"For Argument's Sake."
By: Isis  @}->--
isis@moonkingdom.com
Rating: G
Disclaimers: Don't sue and don't copy!
AN.  Oh!  Serena and Neil?  Darien and… don't you want 
to know!


Chapter 9
*@}->--*


*That man works entirely too hard!*  Serena sat at her desk just 
watching Darien sitting across the room from her.  His back faced 
her as he poured over the classification problem he was working 
on.  A huge textbook looking thing laid open to his left side.  
Probably for the formulas and calculations he needed she figured.  
A pad of paper sat to his right and a pencil was still held in hand.  
His computer screen was flashing up different numbers that he was 
punching in.  None of which she understood in the least.

"Are you just going to stare at me like that all day?" he asked 
without turning around.  She hadn't been aware that he'd noticed 
her.

"Sorry," she mumbled.  "I'm waiting.  I already finished that folder 
you gave me," she said simply.  He was the one that actually had to 
do the work here.  She just typed in the correlation thing-a-
maggies.  Which was something she couldn't do if he hadn't found 
them yet.

"Sorry.  This one doesn't seem to like me much," he muttered 
while scribbling down something on the paper pad.

"No hurry on my part," she said slouching in her chair.  She 
decided that the window's view would probably be more 
appreciative of her attention than he was.  Although between the 
two, Darien was much more interesting.

It was a beautiful day outside and she was stuck in here doing, well 
nothing for the moment.  But she should be outside on a day like 
this.  She heard the taps of computer keys and involuntarily looked 
over to see what he was doing.  He entered in whatever numbers he 
came up with off of the pad in front of him and set the computer to 
calculate the distance to the star he was working with.

A few quiet moments and the computer blinked back a number in 
red at the bottom of the screen.  A number, she noted, that must 
have been wrong.  Darien threw his pencil down and let out a 
frustrated moan.

She smiled a bit to herself as he leaned back in his chair staring at 
the computer screen like he could melt it into oblivion with the 
right expression.  Feeling sorry for him she stood up and quietly 
walked over to him.  She slid her arms around his neck like she 
always did and leaned her chin on his shoulder.  He didn't even 
move.

She looked at the little red number at the bottom.  It looked like a 
perfectly good number to her; but then again, she had no idea what 
she was looking for.  Grudgingly he turned away from the screen 
to the paper he had been scribbling on.  "Sorry, Serena, this 
miserable little star really doesn't like me."

"Hey, like I said, no hurry on my part," she mumbled.  "Just don't 
kill yourself trying to find the stupid thing."  She knew how he got 
when he was frustrated, granted it didn't happen that often.  He 
wouldn't stop until he had it figured out.  *He can be such a 
perfectionist sometimes,* she mussed.

"I may kill something but it won't be me," he muttered to the 
computer screen.

She laughed lightly trying to lighten his mood.  It didn't help to be 
mad at the computer.  She knew from experience.  "Do you want 
some coffee or something?" she asked.

He finally seemed to realize what she was trying to do and sighed.  
He leaned back and closed his eyes for a minute.  "Yeah, maybe 
that would help," he murmured.

"I'll get you some.  Relax for a minute.  It'll come to you, I'm 
sure," she whispered in his ear and landed the tiniest peck of a kiss 
on his jaw line.  He nodded slightly and she slipped away and out 
of the room.

*Poor Darien, it hasn't been a good day.*

"Serena!  Uh, hi."

She was shaken out of her thoughts by a voice that she was getting 
to know rather well.  She looked up to find a tall brown hared man 
standing just down the hall in front of her.  Green eyes looked back 
at her a little shyly.

"Oh, hi Neil!" she said smiling.  She quickly walked up to him.  
"What does the good doctor have you up to today?" she asked 
noting that he had just left the Bentons' office.

"Just odds and ends."

"I see."  This was fast becoming a losing conversation.  *What do I 
say?  Let's see, what's happening around here?  Think, think!*  
"Oh, uh, are you going to be in on that little observatory party I 
keep hearing about?"

"Oh, yeah!  Dr. Benton asked if I'd come out too.  I think he 
decided on this Friday night.  I'm real…"  Serena didn't hear 
anymore than that.  *Wait!  You can't go Friday!  We had plans, 
you can't go on our night!!*

"Serena?"

"Huh?" she muttered before realizing that she'd spaced out in front 
of her own love interest!  "Oh!  Sorry, I was just thinking.  So 
you're excited about going out?" she asked trying to remember 
what he'd just said.

"Definitely.  Astronomy is something I've always loved."

She smiled at the comment.  Darien was here for physics; Neil was 
here for the stars.  Somehow, she didn't understand either of them.

"So, um, I was k-kind of wondering something," he said finding 
the hallway's wall very interesting.

Serena held her breath.  She'd seen that slightly uncomfortable 
'please don't think I'm a freak' look before.  The slight stutter and 
the nervous hand to the back of the head were dead give-aways.  
*No way, no way, no way, noway, noway, nway, NWAY!!  He's 
going to ask me out!!*

"I was kind of wondering if you wanted to maybe go out and do 
something Saturday?  That is if you're not busy or anything I 
mean.  If you are, well, then maybe some other time—"

"I'd love to!" she cried before he could say anything else.  She 
beamed a smile at him which he returned gratefully.

"So then, um, maybe say dinner and a movie?" he asked.

"Sounds like fun!  Should I meet you somewhere or do you want 
to pick me up?"

"I'll pick you up.  If you don't mind me knowing where you live 
that is," he added more confident with the conversation.

"I don't mind," she said nearly drooling over his smile.

"OK, may I have an address then?" he asked.

"Sure!  Do you have a pen?"  She glanced to the clipboard and pile 
of folders he was holding.

"Oh sure!" he said trying to maneuver the pile without dropping 
them all over the floor.  "Um, OK, one sec," he muttered still 
trying to reach the end of the stack.  She laughed as he pulled a 
blank sheet of paper off of the clipboard and tried to hand her the 
pen which was still locked into a hand full of papers.  Without 
much ceremony she slipped the pen out of his hand for him and 
took the paper he offered.  She used the wall beside her to write 
down her address and apartment number.

"OK, there you are.  She said handing him the paper and tucking 
the pen back into his hand for him.

He laughed in response to her helpfulness.  "OK, then I guess I'll 
see you at like what?  Six?"

"OK, sounds great," she said feeling very anxious for the weekend 
already.

"OK"

"OK."

"OK.  I'll see you then," he said backing down the hall the way 
he'd come.

"Yeah," she said backing the other way.

"OK," he waved slightly with the pile of folders still in hand.  She 
smiled again and waved back before commanding herself to turn 
around and walk back to her office.

She caught sight of him doing the same and she walked quickly 
down the hall and slid into the office before leaning against the 
door for support and sighing loudly.

"It took you an awful long time to get coffee," a voice popped into 
her head.

"What?" she asked turning to see Darien typing quickly.

He turned around to look at her oddly.

She gasped.  "Coffee!  Oh," she said looking back out into the 
hallway.  "Oh, gee."

"Serena?"

"Sorry, I kind of got caught up in something," she said with a huge 
grin painted on her face.

"Oh?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

She giggled uncontrollably and walked over to hop up on top of his 
desk.  "You are totally not going to believe who just asked me 
out!!"

His jaw dropped in over exaggerated shock.  "No way!  Someone 
asked YOU out!"

She smacked him in the arm for it but she was way too happy to do 
anything else.  "Isn't it just the best!  I can't believe it!  He just 
walked up to me in the hall and we talked, and…"  She trailed off 
as she thought of something.

"And what?"

She turned back to him perfectly serious.  "Why didn't you tell me 
that Friday was the night Dr. Benton picked for that observation 
thing?"

"Did what?" he asked completely confused.

"Neil told me that he was going out with you guys Friday night."

"Oh."  He leaned back in his chair thinking.  "I didn't know he 
made up his mind.  I suppose Friday would be a good night to go.  
The weather is supposed to be nice and we can sleep in the next 
morning.  I should probably go talk to him and figure out the 
details.  But yes, I knew Neil was coming with us."  He looked at 
her with an odd look in his eyes.  "Of course you don't want to 
know who else has volunteered to tag along."

"Who?"

"Take a wild guess."

She smiled tightly.  "Ida."

"You got it."

"Oh, I'm so sorry!"  She gave him a sympathetic little pat on the 
arm.  "But that doesn't help my feelings any.  What do you mean 
going out on our night!" she berated.

"Maybe I can call in sick," he wondered out loud.

"Yeah!!"

"Somehow I don't think they'd appreciate me much though."

"So!  I'd appreciate you," she pouted.

He laughed at her.  "You already have one date, how many do you 
want?"

"Two!" she said perfectly honest.

"Well, one week without me won't kill you.  Now scat so I can 
figure out this stupid star."  He swatted at her and she jumped off 
of his desk.

"But it's a tradition!" she whined.  "One week will kill me.  Just 
because you don't care doesn't mean that I don't either."  She 
crossed her arms and walked over to the window to look out.

"I didn't say I don't care.  And I'll be just as heartbroken about it 
as you, but what else can we do?" he said typing away again.

"I don't know," she contemplated the issue.  "What time will you 
go up to the observatory?  It wouldn't be until dark right?  Maybe 
we can still do something."

She heard the key strokes stop.  "That might work."

"Good!"  She hugged him backwards as he continued to punch in 
numbers.

"Great.  So tell me about your date to be."

She sighed and settled into her normal position with her head on 
his shoulder.  "We're going out to dinner and a movie Saturday 
night," she said with a smile.

"Well, he's original I'll give him that," he muttered.

She brought a hand up and smacked him on the check.  "It's a very 
normal date.  I do believe we did the same thing last week."

"Yeah, but I wasn't trying to impress you."

"I should hope not.  You made me pay my own way."

"You have a job now."

"Yes, and thanks to you, I also have a date."  She again gave him a 
peck on the check.

"Your welcome."  He punched in another number and then told the 
computer to once again calculate.  5811283923.89277 showed up 
in red.

"NO!"


"So what are you guys going to do out there tonight anyway?"  
Serena asked from her position in his car's passenger seat.

"We're going to do stars measurements," he said simply.

"I thought that's what you did all day long?" she asked sounding 
confused once again.

"No, I calculate out how far away they are by using the 
information that was gather by other people on different nights.  
Do you remember how I explained this before?" he asked.

"The pool table thing right?"

"Right.  If you have the cue ball sitting in the middle of a pool 
table and you have a ball sitting in front of the two back pockets, 
you can hit either one that you choose because the cue ball will 
line up with it."

"Unless you're really bad at pool like me."

He gave her a look for interrupting and continued.  "The reason 
you can choose either ball is because the position of the cue ball 
seems to change with respect to the other two balls that are father 
away from you.  As you move around the table the ball in the 
middle looks like it moves with you but it doesn't.  Do you 
understand that?"

"Right, I think it looks like it moves to line up with the other balls 
but it really just sits there and I move around it."

"Right!  Now, since you see that ball move with respect to the 
background or the other two balls in this case, that means that that 
cue ball is closer to you than the two balls that didn't seem to 
move."

"Oh Kay.  So what does that have to do with a star?"

"We do the same thing with the stars.  Only our pool table is a lot 
bigger.  We use the planet's rotation as the basis or ground.  That 
means that the side of the pool table is like the Earth's orbit.  We 
see where a star sits at when we are on one side of the orbit around 
the sun and once when we are on the other side of the sun.  Or six 
months apart.  Then we measure the distance that we see it moved 
in relation to the other more distant stars.  That's when I come in."

"You figure our how far away it is using those measurements," she 
said a little unsure.

"Exactly!"

"I think I get it.  Well, I get an extremely simplified version of it 
right?"

"Well, yeah.  But it's a good start."  He smiled at her, "Besides, it 
took me a semester to figure that out."

She laughed at him easily.  "Well, then I'll just feel smart and 
never ask for anymore in depth explanations."

"Deal.  So we have eight hours before I have to report in for duty.  
What do we do?"

"I thought he gave us the afternoon off so you could go home and 
sleep before going out tonight."

"He did, but he doesn't have to know," he said with a smile.

"He will if you fall asleep in the middle of whatever you're doing."

"I will anyway.  Measurements aren't really my thing.  But then 
again, I could get into a lovely conversation with your date for 
tomorrow."  A mischievous smile made its way to his face as he 
thought of the possibilities of that statement.  That was until a 
small fist smashed itself into his arm.  "Yeah!"

"You go anywhere near him and I'll hurt you so badly that you 
won't be out of the hospital for a year!"

He laughed at her little outburst while he pulled into the parking lot 
of her building.  "OK, so no horror stories I promise.  Besides, I 
kind of like the guy, why should I scare him off?"

"You'd find a reason and a way."  She unclicked her seat belt and 
got out of the car.

He followed suit a little slower.  She waited for him to catch up 
before entering the building.  "You really do like him right?" she 
asked a little nervously.

"Why shouldn't I?"

"Oh, I don't know.  I just wondered what you thought of him."

"Since when have you needed my permission to date someone?"

"Never," she said turning back to him pointedly.  "It's just that I 
don't know him that well, and I'm not sure exactly what I'm 
getting myself into.  I've never gone out with a guy that I didn't 
really know before."

"Sure you have," he said thinking back.  "What about that one guy 
Mina set you up with for that sweetheart dance?  You never met 
him before."

"That was different."

"How?"

"He was a friend of a friend.  He came with references."

"Do you want me to give Neil an application and tell him you'll 
get in touch?"

"No!  No, no and no!"  She spun on him in the elevator startling an 
elderly lady who had followed them in.  "I don't want you saying 
anything to the man about me.  Unless it's good and something 
that I would approve of if I were standing right next to you, do you 
understand me?"

"Yes ma'am."  He hung his head and avoided her eyes.

"Good.  Now, no embarrassing stories, no insults, no telling secrets 
or quirks that I would find irritating.  None of the above.  And if in 
doubt about any of it just keep your mouth shut and play the part of 
the good little friend that wants the best for me."

"I wouldn't dream of doing anything else."


"Well, ladies and gentlemen.  May I introduce our true 
astrophysicists.  This is John Blimber who has been with the 
foundation twenty-two years now and Miss Cora Sabre, who we 
have just managed to swipe away from the astronaut academy."  
The young women in mention smiled a bit nervously at Dr. 
Benton's joke.

"These two are the ones losing sleep for all of those lovely 
numbers that the rest of you get to figure out."  The two nodded in 
agreement as a round of 'I'm sorry' claps were heard around the 
room.

Darien stood near the back of the group trying very hard to keep as 
much room between himself and Ida as possible.  The 
introductions were then given for the rest of the group.  Neil stood 
next to Dr. Benton as he labeled them all.  Ida stood to his left and 
Darien and Romola complimented the group by standing next to 
the door.  All together the seven of them didn't leave a whole lot of 
room left in the small observatory's domed top.

"Well, John the group's all yours."  Dr. Benton moved in order to 
be next to his wife during the remainder of the night's lab.

"Thank you.  The real reason we're out here is to give all of you 
nine to fiver's some appreciation for what us two night owls do out 
here.  Now, you all come prepared with lovely degrees and 
diplomas, but we come with telescopes.  And in particular, this one 
you see behind me, which is Cora's baby."

As if on a set cue he handed the conversation over to his younger 
partner.  As she stepped farther into the dimly lit room Darien 
could make out her features more clearly.  And was a knocked a 
little off kilter by them.  Long black hair shimmered down her full 
height, and radiated like she had somehow captured the starlight 
for herself.  Her eyes flashed in the uncertain light but he couldn't 
quiet connect a color to them.  Her features were pale and soft.

Darien snapped back to attention when she began her speech in a 
certain, but light voiced way.  "The Bane Observatory was two 
main sources for information gathering.  One is the national radio 
telescope based in Tsukuba about 60 km away from us.  It is 
manned by researches outside of our organization and the 
information is then sent to us.  But the one tool completely devoted 
to our experimentation is Urania, named after the Greek muse of 
celestial forces.  And for your information, yes, I got to name it.  
This is actually the front end of a ten-meter reflector telescope.  
The base and the instrument package that supply our eyes rests two 
levels below us."

There were a few surprised faces throughout the room.  "The dome 
above us sits on the highest obtainable peek on the island.  This 
gives us quite a view of the stars when it's open…"  Blimber, who 
had during this time wondered back towards the door beside 
Darien, manipulated a control next to the entryway.  The dome 
swiveled and the lights fell to blackness.  Above the ceiling 
lowered away and the group was left staring up into the starlit 
night.

Cora's voice came again from the same spot, but no echo 
accompanied it this time.  "This, is what you are trying to 
understand every day you sit in your offices."  Staring up he could 
see her point.  The sky loomed dark and mysterious.  The stars 
played in bands and swirls overhead.  They were up high enough 
and just out of the main stream of Tokyo to be able to see the sky 
in all majesty.  And he had to admit, he was impressed.


"This is the control room.  The computer systems use pinpoint 
calculations to place our view in exactly the right place.  The CCD, 
or electronic detectors known as Charge-Coupled Devices tell us 
where the star in question lies.  It also maps the relative brightness 
and the location of the star according to other background stars.  
Once in six months when the Earth swings into the opposite side of 
its orbit, we take the same measurements.  That's when the your 
group comes in."  She waved a vague hand around the room.

"Now," Mr. Blimber piped up from his post next to her.  "We've 
oversimplified a lot of this but you will get to see this beauty in 
action before the night is over.  And I don't mean my lovely 
assistant here," he said with a poke of an elbow to Cora.  She 
blushed again, and Darien couldn't help but agree with the elder 
man.

"But, now then, before we get started and our fingers dirty I would 
like to offer you the one thing that truly keeps this observatory up 
and operational.  Caffeine!"  There were a few sighs and laughs 
around the room and he was no exception.  He had stopped 
checking his watch in order to somehow fool himself into 
believing it was earlier than it was.  It wasn't working.

*Maybe I should have stayed home and slept instead of going out 
with Meatball Head.*

"Darien?"

The voice belonged to a younger man.  Probably twenty one 
knowing his grade in school but he didn't look a day over eighteen.  
An inch or two shorter than him and with much lighter features 
Neil stood before him now.  And he was just the person he wanted 
to see.

"Neil!  I'm glad you came out with us.  Of course this is more 
along your lines right?  You're more of the astronomer than the 
physics type right?" he asked conversationally.

"Yeah!  This is totally great.  I've been up here a few times, but I 
never get tired of it," he gushed.

*He already sounds like Serena.*  "You'll have to excuse me if I 
don't share the enthusiasm," he said with a yawn.  "Although the 
light show up there was really something.  My balcony doesn't 
really offer that good of a view."

"Yeah, I know it was," he mumbled.

Darien fazed off the conversation pointedly.  The man in front of 
him hadn't just wondered over to his little corner for nothing.  If 
anything Neil had spent a great deal of his time avoiding him since 
the Serena issue had been raised.  *Let's see if I can get the two of 
us better aquatinted.*

"So, I hear you're taking my favorite partner out tomorrow.  Any 
idea what you're in for?" he asked with a knowing smile.

The other looked a bit startled by the point-blankness of the 
question.  He stuttered for a moment before finding the words he 
wanted.  "She told you about it?"

"Yeah, Serena tells me most things going on in life, and I must say 
you've come up a lot."  He was trying very hard to keep the evil 
little smile off of his face.

"Really?!" he yelped.

"Really," he confirmed.  The man stood there with a little glazed 
over look in his eyes for a moment.  *Man, this kid's got it bad!*

"I was wondering.  Um…  I really haven't a clue where to take her, 
and well, I know the two of you have been… friends for a long 
time.  I thought maybe you could suggest a place?"  Darien didn't 
exactly like the way he'd said 'friends' but he didn't dwell on it.

"Sure.  Let's see, Serena has a thing for the romantic setting," he 
mumbled while he pretended to be deep in thought.  "Well, have 
you ever been to the Rose Garden?  We went with a few other 
friends a couple months ago and she really seemed to like it.  It's 
on Forty-fifth Street, right on the corner.  It's definitely a high 
class sort of place, but the menu isn't going to break you."  He 
nearly laughed at the sold out expression on his face.  "But I have 
to warn you, she'll try and pay her own way," he added just for the 
heck of it.

"Sounds totally great!  I really do want to make a good impression 
on her."  He once again fell into the dreamy little lost look and 
Darien was really finding out why Andrew was always so dead set 
on matchmaking everyone he was around.  This was fun!

But he didn't get the chance to say anything farther.  A group of 
two was slowly making their way around the conversations going 
on in the coffee lounge they had been ushered into.  Mr. Blimber 
and Cora made rounds, and they were headed in their direction.

He took the moment before they arrived to make a quick 
observation of the lovely angel on Blimber's arm.  She was tall and 
had the build of a health food nut.  Her long dark hair swayed back 
and forth as she moved.  Two silver combs twinkled as they caught 
the much better lighting in the common's room.  She wore a black 
skirt that cut off close to her knees and a green shirt that 
complimented the dark emerald eyes that she was flashing towards 
him.

*OK, Dare, when was the last time you started swooning over 
some girl you haven't even met yet?  For that mater, when was the 
last time you swooned over anyone?  Keep it together here would 
you?!*  The odd pair sauntered up to the two younger men.  "Well, 
now," Blimber said to Neil, "You're Norman's assistant right?  
Neil?"

"Yes, sir.  It's nice to meet you.  And you as well Miss Sabre."  He 
shook hands with both of them.

"And, you must be the physicist the good doctor keeps bragging 
on.  Daron is it?"

"Uh, Darien sir."  He shook the older man's hand anyway.

"Oh, yes, sorry.  Too many names to remember around here 
anymore."  He chuckled good-naturedly.

Darien simply smiled back and moved to shake hands with the 
beauty next to him.  "It's a pleasure to meet you as well, Miss 
Sabre."

She smiled a moment and he got a chance to stare into those dark 
eyes.  "It's nice to meet you too, but please it's just Cora."  She 
remembered to look over at Neil during the sentence.

"Cora then," he muttered still holding her hand like an idiot.

She smiled again as he noticed the wine coloring that graced her 
lips and fit so perfectly with her pale complexion.  He began to 
wonder if mapping the stars above wasn't easier than trying the 
same thing with the sparkles in her eyes.

*Whoa!  You are really losing it here!!*

A slight blush crept to her checks before he finally remembered to 
let her hand go.  She seemed quiet but yet self-assured.  And he 
liked it.

"So, Daron, how has Norman been treating you so far?  You're 
still here, I take that as a good sign," Blimber interrupted.

"Darien," he corrected automatically.  He was staring straight at 
the older man but all he could see was Her.  "Dr. Benton is a 
wonderful person to work for.  I really like it here, thank you."  It 
sounded like some canned acceptance speech, but he was out of 
new ideas.  Besides he was rather preoccupied with trying to come 
up with something else to say to Cora.

"Yes, Darien, sorry," the man muttered trying again to commit it to 
memory.

"Did I hear Dr. Benton correctly?  Have you been with the 
foundation for twenty-two years already?" he asked thinking up a 
new tactic.

"Yes, I guess I have.  My that does make me an old timer doesn't 
it?"  He paused thoughtfully, mumbling something to himself.

He smiled politely before turning back to Cora who had kept rather 
quiet during the exchange.  "I don't believe I caught how long 
you've been with the project."

"This is my second year," she answered simply, with a smile.

"Let me guess.  They snagged you right out of college too."  He 
laughed lightly at the common phrase used with the Bentons.

She must have obviously gotten the same line because she laughed 
too.  "Yes, actually they did."

*It's weird, the color is completely wrong but why do her eyes 
remind me of Serena's?*

"Well, my dear, I suppose we should get started.  We have several 
things to get done tonight," Mr. Blimber said.

"Yes, of course."  She turned back to him, "It was nice to meet you 
Darien."  Well, at least she got he's name right.  "And you too 
Neil."

They were already gone before he came back to Earth.  *I don't 
know what that woman is, but she's not human!*  He watched as 
they glided from the room to set up for the next episode of the 
night when he noticed it.

"That's not fair."  He muttered to himself before realizing that Neil 
was still beside him.

"What?"

"Nothing," he said coming fully back into reality once again.  He 
then felt a light tap on the arm and turned to find Roloma standing 
next to him.  "Oh, hello Romola."

"Hello Darien.  Do you have a minute?" she asked looking to Neil.

"Oh, yeah," he said quickly noting that he was being a third party.  
"And, uh, thanks!" he said to Darien before heading off to Dr. 
Benton's side once more.

"So what's up?" he asked as he and Romola found themselves 
alone.

"First off, what was that!" she said indicating the door Cora and 
Mr. Blimber went through.

"What was what?" he asked as innocently as he could.

"You know what," she said with a look that told him that she'd 
seen everything.

"It was harmless," he confessed instead.  "But it's not fair."

"What's not?"

"She's married!  I didn't notice the ring until they walked out," he 
grumbled.

She laughed lightly beside him.  "Actually no, she's just engaged."

"Really?"

"Yes, to John Blimber's son."

"Oh."  He mussed over the news.  *No wonder he kept trying to 
forget my name.*  "Oh, man that is so not fair!"

"Now, you're starting to sound like Serena."

"Sorry, I'm around her too much."

"Yeah, well, you're not the first to think that.  Although, you keep 
looking at her like that, I wouldn't be surprised if the poor girl had 
to call off the wedding for you!"

"Really?" he pondered.

"Darien!"

"OK, I'm just kidding!  But what is it about her that I can't get out 
of my head?"  All he could think of was her and those drowning 
eyes.

"She has that effect on people.  Though, I didn't figure you'd be 
one of the ones influenced like that," she said a little disbelieving.

"Sorry, I'm human," he mumbled.

"I knew that.  But that's not really the reason I wanted to talk to 
you."

"Oh?" he asked happy to change the subject.

"What's this rumor I hear about Serena dating Neil?"  She eyed 
him closely as he began to laugh at her.

"Who told you that?" he asked for fun.

"Neil."

"Then it's not hardly a rumor is it?" he asked.

"I don't know."  She looked across the room at him.  "I really 
don't think I can see them together."

"Why?  Do you know something I don't?" he asked a little 
suspicious now.

"No.  Neil is a very nice boy, and I know he'll make someone a 
very lucky woman.  I just didn't have Serena pictured, that's all."

"Oh, I don't know," he said thinking.  "He seems to have a good 
head on his shoulders, which is something she needs.  And he 
really is gone over her already; I think it'll be fine.  Besides, she's 
been alone for over a year now.  Her last relationship didn't turn 
out very good.  He was a class A jerk to her and she still stuck with 
him.  Lot of good my advice did in that one, but that's way passed 
now."

"I didn't know something like that happened to her."  She sounded 
concerned which, he reasoned, knowing Romola she was.

"Nothing to worry about now.  It was a long time ago and she's 
been over him for a good, long time."

"Oh."  She paused still looking across at Neil.  "So you don't mind 
them going out together?"

"Why should I?" he asked.

"No reason.  I just wondered."  They both turned back to see their 
two guilds walk back into the room.

"It's just not fair," he muttered again.


_____________
@}->-- "The greatest ability is dependability" -Unknown.
@}->-- "The best bridge between despair and hope is a 
good night's sleep" –E. Joseph Cossman.