Back at Hobbes apartment the exhausted pair were on the couch with the TV's
blue light flickering over their faces. Darien had been out cold, but
started to stir. His head was propped on a pillow on Hobbes' lap and the
rest of him was folded accordion style on the too short couch.
Darien could make out that it was three AM on the clock over Hobbes small TV.
The pain was subsiding. "It's about time", he thought.
He struggled to get up. Two things stopped him: his own weak body and Bobby's strong arm pushing him down by his shoulder. Darien didn't remember where he thought he was going.
Hobbes even pulled a throw over his partner.
"Thanks, mom." Darien jibed.
Just for good measure, he gave Darien a dope slap to the top of his head, but he was gentle and avoided compounding the pain of Darien's throbbing skull.
"I have to admit that it feels good to lay here." he thought.
"No I don't." he mumbled, to himself. Then he realized he spoke those words.
"What 'no you don't'? No you don't have to go to school?" teased Hobbes.
"No, I was just.Nevermind."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Alright, I do have to admit, I don't mind these moments. They seem to be few and far between. No case. No bullets. No bad guys. And, relatively speaking, no severe pain. I'll take it!
The madness must have enveloped me. There were a lot of things going on last night. There was the tranq-dart and the counter dart thing. And the demon just came in and clutched me. But Hobbes caught me just in time, long before I knew what was happening. He caught me in mid-air as if I'd been tossed off a precipice into a fiery abyss. Nice to have a friend like that in the middle of all this madness, and I don't just mean QSM. Good to know he's keeping an eye on me. I wouldn't want to do this without him.
The TV is flickering with a mindless infomercial. It's about some dumb rubber band work out machine that costs way too much. These sales people are much too peppy for 3 AM and much too buff to have gotten that way from THAT piece of trash. But, Hobbes is checking my progress and he's not really watching TV. It's just on and he doesn't even bother to channel surf.
Now that's friendship.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hey kid. Ready to wake up and go to sleep? I'll even tuck you in." Hobbes asked quietly as he touched Darien's cheek gently with the back of his fingers.
"What happened? I mean, when I was 'under the influence'. Did I hurt anyone?" Darien's anxiety started to rise.
"Relax, partner. Everything's just peachy. Hey, you don't have to move until you're ready. And, it's Saturday, so, we get to sleep in, big time. Fat Man wants his report, he can wait till we're on the clock!"
"Thanks.
"Um, Hobbes."
"Yo."
"I had the weirdest dream! There was this Hungarian French gypsy woman or man or something, and you were about the size of Tom Thumb and Arnaud and Stark were there, and I saw this incredibly fabulous babe, but she turned into a man and."
Bobby dramatically brought the Pink Flamingo swizzle stick into Darien's view.
"Aw.no!"
"Yes, my friend, Chrysalis can now make Shrinky Dinks outta people and for grins and giggles they thought they'd try it out on me."
"Now my life is just PERFECT." Darien groaned as he started to remember more details.
"You remember smashing that dame's crystal ball?"
"Um.yeah. Sort of."
"And, that's when I got back to normal size."
"Oh."
"Once Arnaud does the molecular reduction voodoo with his mystery machine, the victims still need a focusing lens to keep 'em tiny. Arnaud was good enough to brag to me about all the details. My report will give Claire somethin' to use her pretty little egghead to figure out."
"Terrific! Don't you love it when the bad guys tell you their whole evil scheme?"
"Oh, and I owe you something." Bobby leaned down a placed a big sloppy kiss on Darien's temple.
"Yeeech!!!!!!!!"
Darien could make out that it was three AM on the clock over Hobbes small TV.
The pain was subsiding. "It's about time", he thought.
He struggled to get up. Two things stopped him: his own weak body and Bobby's strong arm pushing him down by his shoulder. Darien didn't remember where he thought he was going.
Hobbes even pulled a throw over his partner.
"Thanks, mom." Darien jibed.
Just for good measure, he gave Darien a dope slap to the top of his head, but he was gentle and avoided compounding the pain of Darien's throbbing skull.
"I have to admit that it feels good to lay here." he thought.
"No I don't." he mumbled, to himself. Then he realized he spoke those words.
"What 'no you don't'? No you don't have to go to school?" teased Hobbes.
"No, I was just.Nevermind."
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Alright, I do have to admit, I don't mind these moments. They seem to be few and far between. No case. No bullets. No bad guys. And, relatively speaking, no severe pain. I'll take it!
The madness must have enveloped me. There were a lot of things going on last night. There was the tranq-dart and the counter dart thing. And the demon just came in and clutched me. But Hobbes caught me just in time, long before I knew what was happening. He caught me in mid-air as if I'd been tossed off a precipice into a fiery abyss. Nice to have a friend like that in the middle of all this madness, and I don't just mean QSM. Good to know he's keeping an eye on me. I wouldn't want to do this without him.
The TV is flickering with a mindless infomercial. It's about some dumb rubber band work out machine that costs way too much. These sales people are much too peppy for 3 AM and much too buff to have gotten that way from THAT piece of trash. But, Hobbes is checking my progress and he's not really watching TV. It's just on and he doesn't even bother to channel surf.
Now that's friendship.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Hey kid. Ready to wake up and go to sleep? I'll even tuck you in." Hobbes asked quietly as he touched Darien's cheek gently with the back of his fingers.
"What happened? I mean, when I was 'under the influence'. Did I hurt anyone?" Darien's anxiety started to rise.
"Relax, partner. Everything's just peachy. Hey, you don't have to move until you're ready. And, it's Saturday, so, we get to sleep in, big time. Fat Man wants his report, he can wait till we're on the clock!"
"Thanks.
"Um, Hobbes."
"Yo."
"I had the weirdest dream! There was this Hungarian French gypsy woman or man or something, and you were about the size of Tom Thumb and Arnaud and Stark were there, and I saw this incredibly fabulous babe, but she turned into a man and."
Bobby dramatically brought the Pink Flamingo swizzle stick into Darien's view.
"Aw.no!"
"Yes, my friend, Chrysalis can now make Shrinky Dinks outta people and for grins and giggles they thought they'd try it out on me."
"Now my life is just PERFECT." Darien groaned as he started to remember more details.
"You remember smashing that dame's crystal ball?"
"Um.yeah. Sort of."
"And, that's when I got back to normal size."
"Oh."
"Once Arnaud does the molecular reduction voodoo with his mystery machine, the victims still need a focusing lens to keep 'em tiny. Arnaud was good enough to brag to me about all the details. My report will give Claire somethin' to use her pretty little egghead to figure out."
"Terrific! Don't you love it when the bad guys tell you their whole evil scheme?"
"Oh, and I owe you something." Bobby leaned down a placed a big sloppy kiss on Darien's temple.
"Yeeech!!!!!!!!"