to guess what her son wanted or needed.
Around the same time Serena had Gareth, Raye had Indira
Seraphine Jacobson. Indira would become Gareth's savior, for she
had been born a medium, too. By the time they were five, they had
correctly identified and "sent on" forty-seven spirits.
* * *
Carlin came out well--much better than even she had
anticipated. She is now the mother of a few more children, but it's
really up to Carlin to tell her story.
* * *
When Serena and Darien celebrated their third wedding
anniversary, neither had imagined it would end them in the hospital.
The night had been going smoothly, especially since Serena was due
any minute. They had just finished their meal when Serena bent over
in pain. She mouthed, "Hospital, now," and Darien had them there in
record time. Nearly ten minutes later, Serena was in the delivery
room ready to deliver a baby. Since they didn't learn the sex
beforehand, they were only slightly surprised when the doctor laid
the boy on her chest.
Serena rubbed her son's head and said, "I win." She put her
nose to his hair and said, "Welcome, Gareth Riordan."
* * *
Chandra was a total surprise to both of them. Serena had her
tubes tied after Gareth was born--finding out she was pregnant was
the frosting on the cake of a very bad week. She had fallen asleep
at work several times (even though she was a figurehead, she still
liked to sit in on meetings) and Gareth had started preschool.
Chandra's birth was a painful one for Serena. She had been
breech, when she finally began to turn, Serena had been in labor for
nearly twenty hours, and it was beginning to put undue stress on the
baby. They wheeled her into the operating room and fifteen minutes
later, Chandra Lena was born.
Serena was able to see Chandra a total of thirty seconds
before they whisked the baby to the NICU because she wasn't
breathing very well on her own. For the few hours the doctors
observed Chandra, Darien and the rest of the children had a hell of
a time calming Serena down. It seemed as if she demanded to see
Chandra every five seconds. When they were able to see her, they
all were happy and pleased that she was okay.
* * *
Serena walked to the center of the room and gave Dory "the
look". He gulped and set Chandra down. Her little handful came
over and patted her stomach. She giggled and said, "Hi baby."
Rene and Dory's eyes widened in shock. Then Rene--little
pistol she is--said, "I guess I own Aunt Car ten dollars."
Serena arched her eyebrow and planted her hands on her hips.
She looked Rene up and down before asking, "Why do you owe Carlin
ten dollars?"
Rene smiled and said, "We placed a small wager on when you
would get pregnant again. She said when Chan was three and I said
four..." She trailed off before saying, "Then again, Chan will be
four when this one is born, so it's technically a draw."
Serena shook her head and left the room. Leave it to Carlin
to predict when she'd have babies. Maybe not so surprising when she
said when Rene and Dory would be born. She tracked down Darien and
drew him into her bedroom.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she said. "Unless you think we should sue the
surgeon who operated on me."
"Why would we do that..." Darien's gaze dropped to her belly
and he let out a whoop of joy. He shut the door and locked it. He
kissed her passionately and laid her on the bed. After they were
sated--and the kids had given up on their parents surfacing for air
anytime soon--Serena nuzzled into Darien's arms and said, "Happy
Anniversary."
Darien watched her fall asleep and smiled. It had been
thirteen years ago today that Serena had first come to his mansion.
They had weathered whatever had come to them, and would continue to
do so for the rest of their lives.
The End?
--------------------------------------------------------------------
I've decided to do a sequel to "Shady Business". I plan for it to
be centered around Carlin, but Darien, Serena, and everyone else
will be in it. I know right now that some chapters will be a recap,
but from Carlin's perspective. Tell me what you want to know.
TTTTT H H A N N K K Y Y OOO U U !
T H H A A NN N K K Y Y O O U U !!!
T HHHHH A A N N N KKK Y O O U U !
T H H AAAAA N NN K K Y O O U U
T H H A A N N K K Y OOO UUU !!!
Send Q's or C's to: silver_moonangel@yahoo.com