Disclaimer: Don't own Numb3rs or the characters.

I may have taken some liberties with medical terminology etc, please forgive me! Hope you enjoy this next chapter! I have had to repost this Chapter as it was showing an error and the site could not find it! (Thank you Cgfan for bringing this to my attention.)

Chapter Nine – Jasmine.

Jasmine had been bought into the ER, she had been examined by the doctor and told that she had a concussion, they had said that she would be kept in overnight, she didn't care, she just wanted to know what had happened to Colby as she was bought to the hospital before him and the police woman that was with her wouldn't, or couldn't, tell her anything.

She was just contemplating getting up and going to find out what was going on when Megan appeared in the doorway.

"Jasmine, can I come in?"

The younger woman turned towards her. "Megan. How's Colby, nobody will tell me anything? It was awful. Carlos just kept hitting him, it didn't matter what I said, Jason didn't listen…." She started to sob.
"Shhhhh, it's OK. We're still waiting for news on Colby, the doctors are with him now. You need to take care of yourself. He would hate to see you like this." She took the distressed woman into her arms in a reassuring embrace. "Let the staff help you, allow them to give you something to help you rest."

Jasmine shook her head emphatically, immediately regretting it as pain bounced round her skull.

"Jasmine," Megan leant back and looked her in the eye. "He is going to need all of us when he comes out of this, he is going to need to know that you are OK. In order for that to happen you must rest." Megan could see that she was starting to waiver. "Please, for Colby, let the staff give you something."

Jasmine took a breath and mumbled. "OK." Megan called the nurse over before she could change her mind.

Thirty minutes later Jasmine was tucked up in bed in a room on the 2nd floor of the hospital, she had been given a sedative and was resting quietly. Megan took the opportunity to slip out and head back to the ER to check on Colby's condition.

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"How is she?" asked a concerned Don.

"I managed to persuade her to let the medical staff give her a sedative, so she's resting, but she blames herself. She has a concussion so she's being kept in overnight. I'll go back and check on her when we know more about Colby. Take it there has been no more news?"

Don shook his head. Just at that moment a Doctor walked into the waiting area and recognised David.

"Agent Sinclair…"

David lifted his head from his hands to look at the man. "Doctor Jensen."

"I am sorry to see you and Agent Granger here again."

"Me too. How is he?"

"He has a concussion, a collapsed lung which I have inserted a chest tube for, multiple lacerations and contusions, our biggest concern is internal bleeding. He is on his way to the OR to stop the bleeding, however I have to warn you his condition is critical. His heart has already stopped once."

"Oh god…"

"I assure you he is in the best hands, Doctor Vassen is the best surgeon in this hospital. Can I suggest that you head up to the OR waiting area, she will come and find you once she has completed the procedure."

The 3 friends nodded, thanked Doctor Jensen and did as he had suggested, too upset to speak. On arriving on the floor with the OR waiting room they spoke to a nurse who said she would let them know if there was any news and tell Doctor Vassen they were there when surgery was finished.

They sat down and all stared into space, lost in their own thoughts.

"It's my fault."

"How do you figure David?"

"I should have realised something was wrong when he didn't show up for work on time, if we'd found him sooner perhaps his injuries wouldn't have been so severe."

"Well if we're playing the blame game, I can shoulder some of that responsibility, it was me who suggested we wait another hour before pressing the panic button." Responded Don.

"Stop it, both of you! How is this helping Colby? Decisions were made based on the information we had at the time, the only person to blame for this is Jason Rutherford. Just remember that, and he is in jail, right where he belongs. You need to stop trying to blame yourselves and focus on what we can do to help Colby through this."

"You're right, sorry."

"She usually is." Came Larry's voice.

Don looked up to see him, Charlie, Amita and Alan standing in the doorway to the room.

"You didn't have to come down."

"No Donnie, we didn't, but he's like family, I thought he, and all of you, could use the support." Replied Alan sitting down next to his eldest son and resting a hand on his shoulder. Don smiled at his father gratefully as the others sat down and joined them in their silent vigil.

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Jasmine was alone when she woke, the police woman was long gone, she had returned to her duties once Jasmine was taken to a room. She looked around the dimly lit room. She needed to find out how Colby was doing and she couldn't do that by laying in bed. Jason had gone too far, she had never expected him to injure Colby so badly, if she had only known what might happen.

Mentally shaking herself she slowly sat up, her head hurt as she moved, so she remained still allowing her body to get used to the change in position. Once she was sure she wasn't going to be sick, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and slowly stood up, searching the room for something to put on over the hospital gown she was wearing. Her clothes had been taken by LAPD and she didn't want to go wandering the corridors of the hospital in just the gown, making her way out into the corridor, she found a pair of clean scrubs that had been left in a chair outside some changing rooms and quickly changed into them. She decided to make her way down to the ER to see if she could find out what was going on.

Heading for the elevators she caught sight of a clock on the wall 11pm, she had been bought here about 5 or 6 hours ago. She got on an elevator and pressed for the ground floor, once there she headed for the reception desk and asked for the whereabouts of Agent Colby Granger.

The woman behind the desk looked at her suspiciously. "Are you a relative?"

"I'm his girlfriend."

"Oh, OK. He is in surgery. I can get someone to take you up to the waiting area if you like."

"No, thank you, I can find it." The receptionist told her how to get to the OR floor and Jasmine headed back to the elevators. As she stepped out she came face to face with Megan.

"Jasmine."

"Er, hi Megan."

"Should you be up and about?" she asked concerned, when the younger woman didn't answer, Megan ushered her to a nearby grouping of chairs. "Do the nursing staff know where you are?"

Jasmine simply shook her head slowly.

"OK, wait there." She headed back to the waiting area and quickly filled the others in, then headed off to find a nurse, whilst Amita went to sit with Jasmine.

Megan returned with a nurse in tow. "Jasmine, you are not supposed to be out of bed, I have spoken to the nurse on duty downstairs and she was about to send out a search party for you!"

She looked at the nurse sheepishly. "I'm sorry but I needed to know how Colby is and there was nobody about to ask. I didn't mean to cause trouble."

"You have to remember that you are a patient here and we are responsible for your safety and well being, you need to let someone know if you are going to go somewhere." The nurse responded in a softer tone. "You need to go back to your room and get into bed, you are still supposed to be resting. A concussion, even a mild one, should not be messed with."

"Please can't I stay up here for just a little while?" Pleaded Jasmine. "I won't be able to rest until I know Colby is alright. I know he's in surgery but that's it."

Relenting slightly the nurse replied. "Very well, but if you start to get dizzy or feel sick you have to tell someone, and you can only stay up here for a little while, I will be back shortly to ensure you return to your room." That said the nurse went back to her duties.

Jasmine's shoulders slumped with relief, Megan and Amita gently filled her in on Colby's condition and then took her back to the waiting room with them. The others made a fuss of her and made her as comfortable as they could.

"This is all my fault." She murmured.

"I've had this conversation with Don and David already, you can't blame yourself for someone else's actions." Said Megan softly.

"If I hadn't asked Colby to help me then he wouldn't have been dropping me home when Jason was waiting."

"Then you might not be with us to tell the tale. He is the most stubborn person I know, he can get through this and he would be the first one to tell you that he knew what he was doing." David said.

"I hope you're right about him getting through this, I could never forgive myself if he didn't, I never thought I would trust anyone again after what Jason put me through, he is so kind and considerate in comparison, I would trust him with my life."

"You did Jasmine, which is why you are alive. He is the kind of man that would lay his life on the line for any one of us." Alan said what everyone else was thinking.

Silence descended on the group as they allowed their memories to take them over.

Colby had now been in surgery for almost 6 hours, the waiting was beginning to get to all of them.

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"Are you all here for Agent Granger?"

The group looked up into the face of a Doctor who was clearly surprised to see so many people in the waiting room.

Alan put his hand on his eldest's arm. "Yes, we are, how is he?"

"I am Doctor Vassen, I performed surgery on Agent Granger. He is currently in recovery. He had severe internal bleeding and I had to remove his spleen, he lost a significant amount of blood during the procedure which he is receiving transfusions for. We have had to put him on a ventilator as he is very weak and the more help we give him, the less work his body has to do, the greater chance of a full recovery."

"What are the chances of a full recovery Doctor Vassen?"

"Bearing in mind the trauma of the collapsed lung and the extensive blood loss the next 24-48 hours are critical. If he makes it through that period the chances go up considerably as long as he doesn't develop complications."

"That isn't really an answer though, is it doctor?" stated David.

"It's the best one I can give you right now. If you'll excuse me I'd like to get back to my patient. He will be taken to ICU, a nurse will show you down there and you may be allowed to see him briefly."

"Thank you Doctor Vassen." The doctor nodded and headed back to recovery to check on her patient.

A short while later the group followed a nurse down to the ICU, she motioned to them to enter yet another waiting room whilst she carried on to speak to the nurse in charge of the ICU that night. They watched as the two spoke, the first gesturing in their general direction. The second nurse checked something on a screen in front of her and nodded, then turned towards the waiting area.

"Agent Granger has just been settled into his room, there are too many of you to visit all at once, please limit it to two people at a time and only stay for five minutes, you can come back tomorrow and spend more time with him, but right now you need to let us look after him." She looked around at them to ensure they understood. "He is in room 5." Then she headed back to the hub of the ICU where she could see all the vitals of the patients in the rooms.

The nurse from the OR was hovering in the doorway. "I need to take Jasmine back to her room now."

Jasmine's eyes started to fill with tears, but before she could say anything David spoke up. "Can I please take her to see Colby first, I am sure she will rest better once she's seen him and will stay put until morning." Jasmine nodded her agreement.

The nurse sighed. "OK, five more minutes."

The rest of the group held back watching as David and Jasmine headed into the room first, of all of them they needed the most reassurance. They stepped into the room and got their first look at Colby, at once Jasmine was reduced to tears. David slipped an arm around her and guided her to a chair to sit, worried that she would collapse from the shock. He himself couldn't believe this was his partner, his brother, laying in the bed. There was a tube attached to the ventilator helping him breathe, two lines going into his hands, and he was hooked up to various, beeping machines. Colby's skin was as white, if not whiter, than the sheets that lay over him. David walked over and laid a hand gently on his shoulder, unable to touch anywhere else as his arms were covered in bandages to prevent his multitude of lacerations getting infected.

"Oh Colby." He whispered. "What did you get yourself into this time? I'm sorry I wasn't there to help you sooner, but I'm here now and we're going to get you through this. I need you, man. The team needs you. Be strong, get better." He felt a hand on his back and looked round to see Jasmine, her eyes brimming with tears.

"He's lucky to have you David." He gave her his own watery smile, squeezed Colby's shoulder and stepped back to allow Jasmine to get closer, she gently clasped Colby's hand.

"I'm sorry Colby, I wish I had known what Jason was capable of, I would never have involved you if I'd truly known. Thank you, though, for saving my life, for being there for me. I'm going to be here for you now, whatever you need. I have to go back to my own room now, but I wanted to let you know I'm OK, and that is because of you." She leaned carefully over the side of the bed and placed a kiss on his forehead. "Rest well, I will see you tomorrow." With that she left and followed the nurse back to her room.

The others all took their turn to spend a few minutes with their stricken friend, hoping that he would feel their presence and it would give him the strength to get through this ordeal. They left him promising to return in the morning.

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When Jasmine woke the next morning the first thing she did was to ask the nurses when she would be released, she desperately wanted to go and be with Colby and ensure he had made it through the night. One of the nurses, finally getting fed up with being continually asked, compromised with Jasmine and called the ICU to find out Colby's condition.

"The ICU staff say he is still in a critical condition but he has remained stable overnight, now will you please be patient, the doctor needs to examine you before you can be released, he will be here soon." The nurse left a frustrated Jasmine to cool her heels.

The door to her room opened and she looked up eagerly, her face fell when she realised it was David, he gave her a wry smile.

"Not who you were expecting huh?"
"Oh I'm so sorry David, I was hoping you were the doctor coming to discharge me."

"That's ok, I'm not offended, Megan sent me over, she thought you might need some clothes." He held a bag out for her. "There is also some wash stuff and other things in there for you."

"That was very thoughtful of her, thank her for me."

"You'll be able to do that yourself, she is downstairs with Colby now. Everyone's down there. We thought we'd take it in turns to sit with him."

"That's a great idea, you can count me in. Have you seen him yet?" She hid her disappointment at not being the first one to be with Colby.

"No, I know him and he would want me to make sure you were looked after before I went to see him."

Before she could reply the door opened and a doctor entered. David excused himself saying he would wait for her outside.

A short time later Jasmine was given a clean bill of health, told to rest for a couple of days and discharged. She quickly freshened up, mentally thanking Megan for the toothbrush and toothpaste, then dressed in the jeans and t-shirt that had been packed for her. She met David in the corridor and they headed down to the ICU together.

True to their word the group were working out a schedule for someone to sit with Colby all the time, including Jasmine, even through the night, with the nursing staffs agreement. Patients in the ICU were in such a serious condition that the staff quite often bent the rules.

Whilst not overly happy at having to share Colby, she knew that this was something he would need if he was going to come through this. She was going to sit with him for a couple of hours this morning before she was driven home to rest.

She walked silently into his room, walked over to his bed and kissed his forehead. There had been no change in his condition, he still looked pale and a shadow of his former self. She drew up a chair so she could leave her hand resting on his, she talked to him softly of the life she knew they could have together. He may not be able to hear her, but it helped her feel better talking about how she felt and the future she so desperately wanted to have with him. All too soon her visit came to an end and his friends arrived to tear her away from him. She reassured herself with the fact that she would be back the next day and they would not be able to remove her so easily when she was fully recovered from her concussion, right now she needed her rest as well.

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The following morning Jasmine walked into the ICU, she had already called first thing to find out how Colby was doing, the medical team were extremely happy with his progress and although still in a serious condition they were more optimistic about a full recovery. In fact if his vitals remained stable they were intending to reduce his sedation and perhaps even take him off the ventilator the staff had told her.

Entering the room she saw David was already there, he was reading something to Colby. When he spotted her he stopped.

"Hey Jasmine, how are you feeling?"

"Much better thank you David. How long have you been here?"

"Not long, five minutes or so, you just missed Charlie and Amita."

"Shame. How is he?"

"Doing well according to Doctor Vassen, she will be dropping by in a little while to check on him. They reduced his sedation so she wants to keep a close eye on him."

Jasmine nodded as she took a chair on the opposite side of the bed from David.

They both looked up a short time later as Doctor Vassen appeared. She smiled in greeting before checking the monitors.

"He's doing well, I am going to take him off the sedation completely. Don't worry we'll be keeping a close eye on him." She added at the look of concern that crossed Jasmine's face. She made a note on the chart then spoke quietly to the nurse before leaving the room.

"How long will it take for the sedative to wear off?" Jasmine asked the nurse.

"An hour or so, he was on a light dosage the last few hours so it won't take as long to leave his system."

Jasmine was determined to be there when he woke up, no matter what his friends said.

As it was she and David were still there when Colby started to make a gagging noise, David headed straight to alert the nurse whilst Jasmine quickly got up and stood at his side.

"It's OK Colby, you're in hospital, you're safe… We're safe. Lay quiet now, the Doctor is on her way."

David quickly came to stand on his other side, resting a hand on Colby's shoulder. "You're going to be alright, brother, just try to relax."

Jasmine was upset to realise that Colby's eyes were now focused on the other man and not on her.

At that moment the Doctor came into the room and moved Jasmine aside, the young woman was not thrilled at being moved out of the way whilst David got to stay beside Colby, but she hid her feelings and went to stand meekly by David's side.

"Colby, I'm Doctor Vassen, we need to remove the tube, when I say, I need you to cough, that will help me get the tube out, OK?" Colby nodded. The Doctor made a few more preparations then turned back to him. "Cough." Her patient coughed and she pulled the tube from his throat. She took an oxygen mask and connected it up, placing it over his face. "You'll need to use this for a while I'm afraid, we should be able to change it to a nasal cannula later today." She spent the next few minutes telling him what had happened and about his injuries. She left assuring him that she would be back later on to check on him.

The nurse stepped into the place vacated by the Doctor. "You need to remain nil by mouth for now, but you can have some ice chips, would you like some?"

Colby nodded and the nurse removed his oxygen mask long enough to pop one in his mouth.

"Oh, let me do that." Said Jasmine. "I am sure you have other things to do and I want to help." The nurse smiled and handed the cup over. "Just make sure you put the oxygen mask back on." She said as she left.

"You gave us quite a scare for a while." Jasmine spoke softly as she gave him another ice chip and replaced his oxygen mask.

"Sorry" he whispered.

"Don't be, your going to be fine now. I, we, will see to that."

Colby's eyes closed and he drifted off to sleep.