Everyone took cover as the explosion occurred. Darien peeked over his cape to see what was going on. As soon as some of the smoke cleared, he saw Serena lying on the ground near where the shield once stood. Darien immediately ran to her side and covered her as more smoke and debris flew around.
"D-Dare?" Serena mumbled from under him.
"Are you okay Sere?"
"M-my back hurts." She brought her hand from under her back…it was covered in blood. Her princess dress vanished and was replaced with the clothes she was wearing prior to the battle.
Darien panicked. "It's okay. We'll get you out of here and all better. I promise you Sere." He gently kissed her forehead. "You'll be fine."
Her eyelids grew heavy as she drifted into unconsciousness.
"Sere, you need to stay awake for me. Please don't go to sleep."
"But Dare, I'm so 'yawn' tired."
"Just hold on Sere." He sat up and brought her up with him since the smoke was cleared. He clasped her hand and transferred some of his energy into her. Her eyes slowly opened as the others approached.
"Dare?"
"Just
hold on baby. We'll get you help soon." He quickly stood and
lifted her into his arms.
"Beryl's been completely defeated. This base will cease to exist in a matter of minutes; we have to get out of here." Mercury informed.
"We need to get
Serena home."
"What happened!?"
"I'm not sure. I'm thinking that some of the shield caught her. Her back is soaked in blood." He explained feeling the blood soak through the sleeve of his arm. With one arm he removed his cape and wrapped it tightly around Serena's waist to put pressure on the wound. Serena hissed. "Come on. We need to get out of here."
The scouts and Andrew made a circle around Darien carrying a limp Serena in his arms.
"SOLAR TELEPORT!" They all shouted.
0.o
Luna and Artemis sat impatiently in the temple when a bright white light filled the room. They covered their eyes, and when the light dissipated, the scouts, Darien, and Andrew all stood in the room.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO SERENA!?" Luna shouted seeing the limp form of Serena in Darien's arms.
"D-Dare, I'm so tired. Can I sleep now?" She yawned as her eyes drifted closed.
"No! Sere, you have to stay awake." Her eyes stayed closed. "Serena, wake up. You can't go to sleep yet!" She didn't budge. He began running out the door.
"Darien! Where are you going?" Lita asked.
"The hospital." He called as he reached his car. He laid Serena down in the backseat before hopping in the front seat and pulling away.
…
"Someone please come help me." Darien called as he rushed into the emergency room.
"Are you hurt?" A nurse asked.
"Not me, my girlfriend. She's in my car."
"Someone get a gurney please." She called before following Darien.
She approached the car as Darien opened the back door.
"She's lost a lot of blood. She passed out a few minutes ago. That's when I rushed her over."
"Let's get her loaded onto the gurney."
"Sir, how did this
happen?"
"We were moving furniture. One of the pieces had a
glass top, well she fell, and a piece of it went into her back." Darien explained the story he prepared in the car.
They soon found their way into a trauma room.
"Sir, are there any
allergies or anything we should worry about?"
"No. But she is
pregnant."
"How far
along?"
"About two months."
"Okay, we're going to have to ask you to step out of the room while we work."
"But-"
"Please. We can work more efficiently if you step out here."
"Okay, okay." Darien stepped out of the doors while the doctors went to work.
…
"How is she?"
"She's
stable. She lost a lot of blood, but we're giving her some now. She should wake up soon. We're going to move her to a more
secluded room while we wait for her to wake up." The doctor
explained as some nurses and doctors wheeled Serena out of the room.
"Can I wait with
her?"
"We usually only allow family…"
"I am her family. I'm the father of her child."
"Okay, okay. You can wait
with her."
Darien immediately followed the stretcher with Serena on it.
"Why can't we go in there?"
"Come on, we're her
best friends."
"Please let us in."
"Fine, I'll just go find my mother, she'll allow us in."
"Come on Sere, the girls and Andrew are here, you have to wake up." Darien said squeezing her hand a little harder. "Come on baby." He kissed her hand.
"Thank you mom."
"No problem Amy. Wish Serena my best."
"Will do."
The door opened to reveal five worried faces.
"How is she?" Raye asked moving to the side Darien wasn't occupying.
"The doctor said she should wake up when the blood they're giving her circulates through." Darien explained never taking his eyes off Serena.
"Darien, why don't you take a rest? You used more energy then all of us." Andrew said.
"I can't leave her
side. I won't. I'm staying by her side until she wakes
up."
"The doctors probably won't let you. The ones working
with Serena are mean." Amy said.
"I hate using you're moms power, but could you ask her to talk to the doctors? I absolutely refuse to leave Serena's side."
"I can talk to her. See what she can do."
"Thanks."
The door opened. "Excuse me, but you'll have to leave. Family only." A nurse explained.
"I'll be back. Let
me talk to my mother." Amy quickly left the room.
The others
just ignored the nurse. "Excuse me." She stated again.
Amy and her mother
appeared behind the nurse. "Okay, we can't let all six of you
stay."
"I refuse to leave." Darien quickly but in.
"You
didn't let me finish."
"Sorry."
"It's quite
alright. But Darien, because of Serena's situation, you can stay. I know it's not typical medical procedure, but I'm aware of the
situation and trust you will make proper medical decisions if I leave
you in charge of any and all decisions that need to be made?"
"Of course."
"I'll take over her case and consult you for medical decisions. But all of you can't stay. The rest of you can come back in the morning."
"Thank you
mom."
"Thank you Dr. Mizuno."
"It's no problem. Darien, I'll bring you a chair. That or the other gurney is
unoccupied. You can lie down on that if you'd like."
"Thank
you so much Dr. Mizuno."
"Darien, call us
immediately if anything happens."
"Be sure to get some rest."
"You too."
"Bye."
Soon just
Dr. Mizuno, Darien, and a sleeping Serena remained in the room.
The doctor wrote something on a piece of paper and handed the paper to Darien. "I want you to page this number the instant she wakes up. I'm going to talk to the doctor in charge of her case and review her chart. Just use that phone over there," she pointed to the wall across from Darien, "and dial the number on the paper. I'll come down the second I get a chance."
"Sure."
"Okay,
I'm going to talk to her doctor."
"Thanks again."
"Sure. I'll have a nurse bring in a chair for you
momentarily."
"Thanks."
She nodded before walking out of
the door.
As soon as Darien had the chair, he pulled it right next to Serena's bed. He clasped her hand again and his thumb traced circles on the back of it. He rested his head in his other arm as he drifted off to dreamland full of Serena.
0.o
She groaned as she opened her eyes. Serena looked at her surroundings. Isn't this the second morning in a row I didn't wake up in a familiar place? She asked herself. Yet the second morning in a row that I wake up in Darien's grasp...not that I mind… She grinned to herself as she heard him snore lightly. I love his snore. It's so cute. She giggled lightly as Darien stirred.
He yawned. "What's
so funny?"
"I was just thinking how cute your snore is."
"I
don't snore."
"You keep telling yourself that." She
giggled again.
He embraced her shoulders as to not further hurt
her injury. "I'm so glad you're okay."
"Dare, I'm fine. Just a little sore."
"I've gotta page
Dr. Mizuno."
"Why?"
"She took over your case since she
knows your situation. She let me stay here. I just gotta page her." He said walking over to the phone. He dialed some numbers then hung
up. "She should be here in a few. How are you feeling?"
"My
back is just a little sore where the thing was. And I feel a little
drained."
"That doesn't
surprise me."
"But how did you guys get the energy to me
though? Beryl's shield seemed impenetrable."
"They all transferred their energy to me, and I transferred it to you through our link."
A soft knock was heard on the door.
"Come in." Serena called.
"It's good to see
you awake. How are you feeling?"
"My back is a little sore."
"I'll get some more pain killers for you. I have to watch which ones you take because of your pregnancy."
"Thanks."
"How
is it going?"
"So far so good. I have another appointment
tomorrow."
"I'm glad. Now care to explain what really happened? I know something like that wasn't from a piece of furniture."
Darien and Serena looked to each other.
"What is it?"
"I'd love to tell you, but I can't." Serena said looking down.
"Serena, you know I have doctor-patient confidentiality."
"But…I can't."
"Darien, could you
leave us for a minute please?"
"It's not him."
"Serena, in order to treat you properly, I have to know."
"I guess it wouldn't be that bad if she knew Sere."
"I guess."
"It's fine. I
won't tell anyone."
"You can't."
"It could potentially ruin our lives."
"Okay, okay."
"You
know those heroes?"
"The ones fighting those weird looking things?"
"Yah, well I'm the
leader."
"Venus?"
"No. I haven't been fighting
because some people wouldn't let me." She said glaring at
Darien. "I'm Moon."
"And I'm Tuxedo
Mask."
"So how did you get the injuries?"
"We just
defeated the leader of those 'weird looking things.' I was
locked in a shield fighting her. When we defeated her, the shield
exploded and a piece hit cut my back."
"Okay. So I presume this belongs to you?" She asked grabbing a bloodied cape from under Serena's bed.
"Yah. That would be Tuxedo Mask's cape."
"Well your secret is safe with me." She said getting up. "I'll go get the meds for you. You can probably go home today. You healed really fast."
"We have powers. They help us heal faster."
"That's why I was hesitant on
bringing her at first. Doctors wouldn't understand."
"Thanks."
"No
offense. But we didn't want to tell anyone our secret. It could
endanger the life of anyone we told."
"I understand. From now
on, if any of the scouts get injured, just bring them to me."
"Well
hopefully we're done. We defeated the leader, so I'm hoping all
the negatrash is gone." Serena said.
"Let me just unhook you." She took out the IV and undid the heart monitor. "Okay, I'm going to go get a script for you for pain killers and discharge papers."
"What time is
it?"
She looked to her watch. "2 in the
morning."
"Thanks."
She nodded before walking out.
"Dare, wanna grab my clothes for me?" Serena asked as she sat up and flung her legs on the side of the bed.
Darien bent over and retrieved the bag that her clothes were in. "They're a little bloody." He said pulling out her used-to-be-white shirt.
"It's all I have." She shrugged. "Wanna hand me my underwear and jeans?"
"Just be careful of your back." He said as he handed her the garments.
She slowly put those on, followed by her jeans. She looked at her bra and shirt Darien was holding. "You better not try nothin'." She glared taking the clothes. She turned her back to Darien and took off the hospital gown. She then slowly put on her bra but was having trouble clasping it. "Dare. Could you please? I can't get my arms that far without hurting my back."
"Sure Sere." He
walked up to her and clasped it. He then turned her around and
hugged her close, feeling the slight bump of Serena's belly. "This
is beautiful."
"What is?"
He placed a hand over her
stomach.
"It feels funny." She giggled. "I never would've guessed what it would feel like to be a mommy." She grinned. "Earlier than I expected, but I'm happy nonetheless."
"I'm really
sorry."
"Dare, we've already had this argument. It's not
your fault."
"Okay, okay. Here, put this on before I get carried away." He said handing her the shirt.
She carefully pulled it over her head as Dr. Mizuno walked in.
"In a hurry to
leave?" She laughed.
"No. I just thought it might take me a
little longer."
"Well be thankful for your powers. If you didn't have those, you'd be in A LOT of pain this morning."
"That I am thankful for." She grinned. "Is there anything I need to do?"
"Here are your pain killers." She handed a bag to Serena.
"Are they safe?"
"For
your pregnancy? Yes. I made sure of it. Don't worry; I know what
I'm doing when it comes to pregnancies."
"Sorry. I'm just
trying to be cautious."
"I'm glad you're trying to be
safe. That's good to know. Some teenagers who are pregnant try to
hide it or something."
"I can't believe
them."
"But anyways, Darien just has to sign a few papers and
you're good to go."
Darien grabbed the pen and papers.
"Thanks again."
"It's
no problem. Really."
Darien handed her the papers.
"You're all set
then. What are you two doing for Christmas dinner?"
"Oh,
tomorrow…well today is Christmas, isn't it?"
"Yah."
"Just
sitting at home." Darien said.
"How about you join Amy and me?"
"We couldn't intrude." Serena said.
"Nonsense. We'd be glad to have you both." She insisted.
"Okay. Thank you so
much. Would you like us to bring anything?"
"If you'd like. In fact you could come over around noon if you'd like. Amy and I
usually spend the day cooking. You could join us."
"As much
as I'd love to join and help out, I'm not the best cook."