Author's note: This is a story requested by Kayann1955. As you can tell by the title this is a tag for episode Atomic 33. Basically, Colby is not having a good day. In fact, it's very very bad. I hope you like it. It's shorter than I expected and I'm pretty sure he recovered too quickly for the injury I gave him but I have to get him up and about for my other fics :D
Disclaimer: I don't own the characters
Warning: Un-betaed.
Atomic 33
Colby and David ducked out of the burning building after an unsuccessful search for Reverend Ezra. The two agents didn't think twice about running into that building to save the lives in there. It's what they've been trained to do; save lives.
David cleared the building first, moving over to see the other two victims of the explosion. Aside from smoke inhalation, they looked fine. He turned to his partner to see what he thought of the explosion when he found him rolling on the ground trying to put out the fire on his sleeve. "Colby!" David pulled off his jacket and quickly covered Colby, effectively putting out the fire. "Are you okay?"
Colby rolled onto his back, puffing. "Yeah."
David winced at the burn site on Colby's upper right arm. "Come on. The medics are on their way. They can check it out." Colby hissed as David helped him to his feet. "Damn cult better let the ambulance in this time or I'm going to shoot their asses." Colby chuckled at his friend's threat.
Don arrived on the scene to find the charred body of Reverend Ezra being moved into the ambulance. Another life gone and another suspect off the list…maybe. He rushed over to the ambulance David and Colby were at.
Colby was sitting in the back of the ambulance in his singlet, getting his wound dressed. Don took a good look at Colby before asking, "You guys are all right?" He looked at the medic, "How is he?" He asked before Colby could answer. There was no point asking his agent. The answer would be 'I'm fine'.
"He's got second degree burns. I've put on put on antibiotic cream to fight any infection." The medic told him as he fastened the bandage. "It could've been must worse, running into a burning building without any protective gear. You trying to put my colleagues out of work?"
David chuckled, "I was going to wait for the fire department to get here, but Granger made me look bad by running in there."
"Thanks." Colby said to the medic, wincing at the heat he could still feel. "The reluctant hero. At least you got to carry a girl."
"Take a couple of Tylenol if the pain gets bad." The medic told him before closing the door.
Colby took the FBI jacket David held out to him and gingerly put it on. "Thanks."
"So anybody else?" Don got back to the case now that he reassured himself that his agents were fine.
"Just Reverend Ezra. Craig Ezra, Audrey Doran, they were shaken up a bit, but they're going to be just fine." David answered him.
"So any idea what caused it?"
"No, we don't know yet," Colby told him, "but the kitchen's hot for arsenic dust. It was clear yesterday."
"Susan Doran?" Don tried.
"She was cuffed and in our custody, but she could've set a trap." David told him.
"Well, maybe a kid." Don suggested.
"Craig says he and Audrey were here to meet with his dad." David shrugged.
"Their alibi for the coffee poisoning is weak." Colby pointed out, "I mean, the hotel has them checking in and out, but it doesn't mean they were there."
"So what do you think? Kill Dad, put Mom in jail, then they get married, take over the church," It sound a little extreme but David's seen what teenagers can do for so-called love. "But that'd mean he drank his own poison and he sat on his own bomb."
Don sighed, "Right, so it makes him stupid or a hardcore." Either way it made the killer very dangerous.
After interrogating Susan Doran, they were convinced there was more to the story than they first thought. Megan was a profiler, she could tell straight away that Susan wasn't the killer by the way she took the blame for her daughter. It was a 180 degree change in her statement. A bit like the way Colby went from denying being a double agent to confessing between sentences. People don't do that without a good reason.
It was Charlie and Larry's findings that led to them investigating the Ezra's. They knew there was a partnership in the killings but none of their pairings fitted in with their equation until they realised they had left one out; Craig and Reverend Ezra.
David looked into the Ezra's past and found some discrepancies. There were years missing in their lives from 1998 to 2005. This was a clear sign for stolen identities. The most effective way of changing identities is to take the identity of someone who has passed away. There are no overlapping transactions and therefore less likely to get caught. This was what Reverend Ezra did. They needed to bring in Craig Ezra for questioning.
Don went over to the church grounds with Colby to have a conversation with Craig. He frowned at Colby as they approached Susan Doran's home. "Are you okay?" Don asked, noticing how Colby kept moving his injured arm and wincing.
"Yeah, arm's a little sore, that's all. I'll take another couple of Tylenols after this." Colby reassured his boss.
Don nodded, though he still looked skeptical, "You better."
"Stop being a mom!" Colby rolled his eyes as Don knocked on the door.
"Craig?" Audrey called up the stairs when the FBI Agents asked for him.
Craig came bouncing down the stairs stopping a few steps from the bottom. "Hey, Craig, we're gonna need to speak to you for a second." Don told him, smiling, hoping to not spook the boy. He could tell it wasn't working.
"What for?" Craig asked them casually.
"Just want to talk to you." Colby told him.
"About Audrey?" Craig was still trying to pin everything on his girlfriend; what an ass! Colby thought.
"Me?" Audrey said in shock. Craig knew he couldn't get caught so he pushed Audrey into the agents and bolted back up the steps towards the back door.
"You've got to be kidding." Colby growled as he and Don caught the girl before giving chase. "I am not in the mood for a run!"
They ran down the steps at the back of the house. Don saw where he was headed, "Colby!" He pointed to his right. Usually he would have no doubt Colby would get to the kid before he could get away but for one, he was injured and two, the damn kid was fast!
"Got ya!" Colby groaned as he put on more speed to get around the front of the building before Craig could. Good thing I burned my arm and not my leg. Colby got there just in time to see the boy get into his jeep. Damn it! As one last try at stopping the boy, Colby reached through the window of the jeep, hoping to stop him from turning the wheel but the brat remembered where Colby was injured, and elbowed him in the injury. The pain made Colby cry out and let the wheel go, sending him rolling on the pavement. The pain in his arm dulled his reflexes, by the time he saw the jeep coming at him he couldn't get out of the way fast enough.
Don looked on in horror as the jeep slammed into Colby, sending him back five feet. "Colby!" The jeep swerved around Colby's body and sped away. Don pulled his gun out and shot out the padlock, pulling the chained gates open. He pulled out his phone, "This is Eppes. I need a medic at the Patmos's grounds now!" Slamming his phone shut, he knelt down next to Colby who, by some miracle, was still conscious. "Colby, helps on the way." Colby tried to speak but blood spurted out instead. "It's okay…it's okay." The fear he saw in Colby's eyes shot through him. Colby didn't get scared or if he did, he never showed it. "Just stay with me, Colb." Colby's eyes started glazing over. "No, no, no…stay with me!" Don turned his head so that he could look straight into his agent's eyes. "Don't go to sleep. Listen to me. I need you to stay awake until the medics get here."
Colby's vision cleared for a second and he saw the fear in his boss's eyes. Don was scared. He has never seen Don scared, not unless a family member was in danger. Who was in danger? Charlie? Mr Eppes? He wanted to comfort Don, to tell him it'll all work out but every time he tried to talk, a metallic liquid would fill his mouth. He opted to give Don a smiled instead.
Don frowned at the smile Colby gave him, as if he was telling him it's okay to let him go. "You're not going anywhere, Colb, you hear me? That's an order; you don't go anywhere unless I say you can!"
Where did Don think he was going? He could barely move. Colby frowned. Why couldn't he move? He concentrated on getting up but nothing obeyed him. He started panicking. What was wrong with him?
"Colby, don't worry. You'll be fine. I promise." Don's hands shook as he held Colby's head. It was the only part of his body he dared to touch, and even then he didn't dare to move him too much in case he did more damage. He looked up when he heard the siren. "Helps here." Don lifted his hand, waving down the ambulance.
The medics jumped out of the ambulance and rushed up to Don. "What happened, Sir?"
"He was hit by a jeep. It impacted with his chest and threw him a few feet." Don reluctantly moved out of their way.
"Colby Granger, right?" Don nodded, recognising the medic from the explosion. "He's not having a good day, is he?"
Don couldn't answer. He ran his fingers through his head, forcing himself to take three deep breaths before pulling out his phone and walking a few steps away. "This is Eppes. You need to run California plates: four, David, ocean, queen, six, seven, eight." He needed to catch this guy. Don held out a card to the paramedic. "I have medical power of attorney. Tell the doctors to do whatever they need to for him and call me with any updates."
"We'll take care of him, sir." The paramedic promised as they strapped Colby onto a back board.
"You'll be alright, Colb." Don gave Colby's hand a squeeze before watching him get loaded into the ambulance and driven away. He pulled his phone out again. "David…"
"Don, what's going on?" David could hear something was wrong. Don's voice was shaking with anger and fear.
"The son of a bitch ran into Colby with his car."
"What…"
"Colby's on the way to the hospital. They'll do whatever they can for him. The only way we can help Colby is to catch this guy and make him pay. Craig Ezra is going to pay for every life he took and attempted to take. He's eighteen years old and he is going to pay for this for the rest of his long and miserable life, do you understand me, David? Get every available agent onto him. I want him found!" Don was beyond angry, he was furious. "I'm on my way in with Audrey."
David listened to Don's orders. He heard the fear behind the angry words and knew what he had to do. "Will do, boss." He had to fight every muscle in his body to not get in his car and head straight to the hospital. "Megan!" Megan turned to him, shocked at the force behind the use of her name. "Make sure Craig Ezra's photo is at every station, check point and airport in Los Angeles." Megan was confused but she nodded and did as she was asked. David walked back to his table and picked up his phone but he didn't even know who he was supposed to be calling. He put the phone back on the hook and started typing on the computer but again, he didn't know what he was doing. He was wrong, he didn't know what to do.
Megan watched the lost movements of her colleague and got up. "What's wrong, David?"
David buried his head in his hands. "Colby's in the hospital."
Megan gasped, "What happened?"
"Craig Ezra hit him with his car. Don never said how bad he was but I can tell by his voice that it's bad." David looked up at Megan. He couldn't stop the tears. "He could die."
Megan shook her head, pulling him into her arms. His arms wrapped around her waist. "You can't think that way. Colby's not going to be taken down by an eighteen year old brat."
Don walked in dragging Audrey in by her upper arm. He pushed her into the conference room and left her there by herself. He couldn't talk to her with losing control. "David," he called out to his friend. "Talk to her. Say whatever you have to say to get her to give her boyfriend up."
David got up, looking determinedly at the girl in the room. "Gladly!" He growled as he strode past Don into the conference room.
David didn't bother to sugar coat anything. He was too angry to be nice. "Your boyfriend is going away for a very long time."
"He didn't mean it. He was scared." Audrey tried to defend the boy she loved.
"Don't be naïve!" David hissed at her, "He tried to kill my partner. Every FBI Agent in this country will be looking for him. There is nowhere he can hide."
"You can't do this to him."
"Why the hell are you defending him? He gave you up to us. Told us you poisoned the coffee and planted the explosives."
Audrey shook her head, denying all the words, "He wouldn't do that. He loves me."
"What the hell do you know about love?" He turned on the video of Susan Doran's confession. Audrey cried harder as Susan owned up to everything to protect her. "That's love, Audrey. What you and Craig have is nothing compared to that!" David knew he'd gotten through to her.
David and Don chased Craig up to the top of the tower. "Where the hell are you going, Craig? I'm pretty sure the top of this tower doesn't end up in Mexico!" David growled as he ran up behind Don. "Come on, Craig. You're not the jumping type."
"Damn straight he's not." Don said as the reached the top. "He's a goddamn coward; giving up his girlfriend to get himself off. You give all men a bad name." Don aimed his gun at the boy's head. "Go ahead, give me a reason…please."
Craig shook his head, lowering himself to the ground. "She made me do it. She made me do everything!"
"Who?" David asked.
"Audrey."
David shook his head at what scum he was looking at. Don still didn't lower his gun. The image of Colby bouncing of the front of this boy's jeep was replaying in his mind. "You don't get off that easily." He grabbed the boy by the shirt and pushing him against the railings, shoving his upper body over it.
"What are you doing?" Craig cried in fear, his voice going up a pitch.
"How did it feel to hit a federal agent with your car, Craig?" Don shoved the boy further out. "How do you think Colby felt when you came at him with your car? A little like how you're feeling now?"
"Don…" David called out cautiously, he placed his hand on Don's arm, "Let him go, Don."
"Oh I plan to." Don sneered at Craig as the man grabbed his arm for dear life.
"Please…please…you can't do this. You're a cop!"
"You're allowed to kill a cop and I'm not allowed to kill scum! How is fair?" Don gave another shove but didn't let go of the boy's shirt.
"I didn't mean it. I was scared. I didn't know what I was doing." The words stumbled desperately out of Craig's mouth. "I didn't see him there. I didn't see him there!"
"He grabbed your steering wheel!" Don yelled at him. Craig saw the fury in Don's eyes.
"Don!" David jerked Don's arm to get his attention. "This is not what Colby would want! He's fighting for his life right now. How do you think he would feel when he comes to and finds out his partner had to arrest his boss for murder?"
Don closed his eyes, calming himself before pulling the boy in. "You better pray Colby makes it through this or you'll be getting a visit from me." He threatened before shoving Craig to David. "Get him out of here." Don pushed the heels of his hand at his eyes, hating himself for losing control like that.
David cuffed the murderer and shoved him in front of him.
As they reached the bottom of the tower, Don's phone rang. "Eppes." David watched as Don listened to the person on the other end. He couldn't read Don's expression. Don hung up the phone. "Let's go. Colby's out of surgery." David handed over Craig to another agent and ran after Don.
David and Don watched Colby through the window of the intensive care unit as the doctor told them about Colby's condition. "I have him in an induced coma. There was extensive damage to his chest cavity. His lungs were punctured by the broken ribs in three places and one was only millimetres away from puncturing his aorta." Dr Rachael Pullman sighed, "We've done everything we can for him. The intubator will be breathing for him until his lungs have healed enough to work on their own."
"How long until he wakes up?"
"I can't say but the next twenty-four hours are crucial. If there are no complications during this time then I am optimistic that he will recover." Dr Pullman gave Don's arms a squeeze. "He's very lucky. An impact like what he received could've easily caused damage to his brain and other parts of his body. Plus he has everything working for him; he's healthy, he's young, he got immediate treatment and he has friends who will no doubt be at his bedside while he's here." Don looked at her. Was she saying what he thought she was saying? "I'm guessing there is no point kicking you out of here but only one of you at a time in there and you will listen to the nurses. If they tell you to get out, you get out. Got it?"
Don smiled, "Yes, ma'am." He turned to David after the doctor left. "Do you want to go in first?" David nodded, walking around to enter the ICU. Don watched as David put a hand over Colby's, talking to him. Lucky! Don shook his head, what is this world coming to if this is lucky?
There was no hour of the next 24 hours where Colby was alone. David and Don never left the hospital but took turns to sit by his side. Megan came in to relieve them for lunch, although it took Charlie and Alan to convince Don to leave Colby's side. David wasn't as stubborn and it did make them wonder why Don was being so difficult. They sat in the cafeteria but Don only ordered a coffee.
Alan pushed a sandwich in front of him. "I'm not letting you back in there unless you eat something."
"Dad, I'm not hungry." Don sipped his coffee, pushing the plate away from him.
David sighed, he was worried. "What's going on, Don? You were out of control today."
Don glared at him, "What did you expect? I watched the kid run the car into Colby."
David hesitated, "You almost threw him down that tower."
Don looked uncomfortable at his brother and dad, "I wasn't going to do it."
"It's not like you to lose control like that, Don." Charlie worried over his brother's state of mind.
"I wasn't going to do it." Don repeated.
Alan knew what was going on. He reached a hand out, squeezing Don's wrist. "It's not your fault."
"I know." Don answered automatically.
"No, you don't." Alan told him, "I know you better than anyone else at this table. So I can tell you, without even knowing what happened, that it wasn't your fault."
Don stared at his cup of coffee. "I told him to run around the front because he's faster. He had a better chance of cutting Craig off."
"That's what I would've done and even if you didn't tell him to, he would've done so himself." David was positive of it.
"I could've run around myself." Don said, absently.
David scoffed, "You know Colby could thrash you in a race. If Colby only just got there in time, you wouldn't have made it."
"Then Colby wouldn't be fighting for his life right now."
Charlie sighed, "You don't know that. For all we know Colby would've jumped the gate and still beat you to the kid."
David nodded, "Charlie's right; a gate wouldn't have stopped Colby."
"Anyway, why are we playing this game? We know what happened and beating yourself over what could've happened isn't going to fix Colby." Alan took away Don's coffee and put the sandwich in front of him again. "Eat, because when Colby comes out of that coma, he's going to need every bit of support he can get. And after that he's going to beat you over the head for being a nincompoop."
Don gave him an incredulous look, while David looked at Charlie, nincompoop, he mouthed. Charlie just shrugged. "Fine, I'll stop being a nincompoop if you promise to never use the word again." He managed a smile when everyone started laughing.
One week later...
Colby was asleep, elevated, in a private room in the hospital. There was an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth, giving him the oxygen his lungs needed to continue its healing process. Colby had woken up for the first time two days ago but he wasn't coherent. The doctor's managed to remove the tube, making his rest more comfortable. He had been awake earlier today but only for half an hour and he had difficulty talking to anyone. It didn't matter though because Dr Pullman had assured them that Colby was recovering at a healthy pace.
The next day was better. Colby woke up to find Don at his bedside, reading a baseball magazine. He pulled down his oxygen mask. "Don't you have a job?"
Don looked up, grinning. He put aside the magazine and helped Colby to a sip of water, hearing the croakiness of Colby's voice. He pushed the mask back on once Colby got his fill. "Keep it on. Your lungs are still very weak." Colby smiled behind the mask. "I'm just checking on you." He looked at his watch. "Nobody's expecting me back until lunch time and I've got my phone." Colby opened his mouth to talk but was annoyed that the mask made it difficult. "One more day on that and they'll change it to a nasal tube." Don gave Colby's forearm a squeeze. "You're going to have some nasty surgical stars you can show off to the girls. Scars are great for landing women." Colby groaned in pain when he coughed out a laugh. He shut his eyes, trying to get away from the pain. Don quickly pressed the nurses button. "Helps on the way, Colb." Don pried Colby's grip from his blanket and replaced it with his own hand. He winced at the grip Colby had on him, but he could also tell it was helping Colby, so his friend could break his hand if he needed to.
"What happened?"
"He coughed." Don didn't know what else to tell her.
The nurse looked at his chart, "I'll be right back with his pain meds."
Don placed a hand against Colby damp brow. "Take slow breaths, Colb. You'll be okay." He put a gently hand on Colby's chest. "Just concentrate on breathing." Don smiled as he felt his hand expand and contract with every breath Colby took. "That's it. You're doing really well." The nurse rushed back with a syringe and emptied the content into Colby's IV.
"That should kick in soon." She smiled at how much calmer Colby was, "though I can see he's already managed the pain. That's quite impressive." Don tried to hide his smile as the nurse stood their admiring the man in the bed. He cleared his throat when she didn't look like she was planning to leave. "Right." She turned around and headed out the door.
Don leaned over, "That was Courtney. She's one of the ten nurse that come in and out of this room checking on you." Colby didn't open his eyes, but Don saw the smile behind the mask. "You said you haven't been in a serious relationship for a few years, you have plenty of chances to start one here."
Colby shook his head at how immature his leader was being. He reached up and pulled at his mask. "Go to work, Don." He said before pushing the mask back in place.
Don laughed, "Alright. David will probably be here during his lunch break." He gave Colby's hand one last squeeze. "it's good to have you back, Colb."
Colby smiled.
One week after that Colby was released into Don's care with strict instructions that he was to remain in bed for two to four weeks, depending on what the next check up revealed but for now, the diagnosis remain positive. Dr Pullman would've kept Colby for another week if it weren't for her distracted nurses. There was barely a minute in the day where a nurse wasn't checking Colby's temperature or blood pressure. If she didn't discharge him soon, the hospital would be receiving complaint letters from other patients for insufficient care.
Colby sighed in relief when they drove away. "I swear if I had to stay there for one more minute I might have to sue the hospital for inappropriate behaviour."
Don laughed, "I'm not sure who's more relieved, you or Dr Pullman?"
"Yeah well, this time it's not my fault. I did everything the doctor asked me to. I didn't give her any grief. She needs to talk to the nurses?" Colby closed his eyes, taking slow, deep breaths, as he was instructed. Talking tended to exhaust him.
Don looked over at him worried, "You'll be back on your feet in no time." The words belied his concern.
"Two to four weeks of bed rest and another two months of respiratory therapy before I can even begin to re-qualify for field agent." Colby shook his head, "I might just go crazy."
"Yes, but during those two months you'll be on modified duty until you pass all the tests again, which I have no doubt that you will." Don spoke confidently.
"Yeah, that's something, I guess." Colby conceded, half-heartedly.
"You guess? I've seen you on modified duty. You can do a lot more at your desk than half the agents can do out in the field."
Colby smirked, "Okay, you can stop with the compliments. You're going to make me blush." Don grinned. "Hey," Colby's tone turned serious, "David told me what you did to Craig after you caught him."
"David needs to learned to shut his mouth." Don growled under his breath.
"He's worried about you and so am I. None of this was your fault." Colby winced as he turned in his seat to face Don. "I started running that way before you even gave the order. It was the logical thing to do."
Don sighed, "Yeah, I know."
"So…" David drew the word out, waiting for Don to say more.
Don glanced at him, "So it's not my fault." He shook his head at Colby's satisfied grin. The doctor was right. Colby was lucky. His accident could've been much worse and the injuries could've been fatal or at least have last effects. Right now, Colby was on the road to a full recovery, which was more than what anyone could've hoped for.
Don smiled down at the sleeping form on the living room couch. Colby tired easily. A walked from the dinner table to the couch sent him straight to sleep. He could tell that Colby's breathing was more laboured than normal but the doctor told them it was to be expected. Every rib in his chest was broken so it will be a while yet before Colby could walk around without pain though he seemed to endure it, in favour of being more independent. Nobody protested unless Colby pushed himself too hard, which he didn't. For the first time, Colby was doing everything the doctor asked of him without complaint, which told them how scared Colby must've been. He'd come very close to ending his career and he knew it still could end if he didn't follow the doctor's instructions. For once, Colby was a model patient.
"You know your room is still upstairs if you want to stay." Alan, who had been watching his son from the games room doorway, said.
Don turned to his father before looking back down at Colby, "Nah, he'll be fine."
"I was offering for your sake, not his." Alan knew his son well. "I know he'll be fine because I'm taking care of him."
Don smiled at his father, "You always know what I need."
"I'm your father, it's my job to know what you need."
He turned back to Colby, not willing to leave yet. "This one was really close, dad."
Alan walked up to him and wrapped his arm around his son's shoulder. "It was close, but he's still breathing." He smiled as Colby frowned in his sleep as if sensing they were there.
Colby's eyes fluttered open and saw Don and his father smiling down at him. "You know that's creepy, right?"
Don laughed, "Go back to sleep."
"Go home, Don." Colby pulled his blanket up to his shoulder, drifting back to sleep. "I'm fine."
Alan nudged his head at the stairs to the top floor. Don chuckled softly, nodding. His dad was right, as always. It wouldn't hurt to spend a few nights here. He spent more time here than at his condo anyway.
The End.