Several hours later

Several hours later

Darien leaned his head against the stark white walls of the hospital and took a deep breath. A chill ran through his body, causing goose bumps to form on his flesh. He looked down and realized he was bare from the waist up. Funny, when you're partner's bleeding to death on the ground, somehow your favorite shirt and jacket don't really amount to much.

It had been several hours since the doctors and nurses had had to pry Darien off of Bobby so they could try to save his life. He hadn't heard a word since and as the time went on, he was getting more and more nervous.

He glanced over at Alex who was sitting against the wall of the long hallway. He could tell she didn't really know what to do in this situation. She was upset, that much was obvious, but she made no attempt to take or show comfort with Darien. Instead she sat in silence, flipping her hair, waiting for the news of Bobby Hobbes.

Jason had gone back to the Agency to give the Official a report on what had happened. They had managed to get Huiclos safely tucked back into prison, his bullet wound turning out to be just a simple graze. Darien would question him later, but all he wanted right now was to make sure his partner was going to be okay.

He felt a hand rub his back gently. He turned around and saw Claire holding the top to a pair of scrubs. "Thought you might want this," she said as she handed it to him.

He took the green shirt and quickly threw it on his body. "Thanks," he said.

Claire leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Darien. He put his head on her shoulder and closed his eyes. He felt her hand rubbing the back of his neck softly. "He's going to be okay, Darien. I promise," she said.

He didn't respond. He pulled her closer to him, only wanting to be held for a little while. His eyes were fighting tears that he absolutely would not let fall.

Claire could feel him trembling in her arms and wished that he would let himself break. She knew if he held in everything in that he was feeling it would be bad for him later. But Darien was stubborn, and she knew the only way she would get him to deal with his emotions was when he was good and ready to do it himself.

"Mr. Fawkes?"

Darien and Claire broke apart from their hug and looked at a short middle-aged man dressed in bloody blue scrubs.

Alex stood up from her position on the floor and joined Claire and Darien.

"How is he?" Darien asked impatiently.

"I'm Dr. London. I was one of the doctors who treated your partner. Mr. Hobbes suffered a tremendous amount of blood loss and his body is in shock. He's hanging on right now, but I must be honest when I tell you it doesn't look very good. His body is in a kind of a coma right now to aid in healing. We're not sure if he will ever wake up from it. I'm sorry," said Dr. London with sympathy.

"Can we see him?" asked Claire.

"Not for a few hours. He's in recovery right now and will be moved into a private room in several hours. Does Mr. Hobbes have any family that we should notify?" asked Dr. London.

"He's got a sister somewhere, but I don't know how to reach her. Other than that, I don't think he has any other family besides us," said Darien softly.

Dr. London nodded in understanding. "I'll have a nurse let you know when you can visit him."

"Thank you, doctor," said Claire.

Alex stared awkwardly at Darien. "I think I'm gonna go back to the Agency and see if there's anything I can do there," she said. She stepped to Darien and put a hand on his shoulder. "He'll get through this Fawkes, he's a tough son of a bitch."

Darien bit his lower lip and nodded. "Thanks Monroe."

Alex looked at Claire. "Is there anything you guys need or anything?"

Claire smiled sadly. "No, I think we're okay. Thanks Alex."

Alex nodded. "Okay, well I'm going to go update the Official. I'll come back a little later when we can visit."

"Bye Alex," said Claire.

"See you guys later," said Alex as she walked down the long hallway and got on an elevator.

Claire looked up at Darien and saw a blank look on his face. She pointed to a row of chairs. "You want to sit?" she asked gently.

Darien shrugged his shoulders. "Sure, why not," he said.

Claire put a hand on his lower back and guided him into the chairs. Darien sat down and put his head in his hands. Claire ran her fingers through his hair, trying to do something to comfort her husband. She had a feeling that nothing she did was going to do him any good at this point.

Suddenly, Darien looked up at her with tear-filled eyes. "Hey Claire," he said softly.

"Yeah, Darien?" asked Claire.

"I love you," he said simply.

"I love you too. And Bobby knows that you love him as well," said Claire.

"You think?" said Darien, wiping at his eyes.

"I know so," she said matter of factly.

Darien sat back up in his chair and grasped Claire's hand tightly in his own. Then he leaned his head against the wall and closed his eyes, hoping that this whole thing had been some horrible nightmare. But somehow, he doubted it.

A few hours later

Darien stepped into Bobby's small hospital room with apprehension, wanting nothing more to run home and bury himself under the covers rather than see his partner so helpless. But he wasn't going to do that. Bobby needed him and he was determined not leave his side, not matter how hard it was for him.

Darien's breath hitched in his throat when he saw Bobby's still form hooked up to about a million tubes. He looked weak and helpless, two words that Darien never thought would apply to his partner.

Darien made his way over to a chair that had been set up next to the bed and sat down heavily. He looked at Bobby and gave him a smile. "You know buddy, if you wanted time off from work that bed, you could've just asked the fat man," he said, grabbing Bobby's hand. "Of course, knowing 'ole Charlie, you probably wouldn't have gotten it."

He sighed heavily and started to caress Bobby's hand. "What are you doing, Hobbes? This isn't the way it's supposed to happen, man. You're Bobby Hobbes. You're supposed to laugh in the face of danger and mayhem, my friend, not get caught in the crossfire."

Darien's eyes filled with tears, but he quickly blinked them away. "I will not cry for you, Hobbesy. I'm not crying because I'm not going to lose you. You will get through this and everything will be fine. That's a promise that I won't break, partner. You know if you want to add anything, feel free to just jump in anytime, buddy."

All that greeted him were the beeps of the monitors. Darien ran a frustrated hand through his hair. "Come on, buddy, wake up! Don't leave me here. I need you, Bobby. I guess you never realize what you have until it's gone. You think I would've learned that lesson with Kevin, but unfortunately I don't think it ever sunk into this big, hair covered brain of mine. Well guess what? I love you, Hobbesy. No, no like that. You know what I'm talking about. You're my best friend. Ah hell, you're the best friend I ever had my whole life. You're like a brother," said Darien, sniffling.

"You know I've done this crap before. I said all this warm and gushy stuff to Kevin and then I lost him. But of course, if I hadn't have lost him, I never would have met you or Claire. Is it wrong for me to think like that? To be almost grateful in a way that he died? Hobbes, what the hell is wrong with me? Come on, I need your expert psychological opinion, here," said Darien.

He shook his head. "God I'm bad at this. I don't know what to think or feel. Claire, she's trying to be so strong for me, but I know she's probably sitting somewhere crying right now. Come on Hobbes, you don't want to disappoint your mistress. Yeah, thought I didn't know about you and Claire and you're secret love affair. Well that's where your wrong, my friend. Nothing gets by Darien Fawkes," said Darien jokingly. "God, I sound like you."

Darien let go of Bobby's hand and leaned back in the chair. "Here's some interesting tidbits, Robert. Seems that Miss Monroe and Mr. Eberts and hell, even Mr. Borden are very concerned about you. I heard a rumor that Eberts was weeping, but that's just speculation. And Monroe, she was all broken up about it. I think when you get out of here, you should ask her out. That's just the way I see it, man," said Darien with a smile. He leaned forward, hoping like hell that Bobby would sit up and banter with him.

When he didn't, Darien's eyes welled with tears. He leaned forward and caressed Bobby's forehead. "Hobbes, say something damn it! Come on, you're supposed to be answering me, insulting me, anything! This whole banter thing is not a one sided deal, we're a double act, here!"

Darien took a few deep breaths to compose himself. "Okay, so you don't want to talk, that's cool, man. You rest, okay. I'll be right here when you wake up," he said as he leaned his head over Bobby's and kissed his forehead, letting a few tears drops fall onto Bobby's face. Then he sank back in his chair and wiped at his eyes. "I will not cry," he whispered to himself.

The Next Day

Jason made his way through the halls of the hospital, heading towards Bobby's room. He figured it might like suspicious if he didn't put in a visit. Of course, he was totally unaware that Bobby had witnessed his disappearing act, but at this point, that didn't really seem to matter.

He had paid a visit to Huiclos and warned him that if he said anything about who or what he really was, that Huiclos would be in for a world of hurt. Huiclos meekly complied and told him that Arnaud would contact him in several days in regards to the counteragent. Jason couldn't have been happier.

He stepped into the room and saw Darien reading a book out loud to his partner.

"Hey Fawkes," he said softly as he walked towards the bed.

Darien looked up from the book with surprise. "Hey," he said. "Thanks for coming, Sullivan. Hobbes would appreciate it."

Jason nodded towards Bobby. "How's he doing?"

Darien looked back at Bobby and shrugged. "He's hanging on. I just wish he would wake up and say something, you know."

Jason nodded. "Yeah."

Darien looked thoughtful for a second and then glanced at Jason. "You got any brothers, Sullivan?"

Jason's face clouded for a second. "Not anymore. I had one, an older brother, but he got killed in the line of duty."

Darien nodded. "I had a brother, Kevin. He got killed. Arnaud, that Swiss bastard," he said shaking his head. "I don't know, this whole thing with Hobbes is just taking me back, you know. Hobbes is kind of like the brother I never had and I don't think I could take it if he died."

Jason stepped forward and leaned against Bobby's bed. "We're you close with your brother?"

Darien shook his head. "Not really. Actually, we were just getting to know one another when he got killed. Makes me regret all the time that we had that we didn't take advantage of. What about you?"

Jason smiled. "Me and my brother were best friends. I wanted to be just like him. He would always harass me and stuff, but we loved one another."

"Yeah, I hear that," said Darien. He cleared his throat. "Any word on De Phon or Rendell?"

"Nope. Went to see Huiclos and he didn't have any information. The airports and customs have all been notified, but so far, nothing," said Jason grimly.

Darien sighed harshly. "Man, we're never going to get that son of a bitch. What about the shooters?"

"Chrysalis," said Jason simply.

"Chrysalis? No, no, no, Chrysalis is gone," said Darien in confusion.

"Not anymore. Apparently, a few small sects are starting up again. They're trying to rebuild what Stark left behind. That's a hell of a challenge," said Jason.

"What the hell is Arnaud doing with Chrysalis. This whole thing is just too weird," said Darien in frustration. He looked back at Bobby. "I can't deal with this stuff right now. I need to be here for Bobby."

"That's understandable. They'll still be there when he gets out," said Jason reassuringly.

Darien looked at him with wide eyes. "You really think he's going to get out here?" asked Darien.

Jason smiled and nodded. "From what I've seen of Bobby Hobbes, I don't think something as tiny as a few bullets could take him out. I'm sure he'll pull through."

Darien looked back at Bobby and nudged him on the shoulder. "That's right, man. You get through this, you hear me!" said Darien. Somehow he knew that his partner did indeed hear him.

He turned his head to look back up at Jason. "Hey…Sullivan…thanks man," he said sticking out his hand.

"Aw man, you're letting me do the secret hand shake?" said Jason as he slapped Darien's hand in the proper sequence.

"Yeah, well, we are partners in a sense. Just seems right. I don't think Hobbesy would mind," said Darien.

Jason nodded. "Hey, thank you. I'm gonna head back to the Agency, see if there's anything I can do," he said as he backed towards the door.

"Thanks for coming by, Sullivan," said Darien.

"No problem," said Jason as he walked out of the room. As he walked through the halls, he wondered why he was starting to feel slightly sorry for Darien Fawkes. He shook the feeling off and headed towards his car.

TBC