Chapter 14
"We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us."-- Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-68)
As Stu sat in the abandoned car, he silently prayed, "Please God, just this once." He looked over his shoulder, "You ready, Tom?" He wiped his brow and gave Tom the signal.
Tom pushed the car and Stu yelled for Tom to get in. Tom hopped in and gave Stu a hopeful look.
"Well, here goes nothin'," Stu popped the clutch. With a shake and a cough the car started up. Stu smiled at Tom.
"We're going home, Stu?" Tom asked.
"Yeah, Tom, I think so," Stu started coughing worse than the car. He looked at Tom with uncertainty. He was sure Tom could make it but he wasn't sure about himself.
Darien woke up on the ground and attempted to shake the cobwebs from his mind, "What the…where am I?" He staggered to his feet and the corn stalks were nearly as tall as him. "Nebraska…I'm in Nebraska…again?" He started to walk through the cornfield as he had done so many times before.
Darien walked out of the cornfield and as he suspected, Mother Abigail was sitting there on her rocker. She wasn't alone. Nick, Sue, Ralph, Glen and Larry were with her this time. "I don't understand…what's going on here?"
"What's the last thing you remember, Darien?" Mother Abigail asked.
"I was walking, got heat stroke I guess…I passed out. When I woke up, I was here." Darien looked at the faces staring back at him, "Am I dead?"
Mother Abigail laughed, "No, Darien, you ain't dead."
Darien's memory kicked into overdrive, "Oh no!!! I remember…I was quicksilver mad…I shot Hobbes!" Darien collapsed on the ground, "I killed Hobbes…I killed him." He buried his face in his hands, "What have I done?"
Larry came over and knelt down next to Darien, "Hobbes isn't dead, Darien…he's still alive." He put his hand on Darien's shoulder.
Darien looked up, "What? But I shot him and left him."
"You didn't kill him, you still have time to go back." Larry stood up and walked away.
"But I'm sick, how can I walk back?" Darien asked.
"That has all been taken care of, Darien…now, wake up!" Mother Abigail instructed Darien.
Darien stirred and found himself in the middle of the road. It was day time and by the looks of where the sun was, it was early afternoon. Darien wobbled to his sore feet and weakly looked around. His lips and mouth dry. He forced his legs to turn the rest of his body around and head southwest. Unconsciously, Darien looked at his wrist, he didn't really have to; he knew already that it was full green. The voice in his head was gone.
"There was an explosion out west…oh crap!" Darien remembered the fire ball in the sky. "A nuclear explosion…" Darien said. With all the strength he had, he started to walk. Even though his legs ached, his muscles were cramping, his head hurt, hungry and on the verge of dehydration, he pushed on.
Darien had fallen a few times on the road, scrapping his elbows and hands. The sun was in the west now and Darien was getting worse. His vision was blurry; he was hot and hardly sweating. 'Not good,' he thought to himself. He started to laugh like someone told him a joke. Darien glanced up towards the sky, "A little help here, I'm not asking for much, but a little manna and water from a rock would be nice right about now, you know what I'm saying!" He fell to the ground and a cloud of dust surrounded him. Darien coughed and a puff of desert dirt flew up in his face, he rolled over unto his back and finished his prayer, "Amen." Darien passed out from exhaustion.
Where ever Darien was, it was dark and he was floating. He wasn't afraid anymore, he felt peaceful and that was something he hadn't felt in years. His thoughts were on nothing in particular, only that where he was he felt no pain, hunger and or thirst. 'So this is what happens when you die?' Darien thought to himself. In the darkness, he saw a soft circle of light, not too bright so it didn't hurt his eyes. He was curious about that light and focused on it.
"Fawkes," a soft voice penetrated the darkness.
'Kevin?' Darien answered
"Fawkes," the voice repeated.
'Kevin, I'm here, why are you calling me by our last name?' Darien asked in a tone filled with confusion.
"Darien," the voice now said his first name.
The small circle of light started to get bigger as Darien felt himself being pulled up from the abyss. He continued to hear someone calling his name. 'Wait, that's a…a…flashlight?'
Something wet was hitting his lips. Instinctively Darien's lips parted and he opened his mouth. He didn't expect the rush of liquid in his mouth and he coughed most of it up.
"Easy, drink slow."
Darien heard the voice and felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He panted hard, trying to catch his breath, but only coughed some more. His lungs hurt and he clutched at his chest. He wasn't dead after all and the voice he heard wasn't Kevin's.
"Ready to try again?"
Darien shook his head to show that he was ready and this time he was ready for the water. It burned as it went down, but it felt good. With all his strength he tried to open his eyes but he couldn't. He felt a wet cloth wiping his face and it felt cool against his hot flesh.
"Didn't I tell you that even with quicksilver you still need to wear sun screen."
"Hobbes?" Darien asked. His voice was raspy.
"Yeah, partner, it's me." Hobbes said with a smile.
Darien wanted to open his eyes but it was still difficult. He wanted to see if he was dreaming, dead or hallucinating. "It's true? I didn't …"
"It's not so easy to kill Bobby Hobbes, my friend. You still have the sorriest aim I've ever seen." Hobbes partly chuckled. "The bullet went through my shoulder, just below the clavicle. I bandaged myself up and came after your sorry ass."
Darien attempted a weak smile, "I'm glad." Darien lifted his arm to feel Hobbes.
Hobbes took Darien's hand and touched the top of his head with it, he was shocked at how hot Darien's skin felt, "See, it's me and I'm real." Hobbes heard Darien let out a sigh and then his hand fell to the ground. "Fawkes? Fawkes?" There was no response. Darien's breathing became rapid and deep. His body began to shiver.
"This ain't good. Fawkes, you better not die on me."
Hobbes got Darien to a motel and found a drug store. What he really needed was to get water into Darien and fast. He looked at the map of the city and found the nearest hospital. He looked back at Darien, he didn't want to leave him, but with his injury, carrying Darien was not an option.
Hobbes searched the emergency room and found the necessary supplies. A medical book, IV supplies and kaolectrolyte packets, he even took an IV pole. He found some of those instant ice packs, the ones that you break the pouch and you have an instant ice pack.
Once back at the motel, he threw everything down on the bed. He swabbed the back of Darien's hand with alcohol and inserted the needle. He taped it up like it showed in the book. The saline bag was attached to the pole and he had the IV started in no time. He broke the ice packs and placed them under Darien's armpits, on his neck, his head and his groin area.
Darien didn't like the pressure in his hand from the IV and he squirmed a bit. "Easy, Fawkes, it's just the IV," Hobbes said.
Darien opened his sunken eyes and Hobbes took a step back, "Oh damn, Fawkes, when was the last time you drank water?"
Darien answered, "I don't want to go to school Aunt CeCe…my tummy hurts."
Confusingly Hobbes answered, "Fawkes, it's me Hobbes, your partner, not Aunt Celia." Darien didn't hear him, he was asleep again. "Great, the kid's hallucinating, thinks I'm his Aunt Celia."
For the first couple of hours, he kept a vigil by Darien's bed side. Hobbes shook his head at Darien, "Didn't you know that you're supposed to have plenty of water. But then again you were QSM and not exactly thinking like Albert Einstein."
Hobbes read some more of the book and realized that he needed his own treatment. When he felt that Darien was okay and still had plenty of saline solution in the bag, he stood up to go back to the drug store. He was just about to open the door when someone knocked. Hobbes jumped and drew his weapon; he glanced back at Darien who was still sleeping. Hobbes peered through the peep hole, "What the…it can't be." He looked again, "It is."
Hobbes opened the door and stared at the woman standing in front of him, "Hello, Bobby. Where's Darien?"
"How did you know…?" Hobbes was cut off.
"I'm sorry, Bobby. No time to explain. I must see Darien…you know I can help him." The woman looked at Hobbes.
"Sure, yeah…come in. He's on the bed." Hobbes let the woman in.
The woman walked swiftly to Darien. She checked the IV bag and the back of his hand, "You did this?"
"Yes, I did." Hobbes sat down on the chair next to Darien.
"You did a good job. You may have even saved his life."
Hobbes watched Casey O'Claire take a quick look at Darien. "I'm still wondering, Doc, how did you know we were here and that Fawkes needed help?" Hobbes asked.
"Mother Abigail," Casey answered as she checked Darien's temperature. "Do you have any fresh ice packs?"
"Yeah, here," Hobbes got up and handed Casey all the supplies he took from the hospital.
Casey looked at everything, "Where did you get this?"
"From the hospital up the road," Hobbes said. He watched as Casey checked all of Darien's vitals.
"I'm going to need some more supplies. I need to insert a catheter." Casey started to make a list.
"A cath…catheter?"
"Well, yes of course. He won't be using the bathroom anytime soon on his own. Do you want to change sheets?" Casey raised a brow at Hobbes.
"No…and I really didn't need to know that. Now I'm getting a mental image." Hobbes said.
"Well, mainly it's to monitor urine output and the Foley catheter I'm going to use has a thermistor at the tip to monitor his temperature. I'll need to insert a nasogastric tube also." Casey saw the horrid look on Hobbes face, "I need to monitor any fluid loss plus I can feed him this way."
"How many things are you going to stick in him, Doc?" Hobbes asked looking at his very ill partner. Suddenly he felt guilty for not finding Fawkes sooner.
"As many things as I need to keep him alive." Casey gave Darien an exam. She noticed how blistered and swollen his feet were, "Hobbes, how did he get like this?"
"Well it's a long story," Hobbes grimaced when he saw how bad Darien's feet looked.
"Short version, you can tell me the long version later." Casey wet some towels with bottled water and lightly dapped Darien's feet.
"He was quicksilver mad and he walked, I don't know how far." Hobbes said.
"I checked his eyes, he's not quicksilver mad now, did you give him what ever it is he needs?" Casey asked. She couldn't remember the name of the drug.
"No…and that's a long story too."
Casey covered Darien's feet, "Well, judging by the sores, I'd say he walked for at least a day, maybe more." Casey stood up, "I need to get to that hospital. Show me where it is."
"I'll walk you there myself," Hobbes started for the door.
"No, I need you to stay here and keep an eye on him."
"Sorry, can't let you out there by yourself. Give me the list and I'll get your stuff. Just be specific." Hobbes held out his hand to take the list.
Casey saw the determination in Hobbes eyes, "Are you sure you can find everything I wrote down?"
"I found the other stuff okay, didn't I?" Hobbes let out a deep throated growl.
"Okay, but I'm also going to write some stuff down for you too. Don't think I didn't notice your gun shot wound. I'll need to fix you up as well." Casey wrote out her list and handed it to Hobbes.
"Lock the door behind me," Hobbes walked out.
Casey locked the door. She turned and looked at Darien. All the memories came back to her. The dates they had, the lie he told her, being taken to Mexico by some Swiss-French guy. "Forgiveness, huh? Okay, I'll try," Casey sat on the bed next to Darien and held his hand in hers.
Hobbes reached the hospital and he put on a mask to guard him from the odor. The hospital was the place where many flu victims surrendered to the reaper. He searched the emergency room and found the catheter insertion tray. Hobbes grimaced at the thought, "That's gotta hurt." He found the other supplies on Casey's list and hurried back to the motel.
Casey stayed at Darien's side and talked to him. She told him what she'd been up to the past two years. How she did think of him but she didn't go into details. She bent over and kissed his lips gently. Darien moved and a soft moan escaped his lips.
Casey traced his eyebrow with a finger, "Darien?" she said softly.
Darien slightly opened his eyes. He couldn't really see who was there, but he recognized the voice. At least he thought he did.
"Darien, it's me." Casey kissed his lips again.
"Casey?" Darien mumbled as his eyes closed.
Hobbes knocked at the door. Casey jumped up and looked to see who it was first. She opened the door when she saw Hobbes with a bag full of supplies. Casey took the bag and poured everything out on the other bed. "I found this little gizmo, its battery operated and I grabbed some more batteries for it too," Hobbes handed Casey a blood pressure and pulse monitor that goes around the wrist.
Casey looked at it, "Very nice, Bobby." She placed the batteries in and wrapped it around Darien's left wrist. She gathered all the catheter supplies and looked at Hobbes, "You may want to go outside if you're squeamish. For a woman, it's easier, but for a man, it's not very pleasant."
"I think I'll take you up on that offer. Let me know when you're done." Hobbes left the room quickly and waited outside. As hard as he tried he couldn't get the image out of his head of that catheter. He paced back and forth in front of the door like an expectant father. He jumped when Casey opened the door a few minutes later.
"Okay, all done." Casey shot her head outside the door.
"Really? I didn't hear him scream," Hobbes was pleasantly surprised and noticed that Darien was still sleeping.
"Well, I do have gentle hands. He did squirm a bit, but that's normal," Casey was preparing a syringe. "I'm going to give him Lorazepam to help with the shivers, it's a sedative." Casey cleaned the injection cap, injected the medication right into the IV line and then flushed the line with saline.
Hobbes watched with curiosity. "He's lucky that you're here. I don't think I would have been able to do all that."
Casey smiled at Hobbes, "Well, thank you, Bobby, but he's lucky that you found him and started the IV. You'd make a good paramedic." Casey walked over and kissed Hobbes on his cheek. She patched him up and put his arm in a sling. Casey looked at how tired Hobbes was. "You should get some rest. We're going to have to take turns watching him. I'll show you what you need to do later, okay?"
"You sure, I mean you did a lot already," Hobbes looked at the various tubes and beeping sounds that the battery operated equipment was making. "Is he gonna make it?"
Casey looked at Darien, "Yeah, Bobby, he'll make it." She had seen worse cases and the patient survived, but then again she took care of them in a hospital, not in a motel room turned clinic. "I'll take first watch to make sure I inserted everything okay. We may need fresh equipment once these batteries die down, especially in the ECG monitor."
"I'll see what I can do. Wake me in two hours." Hobbes said.
"Four hours and no less, you need to rest, Bobby. I don't need you in this condition too." Casey motioned towards Darien.
Hobbes smiled and went to the other room to rest; he shot his head in the door way, "Four hours, no more."
Casey laughed, "Okay, okay, just go to sleep." She moved the chair to the side of the bed. She continued to administer other medications to prevent damage or even failure to his vital organs. This was a critical time for Darien. Casey hoped that they got to him in time. She marked in her notes what she gave him, how much and at what time. Casey put her notes down and held Darien's hand. She watched as the tape came out of the portable electrocardiogram machine. Casey tore the tape and studied it; she smiled and patted Darien on his arm, "Good, very good."