claimed

CLAIMED
part seven
by Saimone

***authors note***
   HA!!! This is the last part! *ticker tape parade* I hope that whoever is reading this has enjoyed it. Onward...

         *BACK TO THE PRESENT*

     Daniel stood and stared at the closed bathroom door, not seeing it. His mind was still deeply involved in the events of two weeks ago. After they left the bridge they had returned to the hotel where Darren had been instantly smothered by Leonie. Then he had been forced into bed and made to stay there for two days. Their concert was done only four days after Darren had been released from the hospital and of course he overworked himself which resulted in yet another day of bed rest. Finally, the band was able to pack up all of their equipment and move onto the next venue. It was hoped that the change in scenery would be a good change for Darren. Another state, another city, another hotel, another concert, and a sense of normalcy.

     Daniel blinked and realized that he had been staring blankly at nothing. With a sigh, Daniel sat down on one of the hotel beds and waited for Darren to come out of the bathroom. He didn't know how much time had passed before the door opened again and Darren stepped out, fully dressed, with dried hair.

     "Daz," Daniel started.

     Darren interrupted, "We have a sound check in half an hour. Let's go--we wouldn't want to be late."

     "Sod it!" was Daniel's reply. "We need to talk."

     "Then we'll talk in the car. C'mon."

     The car. Two innocent words that symbolized yet another change in Darren. The group had had to start renting cars when the van was unavailable for travel because Darren was now terrified of taxi cabs. He tried not to show it, but the others could see his fear. Darren simply refused to get in one. If hailing a cab was mentioned Darren would suddenly fall "ill" or would rather walk or one of about a million other reasons to stay behind. So, the group--claiming convenence--decided to rent vehicles when needed.

     Daniel took the rental's keys and offered them to Darren. "You want to drive?"

     "No..."

     //Of course not...// Daniel thought. //You can't close your eyes and drive at the same time.//

     It wasn't just cabs, really. To Darren, any car was a death-trap. Daniel shook his head. "Okay, you ready to go?"

     "Yeah, I'd better be. I bet the others are already at the arena."

     "Probably..."

     They didn't say anything on the way to the car. They didn't say anything *in* the car, but Daniel hadn't really expected them to. That was yet another gradual change that had come over Darren; he was now often silent. Every day that passed, every night that he was awakened by a nightmare left Darren quieter, paler, and more exhausted. He was also eating less and less, and it was beginning to show. Daniel and the others knew that keep up the pace forever without breaking. And Daniel knew that Darren desperately needed to talk to someone whether he wanted to or not. Now it was just a matter of waiting for something to trigger Darren's breaking point. Little did he know, the trigger was soon to be pulled.

     They arrived at the arena on time, thankfully, and pulled up next to the familiar van. Then the pair went in and joined their bandmates in setting up for practice. The sound set-up and check went off normally. While various crew moved about preparing the stage for the evenings show, the band geared up and practiced their line-up.

     Though the air was cool outside, the atmosphere on the stage was sweltering, especially when the crew began the lighting check. The band, while complaining loudly, took off as much excess clothing as possible. Even Darren wound up removing two of his three layers, leaving only a T-shirt. The other guys went shirtless and Anna Maria slipped into a tank top. It didn't seem to help. Ben loudly bemoaned their state while glaring at the air conditioner vents.

     "This place has huge air vents literally lining the ceiling and NONE of them are working. That is such a waste!"

     "The problem isn't the vents; its the thermostat," Anna Maria stated.

     Ben grinned evilly. "It won't be a problem for long. Just point me in its direction..."

     Anna, Karl, Lee, and Daniel immediately pointed to one of the walls off-stage. With a conspiratorial chuckle Ben headed off to fiddle with the air's controls.

     "Don't blow anything up..."

     "Guys, come on, its not that hot in here," Darren told them. "It feels quite nice actually."

     "So sayeth the cold-blooded one," laughed Karl, running a hand through his sweaty hair.

     In reply, Darren picked up a nearby bottle of water and doused Karl with it. Karl spluttered in surprise and Darren gave a tired-but-evil grin. "Better?" he asked cheekily.

     "Much," Karl returned sarcastically. Then he reached over, grabbed Anna Maria's water bottle from her hands, and attacked Darren with it. It was then Darren's turn to be surprised as he choked on a mouthful of cold water. Darren stood perfectly still as the water dripped from his hair and collected in his sodden shirt. Then he arched one eyebrow eloquently, gave a rueful smirk, and stated in an eerily calm voice, "You know, of course, that this means *war*..."

     He let the threat trail off ominously as he continued to stare at Karl, calculating.

     "I figured as much, but you *did* start it."

     Suddenly Darren's manner changed and he grinned impishly. "True!" he remarked. Then he took a running leap and tackled Karl.

     "Get off me ya oaf!" Karl said as they rolled through the puddle of water on the stage. Karl managed to shrug out from under Darren's weight and pinned him. It was Karl's turn to smile evilly. "You're dead, Dazzy," he stated. By this time Daniel, Lee, and Anna Maria were gathered around to see the outcome of the battle. It was then that Karl launched into a tickle attack that soon had Darren giggling and gasping for breath.

     Daniel smiled slightly at the exchange. This was the first time in a long time that Darren was acting like himself. And, to Daniel at least, it felt good to hear Darren's laughter again. The feeling was short-lived.

     Just as Karl was sitting back and easing off of his torture, a loud jarring sound of grating metal was heard as the air conditioners kicked on--full force. An ice cold blast of air surged down upon them and the band members sought out Ben accusingly. He stood proudly by a far wall.

     "Ben, that's *too* cold!" Anna Maria shouted, trying to suppress a shiver.

     "Ain't it great?" Ben replied.

     "NO!" yelled Lee, casting about for his shirt.

     "Yeah, turn it down!" Karl commanded.

     Daniel and Darren didn't say anything. Daniel was too busy staring at Darren with concern and Darren didn't seem to be able to reply. He was lying on the stage still gasping for breath, but now all traces of laughter were gone. It took Daniel a second to see this and it took a few more seconds before he or anyone else realized that Darren was hyperventilating.

     "Daz?" Daniel asked in alarm as he rushed to Darren's side. The others, seeing this, glanced at Darren in shock and confusion. By this time even Ben was rushing over to investigate.

     "Damn Karl," Ben said. "What in the hell have you done to him?"

     "Nothing!" exclaimed Karl, at a loss. "He was fine just a few moments ago!"

     Darren's eyes were wide, panicked, and unfocused. He struggled and shivered against Daniel's hold on him. His breathing was far too fast and harsh and refused to calm. Despite the weak struggles, Daniel managed to pull Darren's sopping and trembling form up off the stage and into his lap. As he slowly rocked back and forth, Darren began to quiet and his panic seemed to abate. Daniel continued to rock him gently and talk soothingly and soon Darren started to come around. His rapid, gasping breathing slowed, his racing heartbeat lessened, and the wild panicked look soon faded from his eyes.

     "What just happened?" Lee demanded.

     "And what the fuck started it?" Ben chimed in. Everyone wore an identical expression of puzzlement and worry.

     Daniel made a slight shrugging motion. "I don't know," he answered.

     Darren, who had closed his eyes, slipped them partially open again and managed to whisper the word, "Cold..."

     Daniel pulled Darren into a sitting position. "I know," he said. "I know you're cold."

     Though Darren was no longer hyperventilating, he was still rather out of it. His panic-attack seemed to have drained him of all energy, leaving him limp and tired. With a sigh, he slumped in Daniel's arms, closed his eyes, and let his head fall back against Daniel's shoulder. They sat like that for a moment then Daniel slowly got to his feet, pulling a weakly protesting Darren up with him.

     Glancing over at the rest of the group, Daniel began to propel Darren towards the exit, saying, "I'm taking him back to the hotel."

     The others nodded, still very puzzled. "You do that. It's early, yet--get him dry and try to make him eat something. He didn't this morning," Anna Maria told him.

     Lee added, "Yeah, and then make him take a nap. He hasn't had a decent night's sleep in a while, and it shows..."

     It was Daniel's turn to nod.

     Karl pulled himself off of the floor to help Daniel with Darren. "Guys, I'm sorry for this..."

     "Karl, man, it wasn't your fault. Something happened to freak him out when the air conditioner came on. I know, I was watching," Daniel said.

     Karl just shrugged and opened the door for Daniel, who had his hands full. With one last glance at Darren, Karl told Daniel, "Take care of him."

     "Yeah. He'll be fine... I'll give you guys a call in a couple of hours, after I have gotten this whole mess sorted out."

     With one arm around Darren's waist and Darren's arm draped over his shoulder, Daniel maneovered out to the rental. Carefully, he placed Darren into the passenger seat and buckled him in. Darren's eyes fluttered a bit, resting on Daniel as he got into the car. Daniel settled behind the wheel, started the car, and pulled out of the parking lot. He glanced over at Darren and Darren gave him a small, tired smile as his eyes drifted closed again. "Jonesy..." he murmured, half asleep,"...so good to me..."

     Daniel smiled, then nearly slammed on the breaks as Darren sleepily, softly finished his sentence,"Love you..."

     Shaking his head as if to clear it, Daniel resumed his driving while thinking //Fuck, Dan, you're a right berk, you are. A real idiot... He means it in a purely platonic way, I'm sure!// Out of the corner of his eye he stole another glance at Darren, now asleep in the seat. //I wish he meant it in the way I dream for him to.//

     With a sigh, he turned his attention back towards the road.
* * * * * * * * *
     Darren didn't remember leaving the arena. He didn't remember falling asleep in the car, or the trip up to the hotel room, or Daniel tucking him into bed clothes-and-all. He woke up about an hour after Daniel had put him in bed, slightly confused and not really sure where he was. Blearily, he opened his eyes and saw the white expanse of the underside of a blanket. Shifting, he moved the blanketing from his body and sat up in bed, realizing that he was back in the hotel room, but having no recollection of how he got there.

     "Feeling better?" a voice asked from across the room. Darren quickly turned to see Daniel in one of the padded hotel chairs, sitting at the small table. The look on his face was one of concern.

     "Better, thank you," Darren told as he stretched.

     Daniel nodded absently, then fixed him with a searching look. "Care to tell me what that was all about?"

     "What what was all about?"

     "Your little episode back in the auditorium."

     Darren grimaced as he recalled the incident. "Oh. That."

     "Yes, that. I believe an explanation is past due, Daz.

     "I don't really want to talk about it."

     "Doesn't matter--do it anyway. Whatever your problem is, its slowly eating you up and that's unacceptable. So talk." Darren squirmed uncomfortably, so Daniel continued, "I'll make it easy on you. What caused your attack; start from there and work your way through it."

     Sighing, Darren settled back in the bed. "I really don't know what happened, Jonesy," he began. "One minute I'm goofing off with Karl and the next I'm freaking out."

     "What started it though? I mean, you were fine until Ben got the air conditioner to work."

     Darren nodded. "Yeah, I know. It was a combination of things, really. I guess what started it was the grating sound the vent fans made when they geared up--it was the same sound the metal of the taxi and bridge made when... when the car went over the side."

     "Yeah," Daniel prompted. "There's more..."

     "Then it was the sensation of being wet coupled with the shock of quickly becoming cold. It was at that moment that my mind seemed to leave the stage and travel straight back to that bridge. Suddenly I was caught in an emotional backlash and I...I just couldn't escape!"

     "Tell me about the accident Darren."

     Darren looked uncertain. "What do you want to know?" he asked slowly.

     Daniel sensing his reluctance, replied,"Just tell me what happened. I wont make you go into great detail, but I want a summary and a description of your thoughts on the subject."

     With a sigh, Darren began his narrative. He started out slowly, almost impassive, but soon began to get emotional in his telling. "...I was terrified. Then when I realized the cab was quickly filling and found the driver was dead, things got a bit...well...disjointed. I was running solely on adrenaline and fear and I just knew that I had to be smart about it or die. Getting out of the taxi was easy; I might have cut myself doing so, but I misremember. But then I sank under the water! It was the water that was awful and the cold. The cold sank into my body so deeply, it made me leaden; it wanted to pull me down, to claim me...Oh Danny! Both the cold and the water wanted to keep me and, at one point, I almost let them because I was so tired..." he trailed off as his body began to shake again. Once more, true to form, Daniel was by his side, wrapping a blanket around him and urging him to finish his story.

     Darren did so. "...the cold may not have claimed my body, but now it has ahold of my nightmares, my memories. It twists my dreams and warps my memory of the event, making things seem so much more horrible then they were. I drown or I freeze or others I care about get consumed by the cold...It just wont stop!"

     Somewhere into his narrative Darren had unconsciously leaned into Daniel's warmth and Daniel had placed a soothing hand on Darren's back, rubbing in small, comforting circles. And the small tremors running through Darren's form had ceased as suddenly as they had started. Daniel's touch seemed to just have that calming effect.

     With his tale finished, Darren was able to relax under Daniel's almost tender ministrations. He leaned his head on Daniel's shoulder and shook it slightly.

     "Jonesy?"

     "Yeah Dazza?"

     Darren lifted his head to look Daniel in the eyes. "Why are you so good to me?"

     Daniel was rather taken aback; he hadn't expected that question and he didn't have a decent answer for it--aside from the obvious one, of course. He met Darren's gaze and searched those blue eyes to find the reasoning behind the question. There was no answer in Darren's eyes, only questioning and what almost appeared to be a desperate need for Daniel's answer.

     "Danny?"

     Daniel dropped his gaze, deep in thought, but couldn't bring himself to say anything.

    "Dan, please?" There was a pleading note in Darren's voice. "Please answer me. And don't tell me its because we're mates. Everything you've done for me is above and beyond the call of the duties of friendship. This whole time you've been there for me, cried with me, rocked me, held me as I slept, comforted, cared, tucked me in after a mental breakdown. You've rarely left my side in spite of everything. I just want to know what is going on in that head of yours. Why do you dote on me, so?"

     Daniel closed his eyes and let out a soft sigh of frustration, praying he was right in what he was about to say. He looked up into Darren's anxious face, braced himself, and said, "Because I love you, Darren." Since Darren didn't scream, faint, or strike him, Daniel continued, "I have loved you for quite some time. That is the only answer that I can give you..."

     Darren interrupted, "And its the only answer I wanted from you."

     "Really?" Daniel replied, the shock plain on his face. "You don't mind, then?"

     Darren inched closer to Daniel, practically sitting in his lap. "Mind?" he repeated. "Jonesy, I'm estatic about it!"

     The smile on Darren's face caused an equally bright smile to form on Daniel's as he crushed Darren in a fierce hug. When they broke the embrace Daniel cupped Darren's chin with one hand and gently tilted his head up to claim Darren's lips with a kiss. The kiss started out as tentative, but quickly grew in intensity and soon they both found themselves completely lost in the sensation. They moved closer to each other, hands sought out skin, and fingers buried themselves deeply into soft feeling hair. It was a gentle kiss, one that spoke volumes and contained an underlying well of passion.

     When the need for air became larger than the need for contact they reluctantly pulled apart. Darren removed his hands from Daniel's hair, but still clung to Daniel, completely ignoring the concept of personal space. Daniel didn't seem to mind.

     Darren shook his head in wonder. "Wow," he gasped.

     "Mmhmm..." Daniel agreed, drawing Darren completely into his lap. Lazily, he stroked a hand over Darren's cheeks. "Know what, Daz?"

     "Hmmm?" replied Darren, arching an eyebrow inquisitively.

     "Nothing else can have you," he stated. "Not the cold; not the nightmares; not the memories. Nothing can claim you 'cause your *mine*."

     "Oh really? Are you claiming me, then?"

     "That I am, love, that I am."

     Daniel leaned forward again and captured Darren's lips once more. Then Darren slowly pulled away to smile at Daniel and say, "Claim away, Jonsey..." He shed the blanket and wrapped his arms around Daniel's neck. Suddenly he grinned and the impish sparkle returned to his eyes. "So," he began. "Does this claiming thing work both ways?"

     "You'd better believe it," Daniel said, also grinning--it was infectious. Then he seemed to sober and studied Darren's happy-but-exhausted features. Gently he brushed a strand of hair out of Darren's eyes. "And together we're going to work to get you past this."

     Darren nodded. "I know it," he said. "I'm not going to use some sappy diva-in-distress line like, 'oh, I feel perfectly safe when I'm with you...' or some other such nonsense, but I do believe I'll be fine. And we'll be fine."

     "Of that, I have no doubt," Daniel told him. Darren attempted to reply, but was cut off by a yawn. Daniel saw this and his brow furrowed as he asked, "Are you going to be up to doing the show tonight?"

     Darren nodded affirmative while fighting another yawn. "Yeah, I just need more sleep! I haven't really gotten much of that lately..."

     "So I noticed," Daniel replied, shifting Darren out of his lap and moving to drag him down to lay on the bed. "C'mon, sleep time."

     Darren didn't fight it. "Stay?" he asked.

     "Just you try and make me leave!" was Daniel's joking answer.

     Darren grinned. "Good," he sighed snuggling down against both the mattress and Daniel. "I love you, Jonesy...jus' like you love me..."

     With a chuckle, Daniel pressed a quick kiss to Darren's forehead. "You're babbling, love. Go to sleep."

     "Okay..."

     //Now this is a feeling of deja vu.// Daniel thought as he pulled the blankets over both of them. Then he gathered Darren into his arms once more, closed his eyes, and soon the peace of sleep claimed them both.

                                                                                                                                                                        -END