Fixed [1/9] (Colby/OFC-Callie, Don, PG)
Originally posted to mustangcandi and shared 11.20.07 through savecolby...
Title: Fixed, Part I of IX
Characters/Pairings: OFC-Callie, Don/OFC-Emily, inferred - David, Colby
Rating: PG (language)
Word Count: 1,658
Summary: He's coming back...
Spoilers: 3.24 - The Janus List
Notes/Warnings: The first part of the follow up to Broken. I wrote all 9 "Fixed" pieces after 3.24 - The Janus List but before 4.01 - Trust Metric to resolve my issues with the situation so I could sleep at night. Any similarities between this and Trust Metric are PURELY coincidental...no credit is meant to have been taken or earned from this fan fic. It was all for my own personal therapy. Beware the angst.
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, regrettably - it's not mine.
Callie looked down at her hand, knowing that no matter how long she stared at it, the white mark on her left ring finger would never go away. It had been a month…over a month actually since she’d given Colby back his ring, and yet still she felt empty without it. Well…she felt empty without him. And she hated herself for it.
She’d spent so many hours talking to Emily about what she was thinking, how she was feeling…as the two worked to put all of Colby’s things into boxes. Seeing anything of his in the house they had shared had just been a constant reminder of what they’d lost and it was too painful for her to bear. Yet, even after all of his stuff was in boxes locked away in the guest room they had been converting into an office for him, she still woke up every morning half expecting him to be in the bed next to her.
It had taken her about a week after he’d been escorted from the interrogation room before she stopped crying…and she hadn’t cried since. She was too numb, too cried out to give anything more of herself to the pain she was still harboring in her heart. She missed him. She missed him so much that most days it was a struggle to breathe. But then she remembered what he had done…and was reminded that it seemed every thing he was to her had been a lie. The dishonesty made her angry. The memory of her now shattered happiness made her ache. And the fact that she’d let herself fall for it all made her ashamed.
She’d buried herself in her work, despite Don’s protests for her needing to take time off - to clear her head. She was working through her pain, though she carried out her duties with an expressionless look upon her face. She was just going through the motions, trying to find something stable to hold on to - but what was left? Her whole life had become wrapped up in Colby. She shared her job, her house, her bed, her soul with him…and all of that had been stolen from her - destroyed by his betrayal…of the team, of his country, of her.
“Callie?” Don’s voice repeated, finally rousing her from her trance.
She turned her eyes to him, unaware that she had let a tear roll down her cheek - a lonely straggler left behind when she thought all her tears had been set free. She cursed under her breath as she turned away from him again so she could wipe the tear from her face before she could fully meet his gaze.
“What can I help you with, Don?” she asked, forcing a smile up at him.
Don’s eyes softened as they always did when he saw her this way. She’d definitely not been herself since that day over a month ago when they’d taken Colby away for being a spy. And the truth was Don missed her even though she was right in front of him. He missed the fire in her eyes and the sharpness of her tongue when she was giving him a hard time, all in good fun. He missed the way she and David flirted and teased - something neither of them had done since Colby had gone. He knew he wasn’t the only one who missed her. Emily had not even been the same since all of this happened. She’d constantly been worried about her best friend, wondering when and if Callie would ever recover from having her heart broken so completely.
As he nervously twirled the wedding band on his finger, he wondered if what he was about to tell her would bring her back to life. Would this news give him back his team? His wife? Could things ever be the same after so much time and heart ache?
He allowed himself to let go of the breath he’d been holding as he considered his words carefully before he finally spoke. “I need to talk to you about something, Callie.”
She instantly recognized that tone. This was serious. This was business. “Okay. Shoot,” she replied, settling into her chair thankful now for the potential distraction from her own thoughts.
“Not here,” he spoke softly as his eyes flickered about the office. He gave her a nod, motioning for her to follow him as he turned to walk away.
Callie eyed him suspiciously wondering what it was that couldn’t be said at her desk, but trusting Don enough to follow him into the unoccupied war room. Her curiosity was further peaked when he locked the door behind her and set about closing all the blinds in the room.
“Don, what’s going on?”
He continued to close the last blind as he spoke without looking at her. “You may want to sit down, Callie.”
Now he was just starting to piss her off, she thought as her impatience grew. “I’m fine where I am thank you. What the hell is going on?” she asked again, the temperature of her voice and body rising.
Well, at least she still had some fire left in her, Don thought with a half smile before he finally turned to look at her. And there it was…a flicker - a flicker of the flame he knew all too well in those brilliant green eyes of hers. And in that moment, he knew she wasn’t going to take this news very well…but if it got a rise out of her - it would be a start, he thought before he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he searched for his voice.
“I wanted you to hear this from me before you heard it anywhere else,” he began and before she could say anything, he simply spoke, “Colby’s coming back.”
If he had punched her, it wouldn’t have taken the wind out of her any harder than those three words. “Back? What…what the hell do you mean he’s coming back?” she gasped when she could find the air to fill her lungs.
“I mean, he’s back. His…his assignment is over and he’s coming back here - to LA, to the FBI, to the team.”
Her head felt light and the room was spinning. She shouldn’t have been so stubborn when he’d asked her to sit down as she now made her way into a chair. His assignment? Is that what they were calling it? She asked herself trying to put together a string of thoughts that would help her understand what was happening around her.
She sat there blinking at him for how long, she wasn’t sure. His words were ringing in her ears. Colby was coming back? Even through the nausea she instantly felt choking her, she managed to reply. “Don, if this is your idea of a joke…you need to seek professional help and pay for extra sessions because you’ve lost your God damned mind.”
“I’m serious Callie. There…there were things we didn’t know, things we still don’t know - but Colby…he wasn’t a spy. I can’t say much more except that he was working deep undercover for the Department of Justice. And now, he’s…he’s coming home.”
It only took a second for all the anger and pain she’d felt to fill her entire being - warming her through as she came alive from the half conscious state she’d been living in since all of this first happened. Don could see her thawing before his eyes and even though he’d wanted to see this fire, this was certainly not the exact reaction he’d expected.
“He doesn’t have a home,” she seethed instantly as she stood to her feet. All this pain…all of this heart ache had been for an assignment? Had she just been part of the game? What had been real? What had been lies? How the hell was she supposed to trust anything anyone told her any more?
“But Callie…”
“But nothing, Don,” she snapped, her voice growing stronger as her insides shook with the intensity of the emotion she felt erupting within her. “I’ve cried too many tears for that man all ready. Tears he didn’t deserve if all I was to him was part of a game…part of some assignment ‘for the greater good’,” she said in mock patriotism.
“Callie, I don’t think you were part of a game…if you’d just give him a chance to…”
“To what? Explain? And just how the hell am I supposed to believe anything he says?” she asked her voice raised as she now felt the tears of anger stinging her eyes. This was certainly not what she thought she’d been called in here for and she certainly wasn’t going to listen to any thing more.
She was making for the door when Don’s words stopped her in her tracks. “He wants to see you Callie.”
She whirled around and her eyes were almost black with what she was feeling. Don felt his own stomach lurch and he instantly prayed he would never do anything to see that look in her eyes again before she coolly spoke through clenched teeth.
“Forgive me if I don’t care to ever see him again,” she hissed just before she opened the door and stormed out, needing air…needing space from the walls that seemed to be closing in around her.
Don flinched as he watched her slam the door behind her just before he slid into a chair by the table. He ran his hands over his hair before burying his face in them. Maybe Emily could talk some sense into her…maybe she just needed time to process. Either way, she was going to have to deal with the fact that Colby was going to be part of the team again. He only hoped David wouldn’t take the news quite so hard. [ original post]
<< Broken Fixed, Part 2>>
Title: Fixed, Part I of IX
Characters/Pairings: OFC-Callie, Don/OFC-Emily, inferred - David, Colby
Rating: PG (language)
Word Count: 1,658
Summary: He's coming back...
Spoilers: 3.24 - The Janus List
Notes/Warnings: The first part of the follow up to Broken. I wrote all 9 "Fixed" pieces after 3.24 - The Janus List but before 4.01 - Trust Metric to resolve my issues with the situation so I could sleep at night. Any similarities between this and Trust Metric are PURELY coincidental...no credit is meant to have been taken or earned from this fan fic. It was all for my own personal therapy. Beware the angst.
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, regrettably - it's not mine.
Callie looked down at her hand, knowing that no matter how long she stared at it, the white mark on her left ring finger would never go away. It had been a month…over a month actually since she’d given Colby back his ring, and yet still she felt empty without it. Well…she felt empty without him. And she hated herself for it.
She’d spent so many hours talking to Emily about what she was thinking, how she was feeling…as the two worked to put all of Colby’s things into boxes. Seeing anything of his in the house they had shared had just been a constant reminder of what they’d lost and it was too painful for her to bear. Yet, even after all of his stuff was in boxes locked away in the guest room they had been converting into an office for him, she still woke up every morning half expecting him to be in the bed next to her.
It had taken her about a week after he’d been escorted from the interrogation room before she stopped crying…and she hadn’t cried since. She was too numb, too cried out to give anything more of herself to the pain she was still harboring in her heart. She missed him. She missed him so much that most days it was a struggle to breathe. But then she remembered what he had done…and was reminded that it seemed every thing he was to her had been a lie. The dishonesty made her angry. The memory of her now shattered happiness made her ache. And the fact that she’d let herself fall for it all made her ashamed.
She’d buried herself in her work, despite Don’s protests for her needing to take time off - to clear her head. She was working through her pain, though she carried out her duties with an expressionless look upon her face. She was just going through the motions, trying to find something stable to hold on to - but what was left? Her whole life had become wrapped up in Colby. She shared her job, her house, her bed, her soul with him…and all of that had been stolen from her - destroyed by his betrayal…of the team, of his country, of her.
“Callie?” Don’s voice repeated, finally rousing her from her trance.
She turned her eyes to him, unaware that she had let a tear roll down her cheek - a lonely straggler left behind when she thought all her tears had been set free. She cursed under her breath as she turned away from him again so she could wipe the tear from her face before she could fully meet his gaze.
“What can I help you with, Don?” she asked, forcing a smile up at him.
Don’s eyes softened as they always did when he saw her this way. She’d definitely not been herself since that day over a month ago when they’d taken Colby away for being a spy. And the truth was Don missed her even though she was right in front of him. He missed the fire in her eyes and the sharpness of her tongue when she was giving him a hard time, all in good fun. He missed the way she and David flirted and teased - something neither of them had done since Colby had gone. He knew he wasn’t the only one who missed her. Emily had not even been the same since all of this happened. She’d constantly been worried about her best friend, wondering when and if Callie would ever recover from having her heart broken so completely.
As he nervously twirled the wedding band on his finger, he wondered if what he was about to tell her would bring her back to life. Would this news give him back his team? His wife? Could things ever be the same after so much time and heart ache?
He allowed himself to let go of the breath he’d been holding as he considered his words carefully before he finally spoke. “I need to talk to you about something, Callie.”
She instantly recognized that tone. This was serious. This was business. “Okay. Shoot,” she replied, settling into her chair thankful now for the potential distraction from her own thoughts.
“Not here,” he spoke softly as his eyes flickered about the office. He gave her a nod, motioning for her to follow him as he turned to walk away.
Callie eyed him suspiciously wondering what it was that couldn’t be said at her desk, but trusting Don enough to follow him into the unoccupied war room. Her curiosity was further peaked when he locked the door behind her and set about closing all the blinds in the room.
“Don, what’s going on?”
He continued to close the last blind as he spoke without looking at her. “You may want to sit down, Callie.”
Now he was just starting to piss her off, she thought as her impatience grew. “I’m fine where I am thank you. What the hell is going on?” she asked again, the temperature of her voice and body rising.
Well, at least she still had some fire left in her, Don thought with a half smile before he finally turned to look at her. And there it was…a flicker - a flicker of the flame he knew all too well in those brilliant green eyes of hers. And in that moment, he knew she wasn’t going to take this news very well…but if it got a rise out of her - it would be a start, he thought before he took a deep breath, letting it out slowly as he searched for his voice.
“I wanted you to hear this from me before you heard it anywhere else,” he began and before she could say anything, he simply spoke, “Colby’s coming back.”
If he had punched her, it wouldn’t have taken the wind out of her any harder than those three words. “Back? What…what the hell do you mean he’s coming back?” she gasped when she could find the air to fill her lungs.
“I mean, he’s back. His…his assignment is over and he’s coming back here - to LA, to the FBI, to the team.”
Her head felt light and the room was spinning. She shouldn’t have been so stubborn when he’d asked her to sit down as she now made her way into a chair. His assignment? Is that what they were calling it? She asked herself trying to put together a string of thoughts that would help her understand what was happening around her.
She sat there blinking at him for how long, she wasn’t sure. His words were ringing in her ears. Colby was coming back? Even through the nausea she instantly felt choking her, she managed to reply. “Don, if this is your idea of a joke…you need to seek professional help and pay for extra sessions because you’ve lost your God damned mind.”
“I’m serious Callie. There…there were things we didn’t know, things we still don’t know - but Colby…he wasn’t a spy. I can’t say much more except that he was working deep undercover for the Department of Justice. And now, he’s…he’s coming home.”
It only took a second for all the anger and pain she’d felt to fill her entire being - warming her through as she came alive from the half conscious state she’d been living in since all of this first happened. Don could see her thawing before his eyes and even though he’d wanted to see this fire, this was certainly not the exact reaction he’d expected.
“He doesn’t have a home,” she seethed instantly as she stood to her feet. All this pain…all of this heart ache had been for an assignment? Had she just been part of the game? What had been real? What had been lies? How the hell was she supposed to trust anything anyone told her any more?
“But Callie…”
“But nothing, Don,” she snapped, her voice growing stronger as her insides shook with the intensity of the emotion she felt erupting within her. “I’ve cried too many tears for that man all ready. Tears he didn’t deserve if all I was to him was part of a game…part of some assignment ‘for the greater good’,” she said in mock patriotism.
“Callie, I don’t think you were part of a game…if you’d just give him a chance to…”
“To what? Explain? And just how the hell am I supposed to believe anything he says?” she asked her voice raised as she now felt the tears of anger stinging her eyes. This was certainly not what she thought she’d been called in here for and she certainly wasn’t going to listen to any thing more.
She was making for the door when Don’s words stopped her in her tracks. “He wants to see you Callie.”
She whirled around and her eyes were almost black with what she was feeling. Don felt his own stomach lurch and he instantly prayed he would never do anything to see that look in her eyes again before she coolly spoke through clenched teeth.
“Forgive me if I don’t care to ever see him again,” she hissed just before she opened the door and stormed out, needing air…needing space from the walls that seemed to be closing in around her.
Don flinched as he watched her slam the door behind her just before he slid into a chair by the table. He ran his hands over his hair before burying his face in them. Maybe Emily could talk some sense into her…maybe she just needed time to process. Either way, she was going to have to deal with the fact that Colby was going to be part of the team again. He only hoped David wouldn’t take the news quite so hard. [ original post]
<< Broken Fixed, Part 2>>