A/N: If you're still reading this, thanks for your patience. I had no idea when I stopped for NaNoWriMo that it would be months before I would have the time or the inclination to pick up where I left off here! Particularly the inclination. Nevertheless, I'm back. It's a short chapter to start with, but it'll be wrapped up soon, I promise! Thanks again!

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Chapter 26

Colby winced as he ran his fingers gently over the small bruise on Hannah's face. He kissed her on her bruise as he murmured, "Come on, let's get you to the ambulance. Maybe they can put some ice on it so it doesn't discolor any further." Fear clutched him in his throat again as she tightened her arms around him. He cradled her close for a few minutes, immeasurably glad that she hadn't been hurt beyond the bruise.

"Hey, Don! Adam wants us to meet him at Thames House later," Colby called out to him as he headed towards the ambulance with Hannah. His eyes widened, startled at the anger in Don's eyes.

"What were you thinking, Hannah?" Don shouted furiously, "You could have got Eleanor killed!"

"No, no, Don, don't shout at her," Eleanor pulled on Don's arm, as she tried to get Don's attention away from Hannah.

Colby's eyes narrowed in anger, but Hannah's hand on his arm stopped him. His eyes widened in surprise when he looked down at her and saw her press her lips together. It was a sign he recognized, one that indicated Hannah was furious. He saw it very rarely, but knew nothing good ever came of it. He tried to stop her from saying anything but was a split second too late.

"And I'm just sure you have Eleanor's well-being completely at heart, Agent Eppes," Hannah's cold voice startled Don out of his fury and made him draw his eyebrows into an ominous frown. "After all, you're going to spend the rest of your life loving and honoring her. Oh wait! You were going to do that with Robin when you got back to the States. Might as well shoot Eleanor yourself, Don. Fine, upstanding man that you are. God only knows what you'd do to mere mortals such as Colby and I." She swept past him and headed for the ambulance.

Colby saw Don flinch and the barb and decided he would be better off soothing an annoyed Hannah than dealing with an angry Don. He followed as Hannah swept out of the room, head held high. As they headed towards an ambulance, he slid an arm around her.

"Don has a point, you know." Colby murmured softly, pressing a kiss on her temple as he sat her down on the steps of the ambulance. Gently massaging her hands in his, Colby watched as the paramedic checked her for injuries.

"Just the bruise, miss. You were lucky." The paramedic said as he activated an ice pack for her bruise. "This should help a little with the swelling but you'll still have that bruise. Hope you have some good makeup or folks will think your man here has been knocking you around." He winked and moved away.

"Hey. It's going to be okay." Colby wasn't surprised to see the tears that rolled down her cheeks. He'd expected the delayed reaction to set in, but it still tore at his heart.

"I should have thought about it first. But Bairan made me so angry I just reacted." Hannah whispered.

Colby drew her into his arms. "I don't know how much longer Carter would have waited before storming the room. You can bet he would have chalked the two of you up as collateral damage if he had decided to move in."

Hannah mulled that over, then sighed. "I guess you're right. It was still a damn fool thing for me to do."

"It's over, and it turned out like we hoped. There's no use beating yourself up over it now, Hannah." He kissed her, pulling her close again, still quaking inside with fear, despite his brave words. Colby was sure his heart had stopped when he heard Hannah arguing with Bairan. He wasn't sure if he would make it if Hannah ended up in the hospital again.

Her arms looped around his neck as she sighed. "That definitely wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done. Nor was yelling at Don about him and Eleanor. It wasn't any of my business."

Colby remained silent.

She sighed again, this time at his silence. "You guys. You think it's okay to have a fling just because you're away from home and there's no likelihood of it becoming serious."

"It's not like they're engaged or anything, Hannah," Colby protested. "They've broken up. In fact, she broke up with him. I'd say that means he's single and free." His fingers caressed her cheek. "You're just feeling guilty because you think it's your fault." He laughed at the pout that followed his words. "Why do you think it's your fault, anyway?"

Hannah shook her head.

But Colby wouldn't let it slide. "I'll tickle you till you tell me."

She burst into laughter, "I don't think that the FBI sanctions torture, Colby."

He grinned, "The FBI has no jurisdiction here." He grabbed for her, laughing at her squeal as she tried to dodge him.

"Alright, alright!" Hannah couldn't help the giggles that escaped her. "I guess I just feel that if I hadn't got hurt in the first place, none of this would have been necessary. I think she feels like Don's more concerned about me because of you." She paused as tears shimmered in her eyes. "Olivia hasn't talked to me since the shooting. I think she blames me for it."

"Oh, honey." Colby hugged her. "I had no idea all of that was roiling around in your head. You couldn't have known that the jewel thieves would hit your store."

Grateful for his words, she tightened the arms she had around him. "You're just too good to me, Colby. I know full well that if I'd followed your instructions to the letter, it wouldn't have happened."

Her words startled him. "Have you been carrying that load around with you all this time?" He tilted her chin up and leaned down to kiss her on her lips. "I'm going to say this one more time and then I want you to let it go, okay? It's over. There's no use in beating yourself up over it. It's time to move on, Hannah."

"It's not that easy, Colby."

"If you can decide to take control of your life from watching a silly television show, you can do this." He said tartly, still miffed that Hannah responded to the TV show and not to the months of love and support he'd provided.

"You're wrong, you know," she murmured, "It wasn't the TV show. It was always you." She grinned at the startled look on his face. "I'm starting to read your mind, Granger. Isn't that a scary thought?" She tugged at his hand, "Come on! Let's get Don and Eleanor and head to Thames House. I'm ready for all of this to be over!"