A.N: Sorry it took so long!
I am so freakin' busy now, plus my Microsoft word wasn't working for awhile. But hope you enjoy!
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Chapter 8: Ken
Friday night Darien got to leave Serena's room three hours early, by the President's request. He was going to be prompted about the party tomorrow night.
Darien walked down the long hallways of the White House, his destination being the Oval office. He and Serena were back to their silent stage, only talking to each other if it was necessary. There was no hostility, just awkwardness.
When Darien neared two white doors, there was an area just outside where Joanna, the secretary, sat behind her desk. She looked up expectantly as Darien neared and smiled.
"Good evening, Agent Shields," she said happily, shuffling some papers aside.
Darien smiled back and greeted her as well.
"Go ahead and go in. He's been expecting you," she said joyfully.
Darien nodded," Thanks, Joanne."
When Darien entered, Ken was sitting behind his desk, reading something with full concentration. His forehead wrinkled and his eyes looked deadly serious. He didn't even seem to notice that Darien had come in. Ken suddenly sat up straighter in his chair, took off his glasses and pinched the crook of his nose with a sigh.
"Um… should I come back another time?" Darien asked, making Ken look up at him for the first time.
Ken dropped his hands and shook his head. "No, no. Come have a sit. I have a few things to go over with you for this party Serena's going too," he said as he shuffled some of his papers off to the side.
Darien nodded and quickly walked to the chair in front of Ken's desk. As he got himself situated, Ken took some things out of a drawer and put it in front of him. One was a small black device, it looked like a sidekick phone, and the others were two small pins, and an ear piece.
"Now I'm sure you know that there will be guards everywhere on the premises. Remember that no cameras of any sort are to be seen at this party. If you see a kid with a camera, you take it from them. This, of course, is for publicity reasons.
"Now what I have in front of me is for you, only. This little computer looking device is a tracker, it goes with Serena's little White House charm I got her for the bracelet. We got the layout of where the party is in here," he waved the tracker around," so you'll know exactly where she is every step of the way. Now that you have this, you don't have to worry about where she is all the time. Of course that doesn't mean that she's allowed to leave your sight. This," Ken picked up the two small pins," is for you and Serena. They're microphones. The earpiece is also for Serena. Now these two microphones correspond with each other. I'm sure she'll eventually take the earpiece off, so your microphone can automatically turn on hers without her knowing, and you could listen in on her surroundings and what she's saying. But only do that if necessary. The microphone is also a camera. On your tracker there is a button that can reverse between seeing where she is, and seeing who she's talking too. One press and you can see what she's seeing, but again, only do that if it is necessary."
Darien nodded. All this for a party? He thought.
Ken got up and walked around to Darien. "I'm going to show you how this tracker works," he turned it on. "Now, you see the red dot? That's Serena, and it shows me that she's in her room. Easy enough?"
"Yes, sir."
"At the party, everyone is going to be checked by security before they can enter. They will also be stamped. Once stamped, they show up on the tracker and everybody else's color is blue. Your color will be green. It's just going to be easier for you to tell how close you are to her. Going on," Ken said as he handed Darien the tracker," the only Secret Services allowed inside the party, is you and Andrew. Sam won't be attending the party so more than likely, he'll just be home all day, so I've asked Andrew to help you. He does not have a tracker, but you two can reach each other through your earpieces and microphones. We've channeled it to where if you press on your pin once, it goes to Andrew and if you press it twice, it goes to the Secret Services outside." Ken handed Darien everything else. " I know this is a lot to take in, and it seems like too much just for a party, but one can never be too careful."
Darien simply nodded.
Ken gave him a smile as he took his seat again. "The tracker is good if you are within a 50 mile radius from her. Well… I think that is all. Do you have any questions?"
"No," Darien stood up. "I think I understand."
Ken gave a chuckle and stood up as well, extending his hand to Darien. "Have fun tomorrow, and good luck. You're fortunate you've lasted this long," Ken winked.
Darien laughed. "Well, I don't go without putting up a fight."
"My kind of man," Ken grinned as he walked Darien to the door. "Oh, if you will drop by Serena's room and explain to her about the microphone and earpiece. And would you also tell her that dinner tonight is at 8?"
Darien nodded. "No problem, sir. Good night."
"Good night. And take care of my little girl," Ken added.
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Serena heard a soft knock on her door so she sat up in bed. "Who is it?" she asked.
"It's Darien," she heard his deep, handsome voice echo through her door.
Serena sighed as she hopped off her bed and walked to the door to let him in. She was in her pajamas and her hair was all let down. When she opened the door, he was standing a little off to the side, looking beautiful as always. He was wearing a blue buttoned up shirt with a black blazer thrown on top, black trousers and shoes. His hair always fell to his eyes, and Serena sometimes had to fight the urge to go up to him and push it out of the way and run her fingers through his locks.
She walked back into the room and sat back on her bed after she opened the door for him. When she picked up her book, he had already made his way to her side.
"Do you need something?" Serena asked in an irritated voice, putting her book back down.
Darien's dark blue eyes met Serena's and she felt her heart suddenly beat faster. "Yes," he said coolly. "I have a few things I have to give you. It's your dad's rules."
Serena tore her eyes away from his and glanced away quickly to regain some control of her beating heart. "What is it?"
Darien reached into his pocket and withdrew a pin shaped as a snowflake, and a nude earpiece. "This is for you to wear during the party. The snowflake is actually a microphone," Darien explained, leaving out the part that it was also a camera. He also left out the part about him having a tracker.
"I'm not wearing it," Serena said when he was through explaining.
Darien shrugged. "Too bad, because you have too. He let you go to the party so you have to abide by his rules."
Serena frowned. "It's not even a party anymore! Security's gonna be everywhere!"
"Yes, but they're not going to be 'inside' the party. The only people that are allowed inside the actual party are me and Andrew," Darien told her.
Serena took a strand of her hair and started to play with it. "Yeah, but once they see that they're gonna be searched before they can enter the party, they're not gonna want to come."
"I doubt that," Darien said, still standing next to her bed. "You guys are teenagers; you'd do anything it takes to get into a party."
Serena frowned again.
"Well, I'm gonna go to my room now so I'll see you tomorrow. Oh, and dinner's at eight," Darien said as he walked out her door.
When he was out of her sight, she let herself fall backwards onto her bed, bouncing a little as she landed. Stupid, worthless heart, she thought as she felt her heartbeat begin to slow back to normal. All he has to do is look at me and I turn into jello. She scrunched up her nose and turned around on her bed, looking at the microphone and the earpiece Darien had put on her bed. I wonder… she thought as she stuck the earpiece in her ear and pressed on the snowflake.
She heard a strange beeping noise. "I wonder how this works…" Serena said as she studied her snowflake.
"Yes?" she suddenly heard Darien's voice fill her right ear.
Her eyes widened as she sat up in bed. "Oh… I'm sorry. I was just seeing how it works," she said as she talked into the snowflake pin.
"Well… I guess you know now," Darien responded. "Any other questions?"
God… even his voice is sexy. "No," she answered. "What are you doing?" she suddenly asked.
There was a pause before he answered. "I'm taking of my shoes right now. I'm about to go take a shower. Why? I thought you weren't talking to me"
"I am too talking to you," Serena said defensively, pouting.
"Wrong. You only talked to me if you had too."
Serena took a strand of hair and started to twirl it around her finger. "What am I doing right now, huh?"
"Talking to me, but there's a barrier. It doesn't count," he said.
Serena heard some ruffling noises, sounding like he was taking off his jacket with the pin still being attached on it. "Hold on a sec," she heard him mumble.
A minute later he came back on. "Okay. You there?"
"Yeah," Serena responded, laying back down on her bed , keeping the snowflake pin close by her mouth. It's like talking on the phone.
"Like I was saying, this doesn't count because I'm not face-to-face with you," Darien explained.
Serena was quiet for awhile before she gained enough courage to say," It's awkward when I see you in person. Especially knowing what happened with us the other night and having to pretend like it never happened."
Now it was Darien's turn to be quiet. Serena heard him give a sigh. "I'm not 'pretending' like it never happened because it did happen. I just don't want what happened to affect us in any way. And obviously having to 'pretend' like it never happened is actually affecting us after all because we haven't spoken more then a few words to each other since after my mom's birthday," he said, sounding a little unhappy or irritated… Serena couldn't decide which one.
"So, what? You want me to talk to you now?"
"If you want too," Darien's voice said gently," But that's what I'm trying to say. I just want things to get back to normal between us."
Serena gave a small giggle. "Normal? And what is normal between us? Me trying to find a way to get you fired and you trying to find a way out of it?"
"If that's what normal was for us, then yeah," Darien responded. Serena could tell he was probably smiling.
"Okay, deal. You better keep your guard up tomorrow at the party then because I could easily have you fired," Serena threatened jokingly.
Darien laughed heartily. "Looking forward to it. But I highly doubt anything's going to happen."
Serena shrugged," You never know."
"Oh, contraire," Darien joked," I do know. But I'm gonna go take a shower now so I'll just see you tomorrow, okay?"
"Okay," Serena said, feeling a wave of disappointment. She was actually having fun with Darien.
"Good night, Serena," Darien said, and there was a short beeping noise, and he was gone.
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During dinner, Ken and Irene lectured Serena about the party, while Sam smiled mockingly at her.
Serena noticed that her father's eyes were looking more tired then usual; this made her worry. He had heavy bags underneath his eyes now.
Irene, on the other hand, was looking quite jubilant and fresh, but Serena could tell that her mother also noticed that Ken was looking weary and worn-out.
"Dad, don't worry about me! I'm going to behave," Serena reassured her father as she forked up some mashed potatoes.
Ken nodded as he picked up a glass of water. "Okay! I'm taking your word for it," he responded, giving her an exhausted smile.
Serena caught her mother's eye quickly, and Irene returned it with a sad face before she turned to Ken. "Honey," Irene said as she placed her hand lovingly on Ken's. "You've been working too hard. Why don't we take a vacation to Camp David for awhile?"
Ken frowned," Irene… You know I can't take time off while we're in Red Alert. What would America think of me? I can't possibly abandon things right now; we still have to have some kind of negotiation with North Korea."
Irene nodded and sighed loudly. "I'm sure 'America' will understand, Ken. You look so exhausted and lifeless! Everybody deserves a break every now and then."
"No. Not everybody," Ken said as he picked up his fork," Not the President."
"Dad," Sam chimed in, looking serious," Please? For us?"
Serena turned and looked at her father, nodding in agreement with Sam. "I won't go to the party, then! We can just take a week off and go to Camp David."
Ken looked at his children, as if he was considering it for a moment… but just for a moment. "No. You all are being ridiculous! I am fine. Being tired comes with the package of being the President."
Irene shook her head, looking as if she was about to cry. "You haven't come to bed in nearly three days… have you even slept at all?"
Ken started to look agitated now, losing his appetite. "I sleep when I can," he said a little too forcibly, making Irene look down at her plate.
Serena frowned when she saw the hurt look on her mother's face. "Dad… can you not understand that we care about you? Do you think we like to see you like this?"
Ken sighed as he ran a hand over his face. "I do not have time… I've got to figure out something before we end up in disaster," he said, almost to himself.
"Are you talking about 'we' as a family, or 'we' as the United States?" Irene asked, her eyes softening.
Abruptly, Ken stood up and placed his dinner towel on his half-eaten plate of food. "I'm talking about both, Irene," he said and walked away from the table.
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Serena and Sam had to comfort their teary-eyed mother for over thirty minutes while she wailed about her husband not getting enough sleep and how him becoming President was the worst mistake of their lives.
"It's like we're a broken family!" she cried into Sam's shoulder as he cooed her gently, Serena next to her whispering encouraging words.
When they made sure their mother was okay, they headed upstairs to bed.
Serena noticed that Sam had grown another inch or two. I wonder why I haven't noticed, she thought sadly as he walked next to her, his hands in his pockets as his turquoise eyes rimmed with anger.
"I hate this," he said, turning to Serena to look at her. "I hate what's happening to our family."
Serena glanced down at the ground as they kept walking. "We've got to figure something out, Sam. Dad can't keep doing this; he'll drive himself to the brink of insanity."
Sam nodded as he stared ahead, his eyebrows furrowing together seriously.
"Go to sleep, okay? We'll talk about this some more later," Serena said, touching her brother on the shoulder.
Sam gave her a weak smile and nodded, turning to go to his room. "Night, Sere."
"Night, Sam," Serena responded as she walked towards her door.
Once inside her room, Serena fell to the floor and cried. She cried for her father, she cried for her mother, she cried for Sam, and she cried for herself. They were tears of anger, sorrow, resentment, and guilt, all mixed together. The next thing she knew, she woke up to a new day.
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A.N: For those of you who don't know what Camp David is, it is a place built during Eisenhower's term as a place for relaxing and secret meetings. It is a secluded Presidential area that is approximately 70 miles away from the White House.
I hope you all enjoyed this chapter!