Devil's Silver #6 Wicked Game Part 2
By Carol M.
Summary: Nothing is ever easy for Darien, including a marriage proposal to Claire
Spoilers: All of them just to be safe
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: I don't own them, but I really wish I did
WARNING: Grab a few tissues for this part!
Darien finished lighting the last of the candles in his apartment. He did a once over of all of his engagement preparations. Red roses in the vase. Dinner waiting in the oven. Ring tucked in his jacket. Candles lit. Music playing. Bed made. Champagne in a bucket filled with fresh ice.
He took a deep breath and walked over to his mirror, checking himself out. He hardly recognized himself in his newly purchased suit. He had figured that he should propose to Claire in style and not in his usual beat up retro wardrobe. The suit was really uncomfortable, but hopefully, if everything went well, he wouldn't be wearing it for that long anyway.
He checked his watch. 7:15. She was a little late. He was getting really nervous. He sat down on his couch and picked up one of his quote books. Maybe he could find a good quote to use on her.
He heard a soft knock on the door. His heart instantly started racing. He got up and once again looked at himself in the mirror. "Okay Darien, you can do this. You're the man," he said to his reflection. He smiled when he realized his voice sounded close to normal.
He walked to the flower vase and pulled out a rose. Then he walked to the door. He stood there for a few seconds, terrified. Then he took a deep breath and opened the door. "Let's get this celebration …Hobbes, what the hell are you doing here?" he asked with agitation as he saw Bobby on the other side of the door.
Bobby didn't respond.
"Tonight's the night man, I need a little privacy here if you don't mind," said Darien. It was then that Darien noticed Bobby's face. It was deathly pale and he looked extremely shaken.
"What's wrong, buddy?" asked Darien with concern. He opened the door wider and let Bobby in.
Bobby looked around nervously, seeing all of Darien's romantic handiwork. "I don't know how to tell you this, partner," Bobby said so softly it was almost a whisper.
Dread crept into the pit of Darien's stomach. "What, what is it?" Darien asked with morbid anticipation.
Bobby pointed to the couch. "Sit down, Darien," said Bobby.
Darien was taken aback by Bobby's use of his first name. He felt dizzy with anticipation. He made his way to the couch, not really wanting to know what Bobby was about to tell him.
Bobby sat down next to him, not meeting Darien's eyes.
"What is it Bobby? Are you okay? Is it Viv?," Darien asked quickly. A horrible thought entered Darien's mind. "Is it Claire?" he asked in a whisper.
Bobby took a deep breath. "Me and Monroe were driving back to the warehouse to do a little wrap up work. We were driving past Claire's house," he said slowly.
Darien's stomach clenched at Bobby's mention of Claire.
"Her house, it's gone, partner, it's gone. It blew up," Bobby continued with tears starting to sparkle in his eyes.
Darien shook his head. "Yeah, but she wasn't in there, right. I mean she was at the Agency or she was on her way over here. She wasn't in there when it blew up," said Darien with a look of desperation. "Right?"
Bobby finally met Darien's eyes and shook his head. "They found a body. The Official got some coroner guy over there pronto to compare Claire's dental records," said Bobby as he put a supportive hand on Darien's shoulders. "They matched, partner… She's gone," said Bobby softly.
Darien took a shuddering breath. He shook his head violently. "No, no, I don't believe you. This is just some kind of sick game the Agency is playing. They just want us to think she's dead," Darien yelled as tears welled up in his eyes.
Bobby shook his head sadly. "I wish that were true partner, but its not. Claire's dead."
Darien quickly stood up and was overcome by dizziness. He fell to the ground, nearly hitting his head on his coffee table. Bobby was quickly at his side. He put a firm hand on his arm and helped him up. "I got you partner," said Bobby as a tear threatened to fall.
Darien looked at Bobby. Bobby would never forget the look in Darien's eyes. All he could see was hurt, loss and grief.
"I can't go through this again, Bobby. I can't lose someone else I love," sobbed Darien, who looked like he was about to collapse again. Bobby stepped forward and took him into a strong hug.
"Were gonna get through this my friend," said Bobby, trying to be strong for his partner. He could feel Darien shaking and swaying in his grip. "Let's get you down to the floor, buddy," said Bobby as he gently eased himself and Darien into a sitting position on the floor.
"I loved her Bobby, I loved her so much," Darien whimpered, his voice turning into a hoarse whisper, heavy sobs wracking his body.
Bobby hugged Darien tighter, rubbing his back. He was dangerously close losing it himself. "She knew you loved her, D," he said. "I loved her too," Bobby said softly.
At this admission, Bobby lost all control. He started to cry like a baby.
The two partners gripped tightly to one another, sobbing into each other's arms, mourning the loss of the woman they both loved.
Forty-five minutes later, they were in the van, on the way to the Agency. Darien had convinced himself that the Official was behind the whole thing. Bobby wasn't so sure, but what could he do? Right now, all he wanted was answers.
"Do we know what blew the house up yet?" yelled the Official angrily into the phone. "Well you tell them to get their info together and find out now. If I don't have the information on my desk in an hour, then they're all fired," he yelled, slamming the phone down.
He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment. He was startled when Darien and Bobby came bursting through the door.
Darien walked right up to the Official, murder is his eyes. "You did this, you bastard. This is some kind of Agency game," he said coldly.
The Official shook his head. "Nope, not this time, Darien," a look of sadness in his eyes.
Darien chuckled slightly. "I don't believe you, Charlie. How many times have you manipulated me in the past, huh? I mean the only reason I work here is because you're blackmailing me with a drug."
The Official got out of his chair and walked towards Darien. "Son, I admit to manipulating you in the past, but this is not one of those times," he said softly.
"Don't call me son. I'm not your son," Darien fired back. "Why did you do it? Did you find out about us? Did you find out that me and Claire were in love? Did you find out that your precious Keeper and her lab rat were having sex on the counter of the Keep? Huh, Charlie?"
"Fawkes," Bobby said softly. "That's enough."
Darien ignored him. "I want to know why you did it?" he asked as tears started to well once again in his eyes.
"Believe whatever you want about me, Fawkes, I don't really care. But know this, I didn't have anything to do with this and neither did the Agency. Claire was a colleague and a friend. I wouldn't have her killed to prove some kind of point or to keep you in line," said the Official with anger.
"You lying son of a bitch," said Darien as he lunged towards the Official.
"Fawkes," yelled Bobby as he stepped quickly towards the two of them. He grabbed Darien and dragged him away from the Official. "He didn't do it, buddy," said Bobby as he pushed Darien into a chair.
Darien stared up at the ceiling as the tears once again started to fall. The room was filled with awkward silence as nobody dared to say a word .
After a few minutes, Darien looked over at the Official, his eyes wide with pain. "I'm sorry, sir," he said softly.
The Official nodded. "I know," he said.
"Come on, Fawkes, I'm gonna take you home, let you get some sleep," said Bobby.
Darien nodded. "Okay," he said in a dull monotone.
Bobby walked over to Darien and helped him out of the chair guiding him to the door.
"Bobby, can I have a word before you go?" asked the Official.
"Yeah, chief," he said as he looked at Darien. "Wait for me in the van, okay pal."
Darien nodded and headed out the door.
"Sir?" said Bobby.
"Were going to find out who did this. We should have the cause of the explosion in about an hour. I will take all of the authority I have in this Agency and try to punish the bastards who did this," he said matter of factly.
Bobby smiled slightly. "Thank you, sir."
"Watch Fawkes, Bobby. He might drown in this," said the Official.
Bobby nodded. "I will, sir," said Bobby as he walked out the door.
She was wearing the black boots. She looked beautiful. "Yes, I would love to marry you, Darien," she said with a smile.
They linked arms and hugged tightly. Then they started to passionately kiss.
"Darien, I love you, I will always love you," she said with a smile.
Darien sat up abruptly in bed, her scent all he could smell. For a moment he forgot, but then he remembered. She was gone.
He could see Bobby's sleeping form on the couch in the living room. When he was in his right mind, he would have to thank him for that.
He got up out of his bed, holding his stomach, feeling nauseous. He was going to be sick. He ran to the bathroom and threw up until nothing would come up. Then he laid down on the floor of the bathroom, hugging himself, missing her so much it hurt.
He felt someone pat him on his back. "You okay, partner?" asked Bobby, his tired eyes etched with concern.
Darien shook his head. He wasn't going to be all right for a long time.
Two Days Later.
Darien set the rose on her closed coffin. He stepped back and looked at all the people attending Claire's funeral. In addition to Bobby, Alex, Eberts, the Official and himself, quite a few people from the D.O.D as well as some other people Darien didn't recognized attended. Claire would've been impressed. He watched Alex make her way up towards the casket to give a eulogy.
Alex stepped up to the podium, a piece of paper in her hand. "I didn't really know Claire all that well, but I felt that she and I could have become good friends," she said with a sad smile. "I really admired her. She was intelligent and sweet and beautiful. She was a hard worker. But she was also tough. No one could mess with her."
Alex looked down at the ground and took a deep breath, forcing tears to stay in her eyes. "I'll admit that I'm not the easiest person to get along with. But one day, I was in the bathroom crying about some stupid drama in my life. Claire came in and talked to me. When ended up talking for hours about stupid women's stuff. It was the first time I felt like I might really be able to fit in at the Agency. Thanks Claire, for making me feel more comfortable," said Alex. "I will miss you," she said as she stepped down from the podium.
The Official stepped past Alex and took his own stance on the podium. "Alex already told you what a wonderful person Claire was. I want to tell you what a professional she was. She served her country well, risking her life for the good of the Agency. Always willing to lend a hand or her vast expertise to help with a case. Hiring her was the best decision I ever made. The United States lost one of its greatest heroes. She will be remembered with honor," said the Official as he stepped down.
Eberts quickly took his place. " Claire, you were a good friend and a hero, as the boss said. You served the Agency and your friends well. You will be missed," mumbled Eberts awkwardly. He looked like he wanted to say something else, but instead he nervously looked over at Bobby and stepped off the podium.
Bobby stepped up next. "What can I add to all of that? That she was caring and understanding. That she was tender and sweet. That I loved her as a friend. That she was one of the best I ever had. Keepie, wherever you are, I miss you," said Bobby as he stepped down, wiping a stray tear out of his eye.
Darien patted Bobby on the shoulder as he stepped up to the podium, tears shimmering in his eyes. "Normally I would have some snappy quote to perfectly sum up a situation, but I don't. What words can sum up this tragedy? I want to make a confession here. I was in love with Claire. She was the love of my life in fact," said Darien as he started to sniffle. "Claire, I was going to ask you marry me. I wanted you to be my wife. I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. Please know how much I love you."
Darien stepped off the podium and joined the rest of them. After a speech from the priest, her casket was slowly lowered into the ground. Darien thought of Kevin. He had decided to bury Claire right next to him. He hoped she wouldn't mind.
He bit his lower lip, trying desperately not to cry in front of all these people. But as her casket was lowered deeper into the ground, it all hit him. She was really dead. He would never see her again.
Darien started to cry. The Official, who was standing next to him, looked over at him and noticed the tears pouring down Darien's cheeks. He gently nudged the younger man and took him in his arms, hugging him. He felt Darien's shuddering sobs course through his body. "It's all right, Darien, it's all right," he whispered into his ear.
The Official looked over at Alex, Bobby and Eberts and saw tears streaming down all of their cheeks. He felt something wet on his cheek and realized that tears were falling from his own eyes as well.
Whoever had done this was going to pay.
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The room was almost all silver. It looked like a space age version of the padded room. There was a metal desk and metal chair that looked really uncomfortable. A laptop sat on the desk. A bed sat against one of the walls, neatly made with crisp, white sheets. Claire had no idea where she was or what had happened. All she knew was that she wanted Darien and she wanted him right now.
To be continued tomorrow, I promise :) !!!!!!!!!