Make You a Deal

"So - the new guy's a little bit of a hothead, huh?"

"Yeah… she'll come around, though. Either that or she's gonna get to know the phones real well."

"You know, I seem to remember another rookie who was quite the, ah, hothead when he first got here."

"Yeah, yeah." Special Agent Colby Granger suddenly dropped his sarcastic smile and looked over at his partner. "Seriously though, David? I know how she feels. I was terrified when I first got here. Eight months into the whole mess with Carter, and on top of that a brand new FBI agent. I was tryin' to learn two different jobs at once, and tryin' not to screw either one up." The grin returned. "Guess I was a little jumpy."

"Hm." Special Agent David Sinclair eyed his partner. "You ever regret doin' it, Colby? Going undercover for all that time? Havin' to act like you were betraying your country?"

Colby was silent for a moment. "Nah, man, there were times when I felt like I couldn't go through with it, especially… you know." He was silent again, then shrugged. "But if I had to do it all over again, I would. No question."

David frowned. "What, you mean especially Lancer? Or especially the five weeks in prison? Or especially the part where you died - twice - before we got you to the hospital?"

Colby snorted. "No, David, I mean especially the part where I had to look you, and Don, and Megan in the eyes and tell you that I was a traitor. And then keep telling you, until you believed me." His voice dropped. "If I could've avoided that, coulda kept you guys out of it… that's what I regret the most."

"Colby…" David stopped. "Look at me."

Colby glanced over at his partner, and David continued. "We've been through a lot. You, this team, our partnership - but just because it was tough doesn't mean it wasn't worth it. I can't think of a single other person I would've wanted to have my back the past three years - Chinese triple-agent mess included." He smiled. "But if you're gonna go getting yourself arrested for treason, tortured and killed more often, you're gonna need to start givin' me a heads up."

Colby laughed. "I'll make you a deal - you don't arrest me for treason, and I won't get myself killed." He shot a look at his partner. "At least not by Chinese double-agent sociopaths. No guarantees on other varieties of low-life."

If you hadn't been listening for it, you would have missed the half-breath before "killed" where he avoided saying the word tortured. But David was listening for it. Come on, man, it's been a whole year. Time to start calling it what it is. He shook his head. "Deal. Come on, let's get outta here. Nikki's probably waitin' for us."

"Yeah, right behind you, David."

The door closed behind Sinclair and there was silence for a few moments. Then Colby grinned.

"You know, you can stop pretending you're not there now."

There was a small noise from the other side of the lockers, and newly-minted Special Agent Nikki Betancourt came slowly around the corner. She stared studiously at the ground. "Look, Granger, I wasn't tryin' to -"

"I know you weren't. It's all right, new guy." He quirked an eyebrow at her. "I won't rat you out."

Nikki let out a breath. "I wasn't tryin' to listen, honestly. I know that conversation was personal – I'll forget I ever heard any of it, I promise." She met his eyes for the first time.

"It's really okay, Nikki." His voice was still slightly amused, but his green eyes were wide and clear. He really means it, Nikki thought. Jeez, he's like the poster boy for sincerity - how did this guy ever pull off bein' a triple agent?

Colby gave her a quizzical look. "Everythin' all right?"

She blushed, but "subtle" was not a word in Nikki Betancourt's vocabulary.

"Yeah, it's just…." She sat down on the other end of the bench. "This team is kind of intimidating, you know? You got Don Eppes, the man with practically the highest closure rate in the history of the LA branch, then there's David Sinclair, who still gets used as a textbook example at Quantico…." She shook her head. "Then there's you. Special Agent Colby Granger, the All-American Hero." Her voice was tinged with sarcasm - or was it disbelief? - and she glanced over at him. "I mean, even Reeves was a legend, for cryin' out loud." Nikki sighed. "Not to mention the math-genius brother. So what am I doin' here?"

Colby worked his jaw for a moment, considering. She didn't give him a chance.

"So you were really a triple agent? Spyin' on the FBI, spyin' on the Chinese?" Mmphf, Betancourt, you and your big mouth! Had to go and step in it.

He blew out a breath and turned towards her, not letting her drop her gaze. "Look, Nikki, I get it. You've obviously heard a lot about this team - some of it's true, and some of it's probably not. But either way, you don't have to prove yourself the first week. They wouldn't have put you here if they didn't think you could handle it, but the best way to become part of this team is to learn from 'em. Keep your head down, pay attention, and try not to get anyone shot." He gave her a wry smile. "You heard what David said about me bein' a hothead, right? Well, what he meant was that my second week here I almost landed the two of us in a shootout with this Vietnamese biker gang. Thought I could go all Army on 'em." He shook his head. "No Kevlar, no backup, nothin'. We woulda been dead for sure if it came to that. David talked 'em down but - the second we got back he was tryin' to convince Don to throw me off the team. Eventually Don talked him down…." He shrugged expressively. "We've all been there, Nikki."

"Yeah, well, I guess I've already joined the 'dumb rookie' club. You think Eppes'll stop bein' pissed at me anytime soon?"

"Look, you gotta understand – Don's tough as they come but he's one of the best. He makes you earn his respect, yeah, but once you do, he's also loyal as they come." There it was again - the sincerity stare. "I would know - saved my life. And yeah, I really was a triple agent. Three years undercover." He tilted his head and grinned at her. "How else did you think I knew you were there?"

Her eyes narrowed, trying to decide… then she laughed. "Man, I don't know what to make of you, but if half of what I've heard is true, that's some seriously brave stuff you did, Granger. Crazy - but brave."

Colby flushed. "Yeah, well, crazy I'll give you. Don't know 'bout the rest of it."

Nikki was doing her best not to look extremely curious - and failing. Colby took a deep breath.

"All right, Betancourt, I'll make you a deal. Saturday afternoon – you, me and a park bench. Ask me anything you want. Not sayin' I'm actually gonna answer everything, but…." He shot her a look. "And this is a one-time deal, Nikki. You got it?"

"Okay, yeah, but in exchange for what?"

Colby couldn't quite keep his mouth from twitching. "No more eavesdropping."

Nikki laughed. "All right, Granger, you win. It's a deal."

"Good. Now let's get outta here before David comes lookin' for us." He pushed himself off the bench and grabbed his jacket. Nikki stayed put. "Come on, new guy." He shook her shoulder, gently. "You're doin' great."

She looked up at him and made a face. "I'm really not gonna get outta this whole 'new guy' thing, huh?"

"Nope." He grinned. "Guess you're stuck with us."

Nikki shook her head as she followed him out the door, but she couldn't help smiling. Pretty sure I'm gonna like it here...

END.

Okay, notes. For anyone out there who still reads Numb3rs fan fiction, I would love to know what you think. I've never written fan fiction before in my life (frankly, I didn't even know what it was until this year when I suddenly became obsessed with Numb3rs), so I would appreciate any feedback. Also, if you're interested, what follows are some of my rationalizations/reflections on why I wrote the piece this way. I didn't put these up front because I really wanted you to read it through with no bias.

First, it seemed a little bit out of character to me for Nikki to be so open with how she's feeling, but seeing as she just overheard a very personal conversation between David and Colby, I think it might give her the freedom to open up. Besides, as I said, Nikki Betancourt doesn't exactly do subtle. As far as David and Colby are concerned, I like to think that at this point (one year later) they're able to joke about Colby's undercover work as I have them doing, but it's also clear that the experience changed Colby (both of them, really), and I wanted to reflect that. Post-Trust Metric Colby is a little softer and more vulnerable, and it didn't seem like a stretch that some internal part of him was still trying to come to terms with what he went through. Also (and this has been said many times), I wish we had been able to see David and Colby actually talk things out at some point after what happened. Clearly this is way beyond the time frame of when they would have talked about it initially, but I have no trouble believing that it's a topic that works its way into a lot of their more serious conversations (i.e., the ones we don't get to see on the show). And therefore I wrote this conversation.