Mina watched as Darien paced back and forth,up and down, the little living room with the white furniture and a pink rug, not even noticing a few times the corner of the wood end table almost got him.

"Can you...can you just sit down and stop? You are making me nervous." Mina finally scolded in a whisper tone.

He stopped dead in his tracks, looked back to make sure the coach was right behind him and then he sat. "Sorry."

"You cannot be scared and make this awkward. She is going to jump on that and kick you out."

"Psh...she is probably going to kick me out anyways." He plopped all the way back, resting against a throw pillow. He started to bite his nails.

"The king should not be biting his nails!" Mina threw a little pillow at him.

"Some king I am,I guess. My queen has left me." He shook his head. He didn't tell anyone about the visit from Pluto, but it had been on his mind every second of every day since.

"Look you don't have to be here I can cancel my date and I will stay with you if you want." Mina reassured him.

"No, I need to be here for her." He threw his hand down and rested it his knees. "We all know I haven't been there for her at all, and I need to start making up for all that time." There was string on his black slacks that he started playing with. "I have left you guys with that responsibility for so long now. It wouldn't be fair."

"You call it responsibility, we call it duty." Mina shrugged and she leaned back and got more comfortable. She then turned her attention to the bathroom. "I think she just turned the water off." She sat there for another second listening. "Sere?!" She shouted. "Are you okay? Do you need help?!"

The door swung open. "I am fine.. I just forgot m-" She paused half step when she saw Darien sitting there, wide eyed and mouth half way opened. "Oh my god what the hell is he doing here!" She stepped back into the bathroom and slammed the door, unaware that fact her toe was in the way. She screamed when her toe was hit, pulled her foot back and slammed the door again.

They two jumped up and headed towards the door.

"Why is he here?"

"Serena, are you okay?" Mina tried not to laugh. "Why would you come out naked? I know we are close,but come on." She talked into the door.

"I forgot my towel!" She shouted back. "And why is he here?!"

"Darien, please go get me a towel. I will talk to her" She then sat down next to the door. "Serena he is here because you are sick and we need someone to be with you." Mina said calmly.

"I don't need him! I am fine!"

"Honey for the last few days you have been complaining of headaches and body aches."

"I will take some motrin and get over it! I want him to leave!"

"No." Mina answered as Darien nudged her with a towel. "Look here is your towel. Open the door so you can grab it." Mina got up from the floor and waited. "Please be careful of your foot."

The door opened just a crack, and Serena's little hand popped out blindly moving to feel for a towel.

Mina turned to Darien, "now she wants to be all shy."

A couple minutes later, Serena emerged from the bathroom, hair wrapped in a towel and hand rubbing her temples. "Please close the blinds. It is so bright."

"One the blinds are closed, and two, I told you, you weren't okay."

"Mina, I am fine.I will take some migraine medication and go to bed. I will call you if I need anything." She pulled the towel from her head and started massage the base of her head. "I don't need you here Darien, please leave. I am sure there is a patient with pending labs who need you."

Mina put her hand up stopping Darien from arguing back. She then turned back to Serena. "Serena we made a deal. We told you those meds were going to affect your body much worse this time, and if you wanted to do another round, someone will have to be with you the entire time. You agreed."

"I never agreed to him coming."

Mina quickly looked over to Darien's face. She wanted to say Serena didn't mean it, but she could not say with 100 percent confidence. The harsh words twisted the knife that Darien had felt in his heart since the day he saw the flashback from the past.

Mina turned back to Serena. She wanted to pick out the right words to say. "Look Sere, Lita and Amy are working. Raye has to do some stuff at the temple. Molly could not get a sitter. So that just leaves Darien or me. I can cancel my plans, but one of us needs to be here with you."

"And she is not cancelling her plans. This is our child, she should not be the one giving up her life take care of you,when I can." Darien finally interjected.

Serena glared at him.

"Look at me like that all you want." He stood up straightened and fixed his tie. "She is not cancelling, I am not leaving. So you will just have to put up with it."

She didn't say anything, just looked at him. Scoffed then stormed off to her room and slammed the door.

"Ugh, every time she does that I am going to freak out about her damn toes."Mina sighed, threw her head back and just walked over to Serena's closed door and knocked softly. "Serena I am coming in." She waited for a second to see if she would decline and when she didn't she slowly opened the door. She entered the room to see Serena there massage her toe. It was starting to get red. "You're falling apart." Mina tried to joke.

Serena just looked at her. Eyes were red, but not from crying.

Mina walked over to the bed and sat next to her. She placed one hand on the hand that was rubbing the toe. "Sere, I told you I don't have to go." She smiled. "My duty is to you above all else."

Serena looked at her foot. Shook her head.

"And no it he cannot leave and you take care of yourself."

Serena looked away. "Fine. Just go. He can stay." She cleared throat. "Please don't ask me if I am sure, because I am not, and it is what it is. You deserve a night, so go."

Mina jumped to Serena and gave her a hug. "You will be okay. Call me if anything."

Serena hugged her back. "Just next time please warn me when you are going to have guest over so I don't walk out naked."

Mina released her hug got up smiled. "Hey at least it was just Darien, I am sure he has seen you naked many times."

Serena's face went straight. She started to scratch the back of her neck."You would actually be surprised of the number of times he's actually seen me naked." She stopped looking at Mina who looked confused. "Please shut the door on your way out."

Mina nodded and did as she was told. She headed to the living room to grab her things. Before she was out the door, she turned to Darien. "I am going to go if you need anything, please call me. She hasn't eaten yet."

"She will be fine Mina, don't worry."

"Sorry Darien I do have to worry, because I have no idea what happened with you guys, but Serena is not the Serena I remember anymore. Her glow, her fire,her energy it's missing something. And I think I know what it is, but I am not comfortable bringing it up to you and until she mentions it me... I can't say anything." She threw her purse over her shoulder. "I told her she can call me if she needs anything and I will be back." She headed out the door before Darien could respond.

He sat back on the couch waiting for Serena to come out. He thought about turning on the TV, but it wasn't his place. He thought about checking on some messages from work, but he didn't want her to come out and see that and get upset. So he just sat to sound of the cars passing by and clicking of the clock. Every now and then he would hear what sounded like the door opening and he would check the hallway only to be disappointed it was not her.

In her bed Serena just tossed and turned. Her foot hurt so bad and her head was throbbing. She tried to hide under her blanket,praying she would fall asleep and wake up to a morning without him, but it was no use. She needed something for her foot and something for her head. She got up and limped to the door. She walked out, trying to not make any eye contact with Darien. She was going to pretend he was not there. With each step she took towards the kitchen a shooting pain went down her toe.

This did not go unnoticed as she walked past Darien. He got up and followed her. "Your foot looking bad, let me look at it."

She ignored him. Reached up and opened one of her cabinets to grab some medication.

"You have not eaten, you can't take those on an empty stomach!"

The silent treatment continued as she struggled with the bottle.

"I can make you something and you can have one after." He just watched her. She was getting frustrated. Her face was getting red.

"Serena!" He slammed his hand on the counter.

She stopped and stared at him. Her eyes were glossy.

"Give me the bottle." He said calmly reaching out his hand.

"Forget it, I'll just deal with the pain." She plopped the bottle down and started walking to her room. She got just around to the corner of the counter top, when Darien stood in front of her.

"Stop acting like this. Let me look at your foot."

She glared and tried to go around.

"Stop acting like this, I am trying to help you." He was about to put his hands on her shoulder, but she jumped back.

"Don't touch me." She put her hands up in between them.

"I am trying to help you."

"I don't need your help. You can leave and I will tell them work needed you!"

"Ha! Like that is going to fly. Make me lo-"

"Look. Like. What. Darien? Hmmm."

He didn't answer. He knew that whatever he answered at this point would lead to trouble.

"You are not going to look as dumb as I did, making excuses for you all the time. You aren't going to look as pathetic as I did, watching the clock for you to come home. And you sure as hell won't look like the bad guy,because you are out doing a noble thing and I am just being unreasonable." She turned around to exit the kitchen the other way, only to feel his hands encircle her arm and pull her back. It had been so long since she felt the warmth of his hand. He pulled her closer to him,and suddenly there was whiff his cologne. She loved that cologne, she remembered restocking for him when he was about to go low so he would never run out. She shook herself out of her head. Shook him off. "I told you not to touch me!"

"I am sorry I grabbed, I am trying to be here now! Would you just let me?"

"After how long Darien!?" Her blood was boiling. Her heart was racing. "It took me leaving before you noticed me! It took me years to get you to notice me! Did you forget I was there?"

"I was trying to give us a better life." He tried to speak as calm as possible to make her calm.

"I would have lived in damn shack, if that meant you would give me some of your attention, fulfilled the needs I needed."

"You never told me what you needed. I checked on you!"

She scoffed. Looked at him. Shook her head. "I shouldn't have to tell you these things. Either you know or you don't." She grabbed her head. It must have been her blood pressure could have been the way she shook her didn't know but suddenly her face when flush and her head started to spin. She placed her hand on the counter for support.

Darien stepped forward swooped one hand behind her, resting it on her back.

"Don't touch me!" She tried to shrug him off this time,but it didn't work. He was holding her tighter.

"What is wrong?" He took another little step closer. "You haven't aren't feeling well this is all too much.I will take you to the couch and you will sit there and I will make you food."

"I'm fine!"

"No you aren't! No either walk over there or I will carry you over there myself."

"Fine I will go lay down in my room." Her pounding, spinning head, and throbbing toe didn't give her much energy to argue, so she limped around the counter top and over to her room. "Don't bother making food, I don't want anything here." She went to her room, laid in her bed with the lights off. She left the door opened a crack.

She wanted to doze off so bad. She tossed and turned under her pink blanket. Her stomach was starting to hurt. She knew she needed to eat. She threw her blanket off her head when she thought she heard the front door open and her heart dropped. She laid back in her bed. There was some light was still on but she could not tell if someone was outside.

"Maybe he left the light on, on his way out." She forced herself back up. The cold floor soothed her toe for just a minute, and she started to walk outside. She turned the corner of her room straight in to the hallway where she could see the edge of her counter. What was once an empty counter was filled with to go boxes. One next to the other. She was so confused.

Darien looked up at her as he took another box out. "You said you didn't want anything here.I didn't what you wanted, so I ordered you everything I knew you liked. Ice cream in the freezer." He quickly pointed before putting the box down.

"This is a joke right?"

"Does it look like I am joking?"

The food smelled so good.

"Please make a plate or I can make you one with everything."

"I can get it myself." She limped.

"Please don't make a tiny plate."

"Please don't boss me around." She fired back.

She finished make her plate and limped to the table. She put her foot up on the chair next to her.

Darien walked over and pulled out the seat next to her sat down. He turned to the foot.

" ."

"I am going too look at that toe. It is red and swollen, I need to make sure it's okay!"

"I said. It. Is. F-"

"No it is not. I am not going to argue about this one.I am going to look at it to make sure it is okay."

"Do you ever stop being a doctor?" She crossed her arms.

"Working on that. But right now I am being Darien. A man concerned about the women he is in love with someone. Who is injecting herself with a bunch of hormones, has constant headache and a toe injury." He gently put his hand on her toe. He just gently brushed his finger against her toe. She flinched. "Does it really hurt."

"It doesn't feel great."

"Serena."

"Fine yes it really hurts." She rolled her eyes.

Darien sighed. Leaned back. "I am going to take you to get it checked out."

"You're joking."

"Nope, so finish your food. We will head over there right after. Or I will text Mina." He picked up his phone. Serena knew he wasn't joking. He would text Mina in a heartbeat if she fought him.

"No! Don't!" Serena yelled defeated. "If you text her she will come home. We will tell her when she comes home to an empty place and wonders why."

Darien tried to hide his smile. The little victory meant so much to him, even though he knew he has so much more to do.