A/N- Hello this is my first Numb3rs fanfic, but not my first fanfic ever. This is Colby centered because he is an awesome character and we see too little of him. He has so many possible to be and this is only one of them that I am exploring. So please read and review, it would be very helpful. And I would like 5 reviews (if I could) per chapter!!! That's right per chapter but if I can't….whatever…..read!! Oh and yeah by the way the Italics is this chapter either mean a thought or a flashback. I will tell you which. Finally I would like to thank my friend Ani for betaing this. Love ya girl!
Disclaimer- Do I look like I own Numb3rs? Yeah that's what I thought, no I don't own Numb3rs but I do however own Jazz and her mom. If you want to borrow them please ask.
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The last case that they had was one of the hardest cases the team had ever gotten. For all of them it meant something different. But first let me tell you about the case.
(Flashback)
It was 9:30 on a Tuesday morning, and today was a bad day for Colby Granger but the day was about to get worse. He didn't sleep last night at all, and that made him, well for lack of a better word, cranky. He just wanted to crawl into bed and not wake up till Monday. But he had to go to work; a crime scene was the homicide of a young child, a girl.
"What do we got Don?" Colby asked.
"A little girl, just barely 5 was killed. From what it looks like, by her dad in a rage but we can't be sure" Don Eppes, his boss and leader of this team, answered, voice slightly sad.
"Then why were we called in?" Colby wondered aloud, tugging on his gloves.
"The father is an FBI agent, who hasn't shown up for work yet and he was scheduled too" David Sinclair, a fellow team member answered from the kitchen.
"That makes sense, is Megan interviewing the wife?" Colby asked, kneeling down by the girl.
"Just finished with her" Megan Reeves, the final team member answered and the team went to work.
(End of flashback)
As it turned out, the father had murdered his daughter in a rage, thinking that his daughter was taking everything away for him. When they interrogated him, Colby had gone off the FBI agent. He exploded and scared the every loving crap out of the man, as soon as they left the room Don gave Colby an earful about how he should behave around suspects like that. Especially one of their own, though once you hurt a child, in Colby's mind, you shouldn't even be able to have a job; let alone work in the FBI anymore.
Don and Colby went to their separate desks but anyone could feel the ice in the air from the two men.
As soon as Don had finished his paperwork, he left to go spend sometime with his father and brother. Megan was the next to go, and she went off to go talk to Larry Fleinhardt her boyfriend. David went next, to go home and unwind from the hard day and maybe call his baby sister. Colby was the last to leave the office, even though he had all the reason to go home. He didn't understand how someone could hurt their own child; he knew that he could never do it, hurting a child would hurt him more then the child. With a sigh, he rose from his desk, looking at the picture on his desk and left the office; a growing smile on his face, ready for the weekend. But there was a nagging feeling on his gut that told him something was going to change when he came back from his night off, but he brushed it off.
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Yawning Colby walked into the Los Angels FBI office. It was only nine thirty in the morning, on a Monday morning that is but Colby had been up since five and went to bed at midnight, only getting about five hours of sleep. Sitting down at his desk, he turned on his computer, and got up to go the break room and find coffee. He found coffee and the rest of co-workers. Megan Reeves, David Sinclair, and their team leader Don Eppes were also in the break room.
"Nice of you to finally join us Granger" Don said non to nicely.
"I had something to take care of" Colby answered, not meanly, just answered in a monotone voice and went over and got his coffee. He turned and walked out of the room, with a barely a nod to Megan and David. David and Megan shared a look, the two men were being cold to each other and they both knew that could upset a team, and ruin a case. Megan and David shared a look and Megan left the room, to go find Colby and David stayed with Don.
Megan found Colby sitting at his desk, running though some file he found on his computer, a soft smile playing on his face.
"What are you smiling at Colby?" Megan asked, in a light tone. Colby turned, and saw Megan's light green eyes widening.
"Nothing much, just kinda surfing around" Colby grinned, shutting down whatever he had up.
"Alright, so what's up with you and Don?" Megan asked, straightforward. Colby visibility stiffed and said "Nothing is up between us, why would you think that there is?"
"Colby even a blind person could see that something is wrong between you two" Megan said, her tone still light and teasing. That got a smile out of Colby and he said "Well maybe there is but Don is overreacting"
"About what?"
"About everything" Colby snapped, and ran a hand though his short sandy hair and said "Sorry Megan, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, only about five hours"
"Why did you only get some little sleep" Megan asked, trying to her psychology tricks on him.
"Because I had something else to do besides sleep" Colby said, half harshly and half not. Megan understood that as a sign to back off, which she did. She nodded and said "Alright Colby, alright. So what are you doing this weekend? Megan asked. Colby's face broke out in a wide grin, and he said "Plans with someone very special"
"Really, a new girlfriend?" Megan teased lightly, causing Colby to laugh and say "No, just someone from my family"
"Ahh, I understand now" Megan grinned. Colby laughed and said "Sure you do Megan, sure you do" David walked in, Don following him but he had an unreadable expression on his face. He wasn't smiling but he wasn't angry either. He was just, there.
"What does Colby have another girlfriend?" David teased, causing Megan to laugh and Colby to frown playfully and say "No, I don't. I just have family time for this weekend"
"Family time?" David quirked an eyebrow.
"Yes family time you want the definition? Time you spend with your family." Colby teased a wide grin on his face. David laughed and shook his head and said "Sure call it that if you want to. I personally call it torture." The whole team, including Don laughed at that, Don slowly joining the team in their teasing.
"Yeah well try having family time with a math genius and my dad" Don said, with a wide grin. That made the team laugh, even harder, the thought of the three Eppes men spending "quality" time together. Finally the team settled down and began to work on their paperwork. At one point David was hit in the head by a paper ball. He whipped around but everyone was working. But again he was hit with another one, but this time he saw Colby grinning at him.
"Colby what do you think you're doing?" David hissed. Colby smirked at him and responded "Annoying you" David shook his head but turned and chucked the ball back at Colby, causing Colby to snicker quietly.
"Guys, finish the sheet your on, then go get lunch it's almost noon" Don said, pretending he didn't hear David and Colby's antics. All three finished their work and darted out of the office before Don could try and get them to do anymore work. Don looked up and saw his team was gone, no one to be found. He smiled to himself and shook his head, walking out of the building, in hope of catching up with his team. As luck would have it, he found them down the street, getting some subs at the deli.
"Hey Don, took ya long enough to find us." David called over to him.
"Yeah well you guys didn't even say good-bye to me." Don said, as he walked over with his food.
"You would have made us work more." Colby all but whined, causing the whole table to erupt in laughter. Colby pouted for a spilt second then joined his friends in laughing. Soon they fell back into the routine of laughing and teasing each other as they ate lunch.
"Come on guys, we should get back to the office." Don said, standing up. The team followed him, groaning out of the deli and into the nice warm day.
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They walked back to the office, laughing. When they arrived there, as they walked in someone's desk phone went off. The team shared a worried look; they didn't want to have a case today. All four rushed to their desks, and three shook their heads, it wasn't their phone.
"Wasn't my phone" Don answered, to their looks. Megan and David shook their heads. All three turned and saw Colby running a hand over his face, saying something quietly into the phone. He hung up and turned to Don, a frantic look on his face as he said "I have to go, take care of –uh- a personal matter"
"Colby" Don said, a warning tone bleeding into his voice.
"Please Don, I'll come back, I promise. Don please." Colby begged, already shrugging on his jacket. Don, thought about it for a moment, then nodded and Colby darted from the room.
"I wonder what is so important." Megan though aloud, as the silver elevator doors slid shut.
"Something Colby seems really stressed about." David answered.
"Yeah, but I still wonder what." Megan said.
"Don't we all, don't we all" Don finished and the group turned back to work.
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Soon, after about another half an hour or so the elevator doors dinged and out walked a father. No one looked up; they figured Colby would say hi, if he came back.
"Daddy, who are those people?" a young child's voice asked. It was young and sounded like a little girls'. The father gently laughed and said "Friends sweetie, just my friends"
"M'kay Daddy." the little girl said, burying her face in the crook of her fathers' neck and shoulder, relaxing. Her father shifted her weight and sat down at his desk, the little child curling up in his lap as he turned on the computer.
Don turned in his chair and saw the father calmly working away on his paperwork.
"Colby?!" Don said, shocked. He turned, light green eyes sparking and said "Yeah Don?"
"What, who is that?" Don asked, looking at the child in Colby's lap. By now David and Megan had turned and shared the same surprised look expression as Don.
"What? A girl, five years old. Who? Jasmine, who looks exactly like her mother." Colby answered. He smiled down gently at the mop of blond curls on his lap. The little girl on his lap, blinked back up at him, light green eyes just like his.
"Welcome back sweetie." Colby teased gently. She laughed "Hi Daddy!"
A/N- Um MWAHAHAHAHA! I love Jazz, she is so cute. Um I hope you guys like this piece….please read and review!!!!