Hi, I'm back. ^_^ Welcome to my little 
world, where I wish dreams would come true and Tux 
would be real and all mine. *sheepish grin* A girl 
can always dream . . .
	Thanks to everyone who keeps encouraging 
me: Sailor Walnut (yea, imouto!), Jade, Sailor 
November, April. All of you guys are awesome! ^_^

	Insert Standard Disclaimer Here (I'm too 
tired, lazy, and busy to come up with a clever one 
anyway . . .)





		Cure For a Broken Heart
		chapter four
			by Sailor Elysia








	Serena awoke to the sounds of her mother's 
Christmas music filtering throughout the house. She 
stretched lazily, glanced at her alarm clock, and was 
shocked at how late it was. She was used to sleeping 
in, but this late on a Christmas morning was unheard 
of, even for her. Usually it was she and Sammy racing 
to be the first downstairs and investigate what gifts 
had left during the night.
	She sauntered down the stairs, and into the 
kitchen, where her father was reading his paper, her 
mother at the stove as usual, and Sammy was digging 
into a large stack of pancakes.
	He looked up from his plate at his sleepy-
eyed sister. "'Bout time you showed up, Serena. I 
thought I was going to have to open your gifts for 
you," he grinned.
	Serena mussed his hair as she sat down, 
winning a cry a protest from him. "Just because you're 
eighteen and you think you know everything, doesn't 
mean you do, you little imp."
	"Yeah, but I come pretty close," he shot 
back, stuffing a forkful of pancake into his mouth.
	"Good morning, sweetheart," Ilene replied, 
quickly stopping the rivalry by setting a plate and a 
tall glass of juice in front of Serena.
	She sniffed the heavenly aroma of the 
pancakes. "Umm, Mom, these smell wonderful! Much 
better than the typical bowl of cold cereal I've been 
living on for the last few months."
	Her mother smiled. "Well, it's good to know 
that my pancakes can't compare to your cereal."
	Serena groaned. "Mom, you know what I 
meant. It's been so long since I had a real breakfast, 
with my schedule and all, I never have the time to 
enjoy what I eat anymore."
	"How could you enjoy what you eat 
anyway? You never take the time to notice, you 
inhale it so fast," Sammy quipped.
	She pointed her fork at her brother. "Not 
another word out of you, twerp, or I'll see to it 
personally that you won't have anything under that 
tree," she threatened playfully.
	Their father laid the paper down on the 
table. "Are you two finished, or are you going to 
continue this in the living room?"
	Serena and Sammy glanced at each other, 
then simultaneously bolted from the table and ran 
into the other room, racing each other to the doorway.
	For once, Serena stopped as she got to the 
arched doorway, and gazed slowly around the 
beautifully decorated room. Around this time of year, 
decorating the living room was her mother's pride and 
joy. The tree that Sammy and her father had picked 
out this year was a full noble pine, and peeked out 
from its corner into the large bay window. 
	All the ornaments she remembered from her 
childhood, including some new ones her mother had 
added this year hung from the delicate branches of 
the tree. The tiny lights swarmed around the tree, 
and made each ornament sparkle and shine like crystal.
	Serena's eyes shined as she took everything 
in. As her parents entered the room from behind, she 
realized once again what a blessing it was to have 
such a caring family, even Sammy, the little nuisance 
he was. But she wouldn't trade them for all the 
presents in the world.
	She joined her parents on the sofa, and 
watched as her brother marveled over all the neatly 
wrapped presents placed beneath the tree. He began 
to sort out the gifts one by one to everyone until 
they all had a small pile of their own. This was a 
tradition her family had started when she was very 
young, even continuing as she and Sammy had grown 
older.
	The four of them unceremoniously 
unwrapped their presents, Serena's pile consisting 
more of clothes and basic things she needed around 
her apartment, compared to Sammy's hi-tech gear, 
like his new pair of rollerblades.
	"All right!" Sammy exclaimed as he 
unwrapped his last gift. "TombRaider III! I've been 
wanting this forever! Thanks Mom!"
	Serena grinned at his enthusiasm. She had 
helped her mother pick that present out while they 
had gone shopping for her dress two weeks ago. That 
trip brought all the memories back to the surface, 
including what had happened recently, especially the 
more painful memories of what had transpired 
between her and Darien.
	Why did she feel so different around him? 
She thought she could never think of anyone the same 
way after Ben, and yet . . . it didn't seem that way 
with Darien. But there was nothing she could really 
do about it, since she was returning to school soon. 
It was just better to put it behind her, and not 
pursue anything she might regret later.
	"Serena?" Ilene's voice snapped her out of 
her thoughts. "It's your turn, sweetie."
	"Oh," she replied, reaching for the small 
plain package that was the last of her pile. She 
turned it over, looking for a tag, but found none. 
"Mom? Who's this from?"
	Ilene's eyes brightened. "That was delivered 
to the house two days ago, I think. But there was no 
return address, so I just put in under the tree for 
you."
	Serena puzzled over the present's origin as 
she tore off the wrapping to reveal a small box. 
Pulling open the lid, she brushed the protective 
wrapping aside to find a small crystal rose encased 
beneath a glass dome. She gasped, for she had never 
seen anything more beautiful in her life.
	A small piece of paper was tucked inside the 
box, and Serena eagerly grabbed it, and opened it to 
find a short message scrawled in a not-so-neat 
handwriting:


	"To Serena, 

	Just a small something to let you know I'm 
thinking of you. Have a wonderful Christmas.

	Your secret admirer."



	She looked up from the note, and glanced at 
the gift in her hand again, biting her lip to hold 
back the tears. She knew very well who her admirer 
was, and she also knew that this just complicated 
things for her even more.





		*  *  *  *  *  *  *





	"Serena, sweetheart, I thought you were 
going to stay at least until after New Year's. It's 
only been four days since Christmas. Why the sudden 
change of plans?"
	Serena looked up from her suitcase to her 
mother standing in the bedroom doorway. Her 
shoulders slumped, and she sat down on the bed. "I--I 
don't know, Mom. There's a few things I need to get 
away from right now. It's almost like I don't belong 
here anymore."
	Ilene walked further into the room, and sat 
next to her daughter. "Of course you belong here. 
This is your home, and it always will be." She paused 
momentarily. "Serena, is there something troubling 
you? Ever since you stopped seeing that guy your 
friend set you up with, and then with that little gift 
you received for Christmas, you haven't seemed the 
same. I haven't seen you smile nearly as much as you 
used to. What's the matter? You know you can tell me 
anything."
	She leaned her head on her mother's 
shoulder, trying to hold back the flood of tears again. 
"Mom . . . what was it like when you and Dad first 
fell in love?"
	Ilene was taken aback by the question, but 
said nothing at first. "Well . . . when I first met 
your father, we started out by being just good friends. 
But as time went by, I knew that we had much more than 
that, and I didn't want to live without him. The first 
time he took my hand, there was a certain magic 
between us, and I knew I'd never find it with anyone 
else. I didn't want to."
	Serena nodded, and sat up again, the tears 
silently running down her cheeks. "Thanks, Mom. 
That helped me a little, I think."
	Ilene decided to get to the bottom of this. 
"Serena, are you in love with this young man?"
	"Even if I knew what love really was, I still 
don't think I could give you a straight answer on that. 
Darien's different than any other guy I've ever gone 
out with, including and especially Ben. I actually feel 
comfortable with myself around him, and there have 
been a few times when I didn't want to leave him."
	"So what's the trouble?"
	Serena sighed deeply. "I don't know. I guess 
I'm scared to admit to him I have feelings for him, 
if I do, that is. He's the one who sent that gift. 
It was totally unexpected, and it's left me more 
confused than ever. I've had my heart shattered once, 
and I don't know if I could put myself in that position 
again." She stood up again, and closed the cover of 
her suitcase. "That's why I want to go back now, to 
see if things will be different once I leave."
	Ilene stood up now, and took her daughter 
into a warm embrace. "I love you, Serena. I'll miss 
you while you're gone, but I want you to be happy. 
Come back as often as you can, even if it is only at 
holidays."
	Serena clung to her mother, sobbing openly 
now, knowing it would be a long time before she 
would come home again.





		*  *  *  *  *  *  *





	Darien glanced up at the two-story home. 
This had to be the right place, after he had 
practically begged Ami to tell him where she lived. 
He just hoped Serena would talk to him, after his 
spur-of-the-moment gift he had sent her. He knocked 
lightly on the front door.
	Ilene opened the door slowly, and looked at 
the young man standing on the porch scrupulously. 
"Can I help you?"
	"Yes, I was wondering if this is where 
Serena Tsukino lives," Darien answered with a slight 
smile, hoping against all hope that she would be 
home.
	"Yes, she does, but she's gone back to school 
in Hawaii already. She left yesterday."
	His head dropped down and his shoulders 
sagged visibly. She was gone. He had missed her. By 
one day. One lousy day, and she was half-way across 
the ocean.
	Ilene studied him for a moment. "You 
wouldn't happen to be . . . Darien, by any chance, 
would you?"
	His head shot up. "Yes, I am, but how . . .?"
	"Serena told me a lot about you. And I saw 
the gift you gave her. You care for her a great deal, 
don't you?" 
	He nodded meekly, somewhat embarrassed 
to be discussing this with Serena's mother.
	"I wish I had known you were going to stop 
by, I could have had her leave you a note or 
something."
	He shook his head, knowing that his chance 
was long gone. "It's quite all right. If you talk to 
her in the next couple of days, could you tell her I 
said hello?"
	"I can do better than that. I'll give you her 
address and phone number in Hawaii, and you can 
contact her yourself when ever you like."





		*  *  *  *  *  *  *





	Serena lugged her suitcase up the flight of 
stairs in her apartment complex, and set them down at 
her door way. This had not been a good day. First, 
her flight had been late, the food was bad, and a 
bunch of annoying and rowdy kids had been yelling 
and screaming the whole flight back. Then, to make 
things worse, the airport had almost lost her luggage, 
and she had had to wait more than an hour to get it 
back.
	She unlocked the door, and pushed it open to 
be greeted by a dark apartment. She looked to her 
left, and noticed the dim light of the television was 
the only light in the living room. Two figures with 
their heads close together were silhouetted by the 
movie. Right away, Serena knew it to be her 
roommate Jill and her boyfriend, Michael. The two 
had been inseparable the last few months. 
	Nothing around here had really changed, 
except for her. She sighed loudly, and shut the door 
behind her. "Jill? Michael?" she called out, informing 
them of her presence.
	"Serena? You're back already? That was a 
short break," Jill answered, as she jumped off the 
couch to hug her roommate.
	"Yeah, well, I guess I can never get enough 
of this place." She craned her neck to glance at 
Michael, still on the couch, and she gave him a smile 
and a quick wave. "So how are you two?"
	Jill held out her right hand excitedly to show 
off a ring with a good-sized diamond on it. "We've set 
the date, well, kind of. We decided on some time in 
late April, after the semester's over. And I want you to 
be my maid of honor."
	Serena was taken aback by the sudden 
announcement, although she had been expecting 
something like it for a long time. And maid of honor! 
She certainly hadn't expected that. "I don't know what 
to say, Jill," she responded, and hugged her tightly. 
"I'd be honored to be in your wedding."
	Jill had a huge grin on her face. "So, tell me 
everything about your trip."
	Serena yawned. "I'd tell you now, but you've 
still got Michael to entertain, and I am absolutely 
exhausted. I'm just lucky that my classes don't start 
for a couple more days. I really need some sleep right 
now. I'll tell you everything tomorrow."





		*  *  *  *  *  *  *





	Serena stumbled out from her bedroom into 
the kitchen around ten-thirty, her vision blurred, 
and her blonde hair tousled. Getting used to the 
time difference again was really hard on her 
internal clock, and she only got a few good hours 
of sleep in the night before.
	She made her customary bowl of cold cereal, 
and plopped down at the table. Running her fingers 
through her tangled hair, then resting her head on 
her hand, she sighed loudly. She didn't want to 
think about the past few weeks, even though being 
home for Christmas had been absolutely wonderful. 
	She looked up at the windowsill, and her 
gaze fell upon the rose in the glass dome she had 
placed there after she had unpacked. It was 
everything else that had happened that saddened 
Serena. She admitted to herself now that she did 
indeed care for Darien a great deal, maybe actually 
love him, even though their time together had been 
short. All thoughts of Ben were finally beginning to 
disappear, and she felt like a new person, with a 
second chance at life. But she knew the chances 
of ever seeing Darien again were practically 
impossible. She wouldn't be going home for another 
four months. Who knew what could happen in that 
amount of time?
	While she finished her cereal, Jill breezed 
through the door from her morning class, and threw 
her backpack on the couch. She took one look at 
Serena, and her eyes widened. "Whoa, girl, you like 
a two-ton truck just ran you over."
	Serena pulled her gaze away from the 
window, and cracked a smile at her roommate. "I feel 
like it, too. I have to readjust myself to the time 
change, I guess."
	Jill straddled the other kitchen chair, and 
watched Serena for a moment. "So, are you going to 
tell me all about your adventures back in Tokyo, or 
should I call back that truck and drag them out of 
you?" she threatened playfully.
	"All right, all right, you convinced me," 
she laughed.
	"Was your Christmas good?"
	Serena nodded. "It was so nice to see my 
family again."
	"The reunion?"
	Another nod.
	Jill grinned devilishly. "Did you meet 
anyone?"
	Serena sobered immediately, and looked 
away. What else was there for her to talk about? 
"Yes," she replied, and planned to leave it at that.
	But Jill wouldn't be dissuaded so easily. 
"Well? Don't hold back on me, girl! Tell me 
everything! Is he good-looking? Do you like him?"
	She sighed deeply. " Oh, Jill, I don't know 
where to start. I'm still having problems determining 
how I feel. It's taken me a long time to realize I 
don't need Ben any more, and now it doesn't help me 
any knowing I had to leave Darien behind as well." 
She proceeded to tell her the rest of the story of 
what had happened between her and Darien.
	Jill leaned forward, and placed a hand on 
Serena's arm in sympathy. "You've got a tough 
situation, but I do know how you feel. It took me 
months before I realized how much I actually loved 
Michael, and knew I my life wouldn't be the same 
without him."
	Serena's head shot up. Those were like the 
words her mother had told her before she had left. 
Maybe . . . there was hope for her after all. But 
would she ever see Darien again?