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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
- 36
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Part 37 � Giving It
Time

That evening, Will was watching TV with Don when Will�s parents
returned to the hospital.

A smiling Edward strode into Will�s room.� �William!�
So good to see you awake!�

Following behind him, Min�s eyes flickered around the room,
as if she was searching for prey.� She
looked almost disappointed that no one else was here.

�Yes,� Min said, with a smile that looked awkward on her
face.� �Good to see you awake.�

Edward came and stood next to the bed.� �Your sisters have been keeping us up to
date.� You�ve made incredible
progress!� Dr. Jones plans to write up your
case for the journal of the International Brain Injury Association.� She promised to tell me if it�s accepted.�

�I�ll be f�mous,� Will said with a smile.� �At leas� in �nonymous form in uh op�scure
journul.�

�Wonder if she�ll include pictures,� Don mused.

�Hello,� Edward said to Don.�
�You look better than last time I saw you, as well.�

�Yeah,� Don agreed heartily.�
�Lots better.�

�I imagine,� Edward said.��
He turned back to Will.� �Have you
been doing speech therapy?�

�Startin� �morrow,� Will said.� �Phyzcul ther�py today.�

Edward started asking questions about the physical therapy,
which Will answered with half his attention.�
He was watching his mother walk around the room, poking at this and
that.� Don recognized his distraction and
began answering Edward�s questions and filling in details on the timeline of
Will�s emergence from the coma.

Min finally sat down, her hands folding and unfolding in her
lap.� Will didn�t mind that she felt
uncomfortable.� She�d made Will�s friends
and family feel uncomfortable enough.�
Lacking anything else to stare at, and probably not interested in
looking at Will, Min�s eyes rested on Don, her habitual slight frown on her
face.

Will knew that Min saw Don as a nice man with an unfortunate
affliction.� Perhaps she blamed Alan for
Don�s sexual preference, a concession that she wasn�t willing to allow
Will.� She probably wondered what Don
could see in her deviant son.�

Will shook himself.�
He had no desire to spend any more time in his mother�s head.� Or even in his mother�s presence.

He waited for a gap in Edward and Don�s conversation and
cleared his throat.� He sat up straight
and took a deep breath.� �Moth�r, I have
somethin� I need ta say to you �n I ask you the court�sy of listenin�.�

Min�s eyes narrowed.

Will�s heart pounded painfully but he managed to keep his
voice calm, his words as clear as he could make them. ��nless you can be civ�l to everyone, you�re not welcom� here.� I�m �wake now, I c�n say who I wanna be here and
who I don�t.� And who I wan� around me
are peop�l that su�port me �n care for me as I am.� That�s what makes real fam�ly.� You c�n prob�ly keep Dad �way, but Cindi �n
Amy are �dults now and they don� live und�r your roof.� They c�n decide for th�mselves whether ta
give into your bullyin� or be here.� If
you push it, if you rea�ly push it, it won� only be me no� comin� to dinner at
y�r house, it�ll be no one.�� You rea�ly
wanna alie�nate the rest of y�r childr�n?�

Her face furious, Min jumped to her feet.� She opened her mouth to speak, but Will cut
her off.�

�I�m no� rea�ly int�rested in any of y�r venom right now,�
he said flatly. �Hate me all you want, I�m no� gonna change.� Now, just go �way.�� Will added, with a flash of vicious
humor.� �Or do I need ta call security?�

Min made a garbled noise and her fists clenched.� Then she hissed, very much like a poisonous
snake, spun on her heel, and stalked out of the room.

Edward, Will and Don watched her leave and silence settled
over the room.� Edward looked down at the
floor and over at the window and seemed to be trying to come to a
decision.�

Finally, he met Will�s eyes squarely.� �Your mother �� he said.� �I always believed that raising the children
was her job.� That she knew best.�

Will knew that he should just stay silent, let his father
talk, but the adrenaline from speaking to his mother was still pumping in his
veins.�� Thazzuh lousy excuse,� Will
snapped.

Edward�s eyebrows shot up, then he gave Will a small
smile.� �Perhaps.� But it is the only one I have.�

Will had to smile back.�
�Yeah.� Well, I�m no� a child an�more.�

�No, you aren�t,� Edward agreed.

Will bit his lip on more things he wanted to say.� His father had just made a huge admission, he
shouldn�t push it.

Edward nodded, perhaps at some of the things left unsaid,
and turned to Don.� �Take good care of
him,� he said.

�Always,� Don promised.

�I�ll see you later, then,� Edward said, and left.

Will looked at the door for a long time, his mind churning
through all the moments in his life where he would have given his right arm for
such words from his father.� He reached
out blindly towards Don and felt Don take his hand.� �My boy,� his father had said as he lay in a
coma.� �My boy.�� Unless his memory was more damaged than he
thought, his father had never before � acknowledged
him.� Why now?� Why, when he had Don and another family
supporting him, did his father finally decide he was worth defending?� Now that he finally had his life together,
his dad wanted to be part of it?� Will
wanted to be happy, but what he felt was a mess of anger, frustration, and scorn.�

�Give yourself time,� Don said softly, and Will knew that
Don understood.� He squeezed Don�s hand
and only then realized he was shaking from the after-effects of
adrenaline.� He scooted down under his
blankets, let Don rearrange the pillow, and fell asleep still holding Don�s
hand.

Don withdrew his hand only when he knew that Will was
completely asleep.� As he massaged life
back into his numb hand, he thought about Will�s parents and wondered if he
would have been strong enough to survive what Will had in his life.� Don shuddered and murmured a prayer of thanks
that he hadn�t had to.

That day passed, then another.� Everyone but Don returned to a regular work
schedule, a regular life, though they visited often.� Don spent most of his waking hours with Will,
and still slept on the couch at his family�s house instead of going to his own
empty house.� When he got restless, Don
would put on some workout clothes and go running through the UCLA campus.� When he got back, he�d tell Will stories
about the people he�d seen on his run.�
They would speculate wildly on these people�s lives and criminal
activities.

Don got permission to use the hospital�s fitness center as
well, so he could tire himself out on the cross-country skiing machine or lift
weights until his muscles trembled.� Then
he could go back and spend more time with Will - playing cards, talking,
watching TV, or reading books to each other.

Each day Will was awake longer, each day he gained more
strength, more energy � and more personality.�
Don knew that Will was feeling better when he started flirting with the
physical therapist. �The handsome young
man got flustered, which made Will flirt all the more shamelessly.

Will graduated from applesauce to mashed potatoes to
pasta.� His body wasn�t ready for steak
yet, though he still asked for it every day.�
And his speech was improving too.�
He and his speech therapist often got diverted into linguistic debates
that went way over Don�s head, but he didn�t mind.� He would spend long moments just watching
Will interact with other people, enjoying the life and utter Willness of his lover.

Will�s head bandage was eventually removed, revealing a
large shaved patch above his right ear and an ugly line of stitches.� When Don saw that, he had to leave the room,
fighting down nausea.� Will had gotten
more stitches than that in his shoulder, but that wound didn�t frighten Don
nearly as much.

Two weeks after Will had been shot, Don finally showed Will
the photos that had been taken at the scene, as well as the evidence photos
that had been taken of Will�s injuries at the first hospital.� Will studied each of the photos carefully, as
if he could remember the events by sheer concentration.� His memory of that day hadn�t returned and
Dr. Jones said mostly likely it never would.

Will set the other photos aside and stared at the photo of
himself in Don�s arms for a long time.�

�Will?�� Don asked,
wondering what Will saw when he looked at that photo.

�You were gonna shoot my co-work�rs?�

�I didn�t know who to trust,� Don said defensively.

�Sanchez told me ya turned the gun on the EMTs too.�

�How was I to know that��

�I understand,� Will interrupted.� �Actually, it�s kinda sweet.� My brave protect�r.�

�You bet,� Don said hoarsely.

Will ran his thumb over the photo.� �It�s weird to have photographic evidence of
a�most dying.� No wond�r I needed so many
blood transfusions.�

��Almost� is the important word there.�

Will gave Don a crooked smile.� �Maybe we should frame this and put it in the
livin� room.�

Don groaned.�� I never
want to see that picture again.�

�Not my best look?�

�No,� Don said with a shudder.

Will shook himself and handed the photo to Don.� �Take them �way, my good man,� Will said with
a credible British accent.� �And bring me
my Beef Wellin�ton.�

Don grinned with relief, putting the photo back into the
envelope.� He stood up and went to get
the food tray.� �Let�s see � Today we�ve
got chicken noodle soup, Jell-O, and a chocolately cake thing.�� Don lifted up the cake and took an
experimental nibble.� �Not bad.�

�Get off!�� Will exclaimed.� �Or I�ll make ya go get me pizza!�

�Ooh, pizza,� Don said.�
�I�ll have to get that for my dinner.� Sausage and peppers, I think.�

�Cruel man!�

Don took a big bite of the cake. �Not at all,� he said
through the crumbs.� �Look how I�m
bravely protecting you from this evil chocolate.�

Will grabbed his pillow and brandished it menacingly.

�Okay, okay,� Don laughed.�
�I�ll get you another piece, even if have to do a covert op in the
kitchen.�� He took another bite and waved
the cake towards Will.� �And if you�re
really good, I�ll swipe you some pudding, too.�
- 36
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- 38
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