Prologue
Disclaimers: Don't sue and don't copy!
AN: This is a little note that says that when you don't know what to do, someone will open a door. Just don't close it in their face!
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"Oh, Darien. I'm glad I saw you come in today," Dr. Loubus motioned him toward his office's door. Considering the senior member of the Bane Observatory Research Laboratory's office was at the very front end of the building it was impossible to not to be seen walking past it.
"Yes, Dr. Loubus?"
"Come in, have a seat. I need to talk to you for a minute, son." The elder gentleman made himself comfortable behind the huge piece of wood that he called a desk. Darien sat down wondering what his boss wanted. Dr. Loubus wasn't the type to call someone in just to chat and he hadn't been there long enough to somehow warrant being fired.
"I've heard good reports about you already young man. Norman Benton has been giving me near daily progress reports. He thinks very highly of you."
"Thank you, Sir. I think very highly of Dr. Benton as well."
"Good, good. I'm glad you're getting along so well. But what I want to talk to you about is your new office."
"Oh?" Darien was a little confused. He was aware that his office would be in the new addition to the research center. The same addition that would be under Dr. Benton's complete control. As the doctor's research associate, he would be placed along side his superior.
"Yes, all of the construction and what-not, I'm told, will be completed by the end of the month. Which will give you three more weeks of that little closet we've stuck you in." He chuckled at his own joke. "By the way, how do you like the paper-work?"
"It's horrible," Darien answered simply. Most of his time was spent logging the results that he had managed to find into the laboratory's central database. Starting out in a position like his, he had assumed that most of the filing and categorizing would be done by someone else. He had assumed wrong.
Again Mr. Loubus chuckled merrily. "Yes, I know. And I apologize for that. You see we're a little understaffed right now." So maybe Darien hadn't been wrong after all. "You must know Mrs. Benton by now correct? Romola?"
"Yes, I've met her a few times. She's even offered to take some of my paperwork load, although I figured she would have enough with Dr. Benton's."
"Yes, she's always like that. But you see she has been Norman's assistant since he started here. Most of the researcher's here have either wives, relatives, or friends as their assistant, secretary, or whatever you want to call them. It makes it nice that way and it doesn't take up so much time for the center to dig through resumes. Besides, you're the one that's going to have to put up with whoever you choose."
Darien was beginning to see where this was going. "So you're saying I need to pick an assistant?"
"Exactly. Of course if you don't happen to know anyone that needs a job, we can always steel one of the university's research assistants. They do the same job anyway and there aren't many qualifications for it. Just some typing skills and filing, the stuff you've gotten stuck with all this time. Familiarity with the system will have to come on the job. We are very specialized."
"I think I know someone that would fit that description," Darien said with a smile.
"Splendid. I find it much easier to do things this way. Less turn over ratio too." Leaning back in his chair the older man propped his elbows on top of his slightly unproportioned stomach. "Anyone I should know about? A girlfriend perhaps?"
Darien laughed and stood up, "A girl and a friend, but they remain two words, sir."
"Oh, very well. I'll need a resume of sorts to have on file here in the records, but as soon as your office is deemed finished your little roommate will need to be in it too."
"I'm sure she will. Thank you, sir!"
Ring… Ring… Click! "Hello?"
"Hello, Mrs. Tsukino, its Darien."
"Oh, hello Darien—"
All of a sudden he could make out a high-pitched voice coming over the other end of the line. "Darien! Really, Mom?!"
He laughed and asked, "Would your lovely hyperactive daughter around by any chance, ma'am?"
"Yes, just a minute," she said laughing herself.
Almost immediately Serena's bubbly voice came over the line. "Hi Darien what's up I'm sooo glad you called wait shouldn't you still be at work" she rambled without even a pause for punctuation.
"Slow down Meatball Head! You'll distend a vocal cord."
"Dis—what?"
"Never mind, listen what are you doing tonight?"
There was a confused pause on her end of the line, "Well, mom and I are trying to bake cookies for this office thingy of Dad's… Well, she's baking, I'm eating. So she probably won't mind getting rid of me."
"Good."
"Why, what's up?"
"I have a surprise for you."
Darien carefully picked his way through the five o'clock traffic. "This is why I leave work late," he muttered while waiting on the fifty-seventh red light he'd come across. All considered it was easier to drive than to take two subways and a bus to get to the research center every day, but this was ridiculous.
At the next light he took a right and headed in the opposite direction from his apartment. Taking enough of the side streets he managed to avoid some of the crowd. Serena's house sat in the middle of the block and he pulled up in front of it.
No sooner had he stepped out of the car than he heard the front door open and two blond meatballs pop out. "By Mom! I'm leaving now!" Serena called back over her shoulder.
Darien reached the passenger side door before she managed to skip down the steps. Opening it he waited for her to jog down the sidewalk. "You're the only female I know that never makes her parents answer the door and then waits exactly five minutes before making a grand entrance to meet her date."
"Sure I do!" she said taking advantage of the open door. "But I didn't realize this was a date!"
Without a reply, he shut the door on her and walked around the car. He noticed a head poke up ever so slightly in one of the living room windows and decided to wave to her father before climbing in the other side of the car. Ken Tsukino stood up full height and waved back grudgingly once he noticed that he'd been caught. Serena noticed as well and waved to her father while Darien started the car and drove off.
Laughing she turned to him. "I think you're the only one that Dad really hates."
"Why me?"
"Because you're the only one that usually catches him."
"Usually?" he cocked an eyebrow at her.
"All right, always. But Dad doesn't realize that of course." She giggled again. "The next time I start dating someone, I'm going to have to make you write down all of the ways you know he's around. I don't even notice him sometimes! And I have to say he's getting better."
"He is getting better," he conceded. "But so am I."
"Oh, stop! Anyway!" she changed the subject bouncing up in her seat, "What's the surprise!!"
"Weeeell," he drawled.
"Come on! Tell me, tell me, tell me!! Pleeeeeeease!" she batted those eyelashes of hers and he melted. *How does she do that? I should be use to that look by now. She uses it once a week!*
"Oh, all right! Stop with the eye thing."
"What eye thing?" she said innocently. She knew exactly what 'eye thing,' and he hated it.
"I feel sorry for the guy that ever marries you."
"Why?!"
"Oh… nothing" he muttered.
"Dar-i-en!" came a fierce growl. He was silently thankful that he was driving.
"OK, sorry, never mind! Anyway, do you want to hear what I have to say or not?"
"Yeah!! What's the deal? It's not even Friday." She turned toward him as far as her seat belt would allow.
"Well, I have a proposition for you."
"A what?" she asked not understanding him.
"A proposal," he rephrased.
"Oh, my gosh! You are going to ask me to marry you!!" One of her hands covered her mouth and the other took up residence over her heart. "Oh, Darien, I'm sooo happy!! Can we have lots of
children?!"
Darien was extremely happy they were sitting at a stoplight or else they would have crashed and died for sure. With a groan he slumped over the steering wheel mumbling, "No, no, no, please no."
Serena didn't notice. "And we can have a big house in the suburbs and name all of the kids with S names for the girls and D names for the boys. Oh, and the wedding!! I'm jumping over stuff here aren't I? Yes, we'll have a huge wedding with flowers and candles and my dress…" Giggles erupt from her starry eyed form. "And I'll have to have at least five bride's maids. The girls would totally kill me if I asked one and not the rest. Not to mention Molly would never speak to me again if I asked anyone else to be my maid of honor." She finally looked over at Darien's sobbing form. "Wait a minute!" she yelled. "Where's my ring!!"
"So let me get this straight," Serena slurped thoughtfully on her milkshake. "Your boss is letting you pick your own assistant-type-whatever without even meeting me first?"
"Well, he still wants a resume on file for you, but I really just don't think he cares. Dr. Benton is my supervisor and as soon as the additions are finished Dr. Loubus probably won't care if I have Marvin the Martian doing the categorizing." Darien had long since given up trying to keep up with Serena's eating habits. But it was rather amusing to watch. *How does she eat like that and still keep her waist line?*
"Who?"
"Never mind. So are you going to take the job or not?" he asked leaning forward over the table.
"Oh, gee. I don't know. I mean I've had so many other people just fighting over me. I'll have to think about it." Slurp, slurp, slurp. "OK, I'll do it! But only for you," she giggled and pushed away the empty glass.
"You're so good to me," Darien muttered sarcastically.
"I know!" she giggled again, "So when do I report for duty, Boss?"
"Not until my office gets out of packing."
"Oh." Serena remained quiet for a minute. When she looked at him again she had a serious expression in her eyes that he hadn't seen in a long time. "You never told me why you picked this job. I know how many places wanted you. I mean, good grief Darien, you had corporations from America pounding on your door! Why stay here?"
"Who told you that?" he asked taken aback by her questions.
"Andrew, who else? You certainly didn't tell me." She seemed a little disappointed in him. And he could almost see a hurt look in her eyes.
"I'm sorry, Serena. I really didn't think you'd care. I mean going through job applications isn't exactly fun. I didn't know where I wanted to go," he said trying desperately to ease that expression out of her eyes.
"Of course I care! And if you would have decided for that job in America I suppose you'd think I wouldn't care if you packed up and moved. You'd just leave me a note. 'Gone to find my fortune. I'll write if I think about it. Love, Darien.' I would have killed you!" She wasn't laughing, and he knew she was serious about all of it.
"Serena, you know I wouldn't have done that. Besides, I hardly even considered moving. I didn't want to," he tried to smooth over.
"Why not?"
"What?" Now he was confused.
"Why not? Why stay here? Why not take a chance on something bigger? Something more your style?" It was the same thing Andrew had told him. 'Go somewhere, start a new life, try something different.' But the truth was he didn't want to.
He chose a spot in the wire mesh of their outdoor table and stared at it. "Everything I know is here. I thought about leaving. I've thought about it a lot. Even when I was debating about going on to school in America. I kept thinking that there's nothing here for me, why not go? Start over maybe. But I couldn't leave then, I can't leave now. Like it or not this is my life and I can't just go somewhere and become someone else. I spent eight years in the orphanage wishing I could be someone else, anyone else. But if I had been there wouldn't be a me." He looked at her shocked features and realized that he'd said too much. "I'm sorry, Serena, more information than you wanted. Let's just say, I like it here. And besides, how could I leave you here by yourself anyway? Half the world away and I'd still have nightmares about you blaming me for every tree you walked into."
Her shock slowly gave way to a smile. "Hey, don't let me stop you. I can run into shrubbery without you just fine." They laughed and stood up to leave. But before he could get away, she wrapped two small arms around his waist and hugged him. "You know, I'm kind of happy you didn't leave. Besides, you're right. I'm really glad you're not someone else."
Darien didn't know what to say as he mutely cradled her form in his arms. *Maybe this is the real the reason I couldn't leave. How could I just walk away from her? The few people in my life that have ever really meant something to me are here. I can't leave them. They're all I have.*
"Looks like we could be in for a storm again tonight." Darien commented to the sky above them.
Serena hadn't really felt like going home quiet yet. It was still early and her newfound employer was being good company. They had opted for the traditional walk through the park. It was the normal routine when they didn't have anything else to do. Besides the rose gardens were just now starting to bloom in full force.
"Oh, I hope not. We've had way too much rain this year anyway. Can't these clouds just go away?"
"Spoken like a true sunshine person." Darien laughed at her and continued walking while she stopped to give him a funny look.
"And I suppose you like rain storms don't you, Mr. Gloom and Doom!"
"Actually, yes."
"That figures," she mumbled to herself as she jogged to catch up with him. "So, Boss, what's my job description anyway? I don't have to become some super nerd science person do I?"
"No, you just type in the results that us 'super nerd science people' come up with. The research center operates on a computer network. The central database keeps all of the files and records of all of our 'scientific stuff' and when we need it again, we only have to look through one system. It makes it easier that way."
"So I just punch in a bunch a junk and you guys figure out what it means."
"Right."
"Sounds boring." She stopped and propped her elbows on top of the bridge railing and looked down at the river beneath her.
"What exactly is the type of job that you would not find boring?"
"Professional sleep consultant!"
He rolled his eyes at her and mumbled an "Oh, brother," under his breath. "More like a crash-test-dummy. They can have you walk into all of the new buildings down town and see which one stands up first."
"Oooooh, I'm sorry I told you I was glad you stayed." She purposefully started out at the reflections of the streetlights in the river below.
"Maybe I shouldn't have asked you to take this job." He seemed to think for a moment. "I wonder if that American organization would still take me? I could probably be packed and moved within a week. I know I still have their letter…" She felt two arms encircle her and heard a soft whisper in her ear. "Of course, I still don't think I could leave you."
She giggled and turned around in his arms. Let's face it, she liked being close to him. She had always felt safe and comfortable with him. And she knew that she'd miss him so much if he left her. And secretly she was thrilled with this job thing; they would be together. It wouldn't just be the once a week 'whenever I can drag him kicking and screaming out of the house' sort of thing.
"You know, I may get to like this job," she said to his shirt.
He laughed down at her. "I promise there will be other people for you to talk to. I know you'll get along with Romola. She's one of those happy little people too. You'll fit right in."
"Romola?"
"Dr. Benton's wife-slash-secretary."
"You weren't kidding when you said everybody got to pick their own assistants were you?"
"Nope. Although I figured you'd be a little more excited about it than this," he mumbled over her head.
*Oops, I guess I carried that a little too far.* "I am excited. See! I'm excited!" She flashed a huge fake grin at him.
"Yeah, you look so authentic."
She laughed at him. "I am happy," she hugged him again to say it personally. "Besides I'm going to enjoy the look on Mom's face when I tell her I got a job!!"
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@}->-- "Never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you make a living; the other helps you make a life!" -Carey.
