Ok, so here is another chapter. It seems that people are enjoying my writing. This makes me happy. Fill the Keo with Happiness and a Gecko crown would be nice.

Chapter 3

Babies on the Menu!

Ann and Alan's Place

Ann, in her true form, relaxed herself against the Doom-Tree. Her eyes were closed as she calmly enjoyed the music that Alan was playing with his flute. His playing always seemed to calm her. Becoming more and more relaxed she started to slip into a dream like state. A grin formed on her face as she thought of how she would soon win the heart of Darien. Who cares if he was a earthling, he is still hot. Then the crushed look Serena would portray as she saw the two of them going off together and leaving her in the dust. It was perfect, it was better than perfect it was-

"Ann get up!" Alan's voice came crashing through Ann's daydream, sending her "prince" away till the next time she dreamed of him. "Ann we've got to figure out a new source of energy fast. If we don't feed the tree the energy it needs soon we can kiss our hides goodbye!"

Glaring at Alan Ann got up, floating over to him. "Alright, do you have anything in mind? Just pick a source and let's get on with it, I need energy and I don't want to be stuck on this planet for too long after we suck it dry."

"I'm 5 steps ahead of you Ann," Alan brought up his flute, played a few notes until a hologram like picture came up of lots of babies and children playing and looking happy.

Ann looked a bit annoyed, "This is your plan? We steal energy from a bunch of kids?"

"Well.. they aren't using it, all they do is eat, sleep, and get carried around by their mother's all day. Besides after taking a certain amount of energy from them they would go into a deep sleep, so how would they notice the difference?"

Ann turned to him, "How do we take the energy without people noticing?"

Alan smiled at this question, "Well, instead of sending out one of our normal card demons at random, I thought we should pick something a bit more stealthy." Alan pulled out their deck of cards, going through the cards and holding it out to Ann, only showing her the back of it. Ann takes the card from him and turns it over as she gazed at the item within her hand.

"I don't understand.. How do we make it unnoticeable?"

"Easy, we put a spell to make it look human. Once the demon touches a child, she leaves something on them, think of it kind of as a virus. After touching them, the process of taking their energy will start. We'll be back to our old selves in no time. Though the effects of the energy draining process wont last long, after a while they will stop, but it wont matter. We will soon be ready and full of the energy we need, my love."

Ann scowled, "How are we supposed to do that when we don't have the energy to put such a spell on our demon?"

Alan raised his hand. As he did this, a pair of young girls passed out, started to come out from the shadow. Vines from the Doom-Tree were wrapped around the girls. "They should be able to supply us with the energy we need for the time being." Ann grinned at them and nodded to Alan in agreement. No sooner, Alan flicked his wrist and the Doom-Tree started draining the girl's energy, causing them to cry out until they couldn't even hold their head up.

Hospital (a Day later)

Darien was exhausted. His professor wanted Darien to come into the Hospital at 6 pm late and he has been there until.. He looked down to his wacth, 12pm the next day, which is today. Thank god for coffee. Out of nowhere an epidemic struck, causing all these children to become helpless, barely moving, and some of them seemed to just go into a coma like state (which they eventually came out of). None of the doctor's could understand what was going on. Perfectly healthy children were becoming sick all at the same time.

Darien yawned as he made his way into the coffee from. He slowly sat down in a chair and laid his head onto the table. Just five minuets of rest and he should be good to go back out there and do whatever he could possibly do (which would probably prep tools, go around to patients and cheer them up if need be, or get any of the other doctor's coffee.). Soon Darien was in a deep sleep in a not so comfortable position.

As he was snoozing the door to the room started to open and in walked one of the doctors that Darien worked for and helped around at the hospital. The short doctor who was lacking hair, chuckled to himself and walked over to the counter and scribbled down a note and put it next to Darien. It basically said that once he was refreshed enough to come by his office, and that he had a very important assignment for him. The doctor slowly and quietly made his way out, closing the door behind him.

Darien was a very determined boy. From what he, the doctor, heard from Darien's professors at his school, the boy was really going places. Though sometimes Doctor Nabu was worried that Darien over did it sometimes. Maybe with that has came up, Darien could use the time away from the hospital to get some more rest. Making his way down the hall he turned towards one of the nurses/secretary's desks.

"Hello Dr. Nabu!" A very cheery redheaded nurse spoke to him in a high pitched voice.

"Hello Gloria, any news about a Mr. Daniel's?" He took a sip of his coffee.

Gloria pouted, "No, not yet sir. However the volunteer candy striper girls are here and waiting in your office for you. Two of them are from Jubban High, and another one from Cherry high." Gloria handed him a few folders as she told him of the news. "These are their paper work from their schools and they filled out the questionnaire I gave them."

Dr. Nabu Nodded, "Thank you Gloria. Oh, could you send in Serena for me?" Gloria smiled brightly to him and nodded. Taking the folders he made his way back to his office. Every now and then he skimmed through the paper work.

An hour later

"This is going to be so much fun!" Serena squealed with joy, "I'm so glad you guys decided to volunteer with me at the hospital. Ever since mom got me started on doing this to help with my "extra curricular activities" it's been dull not having anything to do this with. I mean sometimes it's ok, but it's nice to have friends with you!" Serena smiled like a child in a candy store, or how she would smile in a candy store.

Gillian just stared blankly into the mirror, looking at the outfit she was forced to wear, "I can't believe I am wearing this.."

Mina smiled and giggled a bit, "Actually I think pink is very becoming on you." Mina laid a hand on Gillian's shoulder. Gillian just kept on her blank stair into the mirror. It was the typical candy striper outfit. Gillian was here because she had gotten in trouble at school and the principle thought it would be a proper punishment to have her work at the hospital until her time was up. It just happened to be at the end of the semester. Amy was at the other end with Serena, trying to calm her down. Serena might have been a bit different than how she was before, but she was still the same playful, happy go lucky Serena. Amy was here with Mina so that they could spend more time with Serena. Amy also thought it would look good when she applied to colleges if she wrote that she volunteered at a hospital. Mina thought the outfits were cute.

Gillian sighed and stretched, "Ok, lets get this show on the road.. But first I need a smoke." And with that Gillian headed to her purse. Mina came over and smacked her hand, "Ow! What did you do that for!"

Mina very sternly, "We're in a hospital, if you want to smoke, do it outside, and besides, you shouldn't be smoking anyways." Gillian just rolled her eyes at this and replied with "fine" and then proceed to look at the 'outfit' that she was condemed to wear.

"Let it be known I refuse to give any old men a sponge bath!" Gillian cringed at the thought of doing it.

Amy spoke up after hearing Gillian's comment, "Actually it is not part of our jobs to do such things so they most likely wouldn't ask us to do so. I think if anything we're going to keep some of the patients company, read to them, etc."

Serena, grinning like her normal self, pulled out 3 pieces of papers and handed on each to the girls. The papers were lists of people that they were to visit and help the other nurses if needed to. After explaining to the girls what they would be doing Serena decided to take the girls for a tour around the Hospital. Well she took Mina and Gillian around, Amy already knew her way around since her mother was a doctor here and she would visit her mother on occasion. So Amy went on ahead and got started. Gillian looked like she would rather be a patient than be a volunteer. Mina of course kept checking out the doctors and male nurses. Every now and then Gillian would flick Mina's ear if she wasn't paying attention. As they came to the end of the tour, they found their way into the Cafeteria.

"And this, of course, is my favorite place!" Serena giggled a bit, "It might be hospital food but it's not bad." Then, Serena felt a light tapping on her shoulder. She turned around to find Gloria, one of the nurses. "Oh, hi Gloria."

She smiled sweetly, "Hi Serena, Dr. Nabu wants you to go to his office when you have a free moment." Serena nodded and told her she would be there as soon as she got Gillian and Mina started with what they had to do.

Back to the Coffee Room

After Amy got done with a few of the rooms she was assigned to do she made her way to the coffee room. Upon entering Amy was surprised to find a sleeping Darien halfway on the table. "Looks like Serena in Math class.." she mumbled to herself. Slowly approaching Darien she gently shook him. Thinking he was a light sleeper she hoped it wouldn't take much to wake him, but sadly there he was, still sleeping. Using both hands Amy shook him harder, trying to wake him but only got a few grunts out of him. At least it was a start. "Seems I'm going to have to do what Rei does.." Normally what Rei did if Serena would not wake up is that she would get ice cold water and fling it on her. Amy didn't think she could really do that to Darien so she did the next best thing.. She pinched him really hard.

"OW!" Darien sat up rubbing the back of his neck where it felt like something took a chunk of his flesh. He pulled his hand back and there was no blood. So he started rubbing the sore spot again.

Right after Amy pinched the back of Darien's neck she jumped towards the counter, holding a very much empty coffee cup (but Darien doesn't know that) acting as if she was drinking from it. "Oh Darien are you alright?"

Still a little sleepy and unaware of what was going on Darien turned to the familiar voice. "Huh?.. Oh Amy, Hi. I'm ok, I think maybe a bug bit me on the neck. Are you here to visit your mom again, or Meatball head?" Darien had the pleasure of being stuck at the hospital with Serena. That girl was so confusing to him. First when they meet in the hospital room where he was the patient he said something he probably shouldn't have said. After he said it Serena and he just always seemed to push each other's buttons. The next Serena is hanging all over him and following him around when she can and then a month later she acted as if she didn't even acknowledge he was alive sometimes. Not that he cared, the girl was just confusing.

As Amy replied Darien caught a glance of the paper that Dr. Nabu left for him. He picked it up and began to read it. Amy was in mid-sentence explaining to Darien what she was doing there when he just got up and bolted out of the door. This left a very confused Amy.

Dr. Nabu's Office

As soon as Serena sat down in one of the chairs within Dr. Nabu's office the door flung open. Both Dr. Nabu and Serena turned to see who had entered the room. Soon as Serena saw it was Darien she didn't take a second look at him. She just turned back around and faced Dr. Nabu waiting to hear what he wanted to discuss with her. Darien didn't even seen to notice Serena as he came in and started apologizing to the doctor.

Raising his hand up Dr. Nabu explained to Darien that it was alright and asked him to sit down. Upon Dr. Nabu's desk were a few folders and paper work. Going through the folders he pulled out one and opened it. "As you both know," he started with a heavy sigh, "With this strange occurrence going on with all these children coming in with the same symptoms, and just patients coming in period, it's getting hard to find places to keep everyone. Thankfully these symptoms on most of the children have seemed to have gone and the children appear better. For all we know is that this could mean it is "the eye of the storm" with an illness we know nothing about." He stared down at the papers in the folder that was opened in front of him. "We have received a person.. a woman actually that I suffering from the same symptoms. She has yet to get any better or worse. We can keep her here for as long as we need to but there is a slight problem."

"What is that?" Darien questioned.

"She has a son that is currently staying in our nursery. He hasn't shown any symptoms as we have observed him. The good news is that we think he will be alright. The bad new is that the hospital just can't keep him here, and his father is deceased. It's not a matter of room, but a hospital just wouldn't be the right place for him where no one can keep a constant watch on him. Babies need 24/7 care and everyone here is just too busy to be carrying a child around."

"Um, so what does that mean for us?" Serena interrupted.

"I want you, Ms. Tusking, and Mr. Shields to help us out by taking him in and caring for him. Mind you, you do not have to do this. We are asking because we felt that the child would be most comfortable in your care."

Two very confused heads turned to the other, each showing a daft expression. Looking back at the doctor Serena spoke again, "Um, why the both of us?"

"Well, Serena you've been working a lot in the children's ward and you have a good way with children. I feel that you can provide a nurturing environment for the boy. Mr. Shields, it is aware to me that you live alone and the child could stay with you during the night considering that Serena's family already has a full house, aside from that I have other reasons why I have chosen for you to also care for the baby." Darien, not really knowing what the doctor was talking about, nodded quietly.

Dr. Nabu pulled out two forms and held them towards Serena and Darien.

"So, are you up to it?"

Darien's Apartment

Who knew that a baby would have so much stuff, thought Darien as he dragged an arm full of bags. A diaper bag, a small suit case filled with baby clothing, another bag filled with baby formula that the hospital gave them, including some bottles. This was only the start of what was needed for the baby, or Jordan as he name seems to be. Making his way into the living room Darien dropped everything on the floor, wincing slightly as he stretched his back a bit.

Serena entered the room, holding baby Jordan in her arms. The baby was sound asleep within Serena's arms as she gently rubbed his back. Looking over at the bags being dropped on the living room floor Serena walked around the items and moved over to the couch and sat down, leaning back a bit so Jordan would be more comfortable as he slept. Smiling, Serena was already starting to enjoy taking care of Jordan, after she got him to stop screaming like crazy. She knew he missed his mother terribly.

"Ahem," Hearing the sound coming from Darien's direction Serena turned her head up to look at him giving him an annoyed expression. "Aren't you going to help me with the rest of the stuff in the car?"

Rolling her eye Serena shook her head, "How do you think I'm supposed to do that? We cannot just leave him on the couch in the apartment alone Darien. What if he wakes up or rolls over and falls off? Or someone breaks in and we're too busy getting things from the car?" She made sure not to raise her voice.

"Well I'm not doing this all by myself! This is a lot of stuff for something so little." Yep, Serena was certain that Darien's male genes were kicking in.

"He needs all this stuff. He needs to be fed, washed, have clean clothing to wear, toys that he can play with, books we can read to him to help stimulate his mind more, a crib to sleep in, a play pin that we can keep him in so he's not going all over the place. A baby is hard work, it's not anything like a pet. Babies need constant attention."

Darien snickered, "I guess you would know all about it, seeing as you are one."

Serena glared at him. Past life lover or no past life lover, he was still a jerk now. If Jordan wasn't there she would have given Darien a piece of her mind. "At least I'm not some cold unfeeling snob. You think- ugh, no I refuse to start an argument now. If you want help with the stupid stuff in the car, fine but it is only going to work if I go down to the car and you stay here with the baby. Think you can handle it?" Serena could feel Jordan twitching a bit in his sleep and she tried to calm down. Slowly Serena stood up, walked over to Darien and gently handed Jordan over to him and took Darien's car keys.

Two seconds after Serena gave Jordan to Darien, Jordan opened his eyes, saw Darien was not the nice yellow haired lady (and that the nice yellow haired lady was leaving) it was the cue for the water works. His mouth opened wide and a shriek let out from his mouth, ripping through the air which stopped Serena dead in her tracks. Darien had no idea what to do and started to hold Jordan away from him, hands under his shoulders.

Seeing this Serena went back over to Darien and took Jordan away from him, "You can't hold a baby like that!" Jordan was still crying but not as loudly, "Awe it's ok baby, I know mean Mr. Scary pants scared you. It's ok, he scares me too sometimes." Serena started to gently rock him, talking very softly to him, trying to calm him down. Looking over to Darien, "You want to try holding him again?"

Darien looked at her blankly, ".. Mr. Scary pants?" Serena gave him a look that said 'get over it'. "Nah it's ok.. I'll go ahead and get the rest of the stuff.." He took the keys back from Serena and made his way to the door, closing it behind him as he left. Where did all this motherly instinct come from Serena? And what happened to her always bickering back at him whenever the chance arose?.. Why would he always try to get a rise out of her? Darien didn't understand it.

He made his way to his car and went for what they would need most importantly, the bluecrib. They didn't want to take it apart and reassemble it as soon as they got back so they tied the crib to the roof of the car. Maybe it wasn't the brightest of ideas because after Darien untied it and pulled it down, there was a long and irritating sound as one of the metal screws went along the roof of the car. This annoyed Darien, but he got the crib down and decided that this baby was more important than his car.

Thankfully the crib had wheels, so all Darien had to do was push the crib into the front lobby, into the elevator and push the button. You would think it would be that simple. No. As soon as Darien got through the doors, his next-door neighbor, Mrs. Tuckson, spotted him with the crib and made her way over to him. She was an elderly lady, short, complete with white hair tied up in a bun.

Mrs. Tuckson's eyes widen in adornment once she got to Darien. "Oh Darien, you little sneak! What is this?" and before Darien could get a word in Mrs. Tuckson would answer for him. "Oh what a darling little crib! I didn't even have any idea you were seeing anyone. So who is she? Anyone I know? Have picked out a name? I bet whatever you come up with is lovely darling. Oh! I can tell by the color of the crib that you know it's a boy. He'll be a strapping handsome young man just like his father." As Mrs. Tuckson went on Darien's face became more and more red.

"Um.. I don't think you understand.." Darien tried to explain to her but she just cut him off and kept on with her rambling, excited about the thought of a new baby in the building.

"Darien?" A soft voice interrupted Mrs. Tuckson's ramblings as She and Darien looked at who the voice belonged to. There standing a few feet from the two of them was Serena, holding Jordan. "You were taking so long I thought we'd come and see if you needed any help..". When Darien saw her he at first gave a small thank you to whatever higher power there was, and in the next second cursed to himself when he saw Mrs. Tuckson's mouth drop as she gave a happy and excited squeal like a young girl would.

"Oooooh! There's the precious angel! You sure do know how to move fast don't you Darien.." Mrs. Tuckson gave a light jab into Darien's side that surprisingly knocked some of the wind out of him. "Look at him, he's so adorable with his bottle in his mouth." Mrs. Tuckson smiled widely at Jordan, simply gushing all over him. Jordan was sucking from a bottle that Serena had made for him while they waited for Darien to come back up to the room. Mrs. Tuckson turned her direction to Serena, "Oh your son is just so adorable I could just look at him for hours."

Hearing this Serena's eyes went huge and she looked to Darien for answers. Darien shrugged and mouthed the words "Play along." So turning her attention back over to Mrs. Tuckson Serena smiled as best as she could she replied with, "Thank you, that's so nice of you to say.." Oh god, what am I doing? Who is this lady? Serena thought as the old woman proceeded to make funny voices at Jordan and make him laugh.

"Well, it was really nice seeing you Mrs. Tuckson, but Serena, the baby, and I need to get going. Gotta put him down for his nap." Darien basically shoved he, Serena and Jordan into the elevator along with the crib.

Laughing, Serena turned to Darien, "Who was that and what was that all about?"

Darien letting out a small laugh of his own smiled a bit, "That was my neighbor, Mrs. Tuckson. She saw the crib and assumed that.. well I'm sure you can put two and two together.."

Serena nodded and said nothing more until they reached to Darien's floor. That was not something she would have expected Darien to do, mislead an old woman into thinking something entirely different than what the situation was. He'll probably tell her at some point.. Or move out of the building, whichever comes first.

Now I have to move out of the building.. Darien thought to himself. How he got himself into this whole with Mrs. Tuckson he'll never know. It all happened so fast. Stupid crib. Though that was really cool of Serena to play along the way she did. Maybe this wont be as bad as Darien thought it would be.

End of chapter

do not fear! I am working on the next chapter now!