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The Invisible Man (90s)

"The Wrong Man"
by Lucy Hale

"Good work today, Fawkes. Kelly was raving about you the minute I showed up."

Darien Fawkes couldn't help flashing a smile as he headed for the door. "She tried to pick me up."

"Bull shit." The disbelieving answer was flat and right in character for John Norse.

Darien shrugged with a patented 'what-can-I-do, I'm-adorable' look. "Asked me to dinner tonight."

"The hell you say. You going?"

"Haven't decided yet. She's cute, but..." Darien shook his head and reached for the doorknob.

"Hang on, Fawkes."

He glanced back to see his former boss and present business partner getting up and coming towards him. "What? I cleared all the paperwork already."

"Yeah, yeah. Look, kid. Go out with Kelly. She's a nice lady, I've known her since she first opened the jewelry store. You're a young guy, you need to go out. Get laid."

Darien laughed. "No thanks, man. I get my kicks, all right? Kelly Fulbright isn't equipped to fill my needs, you dig?"

John shrugged easily. "So ask out that guy working in the shop when I showed up. He was making eyes at you."

"John. You and your wife come near divorce every single night. Maybe you should stop worrying about my love life and focus on your own."

"Please. The she-demon would never divorce me. This is about you, Darien. You don't want Kelly, you don't want the counter boy, what do you want?"

Darien hesitated, debating between a flippant response or something a little closer to the truth.

He settled somewhere in between. "I want what everyone wants, John: the one thing in the world I can't have."

John rolled his eyes and waved Darien off, heading back to his own desk. "See you tomorrow, pal. And I hope to hear juicy details about the kinds of noises Kelly Fulbright and/or her assistant make when they're all hot and bothered."

Darien chuckled. "Good night, John," he said in return, heading out of the office.

He couldn't help a glance back at the door as he started down the hall towards the elevator.

Same words were on that door every time he got there and every time he left.

'Norse and Fawkes Security'

It brought a grin to his face every time he saw it, even a year after it had gone up.

His grin tonight was slightly subdued, and as he waited for the elevator door to open to take him to the lobby of the tall office building, he silently cursed John Norse for being a good friend.

He instantly resisted the desire to get lost in sudden memories, in the reasons he never went out at night, and had yet in two years time met anyone he was interested in physically.

The ghosts in his memory were stubborn, but he had a lot of practice drowning them out, and by the time the elevator hit the ground floor he was successfully concentrating solely on his shopping list for that evening.

But a familiar face was waiting when the doors opened to let him outside, and a familiar voice rang out an instant later.

"Darien."

He stopped dead, his mouth dropping open before flashing in to a huge, genuine smile. "Claire! What the hell are you doing here? I haven't seen you in...damn."

"Over a year and a half," she finished quietly. "I know."

She wasn't smiling, and that observation was enough to make Darien alert. "So why did you come now?"

"I need you to come to the Lab with me."

Darien felt a strange wave of nostalgia hit with those words, but time and distance lessened the impact. He grinned. "You're two years too late, Doctor Keeper. I've been gland-free for the last twenty-four months."

"I know. But I need your help. Or rather, the Agency needs your help."

"The Agency." Darien smirked. "The fat man still in charge?"

"Of course. And yes, Eberts is still finishing his sentences for him." She smiled slightly at his expression. "Actually, Eberts has relaxed a great deal since you left."

"So, the old crew's still around." Darien's grin faded slightly, but he forced it back to full brilliance instinctively, though the smile didn't touch his eyes. He looked down at the ground to hide a swallow before he felt brave enough to keep the conversation going. "How's Hobbes?"

Her smile vanished as if it had never been there.

Darien frowned. "Is something wrong with Bobby?"

"Well...with your help, hopefully he'll have a chance."

A bolt of alarm, familiar in the same nostalgic way and surprisingly intense, pulsed through him. "What do you mean, 'have a chance?'"

She met his eyes seriously. "Darien, Bobby is dying."

His heart stopped beating.

****

Three years earlier...



"Darien, Bobby is dying."

He swallowed, trying to coat a dry throat. "What do you mean, dying? I thought you said he was stabilized."

"He was. A fragment of the bullet nicked his heart, and the doctor focused on that in emergency surgery. He didn't see a secondary nick in the pulmonary artery and lung. There was heavy internal bleeding, and if Bobby hadn't started coughing up blood, they would have caught it far too late. As it is, they've taken him back to surgery. I just wanted you to know that there's a chance he won't make it."

Darien shook his head, dropping heavily into a plastic chair. "Come on. I was here a half-hour ago, the doc said he was gonna recover. I go for coffee and suddenly he's dying again?"

"Darien..." The Keeper's eyes were sympathetic, and reflected a little of her own worry. "Sometimes doctors make mistakes. They'll do their best, you know that."

Darien shook his head again, his eyes drifting to the wall.

It was hard to breathe all of the sudden. It was hard to remember that anyone else was there. Responding to the Keeper's words was suddenly unimportant. Responding to anything seemed useless.

He would sit there until the doctor came out to laugh about the screw-up and let him in to see his partner.

Bobby...

Darien could look down at his hands and still see blood he had washed away a couple of hours ago. Bobby's blood.

The idiot had jumped right in front of him. He didn't pause to think; he just dove between Darien and the bad guy with the gun.

If he hadn't, Darien would have been shot. But the bullet would have hit his side, or his stomach. It would have sucked, and it would have hurt. But he wouldn't still be in emergency surgery if it had been him.

Instead Bobby jumped, Bobby got hit dead center in the chest, and now Darien was having a hard time putting two thoughts together in any kind of order.

Why did he have to do stuff like that? Why was that instinct in Bobby that made him break his neck trying to save everyone else?

And why was it that his goofy, laughable partner's possible death was twisting Darien's insides in ways he had never felt so strongly before?

He didn't want Bobby's death on his conscience. He didn't want to have to live life knowing that if he had moved faster, or had gone quicksilver the way he should have, Bobby wouldn't have had to dive into a bullet. He didn't want to deal with the guns and the psychopaths anymore, not if it meant exposing himself and his friends to these kinds of situations.

Because if Bobby died, they would give him a new partner. Darien would learn to like the new guy the same way he'd learned to like Bobby, and then something like this would happen again.

It wasn't worth it. Starting over with someone fresh wasn't worth it if they were just going to...

Darien's thoughts paused right then, and veered onto a new path.

Starting over with someone fresh. A new partner.

Darien would go to the Agency every morning and there would be someone else in that chair in the Official's office. Someone else to watch his back on jobs.

Someone else to laugh with, to get to know, to probably become good friends with. Someone who wouldn't be so neurotic or paranoid, someone who wouldn't be as big a pain in the ass as Bobby. Some other Agency type who would probably make things run much smoother than the man lying in the hospital right then.

Darien realized with a sharp, physical hurt that he didn't want that. He didn't want smooth operations or an easygoing, normal partner. He didn't want a new friend. He didn't want to see someone else in Bobby's chair.

Bobby had to make it through this. Not to protect Darien's guilty conscience, but simply to make Darien's life bearable.

When had he become so important? When had making fun of Bobby and watching his back and knowing Bobby watched his become more important than the Agency, or the jobs, or the gland in his head?

He didn't know. But it didn't matter. What mattered was that Darien was suddenly confronted with what life would be like without his partner, and it was making him feel a terror too strong to dismiss casually.

They had never been up front with each other, Darien reflected sadly. If Bobby died here, he would never know how Darien felt about him. He would probably die thinking he was the joke everyone treated him like.

Nope. Darien wouldn't let that happen. If Bobby survived, he would tell him exactly how he felt. He would cut through the macho posturing and male bullshit, and he would calmly explain to Bobby that he couldn't jump in front of bullets anymore, because if he died, Darien wouldn't want to survive.

This was more than partnership, and more than friendship, and Darien knew it. He knew what his guts were trying to tell him. He knew his feelings were strange, and maybe unwelcome. The majority of the world would react with disgust if they could dig into his head and figure out the feelings Darien had for his partner. Bobby himself might react with disgust.

But it didn't matter. If Bobby lived, he wouldn't live one more day without knowing that there was one person in the world who didn't think he was a joke. There was one person in the world that loved him, and though it may not be the person Bobby wanted, the feelings were deep and real.

Maybe that would actually be good enough.



****



"Just stay here. I'm going to tell the Official you've come, and we can talk to you about what all's going on here."

Darien nodded and sat down, listening absently to the sound of the door sliding shut.

The lab. Jesus Christ. How long had it been since he'd been in there last? How long ago was it that he sat in that very chair, looking at the walls and cluttered desks and caged animals, waiting for a shot or a checkup?

He had always hated this room. Any other room of the Agency, he could fool himself into thinking that maybe he had chosen this life for himself. He could play secret agent and enjoy it, almost like a game. This room, though, it was a constant and strong reminder that he wasn't here of his own free will. He was here because of this lab experiment his brother had put inside his head. He was here because he was a lab rat and a freak, and that was it.

The place came to him in his nightmares at night sometimes, bringing back old fears and feelings. As he sat there alone, waiting for Claire to get back, he could almost feel the phantom pulsing of the gland in his brain. He could feel the memory of tingles in his veins, and the spreading of coldness over his skin.

He was almost tempted to try it out, but he knew intellectually that the gland was gone, the Quicksilver was gone.

Funny thing, but as much as he'd fought against the thing, he almost missed it when they took it out. He found himself almost reflexively trying to go invisible at times, and only with the passing months had that faded.

The door slid open, and he glanced over, smirk in place. He was all set to see the Official again, and give him absolute hell since he no longer had to be worried about the consequences.

Instead of the Keeper and his ex-boss, though, another familiar form strode through the door.

Darien sucked in a breath, standing before he was even aware of it. The sight of the man at the door brought so many emotions swooping over him that he couldn't sort them out. He could just stare.

Bobby Hobbes froze in the doorway, staring right back at him.



****

Two Years, Six Months...



Coward.

Darien ignored the small, snide voice in his head easily.

"Let's go, pal. We got bad guys to stop."

"Bobby..."

Bobby glanced back, his eyebrows raised. "Come on, big guy."

Darien glanced around, even though he knew the lab was empty. The Keeper had taken off to report to the boss, and now they were set to go out for the day and take out some guys trying to smuggle animal pelts into the country. It wasn't supposed to be that dangerous an assignment, so there was really no rush to get out and get it over with.

They were alone, and Darien was driving himself crazy with the need to talk to his partner. Ever since the case six months ago when Bobby almost lost his life in a hospital thanks to jumping in front of a bullet, Darien couldn't look him in the eye. He felt too much he was afraid to reveal.

So he had pledged to himself he would tell Bobby exactly how he felt. He pledged that Bobby would know how important he was to Darien.

But, of course, it hadn't gone that way. Bobby had healed, and things had kept going exactly as they had before. Darien couldn't say a thing, and it was starting to wear him down.

He couldn't help thinking -- six months ago, the case had been simple enough. It shouldn't have gotten violent, and it certainly shouldn't have ended up with Bobby almost dying. This case, and a dozen cases before this, had been the same way. They had gotten lucky, but Darien was developing ulcers. Whenever Bobby stepped in harm's way Darien was there, terrified and knotted, certain something was going to happen to take his partner away for good.

So he had to say something. No matter what came of it, he had to do it. Funny thing was, it wasn't so much for Darien's sake. He wanted Bobby to know how cared for he was. He wanted Bobby to realize that there was someone who needed him to be safe and wanted him to be happy.

"Fawkes? You're not blanking out on me, are you?"

"What?" Darien shook his head to clear it, sitting back on his chair and meeting his partner's eyes. "No, I'm fine."

Bobby's characteristic smirk faded slightly. "You sure?"

"Yeah." Darien sighed, bracing himself slightly. "Look, Bobby...just do me a favor, huh?"

"Yeah?" Bobby came in a few steps, leaning up against a counter and folding his arms, studying Darien.

"Just be careful, okay?"

Bobby frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Don't go jumping in front of any bullets. That clear enough for you?" Darien almost winced at the sarcasm in his own tone. He hadn't meant the conversation to go this way.

Bobby responded accordingly. "Look, hotshot, if my partner wasn't a glorified wonder-gland I wouldn't have this--"

"No." Darien raised a hand. "Sorry, that didn't come out right. I don't mean...just be careful, okay? You scare the hell out of me most of the time, the way you go jumping into things."

Bobby hesitated, then must have seen the genuine concern in his partner's eyes. His sarcasm drained away. "This isn't gonna be that dangerous. You know that."

"They say that a lot," Darien replied wryly.

Bobby's head cocked slightly. "You talking about me getting hurt? Darien, that's ancient history. I'm fine now."

"You almost died, Bobby." Darien dropped his eyes, looking down at his hands to avoid the curious look Bobby was giving him. If nothing interrupted them, this conversation might actually be the one Darien had promised himself for months he would make.

"It happens sometimes. Dangerous job."

"I'm not kidding around here, Bobby. I just...I would really hate it if something happened to you, ya know?"

"Well..." Bobby cleared his throat slightly. "Nothing's gonna happen to me, so stop worrying. Can we get out of here and wrap this case up?"

Darien was tempted, really temped, to shrug it off and follow Bobby out, same as always.

But something inside of him actually gave him enough courage to shake his head. "Not until you promise me you'll watch your back."

"What's with the mother act, Fawkes?"

Darien stood up, meeting Bobby's gaze directly. "You're my best friend. I care about you a lot, and you act like you have the right to play games with your life. You don't, Bobby. Not anymore. I worry about you all the time, and I hate those hotdog acts you pull that almost get you killed. You act like it wouldn't matter if something happened to you, but it would. It would matter a hell of a lot, to me. Okay?"

Bobby was quiet for a long moment. When he finally spoke, his voice was quiet. "I'm waiting for the joke here."

Darien blew out a breath. "Why does there have to be a joke? There's no punch line coming up. Is it so hard to believe that I'm really worried about you?"

Bobby shrugged. "Maybe it is."

Darien frowned. "Why? Tell me that. You go jumping in front of me every chance you get trying to protect me. Why is it strange for me to feel the same way about you?"

A wry smile crossed Bobby's face. "I'm used to stirring up weird emotions in people, kid. None of them have a thing to do with care or concern."

"Well, get used to it. I'm not used to feeling this way towards people, so I guess it's a screwed up situation for both of us."

Bobby hesitated, then flashed a small genuine smile. "I guess I can deal with that." He came forward and clapped Darien on the shoulder. "You want to get out of here and do our job now?"

Darien internally heaved a sigh, knowing this was as close as he was going to get to confessing his feelings today.

But it was closer than he was yesterday, so it wasn't a waste.



****



The Keeper hadn't told Darien anything. 'Bobby's dying' is all she had said, and then refused to give details. Darien had almost been expecting Bobby to be in the Lab when they got there, laid out on some bed with a bullet in his gut. If not here than in the hospital.

Instead here he was, alive and healthy and looking like he was seeing a ghost, which was exactly how Darien felt.

Bobby pulled himself together faster than Darien could, and he continued into the lab. "She here?" he asked gruffly.

Darien shook his head.

Bobby came in, but stopped before he could get too close to Darien. "What are you doing here?" he asked carefully, his voice neutral.

Darien found his voice finally. "She told me you were...in trouble." He managed to keep his voice from wavering.

Bobby made a face. "In trouble?"

"Dying," Darien said quietly. "She said you were dying."

Bobby scoffed. "Me? Come on, kid. I look sick to you?" He raised his arms and displayed himself for Darien's eyes.

Darien took full advantage of the opportunity. He took in his old partner, the man he hadn't seen for two years.

Bobby looked good. He was right, he didn't look sick at all. He really didn't look much different from the man Darien hadn't said goodbye to those months ago. His hairline had maybe gone a bit further towards oblivion, but as always Darien could only reflect how the look suited the man. He was dressed well, in a slightly higher quality version of the suits he always used to wear.

His eyes were bright with emotion he wouldn't show on his face, but he looked good. Healthy.

Darien swallowed finally and forced a smile. "Nope. You look good, Bobby."

Bobby's smirk faded slightly at Darien's sincerity, and he dropped his hands and shifted. "You too, Darien."

There was silence for an awkward moment.

"So you're all right?"

Bobby shrugged. "Bout as good as I ever was." A look flashed across his face suddenly, unreadable. "Yeah, I'm fine. You can get the hell out of here and get on with your life, okay? I don't know what the Keeper was thinking, but you don't need to be here."

Darien moved his eyes down to the ground. He wasn't ready for this. He just wasn't ready to handle all these emotions. This morning he woke up thinking it was just going to be another ordinary day, and suddenly he was back here, face to face with a man he hadn't been able to shake the ghost of for two years, and dealing with these old unwelcome emotions again.

Bobby shook his head slightly to clear it, and came forward a few steps. "It was real nice to see you again, Fawkes, but you should really get out of here. Now."

There was suddenly nothing friendly in Bobby's demeanor, and it took Darien aback. "Bobby...why would Claire have come to--"

"I don't know. I got no idea why she does anything. I'm not her Keeper, kid. It works the other way around, remember? Now do us all a favor and leave before you get sucked into something you got no right being involved in."

Darien shook his head silently. As good as Bobby looked, Darien knew from memory and from knowing Bobby that he would push to keep Darien from getting involved in anything, especially if it was Bobby who was in trouble. Bobby had this perverse desire to take the fall for everyone around him. Protect them by sacrificing himself.

Darien had always hated that. It scared the shit out of him most of the time. Like now. "Sorry, Bobby. She brought me here, I have to find out what she wants."

Darien was surprised at the reaction those words caused. Bobby instantly looked away from him, his anger and belligerence draining out of him, leaving emptiness.

"Darien..." His voice was suddenly soft. "Please. Don't get involved in this. It's just gonna bring up a bunch of things I don't think either of us wants to deal with right now. You've got your own life back, keep it that way."

Darien was almost tempted. After a certain point, he had never been able to refuse Bobby anything. Bobby rarely asked anything of people, especially of Darien. When he did ask, Darien would trip all over himself trying to do what Bobby wanted.

But this time he couldn't. Things had changed; things were different now. And something, he was becoming more convinced of every second, was very wrong here.

"I'm sorry, Bobby," he said finally.

Bobby sagged, looking worn down and tired and sad. "Great. Just what I need right now." He turned suddenly and headed for the door.

Darien was surprised into movement, going after him quickly. "Where are you going?"

Bobby didn't even glance back. "I got work to do."

"Bobby..." Darien reached out and grabbed him before he could make the door open.

Bobby reacted violently, flinching at the touch and wheeling around, practically shoving Darien off of him. "Stay away from me, Fawkes! I don't want you here, you got that? If you insist on sticking around, leave me the hell alone." He glared at his old partner for a moment, then turned and went out the door.

Darien was too shocked to move after him.

****

Two Years, Five Months...

"Darien, what the hell are you doing?" Bobby wasn't even trying to keep his voice below a roar. He slammed the door of the van, glaring violently at his partner. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Son of a bitch!"

Darien almost flinched, still shaken himself by the encounter. A bullet had come too close to killing him. Too damned close. If it wasn't for the Kevlar-lined jacket he still had courtesy of the Keeper, he would be dead.

But Bobby had forgotten the Kevlar, and he had thought Darien was down.

He had gone insane, running directly in the open to where the poachers were shooting from, and even throwing his gun away as he jumped at the shooter, pounding him into the ground with a fierce violence that almost led to the bad guy's death.

But Darien had recovered enough to come up behind them and pull his partner off the man.

Bobby turned and saw he was all right, then, without much reaction, ordered him to wait in the van until the Agency boys showed up.

Darien was absently fingering the new dent in the jacket he wore, his mind spinning with the knowledge that if it had been ten degrees warmer outside that morning, he'd be dead or dying.

"You don't go popping your head up in the middle of a fucking gunfight! You are the luckiest piece of shit alive that you're still breathing!"

Darien looked over with dazed eyes. "I had to warn you."

Bobby cursed up and down, his hands clenching around the steering wheel. He didn't make a move to start the van. He just sat there, tense and angry.

Darien's hand went from the dented Kevlar to the sore spot on his chest beneath the fabric. He winced as he prodded gingerly, knowing he would be black and blue tomorrow.

Bobby heard the intake of breath. "Shit. Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Gonna be bruised. No big deal."

"No big deal," Bobby repeated under his breath. "Shit."

Darien glanced over, and saw that his partner's hands were shaking on the wheel. "What about you? You okay?"

Bobby opened his mouth to answer, but paused. "Fuck," he answered finally. "I don't know. You scared the shit out of me, Darien."

Darien flashed a faint smile. "You turn into a potty mouth when you're mad, Hobbes."

"You drive me nuts, Fawkes," Bobby retorted. "You know how many times I've had to stop you from running out in the middle of the damned street? You realize how close you've come to dying?"

Darien fingered his jacket. "Yeah. Believe me, I realize it."

Bobby frowned, leaning over to feel the dented jacket. "Funny. Much as you yelled at me a couple weeks ago about being careful, you seem to think you're gonna live forever." His voice was softer, slightly calmer.

Darien shook his head. "I know I'm not immortal. I just can't seem to stop myself sometimes."

Bobby's hand moved slightly, running down the jacket and resting over Darien's hand. "Learn some control, Darien," he said quietly. "I can't handle many more days like this."

Darien sucked in a breath, looking into deep brown eyes that seemed suddenly so close to his. A dull pain sliced through his chest at the genuine fear and worry in his partner's face. "I'm sorry," he said sincerely.

Before he really realized what he was doing, he moved his hand, sliding his fingers between Bobby's, holding his hand tightly.

Bobby's eyes dipped down to their joined hands, then back up to Darien's face.

Before he could say anything, Darien jerked his hand away, breaking the moment with a laugh that was a little too loud. "Nothing like a cozy moment between pals to reaffirm life, huh?"

Bobby's brow furrowed, and he searched Darien's expression for a moment.

Darien's grin lost its edge, and then faded completely. He dropped his eyes. "Bobby, I'm..."

Bobby chuckled suddenly, a low, throaty sound.

Darien looked up, the sound doing strange things to his stomach at the same time his heart ached at being laughed at. "You got something to say you might as well go ahead."

Bobby shook his head. "And I thought I was the one that always made things harder than they had to be."

"What do you--"

Bobby moved his hands up to the front of the jacket and pulled Darien in to him quickly, smacking a light, quick kiss on his lips. He let him go a moment later, moving back into his own seat and starting the engine of the van.

Darien blinked, frozen in place. Stunned, his hand came up and touched his lip, feeling the memory of contact. He glanced over at Bobby's profile, seeing a crooked grin stretched on that expressive face.

Darien could feel his own smile bursting forth, and his hand dropped to his lap. He sat back, turning to face the street as the van pulled into the street.

****

The door didn't open again for another ten minutes or so. Darien had drifted back to the old chair and sat, lost in thought. He was confused and hurt and a little angry, but he also knew that until he figured out what had been happening here at the Agency, he couldn't assign his anger to anyone in particular. Especially not Bobby Hobbes.

When the door slid open, the solemn face of the Keeper looked in at him. She was followed by the Official, who was looking a little older and more tired. Just like Claire, and Bobby.

He wondered suddenly if that was how he looked to them. He hadn't seen many changes in himself in the last couple of years, but time always managed to show on people one way or another.

"Darien Fawkes." The Official looked sincerely happy to see him as he moved past the Keeper and up to Darien. "You've done pretty good for yourself, kid. Security, no less."

Darien smiled faintly. "Why am I not surprised you've kept tabs on me?"

The Official shrugged. "That's what we do here. We've actually had to cross your people a few times, but we shouldn't talk about that right now."

Darien's eyebrows flew up, but he grinned. "No, we probably shouldn't."

"Did the Keeper explain anything to you?"

Darien glanced over at the blonde woman, noting that the solemn look on her face hadn't faded. "Not really, no. She said Bobby was dying. But I just saw him. He seems fine."

She jerked to attention at that. "Bobby was here?"

"Yeah, about ten minutes ago."

"Dammit." She immediately headed for the cooler by the wall and opened it, digging through the vials and jars.

Darien watched her for a minute. "Bobby said he was fine. He said I should get out of here."

The Official faced him seriously. "You want to stay out of it?"

"I just want to know what's going on around here."

"I have to find him. He needs a shot."

Darien frowned over at the Keeper. "A shot of what? He really is sick, isn't he?"

She stopped almost dead, turning to him in shock. "My God, Darien. You have no idea what's going on here, do you?"

Darien resisted the urge to retort with something snide. "No," he said simply.

"I thought he would have told you. I can't believe..." She trailed off, her eyes going inward. "No wonder."

"No wonder what? Jesus, I remember why I hated this place. You people can't even answer a straight question, can you?"

Her lips pursed slightly, and she faced him. "It's a rather long story."

He raised his eyebrows. "I got time."

****

Two Years...

"Where are you going?"

Bobby stopped in surprise in the open doorway to his apartment. "Darien. What're you doing here?"

Darien frowned at him, his eyes taking in easily the dark pants and shirt Bobby was wearing. His going-out-for-the-night clothes. "You got plans?"

Bobby shrugged. "I was feeling restless. You want to come along? We could both stand to meet some new people."

New people. Darien almost winced. His eyes dropped and he shook his head, ignoring the small pain in his chest. "No. That's okay, I'll just go home. Have fun." He turned and headed down the hall.

Bobby closed his door and came after him a minute later. "Darien...you pissed?"

Darien slowed down to let him catch up, but didn't look back at him. "Nah."

"Yeah, right. Come on, kid, we have a deal, right?"

A deal. Darien grimaced, but nodded. "I know, Bobby. It's fine. Go have some fun."

Bobby blew out a breath, and Darien knew this wasn't going over. Bobby could usually read him like a book -- he may as well not even bother trying to lie to him.

"All right, it bothers me, a little."

"I told you from the beginning--"

"I know! Look, you're right. You never made it a secret that you're not looking for any kind of committed thing. You don't want that; I get it."

"So what's the problem?"

Darien stopped in the hallway, turning to his partner and part-time lover. "I do."

"You do what?"

"I want a committed thing. I want more than this, Bobby."

Bobby frowned. "You do?"

"Yeah." Darien shifted, suddenly awkward about his announcement. "You know, I never had much in my life that was permanent. I never worried about it before, but I'm starting to get old, and I'm getting tired of living in an empty apartment." He shoved his hands in his pockets, glancing back down the hall to make sure it was empty.

"Darien..." Bobby followed his gaze to the empty hallway. "Shit. You couldn't say anything?"

Darien flashed a smile tinged with irony. "If I knew exactly when I figured this out, you'd have been the first to know, believe me. Look, you like going out and meeting people. You don't mind that people don't know anything about the real you. You make up these details and stories about a fake life and people buy it and that's good enough for you. But it's no good for me. I couldn't tell anyone I meet the truth about me, and I want to be with someone who knows who and what I am. So I want this to be more serious, yeah."

Bobby shook his head slowly. "I can't do that, Darien. I'm sorry as hell to hear you say this, and if I could I would..."

"You can't, huh?" Darien kept his voice quiet, trying not to turn this into some kind of confrontation.

Bobby met his eyes. "I can't," he said again plainly. "I can't handle anything like that right now. I told you that."

"Why not?"

Bobby frowned. "Because I can't. That not good enough for you? I was married for seven years, and I put my whole life in it. When it ended, I said I'd never do that again. I can't afford to do it, you understand that?"

Darien shook his head, almost reluctant. "No. I'm not Vivian, Bobby."

"Yeah. I know. And funny thing is, I almost wish I hadn't promised myself...but I did. And I get the feeling I'm gonna break that promise sooner or later. Darien, I lo...I really do care about you, but even if I eventually decide to risk it, it isn't gonna happen now. It's too soon."

"You expect me to wait?"

Bobby flinched. "Dammit, Darien, this isn't fair! I told you up front how I felt. You told me it was fine. You gonna give me some kind of ultimatum now that we're happy?"

Darien held his breath for a moment, then let it out slowly. "No. No ultimatums, Bobby. But you know how I feel now. I hope it means something to you."

Bobby's frown twisted into an almost-glare. "You know exactly how much it means, Fawkes. Jesus Christ, this is exactly why I can't get into something with you. You knew from before we started sleeping together that I'd do anything for you. Why do you think it's different now?"

"Because you won't do this," Darien snapped back. "I gotta tell myself you love me, because you won't do it. And I have to sit at home alone knowing you're out meeting some woman to fuck for the night, and tell myself that we've got a good thing together."

"God dammit. You're so god damned literal. You gotta hear the words? It isn't enough for you to know I'd die for you without a single regret? It isn't enough that I'd kill anyone who tried to hurt you? Well, fine. Yeah, Darien, I love you."

Darien held his breath, wishing he had just decided to stay home that night. This wasn't how he wanted to confession to be made.

"I love you. But that doesn't mean I'm gonna stop loving myself. I made myself a promise, and I won't break it to give you something I never promised you. You got that?" He didn't wait for a reply. "Get out of my way. I'm gonna go out and have some fun. If it bothers you so much that you don't want anything to do with me outside off the Agency, well...fine. Just fucking great."

Darien didn't move as Bobby brushed past him and moved to the stairs.

A minute later Bobby was out of sight, and Darien knew exactly what he had to do.

He had to call Bobby tomorrow. Ask if he had a good time, and try and make a date with him for the night. Because even if this wasn't everything he wanted, it was the closest he could get, and that would have to be enough for now.

****



Darien sat stiffly, waiting for the Keeper to keep talking.

She studied him. "Darien. Do you remember when I first told you I found the solution towards getting the gland removed from your brain?"



****

One Year, Eight Months...

"Come in, Darien."

He moved slowly, his eyebrows lost somewhere in his hairline. This was strange. A meeting called for the middle of the day, and a smiling Keeper greeting him in the Official's office?

He sat down, glancing from the grinning woman by the desk to the always-solemn man sitting behind it. "What's up?"

"We have some news for you, Fawkes. Thought you'd be interested." The Official nodded to the Keeper.

Her grin threatened to split her face. She held out a thick folder to him.

Darien took it, unable to hold back a smile at her expression. "What's this?"

"What you're holding is the one thing in the world you want most right now," she answered.

He couldn't help a scoff. "Unless it's the mysterious solution towards getting this thing out of my brain, you're wrong about that."

Her smile didn't fade.

He laughed. "So you want to reword that a little?"

With barely-contained glee, she shook her head.

He stared at her for a minute, then down at the folder in his hand. Without even bothering to open it, he glanced over at the Official. "Is this..."

The boss nodded with his own faint smile.

Darien looked back at the Keeper. "You two had better not be playing some weird mind-game."

She laughed with genuine humor. "No game. I want you to look through that and measure out the entire procedure, and if you agree to it, we can have the gland out of you by the end of the month."

He just gaped. "Are you serious?"

"Very."

Darien blinked at the folder in his hand, and his grip tightened around it as he realized just how important it was. He brought it up to his chest, holding it close to him. "Oh my God."

She laughed again merrily. "Don't worry, we have copies of everything in that folder. Just take it home and read it."

"Yeah. Yeah, I will." He grinned suddenly, his mind spinning. "Is this for real?"

"As real as it gets, Darien." She reached her hand out. "It may be premature, but let me be the first to congratulate you."

He reached out and shook her hand stiffly, and then came to his senses a minute later. He jumped out of his chair and yanked her arm, pulling her into a huge hug. "Holy shit! I knew you would do it!"

She laughed and returned the hug with affection. "I never stopped looking for the answer, you know."

"I know." He pulled back to beam at her. "Thank you! Jesus, thank you thank you thank you!"

"All right, Fawkes." The Official stood, still as serious as ever. "There's a lot to do now, so even if you--"

Darien was at him in a flash, cutting his boss off with an oomph as he grabbed the round man in another bear hug. "You fat bastard!" He grinned at his boss. "I'm gonna miss you!" His grin faded slightly then, as he realized he had no idea what his relationship would be to the Agency after the gland was gone.

"I expect in some small way I'll miss you too, Fawkes," the Official replied as he extricated himself from Darien's grasp.

Darien's beaming, idiotic grin returned at that. "Oh, shit! I gotta tell Bobby!"

The Keeper opened her mouth to say something, but Darien was flying out the door before she could.



****

Darien shook off the memory and nodded easily. "Yeah. Best day of my life."

She frowned. "What I didn't tell you was that I had discovered it almost three weeks before I told you. I informed the Official, but..."

Darien glanced over at the silent man beside him. "But what?"

The Official answered. "But I told her not to go through with it. The gland was far too important to the Agency. Removing it would have destroyed it."

"It wasn't simply a matter of taking it out and keeping it in stasis until we could figure out what to do with it next. If the gland wasn't implanted again, it would have been worthless in a matter of days."

Darien looked at the Official in surprise. "You were going to keep the thing in my head?"

"We were," he confirmed blandly. "The operation to remove it would have drained every last resource I had, which meant no hiring and training of another man to take your place."

Darien frowned back and forth between them. "So what changed your mind?"

The Keeper came forward a few steps, and Darien could see the syringe in her hand clearly. Filled with a familiar bright blue liquid. "Bobby found out about everything. He knew we would have to replant the gland to keep it alive, and he knew the only way the Official would allow me to remove it from your head would be to put it in someone else's."

****

One Year, Eight Months...



"Bobby! I'm gonna be free!"

Bobby looked up from his desk when Darien burst in. His eyebrows lifted slightly. "Got news for you, Fawkes. They broke you out of jail a long time ago."

"Not from jail! From this! From the Agency!" Darien dropped the folder on Bobby's desk and grabbed his hands, jerking him up. "From this god damned gland!" He threw his arms around Bobby, beaming into his shoulder. A moment later he pulled back. "You realize what this means? My own life back! I can do whatever I want! No more insanity, no more dodging bullets."

Bobby smiled wryly. "You got it made, kid."

Darien laughed. "You bet your ass I do!"

There was a slight sound from the door, and Darien wheeled to see Eberts standing there. "Eberts!"

Eberts raised his arms to field the blur off, but Darien's enthusiasm overpowered him, and he was grabbed in his own hug. Predictably, he stiffened. Clearing his throat, he looked over Darien into the office. "Agent Hobbes, the Keeper needs to see you when you're done here."

Darien glanced back as Bobby nodded, and released Eberts. The lackey went on about his duties, and Bobby moved towards Darien.

"Sorry, kid. Duty calls. Some of us aren't getting out of here that easily."

Darien grinned, knowing full-well Bobby had no interest in getting away from the Agency. "I'll see you tomorrow then, huh?"

Bobby couldn't help but laugh at his face-splitting grin. He rested his arm on Darien's back for a long moment. "Yeah. See you then. And I'm happy for you, Darien. Really."

Darien smiled at Bobby's back as his partner went down to the lab. He knew Bobby was happy for him. He also knew that their relationship would go nowhere but up thanks to this. Without the pressure of working together, and hiding it from everyone, things would be so much easier.

He shut Bobby's door behind him, and his smile went crooked for a moment as he realized that although Bobby really did seem happy, he didn't seem surprised.

He wasn't surprised at all.

****

Darien could feel a sudden churning growing in his gut. Things started coming together in his mind with a lightning fast speed. Bobby needed a shot, and what she held now was Counteragent. Bobby's words from minutes ago: 'I'm not her Keeper, kid. It works the other way around, remember?'

Bobby reacting so violently when Darien grabbed his arm. Was there a tattoo there? Something Bobby didn't want him to see?

"Oh my God," Darien said quietly as the thoughts all converged to one conclusion. "Bobby has the gland. Bobby..." He trailed off, his eyes wide with shock and disbelief as he looked at the Keeper.

She nodded silently.

The Official spoke up a moment later. "He was the best agent we had, and he volunteered. If not for that, you would never have left here."

Darien's mind couldn't grasp it. Everything it meant -- Bobby and the gland. He volunteered, before the Keeper even told Darien about the operation.

And then, after the gland was removed...

****

One Year, Seven Months...

"Hello?"

"Where the hell have you been the last few days?"

There was a pause. "Oh. Hey, Darien. How you doing, kid?"

"Me? I'm fan-frigging-tastic. How else would I be?" Darien grinned into the phone. "So why did you vanish off the face of the earth the days I was recovering from my little operation? I could have used some home-care."

"Yeah, well. I'm not much of a nurse."

Darien frowned at that. Bobby actually sounded a lot like Darien had felt the last couple of days. "You okay, Bobby?"

"Yeah. Tired. Working hard. I don't really have time to talk right now, Darien."

"Hang on, Bobby. Why don't you stop by for dinner."

There was another short pause. "What for?" Bobby's voice was almost hard.

Darien's brow furrowed. "I want to see you. Since when do I need a reason?"

"All right, I guess we ought to go ahead and do this, huh?"

"Do what?"

Bobby sighed into the phone. "Let's just call it goodbye, huh, Darien? If we go on pretending we want anything to do with each other, it'll just make us miserable."

Darien sucked in a breath, caught totally off guard. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"It's over. We had our kicks, and now you're a free man, and you don't need to stick with me anymore."

"Our kicks? Bobby, I--"

"Forget it. Don't even bother explaining, or arguing. We were both in this for a little pleasure, and that's it. No point in denying there was more there. You've got your whole life to start over. Enjoy it. Don't call me anymore, Darien."

"Are you kidding me?" Darien's voice was low.

"Darien...look, Fawkes, I don't want to hear from you again. You cramped my style enough when we were screwing, don't do it now that we aren't."

Darien could only stare at the phone in shock, and when the click came to signify Bobby had hung up, he didn't even register it until the sound of the dial tone filled his ears.

****

Darien knew suddenly, as certainly as he knew anything, that this was why. He and Bobby, before that operation, were a lot of things to each other. They were friends, they were partners, and Darien was sure he wanted to spend the rest of his life by Bobby's side. They weren't lovers for that long before Darien got the gland removed, but it was long enough for Darien to fall head over heels for his devoted, loyal, brilliant and fun partner.

Darien couldn't believe it, but he did. He convinced himself that Bobby hadn't cared at all, and so he had spent the last two years alone and bitter over it.

But Jesus, this changed everything. Bobby had the gland in his own head, and Darien was no longer working with the Agency. Bobby -- stubborn, self-sacrificing Bobby, who hadn't even told him he was volunteering to take Darien's place -- had pushed him away on purpose.

"Oh my God," Darien heard himself saying again. Bobby had been here for the last two years, dealing with what Darien had dealt with, only alone? He had been getting shots and dealing with madness? With Bobby's precarious mental state being what it was, what was the quicksilver madness doing to him?

And what was happening now, that made the Keeper search out Darien specifically?

"You said he was dying?" Darien's voice was soft -- even he barely recognized it.

She nodded. "Something has gone wrong. The gland is...breaking down, to put it simply. I'm not sure exactly why. Your brother's research didn't progress quite that far. I can't say for sure if it would have happened had the gland remained in your brain. All I know is that Bobby is slowly starting to lose control over it."

Darien was starting to feel distinctly sick. "Lose control."

She nodded slowly. "He will occasionally become invisible without meaning to. The gland simply acts on it's own. There has also been one occasion where the gland stopped reproducing the quicksilver, and he became visible at a very inopportune moment. It takes less time now to bring about the quicksilver rage, and it takes more counteragent to stop it." She sighed heavily. "I'm not exactly sure where this is leading. There is a good chance the gland has exhausted itself, and it will simply cease functioning altogether. The only problem is, I'm not sure what that will do to Bobby."

"You think it will kill him."

She frowned more deeply, but nodded. Her concern for Bobby was obvious. "Physically, psychologically. One way or another, it will at the very least do a lot of harm."

"So take it out." Darien looked at the Official, then back at Claire. "If it's tired itself out, who cares if it destroys itself or not. Take it out of his brain."

She smiled faintly, and it was devoid of any happiness at all. "That's why you're here. We want to try exactly that, but there's a problem."

"Of course there is. What?"

"My notes on the first operation, the one that removed the gland from your head, have vanished."

Darien blinked. "Vanished."

"Yes. I discovered them missing almost a month ago, but we couldn't find the thief, and it wasn't a priority at the time. Even Bobby told us to stop worrying about it."

"But you remember what you did, right? It was only a couple of years ago. You can't just have forgotten how to get the thing out."

"It's a complicated process, Darien. There's a lot to the operation. I had to make very detailed notes before I could even attempt to operate on you, and those notes are important. I need to go back and look at what we did. I need to be able to study someone who has gone through the process, and you would be the only choice I have."

Darien nodded slowly. "I'll do it," he said quickly. "I'll do whatever I have to. But what if it doesn't work? Or it doesn't happen fast enough?"

"Bobby may die. Or he may be fine, or he may turn out cataleptic. There's no good way to be sure."

"He knows about all this?"

She nodded. "He does."

"He wasn't going to say anything," Darien said quietly, his eyes going inward. "He was gonna let me leave without even telling me about the gland."

She sat gingerly on the edge of the seat beside Darien. "He didn't want you to get involved in this, he made that clear. But I had no idea he never told you what was going on. I was..." She hesitated. "I thought when we never heard from you that you had simply deserted him to his fate. I admit I haven't made any effort to contact you over the last two years because of that, and I'm sorry for it now."

He shrugged, smiling somewhat sadly. "I figured the same thing, actually. Thought you guys considered me a traitor to the ranks for wanting to leave."

The Official spoke up. "No, kid. We understood where you were coming from. We had about as little choice in the matter as you did, believe me. If there was any other way to save the research and the money and the gland and let someone else take your place, we would have done it in a minute."

"Yeah, I guess I didn't make things easy on you."

"No more difficult than Hobbes has, don't worry."

"Really?" Darien smiled faintly. "I figured he'd be the perfect guy for you."

"Oh, he does anything we want him to. But I finally had to break down and give him a raise."

The door slid open, and an unfamiliar man in a light-colored suit came in. He eyed Darien for a split second before turning to the Keeper. "Where'd Bobby go?"

She shrugged. "I wasn't here when he arrived. He took off before I could come back."

"What?" The man, almost as tall as Darien and dark-complected -- Italian, Darien guessed -- moved right up to her, concern flashing over him. "He didn't get a shot?"

"Not yet." She studied him. "What happened?"

"He had to go under for almost fifteen minutes. He almost got trapped by Santos and his men. He's got to be right on the edge right now."

She frowned. "I was afraid of that. Where would he go?"

The man frowned and shrugged.

"Try his office," Darien suggested quietly.

They turned to him.

He shrugged. "He wouldn't have gone far. Just far enough to get away from me." He looked away from the Keeper's searching eyes before she could see the amount of emotion behind that.

The suited man -- Bobby's new partner, Darien realized with another wrench in his chest -- moved to the Keeper's desk and grabbed her phone.

"Bobby?" he said a moment later. "Are you insane? Get down here and get a shot." He paused, listening, and his eyes darted over to Darien. "Yeah," he said quietly. "But it doesn't matter. You're gonna flip out any minute now." His jaw tightened in a familiar expression of annoyance, a look Darien knew he'd worn a lot thanks to Bobby's behavior. "Just get down here, hero. I'll protect you." He laughed faintly, then hung up the phone.

Darien felt a flash of sadness. Someone else was calling Bobby nicknames and being sarcastic with him. This guy, whoever the hell he was, had slid in to take Darien's spot.

"He'll be down in a minute," the man told the Keeper.

"Good."

He turned to Darien. "You must be Fawkes."

Darien nodded slowly.

"Why don't we go take a walk, Fawkes."

Darien glanced over at the Keeper, but knew Bobby would be tense and miserable if he stayed in there while he was getting a shot of counteragent. So he stood slowly and followed the man out the door and down the hall.

"Sorry, but I don't think any of us need to deal with Bobby's mental processes right now." The guy flashed a surprisingly friendly smile, his affection for Bobby plain in his words.

Darien felt himself smiling back before he was really sure he liked this guy at all.

Bobby's partner flashed a brighter smile in response, and stuck out his hand. "I'm Nikos Poldorous. Call me Nick."

"Darien Fawkes." Darien shook the man's hand firmly. "So you're Bobby's partner?"

"Yeah, for about six months now. Sixth in line after you left, I think."

"Sixth?"

"Bobby can come off a little too intense for a lot of people. I figure he managed to scare most of them away. We work pretty well together, though."

"Yeah? So how's he been? I mean..."

"He's fine. I can't really help you much. I don't know what he was like before I met him, but he's always been a pretty together guy while I've worked with him. Well, considering."

"Yeah." Darien heard the swish of elevator door opening behind him, and he tensed.

Nick's eyes went over his shoulder, and a broad smile crossed his face. He moved past Darien quickly. "Bobby, let's get you in here. You're driving your Keeper crazy. Again." He steered Bobby past Darien and down the hall without giving either of them time to react to each other.

Darien wasn't sure whether to be annoyed or grateful. He and Bobby had to talk. He had to take Bobby to task for keeping so much secret. He had to deal with what he now knew had been going on for the last two years.

But Nick probably had the right instinct. Neither he nor Bobby was in any condition to talk right then. This was too new, and emotions were too strong.

The small sound of a throat clearing behind him made Darien jump, and he turned quickly.

"Agent...I mean, Darien. I heard you were down here."

Darien smiled faintly. "Eberts. How you been?"

The Official's right-hand man shrugged. The Keeper was right -- he did look more relaxed. He was smiling easily. "I'm doing well, considering."

"Considering?"

"The whole place is falling apart lately," Eberts replied with a shrug. "We're losing our prize agent. One way or another, our invisible man is no more. It's sending us into a minor panic."

"Oh. Yeah, I guess so." Darien shifted uncomfortably, glancing back at the closed door to the lab. "Eberts? How's Bobby been doing with this whole thing?"

"Not as bad as you might think. In fact, he's propelled us into gaining what could be called a grudging respect from other government agencies."

"No. I mean...how's he been doing? Him."

Eberts frowned slightly. "Agent Hobbes and I have never been close friends. He wouldn't have told me if he was having problems."

"Don't stall. I know nothing happens here without you seeing it." Darien met his eyes. "Come on. I've missed too much already."

Eberts sighed. "To be honest, I'm surprised he's lasted this long. I can't tell you anything he wouldn't tell you himself. I can say, from my own observance, that when Bobby was told there was a good chance he wouldn't live past this year, it was more a relief to him than anything else."

Darien swallowed, the blood draining away from his face. He turned back towards the lab, and without a thought to the man behind him, he started forward.

"Agent Fawkes?"

He glanced back, not even bothering to correct Eberts. "Yeah?"

"We missed you around here."

He nodded, recognizing the other man's sincerity, but didn't reply.

The door to the lab slid open to reveal the Keeper in full-rant.

"And with the state of health you're in right now, I'll thank you not to let anything keep you from getting a shot when you need it. Not anything, Bobby."

"Yeah, yeah." Bobby was stretched out in Darien's old chair, his eyes shut. He looked tired and tense, and Darien couldn't blame him.

The Official and Nick glanced back and saw Darien standing there at the same time, but neither man said anything. The Official turned back to Bobby. "She's right, Hobbes. You've got too much to worry about right now. Don't invite trouble."

Bobby laughed faintly, not opening his eyes. "Well, someone just gave me a hell of a lot more to worry about."

Nick looked back at Darien pointedly.

Darien tensed, knowing Nick expected him to leave. Instead he came forward, and saw Nick's jaw tightening before his eyes moved to Bobby. "You should have told me," he said quietly.

Bobby didn't move; didn't even look at him. "What for?"

Knowing his reply had to be limited because of the company they were in, Darien hesitated. "I could have helped. I would have stuck around."

Bobby's eyes opened and found Darien. "I did fine on my own."

Darien almost wanted to get mad, but something inside him wouldn't let him. "You could have done better."

Bobby sat up, looking away from Darien and flexing his arm where he must have just gotten a shot. "How do you know?"

Darien spoke deliberately. "You wouldn't have had to be alone." He knew Bobby would know exactly what he was talking about.

Bobby must have -- he tensed and stood. "I didn't need your help, and I don't now. Accept it, Darien. Stay the hell away from me."

Darien met his eyes, shaking his head unconsciously. He didn't understand the anger Bobby had. If anything, Darien should be the angry one. "You don't have to act like this, you know."

Bobby pursed his lips in an achingly familiar look. He closed the distance between them and looked directly into Darien's eyes. "Go. Away."

Darien didn't react, meeting his eyes and hoping Bobby could see the hurt he wouldn't show.

Bobby moved after a moment, going past Darien and out the door.

Darien let out a breath he wasn't aware of holding as the door slid shut behind him.

Nick turned on Darien, the nice guy of a few minutes ago nowhere to be found. "All right, look, he wants you out of here. I know he's probably just being Bobby and blowing everything out of proportion, but he's getting upset seeing you here, and he can't afford that right now." He turned to the Keeper. "You're trying to keep him from getting upset any more than he has to, but you brought this guy in knowing how Bobby would--"

"I didn't know," she answered quickly. "I didn't know there was bad blood between them." The look she shot Darien told him she knew he hadn't had any idea about the bad blood either. "But I would have called Darien in regardless. We need his help."

Nick glanced between them for a minute, then shook his head and went for the door.

"Hang on, Poldorous." The Official started after him, his frown showing how unhappy he was with his agent venting his opinion in this situation.

A moment later they were both through the door and out of the lab, leaving Darien and the Keeper alone.

"Darien..." She spoke softly. "What's going on here?"

He hesitated. "I have no idea."

She moved closer to him, her eyes serious. "I think you have some idea. If you do, you have to tell me. I respect that you have your secrets and Bobby has his, but now is not the time to keep them. If you want to help him out, you have to be completely candid. What happened to you two? You were good friends before you left."

Darien released a pent-up breath, knowing she was right about keeping secrets being bad for Bobby. But it was Bobby's secret as well.

Then again, Bobby was obviously not even telling his secrets to save his own life. So someone had to.

"We...we were involved before I left." He met concerned blue eyes. "You know...involved."

Her eyes widened, but narrowed again a moment later. "That would explain some things," she said simply. "Oh, Darien. I wish I had had some clue. What went wrong? Was there some specific reason you never contacted him again?"

"He told me not to," Darien replied, dropping down to sit on the chair Bobby had vacated. "He said he never wanted to see me again. I don't know why. He said the whole thing was just for...you know, the pleasure...and it wasn't worth keeping it going."

She shook her head slowly, confused. "That doesn't sound much like my Bobby."

"Your Bobby?" Darien was almost amused.

She didn't return the feeling. "Don't forget, I've been his Keeper for two years now. That's as long as I was ever with you. I know Bobby quite well." She sat down beside him. "I'm not sure how close the two of you were, even considering your...relationship. But the Bobby I know is loyal, and would never just drop another person that way. There had to be a reason."

Darien nodded. "I wondered..." He frowned suddenly. "Look, if there's some reason, let me in on it if you find it out." He stood up. "He doesn't want me here, and his partner is right. I'm only hurting things staying around."

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going home," Darien answered flatly. "I'm gonna go to sleep, and tomorrow I'm gonna go to work, same as always. And I'm gonna try hard to pretend this whole day never happened." He started for the door.

"You can just forget everything you've learned?" Her voice came after him, quiet but carrying across the silent lab.

He stopped, shaking his head. "I'm not that lucky. But if I stay away, at least I won't hurt him anymore."

"Darien, Bobby is miserable. He has been for two years now. You being here is making him unhappy, that's true. But it's no different than normal. Would you rather he is unhappy or dead?"

His shoulders drooped. "Don't do this to me. It's not fair."

"No, it isn't." She came up behind him and moved around until she was in his line of sight. "Let me tell you, Darien. When you were under my care, I would have gone to most any lengths to keep you alive and healthy. I will do no less for Bobby. I care about him a great deal, and even if it means hurting your feelings to protect his life, I'll say anything I like to keep you here."

He blew out a breath. "He doesn't want me here."

"But he needs you. I need you to save him. And whether he admits it or not, I suspect you being gone is what's made him so miserable. You two need to work through whatever's wrong, and you can't do that hiding out in your new life." She smiled somewhat sympathetically. "It won't be easy for you, but I won't let you leave him to die."



****One Year, Five Months...

"Have you heard from Darien?"

Bobby didn't so much as tense, and he was mentally grateful for the accomplishment. "Nope. Kid's probably going on with his life now, and more power to him."

The Keeper turned to him with something like surprise. "I expect he'll pay us a visit now and then."

Bobby shrugged. "You probably know him better than I do," he lied blatantly. "But I don't plan to see him again." The words, spoken out loud for the first time, sent a flash of something like real physical pain through him.

She shook her head with a smile. "I have faith in our wayward friend. Besides, I expect he'll stop by just to see how you're faring."

Bobby returned the smile faintly. It wasn't going to happen. Darien wasn't going to check on something he didn't know about. And he wouldn't take steps to see Bobby when Bobby just dropped him on his ass like a bad habit.

"And speaking of faring, we should get started. The sooner we can get you trained to use the gland in your head, the sooner you can be back to doing what you do best."

Bobby welcomed the distraction. "Sounds easy."

She grinned. "It isn't. Bobby, you and I are going to get to know each other fairly well in the next few weeks. You're also going to learn to resent me, maybe even hate me."

He instinctively flashed his most charming smile. "I doubt that. Where do we start?"

"Tell me, Bobby, have you ever done much in the way of meditation?"

**

"Concentrate, Bobby. You use the gland like you use any other part of your body. Tell your brain what you want to happen, and it will."

"Easy for you to say." Bobby gritted his teeth, shutting his eyes. He concentrated, trying to tell a strange new body part that it had to function in a very specific way.

"Don"t do that."

His eyes snapped open again. "Do what?"

"Don't shut your eyes. Don't take so much time. Bobby, you worked with Darien. You know full well that when you most need to use the gland, you hardly have time to stop and prepare. You have to learn to make it a reflex. We had time to train Darien, but the Official wants you back in the field as soon as possible. We don't have the luxury of taking you step by step."

Bobby resisted the urge to snap back at her. He fully understood their duty. It would hardly be the first time he had been pushed harder than he should have to in the name of the job.

Still, this was some hard stuff to get a handle on in a few weeks.

He kept his eyes open, and tried to do what she said. He tried sending a simple thought to that gland, telling it to make his right arm disappear up to the elbow.

He could almost feel a reaction. The part of his brain that was now wired to the foreign object in his head seemed to react, and a shiver went through his body, centered in his arm.

He felt a strange sensation on his skin, familiar only from the few times Darien had flashed him into invisibility.

But aside from shivers of cold streaked with silver flashing up his arm, nothing happened.

He clenched his hand into a fist, concentrating, but the shivers faded away, sending only a few flakes of quicksilver falling of him.

He dropped his arm, standing in a jerk. "Dammit!"

"Bobby, don't--"

"Look, we've done enough for one day. I'm getting a headache here. I just want to go get some rest."

"You can't do that yet," she replied softly.

Bobby resisted the urge to leave anyway. His hands stayed locked in fists. "Why not?" he asked through gritted teeth.

She came over to him, taking his arm and turning it to reveal the other new addition to his body -- a small, plain circular tattoo.

Bobby saw that there were only two green sections left, and he started in surprise. "I'm that gone already?"

"Whether or not it's worked the way it should, you have been using the Quicksilver. I've told you, you get one half hour under the effects, and then you have to get a shot." She turned and went to her desk, picking up her phone.

Bobby's eyes lifted from the tattoo. "So are you gonna give me a shot?"

She glanced over, still on the phone, and shook her head.

His mouth dropped open, but he managed to stay patient until she spoke her few quiet words and hung the phone up. "What's going on here, Keeper?"

"Bobby." She moved back to his side, speaking softly. As if she knew he was going to get upset. "You've seen what happens to Darien when he goes Quicksilver mad."

"Yeah. Seen it right up close and personal, thanks. Why?"

"Because that is a reaction that is bound to be slightly different from one person to another."

Bobby stayed quiet for a minute, staring at her. "You're not telling me that you're gonna let me go nuts for a while just to see what kind of nuts I go."

She nodded. "That's exactly what I'm telling you."

He opened his mouth, then shut it again as the door slid open and two agents in their anonymous dark suits came in.

Bobby stood. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. Hang on a second here."

"Bobby, I know it sounds bad, but we need to see how the rage will affect you. You need to see what that gland can do to you. The sooner we get this over with, the better. And trust me, you want the environment around you to be as controlled as possible." She nodded at the agents. "We're just going to put you somewhere where you won't hurt yourself or anyone else, and we'll watch the effects. Just for a few minutes, Bobby, I promise."

Bobby jerked away as the first agent attempted to take his arm. "Where are you taking me?"

She smiled sadly. "A room we have specifically for this purpose."

"Oh, no, you're not. You're not gonna stick me in that padded cell you locked Darien in time and again."

"Bobby, please. It won't be as bad as you--"

"No! This is nuts! Just give me a shot."

She didn't reply, her eyes avoiding his.

The two agents came forward and grabbed him again.

Despite the panic building up in him, Bobby couldn't bring himself to lash out against fellow agents. He planted his feet, and struggled when they overpowered him and moved him, but could break away and actually fight them.

And then one of them found some red-hot poker and jabbed it into the back of his head.

He let out a hoarse cry, and the adrenaline of pain let him rip an arm out of the agent's grasp. He grabbed the back of his head, almost sagging between the two men. There was no poker back there, but he swore it was still poking around inside of him, searing and burning through his brain.

"We don't have much time. Move him, now."

The Keeper's voice reached him from a distance, and his arm was jerked back as he was propelled into movement again.

He was taken out of the room, and just as the pain in his head was starting to fade, it was back again, full-force, ripping a scream out of him.

His thoughts weren't working, and his limbs wouldn't let him fight. The one last thing he realized before the pain and the gland drove out every thought was that she was right -- he might just grow to hate her after all.



****



"You're still here." It wasn't a question, and it wasn't very friendly.

Darien grimaced. "Yeah, I'm still here." And not any happier about it than you are, he finished mentally.

Bobby's partner stood up from Bobby's desk, moving around at the same time gesturing Darien to shut the door. "Want to talk for a minute? I've got a couple of questions, and it might be best if you stay out of the halls until Bobby leaves for the day."

Darien frowned, but shut the door and came in. "What kind of questions?"

Nick studied him for a moment. "What did you do to make him hate you so much? I've been told stories of the great Darien Fawkes, and nothing made me think you and Bobby weren't friends."

"He hasn't said anything to you?"

Nick shrugged. "I brought you up a couple of times, but he never wanted to talk about you." He smiled faintly. "I got the impression he was kind of bitter. He'd get the same look on his face about you that he does about Vivian."

Darien tried to smile, but it didn't work. "He did, huh?"

Nick studied him. "I figured it was wishful thinking on my part."

"Wishful thinking?"

"Yeah. Bobby's a hell of a guy, but straight as an arrow. Maybe I was looking for the possibility he was more adventurous than I thought."

Darien's mouth dropped open as he looked at the handsome, olive-skinned Greek. "You have a thing for Bobby?"

Nick shrugged. "I don't know. He's not usually my type, but there's just something about him..."

"Yeah," Darien agreed quietly.

That soft word caught Nick's attention. "You too, huh?"

Darien nodded with a crooked grin. "But you're wrong. He is more adventurous than you think."

Nick gaped. "So I was right! You two were a couple!"

Darien's eyes went to the closed door instinctively. "Jesus, tell the whole building."

"Sorry," Nick said, completely unapologetic. "How long?"

"Only a few months, and never exclusive." He managed to keep the bitterness out of his voice, and was pretty proud of the accomplishment.

"So what happened? Bad break-up? Is that why he hates you so much now?"

He doesn't hate me, Darien wanted to argue. But he realized with a flash of pain that he had nothing to support that with. "Honestly, I don't know what happened. It ended when I left this place. Suddenly he didn't want anything to do with me."

"Huh." Nick nodded thoughtfully. "I guess I can't blame you for sticking around."

Darien shrugged. "I can't blame you for wanting me out of here," he said in reply.

"So why are you here?"

"The Keeper thinks I can help. I think she's just gathering all her resources right now. I've had the operation before, to get the gland out, and I guess she can use me for something."

"In that case, you have my blessing. Stay as long as you want. Just...stay away from him, okay? He's going through enough right now."

Darien shook his head in answer, almost reluctant. He could get to become friends with this guy, and he didn't want to ruin it. Still... "We have to talk. I have to figure out why he's acting the way he is."



****

One Year, Four Months...

"Darien?"

Darien turned warily. The voice behind him was familiar, and with his past it was never sure if familiarity was a good thing or not.

The man who caught his eye, though, brought a smile to his face. "John!"

John Norse grinned and strode up to him. "I thought that was you, you lucky little prick. When did you get out?"

"Few months ago," Darien gave the same vague reply he gave to everyone. "What about you?"

"Over a year ago."

Darien studied his old friend critically, keeping his smile. "You look good, John. What're you doing with yourself these days?"

"I got a job, Darien. Like, a real frigging job. Where I gotta wear suits and shit."

Darien laughed. "You? A sell-out?"

"Don't knock it till you've tried it, pal. I'm making money, and in six months my boss is retiring and I get the whole shebang,"

"What are you doing?"

John's grin grew bigger. "Security."

Darien gaped. "What?"

"Security. I help businesses and a few individual folks who are rich enough to care make sure no one can break into their places."

"You? You got a job like that? What, you lying on your resume?"

"Nah, didn't have to. My boss actually came to me to work for him. He doesn't have a record, but most of the guys who work for him do. You'd be surprised how many people protecting America did time in the pen."

"Huh."

"Yeah. So what are you doing now?"

Darien grimaced. "On my way to an interview, actually."

Jack glanced down at his jeans and sweater. "Interview?"

"Yeah. Restaurant down the street." Darien shrugged, embarrassed and not bothering to hide it. "Turns out there're not many jobs to be had if you can't account for the last couple of years of your life."

"You get a placement service when you got out?"

"Uh. No. My release was kind of unusual. I didn't get a lot of the benefits."

John's smile faded slightly. "Darien..."

"No, no. I didn't break out. I'm legal, don't worry."

"Oh. Well, hell, kid, brush off the interview and follow me back to work. I'm sure we could fit you in somewhere."

Darien hesitated. "You serious?"

"Depends." John met his eyes. "You straight now, Darien?"

Darien was honestly able to nod. "Definitely. In fact, me and the government have actually been pretty good friends lately."

"Huh. Well, we'll keep an eye on you for a while, but you can understand that. You want a job, kid?"

Darien grinned. "John, I always liked you."



****



Darien picked up the phone with trepidation. He dialed seven numbers slowly and listened to the ringing.

"Norse and Fawkes, can I help you?"

"Julie, put John on."

"Darien? Hang on."

He sat there staring at the walls of his apartment. He was dressed and ready to go, but he remembered in time that he wasn't going in to work. He was going to the Lab, just like old times.

"Darien? What's up? You're late, pal."

"Yeah. John, can you cover for me for a few days?"

"Something wrong?"

"Yeah. An old friend of mine needs help. It's a bad situation. I need a few days."

"No problem. We're caught up, and I owe you for my little trip to wine country last month. Take your time, just call me and keep me informed."

"Will do. Thanks, John."

"Anytime."

Darien hung up, his smile fading as he absorbed the silence in his apartment.

Another day off going to the Agency and sitting around. Another day of hanging out until the Keeper figured out exactly what she needed to do to get that gland out of Bobby's head.

And of course another day of trying to get his partner to talk to him, to no effect.

His old partner.

Darien dragged himself up and headed for the door, his steps heavy. There was too much going on all of the sudden. There was too much for his brain to absorb. First seeing everyone from the Agency again, and finding out about Bobby, and now trying to get the stubborn man to sit down and talk to him like a rational human being for five minutes.

Dealing with all the feelings Bobby brought up. That was the hardest part.

It was funny, but for all the one-week relationships Darien had had in his life, he wasn't the type to take love lightly. He could, of course, go out with someone, sleep with them, whatever, without being in love. He was a guy, after all.

But he couldn't love someone and then just stop. In fact, he wasn't sure if he'd felt anything like love for someone before Bobby. He thought he had it with Casey, but what he felt for her had been nothing compared to the feelings Bobby brought up in him. Back then, and even now.

So it was hell going there now and seeing Bobby, with no way to talk to him, or get through to him.

But he would do it, and would keep doing it until Bobby's life was saved.

He just wished Bobby wanted him there.



****

One Year, Two Months...

Darien jerked around and eyed the street behind him.

No one was there. But God, he could swear he was being followed. He would have bet money that there were eyes following him as he headed down the street.

Nah, he decided for the fourth time. Just leftover paranoia from the Agency. It had been six months, and he still had moments where he'd wake up and think he still had to be at the fat man's office by eight.

Not anymore. Now he had his own office to get to. He was starting his second month at the security agency, and he was actually pretty happy with it. The work was fun -- he was basically doing what he was arrested for. Breaking into offices and homes just to see where the flaws in their systems were. And he had an added advantage, thanks to his time with the agency. He could think like a criminal, an agent, and a man who once mastered the art of invisibility.

It was gaining him a reputation. If Darien Fawkes couldn't break in to a place, it was safe. Simple as that. Goldwyn and Norse was building up quite a list of clients, and John Norse was already making plans for Darien to take over when Jack Goldwyn retired.

Everything was going right. He was doing something that was actually pretty damned fun, and he was good at it. He was working with an old friend, and building up a real life, with new friends, a nice fat paycheck. He had it made.

Had it made.

He strolled back to the office after lunch, and couldn't shake the feeling that there was something odd. Someone watching him?

Problem was, there was no one in sight.

A thought sprang to his mind before he could block it. Bobby.

Bobby had always been able to find him, whether he wanted him to or not. He had always managed to track Darien down, and the few times Darien realized he was there was when Bobby wanted him to know.

Still, Darien couldn't see anyone. And even Bobby wasn't that good. He couldn't have tailed him all the way from the diner. Could he?

He shook his head to dismiss the thought. Bobby was long gone now -- in the past. He didn't have any reason to track Darien down. He'd made it clear he didn't want anything to do with Darien now.

Jesus, Fawkes. Time to stop living in the past already.

**

Darien slowed down, looking around suspiciously. A few moments later, he shook his head and kept going down the road.

He'd go to his office, and hang out with his friend Norse for a little while before going out on some call to break into some downtown plaza.

Bobby stopped following him. He stayed on the sidewalk watching until Darien turned a corner and was out of sight.

With a quick look to make sure no one else was around, he let himself flash into sight again.

His head was throbbing, but he shook it off. The gland seemed to be starting these headaches a lot lately.

He stood in the path for a long moment, his hands in his pockets, looking after his old partner.

Lunch was almost over, he'd have to get back to the Agency and his fifth in a short-lived line of partners. He would see Darien tomorrow.

But Darien would never see him.



****The door to the lab swishing open and the sound of loud voices startled Darien.

"Dammit, stop this! Get a grip!"

"You get your fucking hands off me, you son of a bitch!"

Darien jumped when he recognized Bobby's voice. Barely recognized it, under levels of rage he'd never heard before.

The dull thump of flesh on flesh sounded, and Darien shot out of his chair and over to the door.

He stopped in shock at what he saw.

Bobby was standing over Nick, who was sprawled against the wall, doubled over with a hand on his face.

"Bobby! Jesus!"

Bobby turned to him, and Darien flinched, taking a step back involuntarily.

Bobby's eyes were red. Blood red. His hands were locked in fists, and his attention was now completely on Darien. "Well. Hello, partner."

Darien stepped back, and the door to the lab shut in front of him.

A moment later, of course, the door slid open again and Bobby came through, stalking in with fluid movements.

"Bobby, hang on. The Keeper just left for a few minutes. She'll be back, and you can get a shot."

Bobby flashed a grim smile, and Darien could swear he saw blood in that expression. "You know how long it"s been since I had a shot, Darien?"

Darien shook his head, taking steps back to keep yards between them.

"Yesterday. Yesterday right before I left. I went invisible for ten minutes, and look at this." Bobby needlessly raised his arm with a small red tattoo.

Darien swallowed, seeing for the first time the effects of Quicksilver madness on someone else. It wasn't a nice sight.

"If they would just let me die, I wouldn't have to worry about it. If you were just not here, she would give up. She would let them put me out of my misery." Bobby kept moving, his steps slow and measured. "If I get rid of you, I have no more problems."

Darien shook his head. "Bobby, you don't know what you're saying. I know how you feel, trust me."

"Trust you." Bobby shook his head with a grin. "Sorry, old friend. I don't trust anything anymore."

The door swished open, and Darien looked over Bobby's shoulder to see Nick coming in, tense and ready for action. His chin was bright red, and Darien knew he'd be bruised tomorrow.

"Bobby," he called out from behind his partner. "You'd better stop right now, or someone's gonna get hurt."

Bobby laughed. "You want hurt, Nick? You should live in my head for a day. I think you'd better stay out of this. It's between me and Fawkesy here."

"I can't let you do something we're gonna regret later, Bobby."

"You want to stop me, Nicky? You want to let them keep me alive so I can keep doing this? You know...you know what it's like..." Bobby shook his head. "You can't let them keep me going. You could help me."

"Help you die." Nick moved in a circle around his partner, approaching where Darien stood. "You really don't expect me to do that, do you?" His voice was deceptively light, his hands raised in the air in a gesture of surrender.

Bobby's eyes went from one to the other. The deep red of that gaze drove into Darien, making him remember every time he'd done this to Bobby, and Bobby had helped him out of it.

"You're right," Bobby said through gritted teeth. "Why should you help? You should turn your back on me, like every other partner these assholes have given me." His gaze let Darien know he was included in that statement.

Darien shook his head. "I didn't turn my back, Bobby. You pushed me away, remember?"

"And you didn't even question it, did you." Bobby moved a couple of steps forward, but stopped himself. "One phone call was enough to make you go. Some loyalty, Darien."

"What was I supposed to..." Darien trailed off, realizing that of all the times to talk about this, this was definitely not a good one. "Bobby, just sit down and let me go find the Keeper. We can talk about this--"

"Never. We talk about this never."

The door slid open again, and the Keeper appeared. She took in the situation, and even though Bobby's back was to her, she must have realized what was going on.

She tensed, and a moment later slid out the door and left them alone.

Darien stared after her, and shot a look over at Nick.

Bobby's partner kept his eyes on Bobby, but answered Darien's look. "She doesn't have any. The counteragent takes days to be ready, and it's happening too unpredictably. She'll have to get some help."

"That's right, Fawkesy. She has to get help from little old me. They'll shut me up in a white padded room until they can give me a shot. You have any idea what that's like?" Bobby's voice was a hiss.

Darien nodded sadly, his mind recoiling from the horror of the entire situation. "Yeah, I do."

"No. Bullshit. You went nuts by choice, Fawkes. They kept you in there when you were too stubborn to agree to their terms. I do everything they want and I still..." He shut his eyes, relieving them of the red glare.

"Shit," Nick said under his breath, jumping for Bobby's side.

A split second later, Bobby was doubled over and sobbing out a hoarse cry as his hands went to his head. Nick was there to catch him before he fell, and he supported his partner over to the chair, where he sat Bobby down.

Darien stared in shock as Bobby curled up on the chair, his face contorted in sheer agony.

Nick stood over him, sad and concerned but not alarmed or surprised by the reaction.

That told Darien more than he wanted to know. "My God, this happens a lot."

Nick nodded without taking his eyes off Bobby. "The gland is breaking down. Twice, three times a week it does this, whether he's had a shot or not. It's killing him, Darien. Keeper said she's not sure it would hurt him for the gland to shut down, but...Christ, look at him."

Darien obeyed, but looked away a moment later. "Where the hell is Claire?"

"Don't you get it, Darien? There's nothing she can do. All they can do is put him in that rubber room until there's a shot ready. They can't stop these fits."

Darien couldn't keep his eyes off his old lover and partner and friend. He shook his head, watching Bobby fight for breath and control as he lay huddled on that chair. "Bobby..." His voice was soft.

But Bobby seemed to hear him, through everything. He couldn't open his eyes or pull his hands away, but he spoke, his voice breathless and rasping. "Why haven't you been here?" he asked jerkily.

Darien felt a knife dig into his heart at the raw betrayal in Bobby's voice. "I'm sorry." It was all he could say. "I'm not leaving again."

The door opened behind them, and strange agents came in, swarming over them and taking Bobby away before Darien could shake off his shock and grief enough to react.



****

One Year...

"Good work today, Bobby."

"Yeah, thanks." Bobby spoke jerkily, his face a little paler than normal.

None of that escaped the Keeper's eyes. "What's wrong?"

"These damned headaches. I swear they're getting worse. You know what? I think I almost lost it today. I was a foot away from Geneva and her clowns, and I almost lost it. I coulda flashed into sight right in front of them."

The Keeper frowned. "This is happening a lot lately. And I thought you said those headaches were getting better."

"They were almost gone until yesterday."

She sat back, thoughtful. "Last week you didn't go Quicksilver once. Yesterday you had to for a few minutes."

"Yeah, I know. You thinking there's something wrong with the gland?"

"It's too early to make a judgment. But, if you would come back before you leave tonight, I'm sure there are some tests I could--"

"No thank you," Bobby replied fast, jumping off his chair.

"Bobby..."

He flashed a smile. "You get me in here enough regularly, Doc. No extra-hours visits."

"This could be serious."

"Everything in this place is serious. I'm looking to go have some fun. See ya tomorrow, Keeper. You can dissect me all ya want then."



****

Darien was shaken, and he didn't bother trying to hide it.

Nick had better luck disguising his feelings. "Christ. This is happening too often lately. He hardly gets a week out of that room before he has to go back in for a few days."

"Days?" Darien swallowed against a rise in volume. He watched Nick pace around the lab, following the Greek's movements absently.

Nick nodded. "Last time, three days. That was an exception, but he may not get out tomorrow. Not if she can't make that damned counteragent in time."

"Jesus." Darien shook his head, his eyes going to the wall as his thoughts turned inward.

That Quicksilver madness was the worst thing he could remember from his days here. The absolute loss of control over his own body, the helplessness, fear of hurting the people he cared about. He had gone through it for an hour at a time, almost, before getting his shot. And that hour was enough to make him wish for a bullet next time that it happened.

Days. Jesus, what kind of hell was Bobby living in, going through it for days? Why hadn't Darien called every now and then to check up on his old friends? Why had he let his stupid pride come between him and everyone in this building?

"Darien?"

He looked up again, and saw Nick standing still, watching him. "What?"

"Why don't you get out of here? Nothing's gonna happen tonight."

Darien shook his head automatically. "I can't leave him like that."

"Yes, you can. Trust me. The first time this happened, I stayed with him. Watching from some plastic room through a two-way mirror as he threw himself against the walls. He never knew I was there, and he wouldn't have cared. I stayed up all night with him, and it didn't make a difference. The next day he was doing the same thing, and I realized it doesn't help. Your being there won't help."

Darien didn't answer, but he didn't get up. He couldn't abandon Bobby. He told him he wouldn't leave again.

"Darien. It won't matter. Trust me on this. I've been living it for a couple of months now."

Couple of months. Darien's hands clenched into fists. He almost wanted to cry over it. It was so damned unfair.

"Come on, Darien. I'm hungry, you haven't eaten anything since you got here this morning, and we could both use a little friendly company. Let's get out of here, huh?"

Darien blew out a breath, resigned. "Fine, I'll go. But I don't need to be babysat, okay? I'll go home and get some sleep."

Nick smiled faintly. "I wasn't really suggesting it for your benefit. I think I'm relieved to have someone around I can bitch to about this. It's nice to get it off my chest, and everyone I know either can't be told details about my work, or they're here at the Agency and they don't want to hear more complaints about it."

Darien felt the corner of his mouth lifting unconsciously. "I don't think I'm very hungry," he admitted.

"Fine. I'll eat, you talk."



****

Eight Months...

"Hobbes."

Bobby sat down in front of the Official's desk, smug and grinning, for once sure there were no harsh words about to come from his boss.

Sure enough, the fat man had a big fat grin on his face. "I don't have to tell you how much this case meant to us, do I?"

"Nope. Think you made that clear enough the last few days."

"Good work, Hobbes. Damned good work. Where did you put our new guests?"

"Castavantes and Burkes are in lock-up. Some of your boys are watching them. Delione is down in the lab, getting some repair work done."

"Nothing serious?"

Bobby grinned. "Nah. Just clipped him in the arm."

The Official was smiling about as wide as Bobby had ever seen. "I don't want to see you in here until next week. You earned some time off."

"Holy Mother of God." Bobby stood fast before he could change his mind. "Thanks a lot, sir."

"Oh, and Hobbes?"

"Yeah?" He turned at the door.

"The appropriations committee will not take this one lightly. We're about to be blessed in a big way. Some of the extra funding will find its way to you."

"Time off and a bonus?" Bobby smirked. "And all of that without using your little gland."

The Official's eyebrows lifted. "I thought when you got here you had to stop by to get a shot."

"Yeah. I was getting full. But not 'cause I used the gland."

The Official's smile faded somewhat. "It's only been four days since your last shot."

"I know. The Keeper's looking into it." Bobby shrugged.

There was a knock on the door, and Bobby waited for a nod of dismissal from the Official before opening it and sliding out past the man now entering.

The Official stood with a smile when he saw who his new visitor was. "Director Matthews. What can I do for you?"

"Bordon. I think you know why I'm here."

"Yes, I think I do."

"You have three men. We want them."

The Official didn't hesitate. "You give us full credit for bringing them in. No FBI doubletalk, and no tricks. We earned this one."

Matthews nodded. "Deal."

"Let me make a call." The Official picked up the phone and spoke a few quiet words, then hung up. "Delione is almost ready for transport. The other two are waiting for you downstairs."

"I appreciate the cooperation." Matthews headed for the door, but paused. "Bringing down three of our ten most wanted in one bust is quite a feat, Charlie. Your Agency is going to be the talk of the town for a while thanks to this. Was it a fluke?"

The Official smirked. "No fluke. I've got good men."

"You keep this up, you're going to change some pretty firmly-held attitudes about this ragtag little agency." Matthews flashed a sincere look of approval before opening the door and heading out.

The Official sat back in his chair and smiled.



****



"All right, one thing before either of us says another word. I don't want to talk about glands or invisibility or operations or anything else serious. I get enough of that every day at work."

Darien nodded his agreement. "Nothing serious. Gotcha."

Nick relaxed back against his seat. "Good."

There was a pause.

"So what do we talk about?"

"I dunno. We don't exactly have a lot in common, do we?"

"Nope. Bobby."

"Yeah, Bobby." Nick heaved a sigh.

"Hey, don't get serious." Darien nodded thanks to the waiter as he set down their drinks. "I remember a time I couldn't even think about Bobby with a straight face."

Nick grinned. "Yeah, that sounds familiar. Only lasted a few weeks, though. I thought he was a complete obsessive nutcase."

"Pretty much."

Nick studied Darien over his beer. "So what changed your mind?"

"First time he tried to take a bullet for me," Darien replied easily. "I realized he wasn't just talking some line. He really does believe that stuff he spouts. And it's not easy for him."

Nick nodded. "That's the truth. He's on so many medications now it's ridiculous. He's driven himself to an ulcer and a few more anti-depressants since I've known him."

"Shit." Darien lost his smile.

"But I can't blame him. That gland is sucking the life out of him, and that's no exaggeration."

They were quiet for a solemn moment, then Nick shook his head and planted his smile back into place. "I just broke my own rule. No more of this kinda talk."

"Right. So you actually have a thing for Bobby, huh?"

Nick shrugged. "It's strange. I've known I was gay for...years now. And I've dated a lot of guys. All of them were a lot like me. Or you. No one like Bobby. I was never even remotely attracted to anyone like that. Suddenly he was my partner, and I was getting to know him, and..."

"He just got under your skin." Darien smiled his acknowledgement. "He started letting you see some of those layers he's got that he never shows anyone, and suddenly you wanted to know everything about him."

Nick grinned. "Thing is, he's such a tough little bastard at first. Then he starts trusting you, and you realize that whole touch-guy exterior is a lot thinner than you thought."

"And you start wanting to protect him, the way he protects everyone else. Yeah."

Nick heaved a sigh. "Damn, it is nice getting this off my chest."

"You ever tell him any of it?" Darien asked tentatively.

"Are you kidding? He'd shoot me on the spot."

"No. That's what I thought, too. You should...you should say something." Darien's smile faded and he looked down at his half-empty glass.

There was silence across the table, and Darien could feel Nick's eyes on him.

"You don't really mean that, do you?"

Darien lifted his shoulders slightly. "I don't know. Right now, with everything that's going on? I think Bobby deserves to be happy when he can. If that means you risk everything and tell him how you feel, than you should."

"And if it means you risking everything to tell him you still love him?"

He looked up into understanding brown eyes. A lie started to form, but he didn't open his mouth to let it out. Nick knew exactly how Darien felt. No use trying to hide it now. "I can't."

"Why not?" Nick met his eyes, not giving him a moment to think about it. "Come on, Darien. You two were an item, and right now he's miserable and alone. He'd welcome an old friend more than his new partner."

"No. You've seen how he reacts to me. He doesn't even want me in the same room."

"Don't do that. Don't pretend you believe that whole front Bobby puts up. He's scared to death right now, and he's taking it out on everyone. He deserves to be happy, right?"

"I don't think me saying something would make him very happy," Darien replied quietly. "And what about you?"

"What about me? I want what you want. I don't want him to be alone and miserable anymore. I think that's gonna be your job to fix. I'm sure I'll get over my little crush, don't worry."



****

Six Months...

"Nick Poldorous, meet Bobby Hobbes. Hobbes, this is your new partner."

Bobby didn't even glance at the new guy. "Bull shit."

The Official's smile never wavered. "Whatever. You two just get out there and get to work. I've briefed Nick here on your case, and he's ready to help."

Bobby shook his head firmly. "No. No way in hell. Come on, Boss. I don't need another partner. The guys you keep assigning are jokes. I brought down three most wanteds on my own. I don't need help."

"I don't care what you need. You're under my command and you'll follow my orders. Now get out of here and get to work."

"This is--"

"I don't want to know what you think this is. I want you to turn around and leave my office, and I want you to take your new partner with you."

Bobby's eyes went to the new guy for a brief instant. "Shit."

Nick Poldorous was a young guy. A pretty face and a tailored suit. Just what he needed to make his life easier.

Nick responded to the look with a grin and an outstretched hand. "I've heard a lot about you, Bobby."

Bobby eyed his hand, and took in the crooked grin that gave the good-looking face a burst of personality, and he couldn't help but think that this guy already reminded him of Darien.

He swallowed against that response, and for some reason it was easier than he thought to take the guy's hand. "Just try to keep up, kid."



****

Bobby was ten feet outside his office when he felt a tingle in the back of his head, and the cold flash of invisibility spread over him.

"Fuck," he let out in a whisper. His hands clenched into fists as they vanished from view, and his eyes shut against the change in his vision. No. Fucking hell, why was this happening?

He had been out of the lab for ten minutes. After a day and night in the fucking rubber room trying to eat the walls, and now it was happening again. The gland was acting without permission, and he was right on his way to madness again.

He stood there for a moment, breathing in raggedly, before he turned and headed back to the lab. At least she had made extra this time. At least there was another batch already waiting for him. No madness this time.

Please. No madness.

The elevator door slid open, and Bobby was struck by the unfamiliar sounds of laughter in the Agency halls. Two men stepped out of the elevator and moved towards him without knowing he was there.

"Jesus, you're lucky you didn't end up in prison again, Darien."

"I know. Luckily the cop that pulled me over was smart enough to check my credentials and call the owner of the building he'd caught me breaking out of. It's not easy to convince a cop that it's your job to commit crimes."

Nick laughed. Darien laughed.

Bobby stared, feeling suddenly even more hollow than he had before.

His old partner and his new one walked side by side, as close together as he and Darien used to walk. They were both grinning, which was strange these days in the Agency.

He moved out of their way absently, sliding against the wall as they approached him.

They looked good together, he couldn't help but notice. Both tall, good-looking. Both young and happy guys.

He shook that thought off. There was nothing to suggest that just because they were talking to each other, there was anything else--

His thoughts were interrupted by Darien. "I'm glad we went out last night, Nick. I had a lot of fun."

They slowed and came to a stop outside the Official's office. Two feet from where Bobby stood. Nick was smiling. "Yeah, so did I. It was a nice release from this place. From Bobby."

"I know." Darien looked at the door. "Shall we?"

Nick gestured for him to go on, and Darien pushed the door open with a grin.

Bobby stood there, frozen, even after the door was shut. He was still invisible, and for the first time he felt truly and completely insubstantial.

****

Four Months...

"Keeper!"

She whirled around at the shout, dropping her clipboard and facing the panicked man. "What's wrong, Nick? Is it Bobby?"

"What's wrong? Guess." The voice that answered wasn't Nick's.

She looked around. "Bobby? Where are you?"

"Right here."

"Why are you invisible? I've told you to only use the gland in--"

"He didn't do it!" Nick snapped out before she could finish her lecture.

She faltered. "What do you mean?"

"We were in the van on our way here, and all of the sudden this happened."

"I didn't turn the thing on, Keeper. I swear to God, it just started all on it's own."

"Damn." She reached out hesitantly. "Bobby, come here. Sit down."

She could hear the sound of heavier-than-normal breathing as the panicked man approached. The leather of the chair recessed as he sat. "All right, now listen to me. Forget what just happened. Forget the gland and the quicksilver. Just listen to my voice. You remember what I taught you about concentration?"

"Keeper, come on! I can't--"

"Shut up and listen to me!" She hesitated, drawing in a breath. "You remember what I taught you. Control your breathing, Bobby. Focus your mind on your breaths. In and out."

There was a pause, and the harsh breathing started to even out slowly.

"Good. That's good. Keep going. Concentrate on your breathing. There's no reason to get panicked. Focus, and when you're ready, tell your brain what you need it to do. The gland will obey you. That's its function."

There was a pause. The longer it stretched on, the less controlled the Keeper got. Her eyes went to Nick, who was standing apart from them, dutifully quiet and still. His eyes were huge, staring at the empty space on the chair.

After minutes of silence, streaks of silver appeared where Bobby was sitting. Slowly, flakes of quicksilver crumbled off, revealing a pale, shaken form underneath.

A moment later Bobby was completely visible, and the Keeper broke her stillness to go over and lift his arm.

"You need a shot. Stay right there." She went to the cooler, thanking whatever gods were listening that the new batch was ready.

He sat there obediently. His hands dug into the sides of the chair, but he didn't say a word.

She came back with a full syringe, and quickly prepped and gave him the shot. Only when that was done did they all relax.

"Jesus," Nick whispered from where he was standing. "You okay, Bobby?"

Bobby grimaced and flexed his arm. "Keeper, you want to tell me what the hell caused that?"

She frowned and set down the needle. "I think it's fairly safe to say that something is wrong with the gland. I'm going to have to test to find out what."

"Yeah, no problem. Test away."

She breathed out. "I'll be completely honest with you, Bobby. There's not going to be a simple answer for this. If one or two functions of the gland were breaking down, it might be a localized problem. But your levels of Quicksilver are jumping, the symptoms of madness are getting stronger and hitting you sooner, and now this. There might be a very big problem here."

Bobby nodded slowly, his expression unreadable. "So a minute ago, when you said there was no reason to panic..."

She nodded. "I was lying."

****"Hang on a sec, I've got a message."

Nick came in to the apartment as Darien moved to his machine. "Come on, Darien. I'm starving."

"Yeah, yeah. Let me check this first." He pressed the button on his machine.

"Darien." The Keeper sounded breathless. "I need to speak to you or Nick right away. Bobby is in trouble, and I can't find him anywhere. He left me a message at the lab that...I think he's a step away from madness again. I need your help. Call the lab, please."

Darien's smile faded and he looked over at Nick.

Nick cursed under his breath. "One day. One day he's been out. Christ."

Darien nodded his agreement and picked up the phone to call the lab.

"Darien?" The Keeper answered right away.

"Yeah. Nick's with me. What do you need us to do?"

"Find him. If you have any idea where he would go. I've got some counteragent ready, but this batch won't last the night. Find him fast and get him over here."

"We're on our way." Darien hung up. "Where would Bobby go?"

Nick frowned. "Let's try his apartment, and we'll go from there."

****

Three Months...

Bobby stared at the picture in the paper for a long moment before it registered. He absently read the headline about the local security firm that had increased its value by thirty percent in the last four months. His eyes drifted back to the picture.

Darien looked exactly the same. Not that Bobby expected him to look any different. He still dropped in on him at least once every couple of weeks.

Still, in that picture was the Darien he knew. Giving the camera a cocky grin, looking smug and sure of himself.

Bobby swallowed and set the paper down on his table, wondering what had possessed him to flip to the business section anyway.

Darien. Jesus, he missed his old partner. He missed him more than he would have thought possible. It had been over a year since they last talked, but Bobby...some part of Bobby just couldn't let him go. He had to keep an eye on him, and he thought about him all the damned time.

It was enough to drive a person crazy. And considering everything else going on that was driving Bobby crazy, it was one less thing he needed on his mind.

But Darien refused to go away. He was always there in the back of Bobby's mind, along with a little voice that reminded Bobby it was all his fault that Darien wasn't a part of his life anymore.

But no. Darien wouldn't be there now, regardless. Darien and Bobby had wanted two entirely different things out of their relationship.

Funny thing was, Bobby would give anything now to have some permanent relationship, someone to come home to every night. He didn't want freedom anymore. He wanted what Darien had wanted. He wanted something real and solid and there.

He felt now how Darien must have felt. Having the gland in his head added a whole new dimension to his thinking. It made his mortality a lot more of a concern, and it made him long for something dependable. Someone he could trust, someone who cared about him and wanted to help him through this.

He wanted Darien. Christ, he wanted his old lover as much as he wanted a solution to the gland that was falling apart in his head. Maybe even more.

Definitely more. He would go through the madness and the disappearing and the headaches for the rest of his life if Darien was there to nurse him through it.

But he had blown it, and there was no longer a chance in hell.

So he calmly picked the newspaper back up and stood, going for the trash.

He stopped, though, and, with a sigh, ripped out the page he had been staring at. Throwing the rest of the paper away, he folded the article carefully until Darien's picture was all he could see, and he headed back to his bedroom.

The sun was almost set, but streaks of light still shined through his dim bedroom as he tossed the article into a dresser drawer and crawled into bed, feeling worn out and old. Feeling like he was dying and alone, and there was nothing he could do about it.



****

"Oh my God."

"What?" Nick's voice called through the bedroom door.

Darien looked towards the door. "Nothing. Keep looking." His eyes drifted back down to the drawer he'd opened on a whim, and his hand reached in absently to sift through.

Pictures, and articles. His old Agency file, back stories from when he had been arrested, before Bobby even knew him.

He picked up one at random, and recognized the article from a paper a few months ago. His grinning face looked back up at him, and Darien shut his eyes briefly.

Jesus. Bobby still loved him. Bobby had loved him all this time. He'd collected every scrap of Darien he could find and kept it here with him.

Darien set the paper back in the drawer and shut it slowly, feeling his heart constricting. Why hadn't he just called Bobby's bluff? Why hadn't he fought to hold on to his lover?

He just gave Bobby up. He accepted that Bobby didn't love him, even though it went against everything he knew about his partner. He accepted it and moved on with his life, leaving Bobby here with his pictures.

He bit back his thoughts and any reaction to them. "Anything?" he asked as he headed out the door into the rest of Bobby's apartment.

"Nope. No clue where he might have gone." Nick looked as frustrated as Darien felt. "Maybe...maybe it's not as bad as the Keeper thought. Maybe he's just out somewhere."

Darien thought about it, then turned and went back in the bedroom. He moved to Bobby's closet and opened the door, looking for a familiar black suit he didn't figure Bobby would have gotten rid of. He'd loved that suit.

It wasn't there.

Was it likely Bobby was just out at some club, or on a date, or something? What was the chance Bobby was trying to live a normal life with all this shit happening?

"I know one place we can check," he said finally, leaving the bedroom and heading straight for the door. "Come on."

**

The club in Chinatown was exactly as Darien remembered it. He had been there once, but like all places where he had almost been killed, it stuck in his memory.

"Bobby hung out here a lot," he explained as he led Nick through the crowd, scanning for a crowd of people gathered around their favorite textiles man from Kansas City.

The club was jumping that night, packed, and Darien swung towards the bar, squeezing his way in between two women without even acknowledging their presence. "Hey."

The bartender, a slightly older woman, ignored him until she had made a couple of drinks and passed them off to people. Finally she went to him. "What do you want?"

"Nothing. Look, I'm a friend of Bobby Hobbes. Have you--"

"Bobby?" A sincere smile lit her face. "Jesus. Where the hell has he been?"

Darien's disappointment was plain. "You haven't seen him?"

"Not in months. People still ask me if I've heard from him. He was the life of this place most nights."

Darien couldn't help a slightly bitter smile. "Yeah, I remember." It had almost broken them up once or twice. "Guess he found a new spot to score with the ladies, huh?" He couldn't help but chuckle darkly. Bobby was dying, but he was still going out and getting laid every night.

"Huh. You must not be that good a friend of his," she said in response.

Lost in his thoughts, Darien almost missed that. "What? What do you mean?"

"Bobby had himself quite a reputation here, you know? He'd come in and storm the place. Buy every woman a drink, charm everyone in sight. And us girls loved him, cause we could have a ball hanging out with him, but he never turned into a cretin at the end of the night. Never asked any of us to go home with him. Never accepted it when some of us asked him to take us. And believe me, he had some pretty determined suitors."

Darien's brow furrowed. "Wait a minute. You're saying he never picked up anyone? Ever?"

"Nope. Asked him once, he said he had someone at home waiting for him. He didn't want to get laid, he was just having fun. Struck me as odd. You know, 'cause he's a male. But we loved the hell out of him."

"Jesus." Darien dropped onto a barstool, his head spinning, trying to wrap itself around what she was saying.

He could still hear himself, accusing Bobby of sleeping with some woman every night and then expecting Darien to be there waiting for him.

Bobby had never argued. Never said he wasn't going home with anyone. He just reminded Darien that he didn't want to get too serious. But he wasn't cheating on him, and he never once told Darien that.

Darien just hadn't trusted him. Son of a bitch, could he have fucked up more than he had? Could he have possibly done one or two more things to push Bobby away from him?

"You see Bobby, tell him we miss him around here."

"Yeah," Darien nodded dully, standing. "I'll do that."

He turned and almost ran right into Nick. He had almost forgotten the other man was there.

Nick met his eyes and saw the dazed expression. He grabbed Darien's arm. "Come on. Let's find him and get him to his Keeper, and you can apologize later."

****

Two Months...

"You might want to sit down for this."

Bobby actually smirked, but it didn't do much to hide the nervousness. He sat without argument. "Yeah? What you got?"

"I'm not sure how else to put this. Bobby, the gland is breaking down. It has slowly started to destroy itself. And as it stands now, I'm not quite sure what to do about it."

"Uh huh." Bobby thought about that for a long moment. "So I got any options here at all?"

"Limited," she conceded. "I need to do a little bit more research. You have to understand, Bobby, that every penny this Agency can spare is inside your head right now, and if there's a way to save it, we have to try. I'll need to study it a bit more. Right now my main objective is to find out why the gland is malfunctioning. Is it a problem with the host, or a problem with the gland itself?"

"So how ya gonna find that out?"

She frowned, reluctant to answer. "When I figure that out, you'll be the first one to know."

****

"Dammit. There has to be something I'm missing. Someone he could go to, someplace he likes that I"m not thinking of."

"Darien." Nick heaved a sigh, distressed but able to keep it more in control. "I'm taking you home. We've talked to most of the people Bobby has ever known around here, we've bothered his ex-wife three times now, and every place either of us ever went with him, we've covered. We're not going to get anywhere tonight. We'll sleep on it, try again tomorrow."

"Tomorrow will be too late. She said the Counteragent she has is only gonna last tonight. If we find him after that he'll end up getting locked up until another batch is ready. I can't..." Darien looked out his window, heaving a sigh "I just can't stand to see him like that."

Nick nodded sympathetically, but turned into the parking lot of Darien's building regardless. "I know how you feel. Trust me. But..."

Darien glanced over as he trailed off, and saw that Nick was staring somewhere outside the windshield.

Darien followed his gaze, and his eyes caught on the rusted, cream-colored van parked towards the rear of the lot.

"What's the chance?" Nick asked quietly.

Darien didn't bother to wait around and figure it out. He was out of the car in a split second, racing towards the dark van. "Go up and check my apartment!" he called to Nick without turning.

He made it to the van, and quick glance told him that this was indeed the same hunk of junk he'd ridden around in during his Agency days. He checked quickly, but the front doors were unlocked.

Banking on the fact that Bobby wouldn't have gone inside if Darien wasn't there, Darien took the time to pull out his always trusted tools of the trade, and set to picking the lock. The old van was a snap to break into, and he jumped into the passenger seat and glanced into the rear of the van.

And instant later he managed to scramble his long legs into the back, and was crouched down in the cramped space beside his old partner. "Bobby?"

Bobby was curled on the floor of the van, his head in between his hands. His face was pale, eyes squeezed shut in pain. "Darien?" The word was a rasp.

"Hang on, Bobby. I'll get you some help." Darien left his side reluctantly and climbed back into the front seat.

Without even thinking about Nick, he started the engine and gunned the old van out of the parking lot, swinging it towards the Agency. He tried his best to ignore the pained gasps coming from behind him, though his heart lurched at every one.

He made it to the Agency in record time, and bolted out of the van as soon as it was more or less parked, flinging the back doors open and helping Bobby out.

Bobby actually had a little more color to his face now, and he was able to stand and lean on Darien. He didn't say a word to his one-time partner as they staggered across the street and into the doors of the Agency.

Darien ignored the woman who had been sitting at a desk right by the door since the first day he'd started there, supporting Bobby to the elevator.

They climbed in and Darien pressed the button down to the lab. "Jesus, Bobby," he couldn't help but murmur as the panic of the last few minutes caught up to him. He stood holding his shorter partner awkwardly, almost shaking from the adrenaline coursing inside of him.

"Sorry, kid. Didn't know where else to go." Bobby was sounding better, but his words were slightly slurred.

"Shit. I'm glad you came to me. I just wish I'd been there..."

"Yeah, well. You and Nick got your life outside the Agency."

Darien glanced down at him, surprised at the unrelated remark. "We were looking for you everywhere. Why'd you disappear like that?"

Bobby opened his mouth to answer when they shuddered suddenly, almost knocked off balance as the floor trembled beneath them.

"What the--" Darien caught his balance and listened for a moment.

The elevator wasn't moving. And the door wasn't opening.

"Oh, holy shit." Darien shut his eyes briefly. "This is not happening. Bobby, can you stand up?"

Bobby nodded with resignation, breaking away from Darien's grasp and leaning against the wall.

Darien moved to the wall, pressing the button for the basement again and again. He tried other buttons, but nothing caused any sort of reaction.

Sucking in a breath, Darien curled his hand into a fist. "I think we're stuck."

"Looks that way." Bobby's voice was strained.

His fist tightened, and with a sudden burst of fury over everything he'd found out about in the last week, he slammed his hand into the door. "Dammit! God dammit!" It was half anger and half pain.

"Darien."

Bobby's soft voice made Darien turn, but the anger didn't fade any.

Bobby's expression, though, did make the anger vanish. He was pale, his eyes wide and almost frightened. "Keep it together for me, Darien."

"Bobby. Dammit, I wish like hell this wasn't happening."

Bobby let out a faint laugh. "You forget the Agency can't afford functioning elevators?"

"Not this. I mean, yeah, this. But more. All of it. Everything you've been through. I wish I had known...I wish I had been here the last two years."

Bobby's lips tightened, and he shook his head slowly. "Don't sweat it, kid. I brought it all on myself."

"Bullshit! You didn't know it would kill you!"

Bobby slid down the wall heavily, dropping to a seat on the floor. "Yeah, I did. Believe me, Darien, it's my fault I'm gonna die. All my fault."



****

One Month...

"There's no way. We can't just take the gland out."

Bobby stopped, hand poised to actually knock for once, surprised by the straightforward announcement.

The Keeper's voice countered in response to the Official's declaration. "I think I have a better idea what we can and can not do."

She sounded pissed. Bobby dropped his hand and listened quietly.

"I'm not talking medically impossible. I'm saying that as the head of this Agency, I refuse to allow you to destroy the gland at this stage."

"What right do you have to make that kind of decision? If the gland stays, it will kill Bobby. I can't just sit by and--"

"You give me a time frame, Keeper. You prove to me that it's the gland that's destroying itself, and not some reaction to the head that it's in. Prove to me that we can't save it, and then tell me the latest we can wait to do this. And then I'll give my consent. Only then."

"All right, now let me tell you. The longer that gland stays inside of Bobby, the more harm it will do. It's already made a home for itself inside his brain. The longer it has to break down, the more brain cells it has attached itself to will be destroyed with it. Are you really prepared to endanger Bobby that way?"

There was a pause. Bobby found himself smiling slightly at the fierce determination in her voice.

He never would have figured it, but the Keeper had become his best friend around here. Nick, who had lasted longer than any other partner, to his credit, was a good friend, but the Keeper knew everything there was to know about him. She sat through his fits, sat through his trips to madness. She took care of him, and seemed to have developed some protective streak.

It amused Bobby. It also made him feel pretty damned good. It had been a long time since someone had cared about him like that.

"You know," the Official said suddenly, breaking into Bobby's thoughts, "what this Agency went through to get that gland developed. You know the money that was spent, the lies we had to tell. You know that without that gland, we're nothing. We've got no money, no respect. Without Hobbes working the way he does now, everything we've earned the last two years is gone."

"Bobby Hobbes is a damned fine agent. The biggest case he's solved since getting that gland in his head was done without use of the gland. Do you really prefer we save the gland and not the man?"

"You know as well as I do that my position here forces me to make some ugly decisions. You think it's cruel, but that gland is worth over seventeen million dollars, and Bobby Hobbes is one man."

There was a pause. Bobby shifted where he stood, not visibly affected by the Official's words. He knew full well that the gland was top priority. He'd have told the same thing to the Keeper if she'd asked him. What was strange was hearing the genuine reluctance in his boss's voice.

"What if there's another way?"

"What do you mean?" The Keeper sounded suspicious.

"What if we take the gland out, and put it into another agent?"

"What good would that do? If the gland is breaking down itself--"

"That's my point. If. You don't know for certain. So you do the operation, take the gland out, and implant it into someone else. Keep it in as long as you need to know if it's the gland that's the problem, and then we'll figure out what to do."

"It might work." She sounded thoughtful. "It would be expensive."

"But not as expensive as losing the gland."

"No," she agreed. "But if the gland has extreme reactions to the person it's in, even a test scenario with a new agent would be inconclusive."

"What if we don't use a new agent?"

"Who else could we..." She trailed off.

Bobby's eyes widened as he took a guess at what the Official meant.

"Darien?" Her voice echoed his thoughts, expressing the same disbelief.

The Official didn't answer, but he must have responded silently.

"Do you honestly think Darien Fawkes would have any part of this?" Her voice was harder now.

"To save Hobbes' life?"

"Darien has shown that he has no regard for anyone in this Agency, especially Bobby Hobbes. He would be unwilling, and we couldn't force him."

"Call him." The Official's voice was an order. "Talk to him, and explain the situation. He always had a soft spot for you."

"I honestly don't think--"

"Do it. Or the gland stays where it is."

Bobby backed away from the door, sensing the end of the conversation.

Without thinking, he headed down the hall at a jog, bypassing the elevator and taking the stairs two at a time.

Fortunately, he and the Keeper had talked about the operation. She had showed him the files, her notes, the diagrams. He knew where she kept them.

If they got the gland from his head, they would bring Darien back. They would put it back into him, and the whole thing would start over again. Darien would agree to it in a snap, and Bobby knew it.

So they couldn't call Darien. And the only way the Keeper would abandon this idea is if there was no way to perform the operation to get the gland from Bobby.

He was signing his own death warrant, if what she said was true. But nothing had changed. Everything was just as it was two years ago. It was him or Darien, and he had risked it all, and lost Darien, to save Darien before. He would do it again. His feelings hadn't changed.

Darien didn't need to get involved, and he sure didn't need this killer gland in his head again. So that was it. Decision made.



****"You're the one that stole the files." Darien was shocked, and a little dismayed.

Bobby smiled -- a weak version of his normal grin, but it was a smile nonetheless. "Yep."

"Bobby...Bobby, this thing is killing you. Why would you do that?"

"They were gonna take it out and put it back in you." Bobby tried to make it sound casual, but he was too weak to act convincingly.

"Oh, Jesus. Bobby, why would..." Darien shook his head, slumping against the wall and sliding to the ground to sit across from his old partner. "Oh my God. You shouldn't have done that."

"Yeah, I should. It was my only choice."

"No. This can't be your only choice."

"It was me or you, Darien. And we both know who wins that one."

Darien shut his eyes, dismay filling him. He slumped over, fighting for words. "That's the only reason you volunteered in the first place. To save me?"

"Not the only one. But that was most of it, yeah."

"God, Bobby. I wish you hadn't. I wish you had talked to me."

"Would you have let me go through with it?"

"No way in hell."

Bobby shrugged.

Darien studied him across the small elevator, and he noticed Bobby's face was a little paler. "I wish I had known. I wish I hadn't believed you didn't care. Jesus, how much time have we...Bobby, I...I love you."

Bobby drew in a sharp breath, and his eyes pierced in to Darien despite the slight glaze. "Don't say that."

"It's the truth."

"God dammit, Darien, don't you lie to me. There's no point in it. I don't need you to comfort me, or feel guilty about what's happening. I don't need this right now. I got no more time to waste on bullshit."

"It's not--"

"Don't! Just shut up!" Bobby's eyes shut briefly, his breathing growing heavier. "Just because I burned those files up to save you doesn't mean I love you. And just because you feel bad now doesn't mean you love me."

Darien shook his head. "Why are you acting like this?"

Bobby glared over at him.

"You've been like this since the day the Keeper brought me back. Why are you so pissed off at me? I didn't do anything wrong, Bobby."

"You left me here." Bobby's voice was a hiss.

"No, you pushed me out. You chose to go through this on your own. If I had had any idea what was happening, I wouldn't have left. And you know that. That's why you never told me."

"Fine. The whole thing's my fault. Big deal. So maybe you loved me back then, and maybe you did even after you stopped calling and never bothered to show your face here again. Don't pretend it's still there. You don't have to act like you have any feelings for me anymore."

"Why can't you believe it? You never did, Bobby. I know that now. That's why you never told me you loved me back. Because you didn't think it would last. Is that why you lied to me? Is that why you went out all the time and made me think you were sleeping around? You pushed me away from the first day we told each other how we felt."

Bobby dropped his eyes, his head shaking. He was quiet for a minute, and the anger that filled the small space lessened in the quiet. "Darien," he said finally, and his voice was softer. "I can't deal with this right now. Any of it. You're right -- I'm pissed. I'm pretty much pissed off at the world, but I know it's my fault, so I got no one to blame. I got no one I can be pissed off at but myself, and I'm tired of doing that. I'm gonna drop dead any day now, and I don't have time to waste being mad at myself. Not anymore."

"Why be mad at me?" Darien hated himself for this entire conversation. He hated sitting here interrogating the man he did still love, who was literally dying in front of his eyes. But he had to know. If nothing else got resolved, he had to know how Bobby felt.

"Because," Bobby said quietly, "it's easy to be mad at you. When you first came back, I was mad because you left. For once you listened to me and did what I said without questioning it, and it's ruined my life. And now...now I guess I'm mad because it's the wrong man who's..." He trailed off, his head lowering. "No. I can't say that."

Darien studied him for a moment, and then a horrible thought entered his mind. "It's the wrong man who's dying. Is that it? You think the gland should be killing me. I was the first, so I should be the one... Is that it, Bobby?" He kept his voice calm, despite the pain that the realization caused him. That thought was already in his mind -- that he should be the one dying, not Bobby. But knowing that Bobby felt the same way--

"No." Bobby actually laughed; a bitter sound. "Haven't you learned anything, Darien? The only thing I want from you is for you to keep on breathing. The earth's a better place with you walking around. I've always seen that."

Darien breathed in, moving slightly closer to his old lover. He slid to the middle of the floor, leaning forward intently. "Then tell me what you were going to say."

Bobby shook his head. "I can't. All you gotta know is I want you to be happy. I don't blame you anymore. I don't hate you, and I'm not pissed. I miss you," he admitted softly. "And I'm glad it's me and not you. I want you to be happy."

There was silence for a minute.

Bobby actually broke the pause himself, with another breathy laugh. "Jesus, listen to me. You know, finding out I'm dying kinda made me a little more self-aware. I'm a liar. I'm a big con-job. I can hear those lies for what they are now." He looked up at Darien, and kept going before Darien could ask what he meant. "I said I wanted you to be happy, but that was a lie."

Darien was locked under that gaze, and he was sure Bobby's eyes were making him feel every bit of loneliness and pain Bobby had felt the last two years.

"It was a lie cause I saw you yesterday, and you were happy. And it wasn't what I wanted."

"Why not?" Darien's voice was hoarse.

Bobby braced himself physically, his eyes going to the wall behind Darien. "Because it was the wrong man making you happy."

Darien swallowed and shook his head. "I don't know what you mean."

"You. Nick. I was invisible, saw you two...heard you. Talking about the night before, and how much fun you...and how nice a break it was from this place. And me."

Darien wanted to kick himself and Nick. "We didn't mean it like that, Bobby."

"No?" Bobby's voice was quieter, a little weaker.

"No. We went..." Darien's eyes stayed on his partner, and he saw the instant the color drained out of Bobby's face, and the pain filled his expression. He shut his mouth and was by Bobby's side in a flash. "You okay?"

Bobby's hands flew up to his head, and he doubled over where he sat. "Oh, shit," he said in a hoarse whisper.

Darien reached out without thinking and grabbed Bobby's arm. "Don't do this, Bobby. Not now. We'll get out of here in a few minutes, right? Just hang on. We'll get you some help."

Bobby let a small, pained cry escape his lips before he clamped down on any other sounds. His eyes were shut, his face twisted in agony. "Shit, shit, shit."

Darien shut his eyes against the sight, but opened them a second later when he felt a vice grip on his hand.

Bobby was grabbing him blindly, gasping for air and straining against a pain in his head Darien couldn't even imagine.

"Come back to me, Bobby. Hang on." He squeezed Bobby's hand for all he was worth. "I love you. Don't do this to me."

Bobby met his eyes briefly, but any response he would have made was shut off before it began, and he sunk in on himself, his entire body tense and trembling.

"Listen to me. I love you. I haven't stopped for a single day. Nick and I had dinner, Bobby. That was it. We did nothing the entire time but talk about you. He told me I had to tell you how I felt, and he was right. I love you. I'll say it a million times, until you believe it."

Bobby was starting to relax. The shaking in his muscles was easing, and the pinched look on his face was relaxing slowly. He still didn't reply, but his hand never left Darien's.

"It's okay. We'll get you some help. And somehow we'll get that thing out of your head. There's got to be some..." Darien jerked up suddenly, his hand almost slipping out of Bobby's as a startling realization came over him. "Oh, shit! Bobby, you better hang on. We're gonna get that thing out of you faster than you think. You hold on."

Bobby's eyes opened almost tentatively, and he sat back against the wall, still pained but under control now.

Darien grinned at that, along with the memory his mind had just processed. "That's it, tough guy." He used the old nickname with a smile, and to his relief Bobby returned the smile somewhat. "We're gonna save you, Bobby. I promise."

"Oh yeah?" Bobby's voice was even raspier than before.

"Hell, yes. She's gonna do the operation and get that gland out." Darien sat back, beaming. "She gave me a copy of her files years ago, when she first told me about the operation. I glanced through them and stuck them in a box in my closet, and I haven't thought about them since. Jesus, I can save you!"

Bobby's eyes widened. "You serious?"

"As a heart attack. And there's no way that they'll try to stick the thing back in my head. Not anymore. We're gonna get through this, Bobby!"

Bobby sagged back, his eyes shutting. He let out a breath shakily. "Holy shit."

Darien laughed. "You can say that again."

As if detecting their triumphant mood and responding to it, there was a shudder all around them, and the elevator started moving.

Darien helped Bobby up, grinning like a maniac, and when the door opened to reveal a concerned Keeper, he flashed her a smile.

"Where have you been? Nick called me an hour ago!"

"The elevator stuck. We've been there for a while."

"Good God. Bobby, how are you feeling?" She immediately went to her charge and inspected every visible area of him.

Bobby looked at Darien over her shoulder, and smiled slightly. "Better than I have in a long time."

"Keeper, you remember the copies of your notes you gave me two years ago?"

She turned to Darien sharply. "Oh my God! I never even thought of that! Darien, you still have them?"

"Every scrap of paper you gave me."

She leaped from Bobby's side and tackled Darien in a huge hug. "Thank heavens I brought you back here."

He returned the hug happily. "Just let me run to my place and get them."

"Bobby, you hear that?" Darien had never heard the clipped British voice so giddy. "We're going to get that damned thing out of you!"

Bobby laughed quietly. "I heard."

Darien almost turned back into the elevator. "On second thought, I'll take the stairs. I'll be back in a few."

He glanced back before hitting the stairwell, and smiled at the sight of a beaming Keeper bustling Bobby into the lab for his overdue shot.

For the first time in a long time, he started to get the feeling that everything might be okay.



****



Darien drove Bobby home that night, with explicit instructions ringing in his ears. There was to be no excitement tonight, no more emotion than Bobby could handle. And he was to have his old partner back at the lab and in prep for surgery by seven the next morning.

That Darien would go with Bobby up to his apartment was silently acknowledged by both of them, and after Bobby shut and locked the door behind them, Darien knew it was also understood that he wouldn't be leaving that night.

Bobby leaned against the door once it was secured and studied his old lover. "If there are any words you said today that you want to take back now that I might be okay, now's the time."

Darien shook his head with a smile. Same old disbelieving, paranoid Bobby, constantly expecting to be hurt. "I won't take back a word." He moved back to the door, since Bobby wasn't coming to him. "A million times, until you believe it," he reminded Bobby. "I love you."

Bobby studied him. "You know, it's funny. I guess I've changed a lot with this thing in my head. I want...I want a lot, Darien. I want something permanent." He smiled faintly. "Feels strange to suddenly be thinking that word again. Permanent. But if we're gonna try this again, I want you to know I've changed. If you have too, and you don't want to be roped into some kind of commitment...I'd like to know."

Darien smiled, moving even closer to his partner. "I haven't changed," he replied softly. "Why would I? I haven't wanted anyone else in two years."

Bobby's smile went crooked. "You getting all sappy and romantic in your old age, Fawkes?"

Darien shrugged. "Probably."

Bobby met his eyes, and moved away from the door and against his old lover. "I can deal with that."

Darien leaned down to close the distance between them, and captured Bobby's lips lightly.

That was all it took for the old, closed-up feelings to suddenly resurface. The fire that seemed to ignite in Darien when he even just touched his lover, it was back, and burning with all the more energy from being pent-up for two years.

No wonder he hadn't been interested in anyone else. He must have always remembered, even subconsciously, the thrill Bobby gave him that no one else possibly could.

Bobby broke away after a heated moment, and his eyes stayed shut. "Jesus, I missed you," he said quietly. "I was so fucking stupid, pushing you away like that."

Darien smiled wryly. "And I was stupid for leaving without fighting for you."

Bobby's eyes opened and he leaned closer to his lover, seeming content just to be close. "I guess we're just a couple of assholes."

"I guess so," Darien agreed happily. "And speaking of assholes, I still remember where your bedroom is. Why don't we go on back?"

Bobby laughed out loud for the first time since Darien had come back. "Jesus, that was crude. What happened to you being romantic? That's the worst pick-up line I've ever heard. 'Speaking of assholes.'" He laughed again.

Darien let himself feel the full affect of a happy Bobby. A smile on that normally serious face was like pure heat and light burning its way into Darien. It always had been. He had always been willing to go to any lengths to see Bobby smile or hear him laugh. He couldn't imagine how he had lasted for two long years without having that near him.

"So what's worse?" he asked with a grin. "That line or the fact that you're still gonna sleep with me tonight?"

"You really haven't changed a bit, you cocky bastard." Bobby grinned.

"No, I haven't changed. But you love me."

Bobby nodded, and easily repeated the words he had never been able to say unless forced. "Glutton for punishment that I am, I love you."

Darien had no idea what happened in the next few seconds, but somehow he ended up dragging Bobby into the bedroom and throwing him on the bed, climbing on top of him and trying almost frantically to rid him of his clothes.

Bobby's hands were all over him, tugging his shirt out of his jeans, running under the fabric and stroking the skin of Darien's back. He tugged Darien down on top of him, pressing him into a searing kiss.

Darien relaxed slightly, meeting his mouth with passion, drowning under the thrill of it all. He forced the last button on Bobby's shirt and yanked it open, moving a hand to stroke down the front of that stocky, muscular chest.

Familiarity warred with a feeling of almost newness as he tasted what he hadn't let himself remember the last couple of years. Bobby's tongue slid against his, sending burning waves of feeling through Darien's body and straight down to his already throbbing erection.

He tore away from Bobby's mouth just long enough to take a breath and start on the buttons of his slacks. "Jesus," he murmured breathlessly before diving in to kiss his lover again.

Somehow they managed to move and shift and unfasten and tug until they were both completely naked. Darien had to break away from Bobby when he realized he was ready to come from the mere sensation of being pressed against his lover.

Bobby lay still for a moment as Darien rolled off of him, breathless and panting. He rolled on his side to face Darien, understanding in his eyes. "Been a long time for you, too?"

Darien nodded as he fought for breaths. "Two years," he confessed quietly.

Bobby's eyes flashed at that, and he was on top of Darien before Darien could protest. Bobby's mouth found his, and he shifted to line up their rock-hard erections.

The touch of hot, hard flesh to hot, hard flesh made Darien almost jerk under his partner, and he hauled Bobby down for a probing kiss.

Bobby started moving on top of Darien, rocking their bodies together. Bodies made slick with sweat slid easily together.

Darien moaned loudly against Bobby's mouth, and only pulled back when he felt a familiar tightening that meant he was ready to burst. "Bobby...wait..."

Bobby ignored him, moving faster on top of him, and Darien couldn't hold back. His mind blew out through his cock as he added to the wetness between them.

A moment later, Bobby gave a hoarse cry and came in a rush, adding even more to the sticky mess.

Darien's muscles gave out on him, and he fell limp against the bed.

Bobby sagged into him, panting for air. "Sorry," he said with breathless laughter. "I really needed that. We got all night to go slower."

Darien felt a thrill tingle through his oversensitive body, and he leaned forward enough to kiss Bobby lightly. "I missed you, too," he said with a grin.



**



Darien woke up suddenly, blinking into darkness in confusion.

Had something woken him up?

Wait a minute. Where the hell was he? This wasn't his bed.

It only took a moment for him to remember, and he fell back against the pillow, unable to keep a joyful smile from spreading across his face. He turned on his side, reaching out to touch Bobby.

There was no one there.

Darien sat up instantly, sleep vanishing from his mind as concern flooded over him. "Bobby?"

There were no sounds in the dark bedroom, so he stood quickly and went to the door. Cracking it open, he peered into a living room that was slightly lighter thanks to a broad window and the streetlights by the building. "Bobby?"

He spotted his lover a moment later huddled in a ball on the sofa.

"Bobby." He moved quickly to Bobby's side, and was relieved when Bobby lifted his head to look at him.

"I wake you up?"

Darien frowned at that. Bobby was pale, trembling, and his voice was a faint rasp. Like he was on the other side of one of those attacks the gland put him through.

"No," he answered quickly. "Are you okay?"

"Better now," Bobby replied. He drew in a deep breath and unfolded himself slowly. "Tomorrow can't get here soon enough," he stated as he sat up shakily.

Darien murmured his agreement. "You need anything?"

"Nope." A smile spread over Bobby's face a moment later as he peered at his partner. "I even got a nice view."

Darien glanced down at himself, and realized for the first time that he was still naked. A moment later his mind registered that Bobby was, too, and he grinned. "You and me both."

Bobby flushed slightly and held a hand out. "Help me up, partner."

Darien breathed in, tugging Bobby to his feet and pulling him close. "You know how long I've wanted to hear you call me that again?"

Bobby nodded. "Nick's a real good guy and all, but it never felt right calling anyone else my partner."

Darien looked down at him fondly, unable to control a response to standing there pressed against naked flesh. "You sure you're okay?" he asked almost breathlessly.

Bobby seemed to read his mind, and he grinned. "You want me to prove how okay I am?"

Darien tilted his head, considering. "You know, that doesn't sound like a bad id--"

Bobby jerked him down and captured his mouth almost roughly. He darted a tongue past willingly open lips and tried to taste every inch of the mouth he'd memorized a long time ago.

Darien let himself get blown away by the assault, and when he finally pulled back it was to grab Bobby's arm and practically shove him back towards the bedroom.

Bobby chuckled lowly at Darien's eagerness. "You were always a pushy guy."

"And you loved every minute of it," Darien retorted.

Bobby reached the bed and turned to face him. "Maybe."

Darien grinned and tackled him, knocking him on his back and slithering up his body to capture his mouth again eagerly.

Bobby groaned against his lips, his hands moving almost frantically, as if determined to touch every square inch of skin on his lover's body.

Darien felt an urge he hadn't felt in years, and he drew back, meeting Bobby's eyes through the dimness. "Bobby. Fuck me."

Bobby flushed even darker, his eyes gleaming with passion at the same time his voice rose. "There you go being crude again. I see how it--"

Darien rolled his eyes and shut Bobby's mouth with his.

Strong arms and legs wrapped around his, and Darien was flipped onto his back easily. Bobby covered him easily, breaking off the heated kiss to press his lips down Darien's neck, latching onto his throat for a moment, sucking and licking and nipping lightly.

Darien moaned quietly, a hand going to the back of Bobby's neck and resting there. His overheated skin flushed under the contact, and at the same time he felt shivers wracking him, centered between his legs. He arched himself up into his partner. "Bobby..."

Bobby broke away suddenly, leaning over and blindly opening a drawer at his bedside table. He pulled out a nearly brand new tube, and Darien couldn't help raising his eyebrows at the sight. "You psychic now?"

Bobby actually froze, his mouth dropping into a frown. He looked down at the lube in his hand, then met Darien's eyes. "Actually..."

Darien swallowed, not sure he liked this new honesty kick Bobby was on. He preferred to fool himself into thinking Bobby had gone to sleep alone every night, just like he had.

Bobby looked down, still straddling Darien's waist. "I got it a few weeks ago. I was starting to think Nick had a thing for me, and I thought I'd be able to give it a try. But..." He smiled ruefully. "He reminds me of you sometimes. And I could never take him up on it."

Darien's dismay vanished, and he reached for the tube. "Guess we were both getting pretty lonely towards the end there, huh?"

Bobby's face softened with relief at the understanding in his lover's voice. He nodded.

"But not anymore." Darien flipped the tube open and poured some of the slick fluid into his hand. He tossed the tube away with a wicked smile.

Bobby almost growled as he dropped back down to press his lips to Darien's again.

Darien maneuvered his hand between them, and found Bobby's erection quickly. He wrapped his slicked fingers around the thick, hot flesh, and stroked slowly to coat it with the lube.

Bobby moaned from deep in his chest, and was obviously fighting for control as he reached between them and pulled Darien's hand back.

Darien looked up at him, wondering if he was trying to stop him, but Bobby only took his hand, smearing some of the lube over his own fingers, then releasing Darien.

Darien instantly flushed as he realized what was coming, and he spread his legs wider open for his lover.

A slick finger probed him a moment later, and Darien dropped his head back with a rising anticipation he'd never felt before.

Bobby knelt between his legs, his eyes locked on Darien's face as he carefully stretched the small, tight opening into his lover's body.

Darien hadn't been lying. It had been two long years since he'd done this, and Bobby seemed to remember that. He was showing a careful concern he'd never had before, adding a second finger only when Darien was practically moaning his insistence.

Long minutes later a third joined the first two, and finally, when Darien was about to snap and yell at him for taking so long, those fingers left his body, and Bobby met Darien's eyes.

"You ready?" Bobby's voice was hushed.

Darien nodded almost frantically. "Now. Please, Bobby."

Bobby's eyes were almost black with controlled passion, and he settled between his partner's legs, one hand carefully positioning himself against Darien.

Darien's eyes shut and the thrill of anticipation wracked him, making him hold his breath until he felt the hard, blunt flesh against his. He drew his legs up higher in wordless encouragement.

A moment later Bobby pushed in slowly. He breached that first tight ring of muscle, and watched Darien's face with an incredible amount of control to make sure he wasn't hurting his lover.

Darien wrapped his legs around Bobby's waist, and let out a breathy moan.

Bobby almost trembled on top of him, and lost some of that control as he stopped resisting both their urges, pushing inside Darien as far as he could until they were flush together.

Darien couldn't believe the feel of it. That feeling of being whole for the first time in years, the memory of what this had meant to them, and what it meant now.

It was like coming home. Like being back where he belonged, finally. Nameless, countless off-center feelings were resolving themselves, and it was just like the last two years never happened.

And from the look on Bobby's face, he felt exactly the same way.

Darien leaned up, drawing Bobby down for a soft, gentle kiss. "Love you," he whispered with an intense sincerity.

Bobby shut his eyes and rested his forehead against Darien's for a moment. "Love you, too," he murmured.

Darien couldn't have described how it felt if he'd tried. It was like everything was made right. Everything that had been wrong with his shitty life was finally back in place, and it made him so happy he couldn't even smile.

And then Bobby started to move inside him, and peaceful contentment vanished under pleasure and passion and everything else he'd been missing since they'd been apart. Darien clamped his legs around Bobby, and he let out a sharp cry of pure pleasure as Bobby found that little spot inside him that always left him screaming.

Bobby picked up speed, striking that spot with unerring accuracy as he reached between them with a hand still slick with lube, grasping Darien's erection and stroking him lightly.

Darien's body almost jerked, uncontrollable tremors wracking him. The rest of the world fell away from that bed, leaving him and Bobby and nothing else. His every sense was focused on his lover, and the air he breathed even felt different when it was the same air Bobby was panting in. He had never connected to anyone the way he connected to Bobby, and he knew, sure as anything else, that if he ever had to go without this again, he'd wither away and die.

The pressure building up inside of him reached a breaking point, and Darien heard from a distance his own voice crying out Bobby's name over and over again as he erupted, spattering their bodies with liquid warmth.

Bobby pushed into him one last time, freezing deep inside Darien as he came, his eyes shut tightly.

Darien could feel a hot pulsing inside of him, and he savored the sensation. Even as his limbs grew heavy and his body went limp against the bed, he was aware of everything about his lover.

Bobby moved slowly and carefully, pulling out of his partner's body and then collapsing on the bed, half on top of Darien.

Darien's arms moved, folding Bobby to him tightly, and for a long few minutes the room was filled with the sounds of heavy breathing and racing heartbeats slowly returning to normal.

The world slowly returned to Darien's awareness, but he found he didn't mind. It wasn't the world of the last two years. It was the world before that, bright and hopeful and happy since he had everything he wanted held to him tightly.

He wouldn't let this go. Never again. No matter what Bobby said, or what happened between them, he would never give up without a fight.



****



Epilogue...



"John?"

"Darien! Looking good, kid."

Darien grinned at his old friend and business partner. "John, I want you to meet--"

John Norse shot out of his chair and thrust his hand out. "Bobby! Heard a lot about you."

Beside Darien, Bobby flashed a bemused smile and shook the enthusiastic hand. "Nice to meet ya."

They sat down around the small table, and John easily kept the conversation going. "You know, on second thought, I haven't heard that much. I've started hearing a hell of a lot about you."

Bobby's eyebrows flew up. "Whaddaya mean?"

John smirked across at Darien. "I mean, every day this kid had a different story about you. But he always acted surprised when he brought you up, and he shut up mid-sentence."

Darien flushed slightly. "Yeah, okay, so I slipped up sometimes."

"Sometimes? Every damned day, I'm telling you." John turned to Bobby. "So when Darien suddenly takes a few days vacation to see about a friend, and shows up one morning smiling and walking like he's got a permanent hard-on, I got suspicious. Then he lets loose one of these Bobby stories, but goes all the way with it. I figured it out." He grinned smugly.

Bobby laughed out loud at the blunt nature of the man across from him. He glanced at Darien. "I think I'm gonna like this guy."

"Yeah? You want a job? Darien says your situation's a little unusual right now."

"No thanks. Unusual, yeah, but I've still got a job at my old place. They need me now more than ever."

"And they're okay with you guys?"

Bobby smirked. "What the boss don't know won't hurt me."

John laughed. "Good point. So what's the story with you guys? One month Darien's a monk , next month he's changing address?"

"Yeah, I went and domesticated the kid."

Darien laughed at that. He met Bobby's eyes across the table, and couldn't help a sincere smile.

Yeah, he was domesticated now. They both were. Darien had just finished moving the rest of his stuff into Bobby's bigger apartment.

It had been a month since the operation to remove the gland. The thing they had pulled from Bobby's head, according to the Keeper, bore little resemblance to the one they first implanted. The gland was now useless biomedical waste disposed of in some top-secret way.

Darien couldn't find it in him to mourn the little biosynthetic thing, and Bobby hadn't exactly shed any tears either. They had been too busy rebuilding some kind of life together, and there wasn't much time they were willing to give to grief.

Bobby was still with the Agency. It was true, they needed him now more than ever. He was still the best agent they'd ever had, and he would keep catching bad guys and building up the Agency's reputation, despite the fat man's certainty that the small Agency's days were numbered.

And Darien was still a partner in Norse and Fawkes Security. Not much had changed in that respect. They each went to work same places they had before the last fateful weeks.

The only difference in Darien's life was that he went home to a different place now, and there was someone with him when he went to sleep at night. Bobby wasn't always there when he got home, but they always had the other to hold on to at night.

A big difference. A huge difference. In fact, that one warm body beside him the few hours he slept made a difference in every other aspect of his life. Even John had been able to take one look at him the day he returned to work and tell that something had changed. He'd asked right off who the lucky person was, and Darien had simply shrugged and started playing catch-up on the work he'd missed.

Since then the routine set back in, but he and Bobby were still in honeymoon phase. It was everything Darien had always known they could have -- they were happy. Insanely, ridiculously, nauseatingly happy.

Eventually everything would settle down, he was sure. At some point he would walk in to the apartment and see Bobby and not automatically want to jump him and profess undying devotion and then screw his brains out. At some point the thrill would go.

Bobby and John were still talking, and Bobby laughed at something Darien's friend said. He glanced over at Darien, his eyes twinkling merrily.

He was happy, and alive, and they were together. Darien's breath caught and his mind spun, as it always did when he realized he had everything in the world that he wanted, and there was no sign that anything would happen to take it away.

So maybe he was wrong. Maybe the thrill wouldn't go away. Maybe the last two years of loneliness was worth it for the sight that met his eyes now.

Maybe talking with John and Bobby and laughing about nothing at all, having fun, maybe it was worth everything. The gland, the Agency, prison. Hell, everything that had happened since he was caught straddling an old man, trying to save his life. It had all somehow led to this.

Strange trip, but worth it. Darien would do it again, he figured.

Bobby nudged Darien, catching his attention. Darien met his partner's eyes and felt a flush he could never quite control.

Bobby reached under the table surreptitiously and found Darien's hand, touching only briefly, but long enough for it to warm Darien from the hand up.

Darien knew right then that his earlier promise to himself would stand up no matter what happened to the two of them. He would never let this go. He would never let Bobby out of his reach again.

Of course, by the look on Bobby's face, he didn't plan on going anywhere.

*** end ***

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