Chapter 2
An hour later, Claire had come back in the room. She saw Bobby as he slept on the chair next to Darien's bed with an opened magazine on his lap. Lehana walked up to Claire, "He came in here to read to Agent Fawkes and then fell asleep."
Claire chuckled and shook her head, "How's Darien doing?"
Lehana handed Claire the chart, "Well, the CBC tests came back normal. His vitals are normal and he's been sleeping although restless at times."
"That's normal for Darien. I'm sure all the tubes are driving him crazy. Let's see if we can remove at least one of them." Claire walked over to Darien to wake him up.
Hobbes stirred when he heard Claire's voice, "Oh hi, Keepie. I must have dozed off. How's Fawkes?"
"I'm going to remove the endotracheal tube." Claire looked at Hobbes, "You may not want to be here. Remember how squeamish you were when Darien first talked about Allianora?"
"You gonna pull that tube out of his mouth?" Hobbes blinked as he tried to wake up.
"Yeesss," Claire drew out her answer.
"I'm gone; call me when it's over." Hobbes bolted from the chair and walked out.
Claire flashed Lehana a smile as they heard the door close. She bent down and lightly touched Darien's shoulder, "Darien, wake up for me." She watched as Darien moved with some agitation and then his eyes opened. "Your lungs are doing much better and I believe that you can breathe on your own now, so we're going to take the tube out," Claire was rubbing his arm gently as she spoke.
Darien lay there not sure what to make of all this. He was unconscious when the tube was placed and now he was awake. His vision was blurry but he did recognize Claire's voice. His face showed concerned.
"Now Darien, this is going to feel rather strange at first. You won't be able to talk clearly for awhile but your voice will return. I have a nice cup of ice chips waiting for you, okay?"
Darien nodded. He was still worried about what was going to happen. He watched as Claire injected medication into the port of the IV, "This is a sedative, Darien. It'll help you to relax."
Claire motioned to Lehana who was standing on the other side of Darien. She took his hand, "We're going to roll you over on your side."
Darien thought to himself, 'She woke me up to tell me she's giving me a sedative. So typical.' Darien was rolled over. His mouth was suctioned as Claire waited for the sedative to take effect.
Hobbes waited outside the room, pacing back and forth like an expectant father. The thoughts of the events earlier in the day came back to haunt him. No wonder he couldn't rest at home. The visions of Darien's lifeless eyes staring up at him as he pushed air into the empty lungs kept him from relaxing. He had to be near his partner to protect him, which was something he felt he didn't do a very job of and Fawkes was in this condition because of him.
After a few moments, Claire opened the door. Hobbes quickly stood in front of her, "How is he? Can I see him?"
Claire smiled, "Yes, he's fine and you can see him."
Hobbes was at Darien's side in heart beat. Darien was sitting up a little and Lehana was feeding him ice chips. Hobbes looked at Lehana and then at the cup in her hand, "Can I?"
Lehana smiled, "Of course, Agent Hobbes." She handed Hobbes the cup and smiled.
Hobbes happily took the cup and put the spoon in to scoop up some ice, "How ya doin', partner?"
"Okay, I'd feel much better if they take this tube out of my…" Darien said hoarsely before he was cut off by Hobbes sticking another spoon full of ice in his mouth. His throat hurt and the ice was soothing.
"Fawkes…there are ladies present," Hobbes flinched just thinking about it. "Try not to talk so much, Claire said it will take a while before you can shoot off that wise-cracking mouth or yours," Hobbes smiled as he fed Darien another spoon full of ice. "Lucky for us, huh? We get to enjoy some peace and quiet for a change."
Darien smiled as he let the ice melt down the back of his throat.
Lehana and Claire watched them for a moment. Lehana broke the silence, "Now, Dr. Keeply, get some rest." She paused and then continued, "Doctor's orders!"
Claire smiled and patted Lehana on the back, "I will." Claire left the lab to go lie down and get some much needed rest.
Hobbes continued to talk to Darien, "You know, kid, I think the doc over there has something for ya," he said softly.
Darien had a puzzled look on his face.
"That's right my friend, Bobby Hobbes knows the look that chicks get when they're interested." Hobbes touched Darien's lips with the spoon to let him know that he had some more ice, "I know your vision is all wacko right now, but I can see it, and she's interested in you Gilligan."
Lehana had heard what Hobbes said. She turned and started to walks towards Darien with a thermometer in her hand. She tried to stay focused on her job. 'I couldn't like this dude....he's okay...I know of him, but I don't know him…nah, this is crazy…but those eyes…' she thought to herself.
"So Darien, am I hot?"
Darien tilted his head and looked in the direction that he knew where Hobbes stood. Hobbes raised his eyebrow and looked at Lehana.
Lehana realized what she just said. Embarrassed, she tried to back peddle, "Oh…ah…sorry...I mean, you are hot...ah..."
Darien's eyes widen. Hobbes smiled and fluttered his eyebrows.
"Ah man, I mean, do you feel hot...I need to check your temperature," she held up the theromater strip to put in Darien's mouth.
Darien smirked in a hoarse voice, "I feel hot now."
Lehana forced a smile to hide her awkwardness. She placed the strip in Darien's mouth. While she waited for that, she checked his other vitals. She wrote down the results on the chart and then took the strip from Darien's mouth, "Very good, no fever." She took her stethoscope to listen to Darien's lungs. "Okay, Darien, take a deep breath in as best you can and then let it out. It may hurt a bit."
Darien did as he was told and it did hurt. His lungs were not used to breathing on their own yet. He winced at the pain.
"I'm sorry, Darien." Lehana listened to his lungs fill with air then release. "Do that again," she hated asking him to go through the discomfort again but she had to check his lungs thoroughly.
To Darien, it felt like someone was stabbing the inside of his lungs. He hoped that this wouldn't take long and now he didn't look forward to physical therapy.
Lehana asked him a few more times to breath in deep and let it out. She smiled and put the stethoscope around her neck. With a gentle hand, she patted Darien on his shoulder, "Very good, Darien, I know it hurt, but you did great. Your lungs sound clear. We're going to keep you in here for a couple of days so I can check you out...ah…oh…"
Hobbes choked as he tried to keep from laughing. Lehana looked at him with concern, "Are you okay, need some water?"
Hobbes put his hand up and shook his head, "No…no…I just… *cough*… swallowed wrong…*cough*…" he put his hand to his mouth.
"What I meant to say was so we can keep an eye on you."
Darien shot Lehana the 'oh swell' look. She smiled, "We'll have you up and around soon, so you won't have to lie down here the whole time. It'll be easier for you to move around once we get the catheter out."
"You gonna take it out doc?" Hobbes asked.
Hobbes smiled and kept a snicker from escaping his lips. Darien blushed and then he glared at Hobbes.
Lehana smiled, "Darien, I'm a physician, there isn't anything that you have that I haven't seen before. Well, apart from the gland in your head." She left Darien's side to go over to the table and look at the recent x-rays on the viewer. Her back was to the men and she closed her eyes as if in concentration. 'It's a good thing I'm black or else they would have seen me blush,' she thought to herself.
She sat down and became lost in thought. 'I can't be developing feelings for him. Girl, you read his file, he's a thief…ex-thief ...no matter…once a thief, always a thief…now that's not fair, you can't judge him that way…true…he has been through a lot though…like you…yeah…and look at you now…a black woman who became a doctor and is now working on a top secret government project…not too bad for a sista…you got that right…who is now attracted to a white man…and what's wrong with that girlfriend…who says you can't find love in another color,' Lehana let out a sigh and turned to look at Darien.
Hobbes and Darien were engrossed in a conversation with Hobbes obviously doing most of the talking. Darien would nod his head and smile every now and then.
"This is going to be a long couple of days," she said softly. 'I wonder if it matters to him that I'm black?' she thought to herself.
The following day, Lehana walked in and saw Darien sitting up in bed watching TV. She smiled, "So, they finally brought one in for you I see."
"Yeah, well, I'm the King of Complainers," Darien watched her as she picked up his chart and started to read. 'Wow, she looks like Vivica A. Fox…wonder if she did that on purpose? A fox…' Darien thought to himself as he stared at her. Actually he didn't even realize he was doing it. His eyesight had improved dramatically and now he could see her well enough and he couldn't keep his eyes off of her.
Lehana felt uncomfortable and she decided to just be oblivious to Darien's stare, "Anything you want to ask me, Darien?"
"Uhmm…no, other than when is the…you know…going to come out?" Darien had his hands folded in his lap as he tried to hide his awkwardness.
"Well, I'll talk to Claire and maybe we can take it out today, maybe even this morning," Lehana approached him to check his vitals and the catheter, but she wasn't about to let him know that.
"Whose the 'we', I mean, how many people do you need to take it out?" Darien blushed.
Lehana smiled as she waited for the pulse and blood pressure results, "Just one actually."
"Oh so do you all like draw straws or something?" Darien watched her movements carefully.
Lehana smiled, "No, actually one of the nurses takes it out." She took his temperature and that was fine, now for the catheter. She pulled the curtain to give Darien some privacy and put on gloves.
"Whoa, okay, what are you going to do now?" Darien asked nervously.
"I need to check the catheter, Darien."
"Ah, I don't think so," Darien grabbed the sheets and held on tight.
Lehana gave Darien a stern look, "Look, I told you yesterday that there isn't any part of you that I haven't seen already."
Darien sighed defeated. He let go of the sheet. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something else and keep his heart rate down. Then he heard the words he hoped to hear.
"All done," Lehana fixed the sheets and took her gloves off, "That wasn't so bad was it?"
"I'm not even going to answer that," Darien smirked.
Lehana forced a smile, "I'll be in the next room if you need anything, the buzzer is next to you." She checked her watch, "Claire should be in any moment now so you just relax and get some rest." Darien nodded and went right back to watching TV.
By the afternoon all the tubes had been removed. Darien was free to move around and was happy to be able to sit in the chair instead of being in the bed all the time. Claire walked in the lab and saw him reading.
"Glad to see you up and about," she smiled at him.
Darien looked up from his book, "Oh hey, Keep, yeah, I can see clearly now." Darien chuckled.
"And I see that you've regained your sense of humor." Claire approached Darien, "I'm glad that you made such a quick recovery."
Darien put his book on his lap, "Hobbes said that it was some poison gas that I breathed?"
"Yes, it was a poison gas similar to Sarin. Lucky for you though, by the time you went into the house it had already started to dissipate."
"Hmm…lucky me." Darien leaned his head back on the chair.
"Yeah, if you had gone into that house sooner, I don't think I would have been able to save you," Claire gave Darien a reassuring smile.
"Is that what killed those terrorists?"
"Yes, they inhaled the full brunt of the poison gas. They were knocked out before they knew what happened," Claire said as she started to take Darien's vitals.
"Were the terrorists planning on releasing this gas and they had an accident?" Darien asked.
"No, we found a canister connected to the air conditioning unit outside the house," Claire took his pulse.
"So, they were murdered, taken out." Darien looked straight ahead. He turned back to Claire, "Who would want to take out a group of terrorist with poison gas?"
"I don't know, Darien." Claire wrote in her chart.
"Doesn't make sense," Darien said. After a few moments of silence, Darien spoke again, "Hey, uh…now that I'm feeling better, is Dr. Rowe still going to be around?"
Claire looked at Darien suspiciously, "Why do you ask?" Claire questioned as she put the blood pressure cuff around Darien's arm.
"Oh, I just wanted to thank her, you know…for helping." Darien watched as Claire inflated the cuff and took his pressure.
Claire took the stethoscope off and wrapped it around her neck. She smiled at Darien, "Dr. Rowe will be back later on this evening." Claire made some more notations and held the chart against her body, "You're progressing well, Darien. I may even let you go home in 48 hours, with someone with you of course. But all that depends on how well you cooperate with physical therapy."
Darien rolled his eyes, "I'll behave."
Claire raised a brow at Darien's comment.
Darien saw the look he got from Claire and gave her his puppy look, "I promise."
"Uh-huh…well, we'll see about that." Claire had started to walk away and then turned around, "Do you need anything? Something to eat or drink?"
Darien sat up excitedly at the mention of food, "Oh hey, yeah, as a matter of fact I could use something to eat."
Claire smiled, "I see that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I'll see what I can do." Claire opened the door to be greeted by the Official and Eberts standing behind him.
"How's he doing?"
Claire looked at the Official then at Darien as she answered, "Why don't you ask him yourself."
The Official walked in and saw Darien sitting up and out of bed. He showed genuine gratification when he saw Darien, it also showed in his voice, "I'm glad to see you're feeling better."
Darien noted the tone and smiled.
The Official turned towards Claire, "How's the gland?"
Darien rolled his eyes, "One brief shinning moment and then that gland."
The Official turned around and glared at Darien, "What did you say?"
"Oh my bad, did I say that out loud?" Darien sarcastically said and stuck his head back in the book he was reading.
The Official huffed and looked at Claire, "Well."
Claire glanced at Darien and then glared at the Official, "As far as I can tell the gland is fine. The nerve gas is out of *Darien's* system," Claire punctuated his name and continued; "he should have no side effects and will be able to go home in a couple of days once all my tests are complete."
"Very well, Claire, good job to you and your team," The Official turned to walk out. As he headed out the door, he called back to Darien, "Welcome back, Darien."
"Yeah, yeah," Darien mumbled under his breath.
Claire walked over to him, "I know that he's glad that you're okay."
"Whatever, I'll never be more than a receptacle to him. The only reason why I got this thing put in my head was because of what happened to Simon Cole." Darien hissed.
"Now you know that's not true, it was Kevin." Claire looked solemnly down at Darien.
Darien shook his head, "Nah, Kevin may have had pull, but not that much. I mean, think about it Claire, you know what happened to Simon when the gland was in him. Would you have risked that again in another agent like him?"
Claire didn't answer; she only glanced away so she wouldn't have to look in his eyes.
"See, even you would have doubts. So, what better person than someone who doesn't contribute to society in a positive way at all, what's another thief sentenced to life in prison? Put the gland in him and if he goes wacko, we harvest the gland, no one would miss him, end of story."
"Darien, you can't believe that Kevin would think of you in that way?"
"You didn't know him, Claire. I don't see or hear from him in two years and then all of a sudden he pops up," Darien stared off, not looking at anything in particular, "I really don't want to talk about this now." Darien got up, got in bed and rolled over to turn his back on Claire.
Claire sighed, "Do you still want something to eat?"
"Nah, not hungry anymore, I just want to be alone."
Claire didn't say anything, she couldn't say anything. She turned around and walked out.
Darien was nearly asleep again when he heard the familiar sound of the door sliding open. "Claire, I thought I told you I wanted to be alone," he said in a disgusted tone.
"I'm sorry," Lehana said.
Darien quickly rolled back over. He had seen Lehana for the first time the day before, but today she looked different. He stared at her for a few seconds and shook himself out of the trance, "No, I'm sorry. I thought you were Claire. I thought you weren't coming back until later?"
Lehana walked slowly over to Darien, "Well, I was but decided to come back earlier. But I take it I missed something?"
"Yeah, typical Fat Man crap," Darien sighed.
"Fat Man crap?" Lehana asked.
Darien partly smiled, "The Official, he was in here. At first he sounded concerned about me and then went right back into his 'all I care about is the gland' mode."
Lehana sat down on the bed next to Darien, "Sounds like you need someone to talk to who's on the outside of this."
Darien looked around the room as he thought about Lehana. His memories went back to all those that were killed because they got to close to the gland, he couldn't risk that with Lehana, "I wish I could, but people seemed to get killed when they get to know the gland."
"I don't want to get to talk to the gland, I want to talk to you," Lehana smiled.
Darien cocked his head to one side and looked at her.
"What?" Lehana said with a slight chuckle in her voice.
"You have a nice smile." Darien rolled his eyes, "That was a corny pick-up line."
Lehana looked down at the sheets then met Darien's expression that showed embarrassment, "No, it was a compliment and did you mean it to be a pick-up line?"
Darien smiled, "Well, yeah, I was hoping it would have come out better than that. I haven't had much practice in the pick-up line department lately."
Lehana smiled widely, "Ah...so you don't mind having a little chocolate in your milk?" She winked at Darien.
"As long as you don't mind a little cream in your coffee?" Darien grinned mischievously.
"We would make 'light mocha'...my favorite flavor." Lehana raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"....a Mochaccino."
"....Colada..."
"....Kahlua..."
".....A Black Russian..."
Darien shook his head, "Nah....that drink is too bitter. We're sweeter than that."
"True....true…"
"I was hoping that me being white wouldn't be a problem," Darien's tone hinted that he was nervous.
"Darien, you're tanned, Larry Bird is white," Lehana joked.
"According to Bill Murray, he's clear."
Lehana laughed thinking back to that scene in 'Space Jam'. Darien took her hand, "I had wanted to ask you earlier but I never had the chance too. I mean, well, let's not relive that experience," Darien blushed. It was Lehana who ended up taking out the catheter. "I do want to take you out to dinner, you know, a 'thank you' for saving my life."
"Is that all, just a 'thank you' or is it something more?"
"I mean, I hope it could be something more. And you're right; I do need someone outside to talk to. I know this is sudden, but at least let me take you out to dinner." Darien gave her his infamous puppy-in-the-store-window look.
"Now, how can I resist you when you look at me like that? Besides, it's not sudden. I would love to go out with you. But first, I have to take some vitals. It's been a couple of hours and we need to have an update." Lehana got up to get his chart when she felt the grip on her hand tighten.
She looked at her hand and then looked at Darien. Lehana felt herself being pulled towards him, she didn't fight him. She allowed him to pull her down until they were merely inches apart. "Darien?"
"Shhh," Darien whispered as his hand went to the back of her head. He leaned up and their lips lightly touched. He backed away to see what her response would be. She didn't back away; she parted her lips slightly and gazed into his eyes. Darien met her lips again with his and this time the kiss had more passion in it.
When they finally broke the kiss for air, both were panting. "Darien, your hand is cold," Lehana said.
Darien took his hand quickly, "Aw crap, aw crap." Darien's entire arm disappeared and then part of his chest. "Damn gland."
"What's wrong? Is it the sarin gas? I better call Claire," Lehana said in a panic tone and got up from the bed to call Claire.
"No, no, no…it's just the gland. It does this when I…uhm…get…well…"
Lehana's face turned from fear to realization, "Oh…OH!"
"Yeah," Darien said embarrassed.
"But we were just kissing," Lehana said surprised that Darien would react in that way from a simple kiss.
"Yeah, well, I don't get out much, ya' know what I mean?" Darien's arm and chest reappeared in a burst of silver flakes.
"How interesting?"
Darien did a double take, "What, you find that I don't get out much interesting?"
"Oh, no, I mean interesting that the gland reacts with your adrenaline even with *that*."
"*That* meaning sex?"
Now it was Lehana's turn to be embarrassed, she scratched the back of her head, "Well, yeah."
"It is what it is, unfortunately." Darien's tone sounded dismayed.
"Hey, it's all good. I mean, you got turned on by kissing me, what girl wouldn't want that?"
Darien half smiled, "I'm glad you see it that way."
"Uhm…I better check your vitals." Lehana reached for the chart and took the stethoscope off from around her neck. She began to check Darien's vitals. It was difficult for her to concentrate; she kept looking into his eyes. There was definitely something going on between them.
Hobbes walked in with coffee cups in his hands, "Hey there, partner, thought you might like some coffee." He noticed Lehana, "Oh, hi doc, how's I-Man doin'?"
"He's going to be fine, no signs of any side affects so far. Cat scans are showing nothing out of the ordinary," Lehana smiled.
"So, what you're sayin' is he's got nothin' up there in the ol' noggin?"
"Very funny," Darien said sarcastically.
Hobbes walked over and handed Darien some coffee, "I've been checking Hobbesnet on what happened the yesterday," he took the cover off of his coffee and took a sip.
"And?" Darien asked.
"Nothin'."
"Hmmm, now why doesn't that surprise me?" Darien took a sip of his coffee.
"Don't worry, I'll find out who did this to you. Bobby Hobbes won't rest until all stones are turned over, my friend." Hobbes sounded confident.
~*~
A couple of days later Darien was able to go home. Lehana and Claire both took turns in checking up on him. They would stay for a couple of hours and sometimes Hobbes and Alex stopped by, but not for long, they were both working on leads.
Darien slept most of the time; the two doctors rarely gave him time to rest while he was at the Agency. Every now and then he managed to get out of bed for awhile and do his rehab exercises when the physical therapist showed up. Soon he would be back on duty, but for now, he was given the go ahead to leave his apartment. Which meant he was about to go on his big dinner date with Lehana.
Hobbes decided to pay his tall friend a visit and see how he was managing. He knocked on the door and heard some swearing. His forehead furrowed at the sounds he heard, "Geesh, Fawkes, cursing like a sailor isn't gonna get you far. You need some serious help, my friend." Hobbes raised his voice a little, "Easy there big guy, it's just me."
Hobbes heard Darien unlock his door. "Okay, come in!" Darien sounded a little anxious.
He walked in his partner's apartment and gazed around at the mess. Clothes were scattered everywhere. "What's the matter, cleaning lady forgot to come by?"
Darien stood there wearing only a towel and looked flustered. Hobbes took in the sight before him, "What? You two planning on going to the nude beach or something?"
Darien put his hands on his hips, "For your information, I'm taking her to Emerald's Chinese Restaurant."
"Not dressed like that you aren't," Hobbes went over to Darien's refrigerator and pulled out a beer. He popped it open and sat down at the small bar. He watched Darien rummage through his closet, clothes flew out as he went. Hobbes took a sip and then took pity on Darien, "Need help there my no fashion sense friend?"
Darien's head peeked out from his closet with an annoyed look on his face, "I've got fashion sense."
"Yeah, sure you do Mr. Barfly," Hobbes got up from stool and strolled over to Darien's closet. He took a peek inside, "Whoa…this is all you got?"
Darien rolled his eyes, "Come on man, give me some slack here. I like my clothes."
"Yeah, and so does Goodwill." Hobbes shifted through some clothes, "Look you want to date her, not scare the livin' crap of her."
Darien folded his arms and watched Hobbes. Suddenly a pair of black jeans hit him in the face. "Here these are nice…oh and so is this," he tossed Darien a nice white sweater. "Now for some shoes…ah…hello…" Hobbes held up some black boots, "Now we're talking…how come you don't wear these?"
"I like the shoes I wear," Darien retorted.
"Now to complete the ensemble, wear your black leather jacket." Hobbes nudged Darien with his elbow and then shot him a wink.
Darien went into the bathroom for a few minutes and came out all dressed. Hobbes whistled, "You're gonna knock her dead, kid."
Darien pulled out a comb. Hobbes smiled, "Whoa....she must be special if you're pullin' out the comb."
Darien smiles, "Okay...so I have a few more things to do..."
"Like shave and then what?"
"...check and make sure I'm lookin' cute for her..."
"Ah-huh...."
"....check and make sure I'm packin' loot for her..."
"For what..."
"...cause I'm about to shut down the bar for her…"
"Oh...very smooth...and..."
"...open up the car door for her..."
Bobby gave Darien a low-five.
TBC…
An hour later, Claire had come back in the room. She saw Bobby as he slept on the chair next to Darien's bed with an opened magazine on his lap. Lehana walked up to Claire, "He came in here to read to Agent Fawkes and then fell asleep."
Claire chuckled and shook her head, "How's Darien doing?"
Lehana handed Claire the chart, "Well, the CBC tests came back normal. His vitals are normal and he's been sleeping although restless at times."
"That's normal for Darien. I'm sure all the tubes are driving him crazy. Let's see if we can remove at least one of them." Claire walked over to Darien to wake him up.
Hobbes stirred when he heard Claire's voice, "Oh hi, Keepie. I must have dozed off. How's Fawkes?"
"I'm going to remove the endotracheal tube." Claire looked at Hobbes, "You may not want to be here. Remember how squeamish you were when Darien first talked about Allianora?"
"You gonna pull that tube out of his mouth?" Hobbes blinked as he tried to wake up.
"Yeesss," Claire drew out her answer.
"I'm gone; call me when it's over." Hobbes bolted from the chair and walked out.
Claire flashed Lehana a smile as they heard the door close. She bent down and lightly touched Darien's shoulder, "Darien, wake up for me." She watched as Darien moved with some agitation and then his eyes opened. "Your lungs are doing much better and I believe that you can breathe on your own now, so we're going to take the tube out," Claire was rubbing his arm gently as she spoke.
Darien lay there not sure what to make of all this. He was unconscious when the tube was placed and now he was awake. His vision was blurry but he did recognize Claire's voice. His face showed concerned.
"Now Darien, this is going to feel rather strange at first. You won't be able to talk clearly for awhile but your voice will return. I have a nice cup of ice chips waiting for you, okay?"
Darien nodded. He was still worried about what was going to happen. He watched as Claire injected medication into the port of the IV, "This is a sedative, Darien. It'll help you to relax."
Claire motioned to Lehana who was standing on the other side of Darien. She took his hand, "We're going to roll you over on your side."
Darien thought to himself, 'She woke me up to tell me she's giving me a sedative. So typical.' Darien was rolled over. His mouth was suctioned as Claire waited for the sedative to take effect.
Hobbes waited outside the room, pacing back and forth like an expectant father. The thoughts of the events earlier in the day came back to haunt him. No wonder he couldn't rest at home. The visions of Darien's lifeless eyes staring up at him as he pushed air into the empty lungs kept him from relaxing. He had to be near his partner to protect him, which was something he felt he didn't do a very job of and Fawkes was in this condition because of him.
After a few moments, Claire opened the door. Hobbes quickly stood in front of her, "How is he? Can I see him?"
Claire smiled, "Yes, he's fine and you can see him."
Hobbes was at Darien's side in heart beat. Darien was sitting up a little and Lehana was feeding him ice chips. Hobbes looked at Lehana and then at the cup in her hand, "Can I?"
Lehana smiled, "Of course, Agent Hobbes." She handed Hobbes the cup and smiled.
Hobbes happily took the cup and put the spoon in to scoop up some ice, "How ya doin', partner?"
"Okay, I'd feel much better if they take this tube out of my…" Darien said hoarsely before he was cut off by Hobbes sticking another spoon full of ice in his mouth. His throat hurt and the ice was soothing.
"Fawkes…there are ladies present," Hobbes flinched just thinking about it. "Try not to talk so much, Claire said it will take a while before you can shoot off that wise-cracking mouth or yours," Hobbes smiled as he fed Darien another spoon full of ice. "Lucky for us, huh? We get to enjoy some peace and quiet for a change."
Darien smiled as he let the ice melt down the back of his throat.
Lehana and Claire watched them for a moment. Lehana broke the silence, "Now, Dr. Keeply, get some rest." She paused and then continued, "Doctor's orders!"
Claire smiled and patted Lehana on the back, "I will." Claire left the lab to go lie down and get some much needed rest.
Hobbes continued to talk to Darien, "You know, kid, I think the doc over there has something for ya," he said softly.
Darien had a puzzled look on his face.
"That's right my friend, Bobby Hobbes knows the look that chicks get when they're interested." Hobbes touched Darien's lips with the spoon to let him know that he had some more ice, "I know your vision is all wacko right now, but I can see it, and she's interested in you Gilligan."
Lehana had heard what Hobbes said. She turned and started to walks towards Darien with a thermometer in her hand. She tried to stay focused on her job. 'I couldn't like this dude....he's okay...I know of him, but I don't know him…nah, this is crazy…but those eyes…' she thought to herself.
"So Darien, am I hot?"
Darien tilted his head and looked in the direction that he knew where Hobbes stood. Hobbes raised his eyebrow and looked at Lehana.
Lehana realized what she just said. Embarrassed, she tried to back peddle, "Oh…ah…sorry...I mean, you are hot...ah..."
Darien's eyes widen. Hobbes smiled and fluttered his eyebrows.
"Ah man, I mean, do you feel hot...I need to check your temperature," she held up the theromater strip to put in Darien's mouth.
Darien smirked in a hoarse voice, "I feel hot now."
Lehana forced a smile to hide her awkwardness. She placed the strip in Darien's mouth. While she waited for that, she checked his other vitals. She wrote down the results on the chart and then took the strip from Darien's mouth, "Very good, no fever." She took her stethoscope to listen to Darien's lungs. "Okay, Darien, take a deep breath in as best you can and then let it out. It may hurt a bit."
Darien did as he was told and it did hurt. His lungs were not used to breathing on their own yet. He winced at the pain.
"I'm sorry, Darien." Lehana listened to his lungs fill with air then release. "Do that again," she hated asking him to go through the discomfort again but she had to check his lungs thoroughly.
To Darien, it felt like someone was stabbing the inside of his lungs. He hoped that this wouldn't take long and now he didn't look forward to physical therapy.
Lehana asked him a few more times to breath in deep and let it out. She smiled and put the stethoscope around her neck. With a gentle hand, she patted Darien on his shoulder, "Very good, Darien, I know it hurt, but you did great. Your lungs sound clear. We're going to keep you in here for a couple of days so I can check you out...ah…oh…"
Hobbes choked as he tried to keep from laughing. Lehana looked at him with concern, "Are you okay, need some water?"
Hobbes put his hand up and shook his head, "No…no…I just… *cough*… swallowed wrong…*cough*…" he put his hand to his mouth.
"What I meant to say was so we can keep an eye on you."
Darien shot Lehana the 'oh swell' look. She smiled, "We'll have you up and around soon, so you won't have to lie down here the whole time. It'll be easier for you to move around once we get the catheter out."
"You gonna take it out doc?" Hobbes asked.
Hobbes smiled and kept a snicker from escaping his lips. Darien blushed and then he glared at Hobbes.
Lehana smiled, "Darien, I'm a physician, there isn't anything that you have that I haven't seen before. Well, apart from the gland in your head." She left Darien's side to go over to the table and look at the recent x-rays on the viewer. Her back was to the men and she closed her eyes as if in concentration. 'It's a good thing I'm black or else they would have seen me blush,' she thought to herself.
She sat down and became lost in thought. 'I can't be developing feelings for him. Girl, you read his file, he's a thief…ex-thief ...no matter…once a thief, always a thief…now that's not fair, you can't judge him that way…true…he has been through a lot though…like you…yeah…and look at you now…a black woman who became a doctor and is now working on a top secret government project…not too bad for a sista…you got that right…who is now attracted to a white man…and what's wrong with that girlfriend…who says you can't find love in another color,' Lehana let out a sigh and turned to look at Darien.
Hobbes and Darien were engrossed in a conversation with Hobbes obviously doing most of the talking. Darien would nod his head and smile every now and then.
"This is going to be a long couple of days," she said softly. 'I wonder if it matters to him that I'm black?' she thought to herself.
The following day, Lehana walked in and saw Darien sitting up in bed watching TV. She smiled, "So, they finally brought one in for you I see."
"Yeah, well, I'm the King of Complainers," Darien watched her as she picked up his chart and started to read. 'Wow, she looks like Vivica A. Fox…wonder if she did that on purpose? A fox…' Darien thought to himself as he stared at her. Actually he didn't even realize he was doing it. His eyesight had improved dramatically and now he could see her well enough and he couldn't keep his eyes off of her.
Lehana felt uncomfortable and she decided to just be oblivious to Darien's stare, "Anything you want to ask me, Darien?"
"Uhmm…no, other than when is the…you know…going to come out?" Darien had his hands folded in his lap as he tried to hide his awkwardness.
"Well, I'll talk to Claire and maybe we can take it out today, maybe even this morning," Lehana approached him to check his vitals and the catheter, but she wasn't about to let him know that.
"Whose the 'we', I mean, how many people do you need to take it out?" Darien blushed.
Lehana smiled as she waited for the pulse and blood pressure results, "Just one actually."
"Oh so do you all like draw straws or something?" Darien watched her movements carefully.
Lehana smiled, "No, actually one of the nurses takes it out." She took his temperature and that was fine, now for the catheter. She pulled the curtain to give Darien some privacy and put on gloves.
"Whoa, okay, what are you going to do now?" Darien asked nervously.
"I need to check the catheter, Darien."
"Ah, I don't think so," Darien grabbed the sheets and held on tight.
Lehana gave Darien a stern look, "Look, I told you yesterday that there isn't any part of you that I haven't seen already."
Darien sighed defeated. He let go of the sheet. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something else and keep his heart rate down. Then he heard the words he hoped to hear.
"All done," Lehana fixed the sheets and took her gloves off, "That wasn't so bad was it?"
"I'm not even going to answer that," Darien smirked.
Lehana forced a smile, "I'll be in the next room if you need anything, the buzzer is next to you." She checked her watch, "Claire should be in any moment now so you just relax and get some rest." Darien nodded and went right back to watching TV.
By the afternoon all the tubes had been removed. Darien was free to move around and was happy to be able to sit in the chair instead of being in the bed all the time. Claire walked in the lab and saw him reading.
"Glad to see you up and about," she smiled at him.
Darien looked up from his book, "Oh hey, Keep, yeah, I can see clearly now." Darien chuckled.
"And I see that you've regained your sense of humor." Claire approached Darien, "I'm glad that you made such a quick recovery."
Darien put his book on his lap, "Hobbes said that it was some poison gas that I breathed?"
"Yes, it was a poison gas similar to Sarin. Lucky for you though, by the time you went into the house it had already started to dissipate."
"Hmm…lucky me." Darien leaned his head back on the chair.
"Yeah, if you had gone into that house sooner, I don't think I would have been able to save you," Claire gave Darien a reassuring smile.
"Is that what killed those terrorists?"
"Yes, they inhaled the full brunt of the poison gas. They were knocked out before they knew what happened," Claire said as she started to take Darien's vitals.
"Were the terrorists planning on releasing this gas and they had an accident?" Darien asked.
"No, we found a canister connected to the air conditioning unit outside the house," Claire took his pulse.
"So, they were murdered, taken out." Darien looked straight ahead. He turned back to Claire, "Who would want to take out a group of terrorist with poison gas?"
"I don't know, Darien." Claire wrote in her chart.
"Doesn't make sense," Darien said. After a few moments of silence, Darien spoke again, "Hey, uh…now that I'm feeling better, is Dr. Rowe still going to be around?"
Claire looked at Darien suspiciously, "Why do you ask?" Claire questioned as she put the blood pressure cuff around Darien's arm.
"Oh, I just wanted to thank her, you know…for helping." Darien watched as Claire inflated the cuff and took his pressure.
Claire took the stethoscope off and wrapped it around her neck. She smiled at Darien, "Dr. Rowe will be back later on this evening." Claire made some more notations and held the chart against her body, "You're progressing well, Darien. I may even let you go home in 48 hours, with someone with you of course. But all that depends on how well you cooperate with physical therapy."
Darien rolled his eyes, "I'll behave."
Claire raised a brow at Darien's comment.
Darien saw the look he got from Claire and gave her his puppy look, "I promise."
"Uh-huh…well, we'll see about that." Claire had started to walk away and then turned around, "Do you need anything? Something to eat or drink?"
Darien sat up excitedly at the mention of food, "Oh hey, yeah, as a matter of fact I could use something to eat."
Claire smiled, "I see that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach. I'll see what I can do." Claire opened the door to be greeted by the Official and Eberts standing behind him.
"How's he doing?"
Claire looked at the Official then at Darien as she answered, "Why don't you ask him yourself."
The Official walked in and saw Darien sitting up and out of bed. He showed genuine gratification when he saw Darien, it also showed in his voice, "I'm glad to see you're feeling better."
Darien noted the tone and smiled.
The Official turned towards Claire, "How's the gland?"
Darien rolled his eyes, "One brief shinning moment and then that gland."
The Official turned around and glared at Darien, "What did you say?"
"Oh my bad, did I say that out loud?" Darien sarcastically said and stuck his head back in the book he was reading.
The Official huffed and looked at Claire, "Well."
Claire glanced at Darien and then glared at the Official, "As far as I can tell the gland is fine. The nerve gas is out of *Darien's* system," Claire punctuated his name and continued; "he should have no side effects and will be able to go home in a couple of days once all my tests are complete."
"Very well, Claire, good job to you and your team," The Official turned to walk out. As he headed out the door, he called back to Darien, "Welcome back, Darien."
"Yeah, yeah," Darien mumbled under his breath.
Claire walked over to him, "I know that he's glad that you're okay."
"Whatever, I'll never be more than a receptacle to him. The only reason why I got this thing put in my head was because of what happened to Simon Cole." Darien hissed.
"Now you know that's not true, it was Kevin." Claire looked solemnly down at Darien.
Darien shook his head, "Nah, Kevin may have had pull, but not that much. I mean, think about it Claire, you know what happened to Simon when the gland was in him. Would you have risked that again in another agent like him?"
Claire didn't answer; she only glanced away so she wouldn't have to look in his eyes.
"See, even you would have doubts. So, what better person than someone who doesn't contribute to society in a positive way at all, what's another thief sentenced to life in prison? Put the gland in him and if he goes wacko, we harvest the gland, no one would miss him, end of story."
"Darien, you can't believe that Kevin would think of you in that way?"
"You didn't know him, Claire. I don't see or hear from him in two years and then all of a sudden he pops up," Darien stared off, not looking at anything in particular, "I really don't want to talk about this now." Darien got up, got in bed and rolled over to turn his back on Claire.
Claire sighed, "Do you still want something to eat?"
"Nah, not hungry anymore, I just want to be alone."
Claire didn't say anything, she couldn't say anything. She turned around and walked out.
Darien was nearly asleep again when he heard the familiar sound of the door sliding open. "Claire, I thought I told you I wanted to be alone," he said in a disgusted tone.
"I'm sorry," Lehana said.
Darien quickly rolled back over. He had seen Lehana for the first time the day before, but today she looked different. He stared at her for a few seconds and shook himself out of the trance, "No, I'm sorry. I thought you were Claire. I thought you weren't coming back until later?"
Lehana walked slowly over to Darien, "Well, I was but decided to come back earlier. But I take it I missed something?"
"Yeah, typical Fat Man crap," Darien sighed.
"Fat Man crap?" Lehana asked.
Darien partly smiled, "The Official, he was in here. At first he sounded concerned about me and then went right back into his 'all I care about is the gland' mode."
Lehana sat down on the bed next to Darien, "Sounds like you need someone to talk to who's on the outside of this."
Darien looked around the room as he thought about Lehana. His memories went back to all those that were killed because they got to close to the gland, he couldn't risk that with Lehana, "I wish I could, but people seemed to get killed when they get to know the gland."
"I don't want to get to talk to the gland, I want to talk to you," Lehana smiled.
Darien cocked his head to one side and looked at her.
"What?" Lehana said with a slight chuckle in her voice.
"You have a nice smile." Darien rolled his eyes, "That was a corny pick-up line."
Lehana looked down at the sheets then met Darien's expression that showed embarrassment, "No, it was a compliment and did you mean it to be a pick-up line?"
Darien smiled, "Well, yeah, I was hoping it would have come out better than that. I haven't had much practice in the pick-up line department lately."
Lehana smiled widely, "Ah...so you don't mind having a little chocolate in your milk?" She winked at Darien.
"As long as you don't mind a little cream in your coffee?" Darien grinned mischievously.
"We would make 'light mocha'...my favorite flavor." Lehana raised an eyebrow and smiled.
"....a Mochaccino."
"....Colada..."
"....Kahlua..."
".....A Black Russian..."
Darien shook his head, "Nah....that drink is too bitter. We're sweeter than that."
"True....true…"
"I was hoping that me being white wouldn't be a problem," Darien's tone hinted that he was nervous.
"Darien, you're tanned, Larry Bird is white," Lehana joked.
"According to Bill Murray, he's clear."
Lehana laughed thinking back to that scene in 'Space Jam'. Darien took her hand, "I had wanted to ask you earlier but I never had the chance too. I mean, well, let's not relive that experience," Darien blushed. It was Lehana who ended up taking out the catheter. "I do want to take you out to dinner, you know, a 'thank you' for saving my life."
"Is that all, just a 'thank you' or is it something more?"
"I mean, I hope it could be something more. And you're right; I do need someone outside to talk to. I know this is sudden, but at least let me take you out to dinner." Darien gave her his infamous puppy-in-the-store-window look.
"Now, how can I resist you when you look at me like that? Besides, it's not sudden. I would love to go out with you. But first, I have to take some vitals. It's been a couple of hours and we need to have an update." Lehana got up to get his chart when she felt the grip on her hand tighten.
She looked at her hand and then looked at Darien. Lehana felt herself being pulled towards him, she didn't fight him. She allowed him to pull her down until they were merely inches apart. "Darien?"
"Shhh," Darien whispered as his hand went to the back of her head. He leaned up and their lips lightly touched. He backed away to see what her response would be. She didn't back away; she parted her lips slightly and gazed into his eyes. Darien met her lips again with his and this time the kiss had more passion in it.
When they finally broke the kiss for air, both were panting. "Darien, your hand is cold," Lehana said.
Darien took his hand quickly, "Aw crap, aw crap." Darien's entire arm disappeared and then part of his chest. "Damn gland."
"What's wrong? Is it the sarin gas? I better call Claire," Lehana said in a panic tone and got up from the bed to call Claire.
"No, no, no…it's just the gland. It does this when I…uhm…get…well…"
Lehana's face turned from fear to realization, "Oh…OH!"
"Yeah," Darien said embarrassed.
"But we were just kissing," Lehana said surprised that Darien would react in that way from a simple kiss.
"Yeah, well, I don't get out much, ya' know what I mean?" Darien's arm and chest reappeared in a burst of silver flakes.
"How interesting?"
Darien did a double take, "What, you find that I don't get out much interesting?"
"Oh, no, I mean interesting that the gland reacts with your adrenaline even with *that*."
"*That* meaning sex?"
Now it was Lehana's turn to be embarrassed, she scratched the back of her head, "Well, yeah."
"It is what it is, unfortunately." Darien's tone sounded dismayed.
"Hey, it's all good. I mean, you got turned on by kissing me, what girl wouldn't want that?"
Darien half smiled, "I'm glad you see it that way."
"Uhm…I better check your vitals." Lehana reached for the chart and took the stethoscope off from around her neck. She began to check Darien's vitals. It was difficult for her to concentrate; she kept looking into his eyes. There was definitely something going on between them.
Hobbes walked in with coffee cups in his hands, "Hey there, partner, thought you might like some coffee." He noticed Lehana, "Oh, hi doc, how's I-Man doin'?"
"He's going to be fine, no signs of any side affects so far. Cat scans are showing nothing out of the ordinary," Lehana smiled.
"So, what you're sayin' is he's got nothin' up there in the ol' noggin?"
"Very funny," Darien said sarcastically.
Hobbes walked over and handed Darien some coffee, "I've been checking Hobbesnet on what happened the yesterday," he took the cover off of his coffee and took a sip.
"And?" Darien asked.
"Nothin'."
"Hmmm, now why doesn't that surprise me?" Darien took a sip of his coffee.
"Don't worry, I'll find out who did this to you. Bobby Hobbes won't rest until all stones are turned over, my friend." Hobbes sounded confident.
~*~
A couple of days later Darien was able to go home. Lehana and Claire both took turns in checking up on him. They would stay for a couple of hours and sometimes Hobbes and Alex stopped by, but not for long, they were both working on leads.
Darien slept most of the time; the two doctors rarely gave him time to rest while he was at the Agency. Every now and then he managed to get out of bed for awhile and do his rehab exercises when the physical therapist showed up. Soon he would be back on duty, but for now, he was given the go ahead to leave his apartment. Which meant he was about to go on his big dinner date with Lehana.
Hobbes decided to pay his tall friend a visit and see how he was managing. He knocked on the door and heard some swearing. His forehead furrowed at the sounds he heard, "Geesh, Fawkes, cursing like a sailor isn't gonna get you far. You need some serious help, my friend." Hobbes raised his voice a little, "Easy there big guy, it's just me."
Hobbes heard Darien unlock his door. "Okay, come in!" Darien sounded a little anxious.
He walked in his partner's apartment and gazed around at the mess. Clothes were scattered everywhere. "What's the matter, cleaning lady forgot to come by?"
Darien stood there wearing only a towel and looked flustered. Hobbes took in the sight before him, "What? You two planning on going to the nude beach or something?"
Darien put his hands on his hips, "For your information, I'm taking her to Emerald's Chinese Restaurant."
"Not dressed like that you aren't," Hobbes went over to Darien's refrigerator and pulled out a beer. He popped it open and sat down at the small bar. He watched Darien rummage through his closet, clothes flew out as he went. Hobbes took a sip and then took pity on Darien, "Need help there my no fashion sense friend?"
Darien's head peeked out from his closet with an annoyed look on his face, "I've got fashion sense."
"Yeah, sure you do Mr. Barfly," Hobbes got up from stool and strolled over to Darien's closet. He took a peek inside, "Whoa…this is all you got?"
Darien rolled his eyes, "Come on man, give me some slack here. I like my clothes."
"Yeah, and so does Goodwill." Hobbes shifted through some clothes, "Look you want to date her, not scare the livin' crap of her."
Darien folded his arms and watched Hobbes. Suddenly a pair of black jeans hit him in the face. "Here these are nice…oh and so is this," he tossed Darien a nice white sweater. "Now for some shoes…ah…hello…" Hobbes held up some black boots, "Now we're talking…how come you don't wear these?"
"I like the shoes I wear," Darien retorted.
"Now to complete the ensemble, wear your black leather jacket." Hobbes nudged Darien with his elbow and then shot him a wink.
Darien went into the bathroom for a few minutes and came out all dressed. Hobbes whistled, "You're gonna knock her dead, kid."
Darien pulled out a comb. Hobbes smiled, "Whoa....she must be special if you're pullin' out the comb."
Darien smiles, "Okay...so I have a few more things to do..."
"Like shave and then what?"
"...check and make sure I'm lookin' cute for her..."
"Ah-huh...."
"....check and make sure I'm packin' loot for her..."
"For what..."
"...cause I'm about to shut down the bar for her…"
"Oh...very smooth...and..."
"...open up the car door for her..."
Bobby gave Darien a low-five.
TBC…