Invalid Response - Chapter 4

by Una Moonstar

ANs: People have asked when the action of this story was coming, and my answer is soon! I promise! But first there are a few other things that need to be set in motion... and a character I never expected to play a prominent role in this piece needs to be introduced. If by chance Cori-luv's re-reading this... she's heeeeeere! -evil snicker-

(fade out...)

(begin chapter...)

Serena rushed into the house at quarter after eight that night. She saw her father sitting in the living room watching television and heard her mother in the kitchen more than likely washing dishes, considering the water was running. She headed past her distracted father to talk to her mother.

"Why are you so late?" Ilene Tsukino asked without turning around when her daughter stepped into the room with her.

Serena stopped dead in her tracks. "Well, uh, you see, um, I got caught up talking with a very emotional patient and lost track of time. I didn't mean to be late, I promise!"

Ilene sighed while a smile began to form on her lips. She was so proud of how seriously Serena seemed to be taking this job, even though it was volunteer work. "It's okay, honey," she said, looking over her shoulder at the abashed girl in the doorway. "I was just a little worried because of the time. Call before you leave next time; we'll get you a ride. At the very least we'll know where you are." Her smile broadened a bit.

Serena returned it. "Okay, Mom, not a problem. Oh, yeah, Lita's having a sleepover tomorrow night. Is it okay if I go?"

The older woman laughed a bit. "Only if you get at least half of your homework done before then. And your room has to be clean as well. You've been putting that stuff off lately."

Her daughter pouted. "Oh, alright. Deal. So can I have dinner now?"

Laughter rang from the Tsukino kitchen.

(fade out...)

(scene change...)

The next morning shined bright when Luna jumped onto Serena's bed near the girl's face. "Serena, wake up."

"Not now, Luna. Another five minutes. I'll get up then."

"Serena! Please!"

The blonde's eye cracked open at that. "Please? Luna, are you alright?"

Luna sighed, exasperated. "I'm fine, but I think you should get up. Your parents just received a guest, and it sounds important."

Both eyes opened and she sat up. "Are you sure? Who is it?"

"I don't know, but he's being awfully polite, and I'm getting a weird feeling. Now get up!"

"Alright, alright, I'm up." Serena threw her covers off and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. She listened for a moment. "I think you're right, Luna. I've never heard that voice before." She dashed quickly to her closet, grabbed an outfit and changed. "You know," she said, her voice muffled by the fluffy white sweater she was pulling over her head, "I don't think it's a friend." Her head popped out of the top of the sweater. "I'm pretty sure I heard the guy call my dad 'Mr. Tsukino.'" She quickly pulled a brush through her hair and put it up into its usual meatball style.

"It might be a police officer," Luna suggested as Serena pulled on a long, pleated pink skirt. "I can't be sure but I think the accident was mentioned."

Serena paused in the act of putting on a pair of white ankle socks. "The accident?" she asked weakly from her seat on the bed.

The black cat placed her paw on her ward's leg. "I'm sorry to bring it up, but I thought you should be prepared."

The girl sighed. "It's okay, Luna. You just surprised me, that's all." She took in a deep breath and released it slowly. "Alright, let's go." She then led her cat out of her bedroom and down the stairs.

A tall brown-haired man in jeans, white dress shirt, black tie and jacket sat on the couch opposite her parents in the living room when Serena reached the ground floor. Her mother sat in one of the room's recliners with her father standing to her left, his hand on her shoulder. The standing man turned when he heard the girl enter the room. "Serena! We were just thinking of getting you up." He paused nervously. "Um, this is Officer Brady. He's in charge of the investigation of the driver that almost hit you the other day."

She turned to face the seated man. "Hello. Did you have some news?" she asked quietly.

"Actually, Miss Tsukino, I came today to ask if you and your parents would like to press charges. We've positively identified the driver based on your description, and have linked him to a number of similar incidents from previous witness' statements. Most have been near misses like yours, but there was one actual hit and run collision two weeks ago. We want to get him off the road, Miss Tsukino. And you can help by pressing charges. We want to build as big a case as we can. The boy is fifteen years old, not even old enough to be behind the wheel of a car, and his father is the CEO of a corporation. We need a solid case to go up against that kind of money. You can help."

Serena's eyes widened in shock. "I'm not the only one this has happened to?" Her father stepped over and put his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm afraid not." His brown eyes gazed at her with sorrow.

"He... he hit someone?" Her voice was barely audible.

The officer nodded. "He's in the hospital as we speak, suffering from paralysis from the waist down. He's agreed to press charges as well, although he doesn't remember much of the accident."

Serena gasped, and her hands flew to cover her mouth. Her mother reacted much the same way. Her father's hands tightened their grip. "I can't let him get away with that. I can't." What kind of champion of justice would I be if I did? she thought ruefully.

"Are you sure about this, princess?" her father asked softly.

She nodded vigorously. "Very sure, Dad. I'll press charges. I don't want this guy to be able to do this to anyone else." She paused as tears formed in her sapphire blue eyes. "I don't want anyone else to have to go through this, or what that poor guy in the hospital must be going through." She stopped as a lump in her throat cut off any possibility of speech. Her father squeezed her shoulders comfortingly.

"All right, dear," her mother said sympathetically. "We'll support your decision." She turned to face the quiet officer. "Do you have the appropriate paperwork? We can take care of this as soon as possible. My daughter's right. We can't let this boy hurt anyone else. He needs to be stopped." Her husband nodded in approval.

Officer Brady smiled as he pulled out some papers. "Right here, ma'am. All I need are a few signatures from you and your daughter, and we'll be all set." The three Tsukinos gathered around the coffee table and signed where the officer indicated.

The tall man rose and smiled once the family was finished. "Thank you. This should be most helpful for the case, especially with Serena's detailed account of the accident. I will warn you, if this goes to court you will probably be called to the stand." He looked at the petite blonde regretfully.

She smiled confidently at him. "I understand, Officer Brady."

Brady's smile returned. "Good. I'll just get these filed at the station, and we'll let you know when something comes of it. It shouldn't be too long, but you know how the judicial system works. Sometimes the gears need a bit of grease."

Ken Tsukino smiled slightly. "I understand. I'm a journalist. But we trust you to see things through." He shook the officer's hand.

"Thank you. Now I must get going. You folks have a good day." Officer Brady took his leave and exited the house.

Ken took his daughter into his arms. "I'm so very proud of you, Serena," he said into her hair.

She hugged him back. "Thank you, Daddy. I'm just doing what's right. And it scares me more that this guy might be out there hurting other people than I might have to face him in court."

"You're growing up so fast," Ilene said as she joined them in their hug.

Serena smiled. "I hear that happens." She giggled. "Now I suppose I should finish cleaning my room so I can go to Lita's tonight." Her parents released her and she went up the stairs to her room.

"You know, Serena, I'm proud of you, too," Luna said once they were alone in the girl's frilly pink domain.

"Thanks, Luna. That means a lot to me."

And she began to straighten up the disaster area otherwise known as her bedroom.

(fade out...)

(scene change...)

Later that afternoon found Serena at the arcade waiting to meet up with the rest of the guests attending the sleepover that night. As she sat at the counter slowly slurping on a chocolate shake, she stared off into space, her thoughts not focusing on any one subject.

"Hey, Serena," Andrew said, waving a hand in front of the girl's face and dragging her back into the real world. "What's up?"

"Oh, hi, Andrew. Not much. And you?"

"I have a visit to make later, but not much else." He focused his green eyes on the blue ones facing him. "How did you find out?" he asked quietly.

Serena blushed. "Remember last weekend, when the girls met me here?" He nodded. "Well, it turns out I forgot my book bag in my locker at the hospital after my visit. I didn't remember until late that night, and Lita and I went to go get it. I was on my way to the locker room on the fourth floor when I saw you go into a room on the third. It sparked my curiosity. So, on the way down, I decided to check out who was in the room. You had just left; I saw you get into the elevator." She paused as she looked over the man she considered her big brother. "I am so sorry, Andrew. I shouldn't have invaded your privacy, his either. Fortunately, he's forgiven me; will you?" Tears waited unshed in her eyes.

The blond man smiled ruefully. "How can I not? I have a feeling I would have done the same thing, especially that late at night. Don't worry about it."

"I haven't pried about his condition, and I won't ask you either. I haven't told anybody. I couldn't; I couldn't betray him like that. Not after this."

"Serena, stop kicking yourself. If Darien has forgiven you... hey, wait a minute. How do you know he's forgiven you?"

She shot him a sheepish smile. "I stopped in his room after my volunteer shift yesterday. We had a little talk and decided to be friends. He even said I could come back and visit him again. You would not believe how relieved I was to hear that."

"You'd be surprised." Andrew shook his head as he thought of the oddity of Darien's actions. "Since he's said that, make sure you do. He could use the company."

A huge smile lit up her features. "No problem. I was hoping to cheer him up. The nurses have been bad talking him, you know."

Andrew sighed. He saw that one coming. "That doesn't surprise me. I've seen a few of their faces when they've left his room." He shook his head again. "I wish he wouldn't shut himself off like that. But what can you do? Anyway, it'll be nice to be able to actually talk to someone about this. It's hard to deal with one of my best friends being in this situation."

Serena reached out and gently placed her hand on his arm. "Anytime you need me, Andrew. Anytime." He smiled gratefully at her.

The door opened then and admitted three tired-looking girls. "Serena!" Mina called as she stepped inside. "You missed a killer shopping spree!"

Serena turned around on her stool. "Sure, rub my face in it, why don't you?" She smiled good-naturedly.

"Anytime, Meatball Head, anytime," Raye smirked.

The seated blonde stuck her tongue out at the raven-haired priestess, who returned the favor in full measure. The other two girls, along with the man behind the counter, sighed and rolled their eyes at the common spectacle. "Come on, guys. We have to get over to Lita's; she's expecting us soon for dinner."

Serena immediately put her tongue back where it belonged and perked up with a huge smile. "Oooo, that's right, Ames. And I cannot pass up one of Lita's culinary masterpieces!" Her friends gave her a strange look. "What?" They continued to look at her oddly. "So I've been paying attention to Amy; what's the big deal?"

Raye nodded incredulously. "Sure, Meatball Head. Now tell us where the aliens have taken the real Serena!"

The petite blonde merely stuck her nose into the air, grabbed the bags at her feet, and strode out of the arcade, barely catching herself as she tripped going through the doors. "Well, it's good to see I'm having some effect," Amy muttered as she followed her friend.

Mina patted the astonished priestess on the shoulder. "Come on, Raye. The shock will wear off eventually. Let's get going before Serena eats all the food!" With that, the raven-haired girl shook herself out of her trance and led the giggling blonde out of the building at a brisk jog.

Andrew watched them leave and shook his head. "Those girls will definitely keep life from ever being dull." He smiled and returned to his work.

(fade out...)

(scene change...)

The weekend passed quickly for Darien, with a few visits from Andrew where they talked over the few social events the dark-haired man took an interest in (put up with, however you want to put it), and laughed over the escapades of a certain group of teenage girls. He was secretly quite proud of his little Meatball Head for the expansion of her vocabulary; he always knew she was capable of so much more than she let on. Some of her insults!

He found that Serena was the only subject that sparked anything in him. And that fact confused the living hell out of him. Why? He knew that she held a special charm, a certain zest for life that had brightened his days before the accident, but after? His life was dark, even darker than it had been before. It shouldn't be possible for her light to make a dent. It's only because she doesn't know the whole truth yet, his dark little voice said. Her pity should put out that light pretty quickly. And that's what'll happen if she finds out. He didn't want to believe that, and a little voice from his heart refuted the dark one. But Darien was not used to listening to his heart, and so tortured himself through those times when he thought of the bright light that had burst into his life with a failed test paper right between the eyes.

He was recalling happier memories of the joyful Meatball Head when a brief knock came, bringing him back to the real world with a vengeance. "Darien Shields?" a soft alto voice called.

"I'm up," he said, briefly noting the time at 9:58. Ah, his shrink was here. He scowled.

He quickly took in the woman's appearance as she stepped inside the dividing curtain and moved to the end of the bed. She was tall, somewhere around six feet, and had long, straight, strawberry blonde hair. Her eyes were a bright hazel, leaning more toward green. She had a long nose that seemed perfectly matched to the high-cheekboned build of her oval-shaped face. She was relatively well endowed, and had a supermodel's build. Her lightly tanned skin seemed to glow in the sunlight that filtered through his shaded window. In layman's terms, she was drop-dead gorgeous. But somehow, she couldn't compare to the picture he had in his head of a petite fourteen-year-old with sapphire blue eyes that shone so brightly in her heart-shaped face, with a pert, pointed little nose, just full enough lips that could make such a cute pout and such a blinding smile, firm, toned legs and arms, who just happened to like to wear her silky golden hair in two buns on the sides of her head with streamers running to her knees from each. A smile flashed ever so briefly at the comparison, then his eyes dropped to his lap as a frown took its place.

The woman's eyebrow shot up at the lack of response from her latest patient. She wasn't exactly vain, but she also wasn't used to having her looks so quickly dismissed, especially with so little

reaction. "Mr. Shields, my name is Elizabeth Nyx, and I'm the staff psychologist here at Tokyo General. I'm sure you've been warned of my arrival..." She trailed off as Darien's scowl deepened. "Ah, yes, I expected this response." His eyes shot up momentarily, then returned to his lap. "Having looked over your psychological records, I can see this is going to be a bumpy ride. However, I do believe I have to agree with the administration's decision to provide you with this treatment. You haven't been adjusting well, and I would like to stop any serious problem before it can start." She paused, waiting for some sort of response.

She received silence. He never even looked up from his lap. She sighed. "Well, I guess I'll start this session. I don't want to ask you any past-probing questions at the moment; I believe getting to know where you were at recently in your life is a little more important. I believe it will help me find a way to help you get back on track." She just noticed him roll his eyes at her statement. "Okay, it says in your file that you've been attending Azabu High School for your tenth and eleventh grade years. Is this correct?"

He sighed. She was going to try to lure him out with obvious facts. Great. "Yes."

"You've been taking accelerated courses; don't you find them stressful at all?"

"No. I like the challenge."

"So, what are you going to use this top-end education for, Mr. Shields? What are your goals in life?"

"I was going to go to college and become a doctor. I hadn't quite decided on a specialty yet."

"Was?" He shrugged; she sighed. "You don't have to give up on that dream yet, Mr. Shields. I've heard Dr. Kirchner has high hopes for a full recovery for you."

He shrugged again. "I've heard that before."

She was taken a bit aback by that statement. "Oh?" Silence. The doctor was getting a bit frustrated at the total lack of progress she seemed to be facing. Not that she expected a lot more, but still... she didn't really have much to work with yet. She could see already that any question he didn't want to answer would not get answered. Maybe she had been spoiled by her lack of resistance to her probing in the past, usually due to her good looks. But one thing was certain: she had never had to deal with a truly difficult case before, and that was exactly what was staring her in the face at the moment.

"What about your friends, Mr. Shields? May I call you Darien?"

"Whatever."

"Darien, then. What about your friends?"

He gave her a frigid look. "What are you digging for, doctor?"

"I can't help you if I don't know anything about you."

"I didn't ask for your help."

A determined look planted itself on her features. "Well, you're getting it."

A sarcastic smirk answered her. "Oh, really?"

She inwardly kicked herself. She had let him get to her. "Really. Now why don't you tell me about your friends?"

"Because it's none of your business."

"Humor me."

"What if I told you I didn't have any?"

"I'd tell you I knew you were lying. Two people have been seen entering your room that were not personnel, apart from the police."

Anger flashed briefly in his eyes. "Spying on me, doctor?"

She smirked. Finally, a reaction, however slight. His dead tone was starting to eat at her. "Not exactly. Nurses tend to be a gossipy bunch, and you aren't exactly popular." He blinked. No other reaction. Damn. "I just asked around to make sure you weren't alone. No one should be alone during something like this."

"Of course."

"So what about those friends of yours, Darien? Tell me about them."

"What exactly do you expect me to say, doctor?"

She sighed, a little exasperated. "How about we start with names and take it from there?"

"What if they don't want anyone to know who they are? I wouldn't be much of a friend if I betrayed their confidence, now would I?"

"Darien, it's not like I could tell anyone about them anyway. I do believe in patient confidentiality."

"It's good to believe in something."

"I guess I'll just have to find out their names from someone else. Now then," she paused at the second flash of anger she saw in the midnight blues glaring at her. "Yes? Was there something?"

The dead mask dropped back into place. "Of course not, doctor. You were saying?"

"Are you happy with the treatment you've been receiving here?"

"Dr. Mizuno is a good doctor."

"That didn't exactly answer my question." He shrugged. "What about the nurses?"

"They should take a few cues from some of the volunteers here."

She looked confused. "What is that supposed to mean?" He refused to elaborate. She sighed again, and saw herself doing a lot of that in the future. She glanced at her watch and was surprised to see that this first session was almost over. She seriously considered cutting it short and taking an early lunch to release her frustrations. But she needed to get in at least one more good try before letting loose a Zen scream in her car. "What do you honestly think your chances are for recovery, Darien? Do you believe you'll walk again?"

He looked at her, the total lack of emotions making a shiver run up and down her spine. "I choose not to speculate on that, doctor. That way I won't be disappointed either way." He glanced at the clock on the table next to the bed. "I believe my time is up, doctor. Thanks for stopping by." With that he reached for a novel that lay in front of the clock and opened it to the earmarked page. Totally immersing himself in the world between the covers, he completely ignored the flustered psychologist's presence. She gave him one last incredulous look and left without another word.