A Sweet Christmas 
Part 2 (Final part)
By: Jessica M. Moonflower
E-mail: salud731@earthlink.net
Rated: PG

Timeline: First Season

Disclaimer: How I wish I could own Sailor Moon!
Even have Darien as a Christmas present to me!
But alas, I do not! So don't sue me! ^_^

ANs: Final part! Aren't ya happy? I'm sure you are!
I'll make this short! Hope you enjoy the last part of
this story and e-mail me! Thanks to those who have!
Merry Christmas to all! ^_~

"You never lose by loving. You always lose by holding
back."
*Barbara De Angelis*


@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~


At about 6:00 PM, Serena came home from another day of Christmas
shopping with her friends. She greeted her Mom and Dad hello and
quickly ran upstairs to her room to put her bags in a nice safe hiding 
place. She then, sat on her bed to contemplate over how to get Darien
in a better mood this Christmas season and out of his depression and
loneliness, but so far came up with nothing.
"I have to think of something, but what?" 
"What do you need to think of?" asked Luna, her cat, as she walked
into the room and jumped onto Serena's bed.
"I'm trying to figure out how to cheer Darien up this Christmas. I really
want to do something for him, but I can't seem to come up with anything!"
"How come you want to be so nice to him all of a sudden? I thought
you hated the guy?"
"It turns out he doesn't have anybody to spend Christmas with."
"How about inviting him to your family Christmas party that your parents 
are throwing?" Luna suggested.
"No good. Andrew tried inviting him to countless of Christmas parties that
his parents throw at their house, but Darien declined every invitation."
"How about getting him to help out at the hospital on Christmas Eve?
It always brings cheer to people down in the dumps."
"Darien refuses to help out at the hospital, too. It's because of a bad
experience he had with it."
"What kind of bad experience?" 
"I really can't say, Luna. I'll tell you another time. But I have to come up
with something! I don't want him to spend another Christmas at home,
thinking that nobody cares about him!"
"How about giving him a present?"
"I don't know what he..." Serena paused and thought about
Luna's last suggestion.
"Serena? Serena? You don't know what?"
"Never mind what I just said! I have a great idea!" Serena jumped
off the bed and hugged Luna.
"Really? What is it?"
"I'll bake him some of my homemade cookies as a Christmas present! 
I really don't know what to get him at the mall, but everybody LOVES 
sweets!"
"That's a great idea! Besides, your cookies are tasty. I'm sure he'll
love it!"
"Thanks so much, Luna for your help," Serena graciously said.
"Anytime, Serena."
Setting Luna back on the bed, Serena said, "I'm going to start baking
the cookies for the bake sale and Darien's present."
"Okay. I'm just going to go take a nap here. So if you need me, you 
know where to find me."
Serena bid her a good nap, closed the door to her room, and went
downstairs to the kitchen to start cooking.


*3 hours later*


Serena put the last batch of cookies into the oven. She was exhausted 
from all the hard work she did, but was satisfied either way. She had all 
the cookies for the bake sale decorated and wrapped up for tomorrow's 
bake sale. All she needed to do now was to decorate the cookies for 
Darien's present as soon as the batch that was baking in the oven was 
ready. 
While Serena waited for the cookies to bake, she sat pondering over
how much pain Darien must have went through in his life without any
family or friends to be there for him when he was down.
'I can't imagine my life without my friends or family. They are the most
important things in my life. And yet, Darien never had any of those. What
he really needs more than anything else in the world is love. Someone
who will love him endlessly. He needs a friend right now who can break
through those barriers that he built around his heart. Andrew said I'm
the only one who can try and get through to him, so I won't give up! I'll 
do whatever I can do to make sure that Darien won't spend another 
Christmas stuck in his lonesome apartment!'
Serena was brought out of her speculative state by the sound of the
oven timer. She took the cookies out of the oven and set them down on
the table to cool. She admired her cookies on the table as a small smile
began to form on her face.
'Darien will have the best Christmas ever!'


*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~


*Friday, December 22 *


It was Friday afternoon at Crossroads High School, and many
people showed up for the bake sale. Amy, Raye, Lita, Mina, Molly,
Serena, Melvin, Chad, Ken, Greg, and a few other students showed
up in school to help distribute the baked goods to people while 
others were in charge of collecting the money. By the end of the 
day, they collected enough money to buy the toys for the kids at
the Crossroads Children's Hospital. 
As everybody helped clean up the tables and garbage, Mrs.
Norris, their English teacher, came over to talk to them.
"I just wanted to congratulate and thank all of you for your help 
and contributions on the success of this bake sale. Because of you,
we'll make several kids happy on Christmas Eve. Now, I know your
Christmas break has officially started yesterday and I appreciate all 
of you for coming into school on your vacation, but I'd really like to 
have some of you volunteer to help go with me tomorrow to the 
stores and shop for the toys and wrap the presents later in the 
afternoon. It really requires a lot of people to do the wrapping, 
considering that there are a lot of kids at the hospital. If you have 
any friends outside of the school that you know would love to help, 
they may volunteer. So do I have a show of hands?" Mrs. Norris
looked around the room for volunteers.
Serena, Amy, Raye, Lita, and Mina immediately raised their hands,
along with Ken, Greg, Chad, Melvin, Molly, and a few other kids.
"Oh, that's wonderful! We'll all meet at the mall at 9:00 tomorrow
morning in front of the food court and hopefully by 4:00 in the 
afternoon, we'll go back to the school and wrap the presents. Is that 
fine with everybody?"
"Yes!!!!!" everybody in the room exclaimed their agreement.
"Alright then! See you all tomorrow!"
"This should be fun! A day at the mall!" Mina exclaimed.
"I know! Wish school was like this everyday!" Serena agreed.
"Remember guys, we're not there to shop for ourselves. We're there
for the kids," Amy reminded the two blonds.
"We know! What I was referring to, is the fact that we get to choose
cute little toys for the kids and then wrap them up all nicely after we have
bought all of them," Mina explained.
"It was fun to spend our day at the school, helping out with the bake 
sale!" Molly commented.
"Besides, we got to eat whatever was leftover from the sale!" Melvin 
added.
"We better get going, guys. I really want to stop by the arcade to ask
Andrew if he'd like to help." Lita started putting on her coat. 
"Yeah, we should," Raye agreed while all the other girls started to gather
their things together.
"Would any of you like to come with us?" Serena addressed the others.
"I'd love to go! How about you Melvin?" Molly turned to her boyfriend.
"Sure! I have nothing better else to do."
"What about you Ken, Greg, Chad?" Lita turned to the other guys.
"I have to go home," Ken answered.
"I could go," Greg replied.
"Me too!" Chad added.
"Let's get going then!" Mina cheerily exclaimed.


********************************

Throughout the entire walk to the arcade, all nine people chattered 
happily about their plans over the rest of Christmas break and who was
doing what at the hospital on Christmas Eve.
They finally reached the arcade and were welcomed by the warmth
of the building. Molly, Melvin, Chad, and Greg all went to go find a seat
while Serena and the rest of the girls walked towards the counter to
find Andrew washing some dishes, his back facing them.
"Hey Andrew!" Serena greeted him.
Andrew turned to the sound of Serena's voice.
"Oh, hey Serena, girls! What's up?"
"Oh, nothing. We just came from the bake sale at school," Raye replied.
"How did it go? Did you raise enough money for the toys?"
"We sure did!" Mina smiled at Andrew proudly.
"It's enough to bring smiles to the children's faces," Amy added..
"We're doing the shopping for the toys tomorrow with our teacher. But
we need more people to help us with the shopping and wrapping afterwards.
We were all wondering if you'd like to help out tomorrow if you're not busy,"
asked Lita.
"Sure! Actually, today is my last day of work and I'm off for the rest of the
holidays. Rita has nothing planned either so I'll fill her in on tomorrow. Just
tell me what time and where do we meet."
"Nine o' clock tomorrow morning in front of the food court."
"That's fine with me."
"Great!" Serena exclaimed.
"By the way, Rita agreed to be Mrs. Claus at the hospital," said Andrew.
"Really? That's wonderful! You guys are real life savers!" 
"Anything for the spirit of Christmas."
"Well, we better get back to our friends. See you tomorrow at nine, Andrew!"
The girls waved good-bye to Andrew.


@--->---@--->---@--->---@--->---@--->---


*Saturday, Dec. 23*


Today's morning shopping has been a complete success. All the toys were
bought by 3:00 PM and everybody headed back towards the school to help
with the wrapping. Sprightly chatter was going on all around the gym among
the rows of tables filled with people full of Christmas cheer and smiles. 
Serena has just finished wrapping a doll in dark blue wrapping paper with
little white snowflakes decorating the wrapper. Serena put the present on 
one side of the table with all the other wrapped packages. She then went to
work on wrapping another toy when Mina walked over to Serena.
"Hey girl! Almost done with wrapping?" Mina asked Serena while helping 
her seal the box with tape.
"Just about. This is my last present. You?"
"All done! Mrs. Norris told us that everyone is just about done as well. She
says that if there wasn't this much volunteers, we might not have been done
in time for Christmas Eve tomorrow!"
"But I'm glad it didn't result to that. Besides, it's the holidays! It's a time
to think about others other than ourselves. Because of this charity program,
it's got a lot of people in the Christmas mood. Just look around you."
Mina surveyed the room. She saw many people laughing, smiling, and 
having fun, almost as if they were little kids again. It was wonderful to be in
a room filled with such joy and happiness.
"You're right, Sere! If only it were Christmas every day! You know how many
people would be joined together on such a festive occasion? Nobody would be
having a blue Christmas!"
Serena sighed. "But Darien is the one who is having one right now. I hate to 
see him like this. He deserves happiness in his life. After all he has been 
through!"
"What are you talking about?" Mina questioned her friend, perplexed by what
she was insinuating. 
Serena realizing her mistake, tried to cover up.
"Uh...it's nothing, Mina. Really!"
"That is not true and you know it! You're hiding something and I want to know
what it is! Mina pressed on.
"Mina, believe me. I'd tell you if I could, but I promised I wouldn't tell anybody
what I know about Darien."
"It's private?"
"Yeah. It's about Darien's past. Andrew told me about it in the hopes that I
can do something for Darien. Nobody else was supposed to know about it, but
Andrew. Now that Andrew told me about it, I swore to him that I wouldn't tell
anybody else. So please understand that I just can't say," Serena begged.
"Alright. I understand. So what will you do for Darien?"
"I plan on giving him a Christmas gift."
"What are you giving him?"
"A basket of my homemade Christmas cookies and..."
Serena pulled out a box from her bag and opened it to reveal a beautiful,
handcrafted glass rose.
"Oh, Serena!" Mina gasped. "It's so beautiful! Did you get it at the mall
today?"
"Yeah. As we were looking around the mall for toys, I came across a 
figurine shop so I decided to stop in and take a look around. That's when I 
came across the rose. It reminded me so much of Darien, that I had to get it 
for him. That, and the way he seems to always smell like roses whenever I 
bump into him."
"I'm sure he'll love it. But didn't it cost a lot?"
"A bit, but it's worth it. I want to bring a smile to Darien's face this 
Christmas."
"You're heart is always in the right place, Serena." Mina smiled..
"Thanks." Serena blushed.


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


It was 8:00 at night when Darien entered his apartment after a tiring
day at work. He hung his jacket on the coat rack and threw his keys
on the kitchen counter top. He then, walked over to his couch and tiredly,
collapsed on it.
'What a day!' Darien thought to himself as he leaned against the back
of his couch and closed his eyes. 
'Thanks God tomorrow is Christmas Eve. At least I don't have to drag 
myself to work.'
Darien opened his eyes and looked around his living room.
The lights were still off in his apartment and just sat there in the dark. 
He noticed how his entire apartment looked so morbid, lonely, and dreary. 
Nothing in his apartment had a hint of warmth or cheer in it. It looked
dark and cold.
'Like me,' he thought, depressed. 'I guess another Christmas spent alone
in this darkness I call home. Studying and eating a microwave dinner while 
everybody else will be with their families celebrating the joy of Christmas.. 
Singing, dancing, laughing, and eating a home cook dinner.'
All of sudden, Darien's face grew dark with anger.
"WHY DO I HAVE TO BE ALONE ON CHRISTMAS?????!!!!!" Darien yelled 
out to no one in particular, filled with rage.
"WHY DID YOU HAVE TO TAKE MY FAMILY AWAY FROM ME?! WHY?! WHAT
DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?! ANSWER ME!"
Darien buried his face in his hands. A few tears wetting his hand.
"Why couldn't you have taken me with them?" Darien whispered to 
himself. "I don't want to be alone on Christmas anymore."
Sleep soon took claim over Darien's body and Darien slept on the couch 
for the rest of the night.


@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~


*Sunday Dec. 24th (Christmas Eve ^_^)*


Serena woke up early the next morning with a smile on her face. 
Today was Christmas Eve and the next day it would be Christmas Day. 
But that was not the reason why Serena was so happy. She was excited
to go to the hospital later on today to see all the smile on those kids' faces
when each of them received a present, and the smile on Darien's face when 
she delivers her special gift for him. 
With that in mind, she immediately got out of bed, took her shower, and
got dressed. She chose to wear a white sweater with silver snowflakes
stitched to the material and a dark blue skirt. Instead of wearing her usual
hairstyle in two buns and pigtails streaming from each bun, she tied her hair 
back in a low ponytail with a dark blue ribbon holding it in place.
While Serena was applying lip gloss onto her lips, Luna awoke and 
stretched out onto the bed.
"Good morning Serena!" Luna greeted her.
"Morning Luna!" Serena returned her greeting with a smile.
"You're sure up early," Luna commented.
"Yes, I am! I have to meet the girls in a few minutes at Lita's apartment
so we can go and exchange presents."
"That's nice. I'd like to say that you look lovely today."
"Thanks Luna. Aren't you and Artemis going to exchange gifts?"
"Yes, but we plan on doing that in the park later this afternoon."
"Okay then. I better be going. See you later, Luna!" Serena waved
good-bye and closed the door to her room behind her.
After Serena got down the stairs, she headed towards the living room to 
the Christmas tree to gather all the presents for her friends. Just then, Mrs.
Tsukino walked in while she was mixing a bowl of batter with a wooden 
spoon. 
"Serena, would you like to eat some breakfast before you leave today?"
"No thanks, Mom. I'll be eating breakfast at Lita's. 
"Alright. You're exchanging gifts this early in the morning?"
"Yes, we are. The reason for it, is because we have to be at the hospital
by three to set up decorations at the hospital's cafeteria and around six, the
nurses will be bringing in the kids."
"It's wonderful that you've been helping out so much this holiday season."
"I know. It has been fun being involved with such a cause like this. I know
I'll be doing this again next year!" 
Mrs. Tsukino smiled at her daughter's warmness and kind heart.
"I really need to go before Raye has a fit that I'm so late."
"Okay, dear. Be careful out there. The streets are a bit slippery from last
night's snow storm and make sure you bundle up."
"I will, Mom!" Serena went over to give her a kiss goodbye. "See you 
around one! Bye!" 
Serena bounced out the door and into the cold winter morning with her 
package of gifts in her hands, headed for Lita's.


~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~**~~~~~~~*

*Lita's Apartment*


Serena has just arrived in time for breakfast. Lita made blueberry 
pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon with a little Santa cookie with 
each of the girls' name on it on the side of their plates. They all hungrily
dug into the food, all the while talking about what were they going to
wear to the hospital.
"I think I'll be wearing a nice black sweater with my long gold skirt and
a gold bow to tie back my hair," Mina said.
"That sounds so pretty. I'll be wearing a simple green velvet dress that 
goes up to my ankles and have my hair tied in the usual ponytail with a
green ribbon."
"Why so dressed up, Lita?" asked Amy.
"From the hospital, I'll be going with Ken to a small Christmas Eve party
his parent's are throwing since tomorrow he'll be coming to my family's 
Christmas party."
"I hope you have a good time."
"Thanks! What will you wear, Ames?"
"I think I'll just wear this ice blue dress with small white stars on it. I'm also
attending a party with my Mom after we're done at the children's hospital."
"How about you Raye?"
"A star covered red sweater with a black skirt just above the knee."
"Serena?"
"I have to be all dressed up anyway. The hospital called me last night
and asked if I could be all dressed up in white and go as a snow fairy that
would sing to the kids at the hospital. So I'll be wearing a sparkling, white
dress with snowflakes. They even said that at the hospital they'll be giving 
me some wings and a tiara to wear to make it believable."
"Oh, Serena! You'll look beautiful! I'm sure!" Mina commented. 
"You sing, Serena?" Raye asked, still shocked about the little piece of 
information she never knew about Serena.
"Yes." Serena blushed.
"How come we never knew?"
"Well, I don't really like flaunting the fact that I do. I was at the hospital
a couple of weeks ago to help around and cheer some of the kids up. I 
even sang to one of them. A nurse that was doing a room check, heard me 
sing. She said I had a beautiful voice and hope that I would come back and 
sing to them again. So I guess that's why they called me."
"I can't wait to hear you sing tonight, Serena," Lita beamed.
All the other girls nodded their agreement.
"I'm glad."

^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~^_~


After the girls cleared the tables and washed the dishes, they all
gathered together in the living room to give each other their presents.
At 1:00, the girls left Lita's home to get ready for the party they'll be
throwing at the children's hospital. 
Serena was now at home and up in her room putting on her dress.
She slipped on a pair of three-inch heeled, white shoes on her feet. She
curled her hair earlier and was now a waterfall of ringlets that she tied
up in a high ponytail clasped with a white diamond clip. On her face,
she applied some lip gloss that had a little glitter on it, and around her 
eyes, face, and arms some silver glitter to give her the whole fairylike 
look. Serena admired her work in the full length mirror. Satisfied, she
grabbed her purse along with the basket of goodies and her wrapped 
gift for Darien and walked down the stairs. At the bottom, her parents 
and brother was there to greet her.
"Oh, honey! You look dazzling!" her father, Mr. Tsukino, commented
as he gave his daughter a peck on the cheek.
"Thanks Dad. I have to look like the snow fairy kids expect me to be."
"You'll do wonderful, sweetie," Mrs. Tsukino assured her.
"Yeah! Those kids won't forget your angelic voice after tonight," added
her brother, Sammy.
Serena smiled. "I'm off then! I should be back at about ten."
"You have a ride home?" Mr. Tsukino asked.
"Yes. Mina's Mom agreed that she would take me home," Serena 
answered as she put on her long, black trench coat.
"Then have fun, sweetheart." Mrs. Tsukino walked her daughter to the 
door.
Serena left the warmth of her home and entered the cold streets of 
Tokyo. Since she knew that she had plenty of time to spare before she
had to be at the hospital to help out, she decided to make a stop over
to Darien's apartment to drop her gift off. She knew the way to Darien's
place since Andrew had given her the address yesterday. 
'I hope he likes the gift. All I want to do is make him happy and know 
that he'll never be alone because he has me as a friend whenever he 
needs to be with someone.'
Finally, Darien's apartment came into view after walking a few blocks
in the freezing cold. She entered the sliding doors of his apartment
and pressed the button for the elevator. When the doors chimed open,
she entered it and pressed the button for the 10th floor, the top floor.
When the doors opened to her destination, she scanned the floor for
Apartment 10F. After passing door after door, she found his apartment.
At first she was feeling a bit unsure of whether or not she should leave
the gifts on the doorstep and then hide behind one of the corridors to 
make sure he picks it up, or just give it to him face to face. She decided
that it'd be best to just leave it on the doorstep and let him read the 
note she wrote for him. 
'At least if he hates it, I won't feel like a complete fool for ever 
thinking I could actually make him smile.'
Serena was saddened by the possible thought, but had to take a 
chance. She placed the objects gently on the floor, rang the doorbell
three times, and quickly ran behind one of the walls to conceal herself
from his view.
'I hope this works,' Serena silently prayed to herself as she watched
for Darien to open his door.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*


*Inside the apartment*


Darien was sitting on his living room couch, lazily flipping through
channels looking for something interesting to watch. 
'No... Holiday movie...not in a Christmas mood... Infomercial... 
Cartoons...Holiday movie... ARGH!!!!! ISN'T THERE ANYTHING 
DECENT TO WATCH OTHER THAN ALL THIS CHRISTMAS CRAP????!!!!!'
Darien angrily flipped through each channel, desperately trying to
escape anything Christmas related.
Darien was about to change the channel when the sound of a
doorbell disrupted his channel surfing.
"Who could that be?" Darien wondered out loud.
He quickly got off the couch and walked over to his door and 
opened it.
Nobody was on the other side of the door to greet him. He passed
it off as probably one of the neighbor's kids playing a stupid prank on
him and was about to shut the door, when a delicious aroma of cookies
filled his nostrils and then looked down towards the ground.
What he found confused him. There, laying on his front door step was
a small brown basket with the handle tied in a big red bow and a gift,
wrapped in sky blue wrapping paper with a dark blue, velvet bow with 
a rose slipped in between the bow, lay right next to the basket. He picked
up both objects off of the ground, and before he closed the door, he 
stepped outside into his hallway, hoping to find the mysterious person who
left him these gifts. Seeing that there was no one in his hallway to be found,
he re-entered his apartment again with the gifts clutched to him closely.
Serena smiled to herself as she saw Darien enter the apartment again 
with her presents for him.
"Merry Christmas, Darien," Serena whispered to herself as she turned
and walked towards the elevator.


**************************


Darien sat back down on the couch with the gifts and turned the 
television off. He first lifted the blue cloth, covering the basket to reveal
the sweet aroma of cookies that he had smelled earlier. He set the 
basket carefully down onto his coffee table and then turned his attention 
to the nicely wrapped present. He took the rose out from between the
bow and inhaled it's wonderful fragrance. He also set the rose down next 
to the basket. He gently pulled the ribbon off and tore the paper off the box.
He opened the box to find the beautiful handcrafted glass rose inside.
Darien was speechless to say the least. He was taken away by the beauty
of this rose and who was thoughtful enough to think of him this Christmas.
While he pondered over who the possible person could be, a folded piece of
paper fell out of the box. He bent over to pick it up and unfolded it to find a
message addressed to him, written in beautiful script.

Dear Darien,
Just a little something to cheer you up this Christmas. The cookies I made
myself and the rose reminded me so much of you. Hope this Christmas is a
lot brighter than all your past ones.
                               Merry Christmas,
                                    Serena


Darien re-read the simple note over and over again. He was touched and
speechless that after all he has done to Serena in the past, she still went
out and done something so kind and thoughtful to him when she could've 
easily cared less about how he was feeling. 
Darien reached to take one of the cookies out from the basket. He took
a bite out of the cookie and found that it was extremely good.
'Serena could cook? Hmm...I guess there was more to Serena than I 
thought.'
Darien finished off the rest of his cookie and stared at the crystal rose
for a while. He ran his hand all over the petals and leaves, and was amazed
by how it almost looked like a real rose with it's intricate workmanship. He
set the rose down onto the table and went into deep thought.
'This rose must have cost her a lot! I can't believe she would spend so
much on me when I haven't been nice to her. Not even once!'
Darien ran his hands roughly into his hair.
'I got to give her something, but what? It's too late to stop by the mall
and buy her a gift. Well, the least I could do is stop by her house and say 
thank you. I owe her that much...and an apology for being such a stupid 
jerk to her.'
Darien, happy with his plan, got up and grabbed his jacket. Halfway out
the door, he just realized something.
'Wait a minute! I don't even know where Serena lives! Argh!!!! Now what
am I going to do. I can't wait to say thank you to her. She has to know that
I really appreciate all she has done for me. I know! She's at Crossroads
Children's Hospital. I completely forgot that she and her friends are helping
out over there. I can go in and thank Serena and maybe offer my help. They
needed more volunteers anyway.'
Darien walked out the door, locked his apartment, and took the elevator
to the garage, where he would drive over to the hospital.


@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~@~


*Crossroads Hospital*


The cafeteria was beautifully decorated with tinsel, a Christmas tree,
fake snow all over the floor, candy canes, reindeers, and other Christmasy
decorations. All the girls were putting the finishing touches to their
Christmas wonderland.
"This place sure looks beautiful," Molly commented as she set down 
a bowl of punch on the table.
"The kids will love it," Mina agreed as she climbed down the ladder.
"It has the whole Christmas magic in the air, don't ya think?" Lita
came in with a plate of cookies to add to the refreshment table.
"It sure does." Serena admired her surroundings.
"Where's Andrew and Rita?" questioned Amy.
"Oh, they're in the bathroom getting changed into their costumes,"
Raye explained.
"Shouldn't you get ready too, Serena?"
"I guess I better. The nurses will be coming down soon with the
kids." Serena put down a plate of cake.
"I'll help you," offered Mina.
"Thanks."
Serena and Mina walked out of the cafeteria and into the coat room
where the fairy wings and tiara was stored.
"You look so pretty, Serena. You'll make a convincing fairy," Mina 
commented as she helped Serena attach the wings to her gown.
"I sure hope so."
"Have you decided what Christmas songs to sing?"
"Yes. I'll be singing a few and Raye will be singing after me."
"It'll be a great performance. I wouldn't miss it for the world!"
"I'm only doing it for the kids. To make them happy."
"I know you will. Serena?"
"Yes?"
"Did you drop by Darien's and give him your gift?"
"I did."
"And?"
"And what?"
"What was his reaction?"
"I didn't give it to him face to face. I just dropped it on his doorstep
rang the doorbell, and watched him pick it up."
"Oh, Serena! Why did you do that?"
"I just don't want to face him when I gave him the gift. What if he
hated it? At least if I didn't have to give it to him up front, I wouldn't 
have to face the humiliation."
"Serena, I'm sure he loved it. He's probably out right now looking
for you to show you his thanks."
"Thanks Mina. For trying to cheer me up. Let's just hope he did 
like my gift."
"That's the spirit! No need to feel glum! It's Christmas Eve today!"
Serena smiled warmly at her friend.
"Now for your crown. May I do the honors of crowning you, your
highness?"
"Why certainly!"
Both girls giggled as Mina slowly placed the crown on Serena's
head.
"There. All done. Now to wait for your grand entrance!"
"Can't wait!"


*************************


By now, the cafeteria was a buzz of laughing, smiling kids all
waiting for the festivities to begin. Lita helped hand out the food to
the kids while Amy served the juice. After a few minutes of snacking
on sweets, the nurses gathered up the kids in an orderly fashion
and sat them down on the floor. Raye was up on the stage, ready 
to introduce the start of the small Christmas show.
"Good evening children and welcome to our small Christmas show!
Santa Claus and Mrs. Claus will be coming down at the hospital to
greet you shortly, but first...we have a treat for you. A special snow
fairy has come along with the Claus family to sing you some Christmas
songs! I give you the Snow Fairy Princess of the North Pole!"
Applause was heard throughout the cafeteria as all heads turned
towards the doors of the cafeteria, eagerly awaiting for the Fairy
Princess.
Serena slowly entered the cafeteria, gracefully walking towards 
the stage. Everyone was amazed by how beautiful Serena looked
and how she seemed to carry herself as if she were really a princess.
"Thank you everyone," Serena spoke into the microphone. "I'm
glad to be here. As Raye has said, I'm here to sing for all of you and
help you feel the magic of Christmas deep within your hearts..."


~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~


Darien came out of the elevator and into the cafeteria, where the 
nurse said he might be able to find Serena. As he thought over what
he would say to Serena, a familiar voice brought him out of his
reverie where he immediately looked up to see a beautiful sight
before him. Serena, dressed in white with small, sparkling snowflakes
covered all over the dress with wings attached to her back and a tiara 
on her head, took his breath away from where he was standing. After
recovering from his shock in seeing her up on the stage and not in her 
usual meatball hairstyle, he caught the last few sentences of Serena's 
speech where she said she'll be singing, "I'll Be Home For Christmas".
'Serena sings?!'


I'll be home for Christmas;
You can count on me. 
Please have snow and mistletoe 
And presents on the tree. 

Christmas Eve will find me 
Where the love-light gleams. 
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams.


After Serena finished the last verse, the whole room erupted in
applause. Serena then began another song after the room quieted
down.


Have yourself a Merry little Christmas,
Let your heart be light
>From now on,
our troubles will be out of sight
Have yourself a Merry little Christmas,
Make the Yule-tide gay,
>From now on,
our troubles will be miles away.

Here we are as in olden days,
happy golden days of yore.
Faithful friends who are dear to us
gather near to us once more.

Through the years we all will be together
If the Fates allow
Hang a shining star upon the highest bough.
And have yourself a Merry little Christmas now.


Song after song, Serena got a standing ovation and everybody
was mesmerized by her angelic voice. After her sixth song, she took
a break and Raye took over with some other Christmas songs like
Jingle Bell Rock, White Christmas, and Rudolph the Red Nosed 
Reindeer. As Serena walked off the stage, many of the kids, nurses,
parents, friends, classmates, and teachers all commented on her
wonderful singing voice. She walked into the kitchen to help refill
some of the refreshments when a voice startled her. She turned to
see who it was and was shocked to find Darien standing before her. 
"Darien! What are you doing here? I thought you were too busy to 
help around here." Serena had a puzzled look on her face.
"Well, I decided that I can always study any day and it is Christmas 
Eve after all. If I have nothing better else to do, might as well make 
myself useful and help, right?"
Serena smiled. "Yeah. Well, why not help me with putting cookies
on this tray?"
Darien obliged and was quickly at Serena's side in no time giving her
a hand. At first they just put the cookies on the tray in silence when
Darien spoke up.
"I heard you sing up there."
"Oh!" Serena blushed.
"You have a beautiful voice."
"Thank you."
"I see you got rid of the meatballs for tonight."
"Yeah. Now you can't call me Meat Ball Head!" Serena triumphantly
said.
Darien laughed. After his laughter died down, his face grew serious.   
"Serena, there is another reason why I am here besides helping out
at the hospital."
"There is? Then, what is it?"
Darien took a deep breath. 'Here goes nothing.'
"I came here to tell you thank you for the gifts. I love them."
Serena was surprised at first, but then gave Darien a warm smile.
"I'm glad that you do. I was hoping that it would make you happy."
"It did. I appreciate that you thought of me this Christmas. Not many
do except Andrew."
"Darien, I want to say that I'm sorry for what I said that day in the
arcade. It was very heartless of me to say." Serena bowed her head in
shame.
"Don't be, Serena. I deserved it, after all I said about your good cause."
"No, Darien. I want to confess something to you. Andrew told me all 
about your parent's death, the hospital, and orphanage."
"He what?" Darien asked, in pure shock.
"Darien, don't be mad at him. He just told me because he wanted me
to cheer you up. He thought that nobody else would get through to you
except me. And I didn't give you those presents out of pity, I gave them 
to you because I wanted you to know that you have me as well that cares
about you deeply. I don't want you to be sad anymore at Christmas. I want
you to be with people who care about you. I want you to be filled with 
joy during this time of the year. So please don't hate him or me."
Serena turned away from Darien and was on the verge of tears when
Darien gently turned her towards him and wiped away a few tears that 
were escaping from her eyes.
"Serena, look at me," Darien gently commanded.
Serena slowly looked up at Darien to see, not hatred, but joy in his
eyes.
"I don't hate you or Andrew. I knew Andrew would do whatever was
necessary to try and lift my spirits up this Christmas. He does every year.
And you know what? It worked! You were able to bring the spirit of
Christmas alive in me. For that, I am forever thankful."
"Really?" Serena smiled through tear stained cheeks.
"Yes."
Serena launched herself into Darien's arms and gave him a tight hug.
After staying in that position for five minutes, Darien reluctantly broke
free.
"Serena, I think I owe you an apology."
"An apology? For what?"
"For being so mean to you all these pass few months."
"Darien, there is no need for it. I forgive you."
"You do?" Darien asked with hope shining in his eyes.
"Of course."
"I think my Christmas is a lot brighter now."
"That's great to hear."
"I guess we should get out there and serve these refreshments. I 
think Raye introduced Santa and Mrs. Claus already. I hear some
Hohohoing going on outside."
"Okay. Let's!"
And Darien and Serena walked out with the trays, laughing heartily.


*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~*~~


The rest of the Christmas activities went on smoothly. Andrew was
the perfect Santa and Darien read some Christmas stories to the kids.
Many children went up to their rooms with smiles on their faces and the
Christmas spirit alive in their hearts. Everyone helped clean up and by 
ten, everyone departed to go home or go to a party. Darien insisted
to drive Serena home to save the trouble of Mina's Mom bringing her.
The car ride to Serena's house was spent in pleasant conversation
and listening to Christmas songs. When they reached her house, 
Darien escorted Serena to her front door.
"Thanks Darien, for driving me home."
"Sure. I don't mind. My apartment is a few blocks from your house
anyway."
"And I think Mina's Mom seemed to be a bit tired from helping out
at the hospital."
"That's why I insisted on taking you home myself."
They stood in silence on Serena's front door, having nothing else to 
say.
"I better be going in then. Goodnight Darien. Merry Christmas!"
Before Serena turned the door handle, Darien grabbed her hand, 
turned her to face him, and kissed her. This caught Serena off guard at 
first, but then gave in to the warmth and softness of his lips. He then
begged for her lips to open so he could explore her mouth more, which
Serena readily agreed. Their tongues played with each other in a heated
kiss which made the winter night go unnoticed between the two couple.
Because of lack of air, they had to unwillingly break the kiss.
"What was that all about? Not that I minded the kiss at all. Just curious,"
Serena breathlessly said.
"Mistletoe." Darien pointed above their heads.
Serena laughed and was leaning in to kiss him again when he stopped 
her.
"Would it be wrong to say that I love you?"
Serena felt her heart swell in utter happiness at hearing those three
little words come from his mouth.
"No, because I have to say that I love you right back. And always will.."
Darien felt like he was walking on air after he heard her response. He felt 
light and happy and wanted to shout out to the entire world that he has 
found someone who truly loves him and how he'll give her anything to
make her happy. Heck, he'd give her the universe if she asked. Darien
leaned down to capture Serena's lips in another soul shattering kiss to
prove his love for her now and forever.


The End!


I actually got a story done! YAHOO!!!!! I told you minna that I would! 
It also took me a long time to finish this part! You're lucky that I'm so 
determined to finish it for all your reading enjoyment! ^_^ I'm not
sure if I'll do a sequel to it. I might! You never know! Maybe if I
get a lot of e-mails begging me to, then you might just get your wish!
Now for my thanks to all the people who are so dear to me! ^_^
Melissa-chan(Angel Girlie), Bear-chan, Chibi-chan (Chibi-Anon Ymous),
Corn Dog (Chibi-Cori), Chibi Luna, Christina, Crissy, Angel-chan (Fallen
Angel), Gracie-chan (Grace McMoon), Holly (Moonie), Jennie Starr (my
wonderful editor), Jocelyn, Eisha-chan (Princess Star), Kuris-chan,
Lilly, Maia-chan, Amy(Mir), Mel-chan (Universal Wonder Babe), 
Nat-chan, Bunny-chan (Silver Bunny), Princess Sparkle, Neko-chan
(Silver Neko), Reen, Uji-chan, (Rei Ujigami), Reiko-chan (Sapphire),
Takako-chan (Amethyst), Rini, Rinka-chan, Rose, Ali-chan (Rose Candy),
Sarah, Silvery-chan (Silvery White Rose), Spooker, Stephanie, 
Sweetie-chan (Sweet Rose), Tris-chan (Trista Tigerstar), and Vikki!
Wow! Long list! I also want to thank all people that have e-mailed
me about my story! Any of them! Thanks so much for your support!
Feliz Navidad and a Happy New Year!!!!!! ^_~