~*AN*~
Chinese New Year is here and I'm getting my act together so that my new year will be a good one. Decided that if I wrote more during the festivities, then it would mean that I would keep the same pace all year long. It's a good sign to be extra clean and not lazy during Chinese New Year, it just shows that if you start off a new year in a good way, then the rest of the year will follow through the same way. So even though there are misfortunes going on with my family, I still have to look on the brighter side and make the best of it. Just have to concentrate on studying hard in school and praying more for my loved ones. Anyway, enough with the small talk, I hope you like this chapter.
~*Chapter XV: A Possibility*~
So everyone finally got wind of Sere's quick departure from Tokyo and were all trying to cope with the shock. The girls were all disappointed to here that she had left them without a single notice, just like the last time. No one considered looking for her because the last time she took off, they searched for weeks on end and had no luck, so they decided to just wait it out this time. On one hand, she might return within a short period of time since her son was still with her parents, but on the other hand she might not come back for weeks or even months because Keith was mature enough to cope with the situation at hand.
"I can't believe she left again," muttered Mina as she and the other girls were walking around town. They had all met up for lunch and decided to go window-shopping as a means of relieving some stress.
"That's not what surprises me though, after everything that happened, we should have seen this coming. But for her to leave Keith behind, that's different," brought up Amy.
"Yeah, that's a little odd," Lita jumped in on Amy, mid-sentence.
"What's so odd, she decided to ditch the little bastard and run away like she always does. That way when Darien questions about Keith's father, she wouldn't have to make herself look like a whore," laughed Raye as she strutted past the girls, shoving them aside.
"Why you little skank! You should look at yourself before you call Serena a whore!" cried Mina angrily as she threw a heated glare at Raye.
"Please, I'm not the one who god knocked up by some stranger and had a bastard for a son," retorted Raye, looking over her nails and dusting off the lint on her suit. It was a crimson knee length skirt with matching blazer and black stiletto heels
"Oh shut up already you slut," spat out Lita, tired of hearing Raye bad mouth Serena behind her back. "What the hell are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be off somewhere, begging Darien to screw you?" she asked sarcasm dripping in her voice.
"That's enough, we don't need to waste our energy on this low life," said Amy, pushing her way through the girls and walking pass Raye, eyes icing over as she brushed shoulders with her former friend.
"Amy's right, I don't have time for this. I promised I'd take Keith to the doctor's office today, so we better get a move on," mentioned Mina, glancing at her wrist to check the time so she wouldn't be late for the appointment.
"What's wrong? I thought the little kid would be better off without that poor excuse of a mother around," replied Raye, laughing as Mina and Lita walked by her.
"You know what, Sere did a wonderful job raising her son. You wouldn't know the first thing about the love and care a child would need, you heartless bitch," argued Lita, defending Serena's dignity as a mother.
"Whatever, I have better things to do," said Raye, brushing her hair aside and walking away from the girls. Her next target was Darien; surely he'd fall for her plan. That fool would believe anything if it had to do with his supposed, "love of his life".
"What's wrong with Keith?" asked Amy, concern apparent on her face once Raye was out of sight. Just the other day, he was doing fine when they had stopped by to visit, so how did he get sick so quick? If they didn't take care of Serena's child while she was away, how would she react when she came home?
"Not sure, Jason said something about him being anemic, so I'm taking him to get some tests run," answered Mina, pulling out her handheld PDA and pulling up her schedule.
"Oh, the poor guy. I'll bake him a cake to cheer him up after his visit with the doctor and drop it off at the house later tonight," said Lita, frowning a little.
"You should be prepared Mina. He's going to cry when they start taking his blood. I'm sure he's just like his mother when it comes to needles," Amy reminded Mina. The girls all smiled and laughed quietly at the memory of Serena back in junior high, when the entire school was required to get a shot for measles, mumps, and rubella.
"Oh crap, I'm not very good with needles either!" replied Mina, beginning to freak out as she thought of ways to help calm Keith down if he does start to fuss. "What do I do? What am I going to do?" she started asking the two girls frantically.
"Don't worry about it Mina, all you have to do is tell him to close his eyes, and before you know it, it'll be over with!" answered Lita, laughing at the distraught blonde.
"Exactly what Lita said, that's the same trick we always use at the hospital," added Amy, trying to calm Mina down by patting her back gently. "If you want, you can just have that appointment transferred to my office at the hospital and I can take care of everything for you Mina," she suggested, pulling out an organizer to double check her schedule.
"Really Amy? You can do that?" asked Mina, hope clearly in her eyes.
"Of curse I can, just let me pen you in. Lets see, I have an opening in two hours, you think you can make it there by then?" replied Amy, pushing her glasses back up to their original place.
"Cool, I'll go pick Keith up now, and we'll see you in two hours!" cried Mina in joy. She hugged the girls good bye and hailed a taxi for herself to head over to the Tsukino's house.
"That girl still amazes me to no end. I can't believe after all those years of thinking her and Serena would get no where in life, they shock us all by becoming one of the most sought after business women," whispered Lita, watching the taxi speed off into the distance. Amy smiled and waved as she saw Mina turn around in her seat to wave to them once more before the taxi rounded a corner.
"I'm very proud of them. Now that you think about it, I feel bad for putting them down so much back then. It's not like they weren't capable of being smart back then, I guess now we know that they just wanted to be young and have fun while they could," replied Amy, smiling sadly as she remembered all the times they had all ganged up against the two blondes for not being more responsible in life.
"Yeah, we were hard on them, but they knew it was all out of love," said Lita, placing an arm over Amy's shoulder as she pulled her in the direction of the hospital. "Come on Ames, I'll walk you," she offered cheerfully.
"Thanks," was Amy's silent reply as they walked towards the hospital. Nothing more was said between the two as they made their way to the tall building that stood apart from all the other business buildings in downtown Tokyo.
~Mina~
"Hi Mrs. Tsukino, I'm here to pick Keith up for his doctor's appointment," announced Mina merrily as she stood at the front door, still trying to catch her breath from running.
"Oh, hello Mina! Thank you so much for taking Keith for me, I'm just so busy with preparing for Ken's business dinner tonight that I can't find a moment to spare today," explained Ilene, opening the door wider to let Mina in. "Come in and I'll go get Keith ready," she said before heading upstairs.
"I'll just wait here, the taxi is out front waiting for us," replied Mina quickly; hoping Ilene would get the hint.
"Mina!" cried Keith as he came rushing down the staircase and into Mina's arms. Smiling she grabbed the little tike and pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm ready! Let's go!" he added enthusiastically.
"Well, I suppose you won't be needing a coat then?" asked Mrs. Tsukino, shaking at Keith in a motherly way.
"Thanks grandma," replied Keith, wiggling out of Mina's arms and slipping his arms into the coat before grabbing Mina's free hand with his own. "Okay, now I'm ready!" he announced with a smile.
"See you later then sweetie. Thanks again Mina," said Ilene as she bent down and kissed her grandson's cheek. They waved and walked towards the taxi.
"So where are we going?" asked Keith curiously.
"Um, well honey.." answered Mina, stuttering as she tried to think of an easier way to tell him. "I don't know how else to say this, so I'm going to be blunt okay?" she told him after a moment of silence. "I'm taking you to see Amy for a check up," she finished, sighing in relief as the truth was out in the open.
"For what? Is something wrong?" Keith asked, shaking lightly in fear.
"No sweetie, just to see how you are doing on the inside. It shouldn't take long," Mina said, poking him lightly in the tummy. The arrived at the hospital and Keith hesitantly got out of the taxi. He was silent the whole way up to Amy's office and Mina felt awful for having to put him through this whole ordeal.
"Hey you two, I see you made it up here okay," welcomed Amy cheerfully as she hugged Keith and ruffled his hair. "Okay big guy, you ready?" she asked, smiling to reassure him that he was in good hands.
"Yeah," whispered Keith with a sad look in his eyes.
"What happened?" Amy whispered to Mina silently when she got up from her spot beside him.
"He asked about the visit and I told him it was a check up, I guess he's scared. I feel so bad," answered Mina, frowning at seeing Keith's eyes tear up slightly.
"Don't worry about it Mina, I'll talk to him and take care of this okay?" replied Amy, taking hold of Keith's hand and walking him into the private room and setting him on top of the clinic bed. Mina followed suit and they did the normal routine check up. "All right, looks like everything is fine from what I see Keith. But there is one more thing I have to check before I can let you leave okay?" said Amy in the sweetest tone possible. "I want you to turn and look and Mina, while you're doing that, can you recite the pledge of allegiance to me?" instructed Amy as she went to the drawer and pulled out a few items.
"Okay," answered Keith shakily as he turned and faced Mina. Taking a deep breath, he slowly began reciting the words for Amy and Mina to hear. He jumped slightly when he felt something pinch his arm but continued with the pledge as asked.
"Sorry sweetie," apologized Amy, rubbing his arm gently as she continued drawing blood into a tiny container. Within a few seconds, she was finished and had withdrawn the needle and disposed of everything just as Keith finished the last words.
"With liberty and justice for all," Keith said, completing the pledge and smiling at Mina as she clapped quietly. "How was that?" he asked, turning around to face Amy.
"That was great! Did that pinch hurt earlier?" Amy asked curiously.
"No, not really, just kind of surprised me," answered Keith as he looked down at the bandage on his arm. "What's this?" he asked, reaching over to touch it when Amy took his hand away.
"I had to take some blood so it can be tested, that's why you felt that little pinch. I'm sorry about that, but since you were such a great sport about it, you can take one of these home," replied Amy, holding up a lollipop and smiling.
"Thanks, but why didn't you just tell me?" he asked, his mouth forming a little pout that they had tricked him.
"We're sorry sweetie! It's just that we didn't want you to fret or cry about being pricked for blood," admitted Mina, pulling him into a hug.
"I'm not mad, but it wouldn't have scared me if you told me first," replied Keith quietly.
"What do you mean?" inquired Amy.
"Mama always takes me to the doctor for this," he told them. "I'm a big boy now, so I don't cry anymore," he added, smiling as Mina helped him down from his seat.
"Well I'll be," stated Mina, laughing as she set him back on his feet. "And all this time I was freaking out worrying about how you would react!" she said, shaking her head.
"Okay, now that everything is all set, why don't you two head on home while I this off to be tested. I'll give you a call once the radiology office has the results ready," stated Amy, slipping out of the gloves she previously had on when she took the blood from Keith's arm. Mina and Keith waved bye to Amy as she walked them out of her office and headed in opposite directions.
~Darien's Office~
"Mr. Shields, I have a Miss Raye Hino outside demanding to see you sir," announced the secretary as she stood in front of Darien's desk holding a folder full of files he needed to sign. "Shall I call security sir?" she asked when he did not respond.
"No, go ahead and let her in, we'll see what the witch wants this time," said Darien, turning around to look her in the eye and smile dashingly at her. She blushed profusely and quickly turned to leave; on her way out she let Raye know that Darien was waiting for her inside.
"What the hell was all that Darien Shields? I had to wait for her to check and see if it was okay before letting me in to see you! She was the most rude person I have ever met, you should really get better help," Raye griped as she took a seat in front of Darien. He rolled his eyes and set aside his paperwork before looking up at her.
"To what do I owe this wonderful visit?" retorted Darien.
"I took the liberty of bringing the news directly to you. It seems your perfect Serena has run away again, only this time she left her brat kid behind," answered Raye, mischief clearly in her eyes.
"What?" asked Darien, getting out of his chair and walking around to Raye. "Did I just hear that correctly or are you pulling some stunt again?" he asked, arms gripping onto her tightly.
"No, I had a detective tail her ass," answered Raye, pulling back in pain. "You're hurting me Darien," she stuttered.
"Sorry, where did she go? Why did she leave behind her son?" asked Darien inquisitively.
"To Osaka for heck knows what. Don't know why the brat is with her parents, but have my sources checking that out," stated Raye monotonously. She walked over to his bar and poured herself a shot of Hennessey before returning to her seat leisurely.
"Surely there is a reason, how much is it going to take to find out?" asked Darien seriously.
"Nothing, but I do have a request. Here me out," replied Raye in a hushed tone. "Just a wild thought and all, but have you considered having a paternity test run on that child? I mean, after all, there is a possibility that he could be your son right?" she questioned. "We all know that you were orphaned at a young age, so do you really want that to happen to a kid that might be yours?" she added, inwardly laughing as she realized that her little statement had tipped him over the edge.
"What are you talking about Raye? You don't even know what went on back then between Serena and I," stated Darien, face as stoic as a statue. Raye laughed and got up from her seat.
"Suit yourself Darien. But I know that Serena was a whore back then, why else would she have a son today?" said Raye sarcastically as she left Darien to his thoughts.
'What if that little boy is mine? I'd have someone to call my family, real live flesh and blood of my own,' thought Darien to himself as he sat there on the floor of his office quietly.
"Oh my god, are you all right sir?" asked his secretary, bringing him back from his trial of thoughts.
"Yes, fine. Do something for me, cancel all appointments I have today, there is something more important to take care of," commanded Darien as he got up from the floor and buttoned his jacket before heading out to his car. Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed a familiar number quickly. "Michael? Yes, I need to call in a favor. Can you have a DNA test run for me and a kid named Keith Moon? Don't ask why, just do it. As soon as possible," said Darien to the person on the other end of the line. When the conversation was finished, Darien hopped into his black Porsche and sped out of the garage.
~Sere~
"Hey Michelle, what's up?" I answered my cell when it rang. I was out lounging on the veranda, enjoying the rain outside.
"I just called to double check your deadline for the spring line?" answered Michelle.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" I replied, laughing lightly. These past few days had been great for my mind. No past to bother me every time I take a step outside the front door. And no one there to tell me that they understand when they have no idea of what was going on inside my head.
"What, are you kidding me?" asked Michelle; shocked that Sere's perfectionist persona had suddenly disappeared.
"Well, not really," I answered nervously. "Anyway, back to business Michelle. What is my extension for turning in the outlines again?" I asked more seriously this time.
"The boss was a little concerned about your plans, but he went ahead and okayed the extension for another month, but those outlines must be turned in pronto Rena," stated Michelle in a strict motherly way.
"Thanks, I owe you," I said gratefully. "Anyway, if that's all, I'll have to let you go for the day. Tell Alex I said hello!" I added, glancing down at the time before heading inside.
"Will do Miss Moon," said Michelle in a military voice. I could only laugh in response at her childish antics.
"Serenity Elizabeth Moon, you get you butt back here this instant!" boomed a loud voice suddenly, interrupting the conversation that was currently going on.
"Alex! How dare you ease drop on my phone call!" yelled Michelle angrily. I could hear her place the phone down and storm into Alex's office and start yelling. Not wanting to hear any more yelling, I decided to let them have their privacy and hung up my end of the line.
"Boy, I would sure hate to be in his shoes right now," I said, taking a seat at my desk and pulling out my portfolio. Five minutes into the drawings, my mind began to drift off to my son Keith. 'I wonder how he is doing,' I asked myself, unconsciously reaching for my cell. When I came out of my thoughts I looked down to see that I had already dialed my parent's number half way so I decided to give them a call and check up on things.
"Hello, Tsukino residence," answered a woman's voice on the other end. Sounded like my mother, but I was quite surely since the lady sounded quite distraught.
"Hi, mom?" I asked, unsure of how to respond.
"Serena, is that you sweetheart?" asked the woman surprisingly in a more calm voice this time.
"Yes, is that you mom?" I asked once more, making sure I wouldn't make a fool of myself.
"Oh for heaven sake Serena, who else would it be?" lectured my mother beginning to sound frustrated.
"Sorry, what's wrong? You sound so, I don't know, hectic?" I asked in a worried tone.
"You're father is having this big business dinner at our house tonight, and I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off!" answered my mother exhaustedly. "Anyway, where on earth have you been young lady?! Your father and I have been worried sick! Not to mention my poor grandchild is missing his mother like crazy!" my mother scolded me.
"Sorry, but I just needed some time to think. Anyhow, I called to let you know that I'm okay and that I'll be back in a few days okay?" I told her straight out. "How's Keith? Is he behaving himself?" I asked, hoping that he wasn't giving my parents too much of a hard time.
"He's an angel honey. Mina took him to the hospital for some blood testing today so that I could prepare for this dinner," answered my mother after taking a deep breath.
"Blood test? What's wrong? Is he sick? I'll be on the first flight home!" I answered as my face lost all color.
"No honey, he's not sick. We just wanted to make sure his anemia was doing okay," my mother told me reassuringly, just as I let out the breath that I was holding. What would I have done if my precious baby were sick? What kind of a mother am I? It felt horrible hearing that something was going on in my son's life and I wasn't there to hold his hand and guide him through it.
"Nonetheless mom, I'll be on my way home soon. Tell Keith that I love him," I said as I rushed to my closet and began packing my clothes frantically with my free hand.
"Okay, be careful sweetie. I'll see you soon then," was my mother's response before we both hung up. Soon afterwards, I called the airlines and arranged for the first available flight home to Tokyo.
~Amy's Office~
"Amy?" called out a nurse as she gently knocked on Amy's office door and came in. "I got the results for that adorable little kid that was in here for a blood test this afternoon," she handed them over with a smile.
"He's a cutie," said Amy, mouthing a quick thanks before browsing through the papers.
"I'd hate to have to poke such a sweet little boy," said the nurse, standing beside the desk.
"He's a big boy, very intellectual," replied Amy, the smile on her face fading when something caught her eye. Keith's blood type turned out to be AB. What made her stop reading was the fact that Serena didn't have that blood type, hers was type O, which made Amy a little curious. 'That must mean Keith here takes after his father?' Amy thought to herself.
"Everything okay Amy?" asked the nurse cheerfully.
"Great, I have to let his grandmother and the girls know before they worry to death," laughed Amy as she responded the question and picked up the phone to call the Tsukino house. After she let everyone know of the good news, Amy left her office to do a quick round and check up on her patients before her shift would be over. Unaware to Amy, a figure entered her office quickly after she left down the hallway towards the patient rooms. They rummaged through her files, taking pictures of things they were searching for before heading out of the office without any of the staff noticing.
~*AN*~
Okay, that looks like a good place to stop. Hope everyone approved of it! Please R&R!!
Chinese New Year is here and I'm getting my act together so that my new year will be a good one. Decided that if I wrote more during the festivities, then it would mean that I would keep the same pace all year long. It's a good sign to be extra clean and not lazy during Chinese New Year, it just shows that if you start off a new year in a good way, then the rest of the year will follow through the same way. So even though there are misfortunes going on with my family, I still have to look on the brighter side and make the best of it. Just have to concentrate on studying hard in school and praying more for my loved ones. Anyway, enough with the small talk, I hope you like this chapter.
~*Chapter XV: A Possibility*~
So everyone finally got wind of Sere's quick departure from Tokyo and were all trying to cope with the shock. The girls were all disappointed to here that she had left them without a single notice, just like the last time. No one considered looking for her because the last time she took off, they searched for weeks on end and had no luck, so they decided to just wait it out this time. On one hand, she might return within a short period of time since her son was still with her parents, but on the other hand she might not come back for weeks or even months because Keith was mature enough to cope with the situation at hand.
"I can't believe she left again," muttered Mina as she and the other girls were walking around town. They had all met up for lunch and decided to go window-shopping as a means of relieving some stress.
"That's not what surprises me though, after everything that happened, we should have seen this coming. But for her to leave Keith behind, that's different," brought up Amy.
"Yeah, that's a little odd," Lita jumped in on Amy, mid-sentence.
"What's so odd, she decided to ditch the little bastard and run away like she always does. That way when Darien questions about Keith's father, she wouldn't have to make herself look like a whore," laughed Raye as she strutted past the girls, shoving them aside.
"Why you little skank! You should look at yourself before you call Serena a whore!" cried Mina angrily as she threw a heated glare at Raye.
"Please, I'm not the one who god knocked up by some stranger and had a bastard for a son," retorted Raye, looking over her nails and dusting off the lint on her suit. It was a crimson knee length skirt with matching blazer and black stiletto heels
"Oh shut up already you slut," spat out Lita, tired of hearing Raye bad mouth Serena behind her back. "What the hell are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be off somewhere, begging Darien to screw you?" she asked sarcasm dripping in her voice.
"That's enough, we don't need to waste our energy on this low life," said Amy, pushing her way through the girls and walking pass Raye, eyes icing over as she brushed shoulders with her former friend.
"Amy's right, I don't have time for this. I promised I'd take Keith to the doctor's office today, so we better get a move on," mentioned Mina, glancing at her wrist to check the time so she wouldn't be late for the appointment.
"What's wrong? I thought the little kid would be better off without that poor excuse of a mother around," replied Raye, laughing as Mina and Lita walked by her.
"You know what, Sere did a wonderful job raising her son. You wouldn't know the first thing about the love and care a child would need, you heartless bitch," argued Lita, defending Serena's dignity as a mother.
"Whatever, I have better things to do," said Raye, brushing her hair aside and walking away from the girls. Her next target was Darien; surely he'd fall for her plan. That fool would believe anything if it had to do with his supposed, "love of his life".
"What's wrong with Keith?" asked Amy, concern apparent on her face once Raye was out of sight. Just the other day, he was doing fine when they had stopped by to visit, so how did he get sick so quick? If they didn't take care of Serena's child while she was away, how would she react when she came home?
"Not sure, Jason said something about him being anemic, so I'm taking him to get some tests run," answered Mina, pulling out her handheld PDA and pulling up her schedule.
"Oh, the poor guy. I'll bake him a cake to cheer him up after his visit with the doctor and drop it off at the house later tonight," said Lita, frowning a little.
"You should be prepared Mina. He's going to cry when they start taking his blood. I'm sure he's just like his mother when it comes to needles," Amy reminded Mina. The girls all smiled and laughed quietly at the memory of Serena back in junior high, when the entire school was required to get a shot for measles, mumps, and rubella.
"Oh crap, I'm not very good with needles either!" replied Mina, beginning to freak out as she thought of ways to help calm Keith down if he does start to fuss. "What do I do? What am I going to do?" she started asking the two girls frantically.
"Don't worry about it Mina, all you have to do is tell him to close his eyes, and before you know it, it'll be over with!" answered Lita, laughing at the distraught blonde.
"Exactly what Lita said, that's the same trick we always use at the hospital," added Amy, trying to calm Mina down by patting her back gently. "If you want, you can just have that appointment transferred to my office at the hospital and I can take care of everything for you Mina," she suggested, pulling out an organizer to double check her schedule.
"Really Amy? You can do that?" asked Mina, hope clearly in her eyes.
"Of curse I can, just let me pen you in. Lets see, I have an opening in two hours, you think you can make it there by then?" replied Amy, pushing her glasses back up to their original place.
"Cool, I'll go pick Keith up now, and we'll see you in two hours!" cried Mina in joy. She hugged the girls good bye and hailed a taxi for herself to head over to the Tsukino's house.
"That girl still amazes me to no end. I can't believe after all those years of thinking her and Serena would get no where in life, they shock us all by becoming one of the most sought after business women," whispered Lita, watching the taxi speed off into the distance. Amy smiled and waved as she saw Mina turn around in her seat to wave to them once more before the taxi rounded a corner.
"I'm very proud of them. Now that you think about it, I feel bad for putting them down so much back then. It's not like they weren't capable of being smart back then, I guess now we know that they just wanted to be young and have fun while they could," replied Amy, smiling sadly as she remembered all the times they had all ganged up against the two blondes for not being more responsible in life.
"Yeah, we were hard on them, but they knew it was all out of love," said Lita, placing an arm over Amy's shoulder as she pulled her in the direction of the hospital. "Come on Ames, I'll walk you," she offered cheerfully.
"Thanks," was Amy's silent reply as they walked towards the hospital. Nothing more was said between the two as they made their way to the tall building that stood apart from all the other business buildings in downtown Tokyo.
~Mina~
"Hi Mrs. Tsukino, I'm here to pick Keith up for his doctor's appointment," announced Mina merrily as she stood at the front door, still trying to catch her breath from running.
"Oh, hello Mina! Thank you so much for taking Keith for me, I'm just so busy with preparing for Ken's business dinner tonight that I can't find a moment to spare today," explained Ilene, opening the door wider to let Mina in. "Come in and I'll go get Keith ready," she said before heading upstairs.
"I'll just wait here, the taxi is out front waiting for us," replied Mina quickly; hoping Ilene would get the hint.
"Mina!" cried Keith as he came rushing down the staircase and into Mina's arms. Smiling she grabbed the little tike and pulled him into a tight hug. "I'm ready! Let's go!" he added enthusiastically.
"Well, I suppose you won't be needing a coat then?" asked Mrs. Tsukino, shaking at Keith in a motherly way.
"Thanks grandma," replied Keith, wiggling out of Mina's arms and slipping his arms into the coat before grabbing Mina's free hand with his own. "Okay, now I'm ready!" he announced with a smile.
"See you later then sweetie. Thanks again Mina," said Ilene as she bent down and kissed her grandson's cheek. They waved and walked towards the taxi.
"So where are we going?" asked Keith curiously.
"Um, well honey.." answered Mina, stuttering as she tried to think of an easier way to tell him. "I don't know how else to say this, so I'm going to be blunt okay?" she told him after a moment of silence. "I'm taking you to see Amy for a check up," she finished, sighing in relief as the truth was out in the open.
"For what? Is something wrong?" Keith asked, shaking lightly in fear.
"No sweetie, just to see how you are doing on the inside. It shouldn't take long," Mina said, poking him lightly in the tummy. The arrived at the hospital and Keith hesitantly got out of the taxi. He was silent the whole way up to Amy's office and Mina felt awful for having to put him through this whole ordeal.
"Hey you two, I see you made it up here okay," welcomed Amy cheerfully as she hugged Keith and ruffled his hair. "Okay big guy, you ready?" she asked, smiling to reassure him that he was in good hands.
"Yeah," whispered Keith with a sad look in his eyes.
"What happened?" Amy whispered to Mina silently when she got up from her spot beside him.
"He asked about the visit and I told him it was a check up, I guess he's scared. I feel so bad," answered Mina, frowning at seeing Keith's eyes tear up slightly.
"Don't worry about it Mina, I'll talk to him and take care of this okay?" replied Amy, taking hold of Keith's hand and walking him into the private room and setting him on top of the clinic bed. Mina followed suit and they did the normal routine check up. "All right, looks like everything is fine from what I see Keith. But there is one more thing I have to check before I can let you leave okay?" said Amy in the sweetest tone possible. "I want you to turn and look and Mina, while you're doing that, can you recite the pledge of allegiance to me?" instructed Amy as she went to the drawer and pulled out a few items.
"Okay," answered Keith shakily as he turned and faced Mina. Taking a deep breath, he slowly began reciting the words for Amy and Mina to hear. He jumped slightly when he felt something pinch his arm but continued with the pledge as asked.
"Sorry sweetie," apologized Amy, rubbing his arm gently as she continued drawing blood into a tiny container. Within a few seconds, she was finished and had withdrawn the needle and disposed of everything just as Keith finished the last words.
"With liberty and justice for all," Keith said, completing the pledge and smiling at Mina as she clapped quietly. "How was that?" he asked, turning around to face Amy.
"That was great! Did that pinch hurt earlier?" Amy asked curiously.
"No, not really, just kind of surprised me," answered Keith as he looked down at the bandage on his arm. "What's this?" he asked, reaching over to touch it when Amy took his hand away.
"I had to take some blood so it can be tested, that's why you felt that little pinch. I'm sorry about that, but since you were such a great sport about it, you can take one of these home," replied Amy, holding up a lollipop and smiling.
"Thanks, but why didn't you just tell me?" he asked, his mouth forming a little pout that they had tricked him.
"We're sorry sweetie! It's just that we didn't want you to fret or cry about being pricked for blood," admitted Mina, pulling him into a hug.
"I'm not mad, but it wouldn't have scared me if you told me first," replied Keith quietly.
"What do you mean?" inquired Amy.
"Mama always takes me to the doctor for this," he told them. "I'm a big boy now, so I don't cry anymore," he added, smiling as Mina helped him down from his seat.
"Well I'll be," stated Mina, laughing as she set him back on his feet. "And all this time I was freaking out worrying about how you would react!" she said, shaking her head.
"Okay, now that everything is all set, why don't you two head on home while I this off to be tested. I'll give you a call once the radiology office has the results ready," stated Amy, slipping out of the gloves she previously had on when she took the blood from Keith's arm. Mina and Keith waved bye to Amy as she walked them out of her office and headed in opposite directions.
~Darien's Office~
"Mr. Shields, I have a Miss Raye Hino outside demanding to see you sir," announced the secretary as she stood in front of Darien's desk holding a folder full of files he needed to sign. "Shall I call security sir?" she asked when he did not respond.
"No, go ahead and let her in, we'll see what the witch wants this time," said Darien, turning around to look her in the eye and smile dashingly at her. She blushed profusely and quickly turned to leave; on her way out she let Raye know that Darien was waiting for her inside.
"What the hell was all that Darien Shields? I had to wait for her to check and see if it was okay before letting me in to see you! She was the most rude person I have ever met, you should really get better help," Raye griped as she took a seat in front of Darien. He rolled his eyes and set aside his paperwork before looking up at her.
"To what do I owe this wonderful visit?" retorted Darien.
"I took the liberty of bringing the news directly to you. It seems your perfect Serena has run away again, only this time she left her brat kid behind," answered Raye, mischief clearly in her eyes.
"What?" asked Darien, getting out of his chair and walking around to Raye. "Did I just hear that correctly or are you pulling some stunt again?" he asked, arms gripping onto her tightly.
"No, I had a detective tail her ass," answered Raye, pulling back in pain. "You're hurting me Darien," she stuttered.
"Sorry, where did she go? Why did she leave behind her son?" asked Darien inquisitively.
"To Osaka for heck knows what. Don't know why the brat is with her parents, but have my sources checking that out," stated Raye monotonously. She walked over to his bar and poured herself a shot of Hennessey before returning to her seat leisurely.
"Surely there is a reason, how much is it going to take to find out?" asked Darien seriously.
"Nothing, but I do have a request. Here me out," replied Raye in a hushed tone. "Just a wild thought and all, but have you considered having a paternity test run on that child? I mean, after all, there is a possibility that he could be your son right?" she questioned. "We all know that you were orphaned at a young age, so do you really want that to happen to a kid that might be yours?" she added, inwardly laughing as she realized that her little statement had tipped him over the edge.
"What are you talking about Raye? You don't even know what went on back then between Serena and I," stated Darien, face as stoic as a statue. Raye laughed and got up from her seat.
"Suit yourself Darien. But I know that Serena was a whore back then, why else would she have a son today?" said Raye sarcastically as she left Darien to his thoughts.
'What if that little boy is mine? I'd have someone to call my family, real live flesh and blood of my own,' thought Darien to himself as he sat there on the floor of his office quietly.
"Oh my god, are you all right sir?" asked his secretary, bringing him back from his trial of thoughts.
"Yes, fine. Do something for me, cancel all appointments I have today, there is something more important to take care of," commanded Darien as he got up from the floor and buttoned his jacket before heading out to his car. Pulling out his cell phone, he dialed a familiar number quickly. "Michael? Yes, I need to call in a favor. Can you have a DNA test run for me and a kid named Keith Moon? Don't ask why, just do it. As soon as possible," said Darien to the person on the other end of the line. When the conversation was finished, Darien hopped into his black Porsche and sped out of the garage.
~Sere~
"Hey Michelle, what's up?" I answered my cell when it rang. I was out lounging on the veranda, enjoying the rain outside.
"I just called to double check your deadline for the spring line?" answered Michelle.
"Oh, I almost forgot!" I replied, laughing lightly. These past few days had been great for my mind. No past to bother me every time I take a step outside the front door. And no one there to tell me that they understand when they have no idea of what was going on inside my head.
"What, are you kidding me?" asked Michelle; shocked that Sere's perfectionist persona had suddenly disappeared.
"Well, not really," I answered nervously. "Anyway, back to business Michelle. What is my extension for turning in the outlines again?" I asked more seriously this time.
"The boss was a little concerned about your plans, but he went ahead and okayed the extension for another month, but those outlines must be turned in pronto Rena," stated Michelle in a strict motherly way.
"Thanks, I owe you," I said gratefully. "Anyway, if that's all, I'll have to let you go for the day. Tell Alex I said hello!" I added, glancing down at the time before heading inside.
"Will do Miss Moon," said Michelle in a military voice. I could only laugh in response at her childish antics.
"Serenity Elizabeth Moon, you get you butt back here this instant!" boomed a loud voice suddenly, interrupting the conversation that was currently going on.
"Alex! How dare you ease drop on my phone call!" yelled Michelle angrily. I could hear her place the phone down and storm into Alex's office and start yelling. Not wanting to hear any more yelling, I decided to let them have their privacy and hung up my end of the line.
"Boy, I would sure hate to be in his shoes right now," I said, taking a seat at my desk and pulling out my portfolio. Five minutes into the drawings, my mind began to drift off to my son Keith. 'I wonder how he is doing,' I asked myself, unconsciously reaching for my cell. When I came out of my thoughts I looked down to see that I had already dialed my parent's number half way so I decided to give them a call and check up on things.
"Hello, Tsukino residence," answered a woman's voice on the other end. Sounded like my mother, but I was quite surely since the lady sounded quite distraught.
"Hi, mom?" I asked, unsure of how to respond.
"Serena, is that you sweetheart?" asked the woman surprisingly in a more calm voice this time.
"Yes, is that you mom?" I asked once more, making sure I wouldn't make a fool of myself.
"Oh for heaven sake Serena, who else would it be?" lectured my mother beginning to sound frustrated.
"Sorry, what's wrong? You sound so, I don't know, hectic?" I asked in a worried tone.
"You're father is having this big business dinner at our house tonight, and I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off!" answered my mother exhaustedly. "Anyway, where on earth have you been young lady?! Your father and I have been worried sick! Not to mention my poor grandchild is missing his mother like crazy!" my mother scolded me.
"Sorry, but I just needed some time to think. Anyhow, I called to let you know that I'm okay and that I'll be back in a few days okay?" I told her straight out. "How's Keith? Is he behaving himself?" I asked, hoping that he wasn't giving my parents too much of a hard time.
"He's an angel honey. Mina took him to the hospital for some blood testing today so that I could prepare for this dinner," answered my mother after taking a deep breath.
"Blood test? What's wrong? Is he sick? I'll be on the first flight home!" I answered as my face lost all color.
"No honey, he's not sick. We just wanted to make sure his anemia was doing okay," my mother told me reassuringly, just as I let out the breath that I was holding. What would I have done if my precious baby were sick? What kind of a mother am I? It felt horrible hearing that something was going on in my son's life and I wasn't there to hold his hand and guide him through it.
"Nonetheless mom, I'll be on my way home soon. Tell Keith that I love him," I said as I rushed to my closet and began packing my clothes frantically with my free hand.
"Okay, be careful sweetie. I'll see you soon then," was my mother's response before we both hung up. Soon afterwards, I called the airlines and arranged for the first available flight home to Tokyo.
~Amy's Office~
"Amy?" called out a nurse as she gently knocked on Amy's office door and came in. "I got the results for that adorable little kid that was in here for a blood test this afternoon," she handed them over with a smile.
"He's a cutie," said Amy, mouthing a quick thanks before browsing through the papers.
"I'd hate to have to poke such a sweet little boy," said the nurse, standing beside the desk.
"He's a big boy, very intellectual," replied Amy, the smile on her face fading when something caught her eye. Keith's blood type turned out to be AB. What made her stop reading was the fact that Serena didn't have that blood type, hers was type O, which made Amy a little curious. 'That must mean Keith here takes after his father?' Amy thought to herself.
"Everything okay Amy?" asked the nurse cheerfully.
"Great, I have to let his grandmother and the girls know before they worry to death," laughed Amy as she responded the question and picked up the phone to call the Tsukino house. After she let everyone know of the good news, Amy left her office to do a quick round and check up on her patients before her shift would be over. Unaware to Amy, a figure entered her office quickly after she left down the hallway towards the patient rooms. They rummaged through her files, taking pictures of things they were searching for before heading out of the office without any of the staff noticing.
~*AN*~
Okay, that looks like a good place to stop. Hope everyone approved of it! Please R&R!!