Disclaimer: unfortunately I in no way own Numb3rs and am making no profit off of this. If I did, I definitely wouldn't be living in a two bedroom apartment with 4 people, a dog, and a turtle. Can you say cramped.

Okay so I've been holding onto to this for a while. Ending it was tough for some reason. Anyway, this is just a series of oneshots of how three different women in Don's life have viewed the brothers. Tons of brotherly fluff here. Enjoy. And don't be afraid to review, the button won't bite.

Kim

The whole thing felt like such a sham. I understood, I really did. Don's mom was sick and he had to go back to L.A. to see her. I got it. It was perfectly reasonable. No, what really gets me is that he never came back.

We kept somewhat in touch and I knew that his mother had passed. He needed time, I knew that, but I was willing to wait. I really thought we had something special. Of course, after a while we stopped calling each other and seeing him sow, fully engrossed in his team it was clear that he never had any intention to come back. It really just boils my nerves. A mother's death would have hurt anyone no matter what the age, but wouldn't that make a person want to hold onto the relationships they had left for as long as they could? It seems like Don just wants to retreat into work. He's just so…so…

"Look out!"

The scream came out of nowhere ripping me from my thoughts. I whipped my head around completely ready for anything that came my way but what I saw still managed to surprise me.

Lying in a heap just a few feet from the door to the FBI building was Charlie, Charlie's bike, and a young agent I seem to remember as Browen. Browen was spouting an insane amount of apologies. It appears that he managed to trip over his own two feet only to land right in the path of the unsuspecting math professor. I'd consider going over to help but if my instincts are correct that won't be necessary.

"Charlie are you alright?" as if on cue Don came running over to the pile of limbs and bike tires completely ignoring the agent he had just been talking to.(to his credit the agent didn't even bat an eye at the brash treatment) Don hefted the bike off of Charlie and moved him into a sitting position.

"I'm fine Don. I think I just scraped my knee," replied Charlie in an attempt to reassure his brother while pulling up his pant leg.

From what I can see it doesn't look too bad. A simple band aid would do the trick but apparently that didn't satisfy and overzealous big brother. "That's a decent sized cut, buddy. We should clean it before it gets infected," he was saying, "Browen, get the first aid kit from the front desk." His last sentence was clipped and the death glare aimed at Browen definitely had to be the reason the poor agent took off at almost a dead run.

No doubt Browen was shaking in his boots but to me it just seemed sweet. Don was known for having a strong protective streak and it seems that it extends to his little brother too. Funny, whenever he mentioned Charlie back in Albuquerque it was always something to the effect of "pain in the but little genius who always got all the attention." His words, not mine.

"Just sit still Charlie." Ah, found the pain in the but part.

"No!" Charlie protested, "you're gonna put that stupid stuff that stings on it."

Don smiled that disarming smile of his, "Yes I am," he said, "and it's not stupid. It helps. What are you doing here anyway? We don't have a case for you yet."

Charlie ducked his head and wore a sheepish smile, "Well I was between classes and I knew you were between cases so I, I figured we could have lunch."

"Oh," Don honestly looked stunned. It was rare that anyone or anything could throw him off like that.

"Of course if you're busy with case files and stuff…" Charlie quickly added after Don's silence drew on.

"No, no… just let me check in with my team and we'll get going," said Don.

Wait a minute. Did Don just say he would leave work? Before his shift is over? That was a near impossibility in Albuquerque. For a moment the keen sting of jealousy hit me like a tidal wave, but just as soon as it came it was gone. The look on Don's face when he rushed to accept Charlie's offer was almost desperate. It's as if he had been longing to hear those words but was afraid that if he didn't act quickly it would be nothing but a dream. Maybe he was clinging to some relationships a little harder now. One way or another ours just didn't make the cut. Looking at him though, I think I'm okay with that.