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It Changes Everything: Charlie	By : IrenaAdler Category: M through R > NUMB3RS Views: 2977 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own NUMB3RS, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Part 1 � Missing
Factor

Charlie snapped awake, gasping and shaking, all his senses
straining. His eyes darted around the
room, searching every shadow. His ears
struggled to catch again the sound that had awoken him, the sound of
gunfire.

There was nothing.
Charlie groaned and flopped his head back onto
his pillow. This was the third night
that he couldn�t stay asleep for more than ten minutes. Three nights of no REM sleep was really
getting to him. Before bed tonight, he�d
drunk a quart of chamomile tea and three beers.
Normally one cup of tea or one beer would be enough to send him off to
sleep for ten hours, but it had only made him need to get up and go to the
bathroom more often as he lay in bed, unable to even close his eyes.

His dad had made it clear that if Charlie wasn�t able to
sleep tonight on his own, his dad would be talking to the doctor about getting
some heavy-duty medicine to knock him out.
Charlie couldn�t imagine that the sleep he�d get when drugged like that
would be much better than no sleep at all.

He sat up in bed and wrapped his arms around his knees,
pulling the blanket tight around him.
His room was lit up as brightly as he could manage, with the overhead
lights, a couple of torchieres from the spare bedroom, and even a massive table
lamp with two full-spectrum light bulbs, in case some artificial sunlight would
help. It didn�t work. There were still shadows. He calculated that he�d need more voltage
than the power outlets in this old house could handle in order to banish every
possible shadow. Maybe if I run a power cord from the garage �

Charlie sighed and propped his chin on his knees. Regardless of how many lights he had on, he�d still see shadows when he closed his eyes. Even if he was in a sensory deprivation tank,
he�d still hear the gunshots, still smell the stink of gunpowder and scorched
concrete, still feel the panic and pain and terror of that twenty-by-twenty grave. The last time he�d slept well was right
before the gunshots, when he was lying on Colby�s lap.

Charlie blinked. Colby!
Of course, how could I have been so slow? He�d accounted for all the factors of a safe
sleeping environment except for the one part that actually had kept him safe. If Colby
was there, no one could shoot him again.
Colby had already proven that.

He climbed out of bed, swaying a little with the nagging
vertigo of sleeplessness, and looked around for some clothes.

A few moments later, Charlie found himself in his car with
no real recollection of getting there.
He seemed to be dressed, with his crutch, and had his car keys in his
hand. He searched his foggy brain and
found the memory of where Colby lived, assuming he still lived in the same
place where Don and Charlie had dropped him off one night when Colby had drunk
too much. Charlie put the car into gear
and hoped that the rote learning part of his brain was functioning enough to
drive the car and navigate.

Apparently that part of the brain didn�t need as much REM
sleep as the rest, since Charlie did end up in a parking spot near Colby�s
car. It was a good thing that the roads
had been so empty though. He was pretty
sure that he�d driven in two lanes at once for much of the way, as he�d
rationalized that where one was safe, two was safer.

He got out of the car and realized he didn�t know Colby�s
apartment number. He flipped open his cell
phone and scrolled through the contacts.
He felt a brief moment of panic before remembering that he�d put Colby
under �F� for �FBI.� He pressed the
button and waited. As the phone rang,
Charlie thought to look at the parking spot where Colby�s car was parked and saw
his apartment number was stenciled on the asphalt. He jerked his body into motion as the phone
connected and he heard, �Granger.�

�Colby?� he asked.
Colby sounded strange until Charlie thought to look at his watch and
realized it was two AM in the morning and Colby had probably been asleep.

Colby�s voice snapped out of the phone, immediately
awake. �Charlie? What�s wrong?�

The shadows won�t go
away. �I can�t sleep,� he
mumbled. �I can�t ever sleep. I just keep waking up, hearing guns and
shouting.� He kept his feet and crutch
moving in the direction of the apartment -- that was if they were numbered in
any rational fashion.

Colby said, �I�m sorry.
Have you��

Charlie cut through any possible sleep suggestions. He�d heard nothing else for days. �Can I come over?�

�What?� Colby sounded
startled.

Why else would I be
calling? Charlie thought with what he felt was admirable clarity. �Can I come over? Please?�

There was a hesitation, then Colby
said, �Sure, of course.�

Charlie blinked and saw that he was standing in front of a
door that had the right number. Very ingenious, Eppes. �Good, because I�m right
outside.�

Colby hung up, and Charlie pocketed his phone and resettled
his crutch under his arm. The door
opened suddenly and Colby stood there, looking rumpled and mostly naked in just
a pair of blue shorts.

Charlie stared at him for a moment, his eyes taking in the
gorgeous sculpted body of the man in front of him. He�d known that Colby was well-built and
solid, but man �

Colby was waiting for him to say something, and Charlie
brought his eyes up to Colby�s face. �I�m
sorry I woke you up. I just can�t
sleep.�

�Come in, come in.�
Colby stood back from the door.

Charlie stumbled inside, still dizzy plus awkward on the
crutch. He glanced around the room. It looked like a typical bachelor�s
apartment, with old take-out food cartons and junk mail.

Colby seemed to see his apartment as well and started
picking up. �Sorry it�s such a mess. My cleaning person is out of the country this
month.�

Charlie didn�t care.
All he was interested in was the bedroom. �It�s okay.�
Colby was also making him dizzy with his quick movements. �I just want to sleep.�

�Oh, alright.� Colby turned and began making space on his
couch. Was he going to make Charlie
sleep out here? No, Colby was saying, �I�ll
sleep out here, just let me know if you��

Colby didn�t get it.
He didn�t see the whole equation.
Charlie said, �No, I need you near me.�

�I�ll be right here if you��

Charlie shook his head, a movement that made him
dizzier. �No, with me. It�s the only way that I�ll be able to sleep,
knowing that you will keep me safe.�

Charlie watched Colby�s face as Colby stared at him. Was he going to refuse? What would Charlie do then? Colby was his missing factor.

�Okay,� Colby said at last.
�Bedroom�s this way.�

Charlie sighed in relief and headed in the direction Colby
directed.

The bed inside the room looked like heaven. Charlie could see the impression in the
mattress where Colby had been sleeping.
Charlie sat down on the bed and started getting undressed. He stopped when he realized that Colby was
staring at him. Oh. Forgot
pajamas. �Do you mind? I thought I could just sleep in my jeans.�

�No, no,� Colby said and Charlie nodded, glad that Colby was
being reasonable. Charlie quickly got
rid of his shirt, shoes, and the contents of his pockets. With a happy sigh, Charlie pulled back the
blankets and settled into that warm dent in the mattress.

His eyelids were already closing, but the shadows stayed
away. Colby would keep them away. Was he going to stand there all night? �Coming?�
Charlie asked.

Colby went around the bed and climbed in the other
side. Charlie impatiently waited for
Colby to stop moving then cuddled up against him. Colby�s warm body next to him was better than
any hot water bottle, better than a gallon of chamomile tea. Charlie snuggled closer to Colby and nudged
him until Colby put his arm around him and Charlie could lie on Colby�s firm
shoulder.

Safe.
Charlie sighed with contentment. The
long unreachable realm of sleep opened up and welcomed him in.
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It Changes Everything: Charlie