One-shot, tag to Ultimatum. Colby and Don deal.
## break 3#
It was a long day, and it only looked to get worse. Special Agent Don Eppes was not happy as he looked at his desk. The paperwork was stacked high, and with no case to get involved in, it looked as though the whole day – and quite possibly the whole rest of the week – would get caught up in doing paperwork.
Special Agent Colby Granger came in the door shortly after that. "Hey, Don," he said, greeting him.
"Hey, Colby. Feel better after your day off?" Don asked. He was grateful for conversation - or anything to keep his mind off the pile of paperwork that threatened to overwhelm him.
"Yeah, it felt good to sleep not being tied up to a pole," Colby responded, leaning casually on the side of Don's desk. He stretched slowly. "I'm guessing we have a lot of paperwork to do today?"
Don nodded. "I'm sure your desk is full of it, too. Wright left a bunch as a present."
Colby sobered. "Maybe it's a good thing you didn't take the shot – we'd have had more paperwork for that."
Don looked up to the agent. He hadn't had much of a chance to talk to Colby about the event, especially the part where he didn't follow the book and shoot at Ian. "Colby…" he said, exhaling, his head hanging.
"Don, it's okay. I was pretty messed up too at that second. That's why I told you to take the shot. I wanted you not to worry about me if you had to take it," Colby explained. "I don't hold you responsible for what happened in there; Ian was acting on his own… uh, actions, I guess."
"So what happened in there? We didn't really see much, except the phone calls and of course when Charlie talked to you."
"Don…" It was Colby's turn to look remorseful. He exhaled slowly. "I didn't get a chance to do much. He pretty much had me chained to that damn pole the whole time."
"How did it feel? I mean, I'm not trying to turn into Megan or something, but…"
"Just annoying. And I kept thinking about how I was going to die if Ian was a bad guy and get my ass kicked if Ian was a good guy."
Don chuckled loosely.
"But…" Colby sighed as he sat down. "I'm just glad that it's over. I'm glad that he's innocent."
"Me, too," Don responded, "on both counts."
"And now," Colby replied, "we get to do all of the paperwork."
Don grinned. "Times like these are what make me wish I'd stayed in fugitive recovery."
Colby only laughed.