Hey all! Okay, here's this chapter. Hope you like it. REVIEW!

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16

Blind

Darien smiled warmly as he handed Andrew his degree and shook his hand. The two had reconciled their differences and had now become great friends, a shock to both Serena and Rita. "I have to say Dare… it's been one hell of a ride. You're one crazy bastard." Andrew managed to say through his teeth. Serena saw Darien's smile widen as he patted Andrew on the back and playfully pushed him towards the edge of the stage so the procession could continue.

Serena and Raye sat in the front row, watching all of the graduates filter past Darien and sit down behind them. Every few minutes he would glance at Serena and survey her to make sure she was feeling well because she was due any day now. Each time he did look her way she would smile and tilt her head to the side so as to assure him she was doing just fine. "What's he think you're going to pop or something?" Raye asked with a smirk.

"I don't know… I suppose he thinks that though he ought not to seeing as how he's a doctor." They both giggled drawing a few hushes from the people around them. "You should see him when I'm crawling into bed." The two girls laughed again then quieted. Raye knew what Serena had meant by the comment. Darien was most likely, the most paranoid father in the world. She could almost see him tucking Serena in safely, making her drink the proper fluids with the proper nutrients, then he would lay down next to her and place his hand on her belly just to make sure the baby was still moving about. "Yeah I…" She froze and grabbed Raye's arm placing her other hand on her stomach. "Oh… ow." She squeezed her eyes shut and let out a long breath.

"Serena?" Raye asked immediately and turned to her soon to be sister in law. "Serena? What is it?" Raye knew the answer almost instantly as Serena opened her eyes and looked back at the raven haired woman with urgency in her eyes. "Oh… what are we going to do?" She looked at Darien who had frozen in the middle of a handshake to look at the pair. Consequently this had drawn everyone's eyes as well. Seeing Raye turn her attention to him he looked at the person who held his hand and nodded as he stepped back then jumped off rushing to his fiancé.

"Sorry to disappoint however I have a baby on the way and we all know that certainly is not going to wait for this ceremony to end." He laughed lightly taking Serena into his arms and lifting her as she bit her lip to prevent her painful screams from escaping. "Shh, I've got you. You're going to be just fine." He cooed lightly in her ear and walked out of the building into the surprisingly bright sunlight. "Raye, go get the car." He nodded and fumbled for his keys then tossed them to his sister.

Soon they were barreling towards the freeway with Serena in the backseat screaming from the pain of her contractions. "Is that normal Dare?" Raye asked holding her friend's hand tightly. Her face was written with concern and doubt.

"Some women find childbirth more painful than others." Darien replied calmly even though he was terrified. He knew better than to panic simply because Serena was screaming but his emotional connection to her was threatening to compromise his logic. "She's just fine." He smiled at Raye more for himself than for her. Raye nodded lightly and turned back to the screaming and panting woman beside her wondering. If child bearing was in fact as painful as Serena was making it out to be Raye was happy to know that she had vowed to never have children.

Despite the fact that she was in the most excruciating pain she had ever been in Serena couldn't help but be excited about the baby. She and Darien had decided not to know the baby's gender, that way it would be a surprise as it was always meant to be. They had chosen one name for each gender so regardless of it's sex they would be ready with a name. A little girl, Darien had decided, would be named Serena and nicknamed Rini for obvious reasons. Of course when Serena had suggested that the boy be named after Darien he had wrinkled his nose and refused to share his name. Obviously there was a double standard that Serena didn't dare broach the question of. In the end the boy name had come down to two choices, Damien and Darren; they were close enough names and he seemed to be fine with that.

As soon as they arrived at the hospital Darien carried her in making all of the hospital personnel scramble to get Serena into a labor room, after all they couldn't let the owner wait in the hall for long. As a tall nurse rushed to them with a gurney Serena let out an unusually loud scream and jerked her entire body into an almost hunched position making it particularly difficult for Darien to hold her. "Serena! I'm going to drop you if you don't stop this." He found himself growling only to see a terrified gleam in her eyes.

"Doctor Shields… the gurney?" The nurse spoke softly but with urgency making it perfectly clear that she was concerned for both Serena and the child. He nodded, set her down and grabbed her hand tightly watching every move the nurse was making. "Let's get her into L7! Looks like we have an issue!" Darien sighed deeply knowing that despite his wishes this was not going to go smoothly. There was something wrong and for once, he was helpless to do anything. For all intensive purposes he couldn't take care of her himself because he had to stay beside her, and so he had to stand aside and watch as lesser minds did their best. He had to watch as these people took care of what he held dearest and it bothered him greatly. "When was the last ultrasound?"

"We haven't had one." He spoke calmly causing the nurse to sharply pick up her head and look at him accusingly. "Look at me like that again and I'll make sure that you will never even be allowed to mop the floors of a roach infested retirement home." He snapped angrily. The woman paled and diverted her attention back to Serena as a female doctor rushed to them.

"Hello Doctor Shileds, Serena." She nodded and lead the way to the labor room. "It's been a while since I saw the two of you, looks like it's showtime yes?" She laughed lightly trying to ignore the fact that Darien was her boss and quite frankly the most intelligent man she had ever met. "Okay, let's… start with an ultrasound to see what's going on shall we? Katie, strip her down, cut her clothes off if you must." She commanded as a few extra nurses came into the room and began to help the first nurse. Darien scanned the room for Raye hoping that she had stayed in the hallway, which apparently, she had.

As soon as Serena was unclothed Katie managed to get a hospital robe onto her and cover her with a blanket as the doctor examined Serena visually first. "She's dilated… let's take a look." She pulled the ultrasound machine to the bed and quickly prepped Serena before placing the device on her large stomach. "Okay…" She breathed and looked at the screen hoping to find the issue. She wanted it to be a simple breech, or even a twisted umbilical cord but as the child became visible she paled.

"What?" Darien snapped seeing her face drop. Not being able to see the screen (which he knew was intentional) was bothering him more than he thought it would. "Doctor Campbell, what are you looking at?" The woman slowly looked at him and swallowed hard a fearful glint appearing in her eyes.

"Doctor Shields, we have to do a cesarean section, you know the procedure." Doctor Campbell quickly took the ultra sound away from her patient and breathed deeply. "Let's move her to an OR stat!" She shouted mobilizing the people around her.

"Tell me what you're doing." Darien could feel anger welling up inside of him as the people began to remove Serena from him. "Lisa!" He shouted making everyone freeze and look at Campbell.

"Move people! We don't have time to talk about this Darien. I'm sorry but I have to act now or they will all die." Darien grew silent and watched as she scrambled to move the nurses and Serena into the OR. He knew the procedure for any woman undergoing a C-section no matter what the hospital had a strict policy not to let the father into the OR. Darien had personally placed that rule down, the reasons obvious. Humans were first and foremost mammals, and as anyone studying zoology would know; that in monogamous relationships, when the male witnesses his mate in distress he will stop at nothing to protect her, especially if she is carrying an infant. He couldn't be in the OR, he couldn't watch them operate on her.

Slowly he walked into the lobby and sat next to a concerned Raye, her eyes were dark with concern. "What is it Dare? Is she okay?" She asked in a panic making him put an arm around her shoulder. It was a gesture that concerned her. Never before had Darien placed an arm around her, never had he felt the need to comfort someone. "Dare?"

"I don't know Raye… they did a US and whatever was there… they took Serena into the OR for an emergency C-section." Raye gasp and lowered her head. "I just wish I was there with her… if they… if they hurt her I'm not going to be in too good of shape… you know that right?" He breathed and looked into his sister's brown eyes hoping to see some sign of conviction.

"Yes, I know." She nodded. "I'm going to have to shoot you with an elephant gun." She chuckled making him smile a little. "What do you think it is?" Raye asked aloud. Darien only shrugged and looked at the doors leading to the OR. He really didn't know and that was what scared him the most.

A few hours later Lisa Campbell emerged from the OR with a calm demeanor. Taking one step at a time she approached her anxious boss and his sister. For her it was all in slow motion, how could she tell him the news? How could she possibly contain her emotions? "Yes?" Darien's voice pulled her from her thoughts and back to reality where he was standing in front of her.

"Congratulations Darien you're the proud father of two healthy babies." She smiled watching as his eyes widened a bit with joy. "Now for the bad news." She sighed and looked at the floor briefly as Raye grabbed onto her brother's arm. "We had a great deal of difficulty delivering them…you see they're conjoined at the hip, nothing major, it's easily fixable to separate them, only a small portion of their ileums are fused. They are paternal twins, one is a boy the other a girl. During the labor, the labor began to enter the birth canal but because of the join was unable to pass, that was why she was in so much pain…" She hesitated. "Your son is fine, he is a little bruised but really no worse for the wear…" She paused again and took a deep breath trying to gather her thoughts before she continued. "Serena however, went into shock. I don't know why but she suffered a seizure and then… well, she's in a coma right now Darien."

"How the FUCK did that happen!" Darien screamed making her step back. "Tell me HOW a perfectly healthy woman ends up in a coma from shock!" Raye held onto his arm as tightly as possible, restraining the angry male so he wouldn't attack the poor woman delivering the news.

"I… I just don't know Doctor Shields… it is a strange case but I…" She stopped. "Look, all of Serena's vitals are strong, it is my belief that the electrical currents that were sent through her brain during the seizure shut her down… I can say with confidence that there doesn't appear to be any true brain damage and…"

"Shut up!" Darien snapped and ripped his arm from his sister's firm grasp. "I want to see her and I want to see her now." He leaned so close to Lisa's face that she could feel his breath on her face. "So, where is she Lisa?" The short brunette blinked and opened her mouth but no sound came out. "Tell me now." She only pointed making him storm into the direction her finger indicated. As he marched down the hallway nurses and doctors alike were scrambling to avoid him and point the way at the same time. Finally he found her room, she was in recovery, laying on a hospital bed with the usual monitors hooked up to her. In the few short hours since he had seen her she had wilted and now looked weak, the weakest he'd ever anticipated her to be. "Serena?" He whispered quietly and approached the bed touching her cheek gently. He wanted her eyes to open, he wanted her to snap awake and look at her with laughter in her eyes. She didn't. Noticing how cold her hand felt he turned his attention to the heart rate monitor and paled. Though her heart was operating the rate had slowed down dangerously and was in a sort of standby mode. "You can't do this to me Serena. I told you I wouldn't let you leave me and I meant it, you hang in there and you fight… do you hear me?" He raised his voice then quieted. He knew he could take to her as much as he wanted and she wouldn't hear him, she was in preservation mode right now, her body operating just enough to keep her alive. It didn't make sense though, Serena was healthy, and to end up in a coma because of a seizure… without head trauma… it didn't add up in any stretch of the imagination.

"Darien… would you like to see your children?" Lisa's calm voice asked alerting him to her presence. "Your sister is there now…" She froze seeing the anger in his eyes. Clearly he didn't like the situation and was now blaming it on her. At the same time however she knew he felt guilty. If they had come in for the ultrasounds then they could have prevented this whole event. "They should at least be named… and then there's the paperwork to do… not to mention the decision as to separate them or not."

"Get me all the paperwork and I'll take care of it but I don't want you touching my children, you've done enough today Lisa." He spat bitterly and looked back at the blonde angel he loved more than anything else. "I want you to know that if she dies… I'm holding you entirely responsible." She shuddered at his tone. It was cold and threatening.

She wrung her hands and looked at the ground, fighting the urge to tell him what she thought. "You can't blame all of this one me! You didn't bring her in for any ultrasounds! You did all of her exams yourself!" She shouted angrily. "If you…"

"If I had been the one in that OR she'd be safe and sound holding her children right now! Regardless of whether or not we knew this I thought you had the mental capacity to take care of her! Apparently I was wrong!" She backed up and balled her fists. He was being stubborn, blaming everyone but himself. Of course knowing ahead of time would have made all the difference. As for her handling it, she had handled it. His fiancé was not dead and that was a success in her eyes.

"Whatever you pompous ass! You are so blind to your own wrong doings that you can't even see that it's your fault! This is NOT my fault! I'll get you your fucking paperwork but after that I quit! I never want to see you again!" She shouted and stormed out of the room leaving him glaring after her. He didn't care what she thought, her thoughts had landed his beloved in a hospital bed.

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