There isn't much of a cliff hanger here, so save your ropes for later. I forgot to mention that this fic was my hubby's idea. One night while waiting for dinner, we did a little round robin type story telling and this is what grew from that.

Gone Fishing 3/9

Rangers Jones and Matthews did all they could to calm the campers down. Ranger Matthews told them to go back to their cabins and lock the doors.

The search team showed up and Heather Jacobs pointed them in the direction into the woods where her husband and Hobbes had entered. She watched as the team entered the woods and disappeared into the darkness. The woods were still very quiet and she didn't like the eeriness of the silence.

~*~

Darien stirred a bit and pain shot through him. Something had picked him up, ran with him and then suddenly dropped him. He thought he heard a voice calling his name. It was hard for him to hear with the sounds of two animals fighting near him. He tried again to get up, but again, he was lifted up into the air. "Aauughh!" Darien's scream rang through the woods.

The beast that held him started to run again. This one felt different to Darien somehow. The beast stopped and cried out in pain. Darien felt the grip weaken, "Oh, no, not again!" Darien hit the ground with a hard thud. This time he blacked out.

~*~

Hobbes heard the scream and chills ran through him. "Darien!!!" He turned around trying to get an idea on where the scream had come from. He heard another scream, but this one was different.

"Bobby, that didn't sound human."

"It wasn't human. Came from over there. That is what I've been waiting for. Come on."

They ran in the direction of the last scream. But they were not the only ones. The search team had been on the same trail and heard the screams as well. The search dogs had picked up the scent and started barking.

Hobbes and Jacobs could hear the dogs, "Well, looks like they sent out reinforcements. Should we wait?"

"No, I'm not waiting. He's close, I know it." Hobbes continued searching, listening for anymore clues.

They stopped as the sounds of animals fighting grew louder, the smaller trees were swaying and branches were breaking. Hobbes put on his thermals; what he saw made him jump. There was not one but two very large green creatures fighting.

"What is it, Bobby? What do you see?"

"Uh, we better go around this way."

"What is making that horrible sound?"

"Two very large bears. Fawkes must be close by."

Jacobs fell down and hit the ground. He turned his flashlight to see what he tripped over, "Hey, Bobby, I found him."

Hobbes ran over to him; he was out cold. "He's still alive. We don't have time, we need to get him out of here. Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. We'll carry him together."

They both picked him up and ran as fast as they could. One of the creatures started to run after them. Hobbes turned around and saw it closing the distance between them, "Aw, crap. We better hurry, Jacobs. We've got company."

"He's too heavy and it's hard to see where we're going." Jacobs tripped and fell to the ground, taking Darien and Hobbes with him.

Hobbes looked up and pulled out his gun. The creature was nearly on top of them. Hobbes took aim and fired.

~*~

The search team and the campers heard the shot, followed by a howl of some kind. Forest Ranger Jones yelled out, "Where did that shot come from?"

"Don't know, sir, it could have come from anywhere."

~*~

"Hobbes, what did you hit? I didn't see anything."

"That's why I have the thernight vision goggles."

"Hey, do you guys mind? Don't drop me anymore. I've had enough of that already."

"Fawkes, you're awake? Can you walk?"

"Yeah, I think so."

They helped him up and headed in the direction of the search team. It wasn't hard to find them with the dogs nearly running Darien over.

Forest Ranger Matthews was not happy with them at all, "You never go out into the woods alone. You should have waited for us."

"Yeah, well so much for that. We found him, didn't we?"

"Who has the gun?"

"Uh, that would be me. I'm Agent Robert Hobbes and this is Agent Darien Fawkes."

"Who is your friend?" Ranger Jones asked.

"I'm Richard Jacobs. I'm staying next door to them. I only wanted to help."

"Government agents, huh? Come on, let's get him back and have him checked out."

They made their way back to the cabins. Heather and her kids ran to meet their dad. Everyone cheered as they saw the search was a success and no one seemed to be seriously injured. Darien didn't feel like hiking up the stairs, so, he laid down on the daybed on the first floor of their cabin.

Darien suffered only bumps, bruises and a few abrasions. He told the forest rangers what had happened and they looked perplexed. No one had an explanation for what had happened. The only evidence they had were the footprints outside.

Hobbes gave Darien a mild sedative to help him rest. Then he called the Official to tell him what had happened and told him that he wanted to get Darien out of there in the morning.

"Okay, Hobbes, that's fine. Just make sure that Fawkes is able to travel. If not, go ahead and wait a day or two."

"Hobbes, I don't want to leave. I want to find out what happened. Maybe it's another Bigfoot."

"Which is exactly why I want to leave. I can't risk you getting hurt again. You saw what happened tonight. There are two of them out there."

"I thought there was only one?"

"They were fighting over you, my friend. I saw them, two males, I guess. That's the only thing I can think of."

"Aw, terrific!"

"I'll be upstairs if you need me. We'll talk about this some more in the morning. I'll show you the footprints outside."

"Thanks for going after me, Hobbes."

"You're my partner, partner."

~*~

After everyone had returned to their cabins, a lone figure stepped into the darkness of the woods.

"Sir, contact was made tonight."

"Good news, then. Do they suspect anything yet?"

"No, sir, my cover has not been compromised."

"Good, keep up the good work. That's why I sent you in, you're the best one for this job."

"Thank you, sir."

~*~

Darien moved and every muscle in his body protested. He moaned as he tried to sit up. Hobbes came down the stairs and saw the state his friend was in.

"You're in no condition to travel today. We'll have to stay another night."

"I guess fishing and canoeing is out for today?"

"Since when did you become the outdoorsy type?"

Darien was about to answer when someone knocked on their door. Hobbes opened the door and it was Heather with some breakfast.

"Good morning, Robert. I brought you guys some breakfast."

"That's nice of you, Heather. Please come in."

"I wanted to see how Darien was feeling also."

"I'm sore actually, but other than that; I'll live."

"They have spas here, you know. It might help with the soreness."

"Relaxing in a spa is just what the doctor ordered," Hobbes said, winking.

"Actually it does sound good. I'll do it after breakfast."

~*~

Darien grabbed his towel and headed for one of the hot tubs, wearing his boxer style black bathing suit. It took him awhile to get there, but when he finally made it, it was worth it. He sank slowly into the hot tub and let out a sigh as he settled in. He picked up the magazine he had brought and started to thumb through it.

The scenery was breathtaking. He put down the magazine behind him and looked around. He could see the mountain tops over the trees. When he closed his eyes, he could hear the sounds of the woods. Leila had taught him how to see with his ears and his mind.

The sound of someone coming up behind him broke his concentration. He turned around and saw Ann standing behind him. He turned back around and rolled his eyes. `How am I going to do this delicately, without hurting her feelings?' Before he could finish his thought, she sank into the spa with him, causing the water level to rise in a mini tidal wave. "Aw, crap."

"Hello, Darien. Is it okay if I join you?" She looked at him with huge blue eyes.

"Well, Ann. I think we need to talk." He would be lying if her beauty didn't catch his eye, but she was one for the direct approach. No waiting for the guy to make the first move. She was the type that didn't like waiting.

Ann moved closer to Darien and he saw that she was wearing a one piece bathing suit with a zipper in the front. It looked like it must have come out of the Victoria Secret catalogue and it showed off her beauty.

"Look, Ann, you're a pretty girl."

"So, what's the problem?"

"I have somebody that I'm seeing." Darien was thinking of Cordelia. He had decided he wanted to take the relationship with her a step further.

"So what, she's not here."

"Not the point. I love someone else. I'm not going to betray our relationship."

"The boys my age are immature morons. The only things they're interested in is sex and cars. You're older and more mature. You have a career and you're responsible."

"Kid, you don't know me very well. Listen, there is someone out there for you, I'm sure of it. Keep looking and your prince charming will show up."

"I already found my prince charming though." She jumped on top of him, "I found you."

Darien pushed her off and his muscles ached from sudden movement. He waited for the pain to subside. When he opened his eyes, she had positioned herself in a way that looked seductive. "Oh, Ann, please. It's best if you forgot about me. I think I should go. I don't seem to be getting through to you."

"I want you, Darien."

"Oh, boy. This has turned into one heck of a fishing trip." He got out of the spa and wrapped the towel him. He was aware of the eyes that were staring at him. He put on his t-shirt and headed for the cabin.

"Wow, Darien, do you work out? I thought you did, but wasn't sure."

"Goodbye, Ann." Darien did not know what he was going to do about this. He laughed at the thought of a 19 year old girl stalking him. He stopped and realized that that wasn't a funny thought at all. "Great, I'm being stalked by a crazed teenager."

The time in the spa did help him feel better, almost. His muscles didn't ache as much, and even the bumps and bruises were feeling better. He walked past the Jacobs cabin and thought about the situation with Ann. She was an adult, but they should know what was going on. As he stepped closer to his cabin, he saw Hobbes standing

outside by the back.

"Hey, what's up?"

"This." He pointed to the ground.

"The footprints are gone?"

"Looks like we have a case after all, someone is covering up the tracks."

Hobbes and Darien looked around. All they saw were some families, couples, and friends just having a good time. Some were coming back from the lakes or rivers and some were just sitting around relaxing, enjoying the cool mountain breeze.

"Hobbes, did you think that maybe it was the forest rangers who did this?" Darien was headed towards the front door, but he turned and faced his partner. He knew that look that was on Hobbes face. Darien shook his head back and forth, he knew what was on Hobbes's mind.

"Hobbes, look, I was dragged all over the mountains last night. I hurt and ache all over. You and Jacobs dropped me while running, not to mention I was dropped twice before you showed up. I'm on vacation. Let the authorities up here handle it. Besides, isn't this out of our jurisdiction?"

"We're government agents, Fawkes, besides it does involve us. You said it yourself. We need to find out what happened last night and why the footprints are gone."

"Hobbes, did you take your medicine today?"

"Yes, I did. That's why I'm the one thinking clearly here, my friend. There's a Bigfoot up here and someone is covering it up."

"Is everything a conspiracy with you? So what if there's a Bigfoot here? Let's leave tomorrow and leave the whole mess alone. If someone wants to cover it up, then let them."

Darien walked inside and headed up the stairs. He took his wet clothes off and put on some dry ones. He lay down on his bed, placed his hands behind his head and stared at the ceiling. `Who would cover up the tracks if it wasn't the rangers? Oh, come on, of course it was them! They probably know it exists and don't want to scare everybody away. Why am I lying here talking to myself?'

~*~

Darien didn't realize that he had fallen asleep until he heard knocking at the door. `Where was Hobbes?... Probably investigating the great Bigfoot conspiracy.' He limped downstairs and opened the door. There was no one there. He started to close the door when he saw his magazine. "What theI must have left it earlier." He went inside and a note fell out from between the pages. He gingerly bent down, the soreness of the bruises were making a comeback.

He sat down on the daybed and opened the note. It was from Ann, she wanted to meet with him to talk about what had happened in the hot tub. She wanted to meet him behind his cabin around 9:00pm. `Should I or shouldn't I? That is the question. Whether it's nobler to bring her down hard or bring her down soft? Man, I need to lay off the philosophy stuff for awhile.'

He decided he would meet with her after all. He looked at his watch, it was only 3:00 and his tattoo was half green. `I must have quicksilvered a lot last night. I still have time though.'

TBC...