Okay, okay I guess I have made you wait long enough. I can be mean if I want to! So there is one more chapter after this but I was thinking I might add a little preview to my next fic. This next one, I am still working on, but it will not be an AU and it will be rated T. I really only like my AU's to be rated M. But anyways, would you guys be interested? If you are let me know and I will tract the preview on the end of this one. I have more than enough already written to pull it off I just need to pick the perfect section to get your interests up! ^_~ Anyways, this is not the end, there will be another chapter after this one that wraps things up, so check back tomorrow for it!

The Customer is Always Right

CH. 9

Somewhere That's Green...

She wasn't answering. Of course she wasn't. He had been a dick to her last night. He knew she was at her apartment, she was moving today. He would go down there and make her talk to him. When he got there, cops were every where. Black and whites filled all the parking spots and people were gathering around the police tape to get a look. His heart stopped when he saw Lita crying, talking to a pair of cops. He jumped out of the car before his driver could bring it to a complete stop and grabbed Lita away from the two police men she had been sobbing to. He didn't care what the cops did or said.

"Lita, what happened."

"Oh god Darien. It was awful. There was blood every where. So much blood..."

A young looking male cop pulled at his shoulder, "Sir, we are going to have to ask you to back off. This is a crime scene. Get back behind the line."

"I'm not going anywhere till someone tells me what happened!"

The cop sighed, "It was some kind of break in. We are not sure what happened yet but there was no sign of forced entry. The girl, a Serena Sparrow, was beaten half to death. She is on her way to the hospital now..."

"Which hospital?!"

"County General."

Darien ran back to the car. Lita was shouting something, saying she would meet him there. Traffic was a bitch. They weren't going anywhere. He had had enough. He jumped out of the car and ran the rest of the way. He arrived at the front desk out of breath but he didn't care. He banged on the counter, getting the nurse's attention.

"I need to find a Serena Sparrow."

"Calm down. I have to look it up."

He nervously switched his weight from foot to foot while the older nurse typed on the keyboard. If Serena died, he died. She was the only one who could save him from the cold dark pit that he was sure to fall in along with his father. Is this the legacy of his family? Are they cursed to lose the women that they love the most?

"They just brought her in, she is in surgery now. Head down the hallway here and take the second left."

He was running before she even finished. The hallways seemed to stretch forever and his breath was shallow. He made the left and found himself in a large waiting room. A bit disappointed that he actually though the woman directed him t Serena's room, he looked around and saw Mina turning towards him.

"Oh thank God. Darien!"

"What's going on, what's happened."

"They won't tell us anything. But now that you're here they have to."

"Mina, I'm not family. Who is her emergency contact?"

"You are."

He looked at he suspiciously. Why would he be Serena's emergency contact? She hadn't talked to him in months. She grabbed his arm and pulled him to the nurse's station, proving her claim.

"This is Darien Shields. Now tell us what is going on with Serena!"

"He is her family?"

Before he could say a word or ask her to repeat the question Mina answered, "Yes."

He didn't fight or question it due to it causing the girl to call a doctor to come and tell them what was happening to Serena. They made it over to the chairs before Mina collapsed into tears in his arms. Mina had calmed down a bit when Lita, Nick, Andrew, and Rita arrived. Ken sat next to Mina and stoked her hand as they waited for the prognoses with the others .He paced in front of the crowd that had gathered to be there for Serena. It seemed like an eternity passed before one of the doctors working on Serena found them.

"Are you all here for Serena Sparrow? Wow, this is a big group. I have some good news and some bad news. Your friend has lost a lot of blood. She has a few broken ribs. One punched her spleen and caused some internal bleeding. She is in surgery now to repair the damage. She did a good job protecting the baby and if they can stop the bleeding quickly, the baby will be fine. However, with the blow to the head there is no way of knowing if she will wake up. There is some swelling and we will have to wait till the swelling goes down before we know if it did any real damage. Th brain is always tricky. She could wake up and be completely fine or she could have anything from memory to motor function loss. The worse case scenario is that she won't wake up. You should keep praying and keep your hopes up. That is the best thing you can do for her right now."

"When can we see her?" Darien asked.

"I'll let you know."

"Thank you. There is a chance so we should keep our hopes up." Mina concluded.

He looked around at the sullen faces. They didn't look like they had much hope. He now knew what Serena was facing and what they should expect, but no one had told him what happened yet. He sat and faced the majority.

"I really need someone to tell me what happened."

"We don't know for sure Darien." Lita broke down again, probably from the memory of her friend in a pool of blood.

"I called Serena. We were thirty minutes away. Serena probably unlocked her door to play the piano, which she has done for years no matter how many times we have told her not too. Then the intruders could have just walked in on her." Mina began to beak down again.

Andrew took it from there, "When we got there, she was out cold and covered in blood. We called the cops and the ambulance took Serena away."

Darien could see blood still on Andrew's hand. He must have been the first into the room and the first to check Serena for a pulse. Something that they were saying didn't add up to him. He knew there was something they had said that tugged at him and he knew he should ask about it. It was something the doctor said. But the emotional roller coaster that all of them were on had tired them, especially Darien. He felt like he had been on the ride since Serena left. Just when he thought he was going to get off and get her back, this happened. His brain was too full of thoughts of Serena to remember to ask "what baby?"

On hour or so later, Serena was finally out of surgery. The doctor came to fill them in on the surgery. It had been successful and they had saved the baby. They were allowed to see her for now, but they could only go one at a time, then they would need to wait till later. She was still unconscious and the doctors didn't know when or if she would wake up but he swelling had gone down. Darien wanted more than anything to see her, but he could tell by the looks around the room that he should wait. The last time they saw her she was bloodied and battered on the floor. That shouldn't be the last time they saw her. He had seen her alive and happy. That would be his last memory of her. They all looked to him, as if waiting for his permission.

"You guys should go first. It's okay, I'll wait."

One by one they went in. Each one spent a good fifteen minutes with her. It had been over an hour before it was finally his turn. As much as he wanted to see her he didn't know if all the time in the world would prepare him for it. He entered her tiny room. She was hooked up to heart monitors, pain medication, and a hundred other machines and tubes ruining into her body. Her face was bruised on the right side and she had a few small cuts sporadically, but the rest of her looked untouched. She looked like she was just sleeping. She had on one of those thin hospital gowns and was covered in two over starched blankets that did little to hid her form. Her body looked the same to him except for the large bump on her stomach. She was very pregnant. How they hell did he not notice it before? He had been so preoccupied with making her feel bad he didn't even see what was right in front of him. He took her limp hand in his and kissed it.

"I'm so sorry Serena. I should have been there, I should have protected you."

He looked at her face again, memorizing the details. He looked at the bruise on her face the most. It looked just like the one that Deemond gave her months ago. It all hit him at once. The ugly display Deemond made in his father's office, his nasty words about Serena, Serena not staying at her apartment to avoid him, and her move out today. Deemond had been waiting ever since he threw him out of the office. Before today, either he was with Serena or she wasn't there. Today was his first chance to get her. It all made sense. Who else would savagely beat a pregnant woman, especially one as sweet as Serena. He placed a kiss on her head and whispered in her ear.

"I will be back before you wake up, I promise. I love you."

They all gave him strange looks as he walked right past them and out of the waiting room. Only Mina chased after him.

"Darien! Where are you going?"

He turned and quickly walked back to her.

"If anything changes with Serena, call me. I'm going to go get the bastard who did this."

"Darien don't do anything stupid, Serena needs you."

"Just call me!" he said as he waved her off.

He stormed into Dee-bag's office making a big scene with his lackies that tried to stop him, but Dee-bag didn't look surprised to see him. Darien silently stalked up to his desk. His office was tackly dressed with framed posters of barely dressed women and neon lights. Fowl smoke and stale alcohol hung in the air. Deemond had a cigar in his mouth and a bottle of cheap champagne on his desk. He was celebrating.

"I had expected you hours ago. But I suppose mourning affects each of us differently."

"You bastard."

"Hey, you can only blame yourself. You made this happen when you black balled me."

"You would harm an innocent PREGNANT woman just to get back at me?"

"What do you care? The baby isn't yours. The bitch told me. You got played just like me."

Darien blanched. The baby, the one she was carrying, his one hope for a future with her, wasn't even his. But that didn't matter now. Rage took over and he grabbed Deemond by his shirt and pushed him against the wall hard. His cigar flew across the room and landed with a hiss.

"You! You did this to her!'

"Now, now Darien. I would hate for you to go to jail over some stupid bitch."

He slammed him against the wall, "I wanna hear you say it. I want to hear you tell me what you did to her!"

"Alright! The stupid bitch didn't even have her door locked. She never saw it coming. I beat the shit out of her. I killed that bitch to teach you both a lesson. You don't want to FUCK with ME!."

Darien released his hold on him, "Thank you. That's all I needed."

Cops flooded the place grabbing up Dee-bag while Darien lifted his shirt to show the wire attached to his stomach to Deemond and gave him a devilish smirk. It took some convincing, but the police finally realized that they would never get close to Deemond without his help. Apparently, they had been watching him for over a year now. They were trying to get him for multiple drug, assault, rape, and murder charges. None of them wanted to send in a civilian, let alone a Shields, in with such a dangerous criminal. But Darien wasn't afraid and all it took was a little convincing and a call to the commissioner, a close family friend, to gt them to strap on a wire and send him on his way. Mina was right, Serena needed him. If it wasn't for her he would have just killed the bastard but he was satisfied with seeing him rot in prison.

When Darien returned to the hospital, he found that Rei had appeared and joined the group.

"Rei? What are you doing here?"

"Mina called Ami and she called me," she explained quickly, "Where have you been?"

"Making sure Serena stayed safe. Has there been any changes?"

Mina stood to join them, "No nothing yet and they still won't let us back in. Ken and I are going to stay the night. You should go home and get some rest."

"Even if I did go home, there is no way I could sleep. I'm staying here."

"Me too." Rei added.

"Well I'm going to get some coffee then. I'll be back in a bit." Mina left and Ken followed her.

Rei and Darien were alone. Nick took Lita home, she had tired herself out with worry and sorrow. Andrew was taking Reika at home, all this stress wasn't good for her baby either. His sister sat quietly beside him, watching his face.

"Spit it out Rei."

"I'm just worries about you."

"It has been a very long day."

"I can imagine."

"On top of all of this, Serena is pregnant."

"..."

"You KNEW didn't you?! How long?"

"Not long. Since last night technically. I actually met Serena before I knew who she was shopping for maternity clothes. She was so sweet, she let me feel the baby kick! I am so excited about being an Aunt!"

"Rei, I hate to tell you this, but your not an Aunt. The baby isn't mine."

"Tell me you are not this stupid?! Why would you think it wasn't yours?"

"I just know okay?"

"You started seeing her five months ago, I know that for a fact cause that's when you called me. The girl looks like she is smuggling a watermelon under her shirt and you have the balls to suggest it's not yours."

"It doesn't matter Rei."

"Like HELL it doesn't"

Thankfully Mina returned, which ended the conversation. The coffee must have been from some machine for it was bitter and weak, but it was nice to just have something in his hands to focus on. The news was on in the waiting room and it blared Serena's story. It included the capture and charge of one Travis Deemond. They even mentioned Darien's name as being involved in the case but they had little information as to how or why.

"That's where you went Darien?! You figured out it was him and you went after him."

"Don't worry Mina. I took you very seriously. The cops were with me the entire time."

She reach over and put a hand on his with a grateful look on her face. He told the story of the capture of Travis Deemond and how he admitted to everything.

"It's my fault she's in there."

"Don't say that Darien. Deemond was a crazy asshole and you got him in the end. Serena is safe now and he will get what he deserves. A pretty boy like him in prison? They'll eat him for breakfast!" Rei shouted.

It took some work but he eventually convinced everyone to go home. Ken had to carry Mina out, she was beyond pass out. Andrew had returned and took Rei home for him. He promised to call them if anything changed. The only change that occurred was he was allowed to see Serena once again. He was finally able to see her face again and she looked just lie she did when he left her. He pulled a chair up to her bed so he could rest his head on the bed. He held her hand and stoked her arm. Exhausted, he soon feel into a dreamless sleep to the sound of her heart beat monitor.

Her head hurt and her mouth was dry, like she had cotton in her mouth. She opened her eyes to a bright and colorless room that she did not recognize. It smelled of bleach and flowers, a very strange mixture. The clothes and blankets on her made her skin itch and she searched the room for anything familiar. All of her limbs felt heavy but there was a weight on her right arm that wouldn't let her lift it. All she could see was a dark mass of hair and a back that rose and fell with peaceful breaths. It was Darien. She put a hand in his hair and raked her fingers though it's messy tangles. It's softness on her fingers told her it was not a dream. She couldn't believe he was here even though she didn't know for sure where here was. She her own pulse pick up, which was echoed with the beeping next to her. Then fear gripped her heart and she felt cold all over. Flashes of this morning returned her memory. Deemond had tried to kill her. But the thing that made her heart stop was her baby didn't kick. It kicked like crazy last night when she saw Darien, but now she didn't move. 'I had tried to protect the baby, but I guess I failed.' She shook with tears of grief, gently rubbing her still swollen stomach and apologizing to the innocence that had been lost.

Darien was awakened by the movement in the bed. She was awake and crying. She kept apologizing over and over again. It was a heart breaking sight.

"Serena!"

Tears wet her gown and her face was red and puffy. He ran to the hallway and screamed for a doctor then quickly returned to her side.

"Serena, shhh. It's okay. Everything is okay."

"Nothing is okay! I tried. I tried so hard to save her Darien, I promise. But he just kept kicking. I thought if I shielded her and let him kick just me she would be okay. But she's gone, my baby is gone!"

He pulled her into his arms and held her as tight as he dared.

"I know you did everything. The doctor said it was because of that that your baby is fine. Your baby is just fine Serena."

"But I don't feel her!"
"She is probably tired. She had to tell her mother to hold on all night. The doctor said you saved her."

"Oh god Darien, when I woke up and she didn't move I thought...I thought"

"Shhh...the baby is fine. Everything is okay now."

The doctor entered soon after Darien's words and confirmed what he had told her. The doctor checked her vitals and all the machines. Then scribbled in his notebook and left. Darien left to call the others while the doctor took his notes and soon they were alone again.

"It was Deemond who attacked me."

"I know."

"He wanted me dead. What if he finds out I'm alive and comes back?!"

"You don't have to worry about him anymore."

Darien told her the story of how Deemond revealed his crime on tape to him and the police. She listened in shock to the acts of stupidity that Darien had committed a few hours ago. How could he do something that dangerous?

"Why did you do that?"

"You're mad."

"Yes I'm mad. You could have been killed!"

"I did it to keep you safe!"

"You shouldn't have risked your life. Not for me."

"You are more than worth it."

"No I'm not...I pushed you away. You were right, what you said last night. But it's not that I didn't believe in us, I didn't believe in me. I didn't believe that I deserved you and when the opportunity presented itself I pushed you away. I am so sorry Darien."

She was shaking again from the tears and the sadness that was released from her words. The fact that he risked his life for her made it even worse. This poor man had been drawn in to this crazed life of hers and he didn't deserve it. He wrapped his arms around her but didn't hold her as tightly as he use to. He didn't deserve this and she still didn't deserve him.

"Serena, I never should have let you go. You are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I have missed you so much."

She could feel his tears on her face and as they hit her gown mixing with hers. He was still holding her as he continued his confession.

"I was so scared. They said you might not wake up and I was scared I would never get to hear your sweet voice again or kiss your lips. That I would never feel you in my arms or see your face when I wake up in the morning. I was afraid that I would never get to tell you that I love you."

He released her from his hold only so he could cup her face and look into her eyes.

"I love you, Serena, so much. I'm the one who doesn't deserve you. You are the warmest, most amazing person I have ever met. I want you to know that I have loved you since we first met and I will always love you."

"I love you too."

He kissed her, releasing his deep seeded passion that he had locked up when she left. He reeled it in so he did not hurt her. He kissed her face, her neck, her arms, her hands, every inch of skin that was exposed while she giggled and ran her hands through his hair. He sat back down, holding her hand and brushing her knuckles against his lips.

"I want to say one more thing. It includes Deemond, something he said. After this I never want to speak about him again but I have to ask...Did you tell him that your baby isn't mine?"

"Yes but..."
"You don't have to explain. It doesn't matter. I want you to know that I love you and I will love this baby no matter whose it is. You mean everything to me and even if this baby is only half of you, I know she will be amazing just like you. I won't even have a choice but to love her too."

"May I speak please?!"

"Yes. I'm done."

"Deemond was crazy. He kept saying how you ruined his life and how we would pay. I thought that if he saw I was pregnant, he would leave. But it only made him more mad. I told him it wasn't yours because I was afraid he would kill the baby. Darien...the baby...is yours."

She was waiting for the anger. The anger for keeping this secret from him, for keeping his child away from him. The anger for their mistake, of her getting pregnant. But it didn't come.

He was in shock. He had been telling himself all day that the baby wasn't his. When the words came out of her mouth he couldn't believe it.

"Darien? Did you hear me? Your the father. No one else could possibly be the father, I've only been with you in, like, three years."

Tears came down his face again but this time they were tears of joy. He put his face in his hands to try an get a grip on what was going on. He put a shaky hand on her bump and as soon as his hand felt the warmth of the small body below he felt a small quick push against his hand.

"Did you feel that? She kicked! She always kicks around you. She misses you too."

"How far along are you?"

"Five months. Which means it happened one of the first times we got together."

His eyes were still on her stomach, "Why didn't you tell me?"

"I honestly thought you were engaged to another woman, I didn't want to complicate your life or the baby's. I didn't think you would want her and I decided I wanted her no matter what. By the time I learned you weren't engaged, so much time had already passed. I had waited so long to tell you, I was scared."

"You should have told me..."

"I know. I know I should have told you. I'm sorry."

"I have missed so much."

"I know. Your sister was there for her first kick."

"I don't want to miss any more. I am going to be there at every doctor's appointment, every check up. And I don't care what you say I will be there in the delivery room!"

He was trying to be stern but all she did was laugh. His serious face faltered and he couldn't help but smile. She took her little finger and motioned him to come closer. He granted her request and was rewarded with a deep sweet kiss. Then he laid his head and her belly and fell asleep listening to his baby's heartbeat and the feeling of Serena's fingers through his hair.

Yes, yes, this would be a good place to end it. But that's not what I did. See you guys tomorrow!