*6*
The guy behind the counter chatted amiably as he packed the various items that Hobbes had ordered into the bottom half of a cardboard box for easier transport. As soon as the order had been placed at the mom and pop Italian restaurant the clerk at the hotel had recommended, Gray had started making his calls. Within minutes he handed Hobbes a fist full of money, to cover the cost of the food, and stepped outside into the chilly evening air. Even Hobbes had been able to hear the shouting coming from whoever was at the other end of the phone line.
As Hobbes waited for the order he watched Gray through the windows, and quickly learned he was not a pacer. Instead he was the type to go dead still, his look a complete blank, as he listened to the person on the other end. When he was on hold he would pace, but the moment someone came back on the line he stopped, one time with a foot off the ground for nearly two minutes before he realized it. Whatever Graywolf was being told did not bode well for their little field trip.
Once the bill was paid, Hobbes made his way outside, the overstuffed box securely in his arms, and caught Gray's attention, who nodded, pointed at the phone against his ear, and held up two fingers. Since Hobbes lacked the keys to start the vehicle he, with a little dexterous creativity, got the rear door open, placed the food securely on the floor, and then made himself comfortable in the passenger's seat, to wait. After another minute of observation Hobbes decided that Gray was confused and more than a little irritated, like maybe he wasn't getting the answers he wanted about exactly why he was getting his ass chewed off. Gray snapped the phone shut and stood for a moment staring off onto the darkness before he finally stalked over to the rental vehicle, climbed into the driver's seat, and, after a moment to search his pockets for the keys, started it up with a roar.
Once on the road Hobbes cleared his throat. "Problem?"
"I'm not sure. I think I need to talk to Sil first." Gray's hands tightened on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white with the force of his grip. His next words surprised Hobbes. "Was she known for blatantly disregarding direct orders when she worked at the Agency?"
Hobbes thought about it for a moment and answered carefully. "If the situation justified it, yes." He turned to observe Gray's profile, the muscles of the man's jaw clenching. "Why?"
"She was ordered, in no uncertain terms, to not follow this lead, by Agent Franklin himself. I'm trying to understand why she ignored those orders," Gray explained, his fingers finally relaxing slightly and making him realize they ached due to his overly energetic grip. He forced himself to release the steering wheel and wiggle them a bit to return the blood flow to normal.
"Well, I can guarantee she has her reasons, even if no one else understands them," Hobbes commented dryly. "I'm guessing they refused to explain why? Some need-to-know crap?"
Gray found himself nodding in response. "I'll admit to not being the most... stringent at following the rules. In this line of work by-the-book can sometimes get you killed." He glanced over at Hobbes before refocusing on the road. "As I'm sure you know."
Hobbes snorted. "Heh, that's putting it mildly. Then you add in agents with... unique talents and the rule book often becomes nothing more than an annoyance." He was careful to skirt the issue of his partner's particular talents, figuring Gray would assume Hobbes meant Darien's former occupation as a thief. "You adjust, you learn what works, and you get the job done." Hobbes shook his head. "I'll admit I had some serious issues with the kid when she first showed, but can you honestly tell me you didn't have visions of Big Brother as soon as you realized she really did know what you were thinking and feeling?"
"Can't deny that," Gray admitted more than a bit ruefully, "but I also grew up with the traditions of my people, and in our culture she would have been revered as a shaman and seer. Honored above all others for who she was and what she could do."
"And part of you does," Hobbes noted, nodding as he realized this was at least part of the weird vibe he was getting from the larger man. Part of Graywolf was simply in awe of Alyx because of his upbringing -- nothing actually wrong with that, but it was obviously having an effect on their partnership. "Hard to reconcile with the woman when she's in a bad mood, ain't it."
Much to Hobbes' amazement Graywolf erupted in laughter.
"You have no idea, Agent Hobbes." He got a hold of himself after a moment, thinking. "Then again you do, don't you. You've known her longer than me, how do you reconcile the two sides of her?"
"That's just it, I don't." When Gray's face showed confusion Hobbes continued, "She's who she is, Gray, with or without her little talents." He smiled to himself, remembering how she had amazed him when she'd been nothing more than a mom dealing with life. "She and Fawkes... You'd never guess it to look at them, but, in their own way, they are two of the best agents I've ever worked with, and I'm damn lucky to have them as friends as well."
At the mention of Darien, Gray sobered. For all that he understood about Alyx, Gray still couldn't comprehend her liking of the man, and having him here was like having a rock stuck in his shoe; a constant irritant that he was forced to endure. It was probably only Darien's easygoing nature and apparent total lack of jealousy where Gray was concerned that had allowed this to work at all.
He was saved from making any comment by their arrival back at the hotel and the simple task of parking and delivering the food to the room.
Alyx had been drowsing through the sit-com Darien had switched to once Buffy had ended; she had never found an interest in that particular show and the fact that this was a syndicated rerun made it even less interesting. Darien had kept up a running patter of snarky comments about the guest actor and his character's name of Fun Bobby, which Alyx just let flow by her, not even bothering to crack open an eye and get a look at the man is question.
Her back was currently doing its version of a banked fire; a deep, dull, throbbing ache that the slightest movement caused to flare up, sending ghost sparks shooting through to other areas of her back. An all too familiar pain, though it had now been several years since she'd been forced to endure anything like that. She did her best to keep those memories at bay, to remind herself that that part of her life was over and that this situation, this pain was from another source entirely. The man may have been dead, but what he had done to her still lay just below the surface, waiting for any opportunity to burst forth and remind her of who and what she used to be. It was sometimes hard to believe that she had changed so very much, that she had found the strength to do more than just bow down and endure.
It was Darien that made it so much easier to push aside those memories, his presence seeping into her mind and heart, to remind her how much she had gained in the last few years. The painkiller was working quite well, doing its part to relieve the worse of the discomfort and allowing her to relax. She sighed softly, enjoying just being here with Darien doing something that was so mundane, something any other normal couple might do on a given evening.
She was debating forgoing dinner and just drifting off into sleep when familiar minds came within range. Bobby and Graywolf were back with the take out. Bobby was ... Bobby, his presence oddly comforting even with the vague hint of unease that drifted through his psyche, but Gray ... Gray was pissed off on just about every level and that brought her back to consciousness quickly. Shrugging out of Darien's gentle hold, she shifted and attempted to stand up. She failed miserably on her first try, but definitely got Darien's attention with her groan of pain.
"Hey, what's up?" Darien set a hand on her shoulder as she sat back on the bed with a grunt.
"Not me, that's for sure," she grumbled, not caring in the least for how stiff she already was. At this rate she'd be going nowhere fast come tomorrow without major drug assistance. She closed her eyes and took a moment to tell her body that the pain was nothing of importance, that even this couldn't stop her unless she allowed it to. She opened her eyes and rolled her shoulders to ease the tightness there before pushing herself to her feet in one smooth motion. It didn't hurt any less, but this time she didn't allow it to affect her. "They're back and Gray..." She tipped her head to the side as heard the door in the next room open.
Moving a bit stiffly she went to the adjoining door and swung it open as Bobby and Gray walked into the other room. She stood just inside the room, waiting patiently until the food had been set on the table and they shed their winter wear. Bobby calmly began unpacking the food as Gray turned to face Alyx with a frown on his face. "You should not be up."
"I'm fine," Alyx assured him as she moved a couple steps closer. She could feel Gray fighting the sudden urge to back away and it bothered her. "What's wrong, Gray?"
Mentally berating himself for believing she would not notice his mood, he sighed. "Sil, what were you thinking?"
"About?" When Gray's face darkened at her apparent flippant answer she added, "I can tell you're upset about something, as well as at me..."
He flinched at her words, his and Hobbes' Big Brother discussion coming back to the fore. "Sil..." He stopped and took a deep breath to calm himself. "I've spoken to Franklin, among others, he's rather angry at you." His own irritation increased as her look went perfectly blank at his words, giving him no hint as to what she was thinking. It wasn't fair that she could read him like a book, yet she was perfectly capable of telling him nothing. "Damn it, Sil, why the hell did you ignore his orders? I do not need my ass handed to me on a platter."
"Gray, do you trust me?" Alyx's voice was quiet and cut straight to the heart of the matter.
Gray looked down at her for a long moment, then lifted his head to meet the brown eyes of the man standing several steps behind her. "I don't know anymore."
"Yes, I know Franklin himself ordered me to not follow this lead, but I have my reasons..." She could easily tell Gray was not believing her, his mind firmly set on distrusting her. "Gray, what does Darien have to do with any of this?"
Darien surged forward to stand directly behind Alyx. "Me? You're doubting her because of me?"
"I know who he is, Sil. More, I know what he is." He met her eyes, surprised at the emotion in them, that she truly appeared to be shocked and hurt at his reaction. "He's conning you, Sil. Badge or not, he's playing a little game and you're the prize."
Darien reacted to that with near rage and shouted, "You have no right to say that, not to her and not to me! You have no idea who I am..."
"I have every right!" Gray roared right back. "She is my responsibility and you," he spat out the word, "are nothing but a thief and a con that the Agency was desperate enough to hire."
Hobbes watched all this with growing dismay, debating whether or not to intervene, or let it play out a bit more. To let the two men blow off some of the excess steam that had been building since they'd met. He glanced at Alyx; actually somewhat surprised she hadn't done something to stop the two of them, and swallowed hard. She'd gone dead pale, standing there nearly trapped between the far larger men, her hands curling and opening almost convulsively. She was muttering something, but it was too soft for him to catch. That's when Hobbes noticed that the lighting in the room was getting brighter, the bulbs flaring with a white light that swiftly increased and tinted over towards blue.
Gray and Fawkes continued shouting at each other, completely oblivious to what was going on around them.
As Hobbes looked on, Alyx suddenly flinched and the Quicksilver flowed across her until, just seconds later, she was gone from sight. The nearby bureau shifted and Hobbes heard a yelp of pain. Whatever, or whoever, had hit it with enough force to cause the items atop it to wobble for several seconds before settling back into their accustomed places. He figured the kid must have bumped the thing, and hard at that. He had no idea where she was, but since no doors opened he figured she was still somewhere in the room, especially since the lights were still flaring, several now shooting out sparks as the kid continued to dump more and more power into them.
Coming to a decision, and getting more than a bit pissed off himself, he marched over to the still arguing men, grabbed each one by an elbow -- making sure to nail the nerve -- and dragged them through his and Fawkes' room.
"Hobbes, what the," Darien tried to ask, not wanting to shout at the pain shooting up his arm at Hobbes' grip.
"Shaddup!" Hobbes barked.
"Agent Hobbes," Graywolf attempted. His opinion of the smaller man's hold much the same as Darien's. It hurt like the blue blazes.
"Shaddup!" Hobbes repeated, louder. Going to the main door of the room he released the two men, yanked it open, and shoved them out into the hallway by brute force. "I don't know what the hell your problem is and I don't care, but get it out of your systems and deal with it. Go outside and beat the crap out of each other or something. Don't frickin' come back until you've settled this." And with that he slammed the door shut and engaged all the locks, leaving the two stunned men alone and wondering just what the hell had happened.
They stared at the still closed door for a few more seconds before turning to glare at each other. For some reason, though both were still angry, the urge to pound each other into artistic smears on the nearby walls had melted away. Darien seriously debated going for a very long walk, as far from the man next to him as humanly possible, at least till things had cooled off inside and Hobbes let him back in, so he could find out exactly why they'd been thrown out.
"He's not going to let us back in, is he?" Gray asked of Darien while just barely managing to keep the irritation out of his voice.
"Not a chance," Darien told him. "Beer?"
Gray wasn't sure what to do. He certainly didn't want to spend any time with ... with this person, but realized that something had to be done before he interfered with Gray's partnership with Sil any further. "Sure, though something stronger might be better."
Darien snorted. "She get you started on tequila, too?" They began walking slowly down the hallway, headed for the lounge/restaurant combo that was attached to the hotel.
The response was a wry chuckle. "I don't know how she drinks that stuff, but she loves it. Watching her drinking mescal is worse, though."
As one the two men shuddered and said, "The worm." The laughter, strained as it was, did help to ease the tension between them.
The silence that fell for the remainder of the walk was heavy with dark emotions, as both men tried to restrain the animosity the roiled just beneath the surface. It wasn't until they were both seated at the bar, working on their second drinks that conversation -- if it could be called that -- resumed.
"She's too young for you." The words were soft, but the anger and frustration was still evident.
Darien snickered. "Right, she's got..." He stopped, remembering that Gray only knew Alyx, who, according to those dummied up records, would be all of 24 or so. "Crap. Look, she's a hell of a lot older than her age and you damn well know it. 'Sides she'd be too young for you as well, if you wanna take that road."
The sound of grinding teeth was audible even to the bartender who stood several feet away working on another order. Once complete, he poured two more scotches, though doubles this time, and slid them in front of the two agents, figuring they were going to need them. Gray gave the bartender a small nod of acknowledgment and then focused on the drinks before him. Lifting the older one, he tossed it back and ignored the burning sensation as he tried to keep from throttling the man beside him. Hobbes had been right, Fawkes had noticed his... his... attraction for Sil and it was thoroughly annoying.
"Jealous?" Gray rumbled out, his voice rough from the scotch that he'd just downed.
Darien shrugged. "No reason to be. You wouldn't still be partners if Alyx was worried about it." He gathered his thoughts, wanting to make sure he said this correctly. Antagonizing Graywolf would probably get his ass beaten into a pulp by the larger and more heavily built man and not help the situation between Gray and Alyx in the least. "And, in truth, I'd rather she was being protected by someone who actually cares about her and not just her talents." He took a sip of his drink and eyed Gray over the top of the glass, waiting for the reaction.
Gray went blank, totally at a loss to understand how Fawkes was handling this so very easily. "So you don't care?"
Darien shook his head. "Oh, I care. In fact, being the total idiot that I am, I asked her if she was sleeping with you." He finished off the drink in his hand, set the glass down gently, and picked up the next one; half of which he downed as well.
Gray almost looked offended. "I wouldn't..."
"But you want to." Darien dropped his head and chuckled softly. "I know how it is. All it took was meeting her eyes the first time and I was gone. Took over six months for her to figure out her side of it." He sighed as he remembered those days. The total confusion she had made of his already screwed up life. The way... the idiotic, stupid way, he had handled things. "I'm damn lucky she even speaks to me considering some of the things that happened between us, but I thank god every single day that she does."
He finished off the scotch, got to his feet, dug in his pocket for cash to cover the drinks, which he tossed on the smooth wood of the bar, and turned to face Graywolf. "Yeah, I was a thief and a con-man, pretty good one too, but do you really think I could con her? With her talents?" He took a step back. "I don't think it's me you're really angry at, is it? Talk to her. It's the only way for both of you to work this out." With that he turned and walked smoothly out of the bar. His steps careful and precise; it had been quite a while since he'd drunk that much -- last time was right after rejoining the Agency and the post-'officialed' binge that he, Claire, and Bobby had indulged in. The lack of food in his system also added to the effect. Noting the pool area, he stepped outside clad only in a t-shirt and slacks, hoping the cold night air would clear his mind a bit before he headed back to the room.
Graywolf watched Fawkes walk away, Gray's mind trying to wrap about the words Fawkes had left with him to mull. Could it be he really was angry with Sil? Jealous that she had chosen to stay with Fawkes in a long-distance relationship instead of considering one with himself -- rules or no? Her relationship with Fawkes made it obvious she didn't care about the office romance rule, but... Gray wasn't sure where he was trying to go with this line of, now verging on drunken, thought. Yes, he liked her, maybe even loved her, definitely wanted to bed her, but did he want to risk ruining their partnership, their building friendship, for a romp that may or may not work out? And that -- successful or not -- would color their working relationship no matter what they did? With a groan of dismay Gray realized Fawkes was right; he needed to talk to Sil. Finishing off the drink in his hand he signaled for another.
***
After slamming the door shut and locking it, Bobby leaned back against the smooth wood veneer and took a deep breath. He damn well knew if he was upset the kid would pick it up and that would make the situation even worse. Through the open connecting door he could still see the excessively bright light, almost like that of a high-powered spot shining directly into the room. The kid had to be doing it; things getting a little weird when she was upset was nothing new, but never before had he seen anything on this scale, even way back when, before she'd gotten full control. This must be that new problem that had been cropping up since getting her powers turned back on, that bleed-through she'd mentioned a couple days ago.
Deciding he had settled his mind enough, he made his way into the room and tried to spot her, without success. He was going to have to learn to pack thermal glasses just on principle and to hell with Eberts and his precious budget and cost overruns. "Kid, you need to drop the see-through routine so's I can help ya."
There was a whimper followed by the distinctive sound of Quicksilver falling to the floor, revealing Alyx huddled in the corner between the far end of the bureau and the closet wall near the door. Bobby rushed to her and crouched down, not quite sure what, if anything, he could do to help. "Kid, get your shields up."
That brought on a bout of near hysterical laughter and caused two of the lights to flare brighter and explode in a shower of sparks. She was huddled in on herself, her head on her knees and her arms wrapped tightly about them. He could hear what she was practically chanting, now that he was close enough, just the word "Pattern," over and over again. A word that he knew used to trigger an automatic control sequence in her and that, he also knew, no longer worked. But to her it had, apparently, become a kind of security blanket or reminder. Like the worry stones few knew he carried about in his pocket. He didn't use them often, but they were always there just in case.
Guessing she was pretty much out of it as she fought with herself, with her abilities, he tried a different tactic. "Michele, it's all right. You're safe. Bobby Hobbes won't let no one hurt ya, including those two mooks." He tightly controlled his own emotions ? as difficult as that was for him -- and set a hand on one bare arm. He'd half expected to get one of her zaps, so he was surprised when he felt nothing but a mild tingle, like what sometimes happened when she needed to read him using physical contact.
"C'mon, Michele, talk to me." He moved his hand slowly and deliberately until he was cupping her chin and, with only a hint of resistance, he got her to lift her head. He made sure not to react at the sight that greeted him. She was very pale, with tears rolling down her cheeks, and her eyes were doing that weird glowing thing they sometimes did when she had too much power to deal with. "Kid..."
She gulped in air and nodded, her lips still mouthing that single word over and over again. It took several painfully long minutes, filled with softly spoken words by Bobby, before the light in both her eyes and those around the room began to dim. A couple more bulbs exploded as she released her hold on them, leaving only the light coming out of the bathroom remaining for them too see by.
"Shit," she muttered as the power finally let her go. She ached both inside and out now, the excess power having all but burned its way through her. The feeling was mild version of what happened after high doses of that damn neurotransmitter enhancement drug Heilburg had gotten her hooked on. The same drug, though a far less successful version, that he'd tried to use as a control ages ago at the lab she'd been kept at, the one she'd destroyed. "Sorry, Bobby."
"S'okay, kid. The testosterone twins have been banished for the time being." It was good bet the argument between the two men had set her off, but he was hoping the comment would earn at least a hint of a smile. He was disappointed; instead she winced in pain. "Talk to me, kid, what's with the light show?"
"I... I wish I bloody knew. It's not something I can control and it has nothing to do with my shielding. It... it just happens." She shook her head not sure how to explain it to him, still not sure she understood it herself. "It's like how I always know where people or electronics are, only magnified a thousand times. And usually as output instead of input," she added ruefully.
"But are you okay?" That was the important thing, the only thing.
She shook her head again. "I think I bleeding all over the carpet."
Her tone of voice was so bland, so dry that it took a moment for her words to sink in. "Crap," Bobby muttered, which did earn a smile from her. "All right nice and easy." He gripped her forearms and assisted her as she very slowly got to her feet. Once she was as upright as she could be, he pointed to the nearest bed, and helped her limp over to it. The blood on the neutral tan rug was all the confirmation he needed that she had indeed really hurt herself. "Whacked the bureau a good one, did ya?"
She lowered herself onto the bed and carefully lay down on her left side. "Yeah, it ain't a bruise no more."
Bobby lifted up the shirt to get a look at her back and hissed. "Don't move, kid." Leaving her side, he grabbed a pile of towels from the bathroom and set one over the sluggishly bleeding wound. She'd hit the edge of the bureau hard enough to break open several of the welts that had formed from her encounter with the metal landing earlier. Moving to the offending piece of furniture, he grabbed the ice bucket and took off. He ran down the hallway to the room where the ice machine shared space with several candy and soda machines. He was back within minutes and packed the ice into another couple of towels, which he then placed them over the, now, blood soaked one. He'd grab the first aid kit and patch her up once he got the bleeding slowed and the worst of the swelling staved off.
Grabbing a couple of pillows he stuffed them behind her back for support and smiled when she sighed in relief and relaxed back against them.
"Thanks, Bobby." Her voice was rough with pain as he came back around and sat in front of her.
"What's the deal, kid? Why are we here?" He was hoping she'd be willing to talk to him, would know that, between them, it was not a trust issue.
Alyx closed her eyes for a moment, trying to convince her body to leave her alone for a few minutes. "Keep it to yourself. Gray is not supposed to know and Darien doesn't need to. Okay?"
"Tell me first," Hobbes stated in a tone that meant there was no way out of this one.
She nodded. "I am following orders. Cavanaugh's orders." She shifted slightly and groaned at the pain that shot through her back. The painkiller from earlier had given up the ghost once she'd hit the bruise, and she wasn't going to last much longer; her body all but demanding she rest and actually spend some time recovering. "She called me in for a private meeting before the one over at the Pentagon. She's suspected something was fishy with Keller for a while now, but had nothing to go on. Then this assassination threat suddenly appeared, the supposed sources all Keller's, and her attempts to confirm all led to dead ends or severe cases of the run-around."
"So she made sure you got assigned to the CIA contingent, and Graywolf goes along as your partner... and protector," Hobbes filled in the obvious gap. "But why?"
"Cavanaugh don't like being stonewalled." Alyx smirked. "You think Monroe is a ballbuster? Cavanaugh was one of her trainers." The look on Bobby's face was priceless. "I'm guessing you know Lauren Cavanaugh's rep?"
"Yeah, kid. I know her rep. Dragon Lady was the politest of the nicks she earned when I was with The Company." He shook his head, surprised that he hadn't figured out that Cavanaugh and Monroe had crossed paths during her career. Now that it had been pointed out he could see it, could point to the incidents in his dealings with Monroe that were pure Dragon Lady. "Damn."
"If you tell Alex you found out from me, I'll be forced to hurt you, Bobby Hobbes." She gave him a weak punch in the forearm. Then her mood sobered. "Cavanaugh told me to follow the leads I found, no matter what. That her orders superseded all others, including Franklin's." She caught his look of disbelief even without the emotional wave coming off him. "Bobby, you know me. I don't do anything without a damn good reason."
"I know," he assured her. "What does Cavanaugh think Keller is mixed up in?" Bobby was trying to find the connection but didn't have nearly enough information.
"Not sure, but she knows it goes back to his time at the CIA." Alyx shrugged. "I think she's right. Look at the way we've been blocked on intel. Shit, Franklin was practically foaming at the mouth when he called me after I uploaded the Lee data the first time. What I can't figure out is why he never called you or Dare directly. I only blocked mine and Gray's numbers, not yours."
"Probably thinks we're a non-factor. Agency personnel and all." He ran a hand across the top of his head. "Huh, that might work to our advantage. All right, kid, I'll back you on this," When it was obvious she was going to remind him of the need-to-know portion of tonight's chat he said, "without spilling the beans, though you might want to consider letting Gray in on this. It would help with the trust issue he seems to have."
"All the more reason not to. I know I don't follow the rules often, but this time it's justified -- for now. If Gray can't trust me, trying to buy him with the info won't help matters."
Hobbes grunted in agreement. "True." He lifted up the towels to check on her injury. "You ready for me to patch this?"
"Do your worst, Hobbesy. What's your line? 'Pain is candy for the focused mind?' Well, this mind is exhausted, so try not to freak if I pass out." Alyx patted him on the arm, to reassure him she was doing okay. "Bobby..."
"Friends, kid. Anything you need, you know that." He gave her hand a quick squeeze and moved off to fetch the necessary items. This was not going to be enjoyable for either of them.
***
Darien knocked, rather tentatively, on the door to the room he was sharing with Hobbes and was actually surprised when the sound of the locks being disengaged was heard mere moments later.
Hobbes swung the door wide and motioned for Darien to enter with a finger to his lips. "Keep it down, the kid's trying to sleep." He shut the door and followed Darien deeper into the room. He could smell the scotch on his partner, and since he wasn't bleeding or limping any worse than earlier, figured the two men had gone to have a few drinks instead of pounding some sense into each other. Though come morning, with its hangover, his partner might be wishing he'd been in a fight instead of going on a macho male-bonding binge. "You seen Graywolf?"
Darien shook his head. "Not since I left the bar. Why?" His words were only slightly slurred considering the... he paused to try to count them up in his mind ... four scotches he'd downed.
Hobbes just waved a hand at him. "Go on in, just be careful, she banged herself up a bit and I had to give her another dose of painkiller. You will not spend the night with her."
"Yes, dad," Darien sniped, and rolled his eyes. He'd never had a chaperone when dating back in high school, having one now was oddly amusing. Though if he were sober he might find it more than a bit irritating. He paused in the doorway of the two rooms, Hobbes' statement finally registering. "Wait, she got hurt? How? When?"
"Later, Fawkes. Hell, tomorrow. I'm tired, she's wiped, and you're borderline shit-faced. Say your good nights and get your scrawny ass back in here," Hobbes ordered in a firm tone. Injured Fawkes was bad. Hung over Fawkes was worse. He didn't even want to contemplate what fun the combination was going to bring them on the morrow.
Darien blinked at Hobbes then shuffled into Alyx's room, noting the decidedly antiseptic smell that still lingered in the air. There was also the hint of... ozone? There was a light turned on low in the corner so he was easily able to see her, even if his focus was a little iffy at the moment. She was lying atop the comforter, a light blanket covering her legs. She had several pillows stuffed behind her, to prevent her from rolling onto her back during the night, she'd also changed at some point, no longer being swallowed up by her partner's huge shirt, but instead was wearing a dark t-shirt he didn't immediately recognize. Sitting on the edge of the bed he ran light fingers across her pale face.
After a minute her eyes fluttered open. "Hey," she said in a gravely voice.
Her eyes were dull as pewter, which told him exactly how much pain she was in. "Hey. Sorry about earlier. I just don't want Gray not trusting you because... because of me."
She reached up slowly and grasped his hand with her own, doing her best to not transmit her feelings to him. Not that it mattered, she realized, based on how his head was still swimming with the alcohol he had consumed. "S'alright. He and I will work it out, somehow. Don't blame yourself." Her eyes closed for a second as another wave of pain stole her attention away.
"Damn," Darien whispered as he caught a hint of her discomfort. "Rest. We'll deal with this tomorrow." He lifted her hand and kissed her fingers. "Want me to stay for a few?"
"Please." She sighed as he gave her hand a squeeze and shifted a bit to lie beside her.
"Sleep, you. Even you need sleep on occasion." He kissed her on the forehead and held her gently until her breathing evened out and her body relaxed as she fell asleep.
