Just Keep Breathing
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, then I don't own it.
A/N: For 2021 Whumptober #18 Doctor's Visit
Amita was safe and they got another bad guy off the streets; all in all a good day. He had to admit the clues to the game had been exciting at first. It made him feel like a kid on a treasure hunt. Up until the moment, the spillway opened up; unleashing the flood that washed him away. Without Charlie's deceptive upper body strength he would have probably drowned under its force. As it was his body ached from the pummeling he took beneath the waves.
When he got checked out after he was pulled from the water the impressive bruising was just starting to show. That was hours ago, they had to look way worse now based on how he felt currently. He'd been told to see a doctor and get a prescription for antibodies and painkillers filled. He hadn't had time. The case had moved so quickly that he had just pushed through the pain to see it through and protect one of his friends.
With the case over and everyone safe, he was struggling to get through his paperwork. He rubbed his chest as often as he wrote down a line of his report. It was slow going as he tried to breathe through the growing pain. He began to almost pant as he tried to catch his breath. Everybody on the team had already gone home. He had waved off their concerned glances with a smile, telling them he was sore but fine. He needed to hurry and finish so he could go home too. A few Advil and sleep was the only thing motivating him to finish. He would be fine in the morning after some rest.
Scribbling his last signature across the final page he tried to heave a giant sigh of relief. His breath caught in his throat, choking him. He gave into hoarse coughing, wheezing for breath. He was glad nobody was left to see him choke on air. He finally caught his breath as he bent over in his chair. His chest screamed at the abuse, but he straightened with only a grunt. Grabbing his bag of damp clothes he shut off his light and heading for his car. His bed was calling his name.
He awoke damp and disoriented. His body was soaked; for a moment he panicked thinking he was still in the water. He flailed his arms trying to reach for Charlie's grip; only to get too close to the edge. He fell out of bed, landing on the floor with a groan.
Colby sat gasping in big gulps of air as he discovered he wasn't wet from water but sweat. He pulled his sticky shirt away from his skin with a sound of disgust. He quickly stripped letting the sweaty clothes pile at his feet before he jumped in the shower.
He let the cool water soak into his abused body, but quickly turned up the heat when he started shivering. His teeth chattered as he tried to warm up. When he remained cold he abandoned the shower to get dressed into something warm instead. He stood shivering in front of the mirror as he dried off. He studied his multicolored body in a morbid fascination, as he couldn't help but poke some of the darker bruises with a wince.
He caught a glimpse of his flushed face as he pulled a clean shirt over his head. The shower may have been too hot for him. Which he found funny because he still felt chills coursing through his body and his lips had a blue tinge to them.
A coughing fit overcame him as he exited the bathroom. He hunched over, holding his aching chest as he hacked. Once over air wheezed out his throat as he went to the kitchen to get some water to soothe its soreness.
The clock on the stove told him it was very early, he'd only been asleep for a handful of hours. He'd never been one to fall back asleep once he had woke up, so he decided to go into work early. He had been kind of tired the night before, he wanted to double-check his reports for mistakes before he turned them in. Food held no appeal as he forced down a few bites of toast for breakfast. He made a mental note to remember to pick up his prescriptions on the way home after work. No pharmacy would be open this early. He didn't want his cough to develop into something nasty, who knew what was in that water he took an unwilling swim in.
The FBI building was almost as empty when he arrived as it was when he left the night before. The only one in that early on the team was Don. The boss was tucked away in his office talking on the phone. Colby waved to him as he entered, stifling a cough on his way to his desk. He wanted to talk to Don to see how Amita and Charlie were holding up but he could wait until his call ended.
The junior agent pulled his paperwork back towards him as he went through his writing from last night. He coughed quietly into his shoulder when the tickle in his throat become too much. Besides the persistent cough, he still felt tired and sore but he could power through it. It wouldn't stop him from doing his job.
As his teammates started arriving around him he felt the sweat start to build up along his scalp and back. He wanted to go turn the AC on but didn't have the energy to get up.
David glanced over at him, "You good man?"
"Yeah, just a little warm this morning," Colby admitted with a small smile.
"I bet solider boy ran ten miles this morning," David laughed going over to adjust the thermostat for his partner, "Am I right?"
"Something like that," Colby wheezed out.
"You shouldn't do that before work. Out of breath, sweaty and red-faced is not a professional look," David slapped him on the shoulder good-naturedly before going back to his own work.
"You shouldn't have run at all," Don came out of his office, catching the tail end of the conversation, "Did your doctor clear you for that?"
"I'm fine, Don," Colby tried to play it cool at the two older men's looks of suspicion and concern, "How's Amita?"
Conversation safely derailed, Colby listened raptly to Don's report on the shaken consultants. Amita and Charlie would both be fine after the emotionally trying case.
Colby sat behind his desk just trying to breathe normally without starting into another coughing fit. He had hidden it okay so far, but he didn't want his team looking at him like he was fragile or worse that he wasn't capable of watching their backs. The Chinese freighter was behind them but he didn't want to risk going back to it. He didn't want anyone questioning his ability to do his job ever again.
He felt the trembling start in his limbs. Cold chills attacked his body, shaking his aches in painful waves. He huddled against the pain as he tried to hide the shivering. He was cold but he didn't want to make David get up again. He didn't want to bring attention to his less-than-perfect health. He just needed to make it through the rest of the day.
Colby and David had been on better terms since the whole triple agent affair but they still had a distance they had not yet crossed. David held back a little in their partnership and Colby respected that after all the damage he had caused in their relationship.
David would have to be blind or stupid to not notice his partner's declining health. He had exchanged looks with Don all day as they determined how much to push the younger man. They needed to proceed with caution or the Idahoan would dig in his heels and stubbornly die on the hill that claimed he was fine.
After the sixth trip to go secretly hack up a lung in the bathroom David had had enough. Colby was sick and he needed to go home, even if his partner had to drag him there. He had almost drowned just the day before. A light bulb went off in David's head. Colby had never confirmed he went to the doctor. He had never taken any kind of medication throughout the day. His symptoms had worsened even as he tried to hide them. If the stubborn bastard had really not gone to see a doctor as David suspected, when he was supposed to, there would be hell to pay.
A flushed-faced Granger stumbled back to his desk. He collapse into his seat as he tried to catch his breath. His partner was on him before he could even think about moving. The dark hand laid against his hot forehead before it was yanking the fevered younger man out of his seat. David had him halfway out the door when their boss stopped them with a questioning look.
"I'm taking the stubborn bastard to the doctor," David quickly overrode Colby's weak resistance.
Don just nodded with a smile, "It's about damn time."
Colby dropped his head in defeat. He gave in to his fate as he dissolved into another coughing fit. David held him up when his knees threatened to collapse under him. The team still had some problems to work out. Not everything had been solved when Don trusted him and David saved his life on that damn boat. Thanks to them Colby was still alive to keep working and figuring out how to be a part of their team once more. David would make sure he kept breathing.