Shady Business by Silver MoonAngel Rated R -------------------------------------------------------------------- STANDARD DISCLAIMER APPLIES AN: After this chapter there is going to be one more chapter and an epilogue. Thanks to all of those who read this little story of mine, and even more to those who reviewed! The lyrics that appear in this chapter are from Fleetwood Mac's "Say You Will" from the album "Say You Will". -------------------------------------------------------------------- Almost 6 months later December 5th * * * Serena fingered the fine gauze of the costume Sam had insisted she wear. She didn't really want to do this, but she had promised Sam before she had the babies that she would come. Serena looked at Carlin and smiled. Carlin wanted to be here as much as Serena did. Both women would have rather stay in Michigan with their babies. Serena wanted to just watch them sleep, now that they didn't wake up once at night. A tear glistened in her eye and she stubbornly held it in. She didn't want to cry before Sam's shindig, or she'd get her ass reamed when she got there. Serena looked back at Carlin. Carlin was dressed up as an ancient woman Celt warrior and looked more comfortable than Serena did now. Carlin turned toward her and asked, "Who are you supposed to be?" Serena lowered her head and mumbled, "I'm supposed to be the Moon goddess Selene." She looked up to see Carlin holding back a giggle. "That wasn't supposed to be funny, damn it." Carlin could only shake her head and say, "I wonder who your Endymion is." Carlin burst out into a laughing fit picturing Serena's prospects. Serena sat back and shook her head. It was going to be a long night. * * * Twenty miles away, Darien was adding the final touches to his costume. Glancing in the mirror, he pulled a strip of cloth over his mouth, and took a final look. He turned to Raye and Chad--who were sitting across the room--and asked, "How do I look?" Chad smiled and said, "You look like an Arabian shepherd." Darien smiled. When Raye came home a few months ago, he didn't expect to see the intimacy between her and Chad or the blatant desire either. The fact that Chad was a prospective brother-in-law didn't faze him in the least. In fact, he welcomed the fact that he knew Chad would keep Raye happy until the end of her days. "I guess that's better that a man who's desperate to find the mother of his children?" Raye yawned and said, "Oh that? That's nothing new." Darien blinked and shook his head. He wondered which one of Serena's sisters had made her so cynical. Or more vulnerable. Chad checked his watch and said, "You better get going. It's almost eight." Darien swore under his breath and made a beeline for the door. Picking up a shepherd's crook, he shouted back at them, "Don't wait up for me." As soon as Raye heard the door slam, she turned back to Chad and said, "Don't worry, we won't." Chad grabbed her and pulled her upstairs. "We don't want him to worry, do we?" * * * Serena opened the door of the limousine and stepped out, Carlin trailing behind her. She didn't know where Sam had gotten this cockamamie idea, but she didn't like it one bit. She fingered her dress. It was white silk with a gauzy silver overlay and two major dips--one that went to the bottom of her back and one that dipped to show off a vast amount of cleavage. Serena hadn't been blessed with too modest a bosom, but now she felt like she had too much--and a majority was falling out of her dress. Carlin nudged her and tugged her toward the door of Sam's mansion; the one Serena grew up in. They were greeted by Sam's housekeeper and then by Sam herself. The small woman ushered Serena and Carlin inside before saying in a hushed whisper, "It's about damn time you got here." Carlin rolled her eyes and grabbed a mask. Tying it around her face, she said, "It's not our fault the driver you hired is slower than molasses. Besides, we had to pump before we left." It was Sam's turn to roll her eyes. "I don't really care what you did. At least you're on time and your partners are here." Serena and Carlin held in their groans as they followed Sam into the ballroom. Whatever else could be said of Sam, she knew how to throw a party. The room was decorated with a few touches here and there, but the rest was left the same as Serena had remembered it. Shaking her head of memories, she stopped quickly, almost running into Sam. "Here are your partners, girls," Sam said, gesturing to the men in front of them. Serena studied her partner and was impressed. He really did look like Endymion should have. Slightly tanned--she caught a glimpse of black hair under the headdress--he looked as if he had spent his life in the sun. He seemed to lean heavily against his crook, must have been a glimpse of her that floored him. 'Endymion' gulped and asked, "Would you like to sit down and tell me a bit about yourself?" Serena gave a soft gasp and nodded her head. His voice was slightly raspy and reminded her of both her mystery man and Darien. She suppressed a shiver of delight and sat down in a chair next to him. She blushed a little when he grabbed her hand, but played it off as if she were overheated. 'I don't need him to think he got to me.' A smile played on his lips and he kissed her softly on the hand. Letting the smile play in his eyes, he chuckled, "You can't get away that easily. Tell me about yourself." Serena sighed and looked back at him. He was going to be difficult. She delicately pulled her hand from his and looked at him pointedly. She tried to keep the barbs out of her voice as she said, "I'm the single mother of a set of twins and I would rather much be back with them than here." He threw her head back and roared with laughter. Serena jumped a bit, but she managed to keep her composure. Once he calmed down, he said, "I'd much rather be looking for a missing friend of mine--who I heard would be here--but you're entertaining. I believe I'm torn." He got that out before he started laughing again. He suddenly stopped and cocked his head to the side. Looking at her slyly, he asked, "Would you like to dance?" Seeing her start to protest, he grabbed her hand and pulled her onto the dance floor. Something in you Brought out something in me That I've never been since That part of me that was only for you That kind of romance Comes only once That kind of love That kind of fever dance That you love because You've become someone else In an instant Serena was slightly surprised to hear him softly hum to the music. She craned her face up at him as he swung her around the dance floor and found he was looking at her. "Who does this song remind you of?" His eyes twinkled sensuously as he looked at her. He paused a moment before he said, "A young woman who was sixteen eleven summers ago. Her and I had a delightful encounter one night in the study of my mother's house. Would you know her?" Serena drew in a breath as she stared up at him. He couldn't be...could he? He took her in another circle and began to sing in unison with the recording. Say you will Say you will Give me one more chance At least give me time to change your mind That always seems to heal the wounds If I can, get you to dance Serena shook her head as tears flowed from beneath her mask. She fought to pull away from him, but he simply pulled her in closer and said, "Even if you manage to run away this time, I know where you are." He pulled her off the floor and pulled her into one of the bedrooms. Sam and Carlin stood off to the side and watched the spectacle. Sam watched and said, "He's not going to leave until they come to some sort of compromise." Carlin nodded, and then said, "He won't leave until they've been compromised." The pair nodded sagely and went back to supervising the festivities. In the bedroom, Serena threw herself onto the bed and watched him as he stripped off his headdress. Darien glared back at her and said, "You didn't think I'd see you until it was on your terms." Serena turned away from him and started to dry her tears. If she was going to face him, she'd do it with dignity. She stopped in the process as Darien came and stood behind her, softly kissing her hair. She pulled away and jumped of the bed, tripping on her dress as she fumbled to move forward. She turned back to him and said, "Don't you be gentle with me. Scream at me, or rant and rail, I don't care." Darien walked over to her, carefully keeping an even stride, and pulled her into his arms. There were things that definitely needed to be worked out, but he'd be damned if they left the room before fixing a lot of them. He carried her over to the bed and pulled her on his lap as he sat down. "Now, we're going to sit here like rational adults and discuss this calmly; one question at a time." "Fine. Why were you kissing on that woman when we had just left your bed not even half an hour before?" Serena winced at her tone, but what needed to be done had to be done. "Easy, she kissed me. Beryl Harpís was an important, and overzealous, client of mine that I used to date and had a hard time of accepting that fact. If you had remained a little bit longer that morning, you would have heard me chastise her and then heard her storm out." Darien nuzzled her neck and said, "We could have worked out the baby problem together. By then it would have been a perk." Serena slid off his lap and stood in front of him. He had no idea what kind of pull he had on her. "Darien," she started hesitantly, "I don't know if this can work between us. Ever." She held up her hand when he started to stand. She had to get this out before she did something totally stupid. "The sex was great, and I wouldn't give Rene and Dory up for the world, but we haven't tried to have anything past that. I...I don't know if I can face that." Darien rose and gathered her in his arms. He felt so much for her...and she didn't realize it. Kissing her, he said, "Well, we can try. I'll come and see the three of you in a week." Lifting her chin up so she could see his eyes, he said in all seriousness, "Don't try to run. Your sisters would let me know where you are." She whispered, "Traitors," as she leaned up to kiss him. Darien growled low in his throat and kissed her with over a year of pent-up passion. He kissed her and felt her kiss him back until they were both glazed over with desire. He separated from her for a moment and asked, "Are you sure?" She giggled and answered, "Only if you're prepared." Darien pulled out a little packet from his pocket and set it on the nightstand next to the bed. * * * They loved the night away and Darien couldn't remember feeling so at peace. He and Serena had talked about everything under the sun. He heard everything he ever wanted to know about his children and he even heard about her fears for the future. When he finally felt her fall into a deep sleep, he whispered, "I love you, Serena. I have since I saw you in my mother's study." Yawning, he stretched beside her and fell asleep. As soon as he fell asleep, Serena opened her eyes and slowly began to cry. She pulled away from him, pulled on a robe, and sat in a corner. She didn't know how long she had waited to hear that, but it had come at the wrong time. She couldn't handle it. She finally drifted off, sometimes still crying in her sleep. * * * When Darien woke up the next morning, he was surprised to find Serena up and already dressed. 'Well, there goes that plan,' he thought. Sitting up, pulled her over and slowly kissed her. Pulling away--and seeing a smile on her face--he asked, "When are you and Carlin going home?" Knowing the cat was out of the bag, Serena smiled and kissed him lazily. Pausing, she said against his mouth, "Thirty minutes." She pulled away and laughed as she sashayed out of the room. Standing behind the door, she softly chuckled at his uttered oaths until someone caught her from behind. She tried to turn around, but her captor clenched her so she was immobile. He whispered, "You're mine," before he gagged her with a cloth covered in chloroform. He chuckled as she fell limp in his arms; she had been too easy to catch. A few moments later, Darien emerged from the room and began looking for Serena or Carlin. When he ran into Carlin ten minutes later, he asked, "Where's Serena?" Carlin looked at her blankly and asked, "She's not with you?" She collapsed on the floor and began heaving great big sobs of grief. "I couldn't stop it," she choked out between sobs. Darien dropped beside her and cradled her in his arms. "Couldn't stop what?" "Serena, she's been...she's been," Carlin broke down, unable to get the words out. "Kidnapped," Sam said from the doorway of the room. She dropped down beside Darien and explained, "Carlin, Raye, and I have been having visions for months. She's been kidnapped. He's going to try to force himself on her, but she...relies on something she didn't know she had. The rest we don't know." She smiled as soft a smile as she could muster and said, "What we do know is that you'll save her." Darien lifted the crying Carlin in his arms and said, "Let's get started." -------------------------------------------------------------------- AN: I was going to stop it here, but I decided to add a little bit more. :) -------------------------------------------------------------------- When Serena woke up, she was surprised to find herself tied to a chair. Well, maybe not that surprised. "You mother fucker! You better pray to whatever merciful god you believe in, I don't get loose from this chair!" Serena kept screaming until she felt hoarse. To make matters worse, her breasts were getting swollen and were starting to leak. She rocked back and forth in her chair, feeling it start to give under her weight. 'That bastard is going to be really sorry for making me resort to getting out of this chair,' Serena thought as she worked more. When she was almost free, a pair of hands undid her ropes and threw her on the bed, retying them the moment she hit. A slightly menacing voice said, "It seems the only way to get you to shut you up is to put you on a bed. Why am I not surprised?" Serena knew the voice. She had heard him in her nightmares, she had heard him in ancient fantasies. She had heard him as he robbed her of her innocence as a teen. She spat at him and said, "Someone would disagree with you." He put his face in the light and smiled menacingly at her. "Keep your mouth shut, Peach. If you don't I'll put it to good use." Remembering the last time he had said something like that to her, Serena stared at Diamond and fainted away.