Tests of Character

by Disgruntled Peony

Sequel to 'Dangers Past and Present'; Barinski's back, and he has a new ally.

Title: Tests of Character
Author: liz_Z
E-mail: liz_Z@theglobe.com
Category: Action/Adventure
Rating: PG
Spoilers: Big ones for 'IHWYDT', tiny references to several other episodes
Sequel info: Sequel to my previous fic, 'Dangers Past and Present'. Trust me, you want to read them in order, otherwise you just won't get it.
Disclaimer: Oh man, I hate this part. These characters- with the exception of Leo Barinski- don't belong to me, but I wish they did (don't we all).


A guy named Stephen V. Thulon once said, "Conflict builds character. Crisis defines it." Now Hobbes and I have both had a whole lot of conflict in our lives. This is the story of what happened when we ran into a crisis. But let me tell you, having your character defined is kind of scary.

**********

Leo Barinski sat on his prison cot and stared at the walls of his nondescript cell. He had been sitting in the exact same position for hours, for the sole reason that it freaked out the prison guards. They were very intelligent, these guards. They knew he was dangerous and they weren't taking any chances with him. Too bad, he would have enjoyed snapping their necks if they got too close. It would have at least given him something to do.

One of the guards rapped sharply on the bars of Leo's cell and barked, "Hey Barinski, you've got a visitor." Leo wondered absently who had come to visit him. He had no friends or immediate family besides his Uncle Bob, and the two of them weren't exactly on speaking terms. That could only mean one thing. His visitor was a cop.

However, when the guard stepped aside to reveal the visitor Leo could tell right away that he wasn't a cop or a fed. He didn't carry himself like one at all, and there was a confident, almost arrogant air about him that practically screamed power. This man was used to getting whatever he wanted, by whatever means necessary. Maybe a mob boss then. But one thing was certain. Whoever he was, he had power. You could tell just by looking at him.

As soon as the guard left Leo gave the man a look of suspicion. "What do you want?"

"I want your help."

Leo sneered. "That's going to be a little difficult, seeing as I'm not going to be getting out of this cell for about twenty years."

"I could change that."

"How?"

The man smiled. "I'm an expert on the art of escape."

"And I should believe you because..."

The man frowned. "Are you going to let me explain myself or should I take my business elsewhere?"

Leo thought for a moment and then looked back up at his visitor. "I'm listening."

"I have a job for you. If you take it you'll receive a free ticket out of prison, as well as a substantial sum of money once the job is completed. And you'll be able to get a little revenge into the bargain."
"Are you going to tell me what this job is?"

"Only after you accept my offer."

Leo stood up, pacing his cell as he considered his options. On the one hand, he had a quick and easy way out of jail. On the other he had at least twenty years in a prison cell that would be very similar to the one he was currently occupying. It was a pretty easy choice between the two.

"Alright, I'll do it." Leo walked over and stuck his hand between the bars. The man shook it firmly. Leo frowned. "Hey wait a sec, I never got your name..."

The man smiled. "It's Arnaud. Arnaud De Föhn."

**********

Bobby Hobbes awoke to the blaring tones of his alarm clock. He groaned loudly and rolled over, groping blindly for the sleep button. But his hands missed their mark, instead knocking the clock off of his nightstand and sending it clattering the floor. It stopped ringing. Hobbes opened his eyes, surveying the damage. He swore under his breath; pieces of the clock were strewn all over the floor.

After cleaning up the mess he'd made and making a mental note to buy another alarm clock, he set about getting ready for work. He pulled on his pants and shirt and grabbed a jacket out of his closet. He was checking over his gun when he heard a loud knock on his door.

He walked over and looked through his peephole. It was his partner, Darien Fawkes, carrying a large brown paper bag and looking nervously around the hall. Hobbes opened the door just enough to see through.

"Whaddaya want?"

Darien held up the bag, a wry grin on his face. "I come bearing doughnuts."

Hobbes regarded the bag suspiciously. "You're not gonna go wacko on me or anything, are ya?"

Darien laughed. "No."

"Then come on in." Hobbes opened his door and stepped to the side so Darien could walk through. Darien walked into the kitchen and placed the bag of doughnuts on the counter. Hobbes opened the bag, scrutinizing the contents. He nodded appreciatively and pulled out a cream-filled one, biting into it readily. Then he turned his attention to Darien. "So, why're you here?"

"I just thought you might like some breakfast."

"And?"

Darien paused for a moment, then continued. "And I've got something to tell you."

Hobbes looked at Darien curiously. "What?"

"Barinski busted out of jail last night."

Hobbes nearly choked on a bite of doughnut. "What?"

"Barinski busted out of jail last night. Killed two guards on his way out. The 'Fish was worried that you might be in trouble, so he sent me over here to keep an eye on you."

"The fat man was worried about me?"

"That's not quite how he would've put it, but yeah."

"Well, there was no need for you to come over here, since I'm about to leave for work anyway."

"No, you're not."

Hobbes glared at Darien. "What are you saying here?"

"We've got the day off. The whole weekend, actually."

"Since when?"

"Since Barinski's loose and the Official wants us to cut out of town for a couple of days. You especially."

Hobbes rolled his eyes. "God, I hate this crap. I should be out there trying to find Barinski, not hiding from him."

"That's not the way the Official sees it."

"I don't care about what he thinks, I'm not gonna stay cooped up in some hotel room over the weekend!" Hobbes was about to say more, but he heard a loud pounding on his door. "Just a second, let me see who that is."

Darien tensed immediately. "Don't you dare open that door."

"Relax Fawkes, I'll look through the peephole." He did so, then looked back at Darien. "It's my landlord, are you happy?"

Darien sighed. "Fine, you can open it."

Hobbes swung his door open. "Hi Craig, how are ya..." His voice trailed off as he took in the sight before him. Craig was standing there all right, but there was a gun pointed at his head. And the person holding that gun was Leo Barinski. Before Hobbes had time to slam the door shut Barinski kicked it the rest of the way open, knocking Hobbes to the ground. He advanced into the room, followed by three men, also carrying guns. He pushed Hobbes' landlord into the first man's arms.

"Hello, Hobbes. I'd like you to meet my new friends." He gestured at the men behind him.

Hobbes stood up, rubbing his jaw. "What're you doing here, Barinski?"

"You'll find out soon enough." Barinski looked around the room and spotted Darien. "Hey Fawkes, how's the arm?" He nodded at his henchmen. "Cuff him." Two of the men began advancing on Darien. Darien immediately dove behind the counter and quicksilvered. But before he could get anywhere Barinski grabbed Hobbes, holding a gun to his neck. "Don't move Fawkes, or Hobbes gets it."

Darien's voice echoed throughout the room, seemingly out of nowhere. "You're so brave, Barinski. Hiding behind a gun and a guy who's about eight inches shorter than you are."

Barinski's face darkened in anger. "Show yourself, Fawkes, unless you prefer a dead partner to a live one." There was a moment's pause, then Darien reappeared, his hands raised in surrender. One of Barinski's henchmen immediately grabbed Darien. He placed one half of the handcuffs around Darien's wrist, and the other around his own.

Barinski nodded his approval at the man, then turned his attention to Hobbes. "Hobbes, Hobbes, Hobbes. I'll bet you never expected to see me so soon."

"Not for the next twenty years or so, no." Hobbes seemed remarkably calm considering he had a gun pressed against his temple. Barinski pushed Hobbes down on his knees, a good deal rougher than Hobbes thought was necessary.

Barinski pulled a large needle out of his pocket, removing the protective covering that kept it from breaking. "Well don't worry, if I do my job right you'll never see me again." With that, he plunged the needle into the small of Hobbes' back and injected him with it fiercely. Hobbes immediately felt a tingling sensation running up his spine; the tingly feeling rapidly escalated to a fiery burning. He cried out in pain and fell to the floor, writhing in agony over the pain shooting up and down his back.

Darien watched in horror as his partner writhed in pain on the floor, then collapsed into a senseless heap. "Hobbes?" Hobbes didn't answer; he just lay still. Darien looked up at Barinski, hatred in his eyes. "That was the wrong thing to do." He quicksilvered himself, as well as the handcuffs. His guard looked at where the cuffs had been only seconds before in surprise. Then ice began forming in a small ring around his wrist.

The guard began hopping around, struggling to free himself from the invisible cuffs and screaming "Cold, cold!" at the top of his lungs. Barinski fired his gun at where Darien had been standing moments before, but there was no one there. Instead the bullet embedded itself in Hobbes' countertop.

Darien's disembodied voice echoed through the room. "Missed me."

Barinski fired his gun at the guard Darien was cuffed to, killing him instantly. The guard crumpled to the floor, but his handcuffed arm dangled upward, revealing Darien's position. Barinski immediately aimed his gun at what could safely be assumed was Darien's chest area. Darien, recognizing the futility of staying invisible at this point, reappeared with a resigned expression on his face. Barinski smiled. "Nice to see you again, Fawkes. Any last words?"

Hobbes stirred a little and opened his eyes, looking over at Darien. Darien sent him a knowing glance, took a deep breath, and said solemnly, "Darien Fawkes doesn't bail on his partner."

Barinski frowned. "Is that all? No groveling, no begging for mercy?"

"Nope, that's about it."

"Alright then." Barinski took aim. Darien closed his eyes and waited for the sound of the gunshot. Even though he'd been expecting it he still flinched when it rang out through the apartment. However, he felt no pain, and he knew from experience that getting shot hurt like the devil. He opened his eyes and saw Hobbes' landlord lying dead on the floor. Barinski lowered his gun and smiled fiendishly at Darien.
"That was an excellent performance; you missed your calling, you would have been a great actor. Goodbye, gentlemen."

Darien glowered at Barinski. "What, you're not going to finish off the job?"

Barinski scowled. "Believe me, I'd like nothing better. But my orders state otherwise." With that he walked out of the room, followed by his henchmen- the two that were still alive. Darien didn't spare them a single glance; he darted over to his partner's side faster than one would have thought possible for someone handcuffed to a dead man.

"Hobbes, are you okay?" Darien asked frantically, attempting to lift Hobbes off of the ground. His attempts proved in vain, mostly because he could only use one hand because of the dead man handcuffed to his arm.

Hobbes looked up at Darien, a horrified expression on his face. "Oh god, Fawkes... I can't feel my legs."

**********

Hobbes lay in a hospital bed, staring dismally at the ceiling. He had refused to let the hospital give him a room with a view; he didn't want a sniper to shoot him while he was asleep. However, he had failed to take into account the mind numbing boredom that came with the whole hospital package. And without a window to look out of, he had nothing to do but stare at the brilliantly white walls and count the ceiling tiles. He had already counted them twice.

At that moment Darien walked into the room. "Hey there buddy, how're you doin'?"

Hobbes glared at his partner. "Okay, considering I can't move my legs." Darien winced and looked away. Hobbes immediately felt bad for saying what he had; after all, Darien had enough to worry about without him making the poor kid feel guilty. "Sorry, I didn't mean to snap at you like that. I'm just not in a good mood right now."

Darien gave him a small smile and sat down in a chair by the bed. He looked down at the ground, avoiding Hobbes' eyes. Hobbes sighed in frustration. "Look at me, Fawkes." Darien didn't move. "Look at me!" Darien looked up slowly, reluctantly looking Hobbes in the eyes. "I'm not crippled until the doctor says so, okay?"

Darien sighed. "Hobbes, this is all my fault."

"No, it isn't."

"I just... I just wish this hadn't happened, you know? I should have been able to stop it somehow."

"Look, Fawkes, if you'd tried to stop Barinski you'd be dead right now. And that would be a lot worse for me than if I ended up stuck in a wheelchair the rest of my life." Darien opened his mouth to say something, but Hobbes hurriedly cut him off. "Not that I think that'll happen."

A wry smile crossed Darien's lips. "When did you become an optimist?"

"About five minutes ago." Darien laughed at that, and the tension in the room was broken. The two partners talked comfortably until Claire walked in the room. Hobbes gave her a warm smile. "Hey there Keepy, you wanna sit down?" he asked, patting at a spot beside him on his bed. Claire shook her head, avoiding Hobbes' eyes. Hobbes groaned. "Oh no, don't you go all soft on me too. Come on Keep, sit down, take a load off."

"Bobby... I'm afraid I have some bad news." Darien looked up sharply. Hobbes looked worried for a second, but he managed to regain his composure.

Hobbes had the feeling he already knew what Claire was about to say, but he had to find out for sure. "What is it?"

Claire sighed. "The chemical you were injected with ate away the myelin around your spinal cord."

Darien frowned. "What's that mean?"

"Myelin is a protective sheath that coats the spinal cord. It promotes transmission of a neural impulse along an axon."

Now Hobbes was frowning too. "Could you say that last bit again, in English please?"

"Well, basically, myelin coats the nerves in your spinal cord and helps transmit neural impulses. You know, things like movement, touch, pain..."

"Okay, okay, I get the picture. Now you said this myelin stuff got eaten away. What's that mean?"

Claire hesitated for a moment, working up the courage to speak. "It means that you won't be able to move or feel your legs. You're paralyzed from the waist down."

"But it's only temporary, right? I mean, this myelin stuff's gonna grow back, right?"

Claire shook her head. "It doesn't look that way."

Darien sighed and buried his head in his hands. Hobbes paled visibly, laying his head back against his pillow. "There is one option for treatment, though."

Both Darien and Hobbes snapped to attention. "What?" Darien asked sharply, leaning forward in his chair.

Hobbes also pulled himself up as far as he could. "You can fix this?"

Claire nodded slowly. "There is one procedure that might work."

"So what is it?" Hobbes asked impatiently.

"Well, we could give you a transplant of Schwann cells. They would replace the myelin and you'd be as good as new in a few weeks, maybe sooner."

Before Claire could say any more Hobbes held up a hand to silence her. "Forget it. There's no way I'm doing that."

Darien looked over at Hobbes with a mixture of shock and anger on his face. "What do you mean, forget it? You can't just ignore this!"

"Look, there is no way I could take that transplant and have a clean conscience. You saw what happens to people that have their Schwann cells taken out. They walk around like dazed junkies. I am not going to force someone to live that way just because I can't move my legs."

Darien looked frantically at Hobbes, then up at Claire. "Yeah, but there's gotta be another way. They don't have to get Schwann cells from a live person, do they? Can't they get them from an organ donor or something?"

Claire shook her head sadly. "I'm afraid not. They have to be harvested from a living host."

Hobbes sighed. "Then forget about it. Just forget about the whole thing."

Darien looked at Hobbes in frustration. "Come on, Hobbes. How can you ignore this?"

Hobbes looked at Darien sadly. "Believe me, it's one of the hardest things I've ever done."

**********

Leo walked into Arnaud's laboratory, followed by the two men Arnaud had sent with him as backup. He glanced around the lab at the many test tubes, Bunsen burners, and lab animals that lined the counters and tables. A sneer crossed his face. He had never liked scientists; they always explained everything in scientist-ese, only bothering to translate if you made it quite plain that was what you wanted them to do. That usually meant asking, and Leo had never been good at that.

"Back so soon?" Arnaud said, stepping out of the jungle of scientific equipment that surrounded him on all sides.

Leo nodded. "It didn't take long to do what you asked of me."

Arnaud looked at the two men standing behind Leo and frowned. "Where's Smith?"

"I'm afraid he died in the line of duty."

Arnaud shrugged. "Well, no matter. I have another job for you."

Now it was Leo's turn to frown. "I thought you said that after I did this job I'd get paid."

Arnaud fixed Leo with a stern glare. "You will be paid once the job is done. The job isn't done yet. You'll get your money soon enough."

Leo placed his hand on his gun. "I want my money now." At that moment he felt the cold nuzzle of a gun barrel in his back.

Arnaud gave Leo a small, satisfied smile. "You forget that I have the power here. You will be paid, don't worry. In the meantime, I have some things I need you to do."

Leo gave Arnaud a cold glare. "What's that?"

Arnaud motioned to the man behind Leo, and the guard removed his gun from Leo's back. Arnaud immediately assumed a more business-like air. "I need you to keep an eye on Darien Fawkes for me. I need to know exactly where he is at all times."

Leo's jaw tightened. "I am not a watchdog."

"I never said you were. Don't worry, it's only for a few days. After that I'll have someone else keeping tabs on him. But until then, I need someone who can follow him without being detected. As far as I'm concerned, you're the best man for the job."

"I'll get paid for this, right?"

"Oh, most certainly. You'll get a ten percent bonus on what I've already offered you."

Leo thought for a moment. "Alright, I'll do it."

Arnaud nodded. "I knew you would." Leo walked out of the room, but his jaw was still tight. He wasn't so sure he had made such a good deal with Arnaud after all. Somehow he got the feeling he'd made a deal with the devil.

**********
Three days later
**********

"You're what?" Darien's voice echoed loudly through the Official's office. The Official didn't seem bothered by Darien's exclamation, but Eberts jumped slightly, surprised by the vehemence of Darien's outburst.

"I'm assigning you a new partner," the Official said, folding his hands on his desk and giving Darien a stern look.

"But what about Hobbes?"

Before the Official could open his mouth Eberts spoke up. "Mr. Hobbes is unable to continue work as a field agent, as you well know."

The Official gave his right hand man a withering glare. "Shut up Eberts." Eberts immediately fell silent and the Official turned his attention back to Darien. "Don't worry about Hobbes' welfare, he's far too experienced an agent for us to let him go. However, as Eberts said, he won't be able to go out in the field anymore. We're going to reassign him to a desk job. But that means you'll be needing a new partner."
Darien crossed his arms stubbornly and leaned back in his chair. "And what if I don't want a new partner?"

"Then that's too bad, because you're getting one whether you like it or not."

Darien's eyes flashed angrily. "So who's the guy you duped into this?"

At that moment the door to the Official's office opened and a tall, lanky man in a gray suit stepped through the door. He took one look at Darien and curled his lip in disgust. "This is my new partner?"

The Official gestured toward the man who had just walked through the door. "Agent Darien Fawkes, meet Agent Jack Dylan."

Darien stood up, glaring at Agent Dylan. "Let's get one thing straight right now. I don't want to work with you. I'm only doing it because I have to. So don't get any illusions that we're going to be friends or something, 'cause it's not gonna happen."

Agent Dylan fixed Darien with a glare of his own. "Likewise, Agent Fawkes."

Darien turned toward the Official's desk. "If that's all, I'll be going, sir."

The Official nodded. "That's all." Darien walked out the door, neglecting to close it. Agent Dylan walked over and closed it, taking one last disgusted glance at Darien's retreating form.

Agent Dylan walked over and took the seat Darien had been occupying moments earlier. "Nice guy," he commented sarcastically, gesturing in the direction Darien had stormed off in. "Where'd you dig him up, a maximum security prison?"

The Official let out a resigned sigh. "Actually..."

**********

Leo Barinski stormed into Arnaud's laboratory, slamming the door shut angrily. The whole room shook from the impact, and some glass test tubes fell and broke. Chemicals from one of them burned a hole straight through the floor. But Leo stepped right over it without even giving it so much as a passing glance. He drew his gun. "Hey, De Föhn! I know you're in here. Now show yourself before I start shooting at something!"

Arnaud stepped out of the shadows. "Did you call?"

Leo aimed his gun squarely at Arnaud's chest. "Shut up, De Föhn! Just shut up! You thought you could ice me, huh? You thought you could just shoot me and all your troubles would be over, didn't you?"
Arnaud smiled. "I'm afraid I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't you play innocent with me! You sent four of your men to kill me. Well, I've got news for you. They're all dead. And you will be too in a moment."

"If you shoot me you'll never get out of here alive."

Leo paused for a moment. "You've got a point there." He walked over to Arnaud, grabbed him roughly and pointed the gun at his temple. "Now I can get out of here and kill you afterwards." At that moment three guards stormed through the door, guns at the ready. "Tell them to put the guns down," Leo hissed into Arnaud's ear.

"You're making a mistake."

"Tell them to put down their guns!"

Arnaud sighed. "Put down the guns." The guards did as they were told. "And now, Mr. Barinski, you'd better put down yours."

Leo laughed. "And why should I do that?"

"Because by this time there are six men behind me with their guns aimed at you." Leo glanced behind him; sure enough, there were half a dozen men standing behind him with their guns aimed directly at his head.

Leo felt a grim smile spread across his face. "Stalemate."

"Now we have two options. Either we stand here all day until someone gets shot or we make a deal."

"You're not exactly in a position to be making deals."

"Neither are you." Arnaud was very perceptive; Leo had to give him credit for that. Annoying, but perceptive.

"What sort of deal?"

"My men lower their guns if you lower yours."

"How do I know they won't shoot me the second I put down my gun?"

"Because I'm giving you my word that they won't." Leo considered his options. As far as he could see it there was only one that would give him even the slightest chance of getting out of this situation alive. He stepped away from Arnaud and slowly lowered his gun. Immediately Arnaud's men lowered theirs as well.

Arnaud smiled. "You see, Barinski? I am a man of my word." Then he drew a gun out of his pocket and aimed it at Barinski, a resigned expression on his face. "But I am also a practical one. Now, the practical decision here would be to kill you where you stand. However, I am willing to give you a second chance. You see, I need your services. Not badly enough that I won't kill you if I have to, of course. But someone with your skills would prove very useful to me. After all, not many people would be able to escape my men, let alone kill four of them."

Leo glared angrily at Arnaud. "How do I know you won't kill me if I outlive my usefulness?"

"You don't. But you should remember that you only have two options right now. Die, or cooperate. Which is it going to be?"

Leo continued to glare at Arnaud for a few seconds, but managed to keep his temper in check. After all, Arnaud was the one with the gun. "Alright, I'll cooperate." To prove it he lowered his gun, dropped it to the floor, and kicked it under a nearby lab table.

Arnaud smiled, nodding his head slightly. "Very good." He lowered his own gun. "Now let's get back to business."

**********

Darien was walking through the Agency halls toward the Keeper's lab, keeping an eye out for his partner- no, ex partner, he reminded himself. He still wasn't used to the idea of Hobbes not being his partner, and he definitely didn't like it. The new guy, Agent Dylan, was the biggest creep Darien had ever had the misfortune of knowing. And something about him made Darien uneasy. Of course, that was probably just some of Hobbes' paranoia rubbing off on him. But Darien still didn't trust the guy.

Darien paused as recognized a familiar voice coming from just around the corner. He rounded the corner to see Hobbes- in his wheelchair, of course, and carrying a folder on his lap- yelling at a man that, even when Hobbes had been able to stand, would have been almost a foot taller than him. "Watch where you're walking, buddy!"

The tall man gave Hobbes a very rude sign with his middle finger and stormed off down the hall. Hobbes spun his wheelchair around so he could look at the retreating figure, yelling at the top of his lungs, "And the same to you!" He started to roll off in the other direction, muttering under his breath. Darien began jogging down the halls after him.

In the past few days Hobbes had gotten very good at handling his wheelchair, and he was faster than Darien had expected. It took him a moment to catch up. "Hey Hobbes!" Hobbes wheeled himself around, a sour expression on his face. However, it rapidly changed to a broad smile as soon as he saw who was calling his name.

"Fawkes! I haven't seen you around much lately. How's it going?"

"Everything's crappy. This last week has been so boring I'm tempted to stick my head in the toaster. And this new partner of mine, Agent Dylan-" Darien practically spat the name- "is the biggest creep I've ever met. He's kept me writing up paperwork for three days straight."

"I've been doing paperwork all week, remember?"

"Yeah, but at least you don't have to deal with smarty-pants back there. "

"Give the guy a chance, Fawkes. I checked over his profile, he's a pretty good agent." Darien raised an eyebrow. Hobbes shrugged. "Hey, I'll watch your back any day, even if we aren't partners anymore."
"I'm telling you Hobbes, there's something about this guy that creeps me out. The way he looks at me sometimes..."

"Maybe the guy's gay."

"It's not that type of look!" Darien protested, throwing his hands up in a defensive position. "It's... oh, I dunno what type of look it is, but it's not that!"

"Whatever you say." Hobbes didn't look too convinced.

"Trust me Hobbes, it's more like... like the looks the Official gives me when he's talking about the gland. As if I'm nothing but a receptacle."

"Okay, I can see how that would freak you out. I wouldn't like someone looking at me like that either."

"Yeah, it makes me real uncomfortable. I've tried telling the Keeper about it, but she won't listen. I think she's a little taken with the guy."

Hobbes bristled visibly. "Her? Taken with that creep?"

Darien smiled, a teasing look in his eye. "Oh, so now he's a creep? A second ago you were saying he was a pretty good agent."

"Yeah, well just 'cause he's a good agent doesn't mean he's a good guy, does it?"

"Of course not, if he's hitting on her."

"He's hitting on her?"

Darien laughed. "Now, I never said that..."

"Yes you did, you just said so!"

"No, I said 'if'. You just started jumping to conclusions."

"I'll show you conclusions!" Hobbes said angrily, rolling his wheelchair toward Darien in a breakneck fashion.

Darien backed up a couple of steps, raising his hands in surrender. "Hey, calm down buddy, it was just a joke."

Hobbes sighed, massaging his temples in an attempt to calm himself. "Sorry, partner. These past couple days have been a little stressful." Darien noticed that Hobbes had said 'partner' instead of 'Fawkes', but he didn't correct the mistake. The two of them might not officially be partners anymore, but it was very hard to shake off the old mindset. You watch my back, I'll watch yours... And right now Hobbes probably needed someone to look out for him more than ever. Darien was more than willing to oblige.

"S'okay, buddy. I understand."

Hobbes looked up at Darien with an expression of gratitude. "Thanks." He glanced at his watch and frowned. "Look, Fawkes, I gotta go, I'm late for a meeting."

Darien nodded. "Yeah, I've gotta be somewhere too. Talk to ya later, all right?"

"Sure. Talk to ya later." And with that Hobbes rolled off down the hall. Darien took one last glance behind him, then headed off in the opposite direction, toward the Keeper's lab. But he slid to a halt at the sight before him. Claire was standing with Agent Dylan in the hallway, and the two of them were flirting openly. Darien's eyes narrowed in anger and disgust. He turned and headed in the opposite direction. His shot could wait until later.

***********

Hobbes wheeled down the hall toward the Official's office. He had some papers he was supposed to be turning in. A sour expression crossed his face. Man, he hated this. Sitting at a desk all day writing up reports, turning them in to the boss, going back and writing more. He'd taken this job for the action, not the paperwork. Of course, he'd also taken it because it was just about the only job still available to him at the time, but that wasn't important. These last few days had been taxing him to the limits of his endurance. He hated this crap, and he was starting to hate his job as well.

He arrived at the door to the Official's office and picked up the folder, but before he could open the door Eberts stepped out. Without a word he took the folder from Hobbes' hand and stepped back into the office, closing the door behind him. Hobbes glared at the door. If he'd been able to move his legs, he would have kicked it in frustration. No one seemed to be paying any attention to him these days- except for Fawkes, of course, but even he'd been busy lately. It was extremely frustrating.

He turned his wheelchair around and headed back toward his office, knowing that when he got there he would find a mountain of paperwork lying on his desk that he was supposed to sort through and organize properly. He swore angrily under his breath. What was he, a secretary? Sometimes he wished the Agency would just fire him and get it over with.

**********

Darien sat in the passenger side of an old, beaten up Honda Civic and tried not to yawn from boredom. Agent Dylan sat in the driver's seat, keeping a careful eye on the alley Darien's car was parked across from. Darien turned toward the agent. "What are we supposed to be doing here again?"

Agent Dylan let out a frustrated groan. "Don't you ever pay attention? We're waiting for a couple of animal smugglers to make a deal out here."

"Oh yeah." Darien stared out the window for a few minutes, then turned back toward Agent Dylan. "Hey, I want to know something. What were you doing hanging around outside the Keeper's lab earlier?"

"I was waiting for you."

Darien snorted. "Oh, is that what you call it? It looked an awful lot like you were hitting on Claire to me."

Agent Dylan smiled. "She's a hot chick, isn't she?"

Darien frowned. "Yeah, well, leave her alone, okay?"

Agent Dylan's smile turned into a malicious sneer. "What, are you interested in her or something?"

Darien bristled at the comment. "No! I just think you should leave her alone."

"Why?"

"Because I don't think you're the right type of guy for her."

"Oh yeah? Then who is?"

"Bobby Hobbes."

Agent Dylan laughed. "That bald loser? He couldn't get a date with her if he paid her to go! Besides, I heard he's a wacko. Needs to pop pills just to keep his sanity intact."

Darien's eyes darkened with anger. "Shut up. You ever say anything like that about my partner again and I'll knock you to the ground so fast you won't know what hit you."

Agent Dylan smiled triumphantly at Darien. "He's not your partner any more, remember?"

"We'll see about that," Darien said angrily, opening his car door and climbing out, slamming it loudly behind him. He walked off down the street, not giving Agent Dylan so much as a backward glance. He had had it with all of this. He was going to figure out a way to help Hobbes, and he didn't care how much trouble he got in. The Official could stick him in the padded cell for a month if need be. Anything to get Hobbes walking again.

**********

"Hey Keep, are you in here?" Darien yelled loudly, barging into the Keeper's lab. Claire stepped into view, her arms crossed. Darien's eyebrows went up. Aw crap, he thought, the Keeper's ticked.

Claire glared at him angrily. "Of course I'm here! Now why didn't you come in for your shot this morning? I was starting to get worried."

"That's not important now. I need your help."

"With what?"

"I know how we can cure Hobbes."

Claire gave Darien a suspicious look. "How?"

"I'll give him my Schwann cells."

Claire shook her head. "Nope. No way."

"Aw, come on, why not? It's just until we find another donor. That couldn't take too long, could it? I'm willing to walk around like a zombie for a few days if it means Hobbes gets better."

"The Official would never allow it."

Darien could barely keep a smug smile off of his face. He must be winning Claire over if all she could come up with was the Official being ticked off. "So we won't tell him. Get me on medical leave for a few days. We can have this whole thing worked out without him suspecting a thing."

"But Hobbes would never allow it."

"So we just don't tell him either. If we do this right, we could pull it off without a hitch."

Claire gave Darien a watery smile. "Well, you're quite the con man, aren't you?"

"I can be when I want to."

"If we get caught I'm blaming it all on you."

Darien smiled triumphantly. "Fair deal. And if we do manage to pull it off, I'll take you and Hobbes out to dinner to celebrate."

"Well, I've never been known to pass up a free meal."

"So, are we partners?" Darien asked, holding out his hand.

Claire hesitated for only a second before reaching out her hand, clasping Darien's, and giving it a firm shake. "Partners." Then she placed a hand firmly on Darien's shoulder and pushed him down into his chair.

Darien gave Claire a confused look. "What was that for?"

"You still need a shot, silly, or have you forgotten?" Claire walked over to prep the needle. Darien smiled, shaking his head. Some things never changed.

**********

Hobbes rolled his wheelchair into the bedroom of his apartment. He pulled his gun out of the dresser drawer, set it in his lap, and contemplated ending the miserable existence his life had become. It was all one boring day after another where he pushed himself along, forcing himself to act like nothing was wrong, like nothing had changed. But everything about his life reminded him of what he'd lost. Not just being able to walk, but his friends. Fawkes was growing distant, Claire was occupied with that new agent- Darien had been right, the guy was a creep- and no one else even pretended to care.

Hobbes lifted the gun to his head, preparing himself to pull the trigger. However, just then someone knocked loudly on his door. Hobbes swore silently; he couldn't let anybody see him like this. He stuffed his gun under the sheet of his bed and wheeled himself to the door. He took a moment to compose himself, put on the biggest fake smile he could muster, and opened the door. His eyebrows rose slightly at the sight of both Claire and Darien standing in the doorway.

"What're you guys doing here? It's late."

Claire spoke first. "Bobby, can we come in?"

"It's important," Darien chimed in.

"Okay, sure." Hobbes rolled himself out of the doorway, and Darien and Claire stepped inside. Darien closed the door behind him. Then Claire and Darien began advancing on Hobbes. "What's going on, you guys?" Hobbes said, laughing nervously. He began backing up, stopping only when his wheelchair bumped into his countertop. Darien and Claire continued to advance. Bobby watched with horror as Claire pulled a needle out of her pocket and began prepping it.

"Have you two gone insane?" Hobbes exclaimed loudly, trying to roll somewhere else. But Darien cornered him and held him down while Claire stabbed the needle into his arm. Hobbes sagged in his chair, unconscious.

"Well, that takes care of that," Darien said, beginning to push the wheelchair out the door. "Now all we have to do is get into a hospital."

"I'm going to admit him into Fort Leavitt. In fact, I think I should admit you as well. I'd like to keep an eye on you once you've had your Schwann cells removed, make sure the gland doesn't cause any unusual side effects. It'd probably be the best way."

"Whatever you say, Keepy. Let's just get this over with so we can get back to our lives, okay?"

**********

Bobby Hobbes woke up in a hospital bed with a killer headache and a strong feeling of déjà vu. What was he doing back in the hospital? Same white walls, same ceiling, same flimsy hospital gown- it was almost a repeat of what had happened only a little more than a week ago. If this was a dream, it was probably one of the weirdest ones he'd ever had. Of course, considering how he hated hospitals, it was probably a nightmare. Speaking of nightmares, he'd just had the weirdest one where Claire and Darien were chasing him with needles...

Claire entered the room, glancing over at the hospital bed. "Hey, you're awake! How do you feel?"

"My head hurts."

Claire nodded as if she'd been expecting that. "Don't worry, you'll feel better soon."

"Hey Claire, why am I here?"

Claire seemed caught off guard for a moment, but she recovered quickly. "Someone pushed you down a flight of stairs in your apartment complex. You hit your head somewhere on the way down."

"I don't have that memory loss thing again, do I?"

Claire smiled. "Of course not. It wasn't anything serious."

"Then why am I in the hospital?"

Claire seemed a little frustrated now. "I'm afraid I'm not at liberty to disclose that information."

"Need to know, huh? I can live with that so long as I'm out of here soon."

Claire shook her head. "I'm afraid I need to keep you here for a couple of days."

"Why?"

Claire smiled. "Need to know, remember? Now get some rest. I'll be nearby if you need me."

"Okay." Claire walked out of the room. Hobbes lay back on his pillow and closed his eyes. But ten minutes later he was no closer to sleep than he had been before. He tried to figure out why he couldn't sleep and finally decided he must be hungry. He climbed into his wheelchair, which was sitting nearby- it took some maneuvering, but he was getting used to that- and headed off toward the cafeteria.

He wheeled his way inside, but once he got there he decided maybe he wasn't hungry after all. For a hospital, all of the food looked extremely unhealthy. It reminded him of his old high school cafeteria. Suppressing a shudder, he decided to head back to his hospital room. But, just before he wheeled himself out the door, he noticed a figure that was vaguely familiar. He wheeled himself over for a closer look. Sure enough, his suspicions were confirmed. Darien Fawkes was sitting at one of the tables, eating a plate of what was probably supposed to be some type of noodle, but looked more like a sticky glob.

Hobbes pulled to a stop next to Darien's chair. "Hey Fawkes, I didn't know you were here. What're you doin' eating that crap?" Darien didn't answer. Hobbes looked at him suspiciously. There was something different with Darien today, something was wrong. Finally he realized what it was. Darien's hair was, well, normal. It wasn't sticking up at all.

"Fawkes?" Darien said nothing, just stared off into space and continued eating the miserable excuse for food that was piled up on his plate. He had a dazed look on his face that sent shivers down Hobbes' spine. He'd seen that look before... Hobbes paled. He began backing away, not wanting to believe what his brain was telling him. He bumped into something and whirled around, coming face to face with Claire.
"You didn't do what I think you did, did you?" Hobbes asked desperately, glancing frantically between Claire and Darien. Claire said nothing, instead looking at the ground. Hobbes paled. "Oh god..." He spun around and rolled out of the door to the cafeteria.

"Bobby, wait!" Claire cried after him, "I can explain!" But Hobbes just kept going, oblivious to everything but the sinking feeling in his chest. Darien had convinced Claire to take out his Schwann cells, or something to that effect. And, even though he knew it wasn't true, he couldn't get over the feeling that he'd lost one of the only real friends he'd ever had.

**********

"This is going even better than I'd hoped!" Arnaud said, smiling gleefully as he read over the report made by one of his informants. "This time I can get the gland out of Fawkes' head with no trouble at all."
Leo, who was sitting in a chair nearby, gave Arnaud a suspicious look. "Why do you want that stupid thing anyway?"

Arnaud gave Leo a stern glare. "I invested considerable time and money into that 'stupid thing', as you call it. It's rightfully mine, and I want it back."

"So you can copy it and sell it?" Leo shook his head. "I'll never understand people like you. For you everything has a price. You'd probably even sell your own mother if it made you a profit."

"As I recall, you've done some similar things in the past. Selling government secrets to the Mafia, if I remember correctly."

Leo bristled. "That was different."

Arnaud smiled. "I don't see how." He leaned forward in his chair. "I think you and I are more alike than you'd care to admit."

"Fat chance."

"Oh, come now, if you were in my position you would have made the same choices I've made."

"But I'm not in your position, am I?"

"No, you're not." Arnaud sat back in his chair and crossed his legs. "But, I didn't call you here to talk. I called you here to brief you on tonight."

Leo frowned. "What are we doing tonight?"

"Take the gland out of Darien Fawkes' head, of course. After I have the gland I'll pay you what I owe you. And you are going to have the added bonus of being able to kill Hobbes."

**********

Hobbes rolled into Darien's hospital room. He glanced over at Darien, who was sleeping in his hospital bed, then turned and glared angrily at Claire, who was sitting nearby. "How could you do this to Fawkes?" He asked, gesturing angrily at Darien.

Claire fixed Hobbes with a slightly stern look. "Because he asked me to."

"And you actually listened to him?"

"He made a very persuasive argument. Besides, we'll find a donor soon."

"Didn't the fat man disagree with this?"

"He doesn't know."

That took Hobbes by surprise. "You didn't tell the Official?"

"No."

"Then how... He'd never have let Fawkes have time off without a reason, especially since he already had some time off this month."

Claire smiled. "Darien's on medical leave."

Hobbes lay back in his bed. "You guys think of everything, don't you?"

"Not everything. We still haven't figured out the secret to time travel," Claire deadpanned.

Hobbes laughed for a moment, then sobered. "Why'd he do this? Have you take his Schwann cells out, I mean. He knew what he was getting into, didn't he?"

"Yes."

"Then why'd he do it?"

"Because you're his friend," Claire said solemnly, "and he doesn't like to see you like this."

Hobbes narrowed his eyes. "Like what?"

"Weak, vulnerable, unable to protect yourself."

"Hey, I can take care of myself just fine, thank you very much!"

"Bobby, he feels that way because he cares about you! You're very important to him."

Hobbes smiled bitterly. "You know, he's probably the only person who really cares about me."

"No, he's not!"

Hobbes looked over at Darien, his expression grim. "Prove it. Name one other person who actually cares about me."

"I care about you, Bobby!"

Hobbes looked up, his expression genuinely surprised. "You do?"

"Yes. You're a good friend."

"Hmm." Hobbes seemed lost in thought for a moment. Then he looked up and gave Claire a fiendish smile. "So, since we're friends does that mean we get to have sleepovers?"

"Bobby!" Claire said, shooting him a playful glare.

"Just kidding," Hobbes said, but a playful twinkle remained in his eyes. "Hey Claire, when I can walk again, you wanna go out somewhere? We could go see a movie or have dinner or something."

Claire smiled. "I'll think about it. Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going home to get some rest." She stood up and walked out of the room, leaving Hobbes with a wide grin on his face. Claire was going out with him! Okay, so she hadn't exactly said yes, but she said she'd think about it and that was better than nothing.

Just then Darien opened his eyes and sat up blearily. "Hobbes?"

Hobbes turned toward Darien. "Yeah, I'm here. How are ya, kid?"

"Okay, I guess." He paused for a moment. "Listen, don't be mad at Claire, okay?"

Hobbes smiled. "Don't worry, kid. I'm not mad."

Darien nodded sleepily. "Okay." Then he rolled over and went back to sleep. Hobbes sat by him a while, watching him sleep. Then he rolled himself out of the room and down the hallway. He needed to be getting some sleep himself.

**********

Arnaud and Leo walked down the halls of Fort Levitt Hospital. Arnaud took a deep breath. "Ah yes, the smell of antiseptic in the evening. It brings back memories, eh?" Leo nodded silently. It brought back memories all right, but they were unpleasant ones. Each time he'd been in a hospital it had been for treatment. Unlike Arnaud, he had no fond memories of such places. They held only dread for him.
"Let's just get this over with, okay?"

Arnaud nodded. "Very well. You take care of Hobbes and I'll take care of Fawkes." After checking the hospital register the two of them split up. Leo headed toward Hobbes' room, his hand near his gun. A grim smile crossed his face. He was finally going to get his revenge. But first he was going to make Hobbes suffer.

**********

Hobbes awoke with a start. He had been having a nightmare. In it, Leo Barinski had come back again and terrorized both him and Fawkes with that big knife of his, laughing maniacally. He had stabbed the knife into Darien's arm just like before, but in the dream he had then proceeded to cut Darien's throat. That was when Hobbes woke up, sweating and gasping for breath.

He immediately sensed a hostile presence in the room. But before he could act, he felt the cold nuzzle of a gun being pressed to his head. It wasn't hard to guess who was holding it. "Hey, Barinski. Decided to finish the job?"

"Not quite yet. You're coming with me." Leo made Hobbes get in his wheelchair and then began pushing him down the hallway toward Darien's room. Hobbes was pushed in just in time to see Arnaud aiming a gun at Darien's chest.

"The Phone? What are you doing here?"

Arnaud sighed. "It's De Föhn, not The Phone. And I've come for the gland, what else?" Darien looked at Arnaud blankly. Arnaud walked over to him, smiling. "I think I like him better this way. He's so much quieter."

Hobbes glared at Arnaud and Leo, who was aiming still aiming the gun at his head. "So how come I'm not dead yet? I mean, all Barinski here wants is for me to be dead, right?"

Leo looked down at Hobbes. "Oh, no. I want you to die, all right, but I want you to suffer first. And what better way to torture you than to force you to watch your best friend's head get cut open?"

Darien continued to stare at Arnaud. "What are you doing here?" He asked softly.

Arnaud glared at Darien, looking slightly annoyed. "I already said, I've come for the gland. Weren't you listening?"

"I'm going to kill you." Darien's voice had an eerie calm to it and showed no sign of malice, which only made his statement eerier.

Arnaud shook his head. "No, you're not. I'm going to kill you, though." Darien just stared at him. "Stop staring at me!" Darien didn't budge an inch. Finally Arnaud pulled out a needle and injected it into Darien's arm. Darien fell back onto the bed, unconscious. "Well, that takes care of that. Now to get down to business." Arnaud flipped Darien over onto his back and pulled some surgical tools out of a bag. He glanced over at Hobbes, who was shaking with silent fury. "Not the best place to perform an operation, but it'll have to do."

Hobbes looked at Barinski, then at Arnaud. Hatred emanated from his eyes. "I'm gonna kill you, Barinski! You too, The Phone."

Arnaud looked up from his preparations long enough to glare at Hobbes. "It's De Föhn, and if you don't shut up right now I'll shoot you."

Leo shot Arnaud an angry look. "Oh no you don't, he's mine. You do your surgery thing and let me handle this end of things."

Arnaud sighed. "Very well." He plugged in his electric razor and started it up. Then he brought it down toward Darien's head and proceeded to shave a large chunk of hair off of the back of Darien's neck. He put away the shaver and brought up his scalpel, looking triumphantly down at Darien. "Goodbye, Mr. Fawkes. It's a shame it had to end like this." And with that he brought the scalpel down toward Darien's skull.

Just before Arnaud's scalpel cut into Darien's neck Leo's voice rang out through the hospital room. "Put down the scalpel and kick your gun over here, now." Hobbes looked up to see Leo aiming his gun at Arnaud's head. Arnaud put down the scalpel and laid his gun on the floor, and kicked it. It went skittering across the room and landed by the door.

Leo smiled. "Guess who's got the power now, Arnaud." Arnaud glared at him, but said nothing. "Oh, and don't go thinking your men are going to save you. Before I went to get Hobbes I made a slight detour. Not only are all the security guards in the building dead, but your men are as well."

"What are you doing, Barinski? Don't you want your money?"

"You think I'm stupid, huh? You were never going to give me any money. As soon as you had the gland you were going to give me a bullet in the head. Nothing else."

Arnaud's glare deepened from anger to hatred. "I'm beginning to think I should have paid you sooner."

"Yeah, you should have watched your back. Didn't you know I'd get even with you the first chance I got? I'm sure you did. In fact, that makes me wonder why you hired me in the first place."

Arnaud gave Leo a nasty look. "There's no motivation like a personal one. After all, there's only so much hired muscle will do. However, a man out for revenge will do just about anything, as you've already proven in the past."

Hobbes smiled. "You're getting sloppy, Arnaud. You should have known Barinski would try something like this. It's in his nature. Or didn't you know that?"

Both Arnaud and Leo turned to look at Hobbes and said in unison, "Shut up."

Hobbes raised his hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. I'm just saying..."

Leo sent Hobbes a dangerous look. "Shut up or I'll shoot you now." Hobbes fell silent. "That's better." Leo turned his full attention back to Arnaud. "Now, we're going to do things my way. I shoot you, then I shoot Fawkes, and then I shoot Hobbes. Are we clear now?"

Arnaud gave Leo an offended look. "Why me first?"

Leo gave Arnaud an evil smile. "Because everyone here wants to see you die." He aimed his gun at Arnaud's chest.

A voice rang out through the room. "Hold it right there." Hobbes wheeled himself around in surprise. Claire was standing in the doorway, brandishing Arnaud's gun and aiming it at Leo's head. "Put down the gun. Now." Leo reluctantly lowered his gun and kicked it across the floor to Claire's feet. Claire smiled. "Good. Now kindly step over beside De Föhn, please."

Arnaud sighed in relief. "Finally, someone who can pronounce my name."

Hobbes looked up at Claire. "Couldn't you have at least let Barinski shoot Arnaud before you made him put down the gun?"

A frown crossed Claire's face. "I hadn't thought of that. Oh well, it's too late now. We'll just have to turn him in to the police."

Arnaud smiled. "I'm afraid I can't let you do that." And he reached behind him at the small table where he'd left his surgical implements.

Hobbes realized that Arnaud was reaching for his scalpel. "Claire, get down!" Arnaud threw the scalpel, and at the same time Claire ducked. The scalpel passed through the space her head had been occupying moments earlier and embedded itself in the wood of the doorframe. Arnaud immediately leapt over the hospital bed Darien was lying on and dashed out of the room. Leo started to do the same but Claire stood up, aiming the gun at his head.

Hobbes stared at the scalpel embedded in the doorframe. "Man, that guy's a good aim." Then he frowned. "Hey Keep, what're you doing here anyway? I thought you were going home."

"I was. But when I got there I found a message on my answering machine telling me that a donor for the Schwann cells Darien needed had been found and they wanted to perform the surgery first thing in the morning. I immediately got in the car and drove back here to tell you and Darien, but you weren't in your room and when I came over here- well, you know what happened then."

Hobbes nodded. "Yeah. Listen, I'm gonna call the Agency and have them come pick up Barinski."

Leo gave Hobbes an angry glare. "Hobbes, when I get out of jail you'd better watch your back."

Hobbes smiled at Leo. "Oh, don't worry Barinski, I don't think you'll be getting out of jail any time soon. I'm gonna make sure you get a life sentence. And this time, there won't be anyone like Arnaud to break you out."

Leo sneered. "You can't prove anything."

At that moment the Official walked through the door, followed by several of his agents. They took in the scene before them and immediately set to work arresting Leo, cuffing him and reading him his rights. Then they escorted him from the room. Hobbes looked up at the Official in confusion. "What're you doing here?"

The Official frowned down at Hobbes. "We found Agent Dylan in the archives earlier today. He was attempting to steal every file we had on the quicksilver gland."

Claire looked up in surprise. "Oh no!"

"Oh yes. We pumped him for information. Turns out he was working for-"

Hobbes interrupted. "Let me guess. Arnaud De Föhn."

The Official looked at Hobbes in surprise. "How did you know?"

Hobbes shrugged. "Lucky guess."

"Anyway, we finally got him to talk about a half-hour ago. He told us Arnaud would be here tonight. Now, what I want to know is what the three of you are doing here." The Official gestured toward Hobbes, Claire, and Darien, who was still lying unconscious on the bed.

Claire paled a little. "Well sir, it's a long story..."

The Official crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I've got all night."

Claire sighed. "I was afraid of that..."

**********

Darien woke up in a hospital bed with a splitting headache and the feeling that something was wrong. He wasn't sure what until he tried to scratch the back of his head. "My hair!" he yelped, sitting straight up in bed. This only proceeded to increase his headache and bring Claire running in from the next room.
"Darien, are you okay?"

"No! What did you do to me?"

She narrowed her eyes and fixed Darien with a stern glare. "You mean besides what you asked me to do?"

"The hair, Claire!"

"I had nothing to do with that. I promise." She sat down beside Darien's bed. "How are you feeling?"

Darien groaned. "Like someone just performed surgery on my head."

"That's because they did. We got a donor for the Schwann cells you needed."

"That explains the headache then. But what about this?" Darien demanded, pointing angrily at the shaved spot on the back of his head.

Claire gave Darien a sheepish look. "I'm not sure about how that happened. You'll have to ask Hobbes." At that moment Hobbes wheeled himself into the room. Claire tried to motion for him to leave, but it was too late. Darien had seen him.

"Okay Hobbes, what's up with this?" Darien asked, pointing again at the back of his head.

"Arnaud tried to steal the gland. He got pretty close, too. Sorry partner, I couldn't stop him. Barinski was pointing a gun at my head at the time."

Darien rolled his eyes. "Man, I hate Arnaud. Did you guys catch him?" Hobbes shook his head. "I didn't think so. When I catch up to him I'm gonna tear him limb from limb." Darien paused for a second as what Hobbes had said sunk in. "Did you say 'partner'?"

Hobbes smiled. "Yes, I did indeed. The fat man's hooking us up together again as soon as I'm ready for active duty."

Darien frowned. "But until then I'm working with Agent Dylan, right?"

Hobbes shook his head vehemently. "Remember what you said about how that Dylan guy looked at you?" Darien raised his eyebrows, but he nodded. "You're pretty good at spotting a con."

**********
Two Weeks Later
**********

Darien walked toward the Keeper's lab, whistling merrily and sporting a much shorter haircut than usual. It had grown since he'd had it cut, but it was still short. He had it sticking up of course, but it was a little subtler than he would have liked. His hair was just too short to get the same reaction from it that he was used to. Still, it wasn't as bad as he'd thought it would be. And it'd grow back to its normal length soon enough.

Darien walked up to the lab door, slid his keycard into the appropriate slot, and walked into the lab. "Hey Claire, I need my shot!"

Claire, who was wearing a long white lab coat and in the middle of an experiment, glanced in his direction. "I didn't know you'd be needing a shot today."

"Yeah, well, Hobbes and I just caught a couple of animal smugglers and..."

"I wasn't informed that you were going on a mission."

Darien sighed. "Okay, okay, Hobbes and I were just fooling around and playing pranks on people. But come on, can't you let it go this once?"

"Darien..." Claire was about to scold Darien, but he gave her his puppy dog look. Claire sighed. "Oh, all right, but just this once."

Darien smiled. "All right!"

Claire gave him a reproachful glare. "Don't do anything like this again, though. Next time I'll tell the Official, and I don't think he'll approve."

"Yes, mom." Darien sat down in his chair and held out his arm.

Claire prepped the needle, but right as she was about to stick it in Darien's arm Hobbes walked through the door, wearing a white suit and holding a cane in one hand. "Hey Keepy!" he said, smiling warmly. Claire jumped and nearly stuck the needle into the chair instead of Darien's arm.

"Bobby!" Claire exclaimed, turning around and giving him a stern glare.

Hobbes raised his hands in defense. "Sorry, didn't know you were busy with the boy wonder here."

"Well, what did you expect then?"

"Oh, I dunno, that you'd be getting ready for our date?"

Darien looked at Claire and Hobbes in surprise. "Wait a minute, you two have a date?"

Hobbes smiled at the look on Darien's face. "Yep, we do indeed."

Claire looked at Hobbes. "I didn't need to get ready, I already am." She took off her lab coat, revealing a stunning green evening gown. Hobbes looked her up and down appreciatively.

"Wow, you look nice."

Claire smiled. "Thank you." Then she turned and injected the counteragent into Darien, who was too surprised by the whole conversation to notice the needle jabbing into his arm. Hobbes offered Claire his arm. Claire took it, and the two of them walked out of the lab, leaving Darien sitting in the lab chair looking absolutely shell-shocked.

**********

Humphrey Bogart once said, "Things are never so bad they can't be made worse." Now, that's one man's opinion. But personally, I find this quote from Vincent van Gogh much more true to life- my life, anyway. "As we advance in life it becomes more and more difficult, but in fighting the difficulties the inmost strength of the heart is developed."

I guess what I'm trying to say is yeah, life's tough. But if we just deal with the problems as they come to us, they'll actually help us grow. And personally, I like the way my partnership with Hobbes has grown because of this whole ordeal. And his new relationship with Claire isn't that bad either. To tell you the truth, I think it's kind of cute.

The End