Homecoming
Written by major-megan-fan03 AKA math_geek10

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Numb3rs. The only things I own are Emma (an original character) and the plot.

“Ugh, when can I pick the music?” Emma Maxwell groaned, slamming her head on the headrest. “I am getting really sick of this radio station.”

Don Eppes gave his partner a sideways glance. Usually, Emma was content to just look out the window on long car trips. But, ever since he’d picked her up from a conference in Bakersfield, they’d been one of the few cars on the road, so there wasn’t much to look at.
“Next town, we can switch it. Deal?” Don turned onto a side road, lined with ditches. There was only about a hundred feet until the next intersection, and even though there were no other cars on the road, Don slowed down at the crossroads. He pulled forward, looking both ways.
The impact was fast and hard.
It slammed into the driver’s side door, crumpling it like tin foil. Don flew to the side, hitting his head on the steering wheel. Emma slammed into the window, shattering it. The SUV started rolling, and Emma’s head ricocheted off the roof. Her whole body was shaking, and her throat was dry. All she could hear was crunching metal and a horrible scraping.
The SUV finally came to rest on all four wheels. Emma could hardly believe she was still conscious; her head had hit so many times. After audibly popping her nails out of the dashboard, she popped down her visor to get a good look in the mirror.
A gash on her temple was bleeding down the side of her face, and one of her eyes was turning purple. Painfully tilting her shoulder into the light, Emma could see that it was torn up from the glass. She tested her legs and her good arm, and they moved fine, so she turned towards Don.
He was slumped towards his window, so Emma couldn’t get a good look at his face, but she could see blood running down the glass.
Working slowly so as not to further disorient herself, Emma unbuckled, feeling the pang of the subsequent bruise. Popping open the door, she stepped out onto the grass, thinking only of her injured partner on the other side. Because of this, she wasn’t prepared for what happened next.
A man came up behind her, wrapping his arm around her waist and gripping hard. Emma was shocked, still only one person on her mind.
“Grab the other one!” her captor called, and Emma heard the driver door open. A flash of anger passed through her mind, and she brought her heels back hard against the guy’s shins. He grunted, and Emma felt the cold gun muzzle against the back of her neck. That sort of thing didn’t usually scare her, but now her heart raced and her eyes were hot with tears.
Her captor didn’t say anything as he led Emma around the back of the car. Two men were pulling Don out of the SUV. One side of his head was completely covered in blood.
“Don!” Emma shouted before her captor clamped his hand over her mouth.
“Now, come on, sweetheart. Can’t you be a good little girl?” he crowed.
He pulled her over to a moving van, its door slamming in the wind. He shoved her inside, and after his friends forced Don to join her, the leader hopped in and slammed the door, ensuing a sharp darkness and sending a new terror running through Emma’s nerves.