Disclaimer: These characters, in all their forms, do not belong to me.
A week passed after Serena had left, and no one had heard from her. She didn't call to tell the girls she had arrived home, and she wasn't answering her phone. And when they tried calling her yesterday, her phone had been disconnected. The girls were sitting in the arcade with Andrew. "I just don't understand!" Raye wailed. "Did she move?" "Why would she? And even if she did, she would have told us," Lita pointed out. "Her visit went great. She shouldn't hide from us," Amy fretted. "We're going around in circles here," Andrew said. "There has to be some way of figuring out what happened." "You don't think she's hurt, do you?" Mina asked fearfully. Each wore a wide-eyes, haunted expression. Serena threw her last remaining stuffed animals into a box. Packing had taken her forever. She had worked for a week straight, stopping only when she had to. She even ignored phone calls, when her phone was plugged in. She sealed the box with tape, then carried it out to the living room and set it down next to the others. 'Tomorrow I leave everything behind and start my new life,' she thought. 'No more horrible memories.' She glanced around the bare apartment. 'I have to do this. I have to leave this place and get away.' She turned off the light and left the apartment. The next morning found everyone at the arcade again. Andrew had closed it for the day so they wouldn't be interrupted. (AN: does he have the authority to do that? Well if he doesn't, pretend he does!) "Maybe we should call the police," Mina suggested. "And tell them what? Our friend moved without telling us, so could you please file a phony charge against her so you'll have the authorization to find her for us? " Lita asked sarcastically. "I don't think that would work." "We've come up with every single possibility, and we still don't have any answers!" Raye cried, frustrated. "Maybe we shouldn't worry," Amy murmured. Everyone looked at her as if she were crazy. "You know Serena. When she wants us to know where she is, she'll make her grand entrance." "Yeah, that would be the Serena thing to do," Lita agreed. Everyone laughed. They almost didn't hear the knocking on the door. "We're closed," Andrew called before turning back to the girls. The person knocked again. "I said we're closed! No occupancy!" "Not even for me?" a familiar voice asked. "Serena?" Raye cried. She unlocked the door and flung it open. Serena stood on the other side, grinning. "Raye!" she exclaimed, hugging her friend. By this time, everyone had gathered around for hugs. When she was sitting down, Raye angrily fumed, "Where the hell have you been?" "At home," Serena replied innocently. "We called, but you never answered. And then your phone was disconnected," Lita said. "Sorry about that. I was busy packing." "You're moving again?" Mina wanted to know. "Yeah, it was kind of required." "What do you mean?" "Well..." Serena nervously pushed a strand of hair out of her face, throwing a flash of light across the table as her jewelry caught the sun. "Serena, what is on your hand?" Amy asked slowly. Serena grinned sheepishly. She placed her hand on the table. "Guys, I have something to tell you..." The slim gold ring shone on her finger, and the huge diamond sparkled like her eyes. The other ring was a thin gold band etched with roses. Everyone stared wide-eyed at her, then back at the ring. "I got married!" "What?" they cried. They all started talking at once. "Isn't this a bit hasty?" "What were you thinking?" "What will Darien think?" "Are you CRAZY?" "Those are all fine questions!" Serena laughed. "I'll get to them later. Would you like to meet my husband?" "You brought him here?" Mina cried. "Of course! I couldn't very well leave him! Besides, I figure you guys are dying to see him, the man who snagged me." When no one answered she continued, "Ok, I'll go get him." She left the arcade. As soon as she closed the door behind her, the commotion started. "What did she think she was doing?" Amy wanted to know. "Did she just marry the first guy that asked her when she got back?" Mina wondered. Everyone looked up as Darien walked in. They stopped their conversations. "Darien, we have some news," Lita started, giving him a sympathetic look. "What is it?" he grew alarmed. "This is going to be a shock... I don't know if I should tell you..." "Just tell me!" "Serena got married." "What?" Darien's expression turned to one of shock. "Married?" "I'm sorry, man," Andrew said gently. "I know how much you care for her." "Married?" Darien repeated. He covered his mouth with his hand. Andrew blinked. "Darien?" He took a better look at Darien's hand, noticing a new gold ring on his finger. Serena walked back in. "I see you've already met my husband," she beamed. Everyone gaped at them. "I take it you approve?" Serena wrapped an arm around Darien's waist. He took her other hand and kissed it. "You can all stop looking at us like that. We're not making this up." "You-you're really married?" Raye asked uncertainly. Serena nodded, grinning. They were met with a bombardment of hugs and congratulations. "So tell us the whole story!" Mina exclaimed. "We want details!" "Actually, this is all Darien," Serena patted his hand. "He flagged me down at the airport just as I was about to got on the plane and begged me to stay. After a long talk-" "Extremely long," Darien interrupted. "After an extremely long talk," Serena corrected, "he finally convinced me that we were meant to be together. We took a later flight and went back to my apartment to pack everything up. It's on its way over here as we speak." Darien continued. "A couple of days ago I went out and bought a ring. I proposed to her that night. The next morning, yesterday, we were married." "This is so unbelievable." Raye murmured. "No kidding!" Serena agreed. "I couldn't have asked for a better ending!" That night, as Darien climbed into bed next to Serena, she asked him, "Do you know why I said yes?" "No, why did you say yes?" He pulled her to him, and she cuddled up against his chest. "I was really scared of being hurt again. I thought I could never be happy. But when we talked, I remembered something that was told to me." "What was that?" "To remember the good times. And for the first time, I actually did. I could be happy. I am happy." "And I'll help you stay that way." Darien kissed her forehead. She closed her eyes and welcomed sleep, knowing that her dreams would only be happy tonight. So, what did you think? I tried my best to make it dripping with romance. Ok, ok, so I tried my best to get it done. Any comments, good or bad, please send my way! I love hearing what you guys think!
~Sailor Grape~
