That's What Friends are For
mardel
G
Answer to the fic challenge request
A story with the entire regular cast. Takes place right after Perchance to Dream.
Disclaimer: I just borrowed them for the story. They are owned by Sci fi.
Claire sighed, she still felt tired after her ordeal. She remembered a little
about the past few days. Mostly she remembered Bobby and Darien's concern for her.
She was beginning to care for both of them. It wasn't a professional thing, having
feelings for your patient, or for Bobby. But she supposed it was inevitable.
Working closely with people, saving their life, them saving her life. Emotions
were bound to come out. Feelings she hadn't experienced in a long time.
Claire got up and walked into her kitchen to make herself a cup of tea. Pavlov
trotted along with her, keeping his eye on the dog cookie jar near the stove.
" I'm just over reacting, Darien and Bobby are co-workers, they were worried
about me is all." Claire picked Pavlov up to cuddle him, while she waited for
the water to boil.
Pavlov licked her nose, wagging his tail as she hugged him.
::::::::::::::::::::
Hobbes had just dropped Fawkes off at his apartment. "See you in the morning Partner."
Darien slammed the van door shut and lifted his hand in a wave to Bobby. Darien
was exhausted after their day, he had been scared Claire would kill herself, like the
other people from the sleep clinic experiment had. All he wanted now was a hot
shower and his bed.
Bobby drove to the Chinese place near his apartment, he was picking up an order of
Sczechwan Beef to go.
"Thanks, Jimmy." Bobby paid for his dinner and was stepping back out the door
to the Red Tiger when he heard a scream. He set his dinner on the floor of the foyer,
and ran out. Bobby was around the side of the building and looking for the woman
who had screamed. He saw two punks hassling a woman.
"Give me the purse lady."
"No, you can't have it, help someone help!" The woman was hugging her purse to
her chest and refused to release it to the mugger.
"Stop! Federal Agent." Bobby pulled his gun and locked his arm into firing position.
"Hey, man give it up, I'm out of here." the second punk told his partner before running
off.
Bobby didn't shoot at the retreating suspect, he was worried about the woman.
He started walking forward, the punk that was still pulling at the purse strap looked
like a deer caught in head lights. His eyes were glazed over.
"I said, let her go."
The punk released his hands, and stepped back.
Bobby, returned his gun to the holster, "Are you hurt ma'am?"
"No, I'm not hurt. Thank you." She turned to look at Hobbes.
While Bobby's attention was on the woman, the punk made a break for it. He ran
past Bobby out towards the street.
"Crap!" Hobbes watched the punk go past and started after him. Bobby caught up
with him when a car almost hit the kid. Bobby grabbed him by the neck of his
shirt and bent an arm back up between his shoulders.
"Take it easy kid, the cops will be here soon to take you in."
A black and white pulled to the curb lights flashing, as Bobby walked the kid back
to the Red Tiger. The woman was standing on the side of the restaurant, watching.
"What's going on here?" The Officer asked.
"This kid tried to mug the lady." Bobby said as he approached the black and white.
"Hold it right there mister, you are under arrest!" The cop pulled his service revolver
and aimed it at Bobby.
"Hey, hold on, I'm the good guy." Bobby kept his hold on the punk.
"Yes, Officer he rescued me from the mugger." the woman spoke up on Hobbes behalf.
"I don't care about that, he's on the ten most wanted list for the state of California.
Let the kid go and put your hands up." The Officer ordered. "Officer requesting
back up at Ten and Maple, escaped felon located."
Bobby didn't like what was happening, if the officer hadn't already pulled his weapon
he would have made a break for it himself.
"Let go man you heard the cop." The punk twisted in Bobby's loosened hold.
There was a moment of confusion, the punk tried to struggled out of Bobby's hold
and the officer panicked. He shot Bobby, who fell to the pavement bleeding.
:::::::::::::::::::
"Hello?" Claire answered her phone in the middle of the night.
"Claire, it's Darien can you come down to the hospital, Bobby's been hurt."
"Darien, what happened?"
"We don't exactly know, he's hurt and they won't tell us anything."
Claire could here the distress in his voice.
"I'll be right there. Bobby's strong Darien, he'll be fine." she hung up
the phone and rushed to pull on her clothes.
When Claire arrived at the hospital she saw Darien and Eberts, she wondered
where the Official was.
" How is he?"
"They won't tell us, you're his doctor we thought they would tell you."
Eberts stepped forward.
"Where is the Official?"
'He's in a secret meeting." Darien sneered at Eberts, "He can't be reached for
the next forty eight hours."
" I'll find out everything I can, hang on." Claire stepped forward to the nurse's
desk.
"I'm Dr. Claire Keeply, I understand you have one of my patients here?'
"Who is your patient?" the nurse asked.
"Robert Hobbes. I would like to see his chart."
"Just a minute please," The nurse looked through the charts on her desk and
handed one to Claire then she picked up the phone and spoke to someone.
"The Doctor on duty will be with you shortly, it has been a busy night."
"Thank you." Claire opened Bobby's chart, she read he had been shot, the
wound was to his right side. His bleeding was under control, but they wanted
to get him stable before taking the bullet out. His vital signs were strong.
Claire handed the chart back, " May I see him?"
"He is in room 509, you will need this." The nurse handed her a badge.
Claire moved back to the waiting area. "He's been shot, if you didn't know how
he was injured. How did you even know he was hurt?"
"I have a special program running, to notify me if any of our personnel are
brought to the hospital for an emergency." Eberts looked proud of himself.
" Claire there is a guard at his door. I went inside," Darien shifted his eyes,
so she would understand he had gone invisible, "Bobby is out, he's all
hooked up to monitors." Darien took her arm, she could see the concern
for his partner.
"I'll go and check him, I have a pass." Claire patted Darien's arm and walked
down the hall. She held her pass up, and the guard just nodded to her to enter
Bobby's room.
Darien hated hospitals, he was pacing the floor. "Are you sure we can't get
a message to the Official?" He stalked over to loom over Eberts, he was trying
to intimidate Eberts into giving up the Official's location.
"Yes, I'm sure, he can't be reached." Eberts looked uneasy but, held his ground.
"Now that Dr. Keeply is here, I'm sure Hobbes will be fine."
:::::::::::::::::::::::::
Claire looked at Bobby from the door, he was hooked up to what looked like a lot
of medical monitors, but were only a heart rate monitor, his IV drip and leads for
his respiration and blood pressure.
He looked slightly pale, she checked his skin temperature. He was hot but an infection
had not set yet. She moved to lift examine his wound, it was angry looking, the bullet
must have lodged against a bone to have not exited.
"Bobby, can you hear me?" She touched his forehead, he looked peaceful even though
he was in a hospital bed. "Bobby?"
Hobbes moved, then felt the pain in his shoulder. He opened his eyes, they were out
of focus for a second. "Claire what happened?"
"You've been shot Bobby, do you remember anything about it?'
"I was helping this woman, some punk was trying to mug her.... the cops pulled
their guns on me ... he shot me." Bobby lifted his left hand to his face and rubbed
his eyes. " Do I have to stay here? Can't I recover at the Agency?'
"I'm afraid the bullet is still in you. That has to be removed first. Your room is
being guarded, do you have any idea why?" Claire chewed her bottom lip as she waited
for his answer.
"The cop that shot me said I was a wanted fugitive. Where's the Official? He can
straighten this mess out in no time."
"First we have to worry about surgery. Your doctor is coming to speak with me,
I'll come back and talk with you again later." Claire didn't want to tell Bobby he
might be at the mercy of the local police for a while longer.
"Claire, thanks for coming." Bobby eyes were dark with feeling, he was touched that
she had come to his aid.
Claire was walking past the nurses station when the doctor arrived to speak with her.
"Dr. Keeply was it? I'm Dr. Grant, the floor physician for this shift. Mr. Hobbes needs to have that bullet removed I've booked him into surgery first thing in the morning." He
showed Claire an X-ray of Bobby's upper chest. "The bullet is lodged against the
anterior of his scapula, we won't know how much damage it did until we get in there."
"Yes, I understand, may I assist, I have a surgical fellowship with Paris Medical College."
"If you want to assist, I'd be glad to have the help." Dr. Grant nodded.
Claire found Darien and Eberts, " He's going to be fine once the bullet is removed.
I spoke with him for a few minutes. He said the police shot him, he is suspected of
being a wanted felon. I think you can best help him by finding out who the police
believe Bobby is."
"You're sure he's going to be OK?" Darien asked, looking hopeful for the first time
since he arrived at the hospital.
"Yes, he's strong, his vital signs are good. He will recover from this." Claire half
smiled to reassure Darien.
"OK, come on Eberts we are going to do a little undercover work." Darien grabbed
Eberts by the shoulder and escorted him down the hall.
Next we see Darien turning invisible and sneaking into police headquarters.
He listens in on a few conversations, looks into the files and learns that they
think Bobby is a ten most wanted felon for the state of California. He is supposed
have killed fifteen people, with bombs and explosions. There is a wanted poster
with a sketched picture of a man that looks like Hobbes.
"Crap."
Darien takes one of the posters and meets back up with Eberts in the van.
"This isn't good, I need to return to the agency. I might be able to trace the
reference number here on the side of the poster. It could tell us who created
this false warrant for his arrest."
"Won't they check his finger prints? They aren't going to match." Darien
put the van into gear and head back to the agency.
"If as I suspect Chrysalis is behind this, they would have found a way to use
Hobbes's finger prints as evidence against him."
Eberts and Darien return to the lab and Eberts works on the computer to trace
the origin of the poster. It takes the rest of the night and into the next day for
him to finally trace the poster to it's source.
Darien called Claire to check with her on Bobby's condition.
"He's stable, his surgery is schedule for eight o'clock. I'll call you as soon as
we are finished. Did you find out anything ?"
"Eberts thinks Chrysalis is behind this, he has traced a wanted poster to a company
they use as a front. Bobby is supposed to be a mad bomber." Darien scoffed.
" I'm sure you will straighten it all out, once the Official returns we can have
Bobby released."
Claire and Dr. Grant operate on Bobby, things are going along well until there
is a sudden drop in his blood pressure. The bullet had lodged very close to
a major blood vessel, and it was ruptured when they freed the bullet.
Claire has to assist for real, beside handing instruments to Dr. Grant. She
helps stitch Bobby back together.
Eberts is still working on the computer, he hasn't taken a break since they returned
to the agency. "That's it, I've got it now." he smiles and sits up straighter in his
chair.
Darien was sitting in a near by chair, his eyes closed. "What did you find?"
Darien rolls his chair closer and peers over Eberts shoulder.
"I've located the master server for the computer system Chrysalis used to create
the false information on Hobbes. If I can crack the code for the program I can
erase the file and when the police go to check on the original warrant it will
be gone." Eberts types furiously as Darien watches.
Darien's cell phone rings. "Yeah, Claire is everything alright?'
"Yes, but it was touch and go there for a little while. Bobby is stable, and in
the recovery room. I've sure he would like to see you."
"Great,' Darien smiled, " I'll come back to the hospital soon, we are still looking
for that last piece of the puzzle."
" I'll be here, see you soon."
"Hey, partner how are you feeling?" Darien is there when Bobby wakes up after
his surgery. Sitting in a chair by the bed.
" Fawkes, did you get the number of that truck?'
" Claire said there was nothing to it, you'll be back on your feet in no time."
Claire steps forward, "Bobby the bullet is out, your shoulder wasn't permanently
damaged."
" Good, thanks." Bobby's eyes close after he hears her news.
"You get some rest." Darien tells Bobby as he stands up.
Bobby's eyes open again, "Fawkes get me out of here will ya?"
"Eberts and I are working on it, trust me." Darien smiles at his partner.
" I do my friend."
Claire is standing slightly back from the bed, but she over hears their
conversation. She smiles, at their exchange.
Darien and Eberts have to sneak into a computer company that is a front for
Chrysalis. We see Eberts dressed all in black, including his hair covered by
a black stocking cap. Darien is also wearing black, including gloves.
"Explain it to me again, if we are a government agency why can't you just
go into the NCIC computer system and change the false information?"
"Only technicians with special clearance can change information in that system.
It holds information of a national security nature. I wouldn't want to risk crashing
the NCIC computer to remove the report on Hobbes. So if we can crash the server
the false report was housed on from Chrysalis. When we challenge the arrest of
Hobbes, and they check the information at it's source. It will be gone. No proof,
and he can't be held." Eberts explained to Darien.
"Got ya, I'm going to like this." Darien smiled as he exited the van.
Eberts and Darien worked their way around the security system in place. Partly with
Darien invisible, and partly with Eberts skill with electrical equipment.
Eberts placed a small explosive charge on the side of the main server in the computer
room. Darien has to cover Eberts with quicksilver at one point for them to get back
to the van with out being detected. They were half way to the hospital to check in with Claire when the explosion went off.
"I hope your plan works," Claire has taken Darien into an empty room to administer
a shot of counteragent.
"Eberts knows his stuff, it'll work. How is Hobbes?" Darien hisses through his teeth
as the counteragent takes affect.
"Bobby is recovering, we will be getting him up to walk later today." Claire placed
the hypo back in her bag and checked Darien's tattoo, it was returning to all green.
"How are you doing? I forgot you were on a few days leave when the crap hit the
fan." Darien lowered his head, to look Claire in the eyes.
She sighed away from his direct gaze, "I'm a little tired, but Bobby needs me here."
"You said he was recovering. I can hang out here for awhile, if you want to go
home and rest."
"I'll go home tonight, don't worry about me." She picked up her bag to leave the
room.
"Claire." Darien's hand touched her arm to stop her for a second, "Thank you, for
caring about us. Hobbes kind of grows on you after awhile, ya know."
"You're welcome. He does. Come on Eberts will be wondering what happened
to us."
::::::::::::::::::::
"I can't believe this, the San Diego PD, won't release Hobbes to our custody?"
Darien slammed his fist down on the desk in Claire's lab.
"I've explained to them that we are a law enforcement agency. But until they can
verify why, there is no longer a record of the original charges against Hobbes
they are continuing to hold him." Eberts explained, he was going to be glad when
the Official returned. He didn't like having to deal with an angry Darien all the
time.
"Where is the Fat Man anyway? You said he would be back in two days?'
"I'm right here agent Fawkes. Thank you for being concerned on my behalf."
The Official walked into the lab, his voice dripping with sarcasm.
Darien makes a face, like 'Oh crap, he caught me calling him names.'
"Fill me in Eberts, and make it short." The head man for the agency sits
down in the desk chair and crosses his hands on his ample stomach.
"Yes, sir, Agent Hobbes was wounded while being mistakenly arrested
for a false arrest warrant. He is still in custody of the San Diego PD. We
traced the false report to Chrysalis, and have erased it. But the police still
refuse to release Hobbes."
"Claire, how is he physically, other than the usual paranoia?" The Official
turned in his chair to look at the Keeper.
"His wound is healing, no sign of infection. He will be ready to return to
full duty very soon." She stretched the truth slightly.
"Eberts, come with me." The Official stood and walked out, with Eberts
at his heels.
"I told you he would get Hobbes back." Darien smiled at Claire.
:::::::::::::::::::::
It wasn't as easy as Darien had expected. When they returned to the hospital
that afternoon. Bobby had been moved. He was no longer in room 509.
Darien had to sneak a look at the records to learn he had been turned over
to the San Diego Police. Hobbes had been discharged.
" Crap, now what do we do?"
"They will have taken him to the jail ward of the city lock up, I should
think. Come on." Claire was leading Darien back out of the hospital.
Eberts had gone with Claire and Darien to have Hobbes released to the agency.
He was driving the van when the team arrived at San Diego Police Headquarters.
"What's the plan?"
"I was thinking as his doctor they might still allow me to see him. But his
lawyer, Eberts you look like a lawyer type. You have the legal papers, I'll
ask to see Bobby. Then you come in a few minutes later and also ask to
see him. If I fail then we will go with plan B."
"Yes, Hello, I'm Dr. Claire Keeply I understand you have a patient of mine
here, he was discharged from the hospital against doctor's orders. I would like
to see him please."
"Just a minute Dr. I'll have to clear that with the watch Captain."
"You sign in here, then go around that way. I officer will show you to the lock up."
"Thank you." Claire signed in, and was escorted to a room that looked very much like
the padded room at the agency.
"What's this?" she asked the officer escorting her.
"It's where we but guys that want to hurt themselves, since he's injured we didn't
want him with rest of the inmates."
"Bobby, are you alright?" Claire approached him, he was sitting in a wheel chair
in the middle of the room.
Bobby looked up, at her his eyes full of pain. He hadn't been provided any medicating
since they had taken him from the hospital. He was in physical pain, and he was scared
on top of that because he had been off his lithium for almost two days.
"Claire. Help me."
"Yes, Bobby I have medication for you right here." She checked to make sure no
one was watching her, then slipped two pills into his mouth. Bobby was a master
at taking pills dry, and he swallowed them down.
"We are going to get you out of here. Hang on." Claire opened her cell phone and
signaled Darien and Eberts stick with plan A. They were going to break Bobby out
of police headquarters.
Darien quick silvered and entered the cell Bobby was being kept in as Claire exited.
"My patient is in terrible shape I demand to talk with your superior."
" Hobbes it's me, we are going to get you out of here." Darien spoke to his partner.
Letting the quicksilver fall off of him for the moment.
"Fawkes, I can't go to jail." Bobby looked relieved to have his partner with him.
But he was still in pain.
Eberts set off a distraction in front of the police station, and in the confusion Darien
was rolling Bobby in his wheel chair towards the side door. Claire stopped him just
before he ran straight into the second watch coming on shift. Darien ended up having
to quicksilver all three of them to get out of the building and into the waiting van.
"Hurry we have to get Darien back to the lab quickly and Bobby needs attention,
his wound is bleeding."
"I'm OK, as long as I don't have to go to jail, I'm OK." Bobby was saying from
his place in the back of the van. Claire was holding pressure to his shoulder.
To stop the bleeding. Darien was slumped in his seat next to Eberts, the pain of
using to much quicksilver making him miserable.
"I'll have us back in a few minutes." Eberts promised.
Claire had to get Eberts to hold Bobby's shoulder while she administered
Darien's shot of counteragent. Then she had to replace a few of the
staples in Bobby's shoulder with stitches. Darien was able to assist her
once he was back to normal.
"Thank you, Darien, your brother wasn't the only medically talented person
in the family."
Darien grinned, at her compliment.
The Official came to look in on Bobby after he was resting more comfortably.
"I expect a full report from you on this matter on my desk by the end of the
week."
"Yes, sir, thank you."
Claire and Darien were on the other side of the lab pretending not to listen.
Darien walked over after the official had left, " Claire said I should go home,
you OK?"
" Thanks, Fawkes I owe you one." Bobby lifted his left hand to shake Darien's
hand.
"That's what partners do for each other." Darien nodded and was gone.
A few days later when Bobby was up and around and Claire was removing his
combination of stitches and staples.
"How does your shoulder feel Bobby?"
"It's sore but it's getting better, the physical therapist said I'll be back to 100
percent in a few more weeks." Bobby pulled his shirt back on.
"Claire you remember when you said thank you for us saving your life."
"Yes, Bobby of course."
"I'd like to say thank you, to you for coming to my rescue the way you did."
Bobby moved forward and embraced her. It was a nice hug, even though he
was mostly using his good arm. Claire welcomed his embrace curving her
chin over his good shoulder and holding on for several seconds.
"I appreciate your help." Bobby told her. Then moved back, a slight smile
on his face.
"You are very welcome. Now go and get some rest."
end