Title: Royal Flush - Day 5
Author: Alicia Blade
E-mail: Kammi22@sprintmail.com

Hey Minna-chan! Well, I had a time slot Thursday and actually gt to 
finish this! Yay!! That makes... 3 more parts to go! As always, PLEASE 
e-mail me!!!! 

I want to give special thanx this time around to Twilight and Allison, 
who both gave me tons of ideas and inspirations for this chapter. Thank 
you SOOOO much for letting me use your ideas! Luv ya!

And, of course, gotz to give my endless love and gratitude to Lady 
Starra, Edeet, Athena, and Sailor Elysia. Arigatou, you guys mean so 
much to me, and always keep me entertained with your incredible 
stories! May God bless you abundantly!

Ooh, guess what!! I'm on Jen Wand's Tuxedo Mask Shrine!!! EEK!! I'm so 
happy!!! Thanx, girl, for your support!
http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/eponine/tux/fanfic.html

And also, please go visit Rebe-chan's site, which is now posting 
fanfics, so if you're a writer, send stuff in! And send her guest book, 
she loves that!! http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Bridge/8224/

Alrighty, that's all! Enjoy!! 

	"You wanted a king and rulers. Where is your king now? What 
cities have rulers? In my anger, I gave you a king; in my fury, I took 
him away."
							Hosea 13.10-11
						(Powerful, ne?)


	Serena smoothed the blanket back, tucking the edges in around the 
pillow. She was quite proud of herself. She couldn't remember thinking 
of him since fourth period. Of course, Ms. Haruna had caught her then, 
and it hadn't been a pretty sight. She sighed, placing a now empty 
flower vase into a white cupboard above the night table. She could feel 
her mind beginning to wander to the man who had occupied her thoughts 
for... what had it been now? Four, five days since the bet? Seemed like 
longer... or did it seem like shorter? She wasn't exactly sure anymore. 
About anything, really. 
	She still hated him. No. She WANTED to still hate him. True, 
she'd realized he wasn't half as bad as she'd thought he was, but it 
was so much simpler to be able to say simply, "Darien? Oh, yeah, I hate 
him." She didn't have to sit there and analyze WHY she hated him, or 
even if she still did. And as long as she couldn't stand him, she 
wasn't forced to wonder about what she really DID feel about him... 
because it was already decided. 
	Picking up a plastic cup on the sink counter, she placed it in 
the tray ready to take to the kitchen on the second floor. Agitatedly, 
she sighed. "Well, I got through 3 hours without thinking about him. 
It's a new record," she stated sourly to herself. Turning, she looked 
over the boring white room again. Only yesterday this had been the 
temporary home of Rayea, a young girl she had grown rather close to. 
Then, stuffed animals and old colorful blankets had littered the room. 
But Rayea was better now, and ready to leave, and so after 2 weeks in 
the hospital, she'd finally gone home to where she belonged. Serena 
missed her already.
	She took the tray of dishes and laundry out into the hall and 
down the elevator silently. Talking only to say hello to recognizable 
doctors and nurses.

	"Sewena!! Sewena!!" squealed the parade of small children. She 
smiled as multiple little arms wrapped around her legs. Laughing, she 
bent down and picked up the first kid she came in contact with, in this 
case, a young boy who was having his tonsils out the next day, Jeff.
	"Hey everyone, how are you all doing?" she asked to the crowd, 
most specifically directed to Jeff.
	"We played hide and seek earlier! It was fun, you shoulda been 
there!" yelled the young boy excitedly. 
	"Really?! Wow, I sure am sorry I missed that!"
	"We can play again!"
	"Maybe later, okay?" She set the boy down and walked over to the 
small blue couch on the adjacent wall, the children all crowding around 
her, screaming and trying to show her their latest achievements. She 
smiled. This was her favorite part of the volunteer work, working in 
the nursery. 
	Jeff and Wendy, a small girl, crawled happily onto her lap. Wendy 
held up a picture for her to see. "I made it yesterday! It's for you, 
Serena! 'Cause you like bunnies!"
	She giggled and took the drawing carefully. It was of a very 
sloppy, very comedic, very neon pink bunny rabbit. At the bottom, Wendy 
had tried her best to sign her name. It looked more like Womby, but who 
was complaining?
	"Oh, I absolutely love it! This is going on my wall tonight! I'm 
gonna frame it and everything! Thank you so much, you're going to be a 
famous artist someday, I just know it!"
	Wendy squealed and threw her arms around Serena's neck, hugging 
her briefly. 
	"Serena, Serena! Lookie, lookie!" Turning, she saw another little 
boy who had clambered just behind Jeff holding up a fake plastic rose, 
remarkably similar to the flowers in Mrs. Sunike's room just down the 
hall... 
	She laughed awkwardly, taking the decoration from his eager grip. 
"Why... thank you so much, Mark, it's lovely!"
	"It is quite nice, Mark. But don't you know that if you REALLY 
wanna get on a pretty girl's good side, ya wanna bring real roses?" The 
room fell silent as all eyes turned to see a tall man standing in the 
doorway. Serena's jaw dropped and the flower fell forgotten in her lap.
	Darien walked in, one hand behind his back, the other, 
nonchalantly in his pocket. "They always prefer a bouquet, a dozen is 
best, and always, ALWAYS, the deepest red you can find." Kneeling down, 
he brought his hand from behind his back to reveal twelve perfect red 
roses. "They can't resist," he added, handing them to Serena. She took 
them shakily, her eyes never leaving his. The kids stared on silently, 
watching as this older man confronted their favorite babysitter.
	"I... I... what are you doing here?!" Serena spit out after pulling 
herself back from the mesmerizing gaze. So close... so close to being 
lost in those eyes...
	Darien chuckled. "Thought you might need a little help, I know 
hospitals are always in need of volunteers, and I got off of work 
early, so... you don't mind, do you?"
	'Mind? MIND?! No, I don't mind that you're stealing every piece 
left of my sanity as we speak! Go right ahead, help yourself!'
	"No, of course I don't mind. I'm just... surprised to see you, 
that's all." 
	He chuckled. "Great, I'm glad I'll have the chance to help." He 
stood up, looking down all tons of small faces, all staring shocked at 
him. "And who have we here? Hello, I'm Darien."
	"Are you Sewena's boyfriend?" asked a small voice. Serena gasped 
and sat up straight as Darien began to chuckle. 
	"Well..."
	"No, he is NOT my boyfriend!" she interjected. Clearing her 
throat, she placed Wendy and Jeff on the couch beside her, standing to 
take care of the roses, placing them in a vase on the counter. "And I 
don't want to hear another word about it, you're all too young to be 
thinking like that, anyway!" she practically yelled. Darien watched in 
amusement as a blush stained her cheeks becomingly.
	Shrugging, he turned to the kids, still gawking at him. "I guess 
that's a no."

	"Well, basically, I go to patients, mostly children, and try to 
cheer them up while they're in the hospital. There are quite a few 
volunteers, so we each take a section of the building. I try to cover 
the fourth and fifth floors. Maybe, I should take just the fourth 
today, and you could take the fifth?"
	Darien looked up thoughtfully. They were walking down a long 
white corridor as she explained to her what she did, and what he could 
do to help. "Well, I don't know if I want to be that far away from you, 
I mean, what if I do something wrong? Can't we just go down the 
hallways, each take every other door or something?"
	Serena smiled. "Sure, that would work too. Oh, but Darien?"
	"Yeah?"
	"Try not to tease the little kids. They can be sensitive, and I 
know what you're like."
	He faked hurt. "Do you really think I would be mean to a little 
kid?! I'm hurt!"
	She only rolled her eyes, stepping into the elevator with him on 
her heels. 
	"The first patient is a little girl named Shannon. She's a 
sweetheart, a close friend of mine. Then there's Charles, a boy who 
broke his leg the other day. He's nice too, but very hyper!"
	Darien grinned. "This sounds like it should be fun."
	Serena smiled happily. "Well, I think it is."

	"Hi Charles!" Serena squealed, rushing to the side of the bed to 
give the boy with light brown hair a hug. Charles smiled, hugging her 
back briefly. 
	The boy was about 7 years old with shaggy hair and happy green 
eyes. His right leg was in a cast from the heel to just below the knee, 
lying on top of the light blue covers.
	"Charles, I want you to meet my... um... assistant, Darien."
	Darien smiled at the title and walked over to the young boy. "Hey 
dude, what's happening?" he asked casually, slapping him a high five.
	"Not much... are you Serena's..."	
	"Assistant, Charles, he's my assistant!" The two boys looked at 
her speculatively. She blushed, slightly turning away. "Oh, I see that 
someone came in with some balloons, you must feel special!" The boy 
smiled greatly. 
	"Yup, they're from Grandma and Grandpa! They came in for a couple 
hours today!"
	"Oh, really? How cool, I wish I could have met them!"
	"Maybe next time?" 
	"I'd love to. Now listen, I'm gonna go check up on Shannon for 
awhile, why don't you watch after Darien and make sure he doesn't get 
into trouble, okay?" she said teasingly. Darien looked at her with a 
smug grin. Charles only laughed. 
	"Okay!"
	She left hurriedly, a smile lingering on her face. Just down the 
hall, she came to another room, remarkably similar, only this one 
littered with small flower bouquets and miniature poster of rock bands 
and musical instruments, compared to the many sports items and toys in 
Charles' designated room.
	Shannon was nine years old, with long brown hair down nearly to 
her waist and big blue eyes. Despite her young age, she already showed 
incredible talent in music and seriously hoped to one day become a 
famous singer or musician.
	"Hey, Shannon!" Serena said in a sing song voice as she walked 
into the small room. The girl looked up happily to see her favorite 
'nurse' walk into the room. 
	"Serena!" she screamed, holding her arms out for a hug. 
	She answered hurriedly, walking over to the girl's bed and 
sitting down, squeezing her briefly in a large bear hug. "So, how are 
things going for you?"
	"Pretty good, I learned a new song today!"
	"Another one?! You mean, you haven't memorized them all by now?!"
	Shannon shrugged slightly. "Well, not ALL of them..." 
	Serena smiled as they continued to chat, Shannon telling her 
happily about the new instruments her father was going to buy her for 
her birthday and when the next Backstreet Boy's CD would be out, while 
Serena just as happily avoided the subject of what she'd been doing the 
past week.

	Twenty minutes later, Serena walked out of the room with a smile 
on her face. "Hm... it seems like I'm forgetting abut something... OH! 
Darien! Ooh, I hope him and Charles are getting along!" Picking up her 
pace, she quickly made it to the room just down the hall. She stopped 
in her tracks right inside the door when she saw what she did.
	"Go long!" Charles called. Darien ran to the farthest corner 
before a soft football came heading in his direction. He caught it 
easily, before throwing it onto the ground and beginning a funny dance. 
Serena covered her mouth to keep from laughing.
	"We won! We won the game!" Charles cheered, beginning the 
'cabbage patch' dance from his bed, before jumping into seventies mode 
and doing disco. 
	Darien covered his mouth with his hands, creating a muffled 
sound. "That's right, ladies and gentleman, the Broncos have just won 
the Super Bowl! (AN: I KNOW that's an American thing, but leave me 
alone, I don't know anything about Japanese sports!) And it's all in 
thanks to their star quarterback, Charles!" The two teammates gave each 
other high fives, doing a funny, 'secret' handshake. This was too much. 
Serena broke into laughter, nearly buckling over where she stood. 
Grabbing her stomach, she leaned against the doorframe. 
	At the familiar sound, both boys turned to the girl standing in 
the doorway. Darien grinned, walking over to her. Draping his arm 
around her shoulders, he talked into a closed palm as if he was holding 
a microphone. "And here's one of their high-strung cheerleaders! Serena 
Tsukino, what do you think of this incredible victory?" 
	Through giggles and watery eyes, Serena managed to choke out, "It 
was... it was a wonderful game!!" Darien squeezed her shoulders almost 
unnoticeably before returning to the corner and picking up the 
football, casually tossing it to the boy laughing along on the bed. 
"Good game!" he said light-heartedly.
	After catching her breath, Serena wiped the tears from her eyes, 
looking up at Darien, then Charles and back. She shook her head 
wonderingly, then spoke, "I'm very sorry to interrupt, but Darien, we 
have to get going."	
	Charles groaned disappointedly as Darien nodded in agreement. 
	"I'll come back and see you, okay?" said Darien comfortingly. 
After saying good-byes, Darien followed Serena out of the room. Once 
they were down the hall, he turned to her with a wide grin.
	"Ya know, this is a LOT of fun!" 
	She giggled slightly, still trying to get the image of a dancing 
Darien out of her mind. Funny how she'd never noticed how easily he 
could bring a smile to her face.

	She walked quickly down the hallway, peering into every room 
nervously. "Ooh, where IS he?"
	It had been nearly an hour since the football charade. They had 
visited a couple of children together, then she had left him alone 
again with Drew, a six year old boy who was stuck in a wheelchair until 
he could have surgery the next week. She hadn't seen him since. 
	"Darien...?" she whispered to herself. Biting her lip, she looked 
anxiously down one hall, then another. No sign of either him, or Drew. 
She thought about going back to the room and checking there for the 
third time. Sighing, she turned on her heels and marched back, keeping 
her eyes open and searching the whole way. 
	"BEEP! BEEP! Coming through!" yelled a deep voice from down the 
hall. Looking up, Serena screamed before throwing herself up against 
the wall to get out of the way of an oncoming... wheelchair?! 

	Darien hopped quickly off the back of the wheelchair, bringing it 
to an abrupt halt as he recognized the girl with the odd hairstyle 
standing 5 feet in front of them. Clearing his throat, he rubbed his 
hair down with one hand, while holding on to the back of the chair with 
the other. 
	Drew, a red-haired boy with a freckled face, continued to laugh 
hysterically long after the ride had stopped. Darien walked closer to 
Serena, still standing shocked with her back up against the wall. 
Pretending to tip his hat off to her, he said in an English accent, 
	"Good day, mi'lady. What a pleasure it is running into you here. 
I'm awfully sorry to have to cut this meeting so short, but we really 
must be on our way. Good day!" With a remaining smile, he took off with 
a whirl, running down the hall to build up speed before jumping onto 
the back of the ride again. 
	Serena watched in awe, confusion and shock coursing through her 
veins. Then, she found herself smiling. She shook her head. 
'That man... What is it about that man?'

"Hey, Keisha, have you seen Darien?" she asked, poking her head 
into the small waiting room.
	The girl turned away from her task of cleaning the room to the 
voice behind her. "Oh, hi Serena! Have I seen who?" Keisha was another 
candy striper at the hospital. She had dark skin with black hair pulled 
into dozens of small braids.
	"Darien," Serena replied. 
	"I don't know who that is..." Keisha said slowly, counting off 
names in her head.
	Serena sighed, coming in the room totally. "Well, he's about this 
tall, has black hair and blue eyes... kinda cute..." She added the last 
remark with a blush tinting her cheeks. 
	"Oh, THAT guy! Yeah, I saw him a couple hours ago... he was 
carrying a bunch of roses, and he asked me if I knew you or if I knew 
where you were."
	Serena sighed. "Have you seen him more RECENTLY?"
	Keisha shook her head. "No, sorry Serena, I haven't."
	Her shoulders sank disappointedly. "Oh, okay. Well, if you see 
him, could you tell him I'm looking for him? Thanks." She turned to 
leave when Keisha called after her. Looking back at her, Keisha grabbed 
her wrist quickly.
	"Hold up, girl, what's the big rush? Come and talk to me a bit, I 
need to know more about this Darien guy."
	Serena rolled her eyes as she was led willingly to the couch. 
They plopped down next to each other as Keisha looked up at her 
eagerly. 
	"So... is he your boyfriend that you failed to tell me about?"
	"Ugh!" Serena screamed, jumping to her feet. Turning, she looked 
down on a shocked candy striper. "NO! For the last time, Darien Chiba 
is NOT my boyfriend! Yeesh!"
	Keisha gulped nervously. "Umm... okay, I get the point. He's not 
your boyfriend, geez, relax..." There was a silence as Serena let herself 
calm down slightly. "So then..." Keisha continued, "he's free?"
	"Huh?"
	"He's up for grabs?"
	"What do you mean?"
	Keisha rolled her eyes. "For goodness sakes, Serena, wake up! I'm 
asking if he has a girlfriend so that I can go for him and not make a 
fool out of myself!"
	"Go... for him?"
	She laughed, her braids shaking slightly around her face. "Oh 
Serena, you're such a crack up. Look, here is a handsome, nice, RICH 
guy, I mean did you see the car he came driving up in?! CHA-CHING!"
	Serena stared blankly. 
	"So, anyway, I would be more than happy to spend a little time 
with him, so maybe, if you would mind, you could help set us up or..."
	"NO, YOU CAN'T!" screamed Serena as her full meaning finally sank 
in. Keisha stared up at her. 
	"Huh? Hey, what's up with the outbreaks today? I thought you just 
said that you weren't interested in him..."
	"Well, I'm not, I mean, I don't think I am... but, but, you can't 
have him!" she shrieked, panic racing through her veins. Keisha stared 
unmoving. Slowly, she stood up and placed a comforting hand on her arm, 
now crossed awkwardly in front of her chest. Then, it clicked. 
	She smiled knowingly. "Oh, I'm sorry Serena. I didn't realize 
that you were so... emotionally attached to him."
	Serena looked up at her, breathing slowly returning to her. 
"Huh?"
	"It's okay, you can tell me. You may not be dating him, but you 
sure wish you were, huh?"
	"Wha... no, no of course not, I don't... think... I mean... I... um..."
	"Don't stress about it, girl, I'll butt out, okay? He's all 
yours! Now then, tell me more about him so I know just what's got you 
so hooked!"
	She eased Serena back onto the couch, stealing back her own seat 
as well. The blond quit stammering, looking down uneasily at her hands. 
She wasn't sure what to say. Truth be told, up until this point, she 
wasn't even sure why she was so 'hooked,' or even if she really was. 
	"Well?"
	"I... I don't know. It doesn't make any sense... at least, not to 
me."
	"Why don't you try explaining it, and I'll see if I can make 
sense out of it?"
	She gulped, nodding her head slowly. 
	"Okay, well... I don't know where to start. You see... Darien... it's 
like, one day he can be so serious, and so... professional. And then, the 
next, he can be the funnest, most hilarious man I've ever met. I mean... 
I've never met anyone who could make me so... happy. Like I don't have a 
care in the world... It's strange, and I don't know what to make of it. 
And then there are times when all I want to do is SEE him. I don't have 
to talk to him or touch him, just looking is enough. While there are 
other times that if I'm looking at him, I'll have this... urge to run 
into his arms and... and... Oh Keisha, what's wrong with me? I only started 
feeling this a couple days ago, and it came so fast! It's all so 
confusing!"
	Keisha smiled friendly. "Hon, this is isn't nearly as confusing 
as you think it is. Actually, your disease is quite simple."
	"Disease?"
	"Love. You are in love with him."
	Serena stared into her friend's almond eyes for a minute, the 
statement echoing in her mind. Then, without warning, she broke into 
laughter.
	"Ha! Me? In love with... with THAT?! You've got to be kidding! 
That's crazy! Absolutely absurd!" Her laughter continued to echo in the 
small room as Keisha stared at her in shock. 
	"Woah, woah, slow down! What's so absurd about it? You talk about 
the guy like he's the last man alive on this Earth!"
	Serena struggled to regain her composure, looking up at her 
friend with cheery eyes. After a few deep breaths, she forced herself 
back to seriousness. Looking into Keisha's eyes, she began, "Keisha, 
you don't understand. Darien can be THE biggest jerk in the entire 
world! Up until about 4 days ago, he was even that mean to ME. There's 
no way I could ever feel something like LOVE for him. Not in a million 
years. I mean, we never get along, can't stay in the same room for more 
than 10 minutes, well, at least not until recently. Sure, he's been 
really sweet and all the past few days, but... how different could he 
possibly be?" To her surprise, Serena stopped and looked at Keisha, 
actually searching for an answer.
	The girl sat back, staring at Serena through suspicious eyes. 
"Why don't you answer that?" After a moment of silence, she sat up 
closer to Serena, staring at her seriously. "Serena you say you're not 
in love with him? Fine, then you're not in love with him. But people DO 
change. Or maybe... maybe he never did change, you just never stuck 
around long enough to see this side of him. Either way, if the 'him' 
that you know now makes you feel like nothing could possibly be wrong 
in the world, then love or no love, you need to hold onto that guy. At 
least until you figure out what you ARE feeling. You owe that to 
yourself. Although... I still think you're in love."
	Her point made distinctively clear, Keisha stood and walked 
silently out of the room. Serena watched her go before slumping down on 
the dark green couch. 
	"I'm not in love with him. I can't be," she whispered. Looking at 
her watch, she noted it was already 7:40, not long before she had to 
get home. Sighing, she stood and returned to her search for Darien, 
ready to tell him she was leaving. 
	Only minutes later, she found him. Surprisingly, he was talking 
to a young five-year-old girl, Patricia, whom she hadn't yet introduced 
him to. They seemed to be in an in-depth conversation and she found 
herself dreading having to interrupt it. Chewing on her lip, she leaned 
silently on the doorframe, eavesdropping shamelessly. 
	Darien was sitting on the bed next to the girl, one hand placed 
on the opposite side of her legs to keep his balance. He was staring at 
her kindly, though intently, as she stared at her fingers tied in her 
lap. Her short, shoulder-length brown hair fell over her face, hiding 
it from him, though both he and Serena could tell by her voice the sad 
frown she must have worn. 
	"They just found out about it a week ago. Don't know exactly how 
long I've had it but... I'm so a'scared though. They're gonna do 
something really weird in a couple days... with needles and sharp things 
and everything. I know it's supposed to do me good, and they say I 
won't remember anything, but it's still so scary to think about. What 
if... what if I don't live? I'm just... so... so scared..." She wiped at her 
eyes quietly, sniffling as her body began to shake slowly. Darien 
reached out and held her hand tightly. 
	"Hey, don't you think like that, okay? Of course you're going to 
live. This is a good hospital with good people who are going to take 
care of you. You don't need to be afraid of anything. Everything will 
be alright, you'll see," he whispered lovingly. Patricia swiped at her 
eyes again, continuing to shake. "I know it's scary to think of what 
could happen, but you just have to look at all the good things that 
could happen, too. And I promise you everything will be fine, and 
you'll be lively and energetic again in no time! You'll see, you just 
have to remain optimis... keep your outlook happy."
	She shook her head, her hair shaking with it. "But... I... I don't 
want to die. There are so many things I haven't done... I want to learn 
to paint, and read that big book on Daddy's shelf. And... and I've never 
met my grandma who lives in America or... or... I've never even... k... kissed 
a guy, and everyone says I'm too young to think about that, but with 
all the movies and all..."
	"Now, now, stop that. You're still a kid. Nothing's going to 
happen to you. Stop thinking like that. You're going to... to climb the 
highest mountain and... write the next Nobel Prize winning novel. You're... 
going to be famous and grow really old and get married and have 15 
children!" The little girl laughed slightly, her face still hidden from 
view. Darien smiled slightly at this. "Now, don't you worry about all 
the things you've never gotten to do, because you will get to do them. 
Pinky swear." To prove his point, he took her small hand and 
shook her pinky finger with his, before letting it fall back down to 
the blanket. Biting her lip, Patricia turned a tear stained face up to 
him. 
	"Th... thank you..." she whispered, looking into his eyes. He smiled 
back a friendly smile, placing his fingers beneath her chin. 
	"Now I want you to stop worrying about such things. Everything 
will be fine, and I'm gonna come visit you after the surgery and bring 
you flowers and take you out for ice cream and I'll tell you, 'See, I 
told you everything would turn out okay, now didn't I?' Do we have a 
deal?"
	She giggled slightly and nodded, a small blush covering her 
already red cheeks. 
	"Good. Now, to take care of that first kiss..."
	Serena gasped slightly, tears flowing freely down her cheeks as 
she watched Darien lean in and place a fatherly kiss at the corner of 
the girl's lips. She smiled as Patricia's eyes nearly bugged out of her 
scull. Darien pulled back with a friendly smile. Serena only watched 
long enough to see Patricia wrap her small arms around his neck and hug 
him tightly before she turned away from the scene. 
	She walked only a few feet down the hall before leaning against a 
wall and sliding down it, tears falling faster down her cheeks. Her 
mind replayed images of his smile, his gentle words, the sweetest 
moment she'd ever seen in her life. Through her tears and into the 
silent hall, she found herself whispering, 
	"I love him. I love him. I love him..."
	
	
Again, e-mail me!! 
Luv ya and God bless!
<3 Alicia

	
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