Darien Shields walked around his penthouse suite, playing a game of
hide-and-go-seek with his young daughter, Anya. He listened quietly and
waited until he heard the tiny giggles coming from the broom closet.
"Daddy's coming, Anya, I know where you are!" He called out, only to be answered by roaring laughter and the door bursting open to reveal the brilliant smile of a young girl.
"Daddy, you always find me!" She squealed as he picked her up and swung her in the air. Her long, golden hair flew behind her and her green eyes twinkled with joy.
"That's because I don't like losing you, sweetheart. I love you too much." Darien hugged his daughter closely, remembering the time Beryl had tried to take her away.
-Flashback, 2 Years Ago-
"If the court understands you, Mr. Shields, you are telling us that Beryl Samsonite is fully unfit to be a mother?" The judge asked curiously, his white eyebrows raised.
"Yes, your honor. Ms. Samsonite is not fit to be a mother in that she cannot even do her own laundry, and has no job, nor a home. We were not married, your honor, and Anastasia is adopted under my name. I adopted her, and I love her with all my heart. I can provide to her a home full of love, a family, and all the things she may ever need. If Ms. Samsonite was to adopt her, and take her out of my care, I fully believe Anastasia would be in real danger." Darien reacted as he always did, treating this court date as if it were a business meeting.
"Mr. Shields, you state that under Ms. Samsonite's care Anastasia would be in danger. Can you clarify?" The prosecutor asked.
"Yes, I can. When Ms. Samsonite and I were in a relationship, Anastasia was often yelled at for even the simplest wrong. I cannot, in my right mind, allow my daughter to go to a woman who, indeed, would verbally abuse her, if not physically. The fact that she is fighting me is irrelevant to the want she has for the child, your honor; it has only to do with her wanting to take something precious away from me to cause me the pain she says she experienced because of our breakup." Darien replied confidently.
"So what if that's my reason for wanting the brat! I'll get her from you if it's the last thing I do!" Beryl shouted across the room to Darien, immediately bringing her hand to her mouth for revealing something so horrid to the court.
"Ms. Samsonite, control yourself! Clearly, as Mr. Shields has told the court, you are unfit to become a mother! The court rules in favor of one Mr. Darien Shields, awarding him full custody and no visitations or relations to one Ms. Beryl Samsonite." The judge knocked his gavel on the desk and court was adjourned, sending a tearful Anya running into her father's arms.
"Anya, I love you, and I'll never let you go."
-End Flashback-
He released his daughter and held her at arms length from his face, carefully studying her features. He often wondered what her real mother looked like, and longed to meet the woman who'd blessed him with this beautiful child.
Anya sighed. "Daddy, I'm tired. Can I go to bed?" To show how real her tiredness was, she yawned loudly.
"Of course, honey. Here, I'll give you a piggy back." Darien turned around and offered her his back; she jumped on and he clasped his hands beneath her and held her up. He walked to her room and laid her on her bed, reveling in the fact that her room was perfect. The walls were a light blue and the border at the top had large blue and yellow flowers on it, both pale colors. Her bedspread matched her border and her pillows were a pale yellow, as was her furniture. The carpet was a pale blue to match the room. 'My daughter has great taste, for a five year old.' He thought.
He left the room and went to get her favorite bedtime story from the toy chest as she changed. He picked up her copy of "The Swan Princess" and brought it back to her room, smiling as he saw her curled up underneath the covers.
He'd barely begun to read the story and her soft snores filled the room. He just sat there and watched, thanking the goddesses for bringing him such a special gift to love.
The doorbell rang and he jumped up to get it, hoping to reach it before it woke Anya. He peered through the peep-hole but could see nothing, so he opened the door to get a better view.
"I swear, if it's those punks again I'll..." Darien whispered angrily under his breath. There stood a woman, at least five inches shorter than him, looking up at him in curiosity. Her long, blond hair flowed freely down her back in loose curls; her crystal blue eyes gazed deeply into his until she blinked once to tear her self away from the Adonis in front of her.
"Oh, sorry, miss. May I help you?"
"I'm looking for a Mr. Darien Shields? It's quite important. If he isn't home, may I leave a message?" Serena's face lit up with a smile and she cocked her head to the side.
"I'm Darien, and may I ask you're name?" Darien replied, shocked at this woman. He'd never seen her before; he wasn't the type to sleep around, so this woman was literally out of nowhere.
"Serenity Moriarti, Serena for short. May I come in? You may want to sit for the news. I admit, I should have phoned earlier, but I thought seeing you in person would be better. That was, you know I'm not a crazy lady or something." Her smile brightened and she stepped forward as Darien stepped aside to allow her in.
"Yes, yes, of course. In person is the best way to do things. Now, Serena, may I ask you why you're here? Oh, and please keep you're voice down, my daughter is asleep."
"Well, Darien, please sit before I tell you. It's not the type of thing you want to hear standing up." Serena sat down herself on the long, black leather couch. Darien sat opposite her in a black leather recliner.
"Darien, you've never met me before and I realize that this may be a hard thing to swallow. I understand completely if you'd like to kick me out, but I ask you hear me out first so you know all the truths." Serena wrung her hands in her lap, awaiting the go-ahead from Darien before proceeding in her story. When she saw his head bob up and down she cleared her throat and began the tail that brought her to his house.
"Well, as you know, my name is Serenity Moriarti, and my father is Massimo Moriarti. We're from Italy, originally. He is in the Mafia, but he only controls the finances, and the law side of the Mafia's work.
"When I was sixteen, my then boyfriend and I were at a party. He was drunk and I was not, and he forced himself on me. The product was a pregnancy, and I had to choose either to abort it or have the baby and place it up for adoption. Keeping it was simply not an option for me, as one of the Mafia leader's sixteen year old daughter could not just keep a baby.
"I decided to have the baby and I was stunned when I learned she was a girl. When I had her, I begged my father to let me keep her, but to no avail. I had promised to give her up, and so I did. I gave her the one thing she might remember me by; her name. I named her Anastasia Moriarti, Anya for short.
"Years later a maternal instinct swept over me during one of my classes. I had to find her, but I didn't know where to start. My father and I hired a private investigator to find my daughter. We waited a whole year and finally, on my 21st birthday, we got news that she was living here in New York with you.
"I had to come see her, and the man who'd adopted my precious girl. I know it was wrong of me to just drop in, but I had to see her angelic face and see if she aged as beautifully as I'd hoped.
"I don't expect anything of you, not even that you give me visitation rights; I only hope to see her once, but if you give me more, I will gladly accept."
Serena's face was sad and pained. Reliving this to a stranger was something she never wanted to do, but she knew that she had to. Darien's calm exterior shielded the painful feelings brewing inside of him. And yet, though she was unknown to him, he felt a strange urge to give this woman what she wanted, whatever that may be.
"Serena, I thank you for coming to see me. You have no idea the days I've spent wondering how my little girl would turn out. Now that I've met you, I am sure she'll grow up into a brilliant and attractive lady. I was so scared that her mother had some disease that I could not cure; some horrible fate that could be passed on to my daughter that would take her away from me before her time." Darien stood and walked over to Serena; he reached his hand out to her and helped her off the couch.
"Surely, you have not come from so far away to leave before you could see her? If you'll follow me I'm sure you could sneak a peek before you leave." Darien led her to Anya's room, opening the door slowly to avoid waking her. Serena's eyes widened at the sight of her daughter sleeping so soundly; what was, only months ago, a dream now became reality.
"She's... she's so pretty. She has my hair! My baby, my beautiful girl!" She whispered, hot tears of joy coursing down her cheeks.
"Serena, let's go to the kitchen and have some tea. If you like, you can spend the night. Then Anya can meet you in the morning. Oh, she has preschool, though. Oh well, she can miss a day! We'll all stay home and get to know each other. How does that sound?" Darien's eyes lit up at the thought of the goddess-like figure staying the night in his house. 'Not only that, but she's the mother of my daughter! Oh, man, I'll be fighting the boy's off now...'
Darien led Serena to the kitchen, where she sat on a high wooden stood at the island. Darien put on a pot of water to boil and sat down across from her, staring at her face, which was drowning in tears.
"Serena, stop crying, please. What would Anya think if she woke up and a tearful lady was sitting with her father? She'd think I made you cry!" Darien laughed quietly and watched as Serena's gloomy face changed rapidly to one glowing of motherly pride.
"But, who knows, maybe you did!" She giggled at him and watched his eyes light up with laughter.
"Anya doesn't need to know that!" He replied with a wink as he twirled in his seat to check on the tea water. He steeped the teas and set them out in front of himself and Serena, delighting in the say her face lit up with each new bout of laughter. 'But she won't like me. She's only here for Anya, stupid!' he mentally chided himself for believing such nonsense.
The two stayed up for and hour, talking about past experiences and drinking tea. They found out that they had many of the same experiences through out their lives, and Darien learned much about the inner workings of the Italian Mafia. The clock chimed midnight and Darien stood up to check on Anya.
"Serena, where would you like to sleep? The couch, though nice to sit on, is quite hard to sleep on; I doubt you'd like it. Our guest room is being remodeled, so that's out of the question. There is one more place, but it's not really proper." Darien looked at Serena's face and waited until she got the message.
"Oh, I don't mind. I do, however, think the owner of the hotel might matter, since I rented a room and am not using it." She winked at Darien and he smirked with and intense sexual undertone.
"Oh, I happen to know that the owner won't mind. One of my closest friends, he is. He's nice too, and I daresay handsome." He winked back and began to walk to his bedroom, Serena following closely behind.
"Good. I don't like angering people." And with that the two broke into a fit of giggles but stopped, however hard it was, for fear of waking Sleeping Beauty.
"Oh, Darn. I haven't got my sleeping things." She stated, as though it was a horrible crime.
"No worries, I've got plenty of shirts. Here, I'll go get one." He jogged over to the walk in closet, which was the size of a whole other room, and grabbed a white, button up business shirt. "If it's dirty, I'll just wash it. No problem."
"Um, thanks. I'll go change. Meet you back here in five?" Serena started walking towards the door to the bathroom.
"Sure. See you then." Darien pulled of his shirt, revealing his washboard abs and well tanned body. Next came his pants, which fell softly to the ground. He stepped out of them and picked up his clothing, dropping it into the laundry hamper. Just as he was walking over to the bed, Serena came out of the bathroom dressed in only his shirt, carrying her laundry in her arms.
The white shirt fit her perfectly, clinging to her curves and reaching just below her butt. She dropped her clothing into the hamper as well and walked over to the bed, climbing in oblivious to what she was causing Darien.
He rolled into bed beside her, pulling the covers up to his chest. He rolled over slightly and whispered in Serena's ear, "Good night, Serena, and thank you for giving me Anya."
Serena's heart leapt and she went to sleep thinking of how lucky she and her daughter were to have this incredible man in their lives.
I hope that I get a few more reviews for this chapter than the last chapter. Hopefully this format is better for reading than the other one, and I'd like to know what is better so I can continue writing in the best way. As always, I don't own Sailor Moon, only this story and Massimo, Natalia and Anya. Thank you!
"Daddy's coming, Anya, I know where you are!" He called out, only to be answered by roaring laughter and the door bursting open to reveal the brilliant smile of a young girl.
"Daddy, you always find me!" She squealed as he picked her up and swung her in the air. Her long, golden hair flew behind her and her green eyes twinkled with joy.
"That's because I don't like losing you, sweetheart. I love you too much." Darien hugged his daughter closely, remembering the time Beryl had tried to take her away.
-Flashback, 2 Years Ago-
"If the court understands you, Mr. Shields, you are telling us that Beryl Samsonite is fully unfit to be a mother?" The judge asked curiously, his white eyebrows raised.
"Yes, your honor. Ms. Samsonite is not fit to be a mother in that she cannot even do her own laundry, and has no job, nor a home. We were not married, your honor, and Anastasia is adopted under my name. I adopted her, and I love her with all my heart. I can provide to her a home full of love, a family, and all the things she may ever need. If Ms. Samsonite was to adopt her, and take her out of my care, I fully believe Anastasia would be in real danger." Darien reacted as he always did, treating this court date as if it were a business meeting.
"Mr. Shields, you state that under Ms. Samsonite's care Anastasia would be in danger. Can you clarify?" The prosecutor asked.
"Yes, I can. When Ms. Samsonite and I were in a relationship, Anastasia was often yelled at for even the simplest wrong. I cannot, in my right mind, allow my daughter to go to a woman who, indeed, would verbally abuse her, if not physically. The fact that she is fighting me is irrelevant to the want she has for the child, your honor; it has only to do with her wanting to take something precious away from me to cause me the pain she says she experienced because of our breakup." Darien replied confidently.
"So what if that's my reason for wanting the brat! I'll get her from you if it's the last thing I do!" Beryl shouted across the room to Darien, immediately bringing her hand to her mouth for revealing something so horrid to the court.
"Ms. Samsonite, control yourself! Clearly, as Mr. Shields has told the court, you are unfit to become a mother! The court rules in favor of one Mr. Darien Shields, awarding him full custody and no visitations or relations to one Ms. Beryl Samsonite." The judge knocked his gavel on the desk and court was adjourned, sending a tearful Anya running into her father's arms.
"Anya, I love you, and I'll never let you go."
-End Flashback-
He released his daughter and held her at arms length from his face, carefully studying her features. He often wondered what her real mother looked like, and longed to meet the woman who'd blessed him with this beautiful child.
Anya sighed. "Daddy, I'm tired. Can I go to bed?" To show how real her tiredness was, she yawned loudly.
"Of course, honey. Here, I'll give you a piggy back." Darien turned around and offered her his back; she jumped on and he clasped his hands beneath her and held her up. He walked to her room and laid her on her bed, reveling in the fact that her room was perfect. The walls were a light blue and the border at the top had large blue and yellow flowers on it, both pale colors. Her bedspread matched her border and her pillows were a pale yellow, as was her furniture. The carpet was a pale blue to match the room. 'My daughter has great taste, for a five year old.' He thought.
He left the room and went to get her favorite bedtime story from the toy chest as she changed. He picked up her copy of "The Swan Princess" and brought it back to her room, smiling as he saw her curled up underneath the covers.
He'd barely begun to read the story and her soft snores filled the room. He just sat there and watched, thanking the goddesses for bringing him such a special gift to love.
The doorbell rang and he jumped up to get it, hoping to reach it before it woke Anya. He peered through the peep-hole but could see nothing, so he opened the door to get a better view.
"I swear, if it's those punks again I'll..." Darien whispered angrily under his breath. There stood a woman, at least five inches shorter than him, looking up at him in curiosity. Her long, blond hair flowed freely down her back in loose curls; her crystal blue eyes gazed deeply into his until she blinked once to tear her self away from the Adonis in front of her.
"Oh, sorry, miss. May I help you?"
"I'm looking for a Mr. Darien Shields? It's quite important. If he isn't home, may I leave a message?" Serena's face lit up with a smile and she cocked her head to the side.
"I'm Darien, and may I ask you're name?" Darien replied, shocked at this woman. He'd never seen her before; he wasn't the type to sleep around, so this woman was literally out of nowhere.
"Serenity Moriarti, Serena for short. May I come in? You may want to sit for the news. I admit, I should have phoned earlier, but I thought seeing you in person would be better. That was, you know I'm not a crazy lady or something." Her smile brightened and she stepped forward as Darien stepped aside to allow her in.
"Yes, yes, of course. In person is the best way to do things. Now, Serena, may I ask you why you're here? Oh, and please keep you're voice down, my daughter is asleep."
"Well, Darien, please sit before I tell you. It's not the type of thing you want to hear standing up." Serena sat down herself on the long, black leather couch. Darien sat opposite her in a black leather recliner.
"Darien, you've never met me before and I realize that this may be a hard thing to swallow. I understand completely if you'd like to kick me out, but I ask you hear me out first so you know all the truths." Serena wrung her hands in her lap, awaiting the go-ahead from Darien before proceeding in her story. When she saw his head bob up and down she cleared her throat and began the tail that brought her to his house.
"Well, as you know, my name is Serenity Moriarti, and my father is Massimo Moriarti. We're from Italy, originally. He is in the Mafia, but he only controls the finances, and the law side of the Mafia's work.
"When I was sixteen, my then boyfriend and I were at a party. He was drunk and I was not, and he forced himself on me. The product was a pregnancy, and I had to choose either to abort it or have the baby and place it up for adoption. Keeping it was simply not an option for me, as one of the Mafia leader's sixteen year old daughter could not just keep a baby.
"I decided to have the baby and I was stunned when I learned she was a girl. When I had her, I begged my father to let me keep her, but to no avail. I had promised to give her up, and so I did. I gave her the one thing she might remember me by; her name. I named her Anastasia Moriarti, Anya for short.
"Years later a maternal instinct swept over me during one of my classes. I had to find her, but I didn't know where to start. My father and I hired a private investigator to find my daughter. We waited a whole year and finally, on my 21st birthday, we got news that she was living here in New York with you.
"I had to come see her, and the man who'd adopted my precious girl. I know it was wrong of me to just drop in, but I had to see her angelic face and see if she aged as beautifully as I'd hoped.
"I don't expect anything of you, not even that you give me visitation rights; I only hope to see her once, but if you give me more, I will gladly accept."
Serena's face was sad and pained. Reliving this to a stranger was something she never wanted to do, but she knew that she had to. Darien's calm exterior shielded the painful feelings brewing inside of him. And yet, though she was unknown to him, he felt a strange urge to give this woman what she wanted, whatever that may be.
"Serena, I thank you for coming to see me. You have no idea the days I've spent wondering how my little girl would turn out. Now that I've met you, I am sure she'll grow up into a brilliant and attractive lady. I was so scared that her mother had some disease that I could not cure; some horrible fate that could be passed on to my daughter that would take her away from me before her time." Darien stood and walked over to Serena; he reached his hand out to her and helped her off the couch.
"Surely, you have not come from so far away to leave before you could see her? If you'll follow me I'm sure you could sneak a peek before you leave." Darien led her to Anya's room, opening the door slowly to avoid waking her. Serena's eyes widened at the sight of her daughter sleeping so soundly; what was, only months ago, a dream now became reality.
"She's... she's so pretty. She has my hair! My baby, my beautiful girl!" She whispered, hot tears of joy coursing down her cheeks.
"Serena, let's go to the kitchen and have some tea. If you like, you can spend the night. Then Anya can meet you in the morning. Oh, she has preschool, though. Oh well, she can miss a day! We'll all stay home and get to know each other. How does that sound?" Darien's eyes lit up at the thought of the goddess-like figure staying the night in his house. 'Not only that, but she's the mother of my daughter! Oh, man, I'll be fighting the boy's off now...'
Darien led Serena to the kitchen, where she sat on a high wooden stood at the island. Darien put on a pot of water to boil and sat down across from her, staring at her face, which was drowning in tears.
"Serena, stop crying, please. What would Anya think if she woke up and a tearful lady was sitting with her father? She'd think I made you cry!" Darien laughed quietly and watched as Serena's gloomy face changed rapidly to one glowing of motherly pride.
"But, who knows, maybe you did!" She giggled at him and watched his eyes light up with laughter.
"Anya doesn't need to know that!" He replied with a wink as he twirled in his seat to check on the tea water. He steeped the teas and set them out in front of himself and Serena, delighting in the say her face lit up with each new bout of laughter. 'But she won't like me. She's only here for Anya, stupid!' he mentally chided himself for believing such nonsense.
The two stayed up for and hour, talking about past experiences and drinking tea. They found out that they had many of the same experiences through out their lives, and Darien learned much about the inner workings of the Italian Mafia. The clock chimed midnight and Darien stood up to check on Anya.
"Serena, where would you like to sleep? The couch, though nice to sit on, is quite hard to sleep on; I doubt you'd like it. Our guest room is being remodeled, so that's out of the question. There is one more place, but it's not really proper." Darien looked at Serena's face and waited until she got the message.
"Oh, I don't mind. I do, however, think the owner of the hotel might matter, since I rented a room and am not using it." She winked at Darien and he smirked with and intense sexual undertone.
"Oh, I happen to know that the owner won't mind. One of my closest friends, he is. He's nice too, and I daresay handsome." He winked back and began to walk to his bedroom, Serena following closely behind.
"Good. I don't like angering people." And with that the two broke into a fit of giggles but stopped, however hard it was, for fear of waking Sleeping Beauty.
"Oh, Darn. I haven't got my sleeping things." She stated, as though it was a horrible crime.
"No worries, I've got plenty of shirts. Here, I'll go get one." He jogged over to the walk in closet, which was the size of a whole other room, and grabbed a white, button up business shirt. "If it's dirty, I'll just wash it. No problem."
"Um, thanks. I'll go change. Meet you back here in five?" Serena started walking towards the door to the bathroom.
"Sure. See you then." Darien pulled of his shirt, revealing his washboard abs and well tanned body. Next came his pants, which fell softly to the ground. He stepped out of them and picked up his clothing, dropping it into the laundry hamper. Just as he was walking over to the bed, Serena came out of the bathroom dressed in only his shirt, carrying her laundry in her arms.
The white shirt fit her perfectly, clinging to her curves and reaching just below her butt. She dropped her clothing into the hamper as well and walked over to the bed, climbing in oblivious to what she was causing Darien.
He rolled into bed beside her, pulling the covers up to his chest. He rolled over slightly and whispered in Serena's ear, "Good night, Serena, and thank you for giving me Anya."
Serena's heart leapt and she went to sleep thinking of how lucky she and her daughter were to have this incredible man in their lives.
I hope that I get a few more reviews for this chapter than the last chapter. Hopefully this format is better for reading than the other one, and I'd like to know what is better so I can continue writing in the best way. As always, I don't own Sailor Moon, only this story and Massimo, Natalia and Anya. Thank you!