      Chance Encounters


      Author: aria


      Rated: NC17



      Chapter 4
      The next few weeks went by quickly. The girls decided to try everything 
      they could to cheer Serena up. Raye even got her to double date with her 
      one night.
      It was a complete disaster. The twins that they went out with turned out 
      to be total losers and both girls ended up finishing off an entire tub of 
      ice cream in their sweats on front of the TV. It was nice to have someone 
      to mope with though, for both of them. Raye still hadn't gotten over her 
      ex yet and Serena doubted if she would ever get over Darien. The girls 
      even started calling them the 'Depressed Duo'.
      Serena told them what had happened with her and Darien when they first got 
      back.
      Everyone was in total shock over her news. No one could believe that they 
      broke up but they kept their questions to themselves. They knew that when 
      she was ready to talk she would come to them.
      Serena made a major effort to keep it bottled up. Every time she thought 
      about him she would immediately start doing something else; go for a run, 
      read, research, anything. She was doing quite well too, until one night 
      she got a call while she was reading.
      Serena quickly picked up. "Hello?" Her heart pounded while she waited for 
      an answer. Could it be Darien? She definitely hoped that it was. "Hello?" 
      Again nothing. "Darien! Is that you? Please say something." Tears she 
      managed to stifle for so long now started to flow. "Please Darien, if it's 
      you say something! I'm sorry I left! I should have given you a chance to 
      explain. I should have trusted you. Forgive me! Please! Say something!" 
      She heard the hollow click of the other person hanging up. Hands shaking, 
      Serena dropped the phone onto her desk. It had to be Darien. And he 
      obviously didn't want to talk to her anymore. It took a moment for her to 
      fully comprehend the realization. Slowly, deflating like a punctured tire, 
      Serena slumped to her desk and cried.
      Every few nights after that she would get a call with no on the other end. 
      Serena would scream and shout but they would just hang up, and in 
      hysterics she would run across the hall to talk to Seiya. He was the only 
      one she trusted enough to cry to.
      Seiya felt completely and utterly helpless. He couldn't stand seeing her 
      in such a state, but there was nothing he could do. He'd learned earlier 
      that if he so much as mentioned his name, Serena would shut off and walk 
      away. For the time being he would have to settle on comforting her the 
      best he could. Seiya got angrier and angrier each time she came to him. 
      What was that guy playing at? The latest episode had Serena rushing in 
      barely able to talk. He knew as soon as he saw her that he'd called again.
      "Oh Sere." He took her shuddering body and held her against him wanting to 
      absorb some of the hurt. Because he couldn't think of anything else 
      effectual to say he smoothed her hair with one hand while the other 
      clenched into a fist. He'd have to do something about this soon if not for 
      her sanity then to ease his need for retribution.
      Things were as normal as they could be for everyone else. They went to 
      their classes, studied and hung out like they always did. And they were 
      all back to playing tricks on each other again.
      Serena and Mina came back from the latest. Seiya and Lita were waiting in 
      the living room for them to return. They laughed at them when they walked 
      through the door.
      "Very funny you guys. You're gonna get it." Mina went back to bed while 
      Serena sat on the couch with them.
      Seiya and Lita laughed. "We got you two good!" They looked at Serena. She 
      wasn't smiling.
      Poor Serena, I guess she still hasn't heard from Darien yet. Seiya put his 
      arm around her shoulder. "Cheer up. You'll see him again soon." He hated 
      seeing her so miserable. She really didn't deserve it.
      She shrugged. Serena was beginning to loose hope by this point. It had 
      been almost two months now and she hadn't heard a word from him. "I'm just 
      not feeling too fantastic. I think I'm coming down with a bug." Serena got 
      up and went to her room. She looked through her drawers for some Advil. 
      Her head was pounding. At the same time she tried to analyze the mood that 
      had taken over her during the time that she had been apart from Darien. 
      She felt cold and empty. It wasn't exactly depression. It was more like 
      numbness. Finding none she slammed her drawers shut and asked the girls 
      and the guys for some. No one had any.
      Serena walked down to the car and drove to the mall. She wandered around 
      the mall for a while and picked up some tablets. But by then her headache 
      diminished a little so she decided to do some shopping. That usually 
      helped cheer herself up.
      She was trying on clothes when a wave of dizziness hit her. Serena 
      stumbled in the change room. She leaned on the wall steadying herself. 
      "Something's not right."
      "Did you say something miss?" A saleslady stood outside the door.
      "No. I didn't." Serena emerged and gave her back the clothes. "Thanks."
      Walking slowly, Serena left the store and headed back to her car. She had 
      a nagging suspicion of what had caused her dizziness episode.
      ----
      A man in a dark jacket followed Serena through the mall. Manuel Torres' 
      face was pock marked and a ruddy colour. He had been following this stupid 
      girl for months now and he was getting sick of it. Still it was quick 
      cash. He shrugged. Just follow her around and report what she did to the 
      boss. It was as simple as that.
      He noted Serena didn't look too well. Several times she stopped walking 
      and looked like she was trying to steady herself. He followed as she 
      wandered aimlessly through the mall for some time before she headed to a 
      store she went into often. He sat outside and waited. He didn't have to 
      wait long before she came out again looking worse than when she went in. 
      He sat and watched as she slowly walked past him.
      He sat two cars behind her in traffic, though he thought it was hardly 
      necessary. She wouldn't have noticed him if he sat right behind her and 
      followed beeping his horn and flashing his lights. She looked very ill.
      ----
      "Congratulations Ms. Cole. I'd say you're about six weeks pregnant." He 
      handed her a blurry black and white ultrasound image.
      Taking the photo from him she stared at it a moment. That blurry little 
      blob was her and Darien's baby. A warm feeling came over her as she looked 
      adoringly at the blob. Serena smiled weakly. At least she was right about 
      something.
      The doctor looked at her and smiled recognizing the look of barely 
      controlled nausea. "The sickness goes after a couple of months."
      Serena nodded absently still staring at the picture. A baby.
      His eyebrows snapped together. "You are happy aren't you?"
      She was going to have Darien's baby! "Yes I'm very happy. I just don't 
      think I can celebrate at the moment." As she shifted a little her stomach 
      started to roll.
      He smiled sympathetically and started going through all the do's and 
      don'ts of pregnancy.
      Serena wished she had a pen and paper so she could take notes. She 
      definitely wanted to do everything right. He handed her some books and 
      leaflets to look over. Serena took them gratefully.
      "Will the father be around?" He had seen some girls struggle terribly on 
      their own.
      Serena nodded slowly. Truth was she didn't even know how she was going to 
      get word to him let alone have him by her side. Though, she certainly 
      hoped so. "Yes. I'll call and tell him tonight. I hope I can reach him."
      The doctor gave her a questioning look. "Why? Don't you talk to him?"
      "Oh it's nothing like that. He's in Europe right now, and he's incredibly 
      busy."
      "Oh? What does he do?" She caught his interest.
      "He's a concert pianist."
      "How on earth did you meet a concert pianist in Prince George?" He 
laughed.
      "Actually he found me." Serena explained a little about how she and Darien 
      met. She smiled happily as she recounted the story.
      "Ah, Monsieur le Conte. I went to one of his concerts while he was here. 
      He's wonderful."
      "Yes, he is." Serena smiled even more, he would be so happy! "Anyways I 
      have to get going." She looked at her watch and she had class in fifteen 
      minutes.
      "Alright. Do you have any questions?"
      Serena's mind was on overdrive trying to think of a way to tell Darien. 
      She shook her head. "I can't think of any right now."
      He wrote down a few notes and arranged for her next visit. He helped her 
      up and walked her to the door.
      "See you in a couple weeks doctor." Serena walked out to her car and sat 
      in it. Gently she put her hand on her stomach. A baby. Visions of a 
      smiling baby danced through her mind. A little boy that looked like 
      Darien. She was sure that it would be a little boy. Oh my god! I'm going 
      to have Darien's baby! She smiled to herself and drove off.
      ----
      The man scratched his scarred face and put out his cigarette. He sat in 
      his car some distance away from the clinic. He pulled out his binoculars 
      and read the sign on the door. It read Dr. Forster and had a long line of 
      letters following it. I bet the bitch is pregnant. He remembered when he 
      got that whore pregnant some years ago. She came to him looking the exact 
      same way, sick and dizzy. Unfortunately for her he didn't want the 
      headache of kids, so she had to go. He took another drag of his cigarette. 
      He remembered they way she looked when he wrapped his hands around her 
      neck and squeezed. He smiled.
      Serena came out a little while later. She didn't look ill any more. From 
      the glowing smile on her face he knew he had guessed right. She was 
      pregnant. He noticed that she was so happy that she didn't even notice she 
      dropped some things out of her bag while she was fidgeting with it. He 
      shook his head, the stupid girl. The boss would not be pleased. He 
      followed her out of the parking lot. He picked up the phone and started 
      dialling. "I've got some news..."
      ----
      Darien stared at the prints that he had bought for Serena the day they 
      spent at the Louvre and wondered how she was doing. He knew how he was 
      doing, he was a nervous wreck.
      Darien's biggest worry was that she hated him. He was sure she did and he 
      couldn't bear the thought. He wanted to tell her, to explain what was 
      going on but to do so would endanger her and that scared him more than 
      anything else. Staying away from her was the hardest thing he had ever had 
      to do. He missed her so much. Only his reports from Jadeite kept him 
      going. Darien had decided to send someone to keep an eye on her after she 
      left. If he couldn't do it himself he would find someone who could. So he 
      sent Jadeite Marsac, the head of his security and one of his oldest 
      friends. Jadeite reported to him three times a week. Darien listened 
      enthralled to every word he said.
      Darien wandered over to the couch and sat down and listened to the sound 
      echo through the room. The apartment was so empty without her. He turned 
      on the TV and surfed through the channels, flicking aimlessly through 
      them. He hoped that she had seen the news broadcast from Madrid, hoped 
      that she saw that he had her rings with him always. It was highly unlikely 
      that she did, but he clung on to the hope like a life line.
      Nephlite and Fabienne visited him daily trying to cheer him up but nothing 
      helped. They tried taking him out to clubs, concerts, and plays, anything 
      to get his mind off of Serena. None of it worked. They were absolutely 
      shocked when they heard that she left him.
      "But you two are so in love!" Nephlite was stunned at the news. "What 
      happened? Why haven't you gone to her yet?"
      Darien looked at him miserably. He wanted to tell his friend what was 
      going on but he heard the voice again telling him not to tell anyone. "She 
      doesn't want me anymore. What's the use?"
      Nephlite slapped him on the back. "Don't be stupid."
      Darien gave him a look that told him to leave it alone.
      Nephlite looked at his friend and put his arm around his shoulder. "Mon 
      ami, these things have a way of working out for the best. You'll see." He 
      left a little while later.
      Darien pulled the necklace out from under his shirt and looked at the ring 
      there. He had given the other one to Jadeite in case he ever talked to 
      Serena he could give it to her. "I miss you so much, Serena." He let the 
      ring spin and catch the light. He wondered what she was doing at that 
      moment. Was she missing him as much as he missed her? He doubted it. 
      Darien knew that she would be losing hope since she hadn't heard from him 
      in such a long time. He would react just the same way. Sighing, he let it 
      drop back onto his chest. Stuck in his morose mood he got up and started 
      playing a slow, sombre piece on the piano. He let the melody express the 
      feelings of hopelessness for him.
      The phone rang. Darien reached over and picked it up. "All?"
      "Darien." It was Jadeite. "J'ai beaucoup des nouvelles." Jadeite told him 
      about how Serena was still pretty depressed about the whole situation and 
      how she wasn't feeling well now. "She went to the doctor's today after she 
      went shopping."
      "Is there something wrong?"
      "She hasn't been feeling well. That's not the news though. I followed her 
      down and I noticed that there is someone following her."
      "Jadeite, what the hell is going on? First of all is she alright?" Darien 
      was getting impatient. If something was wrong with Serena he wanted to 
      know about it.
      "She seems alright." He was afraid to admit that he had paid more 
      attention to the man than to Serena. But his answer seemed to placate 
      Darien a little.
      Relieved, Darien sat back down on the couch. At least she was ok. His 
      thoughts went back to what Jadeite was saying.
      "Darien?"
      "Oui, I'm still here." Darien frowned. "I think that it's time that you 
      contact her and tell her what's going on. She has enough to worry about 
      without me adding to her worries. Tell her everything. Then pull back but 
      still keep an eye on her. We can't endanger her just so that I can be 
      happy."
      "I will. I'll call again if there is anything new to report."
      "a va. Bye Jadeite."
      "Bye Darien." He hung up.
      Darien got up and lay back on the couch. He had to find a way to be with 
      her.
      ----
      The next morning Serena went to the bookstore to buy yet another required 
      book for one of her courses. She decided to continue with this semester 
      and then see how things went from there. She hadn't told anyone about the 
      baby yet. Serena wanted to keep it her little secret for the time being. 
      Everyone did notice a change in her mood though.
      Smiling to herself she browsed through the store she giggled at the little 
      baby clothes with UNBC embroidered on them. She definitely had to get them 
      for the baby when he was old enough. She ran her fingers over them and 
      continued through the store.
      Serena spent the night thinking about how she was going to manage raising 
      a baby on her own. She really couldn't think of any way of contacting 
      Darien other than going to the reporters and telling them. She definitely 
      didn't want to do that. And her mother! Would she have a fit when she 
      hears! Serena rolled her eyes at the thought. So Serena settled on the 
      fact that she was going to do it on her own. It was going to be rough. 
      Still, she couldn't be more excited. She put her hand on her stomach and 
      grinned. At least she had a tiny part of Darien with her. And that was 
      something she definitely didn't want to give up.
      "Psst."
      Serena whipped her hand off of her stomach and looked around. Nothing. She 
      shook her head thinking that she was imagining things and went back to 
      browsing through the pens.
      "Psst."
      There it was again. Serena looked behind her. There was a figure clad in 
      dark clothing motioning for her to move toward him. He was tall and blonde 
      and quite handsome. She also noted that she hadn't seen him around the 
      university before. Serena looked at him for a bit then cautiously advanced 
      toward him. If he was a reporter looking for a new angle he had another 
      thing coming.
      "Who are you?" She was careful to stay out of his reach. Was he a 
      reporter? Serena looked around quickly but saw no cameras or anything. She 
      returned her attention to the man before her.
      "M'amselle Cole. I'm so glad I found you. I am Jadeite Marsac. Darien sent 
      me to tell you what has been going on." He looked around nervously. "Is 
      there somewhere we can talk privately? It is not safe."
      Serena looked at him again. "How do I know I can trust you?"
      He nodded. She wasn't a fool. He searched in his coat pockets and pulled 
      something out. He held out his hand. In it was one of her rings.
      One glance at her ring and she knew he was legitimate. Serena nodded. 
      "Follow me." She led him out of the bookstore and to the women's changing 
      room at the gym in the next building. She stuck her head in and seeing no 
      one in there, she waved him in. "So tell me what this is all about."
      Jadeite faced her. "Darien has been going crazy trying to think of a way 
      to contact you. You see, that night you left he got a strange phone call." 
      He told her about the call and how it freaked out Darien so much that he 
      had to let her go so that she wouldn't get hurt.
      Serena listened to his every word. Now she understood why he was acting so 
      strange. He was afraid for her life. Serena felt so guilty. She should 
      have waited and listened. He must be going through hell. She looked back 
      at Jadeite. "Isn't this still risky though?" Serena looked around.
      "Oui, but he insisted that I come. He needs to know that you understand 
      what is going on. He also needs to know how you feel about him."
      Serena held her hand out. "Give me the ring." He gave it to her. Serena 
      put in on. "Tell him I'm wearing his ring again."
      Jadeite nodded. "I will tell him. He also told me to keep an eye on you. I 
      will always be close by." He turned and walked out.
      Serena followed. "Jadeite wait." She wanted to know how Darien was doing 
      and to tell him the news. She walked out the door. There was no trace of 
      him.
      ----
      A tall dark haired man wove his way through the crowds of people on the 
      street and wandered into a little caf in Paris and reported his finding. 
      He approached a figure who sat at the back of a smoky caf.
      "Le Conte sent someone to contact the girl." He handed over pictures of 
      Serena and Jadeite talking in the university bookstore.
      A glove covered hand picked them up and looked at them then dropped them 
      back on to the table. "So Darien thinks that he can trick me, eh Torres? 
      He'll pay for that."
      ----
      Darien was practicing at the piano when he heard the phone ring. He dove 
      to the phone as it rung again. Maybe Jadeite had some more news. After all 
      it had been a day. Darien picked it up. "All?"
      "That was a silly thing you did sending that man to her. She will have to 
      pay for your stupidity." The phone clicked and went dead.
      Darien stood gripping the phone. "Oh my god, Serena!"
      ----
      Serena drove up the hill toward the university returning from a shopping 
      trip. She noticed a dark car following her. She figured it was Jadeite so 
      she didn't pay much attention. She turned on the radio and listened to the 
      loud pulsating music and didn't notice the car come right up beside her 
      until it rammed her, hard. Serena looked at it as she fought the right the 
      car again. Panicking she accelerated trying to get away. Where was 
      Jadeite? The car hit her again. She swerved dangerously close to the edge 
      of the road. Fender hit guardrail sending sparks shooting off the side of 
      the car. Serena looked down the deep gorge. She swung her car at the other 
      one in an attempt to get back on the road. She heard the engine of the 
      other car roar as it swung into her again. Serena stomped on the brake and 
      the car veered in front of her. They quickly regained control and caught 
      up with her again. This time they rammed into her and didn't pull back 
      forcing her to the side of the road. Serena tried to steer against them 
      but it was hopeless on the icy road against the more powerful car. Serena 
      screamed as she plummeted off the side and everything went black.
      ----
      Darien was prowling around the apartment trying to think of a way to get 
      to Serena. What had he done? His own weakness was going to hurt her. 
      "Idiot!" He had started packing when the phone rang again. He answered, 
      shouting into the phone. "Who are you? Why are you doing this to us?"
      "Darien, it's Jadeite." His voice was quiet.
      "Oh, Jadeite it's you. Is everything alright?" Darien's heart stopped when 
      he didn't answer right away. "Jadeite? What's going on?"
      Jadeite decided to come out and say it. "It's Serena she's in the 
      hospital."
      "What?" Darien got up and took the phone with him to the bedroom. "What 
      happened? Is she alright?"
      He told Darien what happened. "You'd better come over."
      Darien pinned the phone between his shoulder and chin, "Why didn't you do 
      anything?" He crammed clothes into a bag, shut it and walked to the front 
      door. "Forget it! It's too late now. Keep an eye on her. Don't let anyone 
      in. If her condition changes call me. I'll be there in the morning." 
      Darien put on his coat and walked out the door. He got into a cab and 
      pulled out his phone. He called his pilot and told him to meet him at the 
      airport then he called Nephlite and told him to hold down the fort while 
      he was gone.
      An hour later he was in the air. He paced back and forth on the plane. 
      Please god let her be alright. I don't think I can go on knowing that I've 
      hurt her.
      He arrived in the early hours of the morning. He got in the first cab he 
      found and went straight to the hospital. Jadeite was waiting for him at 
      the nurses' station.
      "Darien." Jadeite looked tired. He got up and put a hand on his friend's 
      shoulder. "They won't let anyone see her, mon ami."
      Darien shook his head stubbornly and walked up to the desk, lightly 
      pushing Jadeite aside. "Which room is Serena Cole in?"
      The nurse looked at him and shook her head. "I'm sorry Mr..."
      "le Conte!" Darien's voice echoed down the silent halls.
      Her eyes widened, she recognised the name. She looked at him. The tired 
      man with an unshaven face and wrinkled clothes were a far cry from the 
      debonair tux wearing man in the photos she had seen. Her brow wrinkled. 
      Why in the world would Darien le Conte want to see her?
      "I need to see her!"
      "I'm sorry sir but only family is allowed in."
      "I'm her fianc!" He was growing more agitated by the second. He exhaled 
      and controlled his voice. "Please, I need to be with her."
      Eyes wide, the nurse nodded. "Follow me." She led him to Serena's room.
      Darien stopped when he saw her. She looked tiny in the bed. Her face was 
      all banged up and the tubes going in and out of her didn't help improve 
      what he saw. "Serena." He walked to her side and knelt next to her bed. 
      Darien held her limp hand in his and kissed it.
      "Mr. le Conte she's a very lucky woman. That was a nasty accident she's 
      lucky to have come out of it with such minimal injuries...."
      Darien wasn't listening to her. He was too busy kicking himself. All he 
      could do was stare at Serena's pale face. Idiot! He should have been here 
      for her. He shouldn't have been so stupid.
      The nurse put a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Mr. le Conte? I'm sorry to 
      have to tell you this, but she lost her baby."
      Darien's eyes widened with shock. "Baby?" He shook his head. "You must be 
      mistaken. I would have known." Would he though? He looked back at her pale 
      face and thought about it. They hadn't spoken in over a month. Was it 
      possible? They had been getting lax with the precautions. He ran a shaky 
      hand through his hair. Oh my god!
      "No. I don't think so." She checked the chart again. "Yes, she was six 
      weeks pregnant according to her records." She patted his arm. "I'm very 
      sorry."
      She had been carrying his child. It made sense to him now, how she wasn't 
      feeling well; the headaches and nausea that Jadeite told him about. He 
      felt even worse now the realization hit him. Six weeks. They had made a 
      baby while she was with him in Paris! And now it was gone.
      Darien closed his eyes as the wave of grief engulfed the guilt. No! He 
      stood up and leaned over Serena. He kissed her gently. "Serena, I'm so 
      sorry. Please come back to me. I need you." He put his cheek on her 
      stomach and wept.
      ----
      Serena drifted in and out of consciousness. Each time she surfaced from 
      the darkness she was aware of the pain. She was conscious of the activity 
      going on around her. She liked to listen to what was going on around her, 
      it helped alleviate some of the pain. Sometimes she would hear the nurses 
      checking in on her. She could hear them drawing the curtains and talking 
      to her about how lucky she was.
      One time she woke up and she could hear several people in the room with 
      her. The whispered voices were talking about her. She could only hear bits 
      of what they were saying but what she heard was enough.
      "Poor girl...terrible accident...lost her baby-"
      No! Serena wanted to scream. She wanted to cry, but could only lay there 
      seemingly asleep. Serena tried to open her eyes. They felt as though they 
      were being held down. She struggled for what seemed like an eternity, but 
      couldn't get them to open. She tried to move her arms and legs but when 
      she did she could only feel immense pain. Serena slipped back into the 
      darkness again.
      She floated up out of the dark. This time she could hear another voice. 
      Darien! Darien was here! before anything else, she could feel his 
      prescence. Serena could feel his hands around hers. He was talking to her. 
      Serena could feel his lips and warm breath near her ear as he whispered. 
      He told her he loved her; that he needed her to come back to him. Darien 
      also talked about how he should have been there for her. How it was all 
      his fault for not being stronger that she got hurt.
      Serena wanted to comfort him. She needed him to comfort her. She wanted to 
      tell him that it wasn't his fault. She tried to open her eyes. Instead she 
      lost consciousness again.
      When she came to again, Serena couldn't hear anything. Determined not to 
      loose the battle this time, Serena fought to open her eyes. Little by 
      little she started to see slivers of light. Excited by her progress she 
      pushed herself harder. Her eyes opened and slowly focused. Next to her bed 
      she saw Darien slumped in a chair asleep. There were flowers all over the 
      place too, Serena looked at them all in awe. She then looked down and saw 
      that even in his sleep he still managed to keep hold of her hand. Serena 
      tried to move her hands, but could only manage to move her finger a 
little.
      The slight movement had Darien jerking awake. He looked over at her and 
      leapt to her side when he saw that she was awake. "Serena," He placed a 
      hand on her cheek.
      "Darien." He looked extremely tired. His hair was tousled and stuck up in 
      all directions and his clothes were wrinkled. He never looked better to 
      her. "You came."
      "Of course." His eyes were red but she could see the love in them. "I'm so 
      sorry I was such an idiot Serena. I shouldn't have tried to contact you."
      "Darien, it wasn't your fault. I'm glad you did. I missed you so much."
      Darien leaned down and kissed her gently. "I'm so glad you are ok chre." 
      He sat on the side of the bed.
      "I don't feel very ok, but I'm sure I'll get better." Serena grimaced as 
      she tried to sit up.
      "Serena, please." Darien helped her lay back down. "You need to rest." He 
      smiled tenderly at her and leaned down laying his cheek on her stomach. 
      "Serena, why didn't you tell me that our baby was growing inside you?" He 
      caressed her lightly. "You could have told Jadeite. I would have come 
      immediately." I could have protected you both.
      "I just found out. Just a day before..." she closed her eyes. She could 
      see the branches and trees flying past her window. She took a shuddering 
      breath and moved her hand to her stomach. She remembered the conversation 
      she heard. How was she going to tell him that their baby was gone? "You 
      know...right?" She opened her eyes and looked at him.
      "That our child is gone? Yes." His eyes glittered angrily. "I swear to you 
      chre, I will find who ever did this and make them pay." They stared 
      blankly at the wall on the opposite side of the room for a while, feeling 
      hollow with sadness.
      They snapped out of it and both turned toward the door when they heard it 
      swing open.
      Someone was singing as they walked into the room. Serena watched amused 
      when she saw Darien scramble as fast as he could to the other side of her 
      bed. She whispered to him. "Darien what are you doing?"
      "It's her. That crazy nurse. She's driving me nuts!" He tried to make 
      himself as small as possible next to the bed.
      Confused Serena looked back toward the door. A large woman swept in 
      singing to herself. "Hello Mr. Le Conte! How are you this morning?" She 
      looked at the bed. "Ms. Cole! You're awake. How are you feeling dear? 
      You're very lucky you know, that was a very nasty accident." She fluffed 
      Serena's pillows. "Are you hungry? You must be thirsty." She poured a 
      glass of water and handed it to Serena. She struggled to bring it to her 
      mouth.
      Darien leaned down and helped hold it to her mouth so that she could drink 
      from it.
      The nurse was checking her pulse, still chattering away. "Isn't he a 
      sweetheart? You're very lucky to have a man like him. He hasn't moved from 
      the moment he arrived. I don't think that he's eaten anything either. You 
      should tell him to get something to eat, he'll probably listen to you." 
      She put her hands on her hips and looked at him, shaking her head. "Oh can 
      you sign another autograph for me? My sister's best friend's cousin would 
      just die if she heard that I met you in person!" Without waiting for an 
      answer, she handed him a piece of paper and a pen.
      Sighing, Darien signed the paper. And handed it back to her. Serena sat 
      back and watched as she practically leapt for joy.
      "I'll be right back with the doctor." She rushed out of the room grinning 
      from ear to ear.
      "Darien, is she right? Have you eaten?" She looked at him as sternly as 
      she could.Darien shook his head dismissing her questions. "Serena, I'm 
      more worried about you right now."
      "I know you worry, but if you don't eat that'll worry me." She put her 
      hand on his. "Please."
      "I will later when you are asleep."
      "Promise?"
      "Oui, I promise."
      Satisfied, Serena relaxed a bit. "So has that nurse been like that the 
      whole time?" The brightly coloured flowers caught Serena's eye.
      "Yes." He sighed again and sat down next to her. "She's had me sign about 
      thirty autographs. She never stops talking either." He saw her looking at 
      the flowers. "Your friends have been by. They won't let them in though." 
      He pointed at the door. Serena noticed for the first time that there were 
      uniformed guards standing there.
      "How did you get in?"
      "I told them who I was and they let me in."
      "They recognised you?"
      "Yes, but they only let me in when I told them that I was your fianc." He 
      looked at her. "I still am aren't I?"
      "Yes, Darien." She held out her hand to show him the ring. She gasped when 
      she saw it wasn't there any more. "Darien?" She looked at him.
      "They took all your jewellery off and are holding in a safe for you." He 
      smiled at her. "I called your parents they should be here today sometime." 
      He pointed at a large bouquet. "Those are from them."
      Serena looked at the beautiful arrangement. The one next to it caught her 
      eye as well. "And those?" She pointed to them.
      "Are from my parents."
      "They're beautiful! Are they in town?"
      Darien nodded. "Yes, they rushed right over when they heard."
      Serena nodded and smiled. "They're so sweet."
      "I told you, they love you." He smiled a little and leaned back, yawning.
      He must have been so exhausted. Serena ran his hair through her fingers. 
      "Poor baby." She stopped. Baby. Instantly, tears filled her eyes.
      He looked at her when she stopped talking and saw the tears streaming down 
      her face. While he struggled to keep his own at bay, Darien gathered her 
      up in his arms and rocked her, trying not to catch any tubes. "Oh chre, 
      it will be ok. We have plenty of time to have another." He held her to him 
      as she sobbed.
      ----
      Through the smoke, Manuel stared at the figure sitting in the chair 
      against the wall. He choked a little as he tried to swallow. He hated 
      reporting bad news. "Sh...she's still alive. Le Conte is with her right 
      now."
      "I see..."
      "I will do better next time I swear." He looked up and saw a smile in the 
      shadows. He breathed a bit easier.
      "Don't worry yourself."
      Manuel fell over and his head lay on the table. A bullet had gone straight 
      through his heart.
      "I'll do it myself."
      ----
      The next few days were a frenzy of doctors, police and parents. The 
      doctors said that she could go back home in a few days. She was recovering 
      miraculously.
      The police came and questioned Darien and Serena about what was going on. 
      They answered as best they could. They told them that they suspected that 
      Sabine was behind the whole thing. No one else had the resources or the 
      motive to go after them with such a vengeance. The police contacted Paris 
      and they brought her in for questioning. It didn't go too far though 
      because while Serena was in Paris, Sabine was in Italy doing a photo 
      shoot. They had to let her go because she had a concrete alibi. They 
      questioned almost everyone they knew, Serena's friends, Jeff, Darien's 
      crew, Jadeite, Nephlite, Fabienne even Didier. Everyone was clean.
      Darien and Serena weren't convinced of Sabine's innocence. It had to be 
      her. Jeff was the only other person that had reason enough to run her off 
      the road but he couldn't have been in Paris to call Darien and actually 
      see them in the apartment.
      Serena's parents swept in and out almost hourly. They were delighted to 
      finally meet Darien, though the circumstances could have been better. 
      Darien's parents were the same, coming in with gifts and food for Serena 
      and their son. The two couples finally met and they exchanged hugs and 
      pleasantries. They seemed to get on well enough. They even went out for 
      lunch together.
      Serena and Darien smiled. "Chre, it seems that they like each other, non? 
      Isn't that great?"
      "Yeah." She cuddled up to Darien. It felt so good to be with him again. 
      She and Darien decided not to tell them about the attempt to kill Serena. 
      They didn't tell them about the baby either. As far as they knew, Serena 
      drove off the icy road when her car hit a patch of black ice. They hated 
      lying to them but Serena didn't think that she and Darien could handle 
      their grief on top of her own.
      In the evenings she and Darien joined some other couples who lost their 
      babies and they talked things through. It helped a bit but the counsellor 
      assured them that it would ebb over time though the pain would never 
      totally disappear.
      After the latest meeting Darien helped Serena back to her room. They 
      walked slowly down the quiet hospital corridor. "Chre, come back with 
me."
      Serena gave him a questioning look. She hadn't thought about him leaving 
      her again. "Darien, you're going?"
      He shook his head. "No not without you. I'm not leaving you again." Darien 
      shuddered at the thought. Who knows what would happen if he left her 
      again. He had decided earlier that he was going to stay with her no matter 
      what. "Serena, we'll go to the countryside where you can regain your 
      strength."
      She opened her mouth to refuse. Darien put a finger over her lips. "Chre, 
      you can't stay here on your own. Whoever did this will come back and try 
      again."
      Serena knew that this was true. She couldn't just ignore it anymore. 
      Someone was serious about getting her. "What do you suggest Darien?"
      "We can drop out of sight for a while, until we find out who has been 
      doing this."
      "But what about your career?"
      "I think I deserve some time off. We can disappear and live like regular 
      people for a while."
      Serena thought about it. No photographers, no crowds, just her and Darien 
      living in a secluded home. It sounded nice. "That sounds wonderful Darien. 
      Can we do it though? And where will we go?" She looked thoughtful. "We can 
      go to my place in Vancouver."
      "Yes of course we can do it. But I think we will have to find a better 
      place than in the city, chre." They arrived at her room. Darien opened 
      the door Serena walked in. Darien helped her into bed. "I will get it 
      arranged tonight." He kissed her. "Now get some sleep." He settled in his 
      chair next to her bed.
      Serena looked at him and shook her head smiling. The nurses had been 
      trying to get him to go to a hotel at night but he refused. He seemed 
      quite happy just sleeping the chair. They gave up after a couple nights. 
      There was no moving him. Darien was staying by her side whether they liked 
      it or not.
      "What are you thinking chre?" He looked at her curiously.
      "You're insane Darien." She went to lean and kiss him, he stood up so it 
      was easier for her. "I love you."
      "I love you too Serena." He looked at her affectionately. "Now get some 
      sleep we have a big day tomorrow. I think you'll need all your energy when 
      you see your friends again."
      They were scheduled to be discharged tomorrow morning. Serena couldn't 
      wait. Not that she wasn't grateful for what the nurses were doing for her, 
      but she was getting sick of the disinfected, white atmosphere.
      After Serena fell asleep, Darien watched her a while before he got up and 
      wandered out to the front of the hospital. He started dialling. He was 
      going to find the most secretive place for them, away from the city and 
      crowds and photographers. But first he had to arrange it so that he could 
      disappear for a while. He smiled a little. He couldn't wait to have a 
      normal life with Serena. She deserved to have a quiet life with no one 
      hassling her or scrambling to get an embarrassing photo.
      The next morning they got everything together and thanked everyone for 
      their help. Darien helped Serena walk out the front doors. They were 
      immediately swamped by photographers and reporters shouting questions. 
      Someone had told the press that Darien was there.
      Darien helped Serena cover her face and quickly ushered her to the car he 
      had waiting. "I bet it was that crazy nurse who told everyone."
      Jadeite was driving. He quickly sped off and headed for the university. 
      The Rez entrance was completely surrounded by reporters. Apparently they 
      knew Serena was a student and that she lived here. Again Darien covered 
      Serena's face and they rushed to the security doors. Serena quickly swiped 
      her card and punched in her code. They ran in. Darien pushed it shut 
      behind them once they were through. Jadeite grabbed the bags from Darien 
      as he helped Serena up the stairs as fast as she could go. At the suite 
      Serena opened the door to find everyone there.
      "Serena! Darien!" Lita, Raye, Mina, Malachite, Seiya and Andrew rushed 
      over and hugged her gently one by one. "Oh my god! Are you alright?"
      Serena nodded. "Yeah I'm ok now." She still felt uncomfortable when she 
      was fussed over.
      Looking serious Darien waved at everyone then nodded at Jadeite who went 
      to Serena's room and checked it over making sure no one tampered with 
      anything.
      Everyone stared at Jadeite as he walked down the hall. Lita, pulled her 
      over to the couch. "What happened? All we know is you went off the road 
      the nurses wouldn't let us visit you or anything! Then cops show up and 
      question us about some threats? What the hell is going on?"
      "It was just a stupid misunderstanding." Lame! Serena hated having to lie 
      to her friends but she didn't want to worry them anymore. "I'm doing 
      better now though. Thanks for the flowers guys."
      "That's alright. It was the only thing we could do."
      They watched as Jadeite returned and reported that nothing was touched. 
      Everyone looked at Serena.
      "And who is this?" Raye got up and stood beside him eyeing him from head 
      to toe and nodding appreciatively.
      Darien laughed at his friend's bewildered look. "This is Jadeite Marsac, 
      head of my security." He patted him on the back.
      Jadeite smiled at everyone.
      Serena noticed that Raye smiled very interestedly at him, maybe she's 
      gotten over her ex? The rest of the girls didn't seem immune to him 
      either. Shyly he started fiddling with his cell phone while they talked to 
      him.
      Clearly admiring his looks, Mina smiled. "Security?"
      Serena nodded. "Go to the boys' room and look out the window."
      Serena, Darien and Jadeite waited while they did.
      They came back wide eyed. "Are those reporters?"
      The three of them nodded.
      "This happens wherever you go?" They nodded again. "Oh my. How do you 
      handle it?"
      "We've learned to ignore them." Darien gave Serena a hug reminding her it 
      was she who taught him how to do that. He looked at Jadeite. "And we have 
      Jadeite looking after us." He looked at her. "Shall we get packed then?"
      She nodded. Darien and Jadeite went to her room
      The group looked at them puzzled. "Pack?"
      Serena smiled weakly. "I've decided to withdraw from classes and move away 
      for a while." She looked at everyone's shocked faces. "It's only for a 
      little while. Just until I recover fully. Then I'll be back." She paused 
      and looked at them. "You understand right?"
      Slowly one by one they nodded. "Yeah as long as you get better. That's all 
      that matters." No one looked too happy about the news.
      Serena hugged them all. "You guys are the best."
      "We can come and visit right?"
      "Of course."
      "Good."
      "Oh and when you leave for classes here's a little tip. Don't let them 
      know that you know me. They'll leave you alone then."
      They nodded and left.
      Serena went to her room to find that it was almost completely packed. 
      "You're almost done already?"
      "Yup." They barely looked at her while they quickly stuffed her things 
      into boxes. She turned to open the door when she heard a knock. Seiya 
      stood on the other side looking incredibly pissed off.
      "Serena what is this all about? Are you moving because of that note?"
      Darien and Jadeite nearly jumped down his throat when he said that. "How 
      do you know about the note?" They pinned him against the door.
      "Darien! Jadeite! Leave him alone. I told him about it!"
      Seiya struggled against them glaring at Darien. "You asshole! You have a 
      lot of nerve showing up here after what you did to her!"
      Darien stared at him but held him tight to the door. "What are you talking 
      about?"
      "Let him go!" Serena put her hand on Darien and Etienne's arms.
      They let him go. Darien gave her a questioning look.
      "He was here when I got it." Serena gave Seiya a pleading look. "Seiya, 
      please just go and forget about everything." She didn't want him getting 
      hurt too.
      "Serena, you're in trouble. What's going on?" He looked at Darien and 
      Jadeite challengingly. "You know you can tell me." He looked at her.
      Serena sighed. He was so stubborn! "Someone is trying to kill me."
      Seiya stared at them. Everyone looked dead serious. "Shit! So you going 
      off the road wasn't an accident?" He looked even more pissed off now. "Any 
      idea who?" They shook their heads.
      "No. Now Seiya please don't tell anyone! We have to go now." She pushed 
      him out the door.
      He stopped. "I bet it was that loser Jeff!" He looked at Jadeite. "I can 
      show you where he is." He rubbed his knuckles. "I'll help."
      "Seiya please. We're not going after Jeff." Serena's head was starting to 
      pound now.
      Darien saw her start to waver. He came up behind her and held her steady. 
      "Chre, are you alright?" She looked so pale.
      "Yeah I'm ok just getting a little dizzy." She leaned back on him.
      Seiya looked at Serena and then at Darien's pale face. There were more 
      things going on here than they were letting on. Something else had 
      happened. He gave her a hug. "Just take care of yourself ok? And come back 
      to us in one piece." Seiya looked at her. "Call if you need anything at 
      all." He nodded to the two men and left, he had someone to sort out.
      ----
      The three of them arrived at the house a day later. No one outside of 
      Jadeite, their parents and Nephlite knew where it was. Serena looked at it 
      and smiled. It was a little house on a hill over looking a lush vineyard. 
      It was wonderful.
      "You approve chre?" He asked knowing full well that she did from her 
      smile.
      "Oui, it's gorgeous." She looked at the door. "Can we go in now?"
      Darien smiled and handed her the keys. She unlocked it and they walked in.
      It was warm and cosy. Serena loved it on sight. "Oh Darien it's lovely." 
      She wandered through exploring every room. It was a lot bigger inside than 
      it looked outside. Serena went back to Darien and hugged him. "It's great, 
      I'll go and get unpacked." Serena walked into what she presumed to be 
      their bedroom. On the bed were her and Darien's bags. She started 
      unpacking and hung up the clothes. It looks like our luck is about to 
      change. Serena smiled at the thought.
      The next five weeks, Darien and Serena spent all their time together 
      talking and redoing parts of the house. Darien amazed her again with a new 
      talent. He was just as handy with a hammer and nails as he was with the 
      piano.
      Serena was very impressed. "Darien, how did you have time to learn how to 
      do that?" He and Jadeite brought the bookcase he made into the living 
room.
      He shrugged. "I learned it on the vineyard with my papa."
      Serena brought out the meal she prepared for them. They sat and ate and 
      talked. Things were going well. Serena was recovering quickly and they 
      were sure that they were secluded from the rest of the world. It was great 
      not to have to hide and constantly look over her shoulder.
      Jadeite travelled back and forth bringing them news of what was going on. 
      He handed them a newspaper. On the cover was a picture of Darien with a 
      big question mark over it. The headline read: le Conte's Disappearing 
      Trick. Darien shook his head and opened it up. Inside were pictures of her 
      and Darien rushing past the photographers at the hospital. According to 
      the article, they had made a clean disappearance. No one had any clue as 
      to their whereabouts. They did know about the baby though and the 
      accident, though. Darien scowled as He crumpled it up and threw it aside.
      "I hate reporters."
      Jadeite gave Serena a bunch of letters from her friends. She went through 
      and read them out loud one by one.
      Darien sat and listened to them smiling. "You have such good friends 
      chre. They're very sweet."
      "Yeah, they're great." She felt a little sad.
      "Come here chre." Darien saw the look on her face. "I know it's hard. You 
      must miss them so much, non?"
      Serena sat in his lap. "Yes, I do."
      "As soon as this whole thing is over we'll go back. I promise." He hugged 
      her to him.
      "I know. I guess I'm just a little homesick. I never thought I'd say this 
      but I miss the craziness of Rez." She shook her head unbelievably.
      "Chre, it's completely understandable." He kissed her cheek. "I'm even 
      starting to miss performing. And you know how tired I was of that."
      Jadeite shook his head. "You two even get sad at the same time."
      They laughed.
      Jadeite smiled. "You are so good together." He reached into his pocket and 
      pulled out a tiny tape. "Here are your phone messages."
      Darien took it and slipped it into a player and turned it on. There was 
      message after message from Mina, Lita and Raye. They were complaining 
      about each other and looking for advice and generally whining about 
      missing her.
      Serena shook her head. "I think I'm over my homesickness thing."
      Darien smiled and punched her lightly in the shoulder. "Serena, be nice."
      There was one from Fabienne wishing them well and there was one from 
      Sabine, cursing them for sending the cops.
      They all shared an exasperated look over that one. Then they heard the 
      last message. It was that voice again.
      I see you still haven't learned your lesson. You can't hide from me. You'd 
      better watch out because if you think that little accident that your 
      precious girlfriend had was bad, then you're going to hate this. There was 
      a pause. Oh so sorry to hear about the baby.
      The message ended there.
      Darien looked furious, the look in his eyes even gave Serena the chills. 
      She knew if that he could have gotten his hands on the caller right now, 
      whoever it was, they didn't stand a chance.
      Serena was just as angry. She had never heard the voice before but now 
      that she had Serena wanted revenge. She couldn't believe that anyone would 
      use their pain to taunt them. Darien ripped the tape out of the machine 
      and handed it to Jadeite. "Take it to the police in Paris." Jadeite took 
      it and nodded gravely. "I will be back soon." He put on his coat and 
      walked to the front door.
      Darien nodded. He walked him to the door and locked it behind him. He 
      turned back to find that Serena still sat in the chair; rigid and 
      seemingly staring off into space. "Chre. Serena, are you alright?" He 
      came up behind her and put his hands on her shoulders.
      Her entire body started to shake. Not out of fear but out of anger. 
      Someone was playing games with their lives and because of it they had lost 
      their child. Whoever it was, was going to pay dearly.
      "Serena, sweetheart. Look at me."
      She hadn't noticed it but Darien had kneeled in front of her and was 
      holding her face with both hands. Serena focussed on him. "I want this 
      ended. I want who ever is doing this to us to be punished. Severely." Her 
      voice was quiet but the way that she said the words had chills running 
      down his spine. He had never heard her more angry or more serious.
      Darien knew how she felt. But now wasn't the time to be loosing their 
      heads. He pulled her rigid body to his and held her. "They will chre. 
      They will." He rested his head on hers and closed his eyes. He wanted this 
      nightmare to be over. He opened them again when he felt her hand clutch 
      his shirt. Darien looked at her. She looked both angry and terrified at 
      the same time. He felt a primal need to protect and comfort her. He put 
      his finger under her chin and tipped her head up to face him. Lightly, 
      Darien kissed her eyes, her nose and then he gently caressed her lips with 
      his own.
      Serena's fear and anger slowly ebbed away. She closed her eyes and let 
      herself drown in the sensations that washed over her. Ever since she left 
      the hospital, Darien treated her like glass. It was almost like he was 
      afraid she would break if he touched her. He still showed her he loved her 
      other ways, a look, a touch, but right now Serena needed more. She needed 
      to forget what was happening for a little while. Serena deepened the kiss. 
      She held him to her when he tried to pull back. A confused moaned rumbled 
      in his chest.
      Darien responded to her fervent kiss. He felt her raw need and met it with 
      his own. Darien had tried to control himself around her since she left the 
      hospital. Even though he knew that she had recovered from her injuries, 
      Darien wasn't quite sure how to approach her. So he kept his distance, he 
      didn't think he could handle it if her hurt her. He felt bad enough as it 
      was. She told him that she didn't blame him for what happened but he 
      blamed himself. He knew that if he hadn't been so weak, she wouldn't have 
      gotten hurt in the first place. But now he couldn't hold himself back, it 
      had been so long since they were together and the way that she was kissing 
      him had his body screaming for her. If she needed to find solace in his 
      arms then he would give it to her.
      Serena pulled Darien's sweater off and smoothed her hands over his chest. 
      She slid her hands over every muscle revelling the feel of his hard body. 
      Spurred on by his groans, Serena slid, licking and kissing, down his body 
      until she was kneeling in front of him. Slowly she undid his jeans and 
      released him from its confines. Serena took him into her hands and 
      caressed him lightly. Darien tried to pull her up to him but she pushed 
      his hands away. She looked up at him through her lashes and smiled 
      wickedly. Gently, she guided him to her mouth and flicked him with her 
      tongue.
      Pleasure streaked through his body at the fleeting contact. Darien thought 
      his knees were going to give out. He moaned and picked her up. He kissed 
      her neck as he carried her to their bed. Quickly, he removed all of 
      Serena's clothes a gazed lovingly at her body. He knelt at the foot of the 
      bed and started nibbling on her toes. He kissed and ran his tongue over 
      her skin on his way up her body. His smiled when he felt her shivering 
      with pleasure. The fevered pitch of the need going through his body was 
      overwhelming. Darien needed to love her and have her love him in return. 
      He finally reached her lips again, he traced her lips with his tongue and 
      slipped inside.
      Serena arched herself against him, letting him know just how much she 
      wanted him. Darien held himself back, she could feel it. In one swift 
      movement he was beneath her. Serena kissed his chest, letting her hair 
      trail lightly over him. Gently she took him into her.
      Darien moaned. "Oh god!" the sensation jolted through him. He tired to 
      pull her down so that he could kiss her. She shook her head as if to tell 
      him to wait. Slowly she shifted her hips, rocking gently at first. She 
      didn't know that she could take control this way, but now that she had she 
      relished in it. Serena leaned down and kissed him, teasing him with her 
      tongue.
      Darien tried to move beneath her but she stopped him. She rocked faster 
      and harder, riding him. He had no choice but to follow her lead. She 
      watched his face as he got closer and closer to the edge. She pulled him 
      up to her and took his shouts of ecstasy into her mouth as she climaxed 
      herself. Her body seemed to go completely lax as she melted into Darien. 
      She smiled. Darien grinned back as he flipped her over and began to move 
      again. Wide eyed Serena stared at Darien as she felt him grow hard again. 
      He moved against her, with her, inside her.
      Serena groaned as she was swept up again in the tide of sensation that 
      Darien created. She closed her eyes as the incredible feelings swept 
      through her again.
      ----
      Jadeite returned a few days later. He told them that the police were on it 
      and they were analyzing the tape as they spoke. "They will contact you as 
      soon as the find anything."Serena felt a little better after hearing the 
      news. They were getting closer to having this whole this sorted out. She 
      was also relieved now that she and Darien were back to normal. They were 
      no longer holding anything back. It was fantastic. Everything seemed to be 
      going in the right direction.
      Darien and Serena busied their days with simple things like chores and 
      housework. It some how made her feel normal again and distracted her from 
      the things that had happened.
      Late one afternoon, there was a call on Darien's cell phone. "All?" 
      Darien answered. "Hi Nephlite. How are things?" He paused. Darien sat on 
      the couch, brow creased.
      Serena sat down next to him and put her hand on his knee. Something was 
up.
      "Oui. Oui. I'll be there as soon as I can." He hung up and looked at 
      Serena. "I have some good news and I have some not so good news."
      Serena nodded. "Give it to me then."
      "Well the police have a lead on who's out to get us." He looked grim.
      "And the bad news?" Serena knew what was coming.
      "I have to go to Paris to talk to them." He shrugged helplessly. "We can't 
      risk letting anyone know where we are, chre."
      "I know, Darien." It didn't make her feel any better though. "Can't you 
      wait a little while? Just until Jadeite gets back?" He had gone into town 
      to get some food and Serena was still uneasy about being left alone, 
      especially when it was getting dark.
      "I have to go now if I hope to get there before dark." He looked at her. 
      "I'll be back as soon as I can." He kissed her and put on his coat and 
      shoes. "Jadeite should be back in a few minutes." He wasn't sure if he 
      should leave her, but at that moment Jadeite walked in the door.
      "Hi." He looked at their faces and put the bags he was holding down. 
      "What's going on?" Darien quickly filled him in while he got his coat and 
      shoes.
      "Go, I'll stay here with Serena."
      Darien kissed her again. "I'll be back soon." He patted Jadeite on the 
      back and walked out the door.
      "Looks like it's just the two of us eh?" Serena looked at Jadeite and 
      smiled.
      He helped her put the groceries away and clean up the house. They were 
      talking and doing dishes when they heard a clanging sound from outside. 
      They looked at each other. Jadeite put down the towel he held and walked 
      to the door. And peeked out the window looking for any sign of an 
      intruder. He couldn't see anything. He turned to Serena, "I have to go 
      see. I'll be back in a second."
      Serena turned to him. "Jadeite be careful."
      He nodded. "Lock the door behind me. I have my key. If I'm not back in 
      five minutes call the police."
      Serena nodded. He walked out and Serena locked the door behind him. She 
      stood in the middle of the living room listening for any sounds. She heard 
      absolutely nothing. But she was still fearful. She wished she hadn't let 
      Jadeite go investigate. "Jadeite, where are you?"
      Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Serena's eyes widened. "Who is 
      it!" She looked around the room for a weapon.
      "Fabienne!" It came as a muffled cry from the other side of the door.
      Serena let out a sigh of relief. It was just Fabienne. Then it hit her. 
      Fabienne? What was she doing here? She wasn't even supposed to know where 
      they were. Nephlite must have told her where they were.
      "What do you want?" Serena wasn't sure if she should open the door or not.
      "It's Darien! Something's happened to him! He told me to come get you!" 
      She sounded frantic.
      "What happened?" Serena immediately opened the door.
      Fabienne stood on the other side in jeans and a sweatshirt and she was 
      laughing.
      Confused, Serena looked up just in time to see a branch swing straight at 
      her head. Then everything went black.
      When she came to, she couldn't see anything. She turned her head from side 
      to side looking around. But she still saw nothing. She thought she'd gone 
      blind. She sat and stared into the darkness. Then little by little she 
      started to pick up little details about her surroundings. There were 
      hammers hanging on the wall and she thought she could make out the 
      outlines of a lawnmower. They were in a shed. Serena tried to move her arm 
      so that she could hold her pounding head but she was tied down. She tried 
      to move but couldn't. She was tied to something heavy. She wriggled around 
      and the something moaned. It was Jadeite.
      She stopped immediately. "Jadeite! Are you ok?" She tried to look over her 
      shoulder at him.
      "Shhhh. Serena try to be quiet." He manoeuvred himself around. "I'm ok. 
      Serena, reach down and grab the knife from my boot."
      Serena did as she was told. She could barely reach it. Her finger tips 
      could just touch it. She leaned over some more and tried again. It took 
      several tries but she was finally able to get it out of his boot. She 
      flicked it open and cut the ropes holding them together.
      Free from the ropes Jadeite rubbed his wrists and ankles. Serena did the 
      same. She stood up and looked at him. He had a nasty looking gash on his 
      forehead that was still bleeding, though a majority of it had already 
      clotted. "Jadeite, hold still." Serena ripped a bit off of her T-shirt and 
      held it against his head. She guessed that he had been hit over the head 
      as well.
      "Thanks." He grabbed hold of it and went to the door. He opened it a tiny 
      crack and peered out. "Fabienne is outside guarding." He turned back to 
      Serena.
      Serena watched him when he opened the door. She ran her hands though her 
      hair and could feel something wet and sticky. She brought her hand close 
      to her face so she could see that it was. Her hand was covered in blood. 
      "Shit!" She quickly tore another bit off her shirt and held it to her own 
      head. Fabienne hit her harder than she thought.
      Serena felt along the back wall to see if there was a way out. She felt 
      something like a window sill. "Jadeite, check this out. "I think I found a 
      window." He came over and started to work at opening it. Serena was 
      seething. "Fabienne! That bitch! She was behind the whole thing!"
      "No, not totally." Jadeite and Serena whirled to look at the door. 
      Fabienne stood in the opening smiling at them. "Now if you'll get back 
      over here." Serena noticed for the first time that she was holding a gun. 
      She waved it motioning for them to move back into the room.
      They did as she asked. Jadeite moved himself in front of Serena. "Fabienne 
      why are you doing this?" He slowly moved toward her. His voice was calm 
      and quiet.
      "As a favour. Now stop moving Jadeite or I'll have to hurt you." She 
      looked totally serious.
      "You don't mean that. We've known each other forever." He stepped closer. 
      "We've all been friends since we were children." He was right up to her 
      now.
      "Jadeite, I'm warning you..."
      Jadeite put his hand on the gun. "Fabienne, please give me the gun."
      Her eyes narrowed and a shot rang out, shattering the silence. A look of 
      shock crossed Jadeite's face as he slumped to the ground.
      "No!" Serena ran to Jadeite and knelt down beside him. "Are you crazy?" 
      She tried to find the wound.
      "I warned him." There was no remorse in her eyes as she stood over them.
      Serena ignored her for the time being. It was more important to help 
      Jadeite. She found the wound on his right side. It was gushing blood but 
      it didn't look like she hit anything vital. Quickly she looked around for 
      something to stop the bleeding. There was a watering can, and a few boxes 
      on the ground, nothing that would help her. She took off her shirt and 
      used it to staunch the bleeding. She held his head in her lap and applied 
      pressure to the wound. "Jadeite. Say something." She stared at his face 
      hoping to see a flicker of life. His eyes slowly opened. "Oh thank god!"
      "Aren't you the sweet little girl." Fabienne glared at her.
      "What the hell is your problem? You could have killed him!" Serena was 
      fuming but fought to control her emotions.
      Fabienne strolled over to her and squatted in front of her. "It was his 
      fault."
      "You bitch!"
      Fabienne hit her across the face with the butt of the gun. "Shut up!"
      The coppery taste of blood filled Serena's mouth. She spit. "So why are 
      you doing this? You want Darien for yourself?" Serena smiled at her. "I 
      can assure you that he wouldn't want a stupid bitch like you."
      Fabienne hit her again. The pain exploded in a million colours but Serena 
      held it in and laughed bitterly. "You'll have to do better than that." She 
      wasn't going to give her the satisfaction of seeing her in pain. Carefully 
      she moved out from under Jadeite's head and gently lowered him to the 
      ground. She put his hand on her already soaked shirt to hold it in place. 
      She stood up and faced her. "How could you do that to an old friend?" She 
      nodded at Jadeite's lifeless body. "How could you do this to Darien?" 
      Serena glared at her. She was the one that had been making her life hell. 
      Every instinct she had told her to attack, but Serena held back. She 
      wanted to find out why.
      Fabienne pointed the gun at her. "Shut up!"
      "What are you going to do? Shoot me? That will really help you out. Darien 
      will really want to get with the girl who shot his fiance."
      "It doesn't matter. I don't want him anyways." She was as cool as ever. 
      "Besides he'll be too busy trying to find you again."
      "That's right."
      Serena's attention turned to the familiar voice. A dark figure stood 
      behind Fabienne. "He'll think that you ran off with Jadeite. At least 
      that's what we'll make it look like. When he can't find you anywhere he'll 
      come running to us for comfort. We'll convince him he is better without 
      you." He stepped into the light. "And everything will be back to normal."
      Serena's jaw dropped. "Nephlite!"
      ----
      Darien drove down the dark road as fast as the car could go. He arrived in 
      Paris in just over an hour and a half. He ran up the steps and went 
      straight to the police station. The detective seemed surprised to see him. 
      "Monsieur le Conte, what are you doing here? I told Jadeite that I would 
      contact you as soon as I..."
      Darien stopped him. "You didn't want me to come?"
      "No, I still haven't finished analyzing the tape yet..."
      Darien didn't wait for him to finish. He ran back out to the car and sped 
      off. What the hell was going on? Nephlite told him that they had a lead. 
      He even left Serena behind to come here... Merde! It was a diversion! Now 
      Serena and Jadeite were all alone! He was so stupid!
      He thought back over the past couple years. After he met Serena, Nephlite 
      suddenly couldn't handle his job. Things were going wrong constantly and 
      he was helpless. Nephlite was always calling on him for help and advice on 
      things that he took care of for ages. It all made sense now. "That bastard 
      set it up so I couldn't be with Serena!" Darien berated himself for being 
      such a fool. He sped back home. "Hang on Serena." He couldn't wait to get 
      his hands on Nephlite.
      ----
      "Nephlite, why are you doing this?" Serena was confused. He was Darien's 
      oldest friend. How was he involved in this whole thing? "Why are you 
      trying to hurt Darien so much?"
      "I'm not. I'm trying to save him." He took the gun off of Fabienne and 
      walked over to Serena.
      "From what? He's never been happier!"
      Nephlite had a strange little smile on his face. "You see, since he met 
      you he's lost his mind a little. It is no longer with his work." He paced 
      brandishing the gun. "So I guess you could say that I'm saving him from 
      himself."
      "He's happy and content. You should be happy for him!" Serena spat the 
      words at him. Nephlite slithered up to her and ran the cold metal barrel 
      under her chin and down her neck.
      She shivered. "You're crazy!"
      "You would be too if you loved someone so much for most of your life and 
      they never even notice you."
      Love? What the hell was he talking about? "Of course he notices you. 
      You're his best friend!"
      He pushed the barrel into her throat lifting her head to look at him. 
      "That's not what I want."
      "What do you want?" Serena stared at him. He had a maniacal look on his 
      face.
      "I want him to love me!" His eyes were wide now.
      Love him! Serena's eyes widened. He was in love with Darien. No way! She 
      saw him with those girls in Vienna and Darien said he always had women 
      crawling all over him. Then it dawned on her he never had a girlfriend 
      that she knew of and he never spoke of one either. She quickly turned her 
      attention back to him. Who knew what he was capable of in a rage. "How 
      could you do this to him if you love him? You should want him to be 
      happy!" Oh shit! Things started to click. He had been the one making 
      things go wrong whenever Darien wanted to come and see her. That bastard!
      "He was happy until he met you. He had his music and he had me and 
      Fabienne. Then Darien met you and he went crazy. All he talked about was 
      you. Serena this, Serena that. He was like a love sick puppy!" He smiled 
      at her again, a wide, frenetic grin. "Believe me, this is best for him." 
      He held the gun against her throat again. "Once your pretty little face 
      and hot little body are out of the way. He can go back to normal." He ran 
      the gun over her breasts and back up to her throat.
      Serena backed away from him a little. He was truly crazed. She had to keep 
      him talking.
      "So it was you who made things go wrong whenever Darien got the chance to 
      come and see me."
      "How clever! You finally figured it out." Fabienne glared at her.
      "And the phone calls?"
      He laughed. "You sounded so pathetic pleading with the phone. Please 
      Darien! Say something! I love you Darien!" he mimicked her voice. "You're 
      such a stupid girl! You never even realized it was me who found you're old 
      boyfriend, what's his name. How else do you think he found you and got 
      into all your classes?" He took a moment to admire his gun. "It's amazing 
      what a little cash can do."
      "How could you? You've made my life a living hell!"
      "That was the point, sweetie. He was supposed to mess you up so much that 
      you couldn't stand to look at another man."
      Sickened that someone would go that far Serena fought to keep her temper 
      in check.
      "Darien trusted you Nephlite!"
      "He always was a trusting fool. But then, why wouldn't he trust me? I'm 
      reliable Nephlite, always there to straighten things out." He waved his 
      arms around. "Always there doing everything I could for him! He still 
      never noticed me!"
      He was freaking out, but Serena kept talking. "So how are you going to 
      make it look like I left with Jadeite then?" Serena gestured with her left 
      hand while the other felt behind her trying to find something she could 
      use as a weapon.
      "Well," He circled her slowly grinning, obviously proud of himself. "Since 
      Darien is on a wild goose chase right now. We'll kill you and Jadeite and 
      dispose of your bodies. Then we'll leave a note saying that you left him 
      for Jadeite." He grinned at her. "You see all that time you spent with 
      Jadeite, brought you two close together. And you realized that you loved 
      him and not Darien." He grinned. "It's all very simple."
      "You must have been pissed that you didn't get me with that car accident." 
      Serena kept her eyes on him. She felt the handle to something.
      "Yes, it was quite unfortunate. It would have been so much easier if you 
      had died then." He shook his head slowly. "But you, you're quite stubborn 
      aren't you?"
      He spoke of her as if she was nothing more than an inconvenience. She 
      gritted her teeth. "Yes I am." Her hand closed around the handle. From 
      what she could make out it was the handle to a rake.
      "It was quite sad about your baby though." He didn't sound the lest bit 
      upset. "You know, Darien would have made me godfather." He laughed.
      It was like a slap in the face and she snapped. Sent over the edge, 
      Serena's hand convulsed on the rake. "Bastard!" Enraged, she swung it at 
      him and caught him off guard she knocked the gun into the darkness. She 
      swung again and connected with the side of his head, breaking his glasses 
      and knocking him to the ground unconscious. Serena fought back the urge to 
      continue hitting him. She had to find Fabienne and check on Jadeite who 
      had been quiet and motionless for way too long. She kept the rake trained 
      on Nephlite while she looked around for Fabienne. She was nowhere in 
      sight. Quickly Serena tied Nephlite up with the pieces of rope that once 
      held her and Jadeite.
      She knelt beside her friend's lifeless body. "Jadeite. Jadeite. Look at 
      me." He didn't open his eyes. Serena felt for a pulse and was thrilled 
      when she found one. It was weak but at least it was there. She scrambled 
      around looking for the gun but couldn't find it in the dark. "Shit!" All 
      she had was the rake! Then she remembered Jadeite's knife. Serena reached 
      into his boot and pulled it out. She tucked it into the waistband of her 
      jeans then grabbed the rake again.
      Serena snuck to the door of the shed and looked out. There was no one 
      around. Where the hell was Fabienne? Serena couldn't afford getting hit 
      again. There was no telling what those two were capable of. Serena felt a 
      slight twinge of despair. They had been her friends. She'd trusted them. 
      And now...Serena touched the still bleeding bump on her head and flinched. 
      She couldn't believe she had been so stupid. Everything clicked now. Who 
      other than Nephlite would know where they were all the time? He knew the 
      phone numbers where they lived. Knew what they were doing. Knew how to 
      keep them apart. Argh! Serena snapped herself out of it. She had to get 
      moving. She looked back into the shed. She couldn't risk moving Jadeite 
      and she didn't want to move Nephlite in case he came to. The best thing 
      that she could do was to try going to the house and calling the police. 
      She looked back at them once more.
      Serena crept to a tree and tried to use it as cover while she looked 
      around. She couldn't see the other woman anywhere. Serena ran to the house 
      and peered in the windows. There was no sign of her inside either. Serena 
      was about to open the door when she heard a car. Darien! Then she stopped 
      herself. It might be Fabienne. Serena tightened her grip on the rake and 
      tried to slink as quietly as she could to the side of the house closest to 
      the driveway. She parted the branches of a shrub slightly and looked to 
      see who it was, prepared to clobber any foe she encountered.
      "Serena!" Darien jumped out of the car and ran straight to the door. He 
      pounded on it while he tried to get his keys. "Serena! Are you ok?"
      Relieved it was Darien, Serena came out of her hiding place. "Darien." She 
      held her finger to her lips trying to get him to keep quiet.
      Darien's eyes widened when he saw the state she was in. She looked like a 
      crazed Amazon. The first thing he noticed was she was running to him in 
      her bra. Her body was covered in blood and her hand was clenched on a 
      rake. Her hair was matted with dried blood and her jaw had turned an ugly 
      shade of purple. "Oh my god! Serena, what's going on?" He ran to her. 
      Darien ran his hands over her looking for where all the blood was coming 
      from. "Where are you hurt?"
      "No time to explain." She pulled him toward the shed. "Jadeite is in 
      trouble." She looked around the corner, still no sign of Fabienne. Serena 
      led the way into the shed. Inside she blinked a few times to adjust to the 
      dim light. Once her eyes were acclimatized they widened. Only Jadeite was 
      in there. "Shit! Where'd he go!" Serena tightened her grip on the rake 
      again as her eyes darted around the small room.
      Darien knelt beside his fallen friend and felt for a pulse. "He's got a 
      pulse but it's very weak." He pulled out a cell phone and dialled. "We 
      need an ambulance." He gave them the address and hung up. He turned to 
      Serena. "Tell me what's going on." He quickly pulled off his sweater and 
      replaced Serena's blood soaked shirt.
      Serena checked on Jadeite herself. "Call the police, Nephlite and Fabienne 
      are trying to kill me and Jadeite." Again she scanned the darkness. They 
      were out there somewhere.
      "Where are they?" He pulled out the phone and dialled again. He never 
      dreamed that Nephlite would go that far.
      "Put the phone down Darien." The irritatingly calm voice came from the 
      doorway. Darien didn't hang up, but dropped the phone to the ground 
      leaving the line open so that anyone on the other end could hear what was 
      going on. Luckily no one noticed.
      They turned around to find Nephlite and Fabienne standing there with the 
      gun on them. "How quickly the tables turn eh Serena?"
      Serena smiled with satisfaction when she saw the ugly bruise on the side 
      of his face from where she struck him with the rake. "Put the gun down and 
      we'll settle this like civilized people, Nephlite." Serena glared at him. 
      She wanted a piece of him and at that moment she could have torn him limb 
      from limb with her bare hands.
      Darien held her back. "Nephlite. What's is the meaning of this?" Darien 
      looked incredibly confused.
      "Darien can't you see? Serena is crazy!" He pointed her and then at 
      Jadeite. "She and Jadeite were having an affair. You see there was no 
      stalker. It was them the whole time. They've been playing you for a fool, 
      Darien."
      "You asshole!" She couldn't believe she was hearing this! He had the gall 
      to accuse her of what he was doing the whole time! Serena looked at 
      Darien. "It's him! It's been him the whole time!"
      "Jadeite had been trying to get her to live with him for months, but 
      Serena wouldn't because she was too interested in your money. Serena shot 
      Jadeite when he threatened to tell you the truth. And now she's after us 
      because we walked in on the whole thing." Nephlite's voice was calm and 
      soothing.
      Darien shook his head and unbelievingly looked at them both.
      Serena lunged at him and would have hit him except Darien clamped a hand 
      on her arm. "Is this true?" His eyes welled up.
      Her heart ached when she saw the hurt in his eyes. "Darien you know me. 
      You know I'm not like that."
      Nephlite kept his gun on Serena. "Darien, would I lie to you? I've been 
      your friend for years and have I ever lied to you?"
      "Darien! No don't listen to him!"
      Darien's jaw clenched and he shook his head. "Nephlite has never lied to 
      me."
      Serena's jaw dropped when he walked over to Nephlite. "Darien! Don't!" she 
      started to tremble uncontrollably. Darien believed Nephlite's word over 
      hers. She couldn't believe it.
      "Nothing to say, Serena?" Fabienne nearly purred.
      Serena wanted to pound the smirk off of her face, but could only look at 
      them in a state of shock. She couldn't believe that Darien would turn on 
      her like that. Serena felt utterly betrayed. Slowly, bit by bit, betrayal 
      was replaced by fury. She glared at the three of them. If Darien wasn't on 
      her side then he was the enemy as well. How could he? After all they've 
      been through? Everything that's happened to them? A solitary tear ran down 
      her cheek. Taking a deep shuddering breath, Serena steeled herself. This 
      was going to be painful.
      Then she caught Darien's eye. Darien was looking at Nephlite. He had the 
      same look in his eye as when they listened to the phone message. There was 
      that same dangerous glint sparking through them. He knew! Slowly he turned 
      and stared right at her. He was on her side.
      Relief coursed through her, but she forced it back down. Serena's gripped 
      tightened and she glared at them. She angled the rake on the ground and 
      broke off the end off so that she had just the handle. "Fine you win. But 
      I'm not giving up without a fight." She swung it a few times hoping it 
      would draw attention away from Darien. Serena waited for Darien's cue.
      For a tense moment no one moved. Then Darien lunged for the gun the same 
      moment that Serena swung at Fabienne. Serena hit her on the side of the 
      head and she fell unconscious to the ground. Satisfied that she was out, 
      Serena turned and went for Nephlite.
      Darien and Nephlite were struggling on the ground in a tangle of arms and 
      legs. She couldn't risk hitting Darien. Serena stood by helplessly 
      watching them roll around on the ground. She was so engrossed in them that 
      she didn't notice that Fabienne hadn't been knocked out.
      Fabienne shook her head and sat up. She pressed her hand against the side 
      of her head and brought it down. Her hand was covered in blood. That 
      bitch! She looked over and saw what was going on. The other woman quietly 
      got up off the ground and came up behind Serena. She was going to mess up 
      Serena's pretty little face even more. Fabienne searched the ground for a 
      weapon. She knew that she was no match for Serena while she had a rake. 
      She had seen how Serena handled herself. She knew how to protect herself. 
      Fabienne grabbed a branch from under a tree. This will do nicely.
      Serena knew Nephlite wouldn't try and shoot Darien. But Darien didn't know 
      that. She was worried that Darien might push Nephlite too far and 
      accidentally get shot. She spun around when she heard a snapping sound 
      behind her.
      Fabienne unintentionally stepped on a twig. "Merde!" She swung the branch 
      as hard as she could when Serena turned.
      Serena jumped back. "Stop it! I don't want to hurt you Fabienne!"
      She didn't care. Fabienne jumped forward and swung again catching Serena 
      in the shoulder.
      Serena flinched from the pain. Rubbing her shoulder she and Fabienne 
      circled each other slowly, trying to find another opening. Fabienne must 
      have still been unsteady from the earlier blow because she stumbled on a 
      patch of uneven ground. Serena took her chance and lifted the handle over 
      her head and struck.
      Fabienne saw it coming and swiped her branch out to deflect the blow. 
      Serena narrowly missed her head, she could feel the air move on the side 
      of her face. "I've had it with you!" Teeth bared she charged at Serena. 
      Serena tried to dodge but she managed to strike her hand. Serena dropped 
      her weapon.
      Serena watched as it fell to the ground in slow motion. She looked back at 
      Fabienne's triumphant grin. Serena gritted her teeth.
      Now Serena was no match for me without her stick. Fabienne smiled at her. 
      "So now what are you going to do?" Fabienne circled her slowly. She was 
      going to savour this moment.
      Serena turned facing her no matter where Fabienne moved. "It's not over 
      yet." If she could get her to strike at her she might be able to get her 
      to drop it. "You're so stupid. You think that a little stick is going to 
      keep me down?" Serena grinned at her challengingly. "I don't think so."
      Fabienne still smiled. "I think it will be enough!" She ran at Serena and 
      swung.
      On the ground Darien and Nephlite still struggled for control of the gun. 
      Darien managed to roll on top and pin Nephlite down, but he wouldn't let 
      go of the gun. "Why are you doing this?" Darien couldn't comprehend why 
      his best friend would go to such lengths to get rid of a girl.
      Nephlite snarled and twisted throwing Darien over. He jumped on top of him 
      and held him down. "Can't you see you fool? I'm doing this for you." He 
      punched Darien in the face. "You've lost your mind since you met her! 
      Everything is about her." His face was twisted with hatred. "It makes me 
      sick!" he looked down at Darien. "You never even noticed me for all those 
      years." He saw Darien's puzzled look and punched him again.
      Darien didn't flinch. "Fuck you!" He spit the blood in his mouth at 
      Nephlite.
      "Now is that a nice thing to say to your best friend?" Nephlite waved the 
      gun in his face. "Especially when he has a clear shot at your woman?"
      "Do it and I'll kill you with my bare hands." Darien was deadly serious.
      "But we will be together if she's out of the way, Darien." Nephlite's 
      voice had an odd sound to it.
      Darien glared at him. "What are you talking about?"
      "I've done everything for you, scheduled your concerts, interviews. Took 
      care of the petty little things. I did everything! And how do you repay 
      me? You run off with the first little slut that open her legs for you!" He 
      punched Darien again, the action just made him feel better. "I have loved 
      you for most of my life and you have never once noticed me."
      Darien was sick to his stomach. He tried to get his mind around the 
      concept. Nephlite was in love with him. It wasn't possible. He struggled 
      harder to get out from underneath him. He saw Nephlite lift the gun and 
      point in the direction of the struggling women.
      "Just one pull." He grinned. "And you'll be mine."
      "Serena!" Darien ripped his arm out from under Nephlite's knee and pulled 
      his arm just as he pulled the trigger.
      A shot rang out in the darkness.
      The first thought that entered her mind was that Darien had been shot. She 
      completely forgot about the fact that she was about to get her head 
      smashed in. Serena turned to look and almost ran to him when she saw 
      Fabienne. Serena stared at her.
      She had stopped just as she was about to hit Serena. Her eyes widened and 
      she dropped the branch. Fabienne stumbled forward into Serena. They both 
      fell over. Shocked Serena pushed her off and looked down at herself. She 
      saw fresh blood had poured out onto her stomach over Jadeite's dried 
      blood. But she didn't feel any new pain. She looked at Fabienne's pale 
      face and glazing eyes, she had been shot! Relieved that it wasn't Darien 
      that was shot she turned Fabienne over on the ground and ripped off the 
      other woman's shirt and pressed it on the gushing wound on her chest. It 
      didn't look good.
      Darien only saw both women go to the ground and thought that Serena had 
      been shot. Panic and rage coursed through his veins. "Serena!" he punched 
      Nephlite hard enough to knock him off balance. Darien kicked him off and 
      stood up. He looked at him. Nephlite sat on the grass laughing 
      hysterically and staring wildly into space. Gritting his teeth, Darien 
      prised the gun from Nephlite's shaking hands. Darien wanted so much to 
      continue hitting him but he stopped himself. He needed to get to Serena. 
      Needed to make sure she was alright.
      Darien ran over to her and saw her trying to help Fabienne. Darien was 
      relieved to see her moving about. She was holding a sweater on Fabienne's 
      chest. He took one look at the woman on the ground and saw that it was 
      over. He put a hand on her shoulder. "Chre, she's gone."
      Serena looked at her and stood up, completely numb. She was barely aware 
      of Darien's strong arms holding her.
      Darien wrapped his arms around her cold body and held her. "It's over 
      Serena." It's finally over.
      "No!" Nephlite's handsome features were distorted with anger and hatred. 
      "It's not over!" He jumped to his feet and ran at them.
      Darien saw things as if they were happening in slow motion. He lifted the 
      gun and grabbed Serena, trying to get her out of the way. She resisted and 
      pulled something out of the waistband of her jeans. Then, before he could 
      get a clean shot at him, Nephlite slammed into her.
      Serena had reacted without even thinking. All she knew was that Nephlite 
      was in a psychotic rage and she had to protect Darien and herself. She 
      remembered Jadeite's knife and flicked out the blade just in time to 
      impale Nephlite in the stomach. Sickeningly effortless, the razor-sharp 
      blade slid in all the way to the hilt. Horrified Serena let go as Darien 
      pulled her back.
      She saw the look of surprise on Nephlite's face as he slid to the ground 
      on his knees. He stared at them, his eyes flickered from Serena to Darien. 
      "Darien..." Nephlite struggled to form the word. He took another gasping 
      breath and fell face first into the grass.
      Shuddering Serena buried her face in the warmth of Darien's chest. He 
      wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly to him. Somewhere in the 
      distance she heard sirens peeling, but she didn't care. It was over.