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It Changes Everything	By : IrenaAdler Category: M through R > NUMB3RS Views: 4228 -:- 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
- 5
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- 7
Two days later Colby saw the footage that had been sent to
the FBI from their kidnappers.� It was
horrific.� There he was, bruised and
bound, Charlie like an echo at his side.�
Colby saw himself kick out, catch one of his captors in the shin, then
another push him over the edge of the hole.�

Charlie had crouched down, panic showing in every line of his
body.� One of the men cocked his gun and
aimed at Charlie, telling him to stand up.�
Charlie had stood up very slowly, begging, �Please, don�t, please.�� Then a gunshot and Charlie disappeared, flung
backwards.� It looked like Charlie had
just been executed.� Colby heard his own voice
screaming, �Charlie!�� Even knowing that
Charlie didn�t die with that shot, Colby found himself sweating, his stomach
cramping.� He hardly heard the kidnapper
giving his impossible demands.

He listened to the urging from his coworkers and went
home.� He had broken two ribs and
fractured two others.� With that and overall
body shock, he found himself tiring very easily.� Also, he felt fractured in soul, longing for
Charlie but fearing him at the same time.�
What would Charlie think, now that they didn�t die after all?

Colby went to bed at three in the afternoon and didn�t wake
until two AM when his phone rang.� He
automatically picked it up and said, �Granger.�

�Colby?� came Charlie�s soft
voice.��

Colby sat bolt upright in bed, earning a jolt of pain from
his ribs.� �Charlie?� What�s wrong?�

�I can�t sleep,� Charlie mumbled. ��I can�t ever sleep.� I just keep waking up, hearing guns and shouting.�

Colby winced.� �I�m
sorry.� Have you��

�Can I come over?�

�What?�

�Can I come over?� Charlie repeated.� �Please?�

�Umm, sure.� Of
course.�

�Good, because I�m right outside.�

Colby set down the phone and pulled on a pair of handy
shorts.� He stumbled across his messy
front room to the door.� Yanking it open,
he saw Charlie, standing on his porch, a crutch under his right arm.� Charlie looked awful, his face pale and huge bags
under his eyes, a few days� stubble on his chin.

�I�m sorry I woke you up,� Charlie said.� �I just can�t sleep.�

�Come in, come in.��
Colby stood back from the door.�
Charlie limped inside and Colby shut the door behind him.� Colby saw the state of his front room and
grimaced.�

�Sorry it�s such a mess,� Colby said, picking up old pizza
boxes and piles of newspapers.� �My
cleaning person is out of the country this month.�

�It�s okay,� Charlie said.�
He lifted wide brown eyes.� �I
just want to sleep.�

�Oh, alright,� Colby said and began clearing off the
couch.� �I�ll sleep out here, just let me
know if you��

�No,� Charlie said. ��I
need you near me.�

�I�ll be right here if you��

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

Colby stared at him, his heart aching for the lost,
desperate look in Charlie�s eyes.� �Okay,�
he said.� �Bedroom�s this way.�

Charlie nodded in relief and shuffled through the
doorway.� Colby followed slowly behind,
wondering if he was still asleep and dreaming.�
But Charlie never looked like this in his dreams.

Inside Colby�s bedroom, Charlie tossed his crutch aside and
sat on the bed.� He kicked off his shoes,
yanked off his socks and started pulling off his shirt.� Stopping, he looked at Colby, �Do you
mind?� I thought I could just sleep in my
jeans.�

�No, no,� Colby said and was pleased that his voice sounded
calm, even.�

Charlie stripped off his shirt, revealing a furry chest and
lean muscles.� He emptied his pockets of cell
phone, car keys, and wallet, sticking them into his shoes.� He then pulled back the blankets and climbed
into Colby�s bed.� Colby watched Charlie
settle in the warm spot that Colby had just vacated.�

�Coming?� Charlie murmured, his voice already shading
towards sleep.

Nodding, Colby lifted the blanket and slipped in beside
Charlie.� He kept a careful distance but
as soon as he stopped moving, Charlie curled up against him and laid his head
on Colby�s bare shoulder.� Colby
cautiously put his arm around Charlie and rested his cheek against Charlie�s
hair.� Charlie gave a contented
sigh.� Between one breath and the next, Charlie
was asleep.� His chest hair tickled
Colby�s side as he breathed.

Sleep, however, was the last thing that Colby could
manage.� What did it mean Charlie coming
over here?� Was it just a desire for a
warm body to share a bed with or was it something more?�

Colby had gone over again and again in his mind every word
that Charlie had said during those long dark hours in the hole.� Charlie hadn�t acted disgusted when Colby had
admitted that he loved him, but he hadn�t exactly been eager to
reciprocate.� He�d seemed more � confused
than anything.� Colby had asked him what
knowing that he cared would change, and Charlie had said, �I don�t know, maybe
nothing, maybe everything.�� Colby�s
whole world hinged on that difference.

My angel, Colby
said silently and stroked Charlie�s stubbled cheek.� Please
be here in the morning.

Colby awoke many hours later, feeling rested for the first
time in days.� His arm was numb and he
looked over to see Charlie still curled up against him, his dark hair spread
over Colby�s shoulder and chest.

He smiled.� It wasn�t a dream.

Charlie was snoring, none too softly.� What
else would you expect with a nose like that?� Colby wiggled his fingers carefully, trying
to get some blood flow back into his arm.

Was it his imagination or did Charlie look less pale, less
haggard?� Yes, his scruffy beard was even
worse, but maybe, just maybe, being in Colby�s bed had been good for him.� It was
certainly good for me.

He watched Charlie for about an hour before Charlie�s long
lashes fluttered and his eyes crept open.� He turned and looked at Colby and smiled muzzily.

�Good morning,� Colby said
quietly.� �How did you sleep?�

�Great,� Charlie said, sitting up and stretching his
half-naked body luxuriously.� �Great,� he
repeated then leaned over and kissed Colby full on the lips.

It was a soft kiss, undemanding.� A �Good Morning� kiss.

Colby drew back, his heart pounding.� �Don�t do that,� he said. �Unless you mean
it.�

A haunted look came into Charlie�s eyes.� �How can I know if I mean it?� How can I know?� There�s no empirical test, no rational
measure that I can use.� No formula to
determine validity.� How can I know?� How can
I know?�
��
Charlie looked positively panic-stricken and Colby reached
his hand up to touch Charlie�s cheek. �In
their dark hole, Charlie had confided to Colby that emotions were a big
unsolvable puzzle to him.

�What do you know, then?��
Colby asked quietly.�

Charlie�s face turned thoughtful.� �I know � I know that you make me feel safe.�

Well, that�s something
at least.

�And,� Charlie added softly, �You make me feel loved.�

�You are,� Colby said with a catch in his throat.

�I enjoy being around you, talking with you.� I want to spend more time with you, a lot
more time.� I want to share things with
you, learn things about you.�

�All good,� Colby said.

Charlie laid a light finger on Colby�s chest.� �I know I want to touch you and I want you to
touch me.� And I know that the idea of
kissing you again terrifies me more than anything in the universe, but that it
also electrifies me more than anything ever has.�

Holding Colby�s eyes with his deep brown ones, Charlie smiled
shyly.� �Maybe that�s a reasonable
working definition of love.�

Colby tried to remember how to breathe.� He laid a trembling hand over Charlie�s and
held it tight.� �A reasonable working
definition,� he agreed, hope forming a painful knot in his chest.

�Would it be okay if I kissed you again?� Charlie asked.

In answer, Colby reached up and pulled Charlie�s mouth down
to his.� The kiss started soft then grew
more intense as Colby poured all of his pent-up longing into it.� Charlie�s lips parted to let Colby�s tongue
inside.� Charlie�s mouth tasted like
sleep, root beer and heat.� Charlie�s
tongue circled around Colby�s and plunged into Colby�s mouth, probing
hungrily.� Charlie�s hand stroked Colby�s
cheek then ran down his neck.�

Colby�s hands slid around Charlie�s chest and pulled him
closer, until Charlie�s full length pressed against Colby.� He buried one hand in Charlie�s hair,
deepening the kiss, and with the other hand stroked Charlie�s back.� Charlie�s chest rubbed against his and a
pleasant flush was spreading across Colby�s body.

Charlie leaned against Colby � and Colby hissed in agony as
Charlie pressed against his broken ribs.

Charlie sprang back.�
�Oh, I�m sorry!�

Colby groaned in pain and frustration.� �Not nearly as sorry as I am.�

Carefully, Charlie bent over and kissed Colby.� �I�m not going anywhere,� he whispered.� �I can wait.�

�I don�t know if I can,� Colby grumbled.

�You�ve waited this long,� Charlie said, running his fingers
through Colby�s short hair.� �I really
hope I�m worth all the anticipation.�

Colby had to smile.�
�You are the oddest combination of incredible arrogance and total
insecurity.�

�Yeah, well, give me a math problem and I�m all over
it.� It�s this people stuff that scares
me.�

�I know,� Colby said, capturing a stray curl.� �I�ll try to just ask you math questions from
now on.�

Charlie laughed.�
�That would make for very short conversations.�

Colby yanked on his curl.�
�Arrogant brat,� he said affectionately.

�Been called that all my life,� Charlie grinned.� �Even my dad�� His face went pale.� �Damn!�
I better call my dad.� He�s gonna
be worried sick.�

Grumbling, Charlie climbed out of bed and fished his cell
phone out of his shoes.� He punched a
speed-dial number and waited.

�Hi Dad,� Charlie said, then winced and held the phone away
from his head.� After a minute, he
interrupted the noise from the other end of the phone.� �Yeah, I know I left in the middle of the
night last night. Yeah, I�m sorry I worried you.� I�m at � a friend�s.� No, I�m not going to tell you who.� I�m an adult, I can
sleep where I want.� � No, no, I�m sorry
I worried you.� I should have told you I
was going out.� � Yes, thank you for not
calling Don and getting the FBI out looking for me.� I got a good night�s sleep though.� � Yeah.�
You know I haven�t been sleeping.

��No, no,� Charlie
half-laughed, �I didn�t go out drinking.�
No, I didn�t pick up some stranger in a bar.� I�m safe.�
� Yes, I�ll be at Dr. Martins at 10am.��
Charlie glanced at the clock.�
�I�ll come by home and get some clean clothes.� Dr. Martins did say I could drive short
distances.� No, that isn�t supposed to be
a clue to where I am.

�Dad, please!� I�m
sorry, okay?� I�m sorry I worried
you.� Now I�ll come by home but please don�t
bug me about where I was.�� He
groaned.� �No, I�m not at Amita�s, don�t get your hopes up.� Bye.�

Charlie shut the phone and blew out a long breath.� �I gotta go,� he said reluctantly.� �I�ve got a doctor�s appointment then I need
to go into work and reassure everyone I�m not dead.�

�Okay,� Colby sighed.

Charlie touched Colby�s shoulder.� �Can I come back here tonight?�

�Yeah,� Colby said, startled.� �Sure, any time.�

�How about eleven?� I
need to spend the evening with my dad, prove to him I haven�t gone off my
rocker.� Then I�ll be here.� I�ll even bring a change of clothes.�� He rubbed his cheek and grimaced.� �And a razor.�

�Don�t worry about the razor,� Colby smiled.� �I�ll give you a shave.�

Charlie raised his eyebrows but didn�t ask.� Instead he leaned over and gave Colby a
lingering kiss.� �I�ll see you
tonight.�� He pulled on his shirt, filled
up his pockets, tugged on his socks and shoes, and reached for his discarded
crutch.

Then he was gone.�
Colby scooted over in bed to where Charlie had been laying and breathed
in his scent.� It smelled like sweat and chalk
dust and something indefinable.� He
blinked at the clock and thought, fourteen
more hours and he�ll be back.

He contemplated going into work himself, but Don had made it
clear that he was confined to light deskwork for at least a week.� Besides, his apartment could really use a
cleaning.
- 5
- 6
- 7
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It Changes Everything