
      Complicated - SR 2


      Author: aria


      Rated: R



      Chapter 2
      Once month later.
      Serena opened up her eyes and looked up at the shimmering light of the sun 
      bouncing playfully off the warped mirror of tropical waves.
      Kicking her legs, she moved fluidly through the cool water watching the 
      vividly coloured fish flash through the coral.
      She felt so calm in the beautiful serene silence of the sea.
      And so alone.
      Serena rolled over onto her back and watched the silvery bubbles flatten 
      and waggle their way up to the surface.
      It had been a few weeks now that she had left him on the ship. And this 
      had been the first time since then that she let herself think about him.
      Luna insisted that she took some vacation time after the last job after 
      hearing what had gone on. It seemed that Luna wasnt quite so acquiescent 
      when it came to near death experiences as she and Demando were. She 
      insisted that they took some R&R. So here she was in the Caribbean with 
      enough time on her hands to think about the one person she didnt want to 
      think about.
      She knew it was stupid of her to leave Darien like that. She knew that 
      they were on the threshold of recuperating their relationship. It would 
      have been so easy to just kiss and makeup and then live life happily 
      ever after.
      But would they?
      That was the thought that had nagged her the entire night, after she was 
      able to form a coherent thought once again, of course.
      Serena trembled at the thought of what Darien was able to do to her. And 
      again when she remembered what he had done to her the last time that they 
      tried to live a fairytale. Things just never worked the way that she 
      wanted.
      What ever made them think that they, of all people, would live like a 
      normal couple? They got up everyday, showered went to work and then came 
      home; a monotonous, routine that everyone seemed to strive for. Of course 
      every time they went to work it was never certain if they would be coming 
      back.
      But was anything for certain? After what happened to them, Serena sorely 
      doubted it. Who was to say that anyone was coming home? Anyone could have 
      a freak accident.
      Nothing was ever written in stone.
      When her lungs started to burn for a breath, she started her ascent.
      She broke through the crystalline surface in time to find her phone 
      ringing and Demando fast asleep in the sun.
      Shaking her head, Serena hefted herself onto the small craft and slapped 
      at his reddening skin. "Youre gonna peel." Grinning at his aggravated 
      look, she reached for the phone and stretched, "Hayes."
      "Serena, luv! How is the vacation coming along?"
      She sat down on the bench and kicked her feet up while she squeezed the 
      remaining sea water out of her hair with her other hand. "Great, though 
      Id much rather be working."
      "Too much work will kill you, dear."
      Serenas lips twisted into a wry grin. "How true."
      A sigh broke the silence on the other end. "I just called to tell you two 
      that its time for your physicals."
      Serena looked over at Demando and rolled her eyes. She hated the six month 
      physical. But Luna felt it was necessary to know that her employees were 
      in top shape and that none of them had any illegal substances in their 
      systems.
      That was her policy. No drugs of any sort were tolerated while someone was 
      working for her. There was too much risk.
      "Ok, well be back as soon as we can." Serena hung up and shook her head.
      "Whats the matter, querida?" Demando was busy trying to sooth his already 
      damaged skin.
      "Physical time." She shoved at him when he grinned and wrapped an arm 
      around her waist. "Not that kind of physical you dope."
      He sighed and tried to look hurt. "I can hope cant I?"
      She scowled marring her fine features. "No, you cant. Im out of the 
      relationship game, remember?" She took her place at the helm and turned 
      her back on him.
      "Ah, yes. How silly of me to forget about that blue eyed cop youre in 
      love with."
      Serena didnt bother answering. Instead she accelerated hard enough to 
      almost knock him out of the swiftly moving boat.
      ----
      Serena sat and waited in Lunas office for the results to her tests. After 
      being poked and prodded and made to do some idiotic tests, she didnt 
      really feel like driving home. Besides, with her being there it seemed to 
      make the doctors work faster. It had nothing with her going in and glaring 
      at them, of course.
      Demando dozed on the couch next to her. He couldnt have been bothered to 
      go home either.
      She got up and wandered around the room.
      She hated waiting. And if there was anything she hated more than waiting, 
      it was waiting for test results. They always made her edgy. She always 
      feared the worst when it came to physicals. It was stupid and Serena knew 
      it, but she couldnt help but be nervous. She knew she was healthy and had 
      nothing to fear, but just the chance of a doctor finding something 
      terminal freaked the heck out of her.
      She took a few more rounds of the room before she heard the door swish 
      open.
      Serena tapped Demando on the shoulder when Luna walked into the room with 
      a couple of folders.
      "Here you are. I dont expect that anything is amiss with either of you. 
      But here they are anyways." She handed them over.
      Serena took hers and flipped it around in her hands before she read it 
      over.
      Everything was normal. Blood pressure, heart rate, no drugs...she read 
      some more and gasped.
      Demando looked over when he heard the gasp and saw that she had paled 
      considerably. "Serena? Whats the matter?" Concerned for his friend, he 
      walked over to her.
      Serena read the page once again; sure that she read it wrong. With tears 
      in her eyes, Serena looked up at her two friends and was so choked up that 
      she could only whisper, "Congratulate me. Im going to be a mom."
      ----
      Darien walked into his apartment and slammed the door behind him. What a 
      horrible day. Things just kept going from bad to worse. He pulled off his 
      coat and slung it onto the chair.
      "Bad day?"
      And even worse.
      Darien turned toward the sultry voice and didn't recognize the 
      well-dressed woman lurking in the darkness of his living room. "Who the 
      hell are you?"
      She steeped into the dim light and pulled off the dark sunglasses. "I'm 
      hurt. You don't remember me?"
      Darien took off his coat and lung it onto the chair before he took a good 
      long look. "Setsuna? Is that you?" It was strange to see her without the 
      tight attire. Tonight she was wearing a well-tailored pantsuit, a far cry 
      from the vinyl he remembered her wearing. "What brings you this way?"
      "I'm happy to see that you at least remember me." Setsuna strode across 
      the room and stopped inches away from him. "I was in town for a 
      conference," she pointed at her outfit, "Hence the clothing."
      Darien backup instinctively. He hated having anyone invade his personal 
      space. "It's too late in the day for games. What do you want?"
      "Still don't like talking huh? Well this should get you started. Have you 
      seen Serena lately?"
      He felt like she slugged him in the gut. He hadn't seen or heard from her 
      since the ship. Darien's eyes narrowed. "No. Why?"
      "No one has seen her, or heard from her for that matter." She jabbed him 
      in the chest with her glasses. "I'm just here to make sure that your Fed 
      friends haven't done anything to her."
      He roughly shoved her hand away. "Don't be stupid. They couldn't catch her 
      if they wanted to. And at this moment they don't want her." Anxiety 
      started to gnaw at his gut even as he said the words. Even if the Feds 
      didn't have her, there were more than a handful of people he could think 
      of that would love to have her out of their way. "When was the last time 
      you heard from her?"
      "Just before we left the hotel. She said she had something to check up on. 
      I'm assuming that something was you." She eyed him carefully. "Am I 
right?"
      Darien waved the question away. "And you haven't heard from her since?" he 
      was getting worried now. Maybe he should have searched for her more 
      thoroughly and not assumed that she could take care of herself. What if 
      someone had taken her in the night? The thought just twisted the knife of 
      guilt deeper in his gut.
      He flicked on a light and strode over to the phone on the desk. He quickly 
      punched a few numbers in and waited while it rang. "Hey, Stuart. I need to 
      ask you a question."
      Rafe's voice was groggy. "Spencer? Do you know what the hell time it is?"
      "I'm still up."
      "Don't you ever sleep?"
      "No. I need to ask you something."
      The voice on the other end sighed. "Make it quick."
      "Is there anyone looking for Serena Hayes?"
      "What? Do you mean other than everyone drooling over the pictures of her 
      on file?"
      Darien ran his hand over his face and made a mental note to hide the file. 
      "I'm serious."
      The voice grew serious now. "Not that I know of. What's the matter?"
      "Just wondering. Thanks." and he hung up. Darien turned to Setsuna, "No 
      one's after her. She's probably on a job or on vacation or something. You 
      know what she's like when she's trying to relax, she disappears from the 
      world." The words sounded desperate even to him.
      Setsuna wrung her hands in her first real show of anxiety. "I don't think 
      so. Luna would know about it and besides I've already asked her."
      Darien pulled out a cigarette, "Do you mind?"
      "Not at all. I could use one myself."
      He handed her one and tried to think of what was going on. On impulse he 
      took his cell phone out of his coat pocket and punched the button for her 
      cell letting it ring ten times. He knew that she always got to her phone 
      before ten rings. There was no answer so he called her other cell phone, 
      then her home phone knowing full well that if she wasn't answering her 
      cells then she wouldn't be answering that one either.
      Swearing under his breath he dialled a number he hadn't used in a long 
      time. "Luna? It's Darien. I was wondering if you know where Serena is."
      "Darien." Luna wasn't expecting this, though she should have known better. 
      It did involve Serena. "No I don't. I was hoping that you would." She 
      paused a moment wondering if she should bring up what they had learned 
      just before she disappeared but thought better of it. "We're getting 
      concerned over here."
      Darien knew what that meant. 'Concerned' coming from Luna was enough for 
      anyone else to go into full-fledged panic. And that's what he was doing at 
      that very moment. "I'm coming over."
      Luna knew better than to argue. "I'll be waiting."
      Darien hung up and tossed the phone onto the couch. He walked over to the 
      closet and pulled out a suitcase. Then like a tornado, tore apart the 
      apartment gathering what he would need.
      In a few minutes he was packed and ready.
      He looked over at a stunned Setsuna, who was still reeling from his 
      packing technique. "Feel like a little trip?"
      ----
      Darien got out of the cab and looked up at the cold stone building and 
      felt the all too familiar tug of sadness as memories came flooding back to 
      him. He and Serena had lived here for the short time they were together 
      and everything he saw was reminding him of that.
      Sucking it up, he walked through the entrance and nodded at the night 
      guard.
      "Mr. Spencer?" The guard looked a little confused as Darien strode past.
      "Hi Pete. Have you seen Ms. Hayes around lately?"
      He shook his head. "No sir. I haven't seen her in quite a while."
      Darien's mind was going overtime now. Where the hell was she? He patted 
      the other man on the shoulder. "Thanks."
      "It's nice to see you again sir." Pete called to his retreating back.
      Darien took the all too slow elevator up to the penthouse then stood in 
      front of the door, afraid of what he might find.
      He chewed on his thumbnail a moment before using the key he was thankful 
      he was too pig headed to throw out.
      Taking a deep breath he walked in.
      He wasn't sure if he was happy or upset that the room was in perfect 
      order. There weren't any signs of a struggle, but it could have just meant 
      that whatever happened to her didn't happen there.
      Darien pulled out his gun, just to be on the safe side, and walked through 
      the apartment. Everything was as he remembered. Plush beige carpet, light 
      coloured furniture, curios collected during their adventures decorated the 
      walls and tables. He stopped in front of a picture and smiled. He 
      remembered that day well.
      In the photo he was carrying Serena piggyback style and walking down a 
      cobblestone street in a small town in Italy. They were both laughing at 
      the camera, which was being held by a young man, if he remembered 
      correctly. They had just recovered an emerald the size of his fist and 
      returned it to its rightful owner and were celebrating with a little alone 
      time.
      Laughing a little, he ran his fingers over the image. It had been such a 
      wonderful day.
      Darien walked on.
      Nothing was disturbed in any of the rooms.
      Completely frustrated and not to mention befuddled by the lack of progress 
      he was making, he headed to the bedroom and flopped onto the bed, burying 
      his head into the sweet smelling pillows.
      Darien pulled his head back. Did he hear rustling? Experimentally, he 
      pushed at the pillow again and it rustled. Puzzled, he reached under it 
      and found an envelope.
      On the front was one word.
      Darien.
      Darien instantly recognized Serena's writing and tore it open.
      Darien,
      I knew you would come here. It's nice to know that we can still anticipate 
      each other, huh? I need you to meet me at the Colosseum in Rome in two 
      days.
      Please keep it quiet.
      Serena.
      Darien just stared at the note for a moment, wondering what the hell she 
      had to talk to him about. It must have been something big to have to go 
      through all this trouble to get him out to the apartment. He could only 
      guess why she wanted him to keep it quiet.
      Sighing, he folded up the letter and stuffed it into the pocket inside of 
      his coat, grabbed his bag and walked out the door.
      ----
      The sun was high in the sky when he arrived in Rome. He put and hand over 
      his face to shield himself from the glare.
      Man he needed some sleep. Groggy and yawning, he hailed a cab and waited 
      until one pulled up. Darien stuffed the bag in first then climbed in. 
      "Colosseum per favore." leaning back he enjoyed the air conditioning for 
      the rest of the ride.
      No too long later, after much swearing and honking from the driver, they 
      pulled up to the colossal building.
      Darien tossed the driver a few bills, mumbled his thanks and hauled his 
      bag and himself out the tiny back seat. He might have been impressed by 
      the sheer size and beauty of the stone monolith, if he hadn't been so 
      tired and worried about Serena.
      Darien slung his bag over his shoulder and filtered in with the rest of 
      the tourists and looked around at all the people crowded in there.
      How in the world was he going to find her in all this? He walked past 
      several groups who were getting an impromptu lecture on Roman history in 
      the corresponding languages. Sighing, he leaned against a stone pillar and 
      looked around, knowing that Serena would find him before he found her.
      ----
      Serena smiled. She saw him the moment he walked into the building. Of 
      course he wouldnt have spotted her in her latest incarnation. With long 
      black hair and dark sunglasses, she doubted that even Luna would have 
      recognized her in the crowd.
      Serena took a look around at the throngs of people crowded everywhere. On 
      the far wall she could see the familiar figure of Jadeite smiling and 
      talking to some women. She shook her head and mouthed the words, Im 
      telling Raye, to him and laughed when he shook his head vehemently.
      Thankful for his presence, Serena made her way over to where Darien was 
      waiting. She knew she would have to tell him sooner or later. But even the 
      fact that they had once been engaged didn't ease her apprehension. She 
      simply did not know how he was going to react to his impending fatherhood. 
      Thats why she called up Jadeite. She trusted him and so did Darien.
      So she devised this insane plan just so she could talk to him. Suddenly 
      she wasn't sure if she wanted to go through with it. What if he turned her 
      away?
      Worse. What if he insisted they get married? She didn't want to push him 
      into a loveless marriage just for the sake of a child.
      She smiled wryly, well not entirely loveless.
      Serenas already painfully slow progress creaked to a shuddering halt.
      No, she couldn't do it.
      Serena turned around and started walking away, but made the mistake of 
      looking over at Jadeite.
      He smiled encouragingly, gesturing toward Darien.
      Serena stopped again and took a deep breath. She knew how he felt about 
      her situation. if she didn't tell him, Jadeite would. She already had to 
      sit through his lecture of how she should have told him the moment she 
      found out.
      Closing her eyes and shaking he tension from her shoulders, she started 
      toward him again.
      ----
      Darien watched as tourist after weary tourist trudged past him and checked 
      his watch. Hed been there almost an hour now and there was no sign of the 
      blonde haired beauty.
      He tipped his head back and let his sunglasses slide back up his nose. 
      Hed give her a few more minutes then he was leaving.
      He fiddled with his watch for a moment and thought back to when he had his 
      last full night's sleep.
      He laughed, chuckling to himself. What full night's sleep? He couldnt 
      even remember the last time he slept more than four hours in a row. There 
      was the time when he was following Serena around. She kept him so busy 
      that he didnt even see home for years. Then after they got together they 
      were both so busy that they never had time to sleep. And now he just 
      couldn't stand being in bed alone for too long.
      Darien sighed and tried to relax. Here he was about to see her again and 
      he felt like hell. He ran his hand over his stubbly face. And dammit he 
      probably looked even worse.
      Cursing his impatience, when it came to Serena, Darien looked up in time 
      to see the crowd part to reveal a striking raven-haired beauty.
      Oddly enough, it looked as though she was staring straight at him.
      Too tired to do anything, Darien just stared back at her. He studied her 
      casually for a moment. Lean, lithe body, well dressed, and the longest 
      legs he'd seen since...his eyes narrowed.
      His suspicions were confirmed the moment she started walking toward him. 
      The graceful steps and seductive swing of her hips, the same little swing 
      she denied existed, gave her away.
      It was Serena.
      "Buon giorno, signore."
      "Hey Serena." he leaned down and picked up his bag before following her. 
      "So what's up?"
      Serena was still a little apprehensive about telling him. After a moment 
      of just looking at his handsome face, she nodded. "Let's go somewhere 
      quiet to talk." She quickly turned around and led the way out of the 
      building.
      Darien knew something was up. Serena was so tense, very unlike her usual 
      calm self. And it wasnt how she looked. She looked as polished as ever. 
      There was just a vibe he was getting from her.
      Darien shook his head. I guess some things you just dont lose. He 
      followed like a little terrier pup, back out into the sun and across the 
      street. Darien took her hand just as they crossed the busy street to the 
      Parco Traiano and stopped her from going any further.
      "Sere, are you ok? You dont seem yourself." His indigo eyes flashed as he 
      peered intently into her beautiful face. He watched her a moment then let 
      his eyes wander up to delve into her shining crystalline ones. "Are you in 
      danger?" Darien could feel his stomach tighten another notch at the 
      thought. Who ever dared to threaten her would have hell to pay. "Who is 
      it?"
      Serena managed a little smile. He was so sweet. "No ones after me, 
      Darien."
      He relaxed a little. "Then whats the matter?"
      "Can we walk?" she took a step before he even answered. Somehow keeping on 
      the move, kept her courage up. She walked out onto the lush green carpet 
      of grass and found the way that the supple ground squished under her feet 
      quite invigorating.
      Darien obliged her, keeping up with easy strides of his long legs. Maybe 
      she was uneasy because of him? He snuck a sideways glance at the dark wig 
      she wore and tried not to smile. She looked fantastic. He was about to 
      tell her so when she turned to him. She looked so focussed and intense 
      that whatever he was going to say flew out of his mind. "What is it?" 
      Darien waited for her to answer, but all he could hear from her was her 
      delicate breathing. "Serena?"
      Serena looked at him. This was Darien. This was the same man that she use 
      to catch caterpillars with in elementary school, the same guy she had a 
      crush on in high school and the same man that risked his life to keep an 
      eye on her for all those years. Darien, the man she loved with all her 
      heart.
      He would be thrilled, wouldnt he? And why wouldnt he be? They were going 
      to have a baby.
      A little bundle of joy.
      A constantly crying bundle of joy.
      A constantly pooping, constantly crying, bundle of joy.
      Serena ran her hand over her face. What was she thinking? Hed freak out 
      and walk out forever.
      Feeling her bravery getting ready to pack up and high tail it, she looked 
      over at Jadeite for some sort of help. She had to get out of there.
      Darien instantly felt her mood shift. He could feel her withdraw and 
      instinctively he put an arm around her waist. "Serena, you know you can 
      tell me anything." He held on to her when he felt her start struggle a 
      little.
      Serena turned in his arm and looked up at him marvelling at how handsome 
      he was. She couldnt believe that even all that they had been through 
      together just the sight of him sent the breath rushing right out of her 
      lungs. She loved the way that his hair was as dark as and gleamed like a 
      ravens wing, how his eyes were an amazing shade of blue she had never 
      seen anywhere else before. She went over his good traits one by one. He 
      was kind, noble, truthful, smart...she sighed, and the most amazing man 
      she had ever encountered.
      Serena found herself hoping that the baby would take after him. And he had 
      every right to be there and watch every one of those traits develop in his 
      child.
      Serena sucked in a breath, "Darien"
      During their walk they wandered into a large group of people just standing 
      around talking by some of the street performers. Just as she started to 
      speak, she felt a light tug at her shoulder bag. The next thing she knew 
      her bag slipped off her shoulder and was in the arms of a young boy 
      running as fast as he could through the crowd.
      "You little" Serena took off after him. He had sliced right through the 
      straps! She had the doctors report in it, as well as some ultrasound 
      photos that she wasnt about to let fall into the hands of some street 
      vermin.
      "Serena!" Darien was close on her heels. He could easily see the boy 
      swerving in and out of the crowd. He looked at Serenas determined 
      expression and knew that something important had to be in her bag.
      Serena darted across the street in time to miss the changing traffic 
      lights, while the typical Roman driver narrowly missed Darien.
      Shouts and insults were traded as he stood trapped on the other side of 
      the car. Darien kicked at the car as it picked up speed again. "Idiot!" He 
      ran into the crowd that had gathered on the other side and scanned the 
      area for Serena.
      Dark haired women were everywhere and he silently cursed Serena for 
      picking today of all days to wear a disguise to blend in. After much 
      swearing and a couple of false alarms, he managed to spot her running into 
      an alley.
      He picked up the pace and saw them running up the stairs to the top of the 
      building. He quickly followed suit, heart pounding and breathing getting 
      laboured. If that little worm touched her...hed have some serious begging 
      to do if he wanted to draw another breath.
      Darien willed himself up the last few stairs and back into the glaring 
      sun. But even the blinding light didnt keep him from seeing a sight that 
      chilled him to his very core.
      He arrived in time to see another man appear from the other side of the 
      building. They took one look at him and dove at Serena, sending all three 
      of them off the roof.
      "Serena!" That roar managed to rip its way up through his constricted 
      throat and Darien ran to the edge and jumped off after them.
      A pair of arms grabbed him and dragged him back before he got too far. 
      Laying face first on the hot tarmac he shouted after her again.
      "Serena!"