Changes

by Bichonmom

Don gets the suprise of his life.

Changes

Author: Alicia

Genre: Crossover/Au (Depending on how you count it I've got 3 or 4 shows represented here.)

Rating: K+

Summary: Don gets the surprise of his life.

Disclaimer: I don't own Numb3rs, Without a Trace or a certain psychologist. I'm making no money off this and no copyright infringement is intended.

Feedback: If you like it sure, if you have constructive criticism sure, if you just don't like it, I don't care.

AN: In my little world, Don moved back to LA in January of 2002. That's 3 years before the pilot.

Remember: patience is a virtue!

Jack Malone headed for the conference room to meet with his team and give them what few details he had for their latest case.

"Okay, here's what we have. Special Agent Kim Hall of the Secret Service (was) reported missing this morning when the nanny called the office to check in with her. The nanny is apparently used to Hall working strange hours and didn't think anything of her not being home until this morning when the bed didn't look slept in. Hall's supervisor reports that she left the office around seven last night."

"What about the husband?" Martin asked.

"Agent Hall isn't married. She joined the Secret Service from the Bureau three years ago; her daughter was born eight months later. She's been in New York about nine months. Before that she was in LA(,) and before that, she was in Albuquerque with the Bureau. According to her supervisor, no one in the office knows who the father is."

"Does the nanny know?" Vivian inquired.

"Unknown. Danny, start tracking her credit cards, check the hospitals and the morgue, pull phone records, you know the drill. Martin, you and I are headed over to talk to her co-workers. Samantha and Vivian, you talk to the nanny and search the apartment. See if you can find out anything about the father."

As soon as Jack finished speaking, his team got to work trying to accomplish the tasks that he'd outlined for them.

Samantha and Vivian decided to divide jobs at the apartment. Viv would talk to the nanny while Samantha searched the bedroom and home office. Her top priority was finding anything that might explain where Kim was, second was finding either the identity of Abby's father, or guardianship papers. The guardianship papers would at least keep Abby out of the foster care system.

It took Samantha thirty minutes to search the home office. She searched everywhere but no luck. She did find a birth certificate, but that didn't answer any questions.

Vivian was still talking to Susan, the nanny, and Abby so Samantha decided to search the master bedroom. She was just finishing when Vivian called to her.

"Yes?"

"Are you ready, Agent Spade?"

"Almost. Susan, do you think it would be okay for us to take Kim's laptop back to the office with us?"

"Why?"

"Just to go over. It might have a clue as to what happen or even a clue as to . . ."

"What to do with Abby?" Susan asked as diplomatically as possible.

"Exactly."

"I suppose it would be okay."

"Thank you."

After grabbing the laptop, the two agents headed back to the office.

Forty-five minutes later the agents were back in the office to brief the rest of their team.

"Susan doesn't know anything about Abby's father. She's worked for Kim since her arrival in New York. She said it's almost normal for Kim not to be home when Abby goes to bed. However, if that happens she makes a point to be home when Abby gets up the next morning. Kim didn't talk with Susan about her work. She was able to give us a list of friends to contact."

"I searched Agent Hall's home office and her bedroom. I found Abby's birth certificate, but no father is listed and I found no guardianship papers. I did bring her laptop back as well as her address book."

"There's no one fitting Agent Hall's description in any of the local hospitals or the morgue."

"We're supposed to be getting a record of Agent Hall's current and recent cases, but according to her boss and her partner she wasn't working on anything major."

Jack thought for minute. "Okay, Samantha you're on the laptop. Vivian and Danny, start contacting the friends. Martin, see what you can do to track her movements. I'll start on the case files as soon as they're here."

Two hours later Samantha was still working on the laptop. She'd found financial records that showed Hall had no money problems. She'd also discovered that while Hall had a live-in nanny, Abby also went to daycare. When called, Susan explained that she was a full-time college student. Abby went to daycare while Susan was in class and in exchange for being there for Abby the rest of the time, Susan got free room and board.

Thirty minutes later Samantha found a letter. After reading it, she hooked the laptop up to the printer, hit print and headed for Jack's office.

"I think I found something."

"What?"

"A letter that I think is to Abby's father. Problem is there's no last name. I know he's bureau and was agent in charge in Albuquerque until he moved to LA to help take care of his sick mom."

"Got a name?"

"Just a first name. Don."

"Oh, shit. I think I know the guy. Give me a minute." Jack started typing on his keyboard a few strokes later he had an answer.

"I know him. I think she's talking about Don Eppes. He was a student of mine when I taught at Quantico. I'll give him a call and see what I can find out."

Ring, Ring

"Eppes."

"Don, this is Jack Malone."

"Jack! What can I do for you?"

"Do you know a Secret Service Agent by the name of Kim Hall?"

"Yes, I do. We worked together in Albuquerque."

"Did you do anything other than work?"

"What's going on, Jack?"

"Kim Hall has gone missing."

"What?"

"Let me finish. There's more."

"Sorry."

"She was reported missing when she wasn't home to feed her daughter breakfast. Her name is Abigail Rose and her birth date is October 17, 2002."

Silence on the other end of the phone. Jack waited for Don to process the information. He couldn't really afford to be patient, but if he remembered Don correctly he'd put the evidence together very quickly.

"She's mine?"

"That's what we think. There's no name on the birth certificate but one of my agents found a letter that makes us think you're the dad."

"Where's she at now?"

"She's with her nanny. We can probably keep her there another day or so at the most. What do you want to do?"

"Well I think the first thing I need to do is get on a plane to New York. The second thing we need is probably a DNA test."

"Probably. I can probably pull some strings and get it made a top priority. When you get into town come to the office, okay?"

"Will do. Thanks for the call, Jack."

Within fifteen minutes Don had secured time off and was head out of the building. He needed to call his dad and let him know he'd be out of town. Don didn't really want to go alone but he wasn't sure he wanted to take his dad.

Fortunately for Don, an idea came to him before he got too far into traffic. He swung his car around so it was headed away from his apartment and towards CalSci. Maybe Charlie could come with him.

Traffic was with him and forty-two minutes later, he was knocking on the door of Charlie's office.

"Come in!"

Charlie looked up as the door opened.

"Hey, Don. What's up?"

"I've got to go to New York for a couple of day and was wondering if you could come along."

"Is this a case?"

"Not really, no."

Charlie cocked his head and stared at Don for a minute.

"What's going on?"

"You remember Kim?"

"The ex-fiancé that I didn't even know you had?"

"That's her. She's missing."

"So you're going to go to New York and help look?"

"Not really. The agent in charge of the case is a former instructor of mine. He just called and told me Kim has a daughter, Abigail, who was born nine months after I left New Mexico."

"Wow. So you're heading to New York to meet her?"

"Yeah, and we're going to do a paternity test. Jack said he'd rush the results."

"Are you sure you want to me come along?"

"Well I'm sure I don't want to go alone and I'm also sure I can't handle Dad coming along."

Charlie chuckled. "I can understand that. Why don't you get us a flight and I'll go talk to the Dean and Amita about covering my classes."

"Amita?"

"Yeah, since I am just giving tests the next two days, Christensen shouldn't have a problem with Amita covering for me. If I'm not back by Monday afternoon I'll have to come up with another plan."

"Sounds good. Oh, and Charlie. . ."

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"I'd say anytime but I think mathematically the chances of this situation happening again are almost non-existent."

Don just chuckled and pulled out his cell phone as Charlie went to make his arrangements.

Don and Charlie entered the New York FBI office at eight the next morning. They would have been earlier but they'd stopped by a Panera's for breakfast and coffee; a lot of coffee since they needed to combat the jet lag.

Within minutes they found themselves in the conference room used by the missing persons unit. Samantha Spade and Jack Malone were waiting for them.

"Hello, Don!"

"Hello. Jack, this is my brother Charlie."

"Pleased to meet you. Don, I have a lab tech outside who'll take the swab for the DNA test. Susan, Abby's nanny, is going to bring her here for the test in about an hour. While we're waiting Samantha will tell you what we can share about the case and let you read the letter she found on Hall's laptop."

"Sounds good. Any leads on finding Kim?"

"A couple but I can't discuss them."

"How long to get the test results back?" Jack was a little surprised that this question came from Charlie.

"End of business today. I called in a few favors."

"Thanks." Don breathed a sigh of relief. He'd been afraid he was going to have to stay in limbo on this for day or even weeks.

Knock, Knock

"Yes?" Charlie called out since Don looked far too nervous to speak.

"Can we come in?" Samantha asked. Someone that Don and Charlie assumed was Susan accompanied her. There was no sign of Abby.

"Sure, come on in."

Samantha and Susan moved into the room and that was when they got their first glimpse of Abby as she was trying to hide behind Susan.

Don got up out of his chair and walked over to where Susan was standing. He crouched down so that he was eye level with Abby and said, "Hi, you must be Abby. I'm Don and this is my brother Charlie."

When Don mentions his name, Charlie also comes over and crouches down so Abby can see him.

The three just stared at each other for a moment. Eventually Abby reached out and touched Charlie's hair. Susan chuckled.

"I don't think she's ever met anyone with hair like hers." It was true, while Abby looked a lot like Don, her hair was a mass a dark curls that looked a lot like Charlie's only longer.

After a minute of playing with Charlie's curls, Abby turned and looked at Don. Don's legs were starting to cramp so he sat down on the floor.

Susan, Abby, and Charlie quickly followed suit. Abby moved to sit in Susan's lap and watched both Don and Charlie.

"Don knows your mommy." Susan told her.

"See mommy?"

"No, I'm sorry I don't know where your mommy is." Don told her.

The little girl looked like she was about to cry.

"Abby," Susan called while opening the backpack she carried with her, "Why don't you show Don and Charlie your toys?"

The girl was more than happy to show off her toys. Samantha closed the door and left the three adults in the conference room having a tea party.

"So what are you going to do?" Charlie asked Don over dinner. They'd spent the day with Abby and received the confirmation that Don was her father.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean what are you going to do about Abby if they find Kim?"

"Kim and I are going to have a serious talk. If I have to I'll get a lawyer but I will not be left out of my daughter's life anymore." Don was having trouble controlling the anger in his voice. He was furious with Kim.

In the letter that Agent Spade had found, Kim revealed that she had kept Abby away from Don on purpose. At first, it was because she was mad that he chose family over her. Later it was because she didn't want a custody order interfering with her career. Don was having trouble believing this was the same woman he'd once thought he'd spend the rest of his life with.

"And what are you going to do if Kim's dead?" Charlie asked.

"I'm going to get custody of my daughter and take her to California."

"Hhmm."

"What?"

"Have you thought about your job, the hours you work? Who'll take care of Abby while you're working?"

"So what are you saying? That she'd be better off with foster parents?" Don couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"No! I'm not saying that at all. I'm just saying you need to think about this. The court will expect you to have a plan"

"So what would you suggest?" Don had to admit Charlie had a point.

"You move back into the house. Then you'd at least have dad and me around to help. Even if you don't want to stay forever it would be a short term solution that should work for the court."

"Think Dad would agree to it?"

"Doesn't really matter; I own the house. However, yes I think he'd agree. You have to admit it would allow him lots of time with his grandchild."

Don chuckled a little at that, "Okay, I'll think about it."

"Good. Now I don't know about you but I'd like to get back to the hotel. I'm exhausted."

"Me too, buddy. Me too."

Ring, Ring

Don rolled over and squinted at the clock. Shit, it was only eight.

Ring, Ring

"Eppes."

"Don, it's Jack Malone. We found her."

Don knew from the sound of Jack's voice that it wasn't good news.

"She's dead isn't she?"

"She is. If you want to come down to the office I'll tell you everything I can."

"Can you give me two hours?"

He needed time to get a grip on the situation. He was sorry Kim was dead for several reasons. First, she was Abby's mother. Second was the fact that he'd never get to have it out with her about keeping Abby from him. Finally, he'd once loved her and it was always hard to lose someone you'd loved.

"I'll be here." Jack told him just seconds before he hung up.

Don got out of bed and headed to the connecting door to wake Charlie.

They somehow managed to make it into the office in less than two hours.

Danny Martin met them and led them to Jack's office.

Don didn't waste and time with pleasantries. "What can you tell us?"

"Agent Hall was killed the night she disappeared. A coworker had been sexually harassing her and when she decided to report him he killed her."

"He's confessed?"

"Yes, I doubt there will be a trial. The man has a family. I think he'll want this over as quickly as possible."

"So what now?" Charlie wanted to know.

"Agent Hall's body will be released tomorrow for burial. Her parents aren't in a position to arrange a funeral so without a will it's probably going to be up to Don. We're required to contact Social Services about Abby but the fact we can prove Don's the father should help."

Buzz

Jack reached over and hit a button on his phone, "Yes."

"We just got a phone call from a lawyer who says he has Agent Hall's will. He's on his way in."

"Let me know when he gets here." Jack released the button and looked at Charlie. "This lawyer will probably be able to answer your question better than I can."

Later, Charlie would reflect on just how true Jack's words were. Kim had been very thorough in arranging Abby's life should something happen to her.

Don was to get full custody of Abby. Knowing how important family was to Don, Kim had arranged for her burial to be in LA. Her will was solid and thorough. The lawyer thought Don and Abby could be on their way home by Wednesday, or Thursday at the latest.

Don was still mad at Kim but thankful that she'd arranged things so well. The will meant there was no need for Social Services to be involved.

The thing that really rubbed Don the wrong way was that he was going to have to adopt his own daughter! It was the only way to get his name on her birth certificate. Well, not the only way but the other method required Kim's cooperation.

It was decided that Charlie would spend the weekend with Don and Abby before heading home on Sunday evening. The brothers also decided to call Alan that night and explain about Abby.

Don planned that at least for the short term he and Abby would stay at the house. Once they were used to each other and had a routine established he would consider moving out.

Susan had a friend she could stay with until she found another job, so Don didn't need to worry about her. Susan suggested that Don and Charlie stay in the apartment with Abby until they left for California. She agreed to stay with them for twenty-four hours to help Abby adjust to the situation.

The brothers were currently heading there after checking out of their hotel. If their father had been there, he'd have been stunned by the change in their behavior. Charlie was the one who appeared calm and collected while Don appeared more manic and frenzied then Charlie ever had, even during the P vs. NP fiascos.

Finally, they arrived at the apartment and knocked on the door.

"Don! Charlie! Come in. Abby, come here."

Abby came out of her bedroom and smiled when she saw Don and Charlie standing there.

"Hi!"

"Hi, Abby." Don and Charlie smiled back.

"We just finished dinner and Abby was about to take her bath. Would you like to help?" Susan asked Don.

"Sure." Don smiled at the thought.

"Charlie, I think you better wait here. The bathroom isn't that big."

"No problem." Charlie chuckled.

Don, Susan, and Abby headed for the bathroom while Charlie sat down to watch the news.

The news was almost over when he heard Abby yell, "No!"

"Abby, come back here!" Susan called.

Ten seconds later Abby came running full speed into the living room.

Charlie reached out and grabbed her.

"Hey, little one. What's going on?"

"No brush hair. Hurts."

This was something that Charlie could understand. Brushing out curls like those that he and Abby had did hurt.

"How about I do it?"

"No!"

"Okay."

Charlie got up and headed to his luggage. On his way, he signaled to Don and Susan to let him try to handle this. After finding his comb, he sat down and started combing his hair.

It took Abby no more than two minutes to come over to where he was sitting.

"No hurt?"

"No."

Abby crawled up and sat down in Charlie's lap.

"Me."

"You want me to comb your hair?"

Abby nodded vigorously .

"Okay."

Charlie went from combing his hair to carefully combing out the little girl's mass of dark curls.

By the time Charlie finished combing out the curls, Abby was almost asleep. Susan put the girl in bed while Don dialed his father's number.

Ring, Ring

"Hello?"

"Hi, Dad."

"Donnie! How's your case going?"

"It's going. That's actually what I need to talk to you about."

"What's wrong? Is Charlie okay?"

"What? Oh yeah, Charlie's fine. Do you remember Kim?"

"How could I forget? She was almost my daughter in law."

"Well the reason I'm in New York is she disappeared."

"Okay, I'm not sure I follow where this is going."

Don understood that but the problem was he wasn't sure how to say it. Maybe he better just say it.

"One of the investigators called me because KIm has a daughter who'll be three in October. It turns out she's mine."

"What?"

"I have a daughter. Her name's Abby. She'll be three in October. Kim was found murdered last night so Abby's going to be coming to live with me."

"Donnie, have you thought about how you're going to take care of a little girl?"

"Actually, Charlie suggested I move into the house, at least for a little while, so that you two could help. You are willing to help aren't you?"

"Of course I'm willing to help! I just wanted to make sure you know what you're getting into."

"Not really, but did you know what you were getting into when you had me?"

"No. I thought I did when we had Charlie, but he didn't take long to prove me wrong. Point taken, son."

"Thanks."

"So what's the plan?"

"Charlie's going to be home Sunday night. He'll bring some of Abby's stuff with him. Abby and I will be home later in the week. We'll bring some more of her things and I'm going to arrange to have the rest of her things shipped. There will be a memorial service here but Kim made arrangements to be buried in LA."

"Why would she do that?"

"She knew Abby would end up with me. Kim's dad died about five years ago and her mom's in a home with dementia. Last I heard Kim's mom didn't recognize her."

"That's too bad. I guess it makes sense then that she'd make sure Abby could visit the grave."

"That's what I'm thinking."

"Can I talk to her?"

Don winced; it was a good thing Abby was in bed. Don wanted to be the one to tell her about Kim and being her dad. He was so busy making arrangements that he hadn't had time to tell her yet.

"Can we call you tomorrow? Charlie combed her hair after her bath and she was almost asleep by the time he was done so we put her to bed."

"Why'd Charlie comb her hair?"

"She wouldn't let us touch it. Imagine Charlie's hair but hanging down to the shoulders and that's Abby."

Alan chuckled, "I remember Charlie at that age, you got the hair combed immediately or not at all. I guess I had better go buy a wide tooth comb, detangler spray, and baby shampoo. I think Charlie was seven when your mom quit using baby shampoo to help unravel the tangles."

Don had to laugh. He didn't think he'd remind Charlie of that, at least not until he needed blackmail material.

"Thanks Dad. We'll call you tomorrow."

"Please do. Good night, Don."

Don hung up the phone and leaned back against the couch.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine. Dad wanted to talk to Abby."

"Oh. Guess that conversation is at the top of the list for tomorrow."

"I'd say so."

Don woke up to the feeling of something poking him in the arm repeatedly. It took him a full minute to realize the something was actually somebody. Abby was standing next to him with her little finger tapping him repeatedly.

"You wake Don?"

"I am now. What do you need Abby?"

"Hungy."

Don looked at the clock and saw that it was seven, which qualified as Abby sleeping in.

"Okay. Let's go see what we can find for breakfast."

Don stood up and grabbed his robe before heading for the kitchen with Abby in tow.

It didn't take long for Don to have breakfast on the table. Charlie and Susan soon joined him and Abby. Don decided that he might as well have the conversation before he lost his nerve.

"Abby?"

"What?"

"We need to talk to you. It's about your mommy."

"See mommy?"

"I wish you could honey. Mommy's gone to be an angel."

"Come back?"

"She can't. I'm sure she wants to but she can't."

At that, Abby started to cry. Don didn't even have to think about it, he just picked his little girl up and cuddled her while she cried.

She eventually cried herself to sleep and Don put her to bed. He then came back and called Jack Malone to see if he could recommend a child psychologist. Don wanted professional advice for helping Abby adjust to all the changes.

He then called a Dr. Elizabeth Olivet who agreed to meet with him that afternoon. In the past, he might have asked Terry, but since she'd left LA, they hadn't been on the best of terms.

Abby didn't sleep long. Less than an hour after he put her down, she was awake and wandering out to see Don. He invited her to come sit next to him on the couch so they could talk some more.

Susan and Charlie decided to take a break from packing up Susan's things so they could be available to help if needed.

"Abby, did your mommy ever talk about your daddy?"

"She said he loved me."

"She was right. I do."

Don had to fight the urge to laugh. Abby had the same look on her face Charlie used to get when they'd try to get him to do something other than math as a child.

"Yes, I'm your dad. Since your mommy can't take care of you anymore I want you to come live with me."

"And Susie?"

Don didn't know how to answer that one.

"Sorry, honey, I'm going to stay here in New York. You'll be in California but you'll have Charlie and your Grandpa Alan." Don was relieved Susan decided to help him out.

"Grandpa?"

"Yep, you'll have a Grandpa, just like Amanda."

"Neat! Where's California?"

"A long way away. You'll go there next week with Don."

"And Charlie?"

"Sorry. I've got to go back sooner. I've got a class to teach Monday. How about you and I pick out some of your things for me to take with me so they're already in the house when you get there?"

"Okay! Can I go play now?"

"Sure you can." Don told her.

Abby scampered off after giving Don a quick hug.

"Is that a normal reaction?" Charlie asked Don.

"You're asking me? I have no idea. This is why I'm going to meet with the psychologist later today."

"Is Abby going?"

"No, I just want to get some advice on helping her and maybe a referral to a good psychologist in LA. Malone said Olivet is considered one of the best. She consults with the cops here quite a bit."

"Sounds like a good idea. Don't forget you promised Dad he could talk to Abby tonight."

"I won't. Like he'd let me forget."

Charlie just chuckled and headed into the kitchen for another cup of coffee.

Don walked into the building and looked for the directory so he could find the office of one Dr. Elizabeth Olivet.

A short elevator ride later, he entered the office and checked in with the secretary. He was told that Dr. Olivet was just finishing up with a patient and would be with him in about five minutes.

Dr. Olivet was as good as her secretary's word and five minutes later, she saw the patient out of the office and came over to where Don was waiting.

"Hello, you must be Agent Eppes. I'm Elizabeth Olivet."

Don stood up and shook her hand, liking the woman already, "Hello, please call me Don."

"Okay, then I'm Elizabeth. Shall we go into my office?" She turned and led Don to the room about fifty feet away.

"What can I do for you?" She asked once they were both seated and comfortable.

"I'm really just looking for some advice. I have a daughter, Abby; she'll be three in October. I just found out about her the day before yesterday and we just learned yesterday that her mother had been murdered. The end result of all this is she's going to go from living in an apartment in New York with her mom and her nanny to living in a house in LA with her father, uncle, and grandfather."

"Oh, boy. Have you told her about her mother?"

"Yes, she cried so hard and long that she ended up crying herself to sleep."

"I'd say that's a pretty normal reaction."

"What about telling her about you?"

"She looked really confused for a minute, and then she asked a couple of questions and wanted to go play."

"Also probably a normal reaction."

"You're kidding right?"

"Nope, sorry. That's not to say that you won't have to revisit the subject. Whatever you said to explain about being her father made sense to her so she was able to file it away. Eventually, something will happen that will create more questions and if you're lucky she'll ask them."

"If I'm lucky?"

"Sometimes kids try to figure things out on their own based on things you've previously said. I recently talked to a mother whose son was terrified of making mistakes. Turned out when the parents split she told the kids it was because she was tired of dad getting so angry. The kid had gotten in trouble the night before so he decided that dad had to leave because he was bad."

"Point taken. Hopefully she'll ask."

"On the subject of her mother, expect lots of questions. You'll probably get the same questions repeatedly. She might have nightmares and separation anxiety. Her mom left one day and never came back, so why not you?"

"So what do I do?"

"Reassure her as much as you can and be patient. Children that age need a routine as much as possible. You should take her things with you; it'll help her new surroundings feel familiar. If she's still having problems three to four months after the move, or if she can't do normal little girl things, you might need to see someone."

"Any other advice?"

"Patience, lots of patience. You need to let your family help."

"Will do."

The talked for another twenty minutes about his job and how to limit its impact on Abby. Don left the office feeling more confident in his ability to handle this new situation.

"I'm back." Don called out as he entered the apartment

"In here, Don."

Don followed the sound of Charlie's voice into the kitchen where he found his brother fixing dinner while his daughter chatted on the phone.

"Who ya talking to Abby?"

Abby looked at him and said, "Gampa," and went right back to telling Alan what she liked to eat.

Don decided it was best to let them talk and turned to talk to Charlie.

"What's for dinner?"

"Macaroni and cheese for Abby. The Chinese will be delivered for us in about thirty minutes."

"Good plan. She been talking to Dad long?"

"About ten minutes. We called him. I was afraid if we waited until after dinner she'd fall asleep again."

"Thanks for doing it."

"No problem. How was the meeting with the psychologist?"

"Not bad, I'm feeling a little more confident anyway. What did you guys do while I was gone?"

"Abby gave me a tour of the apartment."

"You hadn't already seen everything?"

"Not from the perspective of two and a half year old. I think you'll be glad we did it. There's a quilt in Kim's room that needs to go with us and I know where the baby books are."

"Well I'm glad you know where the baby books are but why do we need to take the quilt?"

"Because it's the one that Abby and Kim would lay on to watch movies or read."

"Oh, I see your point about my being glad about the tour."

"Daddy, talk to Gampa."

Don just turned and stared at Abby for a minute. It was the first time she'd called him Daddy. He was too shocked to move.

It didn't take Charlie long to figure this out and move to take the phone from Abby.

"Dad, Don will call you later okay?''

"No, nothing's wrong. Abby just called Don Daddy and he's a little stunned at the moment."

"Will do. Bye Dad."

"Do something bad?"

"No you didn't do anything bad. I promise. Go play until dinner, okay?" Charlie smiled at the little girl.

Charlie waited until Abby was out of the room to throw a dishtowel at Don.

"Hey, snap out of it!"

"What?"

"Abby called you Daddy and you totally zoned out. She thought she'd done something wrong."

"She okay?"

"I think so. Dinner will be in about ten minutes."

"Thanks Charlie. Where's Susan?"

"She went to dinner with some friends. She promised Abby she'd be back before bedtime."

"Okay."

After dinner, Don got Abby into her bath without any help. After the bath, Charlie combed her hair out while Don cleaned up from dinner.

Don was just getting ready to read Abby a bedtime story when Susan arrived. Abby still wanted Don to read the story but asked Susan and Charlie to come too.

The rest of the evening passed with Charlie, Susan, and Don coming up with lists of Abby's things. What would go to LA with Charlie, what would go with Don and Abby, and what would be shipped to the house.

Don decided that while Kim's furniture and clothing would be donated to charity, as per her will, anything remaining would be shipped to LA and stored until Abby was old enough to decide what to do with it.

It was almost midnight when the trio headed to bed.

Don was up and running before he was even fully awake. It took him three steps to realize why. Abby was screaming. He was there in record time.

"Hey. What's wrong? Did you have a bad dream?" Don asked as he picked the girl up and hugged her.

"Uh huh." Abby answered.

"Want to tell me about it?"

"No."

Don decided not to push the issue, "You want me to tuck you back into bed?"

"No!" Abby clung tighter and tried to burrow in closer to him.

"Okay, I won't put you back in bed yet."

Don carried Abby over to the rocking chair in the corner. As he was settling into the rocker he noticed Susan and Charlie in the doorway. He mouthed, "We're fine," at them and a moment latter they both headed back to bed.

Twenty minutes later, Don finally decided that Abby was asleep enough for him to put her back in bed. He had the covers pulled back and was laying her down when she mumbled at him.

"Don't go."

"I'm not going anywhere kiddo," He told her as he pulled the covers over her, "Scoot over a little."

She did as he told her and then he laid down next to her on the bed.

She grabbed his hand and then went back to sleep. Don closed his eyes(,) trying to get some sleep of his own.

Don picked Abby up and put her on his shoulders for the trip down the jet way to the gate. She'd actually been very well behaved on the trip, but during the layover in Chicago he'd discovered she felt safer if he carried her.

He knew from Susan that Abby had never been on a plane before. Kim had actually taken two weeks and driven the two of them to New York when she was transferred.

"Chalie!" Abby yelled and pointed.

"Hey, Abby! How are you?" Charlie asked as he made his way over to them.

"Okay. Hungy."

"Well I'm sure we can take care of that." Alan said as caught up to the trio.

Charlie looked up at Abby and noticed she had a weird look on her face. It took Charlie a second to figure out that she wasn't connecting Alan in person to the voice of Grandpa.

"Abby, this is your dad's and my dad, your grandpa."

"Oh! Hi Gampa!" Abby waved to Alan, causing Charlie and Don to chuckle.

"Hi Abby. Nice to meet you." Alan reached up and shook Abby's hand.

"So what are you going to feed us?" Don asked.

"There's a McDonald's with a Playland on Century, I thought we'd stop there and give Abby a chance to run around a bit(,) and give the rush hour traffic a chance to get home." Alan supplied.

"Sounds like a plan. Let's go get the luggage. We're definitely going to need a cart. I brought so much luggage the airline charged me extra to take it all."

"Not a problem. We brought your truck. We also picked up a car seat for Abby."

Charlie supplied while Alan steered the group in the direction of the luggage pick up.

It took another forty minutes, but they did finally get everything loaded up and headed for the McDonald's.

Don couldn't believe what Charlie and Alan had managed to accomplish in the four days since Charlie had been back. They had painted the master bedroom and moved Charlie's things in there, they painted Abby's room a pale pink and bought her Dora the Explorer sheets and blankets. Abby was thrilled with her new room, and with Charlie moving into the master bedroom Don would be right across the hall from his daughter.

"Hey Donnie, come look at this!"

Don turned and headed down the stairs to see what his dad wanted.

He walked into the living room and found his dad looking at something in the kitchen and laughing.

He walked around the corner and saw Abby and Charlie standing in the kitchen. Abby was wet from head to toe and Charlie was wet from about the knees down.

"What happened to you two?"

"I pulled Abby out of the pond. She was in there trying to pet the Koi!"

At that, Don started laughing. He could just picture his daughter going into the pond to make friends with the first pets she'd ever had.

"Well come on, Abby, let's go get you cleaned up," Don picked Abby up and headed for the first floor bathroom.

"Dad can you bring me her pj's?"

"Sure!" Alan called back.

Don heard his father and Charlie head up the stairs. He turned his attention to getting Abby out of her wet clothes.

"Abby sowy." Abby looked absolutely miserable.

"It's okay honey. You didn't know. The fish are to look at,) not to pet. Okay?"

"Uh huh."

"That's my girl."

Alan showed back up with the pajamas just as Don was finishing Abby's bath. After talking with Charlie, Abby decided to let Alan comb her hair. She and Don then headed upstairs for a bedtime story. Once she was tucked in for the night(,) Don headed back downstairs.

"When do you have to go back to work, Donnie?"

"Not for two weeks."

"Merrick let you have two weeks off?" Charlie had met Merrick and he couldn't believe the guy was that generous.

"Nope, not until I went over his head. Turns out Kim's not naming me on the birth certificate works to my advantage. I have to adopt Abby in order to get my name on her certificate. As a result of that I qualify for up to sixteen weeks of leave. Once human resources explained that to Merrick, he became very cooperative."

"I'll bet he did." Alan and Charlie both chuckled.

"I'm going to stay home for two weeks and then work half days for at least a month to help Abby get adjusted to everything."

"Glad to see you have a plan, Donnie."

"Thanks. I'm really trying."

"Well, you know we'll help however we can."

"And I appreciate it. I'd better get to bed."

"Donnie, are you okay?" Alan wanted to know.

"I'm fine dad, just expecting Abby to be on New York time in the morning."

With that said Don headed up the stairs to get some sleep.

When he woke the next morning, Don couldn't believe what he saw. The clock on his dresser said seven thirty. That would be ten thirty, New York time. There was no way Abby would have slept that long. Don got out of bed, grabbed his robe and started looking for his daughter.

She wasn't in her bedroom so he decided to try the kitchen. He didn't find Abby, but he did find Alan having pancakes and reading the paper.

"Morning, Donnie. Want some breakfast?"

"In a minute. Have you seen Abby?"

"She's out in the garage with Charlie and Amita. Now how about some coffee?"

"Sounds great, Dad. I'll be right back for it."

Don really wanted to see what was going on in the garage. Charlie was pretty picky about people messing with things in his work space and Don couldn't believe Abby was keeping her hands to herself.

Don opened the back door to the garage and found Charlie and Amita working on some equation on one of Charlie's many blackboards.

"Uh Charlie? Where's Abby?"

"Hi Daddy! I woking."

Don followed the sound of the voice and found his daughter in the corner, drawing on one of the many blackboards that were always in the garage.

"Hi. Are you being good for Uncle Charlie?"

"Uh, huh."

"She's fine, Don. She tried to erase a board, but stopped when I gave her one of her own."

"Okay, then I'm going to go grab some breakfast."

"Works for me. Don't be surprised if she needs a nap soon. We've been up since three."

"You could have woken me."

"Nah, I was up already. Couldn't sleep."

"Well, thanks."

"No problem, go eat breakfast."

Don took the report out of the printer and headed for Merrick's office. His team had just finished up a two month embezzlement investigation and he needed to hand in the final report before heading home.

Since taking custody of Abby six months ago, he'd been working slightly more regular hours. It wasn't that he didn't get big cases, but Merrick had him working in more of a supervisory role than an investigative one.

He still got to work big cases, but he was able to be home between six and seven at least three days out of five.

And when he couldn't be there his father and brother were great at helping out. Charlie joked that by the time Abby was old enough to go to college she'd have spent more time at one then he did as a child. She had her own corner of his office with toys, pillows, and a blanket.

His dad took her to and from preschool and other activities. He put a wading pool into the back yard in the hopes of keeping his grandchild out of the Koi pond and had taken her to a couple of Dodgers games. Of course, Alan claimed it was a good thing the Dodgers stunk this year, since he wasn't sure he still had the ability to chase a preschooler through a crowded stadium.

The changes in his life continually amazed him. At one time, he thought he and Kim would be together forever and be their own little family. He'd planned for their careers to take them many places that weren't LA. Then his mom had gotten sick and he'd made the decision to move back home. He didn't regret his decision except for the fact it cost him Kim. He still found himself wondering what would have happen if they'd worked things out. He also wondered how things would be different if he'd known about Abby from the beginning or if he'd never had to make the decision to move to LA. He had no answers for any of his what if scenarios. The thing he did know was that while his life right now was different from what he'd planned it was still a very good life.

The End

AN: For anyone who didn't catch it, the character of Elizabeth Olivet appeared on both "Law and Order" and "Law and Order: SVU." Thanks to Lee, Mary Ellen and Artemis Rain for the beta.