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Undercover	By : IrenaAdler Category: M through R > NUMB3RS Views: 2309 -:- 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 27 � Rain then Sunshine

Will slept through the rest of the morning and well into the
afternoon.� Amy had to leave for most of
the day to deal with school demands.� Charlie,
Colby, and Nena were absent as well, and Don assumed they were also dealing
with life, which, for some reason, continued outside Don�s little world of
Will�s room.

It was hard for Don to believe that it was just Friday.� It felt like weeks since Will had been
shot.� Weeks since he�d heard Will�s
voice, felt his kiss.� Don consciously
brought the image to his mind of Will walking across the Richland�s
motion-sensor minefield, reminding himself of the grace and athleticism that
Will had once had � and would have again.

So it was just Don and Cindi for most of the day, as Alan took
Margaret�s �advice� and got a full night�s worth of sleep.� Don and Cindi talked about baseball for quite
a while, but even they eventually ran out of things to say on that topic.� With some coaxing, Don got Cindi to tell him
stories about Will�s childhood.� She
painted a picture of a boy with an almost dual personality.� At school, he had been an outgoing, confident
jock, open and defiant about his homosexuality, a clever troublemaker and
fiercely protective big brother.� At
home, he had been quiet and studious, withdrawn but polite, conscientious, and
deferential to his parents - the image of the perfect son.� It hurt Don to hear about Will�s �home�
personality, though he recognized some aspects of it that were part of the
present, integrated Will, but Don loved to hear about the �school�
personality.� Don thought he�d been a
terror in high school, but Will had more than matched him.�
�
�Oh, you�ll like this one.��
Cindi said with a grin. �So Will played on the basketball team.� And there was this big game, an away
game.� The other side�s crowd was
taunting Will, calling him a fag and homo, and Will totally turned it
around.� He said, �you bet I�m gay,� and
started flirting with the opposing players.�
These big macho high school players got all flustered and out-of-sorts
and Will�s team won.��

�That sounds like my Will,� Don grinned.

�He was good at any sport he played.� Now me?��
Cindi said with a shake of her head.�
�I was a total wannabe jock.� I
loved sports but couldn�t play any of them for beans.� I got a little bit better, especially at
softball, but I was never the jock Will was.�
Will was always getting into fights with people who were making fun of
me or wouldn�t let me play.� �

�Protective,� Don commented.

�Oh yeah.� My sister Jenny � you know she�s between me
and Will in age � she would basically pretend that she wasn�t related to either
of us.� Always got her own rides home
from school.� But I know Will got into
fights about Jenny too, though, if someone said something about her
reputation.�

In fact, it seemed to Don that much of Will�s teenage years
had been about fighting, a fact Will had managed to keep from his parents
through deception, misdirection, and outright lies.� Good
training for undercover work �

After the fun stories were over, Cindi grew quiet and
thoughtful.�

She looked away from Don, smoothing out Will�s blanket.� �I only learned later about the teacher who �
used Will.� I tell myself that I was
young, ignorant, and can�t expect myself to have noticed that something was
wrong, but ��

She met Don�s eyes and her voice with thick with apology and
guilt.� �I should have figured it
out.� I could have�I might have ��

Don reached over and took her hand.� �You can�t think like that,� he said
quietly.� �You were a kid.� And we weren�t really so aware of things like
that as kids are nowadays.� What could
you have done, anyway?� It was you
against an authority figure, and your parents certainly wouldn�t have helped.�

�Still,� Cindi shook her head.� �I should have known.� Then Will got thrown out of the house and it
was too late.�� She squeezed Don�s hand,
her eyes bright with tears.� �Will was
gone for years.� No one seemed to care about that but me.� Jenny was actually relieved, Amy was just a
baby, and my parents �� They let people
believe that Will had gone to college overseas.

�When he finally reappeared, I was in college myself on the
East Coast.� I drove all the way home to
see him, in the middle of the semester.�
My parents were so mad at me, as if Will hadn�t just made his way out of
Hell.� All they cared about was that he was
living with a man.�

Cindi�s fingers tightened painfully around Don�s as she
stared at nothing.� �God, Don, you should
have seen him,� she whispered.� �You
wouldn�t have recognized him.� He was a
skeleton, his skin hanging on his body.�
His hair was shaved close to his head and he had this sort of twitchy,
nervous energy that was totally not like him.�
And he said � he said he was much better.�

Don silently held Cindi�s hand as she struggled to get her
emotions under control. He handed her a tissue and she dried her tears.�

�Now Will�s totally gonna call me a cry-baby,� Cindi
said.�

�Probably,� Don agreed.

Cindi gave a wet chuckle.�
�You�re no help.�

�Just standing in for Will,� Don said cheerfully.� �Until he�s well enough to tease you
himself.�

�Greaaat,� Cindi groaned.

The mood lightened a little, Cindi stood up and
stretched.� �So, more Trivial Pursuit?�

�Just as long as we�re not keeping score,� Don said.� �You�re almost as tough as Will is.� And I can�t even be sure I�ll beat you on
sports questions!�

�Life�s tough when you�re competing with a Stevens,� Cindi
said with a weak smile, and reached for the box of question cards.

Don and Cindi�s Trivia Pursuit game had degenerated into a
spirited debate of the value of interleague play in Major League Baseball, when
a noise from Will�s bed made them both turn.

Will�s eyes were open and he grunted again.

Don and Cindi rushed to the side of the bed.�

�Are you in pain?� Cindi asked at the same time Don asked,
�Should I call Dr. Jones?�

Will shook his head, moving with more vigor than he had the
last time he�d awoken.� Will continued to
make grunting sounds, his forehead wrinkled in concentration.

Finally, Will looked at Don and said, ��on.�� His voice was gravelly and barely above a
whisper, but beautiful.� He breathed out
in triumph.

�Will!� Don said, delighted that Will�s first word was his
name.� �You can talk!�

��iddle,� Will mumbled.

�A little is a lot,� Don said.

�Good thing that Charlie isn�t here to dispute that,� Cindi
said with a chuckle.�

Will�s lips curved into his familiar smile.� Don wondered if he�d ever seen anything more
wonderful.

Before any of them could say anything else, Don heard a
noise in the hall.� Agent Eno greeted
someone then Colby pushed open the door.

Charlie and Nena rushed in, big mischievous grins on their
faces.� Colby�s face looked both amused
and sheepish.� Charlie was carrying a
huge bag, half-staggering under its weight.

�What�s going on?� Don demanded suspiciously.�

�Oh!� Charlie said. ��Will�s
awake!� Will, you�re awake!�

��ess,� Will said.

�Ooh, and talking!� Charlie said with approval.�

�Unka Wiw!� Nena said, dashing up to him.� �Guess what?�
Guess what?�

�Hang on,� Charlie said.�
�Don�t spoil the surprise.�

Nena stopped by Will�s bed, bouncing with excitement.

Colby shut the door carefully behind them and Charlie
unzipped the bag.� Don saw a furry ear,
then whiskers, and then Monster�s head popped up.

Don said, �Whoa!� and Cindi gave a gasp of astonishment.

Monster pushed his way out of the bag, much faster than
Charlie was apparently expecting.� The
bag tumbled to the floor and Monster jumped clear.� Don thought Monster would dash under the
table or to the door, but instead, he �murr�ed and made a beeline to Will�s
bed.� He hopped up on the bed and
snuggled under Will�s uninjured arm.�
Will�s lips stretched into a wide smile as he scratched Monster�s back.

�See!� Nena said, clapping.�
�You woke up for me and Monster!�

�Charlie!� Don said, horrified but laughing.� �Do you have any idea how many rules you�re
breaking bringing him here?�

Charlie shrugged, picking up the bag and regaining his
composure.� He grinned impishly, �Monster
can be very persuasive.�

�But bringing him to ICU?�

�I gave him a bath first,� Charlie said, as if that made
everything okay.

�A bath?� Don
asked and looked at Monster.� Indeed, he
did look even fluffier than usual.� �He
let you give him a bath?�

�Nena helped me,� Charlie said.� �We used cat shampoo from the pet store and
everything.�

Colby shook his head with amusement.� �You shoulda seen it.� Poor Monster all soggy, I mean he doesn�t
mind getting wet but this was different, and Nena just scrubbing away.� It was like you could see Monster thinking,
�I don�t want to be here, but I don�t want to scratch Nena, and besides, maybe
it�s a new game.��

�So this is Monster?� Cindi asked, coming closer.� �Wow, apt name.�

�Monster, say �hi� to Cindi,� Don said.

Cindi patted his fur, but the cat wasn�t interested in
anyone but Will, and kneading Will�s arm into mush.

�So, babe,� Don said.�
�What do you think of Charlie�s surprise?�

Smiling, Will said.�
��og.�

Don blinked.� He�d
heard of people getting brain injuries and then not being able to think of the
right words for things.� Could that have
happened to Will?�

�Monster�s a cat,� Don said gently.

Will shot Don an annoyed glare that was so Will that Don had to laugh.� Will tried to say something else but nothing
came out.�� Frustrated, he made a gesture
with his hand that Don couldn�t interpret but Cindi did � she handed Will a pen
and the newspaper to write on.� Will
painstakingly wrote a shaky �K� then an �O� and another �O�.

�Koota!� Colby said.�
�You heard that story?� About
Monster and Nena catching Mrs. Singh�s dog?�

Will nodded and dropped the pen, exhausted by the
effort.� He stroked Monster�s fur again
and Monster purred furiously.

�Wow,� Don said.� �You
heard a lot of stuff while you were in the coma?�

Will frowned, nodded and shrugged at the same time.�

�Do you mean that you think you heard stuff but aren�t sure
what was real?�� Cindi asked.

Will pointed at her.

�Well, we�ll just have to tell it all to you again,� Don
said with a smile.

�Me first!�� Nena said
and climbed up onto Will�s bed.� She told
him the whole story about Koota again then about Monster�s bath, and then about
everything else that had happened to her in the two weeks since she�d seen
him.� Don wondered if Nena also told her
mother everything that happened when she was with Colby, and was curious what
Jenny would think of Will getting shot.� She�ll probably sic that lawyer on Colby again.� Well, we�ll send him packing, as always.

Nena started telling Will her version of his time in the
hospital.� According to Nena, Colby had
guarded the door against evil giants, Don had needed sleep so bad his head fell
off, and the caf� had good cookies.

Will was smiling the whole time, but Don could tell he was
struggling to keep his eyes open.� It was
by far the longest he�d been awake since the shooting.

�Uncle Will is tired,� Don said gently to Nena.

�Why?� Nena demanded.�
�He�s been sleeping all day!�

Don chuckled.� �I
know, honey, but he�s still getting better from his hurts.�

�Oo-kay,� Nena said.� �Can
we get him some cookies?�

�Will�s eating what the doctor wants him to eat,� Don said,
avoiding the whole topic of feeding tubes.�
�He�ll have cookies some other day.�

Nena frowned.� �Can I
eat some cookies for him today?�

�Sure,� Don said, then quickly added, �If it�s okay with
your dad.�

Colby gave a resigned shrug.�
�Her sleep schedule is already shot, why not her eating schedule, too?�

�Cookies for everyone!� Nena announced joyfully.� �Happy Unka Wiw Wok�up Day!�
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