Disclaimer
I do not own Sailor Moon (unfortunately), so don't sue me. I don't have any money anyway. If I did I would spend it all on manga and anime ^_^;
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A/N:
"_____" : talking
'_____' : thoughts (or sometimes quoting someone else)

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Friends First
-Chapter 4-

He opened the door, and a servant looked back at him.

"Your highness...", the servant stuttered, looking slightly bewildered. "This is Miss Moon's room, is it not?"
"Yes."
"Um...right. May I come in then? I have a note for her, from a Mr. Jedrick Abbott."
"Come right in, I was just on my way out, and Miss Moon is just getting ready for the day." Darien answered, wondering who this Jedrick Abbott fellow was.

The servant gave Darien a curious look, but he shrugged it off. Turning towards the door, he stood straight, and walked out. He was just to his door when his mother's personal assistant, a short, round, little woman, stopped him.

"Your highness," The assistant said, "your Majesty, the Queen, would like to have a word with you in her office chambers. What time shall I schedule you in for?" Punctuating the question even more by bringing out an organizer.
"Anytime is fine with me Ruth."
Ruth gave a nod, and looked through her organizer.
"The Queen would like to see you as soon as possible, so..." Ruth said, not looking up.
"She has time until 9:30 a.m., which is approximately 15 minutes from now. Can you be at the Queen's office chambers by then?"
Darien gave his own nod, then added, "May I ask what this is about?"
Ruth frowned, then shook her head, "I'm sorry, but I really have no idea what the Queen wants to speak to you about." With that, she left.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Miss Moon?" The servant called, a little hesitant.
"Yes?" Serena answered, walking out of the bathroom.
"A Mr. Jedrick Abbott called. He left a note for you."

The servant held out a piece of paper, which she took. Serena wondered why he would be calling her. She hoped it wasn't an emergency. Briefly registering the servant was still there, she asked if there was anything else. When the servant replied no, she dismissed her (the servant).

Serena read the note over and over,:

Miss Serena Moon,

Hey! So how's life with the prince coming? I know what you probably think of it "The Horror!, The Horror!" Right? Well, enough of that...would you please call me back. I need to speak with you about something.

Jedrick Abbott

and laughed, but only for a while. She was still worried. Sure her cousin was acting like his old goofy self-even in his little notes-but he hadn't said what he wanted to speak to her about. She was pretty sure he had made sure the servant had written down what he was saying word for word, and let out a sigh. She couldn't be missing any vital information, and what Jed wanted to speak about must not be that important for the note and note carrier were far too calm for it to be urgent. She was still worried and decided to give him a call immediately. Her stomach grumbled. 'After breakfast.' she added, as an afterthought.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Darien sat in a plush chair opposite his mother's. His mother looked up from her paperwork, and smiled.

"Good morning Darien, you're looking handsome today."
"Thank you mother. Ruth said you wanted speak to me about something..."
"Oh yes, well...I see that you're giving Serena a chance, and I'm grateful for that. You haven't been planning any schemes or tricks lately...well at least I hope not...and I'm grateful for that too..." The Queen paused. Darien knew there was a big but coming.
"But?" Darien asked, hoping to move the conversation along quicker.
"But...well...would you mind making a little more effort to spend some (more) time with her?"

Darien was taken aback. She had barely gotten there yesterday. 'Not much time to spend, is there?' He mused to himself. He was tempted to tell his mother about spending the night in Serena's room, but decided not to. He didn't know why he didn't tell, it might've helped him get out of spending more time with Serena (and less time on his medical practice). But then again, if he told, his mother might've jumped to the wrong conclusions. Besides, spending time Serena might not be so bad. Darien reasoned with himself for quite a while, barely hearing what the Queen was saying.

They didn't have anything to discuss other than that, so Darien stood to leave. He was just at the door, when his mother called to him.

"Darien, I completely forgot! There's a ball this coming Tuesday. Would you please take Serena?"
Darien looked at his smiling mother, and mumbled, "Sure mother..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Serena!" Rei called, waving her hand wildly.
"Oh, hey Rei." Serena replied, closing her door behind her.
"Are you on your way to breakfast, Sere?"
Serena's stomach grumbled again, and they started giggling.
"Sure am!" Serena answered through her giggles.

They made their way towards the dining room, all the while talking about this and that, basically anything that came to mind. Serena put Jedrick's message out of her mind for a while, however, someone else did not...

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Darien started on his way towards the dining room. He had things on his mind, and thought this the perfect time to think about them. One particular thing got to him; Jedrick Abbott. Who was he? How did he know Serena? Just friends? or lovers? A bunch of questions raced through Darien's mind, and a surge of jealousy raced through his body.

Darien stopped walking, startled. 'Jealousy? Where had that come from?' Darien shook his head, trying to clear his senses, and shake the jealousy out. Why should he be jealous? It wasn't as if he and Serena had a "special" relationship. They were barely becoming friends. Why should he care if this Jedrick Abbott was her lover? Serena had every right to one, after all. It wasn't like they had any plans of actually getting married. They didn't even have any plans for getting engaged for that matter. Darien thought all of this, trying to reason the jealousy away.

He shook his head again, and pushed all thoughts that involved Jedrick Abbott away. Instead, he concentrated on thoughts of himself and Serena, together. Where would he take her to please his mother's request of 'making a little more effort to spend some (more) time with her'" A thoughtful look appeared on his face, and he continued on his way towards breakfast.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"So, Serena...Any plans for today?"
"Actually, Rei, I don't have any plans. I was just thinking about, maybe, walking around the palace grounds a bit. I've heard wonderful things about the palace gardens."
Rei nodded. "Yep! The gardens are beautiful! But...wouldn't you like to see around the town?"
Serena though about this, and then replied, "Sure! Why not? I'd love to see the sights."
"Great! We can see the Golden River, the Temple of Annika...OH! and you can meet Mina and my cousin Ami! Let me go call them now!"
Rei stood to leave, muttering to herself, "This is going to be so much fun!"

Serena watched Rei leave, and smiled. She was about to return to her food, when she stopped and smacked herself in the head. She had forgotten all about Jedrick's little note. She briefly wondered if there was more then one phone line in the palace, decided there was, and let it go.

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Darien walked in, and found Serena by herself. 'Perfect time to ask her on an outing.' Darien thought. He sat down beside her, and realized she hadn't noticed him come in. He cleared his throat to get her attention; that did the trick. He received a startled look from her, and then a cheery "Good Morning Darien!" After that, the room fell into a comfortable silence (in which they ate breakfast).

Serena was almost finished with her plate when Darien decided to ask her on the outing.
She gave him an apologetic look, and replied: "I'm so sorry Darien, but I'm going around town with Rei."

Darien just said it was no problem, but Serena had a skeptical face. He reassured her that it was alright, and she continued eating, cleaning off her plate.

Darien felt...disappointed. Disappointed? Why was he feeling disappointed? He should be glad that he didn't have to be forced to entertain Serena all day (like other marriage prospects). He had a valid reason-she was already going somewhere. The truth was, he was starting to like her company. However, Darien didn't want to acknowledge the truth, and so reasoned that it was just a guilty feeling for not doing what his mother wanted. He was so caught up in reasoning the disappointment away (much like the jealousy of before), that he did not hear Serena's question the first time.

"I'm sorry, could you repeat that?"
"I asked if there was more than one phone line in the palace."
"Of course."
"Great! Could you show me to a phone that is in room with a bit of privacy?" Darien gave her curious look.
"There is a phone in your room. You may use that one. I'm sure it will give you a bit of privacy."

Serena blushed, slightly embarrassed for forgetting the phone in her room. She gave a quick "Thank you!", and left, leaving Darien to finish eating, alone.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"A.A.M. Industries, Anna May speaking, How may I help you?"
"Hello and Good Morning Anna May. How are you? Is Jedrick busy right now? Or may I speak with him?"
"I'm fine, and Jedrick isn't busy at the moment. I'll transfer you right over. Oh, and Serena, it isn't morning over here anymore." Serena blushed.
"Oh, I forgot I'm in a different time zone." There was a soft click, and music began to play, but stopped shortly afterward.
"Serena?!" Serena smiled.
"Yep! it's me."
"Sere, Derek came by the company looking for you." She became worried.
"What?! How?! You didn't tell him where to find me did you?"
"No. We still don't know how he got inside the building. The conclusion we came up with is he knocked the guards out, and got through. But, try to keep yourself out of the spotlight so he doesn't find you, 'kay?" Serena bit her bottom lip.
"Sure Jed. I'll try, but I'm going out with Rei today."
"Who's Rei?"
"Darien's sister, the Princess...Jed! You don't know who she is?!"
"Well sorry if I'm not caught up with the royal heirs and heiresses...but...if you don't bring too much attention to yourself and if the princess is not recognized, then you should be okay. Kyle's going to be going over there."
"Why?"
"He wants to. He said something about it being his duty as your older brother."
"Oh...but what about his company?"
"Hey! I co-own this company, and am fully capable of running this company by myself you know! If you didn't notice one of the As in A.A.M. Industries stands for me. "
"Okay, okay...I get it Jed. Sorry. But I don't need a bodyguard. Kyle doesn't have to come."
"I don't know...I think you just might need one. Remember, Derek is VERY persistent."
"I know, but what about the court order? Doesn't it say he can't get within a mile of me?"
"It does, but there isn't really anyone to enforce that where you're at, now is there?"
"I guess you're right. So when's Kyle arriving here?"
"He said he'll be there as soon as he can. Since we have some major business to deal with right now, I'd say the earliest he could get there is next Saturday."
"Okay, thanks." Serena smiled. "So, what's new with you?"
"Nothing much. The usual business."
"Oh...what about Zeke?"
"Zeke is taking a vacation."
"Really? Where'd he go?"
"Nowhere. He's at home reading in the library or swimming in the pool. You know that's more of a vacation to him." Serena laughed.
"How could I forget?!"
"So...what about you? How's the prince?" Serena blushed at the thought of this morning.
"Well...he's different than the others."
"Really...Hold on Serena..." Serena heard muffled speaking. "I'm sorry Sere, but I've got to go. Talk to you later Buns."
"Alright, hon. Bye."

Completely forgetting the remark about her hair, Serena hung up the phone with a worried look on her face. The last potential husband, Derek* Sinclair, had been obsessed with her. When her family had found out about just how far his obsession had gone (a plan to drug her, hide her away from her family, and keep her all to himself), they had promptly gotten a restraining order. Serena had thought her parents had given up on match making, but low and behold, she was here now, being matched up with Darien.

Something was still bothering Serena as she walked out of the room. Why had Derek gone looking for her at A.A.M. Industries instead of at Moonlight Inc.? She continued on, not noticing the smiling figure walking towards her.

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A/N2: Okay, there wasn't really much point to this chapter except to show a little of Darien's jealous side and introduce some more characters into the story. But don't worry, it still goes with the plot!

Just so you won't get confused:

Serena has 2 brothers: one older, Kyle (Kunzite) and one younger, Sammy.
Jedrick (Jaedite) and Zeke (Zoicite) Abbott are her cousins and are brothers.

Kyle, Jedrick, and Zeke own their own company. Serena is the heiress to Moonlight Inc. if she gets married before she turns 25 (although she is currently trying to change her parents' minds about that), or else the company goes to Sammy.

*Derek=Diamond (I thought I should use everyday names instead.)

okay...now for some thank yous that I haven't had time to do.

Thank Yous

Shadow Dragon: *grins* Thanks for encouraging me to continue this story and for the wonderful comment!

Shadow: Thanks!

dana-grace: Thank you!

SailorKittyMoon: Thanks for the comment, and just keep on reading (to find out what happens)...^_^

DreamEnchanter: Thanks! and Serena is staying at Darien's place because her parents are trying to set her up with him. Serena's parents have said that she needs to get married before/by the age of 25 or else Sammy gets the company (instead of Serena), so Serena goes along with getting matched-up. ^_^

lynxxie: Thanks!

Enchanted Lullabies: Thanks for the review!

myung: hehe...thanks for reviewing! and I'll try to keep the updates coming faster...

spuffylover: Thanks!

Tramill De Laxson: lol...sorry...I didn't realize they were all at cliffhangers. Well, don't worry, not all of my (later) chapters will end in cliff hangers.

Enchanted Lullabies: Thanking you again! Thanks for reviewing!

SaKuRa LoVa: Thanks!

okay...those are all the thank yous...for now...

Remember: You + Review = Happy Me; Happy me = New Chapter