Description: It was unsual for blood to shock Don. The crime scenes no longer turned his stomach or made his head spin like they had once done... but this time was different. This time, it was not a stranger's blood. It was Charlie's blood.

A/N: Yay! My first NUMB3RS fic! Read and enjoy

Crimson Failure

by ShadowGraffiti

Numb. Everything. There was nothing. Just numb… Don wasn't aware of his father's screaming behind him, the stuttering declare of calling an ambulence... His eyes stayed fixed on one spot, but his eyes could not process what he was seeing. He was devoid of any and all thoughts, a sense of nothingness descending on him.

And suddenly, it hit him. It was like a rush, flooding his veins and pulsing through his body until it consumed him. The scene before him began to process in Don's head… Charlie, just lying there, so still… so serene... like an angel, as if he were only asleep... But the image was countered by the blood that pooled around him, running from his wrists as life slowly ebbed away.

Don wanted to escape it all, fight it, make it go away… He wanted it all to go away… He tried to stop the images, but they would not leave. Charlie... he was so pale...

He collapsed to the floor, an involuntary cry escaping his lips at the contact. Though he did not understand, it was as if his barrier of silence had been broken. Now, different cries were flooding Don's throat and pouring out his mouth before he could stop them, but they were not the same. They, too, were filled with pain, but it was the pain he felt inside. They were sobs, each ringing with the emptiness inside… the part of Don that had been ripped away, never to return, nothing but a hole that would stay there forever. He felt nothing but cold, cruel betrayal...

And regret.

"I just need time to think..."

Charlie's voice chorused through Don's head, and it frightened him. He began shaking my head, squeezing his eyes shut.

"I won't be up there long..."

He put his hands over his ears, trying to block out the memory, shaking his head even more.

"You don't have to worry about me, Don. I just want to think."

"No… no… no…" he began to whisper soft denials. Tears began to spill from his eyes, streaming down his cheeks, and his fingernails were digging into his scalp from where he held his ears so tightly. "No… no…"

"Trust me, Don."

His head exploded with pain while everything inside faded away. His head spun, and white-hot pain seared through it, consuming all he felt. Memories danced across his mind… him and his brother, laughing together, oblivious to everything else. He had been so happy… so happy…

And now, it was gone. Everything. His life was over. He had left. He was gone forever…

More memories shot through Don's head.Charlie's face and his voice would not leave Don's mind. He could not bring back the numb he had felt. He could not block it all out. He could not force the memories to leave. He could not chase the reality away…

And he could not bring Charlie back.

They had become so close. They had spent so much time together, the first opportunity in their entire lives to relate to one another. From the embarassing accidents that always insue when you spend so much time with someone to the joy Don felt when he saw Charlie beaming from a compliment… Charlie had always loved making Don proud...

And it had been shattered. Shattered, like Don… like his hope as it had fallen to the floor… fallen to where he now sat amongst the ruins. He remained in the middle of the impossible puzzle, tears burning down his face for every time they had spent, every time they had laughed, every time they had joked, every time they had talked…

"Don..."

The voice was so tiny, he almost dared not believe it. His eyes snapped open, shock and disbelief ringing in his mind. Through blurred vision, Don found himself staring into Charlie's dark eyes, robbed of their usual glint. They no longer held the impossible depth of some uncomprehendable genius, but instead a shallow surface of pain. Just pain...

"Charlie, why...?"

The younger brother seemed to dissolve into a child, tears cascading down his cheeks to match Don's own. His lips trembled, eyes filled with something of a wild terror. He swallowed, trying to speak, but his body had not the energy to form the words. He seemed so small... so weak... so denfenseless...

In an instant, Don was on the floor, pulling the younger man's head into his lap and cradling the thin frame. Through blurry eyes, he saw the blood on the floor, covering the bathroom. He did not have to see the slit's in his brother's wrists. He knew.

"Why, Charlie? Why did you do this?"

Charlie let his eyes slide shut, head bowing in defeat and resting on Don's chest once more. He could comprehend nothing but despair, tearing at his mind and gripping his throat. Desperately, Charlie wanted to tell him the truth... but he couldn't. His body didn't have the energy to form the words. He knew Don was whispering to him again, but he had lost the will to try and comprehend.

"Don..." his tiny voice rasped, sheer desperation echoing through his tone, but he knew in his heart that it was too late. His life was ending, and with him would die the answer to the question they had all been asking. Only he knew, and it was too late. Their opponent had been too organized. Charlie had taken too long to crack the code, and now, it was too late.

"Don..." he spoke once more, voice weak and powerless. "Don... I'm sorry..."

And then, he was gone.

-

A/N: First chapter, so yes, this will be continued... and if anyone would like to know the big 'Why?', please, please review! Thank you for reading!