Hey all! I hope you enjoy this chapter. As I write this fic over again I find myself adding and subtracting from the original making this an almost different fic in delivery but the overall plot will remain the same as the original. I've taken into account all of the original reviews and am changing it accordingly as I go along. So... if you review and give me some suggestions I might add it in. Once again... I hope that all of my veterined readers will NOT give away the plot of this fic because... well... you know me. I love reviews so I hope to see lots of them yeah? Okay so REVIEW!

Repairing Bonds

Ilene, Ken and Darien stood outside private room 206 of the hospital talking with the police officer. Darien looked exhausted but he was holding up quite well considering all he’d been doing. “So… Fiore Casinean rapped Serena?” The officer read the information he’d already written down.

“Him and his gang.” Darien growled now frustrated with the officer’s tendency to listen to half of the information presented. “They’re doing the rape kit right now if you want to wait to confirm that.” Ilene put a comforting hand on her son’s shoulder, which he quickly pulled away. The officer asked more questions before leaving the family in the hall.

“How could you let this happen to my little girl Darien? You’re supposed to protect her and make sure she doesn’t get into this sort of trouble!” Ken was fuming. Unlike his wife he cared very much for his daughter. He resented the fact that he rarely got to see her and now he was seeing the effects. “What if she’s pregnant… what if she’s permanently damaged by this?”

“Don’t talk to me like I haven’t thought of those things!” Darien shouted and looked Ken sharply in the eye. “If either of those is true… I… I will devote my entire life to helping her.”

“You’re damn right you will!” Ken snapped equally as angry. Ilene looked from one angry man to the next frowning. It wasn’t like them to be arguing so much and she didn’t like her husband assailing the young man.

“This isn’t his fault Kenneth. He’s not her babysitter… if our daughter was a decent girl who knew when to keep her legs closed we wouldn’t have this problem.” Ilene folded her arms and watched as Darien squared his shoulders in reaction to her words. “She’s brought this upon herself in one way or the other and there’s nothing we can do.” She shrugged and looked around. “Only doctors and psychiatrists can fix this.... How long do they want to put her on tranquilizers?”

“For however long she’s displaying symptoms of trauma.” Darien sighed and looked down at the floor as he anticipated the next words out of Ilene’s mouth. Her long wavy black hair glistened in the light as she thought about the appropriate words.

“Your father and I cannot stay here. We have bigger issues to deal with in the company.” Ken practically snorted making Darien’s head snap up. His eyes questioningly fixed on Ilene. “We have to go. You can deal with her can’t you darling?” She asked placing a hand on the side of her son’s face.

“I always have. Go, run away from all the problems and make your money. Whatever problems you’re having… Go and fix them. Serena doesn’t need you anymore anyway.” He then walked past them and down the hall to the cafeteria passing Andrew and Molly along the way. Andrew grabbed Darien’s shoulder as they walked stopping the both of them. “What?” Darien asked while not looking at his friend.

“This wasn’t your fault Dare.” Andrew smiled and stepped closer to his friend trying to comfort him. It was clear that Darien was feeling guilty; he always felt responsible for Serena. “Like you said… if you hadn’t let her go she would have snuck out.”

“Maybe… but… I let this happen. I wasn’t there Andrew. What kind of person am I for letting this happen to her?” Andrew looked at his friend and moved a hand up to the back of his head. “I can’t look at her Andrew… I’m going to be haunted by what I’ve already seen… and… she’ll never be the same after this.”

After a brief hug Andrew continued down the hall after his sister who was already in Serena’s room standing in the doorway staring in disbelief at the machines and restraints. “Why is she strapped down?” He asked his sister hoping that she’d already found an answer. Just then Serena opened her eyes and smiled warmly at her close friends. “Hey girl.” Andrew went to her and sat on the edge of her bed. “How are you?” She opened her mouth and tried to speak only to barely squeak. “Oh… Serena…” He half-heartedly smiled and took her restrained hand squeezing lightly.

“That Fiore’s gunna pay!” Molly hissed and balled her fists. “Jus’ you wait! Yer brotha’s gunna get ‘im.” I know they already did a police report on tha thing!” Serena nodded her head in agreement then turned to the window and seemed to sink into the bed. “What’s tha matta Sarenah?”

Andrew examined Serena’s features, sighed, and stood up. Walking to the door he looked at Molly with a disturbed gleam in his eyes. “Darien’s not here.” He whispered and walked out to go and retrieve his friend. Whatever Darien was struggling with had to be resolved because Serena needed him. Andrew had always been puzzled by their relationship but if there was one thing he knew it was that Serena turned to Darien for support. It was his presence that soothed her. “I’m going to go and talk to him.” Andrew left the room to search out his friend who was standing by a large picture window looking out to the busy city road. “You going back in there any time soon?”

“No.” Darien replied flatly. “I don’t have the temperament to be in that room right now. Mother and Father just left, Serena’s been severely damaged by this whole happening, and… Fiore…” He paused and looked at Andrew. “I’m going to kill him for this.” The tall blonde nodded then looked out the window.

“You can’t do that. No one will elect you if you did such a thing… you still want to be a DA right?” Darien nodded slightly then sighed deeply. “Well then, fight him legally and throw his ass in jail. He’ll rot there for the rest of his life and you can become a DA throwing all the bad guys away.”

“You know what bothers me the most about the system Andrew? Fiore… is apparently a three time rapist, he’ll be sentenced to life in prison but will most likely be up for parole in twenty provided he recovers.” Disgust was written all over Darien’s face as he continued. “Putting him in ail will be easy, he’s an all around bad guy… but what happens when the bad guys are seen as good guys? What happens when the most dangerous people around are the ones who have authority and appear to uphold the law?” Andrew frowned and leaned against the wall to analyze Darien’s face. “I’ll never be able to protect her like I’d like to. I can’t always guard her from those types of people… you know?”

“So… let me get this straight. You’re upset that this happened to her… and now your concerned that there are people out there… respectable people… who will become bad people who will want to hurt her?” Andrew thought for a moment then shrugged. “What will be will be.”

“Maybe… but what was… has been destroyed so how can we say that the future is set?” Andrew nodded no longer sure if he knew what the conversation was about. Clearly Darien was having a difficult time dealing with the guilt he felt about Fiore yet… he was talking about something Andrew didn’t understand. What had been destroyed? “Don’t worry too much Darien. The future will work out to be what it’s supposed to be.”

Serena lay in her hospital bed drowsily blinking her eyes. A quick glance around the room found Darien in the uncomfortable chair doing his homework silently. “Dare?” Her voice was strong now, a surprise to her. It seemed like only yesterday she was being admitted. “How long have I been sleeping?”

“On and off for about two weeks.” He stated flatly without looking up from his book and papers. “It looks like you can go home tomorrow.” She stared at him and raised her hand to touch his arm but found it still strapped to the bed. She stared at the padded restraints then looked at Darien with questioning eyes. “You attack people every now and then… it’s a reaction to a stimulus.” His voice was so dead it bothered her.

“Dare?” She sat up as best she could and tried to see his face. She didn’t know why but it seemed as if he’s changed, something about his demeanor was disturbingly indifferent to her. “Are you mad at me?’

“No.” He replied still not looking at her. She shook slightly wanting to see his eyes. Wanting to know why he refused to see her. Something was wrong… very wrong. “Fiore’s trial is in a few days. They wanted you to testify against him… it’s up to you. I’ve already agreed to share what I know.”

“What’s wrong?” She ventured then jumped as he slammed his book shut, ran his hand through his black tresses, and then stood up. He then quickly began to pack all of his school supplies into his bag and began to walk out of the room. “Darien! Stop! Where are you going?” She practically begged and pulled at the restraints feeling her body begin to break open from the movement. “What’s going on? Please?” Tears began to stream down her face as Darien froze in the doorway. “I love you… please don’t leave me alone.”

“I have to go.” He replied flatly with his head turned to the side outlining his profile. “Don’t move so much, your wounds will open and bleed.” He then turned from her making his back the last image she saw before the door closed leaving her alone in the sterile room. Turning from the door Darien collided with Ken who stumbled back a little then looked up at his son’s emotionless face. “Excuse me.”

Darien weaved past his father and began his exit. “So… you’re running.” Ken said softly making Darien stop in the hall. “I never thought I’d see the day you leave her to suffer. Ilene seems to think you can do no wrong and that this isn’t your fault… she thinks it’s all Serena’s but… we’ve all failed her. I haven’t been here to raise my own daughter… I’ve left her in your charge because I believed that you would do everything possible to keep her safe… I was wrong.” Darien turned to look his father in the eyes defiantly. “I however… have failed you greatly… we’re losing the company Darien.”

“What?” The anger in Darien’s voice shook Ken to the core. “What now? How did this happen?”

“Our CFO has been embezzling for years and… he’s hidden it well.” Darien looked at his father and shook his head. “I know this is less than ideal but… it’s happened. Looks like We’re going to have to sell everything and move.” Ken saw the confusion in Darien’s face and continued. “Your mother and I have been offered prestigious positions at another company in Washington.”

“Washington?’ Darien smiled slyly. “That’s interesting. I’m assuming not in Seattle.” Ken just looked at the taller man and shrugged. “A friend offering the positions to you?” Ken nodded and looked towards Serena’s hospital door. “I’m not too thrilled about the company but… I think this could be good. We could start our lives over… Serena will be able to get away from all of these bad memories.” Darien thought for a moment longer and smiled. “I guess the future doesn’t look as bad as I thought. The University of Washington has an excellent law school. I’m keeping my car.” He pointed at Ken making the brown haired man chuckle and nod. Darien then turned around and began to walk down the hall. “I have to go and deal with a few police related issues. Serena could use some company.”

Ken watched Darien disappear around a corner and entered his daughter’s room not seeing her since before the incident. He hadn’t wanted to but it seemed time to face reality. When he saw her he paused and swallowed. She was crying and he could see a bit of blood on the front of her hospital gown. Looking up at him she threw her body back into the bed and cried out so loudly he cringed. “Sweetheart… what’s going on?” Ken quickly stepped out of the way as a nurse entered and looked at Serena carefully. The blonde lay in the bed with her head turned towards the window, tears silently running down her cheeks. “Is she okay?”

“She’s been moving too much and has opened some of her cuts. You were doing so well… what’s going on?” The nurse looked at Serena who didn’t respond. “Serena?” Ken watched Serena close her eyes and swallow before turning towards the nurse with angry eyes.

“Undo these restraints and get out.” She growled and looked back towards the windows. The nurse stood up straight and crossed her arms before walking past Ken with a look of annoyance. “Remove these!” Serena screamed and sat up once again. “I want to go HOME!”

“Serena… calm down.” Ken encouraged and approached the bed as the nurse left and Andrew stepped into the room. “You’ve been through something very difficult… please calm down.” She glared at her father smiled coldly. “Honey…”

“Stop it Serena.” Andrew stepped forward. “Behave yourself or you’re not going to get to go home. I’m warning you. Keep yelling like this and they’ll lock you away in a crazy bin. Understand?” Andrew sighed as Serena leaned back and returned her eyes to the window. “Mr. Shields… may I have a few moments to talk to her?” Ken nodded and looked at his daughter with pity before leaving the two teens together. “Serena, please stop this. I know you’re angry that Darien’s not been here very often but you need to realize that Darien’s been dealing with all of the legal issues concerning this. We were at the police station when they hauled Fiore in and the things he shouted… it was very upsetting and it took three officers to keep him from going after Fiore right there. He needs to take care of this and get over it in his own time Serena… don’t push him okay?” Serena looked at her dear friend and sighed adding a nod. “Good.” He then turned and stepped to the door calling Ken back into the room.

“Daddy… I want to go home… will you sign me out? I’m sick of being here… I’m depressed… please?” Ken bit the inside of his cheek and pushed his glasses back up his nose. “Please Daddy… at least ask?” She batted her eyelashes. Andrew smiled, Serena looked as if she was back to normal.

“I’ll go and check honey. I’m not too sure they’ll let you go though… but I’ll look.” She smiled at her father then turned her head to Andrew. Her eyes were filled with worry and sadness.

“Andy… I… I’m scared. What if Darien doesn’t love me anymore? I know this sounds childish but… he wouldn’t look at me… didn’t really talk to me. I know you say he’s just concerned about all this legal crap but…” She stopped and looked to the window once more. “I wouldn’t know what to do if…”

“Don’t say anything else. You know it’s not true and I don’t want you talking like that.” Andrew scolded the girl as Ken walked back into the room with a smile. Serena was going home.

Two weeks passed and Darien was still avoiding the fragile blonde. Fiore had been taken to court and sentenced to a lifetime in prison without parole; unfortunately Andrew’s promises to Serena had yet to be realized making her feel extremely depressed. With each passing moment she felt herself drifting farther and farther from her brother and closer to the inevitable. She didn’t want to live in a world where Darien was in a different world, she didn’t want a life without his love. That life was unbearable to think of and so she tried. Each day she tried to repair the bonds that had been severed many times causing her wounds to open and bleed.

Finally one day she gave up. Tired of Darien’s indifference and desperate for relief she walked to the kitchen when no one was around. It was early morning, roughly three fifteen when she reached for the box of rat poison under the sink. With tears in her eyes she moved around the kitchen collecting the items to make hot chocolate. If she was going to poison herself at least she’d do it while drinking something she liked. The milk and water was heated, the chocolate mixed in, and a cup of rat poison added. Now there was but one task, to drink it down and go back to bed. A small noise caught her attention making her turn to see Darien standing in the doorway leaning on the frame. She wasn’t sure how long he’d been there but the way his blue eyes were focused on her she knew it had been a while.

Pushing off from the doorframe he approached her with a stern face and took hold of her hands, which were holding the coffee cup. There were no words exchanged between them as Darien removed the object from her grasp then pulled her into a tight embrace. As she pressed her node into his chest tears freely flowed from her eyes wetting his shirt. “What do you think you’re doing?” He finally broke the silence. “You ask me not to leave you and yet you’re so willing to leave me.” She jerked herself out of his arms so she could look him in the eyes.

“I don’t want to live a life where you ignore and avoid me.” Her tears were fully streaming down her face making him move to her again only this time taking her face in his hands. “What?”

“Don’t cry.” He smiled and moved his thumbs over her cheeks wiping away the tears. “I’m sorry I was avoiding you but… I feel so guilty about what happened to you. I know it’s my fault… I’m assuming for more than one reason.” Leaning forward he rested his forehead on hers then closed his eyes and inhaled sharply. “I was wrong… but don’t ever scare me like this again. If anyone’s going to kill you it’s me.” He then smiled and pulled away from her before dumping her suicide drink down the drain. “You belong in bed little lady. We have a busy next few weeks.”

“What do you mean?” Serena’s eyes went wide. What would be busy when Fiore was in prison and everything was back to normal? Instead of answering he took hold of her hands and led her upstairs to her room. “Dare?”

“The company is bankrupt. It’s being shut down and we’re going to move tot eh west coast.” He didn’t miss a beat in relaying the information making Serena suspicious of the situation. “I think this could be a good thing for us Serena. I really do.” He smiled and paused by her bed. “How are your injuries? Are they healing like they should?” Serena shrugged in response. “Are you going to make me see for myself?” He sighed and turned her so he was facing her back. Lifting her shirt he examined her skin and walked to the bathroom. “You’re moving around too much Serena. You’re never going to heal if you don’t rest.” Returning to her side he lifted her shirt off of her body and began to pat a damp cloth to her skin removing the blood that seeped from her gashes. “What am I going to do with you Serena?”

“I don’t know.” She smiled to herself being sure not to let him see. “Perhaps you can just lock me in my room for the rest of my life.” He chuckled and turned her to continue the job at hand. “I think… starting over is a good thing… I won’t be seen as the easy girl somewhere else if I don’t let myself go down that road.” She smiled and looked into Darien’s focused eyes. “Maybe I’ll meet someone.” His eyes shifted to hers for a brief moment then he returned them to his task.

“Maybe.” He agreed. Serena remained quiet as he finished cleaning her. Afterwards she lay down and let him tuck her into bed. “Night Serena… sleep tight okay?” She nodded and closed her eyes as he kissed her forehead and turned off the light. “We start packing tomorrow. I’ll do your room… I don’t want you doing it.”

“Goodnight.” She laughed and waited for him to leave the room before truly relaxing. I’ll need to pack up my toy box before he sees it. Her thoughts began to wander until she was fast asleep in her dream world.

~Dream~

Running from the dark figure chasing her she rushed through the forest dodging trees coming at her left and right. It seemed that no matter how fast she ran he was right behind her. It wasn’t until she felt her legs begin to give out that a clearing appeared. In the middle, atop a hill stood Darien with his back towards her, his strong shoulders tensed and seemingly ready for action. “Darien!” She cried causing him to turn towards her. She froze, he was much older yet still looked young, his deep blue eyes appeared drained and emotionless.

She wasn’t sure why but as she threw herself into his arms it felt as though something was different, something in the way he was holding her was different. She looked up into his face and noticed his eyes were not on him but rather on the figure previously chasing her. He was intensely focused and angry. “It’s over now. Leave her alone.” He stated in an authoritative tone.

He and the figured argued back and forth until they finally wound up physically fighting. Despite her concern she was confident in Darien. This person was trying to take her away, trying to imprison her… whoever he was wouldn’t… no couldn’t win against Darien. As they fought she watched the figure slowly change until he was overpowering Darien and finally managed to knock Darien down rendering him unconscious. “DARIEN!” She screamed and rushed towards his still body with tears streaming down her face. “You monster!” She shouted at the figure who smiled victoriously then grabbed a hold of her and began to drag her away. “NO! DARIEN! DARIEN!”

Sitting up violently she noticed the dying sound of a scream then noticed someone standing beside her bed. She screamed again and moved away from the person as they reached for her. When a hot searing pain shot through her body she stilled allowing the person to take hold of her. “Shhh… it was only a nightmare.” The soft voice was Darien’s and immediately calmed her causing her to cry and hold onto him. Though it was too dark to see anything she could feel the concern in his voice, she could also hear his steady heart beating. “Only a nightmare.” He repeated and held her gently against his bare chest.

“You’re going to leave me.” She said softly as the tears streamed down her face. “Someone’s going to take me away from you.” He sighed and released her moving onto the bed. “No response?” She asked as he lay beside her and pulled her beside him.

“I don’t know what you want me to say. It was a dream. Nothing more, nothing less.” He grew silent allowing her to move closer to him so she was resting on his chest with one of his arms around her and the other holding her hand. He gently moved his fingers over her shoulder noticing a minute amount of liquid on her skin. “You’ve been thrashing around a bit… you’ve broken open some of your cuts again.”

“Again? How long is it going to take for these to heal?” She groaned and closed her eyes choosing to focus on the rhythmic beat of his heart. “It’s been almost two months now.”

“Yes… but he sliced you open with a scalpel then abused you causing them to rip. He cut you deeper than you think he did.” Darien’s voice was laced with sadness. “You’ve been sleeping in here for a week.” Her eyes opened and searched for his in the darkness. “I’m sorry but I had to do it. I couldn’t have you running around here and packing boxes.”

“Did… you… touch my small pink dresser?” She asked in a panicked voice. As much as she shared with her brother the one thing she didn’t want him knowing about was her drawer of sexual items. She knew toys wouldn’t bother him but the videos she had in her special drawer would. There had been instances where she’d taped some of her encounters and if he ever got his hands on those she’d die of embarrassment. Him seeing her nude and taking care of her was one thing but him seeing her in the act… was so very different. “Dare?”

“No, I haven’t. Why is there something in there you don’t want me to find?” His voice was amused yet concerned at the same time. “You don’t have any drugs in there do you? You know what happened the last time…”

“No, I don’t have any drugs… it’s… a different genre.” She swallowed her words making him laugh. “What? What I do with my personal time is the one thing I keep from you and I plan to keep it that way.”

“Please do.” He chuckled and squeezed her tighter in a playful manner. “I’ll leave that dresser for you until you have it emptied… oh… I do have some bad news though…” He paused causing her to suck in her breath. “Mother sold your car… she sold most everything. Basically we get our beds, dressers, and personal things including clothes but that’s it. Everything else has been sold. The house is so empty right now it’s ridiculous.” She growled. Her car! Her beautiful white eclipse was gone? Why? “In case you’re wondering I’m keeping my car. No one is ever going to take that car from me… it’s mine. I paid for it.” He said with finality making her very jealous. Why did he get to keep his car but hers was sold? “All that aside you should get back to sleep, we’re finishing up tomorrow and beginning the journey to Washington.”

“I’m not tired.” She pouted but closed her eyes once again thankful for the fact that it seemed he was going to stay with her. He laughed lightly and kissed her forehead gently. “I hope morning never comes.” She whispered as she began to slip into her dream world.

He felt her relax and begin to breath deeply; once again she was asleep. He knew he should get up and go back to his own room but he couldn’t, he couldn’t leave her alone. The entire time she’d been sleeping she’d been having nightmares and calling out for him. At times she screamed and cried, thrashing even, as if to get away from something. Truth was that he was worried. He was worried about her dreams; more specifically he was worried about him being in her dreams so often. It was true that the majority of his dreams were about her but it was because she was so fragile. “Things are going to get better. I promise you Serena.” He whispered into her hair and closed his own eyes.