Chapter 17

"If you don't like the way the world is, you change it. You have an obligation to change it. You just do it one step at a time."
-- Marian Wright Edelman (b. 1939)

The next morning, Darien found himself sitting on the new chair. Claire wanted to run some tests on the gland to make sure everything was okay. Casey helped and was amused that Darien acted worse then the pediatric patients that she saw.

"You know, I thought the days of this chair were over." Darien complained as Claire shined a light in his eyes. He blinked and moved his head away.

"Oh will you stop fidgeting," Claire demanded, "If you stay still, you'll be finish soon and you can have that snowball fight with Tom."

Darien had a defeated look on his face, "Alright, go ahead and blind me," he stayed still up to a certain amount of time. "Are you done yet?"

Claire turned and looked at Casey, "Do you see what I've had to put with for the past two years! Are you sure you want a lifetime of his childish behavior?" Claire was clearly getting annoyed.

"Must be the hormones," Darien smirked.

Claire glared at Darien, "Isn't there anything you can stay focused on for more than five minutes?"

"Yeah uhmmm…sure…there's…" Darien was interrupted.

"Darien, please…I don't think there's a man out there who isn't focused on sex 24 hours a day!"

"Well, you did ask…am I done yet?" Darien was now just trying to get under Claire's skin.

Darien was saved from a raging pregnant woman by Hobbes' abrupt entrance. "Hey, I got skates," Hobbes held up four pairs of ice skates, "Let's go skating."

Darien leaped off the chair, "Sounds great to me. Anything is better than this."

"You've ice skated before, Gilligan?" Hobbes asked as he handed Darien a pair of skates.

"Roller skated," Darien checked out the size of the black skates, "I'll catch on." Darien flew up the flight of stairs.

Claire approached Hobbes, "Bobby, you know I can't," she touched her belly.

"Nonsense, pregnant woman do stuff like this all the time. Its great exercise and it gets you out of the house." Hobbes kissed her softly on her lips, "Besides, it's not like we're pair figure skating or any like that. I don't intend on throwing you in the air to do a triple axle."

Claire looked at the skates Hobbes handed her and a smile spread across her face, "Okay, sure."

The two couples made it the outdoor rink that had been set up. People from all over Boulder were coming out to take a break. They put their skates on and headed out. Bobby guided Claire to center rink, turned and faced her.

Claire brushed the hair from her face, "Bobby, what are you doing?"

Darien spotted the two and he grabbed Casey, "Case, he's gonna do it!" he said in excitement. Casey held Darien's hand and they watched as Hobbes got down on one knee.

Claire looked around and saw everyone stop and stare at her and Hobbes. "Bobby?" Claire asked. Confusion then realization hit when she saw Hobbes reach into his jacket. He pulled out a box.

"Claire, I don't have a speech or anything like that to say. So, I'm just gonna come out and say it." He took her left hand and held the ring with his fingers. "Will you marry me?"

"Oh crap!" Darien said. Casey hit him. "Owww! What you do that for?"

"Stop ruining the moment."

Claire looked at Hobbes and started to cry, "Yes."

Hobbes put the ring on her finger; he stood up and hugged her. Darien and Casey started clapping and cheering. The rest of the crowd joined in.

Hobbes stood and placed his hands on her shoulders, "Are you sure, cause with Bobby Hobbes you get the whole package. My lack of mental stability chased Viv away; I don't want the same thing to happen with you." Hobbes paused, he looked down at the ice, "I care about you too much to ruin what we have. I don't want my issues to come between us. I guess that's why I never really said anything to you, afraid you wouldn't want a nut case like Bobby Hobbes…" Hobbes stopped when he felt a gloved finger touch his lips.

"Shut up, Bobby." Claire said. "You think too much…just go with it." Claire kissed him. They wrapped their arms around each other and deepened the kiss.

The day saw a few more people trickling in. With the bad weather the way it was, it was a surprise to see new faces. Darien spent most of the day having snowball fights with Tom and Joe. It was also a chance to stay away from the clutches of the mad scientist and her evil doctor twin. He had been poked and prodded all morning by Claire and Casey and he had enough.

Casey and Claire watched them from the porch. "Darien told me about Tom. Their lives practically mirror each other," Casey commented. She thought of the stories that Darien told her. She felt sorry for Tom.

"Yeah, I guess that's why Darien cares so much for him. Both their fathers walked out on them and then their mothers pass away. Darien understands Tom." Claire said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Stu once again stood behind the podium. There was a standing ovation for him in the large theatre on the University of Colorado campus. And like before, they started with the National Anthem. Stu gave an account of what happened on his trip and how Tom saved him. Tom stood up and waved the old cowboy hat that Ralph had given him before Tom left for Las Vegas. Stu went on with the agenda for the evening.

"There seems to be a lot more people here in Boulder since I left." Stu was interrupted by more applause.

Darien turned to Casey, "This dude could run for President."

"He seems to be a natural," Casey commented.

Stu continued his speech, "I've talked with some of the committee heads and we have agreed to reinstate the Boulder City Police Department. The Boulder County Sheriff Department will handle the entire county, just like before." Stu looked around the room and saw that the majority of the people were in agreement. "There are some people moving in other areas outside of the city limit and we figure come spring, there's going to be more. So with that in mind, we need a Police Chief." Stu looked down at his notes, "Before all the Flagg business started we had a sheriff, Robert Hobbes." Stu motioned to Hobbes.

"Is he still sheriff?" Someone shouted from the back. There was a murmur from the crowd.

Darien pointed to Hobbes, "You're famous."

Hobbes sneered at Darien.

Stu waved his hand, "Now hold on here, I'm gettin' to that, just give me a sec. There was a temporary sheriff in Hobbes absence we all know that. Rick Stanton will gladly step down to let Hobbes continue as our sheriff. But the committee has decided to nominate former Special Agent Darien Fawkes to the position of Police Chief of this city."

Darien was stunned; he turned to Casey, "Did he just say my name?"

"Yes, he did," Casey nudged him.

"Oh crap."

The crowd applauded their approval. Stu looked at Darien with a smile, "Come on up here, Darien, so everyone can see ya."

With some reluctance, Darien stood up and walked to the podium. He looked over the large crowd. Hobbes turned to Claire, "He looks like a deer staring into head lights."

Darien ran his hand through his spiked hair, "Whoa…I don't know what to say…"

"Fawkes…speechless…it can't be." Hobbes stated.

"I heard that…" Darien sneered as he glared at Hobbes. There was some laughter from the people sitting around Hobbes. "If this had been two and a half years ago, I don't think you'd be offering this to me," Darien smiled, he looked down at his hands that now gripped the sides of the podium, "I'm…ah…flattered actually…but I'm going to have to decline…" Darien saw all shocked looks. Even Stu and Frannie quickly turned their heads to look at each other.

Darien didn't wait for the murmur to quiet down, he planted his feet and squared his shoulders, "Before Captain Trips, Hobbes and I were working hard to make the world safe…sounds like we're a couple of hippies doesn't it?" Laughter erupted along with some sporadic sounds of hand clapping. "That part of our job hasn't changed. What happened in Las Vegas kinda proves that." Darien ran his hand over his chin, "I guess what I'm trying to say is…we're going back to San Diego…at the end of the week." Darien's eyes went directly to Tom. He had been fidgeting with Ralph's hat and didn't look up. Darien sighed deeply, "I'm sorry, but this is something we have to do…we believe that…"

Darien was interrupted by the deep but child-like voice of Tom, "You got more bad guys to catch." Tom didn't ask he made his statement sound more like he was stating a fact.

Darien peered at Casey, Hobbes and Claire. He looked around the room and returned his gaze on Tom, their eyes met, "Uhmm…yeah, Tom, we do." They had to go back and find out if Darien's suspicions are true. These people had come through so much and Darien couldn't let it all go to waste. Chrysalis had to be stopped.

Stu walked up and shook Darien's hand. "Good luck," Stu said. The two men embraced, people stood up and started clapping. Stu and Darien peered out over the crowd. "Looks like you've got a whole lot of people to protect," Stu stated.

Darien shook his head in agreement and walked back to his seat. Casey hugged him, "You did great."

"Then why do I feel like a jerk?" Darien said as Tom approached, twirling the hat in his hands. Darien walked off with Tom alone to talk to him. He had contemplated taking Tom with them, but had decided that Tom would be safer in boulder.

Casey watched with curiosity. Darien had been so different from when they first met. She saw the change in him and suspected that the Darien she sees now has always been there, just needed something in his life to pull him out. With a bit irony, she views him as the humanitarian he said he was but had lied about.

As it had turned out by end of the week, Stu and Frannie had decided to go back to Maine. Frannie was missing her home. They were going to leave in the spring.

Hobbes and Claire were married by a Justice of the peace who had come in while he and Darien were gone. Claire didn't mind not having the big church wedding. These days, those kinds of things didn't matter. She had always felt that people put too much emphasis on the reception, the dress and things like that rather than what the wedding truly means. She had wanted to be married by the time they left and their wedding was very simple.

The wedding was held in the same hall the whole town met that first night when Mother Abigail had disappeared. The reception was in another part of the building. Claire had found a simple wedding dress, nothing special. Casey was her maid of honor and Darien was the best man. They exchanged their vows and it was time to party.

Hobbes and Claire danced to "I Do (Cherish You)" by 98 Degrees. They held each other close as they swayed across the dance floor. Darien was glad to see that Hobbes had finally gotten the courage to take that leap and tell Claire how he felt. Hobbes needed to know that not only could he love again but that he could be loved.

After dinner was brought out it was time for what some considered the best part. The bouquet and garter toss. Claire knew who she wanted to catch it and she made sure that she threw it straight at Casey.

Darien watched as the bouquet went straight into the hands of Casey. "Whoa…partner!" Hobbes exclaimed as he patted Darien on the back, "Looks like you better catch that garter, unless you don't mind another man touching her."

Hobbes took the garter off of Claire and all the single guys stood in line. Luckily for Darien he was the tallest one out there except for maybe Tom. As fate would have it, Darien did catch the garter and he got to put it on Casey. Darien suspected that most of the people planned it to happen that way. Casey and Darien danced to "She" by Elvis Costello.

Hobbes and Claire joined them on the dance floor. Darien winked at Casey, "I'll be back." He left Casey standing there. Darien tapped Hobbes on his shoulder, "I'm butting in, get lost." Darien danced with Claire and Hobbes danced with Casey.

Hobbes and Claire had been nice to each other during the cake cutting. But Darien had started an impromptu cake fight and the hall was a mess. Hobbes had told Claire that he would help clean her up.

"Are you going to clean me up too?" Casey purred in Darien's ear.

"Why do you think I started the cake fight?" Darien wiggled his brow. He bent down and licked some of the cake off Casey's face. "Hmmm…we should get some more whip cream."

"Darien Gerard Fawkes!" Casey yelled out.

Hobbes snickered, "Gerard? That's what the "G" stands for? That's sad my friend. How come you never told me?"

"You never asked," Darien shrugged his shoulders. "And besides you didn't need to know." The four of them laughed.

Hobbes and Claire left later followed by Darien and Casey. They were leaving in the morning and needed to get some rest. Hobbes had promised Claire a true honeymoon as soon as possible.

During the week Claire had cleaned out her basement to get rid of the lab equipment. The only thing she was taking with her were the disks on the QS9300 Project. She could get another laptop in San Diego.

They were riding on snowmobiles; the roads in the city were plowed but not the ones leading into Boulder. They would get a car once in Southern New Mexico. The snow should be minimal there.

Tom came up to Darien, "Here, I guess you need this back." He was giving Darien back his badge.

Darien looked down at the open hand and saw the shinny badge. Tom had kept real good care of it. He sighed deeply, "No, Tom you keep it. You earned it. What you did in Las Vegas was very brave. You're a secret agent, the best I've ever saw."

Tom eyes glistened, "Really?" Tom paused, "You coming back after you catch the bad guys?"

Darien looked at the others, "I think so Tom." He turned his gaze back on Tom, "But you understand that's something I can't promise."

"Tom understands, don't make promises that you can't keep. My momma always used to tell me that. A broken promise is like lying and that's not good, laws yes."

Darien brushed the hair from Tom's face, "Tom, if it's possible, I'll be back. We'll play hide and seek again, okay?"

"Hide and seek! Tom loves that game, laws yes!" Tom gave Darien another bear hug, but with all the clothing he couldn't put the squeeze on Darien.

The four of them got on the snowmobiles and headed out of Boulder. Darien looked back and saw Tom waving his old straw cowboy hat. That was an image that Darien would take with him all the way to San Diego and at all costs he will stop Chrysalis.

Stu and Frannie watched as their four friends drove away. 'All any of us can do is buy time,' Stu thought to himself. 'Peter's lifetime, his children's lifetime and so on. Until the year 2100, maybe, surely no longer than that. Maybe not even that long. Time enough for earth to recycle and it all starts over again. Maybe people like Darien and Hobbes can make a difference and give us a better start. It's a season of rest.'

"What did you say, Stu?" Frannie asked. Stu had murmured out loud.

Stu looked down at her, "A season of rest."

"What do you mean,?" Frannie asked with confusion.

"In the bible, after the sixth year the farmers would give their land a time of rest, the seventh year, a season of rest. That's what I figure we're in now."

"Do you think we learned anything from this?" Frannie asked.

"If we tell our children and they pass the story on. Warn them about the toys of destruction. How the devil guided men's minds to make these deadly toys. We have to make our children understand not to play with them again and let this be the lesson learned." Stu said. The snowmobiles were gone from sight. Stu walked slowly back to the house.

"What do you think Darien and Hobbes are going to do in San Diego?" Frannie walked beside Stu.

"I reckon they're going to start the lesson." Stu said simply.