An: This story takes place during "All's Fair" (S2 E18).
Don approached Megan's cubicle, his cell-phone, as usual, pinned to his ear. "All right, we'll see you soon," he spoke and then hung up. "Colby's on his way in. They got Joe Karnes," he said looking directly at Megan.
"You think he knows who did it?" Megan asked.
"We better hope so," Don replied, with a shake of his head. "We're not gonna find this guy without it."
"Yeah, but if he doesn't know, we're back to square one."
"Well I guess we better get it of him then."
It wasn't ten minutes later that Colby arrived, striding into the bull-pen, followed closely by Karnes and Agent Johnson. Megan stood and gathered some of her paperwork, ready to follow them into the interrogation room. As they approached her cubicle however a look of concern replaced the one of determination. "Colby?" she said seeing his fat lip and bloody nose.
"Not now, Megan," Colby said gruffly, trying to shoulder his way past her.
"Yes now," Megan said determinedly, grabbing his arm and pointing to the break room.
Colby rolled his eyes. "Take him on in. Thanks Jim," he told the other agent.
The other man nodded and pushed Karnes onward. Megan shoved Colby toward the break room, making sure to catch Don's eye on the way. He stood, the phone once again to his ear, one hand held out in confusion. Megan nodded her head toward the break room and Don waved her on, finishing his conversation as he did so.
Colby lowered himself gingerly into a chair, his head and ribs aching. "Colby, you were supposed to talk to the guy, not let him beat the crap out of you," Megan said moving toward the freezer.
"Easy for you to say," Colby retorted.
"What's going on?" Don asked as he entered the room, doing a double take when he spotted Colby. "What the hell happened to you?"
"Karnes got a little nervous about coming in," Colby responded.
"Here," Megan handed him an ice-pack, "you need to get the swelling down."
"Thanks," Colby said gratefully.
"So fill me in. What happened?" Don asked concerned.
"His friend answered the door. Tried to convince us he hadn't heard from Karnes. When we finally got inside Karnes made a break for it out a window. I chased him and when I cornered him, he got defensive."
"Looks like he got offensive," Don said pointedly. "Did he get you anywhere else?"
"Look Don, I appreciate the concern but I'm fine. I've had much worse than this. We need to go talk to him and find out what he knows," Colby said, starting to rise.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, sit down," Don ordered, holding up a hand.
"Don, what's the deal?" Colby asked angrily.
"The deal is I'm trying to figure out if one of my agents needs medical attention. Meanwhile I've got a killer on the loose, but I can't stop him until you're straight with me!" Don shot back.
Colby sat back and sighed, then winced. "You got a headache," Don asked more calmly, seeing that for the moment, Colby was going to cooperate.
"Yeah."
"What about your ribs, did he get you there too?" Don questioned. "Don't lie to me Colby," he said when the younger agent hesitated.
Grudgingly Colby nodded. "Let me see," Don demanded.
"Don," Colby said incredulously.
"Come on," Don said, motioning with his hand. "I don't have all day. Unbutton your shirt."
"Megan, help me out here," Colby said pleadingly.
"I agree with Don, Colby," Megan said coming closer. "Broken ribs can be serious."
"They're not broken!" Colby protested.
"Colby!" Don was using his interrogation voice now.
Realizing the futility of resistance Colby unbuttoned his shirt, revealing the purple bruise on the right side of his rib-cage.
"Does Karnes look this bad?" Don asked, peering closer.
"I didn't want to hurt him," Colby explained.
"So you let him use you for karate practice," Megan stated knowingly.
"He's upset. His wife is dead and her killer is out there walking free," Colby winced as he shifted positions.
"I want you to get looked at," Don said firmly, his look daring Colby to question his judgment.
Colby swallowed his protests. "I'm gonna see if I can find somebody to check you out," Don said when he saw Colby wasn't going to argue. "Megan, stay with him. Don't let him move."
"Babysitting, my favorite," Megan said with a smile, dropping into the other chair.
"I can't believe he's doing this," Colby sighed as soon as Don left.
"I can," Megan said plainly. "He's Don."
"He's blowing this out of proportion."
"Like I said, it's Don. He doesn't like to see his agents hurting. Just let him do it Colby. It's more for his peace of mind than yours," Megan said, rising to get a glass of water. "You want some?"
"Please," Colby replied.
"You think this guy's gonna talk?" Megan asked, handing him a glass.
"I donno," Colby said, carefully taking a sip. "He probably feels responsible. He was on the phone with her when she died, I'm sure he knows who did it. But he's military, he's gonna wanna take care of business himself."
"This is going to be difficult then," Megan sighed. "Poor guy. He must be miserable."
Megan paused. "Should I bring him an ice-pack?"
Colby smiled. "That might be nice. Why don't you go now?"
Megan laughed. "Very smooth, Granger. Nothing doing. You're stuck here until Don gets back."
Colby sighed and then winced, a hand going to his ribs. "See?" Megan said pointedly.
"Where's David when I need him?" Colby moaned.
"Stop whining, Colby," Don said coming back in. "This is Tom Matthews, he used to be an EMT. He's gonna check you out and you're going to sit there and let him," he finished firmly.
Colby rolled his eyes, but remained seated and allowed the other agent to come closer. He stuck out a hand. "Colby Granger."
"Nice to meet you," Tom said, shaking it. "Mind if I take a look?"
"Do I have a choice?" Colby asked mildly.
Tom smiled. "Boss's can be pretty persuasive."
"Tell me about it."
"Standing right here guys," Don said, with raised eyebrows.
Tom's touch was skilled as he probed Colby's nose. "Well, that's not too bad. How long did it bleed?"
"Not long, ten minutes maybe," Colby answered.
"Okay, let's see those ribs then."
Tom whistled when he saw the bruise. "There might be some discomfort."
"Yeah, that's what they tell you right before they start drilling your," Colby gasped as Tom put pressure on the ribs, "root canal."
He groaned as Tom stood up. "Well, I don't feel anything moving, and there's nothing else to indicate that they're broken, but you're definitely going to be sore for a couple days. If the pain gets worse or you start to feel grating in your chest you should see a real doctor right away. You should probably take it easy for a few days."
"Thanks Tom. I owe you coffee," Don said, shaking his hand.
"Glad to do it. Feel better Granger."
"Thanks," Colby said as he stood and began re-buttoning his shirt.
"Where do you think you're going?" Don asked.
"You heard your 'doctor,' I'm fine," Colby said.
"I also heard him say you need to take it easy."
"Don! We are wasting time! There is a guy, ten feet from here who might know the name of our murderer. The longer you stand here playing 'mom,' the further away we get."
Don opened his mouth angrily, but Megan stepped between them. "Enough!" she said firmly. "Colby, that was uncalled for."
Colby looked mildly abashed. "Don, you need to trust Colby's judgment about his own health."
Don didn't look convinced, but some of the fire left him. "All right, Colby, it's your choice," he said finally.
"Thank you," Colby said.
"I just want to make sure you're okay," Don said, putting his hands up in surrender.
"And I appreciate that," Colby said putting a hand on his shoulder, "but I'm not going to let something like this stop me from getting the bad guys. Let's do this."
"All right," Don said, leaving the room.
"Thanks Megan," Colby said, turning to face her.
"Anytime, Granger," she said, with a knowing smile. "Want some Advil before we go?"
Colby grinned. "Absolutely."
AN: So, this is my first Numb3rs story. Hope you liked it. Reviews are very helpful!