Author's Note: Thank you for your support and reviews.  I'm already working on a fourth chapter.  I hope you enjoy this one.

Chapter Three: Darien's Dream

          The dreams had started to be less frequent, or at least they had been.  The one he had the day of Claire's suicide attempt was the first on he had had in three nights at the time.  Now they were coming back, a month later, full strength, however they weren't all sad.  He had been dreaming about his and Claire's future, their future family, and marriage.  Maybe it had something to do with the fear of losing Claire. 

            He still had a picture in his mind of Laria; it hurt his heart to think about her.  But now he had other things on his mind.  Claire wanted to try to get pregnant again.  Not right away of course, but this time on purpose. 

            Darien wondered how this was going to work out.  He loved Claire, and she him, but could they live together and raise a child, or children? 

            Darien pushed the negative thoughts out of his mind.  It wasn't worth worrying over.  

            "Fawkes.  Fawkes!" Hobbes' words penetrated Darien's thoughts.

            "Hmm, yeah Hobbes?"

            "Where were you?  You spaced out my friend."

            "Sorry.  Where are we?"

            "El Cajon.  Hungry?"

            "Yeah."

            "How's that restaurant look?"

            "Fine."

            Hobbes turned into the parking lot and turned off the van.  They went into the little by the side of the road restaurant and sat down.

            "So, Fawkes, what planet were you on back there in the van?"

            "Oh, I was just thinking."

            "Thinking?  About what?"

            "Stuff."

            "What kind of stuff?  Is everything alright?"

            "You know, Claire, Laria, type stuff."

            "I see." Said Hobbes sympathetically.  "Darien," he said seriously, "how are you doing?"

            "I'm…I'm fine Hobbes.  Its…its just, well, you saw what Claire went through.  She tried to kill herself.  What if I hadn't gotten there in time?  What if I had stayed at the house?  She would have done it. I would have lost her too." Darien said anguished.

            "Fawkes…Darien, she's ok now.  She saw the psychologist willingly.  He said it was grief induced.  She will recover."

            "I know, I know.  I was just so scared, and the dreams…"

            "What dreams?" inquired Bobby.

            "I…I keep dreaming about Laria.  What she would have been like, looked like.  She would have been beautiful Hobbes." Darien said in a rush.

            Bobby was silent, thinking to himself.  Darien looked at his partner, seeing the desire to help but not knowing how, in his face. 

            "Fawkes…" Bobby said carefully, "Have you considered seeing a psychologist too?  Now don't get me wrong, you're probably more stable than myself, but you did lose your only child.  Have you actually allowed yourself to grieve?"

            It was Darien's turn to be silent.  He didn't necessarily disagree with Hobbes, but he didn't really want someone picking his brain either.

            Thinking about Claire, he remembered that one of the things the doctor noted about her was that she hadn't allowed herself to grieve, she didn't want to show weakness.  But as a human being she needed the process of grieving to heal. 

            'Am I doing that too?'  Darien wondered, 'Am I refusing to see the truth?'  He knew that Laria was dead, but the dreams were so vivid and real, he could hear her laughter, see her smile.

            "Fawkes?" questioned Bobby. "Do you know what you want to order?" he said indicating the waitress.

            "Oh, umm…" Darien quickly scanned the menu, "a club sandwich, please."

            "Do you want fries or coleslaw?" asked the waitress.

            "Fries."

            "Anything to drink?"

            "Umm, water's fine, thanks."

            Finished taking their order, the waitress left.

            "So, Fawkes, thinking about what I said?"
            "Yeah."

            "And?"

            "I don't know Hobbes.  Dreams are normal right?  Besides, Claire wants to try again, not now, but in a few months."

            "Really, again?  Like, on purpose this time?"

            "Yeah."

            Bobby fought conflicting emotions.  It was hard enough to accept that Darien and Claire were together as it was, but now they were going to cement the relationship.  He knew that deep down he was happy for them, but there was still a flicker of jealousy.

            "So, you two are together, together now?  A couple?"

            "Yeah." 

            The idea was still foreign to Darien.  He loved Claire, and she loved him, he knew that, but in his world people usually got married first and then had kids, even if the marriage ended.

            Darien's thoughts were interrupted by the arrival of their food.  Darien looked at his sandwich, he wasn't very hungry.  He continued thinking about his life, watching Bobby eat his lunch. 

            'As if they gland wasn't complicated enough.' he thought, 'I just had to fall in love with my Keeper.'

            "Hobbes?"

            "Yeah?" Bobby said around a mouthful of sandwich.

            "Should I ask her to marry me?"
            Bobby looked at him blankly.  'The "M" word.' thought Bobby, his mind flashing back to his marriage to Vivian.

            "Well partner, you do love her,"

            "Of course I do." Interjected Darien.

            Bobby nodded, "and you both want to start a family.  So I don't see why not."

            Darien considered Bobby's words.  He had been tossing around the marriage idea since Claire had told him she wanted to try for another baby.  He and Claire hadn't discussed it, yet.

****

            After returning from what proved to be a false lead on Chrysalis movement, Darien went down to the Keep.

            "Hey Claire." He said walking in.

            "Hi Darien, how are you?" she said, sounding like the old Keeper he loved.

            "How's your day going?" He asked.

            "Good, you?"

            "Fine."

            "Time for another shot of counteragent?"

            Darien looked at his wrist, all segments were green.

            "Nope, time release stuff you cooked up works wonders."

            Claire hadn't been able to cure Quicksilver madness yet, but she had been able to reformulate the counteragent, making the dosage about every three or four weeks, depending on how often he quicksilvered.

            "So what do you want to do for dinner tonight?' Darien asked.

            "Can we order in?  I don't feel like cooking, and you cooked last night."

            "Sure.  Where do you want to order from?"

            "Umm, something Chinese."

            "Ok." Darien paused. "Umm, Claire?"
            "Yes?"

            "Umm, I was wondering… it's nothing.  I'll tell you later."

            Claire gave him a questioning look.  "Ok, I'll be done in about a half hour.  Meet me here?"

            "Ok.  I'm sure Hobbes or the Official have something they want me to do."

            Claire smiled and returned to her computer.  'How had she gotten so lucky?' She wondered.  Darien was a wonderful guy, who she loved and knew he loved her in return.

            She was feeling better now.  She was starting to look past the darkness that almost caused her to take her own life. 'Thank God Darien had arrived when he did.' she thought,  'I was going to pull that trigger.'

            Claire shook herself away from such thoughts and continued entering data into the computer.

****

            Darien came back down to the Keep in exactly a half hour.  Claire was shutting down her computer and putting away files. 

            Darien hadn't been assigned to anything else, so he had run down to the corner market and picked up a half dozen roses, red and white, wrapped in tissue.

            He quietly entered the Keep, flowers behind his back.  Claire was reading a sheet of paper as she unknowingly walked towards him.  She looked up just as she was about to walk into him.

            "Oh! Darien, you startled me."

            "Sorry, I was going to surprise you." He said, revealing the flowers.

            "Oh, Darien they're beautiful."

            "Yeah, roses for my rose." Darien said grinning foolishly, like any time when he did something romantic.

            Claire smiled and took the roses from him, placing them on her desk.  She wrapped her arms around him and drew him into a kiss, standing on her tiptoes.

            Darien was surprised by her action, but kissed her back with as much enthusiasm as she had shown. 

            Their kiss lasted longer than most and when they parted, both were breathless.  Darien smiled at her.

            "That was quite a thank you."

            "Hmm, yeah." Claire agreed, still smiling.  "Did you order dinner?"

            "Yep, we'll pick it up on the way home."

            Darien and Claire left the Keep and walked out of the Agency building hand in hand.  They got in Claire's car and when home, picking up their Chinese on the way.

****

            The "I'll tell you later." Darien promised Claire was three weeks ago.  He was too nervous to propose to Claire.  But why?  He loved her and didn't want to be apart from her, so why not make it official?  He had found a ring he liked and hoped Claire would like, it was nothing incredibly fancy, just a plain gold band with a diamond.  He had pondered about 100 different scenarios in his head on how to ask her.  Should he do it at home, should he take her out to dinner, or on a picnic?  Maybe they should go on vacation somewhere; they both had vacation time available.

            Right now they were home.  Darien was reading a book, well actually he had been on the same page for 10 minutes, thinking about Claire.  Claire was also reading, sitting in the corner of the couch, curled up with her book resting on her knees. 

            Darien was looking at her, in deep thought, when she looked up.

            "Darien?" Claire asked, a questioning tone in her voice.  "Darrieennn." She tried again.

            "Oh, yeah?" he said.

            "Enjoying your daydream?"

            "Yeah." Darien said, a shy smile crossing his face.

            'What in the world could be keeping him so preoccupied?' she wondered.  He had been spacey all week; there was something on his mind, but what?  Claire couldn't claim complete focus these past weeks either, but Darien's lack of concentration was more noticeable.  She had spent most of her free time thinking about their relationship.  She often wondered if they should or would get married.  It made sense to do so, but it also made sense as they were now.  In love, together, happy.  Happy.  'Is Darien happy?' she thought.   

            "Darien, what are you thinking about?" asked Claire.

"Umm, us."

            "What about us?"

            Darien had spent the last three weeks practicing proposing with Bobby's help, although Bobby's help had been less than helpful at times.  He was nervous.  He wanted it to be perfect, but was perfect at home in the living room reading?  Shouldn't it be at a beautiful restaurant or something? 

            Darien took a deep breath, reaching in his pocket where he had put the ring, still in its box, and stood up.  He walked over to the couch and sat down next to Claire, the ring box enclosed in his hand. 

            "Claire?"

            "Yes Darien?" she said, turning so that she was facing him completely.

            "Claire, I love you." Darien was trembling now, "I know we've faced trials that would tear a lot of couples apart, but I think Laria's death brought us closer together."

            At the mention of Laria's name Claire felt her chest tighten, she could see the sparkle of tears forming in Darien's eyes.

            "Claire, will you marry me?" Darien managed to say without stumbling, opening the box and presenting her the ring.

            Claire was silent.  Her thoughts raced through the last 11 months of their lives.  The unintentional consummation of their relationship, the pregnancy, Laria's birth and death, her suicide attempt, their recovery.  Their lives were just starting to border normal again.  Marriage.  She had pondered it, questioned it, and dreamed of it, she knew she had found her soul mate, it only made sense.

            Claire's thoughts only lasted a few seconds, but they were the longest seconds of Darien's life.  'Why isn't she saying anything?' he thought.

            "Darien," Claire said in a whisper, "of course I'll marry you." she finished as tears slid down her cheeks.

            Darien carefully placed the ring on her finger and wrapped his arms around her.  He was so incredibly happy his heart ached, the memories of the past year came flooding back and his tears soon joined Claire's.  The best of Darien's dreams had come true.