
      Never Say Goodbye


      Author: aria


      Rated: R



      Epilogue
      An hour later they arrived in Paris. Serena sat back in the limo and 
      looked out at the familiar sights zip past.
      "Well stop off at home first and get Rini settled. Ok?"
      "Ok."
      Darien carried Rini up as Serena trailed behind looking at everything. Not 
      much had changed in his apartment. Serena noticed a few new things here 
      and there but other than that it was exactly the same.
      That was until they reached her old room. Darien opened the door and 
      everyone jumped out and whispered,
      "Surprise."
      The room had been changed into a beautiful nursery decorated in pastel 
      pinks and white. Toys covered the shelves and floor making it look like a 
      babys dreamland.
      "Wow." Serena gave everyone hugs. "Thank you everyone. Its beautiful."
      Amy, Taiki, Mina, Luna and Colette all smiled in response.
      Everyone gathered around to take a look at the little girl who was getting 
      all this. With all the commotion, Rini woke up and stared at all the 
      unfamiliar faces. She grabbed at Darien and started crying.
      "Aww. I guess its too much for her." Amy peeked over Dariens shoulder. 
      "I cant believe Im an aunt!"
      Darien handed her over to Serena. "She probably wants you."
      Serena cradled her." I think shes hungry."
      Darien knew what that meant and he herded everyone to the door. "Everyone 
      out!" he shut the door behind them.
      Serena settled in the rocking chair and looked up at Darien.
      He smiled back. "What?"
      "Youre comfortable with this?"
      "Yup." He moved so he was behind the chair. Darien massaged her shoulders 
      while Rini fed. "I want you to know that I admire you for doing this 
      alone."
      "You admire me?"
      "Yes, it must have been hard for you." He felt guilty for not being there 
      for her. "Tell me about everything. Everything that happened after you 
      left."
      Serena sighed. It seemed like eons ago. "After seeing her in the 
      apartment, I got on a plane and flew to London. My mother is there and I 
      needed someone to talk to. I called Luna and quit then tried to find a job 
      in London." That was a complete nightmare. "It took me a few months but 
      finally I managed to get a job at the company you took over. With the job 
      and mothers help I was able to scrape some money together before Rini was 
      born to get an apartment."
      "Yet you offered to quit just because of me."
      "I figured I could always move back in with my mom."
      Darien knelt at her side. "You should have called me. I could have helped"
      Serena stared into his eyes. "And would you have said if I called up and 
      said that I had just given birth to your daughter and I needed some help?"
      He sighed and rested a hand on her knee. "I probably wouldnt have 
      believed you."
      "See?"
      "It doesnt matter now. What is important is that were here together and 
      were a family."
      They emerged not too long later and let Rini loose on Auntie Amy and the 
      rest. The room was filled with giggles and laughter when Amy pulled Serena 
      to one side.
      "Serena I was wondering..." Amy fidgeted with her hair.
      "What is it Amy?" Serena smiled at the younger girl.
      "Could you help me out with a fashion show tomorrow?"
      Serena was delighted. "Of course! Whose show is it?"
      Amy blushed greatly. "Mine."
      She was thrilled now. Serena gave Amy a big hug. "Congratulations! What do 
      you want me to help with?"
      "Well you did such a good job on that show you did for Luna, I was hoping 
      that youd look things over for me."
      "Definitely!"
      "How does tomorrow morning, before the show starts, sound?"
      "Ok."
      They all enjoyed the huge meal that Colette prepared. And Serena was 
      helping her clean up when Luna crept into the kitchen.
      "Serena you have to come and see this."
      The three of them walked into the room to see Darien rolling around on the 
      floor in one of his very expensive suits with Rini making roaring noises.
      Serena tried to stifle a laugh. It was such a cute sight. Everyone cheered 
      Rini on as she crawled over and shoved her dad. Darien fell over with an 
      over dramatized thud. Pleased with herself she sat down with a plop and 
      applauded herself.
      Everyone cheered again.
      Sighing happily, Serena leaned on the doorframe and watched as father and 
      daughter played for a while longer. For the first time in ages she was 
      truly happy. As the light in the sky grew dim, Darien herded everyone out 
      of the apartment, declaring that it was Rinis bedtime.
      With everyone gone, Darien shut the door and smiled at Serena. "God that 
      quite the gathering huh?" he gathered Rini close and chuckled when the 
      tired toddler let out an enormous yawn.
      Serena held out her arms. "Shes pretty tired. I should get her bathed and 
      in bed."
      Darien nodded but held on to her. "Let me help." His smile softened into 
      something almost wistful. "Ive missed so much."
      At those four soft little words, the last remnants of the stone wall 
      around her heart crumbled. "Oh Darien." Serena walked into his embrace and 
      the three of them held each other. Crying softly, she let herself lean 
      into his strong body. It felt so incredibly wonderful to be held by him 
      again. "Can you forgive me?"
      Darien release his hold a little and gazed lovingly down at her tear 
      streaked face. "Forgive you for what?"
      Serena took a hiccupping breath. "For not having enough faith in you. In 
      us."
      Darien sighed. He had been through that all; the anger, the sadness, the 
      bitter frustration of trying to figure out what had happened. Now all he 
      wanted was to start over. "It doesnt matter, sweet heart. We found each 
      other again."
      She closed her soft, tranquil eyes so completely thankful that she had 
      found someone as wonderful as Darien. Smiling she looked up at him again. 
      "Come on lets give Rini a bath."
      ----
      Darien looked up at Serena, drenched from head to toe. "How do you do this 
      and stay dry?"
      Serena was laughing so hard from the sight that she could barely stand.
      "It not funny!" Rini splashed him again, catching him in the face.
      "Yes it is. And there is no way of giving her a bath and staying dry. I 
      bet you regret not taking my advice now huh?" she nodded pointedly at his 
      silk tie and suit trousers.
      He shrugged, "I can always buy another." He pulled Rini out of the bath 
      and wrapped her in a big fluffy towel. "Now what do we do?"
      Serena rolled her eyes. "Follow me." She took Rini from him and showed him 
      how to diaper her and everything.
      "There!" triumphant, Darien held her up for Serenas approval.
      Rini giggled and kicked her legs, successfully kicking off the diaper, 
      much to the chagrin of her father.
      Serena rolled her eyes for the millionth time. It was going to be a very 
      long night.
      ----
      Serena rolled over the next morning and encountered a wonderfully warm 
      body at her side. Feeling absolutely fantastic, she wrapped her arms 
      around him and kissed his shoulder blade. Things were absolutely getting 
      better minute-by-minute.
      Darien smiled to himself before turning over to face the love of his life. 
      "Good morning, Serena."
      "Good morning, Darien." She leaned forward expecting a kiss, but was 
      stunned when he practically vaulted off the bed. "Where are you going?"
      "To give Rini a kiss and head to the office. I have a few things to take 
      care of." He stopped at the door then headed back to the bed, laughing at 
      her put out expression. "But not before I give you a kiss, of course."
      That brought a smile to her face. It almost made up for the face that he 
      had to go to the office. "When will you be back?"
      "Youll see me later today." He smiled mysteriously. "Remember you have to 
      meet with Amy today."
      Serena swiped at him with a pillow. "Of course I remember." She got out of 
      bed and followed him into Rinis room. They stood next to the crib and 
      silently watched their little girl sleep peacefully. Serena pushed him out 
      of the room. She saw the look in his eye and knew he was going to poke at 
      her just so he could play with her before going to work. "Now go and get 
      dressed before youre late." She headed into the kitchen to fix some 
      breakfast.
      ----
      With Darien gone and out of the way, Serena took a quick shower and got 
      dressed before Rini woke up. Then she took care of Rini and headed to the 
      show site. Serena walked in and sighed, it was where she did that first 
      show for Luna. It seemed so long ago now. She wandered through before 
      encountering anyone.
      Amy stood in the middle of a crowd looking very anxious. But her 
      expression quickly turned to a radiant smile the moment she saw Serena and 
      Rini.
      "Serena! Rini!" she ran over and gave them a quick kiss and a hug.
      "Amy, whats the matter?"
      "One of my models cant make it. And shes the one set to wear the last 
      dress!"
      Serena shook her head. What was with models these days? "Isnt there 
      anyone who can do it?"
      Amy shook her head vehemently. "Ive called everyone. And so has Luna." 
      She looked dangerously close to tears. "The shows going to be ruined."
      Serena gave her a comforting hug. "I wish I could help."
      Amy instantly brightened. "You can! You use to model. Can you please go on 
      for me?"
      Serena shook her head and hugged Rini to her like a shield. "Amy, I cant. 
      What about Rini? Besides look at me." She ran a free hand through her 
      hair. "Im a complete mess."
      "Luna can take Rini for a little while. And makeup and hair can do the 
      rest." She grabbed onto Serenas hand. "Please! You know I wouldnt ask 
      you if I had someone else."
      Serena looked at her friends pathetic face and nodded. "Ok. Ill do it."
      "Thank you, thank you, thank you." Amy dragged her over to a chair and two 
      stylists appeared instantly at Serenas side. Amy continued to talk as 
      they did their work. "The theme is a masquerade. Every model, male and 
      female will be wearing one of these. " She held out a fabulously lavish 
      mask for Serena to look at. "As the last model, you will be wearing, 
      this." Amy grabbed a gorgeous white gown from the rack next to them. "And 
      you will be going out alone. Will that be a problem?"
      "None whatsoever." Serena tried not to squint when the makeup artist 
      attacked her eyelashes with mascara. "How long before I go on?"
      "About an hour." Amy hugged her again, to the annoyance the artists. "How 
      can I thank you?"
      Serena smiled wryly. "Im sure Ill think of something."
      Laughing, Amy ran off to check on the rest of the preparations.
      Luna stood nearby with Rini while Serena was fussed over. The 45 minutes 
      it took to get her ready flew by. When they were done Serena looked as 
      though she fell out of a picture book about regency England.
      She stood in front of the mirror and looked at her reflection. She nodded 
      as she gazed at the image she made in the full white gown. If she didnt 
      know better she would have sworn that it was a wedding dress.
      Shaking the silly thought away, she twirled around to look at the back. 
      The plain satin was embroidered with a bright splash of colour. Hand 
      stitched roses twined their way up the back of the dress, up the sides of 
      the v split and to the shoulders. Serena ran her fingers over the 
      intricate design. Amy did a wonderful job.
      Serena was distracted by the figure that rushed to her side. "Youre on, 
      Serena."
      She followed Amy backstage and took a deep breath while Amy fiddled with 
      the dress.
      "Heres your mask." She handed her the mask and ran her fingers through 
      Serenas hair. With a smile and an artistic flourish, she stepped out of 
      the way. "The rooms all yours."
      Serena took the handle of the mask and brought it up to her face and 
      strode onto the runway. Through the bright lights and flashes, she managed 
      to catch a glimpse of a figure at the end. A little puzzled she continued 
      to where the tuxedo clad figure stood.
      He turned to her. He wore a full-faced mask so she couldnt see who he 
      was, though through the eyes of the mask she could see he was smiling. He 
      swept out his arm and took her hand in his, twirling her to the delight of 
      the audience.
      Thinking that this was part of the show that Amy forgot to tell her about, 
      Serena went with it. He dipped her low and bent his head to hers.
      Serena looked at him again and gasped. Those eyes. She knew them very 
well.
      He pulled her back up and then knelt down in front of her, on one knee. He 
      pulled off the mask and let it drop to the stage.
      Darien smiled up at Serena. "Serena, this is long overdue." He kissed her 
      hand and reached into his jacket pocket pulling out a small black box. "I 
      should have asked this over a year ago when I first realized you were the 
      only one for me."
      Serena covered a gasp with her fingers when he flipped the lid open. 
      Inside a brilliantly shining ring sat in the dark velvet, waiting for her 
      finger.
      Darien pulled out of its nest and slipped it onto her finger. "Serena, 
      would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?" his heart stopped when 
      she stood there staring at him with big blank eyes.
      Serena heard the words and, for a moment, couldnt find the words to 
      express her joy. Finally, she snapped herself out of her trance and smiled 
      at the anxious man on his knees. "Yes. I will."
      Darien stood up and gathered her up I his arms. "There is one condition 
      you will have to keep with, you realize."
      Serena was too happy. Nothing was too much to ask for. "Anything."
      He lowered his head to hers once again. "Never say goodbye again." And 
      with the crowd cheering and flash bulbs popping, he kissed her.
      The End
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