Fragile Lives (1/?)

By Carol M.

Summary: A powerful earthquake rips through San Diego, leaving the under-funded five injured and trapped in the Agency. Will they get out alive?

Spoilers: nothing I can think of

Rating: PG-13 for violence

Disclaimer: Don't own them, only love them

Note: So here's the disaster fic I promised. I feel like the Irwin Allen of I-man fan fic. First a plane crash and now an earthquake. Maybe next time I'll tackle a sinking ship : ) As always, keep the ropes handy. Hope you enjoy! And P.S., can't wait to see Mere Mortals!

As an old teacher once told me, "A real friend is one who walks in when the rest of the world walks out." Now I agree with that completely, but I think my old friend Winnie the Pooh said it best when he said to one of his many friends, "If you live to be a hundred, I want to live to be a hundred minus one day so I never have to live without you." Truer words were never spoken.

The body of Darien Fawkes was nestled comfortably in his queen-sized bed under a thick gray bedspread that was pulled to the middle of his bare chest. He lay on his side, hugging a pillow tightly against his body as if it was a teddy bear or maybe a substitution for a real person. The comforter and pillow rose and fell every few seconds as he breathed, each breath ending in a slightly muffled snore.

His brown hair was still slightly spiky, even after a night of being crushed in a sea of blankets and pillows. His eyes were closed and his face was mashed against another pillow, a line of crusted drool leaking out of the corner of his mouth. His face was relaxed and full of innocence, making him look like he was about ten years old.

The sight of his partner was peaceful and slightly adorable, and it was annoying the hell out of Bobby Hobbes. "Fawkes!" he yelled for the hundredth time. Bobby muttered a curse and began shaking Darien's sleeping form. "Come on kid, sweet dreams are over," he yelled an inch away from Darien's ear.

Darien jumped awake, his eyes opening into tiny surprised slits. "Whaaaa?" he said.

"Get out of bed, Fawkes, we've got a meet with a snitch from Hobbesnet," said Bobby.

Darien opened his eyes and looked up at him curiously. "How'd you get in here?" he mumbled, his head falling back against the pillow.

Bobby grabbed his shoulders and forced him into a sitting position. "I picked your lock. I've been pounding on your door for the last 20 minutes. The end of the freakin world could come and you would sleep right through it."

Darien glanced at his clock and his eyes widened in disbelief when he saw the red numbers of 5:30 a.m. reflecting back at him. "Go away, I'm going back to bed," he whined as he tried to shrug out of Bobby's firm grasp.

"Sorry, no can do. We got places to go and people to see, my friend," said Bobby firmly. "Get up and get dressed."

Darien gave Bobby a look of death. "You're a cruel, cruel little man," said Darien as he finally struggled out of Bobby's strong grip and stood up.

"Yeah, and don't you forget it," said Bobby as he stepped aside and walked to the kitchen to make some coffee.

"I'm gonna take a shower," said Darien as he shuffled towards the bathroom.

"Better make it a fast one there, partner," said Bobby. "Golda departs at 0600 hours."

"Aye, aye Captain Hobbes," said Darien sarcastically as he mocked saluted Bobby. He stepped into the bathroom and slammed the door loudly behind him.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning," said Bobby as he filled Darien's coffeepot with water and went in search of coffee filters.

In the bathroom, Darien stared at his blurry reflection in the mirror and wiped out his sleep-filled eyes. Then he sluggishly picked up his toothbrush and toothpaste and began brushing his teeth. He was about to spit out the toothpaste when he heard a crash from the kitchen. He quickly opened the door and looked out, his mouth still full of toothpaste. "Don't break anything, Hobbesy," he said, toothpaste spraying all over his chest.

Bobby stuck his head up from behind the counter and sighed in disgust. "Maybe if certain partners I know would keep their coffee filters on the counter like a normal person and not in the back of a pantry filled with pots, I wouldn't have had to rearrange your entire kitchen."

Darien smiled and shook his head. He shut the door of the bathroom and spit out the toothpaste into the sink. Then he peeled off his sweatpants and underwear and slid the door open to his brand new shower. He turned the water on and admired the shiny glass handiwork of the door while the water got hot.

After several seconds, steam began coming off the water and Darien stepped inside the shower, sliding the glass door closed. He leaned his head down and let the hot water soak through his spiky locks, the water flattening them against his head. He reached for the bottle of his favorite shampoo and squeezed a dollop into his hand. Then he lovingly caressed it through his hair, making sure that each follicle was treated to the exquisite formula of vitamins and minerals. He rinsed and then stood lazily under the shower, the hot water doing nothing to wake him up. His eyes slowly drifted shut and he leaned his head against the glass shower door, wanting to go back to sleep right there.

Out of nowhere, a harsh shaking and a loud rumbling noise ripped through the room, causing Darien to loose his footing. His eyes shot open and he tried to grab onto something to catch his balance, but it was too late. His lanky body crashed through the glass door, coming to rest harshly against the tile floor of the bathroom.

Meanwhile in the kitchen, Bobby was just about to pour the coffee when the shaking hit. He set down the coffeepot and steadied himself against the counter as all of Darien's dishes went crashing to the ground. A particularly large jolt managed to knock over the coffeepot, spilling hot coffee all over the counter and Bobby's hand.

"Ow," yelled Bobby as he snatched his hand up from the counter.

After several more seconds, the shaking stopped and everything was once again still and quiet,

with the exception of a few car alarms going off somewhere outside.

Bobby rubbed his hand and sighed when he saw the mess Darien's kitchen had become. He unplugged the damaged coffeemaker and then started towards the bathroom to check on Darien. "Fawkes, you okay?" he asked as he stepped up towards the door.

"Um, sort of," he heard from inside.

Bobby opened the door and promptly shut his eyes when he saw Darien's naked body sprawled across the floor. "Oh god, give a guy some warning when you're laying there in your birthday suit."

Darien rolled his eyes and tried to move without cutting his body to tatters. "Sorry, next time I'll put some clothes on before I fall through the shower door," he said sarcastically. He shook his head, trying to clear the cobwebs out of his brain. "Was that what I think it was?"

"Yep. Earthquake, my friend," answered Bobby as he opened his eyes into tiny slits and tried to ignore the bare bottom that was staring up at him. Instead he tried to see if Darien was seriously injured. He could see a small pool of blood forming underneath Darien's right shoulder and another one under his chest. "Damn it, Fawkes, only you could get injured in the shower," said Bobby he stepped further into the bathroom and reached for some towels.

He lifted Darien up slightly and placed one under his chest. Then he gently pulled up his right shoulder and wrapped a towel around it. Finally, he took another towel and draped it across Darien's naked torso. "You got any more holes?" asked Bobby with concern as he tried to survey for more damage.

Darien shook his head and looked up dizzily at Bobby. "Don't think so. Get me some clothes, okay?"

Bobby saw the slightly glassy look in Darien's eye and gave him a soft slap on the cheek. "Don't pass out of me. I don't wan have to carry your naked ass to the van."

"S' okay, I'm okay," he mumbled as he let his head drop down to the floor.

Bobby gave his partner a worried glance and then walked briskly out of the bathroom to Darien's dresser, pulling out a pair of jeans, some briefs, socks and a white shirt. He made a quick trip to the closet to grab some shoes and then returned to the bathroom, setting the clothes next to Darien. He eyed the jagged pieces of glass all over the bathroom and shook his head. "I told you a glass shower was a bad idea, pal," said Bobby.

Darien opened his eyes and slowly began to sit up, trying to avoid all the glass scattered across the floor. "Let me get dressed," he said, reaching for the clothes Bobby had picked out.

"You need any help?" asked Bobby with a look that said he would rather shoot himself in the foot.

Darien smiled and shook his head. "No buddy, I think I can manage. Been doing it on my own for a few years now."

"Right," said Bobby. "Yell if you need anything," said Bobby as he stepped out of the bathroom and shut the door. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number to the Keep. After a few seconds, Claire answered, sounding out of breath. "Keep, you okay?" he asked with tender concern.

"I'm fine, are you all right?" an English accented voice said over the phone line.

"I'm okay, Fawkes got a little banged up though. I'm bringing him over as soon as he gets dressed," he said into the phone. "How's the Keep? Any damage?"

"No, not much, just a few broken vials and some broken equipment. I'm about to go secure the counteragent and all the ingredients in a vault in the basement in case there's another quake," said Claire.

Bobby unconsciously nodded his head. "Sounds like a good idea to me. Having a red eye Fawkes running around is not my idea of a good time."

"Yeah. He just got a shot yesterday so we should be safe," said Claire over the phone.

"Yeah," said Bobby. He cleared his throat. "I'm glad you weren't hurt, Claire," he said softly.

He could almost hear her smiling over the phone. "I'm glad you're okay too, Bobby. Get Darien here safely."

"Will do, Keep. See ya in a few minutes," he said as he hung up the phone.

He walked back to the bathroom door and knocked again. "Fawkes, you okay in there?" he said.

The bathroom door opened and Darien emerged wearing jeans and shoes and socks, with the white shirt draped over his arm. He held the towel Bobby had given him firmly against his chest and the other towel was still wrapped awkwardly around his shoulder. He stumbled out into the living room and started to sway.

"Whoa, buddy, I got ya," said Bobby as he grasped both of Darien's arms to steady him. "Looks like you decided to donate some blood to your bathroom floor," he said as he looked into the bathroom and saw several large bloodstains.

"What can I say, I'm a generous kind of guy," said Darien as he let Bobby help him towards the door. He looked over at his partner and checked him over. "Are you okay?" he asked.

Bobby nodded and pushed him out the door, trying to block the view of the messy kitchen. "Fine, just a little spilled coffee is all. Let's get you to the van, partner."

"What about the snitch?" asked Darien weakly.

"The snitch can wait. We need to get you to the Keep," said Bobby worriedly as he tried to ignore the blood soaked towels pressed against Darien's body.

"No arguments here," he said as he shakily started walking down the hallway with Bobby's assistance. "I hate earthquakes," he added softly.

But what he didn't know was that a much more powerful one was waiting right around the corner.

TBC