Title: A Miracle
Author: Numb3rsfan
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Angst, H/C
Disclaimer: I don't own Numb3rs, or any of its characters. This fic was made for the entertainment of the reader.
Summary: The Eppes family must pull together when ten year old Charlie Eppes develops a brain tumor.
Chapter One. 'Symptoms'
Ten year old Charlie Eppes was a bundle of energy to his parents, Alan and Margaret Eppes, and he was an annoying little brat to his big brother, Don. When Charlie wasn't doing his lessons with his special math teacher, he was pestering Don or his parents.
Alan and Margaret thought this was funny, but Don wasn't enjoying it, so he started to push Charlie away, literally and figuratively.
Charlie, being as young as he was, didn't seem hurt by Don's cold shoulder, because he always seemed to have a smile on his young face.
However, in mid August that all began to change.
Ten year old Charlie was lying on the couch staring in to the fireplace as the flames ate at the fresh wood his father had placed in there no more than fifteen minutes ago. Charlie felt drained, but he always did.
"Charlie, what's the matter son?" Alan Eppes asked as he stopped in front of the couch and knelt down so he was at eye level with his son.
"M'so tired." Charlie said softly.
"Hmm. That's what happens when you stay up to late." Alan said before he ruffled Charlie's hair and stood back up.
Charlie watched his father walk away, before he shut his eyes and quickly fell asleep.
Margaret noticed Charlie always laying around and acting tired and she was getting a little worried, but Alan assured her that it was nothing that a good rest wouldn't cure.
Believing her husband, Margaret let Charlie be for the time being.
Two days slowly passed in the Eppes household and Charlie was doing what he did best, math. He worked on his homework but he couldn't seem to concentrate and more than once his teacher had to wake him up because he had fallen asleep at the table while working.
Walking over to her son who had fallen asleep once again, Margaret lifted him up in to her arms before she carried him upstairs to his bed, gently laying him down.
"Oh Charlie." She murmured lovingly, kissing the top of his head before leaving the room and heading back downstairs.
She greeted Charlie's teacher and thanked him for coming before showing him out of the house.
When the teacher was gone, Margaret crossed her arms and looked up the stairs, towards her youngest son's bedroom. She had this feeling that something was terribly wrong, but she couldn't prove it, and she didn't want to take Charlie to the doctors because she knew how much her son hated the doctors.
A few hours later, Don was outside shooting some hoops, Alan was in the study reading a magazine and Margaret was cooking dinner.
Slowly Charlie plodded downstairs looking a little better, more wide awake.
Rubbing the sleepers out of his eyes, Charlie yawned before going to the kitchen.
"Hey mom!" He said with a smile on his face.
"Hi! Feeling better?" Margaret asked, seeing her son's smiling face once again.
Charlie vigorously nodded his head as he said, "And I'm really hungry!"
"Great! Dinner will be in an hour, but how about I fix you a little snack?" Margaret asked.
Again Charlie nodded his head before going over to the table and sitting down, while his mother fixed him a bowl of cereal.
"Here you go, honey." Margaret said, putting the bowl and the spoon down in front of her son. Almost immediately Charlie picked the spoon up and dipped it in to the bowl, before shoveling the food in to his mouth.
Smiling, Margaret put a hand to her son's cheek, before returning to preparing dinner.
Minutes went by, and all Margaret could hear was her son hungrily chomping down on his healthy snack.
"That was good!" Charlie said, turning and smiling at his mother, before he turned back and stood up, intending to take his now empty bowl to the sink.
As Charlie stood, his stomach suddenly revolted. The ok feeling he had turned in to queasiness, before Charlie leaned his head forward and vomited everything he had eaten, back in to the bowl.
Hearing this, Margaret whirled around, a concerned expression on her face as she saw Charlie vomit in to his cereal bowl.
Hurrying over to him, she helped her son lean back against his chair.
"Charlie?...Charlie?" Margaret asked, studying her son's face.
Charlie however looked dazed. His eyes were slightly glazed over as he stared at the far wall. His skin was pale and icy to the touch, though he did have a cold sweat. The front of his shirt was also soaked in sweat as well.
"Don't move!" Margaret said as she rushed to the table and grabbed her car keys, before going to the closet and removing a blanket.
Then as an after thought she rushed to the den and said, "Charlie's sick. I'm taking him to the hospital."
At that, Alan looked up from his magazine, a concerned expression on his face.
"I'll come with you." He said, rising from his seat, tossing the magazine aside.
Quickly Alan followed Margaret, but while Margaret went over to Charlie, wrapping him up and then picking him up, Alan went outside and rounded up Don before they all clamored in to the car and raced off to the hospital.