Fic: Stuck (Numb3rs, Colby / Charlie, Martin / Don)
Title: Stuck
Pair: Charlie Eppes / Colby Granger,
Don Eppes / Martin Fridegord,
David Sinclair / Ian Edgerton
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: Not mine, etc.
Feedback: Always Welcome
NUMB3RS Main List
“Am I in the right floor? Finally?” Colby knocked on the door and walked into the office. “I think there’s something wrong with the elevator.”
“Yeah, you have to press two to go to four, and four to go to the lobby.” Martin looked up from his papers and started collecting them into a folder.
“What do you press when you need to go to two or four?”
“Press five or the emergency button.”
“What about-”
“There’s no fifth floor and the emergency call goes off at least once a week all by itself.” Martin gave him an apologetic smile. “Old building.”
“Why can’t they just fix it or get a new elevator?”
“Historically significant building. I heard they had to fight for six years to get a permit to install an elevator in the first place.”
“How long ago was that?”
“Long before my time.” Martin logged out from his computer and pulled a backpack from under his desk. “Early eighties, probably. And before I forget, thanks for the ride. My car should be ready by the end of the week.”
“No problem.” Colby crouched down to take a look at the woodcarvings of the desk. “Why don’t we get stuff like this at the bureau?”
“Probably because that thing is about hundred years old.”
“It’s massive.”
“Yeah, I got it from my parents when I moved back to L.A. My mom loves antique furniture.”
“How did they get that in here?”
“Through the stairs.” Martin laughed. He snapped the table lamp off and locked the desk drawers. “The janitor claims he still has nightmares about that day.” He picked up his briefcase and his backbag and headed to the door.
“I can believe that, I’ve seen cars smaller than that thing.” Colby followed him to the hallway and waited while he locked the door.
“Like Charlie’s?”
“That’s not a car, it’s a toy.” Colby stated. “But with his driving, its perfect for him.”
They walked down the corridor and cached the elevator as an elderly cleaning lady was coming out with her cart. They stepped in and Colby eyed the buttons carefully.
“Four is lobby, right?”
“Right.”
He pressed the button and the elevator doors closed. The elevator started move with a loud creak and thirty seconds later it came to a sudden halt.
“That was fast.” Colby commented. The control board was blinking like a lopsided Christmas tree. “Does it do this all the time?”
“No.” Martin pressed the emergency release button, but the doors remained closed. “I think we’re between floors.”
“I know there’s some kinda good answer for this, but what do you do when the emergency button takes you to the fourth floor?”
“Call the janitor. He doesn’t leave till six, that’s why I always take the stairs if I stay here longer than that.” He pulled out his phone and picked a number. He waited a minute, but closed the phone. “Number’s busy.”
“It’s almost five thirty.” Colby leaned back and banged his head on the wall. “What if he leaves without checking everything and takes the stairs? We’ll be here all night.”
“He’s over sixty and he hasn’t used the stairs since his hip operation. He’ll notice even if we can’t call him.”
“And we’ll just wait?” Colby tapped the control buttons, but it didn’t help. The only result was that all the buttons were now glowing. “Charlie’s gotta be wondering where we are.”
“We weren’t supposed to meet them till six thirty. Just take a deep breath and calm down.”
“We’re stuck.” Colby leaned against the wall and slowly slid down to sit on the floor. “We’re stuck.”
“There’s still people working in here, someone will notice the elevator’s stuck.”
“I know that.” Colby tried to breath calmly, but his throat seemed to close up. He pressed his palm against his chest and draw deep breaths. He could hear the rusty wheezing, but didn’t look. The dim lights of the elevator didn’t help much, instead they seemed to make the small space seem even smaller. The one spot of light in the ceiling multiplied into several spots, dancing in front of his eyes.
“Are you okay?” Martin sat down with his back against the opposite wall.
“Fine.” Colby wheezed. His hairline was now soaked with sweat. “Small space.”
“You’re in elevators all the time.”
“Not that, just the locked part. Can’t get out.”
“Okay.” Martin leaned closer to press Colby’s back against the wall. “Back straight and take deep breaths.”
Colby tilted his head back. He closed his eyes, but snapped them open again. The mental images were too strong. Sweat run in narrow rivers down both sides of his face.
“I think I got some…” Martin rummaged through his back bag and found a half-full water bottle. “Try that.”
Colby grabbed the bottle and took a big gulp. Most of it ended up on his shirt, but the lukewarm water seemed to cool down his burning throat. He rested his forehead against the side of the bottle.
“Sorry… bad memories.”
“Afghanistan?”
“And some other stuff....” He took another sip. His breathing had calmed down a bit.
“How are you feeling now?”
“Better.”
“Do you get those often?”
“No… Just when I’m stuck and I can’t get out…”
“Okay.” Martin looked up at the control panel. “I got an idea. Close your eyes.”
“Why?”
“Just close them.”
Colby leaned back and closed his eyes.
“Think some time and some place where there was nothing wrong. Some time when you felt totally calm. Some really happy memory.”
“Like…” Colby rewinded his memories. “Got it.”
“What is it?”
“Bahamas. Charlie took me there when we went for our first vacation together.”
“Tell me.”
“We got this hammock at the beach and we spend a whole day there. We got some food and we just lay there in the sun and went swimming and ate…”
“Try to remember all of it.”
“I got burned in the sun.” Colby chuckled. “I forgot sunscreen. And when the sun was going down the colours were incredible…”
“You remember what the sea breeze smelled like?”
“Yeah…” Colby’s voice had gone soft. “Salty and something like algae and this really sweet smell from Charlie’s drink…”
“What else?”
“Seawater. I went swimming and there was no showers anywhere near, and it dried on my skin. Seawater and burning skin…” He laughed huskily. “The flight back was pure hell.”
He opened his eyes and took a deep breath.
“What was that?”
“My mom’s technique. Talk about something happy and can’t focus on whatever’s distressing you.”
“It works.” Colby took a sip from the water bottle. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“What would you think?”
“I don’t know…” Martin pulled few muesli bars from his bag and tossed one over to Colby. “Maybe Sweden.”
“When you went there with Don?”
“Yeah, we had been the sauna and then we came out to the porch. There was a lake just next to the villa and forest surrounding us everywhere else. We were sweaty and overheated, and we sat there and there was a cool breeze. No one else anywhere, and total silence. Just the wind and the waves. It’s something you have to try yourself, you can’t explain it. Complete peace.”
“Sounds like a great place.” Colby took a careful bite from his muesli bar. “How long have we been here?”
“About…” Martin glanced down at his watch. “… five minutes.”
“Five minutes?” Colby repeated. Suddenly the whole scene seemed unbelievably amusing. He threw his head back and laughed uncontrollably. He almost choked on his half-chewed piece of muesli, but couldn’t stop.
“I’ll try calling again.” Martin took his cell phone, but before he could dial a number, the elevator twitched and the croaky sounds of the wires started again. “We’re moving.”
“Great…” Colby still giggled. “Maybe I should suggest they add this to the survival training at Quantico. How long does it take till they break…”
“There’s creaking and there`s breaking.” Martin gathered his things and got up. “You weren’t even close to the second one.”