Disclaimer: Numb3rs men and women do not belong to me. Property of CBS, et al. And I'm not 'al.' Characters borrowed for purposes of enjoyment. No harm intended.
On again, off again Numb3rs fan here, any error in detail is purely mine. Apologies up front.
The Trust Metric ending stuck in my head, demanding that I come up with more. So here's more.
"You coming in?"
David could only shake his head. "Not yet."
Megan gently touched his arm and turned to leave. He did not watch her walk away, he couldn't tear his eyes off the man in the hospital bed.
Colby.
Colby Granger.
Partner.
Trusted friend.
Spy.
Traitor.
"You saved his life," Megan had said.
"I still don't know who he is. I didn't know him when he was a spy. Now he's some guy who pretended to be a spy. Pretended to be my partner."
He should walk away. He should just turn and walk away. But he couldn't. Not this time.
Colby lay still in that hospital bed, still as death, a fate that he'd nearly met. David would never forget the moment he found Colby strapped to the chair in the cabin of the freighter, needle in his chest, barely breathing. His own heart had nearly stopped. He'd wasted no time in slitting the straps that held Colby in place, quickly easing the man to the deck. He'd put his ear to his former partner's chest and heard no sound. He knew what he had to do. His CPR training kicked in and he straddled Colby's body, hands pressing hard, pushing with all his strength as he fought to keep the man's heart from failing. The med team responded quickly and it was the most difficult thing in his life to back off, to let the emergency personnel take over with their defibrillator and their drugs.
The nurse finished up her work and turned down the lights around Colby's bed. She looked up to see David standing there, lost in his thoughts.
"Excuse me, sir, why don't you go home and get some rest. There's nothing you can do here for Mister Granger. We'll take good care of him."
"If it's all the same to you, I'd rather stay. Relatives – I'm all – I'm the closest thing he's got."
"Alright, then. How about a chair?"
"Yeah. That'd be good, thanks."
It wasn't a comfortable chair, but David found himself dozing regardless. The minutes ticked by, slowly turning into hours as the instruments kept up their assortment of soft noises, beeping and whirring, monitoring Colby's vitals. And still Colby did not move.
Very early the next morning, the nurse stopped by and checked the patient. David stood and stretched, rolling his shoulders and neck, working muscles that had started to cramp.
"There's coffee in the lounge, sir. If you want to take a quick walk, I'll stay here with Mister Granger."
"Thanks, I'll be right back," David murmured as he stifled a yawn. He made his way down to the lounge, stopping briefly at the washroom. Staring at his reflection in the mirror, he asked the questions to which only he and Colby had answers.
His reflection mocked him. He'd told Megan, ""Till I saw that needle sticking out of his chest, I was sure he was guilty." He'd spent the last weeks believing Colby guilty of espionage, of being a traitor to the country he claimed to love. Of being a traitor to his friends, to his partner. How? How could Colby do it? And how could he not see it? How far could one go before a friendship was totally destroyed? And now - now none of that was true. He should have known. He should have trusted Colby. But he didn't. He splashed water on his face, shaking off the drops, shaking his head. There were no cut and dried answers.
The coffee smelled wonderful and he stood in the lounge as he sipped his first cup. He knew he didn't have to stay. He knew he could head out of the lounge to the end of the hall, go down the stairs and out the door. He could leave and get back to what he considered his normal life. He still had Megan and Don, Charlie and Larry. He could trust them to be who he knew them to be.
He walked out of the lounge with a second cup of coffee, straight back to the bed that held his some-time partner, Colby Granger.
The nurse smiled as he neared. "His breathing is much better, the doctor has taken him off the respirator. He'll be waking up soon."
David nodded his thanks, his throat suddenly constricted. He sat in the chair, wondering why his knees suddenly felt weak. Setting the coffee cup on the table, he ran his hand over his face. When he looked up, Colby's eyes fluttered open. David saw recognition in them immediately. The man knew where he was, and why.
"Wha-wadju do t'me?" Colby asked, his voice raspy. "Break m'ribs? Chest feels – like …"
"CPR, man. You know you gotta push down hard to massage that heart muscle. Gotta get through those thick ribs."
"Thought it was just – skull that was thick," Colby croaked, swallowing against the dryness of his throat. David managed to keep a straight face while nodding his agreement.
"Thirsty?" David picked up the pitcher from the table and filled a cup. He pulled the wrapper off a straw, placed it in the cup and held it so that Colby could get a drink. The injured man downed the water and sighed with relief. When he spoke again, it was with a clearer voice.
"Carter?"
"Dead. One of several bodies in the cabin. Including the guy who was shooting you up with that chemical cocktail, Lancer."
"Whose gun?"
"Who got him? Not one of ours. When we got to the cabin, Carter was already down, as was Lancer and the guard. Nearest Don and I can figure, Carter killed Lancer, the guard killed Carter, and we took out the guard."
"Hated – owing Carter. Never let me forget. Now I owe him, again. How – how do you pay back a dead man?"
"As far as I'm concerned, you don't owe him a damned thing!" David said heatedly. "Not then. Not now. He got you into more trouble than it was worth."
"We flushed out – Chinese spy. Gotta count for something," Colby pointed out.
"And look at the price you've paid," David retorted.
Even in his weakened condition, Colby could see the hurt on his friend's face, could hear it in his voice. "David. Why? Why didn't you – let me die?"
David was incredulous. "Let you die? Do you think for one minute that I'd just stand idly by while…"
Colby raised his hand, stopping David in mid sentence. He closed his eyes, cleared his throat, "I hurt – the one person – in the world who means the most to me. I hurt him by letting him think I had betrayed him." Colby opened his eyes, fixed his gaze on the man who'd saved his life. "I – I couldn't confide in you, man. Couldn't risk everything we had been working for. Couldn't compromise the op. No matter – no matter how much I wanted to – or who I hurt." He looked away from David, embarrassed. "It was -- most difficult thing I've ever done in my life."
"I know, man, I know," David whispered as he grasped Colby's hand. "It's just – it was like a knife to the gut, pushed in deep and twisted hard. You are my partner!"
"'Are'?" Colby asked.
David felt the pressure increase from Colby's hand, knew the man was looking for some reassurance, maybe even forgiveness. He nodded once.
Colby's mouth curved into a smile as he let out the breath he'd been holding. "I owe you, man. Owe you my life."
"Carter wouldn't let you forget. But I'm not Carter. I'm not gonna dwell on it. And you'd best do the same. You get some rest now. Get your strength back. Then we'll talk. It's – it's the best I can do."
'Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Later…" Colby's eyes slipped shut as he lost his fight with his body's desire for healing sleep.
David pulled his hand from Colby's grasp, gently resting his arm on the bed. He needed a shower and a shave. And he needed to check in with the rest of his team. He turned to go, smiling as he realized that he'd taken the first step towards mending his rapport with Colby. And it felt right, it felt like a step in the right direction. The road was long, but it could be traveled, one step at a time.