Author's notes: This is a week later than I wanted. After watching Colby roll the car I was so worried that the rumors of this being Numb3rs last season might cause them to start writing off characters. If you detect a little hate towards Nikki, you've pegged it right. I'm tired of her "bad-ass" attitude. Send her back to LAPD.

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The ringing of her cell phone took Liz by surprise. She had several days off and had taken advantage of it by going out of town to visit her cousin who lived in San Diego. It was late in the afternoon when she had headed back home and during the drive she had immersed herself in listening to a book on tape. The story had turned so intense that the phone going off startled her.

Hitting the power button to shut off the cd player, she then reached for the phone. Before flipping it open she glanced at the caller id; Colby.

"Hey Colb." She smiled in anticipation of her co-worker's voice.

"Are you home yet?"

Liz frowned. Even though Colby hadn't said much she could hear the weariness the was evident in his voice. "Should be there in about half an hour. What's wrong? Bad case?" Liz knew that Colby often took cases to heart and that even when the bad guys went to jail it wasn't enough to raise his mood.

"You could say that."

"Do you want to come over? We could have a late supper." Liz started thinking about what she could throw together.

"Do you mind?"

"No, I've kind of missed having your back." She tried to make her tone light.

"God knows I could have used it. I've got a little bit of paper work to finish and I don't want to leave it because Nikki will think she needs to stay longer and do it. I can be there in an hour if that's alright with you."

"That would be great. How hungry are you?"

"Not very, but I can eat."

Liz laughed lightly, "Colby, I've seen you eat a whole pizza when you "weren't very hungry"".

She should hear the smile in his voice, "I'm a growing boy."

"I'm not going there. See you in a little while then." Liz was still laughing as she closed up her cell phone.

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It was almost fifty minutes later; Liz had stopped by a little Thai place and had picked up some curry shrimp and Pad Thai. She had also picked up a six pack and was now enjoying a cold beer. It felt good to have a little downtime after being on the go during her days off.

A light knock on the door alerted her to Colby's arrival. "Hey," She opened the door. "What happened?"

"Had a little trouble with this last case." Colby walked in, a slight limp evident in his walk.

Shutting the door Liz frowned to herself. "A little trouble?" Pointing to the couch she continued, "Sit down and I'll bring in supper."

"I'm good, let me help."

"Come on, sit your ass down and let me get you a beer."

"If you insist."

"I do." She slipped into the kitchen and grabbed two beers. Returning to the room she sat down on the couch next to the exhausted looking agent. "Here you go."

"Thanks." He took a long pull on the bottle. "Hey, how was your cousin?"

"She's fine, excited about the upcoming wedding. I can't say that I'm too crazy about the bridesmaid dresses that she picked out, but that goes with the territory."

"How's that?"

"The bride subconsciously chooses dresses that make the bridesmaids look so hideous that the bride looks better by contrast."

"As if I didn't already think women were vicious, here is another example."

Liz sat her bottle down on the coffee table. "So, now that you know about my weekend, tell me about what happened to you." She reached out and touched one of the cuts on his face. "Did you go ten rounds with a suspect?"

"No, I flipped my work car."

"I'd ask you if you're o.k., but it's obvious that you're not."

"I'm just a little banged up but Nikki took the brunt of the crash." Colby's face reflected the guilt he had been feeling since the accident. "She should still be in the hospital, but she insisted on checking herself out and working the case."

"That sounds like someone I know." Liz said softly.

"I'll admit I've sucked up the pain on occasion, but I've never jeopardized the case by not being able to handle myself physically."

"Nikki did that?" Liz wasn't surprised. As the two women on the team they were often paired together and Liz had observed Nikki's gung-ho attitude. A little thing like personal injury wouldn't slow her down. It was almost like she felt she had to prove herself by being tougher, smarter and more of a bad-ass then anyone else on the team.

"She insisted on being part of the team that suited up. Damn it Liz, she could barely move her arm but she had to be there." Colby picked up his beer and took another long drink.

"Did you say anything to David or Don?"

"No. I don't want to see her ass in a sling over this."

"If she is putting others at risk because of her reckless behavior, you need to tell them."

"I might be blowing this out of proportion." Colby sat the beer back down. "I also feel like crap because I was the one driving."

"And you crashed on purpose?" Liz wanted Colby to see how foolish he sounded.

"Yeah, I know. Bastard almost ran a car off the road and I had to swerve to avoid hitting it. I pulled her out of the car and I had just gotten her free when it blew."

"So you feel guilty because you believe you were the cause of her injuries and her returning to the case just compounded the feelings."

"Gee, I though Megan had transferred out."

"Hey, this is Psych 101 buddy. Dr. Phil would have told you the same thing."

"So Dr. Phil, how do you suggest I deal with this?" Colby's tone lightened.

"I think I would prescribe a little curry shrimp and some chicken satay." Liz stood up and started towards the kitchen. "Plus, if we need a more intensive therapy, I have mango sticky rice."

Colby followed her to the kitchen and reached out for her. "Thanks Liz."

"Hey, you haven't tried it yet."

"No; for being here to listen. It's nice having someone to talk with." He leaned in and gave her a gentle kiss.

"Anytime Colby." She opened up one of the boxes, "We might need to nuke these."

"It's just as good cold." Colby took a plate and scooped out some of the curry. "This looks great."

"Imagine having to smell it all the way home. Do you want to eat in the front room? I can put in a movie."

"Sounds good. No musicals ok?"

"I was thinking more along the lines of Gone in 60 Seconds."

"That's cold Liz."

"2 Fast and 2 Furious?"

"A real comedian."

"How about an episode of The Dukes of Hazard?"

"Now you're just being cruel." Colby smiled and shook his head. "Of course you realize I'm going to make you drive the next time we go out."

"Not a problem. I've got the perfect place for us to go."

"Where's that?"

"The 'drive-in'."