DS#10 Storms of Quicksilver (9/9 + Epilogue)
By Carol M.
See prologue for details
"Crap, crap, crap," muttered Bobby over and over again as he walked through the woods. The snow had stopped completely an hour earlier and now the ground was covered in several inches of thick white powder. This would have been good news to Bobby if he weren't completely lost.
He had started off on the path leading away from Jason's cabin and somewhere along the line had taken a wrong turn, ending up in a thick stretch of trees and shrubbery. His feet were frozen and his head was aching from the whack he had received hours earlier from his quicksilver mad partner. Things were just dandy.
"Eberts! Alex! Anybody out there?" he called out into the night. The only sound that greeted him was a slight rustle of wind through the trees. "Come on, quit playing hide and seek and come out with the big boys," he yelled out into the night.
This continued for another hour and as the time passed by, Bobby got more and more worried. Time was running out for his partner and his tracking skills, or lack there of, might just get Darien killed. "Monroe!" he screamed out into the night. "Ebes! Come on buddy. Come out, come out wherever you are!" he screamed.
"Robert?" he heard someone in the distance yell.
"Eberts?" Bobby shouted back.
"Hobbes?" he heard the voice of someone female yell.
"Monroe. Get over here," shouted Bobby eagerly.
He sank back against a tree and listened to the sound of moving brush and crunching snow as Alex and Eberts quickly made their way over to Bobby. When they finally got to him, he ran to them and gave them both huge bear hugs, surprising the hell out of both of them. "Thank god. Just thank god. Where's the Agency cabin?" he asked frantically.
Alex pointed behind her. "Back that way. Where's Fawkes and Claire?"
Bobby shook his head. "No time to explain," he said as he started rushing towards the direction the pair had come from. "You got a car?"
"Hummer," answered Eberts.
"Perfect," said Bobby as he continued through the brush. When he realized that Alex and Eberts weren't following, he stopped short and looked back at the pair, who were staring at him in stupefied silence. "Well are you just gonna stand there or are you gonna help me save Fawkes' life?"
The words broke the spell the pair had fallen under, and Alex and Eberts quickly dashed after Bobby, eager to get to the Hummer.
**
Katie awoke on the couch to the sound of someone throwing up. She quickly sat up and watched as her mother rubbed the back of her father, who was busy trying to keep his stomach inside his body. "Mommy?" she said with concern as Darien fell back to the ground with a muffled groan, sweat pouring off his body. "What's wrong with daddy?" she asked as she climbed off the couch and stepped to Darien and Claire with trepidation.
"Daddy's sick, honey," said Claire as she hid the bucket Darien had used to throw up in. The bucket that was currently dotted with blood.
Katie sat down next to Darien, who was breathing heavily and squinting like the light in the room hurt his eyes. When he noticed she was sitting next to him, he grabbed at her hand. "Kates," he whispered in a scared tone.
Katie latched onto his hand and gave him a huge smile despite the fear that was pounding through her tiny frame. "It's okay, daddy. You'll be fine."
"I'm sorry I hit you, sweetie," whispered Darien, his eyes wide with pain as he gazed at the bruise on Katie's face.
Katie put her hand up to her face and touched the bruise. "Doesn't hurt. You hit like a girl," she said teasingly.
Darien smiled and attempted to laugh, which only served in igniting his nausea once again. "Aw crap," he murmured as he leaned away from Katie and vomited all over the floor.
Katie glanced at the vomit in slight disgust, wrinkling her nose at the smell. "Gross," she said as she noticed the red specks. "Daddy are you bleeding? Why did you barf blood?"
Claire was at their side in an instant, already starting to clean up the vomit. "It's nothing sweetie, daddy's just got a bit of a tummy ache," she said, trying like hell not to scare Katie.
"I've had tummy aches before, and I've never spewed blood," said Katie as she gazed fearfully at Darien. "Is daddy going to be okay?"
Claire nodded firmly. "He's just sick, that's all," she responded.
"Okay," said Katie, not at all reassured. She glanced around the room and noticed the sheet draped over Jason's body. "What's that?"
Claire glanced at Darien with concern and then looked back at Katie. "Sweetie, why don't you help you're daddy. The ice box just ran out of ice, and I need to go outside and get some snow," she said, standing up. She walked to the sink and wetted a washcloth she had found in the bathroom. "Here, can you wipe your daddy's face with this?" said Claire as she handed Katie the washcloth.
Katie took the washcloth and nodded. She gazed at her father with tears sparkling in her eyes.
Claire noticed the almost tears right away and knelt down on the ground, taking both of Katie's hands. "Honey, I promise he will be okay. Trust me," she said as she leaned forward and gave Katie a tight squeeze.
Katie wiped at her tears and nodded. "Okay," she sniffled.
Claire stood up and kissed Katie on top of the head. "I'll be right back," she said as she stepped out the door.
Katie sighed and knelt down next to her daddy, wiping his brow with the washcloth. "Does it hurt?" she asked.
Darien stifled a snort. "Hardly at all."
"Daddy, don't lie. You're not any good at it," said Katie as she wiped off his cheeks and neck.
"Can't ever fool you, can I," whispered Darien.
"Nope," said Katie.
Darien closed his eyes for a minute and then they flew back open, his eyes wide with pain. "Katie, get your mom," he gasped out.
Katie nodded fearfully and tore out the door. "Mommy! Mommy!" she shouted.
Claire dropped her ice collection bucket on the ground and quickly ran towards her. "What's wrong?" she asked with concern.
"Something's wrong with daddy," responded Katie in a panic as she took a hold of Claire's hand and dragged her into the cabin.
They found Darien convulsing on the floor, his face etched with pain and his breath coming in short, ragged gasps.
"Oh god," said Claire as she quickly knelt down next to Darien to try and help him, leaving Katie standing beside them sobbing softly.
**
"That's it, right through the trees there," shouted Bobby as Alex ran over a baby pine. "Keep going, keep going, we're almost there."
"So Sullivan's dead and Arnaud got away," said Eberts from his position in the back seat.
"That's affirmative," said Bobby.
"And how did Arnaud happen to slip away?" asked Alex as she rolled over a patch of shrubbery.
"Just kind of disappeared into the night," said Bobby as he stared out the front windshield, eager to get to the cabin.
"Why do I think there's more to that story then you're letting on," asked Alex.
Bobby was about to respond when he suddenly made out the outline of the cabin straight ahead. "Whoa, whoa, there it is. Right there, right there. Step on it, sweetheart."
Alex did just that and less than a minute later, they were parking outside the cabin. Bobby quickly got out of the Hummer and dashed in the cabin with Alex and Eberts on his heels. They found Claire leaning over a very unconscious Darien and Katie sitting on the couch.
"Oh thank god," cried Claire in relief when she saw the trio enter the cabin.
"Is he dead?" asked Bobby as he knelt down next to Darien's still form.
Claire shook her head. "He's barely alive though. I nearly lost him," she said as she gazed gratefully at Alex and Eberts. "We need to get him to a hospital now."
Bobby nodded and moved towards Darien's head. "Eberts, a little help."
Eberts quickly stepped forward and grabbed Darien's legs, while Bobby grabbed under his arms. Together, they began hauling his body out of the cabin.
"Be careful, try not to move him too much," said Claire as she followed behind them.
Alex sighed and then glanced at the couch where Katie was busy looking at her feet and trying not to cry. "Katie, sweetie, it's time to go."
Katie looked up and nodded. She hopped off the couch and took Alex's waiting hand, the pair quickly walking out of the cabin. Once outside, the group of friends and family piled into the Hummer and tore off through the forest, leaving Jason's body abandoned in the cabin.
**
"What's the word?" asked Bobby nearly fifteen hours later as he saw Claire emerge bloody and exhausted from the surgical wing at the hospital where they had taken Darien.
Claire smiled and sank down in the chair next to Bobby. "He'll be okay. He's got some broken bones, multiple lacerations, excessive bruises and a bit of an infection. We were able to repair the damage to his stomach with no complications."
"So daddy's going to be okay?" asked Katie excitedly from her position next to Bobby.
Claire nodded and then suddenly burst into tears. Bobby leaned against her and took her in his arms, whispering reassurances in her ear. "It's been a tough couple of days. Let it out, just let it out, Keep."
Alex, who had been watching the exchange from across the room, quickly walked over and grabbed Katie's arm. "What do you say we go get your mommy some food?"
Claire took a deep breath and pulled away from Bobby. "No it's okay, I'm fine," she said, wiping at her tears. She gazed down at Katie and gave her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine sweetie. I'm just relieved your daddy's going to be okay."
"Me too," said Katie with a huge smile. "When can I see him?"
"Oh, not for a few days yet, sweetheart. They're putting him in the intensive care unit and kids can't go in. Soon though, I promise," said Claire.
Katie nodded sadly and sat back down in her chair.
"Hey, why the long face kid? Your dad's gonna be so drugged up he won't even know we're there. By the time you get to see him, he'll be making some sense," said Bobby.
"That's true," said Katie.
"See," said Bobby, glancing at Alex. "What do you say you and your Auntie Alex go check out the gift shop?"
"Yeah honey, it'll be fun. You can pick out a cool get well present for your daddy," said Alex, grabbing hold of Katie's hand once again.
"Okay," said Katie.
"Sweetie, when you get back, Uncle Bobby will take you to the hotel, okay. We'll probably go home sometime next week after your daddy is transferred to a San Diego hospital," said Claire.
Katie nodded and then let Alex lead her towards the elevators.
Claire watched them leave and then sank back down in her chair again. "Thank god," she whispered out loud.
"No kidding," said Bobby. "You did good."
Claire nodded. "So what's going on with everything?"
"Well, we sent a team with Eberts to get Sullivan's body and we also got a team looking for Arnaud," said Bobby.
"Let me guess, nothing so far," said Claire.
"You got that right, Keep," said Bobby.
"Don't hate me for saying this, but I'm actually kind of glad. Without Arnaud, Darien and the rest of us wouldn't have a chance in hell," said Claire.
"Yeah, the little Swiss bastard got a get out of jail free card today. But tomorrow, things go right back to how they used to be, meaning we nail his ass to the floor," said Bobby.
"Uh huh," said Claire, yawning.
"You need to get some sleep," said Bobby.
"I'm going to see if they'll put a bed in Darien's room," said Claire as she started to stand up.
"No, stay," said Bobby, gently pushing her back in the chair. "Just relax, I'll take care of it."
Claire nodded and leaned back in the chair, closing her eyes.
When Bobby returned ten minutes later, he found Claire sound asleep in the chair. He smiled slightly and then took off his coat, draping it over her sleeping form. Then he sat down next to her and waited for Alex and Katie to return.
TBC in Epilogue