Another... er... Complication
“…and that’s why the judge must…” she trailed off, as she looked at the window of the classroom. He was there, standing, wet, and he looked like he needed her.
An odd feeling…being needed.
“Um…I think I’ll let class out today twenty minutes early, if you don’t mind,” she said, as she checked her watch. “You all look tired anyway. We’ve covered a lot of work today. By next week, I want you to read through the next two chapters, and we’ll discuss more. Class dismissed.”
The students all sighed with relief, as they stood up, and packed up their things. She answered all last questions, and walked to Darien, who now had come in.
He stood there, hair rumple from travel, and a slight five o’ clock shadow, but nevertheless there. He immediately took her into his arms, and he kissed her, thoroughly, at first hungrily, then gently. She wound her arms around him, taking him into her embrace, showing that she sincerely missed him.
He liked the feeling. A lot.
So did she. A blush crept into her cheeks as she realized what she had just done…but it was excusable, right? What else did a fiancee do when she saw her fiancee for the first time in two weeks? Never mind the fact that they weren’t really getting married.
“Darien, what are you doing here?” she whispered against his warm chest, as he held her, bound tightly in his arms. She felt his heat through the many layers of clothing she wore.
It had taken a lot to get him there. He had gone out of an operation when the patient died anyway, and it hurt more than anything. It happened, and the chances for success were slim to none. Standing in the empty corridor, having nurses and surgical assistants tell him that it wasn’t his fault, got to him. He didn’t need them there. He only needed Serena, because Serena would know how to comfort him. Serena knew everything. He needed her. He loved her.
“I needed to see you, I guess,” he said calmly. She started to back out of his embrace, looking at him carefully. He didn’t want to scare her away. The look in her eyes was one of fright and bewilderment. It stated to come to him. He didn’t want her like this. Her wanted her to be relaxed with him.
“Come on, let’s go back to my place…” she said, as she got her coat and umbrella.
The walked through the rain in silence, but he found immense comfort in holding her hand…immense warmth. they arrived, and Serena turned to him, and softly smiled, waveringly.
Serena bit her lip. “Why don’t you come in and sit down?” she looked up at him.
She was a vision. The raindrops were playing like clear pearls in her tendrils, and her eyes glittered with a small happiness and fondness. Her cheeks, which were lightly coated with a sheen of rain, glimmered lightly.
“Yeah, I’d like that,” he said, as he followed her in.
She went inside, and grabbed a flannel blanket, and draped it across his shoulders. “You’re all wet. You must be so cold!” she said, softly.
“Well, not anymore,” as he caught her arm, and twisted her into his arms again, holding her warmly.
She backed away, after sharing a few minutes of warmth, and cleared her throat. “What’s wrong, Darien?”
“It was an operation…and the patient didn’t live. He wasn’t supposed to, but…”
“Darien, you know those things aren’t your fault…” she said, as she caressed his face lightly, looking softly into his eyes. “You can’t play God, and as much as you’d like to believe you can save everyone, there are some…” she trailed off. “We’ve had this conversation enough times for you to know what I’ll say, so we’ll just sit here for a while, while you gather your thoughts, all right?” she said, as she sat down next to him, leaning her head on his shoulder.
He looked at the golden head at his shoulder, and felt a warmth, a care. No one had ever been able to toss aside work just to sit next to him, and tell him things off life, and no one ever knew when to ever talk with him, and when to leave him alone. He drew a breath. It was only right. She had to know.
“Look, I know things have been difficult, and we’ve been through so much that it’s frightening. We’ve essentially gone through the part of a romantic couple. Things are so different now. I wasn’t counting on this, but I’ll tell you one thing. Serena, you know me more than anyone else does, and now I see why you’ve always seemed…different to me.”
“What do you mean? We play games, if that’s what you mean by different…”
“Look, Serena, it isn’t a game anymore. Don’t you see that? This is serious. When we entered the engagement, maybe it was a game. But things have changed. You have changed, and I have changed. It’s different because now we’ve gone though things together. I know you, and you know me, more than anyone else has ever known me in my entire life. I think about you every hour of the day, and if I don’t, I make up for it when I feel my heart cry for you. You are solely the most important person in my life. Wheatever you do, I feel it. Whenever you smile, I feel it. When I stand in Washington, feeling a hollowness in my heart, I am glad to know it will fill up again when I see you. When I am cold or depressed, I know that when I see you, the warmth of your smile will evaporate all sadness or disappointment. When I’m with you, I can believe that stupid superstitions like the gold mistletoe work, even IF I don’t know why. When I’m with you, I can almost believe that everything in the world is made of gold and pearl, simply because you love it. When I’m with you, I can almost believe that life is perfect. Let’s face it, Serena, I…care about you. I think I’m…”
“Don’t say something you’ll regret, Dredsdale.” Serena interrupted. She stood up from her chair, feeling her knees shake. No, this couldn’t happen to her now. It was too soon, and too fast, and this shouldn’t have happened. She was Larynce, and he was Dredsdale, and there was nothing that would ever make them both of the same world, the same name. She DIDN’T care for his theatricals. “You’re only saying this because you’ve had lack of sleep, now, you can go into my guest room and rest. I know you’ve had a lot of things going around in your life in the last few days, and that’s why you think that what we have is special, why you think we…but Dredsdale, you’re lying to yourself. You just need rest.”
“Don’t you see that I love you? I NEED YOU!!!!!”
Serena looked up, startled. A moment of silence passed between them, and Serena could not remove her eyes form his face. Finally, she stammered out some words, carefully. “Rest…you need rest. I think I need to go out for a walk,” she said, as she got up, and grabbed her umbrella.
