Adult-FanFiction.org : Television / Streaming

When Two Wrongs Make A Right	By : YourMomma Category: G through L > Invisible Man Views: 1573 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own The Invisible Man, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 1-When Two Wrongs Make A Right
- 1
WHEN TWO WRONGS MAKE A RIGHT

Written
By:  Cassie Banks

Fandom: The
Invisible Man (The Sci-Fi Channel Original)

Pairing: Darien and Claire

Warnings: Sex will be had. Quicksilver madness is involved. Darien is angry and out of
control - you make the call.

Rating: Adult+ (It's graphic AND descriptive.)

Story Codes:
COMPLETE, M/F, Language, May Appear N/C, Oral, HJ, AU/AR (depending on
how strict you are).

Spoilers: It uses
references from both seasons. This piece
also specifically spoils the last episode of Season 2, "The New Stuff."

Summary: Darien and Claire find out they have more
in
common than they thought when Quicksilver madness kicks in.  Darien makes Claire a part of his red-eyed reality, reliving memories of Kevin and their bottled-up emotions
about him on both their parts. This story begins after "Enemy of My Enemy"
and follows through to the end of
"The New Stuff."

Disclaimer: Honest-to-God, I
don't own a
thing. There's no money involved, just my
love of the wonderful adventures of Darien Fawkes; a character who truly
rocks.
Author's Notes:
I don't use beta readers. It's not on purpose, good beta readers are too hard
to find. Especially ones who are willing to take that AU/AR leap with you. Anyhow, that's my
excuse for the blatant disregard of grammar and proper story writing etiquette.  I also had to edit this story by hand after uploading it. For some strange reason, the HTML code turned into a wreck when it was finally uploaded. Feel free to let me know if you find any words that look like they came from another planet. I'll take care of them as soon as I know.

The essence of the beginning of this story was influenced by one
of Claire's lines from a scene at the end of "The Three Phases of Claire"
and one of Darien's lines from the pilot episode. They prompted
me to want to explore that part of the psyche of both Claire and Darien
further.
Episodes of
"The Invisible Man" popped up on HULU recently (2008). I watched all the Season 1 AND Season 2 episodes again and realized how pissed off I still was at Sci-Fi for canceling the show. Even though eight years had passed, seeing my favorite characters made me fall in love all
over again - the show was not only THAT good, but it held up that well over time. In my heart of hearts, I hope to see something, anything with the I-MAN crew together again. If you haven't watched the show in a while, feel free to go to HULU and bathe yourself in the cool flowing waters of "The Invisible Man"for free. You'll be glad you did.

Dr. Laurence J. Peter, famed educator and hierarchiologist, once said "If two wrongs don't make a right, try three."  Of course, this goes against the sage advise in Proverbs, which states "Two wrongs DON'T make a right." There are just some times where the synchronistic events of the universe force us to see the wisdom of knowledge at odds with The Bible.  Not clear enough?  A little Quicksilver madness will always cut right to the heart of the matter.
-=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=-

Darien bolted up out of bed as if someone had poked him with an electric cattle prod. His first response was to assess his living quarters. He wondered if Arnaud was skulking around his apartment in the
middle of the night searching for an opportunity to get a hold of the gland in his head. A quick search of his surroundings allowed him time enough for a sigh of relief...and then the pain started. Darien raised both his hands to the back of his neck. It felt like someone was trying to chip away at it with a blunt
knife. It was the third time it had happened without warning since the counteragent stopped refilling the entire snake. He couldn't predict it anymore. Sometimes the sections of the snake took a long time to turn red, sometimes they all turned red without warning. Darien looked at his arm. Only three
bars and the head of the snake were left.

"Oh crap," he said under his breath and jumped out of bed. It was 1:30AM. The Keeper would be home now, probably asleep.  Darien pulled on his jeans, slipped his shoes on, grabbed the keys to the Crown Vic and raced to the car. He had to get to the counteragent before the snakehead disappeared and he
knew The Keeper was holding a vial of it at her home.

On the drive to Claire's, Darien's inner demons tussled inside his head. He knew he was taking a chance heading directly for her in his condition, but Hobbes was too far away to be of any use. Darien was sure he could hold out long enough not to die in a fiery car wreck along the way. As the pain in his head became more severe and started to spread throughout his body, self-pity began to seep into his consciousness.
He should never had let Kevin talk him into having the gland put in his head in the first place. It was bad enough Kevin had been killed, leaving Darien to deal with it by himself.  What made it worse was given the chance to rectify the situation, Kevin had run out again. He had no right to leave him like this - slow death by madness when the counteragent no longer worked. Kevin was a brilliant scientist, but how brilliant could he be not to foresee how the counteragent would one day betray his brother? At the very least, he could have left the information to remove the gland from his head for the Keeper in case something went horribly wrong. How in the world could he justify ending himself without so much as a word of warning?

That part of Kevin, only Darien knew - the self-righteous Kevin who didn't have a problem playing God every now and then. He saw it in him as a boy, the Kevin who always glowed whenever he was being awarded some great honor for his scientific prowess. Taking away the option of having the gland removed was just another power play for Kevin - the world according to the great Kevin Fawkes. He was, after all, the golden child.

Darien remembered how his Aunt and Uncle unceremoniously dropped him off at his Little League team's award banquet, on the way to some out-of-state science conference Kevin wanted to go to. Darien had come home
with a trophy for stealing the most bases in his age group, yet he had to walk home by himself. There was no one to share his happy moment with.

Darien's Aunt and Uncle left him with an alcoholic neighbor that weekend. Coincidentally, it was
the same weekend he found out how very good he was at stealing other things.  Bored and
angry that his baby-sitter was passed out on the couch, he went to his neighborhood grocery store and
picked up a few items.  He was surprised how easy it was to slip things into his pockets. It wasn't just the stealing either. Darien stood with the store manager for several minutes on the way out and carried on the most congenial of conversations about his Little League trophy, coat full of stolen items.

Even though everyone thought of Kevin as the fair-haired child, Darien saw the truth. No matter how you sliced it, Kevin Fawkes was not the holy grail everyone believed him to be - the gland in Darien's
head was proof of that. To Darien, time and again, his brother Kevin was the bane of his existence. By the time Darien reached the Keeper's house there were only two bars left and his eyes revealed his Quicksilver madness.  Darien was more than ready to wield his vengeance on anyone involved with the remnants of the great Kevin Fawkes.

Darien listened closely when he reached her door. There was music coming from the 2nd floor, enough to cover any noise he might make as he picked the lock and made his way up the stairs to the Keeper's bedroom. For all the years that Kevin had all the attention, the love, the respect of his mother, his father and his Aunt and Uncle,
Darien was going to take what Kevin couldn't have. He was going to have his way with Kevin's precious Claire and there would be nothing anyone could do about it.
-=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=-
Claire dropped a large pile of files on her kitchen table begrudgingly and headed to the closet to hang up her coat. She had stayed at the lab until midnight trying to find a way to beat Quicksilver madness and had once again failed. Her mind was filled with anger. Darien's
violent outbursts were getting more frequent with every day. The Official had no right to keep her from curing Darien. She knew what his end game was. He would allow Darien to follow the madness to his own death at which time whatever was left of the gland would be inserted into a more willing host. Torn between her fear of mixing the cure without knowing whether Arnaud had snuck another ticking time bomb into it and wanting to free Darien of the pain, she had allowed herself to be backed into a corner. She would never forgive herself if Darien died because of something she did. The experiment with the second counteragent formula scared her deeply. It was no longer just science for science's sake. This was a very close friend she was playing God with.
She had lost her only chance to remove the gland from Darien safely months ago. They had managed to reanimate Kevin in Darien's body, but much like Kevin's and her previous relationship, he left her for a second time with little notice. It hurt when she found out the first time as all losses do. The second time was of his own choosing though. For some reason, the great Kevin Fawkes had turned away from his
responsibilities. While she originally soothed herself with the notion that Kevin believed she was capable enough to handle the problem on her own, as months passed she came to see what an incredible act of cowardice it was. There was also the self-doubt running rampant through her subconscious. Did Kevin leave because
she rejected his advances? Did he not have any compassion for what she was dealing with trying to keep his brother alive and functioning?  Kevin couldn't possibly have expected things to go back the way they were between them when he had his own body.

Claire would not allow herself to fall in love with Kevin again the way she had before. They both had positions with the government waiting for them upon graduation, but instead of spending the evening they had planned to say good-bye to one another, Kevin had been whisked away earlier in the day by his employer. Claire had spent the entire day pampering herself for the perfect evening, but instead of Kevin arriving at her door she received a handwritten note explaining why he needed to leave so urgently and how excited he was to get started with his project. There were few words about their relationship written on the paper, no proof she had meant anything to him. She spent the next several months burying herself in her work until any
remaining thoughts of Kevin Fawkes were gone. While it led to some amazing scientific discoveries on her part, it did nothing more but throw a rug over her saddened heart.
Seeing Kevin through Darien was hard on her. She and Darien were much closer emotionally
than she and Kevin had ever been, even though she had made love to Kevin many times and only sampled Darien's physical prowess when both of them had gone insane. Sure, Kevin would speak beautiful words to her. He would hold her as a man who loves a woman with all their heart would hold her. His lovemaking was slow and graceful; Kevin could be such a romantic. In all that, he never said the words she longed to hear from him, he never talked about the little things in life that meant so much. With Kevin Fawkes, it was sex, philosophy or science.
To be fair she hadn't told him how much she felt for him, but that was more out of fear Kevin wouldn't feel the same way. Claire was waiting for their final evening together to talk about their future, to tell him how much he meant to her. Instead of sharing that fact, she was greeted at the door by a
strange man who handed her a note. Clearly Kevin's feelings didn't run as deep as hers or he would not have left her that way. Yet back in Darien's body, he seemed to think the two of them had never ended.
He touched her body the way Kevin did, but the size of his hands were Darien's. He kissed her the way Kevin kissed her, but they were Darien's lips - more sensual and more intense than Kevin's ever were. The more
passionate Kevin got with Darien's kisses, the more her head started to ache from all the mixed signals. Even worse were the memories of being handed a note that said good-bye.
Claire was haunted by the thought that rejecting Kevin's affections may have been the breaking point, the one thing that gave Kevin the idea he could go and leave the rest for her to figure out. After
all, it wasn't like Kevin to leave his science behind when there was a bold statement to be made. Taking the gland out of his brother's head and repairing the damage Arnaud caused would have allowed him to complete his work. Kevin's second death made no sense.
Claire pulled a bottle of wine from the refrigerator and a glass from the rack and headed upstairs to try and forget it all. She didn't want to think about how easy it was for Kevin to leave her again or how wrong he had been to not take responsibility for his creation. She didn't want to think about how precariously she held Darien's life in her hands or the choice she was going to have to make using Arnaud's cure without being there for Darien if things went badly in the months ahead. Kevin may not have cared about Darien's well-being as much as she did, but then again she had seen how much good was inside Darien and how many times Quicksilver gland problems cropped up. All Kevin knew was that the gland had worked and made Darien a better person. When she got to her bedroom, she threw off her shoes, poured a big glass of wine and turned the stereo up as loud as she could without bothering the neighbors.
-=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=-
Darien smiled as he watched Claire dancing to the music with a glass of wine in her hand. This was going to be like taking candy from a baby. He waited for her to turn away from where he was hiding in the hall, then entered the room and closed the door behind him.  Darien walked over to the table where her cell phone lay and slipped it into his pocket. He grabbed the line that went from the phone into the wall and yanked it hard, first out of the phone, then out of it's wall socket. He pulled his coat off and let it drop to the floor on top of the wire, then proceeded towards Claire's twisting and turning body.  Darien stood right behind her and waited until she turned around on her own and could see the Quicksilver madness in his eyes for herself. He wanted to see the fear in her face when she realized there was no Bobby Hobbes to come to her aid. It didn't take long.
Claire turned around, her long blonde hair swaying with the beat, only to find the one thing
she didn't want to see - Darien Fawkes vulnerable again. She had already boosted his shots up to twice a week, yet three days later it was clear it wasn't going to be enough.
"Awww, is that for me?" Darien asked as he took the wine glass from her hand.
"Darien, your eyes...let me just go downstairs and get a shot of counteragent for you," she
responded as she watched him down her glass of wine in one gulp.
"Oh, that won't be necessary," Darien said looking straight through her. "Not tonight," he
continued.
"No,Clairet we're going to celebrate the late, great, Kevin Fawkes," he said as he backed her up
against the table where the rest of the bottle of wine was sitting. Claire looked over to where the phone was supposed to be sitting on her desk. It was no longer there.
"Tonight we celebrate that little weasel's dedication to science and to his little brother," he said as he slammed the glass down on the table. It broke the bottom off and he was left with only the stem and the bowl.
"Ooops," he said as he watched the broken pieces fall to the floor on his jacket. "Guess you and I will have to share the bottle," he said throwing darts with his eyes at Claire.
"Darien, let me give you a shot," Claire pleaded as he picked up the bottle. For the first
time she was afraid for her own safety. She watched Darien down the wine
in one gulp, leaving it half full. He turned his head as if waiting for the buzz to begin.
"For some reason, it doesn't seem to be doing anything for the pain," he said. "Now it's your turn."
Darien grabbed her by her waist and turned her against him so he had control of her arms. He raised the bottle to her lips and ordered her to drink. Claire knew she would need to be clearheaded to get downstairs to the counteragent, but she was already one glass in when Darien had arrived. Drinking any more alcohol would put her at a disadvantage. She tried to turn her head away, but Darien would have none of it. He grabbed her by the waist, dragged her across the floor and shoved her down on the bed, then placed a knee on each side of her legs and shoved his arm under her chin.
"Drink up now Keepy," he said in a low growl "before I have to MAKE you drink it. You KNOW
how I am when I'm enjoying the madness."
Claire tried to push his arm away, but the Quicksilver madness had made him far too strong. She would have kneed him in the crotch, but as she began to move her legs Darien sat
down on them.
"Now you don't REALLY want to hurt me that way, do you?" he said with an evil grin. "It would spoil what I have planned for later on."
He raised the bottle to her mouth again.
"Now DRINK!" he commanded as he shoved the bottle at the corner of her mouth. He took
his thumb and pushed it back into the corner of her mouth where he could push down on her jaw.
Claire was starting to seethe with her own anger. Her mouth opened slightly from the
pressure, but Darien took full advantage of the opportunity by shoving the tip of the bottle into it. The wine came in hard and fast and it was everything Claire could do to keep from choking. There was three quarters of a bottle full of wine when Darien had originally picked it up. She was only able to take in half of what was left before it started going down the wrong pipe. Darien waited a few seconds while she was choking, then lifted the bottle to his own mouth to finish it off. Claire's chest was heaving as she tried to clear her lungs and breathe, but Darien left her little space to lean forward. When he was done draining the bottle he threw it across the room, hitting the corner of a bookshelf where it broke into pieces and fell to
the ground. He watched Claire intensely as she finally caught her breath.
Darien grabbed Claire by her shirt and pulled her close to him.
"You know, you never told me that you and Kevin had a thing going in college," he said. "I
had to find out from Bobby Hobbes. Why exactly was that Claire?" he said as he pulled her body away from the wall so she could lay on the bed underneath him.
"It was none of your business," Claire blurted out angrily.
"None of my business?" Darien replied caustically.
"It was none of your DAMN business," Claire replied as she sent her arms flinging at him,
hoping for a lucky blow.
"So you want to play it that way do you?" Darien questioned and then grabbed her wrists in one hand and held them over her head. He ripped her blouse open with the other, causing the buttons to fly. He was a bit surprised by the lacy bra underneath. He had expected Claire to be the type who wore more sensible lingerie.
"I guess it's my business now," he said as he ran his fingers over the lace.  The
fabric did nothing to hide her excitement. Her nipples were hard and strained against the silky fabric covering them. Darien smiled evilly as he took in the sight.
"So tell me, did you wear this bra for Kevin when he was inside me? Did he get to see THIS while he was here?" Darien questioned. There was no reply.
"Your nipples are sticking up there pretty hard Keepy. You know I never thought of Kevin as a sexual person. I can't imagine him getting rough with you," he said as he let each finger on his hand individually slide across one side of her nipple to the other and back again. Claire squirmed hard against
him.
"I wonder what he'd think about you getting all excited by his little brother." Darien looked into her eyes. She was hiding something from him.
"Oh let me guess," Darien goaded. "You let Kevin take advantage of you while he was IN MY BODY, didn't you?" he said sarcastically, keeping direct contact with Claire's damning eyes. The
Quicksilver in him loved watching Claire get as angry as he was, but he still wasn't able to get an answer from her. He increased the speed of his fingers sliding over her nipple until he felt her body flinch the way a
woman's body does while being pleased. Then he asked her again.
"You know, I didn't quite hear you that time. You might want to speak a little LOUDER," he
said and proceeded to pinch her nipple hard with his fingertips. He heard a gasp escape from her mouth, but her body was speaking a completely different language.
"You liked that didn't you?" he said paying close attention to her eyes for the lie he knew she'd tell.
"Did Kevin do that to you while he was in my body?" Darien pushed on. "You can tell me you
know. After all, these are the same hands he used to do it to you," he said trying to push her even further.
Of the million things running through Claire's mind at that very moment, the one that bothered her the most was how entirely pleasurable the sensations Darien was causing her body were. Kevin was always a considerate, romantic lover, but in his own way predictable. Darien, on the other hand, seemed to be
ready for anything anywhere and there seemed to be no pattern to it. When the two of them were out of their minds at the shipyard his ministrations were highly charged in passion, but never rough enough to hurt her. This Quicksilver Darien seemed to take pleasure in her pain and she couldn't help think of all the times he referred to himself as her gunea pig. Perhaps this was the payback she had earned for not being strong enough to go against The Official's wishes to keep Darien on a leash. She was now Darien's guinea pig, but instead of the loathing Darien always displayed at being poked and prodded in very private places, Claire's body was responding to the stimulation.
"I WANT AN ANSWER, DID YOU HAVE SEX WITH KEVIN WHILE HE WAS HERE?!?!?!" Darien demanded. Claire wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of an answer.
"Well, then you leave me no choice," he responded rather matter-of-factly. Darien lowered his head down to Claire's chest and smiled. He pushed his hand underneath her lower back and slowly and deliberately ran his fingers up her spine until he reached the hooks on her bra. In one quick move it was
open. Claire struggled against him which just spurred him on. He pulled his hand back out from under her and pulled her arms down in front of her, yanking the bra off and sending it flying across the room with the remnants of her blouse as he pushed her back down with her hands over her head.
"Now Claire," he said as he rubbed his palms over her heaving breasts "I asked for an answer and now I want it." He took a nipple between his thumb and forefinger and began twisting it from right to left. Claire's eyes betrayed her as they closed, the obvious pleasure on her face. It angered him.
"Ok, if you're not going to cooperate..." he said as he lowered his mouth to her breast. The feel of his warm, wet tongue on her nipple sent Claire's hips into a spasm - she couldn't keep them still. To make matters worse, Darien's body was now lying on top of hers, which only forced her hips into his groin making the sensations of his growing hardness even more unbearable. Claire was breathing hard from the excitement...until she felt his teeth clamp around her nipple. Her body jolted from a strange sensation of both extreme pleasure and extreme pain and she cried out.
"Doesn't feel so good, does it Keepy? Well now you know how I FEEL!" he said returning his mouth to her other nipple. This time he wasn't satisfied enough with the reaction from just biting down. This time he clamped down on her nipple and rolled it between his teeth for effect. Claire screamed.
"Alright, alright, I'll tell you. Just STOP!" she cried out.
Instead of removing the nipple from his mouth, Darien removed only his teeth. He swirled his tongue over the teeth marks he had left and moved his mouth only far enough to demand the details. His hot breath blowing over her wet nipple as he spoke only aroused her more.
"I want to know every dirty detail from the beginning," he barked.
"Nothing happened," Claire snapped trying to catch her breath.
"I don't believe you," Darien said casually. He took her nipple back into his mouth between his teeth. Claire realized she wasn't getting out of this without the truth.
"Ok, fine. He kissed me." she responded. Darien loosened the grip of his teeth.
"He kissed you when?" he said waiting for her answer.
"He kissed me after he and Bobby came back from Arnaud's - in the lab before you woke up in his
suit," she answered quietly.
"What? He only kissed you once? I find that hard to believe after being dead for an
entire year. What happened after that?" Darien demanded, holding her breast tightly in his hand, waiting for another opportunity to take advantage of her nakedness.
"He kissed me some more," she replied. Darien's placed his lips around her nipple and started to gently suck on it. He could feel Claire's positive response through her hips again as they ground into his groin. He stopped only to ask his next question.
"Then what did you do?" he asked with an evil smile. He lowered his head and returned
his lips to her other nipple to continue teasing it with his mouth and tongue.
"Well, I kissed him back...until I started to remember that feeling, the way it felt the last
time we parted.  I opened my eyes and saw your face and realized I couldn't handle feeling the way Kevin used to kiss me, but with your lips instead of his. It was very confusing," she said almost whispering.
Darien stopped what he was doing.
"Wait, you stopped because you saw my face?" Darien insinuated angrily.
"Did you not hear what I just said Darien?" Claire said angrily. "It was your body he was doing it in!"
"So what, you can't stand the idea of me making love to you? Is that it? 'Cause you
didn't seem to mind it too much when we were rolling around at the shipyard," Darien replied hostily. His anger was beginning to flare.
"So I'm not the lover Kevin is? Is that the problem?" he said as he starting pulling at her pants, ripping the button away and breaking the zipper. "We'll just fix that," he said snarkily.
"DARIEN, THAT'S NOT WHAT I SAID!!!" Claire protested as he fought her to pull her pants down and
threw them across the room. He pulled her up violently by her wrists and dragged her over to the stereo where he turned the music up even louder. As the thumping beat of punk rock chaos filled the room, he pulled her even harder as they returned to the bed and threw her down on it again. Claire scrambled to get back up in an effort to run down the stairs to get the counteragent, but Darien was quicker. He pushed her back back down as he unfastened his own pants, his shirt already in a heap on the floor. As he kicked his pants off Claire was astounded by the sight of his hardness, not just because his length was so much longer than Kevin's, but because it dawned on her that he was clearly aroused yet none of his body parts had gone invisible.
"You like that, don't you?" he questioned. "Maybe you should have taken Kevin up on his offer," he growled. "Too late now Keepy. I'M the only one home!" The anger on his face was clear.
Claire was about to make a comment about the fact he hadn't Quicksilvered, but before she could
say anything she felt his arm spreading her legs apart and his hand move up between them. In one quick movement, his fingers were rubbing back and forth over her clit.
"You're very, very wet. You like it when daddy plays rough, don't you?" Darien
said as he watched her eyes for confirmation that his ministrations were reaching their target. It didn't take long. Her eyes closed and her back arched in a way that left no doubt he had hit his mark.
"I bet Kevin never did that to you, did he? No, Kevin was the good son. He probably spent all night preparing you for the main event. Let's see, candle light, wine, a nice dinner, maybe a back rub to get you started. I bet he spent half the night making out with you on the couch, didn't he?" Darien spat out.
Claire was in no condition to speak. Her body was on the brink of another orgasm, but
Darien was rubbing too hard. It fitfully kept her from reaching her climax. She tried to wrestle her hands out of his grasp, but he was too strong. Moving her hips only made matters worse.
"Darien, you're hurting me!" she exclaimed. It was just what he wanted to hear. He
pulled himself alongside her on the bed so his face was next to hers.
"You think that hurts, wait 'til you feel this!" he replied as he shoved his first two fingers inside her. Either he wasn't aware of what he was doing or he wasn't familiar with the territory, but the awkward way they were positioned on the bed had forced him to hold his hand palm up. Pushing his fingers along the upper wall of her as he entered only succeeded in pushing them over her g-spot. Claire's entire body spasmed in long-awaited release from the stimulation of her clit which only increased the amount of lubrication her body was producing.
Darien wasn't pleased. He wanted to hurt her. Somewhere in the heavens he was
hoping Kevin was watching this and suffering for leaving him behind with the Quicksilver gland still in his head. Darien moved his fingers back and forth to determine the place that was causing Claire to buck and rock so. When he narrowed it down to the exact spot, he smiled.
"Say his name Claire," Darien ordered. Claire was heaving, trying to catch her breath. His red eyes were right in front of hers.
"What?" she questioned, not understanding his request.
"I want you to say his name Claire," Darien barked. "I'm going to make you come again and I want to hear you scream out Kevin's name and doNOT close your eyes. You look at ME when you say it!"
Claire was stunned. As Darien started to move his fingers over her g-spot again, she
lost control. Every inch of her body was tingling and the wave of energy rushing through her orgasm prompted the natural response to close her eyes. Darien let go of her wrists and grabbed her hair. When she tried to
hit him with her free hands he laid his strong arm across them.
"OPEN YOUR EYES," he demanded. Claire opened her eyes, but with each wave of orgasm that raced through her body it was hard to keep them open. Every time they began to close Darien would pull on her hair until she mastered staring at him during the process.
"SAY HIS NAME NOW!" Darien screamed as he rubbed even harder against her pleasure core.
Claire could barely breath she was climaxing so hard. It was rare to find a man who understood the mechanics of that special place on a woman, much less how to find it. She never considered what would happen if she was able to orgasm again and again the way Darien was forcing her body to. His were the only eyes she could see. His name was the only one she could think of.
"DARIEN," she pleaded.
"DON'T YOU DARE SAY MY NAME!" Darien barked. He moved his mouth directly over her ear as her body continued to shake from the waves of pleasure coming over her.
"You say Kevin!" he whispered. Claire was starting to get dizzy. Each time she orgasmed she involuntarily held her breath. She was coming so frequently now she was holding her breath more than breathing. On the next wave, she managed to squeak out Kevin's name. Darien pulled at her hair again.
"LOUDER!!!" he demanded.
"Kevin," Claire said trying to catch her breath.
"LOUDER DAMN IT!!!" Darien screamed rubbing her even faster.
"KEVIN!" Claire finally screamed, her body shaking. Wherever he was in the heavens, Claire
did not want to give Kevin Fawkes the satisfaction of associating her pleasure with his name.
"SAY IT AGAIN!" Darien commanded.
"KEVIN!" she squeaked out as loud as she could, allowing Darien to push her emotional buttons so hard, she secretly hoped it hurt him just as much as it did her.
Tears were starting to come from Claire's eyes as her body shook.
"I HATE YOU KEVIN, I HATE YOU!!!" Claire snarled vehemently. She was crying hysterically now. The love, the hate, the million questions she had inside all came spilling out at once - all under the control of Darien's hand.
"I HATE YOU KEVIN FAWKES!!! I HATE YOU FOR LEAVING ME WITH THIS!!!" Claire
screamed and then what felt like the culmination of a hundred orgasms one on top of the another raced through her body, setting every nerve on fire with pleasure until she passed out.
Darien was stunned. Even in his Quicksilver madness, he could feel how deep the pain and hatred had affected her when she called out Kevin's name. There was something inside her she had never spoken of, something neither he or Bobby Hobbes knew about. Something about his brother's brief presence in their lives had altered both he and Claire.  She had slapped him hard across the face when he suggested
that Kevin had almost gotten him killed for his own personal agenda. It made more sense knowing that before he went to sleep Kevin had been wooing Claire with the intention of rekindling their romance.
"Claire?" Darien said as he tapped her cheek to bring her back.   "Claire?"
As Claire came back to life, Darien could see the anger in her eyes. If there was one thing he understood, it was the banal anger of a woman. There were stories about amazing feats of strength when a woman was pushed beyond her limits. As Claire regained her energy, he could see the anger build and he smiled. It wasn't for long. Claire sat up in the bed and grabbed him by the balls hard.
"MY TURN," she said angrily. She wasn't handling him very carefully - the pain was incredible even with the Quicksilver madness.
"That hurts Claire," Darien tried to point out sternly, but Claire was having none of it. She managed to roll both of them over so Darien was now on his back and she was on top controlling the action. She lowered herself onto Darien's throbbing cock and closed her eyes as it slid deep into her, arching her back in pleasure. He had released her from her long self-imposed abstinence.
In the beginning, Claire had hoped she and Kevin would cross paths one day. She couldn't imagine anyone touching her the way Kevin's gentle hands did. After feeling Darien's strong hands on her she realized how wrong she had been. As incredible as it seemed, he had given her body more pleasure in the past hour than Kevin had given her the entire year they were together. Darien was open in a way Kevin never was. Sure, the Quicksilver madness had a lot to do with wearing his emotions on his sleeve, but they were genuine emotions that forced her to be genuine with herself. At this moment in time, she genuinely wanted to hurt Kevin Fawkes and much as Darien did.
Claire pulled Darien's hands up to hers to steady her balance and dug her fingernails into the back of his hands. She took note of how much of the last bar was red as she pushed his hands back to reveal his wrist. The scientist in her knew she should subdue Darien first and give him a shot of counteragent, but she knew Darien always felt such regret after he came down from Quicksilver Madness. She needed to assert her dominance while he was still under the influence to set their friendship - their working relationship - back in proper order. First and foremost, SHE was his Keeper.
Claire moved her body around as she slid up and down on his hardness, taking special enjoyment with the way it trembled inside her when she contracted her muscles around it.
"I think you're enjoying this a little too much Keepy," he said trying to adjust his hand so her
fingernails weren't stabbing his hands.
"Yes, and you should remember that Darien. *I* am your Keeper. I am going to enjoy taking whatever I want," she said sternly, her eyes burning an authoritative stare into his. Darien had no problem drinking in the sight of her sitting naked on top of him, her breasts barely bouncing as she slowly rode her
way to pleasure. He pulled one of his hands away to run it down her chest and across her stomach.
"You're beautiful Claire," he said more seriously. Claire violently pulled his hand off of
her and bent it back painfully as if to teach him a lesson.
"You don't touch me unless I tell you to," Claire ordered.
Claire started settling herself down into a rhythmic pattern. She would raise and lower
herself a set number of times starting with seven, then pause. Each set contained one less movement. She was watching his eyes carefully for signs of how the activity was affecting him and was happy to notice the crescendo as she neared the end of her pattern. He tried to strain against her, to reclaim his position on top, but she would have none of it. She equally rebuffed his attempts at speeding up the rhythm to accommodate his own orgasm.
"Come on Claire," he begged as she let him slide out of her and positioned her wetness to allow her clit to slide along the length of his hard cock. As she started the rhythm to her sliding, she let all of her inhibitions go. She dropped his hands and placed hers over her breasts, slowly rubbing them - making Darien watch her please herself without allowing him a chance to play as well. The sensations of her own throbbing clit, the pleasure her breasts were feeling and Darien's eyes locked on her body finally took their toll and she grabbed his hands before her body spasmed with orgasm. Darien wanted badly to come as well, but she refused to allow him to enter her.
"Ahhhh, that's just not fair," he complained.
Claire continued to rub herself slowly against his pulsing cock, but instead of sitting up, she took her hands and ran them from his stomach, up over his strong chest to his shoulders, where she proceeded to kiss and then nip at his neck. Darien was squirming underneath her, his own body starting to lose control.
"You know this isn't going to last much longer," he said as she ran the tip of her tongue along the nape of his neck down to his collar bone. She was increasing the speed of her clit rubbing across his cock which was now soaking wet with her natural lubricant. He could tell she was nearing the peak of her orgasm as she trailed her tongue slowly from his collarbone up over his Adam's apple to his chin, where she found his waiting mouth.
"Shut up Darien," she whispered as she teased his lips with hers. He could feel her breaths becoming shorter as she allowed his lips to ravage hers. Their tongues raced after one another while her body began to shudder and through their kiss Darien could feel the height of her pleasure explode through her body. When their lips parted and she tried to regain her composure, Darien wrapped his arm around her back and rolled her over in order to enter her properly. She wrapped her arms and legs around him once he was inside her and he kissed her deeply. It took only a few strokes before they both reached their peak together, their mouths straining against one another as the rest of their bodies bucked as one.
They stayed in that position for a few more minutes, Darien completely exhausted while Claire felt oddly rejuvenated. It wasn't long before Claire heard the slow rhythmic breathing of Darien at rest.
She allowed him to slide out of her body, pushed him on his side and pulled away. She didn't have much time to get the counteragent in him, so she threw her robe on and ran down to the kitchen for a vial.
When she returned and looked at Darien's wrist it was clear there wasn't a moment to spare,
only the snake's head remained. She pulled the rubber tourniquet tightly around his bicep and quickly found a vein.  She watched as the snake slowly filled back up. In horror, she realized there were
now four red bars remaining.  The counteragent had gotten worse.
This may not have been the evening of self-pity she was planning, but it had served it's purpose
in forcing her to face facts. She could no longer allow The Official to put Darien through this any more. He was her friend and she had promised she would take care of him, to watch his back. Claire knew what she had to do. She left a voice mail for an old friend at the CDC and returned to her bedroom to pick up the mess Darien had made.
It was 3:15 AM when Claire finally stepped out of the shower. Darien looked so peaceful as he lay sleeping on her bed.  Rubbing her scented body lotion into her wet skin, she realized this could be one of the last times she saw him. They had always been good friends, even though he was dependent upon her to stay alive. She would miss him terribly when it was all said and done and after patting down the rest of her wet body, she crawled back into bed and curled up next to him, wrapping her arms around him. She smiled as she felt his arms move around her and wondered if they would still be there in the morning when he woke up and realized where he was.
The thought of losing him brought on such sadness. In a way, it was worse than the first time she heard Kevin had perished. At least Kevin had accomplished his goal of creating an invisible man. It also made thinking of Kevin's choice to end his life through use of the anti-peptide solution even sadder. Tears began to fall from Claire's eyes. They rolled down her cheeks and onto Darien's bare chest. She bit her lips to keep from making any noise, but the gentle movements of her body had brought him out of his sleep.
Darien slowly woke realizing his arms were around a woman. It took his eyes a few minutes to adjust to the darkness and then it all came flooding back to him. The woman in his arms was Claire and it wasn't just his arms that were wrapped around her - she seemed to be clinging to him as well. He felt incredibly ashamed as flashes of the evening came back to haunt him, but he was more worried about Claire.
"Hey, are you ok?" he asked groggily stroking the back of her head.
"I miss him Darien," she said very quietly. "As angry as I am at him for leaving, I still
miss him." Darien pulled a Kleenex from the box on the night stand and tried to dab her wet cheeks with it. She took it from him and sat up a bit to wipe her face and nose. Her eyes were so sad, he reached over to push her hair behind her ear to comfort her.
"I miss him too
Claire," he replied.  He kissed her gently on the forehead.
"I want to thank you Darien," she said. "I've held Kevin up on a pedestal for so long
I think I allowed him to take part of me with him. I feel like I have it back now."
"About that...," Darien started to say, but Claire raised her fingers to his lips.
"Don't," she said. "Don't apologize. I put you in that situation," she said
staring down.
Darien wasn't sure what she meant by that, but he wasn't going to second guess her. She, if anyone, knew how the madness affected him.
"It's not going to make me any less sorry," he replied. Claire looked into his eyes.
Darien was so free and laid back, yet there was still part of a tortured soul always lurking inside him. Without thinking, she moved in to kiss him on the lips. By the time she realized what she was doing it was too late. He had already taken her up on her offer. She liked the feel of this Darien, the gentle side of him. Even though it felt similar to Kevin, Darien knew how to freely give himself to a woman - body and
soul. There were no complicated sides to Darien Fawkes. For all his rebelliousness, for all his silly moments, there still lurked a romantic, honest, loyal man deep inside
They lay on the bed for several minutes, just kissing one another. There was something
incredibly joyful about the simple pleasures. Claire had to smile at how much like Kevin he was, even though he had made fun of the way Kevin made love to her earlier in the evening. This wasn't Kevin though. It was Darien the wilder brother. She pulled away and began trailing kisses down his neck and across his shoulders. She watched as his head fell back against the pillow, the pleasure clearly expressed on his face. She continued to explore across his chest, teasing each of his nipples as her fingertips stroked light patterns across his stomach. By the time her kisses reached it, Darien was showing signs of life again.
Claire continued to trail kisses along his hip and down his thigh. Quiet moans escaped
from Darien's lips and his body shuddered as her soft hair fell down and tickled his leg. She lifted herself up and spread his legs far enough apart to lay down between them while leaning on her elbows. Her face was resting in her hands and she smiled at him.
"Watcha doing down there Claire?" he said smiling back at her.
She raised herself up enough to start trailing kisses again down the inside of his thigh, starting at the knee this time. When she reached the place where his stiff cock was resting she ignored it, allowing only her silky hair to graze it as her mouth made it's way to his other leg.
"Claire, you're killing me," Darien said jokingly, but the truth was the anticipation WAS
killing him.
Midway up his thigh, she heard him complain and decided to nip him.
"Oh God," he whispered as his body shivered. She dragged the tip of her tongue the rest of the way to her target.  Claire placed her face back in her hands again as she leaned on her elbows and blew a steady steam of air across his throbbing cock. Darien was breathing hard now.
"You know I'm really enjoying this," he said between breaths, "but usually by this time I've
Quicksilvered."
"I know," Claire responded smiling at him. "I think your body got used to the surge of
adrenaline," she replied.
"Are you sure about that?" he questioned. "Because I'm feeling a little unstable right
now." He was trying to slow down his breathing by doing it through his mouth.
"Well, let's see," Claire said as she extended the tip of her tongue to flick the
small patch of skin under the rim of the tip of his cock.
"Oh God," Darien said quickly as his body flinched. He noticed that one of his arms was starting to Quicksilver.
"Darien, you're going to have to calm down if you want me to finish what I'm doing," Claire
replied. She placed the top of her mouth over the head of his cock and swirled her tongue around the rim of it several times. Darien was shaking from the cold of the Quicksilver and the
heat from Claire's wet mouth. He watched as his other arm started to Quicksilver.
"Uh, Claire," he said. "It's not looking good from here." The pitch of his voice was
starting to raise.
Claire took the tip of her tongue and probed the opening to his cock with it, then swirled her tongue around the top. She stopped long enough to respond to him.
"Darien, if you want me to keep going, you're going to have to find a way to relax. You want to me continue, don't you?" She watched Darien shake his head up and down quickly as he tried to breath through his mouth again.
Claire opened her mouth wide and wrapped her lips around his throbbing, jerking member.
She took his entire length into her mouth and continued swirling her tongue around it as she took it down her throat, making sure to twist her mouth around the base of his cock when she got there for effect. She thought she heard him reciting the rosary under his breath. When her lips finally made it back up to the tip of his cock, she noticed he had lost his shoulders as well. She pulled her mouth away for a second to let the cold air hit it.
"Come on Darien, you can do it."  She smiled as she returned her lips to his wet
hardness. This time she slid her lips along the side of his cock, allowing the tip of her tongue to draw infinity signs as she slowly moved toward it's base. She continued this treatment as she took her time going up the other side of it. When she arrived at the tip, she lapped up the small drops of pre-cum that had started to form. She took his cock back into her mouth again, this time sucking on it as she took it in and out of her mouth while slowly massaging the skin behind his balls with her fingertips. Darien had stopped praying and started hyper ventilating. There was something to be said for sex with a person who clinically knew every muscle in your body and how they would affect you.
"You gotta stop right now Claire, I can't hold it back any longer," he said as the top of his chest started to disappear. This only made her more determined. She grabbed his cock at the base with her other hand and picked up the pace. Darien couldn't take it anymore. His stomach disappeared. He reached down for Claire just as she had pulled both of his testicles into her mouth and started swirling her tongue around one of them.
"Now Claire," he ordered. "Let go now!" She felt the cold of the Quicksilver come
towards her and released them from her mouth.
"Awwww," she said patronizingly. She felt Darien's hands around her upper arms and giggled
as her own body began to disappear. Darien picked her up in his strong arms and she wrapped her legs around him. He walked over to the wall and propped her up against it. It was a difficult position, but
Darien had the length to accommodate it. He kissed her hard as he pressed the tip of his cock against her wetness and slid inside her, one hand under her left thigh and his other arm wrapped around her waist. Claire held on to his shoulders for dear life as he pounded into her, but as her orgasm began to climax she couldn't hold on any longer. The tingling sensation that was pulsing through every cell in her body took over as the Quicksilver dissolved from both their bodies and the flakes fell to the floor. A few seconds
later she felt Darien release deep inside her. When he could catch his breath again, they separated and her feet were on the floor once again.
"I gotta lay down,"
Darien announced as he plopped down on the bed. She was sure he would need a shot of counteragent.
"Let me check your tattoo," Claire said as she sat down next to him. He had used up two more bars.
"I have to go downstairs and get more counteragent for you,"
Claire advised As she turned to stand up, Darien grabbed her arm.
"Just in case I fall asleep before you get back up here, thanks for taking care of me," he
said, his big brown eyes staring up earnestly at her. Claire blushed.
"Well, for that too," he said suddenly much shyer. "I understand what the Catevari guy
meant now."
"The Catevari guy?" Claire questioned.
"Yeah, the first guy I had to deal with after we met. You know, the one with the long
fingernails," he replied.
"Oh," Claire said quietly, not really understanding what Darien was getting at. She still
couldn't see the significance of what Charlie Fogerty meant to him.
"He said having a keeper was kind of like growing up together. Pretty soon you realize that all you really want to do is touch her. The worst thing in his world, even after living for 30 years like a cement block, was not being able to touch the thing he loved the most," Darien said wistfully.
Claire looked down at her hands. Darien would be angry if he knew how long she had waited to step up to bat for him. She hoped it wouldn't destroy their friendship, even after she was fired for disobeying The Official. She raised her head and looked back into his eyes, hoping he wouldn't see her failure in them.
"Thank you for trusting me Darien," she replied quietly, taking his hand between hers.
"You've been the best friend a girl could have." They smiled at one
another and Darien closed his eyes to rest.
When she returned with the counteragent, Darien appeared to be fast asleep. He and Kevin were so different in that respect. Kevin would want to stay up after the act and talk about whatever scientific theory was being bandied about at the time while he held her in his arms. Claire just wanted to get out of the bed and away from their combined body heat. She preferred to take the extra energy she gained to do cleaning chores around the house before she took a quick shower and returned to bed. It wasn't that
she didn't like other bodily fluids, she just preferred feeling clean before she went to sleep.
Darien had looked a little overheated when she left, so she brought a cool, wet washcloth when
she came back upstairs and wiped his face, neck and chest down with it. She heard him grunt favorably and smiled.
The sun was just beginning to rise as the darkness of the night was fading from the sky. It wouldn't leave her much time to sleep before she would be expected at work. She administered the shot quickly and recapped the empty syringe, sealing it up in a hazardous waste bag until she went back downstairs. She was truly tired now.
Claire made a mental list of the things she would need to prepare the cure for Quicksilver
madness behind The Official's back. If her plan were going to work, she'd have to inject Darien without telling him. Letting him in on the secret would result in Hobbes and him discussing it ad nauseam, no matter
how much she implored them to keep it to themselves. There was also the issue as to whether the cure would work. Arnaud had left her what she needed to prepare the cure, but without testing it she was taking just as big a chance as she was with counteragent 2. At least, before, Darien had made the choice to put his life in danger. This time, she would be the only one making the decision.
Darien looked so peaceful. She crawled in bed next to him, trying not to disturb his
sleep. Yet after only a few minutes, he had rolled onto his side - one arm over the top of her head and the other arm draped over her hip with his hand covering the triangle between her legs as if to guard it. Kevin had never held her like that and it made her sad she wouldn't have more time with Darien in the days ahead. She placed her hand on top of his and drifted off to sleep.
-=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=-
Claire awoke to the sound of paper crumpling. When she opened her eyes there was Darien, fully dressed with a cup of tea and a bag of pastries sitting on the bed next to her.
"Good morning," she said as she stretched out beneath the covers. The contents of the bag
smelled wonderful; whatever it held was still warm. Darien pulled the tab up on her tea and secured it in place, then handed it to her.
"Good morning Keep," he replied. "I brought you some croissants."
"Thank you Darien," she said before taking the first sip of the day. As she let the hot tea run down the back of her throat, she was grateful for these quiet moments they had together.
"I'm gonna go in first," Darien said. "You know how Hobbes feels about, well, you
know." Darien looked at her wistfully, then looked back down at his hands.
"Anyhow, I'll see ya
at work," he said, then gave her a quick kiss.
"I'll be in a little
late," she responded. "If you could just make an excuse for me..."
"Sure, no problem," he replied, then turned and went down the stairs.
When she heard the front door close, Claire got out of bed and took the tea
and croissants over to her desk. She pulled out her own personal laptop and brought up all the information on the cure. She wrote down a list of the ingredients she would need; which ones were in the Keep and which
ones she'd have to order. She hoped she could get it ready in time - before the counteragent stopped working for good. She only needed a few more days.

-=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=-
Darien walked into his apartment and surveyed the surroundings. He was happy to confirm he hadn't torn the place up before making his way to Claire's. It got annoying having to clean up and throw everything out every time he went berserk. He headed to the shower, eager to stand under the shower head and allow the warm water to massage his body. Claire had given him quite a workout the night before and certain muscles in his body were complaining loudly.
Bobby Hobbes always pointed out that one should never "fish off the company pier." Yet Darien couldn't keep Claire off his mind. While he had been the reason for what happened the night before, he couldn't help think there was more lurking under Claire's cool exterior. Darien remembered her
behavior when felled by her own truth serum drug and what she had said when it was her turn to receive the needle from him.
While they were good friends first and foremost, his madness had brought them across the
line to friends with benefits. He didn't want to go back to the way it was before. Claire apparently had a side as dark as his own, one that could withstand whatever he threw at her and yet still remain in charge. She was one of the few people he could be himself with - cold, silvery, invisible exterior and all. She held his life in her hands. The real question was, how much of that life did he have left before the counteragent didn't work at all?
He thought about this as he got out of the shower and prepared for the day. It wasn't the insanity or death that bothered him. It was the possibility of leaving his friends behind.
-=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=-
"I'm so glad you were
willing to see me today," Claire said as she and Gwennie headed towards her
office. "I know how busy you are."
Gwennie opened the
door for Claire and ushered her in, then closed the door behind them.
Gwennie's office was barely decorated.  She didn't have a lot of time
for such pursuits, preferring any opportunity to be involved with the medical
part of the job as often as possible. As Claire sat down in a chair,
Gwennie walked around the huge desk that took over most of the office and sat in
her chair behind it.
"So Claire," she
said. "What brings you to my neck of the woods?"
"I have a situation,"
Claire said.  "After I tell you about it, perhaps you can tell me if
you think there might be a place here for me," Claire responded.
"Are you
kidding? I had three department heads waiting in my office this
morning before I was anywhere near the facility. Apparently, my secretary
put your appointment on my calendar and it set off a red flag. People were
fighting over you before I even knew you had called," Gwennie replied.
"So, you ARE here looking for a job then?"
"Before you start
selling me off to the highest bidder, you need to know something about my
departure first," Claire said, a troubled look on her face.
"I know you Claire,"
said Gwennie. "You're not the type to break laws punishable by jail.
I can't imagine what you think is so horrible, but go ahead."
"You know about The
Agency - we had to call you in when we had that
little bacteria problem," Claire began.
"Yes, I remember it
well. We shot The Official. I actually received a few thank you
cards when word got out about that," Gwennie mused.
"Well, speaking of The
Official, there's something very private I need to do. The result of
this action will certainly get me fired for insubordination," Claire
responded.
"Is it against the
law?" Gwennie asked.
"No, it's a moral
conflict. I took a hypocratic oath I'd like to keep it," Claire
said.
"Then as far as I'm
concerned, it's not a problem," Gwennie answered. She pulled several
folders out of her desk drawer. "You can take your pick from these, or
wait and let me announce it officially. I'm sure there will be 50 more
where those came from," Gwennie said smiling.
"I'd actually prefer
it if you kept mum about the timing - you can't say anything to anyone," Claire
warned. "If The Official finds out, there's a chance he'll prevent me
from completing my project. It's very important for me to finish
what I started. Someone's life depends on it."
Gwennie got up from
her chair and offered her hand to Claire for comfort.
"I promise," Gwennie
said smiling. Claire gave a sigh of relief, but wondered if it was already
too late. The Official had eyes and ears everywhere. Hopefully, she
could play one last role...the role of the pissed-off employee about to leave
due to unreconcilable differences.
"Thank you so much
Gwennie," Claire said giving her a hug. "I owe you one."
When Claire returned
to her car, she took a moment outside of the CDC building to reflect. She
was about to take a journey into new territory. The past two years had
been so exciting for her. She was able to be involved in some of the most
ground breaking work in medicine today. The cases she worked on with
Darien and Hobbes were exciting and she often had the opportunity to do
field work. She couldn't imagine returning to the safety of a lab.
She knew she would make new friends, but she was giving up both Darien and
Hobbes in the process. Who knew how Darien would react when he found
out she hadn't made the choice for him upon receiving the cure to his
Quicksilver madness from Arnaud? She steeled herself for the days ahead,
then got into her car and drove away.
-=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*= --=*= --=*= --=*=-
As was expected,
Darien had two Quicksilver emergencies during the week. Each time Darien
came into the lab in worse condition. Every time she saw Bobby trying to
carry or drag him in, her heartbeat quickened; half due to the distress of
seeing him so bad off, half due to the fear that The Official would come down at
the wrong moment and figure out she was working on the cure before she was
able to get it into Darien's body. Luckily both Darien and Hobbes
were busy with cases not requiring her assistance. It gave her time to not
only safeguard the Keep, but ensure the cure was
ready by Friday. She had been as hostile as she could to
The Official without causing him to act. She made sure to keep talk to a
minimum between Darien, Hobbes and herself, speaking curtly to Hobbes whenever
she had the chance.
It was harder for
Darien. He was used to her loyalty. He had made love to her
in a way no other man had before, yet he didn't claim false ownership of
her. It was business as usual at work, except for those few moments when
the two of them were completely alone. He would stand behind her while she
was working on the computer, close enough for her to smell the scent
of freshly washed clothing; his body heat distracting her mind. While
she was documenting the steps to preparing the cure in her lab notebook, he
would stand at her side and place his hand on her back or rub her shoulders for
a few minutes. The feel of his strong hands relaxing her
tense muscles was both heaven and curse at the same time. Heaven was
in his loving touch, but the curse languished in the background when it would
be revealed she had given him the cure. She hated the end that
loomed near, but the release of all she had been carrying for the last two years
would be a relief. She was not like Kevin Fawkes.  She had no
stomach for playing God.
Claire made her
final batch of the cure that Friday morning. While it was spinning in the
centrifuge, she sat in The Official's office waiting for Eberts to arrive at
their meeting. She was edgy and angry and had snapped at Darien earlier
under the pressure. Today was the day she faced leaving both Darien and
Bobby behind. All she needed was just a couple more hours and Darien would
be home free. The meeting was about invisible locusts - something to do
with Chrysalis.
"Hey, do you believe
this?" Darien said, aiming his National Enquisitor at Claire.
She shook her head and
tried to smile at Darien, having thrown her copy on the table in disgust.
She only had to keep up the charade with The Official through this
meeting. As The Official gave the details, she looked wistfully at Darien
trying to keep her sadness at bay. He had no idea what was going on in her
lab. He and Hobbes were making a joke about the correct pronunciation of
data and proceeded to go into one of their riffs using an old Fred Astaire
and Ginger Rogers movie quote as fodder. She wanted to cry. It was
the silly part of Darien, his inner child who always came out to play that
endeared him to her. He and Bobby were like brothers - they laughed, they
fought, they found the joy in life together. It was the family she had
always dreamt of having on her own some day. Until that time, Darien and
Bobby were a wonderful substitute. She looked down at her hands.
The meeting had began
to drag on when Darien made an obtuse comment about Finland. Claire,
wanted to laugh, but she bit the side of her cheek instead and folded her arms
to give the appearance of impatience and anger. She had to keep her bitchy
demeanor up for just a little while longer, least The Official take notice.
"Listen, if it is
Chrysalis, why would they want to be turning grasshoppers invisible in the first
place, right? What are your thoughts on that Keep?" Bobby Hobbes asked,
looking at her.
"Oh, I agree with
Darien. This is ridiculous," she responded. Then she shot a hard
look The Official's way. "Excuse me," she said as she got up from her
chair and left the room. She walked down the hall as fast as she could to
get to her lab. She needed it's solace now. She had already packed
up the things she wanted as mementos and taken them home. She was sure she
would be exited from the premises quickly.

-=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*= --=*= --=*= --=*=-

Two hours later the
centrifuge stopped spinning. Claire was still checking to see that
everything was in order when she heard them coming down
the hall. Bobby was carrying Darien in his arms. Something had gone
wrong.

"Ouchie, ouchie,
ouchie, ouchie," Darien sang like a school child as he clung to Hobbes. He
was in between the first stage of pain and the madness turning him into the
devil.
"Already?" Claire
called out, clearly upset that the madness had come so early.
"Ouchie, ouchie,"
Darien continued to say, unaware that Hobbes had finally made it to the
lab.
"I got him," Bobby
said to assure her, but the strain in his voice said otherwise.
"Ouchie, ouchie,"
Darien said.
"Get him on the chair
now!" Claire ordered as she ran towards the both of them.
"Owww!" Darien said as
Bobby shifted him slightly to lay him down.
"Easy," Bobby
said as he dropped Darien on the table not a moment too soon.
Darien's body was convulsing. Claire pulled the glass tube she had
been laboring over all morning from the centrifuge.
"Let's go
Keep," Bobby urged.
"Alright Bobby," she
responded as she stuck the syringe in the tube's rubber stopper to fill it with
the cure.
"I got ya," Bobby said
holding down Darien's chest to center him on the table. It was clear the
pain was searing through his body. He was staring mindlessly at the
ceiling.
"Alright Darien look
at me," Claire commanded. "DARIEN, LOOK AT ME!!!" His eyes were sad,
but completely red.
"It's alright, stick
him," Bobby said.
Claire found a vein
quickly and injected the shot, saying a quiet prayer to herself it would
work the way it was supposed to on Darien. She wasn't sure she would get
another chance.  Darien started gasping as the needle entered his vein
and it's contents started to enter his bloodstream.
Claire was rewarded seconds later when she saw the red from his eyes begin
to disappear before he passed out. When he opened them again, he was
relaxed.
"Hey Buddy, you
alright? You ok?" Bobby asked. Claire kept her eyes on Darien
wistfully. She could feel the beginning of the end.
"You know what, screw
that budget of yours. I think I'm going to need two of these a week. Huh?"
Darien asked.
"No, that won't be
good enough," Claire responded, smiling as she turned her back to him to put the
syringe down.
"What do ya mean?"
Bobby said protectively. "Get him three then. Get him
everything he wants. Whatever you want pal."
"Oh crap," Darien said
as Claire continued to keep her back turned from him. She couldn't face
him. She knew what came next.
Darien took her
silence as a sign The Official had made a choice to let him die instead of
continuing the counteragent until they could no longer do so. He got up
from the table to leave.
"What?" Bobby asked,
trying to understand what was going through Darien's mind.
"I mean none a week,"
Claire blurted out. It stopped Darien in his tracks. He turned to
look at her.
"What's that?" he
questioned. It was go time for Claire. What she had been fearing all
week was upon her. She tried to speak, but it took her nerves a second to
catch up.
"Before Arnaud left,
he gave me the cure for Quicksilver madness. The key is a designer gene
that can be inserted on the same viral vector that Dr. Gallison used on Bobby
except this one kills the toxin producing cells...permanently," she
responded. Darien closed his eyes and put both hands over
them, nervously ran them over the top of his head, then straightened
up and walked closer to her.
"Wait a minute...why
didn't you tell me?" he asked, a hurt, questioning look in his eyes.
Claire opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. She heard
the hum of the door opening and The Official entered the room.
"Doctor, I warned
you," he threatened.
"He said he'd kill
you," Claire said beligerantly as she looked straight at The Official. All
the cards were on the table. What happened from here on out was up to
Darien. He turned towards The Official.
"Well here I am," he
said. One of the guards pulled a gun and aimed it at him. It only
served to spur on his rebellion more and Darien walked towards The
Official.
"Stay where you are,"
the guard warned.
"Hey. holster the heat
there gentlemen would ya?" Bobby said, trying to tone things down a
bit. The guard aimed his gun at him instead.
"Agent Hobbes, clear
and lock your weapon," he said.
"Me. Talking to
me?" Bobby questioned in disbelief. Darien was standing directly in front
of The Official now.
"What you don't
understand Darien, this was never about you," The Official stated. Darien
nodded his head ever so slightly as if to acknowledge the crock of bull that
would follow.
"I've got a job to do
and a national security to safeguard. Richards, confiscate the contents of
her refrigerator. She will not administer this drug to Agent
Fawkes."
"Well, that's a bit
late, isn't it?" Claire said with a hint of satisfaction in her voice.
"I just gave the injection to Darien."  Darien turned to face
her.
"The last shot you'll
ever need," she said as she looked at his face for what might be the last
time. His eyes seemed to brighten a bit.
"You've made a serious
error doctor," The Official threatened.
"No Charlie, you
have," Darien said as he walked back over to him.
"You blew it," Darien
said as he released a sigh of happy relief and smiled.  "I would
of stayed."
"You ARE going to
stay," The Official ordered. Darien turned to take one last look at Claire
and Bobby, then cocked his head beligerantly.
"Fawkes...," The
Official warned as Quicksilver took over Darien's body and he disappeared.
The Official took a few pacing steps, then turned when one of the guards doubled
over in pain.
"Hobbes, get after
him," The Official ordered as he massaged his temples.
"Sorry chief," Bobby
responded. "Weapons cleared and locked," he said as he proceeded to
dismantle his gun. Claire bit her lip. It would be her turn
next.
-=*=--=*=--=*=--=*=--=*= --=*= --=*= --=*=-
It was several days
before Claire heard from Darien again. She was walking down the
street outside the CDC building with a lab intern at
lunchtime.  Claire had not expected to see him again.
"Hey," Darien said as
he drove the car next to the curb trying to get her attention. Claire
gasped when she saw who was behind the wheel of the big black Mercury. She
turned away and continued walking, reaching out to her lunch companion as if to
catch up. She wasn't just mad because he had never called her, he had
never said thank you for putting her job in jeopardy to give him the cure.
"Hey Claire," he
called out. "I need your help, ok?"
She turned to look at
him.  "And you had it," she said as she continued walking, ignoring
his pleas.
Not one to be
dissuaded, Darien drove faster to get in front of her, then pulled the car up on
the curb and jumped out.
"Thank you," he yelled
at her in an irritated voice as he walked up to her. Claire's body
betrayed her as he stood in front of her. He was tanned, sunglasses hiding
his eyes - those marvelous lips of his that brought back memories of how they
felt against hers, the way his body needed hers the night they spent
together. It tore at her resolve to stay mad at him.
"Thank you," he said
in a much more earnest and soft voice.
She had trouble
looking at him when he was like this. She fought back the urge to wrap her
arms around him and hug him. He invited her into his car to look at some
reports he was in possession of. The contents made no sense. They
looked like simple ingredients. Darien kept asking questions, but she
had not forgiven him yet. She gave him short, technical answers while he
played with his hair in the mirror. He was still uncomfortable and was
avoiding looking at her directly, least he garner her scorn again. After a
tense volley of questions and answers, Darien started to put together the
pieces. Chrysalis was trying to destroy a lab that was close to finding
the cure for cancer. The only missing piece were the locusts. Claire
thought she might have an answer, but it would require the information in her
old computer back at The Agency. While neither one of them was
comfortable with the idea of their old stomping grounds, the implications
were too important.
Darien looked at
Claire wistfully. "I'm sorry," he said looking down at his hands.
"You should be," she
said looking out the window of the car.
"Why didn't you tell
me," Darien took off his glasses and folded them into his shirt and turned
towards her.
"What would you have
done Darien," Claire replied. "What would you have done if I told you The
Official said he would kill you if I gave you the cure? He would have
locked up all the ingredients and all my research and God knows how long it
would have taken before you went critical. Darien what was I supposed to
do?" Darien looked down at his hands again. He wasn't sure what he
would have done. The words "self-destructive" came to mind.
"I told you to trust
me Darien. I told you to trust that I would be on your side. I did
what I could when I was able to ensure success. I gave up my job for you
Darien. I gave up the chance of ever seeing you again, one of my dearest
friends," Claire said. She could see the regret in his eyes.
"I've missed you and
Bobby so much Darien," she said looking for answers in his eyes. Darien
reached out to take her hand. When Claire didn't offer it, he moved over
next to her on the seat and took it himself. It was times like these he
was so much like Kevin. He ran his fingertips back and forth
over her hand gently.
"I'm sorry Claire," he
said. He looked up at her face and noticed the tears threatening to
spill from the corner of her eyes. He pushed a large strand
of hair behind her ear so he could see her face better, then let his
fingers trace her cheek and jaw line.
"I missed you too
Claire," he said earnestly. A tear fell from one of her eyes. Darien
pulled her to him and wrapped his arms around her, then squeezed her tight and
didn't let go. She finally relented and let her arms wrap around his
waist, snuggling her head against his chest. Darien kissed the top of her
head as he rubbed her back. They sat in silence that way for quite a few
minutes. Once he noticed her breathing even out, he made her sit up and
brushed her cheek with the back of his fingers.
"Are we ok?" he
asked. Claire shook her head and pulled a Kleenex from her pocket to dab
her eyes. When she was done, Darien kissed her gently on the forehead,
then on each cheek and lastly very gently on her lips. It wasn't done to
arouse her, but to comfort her. When she smiled, he knew he had done the
right thing. He moved back to the steering wheel and they headed towards
The Agency.
The rest of the day
was a blur for Claire. They parked around the corner from The Agency where
Darien Quicksilvered her. He made some pretense about starting over and
picked her up as a man would his new bride, then carried her over the threshold
of The Agency door. She loved being dependent on his strong arms as he
carried her down the hall to her lab. He made it seem like he was
struggling as he walked into the room, but she knew he was only teasing
her. He made a great show of dusting off the Quicksilver flakes from all
her clothing, which amused her. They were back to normal again.
As they made their
discovery of what part the invisible locusts played, The Official walked in the
room causing Darien to rebel. This time, he gave Darien plenty of leeway
to do as he pleased and it wasn't long before Bobby, Claire and Darien were
headed towards the farm where the cancer remedy was being grown to save the
day. Darien got to take a ride in a plane, while Claire and Bobby were
pelted by dead locusts. It felt like old times again and all three of them
were in their element.
The three went
for a drink after work to celebrate and lost Bobby Hobbes early when a pair
of buxomly blonde twins took him away for the evening. Neither Darien or
Claire had any desire to remain without him. Darien's attention was
focused on Claire and she could see the vulnerability in his eyes. She
knew what he wanted and she wanted it just as much. When they reached the
stairs in front of Claire's apartment, Darien whisked her up in his arms again
and carried her up the stairs. They laughed as she tried to unlock the
door while in his arms. He carried her across the threshold, then closed
the door behind them.
They started the
evening in her living room, their arms wrapped around one another. There
was no urgency, just touch and the sound of each other's heartbeats. They
watched a documentary on the National Geographic Channel about how the Earth's
continents evolved, then another about the migrations of prehistoric man.
For someone who talked incessantly, Darien's ability to be completely quiet
throughout the evening was astounding. It was almost as if neither one of
them wanted to move for fear they would break the spell.
When midnight rolled
around and the ads for 1-900 numbers began to appear every other commercial
break, Darien started to get antsy. Claire could feel the need in the way
he was fidgeting. She stood up and turned the TV off, then grabbed
his hand and led him upstairs. There was no pressure this time, no anger
on either part. Darien gently stripped away her clothing, then
smiled, picked her up once more, pulled the covers back on her bed and dropped
her in it. She laughed at the way he let go of her, like a sack
of potatoes. Then in typical Darien fashion he played around while
stripping away his own clothes, watching Claire's reaction to every
move. He seemed to love to make her smile, yet when he flopped into the
bed next to her his pace slowed back down and the two lazily made love to one
another. There would be no Quicksilver disappearing act this
evening. Darien appeared to have mastered making love to Claire in a way
that didn't assault his Quicksilver gland's senses.
The next Monday,
Darien quit the FBI and returned to The Agency on his own terms with the people
he loved the most. While Kevin may have been the rat bastard who damned
him to a life with a gland in his head, he was starting to understand it
more.  While reading through his "Philosophy's Greatest
Hits" book, Darien found a quote which explained it pretty well.
He repeated it aloud. Anais Nin once said, "Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not
born until they arrive, and it is only by this meeting that a new world is
born."   It rang so true for Claire, Bobby and him. Now those,
he thought, were words to live by.
~ FINIS ~
- 1
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

When Two Wrongs Make A Right

WHEN TWO WRONGS MAKE A RIGHT