Devil's Silver #8 Uninvited Part 1

Devil's Silver #8 Uninvited Part 1

By Carol M.

Summary: Old enemies return to take revenge against Darien and the rest of the under-funded six

Spoilers: Small one for Exposed

Rating: This part is PG

Disclaimer: Only love them

2 months later

The loud whimpers and harsh convulsions of her husband were enough to wake Claire up from the deepest sleep she could remember having in months. She silently cursed Arnaud for contributing to what had become Darien's nightly dreams of horror.

She sat up quickly, pushing back a roll of nausea that suddenly washed over her. After taking a few deep breaths, the sick feeling left her, and she was able to reach out a hand to caress Darien.

"Shhh, it's okay, it's just a dream," she whispered soothingly in his ear.

He moaned loudly and thrashed about, sending the sheets that had been cocooning Claire to the floor. She sighed and shook her head in worry. "Come on, it's okay," she murmured as she stroked his hair. She lightly kissed a trail of kisses down his neck and planted a final one on his lips.

She heard his breathing gradually returning to normal. "That's it, just calm down, Darien," she whispered as she ran a hand across his pajama clad stomach. She saw him visibly relax against the pillow, a deep sigh escaping from his mouth.

Claire sagged against her own pillow, relieved that this nightmare seemed to have passed. After a few moments, she sat up to pick up her fallen sheets, when her stomach lurched again.

"Bum," she yelled as she covered her mouth and ran for the bathroom. She made it to the toilet just in time and proceeded to vomit all of the spaghetti that Darien had cooked for her the night before. When she finished, she sank down to the floor and took deep breaths, willing her stomach to settle down.

"Claire, you okay?" she heard from behind her. She turned around and saw Darien standing there in his pajamas, looking shaken. Even in her state of nausea, she had to laugh out how adorable Darien looked in his mismatched pajama top and pants. She smiled slightly. "I'm fine, just a little nauseous, that's all," she said.

Darien walked to the toilet and flushed it. "Guess my cooking ain't so great after all, huh?" he said teasingly.

Claire shook her head. "You're cooking is wonderful Darien. I think I might just have a bug or something," she said as Darien kneeled down and helped her off the floor.

"No school for you tomorrow, wifey," he said as he put her back in bed. He ran into the bathroom and soaked a washcloth with warm water. He stepped back out into the bedroom and gently set it on her forehead. He looked at her with concern. "You sure you're okay?" he asked.

She smiled. "I'm fine, Darien. Go back to sleep, 'kay," she said reassuringly.

Darien reached to the floor and pulled up the fallen sheets, wrapping them tightly around Claire and himself. Then he looked at her with his puppy dog eyes. "Sorry if I woke you up," he said softly.

Claire leaned forward and cradled his face in her hands. "No worries, mate," she said as she kissed him on the cheek.

Darien smiled. "Okay, Crocodile Claire," he said as he gave her a small hug. He released her and laid back down against the pillow. "Goodnight, Keep," he said.

" 'Night, Darien," Claire responded. Within seconds, she was sleeping soundly.

Darien rolled on his side towards Claire, not really wanting to sleep anymore. Instead, he spent the rest of the night watching his Keeper sleep and trying to forget the terrifying images of invisible assassins and suicide bombers that had taken over his dreams.

*******************************

"Oh god no! Don't die on me baby, please!" yelled Bobby in a panic.

Darien rolled his eyes. "Will you calm down Hobbes. You can always get a new one," he said matter of factly.

"Fawkes! Shut up, she might hear you!" said Bobby angrily.

"Hobbes, her name is Golda, not Christine all right. I really don't think she can hear me," said Darien with irritation. "Just try to start her again. Maybe she's just tired."

Bobby took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "Okay Golda, it's just you and me. We've been through some tough scrapes together, baby. I promise if you start for papa, I'm going to treat you to a complete…"

"Hobbes, just start the freakin van!" yelled Darien.

Bobby gave Darien a look of annoyance and then looked back at the stirring wheel. "He's just jealous," he said as he kissed the stirring wheel. "Okay, come on baby," said Bobby as he turned the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life.

Bobby gave Darien a grin of satisfaction. "See, what did I tell you? Just have to sweet talk her a little bit is all," he said as he pulled onto the street.

Darien laughed in amusement. "Hobbesy, sometimes I wonder about you, my friend," he said jokingly.

"Yeah well, Fawkesy, I pretty much wander about you all the time, so I guess that makes us even," said Bobby as he turned the van around a corner.

A comfortable silence fell between the two. Darien laid back in the seat, his eyes closing in exhaustion. Bobby looked over at him with concern. "You okay there, Gumby? Claire keep you up all night?" he asked.

Darien opened his eyes and managed a half smile. "Something like that," he said softly.

"Hey, D, were gonna get em all, okay. We'll get Miss Rendell and her little gland store and throw her right into jail with her Swiss Miss boyfriend," said Bobby reassuringly.

"Yeah well, Arnie's already in prison and it hasn't seemed to stop him, right?" said Darien.

"Minor details, my friend. I promise we will nail Arnaud and all of his little henchman. Now has Bobby Hobbes ever broken a promise?" he asked.

Darien smiled. "Not so far," he said warmly.

Bobby nodded as he pulled into his space at the Agency. "All right, then," he said as he shut off the van. He glanced over at Claire's SUV. "Damn, what the hell time does Keep get here?"

Darien snorted. "Well, she gets up around five and leaves around six thirty. Needless to say, I'm not conscious when she leaves," he said as he got out of the van.

Bobby also stepped out of the van and walked alongside Darien towards the Agency. "How's she doing? Everything going okay?"

Darien's face lit up. "Oh yeah, everything is great. Best thing in my life," he said, quickly glancing at Bobby. "Well besides Thursday night bowling with you, that is."

"You know, I think next week you should bring Claire with us. I've been trying to get Monroe and Ebes to go. We can make it like a whole company outing," said Bobby as he stepped through the door.

Darien nodded as he followed behind Bobby. "Sounds like a plan," he said as they walked to the elevators. Darien pushed the down button while Bobby pushed the up button.

Bobby glanced over at Darien curiously. "You need a shot or something, pal?" asked Bobby when he noticed that Darien had pushed the button to the Keep.

Darien shook his head. "Ah, no, Claire was just a little sick last night, that's all. I just wanted to see if she was okay," he said, as he stepped in the elevator going down. Bobby followed him, grinning his head off.

"What?" asked Darien curiously as he pushed the button to the Keep.

"Nothing," said Bobby as the elevator doors closed.

"What, man?" asked Darien again.

Bobby shook his head. "Naw, it's just…you've changed so much. You are so much more responsible and grownup. I'd like to think I had something to do with that," Bobby said as he puffed out his chest.

Darien smiled. "Well I am your protégé after all. I guess a little Bobby Hobbes must have rubbed off on me. I just hope I don't become bald and paranoid," he said teasingly.

"You should be so lucky, kid," said Bobby.

"Ha, ha," mocked Darien as the elevators doors opened. The partners stepped off the elevator and walked over to the Keep door. Darien pulled out his key and swiped it in the key slot, causing the door to swoosh open. "Oh wifey, wifey, where are you?" called Darien.

Claire popped her head out from the fridge. "To what do I owe this pleasure?" she asked as she saw Darien and Bobby walk into the Keep.

Darien put his hands in his pockets and shrugged. " Oh I don't know. Just wanted to make sure you were feeling all right," he said.

Claire smiled. "I'm fine, Darien, I promise," she said, eyeing Bobby. "Hey Bobby, how are you doing?"

Bobby blushed. "I'm good, Keep. Just trying to keep your old hubby in line," he said.

Claire glanced at Darien and laughed. "He certainly is a handful," she said.

"Hey I will have you know, I am not a handful," said Darien.

Bobby scoffed. "Says you."

"Keep, you gonna let him talk to me like that or what?" he asked.

Claire was about to answer when the Keep door opened. The trio turned their heads and saw the Official and a young man in his late twenties with dark hair and blue eyes walk through the door.

"There you two are," said the Official.

"Oh, I'm sorry sir, I didn't know we had to check in," said Darien sarcastically.

"Can it, Fawkes. I'm not in the mood," said the Official gruffly.

Darien nodded. "Sorry," he said quickly.

The Official put his hand on the shoulder of the young man standing next to him. "Gentleman, I would like you to meet our newest agent, Jason Sullivan."

Darien raised his eyebrows. "We're getting a new agent?"

The Official smiled widely. "Yes. Seems my superiors are very pleased with our Chrysalis performance. They decided that our little organization could use more people to perform similar actions against other terrorists, starting with Arnaud De Phon and Elizabeth Rendell."

"Really, well I'm glad we made them proud," said Darien as he walked over to Jason and extended his hand. "Darien Fawkes."

Jason smiled and shook Darien's hand. "Nice to meet you, sir."

Bobby snorted and stepped forward. "Don't call him sir. It'll go straight to that big head of his," he said as he extended his own hand. "The name is Hobbes, Bobby Hobbes."

Jason nodded and shook Bobby's hand. "Mr. Hobbes, it's a pleasure."

Darien smiled. "Sullivan, you can call us Fawkes and Hobbes," he said. He pointed towards Claire. "That gorgeous blonde over there is my wife Claire Sp…ah…Fawkes."

Claire stepped forward and shook Jason's hand as well. "Nice to meet you."

"A pleasure," he said with a smile. Claire sat down at her desk and started looking through some computer files. Jason eyed her for a second and then looked around the rest of the Keep with curiosity, excitement written all over his face. "So is this where it happens, the whole invisible thing? The Official debriefed me on the whole process. It's absolutely amazing. Fawkes… you're the invisible man right?"

Darien grinned and sped up his heartbeat, letting the quicksilver flow over his body. In seconds, he was invisible.

Jason sighed in wonder. "Wow," he whispered in awe.

Darien let the quicksilver drop and quickly came back in sight. "Thank you," he said, bowing slightly.

Bobby gave him a shove. "Show off."

Darien made a mocking face and cleared his throat. He looked at Jason. "So Sullivan, just curious. Why the hell would you want to come and join the Agency team? I mean we lose practically every season."

Jason started to answer but was interrupted by the Official. "Sullivan here is ex-CIA. He has a number of skills that will be useful against Mr. De Phon, and plus I thought we needed a younger face to add to our cadre of valuable resources."

Darien nodded. "Nice."

The Official stepped in between Darien and Bobby and put his hands on both their shoulders. "Our primary goal boys, is to get those PET scans back from Miss Rendell before things go to far. Otherwise, we will have a whole new problem on our hands, one a lot bigger than an Arnaud or a Chrysalis. We need all the help we can get, and Mr. Sullivan will be an invaluable asset."

Bobby nodded. "If you say so, chief."

"Good," said the Official. "Now I want you to stop goofing off and find Miss Rendell now, you understand?"

"Completely, sir," said Darien.

The Official hit Darien sharply on the back. "Glad to hear it. Now go find Monroe and get the hell out of here," said the Official as he slowly walked out of the Keep.

Bobby turned to look at Jason. "So hotshot, got any ideas where we could start?"

Jason looked thoughtful for a moment and then eyed Bobby. "Well I do have a small network of contacts I made in the CIA. I could check with one of them and see if they've heard anything."

"Hmmm, contacts, good. I have a small string of contacts I like to call HobbesNet. Very, very useful," said Bobby.

"Wow," said Jason. "I like to call my little network Sully's Snitches. It's pretty small, only about 700 people, but it gets the job done."

Bobby nearly choked. "Seven hundred? Is that all? Well hey, you're young right, got to build up the network year by year."

Darien laughed with amusement. "Okay kids, ummm, you want to find Monroe and go get the bad guys now?"

Bobby looked at Darien. "Sounds good, partner."

"Great," said Darien as he stepped next to Claire, who was busying herself studying some computer files. He knelt down next to her and stroked her hair. "I'll see ya later, okay?" he said softly.

Claire smiled and kissed him on the lips. "Bye, be careful." She looked over at Bobby and Jason. "All three of you."

"Don't worry, Keep, we got it covered," said Bobby.

Darien got up and joined Bobby and Jason at the door. Jason turned around and waved at Claire. "It was nice to meet you ma'am."

"Call me Claire. Good to meet you too," she said.

Darien, Bobby and Jason started for the door. "Let's see what you can do, kid," said Bobby as he gave Jason a playful shove out the door.

TBC