Fragile Lives (5/?)

By Carol M.

See first part for details

Note: It's easy to write when you have thoughts of a naked Darien in your head. Especially when you saw that see-through underweared ass in person : ) Enjoy the next part folks and bring out a few more ropes…

"Umm, Hobbes?" said Darien uneasily.

"Yes, Fawkes?" he heard Bobby reply in a calm voice.

Darien cleared his throat. "You think you can make it to the top of the elevator?"

Silence greeted him. "Hobbes?"

"Give me a minute here, I'm thinking," Bobby shouted back.

Darien glanced at Eberts with a look of irritation. "Great, he's thinking," he whispered.

"Hobbes, either you can or you can't. What's it going to be?"

"I guess I can try. But so help me god, Fawkes, if this elevator comes down and I go with it, I'm going to haunt you til you're dying day," shouted Bobby.

"Great," said Darien sarcastically. He took a deep breath and looked down the elevator shaft that suddenly looked much more dangerous than it had only seconds before. "Okay, uh, so here's the plan. Get up on top of the elevator and we'll pull you up."

"Great plan, Fawkes," he heard Bobby respond.

"Got any better ideas, buddy?" Darien asked with irritation.

"Just how do you propose to pull me up there, Fawkesy? I am a couple of feet away from you if you hadn't noticed," said Bobby.

Darien gave Eberts a scared glance. "Don't worry, we got it covered. Trust me."

Bobby looked around the elevator and sighed. "I do, buddy, I do," he whispered softly. "Okay, here it goes," he said uncertainly. He piled a stack of debris on the floor of the elevator, turning it into a small stepladder so his short frame could make it towards the ceiling of the elevator.

At the same time, Darien lay down on his stomach at the edge of the elevator door, Eberts grasping his feet in a firm hold. "You got me, Ebes?"

Eberts nodded confidently. "I got you."

"Okay, take me down," said Darien nervously.

Eberts slowly began lowering Darien down the elevator shaft, all the while clutching his feet so firmly that Darien was sure all the blood flow had been cut off to his lower limbs.

Bobby hauled himself through the panels of the lights uneasily, the elevator shaking and shimmying with instability. He used his arms to push himself on top of the elevator and came to rest on a panel of metal near the edge of the elevator, his sore leg barely supporting him. He could see the body of his lanky partner slowly being dangled down towards his position.

"Easy, Fawkes," said Bobby as he heard the sharp shallow breaths being gulped in by his partner. "You okay?" he asked with concern.

"Been better," said Darien through clenched teeth as he neared Bobby. "A little more Eberts," he yelled back up towards the door.

Eberts kneeled into a sitting position and then forced Darien down further.

Darien could almost clasp Bobby's hand. "Just a little more," he yelled back.

Eberts lay down on his stomach and forced his own body about halfway out the door. "That's as far as I can go Darien," he yelled.

Darien eyed Bobby uneasily. "You ready?" he asked breathlessly as sweat dripped from his brow onto Bobby's face.

"Easy, buddy, you look like you're going to pass out," said Bobby as he eyed Darien's dangling hands.

The elevator started shaking from Bobby's weight and he gave Darien a desperate stare. "I think now would be a good time."

Darien stretched out his arms and grasped Bobby's hands in his own. The elevator started to lurch down at the same moment. "Now Eberts!" he yelled.

Eberts backed up slowly, struggling against the weight of both Darien and Bobby. Darien pulled Bobby off the top of the elevator just as it gave away. The metal room fell quickly to the ground, the sounds of metal hitting metal echoing through the elevator shaft and sending bits of debris back up the shaft.

"Oh god," yelled Darien as Bobby's weight pulled hard on his aching back. "Eberts more, now!" he yelled in desperation.

Eberts backed up even more, pulling Darien and Bobby up the shaft several inches.

Bobby eyed Darien intensely, seeing the immense amount of pain his partner was in. "I'm sorry, buddy," he said softly.

"Shut up. This isn't your fault," cried Darien. "Ebes come on man, more!" he yelled out, tears of pain and frustration falling from his eyes and hitting Bobby.

Eberts gave a hard tug, which brought the pair up several more feet.

"One more like that Eberts and I'm buying you a steak dinner," yelled Bobby.

Eberts took a deep breath and tried to calm his racing heart. "Here it goes," he said through gritted teeth.

He pulled as hard as he could, using the adrenaline racing through his veins to successfully bring Darien all the way into the door and Bobby only several inches below their position. He let go of Darien and fell back against the floor.

Darien, while relieved to once again be back on the ground, was also rapidly losing his strength. For several heart-stopping seconds, his grip on Bobby began to slip.

Bobby gave him a panicked look.

"I'm not gonna drop you, my friend," shouted Darien. He took all of his strength and heaved Bobby up to the elevator door. With one more pull, both Darien and Bobby were safely resting on the gritty tile of the fifth floor.

The trio lay panting on the ground, tired and sore and exhilarated all at the same time. Bobby's face broke out into a toothy grin. "Thanks guys, I owe you one," he said with gratitude.

Eberts slowly sat up, looking pleased and slightly surprised with himself. "I never knew I was that strong," he said cheerfully.

Bobby scooted next to him and patted him on the back. "I knew you had it in you, my friend. You might just make a good agent yet! Isn't that right, Fawkes?"

When there was no response, he glanced over at his partner who was stretched out on his stomach on the floor. "Fawkes, you okay?" asked Bobby as he scooted towards his partner. He ran a hand down Darien's back, growing more concerned by the second. "Fawkes?" he shouted urgently.

Eberts also scooted to Darien, eyeing him with sympathy. He felt the side of Darien's neck and found his pulse to be a little weaker than it should be. "I think he passed out," said Eberts.

"He's hurt? Then why the hell did you let him get me?" asked Bobby angrily.

"We didn't really have much of a choice, Robert. The doctor had to stay with the Official because he's injured and…"

"Shut up, Eberts!" he yelled in frustration. He gently lifted Darien so he was sitting across his lap. "What's wrong with him?"

Eberts lifted up Darien's shirt and pointed to his lower back, where the red mark was already turning a deep purple.

"Stubborn see-through punk," whispered Bobby to himself. He ran a hand through Darien's hair in a comforting gesture. "Wake up, Fawkes. Come on, pal," he said as he shook Darien.

A low moan was the only reply from Darien.

Bobby shook his head. "Where are the others? Is Claire hurt too?" he asked with concern.

"Doctor Keeply and the Official are on the second floor. The doctor is fine, but the Official has a pretty serious head injury," replied Eberts.

"What's the status on the building? How'd you guys get up here?" he asked as he stared at Darien's still form.

"Stairwell. It's blocked up, but we managed to get through," said Eberts.

"Okay, we're gonna get Fawkes back down to the Keep and the chief, and then we're gonna get out of this building," said Bobby as he put an arm under Darien's shoulder.

Eberts nodded and grabbed Darien's other arm.

Together, they hoisted Darien in the air and secured him firmly between the two of them. Despite his aching leg, Bobby ended up taking most of the weight. He looked at Eberts and nodded towards the stairwell door. "Let's go," he said.

**

"Eberts, we have to get the payroll forms sent off. Eberts, where are you?" the Official mumbled incoherently from his position on the second floor.

Claire rubbed a hand across his face. "Easy sir, you're going to be okay," she said in a comforting tone.

Eberts and Darien had been gone for nearly two hours and she was getting extremely worried. Her head snapped up when she heard muffled grunts and bumps coming from the stairwell.

"I'll be right back," she murmured to the Official as she got up and ran to the stairwell door. She opened the door and saw Eberts and Bobby struggling with Darien. "Oh my god," she said as she ran to Eberts and Bobby and took some of Darien's weight. The trio managed to get Darien out of the stairwell and out onto the second floor. They dragged him to the Official's position and laid him carefully on the ground.

Claire was instantly at his side, checking his pulse and then examining his back. She also noticed that most of his cuts had opened back up. She lay her head against Darien's back for a moment and then glanced at Eberts and Bobby, who had collapsed next to the Official in exhaustion.

"Are you two all right?" she asked.

They both nodded.

Claire took a closer look at Bobby and saw blood trailing down his leg. "What's wrong with your leg?" she asked.

Bobby peered at his leg and shook his head. "Nothing, just a scratch."

Claire rolled her eyes and moved over to him, pushing his pants leg up to examine the wound. She saw a large bruise accompanied with a fairly deep cut. She ripped a piece of material from her shirt and wrapped it firmly around the cut. Bobby yelped and paled for a few moments afterward. She eyed his head and saw a bump, but not much else.

"How's your head?" she asked as she probed the small bruise.

Bobby shrugged away from her. "It's okay," he said.

Claire stared into his eyes for a few moments and smiled slightly. "I'm glad you're okay," she said softly.

Bobby eyed her gently and smiled. "That makes two of us," he said as he brought her into his arms for a small hug and then kissed her on the top of her head.

A loud groan brought them out of their temporary stupor and their eyes both drifted to Darien, who appeared to be waking up.

Bobby scooted closer to him and grabbed his hand. "Buddy, you okay?" he asked with concern.

Darien rolled onto his side and looked up at him with tired eyes. "I guess your little source at Hobbesnet was…"

But he never finished the sentence. A wave of tremors suddenly drifted down the hallway and through the entire building.

"Guys!" yelled Darien in a panic.

Bobby instantly covered Darien with his own body as debris rained down on them. Claire and Eberts both dived towards the Official, doing their best to protect the boss.

The shaking swept through the whole building, further destroying furniture, supplies and the overall structure of the Agency. It also managed to clear some of the debris from the ground floor door, opening up a possible way out of the building. Further back on the floor in the Keep, chemicals that had been shaken by the first two earthquakes finally made a final descent to the floor to combine in one glorious chemical cocktail.

On the second floor, the friends and co-workers gripped one another tightly, trying to protect each other as much as possible. Bits of ceiling and glass pummeled them, but they all could tell that this was nothing compared to the previous earthquake.

After only a couple of seconds, the shaking stopped, leaving the group literally shaken, but not injured.

Bobby coughed as bits of debris found its way into his airway. He got off of Darien and sat back against the wall, trying to catch his breath. Eberts and Claire also separated from the pile of warm bodies, trying to regain their air as well.

On the floor, Darien was wheezing and panting, curling into a fetal position to stop the waves of pain radiating through his body. The Official on the other hand, had once again lost consciousness, and lay quietly and peacefully on the floor.

Back in the Keep, the chemicals on the floor began reacting violently to one another, smoke gradually wafting from the fumes. Within seconds, a steady flame was radiating from the mess and drifting through the Keep at a rapid pace, destroying everything in its path and about to wreak havoc with the only possible escape route out of the building.

TBC -god I'm evil. Next part by Mon, Tues at the latest.