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Looking for Love	By : IrenaAdler Category: M through R > NUMB3RS Views: 2208 -:- 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
- 15
- 16
- 17
Part 16 � Truth and anger

/�Looking for one safe
place�/

Don had to work late on Wednesday.� On Thursday, he went over to Will�s house for
a health check.� He had every plan to
kiss Will again and his heart sped up at the prospect.� Will let him in, a smile on his face that
said he planned on repeating the activity as well.� Don might not be up for anything else yet,
but his mouth was mostly healed and he was looking forward to tasting those
lips while he ran his good hand through that silky hair.

First things first, though, and Don went into the bedroom
and pulled off his shirt.

Will came over to him, frowning.� �Your shoulders look really inflamed, your chest and back some too.�

Don looked at his right shoulder and said, �Oh, that�s
probably just from the vest I wore today.�

�What?�� Will snapped.�

�We were going into this situation and I couldn�t exactly go
in naked.�

Will took a step back.�
�You�re going out on active duty?�

�Sure, I mean I can still hold a gun without using my broken
fingers and��

�Don,� Will said, alarmed, �You�re in no shape to be on
active duty.�

�I�m okay,� Don shrugged.�

�Not you�re not okay,� Will argued.�
�I know exactly what sort of shape you�re in.� And you�re not ready.�

Don yanked his shirt back on and asked evenly, �Who are you
to protect me?�

�Apparently, I�m your doctor.�

Anger surged through Don.�
�Oh, so you save my life and now you own it?�� Don asked in a low, furious voice.

�It gives me the right to be concerned, yes,� Will
responded, just as furiously.

�You can�t protect me forever,� Don said, grabbing his suit
coat and pulling it on.

�What makes you think I�m protecting you anyway?�� Will argued.�
�You�re gonna get someone else killed.�
One of your agents, a cop, someone just standing nearby because you�re
so much slower than everyone expects you to be.�

�I know what I�m doing.� Don got up and stalked out into the
front room.

�Oh, you�re a real
good judge,� Will snapped.� �You�ve shown such admirable good sense
before now.� You�d have let Channing kill
you if I hadn�t stopped him.�

A red haze swept across Don�s vision.� �At least I didn�t spend God knows how long
as a drug whore,� Don snarled.

�That was a long time ago,� Will said,
his hands bunched into fists.� �Don�t you
dare throw that back at me.�

�Why not?� Once a whore, always a
whore.�

�Bastard,� Will
said, his voice trembling with anger.� �No
wonder Colby chose Charlie over you.� I
should have left you were, standing in your own blood.�

�Maybe you should have.�
Since I obviously don�t live up to your high standards
of conduct.�

�I will not,� Will growled, �have on my conscience someone
else�s death because I saved some sex-crazy moron from getting what he
deserved.�

�Too bad you weren�t under Channing instead.� Sounds like you would have enjoyed it.�

Fire blazed in Will�s eyes.�
�I saved your career and I will destroy it if I have to.�

�Are you threatening
me?�

�If you don�t take yourself off of active duty, I will.�

Don said disdainfully, �What are you gonna do about it?�

Will stepped closer and said into Don�s face, �I will
destroy your reputation and rip your career to shreds, so bad that you won�t be
able to get a job as a floor sweeper.�

�And how would your team feel if they knew about your past?�
Don shot back, his whole body shaking with anger.

�At least I�m not a menace to people around me who are trusting me.� God,
Charlie did get all the brains in the family, and looks like all the balls too.�

Don grounded his teeth and strode to the door.� �Thanks for your help,� he snarled in a voice
that was anything but grateful.� �But I
don�t need anyone else to run my life.�

Will gave a hollow laugh.� �Can�t do a worse job than
you�re doing.�

�Goodbye, Will,� Don said, opening the door, �There won�t be
any more health checks.�

�Thank God,� Will sneered. �You
were really getting on my nerves.�

Don slammed the door behind him and stormed to his car.� He got into his car and drove halfway home
before the red haze cleared and his body started to shake with reaction.� He pulled off the road and put his head in
his hands.

He hated Will, hated
him, hated him � because he was right.� Don was in no shape to be out on active duty
and he had been putting everyone around him in danger.� In the action just today, he was almost to
slow to put down covering fire for Megan.��
He�d been so furious about Will questioning his fitness, even if he had
good reason to, that he had fought back with all the dirty
ammunition he had.

His heart sank as he remembered the things he had said to
Will.� What a bastard you are, Don.�
Like every other time in his life, he had just sabotaged a relationship
before it could really get started.� Maybe it�s for the best, anyway.� He owed Will a huge debt, but there was no
long term there, no future.� Better to
cut it off now before it got too hard.

He repeated this to himself over and over again as he pulled
the car back on the road and slowly drove to his apartment.� He ignored the fact that a tear was working
its way down his cheek and wondered if he had any beer.

As soon as Don got to work the next morning, he called
Megan, David and Colby into an interview room and shut the shades.� His three agents were looking at each other,
trying to figure out what was going on.

Don waited for them to sit down then got right to the
point.� �Starting Monday, I�m putting
myself on two weeks of Medical Leave.�

�Your fingers?�� Megan asked.�
�Are they not healing?�

�That will be the story that I tell people, yes,� Don said
quietly.

�But?� David asked.

�But you guys deserve to know the truth.�� Don grimaced.�
�You trust me to be there for you and I�ve been an ass the last week and
put you guys in danger.� This was �
brought to my attention last night and � I�m sorry.� Thank god it was a quiet week.�

Three pairs of eyes were fastened on Don, waiting.� Don sighed.�
�I got myself into a situation that I thought I could handle but I
couldn�t.� It got away from me, in a bad
way.�� His lips twitched and he added
bitterly, �I didn�t hurt my fingers playing basketball.�

With reluctant fingers, Don unbuttoned his shirt and exposed
his chest.� He then rolled up his right
sleeve and leaning over, his right pant cuff.�
He straightened back up to a horrified silence.� He said wryly, �And this is after a week of
healing.� Be very happy you didn�t see me
a week ago.�

�It�s extensive.� Don rolled his pant leg back down then his
cuff and began buttoning his shirt up again.�
�Bruises, cuts, abrasions, burns on every part
of my body that isn�t covered with a suit.�
Some serious second-degree burns and,� He shuddered, �some pretty significant
anal tearing.� My fingers were shattered
into at least five pieces.� I lost a
great deal of blood and could have probably used a transfusion but I was too �
stubborn to go to the ER.�

The others blinked at him, taking in what he�d just
said.� Don braced himself for their
questions.

Colby found his voice first, �God, Don, what happened to
you?�

David said slowly, �Wrist and ankle restraints ��

�You�ve got to press charges,� Megan said.

�No,� Don said firmly.� I do not.�

�But�� Megan began.�

�Why didn�t you call us?��
Colby said angrily.� �You needed
help and you should have called us.�

Don rubbed his forehead.�
�Because I�m an idiot.�� That seemed to be the only excuse he had
these days.� �I didn�t want you guys to
see what I�d gotten myself into.� I was
so sure that I could handle anything, but I was wrong.�

David frowned and asked bluntly, �If you were that badly injured,
how did you survive?�

Don�s lips twisted.�
�Not because of any great feat on my part.� A� ...
friend helped me.� He patched me up and
got me through the first two days.�

�Who?�� Megan asked.�
Her tone asked, Who do you trust more than us?

�No one you know.��

They didn�t look satisfied with that answer, but Don wasn�t
going to bring Will into this.� That
would be poor payment for what he�d done.

�In fact,� Don continued, �I owe you guys an apology for the
last month.� I haven�t been on my game for
a while.�

�We�ve noticed,� Megan said wryly.� �Ever since you were out of
the office for two days because of �the flu.�� What happened a month ago?�

Don pressed his lips together and looked at Colby.� Colby stared at him blankly for a moment then
went pale.� �Don � I didn�t realize.�

�Eh, it�s not your fault,� Don said, attempting a casual
tone and completely failing.� �I�d put �
what happened in the category of the breath that toppled the whole shaky house
of cards.�

David and Megan were looking back and forth between Don and
Colby.�

�What happened?� David snapped.

Colby gave a tight shake of his head.� �Later.�

Don straightened his tie.�
�I�ll be in the office all day today, doing paperwork and desk
stuff.� If there�s anything you know
you�re gonna need from me in the next two weeks, now�s your chance.�� Don turned towards the door.� �Talk among yourselves now, but when you
leave this room, this is a closed subject.�
I�ll be at my desk.�

�Why�� Megan started.

�That�s all I�m gonna say,� Don snapped, then relented with
the faintest of smiles.� �At least for now or anytime soon.�

He met the eyes of David and Colby.� �You can tell her, if you want.�� Their shared history, from Watson on, hung in
the air between them.� �As much as you
want, but I think she should know.�� The
faint smile returned to Don�s face and he said, �It�ll give her analysis
material for years.�

He pushed the door open then said to Colby, �Let me tell
Charlie, okay?�� Colby nodded.

As Don let the door swing shut, he heard Megan demand, �Tell
me what?�

Don went to his desk and waited for the day to start.

It was a good hour before his team came out of the closed
room.� Megan looked like she�d been hit
by a two-by-four.� Her eyes rested on Don
and he felt like a prized subject for a psychological dissertation.� Okay,
that�s not fair.� I know she cares about
me and is worried about me, but I hate feeling so damn stupid.� Especially � I�ll admit it � to a woman who
is smarter and tougher than I am.

Don spent the day doing paperwork, signing expense reports,
and ducking Megan�s elliptic forays about everything from Watson to Charlie and
Colby to his current condition.� By the
end of the day, he was exhausted.� He
swallowed the urge to call Will and see if he could come over.� Don had screwed that relationship up permanently.� He�d burned and broken and bombed that
bridge.

Instead, Don drove slowly to the Eppes house.� He had one more person he needed to talk
to.� He realized that he had manage to avoid seeing Charlie for the whole week and
wondered if Charlie has suspected something.�
Naw, he never wonders anything
about other people.� With that
uncharitable thought, Don pushed open the front door.

�Charlie, you home?�

No answer so Don tried the garage.�

�Charlie?�

�Oh, hey, Don!� Charlie said, turning from his
chalkboard.� �Haven�t seen you all week,
something up?�

Okay, Don chided
himself, sometimes he wonders.� �Charlie �� he started then said, �Can you
please put down the chalk for one second?�

Charlie looked at the chalk still in his hand then
sighed.� �I was going good
but I�m not gonna be able to pick it up again now anyway.�

�Sorry about that,� Don said sincerely.

Dropping the chalk into the tray, Charlie turned to
Don.� �What�s up?� New case?�

�No, just personal stuff.�� Don said, casting about for a way to
start.� Finally he said, �I�m going to
take two weeks off of work starting next week.�

Charlie�s eyebrows shot up.�
�A vacation?�
Where are you going?� Are you
going with someone?� Or shouldn�t I��

�I�m not going anywhere and it�s not vacation, it�s medical leave.�

Charlie frowned and seemed to notice Don�s splinted fingers
for the first time.� �What happened?� Were you shot?� Why didn�t you tell me?�

�Slow down, Charlie,� Don said and tiredly leaned against
the wall.� �I wasn�t shot.� I was just stupid.�

�A car accident?�

�No, a life accident,� Don said with a hollow laugh.� �I�m not going to go into details, so don�t
ask.� Just understand that I got among
people who think hurting other people is fun and sexy.�

�You �� Charlie�s eyes were wide.

�Yes, I asked for it.�

�You � wanted someone to break your fingers?�

�Only sort of,� Don sighed.�
�Things got really out of hand.� I
got trashed from head to foot and I need to take some time to heal.�

�Trashed how?�� Charlie asked, his voice strained.

Don grimaced and for the second time that day exposed parts
of his battered body.

Charlie was speechless with horror.� �Donnie?� he said at last in a small
voice.� �Why?�

Don covered himself back up.�
�Maybe someday I�ll tell you,� he said tiredly.

�Does � does Dad know?�

�Yeah,� Don said.

Charlie pressed his hands together, his eyes bright with
confusion and unshed tears.

Thank god he didn�t
see me a week ago.� Don stepped to
one side.� �Colby knows too,� he said
quietly.� �Go to him.�

Charlie bit his lip, glanced down at Don�s body one more
time, then rushed out of the garage.

Don dropped tiredly into the popasan chair.� Depression swept over him.� Charlie was going to Colby, nothing had
changed.� Things could have changed,
maybe, but once again Don had screwed it up permanently.�

Will� he thought
with a throb of pain, then pushed Will out of his mind
for good.
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