"I went in to see Andrew." Darien gave him a sharp look. "What? You didn't think I'd find out? They said you and a friend fell in the creek so naturally I thought it was Andrew since he's the only friend you walk home with after school. Now, what's really going on?"

"I went through the shortcut today because it was raining and I didn't want to get sick....." Darien paused for a moment. He felt hot tears fill his eyes when he remembered seeing her sad and lonely face for the first time, and it soon became hard to see. "She was going to jump dad." Bill took a moment to think.

"Do you know her from school?" he asked. "No, I'd never seen her before. I knew she didn't really want to jump, so of course I helped her. I persuaded her not to but by then she was already hanging by a thread." "Do you care about her son?" This question seemed awkward. Darien knew the answer was yes, but telling his father that would sound utterly ridiculous being that he didn't technically know her so he hung his head and blushed violently. Bill got the hint.

"Why don't you go in and see her?" Bill asked. At the thought of seeing her again, Darien immediately lifted his head and nodded. When he and Bill walked up to the front desk and asked to see her, the nurse brought them over to her room. There was a doctor there and he said, "Are you her family?" Bill and Darien looked at each other. "No," replied Bill. "We're just friends."

The doctor shook his head. "Do you know any of her family members we can contact? She told us she has no family but she won't give us anyone else to call. She won't even tell us her last name! The only thing she would tell us is that she is sixteen years old." Darien squinted his eyes. He remembered her telling him that she was Serena Tsukino, but then he remembered how much she had trusted him. Darien remembered looking down and seeing her with her head on his shoulder and her arms around his neck looking completely content. If she didn't tell the doctors herself, then there must have been a good reason for it, he didn't dare break her trust.

Bill's voice broke through his thoughts. "I'm sorry, we don't know any of her family members." Then, Darien got his common sense back and asked, "Is she ok?" "Her right arm and left rib are broken, and oddly enough she has a gun shot wound in her side. Thank God, the shot wasn't right on so it's not a danger! I'm worried about her. Medically she'll be all right, really it's nothing serious, but if she doesn't tell us her last name or any other information by the time she's healed, we'll have to send her to a group home." "You mean an orphanage?" asked Darien who's anger was slowly rising at the thought of her in a place like that. "Yes, I'm afraid so."

"Can we see her?" asked Darien. "Of course. Go right in." The doctor walked away leaving them alone with Serena, who was fast asleep. "Can I have a minute dad?" asked Darien. Bill nodded his head and walked back to the waiting room with the rest of Darien's family. He put his hand over hers. Serena's other arm was in a sling and she was in a back brace as to keep her from further damaging her ribs. Serena's eyes fluttered open and looked straight into Darien's.

"Hey there hero!" she said quietly. He smiled. Darien said, "They asked for your last name." Serena looked at him like a deer in the headlights, she was terrified. Darien realized her fear and said, "Oh, don't worry, I didn't say a thing. But for curiosity's sake, why won't you tell them anything?" Serena looked down at her sling for a moment and then at the floor, she seemed to be thinking about what he'd just said.

"Can I trust you?" she asked. Darien nodded. She told her story. "My mom died when I was four in a car accident. I have two older twin brothers, Pat and Addam, and we all went to live with my father, Jedite. My mom and dad had been divorced so I hadn't seen what my father had become. After my mom left him, he turned to drinking and drugs. He gets drunk a lot and abused my brothers and I. I'm three years younger than Pat and Addam, so when I was fifteen and they turned eighteen, they bought an apartment and moved in together, but before they left they told me that as soon as I turned eighteen, they wanted me to join them, we're very close. After they left, I had no one to protect me from my father. He turned to beating me every time he got angry. When my calls to Pat and Addam stopped because he wouldn't let me use the phone anymore, they called the house to make sure I was ok. My father told them they'd never hear from me or see me again. Of course this scared them and they came one night to get me out of there. The plan was to either hop a plane to America that night, or run to the Cherry Hill Temple to claim sanctuary. My dad found out somehow and he had his shotgun ready so he could scare me into staying. When we were about to leave that night, my father stood in the doorway with his gun pointing right at us. He warned us not to move or he'd shoot. My brother Addam sneezed and my father, who was drunk as a skunk, turned to shoot him. I jumped in front of him, knowing he would do the same for me, and I took the shot."

"So that's why they found a gun shot wound on your side." Serena nodded as she surrendered to her tears. "Yes. But my father's a terrible shot so the bullet only grazed my side. My father collapsed from being so overwhelmed by the alcohol, and my brothers put a bandage over the wound. They told me to run in case my father woke up and meet them at the Cherry Hill Temple where we could find sanctuary. I did as they said and by the time I reached the bridge the next day, I wanted to give up. I was in so much pain, that I thought it would be easier to just end it all. And the rest is history." Darien gently hugged her and said, "I'll be right back."

No such thing as you've lost it all, God knows even angels fall.

Darien ran out into the waiting room and pulled his father to the side. He gave Bill a summary of what Serena had just told him and then said, "I think we should let her and her brothers stay with us! Their father would never suspect us!" "Darien, no, it's way too dangerous. If she's telling us the truth, then her father is crazy and homicidal, no way am I going to put my family at risk." Darien grabbed Bill's arm and looked at him very seriously. Bill watched as his son's eyes filled with tears.

"Dad," said Darien. "I care about Serena very much. I became obligated to protect her the minute I took her arm and told her to come back over the railing. I won't let her down........I can't." Bill put his hand on his son's shoulder. Never had he seen Darien so serious about anything, he could tell Darien really did care about this girl. "We can at least drive her to the Cherry Hill Temple. I know a girl that works there, I'm sure she'll take them in. Serena can work there when she's healed and get her life back on track." Darien's father then realized that his son would so anything to save the damsel in distress. Bill smiled at that thought. "That's a great idea." he said. Later that night, Darien called the temple.

A girl picked up the phone and said, "Cherry Hill Temple. This is Ray speaking. How may I help you?" "Ray, it's Darien. Do you have two guys named Pat and Addam there?" There was a short period of silence, then Ray replied, "How did you find out they were here?" "No it's ok, their sister is with us. Let them know that she's in the hospital and as soon as she's released we're going to bring her there. Tell them she's ok though." There was another minute of odd silence. "How do you know their sister?" she asked. "That's a long story. I'll talk to you later, ok Ray?" "Ok, I'll give them the message. Bye!" "Bye!"

Two weeks later, Serena was released from the hospital in a wheelchair into the custody of Bill and Janette Chiba. The day she was released, Serena did her hair in two buns with pigtails flowing from them. Darien playfully named her Meatball Head in his mind. In the car, it would take twenty minutes to get to the Cherry Hill Temple. On the way, Serena became better aquatinted with the Chiba family and became even closer to Darien. She especially liked Angela, who was fifteen. The family automatically decided that they liked her very much.

Serena reveled in the joy of being surrounded by a normal family again. She really liked Mrs. Chiba, who insisted that Serena call her Janette, because it had been so long since she had a real mother figure in her life.

When they reached the temple, Ray, the temple assistant Chad, and Ray's grandfather Thomas Hino, the owner of the temple, were waiting for them on the temple steps. Needless to say, getting Serena's wheelchair up the steps was not easy. They were welcomed warmly inside the safe temple walls. Serena was immediately greeted by her two happy brothers. Darien looked at them carefully. Over those past two weeks, Serena kept talking about how her family was so broken, but seeing these very close siblings together, they didn't seem broken at all.

Addam lifted Serena carefully in his arms as Pat kissed her, then they switched and Addam did the same, laughing all the while. Serena was beaming, it was obvious that her brothers brought out the best in her. And now Darien knew why she wanted to jump that day. Life without her brothers around was killing her inside, so when she thought her father had taken away her last chance at happiness, she felt there was no purpose for her existence anymore. Ray scolded Addam and Pat and ordered them to put her down immediately. "She's hurt badly enough, please be careful!" Addam, Pat and Serena respectfully bowed their heads.

After all of them (including the Chiba family) ate dinner, Serena went to sleep and her brothers stayed right by her side. Darien, who felt like he was intruding, went outside and sat on the steps with Ray as they watched the sun set. "So, how did you meet Serena?" she asked. Darien explained the whole situation. "Do you want to know how I met her?" said Ray grinning a childish grin that said, 'I know something you don't know.' He nodded.

Ray looked down at the ground. "My mom and her mom were best friends. Her mom worked at the temple too as a priestess in training. So one night, they went out together with my dad. They went out to dinner, and had a little bit of wine, and before they knew it, they were in a car crash. They all died. So naturally, whenever they had problems with their dad, they'd always come here. It was like a home away from home for them I guess." Darien was fascinated by this story. "Serena will probably train to be a priestess, too. It's what her mother would have wanted." Darien put a hand on Ray's shoulder. Talking about her parents was always hard for her.

She made it easy, made it free, yet made you hurt 'till you couldn't see.

Darien walked into Serena's room. It had pictures pinned on the wall. It was painted pink and it was obviously made that way because she was often there. The pictures on the wall were of her and her brothers, and some with Serena's mother and Ray's family. There was one group shot that she was looking at. It was a picture of Fr. Hino, Ray and her parents, Serena, Serena's mother and Addam and Pat. They all looked so happy.

Serena saw Darien looking at the picture. "That was before." she said. "Before everything went wrong. I can't say I'm unhappy now though. Thanks to you, Fr. Hino has offered my brothers and I sanctuary as long as we need it, and jobs. I think this time we might be here for good. I'm going to start priestess training in the fall." Darien smiled. She signaled for him to sit next to her.

Serena kissed Darien gently on the check. "Thank you." she said. "For what?" Darien asked. "For saving me. Not only for stopping me from jumping, but for saving me from myself. I don't know what I would have done if you hadn't given me the strength to live again." Darien leaned in and kissed her. It was a long kiss, just enough to tease her. When they parted, he whispered, "Your welcome."

Darien and Serena fell asleep with Serena in her wheelchair and Darien sitting next to it resting his head on the arm rest. Ray walked in and saw them together. Her eyes filled up with tears. She closed the door as a tear slipped out. Ray fell against the wall. "He's in love with her."

Here's a secret, no one tells, one day it's Heaven, one day it's Hell! And it's no fairy tale, take it from me, that's the way love's supposed to be.

Well, that's it for now. I think
this story is coming well, don't
you? Anyway, e-mail me at
NeoTori7688@aol.com and
tell me what you think. Thanks!

~Neo Queen Tori~