Title: "Shelter and shield"
Series: Holding on to a lie, part 25/26
Characters: Don, Charlie/Colby, David, Megan, Larry, Alan, OMC, Liz, Amita.
Rating: M.
Spoilers: None.

Warnings: Non-con.
Summary: Don will make things get better, no matter what.

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Disclaimer: I do not own Numb3rs or anything related to it, but I do own my creativity and any OCs.
Beta:Thanks to my amazing beta.

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Holding on to a lie

Part 25: "Shelter and shield"

Without thinking, Don got out of the van after hearing Ian's words. "We're done," the sniper had said. The story was over.

"What happ-?" he tried to ask Ian outside the house.

"We're done," the other man repeated. He seemed to be reluctant to talk right now; he just put his sunglasses on and walked away.

Don didn't have the time to ask him the reasons for his unexpected reactions. He got into the house and just completely forgot about Ian, even about himself. But he knew that this was going to be one of the hardest moments of his life.

His eyes wandered around and found his agents, until he finally focused on Charlie. Taking the first step to reach for him was almost impossible. How would Don protect his brother? How would he be able to believe his own words – tell him that everything would be ok?

Don certainly didn't believe it. But he had to, for Charlie. Just for him.

In a few seconds, he was already between him and their father, who was on the floor.

"Charlie, everything will be alright, I promise," Don told him.

"Check Dad, please," was his brother's only response.

Of course, Don did what had been suggested. He told the EMTs who were coming in to take care of his father and the other victims.

Then he turned to Charlie again. "I'll help you. Things will be ok…"

"They won't." Charlie's eyes were red and swollen because of the pain and anger he obviously felt.

"Don't say that."

"It's the truth."

"Buddy…"

"Don't try to protect me, it's not going to work."

"But yo-"

"No, Don, don't do this. You can't… you can't make this ok. No one can…"

Don put a hand on Charlie's shoulder and squeezed. His voice sounded angry, but he was trying to make a damn point and his brother had to understand that. "Hey, no, you listen to me. I was right outside and ok, maybe I don't know exactly how you feel, but you can be damn sure that I'm going to work my ass off trying to help you. Don't tell me not to do it, I'm your brother and if I say that I'll make things get better, I will!"

This time, Charlie didn't answer.

One of the EMTs came over to check on Charlie, and Don let him work. As he stepped aside for a moment, he looked around the place. He found David's eyes and swallowed. The words that had been pronounced, the words Don had heard, were the most astonishing and horrible he'd ever had to deal with during a case.

He couldn't even imagine what it had been like for David to suffer like that for so long, even if it had been only a few weeks. Going through an experience like rape was hard enough for regular victims, so being an FBI agent and having to do the job while keeping the secret had to have been torture.

Worried, Don shook his head. Even if he understood David's weird behavior now, it wasn't enough. Things were going to fall apart and there was a serious chance that he couldn't do anything to stop it.

He could even lose another agent. Because, how would Colby recover from what had happened? Don didn't know if the way Amita had touched him had been worse than the way she had touched David or not. But that didn't really matter. The point was that probably not even therapy would be enough for them to get better.

And the truth was that Amita had done a number on everyone.

"Don," Megan asked him to get closer.

"Yeah?" He kept his eyes on Charlie as he walked towards her.

"How's your Dad?"

Don looked at his father as the EMTs talked to each other about his situation. "I don't know. I just… I don't know." Suddenly, she put a hand on his shoulder, supporting him the same way she had done it before, even when she was worried about Larry being in danger.

"I'm going to take care of David, Colby and Liz. You can focus on Charlie and Alan now."

"I don't think that will be possible," Don said as she shook his head. "They're my agents and I'm not going to let them down."

Megan's eyes on him made him feel her worry. And when she said, "Larry," Don watched her run towards her lover. Larry was just entering the house and trying to walk towards the EMTs to see how his friends were.

"Charles… Oh, Charles… Alan…" the physicist muttered, being held by Megan as he continued, step by step.

"Liz's hurt, but she'll be ok. And we've got Berenson's confession," David said as he passed by and left the house. Don stared at him until EMTs approached Liz and Berenson, carrying a trolley. A couple of them placed Liz on it and got out, while the others gave the therapist pills to recover from the shock.

It was too much for Don to watch him take the pills as if he was just another victim and not one of the people who had forced the situation and even arranged things for it to happen.

A little far away, Colby was being released from the handcuffs and the duct-tape. His eyes were full of fear and shame. He didn't seem to be the same man he used to be already.

But one of the EMTs interrupted Don's train of thoughts. "We're taking Mr. Eppes to an ambulance. We've got a trolley for him, too."

Carefully, that man and his group of EMTs placed Alan on the trolley and wheeled him out. They also got Charlie's hand out of the handcuffs and helped him to walk outside.

"Let me, let me," Don said as he asked one of the men to let him help his own brother. He put one of Charlie's arms over his shoulder and held his hip to make it easier for him to walk.

Charlie looked at him but didn't say anything. Then he turned around his head a little bit, and Don, did, too. He was looking at Colby and Amita.

When Charlie turned to look ahead again, Don could feel his pain and how much he was trying not to break down in front of everybody. And Don hadn't had enough time to get used to Charlie and Colby being together yet, but he did want his brother to be happy, no matter what.

It broke his heart to watch his sad, desperate expression – because that's what it was, no matter how much Charlie tried to cover his feelings.

Once they were beside the ambulance, the ETMs took care of the rest.

"I'm going to check on the others, I'll be right back," he told Charlie as Alan was taken into the vehicle and other EMTs were bringing Berenson and Liz into another.

According to preliminary analysis, Liz had lost a lot of blood but there was a good chance she'd make it. Colby was going to be taken to the hospital, too, because he had been exposed to physical and psychological torture.

And David should be as well … but Don couldn't find him.

Finally, he caught him in the empty van from which the team had been following the entire case outside the house. He was at the computer, looking for files.

"David, man, you gotta go to the hospital," Don told his agent.

David shook his head and kept looking for specific files on the computer. "I'm not."

It had to be the shame and embarrassment of knowing that his secret was now out, so Don leaned over his shoulder and said, "I am so sorry for what happened to you." He didn't know how to continue, but he tried his best. "If I'd have known about it, maybe I could have…"

"There was nothing anyone could have done. Please, drop it."

Occasionally, Don looked at the screens of the monitors David was focused in. When he did it now, he found the reason why his agent was there. He was erasing the evidence of the conversations that had taken place inside the house which included his problem with Amita.

"Wha—" he mouthed. "David, no. This is a case, we can't get rid of evidence like that, no matter what has happened."

The other man didn't pay attention to him, he continued erasing files.

"Stop it." He took David's hands off the keyboard and had to prevent him resisting. "Stop it."

Suddenly, his agent stopped fighting him and muttered in a desperate tone of voice, "Let me put an end to this freaking circus and do my job, Don. Don't take that away from me, it's all I have right now."

They stared at each other for a moment. This wasn't about following the rules anymore. It was about surviving.

Breathing hard, Don let David's hands go, put his own on the keyboard and erased the files himself. If he had to do it to keep his team and his family united, he'd do it. He'd handle the consequences for his FBI job later; the priority was somewhat different at the moment.

Then he looked at David again, who held his gaze for a second. Then Don's agent got up, nodded respectfully, swallowed and whispered, "Thank you," before getting out of the van.

Don watched him walk away. He took a breath as he could also see his team, his brother and his father being helped by the EMTs. Amita was being taken into an ambulance, too. He didn't see Ian at the scene anymore. Apparently, the sniper had left immediately after shooting Amita. Don would have to ask him why later and maybe he'd get an honest response.

Now it was time to go.

He returned to the ambulance containing his family, just as the vehicle was leaving. Alan was on the trolley but Charlie was seated beside him, watching an ETM check his father's pulse again.

It seemed that Charlie was about to cry and he couldn't be blamed for it if he did.

The time Don spent in that ambulance seemed to be eternal. Looking at his father in pain, at Charlie so silent in front of him, broke his heart. He just ran a hand over his forehead, wondering what he should do.

He would be the only shelter and shield his family had from now on.

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