Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Numb3rs characters.. I just like to play with them. I promise to put them back. :) I do own Jordan and Riley. ;)
Many thanks to my AWESOME beta, Antoinette! You ROCK:)
A/N: Since Charlie Eppes is my very favorite character on 'Numb3rs', I thought it would be fun to give him a girl who loves him. If you don't like pairings or 'ships, just skip this one. To those of you who do, I hope you enjoy. :)
This is a sequel to Love Thy Neighbor. The beginning of this story is set two years later. It is another Charlie/Jordan story.
Charlie pedaled his bike home from school. He had bought a car nearly two years ago while he was still dating Jordan, but he still enjoyed riding his bike when the weather was nice, which it usually was.
He turned into his driveway, and slowed to a stop. He leaned his bike near the garage door, checked the mail, and walked into the house.
"Hello?", he called. Charlie didn't see Jordan or his dad.
He loved that his dad still lived with him and Jordan. Alan had almost moved out just before Charlie and Jordan were married. He'd insisted that they needed their "space". Fortunately, they finally convinced him to stay.
"In the kitchen." Alan answered.
Charlie walked into the kitchen, dropping his backpack into a chair.
"Hi, Charlie." Alan said, glancing at him. He turned back to searching for something in the cabinets.
Jordan looked up and smiled at him as she stood at the stove, stirring something that smelled delicious. "Hi Charlie." Her body was turned slightly, so that her pregnant belly wasn't against the stove. Charlie noticed with amusement that she was barefoot. He walked over and kissed her.
"Hi there." He smiled at her. Charlie looked over at Alan, who was still looking in the cabinet. "Hey Dad. What are you looking for?"
Alan glanced over his shoulder at his son. "Cilantro. And I don't think we have any."
Jordan looked tired, but she smiled at him. "Did you have a good day?" She made a tall glass of iced tea and squeezed a piece of lemon into it, and handed it to Charlie.
"Yeah, it was a pretty good day." Charlie sat down and sipped his tea. He smiled to himself. Marrying a southern girl meant that you drank sweet iced tea. And drank it they did. Nearly very day. Fortunately, all the Eppes men loved it.
Jordan watched Charlie relax with his tea. It was hard to believe they'd already been married almost 18 months.
Jordan bent over, and pulled a sheet cake out of the oven. She set it out to cool.
"What's the cake for?" Charlie started to worry he'd forgotten someone's birthday.
"No reason." Jordan smiled. "I was just in a baking mood." She suddenly brightened. "By the way, I have an appointment tomorrow at 3:00 P.M. Can you take me?"
"Of course I can." Charlie had more responsibilities now as head of the math department, but fortunately he had his 'short day' the next day, and he liked going to Jordan's pre-natal appointments.
The next afternoon...
Charlie sat in a chair, watching as the doctor measured his wife's belly. The doctor grasped her hand to pull her up when he was finished. He flipped a few papers on Jordan's chart.
"We have the results back from the triple screening." The doctor looked at Charlie, and then at Jordan. "I believe we need to do an amniocentesis."
Jordan immediately looked nervous. "Why?" she demanded.
Charlie stood, and put his arms around Jordan to comfort her.
"We don't know why, but for some reason you are at an unusually high risk for a Down's Syndrome child." The doctor told them quietly. "We need to find out if your baby has Downs'."
Charlie and Jordan glanced at each other.
"I thought that was hereditary." Jordan said slowly. "Neither of us have anyone with Downs' in our families. It's not hereditary. It is genetic.", the doctor told her. "I wouldn't recommend this if I didn't feel it was necessary, Mrs. Eppes."
Jordan looked up at Charlie. She looked so scared. "It's up to you." Charlie told her quietly.
"If you'd like, your husband can go in with you.", the doctor told her. Jordan was scared. She didn't know what else to do. She was afraid for her baby. She nodded slowly. "Ok.. umm.. I'll do it."
Jordan was lying on the table. Charlie saw the doctor get out a long needle with a tube on the end. Knowing Jordan's fear of needles, he tried to block her view, but she saw it anyway. She sucked in her breath. Charlie grasped and held both Jordan's hands. She looked frightened. Tears welled up in her eyes. Charlie continued to hold her hands as he bent over her, kissing her wet eyelashes and whispering to her, trying to reassure her.
Charlie kept his eyes on the screen. He saw the needle move closer to his unborn baby. It was scary to watch. Much to his relief, the needle did not touch the baby. Quickly the procedure was over.
Jordan was pale as they left the room. Charlie was worried. The doctor ordered bed rest for the next 24 hours. The test results would be back in three weeks. The wait would be agony.
Charlie stood at the chalkboard, scribbling. He stopped, erased part, then continued.
"Charles." Larry repeated, again.
Charlie jumped and turned around. "Oh, I didn't hear you."
"Evidently not." Larry said, sitting on the edge of Charlie's desk and watching his friend.
Charlie turned back to the chalkboard and kept scribbling.
"Can I help?" Larry asked him quietly.
"No, Larry. I need to figure this out myself."
Larry nodded. He stood up and walked over to Charlie and put a hand on his friends' shoulder. "Charles, this has nothing to do with you. Anyone can have a child like this."
Charlie whirled around to face Larry. "Larry, most women Jordan's age have a one in a thousand chance of having a Down's child. But Jordan.. we have a one in 39 chance. And they," Charlie threw his hands up, "can't even tell us why. I wasn't 'normal'. Now this baby might not be 'normal'." Charlie turned away from Larry, walked over, and punched the desk hard. Larry jumped.
"Now, Charles.." Larry began.
"Just leave me alone!" Charlie snapped at him. Larry nodded, and stepped out of the room, closing the door behind him. He was worried for his friend. He thought a moment, and decided to call Don. Sometimes Don was the best person to handle his younger brother.
"Eppes."
"Don, this is Larry Fleinhardt, Charles' friend."
"What can I do for you Larry?" Don wondered why on earth Larry was calling him. "Is something wrong?"
"Well, you might say that. Apparently Charles is worried about his unborn child."
Larry had Don's full attention. "Yeah? Why is that?" he asked quietly.
"The doctor told them they were at a high risk for having a mentally challenged child." Larry paused, listening. When Don didn't speak, Larry continued. "Charles said that a test had been performed; an amniocentesis. He said that the results would be back within three weeks. However,.."
Don cut Larry off. "Thanks Larry. I'll come see Charlie right now."
Don hung up and looked over at Megan. "I need to go see Charlie. See you later."
Megan started to ask what was wrong, but Don was already out the door.
Don drove to CalSci. He didn't see Charlie's bike, or his car. Don tried Charlie's cell phone, but his voice mail picked up.
Don checked Charlie's office and classroom. Both were locked up. Don sighed, and drove to his brothers' house.
Don poked his head in the front door. "Hello?"
"In the den." Jordan called.
Don walked in, and saw his sister-in-law folding his brother's socks. She had been their neighbor's nanny until she'd married Charlie. Don knew his brother loved having her at home, so she stopped working. Don figured keeping up with his younger brother was a full time job anyway.
She smiled at him. "Hi Don. What's up?"
"Hi." Don sat down and looked at Jordan. He smiled at her. "Hey, have you seen Charlie?" "Charlie's at school, Don! You know.. " and she stopped suddenly, looking at Don with a frightened expression. "Oh God! Is something wrong?" "No, no.. it's okay." He patted her arm reassuringly, Don was sorry he'd asked her. The last thing he wanted to do was to upset a pregnant woman.
"Are you alright?" Don asked, eyeing her belly.
She immediately knew that Don knew about the baby. She gave him a big smile that she hoped was convincing. "I'm just fine, Don."
She picked up an armload of Charlie's shirts, and started for the stairs. "I need to get finished before Charlie gets home." She walked out of the room.
Don sighed.