Disclaimer in Chapter 1



Claire met Bobby and Darien at the lab twenty minutes after she received the call.

Bobby was sitting on the chair his head buried in his hands while Darien paced back and forth.

"Hey there Keep," Darien said as she entered the lab.

"Where's the syringe?" she asked sitting her purse down on a counter.

"Right here," Darien held up a plastic bag that contained the syringe.

"How long is this gonna take?" Bobby snapped.

"I'm not sure. It shouldn't take me too long to analyze the substance," Claire told him noting the anger in his voice.

Bobby just leaned back in the chair and let the tears run down his cheeks. How could things have gone so badly. Hadn't he and Marie been through enough?

Darien gazed at his partner. He knew Bobby was a wreck right now. He figured that he hadn't taken his meds since this whole thing started and he knew that he also hadn't slept in over 38 hours.

"I need to get something from lab two. I'll be right back," Claire said as she walked out of the Keep.

Darien followed her out the door and pulled her aside after it closed. "Claire, Bobby isn't doing too good right now. Do you have something we can give him, just so he can get a few hours of sleep?"

"Yes, Darien, I do have some sedatives, but I don't think he's going to take anything," Claire pointed out.

"Yeah, well I didn't say he'd take them willingly. I'm thinking we could give him a shot. If he doesn't sleep soon he's gonna collapse," Darien urged.

"Alright, I'll get the sedative ready. You go back and keep him calm until I return."

"Thanks, Keep," Darien hugged her quickly and went in to keep and eye on Bobby.

Claire grabbed the equipment she needed and went back to the Keep. She set the syringe down, then set down a second syringe and nodded at Darien.

Darien caught the look and picked up the needle.

Bobby was having a hard time keeping his eyes open. "What are you doing, Fawkes?" he asked as Darien approached him.

"Relax, Bobby," Darien said.

Bobby was too tired to fight as Darien injected him with the sedative. He passed out a moment later.



****


Claire had brought a cot into the lab so Darien could get some sleep as well while she looked over the sample. She woke him up a few hours later.

"I have some good news and some bad news," she sighed.

"What is it, Claire?"

"The syringe contained a mild sedative, but I also found traces of quicksilver on it," she explained.

"Aw crap!" Darien swore. Arnaud had Marie. This was bad, very bad.



****


Bobby groaned as he woke up. He had a huge headache from whatever Fawkes had injected him with. He saw Claire and Darien talking at the other side of the room. "What's going on?"

"Hobbes! Hey man, how're you feeling?" Darien came over to him putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Crappy. What did you inject me with?" he growled slapping Darien's hand away.

"It was just a mild sedative," Claire told him. "We were afraid that if you didn't get some sleep that you would end up collapsing from all the stress."

Bobby frowned and listened as they told him what Claire had found in and on the syringe. He got up off the chair, grabbed his coat and headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Darien asked as he followed him down the hallway.

"To have a little 'chat' with Stark. He's gonna tell me where Arnaud is," he rushed down the hall and out to the van.

"Ok, I'm going with you then."

"I don't need your help, Fawkes."

"Maybe not, but I'm not gonna bail on you. You've always been there for me. Besides I have my own score to settle with Arnaud," Darien said.

"Fine. Get in," Hobbes groaned and got in the van.


****


"I need to talk to Jared Stark," Bobby told the cop who was in charge of the new suspects that have just been booked.

"Do you have some ID?" the cop asked.

Bobby showed him his badge. "This is very important. Someone who works for him has kidnaped one of the witnesses in the case."

The cop nodded. "Have a seat. I'll have him put in a holding room and send someone to come get you."

Bobby took sat down reluctantly. He hated it that he had to wait. Another cop came and got him five minutes late. "I want to do this alone," he told Darien.

"Ok, I'll wait for you here then," Darien paged through a magazine.

Stark rolled his eyes when Hobbes came into the room. He could tell that Hobbes was really pissed and he was handcuffed now.

"Where's Arnaud?" Bobby snarled.

"I don't know where he is. Why do you care?"

Bobby pulled Stark out of the chair and threw him into a wall. "He kidnaped my wife. Now, you are gonna tell where he is, or I swear I will make your life a living hell."

"I really have no idea where he is. I didn't know he took--"

"Don't you fricking lie to me!" Bobby cut him off punching him in the jaw. "Where is that Swiss miss mother?"

"I DON'T KNOW!" Stark screamed back at him.

Bobby punched him in the stomach. He drew his fist back to land another punch when it was grabbed and pulled up behind his back. "Let go of me, Fawkes!"

"Not til you calm down a little. Stark, you better come clean right now or I'll kill you myself," Darien snapped.

"I do NOT have any idea where he is," Stark said slowly wincing from the pain.

Darien could tell that Stark wasn't lying. Even Stark had a survival instinct. "You better be telling the truth or we'll be back," he glared right at Stark and led Bobby out of the room.

"How are we supposed to find Arnaud?" Bobby hissed at Darien.

"I'm not sure, but I know Stark wouldn't hold back information just to save Arnaud. Let's go back to the Agency and see if we can pick up any leads on Arnaud's whereabouts."

"Alright, partner."



****


Arnaud was very good at keeping himself hidden. He had contacts that would alert him whenever the Agency was getting close. Stark was in prison now, and Arnaud thought it couldn't have happened to a nicer person.

He took very good care of Marie. He was very curious the effect his poison would have on her unborn child.

At the beginning of her seventh month she went into labor. Arnaud tried everything he could to stop it, but in the end he knew he was gonna have to deliver the baby early.

He gave Marie strong pain killers. He didn't like hearing her scream and he needed to keep a clear head.

"Merde!" he swore when her realized she was losing too much blood. He bundled her up and dropped her off in the Emergency room so they could save her and the deliver the baby.



****


The last four months had been pure hell for Bobby. Every time that he got a lead on Arnaud he slipped through their fingers.

Darien had to keep a close eye on Hobbes to make sure he would get at least a few hours of sleep each day and kept up with his meds.

Bobby almost jumped out of his skin when the phone rang in his office. "Bobby Hobbes," he answered.

Darien raised an eyebrow when he saw the expression on Hobbes' face. 'Who is it?' he mouthed to Hobbes.

Bobby just waved his hand and listened attentively. "Thank you. I'll be right there," and he hung up the phone. "That was the hospital. Marie was dropped off in the ER. She's gone into labor..." he trailed off realizing that it was too early for that.

"You want me to drive?" Darien asked noting Bobby's pallor.

He just nodded and they rushed out to the van and sped off to the hospital.


****


"Where is she?" Bobby shouted to the nurse at the check-in desk.

"Who are you looking for?"

"Marie Hobbes, my wife. I was called and told she was brought in," he said quickly.

"Let me check," she looked in the computer. "I'll inform the doctor you are here. Please have seat."

Darien dragged Bobby over to the waiting area so he wouldn't keep harassing the nurse.

A few minutes later the doctor walked in. "Mr. Hobbes?"

"That's me," Bobby stood up. "What's going on?"

"Your wife was already in labor when she was dropped off here. We were able to deliver the baby, but we had to do a cesarean. The baby is very small and she'll have to be on a respirator until her lungs finish developing, the good news is that she's going to be fine."

"Congrats, partner," Darien patted Bobby on the back.

All the information overwhelmed Bobby and he had to sit back down. "I have a daughter," he whispered getting used to the concept. "How's Marie?"



TBC...


A/N: Here's where I usually say feedback is welcome. Well, I'm having an awful time deciding so I wanted to let my readers decide for me. I want to know if you think Marie should live or die. I can write it either way. Thanks for your input!!

NekoSama