Chapter 10

"Serena, what happened?" A female voice asked as they walked up to her. She looked up from the floor to see her four best friends standing in front of her. She immediately started crying again as she looked back down at the floor. "Serena?" Mina asked as she kneeled down infront of her. "Darien..." "How is he?" Rei asked with concern. "I don't know...he was hurt pretty badly and it's all my fault..." She cried harder as the image of him lying on the floor appeared in her mind. "Oh Serena.." Mina began as she pulled her broken friend into her arms. "This isn't your fault, don't blame yourself because of this." She said softly as she rubbed her back. After a few hours of crying Serena finally feel asleep on Mina's shoulder. The girls sat and waited in silence for the doctor to come out with any news on Darien's condition.

About twenty minutes after Serena had fallen asleep a tall man with short gray hair and green eyes, walked towards them wearing blue scrubs. "Hello Ladies, are you friends of Darien Shields?" He asked calmly. The girls looked up and Mina nodged Serena. "Yes." Ami answered. Serena slowly opened her eyes as the doctor began to speak. "Mr. Shields has suffered serve head trauma which has caused some swelling to the right side of his brain and few broken ribs." "Is he going to be okay?" Serena asked as fresh tears began to form in the corners of her eyes. The doctor looked over at Serena with sad eyes. "I'm afraid that he has slipped into a coma and he might never come out of it." He answered sadly. "Doctor, if he does wake up, what should be expected?" Ami asked.

"If he does wake you should defenitly be aware that he may not be the same as he was before. He may not have full funtion of his brain, he may have memory loss..." The whoe time Serena listened and could feel her world crumble and the guilt began to rise with in her as she stared down at the floor. 'How could I let this happen?' She thought to herself. "Thank you, Doctor." Ami said. "Come on Serena..." Lita said as she touched her hand. Serena looked up at her with a confused look on her face. "Where are we going?" She asked. "Weren't you listening?" Mina asked. Serena shook her head no. "We are taking you upstairs to see Darien, before we take you home." Lita said. "I...I...can't..." She studdard as she closed her eyes. "What do you mean?" Rei asked. "You guys, maybe we should take her home and bring her back tomorrow." Ami suggested. The girls sighed and nodded in agreement as they helped Serena up and lead her out of the hospital.

They walked into Serena's house as Mina led her towards the couch. "Are you hungry?" Lita asked from behind the couch. "No.." Serena whispered as she sat down. "You should eat something, Serena." Ami urged her. Serena shook her back and forth. "I don't feel like eating, I don't feel like doing anything." She said softly as she closed her eyes. Rei walked around the couch and stood infront of her. "Serena, you need to snap out of this!" She growled a little irrated. "Leave me alone, Rei." Serena mummbled. "No, I won't." Rei snapped as she placed her hands on her friends shoulder. "You can't just sit here and wallow in self pity! You have to be strong for Darien, he needs you right now." She said in a stern tone. Serena slowly lifted her head and looked into her friends eyes. "He doesn't need me, if it hadn't been for me, he wouldn't be in the hospital...I should have just stayed away from him..." She cried as a fresh set of tears burned her eyes. Rei couldn't hold her anger back any longer as she rose her hand from Serena's shoulder and slapped her across the cheek.

"OW!" Serena cried. "Rei, why did you do that?" Mina asked as they all stared at their raven haired friend. "Because she needs to snap out of this. It's not good for her and isn't going to help Darien any." She answered as Serena glared at her while holding her sore cheek. "Darien loves you and he would do anything to make sure you are safe. You need to pull yourself together and be there for him!" Rei yelled angerily. After a moment of silence Serena finally spoke. "Your right, thanks Rei.." Serena said as she stood up and pulled her raven haired friend into a hug. Rei smiled and hugged her back. "Your welcome, now what are we having for dinner?" Rei asked as she pulled away from Serena. "I know, how about we go to the arcade and get some burgers and fries?" Mina asked as she jumped up from the couch. "Yeah!" Ami, Lita, and Rei chimed in together. "What do you say, Serena?" Mina asked. Serena looked over at her friend with a smile and nodded in agreement.

The next morning...

Serena stood infront of a brown oak door with roses in her hand. She took a deep breath as she placed a shakey hand on the door. She gently pushed it open and walked in slowly. As she entered the room she looked around the room. It was a dull white and had an uncomfortable silence. She looked over at the bed streched out to the center of the room from the wall. She slowly walked over to the bed and looked down at him. His skin tone was paler than normal, he had cuts and bruises all over his face. She saw a small tube that came out of his mouth and hooked up to a larger one that was hooked up to a machine on the other side of his bed. His head was bandaged up only allowing a few lock of ebony hair lay on his forhead. He lay there so still and for a moment she thought he looked peaceful.

She placed the vase of roses next to his bed on a night stand. She pulled up a chair and sat down next to him, taking his hand in hers. "Oh Darien...I'm so sorry..." She whispered as she closed her eyes and brought his hand to her lips. She softly placed a kiss on his hand as a tear escaped from her eye. "Please pull through...I need you.."She cried as she laid her head down on top of this bed and let the tears fall freely down her cheeks.

After few minutes she lifted her head and rose to her feet. She leaned over him and caressed his cheek for a moment before she bent down and placed soft kiss on his lips. As she pulled back she stared down at his face. "I love you.." She whispered as she stood straight up and walked out of his room.

Two Months later...

He slowly opened his eyes with his vision still a little hazy. He could feel something lodged in his dry throat and tape at the corner of his mouth. It felt extremely uncomfortable and he tried to ignore it with his pounding headache, he could feel in his right temple. After a moment his vision became clear and he looked around the dim lite room. He saw his room filled with flowers and get well cards sticking out of them. He heard the sound of the door opening and slowly turned his gaze towards the door. He saw a woman with long brown hair walk into his room. She wore a purple scrub outfit and held a clipboard in her hands. She looked over at him and instantly shock was apparent all over her face. She quickly collected herself and walked over ot his bedside. She smiled as she looked down at him. "Good morning, Mr. Shields." She said softly as she touched his shoulder.

He just stared at her unable to reply with the tube sticking out of his mouth. "It's a miracle to see you awake and alert." She said as she turned to his moniters and wrote some things down. When she was finished she sat the clipboard down on the night stand and grabbed out a blood pressure arm band from the pocket of her shirt. She gently wrapped it around his left arm. He could feel it tighten up quickly around his arm. It was a discomfort feeling, but no worse than the tube in his throat. When she was finished he could feel it release his arm and she quickly took it off his arm. "Everything looks good, now lets see about getting that tube out?" She asked softly as she walked around to the other side. He only nodded in response. "Okay honey, I need you to relax and keep your head laid back, this is going to be a little uncomfortable at first." She said as she pealed the tape of his mouth. He closed his eyes as she quickly pulled the tube out.

He instantly began coughing after the tube was out. She waited for him to finish before she placed another oxygen tube around his ears and it rested directly below his nose. "That better?" She asked as she finished. "Yes..may I have some water please?" He asked drly. "Of course." She said as she walked out of the room to get him a glass of water. He slowly sat up in his bed and looked over at the vase of roses sitting next to his bed. He grabbed the card from the flowers as the nurse walked back in. "Here you go." She said as she held the water infront of him. He looked up at her and took the water from her hand. "Thank you." He said with a small smile. "Your welcome, the doctor will be in soon to see you." She said as she left once again, this time taking her clip board.

He gulped the water down and placed the cup on the stand next to the rose. He turned his attention back to the card and opened it.

To My Dearest Darien,

I pray everyday to see your deep blue eyes staring back at me. I pray to see your dashing smile once more and to feel your strong arms around me. I pray to feel your lips on mine ending in a passionate kiss. Most of all I pray that you will pull through this so we can start our life together. I love you Darien with all my being and I would give anything to trade places with you. You truely are my knight and shinning armor and I am very thankful for that. Please get well soon, I am going crazy without you...

With all the love with in my heart,

Forever yours,

Serena

He closed the card as tears formed in the corner of his eyes. How long had he been out? He wondered as he place the card on the night stand and laid his head back down on his pillow.

She stepped out of the elevator tiredly as she walked down a long hallway. It had been a long day and she couldn't wait to see him. Hoping that he had improved some. She stopped infront of a large brown oak door that was slightly open. She stood frozen as she heard voices comming from inside. She stood there for a moment and tried to make out who the voices belonged to. 'It couldn't be, could it?' She asked herself as she slowly opened the door the rest of the way and stood in the doorway in shock.

Darien and a sandy blonde haired man looked over at the doorway. They saw a medium height golden blonde hair, young woman standing in the doorway staring at him. Her sapphire blue eyes showed disbelief at what they saw. "D...Dar...Darien..." She studdard as tears began to form a gloss over her eyes. He smiled brightly at her as she spoke his name. "Yes." He said softly. She blinked as tears poured out of her eyes and she ran to his bedside throwing herself into him. He was stunned for a moment but quickly recovered and wrapped his arms around her back. "Oh Darien...I was so afraid I was going to loose you..." She cried as she held him tightly. "Shh...It's okay Serena...Everything is alright now." He said softly as he rested his chin on the top of her head.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Darien." The sandy blonde haired man said with a smile. "Okay Andrew." He replied as Andrew walked out of the room, shutting the door behind them. Darien pulled her out of his embrace and stared into her sapphire eyes. She sat up on the bed and stared back into his midnight blue eyes that she had longed to see for the past two months. "I love you, Serena.." He said softly as he brushed a few strans of hair out of her face. She smiled brightly at the sound of his words, she had longed to hear those words from him. "I love you too." She whispered. He smiled as he wrapped his arms around her and lifted her into his lap. She giggled slightly as she placed a hand on his chest and continued to stare into his eyes.

He ran his fingers through her hair lost in her eyes. He leaned in closer to her face and her could feel her warm breath hit his face. He closed his eyes and gently placed his lips on hers giving her a soft kiss. She smiled as she rose her hand to the side of his face pulling him closer to her as she deepened the kiss. He pulled out of the kiss breathing heavy as he slowly opened his eyes. "I have missed you.." She whispered as she lay her head on his chest, her eyes still closed. He smiled as he held her tighter in his arms as he kissed the top of her head.

The End