Fic: Last Chance, Chapter 7 (Numb3rs, Charlie / Colby, Don / Martin)
Title: Last Chance, Chapter 7
Pair: Charlie Eppes / Colby Granger,
Don Eppes / Martin Fridegord
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Feedback: Always Welcome
NUMB3RS Main List
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
“Don?”
The voice came from somewhere near, but Don couldn’t locate it. Then a hand landed on his shoulder and he snapped awake. He fell off his chair.
“Sorry.” Megan grimaced. “I brought you coffee.”
“Thanks.” Don got up from the floor and took the take-away cup. “What time is it?”
“Nine thirty.”
“In the morning?”
“Yeah. You slept all night.”
“I didn’t want to go home.” Don eyed Martin who was sleeping peacefully. “Did you just come back?”
“I drop by at the office first, and….” She hesitated. “I saw Ian.”
“Is the Internal Investigation interviewing him?”
“Not yet, but…. When you see him, please try to remember his situation. You spend the night here, he spend the night in the morgue. The funeral home picked up the boy’s body this morning.”
“Are you defending him?”
“No, but you should focus on more immediate issues. I talked to one of the higher ups of the L.A. office about the situation. She said she`ll arrange some time off, so you can take care of Martin when he`s released.”
“How much did you tell her?”
“I didn’t need to tell her that much. By now the whole thing is spreading through the grapevine.”
“She didn’t know about Martin.” Don stated dryly. “I didn’t want to cause waves over nothing.”
“Well, it didn’t seem to bother her. Except from the PR point of view.”
“What do you mean?”
“FBI sniper shoots an ex federal agent who had turned into a mentally unbalanced fugitive, and then he shoots his male co-worker’s boyfriend who tried to stop him.”
“Sounds like Crime News.”
“Yep. This whole episode is a nightmare, and then last thing our publicity people want is to drag the whole gender preference thing out in the open. It wasn’t exactly a big secret anyway.”
“Yeah, pretty much everyone in the office knew.” Don took a sip from his coffee. “Is Chuck still here? And Granger?”
“No, they spend the night at my place. The forensic team was at the house till five in the morning. Colby’s taking Charlie and the baby there so they can check the damages.”
“Is he okay? Charlie?”
“This is the third time someone breaks into his house and the second time it ends up in death. What do you think?”
“Right…. Stupid question.” Suddenly Don seemed to realise something. He turned to face Megan and gave her a suspicious glower. “Megan?”
“What?”
“You never actually said what Edgerton was doing in the office.”
“Well, it’s all over the office by now anyway.”
“Tell me.”
“He returned his badge and his service gun.”
-----------------------------------------------
Colby waited, but Charlie didn’t say anything. He just stared at the stain on the carpet.
“Charlie?”
“What?” He didn’t take his eyes off the dark red stain.
“I put Helen to bed. She had a restless night.”
“It’ll ruin her routine.”
“We’ll get it back on tracks.”
“Yeah.” Charlie sighed heavily and slouched down to the couch. “Same thing every time. Something happens, then we get back to our routines and then something horrible happens again.”
“You’re not talking about sleep routines.”
“No. I mean that…. I don’t know what I mean.”
“You mean that there’s been a lot of bad situations in this house?” Colby suggested. He sat down next to Charlie.
“And a lot of good stuff. It all gets mixed up in my head.”
“We can get rid of the rug.”
“It’s not about the rug, it’s just one more reminder.”
“What do you mean?”
“You remember when we met?”
“Sure.”
“Do you think I was trusting back then?”
“I suppose, but that’s just you.”
“That’s what I thought. And Now when I look back I can`t help thinking….”
“What?”
“I always thought this house as my safe place. No matter what happens outside, this is my home. I can work, eat, sleep and whatever and I have nothing to be afraid of. First Cooper took away a part of that and now this whole mess.”
“That’s just…. a weird coincidence. This is one of the safest neighbourhoods in the area.”
“Not for us.”
“Babe-”
“You know what was the first thought in my mind when I walked thought that door just now?”
“No.”
“How easy it is. Half the time we don’t even remember to set the alarm system.”
“Because nobody expects stuff like this to happens. Sometimes it just does.”
“I’m gonna call Walter.”
“Who’s Walter?”
“That guy who owns that security firm, they installed the security system.”
“Call him, if it makes you feel better.”
“I’ll get us a better system.”
“Okay.”
“And a really loud siren.”
“Charlie-”
“And a really blood hungry guard dog-”
“Charlie, you’re afraid of dogs.”
“What does it matter when I’m scared anyway?”
“It’s over. You have nothing to be afraid of.”
“I know. I know it’s over, but I don’t feel safe. I’m home and I…. I’m still scared.”
TBC