Untitled As Of Yet
By Usabelle
AN: Happy New Year! *throws confetti* A new chapter for a new year. This chapter seemed to take forever. I didn't think I'd ever get it out. I had the flu over break and since I didn't have the energy to do anything else, I wrote! You can thank influenza for this chapter. Oh yes, I almost forgot- reviews make me happy. In fact, reviews make me so happy that sometimes, I update even sooner. I'd like to give a big group hug to my reviewers. Thank you! So please read, review, and don't flame. You know the drill.
Standard Disclaimers Apply
Chapter Five
"Serena?"
It was Darien. She knew it was Darien. But would she acknowledge the fact that she could recognize his voice? Absolutely not. "This is she. May I ask who's speaking?"
"This is Darien Shields," he replied in a sheepish tone.
She scowled. "Oh, hi Darien," she greeted nonchalantly. After rehashing her painful memories, she didn't feel like being the least bit friendly to him.
"I'm sorry for calling you this early... did I wake you?"
"No," she responded coldly. She grinned an evil little smile. Getting information out of her would be like pulling teeth.
"Oh... uh... good... how are you?"
"Fine, thank you, and you?"
"Good..."
She rolled her eyes at his seemingly nervous voice. "Was there something you needed, Darien?"
"Well, I was up all night preparing files for my case and I have a few hours until the hearing, so I decided to give you a call."
"How lucky for me," she drawled.
"What are you doing today?" he asked in an obvious attempt to make conversation.
She sighed as she turned off her shower, "I have work in an hour and it's going to be hell today because I didn't get any sleep last night with that storm," or thinking about you, she added silently.
He groaned, "I know. I usually keep a sheet and pillow at the office for late nights but last night was awful."
"Workaholic?" she asked absently as she decided to make breakfast.
He chuckled, "No, not quite. I prefer to call it dedication."
"Call it what you want, no one should think about work that much," she replied as she spread cream cheese on a bagel.
"I wasn't thinking about work the whole time, you know."
"Really?"
"Actually, much of the time I was thinking about you."
She nearly choked on her bagel yet responded in an uninterested tone, "Is that so?"
"Yes, I was thinking about asking you to dinner on Saturday."
"..." She couldn't think of a thing to say.
"So?"
"So what?" she asked, stalling as she debated whether to go along with the plan or tell him to go to hell.
"Dinner, maybe a movie? There's a French restaurant that just opened and I've wanted to try it. So how bout it?"
She smirked, "All right. You can pick me up at six."
"Great! Saturday it is, then," he responded happily.
She turned on the shower once again as she finished her bagel, "I have to go. If I'm late today I'll be in big trouble."
"Same old Meatball Head," he reproached playfully.
"Shut up, Darien," she replied in an annoyed tone. With that, she hung up. She grinned maliciously. She'd give him something to think about over the next few days.
An hour later, Serena ran through the corridors of the hospital as her pager buzzed away at her hip. "I'm coming!" she said mostly to herself in a frustrated tone as she briefly looked down to check who was paging her. Suddenly, she collided with a hard, warm body. She looked up to find the last person that she wanted to deal with at the moment: Darien Shields. Of course he had to look good enough to eat in another immaculate suit when she looked like the bride of Frankenstein.
"Hi Serena!" he said brightly and followed her down the long hallway.
"Darien," she responded as she cleared out the number in her pager, practically running towards the emergency wing.
"Do you work here?" he asked, inspecting her medical garb.
"No, I just wear scrubs because they look pretty," she drawled sarcastically as she walked to the front desk. She turned to the receptionist and showed her her ID card. To her astonishment, Darien flashed an ID card as well. She motioned for him to follow her to the Staff Only area. "How did you get one of those?"
He gave a lop-sided smile, "I'm doing some...work here and I need access to certain areas."
"Good Lord, you're an ambulance chaser, aren't you?"
He grinned, "Thank heavens no. I'm-"
Suddenly, they heard yelling at the front desk as the doors to the restricted area flew open. "Ma'am! You are not authorized to go back there!" the receptionist yelled after the woman that she'd been arguing with.
Serena watched as the enraged woman with flaming red hair and fanatical eyes knocked over a medicine cart and overturned an elderly man in a wheelchair in her haste to get away. To Serena's annoyance, the woman ran over to Darien and practically glued herself to his side. The woman screeched in such a way that Serena was sure could shatter glass, "This is my lawyer! We have special permission to be back here! How would you like another lawsuit on your hands?"
The receptionist tried to keep her voice as polite as possible, "He has permission to be back here, ma'am. You don't."
"Don't you know who I am?" the woman asked haughtily.
Serena rolled her eyes. She knew who she was all right. Everyone did. The receptionist put her hands on her hips, "I do, and frankly, I don't care. I'll call security if I must." Serena grinned and made a mental note to give this receptionist an especially nice Christmas gift.
The woman's green eyes flashed, "I am Beryl Vandergrift! My father owns half of this city! I demand to speak to your supervisor."
Serena wanted to laugh at the picture Beryl made; her orange-red locks were frizzy and sticking out in all directions, her emerald eyes held a constant surprised look (which Serena deduced to be from a bit too much botox), and her once slender, pointed nose looked almost alien and was covered with a butterfly bandage. Beryl was the product of too much plastic surgery.
Darien pried the fuming woman off of him and glared at her before turning to the receptionist, "Security will not be necessary. My client will vacate the premises immediately. I'm terribly sorry."
The receptionist gave him a sympathetic smile, "That's quite all right."
Serena watched raptly as Darien began to chew Beryl out in front of the entire emergency room staff, "What the hell were you thinking? We could have lost all of our grounds for the case! I told you to wait in the lobby!" he barked.
Beryl slithered up to him and pouted. Slithered was the correct term due to the skin-tight, lime green snakeskin dress that she wore. Serena wanted to vomit as she spoke with saccharine sweetness, "Darien, I only wanted to find you, baby."
He all but threw her off of him. "First of all, it's Mr. Shields to you. Secondly, you are going to go and sit in that lobby until I come and get you. You will not say anything to anyone without my counsel. Understood?"
At that moment, even Serena was intimidated by Darien. He made everyone feel as though they were two inches tall with his icy glare and deep, bellowing voice. She watched in amusement as Beryl's face reddened.
Before leaving, Beryl noticed Serena at Darien's side and Serena could see the jealousy in her crazed green eyes, "What are you doing here?" She said 'you' as though she were the scum of the earth.
Serena stood unfazed, "Darien and I were attending to some... business."
Beryl looked from Serena to Darien in disbelief before finally turning to Darien, "She's another client?"
Darien smirked and put an arm around Serena's waist, "No. We were attending to personal business that I would much like to finish," he dismissed her as though she were nothing and Serena wanted to kiss him for it.
Beryl glared at her and Serena smiled in return. Just as Beryl turned to stalk off, Serena decided to finally give her a taste of her own medicine. "Hey Beryl," she called as the fuming woman stopped, "Michael Jackson called, he wants his nose back!"
To Beryl's humiliation and Serena's shock, the surrounding spectators began to clap and cheer for Serena. Beryl eyes darted back and forth as she panicked, considering that no one had ever stood up to her before. She ran out of the room, mortified. Darien began to laugh and Serena smiled, "I think that was the most satisfying thing I've ever done."
She glanced over at Darien who attempted to control his laughter. "I don't care if I do get fired from the case- that was truly hilarious!"
When Darien quieted down, Serena spoke cautiously, "What is she to you?"
He grew serious and placed his hands on her shoulders, "A paycheck. Nothing more." She raised an eyebrow in response. He rested his forehead on hers and his glacial blue eyes bore into hers, "I know that with my track record you have no reason to believe me, but for once, I'm telling the truth. There is nothing going on between us except seventy-five dollars an hour for my legal counsel. You have every reason not to, but please trust me."
Serena stepped back, astonished at the fact that she actually believed that he was telling the truth. She gave a slight smile, "Well okay, but lying is what you're paid to do, so I'm not even sure why I believe you."
Just as he was about to reply, the intercom turned on, "Nurse Tsukino, please report to room 948 immediately."
She groaned, "I am so late."
He patted her shoulder. "Go. Save a life. I need to go and... how did you put it? Ah, yes... lie to some people anyway."
She shook her head and headed for the operating room, "I'll see you Saturday."
He grinned and gazed at her rapidly disappearing figure, "Can't wait!"
By the end of the week, all Serena wanted to do was sleep. Everything seemed to go wrong. She had gotten in trouble for being late, accidentally mixed medications, and lost a child in surgery. When Saturday night rolled around, she didn't think that she even had the energy to sit through dinner, much less with Darien. She had been planning on buying a dress for the evening but hadn't found the time. Grudgingly, she reached for the phone to call Mina and ask to borrow a dress, but she suddenly froze. If she borrowed something from Mina, then Mina would automatically feel that she had the right to meddle. Meddling would be a problem. She walked over to her closet.
Once deciding that she had no idea what to do, she decided to call upon a voice of reason... well sort of. Raye. She dialed and turned on the speakerphone while she rummaged through her closet.
"Hello?"
"I need help, Raye," she whined as she sat in the middle of her floor in despair.
"What time is he coming?" Raye asked knowingly.
Serena shook her head, "How did you know?"
"The shortness of breath and the helplessness in your voice. I was once a bachelorette too, you know." Serena laughed in response and pulled out a pair of spiked heels before throwing them back into the 'no' pile. "What do you need?" Raye asked.
"An outfit," Serena replied helplessly, "One that says 'Look at me, I'm hot' yet 'I didn't spend too much time think about what to wear.'"
"Why didn't you just call Mina?"
"I wanted 'look at me, I'm hot,' not 'look at me, I'm a skank'."
Raye laughed, "Plastic dress, case in point. I'll see you in five minutes."
True to her word, Raye arrived at Serena's apartment five minutes later with a garment bag in hand.
Serena carefully opened the bag to find a sparkling red dress with a halter neck and plunging "V" neckline. She squealed in delight, "Raye! Where did you find this? It must have cost a fortune!"
Raye smiled in satisfaction as she took out the matching shoes, wrap, and purse, "Surprisingly, no. I found it at an antique shop about a month ago. Since I can't wear it now, I guess you can have it."
Serena looked at her, bewildered, as she came to sit beside Raye on the bed, "Why can't you wear it?" Raye blushed in response and Serena's eyes grew wide, "My God, Raye, you're blushing! I never thought I'd see the day! What happened?"
"Chad and I are going to have a baby..." she trailed off shyly.
Serena began to jump up and down on the bed, "A baby! How? When?"
Raye smacked her, "You know how, stupid. As for the when... who knew Best Western could be so romantic?"
Serena squealed, "Raye!"
Raye shook her head. "Enough about that- if you don't hurry, you won't be ready in time and we want to impress, don't we?"
She sobered, "We do."
Fifteen minutes later, after threats on Serena's life about staying still while applying makeup and minor puncture wounds, Serena was ready. She stood in front of her vanity mirror inspecting her appearance. "Well, I suppose this is as good as it's going to get."
"If I didn't run the risk of messing up my fine work, I'd slap you," Raye reproached before her expression softened, "You look wonderful, Serena."
Serena smiled, "Thanks Raye. Who knew that you had such a soft side?"
Raye was about to reply with what Serena was sure to be a cutting retort when her doorbell rang. Serena hurried to the door and grabbed her purse on the way. Raye fixed Serena's wrap and touched up her makeup one last time. "Now you're ready. I'll go and hide and let myself out once you've left. Have fun!" Raye scampered off strangely giddy and Serena shook her head in amazement.
Serena took a deep breath and opened the door. Her face reddened as she peeked at her date from beneath her lashes. Perfect, as usual. The white tuxedo he wore seemed to be made for him and was a stark contrast against the blood red rose tucked in his lapel. His black hair was tousled and he wore a look of complete shock on his flawless face. She noticed, in his stupor, that he held a bouquet in his left hand. She raised an eyebrow in question.
Darien stood at the entryway to her apartment in awe as he stared at her, "You look...wonderful..." he stumbled over his words.
She gazed back, unaffected, and responded blandly, "Thank you. So do you." 'Eat your heart out, asshole' she thought as she smiled at him politely. She looked pointedly at the bouquet.
He broke out of this stupor, "Oh... uh... these are for you..." He awkwardly offered a dozen long-stemmed red roses to her.
She regarded them coolly, "Thank you. I'll just go and put these in water." As she walked into the kitchen, she turned around to see him uncomfortably shifting from side to side in her doorway. She smiled slightly, "You may come in if you'd like."
He grinned, "Thanks."
Reaching for a vase, she turned to him, "Would you like a drink?"
She watched as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and glanced at her nervously, "I'd love one but I can't."
"Ever the responsible driver," she said as she put the flowers in water.
"Yeah... that's me..." Darien trailed off anxiously.
She placed the vase on the counter and walked to the door, "Ready?" she asked, looking over her shoulder.
"What? Oh... uh... yeah..." he responded in an embarrassed tone, having been caught staring.
Serena smiled knowingly and lead him out of her apartment. He was already taking the bait.
Twenty minutes later, after a painstakingly silent car ride, they arrived at Chez Pierre. Darien tossed his keys to the valet boy and guided Serena into the extravagantly decorated restaurant. Serena gazed appreciatively at her lavish surroundings. Directly above her was a massive crystal chandelier that illuminated the ornate gilded ceiling. She walked carefully through the entrance, knowing full well that she couldn't afford to break anything, considering that her surroundings were worth more than she was.
"Serena?" a thickly accented voice called, snapping her out of her musings.
She froze. She knew that voice. It was Jacques. Tensely turning towards her ex-boyfriend, she felt Darien's hand tighten at her hip. Noticing that he stood behind a podium, she deduced that he was the host. Lovely. What an auspicious beginning to the night. She gave a tight smile, "Hello Jacques. I would have thought that you would be in Paris by now."
The dark-haired Frenchman looked sheepish, "Oui... I should, but it just did not work out."
She looked upon him with false sympathy, "Oh, what a shame." Remembering that Darien was behind her, completely in the dark, she turned to him, "Darien, meet Jacques. Jacques, Darien."
The two regarded each other jealously. Darien drew her even closer as he held out his hand in courtesy. "Nice to meet you," he said, full of contempt.
"Likewise," Jacques replied dispassionately. He turned back to Serena with a smile full of charm that would have made her swoon a month earlier. Now it just seemed contrived and slick. "Do you have a reservation, chérie?"
Darien stepped in, envy apparent in his frigid sapphire eyes, "We have a reservation under Shields."
Jacques quickly scanned his book and looked up with a smirk, "Oui, you do, but this table is... unacceptable," his chocolate brown eyes gazed at Serena enchantingly, "For you, my Serena, I will get a much better table."
Serena winced at the nearly crushing grip at her side as she watched Darien barely suppress his anger. She decided to take advantage of the situation to the fullest and smiled brightly, "Thank you, Jacques. I really appreciate it."
Darien walked stiffly behind Serena to the table and glared at Jacques when he pulled out Serena's chair for her. After the sickening display was over, he spoke through clenched teeth, "Thank you, that will be all."
After Jacques left, Darien sat in tense silence. He glared at the menu, "Well what the hell was that?"
She sighed, "Jacques is just... an ex of mine. We parted on bad terms."
Darien looked up, seemingly remorseful, "Really? I'm sorry."
She shrugged, "It's not your fault that he's an ass."
He smiled in relief, "Well I'm sorry for being one. I didn't know."
She nearly winced as she thought about how Darien's rejection hurt ten times worse than Jacques', but suppressed the hurt and anger with a friendly smile. "Forgiven."
Just then, their waiter stepped up to the table. The bleach blond haired teenage boy took in a breath and began in a bored tone, "Hello. I'm Kyle and I'll be your waiter this evening. Would you like to hear about the special?"
Serena smiled in amusement, "That's all right." She glanced over at Darien, "What are you getting?"
"I think I'll have the seared foie gras," he replied, handing the waiter his menu.
Not knowing any other foreign names on the menu, she assumed foie gras was pretty safe, "I'll have the same."
Fifteen minutes later, Kyle arrived with their entrees. After one experimental bite, Serena dug into the delicious meal. Darien paused between bites, "You like?"
She nodded, "I love. I've never had anything like this before."
As she continued to eat, he attempted to make conversation, "I heard that the chef here uses innovative techniques on old recipes. That's why I wanted to try this place."
"Really?" she asked, pausing only momentarily before returning to her meal.
He nodded, "Actually, I ordered the foie gras because the chef devised some new technique by searing it in peanut oil."
Serena's fork clattered to the plate and she sat in frozen shock. "Peanut oil? Did you say peanut oil?"
His gazed at her in confusion, "Yes... why?"
Her eyes widened and she pushed back her chair, "I have to go," she said worriedly.
He immediately stood up, "What? Why? What did I do?" he asked in utter disbelief.
She looked around impatiently, "You didn't do anything. I'm allergic to peanuts. I need to get to a hospital."
Darien nodded and found their waiter flirting with a hostess, "Excuse me, but what does the chef use in the seared foie gras?"
Kyle seemed annoyed, "Um... like duck... and... stuff... I guess."
Darien looked at him urgently, "Peanut oil! He uses peanut oil in it, doesn't he?"
"Um... I guess..." Kyle replied stupidly.
"Holy shit!" Darien cried and the entire restaurant turned to look at him.
"Dude... you need to chill..." Kyle said in a mellow tone.
"No! I won't chill! You know what you need to do? You need to get the check so I can get my date to the hospital. Wait. Here's a hundred dollars. Keep the change and go get an education!" With that, Darien took Serena by the arm and rushed out of the restaurant.
As they ran toward Darien's car, they heard someone shouting behind them. Darien looked over his shoulder to see Jacques running to catch up, "Wait! Let me take Serena to the hospital!"
Darien stopped, utterly pissed, "Um, let me think about it...no."
"You are obviously not fit to take care for her. She needs me," Jacques said haughtily.
Serena's eyes widened as she saw a look of pure hatred and frustration in Darien's eyes. Before she knew what was happening, Darien's fist flew forward like lightning as he punched Jacques squarely in the jaw. Darien grinned in satisfaction, "Suck on that, asshole!" Serena gave an amused smile in response. He looked at her worriedly, "We'd better get you to the hospital."
Five minutes later, Darien and Serena arrived at Springfield General Hospital. Serena was sure that she wasn't going to make it to the hospital alive, let alone to get treatment, with the way that Darien was speeding. He nearly parked on the sidewalk in his haste to get to the building. Darien rushed her through the entrance to emergency and she was almost touched by the way that he cared for her. Almost. All she had to do was think of that night at the arcade and the bitter resentment came rushing back. A dissonant beeping sound took her out of her thoughts and she realized that she had arrived in the very full emergency room.
Serena walked over to the front desk and greeted the receptionist, "Hi Maggie."
The receptionist looked at Serena in surprise, "Serena? I didn't know you were working tonight," she glanced at Serena's formal attire, "in that."
Serena sighed in agitation, "I'm not. I need to see a doctor. I'm afraid that I accidentally ate something with peanuts and I'm terribly allergic."
Maggie smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry but we're packed right now. I'll have a doctor come and look at you as soon as there's one available."
Serena thanked her and looked around the emergency room for a place to sit. Suddenly, she gasped and ran behind Darien, "Hide me!" she hissed, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.
Darien gazed at her, bewildered, "What are you hiding from?"
To Serena's chagrin and Darien's amusement, a portly man wearing a cape waddled over to Serena with an equally strangely dressed woman in tow. The man bowed to Serena, "Greetings Serena! It feels as though I haven't seen you since the Second Age!"
Serena squeezed her eyes shut and briefly wished for some divine intervention, but when nothing happened, she gave a tight smile and decided to be brave, "Hello, Frodo." She turned to Darien who seemed quite amused by the situation, "Darien, this is Frodo Baggins. Frodo, this is Darien," she decided to be kind to Darien and not give out his last name to the wacko. She could hear Darien snickering and she smacked him in the stomach as discretely as possible.
Frodo seemed curiously unaffected and gave the 'live long and prosper' sign to Darien, "Greetings Darien."
Darien, who was obviously trying not to laugh, gave a strangled "Hello."
"What brings you to the emergency room this night, my precious?"
Darien's eyes widened and Serena, although somewhat used to Frodo's strange sayings, stifled a laugh, "I had an allergic reaction to something that I ate," she decided that giving out minimum information would be safest.
"Ah," Frodo nodded solemnly, "I too was once ill from what I consumed. I once baked a loaf of Elven bread and was sick for light years, light years I tell you!"
Serena gave a sympathetic smile, "I'm sorry... What are you here for?" she attempted to be friendly without seeming too friendly.
Frodo took the woman's hand, "Leia and I were reenacting scene 21 from Episode Two when we had a slight accident with a light saber." Frodo lifted the woman's sleeve to reveal a large gash along her arm and looked at her lovingly.
Serena smiled knowingly and smacked Darien once again when he began to snicker, "And who is Leia?"
The woman behind Frodo stepped forward and Serena got a good look at her for the first time. She was short and slight with greasy black hair and coke-bottle glasses. She gave a meek response, "I am."
Frodo beamed proudly, "The force brought Leia and I together at the Star Wars Convention."
Serena saw Darien shaking with laughter and attempted to distract them, "How wonderful for you! I'm sure that you two will be very happy together."
Frodo put his burly arm around Leia and hugged her close, "Yes, like Arwen and Aragorn our love was meant to be. She, the elf-like beauty, and I-"
"Well that's just great. Unfortunately, I think a nurse is calling Serena's name so we'd better go. Nice meeting you," Darien interjected and waved goodbye to the strange couple.
Serena looked at Darien reproachfully and waved goodbye to Frodo and Leia. When they were a safe distance away, she shook her head and whispered, "That was so strange."
"So how did you meet Frodo?" he asked with a snicker.
"You don't want to know," she replied with a tired smile, "Good Lord, these hives are itchy," she complained and noticed that the rash was getting much worse.
He took her arm and inspected it, concerned, "We need to get a doctor. This doesn't look good."
As if on cue, a nurse called Serena's name.
Serena and Darien followed the nurse back to a room where they sat for five long minutes. After flipping through the channels on the TV in the room and realizing that the only shows on were Fresh Prince reruns, Serena tiredly turned off the TV. She sighed, "Lovely. We're stuck here with nothing to do."
He smirked, "I'm hurt. Aren't I entertaining enough?"
Before she could reply, a tall, middle-aged man walked into the room. "Hello Serena. What seems to be the problem?"
"Hello Dr. Williams," she'd worked with this doctor in surgery once or twice, "I accidentally ate something with peanuts and I'm allergic."
"All right. Let's have a look." He inspected the rapidly growing rash on her arms and shook his head, "Besides the rash, what are your symptoms?"
"Um... I'm having a little trouble breathing and I'm slightly dizzy," she looked at the doctor worriedly.
He grimaced, "Due to the severity of your reaction, I'd like to give you an Epinephrine shot."
She smiled in relief. A shot was nothing.
"In the rear."
Her eyes widened, "What? Why?"
"Nurse Tsukino, you've seen Epinephrine shots before. They're painful. A shot in the rear won't hurt as much. It's the best way."
She looked from the doctor to Darien in embarrassment, "There must be some other way..."
The doctor grimaced, "I don't think you realize how severe this reaction is, Serena. We have to do this now." He quickly left the room to prepare the injection.
Darien gave a slight smile, "I never thought I'd get to see you naked on the first date, Serena."
Serena scowled at him, "You won't. You're waiting outside."
Two hours later, Serena walked out of the room exhausted. Darien, who was reading a magazine in a chair outside the room, started when he saw his drained date.
Serena wearily smirked at his choice of reading material, "You read COSMOgirl?"
He smiled back tiredly, "Yes, and I now know four moves to a sexy butt."
She grinned, "Thanks for waiting."
Grabbing his keys out of his pocket, Darien led her out of the hospital. "No problem," he responded, and suddenly froze.
Serena stared at him, confused, "What's wrong?"
He paled, "Where is my car?"
She froze as well, "Oh no..."
He turned to her in dread. "I parked it in the 'No Parking Zone,' didn't I?"
Serena's eyes widened, "I'm so sorry..."
For a moment, he was silent and Serena thought that he was going to cry. After a minute, he took a deep breath, "It's okay...we'll just take the bus home."
She smiled weakly and followed him to the stop in front of the hospital.
"You know what's really funny?" she asked tiredly.
"What?" Darien asked in a drained tone.
"We could have just called an ambulance from the restaurant and this whole fiasco could have been avoided."
He smiled, "I'll remember that next time I poison a date."
She grinned and they sat in amicable silence.
He noticed her shivering, "Here, take my jacket. It's cold and you've been through hell."
She smiled gratefully and took the jacket, "Thanks."
They sat for a while until a bus stopped and they wearily climbed the steps. Darien paid their fares and they sat at the first filthy, albeit empty seat that they saw. Everyone on the bus stared at the couple in their formal attire.
Darien glared as he loosened his tie. "What are you looking at?" he growled at the innocent passengers.
Serena sighed and debated whether or not to lean against Darien or the grimy window. At that point, she was too tired to care and leaned up against his warm body. She looked up at him in pity, "This bus stops in front of my building. You can call a cab from my apartment if you'd like."
He smiled weakly and put his arm around her, "Thanks."
When the bus had finally stopped in front of Serena's building, both she and Darien were half-asleep. Darien roused her and they slowly made their way from the bus to her building. They took the elevator up to her floor and wearily trudged to her apartment. Serena opened the door to the dark flat and groped for the light switch. When she found it, she threw her purse on the couch and made her way to the kitchen. Darien slowly followed. She turned to him, "Would you like some coffee? I'm afraid that I don't have much else..."
He smiled sleepily at her gesture, "No thanks. I'd better be on my way."
She nodded and handed him her phone. While he talked, she began to over-analyze his response. Had he already had enough of her? She was actually embarrassed about what a bad date she was. It was just as well, she mused, because someone would have ended up hurt anyway.
"A cab will be here in five minutes," he said, breaking her out of her thoughts.
She nodded, "I'll walk you down."
They walked to the lobby in an uncomfortable silence. Darien had kept shifting his weight from side to side in the elevator and it had driven Serena mad. She'd been able to do nothing but stare at her now worn-in shoes. Finally they made it to the entrance of the building.
Darien smiled slightly, "I'm sorry about tonight. If it's worth anything, I still had fun," he paused and then began again nervously, "I'd like to see you again, that is if you'd go within ten feet of me after tonight."
Serena flashed a bright smile at him. Bingo. "I'd love to."
He raised his eyebrows in surprise and then his face broke into a sweet, boyish grin, "Really? Great. I'll call you."
For some reason, she knew that he would. And for some strange reason, she'd look forward to it. "Wonderful."
They stood facing each other awkwardly and Serena felt like a teenager all over again. He gave a tiny half-smile that Serena had grown accustomed to over the night and took her hands, sending little sparks up her freezing skin. She watched as he stepped closer to her ever so slightly. She tilted her head up towards his, moving closer into his warm embrace and smelled the same uniquely intoxicating scent that she had years ago. This however, sent warning bells through her head and just as she felt his breath on her face, she turned so that his lips brushed her cheek.
His eyes opened in surprise and he smiled sheepishly, "I should have seen that one coming." He slowly stepped back, "I can wait."
She blushed and luckily, the cab came to her rescue. He got in and just before driving away he peeked his head out the window and his voice had a low, husky quality to it, "I'd wait forever for you."
With that, the cab sped away and Serena groaned. What had she gotten herself into?
END CHAPTER FIVE
AN: I don't know what it is... Frodo holds a special place in my heart. I hope you liked this one. I drew from my own experience for the hospital scene. A few months ago, I waited for five hours in Emergency watching nothing but Fresh Prince because the tv couldn't get any other channels. One can only take so much of Will Smith in hot pink pants. Also, I've gotten some reviews about how Darien acted like nothing was wrong. I know after this chapter some (or many) people will be like, 'why didn't she bring up what he did to her?' Yes, yes, I know. Patience. It will come up. :)
~Usabelle
By Usabelle
AN: Happy New Year! *throws confetti* A new chapter for a new year. This chapter seemed to take forever. I didn't think I'd ever get it out. I had the flu over break and since I didn't have the energy to do anything else, I wrote! You can thank influenza for this chapter. Oh yes, I almost forgot- reviews make me happy. In fact, reviews make me so happy that sometimes, I update even sooner. I'd like to give a big group hug to my reviewers. Thank you! So please read, review, and don't flame. You know the drill.
Standard Disclaimers Apply
Chapter Five
"Serena?"
It was Darien. She knew it was Darien. But would she acknowledge the fact that she could recognize his voice? Absolutely not. "This is she. May I ask who's speaking?"
"This is Darien Shields," he replied in a sheepish tone.
She scowled. "Oh, hi Darien," she greeted nonchalantly. After rehashing her painful memories, she didn't feel like being the least bit friendly to him.
"I'm sorry for calling you this early... did I wake you?"
"No," she responded coldly. She grinned an evil little smile. Getting information out of her would be like pulling teeth.
"Oh... uh... good... how are you?"
"Fine, thank you, and you?"
"Good..."
She rolled her eyes at his seemingly nervous voice. "Was there something you needed, Darien?"
"Well, I was up all night preparing files for my case and I have a few hours until the hearing, so I decided to give you a call."
"How lucky for me," she drawled.
"What are you doing today?" he asked in an obvious attempt to make conversation.
She sighed as she turned off her shower, "I have work in an hour and it's going to be hell today because I didn't get any sleep last night with that storm," or thinking about you, she added silently.
He groaned, "I know. I usually keep a sheet and pillow at the office for late nights but last night was awful."
"Workaholic?" she asked absently as she decided to make breakfast.
He chuckled, "No, not quite. I prefer to call it dedication."
"Call it what you want, no one should think about work that much," she replied as she spread cream cheese on a bagel.
"I wasn't thinking about work the whole time, you know."
"Really?"
"Actually, much of the time I was thinking about you."
She nearly choked on her bagel yet responded in an uninterested tone, "Is that so?"
"Yes, I was thinking about asking you to dinner on Saturday."
"..." She couldn't think of a thing to say.
"So?"
"So what?" she asked, stalling as she debated whether to go along with the plan or tell him to go to hell.
"Dinner, maybe a movie? There's a French restaurant that just opened and I've wanted to try it. So how bout it?"
She smirked, "All right. You can pick me up at six."
"Great! Saturday it is, then," he responded happily.
She turned on the shower once again as she finished her bagel, "I have to go. If I'm late today I'll be in big trouble."
"Same old Meatball Head," he reproached playfully.
"Shut up, Darien," she replied in an annoyed tone. With that, she hung up. She grinned maliciously. She'd give him something to think about over the next few days.
An hour later, Serena ran through the corridors of the hospital as her pager buzzed away at her hip. "I'm coming!" she said mostly to herself in a frustrated tone as she briefly looked down to check who was paging her. Suddenly, she collided with a hard, warm body. She looked up to find the last person that she wanted to deal with at the moment: Darien Shields. Of course he had to look good enough to eat in another immaculate suit when she looked like the bride of Frankenstein.
"Hi Serena!" he said brightly and followed her down the long hallway.
"Darien," she responded as she cleared out the number in her pager, practically running towards the emergency wing.
"Do you work here?" he asked, inspecting her medical garb.
"No, I just wear scrubs because they look pretty," she drawled sarcastically as she walked to the front desk. She turned to the receptionist and showed her her ID card. To her astonishment, Darien flashed an ID card as well. She motioned for him to follow her to the Staff Only area. "How did you get one of those?"
He gave a lop-sided smile, "I'm doing some...work here and I need access to certain areas."
"Good Lord, you're an ambulance chaser, aren't you?"
He grinned, "Thank heavens no. I'm-"
Suddenly, they heard yelling at the front desk as the doors to the restricted area flew open. "Ma'am! You are not authorized to go back there!" the receptionist yelled after the woman that she'd been arguing with.
Serena watched as the enraged woman with flaming red hair and fanatical eyes knocked over a medicine cart and overturned an elderly man in a wheelchair in her haste to get away. To Serena's annoyance, the woman ran over to Darien and practically glued herself to his side. The woman screeched in such a way that Serena was sure could shatter glass, "This is my lawyer! We have special permission to be back here! How would you like another lawsuit on your hands?"
The receptionist tried to keep her voice as polite as possible, "He has permission to be back here, ma'am. You don't."
"Don't you know who I am?" the woman asked haughtily.
Serena rolled her eyes. She knew who she was all right. Everyone did. The receptionist put her hands on her hips, "I do, and frankly, I don't care. I'll call security if I must." Serena grinned and made a mental note to give this receptionist an especially nice Christmas gift.
The woman's green eyes flashed, "I am Beryl Vandergrift! My father owns half of this city! I demand to speak to your supervisor."
Serena wanted to laugh at the picture Beryl made; her orange-red locks were frizzy and sticking out in all directions, her emerald eyes held a constant surprised look (which Serena deduced to be from a bit too much botox), and her once slender, pointed nose looked almost alien and was covered with a butterfly bandage. Beryl was the product of too much plastic surgery.
Darien pried the fuming woman off of him and glared at her before turning to the receptionist, "Security will not be necessary. My client will vacate the premises immediately. I'm terribly sorry."
The receptionist gave him a sympathetic smile, "That's quite all right."
Serena watched raptly as Darien began to chew Beryl out in front of the entire emergency room staff, "What the hell were you thinking? We could have lost all of our grounds for the case! I told you to wait in the lobby!" he barked.
Beryl slithered up to him and pouted. Slithered was the correct term due to the skin-tight, lime green snakeskin dress that she wore. Serena wanted to vomit as she spoke with saccharine sweetness, "Darien, I only wanted to find you, baby."
He all but threw her off of him. "First of all, it's Mr. Shields to you. Secondly, you are going to go and sit in that lobby until I come and get you. You will not say anything to anyone without my counsel. Understood?"
At that moment, even Serena was intimidated by Darien. He made everyone feel as though they were two inches tall with his icy glare and deep, bellowing voice. She watched in amusement as Beryl's face reddened.
Before leaving, Beryl noticed Serena at Darien's side and Serena could see the jealousy in her crazed green eyes, "What are you doing here?" She said 'you' as though she were the scum of the earth.
Serena stood unfazed, "Darien and I were attending to some... business."
Beryl looked from Serena to Darien in disbelief before finally turning to Darien, "She's another client?"
Darien smirked and put an arm around Serena's waist, "No. We were attending to personal business that I would much like to finish," he dismissed her as though she were nothing and Serena wanted to kiss him for it.
Beryl glared at her and Serena smiled in return. Just as Beryl turned to stalk off, Serena decided to finally give her a taste of her own medicine. "Hey Beryl," she called as the fuming woman stopped, "Michael Jackson called, he wants his nose back!"
To Beryl's humiliation and Serena's shock, the surrounding spectators began to clap and cheer for Serena. Beryl eyes darted back and forth as she panicked, considering that no one had ever stood up to her before. She ran out of the room, mortified. Darien began to laugh and Serena smiled, "I think that was the most satisfying thing I've ever done."
She glanced over at Darien who attempted to control his laughter. "I don't care if I do get fired from the case- that was truly hilarious!"
When Darien quieted down, Serena spoke cautiously, "What is she to you?"
He grew serious and placed his hands on her shoulders, "A paycheck. Nothing more." She raised an eyebrow in response. He rested his forehead on hers and his glacial blue eyes bore into hers, "I know that with my track record you have no reason to believe me, but for once, I'm telling the truth. There is nothing going on between us except seventy-five dollars an hour for my legal counsel. You have every reason not to, but please trust me."
Serena stepped back, astonished at the fact that she actually believed that he was telling the truth. She gave a slight smile, "Well okay, but lying is what you're paid to do, so I'm not even sure why I believe you."
Just as he was about to reply, the intercom turned on, "Nurse Tsukino, please report to room 948 immediately."
She groaned, "I am so late."
He patted her shoulder. "Go. Save a life. I need to go and... how did you put it? Ah, yes... lie to some people anyway."
She shook her head and headed for the operating room, "I'll see you Saturday."
He grinned and gazed at her rapidly disappearing figure, "Can't wait!"
By the end of the week, all Serena wanted to do was sleep. Everything seemed to go wrong. She had gotten in trouble for being late, accidentally mixed medications, and lost a child in surgery. When Saturday night rolled around, she didn't think that she even had the energy to sit through dinner, much less with Darien. She had been planning on buying a dress for the evening but hadn't found the time. Grudgingly, she reached for the phone to call Mina and ask to borrow a dress, but she suddenly froze. If she borrowed something from Mina, then Mina would automatically feel that she had the right to meddle. Meddling would be a problem. She walked over to her closet.
Once deciding that she had no idea what to do, she decided to call upon a voice of reason... well sort of. Raye. She dialed and turned on the speakerphone while she rummaged through her closet.
"Hello?"
"I need help, Raye," she whined as she sat in the middle of her floor in despair.
"What time is he coming?" Raye asked knowingly.
Serena shook her head, "How did you know?"
"The shortness of breath and the helplessness in your voice. I was once a bachelorette too, you know." Serena laughed in response and pulled out a pair of spiked heels before throwing them back into the 'no' pile. "What do you need?" Raye asked.
"An outfit," Serena replied helplessly, "One that says 'Look at me, I'm hot' yet 'I didn't spend too much time think about what to wear.'"
"Why didn't you just call Mina?"
"I wanted 'look at me, I'm hot,' not 'look at me, I'm a skank'."
Raye laughed, "Plastic dress, case in point. I'll see you in five minutes."
True to her word, Raye arrived at Serena's apartment five minutes later with a garment bag in hand.
Serena carefully opened the bag to find a sparkling red dress with a halter neck and plunging "V" neckline. She squealed in delight, "Raye! Where did you find this? It must have cost a fortune!"
Raye smiled in satisfaction as she took out the matching shoes, wrap, and purse, "Surprisingly, no. I found it at an antique shop about a month ago. Since I can't wear it now, I guess you can have it."
Serena looked at her, bewildered, as she came to sit beside Raye on the bed, "Why can't you wear it?" Raye blushed in response and Serena's eyes grew wide, "My God, Raye, you're blushing! I never thought I'd see the day! What happened?"
"Chad and I are going to have a baby..." she trailed off shyly.
Serena began to jump up and down on the bed, "A baby! How? When?"
Raye smacked her, "You know how, stupid. As for the when... who knew Best Western could be so romantic?"
Serena squealed, "Raye!"
Raye shook her head. "Enough about that- if you don't hurry, you won't be ready in time and we want to impress, don't we?"
She sobered, "We do."
Fifteen minutes later, after threats on Serena's life about staying still while applying makeup and minor puncture wounds, Serena was ready. She stood in front of her vanity mirror inspecting her appearance. "Well, I suppose this is as good as it's going to get."
"If I didn't run the risk of messing up my fine work, I'd slap you," Raye reproached before her expression softened, "You look wonderful, Serena."
Serena smiled, "Thanks Raye. Who knew that you had such a soft side?"
Raye was about to reply with what Serena was sure to be a cutting retort when her doorbell rang. Serena hurried to the door and grabbed her purse on the way. Raye fixed Serena's wrap and touched up her makeup one last time. "Now you're ready. I'll go and hide and let myself out once you've left. Have fun!" Raye scampered off strangely giddy and Serena shook her head in amazement.
Serena took a deep breath and opened the door. Her face reddened as she peeked at her date from beneath her lashes. Perfect, as usual. The white tuxedo he wore seemed to be made for him and was a stark contrast against the blood red rose tucked in his lapel. His black hair was tousled and he wore a look of complete shock on his flawless face. She noticed, in his stupor, that he held a bouquet in his left hand. She raised an eyebrow in question.
Darien stood at the entryway to her apartment in awe as he stared at her, "You look...wonderful..." he stumbled over his words.
She gazed back, unaffected, and responded blandly, "Thank you. So do you." 'Eat your heart out, asshole' she thought as she smiled at him politely. She looked pointedly at the bouquet.
He broke out of this stupor, "Oh... uh... these are for you..." He awkwardly offered a dozen long-stemmed red roses to her.
She regarded them coolly, "Thank you. I'll just go and put these in water." As she walked into the kitchen, she turned around to see him uncomfortably shifting from side to side in her doorway. She smiled slightly, "You may come in if you'd like."
He grinned, "Thanks."
Reaching for a vase, she turned to him, "Would you like a drink?"
She watched as he stuffed his hands in his pockets and glanced at her nervously, "I'd love one but I can't."
"Ever the responsible driver," she said as she put the flowers in water.
"Yeah... that's me..." Darien trailed off anxiously.
She placed the vase on the counter and walked to the door, "Ready?" she asked, looking over her shoulder.
"What? Oh... uh... yeah..." he responded in an embarrassed tone, having been caught staring.
Serena smiled knowingly and lead him out of her apartment. He was already taking the bait.
Twenty minutes later, after a painstakingly silent car ride, they arrived at Chez Pierre. Darien tossed his keys to the valet boy and guided Serena into the extravagantly decorated restaurant. Serena gazed appreciatively at her lavish surroundings. Directly above her was a massive crystal chandelier that illuminated the ornate gilded ceiling. She walked carefully through the entrance, knowing full well that she couldn't afford to break anything, considering that her surroundings were worth more than she was.
"Serena?" a thickly accented voice called, snapping her out of her musings.
She froze. She knew that voice. It was Jacques. Tensely turning towards her ex-boyfriend, she felt Darien's hand tighten at her hip. Noticing that he stood behind a podium, she deduced that he was the host. Lovely. What an auspicious beginning to the night. She gave a tight smile, "Hello Jacques. I would have thought that you would be in Paris by now."
The dark-haired Frenchman looked sheepish, "Oui... I should, but it just did not work out."
She looked upon him with false sympathy, "Oh, what a shame." Remembering that Darien was behind her, completely in the dark, she turned to him, "Darien, meet Jacques. Jacques, Darien."
The two regarded each other jealously. Darien drew her even closer as he held out his hand in courtesy. "Nice to meet you," he said, full of contempt.
"Likewise," Jacques replied dispassionately. He turned back to Serena with a smile full of charm that would have made her swoon a month earlier. Now it just seemed contrived and slick. "Do you have a reservation, chérie?"
Darien stepped in, envy apparent in his frigid sapphire eyes, "We have a reservation under Shields."
Jacques quickly scanned his book and looked up with a smirk, "Oui, you do, but this table is... unacceptable," his chocolate brown eyes gazed at Serena enchantingly, "For you, my Serena, I will get a much better table."
Serena winced at the nearly crushing grip at her side as she watched Darien barely suppress his anger. She decided to take advantage of the situation to the fullest and smiled brightly, "Thank you, Jacques. I really appreciate it."
Darien walked stiffly behind Serena to the table and glared at Jacques when he pulled out Serena's chair for her. After the sickening display was over, he spoke through clenched teeth, "Thank you, that will be all."
After Jacques left, Darien sat in tense silence. He glared at the menu, "Well what the hell was that?"
She sighed, "Jacques is just... an ex of mine. We parted on bad terms."
Darien looked up, seemingly remorseful, "Really? I'm sorry."
She shrugged, "It's not your fault that he's an ass."
He smiled in relief, "Well I'm sorry for being one. I didn't know."
She nearly winced as she thought about how Darien's rejection hurt ten times worse than Jacques', but suppressed the hurt and anger with a friendly smile. "Forgiven."
Just then, their waiter stepped up to the table. The bleach blond haired teenage boy took in a breath and began in a bored tone, "Hello. I'm Kyle and I'll be your waiter this evening. Would you like to hear about the special?"
Serena smiled in amusement, "That's all right." She glanced over at Darien, "What are you getting?"
"I think I'll have the seared foie gras," he replied, handing the waiter his menu.
Not knowing any other foreign names on the menu, she assumed foie gras was pretty safe, "I'll have the same."
Fifteen minutes later, Kyle arrived with their entrees. After one experimental bite, Serena dug into the delicious meal. Darien paused between bites, "You like?"
She nodded, "I love. I've never had anything like this before."
As she continued to eat, he attempted to make conversation, "I heard that the chef here uses innovative techniques on old recipes. That's why I wanted to try this place."
"Really?" she asked, pausing only momentarily before returning to her meal.
He nodded, "Actually, I ordered the foie gras because the chef devised some new technique by searing it in peanut oil."
Serena's fork clattered to the plate and she sat in frozen shock. "Peanut oil? Did you say peanut oil?"
His gazed at her in confusion, "Yes... why?"
Her eyes widened and she pushed back her chair, "I have to go," she said worriedly.
He immediately stood up, "What? Why? What did I do?" he asked in utter disbelief.
She looked around impatiently, "You didn't do anything. I'm allergic to peanuts. I need to get to a hospital."
Darien nodded and found their waiter flirting with a hostess, "Excuse me, but what does the chef use in the seared foie gras?"
Kyle seemed annoyed, "Um... like duck... and... stuff... I guess."
Darien looked at him urgently, "Peanut oil! He uses peanut oil in it, doesn't he?"
"Um... I guess..." Kyle replied stupidly.
"Holy shit!" Darien cried and the entire restaurant turned to look at him.
"Dude... you need to chill..." Kyle said in a mellow tone.
"No! I won't chill! You know what you need to do? You need to get the check so I can get my date to the hospital. Wait. Here's a hundred dollars. Keep the change and go get an education!" With that, Darien took Serena by the arm and rushed out of the restaurant.
As they ran toward Darien's car, they heard someone shouting behind them. Darien looked over his shoulder to see Jacques running to catch up, "Wait! Let me take Serena to the hospital!"
Darien stopped, utterly pissed, "Um, let me think about it...no."
"You are obviously not fit to take care for her. She needs me," Jacques said haughtily.
Serena's eyes widened as she saw a look of pure hatred and frustration in Darien's eyes. Before she knew what was happening, Darien's fist flew forward like lightning as he punched Jacques squarely in the jaw. Darien grinned in satisfaction, "Suck on that, asshole!" Serena gave an amused smile in response. He looked at her worriedly, "We'd better get you to the hospital."
Five minutes later, Darien and Serena arrived at Springfield General Hospital. Serena was sure that she wasn't going to make it to the hospital alive, let alone to get treatment, with the way that Darien was speeding. He nearly parked on the sidewalk in his haste to get to the building. Darien rushed her through the entrance to emergency and she was almost touched by the way that he cared for her. Almost. All she had to do was think of that night at the arcade and the bitter resentment came rushing back. A dissonant beeping sound took her out of her thoughts and she realized that she had arrived in the very full emergency room.
Serena walked over to the front desk and greeted the receptionist, "Hi Maggie."
The receptionist looked at Serena in surprise, "Serena? I didn't know you were working tonight," she glanced at Serena's formal attire, "in that."
Serena sighed in agitation, "I'm not. I need to see a doctor. I'm afraid that I accidentally ate something with peanuts and I'm terribly allergic."
Maggie smiled apologetically, "I'm sorry but we're packed right now. I'll have a doctor come and look at you as soon as there's one available."
Serena thanked her and looked around the emergency room for a place to sit. Suddenly, she gasped and ran behind Darien, "Hide me!" she hissed, trying to be as inconspicuous as possible.
Darien gazed at her, bewildered, "What are you hiding from?"
To Serena's chagrin and Darien's amusement, a portly man wearing a cape waddled over to Serena with an equally strangely dressed woman in tow. The man bowed to Serena, "Greetings Serena! It feels as though I haven't seen you since the Second Age!"
Serena squeezed her eyes shut and briefly wished for some divine intervention, but when nothing happened, she gave a tight smile and decided to be brave, "Hello, Frodo." She turned to Darien who seemed quite amused by the situation, "Darien, this is Frodo Baggins. Frodo, this is Darien," she decided to be kind to Darien and not give out his last name to the wacko. She could hear Darien snickering and she smacked him in the stomach as discretely as possible.
Frodo seemed curiously unaffected and gave the 'live long and prosper' sign to Darien, "Greetings Darien."
Darien, who was obviously trying not to laugh, gave a strangled "Hello."
"What brings you to the emergency room this night, my precious?"
Darien's eyes widened and Serena, although somewhat used to Frodo's strange sayings, stifled a laugh, "I had an allergic reaction to something that I ate," she decided that giving out minimum information would be safest.
"Ah," Frodo nodded solemnly, "I too was once ill from what I consumed. I once baked a loaf of Elven bread and was sick for light years, light years I tell you!"
Serena gave a sympathetic smile, "I'm sorry... What are you here for?" she attempted to be friendly without seeming too friendly.
Frodo took the woman's hand, "Leia and I were reenacting scene 21 from Episode Two when we had a slight accident with a light saber." Frodo lifted the woman's sleeve to reveal a large gash along her arm and looked at her lovingly.
Serena smiled knowingly and smacked Darien once again when he began to snicker, "And who is Leia?"
The woman behind Frodo stepped forward and Serena got a good look at her for the first time. She was short and slight with greasy black hair and coke-bottle glasses. She gave a meek response, "I am."
Frodo beamed proudly, "The force brought Leia and I together at the Star Wars Convention."
Serena saw Darien shaking with laughter and attempted to distract them, "How wonderful for you! I'm sure that you two will be very happy together."
Frodo put his burly arm around Leia and hugged her close, "Yes, like Arwen and Aragorn our love was meant to be. She, the elf-like beauty, and I-"
"Well that's just great. Unfortunately, I think a nurse is calling Serena's name so we'd better go. Nice meeting you," Darien interjected and waved goodbye to the strange couple.
Serena looked at Darien reproachfully and waved goodbye to Frodo and Leia. When they were a safe distance away, she shook her head and whispered, "That was so strange."
"So how did you meet Frodo?" he asked with a snicker.
"You don't want to know," she replied with a tired smile, "Good Lord, these hives are itchy," she complained and noticed that the rash was getting much worse.
He took her arm and inspected it, concerned, "We need to get a doctor. This doesn't look good."
As if on cue, a nurse called Serena's name.
Serena and Darien followed the nurse back to a room where they sat for five long minutes. After flipping through the channels on the TV in the room and realizing that the only shows on were Fresh Prince reruns, Serena tiredly turned off the TV. She sighed, "Lovely. We're stuck here with nothing to do."
He smirked, "I'm hurt. Aren't I entertaining enough?"
Before she could reply, a tall, middle-aged man walked into the room. "Hello Serena. What seems to be the problem?"
"Hello Dr. Williams," she'd worked with this doctor in surgery once or twice, "I accidentally ate something with peanuts and I'm allergic."
"All right. Let's have a look." He inspected the rapidly growing rash on her arms and shook his head, "Besides the rash, what are your symptoms?"
"Um... I'm having a little trouble breathing and I'm slightly dizzy," she looked at the doctor worriedly.
He grimaced, "Due to the severity of your reaction, I'd like to give you an Epinephrine shot."
She smiled in relief. A shot was nothing.
"In the rear."
Her eyes widened, "What? Why?"
"Nurse Tsukino, you've seen Epinephrine shots before. They're painful. A shot in the rear won't hurt as much. It's the best way."
She looked from the doctor to Darien in embarrassment, "There must be some other way..."
The doctor grimaced, "I don't think you realize how severe this reaction is, Serena. We have to do this now." He quickly left the room to prepare the injection.
Darien gave a slight smile, "I never thought I'd get to see you naked on the first date, Serena."
Serena scowled at him, "You won't. You're waiting outside."
Two hours later, Serena walked out of the room exhausted. Darien, who was reading a magazine in a chair outside the room, started when he saw his drained date.
Serena wearily smirked at his choice of reading material, "You read COSMOgirl?"
He smiled back tiredly, "Yes, and I now know four moves to a sexy butt."
She grinned, "Thanks for waiting."
Grabbing his keys out of his pocket, Darien led her out of the hospital. "No problem," he responded, and suddenly froze.
Serena stared at him, confused, "What's wrong?"
He paled, "Where is my car?"
She froze as well, "Oh no..."
He turned to her in dread. "I parked it in the 'No Parking Zone,' didn't I?"
Serena's eyes widened, "I'm so sorry..."
For a moment, he was silent and Serena thought that he was going to cry. After a minute, he took a deep breath, "It's okay...we'll just take the bus home."
She smiled weakly and followed him to the stop in front of the hospital.
"You know what's really funny?" she asked tiredly.
"What?" Darien asked in a drained tone.
"We could have just called an ambulance from the restaurant and this whole fiasco could have been avoided."
He smiled, "I'll remember that next time I poison a date."
She grinned and they sat in amicable silence.
He noticed her shivering, "Here, take my jacket. It's cold and you've been through hell."
She smiled gratefully and took the jacket, "Thanks."
They sat for a while until a bus stopped and they wearily climbed the steps. Darien paid their fares and they sat at the first filthy, albeit empty seat that they saw. Everyone on the bus stared at the couple in their formal attire.
Darien glared as he loosened his tie. "What are you looking at?" he growled at the innocent passengers.
Serena sighed and debated whether or not to lean against Darien or the grimy window. At that point, she was too tired to care and leaned up against his warm body. She looked up at him in pity, "This bus stops in front of my building. You can call a cab from my apartment if you'd like."
He smiled weakly and put his arm around her, "Thanks."
When the bus had finally stopped in front of Serena's building, both she and Darien were half-asleep. Darien roused her and they slowly made their way from the bus to her building. They took the elevator up to her floor and wearily trudged to her apartment. Serena opened the door to the dark flat and groped for the light switch. When she found it, she threw her purse on the couch and made her way to the kitchen. Darien slowly followed. She turned to him, "Would you like some coffee? I'm afraid that I don't have much else..."
He smiled sleepily at her gesture, "No thanks. I'd better be on my way."
She nodded and handed him her phone. While he talked, she began to over-analyze his response. Had he already had enough of her? She was actually embarrassed about what a bad date she was. It was just as well, she mused, because someone would have ended up hurt anyway.
"A cab will be here in five minutes," he said, breaking her out of her thoughts.
She nodded, "I'll walk you down."
They walked to the lobby in an uncomfortable silence. Darien had kept shifting his weight from side to side in the elevator and it had driven Serena mad. She'd been able to do nothing but stare at her now worn-in shoes. Finally they made it to the entrance of the building.
Darien smiled slightly, "I'm sorry about tonight. If it's worth anything, I still had fun," he paused and then began again nervously, "I'd like to see you again, that is if you'd go within ten feet of me after tonight."
Serena flashed a bright smile at him. Bingo. "I'd love to."
He raised his eyebrows in surprise and then his face broke into a sweet, boyish grin, "Really? Great. I'll call you."
For some reason, she knew that he would. And for some strange reason, she'd look forward to it. "Wonderful."
They stood facing each other awkwardly and Serena felt like a teenager all over again. He gave a tiny half-smile that Serena had grown accustomed to over the night and took her hands, sending little sparks up her freezing skin. She watched as he stepped closer to her ever so slightly. She tilted her head up towards his, moving closer into his warm embrace and smelled the same uniquely intoxicating scent that she had years ago. This however, sent warning bells through her head and just as she felt his breath on her face, she turned so that his lips brushed her cheek.
His eyes opened in surprise and he smiled sheepishly, "I should have seen that one coming." He slowly stepped back, "I can wait."
She blushed and luckily, the cab came to her rescue. He got in and just before driving away he peeked his head out the window and his voice had a low, husky quality to it, "I'd wait forever for you."
With that, the cab sped away and Serena groaned. What had she gotten herself into?
END CHAPTER FIVE
AN: I don't know what it is... Frodo holds a special place in my heart. I hope you liked this one. I drew from my own experience for the hospital scene. A few months ago, I waited for five hours in Emergency watching nothing but Fresh Prince because the tv couldn't get any other channels. One can only take so much of Will Smith in hot pink pants. Also, I've gotten some reviews about how Darien acted like nothing was wrong. I know after this chapter some (or many) people will be like, 'why didn't she bring up what he did to her?' Yes, yes, I know. Patience. It will come up. :)
~Usabelle