Finding the Arms of Love by Sailor Elysia Twilight was slowly fading into the night, and the stars appeared one by one, until they blanketed the entire sky. The small, three-room apartment in the middle of the city was silent, except for the faint humming coming from the bedroom. Serena sat in front of her vanity mirror, her thoughts wandering as her reflection stared back at her. She hummed a familiar tune to herself, as she brushed her long golden hair out, thinking about the wonderful surprise she had for Darien. If everything worked out, this would be a night neither of them would forget. A slight frown crossed her lips. 'That is,' she thought, *if* Darien's in a good mood.' In the year and a half since they had married, Serena had discovered so much more about Darien. She never dreamed he could be so much more romantic and tender. It was a side of him she had rarely seen while they were dating. She loved all the little things Darien would do for her. A simple note by her plate or a flower on her pillow made her feel so wonderful. She would return the favor by slipping notes into his briefcase or his pockets when he wasn't looking. But little by little, the notes and flowers stopped coming. At first, it wasn't too much of a shock to Serena, but recently she was beginning to wonder about the sudden change in him. For the past few months, something had started to push them away from each other. Nothing physical was in the way, rather, it was more like a large wall of silence had been slowly building itself between them. They had started to do things more on their own, rather than together, like Serena thought that a married couple should do. At least, that's what she always saw her parents do while she was growing up. And then, there was another side to her husband that almost frightened her. The man had a temper like none other. He would never stoop so low enough to become violent, thank goodness, but often times there was an iciness between them. She thought he might have changed after their marriage, but it was just the opposite. She remembered the days when Darien would come home from work at the same time every evening, and he would be the sweetheart she adored. They would go out and have fun, just like the times while they were dating and the first months of their married life. But there were times when Serena dreaded him walking through the apartment door. Those nights were when something had gone wrong at the clinic, and Darien felt he had to spend all hours trying to fix problems that weren't his, which made him come home in the grumpiest of moods. Those nights were becoming more and more frequent, and Serena had a mind to ask Darien to change jobs. Suddenly, the sound of a key turning in the lock brought Serena's head up, and she sat on her chair nervously. Her heart pounded in her chest, eager to surprise Darien. It had been too long since they had had a night together without his work getting in the way. The door opened swiftly, slammed shut, and Serena's heart sank with the thud as Darien dropped his briefcase on the table. She knew that sound all too well. Her special evening would just have to wait for a better time. ~*~*~*~*~*~ She stood in the doorway of the bedroom leading into the living room. "Darien?" she asked quietly, "Honey, is everything all right?" The look on his face confirmed that everything was *not* all right. Serena cringed inwardly. She hated nights when he came home like this. Why did he stress himself over things that didn't even concern him? He flopped down on the couch, and put a hand over his eyes. Serena didn't want to make him any more tense by asking him questions, so instead she crossed the floor into the kitchen, grabbed the bottle of aspirin on the counter, took a glass from the cupboard, and filled it with water from the faucet. She brought the glass and aspirin back out into the living room, and handed it to him. Darien acknowledged her with a slight smile, and slowly took it from her and downed it quickly. Serena sat down on the couch next to him, and leaned her head on his shoulder. If she just kept quiet, and didn't pester him with questions about his work, everything would be okay. But her curiosity was getting the better of her. "Darien, what happened that made you so late tonight?" He sighed. "I don't want to talk about it. I just want to forget today ever happened, and start over with tomorrow." Serena bit her lip. She was sorry she had even brought the subject up, but she really wanted to do something tonight, get out of the apartment. Darien, on the other hand, usually wanted to stay at home. Sure, there were the few times that they would go out, but those times were disappearing into the past. "Sweetheart," she started again, "why didn't you call to let me know when you'd be home? I could have called out for dinner, or rented a movie or something." "I lost track of the time, I guess. Besides, I don't have to tell you every move I make," Darien replied. "It's not like you're my mother or anything." "No," she retorted, "I'm not your mother. But I am your wife, and I think I have a right to know when your plans are. What if I had planned something for us to do?" He sat up, making her move her head away. "If you had, you should have told me about it first, then we could plan something out. You know I'm not a spur-of-the-moment kind of person." 'You used to be,' she thought to herself. "Sometimes it doesn't even seem like we're married," he continued. "We never do anything together any more." "You're the one who's always at the clinic. I can't help it if you're always working late." Serena countered. He stood up and looked at her, with a hardness in his blue eyes that she had never seen before. "My working late is what keeps us in this apartment." "Why not just find another job with better hours and better pay?" she replied. "It's not that simple. With my qualifications, the kind of job I want is scarce around these parts." "Then, we could move," she said simply. "Enough! I don't want to talk about this any more. All I want is some peace and quiet, and I can't even get that in my own home," Darien said, exasperated. "Why did we even go to the trouble if this is all that comes out of it?" he said under his breath. Serena's voice was barely above a whisper. She had caught his last words, and froze as she considered what he meant. "What do you mean? Are you saying you're sorry we ever got married?" She prayed she had misunderstood him, and he was referring to something else. "I don't know what I'm saying anymore," he muttered, not really considering her last comment. Serena stared at him in disbelief, then looked away in silence. She stood up, and walked over to the bookcase. Picking up the framed picture of their wedding day, she cradled it in her hands. Tears splashed onto the glass, blurring the faces of the happy couple in the photograph. "Maybe. . . maybe it would be best if we were apart for a little while. We seem to be doing that more often anyway," Darien said quietly. Serena's head shot up, still clutching the photo. She was shocked that he would even suggest such a thing. "You--you can't be serious." He faltered momentarily, but then nodded his head. "I didn't want to bring this up tonight, but now is a better time than any. I've been asked to head up a team of physicians going to the States for a major medical conference. It could take one, possibly two months. I would've asked to bring you along, but it's going to be purely business and we wouldn't have any free time to do anything." Serena still couldn't look at him. "Well, I guess. . . I can stay with my parents. I haven't seen them for a while." "Good, then it's settled. I have to leave tomorrow morning, and I have a lot of work to do, so I hope you weren't planning on doing anything tonight." She hid the pain in her heart as best she could. "No," she whispered, "I didn't have anything in mind for tonight." She cast one last sorrowful glance at Darien, who had his back turned to her by now, sighed, and went back into the bedroom. ~*~*~*~*~*~ Serena blinked once, then again, trying to clear the sleep from her eyes. The morning sunlight shone through the window, and she squinted until her eyes adjusted to the bright light. She turned to where Darien slept, but was surprised to find an empty bed. She had been hoping that last night was all a terrible nightmare, and that she would wake up in the morning, with him sleeping peacefully by her side. She flung the sheets back, and stumbled out into the living room. There, on the couch, lay the sleeping form of her husband, his papers strewn all over the coffee table in front of him. She sighed. He didn't even come to bed last night. Was that supposed to be proof of his doubts? Come to think of it, when was the last time he told her he loved her? Serena tiptoed into the kitchen, and started the coffee maker for Darien, and pulled out the hot cocoa mix for her. She had never been a fan of coffee, and preferred the warm taste of chocolate in the mornings instead. She removed two mugs from the shelf, one for her, and one for Darien, whenever he decided to wake up. No sooner than she had poured the cocoa into her mug, Darien staggered into the kitchen, his hair sticking up in all directions. "Why didn't you wake me up? I don't have time to sleep in, I have a plane to catch in an hour." "I--I didn't know, sweetheart. I just barely woke up myself," Serena stammered. "Well, it's a good thing I packed last night," Darien replied, as he poured a cup of coffee, and gulped it down. He glanced at his watch. "Fifteen minutes to shower and dress. Oh, don't bother making any breakfast for me, okay?" Serena stared after him as he went into the bedroom. What had happened to the tender, caring, and romantic man she married? ~*~*~*~*~*~ She stood in silence as she watched the man she loved place his suitcase on the floor next to the open door. How long would it be until she saw him again? *Would* she see him again? "Please, Darien, don't go," Serena pleaded. Darien looked at her, and she could swear she saw a hint of sorrow in his eyes, but it left as quickly as it had appeared. "I'm sorry, Serena, but this is very important to me. I could get a really big bonus with this seminar." He leaned over, and kissed her quickly on the cheek. "I'll call you when I get to New York, I promise." He picked up his suitcase with one hand, grabbed his briefcase with the other, and walked out the door without saying another word. Serena stood at the door, and watched him walk down the long stretch of hallway, and didn't move until she couldn't see him anymore. "What's more important," she whispered, "your job or your marriage?" Fresh tears fell from her eyes, and Serena made no move to stop them as she closed the door behind her. She had done everything she could, but it still wasn't enough. She was in danger of losing the only man she ever would and could love. And what broke her heart even more was that he didn't even realize it. Picking up the phone on the hall table, Serena dialed the number she knew by heart. "Mom? It's me, Serena . . . I . . ." The pain tearing at her heart almost took over, and she lost control of her voice, almost dropping the phone. Her mother's voice echoed through the receiver. "Serena? Are you there? Honey, is everything all right?" Serena drew in a deep breath, fought back the tears, and brought the phone back up to her lips. "No, Mom, everything is not all right," she said shakily. "Would you mind if I came home for a visit?" ~*~*~*~*~*~ She stood on the sidewalk, her small suitcase at her side, staring up at the home she knew so well. For nineteen years of her life, she had grown up in this house, but never dreamed she would be back here so soon for such a reason as she had. As she walked up the front path, the door opened, and her mother stood there, waiting for her. Serena broke into a run, and flung herself at her mother, sobbing as she did so. Ilene hugged her daughter tenderly, and tried to calm her as best she could. Only something very serious would make her act like this, and she intended to find out what it was.