Ticking off the Boss
Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Numb3rs and I'm not making any money from this fic
Summary: Follows Coping With Mistakes. What's the best way to tick off your boss, who also happens to be your partner? Colby finds out
Warning(s): Spoilers up to and including the episode Thirteen in season four of Numb3rs; spanking; some mentions of violence; AU
Pairing: Don/Colby
Reading Order: The current reading order for this series (it may change) is:
1) Reinstating Trust
2) Coping With Mistakes
3) Ticking off the Boss
Author's Note: This is a pre-established relationship between Don and Colby, although I may write the story where their relationship begins eventually. This, of course, means that it's an AU, since Don is with Colby and not Liz
"Hey, Don, can I talk to you?"
Don looked up at David and nodded. "Sure." The case was over and he was looking forward to taking the rest of the day off, planning on spending time with his brother and Colby... not necessarily at the same time. Charlie liked Colby well enough, but Don hadn't admitted to either his father or brother that he was dating one of his male agents.
It was less of a secret round the office than it should have been, though. It wasn't such a good thing, however, because Don knew that Colby wasn't entirely secure in their relationship. After the reveal of Colby as a double and then triple agent, the rest of the team were still finding it difficult to trust him.
Don was still working the kinks out with Colby.
"Can we go into the office?" David asked.
Don glanced towards Colby, but seeing that his partner was still working on a report, he nodded and stood up. As he led the way into his main office, he wondered what was up. Was David going to ask him to force Colby to leave? It was unlikely, but Don couldn't claim it impossible. Colby hadn't broken under the torture, but Don had no idea how he'd react without being able to stay in the one place he felt the most comfortable.
Once they were inside the office, David closed the door behind him and then turned to Don. "I'm concerned about Colby."
That hadn't been quite what Don had expected, but he kept his face expressionless as he asked, "In what way?"
"We chased after suspects twice during this case," David answered. "I figured the first time was a fluke, you know?"
"The first time what?"
"The first time Colby leaped over the side of a building after a suspect," David answered. "I figured he'd just caught up in the moment, you know? We all have to take chances sometimes." He paused briefly before continuing, "And then he did it again – right on top of a moving pick-up truck."
Don frowned, not sure he was really getting this. "He jumped over part of a building when a suspect was fleeing? He was trying to stop someone?"
"He hit a moving pick-up truck and rolled off," David answered. "He said he was fine, but he could have been seriously hurt." He gave a kind of awkward half-shrug. "I still don't know how I feel about him, but that doesn't mean I want to see him in the hospital again."
"Yeah, I know the feeling," Don mumbled. He sighed. "Thanks for letting me know. I'll deal with it." He didn't bother to mention how he planned to deal with it. Corporal punishment was very effective when dealing with Colby, but that didn't mean the other team members needed to know about it.
David looked like he wanted to ask for more details, but he simply nodded. "Glad I could help. I'll head out now."
"Go ahead," Don replied. He watched as David walked towards the door and then spoke. "Send Colby in on your way out, will you?"
David nodded and pulled open the door, leaving the room without a word.
Don watched him leave and sighed again, raking his hands through his hair. He couldn't help thinking about how Colby could have been seriously hurt. They risked their lives almost every day in this job, but there was a difference between risking themselves and doing things that were far too dangerous... not to mention stupid.
There was a knock on the door and then Colby opened it and walked into the office, closing the door behind him. "You wanted to see me?"
"Yeah. I just spoke to David. What's this I hear about you jumping on top of a moving truck?"
Colby shrugged and looked the tiniest bit awkward. "The suspect was trying to get away. I saw a possible chance and I took it."
"You took a dangerous risk," Don corrected. "You could have got yourself seriously hurt. You don't take risks like that, Colby!"
Colby eyed Don for several moments before he finally spoke. "Are you talking to me as my boss or my partner, Don?"
"Both." Don didn't even have to think about it. "The only difference is? As your boss, I'd be giving you a severe reprimand and probably desk work for a while. As your partner, we're lucky enough to have a different way of dealing with this." He stepped over to his desk and picked up the metal pointer. "You know the drill."
Colby glanced back over his shoulder at the door and then moved over to the desk. His hands went to the fastenings on his trousers and he expelled his breath in a long sigh as he undid his trousers and pushed them down. He then went to lean over the desk.
Don reached out to stop him. "Boxers too."
Colby shot a surprised look at Don, almost uncertain.
Don knew the problem. The only time he'd punished Colby bare had been after Colby had escaped from prison and been found to be a triple agent. But Don nodded for Colby to continue. "You want a good way to get yourself in this position? Endangering yourself needlessly will end with you here each and every time. So I'm going to make sure that you don't do this again."
Colby nodded and his hands immediately went to his boxers, following Don's orders without protest. He pushed them down and then moved closer to the desk, stretching over it and grabbing the far edge with his hands.
Don paused briefly and allowed himself to wonder what the rest of the team would say if any of them walked in at this moment. It was a good thing they'd already left – at least, he assumed they had. He hadn't glimpsed anyone through the walls of his office.
Knowing he couldn't just leave Colby like that for long – Don was tired and really didn't want to punish his partner, but he knew it was necessary – Don moved over to Colby's side and rested the pointer against his backside. It was a good job Charlie didn't know about the pointer's other use. Don could just imagine how scandalised his brother would probably look.
A soft chuckle escaped from Don and Colby twisted his head round to look at him. "Sorry. Thinking about what Charlie would say if he knew what I really took the pointer for," Don explained.
Colby nodded and looked away from Don once more, turning his attention towards the wall.
Don tapped the pointer lightly and then brought it down fairly hard. A red line immediately appeared across the middle of Colby's bottom and he grunted. Don landed the next one directly below and he heard Colby's breath hiss out. The third stroke landed – though with less force than the previous – on the tender tops of the thighs.
At this point, Don paused to check on how Colby was doing, something he normally did during punishments but guessed Colby rarely realised. Three vivid, angry red marks showed up on Colby's skin and his breathing was heavy. A glance at his hands revealed they were clenched so tightly, his knuckles had turned white.
Don landed the pointer again, careful to avoid crossing any of the previous marks. He did this for two more strokes, leaving a row of six red marks evenly spaced. Then, he changed the angle of his strike and let a seventh land diagonally across the previous. An eighth landed in the opposite direction and then Don finally put the pointer down, helping Colby up and into an embrace.
Don felt the awkward way Colby stood in his arms and wondered if they'd ever get to the point where physical contact was comfortable for both of them. He didn't speak and just held on, letting Colby relax and get used to it.
"Sorry." Colby spoke with a slightly rough edge to his voice.
"Glad to hear it." Don pushed Colby back a little to look into his eyes. "I don't care how much you want to prove yourself to the rest of the team. Risking your own life is not the way to go about it, understand?"
Colby nodded and sighed. "Yeah. I guess I didn't think through the consequences of ticking off my boss." A faint smile touched the edges of his lips as he stepped away from Don, pulling up his boxers and then his trousers with a slight wince.
Don wrapped an arm around Colby's shoulders once he was done. "You do this again and it'll be another bad one, you get that?"
The grimace that passed across Colby's face was telling. Don knew he remembered the punishment in his apartment. Don wasn't sure why corporal punishment worked so well with Colby – all he knew was that it did and ensured they could keep going.
"What made you think about Charlie?" Colby asked.
"Well, you know, I picked up the pointer... and then couldn't help imagining the look on Charlie's face if he knew what I used it for." Don shrugged. "I think he'd be utterly scandalised."
"And then he'd perform an equation to see just how effective this really is." Another grimace passed over Colby's face. "I can just see it now..."
Don chuckled and then pulled Colby closer to him, kissing the other man and feeling him yield under him. He pulled back a little, but kept his arms around Colby. "What do you think about getting pizza and heading back to one of our apartments?"
"Sounds great – if I don't have to sit down."
Laughing full out now, Don steered Colby to the door.