Of Faux and Friends

Chapter 9

A/N: Another chapter, y'all. Hope you enjoy and don't forget to review!

Rating: M (adult situations, language and mild violence)

She jammed the key into the ignition before turning it sharply, her body still as the engine roared to life. There was a gentle mist falling from the cloudy, early morning sky as she pulled out of the parking lot, the high beams of the silver BMW illuminating the striped concrete before her. Her heart was alive with worry, her hands quivering with fear, it was nearly five in the morning and she hadn't seen Darien all night.

He had stormed out of the apartment hours ago, mumbling to her about needing to fix something he had fucked up. It was such a loaded statement, so shrouded in mystery and secrecy, that she didn't know what he meant by it and thus had no idea where he had gone to.

She angled another corner, driving past the hospital, slamming on the breaks and entering the building, the events of that evening playing in her mind. Prior to last night they had come so far, Darien was asking her about the baby, taking her shopping, touching her stomach. He seemed honestly excited about the impending birth of their child. But all of that seemed to change yesterday afternoon. He received a call from his lawyer friend, who was talking to him frantically over the phone. Lily could hear Raye's voice crescendo and descend as she relayed a message that she struggled to hear. Eventually Darien stepped onto the balcony, closed the door and continued his conversation in private.

Lily remembered feeling vulnerable and scared. What if somehow he found out about the baby? He would be furious with her, and all the planning and conniving would have gone to waste. More importantly, Seiya would kill her.

She looked around for someone, anyone that worked with Darien. After minutes of searching, she questioned, poked and prodded the hospital staff until she learned that Darien wouldn't be working again until Monday and that he hadn't been there all night. Was he enraged with her? Had he truly found out about her secret dealings with Seiya? Was he off hurt somewhere? She didn't know. But she wanted to find him, to explain herself if he knew, and to beg him not leave her if he didn't.

She racked her brain as she reclined into the car, strapping the seatbelt over her round belly before pulling out of the parking lot and heading eastward out of the city. Darien had mentioned offhandedly one day that he had a house in the hills of Azabu overlooking the city. It was the home where he had grown up as a child before his family died. It was sold shortly after their deaths and Darien bought it again once he gained complete control over his inheritance. He said he went there sometimes for the quiet; that he went there sometimes so think.

Pressing her feet against the gas, the car jolted forward, the engine working harder as she sped around another bin. The house was about forty miles out of the city. There was something in her gut driving her; something in her psyche that convinced her that Darien was lost to her forever. She didn't know if it was because of her deception or because of something else. But she was truly eager to find out for herself.

She bounded another corner, her eyes falling onto the rear view mirror, the high beams of the car behind her reflecting light across the looking glass. The car was speeding closer to her, the roar of the engine audible against the silence. Clicking her warning lights, she edged closer to the side of the road so that the passenger could pass her car. As the vehicle drew nearer, she honked once, twice, signaling for him to go around her BMW, but the pickup was persistently tailgating her as she skidded around the road. She rounded another corner, her eyes watching as the vehicle neared her, as the scenery changed. The trees that littered the ground to the right of her were blowing serenely against the light wind, the water's edge sparkling beneath the sunlight. She was about to pull over at the nearest turnaround to force the car to pass her, when the truck accelerated and smashed into the back of her silver car.

She jolted, her neck jerking painfully forward, causing her head to hit the steering wheel and bounce back. She swore loudly and craned her neck to the side, looked at the car and frowned when she noticed that window was tinted completely back, the face of the passenger hidden by obscurity. She veered for the turnabout when the truck accelerated again and slammed the body of her car so hard that she flew against the steering wheel and jerked back, her hands flailing into the air as the car spun to the right, swerved and tipped onto its side. Her head slammed painfully into the left window as the glass shattered cutting into her skull, the impact and pain clouding her vision as she struggled to stay conscious.

Her body flipped and folded, crumpled and bucked as it was the thrown about. The car continued flipping as it slammed roughly against the concrete before crashing into a winding oak tree that shook upon impact. And finally as the debris settled against the arbor, the road quieted, the engine died, the sea calmed and the world was silent.

He watched her sleeping, the morning rays of a freshly risen sun pouring past the curtains and painting her pale back a sunny yellow. His hand rested against her shoulder blade, long fingers drawing tiny circles against her back as she began to move and squirm beneath him. He rolled onto his back, his black shiny hair falling into his eyes as he peered at the woman next to him. He laid in wait as she sighed, moved her legs, slowly emerged from the world of dreams. Her eyes fluttered open, pale cerulean meeting midnight blue. She looked surprised to see him there; he watched quietly as her eyes swept up and down his body, her cheeks reddening when she realized he was completely nude and more importantly, that not one inch of him was covered by blanket.

"You're naked," she said, her voice a whisper; it was almost accusatory.

Darien chuckled and rolled over, propping his head up on his hand and staring at the blonde beauty. "So are you."

She frowned, pulled the covers just far enough from her body for her to realize that she too, was naked. "I thought last night was a dream," she mumbled, a pink flush against her cheeks.

"So you have sex dreams about me."

She sputtered. "I do not."

"Not one?" His eyebrow arched.

"Maybe one."

He chuckled, his eyes sparkling as he looked at her. What he wouldn't give to wake up like this with her every morning. "Then I hope the real thing was better than what you dream about."

She blushed harder. "It was." Slowly she pulled the covers tighter to her chest and glanced at the clock on her bedside table. She frowned; it was nearly noon and her flight would leave in a couple of hours. She needed to finish packing, she needed to get dressed, she needed to get away from Darien.

"So I take it by the look on your face that you're still going to go through with this?"

She turned toward Darien to find him frowning, the light hearted expression on his face replaced by anxiety and doubt. "I don't have a choice."

He sighed. "Yes, you do. Stay here, with me."

She rose up in bed, her back to him. "I signed a contract. If I don't follow through they'll fire me."

He mimicked her movement. "Serena is this what you really want? To be away from your family, your friends?"

She stared quietly at the blanket for a moment before picking at the fabric with her fingertips. "No," she muttered. "But what am I supposed to do? This is my job. I already sold my place. I have to leave."

"No you don't. You can come stay with me," he said desperately, trying to convince her to stay.

She rolled her eyes and looked at him like he had grown another head. "That's never going to happen. Your…your…that woman is staying there and I am not sharing a space with her."

"Serena that was only temporary. I'm helping her get a place somewhere else," he said honestly.

"You're not going to live with her? But she's…"

"She's what?" he asked, rolling out of the bed and searching for his clothing. "My ex-girlfriend that I impregnated. That's it. We're not trying to rekindle old flames. At least I'm not."

"But she is?"

"She wants us to be a family," he said, bending down and picking up his boxers. "But I can't play house with her when I'm completely in love with you."

The sides of Serena's mouth twitched. "Did you tell her that?"

"I did," Darien said, pulling on his t-shirt. "Obviously she wasn't thrilled about it."

"Oh," she responded, looking down at her hands that were clutching the blanket. She sighed. "I have obligations, I can't just throw my life away because…"

"Because we love each other."

"When you say it like that it sounds inane, Darien. These are my last few hours here and I don't want to argue with you. And why are you putting your clothes back on?" she yelled.

He paused before dropping his jeans back onto the floor. "Does that mean you want me to take my clothes back off?"

"Stop looking so smug," she said, amused by the haughty expression on his face. "You're so full of yourself."

He grinned. "Last night you were full of me." Playfully he stalked toward her, her body shifting as he crawled onto the bed and stood on his knees before her.

"You have a dirty mouth Darien."

"I have a dirty mind too," he said, leaning forward and letting his lips dance against hers. Slowly he raised his hand to the blanket that covered her chest and eased the fabric off until it pooled around her waist, exposing her breasts to cool air. She sighed into his mouth when he began to knead her mounds with his hands, his fingertips sporadically brushing against and squeezing her nipple. "I don't want anyone else but you, Serena."

He leaned her back onto the bed before taking the sheets in his hand and pulling them away from her, exposing her nudity to him completely. Slowly he bent down, parted her thighs and let his fingers brush against her folds, poking and fingering the area until she started moaning his name.

"Darien, please," she begged, her hands gripping the sheets as he continued his gentle assault on her.

"Please, what?" He asked, slipping a finger inside of her, feeling the dampness of her tight center.

"Please…please…"she quieted. "What is that sound?"

For a moment Darien thought she was toying with him, until the look on her face changed from lust, to confusion and finally amusement. "Is that your cell phone?"

He looked into the room where his phone was vibrating and ringing atop the arm rest of the couch. He was about to move for it when Serena burst into laughter at the sound of the song playing in the other room. "Oh my god! Is that Corey Hart? I can't believe that's your ring tone. That song is like a million years old!"

Serena clutched her stomach as she laughed loudly. Her friends would never believe that their sophisticated Dr. Darien Chiba had Corey Hart's Sunglasses at Night as his ring tone. Darien amusedly watched her roll across the bed laughing before moving toward the living room to silence the phone and get back to the more important task in the bedroom.

Quickly he grabbed for the device and was about to press ignore when the number on the colorful LCD screen caught his eye. It was someone from the emergency ward of the hospital calling him. They never called him on his personal line; he had a pager for emergencies. Quickly he punched the receive button and pressed the phone to his ear.

"Hello?" he asked, his voice guarded.

"Darien? It's Mary, where are you? You need to come to the hospital."

"Any specific reason why you're calling me on my personal phone? I was kind of in the middle of something," he asked, looking into Serena's bedroom, his eyes meeting her own.

"That's because this is a personal emergency. There was an accident…Lily…your…she was in a serious car accident Darien, they airlifted her here a couple of minutes ago. You need to get down here."

Serena watched quietly, her hands suddenly damp as she watched Darien's expression metamorphose from slightly annoyed to horrified. All the color had drained from his face, and his eyes, they held the most painful expression she had ever seen. Quickly she rolled from the bed, searched through her drawers for any remaining clothes before pulling out her undergarments, a plain white tank top and dark wash denim jeans.

"Is she okay? Is the baby okay?" he asked, his body collapsing against the arm chair, his hand shaky over his chest.

"I don't know the details. They took her into emergency surgery…just come down here now," Mary said, her voice strained. There was something she wasn't telling him.

With trembling hands he hung up the phone before rushing into Serena's bedroom and throwing his jeans over his hips. "What happened? Darien what's wrong?"

"Lily was in a car accident this morning, they said…I don't think she's doing well," he said, his voice cracking.

Her stomach dropped. "And the baby?"

He looked up at her and shook his head. "I don't know. I don't know anything…Mary, she wouldn't tell me," he said, his eyes dampening.

Serena ached to see to him this way; other than the night that he had opened up to her about his past, she had never seen him look so small, so vulnerable, so scared. She glanced back at the clock. It was nearing one; she only had a few hours until her flight left for London. If she went with Darien to the hospital now, she probably wouldn't make it to the airport on time. She closed her eyes for a moment, considering, wondering if she was willing to give up her career, everything, for the man in front of her. He had walked into the living room, he was fastening his shoes, his eyes were drooping, his hands shaking, his breath seemed like it was coming in short bursts. Slowly he looked up to her and her heart broke from the pain behind his eyes and she could she what he was asking without words, the silent plea so loud that it arrowed her heart so painfully she felt like her body would burst. He needed her, he needed her and she knew it.

Swallowing hard she grabbed her purse and keys and returned to the living room, her effects stuck idly under her arm, determination marring her features. "Okay, let's go."

He looked surprised. He stood erect for a moment, still and unmoving. "If you come with me, you'll miss your flight."

She nodded. "I know."

"Serena…"

"It's okay. How can I leave you at a time like this? I'll…call or something, it'll all work out. I love you and you need me right now. So, I'm going with you."

He was floored by her generosity, her strength. He was a fool and a coward and he didn't deserve her. He knew that; but here she was willing to give up her job just to be with him because he was so weak right now. He opened his mouth to argue with her, to tell her to leave, that he would be fine, but he couldn't find his voice to speak. And when she neared him and laced her fingers with his own, he felt like he was on the verge of collapse, from worry, from shock, from gratitude.

She leaned in and kissed his cheek, offering him a small but beautiful smile. "Thank you…I won't…I'll make you happy," Darien said, shoving his wallet into his pocket and grabbing her hand.

Slowly she pulled him toward the door, exited the room to begin the silent trek down the building corridor, both them of the fearing the news the future would bring.

His hands smelled distinctly of hospital soap and perfume. His head had been resting in his palms for so long that he was anxious to identify the smell that was permeating his nostrils. The soap he knew was from the bathroom in the waiting room on the first floor of the emergency clinic at Azabu General. The perfume, that was from the blonde that was sitting next to him, her hand connected to his, her head against his shoulder. He lifted his face from his palms and turned his head toward hers before letting his lips brush against her forehead. He looked to the clock on the wall again, and then to the watch on his wrist.

He watched the families wait beside him, some of them sleeping, some of them crying; there was a shadow of somberness bathing the room in darkness, and it was overwhelming. How many times had he walked out to a waiting mother or father to tell them that their child had died? How many times had he told a wife that her husband wouldn't make it? It felt so strange for him to be on the other side. Doctor or not, no one on staff knew exactly what had happened to Lily, only that she had been in emergency surgery for nearly an hour and that she had been bleeding to death on the side of the road until someone came across her car and called the police. He wondered what the hell she was doing around those cliffs in the first place. That street led to several private roads where houses lay against the hills of Azabu.

If was a funny thing how life worked out sometimes, and by funny, he meant in the ironic sort of way. That expanse of road that Lily had been driving, where EMS had said they found his car wrapped around a tree, that had been the same road that claimed the lives of his parents and stole his memory from him. So, funny, you know, in a dark sort of way.

Serena seemed to be thinking along the same lines, but for very different reasons. Things were finally starting to look up for her, for them. Except for the fact that they were waiting in the hospital room for bad news; except for the fact that she had forgotten that she was engaged to another man. Yeah, funny.

He listened quietly to the conversations passing around the room and when he looked up he could see Andrew nearing him, a grim expression on his face. He had been friends with Andrew for what, nearly fifteen years? He knew that look on his face; he'd seen it many times before when he was delivering devastating news to unsuspecting families.

Immediately Darien and Serena stood up as the blonde doctor neared him, a notepad tucked beneath his arm. He sighed. "Lily is stable, for now, she had a severe concussion, two fractured ribs, and small pneumothoraces of the lung. Her chest was punctured in the accident but so far there are no signs of internal bleeding. With enough rest, she should be fine, eventually, but we're going to keep her for the next few days, just to make sure she keeps breathing properly."

Darien nodded gently, and looked to Serena who had a very confused expression on her face. "And the baby?"

Andrew sighed again; this was probably the only part of his job that he hated. "I'm sorry Darien, she miscarried before we even made it to the hospital."

He stood still for a moment, processing Andrew's words as the world crumbled around him. He could feel Serena stroking his back before turning to face him and enveloping him in a tight hug. He remembered that she smelled like vanilla and shampoo and that her neck was wet. He distinctly remembered wondering why her neck was sweating, when he realized that the moisture was because of him; he was crying, crying against her shoulder in the middle of the emergency clinic.

He pulled away from her, wiping his eyes, glancing at the ground and then at Andrew. He felt queasy. "Do you know?" His voice was hoarse.

"Do I know what?" the blonde asked, his heart hurting at the sight of his friend.

"What the baby is…was…she was six months almost-"

"I don't really think-"

"I can ask someone else," Darien said, his voice gruff and angry.

Andrew sighed, before pinching the bridge of his nose. "It was a boy, Dare. I'm sorry."

Serena looked to the brunette whose face was masked with stoicism, guilt. She touched his arm, spoke to him, but he didn't move, he just stood there staring at the ground, his voice stolen by grief.

"She'll probably wake up soon," said Andrew, "you should be there. The Dr. Forrester will tell her…about the baby…but you should be there with her."

He looked to Serena who nodded. "Go, be with her. I'll wait here until you're done." He hesitated. "I'm not going to leave. I promise."

He nodded to her before following Andrew who led him down the hall, patting his back gently as they walked, side by side.

She couldn't believe this. Her heart was heavy with shame. She had wanted Lily and the baby out of Darien's life, but never like this. All the selfish, bad thoughts she'd had about the girl were haunting her now. She put her head in her hands.

One thing was sure, Darien would never be the same after this. She probably should have left for London when she had the chance.

"How is she?" asked Seiya, his leather covered hands clutching the cell phone to his ear as he sped down the street towards Azabu General.

"Stable. She'll survive, if that's what you're asking," responded the man on the other end of the line. He sounded uncomfortable.

"Don't sound so worried, Forrester, I'll cover your ass if anything happens."

"I could lose my licensing for this. And I happen to be good friends with Chiba. He's a good kid, he doesn't deserve this."

"I'm not paying you thousands to grow a conscious. How's her…progeny?"

"Gone."

"Good."

"Good, she just came out of emergency surgery and her baby is dead. How can that be good?"

"Good that she's still alive. This all part of the plan. Call me when she's conscious. She and I need to have a little chat."

Seiya smirked before folding the cell phone closed and tossing it onto the empty passenger side.

All part of the plan.

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