The Eppes Method VI – Moving on
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After the events in "Janus List" and "Trust Metric" Colby and the team are struggling. Can Don help them move on and get his 'family' back?
I don't own Numb3rs, CBS or any of the characters.
Warning: This story contains the disciplinary spanking of an adult. No slash.
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Don left the office deep in thought. Sighting he got into his car after a long week at work. It had been almost three months since they found Colby's name on the Janus list. The team was back together, healed and saved but things seemed to have changed forever.
Colby was withdrawn from the team. At first it looked like he could handle everything well and was adjusting to being back on the team but then something changed. He did his job - maybe a bit more recklessly than he should - but wouldn't talk much to anyone anymore. So far he had turned down all invitations to dinner at the Eppes house or anything else. Don had offered him to stay over but hadn't pressed the issue when Colby declined thinking he just needed some time. But time didn't seem to have helped any so far. He had also urged his agent to go see Dr. Greene but was met with strong resistance. He didn't push on this either hoping it would show Colby that he still trusted him.
Don himself had needed some time to get over everything that happened. To an extend, he had understood the difficult situation the younger man had been in but it still hurt that he had kept something this important from him – orders or not. Nonetheless, he had not punished Colby feeling that it wouldn't be fair. Now he was wondering if that would have helped his youngest agent to move on.
The rest of the team was off too. Megan tried to engage Colby in their usual chit chat and bantering but failed every time. She was worried and tense and had trouble with eating again. Don had kept an eye on her and even gave her a few swats on one occasion after she had fought him on having lunch for multiple days in a row. It made him feel rotten but at least it seemed to have given Megan some sense of normalcy and grounded her enough to let go of some of her stress.
His brother was just upset around the agents and kept to his office at CalSci a lot. He spoke to Don at home about the cases they worked together but avoided the FBI building at all cost.
And then there was David. Don sighed again. He was obviously still very angry with Colby and seemed unable to move past that. Don had tried talking to him and David understood the situation intellectually but letting go of his anger and disappointment and forgiving his friend for what felt like a betrayal was a different story. Nonetheless, he treated his teammates with respect and did his work so there was no good reason for Don to step in.
Don took a deep breath making a promise to himself to stick it out and do his best to help the team through the difficult situation. He started of by calling Dr. Greene. After a long talk he felt better. The psychologist made him see that giving things time was a good approach but that part of the problem was that Colby felt so guilty that until he had moved passed that there would be no true resolve.
"But I can't punish him now for something I am not convinced he deserves to be punished for in the first place." Don protested.
"I know and you are right," the doctor agreed, "just wait a little longer. I am sure young Mr. Granger will find a way to get what he needs from you – even if he won't like it."
"Oh no," Don groaned understanding what the doctor implied, "I don't even want to imagine the kind of trouble he could get himself in."
"I know." Don could hear the smile in Dr. Greene's words "Don, you are doing great. Things will work out. Just follow your instincts."
Inevitably Dr. Greene was right and Colby indeed managed to break Don's rules in a rather spectacular way but Don didn't know that yet when he got a phone call from his agent one early Monday morning just a few days later.
Don, Charlie and Alan Eppes were having breakfast together – which was rare for a weekday –when Don's cell phone rang. He saw Colby's number and answered right away.
"Hey, what's up?"
"Don," he heard Colby's faint voice, "I need help." After that he could not really understand anything anymore and then the line went dead.
Frantically he hurried to get his gun while telling his father and brother "Something is wrong with Colby. I am going over there."
"Do you want us to do anything?" Alan Eppes asked.
"Yeah, call 911 and have an ambulance sent. He sounded bad. And then maybe take a separate car and come too. Just wait in front of the building and show the paramedics where to go. Don't come in unless I call you – there might be trouble."
With these words Don ran out of the house and made it in 3 minutes to Colby's apartment. After clearing every room he found his agent passed out but breathing in his bedroom. One look around and he got a horrible sense of dread in his stomach. It seemed obvious what had happened here. Multiple bottles of pills where on the nightstand as well as some beers and a half-empty vodka bottle. Could Colby have tried to take his own life but changed his mind at the last minute to call him? Don barely had time to glance at the labels before the EMTs arrived. They checked Colby over quickly and decided that he was best helped at the hospital. Putting all of the pills in a plastic bag Don followed them. As he climbed into the ambulance he asked his Dad, "Can you call Megan and David, and then come to the hospital?"
"Sure Donnie," Alan Eppes promised softly.
At the hospital Don could do nothing but wait while the doctors worked on his agent. After about 20 minutes one of them came out to talk to him.
"Are you Agent Eppes?" he asked. Seeing Don's nod he continued, "I am Dr. Montgomery. Mr. Granger is doing fine. He'll be sleeping for a while but should be back on his feet by tonight or tomorrow at the latest. Thank you for bringing the pills. That was helpful."
Don let out a breath of relief. "Doctor Montgomery, do you think he did this to himself?" he asked uncertain.
"Unless you found a letter, Agent Eppes, I don't believe so. There were still a lot of pills left which would be unusual in a suicide. To me this looks like an accidental overdose. He was taking anti-anxiety drugs and something to sleep at the same time and maybe more than the recommended dosages. Even if not, adding alcohol and pain killers to the mix can have a strong sedating effect," the doctor explained kindly, "Nonetheless, I would like to recommend a psychological evaluation. From the looks of it he might be battling depression and I did not find a medical reason for taking pain meds in the first place. Can you think of any?"
"He had some problems following a case a couple months back but he healed and should not have needed any medication any more." Don responded worriedly.
"Then he may have developed a dependency. For a healthy, emotionally stable young man it should not be a big problem to deal with this but if he is depressed he might just need a little more help and support. Does he have family?" the doctor asked.
Don sank down on a chair putting his face in his hands. He just shook his head. "My team used to function like a family but ever since that case I just mentioned, we have been in trouble." He could not believe he'd confess something like this to a stranger.
The doctor looked up along the corridor and smiled a little, "Well it looks like the cavalry is here anyway."
Don followed his gaze and saw the team, his brother and his Dad wait in a respectful distance to not disturb his talk with the doctor. All of them looked anxious and worried.
The doctor put his hand on Don's shoulder, "To me it looks like you'll be fine. I see you later."
Don smiled sadly and thanked the doctor. He walked over to the others and explained to them what happened.
Charlie looked disbelieving and Megan had a hard time holding back tears. Both of them were anxious to go see Colby so he let them go. David just stood in his spot at the window looking like he was fighting some demons of his own. Don turned to his Dad, "Can you take me to the office and then to Colby's place to get my car and come back here?"
Alan Eppes nodded, "I'll be waiting outside for you."
Don smiled thankfully at his Dad who had understood his need for some privacy. Turning to his agent he pulled David from his thoughts, "Are you okay?"
When David turned to him Don was surprised to see his eyes shining with tears. "I am so sorry, Don. This is my fault. I have been treating him horribly."
"Hey, what are you talking about?" the senior agent inquired taken aback.
"A few weeks ago he came to my apartment and tried to apologize again. But I was still so angry with him. I just told him to give it up and not to expect any forgiveness from me. I also said that you let him off easy and he did not deserve to be on the team anymore. I even sorta punched him. I guess I tried to provoke a fight to work of my anger. But he just turned white and left. I regretted it almost right away but I could not bring myself to tell him it wasn't the truth. And now he has gone and …," David trailed off with a miserable look on his face.
Don frowned, "David, I don't believe it. Getting angry after everything that happened is human, even wanting to fight him I can understand somewhat but making him suffer for weeks was cruel. You are a better man than that."
David cringed at his boss's obvious disappointment but he knew he deserved it.
"What happened today with him was an accident," Don continued, "I don't want you to blame yourself for that but I am not convinced you don't deserve to be punished for making him think you believed what you said for so long in the first place."
David just nodded, "I am sorry."
"I know David," Don conceded, "and like I said I understand that you were angry and upset but I want you to figure out how to move on. We need to fix this."
David nodded again not knowing what to say.
"Alright, I need to go and speak to Director Merrick. Are you okay to stay here and be nice if he wakes up? He'll be in enough trouble when he gets better. What he needs from his BEST friend right now is support and forgiveness. If you don't find it in your heart to offer that, I'd rather take you to the office with me and let Megan handle it." Don spoke quietly to his agent.
Don shook his head, "I'll stay here. I promise I'll make this right."
"Good. Thank you." Don slapped his agent on the back before leaving.
When Don came back to the hospital barely three hours later he could not believe the picture in front of him. In the hallway just a couple feet away from Colby's room his agents stood with Dr. Montgomery. David and Colby were jelling as the top of their lungs while the doctor was trying to calm them down. Megan gave them some space but looked ready to intervene if things got out of hand. Charlie was standing further away and seemed a bit lost.
"What is going on?" Don roared.
The whole group jumped and turned towards him – all of them speechless for the moment. Don quickly surmised by the way Colby was dressed in his regular clothes that he was attempting to sign himself out and David was trying to stop him. Angrily the team lead grabbed Colby's upper arm and dragged the young agent back into his room. He motioned for the others to follow.
Colby started to protest but was cut off with a "Not one word out of you." from Don.
Back in the room, Don none too gently pushed the young agent to sit on his bed. Getting close to his face Don threatened in a deadly quiet voice, "Do not move a muscle until I get back. I am going to talk to the doctor first."
Don and Doctor Montgomery went back outside. The agents and Charlie watched them talk seriously with each other through the window but no sound made it back into the room. After a few minutes the two men shook hands and Don came back in.
Ignoring everybody else he focused on Colby, "Would you care to explain why on earth you tried to sign yourself out?"
Colby would not look at Don or anyone else in the room. Instead he hugged himself around the middle in an attempt to hold on to his emotions. Staring at the floor it was clear that the young agent was too upset to answer.
Don was seething. "What did I tell you would happen if you ever foolishly put your life in danger again?" he asked in a tone that left no room for arguments.
Colby looked up blushing deep red and was met with a steely gaze from his boss. After a minute he answered barely audible, "You said you'd blister my butt so that I could not sit for two days and then you'd spank me every night for a week."
The other agents and Charlie looked at one another shocked but neither Colby nor Don seemed to be aware that they were still in the room.
"And what do you deserve for the stunt you pulled this morning?" Don demanded.
Colby blushed even more furiously and answered quietly studying the floor, "What you said."
"And what would you have deserved, if you had managed to sign yourself out and run off on your own?" came the next question.
"What you said."
"That's right, and just for trying to sign yourself out I have a good mind to let everyone watch you getting blistered. Maybe that will remind you and everyone on this team to be less cavalier with your lives." Don could not help raising his voice in anger again just thinking about all the things that could have happened to the young man he had become to regard as another little brother.
The anger in Don's voice sparked the same response in Colby. He just snapped. Quick as lightning he jumped off the bed, pushed Don hard in the chest and just exploded, "I hate you. Why do you even care? You weren't even here when I woke up – nobody was here. I wanted to stay on this team but nobody has forgiven me. Nobody trusts me. I know that you all hate me and just want me off the team. And now I have screwed up good enough for the FBI to have a reason to fire me. Don't think I'll take any of your punishments on top of that just for you to kick me out anyway."
Breathing heavily he sank back on his bed holding himself again and rocking ever so slightly trying his best not to give in to the tears and anguish he felt.
Surprised by the push Don had staggered a couple feet back but quickly regained his composure. David in the meantime had jumped up and placed himself between his boss and his teammate to stop the former from killing the later. But it wasn't necessary.
"It's ok David." Don said completely calm putting a hand on his agent's shoulder and tugging him towards the door. "Why don't you guys go for some fresh air while I talk with Colby? I promise he'll still be in one piece when I am done."
When they got to the door, Don asked very quietly so that Colby would not hear, "Where you really not in the room when he woke up?"
David nodded looking guilty and answered, "We are so sorry. The doctor came when he was still sleeping and told us to go get some coffee while he performed a few tests. He made it sound like it would be a while till Colby woke up anyway. It was really not intentional. And when we came back he was already getting dressed trying to get out of the hospital. I am sorry."
Don nodded in understanding as David and Megan walked out followed by Charlie who still looked very upset. Spontaneously Don pulled his brother into a quick hug and whispered in his ear, "It will be ok. Don't worry." With a little smile of relief Charlie shut the door behind himself as Don turned towards his agent.