Broken (Colby/OFC-Callie, David, Don, PG)
Originally posted to mustangcandi and shared 11.17.07 through savecolby as an invitation for more writer's to post to the community...
Title: Broken
Characters/Pairings: Colby/OFC-Callie Walker, Don, David
Rating: PG (language)
Word Count: 1,448
Summary: He's not the man she thought he was...
Spoilers: 3.24 - The Janus List
Notes/Warnings: This was written after the Season 3 finale of Numb3rs when all fans of Colby Granger were mortified and inconsolable. I wrote this and the series that follows in order to resolve my own thoughts about the devastating season finale. Beware the angst. Also a note about OFC-Callie: she's well established in my head and so I didn't take the time to set everything up in this fic. If you want to know more about her, just ask. :)
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, regrettably - it's not mine.
Callie looked through the mirrored glass, watching the scene before her as though she were watching someone else’s life in a movie. But, the life was hers…and it seemed to be crumbling with every accelerated beat of her heart. Her stomach was churning and every moment that passed made her heart wrench just a little harder in her chest. How…how did this happen? She asked herself nervously twirling the diamond engagement ring on her finger as she watched the man she loved…the man she thought she knew, waiting to be interrogated for crimes surely he did not commit. A spy for the Chinese? A double agent? A mole in the FBI? It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be - not Colby…not her Colby. He had to have some explanation for this. She found she could barely breathe as she waited for his answer…for the words that would make this nightmare end.
As Don entered the interrogation room, David came in to the observation room and quietly moved to stand beside her. She looked at him and found he couldn’t meet her eyes. The same pain she was feeling…the same betrayal…the same need for an explanation was evident in his eyes, now darkened with hurt and anger. This was their teammate, their friend…his partner, her fiancé. This just couldn’t be happening, she found herself saying for the fifth time in as many minutes.
Don seemed to be the only one unaffected. His eyes were on Colby as though he were just another suspect. Callie wondered how he could be so cold…how he could just turn off what he was feeling knowing who it was he was interrogating. Did he believe that Colby was capable of this? Did he actually think that Colby was the mole? She could feel her anger building. How could he possibly think that?
And then…she got her answer. Don threatened to investigate Colby’s bank statements, his phone records, and his “entire miserable life”…and a second later, Colby was sighing heavily as he buried his face in his hands. Callie stopped breathing…waiting for the words from his mouth that would explain this. And finally, his words were “The Chinese bug was in the sofa…where I put it two years ago. I pulled it when David was in the kitchen.”
Had David not been standing beside her, Callie would have collapsed. As it was, his arms caught her just before her knees completely gave way. The room was spinning as her heart was instantly shattered into a million different little pieces. She wanted to scream, but had no voice…no air in her lungs to make the effort. She wanted to rewind time and make his answer be different, but as she looked up into David’s face…seeing the tears that had pooled in his eyes, she knew there was no turning back. Colby was guilty…on all charges.
Don continued to ask Colby questions, but Callie heard nothing. She barely even knew that she was being escorted by David out of the observation room and into the interrogation room. He was taking her inside to confront Colby, just as he intended to confront this man who had so easily betrayed them all. David’s hand was on the door before Callie even realized where she was or what was happening.
“No. No, David I can’t…” she gasped, grabbing at his shirt and doing her best to will the world to stop spinning out of control. She was numb and she needed to wake up from this nightmare. She had to be dreaming. This was all too painful to be real.
“You have to go Callie. He needs to see what he’s done,” David replied, and Callie knew she had never heard his voice sound so cold. She had never known David to be anything less than intense and warm in all the time she had known him. But now, his steely gaze and chilled persona brought it home to her. She couldn’t be dreaming…because this was also David’s nightmare.
Her chest tightened with the tears that she wanted to cry but couldn’t, as she leaned into him for support and he opened the door to usher her inside. As soon as the door was open, Colby looked up and there was only one word to describe the look that crossed his face - mortification.
“Cal…you…you weren’t supposed to…” he stammered, his voice rising to a near panic before he turned and looked to Don.
It only took an instant for his words to filter into her dulled senses. As soon as she heard his name for her from his lips, her own anger - at him, and at herself - rose within her, quieting for the moment her need for tears. She found strength enough to stand on her own as her now glacial gaze bore into Colby’s. “I wasn’t supposed to what Granger? I wasn’t supposed to hear that? To know who you really are?”
“No. Cal, it’s not…it’s not what you think. Please…” His eyes were growing wild with the fear that was overwhelming him in this moment.
“Please, what, Colby? If that is even your name…”
“Cal…really…I need you to…”
“To what? To listen to more of your lies? I…I don’t even know you,” she sighed, moving her right hand over her left as she slipped the engagement ring from her finger. “And my name…is Callie,” she said, her gaze never leaving his as she leaned over the table to place the ring in front of him.
It was just then that the two armed guards stepped in to the room. It was time to take Colby away. Don stood from where he had been sitting on the table and picked up the ring in front of Colby. He looked to Callie as if to make sure she wanted to do this and with only one look from her, he knew all he needed to know. His eyes held her for a moment, his heart filling with sympathy the moment before he turned back to Colby.
“Hands behind you, Granger,” he sighed, his disgust and exhaustion evident in his voice as he slipped the ring into Colby’s shirt pocket.
As soon as Don reached for his handcuffs, Callie turned away and buried her face in David’s chest. Instinctively, he wrapped her in his arms - holding her to him just as he also needed something to hold on to. Everything came crashing down on her in that moment as she heard the familiar snapping of the cuffs over Colby’s wrists, and even though she wanted to fight it…though she wanted to keep it all in until she was alone, the tears she felt filling her heart began spilling out and she started to cry.
Colby had been too shocked to move…to react to anything but what Don ordered him to do. But as soon as he saw the way her body shook as she began to cry, something snapped inside of him…calling him to act, to do something other than sit there.
“No! NO!” he shouted, fighting against the pull of the man behind him as they moved him out of his chair. “NO! Cal! Please! Please don’t do this…anything but this!”
“All your talk of country,” David spat, tightening his hold on Callie as his gaze finally met Colby’s. “You’re not a spy. You’re a damned traitor.”
“No! NO! PLEASE!” Colby shouted, still struggling against his chains and the men trying to escort him from the room. It was his job to comfort Callie when she cried…his place to have her in his arms. Not David’s. This was worse than any torture the government could ever inflict upon him.
“Callie, please…look at me!” he called even as they were pulling him out the door. “Callie! PLEASE!”
She never looked up. His cries only made her tears fall harder and she clung to David with all that she had as her body was wracked with the sobs that escaped her. Her boys…Don and David…had never seen her cry - not in the two years they had known her. Colby had been the only one…but there was no stopping her once she started. She was thankful for David’s support, unashamed to shed the tears she had also seen in his eyes. Right now, her tears seemed to be the only thing she had left to give. Her body, her heart, her soul…every thing that she was had just been broken - and she wasn’t sure she’d ever be whole again. [ original post]
Fixed, Part 1>>
Alternate Ending Series
Too Late...>>
Additional Alternate Ending Series
She...>>
Colby's Perspective, Written by julietm:
Agony, Part 1>>
Turning Point, Part 2>>
Angel of Mercy, Part 3>>
Friend or Enemy, Part 4>>>
Mending Fences, Part 5>>>
Strangers, Part 6>>>
Home, Part 7>>>
Making Peace, Part 8>>>
Title: Broken
Characters/Pairings: Colby/OFC-Callie Walker, Don, David
Rating: PG (language)
Word Count: 1,448
Summary: He's not the man she thought he was...
Spoilers: 3.24 - The Janus List
Notes/Warnings: This was written after the Season 3 finale of Numb3rs when all fans of Colby Granger were mortified and inconsolable. I wrote this and the series that follows in order to resolve my own thoughts about the devastating season finale. Beware the angst. Also a note about OFC-Callie: she's well established in my head and so I didn't take the time to set everything up in this fic. If you want to know more about her, just ask. :)
Disclaimer: If you recognize it, regrettably - it's not mine.
Callie looked through the mirrored glass, watching the scene before her as though she were watching someone else’s life in a movie. But, the life was hers…and it seemed to be crumbling with every accelerated beat of her heart. Her stomach was churning and every moment that passed made her heart wrench just a little harder in her chest. How…how did this happen? She asked herself nervously twirling the diamond engagement ring on her finger as she watched the man she loved…the man she thought she knew, waiting to be interrogated for crimes surely he did not commit. A spy for the Chinese? A double agent? A mole in the FBI? It couldn’t be. It just couldn’t be - not Colby…not her Colby. He had to have some explanation for this. She found she could barely breathe as she waited for his answer…for the words that would make this nightmare end.
As Don entered the interrogation room, David came in to the observation room and quietly moved to stand beside her. She looked at him and found he couldn’t meet her eyes. The same pain she was feeling…the same betrayal…the same need for an explanation was evident in his eyes, now darkened with hurt and anger. This was their teammate, their friend…his partner, her fiancé. This just couldn’t be happening, she found herself saying for the fifth time in as many minutes.
Don seemed to be the only one unaffected. His eyes were on Colby as though he were just another suspect. Callie wondered how he could be so cold…how he could just turn off what he was feeling knowing who it was he was interrogating. Did he believe that Colby was capable of this? Did he actually think that Colby was the mole? She could feel her anger building. How could he possibly think that?
And then…she got her answer. Don threatened to investigate Colby’s bank statements, his phone records, and his “entire miserable life”…and a second later, Colby was sighing heavily as he buried his face in his hands. Callie stopped breathing…waiting for the words from his mouth that would explain this. And finally, his words were “The Chinese bug was in the sofa…where I put it two years ago. I pulled it when David was in the kitchen.”
Had David not been standing beside her, Callie would have collapsed. As it was, his arms caught her just before her knees completely gave way. The room was spinning as her heart was instantly shattered into a million different little pieces. She wanted to scream, but had no voice…no air in her lungs to make the effort. She wanted to rewind time and make his answer be different, but as she looked up into David’s face…seeing the tears that had pooled in his eyes, she knew there was no turning back. Colby was guilty…on all charges.
Don continued to ask Colby questions, but Callie heard nothing. She barely even knew that she was being escorted by David out of the observation room and into the interrogation room. He was taking her inside to confront Colby, just as he intended to confront this man who had so easily betrayed them all. David’s hand was on the door before Callie even realized where she was or what was happening.
“No. No, David I can’t…” she gasped, grabbing at his shirt and doing her best to will the world to stop spinning out of control. She was numb and she needed to wake up from this nightmare. She had to be dreaming. This was all too painful to be real.
“You have to go Callie. He needs to see what he’s done,” David replied, and Callie knew she had never heard his voice sound so cold. She had never known David to be anything less than intense and warm in all the time she had known him. But now, his steely gaze and chilled persona brought it home to her. She couldn’t be dreaming…because this was also David’s nightmare.
Her chest tightened with the tears that she wanted to cry but couldn’t, as she leaned into him for support and he opened the door to usher her inside. As soon as the door was open, Colby looked up and there was only one word to describe the look that crossed his face - mortification.
“Cal…you…you weren’t supposed to…” he stammered, his voice rising to a near panic before he turned and looked to Don.
It only took an instant for his words to filter into her dulled senses. As soon as she heard his name for her from his lips, her own anger - at him, and at herself - rose within her, quieting for the moment her need for tears. She found strength enough to stand on her own as her now glacial gaze bore into Colby’s. “I wasn’t supposed to what Granger? I wasn’t supposed to hear that? To know who you really are?”
“No. Cal, it’s not…it’s not what you think. Please…” His eyes were growing wild with the fear that was overwhelming him in this moment.
“Please, what, Colby? If that is even your name…”
“Cal…really…I need you to…”
“To what? To listen to more of your lies? I…I don’t even know you,” she sighed, moving her right hand over her left as she slipped the engagement ring from her finger. “And my name…is Callie,” she said, her gaze never leaving his as she leaned over the table to place the ring in front of him.
It was just then that the two armed guards stepped in to the room. It was time to take Colby away. Don stood from where he had been sitting on the table and picked up the ring in front of Colby. He looked to Callie as if to make sure she wanted to do this and with only one look from her, he knew all he needed to know. His eyes held her for a moment, his heart filling with sympathy the moment before he turned back to Colby.
“Hands behind you, Granger,” he sighed, his disgust and exhaustion evident in his voice as he slipped the ring into Colby’s shirt pocket.
As soon as Don reached for his handcuffs, Callie turned away and buried her face in David’s chest. Instinctively, he wrapped her in his arms - holding her to him just as he also needed something to hold on to. Everything came crashing down on her in that moment as she heard the familiar snapping of the cuffs over Colby’s wrists, and even though she wanted to fight it…though she wanted to keep it all in until she was alone, the tears she felt filling her heart began spilling out and she started to cry.
Colby had been too shocked to move…to react to anything but what Don ordered him to do. But as soon as he saw the way her body shook as she began to cry, something snapped inside of him…calling him to act, to do something other than sit there.
“No! NO!” he shouted, fighting against the pull of the man behind him as they moved him out of his chair. “NO! Cal! Please! Please don’t do this…anything but this!”
“All your talk of country,” David spat, tightening his hold on Callie as his gaze finally met Colby’s. “You’re not a spy. You’re a damned traitor.”
“No! NO! PLEASE!” Colby shouted, still struggling against his chains and the men trying to escort him from the room. It was his job to comfort Callie when she cried…his place to have her in his arms. Not David’s. This was worse than any torture the government could ever inflict upon him.
“Callie, please…look at me!” he called even as they were pulling him out the door. “Callie! PLEASE!”
She never looked up. His cries only made her tears fall harder and she clung to David with all that she had as her body was wracked with the sobs that escaped her. Her boys…Don and David…had never seen her cry - not in the two years they had known her. Colby had been the only one…but there was no stopping her once she started. She was thankful for David’s support, unashamed to shed the tears she had also seen in his eyes. Right now, her tears seemed to be the only thing she had left to give. Her body, her heart, her soul…every thing that she was had just been broken - and she wasn’t sure she’d ever be whole again. [ original post]
Fixed, Part 1>>
Alternate Ending Series
Too Late...>>
Additional Alternate Ending Series
She...>>
Colby's Perspective, Written by julietm:
Agony, Part 1>>
Turning Point, Part 2>>
Angel of Mercy, Part 3>>
Friend or Enemy, Part 4>>>
Mending Fences, Part 5>>>
Strangers, Part 6>>>
Home, Part 7>>>
Making Peace, Part 8>>>