The evils of Email.

[cat_13145]

Title: Evils of Email
Author: Cat_13145
Pairing/characters: Don Eppes/Ian Edgeton, Colby Granger, David Sinclair, Megan Reeves, Charlie Eppes/Amita
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: If the series was mine, this would canon and it would never have been cancel. As both are untrue, I don't own anything.
Summary:  Robin had sworn she'd get revenge, but he never expected she'd do anything like this.
Warnings: (if any): Very mild references to homophobia, and spoilers for cause and effect
Author's Notes: Massive thanks to Aliceinked for the beta. For lgbtfest Prompt: 2223. Numb3rs, any character, coming out or being outed at work. 

 

Don stormed into the medic’s office, doing what he knew was a fairly good impression of Ian Edgerton, when he saw the medic diving out of the room for cover.

 

“You wanna tell me what possessed you to get into a fight with Tim King?”

Colby, holding an ice pack over an eye that was already swelling, winced.

“Don, it’s no big deal.”

“No big deal?” Don’s face was about two inches away from his agent’s and last time Colby had seen him this mad, he’d just been outed as a double agent. The irony of the situation was not lost on him. “King’s in the hospital and you look like you went five rounds with Mike Tyson, and it’s no big deal.”
Colby shrugged, trying his hardest not to look guilty.

“He said something, I overreacted. Things got out of hand...”

“You call a concussion out of hand?” King had hit his head on faucet, which Colby was fairly certain he was going to be blamed for, even though he had just ducked when the guy went for his skull. It had to be fairly humiliating for the head of SWAT to be taken down by an agent. Colby was fairly sure there’d be pay back once King was back in the field, but he could handle it.

“Colby what’s going on?”

He tried, he really, really tried, not to glance at the crumpled up bit of paper on the floor, but like when he was sixteen, the more he told his body not to do something, the more it did it. And Don was one of the best Colby had ever met at reading body language.

“What’s this?” He couldn’t answer that.

“I found it, taped to the locker room doors. There was another one on the shower.” He closed his eyes, hearing the rustle of paper as Don unwrapped the metaphorical bombshell.

*****

Robin had sworn she’d get revenge, but he’d never expected she’d try anything like this.

It wasn’t even like the photo was the worse one she could have chosen, but it was the only one that showed both their faces clearly.

Don wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing.

“Here,” Colby muttered, very clearly not looking Don in the eyes. “That’s all up here. Liz is checking the girl’s bath and locker room and David said he’d check the range.”

Don nodded numbly. He was grateful that Colby was facing small arms review and had come in earlier than normal to get some practice.

If luck was on their side, he might be able to stop his outing at his team and King, who wasn’t likely to talk.

“Alright, Thanks.” He muttered, picking up the pile. He had no idea what he was going to do with them, burn them seemed like the only safe choice.

“err Don,” Colby had moved over and opened up his email, “I don’t think we can get them all.”

He spun his laptop around to face him.

David stuck his head around the door.

“Hey, just got a call from a friend at Quantico…” he trailed off, noticing the image on Colby’s laptop screen.

 Don groaned. He should have known. If Charlie believed in luck, then it had to exist and would most probably not be on his side.

*****

“You’re a real bitch you know that?” Robin kept her eyes on the mirror.

“Excuse me?”

“Don dumped you. But this is just…” Liz Warner had come up to stand beside her colleague. Robin wasn’t surprised. She knew they had dated. “Wrong.”

“And you’re not angry?” she turned to look at her. “He lied. To both of us.”

Liz shrugged. Nicki laughed. “We’ve known. For months.” She leaned forward to whisper to Robin. “Don didn’t lie to us. And he didn’t lie to you. After all,” she said, grabbing her bag. “You were the one who left.”

*****

“You know Charlie, I think this is wrong.”

“And?” Charlie was pacing across his office, sending chalk flying. “She put Don’s life on the line. Do you know the stats of what happens to outed Agents?”

Amita bite down on her lip. “I still don’t think this is the right way to go.”

“What, you think I should just let it go?”

“No.” Amita replied. “I just think a worm would deliver the virus better.”

Charlie smiled. “I knew there was a reason I married you.”

*****

There were five messages on the phone by nine, nearly 100 by noon. By five, he just stopped checking his messages.

Most were supportive, including one from Kim and four from Coop, the latest offering to help him hide Robin’s body.

A few were expressing surprise, but not unsupportive, including a couple from old teammates in Alberque.

There was also more than one that was nasty. He deleted them, not bothering to listen to more than their tone.

Gazing at the screen, he sighed.

All in all, it hadn’t been that bad. Certainly he’d expected being outed at the office to be considerably worse. He suspected he had Colby beating up King to thank in part, and resolved to buy the man a beer once he was off the meds. The fact that he was sleeping with Ian Edgerton probably hadn’t harmed things either.

He leaned back, running his fingers through his hair.  He was knackered, and tomorrow was going to be worse.

He smiled slightly, the memory of Robin’s face when she opened her laptop.

A cup of coffee was slid across to him.

“Hope you’re thinking of me Eppes.” The voice was smooth and clear, and looking up, the other man didn’t look too pissed. “Seeing as it was your ex, who outed us.”

Don sighed. “Sorry.”

“Bound to happen.” Ian sat on the desk, smiling at him. “Just a matter of time.”

He looked at Don with concern.

“You okay?”
Don laughed. “I’ve just been outed in a Federal Agency, one of my agents got into fight with the head of SWAT, my brother and his wife are guilty of the destruction of Federal Property, including several important witness statements, so yeah, I’ve been better.”

He looked up. “You?”

Ian shrugged. “Not the first agent I’ve dated, Don.” He sighed. “It’s alright. Gives me an excuse to get rid of a couple of students, who’ve no business in the agency.” Relieved that Don wasn’t about to ask, he leaned down.

“Want to celebrate being out?”

Don grimaced. “Not to everyone.”

“You do realize your dad’s known since the diamond case?” At Don’s expression he sighed. “Why else do you think I was invited to dinner?”

“Okay, so did everyone know expect Robin?” The way his team was avoiding his eyes answered his questions. Sighing at Ian’s expression. He nodded. “Sure.”

He started heading for the elevator, when Ian grabbed him. “Hey,” he said, dropping his voice, his eyes looking at Don like he was the only thing in the room.

“It’ll be okay.”

And looking into Ian’s eyes, Don found he could actually believe it.

“Alright. But first round is on you!” At Ian’s shocked expression, he growled, “You were the one who convinced me that no one would check the end of that security tape.”