Disclaimer: You know the drill. Don't own any part of Numb3rs or any of the Numb3rs characters. All the OC's in this story are mine. Enough blather on my part. On with the story.
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David Sinclair walked down the hospital corridor towards Colby's room, running through the day's events in his head. Since it was officially after regular hours, the hallways were mostly deserted except for staff and the odd patient or two, wheeled IV poles in tow. Due to their unorthodox work schedules, something the medical professionals could relate to, Don's team was given a little extra slack concerning visiting privileges. He tried not to feel too guilty about the six or so cell phone calls he hadn't had the chance to return. Or about the toasted sub gobbled in haste just before arriving. Not from the same place as Colby's tainted sandwich, thanks very much. Granger was going to be on "soft" foods for at least the next forty-eight hours or so. No sense rubbing it in. He popped a mint. Steak and caramelized onions with melted cheddar left behind a certain cache.
As he passed the nurse's station on his way to where Colby was probably wide awake and contemplating a late night raid on the hospital kitchen, he was flagged down by a nurse. Her name badge read "Diane Stevens"
"I'm glad I caught you before you went in" she greeted him, smiling a little nervously. She pointed to a nearby unoccupied room. "Could I talk to you for a sec?" Not waiting for a reply, Nurse Stevens led the way. She closed the door behind him after they were both in. She held her hands together in front of her, two fingers tapping her mouth, as if she were trying to figure out how to begin. Slightly weird, David thought.
"What is it? Is something wrong with Colby? He just came in here with appendicitis!"
"No, no, he's fine. As a matter of fact I think he's going to be released tomorrow. He's healing fine. It's only that, well, uh, well this is kind of awkward. Um, when you see your friend, you might want to be prepared to for something a little out of the ordinary."
"Out of the ordinary? What does that mean?" Sinclair asked.
"Well, you might hear sort of an unusual story. After you all left yesterday, his night took something of an 'imaginative' turn." She stopped again, hesitant.
"Look, Nurse Stevens, why don't you just go ahead and spit out whatever it is you're trying to say, ok, hum" David prodded ,beginning to get irritated.
"Alright, here it is. Your friend is absolutely convinced, and nothing we can say has been able to persuade him otherwise, he is absolutely convinced that he witnessed a murder in the room next to his last night."
A wha!...a mur…a murder! Colby thinks he saw a murder happen!? What kind of hospital are you people running here, anyway? A murder!?"
"Agent Sinclair, I can guarantee you, there was NO murder last night. At least not in this hospital! No one was murdered or assaulted or anything of that kind! That's what I was trying to tell you. Mr. Granger…"
"Agent Granger" David reminded her.
"Agent Granger" she repeated, stressing the word, "has totally made up his mind that he saw something in this hospital last night that did not, did not, happen. I mean, really, we're nurses and doctors. I think we would notice if that sort of thing took place. Dead bodies are something we're all trained to recognize. Particularly when they get that way via the violent assistance of another party!" Now Stevens was indignant. Collecting herself, she exhaled sharply. "Sorry, got carried away. I just thought you might appreciate a little warning."
""I consider myself warned" Sinclair answered. "Why don't you tell me why Colby is so sure he saw somebody getting 'violently assisted' last night? Let's back up and start from the beginning, please"
"We think it was combination of the pain meds, the after effects of the anesthesia, and the medication he was receiving to help with the mild case of food poisoning. Between that and his body's run down condition, everything sort of added together and knocked him for a loop. At any rate, he fell asleep, had himself one heck of a dream, and ended up on his back in the hall. We got him back in his own bed, checked to make sure nothing was torn or ripped open, and then gave him a sedative to help him sleep, and thought that was the end of it. The entire time we were getting him resettled, though, he was mumbling something about the man in the next room being in trouble, that 'they" were killing him and the guy needed help. He was still insisting on it when the sedative started to work and he faded off. All day today, I mean, he's definitely more clear-headed. But he still maintains he saw what he thinks he saw" Stevens paused. "He kept trying to call you. I think he got frustrated when you didn't call back. He's been on pins and needles waiting for one of you to get here. So be prepared"
"What about the patient in the next room? Is he alright? Not harmed?"
"That's exactly the point, Agent Sinclair. There is no patient in the next room. There hasn't been for the last three days. It's been completely empty all week. It is not possible that Agent Granger saw a murder or anything else happening in there. Simply not possible. We've been trying to assure him of that all day, but he won't let it go. Maybe your visit will help."
They stepped out, with Stevens headed back to her duties and David, forewarned about the reason for Colby's agitation, went to see his friend.
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Colby pounced as soon as he stepped through the door.
"Finally! Man, I've been calling you all day! How come you didn't return any of my calls?! David, there was murder in this hospital last night! The guy in the next room was killed!" He went on to describe for Sinclair the scene he'd observed the previous night, leaving out none of the details.
David came to understand what Nurse Stevens meant by "totally made up his mind." His partner was rock solid certain that the patient in room W430 had become the victim of foul play during the prior night. Nothing David said could budge him.
"Tell me something. What was going on right before all this happened? I mean, were you sleeping, having trouble sleeping, about to page the nurse for a midnight snack, what?"
"I was...crap, okay fine, I was dreaming about the warehouse. The shootout, the fight, all of that" Granger conceded reluctantly.
"Colby, the hospital staff say there's been nobody in that room all week, man. How could there have been a killing in there when the room's been deserted?"
"I know what I saw, David. I did not dream it and I wasn't so doped up that I imagined the whole thing. I'm telling you, it happened! I've been trying to get somebody to take me serious all day! The nurses, the doctors, anybody! They keep blowing me off. I even tried taking a look myself but I'm not in good enough shape to give the room a really in-depth check. Every time I try I get one of the nurses crawling up my…they keep trying to give me a shot, telling me to calm down. Calm down! Like I'm some kind of basket case." Colby, David could see, was not just frustrated, he was starting to get angry
"Look, Colby how about this? I'll go next door and give the place a close examination. I promise you I will check every crack and crevice. I will check out every inch of that room. Whatever happened, there should be some kind of evidence, right?" Colby nodded in agreement.
"So here's the deal. I'll do the whole evidence investigation thing. See what's what. Try to come up with some proof of what you say you saw. Hopefully I'll find something. But now, listen, you gotta do this for me, man. If I turn that room over, get in close, down on my and knees and check everything out real thoroughly, and I don't find anything…" he stopped Colby's interruption. "If I don't find anything, you need to accept that maybe, just maybe, the staff isn't blowing you off. That maybe it was a continuation of the dream. A very realistic continuation, but nothing more. Think about it man. You've had a rough week Colby. Come on, cut yourself a break, alright?"
"I didn't dream this, David." Colby said stubbornly, sounding a little less certain.
"Then, I'll find that out, won't I? But if I don't come up with anything…" Sinclair left the sentence unfinished,
"Yeah, yeah, if you don't find anything, I'll back off. But I know what I saw!"
A tense thirty minutes later, David came back in to find a fidgety Granger sitting in a chair, impatiently drumming his fingers on the arm. He sprang up, well got up as quickly as he could as Sinclair returned.
"Well?"
"You trust me, right?" David began.
"Come on, you know I do. Just tell me, what did you find?"
"Colby, man, that room is pristine. No blood, no signs of a struggle, nothing out of place. There's not even a sign that anybody's been in that room for several days. No sign. And I did get down on my hands and knees and eyeball everything. I checked out the bathroom, behind everything, checked the drains, under the bed, behind the bed, along the baseboards, the works. Nothing, pal. Not one thing."
Granger sat down again, heavily. "But, I, I don't understand this. I just don't understand it!" Colby was a study in baffled confusion. 'I mean, I, I, just…Uugh! he pounded a fist on the arm of the chair.
"Like I said before, you've had a twilight zone week. We've all been pushing hard lately. And then, after years of peaceful coexistence, your appendix decides to turn and attack. You've been sick, medicated up the wahzoo, operated on and exhausted. You're entitled brother. Why don't you try to get some rest and let this go. They're gonna spring you tomorrow. Once you get home, back in your own bed, surrounded by your own stuff, you won't even think about last night anymore. It was a dream. A very real dream, that's it. If it's any consolation, I don't thing you're nuts, huh? And, uh, I'm not planning on telling Don or Nikki or Liz. We can keep this between the two of us. My lips are sealed. You know, unless…" David grinned, an evil laugh emerging. "Unless you balk at getting my coffee when you get back to work!" He grinned wider.
"Get out!" Colby snapped, grinning right back. As Sinclair left, he got back into bed, still trying to make sense of the last two days. Exasperated, he shook his head, pulled the covers up, found a comfortable position and called it a night.
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Three days later, he had to admit, David had been right. Back at home, comfortable and in familiar surroundings, he was able to look on the whole incident as a bizarre dream. He almost phoned the nurses to apologize for giving them such a hard time.
"Dude" He told himself, "time to move on. Get well, get back to work"
Kerri was out of town, assisting Robin Brooks in coordinating a big multi-state RICO case with federal prosecutors in Denver. Probably wouldn't be back for at least one more day. Knowing this, and worrying over Colby like he was another son, Alan Eppes had descended on the convalescing agent with at least a week's worth of prepared meals, complete with disposable containers and reheating instructions. Colby was standing in front of his open refrigerator pondering over which to select when his phone rang.
"Hello?"
"Agent Granger?! Agent Colby Granger?!" The voice sounded young, fearful and anxious.
"Yes, this is Colby Granger. Who is this?"
"You have to help me! You're the only one who believes me! Nobody else believes me! YOU HAVE TO HELP ME!!! Please, please help me!"
""Hold on, hold it. Calm down, ok? You need to tell me who you are and what's going on? How can I help?"
"It's my dad! They took him. They took him right out of the hospital! And I don't know what they did with him! Where they took him! And nobody will believe me! But you will. I know you will because you saw what happened. You're the only other one who saw what happened! You have to help me! Please! Wait…No! What are you… No, no, get away from me! No! No! Help! Somebody help! Somebody HEL…"
The line went dead, a dial tone replacing the frantic pleas for assistance. Colby stared at the receiver in his hand, mind racing.
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Author's note: Oh come on now, you knew Colby wasn't just dreaming! The plot thickens. Stay tuned!